Rule which are so many that to have provided expresly against them all would have made the Bible a more voluminous Book than any is in the World not to say the most odd and uncouth Book that ever was seen For whoever wrote or spoke in that manner as to provide against all possible ways of being mistaken or having his words perverted According to this rate a man must not expect to make an end of a sentence in an hour and when he has done all he can his explications may be perverted too And therefore we are not to wonder if God has not provided express Cautions against all possible Mistakes and Abuses of this nature but thought good to leave a Rule of Faith and Manners and Worship which would be sufficient to guide all honest persons and lovers of Truth though not sufficient to exclude all Cavil and Abuse For this reason it was that our Saviour did not pretend that all who saw his Works and heard his Doctrines must necessarily believe in him but he required constantly a certain temper of mind consisting of Humility Sincerity love of the Truth and in a word A good and honest Heart in order to a man's being his true Disciple Common Sense and Reason was not sufficient for this purpose but there must be also a peculiar Probity or teachable Spirit a Mind ready to believe all Truth and to do all Duty These were the Sheep that would hear his Voice and the Ground that would receive his Seed and bring forth Fruit Such were the Men that would hear and understand and know of the Doctrine whether it were of God. But as for others they would make a shift to reject it with some colour for so doing or to pervert it if they once admitted it This was the first thing to be considered the temper and design of the Gospel which delivers Truth that does by no means gratifie the Lusts of Men or please their Imaginations or serve the Interest of particular persons to the disadvantage of all others and then that this Truth was delivered in that way which though it be apt to instruct and convince all honest men yet will not infallibly bear down a spirit of Contradiction Now to this we must add 2. The consideration of the general temper of mankind for whose sake the Gospel was made known viz. that it is very corrupt and exceedingly prone to Sin and therefore to Error impatient of true Vertue and Piety and therefore of true Doctrine Humane nature does affect a lawless Liberty and cannot well bear to be confined and it is so diseased that it doth not take it well to be healed it is therefore no wonder if the Remedy which God hath provided hath been so tampered withal by Men as to make it ineffectual for that purpose for which he hath sent it to us and Doctrines have been taught which give that liberty that Truth denies It was not to be expected but that if the Doctrine of Christianity should not effectually overcome those Lusts that reign in the World those Lusts would corrupt and pervert that Doctrine and bring in Heresies Ambition and Covetousness would bring in Heresies for the establishing of a worldly Power and Dominion in the Name of Christ Licenciousness would bring in Heresies for making void the Commandments of God Pride would bring in Heresies though for nothing else but a man's satisfaction and glory in drawing many people into a Party and becoming the Head of it and when they were brought in the natural inconstancy and wavering of some would carry them away from the Truth the natural stiffness and inflexibility of others would detain them in Error the very desire and love of Novelty would at first help to bring in some and in process of time the pretence of Antiquity would be every day more and more able to gain others Finally the unwillingness of most men to take pains in the search of Truth and the greater ease of depending upon the absolute Authority of others would give a farther advantage to Error which feares nothing more than an Examination and therefore discourages all persons from giving themselves so needless a trouble since they have the word of those for their security who cannot possibly mislead them considering the diseases of Humane Nature which the Doctrine of Christ doth not cure miraculously and irresistibly it could not be expected but there would be Factions and Heresies against the Truth If therefore it be thought strange that the Apostle should say There must be Heresies Let us consider that this is no more than if he had said after all the care that God hath taken to restore mankind there will be Pride and Ambition there will be Covetousness and Injustice and the love of this World there will be Luxury and Licenciousness there will be both Inconstancy and Stiffneckedness there will be Laziness and Slothfulness and Unaptness for Instruction and therefore there must be Heresies for God hath provided no infallible Remedies against Sin and Wickedness and as certainly as the Vices of the World would break out in the Church so certainly would Errors get into it by degrees and usurp the Name and Authority of Truth 'T is true that God if he pleased could absolutely have hindred it by his over-ruling Power But in this saying it is implied that he would not do so and Experience has shewn that he has not done so and we have no reason to wonder at it since he is not pleased to make all men good by an irresistible Grace for there was less reason to expect that he should make all men Orthodox by an irresistible Illumination And so I come to the second point Which concerns the reason assigned why God is pleased to permit Heresies That they which are approved may be made manifest i. e. that it may most evidently appear who are sincere and honest and who are not so for opposition to the Truth and the ways that are taken to advance Error do prove what men are at the bottom and distinguish between those that would appear all alike if the same Truth were equally professed by all The great difference that breaks out is that between the probity of some men on the one side and the falseness and hypocrisie of others on the other side which appears in these instances 1. In a more diligent search after Truth which is the effect Heresies have upon honest and godly men while they give occasion to Hypocrites to consider what is most for their ease their safety their advantage in this World whilst the several parties of Christians are each of them eagerly contending for their own ways men of honesty and sincerity find themselves obliged to examine their own persuasions more narrowly and to compare one thing with another more carefully so that if they apprehend a mistake in themselves they quit it without any more to do and come to establish themselves in the Truth upon better grounds
would be Take heed lest no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying I am Christ and shall deceive many many false Prophets shall arise and deceive many and if any one shall say unto you Lo here is Christ and there is Christ believe it not for there shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect Behold I have told you before Thus he foretold how Christianity should be corrupted by Impostures and Frauds Again says he they shall deliver you up to be afflicted and killed and ye shall be hated of all nations for my names sake and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another Thus he foretold the violence that should be used to extinguish the profession of the Truth Again saith St. Paul 2 Thes 2. There shall be a falling away and the man of sin shall come with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they might all be damned who believed not the Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness There he foretels a fearful Apostacy from the Purity and Simplicity of the Christian Profession Again says he 2 Tim. 3.1 2. This know that in the last days perillous times shall come For men shall be lovers of their own selves covetous boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents unthankful unholy without natural affection trucebreakers false accusers incontinent fierce despisers of those that are good traitors heady highminded lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God There he foretels a terrible corruption of manners And again 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. The Spirit speaketh expresly says he that in the latter times some shall depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils speaking lies in hypocrisie having their conscience seared with an hot iron forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanskgiving of them which believe and know the Truth Now lay all these things together and here is as plain warning as can possibly be given of most corrupt and degenerate Times even after Christ's first coming and so that is expresly foretold which the Text evidently supposes For here would be glorious pretences to deceive violence to compel and wicked examples to offend the Disciples of Christ And what provision hath our Lord left to secure them from being misled where there is so much danger They are to attend to the Doctrine which he delivered us at first by his Holy Apostles to secure themselves from being deceived they must lay to heart the Promises of the Gospel to arm themselves against the Temptations of the World and the power of Evil Examples and they are to consider that all these things were foretold by our Lord himself and his Apostles that they might not be scandalized when they should happen nor be tempted to suspect that either Christianity was not of God from the first or at least that our Lord has neglected all care of it since because it doth so little good as yet in the world because it runs out into so many Errors and because the Truth of it is so vehemently opposed for says our Saviour Behold I have told you before But still it is in their power whether they will take warning by such Predictions and whether they will guard themselves against Errors and Evil Examples and therefore a very corrupt state of things in the Christian World will in all likelyhood shake the Faith of many believers and cause some to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them not regarding the admonitions of Christ and his Apostles before-hand and so when Christ comes he will find but little Faith upon the Earth And this is the observation which in the first place is unavoidable from the Text That even after Christ there would be degenerate Ages for this is plainly supposed as the cause why there would be but little Faith found when he should come to visit the earth for the iniquities and offences it abounds with The 2. Supposition is That the Providence of our Lord would then appear to set things right when there was the greatest need to interpose in behalf of his Church For whereas it is said When the Son of man cometh shall he find faith on the earth it is intimated manifestly that his coming is then to be expected when little Faith is to be found amongst men and consequently when scandals and temptations are so strong that it is an hard matter to bear up against them I have said already that the evidence of Christianity doth not make all men receive it and that the Power of Christianity doth not make all that receive it wise and good men and it is not to be denied but that amongst Christians themselves there are as monstrous Errors and leud examples as ever there were in the World before Christianity or as there are now where Christianity is not at all professed Now at this rate should the Lord of the Church our Lord Jesus Christ let things go as they would it would in time come to pass that nothing of Christianity would remain in the World but the name of it and that for no other purpose but to do more hurt with it than could be done without it But how is it that Divine Providence will interpose or according to the expression of the Text that the Son of man will come and will make good his Promise of being with his Church to the end of the World which is never more remarkably fulfilled than when he interposes in those circumstances which make men think that he will not interpose and that he is not at all concerned what becomes of the State of Religion or the affairs of the Church Because our Lord hath not made the Gospel an irresistible means of convincing unbelievers and reforming wicked men therefore it would in time be needful that in order to the keeping up of true Religion and making Christians such as they ought to be that he I say should by his Providence correct his own Disciples and reduce wretched mankind into an unavoidable necessity of consideration that Truth and Righteousness should not utterly fail from among the Children of men When there is the greatest danger of losing the true profession of Christianity our Lord will not be wanting to maintain it When all Flesh had corrupted their ways God came and swept away mankind with a Floud and saved Noah to be the Father of a new and better Generation When their prosperity had corrupted their ways he called Abraham forth to preserve True Religion in him and in his Family and these and the like Providences are pledges of the same care to
to the great danger of other mens Souls who were not well established in the Truth Secondly That the consequence of these Scandals would be very sad and pernicious that is that very many would stumble at them and be turned out of the right way For this must be implied in those words Wo to the World because of Offences For 1. It is no ordinary Misery or Calamity which is expressed in denouncing a Wo and this Wo must likewise refer to those that are turned aside by the Scandals and Temptations that others lay before them because if Offences were not taken as well as given it seems not easie to say why they should produce so much Sin and Misery as is implied in denouncing Wo upon their account Besides our Saviour did afterwards express the guilt and misery of those that should give Offence by itself But wo be to the man by whom the Offence cometh That is to every man that by his own Wickedness laith a Stumbling-block in his Brother's way and draws him into Sin. So that in the former part of this Verse that mischief is exprest which would come of Offences because they would be taken And then 2. it is also implied that the mischief would not only be in itself great but likewise of a very large extent for it is said Wo to the World because of Offences where by the World we cannot understand less than a very great part of Mankind who should be diverted by Offences either from receiving the Gospel at all or from entertaining it in the Purity and Power thereof There are therefore these two Heads which I am to speak to I. That Offences would certainly be given It must needs be that Offences come II. That they would do very great mischief in the World Wo be to the World because of Offences Which two Points being illustrated I intend to apply them in order to farther Instruction 1. That Offences would certainly be given It must needs be that Offences come By which words I do not understand that it was absolutely impossible but Offences must come for God has not necessitated any man to Sin but the meaning is this that it was in it self probable and that in the highest degree that Offences would come and moreover God certainly foresaw that they would arise if he did not interpose his Almighty Power to hinder them which he determined not to do And this is a sufficient ground of the certainty of the Prediction It must needs be that Offences come Now the true notion of Offence being this that it is an occasion given whereby men are either discouraged from the Profession of the Truth or encourag'd Practices in contrary to it I shall 1. lay before you some instances under this general Head And 2. shew why it was not to be expected but that Offences would be given The principal instances are such as these 1. Opposing the Gospel with outward Violence and making it the interest of men to renounce the Truth as they love their Fortunes and their Lives Of which our Saviour spake in the famous Parable of the Sower where he explained him that received the seed into thorny places to be one that heareth the word and with joy receiveth it yet hath he not root in himself and not being fortified with deep resolution he dureth but for a while for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word by and by he is offended Matth. 13.20 21. This was that Offence which our Saviour warned his Disciples of more than of any other He told them plainly beforehand That they should be delivered up to Councils and brought before Governours and be hated of all men for his Name 's sake But says he He that endureth to the end shall be saved and he that taketh not his Cross and followeth after me is not worthy of me Mat. 10. And this is in itself so great an Offence or Stumbling-block to put Men out of the right way that sometimes the general word is used to signifie this particular instance only Thus when our Saviour said Blessed is he whoever shall not be offended in me Mat. 11.6 The meaning is Blessed is he whom the Example of John the Baptist's Sufferings does not fright from being my Disciple And thus when Peter said Though all men should be offended because of thee yet will I never be offended Matth. 26.33 He explaim'd his own meaning afterward by saying Though I should die with thee yet will I not deny thee v. 35. But then 2. Doctrines that give liberty to Lust and that give ease to guilty Minds without reformation are a very dangerous Offence for they are framed at once to draw Men off from the Truth and reconcile them to wicked Practice and therefore they who are under the strongest inclinations to sin and need the most powerful restraints are most forward to receive them i. e. they who will be sure to make the worst use of them He that offers a Key to let Sinners into Heaven without Repentance and keeping the Commandments of God is sure to meet with sufficient Numbers that will not be over-forward to examine how he came by it And this is that which makes all Doctrines of this nature Offences that they are grateful to the corrupt Inclinations of Mankind not that they carry any appearance of Truth It had been long enough ere Men could have been perswaded that particular Confession of Sins to a Man in secret with a bare purpose not to do the like again will at any time suffice for the effect of Absolution if the belief of it were not as much for the ease of the People as for the advantage of the Priest Or that bodily Exercise mere external Works should either be Godliness or supply the want of it These things bear so hard against what we know of God by Reason and by Scripture that nothing but carnal Interest and a desire that they should be true could make way for them and provide them Entertainment And what Wonders that can do was too evident in the beginning of Christianity when the Gnostics seduced no small number of Disciples by giving liberty to fleshly Lusts and discharging them from all obligation to confess Christ when they were to take up his Cross 3. The mixing of Falshood with Truth is another great Offence tending to much Evil as it meets with persons disposed either to overmuch Credulity or too much Distrust By the former the false Doctrin or unlawful Practice is embraced because found in the company of Truth by the latter Truth it self suspected and perhaps thrown off because 't is disgraced with the company of Follies and Lyes Thus the Pharisees recommended their absurd Traditions to the People because in the same breath they taught them the Law of Moses Thus some of the Gentiles were ready to reject Christianity when they were made to believe it necessary for them also to observe the Mosaical Law if they would
to permit those to resist the Holy Spirit and the means of Salvation who would not be reclaimed by any reasonable means and that for these three Reasons 1. That there might be a clear difference made between the good and honest heart on the one side and the insincere and incourigible on the other Which had been impossible if God had by his Omnipotence equally overborn all men into the Faith and Obedience of Christ But as the case stands the Gospel is a Touch-stone that distinguisheth between the Humble and Sincere and the Unteachable and Dishonest part of Mankind And the Offences which are given by those that do not receive the Truth in the love of it are a farther trial of the sincerity and ingenuity of men as St. Paul said of one kind of Offences There must be Heresies among you that they which are approved may be made manifest And therefore notwithstanding Offences that remains true which our Saviour said All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out Joh. 6.37 i. e. All sincere and humble persons who are committed to the special care of Christ to train them up to eternal Life will be sufficiently armed against Temptations and the Offences that are laid in their way shall but clear their sincerity and wisdom more to the World and turn to the encrease of their reward 2. As the sincerity of the Righteous so neither had the proper advantages and power of Truth been seen had God interposed his irresistible power to prevent all Offences and Endeavours against the Truth And therefore he was pleased to suffer Errour and Folly to appear upon the stage of the World even after the heavenly Wisdom of the Gospel was made known to Mankind that by its own strength it might struggle with all kind of opposition and prevail and be justified of her Children 3. By this way the Wisdom of Divine Providence and the truth of God's word and his care over the Church is seen more illustriously than if Offences had never been suffered That Promise that the Gates of Hell should never prevail against the Church of Christ nor the Faith lost from the Earth had lain in the Gospel unobserved we should have had no occasion for recourse to it no means of tryal whether we put our trust in it had the Truth been never opposed never corrupted we had wanted one notable reason to praise God that while the Offences are so rife in this World this Church gives no Offence in matter of Doctrine or in matter of Worship and that God may count us worthy to enjoy so inestimable a Blessing let us pray that we may give no Offence by our Examples let us adorn our Profession by our Conversations and shew the Purity of our Faith by the Purity of our Actions Thus much for the necessity of Offences that thus would arise It must needs be that Offences come The Third Sermon MATTH XVIII 7. Wo unto the World because of Offences for it must needs be that Offences come But wo to that man by whom the Offence cometh I Come now to the second point viz. That Offences would do great mischief in the World. Wo unto the World because of Offences In speaking to which I shall consider I. What mischief is done by Offences II. Whence it comes that they are of so pernicious a Consequence 1. What mischief is done by them And in this Question I need not be large because the Answer to it has in some part been already given under those several heads of Scandal which I mentioned before it being impossible to shew where the Scandal of any Practice or Opinion lies without touching upon the mischief it is apt to do But to what has been said something may be added 1. The general mischief of Offences or Scandals is this That they are a prevailing Temptation upon many in the World to forsake the way of Truth and Piety For as good Examples and Encouragements good Counsels and Instructions are proper means of making others better so ill Examples and the Arts of Seducing must needs have a contrary influence God has put us into a kind of dependance upon one another and has thereby given us Opportunities of the greatest Charity and the best kinds of doing good viz. of leading and confirming one another in the way of Truth and Vertue But there is no help for it but the Society we have with one another may be abused into a means of doing one another mischief And therefore as where Truth is sincerely represented where Vertue is encouraged where Authority protects them where Wit and Learning are engaged to recommend them there abundance of good will be done upon those who are framed to learn and not to teach to follow but not to lead the way So on the other hand it is not to be expected but the abuse of all those Advantages will create Prejudices against Truth and Goodness and mislead multitudes And this is too evident from the Experience of the World in all Ages No Opinions how foolish and absurd soever how pernicious soever to the common Interest of Mankind if they have been set off with plausible Colours or supported by Authority or have been accommodated to the Interests of wicked Men but they have had Abettors and Followers and have very often taken such deep Root in the Affections of Men that 't is one of the hardest things in the World to convert them into the way of Truth But more particularly in the second place 2. The scandal of advancing Doctrines that give liberty to the Lusts of Men and ease to their Minds without effectual Reformation This Scandal I say has this pernicious effect that for the most part it fears the Consciences of Men and hardens their Hearts against all Reproof Although it be a terrible aggravation of Sin for a Man to venture upon the doing of that which his Conscience pulls him back from and for which he knows he must give a sad account at the last day if it be not prevented by Sorrow and Reformation yet such a Man is in a better condition than one that is well satisfied with himself and believes his condition to be good enough while he goes on in his sins without Reformation because he has another way to escape the damnation of Hell. For so long as a Man believes the Promises and Threatnings of the Gospel as they are and knows the Terms upon which they are made it may be hoped that he will at length lay these things seriously to Heart and that some awakening Reproof from Men or some merciful Providence of God may make the Truth which he is already provided with the belief of effectual to his Conversion But there is little Reason to hope this of a Man whose very Principles are corrupted and has no fears within himself for a charitable Man to take hold upon And therefore that saying
suppose he means believing them and by a Rule by which to acquire them He must understand a Rule or means whereby to know what the Articles of the Christian Faith are and then his meaning is That those who believe the Articles of the Christian Faith must be provided of some such Rule or Means to know what they are as cannot deceive them Now whether this be in it self true or false it does not at all follow from what he had laid down before For though the Truth of Things or Propositions is so sure that as he wisely says 't is Impossible they should be false yet it does by no means follow that the Reasons upon which I believe these things must necessarily be as sure as the Truth of the Things themselves And this I make no doubt the Disputer was well aware of But because I am sensible who they are whom he designs to pervert by this Paper and for whose sake I Answer it I will explain this matter by an Instance that will bring it down to all Capacities If there was such a man as Henry the 8th It is certainly Impossible that there should be no such man but my Belief that there was such a Man is grounded upon such Reasons as do not imply an absolute Impossibility of the Contrary because it is grounded upon the Testimony of Fallible men And yet I should be very little better then a mad-man if I should entertain the least doubt that there was such a man which plainly shews that I may have sufficient Reason to believe a thing without any Evidence of the Impossibility of the contrary and this is enough to overthrow his Consequence I shall now inquire what truth there is in the Conclusion it self To which end I observe That there are two things which may be understood by those words cannot deceive them either first that the Rule it self is so plain and certain that no man who uses it can be deceived by the Rule or secondly that 't is Impossible any man should be mistaken in the Vse of it If he means the former then I shall shew him presently that we have such a Rule as he speaks of and that he hath said nothing to make us ashamed of it If he means the latter then I say it is absolutely false That those who without doubting believe the Articles of the Christian Faith must have such a Rule to know what they are as that they cannot possibly mistake in the Vse of it To make which plain to every bodies understanding I shall add another Instance easy to be Applyed If a man skilful in Arithmetick hath a great many Numbers before him and desires to know what Sum they make when they are put together he has the Rule of Addition to do it by which Rule cannot deceive him Now there are these two things to be observed farther which I think the Disputer himself will not deny first that it is in the Nature of the thing Possible that this man may be mistaken every time that he puts these several Numbers together to bring them all into one Sum but secondly that notwithstanding this Possibility of being mistaken yet after he has tryed it over and over again he may be sure without the least doubt that he has done his work right Even so we may have a Rule of Faith that cannot deceive us and though it is not Absolutely Impossible that we should be mistaken in the use of it yet we may for all that be Assured and believe without the least doubting that we have learn'd what the true Faith is by that Rule For all the World knows that it is no sufficient Reason to Doubt of any thing that the Contrary is barely Possible Pap. To a Parliamentary Protestant the Antient Fathers can't be such a Rule because they are Accounted fallible Ans We never said they were such a Rule This therefore is Impertinent Pap. Nor Counsels because they also are accounted fallible Ans This is Impertinent also for we never said they were our Rule of Faith. But we have better Reasons to give why Fathers and Councils cannot be our Rule of Faith than this that the Disputer has made for us And one is this That we cannot make them the Rule of our Faith but by so doing we must depart from the Primitive Fathers and the ancient Councils in as much as all agree That the Holy Scriptures are the Rule of Faith and they made it theirs Pap. Nor Scriptures senced by a fallible Authority because all such Interpretations may be false Ans This is the Place where I shall tell the Disputer what we beleive and why we believe it And when I have done I shall consider whether he hath said any thing in this clause to shake our Assurance We firmly believe all the Articles of the Creed into the Profession whereof we have been Baptized We moreover believe all other Doctrine that is Revealed in Holy Scriptures The Grounds of this our Faith are these That in the Holy Scriptures are Recorded those Testimonies of Divine Revelation by which the Doctrines therein contained are confirmed That these Testimonies were too notorious and Publick to be gainsaid in so much that the Doctrine built upon them could not be overthrown by the Powers of the world engaged against it That the holy Books were written by the Inspired Preachers of that Doctrine which they contain And that for this we have the Testimony of Vniversal and uncontroulable Tradition which is a thing credible of it self This is the Sum of that External Evidence upon which our Faith is grounded In assigning of which I do by no means exclude that Internal Evidence that arises from the Excellent Goodness of the Doctrines themselves which shews them to be worthy of God. Now whereas this Disputer says That these Scriptures cannot be an Infallible Rule to us because they are sensed by a fallible Authority that is because we who are fallible understand them as well as we can I answer That no man needs to be Infallible in order to the understanding of plain Scripture I who do not pretend to Infallibility am yet certain which is enough for me That I do find the Articles of the Creed in the Scriptures and many other Doctrines besides which I do understand I am sure that I know what these words of St. John signifie 1 John 2.25 And Chap. 5.3 This is the Promise that he hath promised us even eternal life And this is the love of God that we keep his Commandments and the like The Antient Fathers thought the Scriptures to be so plain that they argued out of them without pretending to an Infallible Authority of Interpretation as I will shew this Disputer when he pleases If nothing less then Infallibility will serve to understand or as he says to sense words why does this Disputer put into my hands this Paper of his which is none of the plainest neither I am sure he does
some one occasion at least to have said Let nothing be done without the Bishop of Rome if he had known of any such Priviledge and Power conferred on him by our Lord. But if Pergamos were justifiable in removing those Corruptions which were crept into that Church without staying for the consent of the Bishop of Rome England in removing more Corruptions and of equal danger was to proceed also without his leave if it could not be had 2. As to his Patriarchal Power over this Nation it did not anciently belong to him he had it not when the Council of Nice confined him to his own Province nor when the Council of Ephesus decreed That no Bishop should presume to invade any other Province which from the beginning had not been under his or his Predecessor's Jurisdiction or if any do and make it his own by force that he should restore it And then the Church of Britain was free acknowledging no foreign Jurisdiction the Power that the Bishop of Rome gained here in after-Ages was got by fraud and held by force and was ever and anon disputed and gainsayed and over-rul'd and surely no injury was done him when that Authority was resumed which he had usurped 3. As to the Conversion of the Saxons by Austin sent hither by Pope Gregory I say it follows not if long since the Inhabitants of this Island received any benefit from Rome therefore they should in all Ages be exposed to the Usurpations of that place afterwards nor that because we once received true Religion from Rome therefore Posterity must receive also false Doctrines from thence when it should please her to send them hither But in truth Christianity had been planted here long before by St. Paul himself in all probability and that in the Reign of Tiberius before Rome her self had received the Christian Faith. And the British Bishops whom Austin found here would by no means submit to the Authority of the Roman Legate And so much for the right that this particular Church had to reform her self I come now Thirdly To consider some of those specious Pretences and Objections by which they go about to weaken the stedfastness of our People in the Communion of our Church and to draw them to theirs 1. They say How was it possible that Errours could creep into the Church of that nature with those which we charge upon them There must have been great Opposition made to any the least design of such an alteration in the State of Religion and we meet with no such account of things in History Therefore these are not Innovations but the ancient Doctrine and Practice of the Church To omit this that concerning most of their Innovations we can very nearly shew the time when they were brought in but can plainly shew that there was a time when they were not I answer It is much more easie to conceive that in a thousand years time Errour should creep into that Church by degrees and without noise than that in a Church planted by an Apostle as Pergamos was guarded by the Angel or Bishop placed there by an Apostle as Pergamos was should so soon tolerate the Doctrines of the Balaamites and Nicolaitans even while their Apostle was alive and therefore very soon after he departed from them 2. They say that the perpetual Succession of their Bishops from St. Peter is an Argument of the Succession of true Doctrine amongst them in the purity thereof but behold an Apostolical Church in which a Bishop succeeded an Apostle yet alive corrupted in her Doctrine and Worship Can they have greater can they have as great an assurance of a perpetual uninterrupted Succession after so many Ages as the Church of Pergames had before one Age was gone or does their Infallibility grow with their Succession or the farther they are removed from the beginning of the Church are they the surer still that they teach nothing but what was taught at first 3. They say we are departed from the whole Church of Christ that was visible every-where upon the face of the Earth when the Reformation was begun seeing there was then no Communion in the World nor had been long before that professed the same Doctrine in all points which the Reformation brought in Now in great liberality to admit for once that the whole visible Church had corrupted its way as the Church of Rome has done which yet is not true but I say admitting it what will then come of it That we departed from the whole Church of Christ No but that we departed from the general Errours and Corruptions of it and by that could not be said to depart from the whole Church whereof we our selves were a part unless we departed also from our selves Nay but say they this is to fall into another damnable Errour and that is that the whole Church of Christ had failed from the Earth and so that the visible Church had perished for some Ages till the Reformation brought it to life again Not so neither For we do not say that the Errours of the Church were of that nature as to make it cease to be a Church but that they were in themselves damnable and that they made the Salvation of all that were in it extreamly hazardous but yet that we hope well of those who believing the fundamental Doctrines of Christianity maintained in the Church and wanting means to discover her Corruptions served God according to their knowledge so that we do not say the Church had perished but that her Purity had been lost even as Pergamos was a Church and so acknowledged by our Lord himself because she held fast the foundation of the Creed while yet she was corrupted with notorious Errors To this according to their usual way of arguing they would reply that the case is not the same between a Particular Church as Pergamos was and the whole Visible Church from which Luther and those that followed him separated themselves But then I would answer That the case is the same as to the matter we are upon for if a particular Church though under great Errours may yet be a part of the whole Church by like reasons if the whole Church were over-spread with foul Errours it would nevertheless still remain the whole Church and there is as great an obligation to depart from those Errors in the latter case as in the former and a particular Church by departing from such Errors does no more depart from the whole Church than she did from her self 4. They pretend Antiquity for their Errors and are often asking that shrewd Question as they deem it Where was your Religion before Luther I would answer this Question with another That after the Angel of the Church of Pergamos had purged away the Corruptions of that Church Where was the Church of Pergamos before that Reformation Every one of common sence would answer It was where it is now and where it ever was since it was first a
of our Saviour may be well applied to such a Person If the light that is in him be darkness how great is that darkness Moreover there is little hope to reform that Man's evil Practises whose persuations make him secure and easie all the while So there is no little difficulty to be met with in trying to undeceive him for Men will hold comfortable Errors as long as they can find the least pretence for it And which is not the least mischief of this Offence though such Errors are not laid down without a great trouble yet they are taken up with much readiness they are apt to spread far and wide And to this I believe the experience of the World agrees viz. That although there are mistakes that lead to trouble of Mind and over-much restraint yet for one that is led away by such mistakes an hundred there are that believe comfortable Lies which either wholly take off the restraints of Religion or in such part as to render them ineffectual 3. Perverse Disputes and an obstinate Maintenance of Error by all the Arts of Sophistry has this lamentable evil commonly attending it that it renders many Persons utterly careless to examine on which side the Truth lies Perhaps they are but few in comparison that are framed to an inquisitive Spirit and they who are not so framed by Nature or by Education must force their Tempers to Patience and take pains with themselves which is an Employment that Men soon grow weary of and commonly they break off pretending it is to no purpose to search any farther but that when there is so much to be said on both sides when there is such an appearance of Reason for and against the same thing it is time for them to give over being Judges for themselves And indeed in things that are either really disputable or of less moment this were not much to be blamed But in matters of high Consequence and Questions that touch the very Vitals of Religion it often happens that Men grow weary of searching Truth and give up themselves wholly to be led by the Authority and Judgment of others after the Controversie is stifly maintain'd for some time on both sides And it were well in this case if it were an even lay whether they choose the true Guide or not But when a Guide is to be chosen and followed with an implicite Faith the false Guide hath this Advantage always that he exceeds in Confidence in lofty Pretences in swelling Titles in positive denouncing Damnation to all that are not of his way and though a Modest Man that speaks justly of things and claims not to be Infallible deserves the most Credit yet 't is great odds that the other has most followers amongst those that understand not the merits of the Cause 4. The same Cause has too often a yet worse Effect and that is to run some Persons into Infidelity and an utter neglect of Religion as if no certainty could be had of the Principles of Religion seeing there is so much Controversie about it And some have said that it will be then time enough for them to believe in God and to worship him when they that pretend to oblige them to it are agreed about it The truth is were it not for that secret impression of his own Being which God hath left upon our Nature it is not improbable but the monstrous Errors that have been obtruded upon a great part of Mankind under the name of Faith and the force and the fraud wherewith they have been maintain'd had let in Atheism like a Deluge upon the World especially considering that there are those in the World who are so full of Zeal for their own way that they have no tenderness for the common Principles of Faith but are rather content that all should sink together than that their own Doctrines should not stand We have been born in hand that no assurance can be had of the truth of Christianity but from the Authority of such and such Men and they that believe upon other Grounds had as good have no Faith at all That if it were possible for them to propound any thing that is false we cannot be certain of any one Article that is true That the same exceptions may be made to the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles that are made against the stories of latter Miracles and finally that by the same Reason that any of their Traditions are rejected the Holy Scriptures may be rejected too and indeed we have lived to see the utmost that can be done by Wit and Learning to diminish the Authority of the Bible Now this I say is a most dreadful Offence and has done infinite mischief in the World that Men who are violently engaged in a wrong way of Religion care not for the most part what they venture in the service of their own Cause for whilest they lay the same stress upon false or at least disputable Points that they do upon the most necessary and acknowledged Principles of Religion and bend all their Wit to shew that no difference ought to be made they give occasion to Men that would fain be Atheists to deceive themselves into what they would be For a very little consideration will serve to satisfie them that something is false which is propounded to them as an Object of their Faith. And they know that they have then leave given them to conclude that nothing is true 5. There is another great mischief of Offences that are given by Errors in Doctrine or Practice and a mischief that often happens in the World which is that of running into a contrary extream The Church found this by sad Experience in the fourth and fifth Ages when men of no small note disputing against one Heresie fell into another of an opposite Nature to the no small trouble of Christendom Truth sometimes as well as Vertue lies in the mean and they that transgress on any one side do not only this mischief to give what Authority they can to the wrong side they are of but they do this mischief too of giving occasion to others to offend on the other extream Thus the abuse of Church-Authority on the one side has bred in some men contempt of all such Authority on the other The scandals that have been given by propagating Opinions by Force and Violence have produced in many a fond persuasion that there ought to be no restraints whatsoever in matters of Religion Superiours have required unlawful things in Divine Service and to be revenged upon that abuse it has been said that they are not to be obeyed in matters of Prudence and Expedience Religion has been made to run out into Shews and Ceremonies and this has begotten prejudices against all appearance of Beauty and Reverence in the external Worship of God. And on the other side the excesses of men in departing from one extream are scandalous to those whom they left and do confirm them
in their Errors Thus because there are some who abuse the Liberty this Church gives to all of using the Holy Scriptures and who reject the assistance of their Guides they that are concerned the People should know as little of the Bible as is possible argue from the Folly and Vanity of the former how dangerous an Instrument it is in the hands of the Laity And because 't is impossible but that a Judgment of Discretion in matters of Religion being allowed to all must be liable to be abused they that abuse it to the making of Sects and Parties and the bringing in of Innovations give a Candle to that Church to glory in her Dissention which provides that all should believe as she believes because of her Authority and that no Man judges of the particulars of his Faith for himself The truth is the instances of this mischief are so many and so undeniable that when-ever any great Scandal is given by Communities or Churches that consists in one extream a Man may without the Spirit of Prophecy foretel that if the great Mercy of God prevent it not it will in time beget the other extream It is the great unhappiness of Mankind that opposite Errors which look as if one would destroy the other do really strive to support one another And yet there is hardly any foolish Advice more frequent than to run from an extream as far as is possible as if that were the way to make an end of it But by this means woful mischiefs have happened in the World Divisions have been multiplied Uncharitableness increased and Men more and more hardned in their ways of Error and Sin. 6. The scandal of mixing absurd and impious Doctrines with the Truth and unjustifiable Practises with such as are to be commended has this notorious mischief still attending it that it hinders the Conversion of Insidels and is a terrible obstruction to the propagating of Christianity Averroes did not speak his own sense alone when he said Since the Christians eat their God let my Soul be with the Philosophers The Scandals that are given to Jews and Turks I need not name but to make an end of this unpleasing Argument 7. And lastly The mischief of these and all other Offences is so much the greater because when once Offence is given no man can tell where the mischief will end For instance suppose by my Example I animate another to sin in like manner or that I do not only corrupt his Manners but his Principles too and so do him all the hurt I can Who can say that this is all the mischief I have done Is it not likely that he will infect others as I have infected him and that they may go on to propagate the mischief which had its beginning from me And that the next Age may be the worse for me And that my Guilt may be growing Ages after I am dead Apply this to all the Offences that are given in the World and consider not only the greatness of the mischief they do but the spreading Nature of it and we shall find great reason in those sad words of our Lord Wo to the world because of Offences But 2. Whence comes it that Offences are taken and so all this mischief done by them In general it might be sufficient to answer That for whatever Causes some men are apt to give Offence for the same others are apt to take it and therefore it would not be impertinent to call over in this place the unsuitableness of the Gospel to the Lusts and to the Vanity of Mankind whether it be considered as a Rule of Faith or Manners or Worship But to this it may be added 1. That there are a great many in the World who for want of either good natural Abilities or good Education have little ability to judge for themselves and therefore the most part take their Impressions from the Authority of other mens Examples or Instructions And therefore when they fall into ill hands they fare accordingly to which our Saviour seemed to have a particular regard in the Verse before the Text Whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me it were better for him that a milstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea So that because there would be some Persons sincerely disposed who in many things could not judge for themselves but must be led by Authority our Saviour for their greater security provided this frightful Threatning to deter all men from taking the advantage of their weakness to mislead them 2. Some stumble at Offences laid before them and take up pernicious Doctrines meerly from impatience of considering and taking time to lay things together He that judges rashly and hastily may by chance make a true Judgment but he shall as often judge falsely it being no difficult thing as I observed last time to lay such colours upon Error as will require some leisure to see through them And in such cases if a Man be unwilling to take pains and desires to come presently and easily to the Conclusion he gives the Seducer all the Advantage he could desire and is indeed just the Person he desired to meet with one easily deceived by a false appearance of Reason 3. The strange influence which the carnal Affections of Men and their worldly Interests have upon their Judgments is a fatal cause of laying them open to the mischief of Scandals We are too apt to desire Doctrines and Examples in favour of liberty to sin and therefore when they are offered we are not so apt as we should be to guard our selves against them Thus it was among the Jews as God said by Jeremy Jer. 5.31 The Prophets prophesie falsly and my people love to have it so To these I might add other Causes viz. The prejudice of Education undue admiration of mens Persons prejudice against Truth arising from prejudice against Persons an inclination to Opinions suitable to our own Temper and Complexion love of Novelty on the one side and on the other hatred to change though it be for the better all which Dispositions and Circumstances expose those that are under them to the mischief of Offences But I should be over-tedious to run into all the particulars under this Head which may also be more profitably supplied by Directions in the close of all And so I come to the third intention which was to reduce what has been said to matter of Exhortation And I shall leave with you these two necessary Cautions I. Be careful to give no Offence II. Be careful to take none 1. Be careful to give no Offence i. e. to lay no stumbling-block in any Man's way to lead him into Sin or Error or to confirm him in it Remember the words of our Lord Jesus Wo be to that man by whom the Offence cometh Now the way to keep our selves free from this guilt is to love the Truth
reasonable so it is a safe Rule upon this account that if it be followed it will secure us from the greatest Offences as those Opinions and Practices are which are evidently contrary to God's Word 2. Let us keep close to the Ancient Creeds which our Church faithfully delivers for no Man has yet been so bold as to offer the least doubt against that nay all that we are challenged for is that we do not receive those additions to the Creed which in comparison were but of Yesterday These Ancient Forms of confessing the Faith shew what Articles of meer Belief were thought by the Primitive Church necessary to be known and held by all And because the Faith was at once delivered to the Saints no more can be necessary now than was then Now if we observe that the Profession of this Faith is sufficient to make a Christian or a Member of the Church we shall be the better guarded against all erroneous Doctrines which are propounded to us by any Party under the Notion of Necessary Truths For whilst we are sure we profess all that was thought necessary at first we shall be at ease and feel no disturbance in examining what is moreover propounded and determining to receive it if it has Authority from the Scriptures and to reject it if it has none much more if it be contrary thereunto Which Rule I hope you perceive is to take place in judging what you are to believe not in judging whatsoever is to be done for even in the Worship of God there are several things of an indifferent Nature for which there is no particular Precept in the Scripture and in which we may be and ought to be concluded by the Custom of our Church and the Will of our Superiours And he cannot miscarry greatly but is in great measure secured from the mischief of Offences who in matters of Faith will be determined by nothing less than Divine Authority and who in matters of external Order which are no way determined by the Authority of the Scriptures is still ready to be concluded by the Authority of Man. But then 3. Let us keep our selves always in the proper disposition and preparation to judge and conclude aright for our selves i. e. by Sincerity which consists chiefly in a vehement desire to understand the Truth and to do our Duty We must lay our Hands upon this that we will be honest and good and then we shall use all good Rules well to be sure we shall not be a whit the more inclined to embrace Doctrines for our Belief or Practice because they make for our worldly and carnal Interests And this goes a great way to enable men to distinguish between Truth and Error Good and Evil. Offences from without would not stumble us if we were not weakned and blinded by the Offence of a vitious disposition within our selves And therefore our Saviour having given warning against the former in the words of the Text doth in the very next words proceed to direct us how to secure our selves against them and that by preventing the latter Wherefore says he if thy right hand or foot offend thee cut them off And if thine eye offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee That is subdue thy dearest Lusts and if there be any one that is harder to part with than the rest and is grown a part of thy self though it cost thee as much pain to divide thy self from it as it would to cut off thine hand or pull out thine eye for that very reason do thou mortifie it in the first place For when the World will be full of Offences i. e. encouragements to Sin and of deceitful Errors if thou also art an Offence to thy self for want of a sincere and honest heart and purifying thy mind from worldly and carnal Lusts thou wilt not be able to withstand the Arts and Force of outward Temptations Now the way to gain this Honest Mind is to fix our thoughts steadfastly upon the Life to come which is the means our Saviour directs to the use of in this place too And if thine eye offend thee pluck it out for it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye rather than to be cast into Hell-fire Lastly Let all our other care be begun continued and ended in earnest Prayer to God that he would enlighten the eyes of our minds and purifie our intentions and lead us in the right way and keep us in it by his Grace For the effectual fervent Prayer of a righteous man availeth much for another but much more for himself and most of all when he asketh the best things when he asketh those things that please God best a Mind purified from worldly Lusts and an Understanding enlightned with the knowledge of the Truth He that doth these things shall never fall The Fourth Sermon MATTH XXVI 41. Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak IN these words are contained an Exhortation to watch and pray that we enter not into temptation and a Reason upon which the Exhortation is made The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak In the Exhortation we may observe a Direction to the use of means watch and pray and then the end why we should do so That we enter not into temptation As to the means watching and praying the use of them both supposes a great concern for the event For if I am not only to be careful my self but to get all the help I can nay if I am to go to the God of Heaven and Earth for his help and to seek it constantly to be sure as the end I aim at ought not to be in it self trivial so neither ought I to be trivially affected with it A great concern for the end is supposed in the use of such means as Watchfulness and Prayer But more particularly as to watching That signifies such a care of our selves as supposes danger and that was the case of the Disciples to whom the Exhortation was immediately given Our Saviour was now preparing them for his approaching Passion he would therefore have them consider before-hand what a terrible Temptation it would be to see their own Master forsaken and contemned and almost every body ashamed or afraid to own him he would have them reflect upon their own Infirmities and examine their own Hearts and to consider whether they were likely to hold out against such a Temptation as was coming upon them He would have them furnish their minds with all the Powers of Faith with all the Reasons of Constancy which they might infer from the Holy Doctrine he had taught them they were now to consider the value of their Souls the vanity of the World the promise of Everlasting Life and what-ever they had learnt from Jesus which was proper to confirm them in that good mind they were in at present he would have them to
For he that submits to God with the least disputing when the tryal is great doth it with the least pain but it will be accepted by God if we prevail at last and do the thing that God expects in quitting all to secure an Interest in him although not with the same readiness that Abraham did though not without complaint and some disputing for God will pardon our Infirmities if there be a prevailing sincerity at the bottom that overcomes the reluctance of Flesh and Blood. But we should labour to come up to the perfection of Abraham's example and consider well with our selves that it is our constant profession and pretence as well as it was Abraham's to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and to hold nothing too dear for him and withal that there is nothing which God can require us to quit voluntarily but he has an absolute Right to dispose of it and has absolute Power to deprive us of it whether we will or not When therefore God requires that we should freely resign that to him which he can take away if he pleases it is evident that he requires this not for his own good but for ours If he had needed Isaac and it had been beneficial to himself that Isaac should be killed what need of Abraham to do it And surely it is a mighty reason without delay to put God's Will and Command in execution when we know beforehand that all is meant for our good not that God is the better for that which we quit but because we are the better for doing it freely and voluntarily 2. The other remarkable is That God required of Abraham to offer up that his only Son in whom his seed should be called through whom all those great Promises were to be fulfilled which he had made to him before and herein consisted the nobleness of Abraham's Faith that though God seemed to require that which would destroy all the hope he had by those Promises which hitherto he had firmly believed yet he believed still and submitted to do that which in all appearance was utterly inconsistent with the truth of those Promises that had been made to him so that he against hope believed in hope And this is that which the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews lays an Emphasis upon chap. 11. By faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son his only Son through whom those Promises were to be fulfilled Now though he could in obedience to God get over the difficulty that Natural Affection laid in his way yet here was the hard point how he should get over that temptation to unbelief which struck at the very Root of his Faith God had promised before that in Isaac his seed should be called If he believed him now how did it not appear that he was deceived before If he was not deceived before in trusting to that Promise how could he be obliged to do that which would take away all reason to believe that Promise any longer But yet without any of this disputing and contending he went speedily about the matter he rose up early in the morning and takes his Son along with him to that place where he was to offer him up Now if you ask how it was possible for him to believe in God notwithstanding this Command mark what the Apostle says By faith he that received the promises offered up his only begotten son of whom it was said That in Isaac shall thy seed be called accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence also he received him in a figure That is to say he so fully believed all God's Promises made to him before that his Faith was not staggered with the seeming inconsistancy of this Command of God with his former Promises but concluded if there was no other way God would raise up Isaac from the dead for he accounted that is he was fully perswaded that God was able to raise him from the dead as in a sort he did by stopping his hand when he was about to slay him And now if upon the former consideration Abraham's sincerity deserved so high a testimony much more upon this for it is the highest praise of Faith to trust that God will make good all his Promises even when the way he takes so to do seems to be utterly inconsistent with them Well therefore might God upon this high act of Obedience renew his Covenant with Abraham in saying By my self have I sworn that because thou hast done this thing and hast not with-held thy son thine only son from me that in blessing I will bless thee and in thy seed shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed And observe here I beseech you how highly God was pleased with this Noble Act of Faith and how fitly the Promise wherewith God immediately rewarded him agreed to what Abraham had done By my self have I sworn that because thou hast done this thing in blessing I will bless thee Words cannot express a greater delight than these do One would think that Abraham had done some singular kindness to his God and if God were to be judged of as we judge of Man that God had received an extraordinary favour and benefit from him But such is the infinite and pure Charity of God that when we do what is good for our selves it is no less pleasing to him than if it were beneficial to himself But because Abraham had conquered the greatest Temptation of all to Disobedience viz. That the thing commanded seemed to destroy all the Promises he had made of a Blessed Posterity that should descend from him by Isaac God now rewarded his Faith with repeated Assurances By my self have I sworn that in thy seed shall all the Nations of the earth be blessed And so well might the Jews in their Peace-offerings when they thankfully acknowledged the goodness of God in giving them the possession of so good a Land call to mind the offering of Isaac as the Great Foundation of all those Temporal Blessings which they as the Seed of Abraham enjoyed And after such a demonstration as this well may we trust God in all Conditions if we resolve to do as Abraham did if we count none of his Commandments grievous if we do not repine at his Providences if we go on to serve him and to depend upon him though when we must hope against hope for then God will not fail to shew that we have wisely trusted in him and cast our selves upon him he will shew himself as much pleased with our Faith as he was with Abraham's and will reward it as effectually To sum up all The Testimony of God to Abraham's Faith was not given merely for his own sake but for the instruction and encouragement of all true Believers to the World's end who when they deny themselves and do the hardest Duties and are
shall be encountred with some or other prophetick passages concerning Christ All which was designed of God for the confirmation of our Faith that when he should come in whom not only the plainest and most unquestionable Prophecies but all other Types and the more obscure prefigurations of the Messias would be fulfilled we might without the least doubt believe and follow him 2. This word of Prophecy is said to be a light shining in a dark place the reason of which Expression is plain enough if we consider that the Prophecies were nothing so easie to be understood by themselves as they were afterwards made by the Events which they foretold and therefore till the Events made all plain the World was very much in the dark about the meaning of them as to most particulars but yet some of them were so express and full that they had raised an Expectation not only in the Jews but amongst the Gentiles also of that extraordinary Person whom God would send into the World for their relief And therefore they might very well be compared to a light shining in a dark place For such a Light though it doth not make a particular discovery of those things that lie round about it is yet apt to draw the Eyes of all towards it that are within distance and the Predictions concerning Christ were so remarkable that they awakened the Gentiles themselves to take notice of them and were therefore a light shining in a dark place to Jews and Gentiles not indeed clearly revealing the Truth to them at present but preparing them to receive it when it should be clearly revealed in the accomplishment of all that had been foretold And whereas this light was said to shine till the day dawned and the day-star arose in their hearts The plain meaning seems to be that from the beginning of the World to the appearance of Christ the Prophecies concerning him grew still more express clear and particular as the time drew on that they were to be accomplished The whole word of Prophecy was a light shining in a dark place but the latter Prophecies such as in Isaiah Daniel and Malachi were like the dawning of the day before the Sun of Righteousness himself appeared By such degrees did God prepare mankind for the belief of the Gospel every Age contributing something before-hand to undermine the Prejudices of the Natural Man against it That God should send his Son into the World to be a Sacrifice for Sin was a Mystery so far above the reach of worldly Wisdom and natural Reason that considering our weakness it would hardly have born being revealed all at once and therefore God chose to let mankind into the knowledge of it by degrees and by the growing Light of Types and Prophecies to prepare them for that stronger Light of the plain and clear Truth which in due time was to be revealed And by this way God also provided a sure foundation for their Faith who should afterwards believe only we must do what St. Peter commends the Christians of his time for doing we must 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we must give heed unto and bend our Minds to consider the word of Prophecy and we must attend to it as to a light shineing in a dark place till the day dawns that is we must not content our selves to try any one single Prediction only to compare it with the History of Jesus and then if that doth not give full satisfaction to try no more But as God by every new Prediction added more Light to the word of Prophecy so we should consider what Evidence is given to the Gospel by the Prophecies of the Old Testament taken altogether from the first to the last And this was the Method which our Saviour took to instruct the two Disciples going to Emmaus They were not unacquainted with the Prophecies of the Old Testament and yet they were mightily staggered at the shameful Death of their Master We trusted say they that this had been he which should have redeem'd Israel but now they know not what to think of it Then said Jesus unto them O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the Prophets have spoken Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his Glory But what course did he take to convince them did he take some one notable Prediction by itself and lay all the stress upon that No but beginning at Moses and all the Prophets he expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself It was this that made the day-star arise in their hearts it was this that cleared all their doubts and enlightned their understandings so perfectly that they afterwards said one to another Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to us the Scriptures Luke 24. 3. The word of Prophecy is said to be sure that is 't is a plain Testimony of God to make us sure that Jesus is the Christ For 1. It is absurd to ascribe the Prediction of these events to any cause less than Divine Omniscience or as St. Peter saith Prophecy came not by the will of man but holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and no Prophecy of the Scripture is of private interpretation i. e. Not as some would make us believe no Prophecy of Scripture is to be meditated upon and read by private men but the Prophets did not utter their Predictions by the private Spirit but by the Spirit of God therefore if at vast distances of time from the event it was foretold in several Ages that one in whom all the Nations of the Earth should be Blessed would come into the world of such a Nation of such a Family at such a Time and Place with several publick and notorious Characters by which he should be known Then certainly he in whom all these Predictions have been fulfilled is by the Testimony of God's Omniscience declared to be that great Prophet who was to come into the World. Or shall we say that these things were the effects of Policy or Combination or Chance Could the most politick Statesmen foresee the rise of Empires not yet begun how much less could they fix their periods as the Prophets did in their Predictions concerning Christ and his Kingdom And can we think that they could at the distance of many Ages with their utmost skill foresee so many particular events as were foretold by the Prophets and accomplished in Christ Jesus Or shall we say that there was a confederacy between Moses and Jesus between the Prophets and Jesus so many hundreds of years after they were dead and before he was born Or are these Predictions and their events to be imputed to Chance It is possible indeed that some one thing may be foretold and happen accordingly but that so vast a number of particulars should be foretold concerning one Person at all adventures and by strange luck
of Testimony exactly according to knowledg and then we Swear in Truth All which conditions of using an Oath religiously are put together by the Prophet Jeremiah c. 4. v. 2. And thou shalt swear The Lord liveth in truth in judgment and in righteousness In Righteousness not profaning an Oath by making it the bond of Iniquity in Judgment not exposing it to Contempt by using it rashly and improperly and in Truth not violating the bond of an Oath by breaking Promise or giving Testimony to a Falshood Swearing in Truth is that part of the Religion of an Oath which I shall at this time press upon you omitting the Consideration of what things an Oath may be conversant about and that the rather because I shall apply what I have to say upon the former Point either to such Oaths as fasten any Duty upon us required by the Laws or to Swearing in Courts of Judicature where the end of Swearing viz. the Judicial deciding of Controversies does always make the matter enquired into worthy of so high a Testimony Therefore have I chosen these Words of God for my Subject Ye shall not swear by my name falsly A Law which if any is written upon the very hearts of men and yet it pleased God that it should be written in our Bibles too I would to God there were no occasion given by the present age to urge it in our Sermons at least in the way of Complaint and Reproof But since Perjury Perjury I say that monstrous sin which strikes even at the Majesty of God and betrays the Throne of the King which undermines the very Foundations of Religion and Justice which does most sensibly grieve the hearts of all good Christians and threatens the safety of every good Subject which does not only work mischief to the Innocent but also damns the Guilty almost without remedy If Perjury as 't is commonly said be grown the crying Sin of our Land and it appears that the Penalties of the Law are not terrible enough to prevail against it we are then bound in Allegiance to God in Loyalty to the King in Love to our Country in Charity to the souls of men to bring in all the assistance we can from Religion to expel this Fatal Mischief and to remove this foul scandal from among us by instructing plainly by reproving impartially by exhorting and perswading most vehemently In contribution to which good end I beg your Patience while I endeavour to shew First of all Wherein lies the peculiar Obligation of an Oath Secondly What are the several ways of Violating this Obligation or incurring the Crime of Perjury Thirdly What are the usual Temptations and Inducements thereunto Lastly Some of the Fearful Aggravations that belong to the sin That an Oath induces the utmost obligation to speak the Truth is confessed by general Practice which has made or rather received it to be the end of Controversie For if a man could be obliged yet more deeply than by swearing surely the final resort would not be had to an Oath if any thing could confirm a Testimony more assuredly which is in our Power this should not be the last Confirmation Therefore let it be considered that the very end of an Oath implies a peculiar obligation to discharge it truly for the greater that trust is which I cause another to repose in me the greater treachery I am guily of if I then deceive him But if the end of an Oath obliges men not to swear falsly much more does the nature of it With very good reason may an Oath be rested in as the highest security that men can offer for their Honesty and Truth For the nature of an Oath consists in this That it is an appeal to God as to the Witness of Truth and the Avenger of Falshood for the Confirmation of our own Testimony 1. God is appealed to as a Witness he who is the God of Truth and Knowledg the faithful and infallible Witness of every thought and action he whose Testimony alone needs not to be confirmed by any other since for him only it is naturally and eternally impossible to deceive or to be deceived I ought never to lye or dissemble or break my Word because I know my self always to be in the Presence of God This ought to restrain me from being guilty of Falshood at any time that I am within the sight and hearing of the God of Truth But most of all am I bound to be sincere when I have appealed to him as present for the confirmation of what I say It is a grief to a good man to hear a lye told to his face but if the lyar should call him to witness his falshood this he would take in foul scorn and with greatest indignation And what an height of impudence must it needs be to put the like affront upon God himself by appealing to his knowledg for our unrighteousness in a matter wherein we deal falsly What is this but to impute our own baseness and falshood to his most Holy Majesty and to do what is in us to make him a liar like unto our selves 2. God is not only called upon as the Witness of Truth when we swear but also as the Avenger of Falshood And indeed 't is the adding of this which makes an Appeal to God's Testimony by Invocation a most forcible Obligation to Truth and the utmost Security which we can offer for the same When we pretend that there is a man present who knows that to be true which we affirm it would be superfluous to wish that he were revenged of us if it be not true because he may be called forth openly to attest the Truth or discover the Falsehood of what we say Where the Witness is visible and the Testimony credible it is sufficient to appeal to his knowledg only But when God is taken to witness by us there is no voice or sensible appearance by which he does either confirm or disown the matter What is it then which makes an appeal to God the silent and invisible Witness to be of greater force to oblige our selves and confirm others that we speak the truth What is it but this that we do appeal to his Justice as well as his Knowledg and call the Vengeance of the Almighty down upon our heads if he discerns any Falsehood and deceit in our Testimony And 't is impossible that any obligation to speak the truth or to discharge a trust should be greater than this That if we are now guilty of lying or unfaithfulness we do not only consent but desire that the Indignation and Curse of God may fall upon us I do not think that the invoking of Divine Vengeance if we swerve from the Truth is only consequent upon Swearing according to the Opinion of some Learned men but also that it belongs to the very Essence of an Oath for that should seem to be essential to it which if it were removed the fear of Perjury
every where but to that Truth which was particularly demanded by the Magistrate which was to be an instrument of Justice and publick Security which was necessary for the preventing of Wars and the doing of right But these are light Aggravations in Comparison to those that arise from the nature and particular Obligation of an Oath it self At least they will receive great weight from these as you shall see presently 'T is an excess of impious boldness to worship God with a lye at the Tongues end but Swearing is an act of Worship Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and swear by his Name Swearing is a direct acknowledgment of the Divine Attributes and to Swear falsely must needs be as bad as making long Prayers to devour Widows houses But he that Swears does not barely worship God he takes him to witness in his behalf too so the forsworn Man calls him to attest a Lye. To imagine the wickedness of this what would you think of a Man who should appeal to some worthy Person for the truth of a matter which he is sure the Gentleman knows to be a lye Farther what if he should dare to appeal to the Judge himself or to the whole Court of Judicature tho he knew that every one there would utterly deny it however that they would not confess it without being Liars like unto himself But this is a shameless insolence that no Man ever ventured upon What think you then of him that Appeals to God's Testimony for the credit of a Lye To the Testimony of God I say who is infinitely greater and to be had in more Reverence than the most venerable Assemblies of Men. When we are guilty of other Sins we sneak away from the thoughts of God. The Drunkard and the Adulterer and the Thief are asham'd and afraid to think there is so great a Witness of their Crimes and in Comparison to the false Swearer they retire with some sort of Modesty from his Presence hiding him from themselves at least tho they cannot hide themselves from him 'T is only the forsworn Wretch that must of necessity Sin without any shamefac'dness that tells a Lye to the very Face of God and desires him to observe it and be the witness of his own dishonour And yet a more desperate degree of Wickedness is implied in Perjury than this and that because an Oath is an Appeal to God's Justice For the Swearer by consenting to fall under the Rigour of Justice unless he deals uprightly as far as in him lies he calls himself off by Perjury from any Appeal to Mercy afterward By other Sins we make an ill use of the Mercy of God but by this we set it at defiance The perjur'd Man deprives himself as much as he can of the last hope of Sinners who though they put many affronts upon the rest of God's Attributes yet study to keep a reserve in his Goodness and Compassion but he throws himself according to his own Will and Consent into the hands of Divine Justice and its utmost Severity Yet farther through all these Obstacles does the false Swearer make his way that he may come to pervert Justice and Equity A Man should be horribly afraid at the thought of so much Impiety if his end were to help the Fatherless and Widow and to save the Poor from wrong or to secure his Country out of danger but how much more when he hunts for the precious Life when he betrays the Simple and protects the Crafty or serves the designs of Faction or Oppression For I should guess that Forswearing is never practic'd but upon the Wrong side at least that 't is called in very rarely in comparison to assist the Right 'T is the unjust Man that seeks to defend himself by artificial delays by indirect Proceedings and at a dead lift by downright Perjuries while the Righteous trusts to the Honesty of his Cause and the Wisdom of the Judg and the Providence of God. But if I should be mistaken in this if Forswearing should be more ordinary then I imagine even on the Right side surely it must be because 't is so common on the Wrong that nothing is believ'd to be safe without it Behold then what horrible Confusion it makes in the World while it confounds Right and Wrong Truth and Falshood Justice and Injustice blotting out the clearest Characters by which they can be distinguisht from one another in Courts of Judgment 'T is this which levels an Honest Cause with the Unjust one that is advanced against it nay which creates Confidence of Success in the Oppressor and fills the good Man who dares not be damn'd with Mistrust and Fear It is this which makes the fortune of Verdicts as uncertain as that of Arms and gives Courage to the Villain to wage Law with the Innocent it robs Virtue of much of its Defence and Security in this World and puts Power into the hands of the Malicious and affords Protection to the Murderer and the Traytor The detestable Effects thereof in the present Life cannot be described but by the Cries of the Oppressed the Sighs of Orphans the Tears of Widows the Ruin of Families and the Shedding of innocent Blood. And tho every man that dares be Forsworn has not arriv'd thus far in doing mischief yet he only wanteth a gainful Opportunity or an unlucky Provocation and then a Devil to put it into his head To conclude What should I say farther to enkindle your Zeal against a Sin already swell'd into so vast a bigness but this That so far as it prevails it is always likely to intercept between us and the most happy Influence of the Honourable Judges when they come to us full of the invaluable Blessings of Government they in whom good Subjects and wronged Innocents expect to meet with powerful Patrons while none but the Criminal and Seditious shrinks away with Shame and Fear who to the State bring along with them Peace by deciding our Controversies and Plenty and Honour and Safety by enforcing Obedience to the Laws Who to the Church bring the Securities of her Patrimony and Rights making the Benefits of their Justice to bear good proportion with the Authority of their Commission which they have received not only from the King but by him from God who are the faithful Dispensers of the Justice of the King and the most welcome Messengers of his Love and Care for the People Who from the Soveraign convey Life and Spirit through the whole Body of the Nation returning the same in grateful Loyalty and Duty from his Subjects and in their Blessings and Prayers for the Establishment of the Throne Should we not all conspire to remove every hindrance of such Advantages as these which being rightly considered seem to be no less desirable necessary and universal than the refreshing showers and the return of fruitful Seaons But than Perjury nothing does more fatally intercept the Communication of those excellent Benefits than Perjury
a malicious and hard-hearted man will be hated and he that does not Worship God shall be reproached The Vices and impieties of humane Life are enemies to our well-doing in this World affecting either our Bodies or our Estates or our Quiet or our Reputation so that the very Love of this World will teach a wise man to Live well and Religiously in appearance that he may fare the better for it here But when God sends those evils that our Piety is so far from hindring that is does expose us to them and yet we go on to Bless and Serve him this puts it out of all question that we are really and in earnest what we seem to be the Faithful Servants of God as God speaking after the manner of men said to Abraham when he offer'd up his Son Isaac Now I know that thou fearest God because thou hast not with-held thy Son thy only Son from me Thus I have laid down some Considerations very useful I am persuaded to prepare us for all the Portion of Evil which God may think fit to send upon any of us in this World that whenever any of it happens we may follow the example of Job and receive evil from God's hand as well as good But then Brethren we must remember that such things as these are to be thought of very much before or we shall be little better for them when once adversity happens For 't is not barely knowing nor hearing them but 't is much considering them that must make them Principles within us and fortifie us against all surprizes It is a great mistake that these thoughts must make us melancholly and spoil that reasonable comfort we should take in the good things which God lends us for our use For while we enjoy them without overvaluing them we have all that they are good for and they are not the less pleasant because we know of greater Blessings than they are our part is to use them thankfully while they are ours for our use and by all Prudent means as far as lawfully we can to keep off Adversity because then we may be sure that those evils which befall us without our own faults are most properly of Gods sending And so we shall feel our selves under the Power of all those reasons why we should with submission and thankfulness receive not only good but evil also at the hand of God. The Seventeenth Sermon ROM VIII Part of 34 and 35. v. It is God that justifieth who is he that condemneth THESE words signify one of these things Either that when God justifies no man will condemn but that when we are sure of pleasing him we are sure of pleasing all too or else that if he approves and justifies it is no great matter nor should we be much concerned by whom we are accused or condemned But the first cannot be the meaning that no man condemns whom God justifies For the Disciples of Christ were used in that manner that St. Paul applied this saying to their case v 36. For thy sake are we killed all the day long we are appointed as sheep for the slaughter He means therefore That if God justifies it is not considerable who condemns They were brought before the Tribunals of men where grievous things were laid to their charge yet because God saw their Innocence says the Apostle who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect They were dealt with as Malefactors yet says he Who is he that condemneth so that he supposes them to be condemned by no body in comparison because while they were condemned by men God Justified them Which offers two Points to be considered 1. That men do sometimes condemn those whom God justifies 2. That they whom God justifies have no cause to be dejected when they are condemned by men 1. That men do sometimes condemn those whom God justifies and they condemn them too for the sake of those things which he approves and lay that to their charge which he is now pleased with and will hereafter reward It was such a case which our Saviour prepared his Disciples for when he said Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and lay all manner of evil falsly against you for my sake Which began to be fulfilled as soon as ever the World took notice of them And here let us briefly consider what kind of Persons they then were and how they were used The Apostles and those that were in fellowship with them professed the sincere and uncorrupted Truth of the Gospel teaching all Purity and Virtue and whatever they received in Command from our Lord Jesus Nor will any Christian of what other Name soever pretend that there was too much or too little in their Doctrine All are agreed not only that Christianity is worthy of all acceptation but also that it was by them professed intirely and without mixture As to their manners they were Persons of the greatest simplicity easie to be known what they were given to no deceit desiring to Live in quiet because there was nothing in their Doctrine or in their way of Life to create jealousies in others It was a very great part of their Religion to deny themselves and to do good to their Neighbours They did not aim at Worldly power and greatness but instead of using that interest they had in the People to save themselves by Violence from Persecution they urged subjection to Laws and Government upon Principles of Conscience They were such kind of men and we doubt not but God justified them Let us therefore see how they were used by men by Jews and Gentiles As for the Jews it was not indeed very likely that they should be treated much better than their Master had been before And so the event shewed 't is true they made many Converts and a great part of the People cleaved to their Doctrine and fellowship but this enraged their enemies so much the more and the more numerous that Christians grew there were so many more to be hated and reviled and persecuted For 1. They were charged with Heresie and represented as a Sect that subsisted upon the Profession of new and false Doctrines For thus we find St. Paul obliged to apologize for himself before Foelix against the accusations of the Jews They cannot says he prove the things whereof they now accuse me But this I confess unto thee That after the way which they call heresie so worship I the God of my fathers believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets Acts 24.14 And have hope towards God which they themselves allow That there shall be a resurrection of the dead And herein do I exercise my self to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and men St. Paul and such as he believed all things that were written in the Law and the Prophets those very writings which the Jews themselves acknowledged to be Divine and tho to this
plain Faith a pure and simple Worship and for a few Mysteries no more than God has made and for making Charity and Purity the end of all these But generally speaking people are for being saved by a multitude of Ceremonies with a Priest to administer them They love to be amused and to have their imaginations entertained with Mysteries that they do not understand and then to believe that their Souls have received a great deal of good by it On the other side Christianity does very little gratifie the Fancy and labours very much to inform the Understanding and therefore has been thought a Religion fit only for Philosophers being not accommodated enough to the vulgar unless it were dressed out with more Mystery and Pageantry But then the Ancient Fathers made no doubt to call it a Philosophy and such a one as was designed to make Plowmen and vulgar Persons Philosophers i. e. to cure them of Superstition and to inform their minds with the knowledg of the most profitable Truths This is the true business of Christian Priests not to make gain to themselves by deceiving people that were to be deceived nor to get power and dependencies by those Doctrines whereby the people get ease and liberty and ignorance but instead of nourishing and encouraging to repress and correct the proneness of mankind to Superstition 4. These two opposite infirmities a fondness of any thing that is new on the one hand and a passionate zeal for that which has some Antiquity on the other do by turns promote this mischief Some Errors have very successfully taken place at first when they were entertainments to those that loved Novelty and the same Errors in process of time are hugged by others because they have the appearance of great Antiquity They are few in comparison that had not rather be told what is Late and what is Ancient than what is True. To which we may add 6. The vast influence that prejudice and prepossession has upon mens understandings which is very often so great that it will not allow any thing to be said on the other side and so Condemns him that offers Truth before he is heard or if a hearing cannot be avoided it is able sometimes to divert the attention or if attention be given it can corrupt the Judgment Men in those circumstances are but ill Judges whatever their natural abilities are They love one side of the Question they hate the other and they Judge accordingly 6. In many Persons the impatience of considering and weighing things and the ease of letting others Judge for them without examining particulars is the cause of false Judgment For the ease that a man gets this way inclines him to believe that there are Judges who cannot Err and will be sure to tell him nothing but Truth and this disposition is a mighty friend to those that pretend to so high an Authority because it gives them an â—pportunity to say what they list and to determine what they please Whoever therefore comes with truth on the other hand against an Authority that must not be thought capable of mistaking 't is like to be welcome neither to those that teach nor to those that are taught for in effect he comes to the former to tell them that they must quit their power and to the latter that they must quit their ease These are some of the causes of mens condemning those whom God justifies by which it appears that it is an Evil which comes of Evil. And the conclusion we are to make of them it is this That we do by no means square our professions and our actions by so false a rule as that of pleasing men and gaining the favour and good words of men for they may and they often have and I doubt not but they often will condemn those whom God justifies and by the same reason they will Justifie those whom God Condemns To get Favour and to avoid Disgrace is a happiness which he that scorns is not wise but 't is no rule for a man to Live by and he that makes it so cannot be honest Man may Condemn those whom God justifies That is the first Point The second is this 2. That to be condemned by man is tolerable if God Justifies A Truth so clear That more words cannot make it clearer but they may serve to fasten it more upon our Minds Let us consider such things as these 1. The Infinite disproportion between God and man St. Paul's meaning was that God Justifies and man Condemns and to shew that in comparison no body condemned in this case he puts his meaning into the form of a Question It is God that Justifies who is he that condemns A wise man will not be much troubled to be rail'd at by a Slave if he be honoured by a King. 2. We can certainly tell how to please God because we know what profession and what practice he approves for he hath told us what they are and we may believe him We are secure also that what will please him to day will do so to morrow and that what he accounts good service now he will always reckon to be so For God changes not and can by no means contradict himself He conceals no part of our Duty from us and therefore to gain his Favour we need not go forward and backward nor contradict our selves neither If we study to approve our selves to God as we have but one Lord to please so he is ever constant to himself our way is one and plain and our rule the same yesterday to day and for ever 3. God knows the very secrets of our hearts and the springs of all our actions and therefore they whom God justifies are truly worthy He that can bear the allseeing Eye of God is in reality all that he appears to be he is that Just Faithful and Unbiassed man and he has that pure and clear mind which if we could see with our Bodily Eyes we should as Plato fancied be ready to fall down and Worship it Man justifies only by the outward appearance and sometimes happens to be pleased with profession and service where nothing is meant of that which is so well taken A Knave and a Hypocrite may win thanks from man but where God Justifies there is Faithfulness and Integrity and whoever Condemns such a one disgraces himself more than him 4. If God justifies us our own hearts do at the same time acquit and absolve us says St. John If our hearts condemn us not then have we confidence towards God. And 't is true on the other side that if God condemns us not then have we confidence of our selves By doing those things that please him we are sure to please our selves By making him our Friend we shall infallibly make one Friend more and that is our own Consciences which is infinitely more to us than the opinion of the World. 'T is a plain case that we approve our selves to God by
both as to the Accidents and nature of Bread I grant that the Accidents of Bread would be the Body of Christ and if it be not the same both as to the Nature and Accidents I deny it This I profess not to understand Fath. As to the Doctors Argument it includes a Sophism as will appear when brought into form because it involves 4 Terms because he supposes in one Proposition for the Accidents of Bread and in the other for the Nature Dr. In the Argument I used I went upon this Supposition That the Accidents of Bread were onely to be understood as the Answerer supposes and therefore I have not confounded the Nature and the Accidents of Bread together Besides the Distinction between the Nature of Bread and the Accidents of Bread was not to be remembred any more by the Answerer because I proceed upon his Supposition That the Accidents onely are broken Now if St. Paul speaks of nothing but what is broken and Accidents onely are broken and yet if he speaks of the very flesh of Christ too then the Accidents of the Bread are the very flesh of Christ And whereas the Answerer by his last Answer means the Nature of Christ's Body as he says I understood him of the Nature of Bread. And now once more I desire him to shew me where the four Terms are Fath. The Text of St. Paul the Dr. takes for his Medium and argues from a double Supposition as first taking it for the Accidents of Bread which were broken and afterwards for the substance of Christ's Body under the Accidents in which latter sense it signifies the same that is meant by our Saviour in St. John. Dr. I observe the Answerer will allow nothing to be broken but Accidents I observe also that nothing is said to be the Body of Christ or the Communion of the Body of Christ but what is broken If therefore nothing is broken but Accidents then Accidents are either according to the Answerer's long proof the very Body of Christ or according to the Apostle the Communion of the Body of Christ But neither are the Accidents of Bread the Body of Christ nor the Communion of the Body of Christ And this I say is not answered and believe will not be answered by any man that maintains that St. Paul does not here speak properly of Bread. Fath. All along in my Discourse I have supposed that when St. Paul speaks of this bread he spoke of the H. Eucharist in which were contained both the Accidents of Bread and the true body of Christ How the Dr. has disproved this Doctrine so clearly as to justifie the Reformation I understand not Because I conceive no private Persons or particular Church ought to pretend a Reformation without clear evidence whether the Dr. has given such I leave to the consideration of the Readers And whether having broken off from the great body of the Vniversal Church and its testimony he can possibly have any certain Rule to arrive at Christian Faith If Scripture be pretended interpreted by a fallible Authority how Certainty can be obtained or why a Socinian following Scripture for his Rule of Faith is not to be believed as well as any other Reformer following the same Rule I see not Signed W. Clagett Peter Gooden Dr. CLAGETT's Answer TO A PAPER Delivered to Him by Father GOODEN The Paper ARticles of Christian Faith are Truths Truths are Impossible to be False Therefore Articles of Christian Faith are Impossible to be False Therefore those who obtain Articles of the Christian Faith must have some Rule to Acquire them by which cannot deceive them To a Parliamentary Protestant the Antient Fathers cannot be such a Rule because they are accounted Fallible Nor Councels because they also are accounted Fallible Nor Scriptures sensed by a Fallible Authority because all such Interpretations may be False And therefore Faith cannot be Obtained by any such means For that which is Doubtfull can only Create Opinion which is also Doubtful And He that doubts in Faith the Apostle says is Infidelis And a Company of Doubters are not a Church of Faithful but a Society of such as the Apostle calls Infidels Signed Peter Gooden The Answer Pap. Articles of Christian Faith are Truths Ans The Design of the Disputer is to prove that we are Doubters and therefore Infidels But never did any man begin a business more unluckily for at the very first dash he takes it for granted that we do undoubtedly believe Articles of Christan Faith to be Truths for otherwise he ought to have proved that they are so But there is another Misfortune he is faln into no less than that for his Argument to prove that we must needs be Doubters is that we want an Infallible Rule Now if he is sure that we want an Infallible Rule and that without such a Rule there can be no Faith I am sure he does notoriously contradict himself by supposing that we believe all Articles of Christian Faith to be Truths though we have no such Rule This is a very hopeful Paper and like to make wise Converts which ends in making us Infidels and begins to prove it by an Argument that manifestly supposes Us to be Believers which also pretends that we have no Infallible Rule and therefore can be sure of no Point of Faith but yet manifestly supposes Us to be Assured of Some without it which shews the Paper to be a trifling Paper and worth no more Consideration But because the Disputer is said to boast so much of the Argument Contained in it I will go on with every Clause of it to Convince him if he does not already know it that there is not a Line in it but is either false or nothing to the purpose Pap. Truths are Impossible to be False Ans By Truths the Disputer means the Truth of Things or of Propositions and therefore this is a vain and fulsome saying which does not Advance his Reasoning one jot farther than it was before For this is no more than to say That which is true is true and it cannot possibly be but truths must be truths I think he applies himself to us as if we wanted not only Christian Faith but Common sence Pap. Therefore Articles of Christian Faith are Impossible to be False Ans There is no doubt of this supposing that they are Truths So that the Argument he begins with being put into the right order and into other words is this It is Impossible but truths must be truths but Articles of Christian Faith are Truths Therefore it is Impossible but they must be Truths The Antient Fathers had made wise work with Christianity if they had gone this way to work to Convert Infidels Pap. Therefore those who obtain the Articles of the Christian Faith must have some Rule to acquire them by which cannot deceive them Ans This is an obscure saying and I must make the best of it By obtaining Articles of the Christian Faith I
be Christians And this is one of the common Scandals of the World that Truth is so often insincerely represented and false Doctrines propounded still by the same Authority that holds forth some necessary Truths And for this reason the Gospel does not allow but command us to use a Judgment of Discretion not to reject that which is good because it comes from the same Authority that requires evil nor to admit error because it is accompanied with truth but to prove all things and to hold fast that which is good 4. All Popular Artifices that are used to recommend either wicked Errors or Practices are also great Offences and lead many silly Souls astray of which kind the most obvious are these An external shew of Strictness and Piety without real Virtue and Godliness at the bottom of it And of this the Pharisees were the first notable instance who placing Religion in abundance of nice Observations seemed to be the most strict and devour People in the World and therefore our Saviour knowing the wickedness of their Hearts and Lives compared them to whited Sepulchres that within were full of dead went bones and all uncleanness And this Offence would be so powerful whenever it should happen that it seemed good to the Spirit to foretel it expresly 〈◊〉 That in the latter times some should depart from the Faith giving heed to seducing Spirits forbidding to Marry and commanding to abstain from Meats 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. Another Offence of this kind when was also expresly foretold is pretending the Testimony of Miracles For says our Saviour himself There shall arise false Christs and false Prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible they should deceive the very elect Behold says he I have told you before Matth. 24.24 25. And thus St. Paul foretold that when that wicked one should be revealed his coming should be after the working of Satan with power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness I shall name but one other popular device for the supporting of Errour and that is to denounce Damnation peremptorily against all Gainsayers with which Artifice the Judaizers secured themselves against the Gentile Christians saying Except ye be circumcised and keep the law of Moses ye cannot be saved Now although every man that has a tongue may if he please lay this weight upon his Cause as to exclude all from Salvation that are not of his way and therefore the threatning be not worthy of a wise man's thought till the merits of the Cause be examined Yet it has two notable advantages that it is framed to work upon the passions of men more than upon their judgment and in most men their passion is stronger than their reason and it may be so used as to bear the World in hand that 't is not Uncharitableness but meer Pity and Tenderness to the Souls of Men that compels them to speak so harsh but so necessary a Truth And 't is a wonderful thing to observe how easie Men are to be managed when on the one side there is a positive Sentence of Damnation to work upon their fears and on the other an appearance of serious Charity to win their Affections for by this Art Men of contrary Parties have with strange success served contrary Opinions and Practices I cannot if I were willing reckon all the Offences of this kind that is popular and plausible ways of deceiving But that there would be such our Saviour did not only foretel in the general when he said It must needs be that Offences come but in particular also when he said Beware of false Prophets which come to you in sheeps-cloathing Mat. 7.15 5. To this I may add what St. Paul observes 1 Tim. 6.5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth supposing that gain is godliness That any thing may be defended as a part of Religion which makes for worldly Interest It is no such hard matter to perplex things that are plain to find colours for denying things that are evident to hide the weakness or the strength of an Argument to divert from the Cause to the Person so artificially as if the Cause went on still to lose the matter in debate to make Truth look like Errour and Errour like Truth to those that are willing to be deceived if a man is resolved to bend all his wit this way for something may be said for any thing 6. And lastly bad examples of men professing the true Religion are another most dangerous Offence Since I doubt most men are so framed as to take up their opinions more easily from Authority than from other Argument and they understand more easily the difference between good and evil Manners than between strong and weak Reasons And then they will be apt to judge of the Truth or Falshood of a way of Religion by the good or bad Fruits of Practice it brings forth in those that profess it which doubtless our Saviour intimated in those words Let your light so shine before men that others seeing your good works may glorify your Father which is in heaven But to hold the Truth in Unrighteousness is not only a Scandal to those that are in Errour confirming them in their wrong way but likewise to those that are in the way of Truth by encouraging them to Sin in like manner especially when evil examples are set by those that are particularly obliged to set none but good ones whose Place or Office Wealth or Quality makes them more conspicuous and gives others any kind of dependence upon them And because of the pernicious influence of bad examples we find St. Paul often calling upon the Christians with whom he had to do to fix their observation upon those that were good Brethren says he be followers together of me and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample For many walk of whom I have often told you and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. Thus I have very briefly considering the largeness of the Subject shewn what Offences were to come by laying before you the principal and most obvious Offences which we know by the Predictions of the Scripture and alas for the World by too sad experience And now I proceed to the second Point which was to consider why it must needs be that Offences should come that is why it was not to be expected but that these or such Scandals as these would be given to the World. And this Inquiry is necessary to be pursued upon this account if upon no other that it may appear that the certainty of Offences coming did not arise from any defect or fault of the Blessed Gospel of our Saviour If we consider the Harmless and Dovelike Temper of Christianity the excellency of its Design the richness of its Promises the Divinity of its Rules and Precepts the Comforts it