distinguish'd one from the other but they think as long as they make a Protestation of 〈◊〉 owning the Supreme God alone for God and worship him accordingly though they render the Saints the same outward Adoration in all the Circumstances of it yet that cannot be supposed to invade his Worship But we find in Scripture that there is a certain outward Adoration which there are certain outward Circumstances to determine appropriated to God and the giving of this with any such Circumstances as in the construction of the Fact do determine it only to God to any Creature is condemned whatsoever the inward Intention of the mind may be of reserving to the Supreme God his own Prerogative And what shall we think then of the outward Adoration of the Saints performed in the Church of Rome which in all the Circumstances of it is the same with what is performed to God If this be not Idolatry then there is no merely outward Idolatry at all And the three Children might have given an outward Adoration to Nebuchadnezzar's graven Image so as they had but reserved or directed their inward Intention aright See what our Saviour saith to the Devil Luke 4. 8. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve Where it was only outward Adoration or bowing down to him that the Devil did desire and not so as that he himself should be owned for the Supreme God or the Worship given to him with any such intention For he did not pretend in this Request to be the Supreme God or to challenge Worship as such for he in the same breath pretends that he had the disposal of all the Kingdoms of the World not in his own right but because it was delivered to him which implies an owning of a Supreme God above him But yet our Saviour refuses to render him such Adoration or to bow down to him for this general Reason only that thou shalt worship the Lord thy God alone without considering the distinction of supreme or inferior Worship or that the outward Adoration was to be determined by the inward Intention alone which the Devil would have been content to have left to him Nor doth he assign that as a Reason of his refusal that the Devil was a wicked Spirit but gives a Reason which would have been equally against it if he had been a good One. And the same Reason as much reaches us as it did him Col. 2. 14. Let no Man beguile you of your Reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen vainly puft up by his fleshly mind Where the Humility censured by the Apostle which is the ground of this Worship of Angels is not that which implies a submission to them themselves as Supreme Gods but that which implies a respect to the only Supreme God upon the same ground as what is now practised in the Church of Rome viz. That because the Majesty of God is so high and inaccessible as he is it becomes us therefore to sue to him by the Intercession and mediation of Angels as his special Favorites or to trouble those with our Devotions rather than him so much Which is a specious sort of Humility but is here notwithstanding condemned And the practice of praying to Saints in the Church of Rome being founded upon the same Reason is also liable to the same Apostolical Censure Rev. 19. 10. 22. 8 9. When St. John fell at the Feet of the Angel to worship him who shewed him these things The Angel forbad him See thou do it not for this reason I am of thy Fellow-Servants and of thy Brethren that have the Testimony of Jesus worship God. So that none of our Fellow-Creatures are to be worshipped but God alone Acts 10. 25. When Cornelius fell down at St. Peter's feet and worshipped him it could not be supposed that he intended to give him supreme Divine Adoration as God. But yet St. Peter took him up saying Stand up I my self also a◠a Man. For that reason alone refusing it And he is a Man too now he is in Heaven as well as he was then but only now he is out of his Body and more perfect in his Spirit As for what concerns the Virgin Mary in particular the same Reasons make it alike unlawful and idolatrous to pray to her as to pray to the other Saints Neither is there any thing of Prerogative left to her in this respect in the Scripture Luke 1. 46. Mary said My Soul doth magnify the Lord This is far enough from calling her self Lady according to the stile of the Litanies Vers 47. My Spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour She owns God for her Saviour which is far enough from calling her self the Salvation of others Vers 48. From henceforth all Generations shall call me Blessed She doth not say All Ages shall adore me and shall address their Prayers to me but all Generations shall call me Blessed as we do But Chap. 11. 27 28. When a certain Woman among the People said unto him Blessed is the Womb that bare thee and the Paps which thou hast sucked Then said he unto her Yea rather blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it How can this consist with such a strange Superiority as is pretended to belong to her John 2. 4. Jesus saith unto her Woman what have I to do with thee My Hour is not yet come Which our Saviour doth not speak out of any want of respect or love to her but to check her interposing in the Office and Work that was committed to him And can we believe then that she doth share with him in the Office of Mediator much less that she hath Authority to command him Mat. 12. 47 48. When a certain Man said unto him Behold thy Mother and thy Brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee He answered Who is my Mother and who are my Brethren And he stretched forth his Hands towards his Disciples and said Behold my Mother and my Brethren For whosoever shall do the Will of my Father which is in Heaven the same is my Brother and Sister and Mother There is neither here nor at any other time the least encouragement given to that Worship and Service that is performed to her He doth not bring out his Holy Mother before the People that stood round about nor say to them Behold the Queen of Heaven and Earth before whom every Knee should bow Behold the Ladder by which you shall ascend into Heaven and the Door by which you shall enter into Paradise see that ye place your Hopes and Confidence in her But rather gives certain Instructions quite contrary to prevent this Superstition As for what is pretended that there is no difference between begging the Prayers of our Brethren upon Earth and the Popish praying to Saints in Heaven to pray for us There is a vast difference our Brethren upon
read or make inquiry into the Word it affords him a great deal of Light and Understanding Unless the Light be obscure then the Scripture is not obscure If Men don't turn their backs to this Lamp they may perceive the Light thereof See how the Psalmist profited in Wisdom by meditating therein ver 98 99 100. Deut. 30. 11 14. This Commandment which I command thee this day is not hidden from thee neither is it far off c. but the Word is very nigh unto thee in thy Mouth and in thy Heart that thou mayest do it Where the plainness of the Command is asserted and that in order to the performance of it For a Rule that is not understood can never be observed And this perspicuity and Intelligibleness of the Commands given by Moses the Apostle applies to the Gospel Rom. 10. 6 7 8. 2 Cor. 4. 3 4. But if our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this World hath blinded the minds of them that believe not lest the Light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine unto them The Gospel is plain enough of it self then and easy to be understood by any but obdurate and unbelieving Sinners For therein we all with open fact behold as in a Glass the Glory of the Lord Chap. 3. 18. 2 Tim. 3. 15. The Holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto Salvation But how can that be if they be so dark that they cannot be understood Can we be wise without understanding Or are they so difficult to be known which Timothy knew from a Child 2 Pet. 1. 19. The Apostle calls the Prophecies of the old Testament a sure Word of Prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a Light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day-spring arise in your hearts And if there be such clearness in them what clearness think you is there in the Doctrine of the Apostles There 〈◊〉 a greater degree of Light and Plainness and Intelligibleness promised under the Gospel than what was under the Law Heb. 8. 11. And if the Old testament be so plain and intelligible the New much more Yet note that it is granted that there are many dark Things and hard to be understood in the Scripture and which are so to the Learned as well as to the Unlearned which may arise from several causes But whatever things are necessary are plain saith St. Chrysostome All things which concern Faith and a good Life are plainly contained in Scripture saith St. Austin The Doctrine concerning God his Being Attributes and Providence of Christ's being the Son of God his becoming Man his dying and rising again The Precepts Promises and Threatnings c. For how are they necessary to be believed if they be not plainly revealed Or are the Unlearned excused from believing them because they cannot understand them Did not Christ himself preach and order his Apostles to preach to the Unlearned as well as to the Learned And did he and they preach intelligibly to them or no If they did not to what purpose did they preach at all or how was the World converted by them Were there none converted but the learned Priests and wise Men plainly the contrary rather Matth. 11. 25. 1 Cor. 1. 26. If they did preach intelligibly then it seems their Doctrine was plain enough And is it not the same Doctrine that is written in the Scriptures which they preach How came the same Doctrine then so dark when it was writ which was so plain when it was preach'd Doth the putting it down in writing make it hard to be understood And was it not writ to distinct Persons and Places and for the use of all as shall appear in the next Chapter Therefore I conclude it was written intelligibly to all in all things necessary or else the Holy Ghost would be wanting to his own Design and his writing for the use of all could not answer the end for which it is written CHAP. III. That it is not for the Common People to read the Scripture and if they should more prejudice than benefit would arise to them from the reading of it Council of Trent Sess 4. decret de Can. scrip Index lib. prohib regula 4. COntrary to that which is written Deut. 6. 7 8 9. These words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down and when thou risest up And thou shalt bind them for a Sign upon thine hand and they shall be as Frontlets between thine eyes and thou shalt write them upon the Posts of thine House and on thy Gates This is spoken to Persons of all Sorts Qualities and Conditions in Israel And how should they do all this without a particular and diligent perusal of the Law Josephus tells us that the Jewish Children were so well verst in it that they could repeat the Law without Book Thus Josh 1. 8. God commanded Joshua This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night then shalt thou make thy way prosperous See a General of an Army obliged by an express Command to read and meditate in the Holy Scriptures and not to depend upon the Priest's Instruction alone So Deut. 17. 18 19. the King was to write him a Copy of the 〈◊〉 and to meditate therein all the days of his Life Isa 34. 16. Seek ye out the Book of the Lord and read The Prophet speaks to all People upon Earth as may be seen in the beginning of the Chapter We have many such Directions and Commands from our Saviour and his Apostles in the New Testament John 5. 39. Search the Scripture our Saviour speaks not only to Doctors or Teachers but also to the People And he exhorts not only to read but to search them diligently So the Apostle Ephes 6. 17. Take unto you the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. By which we are enabled to repel the Temptations and to resist the Assaults of the Devil and to drive him from us as our Saviour himself did Col. 3. 16. And let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all Wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs If the Doctrine or Word of Christ be contained in the Holy Scriptures then here is an Obligation to a diligent and serious study of them Luke 11. 28. Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it And why not then blessed are they that read and observe it Why should Men be hindred from reading these Sermons of our Saviour and his Apostles which then there was a blessing upon Man for hearing Are they more dangerous now they are writ than they were when they were
there arose another Generation after them that knew not the Lord nor yet his Works which he had done for Israel And the Children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Baalim And they forsook the Lord God of their Fathers which brought them out of the Land of Egypt and followed other Gods of the Gods of the People that were round about them and bowed themselves to them and provoked the Lord to anger And they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtaroth How was the Face of the Church disfigured at that Time when they publickly worshipp'd false Gods He that would see the several Ecclipses of the Church of Israel then let him read this History of the Judges particularly Chap. 2. 3 4 6 10. And 2 Chron. 15. 3. When Israel was for a long season without the True God and without a teaching Priest and without the Law. In the Reign of Rehoboam the Son of Solomon ten of the twelve Tribes of Israel revoked from the Service of God and publickly worshipp'd the Calves in Dan and Bethel which were made by the Commandment of Jeroboam 1 King. 12. And if you desire to see how much the Face of the Church was disfigured and how often the Service of God was interrupted read the History of the Kings The ten Tribes were the greatest part of the Church of Israel But in them the Church was so obscured in the Time of Ahab that Elijah complained 1 King. 19. 10. The Children of Israel have forsaken thy Covenant thrown down thine Altars and slain thy Prophets with the Sword and I even I only am left and they seek my Life to take it away God had indeed reserved to himself 7000 Men that had not bowed their Knees to Baal And 1 King. 18. 4. When Jezebel had put to death the Prophets of the Lord Obadia took an hundred Prophets and hid them by fifty in a Cave and sed them with Bread and Water So that there was a Church then left in Israel but iâ— was so obscured that Elijah himself could not see it In the Kingdom of Judah also there was sometimes the same obscure State of the Church As in the Time of Ahaz 2 Chron. 28. 24 25. For Ahaz gathered together the Vessels of the House of the Lord and cut them in pieces and shut up the Doors of the House of the Lord and he made him Altars in every corner of Jerusalem And in every several City of Judah he made high Places to burn Incense unto other Gods and to provoke to anger the Lord God of his Fathers Repeated again 2 Chron. 29. 6 7. There was no other Church of God then upon Earth but what was among the Children of Israel and Judah and there was not any one Temple dedicated to the Worship of the True God but that at Jerusalem But yet you see that was prophaned the Service of God banish'd Idolatry establish'd And what external Form of a Church then was there there where the true God was not acknowledged or served So in the Time of Manasseh 2 Chron. 33. 4 5. Who built again the high Places which Hezekiah his Father had broken down and he reared up Altars to Baalim and made Groves and worshipped all the Host of Heaven and served them Also he built Altars in the House of the Lord whereof the Lord had said In Jerusalem shall my Name be for ever Which was as great a Promise as ever was made to any Church and if there had been any Promise designed ever to secure the State and Splendour of the Church in any place 〈◊〉 â—ould think this had been such an one If 〈◊〉 had been but a like Promise made or half 〈…〉 said of the Church of Rome what confiâ—â—nt boasting and brags should we have had yet you see Jerusalem and the Temple filled with Idols And it is moreover to be observed that at this time the State of the Church was so corrupt that there were no Copies of the Law to be found extant among the People but the Book of the Law was found in the restoring of the Temple by Josiah at the reading of which as a new thing the King was mightily terrified 2 Chron. 34. 18 19 20. which is a plain Argument that the Law was but little known and the Copies of it generally lost And the Prophet Jeremy saith Jer. 11. 13. That according to the number of thy Cities were thy Gods O Judah And according to the number of the Streets of Jerusalem which is yet called the Holy City Matth. 27. 53. have ye set up Altars to that shameful thing to burn Incense unto Baal And what Corruptions did the Prophet Isaiah complain of before Chap. 1. In the time of the Captivity the whole Land was a desâ—lation and an astonishment Jer. 25. 11. the Temple of Jerusalem was demolish'd and the Service of God beaten down So in the New Testament there are Prophecies of great defections and much obscurity that there should be in the Church 2 Tim. 4. 3 4. For the time will come that they shall not endure sound Doctrine but after their own Lusts shall they heap to themselves Teachers having itching Ears And they shall turn away their Ears from the Truth and shall be turned unto Fables So 1 Tim. 4. 1. The Spirit speaketh expresly that in the latter Times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing Spirits and Doctrines of Devils or rather Doctrines concerning Demons or a sort of under-Gods or angelical Mediators with God speaking lies in hypocrisy having their Consciences â—eared with an hot Iron forbidding to marry and commanding 〈◊〉 abstain from Meats How well doth this agree to 4. Church of Rome Rev. 12. 6. The Woman by which the Church is represented fled into the Wilderness where she hath a place prepared of God there to lie hid for a time during the rage of the Dragon It is very unjust and unreasonable then to demand that at all times we should shew the visible State of the True Church Rev. 13. 15 16 17. The time is prophesied of that the second Beast shall cause that as many as will not worship the Image of the former Beast shall be killed And he causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a Mark in their right hand and in their forehead and that no Man might buy or sell save he that had the Mark or Name of the Beast or the Number of his Name And how should the Church then during this Tyranny have a visible and flourishing State And the Papists themselves allow that in the time of Antichrist there shall be an universal defection for a time It is certain in Fact that many Churches founded by the Apostles themselves have quite fallen away to Mahometanism And in the time of Athanasius the whole World almost was become Arian And in the Ages just before the Reformation the Purity of the Church was so
lost and corrupted with Errour Superstitious and Idolatrous Worships that the Doctrine of the Gospel was almost quite extinct and false Legends humane Traditions and Constitutions had taken place of the Word of God and were come in the room of the Divine Commands and Institutions So that 't is no wonder if in those Ages we could not shew any one Congregation or number of Persons and Professions that always held the same Doctrines that we do Though there were always some that opposed and groaned under the growing Superstitions of their Age. Luke 18. 8. I say unto you saith our Saviour when the Son of Man cometh shall he find Faith on the Earth What then at that time shall be the Face of the Church If you will believe Cardinal Bellarmin all the publick Ceremonies of Religion and Sacrifices shall cease De Rom. Pontif. lib. 3. cap. 7. And if there be nothing of the publick Ceremonies of Religion how should the Church then have a visible State And as for the Roman Church in particular the Apostle gives some intimation of her Defection as great as that of the Jews Rom. 11. 20 21 22. CHAP. V. That Multitude is a Mark of the Church Bellarm. de Eccles lib. 4. cap. 7. THis doth not agree to the Church alone nor yet always to it nor to the purest part of it in opposition to others If we should go to the Poll the Mahometans would outnumber the Christians And the Professors of the True Doctrine are many times but few in comparison of the rest of the Church and much more in comparison of the rest of the World. And therefore this is a very improper Mark to distinguish and know the Church by in all Ages As especially in the first Age and in the Time of the Arians and in the Reign of Antichrist So that to assert it for a Mark agreeing to the Church Universal is false Luke 12. 32. Fear not little Flock for it is your Father's good Pleasure to give you a Kingdom The Church is called a little Flock and Babylon that is opposite to the Church is called a great City Rev. 16. 19. Consider the Course or Series of the History of the Church For after more than sixteen hundred Years after the Creation of the World the Church was composed but of eight Persons that entred the Ark Gen. 7. 13. Near two thousand three hundred Years after the Creation of the World the Church was composed but of seventy Persons that went down into Egypt Exod. 1. 5. and all these but of one Family And though it was much encreased in Moses's Time yet then it was still but one People wandring in a Wilderness It was confined to the Jewish People alone for many Ages and to a few Proselytes that came into them And as to the Jewish People it self and more than three thousand Years after the Creation of the World besides the two Tribes that worshipped at Jerusalem there were in the other ten but seven thousand that had not bowed their knees to Baal And these so little appearing that the Prophet Elijah thought he himself had been left alone 1 King. 19. 10. Of what side then was the Multitude there were four hundred lying Prophets and but one true one 1 King. 22. In our Saviour's Time the whole Christian Church consisted of twelve Apostles and seventy Disciples and some few followers besides which were not many nor very constant in their Profession John 6. 66 67. For from that time many of his Disciples went back and walked no more with him So that our Saviour said also to the Twelve Will ye also go away If the Apostles had followed some sort of Maxims they had answered Yes Sir we are going too for the Multitude is not of thy side Again Chap. 12. 37 38. Though he had done so many Miracles before them yet they believed not on him That the saying of Isaias the Prophet might be fulfilled which he spake Lord who hath believed our Report and to whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed It seems then the Church was not made up of Multitude Mat. 27. 20. The chief Priests and Elders perswaded the multitude that they should ask Barrabas and destroy Jesus To follow the multitude then one should have cried against the Saviour of the World Let him be crucified vers 22. Acts 1. 15. In those days after the Ascension of Christ Peter stood up in the midst of the Disciples and the number of the Names together were about one hundred and fifty There was no great Assembly of Christians then in the World. In After-Ages the Church indeed was much increased but yet at some times was so over-run with Errors that the number of the Orthodox was inconsiderable in comparison of the Hereticks And it is prophesied Rev. 13. 3 4. that all the World would wonder after the Beast and worship the Dragon which gave power unto the Beast and they worshipped the Beast saying Who is like unto the Beast who is able to make War with him Few Disciples follow Jesus Christ but behold the whole World runneth after the Beast And vers 7 8. It was given unto him to make War with the Saints and to overcome them and Power was given unto him over all Kindreds and Tongues and Nations And all that dwell upon the Earth shall worship him whose Names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. How should all the Inhabitants of the World worship the Beast and yet Multitude be of the side of the Church So Rev. 17. 1 2. it is the great Whore that sitteth upon many Waters now vers 15. The Waters which thou sawest where the Whore sitteth are Peoples and Multitudes and Nations and Tongues And the Kings of the Earth have committed Fornication with her and the Inhabitants of the Earth have been drunk with the Wine of her Fornication So that the great Whore commands Kings and a multitude of Peoples and Nations This is that the Church of Rome vaunts of so much but we shall think never the better of them for their Multitude nor yet the worse of our selves though we were fewer than we are having had such fair Warnings as to this Matter This is no sufficient Argument of their being the true Catholicks for having the greatest number of Professors of their side unless they likewise retain and profess the Catholick Faith the same Christian Religion which all good Christians in all Ages and of all Nations have ever constantly profess'd And if we do this we are true Catholicks though we are the lesser number if it be so But upon Calculation it has been judged that the number of the Reformed is not much unequal to theirs But no wise Man ever judged of the Truth of Religion by the major Vote which is an Argument to none but Fools Exod. 23. 2. Thou shalt not follow a Multitude to do evil But if Multitude were always in the right this had been a very improper