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Show How Chr;jlJ voice i~ k._nown tJoice: And the Spoufe here; It i1 the voiceofmy beloved. 'flow clfe did the Church "f Epbe[m try tho[e that faid th•y wrre Apcftlu, and fouHd tbmi LiarJ?Oc, why doth the Apollle comm'andus,to prove all things, 1 TIJff]al. 5. 2 I. to try the Spiritt, I Jo.4. I. not believing every Spirit ? But fuppoling I fay both thefe; yet to make up this Judgmmt by us, 1. W"e mt<ft have a rule of'!ryl/( 2. We mull have all ability of applying the voice to that rule; ancl accordingly as u e are able infallibly or fallibly, more or lefs certainly, to make application of the voice to the Rule; fo our ~H•wledg and di[cerning ot the voice will be more or lefs certain. r. The Rule i1 ult1Jue/fionably the writtm word of Cod. The PapiftJ fay it is the Word of God wrttten or unrl'ritten; that which - they make the unwritten Word of God, is the Tradition! of men; the Tradidon of what they ~a11 the Cat,bolick_ Churcb:So they make the voice of the CbHrch, (without further difpute to be the voice of God, ) and the.y teii us it cannot .err. A11 Prote!lants deny this, and make the word and Word alone, ( ·I mean the written Word) to be the Lapi1-Lydi114, the Tou~h!lone to try all Dollrinn that are delivered ro 1hem. This was rh~ fehfe of the Prophets <)f old, .lf.' 8. 20. To the Law and to the Tef!imony; 'ifthey JPeak..n•t according to tbiJ word, it i1 b'ecau(e there u rto light in them. Thus Saint Paul under the New-Tefiament, G•l. 1. 8, 9· Tho~tgh we or a~t Angel from He•ven, Preac~ any other GoJPel unto you than that whicb we have Preached, Itt him be acc11r[cd, v. 9· A1 wr (aid befareJo fay I now again; If any man preocb a11y atherGofpelllnto you, !ban that yoH have received'let him be accuf]ed: And At/1. 17. 11. rhofe noble Berean1 were commended, for fearcbing the Scriptum, tofte ifthofethiHJ:,J were (a which Saint Paul him] elf Preached; yet we may prefume, that Saint Paul did know the mind of God, as infallibly as the Pope,or any company of men that {hould ca11 themfdves tht Church. The fum is; God hath given us his holy ScriptuJes wrinen, which by thdr own Light, Majefly ·and Glary, appear to be the Word of God; and by thefe the Spoufe ofChrill knoweth, when men fpeak in ChriftJ name, and when they JPea~ in their own name : When they Preach T!Uths in the rtame of the Lord; and when they fpeak LieJ and the Vanities of their own hearts, in the name of the Lord ( profaning his Holy Name.) 1 fay by thefe and by thefe alone,compaling the Doctrines, and Ex. hortations ofMini!lers, or pretended MinilleiS, and judging them true or falfe, the voice of Chrift, or the follies of men, as they agree Of HorP Chri{l.tflQice iJ f{110rPn by the Spoufl. or difagree with the Holy Scripture; as they are revealed, or ·not revealed there. . 2. But Secondly to ·make ·this true Difcerning.and Judgmem: 1. There mufi be (uppofed in them that make it,a power to mak'! application ofthe ttltftg to betryed,to the r11le ofTryal, and to judg of its agreement, or difagreemenr with the Rule; and as any one · hath more or lefs of this ability this way, fa his judgment wi11 be mo·re or Jefs true or fal[e. For example; you have Scales and weights belong to your Market, which are rhe !landard of your :Market.. And there are in the world thofe that feU by falfe Weights, and falfe Ba11ance9, as well as fuch who fell by jul'r Weights; and it is matter ofjullice for Magifirates roinqdre and · judg. The rule of Judgment is the market-Standard, and Meil· fore ; but that is ofitfdf a dea·d thing; and to make a judgment you mull fuppofeOfficer~, I• That jhall be able to comJ>are one with aniJ- · tber. 2. Thatfhall allually do it. For although there be St•ndmJMeafum and Weight!, and other falfe Weight!; yet if the Officer be a fool, or blind, he cannot difcern rhe falfhood ; nor though he be able he cannot do it unlefs he doth acto ally apply OAC to the other, and compare one with the other. So doth the Spoufc of Chrift, the true Church, and the tr1.- believiltg Soul; know the voice ofCbrift in the publick Mini!lry of the Word,from the voice of" V•in men; and the voice ofhis Spirit in fecret Sr<ggeflionJ and ImpreJ[. oanJ, by comparing both· with the Standard, the writtm Word of God, and judgin~, whether the Doctrines have any.foundation , there, Whether:the Sug&eflions and lmprdfions whi'h it harh,or •which others pretend to, be ·according to that ; as the Berean1 . did, AGI1. 17; 1 1: But here now is the 'Grand Q\leltion. Whether every Church, amJ~~ery true believrr, be able tbiu to com- . P•re DollrineJ delivered by men, with the Word; and to ma~e 11p ·a err- · tain 7t~dgment {o aJ to fay thiJ i1 the voice of my Beloved 1 Otherwi[e, what they o~<ghtt.o do; when one [ay,this i1 the voice ofChri/l,•nother ·· faith it iJ not? 1. The Papifls do not only deny thi; abi·lity, to compare and ' judg; to private Chri!lians, bur alfo1to all Churches (except theft · own) but for their own Church, !he they fay ·is infaUible, or he rather; for the Pope· (at Ia!\ ) ·• proves their Church in this c1fe.'; , and whatfoever he determines to,be rbe voice of Chrijl,to be confonant, or dilfonant to the Scriptures; to be the will of God, or not the will of God, that. is tbewiUofGod; for he canner err(forfoot~) 'L 2 . an<l· |