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Show An .Addrefs to Protejlants. r679· And as it is one great Mark of the falfe Church to pervert the right End ~ of True Doilrine, lo hath the excelled in the Abufe of that Excellem Word Part II. • Scif-Jmy•l, For the hath rronOated it from L;f, to UnderflnnJ;ng, from Sea. 5· Morals to Faith; Subjugart inuUeOum i1t Ohfeguium fidei, to fq,bje8 the Underib.nding to the Obedience of Faith, is the perpetual Burden of their Song, and Conclufion of their Conferences. But what ~s this Faith ? That which conquers the World ;Jnd purifies the Heart? By no Means • Bur 'tis to believe that the Church of Rome is the True Chuah, and the Pope Chrift's Vicar, and the Vifibie Hfad of thJt Church. Q. Thus that Sei[-Jenyai which rela.~es ro our WiU,r ~nd .A.ffc{/ioru in a cor~ ' rupt State, they apply to the Ufe of our Unde1fiand1ng about Religion, as if it were the fame Thing to deny that which we undedland and know to be the Will of God that we thould d011y, (which is tbeCbrifl;an Seif-denyal) and to deny di:Jt very Knom!e3sc and Vnderflandmg which is God's Gift and our Honour. Whereas Rdision 'and 'P.~I![on are 10 confilten!l_ that Religion can neither be underftood nor maintain'3 without Reofon: tor if this muft be laid afide, I am fo far from being infaUibly affured of my Salvation, that I am not capable of,any Me:~fure or D1ftmilton of Good frpm Evil, Truth from Falfhood. W)ly ' I have ijO Underllanding, or at leaft, not the Ufe of any. All the Difadvantagc the Proujlapt is under in thit, is that of his greater Modefiy, and that he fuhmits h1s Belief to he tried, which the other refufes, under the Prete~ce of unaccountable Infallibility; to that Authority Reafon Detburs ; r~ht Reafon I mean; tbe Reafon of the firft Nine Verles of the Firft of john. 'For fo Tert11/Jitm, and fome other Ancients as well:1s Modern Criticks, gives us the \'Vord LOlot; and the Divine ReafOn is One in all; that Lamp 9f God \.vhich lighls our Candle and enlightens our Darknefs, and is the Meafure and Teft of our Know· ledge. So that whereas fome People excufe their Embracing 9f tliat Religion by urging the Certainty th:Jt is in it, I do fay, 'T.isbut a .J:r·efumprirm. For a Man can never be ~erdin of that, abou~ which he~ h:Js nor the Liberty of Examining, Underftandiog or Judging : Confident ~I confefs) he may be; but that's quite another Thiug than bdng certain. Yet I muft never deny, bur that every Chriftian ought to believe as the Chu.rch ~elieves1 p~;ovided the Church be rru~,.; but• the Queltion is, Whtcb 11 that true Church? And when that is anfwer'd, as a Man may Unlawfully Execute a Lawful 'Sentence, 'fo he 'I"Y fa\Oy believe as tbc ' ~ True Church believ~s: For if I be1leve what \fhe believes, only becaufe fhe believes it, and no~ bec:Jufe I -:1m convinced in my Underibnding and Con· fcience of the Truth of what fhe believes, my Faith is falfe, ·though hets lie true: I f3y, it is not true to me, i have no Evidence of ir. \¥hat is this OJJtrcb, or Congresatfon rather (as worthy Tindal every where tranfiates it} hut a Companl of People agrad.togetbu in 1be finure Profoffion and Obed;lnu of tbe Gojptl of Cbrijl. Now look what Induce· rnent they fever:Jlly had to belie\'e and embrace rhe Gofpel and unite into ·Fell9wfhip, that we muft have to join with them: For as they made not one another an infallible Authority ro one another, VPOSl which they firft embraced the Gofpel, neither are we to glound our Belief thereof upon t heir .ilutb(lrity jointly; but as they had a Rule to believe and commune, 'fo muft we have the fome Rul~ to embrace their Communion. So tb:Jt the Church c:Jnnot properly be 'the Rule of my Faith, who have the fame ·Faith, and Objefr for my ~:Jitb, th:Jt !he has. I a.rgue thus, I muft believe as the Church believes, that is, I 7n0ft have the fame F:Jith the Church has ; then I muft' have the f:Jme Rule, becaufe rhe Church can be no more the Rule of thai Fai.th, rhaq fh~ can be that Fai1h ·of which fome would make bet the Rule. If then the Church bas Faith, jlod th:Jt F:Jith b:Jve a Rule, and that fbe can no more 1he the Rule of bet own Faith, th:Jn fhc'can be th:n Faith it felf, it follows fhe C:Jnnot be the ·Rule of the Faith of her Members, becaufe thofC Members have the fJme .Faitb, and make up this Church. For that which is the Rule of the Con· ' * gregation's VoL. I. An .Addrefs to 'PYotejl«nu; ~regation's Faith in gener:Jl, mutt reafonab!y be th R 1 blth tit at makes up that Congregation and confie u e }f every Member's ber th:n may hereafter adhere to 11, s'o that t equcnt Y of. ev.ery Mem· Church bel\eves, to fioun(h upon th:Jt Self·deno aril~ndf beh~v1ng as the takes :Jll upon Truft, and 1evile thofe wich the bry ft 1 H~.thty, wh1ch modefUy fcrupulous and aa the Bcuan.r for th !tete nv tves that are Eafinefsof NJture and Condefcenuon rna b b eu Souls (who.thmk that cafion is ill placed and d:Jngerous)is to pu!rh~K~if:rt~r::~ rnd tn this Oc· teftancy; and, what In lhem lieS tofacrifice [ t . r F hroat of Pro· Obedtence. For u c:Jnnot be de~Ied bur tbatt tho Imp I Cit :Jirb. :Jnd blmd Proteftant Ret~·i on lt rbe DlVme .if.uthonty of the ~eat found:uon of our m. and the Te 1mony and JU11mmallon of the H. ! e Scnptllreb 1rom umho11t thts Foot the rft Reformers fiood and made O')l '/Jt~u 1A!11 rn liS. Upon tr~n from Rome, and fJedy oH:€red'up their inn~~e~~i~;:~n'd theu Sep~ra· Wn.h good Caufe therefore it is the general Confent of all/o~~n:rm:J:;on. Wnters, That nett her Tradtftom Collnctls nor C if r./ib rote ant 11111Ch !eJ.r th~ ErbO.r of any c,wl Stffions o: ]ttr;ft~O::no h:? 1~1 I Jt Chllrch, only, murprcud by the Holy Spmr rn 11.1 gtve the ji. , I D Je cnpturu 1l1atters oj Rcbgton, and rbttl only rn the c;nfcunce of ~ery t!;'~rnarrob tn .felf. Which Protefretion made by the fir!! publi k R ofi " zan 10 '"1" imperial EdiEl.t of Charles the Fifth impofing Chc r he T'd~r! agam.fi the Scnpture Al,lthomy, g:Jve firft Begi~ning to the Na~e ~£ ~flo~~ wuhcur wuh that Name hath ever been receiv'd this Doll:nne h bteJ'aRt, and Dtvnte Jlurbonty of the Scnprur~ and Spmt tD that of ;b: Jh11,;£e!C:J ~~; Traduumr . ~nd 1f the Church IS not fufficienr to be implicit! her ed as we hold tt ts nor, what can there elfe be named of more F Y lev ' 779 1679· I..£V'V · Part II. Sea;. but the Divine lllummation ~o the Confcience, or Confcicn~~c~n~h! ~~ Senfe of the Word, than. which! God only 1s greater) But if an Man 1 John ~· 2'iil thall ~retend that the Scrtpture JUdges, accordmg to hts Conce tl~ns 0 Confctence, for .other ~en, and ~hat they mutt take theu Rellgl~us Mea~ fures by the Lme of hts Due£hon ; fuch a Perfon makes himfelf re:Jter ~h~n enher Church, Scnpture or Confc1ence. And, pray, let us c~nfider 1f m :J.nY '!hmg t!Le Pope ts by our Proteft:Jnt Divmity fo juftly refembled to Antt.chrtft, as m. :Jffuming lnfaUtbilt~y over Confc1ence and Scripture, to deternune .as he rhmks fit; and fo m effeft to g1vc rhe Law to God, Scri ture, Maglilra~es and. Confc1ence. ~o this Proleibnts have, waho~ Scru~le, a.pply d lhac to the Tbe.ffalonrans, Silting in rbe TemJie of God ex4/tmg htmfe!f above, oU tbnt;, cpDed Go4. , 2Thetr: ~4! T~ check this Exorbitancy; the Apoftle Paul demands, Who art thou thatyudgefl. anotber't Sfrvnnr? 10 his own Lord be /lands or faUt? Which ltom. ,,.,..._ 1 fhoweth With great f,yldence, that Chrifiians of alf SiZC$ great and fi n are but Brethren, and ~onfequendy, all. Superiority, Lord/hip and Imp~ljti! on are excluded~ .But tf t~ere be a D1fFerence, 'tis in this, char, as Chrift taught, he that u greateft .u to he Servant to rhe reft: But what is more op· p~fite to :J Servant than;:.: Lord, and to Service than Jnjunfiion and I fi.uon, and !hat on P~nalties too : Here it is that Chrift is Lord and ~f:. gtver, who IS only K1ng of t~is inward Kingdom of the Soul. And iris to be noted ~hat lhe Apoftle dtd not write this to a privare Brother, or in fome fpec1al Cafe, but to _rhe C/J11rch, as a General and (bnding Truth, and ther~fore now as i111rhentuk :Jnd proper as then. And if this be true, 1 can~ not fee how any, or even the moft Part of the Church, that are fiill but 1her~ren to the refi,. of one voluntary Communion and Profeffion, can witlr :J.HY. Shew of Reafo~ lf!IP?fe upon them; and efcape the Reproof of chis Scn.ptu.re: For all Socte.u~ lie to govern themfelves, according to their ln~mltlon, and firft Pnnctples of Union. Where there is Violence upon thts Pa~t, Tyranny nnd nor Order is introduced. NoW lincePerfwajion and. ConVt{/toll began all true Chnflian Societies, they mutt uphold themfelveg upoP. the fa.me free Bottom! or they turn Anticbrijlian. I befeech you here, let us ex.amtne our fefves fJJthfully, andl am perf waded th:Jt fomething of . ; G • this ... |