his part if we neglect not so great Salvation The chief Texts for the Churches supreme Teaching and consequently Judging and determining Power when any controversies of Faith arise by Commission from Christ the Head-spring of all Spiritual Jurisdiction are these and such like Mat. 28. 18 19. Go ye make Disciples of all Nations teaching them io observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you And that this Authoritative Teaching is performed by the Pastors of the Church as his Delegates and Representing his Person is plain from that of St. Luke He that heareth you heareth me and he Chap. 10. 16. Mat. 14. 18. that despiseth you despiseth me Again Whatsoever ye shall bind on Earth shall be bound in Heaven and whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven And again He Ephes 4. 11 12 13 c. gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ 'till we all come to the unity of the Faith and be not tossed too and fro with wind of every Doctrine What more express And yet if it may be the Churches Infallibility in the delivery of the Law of Christ is taught us in plainer terms as namely in Ch. 14. 26. those Promises in St. John The Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my Name he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you When the Spirit of Truth Joh. 16. 13. S. Matt. ch 28. 19. is come he will guide you in to all Truth And those in St. Matthew Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you and behold I am with you always even to the end of the World And that in the 16 1 Tim. 3. 15. Chap. Vpon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Such a Church as this thus founded thus assisted thus guided cannot possibly teach damnable Haeresies or dangerous Errors but must needs be the Pillar and ground of Truth as that glorious Vessel of Election the great Apostle of the Gentiles doth assure us And therefore we may securely rely upon her word to do it also so much concerns us that not to hear and obey is no less then under pain of damnation and that too from no obscure Texts He that 1 Epist 4. 6. knoweth God heareth us saith St. John and he that heareth us not is not of God and by this we know the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Errour And that famous place Dic Ecclesiae Matt. 18. 17. Tell it to the Church and if he neglect to hear the Church let him be to thee as an Heathen and a Publican Persons doubtless in no fit case for Heaven I 'll name but one more out of St. Mark Go ye into all the World Mark 16. 16. and Preach the Gospel unto every Creature And what then He that believeth not shall be damned Plain and sad places these are to all Unbelievers and Incorrigible Hereticks But especially to these last who receiving these Scriptures for the Word of God do notwithstanding not only not hear the Church Obediently in her delivery of the Gospel but with obstinacy and pride of heart presume to teach the Church and will needs force upon her a new Creed which was never taught by Christ nor handed to us from the Apostles How can such as these escape the punishment threatned in the above-mentioned Sentences Their account must needs be heavy and the light they had will only serve to augment their guilt And I cannot omit for a Testimony of these and such like Texts against Protestants that being so express and unavoidable for the Churches Authority and Obedience to her in their first Editions of their English Bibles after their defection from the Church of Rome for Church they translated Congregation least common understandings should discover how they were withdrawn from their Ancient Faith by new Doctrines and Expositions so expresly contrary to the Word of God 'Till afterwards when by divers Artifices these Teachers perceived they had bred in their Followers a strong aversion from the Church of Rome and that they were sufficiently confirmed in their Errours the word Congregation in the later Translation was turn'd into Church that from the evidence of such Texts they might gain some credit to their usurp'd power set up against the pre-existent Authority of the whole Christian World Neither is it without reason that Christ hath set up in his Church such a supreme Judicature when to deny this Power to those whom he hath appointed for ever to be Governours of his Kingdom on Earth is doubtless to advance the Jewish Synagogue above the Christian Church their Sanedrim or Great Council whesein the High-Priest was supreme Judge in all doubts Deut. 17. and questions about the Law having such absolute Authority in giving Sentence that no man could appeal but was bound to obey under pain of death And yet that was but a temporary Pedagogy delivered by Moses a faithful Servant of the House of God in Types and Shadows prefiguring and leading to Evangelical Perfection whose Ministration is far more glorious endowed with more transcendent and admirable Priviledges foretold by the Prophets and in plenitude of time fulfill'd revealed and established in Person by the Eternal Son of God Lord of all things upon better Promises to continue for ever Secondly Christ our Lord having so dearly purchas'd a peculiar People and furnish'd his Church with all means necessary to the Salvation of mankind if we deny such Authority in her namely Infallibility to witness and when circumstances require to determine by a finally decisive unerring Sentence what these means are they cannot be effectual to the end for which they were with so much Sweat and Blood Instituted to continue for ever being otherwise according to the ordinary method of Divine Providence impossible to be known with an assured certainty and by consequence also to be put in practice Neither indeed could it be truly said that Christ hath provided in his Church all things necessary for our Salvation without this Authority when amongst things necessary that questionless seems to be most so by which we can only come to a certain knowledge of all the rest Thirdly seeing God hath made his Church a Proponent and Witness of his Truth in all Ages for 1 ch 8. that of the Acts Ye shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem and all Judaea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the Earth As to the substance of it belongs not only to the Apostles but to their Successors in the Office of making Jesus Christ and his Law known to the Worlds end the unanimous consent of the Catholick Church must needs be an undoubted testimony of revealed Verities seeing it
we find among the Ancient Fathers concerning the supreme Pastorship and Jurisdiction of St. Peter and his Successors the Bishops of Rome while they speak severally in their Writings Let us now hear them speak united in General Councils the most Sacred and Supreme Judicature that is on Earth in things that concern our Eternal Happinefs The General Council at Florence Ann. Ch. 1234. declares the Faith of the Catholick Church in these words Definimus S. Apostolicam Sedem c. We define that the Holy Apostolick Chair and Pope of Rome hath Primacy over the whole World and that the said Pope of Rome is Successor to S. Peter Prince of the Apostles and true Vicar of Christ and Head of the Vniversal Church and Father and Pastor of all Christians and that full Power was given to B. Peter by our Lord Jesus Christ to feed rule and govern the Vniversal Church as is contain'd in the Sacred Canons of Oecumenical Councils Which though celebrated but 400 years since and upwards yet I first produced it because not only subscribed by the Latine Fathers but by the Greek Church also and taken out of more Ancient Councils as the words express and former Acts make good For in the first General Council Ann. Ch. 325. at Nicaea so famous for Anathematizing the Arrian Heresie it was defined That who holds the See of Rome is the Head and Chief of the Patriarchs seeing he 's the first as Peter to whom Power is given over all Christian Princes and all their People as he who is Vicar of Christ our Lord over all People and the Vniversal Church of Christ The General Council of Chalceden Ann. Ch. 451. Acti 16. consisting of above 600 Fathers after mature deliberation declare That all Primacy and Chief Honour according to the Canons is to be kept for the Archbishop of old Rome Which is not so to be understood as if the Sacred Constitutions of General Councils first gave this Supreme Authority to the Roman Bishop but upon several occasions the Councils defin'd this Supremacy of Jurisdiction to belong of right to the Bishop of Rome by Divine Institution Else how could the sixth Canon of the first General Nicene Council say Ecclesia Romana semper habuit primatum The Church of Rome always had the Primacy And by what tenure she held it in their judgments is manifested in the Preface of the said Council in these words Ecclesia Romana c. The Church of Rome by no Synodical Decrees was set over the rest but by the Evangelical voice of our Lord and Saviour obtain'd the Primacy And in the second Session of this Council of Chalcedon after the Epistle of Leo the great then Pope to the Fathers was publickly read confirming the Nicene Creed against the Arrians there arose an unanimous acclamation Haec Patrum fides Apostolorum fides c. This Faith of the Fathers is the Faith of the Apostles we all believe so all Orthodoxal believe so let him be accursed who believes not so Peter hath spoke by Leo c. Which last words signify nothing if they had not believ'd Leo then Bishop of the Roman and Apostolical Chair to succeed St. Peter in his Faith and Jurisdiction I am sure the same Leo believed so when he tells us That our Blessed Saviour said only to Ser. 3. Anniu Assump St. Peter I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not And chose him alone of all the World to be set over the vocation of all Nations and all the Apostles and all the Fathers of the Church by a peculiar Commission to feed and govern his whole flock Besides in the third Session they stile him Vniversal Archbishop and Patriarch of old Rome and afterwards give sentence against Diosorus in the name of Leo and St. Peter to acknowledge and testify thereby that they believ'd him to succeed St. Peter in his Universal Pastorship Which Title of Universal Bishop though St. Gregory the great out of Humility refuses as not used by his Predecessors and bitterly inveighs against it in that sense the then Patriarch of Constantinople did proudly arrogate it to himself Yet 't is most certain and evident from the same Epistles he did maintain it to belong by Divine right to the Bishops of L 4. Ep. Ep. 31 34. L. 7. Episâ— 30. Rome as St. Peter's Successors that very Supremacy and Jurisdiction in Gods Church which all Catholicks now attribute to the Apostolical Chair And whoever confesses the thing we will not quarrel with him about the Name If our Adversaries will assert with St. Gregory That the care of the whole Church is L. 4. Ep. Ep. 32. L. 11. ca. 54. L. 7. Ep. Ep. 63. committed by our Lord himself to Peter the Prince of the Apostles That the Roman and Apostolical See is Head of all Churches That all Bishops found in fault are subject to it We shall not much press him to call the Pope of Rome Universal Bishop neither ought he in that sense which St. Gregory condemned And indeed the usual stile of the Church is not to call the Pope Universal Bishop but Bishop of the Universal Church More may be seen to this point in the Letters of the said Council to the same Glorious Pope Leo. And in the first Act of the Council of Constantinople under Menas they address themselves to Pope Agapetus in these words To our most Holy and most Blessed Lord Archbishop of old Rome and Oecumenical Bishop To which may be added Conc. Sardicense Gener. ca. 3. Synod Rom. sub Sylvestro ca. 20. Conc. Tolet. 1 sub finem assertionis fidei Conc. Milet. ad Innocent Papam ejusque responsum Conc. Turon ca. 21. Conc. Afric ca. 15. ad Papam Celestinum Syno Rom. 4. ca. 3. Conc. Bracanse primum ca. 23. Conc. Aurelian 4. ca. 1. c. with many more which none ver'st in the Acts of Ecclesiastical Synods can be ignorant of and these may suffice being so full and punctual to the purpose If to these Testimonies so undeniably asserting the Popes Supremacy over the whole Church we should add universal practice which from undoubted Records would appear by the Popes calling of General Councils presiding in them personally or by their Legates confirming their Acts by Appeals to the Apostolical Chair from all parts of the Christian World in Ecclesiastical Causes by determining Controversies reforming Abuses by investiture of Bishops Depositions Censures erecting new Sees Conversion of Nations by Apostolical Ann. Ch. 596. men and in particular of our Nation by St. Austin and his Fellow Monks sent hither by St. Gregory the Great and in a word by their Authoritative ordering and care over all the Churches of the Christian world the prosecution of these particulars would swell whole Volumes and therefore not here to be undertaken But by what has been said 't is apparently manifest that our Adversaries herein cannot be of a different Faith from us but they must also forsake
un-interrupted Succession of lawful Pastors and true Doctrine Scripture is very copious I shall name a few A City seated on a Hill cannot be hid The Mat. 5. 14. Is 2. 2. Psal 18. mountain of the house of our Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains In sole posuit tabernaculum suum Isa 59. 21. My Spirit which is thee and my words which I have put into thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth nor out of the mouth of thy Seed for ever All Dan. 7. 13 14. Nations Tribes and Tongues shall serve him his power is an eternal power that shall not be taken away and his kingdom shall not be corrupted Thou art Peter and upon this Mat. 16. Rock will I build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Christ gave some Apostles some Eph. 4. 11 c. Prophets some Evangelists some Pastors some Doctors for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edification of the Body of Christ c. 'Till we all meet in the unity of Faith and be not as Children toss'd about with the wind of every Doctrine See more in Esa 62 Ezek. 37. Matt. 5. 15. c. From which and such like places this Major Proposition is evident As also from Antiquity We must seek for Truth among whom the Succession L. 4. de hae c. 45. of the Church from the Apostles and the Purity of Doctrine is maintain'd in its Integrity So St. Iraeneus What I believe says Tertullian I received L. de praesc c. 37. from the present Church the present Church from the Primitive that from the Apostles the Apostles from Christ. And St. Austin tells us That the succession of Priests from the Contr. Ep. Fund c. 4. very seat of Peter to the present Bishop held him in the Church Which if it shall not continue here on earth to the end of the World to whom did our Lord say Behold I am with you alwayes to the Worlds end It is easier L. 3. de Bapt. cont Donat. saith St. Chrysost that the Sun should be extingush'd then the Church should be obscured Concerning which St. De utilit cred c. 7. Austin assures us The Prophets have spoken more plainly and manifestly then of Christ himself And therefore 't is no wonder the same Saint affirms That the Church hath this most certain mark that it cannot be hid Cont. Petil. c. 104. And certainly it is not hid except to those that are lost the Children of perdition who seeing will not see and hearing will not understand Who shut their eyes against a light set upon a Candlestick and are so blind as not to see so great a mountani as the Catholick Church As the same Father complains of the Hereticks of his days From which premisses thus prov'd it invincibly follows that the Protestant L. 3. cont Parm. and all other Heretical and Schismatical Churches being wholly destitute of these inseparable badges or marks of the true Church viz. Universality perpetual visibility by an uninterrupted Succession of Pastors and People from Christ and his Apostles to this time cannot possibly be the true Church Whose builder and preserver is God All which manifestly belonging to the Church of Rome and those in Communion with her by most undoubted Records of all Ages it likewise as inevitably follows that this Church of Rome only is the true Catholick Church and all other Communions but false Worshippers Thus briefly of these indubitable marks of the true Church from Sacred Scripture so much made use of by the Ancient Fathers to reduce the Hereticks and Schismaticks of their times to the Catholick 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 SECT II. That Miracles were vouchsafed always to the True Church SUch is the Sublimity and Purity of Christian Doctrine so sublime in respect of knowledge so pure in respect of practice that if there was nothing else to witness that it came from Heaven they of themselves are sufficient evidences that the Author of it can be no less then of incomprehensible Wisdom and infinite Holiness Notwithstanding as God was pleas'd by wonderful Signs and frequent Miracles to set his Seaâ— to attest the truth of it that it might find entertainment from contradictors so in after Ages in opposition not only to all false Religions who deny Christ and maintain their Worship to be right but also to many seduced Christians who pretend to have among them the Purity of this Doctrine the same infinite Goodness hath more or less continued Miracles in his Church that we may see with our eyes what we ought to believe with our hearts and not be deceived by false Teachers This Heavenly Testimony God vouchsafed to the Jewish Worship whilst it was in force and therefore cannot in reason be denyed to the Christian Church being in every respect a Ministration much more Divine and Glorious and no less standing in need of such a Priviledge Moses brought forth the Children of Exod. Israel from the house of bondage in signs and wonders and mighty deeds The Sun stood still at the Prayer of Jos 10. Joshua and went back 15 degrees Isa 38. at the earnest request of Hezekiah The bones of Elizeus the Prophet rais'd a dead man to life The constant cure Joh. 5. 3 c. of Lame and Diseased persons in the Pool of Bethesda immediately after the motion of the water by an Angel was a standing Miracle c. All which with many more were evident Testimonies of the Divine presence among them that the Creator and Governour of Heaven and Earth was their God in a special manner and they his peculiar Church and People To which might be added their many Prophets of extraordinary Power and Sanctity not only miraculous in their predictions but sometimes mighty in signs and deeds Though 't is observable that St. John the Baptist though more then a Prophet then whom none greater was born of women yet did no Miracle to attest his Mission Doubtless not without some singular cause perhaps because the Jewish Synagogue was then expiring and giving place to the Christian Church as a Handmaid to her Mistress or glimmering twi-light to the Sun arising in beams of Glory The most remarkable Miracles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ are left unto his Church by the Evangelists in the History of his Life and Death That we might believe and believing have Life Eternal by him After the Holy Apostles had received Power from above by descent of the Holy Ghost upon them to fit them for the great work of converting all Nations to Christianity what wonders and signs were frequently wrought by them in the first planting of the Gospel are made famous and wellknown to us Acts. in their Acts related by St. Luke
Fruits Mat. 7. 16 17. the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or mark our Blessed Saviour refers us to in such Cases From all which it appears That the general Piety and singular Sanctity taught and practis'd in the Church of Rome proceeds from the Author of all Holiness and that their tree of Reformation could never take rooting or influence from Heaven which brings forth such evil fruits upon the earth The Conclusion ANd now 't is high time to indulge my Pen which I little thought when first set to Paper would have laboured so long in this employment However I shall not repent of my pains though so much exceeding the limits of my intentions in the Essay if any poor wandring Soul receive hereby the least light to guide her towards the Mansions of Blessed Eternity and so prove instrumental for her Salvation This is my aim and hopes also and yet though they should become wholly unsuccessful I shall rest satisfied in that I have used the best of my endeavours towards my Countries good in matters of the highest importance and especially the Spiritual profit of my dear Protestant Friends and Relations whom the more I love since this happy change wrought in me the less perhaps am I beloved of them Amongst whom some I know for certain who have so alienated their hearts meerly for Religions sake as to return me hatred for my good will But I do and shall betake my self unto Prayer for such Objects of pity and compassion with a hopeful perswasion that they will be Converted as well as more moderate tempers seeing all things are alike equal to an Omnipotent goodness and experience tells us that the most violent Protestants have sometimes become the most zealous Catholicks By the mighty working of him who is able to Phil. â—21 subdue all things unto himself 'T is true the Case with Catholicks in England is sad by reason of those oppressive Laws which are in force against them and doubtless is the cause why some forsake us for the love of the World and do not actually unite themselves to the true Church In a word Temporal Advantages Worldly Interests and Prosterity standing on the Protestants side Persecution and present Sufferings on ours renders the Conversion or at least the Profession of the Faith to many ineffectual Let one be convinc'd and he replyes What shall I do with my Wife and Children Would you have me ruine my Estate and Fortune O miserable England where Truth is oppressed And O unhappy those who yeild so cowardly in the time of Tryal and Temptation Had the primitive Christians been thus minded the Catholick Faith long since had been buried in oblivion and such glorious Saints as Martyrs had never been known What is Time to Eternity What are Friends and Relations to the everlasting Society of Saints and Angels What are Worldly Advantages to Heavenly Riches Shall we not endure a momentary Cross for an Eternal Crown Is it not the high commendation of Moses the Faithful Servant of God That he chose rather Affliction with the People Heb. 11. 25. of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Know we not That he who loveth Father or Mat. 10. 37. Mother or Son or Daughter better than Christ is not worthy of him Alas What will it profit a man to Mat. 16. 26. gain the whole World and lose his own Soul Or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul Certainly whoever lays this sadly to heart cannot but cry out with that devout Saint Deus meus omnia Malem Crucem cum Christo quam Coronam cum mundo Whatsoever I lose I 'll not not part with my Saviour he 's all in all I had rather have him with a Cross than a Crown without him This is indeed an Heroick resolution becoming a Christian and answerable to the nobleness of our Religion which appears in nothing more then the contempt of this World and this resolution is agreeable to the Purity of our Holy Faith This is the Promise we solemnly made to God at our Baptism in the presence of the Church Militant and Triumphant why will we become Renegadoes from our Colours Why will we not couragiously fight the good fight of Faith under the glorious Standard of Christ against all the enemies of our Salvation Whatsoever we part withall for God's fake we shall not be loosers by it He will superabundantly reward us who hath promised Mat 19. 29. That whosoever leaveth Houses Brethren or Sisters or Father or Mother or Wife or Childâ—en or Lands for his Names sake shall receive a hundred fold here and hereafter inherit everlasting Life Believe me dear Country men 't is very true I know the first by happy experience If spiritual riches as St. L. 3. in Mat. ca 19. Hierom expounds it and comforts pass for payment and wait for the latter in Gods good time But alas things Spirital are little operative 'till we have a gust and feeling of them which cannot be without some progress in Spirituality and things eternal are further off and seldom apprehended with fixed thoughts while Worldly contents and advantages being present and visible work strongly on us to win and fetter our affections to them And therefore many of us living more by sense then faith or reason are willing to possess our Souls with patience in sufferings for Christ and expectation of that far more exceeding weight of glory which they work for us We think it intolerable to part with any Temporal Possessions for an Heavenly Inheritance And so procrastinating our receptition into the Catholick Church from time to time refer all to Gods Mercy and a Death-bed repentance A sad case this yet too common among us A case wherein I might have perish'd eternally had not the infinite goodness and extraordinary favour of God vouchsafed unto me with patience and long sufferance at last loosed my bonds and fetters and brought me into the bosom of his Catholick Church setting my feet at liberty to walk in the path of Holiness to ever-blessed Eternity The Psal 113. snare is broken and my Soul is delivered And blessed be the God of Psal 107. my Salvation My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed I will sing and Psal 115. give praise I will now pay my vows in the presence of his Saints and call upon the name of the Lord. I will offer to God the sacrifice of Thanksgiving and praise his Name while I have my Beeing All creatures in Heaven and Earth bless God for me Psal 102. and bless God with me Praise thou the Lord O my Soul Amen Amen Soli Deo Gloria FINIS