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Show An Addrefs to 'Protejlants. VoL. I. 790 1679: them in three Points plain. Firft, Tbat, rtlying up~". the Clergy tU Guardi- ~ ans ofTrurb to the Peopl~, and the People: not exammmg the Truth ofT~ings Parr. 11. from them, is not JipojtfJbcal, b11t .Apoftallcal. S~condly, .That no Councr/s or Sect. 5• Fathers ought to be rbe J!.ulc or Ju~ge of our Fall h . . Tbudly,_ That to Save Souls, evt:ry Man H a Pruft: That 11, r_he People are mterefted 1n the Chrifti-an Miniflry, which is not tied to Ttmes, Pla~es, Perfons and Orders, as under the Law; but free to all that have obtained Mercy and Grace from God. And the'refore Peter calls the Believers, I Pet. ii. ), 9· an Holy and Royal Priefthood. So that every. Believ~r is a Prie~ ~o himfelf under the Gofpel. But all this I have mennoned With defign, tf It be poffible, to beat Men off'th~t fuperftitious and dangerous Veneration they carry to rhe Names of Church, Prieflbood, and Fathers; as if tbe.y were to be faved by them, and not by Chrilt. who is tbe ORJy Head and Savrour of the True Church, and God ovrr aU, Bltffed for ever. And truly, when I confider the wide De· pendence fome People have ppon the Church, whilfi they know not what She is. and make it a PrinciP,le not to enquire, I am amaz'd, and oft7n ihuck with Horror, to obferve with what Confidence they expofe thetr Souls. This Principle it is, and not Enquiry, that makes Men carelefs and una8:ive about their own Salvation; But let none deceive .themfelves, l1l theySDw tbeyjhaU Reap, Gal. vi.). 7· Ewry one mufl bet1r bu own Burden. 'Tis not t o be faved to be within the Pale of any Vifible Church in the World. That is putting an Eternal Cheat upon our felves. IU Things are iU Things, within or without tbe Pale: That matters not~ and as Sin can't be Chriftened nor Impiety reconciled to Chriftianity by any Arts of Men, So the Wages oj Sin will be Death, Rom. vi. 23· Eternal Death. To be therefore of the Church. of which Chrift H Head, tbe Redeemed, Regenerated Church of Chrifl, is quire another Thing, than to be of any Vifible Society whatever; for in all fuch Communions there are, but too many, that have no True Title to ChJifrianity. If then that Immaculate Church, of which Chrift is Head, be made up only of Hsly and Rrgenerared Souls throughout the Societies of Cbriflians, this will adminifier but little Comfort to thofe, that prefume upon their being within the Pale of the Vifible Church, that are without the Pale of Virtue and HolineiS. But to proceed co thofe1Scriprures that are irreconcileable to implitit Faitb rmd Blind Obedience: He that bdieverb, bath the Witnefs in himfef/, 1 John , .. 1 o. This Genefal Rule ref peas no Perfons: It· is the Refulr of the Holy Gbofl to all Believers. Such have no Need to go to Rome, nor Winifred's TVcll, to tbe Sbtine.r of Saints. the Priefts, nor the Church, for a Proof of their Faith. They have· an Evidence ne:uer Home: They have the Witnefs: of their Faith, and the Reafon of their Hope in themfehes. It ls nue, this is a Private Judge; but (as it ha_ppens) 'tis one of the HolyGPoft's fetting up; of all Things, I confefs, moft defi:ruEHve to Pap.1cy, no Doubt\ for there is a Judge in every Man, that fincerely believes, to whom he mull ibnd and fall in this and the other World. For (faith the Apoftle) tf our Heart condemn m, God H greater than our Heart, and /mowtlh all Things: Beloved, if our Heart condemn tfl not, then have we Confidence towards God. I John iii. 20, 21. That is, the Witnefs in our felves Ji{chargts tl!. The Spirit bearetb Witnefs with our Spiritr, that tJJt are tbe Children of God, Rom. viii. 16.. and Sons of the True Church: Not She that hath fatted her felfwith the Flefh of Saints, and died her Garments in the Blood of 11-lartyrs, who hath Merthandized in the Souls of Men: But of that Church which is Crowned with St"rs, and Cto:nhed with the Sun, and. bas the Moon under her Feet. A Church of Light and Knowledge, ofUndet! landing and Truth, and not of implicit Faith and blind Obedience: One that tramples upon all Sublunary Glory, and not the that makes her Pre· tences to Religion a Decoy M catch the Empire of the World. Of like. Tendency is that Notable P:11Thge of the Apofile Paul to the Co· rintbians, 2_ Cor. xiii. v. Examine your jelve.r, whether ye be in t1Je Faith• prove your ot»n Jelves: Know ye not your oum felves, bow that Jefus Chdft is in }'PII, except ye be Reprobates? Here is nQt a Word of the Pope, nor an E~rerna! VoL. I. An .Addrefs to 'Protejlll.nts. External Judge; no Humane In uifit' · 791 whether ye be zn the Fauh i Prov~yo~;on or ~~thority, Examine your fe!vt.r 16 d? this> By Chnft, who is the Grear .l.~nh~e ves : H.ut w~ich Way fhall w; 79· gJVC us the Knowle~ge of God and our r:l J ~hH. fhbnes 10 our Hearts, t.O ~ the Wrrnefs m hlmfelj ; he n no Reprob t vh. H. e t lt be!reves m hzm bat SeEl 5 To wh1ch I will add another Paffa a e; H earl condemns him no/ • • to the Galatians, Gal vi 4 ) 8 t le to the fame Purpofe, in his EpiO:Ie jhall he have Re;oycrng.111 br/nfei.J a~on:t ev;ry Man prove hn own Work, then fhalJ be~r hH or:M Burden. Here ever' M not m a_notber : For every Man upon himfelf; and the Reafon rendr~ lb~n IS :"JJuoyfted to turn Inquifiror caufe my Re;oycrng muft be 111 my fetf !. ws td e ICe of the Thing; be· faiJ IO no Man' fuch tU 1 Sow I mujl R one, an not m another. 1 fland an£ true. Men's Pardons are V~in, and th~~~ j~dh{ Hand of. C?oJ, if Paul fay Man ./hall bear bu own Burden IR tb G u gences FIElioos ; For every therefore be Reafonably thought tha/t r~at 'f;Y of. the Lord. It cannot of my Underfiandi ng at my Eternalcoft~~der an fhould have the keeping depend upon the Judgment of a Man or M Charge, ?r that 1 muft entirely fing me to err) cannot be Damned for me eb, wro errftmg, (and _thereby cau. at the Hazard of my own Damnation. • ut mu pay their Reckoning lam not unacquamted with the re Obi~ a· . Carholrclu, and fvmeProreflants to~ at C.e ron that IS made by Roman the Treafon, but bate the fraytor . fh Htgf.t 'hubcb-:en perhaps, That Love tbe Pope, viz. There are Doubts~~ Sc/1 1 e 1 u arr Of Popery, but hate Points of Faith : Some Body mufl d 'P~IIr~ even about the moJ1 important, Ultimate, Exurnal and Vijibte J.gj' e t e eak; there mufl be fome On~ ' conclude all Perfon's as 10 tberr D 1e to 'jpeal to, who mufl derermme and terpretatzon of Scripture ; other;if:s gn Apprebeti./ions concernmg the Jn .. Church woull be fi/Jed wllh Controverfi 0 j~ny.r~en, fo many Mmds; rhe 1 AnJwer That the Sc . e an 011Jl1Jl011. by fuch as ~ould fain refi rtptures are made more doubtful than they are the.ir Meaning. I de~y i:ri~e ;~~~~~f~;as t~e UMpi;age and ]udgfhip of pl:unly expreft i.n all that concerns Eternal Sal a~. anB D~ty ~ not moft that when God tntends nothing more b h S v~ ton ut us very ftrange, Capa(ities ofMen, as to Things 0 wh'f ~ eh ~rt~tures, rhan ~o reach the that no Book, if fuch Men fay tr~e fhc t etr terna! Salvation depends, many variant, nay. conrradiClory ConJ'ul~.be fo ohfcure, or fubjea to fo Hear hen, Yew, or Cbrifltan tha ru wns. Name me one Author, ing Inconliftency, which f~mc ~~~~i; ;:~tte :;'Jth 11tha~ Ohfcurity and feemthJt they might have the ufe and keepi en /o h ud ']} the Holy Scnpture, make thetr own Ends by it Is h ng 0 t. em rrom the Vulgar, and but God:s ~ Was that Wri~ not :o ~ ~~~r!rJ!~y)s ~ook to be underftood Two Thmgs rnuft be True; Euhrr that God d ~/hort, One of there or to he underflood,m what be commanded 1 b mten e not ttJ be under{Jood, he underfiood, it had been better there hado b e wrrtth'!· If ~e refolved .l(ror to. bad been no Doubts about rl,e Meaning f~e~ bot fng wnt; ~or then there he unJerflood of J11en it muft be fup fi~ tth Uthl tt was hts Purpofe T11 ten, was pbin enough for Men to urfct~rfi~l)~ at what ~ft ~aufed tc b_e writ .. End, and writ it to no Purpofe which • orl 8 mt IS own A1m and of th~ Infimte Goodnefs and w'ifdom. were too ow and abfurd a Thought If It lhould be told me That it · d · d 6 be under flood by fome Bod) burn b not eme ut that the Scriptures mtty' ]udse mufl needs under }land tbem:rbl'cff:j{{r ti; ~r t~tt~ the Gnat, Vijible fthlojdcc.Doubts, t~nd determinerhofeConrroverjie.r rh~t ~ H ~.!fub rore..(;ve an ~ng them, but not every one that reads them. ay ari.Je a OlltNn er~ nfw_. I muft alfo f:1y, that this is not True in Faa. F ; · · · 'd' } - ~~~~f~~1~/~:\IQ~~ke did.not make Theophiltl! his ow'n f~d~/fnrlth1~~e~~~· Churches as R t co~'!; ~ hthat the Apoftles in wriring ro the feveral E ·ni :r ome, ormt • P efm, &:c. to whom they direaed the' · 1Jie1y e~~'cte~d ~O[ w~ehdQtlfibat t~ey fhould, und,erftand Wh3t they Writ, or th;~ ny uc cer m the Cllurcfil, a's ;tn- Expoudder of tbeir Epifih:>' |