only upon the sincere Resolution of the Penitent And surely nothing can be more absurd and contrary to Reason than that when Men have performed all the Conditions which the Gospel requires yet they should notwithstanding this be deprived of all the Blessings and Benefits which God hath promised and intends to confer upon them because the Priest hath not the same Intention So that when a Man hath done all he can to work out his own Salvation he shall be never the nearer only for want of That which is wholly out of his Power the right Intention of the Priest Besides that after all their Boasts of the safe Condition of Men in Their Church and the most certain and infallible means of Salvation to be had in it this one Principle that the Intention of the Priest is necessary to the Validity and Virtue of the Sacraments puts the Salvation of Men upon the greatest Hazard and Uncertainty and such as it is impossible for any Man either to discover or prevent unless he had some certain way to know the Heart and Intention of the Priest For upon these terms who can know whether any Man be a Priest and really ordained or not Nay whether he be a Christian and have been truly baptized or not and consequently whether any of his Admistrations be valid and we have any Benefit and Advantage by them Because all this depends upon the knowledge of that which we neither do nor can know So that when a Man hath conscientiously done all that God requires of any Man to make him capable of Salvation yet without any Fault of his the want of Intention in an idle-minded Man may frustrate all And though the Man have been baptized and do truly believe the Gospel and hath sincerely repented of his sins and lived a most Holy Life yet all this may signifie nothing and after all he may be no Christian because his Baptism was invalid And all the Promises of God to the means of Salvation which his Goodness and Wisdom hath prescribed may be of no Efficacy if the Priest do not intend in the Administration of the Sacraments to do that which God and the Church intend Now if this be true there is certainly no Church in the World in which the Salvation of Men runs so many hazards and yet all this hazard and uncertainty has its rise from a Scholastical Point which is directly contrary to all the Notions of Mankind concerning the Goodness of God and to the clear Reason of the thing and to the constant Tenor of the Gospel and which was never asserted by any of the ancient Fathers much less defined by any Council before that of Trent So that it is a Doctrine new and needless and in the necessary consequences of it unreasonable and absurd to the utmost degree The last Instance I shall mention is their Rule of Faith The Rule of Faith universally received and acknowledged by the Christian Church in all Ages before the Council of Trent was the Word of God contained in the Canonical Books of Holy Scripture which were therefore by the Church called Canonical because they were the Rule of Faith and Manners of the Doctrines to be believed and the Duties to be practised by all Christians But when the Errours and Corruptions of the Romish Church were grown to the highth and the Pope and his Council at Trent were resolved not to Retrench and Reform them they saw it necessary to enlarge and lengthen out their Rule because the ancient Rule of the Holy Scriptures would by no means reach several of the Doctrines and Practices of that Church which they were resolved to maintain and make good by one means or other As namely the Doctrine of Transubstantiation of Purgatory and of the Seven Sacracraments and the practice of the Worship of Saints and Images of the Scriptures and the Service of God in an unknown Tongue of Indulgences and the Communion in one kind and several other superstitious Practices in use among them Now to enlarge their Rule to the best advantage for the Justification of these Doctrines and Practices they took these two ways 1. They have added to the Canonical Books of the Old Testament which were received by the Jewish Church to whom were committed the Oracles of God I say to these they have added several Apocryphal Books not warranted by Divine Inspiration because they were written after Prophecy and Divine Inspiration was ceased in the Jewish Church Malachi being the last of their Prophets according to the general Tradition of that Church But because the addition of these Books did not make a Rule of Faith and Practice large enough for their purpose in imitation of the Jews in the time of the greatest Confusion and Degeneracy of that Church they added in the Second Place to their Books of Scripture which they call the written Word an unwritten Word which they call Oral Tradition from Christ and his Apostles which they declare to be of equal Authority with the Holy Scriptures themselves and that it ought to be received with the same Pious Veneration and Affection Of which Traditions They being the Keepers and Judges they may extend them to what they please and having them in their own Breasts they may declare whatever they have a mind to to have been a constant and universal Tradition of their Church tho it is evident to common Sense that nothing can be more uncertain and more liable to Alteration and Mistake than Tradition at the distance of so many Ages brought down by word of mouth without writing and passing through so many hands He that can think these to be of equal Certainty and Authority with what is delivered by Writing and brought down by Books undertakes the defence of a strange Paradox viz. That general Rumour and Report of Things said and done 1500 Years ago is of equal Authority and Credit with a Record and a written History By which proceeding of the Council of Trent concerning the Rule of Faith and Practice it is very evident that they had no mind to bring their Faith to the Ancient Rule the Holy Scriptures That they knew could not be done and therefore they were resolved to fit their Rule to their Faith And this Foundation being laid in their first Decree all the rest would afterwards go on very smoothly For do but give Men the making of their Rule and they can make good any thing by it And accordingly the Council of Trent having thus fixt and fitted a Rule to their own purpose in the Conclusion of that Decree they give the World fair warning upon what Grounds and in what Ways they intend to proceed in their following Decrees of Practice and Definitions of Faith Omnes itaque intelligant quo ordine via ipsa Synodus post jactum fidei confessionis fundamentum sit progressura c. Be it known therefore to all men in what Order and Way the Synod after having laid this
Obedience and Self-denyal He begins with the Patriarchs before the Flood but insists chiefly upon the examples of two eminent Persons of their own Nation as nearest to them and most likely to prevail upon them the Examples of Abraham and Moses the one the Father of their Nation the other their great Lawgiver and both of them the greatest Patterns of Faith and Obedience and Self-denyal that the History of all former Ages from the beginning of the World had afforded I shall at this time by God's assistance treat of the first of these the Example of Abraham the Constancy of whose Faith and the cheerfulness of whose Obedience even in the difficultest Cases is so remarkable above all the other Examples mentioned in this Chapter For at the Command of God he left his Kindred and his Country not knowing whither he should go By which eminent Act of Obedience he declared himself to be wholly at God's Disposal and ready to follow him But this was no tryal in comparison of that here in my Text when God commanded him to offer up his only Son But such was the immutable stedfastness of his Faith and the perfect submission of his Obedience that it does not appear that he made the least check at it but out of perfect Reverence and Obedience to the Authority of the divine Command he went about it as readily and cheerfully as if God had bid him do some small thing By Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac For the explication of which Words it will be requisite to consider two things First The Tryal or Temptation in general Secondly The Excellency of Abraham's Faith and Obedience upon this Tryal First The Tryal or Temptation in general It is said that Abraham when he was tryed the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being Tempted That is God intending to make Tryal of his Faith and Obedience and so it is exprest Gen. 22. 1. Where it is said that God did Tempt Abraham and said unto him take now thy Son thine only Son Now there are two difficulties concerning this matter It seems contrary to Scripture that God should Tempt any Man and contrary to Reason because God who knows what every Man will do needed not to make tryal of any Man's Faith or Obedience First It seems contrary to Scripture which say's God Tempts no Man and 't is most true that God Tempts no Man with a design to draw him into Sin but this doth not hinder but he may try their Faith and Obedience with great difficulties to make them the more illustrious Thus God Tempted Abraham and he permitted Job and even our Blessed Saviour himself to be thus Tempted Secondly It seems contrary to Reason that God who knows what any Man will do in any Circumstances should go to make Tryal of it But God does not try Men for his own information but to give an illustrious Proof and Example to others of Faith and Obedience And tho after this Tryal of Abraham God says to him now I know that thou lovest me because thou hast not withheld thy Son thine only Son from me Yet we are to understand this as spoken after the manner of Men As God elsewhere speaks to Abraham concerning Sodom I will go down now to see whether they have done altogether aecording to the cry which is come up unto me and if not I will know I proceed to the Second thing I proposed The Excellency of Abraham's Faith and Obedience upon this Tryal By Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac God accepts of it as if he had done it because he had done it in part and was ready to have performed the rest if God had not countermanded him And this act of Faith and Obedience in Abraham will appear the more illustrious if we consider these three things First The firmness and stedfastness of his Faith notwithstanding the objections against it Secondly The constancy of his resolution notwithstanding the difficulty of the thing Thirdly The reasonableness of his Faith in that he gave satisfaction to himself in so hard and perplext a Case First The firmness and stedfastness of his Faith will appear if we consider what objections there were in the case enough to shake a very strong Faith There were three great objections against this Command and such as might in reason make a wise and good Man doubtful whether this Command were from God The horrid nature of the thing commanded The grievous scandal that might seem almost unavoidably to follow upon it And the horrible consequence of it which seemed to make the former promise of God to Abraham void First the horrid nature of the thing commanded which was for a Father to kill his own Child this must needs appear very barbarous and unnatural and look liker a Sacrifice to an Idol than to the true God It seemed to be against the Law of Nature and directly contrary to that kindness and affection which God himself had planted in the hearts of Parents towards their Children And there is no affection more natutural and strong than this for there are many persons that would redeem the Lives of their Children with the hazard of their own Now that God hath planted such an affection in Nature is an argument that it is good and therefore it could not but seem strange that he should command any thing contrary to it And in this case there were two circumstances that increased the horrour of the fact That his Son was innocent and that he was to Slay him with his own hands First That his Son was Innocent It would grieve the heart of any Father to give up his Son to Death tho he were never so undutiful and disobedient So passionately was David affected with the death of his Son Absolom as to wish he had dyed for him tho he dyed in the very act of Rebellion and tho the saving of his Life had been inconsistent with the Peace of his Government How deep then must it sink into the heart of a Father to give up his innocent Son to death And such a Son was Isaac for any thing appeared to the contrary God himself gave him this testimony that he was the Son whom his Father loved and there is no intimation of any thing to the contrary Now this could not but appear strange to a good Man that God should command an innocent person to be put to death But Secondly That a Father should be commanded not only to give up his Son to death but to slay him with his own Hands not only to be a Spectator but to be the Actor in this Tragedy What Father would not shrink and start back at such a Command What good Man especially in such a case and where Nature was so hard prest would not have been apt to have looked upon such a Revelation as this rather as the suggestion and illusion of an evil Spirit than a Command of God And yet Abraham's Faith was
this be a good way then we do and must call in the assistance of reason for the proof of our Religion 4. Let it be considered farther that the highest commendations that are given in Scripture to any ones Faith are given upon account of the reasonableness of it Abraham's Faith is famous and made a pattern to all generations because he reasoned himself into it notwithstanding the objections to the contrary and he did not blindly break through these objections and wink hard at them but he look'd them in the face and gave himself reasonable satisfaction concerning them The Centurian's Faith is commended by our Saviour Math. 8. 11. Because when his Servant was sick he did not desire him to come to his house but to speak the word only and his Servant should be healed For he reasoned thus I am a man under authority having Souldiers under me and I say to this man go and he goeth and to another come and he cometh and to my Servant do this and he doth it Now if he that was himself under authority could thus command those that were under him much more could he that had a divine Power and Commission do what he pleased by his word And our Saviour is so far from reprehending him for reasoning himself into this belief that he admires his Faith so much the more for the reasonableness of it v. 10. When Jesus heard this he marvelled and said to them that followed him verily I say unto you I have not found so great Faith no not in Israel Inlike manner our Saviour commends the Woman of Canaan's Faith because she enforc't it so reasonably Matthew 15. 22. She sued to him to help her Daughter but he answered her not a word and when his Disciples could not prevail with him to mind her yet still the prest him saying Lord help me and when he repulsed her with this severe answer It is not meet to take the Childrens bread and cast it to dogs she made this quick and modest reply truth Lord yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their Masters Table She acknowledgeth her own unworthiness but yet believes his goodness to be such that he will not utterly reject those who humbly seek to him upon which he gives her this testimony O woman great is thy faith The Apostles were divinely inspired and yet the Bereans are commended because they enquired and satisfied themselves in the reasons of their belief before they assented to the doctrine which was delivered to them even by Teachers that certainly were Infallible 5. None are reproved in Scripture for their unbelief but where sufficient reason and evidence was offered to them The Israelites are generally blamed for their Infidelity but then it was after such mighty wonders had been wrought for their Conviction The Jews in our Saviours time are not condemned simply for their unbelief but for not believing when there was such clear evidence offered to them So our Saviour himself says If I had not done amongst them the works which no other man did they had not had sin Thomas indeed is blamed for the perverseness of his unbelief because he would believe nothing but what he himself saw Lastly To shew this yet more plainly let us consider the great inconvenience and absurdity of declining the use of Reason in matters of Religion There can be no greater prejudice to Religion than to decline this tryal To say we have no Reason for our Religion is to say it is unreasonable Indeed it is Reason enough for any Article of our Faith that God hath revealed it because this is one of the strongest and most cogent reasons for the belief of any thing But when we say God hath revealed any thing we must be ready to prove it or else we say nothing If we turn off Reason here we level the best Religion in the World with the wildest and most absurd Enthusiams And it does not alter the case much to give Reason ill names to call it blind and carnal Reason Our best reason is but very short and imperfect But since it is no better we must make use of it as it is and make the best of it Before I pass from this Argument I cannot but observe that both the extremes of those who differ from our Church are generally great Declamers against the use of Reason in matters of Faith If they find their account in it 't is well for our parts we apprehend no manner of inconvenience in having Reason on our side nor need we to desire a better evidence that any Man is in the wrong than to hear him declare against Reason and thereby to acknowledge that reason is against him Men may vilifie Reason as much as they please and tho being reviled she reviles not again yet in a more still and gentle way she commonly hath her full revenge upon all those that rail at her I have often wonder'd that people can with patience endure to hear their Teachers and Guides talk against Reason and not only so but they pay them the greater submission and veneration for it One would think this but an odd way to gain authority over the minds of Men but some skilful and designing men have found by experience that it is a very good way to recommend them to the ignorant as Nurses use to endear themselves to Children by perpetual noise and nonsense III. I observe that God obligeth no Man to believe plain and evident Contradictions as matters of Faith Abraham could not reasonably have believed this second revelation to have been from God if he had not found some way to reconcile it with the first For tho a Man were never so much disposed to submit his Reason to divine Revelation yet it is not possible for any Man to believe God against God himself Some Men seem to think that they oblige God mightily by believing plain contradictions But the matter is quite otherwise He that made Man a reasonable Creature cannot take it kindly from any Man to debase his workmanship by making himself unreasonable And therefore as no service or obedience so no Faith is acceptable unto God but what is reasonable if it be not so it may be confidence or presumption but it is not Faith for he that can believe plain contradictions may believe any thing how absurd soever because nothing can be more absurd than the belief of a plain contradiction and he that can believe any thing believes nothing upon good grounds because to him Truth and Falsehood are all one 4. I observe that the great cause of the defect of Mens obedience is the weakness of their Faith Did we believe the commands of God in the Gospel and his promises and threatnings as firmly as Abraham believed God in this case what should we not be ready to do or suffer in obedience to him If our Faith were but as strong and vigorous as his was the effects of it would be as
Scripture or in the Doctrine and Practice of the Ancient Christian Church any Command or Example for the Worship of Images for the Invocation of Saints and Angels and the Blessed Virgin which do now make a great part of their Religion Nay is not the Doctrine of the Scriptures and of the Ancient Fathers plainly against all these Practices With what face then can it be said That the Church of Rome hath made a constant Visible Profession of the same Faith and Practice in all Ages from the time of Christ and his Apostles Or would the primitive Church of Rome if it should now visit the Earth again own the present Church of Rome to be the same in all Matters of Faith and practice that it was when they left it And whereas they demand of Us to shew a Visible Church from the time of Christ and his Apostles that hath always opposed the Church of Rome in those points of Doctrine and Practice which we Object to them what can be more impertinent than this Demand When they know that in all these Points we charge them with Innovations in Matters of Faith and Practice and say that those things came in by degrees several Ages after the Apostles time some sooner some later as we are able to make good and have done it And would they have us shew them a Visible Church that opposed these Errors and Corruptions in their Church before ever they appeared This we do not pretend to shew And supposing they had not been at all opposed when they appeared nor a long time after not till the Reformation yet if they be Errors and Corruptions of the Christian Doctrine and contrary to the Holy Scriptures and to the Faith and Practice of the Primitive Church there is no Prescription against Truth 'T is never too late for any Church to reject those Errors and Corruptions and to reform it self from them The bottom of all this Matter is they would have us to shew them a Society of Christians that in all Ages hath preserved it self free from all such Errors and Corruptions as we charge them withall or else we deny the Perpetual Visibility of the Catholick Church No such matter We say the Church of Christ hath always been Visible in every Age since Christ's time and that the several Societies of Christians professing the Christian Doctrine and Laws of Christ have made up the Catholick Church some parts whereof have in several Ages fallen into great Errors and Corruptions and no part of the Catholick into more and greater than the Church of Rome So that it requires the utmost of our Charity to think that they are a true tho a very unsound and corrupt Part of the Catholick Church of Christ. We acknowledge likewise that We were once involved in the like Degeneracy but by the mercy of God and pious care and prudence of those that were in Authority are happily rescued out of it and tho' we were not out of the Catholick Church before yet since our Reformation from the Errors and Corruptions of the Church of Rome we are in it upon better Terms and are a much sounder Part of it and I hope by the Mercy and Goodness of God we shall for ever continue so So that to the Perpetual Visibility of Christ's Church it is not necessary that the whole Christian Church or indeed that any Part of it should be free from all Errors and Corruptions Even the Churches planted by the Apostles in the Primitive Times were not so St. Paul reproves several Doctrines and Practices in the Church of Corinth and of Colosse and of Galatia and the Spirit of God several Things in the Seven Churches of Asia and yet all these were true Parts and Members of the Catholick Church of Christ notwithstanding these Faults and Errors because they all agreed in the Main and Essential Doctrines of Christianity And when more and greater Corruptions grew upon the Church or any part of it the greater reason and need there was of a Reformation And as every particular Person hath a right to reform any thing that he finds amiss in himself so far as concerns himself so much more every National Church hath a Power within it self to reform it self from all Errors and Corruptions and by the Sanction of the Catholick Authority to confirm that Reformation which is our Case here in England And whatever part of the Church how great and eminent soever excludes from her Communion such a National Church for reforming her self from plain Errors and Corruptions clearly condemned by the Word of God and by the Doctrine and Practice of the Primitive Christian Church is undoubtedly Guilty of Schism And this is the Truth of the Case between us and the Church of Rome And no blind talk about a Perpetual Visible Church can render Us guilty of Schism for making a Real Reformation or acquit Them of it for casting us out of their Communion for that Cause 7. And Lastly to mention no more they pretend that we delude the People by laying too much stress upon Scripture and making it the only Rule of Faith and Manners whereas Scripture and Tradition together make up the entire Rule of Faith and not Scripture Interpreted by every Mans private Fancy but by Tradition carefully preserved in the Church So that it ought to be no wonder if several of their Doctrines and Practices cannot be so clearly made out by Scripture or perhaps seem contrary to it as it may be expounded by a private Spirit but not as Interpreted by the Tradition of the Church which can only give the true Sense of Scripture And therefore they are to understand that several of those Doctrines and Practices which we Object against are most clearly proved by the Tradition of their Church which is of equal Authority with Scripture In this Objection of theirs which they design for the Cover of all their Errors and Corruptions there are several things distinctly to be considered which I shall do as briefly as I can First Whereas it is suggested That We delude the People by laying too much stress upon the Scriptures which certainly we cannot well do if it be the Word of God it ought to be considered whether They do not delude and abuse them infinitely more in keeping the Scriptures from them and not suffering them to see That which they cannot deny to be at least a considerable Part of the Rule of Christian Doctrine and Practice Doth it not by this dealing of theirs appear very suspicious that they are extreamly afraid that the People should examine their Doctrine and Practice by this Rule For what other Reason can they have to conceal it from them Secondly Whereas they affirm that Scripture alone is not the Rule of Christian Faith and Practice but that Scripture and Oral Tradition preserved in the Church and delivered down from hand to hand makes up the entire Rule I would fain know whence they learn'd this new Doctrine
of the Rule of Faith I know that the Council of Trent declares it for the Rule they intend to proceed upon and make use of for the Confirmation and Proof of their following Determinations and Decrees But did any of the ancient Councils of the Christian Church lay down this Rule and proceed upon it Did not Constantine the Emperour at the opening of the First General Council lay the Bible before them as the only Rule according to which they were to proceed and this with the Approbation of all those Holy Fathers that were assembled in that Council And did not following Councils proceed upon the same Rule Do any of the ancient Fathers ever mention any Rule of Christian Faith and Practice besides the Holy Scriptures and the ancient Creed which because it is an Abridgment of the necessary Articles of Christian Faith contained in the Holy Scriptures is by them frequently called the Rule of Faith Do not the same Fathers frequently and expresly say That the Scriptures are a perfect Rule and that all things are plainly contained in them which concern Faith and Life and that whatever cannot be proved by Testimony of Scripture is to be rejected All this I am sure I can make good by innumerable express Testimonies of the ancient Fathers which are well known to those that are versed in them By what Authority then hath the Council of Trent set up this new Rule unknown to the Christian Church for 1500 Years and who gave them this Authority The plain truth is the necessity of it for the Defence of the Errors and Corruptions which they had embraced and were resolved not to part with forced them to lengthen out the Rule the old Rule of the Holy Scriptures being too short for their purpose Thirdly Whereas they pretend that Holy Scripture as expounded by a private Spirit may not seem so favourable to some of their Doctrines and Practices yet as interpreted by Tradition which can only give the true Sense of Scripture it agrees very well with them I suppose they mean that whereas a private Spirit would be apt to understand some Texts of Scripture as if People were to search and read the Scripture Tradition interprets those Texts in a quite other Sense that People are not to be permitted to read the Holy Scriptures A private Spirit would be apt to understand St. Paul's Discourse in the 14th of the 1st to the Corinthians to be against Celebrating Prayer and the Service of God in an unknown Tongue as being contrary to Edification and indeed to common Sense For he says If one should come and find them speaking and praying in an unknown Tongue will they not say Ye are mad But now Tradition which only knows how to give the true Sense can reconcile this Discourse of St. Paul very easily with the Practice of the Church of Rome in this matter And so likewise the Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians with the Worship of Angels and the Epistle to the Hebrews with offering the Propitiatory Sacrifice of Christ in the Mass a Thousand times every Day And to give but one Instance more Whereas a Man by his private Spirit would be very apt to understand the Second Commandment to forbid all Worship of Images Tradition discovers the meaning of this Commandment to be that due Veneration is to be given to them So that at this rate of interpreting Scripture by Tradition it is impossible to fix any Objection from Scripture upon any Doctrine or Practice which they have a mind to maintain Fourthly Whereas they pretend the Tradition of their Church delivered from the Mouth of Christ or dictated by the Holy Spirit and brought down to them and preserved by continnal Succession in the Church to be of equal Authority with the Word of God for so the Council of Trent says That the Holy Synod doth receive and venerate these Traditions with equal pious Affection and Reverence as they do the written Word of God This we must declare against as unreasonable in it self to make Tradition conveyed by Word of Mouth from one to another through so many Ages and liable to so many Mistakes and Miscarriages to be at the distance of 1500 Years of equal Certainty and Authority with the Holy Scriptures carefully preserved and transmitted down to us because this as I said before is to make common Rumor and Report of equal Authority and Certainty with a written Record And not only so but hereby they make the Scriptures an imperfect Rule contrary to the declared Judgment of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Christian Church and so in truth they set up a new Rule of Faith whereby they change the Christian Religion For a new Rule of Faith and Religion makes a new Faith and Religion This we charge the Church of Rome with and do challenge them to shew this new Rule of Faith before the Council of Trent and consequently where their Religion was before that Council to shew a Religion consisting of all those Articles which are defined by the Council of Trent as necessary to Salvation and established upon this new Rule professed by any Christian Church in the World before that time And as they have pitch'd upon a new Rule of Faith so it is easie to see to what End For take Pope Pius IV. his Creed and we may see where the Old and New Religion parts even at the end of the Twelve Articles of the Aplostles Creed which was the ancient Christian Faith to which are added in Pope Pius his Creed Twelve Articles more defined in the Council of Trent and supported only by Tradition So that as the Scripture answers for the Twelve old Articles which are plainly contained there so Tradition is to answer for the Twelve new ones And therefore the matter was calculated very exactly when they make Tradition just of equal Authority with the Scriptures because as many Articles of Their Faith were to be made good by it and rely upon it as those which are proved by the Authority of Scripture But that Tradition is of equal Authority with the Scriptures we have nothing in the whole World for it but the bare Assertion of the Council of Trent I should now have added some other Considerations tending to confirm and establish us in our Religion against the Pretences and Insinuations of Seducing Spirits But I shall proceed no farther at present The Tenth Sermon as number'd follows THere is a mistake in Numbering of these Sermons The Tenth should be called the Ninth and so on to the end For there are but Fifteen Sermons in this Volume and should be no more A SERMON HEB. X. 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our Faith without wavering for he is faithful that hath promised THESE words contain an Exhortation to hold fast the Profession of our Faith without wavering and an Argument or Encouragement thereto because he is faithful that hath promised By the Exhortation to hold fast the