LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
PRINCETON, N. J.
Presented by
Division
s,,,, QM \
v. y
■fl
SERMONS
ON SEVERAL
Subjects and Occasions,
By the mod Reverend
Dr. John tillotson,
LATE
Lord Archbifliop of Canterbury.
VOLUME the FOURTH,
LONDON:
Printed for R. Ware, A. Ward, J. and P. Knapton, T. Longman,
R. Hett, C. Hitch, J. Hodges, S. Aujlen, J. and R. Ton/on,
J. and H. P ember ton, and J . Rivington.
M DCC XLII.
[ 447 3
SERMON LI.
Of the education of children.
P R O V. xxii. 6.
Train up a child in the way he Jhould go, and when he
is old he will not depart from it.
I Have on purpofe chofen this text for the fubject SERM,
of a preparatory difcourfe in order to the revi v- ^ ^}^
ing of that fo fhamefully neglected, and yet
mod ufeful and neceffiry duty of catechifing chil-
dren and young perfons : But I fhall extend it to
the confideration of the education of children in ae-
neral, as a matter of the greateft confequence both
to religion and the publick welfare.
For we who are the minifters of God ought not
only to inftrucl: thofe who are committed to our
charge in the common duties of chriftianity, fuch
as belong to all chriftians, but likewife in all the
particular duties which the feveral relations in which
they (land to one another do refpectively require
and call for from them.
And amongft all thefe I know none that is of
greater concernment to religion and to the good
order of the world, than the careful education of
children. And there is hardly any thing that is
more difficult, and which requires a more prudent
Vol. IV. 5X2 and
t.
44 S Concerning the education of children.
SE R M. and diligent and conftant application of our bed
care and endeavour.
It is a known laying of Melancthon that there are
three things which are extremely difficult, parturire,
docere, regere ; " to bear and bring forth children,
to inltruct and bring them up to be men, and to
govern them when they arrive at man's eftate.'*
The inftruction and good education of children is
none of the lead difficult of thefe. For to do it to
the befl advantage does not only require great faga-
-city to difcern their particular difpofition and tem-
per, but great difcretion to deal with them and ma-
nage them, and likewife continual care and diligent
attendance to form them by degrees to religion and
virtue.
It requires great wifdom and induftry to advance
a confiderable edate, much art and contrivance and
pains to raife a great and regular building : But the
greatefl and nobleft work in the world, and an effect
of the greatefl prudence and care, is to rear and
build up a Man, and to form and fafhion him to
piety, andjuflice, and temperance, and all kind of
honed and worthy actions. Now the foundations
of this great work are to be careHly laid in the
tender years of children, that it may rife and grow
up with them -, according to the advice of the wife
man here in the text, " Train up a child in the
way he fhould go, and when he is old he will not
depart from it."
In which words are contained thefe two things.
Firft, the duty of parents and indruetors of chil-
dren, " Train up a child, C5V." By childhood here
I undcrdand the age of perfons from their birth,
but
(I
Concerning the education of children. 440
but more efpecially from their firft capacity of in- S E R M.
ftruction till they arrive at the ftate and age which
next fucceeds childhood, and which we call youth j
and which is the proper feafbn for confirmation.
For when children have been well catechized and
intruded in religion, then is the fitted time for them
to take upon themfelves and in their own perfons to
confirm that folemn vow which by their fureties they
made at their baptifm.
'* Train up a child in the way he fhould go,"
that is, in the courfe of life that he ought to lead ;
inftruct him carefully in the knowledge and prac
tice of his whole duty to God and men, which he
ought to obferve and perform all the days of his
life.
Secondly, here is the confequent fruit and bene-
fit of good education : M And when he is old he
" will not depart from it." This we are to un-
derftand according to the moral probability of things :
Not as if this happy effect did always and infallibly
follow upon the good education of a child, but that
this very frequently is, and may probably be pre-
fumed and hoped to be the fruit and effect of a
pious and prudent education. Solomon means that
from the very nature of the thing this is the mod
hopeful and likely way to train up a child to be a
good man. For as Ariftotle truly obferves, " Mo-
ral fayings and proverbial fpeeches are to be un-
flood only \-k\ to -utcXv, that is, to be ufually and
for the mod part true." And though there may
be feveral exceptions made, and inftances given to
the contrary, yet this doth not infringe the general
truth of them : But if in frequent and common ex-
7 perience
45° Concerning the education of children.
S R R M. perience they be found true, this is all the truth that
is expected in them, becaufe it is all that was in-
tended by them.
And of this nature is this aphorifm or proverb of
Solomon in the text; and fo likewife are moft of the
wife flyings of this book of the Proverbs, as alfo
of Ecclefiaftes : And we do greatly miftake the
defign and meaning of them whenever we go
about to exact them to a more ftrict and rigorous
truth, and mail upon due confideration find it im-
poflible to bring them to it.
So that the true meaning of the text may be
fully comprifed in the following propofition.
" That the careful, and prudent, and religious
" education of children hath for the mod part a
14 very good influence upon the whole courfe of
" their lives.'' '
In the handling of this argument I defign by
God's afliftance, to reduce my difcourfe to thefe
five heads.
I. I mail fhew more generally wherein the good
education of children doth confift, and feverally con-
fider the principal parts of it.
II. I fhall give fome more particular directions
for the management of this work in fuch a way as
may be moft effectual for its end.
III. I fhall take notice of fome of the common
and more remarkable mifcarriages in the performance
of this duty.
IV. I fhall endeavour to make out the truth of
this propofition, by fhewing how the good educati-
on of children comes to be of fo great advantage,
and
Concerning the education of children. 45 1
and to have fo powerful and lading an influence upon s E R &*;
their whole lives.
V. And laftly ; I fhall, by the mod powerful
arguments I can offer, endeavour to ftir up and
perfuade thofe whole duty this is, to dilcharge it
with great care and corifcience.
I. I fhall fhew more generally wherein the good
education of children doth confift, and feverally con-
fider the principal parts of it. And under this
head I fhall comprehend promifcuoufly the duty of
parents, and, in cafe of their death, of guardians ;
and of godfathers and godmothers; though this for
the mod part fignifies very little more than a pious
and charitable care and concernment for them, be-
caufe the children for whom they are fureties are
feldom under their power : And the duty likewife
of thofe who are the teachers and inftruclors of
them : And the duty alfo of matters of families to-
wards fervants in their childhood and younger years :
And laftly the duty of minifters, under whofe pa-
rochial care and infpection children are as members
of the families committed to their charge : I
lay, under this head I fhall comprehend the duties
of thefe refpectively, according to the feveral ob-
ligations which lie upon each of them in their
feveral relations to them. And I fhall reduce them
to thefe eight particulars, as the principal parts where-
in the education of children doth confift.
Firft, in the tender and careful nurfing of them.
Secondly, in bringing them up to be baptized and
admitted members of Christ's church, at the
times appointed or accuftomed in the national church
of which the parents are members.
Thirdly,
Concerning the education of children.
Thirdly, in a due care to inform and inftruct
them in the whole compafs of their duty to God
and their neighbour.
Fourthly, and more efpecially in a prudent and
diligent care to form their lives and manners to re-
ligion and virtue.
Fifthly, in giving them good example.
Sixthly, in wife reftraints from that which is evil,
by feafonable reproof and correction .
Seventhly, in bringing them to be publickly ca-
techized by the minifter in order to confirmation.
Eighthly, in bringing them to the bifhop to be
folemnly confirmed, by their taking upon them-
lelves the vow which by their fureties they enter'd
into at their baptifm.
I. In the tender and careful nurfing of children.
I mention this firft, becaufe it is the firfl and mod
natural duty incumbent upon parents towards their
children : And this is particularly the duty of mo-
thers. This affection and tendernefs, nature, which
is our fureft guide and director, hath implanted in
all living creatures towards their young ones: And
there cannot be a greater reproach to creatures that
are endued with reafon, than to neglect a duty to
which nature directs even the brute creatures by a
blind and unthinking inflinct. So that it is fuch a
duty as cannot be neglected without a downright
affront to nature, and from which nothing can ex-
cufe but difability, or ficknefs, or the evident dan-
ger of the mother, or the interpofition of the fa-
ther's authority, or fome very extraordinary and
publick neceffity.
This
Concerning the education of children. 453
This I forefce frill feem a very hard faying to nice SER M.
and delicate mothers, who prefer their own eafe and ,_ ' j
pleafure to the fruit of their own bodies : but whether
they will hear, or whether they will forbear, I think
myfelf obliged to deal plainly in this matter, and to
be fo faithful as to tell them that this is a natural duty -,
and becaufe it is fo, of a more neceflary and indifpen-
fible obligation than any pofitive precept of revealed
religion j and that the general neglect of it is one c c
the great and crying fins of this age and nation \ a^d
which, as much as any fin whatfoever, is evidently a
punifhment to itfelf in the palpable ill effects and con-
fequences of it : which I fhall, as briefly as I can, en-
deavour to reprefent ; that if it be pofiible, we may
in this firfb point of education, fo fundamental and ne-
ceflary to the happinefs both of parents and children,
and confequently to the publick good of humane fo-
ciety, be brought to comply with the unerring inftincl:
of nature, and with the plain dictate of the common
reafon of mankind, and the general practice of all
ages and nations.
Firft , the neglect of this duty is a fort of expofing
of children ; efpecially when it is not done, as very
often it is not, with more than ordinary care and
choice. It always expofeth them to manifefl: incon- -
venience, and fometimes to great danger ; even to
that degree as in the confequence of it is but little bet-
ter than the laying a child in the ftreets, and leaving
it to the care and companion of a parifh. There are
two very vifible inconveniencies which do commonly
attend it.
1 ft, Strange milk,which is very often difagreeable to '
the child, and with which the child to be fure fucks in
Vol. IV, 5 Y the
Concerning the education of children.
the natural infirmities of the nurfe, together with a great
deal of her natural inclinations and irregular pafiions,
which many times flick by the child for a long time
after : and which is worie than all this, it fometimes
happens that fome fecret difeafe of the nurfe is con-
veyed to the child.
2dly, A fhameful and dangerous neglect of the
child, efpecially by fuch nurfes as make a trade of it ;
of whom there are great numbers in and about this
great city : who, after they have made their firft and
main advantage of the child by the exceflive, not to fay
extravagant vails, which ufually here in England, above
all other places in the world, are given at chriftnings:
and then by the {Irak allowances which are commonly
made afterwards for the nurfing and keeping of the
child, are often tempted, not to fay worfe, to a great
neglect of the child ; which, if it happen to die for
want of due care, fets the nurfe at liberty to make a
new advantage by taking another child.
Nor can it well be other wife expected than that a
nurfe, who by this courfe is firft. made to be unnatural
to her own child, fhould have no great care and ten-
dernefs for a child which is not her own.
I have heard a very fad obfervation made by thofe
who have had the opportunity to know it, that in fc-
veral of the towns and villages about London, where
this trade of nurfing children is chiefly driven, hardly
one in five of thefe children Jives out the year : and
this furely is a danger which natural affection as well
as duty does oblige parents to take all poflible care to
prevent.
Secondly, this courfe doth moft certainly tend very
much to the eftrariging and weakning of natural af-
fection
Concerning the education of children, 455
Fec*lion on both fides -, I mean both on the part of S E R M
the mother and of the child. The pains of nurfing v-^—
as well as of bearing children doth infenfibly create
a ftrange tenderneis of affection and care in the mo-
ther. " Can a woman, fays God, forget her fuck- Ha. xlix,
" ing child, that me mould not have compaffion on l5
" the fon of her womb ?" Can a woman ? that is, a
mother, not a nurfe ; for the fucking child is laid
to be the fon of her womb. God fpeaks of this as
a thing next to impoffible.
And this likewife is a great endearment of the mo-
ther to the child : which endearment, when the child
is put out, is transferred from the mother to the
nurfe, and many times continues to be fo for a great
many years after ; yea, and often to that degree as if
the nurfe were the true mother, and the true mother
a mere ftranger. So that by this means natural affec-
tion mufi be extremely weaken*d ; which is great pity,
becaufe when it is kept up in its full ftrength it often
proves one of the bed fecurities of the duty of a
child.
But becaufe this fevere doctrine will go down but
very hardly with a great many, I muft take the more
care to guard it againfl the objections which will be
made to it. Thofe from natural difability, or ficknefs 5
from evident and apparent danger of the mother, or
from the interpofition of the father's authority, or
from plain neceiTity ; or if there be any other that
have an equal reafon with thefe, I have prevented al-
ready by allowing them to be juft and reafonable ex-
ceptions from the general rule, when they are real 3
and not made pretences to fhake off our duty.
p> Y 2 But
Concerning the education of children.
But there are befides thefe, two Objections which
, indeed are real, but yet feem to have too great a
weight with thofe who would fain decline this duty,
and are by no means fufficient to excufe mothers, no
not thofe of the higheft rank and quality, from the
natural obligation of it. And they are thefe : the
manifeft trouble, and the manifold reftraints which
the careful difcharge of this duty does unavoidably
bring upon thofe who fubmit themfelves to it.
i ft, For the trouble of it, I have only this to fay,
and I think that no more need to be faid about it -,
^hat no body is difcharged from any duty by reafon
of the trouble which necefiarily attends it, and is in-
separable from it; fince God who made it a duty
forefaw the trouble of it when he made it fo.
2dly, As to the manifold reftraints which it lays
upon mothers ; this will beft be anfwered by confider-
ing of what nature thefe reftraints are. And they
are chiefly in thefe and the like inftances. This duty
reftrains mothers from fpending their morning and
their money in curious and coftly drcffing -, from
mi fpending the reft of the day in formal and for the
molt part impertinent vifits, and in feeing and hear-
ing plays, many of which are neither fit to be ken
or heard by modeft perfons and thofe who pretend to
religion and virtue ; as I hope all chriftians do, efpe-
ciaiiy perfons of higher rank and quality : and it re-
ftrains them likewife from trifling away a great part of
the night in gaming, and in revelling till pail mid-
night, I am loth to lay how much.
Thefe are thofe terrible reftraints which this natural
duty, of mothers nurfing their children, lays upon
them.
Concerning the education of children. 457
them. Now I cannot but think all thefe to be very $ E R M.
happy reftraints : happy furely for the child •, and in
many refpecls happy for the father, and for the whole
family, which by this means will be kept in much
better order : but happiefl of all for the mother, who
does herein not only difcharge a great and neceHary
duty, but is hereby alio hinder'd from running into
many great faults, which before they will be forgiven
muft coft her a deep contrition, and a very bitter re-
pentance.
Perhaps I may have gone further in this unufual
argument, than will pleafe the prefent age : but I
hope poflerity will be fo wife as to confider it and lay
it to heart. For I am greatly afraid that the world
will never be much better till this great fault be
mended. I proceed to the next particular where-
in the good education of children doth confiit,
namely,
II. In bringing them to be baptized and admitted
members of Christ's church, at the times appoint-
ed or accuftomed in the national church of which the
parents are members. I mean, to bring them to the
church to be there publickly initiated, and folemnly
admitted by baptifm. And this the rules of the
church of England do ftrictly enjoin, unlefs the child
be in danger of death ; and in that cafe only it is al-
lowed to adminifter baptifm privately, and in a fum-
mary way without performing the whole office : but
then if the child live, it is ordered that it mall be
brought to the church, where the remainder of the
office is to be folemnly performed.
I know that of late years, fince our unhappy con-
fufions, this, facrament hath very frequently been ad-
7 miniflxed
a co Concerning the education of children.
miniftred in private: and miniftcrs have been in a
manner, and to avoid the greater mifchief of repara-
tion, neceflitated to comply with the obftinacy of the
greater and more powerful of their pariffiioncrs ;
who for their eafe, or humour, or for the convenience
of a pompous chriftening, will either have their chil-
dren baptized at home by their minifter ; or if he re-
fbfe, will get fome other minifter to do it -, which is
very irregular.
Now I would intreat fuch perfons calmly to confi-
der how contrary to reafon, and to the plain defign
of the inftitution of this facrament, this perverfe cuf-
tom, and their obftinate refolution in it, is. For is
there any civil fociety or corporation into which per-
fons are admitted without fome kind of folemnity ?
and is the privilege of being admitted members of the
chriftian church, and heirs of the great and glorious
promifes and bleffings of the new covenant of the
gofpel lefs confiderable, and fit to be conferred with
lefs folemnity ? I fpeak to chriftians, and they who
are fo in good earneft will, without my ufing more
words about it, confider what I fay in this parti-
cular.
III. Another and very necefTary part of the good
education of children is, by degrees to inform and
carefully to initruct them in the whole compafs of
their duty to God, their neighbour, and themfelves :
that fo they may be taught how to behave themfelves
in all the Heps of their life, from their firft capacity of
reafon till they arrive at the more perfect ufe and ex-
ercife of that faculty -, when, if at rirft they be well
inftructed, thc j y will be better able to direct and go-
vern themfelves afterwards.
This
Concerning the education of children. 459
This duty God does exprefly and very particularly S E R M.
charge upon his own peculiar people, the people of u— y--^
Ifrael, fpeaking of the law which he had given them :
V Thou (halt, fays he, teach them diligently unto Deut ' V1 *
" thy children, and fhalt talk of them when thou.
* c fitted in thine houfe, and when thou walked by the
" way •, when thou lied down, and when thou rifeft
" up." And this God long before promifed, that
Abraham, the father of ' the faithful, would do;
<c I know Abraham, fays he, that he will command Gen.xviii.
*' his children and his houfhold after him to keep the I9 *
" way of the Lord."
This work ought to be begun very early, upon the
firft budding and appearance of reafon and un-
derstanding in children. So the prophet directs ;
" Whom fhaJI he teach knowledge ? whom fhall he Na.xxviiL
c * make to understand doctrine ? them that are 9,
u weaned from the milk, and drawn from the
" breads : for precept mud be upon precept, &c.
To this end we mud, by fuch degrees as they are
capable, bring them acquainted with God and them- '
felves. And in the fird place we mud inform them,
that there is fuch a being as God, whom we ought to
honour and reverence above all things. And then %
that we are all his creatures, and the work of his hands,
" that it is he that hath made us, and not we our-
" felves :" that he continually preferves us, and gives
us all the good things that we enjoy : and therefore
we ought to ask every thing of him by prayer, be-
caufe this is an acknowledgment of our dependence
upon him ; and to return thanks to him for all that
we have and hope for, bccaufe this is a juft and eafy
tribute,
d.6o Concerning the education of children.
SERM. tribute, and all that we can render to him for his
numberlefs favours and benefits.
And after this, they are to be inftructed more par-
ticularly in their duty to God and men, as I fhall
fhew more fully afterwards. And becaufe fear and
hope are the two pafiions which do chiefly fway and
govern humane nature, and the main iprings and
principles of action ; therefore children are to be
carefully informed that there is a life after death,
wherein men fhall receive from God a mighty and
eternal reward, or a terrible and endlefs punifhment,
according as they have done or neglected their duty in
this life : that God will love and reward thofe who
do his will and keep his commandments, but will
execute a dreadful punifhment upon the workers of
iniquity and the wilful tranfgrefibrs of his laws.
And, according as they are capable, they are to
be made fenfible of the great degeneracy and corrup-
tion of humane nature, derived to us from the fail
and wilful tranfgreflion of our lirft parents ; and of
the way of our recovery out of this miferable eftate
by Jesus Christ ; whom God hath fent in our na-
ture to purchafe and accomplifh the Redemption and
Salvation of mankind, from the captivity of fin and
fatan, and from the damnation of hell.
IV. The good education of children confifts not
only in informing their minds in the knowledge of
God and their duty, but more efpecially in endea-
vouring with the greatefl: care and prudence to form
their lives and manners to religion and virtue. And
this mud be done by training them up to the exercife
of the following graces and virtues.
Firft,
Concerning the education of children. 461
Firft, to obedience and modefty ; to diligence SERM.
and fincerity ; and to tendernefs and pity, as the
general difpofitions to religion and virtue.
Secondly, to the good government of their par-
dons, and of their tongue -, and particularly to fpeak
truth, and to hate lying as a bafe and vile quality ;
thefe being as it were the foundations of religion
and virtue.
Thirdly, to piety and devotion towards God ; to
fobriety and chaftity with regard to themfelves ; and
to juflice and charity towards all men ; as the
principal and eifential parts of religion and virtue.
Firft, as the general di/pofitions to religion and
virtue, we muft train them up,
1 ft, To obedience. Parents muft take great care
to maintain their authority over their children ;
otherwife they will neither regard their commands,
nor hearken to and follow their inftruclions. If
they once get head and grow ftubborn and difobe-
dient, there is very little hope of doing any great
good upon them.
idly, To modefty, which is a fear of fhame and
difgrace. This difpofition, which i9 proper to chil-
dren, is a marvellous advantage to all good pur-
pofes. " They are modeft, fays Ariftotle, who are
" afraid to offend, and they are afraid to offend
" who are moft apt to do it;" as children are,
becaufe they are very much under the power of their
paffions, without a proportionable ftrcngth of rea-
ibn to govern them and keep them under.
Now modefty is not properly a virtue, but it is
a very good fign of a tradable and toward ly dif-
pofition, and a great prefervative and fecurity again it
Vol. IV. 5 Z fin
1.
462 Concerning the education of children.
8ERM. fin and vice: and thofe children, who are much
LI
' ^ under the restraint of modeity, we look upon as
moil hopeful and likely to prove good ; whereas im-
modefty is a vicious temper broke loofe and got free
from all reftraint : fo that there is nothing left to
keep an impudent perfon from fin 3 when fear of fhame
is gone : for fin will foon take poffeMlon of that per-
ibn whom fhame hath left. He that is once be r
come fhamelefs hath proftituted himfelf. Therefore
preferve this difpofition in children as much as is
pofiible, as one of the befl means to preferve their
innocency, and to bring them to goodnefs.
gdly, to diligence, fine qtid vir magnus nunquam
extitit \ " without which, lays one, there never
" was any great and excellent perfon." When the
Roman hiltorians defcribe an extraordinary man,
this always enters into his character as an efTential
part of it, that he was incredibili induftrid^ dillgentid
fingidari, " of incredible induflry, of fingular dili-
" gence;" or fomething to that purpofe. And
indeed a perfon can neither be excellently good,
nor extremely bad, without this quality. The de-
vil himfelf could not be fo bad and michievous as
he is, if he were not fo fcirring and reftlejs a fpirit,
and did not compafs the earth, and " go to and
f % fro feeking whom he may devour."
This is part of the character of Sylla, and Ma-
rius, and Catiline, thofe great diiturbers of the Ro-
man ftate -, as well as of Cefar and Pompey, who
were much greater and better men, but yet gave
{rouble enough to their country, and at laft difiblv-
cd the Roman commonwealth by their ambition
and contention for fuperiority : This, I fay, enters
into
Concerning the education of children. 463
into all their characters, that they were of a vigo-
rous and indefatigable fpirit. So that diligence in
it felf is neither a virtue nor a vice, but may be
applied either way, to good or bad purpofes ; and
yet where all other requifites do concur it is a very
proper inftrument and difpofition for virtue.
Therefore train up children to diligence, if ever
you defire they fhould excel in any kind. " TheProv. x. 4,
" diligent hand, faith Solomon, maketh rich -, "
rich in eftate, rich in knowledge. " Seed thou ap r ov. xxii.
cc man diligent in his bufinefs? as the lame wife man 2 9*
obferves, he fhall ftand before princes, he fhall not
(land before, mean or obfeure men." And again,
The hand of the diligent fhall bear rule, but the PrOV - xii,
flothful fhall be under tribute." Diligence puts 24 "
almofl every thing into our power, and will in time
make children capable of the beft and greatefl:
things.
Whereas idlenefs is the bane and ruin of chil-
dren ; it is the unbending of their fpirits, the ruft
of their faculties, and as it were the laying of their
minds fallow, not as husbandmen do their lands
that they may get new heart and ftrength, but to
impair and lofe that which they have. Children
that are bred up in lazinefs are almofl necefTarily
bad, becaufe they cannot take the pains to be good ;
and they cannot take pains, becaufe they have never
been inured and accuftomed to it ; which makes
their fpirits reflive, and when you have occaficn to
quicken them and fpur them up to bufinefs, they
will ftand frock ftill.
Therefore never let your children be without a
calling, or without fome uleful, or at leaft innocent
5 Z 2 employ*
464 Concerning the education of children.
5 E rm. employment that will take them up ; that they may
not be put upon a kind of necefllty of being vicious
for want of fomething better to do. The devil
tempts the active and vigorous into his fervice,
knowing what fit and proper instruments they are
to do his drudgery : but the flothful and idle, no
body having hired them and fet them on work,
lie in his way, and he Humbles upon them as he
goes about ; and they do as it were offer themfelves
to his fervice, and having nothing to do they even
tempt the devil himfelf to tempt them, and to take
them in his way.
4thly, To fincerity ; which is not fo properly a
fingle virtue, as the life and foul of all other graces
and virtues 5 and without which, what fhew of
goodnefs foever a man may make, he is unfound
and rotten at the heart. Cherifh therefore this dif-
pofition in children, as that which when they come
to be men will be the great fecurity and ornament
of their lives, and will render them acceptable both
to God and Men.
5thly, To tendernefs and pity : which, when
they come to engage in bufinefs and to have deal-
ings in the world, will be a good bar againfl in-
juftice and opprefllon ; and will be continually
prompting us to charity, and will fetch powerful
arguments for it from our own bowels.
To preferve this goodnefs and tendernefs of na-
ture, this fo very humane and ufeful affection, keep
children, as much as poflible, out of the way of
bloody fights and fpectacles of cruelty, and dif.
countenance in them all cruel and barbarous ufage
of creatures under their power j do not allow them
to
Concerning the education of children. 46 r
to torture and kill them for their fport or pleafure ; SeRm.
becaufe this will infenfibly and by degrees harden their , Lr -
hearts, and make them lefs apt to companionate
the wants of the poor and the fufferings and af-
flictions of the miferable.
Secondly, as the main foundations of Religion
and virtue, children muft be carefully trained up
to the government of their paffions, and of their
tongues ; and particularly to fpeak truth, and to
hate lying as a bafe and vile quality.
1 ft, To the good government of their paffions.
It is the diforder of thefe, more efpecially of defire,
and fear, and anger, which betrays us to many
evils. Anger prompts men to contention and mur-
der : inordinate defire, to covetoufnefs and fraud
and oppreffion : and fear many times awes men
into fin, and deters them from their duty.
Now if thefe paffions be cherifhed, or even but
let alone in children, they will in a fhort time grow
headftrong and unruly, and when they come to be
men will corrupt the judgment, and turn good-
nature into humour, and the underftanding into
prejudice, and wilfulneis : but if they be carefully
obferved and prudently reftrained, they may by de-
grees be managed and brought under government -
and the inordinacy of them being pruned away,
they may prove excellent inftruments of virtue.
Therefore be careful to difcountenance in chil-
dren any thing that looks like rage and furious an-
ger, and to mew them the unreafonablenefs and
deformity of it. Check their longing defires after
things pleafant, and ufe them to frequent difappoint-
ments in that kind 5 that when you think fit to
gratify
Concerning the education of children.
gratify them they may take it for a favour, and
not challenge every thing they have a mind to as
their due ; and by degrees may learn to fubmit to
the more prudent choice of their parents, as being
much better able to judge what is good and fit for
them.
And when you fee them at any time apt out of
fear to neglect their duty, or to fall into any fin, or
to be tempted by telling a lye to commit one fault
to hide and excufe another, which children are very
apt to do ; the belt remedy of this evil will be to plant
a greater fear againft a lefs, and to tell them what
and whom they mould chiefly fear \ " not him who
" can hurt and kill the body, but him who after
cc he hath killed can deftroy both body and foul
" in hell."
The neglect of children in this matter, I mean
in not teaching them to govern their paffions, is the
true caufe why many that have proved fincere chrifti-
ans when they came to be men, have yet been very
imperfect in their con verfation, and their lives been
full of inequalities aud breaches, which have not
only been matter of great trouble and difquiet to
themfelves, but of great fcandal to religion \ when
their light which mould mine before men is fo of-
ten darkened and obfcured by thefe frequent and vi-
fible infirmities.
2dly, To the government of their tongues. To
this end teach children filence, efpecially in the pre-
fence of their betters. And as loon as they are ca-
pable of fuch a lefTon, let them be taught not to
fpeak but upon confideration, both of what they lay,
and before whom. And above all, inculcate upon them
that
Concerning the education of children. 467
that mod necefTary duty and virtue of fpcakingSE R M.
truth, as one of the beft and ftrongeft bands of hu-
mane fociety and commerce : and porTds them with
the bafenefs and vileneis of telling a lye ; for if it be
fo great a provocation to give a man the lye, then
furely to be guilty of that fault muft be a mighty re-
proach.
They who write of Japan tell us that thofe People,
though mere heathens, take fuch an effectual courfe
in the education of their children, as to render a lye,
and breach of faith, above all things odious to them :
infomuch that it is a very rare thing for any perfon
among them to be taken in a lye, or found guilty of
breach of faith. And cannot the rules of chriftianity
be rendered as effectual to reftrain men from thefe
faults which are fcandalous even to nature, and much
more fo to the chriftian religion ?
To the government of the tongue does likewifc
belong the retraining of children from lewd and ob-
fcene words, from vain and profane talk ; and efpe-
daily from horrid oaths and imprecations : from all
which they are eafily kept at firft, but if they are
once accuflomed to them, it will be found no fuch
eafy matter for them to get quit of thefe evil habits.
It will require great attention and watchfulnefs over
themfelves, to keep oaths out of their common dif-
courie : but if they be heated and in paflion, they
throw out oaths and curfes as naturally as men that
are highly provoked fling (tones, or any thing that
comes next to hand at one another : fo dangerous a
thing is it to let any thing that is bad in children to
grow up into a habit.
Thirdly,
468 Concerning the education of children.
SERM. Thirdly, as the principal and effential parts of re-
ligion and virtue, let children be carefully bred up,
1 ft, Tofobriety and temperance in regard to them-
felves ; under which I comprehend likewife purity and
chaftity. The government of the fenfual appetite as
to all kind of bodily pleafures is not only a great part
of religion, but an excellent inflrument of it, and a
neceflary foundation of piety and juftice. For he
that cannot govern himfelf is not like to difcharge
his duty either to God or men. And therefore St.
Paul puts fobriety firft, as a primary and principal
virtue in which men are inftrucled by the chriftian
religion, and which mult be laid as the foundation
both of piety towards God, and of righteoufnefs to
men. " The grace of God, for fo he calls the gof-
pel, that brings falvation unto all men, hath ap-
peared ; teaching us, that denying ungodlinefs and
worldly lufts, we mould live foberly, and righte-
oufly, and godly in this prelent world." It firfl
teacheth us to live foberly : and unlefs we train up
children to this virtue, we mud never expect that they
will live righteoufiy or godly in this prefent
world.
Efpecially, children mud be bred up to great fo-
briety and temperance in their diet, which will re-
trench the fuel of other inordinate appetites. It is a
good faying I have met with fcmewhere, Magna pars
*virt utis eft bene moratus venter ', " a well-manner'd and
" well-govern'd appetite, in matter of meats and
•« drinks, is a great part of virtue." I do not mean,
that children fhould be brought up according to the
rules of a Leftian diet, which fets an equal flint to all
ftomachs,
46
u
<c -
Concerning the education of children. 469
ftomachs, and is as fenfelefs a thing as a law would S E R M.
be which fhould injoin that fhoes for all mankind
fhould be made upon one and the fame lad.
2dly, To a ferious and unaffected piety and devo-
tion towards God, ftill and quiet, real and fubftan-
tial, without much fhew and noife , and as free, as
may be, from all tricks of fuperftition, or freaks ot
enthufiafm \ which, if parents and teachers be not
very prudent, will al mod unavoidably infinuate them-
felves into the religion of children ; and when they
are grown up will make them appear, to wife and fo-
ber perfons, fantaftical and conceited ; and rendci*
them very apt to impofe their own foolifh fuperfti-
tions and wild conceits upon others, who underhand
religion much better than themfelves.
Let them be taught to honour and love God above
all things, to ferve him in private, and to attend
conftantly upon his publick worfhip, and to keep
their minds intent upon the feveral parts of it, with-
out wandring and diffraction : to pray to God as the
fountain of all grace and " the giver of every good
■* and perfect gift :" and to acknowledge him, and to
render thanks to him, as our moft gracious and con-
front benefactor, and the great patron and preferver
of our lives : to be careful to do what he commands,
arid to avoid what he hath forbidden : to be always
under a lively fenfe and apprehenfion of his pure and
all-feeing eye, which beholds us in fecret : and to do
every thing in obedience to the authority of that
great " lawgiver, who is able to fave and to deftroy * %
and with an awful regard to the ftrict and impartial
<c judgment of the great day.'*
Vol. IV. 6 A jdly,
1.
LI.
470 Concerning the education of children. *
SERM. gdly, To juflice and honefty : to defraud and op-
prefs no man *, to be as good as their word, and to
perform all their promifes and contracts ; and endea-
vour to imprint upon their minds the equity of that
great rule, which is fo natural, and fo eafy, that even
children are capable of it ; I mean that rule which
our blefTed Saviour tells us, " is the law and the
" prophets," namely, that we fhould do to others as
we would have others do to us if we were in their cafe
and circum (lances, and they in ours.
You that are parents and have to do in the world,
ought to be jufl and equal in all your dealings. In the
firil place for the fake of your own fouls, and next
for the fake of your children ; not only that you may
entail no curie upon the eflate you leave them, but
likewife that you may teach them no injuflice by the
example you fet before them ; which in this particu-
lar they will be as apt to imitate as in any one thing •,
becaufe of the prefent worldly advantage which it
feems to bring, and becaufe juflice is in truth a manly
virtue and lead underflood by children ; and there-
fore injuflice is a vice which they will foonefl praclife
and with the lead reluclancy, becaufe they have the
lead knowledge of it in many particular cafes : and
becaufe they have fo little fenfe of this great virtue,
they fhould not be allowed to cheat, no not in play
and fport, even when they play for little or nothing :
for if they praclife it in that cafe, and be unjufl in a
little, they will be much more tempted to be fo when
they can gain a great deal by it.
I remember that Xenophon in his inflitution of
Cyrus, which he defigned for the idea of a well-edu-
cated prince, tells us this little but very inftructive
flory
Concerning the education of children. 4.J1
dory concerning young Cyrus : that his governor, the S E R M-
better to make him to underftand the nature of judice,
puts this cafe to him:' you fee there, fays he to Cy-
rus, two boys playing, of different dature; the lefler
of them hath a very long coat, and the bigger a Ve-
ry fhort one: now, fays he, if you v/ere a judge how
would you difpofe of thefe two garments ? Cyrus
immediately, and with very good reafon as he thought,
pafleth this fudden fentence, that the teller boy mould
have the longer garment, and he that was of lower
dature the fhorter, becaufe this certainly was fit-
ted for them both : upon which his governor
fharply rebukes him to this purpofe •, telling him,
that if he were to make two coats for them he faid
well ; but he did not put this cafe to him as a tailor
but as a judge, and as luch he had given a very
wrong fentence : for a judge, fays he, ought not to
confider what is mod fit, but what is juft ; not who
could make the bed ufe of a thing, but who hath
the mod right to it.
This I bring partly to fhew in what familiar ways
the principles of virtue may be indilled into children ;
but chiefly to prove that judice is a manly virtue,
and that there is nothing wherein children may be
more eafily milled, than in matter of right and
wrong : therefore children mould be taught the ge-
neral principles and rules of judice and righteoufnefs,
becaufe if we would teach them to do judice we mud
teach them to know what judice is. For many are
unjud merely out of ignorance and for want of
knowing better, and cannot help it.
4thly, To charity ; I mean chiefly to the poor
and deditute ; becaufe this, as it is an effential fo it
6 A 2 is
472 Concerning the education of children.
SERM is a mod fubftantial part of religion. Now to en-
j courage this difpofition in children we mud not on-
ly give them the example of it, but muft frequently
inculcate upon them fuch paflages of fcripture as
thefe, " that pure religion and undefiled before God
" and the Father is this, to vifit the fatherlefs
" and the widows in their affliction :■•' " that as we
<c fow in this kind, fo we lhall reap:" that " he
" fha.ll have judgment without mercy who hath
tC fhewed no mercy :" that at the judgment of the
great day we fhall in a very particular manner be
called to an account for the practice or omiffion of
this duty, and fhall then be abfolved or condemned
according as we have exercifed or neglected this great
virtue of the chriftian religion.
SERMON LIL
Of the education of children.
P R O V. xxii. 6.
Train up a child in the way he JJoould go, and when he
is old he will not depart from it.
V. r B 1HE good education of children confifls
in giving them good example. This
courfe David took in his family, as ap-
tfal. ci. 2. pears by that folemn refolution of his, " I will be-
" have myfelf wifely in a perfect way, I will walk
u within my houfe with a perfect heart." Let pa-
rents
Concerning the education of children. 473
rents and matters of families give good example to S E R M.
their children and fervants, in a conftant ferving of,
God in their families, which will nourifh religion in
thofe that are under their care : and let them alfo be
exemplary in a fober and holy converfation before
thofe that belong to them.
And let not your children, as far as is pofllble,
have any bad examples to converfe with, either
among your fervants, or their own companions ;
left " by walking with them they learn their way
" and get a blot to their fouls." There is con^
tagion in example, and nothing doth more flily
infinuate ix.^ and gain upon us than a living and
familiar pattern ; therefore, as much as in you lies,
let children always have good examples before
them.
Efpecially, let parents themfelves be exemplary to
them in the bed things, becaufe their example is of
all other the moft powerful, and carries greateft au-
thority with it. And without this, inftruction will
fignify very littk y and the great force and efficacy
of it will be loft. We fhall find it very hard to per-
fuade our children to do that which they fee we do
not praclife ourfelves. For even children have fo
much fenfe and fagacity as to underftand that a6lion s
are more real than words, and a more certain indi-
cation of what a man doth truly and inwardly be-
lieve. Example is the moft lively way of teaching,
and becaufe children are much given to imitation, it
is likewife a very delightful way of inftruction, and
that of which children are moft capable ; both be-
caufe it is beft underftood, and apt to make the
deepeft impreffion upon them.
So
474 Concerning the education of children.
S E R M. go th^ brents, above all others, have one aretf.
ment to be religious and good themfelves, for the
fake of their children. If you defire to have them
good, the bell, way to make ' them fo is to give
them the example of it in being good yourfelves.
For this reafon parents fhould take great care to do
nothing but what is worthy of imitation. Your
children will follow you in what you do, therefore
do not. go before them in any thing that is evil.
The evil example of parents is both a temptation
and encouragement to children to fin, becaufe it is
a kind of authority for what they do, and looks like
a jufbification of their wickednefs.
With what reafon canil thou expect that thy chil-
dren fhould follow thy good instructions, when thou
thyfelf giveft them an ill example ? thou doft but as
it were becken to them with thy head, and Ihew
them the way to heaven by thy good counfel, but
thou takeft them by the hand and leaded them in
the way to hell by thy contrary example. When-
ever you fwear or tell a lye, or are paffionate and fu-
rious, or come drunk into your family, you weaken
the authority of your commands, and lofe all reve-
rence and obedience to them by contradicting your
own precepts.
The precepts of a good man are apt to raife and
inflame others to the imitation of them, but when
they come from one who is faulty and vicious in
that kind himfelf, they are languid and faint, and
give us no heart and encouragement to the exercife
of thofe virtues, which we plainly fee they do not
practife themfelves. It is the apo (tie's argument*
" JThou therefore that ceacheft another, teacheft thou
" not
Concerning the education of children. 47 £
c< not thyfelf?" Thou that teacheft thy children to S ERM.
fpeak truth, doft thou tell a lye ? Thou that fayed . - -_j
they muft not fwear, doft thou profane the name of
God by cuftomary oaths and curfes? Thou art unfit
to be " a guide of the blind, a light to them that
" fit in darknefs, an inftructor of the foolifli, and.
" a teacher of babes ; becaufe thou thyfelf haft only
" a form of knowledge and of truth in the law,"
but art deftitute of the life and practice of it. In a
word, if you be not careful to give good example
to your children, you defeat your own counfels and
undermine the beft inftructions you can give them •>
and they will all be fpilt like water upon the barren
fands, they will have no effect, they will bring forth
no fruit.
VI. Good education confifts in wife and early re-
ftraints from that which is evil, by feafonable reproof
and correction. And this alfo is one way of in-
ftruction : fo Solomon tells us, " The rod and Pr °v,xxix>
c< reproof giveth wifdom:" And though both thefe 5 *
do fuppofe a fault that is paft, yet the great end
of them is to prevent the like for the future, and to
be an admonition to them for the time to come.
And therefore whatever will probably be effectual
for future caution and amendment, ought to be fuf-
ficient in this kind, becaufe the end is always to
give meafure to the means : And where a mild and
gentle rebuke will do the bufinefs, reproof may flop
there without proceeding farther ; or when that will
not do, if a fharp word and a fevere admonition
will be effectual, the rod may be fpared.
Provided always, that your lenity give no en-
couragement to fin, and be fo managed that children
7 may
476 Concerning the education of children.
SERM. may perceive that you are in good earned, and re-
v_ - y A.j ^>IvpH that if they will not reform they fhall cer-
tainly be punifhed. And provided likewife, that
your lenity bear a due proportion to the nature and
quality of the fault. We muft not ufe mildnefs in
the cafe of a wilful and heinous fin, efpecially if it
be exemplary and of publick influence. To rebuke
gently upon fuch an occafion is rather to counte-
nance the fault, and feems to argue that we are not
fenfible enough of the enormity of it, and that we
have not a due diflike and deteftation for it : fuch
cold reproofs as thofe which old Eli gave his fons,
1 Sam. 11 u Y/hy do you fuch things ? for I hear of your
<c evil dealings by all this people," that is, their
carriage was fuch as gave publick fcandal : " Nay>
my Sons ; for it is not a good report that I
hear, you make the Lord's people to tranfgrefs."
Such a cold reproof as this, where the crime was
fo great and notorious, was a kind of allowance
of it, and a partaking with them in their fin -, and
fo God interprets it, and therefore caMs it " a kick*
ap. u. 4C .^ ^^ ^- s f acr -Q ce ^ anc j a defpifing of his offer-
" ing :" And he threatens Eli with mod terrible
judgments upon this very account, " becaufe his
" fons made themfelves vile, and he retrained them
" not."
So that our Severity muft be proportioned to the
crime. Where the fault is great, there greater fe-
ver ity muft be ufed ; fo much at leaft as may be
an effectual reftraint for the future. Here was Eli's
mifcarriage, that in the cafe of fo great a fault as
his Sons were guilty of, his proceeding was neither
proportioned to the crime, nor to the end of re-
proof
Concerning the education of children. 477
proof and correction, which is amendment for the SERIvl.
future : but he ufed fuch a mildnefs in his reproof of, \jt
them, as was more apt to encourage than reftrain
them in their vile courfe3 : for \o the text fays.
" that his fons made themfelves vile, and he re-
" drained them not."
There are indeed fome difpofitions fo very tender
and tractable, that a gentile reproof will fufRcc.
But moil children are of that temper that correction
mufl be fometimes ufed, and a fond indulgence in
this cafe is many times their utter ruin and undoing ;
and in truth not love but hatred. So the wife man Prov - X11 *-
tells, " He that fpareth the rod hateth his ion,
" but he that loveth him chafteneth him betimes.
" Chaften thy fon while there is hope, and let not Jr X1X *
cc thy foul fpare for his crying. 5 * And again, Ch. xxii.
" Foolifhnefs is bound up in the heart of a child, 1 5*
" and the rod of correction fhall drive it far from
cc him. Withhold not correction from the child, Ch. xxiii.
« c for if thou beared him with the rod he mall not 13, Iv *
" die : Thou fhalt beat him with the rod, and flialt
" deliver his foul from hell." Again, " The rod c ^- XXiX#
" and reproof giveth wifdom, but a child left to D *
<c himfelf bringeth his mother to fhame :" He men-
tions the mother emphatically, becaufe me many
times is mod faulty in this fond indulgence ; and
therefore the fhame and grief of it doth juftly
fall upon her.
So that correction is of great ufe, and often ne-
ceffary - 9 and parents that forbear it, are not only
cruel to their children, but to themfelves : for God
many times punifhes thole parents very feverely who
have neglected this neccflary piece of difcipiine.
Vol. IV. 6 B There
l
III.
478 Concerning the education of children.
SERM. There is hardly to be found in the whole bible a
more terrible temporal threatning than that con-
cerning Eli and his houfe, for his fond indulgence
to his Ions, who when they came to be men proved
fucli horrible fcandals not only to their father, but
to the prieft's office j and to that degree as -' to
" make the facrifices of the Lord to be abnorred
44 by all the people. " I will recite the threatning
at large, tor an admonition to parents that they
be not guilty in this kind. " The Lord faid to
i&inuiii „ Samuel, Behold I will do a thing in Ifrael at
11,12,13, °
14. cC which both the ears of every one that heareth
" it mall tingle : In that day I will perform againft
Eli all things which I have fpoken concerning his
houfe ; when I begin I will alfo make an end.
For I have told him that I will judge his houfe
'* for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth, be-
" caufe his fons made themfelves vile, and he re-
a ftrained them not: And therefore I have fworn
" unto the houfe of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's
" houfe fhall not be purged with iacriiice nor offer-
" ing for ever." I know very well that this enor-
mous wickednefs of Eli's fons was committed by
them after they were grov/n to be men, but this in-
ftance is neverthelefs to my prefent purpofe, there
being hardly any doubt to be made but that it was
the natural effect of a remifs and too indulgent an
education.
Yea very often God doth correct and remarkably
punifh fond parents by thofe very children who have
wanted due reproof and correction : Of which the
fcripture gives us a remarkable inftance in Adoni-
jah, upon the mention of whole rebellion againft
David
Concerning the education of children. 479
David his Either, the text takes particular notice of SERM.
. lII.
his father's extreme fondnefs of him, as both the
procuring and meritorious caufe of it 3 " For his
" father had not difpleafed him at any time in fay-
" ing, why haft thou done fo i" And on the con-
trary, the wife fon of Sirach tells us, " that he
** that chaftifeth his fon mall have joy of him."
VII. The next thing I mall mention as a part of
good education is, the bringing of children to be
publickly catechized by the minifter, to prepare them
for folemn confirmation.
It was with a particular refpecl to this work of
publick catechizing, and by way of introduction to it,
that I at firft propofed to treat thus largely of the good
education of children, hoping it might be of good
life to handle this fubjedl more fully than it hath
ufually been done, at leaf! to my knowledge, from
the pulpit.
And therefore I fhall fay fomething, and that ve-
ry briefly, concerning the nature, and concerning
the neceflity and great ufefulnefs of catechizing
children.
Firft, for the nature of it, it is a particular way
of teaching by queftion and anfwer, accommodated
and fitted for the inftruftion of children in the prin-
ciples of religion. I do not indeed find, that this
particular method is any where injoined in fcrip-
ture •, but inftruclion in general is : and I doubt
not but that upon this general warrant parents and
minifters may ufe that way of inftru&ion of chil-
dren which is moft fit and proper to infhl into them
the principles of religion. It is true that the word
V<£\fQ(&v 7 from whence our word catechifm doth
5 B 2 come,
480 Concerning the education of children.
come, is ufed in fcripture to fignify teaching in ge-
neral : bat it hath fince by ecclefiaftical writers been
appropriated to that particular way of inftruclrion
which hath been long in ufe in the chriftian church,
and is commonly called catechizing.
Secondly, as to the neceflity and great ufefulnefs
of it j catechizing hath a particular advantage as to
children : becaufe they are fubiect to forgetfulnefs and
want of attention. Now catechizing is a good reme-
dy againlt both thefe; becaufe by queftions put to
them children are forced to take notice of what is
taught, and muft give fome anfwcr to the queftion
that is asked : and a catechifm being fhort, and con-
taining in a little compafs the moft necefifary prin-
ciples of religion, it is the more eafily remembred.
The great ufefulnefs and indeed the neceffity of it
plainly appears by experience. For it very feldom
happens, that children which have not been cate-
chized have any clear and competent knowledge of
the principles of religion ; and for want of this are
incapable of receiving any great benefit by fermons,
which fuppofe perfons to be in fome meafure inftruc-
ted before-hand in the main principles of religion.
Befides, that if they have no principles of religion
fixed in them, they become an eafy prey to feducers.
And we have had fad experience of this in our age ;
and among many other difmal effects of our late civil
confufions this is none of the lead, that publick cate-
chizing was almoft wholly difufed,and private too in
moil families : for had catechizing of children been
continued, it is very probable that this age would have
been infelled with fewer errors and with fewer
fchifms; and that there would not have been fo
41111 ch
Concerning the education of children. 481
much apoftafy from the fundamentals of religion. SERM.
For it is, I think, a true obiervation, that catechiz- ,_„
ing, and the hiflory of the martyrs have been the
two great pillars of the proteftant religion.
There being then fo great a neceflity and ufefulnefs
of this way of inftruclion, I would earneflly recom-
mend the practice of it to parents and mafters of fa-
milies with refpect to their children and fervants. For
I do not think that this work mould lie wholly up-
on minifters. You muft do your part at home, who
by your conftant refidence in your families have bet-
ter and more eafy opportunities of inculcating the
principles of religion upon your children and fer-
vants. There you mufl prepare them for publick ca-
techizing, that the work of the minifler may not be
too heavy upon him.
As to the part which concerns minifters, I intend
by God's affiftance, fo loon as the bufinefs can be
put into a good method, to begin this exercife. And
I do earned] y intreat ail that have young children
and fervants, to bring fuch of them as are fit to be
publickly catechized and intruded in the principles
of relig-ion : and I mall as often as fhall be thought
expedient fpend fome time in this work, between
afternoon prayers and fermon.
The catechifm to be ufed fhall be that appointed
in our liturgy, which is fhort, and contains in it the
chief principles of the chriftian religion. And I fhall
make a fhort and plain explication of the heads of
it ; iliitable to the capacity of children. And
becaufe this may not probably be of fo great ad-
vantage to thofe who are of riper years and under-
ftandings, yet becaufe children are to be inftructed as
well
482 Concerning the education of children.
SERM. well as men, I mud intreat thofe who are like to car-
ry away the Jeaft profit, to bring with them the
more patience : efpecially fince I mall for their fakes,
in the conftant courfe of my afternoon's fermons,
more largely and fully explain the chief principles of
the chriftian belief : a work which you know I have
fome time ago entred upon.
VIII. The laft thing I fhall mention, and with
which the ftate of childhood ends, is bringing of
children to the bimop, to be folemnly confirmed, by
their taking upon themfelves the vow which by their
fureties they entred into at their baptifm.
This is acknowledged by almoft all feels and par-
ties of chriflians to be of primitive antiquity, and of
very great ufe when it is performed with that due
preparation of perfons for it, by the minifters to
whole charge they belong, and with that ferioufnefs
and folemnity which the nature of the thing doth re-
quire.
And to that end it were very defirable that confir-
mations mould be more frequent, and in fmaller
numbers at a time; that fo the bimop may apply
himfelf more particularly to every perfon that is to
be confirmed, that by this means the thing may
make the deeper imprcflion, and lay the ftronger ob-
ligation upon them.
One thing more I could wifh, both to prevent con-
fufion, and for the cafe alfo of the bifhop, that his
work may not be endlefs, that minifters would take
care that none may prefent themfelves to the bifhop,
or be prefented by the minifters, to be confirmed a
fecond time : becaufe a great many are wont to offer
themfelves every time there is a confirmation, which
is
Concerning the education of children. ±% -?
is both very diforderly and unreafonabk, there being S E R M.
every whit as little reafbn for a fecond confirmation,
as there is for a fecond baptifm : and if any perfons
need fo often to be confirmed, it is a fign that confir-
mation hath very little effect upon them.
II. I proceed to the fecond general head, which was
to give fome more particular directions for the ma-
nagement of this work of the good education of chil-
dren in fuch a way as may be molt etieclual to its
end.
Firft, endeavour, as well as you can, to difcover the
particular temper and difpofition of children, that
you may fuit and apply yourfelves to it, and by link-
ing in with nature may fleer and govern them in the
fweeteft and eafiefl way. This is like knowledge of
the nature of the ground to be planted, which huf-
bandmen are wont very carefully to enquire into, that
they may apply the feed to the foil, and plant in it
that which is mod proper for it :
Quid qiueque ferat regio, quid quceque recufet.
Hie fegetes> illic veniunt felicius uvce.
Every foil is not proper for all forts of grain or fruit ;
one ground is fit for corn, another for vines. And
fo it is in the tempers and difpofitions of children :
fome are more capable of one excellency and virtue
than another, and fome more ftrongly inclined to one
vice than another : which is a great fecret of nature
and providence, and it is very hard to give ajuftand
fatisfactory account of it.
It is good therefore to know the particular tempers
of children, that we may accordingly apply our care
to them 3 and manage them to the Deft advantage :
that
484 Concerning the education of children.
S R R M. that where we difcern in them any forward inclina-
LII .
tions to good, we may call in fuch feeds and prin-
ciples, as, by their fuitablenefs to their particular
tempers, we judge moft likely to take fooneft and
deepeil root : and when thefe are grown up, and have
taken pofTeffion of the foil, they will prepare it for
the feeds of other virtues.
And fo likewife when we difcover in their nature a
more particular difpofition and leaning towards any
thing which is bad, we mud with great diligence and
care apply fuch inftructions, and plant fuch principles
in them, as may be mod effectual to alter this
evil difpofition of their minds \ that whilft nature is
tender and flexible we may gently bend it the other
way : and it is almofl incredible what flrange things
by prudence and patience may be done towards the
rectifying of a very perverfe and crooked difpofi-
tion.
So that it is of very great ufe to obferve and dif-
cover the particular tempers of children, that in
all our inftruclion and management of them we
may apply ourfelves to their nature and hit their
peculiar difpofition : by this means we may lead
and draw them to their duty in humane ways, and
fuch as are much more agreeable to their temper than
conftraint and neceflity, which are harm and churlifh,
and againft the grain. Whatever is done with de-
light goes on cheerfully, but when nature is com-
pelled and forced, things proceed heavily : there-
fore, when we are forming and fafhioning children to
religion and virtue, we fhould make all the advan-
tage we can of their particular tempers. This will
be a good direction and help to us to conduct na-
ture
Concerning the education of children, 4S5
ture in the way it will mod eafily go. Every temper s E R \f.
gives fome particular advantage and handle where-
by we may take hold of them and (leer them more
eafily : but if we take a contrary courfe we mud
expect to meet with great difficulty and reluc-
tancy.
Such ways of education as are prudently fitted to
the particular difpofitions of children are like wind
and tide together, which will make the work go on
amain : but thofe ways and methods which are ap-
plied crofs to nature are like wind againd tide,
which make a great fur and conflict, but a very flow
progrefs. Not that I do, or can expect that all
parents fhould be philofophers, but that they fhould
ufe the bed wifdom they have in a matter of fo great
concernment.
Secondly, in your indruction of children endea-
vour to plant in them thofe principles of religion and
virtue which are moil fubdantial, and are like to
have the bed influence upon the future government
of their lives, and to be of continual and lading ufe
to them. Look to the feed you fow, that it be found
and good, and for the benefit and ufe of mankind :
this is to be regarded, as well as the ground into
which the feed is cad.
Labour to beget in children a right apprehenfion
of thofe things which are mod fundamental and
neceffary to the knowledge of God and our duty ;
and to make them fenfible of the great evil and
danger of fin •, and to work in them a firm belief
of the next life, and of the eternal rewards and re-
compences of it» And if thefe principles once take
root they will fpread far and wide, and have a vad
Vol. IV. 6 C influence
1.
Concerning the education of children.
influence upon all their actions \ and unlels fome
powerful luft, or temptation to vice hurry them
away, they will probably accompany them and ftick
by them as long as they live.
Many parents, according to their bed knowledge
and apprehenfions of religion in which they them-
felves have been educated, and too often according
to their zeal without knowledge, do take great care
to plant little and ill-grounded opinions in the minds
of their children, and lb fafhion them to a party by
infufmg into them the particular notions and phrafes
of a feci:, which when they come to be examined
have no fubftance, nor perhaps fenfe in them : And
by this means, inftead of bringing them up in the
true and folid principles of chriftianity, they take
a great deal of pains to inftruct them in fome doubt-
ful doctrines of no great moment in religion, and
perhaps falfe at the bottom ; whereby inftead of
teaching them to hate fin, they fix them in fchifm,
and teach them to hate and damn all thofe who
differ from them and are oppofite to them ; who
yet are perhaps much more in the right, and far
better chriftians than themfelves.
And indeed nothing is more common and more
to be pitied, than to fee with what a confident con-
tempt and fcornful pity fome ill-inftructed and
ignorant people will lament the blindnefs and igno-
rance of thofe who have a thoufand times more true
knowledge and skill than themfelves, not only in
all other things, but even in the practice as well
as knowledge of the chriftian religion : believing thofe
who do not relifh their affected phrafes and uncouth
forms of fpeech to be ignorant of the my fiery of
the
Concerning th-e education of children, 487
the gofpel, and utter flrangers to the life and power S E R M.
of godlinefs.
But now what is the effect of this miftaken way
of education ? The harveft is jufl anfwerable to the
husbandry,
Infelix lolium & fteriles dominant ur avena *,
As they have fown, fo they muft expect to reap ;
and inftead of good grain to have cockle and tares;
" They have fown the wind, and they fhall reap
u the whirlwind," as the expreffion is in the pro-
phet; inftead of true religion, and of a fober'and
peaceable converlation, there will come up new and
wild opinions, a factious and uncharitable fpirit, a
furious and boifterous zeal, which will neither fufTer
themfelves to be quiet, nor any body that is about
them.
But if you defire to reap the effects of true piety
and religion, you muft take care to plant in chil-
dren the main and fubftantial principles of chriftia-
nity, which may give them a general bias to holi-
nefs and goodnels, and not to little particular opi-
nions, which being once fixed in them by the ftrong
prejudice of education will hardly ever be rooted
out.
Thirdly, do all that in you lies to check and
difcourage in them the firft beginnings of fin and
vice : fo foon as ever they appear pluck them up
by the roots. This is like the weeding of corn,
which is a necefifary piece of good husbandry. Vice3
like ill weeds grow apace, and if they once take to
the foil it will be hard to extirpate and kill them :
but if we watch them and cut them up as foon as
6 C 2 they
4? 8 Concerning the education of children.
S E R iVf. they appear, this will clifcourage the root and make
' j it die.
Therefore take great heed that your children be
not habituated and accuflomed to any evil courfe.
A vice that is of any confiderable growth and con-
tinuance will foon grow obftinate, and having once
fpread its root, it will be a very difficult matter
to clear the ground of it. A child may be fo long
neglecled till he be overgrown with vice to that de-
gree, that it may be out of the power of parents
ever to bring him to good fruit. If it once gain
upon the depraved difpofition of children, it will
be one of the hardeft things in the world to give a
flop to it. It is the Apoftle's caution " to take
" heed of being hardened by the deceitfulnefs of
<c fin," which they who go on in an evil courfe
will mod certainly be. We fhould obferve the firfl
appearances of evil in children, and kill thofe young
ftrpents as foon as they ftir left they bite them to
death.
Fourthly, bring them, as foon as they are capa-
ble of it, to the publick worihip of God, where
lie hath prom i fed his more efpecial prefence and
blefling. It is in Zion, the place of God's publick
worfhip, where " the Lord hath commanded the
" blefllng, even life for evermore : " There are the
means which God hath appointed for the begetting
and increafing of grace in us : This is the pool
where the angel ufeth to come and to move the wa-
ters : bring your children hither, where if they dili-
gently attend they may meet with an opportunity
of being healed.
And
Cone er ?2i ng the education of children. 489
And when they come from the church, call them SERM.
t T r
frequently to an account of what they have heard
and learned there : this will make them both to
attend more diligently to what they hear, and to
lay it up in their memories with greater care, and
will fix it there fo as to make a deeper and more
Jading impreffion upon their minds.
Fifthly, be careful more efpecially to put them
upon the exercife and practice of religion and vir-
tue, in fuch indances as their under (landing and age
are capable of. Teach them fome fhort and proper
forms of prayer to God, to be faid by them de-
voutly upon their knees in private, at lead every
morning and evening. A great many children neg-
lect this, not from any ill difpofition of mind, but
becaufe no body takes care to teach them how to
do it. And if they were taught and put upon do-
ing it, the habit and cuftom of any thing will after
a little while make that eafy and delightful enough,
which they cannot afterwards be brought to without
great difficulty and reluctancy.
Knowledge and practice do mutually promote and
help forward one another. Knowledge prepares and
difpofeth for practice, and practice is the bed way
to perfect knowledge in any kind. Mere fpecula-
tion is a very raw and rude thing in comparifon
of that true and didinct knowledge which is gotten
by practice and experience. The mod exact skill
in geography is nothing compared with the know-
ledge of that man, who befides the fpeculative part
hath travelled over and carefully viewed the Coun-
tries he hath read of. The mod knowing man in
the art and rules of navigation is no body in com-
parifon
49 3 Concerning the education of children.
SER M. parifon of an experienced pilate and feaman. Becaufe
J^ t knowledge perfected by practice is as much different
from mere fpeculation, as the skill of doing a thing
is from being told how a thing is to be done.
For men may eafily miftake rules, but frequent
praclice and experience are feldom deceived. Give
me a man that conftantly does a thing well, and
that fhail fatisfy me that he knows how to do it.
That faying of our bleffed Saviour, " If any man
" will do my will, he fhall know of the doctrine
tC whether it be of God, or whether I fpeak of
<c my felf," is a clear determination of this mat-
ter, namely, that they underftand the will of God
bed who are moft careful to do it. And fo like-
wife the beft way to know what God is, is to
tranfcribe his perfections in our lives and actions ;
to be holy, and jufl, and good, and merciful as
he is.
Therefore when the minds of children are once
throughly pofTefi: with the true principles of reli-
gion, we fhould bend all our endeavours to put
them upon the practice of what they know: let
them rather be taught to do well than to talk well *,
rather to avoid what is evil, in all its fhapes and
appearances, and to practife their duty in the feve-
ral inftances of it, than " to fpeak with the tongues
Jobxxviii." of men and angels :" " Unto man he faid, be-
" hold, the fear of the Lord, that is wifdom, and
i Job. ii. « to depart from evil is underftanding." u Hereby,
3 * 4 * " faith St. John, we know that we know him, if
" we keep his commandments : he that faith I
" know him and keepeth not his commandments
fcC is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
7 Xenophon
Concerning the education of children. 491
Xenophon tells us, that the Perfians inftead of S E R m.
making their children learned taught them to be ^J^L *
virtuous; and inftead of filling their heads with fine
{peculations, taught them honefty, and fincerity,
and refolution -, and endeavoured to make them
wife and valiant, juft and temperate. Lycurgus alio
in the inftitution of the Lacedemonian common-
wealth took no care about learning, but only about
the] lives and manners of their children : though I
mould think that the care of both is beft, and thac
learning would very much help to form the man-
ners of children, and to make them both wifer and
better men : and therefore with the leave of fo
great and wife a lawgiver, I cannot but think that
this was a defect in his inftitution : becaufe learn-
ing, if it be under the conduct of true wifdom and
goodnefs, is not only an ornament but a great ad-
vantage to the better government of any kingdom
or commonwealth.
Sixthly, there muft be great care and diligence
ufed in this whole bufinefs of education, and more
particularly in the inftruclion of children. There
muft be " line upon line, and precept upon pre- rf a . xxviii.
" eept, here a little and there a little," as the pro- 10 »
phet expreffeth it. The principles of religion and
virtue muft be inftilled and dropt into them by
fuch degrees and in fuch a meafure as they are ca-
pable of receiving them : for children are narrow-
mouth'd vefTels, and a great deal cannot be poured
into them at once.
And they muft alfo be accuftomed to the prac-
tice and exercife of religion and goodnefs by de-
grees, till holinefs and virtue have taken root, and
they
492 Concerning the education of children.
SERM. they be well fettled and confirmed in a good
i_Jl ' j courfe. Now this requires conflant attendance and
even the patience of the husbandman to wait for the
fruit of our labours.
In fome children the feeds that are fown fall
into a greater depth of earth, and therefore ate of
a flow difclofure, and it may be a confiderable
time before they appear above-ground ; it is long
before they fhoot and grow up to any height, and
yet they may afterwards be very confiderable :
Sir H. W. « which, as an ingenious author obfervcs, mould
" excite the care and prevent the defpair of pa-
" rents : for if their children be not iuch fpeedy
" fpreaders and branchers as the vine, they may
«* perhaps prove
• p roles tarde crefcentis oliva" .
It is a work of great pains and difficulty to recti-
fy a perverfe diipofition. It is more eafy to palliate
the corruption of nature, but the cure of it requires
time and careful looking to. An evil temper and
inclination may be covered and concealed, but it is a
great work to conquer and fubdue it. It mud firft
be check'd and flopped in its courfe, and then weak-
en'd and the force of it be broken by degrees,
and at laft, if it be poffible, deflroyed and rooted
out.
Seventhly and laftly, to all thefe means we mud
add our conftant and earned prayers to God for our
children, that his grace may take an early poflefTion
of them j that he would give them virtuous incli-
nations and towardly difpofitions for goodnefs :
and that he would be pleafed to accompany all our
endea-
Concerning the education of children. 493
endeavours to that end with his powerful afliftance S E R M.
and bl effing •, without which, all that we can do will
prove ineffectual. Parents may plant, and minifters
may water, but it is God that mult give the in-
creafe.
Be often then upon your knees for your children.
Do not only teach them to pray for themfelves, but
do you likewife with great fervour and earheft-
nefs u commend them to God and to the power
" of his grace," which alone is able to fanctify
them. Apply yourfelvesto " the fattier of lights ;
•* from whom comes every good and perfect gift :"
beg his Holy Spirit, anc| ask divine knowledge
and wifdom for them of him, " who giveth to all
" liberally and upbraideth no man :" befeech him
to feafon their tender years with his fear, which is the
beginning of wifdom : pray for them as Abraham
did for lfhmael, " O that Ifhmael may live in thy
" fight."
Many parents, having found all their endeavours
for a long time together ineffectual, have at length
betook themfelves to prayer, earned and importu-
nate prayer to God, as their laft refuge. Monica,
the mother of St. Auffin, by the conftancy and im-
portunity of her prayers obtained of God the con-
verfion of her fon, who proved afterwards fo great
and glorious an inftrument of good to the church
of God : according to what St. Ambrofc bifhop of
Milan, to encourage her to perfevere in her fervent
prayers for her fon, had faid to her, Fieri non pot eft
utfilius tot lachrymarum pereat : " It cannot be, lays
" he, that a fon of fo many prayers and tears mould
" mifcarry," God's grace is free, but it is not un-
Vol. IV, 6 D likely
1.
494 Concerning the education of children.
likely but that God will at lad give in this blefling
to our earneft prayers and faithful endeavours.
Therefore pray for them M without ceafing, pray
" and faint not." Great importunity in prayer
feldom fails of a gracious anfwer : our bleffed
Saviour fpake two parables on purpofe to en-
courage us herein : not becaufe God is moved,
much lefs becaufe he is tired out with our importu-
nity -, but becaufe it is an argument of our firm
belief and confidence in his great goodnefs : " and
" to them that believe all things are poflible, fays
" our bleffed Lord : " To whom, ttV.
S E R M O N LIII.
Of the education of children.
P R O V. xxii. 6.
Train up a child in the way he Jhould go, and when he
is old he will not depart from it.
S E R M. TT Proceed to the next general head which I pi o-
LIII. ^ pofed, namely,
■*■ III. To difover fome of the more remarkable
and common mifcarriages in the management of
this work. I do not hereby mean grofs neglects for
want of care, but miftakes and mifcarriages for want
of prudence and skill, even when there is no want
©f care and diligence in parents and inftructors. And
I
Concerning the education of children. 495
Ifhall for method's fake reduce the more confiderable S ?* M '
and common mifcarriages to thefe three heads.
Firft, in matter of inflruction.
Secondly, in matter of example.
Thirdly, in matter of reproof and correction.
I. In matter of inftruction. Parents do very often
mainly mifcarry in not teaching their children the
true difference between good and evil, and the de-
grees of them ; as when we teach them any thing
is a fin that really is not, or that any thing is not a
fin which in truth is fo : or when we teach them to
lay more ftrefs and weight upon things than they
will bear ; making that which perhaps is only con-
venient to be in the highefc degree neceiTary, or
that which it may be is only inconvenient, or may
be an occafion of fcandal to fome weak chriftians,
to be a fin in its own nature damnable.
Parents do likewife lay too great a weight upon
things, when they are as diligent to inftrudt them
in leiTer things, and as ftrict in injoining them, and
as fevere in punifhing the commiflion or neglect of
them, according as they efteem them good or evil,
as if they were the weightier things of the lav/, and
matters of the greateft moment in religion.
Thus I have known very careful and well-mean-
ing parents that have with great feverity reftrained
their children in the wearing of their hair : nay I
can remember fince the wearing of it below their
ears was looked upon as a fin of the firft magni-
tude 5 and when minifters generally, whatever their
text was, did in every fermon either find or make
an occafion with great feverity to reprove the great
fin of long hair \ and if they faw any one in thj
5 D 2 congrc*
496 Concerning the education of children.
SERM. congregation guilty in that kind, they would point
him out particularly, and let fly at him with great
zeal.
I have likewife known fome parents that have
ftri&ly forbidden their children the ufe of fome forts
of recreations and games under the notion of hein-
ous fins, upon a miftake, that becaufe there was in
them a mixture of fortune and skill they were
therefore unlawful \ a reafon which I think hath
no weight and force in it, though I do not deny
but humane laws may for very prudent reafons ei-
ther reftrain or forbid the ufe of thefe games, be-
caufe of the boundlefs expence both of money and
time which is many times occafioned by them.
I have known others, nay perhaps the fame per-
fons, that would not only allow but even encou-
rage their children to defpife the very fervice of
God under fome forms, which according to their
feveral apprehennons they efteemed to be iuperftiti-
ous or factious. Bat this I have ^ ever thought to
be a thing of molt dangerous confequence, and
have often obferved it to end either. in the neglect
or contempt of ah :-ligion.
And how many parents teach their children doubt-
ful opinions, and lay great ilrefs upon them as if
they were faving or damning points \ and hereby
fet fuch an edge and keennefs upon j:hem for or
againft fome indifferent modes and circum fiances of
God's worihip as if the very being of a church and
the elfence of religion were concerned in them P
Thefe certainly are great miftakes, and many
times have very pernicious effects, thus to confound
things which are of fo wide and vaft a difference
as
Concerning the education of children. / t Cj
as good and evil, lawful and unlawful, indifferent S % R M.
and Decenary. For when children come to be men, _'j m _ J
and to have a freer and larger view of the wo
and fhall find by the contrary practice of very Svife
and ferious perfons that they have quite different
apprehenfions of thefe matters, and do not think
that to be a fin v/hich their parents have fo fir icily
forbidden them under that notion, and many times
punifhed them more feverely for the doiflg of it
than if they had told a lye. this may make them apt
to queftion whether any thing be a fin : and the
violences which they offer to their conferences, and
the drain that they give them upon fuch an occafion,
by complying with the general practice of ethers
contrary to the principles of their education, doth
many times open a gap for great and real fins.
Befides, that children which are bred up in high
prejudices for or againft indifferent opinions or
practices in religion, do ufually when they are grown
up prove to be men of narrow and contracted fpi-
rits, peevilh and froward and uncharitable, and
many times great bigots and zealots either in the
ways of fuperflition or faction, according to the
principles which have been inftilled into them to
bias them either way. And very hardly do they
ever quit themfelves fo clearly of their prejudices,
as to become wife and peaceable and- fubitantial
Chriftians. '
In fhort, if we carefully obferve it, we fhall find
that when children have been thus indifcreetly edu-
cated, their religion differs as much from that of fober
and judicious chriftians as the civil behaviour and
converfation of thofe who have been unskilfully and
con-
49^ Concerning the education of children.
SE T ^ r ¥* conceitedly taught how to carry themfelves, does
from the behaviour of thofe who have had a more
free and generous education.
II. In matter of example. There are many pa-
rents whofe lives are exemplary in the main, who
yec feem to ufe too great a freedom before their
children. It is an old rule, and I think a very good
one :
Maxima debetur pueris reverentia.
" There is a very great reverence due to children."
There are many things which are not fins, and there-
fore may lawfully be done, which yet it may not
be prudent and expedient to do before all perfons.
There are fome words and actions fo trivial and light,
that they are not fit to be faid or done before thofe
for whom we have a reverence. There is a certain
freedom of converfation which is only proper among
equals in age and quality, which if we ufe before
our fuperiors and betters, we feem to contemn them ;
if before our inferiors, they will go nigh to contemn
us.
It ought to be confidered, that children do not un-
derftandthe exact limits of good and evil, fo that if in
our words or actions we go to the utmoft bounds of
that which is lawful, we fhall be in danger of fhewing
them the way to that which is unlawful. Children are
not wont to be careful of their ileps, and therefore
we will not venture them to play about a precipice,
or near a dangerous place, where yet men that will
take care may go fafely enough. And therefore pa-
rents mould be very careful to keep their children
from the confines of evil, and at as great a diftance
from
Concerning the education of children. 499
from it as they can. And to this end their words SERM.
and actions fhould be ever tempered with gravity and c-
circumfpection, that children may not fee or hear any
thing which may acquaint them with the approaches
to fin, or carry them to the borders of vice ; left
they mould not flop jiift there, but take a ftcp
further than you intended they fhould go.
III. In matter of reproof and correction : many
religious and careful parents are guilty of two great
mifcarriages in this part of education.
Firft, Of too much rigor and feverity ; which,
efpeciaiiy with fome fort of tempers, hath very ill
fuccefs. The firft experiment that mould be made
upon children fhould be to allure them to their duty,
and by reafonable inducements to gain them to the
love of goodnefs -, by praife and reward, and fome-
times by fhame and difgrace : and if this v/ill
do, there will be no occafion to proceed to feverity;
efpeciaiiy not to great feverities, which are very un-
fuitable to humane nature. A mixture of prudent and
feafonable reproof or correction when there is occafion
for it, may do very well ; but whips are not the cords
of a man : humane nature may be driven by them,
but it mud be led by fweeter and gentler ways.
Speufippus caufed the pictures of joy and gladnefs
to be kt round about his fchool, to fignify that
the bufinefs of education ought to be rendred as
pleafant as may be : and indeed children fland in
* need of all the enticements and encouragements to
learning and goodnefs. Met us hand diuturni ma-
gifter officii^ fays Tully; cc Fear alone will not teach
" a man his duty and hold him to it for a long
" time : M For when that is removed, nature will
break
5 co Concerning the education of children,
SF.RM. break loofe and do like it felf : befides, that fr e-
quent corrections make punifhments to lofe their
awe and force, and are apt to fpoil the difpofnion
of children, and to harden them againft fhame >
and after a while they will defpife correction, when
they rind they can endure it.
Great feverities do often work an effect quite con-
trary to that which was intended. And many times
thoie who were bred up in a very fevere fchool, hate
learning ever after for the fake of the cruelty that
was ufed to force it upon them : and fo likewife an
endeavour to bring children to piety and goodnefs
by unreafonable ftrictneis and rigor does often be-
get in them a lading difguft and prejudice againft
religion, and teaches them, as Erafmus lays, virtu-
tern ftmul cdijfe £s? noffe^ " to hate virtue at the
«* fame time that they teach them to know it:"
for by this means virtue is reprcfented to the minds
of children under a great difadvantage, and good
and evil are brought too near together: fo that
whenever they think of religion and virtue, they
remember the feverity which was wont to accom-
pany the inftructions about it ; and the natural ha-
tred which men have for punifhment is by this means
derived upon religion it felf. And indeed how
can it be expected that children fhould love their
duty, when they never hear of it but with a hand-
ful of rods fhak'd over them ?
I infill upon this the more, becaufe I do not re-
member to have obferved more notorious inftances
of great mifcarriage, than in the children of very
ftrid and fevere parents; of which I can give no
other account but this, that nature when it is thus
over-
Concerning the education of children. 501
ER3
LIIL
overcharged recoils the more terribly : it hath SE^RM.
fbmething in it like the fpring of an engine, which
being forcibly prefs'd does upon the firft liberty re-
turn back with fo much the greater violence. In
like manner the vicious difpefitions of children,
when restrained merely by the feverity of parents,
do break forth ftrangely as foon as ever they get
loofe and from under their difcipline.
Secondly, another mifcarriage in this matter is
when reproof and correction are accompanied and
managed with pafllon. This is to betray one fault,
and perhaps a greater in the punifhment of another,
Bcfides, that this makes reproof and correction to
look like revenge and hatred, which ufually does
not perfuade and reform but provoke and exafpe-
rate. And this probably may be one reafon of the
apoftle's admonition, 4c parents provoke not yourHeb. x,
" children unto wrath," becaufe that is never likely 12,
to have any good effect. Correction is a kind of
phyfick, which ought never to be adminiitred in
paffion, but upon connfel and good advice.
And that pafllon is incident to parents upon this
occafion, the apoftle tells us when he fays, " that Heb. x, :
" the parents of our flefh chaflen us for their plea- 12,
* c fure," that is, they do it many times to gratify
their paffion ; but God challens us for our profit,
not in anger but with a defign to do us good ;
and can we have a better pattern than our heavenly
Father to imitate ?
A father is as it were a prince and a judge in his
family : there he gives laws, and inflicts cenfures
and punifhments upon offenders. But how misbe-
Vol. IV. 6 E coming
2.
502 Concerning the education of children.
SER M. coming a thing would it be to fee a judge pafi
_^ ^_j fentence upon a man in choler ? It is the fame
thing to fee a father in the heat and fury of his
paffion correct his child. If a father could but fee
himfelf in this mood, and how ill his pafiion be-
comes him, inftcad of being angry with his child
he would be out of patience with himfelf. I proceed
to the next thing I propofed, namely, :
IV. To make out the truth of of the proportion
contained in the text, by fhewing how the good edu-
cation of children comes to be of fo great advantage,
and to have fo good and lading an influence upon
their whole lives.
I confefs there are fome wild and favage natures,
monftrous and prodigious tempers, hard as the rocks,
and barren as the fand upon the fea-fhore; which dip-
cover ftrong and early propenfions to vice, and a
violent antipathy to goodnefs. Such tempers are next
to defperate, but yet they are not utterly intractable
to the grace of God and the religious care of Pa-
rents.
I hope fuch tempers as thefe are very rare, though
God is pleafed they fhould ibmetimes appear in the
world, as inftances of the great corruption and de-
generacy of humane nature, and of the great need of
divine grace. But furely there is no temper that is
abfolutely and irrecoverably prejudiced againft that
which is good. This would be fo terrible an objec-
tion againft the providence of God as would be very
hard to be anfwered. God be thanked, moft tempers
are tradable to good education, and there is very great
probability of the good fuccefs of it, if it be care-
fully and wifely managed.
And
Concerning the education of children, 503
And for the confirmation of this truth I fhall in- S E R M.
fiance in two very great advantages of a religious and
virtuous education of children.
1 ft, It gives religion and virtue the advantage of
the firft pofTeifion.
2dly, The advantage of habit and cuftom.
Firft, good education gives religion and virtue the
advantage of the firft poficflion. The mind of man
is an active principle, and will be employed about
fomething or other. It cannot ftand idle, and will
therefore take up with that which firft offers itfelf.
So foon as reafon puts forth itfelf, and the under-
ftanding begins to be exercifed, the mind of man
difcovers a natural thirft after knowledge, and gree-
dily drinks in that which comes firft. If it have not
the waters of life and the pure ftreamsof goodnefs to
allay that thirft, it will feek to quench it in the fil-
thy puddles and impure pleafures of this world.
Now fmce children will be bufying their minds
about fomething, it is good that they fhould be enter-
tained with thebeft things and with thebeft notions and
principles of which their underftanding and age are ca-
pable. It is a happy thing to be principled, and, as I
may fay, prejudiced the better way, and that religion
fhould get the firft poffeffion of their hearts. For it is
certainly a great advantage to religion to be planted in
a tender and frefh foil. And if parents be carelefs,
and neglect this advantage, the enemy will be fure
to fow his tares while the husbandman is afleep.
Therefore we mould prevent the devil by giving
God and goodnefs an early poffeflion of our chil-
dren, and by letting him into their hearts betimes.
Pofifefiion is a great point, and it is of mighty con-
6 E 2 fequence
£04 Concerning the education of children.
S E R M. fequence to have nature planted with good feeds be-
fore vicious inclinations fpring up and grow into
ftrength and habit.
I know that there is a fpiteful proverb current in
the world, and the devil hath taken care to fpread it
to the difcouragement of an early piety, " A young
int and an old devil ;" but notwithstanding this,
a young faint is mod likely to prove an old one.
Solomon to be fure was of this mind, and I
make no doubt but he made as wife and true pro-
verbs as' any body hath done fince : him only
excepted who was a much greater and wifer man than
Solomon.
Secondly, good education gives likewife the ad-
vantage of habit and cudom ; and cudom is of
mighty force. It is, as Pliny in one of his Epidles
fays of it, efficacijfimus omnium rerum magifter^ ct the
cc mod powerful and effectual mailer in every kind. 5 *
It is an acquired and a fort of fecond nature, and
next to nature itfelf a principle of greated power.
Cuftom bears a huge fway in all humane actions.
Men love thofe things and do them with eafe to
winch they have been long inured and accu domed.
And on the contrary men go againd cudom with
great regret and uneafinefs.
And among all others, that cudom is mod drong
which is begun in childhood : and we fee in experi-
ence the flrange power of education in forming per-
fons to religion and virtue. Now education is no-
thing but certain cudoms planted in childhood, and
which have taken deep root whild nature was
sender.
We
Concerning the education of children. goc
We fee likewife in common experience how dan- S E R M.
geroas an evil habit and cuftom is, and how hard
to bealter'd. Therefore the Cretians, when they v. ould
curfe a man to purpofe, wifhed that the gods would
engagehimin fome bad cuftom, looking upon a man
after that to be irrecoverably loft. So o j the other
fide, to be engaged in a good cuftom is an unlpea -
able advantage ; efpecially for children to be habit i-
ated to a holy and virtuous courfe, before the habits
of fin and vice have taken root and are confirmed in
them.
We are too naturally inclined to that which is
evil : but yet this ought not to difcourage us, be-
caufe it is certain in experience that a contrary cus-
tom hath done much in many cales, even where na-
ture hath been ftrongiy inclined the other way. De-
mofchenes did by great refoltftiqn and aJmoft infi T
nite pains, and after a long habit, alter the natural
imperfection of his fpeech, and even in dtipkc of
nature became the mod eloquent man perhaps that
ever lived. And this amounts even to a demonftra-
tion, for what haih been done may be done.
So that it is not univerfally true which Ariftotle
fays, " that nature cannot be altered." It is true
indeed in the inftance which he gives of throwing a
ftone upward ; you cannot, fays he, by any cuftom,
nay though you fling it up never fo often, teach a
flone to afcend of itfelf : and fo it is in many other
inftances in which nature is peremptory : but nature
is not always fo ; but fometimes hath a great latitude:
as we fee in young trees, which though they natu-
rally grow ftraight up, yet being gently bent may
be made to grow any way. But above all, moral in-
clinations
£o6 Concerning the education of children.
SERM. clinations and habits do admit of great alteration, and
t it r /»
are fubject to the power of a contrary cuftom.
Indeed children when they come to be men, mould
take great care, that they do not owe their religion
only to cuftom ; but they mould upon confideration
and due examination of the grounds of it, fo far as
they are capable of doing it, make it their choice.
And yet for all that we muft not deny the beft reli-
gion in the world this greateft advantage of all other.
It is certainly a great happinefs for children to be
inclined to that which when they come to under-
ftand themfelvcs they would make their choice, if
they w r ere indifferent: but an indifferency cannot be
preferved in children : and therefore, fince they will
certainly be biafled one way or other, there is all
the reafon in the world why we mould endeavour
to bias them the better way. Parents may often
miftake about what is bed, but if they love their
children they cannot but wifh and endeavour that
they may be good and do what is beft.
I come now to the laft head I propofed, which
was,
V. To endeavour by the mod powerful argu-
ments I can offer, to ftir up and perfuade thofe
whofe duty this is, to difcharge it with great care
and confcience.
If the foregoing difcourfe be true, what can be
faid to thofe who are guilty in the higheft degree
of the grofs neglect of this great duty ? who nei-
ther by inftruclion, nor example, nor reftraint from
evil, do endeavour to make their children good.
Some parents are fuch monfters, I had almoft faid
devils, as not to know how " to give good things
" to
Concerning the education of children. r y
" to their children-," but inftead of bread give SERA*,
them a ftone, inftead of a fifh give them a ferpent, LIlL
inftead of an egg give them a fcorpion, as our Sa-
viour exprefieth it.
Thefe are evil indeed, who train up their chil-
dren for ruin and deftruction j in the iervice of the
devil, and in the trade and myftery of iniquity :
who, inftead of teaching them the fear of the Lord,
infufe into them the principles of atheifm, and irre-
ligion, and profaneneis : inftead of teaching them
to love and reverence religion, they teach them to
hate and defpife it, and to make a mock both of
fin and holinefs: inftead of training them up in the
knowledge of " the holy fcriptures which are able
*« to make men wife unto falvation," they do adifi-
care ad gehennarn, " they edify. them for hell," by
teaching them to profane that holy book, and to
abufe the word of God which they ought to trem-
ble at, by turning it into jeft and rallery : inftead of
teaching them to pray and to blefs the name of
God, they teach them to blafpheme that great and
terrible name, and to profane it by their continual
oaths and imprecations : and inftead of bringing
them to God's church, they carry them to the de-
vil's chapels, to playhoufes and places of debauchery,
thofe fchools and nurferies of lewdnefs and vice.
Thus they, who ought to be the great teachers
and examples of holinefs and virtue, are the chief
encouragers and patterns of vice and wickednefs in
their children ; and inftead of reftraining them from
evil, they countenance them in it, and check all
forward inclinations to goodnefs ; till at laft they make
them ten times more the children of wrath, than
they
508 Concerning the education of children.
S E R M. they were by that corrupt nature which they derived
from them ; and hereby treafure up, both for their
children and themfelves, cc wrath againft the day
" of wrath and the revelation of the righteous
" judgment of God."
But I hope there are few or none fuch here.
They do not ufe to frequent God's houfe and
worfhip. And therefore I fhall apply my felf to
thole who are not fo notorioufly guilty in this kind,
though they are greatly faulty in neglecting the good
education of their children. And for the greater
conviction of fuch parents, I fhall offer to them the
following confiderations.
Firft, confider what a fad inheritance you have
conveyed to your children. You have tranfmitted
to them corrupt and depraved natures, evil and vi-
cious inclinations : ycu have begotten them in your
own image and likenefs, fo that by nature they
are children of wrath. Now methinks parents that
have a due fenfe of this mould be very folicitcus,
by the befl means they can ufe, to free them from
that curfe -, by endeavouring to correct thofe per-
verfe difpofitions and curfed inclinations which they
have tranfmitted to them. Surely you ought to do
all you can to repair that broken eftate which from
you is defcended upon them.
When a man hath by treafon tainted his blood
and forfeited his eftate, with what grief and regret
doth he look upon his children, and think of the
injury he hath done to them by his fault? and
how folicitous is he, before he die, to petition
the king for favour to his children ? how earneftly
doth he charge his friends to be careful of them
and
Concerning the education of children. 509
and kind to them ? that by thefe means he may S E RM-'
1 iff
make the beft reparation he can of their fortune , ^j
which hath been ruin'd by his fault.
And have parents fuch a tendernefs for their
children, in reference to their eftate and condition in
this world ; and have they none for the good eftate-
of their fouls and their eternal condition in another
world ? if you are fenfible that their blood is taint-
ed, and that their beft fortunes are ruin'd by your
fad misfortunes \ why do you not beftir your Cdves
for the repairing of God's image in them ? Why do
you not " travel in birth till Christ be formed in
<c them ? " Why do you not pray earneftly to God
and give him no reft, who hath reprieved, and it
may be pardoned you, that he would extend hi3
grace to them alio, and grant them the bleffings
of his new covenant ?
All your children are begotten of the bond- wo-
man •, therefore we mould pray as Abraham did,
u O that Ilhmael may live in thy fight : " O that
thefe fons of Hagar may be heirs of a bleffing.
Secondly, confider in the next place, that good
education is the very beft inheritance that you can
leave to your children. It is a wife faying of Solo- Eccl. viw
mon, " that wifdom is good with an inheritance ; " 7-
but furely an inheritance, without wifdom and vir-
tue to manage it, is a very pernicious thing. And
yet how many parents are there who omit no care
and induftry to get an eftate that they may leave it
to their children, but ufe no means to form their
minds and manners for the right ufe and enjoy-
ment of it ; without which it had been much hap-
Vo l. IV. 6 F pier
2.
510 Concerning the education of children.
S ER M. pier for them to have been kh in great poverty and
LIIL itraits?
Doll thou Jove thy child ? this is true love to
any one, to do the bed for him we can. Of all
your toil and labour for your children, this may be
all the fruit they may reap, and all that they may
live to enjoy, the advantage of a good education.
All other things are uncertain. You may raife your
children to honour, and fettle a noble eftate upon
them to fupport it. You may leave them, as you
think, to faithful guardians, and by kindnefs and
obligation procure them many friends : and when
you have done all this, their guardians may prove
unfaithful and treacherous, and in the changes and
revolutions of the world their honours may flip from
under them, and their " riches may take to them-
" felves wings and fly away: 5 ' And when thefe arc
gone, and they come to be nipp'd with the frofts
of adverlity, their friends will fall off like leaves in
autumn. " This is a fore evil, which yet I have
** feen under the fun. 3 '
But if the good education of your children hath
made them wile and virtuous, you have provided an
inheritance for them which is out of the reach of
fortune, and cannot be taken from them. Crates
the philofopher ufed to Hand in the higheft places
of the city, and cry out to the inhabitants, " O yc
u people ! why do you toil to get eftates for your
" children, when you take no care for their edu-
" cation ? " This is, as Diogenes faid, to take care
of the fhoe, but none of the foot that is to wear
it ^ to take great pains for an eftate for your chil-
dren.
Concerning the education of children. 5 1 1
dren, but none at all to teach them how to ufe it ; SERM.
that is, to take great care to undo them, but none K _ x ~ — j
to make them happy.
Thirdly, conhder that by a careful and religious
education of your children you provide for your
own comfort and happinefs. However they happen
to prove, you will have the comfort of a good con-
fcience and of having done your duty. If they be
good, they are matter of great comfort and joy to
their parents. " A wife ion, fakh Solomon, mak-
" eth a glad father." It is a great fatisfaction to
fee that which we have planted to thrive and grow
up \ to find the good effect of our care and in-
duftry, and that the work of our hands doth pros-
per. The fon of Sirach, among feveral things for
which he reckons a man happy, mentions this in
the firft place, " He that hath joy of his chil-E, :c Jui.
" dren." xxv, >.'
On the contrary, in wicked children the honour
of a family fails, our name withers, and in the
next generation will be quite blotted out: whereas
a hopeful poflerity is a profpect of a kind of eter-
nity. We cannot leave a better and more lading
monument of our felves, than in wife and virtuous
children. Buildings and books are but dead things
in comparifon of thefe living memorials of our
felves.
By the good education of your children you 'pro-
vide for your felves fome of the beft comforts both
for this world and the other. For this world ; and
that at fuch a time when you mod fland in need
of comfort, I mean the time of ficknefs and old
age. Wife men have been wont to lay up fome
6 F 2 prjfidit
5 1 2 Concerning the education of children.
S WT P r </tti a f ene tttttis, fomething to fupport them in that
v^-v-w gloomy and melancholy time, as books, and friends,
or the like. Bat there is no fuch external com-
fort at fuch a time as good and dutiful children.
They will then be the light of our eyes, and the
cordial of our fainting fpirits ; and will recompenfe
all our former care of them by their prefent care
of us: and when we are decaying and withering
away, we fhall have the pleafure to fee our youth
as it were renewed, and our felves flourifhing 'again
in our children. The fon of Sirach fpeaking of the
comfort which a good father hath in a well edu-
Ecclus. catec j f orij " Though he die, fays he, yet he is as
" 4 ' 5 ' " if he were not dead, for he hath left one be-
w hind him that is like himfelf. While he Jived
<c he law and rejoiced in him, and when he died
" he was not forrowful."
Whereas on the contrary, " a foolifh fon is, as
" Solomon tells us, a heavinefs to his mother,"
the mifcarriage of a child being apt moll tenderly
to affect the mother. Such parents as neglect their
children, do as it were provide fo many pains and
aches for themfelves againft they come to be old.
And rebellious children are to their infirm and a°;ed
parents fo many aggravations of an evil day, fo
many burdens of their age : they help to bow them
down and " to bring their gray hairs fo much the
< c fooner with forrow to the grave." They do ufually
repay their parents all the neglect of their educati-
on by their undutifui carriage towards them.
And good children will likewife be an unfpeak-
able comfort to us in the other world. When we
come to appear before God at the day of judg-
ment*
Concerning the education of children. £ 13
ment, to be able to fay to him, " Lo ! here am I 3 ^ ^ ^ r -
** and the children which thou haft given me : " how
will this comfort our hearts, and make us lift up
our heads with joy in that day ?
Fourthly, confider that the lured foundation of
the publick welfare and happinefs is laid in the
good education of children : families are increafed
by children, and cities and nations are made up of
families. And this is a matter of fo great concern-
ment both to religion and the civil happinefs of a
nation, that anciently the bed conflituted common-
wealths did commit this care to the magiflrate more
than to parents.
When Antipater demanded of the Spartans fifty
of their children for hoftages, they ofrer'd rather
to deliver to him twice as many men •, fo much
did they value the lofs of their country's education.
Bat now amongft us this work lies chiefly upon
parents. There are feveral ways of reforming men ;
by the laws of the civil magiflrate, and by the pub-
lick preaching of miniders. Bat the mod likely
and hopeful reformation of the world mud begin
with children. Wholfom laws and good fermons
are but flow and late ways : the timely and the mod
compendious way is a good education. This may be
an effectual prevention of evil, whereas all after-ways
are but remedies, which do always fuppofe fome
neglect and omiiTion of timely care.
And becaufe our laws leave fo much to parents,
our care mould be fo much the greater : and wc
mould remember that we bring up our children for
the publick, and that if they live to be men, as
they come out of our hands they will prove a pub-
lick
Concerning the education of children.
lick happinefi or mifchief to the age. So that
we can no way better deferve of mankind and be
greater benefactors to the world, than by peopling
it with a righteous offspring. Good children are
the hopes of pofterity, and we cannot leave the
world a better legacy than well-difciplin'd children.
This gives the world the bed fecunty that religion
will be propagated to pofterity, and that the gene-
rations to come mall know God, " and the chil-
" dren that are to be born fhall fear the Lord.'*
This was the great glory of Abraham, next to
his being the friend of God, that he was the father
of the faithful. And the careful education of chil-
dren, " in the nurture and admonition of the
6C Lord," is fo honourable to parents, that God
himfelf would not pafs it by in Abraham without
fpecial mention of it to his everlafting commenda-
Gen. x\n'. t - on . « J know Abraham, lays God, that he will
« 6 . command his children and his houfhold after
" him to keep the way of the Lord, and to do
iC juftice and judgment.''
Fifthly, confider yet further the great evils con-
fequent upon this neglect. And they are manifold.
But not to enlarge particularly upon them, they all
end in this, the final mifcarriage and ruin of chil-
dren. Do but leave depraved corrupt nature to its
felf, and it will take its own courfe, and the end
of it in all probability will be miferable.
If the generous feeds of religion and virtue be
not carefully fown in the tender minds of children,
and thofe feeds be not cultivated by good educa-
tion, there will certainly fpring up briers and
thorns 5 of which parents will not only feel the in-
conveniences,
19
Concerning the education of children, 5 1 5
conveniences, but every body elfe that comes near s E R M-
them. LliL
NegJeSfis urenda filix innafcitur cgris.
If the ground be not planted with fbmethincr that is
good, it will bring forth that which is either ufe-
Jefs or hurtful, or both \ for nature is feldom barren,
it will either bring forth ufeful plants, or weeds,
We are naturally inclined to evil, and the neg-
lect of education puts children upon a kind of ne-
cefTity of becoming what they are naturally inclined
to be. Do but kt them alone, and they will ibon
be habituated to fin and vice. And when they arc
once accuflomed to do evil, they have loft their li-
berty and choice : they are then hardly capable of
good counfel and inftruction : or if they be patient
to hear it, they have no power to follow it, being
bound in the chains of their fins, and led captive
by Satan at his pleafure. And when they have
brought themfelves into this condition, their ruin
feems to be fealed, and without a miracle of God's
grace, they are never to be reclaimed.
Nor doth the mifchief of this neglect end here,
but it extends it felf to the publick, and to pofre-
rity. If we neglect the good education of our chil-
dren, they will in all probability prove bad men 5
and thele will neglect their children ; and fo the
foundation of an endlefs mifchief is laid j and our
pofterity will be bad members both of church and
commonwealth.
If they be neglected in matter of inftruction,
they will either be ignorant or erroneous : either
they will not mind religion, or they will difturb
the
5 1 6 Concerning the education of children.
S E R M. the church with new and wild opinions : and I fear,
j that the neglect of inftructing and catechizing
youth, of which this age hath been fo grofly guil-
ty, hath made it fo fruitful of errors and ftrange
opinions.
But if befides this, no care be taken of their lives
and manners, they will become burdens of the earth,
and pelts of humane fociety, and fo much poifon and
infection let abroad into the world.
Sixthly and laftly, parents mould often confider
that the neglect of this duty will not only involve
them in the inconvenience and fhame, and forrow, of
their childrens mifcarriage, but in a great meafure in
the guilt of it : they will have a great fhare in all the
evil they do, and be in fome fort chargeable with all
the fins they commit. If the children bring forth
wild and four grapes, the parents teeth will be fet on
edge.
The temporal mifchiefs and inconveniences which
come from the carelels education of children as to cre-
dit, health and eftate, all which do ufually fuffer by
the vicious and lewd courfes of your children ; thefe
methinks mould awaken your care and diligence: but
what is this to the guilt which will redound to you
upon their account? Part of all their wickednefs will
be put upon your fcore ; and poffibly the fins, which
they commit many years after you are dead and gone,
will follow you into the other world, and bring new
fuel to hell, to heat that furnace hotter upon you.
However, this is certain, that parents muft one
day be accountable for all their neglects of their chil-
dren : and fo likewife fhall minifters and matters of
families for their people and fervants, fo far as they
had the charge of them. And
Concerning the education of children. 517
And what will parents be able to fay to God at the SERM.
day of judgment for all their neglects of their chil-
dren, in matter of inftruction, and example, and re-
flraint from evil ? How will it make your ears to
tingle, when God fhall arife terribly to judgment,
and fay to you, " Behold ! the children which I have
" given you; they were ignorant, and you inftructed
" them not; they made themfelves vile, and you re-
" ltrained them not : why did not you teach them at
" home, and bring them to church to the publick or-
<c dinances and worfhip of God, and train them up to
u the exercife of piety and devotion ? But you did not
" only neglect to give them good inftruction, but you
M gave them bad example : and lo ! they have fol-
<c lowed you to hell, to be an addition to your tor-
" ment there."
" Unnatural wretches! that have thus neglected,
4i and by your neglect deftroyed thofe,whofe happineis
" by fo many bonds of duty and affection you were
" obliged to procure : behold ! the books are now open,
<c and there is not one prayer upon record that ever
" you put up for your children : there is no memorial,
* c no not fo much as of one hour that ever was ferioLily
<c fpent to tram them up to a lenfe of God, and to
u the knowledge of their duty : but on the contrary
" it appears, that you have many ways contrived their
u milery, and contributed to their ruin, and help'd
" forward their damnation. How could you be thus
" unnatural ? How could you thus hare your own
w rlcfh, and hare your own fouls ? How much better
*• had it been for them, and how much better for
*' you, that they had never been born ?**
Vol. IV. 6G Would
z
ri8 Concerning the education of children.
S F R m. Would not fuch a heavy charge as this make
every joint of you to tremble? will it not cut you
to the heart, and pierce your very fouls, to have
your children challenge you in that day, and lay to
you one by one, 4C Had you been as careful to
€< teach me the good knowledge of the Lord,
• c as I was capable of learning it : had you been
" but as forward to inftruct me in my duty, as
" I was ready to have hearken'd to it, it had not
<c been with me as it is at this day •, I had not
<c now flood trembling here in a fearful expecta-
<c tion of the eternal doom which is juft ready to
46 be p?ds'd upon me. Curfed be the man that begat
" me, and the paps that gave me fuck. *Tis to
" you that I muft in a great meafure owe my evcr-
" lading undoing." Would it not ftrike any of
us with horror to -Le thus challenged and reproached
by our children " in that great and terrible day of
« the Lord ?"
I am not able to make fo dreadful a repre-
fentation bf this matter as it deferves. But I would
by ail this, if it be poflible, awaken parents to a
fei-fe of their duty, and terrify them out of this
grofs and fhameful neglect which fo many are
guilty of. For when I ferioufly confider how
fupinely remifs and unconcerned many parents are
as to the religious education of their children, I
cannot but think of that faying of Auguftus con-
cerning Herod, " Better be his dog than his child :'•
I think it was fpoken to another ptirpofe, but it is
true likewife to the purpole 1 am fpeaking of:
better be fome mens dogs, or hawks, or horfes,
than
Concerning the education of children. 5 1 9
than their children : for they take a greater care S E R M.
to breed and train up thefe to their feveral ends
and ufes, than to breed up their children for eternal
happineis.
Upon all thefe accounts, " train up a child in
" the way he fhould go, that when he is old he
" may not depart from it : " that neither your
children may be miferablc by your faulr, nor you
by the neglect of fo natural and neccflary a duty
towards them. God grant that all that are con-
cerned may lay thefe things ferioufly to heart,
for his mercies fake in Jesus Christ; to whom,
with thee O Father, and the Holy Ghost, be
all honour and glory both now and ever. Amen,
fl4*&
€ G 2
SERMON
C 5 2 ° J
SERMON LIV.
Of the advantages of an early piety.
Preached in the church of St. Lawrence-Jury,
in the year 1662.
ECC LES. xii. 1.
Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, 7ior the years draw
nigh, when thou fhalt fay y I have nopleafure in them,
S E R M. Hf^" t ^ ie f° rmer difcourfes, concerning the education
LI V ^ I of cmidren, I have carried the argument through
the ftate of childhood to the beginning of the
next ilep of their age which we call youth ; when
they come to exercife their reafon, and to be fit to
take upon themlelves the performance of that folemn
vow which was made for them by their fureties in
baptiim.
To encourage them to fet ferioufly and in good
earned about this work, I lhall now add another dif-
courfe concerning the advantages of an early piety.
And to this purpofe I have chofen for the foundation
of it thefe words of Solomon, in his book called Ec-
lefiaftes or the Preacher : " Remember now thy cre-
" ator in the days of thy,youth> while the evil days
w come
Concerning the advantages, &c. tzi
*' come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou SER M.
u fhalt fay I have no pleaiure in mem."
It will not be necefLry to give an account of the
context any further than to tell you, that this book
of the royal preacher is a lively deicription of the va-
nity of the world in general, and particularly of the
life of man. This is the main body of his fermon, in
which there are here and there fcatcered many ferious
reflexions upon ourfelves, and very weighty confidera-
tions to quicken our preparations for our latter end,
and to put us in mind of " the days of darknefi
" which will be many," as the preacher tells us in
the chapter before the text.
Among thefe is the admonition and advice in the
words of the text : which do indeed concern thole
that are young, but yet will afford ufeful matter
of meditation to perfons of all ages and conditions
whatfoever : of great thankfulnefs to almighty God
from thofe who by the grace of God, and his
blefting upon a pious education, have entred upon
a religious courfe betimes : and of a deep forrow and
repentance to thofe who have neglected and let flip
this beft opportunity of their lives ; and of taking
up a firm refolution of redeeming that lofs, as much
as is poflible, by their future care and diligence :
and to them more efpecially, who are grown old
and have not yet begun this great and neceflary
work, it will minifter occafion to refolvc upon a
fpeedy retreat, and without any further delay to
return to God and their duty •, left the opportunity
of doing it, which is now almoft quite ipent, be
loft for ever.
The
4C
t22 Concerning the advantages
SERM. The text contains a duty, which is " to remem-
u ber our creator;'* and a limitation of it, more
cfpecially to one particular age and time of our life -,
" in the days of our youth : " not to exclude any
other age, but to lay a particular emphafis and
weight upon this: " remember thy creator in the
" days of thy youth," that is, more efpecially in
this age of thy life : to intimate to us, both that
this is the fitted feafon, and that we cannot begin
this work too foon.
And this is further illuftrated by the oppofition of
it to old age : " when the evil days come not, nor
the years draw nigh, of which thou fhalt fay I
have no plealure in them : " this is a defcription
of old age, the evils whereof are continually grow-
ing ; and which in refpect of the cares and griefs,
the diftempers and infirmities which ufually attend
it, is rather a burden than a plcafure.
In the handling of thefe words, I mail do thefe
three things,
Firft, I mail confider the nature of the act or duty
here injoin'd, and that is u to remember God.
Secondly, I mall confider what there is in the
notion of God as creator which is more particularly
apt to awaken, and oblige us to the remembrance of
him.
Thirdly, I fhall confider the limitation of this
duty more efpecially to this particular age of our
lives, " the days of our youth : " why we fhould
begin this work then, and not put it off to the time
of old age.
I. I fhall confider the nature of the act or duty
here injoin'd, which is " to remember our crea-
« tor."
of an early piety. * 2 <>
" tor." For the understanding of which exprefiionSE R u.
and others of the like nature in fcripture, it is to LlV '
be confider'd that it is very ufual in fcripture to
exprefs religion and the whole duty of man by
fome eminent act, or principle, or part of religion :
fometimes by the knowledge of God, and by faith
in him ; and very frequently by the fear and by the
love of God •, becaufe thefe are the great principles
and parts of religion : and fo likewife, though not
fo frequently, religion is exprefs'd by the remem-
brance of God : now remembrance is the actual
thought of what we do habitually know. . To re-
member God is to have him actually in our minds,
and upon all proper occafions to revive the thoughts
of him, and as David exprefTcth it, to let him al-
ways before us : " 1 fet the Lord, lays he, always
cc before me," that is, God was continually prefent
to his mind and thoughts.
And in oppofition to this we find wicked men
in fcripture defcribed by the contrary quality, for-
get r ulnefs of God : fo they are defcribed in Job;Jobviii.
" fuch are the paths of them that forget God," '3-
that is, of the wicked : and the fame defcription
David gives of them. " The wicked, fays he,Pf a l. ix.
u mail be turned into hell, and all the nations that 17 *
<c forget God :" and elfewhere he gives the fame
character of a wicked man, u that God is not in all pfa1 ' *• 4*'
" his thoughts. 5 *
And the courfe of a religious life is not unfitly
exprefs'd by our remembrance of God. For to re-
member a perfon or thing is to call them to mind
upon all proper and fitting occafions : to think
actually of them, fo. as to do that which the re-
membrance
LIV.
r ? 4. Concerning the advantages
SE RM. membrance of them does require, or prompt us toj
To remember a friend, is to be ready upon occa-
sion to do him all good offices : to remember a
kindnefs and benefit, is to be ready to acknowledge
and requite it when there is an opportunity : to re-
member an injury, is to be ready to revenge it :
and in a word, to remember any thing is to be
mindful to do that which the memory of fuch a
thing doth naturally fugged to us.
So that to remember God, is frequently and in our
moft ferious and retired thoughts to confider that there
is luch a being as God is -, of all power and perfec-
tion, who made us and all other things, and hath
given us laws to live by, fuitable to our natures ; and
will call us to a ftricl account for our obfervance or
violation of them, and accordingly reward or punifh
us i very often in this world, and to be fure in the
other.
It is to revive often in our minds the thoughts of
God and of his infinite perfections, and to live con-
tinually under the power and awe of thefe apprehen-
fions, that he is infinitely wife and good, holy and
juft j that he is always prefent with us, and obferves
what we do, and is intimate to our moft fecret
thoughts, " and will bring every work into judg-
Cc ment, and every fecret thing, whether it be good,
cc or whether it be evil j" as the preacher tells us in
the conclufion of this fermon.
The duty then here required of us, is fo loon as we
arrive at the ufe of reafon and the exercife of our un-
derflandings, to take God into con fide rat ion, and to
begin a religious courfe of life betimes ; to conie-
crate the beginning of our days and the flower and
ftrength
of an early piety. 525
ftrength of them to his fervice : whilft our mind is SERM.
yet foft and tender, and in a great meafure free from
all other impreffions, to be mindful of the being that
is above us; and in all our defigns and actions to take
God into confideration, and to do every thing in his
fear, and with an eye to his glory. " Remember thy
" creator/* that is, honour, fear, love, obey and
ferve him ; and in a word, do every thing as be-
comes one that is mindful of God, and hath him con-
tinually m his thoughts.
II. I fliall in the next place confider, what there is
in the notion of God as our creator that is more par-
ticularly apt to awaken and oblige men to the re-
membrance of God. The text does not barely re-
quire us to remember God, but to remember him as
the author and founder of our Beings •, " Remember
" thy creator." And there is certainly fome particu-
lar emphafis in it, fo that God qonfidered under the
notion of our creator is apt to ftrike us with a parti-
cular regard and awe of him. And that upon a
threefold account; as creation is a fen fible demon ftra-
tion to us, 1 ft, Of the being. 2dly, -Of the power;
and ^dlvj Of the goodnefs of God.
Firft, Of his being. The creation is of all other
the mod fenfible and obvious argument of a Deity.
Other confiderations may work upon our reafon and
underftanding, but this doth as it were bring God
down to our fenfes. So often as we look up to
heaven, or down upon the earth ; upon ourfelves, or
into ourfelves ; upon the things without us, and round
about us ; which way foever we turn our eyes, we are
encountered with plain evidences of a fuperior being,
which made us and all other things : every thiog
Vol. IV. H hie 1
2.
r Concerning the advantages
which we behold with our eyes doth in lbmc
way or other reprefent God to us and bring him to
our minds, fo as we cannot avoid the fight of him, if
Pfal.xi;:. we would. So the pfaimift tells us, " The heavens
l ' ci declare the glory of God, and the firmament fhews
< : the work of his hands. " And fo likewife St. Paul,
Rom.i. " The invifible things of him, from the creation of
20 * " the world, are clearly feen, being underflood by
" the things which are made ; even his eternal power
" and godhead."
Secondly, as the creation is a demonftration of
God's infinite power. And this confideration is apt
to work upon our fear, the mod wakeful paiTaon of
all other in the foul of man : infomuch that the a-
theift would fain afcribe the original apprehenfion and
belief of a deity to the natural fears of men ; Primus
in rfa ..:os fecit timor, " Fear firft made Gods ;" and
by this means would fain perfuade us that it is fo
far from being true that God is our creator, that he
is merely the creature of our own vain fear and ima-
gination.
But furely this is very unreafonable. For if there
be a God that made us, there is infinite reafon why
we mould ftand in awe of him, and have him always
in our mind and thoughts-, becaufe he who made us
and all other things, if we neglect him and forget fo
great a benefactor, can as eafily make us miferable, cr
turn us out of being. Therefore " remember thy
6t creator," and defpife or forget him at thy utmoit
peril.
1 nirdly, as the creation is a demonftration of the
goodnefs of God to his creatures. This confidera-
tion of God as our creator, doth naturally fuggeft
to
of an early piety. - 527
to our minds, that his goodnefs brought us into be- S E R M.
ing *, and that if being be a benefit, God is the
fountain and author of it ; that his goodnefs called
us out of nothing, and made us to be what we are ;
" for of his good pleafure we are and were creat-
< c ed." He was under no necefiity of doing it \ for
he was from eternal ages happy in himfelf before
we were, and would have been fo to all eternity
though we had never been ; nor was it po:Tib!c
he could be under any obligation to us before we
were.
And he js not only our creator as he gave
us our beings at firft, but likewife as we are
preferved and continued in life by the fame
goodnefs which nrft gave us life and breath ;
" for of his goodnefs we are as well as were ere-
" ated."
And can we forget fo great a benefaclor, and be
" unmindful of the God that formed us ?" Can we
choofe but remember the founder of our beings, the
great patron and preferver of our lives ? And fo foon
as we arrive at the ufe of reafon, and difcover this
great benefaclor to whom we owe our lives and
all the bleffings of them, can we forbear to do
homage to him, and to fay with David, " O
" come, let us worfhip and fall down and kneel
" before the Lord our maker: for he is the
" Lord our God, it is he that hath made us,
" and not we ourfelves ; we are his people, and
" the Iheep of his pafture." I proceed to confider
in the
IJI. and laft place, the reafon of the limitation of
this duty more efpecially to this particular age of our
6 H 2 lives 3
r^S Concerning the advantages
SERM. lives, " Remember now thy creator in the days of
LI V •
" thy youth, when the evil days come not, nor the
" years draw nigh when thou fhalt fay I have no
" pleafure in them :" " now ; in the days of thy
" youth ;" by which Solomon plainly defigns two
things,
Firft, To engage young perfons to begin this
great and neceffary work of religion betimes, and
as foon as ever they are capable of taking it into
confideration, " Remember thy creator in the days
" of thy youth." And the fon of Sirach much
to the lame purpofe, fpeaking of one that in good
earned applies his heart to wifdom, defcribes him
in this manner, " He will give his heart to refort
" early to the Lord that made him ;" which is
the fame with the expreffion in the text, " of re-
" membring our creator in the days of our
" youth."
Secondly, to engage young perfons to fet about
this work prefently, and not to defer it and put it
off to the future, as molt are apt to do - 9 " Remem-
cc ber now thy creator in the days of thy youth:"
elpecially, not to adjourn it to the mod unfit and
improper time of all other, to the time of infir-
mity and old age, " now, the days of thy youth ;
66 when the evil days come not, nor the years draw
" nigh when thou fhalt fay I have no pleafure in
** them : while the fun, or the light, or the moon,
cc or the ftars be not darken'd, &c."
And how much reafon there is to prefs both thefe
confideratioris upon young perfons, I (hall endea-
vour to fhew in the following particulars.
Firft,
of an early piety. 529
Firft, becaufe in this age of our lives we have the SERM.
greater!: and mofl fenfible obligation " to remember
" God our creator : in the days of our youth,"
when the bleffing and benefit of life is new, and
the memory of it frefh upon our minds. It
ought not indeed to be ib, but we find it true
which Seneca fays, Nihil citilis fenefcit qiiam gratia,
" Nothing fooner grows old and out of date than
" obligations j" and we are but too apt to forget
what we have the greateft reafon to remember.
In this age of our life, when we begin to come
to the free ufe and exercife of our reafon, the firft
thing we are intruded in, and if we were not
taught it we mould, though perhaps more flowly,
difcover and find it out of ourfelves : I fay, the
firft thing we are inftrucled in and inquifitive about
is the author of our beings, and how we came in-
to the world : and when God firft appears to our
minds, and we come by degrees clearly to underftand
by whofe bounty and blefting it is that we are and
have been preferved thus long, without our own care ;
principally by the providence of God, and under
him by thofe inftruments which he hath raifed and
preferved for that purpofe: when we confider this,
we cannot but be ftrangely furprized both v/ith the
novelty of the benefit and the greatnefs of it.
And when we have well viewed ourfelves, and
look'd about us, upon the Creatures below us, all
of them fubjeel; to our dominion and ufe: and
when we confider ferioufly in what a noble rank and
order of creatures we are placed 5 and how fearful-
ly and wonderfully we are made, not groveling
upon the earth or bowed down to it, but of a beau-
tiful
gqo Concerning the advantages of
SERA*, tiful and upright fbape of body, and fuch a majefty
^J^Z^j of countenance, as if we were all kings of the crea-
tion : and which is much more excellent than this,
that we are endued with minds and understandings,
with reaibn and Ipeech, whereby we are capable not
only of converting with and benefiting one another,
but alfo of the knowledge and friendfhip and enjoy-
ment of the bell and moft perfect of beings, God
himfelf : I fay when we firft confider this and medi-
tate ferioufly upon it, can we pofiibly ever after for-
get God ? Shall we not naturally break out into that
enquiry which Elihu thinks fo proper for man that he
wonders it is not in every man's mouth, " Where is
Job xxxv. " God my maker, who teacheth me more than the
10, ii. cc bea-ffo of the earth, and maketh me wifer than the
** fowls of heaven ? ? '
So that there is a very fpecial obligation upon us
to be mindful of God in this age of our lives, when
we firft come to the knowledge of him, and when
the fenfe of his favours is frefh and new to us ; and
not only fo, but when the blefling of life is at the
very bell and in its verdure and Mower ; when our
health is in its ftrength and vigor, and the pleafures
and enjoyment of life have their full tafte and per-
fect relifh. So Job defcribes the days of his youth,
" O that I were as in months pall, as in the davs
Tob xxiXi .
2,3,4. " when God preferved me \ when his candle mined
" upon my head, and when by his light I walked
<c through darknefs, as I was in the days of my
" youth, fcfr."
Indeed when the evil days are once come, and thou
art enter'd upon the years in which thou thyfelf haft
no pleafure, there might be fome fort of pretence then
to
of an early piety. 531
to forget God ; becaufe then life begins to wither S R R M.
1 1 v
and decay, and not only the glofs and beauty but
even the comfort and fweetnefs of it is gone, and
it becomes an infipid and tadelefs thing : " but
" thou art inexcufable, O man, whoever thou art,*'
if thou art unmindful of God in the bed age of
thy life, and when the fenfe of his benefits ought
upon all accounts to make the ftrongeft and deepen:
imprefiions upon thy mind.
Secondly, the reafon will be yet ftronger to put
us upon this, if we confider that notwithstanding
the great obligation which lies upon us " to re-
" member our creator in the days of our youth,"
we are mod apt at that time of all other to forget
him. For that which is the great bleffing of youth
is alfo the great danger of it, I mean the health
and profperity of it; and though men have then
leaft reafon, yet they are moil apt to forget God
in the height of pleafure and in the abundance of all
things.
Youth is extremely addicted to pleafure, becaufe
it is moil: capable and mod fenfible of it ; and
where we are mod apt to be tranfported, there we
are mod apt to tranfgrefs. Nothing does fo befot
tliQ mind and extinguifh in it all fenfe of divine
things as fenfual pleaiures. If we fall in love with
them, they will take off our thoughts from religion
and deal away our hearts from God. " For no
" man can ferve two maders," and " the carnal
" mind is enmity againd God."
Befides that youth is rafli and inconfiderate, be*
caufe unexperienced ; and confequently not apt to
be cautious and prudent, no not as to the future con-
cernments
Concerning the advantages
cernments of this temporal life ; much ids of that
which feems to be at fo much a greater didance,
and for that reaibn is fo very ieldom in our
thoughts.
Thirdly, becaufe this age is of all other the fit-
ted and bed to begin a religious courfe of life.
And this does not contradict the former argument,
though it feems to do fo. For as it is true of chil-
dren, that they are mod prone to be idle and yet
fitted to learn \ fo in the cafe we are fpeaking of
both are true, that youth is an age wherein we are
too apt, if left to our felves, to forget God and re-
ligion, and yet at the fame time fitted to receive
the imprcfiions of it.
Youth is <etas difciplina^ the proper age of difci-
pline •, very obfequious and tradable, fit to receive
any kind of imprefiion and imbibe any tincture :
now we mould lay hold of this golden opportunity.
This age of fupplenefs, and obedience, and patie-
ence for labour, mould be plied by parents, before
that rigor and ftiffnefs which grows with years comes
on too fad. Childhood and youth are choice fea-
fons for planting of religion and virtue, and if pa-
rents and teachers fleep in this feed- time they are ill
husbandmen ; for this is the time of plowing and
fowing.
This age is certainly the mod proper for induc-
tion, according to that of the prophet, " Whom
„ ' '" fhall he teach knowledge? whom fhall he make
<c to underdand doctrine ? them that are weaned
" from the milk and drawn from the bread. For
" precept mud be upon precept, and line upon
" line, here a little and there a little." And the
fooner
of an early pie fy. 533
Iboner this is done* the better; only things muft be SERM.
LIV.
inftilled into them gently and by degrees. 1 - y -^j
It is a noted faying of Ariftotle, " that young
<c perfons are not fit to hear lectures of moral phi-
" Iofophy ; " becaufe at that age paffion is fo pre-
dominant and unruly : by which, I think, he only
means that the minds of young perfons are leafr.
prepared to receive the precepts of morality and
to fubmit to them ; but that he does not hereby in-
tend, that therefore no care ought to be ufed to
form the minds and manners of youth to virtue
and goodnefs. He certainly underflood the nature
and power of evil habits too well to be of that
mind ; and confequently muft think that the prin-
ciples of morality ought with great care and dili-
gence to be initill'd into young perfons betimes %
becaufe they of all other have the mod need of this
kind of inftruction, and this age is the moft pro-
per feafon for it : and the lefs their minds are pre-
pared for it, fo much the more pains ought to be
taken with them, that they may be taught to go-
vern and fubdue their paflions before they grow too
fliff and headftrong. So that if the feeds of reli-
gion and virtue be not planted in our younger
years, what is to be expected in old age ? accord-
ing to that of the fon of Sirach, " tf thou haftEcclus,
" gathered nothing in thy youth, how canft thou xx v. 13,
4C expect to find any thing in thine age ? M
Young years are tender and eafily wrought up-
on, apt to be moulded into any fafhion ; they are
udum &? molle lutum y " like moid and foft clay"
which is pliable to any form -, but foon grows hard,
and then nothing is to be made of it. It is a
Vo l. IV. 6 I very
2.
534 Concerning the advantages
SERM. very 'difficult thing to make impreffions upon age,
and to deface the evil which hath been deeply im-
printed upon young and tender minds. When good
inftru&ion hath been neglected at firft, a conceit-
ed ignorance doth commonly take pofleflion, and
obftruct all the pafifages through which knowledge
and wifdom fhould enter into us.
Upon this confideration the work of religion
fhould be begun betimes, becaufe it is a mighty
advantage to any thing to be planted in a ground
that is newly broken up. It is juft the fame thing
for young perfons to be enter'd into a religious
courfe, and to have their minds habituated to vir-
tue before vicious cuftoms have got place and ftrength
in us : for whoever fhall attempt this afterwards
will meet with infinite difficulty and oppofition,
and muft difpute his ground by inches.
It is good therefore to do that which mud be
done one time or other, when it is eafieft to be
done ; when we may do it with the greatefl advan-
tage, and are likely to meet with the lead and
weake{l oppofition. We fhould anticipate vice and
prevent the devil and the world, by letting God
into our hearts betimes, and giving religion the firft
feifin and pofTefTion of our fouls. This is the time
of fowing our feed, which muft by no means be neg-
lected. For the foul will not lie fallow ; good or
evil will come up. If our minds be not cultivated
by religion, fin and vice will get the pofleflion of
them : but if our tender years be feafoned with the
knowledge and fear of God, this in all probability
will have a good influence upon the following courfe
of our lives,
in
of an early piety. 535
In a word, this age of our lives is proper for la- SERM.
hour and conflict ;< becaufe youth is full of heat and
vigor, of courage and refolution to enterprize and
effect difficult things. This heat indeed renders
young perfons very unfit to advife and direct them-
felves, and therefore they have need to be advifed
and directed by thofe who are wifer and more ex-
perienced : but yet this heat makes them very fit
for practice and action ; for though they are bad at
counfel, they are admirable at execution, when their
heat is well directed ; they have a great deal of
vivacity and quicknefs, of courage and conftancy in
the way wherein they are fet.
Befides, that youth hath a great fenfe of honour
and virtue, of praife and commendation, which are
of great force to engage young perfons to attempt
worthy and excellent things. For hope and confi-
dence, flrength and courage, with which fenfe of
honour and defire of praife are apt to infpire them,
are admirable inffruments of victory and maflery in
any kind ; and thefe are proper and mod peculiar
to youth. u I write unto you young men, faith
" St. John, becaufe ye are ftrong, and have over-
" come the evil one.'*
And, befides the fpirit and vigor of youth, young
perfons have feveral other qualities which make
them very capable of learning any thing that is
good. They are apt to believe, becaufe they have not
been often deceived ; and this is a very good quality
in a learner. And they are full of hopes, which
will encourage them to attempt things even beyond
their flrength ; becaufe hope is always of the future,
and the life of young perfons is in a great mea-
6 I 2 re
336 Concerning the advantages
SER M. fure before them and yet to come. And, which is a
good bridle to reftrain them from that which 13 evil,
they are commonly very modeft and bafhrul : and
which is alfo a lingular advantage, they are more apt
to do that which is honeft and commendable than that
which is gainful and profitable, being in a great mea-
fure free from the love of money, which experience,
as well as the apotlle, tells us cc is the root of all
ct evil."' Children are very feldom covetous, be-
caufe they have feldom be^n bitten by want.
Fourthly, this is the moft acceptable time of all
other, becaufe it is the firft of our age. Under the
lav the firft- fruits and the firh>born were God's.
In like manner we ihould devote the firft of our
age and time to him. God is the firit and moft ex-
cellent of beings, and therefore it is fit that the prime
of our age and the excellency of our ftrengch fliould
be dedicated to him and his fervice.
An early piety m -.ft needs be very acceptable and
pleafing to God. Our bleiled Lord took great
pleafure to fee little children come unto him •, an
emblem of the pleafure he takes that men fliould
lift themfelves betimes in his fervice. St. John was
the youngeft of all the difciples, and our Saviour
had a very particular kindnefs and affection for him ;
for 'he is faid to be " the difciple whom Jesus
u loved. 5 '
It is a good fign that we value God as we ought,
and have a true efteem for his fervice, when we can
find in our hearts to give him our good days, and
the years which we ourfelves have pleafure in : and
that we have a grateful fenfe of his benefits and
^f our mighty obligation to him, when we make
the
of an early piety. 537
the quicker! and beft returns we can, and think no- S E R u.
T \\T
thing too good to render to him from whom we , _ 11
have received all.
It is likewife an argument of great fincerity,
which is the Soul of all religion and virtue, when
a man devotes himfelf to God betimes -, becaufe it
is a good evidence that he is not drawn by thofe
forcible conftraints, nor driven to God by that pref-
fing necefTity which lies upon men in time of fick-
nefs and old age. And on the contrary, it cannot
but be very difpjeafing to God to be neglected by
us when we are in the flower and vigour of our
age : when our blood is warm and our fpirits quick,
and our parts are at the bed:, then to think our
felves too good to ferve God ; what an affront is
this to him who hath deferved fo infinitely well of
us, and beyond the beft and utmoft that we can
poffibly do ?
Befides, that there is a peculiar kind of grace
and lovelinefs in the worthy and excellent actions
of young perfons, great things being hardly ex-
pected from them at that age. Early habits of vir-
tue, like new clothes upon a young and comely
body, fit very gracefully upon a flraight and well-
fhap'd mind, and do mightily become it.
As there is joy in heaven at the converfion of a
great and old finner, fo it cannot but be a very de-
lightful fpectacle to God and angels, and to the
fpirics of juft men made perfect, to fee a young per-
fon, befieged by powerful temptations on every fide,
to acquit himfelf glorioufly, and refoiuteiy to hold
out againft the mod violent aflaults: to behold one
in the prime and flower of his age, that is courted
by
538 Concerning the advantages
SERM. by pleafures and honours, by the devil and all the
bewitching vanities of this world, to reject all thefe
and to cleave fleadfaftly to God : nay, to frown upon
all thefe temptations and to look down upon them with
indignation and fcorn, and to fay, let thofe dote
upon thefe things who know no better : let them
adore fenfual pleafures and lying vanities, who are
jo-norant of the fincere and folid pleafures of reli-
gion and virtue : 'let them run into the arms of temp-
tation who can forget God their creator, their pre-
ferver, and the guide of their youth : as for me, I
will ferve the Lord, and will employ my whole
time either innocently or ufefully, in fcrving God,
and in doing good to men who are made after the
image of God. This work fhall take up my whole
life, there fhall be no void or empty fpace in it ; I
will endeavour, as much as poffibly I can, that there
may be no gap or breach in it for the devil and his
temptations to enter in : Lord, I will be thine, I
have chofen thee for my happinefs and my portion for
ever : " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there
' c is none upon earth that I defire befides thee. Lo !
" they that are far from thee fhall perifh : but it is
" good for me to draw' near to God," to begin and
end my days in his fear and to his glory.
Fifthly and lailly, this age of our llfQ may, for
any thing we know, be the only time we may have
for this purpofe ; and if we caff off the thoughts of
God- and defer the bufmefs of religion to old age, in-
tending, as we pretend, to fet about it at that time,
we may be cut off before that time comes, " and
** turned into hell with tiK people that forget God."
The
of an early piety. 539
The work of religion is the moil neceflary of all SER M,
. J LI v.
other, and mud be done one time'or other, or we
are certainly usdone for ever. We cannot begin it too
foon, but we may eafily delay it too long \ and then
wc are miferable paft all recovery. He that would not
venture his immortal foul, and put his everlafting
happinefs upon the greater! hazard and uncertainty,
muft make religion his firft bufinefs and care, mult
think of God betimes " and remember his creator
".« in the days of his youth."
I have now done with the three things which I
propofed to conlider from thefe words. The Infe-
rences from this whole difcourfe lhall be thefe two,
Firft, to perfuade thofe that are young to remem-
ber God their creator, and to engage in the ways of
religion and virtue betimes.
Secondly, to urge thofe who have neglected this
firft and beft opportunity of their lives, to repent
quickly and return to a better mind ; left the oppor-
tunity be loft for ever, and their cafe becomes deipe-
rate and paft remedy.
Firft, to perfuade thofe that are young to remem-
ber God their creator betimes, and to engage early
in the ways of religion and virtue. Do not fuffer
yourfelves to be cheated and bewitched by fenfual
fatisfaclion, and to be deftroyed by eafe and profpe-
rity. Let not a perpetual tenor of health and plea-
fure foften and diflblve your fpirits, and banifh all
wife and ferious thoughts out of your minds. Be not
fo foolifh and unworthy, as to think that you have
a privilege to forget God when he is moft mindful
of you ; cc when the candle of the Lord fhines about
" your tabernacle," and you are enjoying the health,
and ftrength, and fweetnefs of life,
No
54° Concerning the advantages
S E R M. No man knows what he does, and what an invalu-
LIV
able treafure he prodigally wades, when he lets flip
this golden feafon and opportunity of his lift ; whilft
he is yet innocent and untainted with fin and vice,
and his mind is clear of all bad imprefllons, and ca-
pable of the belt \ not enflaved to evil, and at liber-
ty to do well.
Confider that the ways of religion and virtue are
nothing fo difficult and unpleafant now, as they will
be hereafter : and that the longer you forget God,
and the more you are eftranged from him, the more
unwilling you will be to think of him and to return
to him : that your lulls will every day gain more
flrength, and your hearts by degrees will con-
tract fuch a fliffnefs and hardnefs that it will be no
eafy matter to work upon them.
Therefore " remember your creator in the days
" of your youth : to day, whilft. it is called to day,
" left any of you be hardened through the deceit ful-
«• nefs of fin." When will you think of beginning
a o-ood courfe, if not now ? You have a great work
before you, which cannot be done in a little time,
which cannot be begun and finilhed at once. Your
whole life is no more than fuffieient for it ; to do it
to the bell advantage, and as it ought to be done.
Do not then think of crowding it into a corner of
your life, much lefs of putting it off to the very end
of it : " when that night comes, no man can
< 6 work."
Confider further \ if we will deny God the hearty
and vigorous fervice of our befl days, how can we ex-
pect that he will accept the faint and flattering de-
votions of old age? Wife men are wont to forccafi:
and
of an early piety. 54 r
and provide fome ftay and comfort for themfelves s E R M*
againft the evils and infirmities of that time •, that
they may havefomething to lean upon in their weak-
nefs, fomething to mitigate and allay the troubles
and afflictions of that dark and gloomy evening :
that what they cannot enjoy of prelcnt pleafure and
fatisfaction may in fome meafure be made up to them
in comfortable reflexions upon the pail actions of a
holy and innocent, an ufeful and well-fpent life.
But on the other hand, if we have neglected reli-
gion, and forgotten God days without number \ if
we have lived an ungodly and jvicious life, we have
treafured up fo much guilt and remorfe, fo ma-
ny aggravations of our forrow and anguifli againft an
evil day ; and have foolifhly contrived to make our
burden then heavier!, when we are lead able to fland
under it \ and have provided and laid in infinite mat-
ter for repentance, when there is hardly any fpace and
opportunity left for the exercife of it ; and when we
fhall be utterly difheartned from fetting about fo vaft
a work, of which we can fee no end ; and yet have
fo little time for it, that if we do any thing at all in
it we fhall be forced to huddle it up in fo much hade
and confufion, as will, I doubt, fignify but very little
either to our prcfent comfort, or our future happi-
nefs.
Confider this in time, all ye that forget God in
the day of your profperity and in the bed age of your
life, and yet when the day of affliction and the infir-
mities of age come upon you, you would be glad then
to have God mindful of you, and merciful to you.
But if thou wouldlt not have him " caff, thee off in
" thine old age, and foriake thee when thy llrength
Vol. IV, 6 K "fails,
2.
Concerning the advantages
fails, do thou remember him in the days of thy
youth," in the prime and vigour of thine age :
for this is the acceptable time 3 this is the day of
" falvation."
Therefore " acquaint thyfelf with him, and re-
" member him now ; in the days of thy youth ; H de-
fer not fo neceflary a work, no not for one moment :
begin it juft now, that fo thou mayeft have made
fome goodprogrefs in it " before the evil days come ;
a before the fun, and the moon, and the ftars be
" darkened," and all the comforts and joys of life be
fled and gone.
Be not deceived, O man, whofoever thou art ;
" for God is not mocked. 5 * He will not be put off
by us " with the days in which we ourfelves have no
« c pleafure." Offer up thyfelf a living facrifice and
not a carcafe, if thou wouldft be accepted. Do not
provoke and affront the living God by offering up to
him faint fpirits, and feeble hands, and dim eyes,
and a dead heart. He hath been bountiful to us in
giving us the beft blefTings of life, and all things
richly to enjoy ^ and do we grudge him the mod
valuable part of our lives, " and the years which we
" ourfelves have pleafure in ? Do we thus requite the
^ Lord ? foolifh people and unwife 1" Is the giver
of all good things unworthy to receive from us any
thing that is good ? " If we offer up the lame in
" facrifice, is it not evil ? and if we offer up the
<c blind, is it not evil ? Offer it now to thy gover-
" nor, and try if he will beplcafed with thee and ac-
M cept thy perfon." Hath God deferved fo ill at
our hands, that we mould forget and negled him ?
and hath the devil deferved fo well of us, that we
fliould
of an early piety. 543
lhould be contented to fpend the bed part of our S E R M.
lives in his fervice, which is perfect flavery ? Was
he our creator, or can he make us happy ? Nay, does
he not carry on a moft malicious defign to make us
for ever miferabie ?
Secondly, let me urge thofe who have neglected
this firft and bed opportunity of their lives to repent
quickly and return to a better mind, left all oppor-
tunity of doing it be loft for ever, and their cafe be-
come defperate and pad remedy. Refolve to redeem,
if it be poffible, the time which you fhould have im-
proved : you have fquander'd away too much already,
wafte no more of this precious opportunity of life :
you have deferred a necefTary work too long, delay
it no longer. Do not delude yourfelves with vain
hopes that this work may be done at any time, and
in an inftant i and that if you can but fafhion your
Jaft breath into " Lord have mercy upon me," this
will prevail with God and make atonement for the
long courfe of a wicked and finful life. What ftrange
thoughts have men of God and heaven, what extras
gant conceits of the little evil of fin and the great
eafinefs of repentance, that can impofe upon them-
felves at this rate ?
Bethink yourfelves better in time, " confider and
" fhew yourfelves men." What will you do in the
day of your diftrefs, who have neglected God in your
moft flourishing and profperous condition ? What will
you fay to him in a dying hour, who fcarce ever had
one ferious thought of him all your life ? Can you
have the face at that time to befpeak him in this
manner? " Lord, now the world and my lulls have
• c left me, and I feel myfelf ready to fink into eternal
6 K 2 per-
544. Concerning the advantages
5ER M. " perdition, I lay hold upon thy mercy to deliver
V^" my foul from going down into the pit. I have
" heard ftrange things of thy goodnefs and that thou
* c art merciful even to a miracle. This is that which
44 I always trufted to, that after a long life of fin
44 and vanity thou wouldft at laft be pacified with
44 a few penitent words and fighs at the hour of
44 death. Let me nor, I pray thee, be difappointed
44 of this hope and put to confufion."
Is this an addrefs fit to be made to a wife man,
much lefs to the all- wife and juft judge of the world ?
and yet this feems to be the plain interpretation of
the late and forc'd application of a great and ha-
bitual finner to almighty God in his laft extremi-
ty, and when he is juft giving up the ghoft and
going to appear before his dreadful tribunal.
I fay again, let no man deceive you with vain
words or with vain hopes, or with falfe notions of a
flight and fudden repentance : as if heaven were an
hofpital founded on purpofe to receive all fick and
maimed perfons, that when they can live no longer
to the lufts of the fichi and the finful pleafures of
this w r orld, can but put up a cold and formal peti-
tion to be admitted there.
No, no, as fure as God is true, they fhall never
fee the kingdom of God, who inftead of feeking
it in the firft place make it their laft refuge and
retreat : and when they find themfelves under the
fentence of death and damnation, only to avoid pre-
sent execution, and fince there is no other remedy,
do at laft bethink themfelves of getting to heaven,
and fall upon their knees to petition the great judge
pf the world that they may be tranfported thither.
Can
of an early piety. 54 r
Can any man in reafon expect that fuch a petition s E R M.
will be granted ? I tell yon nay •, but except you re-
pent fooner, and at a fitter time, and after a better
fafhion, you fhall certainly perifh. As much as
God defires the falvation of men, he will not pro-
ftitute heaven, and fet the gates of it wide open
to thofe who only fly to it in extremity, but never
fought it in good earned, nor indeed do now care
for it or defire it for any other reafon, but to ex-
cufe them from going to hell. They have no va-
lue for heaven, becaufe they are in no ways fit for
it, but yet they think hell to be the worfe place of
the two.
The ever blefTed God is himfelf abundantly fufH-
cient for his own happinefs, and does not need our
company to make any addition to it: nor yet is
heaven fo defolate a place, or fo utterly void of in-
habitants, that like fome newly difcovered plantation
it mould be glad to receive the mod vile and pro-
fligate perfons, the fcum and refufe of mankind.
There are an innumerable company of glorious an-
gels, much nobler creatures than the bed of men,
to people thofe blefTed regions. " Tho -lands of
" thoufands continually fland before God, and ten
" thoufand times ten thoufands mmifter unto
" him."
We do abfolutely (land in need of God to make
us happy, but he hath no need of us to help him
to be fo. God indeed is fo good, as to defire
our happinefs as earneftly as if it were necefTiry to his
own : but he is happy in and from himfelf, and
without him it is impoflible we fhould be happy,
nay, we muft of neceflity be for ever miferable.
To
54 6 Concerning the advantages, &c.
SERM. To conclude; if we would have God to accept
us in a dying hour, and our bleffed Saviour " to
" remember us now he is in his kingdom," Jet us
think of him betimes, and " acquaint ourfelves with
" him that we may beat peace: now before the evil
" days come, and the years draw nigh when wc
" mail fay we have no pleafure in them.'*
" O that men were wife, that they underftood
" this, that they would confider their latter end."
Which God of his infinite goodnefs grant that we
may all ferioufly lay to heart, in this our day -, and
may learn betimes " fo to number our days, that
" we may apply our hearts to wifdom :" for his
mercies fake in Jesus Christ, to whom with the
Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and
glory, now and for ever. Amen.
THE
THE
RULE of FAITH:
Or an ANSWER to the
TREATISE of Mr. J.S.
Entitled,
S URE-FO OTING, &c.
£4f
To my honoured and learned Friend
Dr. STILLINGFLEET,
S I R,
I Have, with a great deal of pkafure and
fatisfaflion, read over your book, which I
find in every part anfwerable to its title \
viz. A rational account of the grounds of the
protectant religion. And now I thank you for
it, net only as a private favour , but a publick
benefit. No fooner had I perufed it, but I met
with a difcourfe entitled, Sure-footing in chrif-
tianity. And although I have ?io fmall preju-
dice again/l books with conceited titles, yet
I was tempted to look into this, becaufe it
pretended to contain animadverfions on fome
paffages in your book, which I hadfo lately read
over. Upon perufal of which animadverfions,
I found that the author of them had attacked
(and in his own opinion confuted) a page or
two in your book. This drew me on to take a
view of his main difcourfes: which, becaufe
they arc in great vogue among fome of his own
party, and do with an unufual kind of confi-
Vol. IV. 6L dencc
2.
£5°
dence and oftentation pretend to the newefi and
moji exaff fafhion of writing controverfy, as
being all along demonftrative and built upon
felf-evident principles ; therefore 1 rejolved
throughly to examine them, that I might dif-
cover (if I could) upon what fo firm and jolid
foundations this high and mighty confidence was
built.
But before I had entered upon this undertak-
ing, I met with a letter from the author of
fure- footing to his anfwerer, din fling him
how he ought to demean himfelf in his anfwer.
In which letter, though there be many things
liable to great exception, yet becaufe I am un-
willing to be diverted from the main que (lion,
I fall not argue with him about any of thofe
?natters -, only take leave to ufe the fame liberty
in managing my anfwer, which he hath ajfumed
to himfelf in pre/bribing laws ■ to me about it :
therefore, without taking any farther notice of
his letter 3 I addrefs myfelf to his book.
THE
£4*
THE
RULE of FAIT H.
PART I.
The explication and ft ate of the queftion.
SECT. I.
§. i. ' IT-1 HE queftion he propounds to himfelf The ex-
to debate, is, " What is the rule fP^ ation
■ ' . of the
" faith?" In order to the reiolution Terms of
whereof he endeavours, * he ^ e "
Firft, to fix the true notion of thefe two terms,
Rule and Faith: which way of proceeding I
cannot but allow to be very proper and reafonable,
but I can by no means think his explication of thofe
terms to be fufficient. He tells us, " That a
" rule is that which is able to regulate, or guide
<c him that ufeth it :" in which defcription, as in
many other paflages of this book, he is plainly guilty
of that which he taxeth in Mr.* Whitby, that is, * p> lg0j
" the confounding of a rule, by making Regulating
" and Guiding to be equivalent words." But tor
this I am no farther concerned than to take no-
tice of it by the way : the fault which I find in
this definition is, that it doth not make the thing
plainer than it was before -, fo that no man is the
wifer for it, nor one jot nearer knowing what a
rule is. He pretends to tell Englifhmen what a
6L 2 rule
$$2 The RULE of FAITH.
?AR.T rule is; and for their clearer underflanding of this
% =a ^L am j word, lie explains it by a word lefs removed from
the latin, " a rule is that which' is able to regu-
" late him that nfeth it -, " juft as if a man mould
go about to explain what a lawgiver is, by faying,
** he is one that hath the power of legiflation."
Of the two he had much better have faid, that a
rule is a thing that is able to rule him that ufeth
it, though this be nothing but an explication of the
fame word by it felf.
§ 2. Not much better is his explication of the
term faith, which he tells us, in the common fenfe
* p. 4. of mankind, is the fame with believing. * He
declared indeed beforehand, " that he did not in-
iC tend to give rigorous fchool- definitions of either
ci this or the former word ;" and (to do him right)
he hath not in the lead fwerv'd from his intention.
It were to be wifh'd he had prefae'd fome fuch
thing to his demonftrations ; for the reader will find,
that they are not a whit more rigorous than hi$
definitions •, the latter of which doth very much re-
femble the country-man's way of defining, who be-
ing ask'd by his neighbour what an invafion was,
after fome ftudy told him very gravely, " that an
5t invafion was as if he mould fay an invafion. M
In like manner Mr. S. tells us, u that faith (or
* c which is all one, belief) is the fame with be-
<e lieving -, " which, in my apprehenfion, is but a
fountry definition, unlefs the interpofing of thofc
folemn words [in the common fenfe of mankind J
may be thought to mend the matter. This puts me
J p, 159. in mind of what Mr. S. lays in his * tranfition (zt
h,e calls it) where he gives the reader, an account what
feafce
The RULE of FAITH. 553
feats he hath done in his book : M he will fee (fays SECT.
<c he) I take my rife at the meaning of the words
" Rule and Faith -, this known, I eftablifh my firft
" principles in this prefent matter to be thefe, viz.
" a rule is a rule, faith is faith." This is the
right felf-evident method he talks fo much of, and
his principles agree admirably well with his defini-
tions. If he had but proceeded in the fame me-
thod, and added, " that a rule of faith is a rule of
" faith ; that oral tradition is oral tradition , and
" that to fay, oral tradition is the rule of faith, is
iC as much as to fay oral tradition is the rule of
' " faith," the whole bufinefs had been concluded
without any more ado ; and I think no body would
have gone about to confute him.
§ 3. Rejecting then his way of definition as
inept and frivolous, and no ways tending to give a
man a clearer notion of things; I .(hall endeavour
to explain a little better (if I can) the meaning of
thefe terms.
A rule (when we fpeak of a rule of faith) is a
metaphorical word, which in its firft and proper
fenfe, being applied to material and fenfibje things,
is the meafure according to which we judge of
the ftraightnefs and crookednels of things ; and from
hence it is transferred by analogy to things moral
or intellectual. A moral rule is the meafure accord-
ing to which we judge whether a thing be good
or evil •, and this kind of Rule is that which is com-
monly called a law, and the agreement or difagree-
ment of our actions to this rule, is fuitably to the
metaphor, called rectitude or obliquity. An intel-
lectual rule is the meafure according to which wc
judge
5?4 The RULE of FAITH.
PART judge whether a thing be true or falfe; and this is
either general or more particular. Common no-
tion?, and the acknowledged principles of reafon,
are that general rule, according to which we judge
whether a thing be true or falfe. The particular
principles of every fcience are the more particular
rules according to which we judge whether things
in that fcience be true or falfe. So that the gene-
ral notion of a rule is, that it is u a meafure, by
" the agreement or difagreement to which we judge
" of all things of that kind to which it belongs."
§ 4. Faith, though both among facred and pro-
fane writers it be ufed many times more general-
ly, for a perfuafion or aflent of the 1 to any
thing wrought in us by any kind of argument;
yet, as it is a term of art ufed by divines, it figni-
fies that particulai i of affent which is wrought
in us by teftimony or authority : fo that divine
faith, which we are now fpeaking of, is an alTent
to a thing upon the teftimony or authority of God;
er, which is all one, " an aflent to a truth upon
ct divine revelation."
§ 5. A rule of faith is the meafure, according
to which we judge what matters we are to affent
to^ as revealed to us by God, and what not. And
more particularly, the rule of chriftian faith is the
meafure, according to which we are to judge what
we ought to ?ff,- to, as the doctrine, revealed by
Christ to the ivc what not.
§ 6. c .o that this queftion, " What is the rule
M of chriftian faith ? " fuppofeth a doctrine revealed
by Christ to the world ; and that that doctrine
was intelligibly and entirely delivered by Christ
t?
The RULE of FAITH. $$$
to his apoftles, and fufficient confirmation given SECT.
to it ; that this doctrine was in the fame manner ^^^^j
published to the world by the apoflles, who like-
wife gave fufficient evidence of the truth of it. All
this is neceiFarily luppofcd in the queftion : for it
would be in vain to enquire whether this or that be
the rule of chriftian faith, if fuch a thing as the
chriftian faith were not firft fuppofed. Vvhen •
therefore we enquire what is the rule of chriftian
faith ? the meaning of that enquiry is, by what
way and means the knowledge of Christ's doc-
trine is conveyed certainly down to us, who live
at the diftance of fo many ages from the time of its.
firft delivery : for this being known, we have the
rule of faith ; that is, a meafure by which we may
judge what we are to afTent to, as the doctrine of
Christ, and what not. So that when any que-
ftion arifeth about any particular proportion, whe-
ther this be part of Christ's doctrine, we may be
able by this rule to refolve it.
. SECT. II.
§ i. 'T'HE next thing to be confidered, is his Mr. s*$
a reiblution of this queftion ; by which we f^ c h.°
fhall know what his opinion is concerning the rule
of faith -, for that being known, the controverfy
between us will eafily be ftated.
His opinion in general is, that oral or practical
tradition (in oppofition to writing, or any other
way that can be aftigned) is the rule of faith. By
oral or practical tradition, he means " * a delivery * p. * l%
" down from hand to hand (by words, and a con-
" ftant courfe of frequent and viable actions, con-
" form able
the RULE of FAITH.
formable to thofe words) of the fenfe and faith of
" forefathers."
§ 2. Now, that I may bring the controverfy be-
tween us to a clear (late, I am firft to take a more
particular view of his opinion concerning the rule
of faith, that fo I may the better underftand how
much he attributes to oral tradition, and what to
the fcriptures or written tradition. And then I am
to lay down the proteftant rule of faith, that fo it
may appear how far we agree, and how far we dif-
fer. The fum of what he attributes to oral tradition,
fo far as can be collected out of fo obfcure and con-
fufed a difccurfe, may be reduced to thefe five
heads.
§ 3. Firft, that the doctrine of chriftian religion
was delivered by Christ to the apoftles, and by
them publifhed to the world ; and that the age
which firft received it from the apoftles, delivered
it as they received it without any change or cor-
ruption to their children, and they to theirs, and
fo it went on folely by this way of oral tradition.
This is the fum of his explication of tradition,
difc. 5th.
§ 4. Secondly, that this way alone is not only
fufflcicnt to convev this doctrine down to all ages
certainly, and without any alteration •, but it is the
only pofiible way that can be imagined of convey-
ing down a doctrine fecurely from one age to ano-
ther. And this is the natural refuk of his difcourfe
about the properties of a rule of faith : for if the
true properties of the rule of faith do belong to oral
tradition, then it is a fufricicnt means ; and if thofe
properties do folely and efTentially appertain to it,
and
The RULE of FAITH. 5S7
and are incompatible to any thing elfe (as he endea- SECT,
vours to prove) then it is impofiible there fhould ^^-^j
be any other way.
§ 5. Thirdly, that it is impoflible this means fhould
Fail or mils of its end ; that is, the doctrine of
Christ being once put into this way of convey-
ance, it can neither ceafe to defcend, nor be at any
time corrupted or changed in its defcent. This is
that which his demonftrarions pretend to prove.
§ 6. Fourthly, that the infallibility of oral tradi-
tion, or the impoffibility of its failing, is a nrft
and felf-evident principle. This he frequently afterts
throughout his book.
§ 7. Fifthly, that this way of oral tradition hath
de fafto in all ages been acknowledged by chrifti-
ans, as the only way and means whereby the doc-
trine of chriftianity hath been conveyed down to
them. And this is that which he attempts to prove
from the confent of authority.
§8. As for the fcriptures, he grants them indeed
to have been written by men divinely infpired, and
to contain a divine doctrine, even the fame which is
delivered by oral tradition ; fo he tells us> cC * 'Tis* P. 117-g
<c certain the apoftles taught the fame doctrine they
" writ." But then he denies it to be of any ufe
without oral tradition, becaufe neither the letter
nor fenfe of it can without that be afcertained : fo
he faith in his letter to Dr. Cafaubon, " * As for* P. 137.
the fcriptures (^fcertaining their letter and fenfe,
which is done by tradition) 'tis clear they are of
incomparable value ; not only for the divine
doctrine contained in them, but alfo for many
particular pafifages, whofe fource OX firft attefta-
Vol. IV. 6 M, M tta)
3-
The RULE o/FJIfH.
PART" tion not being univerfal, nor their nature much
r j-_ i ^ cc practical, might poflibly have been loft in their
" conveyance down by tradition. 5 ' Where, though
he gives the fcriptures very good words, it is to be
underftood, provided they will be fubordinate, and
acknowledge that they owe their fenfe and their be-
in°- intelligible and ufeful to oral tradition. For if
any man fliall prefume to fay, that this book hath
any certain fenfe without oral tradition, or that God
can write plainly and intelligibly, and that this book
which he hath endited is fo written, and doth not de-
pend upon tradition for its fenfe and interpretation 5
then the mod fcurrilous language is not bad enough
for the fcriptures : then what are thofe facred writ-
•A-pend.ings, but " * ink varioufly figured in a book -f, un-
4th. pag. tt fenfed characters, waxen-natured words, not yet
2 10 .
f Pi 68. * c fenfed, nor having any certain interpreter, but fit
" to be play'd upon diverfly by quirks of wit ? that
<c is, apt to blunder and confound, but to clear little
* c or nothing." Thefe, with many other difgraceful
terms, he very liberally bellows upon the divine
oracles ; the confideration whereof, did it not mini-
fter too much horror, would afford fome comfort ;
for by this kind of rude ufage, fo familiar with him
towards his adverfaries, one may reafonably conjec-
ture, that he doth not reckon the fcriptures among
his friei'ds.
§ 9. And whereas he faith, " That the fcriptures
cc have preferved many particular pafTages, which,
<c becaufe their fource or firft atteftation was not uni-
<c verfal, nor their nature much practical, might
" poffibly have been loft in their conveyance down by
M tradition &•• this is impoffible, according to his hy-
pothefis :
The RULE of FAITH. 559
pothefis : for if neither the fcripture's letter, nor the s E^C T.
certain fenfe of it, as to the main body of chriftian
doctrine, could have been fecured without oral tradi-
tion -, that is, if we could not have known that thofe
pafTages which contain the main points of Christ's
doctrine, either had been written by men divinely in-
fpired, or what the fenfe of them was, but from the
confonancy and agreement of thofe pafTages with the
doctrine which was orally preached by the apoftles;
how can we be certain either of the letter or fenfe of
other particular paflages which mud necelTarily want
this confirmation from oral tradition, becaufe " their
" firft atteftation was not univerfal, nor their nature
*< much practical ?*- Nay, his difcourfe plainly im-
plies, that we can have no fecurity at all, either of the
letter or fenfe of any other parts of fcripture, but on-
ly thofe which are coincident with the main body of
chriftian doctrine, as is evident from thefe words,
" * Tradition eitablimed, the church is provided of a* p # u 5,
" certain and infallible rule to preferve a copy of the
" fcriptures letter truly fignificative of Christ's
" fenfe, as far as it is coincident with the main body
<c of chriftian doctrine preached at firft •," becaufe
<c fenfe writ in mens hearts by tradition, can eafily
<c guide them to correct the alteration of the out-
4t ward letter." This I perceive plainly is the thing
they would be at, they would correct: the outward
letter of fcripture by fenfe written in their hearts *,
and then, inftead of leaving out the fecond command-
ment, they would change it into a precept of giving
due worlhip to images, according to the council of
Trent-, and a thoufand other alterations they muft
make in the bible, to make it truly fignificative of
6 M 2 the
560 The RULE of FAITH.
P A R T the fenfe of their church. Bat furely the outward let-
ter of other paifages of fcripture, which were not in-
tended to fignify points of faith, is equally liable to
alterations : and yet the church is not by tradition
provided of any way to correct thefe alterations when
they happen -, becaufe tradition doth, as this corollary
implies, only furnifh the church with a certain and
infallible rule of preferving a copy of the fcriptures
letter, fo far as it is coincident with the main body
of chriftian doctrine.
P. 117. § 10. Again, he tells us, " * Tradition eftablifhed,
" the church is provided of a certain and infallible
" rule to interpret fcripture-letter by, fo as to arrive
" certainly at Christ's fenfe, as far as the letter con-
<c cerns the body of chriftian doctrine preached at
" firft, or points requifite to falvation.'* So that
whatever he may attribute to fcripture for fafhion's
fake, and to avoid calumny with the vulgar, as he
fays very ingenuoufly in his explication of the 15th
corollary *, neverthelefs 'tis plain, that according to
his own hypothefis, he cannot but look upon it as
perfectly ufelefs and pernicious. That 'tis altogether
ufelefs, according to his hypothefis, is plain ; for the
main body of chriftian doctrine is fecurely conveyed
to us without it, and it can give no kind of confir-
mation to it, becaufe it receives all its confirmation
from it ; only the church is ever and anon put to
a great deal of trouble to correct the alteration of
the outward letter, by tradition and fenfe written in
their hearts. And as for all other parts of fcripture
which are not coincident with the main body of
chriftian doctrine, we can have no certainty either
that the outward letter is true ; nor, if we could, can
we
The RULE of FAITH. 561
we poflibly arrive at any certain fenfe of them. And S E C T.
that it is intolerably pernicious, according to his hypo- , __ ' j
thefis, is plain, becaufe " * every filly and upftart here-* P. 40.
•* fy fathers itfelf upon it;" and when men leave tra-
dition (as he fuppofeth all hereticks do) the fcripture
is the moft dangerous engine that could have been in-
vented, being to fuch perions only " * waxen-natur'd* p 6g
words, not ienfed, nor having any certain inter-
preter ; but fit to be play'd upon diverfly by quirks
of wit; that is, apt to blunder and confound, but
<c to clear little or nothing." And indeed, if his
hypothefis were true, the fcriptures might well de-
ferve all the contemptuous language which he ufeth
againft them ; and * Mr. White's comparifon of them* Apology
with Lilly's almanack, would not only be pardon- for tradi -
able, but proper ; and (unlefs he added it out of pru- 165! S "
dence, and for the peoples fake, whom he may think
too fuperftitioufly conceited of thofe books) he might
have fpared that cold excufe which he makes for ufing
this fimilitude, " that it was agreeable rather to the
" impertinency of the objection than the dignity of
" the fubjecl:." Certain it is, if theie men are true
to their own principles, that notwithstanding the
high reverence and efteem pretended to be born by
them and their church to the fcriptures, they muffc
heartily defpife them, and wifh them out of the way :
and even look upon it as a great overfight of the di-
vine providence to trouble his church with a book,
which, if their difcourfe be of any confequence, can
fland catholicks in no fiead at all, and is fo dangerous
and mifchievous a weapon in the hands of hereticks.
SECT,
The RULE of FAITH.
SECT. III.
The pro- § *• TJ^ n g tnus taken a view of his opinion,
teftant JTl and confidered how much he attributes to
oral tradition, and how little to the fcriptures ; be-
concern-
ing the fore I aflail his hypothefis, I fhall lay down the
f J -h P rote ^ ant rule of faith ; not that fo much is necef.
fary for the anfwering of his book, but that he may
have no colour of objection, that I proceed altogether
in the deftructive way, and overthrow his principle,
as he calls it, without fubftituting another in its room.
The opinion then of the protectants concerning the
rule of faith, is this in general, that thofe books
which we call the holy fcriptures, are the means
whereby the chriftian doctrine hath been brought
down to us. And that he may now clearly under-
ftand this, together with the grounds of it (which
in reafon he ought to have done before he had for-
faken us) I fhall declare more particularly in thefe
following propofitions.
§ 2. Firft, that the doctrine of chriftian religion
was by Christ delivered to the apoftles, and by them
firft preached to the world, and afterwards by them
committed to writing ; which writings, or books,
have been tranfmitted from one age to another down
to us : fo far I take to be granted by our prefent ad-
verfaries. That the chriftian doctrine was by Christ
delivered to the apoftles, and by them publifhed to
the world, is part of their own hypothefis. That
this doctrine was afterwards by the apoftles commit-
* P. 1x7- ted to writing, he alfo grants, corol. 29. " * 'Tis cer-
« c tain the apoftles taught the fame doctrine they
writ
t( - .»*
The RULE of FAITH. 563
< c writ-," and iffo, it mud be as certain that they $ E C TV
writ the fame doctrine which they taught. I know ^_^ l n u J
it is the general tenet of the papifts, that the fcrip-
tures do not contain the entire body of chriftian doc-
trine, but that befides the doctrines contained in fcrip-
ture, there are alfo others brought down to us by oral
or unwritten tradition. But Mr. S. who fuppofeth the
whole doctrine of chriftian religion to be certainly
conveyed down to us folely by oral tradition, doth
not any where, that I remember, deny that all the
fame doctrine is contained in the fcriptures ; only he
denies the 'fcriptures to be a means fufficient to con-
vey this doctrine to us with certainty, fo that we can
by them be infallibly aiTured what is Christ's doc-
trine, and what not. Nay, he feems in that paflage
I laft cited to grant this, in faying that the apcftles
did both teach and write the fame doctrine. I am
fure Mr. White (whom he follows very clofely through
his whole book) does not deny this, in his apology
for tradition •, where he faith, " * that it is not the ca- * p < l?I ^
" tholick pofition, that all its doctrines are not con-
" tained in the fcriptures." And that thole writ-
ings or books which we call the holy fcriptures,
have been tranfmitted down to us, is unquestionable
matter of fact, and granted univerfally by the papifts,
as to all thofe books which are owned by proteftants
for canonical.
§ 3. Secondly, that the way of writing is a fuffi-
cient means to convey a doctrine to the knowledge of
thofe who live in times very remote from the age of
its firft delivery. According to his hypothetic, there
is no pofTible way of conveying a doctrine with cer-
tainty and fecurity befides that of oral tradition ; the
falihood
564 The RULE of FAITH.
PART falfhood of which will fufficiently appear, when I
fhall have fhewn, that the true properties of a rule
of faith do agree to the fcriptures, and not to oral
tradition. In the mean time I fhall only offer this to
his confideration, that whatever can be orally de-
livered in plain and intelligible words, may be writ-
ten in the fame words \ and that a writing or book
which is publick, and in every one's hand, may be
conveyed down with at lead as much certainty and
fecurity, and with as little danger of alteration, as
an oral tradition. And if fo, I underftand not what
can render it impoflible for a book to convey down
a doctrine to the knowledge of after-ages. Befides,
if he had looked well about him, he could not but
have apprehended fome little inconvenience in mak-
ing that an effential part of his hypothefis, which is
contradicted by plain and conftant experience : for
that any kind of doctrine may be fufficiently conveyed,
by books, to the knowledge of after-ages, provided
thofe books be but written intelligibly, and preferved
from change and corruption in the conveyance, (both
which I fhall be fo bold as to fuppofe pofiible) is as little
doubted by the generality of mankind, as that there
are books. And furely we chriftians cannot think it
impofTible to convey a doctrine to pofterity by books,
when we confider that God himfelf pitched upon this
way for conveyance of the doctrine of the jewifh re-
ligion to after-ages \ becaufe it is not likely that fo
wife an agent ihould pitch upon a means whereby ic
was impoffible he ihould attain his end.
§. 4. Thirdly, that the books of fcripture are
fufficiently plain, as to all things neceffary to be be-
lieved and practifed, He that denies this, ought in
reafoo
Tie RULE of FAITH. 565
Tcaibn to inftance in Tome neceffary point of faith, SECT,
or matter of practice, which is not in fome place \_^ l_ j
of fcripture or other plainly delivered. For it is
not a fufficient objection to fay, " * that the greateft P. 38. 39.
" wits among the proteftants differ about the fenfe
<c of thole texts, wherein the generality of them
" fuppofe the divinity of Christ to be plainly
" and clearly expreffed ;" becaufe, if nothing were
to be accounted fufHciently plain, but what it is im-
polfible a great wit fhould be able to wreft to any
other fenfe, not only the fcriptures but all other
books, and (which is word of all to him that makes
this objection) all oral tradition would fall into un-
certainty. Doth the traditionary church pretend
that the doctrine of Christ's divinity is con-
veyed down to her by oral tradition more plainly
than it is exprelTed in fcripture ? I would fain know
what plainer words me ever ufed to exprefs this point
of faith by, than what the fcripture ufeth, which
exprefly calls him " God, the true God, God over
" all, bleffed for evermore." If it be fa id, that
thole who deny the divinity of Christ have been
able to evade thefe and all other texts of fcripture,
but they could never elude the definitions of the
church in that matter ; it is eafily anfwered, that
the fame arts would equally have eluded both ; but
there was no reafon why they fhould trouble them-
felves fo much about the latter-, for why mould
they be folicitous to wreft the definitions of councils,
and conform them to their own opinion, who had
no regard to the church's authority ? if thofe great
wits (as he calls them) had believed the fayings of
fcripture to be of no greater authority than the de-
Vol. IV. 6N finitions
3*
5 66 the RULE of FAITH.
PART, finitions of councils, they would have anfwcred texts of
J-, fcripture, as they have done the definitions of councils ;
not by endeavouring to interpret them to another fenfe,
but by downright denying their authority. So that
it feems that oral tradition is liable to the fame in-
convenience with the written, as to this particular.
§. 5. And of this I fhall give him a plain inftance
in two great wits of their church, the prefent pope,
and Mr. White ; the one the head of the traditiona-
ry church, as Mr. S. calls it j the other the great
mailer of the traditionary doctrine. Thefe two great
wits, the pope and Mr. White, notwithstanding
the plainnefs of oral tradition, and the impoffibility
of being ignorant of it, or miftaking it, have yet
been fo unhappy as to differ about feveral points of
faith ; infomuch that Mr. White is unkindly cen-
fured for it at Rome, and perhaps here in England
the pope fpeeds no better ; however, the difference
continues (till fo wide, that Mr. White hath thought
fit to difobey the fummons of his chief paftor, and
like a prudent man, rather to write againft him here
out of harm's way, than to venture the infallibility
of plain oral tradition for the doctrines he maintains,
againfl: a practical tradition which they have at Rome
of killing hereticks.
Methinks Mr. S. might have fpared his brags,
" that he hath evinced from clear reafon, * that it is
%v a far more impoflible to make a man not to be,
" than not to know what is riveted into his loul
cc by fo oft repeated fenfations, (as the chriflian faith
" is by oral and practical tradition) and that it ex-
" ceeds all the power of nature (abftracting from the
* cafes of madnefs and violent difeafe) to blot
" know*
The RULE of FAITH. 567
tc knowledge, thus hVd, out of the foul of one SECT.
Ill
" fmgle believer ; infomuch, that fooner may all ._. - v -^_f
" mankind perifh, than the regulative virtue of
" tradition mifcarry -, nay, fooner may the finews of
<c entire nature, by overtraining, crack, and fhe
" lofe all her activity and motion, that is, herfelf,
" than one (ingle part of that innumerable multi-
" tude which integrate the vafl teflification, which
" we call tradition, can poflibly be violated ; M when
after he hath told us, u * that the city of Rome
• c was bleft with more vigorous caufes to imprint * P. 116.
" Christ's doctrine at firft, and recommend it
" to the next age, than were found any where dfc ;
" and confequently that the frream of tradition, in
" its fource and firffc putting into motion, was
" more particularly vigorous there than in any other
<c fee j and that the chief paftor of that fee hath a
** particular title to infallibility built upon tradition,
*' above any other paftor whatfoever 5 not to dilate
" on the particular afiiftances to that bifhop, fpring-
" ing out of his divinely conftituted office:" when,
I fay, after all this quaint reafoning and rumbling
rhetorick about the infallibility of oral tradition,
and the particular infallibility of the bifhop of
Rome built on tradition, we cannot but remember;
that this great oracle of oral tradition the pope, and
this great matter of it Mr. White, who is fo pecu-
liarly skill'd in the rule of faith, have fo manifeft-
ly declar'd themfelves to differ in points of
faith. For that the pope and his congregation ge-
neral at Rome, have condemn'd all his books for
this reafon, becaufe " * they contain feveral propo-
* fitions manjfeftly heretical," is a fign that thde^j^
6 N 2 two P. 9-
59 8 The RULE of FAITH.
PA R T. two great wits do not very well hit it in matters of
• j faith -, and either that they do not both agree in
the fame rule of faith, or that one of them does
not rightly underftand it, or not follow it. And
now, why may not that which Mr. S. unjuftly fays
concerning the ufe of fcripture, be upon this account
juftly applied to the bufmefs of oral tradition ?
Ci * If we fee two fuch eminent wits among the papifts
tc (the pope and Mr. White) making ufe of the felf-
tc fame, and as they conceive, the bed advantages
" their rule of faith gives them *, and availing them-
ci felves the beft they can by acquired skill, yet dif-
" fer about matters of faith ; what certainty can we
<G undertakingly promife to weaker heads, that is, to
<c the generality of the papifts," in whom the go-
vernors of the church do profefTedly cherifh igno-
rance for the increafing of their devotion ?
§ 6. Fourthly, we have fufficient aflurance that the
books of fcripture are conveyed down to us without
any material corruption or alteration. And he that
denies this, muft either reject the authority of all
books, becaufe we cannot be certain whether they
be the fame now that they were at firft ; or elfe,
give fome probable reafon why thefe fhould be more
liable to corruption than others. But any man that
confiders things, will eafily find that it is much
more improbable that thefe books fhould have been
either wilfully or involuntarily corrupted, in any
thing material to faith or a good life, than any
pther books in the world -, whether we confi-
der the peculiar providence of God engaged for
the prefervation of them, or the peculiar circum-
#ances of thefe bepks, If they were written by men
divinely
The RULE of FAITH. 569
divinely infpircd, and are of ufe to chriflians, as is s EC T.
acknowledged (at lead in words) on all hands, no-
thing is more credible, than that the fame divine pro-
vidence which took care for the publishing of them,
would likewife be concerned to preferve them entire.
And if we confider the peculiar circumftances of
thefe books, we fhall find it morally impoflible that
they mould have been materially corrupted, becaufe
being of univerfal and mighty concernment, and at
firfl diffufed into many hands, and ibon after tranf-
lated into mod languages, and moil paffages in them
cited in books now extant, and all thefe now agree-
ing in all matters of importance, we have as great
afiurance as can be had concerning any thing of this
nature, that they have not fuffered any material al-
teration, and far greater than any man can have con-
cerning the incorruption of their oral tradition, as
I fhall fhew when I come to anfwer the thing which
he calls demonflration.
§.7. Fifthly, that defafto the fcripture hath been
acknowledged by all chriflians, in former ages,
to be the means whereby the doctrine of Christ
hath with greateft certainty been conveyed to them.
One good evidence of this is, that the primitive ad-
verfaries of chriflian religion did always look upon
the fcripture as the ftandard and meafure of the
chriftian doctrine, and in all their writing againft
chriftianity, took that for granted to be the chriftian
faith which was contained in thofe books ; there hav-
ing not as yet any philofopher rifen up who had de-
monftrated to the world, that a doctrine could not,
with fuflicient certainty and clearnels, be conveyed
by writing from one age to another. But how al>
furd
57 o The RULE of FAITH.
PART furd had this method of confuting chriftian religion
_, been, if it had been then the publick profeflion of
chriftians that the fcriptures were not the rule of their
faith ? How eafy had it been for the fathers, who
apologized for, and defended chriftian religion, to
have told them they took a wrong meafure for their
doctrine ; for it was not the principle of chriftians,
that their faith was conveyed to them by the fcrip-
tures, and therefore it was a fond undertaking to at-
tack their religion that way ; but if they would ef-
fectually argue againft it, they ought to enquire what
that doctrine was which was orally delivered from
father to Ion, without which the fcriptures could iigni-
fy no more to them than an unknown cipher without
a key, being of themfelves, without the light of oral
tradition, only an heap of unintelligible words, cc un-
<€ fenfed characters, and ink varioufly figured in a
€C book ; " and therefore it was a grofs miftake in
them, to think they could understand the chriftian
religion (like their own philofbphyj by reading of
thofe books, or confute it by confuting them,
Thus the fathers might have defended their religi-
on ; nay they ought in all reafon to have taken
this courfe, and to have appealed from thofe dead
ienflefs books to the true rule of faith, the living
voice of the church eflential. But doth Mr. S. find
any thing to this purpofe in the apologies of
the fathers ? if he hath difcovered any fuch matter,
he might do well to acquaint the world with it, and
make them wifer ; in the mean time, I fhall inform
him what I have found, that the fathers never ex-
cept againft that method, but appeal frequently
from the flanderous reports and mifreprefentations
which
The RULE of FAITH. S7 i
which were made of their doctrine, to the books of S E C T.
fcripture, as the true ftandard of it.
§ 8. Another evidence that chriftians in all ages
fince the apoftles times, have owned the fcriptures
for the rule of their faith, is, that the fathers, in
their homilies, did ufc conftantly to declare to the
people what they were to believe, and what they
were to practife out of the fcriptures -, which had
been mofl abfurd and fendefs, had they believed not
the fcriptures but fomething elfe to have been the
rule of faith and manners. For what could tend
more to the feducing of the people from Mr. S's
fuppofed rule of faith, oral tradition, than to make
a daily practice of declaring and confirming the
doctrines of the chriftian faith from the fcriptures ?
had the ancient fathers been right for Mr. S's way,
they would not have built their doctrine upon fcrip-
ture •, perhaps not have mentioned it, for fear of
giving the people an occafion to grow familiar with
fo dangerous a book -, but rather (as their more pru-
dent pofterity have done) would have locked it up
from the people in an unknown tongue, and have
{tt open the flores of good wholfbm traditions ; and
inftead of telling them (as they do moft frequently)
" thus faith the fcripture," would ©nly have told
them, " this is the voice of the eliential church ;
" thus it hath been delivered down by hand to us
" from our forefathers."
§ 9. I might add for a third evidence, the great
malice of the enemies and perfecutors of chriftiani-
ty againft this book, and their cruel endeavours to
extort it out of the hands of chriftians, and deflroy
it out of the world, that by this means they might
extirpate
572 The RULE of FAITH.
PART extirpate Chriftianity. For it feems they thought,
that the abolifhing of this book would have been
the ruin of that religion. But (according to Mr. S's
opinion) their malice wanted wit; for had all the
bibles in the world been burn'd, chriftian religion
would neverthelefs have been entirely preferv'd, and
fafely tranfmitted down to us by fenfe written in
mens hearts, with the good help of Mr. S's demon-
flrations. Nay, their church would have been a
great gainer by it ; for this occafion and parent of
all herefy the fcripture being once out of the way,
fhe might have had all in her own hands, and by
leading the people in the fafe paths of tradition,
and confequently of fcience, might have made them
wife enough to obey. Well, but fuppofe the per-
fecutors of chriftianity miftook themfelves in their
defign, how came the chriftians in thofe days to be
fo tenacious of this book, that rather than deliver
it/ they would yield up themfelves to torments and
death ? and why did they look upon thole who
out of fear delivered up their books, as apoftates
and renouncers of chriftianity ? and if they had not
thought this" book to be the great inftrument of
their faith and falvation, and if it had really been
of no greater confideration than Mr. W. and Mr. S.
would make it -, why fhould they be fo loth to part
with a few M unfens'd characters, waxen- natur'd
" words, to be play'd upon diverfly by quirks
" of wit, that is, apt to blunder and confound,
" but to clear little or nothing?" Why mould
they value their lives at fo cheap a rate as to throw
them away for a few infignihxant fcrawls, and to
lhed their blood for " a little ink varioufly figured
in
The RULE of FAITH. S7i
sg in a book ? " Did they not know, that the fafety SECT,
of chriftianity did not depend upon this hook ? Uj r . '
Did no chriftian then linderftand that, which (ac-
cording to Mr. S.) no chriftian can be ignorant of,
viz. that not the fcripture, but unmiftakable and
indefectible oral tradition was the rule of faith?
why did they not confider, that though this letter-
rule of hereticks had been confumed to afhes, yet
their faith would have lain fafe, " and been prefer ved
" entire in its * fpiritual caules, mens minds, the * P. 3^
" nobleft pieces in nature ? "'Some of them indeed
did deliver up their books, and were called tradi-
toreS) and I have fome ground to believe, that thefe
were the only traditionary chriftians of that time,
and that the reft were confefTors and martyrs for the
letter- rule. And if this be not evidence enough, that
the fcriptures have always been acknowledged by
chriftians for the rule of faith, I fhall, when I come
to examine his testimonies for tradition (with the
good leave of his diftinction between fpeculators and
teftifiers) prove by mod cxprefs teflimony, that ic
was the general opinion of the fathers, " that the
?* fcriptures are the rule of chriftian faith j" and
then, if his demonfiration of the infallibility of tra-
dition will enforce, that as teftifiers they muft needs
have fpoken otherwile, who can help it ?
SECT. IV,
§ 1. TTAving thus laid down the proteftant rule How
H of faith, with the grounds of it •, all that^nrfaU
now remains for me to do towards the clear and full low to oral
Vol. IV. 6 O ftating traditloa -
574 7&' RULE of FAITH.
PART ftating of the controverfy between us, is to take no*
tice briefly, and with due limitations,
Firft, how much the proteftants do allow to oral
tradition.
Secondly, what thofe things are which Mr. S. thinks
fit to attribute to his rule of faith,which we fee nocaufe
to attribute to ours : and when this is done, any one
may eafily difcern how far we differ.
§ 2 . Firft, how much proteftants do allow to oral
tradition.
i. We grant that oral tradition, in feme circum-
ftances, may be a fufficient way of conveying a doc-
trine ; but withal we deny, that fuch circumftances
are now in being. In the firft ages of the world >
when the credenda or articles of religion, and the
agenda or precepts of it were but few, and fuch as
had the evidence of natural light \ when the world
was contracted into a few families in comparifon, and
the age of men ordinarily extended to fix or kvtn
hundred years ; it is eafy to imagine, how fuch a doc-
trine, in fuch circumftances, .might have been pro-
pagated by oral tradition, without any great change
or alterations. Adam lived till Methufelah was
above two hundred years old, Methufelah lived till
Sem was near an hundred, and Sem outlived Abra-
ham : fa that this tradition need not pais through
more than two hands betwixt Adam and Abraham*
But though this way was fufficient to have preferred
religion in the world, if men had not been wanting
to them (elves ; yet we find it did not prove effectual :
for through the corruption and negligence of men af-
ter the flood (if not before) when the world began
f
The RULE of FAITH. 575
to multiply, and the age of man was fhortned, the s E C T.
knowledge and worihip of the one true God was ge- u^^w
nerally loft in the world. And fo far as appears by
fcripture-hiftory (the only record we have of thofc
times) when God called out Abraham from Ur of
the Chaldees, the whole world was lapfed into poly-
theifm and idolatry. Therefore, for the greater fe-
curity of religion afterwards, when the pofterity of
Abraham was multiplied into a great nation, the wif-
dom of God did not think fit to intruft the doctrine
of religion any longer to the fallible and uncertain
way of tradition, but committed it to writing. Now
that God pitched upon this way, after the world had
fadly experienced the unfuccefsfulnefs of the other, /
feems to be a very good evidence that this was the
better and more fecure way \ it being the ufual me-
thod of the divine difpenfations not to go back-
wards, but to move towards perfection, and to pro-
ceed from that which is lefs perfect to that which is
more. And the apoflle's * reafoning concerning thc* Kcblv
1 ° o vm. 7.
two covenants, is very applicable to thefe two me-
thods of conveying the doctrine of religion -, " if
" the firfl: had been faultlefs, then mould no place
" have been fought for a fecond."
§ 3. So likewife, when Christ revealed his doc-
trine to the world, it was not in his life-time com-
mitted to writing ; becaufe it was entertained but by
a few, who were his difciples and followers, and who,
fo long as he continued with them, had a living
oracle to teach them. After his death, the apoftles,
who were to publim this doctrine to the world, were
afiifted by an infallible fpirit, fo as they were fecured
from error and miftake in the ddivcry of it. But
6" O 2 whem
57 6 The RULE of FAITH.
PART when this extraordinary aftiftance failed, there was
need of fome other means to convey it to poftcrity,
that fo it might be a fixed and (landing rule of faith
and manners to the end of the world. To this end
the providence of God took care to have it com-
mitted to writing. And that Mr. S. may fee this is
not a conjecture of proteftants, but the fenfe of for-
mer times, Ifhall refer him to St. Chryfoflom {homil.
i. in Matth.) who tells us, " That Christ left no-
thing in writing to his apoftles, but inftead there-
of did promife to bellow upon them the grace of
<c his Holy Spirit, faying, John xiv. He fhall
bring all things to your remembrance, &c. But
becaufe in progrefs of time there were many grie-
vous mifcarriages both in matter of opinion, and
alio of life and manners ; therefore it was requi-
" fire that the memory of doctrine fhould be
u preferved by writing." So long then as the apo-
ftles lived, who were thus infallibly aflifted, the way
of oral tradition was fecure, but no longer ; nor even
then, from the nature of the thing, but from that ex-
traordinary and fupernatural affiftance which accom-
panied the deliverers.
§ 4. And therefore it is no good way of argument
againft the way of tradition by writing, which he lays
fo much weight upon, * " That the apoftles and
" their fuccenors went not with books in their hands
* c to preach and deliver Christ's doctrine, but words
" in their mouths-, and that primitive antiquity
< c learned their faith by another method, a long time
iC before many of thofe books were univerfally fpread
* c among the vulgar." For what if there was no
need of writing this doctrine, whiift thofe living
oracles
"The RULE of FAITH. 577
oracles the apoftles were prefent with the church ? 3 E c T.
doth it therefore follow that there was no need after-
wards when the apoftles were dead, and that extraor-
dinary and fupernatural afliftance was ceafed ? If the
preachers now-a-days could give us any fuch afTurance,
and confirm all they preach by fuch frequent, and pub-
lick, and unqueftionable miracles as the apoftles did ;
then we need not examine the doctrines they taught
by any other rule, but ought to regulate our belief
by what they delivered to us : but feeing this is not
:he cafe, that ought in all reafon to be the rule of
our faith, which hath brought down to us the doc-
trine of Christ with the greater! certainty ; and this
I fhall prove the fcriptures to have done.
§ 5. So that in thofe circumftances I have men-
tioned, we allow oral tradition to have been a fufiici-
ent way of conveying a doctrine ; but now confider-
ing the great increafe of mankind, and the fhortnefs
of man's life in thefe latter ages of the world, and the
long tract of time from the apoftles age down to
us, and the innumerable accidents whereby in the
fpace of 1 500 years, oral tradition might receive in-
fenfible alterations, fb as at laft to become quite ano-
ther thing from what it was at firft, by paftlng
through many hands •, in which paflage all the mis-
takes and corruptions which (in the feveral ages
through which it was tranfmitted) did happen, either
through ignorance, or forgetfulnefs, or out of intereft
and defign, are neceflarily derived into the laft : fo
that the farther it goes, the more alteration it is liable
to *, becaufe as it pafleth along, more errors and cor-
ruptions are infufed into it. I fay, confidering all
this, we deny, that the doctrine of chriftian religion
eould f
S7 % Me RULE of FA I TH.
PART could, with any probable fecurity and certainty, have
been conveyed down to us by the way of oral tradi-
tion ; and therefore do reafonably believe, that God
forefeeing this, did in his wifdom fo order things,
that thole perfons who were afTifled by an infallible
fpirit in the delivery of this doctrine, mould, before
they left the world, commit it to writing-, which was
accordingly done : and by this inftrument the doc-
trine of faith hath been conveyed down to us.
§ 6. Secondly, we allow, that tradition oral and
written, do give us fufficient affurance that the books
of fcripture which we now have, are the very books
which were written by the apoftles and evangeliils :
nay farther, that oral tradition alone is a competent
evidence in this cafe ; but withal we deny, that oral
tradition is therefore to be accounted the rule of faith.
The general affurance that we have concerning
books written long ago, that they are fo ancient, and
were written by thofe whofe names they bear, is a
conftant and uncontroli'd tradition of this, tranfmit-
ted from one age to another ; partly orally, and part-
ly by the teftimony of other books. Thus much is
common to fcripture with other books. But then the
fcriptures have this peculiar advantage above other
books, that being of a greater and more univerfal
concernment, they have been more common and in
every body's hands, more read and iludied than any
other books in the world whatfbever ; and confe-
quently, they have a more univerfal and better-
grounded atteftation. Moreover, they have not on-
ly been owned univerfally in all ages by chriftians (ex-
cept three or four books of them, which for fome
time were queflioned by fome churches, but have
fince
ne RULE of FAITH. S7 $
ilnce been generally received,) but the greater! ene- SECT.
mies of our religion, the jews and heathens, never ^^- - _j
quedioned the antiquity of them, but have always
taken it for granted, that they were the very books
which the apodles writ. And this is as great an afifu-
rance as we can have concerning any antient book,
without a particular and immediate revelation.
§ y. And this concefTion doth not, as Mr. S. fup-
poieth, make oral tradition to be finally the rule of
faith ; for the meaning of this quedion, (." What is
" the rule of faith ?" ) is, what is the next and im-
mediate means whereby the knowledge of Christ's
doctrine is conveyed to us ? So that although oral tra-
dition be the means whereby we come, to know that
thefe are the books of fcripture, yet thefe books arc
the next and immediate means whereby we come to
know what is Christ's doctrine, and confequently
what we are to believe.
§ 8. Nor doth this concefTion make oral tradition
to be the rule of faith, by a parity of reafon ; as if
becaufe we acknowledge that oral tradition alone can
with competent certainty tranfmit a book to after-ages,
we mud therefore grant that it can with as much cer-
tainty convey a doctrine confiding of feverah articles
of faith (nay, very many, as Mr. White acknow-
ledges * ) and many laws and precepts of life : fo be- * Rufhw.
caufe oral tradition fufficiently afTures us that this is^'^
magna charta y and that the flatute-book, in which
are contained thofe laws which it concerns every
man to be skilful in ; therefore, by like parity of rea-
fon, it mufl follow, that tradition itfelf is better than
a book, even the bed way imaginable to convey down
fuch laws to us. Mr. S. faith * exprefly it is j but* P. 23.
how
5 2o The RULE of FAI TH.
PART how truly, I appeal to experience, and the wifdonj
of our Jawgivers, who feem to think otherwife. Tra-
dition is already defined to us, " a delivery down
* 6 from hand to hand of the fenfe and faith of
a forefathers," i. e. of the gofpel or menage of
Christ. Now fuppofe any oral meiTage, confiding
of an hundred particularities, were to be delivered to
an hundred feveral perfons of different degrees of un-
derflanding and memory, by them to be conveyed to
an hundred more, who were to convey it to others,
and fo onwards to a hundred defcents - 9 is it probable
this mefiage, with all the particularities of it, would
be as truly conveyed through fo many mouths, as if
it were written down in fo many letters, concerning
which every bearer mould need to fay no more than
this, that it was delivered to him as a letter written
by him whofe name was fubferibed to it ? I think it
not probable, though the mens lives were concerned
every one for the faithful delivery of his errand or let-
ter. For the letter is a menage which no man can
miftake in, unlefs he will \ but the errand fo difficult
and perplexed with its multitude of particulars, that
it is an equal wager againft every one of the mefTen-
gers, that he either forgets, or miftakes fomething in
it; it is ten thoufand to one, that the firft hundred do
not all agree in it \ it is a million to one, that the next
fucceflion do not all deliver it truly ; for if any one
of the hundred miftook or forgot any thing, it is
then impofiible that he that received it from him
Should deliver it right ; and fo the farther it goes,
the greater change it is liable to. Yet after all this I
do not fay, but it may be demonftrated in Mr. S's
way, to have more of certainty in it than the original
letter.
$ 9. Thirdly,
5T& RULE of FAITH. 58 i
$. 9. Thirdly, we allow, that the doctrine ofS E C T.
chriftian religion hath in all ages been preached to
the people by the paftors of the church, and taught
by chriftian parents to their children $ but with
great difference, by forne more plainly, and truly,
and perfectly ♦, by others with leis care and exact-
nefs, according to the different degrees of ability
and integrity in paftors or parents; and likewife
with very different fuccels, according to the diffe-
rent capacities and difpofitions of the learners. We
allow likewife, that there hath been a conftant courfe
of vifible actions, conformable, in fome meafure, to
the principles of chriftianity -, but then we fay, that
thofe outward acts and circumftances of religion may
have undergone great variations, and received great
change, by the addition to them, and defalcation
from them in feveral ages. That this" not only is
poffible, but hath actually happened, I fhall fhew
when I come to anfvver his demonftration. Now,
that feveral of the main doctrines of faith contained
in the fcripture, and actions therein commanded,
have been taught and practifed by chriftians in all
ages (as the articles furnmed up in the apofiles creed,
the Life of the two facraments) is a good evidence fo
far, that the fcriptures contain the doctrine of chri-
ftian religion. But then, if we confider how we
come to know that fuch points of faith have been
taught, and fuch external actions practifed in all
ages, it is not enough to fay, there is a prefent mul-
titude of chriftians that profefs to have received
fuch doctrines as ever believed and practifed, and from
hence to infer that they were fo ; the inconfequence
of which argument I fhall have a better occalion to
1 Vol, IV. 6P ft
2-
5 32 The RULE of FAITH.
PART, fhcw afterwards: but he that will prove this to any
man's fatisfaction, muft make it evident from the
bell monuments and records of feveral ages, that is,
from the moft authentick books of thole times, that
iuch doctrines have in all thofe ages been conflant-
]y and univerfally taught and practifed. But then
if from thofe records of former times it appear that
other doctrines, not contained in fcriptures, were
not taught and practifed univerfally in all ages,
but have crept in by degrees, fome in one age,
and fome in another, according as ignorance and
fuperftition in the People, ambition and interefl in
the chief paftors of the church, have miniftred oc-
cafion and opportunity ; and that the innovators of
thefe doctrines and practices, have all along pre-
tended to confirm them out of fcripture, as the
acknowledg'd rule of faith ; and have like wife ac-
knowledged the books of fcripture to have defend-
ed without any material corruption or alteration (all
which will fufficiently appear in the procefs of my
difcourfe) then cannot the oral and practical tradition
of the prefent church, concerning any doctrine, as
ever believed and practifed, which hath no real foun-
dation in fcripture, be any argument againft thefe
books, as if they did not fully and clearly contain
the chriflian doctrine. And to lay the fcripture
is to be interpreted by oral and practical tradition,
is no more reafonable than it would be to interpret
the ancient books of the law, by the prefent prac-
tice of it •, which every one, that compares things
fairly together, muft acknowledge to be full of de-
viations from the ancient law.
SECT,
The RULE of FAITH.
SECT. V.
§. i. idly j TjOW much more he attributes to h 0V v
Jul his rule of faith, than we think fit much Mr.
S.attri-
to attribute to ours. butes to
i. We do not fay, that it is impofiible, in the h J. s ^^f
nature of the thing that this rule mould fail, that is, more * than
either that thefe books mould ceafe to defcend, or Proteftanti
mould be corrupted. This we do not attribute to
them, becaufe there is no need we mould. We
believe the providence of God will take care of them,
and fecure them from being either loft or mate-
rially corrupted ; yet we think it very poflible that
all the books in the world may be burn'd or other-
wife deflroyed. All that we affirm concerning our
rule of faith, is, that it is abundantly fufficient (if
men be not wanting to themfelves) to convey the
chriftian doctrine to all fuccefiive ages; and we think
him very unreafonable that expects that God mould
do more than what is abundantly enough, for
the perpetuating of chriftian religion in the world.
§. 2. Secondly, nor do we fay that that certainty
and affurance which we have, that thefe books are
the fame that were written by the apoftles, is a firft
and felf-evident principle : but only that it is a truth
capable of evidence fufficient, and as much as we
can have for a thing of that nature. Mr. S. may,
if he pleafe, fay that tradition's certainty is a firft
and felf-evident principle ; but then he that fays
this, mould take heed how he takes upon him to
demonftrate it. Ariftotle was fo wife as never to
6 P 2 demon-
The RULE of FAITH.
demonfrrate firfl principles, for which he gives this
very good reafon, becaufe they cannot be demon-
ftrated. And mod prudent men are of opinion,
that a felf-evident principle, of all things in the
world mould not be demonftrated, becaufe it needs
not : for to what purpofe fhould a man write a
book to prove that which every man muft aifent to
without any proof, fo foon as it is propounded to
him ? I have always taken a felf-evident principle to
be fuch a proportion* as having in it felf-fufficient
evidence of its own truth, and not needing to be
made evident by any thing elfe. If I be herein
miftaken, I delire Mr. S. to inform me better.
§ 3. So that the true Rate of the controverfy
between us, is, whet-her oral and practical tradition,
in oppofition to writing and books, be the only
way and means whereby the doctrine of Christ
can with certainty and fecurity be conveyed down
to us, who live at this diftance from the age of
Christ and his apoftles : this he affirms, and the
proteftants deny, not only that it is the fote means,
but that it is fufficient for the certain conveyance
of this doctrine ; and withal affirm, that this doc-
trine hath been conveyed down to us by the books
of holy fcripture, as the proper meafure and flan-
dard of our religion : but then they do not exclude
oral tradition from being one means of conveying
to us the certain knowledge of thefe books ; nor do
they exclude the authentick records of former ages,
nor the conflant teaching and practice of this doc-
trine, from being fubordinate means and helps of
conveying it from one age to another j nay, fo far
arc
?be RULE of FAITH.
are they from excluding thefe concurrent means,
that they fuppofe them always to have been ufed,
and to have been of great advantage for the propa-
gating and explaining of this doctrine, fo far as
they have been truly fubordinate to, and regulated
by thefc facred oracles, the holy fcriptures, which,
they fay, do truly and fully contain that doctrine
which Christ delivered to his apoftles, and they
preached to the world. To illufbrate this by an in-
fiance : fuppofe there were a controverfy now on
foot, how men might come to know what was the
true art of logick which Ariftotle taught his fcho-
lars -, and fome fhould be of opinion, that the only
way to know this would be by oral tradition from
his fcholars ; which we might eafily underfland by
confulting thofe of the preient age, who learned it
from thole who received it from them, who at laft
had it from Ariftotle himfelf: but others fhould
think it the furefb way to ftudy his organon, a book
acknowledged by all his fcholars to have been writ-
ten by himfelf, and to contain that doctrine which
he taught them. They who take this latter courfe,
fuppofe the authority of oral tradition for the con-
veying to them the knowledge of this book ; and
do fuppofe this doctrine to have been taught and
practifed in all ages, and a great many books to
have been written by way of comment and explica-
tion of this doctrine ; and that thefe have been good
helps of promoting the knowledge of it. And they
may w ? ell enough fuppofe all this, and yet be of
opinion that the truefl meafure and ftandard of
Ariftotle's doctrine is his own book - 3 and that it
would
5 86 The RULE of FAITH.
PART would be a fond thing in any man, by forcing an
J interpretation upon his book, either contrary to, or
very foreign and remote from the obvious fenfe of
his words, to go about to reconcile this book with
that method of difputing which is ufed by the pro-
feffed ariftotelians of the preient age, and with all
that fcholaftick jargon whiclj Mr. S. learned at
Lisbon, and has made him fo great a man in the
fcience of all controverfy, as even to enable him to
demonftrate firft and felf-evident principles, a trick
not to be learned out of Ariftotle's organon. The
application is fo eafy, that I seed not make it.
T H E
S$7
THE
RULE of FAITH.
PART IL
Concerning the properties of the Rule cf Faith ;
and whether they agree folely to oral tra-
dition.
SECT. I.
$ i. T T Aving thus endeavoured to bring the con- s ECT.
-*- -** troverfy between us to its clear and true ^- A^j
flate, that fb we might not quarrel in the dark,
and difpute about we know not what ; I come now
to grapple more clofely with his book. And the
main foundations of his difcourie may be reduced to
thefe three heads :
Firft, that the efTential properties of fuch a way
and means as can with certainty and fecurity con-
vey down to us the doctrine of Christ, belong
folely to oral tradition. This he endeavours to prove
in his five firft difcourfes.
Secondly, that it is impofTible that this way of
oral tradition mould fail. And this he pretends to
prove in his four lad difcourfes.
Thirdly, that oral tradition hath been generally
reputed by chriftians in all ages, the fole way and
means of conveying down to them the doctrines of
Christ.
II
c33 The RULE of FAITH.
PART Christ. And this he attempts to fhew in his Iaft
chapter, which he calls, * c The confent of authority
£fc to the fubftance of his foregoing difcourfes." If
he make good thefe three things, he hath acquitted
himfelf well in his undertaking ; but whether he
hath made them good or not, is now to be exa-
mined.
§ 2. Firft, whether the effential properties of fuch
a way and means as can with certainty and fecurity
convey down to us the knowledge of Christ's
doctrine, belong folely to oral tradition ?
The true way to meafure the efTential properties
of this or that means, is by confidering its fuffici-
ency for its end : for whatfoever is necefTary to
make any means liafficient for the obtaining of its
end, is to be reputed an effential property of that
means, and nothing elie. Now, becaufe the end we
are fpeaking of is the conveyance of the knowledge
of Christ's doctrine to all thofe who are con-
cerned to know it, in fuch a manner as they may
be fufficiently certain and fecure that it hath receiv-
ed no change or corruption from what it was when
it was firft delivered. From hence it appears, that
the means to this end, muft have thefe two proper-
ties : i ft, It muft be fufficiently plain and intel-
ligible. 2dly, It muft be fufficiently certain to us,
that is, fuch as we may be fully fatisfiecl concern-
ing it, that it hath received no corruption or alte-
ration. If it have thefe two conditions, it is fufTL
cient for its end ; but if it want either of them,
it muft nccefTarily fall fhort of its end: for if k
be not plain and intelligible, it cannot convey th?s
doctrine to our knowledge j if it be not certain, we
cannot
The RULE of FAITH. 5 ? 9
cannot be affur'd, that that do&rine which it brings SECT,
down to us for the doctrine of Christ, is really <^_—^,
fuch.
§ 3. I know he afllgns more properties of this
means, which he calls the Rule of Faith ; but upon
examination it will appear, that they either fall in
with thefe two, or do not at all belong to it : as,
Firft, " That * it muft be plain and felf- eviden t * P. 11;
" to all, as to its exiftence." Nothing can be more
frivolous, than to make this a property of any things
becaufe whofoever enquires into the properties of
a thing, is fuppofed to be already fatisfied that the
thing is.
Secondly, " That it be f evidenceable, as to its t p - n,
" ruling power;" that is, as he explains himfelf,
" * that men be capable of knowing, that it de-*p 3,
" ferves to be relied on as a rule." By which he
muft either underftand the certainty of it: and
then it falls in with the fecond property I mention-
ed, and is the fame with the fixth which he lays
down ; or elfe he means more generally, that it is
the property of a rule, that men be capable of
knowing that it hath the properties of a rule: for
I underftand not how a man can know that any
thing deferves to be relied on as a rule, otherwife
than by knowing it hath the properties of a
rule, that is, that it is fuiflcient for its end. But
at this rate a man may multiply the properties of
things without end, if the evidence of a thing, as
to its exiftence, be one property ; and then, that
we be capable of knowing that it is fuch a thing, be
another.
Vol. IV. 6 CL §4. Thirdly,
3-
p. 12.
The RULE of FAITH.
§ 4. Thirdly, " that it be * apt to fettle and
juftify undoubting perfons. " What he means
here by fettling undoubting perfons, I am not able,
on a fudden, to comprehend, becaufe I underftand
not what unfettJes a man befides doubting ; for if a
man be but fo well fatisfied about any thing as
to have no doubt concerning it, I do not eafily
apprehend how he can be icttled better, that is,
how his mind can be more at reft than not to doubt.
But if by undoubting perfons he means thofe who
do not doubt for the prefent, but afterwards may
doubt, then I perceive what he means by apt to
fettle undoubting perfons, viz. apt to fettle perfons
when they do doubt, that is, when they are not
undoubting perfons. As for juftifying undoubting
perfons, if he means that whofoever fecurely relies
on this rule ought of right to be acquitted, as act-
ing rationally in ib doing ; this is plainly confe-
quent upon the two properties I have laid down:
for if the means of conveying Christ's doctrine
be fufficiently plain and certain, every man that re-
lies upon it is juftified in fo doing, becaufe he trufts
a means which is fufneient for its end.
§ 5. Fourthly, " that * it be apt to fatisfy fully
" the mod fceptical diflenters and rational doubters. 5 *
For its aptitude to fatisfy rational doubters, that
plainly follows from the fufficient certainty of it ;
but why it mould be a neceffary property of a rule
of faith, to be apt to fatisfy the mod fceptical dif-
fenter, I can no more divine, than I can, why he
mould call a diffenter fceptical, which are repug-
nant terms : for a fceptick is one who neither af-
fents to any thing, nor dhTents ; but is in a perpetual
fulpenfe,
The RULE of FAITH. S9 i
fufpenfe, becaufe he looks upon every opinion, asSECT.
balanced by a contrary opinion of equal probability, ^^L^
without any inclination of the fcales cither way.
But if by the moft fceptical difTentcr he means only
a fceptick, one that doth not believe the doctrine of
Christ, nor any fhing elfe ; then I would fain
know what that is which in reafon is apt fully to la-
tisfy fuch a perfon. If any thing will, fure a dc-
monftration will ; but there is no aptitude at all in
a demonflration, to fatisfy him who doubts whether
there be any fuch thing as a demonftration, and like-
wile queftions the certainty of all thofe principles from
whence any conclufion can be demonftrated. And thofe
who are moft fceptical, profefs to doubt of all this.
§.6. Fifthly, " That it * be apt to convince *p § , , I2#
" the moft obftinate and acute ad verfary." If the
rule be plain and certain, the moft acute adverfi-
ry may be convinced by it if he will, that is, if he
be not obftinate -, but if he be obftinate, that is,
fuch a one as will not be convinced, but will per-
fift in his error in defpite of all evidence that
can be offered him, then I muft profefs that I
do not know any kind of evidence that is apt
to convince that man who will not be con-
vinced by any reafon that can be propounded to
him. And that he ought not to have expected
this from any rule of faith, though never fo felf-
evident, he might have learned from the fame
author, in whom he may find his chief properties
of the rule of faith, if he had but had the patience
to have confider'd his explication of them; I mean *Analyf.
Dr. Holden *, who lays down the fecond property fid - 1, '•
of the rule of faith (or, as he calls it, c « the means
6 Q_2 where-
If.
592 The RULE of FAITH.
PA R T. " whereby we come to the knowledge of revealed
" truth") in thefe words, " another (viz. condition
" of this means, &c.) is, that it be apt of its own
cc nature to afford the greated true and rational
<c certainty, to all men without exception, to whom
<c the knowledge of it fhall come ; provided they
" be furnifhed with the faculty of reafon, and
" have their minds purified from all paffion and
fc lud, which do (as he tells us, cap. 6.) often hin-
<c der the mod fagacious perfons from understanding
" the mod evident and manifed truth. Now I
" fuppofe obflinacy to be the effect of pafllon and
" luft."
If Mr. S. mean, that the rule of faith muft be
apt to conquer obftinacy, and make men lay it afide,
I cannot underftand this neither; unlefshe mean that
the rule of faith muft be a cudgel, which the tra-
ditionary church have been good at, and may ufe it
again when occafion ferves ; for none but they have
a title to it upon a church account, as Mr. S. tells
us, corol. 10. But fetting afide this, I do not know
any thing elfe that is apt to conquer obftinacy:
not the cleared reafon, or the ftrongeft demondrati-
on, for that I am fure is no ways fitted to combat a
wilful and unrealonable humour with any probabi-
lity of fuccefs. And if any one doubt of this, if
he will but make trial, he may eafily be convinced
by experience how unapt obdinate perfons are to
be convinced by reafon. I do not know any thing
that ever carried greater evidence than the doctrine
of Christ, preached by himfelf and his apodles
to the obdinate Jews, and confirmed by multitudes
of unquedionable miracles ; and yet we do not find
by
The RULE of FAITH. 5n
by the fuccefs of it, that it was fo very apt to con-S EC T.
vince thofe that were obftinate. And no man can i^^il.^
judge of the aptitude of a means to an end, other-
wife than by the ufual and frequent fuccefs of it
when it is applied. Nor do I think that the doc-
trine of the gofpel was ever intended for that pur-
pofe. God hath provided no remedy for the wil-
ful and perverfe, but he hath done that which is
fufficient for the fatisfying and winning over of
thofe who are teachable and willing to learn : and
fuch a difpofition fuppofeth a man to have Jaidafide
both fcepticifm and obftinacy.
§. 7. Sixthly, cc that * it be certain in itfelf." * p. I2 .
Seventhly, " that f it be abfolutely afcertainable , p
" to US."
Thefe two are comprehended in the fecond pro-
perty I laid down ; fo that I have nothing to fay
againft them, but that the lad looks very like a
contradiction, " abfolutely afcertainable to us ;"
which is to fay, u with relpecl to us, without re-
" fpect to us ;" for abfolutely feems to exclude re-
fpect, and to us implies it.
Having thus fhewn, that the {even properties he
mentions, are either coincident with thefe two I
have laid down, or confequent upon them, or ab-
furd and impertinent ; it remains, that the true pro-
perties of a rule of faith are thofe two which I firfl
named, and no more.
SECT.
The RULE of FAITH.
SECT. II.
That the §• i • T E T us now fee how he endeavours to
properties JL# fhew, that thefe properties agree folely to
cf faith ora ^ tradition : he tells us M there are but two preten-
beiongto c« ders t0 t hj s t j t j e f being the rule of faith, fcrip-
" ture and oral tradition ; thefe properties do not be-
" long to fcripture, and they do to oral tradition,
" therefore folely to it." A very good argument, if he
can prove thefe two things, " that t\iz(t two pro-
" pcrties do not belong to fcripture, and that they
" do to oral tradition."
§.2. In order to the proving of the firft, that
thefe properties do not belong to fcripture, he pre-
* P. 13- mifeth this note, " * that we cannot by the fcrip-
" tures mean the fenfe of them, but the book, that
" is, fuch or fuch characters not yet fenfed or inter-
" preted." But why can we not, by the fcriptures,
mean the fenfe of them ? He gives this clear and ad-
mirable reafon, becaufe the fenfe of the fcripture,
is, ci the things to be known, and thefe we confefs
" are the very points of faith, of which the
" rule of faith is to afcertain us." Which is juft
as if a man mould reafon thus : thofe who fay the
ftatute-book can convey to them the knowledge of
the flatute-law, cannot by the ftatute-book mean the
fenfe of it, but the book ; that is, fuch or fuch cha-
racters not yet fenfed or interpreted j becaufe the
fenfe of the ftatute-book is the thing to be known;
and thefe are the very laws, the knowledge whereof
is to be conveyed to them by this book : which
is to lay, that a book cannot convey to a man the
know-
CI
cc
735* £C7L£ of FAITH. Sg $
knowledge of any matter, becaufe if it did, it would SECT,
convey to him the thing to be known. But that he
may farther fee what excellent reafoning this is, I
fhall apply this paragraph to oral tradition, for the
argument holds every whit as well concerning that :
" To fpeak to them in their own language, who
" fay that oral tradition is their rule, we mud pre-
" mife this note, that they cannot mean by oral tra-
c< dition the knCc of it, that is, the things to be
" known *, for thofe, they confefs, are the very
u points of faith, of which the rule of faith is to
" afccrtain us: when they fay then, that oral tra-
dition is the rule of faith, they can only mean
by oral tradition the words wherein it is deli-
vered, not yet fenfed or interpreted, but as yet to
" be fenfed ; that is, fuch or fuch founds, with their
" aptnefs to fignify to them affuredly God's mind,
c6 or afcertain them of their faith ; for abftracting
" from the fenfe and actual fignification of thofe words,
<c there is nothing imaginable left but thofe founds,
" with their aptnefs to fignify it:" when he hath
anfwered this argument, he will have anfwered his
own. In the mean while, this difcourfe, that he
who holds the fcripture to be the rule of faith,
muft needs by the fcriptures mean a book void of
fenfe, &c. becaufe otherwife if by fcripture he;
Ihould underftand a book, that hath a certain fenfe
in it, that fenfe muft be the doctrine of Ch r ist,
which is the very thing that this book is to convey
to us •, I fay, this difcourfe tends only to prove it
an abfurd thing for any man, that holds fcripture
the means of conveying Christ's doctrine, to un-
derftand by the fcripture a book that conveys
Chrijt's
i
59 6 Tie RULE of FAITH.
PART Christ's doctrine. This being his own reafon,
put into plain Englifh, I leave the reader to judge
whether it be not fomething fhort of perfect fcience
and demonftration. Nay, if it were throughly exa-
mined, I doubt whether it would not fall fhort
of that low pitch of fcience which he fpeaks of in
his preface, where he tells us, " that the way of
cc fcience is to proceed from one piece of fenfe to
" another."
§ 3. Having premifed this, that by the fcriptures we
muft mean only dead characters, that have no fenfe
under them, he proceeds to fliew that thefe dead
characters have not the properties of a rule of faith
belonging to them. "Which although it be nothing
to the purpofe when he hath fhewn it, yet it is very
pleafant to obferve by what crofs and untoward argu-
ments he goes about it : of which I will give the
reader a tafte by one or two in fiances.
In the firft place he fhews that it cannot be evi-
dent to us, " that thefe books were written by men
* P. 14. " divinely infpired, becaufe * till the feeming contra-
c< dictions in thofe books are folved, which to do, is
" one of the moil difficult tasks in the world, they
" cannot be concluded to be of God's inditing."
Now how is this an argument againft thofe, who by
the fcriptures muft mean unfenfed letters and charac-
ters ? I had, always thought contradictions had been
in the fenfe of words, not in the letters and charac-
ters -, but I perceive he hath a peculiar opinion, that
the four and twenty letters do contradict one ano-
ther.
* P. 17. The other inflance fhall be in his lafl argument *,
which is this, " that the fcripture cannot be the rule
of
The RULE of FAITH, 597
u of faith, bccaufc thofe who are to be ruled and S E c T«
II
" guided by the icripture's Jetter to faith, cannot be
" certain of the true fenfe of it :" which is to fay,
that unfenfed letters and characters cannot be the rule
of faith, becaufe the rule of faith muft have a certain
fenfe, that is, muft not be unfenfed letters and charac-
ters ; which in plain cnglifh amounts to thus much,
unfenfed letters and characters cannot be the rule of
faith, that they cannot.
§ 4. And thus 1 might trace him through all his
properties of the rule of faith, and let the reader fee
how incomparably he demonstrates the falfhood of
this proteftant tenet (as he calls it) that a fenkkfs book
may be a rule of faith. But I am weary of purfuinc-
him in thele airy and phantaftical combats, and fhall
leave him to fight with his own fancies, and batter
down the caities which himfelf hath built. Only I
think fit to acquaint him, once for all, with a great
fecret of the proieftant doctrine, which it feems he
hath hitherto been ignorant of (for I am (till more
confirmed in my opinion, that he forfook our reli-
gion before he underftood it) that when they fay the
fcriptures are the rule of faith, or the means where-
by Christ's doctrine is conveyed down to them,
they mean by the fcriptures books written in fuch
words as do fufficiently exprefs the fenfe and meaning
of Christ's doctrine.
§ 5. And to fatisry him that we are notabfurd and
unreafonable in iuppofing the fcriptures to be fuch a
book, I would beg the favour of him to grant mc
thefe four things, or fhew reafon to the contrary,
Vol. IV. 6 R Firft,
The RULE of FAITH.
Firft, that whatever can be fpoken in plain and
intelligible words, and fuch as have a certain fenfe,
may be written in the fame words.
Secondly, that the fame words are as intelligible
when they are written as when they are fpoken.
Thirdly, That God, if he pleafe, can indite a
book in as plain words as any of his creatures.
Fourthly, that we have no reafon to think that
God affects obfcurity, and envies that men mould
underffond him in thofe things which are neceflary for
them to know, and which mull have been written to
no purpofe if we cannot underftand them. St Luke
* Luke i. * tells Theophilus, that he wrote the hiftory of
3> 4- Christ to him, on purpofe to give him a certain
knowledge of thofe things which he writ. But how
a book which hath no certain fcnf^, fhould give a
man certain knowledge of things, is beyond my
* John xx. capacity. St. John * faith, that he purpofely com-
3 1, mitted feveral of Christ's miracles to writing, that
men might believe on him. But now, had Mr. S.
been at his elbow, he would have advifcd him to
fpare his labour, and would have given him this good
reafon for it ; becaufe when he had written his
book, no body would be able to find the certain fenfc
of it without oral tradition, and that alone would fe-
curely and intelligibly convey both the doctrine
of Christ, and the certain knowledge of thofe mi-
racles which he wrought for the confirmation of it*
If thefe four things be but granted, I fee not why,
when we fay that the fcriptures arc the means of con-
, veying to us Christ's doctrine, we may not be al-
lowed to underftand by the fcriptures, a book which
doth
The RULE of FAITH. 599
doth in plain and intelligible words exprefs to us this SE C T.
dodfcrme, y^- ^-^
SECT. III.
§ i. ^ ND now, although this might, have been Mr. S'«
-£-W a fufficient anfwer to his exceptions againft Exceptions
3.?<iiiut
the fcriptures, as being incapable of the properties of fcripture
a rule of faith 5 becaufe all of them fuppofe that examined.
which is apparently falfe and abfurd, as granted by
prote Hants, viz. that the fcriptures are only a heap
of dead letters and infignificant characters, without
any fenfe under them ; and that oral tradition is that
only which gives them life and fenfe : yet, "becaufe
feveral of his exceptions pretend to mew, that the
true properties of a rule of faith do not at all apper-
tain to the fcriptures ; therefore I mail give particu-
lar anfwers to them, and, as I go along, fhew that
tradition is liable to all or moft of thole exceptions,
and to far greater than thofe.
§ 2. Whereas he fays, " * it cannot be evident* p. 13.
<c to proteflants, from their principles, that the books
" of fcripture were originally written by men divine-
" ly infpired :" I will fhew him that it may, and
then anfwer the reafons of this exception.
It is evident from an univerfal, conftant, and un-
controlled tradition among chriftians, not only oral,
but written, and from the acknowledgment of the
greater!: adverfaries of our religion, that thefe books
were originally written by the apoftles and evange-
lifts. And this is not only a proteftant principle, but
the principle of all mankind, " That an undoubted
'* tradition is fufficient evidence of the antiquity and
6 R 2 " au-
6oo The RULE of FAITH.
PART" author of a book," and all the cxtrinfecal argu-
[ f j M ments that can ordinarily be had of a book writ-
ten long ago.
Next, it is evident that the apoffles were men di-
vinely infpired, that is, fecured from error and mif-
take in the writing of this doctrine, from the mi-
racles that were wrought for the confirmation of it ;
becaufe it is unreasonable to imagine, that the divine
power mould lb remarkably fnterpofc lor the confir-
mation of a doctrine, and give fo eminent an attefta-
tion to the apollles to convince the world that they
were immediately appointed and comniiiTioned by
God, and yet not fecure them from error in the de-
livery of it. And that fuch miracles were w rought,
is evident from as credible hiftories as we have »or any
of thofe things which we do mofl firmly believe.
And this is better evidence that ths apollles were men
divinely infpired, than bare oral tradition can furnifh us
withal : for fetting afide the authentick relation of
thefe matters in books, it is mod probable, that oral
tradition of itfelf, and without books, would fcarce
have preferved the memory of any of thofe particu-
lar miracles of our faviour and his apoftles which are
recorded in fcripturc. And for the probability of
this, I offer thefe two things to his confideration.
Firff, no man can deny that memorable perfons
have lived, and actions been done in the world in-
numerable, whereof no hiftory now extant makes any
mention.
Secondly, he himfelf will grant, that our faviour
wrought innumerable more miracles than are recorded
in fcripture. And now I challenge him to fhew the
fingle virtue of oral tradition, by giving an account
of
The RULE of FAITH. 6or
cf any of thofe perfons, or their actions, who lived S E C T.
1500 or 2000 years ago, befidcs thofe which are men- , - - _j
tioned in books > or to give a catalogue but of ten
of thofe innumerable miracles wrought by our favi-
ourj which are not recorded by the evangelifts, with
circumftances as punctual and particular as thofe arc
clothed withal : if he can do this, it will be a good
evidence that oral tradition fingly, and by itfelf, can
do fomething ; but if he cannot, 'tis as plain an
evidence on the contrary, that if thole actions of for-
mer times, and thofe miracles of our Saviour and
his apoftles which are recorded in books, had never
been written, but intrufted folely to oral tradition,
we fliould have heard as little of it at this day, as
we do of thofe that were not written.
§ 3. Now to examine his reafons for this exception :
Firfl, he faith, " * 'tis mod manifeft that this* p # ,♦
" cannot be made evident to the vulgar, that fcrip-
u ture was written by men divinely infpired." This
reafon is as eafily anfwered, by faying it is moil: ma-
nifeft that it can : but befides faying fo, I have
fhewed how it may be made as evident to the vulgar,
as other things which they do moll firmly, and upon
good grounds, believe. Even the rudeft of the vulgar,
and thofe who cannot read, do believe upon very good
grounds that there was fuch a king as William the
conqueror; and the miracles of Christ and his apo-
ftles are capable of as good evidence as we have for this.
Secondly, he fays, " * this cannot be evident to* P. 15,
the curious and mod fpeculative fearchers, but by l ^'
fo deep an infpection into the fenfe of fcripture, as
fhall difcover fuch fecrets, that philofophy and hu-
" mane induftry could never have arrived to." As if
we
cc
K (
602 Tie R UL E of FAITH.
PART. we could not be afiiired that any thing were written by
men divinely infpired, unlefs it were above the reach
of humane understanding ; and as if no man could
know that this was our Saviour's doctrine, " What-
" ever ye would that men mould do unto you, that
<c do ye likewife unto them," becaufe every one can
under (land it. Bat if there were more myfteries in
the fcriptures than there are, I hope a man might be
fatisfied that they were written by men divinely in-
ipired, without a clear comprehenfion of all thofe
myfteries. The evidence of the infpiration of any
perfon doth not depend upon the plainnefs or fubli-
mity of the things revealed to him, but upon the
goodnefs of the arguments which tend to perfuade us
that the perfon is fo infpired ; and the argument that
is mod fit to fatisfy us of that, is, if he work mi-
racles. Now I would gladly know why a learned
man cannot be allured of a miracle, that is, a plain
fenfible matter of fact done long ago, but " by fodecp
an infpedion into the fenfe of fcripture, as (hall dis-
cover fuch fecrets that philoibphy and humane in-
duftry could never have arrived to."
?. 14. § 4. Thirdly, becaufe " * all the fceming contra-
Cc dictions of fcripture muft be folved, before we can
" out of the bare letter conclude the fcripture to be
" of God's inditing •, to folve which literally, plain-
< c ly, and fatisfactorily (he tells us) the memory of fo
< c many particulars, which made them clearer to thofe
" of the age in which they were written, and the
c< matter known, muft needs be fo worn out by
" tract of time, that it is one of the moft diffi-
" cult tasks in the world." As if we could not be-
lieve a book to be of God's inditing, becaufe there
feem
CC
(I
Tie RULE of FAITH. 603
fecm now to be fomc contradictions in it, which weSECT.
have reafon to believe could eafily have been folved , ***•
by thofe who liv'd in the age in which it was written.
Or as if oral tradition could help a man to folve thele
contradictions, when the memory of particulars ne-
ccfTary for the clear fblution of them is (ashimfelf con-
feiTes^) worn out by tract of time. If Mr. S. can, in
order to the fblution of the feeming contradictions of
fcripture, demonftrate, that oral tradition hath to this
day preferved the memory of thofe particulars (neceA
fary for that purpofe) the memory of which mufl needs
be long fince worn out by trad of time, then I will
readily yield, that his rule of faith hath in this parti-
cular the advantage of ours. But if he cannot do
this, why doth he make that an argument againft our
rule, which is as ftrong againft his own ? This isJjuft
like captain Everard's friend's way of arguing againft
the proteftants, that they cannot rely upon fcripture,
becaufe it is full of plain contradictions impoffible to
be reconciled ; and therefore they ought in all reaibn
to fubmit to the infallibility of the church. And for
an inftance of fuch a contradiction, he pitched upon
the three fourteen generations mentioned in the firft
of St. Matthew, becaufe the third feries of generations,
if they be counted, will be found to be but thirteen.
Not to mention now, how this difficulty hath been
fufficiently fatisfied both by proteftant and popifh
commentators, without any recourfe to oral tradition ;
that which I take notice of, is the unreafonablenefs of
making this an exception againft theproteftants, when
it comes with every whit as much force upon themfelves.
Suppofe this contradiction not capable of any folu-
tion by proteftants (as he affirms) and I fhould fub-
mit
604 The RULE of FAI TIL
PART mit to the infallibility of the church ; can he affur;
^ l_j me, that infallibility can make thirteen, fourteen ?
If it cannot, how am I nearer fatisfaction in this
point, by acknowledging the infallibility of the
church ? the cafe is the very fune, as to Mr. S's
exception, if I owned oral tradition, I mould be
never the nearer (blving the feeminsj contradictions
of fcnpture, and confequently I could not in reafon
conclude it to be of God's inditing. So that in
truth, thefe exceptions, if they were true, would
not firike at protellancy, but at chriflian religion ;
which is the general unhappinefs of mofl of the
popi'ri arguments; than which there is no greater
evidence, that the church of Rome is not the true
mother, becaufe fhe had rather chriftianity mould be
deftroyed, than it mould appear that any other
church hath a claim to it. It is a work very pro-
per for the heretick Marcion, to afiault religion this
* L. i. way; who, as Tertullian * tells us, writ a whole
contr. book, which he called Antithefes, wherein he rec-
koned up all the contradictions (as he thought)
between the old and new teftament : but methinks
it is very improper for the papifts, who pretend to
be the only true chriftians in the world, to drain
their wits to difcover as many contradictions as they
can in the fcripture, and to prove that there is no
way of reconciling them ; the natural confequence
of which is, the expofing of this facred instrument
of our religion, and even chriftianity itfelf to the
fcorn of atheifts. Therefore, to be very plain with
Mr. S. and captain Everard, I am heartily forry to
fee, that one of the chief fruits of their converfion
is to abufe the bible.
§5. Second-
<m RULE of F Aim. 6o$
§5. Secondly, he fays, " * that proteftants can-S ECT.
U not know how many the books of fcripture
" 'ought to be, and which of the many controverted
<c ones may be fecurely put in that catalogue,
" which not." This he proves, by laying, " 'tis
" mod palpable, that few, or at Icaft the rude vul-
" gar, can never be affured of it." And if this be a
good argument, this again is a gcod anfwer, to fay
it is not mod palpable. But I fhall deal more libe-
rally, and tell him, that we know that juft fo many
ought to be received as uncontroverted books, con-
cerning which, it cannot be ffiewn there was ever
any controverfy *, and fo many as controverted, con-
cerning which it appears that queftion hath been
made : and if thofe which have been controverted
have been fince received by thofe churches which
once doubted of them, there is now no farther doubt
concerning them, becauie the controverfy about them
is at an end* And now I would fain know, what
greater certainty oral tradition can give us of the
true catalogue of the books of fcripture : for it muft
either acknowledge fome books have been contro**
verted, or not •, if not, why doth he make a fuppofi*
tion of controverted books ? If oral tradition acknow-
ledge fome to have been controverted, then it cannot
affure us that they have not been controverted, nor
confequently that they ought to be received as never
having been controverted ; but only as fuch, concern-
ing which thofe churches who did once raife a con-
troverfy about them, have been fince fatisfied that
they are canonical. The traditionary church now re-
ceives the epiftle to the Hebrews as canonical. I ask,
do they receive it as ever delivered for fuch ? that
Vol. IV. 6 S they
6o6 Tbe RULE of FAITH.
PART they muft, if they receive it from oral tradition,
^JJ^j which conveys things to them under this notion, as
* Com. in ever delivered -, and yet St. Hierom fpeaking f not as
Efai. c. 6. a fp ecu ] ator5 but a teftifier; faith exprefly of it », " that
" the cultom of the Latin church doth not receive it
" among the canonical fcriptures." What faith Mr.
S. to this ? It is clear from this teftimony, that the
Roman church, in St.Hierom's time, did not acknow-
ledge this epiftle for canonical ; and'tis as plain, that
the prefent Roman church doth receive it for canonical.
Where is then the infallibility of oral tradition? How-
does the living voice of the prefent church afTure us,
that what books are now received by her were ever
received by her ? And if it cannot do this, but the
matter mud come to be tried by the bed records of
former ages (which the proteftants are willing to have
their catalogue tried by) then it feems the proteftants
have a better way to know what books are canonical,
than is the infallible way of oral tradition ; and fo long
as 'tis better, no matter tho' it be not called infallible.
* P. i-. §6- Thirdly, he fays, " * the Proteftants cannot
" know, that the very original, or a perfectly true
M copy of theie books hath been preferved. 5 * It
is not neceflary that they fhould know either of
theie, it is fufficient that they know, that thofe
copies which they have, are not materially cor-
rupted in any matter of faith or practice ; and that
they have iufEcient aflurance of this, I have already
ihewn. And how doth he prove the contrary ?
By his ufual argument, with faying, " it is manifeft-
u ly impoflible." But how do the church of Rome
know that they have perfectly true copies of the
fcriptures in the original languages ? they do not pre-
tend
The RULE of FAITH. 6o>
tend to know this, the learned men of that church s E ^ T -
acknowledge the various readings as well as we, and v— -v— *
do not pretend to know otherwife than by pro-
bable conjecture (as we alio may do) which of thofe
readings is the true one. And why fhould it be more
neceflary for us to know this, than for them ? If they
think it reafonable to content themfelves with know-
ing, that no material corruptions have crept into thofe
books, fo may we. And that there have not, we
know by better arguments than oral tradition, even
by the aflurance we have of God's vigilant providence,
and from a moral impoflibility in the thing, that a
book fo univerfally difperfed, and tranflated into fo
many languages, and conflantly read in the afTemblies
of chriftians, mould have been materially corrupted,
fo as that all thofe copies and tranflations fhould have
agreed in thofe corruptions. And this reafon St. Au-
ftin * gives of the prefervation of the fcriptures entire * Fp. 48.
rather than any other book ; if Mr. S. likes it not,
he may call St. Auftin to account for it.
§ 7. Fourthly, he fays, " the proteftants, at lead the * P. 15.
rudeft vulgar, can have no affurance that thofe books
are rightly tranflated, becaufe they cannot beafTured
either of the ability or integrity of tranflators."
Fifthly, " Nor can they (fays * he) be afTured, that * p ,5
• € the tranfcribers, and printers, and correctors of the 17.
" prefs have carefully and faithfully done their part,
<c in tranfcribing and printing the feveral copies and
" tranflations of fcripture aright ; becaufe they only
can have evidence of the right letter of fcripture,
who flood at their elbows attentively watching
they fhould not err in making it perfectly like a
* 4 former copy -, and even then, why might they not
" miftruft their own eyes and aptnefs to overke ?" I
6 S 2 1 pat
it
6o3 The RULE of FAITH.
PART put thcfe two exceptions together, becaufe the fame
anfwer will ferve them both. The grounds of thefe
exceptions, if they have any, are thefe : that no man
is to be trufted, cither for his skill or honefty; and,
that it is dangerous for men to truft their own eyes.
Unlefs both thefe be true, thefe exceptions are of no
force : for if we can be affured that oiher men have
fufficient skill in any thing which we ourfelves do not
diffidently underftand,we may be affured that thofe who
tranflated the bible had skill in the original languages;
becaufe very credible perlbns tell us fo, and we have no
reafon to doubt their teflimony in this particular,
more than in any other matter. So that if we can
have fufneientaffurance of mens integrity in any thing,
we have no reafon 10 doubt of the skill ot tranflators,
transcribers, or printers ; and if we can have no
aiTurance of mens integrity in any thing, then no
man can be affured there was fuch a man as Henry
the eighth •, and yet I hope the church of Rome
makes no doubt of it : nor can any man be affured
there is fuch a city as Rome, who hath not feen it ;
1 6. nay, if he have, " * why may he not miftrufl: his own
" eyes ?" And, which is the iaddeft inconvenience
cf ail, if no body be to be trufted, nor mens own
eyes, (and for the fame reafon, fure not their ears)
what becomes of the infallibility of oral and practi-
cal tradition ? which neceffarily fuppofeth a compe-
tent underftanding, a faithful memory, an honefl
mind, in the generality of thofe who delivered
Christ's doctrine down to us : and by what means
foever a man can be affured of thefe, by the fame he
may much more eafily be affured of the ability and in-
tegrity of tranflators, tranferibers, and printers. But
above all, it fuppofeth that mens ears and eyes cannot
deceive
The PMLE of FAITH. 609
deceive them in thofe things which they are taughtSECT.-
and fee practifed. l }}'_ t
Is it not very pretty to fee what pitiful fhifts
men that ferve an hypothefis are put to ? when, to
maintain infallibility, they are forced to run to the
extremities of fccpticifm •, and to defend the certain-
ty of oral tradition, ("which depends upon the cer-
tainty of mens fenfes, and an affurance of the abi-
lity and integrity of thofe who were dead fifteen
-hundred years before we were born) are glad to take
refuge in principles quite contrary -, fuch as thefe,
that we can have no affurance, but that whole pro-
feffions of men " * might hap to be knaves, "* p - »&
that we can have no fufHcient evidence that any
man made his copy perfectly like the former, unlefs
" * we (tood at his elbow, attentively watching mm: "* p. 16,
nay, and if we did fo, we have ilill reafon to diC-
truft our fenfes. In fhort, all humane faith fup-
pofeth honefty among rz?i \ and that for matters
of fact and plain objects of fenfe, the general and
uncontrolled teftimony of mankind is to be credi-
ted -, and for matters of peculiar skill and know-
ledge, that the generality of thofe who are account-
ed skilful in that kind, are to be relied upon : for,
as Ariftotle well obferves, there is no greater fign of
an undifciplined wit (or, to ufe one of Mr. S's fine
phrafes, * 4 « of a man not acquainted with the * Preflice *
" paths of fcience") than to expect greater evidence
for things than they are capable of. Every man
hath reafon to be affured of a thing which is capa-
ble of fufficient evidence, when he Jiath as much
evidence for it as the nature of that thing will bear,
and as the capacity he is in will permit him to
have.
610 The RULE of FAITH.
have. And, as Mr. White fays well, " * fatisfaclion is
" to be given to every one according to his capa-
<c citv ; it is fufficient for a child to believe his
" parents \ for a clown to believe his preacher."
Falkland, And this is univerfally true in all cafes, where we
P- 33- have not better or equal evidence to the contrary.
But fuch is the unhappinefs of the popifh doctrines,
that if people were permitted the free ufe of the
fcripture, they would eafily difcern them to have
no probable foundation in it, and to be plainly con-
trary to it •, fo that it cannot be fafe for their
preachers to tell the people that the fcripture is the
only rule of faith, left they fhould find caufe not
to believe them, when they teach doctrines fo plain-
ly contrary to that rule.
* P. 17. § 8. Laftly, he fays, " * the proteftants cannot
be certain of the true fenfe of fcripture." Does he
mean of plain texts, or obfcure ones ? Of the true
fenfe of plain texts I hope every one may be cer-
tain •, and for obfcure ones, it is not neceffary every
one fhould. But it may be there are no plain texts
in the fcriptures : then the reafon of it muft be (till
Mr. S. can fhew a better) either becaufe it is im-
pofiible for any one to write plainly -, or becauie
God cannot write fo plainly as men ; or becaufe we
have good reafon to think that he would not write
things neceffary for every one to believe, fo as men
might clearly underftand him.
4 p But he tells us, " * the numerous comments upon
il fcripture are an evidence that no man can be
•« certain of the true fenfe of it." I hope not ;
for if thofe numerous commentators do generally
agree in the fenfe of plain texts fas 'tis certain they
do)
The RULE of FAITH. 6u
do) then this argument figniiies nothing as to fuch SECT.
texts ; and as for thofe which are obfcure, let com- ^ 1 !,_
mentators differ about them as much as they pleafe,
fo long as all neceffary points of faith and matters
of practice are delivered in plain texts. He adds,
" * There are infinite difputes about the fenfe of* p # I% .
Ci fcripture, even in moil concerning points, as
" in that of Christ's divinity." But are not com-
mentators, both proteftant and popifh, generally
agreed about the fenfe of fcripture in that point ?
And what if fome out of prejudice miftake, or
out of perverfenefs do wreft the plained texts of
fcripture for the divinity of Christ, to another
fenfe ? is this any argument that thofe texts are not
fufliciently plain ? can any thing be Ipoken or
written in words fo clear from ambiguity, which a
perverfe or prejudiced mind fhall not be able to vex
and force to another meaning ? God did not write
the fcriptures for the froward and the captious, but
for thofe who will read them with a free and un-
prejudiced mind, and are willing to come to the
knowledge of the truth. If Mr. S. had been con-
verfant in the writings of the fathers, he could not
but have taken notice with what confidence they at-
tempted to prove the divinity of Christ out of
fcripture, as if that did afford convincing arguments
for this purpofe. St. Chryfoftom * profeffes to demon- * Horn.
(Irate out of fcripture, " that the Son is of the fame 3 2 <* e
M fubflance with the Father;" and relies upon font!
fcripture alone for this, without mentioning any
other kind of argument : fo that it feems St. Chry-
foftom was not acquainted with the infufficiency of
fcripture for the conviction of hcreticks in this
point 5
6i2 The RULE of FAITH.
PA RT pointy and that he was either ignorant of the (infalli*
^ 00r ^ m m j ble) way of demonftrating this point from oral tradi-
tion, or had no great opinion of it. The fame father
* Horn. 7. elfewhere * arguing againft hereticks about the di-
Pnoca. vinity of Christ, fays, w that they pervert the fcrip-
u ture, to ftrengthen their herefy from thence." But
then he does not (with Mr. S.) blame the fcripture,
and fliy that this doctrine is not there delivered with
fufficient clearnels ; but contrariwife he fays, " that
<c the fcripture is clear enough, but the corrupt minds
cc of hereticks will not fee what is there contained."
Had St. Chryfoflom been a true fon of the traditio-
nary church, he would have Jaid hold of this occa-
fion to vilify the fcriptures, and to fhew the necef-
fity of regulating our faith not by flich uncertain
records, but by the infallible reports of oral tra-
dition.
§ 9. But becaufe Mr, S. lays great weight (in fe-
veral parts of his book) upon this exception againft
Scripture, viz. " that proteftants cannot be certain
€i of the true fenfe of it ; " therefore I lhall not con-
tent my felf, only to have fhewn that we may be
fufficiently certain of the fenfe of fcripture, fo far as
to underftand all neceflary matters of faith and
practice, and that more than this is not necefTary ;
but mall likewife return this exception upon him, by
enquiring into thefe two things - t
1. How the traditionary church can be more
certain of the true fenfe of fcripture than the pro-
tectants ?
2. How they can be more certain of the true
fenfe of tradition, than proteflants of the true fenfe
of fcripture?
1. How
The RULE of FAITH. 613
i. How the traditionary church can be more cer- s E T £ T "
tain of the true fenfe of fcripture than proteltants ? u
they pretend to have an oral tradition of the true
fenfe of it, delivered down from father to fon. But
this only reacheth to thofe texts, which are coinci-
dent with the main body of chriftian doctrine ; as
for all other parts of fcripture, they are as ufelels to
papiftsj as they fuppofe they are to us *, becaufe
wanting the help of oral tradition, they cannot be
certain of one tittle of them. And as for thofe
texts, the fenfe whereof is conveyed down by oral
tradition •, this fenfe is, I hope, delivered in fome
words or other : and have all preachers, and fa-
thers, and mothers, and nurfes, the faculty of deli-
vering this fenfe in words fo plain as cannot pofii-
bly be miftaken or wrefled to another fenfe ? I am
forry that when every one hath this faculty of fpeaking
their thoughts plainly, the Holy Ghost mould be
reprefented as not able to convey his mind to men
in intelligible words. And does not his own ob-
jection rebound upon himfelf ? if the church have a
certain fenfe of fcripture orally delivered, whence
are the numerous comments of the fathers upon ir,
and of later writers of their church, and the infinite
difputes about the fenfe of it, in the mod concern-
ing points ? viz. " The efficacy of God's grace,
" the fupremacy of St. Peter, the infallibility of a
" pope and council by immediate affiftance of the
" Holy Ghost ! " what a ftir is made about the
fenfe of daho tibi claves^ tu es Petrus^ & fuper banc
felram, L$c. fa fee oves ? Do not they differ about the
meaning of thefe texts among themfelves, as much
2S they do from the lathers, and from the prote-
Vol. IV. 6T fonts?
tfi4 The RULE of FAITH.
PART ftants? fome underftandinff them of St. Peter's fu-
jj °
i^yL^j premacy only, others of his infallibility, others of
his infallibility only in and with a general council ;
which yet others do not allow to pope or council
from any immediate afilftance, but only from the
rational force of tradition, fuppofing that the pope
and council hold to it. If oral tradition have brought
down a certain fenfe of thefe texts, why do they
not produce it, and agree in it ? if it have not (to
* p - l 7- ufe a hoc phrale of his own *) " 'tis perfect phren-
" zy to lay they can be certain of the true fenfe of
" fcripture."
If he fay, they are by tradition made certain of
the true fenfe of fcripture, fo far as it concerns
the main body of chriftian doctrine, and do all
aoree in it, and that is fufS.cient j then I ask him,
what are thole points of faith which make up
the body of chriftian doctrine? He will tell me,
they are thofe which all catholicks agree to have
defcended to them from the apoftles by a conftant
and uninterrupted tradition. I enquire farther, how
I fhall know what is the certain fenfe of fcripture fo
far as it concerns thefe points ? He muft anfwer as
before, that that is the true fenfe which all ca-
tholicks agree to have defcended to them by tradi-
tion. Which amounts to this, that all catholicks
do agree in the fenfe of fcripture lb far as they
do all agree in it. It is to be hoped, that the pro-
teftants (how much foever at prcfent they differ about
the fenfe of fcripture) may in time come to as good
*Exom, agreement as this. This brings to my remem-
eait. p. brance a paffage or two of Mr. CrcfTy •, the one in
5S4 ' his appendix *, where he tells us, " That as it is
" impof-
The RULE of FAIT H. 61$
C£ impofllble thac hcreticks fhould agree in any other SECT.
" way than in faction-, fo it is impofllble that I - ^-^o
"licks fhould differ in points of fi*ith. n Why To?
were not thofe catholicks firft, who afterwards
became hcreticks? and when they became fo, did
they not differ in points of belief? yes, but here
lies the conceit, when they began to differ, then,
they ceafed to be catholicks; therefore catholicks
can never differ in points of faith. The other
paffage is, where he fays *, " that he hath for- * Exomo-
" faken a church where unity was impofllble, &c. l°g-c-53-
" and betaken himfelf to a church where fchifm is
" impofllble." This Jaft claufe, u that fchifm is
<c impofllble in their church," cannot poflibly be
true but in the fame abfurd and ludicrous fenfe, in
which it is impofllble for catholicks to differ in
points of belief. For he cannot deny but that it
ispoflible for men to break off from the communion
of their church, which in his fenfe is fchifm. But
here is the iubtilty of it, no fchifmatick is of their
church, becaufe fo foon as he is a fchifmatick he is
out of it; therefore fchifm is impofllble in their
church. And is it not as impofllble in the church
of England ? W here Mr. Cr. might have done well
to have continued, till he could have given a wifer
reafon of forfaking her.
§ 10. But to return to our purpofe; Mr. Rufh-
worth * acknowledged, that the fcripture is of itfeJ . .
fufffciently plain as to matters of practice; for hefca. 12.
asks, " Who is fo blind as not to fee that thefc
* c things are to be found in fcripture by a fenfibk\
" common, and difcreet reading of it ; though p
* c haps by a rigorous- and exact balancing of cv<
6 T z. ! c par-
6i6 Tk RULE of FAITH.
u particular word and fyllable, any of thefe things
" would vanilli away we know not how* ? " So
that for the direction of our lives and actions, he
confeffeth the fcripture to be fufric:ently plain, if
men will but read it fenfibly and difcreetly, and
(he fays) that he is blind that does not fee this.
But who fo blind as he who will not fee, that
the fenfe of fcripture is as plain in all necefTary
points of faith ? I am fure St. Auftin makes no dif-
t)e dc&r. ference, when he tells us, " * Thkt in thofe things
" which are plainly fet down in fcripture, we may
<6 find all thofe things in which faith and manners
" of life are comprehended. *' And why cannot
men, in reference to matters of faith as well as of
practice, read the fcriptures fenfibly and difcreetly ;
without fuch a rigorous balancing of every word and
fyllable, as will make the fenfe vanifh away wc know
not how ? If the fcripture be but fuHiciently plain
to fuch as will ufe it fenfibly and diicreedy, I do
not underftand what greater plainnefs can be defired
in a rule ; nor can I imagine what kind of rule it
muft be that can be unexceptionably plain to captious
cavillers, and fuch as are bent to play the fool
with it.
Well, fuppofe the fcriptures be not fufficiently
clear as to matters of faith, and hereupon I have
recourie to the church for the true fenfe of fcripture;
mud I believe the church's fenfe to be the true lenle
of fuch a text, though I fee it to be plainly con-
trary to the genuine fenfe of the words ? yes, that
I muft, or elfe I make myfelf, and not the church,
judge of the fenfe of icripture, which is the grand
hereiy of the proteftants. But then I muft not fup-
pofe 3
The RULE of FAITH. 617
pofe, much lefs believe, that the church's fenfe of S E C t.
fuch text is contrary to the genuine meaning of it •,
no, although I plainly fee it to be fo : this is hard
again on the other hand ; efpecially if it be true
which is acknowledged both by Dr. Holden and
Mr. CrefTy, viz. that though general councils cannot
miftake in the points of faith which they decree, yet
they may miftake in the confirmation of them from
texts of fcripture, that is, they may be miftaken
about the fenfe of thofe texts. And if Mr. S. think
his brethren have granted too much, he may fee
this exemplified in the fecond council of Nice (to
mention no other) which, to eftablifh their doctrine
of image-worfhip, does fo palpably abufe and wrefl
texts of fcripture, that I can hardly believe that any
papift in the world hath the forehead to own that
for the true fenfe of thofe texts which is there oiven
by thofe fathers.
§ 11. Secondly, how the traditionary church can
be more certain of the true fenfe of their traditional
doctrines, than the proteftants can be of the true
fenfe of fcripture ? and this is worthy of our enquiry,
becaufe if the bufinefs be fearch'd to the bottom, it
will appear (befides all other inconveniences, which
oral tradition is much more liable to than fcrip-
ture) that the certain {cnCc and meaning of tradi-
tional doctrine is as hard to come at as the fenih
of fcripture. And this I will make appear by ne-
ceffiry confequence from their own conceffions.
Mr. White and Mr. S. fay, that the great fecu-
rity of tradition is this, that it is not tied to cer-
tain phrafes and fet forms of expreflion, but the
fame fenfe is conveyed and fettled in mens hearts by
various
6i8 The RULE of FA IT II.
PART various exprefilons. But according to Mr. Rufli-
i^^L^j worth, this renders tradition's fenfe uncertain -, for
* Dial. 2. he fays, " * 'tis impoffiblc to put fully, and beyond
* e °* " all quarrel, the fame fenfe in divers words." So
that if men do not receive tradition in a fenfible,
common, difcreet way (as Mr. Rufh worth fpeaks
concerning reading the fcriptures) but will come to
a rigorous and exact balancing of every particular
phrale, word, and fyllable, the fenfe of tradition
will be in the very fame danger of uncertainty, and
be liable to vanifh we know not how. Dr. Hol-
•Analyf. ^^ * lays down thefe two principles, €C Firft, that
fide!, l. i. w n o truth can be conveyed down from man to
" man but by fpcech ; and fpeech cannot be but
" by words ; and all words are either equivocal in
" themfelves, or liable to be differently underftood
" by feveral perfons. Secondly, that fuch is the
<c frame of man's mind, that the fame truths may
" be differently apprehended and underitcod by
«* different perfons : " and if this be true, then tra-
ditional doctrines, if they be delivered Jby fpeech
and words, will be liable to uncertainties and am-
biguities, as to their f^nk, as well as fcripture.
» . i Mr. CrefTy * tells us, " that reafon and ex-
c. 6. " pcrience fhew, that differences will arife even
" about the writings of the fathers, and any thing
«' but the teftimony of the prefent church." If
this be true, tradition wholly falls into uncertainty :
for if difference will arife about the writings of the
fathers how they are to be interpreted, I fuppofe
the writings of councils will be liable to the fame
inconvenience : and if the whole prefent church
cannot declare her icnfc of any traditional doctrine
Other-
The RULE of FAITH. 619
otherwifc than by a council, (unlels with the jefuits s E S- j.**.
they will epitomize the church into the pope) and ^.^^j
the decrees of a council cannot be univerfally di£
perfed (or at lead never ufe to be) but by writing:
and if differences will arife about the interpretation
of that writing, as well as any other, then this pre-
fent infallible authority (which Mr. CrefTy magni- -
fies fo much for ending of differences) leaves all con-
troverfies arifing about the fenfe of tradition as inde-
terminable as ever ; and they muft for ever remain
fo, till general councils have got the knack of pen-
ning their decrees in words which will fo infallibly
exprefs their meaning to the moil captious cavil-
ler, that no difference can poffibly arife about the
interpretation of them, or elfe (which will be more
fuitable to this wife hypothefis) till general coun-
cils (being convine'd by Mr. S's demonftrations)
fhall come to underftand themfelves fo well, as noc
to intrufl their decrees any more to the uncertain
way of writing, but for the future to communicate
them to the world by the infallible way of oral
tradition. And to mention no more, Mr. Knott *, t; n .: ,
(who agrees with the other thus far, that the cer- c . z.fed,
tain fenfe of fcripture is only to be had from the 6,
church) fpeaks to this purpofe, that before we can be
certain that this is the true fenfe of fuch a text, we
mud either be certain that this text is capable of no
other fenfe, as figurative, myflicaJ, or moral ; or if
it be, we muft have fome certain and infallible
means to know in which of them it is taken,
which can be known only by revelation. If this be
true, then by a fair parity of reafon, before I can
be certain that this is the fenfe of a doctrinal tra-
dition
\
6 2 o The RULE of FAITH.
dition delivered down to me, I mufl either be cCr*
tain that the words in which this tradition was ex-
prelTed when it was delivered to me, are capable of
no other fenfe (as figurative, myftical, or moral)
befides that in which I underftood them •, or if
thev be (as certainly they will be) capable of any
of thefe other fenfes, then mull I have fome certain
and infallible means whereby to know in which
of thefe they are taken : and this can no more be
known without a revelation, than which is the true
fenfe of fuch a text of fcripture. If it be faid, that
the fenfe of a traditionary doctrine may by different
expreflions be flill farther and farther explained to
me till I come certainly to underftand the fenfe of
it •, this will not help the matter : for if thefe kinds
of cavils be good, that a man cannot be certain of
the meaning of any words, till he can by an infal-
ble argument demonflrate either that they cannot be
taken, or that they are not taken in any other fenfe j
I fay, if this cavil will hold, then every new ex-
predion whereby any one fhall endeavour to explain
any traditional doctrine, is liable to the fame incon-
venience which thofe words in which it was firft de-
livered to me were liable to. From all which it is
evident, that the traditionary church can be no
more certain of the fenfe of their traditional doc-
trines, than proteftants may be of the fenfe of fcrip-
ture.
§ 12. Thefe are his exceptions contained in his
fecond difcourfe -, and of what force they are, hath
been examined. But becaufe he forelaw that it might
be replied, that thefe defects might in part be pro-
vided againft " by hiftory, by the providence of
God,
The RULE of FAITH. 621
cc God, by teftimonies of councils and Others, andSECT.
- in
" by die fufncient dearnefs of fcripture as to the fun-^,.^ J^j
" damentals j" he endeavours to fhew that thefefip-- -
nify little to this purpofe.
Firft, " Not hiftory*, becaufe few are skilled p. 17, 18,
in hiftory, and they that are not, cannot fufdy
rely upon thofe that are skilled, unlefs they knew
certainly that the hiftorians whom they rely on
had fecure grounds, and not bare hear-fay for what
" they writ, and that they were not contradicted
" by others either extant or perimed. 5 ' How much
credit is to be given to uncontrolled hiftory by the
learned, and how much by the vulgar to men of
skill, I have already fhewn. I (hall only add now,
that if this reafoning be true, it is impoffible for any ,
man to be certain by hiftory of any ancient matter
of fact, as namely, that there were fuch perfons
as Julius Cefar and William the conqueror, and
that they invaded and conquered England, becaufe
(according to him) we cannot know certainly that
the hiftorians, who relate thefe things, and upon
whofe authority we rely, " had fecure grounds, and
* c not bare hear-fay, for what they writ : and that
" they were not contradicted by others either ex-
" tant or perimed," is, I am fure, impoflible for
any man to know : for who can tell now what was
contained in thofe books which are periined? fo
that if this be requifite to make every hiftorical re-
lation credible, to know certainly that it was not
contradicted by any of thofe books which we do
not know what they were, nor what was in them, we
can have no certainty of any ancient fact or hiftory :
for who knows certainly that fome books that are
Vol. IV. 6 U perifhed
4.
622 We RULE of FAITH.
PART pcriflied did not contradict whatever is written in
y_^_ If books that are extant ? nay, if this reafoning hold,
we can have no certainty of any thing conveyed by
oral tradition : for what though the prieft tell me this
was the doctrine of Christ delivered to him ? un-
lefs I know that all others agree with him in this tra-
dition, I cannot rely upon his tefiimony : nor then
* Anfwer neither, in Mr. Knott's * opinion, " becauie the tefti-
to Chil- <t m0 ny of preachers or parlors is humane and fal-
§ ?3. ' ' " lible! unlefs (according to his jargon) a conclufion,
<c deduced from premifes, one of which is only pro*
" bable, may be fufficient to bring our underftand-
" ing to an infallible act of faith, viz. if fuch a con-
" clufion be taken fpeciMcative ; whereas if it be ta-
" ken reduplicative, as it is a conclufion, it can only
u beget a probable afTent ;" which is to fay, that
confidered barely as a conclufion, and fo far as in rea-
fon it can deferve afTent, it is only probable ; but
confidered as it ferves an hypothefis, and is conveni-
ent to be believed with reafon or without, fo it is in-
fallible. But to carry the fuppofition farther : put
the cafe, that the whole prefent age afTembled in a ge-
neral council, fhould declare that fuch a point was de-
livered to them ; yet (according to Mr. S.) we cannot
fafely rely upon this, unlefs we knew certainly, that
thofe whom they relied on " hao] fecure grounds, and
" not bare hear-fay, for what they delivered ; and that
ct they were not contradicted within thefpace of 1500
" years by any of thofe that are deadi" which is im-
poflible for any one now to know.
But to fhew how inconfiftent he is with himfelf in
thefe matters, I will prefent the reader with a paflagc
or two in another part of his book, where he endea-
irs to prove that men may fafely rely on a general
and
ff& RULE of FAITH. 62;
and uncontrolled tradition. He tells us, " * That SEC T.
*' the common courie of humane converfation makes i_-v~ ^j
" it madnefs not to believe great multitudes of* * J - 49-
* fi knowers, if no pofilble confiderations can awa-
" ken in our reafon a doubt that they confpire to de-
" ceive us." And a little after, " * nor can any, * *&<*•
" unlefs their brains rove wildly, or be unlettled even
" to the degree of madnefs, fufpect deceit, where fuch
" multitudes agree unanimoufly in a matter of £161."
Now if men be but fuppofed to write, as well as to
fpeak, what they know, and to agree in their writ-
ings about matter of fact ; then it will be the fame
" madnefs not to believe multitudes of hiftorians,
where no pofiible confideration can awaken in 'our
reafon a doubt that they have confpired to deceive
us ; and mens brains muft rove wildly, and be un-
fettled even to the degree of phrenzy, who fufpect
« c deceit where fuch multitudes unanimously agree in
u a matter of fact." And this feems to me to be the
great unhappinefs of Mr. S*s demonftrations, that
they proceed upon contradictory principles ; fo that
in order to the demonftrating of the uncertainty of
books and writings, he muft fuppofe all thofe prin-
ciples to be uncertain, which he cakes to be felf-evi-
dent and unqueftionable, when he is to demonftrate
the infallibility of oral tradition.
§ 13. Secondly, he tells us *, " the providence of * p. 31,
" God is no fecurity againfl thofe contingences the
ic fcriptures are fubject to ; becaufe we cannot be cer-
** tain of divine providence or afiiftance to his church,
" but by letter of fcripture ; therefore that muft firfb
M be proved certain, before we mention the church,
5 or God's afiiftance to her." As if we pretended
6 U 2 there
624 We RULE cf FAITH.
PART there were any promife in fcripture that God would
l ^ v ^j preferve the letter of it entire and uncorruptcd, or as
if we could not otherwife be afTured of it ; as if the
light of natural reafon could not allure us of God's
providence in general, and of his more efpecial care
of thofe things which are of greatefl concernment to
us, fuch as this is, that a book containing the method
and the terms of falvation mould be preferved from
any material corruption. He might as well have faid,
that without the letter of fcripture we cannot know
that there is a God.
* p g § 14. Thirdly, " Nor (fays he *) can teftimonies
19. cc of councils and fathers be fufficient interpreters of
" fcripture." We do not fay they are. Our prin-
ciple is, that the fcripture doth fufficiently interpret it
felf, that is, is plain to all capacities, in things necef-
fary to be believed and practifed. And the general
coafent of fathers in this doctrine of the fufficient
plainncfs of fcripture (which I fhall afterwards mew)
is a good evidence againfi them. As for obfeure and
more doubtful texts, we acknowledge the comments
of the fathers to be a good help, but no certain rule
of interpretation. And that the papifts think fo, as
well as we, is plain ; inafmuch as they acknowledge
the fathers to differ among themfelves in the interpre-
tation of icvcral texts : and nothing is more familiar
in all popifh commentators, than to differ from the
antjent fctheis about the fenfe of fcripture. And as
for councils, Dr. Holden and Mr. Crefly (as I faid
before) do not think it neceflary to believe that al-
ways to be the true fenfe of texts which councils give
of them, when they bring them to confirm points of
lu Nay, if any controverfy arife about the fenfe
of
(.1
cc
The RULE of FJITH. 625
of any text of fcripture, it is impoffible (according SECT,
to Mr. Rufhworth's principles) for a council to decide ^-v~J
either that, or any other controverfy : for he * makes * Dial - 2<
it his bufinefs to prove, " that controverfies cannot
" be decided by words ;'* and if this be fo, then they
cannot be decided at all, unlefs he can prove that
they may be decided without words, and confequently
that councils may do their work bed in the quakers
way by filent meetings.
§ 15. Fourthly, " Nor can (fays he *) the clear- * P. 20,
<c nefs of fcripture as to fundamentals be any help 21,
againfl thefe defects." Why not ?
Firft, becaufe " a certain catalogue of fundamen-
tals was never given and agreed to by fufficient
u authority, and yet without this all goes to wreck."
I hope not, fo long as we are fure that God would
make nothing neceflary to be believed but what he
hath made plain •, and fo long as men do believe all
things that are plainly revealed (which is every one's
fault if he do not) men may do well enough without
a precife catalogue. But fuppofe we fay, that the ar-
ticles of the apoilles creed contain all neceffary mat-
ters of fimple belief; what hath Mr. S. to fay againfl
this ? I am fure the Roman catechifm, fet forth by
the decree of the council of Trent, fays * as much as * Pnefat.
this comes to, viz. " that the apodles having receiv-
<c ed a command to preach the gofpel to every
u creature, thought fit to compofe a form of chrif-
" tian faith, namely to this end, that they might
" all think and fpeak the fame things, and that there
" might be no fchifms among thofe whom they had
" called to the unity of faith, but that they might
" all be perfect in the fame fenfe and the fame opi-
46 ni©n:
626 The RULE of FAITH.
PART " nion : and this profefTion of the chriftian faith and
. ^ : l_ f " hope, fo framed by them, the apoftles called the
" fymbol or creed." Now how this end of bring-
ing men to unity of faith, and making them per-
fectly of the fame fenfc and opinion, could probably
be attained by means of the creed, if it did not con-
tain all ncceflary points of fimple belief, I can by no
means under (land. Befides, a certain catalogue of
fundamentals is as necefTary for them as for us; and
when Mr. S. gives in his, ours is ready. Mr. Chil-
lingworth had a great defire to have feen Mr. Knott's
catalogue of fundamentals, and challenged him to
produce it, and offered him very fairly, that when-
ever he might with one hand receive his, he would
with the other deliver his own : but Mr. Knott, tho*
he ftill perfiftcd in the fame demand, could never be
prevailed with to bring forth his own, but kept it
for a fecret to his dying day. But to put a final itop
to this canting demand of a catalogue of fundamen-
tals (which yet I perceive I fhall never be able to do,
becaufe it is one of thofe expletive topicks which po-
pifh writers, efpecially thofe of the lowed form, do
generally make ufe of to help out a book) however,
to do what I can towards the Hopping of it, I defire
Mr. S. to anfwer the reafons whereby his friend Dr.
* Analyf. Holden * fhews the unreafonablenefs of this demand,
fid. 1. i. and likewife endeavours to prove that fuch a catalogue
would not only be uielefs and pernicious if it could be
given, but that it is manifeftly impoffible to give fuch
a precife catalogue.
* P. 21. Secondly, he asks, "* Is it a fundamental that
" Christ is God ? If fo, whether this be clearer in
" fcripture, than that God hath hands, feet, &C." 1
To
Tbe RULE of FAITH. 627
To which I anfwer by another queftion, is it clear SECT,
that there are figures in fcripture, and that many. ^ _ 1
things are fpoken after the manner of men, and by
way of condefcenfion and accommodation to our ca-
pacities ; and that cuflom and common fcnfc teacheth
men to diftinguifh between things figuratively and
properly fpoken ? If fo, why cannot every one eafily
underftand, that when the fcripture faith " God hath
" hands and feet, and that Christ is the vine and
" the door," thefe are not to be taken properly, as
we take this propofition, that Christ is God, in
which no man hath any reafon to fufpccl a figure ?
When Mr. S. tells us, " that he percheth upon thQ
<c fpecifical nature of things," would it not offend
him, if any one mould be fo filly as to conclude from
hence that Mr. S. believed himfelf to be a bird, and
nature a perch ? and yet not only the fcriptures, but
all fober writers, are free from fuch forced and fantas-
tical metaphors. I remember that Origen * taxeth* L. 4?
Celfus's wilful ignorance in finding fault with the*
fcriptures, for attributing to God humane affections,
as anger, &c. and tells him, " that any one who
" had a mind to underftand the fcriptures, might
<c eafily fee, that fuch expreflions were accom-
<c modated to us, and accordingly to be under-
" flood ; and that no man, that will but compare
" thefe expreflions with other pafTages of fcripture,
" need to fail of the truefenfe of them." But (ac-
cording to Mr. S.) Origen was to blame to find
fault with Celfus for thinking that the fcriptures did
really attribute humane affections to God ; for how
could he think otherwife, when " the mod funda-
*' mental point is not clearer in fcripture, than that
"God
628 The RULE of FAITH.
FART. « God hath hands, feet. &c. ?" How could Origen
If ^
^^^^j [n reafon expeft from Celfus (though never fo great
a philofopher) chat he fhould be able, without the
help of oral tradition, to diftinguifh between what is
fpoken literally, and what by a certain fcheme of
* Hasret. fpcech ? Theodoret * tells us of one Audasus, who
* 4 "held that God had a humane fhape, and bodily mem-
bers *, but he does not fay that the reafon of this er-
ror was, becaufe he made fcripture the rule of his
faith, but exprefly becaufe " he was a fool, and did
* c foolifhly underitand thofe things which the divine
" fcriptures fpeak by way of condefcenfion." So
that although ivlr. S. is pleafed to make this wife
objection, yet it feems (according toTheodoretJ that
men do not miftake fuch texts, either for want of oral
tradition, or of fufPtcient clearneis in the icriptures,
but for want of common reafon and fenfe. And if
Mr. S. know of any rule of faith that is fecure from
all pofiibility of being miftaken by foolifh and per-
verfe men, 1 would be glad to be acquainted with it,
and with him for its fake.
SECT. IV.
Thatfcrip-§ *• TN his next difcourfe he endeavours to fhew,
ture i$ a X that unlearned perfons cannot be juftified as
rule to the acting rationally in receiving the fcripture for the
unlearned, worc j f God, and relying upon it as a certain rule ;
molt ratio- becaufe they are not capable of fatisfaction concerning
nal doubt- t h e f e matters. But I have already fhewn that they
are, and (hall not repeat the fame over again. And
* P. 24. whereas he fays *, " that feveral profeflions all pretend
« c to fcripture, and yet differ, and damn, and perfe-
" cute
The RULE of FAITH. 629
<g cute one another about thefe differences -,** the an-S E c t.
fwer is eafy : that they all pretend to fcripture, is an u-i3^d
argument that they all acknowledge it to be the word
of God, and the rule of faith ; and that they are ge-
nerally agreed about the fenfe of thofe plain texts
which contain the fundamental points of faith, is evi-
dent in that thofe feveral profeffions acknowledge the
articles contained in the apoflles creed to be fuffici-
cntly delivered in fcripture : and if any profeffions
differ about the meaning of plain texts, that is not an
argument that plain texts are obfeure, but that fbme
men are perverfe. And if thofe profeffions damn and
perfecute one another about the meaning of obfeure
texts, the fcripture is not in fault, but thofe that do fo.
§ 2. And whereas he pretends *, " that the fcrip-A p ± „-
" ture is not able to fatisfy fceptical diilenters and ra- 2 $> *7*
" tional doubters, becaufe nothing under a demon-
" ftration can fatisfy fuch perfons fo well concerning
lc the incorrruptednefs of originals, the faithfulness of
" tran flations, &c. but that fearching and fincere
H wits may ftill maintain their ground of fufpenfe
" with a might it not beotherwife?'* This hath been
anfwered already, partly by fhewing that the fcrip-
ture was not intended to fatisfy fcepticks, and that a
demon drat ion is not fufficient to give fatisfatfion to
them ; and partly by fhewing that rational doubters
may have as much fatisfaction concerning thofe mat-
ters, as the nature of the thing will bear j and he is
not a rational doubter that defires more.
But that he may fee the unreafonablencis of thisdif-
courfe, I fhall briefly fhew him, that all mankind do
in matters of this nature accept of fuch evidence as
falls fhort of demgnftration j and that his great friends
Vo l. IV. 6 X and
4^
630 The RULE of FAITH.
PART and matters, from whom he hath taken the main
^**1^ grounds of his book (though he manageth them to
lefs advantage,) do frequently acknowledge, that it is
reafonable for men to acquicfee in fuch affurance as
falls fhort of infallibility, and fuch evidence as is lefs
than demonftration. Do not mankind think them-
felves furrkiently affured of the antiquity and authors
of feveral books, for which they have not demonftra-
tive evidence ? Doth not Ariftotle fay, that things of
a moral and civil nature, and matters of fad done
long ago, are incapable of demonftration \ and that
it is madnefs to expect it for things of this nature ?
Are there no paffages in books fo plain, that a man
may be fufflciently fatisfied that this and no other
is the certain fenfe of them ? if there be none, can
any thing be fpoken in plainer words than it may be
written ? if it cannot, how can we be fatisfied of the
certain fenfe of any doctrine orally delivered ? and if
we cannot be fo fatisfied, where* s the certainty of oral
tradition ? but if books may be written fo plainly as
that we may be abundantly fatisfied that this is the cer-
tain fenfe of fuch and fuch paffages, then we may
reafonably reft fatisfied in evidence for thefe matters
fhort of demonftration. For was ever the fenfe of
any words fo plain as that there did not remain this
ground of fufpenfe, that thofe words might be ca-
* Dial. 2. pable of another fenfe ? Mr. Rufhworth * fays, " that
feet 7- 16 difputative fcholars do find means daily to explicate
<c the plaineft words of an author to a quite different
" fenfe :" and that the world might be furnifh'd with
an advantageous inftance of the poffibility of this,
* De bonis Raynaudus * ( a writer of their own) hath made a
& maiu wanton experiment upon the apoftles creed, and by a
finifter
The RULE of FAITH. 631
(inifter ( but poflible ) interpretation, hath made SECT.
every article of it herefy and blafphcmy, on purpofe ^ -y— «j
to fhew that the plained words are not free from
ambiguity. Bat may be Mr. S. can outdo the Apo-
Stles, and can deliver the christian doctrine fo clear-
ly, that he can demonstrate it impoflible for any
man to put any other fenfe upon any of his words
than that which he intended. I do not know what
may be done, but if Mr. S. doth this he mud both
amend his Style and his way of demonstration.
Is Mr. S. fufficiently aflured that there is fach a
part of the world as America ? and can he demon-
strate this to any man without carrying him thi-
ther ? can he fhew by any neceSTary argument, that
it is naturally impoflible that all the relations con-
cerning that place fhouJd be falfe ? when his de-
monstrations have done their utmoft, cannot " * a* P. 27;
" Searching and fincere wit at leaft maintain his
ground of fufpenfe with a might it not be other-
wise ? ■ ' and, with an is it not poflible that all
men may be liars, or that a company of tra-
vellers may have made ufe of their privilege to abufe
the world by falie reports, and to put a trick up-
on mankind ? or that all thofe who pretend to go
thither, and bring their commodities from thence,
may go to fome other parts of the world, and tak-
ing pleafure in abufing others in the fame manner
as they have been impofed upon themfelves, may
fay they have been at America ? who can tell but
all this may be fo ? and yet I fuppofe notwithstand-
ing the poSTibility of this, no man in his wits is
now poSTefTed with So incredibile a foliy as to doubc
whether there be Such a place. The cafe is the
6X2 very
4C
632 The RULE of FAITH.
TART very fame as to the certainty of an ancient book,
and of the fenfe of plain expreffions : we have no
demonftration for thefe things, and we expect none
becaufe we know the things are not capable of it.
We are not infallibly certain, that any book is fa
ancient as it pretends to be, or that it was written
by him whofe name it bears, or that this is the
fenfe of fuch and fuch paffages in it j it is poffible
all this may be otherwife, that is, it implies no
contradiction : but we are very well aflured that it
is not -, nor hath any prudent man any juft caufe to
make the lead doubt of it. For a bare polfibility
that a thing may be, or not be, is no juft caufe of
doubting whether a thing be or not. It is poffible
all the people of France may die this night, but I
hope the poffibility of this doth not incline any man
in the lead to think it will be fo : it is poffible the
fun may not rife to morrow morning ; and yet, for
all this, I foppofe that no man hath the lead doubt
but that it will.
§ 3. But becaufe this principle, viz. " That in
€i matters of religion a man cannot be reaibnably
" fatisfy'd with any thing lefs than that infallible
a afTurance which is wrought by demonftration,' 9 '
is the main pillar of Mr. S's book 5 therefore, be-
fide what hath been already faid to (hew the unrea-
fonablenefs of this principle, I fhail take a little
pains to manifeft to him how much he is con-
tradicted in this by the chief of his brethren
of the tradition, viz. Mr. Rufhworth, Dr. Holden,
Mr. Crefly, and Mr. White, who, befides Mr. S.
and one J. B. are (fo far as I can learn) all the pub-
lick patrons that ever this hypothefis of oral tradi-
tion
The RULE of FAITH. 633
tion hath had in the world ; and if Mr. White (as SECT.
I have reafon to believe) was the author of thofe dia-
logues which pafs under Rufh worth's name, the num-
ber them is y x ^ s - ^ow ^ * can ^ evv t ^ iat tn * s
principle (efteem'd by Mr. S. fo fundamental to this
hypothefis) is plainly contradicted by the principal
affertors of oral tradition, I fhall hereby gain one of
thefe two things, either that thefe great patrons of
oral tradition were ignorant of the true foundation
of their own hypothefis, or that this principle is not
neceffary for the fupport of it. Not that I would
be fo underflood as if I did deny that thefe very
perfons do fometimes fpeak very big words of the
necefllty of infallibility : but if it be their plcafore
to contradift themfelves, as I have no reafon to be
difpleafed, fo neither to be concerned for it; but
fhall leave it to Mr. S. to reconcile them firft to
themfelves, and then (if he pleafes) afterwards to
himfelf.
§ 4. I begin with Mr. Rufhworth of immortal
memory, for that noble attempt of his, to perfuade
the world that nowithftanding he was the firft in-
ventor of this hypothefis of oral tradition, yet he
could prove that the church had in all ages owned
it, and proceeded upon it as her only rule of faith.
He in his third dialogue, * when his nephew ob- * Se& 3*
jecls to him, " that perhaps a proteftant would fay & 4>i
" that all his foregoing difecurfe was but probabili-
" ty and likelihood, and therefore to hazard a
<c man's eftate upon peradventures, were fome-
cc thing hard, and not very rationally done : " re-
plies thus to him, " what fecurity do your mer-
M chants, your ftatefmen, your foidiers 3 thofe that
!• g°
634 3& RULE of FAITH.
PART" go to law, nay, even thole that till your grounds
u l^j" and work for their livings; what fecurity, I fay,
" do all thefe go upon ? is it greater than the fe-
M curity which thefe grounds afford ? furely no;
<c and yet no man efleems them foolifh. All hu-
" mane affairs are hazardous, and have fome ad-
" venture in them : and therefore he who requires
M evident certainty only in matters of religion, dif-
" covers in himfelf a lefs mind to the goods pro-
" mifed in the next life, than to thefe which he
* c feeks here in this world upon weaker affurance.
<c Howfoever, the greateft evidence that can be to
" him that is not capable of convincing demon-
<c ftrations (which the greater! part of mankind
M fall fliort of) is but conjectural." So that (ac-
cording to Mr. Rufh worth) it is not reafon and dif-
cretion, buC want of love to God and religion,
which makes men require greater evidence for mat-
ters of religion than for humane affairs, which yet
(he tells us) " are hazardous, and have fome adven-
<c ture in them," and confequently are not capable
of demonftration. Befides, " if demonftrative evi-
<c dence be an effential property of the rule of faith.
c * (as Mr. S. affirms) then this rule cannot (ac-
tfc cording to Mr. Rufhworth) be of any ufe to
tc the greateft part of mankind, becaufe they are
<c not capable of convincing demonflrations. "
3 bid. feci. Again, " do but confider (fays he * ) how unequal
6 * •« and unjuft a condition it is, that the claim of
the prefent church mall not be heard, unlefs fhe
can confute all the peradventures that wit may
*« invent, and folve all the arguments which the in-
*• finite variety of time, place,, and occafions may
M have
4C
The RULE of FAITH. 635
€< have given way unto ; and then you will lee how SECT.
" unreafonable an adverfary he is, who will not be t_ - w -„jj
<c content with any fatisfaction, but fuch as man's na-
* c ture fcarcely affords." And is it not equally unjuft:
in Mr. S. M not to let fcripture's claim be heard, un-
u lefs we can confute every perad venture [and might
ec it not be otherwife] that wit may invent ? " See then
" how unreafonable an adverfary Mr. S. is, who
iC will not be content with any fatisfaction, but fuch
cl as (according to Mr. Rufhworth) man's nature
Cl fcarcely affords."
Dr. Holden (I confefs) flates the matter fome-
what cautioufly, when he tells us, " * that it mail fuf- * ^. * c iv
ic fice for the prefent to determine, that the wifdom of
<f the creator hath afforded us fuch an affurance,
€< efpecially of truths neceffary to falvation, as is
« c fuitable to our nature, and bed fitted for the fafe
* c conduct of our lives in moral and religious af-
<c fairs : M but if we interpret thefe general expref-
fions by the paffages I before cited out of Mr.
Rufhworth (as in reafon we may, fince the doctor
is beholden to him for the befl part of his book)
then nothing can make more againft Mr. S's
principle.
§ 5. Mr. CrefTy in his exomologefis, * fays, " that * C. 10.
cc fuch teachers as approached nearefl to the foun-
" tain of truth, Christ and his apoflles, had means
cc of informing themfelves in apoftolical tradition
iC incomparably beyond us." Mr. S. may do well
to fhew what thofe means were which are fo in-
comparably beyond his infallibility and demonftra-
tion. The fame author* does very much applaud * c. 52.
Stapleton's determination of the queftion concerning feci
the
636 We RULE of FAITH.
PART, the church's infallibility, which is as follows, « that
«**:,_," t h e church does not expect to be taught by Goo
" immediately by new revelations, tyit makes ufe of
* feveral means, &c. as being govern'd not by
" apoftles, &c. but by ordinary paftors and teachers.
" That thefe paftors in making ufe of thefe feveral
" means of decifion, proceed not as the apoftles did,
« with a peculiar infallible direction of the Holy
« c Spirit, but with a prudential collection not al-
ee ways neceffary. That to the apoftles, who were
« the firft mafters of evangelical faith, and founders
« of the church, fuch an infallible certitude of means
" was necefiarv ; not fo now to the church, 8rc.°
If this be true, that an infallible certitude of
means is not now neceflary to the church 3 and
that her paftors do now in deciding matters of faith
proceed only with a prudent colle&ion not always
neceflary * then it mould feem that a fearchmg wit
may maintain his ground of fufpenfe, even againft
their church alfo, " with a might it not be other-
*A^end « wife?" Again Mr. Crefly* tells us, « that truth
c.5. « and our obligation to believe it, is in an higher
" degree in fcripture than in the decifions of the
« church, asBellarmine acknowledges;" which is
to fay, that we may have greater aflurancc of the
truth of doctrines contain'd in the fcriptares, than
we can have of any doctrine from the determina-
tion of the church. But if we have the greateft
affurance that can be of truths deliver'd to us by
the church, as Mr. S. affirms, then I would fain
learn of him what that greater degree of affurance is
which Bellarmine fpeaks of, and whether it be greater
than thegreateft? Not to infift upon that (which
yet
The RULE of FAITH. 637
y^t I cannot but by the way take notice of) thatSEL.T.
Mr. CrefTy, by his approbation of this determination , ^j
of Bellarmine's, doth advance the fcripture above
the church, as to one of the molt effential pro-
perties of the rule of faith, viz. the certainty
of it.
But the moft eminent teftimony to my purpofe
in Mr. Crefly, is that famous paffage * (which hath * c - 4°-
given fo much offence to feveral of his own church) ie ** c *
wherein he acknowledges " the unfortunatenefs (to
<c him) of the word infallibility," and tells us,
" that he could find no fuch word in any council ,
c * that no neceflity appeared to him that either he
" or any other proteftant fhould ever have heard
u that word nam'd, and much lefs prefs'd with fo
u much earneftnefs as of late it has generally been
" in difputations and books of controverfy ; and
" that Mr. Chillingworth combats this word with
" too great fuccefs, infomuch that if this word
w were once forgotten, or but laid by, Mr. Chilhng-
cc worth's arguments would lofe the greateit part
* c of their ftrength -, and that if this word were
K confined to the Ichools where it was bred, there
* c would be (till no inconvenience: and that fince
<c by manifeft experience the Englifh proteftants
" think themfelves fb fecure, when they have leave
" to (land or fall by that word, and in very deed
<c have fo much to fay for themfelves when they
are prefied unnecefTarily with it: fince likewife it
is a word capable of fo high a fenfe that we tan-
*' not devife one more full and proper to attribute to
God himfelf, Sec." Since all this is fo, he thinks
he cunnot " be blamed, if fuch reafons move him
Vol. IV. 6Y "to
4-
cc
«c
638 The RULE of FAITH.
PART «< to wifh that that the proteftants may never be
^!^^ a invited to combat the authority of the church un-
4< der that notion." A very ingenuous acknowledg-
ment, aud as crofs to Mr. S's principle as any thing
can be. But the word infallibility was not fo un-
fortunate to Mr. Crefly, as his untoward expli-
cation of the fore-cited pafTage in his appendix,
which he afterwards publifhed chiefly by way of vin-
dication of himfelf againft the learned author of the
preface to my lord Falkland's difcourfe of infalli-
* Append, bility. There he tells us *, " that there are feveral
fe&.2,and« degrees of infallibility." And that we may know
°' what degrees of infallibility he thinks necefCtry to
be attributed to the church, this following pafTage
will inform us : " methinks (he fays) if God have
" furnifhed his divine and fupernatural truth, with
45 evidence equal to this, that the fun will fhine to-
c; morrow, or that there will be a fpring and har-
46 veil next year, we are infinitely obliged to blefs
c< his providence, and juitly condemned, if we re-
" fule to believe the leait of fuch truths, as fhew-
<c ing lefs affection to fave our fouls than the dull
*' plowmen to fow their corn, who certainly have
" far lefs evidence for their harveft than catholicks
" for their faith ; and yet they infift not peevifhly
4t upon every capricious objection, nor exact an in-
" fallible fecurity of a plentiful reaping next lummer,
66 but notwithitanding all difficulties and contin-
" gencies proceed chearfully in their painful husban-
Ct dry." So that according to this difcourfe, what-
ever degree of alTurance the church hath, or can
give to thofe who rely upon her, it is plain that
no further degree is neceflary than what the husband-
man
The RULE of FAITH. 639
man when he fows, hath of a plentiful harveft, and SECT,
that men are juftly condemned if they refufe to be-
lieve the leaft truth upon fuch fecurity, which yet
(by his own acknowledgment) is liable to contin-
gencies : nay farther, that men are not reasonable,
" but peevifh, in exacting infallible fecurity, and
" infilling upon every capricious objection, fuch
" as is Mr. S's might it not be otherwife?" Now
as to this degree of aflu ranee, or (as he calls it)
infallibility, 1 cannot but .grant what he fays of it to
be mofc true, viz. " that in a fevere acceptation of
" the word, it is not rigoroufly infallible, that
" is, (as he explains it) it is not abfolutely impo£
* c fible nor does it imply a flat contradiction" that
the thing whereof we are fo allured may be other*
wife : but then I utterly deny, that according
to any true acceptation of this word, fuch a de-
gree of afiurance as he fpeaks of can be called in-
fallibility ; and withal I affirm, that none of thofe
feveral degrees of infallibility which he mentions,
excepting that only which imports an abfolute im-
poMibility, can with any tolerable propriety of
fpeech, or regard to the true meaning and ufe of
the word, have the name of infallibility given to
them. For infallibility can fignify nothing elfe but an
utter impoflibiluy that one mould be deceived in that
matter as to which he is fuppofed to be infallible ;
and to fay fuch a thing is impoffible, is to lay that
the exiitence of it implies a flat contradiction : fo
that whofoever afTerts degrees of infallibility, is obli-
ged to fhew that there are degrees of abibltite im-
poflibilities, and of perfect contradictions j and ha
had need ( of a very lharp and piercing wit, that ip.
6 Y 2 ta
640 The RULE of FAITH.
PART to find out degrees where there neither are nor
^}'^_j can be any. Indeed, in refpe£fc of the objects of
knowledge, it is eafy to conceive how infallibility
may be extended to more objects or fewer *, but in
refpecl of the degree of affurancc (of which Mr.
CreiTy fpeaks) it is altogether unimaginable how
any one can be more or lefs out of all poflibility of
being deceived in thofe things wherein he is fup-
pofed to be infallible ; for no one can be more re-
moved from the poflibility of being deceived, than
he that is out of all poflibility of being deceived ;
and whofoever is lefs than this is not infallible,
becaufe he only is fo who is out of all pofli-
bility of being deceived in thofe matters wherein
he is fuppofed to be infallible : fo that Mr. Crefly's
lower degrees of infallibility are no degrees of that
aflurance which may properly be called infallible
(for that can have no degrees) but of that aflurance
which is lefs than infallible. And he needed not
have raifed all this dull about the degrees of infalli-
bility, had it not been that by the means of fuch
a cloud he might make the more convenient efcape
out of that (trait he was in between the clamours of
his own church, and the advantage which his adver-
faries made of his free and open difcourfe againft
infallibility: for any one that carefully reads his
book, will find that he underftands nothing by the
infallibility or the church, but " an authority of
" obliging all chriftians to fubmit to her decifions,"
which is no more but what every fupreme civil
judge hath in matters, viz. a power to determine
thofe controverfies that lie before him as well as he
can or will, and when that is done every one is
bound
The RULE of FAITH. 641
bound to fubmit to fuch determinations ; but vet s E c T *
IV
for all this, no man ever dreamt a fupreme civil i^-y^j
judge to be infallible more than another man. I do
not now difpute the extent of the church's autho-
rity : but if me have no other infallibility but what
a full authority of decifion does fuppofe, I am fure
flie hath none at all.
Before I leave Mr. Crefly, I cannot but take no-
tice how unfortunate and difingenuous he is in ex-
plaining the meaning of thefe words of his own, viz.
[" againft this word infallibility Mr. Chilling-
" worth's book especially combats, and this with
" too too great fuccefs' 1 ] which in his appendix * * C. $2
he interprets thus; " fuccefs, I mean, not againft the****' •
" church, but againft his own foul, and the fouls
<c of his fellow-engliih proteftants, 6cc." As if one
that had wifhed well to Cefar mould have faid,
c< that Pompey had fought againft him with too
" too great fuccefs ;" and being afterwards chal-
lenged by Cefar's party, as having faid that Pompey
had conquered Cefar, he mould explain himfelf thus,
" fuccefs, I mean not againft Cefar, but againft his
" own life, and the Jives of his followers. Can any
thing be finer, than for a man to fay, that by Pom-
pey's fuccefs in fighting againft Cefar, he means that
Cefar had beaten Pompey ? which is no more than if
one mould take. the liberty to interpret white by black.
§ 6. Laftly, Mr. White doth moft exprefly con-
tradict this principle of Mr. S's in thefe following
paffages. In his preface to Mr. Rufhworth he fays,
*' that fuch a certainty as makes the caufe always
" work the fame eftecT, though it take not away
*• the abfolute poffibility of working otherwife,
" ought
6<2 Me RULE of FAITH.
PAR T. " ought abfolutely to be reckoned in the degree f
^^^w" true certainty; and thoie authors are miitaken
" v/ho undervalue it." So that it feems Mr. S. is
mifraken in affirming that a man cannot be
certain of any thing fo Jong as there is any pot
Ability that it may be otherwife. In his anfwer
*P.ii.i~ t0 m y ^ orc ^ Falkland, he fays, w * that in moral
" mutters, and fuch as are fubjecl: to humane
«* action, we mull: expect fuch afTurance as humane
•* actions bear. If for the government of yourfpi-
" ritual life you have as much as for the manage-
" ment of your natural and civil life, what can you
* c expect more ? Two or three witnefTes of men be-
" yond exception will call a man out of not only
" his lands but life and all. He that among mer-
* c chants will not adventure, where there is a hun-
f c dred to one of gaining, will be accounted a filly
cc factor : and among foldiers, he that will fear dan-
cc g tT , where but one of a hundred is (lain, fhall
4C not efcape the flain of cowardice. What then
" fhall we expect in religion, but to fee a main ad-
" vantage on the one fide which we may reft our-
" felves on ? and for the reft remember we are men
" fubjecl to chance and mutability, and thank God
" he hath given that afiurance in a fupernatural
cc way, which we are contented withal in our civil
<c ventures and jpoiTcfiions, which never thelefs God
" knoweth we often love better and would hazard
" lefs than the unknown good of the life to come."
1 p - 3 C » Again, " * If God almighty hath in all forts and
" manners provided his church that fhe may en-
" lighten every man in his way that goeth the way
" jof a man, then let every man confider which is
" the
The RULE of FAITH. 643
u the fit way for himfelf, and what in other matters s E ^ T «
44 of that way, he accounteth evidence. And if^., - — _j
44 there be no intereft in his foul to make him
44 loth to believe, what in another matter of the
44 like nature he doth not flick at, or heavy to
" practife what he fees clearly enough, I fear not
44 his choice." Once more; directing a man in
his fearch after rational fatis faction in matters of re-
ligion, he hath this paflage; * 4 * Befides this, he* p. 4 <$.
46 muft have this care, that he feek what the na- «
4{ ture of the fubjefl: can yield, and not as thofe
<c phyficians, who when they have promifed no lels
44 than immortality, can at lafi only reach to fome
44 confervation of health or youth in fome fmall
Kg decree: fo I could wifti the author to well allure
44 himfelf firft that there is poffibly an infallibility,
44 before he be too earned to be contented with no-
44 thing lefs •, for what if humane nature mould not
44 be capable of fo great a good ? would he there-
44 fore think it fitting to live without any religion,
44 becaufe he could not get fuch a one as himfelf
cc defired, though with more than a man's wifh ?
44 Were it not rational to fee, whether among reli-
" gions fome one have not fuch notable advantages
46 over the reft, as in reafon it might feem humane
44 nature might be contented withal ? Let him call
cc his account with the dearefl things he hath, his
44 own or friends lives, his eftate, his hope of pof-
44 terity, and fee upon what terms of advantage
44 he is ready to venture all thefc; and then return
* 4 to religion, and lee whether, if he do not ven-
cC ture his foul upon the like, it be truly reafon or
^ fome other not confefTed motive, which with-
4C draw*
6 4 4 7he RULE of FAITH.
PART" draws him. For my own part, as I doubt not
^^^^ " of an infallibility, fo 1 doubt not but fetting that
< 4 afide, there be thofe excellencies found on the
<c catholick party which may force a man to pre-
" fer it, and to venture all he hath upon it be-
" fore all other religions and feels in the world.
<c Why then may not one who after long fearching
cc findeth no infallibility reft himfelf on the like,
* c fuppofmg man's nature affords no better ? "
Are not thefe fair conceflions, which the evidence
and force of truth have extorted from thefe authors ?
* Letter ^° ^ at lt ^ eems tnat tnat which Mr. S. calls " *a
to his anf- <c civil piece of atheiftry," is advanced in mofl ex-
iverer,p.s.p re ^ s worc j s by his bed friends; and therefore I
hope he will (as he threatens me) " be fmart with
cc them in oppofition to fo damnable and funda-
<c mental an error." And whenever he attempts
this, I would intreat him to remember that he hath
thefe two things to prove : Firft, that no evidence
but demonftration can give a man fufficient aflii-
rance of any thing. Secondly, that a bare poffi-
bility that a thing may be otherwife, is a rational
caufe of doubting, and a wife ground of fufpenfe :
which when he hath proved, I fhall not grudge him
his infallibility.
SECT,
5 I.
The RULE of F A IT II
SECT. V.
-HE lad part of this third difcourfe endea- That
vours to mew, " that the fcripture is not is f £ ffici _
" convie"live of the molt obftinate and acute adverfa-ent to con-
" lies.* As for the obftinate, he knows my mind ,^ acu c :e
already. Let us fee why the molt acute adverfary adverfa-
may not be convinced by fcripture : becaufe, as he ' that
objects *, nVft, " we cannot be certain that this book fufficjently
<c is God's word, becaufe of the many ftrange ab-"p^" 8>
<c furdities and herefies in the open letter as it lies, as
" that God hath hands and feer, 8cc. and becaufe
" of the contradictions in it :" to which I have al-
ready returned an anfwer. Secondly, becaufe (as he
faith *) " we cannot be certain of the truth of the* p, ^ r ,
" letter in any particular text, that it was not foifted
<c in, or feme way altered in its fignificativeneis ; and
" if it be a negative propofition, that tl\Q particle
" [not] was not inferted; if affirmative, not kft out"
And if we pretend to be certain of this, cc he de-
" mands * our demonfiration for it.' 3 But how un- * p » ,i
reafonable this demand is, I hope I have fufficiently
ihewn. And to fhew it yet further, I ask him, how
their church knows, that the particle [not] was not
left out of any text in which it is not found in their
copies ? I know he hath a ready anfwer, viz. by oral
tradition. But this (according to him*) "only*p #I1 5
cc reaches to fcriptures letter fo far as it is coincident
" with die main body of chriftian doctrine j" con-
cerning the reft of fcripture it is impofiible (accord-
ing to his own principles) that they mould have any
fecurity that the particle [not] was not unduly inferr-
ed, or left out by the tranfcribers. Nay, as to thofe
Vol. IV. 6 Z texts
4-
646 1U RU L E of FA I ril.
PARI' texts of fcripture which fall in with the main body
j L j of chriftian doctrine, I demand his demonftration
that the particle [not] was not unduly inferted or
left out, not only in thofe texts, but alfo in the oral
tradition of the doctrines coincident with the fenfe of
thofe texts. If he fay, it was impoflible any age
fhould confpire to leave out or infert the particle
[not] in the oral tradition -, fo fay I it was that they
fhould confpire to leave it out of the written text :
but then I differ from him thus far, that I do not
think this naturally impoflible, fo as that it can rigo-
roufly be demonftrated, but only morally impoflible,
fo that no body hath any reafbn to doubt of it j
which to a prudent man is as good as a demonftra-
tion. Pyrrho himfelf never advanced any principle
of fcepticifm beyond this, viz. that men ought to
queftion the credit of all books, concerning which
they cannot demonftrate as to every fentence in them,
that the particle [not] was not inferted (if it be affir-
mative) or left out (if it be negative.) If fo much
be required to free a man from reafbnable doubt-
ing concerning a book, how happy are they that have
attained to infallibility ? What he faith concerning
* P. "2. the varia leftiones * of fcripture, hath already had a
fufRcient anfwer.
§ 2. In his fourth difcourfe he endeavours to fhew,
" * that the fcripture is not certain in itfelf, and confe-
P. * x •
" quently not afcertained to us.' 3 Firft, " not cer-
* p ,, " tain, materially confidered * as confuting of fuch.
" and fuch characters, becaufe books are liable to be
" burnt, torn, blotted, worn out." We grant it is
not impoflible but that any, or all the books in the
world, may be burnt : but then we fay likewife, that a
book
Tie R UL E of FA I TIL 647
book fo univerfally dffperfed may eafily be preferved ; s E C T *
though we have no afliirance that God will preferve v-*~/—~ ;
it, in cafe all men mould be fo foolifh or fo carelefs as
to endeavour or fuffer the abolition of it. But it feems
the fcripturcs cannot be a rule of faith if they be li-
able to any external accidents : and this (he ^elJs us)
M * though it may feem a remote and impertinent* P. 34,
" exception, yet to one who confiders the wife dif-
" pofitions of divine providence, it will deierve a
" deep confederation •, becaufe the faivation of man-
" kind being the end of God's making nature, the
" means to it fhould be more fettled, ftrong and un-
" alterable, than any other piece of nature whatever."
But notwithstanding this wife reafon, this exception
flill feems to me both remote and impertinent : for
if this which he calls a reafon be a truth, it will from
thence neceflarily follow not only that the doctrine of
Christ muft be conveyed by fuch a means as is more
unalterable than the courfe of nature; but alio by a
clear parity of reafon, that all the means of our fai-
vation do operate towards the accompli filing of their
end with greater certainty than the fire burns, or the
fun {nines ; which they can never do, unlefs they ope-
rate more necefTarily than any natural caufes ; how
they can do fo upon voluntary agents, I defire Mr. S.
to inform me.
§ 3. He proceeds by a long harangue to fhew,
" * that not only thefe material characters in them-* P. 34.
46 felves are corruptible, but in complexion with the
4C caufes, actually laid in the world to preferve them
" entire •, becaufe either thofe caufes are material,
" and then they are alfo liable to continual alterati-
* c ons i or fpiritual, that is, the minds of men, and
6 Z 2 " from
64S The RULE of FAIT H.
P ART" from thefe we may with good reafon hope for a
. * _j " greater degree of conftancy, than from any other
" piece of nature ;" which, by the way, is a very
flrange paradox, that the actions of voluntary agents
have a greater certainty and conftancy in them than
thofe of natural agents ; of which the fall of angels
and men, compared with the continuance of the fun
and ftars in their nrft ftate, is a very good evidence.
* P. 3". § 4- B Jt he adds a caution * 9 " that they are per-
cc feclly unalterable from their nature, and unerrable,
< c if due circum dances be obferved, that is, if due
cc propolals be made to beget certain knowledge, and
" clue care ufed to attend to fuch propofals." But
who can warrant, that due propofals will always be
made to men, and due care ufed by them ? If thefe
be uncertain, where's the conftancy and unerrablenefs
he talks fo much of ? fo that notwithftanding the con-
ftancy of this ' fpiritual caufe (the mind of man) of
prcferving fcriptures entire, yet in order to this (as
* P. 3 6 - he tells * us) tc fo many actions are to be done, which
" are compounded and made up of an innumerable
" multitude of feveral particulars to be obferved,
66 every of which may be miftaken apart, each being
€4 a diftincl little action in its fingle felf, fuch as is
cc the tranfcribing of a whole book, confifting of fuch
<c myriads of words, fingle letters, and tittles or flops j
cc and the feveral actions of writing over each of
t£ thefe io ftiort and curfory, that it prevents dili-
" gence, and exceeds humane care, to keep awake
ic and apply diftincl: attentions to every of thefe
• tv -1 " diftincl actions. " Mr. Rufnworth * much outdoes
a. 7. Mr. S. in thefe minute cavils, for he tells us, " that
6t fuppofing an original copy of Christ's words,
" written
The RULE of FAITH. 649
Cc written by one of the evangelitTs in the fame Ian- SECT
a guage, let him have fet down every word and fyl-
ft lable : yet men converfant in noting the changes
" of meanings in words, will tell us, that divers ac-
" cents in the pronunciation of them, the turning of
fic the fpeaker's head or body this or that way, &c.
may fo change the fenfe of the words, that they
will feem quite different in writing from what they
were in fpeaking." I hope that oral and practical
tradition hath been careful to preferve all thefe cir-
cumftances, and hath delivered down Christ's doc-
trine with all the right traditionary accents, nods, and
geftures necefTary for the understanding of it •, other-
wife the omiflion of thefe may have fo altered the
fenfe of it, that it may be now quite different from
what it was at firft. But to anfwer Mr. S. we do not
pretend to be allured that it is naturally impoITible
that the fcriptures fhoukl have been corrupted or
changed, but only to be fufHciently allured that they
have not received any material alteration, from as
good arguments as the nature of the fubject will bear.
But if t his reafon had not been very fhort and curfory,
he might eafily have reflected that oral tradition is
equally liable to all thefe contingencies ; "for it doth
" as much prevent diligence, and exceed humane
" care, to keep awake and apply diftinct attentions
" to the diftinct actions of fpeaking, as of writing."
And I hope he will not deny, that a doctrine orally
delivered, confilts of words, and letters, and accents,
and flops, as well as a doctrine written - and that the
feveral actions of fpeaking are as fhort and curfory
as of writing.
§ 5. Secondly %
The RULE of FAITH.
§ 5. Secondly, he tells us *, " fcripture, formally
" confidered, as to its figmficativenefs, is alio uncer-
c< tain:" Firft, u f becaufe of the uncertainty of the
" letter:" This is already anfwered. Secondly, " * be-
" caufe the certain fenfe of it is not to be arrived to
" by the vulgar, who are deflitute of languages and
Cc arts." True, where men are not permitted to have
the fcriptures in their own language, and underftand
no other : but where they are allowed the fcriptures
mandated into their own language, they may under-
ftand them ; all neceffary points of faith and prac-
tice being fufficicndy plain in any tranflation of the
* P # -g < bible that I know of. And that * eminent wits can-
not agree about the fenfc of texts which concern the
main points of faith, hath been fpoken to already.
§ 6. As for the reverence he pretends to fcripture
in the conclufion of his fourth difcourfe, he might
have fpared that, after all the rallery and rudenefs
he hath ufed againft it. It is eafy to conjecture, both
from his principles and his uncivil exprefTions con-
cerning them, what his efteem is of thofe facred
oracles. Probably it was requifite in prudence to cafl
in a few good words concerning the fcriptures, for
the fake of the more tender and fqueamifh novices of
* Dial. 2. their religion, or (as Mr. Rufhworth's nephew * fays
feet. 14. f ran kly and openly) " for the fatisfaclion of indiffe-
" rent men, that have been brought up in this verbal
" and apparent refpect of the fcripture ;" who it
fcems are not yet attained to that degree of catholick
piety and fortitude, as to endure patiently that the
word of God fhouk'l be reviled or flighted. Befides
that in reference to thofe whom they hope hereafter
: (who rriiiht be too much alienated from
their
The RULE of FAITH. 651
their religion, if he had exprefTed nothing but con- SECT.
tempt towards a book, which proteftants and chrif- K ^^ >rmmK j
tians in all ages, till the very dregs of popery, have
been bred up to a high veneration of) it was not
much amifs to pafs this formal compliment upon the
bible •, which the wife of his religion will eafily
underftand, and may ferve to catch the reft. But lee
him not deceive himfelf, " God is not mocked."
SECT. VI.
§ 1. QEcondly, he comes to fhew *, " that the That the
. *3 " properties of a rule of faith belong to v \ ^^
" oral tradition." And, firft, he gives a tedious ex- of faith da
planation of the nature of this oral practical tradition, ri0tbelon 3
which amounts to this •, that as in reference to the ci- tradition.
vil education of children, " they are taught their own * ° + 1 '
" and others names, to write, and read, and exercife
" their trades : " fo in reference to religion, " the
<c children of christians firft hear founds, afterwards
" by degrees get dim notionsof God, Christ, Sa-
viour, heaven, hell, virtue, vice, and by degrees
practife what they have heard - 9 they are (hewn to
fay grace, and their prayers, to hold up their
** hands, or perhaps eyes, and to kneel, and other
poftures. Afterwards they are acquainted with
the creed, ten commandments, and facraments,
fome common forms of prayer, and other practices
of chriftianity, and are directed to order their lives
<c accordingly, and are guided in all this by the ac-
" tions and carriage of the elder faithful j and this
" goes on by infenfible degrees, not by leaps, from a
*' hundred years to a hundred, but from month to
" month,
«c
652 The RULE of FAITH.
PART *< month, and even Ids." If this be all that tradi-
^Ji^j tion doth, this is nothing but what is done among
proteftants, and that with greater advantage ; be-
caufe we always teach children to fay their prayers
in a known tongue, fo as they may underftand them.
And we alfo teach them the creed, and ten com-
mandments, and the facraments, fo many as Christ
hath inftituted, and no more. So that if this be fo
infallible a way of conveying the doctrine of chri-
iiianity, we have it among us : and we do over and
befides inftruct them in rhe fcriptures, which are the
authentick inftrument whereby Christ's doctrine is
conveyed to us. But then we do not fuppofe (as his
hypothefis necefTarily enforceth him to do) that the
chriftian doctrine is equally taught and learned by all ;
but by fome more, by others lefs perfectly, according
to the different abilities and diligence of parents and
teachers, and the various capacities and difpofitions of
children ; whereas his hypothefis falls, if all or at
leaft the generality of parents, do not inftruct their
children with the like exactnefs, and if the generality
of children do not receive this doctrine in the fame
perfection that it is delivered. For if it be taught or
received with any variation, it mud necefTarily be {o
conveyed, and thefe variations will grow daily. I
had thought he v/ould have told us how all parents
do teach their children the whole body of Christ's
doctrine, and explain to them every part of it in a
hundred or a thoufand feveral expreffions fignifying
the fame fenfe, and not have inflanced in two fet forms,
fuch as the creed, and ten commandments ; for ac-
* Apolcg. cording to Mr. White *, " that cannot be a tradition
" which is delivered down in fet words."
§ 2. Having
The RULE of FAITH. 653
§ 2. Having thus explained oral tradition, heSECT.
comes to mew that the properties of a rule of faith
agree to it. I have already mewed, that the true pro-
perties of a rule of faith are but two, viz. " That it
u be plain and intelligible, and that it be fufficiently
" certain." The firft of thefe, that oral tradition
may deliver a doctrine plainly and intelligibly, I
grant him : All the difficulty is about the fecond
property, whether we have fufficient alTurance that
the doctrine delivered down by oral tradition hath re-
ceived no corruption or change in its conveyance:
and all that he pretends to prove in this difcourfe, is,
that if this rule hath been followed and kept to all
along, the chriftian doctrine neither hath, nor can
have received any change, that is, if tht next age
after the apoilies did truly, and without any altera-
tion, deliver the chriftian doctrine to ueir immediate
fucceflbrs, and tney to theirs, and ib on, then upon
this lUppofition me doctrine of the prefent traditio-
nary church mull be the very lame with that which
was delivered to the apotles. AH this is readily
granted to him. But that this rule nam always been
followed, nay, that it is impofTible there mould have
been any deviation from it (as he pretends) this we
deny, not only as untrue, but as one of the mufb
aburd propositions that ever yet pretended to de-
monilrative evidence.
Vol. IV. 7 A THE
4«
«S4
PART
THE
RULE of FAITH.
PART III.
In which Mr. S y s demonjl rations and corollaries
are examined.
SECT. I.
Confide- § i.T§^ Efrre I come to fpeak particularly to
rations g% nib uemonitratioris, I ftiall premife thefe
touching M^Jr r i r-- n. • j
hisdemon- -"^--^ two conhderations : r'irit, tliat (uccord-
ftrationsinirtg to the principles of the patrons of tradition)
no man can, by his private reafon, certainly rind
out the true rule of faith. Secondly, that (accord-
ing to Mr. S.) the way of demonstration is no cer-
tain way to find out the rule of faith. If eithei of
thefe be made out, his demonftrations lofe all their
force. If the firft be made good, then he cannot
demonftrate the infallibility of tradition, nor confe-
quently, that that is the rule of faith. If the fe-
cond, then the way of demonftration which he
pretends to take, fignifies nothing.
§ 2. Firft, no man can (according to the prin-
ciples of the patrons of tradition) by his private
reafon certainly find out what is the rule of faith.
Suppofe a heathen to be defirous to inform him-
felf of $he chriflian faith ; in order to which he is
inquifitive
"The RULE cf FAITH 655
inquifitive after Tome rule by which may take a SECT-
meafure of it, and come certainly to know what it ,_,_. L ^_j
is : he enquires of chriftians what their rule is, and
finds them divided about it, fome faying that the
fcripture, others that oral tradition, is the rule. In
this cafe it is not pofllble (without a revelation) for
this man to find out the rule of faith, but by his own
private reafon examining and weighing the argu-
ments and pretences of both fides. And when he
hath done this, unlefs he can by his reafon demon-
ftrate that the one is a certain and infallible rule,
and the other not fo, he hath not (according to
Mr. S.) found out the rule of faith. But reafon
can never do this, according to Mr. S. For fpeak-
ing of demonftrating the certainty of tradition, he
tells us, " * that tradition hath for its bafis man's* p - 53-'
<5 nature, not according to his intellectuals, which
" do but darkly grope in the purfuit of fcience, &c."
And again, * fpeaking how reafon brings men to * Append,
the rule of faith, he ufes this comparifon " fhe is 2d,i>,i8 3*
like a dim-fighted man, who ufed his reafon to
find a trufty friend to lead him in the twilio-ht,
and then relied on his guidance rationally with-
out ufmg his own reafon at all about the way it
(df." So that (according to him) the certainty
of tradition cannot be founded on demonftration,
becaufe it is not founded in the intellectual part of
man, which only can demonftrate. Befides, if it
were founded in the intellectual part, yet that can
never be able to demonflrate the certainty of tradi-
tion, becaufe that faculty which is dim-fighted, and
does but grope darkly in the purfuit of fcience, is
uncapable of framing demonftrations. Nor can any
7 A 2 man
656 The RULE of FA II " H.
PART m an underftand how dim-fighted reafon fhould fee
^[Jl ^t clearly to choofe its guide any more than its way,
efpecially if it be coniidered what a pretty contra-
diction it is, to fay that reafon, as it is dim-fighted,
can fee clearly.
But Mr. CrefTy is not contented to call every
man's reafon dim-fighted, he ventures a ftep farther,
and calls it hoodwink'd and blind : for he tells us,
* Append." * that private reafon is apparently a molt fallible
c.6. feft.8. " guide •, " and he pities -f- my lord Falkland's cafe,
•j- Ibid- b ecau f e i n the fearch of the true religion he did
tea. 9. °
" betake himfelf to the calual conduct of blind, hu-
" mane, natural reafon," which afterwards he calls
* Ibid. " * a guide that two perfons cannot poffibly fol-
fca. 11. a j QW together, becaufe no two perfons (that ever
c ' followed any other guide befide authority) did
Ci or could trunk all things to be reafonable that
£i all others thought fo j and by confequence fuch
'« a guide that as long as he continues in that office,
" there cannot poffibly be any church any where :
" which (fays he) is an infallible eviction that this
<c is an imaginary feducing guide, fincc it is im«
<c poffible that that fhould be a guide appointed.
u for any chriftian, which neither Ch rist nor his
" apoftles, nor any of their followers ever men-
4C tioned, yea, which formally deftroys one of our
cc twelve articles of the apoflles creed, viz. I be-
" lieve the holy catholick church.'* Thus he does
by reafon clearly and infallibly evince, that reafon
cannot be otherwife than a mofl blind and fallible
guide. This it is to talk of things when a man
looks only upon one fide of them ; as if becauie
reafon has a blind fide, and is uncertain in fome
things,
r,be RULE of FAITH. 657
things, therefore we ought to conclude her univer- SECT.
fally blind and uncertain in every thing ; and as if ^^
becaufe all men cannot think all things reafonable
which any one man thinks to be fo, therefore it is
to be doubted whether thole common principles of
reafon be true, which mankind are generally agreed
in. And that Mr. Crefly fpeaks here of the ufe of
our private reafon in the finding out of our rule,
is clear from what he fays in the next fection, viz.
" that this hoodwink'd guide (enquiring into
* c fcripture, and fearching after tradition) may pot
" fibly ftumble upon the way to unity and truth,
M that is, the true catholick church." If this be
true, why does Mr. S. pretend that he can by rea-
fon demonftrate the infallibility of tradition, and by
this hoodwink'd miide lead men to the true rule
of faith ? and what a pitiful encouragement would
this be to an inquifitive philofopher (who knowing
no other guide but his reafon, whereby to find out
whether fcripture or tradition be the rule) to tell
him that by the help of this hoodwink'd guide he
might poflibly ftumble upon the right?
A man may juftly ftand amazed at the incon-
fiftency of thefe mens difcourfes and principles. In
one mood they are all for demonftration, and for
convincing men in the way of perfect fcience, which
is the true rule of faith : but then again when ano-
ther fit takes them, there's no fuch thing as fci-
ence, humane reafon grows all on the fudden dim-
fighted, and at the next word is ftruck ftark-blind ;
and then the very utmoft that it can do towards the
bringing of an unprejudiced and inquifitive perfon
to the true rule of faith, is to leave him in a pofc
fibility
65S The RUL E of FAITH.
PART fibiiity of (tumbling upon it; but if he be a heretick
K J m ^^ mmmJ that makes ufe of private reafon for his guide, then
* Append, k * it is impoffible but that he with his blind guide
c. 7. ied. <c ^ a jj gjj - nto t ^ e ^ ,, j cannot - 5 f or m y p artj
imagine how they can reconcile the blindnels of hu-
mane reafon with all that noife which they make
about fcience and demonftration ; but this I muft
confeis, that thefe kind of difcourfes which I meet
with in Mr. S. and Mr. Crefly, are very proper
arguments to perfuade a man of the blindnels of
humane reafon. And indeed there is one paflfage in
Mr. Crefly, which gives me very great fatisfaction
* It)lcJ - concerning thefe matters, where he tells us, u * that
" the wit and judgment of catholicks is to re-
" nounce their own judgment, and depofe their
" own wit." Now he that profeffes to have done
this, may write contradictions, and no body ought
to challenge him for it. However, it is a very in-
genuous acknowledgment, that when he forfook our
church and turned papift, he laid afide his judg-
ment and wit ; which is juft fiich an heroick act of
judgment, as if a man, in a bravery to Ihew his
liberty, would fell himfelf for a (lave. I am glad
to underftand from an experienced perfon, what
charges a man muft be at when he turns roman ca-
tholick, namely, that whoever will embrace that re-
ligion muft forfeit his reafon.
§ 3. Secondly, the way of demonftration is (ac-
cording to Mr. S.) no certain way to find out the
* p -353>rule of faith. In his 4th appendix * againft my
lord of Down, one of the eight mines (as he calls
them) which he lays to blow up my lord's diflua-
five againft popery, is this, " That the method
" he
He RULE of FA I TIL 659
** he takes in difiuading cannot be held in reafbnSECT-
f* to have power to diffuade, unlefs it be proper . - V j
«' to that effect, that is, not common to that ef-
" feci: and a contrary one. Now, that being mod
" evidently no method or way to fuch an effect
" which many follow and take, yet arrive not at
" that effect •, 'tis plain to common fenfe, that my
46 lord of Down mifcalls his book a diffuafive, and
" that it can have in it no power of moving the
" underftanding one way or other, unlefs he can
<s firft vouch fome particularity in the method he
" takes, above what's in others in which we expe-
** rience mifcarriage, &c." If this be true, then
his method of demonftration, is no way to make
men certain of what he pretends to demonftrate,
" becaufe that is moil evidently no way to an effect
4t which many follow and take, yet arrive not at
cl that effect ; fo that 'tis plain to common fenfe
" that Mr. S's demonftrations can have in them
" no power of moving the underftanding one way
" or other, unlefs he can vouch fome particularity
" in the demonftrations he pretends to bring, above
" what is in other pretended demonftrations m
" which we experience mifcarriage." D~> not Tho-
mas and Scotus fas Mr. White tells us *) all along * Exetafi*
pretend to demonftrate ? and yet it is generally be- "' 2 ^*
lieved that (at leaft where they contradict one ano-
ther) one of them failed in his demonftrations.
Did not Mr Charles Thynne pretend to have de-
monltrated that a man at one jump might leap
from London to Rome ? and yet I do not think
any one was ever iatisfy'd with his demonftra-
tions. And Mr, S. knows one in the world (whom
I
66o "The R UL E of FA I TH.
PARTI will not name, becaufe he hath fince ingenuoufly
acknowledged his error) who thought he had de-
monftrated the quadrature of the circle, and was
fo confident of it as to venture the reputation of
his demonstrations in divinity upon it, and fome of
thofe divinity demonftrations were the very fame
with Mr. S's. Since therefore the Vvorld hath ex-
perienced fo much nn Carriage in the way of de-
monstration, before Mr. S's demonftrations can be
allowed to fignify any thing, he muft (according
to his own law) vouch fome particularity in his
way and method of demonstration above what is
in other mens. He hath not any where (that I
remember) told us what that particularity is, where-
in his way of demonftration is above other mens :
nor can I upon the moil diligent fearch find any
peculiar advantage that his way has more than
theirs above-mentioned ; unlefs this be one that he
pretends to demonftrate a felf- evident principle, and
herein I think he hath plainly the advantage of
Mr. Charles Thynne ; and unlels this may be
counted another advantage, that he has fo extraor-
dinary a confidence and conceit of his own demon-
ftrations ; and in this particular, I muft acknow-
ledge that he clearly excels all that have gone be-
fore him : In all other things, his way of demon-
ftration is but like his neighbours.
SECT.
rbe RULE of FA Lffc 66 1
SECT. II.
§ I. T Come now to examine his demonstrations of Mr. S ? s
I this felf-evident principle (as he often calls ft e ™° *" -
it) that oral tradition is a certain and infallible way priori*
of conveying Christ's doctrine from one age to
another, without any corruption or change \ which
is to fay, that it is impofiible but that this rule fhould
always have been kept to. That this is not a felf-evi-
dent principle, needs no other evidence than that he
goes about to demonflrate it. But yet, notwithftand-
ing this, I think he hath as much reafon to call this
a ielf-evident principle, as to call his proofs of it de-
monftrations.
§ 2. In order to his demonstration a priori > he
lays * thefc four grounds, which I mall fet down in * P. si*
his own words. Firft, " that ohriftian doctrine was
" at firft unanimoufly fettled by the apoftles, in the
" hearts of the faithful, difperfed in great multitudes
<c over feveral parts of the world/' Secondly, <c that
this doctrine was firmly believed by all thole faith-
ful to be the way to heaven, and the contradict-
ing or defer ting it, to be the way to damnation :
" lo that the created hooes 'and fears imaginable
" were by engaging the divine authority ftrongly ap-
<c plied to the minds of the firft believers, encourage
ci ing them to the adhering to that doctrine, and de-
u terring them from relinqui filing it ; and indeed
infinitely greater than any other whatever, fprfng-
ing from any temporal confideration : and that
this was in all ages the perfuafion of the faith-
ful." Thirdly, " that hopes of good and fears
Vol. IV, 7 B
4-
f (.
it
Cc
662 fk ££/££ of FAITH.
PART." of harm ltrongly applied, are the caufcs of actual
1 will." Fourthly, " that the thing was feafible or
within their power : that what they were bred to
was knowable by them. This put, it follows as
certainly, that a great number or body of the firft
" believers, and after faithful in each age, that is,
" from age to age, would continue to hold themfelves,
* c and teach their children as themfelves had been
" taught, that is, would follow and flick to tradition ;
" as it doth, that a caufe put actually caufing produc-
" eth its effect." This is his demonftration with the
grounds of it.
§ 3. To fhew the vanity and wcaknefs of this pre-
tended demonftration, I fhall aflail it thefe three ways •,
by fhewing, firft, that if the grounds of it were true
they would conclude too much, and prove that to be
impoffible which common experience evinceth, and
himfelf muft grant to have been. Secondly, that his
main grounds are apparently falfe. Thirdly, that
his demonftration is confuted by clear and undeni-
able inftances to the contrary.
SECT. III.
The firft § 1. IF the grounds of it were true, they would
antwer to X conclude too much, and prove that to be
his de- • ■ 1 ,
monftra- impoffible which common experience evinceth, and
tI0n * himfelf muft grant to have been. For if thefe two
principles be true, " that the greateft hopes and fears
" are ftrongiy applied to the minds of all chriftians ;
*• and that thofe hopes and fears ftrongiy applied
" are the caufe of actual will to adhere constantly
" to Christ's doctrine s" then from hence it fol-
46 lows
The RULE of FAITH. 663
lows that none that entertain this doctrine can ever SEC T.
fall from it, becaufe falling from it is inconfvftent ^^^~~J
with an actual will of adhering conftantly to it : for
fuppofin'g (as he doth) certain and conftant caufes of
actual will to adhere to this doctrine, thofe who en-
tertain it muft actually will to adhere to it, becaufe a
caufe put actually caufmg produceth its effect, which
is conftant adherence to it. And if this were true,
thefe two things would be impoxTible ; firft, that any
chriftian ifiould turn apoftate or heretick •, fecondJy,
that any chriftian fhould live wickedly : both which
not only frequent and undoubted experience doth
evince, but himfelf muft: grant de fafto to have
been.
§ 2. Firft, it would be impoftible that any chri-
ftian mould turn apoftate or heretick. Herefy, ac-
cording to him, is nothing elfe but the renouncing of
tradition. Now he tells us, " * that the firft renoun- * p g Q
<c cers of tradition muft: have been true believers or
* c holders of it ere they renounced it •," and I fup-
pofe there is the fame reafon for apoftates. But if all
chriftians or true believers (as he calls them) have
thefe arguments of hope and fear ftrongly applied,
and hope and fear ftrongly applied be the caufes of
actual will to adhere to this doctrine ; 'tis neceftary all
chriftians mould adhere to it, and impoftible there
mould be either apoftates or hereticks. For if thefe
caufes be put " in all the faithful actually caufing (as the
" grounds of his demonstration fuppofejand indefec-
" tiblenefs be the proper and neceflary effect of thefe
" caufes, 1 ' as he alio faith *, then it is impoftible* p. --
that where thefe caufes are put, there fhoukl be any
defection : for a proper and ncceifary effect cannot
7 B 2 but
664 Tbe RULE of FAITH.
PART but be where the caufes of fuch an effecl are put,
i^-^^j efpecially if they be put actually caufing; and confei
quently 'tis impoffible that any fingle chriftian fhould
ever either totally apoftatize or fall into herefy, that
is, renounce tradition.
§ 3. And that this is a genuine confequence from
thefe principles (though he will not acknowledge it
here, becauie he faw it would ruine his demonftra-
tion) is liberally acknowledged by him in other parts
^ P. 54- of his difcourfe. For he tells us, " * that it exceeds
ci all the power of nature (abstracting from the caufes
<c of madnefs and violent difeafe) to blot the know-
" ledge of this doctrine out of the foul of one fingle
* P. 78. " believer -, and * that fince no man can hold con-
cc trary to his knowledge, nor doubt of what he h
C6 nor change and innovate without knowing he doth
<c fo, it is a manifeft impofilbility a whole age mould
c: fall into an abfurdity lo inconfiilent with the nit ire
* P. 89. " of one fingle man.' 5 And, " * that it is perhaps
€C impoflible for one fingle man to attempt to deceive
li pofterity by renouncing tradition." Which paf-
fa^-es laid together amount to thus much, that it is
impoflible that tradition fhould fail in any one fingle
pcrfon. And though in the pafTage lail cited he fpeaks
faintly, and with a perhaps, as if he apprehended
fome danger in fpeaking too peremptorily, yet any
one would eafily fee the laft to be as impoffible as any
of the reft. And he himfelf elfcwhere, being in the
full career of his bombafl rhetorick, delivers it round-
* P„ 54. ly without fear or wit, " * fooner may the finews of
<c entire nature by overflraining crack, and fhe lofe
" all her activity and motion, that is, herfelf, than
< c one fingle part of that innumerable multitude
" which
The RULE of FAITH. 66^
C5 which integrate that vafl tellification which we s E C T.
• ill
c ' call tradition, can pollibly be violated.** ,^_ ' j
§ 4. Bat it may be we deal too hardly with him, and
prefs his demonftration too far, becaufe he tells us he
only intends by it to prove that the generality of chri-
stians will always adhere to tradition. But if he in-
tended to prove no more but this, he mould then have
brought a demonftration that would have concluded
no more ; but this concludes of all as well as of the
generality of chriitians. A clear evidence that it is
no demonftration, becaufe it concludes that which is
evidently falfe, that there can be no apoftates or here-
ticks. Befides, fuppofmg his demonftration to con-
clude only that the generality of chriftians would al-
ways adhere to tradition, this is as plainly confuted
by experience, if there be any credit to be given to
hiftory, St. Hierom tells us, " * that Liberius bi-* Chron.
* 6 mop of Rome (for all his particular title to infal-^. an " uin
" libility built upon tradition, as Mr. S. fpeaks, 00-352.
" roll. 28.) turned Arian. And that * Arianifm was * Ad an.
tC eftabiifhed by the fynod of Ariminum, which was 3L '-''
cc a council more general than that of Trent. And
cc that * almoft all the churches in the whole world* Ad an.
under the names of peace and of the emperor, were 2°4-
polluted by communion with the Arians." Again,
that * under the emperor Conftantius (Eufebius and Adverf.
cc Hippatius being confuls) infidelity was fubferibed Luciier *
" under the names of unity and faith. And * that the* Ibitl -
" whole world groned and wondered to fee itfelf turned
" Arian." And he*ufes this as an argument to the* Ibid.
Luciferians, to receive into the church thofe who
had been defiled with the herefy of Arius, becaufe the
number of thofe who had kept themfelves orthodox
was
cc
cc
The RULE of FAITH.
was exceeding fmalJ : u for (fays he) the fynod of
" Nice which confided of above three hundred bi-
K (hops, received eight Arian bifhops whom they
" might have call out without any great lols to the
" church. I wonder then how fome, and thofe the
M followers of the Nicene faith, can think that three
<c confeffors ( viz. Athanafius, Hilarius, Eufebius )
" ought not to do that in cafe of neceffity for the
" good and fafety of the whole world, which fo ma-
cc ny and fo excellent perfons did voluntarily." It
feems Arianifm had prevailed very far, when St. Hie-
rom could not name above three eminent perfons in
the church who had preferved themfelves untainted
*Incr,ift. with it. Again, " * Arius in Alexandria was at flrfb
ad Galat. cc b ut one fp ar k 5 DU t becaufe it Was not prefently ex-
<c tinguifh'd, it broke out into a flame which de-
* Orat. li voured the whole world." Gregory Nazianzen *
20. & 2I -] 1 k ew if e te i] s us t0 the fame purpofe, " that the Arian
" herefy feized upon the greateft part of the church."
And to fliew that he knew nothing of Mr. S's de-
monftration of the indefeclibility of the generality of
* Orat. chriftians, he asks, u * where are thofe that define
25> " the church by multitude, and defpife the little flock,
" Sec. ?" And this herefy was of a long continuance,
for from its rife which happened in the 20th year of
* Chron. Conftantine, it continued (as Joh. Abbas * hath cal-
ad annum cu ] ate d ] t ) 2 66 years. And the Pelagian herefy (if
Maurit. we may believe Bradwardine, one of the great cham-
pions of the church againft it) did in a manner pre-
vail as much as Arianifm, as the faid author complains
* Caufa in his preface to his book, u * that almoft the whole
Du * < c world was run after Pelagius into error." Will
Mr. S. now fay, " that in the height of thefe herefics
" the
Ttoe RULE cf FAITH. 667
fc the generality of chriflians did firmly adhere toSECT.
tc tradition ? M If he iay they did, let him anfvver [r -
the exprefs tefti monies produced to the contrary :
but if they did not, then his demonflration alio fails
as to the generality of chriflians. And if the greater
part of chriflians may fall off from tradition, what
demonflration can make it impoflible for the leifer
to do fo ? who will fay it is in reafon impoflible
that a thoufand perfons fliould relinquifh tradition,
though nine hundred of them have already done it,
and though the remainder be no otherwifc fecured
from doing fc, than thofe were who have actually
relinquished it ? Now is not this a clear evidence
that this which he calls a demonflration a priori
is no fuch thing ? becaufe every demonflration a
priori? mufl be from caufcs which are neceflary,
whereas his demonflration is from voluntary caufes.
So that unlefs he can prove that voluntary caufes arc
neceffary, he fhall never demonflrate that it is
impoffible for the generality of any company of
men to err, who have every one of them free-will,
and arc every one of them liable to paflion and
miflake.
§ 5. From all this it appears, that his whole di£
courfe about the original and progrefs of herefy, and
the multitudes of hereticks in ieveral ages, is as clear
a confutation of his own demonflration as can be
defired. The only thing that ; he offers in that dif-
courfe, to prevent this objection, which he forefaw
it liable to, is this, " it is not (fays he *) to be expected * p # $-;
" but that fome contingencies fhould have place,
cc where a whole fpecies in a manner is to be wrought
6C upon j it fufficeth that the caufcs to preferve faitli
M inde-
668 The RULE of FAITH.
PART " indcnciently entire, are as efficacious as thofe
" which are laid for the prefervation of mankind \
<s the virtue of faith not being to continue longer
" than mankind its only fubject does -, and they will
" eafily appear as efficacious as the other, if we
" confider the flrength of thofe caufes before expli-
* c cated, and reflect that they arc effectively power-
" ful to make multitudes daily debar themfelves of
" thofe pleafures which are thz caufes of mankind's
" propagation; and if we look into hiftcry for ex-
<( perience of what hath palled in the world fince
" the propagating of chriftianity, we fhall find
" more particulars failing in propagating their
" kind, than their faith. 5 * To which I anfwer,
Firfl, that it may reafonably be expected there
fhould be no contingencies in any particulars, where
caufes of actual will are fuppofed to be put in all •,
** becaufe (as he fays truly) a caufeput actually caufing
*' cannot but produce its effect." Suppofe then con-
flant caufes laid in all mankind of an actual will to
fpeak truth to the beft of their knowledge, were it not
reafonablc to expect that there would be no fuch con-
tingency to the world's end, as that any man Ihould
tell a lye? Nay, it were madnefs for any man to
think any fuch contingency fhould be, fuppofing
caufes actually caufing men always to fpeak truth.
Secondly, it is far from truth, " that the caufes to
" prcferve faith indeficiently entire, are as efficacious
M as thofe which are laid for the propagation of
M mankind," And whereas he would prove the
flrength of thofe caufes which are laid to prefer ve
faith, •* becaufe they are effectively powerful to
" make multitudes daily debar themfelves of thofe
li pleafures
The RULE of FAITH. 66 9
« c pleafures which are the caufes of mankind's pro pa- SECT.
" gation f* I hope no body that hath read the innume- .
rable complaints which occur in their own hiftorians,
and others of the beft and mod credible of their own
writers, of more than one age concerning the gene-
ral viciouinefs and debauchery of their pnefts and
monks, will be over-forward to believe that all thofe
who debar themfelves of lawful marriage, do abftain
from thofe unlawful pleafures.
§ 6. But nothing can be more impudent than
what he adds, " that if we look into hiftories for
" experience of what hath pafs'd in the world fince
" the firft planting of chriftianity, we fhall find far
" more particulars failing in propagating their kind,
" than their faith." Do any hiftories confirm it
to have been the experience of the world, that the
far greateft part of the world did in any age give
over propagating their kind ? But hiftories do con-
firm that the far greateft part of the chriftian world
did fall off to Arianifm and Pelagianifm ; and con-
fequently, as he fuppofeth, did defert and renounce
tradition. Did ever whole nations and vaft terri-
tories of the world either wholly, or for far the
greateft part of them, take up an humour againft
propagating mankind ? And yet both hiftory, and
the experience of the prefent age affures us, that a
great part of Afia and of Africk (where themoft flou-
riming churches in the world once were) are fallen
off from chriftianity, and become either mahome-
tans or heathens. In Africk almoft all thofe vaft
regions, which chriftianity had from heathenifm,
mahometanifm hath regained from chriftianity.
All the north part of Africk lying along the
Vol. IV, 7 C Mediter-
5
TIL
6;o The RULE of FAITH.
PA RT. Mediterranean (where chriftianity flourifhed once as
much as ever it did at Rome) is at this time ut-
terly void of chriftians, excepting a few towns in the
hands of the European princes. And not to men-
tion all particular places, the large region of Nubia,
which had (as is thought) from the apoftles time
prcferled the chriflian faith, hath within thefe 150
years for want of miniflers (as Alvarez * tells us)
quitted chriftianity, and is partly revolted to heathen-
ifm, partly fallen off to mahometanifm. So that it
feems, that notwithstanding the argument of hope
and fear, the very teachers of tradition, may fail in
a largely extended church. As for Afia, in the eaft-
erly parts of it, there is not now one chriflian
to four of what there were 500 years [ago j and in '
the more foutherly parts of it (where chriftianity had
taken the deepeft root) the chriftians are far inferior
in number to the idolaters and mahometans, and do
daily decreafe. What thinks Mr. S. of all this ?
Have thofe chriftian nations which are turn'd maho-
metans and pagans failed in their faith or not ? If
they have, I expect from him clear inftances of
more that have failed in propagating their kind.
§ 7. But, befides thofe who have totally apofta-
tized from chriftianity, hath not the whole Greek
church, with the jacobices and neflorians, and all
thofe other feels, which agree with, and depend
upon thefe, and which, taken together, are manifold-
ly greater than the Roman church ; I fay, have not
all thefe renounced tradition for fcveral ages ? And
here in Europe, hath not a great part of Poland,
Hungary, both Germany's, France, and Switzerland :
have not the kingdomi of Great-Britain, Denmark,
Sweden,
"Tie RULE of FAITH. 6 7 t
Sweden, and a confiderable part of Ireland in Mr. S E C T
S's opinion deferred tradition ? If I mould once fee , l/i-j^.
a whole nation fail, becaufe no body would marry
and contribute to the propagation of mankind ; and
fliould find this fullen humour to prevail in feveral
nations, and to overfpread vaft parts of the world,
I mould then in good earneil think it poflible for
mankind to fail j unlefs I could fhew it impofllble
for other nations to do that which I fee fome to have
done, who w r ere every whit as unlikely to have done
it. So that whatever caufe he afiigns of herefy,
** * as pride, ambition, lull," or any other vice or* P. 67.
intereft, if the'e can take place in whole nations,
and make them renounce tradition, " then where's
a the efEcacy of the caufes to preferve faith indefi-
" ciently entire in any ? " For the demonftration
holds as (Irongly for all chriftians as for any.
§ 8. Secondly, from thefe grounds it would fol-
low that no chriftian can live wickedly -, becaufe the
end of faith being a good life, the arguments of
hope and fear muft in all reafon be as powerful
and efficacious caufes of a good life, as of a true
belief. And that his demonftration proves the one
as much as the other, will be evident from his own
reafoning; for he * argues in this manner, " Good,
is the proper object of the will ; good propofed
makes the will to defire that good, and confequently
the known means to obtain it : now infinite goods
and harms fuhiciently propofed are of their own
nature incomparably more powerful caufes to carry
the will than temporal ones. Since then, when
two caufes are counterpoifed, the lefTer, when ic
; comes to execution, is no caufe as to the fubftance
7 C 2 •« of
* P. 62.
6 7 z The RULE of FAITH.
PART" of that effect, it follows that there is no caufe to
i l zi i" move the wills of a world of believers to be
" willing to do that which they judge would lofe
" themfelves and their posterity infinite goods, and
ct bring them infinite harms, &cc. in cafe a fufficient
" prcpofal or application be not wanting," which
he tells us * is not wanting, " becaufe chriflianity
" urged to execution gives its followers a new life
u and a new nature, than which a nearer application
" cannot be imagined." Doth not this argument
extend to the lives of chriftians, as well as their be-
lief ? So that he may as well infer from thefe grounds,
that it is impoflible that thofe who profeis chriftiani-
ty fhould live contrary to it, as that they fhould fail to
deliver down the doctrine of Christ -, becaufe what-
ever can be an inducement and temptation to any
man, to contradict this doctrine by his practice,
may equally prevail upon him to falfify it. For why
fhould men make any more fcruple of damning
themfelves and their pollerity by teaching them falfe
doctrines, than by living wicked lives ? which are
equally pernicious with heretical doctrines, not only
upon account of the bad influence which fuch examples
of fathers and teachers are like to have upon their
fcholars, but likewife they are one of the ftrongeft
arguments in the world to perfuade them, that their
tea-: hers do not themfelves believe that religion which
t'ley teach; for if they did, they would live accord*
ing to it. Why mould any man think,' that thofe
arguments of hope and fear which will not prevail
upon the generality of chriftians to make them live
holy lives, mould 'be fo necenarily efficacious to
make them fo much concerned for the preierving of
Toe RULE of FAITH. 673
a right belief? Nay, we have great reafon to believe SEC T.
that fuch perfons will endeavour as much as may be, ■__,-- _j
to bend and accommodate their belief to their Jives.
And this is the true fource of thofe innovations in
faith, for which we challenge the church of Rome ;
which any man may eafily difcern, who will but
confider how all their new doctrines are fitted to a
fecular intereft, and a gratifying that inordinate ap-
petite after riches and dominion which reigns in the
court of Rome, and in the upper part of the clergy
of that church.
SECT. IV.
§ l. CEcondiy, the main grounds of his demon- Thc fe-
^ ftration are apparently falfe: for, cond anf-
Firft, this demonftration fuppofeth that the gene- Vf^ to hls
rality of chriftian parents in all ages perfectly under- ftraaon.
flood the doctrine of Christ, and did not miftake
any part of it -, that they remembred it perfectly,
and that they were faithful and diligent to inftruct
their children in it ; which is as contrary to experi-
ence as that the generality of chriftians are know-
ing and honeft. It fuppofeth likewife, chat this
doctrine, and every fubftantial part of it, was re-
ceived and remembred by the generality of children
as it was taught ; and was underftood perfectly by
them without the lead material miftake : fo he tells
us, <c * that the fubftance of faith comes clad in fuch * p -*
" plain matters of fact, that the moil ftupid man
46 living cannot poflibly be ignorant of it." But whe-
ther this be reafonable to be fuppofed or no, may
eafily be determined, not only from every man's
own
674 *& RULE of FAITH.
PART own cxoerience of the world, but from a more ad-
i__. l^_j vantageous in fiance of the experience of the fir ft
age of chriftianity. Was there ever a more know*
irig and diligent teacher of this doctrine than our
feviour ? and yet his difciples fell into many miftakes
concerning it : fo that in order to the certain pro-
pagating of it, the wifdom of God thought it re-
quifite to endue even thole who had learned this
doctrine from hjmfelf with an infallible fpirit, by
which they might be led into all truth, and fecured
from error and miftake; which had been unnecef-
jary, had it been impoffible for them to miftake
this doctrine, The apoftles, who taught the world
by an infallible fpirit, and with infinitely more ad-
vantage than ordinary parents can teach their chii-
dren, yet in all the churches which they planted,
they found chriftians very apt to miftake and per-
vert their doctrine, as appears by their frequent
complaints in melt of their epifcles. Nay the apo-
* llcb. v.ftle chargeth the generality of the Hebrews * with
lI ' 12 ' fuch a degree of duinefs and flupidity, that after fit-
ting time and means of infiruction they were ftill
ignorant of the very principles of chriftianity : fo
he tells them, " that when for the time they ought
c£ to be teachers of others, they had need that one
" mould teach them again which be the nrft prin-
" pies of the oracles of God." And St. Hierom
* Adverf. tells us, " * that the primitive churches were taint-
? < c ^ w j^ rnan y grofs errors whilft the apoftles were
" alive, and the blood of Christ yet warm in
" Judea." Bat it may be there have been better
teachers fince, and children are more apt to learn
now than men were then. Who knows how the
wcrld may be changed ? § 2. S$-
The RULE of FAITH. 6 7 $
§ 2. Secondly, this demonftration fuppofeth the SECT,
hopes and fears which chriftian religion applies to ,_ 1 ^'Ji^j
mens minds to be certain and necefTary caufes of
actual will in men to adhere to the doctrine of
Christ; and confeqnently that they muft necefTa-
rily adhere to it. That he fuppofeth them to be
neceflary, I have his own word for it ; for he tells
us, " * that he hath endeavoured to demonstrate* P. 75.
" the indefectiblenefs of tradition as the proper and
" neceflary effect of thofe caufes which preferve and
4C continue tradition on foot •, •' and what thofe
caufes are he told us before, " * that they are* P. 60*
tc hopes and fears ftrongly applied." But I hope
that the indefectiblenefs of tradition cannot be a
neceflary effect of the ftrong application of thofe
hopes and fears, unlels thofe hopes and fears be a
neceflary caufe of that effect. And indeed this is
fufficiently implied in his faying, " that they are
u the caufes of actual will in chriftians to adhere to
M tradition." For if thefe caufes of actual will bs
conftant (as he muft fuppofe) then they are certain
and necefTary and infallible caufes of adhering to
this doctrine. For whatever is in act is necefTary
while it is fo, and if it be conftantly in act, the ef-
fect is always neceflary. But what a wild fuppofiti-
on is this, that moral motives and arguments work-
ing upon a free principle, the will of man, do
neceflarily produce their effect? Is it neceflary that
the hopes of heaven and the fears of hell fhould
keep chriftians conftant to the doctrine of Christ ?
and is it not as neceflary that thefe arguments
mould prevail upon them to the practice of it I It is
in vain to go about to demonftrate that all men
muft
6 7 6 The RULE of FAITH.
PART mud be good who have fufficient arguments pro-
t t r
^J^l^, pounded to them, when experience tells us the con-
trary. Nay, it is in reaibn impoflible that moral
arguments mould be of a neceflary and infallible ef-
ficacy, becaufe they are always propounded to a free
agent, who may choofe whether he will yield
to them or not. Indeed it is always reafonable
that men fhould yield to them, and if they be
reafonable they will \ but fo long as they are free,
it can never be infallibly certain that they will. And
if men be not free, it is no virtue at all in them
to be wrought upon by thefe arguments. For what
virtue can it be in any man to entertain the chri-
stian doctrine, and adhere to it, and live according-
ly, if he does all this necefTarily, that is, whether
he will or no, and can no more choofe whether he
will do fo or not, than whether he will fee the light
when the fun mines upon his open eyes, or whe-
ther he will hear a found when ail the bells in the
town are ringing in his ears, or (to ufe Mr. S's *
* P. 53- fimiiitudes) whether he will " feel heat, cold, pain,
" pleafure, or any other material quality that affects
" his fenfes." We fee then how unreafonable his
fuppofitions are, and yet without thefe grounds his
demonstration falls. For if it be poflible that chri-
stians may miftake or forget the doclrine of Christ,
or any part of it, or be defective in diligence to
inftruct others in it •, or if it be poflible that the
will of man which is free, may not be necefTarily
and infallibly fwayed by the arguments of hope and
fear •, then it is poflible that tradition may fail.
And is not this a good demonstration which fup-
ports its felf upon iuch principles as do directly
affront
The RULE of FAITH. 677
affront the con (font experience, and the cleared rea- SECT,
ion of mankind ? Lj ' j
§ 3. And here I cannot but take notice how in-
confident he is to himfelf in laying the grounds of
tradition's certainty. In one part of his book he
tells us, " * that tradition hath for its bafis the bed* p - 53>
" nature in the univerfe, that is, man's ; not ac-
" cording to his moral part, defectible by reafon
of original corruption ; nor yet his intellectuals,
darkly groping in the purfuit of fcience, cVc.
but according to thofe faculties in him perfectly
and necefiarily fubject to the operations and drokes
" of nature, mat is, his eyes, ears, handling, and
the direct imprefiion of knowledge, as naturally
and necefiarily ifiuing from the affecting thole
fenfes, as it is to feel heat, cold, pain, pleafure
or any other material quality.'* So that accord-
ing to this difcourfe, the bafis of tradition is not
man's nature confidered as moral, and capable of
intellectual reflection ; for in this confideration it
is dark and defectible : but man's nature confidered
only as capable of directj fenfitive knowledge, as
acting naturally and necefiarily. Which is to fay,
that tradition is founded in the nature of man con-
fidered not as a man but a brute j under which con-
fideration, I fee no reafon why he fhould call it the
bed nature in the univerfe. But now, how will he
reconcile this difcourfe with the grounds of his de-
mondrations ? where he tells us, that the dability
of tradition is founded in the arguments of hope
and fear, the objects of which being future and ae
a didance cannot work upon a man immediately
by direct impreflions upon his fenfes, but mud work
Vol. IV. 7 D upon
<c
cc
<c
678 the RULE of FAITH.
PART upon him by way of intellectual reflexions and con-
^ '_i fideration. For I hope he will not deny but that
the arguments of hope and fear work upon man
according to his moral and intellectual part, elk
how are they arguments ? and if man according to
his moral part be (as he fays) defectible, how can
the indefectibility of tradition be founded in thole
arguments which work upon man only according to
his moral part ? I have purpofely all along (both for
the reader's eafe and mine own) neglected to take
notice of feveral of his inconfiftences -, but thefe are
fuch clear and tranfparent contradictions, that I could
do no lels than make an example of them.
SECT. V.
Hirdly, this Demonftration is confuted
by clear and undeniable inftances to the
contrary. I will mention but two.
Firft, the tradition of the one true God, which
was the eafieft to be preferved of any doctrine in the
World, being fhort and plain, planted in every
man's nature, and perfectly fuited to the reafon of
mankind. And yet this tradition, not having pad
through many hands (by reafon of the long age of
man) was fo defaced and corrupted, that the world
did lapfe into polytheifm and idolatry. Now a man
that were fo hardy as to demonftrate againft matter
-of fact, might by a flronger demonstration than
Mr. S's, prove that though it be certain this tradi-
tion hath failed, yet it was impoflible it mould fail ;
as Zeno demonftrated the impofllbility of motion
againft Diogenes walking before his eyes. " For
" the
The RULE of FAITH. 679
<c the doctrine of the one true God was fettled in the SECT.
<c heart of Noah, and firmly believed by him to be
" the way to happinefs, and the contradicting or de-
" ferting of this to be the way to mifery." And
this doctrine was by him fo taught to his children,
who were encouraged by thefe motives to adhere to
this doctrine, and to propagate it to their children,
and were deterred by them from relinquishing it.
And this was in all ages the perfuafion of the faith-
ful. Now the hopes of happinefs, and the fears or
mifery ftrongly applied, are the caufes of actual will.
Befides, the thing was feafible, or within their power-,
that is, what they were bred to was knowable
by them, and that much more eafily than any other
doctrine whatfoevcr, being fhort, and plain, and na-
tural. " This put, it follows as certainly that a
" great number in each age would continue to hold
u themfelves, and teach their children as themfelves
•* had been taught, that is, would follow and (tick
iC to this tradition of the one true God, as it doth
* c that a caufe put actually caufing produceth itsef-
" feet. Actually I fay; for fince the caufe is put,
ct and the patient difpofed, it follows inevitably that
M the caufe is put flill actually caufing." This de-
monstration which concludes an apparent falfhood,
hath the whole ftrength of Mr. S's, and feveral ad-
vantages beyond it. For the doctrine conveyed by
this tradition is the mod important, being the firfl
principle of all religion ; the danger of corrupting it
as great, the facility of preferving it much greater,
than of the chriftian doctrine, for the caufes before-
mentioned. And yet, after all, it fignifies nothing
againft certain experience, and unqueflionable matter
7 D 2 "of
6So Tie RULE of FAITH.
P A R T of faft ; only it fufficiently fhews the vanity of Mr,
c^-v^j S's pretended demonflration, built upon the fame or
weaker grounds.
§ 2. Secondly, the other inftance fhall be in the
Greek church, who received the chriflian doctrine
as entire from the apoftles, and had as great an
obligation to propagate it truly to poflerity, and
the fame fears and hopes ftrongly applied to be the
actual caufes of will ; in a word, all the fame argu-
ments and caufes to preferve and continue tradition
on foot, which the Roman church had •, and yet,
to the utter confufion of Mr. S's demonftration,
tradition hath failed among them. For as -{pecu-
lators, they deny the proceffion of the Holy Ghost
from the Son ; and as teflifiers, they dilbwn any
fuch doctrine to have been delivered to them by
the precedent age, or to any other age of their
church by the apoftles as the doctrine of Christ.
§ 3. To this inflance of the Greek church, becaufc
Mr. White- hath offered fomething by way of an-
* Apology fwer, I fhall here confider it. He tells us, "*that
for tmditi- « the plea of the Greek church is non-tradition ; al-
on> v ' s *' " ledgingonly this, that their fathers did not deliver
" the doctrine of ~the proceffion of the Holy
<c Ghost ; not that they fay the contrary \ which
<{ clearly demonflrates there are no oppofite tradi-
* c tions between them and us." But this was not
the thing Mr. White was concerned to do, to demon-
strate there were no oppofite traditions between the
Greeks and the Latins, but to fecure his main demon-
ftration of the impoffibility of tradition's failing
againft this inflance. For that the Greeks have
no fuch tradition as this, " that the Holy Ghost
" pro-
fife RULE of FAITH. 681
" proceeds from the Son" is as good evidence of the s E ^ r -
failure of tradition as if they had a pofitive tradition, < ^^j
" that he proceeds only from the Father -, ? efpe-
cially if we confider that they * charge the Latin church * phc ^
with innovation in this matter, and fay that the addition ep. 7.
of that claufe, " of the proceflion from the Son alio," is
a corruption of the ancient faith, and a devil ifli in-
vention. Why then does Mr. White go about to
baffle fo material an objection (and, I fear, his own
confcience likewife) by a pitiful evafion inftead of
a folid anfwer? What though there be no oppo-
fite traditions between the Greek and Latin church,
yet if their faith be oppofite, will it not from hence
follow that tradition hath failed in one of them ?
I wonder that Mr. White, who hath fo very well
confuted the infallibility of popes and councils, and
thereby undermined the very foundation of that
religion, ihould not by the fame light of reafon dis-
cover the fondnefs of his own opinion concerning the
infallibility of oral tradition, which hath more and
greater abfurdities in it than that which he confutes.
And to mew Mr. White the abfurdity of it, I
will apply his demonstration of the infallibility of
chriftian tradition in general, to the Greek church
in particular ; by which every one will fee that it
does as ftrongly prove the impofiibility of tradition's
failing in the Greek church, as in the Roman-catho-
lick, as they are pleafed to call it. His demonstration
is this, " * Christ commanded hisapoftles to preach* Deficit,
" to all the world, and left any one mould doubt & c jj eo1 -
' ' trail 1.
" of the effect, he fent his Spirit into them to bring feft. 4,
" to their remembrance what he had taught them ;
" which Spirit did not only give them a power to
" da
632 Me RULE of FAITH.
PART " do w hat he inclined them to, but did caufe them
III
' .; " actually to do it." I cannot but take notice by
the way, of the ill confcquence of this, which is,
that men may doubt whether thofe who are to teach
the doctrine of Christ will remember it, and teach
it to others, unlefs they have that extraordinary
and efficacious afliftance of the Holy Ghost which
the apoftles had : if this be true, his demonftration is
at an end, for he cannot plead that this afliftance
hath been continued ever fince the apoftles. He pro-
ceeds, "the apoftles preached this doctrine •, the na-
<c tions underftood it, lived according to it, and
** valued it as that which was necefTary to them and
46 their pofterity, incomparably beyond any thing
" elfc." All this I fuppcle done to and by the
Greeks as. well as any other nation. " Thefe things
being put, it cannot enter into any man's under-
ftanding, but that the chriftian [Greeks] of the
" firft age, being the fcholarsof the apoftles, could
<c and would earneftly commend the chriftian doc-
trine to their pofterity -, if fo, it is evident that they
did. So that the continuance of purity of the
faith in the [Greek] church is founded upon this,
that fathers always delivered the fame doctrine to
their children which they had received from their
fathers, and did believe it under this very notion
and title as received ; nor could any one [of that
church] deliver another doctrine under this title,
but he would be convinced of a Jye by the reft ;
and if the whole [Greek] church mould endeavour
to deliver a new doctrine under that title, [and
there's the fame reafon if they fhould leave out
any article of the old doctrine] that whole age
" would
CC
The RULE of FAITH. 6^3
cc would be in their conferences condemned of per- SECT.
" fidioufnefs and parricide. Now this is as impof- ._ '_,_ /
" fible as it is that all mankind fhould confpire to
<c kill themfelves." And he afterwards * gives the * Ibid,
reafon why it is fo impoflible that tradition fhould e 5 "
fail, and it is a very bold and faucy one, " that if
" the tradition of the chriftian faith be not more
" firm than the courfe of the fun and moon, and
" the propagation of mankind, then God hath
" fhewn himfelf an unskilful artificer." What is
there in all this demonstration, which may not be
accommodated to the Greek church with as much
force and advantage as to the catholick ? unlefs he
can fhew that it is very poflible that all the men in
Greece may confpire to kill themfelves, but yet ab-
folutely impoflible that all the men in the world
fhould do fo ; which I am fure he cannot fhew, un-
lefs he can demonflrate, that though it be poflible
for a million of as wife men as any are to be found
in the world together, to confpire to do a foolifh ac-
tion, yet it is impoflible that a hundred millions
not one jot wifer than the other, fhould agree toge-
ther to the doing of it.
§ 4. From all this it appears, that Mr. White's
anfwer to this objection doth not fignify any thing
to his purpofe. For if theproceflion of the Holy
Ghost was part of Christ's doctrine, then it was
delivered by the apoftles to the Greek church ; if fo,
they could not fail to deliver it down to the next age,
and that to the next, and fb on s but it feems they
have failed. •* Where then is the force of hopes and
* c fears ftrongly applied? where are the certain
" caufes of actual will to adhere to this doctrine ?
** why
it
1C
684 The RULE of FAITH.
PART" why is not the effect produced, the caufes being
Sm J^ r ^j " put actually caufrng ?" If the apoflles delivered this
doctrine, oral tradition is fo clear and unmiftakable,
* P. 53, & " and * brings down faith clad in fuch plain matters
54 ' " of fact, that the mod ftupid man living (much
" leis the Greeks, that were the flower of mankind)
* Ibid. " could not poflibly be ignorant of it ; nay *, it ex-
" ceeds all the power of nature to blot knowledge
" thus fixed out of the foul of one fingle believer
* P. 7$. " (much more of Co van: a church) And * fince
cc no man can hold contrary to his knowledge, or
" doubt of what he holds, nor change and innovate
without knowing he did fo, 'tis a manifeft. impof-
fibility, a whole church fhould in any age fall into
an abfurdity fo.inconfiflent with the nature of one
P. 86. •* fingle man. And fince * 'tis natural for every
u man to fpeak truth, and grace is to perfect nature
u in whatever is good in it, it follows that one truly
" chriftian heart is far more fixed to veracity, than
" others not imbued with thefe heavenly tenets ; and
*' confequendy that a multitude of fuch muft incom-
* c parably exceed in point of teftifying the fame num-
* c ber of others, unfortified by Christ's doctrine."
p. sg. And fince " * fuch a thought cannot enter into the
*' moft depraved nature, as to harm another without
" any good to himfelf, and yet this mufl be if we
put chriftian fathers mif-teaching their children un-
received doctrines for received (and I hope for the
M fame reafon, received doctrines for unreceived) con-
■ trary to their knowledge. For fuppofing fanctity
<c in the (Greek) church (and why may we not as
u well as in the Latin) that is, that multitudes in it
* make heaven their firfl love, and look on fpiritual
• c goods,
Tie RULE of FAITH. 685
c - goods, as their main concern, Sec. it follows, that s ECT.
u had tht fathers of that church, in any age, contented ■ - \_j
" to miflead their pofterity from what themfelves (not
11 only) conccitcd(but knew) to be true, they mould do
* c the moll extreme harm imaginable to others with-
out any the lead good to themfelves : which is per-
haps impofTible in one fmgJe man, more in few, but
infinitely in a multitude, efpecially of good men. 9 *
§ 5. Thus I might apply the reft of his ranting
rhctorick (but that I am weary of tranferibing it)
concerning " * the natural love of parents to their * I*. 90^
cc children" (unlefs we fuppofe the Greek church de-^ 1 -
flitutc of it) which muft needs engage them to ufe
the means proper to bring them to heaven, and fave
them from hell : as alfo concerning u the natural care
4C men have of not lofing their credit by telling per-
" nicious lies.' 3 And, not to omit the befl part of
his demonftration * (which was therefore prudently * P. 93;
referved to the lafl place) I might likewife mew
how the principles of each fcience, arithmetick
geometry, logick, nature, morality, hiftorical pru-
dence, politicks, metaphyfxeks, divinity, and laft
of all the new fcience of controverfy (as he ca.lL it)
or the bleffed art of eternal wrangling and difput-
* c ing (the firft principle whereof (he tells us) is y that
<c tradition is certain) do all contribute to ihew the
u certainty of tradition," that is, the impoffibilicy
that any part of Christ^s doctrine ihould fail in the
Greek church any more than in the Latin. And
furely arithmetick, geometry, logick, natural philo-
fophy, metaphyficks, See. will ail ffand up for the
Greek church in this quarrel ; for confidering that
Greece v/as the place where the arts and fciences were
Vol. IV. 7 E born
St
€C
IC
686 The RULE of FAITH.
PART born and bred, it is not to be imagined that they
_,fhould be fo difingenuous and unnatural, as not to
contribute their belt afliftance to the fervice of their
country.
§ 6. But it may be the Greeks cannot fo juftly pre-
tend to oral tradition as the Latins. What if St. Pe-
ter, the head of the apoftles, thought fit to fhare
fcripture and tradition between theie two churches,
and laying his left hand on the Greek church, and his
right on the Latin, was pleafed to confer the great
blefling of oral tradition upon the Latin church?
which being to be the feat of infallibilit)', it was but
fitting, that fhe mould be furnifhed with this infallible
way of conveying the chriiiian doctrine. And there-
fore it may be, that as the fcriptures of the new
teftament were left in Greek, fo oral tradition was de-
livered down only in Latin. This, I confefs, is not
altogether without lome fhew of reafon : Mr. S. may
do well to take the matter into his deeper confidera-
tion ; he hath in his time improved as weak probabi-
lities as theie into lufty demonstrations. And if he
could but demonftrate this, it would very much wea-
ken the force of this inftance of the Greek church :
otherwife (for ought I feej this inflance will hold
good againft him •, and whatever he can lay for the
impolTibility of tradition's failing in the Latin church,
may all be laid of the Greek church \ if he will but
grant inat the apoftles preached the fame doctrine to
them both •, that the arguments of hope and fear
which this doctrine contains in it, were applied as
ftrongly to the Greeks as to the Latins. And yet
notwithstanding all this, tradition hath plainly failed
in the Greek church. Let him now aflign the age
wherein
The RULE of FAITH. 687
wherein fo vaft a number of men confpired to leave S E C T.
out the article of the proceffion of the Holy Ghost,
and fhew how it was pofiible a whole age could
confpire together to damn their pofterity, or how the
faith of immediate forefathers might be altered with-
out any fuch confpiracy, and we are ready to iatisfy
him how the doctrine of the Latin church might be
corrupted and altered, and to tell him punctually in
what age it was done. And until he do this, I would
intreat him to trouble us no more with thofe canting
queftions (wherein yet the whole force of his demon-
ftration lies). How is it pofiible a whole age fhould
confpire to change the doctrine of their forefathers ?
And in what age was this done ? For if it be reafon-
able to demand of us, in order to the overthrowing
of his demonflration, to aflign the particular age
wherein the Latin church confpired to change the an-
cient doctrine ; with the fame reafbn we require of
him, in order to the maintaining of his demonftra-
tion, to name the particular age wherein the Greek
church confpired to alter the doctrine of Christ
(which was undoubtedly in the firft age truly deli-
vered to them by the apoftles) and alfo to fhew from
the rational force and ftrength of tradition, how it is
more impoflible for the whole church to have failed
in tranfmittihg the doctrine of Christ down to us,
or to have confpired to the altering of it, than for
fuch a multitude of chriftians as is the vaft: body of
the Greek church. If Mr. S. or Mr. White fhew
this, they do fomething 5 otherwife, I muft tell them,
that unlefs they can manage thefe pretty things they
call demonftrations better, they muft fhortly either
quit their reafon, or their religion -, or clfe return to
7 E 2 the
688 Tie RULE of FAITH.
V A R T the honefl: old miwipftmus of the infallibility of the
church from an extraordinary and immediate afiiftance
of the Holy Ghost : or (to make the bufinefs fhort,
and flop ail gaps with one bufh) come over to the
jefuits, and acknowledge the pope's infallibility both in
matters of faith and fact -, by which means they may
reconcile themfelves to him, and prevent that direful
flroke which threatens them from Rome, and is ready
to cut them off from the body of the traditionary
church. And thus I have done with his fir ft demon-
flration : and I take it for a good fign that the popifh
caufe is at a very low ebb, whenfuchftuffas thismufl
be called demonftration.
SECT. VI.
Mr. S's § i. T Come now to his demon ftration a pqfteriorij
demonftra- | w hich, although it fall of it felf if the de-
riori. monftration a priori rail, yet becaufe it hath iome
peculiar abfurdities of its own, I fhall confider it by
it felf as well as with relation to the other.
§ 2. Before he comes to lay it down with the
grounds of it, according to his ufual faihion, he pre-
mifeth fomething as yielded by proteftants, which, in
his fenfe, no proteftant ever granted. Juft fo he
dealt with us before concerning the fcriptures, faying,
" that by them the proteftants mufr mean unfenfed
" letters and characters." But let us fee what it is.
» p ^ « * That this demonftration a pofieriori y feems a
* c needlefs endeavour againft the proteftants, who
ct yield that thofe points in which we agree, as the
* c trinity, incarnation, &c. came down by this way
c< of tradition : and this (he faith) no proteftant
a ever
The RULE of FAITH.
«< ever denied." And then he asks, <c whether the S E C T.
" fame virtue of tradition would not have been as ^J 1 -
" powerful to bring down other points in which we
" do not agree, had any fuch been ?" Now if he
fpeak any thing to his own purpofe, he muft fuppofe
proteftants to yield that all thofe points wherein we
are agreed, were conveyed down to us foldy by oral
tradition without writing : but this all proteftants de-
ny. So that that only which would avail his caufe
againft us, is to ffiew, that thofe points wherein we
differ, have not only come down to us by oral teach-
ing, but that they are likewife contained in fcripture,
without which, we fay, we can have no fufficient cer-
tainty and affurance at this diftance, that they were
the doctrine of Christ, and that they were not ei-
ther totally innovated, or elfe corrupted in the con-
veyance from what they were at firit. And if he
can Ihew this concerning any point in difference,
I promife to yield it to him.
§ 3. I come now to his demonftration, which I
fhall ict down in his own words with the principles
upon which it relies. " * The effect then we will * p. ~ 7)
" pitch upon, and avow to be the proper one of fuch ? 8 -
a caufe, is the prefent perfuafion of traditionary
chriftians (or catholicks) that their Faith hath de-
fended from Christ and his apoftles uninterrup-
tedly, v/hich we find mod firmly rooted in their
heart ; and the exiftence of this perfuafion we af-
firm to be impoffible without the exiftence of tra-
dition's ever indeficiency to beget it. To prove
this, I lay this firft principle, that age which
" holds her faith thus delivered from the apoftles,
" neither can itfelf have changed any thing in it, nor
" know
c:
<c
6 9 o The RULE of FAITH.
PART <c know or doubt that any age fince the apoftles
, " had changed or innovated therein. The fecond
" principle fhall be this : no age could innovate
" any thing, and withal deliver that very thing to
*' pofterity as received from Christ by continual
" fucceflion." The fum of which is this, that be-
caufe a prefent multitude of chriflians (viz. the Roman
churchy are perfuaded, that Christ's doctrine hath
defcended to them folely by an uninterrupted oral
tradition, therefore this perfuafion is an effect which
cannot be attributed to any other caufe but the in-
deficiency of oral tradition. For if neither the pre-
fent age, nor any age before, could make any change
or innovation, then the perfuafion of the prefent
age is a plain dcmonftration that this doctrine was
always the fame, and confequently that tradition
cannot fail.
§ 4. In anfwer to this, I fhall endeavour to make
good thefe four things.
Firft, that thefe principles wholly rely upon the
truth of the grounds of his demonftration a priori.
Secondly, that thefe principles are not fufficiently
proved by him.
Thirdly, that doctrines and practices, which muft
be acknowledged to have been innovated, have made
the fame pretence to uninterrupted tradition.
Fourthly, that it is not the prefent perfuafion of
the church of Rome, (whom he calls the traditio-
nary chriftians) nor ever was, that their faith hath
defcended to them folely by oral tradition. If I can
now make good thefe four things, I hope his de-
monftration is at an end.
SECT.
The RULE of FAITH.
SECT. VII..
§ i. 'HpHAT thefe principles wholly rely upon T
A the truth of the grounds of his demon- anfwwIL
ftration a priori. For if the doctrine of Christ ^ is iccond
was either imperfectly taught in any age, or mi£ doa. *
taken by the learners, or any part of it forgotten (as
it feems the whole Greek church have forgot that
fundamental point of the proceflion of the Holy
Ghost, as the Roman church accounts it) or if the
arguments of hope and fear be not neceflary caufes
of actual will to adhere to tradition, then there may
have been changes and innovations in any age, and
yet men may pretend to have followed tradition.
But I have fhewn, that ignorance, and negligence,
and miftake, and pride, and luft, and ambition, and
any other vice or intereff, may hinder thofe caules
from being effectual to preferve tradition entire and
uncorrupted. And when they do fo, it is not to
be expected that thofe perfons who innovate and
change the doctrine, fhould acknowledge that their
new doctrines are contrary to the doctrine of
Christ *, but that they fhould at firft advance them
as pious, and after they have prevailed and gained
general entertainment, then impudently affirm that
they were the very doctrines which Christ deli-
vered -, which they may very fecurely do, when
they have it in their power to burn all that fhall
deny it.
§2.1 will give a clear inftance of the poffibility
of tins in the doctrine of tranfubffantiation, by
Ihewing how this might eafily come in 3 in the ninth
or
The RULE of FAITH.
cr tenth age after Christ. We will fuppofe then
that about this time,' when univerfal ignorance,
and the genuine daughter of it (call her devotion or
fuperflition) had overfpread the world, and the ge-
nerality of people were ftrongly inclined to believe
flrange things •> and even the greateft contradictions
were recommended to them under the notion of
myfleries, being told by their priefls and guides,
that the more contradictious any thing is to reafon,
the greater merit there is in believing it : I fay, let
us fuppofe, that in this (late of things one or more
of the moil eminent then in the church, either
out of defign, or out of fuperilitious ignorance and
miflake of the fenfe of our Saviour's words ufed
In the confecration of the facrament, fhould advance
this new doctrine, that the words of confecration,
*• this is my body," are not to be underflood by
any kind of trope (as the like forms in fcripture are,
" as I am the vine, I am the door," which are plain
tropes) but being ufed about this great myflery of
the facrament ought in all reafon to be fuppofed
to contain in them fome notable myflery ; which
they will do, if they be underflood of a real change
of the fubftance of bread and wine, made by virtue
of thefe words, into the real body and blood of
. our Saviour; and in all this, I fuppofe nothing
but what is fb far from being impofTible, that it is
too ufual for men, either out of ignorance or inte-
refl, to advance new opinions in religion. And
fuch a doctrine as this was very likely to be advan-
ced by the ambitious clergy of that time, as a pro-
^ bablc means to draw in the people to a greater vene-
fca. 4.' " ration of them j which advantage Mr. Rufhworth *
feema
the RULE of FA IT 'H. 693
fcems to be very fenfible of, when -he tells us, SEC r.
... v 1
that the power of the priefl in this particular " is.^_ _^j
'** fuch a privilege, as if all the learned clerks that
" ever lived fince the beginning of the world fhould
" have ftudied to raife, advance, and magnify ibme
" one ftate of men to the higheft pitch of reve-
" rence and eminency, they could never (without
«' fpecial light from heaven) have thought of any
" thing comparable to this." I am of his mind,
that it was a very notable device, but (I am apt to
think) invented without any fpecial light from hea-
ven. Nor was fuch a doctrine lets likely to take
and prevail among the people in an age prodigi-
oufly ignorant, and ftrongly inclined to fuperfiition,
and thereby well prepared to receive the groffefl
abfurdities' under the notion of myfteries ; especially
if they were .fuch as might feem to conciliate a
greater honour and reverence to the facrament.
Now fuppofing fuch a doctrine as this, fo fitted to
the -humour and temper of the age, to be once af-
ferted, either by chance or out of defign, it would
take like wildfire ; efpecially if by feme one or
more who bore fway in the church, it were but
recommended with convenient gravity and fbiemni-
ty. And although Mr. Rufhworth fays, " * it is* D1VJ.3,
" impoffible that the authority of one man mould cc ' 7 *
" fway fo much in the world, becaufe (lays he)
" furely the devil himfelf would rather help the
" church, than permit fo little pride amor-; men|"
yet I am not fo thoroughly fatisned with this cun-
ning reafon : for though he delivers it confidently,
and "with a furely, yet I make ibme doubt whether
the devil would be fo forward to help the church >
Vol. IV. 7 F nay,
5-
694 Me RULE of FAITH.
P A R T nay, on the contrary, I am inclined to think that
I J L i he would rather choofe to connive at this humble
and obfequious temper in men, in order to the
overthrow of religion, than crofs a defign fo dear to
him by unfeafonable temptations to pride : fo that
notwithstanding Mr. Rufhworth's reafon, it feems
very likely that fuch a doctrine, in fuch an age,
might eafily be propagated by the influence and au-
thority of one or a few great perfons in the church.
For nothing can be more fuitable to the eafy and
paflive temper of fuperftitious ignorance, than to
entertain fuch a doctrine with all imaginable gree-
dinefs, and to maintain it with a proportionable zeal.
And if there be any wifer than the reft, who make
objections againft it, as if this doctrine were new
and full of contradictions, they may eafily be born
down by the ftream, and by the eminency, and
authority, and pretended fanctity of thole who arc
the heads of this innovation. And when this doc-
trine is generally fwallowed, and all that oppofe it
are looked upon and punifhed as hereticks, then it
is feafonable to maintain that this doctrine was
the doctrine of forefathers ; to which end it will be
fufHcient to thofe who are willing to have it true,
to bend two or three fayings of the ancients to that
purpofe. And as for the contradictions contained
in this doctrine, it was but telling the people then
(as they do in effect now) that contradictions ought
to be no fcruple in the way of faith ; that the more
impoffible any thing is, 'tis the fitter to be believ-
ed ; that it is not praife-worthy to believe plain
poflibilities, but that this is the gallantry and heroi-
cal power of faith, this is the way to oblige God
almighty
The RULE of F AIT II b 95
almighty for ever to us, to believe flat and down- SECT,
right contradictions : " for God requires at the , Jrl_ _j
" people's hands (as Mr. Ruihworth * tells us) a* Dial. i.
11 credulity of things above and beyond nature ; nay, * e ^-4-
" beyond all tht fables, be it fpoken with refpect,
" that ever man invented." After this doctrine
had proceeded thus far, and by the mod inhumane
feverities and cruelties fupprefs'd diffenters, or in a
good meafure rooted them out ; then, if they pleafe,
even this new word tranfubftantiation may pretend
alio to antiquity, and in time be confidently vouch-
ed for a word ufed by chriftians in all ages, and
tranfmitted down to them by thofe from whom
they received the doctrine of the facrament as a
term of art appendant to it. And when a fuper-
ftitious church and defigning governors have once
gained this pofr, and by means of this enormous
article of tranfubftantiation have fufrkiently debauch-
ed the minds of men, and made a breach m their
underftandings wide enough for the entertaining of
any error, though ever fo grofs and fenflefs j then
innovations come in amain, and by moles * and the
more abfurd and unreafonable any thing is, it is
for that very reafon the more proper matter for an
article of faith. And if any of thefe innovations be
objected againft, as contrary to former belief and
practice, it is but putting forth a lufty act of faith
and believing another contradiction, that though
they be contrary, yet they are the fame.
§ 3. And there is nothing in all this but what is
agreeable both to hiitory and experience. For that
the ninth and tenth ages, and thofe which followed
them till the reformation, were thus prod igioufiy igno-
7 F 2 rant
696 Tie RULE of FAITH.
r rant and fuperftitious, is confirmed by the unanimous
confcnt of all hiftories •, and even by thofe wri-
ters, that have been the greater!; pillars of their own
religion. And experience tells us, that in what age
foever there are a great company of fuperftitious peo-
ple, there will never be wanting a few crafty fellows
to make ufe of this eafy and pliable humour to their
own ends. Now that this was the (late of thofe ages
of the church, will be evident to any from thefe teiti-
■ ;: Tn vit. monies. Platina * writes of pope Romanus, that he
Rom mi nu ]}»j the acts of his predeceflor Stephanus : " for
A.C.goa " (S^Y S ne ) ^ az & popes minded nothing elfe but how
" they might extinguifh both the name and dignity
<c of their predecefTors." And if fo, who can doubt
but that thefe popes who made it their bufinefs to de-
fcroy the very memory of their anceftors, would be
very little careful to preferve the doctrine of forefa-
thers. Bat what the care of thofe times was in this
particular, may be conjectured from what Onuphrius
* In Fla- * fays by way of confutation of that pafiage in Pla-
tm * tina, concerning pope Joan's reading publickly at
R.ome at her nrii coming thither. " This (fays he)
u is utterly falfe, for there was nothing that they were
cc lefs folicitous about in thofe times, than to furnifh
" the city with any publick teachers." And the time
which Onuphriu f, was much about the be-
* Anno ginning >f the tzi:th century, Phil. Bargomenfis *
9°^* fays, " it happened in that age, through the fioth-
" fuinefs of men, that there was a general decay of
" virtue both in the head and members." Again,
* Anno " * thefe times, through the ambition and cruel tyran-
?° 8 ' *« ny of the popes, were extremely unhappy — for the
* oopes fetting afide the fear of God and his wor-
Jh
7he RULE of FAITH. 697
cc fhip, fell into fuch enmities among themfelves as SEC t.
* c cruel tyrants exercife towards one another." Sa- ^-^J^
bellicus * fays, " it is wonderful to obferve what a * Ennead
4< ftrange forgetfulnefs of all arts did about this time 9-l.i.uim
" feize upon men •, infomuch that neither the popes, 9
" nor other princes, feemed to have any lenfe or ap-
u prehenfion of any thing that might be uftful to
* c humane life. There were no wholibm laws, no
" reparations of churches, no purfuit of liberal arts 5
" but a kind of ftupidity and madnefs, and forgetful-
" nefs of manners had pofiefled the minds of men."
And a little after, " I cannot (fays he) but much won-
" der from whence thefe tragical examples of popes
<c mould fpring -, and how their minds ihouid come
" to be fo devoid of all piety, as neither to regard
" the perfon which they fuftained, nor the place they
" were in.' 3 Sigonius * fpeaking of thefe times, * De reg.
about the beginning of the tenth century, calls Ital - *• 6 -
them " die foulell and blackefl, both in reipect of
the wickednefs of princes, and the madnefs of the
people that are to be found in all antiquity. 5 ' Ge-
nebrard * fpeaking of the fame time : " this (fays * chron.
he) is called the unhappy age ; being deftitute of 1- 4.
men eminent for wit and learning, as alio of fa-
mous princes and popes. In this time there was
fcarce any thing done worthy to be remembred by
pofterity." And he adds afterwards, " but chiefly
unhappy in this one thing, that for almofl an hun-
dred and fifty years together, about fifty popes did -
utterly degenerate from the virtue of their ancef-
tors." He fhould have added farther, but even to
a miracle happy in another refpecl:, that during this
long and total degeneracy from the piety and virtue
of
6 9 g tt* RULE of FAITH.
PART of their anceftors, they did not in the lead fwerve
v L / -^j from them in matter of faith and doctrine : a thing
incredible, were there not demonftration for it. Wer-
* Fafcic. ner * gives this character of that time ; " about the
tempor. cc vear f our Lord one thoufand there began an
" effeminate time," in which the chriflian faith be-
" gan to degenerate exceedingly, and to decline from
" its ancient vigour \ infomuch that in many coun-
cc tries of chriftendom, neither facraments nor eccle-
w fiaftical rites were obferved — And people were gi-
<c ven to ibothfaying and witchcraft, and the prieft
" was like the people. " It feems by this teftimony,
that tradition did falter a little in that age, elfe the
chriflian faith could not pofiibly have degenerated
and declined fo very much : and (which threatens
Mr. S's demonftration moft of all) cC that the pracli-
" cal tradition of facraments, and other ecclefiaftical
«' obfervances, did fai.1 in many chriflian countries."
* Epift. Gerbert *, who lived in that time, gives this fhort
4°* character of the Roman church, in an epiflle of his
to Stephen, deacon of that church, u the world flands
M amazed at the manners of Rome." But moft full
is the complaint of a great prelate of the church * con-
facr. 1. i . cerning thofe times ; " in the weft (Tays he) and al-
c.S. « moft all the world over (efpecially among thofe
cC who were called the faithful) faith failed, and there
" was no fear of God among them: (it feems the ar-
<c gument of fear had loft its force) juftice was pe-
" rimed from among men, and violence prevailing
" againft equity governed the nations. Fraud, de-
" ceit, and the arts of cozenage were grown univer-
" fal. All kind of virtue gave way as an ufelefs
cc thing, and wickednefs fupplied its place. The
i€ world
The RUL E of FAITH. 699
u world feemed to be declining apace towards its yjj
<c evening, and the fecond coming of the fon of man v— -v— >
" to draw near : for love was grown cold, and faith
u was not found upon earth. All things were in
" confufion, and the world looked as if it would re-
<c turn to its old chaos. — All forts of fornication
<c were committed with the fame freedom as if
" they had been lawful actions ; for men neither
M blufhed at them, nor were punifhed for them.
** — Nor did the clergy live better than the people.
« — For the bifhops were grown negligent of the
« c duty of their place, &c. In a word, men ran them-
cc felves headlong into all vice, and all flefh had cor-
" rupted its way." And farther, to fhew the great
neglect of priefts and bifhops in the work of teaching
and inftructing (which is fo necefTary to the preferr-
ing of tradition inviolable) I will add the teftimonyof
one * who lived in thofe times; who tells us, " that * Elfr' c -
" in thofe days the priefts and bifhops, who ought to fccTrdot.
u have been the pillars of the church, were fo negli-
" gent that they did not mind the divine fcripture ;
" nor take any care to teach and inftruct fcholars that
<c might fucceed them, as we read holy men had ufed
" to do, who left many fcholars perfectly inftructed
" to be their fuccefTors." If they had only neglected
the fcriptures, all might have been well enough j but it
feemsthey took no care to inftruct people " in the way
u of oral tradition, not to furnifh the church with a new
« c generation of able teachers, who might deliver down
•< from hand to hand the fenfe and faith of forefathers."
This laft teftimony the late learned lord primate of Ire-
land, bifhop Ufher (inrhis book de chriftian, ecckf.fuc-
cejf t 6cc» * where feveral of theteftimonies I have pro- * c. 2. &
duced, 3 *
y:0 The RULE of FAITH
P A R T duced, with many more to the fame purpofe, may b£
nI * feen) cites out of a MS. in Bennet college library in
Cambridge ; concerning the authority of which MS.
there need be no difpute between Mr. S. and me •, be-
caufe the wliole force and effect of this teftimony is
fufficiently contained in thofe citations which I have
brought out of publick and unqueftionable books.
§ 4. All thefe testimonies which I have produced
are, in general and for the fubflance of them, con-
firmed by two of the greater! props of the Romifh
^ „ church, Bellarmine and Baronius. Bellarmine * fays
pcntif. 1.4. of this tenth age, " that there was never any either
c. 12. cc more unlearned or more unhappy. Baronius ipeaks
* Annal. * more particularly •, " what was then the face of the
torn. 10. u Roman church ? how deformed ? when whores,
anno 900. u ^ ^ powerful than vile, bore the chief fway at
" Rome ; and at their pleafure changed fees, ap-
" pointed bifhops •, and (which it is horrible to men-
* c tion) did thruft into St. Peter's fee their own gal-
4' lants, falie popes, who would not have been men-
« tioned in the catalogue of the Roman popes, but
" only for the more difcincl recording of fo long a
rt fucceflion of times." And a little after, "Christ
" was then (it feems) in a very deep deep— And
* c which was worfe \ when the Lord was thus afleep
cc there were no difciples to awaken him, being them-
" felves all fait afleep. What kind of cardinals,
u presbyters, and deacons, can we think were cholen
" by thefe monfters, when nothing is fo natural as for
<c every one to propagate his own likenels ?" It is
very much that thefe lewd women, and their favourite
popes, cardinals, and bifhops, who then fwaved the
church, fhould, when they were fo carelefs of their
own
The RULE of FA ITH. 701
own fouls, be fo tender of the falvation of pofterity ; S E C T.
and when they adminidred all other affairs of the v^^l^
church fo extravagantly, mould be fo careful of the
main chance, as to tranfmit the chridian doctrine en-
tire and uncorrupted to fucceeding ages. Yet Mr. S.
hath demondrated this a pqfieriori, which feems fo
very ftrange to a man that confiders things a priori.
§5. But it may be this difmal date of the Ro-
man church laded but a little while ; and fhe did
in the fame age, before tradition could be interrupted,
recover herielf out of this degenerate condition.
I will therefore enquire a little into the irate of fuc-
ceeding times. And I find in the thirteenth century,
St. Bernard * complaining, that the degeneracy of * In con-
the priefts was in his days greater than ever ; rt we pluii
<c cannot (fays he) now fay, as is the people fo is term. 1.
" the pried ; for the people are not fo bad as their
*• priefts." In the fifteenth century, Nic. de Cle-
mangiis, who lived in that time, wrote a book upon
this argument, " of the corrupt date of the church j'*
by which we may make fome judgment whether in
that age it was (as Mr. S. fays) impoflible but that
the chriftian doctrine mould be entirely preferved,
and faithfully and diligently taught. He fays,
" * there was an univerfal degeneracy in the church, * C. 3
<c from the very head of it to its lowed members. 5 '
In the fame chapter he complains, a who is there
" that preaches the gofpel to the people? who
<fl Ihews them the way to falvation either by word
" or action ? " It feems there was a great failure
both of oral and practical tradition. Again *, (peak- * C. 5,
ing of the pope's taking to hirnfelfthe collation of all
vacant bimopricks and dignities-, he fays, one
Vol. IV. 7 G mighc
7t>2 The RULE of FAITH.
PART, might think the pope did this, " that the church
, L _^ ' _i u might be provided of worthier governors, both
" in I'clpedt of their learning, and their lives, did
" not the thing itfelf declare the contrary, and that
" ignorant and uielefs perfons (provided they had
** money) were by fimony advanced to the higheft
* C. 6. *t degrees in the church." And * fpeaking what a
vaft number of candidates there was ufually at Rome
from all parts waiting for benefices and dignities, he
tells us, " that many of thefe did not come from
44 their ftudies, or from fchools of learning, to go-
" vern parifhes ; but from the plow, and from the
** meaneft profefiions : and that they underftood
** Latin and Arabick much at the fame rate •, and
" many of them could not read at all. But it may
44 be (fays he) their manners were fuch as might be
44 fome excufe for their ignorance. No; though
44 their learning was but little, their virtue was lefs ;
44 for being brought up in idlenefs, they followed
44 nothing but debauchery and fports, &c. Hence
*' it comes to pafs, that in all places there are lb
44 many wicked, and wretched, and ignorant priefts —
•* Hence it is that priefts are fo contemned by
44 the common people. — Formerly the priefthood
41 was highly honoured by the people, and nothing
44 was more venerable than that order of men ; but
* r 41 now nothing is more vile and defpicable. — * I
" make no doubt, but there are now more thieves
44 and robbers, than true pallors in the church.
* C. ii. ^ — * Why mould any man now flatter himfelf
46 with hopes of preferment, becaufe of his virtue
44 or learning ? Men do not now (as formerly)
* C. 13. f< rife in the church by fuch arts m ■ ■■* Which of
" thofc
The RULE of FAITH. 703
*' thofe that are now-a-days advanced to the pontifical SECT*
" dignity, hath fo much as perfunctorily read, or ■_« - v - _j
" heard, or learnt the fcriptures; yea, or ever
" touched any more than the cover of the bible ? "
Again, * fpeaking of the prodigious covetoufnefs of* q t .
the governors of the church, and the grofs neglect
of their flocks, " they would (fays he) much more
" contentedly bear the lofs of ten thoufand fouls,
M than of ten or twelve millings. But why do
" I fay more contentedly? when without the
" lead trouble or disturbance to themfelves, they
" can bear the lofs of fouls ; a thing fo far from
" their care, that it never enter'd into their thoughts."
Had the hereticks of thofe days but had wit enough,
and a little money, they might (it ieems) for a
fmall fum have hired the governors of the church to
have renounced tradition, or to have ceafed to pro-
pagate it ; though they had known that in fo doing
they fhould have damned all their pofterity. Ha
goes on, and tells us, «' that if there were perhaps
46 any one who did not take thefe courfes, the reft
" would fnarl at him, call him fool, and fay
" he was un6t to be a pried, — So that the ftudy
of the fcriptures (together with the profeflbrs of
it) was turned into laughter and fcorn by all •, but
(which is prodigious) efpecially by the popes,
who prefer their own tradition many degrees bc-
* c fore the commands of God/* I defire Mr. S.
to take notice in what kind of times tradition was
fet up againft fcripture. Again, * fpeaking of the#p g
choice of perfons to be priefls, he tells us, " that
" there was no enquiry made into their Jives,
" no queftion about their manners. As for their
7 G Z " learning
u
7 04 7be RULE* of FJITH.
P A R T " learning (fays he) what need I fpeak o f that ?
Lgmt ^^ mmm ^ " when we fee the priefts, almoft univerfally, have
" much ado to read, though but in an hefi taring
tc and fpelling famion, drawing out one fyllable af-
<c ter another, without underftanding either the
cc fenfe of what they read, or the words." I am
now reconciled to oral tradition, and convinced that
there was great need of it in thofe ages in which
fcarce any of the priefts could either write or read.
* C. 20, I omit the particulars of what he fays, " * con-
%li 2 3* " cerning the common drunkennefs and inconti-
" nency of priefts, who (becaufe they made con-
" fcience of marriage) kept whores in their houfes •,
" concerning the difiblute lives of monks*, and con-
*' cerning nunneries, which inftead of being the
" fancluaries of God, were the abominable flews
" of Venus, and the receptacles of lafcivious young
*' men j" infomuch (fays he) " that at this day
" it is the fume thing to put a virgin into a nunnery,
" and to make her a common ftrtM»pet. M And to
fhew that he does not fpeak thefe things of a few, but
with relation to the general corruption of that age,
* C. 27. ne ^ds, " * that wickednefs did fo abound in all
fc; orders of men, that fcarce one among a thou-
" fand was to be found who did truly live up to his
* f profelTion : and if there was any one that did not
•i follow thefe lewd courfes, he became ridiculous to
•* others, and was branded either as an infolcnt fin-
ft gular madman, or an hypocrite." I will con--
elude this long teftimony with the character which
* C. 26. he gives * of one of the popes of his time, Clement
by name, viz. If That he did chiefly apply himfelf
* to gratify and oblige all the parafites and buf-
foons
7he RULE of FAI TH. y g
" foons that had any intereft in the feveral courtsSECT.
" of princes : and to this end, did confer upon thefe, ^^^^^
" and upon handfom young hoys (which he much
" delighted in) almoll: all the vacaat bifhopricks, and
a moil of die other church dignities." It is well that
oral tradition hath the fecurity of infallibility, other-
wife it had in all probability been loft among this
lewd fort of people, which yer they gravely call
the holy roman catholick church.
§ 6. To this effect I might have produced tefti-
monies cencerning every age from the ninth to
the fixteenth -, but Mr. CrefTy hath faved me that
labour, who acknowledges, c< * that thefe worft* Fxomo-
" times of the church, when ignorance, worldlinefs, i0g * c * °°*
pride, tyranny, &c. reigned with fo much fcope ;
when the popes (fo wicked, fo abominable in their
lives) enjoyed fo unlimited a power even over ie-
cular princes themfelves, and much more over the
clergy :" I fay, he acknowledges that theie word
times continued during the fpace of about fix ages
before Luther : a competent time (one would think)
for tradition to have mifcarried in, were it not (as
Mr. S. fays) indefectible. Mr. Crefiy indeed tells
us, " * that this was to him an irrefragable teftimo- * i^
u ny of a ftrange watchfulnefs of divine provi-
* c dence over the church, to preferve it from the
" gates of hell (that is, eftablifhed and dangerous
<; errors) during thefe worft times.* 9 And very
likely it is that this might appear fo to fuch a ca-
tholick, M whofe judgment, he tells us, it is to
" renounce his own judgment :" but it will never
appear irrefragable to any man that hath his judg-
ment about him, unlefs Mr. CreiTy can prove, that
by
CI
it
a
7 c6 The RULE of FAITH.
PART by that phrafe, viz. the gates of hell, the fcripture
does not mean grofs wickednefs of life, as well as
dangerous errors in opinion \ and likewife, that a
general vicioufnefs and debauchery of manners is not
as pernicious to chriftianity, and as deftructivc to
the end of it, as eflablifhcd errors in doctrine.
And if fo, that the providence of God is not equal-
ly concerned to prefer ve the church from things
equally pernicious. When he hath proved thefe
three things, then this declamatory difcourfe of his
may fignify fomething, but not before.
§ 7. Now if this be a true reprefentation of the
ftate of the Roman church in thofe ages, was not
this a very fit time for the devil to play his pranks
in? Will any man that reads thofe teftimonies, think
it imponTole that the doctrine of Christ fhould
have been depraved in this age ; or that the moft
fenfelefs and abfurd tenets might then be brought
in under the notion of chriftian doctrines ? when
fcarce any one knew what the doctrine of Christ
was : when a general ignorance of letters, and almoft
an univerfal ftupidity and madnefs had feized upon
the minds of men : when there was a horrid depra-
vation of manners, and a general failure of virtue
and piety both in the head and members of the
church : when the lives of the popes were tragically
wicked, and no footfleps of piety appeared in them :
when for about 150 years together, in a con-
tinued fucccfiion of 50 popes, there was fcarce one
pious and virtuous man (or woman) fate in that
chair: when the whores governed Rome, and put
out, and put in biinops at their pleafure ; and made
their own gallants popes, who would be fare to
make
<Tbe RULE of FAITH. 7 o 7
make a college of cardinals of fuch monfters as SECT.
vir
themfelves : when pretty boys, and paraftes, and ^^^^
buffoons, led the head of the church by the noie,
and were gratiiied with the belt bifhopricks and
dignities in the church : when there was a general
decay of knowledge, and defection of the chriftiaa
faith, when in many countries neither iacramenrs,
nor other ecclefiaftical rites were obferved : when
violence and fraud, and all the arts of deceit and
cozenage, and blacker arts than thefe, were the
common ftudy and practice : when imtemperance,
and all kind of lewdnefs and debauchery, reigned
in all forts and orders of men : when the gene-
rality of bifhops and priefts (who, according to
Mr. Rufhworth *, can only teach the traditionary * Dial. 3.
doctrine) were ignorant in the fcriptures, and in "
every thing elfe (very few of them being able fo
much as to read tolerably) and did neglect to teach
the people, and to breed up any in knowledge to
fucceed them in their office ; and in the lewdnefs of
their lives did furpafs the vileft of the people : was
not fuch an age a fit ieafon to plant the doctrine
of tranfubftantiation in? Or if any thinp" more
monftrous than that can be imagined, it might then
have taken place ; for what weeds would not have
grown in fo rank a foil ? Doth Mr. S. think it im-
poMible, that thofe that were born in the church
then mould be ignorant of the doctrine of Christ,
when fcarce any one would take the pains to teach it
them ; or that it could then have been altered,
when fo few underftood and fewer practifed it ?
when prodigious impiety and wickednefs did over-
fpread the church from the pope down to the
meaneil
7 o» The RULE of FAITH.
PART meaneft of the laity, can any one believe that men
J * L W generally made confcience to indraft their children
in the true faith of Christ? Was it impolTible
there mould be any neglect of this duty, when all
others failed ? That there fhould be any miftake about
the doctrine of Christ, when there was fo much
* Dial. 3. ignorance: unlefs he be of Mr. Rufhworth's * mind,
fedt. 7. u wno reckons ignorance among the parents of reli-
tc gion." Where were then the arguments of hope
and fear? were they, flxongly applied, or were they
not? were they caufes of actual will in chriftians to
believe well when they lived fo ill ? or is chriftianity
only fitted to. form mens minds to a right belief, but
of no erncacy to govern their lives? Hath Christ
taken care to keep his church from error, but not from
m „ vice? as the great cardinal Perron* (ftooping below
K. fames, his own wit and realbn toferve a bad cauie) tells us,
1. 4. c. 6. cc tnat the church fmgs, and will fing to the end of
tc the world, I am black, but I am fair ; that is to
M fay, I am black in manners, but fair in doctrine."
As if the meaning of the prophefies and promifes of
the fcripture made to the church were this, that by the
extraordinary care of God's providence, and peculi-
ar afilftance of his Holv Spirit, fhe mould be
wicked, but orthodox to the end of the world.
Where were then the vigorous caufes imprinting
Christ's doctrine, and continuing it more particular-
ly at Rome than any where elfe •, and of fecuring that
fee and its fuprcme pallor in the faith and practice of
the chriftian doctrine, above any other fee or paftor
whatfoever ? Who is fo little verfed in hiitory, as
not to underftand the difmal (late of religion in
the Romilh church in thole times? Who does not
know
The RULE of F A IT It. 709
know what advantages the bifhops of Rome and S EC 1 .
their fervile clergy, made of the ignorance and fiw
perflation of thofe and the fucceeding agej ; and by
what arts and fteps they railed themfcJves to that
power which they held in the church for a long
while after ? when they could tread upon the necks
of princes, and make a great king walk bare-foor,
and yield himfelf to be fcourged by a company of
petulant monks : when they could fend any man up-
on an errand to vifit the holy fepulchre, or the fhrine
of fuch a faint ; and command five or fix kin.^s
with great armies upon a ncedleis expedition into
the holy land, that fo during their abfence they
might play their own game the better : when they
could mint miracles, and impofe upon the belief
of the people (without the authority of any an-
cient books) abfurd and counterfeit tales of an-
cient faints and martyrs, as delivered down to them
by tradition ; and could bring that foppifh book
the legend, almoft into equal authority and ve-
neration with the bible -, and perfuade the eafy
people that St. Denys carried his own head in his
hand, after it was cut off, two miles, and kifs'd
it when he laid it down. Any one that mall but
reflect, upon the monftrous practices of the Ro-
man bifhops and clergy in thefe ages, the ft range
feats they play'd, and what ablurdities they impofed
upon the fuperftitious credulity of princes and peo-
ple, may readily imagine not only the poffibility,
but the eafinefs of innovating new doctrines as they
pleafed, under the fpecious pretences of antiquity,
and conftanc and uninterrupted tradition.
Vol. IV, 7 H § 8. And
5.
©n
7 io The RULE of FAITH.
PART § 8. And this kind of difcourfe concerning the
Km J}L m ^ poflibility of errors coming into the church, is nor,
* Apology as Mr. White ridicuioufly compares it^ " * as if an
radm "t< orator mould go about to perfuade people, that
46 George, by the help of a long flaff, and a nim-
" ble cad of his body, and fuch - like advantages,
" might leap over Paul's fteeple ; never confider-
*f ing all the while the difproportion of all thefe
Ci advantages to the height of the fleeple: fo (faith
" he) he that difcourfeth at large how errors ufe
" to fild into man's life, without comparing the
" power of the caufes of error to the flrength of
" refitting, which confifcs in this principle, nothing
cc is to be admitted but what defcends by tradi-
" tion, csV. fays no more towards proving an er-
" rcr's over-running the church, than the orator
" for George's leaping over the fteeple." How vain
is this ? when it appears from this inftance that I
have given of the flate of the Roman church,
in the ninth and tenth centuries, and afterwards,
that the caufes of error were infinitely flronger than
the power of refiflance. The great caufes of error
are ignorance and vice ; where ignorance reigns,
there's no power : where vice, no will to refill it.
And how great the ignorance and vicioufneis of all
orders of men in the Roman church was, is too
apparent from the teftimonies I have brought.
Where was the flrength of refifting error, when for
150 years together the popes were the vilefl of men,
bifhops and priefls overwhelmed with ignorance,
abandoned to all manner of vice, and molt fupinely
negligent in inftructing the people ? in fuch a de-
generate flate of a church, what flrength is there
in
Tie RULE of FAITH. 711
in this principle, " nothing is to be admitted but SECT.
" what defcends by tradition ? " when thofe, whn_ '_j
ought to teach men what that doctrine is which
was derived to them by tradition, arc generally
careleis of their duty, and ignorant themfelves what
that doctrine is ; when they addict themfelves whol-
ly to the fatisfying of their ambition, and other lufts,
and carrying on defigns of gain, and getting
dominion over the people; what can hinder men
Co difpofed from corrupting the doctrine of Christ,
and fuiting it to their own iufts and interefts ?
and what fhall hinder the people from embracing
thofe corruptions •, when by the negligence of their
paftcrs to inflruct them, and not only fo, but alfo
by their being deprived of the fcriptures in a
known tongue, they are become utterly incapable
of knowing what the true doctrine of Christ is ?
fo that in an age of fuch profound ignorance and
vice, and general neglect of inftruction , 'tis fo far
from being impoflible for errors to over-run a
church, that the contrary is morally impoflible ;
and George's long ftafr and advantageous cart of
his body, are more powerful caufes'to enable him to
leap over Paul's fteeple, than this principle, a that
a nothing is to be admitted, but what defcends by
iC tradition," is to keep errors out of a church in
an ignorant and vicious age ; when few or none are
either able or willing to inflruct men in the truth.
For fuppofe this always to have been the principle
of chriftians, viz. " that nothing is to be admit-
" ted as the doctrine of Christ, but what is de-
" fcended to them by tradition : " how fhall this
principle fecure the church from herefy, any more
7 H 2 than
J12
The RULE of FJITH.
PART than this, viz. cC that nothing but truth is to be
HI
" aircnted to," doth fecure men from error ? or
more than this, viz. " that no man is to do any thing
" but what is wife and virtuous," does fecure the
generality of mankind from folly and vice ?
The Se-
cond anf-
wcr to his
fecond
demon-
flration.
SECT. VIII.
§ i. ^Econdly, the principles upon which this de-
J monftration relies, are not fufficiently proved
by him.
His firft principle is this, " that age, which holds
" her faith delivered thus from the apoftles, nei-
** thcr can it lelf have changed any thing in it, nor
" know or doubt that any age fi nee the apoftles
" had changed or innovated any thing therein.
" This propofition (he tells us) needs no proof
< c to evidence it, but only an explication : for
«« fmce no man can hold contrary to his know-
" led^e, c r doubt of what he holds, nor change or
* c innova in the cafe propofed, without knowing
** he di- fo; 'tis a manifell impofTibiliry a whole
« age ^ould fall into an abfurdity fo inconfiiient
" nth ihe nature of one fingle man." Bat (by his
Favour) that which he fays is no procf, but only
an explication, is a proof if it be anything; and
the force of it is this : " that which is inconfiftent
< c with the nature of one fingle man, is manifeflly
61 ioTpoffible to a whole age ; but it is inconfiftent
4C with the nature of any fingle man to hold con-
" trary to his knowledge, &V. therefore impofiible
" to a whole age *, and coniequenly, that age which
*« holds her faith delivered thus from the apoftles,
i6 neither
735* RULE of FAITH. 713
" neither can it felf have changed any thing, SECT.
<c nor, iScV fo that in order to the making good^ N xi
of this firft principle, Mr. S. hath left nothing
unproved but only this propofition, namely, that it
is impoffible that any one fingle man that holds
his faith to have been delivered -uninterruptedly
from the apoitles, mould either himfelf have chang-
ed any thing in it, or know or doubt that any
age fince the apoitles hath changed or innovated
any thing therein : and to make out the truth of
this propofition , there only remains this to be
proved, viz. that it is impofiible for any fingle man
to be miltaken : for if that be poffible, then con-
trary to Mr. S. a man may hold that to have been
delivered as a doctrine of faith from the apoitles
which was not fo delivered.
§ 2. His fecond principle is this, " that no age
" could innovate any thing, and withal deliver that
" very thing to pofterity as received from Christ
" by continual lucceflion." He proves it thus ;
" fince man is a ratiorui creature, he mult have
<c fome reafon or motive g"od or bad, which he
6C propofeth to himfelf as an end to be atchieved
<c by his action: and whatever his remote end is,
" his immediate end, in telling polterity a late
" invented thing was held immediately before, is
" to make them believe it. Wherefore fince a ^m
" impoffibility cannot be a motive to one not
" frantick : and fince 'tis evidently im poffible they
« Ihould make pofterity believe a thing fo univer-
" (ally known to be falfe, as this muft needs
" be, &V. it is as impeffi bie this principle fhould
" falter, as that the foregoing age lhouid confpire
« to
714 The RULE cf FAITH.
PART " to act without a motive, or that the fuccecding
" age mould believe what they know to be other-
" wife, that is, mould hold both fides of a contra-
cc diction in a clear matter of fact." The force
of which is this, that it is impoMible that any man
not frantick fhould attempt to innovate in matter
of chriftian doctrine, becaufe the immediate end of
fuch an attempt muft be to have his new doctrine
believed •, but it is impoffible he fhould attain this
end, and impoffible he mould not fee that it is
impoiTible to attain it : now a fecn impoffibility is
an end that cannot move any one that is not fran-
tick ; therefore no man that is not frantick, can
attempt to innovate in matter of chriftian doc-
trine. Thus he hath demonftrated it impoffible
that there mould be any hcreticks, if a heretick
be one that attempts to innovate in matter of chri-
ftian doctrine : for if there be any fuch attemp-
ted they muft be frantick, and if they be fran-
tick they can be no hereticks ; for herefy im-
plies a crime, but God will not impute the acti-
ons of mad men to them as faults. Again, fuppofe
he that attempts to innovate be miftaken (and I
hope Mr. S. will grant that a heretick is fallible^
and think that which he delivers as Christ's doc-
trine to be really fo, though indeed it be not ; why
mould fuch a perfon think it impoffible to make
men believe that to be received from Christ
which he really thinks was received, and thinks he
can make it appear that it was fo ? and if this be
granted, then it is net impoffible that man, though
he be a rational creature, may attempt to innovate.
And if 10, then his fecond principle is not proved.
If
The RULE of FAITH. 7 , 5
If Mr. S. had any rcaard to the noble fcience of S E C T.
*~^ TV
controversy (whereof he pretends to be fo great a ma- l _l' J^_ J
iter) he would not bring fuch trifling fophilms inftead
of demonftrative proofs : and nothing leis than a de-
monftrative proof will ferve to eftablifh any prin-
ciple upon which a demonilration is to be built.
SECT. IX.
v- Octanes and practices, which muft be The third
acknowledged to have been innovated, vfr^sVfc-
have made the fame pretence to uninterrupted tra- c° R ci dc-
dition. And of this I mall give feveral inftances ; ^Z^'
one among the jews, the reft among chriftians.
i. I mall inftance among the traditionary jews,
whofe perfuafion in our Saviour's time was, and
ftill is, that their oral doctrine, which they call their
cabala, hath defcended to them from Mofes uninter-
ruptedly. Now here is the exiftence of fuch a per-
fuafion, as Mr. S. affirms to be " impoftible without
c< tradition's evcr-indeficiency to beget it. And this
perfuafion of theirs is molt exactly parallel with the pre-
tenfions of the Romifh church according to Mr. S.
For here's a multitude of traditionary jews, manifoldly
greater in proportion to the diffenters in that church,
than the Romifh church is in comparifon to thofe chri-
ftians that diffent from her. Jofephus tells us *, " that * Antiq.
" the richer fort were of the perfuafion of the fid-^ ud o 1 13 '
" ducees, but the multitude were on the pharifces
<c fide." So that the pharifces had this mark of the true
church (as Bcllarmine calls it) common to them with
the church of Rome, that they were the greateft num-
ber, and fo they continue to this very day ; infomuch
that although they do not call themfelves the catho*
licks,
n6 The RULE of FAITH.
? A RT. licks, yet I am lure they call all jews that do dhTent
ill * •
Xm ^ l mmJ from them fchifmaticks. Now that the fadducees
were for the written law againft oral tradition, is, I
confefs, no credit to us; but that our Saviour re-
proved the traditionary doctrines and practices of the
pharifees, becaufe by them they made void the writ-
ten law, is much more to the difcredit of the afler-
tors of oral tradition. Both romanifts and pharifees
own alike a written doctrine, but then they both pre-
tend the truefenfe and explication thereof to have de-
fcended to them by oral tradition. For juft as the
Ibid. 1. tradiriorary chriftians do now, fo Jofephus tells * us
& de bell, the traditionary jews of old, the pharifees, did pre-
Jud. l. i. ten j by tne [ r ora j tradition to interpret the law more
2. c. 12. accurately and exactly than any other feet. In like
1 Antl< I- manner he f tells us, " that all things, that belonged
" to prayer and divine worfhip, were regulated and
" adminiftred according to their interpretations of
" the law." And they both agree in this, to make
void the word of God by their tradition ; which the
pharifees did no otherwife than Mr. S. does, by equal-
ling oral tradition to fcripture ; nay preferring it above
fcripture, in making it the fole rule of faith, and in-
terpreting the fcripture according to it. Hence are
thofe common fayings in the talmud, and other jewilh
books : " do not think that the written law is the
" foundation, but that the law orally delivered is the
" right foundation ;" which is to fay with Mr. S.
u that not the fcripture, but oral tradition is the
ct true rule of faith. 9 ' A^ain, u there is more in
11 the words of the fcribes (viz. the teftifiers of tra-
" ditibn) than in the words of the wr.tien law "
Again, " the oral law excels tne written, as mucn as
" the
tie RULE of FAITH. y X y
tc the foul doth the body -" which accords very well S K c T.
With what Mr. S. frequently tells us, that the fcrip-
ture without tradition is but a dead letter, deilitute of
life and fenfe. Hence alfo it is that they required the
people (as the traditionary church does now) to yidd
up themielves to the dictates of tradition even .in the
mod abfurd things, as appears by that common fay-
ing among them, '* if the fcribes fay that the right
" hand is the Mt y and the kit thtrignt (that bread
" is flerti, and wine is blood) hearken to them, M
that is, make no fcrupie of whatsoever .they deliver as
tradition, though never fo contrary to reafon or lenlc.
And laflly, the doclnnes of the phanlees were many
of them practical ; fuch were all thole which con-
cerned external rites and obfervances, as waffling of
hands and cups, &c. fo that thefe pharifaical tradi-
tions had alfo that unfpcakable advantage which Mr.
S. fays renders their traditions unmiftakcable, u that
" they were daily praclifed, and came down clad in
" fuch plain matters of fact, that the mod ftupid
" man living could not poflibly be ignorant of
" them." Therefore, according to Mr. S's prin-
ciples, it was impoffible that any age of the jews
mould be perfuaded that thefe things were com-
manded by Mofes, and ever fince obferved, if they
had not been fo : and yet our Saviour denies thefe
cuftoms to have been of any fuch authority as they
pretended.
§ 2. But I needed not to have taken all this pains
to fhew the agreement which is between the traditio-
nary jews and pipifb, their own writers fo liberally
acknowledging [ Zm Mr. White * indeed fays, rt that* ^ **?'
" the faith of the jews was not delivered to themtraft i.
Vol. IV. 6 1 « orally feci. 6-
5-
7I 8 The RULE of FAITH
PART " orally, but by writing i" than which nothing can
y_JJ 1 ^ be more inconfiftent with his hypothcfk For if the
jewifh faith was conveyed to them not orally but by
writing, then either the jewifh church had no fuffi-
cient rule of faith, or elfe a writing may be fuch a
rule. But other of their champions make great ufe of
the parallel, between the traditionary jews and the ro-
mifh church, to confirm from thence their own tra-
ditionary doctrines. Cardinal Perron hath a full paf-
* Rep. to fage to thispurpofe : " as this (fays he*) is to preferve
K. James, tt a f otmc j anc } entire refpedfc to the majefty of the an-
c. 4. cc cient moiaick fcnpture, to believe and obierve not
<c only all the things which are therein actually con-
" tained, but alio thofe things which are therein con-
" tained mediately and relatively, as the doctrines of
" paradife, &c. which were not contained therein but
" mediately, and by the authority which it gave to
" the depofition of the patriarchal and moiaick tradi-
'* tion, preferved by heart, and in the oral doctrine
" of the fynagogue : fo this is to preferve a found and
" entire refpect to themajeftyof the apoftolical fcrip-
6c ture, to believe and obferve all the things which it
u contains, not only immediately and by itfelf, but
Ct mediately and by reference to the apoftolical tra-
ditions, to which in grofs and generally it gives
the authority. of apoftolical doctrines, and to the
u church the authority of guardian and depofitary to
M preferve and atteft them." Voyfin, in his obferva-
g p . tions upon Raymundus Martin, * tells us, " that as
fid. p. 145-" in the old law the great confiilory at Jerufalem was
" the foundation of the true tradition, fo (fays he)
" the fee of Rome is the foundation of our tradi-
u tion. And as the continual fucceflion of the high
" priefh
Tfoe RULE of FAITH. 719
« s priefts and fathers among the jews was the great SECT.
* confirmation of the truth of their traditions, ib
" (fays he) with us the truth of our catholick doc-
<c trine is confirmed by a continual fucceffion of
" popes."
§ 3. From all this it appears, that the pharifees
among the jews made the lame pretence to oral tradi-
tion which the papifls do at this day according to
Mr. S. And if ib, then Mr. S's demonfiration
a pqfteriori is every whit as flrong for the jews
againft our Saviour, as it is for the papifls againft
the proteflants. For we find that in our Saviour's
time, it was then the prefent perfuafion of the tradi-
tionary jews, that their faith, and their rites, and the
true fenfe and interpretation of their written law was
defcended from Mofes and the prophets to them un-
interruptedly i which we find was rnoft firmly rooted
in their hearts. But the jews had conftant tradition
among them, that the Messiah was to be a great
temporal prince : and though the letters of the pro-
phefies concerning him, might well enough have been
accommodated to the low and fuftering condition of
our Saviour ; yet they did infallibly know that
their Messiah was to be another kind of perfon,
from fenfe written in their hearts, from the interpre-
tation of thofe prophefies orally brought down to
them from the patriarchal and mofaick tradition pre-
ferved by heart, and in the oral doctrine of the iyna-
gogue, and from the living voice of their church ef-
fential, that is, the univerfal confent of the then tra-
ditionary jews. If it be faid, that the jewifh tradi-
tion did indeed bring dov/n feveral doctrines not con-
tained in fcripture, of paradife, of hell, of the laft
7 I 2 judgment,
s**
tte RULE of FAITH.
PART judgment, of the refurreclion, Sec fas cardinal Per-
il J .. •
ik r-L -f'-i uj rcn affirmsj but it did not bring down this point of
the Iv] essi a h's being a temporal prince : then as Mr,
* ? /6' S. * asks us, fo the jew does him 3 " by what virtue
4t tradition brought down thofe other points ? and
" whether the fame virtue were not powerful to bring
<; down this as well as thofe ?" Then he will ask
him farther, " is there not a necefTary connexion and
•* relation between a con (fan t caufe and its formal e£>
ii feet? fo that if its formal effircl be points received
<c as delivered ever, the proper caufe mud be an ever-*
" delivery ♦, whence he will argue from fuch an ef.
4C feet to its caufe for any particular point, and con-
tC fequently for this point that is in controverfy be-*
" tween jews and chriftians, concerning the Mes-
iC siak's being a temporal prince, in cafe it be a
u point held ever delivered ; M but moft certain it is,
it was fo held by the jew3 in our Saviour's time,
and hath been held fo ever fince to this day.
I fliall not trouble the reader with transcribing the
reft of this demon(lration,only defirehim as he reads
it over, to imagine inftead of Mr. S. a pharifee de-*
m on ft rating againft one of Christ's difciples, the
infallibility of the oral tradition of the jews : and I
doubt not but he will find this demonftration, and
every part of it (changing only the namesj as for^
cibly concluding Christ not to be the Messiah, as
it doth infer any point of popery againft the prote-
ctants.
§ 4. Before I leave this inftance of the jewifh tra-
\z\ &c ^ition, I ftnU briefly confider what Mr. White* hath
offered by way of anfwer to it ; as iirft, " that the
M matter of thefe traditions is nothing elfe but explir
" cations
<tte RULE of FAITH. 7 21
« c cations of fcripture framed and invented by their s £C T.
** own rabbins," So we fay, that the popifh traditions
are innovations. But then Mr. White and Mr. S.
tell us, that they can demonftrate them to be de-
fended from ChrIst and his apoltles, becaufe it is
the prefent perfuafion of a multitude of chriftians that
they are fo defcended. In like manner, if this dc-
monftration be good, the jews can prove their tradi-
tions to be defcended from Mofes and the prophets.
Secondly, he fays, " that the form of thefe traditions
" is more ridiculous than the canting of gypfics, or
" the juggling of hocus-pocus, becaufe it confifts in
" inventing the fenfe of the fcripture from the myfte-
" ries,and numbers, tind changes of letters." This is
a grofs inexcuiable miftake. For though the jews
have fuch a cabala (call'd Gematry) as this which
Mr. White defcribes; yet that cabala which is
argued in this inftance, and which our Saviour.
reproves in the Phariiees by the name of tradition,
is quite another thing, and among the jewiili writers
known by the name of the unwritten or oral law;
which they lay was delivered to Mofes on rm
Sinai, and by him conveyed to Aaron and Jofl
and the elders, and fuccciTively delivered down
from one age to another ; and at laft by Rabbi Jc-
hudah compiled into one volume which they call
mifhna, or c/Vj-tpsxnr. And this does not confiit
in the art of numbring, combining, or changing or
letters, as Mr. White imagines. But fuppoie it did
fo, and were more ridiculous than he conceits it to
be -, the inftance would be fo much the more con-
clufive againft them, if what they affirm be true,
* c that oral tradition is infallible, and that the per-
< c fuafion
722 Tlje RULE of FA I TH.
P A R T « fuafion of a traditionary church in any age, tha£
\_j- ' t " fuch a doctrine defcended to them from Christ
" or Moles, be a demonftration that it did fo: M for
if this be fufficient evidence it is nothing to the pur-
pole what the doclrine be either for matter or form :
for if it be once demonftrated to have come from
Christ or Moles, it is without any farther dis-
pute, to be received as of divine authority. So that
Mr. White quite alters the (late of the queftion - 9
which was not whether the jewifh cabala be abfurd
and ridiculous, but whether the general perfuafion of
the jews in any age, that it defcended to them by
uninterrupted tradition from Mofes, be a demon-
ftration that it did fo. If it be, then the jewifh
cabala is as demon ftratively of divine authority as
the oral doclrine of the papifts. Thirdly, he fays,
" this cabala was a doclrine delivered to few, and
" that with drift, charge to keep it from publicity,
*' and fo communicate it again fuccelTively to a fe-
<x led committee of a few ; wherein (fays he) you
cc may fee as fair an opportunity for juggling and
" cozenage, as in our cafe there is an impofiibility."
This I think is true of the cabala, which (it feems)
Mr. White had only in his view, but is a horrible
mi flake if he fpeaks of the oral law which was con-
tained in the milhna, and which this inflance only
* In pne- intends. For of this Maimonides * fays exprefly,
fat. fum. C6 k a t i n every age, from the time of Mofes to
" Rabbi Jehudah, who compiled the milhna, the
" oral law was publickly taught: and that after
fcl Rabbi Jehudah had compiled it into one volume,
M the Ifraelites did generally write out copies of it,
u and it was every where carefully taught, for fear
" left
the RULE of FAITH. 723
" left the oral law fhould by forgetfulnefs be loft SECT.
IX
<c among the jews." So that upon account of the
publicknefs of the doctrine, there is as great an im-
poiiibility of juggling and cozenage in the cafe of the
jewifh as of the romifh tradition. Befides, was
warning of hands and cups, which they alfo pre-
tended to have come down to them from Mofes,
and to have been conftantly practifed in every a^e,
a fecret thing ? was it not a practical tradition, and
performed in a fenfible matter? If therefore no
age can confpire to impofe upon the next in a
plain cuftom-, and if an univerfal tradition of fuch
a thing cannot come in without fuch a confpiracy :
how could this be the perfuafion of any age, that
warning of hands, &c. was prefcribed by Mofes
and practifed in all ages, if it had not truly
been fo ?
§ 5. Secondly, as for inftances among chriftians,
whereof many remain yet upon record ; as namely, the
various and oppofite traditions about the time of
eafter, and concerning the baptifm of hereticks \
and the apoftolical tradition (as St. Auftin calls it)
concerning the admiffion of infants to the commu-
nion; all which have been frequently urged in
this controverfy, and none of them yet fufficient-
Iy anfwered; I ihall, to avoid tedioufnefs, pafllng
by thefe, infift only upon that of the chiliads; which
in Juftin Martyr's time, w^s the perfaafion of all
orthodox chriftians, that is (in Mr. S's dialed) of
all the holders to tradition. For if notwithftand-
ing the perfuafion of that age, that this doctrine
was defcended to them from the apoftles, it was not;
really fo defcended ; then the perfuafion of chriftians
in
724 The RULE of FAITH.
P A R T in any age, that a doctrine was brought down td
k^^^^j them from the apoftles, is no dcmonftration that it
was fo.
*Apol. § 6 < Xo this inftance Mr. White anfwers * by
&c. ' telling us, "that Eufebius fays that this tradition
" fprang from Papias" (a good but a credulous and
fimple man) who it feems was miftaken in laying that
it was the apoftles doctrine. But for all this Juftin
Martyr fays it was received by all orthodox chrifti-
ans in his time, as a doctrine defcended to them
from the apoftles. And if Juftin faid true, nothing
can make more aeainft their demonflration of the
infallibility of tradition, than the natural confe-
quence from thefe two layings of Eufebius and Juftin,
which is this, " that the miftake of one fimple
ct and credulous man may in an age or two give
" occafion to the univerfal entertainment of a doc-
V trine, as defcended down to them from Christ
" and his apoftles, when there was no fuch matter."
Hath not Mr. White now done his rule of faith
great fervice by this anfwer ? But it is according to
his manner in all his writings, to fay any thing to
remove a prefent objection, though never fo much
to the prejudice of his main hypothefis ; than which
I do not know any quality in a writer which doth
more certainly betray the want cither of judgment,
or of fincerity, or of a good caufe.
* Apol. § 7- And whereas he fays, " * that Irensus his
p. 81. <t teftimony proves it to be no tradition; for he fets
down the fuppofed words of our Saviour, which
plainly fhews it is a ftory, not a tradition ; a
c * tradition being a fenfe delivered, not in kt words,
46 but fettled in the auditors hearts by hundreds
" of
*fa RULE of FAITH. 725
* c of different expreiTions explicating the lame mean- SECT.
<c ing." When I confider this paffageof Mr. White, t __ _ u
I confefs I cannot compliment him, and fay (as he
makes his nephew do in the dialogue * between * j>„p n _
them) " I cannot but applaud your difcouife, it worth
" hath fo pleafing and attractive a countenance." And ^'
again, " f I am not able to oppoie what you fay by
<c any weighty objection, your arguments being not J e ^ - *
<c only ftrong and nervous, but of 10 comely and
" winning a complexion, &C." I cannot (I fay)
fpeak all this of his prefent argument •, but I may
defervedly apply to it the lad part of his nephew's
compliment, that it is an argument fo framed,
" as if, without any evidence of its confequence,
" it would perfuade men to believe it." But to
return an anfwer to this pafiage : it feems (accord-
ing to Mr. White) that Irenaeus was miitaken in
the very nature of tradition : and if fo learned a
father was ignorant in the common rule of faith,
" what can we (to ufe Mr. S's words * ) under- * p, 35>
" takingly promife to weaker heads ? " Mr. S. in-
ftanceth in the creed and ten commandments as
the principal traditions which parents teach their chil-
dren •, but now Mr. White can fhew plainly, " that
<c thefe are no traditions but ftories, becaufe tradition
" is a fenfe delivered not in fet words, &c." As
if Christ and his apoftles could deliver no doc-
trine unlefs they exprefTed the fame thing an
hundred feveral ways. But fuppofe they did fo
(which no man hath any reafon to imagine, becaufe
a thing may be exprefTed as plainly by one way
as by an hundred) can no man deliver this tradition
who (peaks it in any one of thofe expreflions ? If
Vol. IV. 7 K one
6.
72 6 The RULE of FAITH.
PART one mould employ his fervant to carry a mefTage,
!__,,_•, and (becaufe Mr. White thinks this necefTary) fhould
fettle the meaning of it in his heart, by telling
him the fame thing in an hundred feveral expref-
fions ; and the fervant fhould go and deliver this
mefiage in one of thofe very expreflions that his
matter ufed to him, and fhould fay thefe were
his mailer's very words ; would not this be well
enough ?
No; if he had come to fuch a philofopher as
Mr. White, he would foon have given him to un-
derstand that he was not fit to bring a menage, or
to be credited in it, who had fo little wit as not
to know that a meffage is a thing not to be de-
livered in fet words. And now I would intreat
Mr. White to reconcile himfelf in this matter to
* Dialog, his friends. Mr. Rufhworth fays, " * 'Tis impof-
i.ied. 6. " fible to put fully, and beyond all quarrel, the
ci fame fenfe in divers words:" which, if it be
true, I would fain know what certain courfe Mr.
White can prefcribe to explicate the fame meaning
by hundreds of different expreflions, and confequent-
ly how tradition can be infallibly conveyed, by
fettling the fenfe of it in the auditors hearts by
• Exomo- f uc h variety of expreflions. Mr. CrefTy * likewife
f°|.* c ' IO '(a zealous aflfertor of tradition) does affirm, u that
* c the primitive churches were even to excefs fcru-
<c pulous in maintaining the very phrafes of tradi-
" tionary doctrines; which (according to Mr.
•* White) plainly fhews thele doctrines to be ftories,
<c not traditions, becaufe tradition is a fenfe delivered
M not in kt wordy." The fame author complains,
iq id * C * C ^ at ^ CW amon o tne * r learnedeft matters of
con*
The RULE of FAITH. jzy
" controverfy, propofe the points to be difputed be- SKC r.
<c tween them and the proteftants in the language ^^^^
•* of the church.'' By which, I fuppofe, he does
not mean, that thefe controvertifts were to blame
in that they did not fettle the fenfe of thefe points
by hundreds of different exprefllons explicating the
fame meaning, but that they did not keep to the
words wherein the church had in councils, or other-
wife (if there be any other way) declared her knfQ
of thofe points. Again * he fays, " that St. Paul, * Ibid. c.
*' referring to the doctrine fettled by oral inftruc- 2 '' e ' 2 *
" tion, to fhew the uniformity of it every where,
" calls it a form of wholfom words." From whence
we may conclude either that St. Paul did not well
to call the traditionary doctrine (as Mr. Creffy fays
he does) a form of words, or dih (which is more
probable) that Mr. White is miftaken in faying,
" that a tradition is a fenfe not delivered in fet
" words." Furthermore, the fame * Mr. CrefTy * Ibid. c.
tells us, " that St. Auguftine was careful not only 28k( ^ u
u to deliver traditional truths themfelves, but the
<c terms alio in which thofe truths were conveyed
" to his times." But now Mr. White could have
informed St. Auguftine, that this officious care of
his was not only fuperfluous but pernicious to tra-
dition.
§ 8. But to return to Juftin's teftimony ; to
which the fum of Mr. White's anfwer, is, " that
tc Juftin efteem'd it not as a point neceffary
" to falvation, but rather a piece of learning
" higher than the common -, fince he both acknow-
" ledges other catholicks held the contrary, and
11 entitles thofe of his perfuafion, xa-ra israfla. op&c-
7 K 2 yvw/jiovff)
PA
I
728 The RULE of FAITH.
i R T « yy« ( ucy?s-, right in all opinions, that is, wholly
_j " of his own mind." It is not material to mv
purpofe, whether or no Juftin Icok'd upon this as
a point ncceffary to ialvation, lb long as it is evi-
dent that he looked upon it as a divine revelation,
and part of the chnitian doctrine. And yet, it
feems, he thought it a point of more than ordinary
importance, becaufe he joins it with the doctrine of
the refurrection, and fays that it was not difowned
by any but thofe who alio denied the refurrection.
But whereas Mr. White fays, " that Juftin acknow-
il ledges other catholicks to have held the contra-
cc ry *, " I hope to make it evident from the fcope
and feries of his difcourfe, that he acknowledges no
fuch thing *, but that the plain defign of his dif-
courfe, is to fhew that this doctrine was owned by
* Dial. &N trae chriflians. For when Trypho asks him *,
cum whether the chriflians did indeed believe that Jeru-
T r l5U* falem mould be rebuilt, £sfr. he returns him this
p. $v\j.
Edit. Lu- anfover, <c I am not fuch a wretch as to fpeak other-
* 5 ' " wife than I think. I have told thee before, that
" my felf and many others (as ye all know) are
*« of the mind that this will come to pafs. But,
" that many indeed of thofe chriflians who are
" [not] of the pure and pious perfuafion, do not
" own this, I have intimated to thee." That the
negative particle (though omitted in the copy) ougfit
to be thus inferted, will be clear to any one that
confiders what follows : for after he had fpoken of
thofe who difown this doctrine, he immediately
adds, by way of farther defcription of them, that
though they are called chriflians, yet in truth they
are not chriflians, in thefe words : J? for of thefe
(viz.
<Tke RULE of FAITH. 729
** (viz. the difowners of this doctrine) who are SECT.
" called indeed chriltians, but are atheiitical and y^^La
u impious hereticks, I have fhewed thee that they
" teach in all points blafphemous, atheiftical and
" abilird things. Bat that ye may know that I do
" not fay this for you only, I will, according to
" my ability, compile all thefe difcourfes which
" have pad between us into one piece-, in which I
" will by writing make profeflion of this very thing
* c which I now declare to you. For I do not
" choofe to follow men or the doctrines of men,
a but God and fuch doctrines as are from him. And
* c though ye may have converfed with fome who
M are called christians, and yet do not acknowledge
•■ this j but even dare to blafpheme the God of
<c Abraham, and the God of Ifaac, and the God
" of Jacob -, who alfo fay that there is no refur-
M rection of the dead, but that fo foon as they die
" their fouls are received into heaven : do not
" count thefe men chriltians -, no more than a man,
" that confiders things rightly, would own the
" f&lducees, and fuch like feels, to be jews, &c.
* c but I my felf, and as many christians as are
4C thoroughly of the right pcrfuafion, do both know
" that there (hall be a refurrectic:i of the flefh, and
" a thouland years in Jerufalem, which (hall be
" built, adorned and enlarged, £*fr.'* Can any
thing be plainer than that Juftin endeavours by this
difcourfe to fatisfy Trypho, that this point they
•were fpeaking of was a divine doctrine, and owned
to be fo by all christians -, except fuch as did only
bear the name and title of chriltians, but were in-
deed Wafphemous hereticks and deniers of the refur-
rsclion ?
73 o 7be RULE of FAITH.
PART re ^j on p by which character, that he intends to de»
%^^ rmmm j fcribe the impious feds of the gnofticks will appear
by and by. So that Mr. White mufl either allow
the inferting of the negative particle (which
* Nov.' Mr. Mede * proves to have been omitted in the
V^' p * copy) or elfe acknowledge that thofe who arc chri-
ftians only in name, but in truth are impious blas-
phemous and abfurd hereticks, may properly be faid
to be of the pure and pious opinion of the chrifti-
ans. And if only thefe be the other catholicks,
whom Mr. White fays Juilin acknowledges to have
held contrary to the millenaries, I am contented he
fhould make his beft of them. If Mr. White fhould
blame the inferting of the negative particle [not] in-
to Juftin's text, as too great a boldnefs with the
fathers *, it were eafily anfwered, that the fenfe evi-
dently requires it : and in fuch a cafe it is no bold-
nefs, but fuch a liberty as the moft learned of their
own interpreters and commentators upon the fathers
do frequently take. And as for Mr. S. if he takes of-
fence at this, one may with reafon (fince the exi-
gency of the fenfe plainly requires the inferting of
* p -3 I - it) demand of him (what he * unreafonably does of
us in relation to all the affirmative propofitions of
fcripture) to demonftrate that the particle [not] was
not left out of this claufe of Juftin by thofe who
tranfcribed the book. But befides the exigency of
the fenfe in this place, that the negative ought to
have been inferted, will appear by the reference
which Juftin makes in this pafiiige to fomething
foregoing in the fame dialogue. " I have (fays he)
" declared to thee before, that my felf and many
" others are of the mind that this will come to
" pafs.
The RULE of FAITH. 73 r
* c pafs. But, that many indeed of thofe chriftians, SECT.
" who are [not] of the pure and pious perfuafion ^- -*_j
" do not own this, I have intimated to thee. For
iC of thefe, who are called indeed chriftians but are
** atheiftical and impious hereticks, I have fhewed
" thee that they teach in all points blafphemous,
u atheiftical, and abfurd things." In thefe words
he plainly refers to fome precedent pafTage, which
if it can be found will be a certain key to open to
us the fenfe of this place. I know that Mr. Mede
* (perhaps not obferving it) thought that pafTage -
to have been fraudulently expunged by the enemies
of the millenary opinion : but it feems to me to be
ftill extant ; for I find towards the beginning of
this dialogue, after that Juftin had endeavoured to
prove at large out of fcripture this glorious coming
of Christ, and to refute thofe who applied the
texts produced by him to that purpofe to Heze-
kiah, and to Solomon, whofe falling off to idola-
try he occafionally mentions ; whereupon Trypho
objects to him, that many who were called chriftians,
did alfo communicate in the idol-feafts : to this, I
fay, I find Juftin returning this anfwer : * firft, * p - 2 S3»
he denies not, " * that there are fuch as thefe who
" own themfelves chriftians, and confefs the cruci-
tc fied Jesus to be both Lord and Christ, and
yet teach not his doctrines, but the doctrine of
f educing fpirits." But, fays he, " we who are
the difciples of the true and pure doctrine of
Jesus Christ, are from this very thing the
" more ftrengthned in our faith, and become
" more confirmed in the hope which by him hath
*' been declared to us. For now we fee thofe
_ " things
tc
y 3 a The RULE vf FAITH.
PA RT" things vifibly and effectually accomplifh'd which
" he before-hand told us would be done in his
Cc name. For he faid, many fhall come in my
" name, Sec." By which hope any one that reads
the antecedents and confequents, will plainly Ice that
Juftin means the hope of the millennium (which he
had been fpeaking of before) and confequently of the
refurrection, which he looked upon as having a ftrict
connexion with the doctrine of the millennium, be-
caufe (as he tells us afterwards) this doctrine was denied
by none but fuch as alio denied the refurrection. And of
thefe men his defcription runs on in thefe words, 7rc>.-
Xol &c. " Many fiaith he) both are and have been,
" that have come in the name of Jesus, and taught
" both to fpeak and do atheiftical and blafphemous
" things ; and are by us denominated from thofe men
" from whom each of their doctrines and opinions had
" its rife (namely as it follows, marcionites,valentinians,
*' &c.) and all thefe in their feveral ways teach men to
" blafpheme the creator of the univerfe, and the
" Christ, whofe coming was foretold by him, and
<c the God of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob. But we
" have no communion with them, as knowing them
" to be atheiflical and impious, 6cc." This paflage
in hand, when I compare it with the text before quo-
ted and confider the words and characters of them
both, I cannot but believe it the very fame that he
refers to in thefe words, " I have declared to thee, I
u have intimated to thee, 8cc." If fo, the matter in
controverfy is clear, that the doctrine of the miile*
nium was univerfal : if it be not the fame, I could
wifh to be fhewed fome other place in this dialogue
where Juftin makes any fuch declaration or intima-
tion.
The RULE of FAITH. 733
fion. In the mean while, by comparifon of thefe SECT,
places, it is evident there are but two forts of men
that Juftin fpcaks of. Firft, tc who believe the mil-*
" doclrine, 6cc. viz. myfelf and many others j" again, **>$&?&
\'ta.?.
" the right perfuafion." Secondly, " who deny the i oftoy
'C milLaniiim ? mot-Mr plirifl-ione Aif-n Trillin • Kn f l
" lenium ? we the difciples * of the true and pure ^.,,'^ ^
doclrine, &x. viz. myfelf and many others j" again,
" myfelf and as many chriftians as are thoroughly f of
millenium ? many chriftians, faith Juftin : but
what chriftians ? of a right perfuafion ? that, faith
he, I have fignified before, tss- ^S', &c. for I have
fhewed thee of them who are called chriftians, but
are indeed atheifts and impious hereticks, that
<c they teach blafphemous and atheiftical, and abfurd
" things :" and true it is, he did mew before, "that
" thole who denied the millenium were many in
" number, and were called chriftians, &c. but were
<c teachers of blafphemous and atheiftical things, Sec.
c< and known to be atheifts and impious, &c.'' But he
fliewed it of none other befides thefe : fo that if this
doclrine were likewife denied by many chriftians of
the pure and pious perfuafion, then Juftin Martyr had
foully forgot himfelf -, but if not, then it is plain that
the tranferibers have wronged Juftin, by leaving out
a negative which ought to have been inferted. It is
worth obferving by the way how Mr. White pleafes
himfelf with falfe and frivolous criticifms upon the
words ttcWovs and op&oyva>/-tov«f. Falfe they are, as
Mr. White fhall know if he defires to hear any more
of them ; and frivolous they are render'd by my pre-
ceding difconrfe •, for which reafon I fay no more of
them. But I think he may do well hereafter (as
Mr. S. * warily fuggeftsj not to engage himfelf, nor * p. 53,
be hook'd by others, out of his own infallible way,
Vol. IV. 7 L but
6.
7 34 fti RULE of FAITH.
Part, but leave it wholly to the * bird-witted hereticks (a*
x^^L^j Mr. S. calls them,) to perch upon the fpecirlcal natures
* P« 69* of words, as he does of things.
§ 9. Befides thefe inflances I have given of doc-
trines and practices, which Mr. S. cannot deny to
have been innovated, I might inftance likewife in the
chief points of popery, and fhew, that for all their
pretence to tradition, they are really innovations.
But becaufe this would engage me in tedious difputes
about particular points, I will only fingle out one of
their mod fundamental doctrines, viz. that of tran-
fubftantiation ; concerning which I fhall mew that,
notwithstanding it is the univerfal perfuafion of the
prefent Roman church, yet they have not, nor can
have any afTurance that it was the doctrine of
Christ, and that it is defcended to them by an un-
interrupted tradition. I mall not at all contend againft
the word tranfubflantiation (which is generally ac-
knowledged to be new) but only the thing fignified
by it, a fubftantial change of the bread and wine in-
to the body and blood of Ch rist. And this I might
fhew at large not to have been the doctrine of the
ancient Fathers. But becaufe Mr. White and Dr.
Holden, and Mr. Crefly do fo frequently and confi-
dently tell us, that nothing is to be reputed a tradi-
tionary doctrine, the contrary whereof hath been pub-
lickly held by any catholick who continued after-
wards uncenfured, and in the communion of the
church : therefore I fhall content myfelf at prefent
with one clear teftimony, and that of a very eminent
perfon in the church, St. Theodoret, concerning
whom pope Leo (in an epiftle to him, at the end of
Theodoret's works) gives this teftimony, " that in
the
The RULE of FAITH. 735
<c the judgment of the apodolick fee he was freeSECT.
" from ah ftain of herefy." The pafTage I intend is ^^-^j
in his dialogues, between a catholick under the name
of Orthcdoxus, and Eranides, who fudained the pei-
fon of an heretick. Eranilles * maintaining that the* Dialc
body of Christ was changed into the fubdance of
the divinity, he illuftrates it by this fimilitude. " As
" (fays he) the fymbols ©f the Lord's body and
" blood are one thing before the invocation of the
" pried ; but after the invocation, are changed and do
" become another thing : fo the body of our Lord,
cC after his afcenfion, is changed into the divine fub-
" dance." To which Orthodoxus returns this an-
fwer, " thou art caught in thine own net. Becaufe
<c the mydical fymbols after confecration do not pafs
" out of their own nature *, for they remain in their
" former fubdance, figure and appearance, and may
M be feen and handled even as before. 3 ' He does not
only in exprefs words deny the fubdance of the fym-
bols to be changed, but the occafion upon which
theie words are brought in, and the fcope of them (if
they be of any force againd the heretick's illudration)
renders them uncapable of any other fenfe. When Mr.
S. hath anfwered this tedimony, I have more for him.
That which I mainly urge againd this doctrine is,
the mondrous abfurdities and contradictions contain'd
in it, together with the neceflary confequence of
them. Several of the abfurdities of it are well
brought together by Scotus *, who tells us, that to * Diih'nS.
prove the poflibility of Christ's body being con- 1 -*' dllt *
. 1 j i_ / • - 1 • 10. qu. I
tamed under the fpecies of bread and wine, many n. 3.
things mud be proved which feem to involve a con-
tradiction, as 3 1. ct That one quantum (or extended
7 L 2 " body)
73 6 The RULE of FAITH.
PART" body) may be together in the very fame place
" with another. 2. That a lefs quantum may be to-
<c gether in the fame place with a greater ;" i. e. a
body of lefs extenfion may occupy not only the fame,
but as much room as a body of greater extenfion
does:, which is to fay no more but this, that a body
lefs than another may be as great as that other even
whilft it is lefs than it. 3. a That a greater quan-
** turn may be together with every part of a lefs
" quantum," i. e. a body that is greater than ano-
ther may be as little as the lead part of that other
body which is lefs than it. 4. " That a fubjeel: may be
cs without quantity," i. e. there may be a body
which hath no kind of magnitude. 5. That a body
may be fomewhere where it was not before, without
changing its place, i. e. a body may be removed to
another place, whilft it remains ftill in the fame
place. 6. " That a quantum may be without any
" quantitative mode, i. e. a body may be extended
without any manner of extenfion. " The poflibi-
" lity of all which, he faith (and I am very much of
fc< his mind) it would be too tedious a work to
<c prove ;" and therefore he only attempts to prove
the two laft 5 which (in all reafon) is work enough for
one man. All thefe feeming contradictions fas he
modeflly calls them) are by his own acknowledg-
ment involved in this doctrine. To thefe I might add
many more, as how a thing can be faid to be changed
into another thing which did exift before : how a bo-
dy can be prefent in a place after the manner of a
fpirit : and yet this they affirm concerning the pre-
fence of Christ's body in the facrament : one might
£S well fay that fnew is black, but not after the manner
9f
The RULE of FA IT H. 737
of blacknels, but in the way of whitenefs, which is to S E c T.
- iX
talk nonfenfe after the manner of fenie : How the _^^
whole body of Christ can be contained under the* Ibid.
qu. I, n.
s se-
leaft fenfible part of the fpecies of bread, as i
nerally affirmed : nay, and Scotus * adds, that the
whole body is under every little part in it; full pro-
portion ; for he fays exprefly, " that the head and
u the foot of the body of Christ are as far dif-
" tant from one another in the facrament, m they
u are in heaven •," as if one fhould fay that a body,
all whofe parts lie within the com pais of a fmail
pin's-head, may yet within that little compafs have
parts two yards diftant from one another : and laflly,
" how the fenfible fpecies of bread, e. g. quantity,
c< whitenefs, foftnefs, 6cc. can exifl without any
" fubject :" to affirm the poffibility of which (as
generally they do) is to fay that there may be quan-
tities of white and foft nothings ; for this is the plain
englifh of that afTertion, " that fenfible fpecies
" may exift without a fubject ; " which being ftript
of thofe terms of art (fpecies and fubjecl) that do
a little difguife it, it appears to be plain nonfenfe.
Now the proper and necefTary confequence of this
doctrine is to take away all certainty, and efpecially
the certainty of fenfe: for if that which my fight
and tafte and touch do all aflure me to be a little
piece of wafer, may notwithstanding this beflefh and
blood, even the whole body of a man ; then not-
withftanding the greatefl aflurance that icnk can
give me, that any thing is this or that, it may be
quite another thing from what fenfe reported it to
be. If fo, then farewel the infallibility of tradition,
which depends upon the certainty of fenfe : and which
is
73 8 The RULE of FAITH.
PART is a worfe confequence, if this doctrine be admitted,
"*; .we can have no fufficient affurance that the chri-
ftian doctrine is a divine revelation. For the affu-
rance of that depending upon the afilirance we have
of the miracles faid to be wrought for the confir-
mation of it, and all the afifurance we can have of
a miracle depending upon the certainty of our fenfes \
it is very plain that that doctrine which takes away
the certainty of knCc, does in fo doing overthrow the
certainty of chriftian religion. And what can be
more vain than to pretend, that a man may be af-
fured that fuch a doclrine is revealed by God, and
confequently true, which if it be true, a man can
have no affurance at all of any divine revelation ?
furely nothing is to be admitted by us as certain,
which being admitted we can be certain of nothing.
It is a wonder that any man who confiders the natural
confequences of this doctrine can be a papift *, unlefs
he have attained to Mr. Creffy's pitch of learning,
who fpeaking of the difficult arguments wherewith
* Exomol. this doctrine was preffed, fays * plainly, " I muft
c. 73. left. ct an f wcr freely and ingenuoufly, that I have not
" learned to anfwer fuch arguments, but to defpife
" them.** And if this be a good way, whenever
we have a mind to believe any thing, to fcorn thofc
objections againfl it which we cannot folve> then
chriftian religion hath no advantage above the
vileft enthufiafms •, and a turk may maintain Ma-
homet and his alcoran (in oppofition to Christ
and his doctrine) againfl: all that Grotius, or any
other hath faid, if he can but keep his countenance,
and gravely fay, " I have not learned to anfwer
cc fuch arguments, but to defpife them."
§10.1
The RULE of FAITH. 739
§ io. I will add one inftance more in another S e C T-
kind, to mew the uncertainty of oral and practical 1 IX -
traditions, and that mail be the tradition concerning
pope Joan ; than which fcarce any thing was ever
more generally received in the hiflorical kind. Many
and great authors affirm it, as teftifiers of the general
fame. None ever denied it till the reformers had
made ufe of it to the diiadvantage of popery.
Since that time not only papifts deny it, but feveral
of our own writers ceafe to believe it. Phil. Bergo-
menfis tells the (lory thus : " Anno 858. John the
" 7th pope, &c. The tradition is, " that this per-
u fon was a woman, &c." Here's an oral tradition.
He concludes thus : "in deteftation of whole filthineis,
and to perpetuate the memory of her name, the
popes even to this day going on procefiion with
the people and clergy, when they come to the
<c place of her travail, &x. in token of abomina-
M tion they turn from it, and go a by-way, and be-
" ing pad that deteftable place, they return into the
" way, and finifh their proceflion." Here is one
practical tradition. " And for avoiding the like
4t miicarriages, it was decreed that no one mould
" thereafter be admitted into St. Peter's chair, pri~
<c ufquam per for at am fedem fuiuri Pontific is genitalia
■* ab ultimo diacono cardinak attrettarentur : " here is
another with a witnefs. * Sabcllicus relates the fame -, * Enead,
and moreover fays, " that this porphyry chair was
" in his time to be [cen in the pope's palace."
He adds indeed, " that Platina thinks that this tra-
<c dition of pope Joan was not faithfully delivered
" to pofterity. Bat however (fays he) fuch a tradition
" there is." Concerning the rirffc practical tradition
Platina
9. 1. 1
74 o The RULE of FAITH.
PA RT Platina fays, " that he may not deny it." For the
y^J^^j fecond, " he thinks the chair rather defign'd for a
" fcool for another ufe, &c." He concludes, " thefe
<c things which I have related are commonly re-
" ported, yet from uncertain and obicure authors:
" therefore I reiblved (fays he) briefly and nakedly
" to fet them down, left I mould feem too obftinate-
" ly and pertinaciouQy to have omitted that which
** almoft all affirm." It is no wonder that he fays
the authors of this report were uncertain and obfeure,
fince fo very few writ any thing in that age. But
fuppofe none had writ of it, fb long as he acknow-
ledges it to have been a general oral tradition attefted
by a folemn and confeant practice, it has (according
to Mr. S's principles) greater certainty than if it had
been brought down to us by a hundred books written
in that very age. So that here's an oral and practical
tradition, continued we are fure for fome hundreds of
years, preferved and propagated by a folemn practice
of the popes, clergy, and people of Rome in their
proceflions, and by a notorious cuftom at the election
of every pope *, and in a matter of fo great impor-
tance to their religion (the honour of the fee of
Rome, and the uninterrupted fucceffion from St. Peter
being fo nearly concerned in it) that, had it been
falfe, they had been obliged under pain of damna-
tion, not only not to have promoted it, but to have
ufed all means to have difcovered the falfity of it.
Therefore Mr. S. is bound by his own principles ei-
ther to allow it for a truth, or elle to give an ac-
count when and how it began ; which may pofiibly
* P. 340.be made out by u we metaphyficians" (as he * ftyles
himfelf, and his fcientihxal brethren) but I allure him
+ P. 537. it is pad the skill of f note-book learning.
SECT.
the RULE of FAITH.
SECT. X.
§ i. | T is not the prefent perfuafion of the church The fourth
1 of Rome, nor ever was, that their faith hiffecod
hath defccnded to them by oral tradition as the fole demonftra-
rule of it. And this being proved, the fuppo- tl0n *
fition upon which his demonftration is built falls to
the ground.
And for the proof of this, I appeal to that
* decree of the council of Trent, in which they * Decret
declare, " that becaufe the chriflian faith and difci-P rimuiT *
" pline are contained in written books and un-^^
<c written traditions, &c. therefore they do receive
<c and honour the books of fcripture and alfo tra-
" dition [pari pie talis affeftu ac reverentia] with
" equal pious affection and reverence ♦, " which I
underftand not how thofe do who fet afide the
fcripture, and make tradition the fole rule of their
faith. And confonantly to this decree, the general
doctrine of the Romifh church is, " that fcripture
" and tradition make up the rule of faith." So
the Roman catechifm (fet forth by order of the
council of Trent) fays, " * that the fum of the doc- * r n prJi ;
" trine delivered to the faithful is contained in the fat *
" word of God, which is diflributed into fcripture
" and tradition." Bellarmine * fpeaks to the lame* De ver-
purpofe, " that the fcripture is a rule of faith, not &c j ei *
" an entire but partial one. The entire rule is the I2 «
«« word of God, which is divided into two partial
" rules, fcripture, and tradition." According to this,
the adequate rule of faith is the word of God ; which
is contained partly iri fcripture, and partly in the
Vol. IV. 7 M tradition
74 2 fbe RULE of FAITH.
PART, tradition of the church. And that fcripture is
vJ^^jlookM upon by them as the principal rule and pri-
mary foundation of their faith, and tradition as only
{implying the defects of fcripture, as to fome doc-
trines and rites not contained in fcripture, mult be
evident to any one that has been converfant in the
* Devcr chief of their controverfial divines. Bellarmiue *
*>° D r ei . where he gives the marks of a divine tradition,
f» n i.4. P " freaks to this purpofe, " that that which they call a
c. 9. " divine tradition is fuch a doctrine or rite as is
" not found in fcripture, but embraced by the
" whole church •, and for that reafon believed to
" have defcended from the apoflles." And he tells
* Ibid. c. us farther, " * that the apoflles committed all to
n. « writing which was commonly and publickly
" preached •, and that all things are in fcripture,
" which men are bound to know and believe ex-
* 4 plicitly : " but then he fays, " that there were
iC other things which the apoflles did not common-
« ly and publickly teach -, and thefe they did not
" commit to writing, but delivered them only by
'• v/ord of mouth to the prelates and priefls and
" perfect men of the church." And thefe are the
apotiolical traditions he fpeaks of. Cardinal Perron
* Reply * f a ys, a that the fcripture is the foundation of the
obierv. 3. |c c h rr fti an doctrine, either mediately or immedi-
c. 4« .
" ately. And that the authority of unwritten tra-
« dition is founded in general on thefe fentences of
Theff. " the apoflle, * hold the traditions, &c." Again,
K. 15. " 4- the things which thou haft heard of me among
\ \ u l£ many witnefies commit to faithful men, &c."
And " that the authority of the church to preferve,
cc and efpecially to declare thefe, is founded in this
" propo-
The RULE of FAITH. 74.3
<c propofition, viz. * that the church is the pillar SECT.
<c and ground of truth." So that according to him, ^^^l^j
the primary rule of faith is the fcripture, in which* 1 Tim.
the authority of tradition is founded. Mr. Knott" 1, 'S*
[ays exprefly, " we acknowledge the holy fcrip-* Charity
<4 ture to be a moft perfect rule, for as much as a e<
" writing can be a rule; we only deny that it ex-k&- J -
" eludes, either divine tradition, though it be un-
" written, or an external judge to keep, to pro-
" pofe, to interpret it, &c.'' 9 So that (according
to him) fcripture is a perfecl: rule, only it d
not exclude unwritten tradition, (5V. by which that
he does not underiiand (as Mr. . S. does) a concurrent
oral tradition of all the fame doctrines which are
contained in fcripture, but other doctrines not there-
in contained, is plain from what he fays elfewhere,
ct * we clo not diftinguifh tradition from the writ-* Reply to
" ten word, becaufe tradition is not written by ^ ir ' C
. . ' c 2. feci.
" any, or in any booK or writing -, but becaufe it 170.
" is not written in the fcripture or bible ; " Bel-
larmine f alfo fays the fame. And as for the in-f De ver-
terpreting of fcripture, he tells us, " that thisis boDei »
" not the office cf a rule, but of a judge." c . 2.
ct * There is (fays he) a great and plain diftincti- * Charity
" on between a judge and a rule. For as in a™?^ 111 "
P 1 c n
" kingdom the judge hath his rule to follow, which f e a. %.'
cC are the received laws and cuftoms; which are not
c ' Gt or able to declare, and be judges thetri-
" felves, but that office muft belong to a Jivino-
" judge: fo the holy fcripture is and may be a rule,
" but cannot be a judge." Here lie makes the
fcripture as much a rule for matters of faith, as the
laws of the land are for civil matters. And in his
7 M 2 reply
7H ^ RULE of FAITH.
PART reply to Mr. Chillingworth, he hath a chapter of
K^-v-L^t above 150 pages, the title whereof is, " fcripture is
ci not the only rule of faith •, M which (had he with
Mr. S. believed oral tradition to be the fole rule of
faith) had been as abfurd as it would be to write a
- book to prove that turks are not the only chrifti-
-fins in the world. Mr. CrefTy like wife (not very
confidently to himfelf) lays down this conclufion •,
Exomol. u * tne entire rule of faith is contained not only in
c. 20. ....
" fcripture, but likewife in unwritten tradition."
§ 2. Now all this is as contrary as can be to
Mr. Rufhworth's new* rule of faith. Therefore
* u j£ag Ul ' Mr. White fays, * " they fpeak ill who teach
p. 96. " that fome things are known in the church from
< c fcripture, fome by tradition." And Dr. Holden (in
oppofition to thofe who make fcripture any part of
the rule of faith) advances one of the mod wild
and uncharitable pofitions that ever 1 yet met withal,
Ajialyf. • t t * tnat *f one fhould believe all the articles of
fid. 1. I . C.
6. < c the catholick faith, &c. for this reafon becauie
tC he thought they were all exprefly revealed in
«' fcripture, or implicitly contained, fo as they
cc might be deduced from thence, and would not
* c have believed them, had he not judged that they
" mi°"ht be evinced from fcripture ; yet this man
" could be no true catholick : becaufe (as he tt\h
? C. 8. « us afterwards *) we muft receive the chriftian
ii doctrine as coming to us by tradition ; for only
tc by this means (excluding the fcriptures) Christ
" hath appointed revealed truths to be received and
£ communicated. " In the mean time cardinal
Ferron (uniefs he altered his mind) is in a fad cafe,
v^ho believed the authority of tradition it fclf
for
the RULE of FAITH, 745
for this reafon, becaufe it was founded in fcrip- s e t c t -
ture. i v j
§ 3. And this fundamental difference about the
rule of faith, between the generality of their divines
and Mr. S's fmall party, is fully acknowledged by
the traditionifts themfelves. Dr. Holden lays, " * that* L. 1. c.
u their divines who refblve faith according to the^*
<c common opinion, do inevitably fall into that fhame-
ful circle (of proving the divine authority of the
fcripture by the church, and the infallibility of the
church back again by the fcripture) becaufe they
" dare not build their faith upon the natural evidence
46 and certainty of tradition." So that Dr. Holden's
way of refolving faith, is different from the common
opinion of their divines, u which he fays * does not* L - lc *
" differ from the opinion of thofe who refolve their
" faith into the private fpirits •," and this (according
to Mr. White * ) is the very way of the calvinifls,* Exetaf>
and of the abfurdeft feds. Nay, Mr. White fays P ' /C '
farther *, that he will be content to fuffer all the pu-* Ibid,
nifhment that is due to calumniators, if the roman
divines (he there fpeaks of) do not hold the fame
rule of faith with the calvinifls, and ail the abfurdeft
feels. So that it feems that the calvinifls, &c. do
not in their rule of faith differ from the papifts, but
only from Mr. White, Mr. S. &c. Now the divines
he there fpeaks of, are the cenfors of doctrines at
Rome, according to whofe advice his infallible holi-
nefs and the cardinals of the inquifition do ufually pro-
ceed in cenfuring of doctrines. Concerning thefe di-
vines he goes on to expoftulate in this manner -,
M * fhall we endure thefe men to fit as cenfors and * T ,
lb. p.
^ judges of faith, who agree with hereticks in the 73.
«« very
746 The RULE of FAITH,
PART 4 ' very firft principle which diftinguifnes catholicks
v, ^^j " from hereticks ?" Again, " * thefe are thy gods,
* P. 144." O Rome ! upon thefe thou depended, whilft prat-
" ing ignorance triumphs in the Roman college."
And he lays the fame likevvife of the generality of
the fcbool- divines, whom he calls fceoticks, becaufe
they do not own his demonftrative way. Infomuch
* P. 64. that he tells us, " * that few found parts are left unin-
t p' * 49 ' " fecled with this plague of fcepticifm j f that this is
6s. ' c< an univerfal gangrene ; * that there are but few
cc that go the way of demonftration, and thefe are ei-
" ther wearied out, or gKq live retiredly, or defpair
<c of any remedy of thefe things." And indeed all
along that book he bemoans himfelf and his traditio-
nary brethren as a defolate and forlorn party, who
have truth on their fide, but want company and en-
* P. loi.couragement. So he tells us, " * that the true fcien-
" tifical divines dare not profefs their knowledge, left
" they mould be expofed by the fophifters of their
" church to the derifion and fcorn either' of their
6; judges or of the people."
§ 4. So that upon examination of the whole mat-
ter, it appears that Mr. S's demonftration proceeds
upon a falle fuppofition, 8< that it is the perfuafion of
<c their prefent church, that tradition is the fole rule
" of faith." For there is no fuch matter -, unlefs
Mr, S. mean by their church a few private perfons,
who are looked upon by thofe who have the chief
power in their church as heretical : as we may reafon-
ably conjecture by the proceedings at Rome again ft
Mr. White •, many of whole boqks are there con-
* Exetaf. demned, " * as containing things manifeftly hereti-
P- 9- « cal, erroneous in the faith, rafh, fcandalous, fedi-
Cc tious,
tte RULE of FAITH. y±y
H tious, and falfe refpectively, &c." And all this SECT.
done, notwithstanding that the chief fubjecr. of thofe . ^^l^j
books is the explication and defence of this mod ca-
tholick principle, c ' that oral tradition is the only
" rule of faith." To (urri up then the whole bufi-
nefs : if nothing be to be owned for chriftian doc-
trine (as the traditionifts fay) but what is the general
perfuafion of thofe who are acknowledged to be in
the communion of the roman catholick church -, then
much lefs can this principle ( " that oral tradition is
" the fole rule of faith") which is pretended to be
the foundation of the whole chriftian doctrine, be re-
ceived as defcended from Christ and his apofdes ;
fince it is fo far from being the general perfuafion of
that church at prcfent, that it has been, and full
is generally difowned. But Mr. White has a falvo
for this. For although he grants, " * that very ma- 5 Apolog,
" ny of their fchoolmen maintain that tradition js**' \ '
'■' necefiary only for lome points not clearly exprefTed
<c in fcripture, whence (he fays) it feems to follow
c: that they build not the whole body of their faith
" upon tradition :" yet he tells us, " there is a vail
" difTerencc betwixt relying on tradition, and faying
<c or thinking we do fo." Suppofe there be ; yet I
hope that mens faying that they do not rely on tradi-
tion as their only rule, is a better evidence that they
do not, than any man's furmife to the contrary is that
they do, tho' they think and lay they do not ; which
is in effect to fay that they do, tho' we have as much
aflurance as we can that they do not. Befides, " how is
" this rulefelf-evident to all, even to the rude vulgar as
" to its ruling power" (as Mr. S. affirms it is) when
the greateft part even of the learned among them
think
74 8 the RULE of FAITH.
P A R T think and fay that it is not the only rule ? Bat Mr.
White endeavours to llluftrate this dark point by a
* fimilitude, which is to this ferfz ; as the fcepticks
who deny this principle, " that contradictions can-
iC not be true at once, yet in their lives and civil
u actions proceed as if they owned it: 5 ' fo the
fchoolmen, though they deny tradition to be the
only rule of faith, yet by refolving their faith into
the church which owns this principle, they do
alio in practice own it though they fay they do
not. So that the generality of learned papifts are
juft fuch catholicks as the fcepticks are dogmatics,
that is, a company of abfurd people that confute
their principles by their practice. According to this
reafoning I perceive the proteftants will prove as good
catholicks as any, for they do not only think and
fay that tradition is not the rule of faith; but that
they practically rely upon it, Mr. S. hath pad his
word for them : for he afTures us * (and we may
rely upon a man that writes nothing but demon-
ftration) " that if we look narrowly into the bot-
" torn of our hearts, we mall difcover the natural
€c method of tradition, to have unawares fettled our
" judgments concerning faith •, however, when our
" other concerns awake defign in us, we proteft
" againft it, and feem perhaps to our unreflecting
" felves to embrace and hold to the mere guidance
" of the letter of fcripture." So that in reality we
are as good catholicks, and as true holders to tradi-
tion as any papifts of them all, at the bottom of our
thoughts and in our fettled judgment *, however we
have taken up an humour to proteft againft it, and
may feem perhaps to our unreflecting felves to be
proteftants, §5- Tnu *
The RULE of FAITH. 749
§ 5. Thus much may fuffice to have fpoken to S E C Tj
his two great arguments ; or * as he (good man) ._ 1. _,
unfortunately calls them demonftrations ; which yet* P. 173-
to fay truth are not properly his, but the author of
Rufhworth's dialogues, the main foundation of which
book is the fublfance of thefe demonstrations. On-
ly before I take leave of them, I cannot but reflect
upon a paflage of Mr. S's *, wherein he tells his* p. 163;
readers, " that they are not obliged to bend their
" brains to ftudy his book with that feverity as they
" would do an euclid -, " meaning perhaps one of
Mr. White's euclids ; for it does not appear by his
way of demonftration that ever he dealt with any
other. As for the true euclid, I fuppofe any one
that hath tailed his writing, will at the reading of
Mr. S's unbend his brains without bidding, and fmile
to fee himfelf fo demurely difcharged from a ftudy
fc> abfurd and ridiculous.
SECT. XL
§ 1. ' Should now take into fconfideration his Concern-
-* ninth difcourfe, in which he pretends " to in ? fom , e
r other ad-
" open the incomparable firength of the church's vantages
" humane authority, and the advantages which accrue °f tra( l i-
J J ° tion, &c.
cC to it by tne fupernatural afllftances of the Holy
61 Ghost:" but that there is nothing material in
it, which hath not been anfwered already. Only I
defire him to explain, how the fupernatural affif-
tances of the Holy Ghost, can (according to his
principle^ add to our afiurance of the certainty of
tradition. Becaufe we can have no greater certainty
of the fupernatural afliftance of the Holy Ghost,
Vol. IV. 7 N than
6.
75 © 92* RULE of FAITH.
PART than we have that there is an HoLy Ghost, and of
i _ ~l W L j this we can have no certainty (according to Mr. S.)
but by tradition, which conveys this do&rine to us.
And if tradition of itfelf can infallibly aflure us
that there are fupernatural afllftances of the Holy
Ghost, then a man mud know that tradition is
infallible antecedently to his knowledge of any fu-
pernatural afliftance. And if Co 9 what can any fu-
pernatural afliftance add to my afTurance of the cer-
tainty of tradition, which I do fuppofe to be in-
fallible before I can know of any fupernatural af-
liftance ? Can any thing be more ludicrous, than
to build firft all our certainty of the afliftance of
the Holy Ghost upon the certainty of tradition,
and then afterwards to make the certainty of tradi-
tion to rely upon the afliftance of the Holy Ghost ?
as if that could contribute to our afTurance of
the certainty of tradition, which unlefs tradition
be flrfl fuppofed certain, is it felf wholly uncer-
tain.
§ 2. The conclufion of this ninth difcourfe is
fomewhat ecftatical ; pofilbly from a fudden difor-
der of his fancy upon the contemplation of his own
performances, to fee what a man he has made of him-
ielf (with the help of Rufhworth's dialogues) or ra-
ther what his party has made him by the office they
*df l6 *' P ut u P on ^ im : f° r ' lt feems (by his telling) " * Mr.
" Crefly and the reft are ordained to cajole the fools,
* 6 leaving him the way ofreafon and principles ; and
¥ that himfelf is chofen out to demonftrate to the
" wife, or thofe who judge of things per altijftmas
" caufas" In the difcharge of which glorious of-
fice, he declares, " that he intends no confutation
"of
The RULE of FAITH. 751
e< of thofe authors which Mr. CrefTy and others have SECT.
" meddled with : yet if any will be fo charitable as .^ 1^
" to judge he hath fblidly confuted them, becaufe
u he hath radically and fundamentally overthrown
* c all their arguments, &c. he fhall rejoice and be
••* thankful." That the * intelligent reader (for he* P. irq.
writes to none but fuch) may alfo rejoice with him,
I fhall recite the whole paffage, for it is thick of
demonftration, and as likely as any in his book to
have the altijfimas can fas contained in it.
§ 3. " * It would require a large volume to un-* p. 0^
ct fold particularly how each virtue contributes to
" fhew the inerrable indeficiency of tradition, and
<c how the principles of almoft each fcience are con-
" cerned in demon ftrating its certainty : arithme-
tick lends her numbring and multiplying faculty,
to fcan the vaft number of teftifiers; geometry
her proportions to fhew a kind of infinite
ftrength of certitude in chriflian tradition, above
thofe atteftations which breed certainty in hu-
" mane affairs ; logick her skill to frame and make
" us fee the connexions it has with the princi-
" pies of our underflanding ; nature her laws of
<c motion and action ; morality her firft principles
" that nothing is done gratis by a cognofcitive na-
ture, and that the body of traditionary doctrine
is mofl conformable to practical reafon : hiflori-
cal prudence clears the impoflibility of an undif-
cernable revolt from points fo defcended and held
fo facred : politicks fhew this to be the belt way
imaginable to convey down fuch a law as it con-
cerns every man to be skilful in ; mctaphyflcks
engages the efTences of things, and the very notion
7 N 2 "of
cc
cc
CC
cc
(«
CC
cc
cc
cc
cc
cc
cc
752 The RULE of FAITH.
PART u of being which fixes every truth, fo eflablifhing
III - •
^_ _ ' _, " the fcientifical knowledges which fpring from each
" particular nature by their firft caufes or reafons
" exempt from changes or motion. Divinity demon-
* c ftrateth it moft worthy God, and mod conducive
<c to bring mankind to blifs. Laftly, controverfy
cc evidences the total uncertainty of any thing con-
<c cerning faith if this can be uncertain, and makes
" ufe of all the reft to eftablifh the certainty of
" this firft principle." A very fit conclufion for
fuch demonftrations as went before. It is well Mr.
S. writes to none but intelligent readers j for were it
not a thoufand pities, that fo manly, and iblid, and
convincing a difcourfe as this fhould be caft away
upon fools ?
SECT. XII.
Mr. S's § r. AS for his corollaries, fuppofing them to
corollaries jfj^. be rightly deduced from his former dif-
courfes, they muft of neceffity fall with them. For
they fignify nothing, but upon this fuppofition that
his foregoing difcourfes are true. And yet this being
granted, it were eafy to fhew that mofl: of them are
grofly faulty. For firft, feveral of them are plainly
coincident. The fecond, viz. " None can with right
<c pretend to be a church > but the followers of tradi-
" tion," is the very fame in fenfe with the i ith, viz.
<c No company of men hang together like a body of
" a chriftian commonwealth or church, but that
" which adheres to tradition." So Jikewife the 12th
and 14th are contained in the 15th: the 1 6th and
17th in the 19th : the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th, in
the
3** RULE of FAITH. 753
the 21ft. And the 32c! and 34th in the 31ft. Se- SECT,
condly, divers of them are manifeftly abfurd, as the
12th, 13th, 14th, 1 6th, 17th, 18th, 19th; the fum
of which is, " that there is no arguing againfl tradi-
* tion from fcripture, or the authority of the church,
" or fathers and councils, or from hiflory and tcfli-
" monial writings, or from contrary tradition, or rea-
u fon,or any inflances whatfoever :" which is as much
as to fay, " if this propofition be true, that tradition is
M certain, then it cannot by any kind of argument be
" proved to be falfe." But is this any peculiar confec-
tary from the truth of this propofition ? doth not the
fame follow from every propofition, that if it be true,
it cannot be proved to be falfe ? yet no man was ever
yet fo frivolous, as to draw fuch a confequence from
the fuppofed truth of any propofition. His 23d alio
is fingularly abfurd, " that there is no poflibility of
M arguing at all againfl tradition rightly underflood,
tc or the living voice of the catholick church, with
<c any (hew of reafon." Thefe are large words. It
might have contented a reafonable man to have faid,
that no good argument could be brought againfl it :
but he is jealous of his hypothefis, andean never think
it fafe till it be fhot-free ; nor will that content him,
but it mud alfb be impoflible for any one to make a
fhew of mooting at it. This were, I confefs, a pe-
culiar privilege of Mr. S's difcourfes above other
mens ; if they were (as he fays) by evidence of de-
monftration fo fecured, that not only no fubftantial
argument could be brought againfl them, but that
even the mofl fubtile fchoolman of them all mould
not be able to come near them with fo much as a w-
detur quod non % But it may be he means no more by
. this
He RULE of FAITH.
this corollary, than what he faid in the 1 8th, viz.
" that no folid argument from reafon can be brought
•* againft tradition :" If fo, then the fenfe of his
23d corollary mud be this, " that there is no pofii-
4c bility of arguing at all againft tradition with any
" folid fhew, or fubftantial fhadow of reafon ;" which
would be a little inconvenient. I will inftance but in
one more, his 40th, which is this, U the knowledge
" of tradition's certainty is the fir ft knowledge or
* c principle in controverfial divinity ; i. e. without
" which nothing is known or knowable in that fci-
M ence." Which is to infer, that becaufe he hath
with much pains proved the certainty of tradition,
therefore it is felf- evident, i. e. needed no proof.
Nay, it is to conclude the prefent matter in contro-
verfy, and that which is the main debate of his book
to be the firft principle in controverfial divinity, i. e.
fuch a propofition as every one ought to grant before
he can have any right to difpute about it. This is a
very prudent courfe, to make begging the firft ques-
tion the firft principle in controverfy -, which would it
but be granted, I am very much of his mind that the
method he takes would be the beft way to make con-
troverfy a fcience; becaufe he that fhould have the
luck or boldnefs to beg firft, would have it in his
power to make what he pleafed certain.
§ 2. Were it worth while, I might farther purfue
the abfurdities of his corollaries. For they are not fo
terrible as he makes fhew of, by his telling Dr. Ca-
*P. 330. faubon, " * that fure-footing and its corollaries may
" put him out of his wits :" which though intended
for an affront to the doctor, yet it may be mollified
with a good interpretation j for if the reading of
wild
The RULE of FAITH. y 5 g
wild and fantaftical fluff be apt to diforder a very S E C T«
learned head, then fo far Mr. S's faying may have
truth in it.
It remains only that I requite his 41ft corollary,
not with an equal number, but with two or three na-
tural confectaries from the doctrine of his book.
Firft, no man can certainly underftand the mean-
ing of any book whatfoever, any farther than the
contents of it are made known to us by a concurrent-
oral tradition. For the arguments whereby he and
Mr. Rufhworth endeavour to prove it impofiible
without tradition to attain to the certain fenfe of fcrip-
ture, do equally extend to all other books.
Secondly, the memory of matters of fact done
long ago may be better preferved by general Rumour
than by publick records. For this is the plain englifh
of that affertion, # that oral tradition is a better and
*' more fecure way of conveyance than writing."
Thirdly, that the generality of papiffo are no chri-
ftians : for if (as he affirms) tradition be the fole rule
of faith, and thofe who difown this rule be ipfo fa5t»
cut off from the root of faith, i. e. unchriflian'd ;
and if fas I have fhewn) the generality of papifts do
difown this rule : then it is plain that they are no
«hriftians.
THE
75 6
THE
RULE of FAITH
PART IV.
Tcjlimonies concerning the rule of faith.
SECT. I.
PART § i. fTT^HUS far in the way of reafon and
1V - principles. The reft is note -book
Mr. S's -^ learning, which he tells us " * he is
teihmonies" not much a friend to ;" and there is no kindnefs
examined.
* P. 337. loft, for it is as little a friend to him and his caufe as
he can be to it. I mall firft examine the authorities
he brings for tradition ; and then produce exprefs tefti-
monies in behalf of fcripture. In both which I fhall
be very brief - 9 in the one, becaufe his teftimonies re-
quire no long anfwer % in the other, becaufe it would
be to little purpofe to trouble Mr. S. with many fa-
thers, who, for ought appears by his book, is ac-
quainted with none but father White, as I ihall fhew
hereafter. By the way, I cannot much blame him
for the courfe he ufes to take with other mens teftimo-
nies, becaufe it is the only way that a man in his cir-
cumftanccs can take ; otherwife, nothing can be in it
felf more unreafonable, than to pretend to anfwer tel-
timonies by ranking them under fo many faulty heads ;
and having fo done, magifterially to require his ad-
verfuy
The RULE of FAITH. 757
verfary to vindicate them, by mewing that they do S E c T:
not fall under fome of thofe heads, though he ._ '— ,_j
have not faid one word p.gainfl any of them par-
ticularly ; nay, though he have not fo much as re-
cited any one of them ; for then the trick would
be fpoiled, and his cathoJick reader, who perhaps
may believe him in the general, might fee rea-
fon not to do fo if he fhould defcend to particu-
lars, which (as he well obferves) would make his
" * difcourfe to look with a contingent face." * P. 161;
$2.1 begin with his three authorities from fcrip-
ture ; which when I confider, I fee no reafon why he
(of all men) fhould find fault with my lord bifhop
of Down's difluafive for being fo u * thin and* P. 320*
" Height in fcripture-citations." Nor do I fee
how he will anfwer it to Mr. Rufhworth, for
tranfgreffing that prudent rule of his, viz. " * that* Dial, zl
" the catholick fhould never undertake to convince fect * 4 "
" his adverfary out of fcripture, &c." For which
he gives this fubftantial reafon, " * becaufe this* Ibid,
<c were to flrengthen his opponent in his own ground
" and principle, viz. that all is to be proved out
" of fcripture ;" which he tells us prefently after is
no more fit to convince, " than a beetle is to cut
" withal ;" meaning it perhaps of texts fo ap-
plied as thefe which follow. " * This fhaii be* Ifa. sf.
" to you a direct way, fo that fools cannot err 8,
" in it. f This is my covenant with diem, faith + Ifa. 59.
" the Lord 5 my fpirit which is in thee, and my 2U
" words which I have put in thy mouth (hall not de-
" part from thy mouth, and from the mouth of thy
" feed, and from the mouth of thy feeds feed from
" henceforth for ever. * I will give my law in their * Jcr. 3 u
Vol. IV. 7 O « bowels .33-
6.
758 The RULE of FAITH.
PART " bowels, and in their hearts will I write it :"
IV .
v_^- y l m j From which texts if Mr. S. can prove tradition
to be the only rule of faith, any better than the
philofophers ftone or the longitude may be pro-
ved from the firfl chapter of Genefis, I am con-
tent they mould pafs for valid testimonies : tho* I
might require of him (by his own law) before
thefe texts can fignify any thing to his purpofe,
to demonftrate that this is the traditionary fenfe
of thefe texts, and that it hath been univerfally
in all ages received by the church under that no-
tion 5 and then to fhew how it comes to pafs that
fo many of the fathers, and of their own commen-
tators have interpreted them to another fenfe :
and laftly, to fhew how fcripture which has no
certain fenfe but from tradition, and of the fenfe
whereof tradition cannot afifure us, unlefs it be the
rule of faith ; I fay, how fcripture can prove tradition
to be the rule of faith, which can prove nothing at
all unlefs tradition be firft proved to be the rule
of faith. This I take to be as fhameful a circle, as
that wherewith Dr. Holden upbraids the generality
of his brethren.
§ 3. I proceed to his authorities from fathers and
councils ; (all which not one of them excepted) he
hath taken out of Mr. White's tabula fuffragiales^
without the leaft acknowledgment from whom he
had them. And that it might be evident that he
had not confulted the books themfelves for them,
he hath taken them with all their faults, and with
the very fame errors of citation which Mr. White
had been guilty of before him. So that though
* P. 239. he is pleafed to fay of himfelf M that * he is a bad
" tran-
Tie RULE of FAITH. 759
" tranfcriber," yet I muft do him that right, to af- s E c %
furc the reader that he does it very punctually and
exactly.
§ 4. He begins with councils, of which he tells
us he will only mention three in ieveral ages.
The firft is the firft fynod of Lateran. One might
have expected, after he had told us he would men-
tion three in feveral ages, he fhould have produced
them according to the order of time, and have be-
gun with the council of Sardica, which was near
300 years before the Lateran. But there was a
good reafon why the Lateran fhould be firft pro-
duced, viz. becaufe it is mentioned before the other
in Mr. White's book. Well, but what fays this fy-
nod ? " we all confefs unanimoufly, and confe-
" quently with one heart and mouth, the tenets and
" fayings of the holy fathers -, adding nothing, fub-
u drafting nothing of thofe things which are deli-
" vered us by them ; and we believe as the fathers
61 have believed, we preach fo as they have taught,"
The force of which teftimony Mr. S. lays upon
the word delivered, as if that word where-ever it is
met with in councils or fathers, muft needs be un-
derftood of oral delivery ; whereas it is a general
word indifferently ufed for conveyance either by
writing or word of mouth. In this place it plain-
ly refers to the writings of particular fathers, out
of whom a long catalogue of teftimonies againft the
herefy of the monothelites had been readjuft before
this declaration of the fynod. Now what fignifies
this to oral tradition's being the rule of faith, that
this fynod declares her faith, in oppofition to the
herefy of the monothelires, to be confonant in all
7 O 2 things
jio The RULE of FAITH.
PART things to thofe teftimonies which had been produced
out of the fathers ?
The next is the council of Sardica ; out of en epiftle
of which council he cites thefc words, M we have
" received this doctrine, we have been taught fo,
u we hold this catholick tradition, faith and confef-
a fion." Which are general words, and indiffe-
rently applicable to oral tradition, or writing, or
both. But be they what they will, Mr. S. ought
not to have been ignorant, that this council was
rejected by St. Auftin, and other orthodox fathers,
* Concil. as * Binius acknowledges ; and which is more, that
the latter part of this epiftle (out of which part
Mr. S. cites thefe words) which contains a confef-
p An. 347. fion of faith, is by * Baronius (and after him by
Binius) proved to have been furreptitioudy added.
For though it be found in Theodoret, and men-
tioned by Sozomen j yet Baronius thinks that it was
the arian confeffion compoied by the falfe fynod of
Sardica which fate at the lame time ; and that So-
zomen lighting upon it, perhaps miftook it for the
confefiion of the orthodox fynod of the fame name.
However that be, he proves out of Athanafius, and
from the teftimony both of the eaftern and weftern
bifhops, " that council of Sardica did not fo much
" as add one word or tittle, no nor fo much as
" explain any thing in the Nicene faith." But
Mr. White fays nothing of this, and therefore Mr. S.
could not, who is no fpeculator in thefe matters,
but only as a teftifier delivers down thefe autho-
rities to us as he received them by hand from
Mr. White - 9 and if the word tradition be but in
fhem, they are demonftrative.
As.
The RULE of FAITH. 7 6i
As for his teftimonies from the fecond council of SECT.
Nice, (which he calls the feventh general council) u '_«_,
who pretended their doclrine of image-worfhip to
have defcended to them by an uninterrupted tradi-
tion, and proved it molt doughtily by texts of
fcripture ridiculoufly wrefled, by impertinent fayings
out of obfcure and counterfeit authors, and by fond
and immodeft (lories (as is acknowledged by pooe
* Adrian the 6th) of apparitions and womens * Q~ uodl j-
dreams, &c. for which I refer the reader to the te dby CI *
council it M£ ; which is fuch a mels of fopperies, Etpencae-
that if a general council of atheifts had met together epift. ad
with a defign to abufe religion by talking ridicu- Tim c - 4-
loufly concerning it, they could not have it done
more effectually : I fay, as for his teftimonies from
this council, I (hall refer Mr. S. to that weftera
council under Charles the great, which a little after
at Francfort condemned, and alfo fully confuted the
decifions of this council, calling their pretended
cC tradition of image-worfhip [putidiflimam traditio-
" neni] a moil (linking tradition. 5 *
Thefe are his authorities from councils ; " where
<c fays he) we fee general councils relying on tl\Q
• c teaching of the fathers or foregoing church, and
" on the church's tradition as their rule, &c. ,f
where does he fee any fuch matter ? or where does
he fee general councils? was the council of Late-
ran a general one? or was the council of Sardica?
if it was, let him (hew hew the fecond of Nice could
be the feventh general council. Mr. White mull
write more explicitly, and fay which are general
councils, which not, otherwife he will lead his
friends into dangerous mi (lakes.
§ 4, « After
The RULE of FAITH.
§ 4. " After ancient councils (not fo ancient nei-
ther) let us (fays he) give a glance at fathers. 5 *
Glance is a modeft word, and yet I doubt whether
ever the fathers had fo much as that from him.
Before I fpeak particularly to his teftimonies from
the fathers, I fhail mind him of what Mr. Rufh-
*Dial. 3. W orth fays in general, viz. " * that he who feeks
• 5% " tradition in the fathers, and to evince it by their
" teftimony, takes an hard task upon him, 6cc."
* l " Again, " *f as in other points, fo even in 'this of
" the refolution of faith, as doctors feem to differ
" now-a-days, fo might the fathers alfo." If^this
be true, Mr. S. is not likely by a few tefti-
monies out of the fathers, to prove that tradition, is
the fole rule of faith. But let us fee what he has
done. towards it.
He begins with a faying of pope Celeftine to the
fathers of the Ephefine council. " Now therefore
" we muft act with a common endeavour to pre-
" ferve things believed, and retained to this very
w time by fucceflion from the apoftles." Binius's
other reading of [dW^yjV for cPiarPc^^] quite fpoils
the force of this citation which Mr. S. put upon the
word fucceflion. But read it how he will ♦, why
may not the christian doctrine be faid to come by
fucceflion from the apoftles, when it is tranfmitted
to us by fcripture, as well as when by oral traditi-
on ? I am fure the fame Celeftine in an epiftle to
Cyril, commends him for defending the faith by
1 fcripture : u this (fays he) is a great triumph of
M our faith, to demonftrate our opinions fo ftrong-
M ly, and to overthrow the contrary by teftimo-
ct nies from fcripture." And neither in this epiftle,
nor
the RULE of FAITH. 763
nor the other, does he make any mention of oral SEC T.
tradition.
Next he cites that known place in Irenasus :
" but what if the apoftles had not left us the fcrip-
<6 tures, ought we not to follow the order of tra-
4< dition, &c. ? " this makes clearly againft him ;
for it implies, that now the apoftles have left us the
fcriptures, we ought to follow them. The other
pafTage he cites out of Irenseus, lib. 1. c. 3. is a
clear eviction that he did not confult the book. For
he puts two fayings together which he had met with
in Mr. White, immediately one after the other ; and
becaufe Mr. White had cited lib. 1. c. 3. for the
firft faying, and brought in the other immediately
upon it with an (et rurfus) again, &c. Therefore
Mr. S. (who is of a right traditionary temper,
which is to take things eafily upon truft himfelf,
and require demonflration from others) concluded
that thefe fayings were in the fame place, though in
truth they are in feveral books. As for the tefti-
mony it felf, there is nothing in it to Mr. S's
purpofe befides the word tradition, which Irenseus
does often apply to fcripture as well as oral tradi-
tion ; and there is nothing in this place to deter-
mine it to oral tradition.
His teftimonies out of Origen will do him lels
{lead : for every one that hath been converfant in
the writings of that father, knows what he means by
the church's tradition preferved by order of fucce£
fion, viz. themyftical interpretations of the fcripture,
which (he fays) were delivered by the apoftles to the
governors of the church, and by them down from
hand to hand. If this be the tradition Mr. S. con-
tends
764 The RULE of FAITH.
PART tends for, Origen is at his fervice ; if it be not, I af-
^j, _^j fure him he is not for his turn.
Next comes Tertullian, concerning whom (as alfo
Origen) the papift: upon occafion thinks it enough to
* Adverf. reply in St. Hierom's words *, " as for Tertullian,
Hclvid. c< J nave nothing to fay of him but that he is not
" a man of the church." Whatever he was, thefc
are his words, " if thou beeft but a chriftian, be-
" lieve what is \traditum~\ delivered.'* And here's
nothing again but the word delivered ; which (as I
have faid) is indifferent to written or oral tradition,
if the circumftances do not determine it to one \ as
here they do (very unluckily for Mr. S.) to the
fcripture. For he difputes here againfl Marcion,
who denied the fiefh of Christ ; and who to main-
* His opi- tain that, denied his nativity, and * expunged the
HistotVri- wn °l e hiftory of it out of the gofpel; " but (faith
ginaliain- u Tertullian) by what authority doft thou this ?
ChHftTde-*' ^ t ^ ou ^ e a P ro P^ et > foretel fomething; if an
lereMar- " apoftle, preach publickly ; if apoftolical, be of
cft n neca- S " t ^ ie a P 0U ^ e ' s mind ; if no more but a chriftian,
roejus " believe what is delivered." And where delivered ?
tux ^x ^ ut * n thofe initruments or books of the gofpel, out
qua, oro of which (as Tertullian immediately before tells us)
tate^&c"* Marcion had made bold to expunge this ftory.
As for his teftimonies out of Athanafius, the two
firft of them prove nothing, <c but that faith comes
" down from our anceftors, or was by them de-
" livered to us;" which no body denies: nor is
there a word in either of them concerning oral, in
oppofition to written tradition. The third teftimo-
ny is out of an epiftle to Epicletus, to whom Atha-
nafius writing concerning thofe who held Christ's
body
The kULE of FAITH. 765
body to be confubftantial with his divinity, tells him SECT,
this was fo grofs a conceit, that it needed no felici-
tous confutation •, but that it would be a fufficient
anfwer to fay in general, " the orthodox church was
" not of that mind, our fathers did not think fo."
From whence Mr. S. infers, " that tradition is held
" by him a fole fuflicient rule of faith, and the
<c only anfwer to be given why we reject points from
« faith, &c." But if he had confulted the book,
he would not have inferred that this was the only
anfwer to be given, &c. For it immediately follows,
" but left from our being wholly filent, the in-
c * ventors of evil things mould take occafion to be
" more impudent, it will be good to recite a few
" pafTages out of fcripture, &c," And from thence
he confutes them at large. It was fo grofs an error,
that he thought it might be fufficient, without bring-
ing particular arguments out of fcripture againft it,
to fay that it was contrary to the ancient faith ; but
yet left they fhould (if he had laid no more) have
taken boldnefs from thence, and thought that no-
thing more could be faid againft it, therefore he
confutes it from particular texts of fcripture. And
what in his opinion was the fufficient rule of faith,
Mr. S. might have feen at the beginning of this
epiftle, from theie words, " that faith which was
u profcfTed by the' fathers in that council (viz. the
" Nicene) according to the fcriptures, is to me fuf-
" ficient, &c." It feems that fcripure was to him
the rule and ftandard whereby to judge even the
creeds of general councils.
Mr. S. lays he, will be fhorter in the reft, and lb
will I. Fur what is to be faid to teftimonies brought
Vol. IV. 7P ^
7 66 Tie RULE of FAITH.
P A R T at a venture ? when he that brings them, had he
v f^ t- ^ read the books themfelves, could not have had the
face to have brought them. Such is this out of
*Stromat. * Clem. Aiexand. " as if one of a man becomes a
" bead, like thofe infected with Circe's poifon \ fo
« c he hath forfeited his being a man of God and
* c faithful to our Lord, who fpurns againft ecclefia-
4C ftical tradition, and leaps into opinions of hu-
U mane eleftion." Mr. S. knows whofe way of
quoting this is, to pick a bit out of the midft of
a text that founds fomething towards his purpofe,
and leave out the reft which would make it evi-
dent to be meant juft contrary. Yet I cannot
charge this wholly upon Mr. S. whofe implicit
faith were it not for his culpable ignorance might
excufe him. But for his feducer Mr. White, how
he can acquit himfelf of fo foul an imputation, I
leave it to any ingenuous papift to judge, when I
have nakedly kt the whole paiTage before him. Cle-
ment fpeaking of hereticks who relinquifh the fcrip-
ture, or abufe it by wretting it to their lulls, fays,
M men who deal in matters of higher! importance,
" muft need commit great errors, if they do not
" take and hold the RULE of FAITH from
" truth itfelf. For fuch men ha/ing once deviated
« c from the right way, do likewife err in moil parti-
'< culars; probably becaufe they have not the facul-
« c ty of diftinguifliing truths and falfhoods, perfecl:-
«« ly exercifed, to choofe what ought to be chofen.
" For if they had this, they would be ruled by the
« divine SCRIPTURES. [Therefore as if any
P of mankind mould become a bead in fuch iort as
* w-„ « thofe who were * bewitched by Circe* even fo he
p*xQ&* " hath
The RULE of FA I T H. ?5 7
'• hath loft his being; a man of God and abidinc SECT-
O Or
u faithful to the Lord, who hath fpurned againtt ._ 1^
** the tradition of the church, and skipp'd into the
" opinions of humane feels *,] (not of humane elec- * dniti-
<c tion, as Mr. S. blindly following Mr. White does**-
<c mod abfurdly tranfhte it) but he that hath re-
" turned from his errors, and hearkened to the
" SCRIPTURES, and conformed his life to the
" truth, is as it were advanced from a man to a God."
At the fame rate he goes on for feveral pages together,
taking the fcriptures for an indemonflrable princi-
ple, from which all divine doctrines are to be de-
mon!! rated, and for the criterion whereby they are
to be tried, and charges the hereticks in fuch words
as we cannot find fitter for adverfaries, " as
(fays he) naughty boys fhut out their fchoolmafl
ter, fo thefe drive the prophefies out of the church,
fufpecting that they will chide and admonifh,
them -, and they patch together abundance of fal£
hoods and fictions that they may feem RATIO-
N A LLY not to admit the fcriptures." Again,
fpeaking of thefe hereticks affronting the fcripture,
he tells us, " they oppofe the • divine tradition wSH * _
humane doctrines, -f by other traditions [delivered ^pouT S-
from hand to hand] that they may eftablifh a fe&i*". < ,
or herefy." Again, he fays, " they adulterate the ow*-
" truth, and ileal the rule of faith, &c. but for? 5 ,** 2 '"
" ORAL frauds they mall have WRITTEN F
" punifhments." But enough of this ; wholbever
defires to fee more of it, let him read on where thefe
men to their own fhame have directed us, and fee
whether any protectant can fpeak more fully and
plainly in this controverfy. The whole truft of the
7 P 2 papifts
6t
<(
CI
7 63 The RULE of FAIT IL
PART papifts is upon the equivocal fenfe of the word tra-
dition. Which word is commonly ufed by the fa-
thers to fignify to us the fcripture or divine tradi-
tion, as Clement here calls it •, but the papifts
underftand it of their unwritten tradition, and to
this they apply all thofe paffages in the fathers
where tradition is honourably mentioned. So Mr. S.
deals with us in the tefti monies I have already
examined : and there is nothing of argument in thofe
few which remain, but from the ambiguity of this
word ; which I need not Ihew of every one of them
in particular, for whofoever mall read them with
this key will find that they are of no force to con-
clude what he drives at.
§ 5. As for his citations out of the council of
Trent, by which he would prove it to be the per-
fuafion of their prefent church, that tradition is the
fole rule of faith ; I have already fhewn that that
council hath declared otherwife, and is otherwife un-
derftood by the chief of their own writers. And
therefore he did prudently to conceal in an 6cc.
thofe choking words, in which the council declares
itfelf u to receive and honour, with equal pious
« affection and reverence, the books of fcripture
cc and unwritten traditions." And after a deal
of muffling, what a pitiful account is it that he at
laft gives of that council's putting fcripture con-
ftantly before tradition, becaufe fcripture being in-
terpreted by tradition, is of the fame authority " as
« if an apoftle or an evangelift were prefent, and
*« therefore no wonder they honour fcripture-tefti-
6C mony lb as to put it before tradition •," which is
to fey, that becaufe fcripture is fubordinate to tra-
dition
tfbe RULE of FAITH. 769
dition, and to be regulated by it, therefore it de- SECT,
ferves to be put before it. Befides, if icripture and , ^ l^j
tradition be but feveral ways of conveying the evan-
gelical and apoftolical doctrine, why fhould he
imagine an evangelift or apoftle to be more prefent
by the Icripture than by oral tradition ? efpecially if
it be confidered, that he fuppofes fcripture to be an
uncertain, and tradition an infallible way of convey-
ing this doctrine.
SECT. II.
J 1. A LL that now remains, is to confirm theTe n im^
X~\ precedent difcouifc by teftimonies of the J 1 ?^"^
moil eminent perfons of the church, in feveral ages ; fcripture.
in which I ihall not need to be large, being fo
happily prevented by that full account which is
given of the fenfe of the ancients in this matter, in
the anfvver to Labyrintbus Cantuarienfis $ which
Mr. S. may if he pleafe confult for his farther
conviction.
§2.1 begin with the hiftorical account which Eu-
febius gives of committing the gofpel to writing ;
which is to this purpofe, viz. «' * that the Romans * Hi ftor.
were not content with the doctrine preached,
unlefs it were alio committed to writing-, and
therefore did earneftly beg of Mark, Peter's
companion, that he would leave them a monu-
ment in writing of that doctrine which had been
delivered to them by word of mouth. And this
was the occafion of the writing of St. Mark*s
gofpel. And when Peter did understand that this
work was publifh'd (being fuggefted by the di-
vine
exiei. 1.2.
c. 14*
77 o The RULE of FAITH.
3PA RT « vine revelation of the Holy Sp irit) it is faid
' c he was very much pleafed with the ready and
" earned defire of thofe perfons ; and that by his
" authority he confirmed this writing, to the end
" that it might be every where read in the church."
As for St. Matthew and S:. John, he tells us,
Ibid. 1. " * that of all the difciples, they two only have left
c * " monuments in writing-, of whom it is alfo report-
u ted that they betook themfelves to write, being
" drawn thereto by neceffity. Matthew, after he
<c had preached the word of God to the jews, and
cc was refolved to go to other nations, wrote his
" gofpel in the language of his country ; and thus
" by the diligence and pains of writing, did abun-
" dantly fupply the want of his prefence to thofe
" whom he left. And when Mark and Luke had
" publifh'd their gofpel, it is reported that John
(who had always ufed to preach the word with*
out writing it) being at length wrought upon by
" the fame reafon did betake himfelf to write.'*
From this account it is clear, that the apoftles
thought it neceiTary, for the prefervation and fe-
cure conveyance of the chriftian doctrine, that it
fhould be put into w r riting ; and that they judged
this a better way to fupply the want of their pre-
fence than oral tradition. Therefore the fame au-
•Ibid.c. thor tells us*, " that the difciples, who immediate-
A 1
" ly fucceeded the apoftles, as they travelled to
" preach the gofpel to thofe who had not yet heard
" the word of faith, did with great care alfo de-
* c liver to them the writings of the holy evangelifts."
•Ibid. c. Again, w * that Ignatius as he travelled towards
" Rome (where he was to fuffer) exhorted the
" churches
10.
The RULE of FAITH. 7?t
* c churches of every city to hold fad the tradition SECT.
Cc of the apoftles •, which (as alfo by writing he tcf- ^j}^^
" tified) for the greater fecurity he held necefTary to
*« be copied in writing."
§ 4. That the hereticks of old made the fame
" pretence which the papifts make now, of oral tra-
dition in oppofition to fcripture, the fame Eufebius
tells us ; and withal, that books are a fufficienc con-
futation of this pretence. " * Thofe (fays he) who* ibid. 1.
" were of the herefy of Artemon, faid that all theirs- c - *J»
" forefathers and the apo files themfelves had re-
" ceived and taught the fame things which they
* c alfo did, and had preferved the true teaching un-
" to the time of Victor bimop of Rome, whofe (iic-
46 cefTor Zephyrinus corrupted it. And this (faith
" he) would have great probability, were it not fir-ft
iC of all contradicted by the fcripture ; and next, if
u there did not remain the writings of other bre-
<c thren much more ancient than Victor's time,
* c &c. in the books of all whom Christ's divini-
" ty is acknowledged." And afterwards he tells us,
that thefe hereticks did change and corrupt the fcrip-
tures to bring them to their opinions ; fo Mr. S.
tells us, " that the outward letter of fcripture ought
" to be corrected by tradition and ienfe written in
u mens hearts."
St. Hierom alfo tells us, <c * that the hereticks * n
Cora.. ~a
" were wont to fay, we are the ions of the wife, Ifa. c 19.
a who did from the beginning deliver down to
" us the apoflolical doctrine j" but he adds, " that
" the true fons of Judah adhere to the fcrip-
I* turc"
§ 4. That
772 The RULE of FAITH.
PART § ^ 7 xuc fcripture is fufHciently plain in all
.__ v --._^ thin ■ neceflary.
* In 2 St. Chryibftom, " * all things in the divine fcrip-
TilCl C 2 •
hom. 4 f4 tures are P^ 11 an d Straight. Whatfoever things
M are neceflary are man i fed."
St. Auilin having fpoken of the profoundnefs of
*Epift. 3. fcripture, adds> " not that thofe things which are ne-
" cefTary to falvation are fo hard to be come at :
iC but (iaith he) when one hath there attained faith,
u without which there is no pious and right living,
" there are befides many dark and myfterious things,
* Ibid. w &c." Again *, " the manner of fpeech in fcrip-
" ture how eafy is it to all, though few can pene-
" trate to the bottom of it ? thofe things which
" it plainly contains, it fpeaks without difguife
< c like a familiar friend to the heart of the learned
cc and unlearned. 3 ' How will Mr. S. reconcile
this with his great exception againft fcripture ?
And what thefe things are, which are plainly
contained in fcripture, the fame father tells us
* De doc- elfewhere, in thefe words, " * among thofe things
L 3. c.q." which are plainly fet down in fcripture, all
" thofe things are to be found which comprehend
<c faith and good manners." The fame St. Aufirin
(as alfo Clement in the book which Mr. White
quoted) for the underflanding of obfcure texts of
fcripture, directs us not to tradition, but to the
* De uni- plain text, without which he exprefly fays, " * there
tateecciei.cc W ould be no way to underftand them.'*
c. c. .
§ 5. That fcripture is fo plain, as to be fit to
determine controverfies.
Juftin fure thought fb, when difputing with
Trypho, concerning a point wherein the Jew had
tradition
The RULE of FAITH. 773
tradition on his fide, he told him " he would SECT.
" bring fuch proofs (to the contrary) as no man^^
" could o-ainfay : attend (fays he) to what I fhall
" recite out of the holy fcriptures, proofs which
" need not to be explained, but only to be heard."
Mr. White might have found likewife much to
this purpofe in his Clement.
But not to tire my reader in a point which
the ancients abound with, I fhall only produce
the judgment of Conftantine * in that folemn era-* The*.
tion of his to the council of Nice, wherein he^rj/^
bewails " their mutual oppofitions, efpecially in c. 7.
" divine things j*' concerning which they had
the doctrine of the Holy Spirit recorded in
writing ; " for ("fays he) the books of the evaii-
" gel ills and ape files, and the oracles of the old
<c prophets, do evidently teacfi us what we ought
u to think of the divine majefty. Therefore laying
" afide all feditious contention, let us determine the
ic matters in queftion by teftimonies out of the di-
" vine writings." Not a word of any other tradi-
tion but fcripture, which was held evident enough
in thofe days, though now Mr. S. tells us it is not
fufficient to decide that controverfy about the di-
vinity of Christ.
§ 6. Laftly, that fcripture is the rule of faith.
Irenasus : cc * the method of our falvation we* ^ ,
<c have not known by any other but thofe men 1.
" by whom the gofpel came to us, which then
" they preached, but afterwards by the will of
" God delivered it to us in the fcriptures, to be
cc for the future the foundation and pillar of our
« faith."
Vol. IV: 1 CL St.
6.
774 The RULE of FA I TH.
PART St. Cyprian, the church hath ever held a good
^JYi^j catholic!; •, yet Mr. S. * take;; notice that he erred in
* P. 314 a point of faith j and perhaps the rather, becaufe
+ Dial. 3 .Mr. Rufhworth -f had told him that he was not
fct. 13. t h e j rs ln this controverfy. " For (fays he) St. Cyprian
" feems to think that the refolution of faith was to
c; be made into icripture, and not into tradition."
B-it that we may not feem to accept of this cour-
tefy from him, nor yet wholly to defpife it, I mail
offer this one tcftimony inftead of many out of
that father *, who being oppofed with an argument
•Epift.74. from tradition, demands, " * whence have you that
iS tradition ? comes it from the authority of the
" Lord, and of the gofpel, or from the epiftles
" of the apoftlcs ? For God- teflifies that we are to
4C do thofe things which are written, &c. If it be
tc commanded in the gofpel, or contained in the
c< epiftles or a£ts of the apoftles, then let us obferve
•« it as a divine and holy tradition."
* Ad Con- Hilary * commends Conftantius the emperor tt for
feat, u regulating the faith only according to thofe things
" which are written." And to oblige him to de-
jerve this commendation, he adds, " he who re-
cc fufes this is antichrift, and who difTembles in it
c; is anathema."
* Lib -. Optatus '*, concerning the controverfy with the
defchifm. donatifts. asks who (hall be judge? and anfvvers
' himfelf, " the fcriptures:" which he illuftrates by
the fimilitude of a father who delivered his will
orally to his children while he was living, but when
he was dying, caufed it to be written in lafting
tables, to decide all controverfies that might hap-
pen
The RULE of FAITH. 775
pen among them after his death. The paflfage is s E c T -
large, and it is obvious to apply it. u--v-— -*
Bafil maintaining the doxology as it was ufed in
his days, fays, " * thus we received it from our fa-* De S P-
" thers ;*' but adds immediately, " this is not c . 7 .
" enough for us, that it is the tradition of the fa-
" thers, for they followed the authority of the
" fcriptures, making its teftimonies the principles
<c upon which they built.'' He has indeed in the
fame book * a paffage much infilled on by the pa- * c. zf
pifts concerning unwritten traditions •, but withal, he
fays thofe traditions were fecretly conveyed, which
makes all the reft of no ufe to Mr. S.
Chryfoftom * having mentioned feveral herefies, *Hom.$.
directs how they may be avoided, viz. " by attend- VI e ,r lil - ^
u ing to the faith delivered, and looking upon all
** that difagrees from that as adulterate. For (Tays
ct hej as thofe who give rules do not put men up-
cc on a curious enquiry after any meafures, but bid
a them keep to the rule given ; f o it is in opini-
ons. But no body will attend to the fcriptures ;
if we did, we fhould not only not fall into errors
ourfelves, but alfo refcue thofe that are deceived. 5 '
Again, u * if we would be throughly converfant in * Horn?
u the fcriptures, we fhould be inftrucled both in5 2 - in J oh:
" right opinions and a good life." Again, " among
" the many feels of chriftians * it will be eafy to * H m.
" judge of the right, if we believe the fcriptures, 33 waft,'
" becaufe they are plain and true : if any one agree ap ° iU
" with thefe he is a chriftian ; if he contradicts
" them he is far from this rule.''
7 CL* jSfii
cc
4C
77 6 Tie RULE of FAITH.
PART. St. Auftin calls the fcripture, * the divine ba-
^SL^j lance for the weighing of dodrines. Again, " the
•CeBapt.u holy fcripture (fays he) fixeth the rule of our
com do- |C doftrine." And accordingly himfelf ufes it both
1% ' 2 " in his difpute with Maximinus, to whom he fays,
• Contr. tc * Neither ought I now to alledge the Nicene
Max ' M> council, nor thou that of Jriminum : for neither
« am I bound to the authority of the one, nor thou
« of the other. Let us both conteft with the au-
« thorities of fcripture, which are witneffes com-
«• mon to us both." And alfo againft the dona-
Deuni- t ift s in thefe words : " * let them, if they can,
tat.ccdef. <c demon ft rate their church not by the talk and ru-
•« mours [or oral tradition] of the Africans, not
by the councils of their own biftiops, not by
■< the books of their difputers, not by deceitful mi-
« racies, &c. but by the prefcript of the law, pro-
's phets, &c. i. e. by all the canonical authorities of
" the holy books."
* Com Hicrom faith, " of thofe things, which without
merTin " the authorities and teftimonies of the fcripture,
^gg- ci« men invent of their own heads as from apofto-
<« Ileal tradition, they are finittcn with the iword
•« of God."
Theophilus Alexander whom Hierom hath trani-
* Pafchal lated, calls fcripture more than once • the rule,
L 3- and the teftimonies of it the firm foundations of
i- L 3 dbcirine. And again faith, " f It comes from a de-
«« moniacal fpirit that men follow the fophifms of
« humane minds, and think any thing divine that
" wants the authority of fcripture."
* Hserct. Theodoret * charges all herefies upon the not
fc^ 1 - 1 -*- following of fcripture, which he calls " the in-
iH 9 x « flexible
The RULE of FAITH. 777
" flexible rule of truth. "Again, " we have learned^ JjT.
« the rule of opinion from the divine fcripture." , — ^^j
After the fathers, I ihali produce the teftimonies
of two eminent perfons of latter times, Gerfon and
y Gerfon in his * book of the trial of doctrines,* Parti,
hath this remarkable paiTage •, " in the trial of ConficL 2 '
" doclrines, that which is firft and principally to
" be confidered, is, whether a dodrine be confor-
« mable to the holy fcripture, &c. The reafon of
" this is, becaufe the fcripture is delivered to us as a
« SUFFICIENT and INFALLIBLE RULE for
" the government of the whole ecclefiaftical body and
" its members to the end of the world. So that
« it is fuch an art, fuch a rule or exemplar, that
« any other do&rine which is not conformable
" to it, is to be renounced as heretical, or to be
" accounted fufpicious, or not at all appertain-
« ing to religion." Again, " * it is evident how*Dedr.
«« pernicious the rejection of the holy fcripture is,^^
« and how certain a preparatory for the reception of a fklfis.
« antichrift." Once more, « f what mifchief, wJiatt^ifl
" danger, what confufion hath happened through cumcif#
« contempt of the holy fcripture, which fure is&c,
" fufficient for the government of the church (elfe
<< Christ mud have been an imperfect lawgiver)
" let us ask experience, Sec."
Lyra alfo writes thus •, " * as in philofophy truth* Prolog
is difcovered by reducing things to their farlt ana &c .
« felf-evident principles ; fo in the writings deli-
" vered by the holy doctors, truth is difcovered, as
« to matters of faith, by reducing them to the ca-
" nonical fcriptures."
Sir,
77 8 The RULE of FAITH.
PART. Sir, " you know how eafy it were to fwell up a
" large volume with teftimonies to this pur-
iC pofe ; efpecially if I fhould take the courfe
u that Mr. White does, to hale in quotations
" though ever fo impertinent > or ufe the wretch-
" ed importunity which Mr. S. does, to per-
" fuade them to be pertinent. But thefe tefti-
" monies which I have nakedly fet down, leav-
** ing them to fpeak for themfelvcs, are enough
" to fatisfy an unpaffionate reader, fuch an one as
" dares truft himfelf with the ufe of own eyes and
" reafon. As for that fort of men which choofe
" to follow noife rather than light, we mud be
c * content to leave them to the blind conduct of
" thofe guides, who having no better means to
" keep their followers to them, go hallowing in
" the dark, and fill their ears with the infignifi-
<c cant founds of infallibility, indefectibility, felf-
" evidence and demonftration."
" Concerning the appendix wherein you are par-
" ticularly challeng'd, I hope for an account very
" fhortly, and fo take leave>"
Sir,.
Your affectionate friend,
JOHNTILLOTSON*
O F
SlNCERITY^^CoNSTANCY
I N T H E
Faith and Profeffion
o F t H E
TRUE RELIGION.
T O H I S
SACRED MAJESTY
KING WILL 1AM,
THESE
E R M O N S
ARE
Moft humbly Dedicated,
By the Author's Relicl,
Elizabeth lilktfon.
Vol. IV. a R THE
7-
THE
PUBLISHER
TO THE
READER.
F~Y^HE AUTHOR of thefefer-
JL mons was fo well known, parti-
cularly for his moji excellent and
ufeful difcourfes from the pulpit, that I
jhall not attempt^ by any thing I can fay ',
to recommend thei?i to the publick. I
know very well, they have already that
credit in the world, which will render
any apology needlefs ; efpecially when, by
this publication of them, they Jhall fpeak
for themfelves.
I think it requifite, only to affure
the reader, that they are what they
7 R 2 preti
The PREFACE.
pretend to be, the genuine works of that
great man.
Whilfl I had the happinefs of con-
verfing with him, he was pleas d {at
my requefi) to inJlruSt me in the cha-
racter in which he wrote all his fer-
mans : and fome of thefe now publijhed,
having been tra7tfcribed by me fome years
fnce, were fowtd a?no?igJl his papers,
corrected with his own hand.
By what he had been pleas d to fay,
that I was mailer of his chara&er,
and by the few errata he obfervd iit
my firfl performance^ I was e?icouraged
to fet about this work ; in which I
can folem?ily profefs, that I have ob-
fervd a religious care and flriSlnefs,
neither to omit 7ior add aity thing,
but a?i of, a the, or the like, when
the fenfe plainly required it; and of
that too I have given ?wtice, by affix-
ing this mark [ a ] upon the word which
I did
The PREFACE.
J" did not find in the original ; Jo that
the reader is left to judge of the fit-
?iefis of fuch additions ; which, after
all, are fo very few a7id inconfidera-
ble, as fcarcely to deferve this ?iotice \
07ily that he might be fatisfied {in cafe
the printer do his part) that he hath
here, what he expeSis, a perfeSl tran-
fcript of thefe fermons; and in thefn
a true and lively Jirain of chriflian
piety and eloquence, fo fitted to all
capacities, that I cannot but hope, all
that fo all read them will be the better
for them> even thofe not excepted [if
there be any fuch) who may have en-
tertaind any unreafonable prejudices
againfl them, or their moft reverend
author.
/ have always thought, and oft \
faid it, that if any 'were leaven d with
prejudice agai?i.Jl him, they were, to be
fure, fuch as did not know him ; and
the
The PREFACE.
the farther I go in his writings^ the
more I am ajfurd, that it muji be Jo.
But becaufe the Jermons themfelves, to
which I refer ^ are not yet all of them
publifhed) I muji leave this to the judg-
ment oj the impartial reader > when the
whole fhall be finifSd^ which is defgrid
with ail conve7tient fpeed.
Lambeth, JJ a "Rnrfcpr
April 2,' 1695. ■**>«. JDdlJVCl.
SER-
SERMON LV,
Of fincerity towards God and man.
J O H N i. 47-
y ejus Jaw Nathanael coming to him, and faith of him,
behold an Ifraelite indeed, in whom is no guile.
WHO this Nathanael was, upon whom our SERM.
Saviour beftows this extraordinary cha- j ^ r -
ra£fcer, doth not certainly appear, hi6p reac hvi
name being but once more mentioned in the whole ac Kin g-
hiftory of the gofpel : for certain, he was a good 2C; , 1604.
man, who deferved this extraordinary commendati- tlie laA his
prn.cc
on; and none but ourSAViouR, " who^knew whatp^^^
«' was in man, and needed not that any fhould td\
" him," could have given it, efpecially of one whom
he had never feen before that time ; for when " Je-
** sus faw him coming to him, he faith of him,
* 4 behold an Ifraelite indeed. "
The whole nation of the Jews were Ifraelites by
natural defcent, being the feed of Jacob or Ifrael *,
but in a fpecial and more excellent fenfe, none are
efteem'd the true poflerity of Ifrael, but thofe who
refembled this father of their nation, in true piety
and goodnefs •, for (as the apoftle reafons) " they
a are not all Ifrael, who are of Ifrael ; " they on-
Jy are Ifraelites indeed who refemble good old Ja-
cob in the fmcerity of his piety, and the fimplicity
cif his temper and diipofition 3 for our Saviour
feems
LV.
7S 8 Ofjincerity towards God and man.
SERM. feems here to alJude to that character which is given
of Jacob (Gen. xxv. 27.) " That he was a plain
u man,or,asthehebrew word fignifies, a perfect and
" fincere man," in oppofition to his brother Eiau
who is faid to be cunning, fo that to be an Ifraelite
indeed, is to be a downright honed man, without
fraud and guile, without any arts of hypocrify and
deceit.
In fpeaking of this virtue of fincerity, which is
the higheft character and commendation of a good
man, I mall confider it, as it refpects God and
man. As it refpects God, fo it imports the truth
and fincerity of our piety and devotion towards him.
As it regards men, fo it fignirles a fimplicity of
mind and manners, in our carnage and conventi-
on, one towards ^another : both thefe are included,
and very probably were intended, in the character
which our Saviour here gives Nathanael.
I. I mall confider this grace, or virtue of fince-
rity, as it refpects God, and fo it imports the truth
and fincerity of our piety towards him, that we
heartily believe, and fear, and honour him, and that
the outward expreilions of our piety and obedience
to him are the genuine ifTue of our inward apprehen-
fions of him, and affections towards him ; and this
no doubt, our Saviour intended, in the firft place,
in the character of this good man, that he was a
man of a real and fubftantial and unaffected piety,
and in truth, what he appeared to be; that he did
fincerely love God and his truth, and was ready to
embrace it, whenever it was fairly prcpofed to him,
as did plainly appear in his carriage towards our
Saviour 5 for when Philip invited him " to come
" and
Of fincerity towards God and man. 7S9
u and fee him," he did not conceal the prejudice and 3 &kM.
objection he had againft him, grounded UDon a
common, but uncharitable proverb, " that out of
" Nazareth arifeth no prophet- " but having an
honed and fincere mind, he was not Jo carried a-
way by a popular prejudice, as not to have patience
to be bttter inform 'd, and therefore was eafily per-
fuaded 10 go and fee our Saviour, and to dif-
courfe with him himfelf, and being fatisfied that he
was the Messias, he prefently owns him for fuch,
calling him " the Son of God, and the king of If-
" rael. " And becaufe fincerity is the very heart
and fubftance of religion, it concerns us not only to
endeavour after this temper and difpofition, but to
enquire into the nature and properties of it, that
we may know when we have it, and may have the
comfort of it. I fhall mention five or fix proper-
ties of a fincere piety, by which men may fuffici-
ently know the integrity of their hearts towards
God.
1. Our piety is then fincere, when the chief rea-
fons and predominant motives of it are religious ;
and I call that a religious or rational motive, which
regards God and another world, in oppofition to
men, and to our prefent temporal advantages ;
when the principal and fwaying motives of our
piety, arc a fenfe of God's authority over us, and
of our duty and obligation to him ; a fear of his
difpleafure and threatnings, and the hopes of thz
glorious reward which he hath promifed to obedi-
ence 5 thefe motives are properly religious, becaufe
they refpecl God, and are the arguments to obedi-
ence, which he himfelf offers to us, to perfuade us
Vol. IV. 7 $ to
7Qo Of fincerity towards God and man,
SERM. to our duty; and that is a fincere piety, which >3
wrought in us by thefe confederations, how unequal-
ly ibever mixed, for even in the molt of men, fear
does many times prevail more than love, and, in
cafe of great temptation, may preferve men from
fin, when perhaps no other confideration will do
it. On the contrary, that is an unfincere piety, to
which we are moved meerly by the regard of men,
and the confideration of fome temporal advantages.
And when thefe have the chief influence upon us,
it is eafy for any man to difcern in himfelf ; for he
that will carefully obferve himfelf, can hardly be
ignorant of the true fphng and motive of his own
actions : but there is one fign whereby a man may
certainly know that his heart is not right towards
God, and that is, if when thefe motives are abfent,
cur piety and zeal for the true religion doth either
ceafe, or is fenfibly cooled and abated ; as if im-
piety, or popery, or any thing elfe that is bad,
begin to be in fafhion, and to have the counte-
nance of great examples ; if thofe whom we fear>
and upon whom we depend, do difcover any incli-
nation that way ; if the garb of religion ceafe to
be for our interefr, or, in the revolution of things,
happen to be contrary to it : if in any of thefe
cafes, we let fall the profeflion of our religion, or
neglect the practice of it, this is a plain and un-
deniable demonftration of the infincerity of our for-
mer piety.
2. A fincere piety mufl be rooted in the heart,
and be a living principle within us : for as the apo-
ftle reafons in another cafe, " he is not a Jew who is
*• one outwardly, but he who is one inwardly, and
44 m
Of fincerity towards God and man. 794.
K in the heart \ n and without this all outward ads SERM.
81 of piety and devotion are hypocrify ; a picture of
88 religion, and a form of godlinefs, without the life
" and power of it."
3. A third evidence of a fincerc piety is, when
men are religious in private and in fecret, as well as
in publick and in the open view of men. He is
truly devour, who is fo in his family, and in his
clofet, where he hath no witnefs, but God, and his
own foul, as well as in the church. He is a down-
right honeft man, who will make good his word,
and perform his promife, when no proof can be
made of it, and no law compel him to it, as readi-
ly as if there had been an hundred witneffes of it.
He is fincerely juft, who will not detain from another
his right, though he be ignorant of it ; nor wrono-
any man, though he could do it with all the fecre-
cy and fafety in the world •, who will not impofe
upon another's ignorance or unskilfulnels, though
never fo much to his own benefit or advantage :
he is truly charitable, who would not only as foon,
but rather fboner give his alms in fecret, than in the
fight of men: and he is truly grateful, who when
there is occafion and opportunity, will acknowledge
a kindnefs and requite a benefit to the relations of
his deceafed friend, though he be fure that all me-
mory of the obligation died with him, and that
none are confeious of it, but God and his own
confeience. And indeed there is fcarce any act
of piety and virtue, the fincerity of which may
not by this evidence be known by us : as on the
contrary a man may for certain conclude himfeif a
hypocrite, if he be not the fame in the prefence of
7 S 2 God*
ygz Of fine er It y towards God and man.
SE R M. God, and his own confeience, that he is in the fight
of men.
4. Another evidence of a fincere piety is a con-
flant tenour of goodnels in the general courfe of our
lives. I do not now fpeak of the firft beginnings of
piety, in new converts, which are many times very
imperfect, and fuch as afford little or no evidence of
a man's fincerity •, but in thofe who have made any
confiderable progrefs in goodnefs \ the habits of any
known fin, and* the wilful and deliberate neglect
of our duties, and even the fingle acts of more
heinous crimes, will bring in queftion our fincerity,
and are by no means to be fhelter'd under the
name of infirmity: for thefe the grace of God, if
v/e be not wanting to ourfelves, will enable us to
fubd.ue ; and he is not fincerely good, who doth no:
feriouily endeavour to be as good as he can, and does
not make life of that grace which God is ready to
afford to all trie purpofes, tho' not of a perfect, yet of
a fincere obedience to the laws of God.
5. Another evidence of a fincere piety is, that
our obedience to God be uniform and univerfal,
equally refpecting all the laws of God, and every
part of our duty •» that it do not content itfelf with
an efpecial regard to fome precepts of the law tho*
never fo confiderable, and allow itfelf in the breach,
or neglect of the reft ; no nor with obferving the
duties of one table of the law, if it overlook the
other ; no nor with obedience to ail the command-
ments of God, one only excepted. St. James puts
this cafe, and determines, " that he that keeps the
*' whole law, faving that he offends in one point, is
* 4 guilty of ail," that is, is not fincere in his obe-
dience
Of fmcerity towards God and man. 793
dience to the reft. And therefore we muft take S E R M.
great heed that we do not fet the commandments l — J_
of God at odds, and dafh the two tables of the law
againft one another, left, as St. James fays, l< we
" break the whole law. 5 ' And yet I fear this is
too common a fault, even arnongft thofe who make
a great profeffion of piety, that they are not fuffi-
ciently fenfible of the obligation and neceffity of
the duties of the fecond table, and of the excel-
lency of thofe graces and virtues, which refpcct our
carriage and converfation with one another. Men
do not feem to confider, that God did not give
laws to us, for his own fake, but ours ; and therefore
that he did not -only defign that we mould honour
him, but that we mould be happy in one another ;
for which reafon he joins with our humble and duti-
ful deportment towards himfdf, the offices of juftice
and charity towards others, Micah vi. 3. " he hath
* c fhewed thee, O man, what is good; and what
" doth the Lord require of thee, but to do juftice,
" and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
" God ?" And 1 John iv. 21. " This command-
** ment have we from him, that he who loveth
u God, love his brother alfo." And yet it is too
vifible that many, who make a great profeffion of
piety towards God, are very defective in moral
duties ; very unpeaceable, and turbulent in their
fpirits, very peevifh and paffionate, very conceited
and cenforious, as if their profeffion of godlinefs
did exempt them from the care and practice of
chriftian virtues. But we muft not fo fix our eye
upon heaven, as to forget that we walk upon the
c.;r;h, and to neglect the ordering of our fteps
and
794- Of fincerity towards God and man.
SERM. and converfation among men, left while we are
crazing upon the ftars, we fall into the ditch of grofs
and foul immorality.
It is very podible, that men may be devout and
zealous in religion, very nice and fcrupulous about
the worfhip and fervice of God ; and yet becaufe of
their palpable defect in points of juftice and ho-
nelty, of meeknefs and humility, of peace and cha-
rity, may be grofs and odious hypocrites. For men
mud not think for fome acts, either of outward or
inward piety, to compound with God for the neg-
lect of mercy and judgment, or to demand it as a
ricmt from men to be excufed from the great duties
and virtues of humane converfation ; or pretend to
be above them, becaufe they relate chiefly to this
world, and to the temporal happinefs of men; as
if it were the privilege of great devotion, to give
a licence to men to be peevifh and froward, four
and morofe, fupercilious and cenforious in their be-
haviour towards others. Men mud have a great
care that they be not intent upon the outward parts
of religion, to the prejudice of inward and real good-
nefs, and that they do not fo life the means of re-
ligion, as to neglect and lofe the main end of it :
that they do not place all religion in fading and
outward mortification : for though thefe things be
very ufeful and neceflfary in their place, if they be
difcreetly managed, and made fubfervient to the
great ends of religion -, yet it is often feen that men
have fo unequal a refpect to the feveral parts of
their duty, that fading and corporal feverity, thofe
meager and lean duties of piety, in comparifon, do
like Pharaoh's lean kine, "devour and eat up almod
" all
Of fincerlty towards God and man. 79 5
* c .all the goodly and well-favoured," the great and SERM;
fubftantial duties of the chriftian life ; and therefore
men muft take great heed, left whilft they are fo in-
tent upon mortifying themfelves, they do not mortify
virtue and good-nature, humility and meeknefs and
charity, things highly valuable in themfelves, and
amiable in the eyes of men, and in the fight of God
of great price.
For the neglect of the moral duties of the fecond
table is not only a mighty fcandal to religion, but
of pernicious confequence many other ways. A fierce
and ill-governed, an ignorant and injudicious zeal
for the honour of God, and fomething or other be-
longing necefTarily, as they think, to his true wor-
fhip and fervice, hath made many men do many un-
reafonable, immoral and impious things, of which
hiftory will furnifh us with innumerable inftances, in
the practice of the jefuits and other zealots of the
church of Rome ; and there are not wanting too
many examples of this kind amongft ourfelves : for
men that are not fober, and confiderate in their re-
ligion, but give themfelves up to the conduct: of
blind prejudice, and furious zeal, do eafily perfuade
themfelves that any thing is lawful, which they
fbrongly fancy to tend to the honour of God, and
to the advancement of the caufe of religion. Hence
fome have proceeded to that height of abfurdity,
in their zeal for their religion and church, as to
think it not only lawful but highly commendable
and meritorious to equivocate upon oaths and
break faith with hereticks, and to deftroy all thofc
that differ from them ; as -if it were piety in fome
cafes to lie for the truth, and to kill men for God's
fake, , So
796 Of fincerity towards God and man.
S E R M. So that if we would approve the integrity of our
hearts to God, and evidence to ourfelves the fince-
rity of our obedience, we ought impartially to re-
gard all the laws of God, and every part of our du-
ty : and if we do not, our heart is not upright with
God. 5 Tis obfervable that fincerity in fcripture is
often called by the name of integrity, and perfection,
becaufe it is integrated and made up of all the parts
of our duty.
6. The lafl evidence I mall mention of the fince-
rity of our religion is, if it hold out againft per-
fection, and endure the fiery trial. This is the
utmoft proof of our integrity, when we are called
to bear the crofs, to be willing then to expofe all
our worldly interefl, and even life kfelf, for the
caufe.of God and religion. This is a trial which
God doth not always call his faithful fervants to ;
but they are always to be prepared for it, in the
purpofe and refolution of their minds. This our
Saviour makes the great mark of a true difciple,
*• if any man (faith he) will be my difciple, let
•* him deny himlelf, and take up his crofs, and
" follow me." This is a certain fign, " that men
4i have received the word into good ground,"
and are well-rooted in their religion, when they
are not fhaken by thefe fierce affaults ; " forma-
" ny (as our Saviour tells us) hear the word, and
" with joy receive it ; but having not root in
" themfclves, they endure but for a while, and
" when perfecution or tribulation arifcth, becaufe of
" the word, prcfently they are offended f* nay fome,
when they fee perfecution coming at a diftance, wheel
of! and bethink themfclves of making their retreat
in
Of fincerity towards God and man. ygj
in time, and " of agreeing with their adverfary, SERM*
*' whiltt he is yet in the way."
So that conflancy to our religion in cafe of
danger, and fuifering for it, is the bed proof of
our fincerity. This is the fiery trial, as the fcrip-
ture calls it, which will try what materials we are
made of, and whether we love God and his truth
in fincerity.
And thus I have confidered fincerity as it re-
flects God, and imports true piety and religion
towards him ; and 1 proceed to the fecond confe-
deration,
II. Of fincerity as it regards men ; and fo it
fignifies a fimplicity of mind and manners in our
converfation, and carriage one towards another ;
finglenefs of heart, difcovering itfelf in a conftant
plainnefs and honed opennefs of behaviour, free
from all infidious devices, and little tricks, and
fetches of craft and cunning j from all falle appear-
ances and deceitful difguifes of ourfelves in word
or action ; or yet mGre plainly, it is to fpeak as
we think, and do what we pretend and profefs,
to perform and make good what we promife, and,
in a word, really to be, what we would ieem and ap*
pear to be.
Not that we are obliged to teil every man all
our mind ; but we are never to declare any thing
contrary to it : we may be filent, and conceal as
much of ourfelves, as prudence, or any other good
reafon requires •, but we mud not put on a difguife>
and make a falfe appearance and empty /hew of
what wc are not, either by word or action. Con-
trary to this virtue is ( I fear ) moil; of that
Vo l. IV. 7 T
7-
798 Offmcerity towards God and man.
SERM. compliment which is current in converfation, and
which for the mod part is nothing but words, to
fill up the gaps, and fupply the emptinefs of dif-
courfe •, and a pretence to that kindnefs and efleern
for perfons, which either in truth we have not, or
not to that degree which our expreffions feem to im-
port ; which if done with defign, is that which we
call flattery, a very odious fort of infincerity, and fo
much the worfe, becaufe it abufes men into a vain
and foolifh opinion of themfelves, and an ill-grounded
confidence of the kindnefs and good-will of others
towards them 5 and fo much the more dangerous,
becaufe it hath a party within us, which is ready to
let it in ; it plays upon our felf-love, which greedily
catcheth at any thing that tends to magnify and ad-
vance us \ for God knows, we are ail too apt to
think and make the beft of our bad felves, fo that
very few tempers have wifdom and firmnefs enough
to be proof againft flattery ; it requires great confi-
deration and a refolute modefly and humility, to re-
iift the insinuations of this fcrpent ; yea, a little rude-
nefs and morofeneis of nature, a prudent diftruft and
infidelity in mankind, to make a man in good ear-
ned to reject and defpife it.
Now befides, that all hypocrify and infincerity is
mean in itfelf, having falfhood at the bottom \ it
is alfo often made ufe of, to the prejudice of others,
in their rights and interefts. For not only diflimu-
lation is contrary to fincerity, becaufe it confirts in
a vain mew of what we arc not, in a falfe mufter
of our virtues and good qualities, in a deceitful re-
prefentation and undue character of our lives : but
there are likewiie other qualities and actions more in-
con-
Offmcerity towards God and man. 799
confident with integrity, which are of a more inju- SERAI.
rious and mifchicvous confequence to our nature, as
falfhood and fraud, and perfidioufneis, and infinite
little crafts and arts of deceit, which men praclife
upon one another in their ordinary converfation and
intercourfe. The former is great vanity: but this
is grofs iniquity.
And yet thefe qualities dexteroufly managed, fo as
not to lie too plain and open to difcovery, are look'd
upon by many, as figns of great depth and fhrewd-
nefs, admirable inftruments of bufinefs, and nccefTary
means for the comparing our own ends and defigns ;
and tho' in thofe that have fuffered by them, and
felt the mifchief of them, they are always accounted
difhoneft, yet among the generality of lookers on,
they pafs for great policy ; as if the very skill of go-
verning and managing humane affcirs, did confift in
thefe little tricks and devices : but he that looks more
narrowly into them, and will but have the patience
to obferve the end of them, will find them to be
great follies, and that it is only for want of trucwil-
dom and understanding, that men turn afide to tricks,
and make diflimulation and lies their refuge. It is
Solomon's obfervation, c ' that he that walketh up-
" rightly, walketh furely -, but the folly of fools is
" deceit." The folly of fools, that is, the mod
egregious piece of folly that any man can be guilty
of, is to play the knave : the vulgar tranflation ren-
ders this claufe a little otherwife, but yet cowards the
fame fenfe, fedftultus divertit ad dolos^ " but the for>}
" turns afide to tricks;" to make uie of thefe, is a
fign the man wants underftanding to fee the plain
*nd direcl way to his end. I will not deny but thefe
7 T 2 huts
r 8eo Gffjicerity towards God and man.
S E Px m. little arts may ferve a prefent turn, and perhaps fuo
ccfsfully enough ; but true wifdom gees deep, and
reacheth a great way farther, looking to the end of
things, and regarding the future as well as the pre-
fent, and, by judging upon the whole matter and
furn of affairs, doth clearly diicern, that craft and cun-
ning are only ufeful for the prefent occafion -, where-
as integrity is of a lading ufe, and will be fcrvice-
able to us upon all occafions, and in the whole courfe
of our lives -, and that diffimulation and deceit, tho'
they may do fome prefent execution in bufinefs, yet
they recoil upon a man terribly afterwards, fo as to
make him dagger, and by degrees to weaken, and
at lad to dedroy his reputation, which is a much
more ufeful and fubitantial and lading indrument of
profperity and fuccefs in humane affairs than any
tricks and devices whatfoever. Thus have I confi-
dered this great virtue of fincerity, both as it re-
gards God, and the mutual converfation and in-
tercourfe of men one with another.
And now having explained the nature of fincerity
to God and man, by declaring the properties of it,
and in what indances we ought chiefly to pra&ife ir,
and what things are contrary to it ; that winch re-
mains, is to perfuade men to endeavour after this ex-
cellent quality, and to pra&ife it in ail the words
and actions of their lives.
Let us then, in the firfl place, be fincere in our
religion, and ferve God in truth and uprightnefs of
heart, out of confeience of our duty and obligations
to him, and not with finider refpccls to our private
intereft or pafTion, to the publick approbation or
cenfure of men. Let us never make ufe of reli-
gion
Ofjincerity towards God and man. So t
gion to ferve any bafe and unworthy ends, cloking SERM.
our defigns of covetoufhefs, or ambition, or revenge,
with pretences of confeience and zeal for God ; and
let us endeavour after the reality of religion, always
remembring that a fincere piety doth not confnt
in fhew, but fubftance, not in appearance, but in
effect ; that the fpirit of true religion is ftill and
calm, charitable and peaceable, making as little
fhew and flir as is poffible ; that a truly and fin-
cerely good Man does not affect vain oftentation,
and an unfeafonable difcovery of his good qualities,
but endeavours rather really to be, than to feem reli-
gious, and of the two rather feeksto conceal his piety,
than to fet it out with pomp ; gives his alms pri-
vately °> prays to God in fecret, and makes no ap-
pearance of religion, but in fuch fruits and effects
as cannot be hid in the quiet and filent virtues of
humility, and meeknefs, and patience, of peace and
charity, in governing his paftions, and taking heed
not to offend with his tongue, by (lander and ca-
lumny, by envious detraction or rafh cenfure, or by
any word or action that may be to the hurt and pre-
judice of his neighbour : but, on the contrary, it is
a very ill fign, if a man affect to make a great
noife and buftle about religion ; if he blow a trum-
pet before his good works, and by extraordinary
fhews of devotion fummon the eyes of men to be-
hold him, and do, as it were, call aloud to them
to take notice of his piety, " and to come and
" fee his zeal for the Lord of hofts." It is not
impoffible but fuch a man, with all his vanity and
oftentation, may have fome real goodnefs in him *,
but he is as the hypocrites are, and does as like
one
T:Oi Offinccrity towards God and man.
S E R M. one as is poftible ; and by the mighty mew that he
y^j makes, to wife and confiderate men, greatly brings
in queftion the fincerity of his religion.
And with the fincerity of our piety towards
God, let us join the fimplicity and integrity of
manners in our converfation with men. Let us
ftritStly charge our felves to ufe truth and plainnefs
in all our words and doings -, let our tongue be ever
the true interpreter of our mind, and our expref-
ilons the lively image of our thoughts and affecti-
ons, and our outward actions exactly agreeable to
our inward purpofes and intentions.
Amongft too many other inftances of the great
corruption and degeneracy of the age wherein we
live, the great and general want of fincerity in
converfation is none of the Jeaft. The world is
grown fo full of diffimulation and compliment, that
mens words are hardly any fignification of their
thoughts -, and if any man meafure his words by his
heart, and fpeak as he thinks, and do not exprefs more
kindnefs to every man, than men ufually have for
any man, he can hardly efcape the cenfure of rude-
nefs and want of breeding. The old englifh plain-
nefs and fincerity, that generous integrity of nature
and honefty of difpofition, which always argues
true greatnefs of mind, and is ufually accompanied
with undaunted courage and reiblution, is in a great
meafure loft among us ; there hath been a long en-
deavour to transfrom us into foreign manners and
fafhions, and to bring us to a fervile imitation of
none of the beft of our neighbours, in fome of the
worft of their qualities. The dialect of convention
now-a-days ib fwell'd with vanity and compli-
ment.
Of fincerity towards God and man, f :
rnent, and fo forfeited (as I may lay) with exprefiions SE R M-
of kindnefs and reipecl:, that if a man that lived an
age or two ago mould return into the world again,
he would really want a dictionary to help him to
underftand his own language, and to know the true
intrinfick value of the phrafe in fafhion, and would
hardly at firft believe at what a low rate the higheft
ftrains and exprefiions of kindnefs imaginable do
commonly pafs in current payment ; and when he
fhould come to underftand it 5 it would be a great
while before he could bring himfelf, with a good
countenance and a good confcience, to converfe with
men upon equal terms, and in their own way.
And, in truth, it is hard to fay, whether it mould
more provoke our contempt or our pity, to hear
what folemn exprefiions of refpecl: and kindnefs
will pafs between men, almoft upon no occafion ;
how great honour and efteem they will declare for
one whom perhaps they never heard of or law be-
fore, and how entirely they are all on the fudden
devoted to his fervice and intereft, for no reafon j
how infinitely and eternally obliged to him for no
benefit, and how extremely they will be concerned
for him, yea, and afflicted too, for no caufe. I
know it is faid, in juftification of this hollow kind
of converfaticn, that there is no harm, no real de-
ceit in compliment, but the matter is well enough,
fo long as we underftand one another *, £? verba
valent tit nummi, " words are like money," and when
the current value of them is generally underftood,
no man is cheated by them. This is fomething, if
fuch words were any thing ; but being brought into
the account, they are rneer cyphers. However, it
is
804 Of jincerity towards God and man.
SE RM. is ftill a iuft matter of complaint, that fincerity and
plainnefs arc out of fafhion, and that our language
is running into a lye, that men have almoft quite
perverted the uie of fpeech, and made words to
fignify nothing ; that the greatefl part of the con-
vention of mankind, and of their intercourfe with
one another, is little elfe but driving a trade of
difiimulation ; infomuch that it would make a man
heartily fick and weary of the world, to fee the
little fincerity that is in ufe and practice among
men, and tempt him to break out into that me-
lancholy complaint and wifh of the prophet. Jer. ix.
" O that I had in the wildernefs a lodging- place
" of way- faring men, that I might leave my peo-
u pie, and go from them : for they are all adulte-
" rers, and an aflembly of treacherous men. And
<c they bend their tongues like their bow^for lies,
" but have no courage for the truth upon earth.
<c Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and
<c trull ye not in any brother : for every brother
" will utterly fupplant, and every neighbour will
" walk with flanders. Thine habitation is in the
" midft of deceit \ one fpeaketh peaceably to his
<c neighbour, but in his heart he lieth in wait.
<c Shall not I vifit for thefe things, faith the Lord ?
" and fhall not my foul be avenged of fuch a na-
" tion as this ?
Such were the manners of the people of Ifrael at
that time, which were both the forerunner and the
caufe of thofe terrible calamities which befell them
afterwards ; and this character agrees but too well
to the prefent age, which is fo wretchedly void of
truth and fincerity ; for which reafon there is the
greater
Of fincerity towards God and man. 805
greater need to recommend this virtue to us, which SER M<
LV
feems to be fled from us, " that truth and righteouf-,
M nefsmay return^ and glory may dwell in our land,
" and God may fhew his mercy upon us, and grant
cc us his falvation, and righteoufhefs and peace may
<c kifs each other." To this end give me leave to
offer thefe following confederations.
Firft, that fincerity is the higheft commendation,
and the very bed character, that can be given of
any man ; it is the folid foundation of all virtue, the
heart and foul of all piety and goodnefs \ it is in
fcripture called perfection, and frequently joined with
it ; and throughout the bible, there is the greater!:
ftrefs and weight laid upon it ; it is fpoken of as the
fum and comprehension of all religion. M Only fear
" the Lord, and ferve him in fincerity and truth "
fays Jofhua to the people of Ifrael, Jof. xxiv. 14. God
takes great pleafure in it ; fo David afTures us, 1 Chr.
xxix. 17. " I know, my God, that thou tried the
heart, and hail pleafure in uprightnefs :" and again,
thou loved truth in the inward parts."
To this difpofition of mind the promifes of divine
favour and bleffing are particularly made, Pfal. xv #
1, 2. " Lord, who fhall dwell in thy tabernacle? who
" fhall dwell in thy holy hill ? he that walketh up-
" rightly, and worketh righteoufnefs, and fpeaketh
" the truth from his heart." Pfal. xxxii. 2. " Bleifed
" is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth no
u fin, and in whofe fpint there is no guile."
And 'tis obfervable that this character of our Sa-
viour here given of Nathanael, is the only full and
perfect commendation that we read was ever given
by him of any particular perfon. He commends
Vol. IV. 7 U fome
806 Of fmcerity towards God and man.
SERM.fome particular a6ls of piety and virtue in others, as
LV : t St. Peter's confeflion of him, the faith of the centu-
' rion, and of the woman that was healed by touching
the hem of his garment, the charity of the woman
that caft her two mites into the treafury, and the
bounty of that other devout woman who poured up-
on him a box of precious ointment : but here he'gives
the particular character of a good man, when he fays
of Nathanael, that he was " an Ifraelite indeed, in
« whom was no guile." And the apoftle mentions
this quality, as the chief ingredient into the character
of the belt man that ever was, our bleffcd Saviour,
« who did no fin, neither was guile found in his
" mouth."
Secondly, the rarity of this virtue is a farther com-
mendation of it. A fincercly pious and good man,
Without any guile or difguife, is not a fight to be feen
every day. Our Saviour in the text fpeaks of it, as
a thins; very extraordinary and of a fpecial remark
and obfervation, and breaks out into fome kind of
wonder upon theoccaiion, as if to fee a man of per-
fect integrity and fimplicity were an occurrence very
rare and unufual, and fuch as calls for our more
efpecial attention and regard, " Behold (faith he)
« an Ifraelite indeed, in whom there is no guile."
Thirdly, the want of fmcerity will quite fpoil
the virtue and acceptance of all our piety and obe-
dience, and certainly deprive us of the reward of
it. All that we do in the fervice of God, all our
external obedience to his laws, if not animated by
fmcerity, is like a facrifi.ee without a heart, which is
an abomination to the Lord.
Fourthly,
Of Jincerity towards God and man. 807
Fourthly, hypocrify and infincerity is a very vain S E R M.
and foolifh thing ; it is defigned to cheat others,
but is in truth a deceiving of ourfelves. No man
would flatter or difTemble, did he believe he were
fettn and difcovered ; an open knave is a great fool,
who deftroys at once both his defign and reputation :
and this is the cafe of every hypocrite ; all the dis-
agreement which is between his tongue and his
thoughts, his actions and his heart, is open to that
eye, from which nothing can be hid ; <k for the
" ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
" and he feeth all his goings \ there is no dark-
" nels nor fhadow of death, where the workers of
I 8 iniquity may hide themfelves."
Fifthly, truth and reality have all the advantages
of appearance, and many more. If the fhew of
any thing be good for any thing, I am fure fmcerity
is better ; for why does any man difTemble, or feem
to be that which he is not, but becaufe he thinks it
good to have fuch a quality as he pretends to ? for to
counterfeit and difTemble, is to put on the appear-
ance of fome real excellency. Now the bed way in
the world for a man to feem to be any thing, is re-
ally to be what he would feem to be. Befides, that
it is many times as troublefome to make good the
pretence of a good quality, as to have it ; and if a
man have it not, it is ten to one, but he is dif-
covered to want it, and then all his pains and labour
to feem to have it is loft. There is fomcthing unna-
tural in painting, which a skilful eye will eafily dif-
cern from native beauty and complexion.
It is hard to perfonate and act: a part long ; for
where truth is not at the bottom 3 nature will always
7 U 2 be
?c8 Of fincerity towards God and man.
be endeavouring to return, and will peep out and be-
tray herfelf one time or other. Therefore if any man
think it convenient to ieem good, let him be fo in-
deed, and then his goodnefs will appear to every
boJy's fatisia&ion •, for truth is convincing, and car-
ries its own light and evidence along with it, and
will not only commend us to every man's confcience,
but which is much more, to God, who fearcheth
and feeth our hearts •, fo that upon all accounts fin-
cerity is true wifdom. Particularly as to the affairs
of this world, integrity hath many advantages over
all the fine and artificial ways of diftimulation and
deceit \ it is much the plainer and eafier, much the
fafer and more fecure way of dealing in the world *
it hath lefs of trouble and difficulty, of entangle-
ment and perplexity, of danger and hazard in it j
it is the ihorteft and nearefl way to our end, carrying
us thither in a ftraight line, and will hold out and
lail longed. The arts of deceit and cunning do con-
tinually grow weaker and lefs effectual and fer vice-
able to them that ufe them ; whereas integrity gains
firength by ufe, and the more and longer any man
practifeth ir, the greater fervice it does him, by cor-'
firming his reputation, and encouraging thofe with
whom he hath to do, to repofe the greater truft and
confidence in him, which is an unfpeakable advan-
tage in the bufinefs and affairs of life.
But a diffembler muft always be upon his guard,
and watch himfelf carefully, that he do not contra*
didk his own pretence ; for he a£ls an unnatural part,
and therefore mud put a continual force and reftraint
upon himfelf. Truth always lies uppermoft, and if
a man do not carefully attend, he will be apt to bolt
it
Of fncerity towards God and man. 809
it out : whereas he that acts fincerely, hath the eafieft S E R M.
task in the world 5 becaufe he follows nature, and fo t tLl.
is put to no trouble and care about his words and
actions j he needs not invent any pretences before-
hand, nor make excufes afterwards, for any thing
he hath faid or done.
But infmcerity is very troublefome to manage •, a
man hath fo many things to attend to, fo many
ends to bring together, as make his life a very
perplext and intricate thing. Oportet mendacem effe
memorem, " a liar had need of a good memory,'*
left he contradict at one time what he faid at ano-
ther: but truth is always confident with itfelf,
and needs nothing to help it out ; it is always
near at hand, and fits upon our lips, and is ready
to drop out before we are aware •, whereas a lye is
troublefome, and fets a man's invention upon the
rack, and one trick needs a great many more to
make it good. It is like, building upon a falfe foun-
dation, which continually (lands in need of props to
fhore it up, and proves at lafc more chargeable than
to have railed a fubftantial building at firft upon a
true and folid foundation ; for fincerity is firm and
fubftantial ; and there is nothing hollow and unfound
in it, and becaufe it is plain and open, fears no dif-
covery, of which the crafty man is always in dan*
ger, and when he thinks he walks in the dark, all his
pretences are fo tranfparent, that he that runs may
read them : he is the laft man that finds himfelf to be
found out, and whilft he takes it for granted that he
makes fools of others, he renders himfelf ridicu-
lous.
Add
Sio Offmccrity towards God a?id man.
SERM. Add to all this, that fincerity is the moft compen.
ilYj-j dious wifdom, and an excellent inftrument for the
fpeedy difpatch of bufinefs j it creates confidence in
thofe we have to deal with, faves the labour of many
enquiries, and brings things to an ifluc in few words:
it is like travelling in a plain beaten road, which
commonly brings a man fooner to his journey's end,
than by-ways, in which men often lofe themfelves.
In a word, whatsoever convenience may be thought
to be in falfhood and diilimulation, it is foon over ;
but the inconvenience of it is perpetual, becaufe it
brings a man under an everlafting jealoufy and fuf-
picion, fo that he is not believed when he fpeaks
truth, nor trufted, when perhaps he means honeftly :
when a man hath once forfeited the reputation of his
integrity, he is fet fail, and nothing will then ferve
his turn, neither truth nor falfhood.
And I have often thought, that God hath in great
wifdom hid from men of falfe and difhoneft minds
the wonderful advantages of truth and integrity to the
profperity even of our worldly affairs ; thefe men are
fo blinded by their covetoufnefs and ambition, that
they cannot look beyond a prefent advantage; nor
forbear to feize upon it, tho' by ways never fo indi-
rect -, they cannot fee fo far, as to the remote con-
sequences of a fteddy integrity, and the vaft benefit
and advantages which it will bring a man at laft.
Were but this fort of men wife and clear-fighted
enough to difcern this, they would be honed, out of
very knavery, not out of any love to honefty or
virtue, but with a crafty defign to promote and ad-
vance more effectually their own interefts ; and
therefore the juftice of the divine providence hath
hid
Of Jincerity towards God and man. 8 1 x
hid this trued point of wifdom from their eyes, that SERM.
bad men might not be upon equal terms with the
juft and upright, and ferve their own wicked defigns
by honed and lawful means.
Indeed, if a man were only to deal in the world
for a day, and fhould never have occafion to con-
vert more with mankind, never more need their
good opinion, or good word, it were then no great
matter (fpeaking as to the concernments of the
world) if a man fpent his reputation all at once, and
ventured it at one throw : but if he be to con-
tinue in the world, and would have the advantage
of converfation whilft he is in it, let him make ufe
of truth and fincerity in all his words and actions,
for nothing but this will laft and hold out to the
end ; all other arts will fail, but truth and integri-
ty will carry a man through, and bear him out to
the laft.
'Tis the obfervation of Solomon, Prov. xii. 19.
cc The lip of truth is eftablifhed for ever : but a
iC lying tongue is but for a moment.'* And the
wifer any man is, the more clearly will he difcern,
how ferviceable fincerity is to all the great ends and
purpofes of humane life ; and that man hath made a
good progrels, and profited much in the fchool of
wifdom, who valueth truth and fincerity according
to their worth. Every man will readily grant them
to be great virtues, and arguments of a generous
mind, but that there is fo much of true wifdom in
them, and that they really ferve to profit our intereft
in this world, feems a great paradox to the generali-
ty of men •, and yet I doubt not but it is undoubted-
ly true, and generally found to be fo, in the experi-
ence of mankind. Laftly,
8 1 2 Of Jincerity forwards God and matt.
SERM. Laftly, Confider that it is not worth our while to
T \T
diffcmble, confidering the fhortneis and efpecially the
uncertainty of our lives. To what purpofe fhould
we be fo cunning, when our abode in this world is
fo fhort and uncertain ? why fhould any man by diC-
fembiing his judgment, or acting contrary to it, in-
cur at once the difpleafure of God, and the difcon-
tcnt of his own mind ? efpecially if we confider, that
all our diffimulation fhall one day be made manifeft
and publifhed on the open theatre of the world, be-
fore God, angels, and men, to our everlafting fhame
and confufion ; all difguife and vizards fhall then be
pluckt off, and every man fhall appear in his true
colours. " For then the fecrets of men fhall be
" judged, and God will bring every work intojudg-
" ment, and every fecret thing, whether it be good,
" or whether it be evil. Nothing is now covered,
" which fhall not then be revealed, nor hid which
*' fhall not then be known."
Let us then be now what we would be glad to be
found in that day, when all pretences fhall be exa-
mined, and the clofeft hypoenfy of men fhall be laid
open and dafht out of countenance -, when the fecrets
of all hearts fhall be difcloled, and all the hidden works
of darknefs fhall be revealed, and all our thoughts,
words, and actions fhall be brought to a ftridl and fe-
vere trial, and be cenfured, by that impartial and in-
fallible judgment of God, which is according to
truth ; " in the day when God fhall judge the fe-
46 crets of men by Jesus Christ."
To whom, with the Father and the Holy
Ghost, be glory now and for ever. Amen.
SERMON
S E R M O N LVI.
The excellency cf Abraham's faith and
obedience.
HEBREWS xi. 17, 18, 19.
By faith Abraham, when he was fried, offered up lfr.ee :
end he that had received the promifes offered up his
only begotten fon : of whom it was faid, that in
Ifaac floall thy feed be called: accounting that God
was able to raife him up, even from the dead \
from whence alfo he received him in a figure.
f~TT* H E deflgn of this epiftle to the Hebrews is 3 e R M.
to recommend to them the chriftian religion, LV ] -^ J
to which they were but newly converted, p re:lc ' aec i
and to encourap-e them to confbancy in the profef- at White-
. . hail i&o5
fion of it, notwithftanding the fufferings which at- bef( J re th ^
tended it. He lets before them in this chapter fe- princes
veral examples in the old teftament of thofe, who,
tho s they were under a much more imperfect diipen-
fation, yet by a iledfaft belief in God and his pro-
mifes, had performed fuch wonderful acts of obedi-
ence and felf-denial.
He begins with the patriarchs before the flood •,
but infills chiefly upon the examples of two eminent
perfons of their own nation, as nearell to them, and
moil likely to prevail upon them, the examples of
Vol. IV. yX Abraham
7.
LVI
$14 The excellency of
SERM. Abraham and Mofes, the one the father of their na-
tion, the other their great lawgiver, and both of
them the greater!: patterns of faith, and obedi-
ence, and felf- denial, that the hiftory of ail former
ages, from the beginning of the world, had af-
forded.
I fhall at this time, by God's afliftance, treat of
the firft of thefe, the example of Abraham, the
coni Lancy of whofe faith, and the chearfulnefs of
whofe obedience, even in the difficulteft cafes, is fo
remarkable above all the other examples mentioned
in this chapter. For, " at the command of God he
" \tk his kindred and his country, not knowing
" whither he fhould go; 3 ' by which eminent act of
obedience he declared him felf to be wholly at God's
difpofal, and ready to follow him: but this was no
trial in comparifon of that here in my text, when
God commanded him " to offer up his only ion :" but
fuch was the immutable ftedfaftnefs of his faith, and
the perfect fubmiflion of his obedience, that it does
not appear that he made the leaf!: check at it ; but
out of perfect reverence and obedience to the au-
thority of the divine command, he went about it
as readily and chearfully as if God had bid him do
ibme imall thing : " by faith Abraham, when he was
cc tried, offered up Ifaac.' 1
For the explication of which words, it will be re-
quisite to confider two things
Firft, the trial or temptation in general.
Secondly, the excellency of Abraham's faith and
obedience upon his trial.
Firft, the trial or temptation in general : it is
faid " that Abraham when he was tried, the word 13
Abrahams faith and obedience. 8 i J
" tt«(0^o/jl6v©', being tempted:" that is, God intend- S ERM.
ing to make trial of his faith and obedience ; and ,_ ^ ^ ,
fo it is expreft, Gen, xxii. i. where it is faid, " that
" God did tempt Abraham, and faid unto him,
Qi take now thy (on, thine only fon."
Now there are two difficulties concerning this mat-
ter. It feems contrary to fcripture. that God fhould
tempt any man ; and contrary to reafon •, becanfe
God, who knows what every man will do, need-
ed not to make trial of any man's faith and obe-
dience.
Firft, it feems contrary to fcripture; which fays,
" God tempts no man : " and 'tis moil true, that
God tempts no man, v/ith a defign to draw him in-
to fin ; but this doth not hinder, but he may try
their faith and obedience with great difficulties, to
make them the more illuftrious. Thus God tempted
Abraham ; and he permitted Job, and even our
bleffed Saviour himfelf to be thus tempted.
Secondly, it feems contrary to reafon, that God,
who knows what any man will do in any circum-
ftances, fhould go to make trial of it. But God
does not try men for his own information ; but to
give an illuftrious proof and example to others of
faith and obedience : and tho' after this trial of
Abraham, God fays to him, " now I know that
" thou loveft me, becaufe thou haft not withheld
" thy fon, thine only fon from me;" yet we
are to underftand this as fpoken after the manner
of men •, as God elfewhere fpeaks to Abraham con-
cerning Sodom; " I will go down now to lee
fi whether they have done altogether according to
7X2 " the
8 1 6 The excellency of
<c the ay which is come up unto me ; and if not,
" I will know. s?
I proceed to the fecond thing I propofed, the ex-
cellency of Abraham's faith and obedience upon this
trial : " By faith Abraham when he was tried offered
" up Uaac." God accepts of it, as if he had done
it ; becaufe he had done it in part, and was ready to
have performed the reft, if God had not counter-
manded him.
And this act of faith and obedience in Abraham
will appear the more iiluftrious, if we confider thefe
three things.
I. The firmnefs and ftedfaftnefs of his faith, not-
withftanding the objections againfl it.
II. The conftancy of his refolution, notwithstand-
ing the difficulty of the thing. .
III. The reaibnablenefs of his faith, in that he
gave fatisfaction to himfelf in fo hard and perplext
a cafe.
I. The firmnefs and ftedfaftnefs of his faith will
appear, if we confider what objections there were
in the cafe, enough to fhake a very ftrong faith.
There were three great objections againfl: this com-
mand, and fuch as might in reafon make a wife and
good man doubtful whether this command were
from God.
The horrid nature of the thing commanded.
The grievous fcandal that might feem almoit un-
avoidably to follow upon it.
And the horrible confequence of it, which feemed
no make the former promile of God to Abra-
ham void,
Firft,
Abrahams faith and obedience. 817
Firft, the horrid nature of the thing commanded, SER M.
which was for a father to kill his own child. This
rnuft needs appear very barbarous and unnatural,
and look liker a facrifice to an idol, than to the true
God.
It feemed to be againft the law of nature, and di-
rectly contrary to that kindnefs and affection which
God himfelf had planted in the hearts of parents to-
wards their children.
And there is no affection more natural and ftrong
than this ; for there are many perfons that would re-
deem the lives of their children with the hazard of
their own. Now that God hath planted fuch an
affection in nature, is an argument that it is good, and
therefore it could not but feem ftrange, that he
mould command any thing contrary to it : and in
this cafe, there were two circumflances that increafed
the horror of the fact ; that his fon was inno-
cent •, and that he was to flay him with his own
hands.
i„ That his fon was innocent. It would grieve
the heart of any father^ to give up his fon to death,
tho' he were never fo undutiful and difobedient. -
So paffionately was David affected with the death
of his fon Abfalom, as to wifh he had died for him,
tho' he died in the very act of rebellion,, and tho'
the faving of his life had been inconfiftent with the
peace of his government.
How deep then rnuft: it fink into the heart of a
father, to give up his innocent fon to death ? and fuch
a fon was Iiaac,for any thing that appeared to the con-
trary. God himfelf gave him this teftimony," that he
11 was the fon whom his father loved," and there is
no
8 1 8 The excellency of
SERM. no intimation of any thing to the contrary. Now
. J_l M this could not but appear ftrange to a good man,
.that God mould command an innocent peribn to be
put to death. But,
2. That a father fhould be commanded, not only
to give up his fon to death, but to Gay him with his
own hands ; not only to be a fpectator, but to be the
actor in this tragedy. What father woula not fhrink,
and fcart back at fuch a command ?• what good man
.dally in fuch a cafe, and where nature was fo hard
ft, would not ha i i apt to have looked upon
fuch a revelation as this, rather as the fuggePdon and
illufion of an evil fpirit, than a command of God ?
and yet Abraham's faith was not daggered, fo as
to call this revelation of God in queftion.
Secondly, the grievous fcandal that might feem
almoft unavoidably to follow upon it, was another
at objection againft it. The report of fuch an
action would in all appearance blemifh the reputation,
even of fo good a man, amongft all fober and
confiderate perfons, who could hardly forbear to
cenfure him, as a wicked and unnatural man.
And this was a hard cafe, for a man to be put to
facriiice at once two of the cleared things in the
world, his reputation and his fon : nor could he have
eafily defended himfelf from this imputation, by
ailedging an exprefs revelation and command of
God for it \ for who would give credit to it ?
A revelation to another man is nothing to me,
unlefs I be allured, that he had fuch a revelation,
;ch I cannot be, but either by another inline-
Nation, or by feme miracle to confirm it.
The
Abraham's faith and obedience. Siq
The ad: had an appearance of fo much horror, S E ]
that it was not eafily credible that God mould com-
mand it j and if every man's confident pretence to
revelation be admitted, the word actions may plead
this in their excuie. So that this pretence would have
been fo far from excufing his fault, that it mud ra-
ther have been efteemed an high aggravation of it,
by adding the boldeft impiety to the mod barbar
inhumanity.
But Abraham was not {tumbled at this, nor at the
advantage which the enemies of his religion would
make of iuch an occafion, who would be ready to
fay, " here is your excellent good man, and likely
" to be a friend of God, who was fo cruel an
* c enemy to his own fon !" All this, 'tis probable, he
might confider : but it did not move him, being re-
folved to obey God, and to leave it to his wifdom
to provide againft all the inconveniencies that might
follow upon it.
Thirdly, the firongeft objection of all was the
horrible confequence of the thing, which feemed to
clam with former revelations, and to make void the
promife which God had before made to Abraham,
C6 that in his feed all the nations of the earth mould
" be blefled," which promife was exprefly limited
to Ifaac and his poiterity, who had then no fon.
And of this difficulty the apoflle takes exprefs
notice in the text, u that he that had received the
ct promifes (that is, was perfuaded of the truth and
" faithfulnefs of them) offered up his only begotten
6C fon, of whom it was laid, that in Ifaac fhall thy
55 feed be called."
And
LVI.
820 The excellency of
SERM. And this objection is really fo ftrong, that if
Abraham could not have given himfelf fatisfaction
about it, he might juftly have queftioned the truth
of the revelation. For no man can poffibly enter-
tain two contradictory revelations as from God, but
he muft of neceffity queftion one or both of them :
but fo ftrong was Abraham's faith, as not to be
fhaken by the Teeming contradiction of thefe two
revelations.
II. We will confider the conftancy of his refo-
lution to obey God, notwithstanding the harfhnefs
and difficulty of the thing. Tho' Abraham were
firmly perfuaded, that this command to kill his fon
was really from God *, yet it is no eafy matter for
a man to bring himfelf to obey God in fo difficult
a cafe, and out of meer reverence to the divine au-
thority, to diveft himfelf of his nature, and to
thwart the ftrongeft inclinations of it ; a man would
be very apt to confer with flefh and blood in fuch a
cafe. Let but any man that knows what it is to
be a father, lay his hand upon his heart, and con-
fider his own bowels ; and he will be aftonifhed at
Abraham's obedience as well as his faith.
" To take his fon, his only fon, his fon whom
" he loved," and in whom he placed all his hopes
of a happy pofterity, and with his own hands to
deftroy him and all his hopes together ! it muft be
a ftrong faith that will engage a man to obedience
in fo difficult an inftance.
There is one circumftance more efpecially, which
renders Abraham's obedience very remarkable ;
the deliberatenefs of the action. It had not been fo
much, if fo foon as he had received this command
from
Abraham's faith and obedience. 821
from God, he had upon a fudden impulfe and tran£ S ERM.
T V f
port of zeal done this.
Bat that his obedience mi^ht be the more o-fo-
rious, and have all the circumftances of advantage
o
given to it, God would have it done deliberately,
and upon full confideration ; and therefore he bad
him go to the mountain three days journey from
the place where he was, and there to offer up
his fon. r
It is in acts of virtue and obedience, as in acts
of fin and vice •, the more deliberate the fin is, and
the more calm and fedate temper the man is in
when he commits it, the greater is the fault ;
whereas, what is done by furprize, in the heat of
temptation or tranfport of paffion, hath fome ex-
cufe from the fuddennefs and undeliberatenefs of it.
So it is in acts of virtue and obedience, cfpecial-
ly if they be attended with confiderable difficulty,
the more deliberately they are done, the more vir-
tuous they are, and the greater praife is due to
them.
£}ow, that Abraham's obedience might want no-
thing to heighten it, God teems on purpofe to
have put fo long a fpace betwixt the command and
the performance of it \ he gives him time to cool
upon it, to weigh the command, and to look on
every fide of this difficult duty ; he gives fcope for
his reafon to argue, and debate the cafe, and op-
portunity for natural affection to play its part, and
for flefh and blood to raife all its batteries ao-ainfl*
the refolution which he had taken up.
And now we may eafily imagine, what conflict
this good man had within himfelf, during thofe
Vol. IV. 7 Y three
7,
822 The excellency of
S E R M. three days that he was travelling to the mountain in
LVI •
Moriah ; and how his heart was ready to be rent in
pieces, betwixt his duty to God, and his affection
to his child •, fo that every ftep of this unwelcome
and wearifome journey, he did, as it were, lay vio-
lent hands upon himfelf.
He was to offer up his fon but once ; but he fa-
crificed himfelf and his own will every moment
for three days together ; and when he came thither,
and all things were ready, the altar, the wood, and
the fire, and the knife, it muff needs be a tab-
bing queftion, and wound him to the heart, which
his innocent fon fo innocently askt him, " where is
" the lamb for a burnt-offering? "
It muff be a flrong faith indeed, and a mighty
refolution, that could make him to hold out three
days againfl the violent affaults of his own nature,
and the charming prefence of his fon, enough to
melt his heart, as often as he cad his eyes upon
him : and yet nothing of all this, made him to
flagger in his duty, •« but being itrong in faith, he
" R ave gl° rv t0 God," by one of the moft miracu-
lous ads of obedience that ever was exacted from
any of the fons of men.
III. In the third and lafl place, I come to con-
fider the reafonablenefs of his faith, in that he was
able to give fatisfaclion to himfelf in fo intricate
and pcrplext a cafe. The conflancy of Abraham's
faith, was not an obftinate and ftubborn perfuafion,
but the refult of the wifeff reafcning, and fobereft
confideration.
So the text fay, " that he counted, the word is
* c Xoyio-a/juv©', he reafoned with himfef, that God
" was
Abrahams faith and obedience. 823
* c was able to raife him up from the dead 5 n fo SER M;
• • LVI
that he debated the matter with himfelf, and gave
himfelf fatisfaction, concerning the objections and
difficulties in the cafe ; and being fully fatisfled that
it was a divine command, he refolved to obey it.
As for the objections I have mentioned :
1. The horrid appearance of the thing, that a
father fhould flay his innocent fon. Why lhould
Abraham fcruple the doing this, at the command
of God, who being the author of life, hath power
over it, and may relume what he hath given, and
take away the life of any of his creatures when he
will, and make whom he pleafeth inftruments in
the execution of his command ?
It was indeed a hard cafe, confidcring natural
affection ; and therefore God did not permit it to
be executed.
But the queftion of God's right over the lives of
men ; and of his authority to command any man
to be the inftrument of his pleafure in fuch a cafe,
admits of no difpute.
And tho' God hath planted ftrong affections in
parents towards their children ; yet he hath written
no law in any man's heart to the prejudice of his
own fovereign right. This is a cafe always ex-
cepted, and this takes away the objection of in-
juftice.
2. As to the fcandal of it, that could be no great
objection in thofe times, when the abfblute power
of parents over their children was in its full force,
and they might put them to death without being
accountable for it. So that then it was no fuch
(larding matter to hear of a father putting his
7 Y 2 child
824 ^he excellency of
SERM. child to death. Nay, in much later times we find
that in the moil ancient laws of the Romans (I
mean thofe of the xii tables) children are abfolutely
put in the power of their parents, to whom is
given, jus vita & necis, " a power of life and
" death over them ; " and likewife to fell them for
flaves.
And tho 5 amongft the Jews this paternal power
was limited by the law of Mofes •, and the judg-
ment of life and death was taken out of the fa-
ther's hands, except in cafe of contumacy and re-
bellion j (and even in that cafe the procefs was to
be before the elders of the city) yet it is certain,
that in elder times the paternal power was more
abfolute and unaccountable, which takes off much
from the horror and fcandal of the thing, as it
appears now to us who have no fuch power.
And therefore we do not find in the hiftory, that
this objection did much flick with Abraham •, it be-
incr then no unufual thing for a father to put his
child to death upon a juftY account.
And the command of God, who hath abfolute
dominion over the lives of his creatures, is certain-
ly ajuft reafon ; and no man can reafonably fcru-
ple the doing of that, upon the command ot God,
which he might have done by his own authority,
without being accountable for the action, to any
but God only.
3. As to the objection from the horrible confe-
quence of the thing commanded, that the flaying of
Ifaac feemed to overthrow the promife, which God
had made before to Abraham, " that in Ifaac his
feed fhould be called :" This feems to him to be
the
Abraham's faith and obedience. 82 r
the great difficulty, and here he makes ufe of reafon, SERM.
to reconcile the feeming contradiction of this com- ^
mand of God to his former promife. So the text
tells us, " that he offered up his only begotten fon,
M of whom it was laid, that in Ifaac fhall thy feed
" be called ; reafoning that God was able to raife
«' him up from the dead. " So that tho' Iiaac were
put to death, yet he law, how the promife of God
might ftill be made good by his being raifed from the
dead, and living afterwards to have a numerous po-
flerity.
There had then indeed been no inftance, or ex-
ample of any fuch thing in the world, as the refur-
r eel ion of one from the dead, which makes Abra-
ham's faith the more wonderful : but he confirmed
himfelf in this belief, by an example as near the cafe
as might be •, " he reafoned, that God was able to
" raife him from the dead, from whence alfo he had
Cc received him in a figure.''
This I know is by interpreters generally underflood
of Iiaac's being delivered from the jaws of death,
when he was laid upon the altar, and ready to be
flain. But the text feems not to fpeak of what hap-
pened after ; but of fomething that had paffed be-
fore, by which Abraham confirmed himfelf in this
perfuafion, that if he were flain, God would raife him
up again.
And fo the words c^sv ly.cuila-aro ought to be ren-
dered, in the pad time, " from whence alfo he had
u received him in a figure." So that this expreffion
plainly refers to the miraculous birth of Ifaac, when
his parents were pad the age of having children •,
which
ga6 ^> je excellency of
which was little lefs than a refurreclion from the
dead.
And fo the fcripture ipeaks of it, Rom. iv. 17.
u Abraham believed God, who quickeneth the dead,
" and calleth the things which are not, as if they
" were ; and not being weak in faith, he confidered
" not his own body which was dead ;" and a little
before the text, (fpeaking of the miraculous birth of
Ifaac) " and therefore fprang thereof one, and him
" as good as dead, as many as the flars of heaven."
From whence (as the apoftle tells us) Abraham
reafoned thus \ that God, who gave him Ifaac at firft
in fo miraculous a manner, was able by another mi-
racle to reftore him to life again, after he was dead,
and to make him the father of many nations. " He
" reafoned, that God was able to raife him up from
cc the dead, from whence alfo he had received him in
" a figure."
Thus you fee the reafonablenefs of Abraham's
faith ; he pitched upon the main difficulty in the
cale, and he anfwered it, as well as waspornbie : and
in his reafoning about this matter he gives the utmoft
weight to every thing that might tend to vindicate
the truth and faithfulnefs of God's promife, and to
make the revelations of God confident with one
another •, and this, tlio' he had a great intereft and a
very tender concernment of his own, to have biaffed
him.
For he might have argued with great appearance
and probability the other way : but as every pious
and good man fhould do, he reafoned on God's fidc^
and favoured that part. Rather than difobey a com-
mand
Abraham s faith and obedience. 827
xhand of God, or believe that his promife fiiould 3 J
be fruftrate, he will believe any thing that is ere- ^
dible and poffible, how improbable foever. Thus
far faith will go ; but no farther. From the believ-
ing of plain contradictions and impofiibi Ikies, it al-
ways de fires to be excufed.
Thus much for explication of the words ; which I
hope hath not been altogether unprofitable, becaufe
it tends to clear a point which hath fomething of dif-
ficulty and obfeurity in it, and to vindicate the holy
fcripture, and the divine revelation therein contained,
from one of the moft fpecious objections of infide-
lity.
But I had a farther defign in this text ; and that is,
to make fome cbfervations and inferences from it, thac
may be of ufe to us. As,
Firft, that humane nature is capable of clear and
full fatisfaction, concerning a divine revelation. For
if Abraham had not been fully and pad all doubt aC
fured, that this was a command from God j he
would certainly have fpared his fon. And nothing
is more reafonable, than to believe, that thofe, to
whom God is pleafed to make immediate revelations
of his will, are fome way or other allured that they
are divine ; otherwife they would be in vain, and to
no purpofe.
But how men are aflured concerning divine reve-
lations made to them, is not fo eafy to make out to
others ; only thefe two things we are fure of.
1. That God can work in the mind of man a
firm perfuafion of the truth of what he reveals, and
that fuch a revelation is from him. This no man
can doubt of, that confiders the great power atid in-
fluence,
LVI.
828 The excellency of
ERM. fluence, which God, who made us, and perfectly
knows our frame, mud needs have upon our minds
and underflandings.
2. That God never offers any thing to any man's
belief, that plainly contradicts the natural and elTen-
tial notions of his mind •, becaufe this would be for
God to deftroy his own workmanfhip, and to imr
pofe that upon the underftanding of man, which
whilft it remains what it is, it cannot poflibly
admit.
For inftance, we cannot imagine that God fhould
reveal to any man any thing that plainly contradicts
the efifential perfections of the divine nature : for fach
a revelation can no more be fuppofed to be from
God, than a revelation from God, that there is no
God , which is a downright contradiction.
Now to apply this to the revelation which God
made to Abraham, concerning the facrificing of his
fon : this was made to him by an audible voice, and
he was fully fatisfied by the evidence which it car-
ried along with it, that it was from God.
For this was not the firft of many revelations that
had been made to him, fo that he knew the manner
of them, and had found by manifold experience,
that he was not deceived, and upon this experience
was grown to a great confidence in the truth and
goodnefs of God. And it is very probable, the
firft time God appeared to Abraham, becaufe it was
a new thing, that to make way for the credit of fu-
ture revelations, God did fhew himfelf to him in
fo glorious a manner, as was abundantly to his con-
viction.
And
Abraham's faith and obedience. 829
And this St. Stephen does feem to intimate, Acts SE RM.
vii. 2. " The God of glory appeared to our father
" Abraham when he was in Mefopotamia." Now
by this glorious appearance of God to him at firfr,
he was fo prepared for the entertainment of after-
revelations, that he was not ftaggered even at this,
concerning the facrificing of his fon, being both by
the manner of it, and the affurance that accompa-
nied it, fully fatisfied, that it was from God.
Secondly, I obferve from hence the great and ne-
cefTary ufe of reafon in matters of faith. For we fee
here, that Abraham's reafon was a mighty flrength-
ning and help to his faith. Here were two revela-
tions made to Abraham, which feemed to clafh with
one another ; and if Abraham's reafon could not
have reconciled the repugnancy of them, he could
not poflibly have believed them both to be from
God; becaufe this natural notion or principle,
" that God cannot contradict himfelf," every man
does firft, and more firmly believe, than any revela-
tion whatfoever.
Now Abraham's reafon relieved him in this ftrair.
So the text exprefly tells us, " he reafoned with
" himfelf, that God was able to raife him from the
" dead."
And this being admitted, the command of God,
concerning the flaying of Ifaac, was very well con-
fiftent with his former promife, " that in Ifaac his
« feed fhould be called."
I know, there hath a very rude clamour been railed
by fome perfons, (but of more zeal, I think, than
judgment) againft the ufe of reafon in matters of
Vol. IV. 7 Z faith r
7-
"S^o 2"*^ excellency of
SERM. faith : but how very unreafbnable this is, will appeal*
to any one that will but have patience to coniider
thefe following particulars.
i . The nature of divine revelation ; that it doth
not endow men with new faculties, but propoundeth
new objects to the faculties, which they had before.
Reafon is the faculty whereby revelation is to be dif-
cerned ; for when God reveals any thing to us, he
reveals it to our underftanding, and by that we are
to judge of it. Therefore St. John cautions us, i John
iv. i. " not to believe every fpirit ; but to try the
fpirits whether they are of God ; becaufe many
falfe prophets are gone out into the world ;" that
is, there are many that falfiy pretend to infpiration :
but how can thefe pretenders be tried and difcerned
From thole that are truly infpired, but by ufing our
reafon, in comparing the evidence for the one and
the other ?
2. This will farther appear, if we confider the
nature of faith. Faith (as we are now fpeaking of
it) is an aflent of the mind to fomething as re-
vealed by God : now all afTent muft be grounded up-
on evidence -, that is, no man can believe any things
unlefs he have or thinks he hath fome reafon to do
fo. For to be confident of a thing without reafon,
is not faith ; but a prefumptuous perfuafion and ob-
ftinacy of mind.
3. This will yet be more evident, if we confider
the method, that mud of neceflity be ufed to con-
vince any man of the truth of religion. Suppofe, we
had to deal with one that is a flranger and enemy to
phriftianity, what means are proper to be ufed to
gain
Abraham's faith and cbedience. 831
gain him over to it ? the mofr. natural method furely s E ^ * vI *
were this, to acquaint him with the holy fcriptures,
which are the rule of our faith and practice. He
would ask us, " why we believe that book ?" The
proper anfwer would be, st becaufe it is the word
" of God ; " this he could not but acknowledge
to be a very good reafon, if it „were true : but then
he would ask " why he believed it to be the word
" of God, rather than Mahomet's alcoran, which
pretends no lefs to be of divine infpiration ?"
If any man now fhould anfwer, " that he could
give no reafon, why he believed it to be the word
of God, only he believed it to be fo, and fo every
man elfe ought to do without enquiring after any
farther reafon, becaufe reafon is to be laid afide in
<c matters of faith ;" would not the man prefentiy
reply, " that he had juft as much reafon as this comes
" to, to believe the alcoran, or any thing die £*
that is, none at all ?
But certainly the better way would be to fatisfy
this man's reafon by proper arguments that the fcrip-
tures are a divine revelation, and that no other book
in the world, can with equal reafon pretend to be fo :
and if this be a good way, then we do and muft call
in the aiiiftance of reafon for the proof of our reli-
cc
t:
cc
cc
gion.
4. Let it be confidered farther, that the higheft
commendations that are given in fcripture to any
one's faith, are given upon account of the reafon-
ablenefs of it. Abraham's faith is famous, and
made a pattern to all generations, becaufe he rea-
foned himfelf into it, notwithftanding the objections
7 Z 2 tO
832 The excellency of
S E R M. to the contrary, and he did not blindly break thro*
thefe .objections, and wink hard at them •, but he
looked them in the face, and gave himfelf reafon-
able fatisfaction concerning them.
The centurion's faith is commended by our Sa-
viour, Matth. viii. 9. becaufewhen his fervant was
fick, he did not defire him to come to his houfe,
but " to fpeak the word only, and his fervant mould
M be healed : M for he reafoned thus, "I am a man
" under authority, having foldiers under me, and I
* 6 fay to this man go, and he goeth ; and to another,
<c come, and he cometh •, and to my fervant, do this,
cc and he doth rt." Now if he, that was himfelf
under authority, could thus command thofe that
were under him •, much more could he that had a
divine power and commilTion, do what he pleafed by
his word. And our Saviour is fo far from repre-
hending him for reafoning himfelf into this belief,
that he admires his faith fo much the more for the
reafonableneis of it, ver. 10. " When Jefus heard
" this, he marvelled, and laid to them that followed
u him, verily I fay unto you, I have not found fo
" great faith, no not in lfrael."
In like manner our Saviour commends the wo-
man of Canaan's faith, becaufe ihe enforced it fo
reafonably, Matth. xv. 22. She fued him to help
her daughter ; " but he anfwered her not a word **'
and when his difciples could not prevail with him to
mind her, yet dill fhe preffed him, " faying, Lord
" help me ; M and when he repulfed her with this
fevere anfwer, " it is not meet to take the childrens
" bread and caft it to dogs ;" flic made this quick
and
Abrahams faith and obedience. 833
and modeft reply, " truth, Lord •, yet the dogs eat S ERM.-
« of the crumbs which fall from their mailers ta- v
< 4 ble." She acknowledgeth her own unwortbinefi ;
but yet believes his goodnefs to be fuch, that he
will not utterly reject thofe who humbly feek to
him •, upon which he gives her this teflimony, " O
u woman, great is thy faith !"
The apoftles were divinely infpired ; and yet the
Bereans are commended, becauie they inquired and
fatisfied themfelves in the reafons of their belief,
before they afTented to the doctrine which was de-
livered to them, even by teachers that certainly were
infallible.
5. None are reproved in fcripture for their unbe-
lief, but where fumxient reafon and evidence was of-
fered to them. The Ifraelites were generally blamed
for their infidelity \ but then it was after fuch mighty
wonders had been wrought for their conviction.
The Jews, in our Saviour's time, are not con-
demned fimply for their unbelief; but for not be-
lieving when there was fuch clear evidence offered to
them. So our Saviour himfelf fays, " if I had
" not done amongfl them the works which no other
" man did, they had not had fin."
Thomas indeed is blamed for the perverfenefs of
his unbelief, becaufe he would believe nothing but
what he himfelf faw.
Laftly, to mew this yet more plainly, let us confider
the great inconvenience and abfurdity of declining
the ufe of reafon in matters of religion. There can
be no greater prejudice to religion, than to decline
this trial. _
To
7ie excellency of
To fay, we have no reafon for our religion, is to
fay, it is unreafonable. Indeed it is reafon enough for
any article of our faith, that God hath revealed it ;
becaufe this is one of the ftrongeft and mod cogent
reafons for the belief of any thing. But when we
fay God hath revealed any thing, we muft be ready
to prove it, or dib we fay nothing. If we turn off
reafon here, we level the bell religion in the world
with the wildeft and mod abfurd enthuftafms.
And it does not alter the cafe much, to give rea-
fon ill names, to call it blind, and carnal reafon. Our
bed reafon is but very fhort and imperfect : but ftnee
it is no better, we muft make ufe of it as it is, and
make the beft of it.
Before I pafs from this argument, I cannot but ob-
ferve, that both the extremes of thofe who differ
from our church, are generally great declaimers
again ft the ufe of reafon in matters of faith. If they
find their account in it, 'tis well ; for our parts we
apprehend no manner of inconvenience, in having
reafon on our fide 5 nor need v/e to defire a better
evidence, that any man is in the wrong, than to hear
him declare againft reafon, and thereby to acknow-
ledge that reafon is againft him. Men may vilify rea-
fon as much as they pleafe ; and tho* being reviled
ihe reviles not again, yet in a more ftill and gentle
way, (he commonly hath her full revenge upon all
thole that rail at her.
I have often wondered that people can with pa-
tience endure to hear their teachers and guides talk
againft reafon ; and not only fo, but they pay them
the greater fubmiftion and veneration for it. One
would
Abraham's faith and obedience. S-» -
would think this but an odd way to gain ' audio- SEEUkfi
rity over the minds of men : but fome skilful and LV1
defigning men have found by experience, that it is a
very good way to recommend them to the igno-
rant ; as nurfes ufe to endear themfelves to children,
by perpetual noiie and nonfenfe.
Thirdly, I obferve, that God obligeth no man
to believe plain and evident contradictions, as mat-
ters of faith. Abraham could not reafonably have
believed this fecond revelation to have been from
God, if he had not found fome way to reconcile it
with the firft. For tho' a man were never fb
much difpofed to fubmit his reafon to divine reve-
lation ; yet it is not poffible for any man to believe
God againflGoD himfelf.
Somq men feem to think, that they oblige God
mightily, by believing plain contradictions. But
the matter is quite otherwife. He that made man a
reafonable creature, cannot take it kindly from any
man to debafe his workmanfhip, by makinc- him-
felf unreafonable. And therefore, as no fervice, or
obedience - 9 fo no faith is acceptable unto God, but
what is reafonable : if it be not fo, it may be con-
fidence or prefumption 5 but it is not faith. For
he that can believe plain contradictions, may believe
any thing how abfurd foever ; becaufe nothing can
be more abfurd, than the belief of a plain contra-
diction ; and he that can believe any thing, believes
nothing upon good grounds, becaufe to him truth
and falfhood are all one.
Fourthly, I obferve, that the great caufe of the
defect of mens obedience is the weaknefs of their
faith.
S$6 The excellency of
SERM. faith. Did we believe the commands of God in
the gofpel, and his promifes and threatnings, as
firmly as Abraham believed God in this cafe \ what
fhould we not be ready to do, or fuffer, in obedi-
ence to him ?
If our faith were but as flrong and vigorous as
his was, the effects of it would be as great and
confpicuous. Were we verily perfuaded, that all
the precepts of our religion are the exprefs laws of
God, and that all the promifes and threatnings of
the gofpel will one day be verified and made good ;
" what manner of perfbns mould we be in all holy
" converfation and godlinefs ? M How would the
lively thoughts of another world, raile us above the
vanities of this prefent life ; and kt us out of the
reach of the mod powerful temptations that this
*vorld can aflault us withal ; and make us to do all
things with regard to eternity, and to that folemn
and dreadful account which we muft one day make
to God the judge of all ?
It is nothing but the want of a firm and fteady
belief of thefe things that makes our devotion fo
dead and heartlefs, and our refolutions of doing bet-
ter fb weak and inconflant. This it is that makes
us fb eafy a prey to every temptation •, and the
things of this world to look fo much bigger than they
are, the enjoyments of it more tempting, and the
evils of it more terrible than in truth they are ;
and in all difputes betwixt our confeience and our
intereft, this makes us hold the balance fo unequal-
ly, and to put our foot upon the lighter fcale, that
it may feem to weigh down the other.
In
Abraham 's faith and obediefice. 837
In a word, in proportion to the ftrength orSERM.
weaknefs of our faith, our obedience to God will
be more or lefs conftarit, uniform, and perfect -, be-
caufe faith is the great fource and fpring of all the
virtues of a good lift.
Fifthly, we have great rcafon to fubmit to the
ordinary flrokes of God's providence upon our
felves, or near relations, or any thing that is dear
to us. Moft of thefe are eafy, compared with
Abraham's cafe ; it requires a prodigious ftrength
of faith to perform fo miraculous an act of obe-
dience.
Sixthly, and laftly, we are utterly inexcufable, if
we difobey the eafy precepts of the gofpel. " The
" yoke of Christ is eafy, and his burden light,'*
in comparifon of God's former difpenfations. This,
was a grievous commandment which God gave to
Abraham, to facri ike his only fon : u it was a hard
" faying indeed ; and which of us could have been
* c able to bear it ? "
But if God think fit to call us to the more difficult
duties of felf-denial, and fuffering for his truth and
righteoufnefs fake, we muft, after the example of
faithful Abraham, not think much to deny, or part
with any thing for him, no not life it felf. But
even this, which is the hardeft part of religion, is
ealier than what God put upon Abraham.
For it doth not offer near the violence to na-
ture, to lay down our life in a good caufe, as it
would do to put a child to death with our own
hands. Befides the confideration of the extraordi-
nary comfort and fupport, and the glorious rewards
Vol. IV. 8 A that
838 *£ke excellency of
SER M. that arc exprefly promifed to our obedience and
felf-denial in fuch a cafe 5 encouragement enough
to make a very difficult duty eafy.
And whilfl I am perfuading you and my felf
to refolution and conuancy in our holy religion,
notwithstanding all hazards and hardfhips that may
attend it, I have a juft fenfe of the frailty of hu-
mane nature, and of humane refolution : but with-
al, a moil firm perfuafion of the goodnefs of God,
that he will not fuffer thofe who fincercly love him
and his truth, " to be tempted above what they
" are able."
I will add but one confideration more, to mew
the difference betwixt Abraham's cafe and ours.
God commanded him to do the hardeft thing in the
world, to facrifice his only fbn ; but he hath given us
an eafy commandment ; and that he might effectu-
ally oblige us to our duty, he hath done that for
us which he required Abraham to do for him ;
•* he hath not fpared his own fbn, his only fon ;
« c but hath given him up to death for us all : and
* hereby we know, that he loveth us, that he hath
*' given his fbn for us."
What God required of Abraham, he did not
intend fhould be executed ; but one great defign of
it was to be a type and figure of that immenfe love,
and kindnefs which he intended to all mankind in
the facrifice of his fon, as a propitiation for the fins
of the whole world.
And" as the moft clear and exprefs promrfc of
the Mi6si as was made to Abraham ; fo the moft
exprefs and lively type of the Miss 1 as that we meet
witjj
Abraham's faith and obedience. 839
with in all the old teftament, was Abraham's of- S E R M.
fering up his fon. And as St. Hierom tells us LVI
(from an ancient and conftant tradition of the Jews)
the mountain in Moriah, where Abraham was com-
manded to facrifice Ifaac, was mount Calvary, where
our Lord alfo was crucified and offered up, " that
" by this one facrifice of himfelf once offered, he
M might perfect for ever them that are fanctified,
" and obtain eternal redemption for us."
" Now to him that fitteth upon the throne, and
iC to the lamb that was flain ; to God even our
" father, and to our Lord Jesus Christ, the firft
" begotten from the dead -, to the prince of the
" kings of the earth ; to him that loved us, and
" warned us from our fins in his own blood ; to
•* him be glory and honour, thankfgiving and
u power, now and for ever, Amen."
« A 2 SER-
[ 840 ]
SERMON LVIL
Mofes's choice of affli&ed piety, rather
than a kingdom.
H E B. xi. 24, 25.
By faith Mofes when he was come to years, refufed t*
be called the fin of Pharaoh's daughter ; choofing ra-
ther tofuffer affliclion with the people of God, than to
enjoy the pkafures of Jin for a feafon,
SERAI K I "*\ H E text fets before us a great pattern of
L YiL» felf-denial : for our better underflanding
Preached whereof I will give a brief account of the
frills kiftory of Mofes, to which our apoftle in this paf-
befbrethe fage doth refer.
pmcefs When Mofes was born, his parents (for fear of
the cruel law which Pharaoh had made, " that all
M the male children of the Hebrews, fo foon as
" they were born, fhould be put to death") after
they had hid him three months, did at lad expofe
him in an ark of bulrufhes, upon the river Nile,
and committed him to the providence of God,
whom they defpaired to conceal any longer by their
own care.
Pharaoh's daughter, coming by the river fide,
cfpied him, and had companion on him $ and guef-
fing
Mofess choice of afflicted piety, &c. 841
fins him to be one of the hebrew children, called S E R M.
for an hebrew nurfe, to take care of him, who, as
the providence of God had ordered it, proved to
be the child's own mother. As he grew up, Pha-
raoh's daughter took care of his education in all
princely qualities, and adopted him for her fon ;
and Pharaoh (as Jofephus tells us) being without fon,
defigned him heir of his kingdom.
Mofes refilled this great offer. But why did he
refufe it, when it feemed to be prefented to him by
the providence of God, and was brought about in
fo tlrange a manner ; and when by this means he
might probably have had it in his power to have
eafed the Ifraelites of their cruel bondage, and per-
haps have had the opportunity of reducing that
great kingdom from the worlhip of idols to the
true Goo ? why would he refufe a kingdom which
was offered to him with fo fair an opportunity of do-
ing fo much good ?
That which feems to have prevailed with Mofes,
was this, that he could not accept the offer without
forfaking God, and renouncing his religion ; for
confidering how ftrangely the Egyptians were ad-
dicted to idolatry, he could never hope to be accepted
For heir of that kingdom, unlels he would violate
his confcience, either by abandoning or diffembling
his religion.
And how unlikely it was, that he fhould pre-
vail with them to change their religion, he might
cafily judge by the example of Jofeph, who, tho*
he had fo much authority and efleem amongft them,
by having been fo great a benefactor to their nation ;
yet
$42 Mofes s choice of afflicltd piety ;
SERAI. y C t he could never move them in the leaft in
LVIi. .
that matter.
Now feeing he had no hopes of attaining, or en-
joying that dignity, without finning gricvoufly
againft God, he would not purchafe a kingdom at
fo unconfcionable a price. And as for the delive-
rance of his people, he was content to truft the
providence and promife of God for that \ and in
the mean time was refolved rather to take a part in
the afflictions of God's people, " than to enjoy the
** pleafures of fin for a feafon."
From the words thus explained, I fhall take oc-
cafion to confider thefe four things.
I. Mofes's felf-denial, in preferring and choofing
a ftate of afflicted piety, before any finful enjoy-
.ments whatfoever, before the greateft earthly happi-
nefs and profperity, when it was not to be attained
and enjoyed upon other terms than of finning againft
God.
II. I mail confider thofe circum (lances of this felf-
denial of Mofes, which do very much commend and
fet off the virtue of it.
III. The prudence and reafonablenefs of this choice,
in preferring a ftate of afflicted piety and virtue, be-
fore the greateft profperity and pleafure of a finful
courfe.
IV. Suppofing this choice to be reafonable, I fhall
enquire how it comes to pais, that fo many make ano-
ther choice.
I. We will confider Mofes his felf-denial, in pre-
ferring a ftate of afflicted piety before the greateft
Earthly happineis and profperity, when it is not to be
enjoyed
rather than a lingdottl. 843
enjoyed upon other terms, than of finning againft s E R M*
God. He was adopted heir of the kingdom of.
Egypt, (one of the greatefl and molt flourifhing
kingdoms then in the world ; ) but he could not
hope to attain to this dignity, and to fecure himfelf
in the poffciTion of it, upon other terms than of
complying with that nation, in their idolatrous reli-
gion and worfhip.
Now being brought up in the belief of the true
God, the God of IfraeJ, by his mother, to whom
Pharaoh's daughter had committed him, he could
not, without great violence to his confeience, and
the principles of his education, renounce the true
God, and fall off to the idolatry of the Egyptians :
and for this reafon " he refufed to be called the fon
of Pharaoh's daughter, choofing rather to fuffer
affliction with the worfhippers of the true God,"
than to have the temporary enjoyment of any thing
that was not to be had without fin ; for fo the word
ought to be render'd, J Tgcjcrxaigjp tym dpapria:
m.Trb\av<riv 9 <c than to have the temporary enjoy -
" ment of fin." So here was Mofes his felf-denial,
that he chofe rather to fuffer affliction with the wor-
ihippers of the true God, than to gain a kingdom,
by the renouncing of God and religion.
II. We will confider thofe circumftances of his
felf- denial, which do very much commend and fat
off the virtue of it.
1. What it was he refufed to be called ; " the foa
" of Pharaoh's daughter * M that is, to be the heir
of one of the greatefl: and moft flourifhing kingdoms
in the world ; a temptation fo great, that the devil
him-
844 Mofes's choice of afflifted piety \
S E R M. himfelf could not find out one much greater, when he
fet upon the fon of God to tempt him to fall down
and worfhip him.
And when we confider for what inconfiderable
things fome men fell their religion and their contin-
ences, we fhall think it no fmall temptation which
Moles here refilled. Si violandum eft jus % regnandi
caufd violandum eft ; " If a man would do any unjuft
* c thing, and violate his religion and confeience, he
" would not do it for lefs than a kingdom ; and it
« c would be a very hard bargain, even upon thofe
" terms. 5 *
2. Confider not only what he refufed, but what
he chofe in the place of it ; a ftate of great affliction
and fufFering. Had he refufed a kingdom, and cho-
fen the quiet condition of a fubject of middle rank
(beneath envy and above contempt) his felf-denial had
not been fo great •, nay, perhaps he had made a wife
choice, in the account of the wifeft men, in prefer-
ring a plentiful and quiet retirement, before the
cares of a crown, and the burden of publick govern-
ment.
But it is very rare to find a Man that would choole
rather to be oppreft and perfecuted, than to be a
prince, and to have the fweet power to ufe others as
he pleafed.
3. Confider how fair a profpect he had of en-
joying this kingdom, if he could but have come
up to the terms of it. He did not reject it, bc-
caufe he defpaired of attaining it : for he had all
the right that a good title could give him, being
adopted heir to it $ and yet he refufed it*
I
rather than a kingdom. 845
To which I may add, that his breeding was fuch S E R ML
as might eafily kindle ambitious thoughts in him.
He was brought up in Pharaoh's court, and was
the darling and favourite of it ; exceeding beautiful
(as Jofephus tells us) c< and learned in all the wifdom
a of the Egyptians j" than which, no two qualities
are more apt to puff up and fwell a man with big
thoughts of himlelf.
They that are bred in a low condition, never
think of a kingdom ; men not being apt to afpire
to things which are remote, and at a great diftance
from them.
But nothing is more rare in perfons of great
and generous minds, than fuch a felf-denial as this.
4. Let it be confidered, in the laft place, that this
was a deliberate choice, not any rafh and Hidden de-
termination made by him when he was of incompetent
age to make a true judgment of things. And this
the apoftle takes notice of in the text, as a very me-
morable circumitance, " that when he was come to
" years, he refufed to be called the fon of Pha-
" raoh's daughter/' And St. Stephen tells us, that
he was full forty years old when he made this
choice, Acts vii. 23. cC When he was full forty years
" old, it came into his heart to vifit his brethren the
" children of Ifrael." When he was of ripeft
judgment, and in the height of iiis prcfperity and
reputation, he made this choice; for it is faid in
the verfe before, " that Mofes was learned in all
" the wifdom of the Egyptians, and mighty in
" word and deed;" that is, he was in great repu-
tation for his wifdom and valour.
Vol. IV. 8 B This
8
S46 Mofes 9 s choice of affdtUd piety,
RM. This feems to refer to other pafiages of his life,
which are not recorded in the (cripture hiftory, but
related at large by Jofephus, out of hiftoriahs extant
in his time. For he tells, that when xht Ethiopians
had invaded Egypt, and almoft over-run it, Pha-
raoh was directed by the oracle at Memphis to
make Moles his general, who by his extraordinary
conduct and courage overthrew the Ethiopians, and
drave them out of Egypt.
This Mofes did not think fit to relate of himfelf ;
but St. Stephen feems to allude to it, when he fays,
cc that he was mighty in word and deed:" And
then it follows ; " and when he was full forty years
" old, it came in his heart to vifi: his brethren, the
" children of Ifrael;" that is, when he was at full
maturity of judgment, and in the height of his
profperity and reputation, he quitted the court of
Egypt, and went to vifit his affli&ed brethren, and
choie rather to take part with them in their fufTer-
ings, than to accept thofe great offers that were made
to him.
There is likewife another pafTage in Jofephus con-
cerning Mofes, which feems to be a forerunner of
the contempt which he mewed afterwards of the
crown of Egypt •, that when Mofes was about three
years old, Thermufis, the daughter of Pharaoh,
brought the child to him, who took him in his
arms, and put his diadem upon his head ; but Mofes
took it off, and call it to the ground, and trampled
it under his tc^t. This was but a childifh acl, and
they who few it, would eafily believe, that, for all his
.a contempt: of it then, if it were put upon his
head
rather than a kingdom. 847
'I"/
head in g-ood earneft, when he came to be a man, SER \f.
he would hold it on fader, and ule it with more re- ^.^^j
fpecl.
And it is not improbable, but that the apoftle
might have ibme regard to this, when he fays, Ct that
" Mofes when he comes to years •, " intimating
that he did not only trample upon the diadem of
Pharaoh, when he was a child ; but when he was
come to years, and was capable of judging better of
thoie things, u he rcfufed to be called the fon of Pha-
" raoh's daughter."
But before I proceed any farther, I cannot but
take notice of an objection, which may feem to re-
flect greatly upon the integrity of Mofes. Can we
think him fo very confcientious a man, who per-
fuaded the people of Ifrael, and pretended God's
direction in the caie, to cheat the Egyptians of their
jewels under a fraudulent pretence of borrowing
them ? There is fome difficulty in the thing, as at
firfr. fight it appears: and yet I doubt not, with
your favourable attention, and free from prejudice,
to vindicate Mofes clearly in this matter.
And I fhall not infifl upon that which is com-
monly and truly faid in this cafe; that God, who
is the fupreme Lord of all things, may transfer the
rights of men from one to another : becaufe the ob-
jection doth not lie againft God's right to take away
from any man what he hath given him ; but
againfl the fraudulent manner of doing it, which,
feems unworthy of God to command or en-
courage.
JB 2 Now
84S Mofess choice of affiitted piety,
Now this matter, I think, is capable of another
and much clearer anfwer ; which in fhort is this, and
grounded upon the hiftory, as we find it related,
Exod. xii. The providence oi God did, it feems,
defign by this way to make fome reparation to the
Israelites, for the tyrannical ufage which they had re-
ceived from the Egyptians •, and that firft (as the
text expreQy tells us) " in giving them favour
" with the Egyptians," who in truth, for their own
ends, and to get rid of fuch troubiefome guefts,
were difpofed to lend them any thing they had.
Thus far all is right ; here is nothing but fair bor-
rowing and lending : and if the Ifraelites acquired a
right to thofe things afterwards, there was then no
obligation to refiitution.
Let us fee then how the providence of God
brought this about : namely, by permitting the
Egyptians afterwards, without caufe, and after leave
given them to depart, to purfue them, with a defign
to have deftroyed them ; by which hoftility and
perfldioufnefs they plainly forfeited their right to
what they had only lent before. For this .hoftile
attempt, which would have warranted the Ifraelites
to have fpoiled them of their jewels, if they had
been in the pofTefTion of the Egyptians, did certainly
warrant them to keep them when they had them ;
and by this means they became rightful pofTeffors of
what they had only by loan before, and could not
have detained without fraud and injuftice, if this
hoftility of the Egyptians had not given them a new
title and clear right to them.
But
rather than a kingdom. 8 9
But I proceed to the third thing I propofed, SERM.
which was to vindicate the prudence and reafonable-
nefs of this choice. And in fpeaking to this, I fnail
abftract from the particular cafe of Mofes, and
fhew in general, cc that it is a prudent and reafonable
" thing, to prefer even an afflicted ftate of piety
" and virtue, before the greateft pleafures and pro-
" fperity of a finful courfe :" and this will appear,
if we confider thefe two things.
I. The fufferings of good men upon account of
religion, together with the reward of them.
II. The temporary enjoyment of fin, with the
mifchiefs and inconveniencies confequent upon
them.
I. The fufferings of good men upon the account
of religion, together with the reward of them. This
Mofes had in his eye, when he made this choice ;
for therefore " he chofe to fuffer affliction with the
" people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleafures
" of fin which are but for a feafon, becaufe he
" had refpect to the recompence of reward."
And tho* he had but a very imperfect difcovery in
comparifon of the future ftate ; yet, it feems, he
had fo much affurance of the goodnefs of God,
as firmly to believe, that he mould be no lofer at
the lad, by any thing that he fuffered for God and
religion.
Indeed, if there were no life after this, and we
had no expectation beyond this world, the wifefl
thing we could do, would be to enjoy as much of
the prefent contentment of this world, as we could
nuke ourfelves mailers of. But if we be defigned
for
2 to Mofcs's choice of affli&ed piety,
SERVf . for immortality, and mall be unfpeakably happy, or
intolerably miferable in another world, according
as we have demeaned ourfelrcs in this life ; then
certainly it is reasonable, that we mould take the
greateft care of the longefl: duration, and be con-
tent todifpenfe with fome prefent inconveniencies for
an eternal felicity - v and be willing to labour and take
pains for a little while, that we may be happy for
ever. And this is accounted prudence in the account
of the wifefc men, to part with a little in prefent, for
a far greater future advantage.
But the difproportion betwixt time and eternity
is fo vail, that did we but firmly believe, that we
mall live for ever, nothing in this world could
reafonably be thought too good to part withal, or
too grievous to fuffer, for the obtaining of a blefled
immortality. And upon this belief and perfuafion of
a mighty reward, beyond all their prefent fufferings,
and that they mould be infinite gainers at the laft,
the primitive christians were kept from finking un-
der their prefent fufferings, and fortified againfl all
that the malice and cruelty of the world could do
unto them. And if we would confider all things
together, and mind the invifible things of another
world, as well as the things which are feen, we
fhould eafily difcern, that he who fuffers for God
and religion does not renounce his happinefs, but put
it out to intereft upon terms of greateft advantage,
and does wifely confider his own belt and molt lad-
ing intereft. This is the firft.
II. This will yet more evidently appear, if we
confider the temporary enjoyments of fin, together
with
rather than a kingdom. 2c i
with the mifchiefs and inconveniences attending, S E R M.
and confequent upon them •, that as to the nature ^J^'ii*
of them, they are mix'd and imperfect; as to the
duration of them, they are fhorr, and but fbr a
ieafon ; as to the final iffue and confequence of
them, that they end in mifery and ibrrovv.
i. As to the nature of them, all the pleafures
and enjoyments of fin are mix'd and imperfecl. A
wicked man may make a (hew of mirth and pleafure,
" but even in laughter his heart is fbrrowful, and
" the end of that mirth is heavinefs." Tiiere can
be no true and fincere pleafure in any finful and
vicious courfe, tho' it be attended with all the pomp
and fplendor of outward happineis and profperityj
for wherever fin and vice is, there mult be guile ;
and wherever guilt is, the mind will be reftleis and
unquiet.
For there are two very troubiefome and tor-
menting paflions, which are naturally confequent up-
on guilt \ fliame and fear : lhame, arifmg from the
apprehenfion of the danger of being difcovered ;
and fear, from the apprehenfion of the danger of
being punimed : and thefe do continually haunt the
finner, and fill him with inward horror and confu-
fion in his mod fecret retirements. And if fin were
attended with no other trouble but the guilt of it,
a wife man would not commit it, if it were for
no other reafon, but merely for the peace and quiet
of his own mind.
2. The enjoyments of fin as to the duration of
them, are but fhort. Upon this confideration,
JVlofes fet no price and value upon them, but pre-
. . f erred
gr2 Mofes J s choice of ajfli 51 ed piety,
SERM. ferred affliction and fuffering in good company,
' and in a good caufe, before " the temporary enjoy-
" ments of firi."
If the enjoyments of this world were perfect in
their nature, and had no mixture of trouble and
forrow in them ; yet this would be a great abate-
ment of them, that they are of fo fnort and uncer-
tain a continuance. The pleafure of molt fins ex-
pires with the act of them •, and when that is done,
the delight vaniffieth.
I cannot deny but that there are feveral worldly ad-
vantages to be purchafed by fin, which may perhaps
be of a longer continuance -, as riches and honours,
the common purchafe of covetoufnefs and ambition,
and of that long train of inferior vices which at-
tend upon them, and minifter unto them : but even
thole enjoyments are, in their own nature, of an un-
certain continuance, and much more uncertain for
being purchafed by indirect and ill means. But if
the enjoyment of thefe things were lure to be of the
fame date with our lives ; yet how fhort a duration is
that, compared with eternity ? make the utmoft al-
lowance to thefe things, that can be, yet we can
but enjoy them whilft we are in this world. When
we come into the world of fpirits, it will fignify no-
thing to us to have been rich or great in this world.
When we fhall ftand before that higheft tribunal,
it will not avail us in the leaft to have been
princes, and great men, and judges on the earth ;
the pooreft man that ever lived in this world, will
then be upon equal terms with the biggefl of us
all.
For
rather than a kingdom. 853
For all mankind fhall then fland upon a level, SER M".
and thofc civil di functions of rich and poor, of bale
and honourable, which fecm now fo confiderable,
and make fuch a glaring difference amongft men
in this world, mall all then be laid afide, and moral
differences (hall only take place. All the diitincLions
which will then be made, will be betwixt the good
and the bad, the righteous and the wicked j and
the difference betwixt a good and bad man, will
be really much greater, than ever it feemed to
be betwixt the higheft and meaneft perfons in this
world.
And if this be (o^ why fhould we value the enjoy-
ments of fin at fo high a rate, which, at the beft,
are only eonfidcrable (and that only in the imagi-
nation of vain men) during our abode in this
world *, but bear no price at all in that country
where we muff, live for ever : or if they did, we
cannot carry them along with us. The guilt of them,
indeed, will follow us with a vengeance j the injuftice
and ail the ill arts we have ufed for the getting or
keeping of them, efpecially, if at once we have
" made ffiipwreck of faith and a good conlcience/*
If we have changed our religion, or, which is
much worfe, if continuing in the profeffion of ir,
we have betrayed it, and the interelt of it, for
the gaining or fecuring of any of theie things ; we
fhall find, to our forrow, that tho' " thQ enjoyments
* c of fin were but for a feafon," the guilt of it will
never leave us nor forfake us -, but will fticfc clofe to
us, and make us miferable for ever. But this belongs
to the
Vol. IV. SC Hid Thing
t
854 Mofes *s choice of affliSIed piety,
S E R M. Hid Thing I propofed to fpeak to, namely, the
final iflue and confequence of a finful courfe, which
is mifery and forrow, many times in this world; but
molt certainly in the next.
1. In this world, the very belt ifTue and confe-
quence of a finful courfe, that we can imagine,
is repentance: and even this hath a great deal of
fenfible pain and trouble in it •, for it is many
times (efpecially after great fins, and a long con-
tinuance in them,) accompanied with much re-
gret and horror; with deep and piercing forrow ;
with difmal and defpairing thoughts of God's
mercy ; and with fearful apprhenfions of his wrath
and vengeance. So that, if this were the word
confequence of fin, (which indeed is the bed) no
man that confiders and calculates things wifely,
would purchafe the pleafure of any fin, at the
price of fo much anguifh and forrow as a true
and deep repentance will coft him -, efpecially,
fince a true repentance does, in many cafes, oblige
men to the reftitution of that which hath been
gained by fin, if it been hath got by the injury
of another.
And this confideration quite takes away the plea-
fure and profit of an ill-gotten eftate. Better ne-
ver to have had it, than to be obliged to refund
it. A wife man will forbear the mofl plealant
meats, if he know before-hand that they will make
him deadly fick, and that he fhall never be at
cafe, till he have brought them up again.
No man that believes the threatnings of God,
and the judgments of another world, would ever
fig,
rather than a kingdom. 855
fin, but that he hopes to retrieve all again by re-
pentance. But it is the greated folly in the world
to commit any fin upon this hope : for that is to
pleafe ones felf for the prefent, in hopes to havs
more trouble afterwards than the pleafure comes to.
But, efpecially no man would be guilty of an act
of injudice and oppreftion, in hopes to repent of
it afterv/ards ; bccaufe there can be no repentance
for fuch fins without reditu tion ; and 'tis perfect
madnefs for a man to run the hazard of his foul,
to get an edate, in hopes of redoring it again ;
for fo he mud do that truly repents of fuch a fin.
But,
2. In the other world, the final ifiue and confe-
quence of all the pleafures of fin unrepented of,
will certainly be mifery and forrow. How quietly
fbever a finner may pafs through this world, or out
of it, mifery will certainly overtake him in the
next, unfpeakable and eternal mifery, arifing from
an apprehenfion of the greateft lofs, and a fenfe of
the fharpeft pain ; and thofe fadly aggravated by
the remembrance of pad pleafure, and the defpair
of future eafe.
From a fad apprehenfion and melancholy re-
flexion upon his inedimable lofs. In the other
world the finner fhall be eternally feparated from
God, who is the fountain of happinefs. This is
the fird part of that miferable fentence which fhall
be pad upon the wicked -, " depart from me."
Sinners are not now fenfible of the joys of hea-
ven, and the happinefs of that date, and therefore
are not capable of edimating the greatnefs of fuch
8 C 2 a lois :
856 Mofes's choice of ajjiitled piety ,
ERM. a lofs : but this ftupidity and infenfiblenefs of fin*
ners, continues only during this prefcnt flate, which
affords men variety of objects and pleasures to divert
and entertain them : but when they are once en-
teral upon the other world, they will then have
nothing elfe to take up their thoughts, but the fad
condition, into which by their own wilful negli-
gence and folly they have plunged themfelves.
They fhall then lift up their eyes, and with the rich
man in the parable, at once fee the happinefs of
others, and rlel their own miiery and torment.
But this is not all. Befides the apprehenfion of
f great a lofs, they fhall be fenfible of the foreft
and fharpefc pains ; and how grievous thofe fhall
be we may conjecture by what the fcripture fays of
them in general ; that they are tht effects of a
mighty difpleafure, of anger and omnipotence met
together, far greater than can be defcribed by any
pains and fufferings which we are acquainted withal
in this world : cc for who knows the pow r er of God's
" anger,'* and the utmoft of what omnipotent jus-
tice can do to finners? " It is a fearful thins: to
" fall into the hands of the living God ."
One would think, this were mifery enough, and
needed no farther aggravation : but yet it hath two
terrible ones ; from the remembrance of pad plea-
sures, and the defpair of any future eafe and re-
medy.
The remembrance of pad pleafure makes prefent
fufferings more fharp and fenfible. For as nothing
commends pleafure more, and gives a quicker re-
]ifh to happinefs, than precedent pain and fuffer-
in°" :
rather than a kingdom. 857
ing: (for perhaps there is not a greater pleafure inSERM.
the world, than in the fudden eafe which a man
finds after a fharp fit of the (lone) fo nothing en-
rageth affliction more, and fets a keener edge upon
mifery, than to pafs into great pain immediately
out of a date of eafe and pleafure. This was the
flinging aggravation of the rich man's torment,
" that in his life- time he had received his good
" things and had fared fo delicioufly every day."
But the greated aggravation of all is, the defpair
of any future eafe and remedy. The duration of
this mifery is fct forth to us in fcripture, by fuch
expreffions as do fignify the longed and mod in-
terminable duration, " depart ye curfed into ever-
6C lading fire, Matth. xxv. and Mark ix. 43. where
" the worm dies not, and the fire is not quench-
" ed." And in the Revelation it is faid, <c that
" the wicked (hall be tormented, day and night,
Ce for ever and ever ;" without intermiffion, and
without end. And this furely is the perfection of
mifery, for a man to lie under the greatefl tor-
ments, and to be in defpair of ever finding the
lead eafe.
Let us now compare things together ; on the one
hand, the fufferings of good men, for a good con-
fcience, and the reward that follows them ; and on
the other hand, the enjoyments of fin, and the
mifchief and mifery that attend them, and will cer-
tainly overtake them in this world, or in the next :
and then we ihall eafily difcern which of thefe is to
be preferred in a wife man's choice.
And
LVIl.
858 Mofes*s choice of afflicted piety,
SERM. And indeed the choice is fo very plain, that a
man mud be very Orange ] y forfaken of his reafon,
and blinded by fenfe, who does not prefer that
courfe of life, which will probably make him hap-
pier in this world, but moil certainly in the next.
IV. There remains now only the fourth and lad
particular to be fpoken to ; viz. fuppofing this choice
to be reafonable, to enquire whence it comes to
pafs that fo many make a quite contrary choice.
How is it, that the greater!: part of mankind are fo
widely miilaken, as to prefer the temporary enjoy-
ments of fin before confeience and religion j efpe-
cially, if it be attended with great afflictions and
fufferings ? and of this, I mail give you as brief an
account as 1 can, and fo conclude this difcourfe.
This wrong choice generally proceeds from one
or both of thefe two caufes ; from want of faith , or
from want of confederation ; or of both.
1. One great reafon why men make fo impru-
dent a choice, is unbelief ^ either the want of faith,
or the weaknefs of it. Either men do not believe
the recompences of another life, or they are not fo
firmly perfuaded of the reality of them. If men do
not at all believe thefe things, there is no founda-
tion for religion \ " for he that cometh unto God
*< (that is, he that thinks of being religious)
4t muft believe that God is, and that he is a re-
ec warder of them that diligently feek him," as the
apoftle reafons in the beginning of this chapter.
But I hope, there are but few that are, or can
be infidels, as to thefe great and fundamental prin-
ciples of religion. But it is to be feared, that the
faith
rather than a kingdom, 8;" 9
Faith of a great many is but weak and wavering \ S F. R M
their faith is rather negative j they do not disbe- ^
lieve thefe things, but they are not firmly perfuaded
of them ; their faith is rather an opinion, than a
rooted and well-grounded perfuafion ; and therefore
no wonder, if it be not fo ftrong and vigorous a
principle of action, like the faith of Abraham and
Mofes, and other worthies mentioned in this chap-
ter. For where faith is in its full ftrength and vi-
gour, it will have proportionable effects upon the
refolutions and wills of men : but where it is but
Weak, it is of little or no efficacy. And this is the
true reafon, why fo many forfake religion, and cleave
to this prefent world •, and when it comes to the
pufb, choofe rather to fin, than ;to fuffer ; and will
rather quit the truth, than endure perfecution for it.
Thefe are they whom our Saviour defcribes,
" who receive the word with joy, and endure for a
<c while ; but when tribulation and perfecution a-
" rifeth becaufe of the word, prefently they are
" offended : " not that they did not believe the.
word; but their faith had taken no deep root,
and therefore it withered. The weaknefs and wa-
vering of mens faith, makes them unliable and in-
conftant in their courfe -, becaufe they are not of
one mind, but divided betwixt two interefls, that
of this world, and the other ; " and the double-
<c minded man (as St. James tells us) is unliable in
<c all his ways."
It is generally a true rule ; fo much wavering as
we fee in the actions and lives of men, fo much
. weaknefc there U in their faith 3- and therefore
. lis
8 6 o Mofess choice of ajfitUd piety,
SERM. he that would know what any man firmly believes-,
let him attend to his actions more than to his pro-
feilions.
If any man live fo as no man that heartily be-
lieves the chriftian religion can live, it is not credi-
ble, that fuch a man doth firmly believe the chrifti-
an religion. He fays he does ; but there is a greater
evidence in the cafe than words ; there is tefiimonium
ret, the man's actions are to the contrary, and they
do beft declare the inward fenfe of the man. Did
men firmly believe, that there is a God that go-
verns the world, " and that he hath appointed a
u day, wherein he will judge it in righteoufnefs ; "
and that all mankind fhall fhortly appear before
him, and give an account of themfelves, and all
their actions to him ; and that thofe " who have kept
" the faith and a good confcience, and have lived
" foberly, and righteoufly, and godly in this prefent
" world," mall be unfpeakably and eternally happy $
*' but the fearful and unbelieving," thofe who out
of fear or intereft, have deferted the faith, or lived
wicked lives, " fhall have their portion in the lake,
" which burns with fire and brimftonej" I fay,
were men firmly perfuaded of thefe things, it is
hardly credible that any man mould make a wrong
choice, and forfake the ways of truth and righte-
oufenefs, upon any temptation whatfoever.
Faith, even in temporal matters, is a mighty
principle of action, and will make men to attempt
and undergo ftrange and difficult things. The faith
of the gofpel ought to be much more operative and
powerful, becaufq the objects of hope and fear,
which
rather than a kingdom. 86 r
which it prefents to us, are far greater, and moreSERNl.
confiderable, than any thing that this world can
tempt or terrify us withal.
Would we but by faith make prefent to our
minds, the invifible things of another world, the
happinefs of heaven, and the terrors of hell ; and
were we as verily pcrfuaded of them, as if they
were in our view \ how mould we defpife all the
pleafures and terrors of this world ; and with what
eafe mould we refill and repel all thofe temptations,
which would feduce us from our duty, or draw us
into fin !
A firm and unfhaken belief of thefe things
would effectually remove all thofe mountains of dif-
ficulty and difcouragement, which men fancy to
themfelves in the ways of religion. " To him that
" believeth, all things are poffible," and moft things
would be eafy.
2. Another reafon of this wrong choice is want
of confideration ; for this would flrengthen our
faith, and make it more vigorous and powerful :
and indeed a faith which is well rooted and efta-
blifhed doth fuppofe a wife and deep confideratioa
of things ; and the want of this is a great caufe
of the fatal mifcarriage of men ; that they do not
fit down and confider with themfelves ferioufly,
how much religion is their intereft, and how much
it will coft them to be true to it, and to perfevere
in it to the end.
We fuffer our felves to be governed by fenfe,
and to be tranfported with prefent things ; but do
not confider our future and lafting interefl:, and the
Vol. IV. 8 D whote
8.
S 6 2 Mofess choice of affdfted piety,
SERM whole duration of an immortal foul. And this is
the reafon, why fo man many are hurried away by
the prefent and fenfible delights of this world, be-
caufe they will not take time to think of what will
be hereafter.
For it is not to be imagined, but that the man
who hath ferioufly confidered what fin is, the
fhortneis of its pleafure, and the eternity of its
punifhment, mould refolve to forfake fin, and to live
a holy and virtuous life.
To conclude this whole difcourfe. If men did
but ferioufly believe the great principles of religion j
the being and the providence of God ; the immortality
of their fouls ; the glorious rewards, and the dreadful
punifhments of another world, they could not pof-
fibly make fo imprudent a choice, as we fee a great
part of mankind to do, they could not be induced
to forfake Go d and religion for any temporal intereft
and advantage ; to renounce the favour of heaven,
and all their hopes of happinefs in another world,
for any thing that this world can afford ; nay not
for the whole world, if it were offered to them.
For as cur Saviour reafons in this very cafe, of
forfaking our religion for any temporal intereft,
or conlideration 5 " what is a man profited if he
" gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul ?
u or what fhalJ a man give in exchange for his
« foul ?
Whenever any of us are tempted in this kind,;
let that folemn declaration of our Saviour and our
judge be continually in our minds ; " he that con-
* fc fcfleth me before men, him will I confeis alio
before
rather than a kingdom. 863
<c before my father which is in heaven : but who- SE J 1 ^"
<c foevcr (hall be afhamed of me and of my words
u in this adulterous and finfiri generation, of him
" fhall the fon of man be afhamed, when he (hall
" come in the glory of his father, with his holy
" angels.*'
And we have great caufe to thank God, to lee
fo many in this day of trial, and hour of temptation,
to adhere with fo much refolution and conftancy
to their holy religion, and to prefer " the keeping
<c of faith, and a good confcience," to all earthly
confiderations and advantages.
And this very thing, that fo many hold their
religion fo fafl, and are fo loth to part with it, gives
great hopes that they intend to make good ufe of
it, and to frame their lives according to the holy
rules and precepts of it ; which alone can give us
peace, whilif. we live, and comfort when we come
to die ; and after death fecure to us the pofTeffion
of a happinefs large as our wifhes, and lading as our
fouls.
" To which, God of his infinite goodnefs brino-
" us all, for his mercy's fake, in Jesus Christ:
" to whom, with the Father, and the Holy
" Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without
" end. Amen."
2 D 2 SERMON
[86 4 ]
SERMON LVIII.
Of conflancy in the profeffion of the
true religion.
HEB. x, 23.
Lei us hold faft the profejjion of our faith without
wavering *, for he is faithful that promifed.
SERM.rT^HE main fcope and defign of this epiftle
LVIII. t0 t } ie Hebrews is to perfuade the Jews,
The firft wno wcre newly converted to chriftianity,
fermonon t0 continue ftedfaft in the profefTion of that holy
tins text.
and excellent religion which they had embraced ;
and not to be removed from it, either by the fub-
tile infinuations of their brethren the Jews, who pre-
tended that they were in poffeiiion of the true an-
cient religion, and the only true church of God
upon earth -, or by the terror of the heathen perfe-
lecution, which was fo hot againft them at that
time. And to this end tht author of this epiftle
doth by great variety of arguments demonftrate the
excellency of the chriflian religion above the jewifh
dilpenfation ; and fhews at large, that in all thofe
refpects upon which the Jews valued themfelves and
their religion (as namely upon the account of their
lawgiver, their high-priefls, and their facriflces) the
chriflian religion had every way the advantage of
them.
And
Of conjiancy in the profejjion, &c. 865
And having made this clear, he concludes with an S E R M.
earned exhortation to them to continue ttedfad in
the profeflion of this excellent religion, which was
revealed to them by the Son of God, the true pro-
pitiatory facrifice, and the great high- pried cf their
profeflion, and into which they had folemnly been
initiated and admitted by baptifm 5 ver. 19, 20, 21,
22. " Having therefore, brethren, boldnefs to enter
into the holied, by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way, which he hath confecrated for us
through the vail, that is to lay, his flefh - 9 and hav-
ing an high-pried over the houfe of God ; let us
" draw near with a true heart, in full afiurance of
" faith," that is, let us fincerely ferve God with a
firm perfuafion of the truth and excellency of this
holy religion, into the profeflion whereof we were
folemnly admitted by baptifm % for that is undoubt-
edly the meaning of the following words ; " having
" our hearts fprinkled from an evil confcience, and
tc our bodies warned with pure water j' 5 the water,
with which our bodies are warned in baptifm, figni-
fying our fpiritual regeneration, " and the purging
" our confciences from dead works, to ferve the liv-
" ing God." From all which he concludes, " let
" us hold fad the profeflion of our faith without wa-
" vering :" This refers to that folemn profeflion of
faith, which was made by all chridians at their bap-
tifm, and which is contained in the ancient creed of
the chridian church, called by the ancient fathers,
" the rule of faith."
Let us hold fad, Karl^wjxcv, let us firmly retain ;
the fame with x^Too/asy tik 6/jioXoy/ar, chap. iv. 14.
Seeing then we have a great high- pried which is
pafled
wwvju£ u*vn irnv HH^V «l t> lv ** w »'5"^"vh
LVilf.
866 Of conjfnncy in the
Serm. " pafifed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God ?
" Jet us take fall hold of our profefTion." So here
in the text, the apoflle upon the fame confideration
exhorts chriflians to retain or hold fad, ¥ ofioKoylocv
HP?? iXdrfctor, the confefTion, or profefTion of their
hope ; that is, the hope of the refurrcfrion of the
dead, and everlafling life, which was the conclufion
of that faith or creed, whereof in baptifm they made
a folemn profefiion. " Let us hold fall the profef.
u fion of our faith or hope, without wavering •," the
word is drXin^ inflexible, unmoveable, fleady, and
not apt to waver and be fhaken by every wind of con-
trary doctrine, nor by the blafts and ftorms of perfe-
cution. " For he is faithful that hath promifed." If
we continue faithful and fleady to God, he will be
faithful to make good all the promifes he hath made
to us.
In the words thus explained, there are two things
which I fhall diftinctJy confider.
Firfl, the exhortation ; " let us hold fail the pro-
" feflion of our faith, without wavering :" and,
Secondly, the argument or encouragement ufed
to enforce it; " he is faithful that promifed." I be-"
gin with the
Firfl, the exhortation, to be conftant and fleady
in the profefiion of the chriflian religion ; " let us
cc hold fa ft the profefiion of our faith without wa-
" vering." In the handling of this, and that we
may the better underfland the true meaning of this
exhortation here in the text, I fhall do thefe two
tnings.
I. I fhall fhew negatively, wherein this conflancy
and fleadinefs in the profefiion of the true religion
does
profejjion of the true religion. £67
does not confift. And here I fhall remove one or S RRM.
two things which are thought by fome to be incon-
fifrenc with conftancy and fledfaftnefs in religion.
JI. I fhall mew pofitively, what is implied in a
conftant and fteady profeflion of the true religion.
I. I fhall fhew negatively, what conftancy and
fteadfaftnefs in the profeflion of the true religion does
not imply. And there are two things which are
thought by fome to be implied, 6C in holding faff, the
'* profeflion of our faith without wavering."
Firft, that men fhould not take the liberty to exa-
mine their religion, and enquire into the grounds and
reafons of it.
Secondly, that men fhould obftinately refufe to
hear any reafons that can be brought againfl the true
religion, as they think, which they have once enter-
tained.
Firft, that men fhould not take the liberty to exa-
mine their religion, and to enquire into the grounds
and reafons of it. This, I think, is fo far from be-
ing forbidden in this exhortation ; that, on the con-
trary, I doubt not to make it appear, that a free and
impartial enquiry into the grounds and reafons of our
religion, and a thorough trial and examination of
them, is one of the beft means to confirm and efta-
blifh us in the profeflion of it : I mean, that all per-
fons that are capable of it fhould do it, and that
they will find great benefit and advantage by it. For
I do not think, that this is a duty equally and indif-
ferently incumbent upon all ; nor indeed fit and pro-
per for all perfons ♦, becaufe all are not equally capable
of doing it. There are two forts of perfons that arc
in a great meafure incapable of doing it.
1. Children. 2. Such
868 Of ccnfiancy in the
SERM. 2. Such grown peribns as are of a very mean and
\s-ktk^ low capacity, and improvement of underftanding.
Children are not fit to examine, but only to learn
and believe what is taught them by their parents
and teachers. They are fit to have the fear of God,
and the principles of the true religion, inftillcd into
them : but they are by no means fit to difcern be-
tween a true and falfe religion, and to choofe for
themfelves, and to make a change of their religion ;
as hath of late been allowed to them in a nation not
far from us, and by publick edict declared, that
children at feven years old, are fit to choofe and to
change their religion : which is the firit law I ever
heard of, that allows children at that age to do any
act for themfelves, that is of confequence and impor-
tance to them, for the remaining parts of their lives,
and which they fhall ftand obliged to perform and
make good. They are indeed baptized, according
to the cuftom and ufage of the chriflian church, in
their infancy : but they do not enter into this obliga-
tion themfelves ; but their fureties undertake for
them, that when they come to age, they fhall take
this promife upon themfelves, and confirm and make
it good. But furely, they can do no act for them-
felves, and in their own name, at that age, which can
be obligatory. They can neither make any contracts
that fnall be valid, nor incur any debt, nor oblige
themfelves by any promife, nor choofe themfelves a
guardian, nor do any act that may bring them under
an inconvenience, when they mall come at age.
And can we think them of difcretion fufficient at
that time, to do a thing of the greateft moment and
confequence of all other} and which will concern
them
profejjion of the true religion. 869
them to all eternity; namely, to choofe their re-SF. R M".
ligion? There is indeed one part of one religion
(which we all know) which children at {even years of
age are fit (I do not fay to judge of, but) to be as
fond of, and to pradtife to as good purpofe as thofe
of riper years ; and that is, to worfhip images, to
tell their beads, to fay their prayers, and to be pre*
fent at the fervice of God in an unknown tongue 5
and this they are more likely to choofe at that age,
than thofe who are of riper and more improved un-
derstandings ; and if they do not choofe it at that
time, it is ten to one, they will not choofe it after-
wards. I fhall fay no more of this, but that it is a
very extraordinary law, and fuch as perhaps was ne-
ver thought of before, from the beginning of the
world. Thus much for children.
2- As for grown perfonsl, who are of a very low
and mean capacity of understanding, and either by
reafon of the weaknefs of their faculties, or other
difadvantages which they lie under, are in little or no
probability of improving themfelves : thefe are al-
ways to be confidered as in the condition of children
and learners, and therefore mult of necefTity, in
things, which are not plain and obvious to the meanert
capacities, truft and rely upon the judgment of others.
And it is really much wifer and fafer for them lb to
do, than to depend upon their own judgments, and
to lean to their own understandings ; and fuch per-
fons, if they be modeft and humble, and pray ear-
nestly to God for his aSTiftance and direction, and
are careful to practife what they know, and to live
up to the beft light and knowledge which they have,
fhall not mifcarry merely for want of thofe farther
Vol. IV. ♦ E degrees
8.
g^o Of covftancy in the
SERM. degrees of knowledge which they had no capacity nor
LV !iL» opportunity to attain ; becaufe their ignorance is un-
avoidable, and God will require no more of them
than he hath given them, and will not call them
to account for the improvement of thofe talents,
which he never committed to them. And if they be
led into any dangerous error, by the negligence or ill
conduct of thole, under whofe care and inftruclion the
providence of God permitted them to be placed, God
will not impute it to them as a fault ; becaufe in the
circumflances in which they were, they took the bell
and wifeft courfe that they could, to come to the
knowledge of the truth, by being willing to learn
what they could of thole whom they took to be wifer
than themfelves.
But for fuch perfons, who by the maturity of
their age, and by the natural ftrength and clearnefs
of their understandings, or by the due exercife and
improvement of them, are capable of enquiring in-
to, and underftanding the grounds of their religion,
and difcerning the difference betwixt truth and er-
ror (I do not mean in unnecefTary points, and mat-
ters of deepen: learning and fpeculation, but in mat-
ters necelTary to falvation) it is certainly very rea-
fonable, that fuch perfons mould examine their re-
ligion, and underftand the reafom a_nd grounds
of it.
And this mud either be granted to be reafonable,
or elfe every man muft continue in that religion in
which he happens to be fixed by education, or for
any other reafon to pitch upon, when he comes
to years, and makes his free choice. For if this be
a good principle, that no man is to examine his
religion,
LV- II.
profejjlon of the true religion. 871
religion, but take it as it is, and to believe it, S^ERM.
and reft fatis5ed with it ; then every man is to remain
in the religion which he firfl lights upon, whether
by cnoice or the chance of his education. For he
ought not to change but upon reafon ; and reafon he
can have none, unlefs he be allowed to examine his
religion, and to compare it with others, that by the
companion he may difcern which is beft, and ought
in reafon to be preferred in his choice. For to him
that will not, or is not permitted to iearch into the
grounds of any religion, all religions are alike; as all
things are of the fame colour to him that is always
kept in the dark ; or if he happens to ccme into
the light, dares not open his eyes, and make ufe of
them to difcern the different colours of things.
But this is evidently, and at firfl fight unreafonable 5
becaufe at this rate, every man that hath once en-
tertained an error, and a falfe religion, mud for
ever continue in it. For if he be not allowed to
examine it, he can never have reafjn to change ;
and to make a change without reafon, is certainly
unreafonable, and mere vanity and inconftancy.
And yet, for ought I can fee, this is the principle
which the church of Rome doth with great zeal and
earneftnefs inculcate upon their people; difcouraging
all doubts and enquiries about their religion, as temp-
tations of the devil •, and all examinations of the
grounds and reafons of their religion, as an inclina-
tion and dangerous Hep towards herefy. For what
elfe can they mean, by taking the fcriptures out of
the hands of the people, and locking them up from
them in an unknown tongue •, by requiring them ab-
S E 2 lolutely
$72 Of conjlancy in the
S E R M. folutely to fubmit their judgments, and to refign
them up to that which they are plcafcd to call the
catholick church, and implicitly to believe as me
believes, tho' they know not what that is? This is,
in truth, to believe as their priefl tells them -> for that
is all the teaching part of the church, and all the
rule of faith that the common people are acquainted
with.
And it is not fufficient to fay in this matter, that
when men are in the truth, and of the right religion,
and in the bofom of the true church, they ought to
red: fatisfied, and to examine and enquire no farther.
For this is manifeftly unreafonablc, and that upon
thefe three accounts.
i. Becaufe this is a plain and fhameful begging
of the thing in queftion; and that which every
church, and every religion doth almoft with equal
confidence pretend to ; that theirs is the only right
religion, and the only true church. And thefe
pretences are all alike reafonable to him that never
examined the grounds of any of them, nor hath com-
pared them together. And therefore it is the vain-
efl thing in the world for the church of Rome to
pretend, that all religions in the world ought to
be examined, but theirs j becaufe theirs, and none
elfe, is the true religion. For this which they fay
ib confidently of it, that it is the true religion, no man
can know till he hath examined it, and fearched in-
to the grounds of it, and hath confidered the objec-
tions which are againil it. So that it is fond partia-
lity to lay, that their religion is not to be examined
by the people that profefs it, but that all other re-
ligions
profejfion of the true religio?j. 873
ligions ought to be examined, or rather, becaufe they S E R \\
are different from that which they preiume to be the JiI "
only true religion, ought to be condemned at all ad-
ventures, without any farther enquiry : this, I lay, is
fond partiality ; becaufe every religion and every
church may (for ought that appears to any man that is
not permitted to examine things impartially) fay the
fame for them felves, and with as much Reafon ; and
if fo, then either every religion ought to permit it
felf to be examined ; or elfe no man ought to exa-
mine his own religion, whatever it be ; and confe-
quently jews, and turks, and heathens, and hereticks,
ought all to continue as they arc, and none of them to
change ; becaufe they cannot reafonably change, with-
out examining both that religion which they leave,
and that which they embrace inftead of it.
2. Admitting this pretence were true, that they
are the true church, and have the true religion ; this
is fo far from being a reafon why they fhould not per-
mit it to be examined, that, on the contrary, it is one
of the bell reafons in the world, why they fhould al-
low it to be examined, and why they may fafcly
fuffer it to be fo. They fhould permit it to be tried,
that men may upon good rqafon be fatisfied that it
is the true religion : and they may fafely fuffer it to
be done *, becaufe, if they be fure that the grounds
of their religion be firm and good, I am fure they
will be never the worfe for being examined and look'd
into. But I appeal to every man's reafon, whether
it be not an ill fign that they are not fo fure that the
grounds of their religion are folid and firm, and fuch
as will abide the trial, that they are fo very loth to
have
8 74 Of conjlancy in the
S E R M. have them fearched into and examined ? This cannot
but tempt a wife man to fufpect, that their church is
not founded upon a rock ; and that they themfelves
know fomething that is amifs in their religion, which
makes them fo loth to have it tried, and brought to
the touch.
3. It is certain among all ehriftians, that the doc-
trine preached by the apofties was the true faith of
Christ; and yet they never forbad the chriftians
to examine whether it was fo or not: nay, on
the contrary, they frequently exhort them to try
and examine their religion, and whether that doctrine
which they had delivered to them was the true faith
of Christ. So St. Paul, 2 Connth. xiii. 5.
examine yourfelves, whether ye be in the faith ;
prove your own felves." And again, 1 Thef. v. 21.
prove ail things, hold fad that which is good ; M
intimating to us, that in order to the holding faft the
profeflion of our faith, it is requifite to prove and
try it. And fo likewife St. John's Ep. 1. iv. 1. be-
" loved, believe not every fpirit, but try the fpirits
<c whether they are of God •, becaufe many falfe
<c prophets are gone out into the world." And
he gives a very notable mark, whereby we may
know the fpirit of truth, and the fpirit of error.
The fpirit of error carries on a worldly intereft and
defign ; and the doctrines of it tend to fecular power
and greatnefs ; verie 5. M they are of the world ;
" therefore fpeak they of the world, and the world
" heareth them." Act. xvii. 11. St. Luke commends
it as an argument of a more noble and generous
fpirit in the Bereans, that they examined the doctrine
which
tc
frofejjion of the true religion. 8yc
which the apoftles preachM u whether it were agree- SERM.
46 able to the fcriptures;" and this without difpa- ^^jj
ragement to their infallibility, " thefe, faith he, were
" more noble than thofe of Theffalonica, in that
" they received the word with all readinefs of mind,
Ci and fearceded the fcriptures daily, whether thofe
" things were fo." They were ready to receive the
word; but not blindly, and with an implicit faith,
but ufing due care to examine the doctrines which
they were taught, and to fee if they were agreeable
to that divine revelation of the holy fcriptures which
they had before received. It feems they were not
willing to admit and iwallow contradictions in their
faith. And we defire no more of the church of
Rome, than that they would encourage the people
" to fearch the fcriptures daily, 5 ' and to examine
whether their doctrines be according to them. We
would be glad to hear the pope and a general coun-
cil commend to the people the fearching of the fcrip-
tures ; and to try their definitions of faith and decrees
of worfhip by that rule, to fee whether what they have
defined, and decreed to be believed and practifed, be
agreeable to it ; their worfhip of Images ; their folemn
invocation of angels, and of the blefTed virgin, and
the faints departed ; the facrament under one kind
only; the publick prayers and fervice of God in an
unknown tongue; the frequent repetition of the pro-
pitiatory facrifice of Christ's body and blood in
the mafs. Had the Bereans been at the council of
Trent, and pleaded their right " to fearch the fcrip-
" tures, whether thefe things were fo, " I doubt,
they would have been thought very troublefome and
imperti-
p^6 Of conjiancy in the
SERM. impertinent, and would not have been praifed by
the pope and council for their pains, as they are by
St. Luke.
You fee then, upon the whole matter, that it is
a very groundlefs and fufpicious pretence of the
church of Rome, that becaufe they are infallibly in
the right, and theirs is the true religion, therefore
their people muft not be permitted to examine it.
The doctrine of the apoftles was undoubtedly the
true faith of Christ; and yet they not only per-
mitted the people to examine it, but exhorted and
encouraged them fo to do, and commended them
for it : and any man, that hath the fpirit of a man,
muft abhor to fubmit to this flavery, not to be al-
lowed to examine his religion, and to enquire freely
into the grounds and reafons of it ; and would break
with any church in the world upon this fingle point ;
and would tell them plainly, if your religion be too
good to be examined, I doubt it is too bad to be be-
lieved.
If it be faid, that the allowing of this liberty
is the way to make people perpetually doubting and
unfettled \ I do utterly deny this, and do on the con-
trary with good reafon affirm, that it is apt to have
the contrary effect: \ there being in reafon no better
way to eftablifh any man in the belief of any thing,
than to kt him fee that there are very good grounds
and reafons for what he believes ; which no man can
ever fee, that is not permitted to examine whether
there be fuch reafons or not. So that, befides the
reafonablenefs of the thing, it is of great benefit
and advantage to us -, and that upon thele accounts.
i. To
profeffio?t of the true religion. 877
r. To arm us asrainft feducers. Fie that hath$E RM -
examined his religion, and tried the grounds of it, , _^
is mod able to maintain them, and make them good
againft all afTaults that may be made upon us, to move
us from our ftedfaftnefs : whereas he that hath not
examined, and confequently does not underfrand the
reafons of his religion, is liable " to be tofTed to and
" fro, and to be carried about with every wind of
" doctrine, by the Height of men, and the cunning
" craftinefs of thofe that lie in wait to deceive." For
when he is attempted, he will either defend his reli-
gion, or not : if he undertake the defence of it be-
fore he hath examined the grounds of it, he makes
himfelf an eafy prey to every crafty man that will
fct upon him *, he expofeth at once himfelf to dan-
ger, and his religion to difgrace : if he decline the
defence of it, he muft be forced to take fanctuary
in that ignorant and obftinate principle, that becaufe
he is of an infallible church, and lure that he is,
in the right, therefore he never did nor will exa-
mine whether he be fo or not. But how is he,
or can he be fure that he is in the right ; if he
have no other reafon for it, but his confidence, and
his being " wifer in his own conceit, than feven
" men that can render a reafon ? '* It is a fhameful
thing in a wife man, who is able to give a good
reafon of all other actions and parts of his life, to
be able to fay nothing for his religion, which con-
cerns him more than all the red.
2. To examine and underftand the grounds of
our religion, will be a good means (by the aftif-
tance of God's grace) to keep us conftant to it,
Vol. IV. % F era
8.
878 Of cojifiancy in the
SERM. even under the fiery trial. When it comes to this,
Lvin
that a man muff furTer for his religion, he had
need to be well eftablifhed in the belief of it ;
which no man can fo well be, as he that in fome
meafure underftands the grounds and reafons of
his belief. A man would be well allured of
the truth and goodnefs of that for which he would
lay down his life ; otherwife he dies as a fool dies,
he knows not for what. A man would be loth to
fet fuch a feal to a blank, I mean to that which
he hath no fuflicient ground and reafon to believe
to be true \ which, whether he hath or not, no man
that hath not examined the grounds of his religion
can be well afTured of. This St. Peter prefcribes,
as the bed preparative for fuifTering for righteouf-
nefs fake, the firft epiftle of Peter, iii. 14, 15.
" but if ye furTer for righteoulhefs fake, happy are
*' ye ; and be not afraid of their terror, neither
be troubled ; but fandtify the Lord Gqd in your
hearts ; (that is, make him the great object of
4t your dread and trull) and be ready always to
** give an anfvver to every man that asketh you a
" reafon of the hope that is in you.'*
Secondly, " the holding fait the profefilon of
* c our faith without wavering, " doth not imply,
that men mould obftinately refufe to hear any rea-
fon againft that religion which they have embraced,
and think to be the true religion. As men mould
examine before they choofe ; fo after they have
chofen, they fliould be ready to be better informed,
if better realon can be offered. No man ought to
think himielf fo infallible as to be privileged from
hearing
profrfjion of the true religion. 879
hearing rcafon, and from having his doctrines and S E R M.
I VIII
dictates tried by that teft.
Oar bleffed Saviour himfclf, the mod infalli-
ble perfon that ever was in the world, and " who
" declared the truth which he had heard of God,"
yet he offered himfelf and his doctrine to this trial.
John viii. 46. " which of you convinceth me of
*« tin?" that is, offalfhood and error ? " and if I
" fpeak the truth, why do ye not believe me ?" he
was fure he fpake the truth ; and yet for all that, if
they could convince him of error and miftake, he
was ready to hear any reafon they could brino- to
that purpofe. Though a man be never fo fure than
he is in the true religion, and never fo rcfblved to
continue ccnftant and ftedfafl in it •, yet reafon is al-
ways to be heard, when it is fairly offered. And as
we ought always to be " ready to give an anRver to
" thole who ask a reafon of the hope and faith that
" is in us •," fo ought we Iikewife to be ready to
hear the reafons which others do fairly offer againft
our opinion and perfuafion in religion, and to de-
bate the matter with them -, that if we be in the
right, and they in th(d wrong, we may rectify
their mifiake, " and in (tract them in meeknefs, if
" God peradventure may give them repentance to
*' the acknowledgment of the truth. "
We are not only to examine our religion, before
we peremptorily fix upon it ; but after we are, as
we think upon the beft reafon, eftablifh'd and fet-
tled in it. Tho' we ought not to doubt and wa-
ver in our religion upon every flight and trifling
objection that can be brought againft it ; yet we
S F 2 ourshc
£80 Of conjlancy in the
SERM. ought always to have an ear open to hear reafon,
j and confider any thing of weight and moment that
can be offered to us about it. For it is a great
difparagement to truth, and argues a diftruft of the
goodnefs of our caufe and religion, to be afraid to
hear what can be faid againft it ; as if truth were
fo weak, that in every conflict it were in danger to
be bafHed and run down, and go by the word ;
and as if the reafons that could be brought againft
it, were too hard for it, and not to be encounter'd
by thofe forces which truth has on its fide.
We have that honeft confidence of the goodnefs
of our caufe and religion, that we do not fear
what can be faid againft it ; and therefore we do
not forbid our people to examine the objections of
our adverfaries, and to read the beft books they
can write againft it. But the church of Rome are
fo wife in their generation, that they will not per-
mit thofe of their communion to hear cr read
what can be faid againft them : nay, they will not
permit the people the ufe of the holy fcriptures,
which they, with us, acknowledge to be at leaft an
efTential part of the rule of faith. They tell their
people, that after they are ence of their church and
religion, they ought not to hear any reafons againft
it ; and though they be never fo ftrong, they ought
not to entertain any doubt concerning it ; becaufe
all doubting is a temptation of the devil, and a mor-
tal fin. But furely that church is not to be heard,
which will not hear reafon -, nor that religion to be
much admired, which will not allow thofe that have
onceembrae'd it, to hear it ever after debated and exa-
mined.
frofejfion of the true religion. 88 1
mined. This is a very fufpicious bufinefs, and ar- S E R M.
gues, that either they have not truth on their fide ; J^ZlLi
or that truth is a weak, and pitiful, and fneaking
thing, and not able to make its party good againft
error.
I fhould now have proceeded in the fecond place,
to fliew pofitively what is implied, " in holding faft
" the profeffion of our faith without wavering -,'*
and then to have confidered the argument and en-
couragement hereto, " becaufe he is faithful that
" promifed." But I ihall proceed no farther at
this time.
A
A Table of the Texts of each
Sermon.
SERMON LI.
ROVERBS xxii. 6. Train up a child in the
way he Jhoidd go, and when he is old he will not
depart from it . page 447 •
SERMON LII.
PROjV. xxii. 6. Train up a child in the way he
jhoidd go, and when he is old he will not depart
jrom it. p. 472
SERMON LII.
PROV. xxii. 6. Train up a child in the way he
Jhoidd go, and when he is old he will not depart
jrom it. p. 494
SERMON LIV.
ECCLES. xii. 1. Remember now thy creator in
the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not,
nor the years draw nigh, when thou jhalt fay, I
have no pleafure in them. p. 520
The R U L E of FAITH : or an anfwer to the trea-
tife of Mr. Serjeant, entitled, Surefooting, &c.
P- 547
SERMON LV.
JOHN i. 47 Jefus faw Nathan 'a el coming to him y
and faith of him, behold an Ifraelite indeed, in whom
is no guile. p. 7 8 7
SERMON LVI.
HEB. xi. 17, 18, 19. By faith Abraham, when he
was tried, offered up Ifaac : and he that had received
the promifes, offered up his only begotten fon : of
whom
A Table of the Texts.
whom it was /aid, that in Jfaac Jhall thy feed fa
called: accounting that God was able to raife him
up, even from the dead \ from whence alfo he re-
ceived him in a figure, p. gjo
SERMON LVII.
HEB. xi. 24, 25. By faith Mofes, when he was
come to years, refufed to be called the fin of Pha-
raoh's daughter ; choofing rather to fuffer afjUffion
with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleafures of
fin for afeafon. " 4 p. 8 4 q
SERMON LVIII.
HEB. x. 25. Let us hold fafi the prof effion of cur
faith without wavering \ for he is faithful that
prowifed. p. ^4.
The End of the Fourth Volume.
i