much lefs any doctrines or practices which are repugnant to the word of God, and to the faith and practice of the first ages of Christianity; of which kind I fhall have occafion, in my following difcourfe, to inftance in feveral particulars. In the mean time, I fhall only obferve, that that faith and religion which we profefs, and which, by God's grace, we have ever held faft, is that which hath been acknowledged by all Chriftian churches in all ages to have been the ancient Catholick and Apoftolick faith, and cannot (as to any part or tittle of it) be denied to be fo, even by the church of Rome herself.

I proceed to the

II. Second thing which I propofed to confider, namely, How we are to hold faft the profeffion of our faith; or, what is implied by the Apostle in this exhortation, to hold faft the profeffion of our faith without wavering. And I think, thefe following particulars may very well be supposed to be implied in it.

1. That we should hold fast the profeffion of our faith, against the confidence of men, without fcripture or reafon to fupport their confidence.

2. And much more against the confidence of men, contrary to fcripture and reason, and the common fenfe of mankind.

3. Against all the temptations and terrors of the world.

4. Against all vain promifes of being put into a fafer condition, and groundlefs hopes of getting to heaven upon eafier terms in another religion.

5. Against all the cunning arts and infinuations of bufy and difputing men, whose design it is to unhinge men from their religion, and to gain profelytes to their own party and faction. I fhall go over these with as much clearness and brevity as I can.

I. We fhould hold fast the profession of our faith, against the confidence of men, without fcripture or reafon to fupport that confidence. All religion is either natural or inftituted. The rule of natural religion is the common reafon of mankind: the rule of inftituted religion is divine revelation, or the word of God; which all Christians before the council of Trent did agree to be contained in the holy fcriptures. So that nothing can

pretend

pretend to be religion, but what can be proved to be so one or both of those ways; either by fcripture, or by reason, or by both. And how confident foever men may be of opinions deftitute of this proof, any man that understands the grounds of religion will, without any more ado, reject them, for want of this proof; and, notwithstanding any pretended authority or infallibility of the church that impofeth them, will have no more confideration and regard of them, than of the confident dictates and affertions of any enthusiast whatsoever; because there is no reafon to have regard to any man's confidence, if the arguments and reafons which he brings bear no proportion to it. We fee in experience, that confidence is generally ill-grounded, and is a kind of paffion in the understanding, and is commonly made ufe of, like fury and force, to supply for the weakness and want of argument. If a man can prove what he fays by good argument, there is no need of confidence to back and fupport it. We may at any time trust a plain and fubftantial reason, and leave it to make its own way, and to bear out itself. But if the man's reasons and arguments be not good, his confidence adds nothing of real force to them, in the opinion of wife men, and tends only to its own confufion. Arguments are like powder, which will carry and do execution according to its true ftrength; and all the rest is but noife. And generally none are fo much to be fufpected of error, or a design to deceive, as those that pretend moft confidently to inspiration and infallibility; as we fee in all forts of enthusiasts, who pretend to infpiration, although we have nothing but their own word for it: for they work no miracles; and all pretence to inspiration and infallibility, without miracles, whether it be in particular perfons, or in whole churches, is enthusiastical, i. e. a pretence to inspiration, without any proof of it.

And therefore St. Paul was not moved by the boasting and confidence of the falfe Apostles; because they gave no proof and evidence of their divine infpiration and commiffion, as he had done; for which he appeals to the fenfe of men, whether he had not wrought great miracles, which the falfe Apostles had not done, though they had the confidence to give out themfelves to be A,

poftles

poftles as well as he: 2 Cor. xii. 11. 12. I am (fays he) become a fool in glorying, ye have compelled me. Truly the figns of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in figns, and wonders, and mighty deeds. And Rev. ii. 2. Chrift there commends the church of Ephefus, because She had tried them which faid they were apostles, but were not; and had found them liars. And as we are not to believe every one that fays he is an Apostle; so neither every one that pretends to be a fucceffor of the Apostles, and to be endued with the fame fpirit of infallibility that they were for thefe alfo, when they are tried, whether they be the fucceffors of the Apostles or not, may be found liars. And therefore St. John cautions Christians, not to believe every Spirit, (that is, every one that pretends to divine infpiration, and the Spirit of God); but to try the fpirits, whether they be of God; because many falfe prophets are gone out into the world, I John iv. 1. And therefore the confidence of men in this kind ought not to move us, when their pretence to infallibility is deftitute of the proper proof and evidence of it, which is a power of miracles; and when their doctrines and practices have neither the evidence of reafon or scripture on their fide.

For inftance: That the church of Rome is the mother and miftrefs of all churches; which is one of the new articles of Pope Pius IV.'s creed; and yet there is not one fyllable in fcripture tending to this purpose. And in reafon it cannot be, that any but that which was the first Christian church, should be the mother of all churches; and that the church of Rome certainly was not, and the church of Jerufalem undoubtedly was.

And then, That the Bishop of Rome, as fucceffor of St. Peter there, is the fupreme and univerfal paftor of Chrift's church, by divine appointment, as he affumes to himself; and that it is neceffary to falvation, for every human creature to be subject to the Bishop of Rome; as is declared in their Canon law, by a conftitution of Pope Boniface VIII.; which conftitution is confirmed in the laft Lateran council: of all which there is not the least mention in fcripture, nor any divine appointment to that purpose to be found there. And it is against reafon, that all the world fhould be obliged to VOL. IV.

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trudge to Rome for the decifion of caufes and differences; which in many, and the most weighty matters, are referved to the decifion of that fee, and can be determined no where else. And against reafon likewife it is, to found this univerfal fupremacy in his being fucceffor of St. Peter, and to fix it in the Bishop of Rome, rather than at Antioch; when it is certain, and granted by themselves, that St. Peter was firft Bishop of Antioch, and out of all question that he was Bishop of Antioch; but not fo, that he was Bishop of Rome.

Nor is there any thing in fcripture for the deliverance of fouls out of purgatory by the prayers and maffes of the living. The whole thing is groundless, and not agreeable to the conftant fuppofitions of fcripture concerning a future ftate. Nor is there any reafon for it befides that which is not fit to be given, the wealth and profit which it brings in.

The invocation and worship of the blessed virgin, and of all the faints departed, is deftitute of all scripture warrant or example, and confeffed by themselves not to have been owned or practifed in the three first ages of the church, because it looked too like the Heathen idolatry; which deferves to be well confidered by those who pretend to derive their whole religion from Chrift and his Apoftles by a continued and uninterrupted fuc ceffion. And this practice is likewise destitute of all colour of reafon, unless we be affured, that they hear our prayers in all places; which we cannot be, unless they be prefent in all places, which they themselves do not be→ lieve; or that God doth fome way or other reveal and make known to them the prayers which are made to them, which we cannot poffibly be affured of, but by fome revelation of God to that purpofe; which we no where find, nor doth the church of Rome pretend to it.

2. But I proceed to the fecond thing, namely, that we fhould much more hold fast the profeffion of our faith and religion, against the confidence of men, contrary to fcripture and reafon, and the common fenfe of mankind. For thefe are the chief grounds of certainty, which we can have for or against any thing; and if these be clearly on our fide, we ought not to be much moved by the confidence of men concerning any doctrines or practice

practices of religion which are plainly contrary to thefe. If in points wherein we have this advantage on our side, we do not hold fast the profeffion of our religion, our error and folly are capable of no excufe. And this advantage we plainly have in feveral points and controverfics betwixt us and the church of Rome :

As, in the worship of images; which is as exprefsly and clearly forbidden in the fecond commandment, and that without any diftinction, as any other thing is forbidden in the whole Bible. And that it is fo forbidden in this commandment, and that this commandment is ftill in force among Chriftians, was the univerfal fense of the ancient Chriftian church.

Prayers, and the fervice of God, in an unknown tongue, are directly contrary to the very nature and end of religious worship, which ought to be a reasonable fervice; which it cannot be, if it be not directed by our understandings, and accompanied with our hearts and affections, But if it be performed in an unknown tongue, our understanding can have no part in it; and if we do not understand it, it cannot move our affections. And this likewife is plainly contrary to fcripture, namely, to a large difcourfe of St. Paul's, almoft throughout a whole chapter; where he purpofely fets himself to fhew the unprofitableness and grofs abfurdity of praying, or celebrating any other part of religious worship, in an unknown tongue. If any part of our religion had been half fo clearly condemned in fcripture as this is, which yet is the conftant and general practice of the church of Rome, we must have lain down in our fhame, and confufion would have covered us; and we must either have rejected the authority of the Bible, or have renounced that point of our religion, whatever it had been; though it had been dear to us as our right hand, and our right eye, we muft, upon fuch plain evidence of fcripture against it, have cut it off, and plucked it out, and caft it from us.

The like may be faid of locking up the fcriptures from the people in an unknown tongue; contrary to the command of the fcriptures themselves, and to the great end and defign of almighty God in the writing and publishing of them; and contrary to the perpetual exhortations and councils of all the ancient fathers of the Chriftian church

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