wmmm^'Bammm^ 
 
 "m 
 
O PRINCETON, N. J. <S> 
 
 Presented by Mr. Samuel Agnew of Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Division 
 
 Section 
 
 Number 
 
 1^70 
 

A N 
 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Thirty Nine Articles 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Church ff/ENGLAND: 
 
 FOUNDED 
 
 On the Holy Scriptures, and the Fathers 
 of the Three Firft Centuries. 
 
 In Two Volumes. 
 
 By jrVENEER, Redor of S. Andrew's in Chkhefter. 
 
 Be ready always to give an Anfwer to every Man that 
 asketh you a Reafon of the Hope that is in you^ with 
 Meeknefs and Fear, i Pet. iii. 15. 
 
 The Seconi> Edition, with very large Additions, 
 Vol, II, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for C. Rivington, at the Bible and Crown 
 in St, Paulas Church-yard. M.DCC.XXXIV. 
 
ARTICLE XVIII. 
 
 Of Obtaining 
 
 SALVATION 
 
 O N L Y By the 
 
 Name of CHRIST. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 Art I- 
 
43^ 
 
 An Expofition on the 
 
 Article XVIIL 
 
 Of OUaining Salvation only hy the 
 Name of Chrtjt. 
 
 art.xviit. Cf)ep alfo ate to be fjao accutfeti, tfiat 
 pjefume to fap, tljat etjecp ^an Ojail be 
 fasieo bp tbe latu o? ©ect toijiclj be p?a-- 
 feOetb, fo tljat be be 5Higent to ftame 
 bi0 life accojcing to tbat latn, aito tbe 
 liffbt of Jl5attice ; fo? i:)olp Sctfptiice 
 5otb fet oat unto 110 onip t'be JSame of 
 Refills €W^y teijcrebj? SPen mufl be faben* 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 F any deferve to be accurfed, they 
 mufl furely be fuch as make the 
 Gofpel of Chrift of none Effed:, and 
 look upon it as ufelefs. For in vain 
 hath Chrift reveal'd it ; and in vain hath he 
 commanded it to be preached throughout the 
 World, if Believers and Unbelievers are equally 
 entitled to Salvation. And fo far is it from be- 
 ing fo, that A5fs iv. 12. 'tis faid of our bleffed 
 Saviour, that there is no Salvatmi in any other \ 
 and there is none other Name under Heaven given 
 among Men whereby we muft hefaved. And Mark 
 xvi. 16. Salvation is promifed to thofe that be- 
 lieve, but Damnation is threatned to thofe that 
 
 believe 
 
T/jirly-Nwe Articles. 433 
 
 ibelieve not. Let no Man tje deceived, faith Art. xviir. 
 S. Ignatius -, thole Things that are in Heaven, V./'VX-/ 
 and the Glory of AngeJs, and Rulers that are 
 feen and are not feen, are all under Condem- 
 nation, without Faith in the Blood of Chrift*. 
 He is the Door of the Father, by which Abra- 
 bamj IjaaCy and Jacob^ the Prophets, and the 
 Church enter f , without whom we have not 
 the true Life+. What is the Defign of this 
 Faith ? faith Baniabas || j that they might know 
 that they could not be delivered, unlefs they 
 hoped in the Crofs of Chrift. S. Cyprian like- 
 wife tells us. That there's no Coming to the 
 Father but by his Son Jefus Chrift • as appears 
 from what he fays in the Gofpel according to 
 St. John ^ I am the IVay^ the 'Truths and the 
 Life y no Man cometh to the Father but by me, § 
 
 I N what Manner it will pleafe God to deal 
 with thofe, among whom Chrift hath not been 
 preached, is not our Bufmefs to determine. 
 Charity indeed requires us to hope well of fuch 
 as live up to the Rules of right Reafon, if any 
 fiich there be ; but to place them upon a Level 
 with the Church of God, is the very Height 
 of Boldnefs.^ 
 
 * Epifi, ad Smyr, 
 f Epjl. (til FhiUileL 
 ^ Epiji. ad TralLenfes. 
 \\ Epijh cap. 12. 
 
 § Fafiim. ad ^^uirin. lib. 3, cap. 24. 
 4- See Sherlock of Judgment, c. 6. Trideanx Fafc. Cont« 
 c. 4. q. 7. Bifliojp Votter\ Defence of his Gjiarge, p. 30, 31. 
 
 ^"TOE 
 
 JL A A 
 
 \ 
 
 CO. NOV ioos£ e % Article 
 
 iMm~KT\ 
 
 Fisr*' 
 
4H 
 
 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XIX. 
 
 Article XIX. 
 
 0/ the CHURCH. 
 
 Che mmt ClHircfj of C|)j!ff IS a Congie^ 
 gation of faitijful a9f it in tuijicb t&c puce 
 CLai02D of ®m (0 p?eiic6eB) ana toe ©a- 
 ctatiTints be tsiilp mimffueri, accoj5ii^g 
 to CljHft's SDmnancr^ m all tlicfe CfjtnB!^ 
 tfjat of jaeceffitp ace rcquifite to t&e fame* 
 
 M t\)Z Cijartlj of Hierufalem, Alexandria^ 
 
 ar^B Antioth ImDe erteu-, fo rtlfo ifte 
 Cljurcf) of Rome |)atij ciTeo, not m\\v m 
 tljrtr Lii3tnn: auD -x^mwu of Cetemonto^ 
 l)i!t alfo in gratters of jf ait&> 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 'tis Religion that makes s 
 Church, and not the Church that 
 makes Religion, the Church is to be 
 tried by Religion, and not Religion 
 by the Church. The Vifible Church therefore 
 (for the Invifible Church, which confifts of the 
 Ele<5t only, is not here treated of) is fuch an 
 one as is defcribed A^s ii. 42. Such an one as 
 continues ftedfaftly in the Apofiles Do^rine^ and 
 FellowJInp^ and in hreaking of Bread^ and in 
 Frayers : Org in other Words^ 'tis fucb an one 
 
 as; 
 
Thirty^ Wine Articles. 4 3 5^ 
 
 ^s profeffeth the Chriftian Religion, and be- Art. XIX. 
 lieves in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, ^^y^C^. 
 and baptizes its Members in their Names, and 
 celebrates the Lord's Supper as Chrift hath ap- 
 pointed. Thefe Things are EfTential to a 
 Church 5 and as long as they are obferved, the 
 Church continues, even though it err in fbme 
 other Things. Neither doth every Error de- 
 ftroy a Church, fo as to pull up its Founda- 
 tions ; but particular Churches may not only err, 
 but fall off from Chrift intirely. For that Say- 
 ing of Chrift, Mat. xvi. 18. U^on this Rock will 
 I btiild my Churchy and the Gates of Hell JJj all 
 not prevail agaifift it^ is to be underftood of the 
 Catholick or Universal Church only. 
 
 '^ The Apoftles, faith Tertiillian^ having 
 " obtained the Gift of the Holy Ghoft, which 
 '^ was promifed them, that is, the Power of 
 *' working Miracles, and the Gift of Utterance, 
 *' and having firft borne their Teftimony to the 
 '^ Faith of Jefus Chrift through Judea, and 
 '^ having planted Churches, went afterwards 
 '^ into other Parts of the World, and preached 
 " the fame Dodrine of the fame Faith to other 
 ^' Nations, and fo proceeded to found Churches 
 '^ in every City , from which other Churches, 
 '' in order to their being Churches, have bor- 
 rowed, and continue daily to borrow their 
 Faith and Dodrine, and by this means they 
 are reputed Apoftolick Churches, as they 
 are the Oif-fpring of Apoftolick Churches. 
 Every Thing muft be eftimated according 
 to its Original: And therefore, fo many and 
 great Churches, are nothing elfe but that 
 One which was at firft founded by the 
 " Apoftles 3 and fo all are the Firft Churches, 
 E e 2 " and 
 
43^ ^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Akt.^^tx. " and all Apoftolical, as long as they agree 
 ' '' in Unity. '' | 
 
 This Article takes Notice of the Errors of 
 the. Churches of Jerufalem^ Alexandria,^ and 
 Antiochj becaufe they were very famous 
 Churches, and were raifed to the Patriarchal 
 Height as well as the Church o^Kome ; that is, 
 the Supreme Bifhops of thefc Churches, had 
 Archbifhops and Bifhops under them. As to 
 the Church of Ro;;;^, 'tis true, indeed^ that fhe 
 kept the Faith uncorrupt for fome Ages^ and 
 therefore, 'tis no Wonder that we find her com- 
 mended by the moft early Fathers, for defend- 
 ing and keeping the Faith, though even then 
 fhe was not intirely free from Error , for 
 St. Jero7n^ upon Ifaiah viii. tells us, that fhe 
 did not receive the Epiftle to the Hebrews for 
 Canonical Scripture. And fince thefe Days of 
 the Church of Rome's Purity, Pope Ekutherius 
 fell into the Error of Mont anus ^ Pope Liberius 
 into that oi Arius^ Pope Zofimiis into that of 
 Felagius^ &c. And that the Church itfelf, I 
 mean the Church oi Kome^ is become nothing 
 elie but a very loathfome Sink of Errors, will 
 appear from the following Articles f. 
 
 ■^ Be Pr^fiript. c. 20. See NoTveJli Catech. pag. 91. 
 Hooker's Eccl. Pol. Book III. c. i. Chilling-pporth's Rel. 
 Prot. c. 3. Homily on Whhfumky, Part 11. Trideanx Fafc, 
 Controv. c. 4. §. i. q. 6. Fear/on on the Creed, Art. IX. 
 Field of the Church, Book II. c. 2. Mr. Lowth's Sermon on 
 uicfs ii. 24. 
 
 -}- Sec Abbot's Anfwer to Bi/J;ofs Epiftle, §. 13. Hall's 
 Dilluaiivc from Popery. 
 
 Ae-ticle 
 
Thtrty-'Ntne Articles* 
 
 437 
 
 Article XX. 
 Of the Atithortty of the Church. 
 
 Clje C^ttrclj 8titf) Poturt to necrce Ei'teiS 
 0? Ceremonies, anu autijojitp in Contro- 
 Dirfies of jfaito^ ann pet It ts not laiuftil 
 fo? tlje Cl)iiixD to o.2tiain anp tijfnn; tijat 
 igi contcarp to ^SaH's 2Iio?li Uintteni 
 neitljei: niiip it fo etpounD one Place of 
 ^cnptuiT, tfiBt it be repugnant to an- 
 otfiet* anijerefo^e, alt&oiigfj tlje C&urclj 
 be a anitnefs ann a i^eeper of ©olp mnu 
 pet as it ouffljt not to neccee anp tljiiiQ: 
 againtt tlje rame^ fo befiDes t!}e fame, 
 ougljt it not to enforce anp t(jing to 
 be beliebea fo^ JBeceffit? of ©albatiom 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 Y the Church, we are here to under 
 ftand, thofe that are vefted with 
 Ecclefiailical Authority. I do not 
 intend to exclude iuch as have no- 
 thing to do with the Government of 
 the Church from being a Part of the Church ; 
 for if the Governors of the Church be included 
 in the Definition of the Church, as every body 
 grants they are, then any Part of Ecclefiaftical 
 Authority, which of Right isexercifed by thele 
 Governors, may properly and confiftently be 
 faid to be veiled in the Church : And fnice 
 'tis their Bufmefs to take care that e'very thing 
 he done in the Church decently^ and in Qrder-^ 
 E e 3 I Qou 
 
 Art. XX. 
 
41 ^ ^n Expofitioti on the 
 
 ^-^^^^^^ Faith be kept, as appears from 2l^. iii. lo. y^ 
 Jf^;/ /-Z?^^ is an Heretick^ after the fir ft andfecond 
 Admonition^ reje^. And i ^im. i. 3. ^^5 / Z^^^ 
 fought thee to abide ft ill at Ephefus when I went 
 into Macedonia, that thou mighteft charge [ome 
 
 ^he Church ^^^^ ^^'^-^ ^"^^^^ ^"'^ ^^^^^^ Do^rine : It follows, 
 hath FoTver to ^^^^ they muft have a Right to decree Rites and 
 decree Rites a?7dC€YemonieSy without which nothing can be done 
 Ceremonies, jj^ Publick AiTemblies that is decent and orderly ; 
 and that they muft have Authority in Contro- 
 verfies of Faith, that the Peace of the Church 
 be not difturbed by contentious Difputations, 
 and that the Minds of the Faithful be not cor- 
 rupted by the Sophiftry of Hereticks. 
 
 But to be more particular with relation to 
 Rites and Ceremonies : The Chriftian Church 
 hath certainly the lame Power to appoint them 
 that the Je-iviJJj Church had. That the Jewijh 
 Church did think themfelves inverted with fuch 
 a Power as we contend for, is plain from feveral 
 Inftances of their making uie of it. Thus, for 
 Inftance, we read Efther ix. 27, 28. that after 
 it had pleafed God to bafHe the Malice ofHajnan^ 
 who had intended todeftroy them, they ordained 
 and took upon them^ and upon their Seed^ and 
 upon all fuch as joined themfel'ves unto them^ fa 
 as it ftjoiild not fail ^ that they would keep thofe two 
 Days according to their Writings and according to 
 their appointed itme e-very Tear : And that thofe 
 Days fjjoiild he rememhered^ and kept throughout 
 enjcry Generation^ every Family^ every Province^ 
 and ev^ery City ^ and that thefe Days of Purim 
 JJoould not fail from among the Jews, nor the 
 Memorial of them periJJo from their Seed. A^ain, 
 our Sa^'iour and his A.poftles did ufe indifierent 
 Things, which were not prefcribed by God in 
 
 Divine 
 
Thirty -Nine Articles. 4 3 9 
 
 Divine Worfhip. Thus he joined in the Syna- ^^t. xx. 
 
 gogal Worfhip, John xviii. 20, ^c. thoa,p;h '^-^'""V^^, 
 
 (if the Place itfelfwere at all prcfcribed by God) 
 
 the Manner of that Service was not fo much as 
 
 hinted at. 1 hus he uled the Cup of Charity 
 
 in the PalTover, though it was not inftitutc^d by 
 
 God, Ltike xxii. 17. The Feaft of Dedication 
 
 was an Human Inftitution, yet he vouchfafed to 
 
 be preient at it, John x 22, 23. Nay, he 
 
 complied with the Jews in the very Pofture of 
 
 the Paflbver, which they changed to fitting, 
 
 though God had prcfcribed ftanding. 1 he 
 
 ApoiUes alfo obferved the Hours of Prayers^ 
 
 which were of Human Inftitution, A5lsm. i. 
 
 Now if the Jews prcfcribed indif^ rent 
 Things, though their PwCligion was fb exaCt in 
 prelcribing Ceremonies, and if Chrifl- and his 
 Apoftles complied with them therein, certainly 
 we may both prefcribe and uie indiiferent I'hings 
 wnder the Golpel. Irenxus *, fpeaking of 
 Churches that differed as to their Obicrvarion of 
 Fafting-Days, and theFeaft oi Eaf^er^hys^ that 
 they had, notwithftandingthefe Differences, kept 
 Peace with one another ; and that the differing 
 about Failing had been a Means to confrjT" the 
 Unity of Faith. And that they who d d not 
 obferve in the fame Manner that others did, and 
 were againft obferving in that Manner, kept 
 Peace among them when they came among 
 them: And that no Perfon had at any time 
 fallen away upon this Account. In a Word, 
 what S. Augiiftine and his Mother received from 
 S. Amhrofe^ is worthy to be recommended to 
 all 3 that in ail Things, not contrary to Truth 
 
 ,* Page 46/, 46(;, See I.u[eb, Mift. lib. j-. c. 24. 
 
 JE e 4 and 
 
440 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XX. and good Manners, it becomes a good and 
 
 Kyy^^^ prudent Chriftian to praclife, according to the 
 
 Cuftom of the Church where he comes, if he 
 
 will not be a Scandal to them, nor have them 
 
 to be a Scandal to him. f 
 
 But whatever hath been, or may be (aid 
 upon this Head, it is not lawful for the Church 
 ^^^fi^'lahno- ^^ <^^^^^i^ ^"y Thing that is contrary to God's 
 Thing MrJry Word written ; for otherwife, the Word of 
 to the mrd of God wouid, in a little time, be made a Jeflof, and 
 G^^- the Authority of the Church would fall to the 
 
 Ground, if it had no better Foundation to de- 
 pend upon. Nor would our Saviour's Charge 
 to his Apoftles, and their SuccefTors, be com- 
 plied with, which was, that they fliould teach 
 Men to chferve all things whatfoe^v^r he had 
 commanded them^ Mat. xxviii. 50. 
 
 3 
 
 Avoid thofe corrupt Trees, faith St. Jg- 
 '' natius^ which bring forth deadly Fruit, of 
 '' which if a Man tafte, he fhall die thereby -, 
 ^' for thefe are not planted by the Father. ^ " 
 That we muft by no means depart from the 
 Commandments of the Gofpcl, faith S. Cyprian^ 
 and that the Difciples are to do what their 
 Mafter taught and did, the bleffcd Apoftle doth 
 inore fully and Ptrenuoufly infift on in another 
 Place, meaning Gal i. The Words which he 
 refers to, are contained in the 6th, 7th, 8th, 
 and 9th Verfes : / marvel that ye are fo foon 
 removed from hm tha^^ called you into the Grace. 
 
 ■\ See Mflfm of the Autliority of the Church. Hooker's 
 Ecclei; Pol Book TIL and VIIL Totter of Church Govern- 
 rrienr, cap, y. §. 2, 7. Abridgment of the London Caft;s, 
 cap. I. 
 
 * Efrf,, ad TrcJL 
 
 «j 
 
Thirty 'Wme Articles. 441 
 
 of Chrift unto another Gofpel , which is not m- ^^'^- xx. 
 other ; hut there he fome that trouble you^ and '^^^'"'^^^^^^ 
 would per'vert\the Gofpel of Chrift. But though 
 inje^ or an Angel from Heaven^ preach- any other 
 Gofpel unto you^ than that which we ha-ve preached 
 unto you J let him he ac cur fed. And then he 
 (S. Cyprian^ adds, neither are we to follow the 
 Cuftom of MePj but the Truth of God * 
 
 Neither is it lawful for theChnich to Neither may h 
 expound one Place of Scripture that it may be ^^P^^""! ^'^.^ 
 repugnant to another; for this would be ^^ZtTtXn- 
 making God Almighty contradid himfelf, infradicf amher, 
 Oppolition to what S, Paul faith, Kom. ill. 4. 
 Let God he true, and every Man a Lyar. 
 
 Wherefore, although the Church be a 
 Witnefs, and a Keeper of Holy Writ; for to 
 the Chriftians are com?nitted the Oracles of God^ 
 as they were to the Jews in Old Time, as 
 S. Paul obferves, Kom. iii. 2. Yet it ought 
 not to decree any Thing againft the fame, 
 which is farther confirmed by the Anfwer of 
 Peter and John to the Jewiflo Rulers, A5is iv* 
 19. Whether it he right in the Sight of God., to 
 hearken unto you more than unto God^ judge ye. 
 Neither ought the Church to inforce any Thing 
 befides to be believed for NecefTity of Salva- 
 tion, which is likewile farther confirmed by what 
 S. Paul faith, Gal. iii. 15. Brethren., I fpeak 
 after the Manner of Men ; though it he hut a 
 Mans Co'venant^ yet if it he confirmed, no Man 
 difannulkth or addeth thereto. We may argue 
 therefore, that much Ms may Men prefume to 
 take from, or add to the AVord of God f. 
 
 * -Epiji. 65. 
 
 i- See Artick VI. 
 
 B.TICLE 
 
44^ 
 
 An Expofitioii en the 
 
 Article XXI. 
 
 Of General Councils. 
 
 Art. XXI. (^tmui Councilg map not be mtUtt^ to-- 
 i^ry^sj B^tijer toitljout tfje Comnian'oment ano 
 mm of P;incc0t ^nti lofjen tljep be 
 gatijercD tog£t!}£t (fo;armuci] as tljf p be 
 an ^ffrmblp of ^en^ lu{]ei:eof all be not 
 ffotecneo toitfj t|)e ©piii't ana CKLlo^n of 
 iSoB) tijep map err, ano rometime Ijabe 
 ttuv^ zun in C!jinffS pertatning: unta 
 ®oD. aBijeuefoie CijiuffS oiDaineu lip 
 tljem as neccffarp to ^alDatton, ftabe 
 ncitfjei: S*trenijtl) no? ^utfjOAltp, unlcfs 
 it map be neclarcts tijat tljep be taften out 
 cf ©0ip Sxriptute. 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 HERE were indeed many Provincial 
 Councils, but no General Council 
 before Conftantine^ by whole Autho- 
 rity the firft, that is, the Nicene 
 
 ,._., was affembled, as the reft were by 
 
 the Authority of the following Emperors. And 
 S. Paul tells us, Ro?n. xiii. i. that every Soul 
 mtift he fubie^ to the higher Powers. From 
 whence it follows, that the Bifhops are not to 
 leave their own Country, and go into the Ter- 
 2 ' ritories 
 
 Ccun 
 
 ci. 
 
Thirty-'^ me Articles. 445 
 
 ritories of other Princes, without their Prince's Art. xxl 
 Leave. And if they cannot do this, they cannot ^>OPV/ 
 without the Will of Princes affemble at General 
 Councils ^. 
 
 And though a General Council be lawfully 
 affembledi yet, inafmuch as the Bifhops, of 
 whom it confifts, are as much Men, when in 
 Council, as they are when out of it, and liable 
 to the Weakncftes and Imperfedions of Human 
 Nature, 'tis no wonder that what is Human 
 Ihould err, as in Fad: it hath f. 
 
 There F OK E, whatever a General Council 
 may ordain or decree, is of no Vv eight, if it be 
 not agreeable to Scripture. And thus much 
 S. Ignatius advifed long before any Councils of 
 this^kind were held. " Stop your Ears, faith 
 
 he, if any Man fpeak to you without the 
 
 Lord Jefus Chrift §. 
 
 For farther Satlsfa^iion^ fee Article VT. 
 
 * See Amlrer0s\ Sermon of calling Aflemblies. Jercefs 
 ApoL Defen. Part VI. c. I2. Div. 2. O'c Hooker's Eccl. Pol. 
 Book VIIT. Field of the Church, Book V. c. j-2. 
 
 f See B/lfo?2 of Chriflian Subjecftion, Part II. p. 3^9. Pri- 
 deffiix Fafc. Com. c. 4. q. 4. yer^el's ApoL Defen. Part IV. 
 C. 22. Div. 3, 4. Field ot the Church, Book V. c. ri. 
 
 § Epiji. ad Trail, 
 
 u 
 
 Article 
 
444 
 
 loii 
 
 ^« Expofition 071 the 
 
 Article XXII. 
 Of "PURGJTORT. 
 
 UO'-N^ 
 
 to?}>, patoons, aBo:fljfppino; ano mo^- 
 2atian3 as toeU of amageg, as of Ee- 
 iiqiirs ^ anc alfo of SinDocation of ©atnt0, 
 IS a fonu Cljlno:, aainlp inijeiitetf, ana 
 C^ounHeo upon no mattmtv of ^cnp- 
 tare, but mijtt repugnant to tlje mo;^ 
 
 of ©00* 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 F we walk in the Light^ as he is in the 
 Light ^ we huve Fellowjhip one with 
 another^ and the Blood of Jefus Chrifi 
 his Son cleanfeth us from all Sin. Thefe 
 are the Words of St. John^ in his Firft Epiftle, 
 chap. i. and ver. 7. And Ren), xiv. 13. we 
 have thefe Words, And I heard a Voice from 
 Hca'ven^ faying unto me^ Write^ Bleffed are the 
 Dead which die in the Lord^ from henceforth : 
 Tea^ faith the Spirit^ for they reft from their 
 Labours^ and their Works do follow them. And 
 S. Cle?nent o£ Alexandria teils us t. That he who 
 repents here, fhail not repent when he leaves 
 
 ± S)jiii Dives [dv. c, .li. p. 1 
 
 and c. 40. p. loj-. 
 
 his 
 
\ 
 
 Tbirty-Nine Artides. 445 
 
 his Body ; neither fhall he be afliamed when he ^^^L^^l' 
 fees his Saviour coming in his Glory and Power ; ^^^^^^ 
 neither fhall Fire burn him. This 'tis to repent 
 and condemn fuch Things as i\re paft, and beg 
 Pardon for them of the Father, who alone, 
 among ail others, is able to undo thofc Things 
 that are done , and by his Mercy > and the Dew 
 of his Spirit, can blot out our Tranfgrcffions : 
 In which, faith he, if I find you, for them will 
 I judge you. '' There is not, faith S. Cyprian^ 
 '^ neither can there be, any Confellion of Sins 
 " among the Dead. " ^ 
 
 I N a Word, it appears from the latter End 
 of the 25th Chapter of St. Matthew's Gofpcl, 
 and feveral other Places of Scripture, that there 
 will be a State of Eternal Happineis after thi so/ p«r^^/<?7. 
 Life, for the Good and Pious, and a State of 
 Eternal Milery for the Wicked ; but a third 
 State, of a mixt Nature, is no where fo much 
 as hinted at throughout the Bible. So ground- 
 lefs is the Komijh Fidion of Purgatory, by 
 which they mean a Place in which departed 
 Souls are cleanfed, which were not fully purged 
 from their Sins in this Life f. 
 
 What this Article calls the Dodrine o? of Vardons^ 
 Pardons, is alio called the Dodlrine of Indul- 
 gences, by which thofe of the Church of Rome 
 heap to themfelves an immenfe Treafure out of 
 the over-flowing Merits of Chrift and the Sain ts, 
 of which the Pope is the chief Manager : He 
 
 * £/>//?. ss- 
 
 t See Homily of Prayer, Part III. Snllingfieefs Idolatry 
 of the Church of Rome, p. i8o. Patrick's Anfwcr to the 
 Touch-Stone, §.47. Trideaux Fafc. Contr. 6^. §. 2. q. 7. 
 JewelVs Def. Apol. Part II. c. 16. Div. i. Tleld of the 
 Church, pag. 33J, 75-1. Tillotfon on i Cor, iii. ly. and 
 2 Cor» V. 6. 
 
 takes 
 
44^ ^^ Expofitioft on the 
 
 Art. XXII. takcs upoti him to apply, to whomfbevcr h^ 
 
 '^^'-^^'y''^ pleaies, as much of thele Merits as he thinks fit? 
 
 for the Pv.emilTion of fuch Punifhmcnts as remain 
 
 to be inflided aiter the Faults themfelves are 
 
 forgiven. 
 
 For thofe of the Church of Rome luppofe, 
 that afr.er Mens Sins by the Sacrament of Pe- 
 nance are forgiven to them, fo that now there 
 is no more Guilt remaining, nor by Conlequence 
 any more Obligation to an Eternal Punifhment 
 due to it 3 there continues nevertheleis, an 
 Obligat'on to Temporal Punifhment, to be un- 
 dergone as a true and proper Satisfaction for 
 Sin, either here or in Purgatory ; and that this, 
 the Pope hath Power to difpenfe with, by ap- 
 •plying to them the Satisfactions not only of 
 Chrift, but of all his Saints j who, having led 
 ievere Lives, and fufFered a greater Temporal 
 Punifhment than was requifite to fatisfy for their 
 own Sins, have left a Stock in Bank to the 
 Treafure of the Church, for the Advantage of 
 others, and the Remiflion of thofe Temporal 
 Pains by fuch an Application. This is that they 
 properly call Indulgence; for the Support of 
 which, there is not one PafTage in Holy Scrip- 
 ture ; but there are feveral which are incon- 
 fiflent with the DoCtrine and Pra6tice of the 
 Church of Kome in this Particular. Thus 
 I John i. 9. we are told, that it is God that 
 cleanfeth us from all Unrighteoufnefs. And 
 St. Peter fpeaking of our Blefled Saviour, A^s 
 iv. 12. hath thefe Words : Neither is there Sal- 
 n)ation in any other ^ for there is none other Name 
 under Hea'ven gwen among Men whereby we rauft 
 he faved. And the Prophet Ifaiah tells us^ 
 chap. liii. 5. "Vh^it he was wounded for our ^ranf- 
 grejjms^ and hruifed for our Iniquities -, That 
 
 the 
 
Thirty 'Wne Articles. 447 
 
 the Chaftifement of our Peace was upon him^ and Art. Xxil 
 that with his Stripes we are healed. And that ^^^^^f^ 
 the Saints have no Merit at all, and much lefs 
 fuch a Degree of it as this Dodrine fuppofes, is 
 already proved under the XlVth Article. 
 
 I MUST not conclude this Head, without 
 taking Notice of another Dodrine of the Church 
 of Ro7ne. Our Bleffed Saviour fays to his DiC- 
 ciples, Johny^yi, 23. Whofe Sins ye remit ^ they 
 are remitted. And St. James .^ chap. v. ver. 15. 
 ipeaking of a Sick Peribn, laith, Ka.v am^jioi ^ 
 'TTc-mimui d(piQmi7nt AVTa, Which Words are not 
 to be rendered as our Tranflators have rendered 
 them, but thus : And if he have committed Sins^ 
 Ahfolution fhall he gi'ven him ; as appears from 
 Dr. Hammond's Notes upon thofe Words, and 
 from the Practice of the Primitive Church, the 
 beft of Commentaries, which always granted 
 Abfolution to Perfons lying in Danger of 
 Death, From hence the Church of England 
 rightly concludes, that Chrift hath left a Power 
 with his Church to declare Forgivenefs of Sins 
 to all fuch as truly repent of them, and believe 
 in him ; and that when the Minifters of his 
 Word are called in to the Afliftance of fick or 
 icrupulous Perfons, they may, upon the Sup- 
 pofition of a true Repentance, pronounce in 
 God's Name, the Pardon of their Sins to them. ' 
 
 But in this, they only deliver the Sentence of 
 God j which, if the Sinners be truly penitent, 
 God will infallibly make good ; otherwife it 
 would be of no Ufe to them, becaufe it was 
 erroneoufly, though charitably pafTed upon 
 them. 
 
 But the Church of Rome holds, That tho' 
 a Sinner be not affedted With fuch a Sorrow for 
 
 his 
 
44 8 ^n Eipofitioli nn the 
 
 Art. XXII. his Sins, as would otherwife be fufficient to 
 ^^^^"y^^^ obtain God's Pardon ^ yet by rightly confeiling 
 them to a Prieft, they fliall be forgiven, and 
 an Entrance opened into Heaven by the Power 
 of the Keys in Abfolution. She likewife holds. 
 That the Pope may grant a Man a full Remif^ 
 fion of Sins, though he has neither confeffed 
 them to any Prieft, nor finds in his own Heart 
 any manner of Contrition for them ; fo that fhe 
 ufurps upon the Prerogative of God's Power to 
 forgive Sins, Mark ii. 7. and alfb lays a very 
 dangerous Stumbling-Biock in the Way of 
 ■wicked Men , whilft fhe encourages them to 
 rely on fuch a Sorrow, and fuch a Method for 
 the Forgivenefs of Sins, as will certainly fail and 
 ruin them in the End. For the Scripture aflures 
 us, in Places innumerable, that except we repent 
 inje Jhall all per'tflo , and that without HoUnefs^ 
 vo Maw Jhall fee the Lord *. 
 
 of Images, The Worfhippers of Images have endea- 
 voured to excufe themielves from the heinous 
 Charge of Idolatry, by diftinguilhing betwixt 
 an Image and an Idol, betwixt an Abiblute 
 and a Relative Worihip ; but in vain : For 
 God hath not only forbidden the Worfhipping 
 of Idols, as I John v. 21. Little Children^ keep 
 yotirfehues from Idols : And in a Multitude of 
 Places befidcs , but hath abfolutely forbidden us 
 to pay any Religious Worihip to Images, Exod. 
 XX. 4, 5. Thoiijloalt not make unto thee any Graven 
 Image^ or any Ltkenefs of any 1'hing that is in 
 
 * Sec Stillingfleefs Idolatry of the Church of Rome, page 
 478. Patricks AnRvcr to the Touchftone, c. i6. Field of 
 the Church, Book III. Append, cap. 25-. Archbidiop M'ake's 
 Sermons, page 79, 80, and 308. His Expolition on the 
 
 Catcchifm, §. 18, 
 
 Heaven 
 
Thirty-Nme Articles. 449 
 
 Heaven ahove, or in the Earth beneath^ or that is Art. xxil. 
 in the Water under the Earthy fhoujhalt not bow ^^^OTV/j 
 down thyfelf to them^ nor ferve them ; for I the 
 Lord thy God am a jealous Gody ^ifiting the Jm^ 
 quity of the Fathers upon the Children unto the 
 third and fourth Generation of them that hate me. 
 
 '^ Without doubt, faith La^antius^ there 
 '^ is no Religion where there is an Image. For 
 '^ if Religion relate to fuch Things as are Divine^ 
 '^ there is nothing Divine but Heavenly Things. 
 '^ Images therefore have nothing to do With Re- 
 '' ligion, becaufe nothing can be Heavenly 
 " which is made out of the Earth ^ " '' If we 
 '^ are, faith Origen^ to hearken to thofe who 
 '^ endeavour to gain Profelytes to their leveral 
 '^ Parties among the Greeks or Barbarians ; 
 '' how much rather ihould we believe in Him 
 '^ who is God over all, and teacheth us, that 
 '^ He alone is to be worfhipped, and that we 
 '^ are in a manner to defpife all other Things 
 " which either never were, or are indeed worthy 
 ''• of fome Refped, yet do not deferve to be 
 
 adored and worfhipped \} 
 
 cc 
 
 A s to Reliques, it feems ftrange to me how of Kellquei, 
 they came to be adored, fince the Saints them- 
 felves, when they were upon Earth, refufed 
 Adoration when it was offered them, and that too 
 with a great deal of Vehemence, as we fee, A^s 
 X. 25, 26. And as Peter was coming in^ Cor- 
 nelius met him^ and fell dozvn at his Feet and 
 worfloipped him. But Peter took him up^ faying^ 
 Stand up ; / myfelf alfo am a Man. And chap, 
 xiv. ver. 13, 14, 15. ^hen the Priejl qf Jupiter 
 
 * Injlitut. lib. 2. c. 19. 
 f Lib, I. fdg, 10. 
 
 F f whick 
 
4)0 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xX1I< which ivas hefore their City^ Ironght Oxen and 
 V^O^N-/' Garlands unto the Gates ^ and ivould have done 
 Sacrifice with the People. iVhtch when the 
 Apoftles Barnabas and Paul heard of^ they rent 
 their Cloaths^ and ran in among the People^ crying 
 out and faying^ Sirs^ why do ye the/'e things ? 
 We alfo are Men of like PaJJions with you. And 
 how the Reliques came to be more holy than 
 the Saints themfelves, is hard to imagine. I 
 fhail clofe this Head with a Declaration of the 
 Church of Smyrna , t " We worfhip Chrift as 
 ^^ the Son of God ; but the Martyrs we love, 
 ^* as we ought, as Difciples and Imitators of 
 '' our Lord, and for the Sake of their ftedfaft 
 '' and unfhaken Affeftion to their King and 
 " Mafter."* 
 
 of Invocation A s to Invocation of Saints, fince all Invoca- 
 cfs^mPi. ^.-jQj^ j^ y^jn where there is not Faith, James i. 
 6, 7. where we are commanded to ask in Faith ; 
 and fince there can be no Faith, where there is 
 no Word of God to fupport it, it follows, that 
 Invocation of Saints muil be a vam 1 hing, in- 
 afmuch as there is no W ord of God to found 
 it on. And farther, fince we have but one 
 Mediator^ i l^im. ii. 5 who is able to fave to 
 the uttermoft them that cnme unto God by him^ 
 Heb. vii. 25. whofoever betakes himfelf to the 
 Mediation of Saints, puts a Slight upon Chrift, 
 who is our true and only Medator. The Rea- 
 fon which the Komanifts alledge for the Invo- 
 cation of Saints, is only a Simile or Refemblance 
 of the Court of Heaven to an Earthly Prince, 
 whom no inferior Subjed: muft prefume to ap- 
 
 .4: Euiebii Hill. lib. 4. cap. if. 
 
 * See Stillrngfieet's Idol. c. i. Patrick'^ Anfwer to the 
 Touchftone, §. 34, 49. Homily againft Idolatry. Jewel's 
 Reply, Art. XIV. Bllfon of Chrift. Subj. Pait IV. p. gi^- 
 
 proach 
 
Thlrty-Nhie Articles. 4^1 
 
 proach with any Petition, be it never fb reafon* Art. xxir; 
 
 able, till Ibme Officer of State, or Gre -t Man ^w/'VNJi 
 
 about the Prince^ is pleafed to introduce hm, 
 
 and {peak in his Behalf From whence they 
 
 argue. That we who are wretched Sinners, on 
 
 whom the Vengeance of God is ready to fall, are 
 
 not to rufh, immediately into God's Prefence, 
 
 when we defire to have ourWants fupplied, but to 
 
 make our Application to rhofe who nre fuppoied 
 
 to be very high in his Favour, and intimately 
 
 converiant with him. 
 
 T o which I anfwcr. That Earthly Princes 
 have neither Time nor Opportunities to examine 
 into the Truth and Pv.eafonab]en els of all Peti- 
 tions that are brought them ^ and that if Men 
 were promifcuoufly admitted to them, it would 
 endanger their Safety. And laftly, 1 hat tho' 
 they may not fulFer Men to approach them 
 without being introduced by fbme Favo irite or 
 Minifter, out of an Opinion that they thereby 
 procure the greater Refpeclfrom their Subjeds ; 
 and though this Refervednels may have its 
 defired Eifed:, yet every Man, I am fure, 
 would be gladly freed from the Trouble which 
 it many times occafions. Why then Ihould we 
 look out for others to make known our R equefts 
 to God, who are not declared in the Scriptures 
 to be capable of doing it, or to be authorized 
 for this Purpofe, efpecially fmce we are covci-^ 
 mand^d to go boldly imto the 7'brone of Grace^ that 
 we may obtain Mevcy^ and find Grace to help in 
 fime of Need J Heb. iv. i6. ? * 
 
 * See NoTvelli Cat. p. loy, ^c. TridenHX Fafc. Cont. 
 c. 4-. §. z. q. I. Patrick's Anfwer to the Touchftone, §.35. 
 54.. Stillingfieefs Idol. c. 2. Homily of Prayer, Part II. 
 Jield of the Church, Book III. c. 20. and Append, c. 22. 
 Abbofs Anfwer to Bifiofs Epiftlc §.9. 
 
 F f 2 ^» 
 
452 An Expofitioti on the 
 
 Art. XXII. 
 y^y^y^"^ QOOPOOOOQQOOOOOCOOQOO^Oa 
 
 yfe APPENDIX /t?/>&^ Exposition 
 on the Twcntj-i'QCond. Article. 
 
 IT is not a little to be confidered in Oppofition 
 to the Dodlrine of Purgatory, that the Scrip- 
 tures not only every where reprefent to us this 
 prefent Life as the Time of Trial and Exercife, 
 of Sufferings and Afflidions ; but alfb encourage 
 us, on this very Confideration, to bear them 
 with Patience and Refignation, that as foon we 
 die they fhall all end, and we fhall receive the 
 llejfcd Reward which God hath prepared for 
 them that bear them as they ought to do. I 
 look upon it, faith St. Paul^ Konh viii. i8. ^hat 
 the Sufferings of this prefent Life are 7iot worthy 
 to he compared with the Glory which fhall he 
 revealed. And again, 2 Cor. iv. 17. For the 
 Sufferings of this prefent Life work out for us a 
 far more exceeding and eternal IVeight of Glory, ■ 
 Many other Places of this kind there are, in 
 which our prefent Sufferings are compared with, 
 and oppofed to our future Reward. Now, if 
 when all thefe Encounters are ended, there be 
 flill another and more dreadful Sort of Trial to 
 be undergone elfewhere, how could the Apoftle 
 have ufed thofe kind of y^ntithefes^ and have 
 encouraged us to a Conftancy in our prefent 
 Afflidions, from the Profped of a Time, when, 
 according to thefe Men, there are yet greater 
 and more levere ones to be undergone by us > 
 And this then may be afecond Obfcrvation • That 
 the Scripture always Ipeaks of the Death of 
 
 Good 
 
Thirty 'Nine Articles.^ 455 
 
 Good Men as a BleJJlng^ an immediate Kefl from Art.xxii: 
 their Labours ; and therefore underllood nothing ^^^'VN,*^ 
 of thofe Torments to which they are now 
 condemned by the Church of Rome ^ according 
 to Revel, xiv. 13. before-mentioned. 'Twas 
 this AfTurance that made the Holy Men of Old 
 fb defirous of their DiiTolution, that they might 
 find an End of all thofe Labours and Evils which 
 they fuffcred here. / am in a Straiglot hetwixt 
 twoy iaith St. Pauly halving a Be fire to depart 
 and to he with Chrift^ Phil. i. 23. Surely 
 St. Paul never thought of Purgatory, when he 
 talked thus of going to Chrift j nor would he have 
 appeared fo defirous of his DifTblution, had he 
 known he ihould have been caft into fuch a Fire 
 as the Romanifis fuppofe to be in this infernal 
 Region : Nor can it be reafonably faid, that this 
 was the Apoftle's peculiar Happinefs ; and there- 
 fore, that though he indeed was fecure of going 
 immediately to Chrift, yet others were not 
 therefore to exped: the like Favour ; for 2 Cor. 
 V. I. we find him promifing the very fame to 
 all Chriftians indifferently ; /^^ know^ fays he, 
 that if our Earthly Houfe of this tabernacle were 
 dlffolved^ we have a Building with Gody an Houfe 
 not made with Hands., eternal in the Heavens. 
 And again, ver. 8. IVhen we are abfent from the 
 Body^ lays he, we are pre font with the Lord : 
 By which it appears, that when good Men die, 
 they go to the Lord, to Chrift, to their heavenly 
 Houfe ; and furely that is not Purgatory. To 
 this agree thoie few Inftances v/e have of Juft 
 Mens dying, in the New ^eftamera. Lazarus 
 in the Parable, i? faid to be in Abraham"*^ 
 Bofom ; the Penitent fhief on the Crofs.^ was 
 promifed that he fhould be that Day with Chrift 
 in Paradife. And we have good Reaibn to 
 believe, that the fame is the State of all others^ 
 F f 3 not 
 
454 ^^ Ex-nofitioii on tie 
 
 Art. XXII. not Only from the Paffages already mentionedj 
 ^^^/^Y'^sj and maiiy more of the like kind that might have 
 been offered ^ but alfo from this, that we have 
 not, as 1 obferved before, in all the Holy Scrip- 
 ture, the leaft Intimation of any fuch Place as 
 Purgatory : That there is neither Precept nor 
 Example, of any one that either prayed for the 
 Delivery of their Friends departed out of thefe 
 Pains, or any Diredions left for any one here- 
 after io to do : Now certainly it is not eafy to 
 be imagined, that the Holy Penmen fhould have 
 been fo perfectly filent in this Matter, had there 
 been fo great a Caufe for it, as the Delivery of 
 their Souls out of Purgatory undoubtedly would 
 have been 3 or had they then efleemed it fo 
 excellent and necelTary a Piece of Chriftian 
 Charity, as it is now pretended to be. And 
 this Prefumption againft Purgatory the Holy 
 Scriptures will afford us. If we look, Secondly, 
 to the Holy Fathers of the Church, we fhall 
 find them proceeding exadly upon the fame 
 Principles : They thought the Juft when they 
 were departed were preiently in a State ofHappi^ 
 nefs ^ that it was injurious to Chrift to hold, 
 that fuch as died in his Faith were to be pitied 5 
 that Chrirtians therefore ought not by any 
 Means to be afraid of dying. Thus St. Cyprian^ 
 in another Place befides that w^hich I have 
 already m.entioned, tells us, that 'tis for him to 
 fear Death, that is unwilling to go to Chrift : 
 And that 'tis for him to be unwilling to go to 
 Chrift, who doth not believe that he beginneth to 
 reign with Chrift. Simeon faid, continues he, 
 Lord^ noiKj letteft thou thy Servant depart in Peace ; 
 proving and witnefling, that the Servants of 
 God then have Peace, then enjoy free and quiet 
 Reft, when being drawn from thelc Storms of 
 the World, we arrive at the Haven of our 
 
 ever« 
 
Thirty^lSJine Articles, 455 
 
 everlafling Habitation and Secur-ty. —Let us Art, XXII- 
 therefore embrace the Day that bringeth every oOTN*/ 
 one to his own Houle, which hiving taken us 
 away from hence, and loofed us from the Snares 
 of this World, returneth us to Paradife, and to 
 the Kingdom of Heaven, 
 
 I SHALL now leave it to any one to con- 
 fider, whether this Holy Father, who dif. 
 courfed thus of our Dying, believed any thing of 
 thefe tormenting Purgatory-Fires thit now keep 
 Men in Anxiety, and make the beft Chriftians 
 afraid to die ? And the fame is the Language of 
 all the reft. St. Chryfoftom particularly inforces 
 the fame Confidcrations, from thofe Pfalms 
 that were ufually laid at the Burial of the Dead. 
 Return to thy Keft^ O my Soul^ for the Lord hath 
 heen gracious nnto thee. You fee, fays that 
 Holy Father, how that Death is a Blefling, a . 
 
 Reft. God calls it a Bleffin?, and doft 
 
 thou lament ? What couldft thou have done 
 more if thou hadft been his Enemy * ? But to 
 put this Matter, as to the Point of Antiquity, 
 beyond al) Doubt, I will remark diftindly two 
 or three Things, i. That feveral of the moft 
 antient Fathers, not only believed the Souls of 
 the Faithful to be in Happinels, immediately 
 upon their Departure, but to be carried 
 inftantly into Heaven : So Athenagoras^ 
 St. Cyprian^ Origen^ Gregory Nazianzen^ Chry-* 
 fofiom^ Cyril of Alexandria^ St. Jerom^ and 
 
 * Hieron. in Of. com. 5. Aiigfi(th. Epift. 28. ad Hier, 
 torn. 2. p. 31. A. Sc Tiacl:. 49. in Joan. torn. 9. p. 124. 
 A. Au6i:or. Quaeft. fub Juftiai nomin. quceft. yj*. p. 436. 
 D. E. Paris 1656. Clnylbil:. Horn, de SS. Bemicc &. Profdore, 
 torn. ?. Fronted, p. /d 3. Pads, G. L. 1636. 
 
 Ff 4 others. 
 
45 6 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXII. Others t- Now certainly, they who believed 
 
 L/^'VN^ that Juft Men when they die go ftraight to 
 
 Heaven, could not have believed that they were 
 
 for a long while after their Death tormented in 
 
 Purgatory , and therefore, all thefe muft have 
 
 been of an Opinion different from the Church 
 
 of Rome in this Matter. Secondly, Another 
 
 Thing remarkable in fome of the antient Fathers 
 
 is, that they utterly deny, that the Soul is 
 
 capable of being purged in another World ; 
 
 and this is, to be fure, exprefly contrary to the 
 
 prefent Dodrine of the Komanifts in this Point. 
 
 Thus Gregory NaziajiZen^ {peaking of the 
 
 Judgment after Death, faith, That 'tis better 
 
 to be now chaftifed and purged, than to be 
 
 delivered over to that Torment, when it fhall be 
 
 no longer a Time of Purgation, but of Punifh- 
 
 ment. Where we fee the Father exprefly op- 
 
 pofes the Time of Purgation in this Life, to 
 
 the Time, not of Purgation, but of Punifhment 
 
 in the next. And St. Chryfoftom fays. If the 
 
 Soul be purged here (that is from Sin) that 
 
 Fire fhall not hurt it when it departs hence : 
 
 But the Soul that goes hence in Sin, that Fire 
 
 (not of Purgatory, but of Hell) fhall receive. 
 
 This was the Dodlrine of thofe Times ; the 
 
 Soul that was clear of Sin, by God's Pardon 
 
 and Forgivenefs, no Fire could hurt 3 that 
 
 which was not, no Fire could cleanfe ; but it 
 
 was to remain in the Torments of Hell for ever. 
 
 Nor may we omit to obferve, Thirdly, That 
 
 the Fathers take no Notice of Purgatory, in 
 
 iuch Places, as, had they believed it, they could 
 
 Bot well have omitted it. Hence we fee, no 
 
 f Athen^g. Legar. pro Chriftianis. Cyp. lib. lo. toni. i. 
 p. 173. Cyril. Alcxand. in Joan. 19, 3c. lib. 12. torn. 4. 
 Ed. G. L. Pans 1658. P. 1069. B. C 7 liier. Epiil. ^ij-. 
 ?bl. 71. C, torn. I. Edit. Erafui, 
 
TJjWty^Wine Articles. 457 
 
 mention of it in any of their Creeds or Art. xxil 
 Councils, or Catechetical Difcourfes, in which ^^^^^V""*^ 
 the other Articles of their Faith are fet down 
 and explained. The fifth General Council^ 
 which condemned Origen for his Errors con- 
 cerning the Pains after Death, never mentioned 
 any other Purgatory in Oppofition to that which 
 he had Heretically invented. But that which 
 Ihews it yet more plainly to have been unknown 
 to them, is, that not only St. Attguftine^ but 
 Pope Gregory himfelf, the great Patron of this 
 Error, yet fpoke of it with fome Doubt ; not 
 as they ufed to do of a Point firmly believed by 
 the Church, but as a peculiar Thing, in which 
 they were not themfelves very well refolved. 
 When the Fathers difputed againft Origen^ 
 they none of them mention any of the Purga- 
 tory Pains, which the Orthodox Faith taught, 
 to diftinguilh them from thofe which he had 
 erroneoufly invented. When Epiphanius dif- 
 puted againft Aer'ius^ concerning the Reafon 
 and Benefit of praying for the Dead, is it to be 
 imagined he could then have forgot the great 
 Conctrn of delivering the Souls departed out of 
 Pui^gatory, had the Church then believed any 
 fuch Thing ? To all which, if we finally acjd. 
 That the Greek Church neither at this Day does, 
 nor ever did receive this Dodrine ; I cannot 
 tell what clearer Evidence we can defire to fhew, 
 that this whole Bufinefs of Purgatory, is but 
 an Error of the Latin Church, not an Article 
 of the Catholick Faith. 
 
 The Subtlety of a ilo;;?//7^ Adverfary, may, 
 perhaps, furnifh out an Appearance of a Con- 
 tradidion from what 1 have faid in relation to 
 Origen. He'll fay, perhaps, that I have firft quoted 
 this Father in Oppofition to Purgatory, and 
 
 then 
 
45 S Jn Eipofition on the 
 
 Art, XXII. then have acknowledged that he invented a 
 ^<^^^^Y^^^^ Purgatory himlelf: 'Tis therefore necelTary to 
 diftinguifh betwixt the Purgatory of Origen^ 
 and that of the Church of Rome. Origens 
 Opinion was. That after this Life there were 
 no other Pains but Purgatory, that is, that 
 after a ccrta'n Time, not only all Men, though 
 never fo wicked, but the Devils themfelves, 
 fhould be purified by them, and fo faved in the 
 Endj or, in other Words, that the Torments 
 of Hell (hall not be Eternal. This Bellarmhie 
 himfelf confcff s to have been his Opinion * ; 
 and to th's, the Place which he quotes out of 
 him clearly refers : " He that is faved, is faved 
 '^ by Fire, that {o^ if by Chance he has any 
 '^ thing of Lead mixed in him, the Fire may 
 *• melt and feparate it, that fo all may be made 
 '^ pure Gold f. " Whereas the Komijlo Purga- 
 tory, is defined to be a Fire, in which the Souls 
 of the Faithful, being tormented for a Time, 
 are expiated , that fo a Paffage may be opened 
 for them into their Eternal Country, into which 
 no defiled I hing can enter. 
 
 From hence it appears, Thnt the Dilates 
 of right Reaion are no \t{s againft this Dodrine 
 of Purgatory, than Scripture and Antiquity. 
 They who are fuppofed to go thither, mull be 
 perfed in Charity, in the Grace of God, 
 and fecure of their Salvation ; for their Satis- 
 fadion is fappofed to have been made by the 
 Blood of Chrifl", and fo God's Juilice 's fup- 
 pofed to be fatisfied. Now when all this 
 is already done, to what end is it that they 
 f lould be tormented ? Had there been any 
 
 * Beilarni. de pLirg. lib. i. c. lo. p. 608. B. 
 7 Origcn, Koiii. 6. in Exod. Catcciiirii;!. ad Paroch. Part L 
 Art. 5*. ^. J. p. 41. colon. 1684.. 
 
 Means 
 
Thirty-Nme x\rticles. 459 
 
 Means by fuch a Purgatory, either to fit them Art. xxil, 
 for Heaven, or to latisfy the Divine Juftice, V.>"TX^ 
 there might then have been fome Pretence for 
 it. But to think that God punilhes Men only for 
 punilhing-fake,andthis toohisownServants, Men 
 who are in his Favour, that have lived well, 
 and upon that account are juftified by him thro' 
 the Blood of Chrift -, this is^ fuch an Idea of an 
 infinite Love, Mercy, and Goodnefs, as fure 
 can never be the Didate of right Pvcaibn, I 
 think I may fay is utterly inconiiftent with it. 
 'Tis true, indeed, that God doth fometimes 
 forgive Men their Sins with relation to the 
 Eternal Punifliments of another \\ orld, when 
 he doth not think fit to execute them, from 
 Temporal PunifhmentSj but Scripture as well 
 as Reafon will acquaint us, that there are feveral 
 very excellent Ends to be ferved by it, both for 
 the Benefit of the Sinner, and to warn others by 
 his Example not to offend , nor is there the leall 
 mention of any Thing of this kind made in 
 Scripture, where the Punifhments inflicted, or 
 to be inflided, are not clearly limited to this 
 Life 3 for, indeed, there can be no Necci^jty to 
 make thole Men better, who are finally fecure 
 of Eternal Happinefs ; or to punifh thole whofe 
 Sins are fiilly ^nd perfe^ly attoned for, by the 
 Blood of Chrift. And when we hive departed 
 this Life, our Sufferings in another State ceafe 
 to be Examples to fuch as iurvive us j for 
 Exam.ples of this kind, are nothing elie in the 
 very Nature of them, but Appeals to our Senfes 
 to convince us of our Folly, to awaken us to a 
 Confideration of God's Power and Ihreatnings, 
 and to rivet it in our Minds, — I' bat there is a 
 God that jitdgetb in the Earth. As to the 
 Dodrine of the Church of Rome concerning 
 Venial Sins, /. e, fuch Sins as are fght and 
 
 trivial^ 
 
4^0 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXII. trivial, which we are told defer ve fome Tern- 
 ^-y^y^"^^ poral Muld, but not Eternal Torments ; fothat 
 he that dies impenitent in them can't go to 
 Heaven, becaufe nothing that is in the leaft 
 defiled can enter therein • nor to Hell, becaufe 
 he deferves not thofe everlafting Burnings 3 
 and that therefore, there muft be a third State, 
 even Purgatory, where he may in fome Senfe 
 be purged, and through his own Satisfadlion, 
 in enduring its Torments, prepare and qualify 
 himfelf for Heaven : As to this Dodlrine, I fay, 
 it fets a Man above the Satisfaction of Chrift's 
 Merits, by fuppofmg his Sins to be too fmall to 
 need his Expiation ; it finds Remillion for a 
 Man dying in Impenitence ; it contradicts the 
 whole Current of the Gofpel, which teacheth 
 us, that without Repentance there can be no 
 Remiffion : And again, to fix a Purgatory, calls 
 in Queflion the Juftice and Equity of God him- 
 felf, who hath pronounced by his Holy Spirit, 
 that he that (hall offend in the lead of his Com- 
 mands, (hail in no wife be his Difciplc, and 
 then, certainly, by no Means enter into his 
 Glory. 
 
 The Texts of Scripture which the Komanijis 
 ufe to urge for the Support of their Figment of 
 Purgatory, are all of them fet down in the 
 Margin ^ ; but I cannot prevail upon myfelf to 
 coafider above two of them, the Application 
 which is made of the reft is too trifling to be 
 ferioufly refuted. The Firft of thofe Texts 
 
 :f 
 
 :<ru7nh. :s 
 
 :iv. 31, 
 
 3V E 
 
 xod. i. 
 
 ly- 
 
 7- 
 
 a. n, 2j-. 
 
 Mat. V. 
 
 ^^. 
 
 1 Cor. :■: 
 
 :v. Z9. 
 
 I John 
 
 V . 16. 
 
 Zci 
 
 :h. 
 
 ix. II. 
 
 F/kl. Ixvi. 
 
 I 2.. 
 
 1 S^m. 
 
 iii. 2 
 
 Kings i. 
 
 Mich 
 
 . vii. 
 
 8, 
 
 9. Ifaii 
 
 zhi%. iS. 
 
 M.-?/. 
 
 iii. 3. 
 
 Mat. X 
 
 ii. 31. 
 
 I Cor. 
 
 iii. : 
 
 '5-- 
 
 Matt. V 
 
 ', ly, 2(5. 
 
 I Fet 
 
 .iii. 19. 
 
 Jixis 
 
 ii. H* 
 
 Lake: 
 
 sxxii 
 
 . ^ 
 
 2. P/^^. 
 
 ii. 10. 
 
 that 
 
Tbirty-Nbte Articles. 461 
 
 that I fhalltake Notice of, is Mat. xii. 32. But Art. XXII. 
 ivhofoe'ver fpeaketh againft the Holy Ghoft^ it V^/^'V^^ 
 Jhall not he forgiven him^ neither in this World^ 
 nor in the World to come. The main Strefs of 
 the Argiiment from thefe Words lies in that 
 Expreilion, neither in this Worlds nor in the 
 iVorld to come , that is^ as Bellarmine and his 
 Followers underftand it, 7ieither in this IVorld^ 
 nor in Purgatory. Indeed St. Auguftine feems 
 to infer fome future Remiilion of Sins after this 
 Life from this Text, but what Remiffion, or 
 of what Sins he declares he dares not aver ^ fb 
 that his Conje6ture was far from Bellarmine % 
 Imagination of a Purgatory^ which determines 
 what is remitted, 'viz. the Guilt of fome light 
 Mifcarriages ; and alfb the Way how it is 
 remitted, ^iz. by a determinate Endurance of 
 Pains and. Torments. Secondly, Whatever 
 Remiflion that Holy Father conceived fhould be 
 hereafter, it could only be a Thing probable 
 and conjectural, and therefore no Ground for 
 an Article of Faith, which he tells us is to be 
 founded on plain and indubitable Scripture^ be- 
 caufe he himfelf was both doubtful and uncer- 
 tain of it, as is apparent in four diftin6t Places 
 of his Writings ^. I confeis it feems very 
 ftrange to me, how the World to come fhould 
 here fignify Purgatory^ which is fixed in an inter- 
 mediate Space of Time between a Man's Death 
 and the Refurredion ; fmce the Scriptures do 
 {o generally underftand by it the Day of Judg- 
 ment, or the Time after the Refurredion ; as 
 we read particularly Luke^x. 35. 'ifhofe thatJJjall 
 he accounted worthy to enjoy that IVorld^ ajid the 
 
 * Sti. Auguft. Enchirid. ad I.arcntluin, cap. 66. 8c 6S, 
 juxla finem in S^ qu:?fl. adDulcir. cjui^efl. i, dc fide 2c operi- 
 bus, cap. 1 6. 
 
 a Kefur^ 
 
462 Jn Expofition 071 the 
 
 Art XXII. Refiirrei^wn from the Bead. The coming of 
 ^^y^y'^^-^ Chrift to Judgment is every where reprefented 
 to us as the End of this World, fo that the 
 other muft commence from the Time of his 
 coming to Judgment ; and this, if confidered, 
 will take off all Pretences of Impertinence in 
 thefe Words of our Saviour, without that Pur^ 
 gatory RemiJJion which the Cardinal infers for 
 a Salvo for our Saviour's Difcretion in expref- 
 fmg himfelf in thefe Terms, neither in this 
 Morldj netther in the World to come. For is it 
 any Impertinence or Uncouthnefs to fay, Blai- 
 ph'emy againft the Holy Ghoft, is a Sin of that 
 dreadful Account^ as ihall neither be allowed 
 Pardon in this World, by the Abfolution of 
 Men, nor be pronounced or proclaimed par- 
 doned by Chrift himfelf at the Day of Judg- 
 ment, when he fhall perfect and coniummate 
 the Remiifion or Punidiment entered here on 
 Earth, when he fhall call the Righteous, come 
 ye Blejfedj give the final ImprefHon to their 
 Pardon , but againft the Ungodly pronounce, 
 go ye Ciirfedj eternally bind up thoie Sins which 
 have, or ought to have been bound on Earth. 
 And that which may confirm this Explication, 
 is the Ufe and Manner of the Scriptures them- 
 felves, which all along exprefs the T ime for the 
 Retributions of Rewards and Punifhments to be 
 the Day of Judginent^ as Mat. xxv. 32, 33. 
 And, indeed, this is elegantly explained by 
 the Cardinal himfelf, in his fourth Chapter 
 concerning Purgatory, where he fhews us. 
 That though a particular Sentence pailes upon 
 every Man in the Day of his particular Irial 
 after Death, yet the fame is faid to be done at 
 the Laft Day, and that properly too, becaufe 
 then it is pubiilhed before the wholeWorld, to the 
 greateft Honour of the Righteous, the iiigheft 
 
 Infamy 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles. 4(5; 
 
 Infamy and Reproach of the Ungodly : And Art. xxil 
 does the Scripture any where fuggeft to us, V>''VN^ 
 under the Title of the World to come, any 
 Place or State diftind from Heaven and Hell ? 
 So that without inferring a third Place in the 
 World to come for the Rem-flion of Sins, ac- 
 cording to Bellarmine himfelf, our Saviour's 
 manner of Ipeaking may be allowed moft clear 
 and e-xpreffive. Secondly, Since Blafphemy 
 ^ainft the Holy Ghoft is here exprelTed a Sin 
 of the mod unpardonable Provocation to God ; 
 {mce our Saviour repeats it with the higheft 
 Abhorrency, telling us twice. That though all 
 other Sins and Blafphemies may be forgiven, 
 yet ftill that againfl the Holy Ghoft fhall not, 
 may we not very agreeably to the whole Narra- 
 tion, here aver, that our Lord makes ufe of 
 that Expreflion, neither in this IVorld^ nor in 
 the World to conie^ rather by way of Aggrava- 
 tion, or to exprefs ftill the greater Heinoulhefs 
 of the Sin, then tacitly to infer, that there 
 remains a Remiilion and Forgivenefs of other 
 Sins in the World to come , rather to (liew that 
 this Sin fhall be eternally unpardonable, or, as 
 St. Mark expreiTes it, "ver. 14. never be forgiven 
 at all, than to teach us, that other Sins and 
 Tranfgreflions not forgiven in this, may yet be 
 remitted in the World to come, and that too, 
 before we enter into the other World, which is 
 the Cafe of RemiHion had by Purgatory. All 
 that the Cardinal replies to this is, That by a like 
 Aggravation we may fhuffle off Hell itfelf, and 
 call it an Ac^gravation when our Lord condemns 
 the W icked, Go you into enjerlafitng Burnings ; 
 but bv what Los^ick, or from what Premifes he 
 draws his Conclufion, it is paft my Cap city to 
 conjedlure. Our Lord in divers ilaces, and 
 upon feveral Opportunities, cxprefly tells us. 
 
 That 
 
L/^rx^ 
 
 '464 An Expofitioii on the 
 
 Apt^xxii. That the Portion of the Wicked fhall be ever- 
 lading Burnings : Well, therefore, when he 
 lays, Blafphemy againft the Holy Ghoft lliall 
 not be forgiven, neither in this IVorld^ neither 
 in the World to come^ he muft either be under- 
 ftood to infinuate a Remiilion of Sins in Purga- 
 tory, or we may as reafonably conclude, that there 
 is no fuch Punifhment as Hell-Fire. Is not the 
 Cardinal naore impertinent in this Indu6tion, 
 than he would infer our Saviour's Expreffion to 
 be, were there no Purgatory Remiflion after 
 this Life ? That this Exprellion is Hyperbolical 
 and Figurative, St. Mark manifeftly infinuates, 
 briefly comprehending this more figurative and 
 ample Circuition of St. Matthew in that fliort 
 Speech, Non remittetur in Mternim^ fhall never 
 be forgiven. 
 
 Indeed, Bellarmine fays, That St. Mark 
 is ;j0i fit Interpreter of St. Matthew^ and his 
 rfcafbn for it is, becaufe St. Matthew writ more 
 copioufly and largely, and St. Mark!s Gofpel is 
 but a Compendium of St. Matthew : As if that 
 Man which contrads another Man's Meaning, 
 and that too by the Guidance of an infallible 
 Spirit, were not to be allowed a competent 
 Judge of his Intentions. Or again, as if the 
 more Flourifhing and Rhetorical, were to de- 
 termine and over-rule the more Concife and 
 Comprehenfive. 'Tis certain St. Alark^ who 
 was guided by the fame Spirit with St. Matthew^ 
 hath delivered nothing different from^ or dif- 
 cording with St. Matthew's Meaning , and 
 therefore, fmce the whole Tendency of the 
 Scriptures may incline us this way, and St. Mark 
 hath explained it to this Purpofe, muft it not be 
 moft confequential to infer, that, ^0 be forginjen^ 
 neither in this IVorld^ nor in the IVorfd to come^ 
 
 imports^ 
 
Thirty-Wine Articles. 4(^5 
 
 imports no more but this, /:7^// fienjer he for- Art. xxiL 
 gi'ven. As for this Indudlion which the Car- ^^^'^^V^X-Zi 
 dinal makes, either our Saviour fpake the 
 Words as St. Matthew relates them, or as 
 St. Marky or as both : If as St. Matthew^ or as 
 both, we have gained our Point, it will in no 
 meafure advantage his Cauie , for though he 
 fpoke the very Words of St. Matthezv^ yet he 
 meant no more by them than St. Mark hath ex- 
 plained : So that by Confequence, they are very 
 far from evincing a third Place for Remiffion of 
 Sins after Death ; or inflru6ling us. That that 
 Remiflion in the World to come, which he 
 here denies to the Sin againft the Holy Ghofl, 
 he tacitly infinuates to be compatible to other 
 Sins. The Cardinal himfelf acknowledges fuch 
 an Inference as this to be no good Logick : And 
 to argue by way of Inftance 3 When the Scrip- 
 tures affirm Hypocrify to be a Sin fo hateful 
 to God, that he cannot bear it, may we ra- 
 tionally infer, that there be fome other Sins of 
 that Nature, that his infinite Purity can bear 
 with them ? Is it not more clear to affirm, That 
 by this Expreilion, the Scriptures only manifeft 
 the Grievoufnels of this Sin o^ Hypocrify, but 
 no ways tacitly affirm, that God can endure and 
 bear with other Sins ? So that according to the 
 Way of the Scriptures themfelves, we may lay-j 
 that our Saviour in thefe Words, only aggra- 
 vates the Odiouliiefs of the Sin againft the Holy 
 Ghoft, (hewing it fhall never be forgiven^ but 
 no ways advifes us, that there are other Sins 
 which may be forgiven, if not in this, yet in 
 the World to come. As to what the Cardinal 
 alledges of the Impropriety of this Expreffion, 
 Neither in this IVorld^ 7tor in the World to come ; 
 if there were no Remiffiori in the World to 
 come^ it is impertinent, and to no purpofe, 
 G g fines 
 
466 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXII. fince thofe Words do fully anfwer the Purpofe 
 V-Z'VN^ of our Saviour, and with the greater Vehe- 
 mency deny all Remiflion whatever to that Sin : 
 And although it would be improper to fay, I 
 will marry neither in this World, neither in the 
 World to come, becaufe there is no fuch Thing 
 as marrying, and giving in Marriage there ; 
 yet it doth not follow, that it muft be as im- 
 proper to fay, It fhall neither be remitted in 
 this World, neither in the World to come, be- 
 caufe, though there is no Remiflion for Sins not 
 remitted in this World, yet all RemifHon is faid 
 to be confirmed there, and the Scriptures ufually 
 acquaint us our final Doom and Sentence fhall 
 be pronounced at the Judgment-Seat of Chrifl. 
 Thirdly, That this Text is no Advantage to 
 the Popifh Purgatory is further clear, becaufe 
 it treats of the Remiflion itfelf of Sin, not 
 Satisfaction for fbme light Failures, which is the 
 chiefeft Remiflion of their Purgatory. All that 
 the Cardinal hath to reply here, is no more but 
 this, that in Purgatory there is alfo a RemifHon 
 of Venial Faults. To which I anfwer. That 
 Venial Sins, as they call them, have nothing to 
 do with this Place , for fince they are the mofl 
 mortal Sins and Blafphemies, to which our Lord 
 here compares the Sin againfl the Holy Ghofi:, 
 declaring, that though They might be forgiven, 
 yet This fhould not, neither in this, nor in the 
 World to come ; mufl it not follow, that if any 
 RemifTion in the World to come, be to be in- 
 ferred from thefe Words of our Lord, it mufl 
 certainly be a Remiflion of mortal Sins ? and 
 fo the Cardinal muft be as far to feek as ever 
 for the Eflabllfhment of his Purgatory, fince 
 from thence they profefs all mortal Sins ex- 
 cluded, fo as that there is no Remiflion at all 
 for them there. The Cardinal makes an Offer 
 
 of 
 
Thirty^I^ine Articles. 467 
 
 of a Return to this, but it is fuch a one, as ^^^^LJ^iP^ 
 may quite end the Controverfy of a Purgatory ^^^^^^ 
 from this Text ; for he fays, our Saviour fpake 
 here of a compleat and perfect Remifiion, which 
 comprehends the Remiflion both of the Sin 
 and the Punifhment, in which manner the mofb 
 grievous Sins are faid to be remitted in another 
 World, for this Reafon, becaufe their Remii^ 
 fion is compleated there. But firft, What's all 
 this to Venial Sins, or the Remiflion had in 
 Purgatory, which, according to his own Princi- 
 ples, hath nothing to do with grievous Sinners? 
 Again, how can the Completion or Perfection 
 of all Remiflion belong to Purgatory, when the 
 Scriptures every where refer it to the Laft 
 Judgment by Chrift ? Secondly, If the moft 
 grievous Sins are faid to be remitted in the other 
 World, for this Reafon, becaufe their Remif^ 
 fion is compleated there, then why may not this 
 Bi^prGir^on^Jhall be forginjen neither in this IVorld^ 
 neither in the World to come^ fignify one and the 
 fame Remiflion ; the one, njiz. That /;/ the 
 World to come^ being only a Confirmation and 
 Completion of the other ? Thirdly, If the Re- 
 miflion in the World to come^ be the fame v/ith 
 that in this Life^ only in a higher and more 
 comprehenfive Perfedlion compleating it, then 
 how can thefe Words infer a third State for 
 Remifliion of fuch Sins as are no ways remitted 
 in this World. Indeed, according to the 
 Doctrine of Chriflianity, though not according 
 to the Dodrine of the Church of Rome^ the 
 Remiflion of the Punifhment always accom- 
 panies the Remiflion of the Sin, but yet it will 
 not follow, that this Text of Scripture which 
 treatcth of the Remiflion of Sins only, is agree- 
 able or applicable to, much lefs demonftrative 
 of their Purgatory, wherein they pretend to a 
 G g 2 Remif^ 
 
4.68 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXII. Rcmiflion of Punirnment, and fome Penal Satis- 
 V/W^ fadions for fuch Sins as are already remitted 
 in this World. And thus I think, by the Help 
 of the Cardinal, we have fufHciently difappointed 
 them of the Affiftance of this Text in the Sup- 
 port of their Purgatory. 
 
 The next Place which I am toconfider, is i Cor. 
 iii. 15' 7^7^// befa'ved fo as by Fire. The Cardinal 
 tells us this is one of the obfcurefl-, but yet moft 
 profitable Texts ; fo illuftrioufly manifeft is their 
 Caufe in the Scriptures, that its higheft Advan- 
 tages are the deepefl Obicurities, and its cleareft 
 Light treafured up in the profoundeil: Darknefs. 
 He alfo tells us, it is reckoned by St. Auguftine 
 amongft thofe difficult Sentences which St. Peter 
 fpeaks of, which many wreft to their own De- 
 llrudion , and therefore we may all conclude, 
 what an incomparable Bottom it muft be whereon 
 to found an Article of Faith. If we confider the 
 Circumftances of the whole Place, we fhall find 
 them in no refpcd: fuiting with their Purgatory : 
 For Verfe the 13th, the Apofrle tells us, the 
 Fire here fpoken of, is that whereby every 
 Man's Work fhall be made manifeft, and there- 
 fore, confequently, that all Men, both Bad and 
 ' Good, both Apoftles and others, (hall pals 
 through the Trial and Examination of that Fire 
 here mentioned , which agrees not with their 
 Notion of Purgatory, from which Apoflks and 
 Saints are wholly to be exempted. 2. As the 
 Examination of this Fire extends itfelf to all 
 Men, fo is its Force and Operation laid to exert 
 itfelf upon the Works, not the Perfons of every 
 Man, as in the latter Part of the 13th Verfe, 
 ^be Fire Jloall try e'very Mans IVork^ of what 
 Sort it is y and fo again, Verfe 14, 15. If any 
 Mans IVork ahideth^ or // any Mans M^'ork Jhall 
 
 U 
 
ThWty-Nine Articles. 4^9 
 
 le burnt. Whereas the Fire of their Purgatory Art.xxii. 
 hath nothing to do with the Works of Men, ^-/"^^""^ 
 which are fuppofed to be accepted before an 
 Entrance therein, but wholly exercifeth its Sting 
 and Puniihment upon the very Souls of Men. 
 3. If we confider the Day which fhall thus de- 
 clare our Works, we fhall perceive that can no 
 ways agree with their Chimerical Purgatory : 
 For though the Text tells us it (hall be revealed 
 in Fire, yet fome interpret this Revelation by 
 Fire, of the final Conflagration of the World ; 
 others of fuch a one as fhall fiame out at the 
 Day of God's final Judgment , the laft of which 
 Bellarmine acknowledges to be the general 
 Opinion of the Fathers, and aifo admits of, and 
 allows it for the mod true *. Now how from 
 this Fire which fliall be revealed at the Day of 
 Judgment, we may infer a prefent Fire purging 
 and cleanfing the Souls of Men immediately 
 after their Departure out of this Life, I confefs 
 I want the Cardinal's Dexterity to make out ? I 
 fuppofe, according to their own Principles, the • 
 Fire o^ Purgatory fliall be no more then (what- 
 ever it is now) at that laft Judgment; and 
 therefore, how this Defcription or Infinuation 
 of that examining and determining Flame which 
 fhall thus fearch and prove the \Vorks of all 
 Men then, can declare or manifeft to us this 
 purging Fire at prefent, out of which Millions 
 fnall have efcaped before, and into which, per- 
 haps. Millions (hall never enter, njiz. all remain- 
 ing here in the Flefn at that terrible Day of the 
 Lord, fome of the Cardinal's Friends would do 
 well to explain to us. As to all the Particulars 
 of this Text, fuch as are Foundation, Builders^ 
 Gold, Silver, V/ood, Kay, Stubble, nay the 
 
 * Bell, de Purg. lib. i. 
 
 G g 3 Vm 
 
K./^yyu 
 
 470 jfn Expofition on the 
 
 Ar^xxii. Fire which (hall try every Man's Work, what Sort 
 it is, the Cardinal with Proteflants interprets to 
 have an improper and metaphorical Meaning, 
 and then what Agreement can this Claufe bear 
 to the reft, if taken properly, and in its literal 
 Signification ? Bellarmine confefTes one or two 
 apparent Equivocations in his own Expofition, 
 underftanding, whofe IVorks the Fire Jhall try^ 
 of a metaphorical and figurative Fire ; JJoall 
 he faved fo as by Fire^ of a material and 
 afflicling Fire : But it is the Incoherence of 
 his own imaginary Dodlrines, not any Varia- 
 tion in the Text itlelf, which forced and 
 obliged him thereunto : For if we underftand 
 the Whole in a metaphorical Way, we do 
 no Violence, but altogether clear up the 
 Apoflle's Meaning ; for as to that Claufe, 
 <J^ M TTJc^^j fo as by Fire^ upon which all his 
 Streis depends, this certainly clearly manifefts 
 that Fire is here mentioned only Figuratively, 
 or by way of Likeneis or Refemblance 3 as 
 who fhould fay, his Works fhall perifh in the 
 Fire, but the Workman fhall efcape, yet with 
 that Difficulty and Hazard, as if that ex- 
 amining Fire had got hold on, and been ready 
 to devour him , now the Cardinal acknow- 
 ledges that examining Fire to be metaphorical : 
 Indeed the Apoftle feems carefully to have 
 obviated the Impropriety of the proper Ac- 
 ceptation of the Word Fire, here, by the Inter- 
 pofition of that Particle («?), nor can the 
 Grammatical Conftruclion any Vv^ays help out 
 the Cardinal's Imagination of fuch a material 
 Fire, which by its Pains and Tortures, fhould 
 actually fave an^ reftore the Perlbn tortured 
 therein, unto Life. As for what the Cardinal 
 al ledges from thofe Words, If any Mans 
 Iferkj'haU be. burnt ^ hs fiall fuffer Lofs^ infer- 
 
 ring^ 
 
Thirty-Nme Articles. 471 
 
 r\i:ig^ that it meaneth that fuch a Perfon ihall Art. xxil, 
 receive a Punifhment : Though a Lofs and ^^>'"VNw^. 
 ^Punifhment are very different Things ^ the 
 one being inflicted on us by another, the other 
 many times the Effed of a Man's Perfonal 
 Negligence and Error ^ yet if we agree with 
 the Cardinal in this Pun5iilio^ it will not follow, 
 that the Punifhment referred to here, mufl 
 neceffarily be a Punifhment by Fire : Is not the 
 Lofs of all his Labours, and the Experiencing 
 them to be rather Works of Damnation than 
 leading to a Reward, a very heavy Punifhment? 
 As for any other, there is not the leafl Colour 
 or Pretence from the Words. 
 
 The moft material Objedion I find made 
 to this Explication, is this. That if the Words, 
 fo as hy Fire^ are not to be underflocd of a 
 material and tormenting Fire • then thofe 
 Builders, who are laid to Build, Gold, Silver, 
 and Precious Stones, may as properly be {aid 
 to efcape fo as by Fire, as the Railers up of 
 Wood, Hay, and Stubble , and fo that Di- 
 ftindlion which the Apoflle plainly fuggefts 
 to be between them, infignificant, and to no 
 purpofe. But this is eafily removed, if we 
 obferve, that though they are all fubje6l to 
 this Fire of Trial and Examination, yet they 
 are not all obnoxious to the like Hazard and 
 Danger by it , for though it confumes and 
 deflroys the one Qviz. the Wood, Hay, and 
 Stubble) yet it does but illuftrate and make 
 more manifeft the Worth and Perfedions of 
 the other, "viz. the Gold, Silver, and Precious 
 Stones. As I fuppofe two Men of unequal 
 Qualifications, may run through the fame Ex- 
 amination, though the one with no Hazard, 
 but rather Advantage to his Reputation : So 
 G g 4 that. 
 
472 -^^^ Expofttion on the 
 
 Art.xxii. that as Wood, Hay, and Stubble, which refer 
 t^yVV^ to fuch falie and unwarrantable Doctrines as 
 ihall be accounted for at the fiery Examination 
 of God's fierceft Judgment, bear no relation at 
 all to Venial Sins, which a fmall Penance, per- 
 haps a fupernumerary Ave Maria may wipe off 
 in this Life, or at mofi: a few Pangs in Purga- 
 tory^ clear us from, long before that terrible 
 Day, which fhall declare our Works : So is 
 the Fire here mentioned to try every Man's 
 Work, of what Sort it is, far from the Nature 
 of their Purgatory Scorchings, becaule they are 
 only to purge and fatisfy, thefe to examine 
 and make trial ^ in a Word, the one is a Pro- 
 hatory^ the other a Purgatory Fire. There are 
 thofe, indeed, which interpret this Fire of thofe 
 Tribulations and Afflidions wherewith God 
 often examines our Works and Doctrines in this 
 Life, particularly St. Auguftine^ and Gregory the 
 Great ^ whofe Dreams and Delufions, as hath 
 been faid before, feem to have given the firft 
 Occafion to this Chimerical Purgatory ; but I 
 fhall not determine the Time when God will 
 exercife and examine us with this fiery Trial, 
 it being fufficient to fhew, that the Nature of 
 this examining Fire, let it happen when it will, 
 is no ways fuitable to that imaginary one, 
 fancied to be now burning in Purgatory^ the 
 Property of that being to try Works, but the 
 Efficacy of this to affiid: and punifh Souls. 
 And that this Place is thus to be underftood 
 Metaphorically, we might confirm by divers 
 of their own Expolitors: Befides many preffing 
 Arguments iirged by Erafmus ^^ to evince that 
 
 * Erafmus in locum. Su3rez, torn. 4. in Thorn, difput, 
 45*. §. I. numb. 2/, Ibid, §. i. numb, zS.= 
 
Tbirty^Nme Articles. 475 
 
 it makes neither for Venial Sins, nor a Purga- Art. xxil 
 tory, for which BeUarmme declares it fo pro- L/^V^^w^ 
 fitable. Suarcz cites SedttUus^ Lyranus^ Ca- 
 jetan^ and others, interpreting it almoft in our 
 very Words, though, indeed, he himfelf will 
 have the whole Place underftood of a proper 
 and material Fire ; but he brings no better 
 Inducements to determine us on his Side, than 
 BeUarmme offers to make out, that though Fire 
 in one Part of the Text mull be meant Alle- 
 gorically, yet fo as hy Fire^ mufi: neceffarily be 
 taken in a literal and proper Meaning : Indeed, 
 the Inftance by which the Cardinal undertakes 
 to make it appear to us, that it was the Manner 
 and Cuftom of St. Paul^ thus to ufe the lame 
 Word in divers Senfes in the fame Sentence, is ' 
 moft remarkable, and doGs abundantly evince, 
 that the Cardinal's Wit was more put to it to 
 make out this Point, than his Confcience con- 
 cerned for laying down the Truth : The Text 
 appealed to is this, He bath ynade him Sin for iis^ 
 '•joho knew no Sin ; here the Word Sin is to be 
 taken in as different an Acceptation as the Word 
 Fire in the former Place : What ? was he made 
 Mortal Sin^ who knew only Venial , Sins^ or 
 how is Sin here taken in a different Meaning ? 
 Indeed, to he made Sin^ and to kfio-iv Sin^ have 
 different Meanings, but then thev are alio 
 different Sentences ; but as for the Word Sin^ 
 that imports the very fame in relation to them 
 both : As to his being made Sin^ it means no 
 other than that that fpotlefs Lamb was fent 
 by God to be the Sacrifice for our Mortal Sins ; 
 and the Punifhment he underwent fhews, that 
 the Sins imputed to him, or for which in our 
 Stead he accounted, were thofe very Sins which 
 he knew not, that is, which he had not been 
 yerfonally concerned in committing. What 
 
 Agree- 
 
474 -^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art XXII. Agreement is there here with Sins differentj 
 KyySJ fuch as Mortal and Venial^ with a Refemblance 
 of a metaphorical and proper Fire ? Or becaufe 
 we meet the one Expreflion, what Countenance 
 can it give to the other Inference and Dedu- 
 ction ; they were the fame mortal Tranfgref- 
 fions which the Apoftle fpeaks of in the one 
 Place, and it was no doubt one and the fame 
 metaphorical Fire which he reprelents and al- 
 ludes to in the other : But thus it is when Men 
 will appeal to Scripture for the Confirmation of 
 fuch Dodrines as differ from the very Spirit and 
 Letter of the Scriptures, that they are com- 
 pelled to fuch irrational and unconcluding Mif' 
 applications. . 
 
 A ]Bi T X G ;. S 
 
Tbirty-Nme Articles. 
 
 475 
 
 Article XXIIL 
 
 Of Minijlring in the Congregation. 
 
 3it 10 not latoful fa? anp ^an to tafee upon ^^^ xxm. 
 |)im tl)e ©ffice of puWick p?eac6infi:, o^ ^^^'vn^ 
 ^intffnng tlje ©acramentd in tfie Con-- 
 B^egatiott, t)cfo?e fte be latofullp caiferr, 
 anB fent, to crecute tlje fame. S!nt» tljofe 
 toe ougljt to juDffe Intofulip calleD, ann 
 fent, toljiclj be cfiofcn ann calleu to tljis 
 aiIo?fe bp ^en toljo Ijaije publfcfe ^utbo* 
 ?itp giDen unto tljem in tlje Congjega* 
 tion, to call ann feno ^tntaers imta 
 tlje lojD'si ajinepato* 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 HE Author of the Epiftle to th^ The NeceJJ^ty of 
 
 Hebrews, fpeaking of the Priefthood, ^^^^^^^^'^«- 
 fays, Chap. v. n^er. 4. No Man taketb 
 this Honour unto himfelf^ hut he that 
 is called of God^ as was Aaron, If it be 
 faid that this Text is not applicable to the 
 Chriftian Difpenfation, the very next Verfe 
 confutes the Objedion : So alfo Chrifi glorified 
 not hirafelf to h tnade an High-Prieji^ but he 
 ' that 
 
47 <^ ^n Expofition on the 
 
 ^^L^^"- that [aid unto him^ ^hou art my Son^ to-day ha've 
 ^^^y^<^ 1 begotten thee. And A6fs xx. 28. St. P-atil ad- 
 dreffes himfelf to the Elders of the Churches 
 of Mtletus and Ephefus thus : ^ake heed there^ 
 fore unto yoiirjelves^ and to all the Flock^ ever 
 the which the Holy Ghoft hath made you Over- 
 feers. And fince the Miniflers of the Word 
 and Sacraments are the Amhaffadors of Chrift^ 
 2. Cor. V. 2.Q. Minifiers of God^ Chap, vi. ver. 4. 
 Miniflers of Chrift, and Stewards of theMyfte- 
 ries of God 3 it follows, that they ought to re- 
 ceive their Commiffion from God, and to be 
 fent by him. For fhould any Man take upon 
 him the Charader of an AmbafTador to an 
 Earthly Prince, fhould he offer Terms of Peace 
 to Enemies, pretend to naturalize Strangers, 
 and grant Pardons without a ComrpifTion from 
 his Sovereign ; as all his Ads would be null 
 and void, fo he would be highly criminal, and 
 liable to the feverefl Punifhment. 
 
 The Commiffion I am pleading for is a Me- 
 diate or Ordinary one. For as God Almighty 
 gave Authority to Aaron^ to his Sons, and to 
 the Levites^ to be his Miniflers, in an imme- 
 diate or extraordinary Manner, and order'd 
 that their feveral Offices fhould defcend in a 
 dired Line, which made thofe who fucceeded 
 them as truly and properly Miniflers of God as 
 themfelves, as appears from Heb. v. 4. which I 
 have had Occafion to mention already : So un- 
 der the Chriftian Difpenfation, fmce the imme- 
 diate or extraordinary Call to the Miniflry, 
 which the Apoflles and the refl of Chrifl's firfl 
 Miniflers had, no Man is called or ordained to 
 the Miniftry in this Manner, but proper Per- 
 fons are entrufled by God to call and fend 
 QCherSj or to fet them apart for the Miniflry of 
 
 Rcligionc 
 
Thirty-Wine Articles. 477 
 
 Religion. Thus the Apoftles Barnabas and Art. XXIIL 
 
 Paul are faid to ordain Elders in the Churches ^^/VX^. 
 
 of Lyftra^ Iconiuin^ and ^jitioch^ ^^«y xiv.22523. 
 
 And thole that were ordained by the Apoftles 
 
 did likewife, as appears from the concurrent 
 
 Voices of all the Ecclefiaftical Writers, who 
 
 have recorded what hath been done in the 
 
 Church fince the Time of the Apoftles. And 
 
 that we are neither wrong as to our making a 
 
 Diftindtion betwixt the Clergy and Laity, nor 
 
 as to our having the three Orders in our Mini- 
 
 ftry of Bifhop, Prieft, and Deacon, is plain 
 
 from the Words of St. Clemens of Rome^ in 
 
 which, as S. Jerom hath done after him, he 
 
 compares them to the three Orders of High- 
 
 Prieft, Prieft, and Len^ite^ among the Jews, 
 
 The High-Prieft, faith he, hath his proper 
 
 Miniftry allotted him, the Priefts have their 
 
 proper place affigned them, and the Levites 
 
 have like wife their proper Services appointed 
 
 them. The Layman is to perform fuch Things 
 
 as belong to Laymen. Let every one of you, 
 
 my Brethren, in his proper Place and Station, 
 
 glorify God, keeping a good Confcience, and 
 
 taking Care with all Gravity, not to tranlgrefs 
 
 the Rule which fets Bounds to your Duty or 
 
 Office. ^ 
 
 The Words going before this Sentence, 
 faith Mr. Lozvth^ wherein Clemens exhorts them, 
 njiz. the Corinthians^ to perform God's Service 
 in an orderly Manner, and at fet Times and 
 Seafons, and by fuch Perfons whom he hath 
 appointed, and the Application in the laft Sen- 
 tence, fhews, that the Writer of that Epiftle 
 
 * Ail Cor. cap, 40, 41. 
 
 applies 
 
47 S ^n Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. applies himfelf to the feveral Ranks or Orders 
 
 V^'^VN^ of Men in the Church ; though he calls the 
 
 feveral Orders of the Clergy by the feveral 
 
 Titles of the Jcwijh Priefthood, as many of 
 
 the ancient Writers do. t 
 
 Mr. Norman hath replied to this Argu- 
 ment of Mr. Lowtb'sy in the 49th Page of 
 his Defence of his Remarks on Mr. Lowth's Ser- 
 mon, and what he faith to it' is. That he is 
 apt to believe, the prelent Archbifhop o( Canter- 
 lury^ when he tranflated the Epiftles of the 
 Apoftolical Fathers, did not fee That in thefe 
 Words which is fo plain to the Redtor o^ Peters- 
 field^ becaufe upon perufmg the Index of that 
 Tranflation, he finds that Great Prelate men- 
 tions the feveral Places in that Work, in which 
 he thought it appeared, that Bilhops in the 
 Primitive Church were the lame as with us ; but 
 takes no Notice of the Paflage which Mr. Lowtb 
 hath cited, nor fb much as of one in all 
 Clemens'' s Epiftles. My Anfwer is, i. That 
 the Colledling of an Index for a Book is a very 
 tedious and difagreeable Undertaking, lb that 
 'tis no wonder if it be not always performed with 
 all the Exadlnefs that the Nature of the Thing 
 will poflibly admit of And I am apt to think, 
 this is the Reafon why his Grace of Canterbury 
 did not take Notice of this Paflage in his Index, 
 as he did thofe which Mr. Norman makes men- 
 tion of, except he was of Opinion, as I alio am, 
 that there's no Occafion for fo much Exadlneis, 
 where the feveral Particulars contained in the 
 Book which the Index is affixed to, are again 
 and again referred to. 2. That fuppofing the 
 
 f Anfwer to Mr. Norman, p. 2^. 
 
 Arch- 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 479 
 
 Archbifliop's Opinion to be as Mr. Norman is Art. XXIIL 
 apt to think^ though I heartily join with him in ^*^^Wi/j 
 thofejuft Encomiums which he bellows upon this 
 Great Prelate, yet I am certain, that his Grace 
 does not exped us to pay a greater Deference, 
 even to his declared and avowed Opinion^ than 
 to that of fo many Great and Learned Writers, 
 who have quoted this Paffage to the fame 
 Purpofe ihdit Mv, Lowth hath. 3. That if the 
 Archbifhop's Opinion, in cafe it fhould appear 
 to be againfl us as to this Paffage, fhould in 
 Mr. Normans Judgment be Decifive in a Dif^ 
 pute betwixt Mr. Lowth and Him^ I hope it is 
 but Modefl to expeft, that his Grace fhould 
 have as much Authority as a Moderator be- 
 twixt them with relation to the Epiftles of 
 St. Ignatius. And laflly. That Mr. Norman 
 furprizes us exceedingly, by intimating that he 
 cannot but wonder, that this Paffage feemed 
 to Mr. Lowth to be fo very plain for Primitive 
 Epifcopacy, when he cannot be ignorant, if he 
 hath behaved himfelf in this Controverfy as he 
 ought, that is, if he hath read carefully on 
 both Sides, that hardly any Epifcopal AVriter 
 that hath recourfe to the Writings of the Fathers 
 for the Eftablifhment of his Scheme, hath 
 miffed taking Notice of it, or mentioned it with 
 lefs Affurance of its being for his Purpofe than 
 Mr. Lowth hath. 
 
 Having done with the Opinion of the Arch- 
 bifhop of Canterbury^ that is, what Mr. Norman 
 very vainly, and upon fo trifling a Foundation, 
 fancies to be his Opinion j he proceeds in the 
 next Place to give us his own, which he does in 
 the following Words : " And for my Part, 
 ^^ after having read the Words abovementioned, 
 ^* and the preceding Part of the Chapter over 
 
 " and 
 
480 Jn Exporitloii on the 
 
 ^^JXS™- ^^^ andover, I can't fee that the venerable Father 
 defigned any thing more than to recommend 
 Order and Regularity in the Church ; that 
 the Service of God might be performed with a 
 proper Decorum, and that there might be no' 
 Confufion'in the Worfhip, or among the Wor- 
 fhippers ^ and therefore he mentions the Ex- 
 a6tnefs with which the Solemnities of Religion 
 were managed under the Jewijlo Oeconomy, 
 as an Inflance or Example of good Order, 
 but not as a Model according to which 
 Chriftian Churches were to be conftituted. " 
 — What I have to fay to this is, that in my 
 Opinion, for I hope I may have the Liberty of 
 giving one as well as Mr. Norman^ Mr. Normans 
 Glofs upon this Paffage, is artful, ftrained, and 
 laboured , and that Mr. LowtJfs is plain, eafy, 
 and natural, and therefore the moft probable. 
 I cannot forbear remarking in this Place, that if 
 Mr. Norman hath hit upon the right Senfe of 
 the Paffage which is now under our Confidera- 
 tion, this venerable Father does not feem to me 
 to be fuch an Enemy to the Impofition of a few 
 decent Ceremonies and Circumftances, for the 
 Sake of Order and Regularity, as Mr. Norman 
 and his Brethren are. I know Mr. Norman wilf 
 diflinguifh upon me, and let meknov/ that there' 
 is, in his Opinion, a wide Difference betwixt 
 the Church of England's taking it upon her to 
 make Canons and Rubricks, and the Diffenters 
 appointing the Time and Place for Religious 
 Worlhip, and requiring that the Habit of their 
 Minifters be ^ra've and comely^ and that Men 
 fhould either fiand or kneel in Time of Prayer^ 
 which he acknowledges they do in the ii$th 
 Page of the Performance I am now concerned 
 with , but all that I fhall ever be able to learn 
 from him, will not convince me, or any othef 
 
 unpre-*' 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 481 
 
 unprejudiced Perfbn, but that the Quarrel be- Art. xxiir: 
 t^ixt us is in reality only this, whether we or ^^-/VNJt 
 they Ihall have the Power of prefcribing Rules 
 for Decency and Order in the Publick Worfhip. 
 But to return from this Digreflion, Mr. Normally 
 after he hath told us what he is apt to believe 
 the Archbilhop thought of this Paffage, and 
 what his own Opinion is, begins to offer at an 
 
 Argument ■ '^ And that he had no fuch 
 
 '' Intention as Mr. Lowth fuppofes, may appear 
 '^ from this , that when he fpeaks of the Officers 
 '^ of the Church, he mentions no more than 
 '^ Bijbops and Deacons.'' Thus, difcourfing 
 of the Apoftles and their Miflion, fays he, 
 '' Preaching through Countries and Cities, and 
 ^' proving by the Spirit, the firft Fruits of their 
 '' Converfibns, they appointed out of them 
 ^^ Bijloops and Beacons over fuch as fhould afcer- 
 '^ wards believe. And becaufe we are fure 
 '^ that the Apoftles ordained Elders in the 
 '^ Churches, feeing Clemens does not mention 
 '^ thefe feparately from Bijloops^ when he gives 
 '^ an Account of the Officers which the Apoftles 
 '' inftituted , it is very plain, that by Bifhops 
 '' here, he means Presbyters , or the Pajiors of 
 " Churches ; and that he had no Notion of an 
 '^ Order fuperior to them. " I very readily 
 yield to the firft Part of this Remark, but I can 
 by no means agree to the fecond. I believe, 
 as well as Mr Norma?!^ that the Bifiops here 
 fpoken of, are no more than Presbyters^ but 
 yet it will not follow, that this Father had no 
 Notion of an Order fuperior to them. He doth 
 not fay, that thefe Officers, or any^ of them, 
 were the Supreme Governors of thole Churches 
 where they were placed ; and, indeed, it ap- 
 pears from the Scriptures themfelves, that 
 Supremacy of Power over all the Apoftolical 
 
 H h Churches, 
 
482. An Expofitioii on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. Churches, for the greateft Part at leaft of thd 
 xy^r^sj Apoftles Lives, was referved in their owf 
 Hands, by which St. Vaul fb juftly imputed to 
 himfelf the Care of all the Churches^ 2 Cor. xi. 
 28. 3 and his Commands, Cenfures, and peremp- 
 tory Precepts (fb vifible in moft of his Epiftles 
 to them) do evidently prove the fame; and 
 therefore, whatever Affiftants they were to the 
 Apoftles, by their Miniftry and Regulation of 
 the Churches under them, they could not be 
 Ecclefiaftical Officers invefted with a Plenitude 
 of Church Power ; for Mr. Norman may under- 
 iland, if he pleafes, that we are very far from 
 denying all Church Power to Presbyters. 
 We know very well, that St. ?aul himfelf fays, 
 that a Bifhop, that is, fuch an one as we now 
 call a Presbyter (for fo the Word fignifies in 
 this Place) cannot take care of the Church of 
 God^ except he know how to rule his own Houfe^ 
 I fim, iii. 5. And that the Elders that rule 
 well^ floould he counted worthy of double Honour^ 
 chap. v. 17. And therefore his allegding, i Cor. v. 
 12. — Do not ye judge thofe that are within ? as 
 an Argument to prove that St. Paul had nothing 
 to do with the ordinary governing Power of the 
 Church of Corinth.^ is not only impertinent, but 
 furprizingly lb : And from hence we may fur- 
 nifli Mr. Norman with fufficient Means to get 
 over the Difficulty which the Apoftle's Abfence 
 from a particular Church, for a Time, hath 
 occafioned. If this will not do in Mr. Normans 
 Opinion, let me ask him how 'tis poffible fbr 
 the King of England^ to be in Polfeffion of the 
 ordinary governing Power of thefe Kingdoms^^ 
 at the fame Time that he is vifiting his Do- 
 minions in Germany ? Or whether the Autho- 
 rity which is executed by the Judges in Ifefi- 
 minJier-Hall^ be not a Proof that he hath no- 
 thing 
 
Thirty'-Mne Articles^ 485 
 
 thing to do with the Government at all ? Or if Art. XXIII.' 
 Mr. Norman will not be fatisfied without Proof ^-/VN«^ 
 that the Apoftles had an extraordinary Power 
 of difcerning, when there was an Occafion for 
 it, I beg leave to recommend to his moft ferious 
 Confideration, thofe M^ords of St. Patd^ i Cor, 
 V. 3. For I 'Verity^ as ahfent in Body^ hut 
 prefent in Spirit^ have judged already^ as though 
 I were prefent^ concerning him that hath done this 
 Deed. What Mr. Norman means by talking of 
 St. Paufs having taking his leave of the City of 
 Corinth^ I do not underftand, fmce he fo fre- 
 quently mentions his coming thither again, in 
 the latter End of his Second Epiflle to the 
 Corinthians^ and that too, in order to corredt 
 and remove the very great Diforders that were 
 among them. And if the Power which he was 
 to exercife upon this fad Occafion was extraordi- 
 nary Power, let me ask. Why all Church Power 
 which we read of in the New ^eftament^ is not 
 looked upon as Extraordinary ? and how it ap- 
 pears, that this Gentleman hath any greater 
 ordinary Authority over his own Congregation, 
 than St. Paul had over the Church of Corinth ? 
 He is pleafed indeed to tell us, that the Autho- 
 rity which the Apoftle had over that Church 
 was Extraordinary, and not that of an ordinary 
 Church Governor, dogmatically enough : But, 
 alas! he creeps off, when he comes to fupport it, 
 with faying, that Dodor Wlnthy thinks his fay- 
 ing. He had in a Readinefs to re'venge all Dtf- 
 obedience J &c. 2 Cor. x. 6. to be the Authority 
 peculiar to the Apoftles, of infliding corpora! 
 Punifhments on refractory Perlbns, and deliver- 
 ing them up to Satan ^ and that Mr. Lowtb 
 himfelf, for which he thanks him heartily, C3\h 
 it Apoftolical Power, to the utter Subversion of 
 his own Hypothefis. And cannot Mr. Norman 
 Hh z per- 
 
4S4 -^'^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxill. perceive a wide Diftindlion betwixt un Autho- 
 K/^y^^ rity, and the Means to keep up the Reverence 
 that is due to it ? For that the Do61:or is fpeaking 
 of the latter only, and not of the former, at 
 leaft as the Words are here quoted, is as obvious 
 as may be. But were Dr. iVbithy very clearly 
 of Mr. Normans Opinion, 'tis very well known 
 that he was a Man of a very wavering Judg- 
 ment, a very Free-Thinker, and as bold a 
 Writer, and a tatronizer of fo many wild, 
 heterodox, and heretical Notions, that his 
 ]j)fe dixit^ or mere Say-fo^ is fo far from palling 
 with us of the Church of England^ in lieu of 
 good Reafoning, that I am fure the Majority of 
 us are very ibrry that any Ferfbn of fuch un- 
 found Principles, Ihould be unfincere enough to 
 herd among us, and profels himlelf a Member 
 of our Communion, for no other Reafon than 
 to enjoy fuch Preferments as would have ferved 
 to encourage or reward a more honeft and de- 
 ferving Perfon than himfelf, or any of the fame 
 Stamp. As to Mr. Lowth^ I dare fwear for him, 
 and I think it is evident enough in all Conlcience 
 from his Writings, that he believes the Apol'tles 
 had Succeffors, properly fo called, as to all Parts 
 of their Office, except the Power of working 
 Miracles , and that by Apoftolical Power^ he 
 means no more than he now does by Epif copal 
 Po-wer ; and how his calling it by this Name does 
 fubvert his Hypothefis, I profefs 1 cannot fee, 
 and believe I never fhall. Another Argument 
 which Mr. Lowtb m-kes ufe of, to fhew that 
 St. Paid took upon him the Supreme Govern- 
 ment of the Church of Corinth^ is his calling 
 himfelf their Father^ or the Perlon that con- 
 verted them to the Chriftian Faith, i Cor. iv. 
 15. And who but out Author, faith Mr. Nor^ 
 raariy would have inferred from this, that 
 
 St. Paid 
 
Thirty-Nme Articles. 485; 
 
 St. Paul had the ordinary Government of that Art. ^"^ill. 
 Church in his own Hands for Years after he took ^-/"VNi*' 
 his leave of it ? At this rate he goes on further, 
 with a little common Banter and Flourifh, as if 
 it were not plain to a Demonftration, that the 
 Apoftle makes good his Claim to the Govern- 
 ment of that Church from this Confideration, 
 and that in this very Chapter ; and but a Verfe 
 or two lower, he talks of coming to them again, 
 and of vifiting them, if Occafion were, with a 
 Kod. I fhall not trifle fo far as to d'fpute, 
 whether the Apoftle's Rod was any thing like the 
 Lafh of the Spiritual Court which Mr. Norman 
 is fo merry with • or like the Ecclefiaftical Ty- 
 ranny of the Scott tjh Kirk , the Parochial 
 Papacy of the Independents, or the feveral 
 Courts of Inquifition among the Presbyterians : 
 I fhall only obferve, that 2 Cor. :i;iii. i. he talks 
 of proceeding like an ordinary Church Governor 
 •^ — /// the Mouth of tzvo or three IVnnejfes JloaU 
 every Word he eftahlifljed. If Mr. Norman fays, 
 that this Argument is no Proof that the Power 
 which St. Vaul intended to exercife was ordinary 
 Power^ I muft put him upon proving, that the 
 Power^ which the Presbyters are faid to exerciie, 
 was ordinary Power ; for I am fure I have 
 proved the one, as well as he hath proved the 
 other, and I am content to let the ordinary 
 Power of the Apoftle, and that of the Pres- 
 byters of Corinth^ ftand and fall together, as I 
 am fure they muft. If Mr. Norman fhall think 
 fit to engage in this Argument afrefh, I (hould 
 be glad to know when it was that the Apoftle 
 took his Leave of the Corinthians'. I mean his 
 fiyial Leave^ or elfe I fhall be of Opinion that 
 be does nothing. 
 
 H h ^ But 
 
4^6 An Expofitioti on the 
 
 Art.xXIII. But whatever can be faid to this Purpofe, 
 \y^y^\J and whatever Difficulties this Gentleman may be 
 drove to, I know he will not look on himfelf to be 
 anfwered, except we remove a Difficulty which 
 he throws in Mr. Lo'iotFs way on account of the 
 Uie which we make of 2 Cor, xi. 28. For if we 
 fuppofe that the Care of all the Churches lay 
 upon St. Paiil^ as that Care fignifies the ordinary 
 Government of thofe Churches, he can't, he 
 fays, reconcile it with the Notion of St. James's 
 being made Bifhop, or Chief Governor of the 
 Church of Jenifalem^ which according to Mr. 
 Lo'Wth^ muft be fuppofed to be done long be- 
 fore the Writing of the Second Epiille to the 
 Corinthians, 
 
 Mr. Norman needs not to be told, that 
 
 there are very ftrong Figures made ufe of in the 
 
 Style both of the Old and New ^eft anient ; and 
 
 therefore, I fhall only endeavour to fhew him, 
 
 that the Words all the Churches^ are not to be 
 
 underftood in a ftrid: and rigid Senfe, but of 
 
 fome particular Churches only, which belonged 
 
 to St. Paurs Jurifdi^ion, Thus Gal. ii. 7. He 
 
 tells us. That the Gofpel of the Uncircumcifio7i was 
 
 committed unto him., as the Gofpel of the Circimcificn 
 
 was unto Peter. And ver. 9. That «;te James, 
 
 Cephas, and John, who feemed to he Pillars^ 
 
 percei'ved the Grace that was given to him, they 
 
 ga've to him and Barnabas the Right Hands of 
 
 Fellcwfhip^ that they floould go unto the Heathen^ 
 
 and they\ viz, James, Cephas, and John, unto 
 
 the Circumcifion. And 2 Cor. x. 13. &c. IVe 
 
 wtU not hoaft of Things^ laith he, without out 
 
 Meafure,, hut according to the Meafure*vf the 
 
 Rule which God hath difinhuled to us, a Meafure 
 
 to reach ^-ven unto you. For vje fir etch not our-' 
 
 [elv^§ 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 487 
 
 felves leyond our Meafure^ as though we reached Art. xxill. 
 
 not unto you , for we are come as far as to you ^^-/'''VX/ 
 
 alfo^ in 'Preaching the Go/pel of Chriji : Not 
 
 loafling of things without our Meaftire^ that is^ 
 
 of other Mens Labours^ hut having Hope when 
 
 your Faith is increafed that we fhall he inlarged 
 
 hy you according to our Rule abundantly^ To 
 
 preach the Gofpel in the Regions heyond you^ and 
 
 not to hoafi in another Maris Line of Things made 
 
 ready to our Hands, From hence it appears, 
 
 that the Churches, the Care of which Jay upon 
 
 St. Paul^ were fomeof theUncircumcifion, and 
 
 among thefe, fuch as had been converted to 
 
 Chriftianity by himfelf. And this Reafoning 
 
 may, I hope, be looked upon as fufficient to 
 
 reconcile the feeming Inconfiftency of an Apo- 
 
 flle's confining himfelf to a particular Diftrid:, 
 
 with the Commiffion given to them in General, 
 
 which was to teach and baptize all Nations. By 
 
 Virtue of this Commiilion, they were made 
 
 Minifters of the Catholick Church, their Mini- 
 
 fterial A6i:s were valid where-ever exercifcd, 
 
 but yet it was faithfully executed, though the 
 
 Care of one Part of the World was committed 
 
 to one Apoftle, and the Care of another to 
 
 another. Let me likewife obferve, that an 
 
 Apoftle, is not by the Tenor of this CommifBon, 
 
 to be conftantly in a wandering Condition, but 
 
 only to take Care to teach and baptize in that 
 
 Diftrid to which his own Choice, or God's 
 
 Providence fhould determine him. 
 
 What Mr. Norman offers further to take off 
 the Force of this PafTage out of Clemens Ro- 
 manusy is, " That the Epiftle, of which it is 
 " a Part, was written more than twenty Years 
 " after the Deaths of St. Peter and St. Paul., as 
 ^^ Mr. IFithers hath made appear to be highly 
 H b 4 " pro=^ 
 
488 An Expofitioii on the 
 
 Art.xxtii. ^'^ probable from Eufehius himfelf, and that 
 L/'^y*^^^ " there was confeffedly no Diocefan Bijhop in 
 '^ the Church oi Corinth at that Time." As to 
 what Mr. Lo'-jJth faith upon this Head, '^ That 
 '' he looks upon the Conjed:ure of the Learned 
 ^^ Dr. Maurice to be very probable, who hath 
 '^ brought feveral Reafons to prove, that the 
 ^' See of Corinth being vacant by the Death of 
 '' the BiJJjopj as it is moft likely, was the Occa- 
 ^' fion of Clemens''^ writing of that Epiftle to 
 '^ them j and that the Contention fo much 
 '^ repro^/ed there, was about chufing another 
 ^' Bidiop in the Room of the Deceafed." As to 
 this, 1 fay, Mr. Norman infifts upon Proof, and 
 will not be determined by a Conjedure : Well 
 then, lo be it ^ but I muft be fo free as to tell 
 him, that I fhall take the Liberty to deal by 
 Mr. Wither s's highly ^r oh able ^ as he does by 
 Dr. Maurtce's 'very probahle^ and fb pafi on to 
 the Merits of the Caufe. 
 
 Mr. Norma n's whole Strength, as to the 
 main Thing in Debate, for I fhall not trouble 
 myfelf about the Date of Clemens\ EpifVle, 
 depends upon thefe two Conceflions, which he 
 fliall have as freely from me as from the Learned 
 Gentleman he hath to do with. i. That at the 
 Writing of this Epiftle there was no Diocefan 
 BiJJwp in the Church oi Corinth. 2. That we c^n 
 find no mention of the Church of G^r/w^^ in the 
 Hntient Writers, from the Time of the Writing 
 that Epiftle, 'till Dionyfiiis fate Bijhop of that 
 Church, which was about the Middle of the 
 Second Century. And may not all this be true, 
 and yet the Confequence which Mr. Norman 
 draws from it be, as Mr. Lowth fays it is, doubt- 
 ful and precarious ? If a Bijhoprick be void at 
 this or that particular Time^ is it a Proof that K 
 
 was 
 
Tljirty-Wifie Articles, 489 
 
 ijvas never filled ? And is it not very diverting. Art. xxilL 
 |:hat a Man fhould conceive the lead hopes of *^/VN^ 
 advantaging his Caule from the bare Silence of 
 the antient Writers of the Church, which is in 
 reality neither for or againft him ? But thus it 
 happens, for he tells Mr. Lowth^ that fhould he 
 affert that the Church of Corinth was without 
 fuch an Epifcopal Government, as Mr. Lowth 
 Ipeaks of, a great while longer than twenty or 
 thirty Years after the Deaths of St. Peter and 
 St. Paul^ he might with Safety challenge him to 
 difprove him, becauie of the latter of thofe Con- 
 ceflions before mentioned. Neverthelefs I hope 
 this brisk Challenge may not be altogether {o 
 dangerous to the Caufe of Epifcopacy, as the 
 Giver of it may imagine. If notwithftanding 
 the Effeds of Time, and Accidents of all kinds 
 during the Space of fo many hundred Years, 
 and the almoft utter Extirpation of Chriftianity, 
 in fome Parts of the World where it once 
 flourifhed, an exad: and authentick Lift or Cata- 
 logue of fuch Bifhops as were firft ordained by 
 the Apoftles, together with their Succeflbrs ever 
 fince, could be procured, it would, without 
 doubt, be a very ufeful and entertaining Thing: 
 But at this Diftance of Time it is utterly im- 
 poflible to gratify the World with any fuch 
 Curiolity, whatever Pains fhould be taken 
 about it. Yet there are ibme fcattered Remains 
 and Fragments to be colledled out of the antient 
 Writers, which one would think fhould fuf- 
 ficiently convince any reafonable Man, that the 
 Apoftles fettled Bifhops in all Churches upon 
 their firft Plantation. As to the Churches of 
 Kome^ Jerufalem^ Antioch^ Smyrna^* Hieropolis^ 
 EphefuSy Crete^ Athens^ and Philippic the 
 Matter is beyond Difpute ^ and though we can* 
 not produce particular Vouchers for fome other 
 
 par- 
 
490 An Ejpofition en the 
 
 Art, XXIII. particular Churches, yet ^ertiilUaiis Challenge 
 ^^^^y^"^*^ to the Her sticks of his Time, fupplies the Place 
 of them. Let them fhew us faith he, an Ori* 
 ginal of their Churches, and give us a Cata- 
 logue of their Bifhops, in an exad SuccefHon, 
 from firft to laft, whereby it may appear, that 
 their firft Bilhops had either fome Apoftle, or 
 fome Apoftolical Man, living in the Time of 
 the Apoftles, for his Author or immediate Pre- 
 deceffor. For thus it is that Apoftolical Churches 
 make their Reckoning. The Church of Smyrna 
 counts up to Polycarp ordained by St. Johu 
 The Church of Rome to Clemens ordained by 
 St. Peter i and fo all other Churches in like 
 manner exhibit their firft Bifhops ordained by 
 the Apoftles, by whom the Apoftolical S^td 
 was propagated and conveyed to others *. This 
 implies^ that the Apoftles, as they founded 
 Churches, fettled Bifhops in them, and that this 
 might be proved from the Records and Archives 
 of every Church, the moft of which were pro- 
 bably then remaining, when ^ertiillian made 
 this Challenge, and appealed to thefe Original 
 Records in Behalf of the Catholick Church ; for 
 ^ertullian^ we all know, was a Writer of the 
 Second Century. Now I think I may fairly 
 argue, that if the Apoftles, or Apoftolical Men, 
 appointed or begun a Succeflion of Bifhops in 
 all the Churches, they did this in the Church 
 o{ Corinth as well as others. It may not be amils 
 to let the Reader have the Objedion of Dr. 
 Calamy upon this Head, together with the pre- 
 fent Bifhop of Salishurfs Anfwer to it, in the 
 35cth Page of his Lordfhip's Book againft that 
 Writer. 
 
 ♦ TertuL de Prjcfcript. Adver. Hseref. 
 
Thirty-Nhie Articles^ 4pr 
 
 *^ The TeJftimony of the antient Writers ^^"t- ^^"l- 
 ^^ concerning Epifcopacy, faith the Doctor, ^^/VN^.'^ 
 '^ cannot reafonably be received, becaufe Ec- 
 ^' clefiaftical Hiftorians have not given us any 
 ^' plain and certain Accounts of the firft Plan- 
 *' tation of Churches, or any true Catalogues 
 *' of Bifhops fucceeding one another in them. " 
 But in Anfwer to this faith the Bilhop, ] 
 
 • 
 
 I. " Though Eufehius be the firft profefTed 
 ^^ Ecclefiaftical Hiftorian, yet he is far in Dl- 
 '^ ftance of Time from the firft Writers, on 
 '^ whofe Teftimony the Caufe of Epifcopacy 
 '' is founded : So that what can it fignify to 
 '' alledge, that Eufehius and his Contempo- 
 '^ raries, or that Baronius and Dr. Hammond^ \ 
 '' cannot furnifti out juft and full Accounts of ^ 
 
 the Apoftles Proceedings : What can this 
 fignify, I fay, to the Teftimony of the Ages 
 preceding Eufehius j that Epifcopacy was the 
 Government of the Church, on which we 
 rely ? 2. Suppofing we cannot have an exa6l 
 Account of the firft Settlement of particular 
 Churches-^ of their Founders^ and of the Line 
 oi Bifijops fucceeding in them; this will no 
 more prove that there were no Bifhops in 
 them, than the Difputes and Diiferences 
 about the Succeilion, and Years of Reigning 
 of the Kings of any Country, will prove that 
 there were no Kings in thofe Countries, 
 Nay, this will no more prove that there were 
 no Bifhops in thofe Churches, than that there 
 were no Presbyters in them. For if this 
 " Argument prove any Thing, it will unfor- 
 " tunately prove too much, njiz. that no 
 ^' Churches of Chriftians were fettled any were : 
 [[ It being certainly as conclufive to fay, Hi- 
 
 ^' ftorians 
 
45? X Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. ^^ ftofians are obfcure and uncertain in their 
 
 ^^/VX^ " Accounts of the Travels of the Apoftles, and 
 
 '^ the Settlement of particular Churches , there- 
 
 '^ fore there were no Churches fettled by them : 
 
 '' as it is to fay, they are very uncertain in 
 
 " their Accounts of the Succeffion of Bifhopsin 
 
 '^ particular Churches ; therefore there were 
 
 ^^ none. But what wonder is it, that Hifto- 
 
 " rians, at fome hundred Years Diftance, Ihould 
 
 o ^^ not be able to furnifh out exa6b Accounts of 
 
 *^ the particular Circumftances of theie 1 hings ? 
 
 '^ Or what Argument can this be in either of 
 
 '^ thefe Cafes, when it is fb certain from other 
 
 ^^ Writers before them, that there were Churches 
 
 ^' planted by the Apoftles, and Bifhops fettled 
 
 " in thefe Churches ? And if notwithftanding 
 
 ^' this Objedion, we depend upon the Tefti- 
 
 " mony of the more antient vVriters in one Cafe; 
 
 ^' {o likewife may we in the other. 3. The 
 
 '' Appeal of the more antient Writers (in their 
 
 *^ Diiputes with Heretical Peribns) to the Do- 
 
 *^ dirine of the Bifhops whom they affirmed to 
 
 '^ have fucceeded one another from the Apo- 
 
 " files, and this not contradidled by their Ad- 
 
 ^^ verfaries, but, as far as appears, acknowledged 
 
 " by all in thole Days when the Falihood of it 
 
 ^^ might eafily have been detected : This Ap- 
 
 ^' peal, I fay, though it do not fupport the 
 
 *' abfblute Neceflity of an uninterrupted SucceC- 
 
 ^' fion 3 yet it proves, that in thofe early Days 
 
 '^ it was known and believed without Oppo- 
 
 '' fition or Contradiction, that there was fuch a 
 
 ^^ Succeffion of Bifhops up to the Apoflles, 
 
 '^ And this is a very great Argument for Epif- 
 
 " copacy^ though later Writers have not been 
 
 '^ able to furnifh out complete Catalogues of 
 
 ^' Bifhops. " I have now but a Word or two 
 to fay further upon this Head, and I have done. 
 
 I can- 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 49 1 
 
 I cannot but obferve, that Mr. Norman^ in en- Art. XXIIT. 
 deavouring to get rid of this unlucky Paflage in V^'W^i 
 St. element's Epiftle, very artfully and unSirly 
 paffes by the ftrongeft Part of Mr. Lowtb's 
 Argument which follows his Quotation^ in order 
 to prove that the Senfe which he underftood it 
 in was true and genuine ~ " The Writer of 
 ^^ that Epiftle, faith Mr. Lowth^ applies himlelf 
 *' to the feveral Ranks or Orders of Men in the 
 ^' Church, though he calls the feveral Orders of 
 '^ the Clergy by the feveral Titles of the JewiJJj 
 *' Pricfthood, as many of the antient Writers 
 ^' do. '' It might not be amiis, fmce Mr. Nor- 
 man hath been pleafed, as it were, to appeal to 
 his Grace of Canterbury for the Senfe of the 
 PalTage in Debate, to put him in Mind, that wc 
 have the Great and Learned Bifhop Beveridge 
 clearly on our Side, together with a Multitude 
 of other Learned Divines, as 1 have intimated 
 already ^ • but perhaps it may be more to the 
 Purpofe to dired him to the 8th Page of the 
 Firft Part of the Enquiry into the Conftitiition^ 
 Difctplme^ Unity ^ and IVorJbip of the Primitinje 
 Churchy &c. a Book after his own Heart. In 
 this Place the Author firft of all afferts, that the 
 diftinguifhing the Church into the Clergy and 
 Laity, is an early Diftindion , and then for the 
 Proof of this, he fays, that 'tis mentioned by 
 Clemens Komanus^ and after him by Origen and 
 feveral others. For the Proof of this, he refers 
 in the Margin to this very Paffage of St. Clement, 
 which we have been dilcourfing of, and to the 
 Eleventh of Grrgens Homilies tipon Jeremiah. 
 I believe this Writer's Opinion, when it is ibr 
 Mr. Normans Turn, is as facred to him, as our 
 
 Sec that Bifliop's Exgofition on this Article. 
 
 moft 
 
4P4 ^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxiit. moft excellent Metropolitan's feeming or declared 
 W"W^ Opinion can poffibly be. Whoever was tb^ 
 Author of this Book, I can never be brought 
 to believe that it was written by that great and 
 good Man who is commonly faid to be the 
 Writer of it, becaufe he is in this Place guilty 
 of fo mean an Artifice, as is utterly inconfiflent 
 with that Impartiality which he profefTes in 
 his Title Page, and much more with that fpot- 
 lefs Integrity fo confpicuous in that eminent 
 Perfon's Characfter, who, as I faid before, is 
 the reputed Author of it. 
 
 The whole PafTage, as it is in St. Clemenfs 
 Epiftle, without the Application of it, (lands 
 
 thus ^ T&T elpXi-P^ \SicLt Kei7'6^-}idLt J\JhuiVcit den ' ^ iryf 
 
 The Englijh of which is, as I have faid already, 
 ' — The High'Frieft hath his proper Miniftry 
 allotted him ; the Priefis have their proper 
 Place afligned them ^ and the Levites have 
 their proper Services appointed them. The 
 Layman is to perform fuch Things as belong to 
 Laymen. 
 
 The Author of the Enquiry quotes it thus^ 
 
 Avd-fcoTrO- 7c7? Kctrmi 'Tr^o'^.yimmv JiArz^i. In EugUjJ:^^ 
 
 thus. The Fr lefts have their proper Place afligncd 
 them. The Layman is to perform fuch Things 
 as belong to Laymen. 
 
 By this Artifice, by leaving out High-Friefi 
 at the Top, and the Levites in the Middle, he 
 hath avoided giving us fuch a Platform of a 
 Church as was not for his Purpofe, and feems 
 wilfully to have Ihut his Eyes againft a moft 
 
 glaring 
 
Thirty 'Nine ±\rticles. 495 
 
 glaring Truth, — That there were in the Primi- Art, xxiil 
 
 tive Church three diftind Orders among the ^^^^^Y^SJ^ 
 
 Clergy, as there are at this Time in the Church 
 
 of England. But as I fhall treat profefTedJy on 
 
 this under the next Head, I fhall leave it at 
 
 prefent, having, as I hope, fecured St. Clemenfs 
 
 Vote and Intereft for our Side of the Queflion, 
 
 and proceed to difcourfe a little further with 
 
 thofe who do not ftand difputing whether Epif- 
 
 coparians or Freshyterians are in the Right with 
 
 regard to their feveral Claims in Oppofition to 
 
 each other, but make fhort Work of it, and 
 
 roundly affert, that they are both Ufurpations^ 
 
 or at bed but Human or Political Inftitutions. 
 
 I N a Word therefore, for I think we need not 
 honour thefe bold and wild Notions with any 
 long Confutation j Since it hath pleafed God to 
 declare, Ifaiah Ixvi. 21. That he would take of the 
 Gentiles for Priefts and Levites : Since the Mi- 
 nifters of the Gofpel are compared to the Priefts 
 of the Law, i Cor. ix. 13, 14. where they are 
 clearly mentioned as their Succeflors, and as a 
 particular Order of Men. Since St. Paul tells 
 us, that 710 Man can preach before he is fent^ 
 Rom. X. 15. Since, as it hath been obferved 
 before, he and Barnabas ordain'd in feveral 
 Churches. Since, in his Firft Epiftle to I'imo' ^ 
 
 thy^ he commands him to lay Hands fuddenly 
 on no Man -, Chap. v. 22. Since he reckons up 
 the Qualifications which Men ought to have 
 before they were admitted into Holy Orders, 
 Chap. ill. And finally, fince he tells Titus in his 
 Epiftle to him. Chap. i. 5, 6. that /or this Caufe 
 loe left him in Crete ^ that he floould fet in Order 
 the nings that 'Were wanting^ and ordain Elders 
 in every City^ as he had appointed him , and 
 then defcribes the Qiialifications of fuch as 
 t Ihould 
 
49 6 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxiii. fhould be ordain'd Elders or Bifbops : I cannot 
 ^'^yy^^ but ftand amazed at thofe who afTert, that Or- 
 dination is not founded upon Scripture, and 
 that all Men are Priefts, or Clergymen, as 
 much as they who are commonly call'd fo ^ or 
 that the Difference betwixt the Clergy and 
 Laity depends entirely on the Laws of the 
 Land where they live. And the more am I 
 furprized, becaufe I have never met with any 
 thing, befides a fhamelefs Affurance, a few 
 Witticifms, and a great deal of Scurrility, to 
 fupport thofe ftrange Affertions. As for thofe 
 who now pretend to be fent immediately by 
 God's Holy Spirit to preach the Gofpel, and 
 perform the great Work of the Miniftry, fmce 
 ■EnthuJIaJls con- wc are not prefently to helieije e^very Spirit^ hut 
 (itted* to try whether it he of God s hecanfe many falfe 
 
 Prophets are gone out into the Worlds i John 
 iv. I. let them convince us that they are, as 
 they pretend to be, Divinely infpired 3 let them 
 give us the fame Teftimony that the Prophets 
 gave under the Old Teftament Difpenfation, 
 and our Saviour and his Apoftles gave for the 
 Eftablifhment of the New, /'. e. work Miracles ; 
 And let them prove their Do6lrine to be agree- 
 able to the Word of God and right Reafon. 
 Without fuch a Proof as this, every prudent 
 Man muft look upon them as frantick Enthu- 
 fiafts and Deceivers.^ 
 
 * See Hooker's Eccl. Pol. Book V. §. 77. Votter of Church 
 Government, cap. 4, f. Mr. Duke's Sermons. Mr. Roberts's 
 Vifitation Sermon. Mr. fackman's Rational and Moral Con- 
 dud: of Mr. Fierce, <^c. Dr. Rogers's Difcourfe of the Vili- 
 ble and Inviiiblc Church of Chrift, Part i. cap. 3. Tillotfort 
 on 1 Jokn iv. i. 
 
 The 
 
Thirty-Nhie Articles. 4p7 
 
 The next Point to be difcufTed is the fol- ^^t. xxrir. 
 Jowing Queftion ; Who are they to whom Pub- ^^-'^"V^V-/. 
 lick Authority is given to call and fend Mini- 
 fters into Chrift's Vineyard ? My Anlwer is. 
 Such as we now call Bifhops. In order to make 
 good this AfTertion, I lay down thcfe two Pro- '^^^ ^^cepyof 
 pofitions; I. That there hath always been in S^^ ^'''^'^ 
 the Church of Chrift, an Order of Men diftindt 
 from and fuperior to Presbyters. And, 2dly^ 
 That the Power of Ordination hath ever in- 
 Communicably belong'd to that Order. 
 
 Our BlefTed Saviour at firfl:, ordain'd the 
 Twelve Apoftles, that they might he with him^ 
 and that he might feiid them forth to preachy and 
 to have Power to heal Sicknejfes^ and to caft out 
 Devils^ Mark iii. 14, 15. And afterwards, he 
 ordain'd the other Seventy, and fent them out 
 upon a like Errand, Luke x. i. And after his 
 Refurredion, he faid to the Apoftles, that he 
 would be with them eucn unto the End of the 
 Worlds Matth. xxviii. 20. And John xx. 21, 
 that as his Father had fent him^ fo fent he them^ 
 After this, the Apoftles ordain'd the feven Dea- 
 cons, A6ls vi. 6. Here then we have a clear 
 Account of three Orders of Ecclefiaftical Mi- 
 nifters, which anfwer to our Bifhops, Prieftsy 
 or Presbyters, and Deacons. Without thcfe, 
 S. Ignatius tells us, there is no Church. ^ 
 
 i T is not denied, that the Deacons were in- 
 ferior to the Apoftles and Seventy , but fome 
 will have it, that the Office of the Apoftles and 
 the Seventy was the fame, and their Authority 
 
 -* Bfifl. ad TralU 
 
 1 4 • <equal. 
 
498 -An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xXUI. equal. If this be true, why was the Place of 
 ^^>OrX^ Judas^ who had been one of the Twelve, filled 
 with fo much Solemnity ? And why was Alat^ 
 thias the Man that filled it, who is by the beft 
 Hiftorians afiferted to be one of the Seventy ? 
 Avis i. This is affirmed by Epiphamus and 
 St. Jerom , and Eufebius tells us, " That tho' 
 '^ there were no particular Catalogue of the 
 '' Seventy Difciples extant in his Time, for that 
 '^ which was written by Dorotheus was not then 
 *^ extant, yet there was a Tradition, that Bar^ 
 " nab as ^ Softhenes^ Cephas^ ^addeus, and 
 *"' James the Brother of our Lord, were origi- 
 " nally of this Number. Matthias alfo, faith 
 '^ he, who was numbered with the Apoftles in 
 '' the Room of the Traytor Jttdas^ and the 
 '' other who had the Honour to be propofed in 
 " the fame Lot with him, are reported to be of 
 *' the Number of the Seventy." * 
 
 After this, the Apoftles ordain'd others 
 to the lame Office. Among thefe were Ttmo^ 
 thy and fitus : For 'tis plain from the Epiftles 
 St. Paul wrote to them, that they prefided over 
 Presbyters : They had Power to enforce them 
 to their Duty, to receive Accufations againft 
 them, and judicially to pafs Sentence upon them. 
 Such likewife were St. James^ furnamed the 
 ytift^ and Epaphrodittis^ who were term'd Apo- 
 ftles by all Antiquity. Snch, doubtleis, were 
 thofe whom St. Paul c^Ws the Apoftles of the 
 Churches, and joins with 7'ttus^ 2 Cor. viii. 
 23. And fuch alfo were thofe Angels of the 
 Churches, mentioned in the Revelations, Thcfe 
 
 • -Eufeb. lib. I. cap. 12. Set Scot's Clirift. Life. Part II. 
 Vol.11. Page 390. 
 
 are 
 
Thirty-Wine Articles. 499 
 
 are they which S. Clement of Kome fpeaks of*. Art, xxilt. 
 Our Apoftles knew, faith he, from our Lord OOTV/* 
 Jefus Chrift, that there would be a Contention 
 about the Name of Bifhop. For this Reafon, 
 they refolved to ordain fuch as were appointed 
 for this Purpofe, and to place them in the Pa- 
 ftoral Care ; that after their Death, other Men, 
 who were firfl: try'd and approved of, might 
 receive their Office. 
 
 Mr. Norman in the ^2d and 3d Pages of 
 his Defence of his Remarks^ &c. wants to fee ic 
 proved, i. That by the Angels of the Se^ven 
 Chttrches in the Reqjelatwns^ fingle Governors 
 are intended. 2. That if they be fuppofed to 
 be fingle Governors, how it appears that they 
 were not the Chief Presbyters of thefe Churches ? 
 And, 3. From what can it be concluded, that 
 they were the Governors offe-veral Congregations 
 and their Presbyters^ as our Diocefans are ? The 
 Subftance of the laft of thefe Qu^eries will come 
 in our way hereafter. 
 
 A s the Presbyterian is the elder Brother of 
 the Separation, I fhall pay him fo much Defe- 
 rence and Refpe(5i: as to dilcourfe with him firft, 
 and then I fhall apply myfelf to the Independejity 
 as the Order of Things and Time requires. I 
 fhall therefore at prefent endeavour to ihew, 
 
 I. That the Angels of the Seven Churches 
 mentioned in the Revelations^ were fingle Per- 
 Ibns. 2. That they were Perfons of great 
 Authority in thofe Churches. And, 3. That 
 ^hey were the Prefidents and Btjhops of thofe 
 
 * ^d Cm', cap, 44, 
 
 I i 2 Churches, 
 
500 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxni. Churches. And, i. That they were fi ngle Per- 
 
 L/^-^^ 
 
 ions, is evident, becaufe they are all along men- 
 tioned as llich ; the Anjel of the Church of 
 Ephefus^ in the Singular Number , the Angel 
 of the Church of Smyrna, and (b of all the reft -, 
 and fo every where in the Body of the Epiftles 
 they are all along addreffed to in theSingularNum- 
 ber ; / know thy iVorks and thy Labour^ never- 
 thelefs I have a few I'hings again\} thee^ remem- 
 her whence thou art fallen^ repent and do thy fir ft 
 IVorks^ and the like ; in all which our Saviour 
 plainly writes to them as to fmgle Perfons. It is 
 true, what he writes to them, he writes not only 
 to them Perfcnally^ but alfo to the People under 
 their (lovermnent and Infpec^ion , and therefore 
 fometimes he mentions the People Plurally , fb 
 Chap. 2. ver. lo. 'J'he De-vil will c aft fome of you 
 into Prtfon • and fo ver. 13. and ver. 23. But 
 this is fo far from arguing that thefe Angels were 
 not fmglc Perfons, that it argues the quite con- 
 trary 5 fmce if they were not, what Reafon can 
 there be ajTigned why our Saviour fhould not 
 mention them Plurally^ as well as the People ? 
 I know it is objected, that the Angel of the 
 Church o'lThyatira is mentioned Plurally^ Chap. 
 2. ver. 24. But unto you I fay. and unto the reft 
 of Thyatira, where by yo//, it is fuppofed muft 
 be meant the Angel^ and by the reft of I'hya- 
 tira^ the People. To which I anfwer, That in 
 the antient Greek Manufcripts, and particularly 
 in that at St. Janics^s^ ^g, or and is left out, and 
 io the Words ran thus. But unto the reft of 
 thyatira, or to the reft of you at Thyatira^ 
 which is fet in Oppofition to thole of thyatira that 
 had been fed uced unto the Secft of Jezebel^ and 
 therefore cannot be underftood of the Angel, who 
 is all along mentioned in the Singular Number ; 
 ¥/herefore had he not been a Jingle Perfon, no Ac- 
 count 
 
Thirty 'Wine Articles. joi 
 
 count can be given why he fhould be mentioned Aht.xxiii. 
 flngJy, and the reft o^J'byatira pluralJy. But chen, oO^'"N,^ 
 Secondly, That thefe finglePeribns were of great 
 Authority \x\ thole Churches, is evident, not only 
 by that honourable Title oi Angel ^ that is given 
 them, which plainly fliews them to be Perions of 
 Office and Eminence, and that not only by our 
 Saviour's direding his Epiftles to thenij to be com- 
 municated by them to their feveral Churches, but 
 alfo from that Authority which the Angel of 
 Ephefits exercifed there, and which the Angels 
 oi Pergamus and Thyatira ought to have exer- 
 cifed, but did not: For as for the Angel of 
 Bpheftis^ he is com.mended for trying them which 
 [aid they were Apoftles^ and were not^ and dii^ 
 covering them to be Liarsj which Words 
 plainly denote a Juridical ^rial and Convi(^'iojr 
 of fbme Perfon or Peribns, who pretended to 
 Apoftoltcnl Authority^ but upon Examination were 
 found to be Cheats and Impoftors : And then as- 
 for the Angel of the Church oi Pergamus^ he is^ 
 blamed for having in his Church thole that held 
 the Doctrine of Balaam^ or of the Nicolaitans ; 
 which plainly fhevvs, that he had Power to 
 rernedy it, by cafting them out of the Church ; 
 for if he had not, how could he have been juftly 
 blamed for fuffering them ? And the lame may 
 be faid of the Angel of the Church c^ 'Thyatira^ 
 who is alfo blamed for fuffering the Woman 
 yezehel^ which was not in his Power to prevent, 
 unlefs we fuppofe him to have Authority to 
 ejedt her and her Followers. But then, Thirdly 
 and Laftly, That thefe fingle Pcrfons were the 
 Prefidents or BifJjops of thole Churches, is alio 
 evident from the moft Primitive Antiquity j for 
 fo in the Anonymous Trail of 'timothy s Mar- 
 tyrdom^ recorded in Bihliotb. Pat. n, 244. we are 
 told, that when Si. John the Apoilie returnpd 
 I i 3 from 
 
501 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. from his Exile in Patmos^ which was two or 
 y^^f^\J three Years after he wrote his Revelationsj «tu73$ 
 
 ^AViTat iJ.mes7i^hicoi, i. e. 'ithat heing ajjified with 
 the Prefence of the Seven BiJJwps of that Pr evince j 
 he affumed to himfelf the Government of it. Now 
 that thefe Seven BifJjops were the fame with 
 thofe Seven Angels he wrote to in his Revela- 
 tions., is evident, becauie all thofe Seven 
 Churches in which thofe Seven Angels prefided, 
 lay within the Circuit of the Lydian or Procon^ 
 fular Afia^ of which Ephefus was the Metro- 
 polis , and therefore, who elfe can we fairly 
 fuppofe thefe Seven BiJJjops to be, by whom he 
 governed the Province of Ephefus., as the Seven 
 Angels of thofe Seven Churches^ which were all 
 of them within that Province ? And St. Atiftin 
 cxprcily calls the Angel of the Church of Ephe- 
 fiis^ the Prcepofittis Ecciefia^^ i. e. the Governor 
 cf the Church f ; and fpeaking of thofe Sevejt 
 Angels^ he ftiles them Epifcopi five Pr^pofttl 
 Ecclefiarum^ the Bifhops or Governors of the 
 Churches. This he docs in his Commentary on 
 the Revelations. So alio the Commentaries 
 under the Name of St. Amhrofe^ referring to 
 thefe Angels, i Cor. c. 1 1. exprefly tells us, 
 that by thofe Angels he means the BtfJoops ; and 
 that they were fo, is moft undoubtedly evident 
 of the A7igel of the Church of Smyrna in par- 
 ticular, who could be no other than St. Polycarp^ 
 who Vv'as moft certainly made Bifhop of Smyrna 
 fome Years before the Writing thefe Epiftles, 
 and continued Bifhop of it a great many Years 
 after j for {o Ignatius^ who was his Cotemporary, 
 m his Epiftle to that Church, ftiles him Polycarp 
 
 Ep. i6i.. 
 
. Thirty N'me Articles, 505 
 
 your Blfbopj and carnefHy exhorts his Presbyters ^^^'^- "^^l^^ 
 
 and Deacons^ as well as the Laity^ to be fubje61: 
 to him j and Irenceus^ who Peribnally knew 
 him, hath this PaiTage concerning him : Uoxmi^^y- 
 
 carp was not only tnftru^ied by the Apoftles^ and 
 did not only connjerfe with many of thofe who had 
 feen our Lord^ hut was made B'tfljop of Smyrna 
 by the Apojtles that were in Afia *. And in 
 their Encyclical Epiflle of his Martyrdom, the 
 whole Church o^ Smyrna ftile him Bifliop of the 
 Catholick Church of Smyrna ||. So alio Po//- 
 crates^ Bifhop of Ephefus^ who was Thirty-eight 
 Years old when Polycarp fuifered, tells us, that 
 he was Bifhop and Martyr in Smyrna +. And 
 the fame is attefted by 'fertullian^ Eufebius^ 
 and St. Jerom^ and indeed by all Eccleiiaftick 
 Antiquity : So that it is a plain Cafe, that one 
 of thefe Angels^ to whom St. John writes, was 
 Bilhop of the Church whereof he is ftiled the 
 jingehy and fince one was fb, to be fure all the 
 reft were fb, efpecially confidering, that very 
 near^ if not at the very ^ime when thefe Epiftles 
 were written, we have certain Accounts that 
 there were BiJJoops actually prefiding in thefe 
 Seven Churches. So within twelve Years after 
 thefe Epiftles were written, Ignatius^ in his 
 Epiftle to the Ephefians^ makes mention of 
 Onefimus their Bifhop, whom he exhorts them 
 all, as well Presbyters and Deacons^ as Laity^ 
 to obey. That there was alio at the fame time 
 a Bifhop in Philadelphia^ is abundantly evident 
 from Ignatius his Epiftle to that Church, though 
 
 * Eufeb. Hid. 1.4. c. ic, 
 
 j| Ibid. 
 
 ■^ Ibid, lib /. cap. 24. 
 
 li 4 he 
 
 iXVNw' 
 
504 ^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxtit. he doth not name him j and about the fame 
 i,^^r^<'"X^ Time Carpus was Bifhop of ^hyatira^ as the 
 antient Koman Martyrology teftifies, and Segafis 
 oi Laodic^a f. And Meltto Bifhop of Sardts §. 
 And as for the Church oi Pergamus^ Parceus m 
 his Commentary on Chap. 2. of the Re^iwlations^ 
 proves out of Aretas Cxfarienfis^ that Antipas 
 that faithful Martyr^ mentioned Re^v. ii. 13. 
 was Bifhop of it immediately before the Angel 
 of that Church to whom St. John wrote, and 
 that that Angel was one Gams^ who, as he 
 proves out of Clemens^ immediately fucceeded 
 yintipas in the Epifcopal Chair. Since there^- 
 fore it is apparent, that at the Writing thefe 
 Epiflles to thefe Se^ven Churches^ there was a 
 Bijbop actually prefiding in one of them , and 
 that about the fame Time there were Bijhops 
 prefiding alfo in all the reft, there can be no 
 Colour of Reaibn to doubt, but that all thole 
 Churches hid Bifhops in them v/hen St. Johii 
 wrote to them ; and if fo, to be fure thofe 
 Bijhops being the Go'vernors of thofe Churches, 
 and having the Charge of them committed to 
 them, were thofe very Angels whom St. John 
 wrote to, becaufe he all along writes to them 
 as to thofe who were the Overfeers and Gover^ 
 nors of their refped:ive Churches ^ and if thole 
 Angels were BtJJjops then in them, our Saviour 
 exprefly allows and approves of the Epifcopal 
 Order, fince he not only dignifies them with the 
 Name o( Angels^ but calls them Stars in bis 
 pzvn Rtght'Hand. 
 
 ■f See Etifeb, Hifl. lib. 4. c 25-. 
 § Ibid. 
 
 T^ 
 
Thirty-lSlme Articles. 505 
 
 T o produce all that is to our Purpofe from Art. xxiil. 
 that Blefled Martyr S. Ignatius^ were to tran- OO^'NJ 
 {cribe his Epiftles • and therefore to avoid the 
 Force of what might be juftly concluded from 
 the repeated Tellimonies of fo early a Father, 
 our Adverfaries have with open Mouth declared 
 them fpurious : From which injurious Sentence, 
 they have been fo triumphantly vindicated by 
 the Learned and Pious Bifhop Pear/on^ that I 
 dare fay, no Man of Learning for the Future, 
 will fo far expofe the Reputation of his Under- 
 ftanding and Modefty, as to call them in Que- 
 ftion again.. However, I fhall tranfcribe a few 
 Paffages befides that which I have mentioned 
 already. '^ Run ye together, according to the 
 " Will of God 5 for even Jefus Chrift is fent by 
 '*^ the Will of his Father, as the Bifhops appoint- 
 " ed unto the utmoft Bounds of the Earth are 
 '' by the Will of Jefus Chrift f" '' I exhort 
 ^' you, that you ftudy to do all Things in a 
 '■ Divine Concord, your Bifhop prefiding in the 
 '^ Place of God, your Presbyters in the Place of 
 '^ the Apoftles, and your Deacons being en- 
 '^ trufted with the Miniftry of Jefus Chrift. 4^ 
 
 " Wh e r e a s ye are fubjed: to the Bifhop 
 '^ as to Jefus Chrifl, ye feem to me to live not 
 ^^ after the Manner of Men, but according to 
 '^ Jefus Chrift. Alfb be ye fabjed to your 
 '^^ Presbyters, as to the Apoftles of Jefus Chrift : 
 '^ The Deacons alfo, as being Minifters of Je- 
 " fus Chrift, muft by all means pleafe all : For 
 
 they are not the Minifters of Meat and 
 
 Drink, but of the Church of God. H" 
 
 f Epif. ad Ephef. cap. 3. 
 i Epif. ad Magnef. cap. 6. 
 1) Epif. ^J Trail, cap., 2, 
 
 But 
 
 4C 
 
5o6 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxiii. B u t in Oppofition to this, our Adverfaries 
 \,,y^Y"\j urge, that the Words Btjhop and Presbyter ^xq 
 Words of the fame Signification in Holy Scrip- 
 ture, and that therefore there is no Difference 
 of Order betwixt a Bifhop and a Presbyter. The 
 firft Part of this Argument is true , for after 
 St. Paul hath told 'I'ttus that he left him in Crete^ 
 that he might ordain Elders in e'very City^ as he 
 had appotJited him , he immediately adds, ff any 
 he hlamelefs^ the Husband of one IVife^ having 
 faithful Children^ not accufed of Kiot^ or unruly : 
 For a BifJjop mufi be blamelefs^ &c. ftt. i. 5, 6, 7. 
 St. Peter likewife calls himfelf an Elder or Pref- 
 tyter^ i Pet, v. i. And St. John does the fame 
 in the Beginning of his Second and Third Epi- 
 ftles. But I hope to fliew that this is nothing 
 to the Purpofe, and confequently that the 
 Conclufion drawn from it mufl fall to the 
 Ground. 
 
 The Words Presbyter, Bifhop, and Dea- 
 con, are in the Original, Words of a general 
 and large Signification : The firfl fignifies an 
 Elder, the fecond an Overfeer, the laft a Mini- 
 fler j and like the Word Imperator^ which figni- 
 fies either an Emperor, or a General of an Ar- 
 my ; or the Word Lawyer^ which in this King- 
 dom comprehends the Judges, Serjeants, and 
 Barrifters at Law ; and other general Words, 
 which take in Things of a different Nature. 
 And as thofe Words have a general, fo they 
 have a particular Meaning in Holy Scripture : 
 And therefore, though St. Paul calls himfelf no 
 lefs than twice A/aV.oi'©-, in one Chapter, Colof.L 
 23, 25. as he likewife does Ephef iii. 7. and as 
 often as he is fliled a Minifler by ourTranflators; 
 and though this be the Word which is always 
 
 put 
 
Tbirty-Nme i.\rticles. 507 
 
 put for Deacon in the Greek i'eftament j yet 'tis Art. xxill. 
 on all Hands agreed, that St. Paul was no other- v.-/^V'X^ 
 wife a Deacon, than as a greater Officer includes 
 a leis. In like manner may it be obferv'd, that 
 there is no Reafbn to conclude, that every one 
 that is called Presbyter in the New fefiament^ 
 was a mere Presbyter 3 efpecially fmce it ap- 
 pears from what hath been laid, that there was 
 a Superiority and Subordination among thofe 
 to whom this Name is applicable. As for the 
 Name of Bifhop, I own that it was generally, 
 if not always, aicribed to thole whom we now 
 call Presbyters or Priefts. How then Ihall we 
 clear up the Point ? Why, by having Recourle 
 to Pacfa?ms^ a Writer of the Fourth, and fbeo^ 
 doretj who flourifhM in the Beginning of the 
 Fifth Century ; who tell us, that formerly the 
 fame Pcrlbns were calfd both Presbyters and 
 Bilhops ; and thole now call'd Bifhops, were 
 then call'd Apoftles : But in Procels of Time, 
 the Name of Apoftle was left to Apoftles 
 ftridly {o call'd, and the Name of Bifhops to 
 all the reft ; who, it feems, out of Modefty, 
 declined fo high a Title. 
 
 I REMEMBER My. Pelrce is plealed to objedl 
 to one or both of thefe Writers as not early 
 enough. But I hope every reafonable, unpre- 
 judiced Man will allow, that they who lived 
 twelve or thirteen hundred Years nearer to 
 the Times of the Apoftles than Mr. Peirce^ 
 ought to be allow'd as much better Judges in 
 the Cafe than he is ; efpecially, fmce what they 
 deliver hath a Probability in Scripture, and is 
 agreeable to the conftant Voice and Pradice of 
 the Primitive Church, the beft of Commentaries 
 prExpofitions on^any difficult Text of Scripture. 
 
 Secondlv, 
 
5o8 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. SECONDLY, it IS objedcd, That timothy and 
 
 k/VX> 
 
 ^itus were EvangeUfis , 'tis true, that I'imothy 
 IS required to do the Work of an Enjajigelift^ 
 2 I'm. iv. 5. But nothing of this kind is to be 
 met with in the Epiftle to fitus j fo that with 
 relation to him the Obje6lion is very deficient 
 and ill grounded, aslikewife are whatloever Con- 
 fequences our Adverfaries imagine they have a 
 Right to draw from it, even fuppofmg that the 
 Title of Evangelift could be proved to belong 
 to I'ltus as clearly as it does to i'imothy. 
 
 An E'vangelift^ faith Mr. Roberts in his Vifita- 
 tion Sermon^ to which I could never yet fee an An- 
 fwer, was no diftind Officer at any time in the 
 Chriftian Church : For the proper Notion of an 
 Evangelift in the A^s and St. Paul's Epiftles^ is 
 one who was eminently qualified to preach the 
 Gofpel^ and had taken great Pains therein. 
 Thus Philip was called an Evangelift^ A6is xxi. 
 8. who was no more than a Deacon^ and could 
 only preach and baptize^ and had not the Power 
 oi laying on of Hands ^ which i'imothy had, and 
 therefore the Office oi Philip was fir inferior to 
 that of Timothy. Whence 'tis evident, that 
 allowing i'imothy to be an Evangelift.^ yet his 
 Power over Presbyters did not accrue to him 
 upon that Account. Nor does i'imothy s being 
 an Evafic^elift^ prove the Office of ruling and 
 ordaining Presbyters to be peculiar to an Evan- 
 gelift^ any more than Philip's being called an 
 Evangelift^ proves the Office of preaching and 
 baptizing to be fb. I'imothy is, indeed, required 
 to do the H'^ork. of an Evangelift., faith Mr. Lowth t. 
 
 ^ Arifwer to Mr. Nor math p. 13. 
 
 but 
 
Thirty 'Wine Articles. 509 
 
 but we may obferve, it was not his whole Work Art. xxiit. 
 to preach and propagate the Gofpel^ which was ^-/V\y 
 the peculiar Office of an Evangelifi ; but befides 
 that, he was to fettle the Churches, to govern 
 them, to ordain Officers, to cenfure Offenders : 
 Thele Things are particularly given him in 
 Charge, whereas doing the Work of an E'vangelifi 
 was common to him with divers others. 
 
 There is no Reafbn, faith the Author of the 
 Clergyman's Vade Mecum^ in his Preface to the 
 Second Part of that Book, to believe, that 
 2l;;?o/^/s Precedence proceeded from his being an 
 En)angeUft : Not only the ^poftkj but the 
 Prophet is placed before this Officer, Eph. iv. ii. 
 and it feems to me, that this Office was clearly 
 confiftent with any other. Saint John and 
 St. Matthew were Apoftles and EnjangeliftSy 
 St. Mark a Btjhop and E'vangelift^ St. Luke was 
 an En)angelift , and yet, as is commonly believed, 
 one of the Se^venty. Philip was certainly both a 
 Beacon and Evangclift^ Afis xxi. 8. and why 
 might not 'Timothy as well as Mark^ be both a 
 BiJI-np diwd Evangelifi ? We know why four of 
 theie are called Evangelifts^ namely, becauie 
 they were fo well skilfd in the Hiftory of our 
 Saviour's Life and Death, as to give it us in 
 Writing. By Parity of Reafon, all others called 
 Evangeltfts^ were fuch as made it their Study 
 and B' fmefs to make themfelves acquainted 
 with our Saviour's Actions, and Sermons, and 
 Sufferings, and to relate fuch Paffages of them 
 in the Publick Congregation, as the prefent 
 Occafion required. And this was as ufeful and 
 edifying an Office as any in the Church of God ; 
 and it was extreamly neceflary for fome Years 
 after our Saviour's Afcenfion : For it was a good 
 while before the Gofpels were written, and 
 
 much 
 
510 j4n Expofition on the 
 
 Art,xxiii. much longer ftill before they were difperfed ancJ 
 
 l/V^^ 
 
 univerfally received: During aJJ this Time, the 
 Bvangelift who could confirm any great Truth, 
 add Weight to any Advice, or Reprehenfion, by 
 rehearfmg any Difcourfe, or relating any mo- 
 mentous Paliage of our Saviour's Life and 
 Death, muft have frequent and great Occafion 
 to exerciie his Abilities : But when the four 
 Gofpels were committed to Writing, and were 
 in every one's Hand, this Office of courft 
 ceafed. It is not neceflary to fuppofe, that any 
 miraculous Gifts were neceffary for this Officer, 
 the H-oly Ghoft affifted him only in calling to 
 remejnhrance what he had feen or heard by con- 
 verfmg with our Saviour himfelf, or learned 
 from thofe who were themlelves Eye-Witnefles ; 
 therefore he is ranked below the Prophets. For 
 it w^as certainly a more eminent Gift of the 
 Spirit to foretell Things to come, than to be 
 able to recoiled w hat was paft. 
 
 The Word Ivetyyi^iov Good News or Mejfage^ 
 faith Dr. Ha??imondy being common to that 
 which is written, and which is delivered by 
 Word of Mouth, two Notions there are of the 
 Evangelifi^ one for the Writer^ another for the 
 Preacher of the Gofpel. In the firft Notion we 
 have the four E'vangelifts^ of which two were 
 Apoftles of the Twelve^ Matthezv and Johnj 
 and yet thofe as ordinarily called E'vangelifis as 
 the other two. But this is not the Notion 
 which belongs to this Place, where Evangelift is 
 a diftind Office from Apoftle , but the Second^ 
 which denotes an Office then known in the 
 Church, when any that was taken Notice of 
 for fome eminent Degree of Proficiency in the 
 Gofpel, and ipecial Abilities of Utterance and 
 Diligence, was, upon Recommendation of 
 
 the 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 5 1 1 
 
 the Church (as was faid of 'I'linotheus^ A^s xvi. Art. XXIIT. 
 2.) chofen by any of the Apoftles to aflift him V>^VN^ 
 in this Work, and fent out with Power oif 
 preaching the Gofpel (and with doing Miracles, 
 and with Gifts of healing to that Purpofe) and 
 of baptizing thofe that fhould receive the Gofpel, 
 and with others alio of ordaining Bifhops when 
 the Apofiks thought fit to allow it him ; for as 
 the Office of E'vangelift being to preach to Un- 
 believers, requires not the Donation of all the 
 Epifcopal Power of Ruling, nor the Power of Or- 
 dination necefTarily, becaufe when the E'vangelifi 
 had planted the Faith ^ the Apoftle himfelf may 
 come and confirm and ordain Bifhops, as we fee in 
 Samaria j and therefore the Author of the Com- 
 mentary on the Epiflles under St. Amhrofe his 
 Name, faith on this Place, ^amnjts non fint Sa- 
 cerdotes^ e'vangeltzaretamen pojjint fine Cathedra^ 
 quemadmodum Stephaiius ^ Phtltppus. Though 
 they be not Priefts, that is, Bifhops, yet they 
 may evangelize without a Chair ; fb the Dona- 
 tion of that fuperior Power doth not make them 
 ceafe to be Enjangelifis : And accordingly, as 
 Phihp, which was but a Deacon (and therefore 
 preached and bsiptizedthQ Samaritans^ A5ls\nn, 
 12. Peter and John the Apoftles being fent to 
 lay Hands on them, 'ver. 17.) i fo others that 
 were Ei.an^eUfts had alfo Power given them by 
 the Apoftles that fent them out to conflitute 
 Churches, and fo to ordain Rulers over them -, 
 as oi Mark it is faid, that being fent into Egypt 
 by St. Peter^ he conflituted Am anus Bifhop of 
 Alexandria ; and fb when ^tmotby v/as con- 
 ftituted Bilhop of Ephefus^ i ^i^n. i. 3. he is 
 yet commanded by St. Paul to do the Work of an 
 E'vangelift^ 2 ftm, iv. 5. that is, as he was 
 Bifhop of thofe that believed under that Metro- 
 polis y and of thofe alfb that fhould come into the 
 
 Faith 
 
512 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxtii. Faith ill all Afia^ fo he had alfo Authority t^ 
 ^<yy^^^ make known the Gofpel to them that knew it 
 not, to call them to the Faith, which is the pe- 
 culiar Notion of 'EvdLyyiKi^i^At and Kiipv<7ffiiv to 
 Evangelize and to Preachy and Ucl^tiCuv^ Mat. 
 xxviii. 29. to gather Difciples^ as thofe Words 
 are oppofed to teachings A5is xv. 35, ^c v. 
 44. and as « hoy©- the IVord differs from 
 
 Now as he that from a Deacon is made a 
 Bifloopy hath all the Powers that belong to a 
 Beacon ftill continuing to him, and the Addition 
 of fo much more, fo he that is an Evangelifty 
 if he be farther invefted with Power of Ordina- 
 tion^ may ftill remain an EvangeUft-, the Power 
 of conftituting BifJoops over them that believe and 
 are baptized^ being reconcilable to the Power of 
 preaching to them that believed not ; only the 
 Word Evangelift denoting no more than that of 
 being fent by an Apoftle to preach, is indifferently 
 ufed, whether he have the Power of Deacon only^ 
 as Philip^ or more ; as of timothy and Mark hath 
 been affirmed, and fo is here fet after the 
 Jpoftles and Prophets^ and diftinguifhed from 
 Paflors and Dolors that come after, by which 
 the Ruling Elder is underftood *^. 
 
 I HAVE often wondered what Anfwer could 
 be made to this Reafoning of thefe, and a great 
 many other great and learned Divines of our 
 Communion upon the fame Subjed, and to the 
 fame Purpofe, and at laft, I confefs, I have 
 met with fomething worthy of a Reply in the 
 29th and 30th Pages of Mr. Normans Defence 
 
 ^ See Dr. Hamr»oncly Note on :Efhef. ivv 1 1 . 
 
Tbirty-Nhie Articles, 515 
 
 of his Remarks. " Mr. Loivth^ faith he, I know. Art. xxillJ 
 
 ^^ fays, that to Preach and Propagate the Gofpcl ^-yy^'SJ. 
 
 ^' was the peculiar Office of an EvangeJifl • and 
 
 *' this not being 'timcthys whole IVork^ he leems 
 
 " to conclude his officiating in a higher Chara- 
 
 " d:er. But when this Gentleman, continues 
 
 " he, mentions preaching and propagating the 
 
 ^.^ Gofpel, as the peculiar Office of an Evange^ 
 
 *' liftj if he means that this was all the Work 
 
 '^ that belonged to that Chara5ler^ (and he muft 
 
 *^ mean that, if he would concludeany thing from 
 
 ^^ it in Favour of his Opinion) he has a different 
 
 *^ Notion of the Office of an Evangelift from 
 
 '^ Eufehius^ who makes one Part of his Work 
 
 '' to be to conftitiite Pafiors^ fb that timothy and 
 
 ^^ fitus might do that as well as preach the Go- 
 
 '^ fpel^ and yet be no other than E'vangelifts. 
 
 *^ And indeed timothy was charged by St. Paiil^ 
 
 '^ in his iecond Epiflle to him, to do the Work 
 
 '^ of an E'vangeUft^ Ghap. iv. 5. And this was 
 
 " not confident with his being fixed as a Btjhop 
 
 '^ in any particular Place ; the Bufmefs of an 
 
 '^ Evangelift being (according to the Accoune 
 
 '' given by the aforementioned Hiftorian) to lay 
 
 ^^ the Foundations of the Faith in barbarous 
 
 '' Nations, to conftitute Paftors ; and having 
 
 " committed to them the cultivating of theie 
 
 '' new Plantations, to pafs on to other Coun- 
 
 " tries and Nations." And for a Proof of this, 
 
 he refers us to the third Book and the thirty* 
 
 feventh Chapter of Eiifebhis's Ecclefiaftical Hi- 
 
 ftory. 
 
 The Words of EufehittSj which Mr. Nor^ 
 man refers to, are thefe -- — Many of the then 
 Difciples, whofe Souls were inflamed by the Di- 
 vine Word with a more ardent Defire of Philo- 
 fophy, firft fulfilled our Saviour's Command- 
 K k mcnr^ 
 
514 •'^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxiti. ment, by diftributing their Subftance to thofe 
 Kyy\J that were necefHtons 3 then after that traveUing 
 abroad, they performed the Work of Evan- 
 gelifis to thofe who as yet had not at all heard 
 the Word of Faith ; being very ambitious to 
 preach Chrift, and to deliver the Books of the 
 Divine Gofpek And thefe Ferfons, having 
 only laid the Foundation of Faith in remote 
 and barbarous Places, and conftituted other Pa- 
 ftors, committed to them the Culture of thofe 
 they had perfectly introduced to the Faith, de- 
 parted again to other Regions and Nations, ac- 
 Cvompany'd with the Grace and Co-operation of 
 
 God Now he that can fee any more in this, 
 
 than what I have tranfcribed from thofe learned 
 Writers of our Church, before-mention'd, con- 
 cerning the Office of an E'vangelift^ is able to fee, 
 I confefs, a great deal farther than I can. That 
 En)angelifts had fomctimes the Power of Ordi- 
 nation, we have admitted, and have the fame 
 Notion of an Evangelift xhditEufehins had, which 
 he here explain s to be the Preaching of Chrift, and 
 delivering the Books of the Divine Goipel. As to 
 the other Claule of this Quotation, it is a plain 
 Tranfition to a diPdndt Article, and the Exercift 
 of a diftind Office, and is very far from being 
 an Aflertion equivalent to M.Y. Norman s^ That 
 Ordination was one Branch of the Office of 
 an Evaiigelijij confider'd as fjch. Many that 
 travelled abroad might perform the Work of 
 E'vaugelifts and ordain Paftors, and yet every 
 En:angcUft might not have Power to ordain, 
 as we have fhewn before in the Quotation 
 from Dr. Hammond. If Mr. Norman will not 
 a^ree to this, I muft defire him to make this 
 Notion of the Office of an En^angeltfl^ which he 
 would fain father upon Eufehlus^ confident with 
 • .what the fame Author delivers but a few Pages 
 
 before 
 
Thirty-I^ine Articles. 515 
 
 before concerning timothy and ^ttus. For in ^R"^- ^^^^^^^ 
 
 the fourth Chapter of this very Book he tells us, 
 that '^timothy was reported to have been the firft 
 that was chofen to the Bifhoprick of the Ephefian 
 Church 5 as alfo I'ms of the Churches in Crete, 
 This he delivers at leaft as a Piece ofHiftory, 
 which he had no Objedion to ^ whereas if he 
 had looked upon thefe Men as E'vangelifts^ 
 (which for ought I know he might) and if he 
 had fuch a Notion of their Ofiice, as fuch, as 
 Mr. Norman fays he had, 'tis very flrange that 
 fo judicious and exa6t a Perlbn as Etifehius^ 
 iliould not have dfopt a Word or tw^o to fhew ys 
 the Improbability, nay the utter Impofiibility of 
 the Truth of fuch a Report. That learned and 
 accurate Peribn Valefius^ who publifhed the beft 
 Edition of Enfehins now extant^ was pretty 
 quick-fighted where any bufy Editor had been 
 io free as to let Eiifehius againfl: himielf, and 
 yet he hath found no Contradidlion betwixt tha 
 fourth and thirty-feventh Chapters of the third 
 Book of his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory. To this let 
 me add, that St. Chryfoftom^ whofe Judgment 
 was fo far efteemed of, as to be made the com- 
 mon Standard of the Church, had certainly as 
 true a Notion of the Office of an Evangelift as 
 we can pretend to have at this Diftance ^ nor 
 could he be ignorant of what Eufebhis fays^ 
 '^ That many very eminent and zealous Perfons 
 '^ in the primitive Times went abroad, per- 
 '^ form'd the Vv^ork of Evangjelifts to others, 
 conftituted Paftors in their new plantations, 
 '^ and then paffed on to other Regions and Na- 
 *' tions j" nor that timothy was charged by 
 St. 'Paul to do the Work of an Enjangelift ; and 
 yet he * aflerts that timothy wasDrdained Bilhop 
 
 * Chryf. Horn, i , in Vhili^. 
 
 K k 2 of 
 
 xy^r^ 
 
5 1 6 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Apt. xxiil- ofEpbefus by St. Pc7ul. The fame may be faid 
 ^^y^^'^T^^^ of Epiphanius *, St. Jerom f, Hilary the Dea- 
 con 4^5 and the Author of the Paflion of fnnothy 
 m Pbotius ^^. And ^beodoret moreover affirms, 
 thrt he was Bifbop, under the Title of an Apo- 
 ftle tt- Moil of the fame Authors agree in the 
 fame Evidence for ^itus^ that he was made Bi- 
 fhop of Crete by St. Paul alfo. And St. Cbry- 
 foftom^ as well as Eufehius^ feems to give both 
 him and ^imotby the Power of Metropolitans \\. 
 All thefe Writers were doubtlefs of Opinion, 
 that a Man might exercife his Talent as an 
 Enjangelift^ even tho' he fixed his Refidence in 
 this or that particular Country • and as Mr. 
 Norman is the firfl Writer, that I know of, that 
 ever afferted the contrary, a Writer of the 
 Eighteen - hundredth Century, and fmce he 
 proves it no better than by wire-drawing and 
 torturing the Words oi Eufehhts^ I fliall by this 
 Time venture to wifh him Joy of his Difcovery, 
 and fo take Leave of the Objedlion which is 
 taken from the Suppofition that 'Twiotby and 
 ^/itus were E^vangelifts. For tho' I am not igno- 
 rant that a fuller Anfwer may be given to it, yet 
 I cannot but look upon what I have faid al- 
 ready to be fufficient. 
 
 Thirdly, The moft learned Advocates 
 for the Presbyterian Government objed, that 
 tho' the Apoftles exercifed a Superiority over 
 
 * Epiphan. Hoircf. 7/. Aerian. 
 
 ■f Hit-rou. Catau Scriptor. in T'lmotheo. 
 
 4^ Ffmulo-Ambrof. Prxf. in Tir». it. Com. in i Tim.nu 
 
 ** Fhot. Cod. 2^4. 
 
 -J-f Theodor.Com, in 1 Tim,m, i. 
 
 rj:^: Eufi'b, ik Chryf. Theod. as before cited. Hkron. dc 
 Sciiptor. in Tit. T feu Jo- Am br of. PrxEinTit. CV;rj^/". Horn. i. in 
 Til. J>; i;f. in 1 Tim. 
 
 the 
 
Thirty 'Nme Articles. 517 
 
 the other Ecclefiaftical Orders, yet they Jeft ^^rt.xxiil 
 none behind to fucceed them in that Power, ^^/'V"N> 
 but the Church was every where governed by 
 a Connmon Council of Presbyters.: But this 
 Form of Government being found inconvenient, 
 as giving too much Occafion for Schifms and 
 DivifiojiSj it was at laft univerfally agreed upon, 
 that one Presbyter fhould be choien out to pre- 
 fide over all the reft , and this, fay they, was 
 the Beginning of Epifcopacy, for which they 
 cite that famous Paflage of St. Jerom^ Ajite^ • 
 quam Diaholi inftin^tt'^ &c. /. e. Before fuch 
 Time as through the Inftindl of the Devil Di- 
 vifions in Religion began, and it was faid 
 among the People, I am oi Paul^ I am of 
 Apollos^ and I o£ Cephas-^ the Churches were go- 
 verned by Common Councils of Presbyters , but 
 afterwards every Presbyter reckoning fuch a^ 
 he baptized to be his, and not Chrift's, it was 
 agreed over all the World, that one from among 
 the Presbyters fhould be chofen and fet over all 
 the reft, to whom ftiould belong all the Care of 
 the Churches, that fo the Seeds of Schifms ^ 
 might be deftroyed ; which univerfal Decree, 
 as they guefs, was made about the Year 140. 
 
 This Objection, as 'tis abftradled from 
 the Teftimony of St. Jerom^ is what I have re- 
 turned an Anfwer to already, and therefore I 
 fhall not repeat it. Neverthelefs it may not be 
 amils to fay fomething in lieu of it, and there- 
 fore I ftiall lay before the Reader thofe Argu- 
 ments which Mr. B aster makes ufe of in the 
 831ft Page of his Chriftian Dire^lory^ to prove 
 that the ordinary governing Part of the Apofto- . 
 lical Office, was fettled for all following Ages. 
 I. Becaufe we read of the fettling of that Form, 
 but we never read of any Abolition, Diicharge, 
 Kk 3 or 
 
5 1 8 An Expofition o?i the 
 
 Art.xxiii. or CefTation of the Inftitution. 2. Becaufe if we 
 W^^'V^"^ affirm a CefTation without Proof, we leem to ac- 
 cufe God of Mutability, as fettling one Form of 
 Government for one Age only, and no longer. 
 3. We leave Room for audacious Wits accord- 
 ingly to queftion other Gofpel Inflitutions, as 
 Paftors, Sacraments, ^c. and to fay they were 
 but for an Age. 4. It was general Officers 
 Chrift promifed to be with to the End of the 
 World. As to this PalTage of St. Jeromj which 
 fo much Streis is laid upon, I fhall not diipute 
 the Senfe of it;, but allowing that v/hich they 
 put upon it to be right, I fhall only defire the 
 Reader to confider, i. That it is the Teflimony 
 of one who lived long after feveral that have 
 been and may be quoted as Witneflfes, not only 
 of the Continuance of the Apoftolick Superio- 
 rity in the Church in the next Age after the 
 Apoftles, but alfo of the Derivation of it from 
 the Apoilles themfelves, and fo far lefs capable 
 of atteflingfo early a Matter of Fa6l , for fbme 
 of thefe were fuch as lived in the Days of the Apo- 
 files, others fuch as lived in their Days who lived 
 in the Days of the Apoftles ; and certainly thefe 
 were much more competent WitneiTes of what was 
 done in the Apoftles Days than St Jerom,\vho was 
 not born till about the Year 3 3 o,almoft an hundred 
 Years after Origen the lateft, and three hundred 
 Years after Clemens the earlieft of thofe Writers j 
 and certainly to prefer the Authority of one fm- 
 gle Witnefs, who lived fb hng after the Matter 
 of Fa ui^ to ihQ unanimous Attt{)i?^t\o\\s of fo many 
 earlier WitneiTes, is both immodeft and irra- 
 tional. 2. It is alfo to be confidered that St. 
 'Jerom was a Witnefs in his own Ccrnfe^ in which 
 Cafe Men of his Warmth and Paffion are too- 
 too apt to exceed the Limits of Truth ; for the 
 Defign of that Pafflige was to curb the Iniblence 
 
 of 
 
. TIjirty-Nme Articles. 519 
 
 of fbme pragmatical Deacons, who would needs Art. xxiil. 
 advance themfelves above the Presbyters, which ^-OTV^ 
 St. Jerom^ being a Presbyter himielf, takes in 
 high Difdain, and, as the beftof Men are too 
 prone to do when their own Concerns are at 
 Stake, bends the Stick too much the other V/ay, 
 and deprefTes the Deacon too low^ and advances 
 the Presbyter too high. For, 3. In other Places, 
 where he is not biaiTed by Partiality to his own 
 Order, he talks at a quite different Rate. So 
 in Dial, Adnjerf. Luciferia7i. " Doft thou ask 
 " why one that is not baptized by the Bifhop 
 '' doth not receive the Holy Ghoft? Why it 
 " proceeds from hence, that the Holy Ghoft 
 ^' defcended on the Apoftles." Where it is 
 plain that he placeth the Bifhops in the fame 
 Rank with the Apoftles. So alfo in Ep. nd 
 Heliodor, fpeaking of the Bifhops of his Time, 
 " They ftand, faith he, in the Place of St. Paul^ 
 '^ and hold the Place of St. Peter!' And in 
 Pfal. xiv. 16. " Now becaufe the Apoftles are 
 *' gone from the World, thou liaft inftead of 
 " thofe their Sons the Bifhops ^ and thefe are 
 " thy Fathers, becaufe thou art governed by 
 " them.'' And Ep. ad Nepot.^'V^~h2it Aaron 2ind 
 '^ his Sons were, that we know the Bifnops and 
 '^ the Presbyters are." And therefore as y^i^r^;/, 
 by Dinjine Right .^ was fuperior to his Sons the 
 Priefis^ fo is the BiJJjop above his Presbyters • 
 all which arc as plain Contradifiions to that fa- 
 mous Paffage of his (underftanding it as the 
 Presbyterians do) as one Propofition can be to 
 another : And 1 would fain know whether a 
 Man be not more to be credited when he fpeaks 
 without Biafs or Partiality, than when he fpeaks 
 in his own Caiife^ and under the Influence of his 
 own Intereft ? 4. It is farther to be confider'd, 
 that the Decree of which St. Jerom here fpeaks, 
 K k 4 by 
 
510 Jn ETX^oilthn on the 
 
 Art.xxiit. by which the Government of the Church was 
 ^.^J^'f'^ traniaLtd from a Commo7i Cotinal oi Presbyters 
 to a fmgle Bijljop^ muft, according to his own 
 Words, be Apoftolical, and confequently much 
 earlier than the Presbyterians will allow it • for 
 it was made at thac Time when it was faid 
 among the People, I am o£Paul^ and I am oiApol- 
 loSj and I oi Cephas , and this, as St. Paul tells 
 us, was {aid in his Time, and therefore this De- 
 cree mud be made in his Time j and that St. 
 Jerom did mean fo, we are elfewhere alTur 'd from 
 his own Words, for fo in his Book de Ecclef. 
 Script, he tells us, that immediately afcer the 
 Afcenfion of our Lord, St. James was ordained 
 by the Apofiles to be Bifhop oijerufalem^ ^i- 
 inotby by St. Paul Eifhop oi Ephefus^ i'ltus Bi- 
 fhop of Cretc^ and Polycarp by St. Jchn Bifhop 
 pi Smyrna. So that either he muft here ex^ 
 prefly contradict himfelf, or elfe the Decree of 
 \vhich hefpeaks mud have been made immediately 
 after tbeAfcenficn ofourLordyar)d fo it confequently 
 rnuft be an Apofiolical Decree. 5. It is yet far- 
 ther to be confidered, that if any fuch Decree^ 
 of changing the Church Government from Pref- 
 Jpyterial to Epifcopal^ had been made by the 
 Apoftles^ it is ftrange we fhould not find the leaf!: 
 mention of it in Scripture ; and if it had been 
 made after the Apofiles^ about the Year 140, it 
 is ftrange we fhould have no mention of it in 
 Ecclefiaftic Antiquity , for an Univerfal Change 
 of the Government of the Church from one 
 kind to another^ is a Matter of fuch vaft Mo- 
 ment, that had the Apoftles made ^a Decree con- 
 cerning it, they would doubtlefs have been very 
 ibJicitous to publijh it through all the Churches^ 
 and to have tranimitted down to Pofierity fome 
 fi:dianng Record cf it • which yet they were fo 
 fir from doing, that they have not given usthu 
 
 lead 
 
Thirty^l^hje Articles. 521 
 
 lead Intimation of it in ail their Writings : And Aut. xxill. 
 had it been made afterwards, about the Year ^-/''VX^ 
 140, to be fure all priniitive Antiquity would 
 have rung of fuch a pubUck and important Al^ 
 tevation ; but, on the contrary, we fee both Cle- 
 mens and Ignatius^ who lived before that Period, 
 teftify, that the Church was not governed in their 
 Time by a Common Council of Presbyters, but 
 by Bifhops j Hegefyppus^ Irenneiis^ and Dionyfius 
 oi Corinth^ who lived in that Period, are fo far 
 from taking Notice of any fuch Decree of Alte- 
 ration, that they teftify the Government of the 
 Church by an uninterrupted Succeflion of Bi- 
 Jloops^ even from the Apofiles themlelves ^ and 
 as for Iren^tis^ who gives us an Account of the 
 Succefiion of the Roman Bifhops, from St. Peter^ 
 down to the Time when he himfclf was at Rome, 
 it was as eafy for him to know who they were 
 that fucceeded from St. Peter ^ as it is for us to 
 know who fucceeded from Archbifliop IVhitgift 
 in the Chair oi Canterbury^ he being no farther 
 diflant from the one than we are from the other ; 
 and tho' thro' xh^ Ambiguity or Defe^ of the Re^ 
 cords offome Churches, this Succejfion be not e- 
 qually clear m all, yet in the moll eminent Churches^ 
 luch as Jerufaleni^ Rome^ Antioch^ and Alexan- 
 dria^ the Succeilions are as clear as any thing in 
 Ecclefiaftical Hiftory ^ and is it not much more 
 reafonable to conclude what was the Government 
 oithofe Churches that are not known^ from what 
 we find was the Government of tliofe that are, 
 than to queftion thofe Ecclefiaftical Records that 
 are preferved, becaufe of the Uncertainty of 
 thofe that are not j for tho' we do not find in 
 all Churches an exad Catalogue of all their Bi- 
 fhops; yet we cannot produce any one Inftance 
 in any one ancient Church of any other Form 
 pi Government than the BpifcopaJ^ and therc^ 
 
 fore. 
 
5 1 z Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. fore, as I have obferved before, we may as well 
 ^^y^^f"^ queftion whether there ever was any fuch thing 
 as an ancient Monarchy in the World, becaufe 
 many of the Hiftories of the Monarchs are de- 
 fedive as to \ht\v Names ^ and the Order of their 
 Succejjion^ as whether there was ever any fuch 
 thing as a priniitive Epifcopacy in the Church, 
 becaufe the Records of feveral Churches are 
 defe^ive as to the Names and SucceJJtons of their 
 Biftiops : Since therefore this Story of St, Jerom's 
 Univerfal Decree is not only altogether un- 
 attefted, but alfo diredly contradi^ory to the 
 concurrent Teftimony oi 2,"^ Antiquity ^ how can 
 we reafbnably look upon it otherwise than as a 
 mere Figment of his own Fancy? Eipecially 
 confidering, 6thly and laftly, How odioufly this 
 Conceit of his refledls upon theWifdom of our 
 Saviour, and his Apoftles- for the Apoftles 
 devolving the Government of the Church upon 
 Common Councils of Presbyters^ was, as he 
 himfelf tells us, the Occafion of feveral Schifms 
 and Bi'vifions ; for the Removal of which, the 
 Church afterwards found it necelTary to diffolve 
 thofe Presbyteries, and introduce Epifcopacy in 
 their Room 3 and this St. Jerom approves as a 
 very wife and prudent Adion. With relation 
 to the Epillles of St. Ignatius^ what Dr. Calamy 
 hath been pleafed to fay of them ihall be as much 
 flighted by me as it hath been by others. " I 
 ^' could not, fays he, help reckoning any Mo- 
 '^ dern, that fhould ufe fuch Language as St. 
 *^ Ignatius does, as one out of his Wits, or a 
 '' Blafphemer." Defence of Mod. Noncojif or raity^ 
 Tart I. p, 152. This, as he hath been told, is 
 only faying an unmannerly Thing, and inflead 
 of his Learning, to fhew his Breeding, and muft 
 pafs for a grofs Calumny till he be able to prove 
 his Word:^ which he v/ill never be able to do^ 
 
 except 
 
Thtrty-Kine Articles. 513 
 
 except he mean, that the bleffed Martyr, to Art. xxilL 
 whom fo many Honours were ihewn by the an- V.^'VX^ 
 dent Church, be a Blafphemer of his (Dr. Ca- 
 Jamys) Diana^ Anarchy and Democracy, But 
 as another, and, if poflible, more furpriziag Ufe 
 hath been made of them of late Years, I muft 
 of Neceffity have Regard to it, together with 
 fuch other Arguments as are produced upon 
 the fame Account. And this brings me to con- 
 fider the Independent or Congregational Scheme, 
 as I promifed to do, as foon as I had dilpatched 
 the Presbyterian. For indeed the old Quarrel 
 about the Pre-eminence of Bifliops above Pres- 
 byters feems in a manner to be dropped, and 'tis 
 acknowledged that in the Primitive Church, 
 particularly in St. Ignatius's Time, Bifhops were 
 fuperior to Presbyters ; but then 'tis alledged 
 that a Bifhop was no more than the Pallor of 
 a fmgle Congregation, and that his Superiority 
 over a Presbyter was no more than that of a Re- 
 dor over his Curate. The Church of this or 
 that Place, 'tis faid, was a fmgle Congregation, 
 ©nly the Bifhop of that Church was the chief 
 Minifter or Presbyter of it, and this is alledged 
 to be an Apoftclical Inftitution^ and the Pradice 
 of three or four Centuries or Ages after the 
 Apoftles, and, by this Means, Antiquity, which 
 the Church of England hath {o long given out 
 to be entirely on her Side, is fuppofed to be 
 fairly carried over to the Dijfenters. I cannot but 
 begin with obferving,that thofc of the Independent 
 or Congregational Way, arc a novel and upftarc 
 Sed, that owes its Rife to the Confufions of the 
 Ci'vil IVars , and 'tis a very good Prefumptioa 
 againft it,that 'twas never before heard of,tho' the 
 Se^aries of former Times were as quick-fighted 
 as they are now, and 'tis hardly to be conceived 
 how they could havq miifed thofe Motives for 
 
 Sepa- 
 
5^4 ^^ Expofition ojt the 
 
 Art^ XXIII. Separation which are contained in the Obje- 
 dions of thofe Men againft our Eccleftafiical 
 GoDernment^ if they had any other real Foun- 
 dation befides Fancy, or fomething worfe. Nor 
 was the Independent or Congregational Way, 
 when it firft appeared in thefe Kingdoms, con- 
 demned by the Church of England only, but alfb 
 by the Presbyterians both at Home and Abroad. 
 For as Mr. Bingham informs us, in his Apology 
 of the VxQnch Church ^^c. B. i. ch. i. the whole 
 Keformed Church of France^ in their third Synod 
 oi Charentcn^ held yf. D. 1 644. condemned it as 
 a Sed moft prejudicial to the Church and dan- 
 gerous to the State, becaule, lay they^ in cafe 
 it fhould prevail, it would form as many Reli- 
 gions as there be Parifhes. The Notion which 
 thefe Men had with Pvclation to the Govern- 
 ment of the Church hath been confidered al- 
 ready, and their Scheme, as hath been (hewn, 
 differs widely from that which I am now con- 
 cerned with. 'Tis true that many of them, 
 particularly thofe of our own Nation, denied 
 Diocefan Epifcopacy to be the Primitive Church 
 Government, becaufe they aflerted that Bifhops 
 and Presbyters were the fame, and that the Go- 
 vernment of the Church belonged to a Common 
 Council of Presbyters, by an ApoftoUcal Decree^ 
 according to the Fancy of S>z. Jerom^ which I 
 hope I have fufficiently refuted. But it will ap- 
 pear hereafter, that the Reformed Churches 
 abroad have from Time to Time looked upon 
 Diocefan Epifcopacy as very ancient, and as it 
 is eftablifhcd and pradtifed in our Church, to 
 be very far from being a fufficient Motive to be- 
 gin or carry on a Separation. And if it be true 
 that the hidependcnt or Congregational Scheme be 
 nothing but a modern Invention, as the whole 
 Chriftian World (the Patronizers of this pretty 
 
 Whim 
 
Tbirty-Nwe Articles. 525 
 
 Whim only excepted) feem to be fully agreed, ^^'^' xxill. 
 as far as I could ever learn, what is built upon ^^OTN-^ 
 it (lands upon a very tottering Foundation, and 
 therefore I cannot yield that the taking Notice 
 of this Matter is at all wide from the Argument, 
 but as pertinent and appofitc as any thing can 
 be. But as the Caufe 1 am pleading hath, God 
 be thanked, no Occafion to have us lay any 
 greater Strefs upon the bare Judgments of 
 Churches or particular Divines than our Ad- 
 verfaries are willing to allow us, I fhall examine 
 the Reafonings of the moft celebrated Cham- 
 pions of this new Do6lrine. And here I fhall 
 only fingle out fome of the moft material Parts 
 of the Controverfy, and refer the Reader for 
 further Satisfedion to Dr. Maurice s Defence of 
 Biocefan Epifcopacy^ which contains a full and 
 exad Anfwer to Mr. Clarkfon'5 Primitive Epifco- 
 pacy^ to the Original Draught of the Primitive 
 Churchy which is, as to this Point, for it reaches 
 no further, a compleat Anfwer to the En- 
 quiry^ &c. ; and to Bifhop Stillijigfleefs Unrea^ 
 fonablenefs of Separation^ which contains a tho- 
 rough Confutation of the firft Advocates for 
 this new Engine of Independency^ which, as a 
 learned Writer of our Church fays, was en- 
 couraged, when it firft appeared, by fbme State 
 Politicians and Military Officers^ in order to pull 
 up all Church Authority by the Roots. But if 
 we can fhew that tht Independent or Congregational 
 Scheme is unfound at Bottom • if we can fhew 
 that its chiefeft Props or Pillars are but imagi- 
 nary ones^ we need not be in any great Pain 
 about the reft, a Confutation of which is only 
 neceffary to fhew that there can be no Room 
 to look upon the Defenders of it to be unan- 
 fwerable. The Definition of a Church is made 
 the Corner iStone of this Controverfy, and 
 
 therefore 
 
5 16 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxtil therefore I iliall obferve the fame Method. The 
 ^^^^"y^^ Word 'E;t;c^^}£^lrt, or Cburcb^ fignifies in Stridnefs 
 a Company of Men called out from others, and 
 is derived from the Verb lanctxico^ to call out. 
 Among the Athenians^ from whom the Ufe of 
 it came into the Chriftian Churchy it was taken 
 •for fuch an AlTembly as had the Power of Go- 
 verning and Determining Matters of Religion, 
 as well as the Affairs of State. For the Senate of 
 Finje Hundred being diftributed into Fifties^ 
 according to the Number of the 'IriheSy which 
 fucceeded by courfe, through the Year, and 
 was then called -^puT^t^suWct (puAw, or the Governing 
 ^rihe ; every one of thefe had four vo[y.r/jt iKK^n- 
 fficti^ Regular AJfemhliesy in the laft of which, an 
 Account of the Sacrifices was taken, and of 
 other Matters which concerned Religion • as in 
 the Comitia Calata at Ko^ne. From whence we 
 may obferve, that it was not the Meeting of 
 one of the fingle bribes that was called lytKhmict^ 
 but the general Meeting of the Magiftrates of 
 the whole City and the People together. In 
 Scripture the Word fignifies, when apply'd in 
 its moil extenfive and largefl Senfe, to the Vifi- 
 ble Church o^ Chrifl, the whole Catholick or 
 Univerfal Church, v/hich is allowed by Divines 
 of all Perfuafions to be rightly defined in the 
 19th Article ', where 'tis faid, that ^' The Vifi- 
 '' ble Church of Chrifl is a Congregation of 
 " faithful Men , in which the pure Word of 
 ^^ God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly 
 '' miniilred, according to Chrift's Ordinance, 
 •^ in all thofe Things that of Neceffity are re- 
 '' quifite to the fame." And in this Senfe is 
 it to be underilood, Eph. i. 22, 23. where Chrifb 
 is faid to be Head of the Church, and the 
 Church to be his Body^ and Chap. v. n:er. 24, 
 25, 275 29. and all other Places of the like Im- 
 port, 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles. 527 
 
 port. But as it muft be acknowledged that the Art. xxilt 
 Word iKKhmictj or Churchy is alfb ufed to denote ^^>Or>^ 
 a Part or Parts of thisUniverfal Church, we muft 
 now proceed to cofider what thofe Parts are, for 
 "'tis certain that we frequently read of Churches 
 in the Plural Number, as often perhaps as we 
 do of the Church in the Singular. And here 
 I do readily yield that a fmgle Congregation is 
 in Scripture called a Church, particularly i Cor^ 
 xiv. 24. If therefore the whole Church he come to- 
 gether into one Placcj &c. and in feveral other 
 Places, to fay nothing of the Churches in the 
 Houfes of Prifcilla and Aquila at Kome^ of 
 Nymphas at Coloffe^ and Philemon at Laodicea^ 
 becaufe the Texts which make mention of thefe 
 are controverted both by Epifcoparians and 
 Presbyterians^ and I have no Occafion to intereft 
 my felf in this Difpute. I agree likewife, that 
 this is alio the Language of the Primiti've Church 
 as well as the prelent Times. I agree to what 
 the Author of the Enquiry^ &c. hath quoted from 
 ^ertullians Exhortation to Chaftity, p, 457. Ubi 
 tresj Ecclefia eft^ Where three are^ there is a 
 Churchy or, as he hath tranflated it, that 'fhree 
 are fifficient to make a Church. Thus far there 
 is no Difpute ^ but I can by no means allow that 
 either Scripture or Antiquity require us to un- 
 derfland by the Church of Rome the Church of 
 Smyrna^ the Church of Antioch^ the Church of 
 Athens., the Church of Alexandria., or the Church 
 in any other fuch Place whatfoever, no more 
 than a Congregation of Chriftians alTembling all 
 together for religious Exercifes at Kome^ An- 
 tioch, Smyrna, Athens, Alexandria, or fuch 
 like Places, as the Enquirer and thofe of his Sen- 
 timents would have us believe. I fhall, in order 
 to fhew my Reafons for dilTenting from this Opi- 
 nion of our AdverfarieSj begin with the Church 
 
 of 
 
528 Jn Expofition on th^ 
 
 ^•-v^>S' 7^*^^^^^^^'^ ^^^ Mother Church of all, which 
 ^-y^f^ the ingenious Enquirer^ for Reafons beft knov/n 
 to himfelf, is pleafed to take no Notice of It 
 is to me unconceivable, and I am apt to think it 
 was fo to him, how the many Thoufands from 
 Time to Time converted in Jemfaleju alone, 
 and the daily Increale of them, (as it is fpeci- 
 fy'd in the Texts here noted at Bottom *) 
 fhould commodioufly or indeed poflibly worfhip 
 God in one and the fame Place together, fince 
 they neither had the capacious Temple (we may 
 aifure our felves) or any other Place, that fhould 
 be too much taken Notice of, to hold fuch a 
 numerous and indeed inconceivable Aflembly 
 in. And yet St. James^ the Bifhop of this 
 Church, himfelF, in a few Years after, calls 
 thole Thoufands of converted Jews by the mul- 
 tiplied Name o^ Myriads of them, Aois^y^. 20. t 
 And if common Senfe and Reafon can contract 
 fuch Numbers into a fmgle Congregation, all 
 the other Parts oi Divine IVrit^ will, I am afraid, 
 feel the dangerous Effe6t of luch an extraordi- 
 nary commenting upon them. Neverthelefs, 
 this is what Mr. Norman is {o hardy as to at- 
 tempt in the 67ch Page of his Defence of his Re^ 
 
 "*■ Acis i. ly. The Number of the Names together were 
 about 120. AcJs ii. 41. There were added to them about 
 3000 Souls. Ver. 47. The Lord added daily to the Church 
 liich as fliould be faved. Ach iv. 4. (Feter and yo^m preach- 
 ing afterwards upon healing of the Cripplej many of them 
 which heard, believed j and the Number of the Men was about 
 5"ooo. Acis V. 14. Believers were the more added to the 
 Lord both of Men and Women. Acisy'uj. Still the Word of 
 God increafed, and the Number of Difciples multiplied inje- 
 rufalem greatly j and a great Company of the Priefts were obe- 
 dient ro tiie Faith. 
 
 miTT.^iVKuJay* Ads xxi. 20, 
 
 tnarks^ 
 
Thirty N'me Articles. 529 
 
 marks^ as xMr. Clarkfon had done before him in Art. xxiil. 
 the 6th Page of his Primitinje Eptjcopacy. Let '^^Xy^sJ. 
 us therefore attend to what thole Gentlemen 
 have been pleafed to fay. '^' l^hrce thoufand^ I 
 ^' confefs, fays Mr. Norman^ were converted by 
 " Peter s Sermon, and there was fban a very 
 '^ confiderable Addition made to that Number; 
 '^ but then it may be obferved, that am.ong 
 '^ thefe Converts there were many Strangers^ 
 " who came to Jerufalem on the Day of ^Pen- 
 '^ tecoft ; and thefe muft be fuppofed to return 
 " very foon into their feveral Countries, by 
 " which the Number might be fo reduced, that 
 *' fuch as continued at Jerufalem might be able 
 '' to meet in one Place for ibcial Worfhip : And 
 '" if the Upper Koom^ which the Apoftles and 
 " Difciples met in immediately after our Sa- 
 " viour's Afcenfion, was not fufficient for fo 
 '^ great a Number, without doubt they found 
 " another to affemble in : But if that could not 
 be done, and there was a NecefTity for their 
 meeting in feveral Places, (which doth not 
 appear) till Mr. Lowtb can prove that one 
 Bijhop governed thefe feveral Congregations, 
 and their feveral Presbyters, by an Autho- 
 rity veiled in him as a Bifhop, and not as an 
 Apoftle, I think he proves nothing." Mr. 
 Norman hath here given us a fufficient Proof 
 that he is refolved to die hard, and hath fadly 
 convinced us what a terrible Thing it is to be 
 under the Prejudices of a wrong Education, or 
 to be refolved to perfift in the Notions which we 
 have had the Misfortune to efpoufe. 'Tis true, 
 that an Allowance may be made for Strangers, 
 with relation to the Three thoufand converted 
 on the Feaft of Pentecoft ; but fuch as are to be 
 reckoned in the confiderable Addition that Mn 
 Norman confefles was made to them afterwards, 
 
 L i ^Q 
 
y^Q Jn Expofition 07t the 
 
 Art,xxiii. do not appear to have been converted on the 
 ^.y^f"^ Feaft, and therefore whatfoever Dedudions we 
 may make from the Three thoufand, yet the 
 Five thoufand, the Multitudes of Men and Wo- 
 men, and the Number which caufed the Com- 
 pany of Difciples to multiply in Jerusalem 
 greatly, and the great Company of the Priefts, 
 or, as the Syriack reads, of the Jews that were 
 obedient unto the Faith, will remain to the 
 Church of y^n/,/^/^;;/, notwithftanding this De- 
 dudion. Secondly, Let me add, that Mr. AV- 
 wan is no Stranger to the Greek Tongue, and 
 that he knows very well that ^'oacti yivttA^i?^ 
 which our Tranflators render (Jjow many ^hou- 
 [ands) ought to have been rendered (Jooisj many 
 Myriads^ and that a Myriad is 2^;/ thoufand. 
 This Gentleman hath doubtlefs exercifed his Fa- 
 culty in numerous Aflemblies of DifTenters, and 
 cannot be ignorant, that when all the Contri- 
 vances imaginable are made to enable a Mini- 
 fter to ipeak, and a Congregation to hear to the 
 bed Advantage, fb great a Number as Two 
 thoufand is a vafl Audience, and as large an one 
 as the beft Pair of Lungs in the Kingdom can 
 poflibly enable a Man to be underftood by. I 
 am here willing to foreftal an Objedlion, which 
 I fhould otherwife make my felf pretty fure of j 
 which is this. That the Myriads of Converts 
 fpoken o? Atl^s xxi. 20. may fairly be fuppoled 
 to confifl:, in a great meafure, of out-lying 
 Jews^ who were alfembled at Jerufalem on the 
 Account of the Feafl ; for 'tis faid. Chap. xx. 
 ver. 16. That St. Paul hailed, if it were poflible 
 for him to be at Jerufalem the Day of Pentecoft, 
 I will not difpute vvhether the Apoflle obtained 
 his Ends or not, tho' I know St. Chryfojiom^ 
 Bifhop Pearfon^ and Dr. Maurice^ think it very 
 plain that he did not arrive at Jerufalem till the 
 
 Feaft 
 
Ihirty-Nhie Articles. 53 1 
 
 Fcaft of Pentecoft was over ; for it is certainly AuT.xxiit, 
 very manifeO: that thefe Myriads were not of ^^^'^V^v^ 
 the Number of thofe that were difperfed among 
 the Gentiles^ for then St. James could not pro» 
 perly have faid to him as he does, A6ls xxi. 21. 
 ^hey (meaning thofe Myriads of beh'eving Jew's 
 ipoken of in the foregoing Verfe) are informed 
 of thee^ that thou teacheft all the Jews, which 
 are among the Gentiles, to forfake Mofes, ^c, 
 becaufe thefe Jews^ having been thus taught 
 by St. Paul^ would have been able to give an 
 Account of his Dodirine without the Ailiftance 
 ofanyfuch Information as is here fpecify'd. 
 But, thirdly, If, for Argument's Sake, we fup- 
 pofe Mr. Norman in the right, as to his Dedudion 
 from the firft Converts at Jerufalem^ yet it will 
 not be denied but that a Number of Chriftiansj 
 too large for one Meeting-Place, for the Per- 
 formance of Divine Service, reiided together at 
 Jerufalem for a Time, and yet we read only of 
 the Churchy and never of the Churches of Jeru- 
 falem ', nor is there the leaft Hint throughout 
 all the New Teftament, that as foon as the Con- 
 verts or Company of Believers became too great 
 there or elfewhere for one particular Affemhly^ 
 they did or muft become a new Church under 
 particular Officers, and an independent Autho- 
 rity. How the Matter ftood, is plain enough 
 to any Man that will fee with his Eyes, from 
 A^s ii. 46. where the Difciples are faid to fre- 
 quent the Temple, which it feems the firfl Chri- 
 ftians did for fome Time at the Hour of Prayer, 
 Chap. iii. ver. I. And 'tis clearly intimated that 
 their Affemblies, which were properly Chriftian 
 were^ held in feveral private Houfes, for they 
 are laid to continue in breaking Bread, kclt lt>tlv^ 
 from Houfe to Houfe. If we compare this Place 
 vnth Chap. xx. ver. 7. where 'tis faid. That 
 
 L 1 z fipoj} 
 
Ky^'YSj 
 
 5^2 Jn Expofitwn on the 
 
 ^^^■■r.^^W- upon the firft Day ofthelVeek^ isohen the Difciptes 
 came together to break Breads Paul preached unto 
 them, it will appear, that by Breaking of Bread, 
 we are to underftand the Adminiftration of the 
 Lord's Supper, which was fo conftant and main 
 a Part of their Religious Worfhip, that 'tis men- 
 tioned as the chief and in a manner the only End 
 of their alfembling together. From what hath 
 been faid upon this Point, we may furniih our 
 felves with a general but fufficient Anfwer to 
 the Argument, which our Brethren of the Con- 
 gregational Way think themfelves intitled to 
 from thole Inftances, by which they think it 
 proved , beyond Contradidion , that fomc 
 Churches in the Primitive Times did not ex- 
 ceed a fingle Congregation, for no Bifhop could 
 have more Congregations than all the Chriftians 
 of his City and Territory could compole- but 
 this does not preclude the Bifhops from a Right 
 of having many Congregations under their In- 
 iJDedion, if more had been. The Controverfies 
 about Church-Government, turn upon Queftions 
 of Right, and not of Fad: : Matters of Fac^ 
 are pertinently alledged to prove a Right, where 
 the Faft does involve a Judgment of Right ; 
 but where it is purely accidental, it has no 
 Confequence on either Side ; '' for, faith he, 
 *' the Safety of the Church depends upon the 
 ^'^ Authority of the High Prieft or Bifhop, to 
 ^'' v/hom if there were not given all fupreme 
 ^'^ Authority, there would be as many Schifms 
 '^ in the Churches as there are Priefts/' So that, 
 according to him, had the Church continued 
 under that Government which the Apoftles, as 
 the Presbyterians fuppofe, left in it, it muft un- 
 avoidably have been torn in Pieces with endlefs 
 Schifms and Divifions ; and if fo, either the A- 
 poftles were very mprude^it in not forefeeing this, 
 
 or 
 
Jhirty-Kine Articles. 533 
 
 or very negligent in not preventing it ; fb that Art. xxiil. 
 had not the After-age taken care to fupply the '^^'^C^^ 
 Defe5f of their Conduct, by ereding a IVifer 
 Form of Government than they left, the Church 
 had infallibly run to Ruin. This is the unavoid- 
 able Confequence of St. Jerom's Hypothecs 
 with Relation to our Saviour^ and if under- 
 llood as the Presbyterians will have it, that is, if, 
 the Decree he fpeaks of was made in the Year 
 140, with Relation to the Apoftles ; which there- 
 fore I can look upon no otherwife than as a mere 
 Device of his own Brain, fnatched up in hafte 
 to defend his Order againft the Infolence of thofe 
 factious Deacons that flew in the Face of the 
 Preslpytery. 
 
 But nothing, it feems, will fatisfy Mr. 
 ^ormanj except it can be proved, that fuppo- 
 fing the fir ft Converts at Jerufalem were at 
 length fo numerous, that there was a Necefiity 
 for their meeting in feveral Places, that one 
 Bijloop governed thefe feveral Congregations and 
 their Presbyters, by an Authority veiled in him 
 as a BifJoop^ and not as an Apoftle^ and till Mr. 
 Lowth^ fays he, could do this, he thinks he had 
 proved nothing by what he had faid abour them. 
 But, with Mv, Normans good Leave, this is quite 
 another Queftion , Mr. Loivtifs Bufmeis was to 
 dig up the Foundation of the new-invented Fa- ^ 
 
 brick of Independency, which he hath effedtu-^ 
 ally done in one Paragraph, which confifts of 
 no more than about eighteen or twenty Lines, 
 his Def?gn being to handle the Argument in a 
 much briefer manner than I have done ; and 
 Standers-by will make bold to fay, that Mr. 
 Norman being brought to a Difficulty, leap'd 
 over the Hedge, and after having roundly af- 
 ferted what he pleas'd^ endeavoured to wave th^ 
 "L 1 3 Matter 
 
4C 
 
 5 354 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Apt^xxiii. Matter in Debate, and to amufe the Reader 
 y^'Y^SJ yvith a Point which is properly the Superftru- 
 d:ure of the Independent Scheme. I am a Httle 
 unv/illing to be diverted from the Argument I 
 am upon^ and therefore fhall not ftep out of the 
 A\ ay to try whether 1 can prove what Mr. Nor- 
 man fays he thinks neceffary to make what hath 
 been already advanced of Service to the Caufe 
 of Epifcopacy, but fhall pais it by for the pre- 
 fent as more proper to be fpoken to hereafter, 
 and fo proceed to confider what Mr. Clarkfon 
 hath been pleafed to offer in Relation to the 
 Church ofjemfalem. As to the firft Converts, 
 he lays, " It is but a fmall Proportion of thofe 
 '' Thoufands that can in Reafon be accounted 
 to the Inhabitants o^Jemfalein^ and fo fixed 
 Members of that Church, for they were con- 
 ^^- verted at one of the great Feafts , at which 
 " Time the Inhabitants were not by far a twen- 
 '' tieth Part of thofe that were alTembled in the 
 ^' City." This hath been anfwered already, it 
 being the fame in Subftance with what I have 
 taken Notice of in Mr Norman s Defence^ &c. 
 But as Mr. Clarkfon hath offered fomething more 
 than this in the 4th Page of his Primitive Epif- 
 cop.acy^ which is really new, and carries with it 
 ithe Air of Demonftration, I will beg the Rea- 
 der's Patience, while I let him fee, with how 
 e;reat Pains and Learning fome Authors can 
 trifle. 
 
 That it may appear, what fmall Propor- 
 tion the Inhabitants oijerufalem held to the 
 Multitude that reforted thither on the folemn 
 Feafts, our Author enters into an Enquiry, 
 both after the Number of the Inhabitants of 
 that City, and of thofe that reforted from other 
 Places to thofe Solemnities, " To begin with 
 
 " the 
 
Thirty-Kme Articles, 535 
 
 " the latter of thefe, he fays, that Jofephus tells Art. xxill. 
 " us, and out of him Eujebius^ that Cefiius ^ ^^-"^ 
 " Gallus^ wilUng to reprefent to Nero^ who 
 " contemned the Jews^ the Strength of that 
 " People, defired the Priefts to take an Account 
 " of the Number, and, to make the Story (liort, 
 '^ from the Number of the Pafchal Sacrifices, 
 " they computed all the Jews prefent at that 
 '^ PalTover to be about three Millions; but 
 '^ then they were all in a manner Foreigners, 
 " for a great Part of that Multitude came from 
 " abroad i whereas the Inhabitants of J^r^/^to^ 
 '"^ were but fixfcore Thoufand, as we learn by 
 " Hecatceus : And that we may not fancy Heca* 
 " t^us to have under-reckoned the Inhabitants 
 " oijerufalem^ our Author intimates a quite 
 " contrary Sufpicion. It may be, he fays, that 
 " Hecata;usy or his Informer, over-reached as 
 '^ well in the Number of the Citizens, as in the 
 " Meafure of the City ^ and that he makes the 
 " Circuit of it fifty Furlongs, whereas Jojephus 
 ^' fays, it was but thirty-three, ap.d the Cir- 
 " cumvallation of fZln/5 but thirty-nine" from 
 all this, therefore, he concludes, that the Inha- 
 bitants oijerufalem^ upon the moft favourable 
 Computation, will fcarce make the twentieth 
 Part of the Multitude, which ufually attended 
 thofe Fecifts^ and confequently not a twentieth 
 Part of the Converts mentioned in the Afts can 
 be fuppofed to belong to the Church of Jeru^ 
 falem. To find out the Proportion between the 
 Inhabitants of Jenifalcm^ and the Pafchal Af- 
 femblies, it is neceffary to know the Number of 
 each at the fame Time, or at leaft-wife in the 
 fame Age. Now Hecat^ns^ from whom he 
 learns the Number of the Citizens, lived un- 
 der Alexander the Great and Ptokmy the Son of 
 Lazus ; but the Numbers of thofe who reforted 
 ^ L U ^^ 
 
5 ;f5 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 /.RT.xxiii. to the Pafibver, was taken by the Order of 
 WOrx^ Ceftius G alius under Nero^ that is, above three 
 hundred and fifty Years after. The Inhabitants 
 oijenifalem might be much more numerous in 
 the Apoftles Time, than in the Age of Heca- 
 tcciis^ and therefore this Calculation cannot be 
 certain, and this Spedre of Demonftration va- 
 nifhes. That 1 may not feem to want a due Re- 
 gard for Mr. Clarkfons Diligence upon this 
 Point, I will not dilmiis this Calculation with fo 
 fhort a Reply, but examine every Point of it 
 apart, and fhew of what Confequence it may be 
 to the Congregational Scheme, i. The three 
 Millions returned to Nero came from no authen- 
 tick Cenfus^ or any certain Account, but only 
 from Conjecture ; and one may reafonably 
 fufped that the Fricfts, to let out the Greatnels 
 of the Nation to a Prince who had them in Con- 
 tempt, would be apt to over-reckon, a. JeuL-^ 
 falem could not receive ^o many Millions, if the 
 Circuit of it were but thirty-three Furlongs, as 
 we read in Jofephus j and our Author does con- 
 tend it was no more. 3. If this Account of the 
 Priefts fhould be admitted,yet that PafTover might 
 be extraordinary, and like that o^Jofiah^ of which 
 it is faid, 2 F^mgs xxiii. 22. that [iirely there 
 ivas not holden fuch a Faffover^ from the Days of 
 the Judges that judged Ifrael, nor in all the Days 
 cf ike Kings 0/ Ifrael, nor of the Kings o/Judah» 
 And that this Number was extraordinary, ap- 
 pears from Jofephus^ who, accounting for the 
 vail Number faid to be ilain and taken in Jeru- 
 falem^ informs ws^ that the Jews reforted thither 
 out of all the Country, and were unawares fhut up 
 in that fatal Siege j and yet the Sum was about 
 twelve hundred thoufand Perfons, not half of 
 that Number upon which our Author calculates j 
 yet this ieemed io extraordinary, th^tjofepbusj to 
 
 make 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 5^7 
 
 make it pafs, obferves, that the greateft Part Art. xxiit. 
 indeed were Jews^ but not Inhabitants of Jeru- U/^V>w/ 
 fale?n or Judea *. 4. Tho' a middle Number 
 might be agreed on for calculating the Pafchal 
 AlTemblies, yet would it be of no Ufe in the 
 prefent Queftion ; for we do not read in Scrip- 
 ture of any Converts made on the Paffover ; 
 but the three thoufand which are no\v under 
 Debate, were converted on the Feaft of Frnte- 
 coft^ and from the Refort of thefe, no Guefs can 
 be made of thcNumbers that repaired to the other; 
 for the PalTover was much more frequented than 
 the Pentecofl. It is true, that the Law feems to 
 make no Difference between the three Feftivals, 
 but obligeth all the Males to repair to the Place 
 which God fhould choofe upon each of thofe 
 Feafts. But the Practice of the Jews feems to 
 have been otherwife, long before our Saviour's 
 Time. Lyra obferves, that thofe who were 
 far from Jerufalem were excufed from attending 
 on the two Feafts of Weeks and Tabernacles \. 
 And Tfiella cites fome Jewiflj Authors to this 
 Purpofe, that the Law obliged thofe only who 
 lived near the Sandluary ; the reft were dif- 
 penfed with, fo they appeared once a Year, 
 that is at the Paffover. He mentions others 
 that were of Opinion that the Law was fatif- 
 fied, if every third Year ail the Males came up 
 to the three Feafts ^ but he himfelf thought 
 that either they were obliged yearly to come 
 twice, that is, on the Palfover and Feaft of 
 Tabernacles, for the Pentecoft being fo near to 
 the Paffover, they muft be excufed for that, or 
 elfe fome Years they were to come up only once, 
 
 * Jof. B. J. 1. 6. c. 45". Ed.^rob, 
 
 f Lyrci '\\\I.xocl. xxiii. 17. T)eut, xvi. 16. T;imen cum illis 
 qui erant remoti a Jerufalem aliquando dilpenfabatur, de dua- 
 bus vicibus, fcil. Pentecofte, 6v Fefto Tabernaculorum, &cc. 
 
 that 
 
538 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. that IS, at Eafter , on others twice, that is, at 
 ^^^'^^^^"^^ Eafier^ and the Feaft of Tabernacles , for every 
 feventh Year the Law was to be read on that 
 Feaft ^ fb that thofe who were any thing re- 
 mote, were never bound to go up at Pente- 
 coft *. But befides the Males obliged to attend 
 on the three Feftivals, the devout Women and 
 Children, not yet under the Obligation, went 
 up to the PafTover out of voluntary Devotion ; 
 So Elkanab's Wives went to the yearly Sacrifice 
 at Sbilo. So the Parents of our Saviour went 
 up to Jertifalem every Year at the Feaft of the 
 PafTover. Now thofe Interpreters, who are 
 concerned to make Jofeph^ as touching the Law, 
 blameleis, fend him up three times a Year 
 according to the Law, and are content to have 
 thefe Words underftood of the bleffed Virgin, 
 that fhe went up but once a Year, and that at 
 the Paftbver. Though others underftand them 
 of both our Saviour's Parents, as if they had 
 gone up but once , and Lyra^ according to his 
 Notion mentioned above, obferves that Galilee 
 was remote^ and therefore within the Difpenfa- 
 tion for two of the three Feafts ; and indeed the 
 Expreflion of St. Luke does not eafily admit ©f 
 any other Conftrudtion. And the Words of the 
 Book of Samuel do as plainly intimate, that El- 
 kanah himfelf, tho' a Levite, went up to Sbilo 
 but once a Year : ^bis Ma?i, lays the Text, 
 we?U up out of his City yearly to worjhip in Shilo. 
 And after his Wife had vow'd, and he and his 
 Family had return'd home, it follows 3 IVberefore 
 it came to pafs^ when the 'time was come ahout^ 
 after Hannah had conceinjedy that floe hare a Son^ 
 and called his Name Samuel j and the Man El- 
 kanah and all bis Houfe went up to offer unto the 
 
 ^ rfielU in Deitt. xvl 
 
 Lord 
 
Tbirty-Nijje Articles. 5^9 
 
 Lord the yearly Sacrifice and his Vow. So that ^^^t- xxiir. 
 by this Relation Elkanab feems not to have ^^-^"'^^''^^-^ 
 gone up to Shiloj from the Time Hannah vowed 
 in the Temple, until after the Birth o( Samttel^ 
 that is the Space of a whole Year. But however 
 thefe Places may be underftood, it is allowed by 
 all, that the PafTover was the chiefeft for Solem- 
 nity and Refort of Worfhippers, of all the Feafts 
 of the Jews^ and therefore a Computation of 
 the Strangers at Jerufalem on a Pentecoft, from 
 the extraordinary Numbers laid once to have 
 been at a PafTover, muft be very fallacious ^ for 
 the fame Calculation cannot ferve both. Now 
 left this Argument fhould lofe any thing of Ad- 
 vantage by being too diffufe, the Force of it 
 fhall be contra6led into \q{s Compafs, that it 
 may be the eafier obferv'd. i. Becaufe three 
 Millions are reported to have been at one 
 PafTover, therefore every PafTover had as many. 
 Many will be apt here to deny the Confequence; 
 but let it pafs : And then the Argument pro- 
 ceeds farther ; If fo many reforted to the Pai^ 
 fover, then the fame Number came up at Pen- 
 tecoft 5 this is hard to grant : But who can 
 deny any thing to fuch a Difputant ? To go on 
 therefore , If three Millions were prefent at Pen- 
 tecoft, on which three thoufand Souls were con- 
 verted, therefore not above a hundred and fifty 
 could belong to Jerufalem j becaufe in Heca- 
 taus's Time, that City had but a hundred and 
 fifty thoufand Inhabitants. Wonderful ! Who 
 can find in his Heart to deny any thing fo con- 
 fequential ? But had that City received no In- 
 creafe from the Time of Hecatceus to that of 
 Nero? Jofephus mentions feveral Improvements 
 it had under the Afmonean Kings, whofe Family 
 united the Priefthood and the Crown, and un- 
 der whom this facred Metropolis could not but 
 
 receive 
 
54 o Jn Eypofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. receive great Advantage *. Afterwards we 
 V^OTV^ have an Account that the old Walls could not 
 hold it, and the Inhabitants multiplied {o much, 
 that they were forced to build without the 
 Gates 5 and thefe new Buildings in the Time 
 oi Claudius y were fo confiderable, as to make, 
 as it were, another City. Yet our Author keeps 
 to his old Computation, which is juft as if the 
 Inhabitants oi London were to be computed by 
 what they were about three hundred Years ago. 
 It may feem perhaps no lefs ridiculous to refute 
 fuch an Argument, than it was to make it : Yet 
 becaufe our Author fufpedls even this Number 
 in Hecatxus as too great, I muft take the Li- 
 berty at leafl-wife to explain this Matter a little 
 more. Mr. Clarkfon^ as we have obierv'd be- 
 fore, fufpecfiis his Author to have over-reach'd 
 in his Number of the Citizens at Jerufalemy 
 becaufe he had done fo in the Meafure of the 
 City, of which he makes the Circuit to be fifty 
 Furlongs ^ whereas Jofephus fays it was but 
 thirty-three, and the Circumvallation of 'fitus 
 to be thirty-nine. And to fhew the Number of 
 Inhabitants in Jerufalem could not be great 
 even in the Beginning of the laft War, he ob- 
 ferves, that v;hen twelve thoufand were flain in 
 Jerufalem in one Night, the Lofs is reprefented 
 as though the greateft Part of the Citizens had 
 been deftroyed t- As to the Circuit of Jerufa- 
 lem^ I cannot conclude Hecatdcus to have over- 
 reached, till I can be fure there is no Fault in 
 the Copies of Jofephus^ or that our Author did 
 rightly underftand him. For firft Jofephus does 
 not feem to agree with himfeif in this Matter, 
 
 • B.J. lib. 5-. c. 15. 
 t Jof, B.T. 1.4. C.20. 
 
 whefi 
 
Th'irty-Kine Articles. 54 1 
 
 when in the fame Chapter, giving an Account Art. XXIII. 
 of the three Walls that encompafTed the City, ^->^VN^ 
 he makes the third to have ninety Towers, 
 confifting of twenty Cubits diameter each, and 
 between every one of thole Towers a Curtain 
 of two hundred Cubits , which being fum'd 
 up, make near fifty Furlongs in Compafs. 
 "^ Or if we take Villalpandus his Reckoning, 
 who allows but four hundred Cubits to a Fur- 
 long, we fhall have fifty Furlongs compleat. 
 Nor was this the whole Compafs of the 
 City, for this ¥/all was not drawn round the 
 other two on every Part ; but where the City 
 ended in inacceflible Precipices, there was but 
 oneWall f, and then it muft be,by fo much, more 
 than Fifty Furlongs : fo the Particulars and the 
 Sum total of this Author not agreeing, there 
 muft be fome Miftake in the Calculation. But 
 feveral learned Men have endeavoured to recon- 
 cile thefe Paflages, among whom, Villalpandus 
 feems to have fucceeded beft ; who having 
 fhewed the right Order and Situation of the 
 three Walls out of Jofephus^ againfl the Mif^ 
 takes of Adricojnius and others, concludes, with 
 great Probability, that the City, which is faid to 
 have been thirty-three Furlongs about, was the 
 old City, contained within the firft Wall of fixty 
 Towers : And if the Diftance betwixt thefe 
 was equal to that of the third Wall, the Sum 
 will be exadlly according to Jofephus his Mea- 
 fure. Now to confirm this Conjecture, it muft: 
 be obferved that the Town about which ^itm 
 drew his Vallum was only the old : for the lower 
 .Town and two of the three Walls were taken 
 
 * App. Urb. Tempi. P. i. Lib. 2. C- 21 
 t J^fi^^' ^t flipr. 
 
 by 
 
542 ^n Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. \yy the Kojuaus^ and ruined before that Circum- 
 ^^y^^f'^^ vallation was begun, which was according to 
 Jofepbus thirty-nine Furlongs ; and it was this 
 which was properly called the City, the other 
 Acceflions being accounted for Suburbs, and fo 
 called by Jofepbus, Nor can we imagine either 
 that the Romans would leave fo great a Part of 
 the City as that which was deflroyed, in the Pof- 
 feilion of the Jews^ or contrive their Vallum^ 
 which was to keep them in, at fo great a Di- 
 ftance from the remaining Wall or Place of At- 
 tack, as it muft needs be, if theCircumvallation 
 encompaffed that Part which was before ruined 
 by the Komans and quitted by the Jews, Now 
 if Jofepbus be thus underftood, he is not only 
 reconciled to himfelf> but to that Charadler of 
 Greatnefs which Vliny gives Jenifalem^ of being 
 far the moft famous City, not only of Jiidea^ 
 but of all the Eaf *. Arifteas^ if he deferves 
 any Credit, makes it forty Furlongs about f) 
 and there are thoie that reprefent it as quadran- 
 gular, three Miles in Length, and fbmething 
 lefs in Breadth • which is indeed the moft liberal 
 of all Calculations, but has no great Authority 
 to vouch it : However, by the Reckoning of 
 Jofepbus^ Jerufalem was more than fifty Fur- 
 longs in Compafs , and the Precipices being rec- 
 koned, where there was but one Wall, many Fur- 
 longs more may remain to be added to that Sum. 
 What is fuggeftcd to lelTen the Number of the 
 Vto^^At o£ Jerufalem^ from the Complaint made 
 to the Idumeans t, that they had deftroyed in 
 one Night almoft all the People, when there 
 
 * Vlin. Lib. f. Cap. 4. 
 
 j- Arifi. dc 70 Inter. 
 
 4: Jof, B. J. Lib. 4, C. io. 
 
 was 
 
Thirty-lSlme Articles. 545 
 
 was but twelve thoufand llain, is not exa6t Art. xxiil. 
 enough to ground any Calculation on. For the ^^^^V^^^ 
 Jdumeans flew above twenty, perhaps above 
 forty Thoufand while they were in Jerufalem^ 
 as Jofephus reckons ^j for they flew the firft 
 Night they were let in eight thoufand five hun- 
 dred Perfons, not in the City, but about the 
 Temple : and not content with this Slaughter, 
 they turned upon the City, and killed every one 
 they met , nor did it end thus, but they flill 
 went on and butchered the People like a Herd 
 of unclean Beads: Thefe are without Number. 
 Afterwards having taken many Perfbns of Con- 
 dition, and young Men, they bound them and 
 put them into Cuftody, hoping to gain them to 
 their Side ^ but they all chofe rather to die than 
 join with their Enemies, whereupon they were 
 tortured and killed f: Thofc who were taken into 
 Cuftody in the Day, were flain and caft out in the 
 Night, to make Room for others the Day follow- 
 ing, who were alfb deftroyed in the fame manner, 
 and the Number of thofe young People of Qua- 
 lity deftroyed in that manner is faid to be 
 twelve Thoufand. t Such was the Slaughter made 
 by the Idumeans in Jerufalem^ that it is no Won- 
 der if thofe who had a mind to be rid of their 
 Company fhould reprefent the whole People 
 as deftroyed : And confidering the prodigious 
 Number flain by the Fa6tions in that City, it is 
 a Wonder there fhould be any more remaining 
 for new Calamities; and yet after this Lofs, the 
 People of Jerufalem were (o formidable, that 
 Jofephus commends the Conduct: of Vefpafian^ for 
 
 * Jof. Lib. 4. C. 17, 18, 19. 
 
 not 
 
544 -^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 ^^|;;^xxiii. not adventuring to attack it at thatTime, when his 
 ^"-^^^^^^^ Officers urged him to march his Army thither, that 
 fo the Factions might have yet more Leifure to 
 weaken one another : whereas, if the People were 
 in a manner all killed, he had no reafon to ap- 
 prehend any Oppofition* Now fhould all this 
 Calculation be allowed, and Jerufalem reduced 
 to the narroweft Circuit, and the loweft Reckon- 
 ing, yet I cannot iee what Benefit can redound 
 to the Notion of Congregational-Epifcopacy ; 
 for we do not read of any great Acceffion of 
 Profelytes to the Chriftian Faith on any of the 
 three Feafts, except one, on that of Pentccoft^ 
 when three thoufand Souls were gained, but 
 fmce that there were many added daily to the 
 Church : There were five thoufand converted at 
 a time^ and after this. Believers were the more 
 added to the Church, Multitudes both of Men 
 and Women, And after this the Word of God 
 increafed^ and the Number of Difciples multi- 
 plied in Jerufalem greatly^ and a great Co??!- 
 pany of the Priejis were obedient to the Faithj 
 A^s V. 14, and vi. 7. Thefe Acceffions are no 
 where faid to confift of out-lying Jews^ nor to 
 come in upon folemn Times, but daily^ and all 
 this to fall out within the Compafs of a Year. 
 
 I N fhort, to fum up the Argument, all the 
 Endeavours todedu6l from the Number of Con- 
 verts expreifed by St. Luke can have no Place 
 in the Church of Jerufalem : For, i. All that 
 were converted on Pentecofi are faid to continue 
 On the Apoftle's Dod:rine) in Fcllowfhip, and 
 breaking of Bread, and in Prayer; that is, to 
 ftay in Jerufalem^ at leaft for fome Time, 
 2. The five Thoufand added to thefe, accor- 
 ding to the Circumftances of the Story, and the 
 Expofition of all the antient Writers, will afford 
 
 no 
 
ThJrtyNhie Articles. 545 
 
 no Occafion for any Dedudion. 3. The In- A?.t. xxill. 
 creafe, of which the Numbers are not expreiTed, ^w/^YX*^ 
 may reafonably be prefumed no way inferior tor 
 the other, where the Number is iet down , but 
 if we obierve the Expreflions, feem to furpafs 
 them. For when five Thoufand were converted, 
 it is faid, that many of thofe who heard the 
 Word believed , if the Number had not fol- 
 lowed, this would have pafled for a little Mat- 
 ter with our Author : But in other Places it is 
 faid, that great Multitudes both of Men and 
 Women and a great Number of the Prieils were 
 obedient to the Faith. 4. While the Apoftles 
 continued in Jerujalem^ we have reafbn to be- 
 lieve the Church was ftill increafmg , and the 
 People being generally of their Side, upon the 
 Account of the Miracles they wrought, fo as m 
 give a Check to the Rulers, and to reftrain them 
 from perfecuting the Apoftles, it cannot be well 
 doubted but the Apoftles improved this good , 
 Difpofition to a perfect Converfion. 5. Befides 
 the preaching of the Apoftles, the Influence of 
 the Converts (fuch of them I mean as were Men) 
 upon their Families could not fail of having great 
 Effed, and of making no fmall Addition to the 
 Sum of Believers ; the Authority the Mafters 
 of Families had over them am,ong the Jews be- 
 ing very great, and the Submiflion of Wives and 
 Clildren to them in that Nation being very im- 
 plicit : it being the received Cuftom of the Eafi^ 
 as De la Valle obferved, that the Women and 
 Children ihould accommodate themfelves to the 
 Father of the Family in Matters of Religion, 
 tho' the Women had before they married been 
 bred up to other Rules *. 6. That the Multi- 
 
 Lottcr 17 from Baghdad. 
 
 M m tude 
 
546 -^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. tude Converted could have no Convenience in 
 ^.^'^V^^ Jerufalem of meeting in one AlTcmbly. The 
 Apoftles went from Houie to Houiexctr hmv, i. e, 
 in feveral Houfes there were feveral religious 
 Affemblies, and fo confequently feveral Congre- 
 gations, fo that the Multitude, though it might 
 in a very great Theatre or Temple have come 
 together 5 yet for want of fuch Accommodation, 
 began in the Dioceian Way, and difperfed into 
 leveral Affemblies, which Hill made up but one 
 Church. 
 
 T F we defcend from Scripture-times to thoie 
 which immediately followed, at leaft to thofe 
 Times in which Independency is fuppofed to 
 have fiourifhed, we Ihall find i'ertuWan a Writer 
 of the fecond Century, making Mention of an 
 infinite Number of Chriftians in every Piace in 
 general: The Numbers of them in his early 
 Age were well nigh the greater Part of every 
 City i for fo he tells the perlecuting Scapula^ who 
 was not to be jeiled with ^. And again, to all 
 the Koman Magiilrates, in his Apology, he glo- 
 ries in the Multitudes of his Profeflion thus: 
 '^ We are of Yefterday, (fays he) yet every 
 ^* place is filled with us, your Cities, the Iflands, 
 ^^ the Forts, your Corporations, the Councils, 
 '' the Armies, the Tribes, and Companies, yea, 
 '^ the Palace, Senate, and Courts of Juftice: 
 " your Temples only have we left you free ; 
 '' fnould we go oif and feparate from you, 
 " you'd (land amazed at your own Defolation, 
 '^ be aifrighted at the Stop and Deadnefs of 
 " AiTairs amongft you, and you'd have more 
 
 * Tanta hom'num multitudo, fars '^enl mftjcr cujafq^ civz^ 
 Utis. TeriiiL ad Sci^. C. 2. P. 8(5. 
 
 ^^ Enemies 
 
Thirty-Nme Articles. 5-47 
 
 ^^ Enemies than Subjects left you^:" An m- Apt/xxiit. 
 comprehenfible Account fure, with Mr. Normans ^-/^V^'V* 
 good Leave, if the biggefl: City in the Empire 
 had no more than a fingJe Congregation in it. 
 Let me add a Hint or two from the excellent 
 Eufehius to the fame Purpofe. That accurate 
 Hiftorian, when he fpeaks in general of the pri- 
 mitive Chriftian Churches in every City and 
 Country about the Clofe of the Apo'ftolick Age, 
 ufes fuch fmgular Terms to expreis the Multi- 
 tudes and Numbers of them, as any impartial 
 Reader muft needs confefs do rather denote 
 them to be Hods and Legions, than any fuch 
 thing as mere parochial Affemblies f- His Words 
 are hardly to be rendered in our own Tongue ; 
 for the greateft Number of thronged and crowded 
 Societies of them are an imperfed: Tranflation 
 of his Original (which I have iet in the Margin) 
 and his Comparifbn for them is this, That they 
 were like heaped Grain upon a Barn-Floor. It is 
 ftrange if fo exadt an Author as this fhould 
 ftrain for fuch fuperlative Words as thefe are, 
 to defcribe only a common Congregation by. 
 Yet thus he reprefents (we fee) the State of 
 Chriftian Churches, at the Entrance as it were 
 of that Period of Time to which our Adverfa- 
 ries appeal, and before he comes to the End of 
 his Third Century, he confutes, (I think even 
 
 * Heilcrni fiimiis &: veilra omnia implcvimus; urbes, infu- 
 las, eaflella, municipia, conciiiabula, calira ipia, tribus, de- 
 curia^, palatium, fenatum, forura 5 fola vobis reliquimus tem- 
 pla. Tertid. Apol. p. 35. cap. 37. Si tanta vis liominum in 
 aliquem orbis remoti imum abrupiiTcmus a vobis — — pro- 
 cuidubio expaviftetis ad folitudinem veflram, ad filentium re- 
 rum, 8c ftuporcm quendam quali mortui orbis. Ibid. 
 
 ffui'iTimiJAV' Eafeb. Hill. EccicL Lib. 2. Cap. 3. 
 
 M m 2 to 
 
54B Jn Eipofitioii on the 
 
 Art. xxill. to a Demonflratioii) the whole Congregational 
 
 K^y^su 
 
 or Independent Hypothefis at once : For fpeak- 
 ing of the peaceful and bleffed Times that the 
 Chriftians enjoyed after the Valerian Periecution 
 ended, and before the Diode fian began, which 
 was the laft forty Years of the third Century, 
 " Who can defcribe (fays he) the innumerable 
 '^ Increafe and Concourie of them ? the Num- 
 '' bers of AfTem.blies in each City ? and the 
 '^ extraordinary Meetings in their Houfes of 
 '' Prayer ? " fo that not content with the Build- 
 ings they had of old, they founded new and 
 larger Churches throughout every City *. Which 
 agrees diredtly with what Optattts f (the holy 
 Bifliop of Milevis') tells us, that when Diodefian 
 deftroyed the Chrifcian Churches, (which was 
 but five Years after the third Century at the 
 moft) there were above forty Bafilic^ , that is 
 publick Places for Chriftian Worfi:iip, in the 
 fingle City of Kome. When were thefe forty 
 Churches built or dedicated to this holy Ufe? 
 Were none of them (can we imagine) ered:ed 
 fo much as five or fix Years before > Had the 
 Chriftians enjoyed forty Years of Peace and 
 Favour with the Emperors, juft at that Time, 
 and not provided fo much as two or three fuch 
 Houfes of God for their iblemn Afiemblies, and 
 yet had Occafion for forty of them, and actually 
 had them too before the fatal Edi6t was ilTued 
 out, that levelled them all to the Ground? Why 
 
 t Opt^i, de Schiim. Donat. Lib. 2,. P. 39. 
 
 truly 
 
Thirty-Nhte Articles. 549 
 
 truly Mr. Norman tells us, Page 69 of his Le- Art. xxill. 
 fence^ &c. That Mr. Clarkfon hath confidered orY>s^ 
 the Number of Officers which belonged to the 
 Church oiKome when Cornelius was Bifhop there, 
 which was about the Middle of the third Cen- 
 tury, and alfo the Number of the Poor, accord- 
 ing to Eufebhus Acco\jLnt; and made it very 
 probable, that there were not fo many belonged 
 to that Church as to divers of our Parifhes : And 
 for a Proof of this he refers us to the 5th Chap- 
 ter of Mr. Clarkfo7is Primitive Epifcopacy ^ which 
 I will take care to have Recourfe to, as foon as 
 I have told the Reader what Account Enfebius 
 hath given us of this Church at the Time before^ 
 mentioned. This is contained in a Letter from 
 Cornelius himfelf to Fahius Billiop oi Antiocb^ '^ 
 and it is as follows, ^^ There were forty-fix Pres- 
 *' byters,fevenDeacons,fevenSubdeacons,Clerks 
 '^ forty-two, Exorciils, Readers, together with 
 " Janitors, fifty-two j Widows and indigent 
 *^ Perfons, which could not maintain themfelvef, 
 '^ above a thoufand and five-hundred : All theie 
 " the Grace and Bounty of the Lord maintained. 
 *^' As to the Number of Officers, Mr. Clarkfon 
 ^^ fancies the Shew will vanifh, if it be confi- 
 '^ dered, that it v/as the Cuftom of thofe antient 
 '^ Times to multiply Officers beyond what was 
 '^ necefifary ; yea, fo much, that, as NdZianzeu 
 " tells us, the Officers were fomecimes as many 
 " as they had the Charge of '" It might be 
 excufable in Mr. Baxter to confound Times of 
 Perfecution with Times of Settlement, and the 
 Middle of the third Century with the latter End 
 of the fourth : for he was too hafty to be curious, 
 and looked not to the Date of the Table; fo it 
 
 Etifeb. Lib. 6. C, 43. 
 
 M m 3 happened 
 
55© -^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxrii. happened upon a Time, or fliortly after, he was 
 ^-^^^^y''^ contented. But from Mr. Clarkfon fomewhat 
 might be expected more exad: What, will this 
 Shew of Frohahility vanijh^ and no Likelihood 
 that there were more Congregations in Rome 
 than one remain from fix and forty Presbyters 
 in Conielhis's Time, becaufe it was the Cuftom 
 of l^azianzens Times to multiply Officers be- 
 yond what was neceffary ! forty-fix Presbyters 
 were never accounted neceifary to one Congre- 
 gation, when in the moft profperous Times of 
 the Church ; nor can any Inftance be given of 
 fo many relating to one Alfem.bly in any Age 
 accounted antient, tho* it might be fafhionable 
 then to multiply Church-Officers. But for this 
 we are at a greater Certainty : for Cornelius af- 
 fures us, in the Letter which I referred to be- 
 fore, that this Number was not for State, nor 
 for Form, without Ufe and Necefiity • but ex- 
 ceeding neceflary, and that upon the Account 
 of an infinite and numberlefs People. And if 
 the Multitude of Chriftians in Koine v/as then fo 
 great as to require forty-fix Presbyters, we may 
 make {omt Gucfs at the Proportion they might 
 have to the People of F^ome^ after it had been 
 intireiy converted* in the fifth and fixth Centu- 
 ries 5 for in thoie Tim.es the Presbyters of Rome 
 were fcarce a third Part more than thofe in the 
 Catalogue of Cornelius^ as we may gather from 
 the Subfcriptions of the Presbyters in the Ro77iau 
 Council '*: Nay, in one Synod under Gregory 
 the Great f there are but thirty-four Presbyters 
 that fubfcribe. I do not intend to fay, that 
 two thirds of that City was then Chriilian ^ but 
 
 ■*■ Synod. Ro>77. i. fub Symmacli. fubf. Pref, 67. 
 t d-cg. Reg. L. 4. Ep. 44, 
 
 the 
 
Thirty ''Nine Articles. 551 
 
 the Chriftians of that Place undtv Cornelius feem Art. xxill, 
 to be at lead two Thirds, in refped: of all Rome ^->OrV^ 
 in After-ages, when it was much diminifhed 
 from its antient Greatnefs, and when it feems 
 to have no more then feventy Parifh Presby- 
 ters. The Number therefore of forty-fix Pres- 
 byters, all neceffary for fo great a People as the 
 Chriftians of Rome then were, makes it evident, 
 notwithftanding the frivolous Exceptions of our 
 Author, that the Believers of that City could 
 not all aftemble together upon any religious Oc- 
 cafion, and that the Church there muft confe- 
 quently be diftributcd to feveral Parifhes and 
 Congregations. As to what relates to the Num- 
 bers of the Poor mentioned in Cornelius's Letter, 
 Mr. Clarkfon faith he knows not how to com- 
 pute the Numbers of the Roman Church by 
 them better than by obferving what Proportion 
 there was betwixt the Poor in this and others in 
 other Places- But the Ground of this Excep- 
 tion is a Miftake : For Cornelius does not fay, 
 that the Number of all the poor Chriftians in 
 Rome was but fifteen Hundred -, but that fo 
 many were maintained by the publick Stock of 
 the Church, befides the neceffary Officers. Now 
 there might be many more Poor maintained, 
 fome by P.elations, others by private Charities 3 
 and it is plain from the Account that Chryjoftom 
 gives of the Poor of Antioch^ and the Number 
 in the Church-Book, that thofe that were main- 
 tained by the Church were but a fmall Part, m 
 Comparifon of the whole Number of the Poor. 
 For exhorting the rich Men to coutribute to- 
 wards the Maintenance of the Poor, he obferves 
 how eafy it would be to provide for them. 
 " For the Church, fays )i-!> maintains many 
 " Widows, and Virgins, and Priibners, and 
 ^^ Sick, and Clergy." The Number of thofe 
 M m 4 upon 
 
55^^ ^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxiti. upon the Roll maintained by the Publick Stock 
 uy^rXy' of the Church is about three Thoufand, now 
 the Income of the Church is fcarce equal to one 
 of the loweft of thofe accounted rich : if there- 
 fore but Ten fuch rich Men would difpofe of 
 their Eftates, as the Church does, there would 
 not be a poor Man in all Antioch unprovided ; 
 jiay, if all the rich Men would but give a tenth 
 pare to Charity, it would aniwer all Occafions, 
 So that upon the Computation of Cbryfoftom, 
 the Church did not relieve above a tenth Part 
 of the Poor • and yet this muft be more in Pro- 
 portion than the Roman Church can be fuppofed 
 able to do in Cornelius his Time, when it had no 
 other Revenue than the Oblations of the Faith- 
 ful : whereas in C/:?ryyii/? 6) ;;/s Time, befides thefe, 
 it was endowed with great PoffefRons, and was 
 maintained from the Rents or Product of her 
 Eftate 5 the Capital remaining undiminiihed, as 
 he obferves in the fame Place. Our Author 
 having laid this falfe Foundation, proceeds to 
 build upon it in this manner, " That atConJian- 
 ^' timyle Chryfoftom computes the Poor to have 
 '' been half as many as all the other Chriftians 
 ^^ there, and that at Antioch the fame Father 
 " fuppoies the Poor a tenth Part : " The firft 
 js unreafonable, and without Example in any 
 City ; the latter multiplies the Poor that ftand 
 in need of Relief, I think, beyond what we 
 can find in any rich City, fuch as Antioch 
 WIS. Yet upon this Foot let us reckon. 
 The fifteen hundred Roman Poor we will fup- 
 pofe, according to Chryfoftom^ to be the tenth 
 Part of the poor Chriftians of the Place. The 
 Sum will be fifteen Thoufand, thefe multiplied 
 by Ten, will make a^n hundred and fifty Thou- 
 fand: and this may be fuppofed about a feventh 
 Part of the Inhabitants in Kome^ of all Ages and 
 
 Condi-^ 
 
Thirty-Nhte Articles. 553 
 
 Conditions. And confidering the great Oftenta- Art. XXIIL 
 tion which 'Tertullimi makes of the Numbers of V^'VN^ 
 the Chriftians in the Beginning of this Age, and 
 the great Increafe they received in the Time in- 
 tervening between ^ertullian and Cornelius^ un- 
 der Alexander^ Sever us ^ and Pbilipj I cannot 
 but think I fet their Proportion too low, when 
 1 reckon them but a feventh Part. I cannot 
 pafs by one PafTage in the fame Homily of 
 Chryfoftom^ that I cannot reconcile with his 
 Suppofition, that makes the Poor of Antioch the 
 tenth Part of the City. When he had divided 
 the People into ten Parts, he makes one to con- 
 fift of rich Men, another of very poor Men, the 
 other eight to confift of fuch as had Competence 
 of Eft ate, and were neither very rich nor very 
 poor: Yet having made this Diftribution, he 
 fays, that if the Poor were divided between 
 thofe who were rich, and thofe who were not 
 • poor, there would not one poor Man fall to the 
 Share of fifty or a hundred ; whereas, according 
 to his Diftribution, there will be a poor Man 
 left between nine. I cannot think Chryfoftom fb 
 little skilled in Arithmetick, as to commit a 
 Miftake in fb obvious a Reckoning. I had ra- 
 ther fufpe(5t the Reading in this Place of the 
 tenth Part^ which with fmall Variation may be 
 reconciled with the following Computations. 
 But having not the Countenance of any Critick, 
 nor the Authority of any Copy, 1 am content 
 to leave it as I find it. However, as it ftands, 
 it does but imall Service for the diminilhing of 
 Chriftians in ancient Times, 
 
 Mr. Baxter^ Mr. Cotton^ and Dr. Owen do 
 all of them appeal to the Church as it was in 
 St. Cyprian^ Time. Mr. Baxter faith, that in 
 St. Cyprians Time the African Churches were 
 
 the 
 

 554 j47j Expofition o^i tie 
 
 Art. XXIII. the beft-ordered Churches in the World, and 
 ^'^'^'^^^ that the Bifhops there were the moft godly, 
 faithful, peaceable Company of Bilhops fince the 
 Apoftles Times. And of the following Times 
 he Ipeaks thus : ^^ Moft of the African Coun- 
 *' cils were the beft in all the World; many 
 good Canons for Church-Order were made 
 by this and moft of the African Councils, no 
 Biihops being faithfuller than they *." Let 
 us therefone examine how the Cafe ftood in 
 the Times to which thofe Writers appeal. St. 
 Cyfrian complains in his 28th Epiftle, that 
 many of the Clergy were abfent, and that the 
 few that remained were hardly fufficient for their 
 Work. And eliewhere he acquaints us, that 
 altho' many ftood firm in the Time of Perfecu- 
 tion, yet the Number of the Lapfed was fo 
 great, that every Day Thoufands of Tickets 
 were granted by the Martyrs and Confeffors in 
 their behalf for their Reconciliation to the 
 Church : And in one of thofe Tickets fome- 
 times might be comprehended twenty or thirty 
 Perfons, the Form being Communicet ille cum 
 fuis t. In an Epiftle to the People of Carthage 
 in his Abfence^ he complains that fbme of the 
 Presbyters did not referve to the Bifhop the 
 Honour that was due to his Chair, and Place. 
 There were likewife at Carthage^ while St. Cy- 
 prian was Bifhop of that See leveral Churches. 
 Befides the Cathedral^ called BafiUca Major 
 & Reftituta^ in which the Bifhops always fat, 
 as Vii^or Vitenfis faith, lib. i. There were feveral 
 
 * Cotton's Way of Conj^reo;ational Churclies cleared, f. 98, 
 99. Owm's Vindication of Nonconformity, />. 41. Baxter's 
 Plea for Peace, p. 6. Church Hifiory, j?. 37, ^7, and 73. 
 
 t Lib. 3. Ep. s* 2v I;-. ^11. 
 
 Other 
 
Thirty 'Nine Articles. 555 
 
 other confiderable ones, in which St. Aitgtiftine A^^. xxiil. 
 often preached when he went to Carthage^ as ^^-^^'"VX^^ 
 the Bafilica CereVmx ; which, Vi^or Vitenfis faith, 
 was likewife called the Scillitanorura i the Bafilica 
 Petri ^ Paiili & Bafilica Novarum. I do not 
 queftion but that there were many more, for 
 the fame Writer faith, that when Geifericus en- 
 tered Carthage^ he found there the Bifhop and a 
 great Multitude of Clergy, all which he imme- 
 diately banifhed, and that without the City 
 there were two great Churches, one where St. Cy- 
 prian fuffered Martyrdom, and the other where 
 his Body was buried, at a Place called Mappalia. 
 In all he reckons up about 500 Clergy in the 
 Church of Carthage^ including thofe that were 
 trained up to it. 
 
 HiiviNG briefly fhewn the Reader in what 
 manner Scripture, Church-Hiflory, and the an- 
 cient Fathers applaud the Honour of God, 
 and do Juftice to the blelTed Labours of the 
 holy Apoftles, in fetting forth the innumerable 
 Souls they gained to God and his Church, in 
 fo little a Compafs of Time ; I fhall now, with- 
 out further Interruption, confider the impor- 
 tant Obfervations which the learned Author of 
 the Enquiry^ &c. Mr. Boyfisj and Mr. Norjiian 
 have made upon feveral Paflages in the Writings 
 of the Primitive Fathers, which have prevailed 
 upon them to affirm, that there was no more 
 than one fmgle Congregational Church of Chri- 
 ftians for two or three, hundred Years together 
 in the greateft City in the Chriftian World. 
 The Author of the Enquiry begins with Juftin 
 Martin^ and renders a PalTage in his firft 
 Apology thus : On Sunday (fays he) all affeiU" 
 hie tcgether in one Place^ YicLvrcov I'tt] to dv-h <run- 
 MiVciiyU^JAi, Enojiiry^ Page 17. Now Jitfiins 
 % Words 
 
5 56 j4?i Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. Words are theft , UavImv KUTct ^oAnf h etys^i fjLiPoV' 
 
 V-/^VN^ 7eov k'jt 70 AVTo avvkhivtni yivi]cLiy Ofi Sunday dll 
 throughout City and Country^ or, to come nearer 
 to the G reeky all throughout Cities or Countries y 
 meet together ; and why do we think he left out 
 thefe Words {throughout Cities or Countries'] 
 which were in the very Middle of the Sentence ? 
 Why, becaufe thofe Words of the holy Martyr 
 would undeniably fhew it to be a general Ac- 
 count of Chriftian Pradlice in all Places of the 
 Chriftian World , whereas our Enquirer's Bufi- 
 nefs was to make it a particular Inftance of a 
 fingle Bifhop's Diocefe, and that all the Mem- 
 bers of it, both in City and Country, met in 
 one and the fame Place together at once ; and 
 if it were fo, then Cities and Countries in the 
 plural Number would be too much for him , for 
 if they proved any thing in that Senfe, they 
 would prove that O'/z^i and Countries^ indefinitely 
 taken, where-ever there were any Chriftians in 
 them, met all together every Sunday^ and 
 made but one Congregation , and therefore 
 the (jjm<cKiv(ni ylvi-mt Iti to avto) which properly 
 iignifies, ajfembling together ^ tho' 'tis exprefled 
 in the fingular Number, yet being fpoken with 
 reference to a complex Body, as it evidently is 
 here in relation to Cities and Countries at large, 
 does feverally refer to each diftind: Member and 
 Part, whereof that complex Body does confift j 
 and plainly denotes that every Part, as well one 
 as the other, did hold an AlTembly on that 
 Day, or elfe the fame Abfurdity would un- 
 avoidably follow as before, that all made but 
 one AfTembly in the Whole. So unwarily (at 
 leaft) are this holy Martyr's Words mifrepre- 
 fented here, to prove what they in no wife do 
 prove, or were never intended to do. For the 
 plain Cafe was this^ The pious Apologift writes 
 
 to 
 
Tbirty-Nme x\rticles. 557 
 
 to the Heathen Emperor, Senate and People, in Art. xxill. 
 Vindication of the perfecuted Chriftians through- ^-/^V"^*^ 
 out the Roman Empire, and towards the Glofe 
 of his Apology, fets forth the general Method 
 of them all in the Exercife of their Religion ; 
 I fay, the general M«diod of them all, for other- 
 wife his charitable Plea for that Profeifion had 
 been very lame and imperfedl indeed, and con- 
 trary to the Tenour of his whole Apology, as 
 Is obvious to them that read it : So that his 
 Sundays Affemblies here, were a Specification 
 of the Catholick Pradice, whether in Cities or 
 Countries, throughout the Empire, as the plu- 
 ral Words obferved above do unqueftionably 
 imply ; and forafmuch as they were Aliens to 
 the Chriftian Difpenfation, to whom he wrote, 
 he neither ufed the peculiar Word Bijloop or 
 Presbyter^ to exprefs the Prefident of their re- 
 fpeclive Affemblies by, (tho' our Enquirer 
 frankly tranllates it by the former of thefe) but 
 n^j^rx'?, fuch a general Term as might inftrudl 
 the Heathens he addreffed to, that a Perfon in 
 peculiar Authority did prefide over each of 
 them, and principally diicharge the Duties of 
 the Affembly and the Day ; and what does this 
 prove as to the Certainty of but one Congrega- 
 tion only in any City or Diocefe ? 
 
 The next Appeal of our Author, in which 
 he hath the Concurrence of the Writers of the 
 fame Side before-mentioned, is to feveral Paf- 
 fages in the Epiftles of St. Ignatius. The Quo- 
 tations are pretty many in Number , but the 
 Force and Importance of them all, when they are 
 heard, will, I conceive appear to be much the 
 fame. To the Church of Smyrna he writes 
 thus : IVhere Ihe Bijhop is., there the People nnifi 
 hi and again, It is unlawful to do any thmg 
 
 "Without 
 
558 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. ^ifhout the Bijloop *. To the Tralllans thus, 
 ^^/"V^^ f ^bere is a NeceJJity that we do nothing without 
 the Bijhop, And to the Philadelphians^ Where 
 the Paftor is^ there the Sheep ought to follow +, 
 And to the Magnefians^ As Chrift did nothing 
 without the Father^ fo do you nothing without the 
 Bijhop and Presbyters^ hut ajfemhie into the fame 
 Place 'y fb he renders l-m to autv^ without any 
 other Word joined to it, that you may have one 
 Prayer^ one Supplication^ one Mind^ and one 
 Hope §. Now can any Man fee more in all this, 
 than that the Bifhop muft be in all the Mini- 
 llrations of the Church, and none can rightly 
 partake of any of them but by him ? But how ? 
 by his perfonal Miniftry alone ^ yes, or elfe 
 thefe Gentlemens Ufe and Inference from them 
 will come to little indeed. But are we fure the 
 Holy Martyr meant fo too ? Nothing I think can 
 be plainer than that he did not 3 elfe hovv^ could 
 he fay, immediately before his Charge to the 
 Church of Smyrna^ of doing nothing without the 
 Bifloop^ II J^(^t that Eucharifi be counted valid with 
 you which is celebrated by your BifJoop^ or by ftich 
 an one as he floall authorize to do it : And imme- 
 diately after it again, as fbon as he had told 
 them that without the Bifhop it was not lawful 
 
 Ova \^QV iTiv y^KtUz'Trtux.o'Tr-d are ^ct':^Ti^e'.Vj 'in ctyd'T^nr 
 ^Q'eiV- Ep. ad Smyr. f. 6. 
 
 vy.A?. Ep. ad Tral. /). 4-8. 
 
 ^ ''Oi«r« 3 'Z^oii^nv i7iv, SKei co^ 'T^^CctJa. ct;coAK'3-<H75. Ep. 
 ad Philad. p.^i. 
 
 IkttU. Ep. adMagnei; ;>. 33. 
 
 W; « u Av Avm e'5r/]pfe4n. Ad Smyr. p. 6, 
 
 to 
 
Thirty-Kine Articles. 559 
 
 to baptize or fblemnize their Love-Feaft, (which Art. xxiir, 
 implies Communion too) he adds, as it were by ^»>^VN^ 
 way of Exception, But what he (that is the Bi- 
 fhop) dees approve^ that is acceptable unto God ^^ 
 The Bifhop's Permiflion and Approbation (it 
 feems then) were, in the Holy Martyr's Senf^,. 
 as good as his Ad and Deed. And no Ms is 
 plainly to be feen in that great Argument, by 
 which he enjoins this dutiful Regard to the Bi- 
 fhop, in his Charge to the Ma^fiefians -, f y^s 
 the Lord (fays he) did nothing of himfelf or by 
 his Apo files without his Father^ Jo neither do you 
 without the Bifhops and the Presbyters. In the 
 Relative Part of this Comparifon, we fee, what 
 our Lord did either by htmfelf or his Apoftles 
 (commiflioned by him) is implied to be the 
 fame Thing ; and therefore in the Correlate, 
 which anfwers to it, what the Church fhould do 
 by the Miniftry of the Bifhop himfelf, or of the 
 Presbyters commiflioned by him, by a jufl Ana- 
 logy of Senfe, fhould be the fame too : And for 
 this Reafon perhaps our cautious Enquirer, in 
 quoting this Paffage in this Place, left out the 
 whole former Part of this Comparifon in his 
 Original in the Margin, and thefe Words, By 
 himfelf^ or by his Apofiles^ in his Tranflation of 
 it in the Text. I need not add fure how natural 
 and undifputed a Maxim it is, in all Ads of 
 Government whatfbever, that the fupreme Ma- 
 giflrate is faid and owned to do what is warranta- 
 bly done by his commiflioned Miniflers and Au- 
 thority ; fo little does St. Ignatius^ Language in 
 
 )f 'A>^' ^V s/.sTi'©- J^OKllXet^il, T«TO ^ TzS Qia Ivd' 
 
 fZ<rov. lb. 
 t ''Out? cT/ Icti/Ttf, »7? i/lictT^v 'A77oroA«y. Ep. ad Magn. 
 
 ^ 33- 
 
 this 
 
5(5o j4n Expofition on the 
 
 Art,xxiil this Senfe, and in his own Interpretation of lU. 
 
 ^<'^'^^r>^ differ from the ordinary Dialed: and Notion of 
 all Mankind. That a Bifhop then might and 
 did lb a6l by deputed Presbyters, I think is very- 
 clear, in St. Ignatius' s own Senfe of it, and this 
 fort of Deputation fb very nearly refembles even 
 what we call InftHution in an Epiicopal Church 
 at this Day, at leaft as to the exercifmg of mi- 
 nifterial Offices in it, that if the Place as well as 
 the Office were affigned, I ihould fcarce know 
 what we did difpute about. And that thole 
 Primitive Bifhops could and did affign to Pres- 
 byters as well a feparate Place or Places to mi- 
 nifter in, as depute them to the Miniftry itfelf, 
 I can bring even the learned Enquirer himlelf to 
 bear witnels for me; for ia the 38th and 39th 
 Pages of this very Treatife of his, which is en- 
 titled All Enquiry^ ^c, (where he gives an Ac- 
 count of the populous Church of Alexandria J 
 he confelTes, '' That becaufe 'twas incommodi- 
 '' ous for all the People to alTemble in their own 
 '^ ufual Meeting-place, which was very far from 
 '' their own Homes, and withal to avoid Schifm 
 '^ from their Bifhop, the People asked Leave, 
 '' and the good Bifhop Dionyfius granted if, 
 " that they Ihould eredl a Chapel of Eale. " 
 He might have laid Chapels in the plural Num- 
 ber if he had pleafed, for in the Hiftorian him- 
 lelf there is the fame Authority for it ^. This 
 PafTage from Etifehius's Hiftory, Book the 
 Vllth, Chapter the Xlth, is reprefented by 
 our Author in a very nice and arbitrary Fi- 
 gure, to fuit the Scheme it was produced for, 
 as much as it could hafndfomely do ; and yet 
 
 * KatsU ui^Q- 'Svva.yuyetU Dionyf. apud 'Eufeb. lib. 7. 
 c. I I . ' 
 
 how 
 
 < 
 
Thirty ?\ine Articles, ^6t 
 
 how little it does fb, nay how diredly it con- Art. xxiil 
 tradi6ts the Whole, is obvious to any Reader v^>0''"Xi.^ 
 by the bare reciting of it. Here are feveral 
 AfTemblies of Chriftians under the Jurifdidion 
 of one Bifhop, officiating feparately in them, 
 and diftindt Places afligned for their doing fo. 
 Let the Reader judge if this be like our Enqui- 
 rer's Congregational Dioceie, or can be reafona- 
 bly oppofed to a genuine Epifcopal one, even 
 in After-ages of the Church, and down to thefe 
 Days of ours, if we will not ftill infift on bare 
 Names, and overlook Things. His only Sal'vo 
 is, that on folemn Occafions they were all to 
 ailemble dill in one Church, and with their opJ 
 BiJJoop together ; which neither Dionyfius him- 
 felf, nor the Hiftorian from whence he quotes 
 it, fay any thing of j and yet we know indeed, 
 that 'twas a cuftomary Form, by which paro- 
 chial Churches, for many Ages together, ufed to 
 teftify their Union and Dependance upon theii* 
 feveral Cathedrals ; namely, to o3er and com- ' 
 municate with them by proper Reprefentatives 
 on the greater Feftivals of the Year j and how 
 much more than that the Church of Alexandria^ 
 ever did, Cefpecially in St. Athanafiuss Time, 
 from whence our Author tells us he could bring 
 his Proof) any Man may pretty eafily conceive ; 
 fmce that venerable Father affirms, that the 
 whole Region o( Mareotis *, and all the Churches 
 in it, belonged to the Bifliop of Alexandria 
 alone ^ that the Presbyters had their feveral 
 
 (jw i':KdL^i ;^ '^srAsiof.'/f . S. Arhanaf. Apol. z. in oper. Vol. i-'t 
 -p. 802. Ed. Colon. 16^6. 
 
 N n Portion! 
 
0i Jh Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. Portions of it, and each of them ten or more 
 K^/^'^f^^<^ large Villages under their particular Care. 
 What Sort of Congregation this whole Region, 
 with all the Chriftians in the great City of 
 ^lesandriaj would make, I leave to any rea- 
 fonable Man to confider. Having thus ex- 
 plained this familiar Phrafe then, of that pri- 
 mitive Martyr St. Ignatius^ fl'bat without the 
 BiJJpGp 710th ing JJjould he done) in a Senfe which 
 no way warrants the Hypothefis 'twas quoted 
 for, and that by the unexceptionable Authority 
 of the holy Martyr himfelf, and our learned 
 Author's own Conceflions, who was here apply- 
 ing it to quite another End ; I think there is no 
 Tittle in the fore-mentiou'd Citations, that does 
 not in courle fall in with the fame Interpreta- 
 tion 5 unlefs perhaps he will fay that the par- 
 ticular Phrafes 'Ett/ r^ av-n, and Mf^t <f[imi, will 
 not confift with this ; by the former of which 
 he concludes for certain, that the whole Diocefe 
 or Bilhop's Church, aiTembled in one Place to- 
 gether 3 by the latter, that all Publick Prayer^ 
 and Religious Duties, were fb jointly performed 
 too. But what Neceflity for this^* Do thefe 
 Words fo evidently imply it, that the holy Fa- 
 ther himfelf could have no other Meaning in 
 them ? Let the Context dired us in the Cafe ;. 
 which, together with the Senfe which approved 
 Comimentators, and other Ecclcfiafliical Writers, 
 give us of the Words themfelves, will help us 
 to a fair Conftrudion of them. In the W^ords 
 immediately before thefe, the holy Martyr warns 
 the Magnefians^ to account nothing for a reafon^ 
 able Service y that is done privately ^, Agree- 
 
 Ad Magnet />. 33- 
 
 able^ 
 
Tbirty-N'me Articles. 5^5 
 
 able, no doubt, to the Apoftolical Charge, Heh, Art.xxiip 
 X. 25. xS\2X they Jhould not forfake the affemhling OOTS^ 
 of therafelves together^ but meet for Publick 
 Worfliip under the proper Minifter of their 
 Church, to avoid Schifhi and heterodox Opi- 
 nions, as he proceeds to explain hlmfelf prefently 
 after. Now if it had been undeniably proved 
 by any Expreflions before, that there neither 
 was, nor ought to be, any more than one fingle 
 Houfe of Prayer, or of Publick Worfliip within 
 a Bifhop's Diocefe, and that his perfbnal Mini- 
 ftry was abfolutely neceflary in all Divine Of^ 
 fices, it might have been fairly inferred indeed, 
 that they were all obliged to alTemble with him 
 in that one individual Place alone: But fmce 
 the holy Martyr himfelf had informed us elfe- 
 where, that the moft foiemn Offices of Publick 
 Worfliip were 'valid in themfePveSj and accept a-^ 
 hie to God too^ when performed by any Perfon 
 whom the Bifhop fliould anthorize and approve 
 of for it, (as we have feen before he did) furc, 
 if any particular Number or Society of Mem- 
 bers in that Diocefe had aflfembled for Publick 
 Worfliip, under any Presbyter fo allowed and 
 commiflioned by him to officiate for them, they 
 had anfwer^d the full Import of the holy Martyr's 
 Charge here given them, againft private and clan- 
 deftine Ways of Worfhipping ^ or elfe I cannot fee 
 how the Bifliop's Approbation and Permiflion of 
 fuch a Perfon could be to any Purpole at all. 
 Nay, if the fame Presbyter (by Virtue of fuch 
 PermiRion) could not minifter in Places diffe- 
 rent from their Bifiiop's Church, or Cathedral 
 of his Diocefe too, our learned Author's Cha- 
 pel of Eafe (as he calls it) in the Alexandrian 
 Church, had been no better than a fchifmatical 
 Conventicle, at the leaft : So little can it be in- 
 ferred from St. Ignatius'^ Phrafe in this Place, 
 N n 2 that 
 
564 -A^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII that he confined a Diocefe to a fingle Congre- 
 ^^y^'y^^^ gation. But let us fee what Confl:ru6lion im- 
 partial Commentators, and other Ecclefiaftical 
 Writers, have made of this Phrafe, ^E^tt to rture, 
 to whofe Obfervations I ihall only premife this 
 fhort and general Key to them all • that as the 
 Phrafe it felf does (by no grammatical Con- 
 ftrudion whatfoever) io much denote a Place^ 
 as it does a 'Thing in general^ according to the 
 known Rule of all fuch neutral Words as this 
 is- fo in the Inftances I fhall mention, you 
 will find 'tis accordingly taken and underftood 
 by them all. Thus the learned Grotius^ ex- 
 plaining this 'E^ TV duTo, in ^^s iii. i. only 
 tranilates it in thefe Words, Qrca idem tempus^ 
 that is, About the fame Time. And in Bezas 
 Tranilation of the New Teftament, the Note 
 and Paraphrafe upon it, ^^s ii. 44. is this ; 
 ^' That the common Affemblies of the Church, 
 '' with their mutual Agreement in the fame Do- 
 *^ drine,and the great Unanimity of their Hearts, 
 '^ were fignify'd by it * " Agreeable to which 
 Conftrudion of it, is what we meet with in the 
 Greek Tranflations of P fa I. xxxiv. $. where that 
 which the Septuagint render 'Ettt tj rtWo, is trans- 
 lated by Aquila 'OiJ.o-%iJ.ctrov^ that is, zvitb one 
 Mind^ and one Heart. And I need not remind the 
 Reader, of what we juft now obferved, that in 
 J lift in Martyrs Ufe of the Phrafe, it could not 
 be underftood in the Senfe that our learned En- 
 quirer here puts upon it, without the grofs Ab- 
 
 * Ita communes Eccleir<s caetus fignificantur cum mutua 
 in eandem do^flrinam confcntione, &c lumma animorum Con- 
 cordia. Not. ad Bcz,. in A<£1', ii. 44. Vid. eiiam Poli SynopC 
 in A^t. ii. 44. 
 
 fwrdity 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles- 565 
 
 flirdity of bringing the Chriftians of whole Art. XXIII. 
 Cities and Countries into one and the fame in- v./'VN.^j 
 dividual Place at once. A^s iv. 26, 27. Herod^ 
 Pilate^ the Gentiles^ and People ofl/raelj were 
 gathered againft Chrift^ ^^ to auto, were they all 
 in one Place, and at one Time together ? How 
 concluding that Argument muft then be which 
 proceeds upon a pofitive Interpretation ofafingle 
 Phrafe, that is indefinite in its own Nature, and 
 determined to fignifyotherwife by Authors of no 
 mean Charadler in the learned World, and is not 
 fuitable to the Author's own Notions from whence 
 it is taken, neither, I fhall not need to obferve. 
 But it is poffible, you'll fay, that //«at -^sr^c^yx". 
 and fj^U J'imi, that is, one Prayer and one Sup- 
 plication for a whole Church, fhould be confift- 
 ent with this Plurality of Congregations. Let 
 us fee what we mean by it, and then 'tis likely 
 we fhall argue more clearly about it : For if it 
 fhould appear by the Nature of the Thing it 
 felf, and by the Ufe and Application which St. 
 Ignatius makes of it, that it can confift {o ; that 
 is all, I think, can be required in it. Now 
 from the Nature of the Thing it felf, 'tis clear 
 that Prayer muft be one^ cither in refpedt of 
 the Words and Phraies which 'tis uttered or de- 
 livered in ^ or in refped: of the Senfe and Sub- 
 ftance, the Heads or Subjed Matter of which 
 it is compofed : that is, it muft be one^ either 
 in refpect of the Matter^ or in refped of the 
 For7n of it ^ for to fay it muft be one here, 
 upon the Account of admitting but one Place 
 or one Perfon in a Dioceie to offer it up, is to 
 beg the Queftion which it is brought to prove ^ 
 and therefore Unity in either of the other Senles, 
 if it agrees with the holy Martyr's Senfe too, is 
 the fair Account of it. Now that it is not 
 meant to be one in the former Senie^ relating 
 Nn 3 to 
 
5^^ ^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Abt. xxill. to the Words or Phrafe of it, I fuppofe will 
 *>«=^''"V^»-^ readily be granted j for that would make the 
 holy Father plainly to prefcribe a ftinted Form, 
 or mere common Liturgy in the Church, which 
 our gifted Congregational Bifhops, I conceive, 
 v/ould fcarce allow. And therefore, 2dly, it 
 muft be underllood to be one^ in refped: of the 
 Senfe andSubftance of it; or, in plainer Terms, 
 It muft be Prayer^ made with ftrid Analogy to 
 the one common Faith, and found Dodlrine of 
 the one Catholick Church throughout the Chri- 
 ftian World, as every true Chriflian Prayer ne- 
 ceffarily ought to be : And in no other Senfe 
 than this, is it conceivable, I think, how even a 
 fmgle Billiop in a Congregational Church, could 
 be faid to oifer up this yLtct cAW/?, or one Prayer 
 with his People, (which is here enjoined) who 
 affeds, as often as they meet together, to alter 
 the Phrafe and Language of his Devotion for 
 them. And that this was St. Ignatius s Meaning 
 in it, we may realbnably infer, i. from the 
 Words he immediately joins with it, one Prayer^ 
 me Supplication J one Mind, and one Hope ^ the 
 two latter Words imply a plain Unity in them, 
 and yet have fo diffufive a Senfe as to extend to 
 all the Congregations of the Catholick Church ; 
 and therefore why not the two former alfb ^ And, 
 2. We may infer it alfb from the Ufe he was 
 then making of it, which (as I hinted before) 
 was directly to fecure them from fchilmatical 
 Conventicles, and heretical Notions ; and fmce 
 the Biihop himfclf was to approve (as we have 
 feen St Ignatius himfelf allowed him to do) of 
 any Minifler whatfoever that fhould officiate for 
 them, and thereby referve to himfelf the Infpe-. 
 fftion, Vifitation and Cenfure of them, (which 
 Is a natural Confequence of it) whatfoever 
 Prayer the People of his Dioceie fhould join 
 a in. 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 567 
 
 in, with fuch a commiilioned and approved Art. xxill. 
 Presbyter as this, could never bring them into ^^y^^KJ^ 
 that Danger of Schilm the holy Martyr here 
 warned them againft , but being orthodox, and 
 as conformable to Chriftian Faith and Dodtrine, 
 as the Bifhop's own could be, would, in the 
 true Senfe of the primitive Father, and to the 
 great End for which he intended it, be that 
 ftia /5Jm, that one Prayer, which the Bifhop and 
 all his Diocefe were to offer up to God. The 
 next Place which our Author tries his Skill upon 
 is in the 41ft Page of St. ^;m?////s Epiftle to the 
 Philadelphiam : " The Bifhop (fays he) had 
 '^ but one Altar, or Communion-Table, in his 
 '^ whole Diocefe, at which his whole Flock re- 
 " ceived the Sacrament from him, and that at 
 '^ one Time. St. Ignatius' s Words are, ^here 
 " is but one Alt at ^ as hut one BiJJjop ^." To 
 explain which Phrafe, I ihall ufe our Enquirer's 
 own Method, by joining to it a parallel Ex- 
 preflion of the admirable St. Cyprian^ which is 
 fo near akin to it, that it feems almoft a meer 
 Tranflation of it, at leaft 'tis a moft dired and 
 immediate Illuftration of it. St. Cyprians Words 
 are here in the f Margin : Our Enquirer renders 
 them thus, " No Man can regularly confti- 
 tute a new Bifhop, or ered: a new Altar, 
 '' befides the one Btjloop and the one Altar. " 
 And here I am forry I muft remark a fatal Over- 
 fight, (for I am loth to call even this unjuffl 
 tranflation by another Name) but 'tis evident 
 that what St. Cyprian here calls a new Priefi- 
 
 * "El' ^(nA7Y\eiov foj il^ i'7ri(TK07rQ-y £^c. Ep. ad Phjlad, 
 p. 41. 
 
 ■f Aliud altare conilitui, aut facerdotium novum fieri, prse- 
 ter untim altare O' ^^ium facerdotium non poteft. Cyp, 
 Ep. 4. §e 4. Ed. Pamel. Ep. 43. Edit.Qxoa. 
 
 N n 4 hood^ 
 
5^8 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. hocd^ and one Friefthood^ our learned Author 
 M^'V"^^-/' renders by a new Btjloop and one Bifiop ; which 
 proves indeed that he believed it a dire<5tly pa- 
 rallel Place to that of St. Jgnatms^ (as it really 
 is) becaufe he tranflates both in the very fanae 
 Words : But in the mean-time he fo difguifes 
 this holy Father's Text, that he hides from the 
 EngliJJo Reader's Sight the main Key which would 
 open the genuine Senfe and Meaning of this and 
 all fuch Expreflions as thefe are ^ not only in 
 tbefe two venerable Fathers alone, but in all 
 the Writings of primitive Antiquity befides: For 
 the Unity of the Altar, the Unity of the Bifliop, 
 the Unity of the Eucharift, the Unity of Chri- 
 (lian Prayer, and the very Unity of the whole 
 Church itfelf, are all founded upon the common 
 Bottom that the Unity of the Chriftlan Prieft- 
 hood is ; and no Man ever fo unlocked the Evan- 
 gelical Secret of this Catholick and Chriftian 
 Unity as the inimitable St. Cyprian hath done. 
 So that if his (hort and plain (but admirable) 
 Account of it were but duly weighed and cre- 
 dited, as it ought to be, w^e fliould hear but few 
 Enquiries after the Conftitution of the primitive 
 Church, few Amufements about the fundamen- 
 tal Unity of it, drawn only from a fcatter'd 
 Sentence here and there, in the moft uniform 
 Records of the beft and antienteft Writers in it. 
 St. Cyprian s brief Account of it lies in that noted 
 Paiiage, (b familiar to all who ever read hisWorks, 
 or almoil ever heard his Name : " Epifcopacy, 
 '^ (faith he, in his fmall Trad: of tbe Unity of 
 *^ the Church^ is but one; a Part whereof each 
 " Bifhop holds, fo as to be interefted for the 
 _^^ Whole. The Church is alfo one, which by 
 ** its fruitful Increafe improves into a Multi- 
 " tude: As the Beams of the Sun are many, as; 
 ^' Branches from Trees, and Streams from a 
 
 '*' Fountain ^ 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles, 569 
 
 ^' Fountain ; whofe Number tho' it Teems dif- Art. XXIir. 
 *^ perfed by the abundant Plenty of them, yet U/'VX^. 
 *^ their Unity is preferved by the common Ori- 
 *^ ginal of them all *." Apply this plain Rule 
 to all Sorts of Unities mentioned here • and fee 
 firft if the primitive Expreilions of one Churchy 
 one Altar^ and one Bijhopy do not evidently con- 
 fift with as many Churches, Altars, and Bifliops, 
 as can be proved to be undeniably derived from 
 one and the fame original Inftitutor : The Unity 
 of whofe divine Power and Spirit, diffufed at 
 firft amongft the chofen Twelve, ftamps a Cha- 
 rader of Unity upon all who regularly defcend 
 from them; and upon every Individual, who 
 only claims under, and owns his Authority from, 
 and his Dependancc upon fuch as them : n^y, the 
 Unity of fimdry Prayers too, (as I have (hewn 
 before) by the fame Analogy of Reafon, may- 
 be owned to be fuch, if they all center, as to 
 the Subftance of them, in that original Model 
 which the divine Author of Chriftian Prayer firft 
 delivered unto us , thole common Articles of Faith 
 and Dodtrine which he obliged us all to, provided 
 they be offered up by a Perfon duly authorized 
 for fach Minifterial Offices in the Church. Nor 
 will the Miniftration of the blefted Eucharift by 
 divers Hands, or at fundry Tables, tho' within 
 the fame particular Diocefe ftill, differ any thing 
 from the reft, if duly warranted by, and kept 
 accountable to the firft and principal Minifter 
 of that holy Ordinance, who is the rightful Bi- 
 
 1*^ Epifcopatus ed unus, cujus a fingulis in fblidum pars 
 tenetur. Ecclefia quoque una eft, quae in multitudinem la- 
 tlus incremento foecunditatis extenditur, quomodo Solis multi 
 Radii, fed Lumen unum, Sec, Numerolitas licet ditfufa vi- 
 deatur exundantis copia: careitate unitas tamen fervatur in 
 prigine. Cvp. de Unit. Ecclef. p. io8. Edit. Oxon. 
 
 fliop 
 
570 ^n Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. ftop of the whole Flock. The Plurality of Eu- 
 ^yy^^ charifts is thus made one throughout all the 
 united Provinces and Diocefes of the Catholick 
 Church; becaufe in the gradual Progrefs of the 
 Church, from the Beginning, both Bifhops and 
 Presbyters do all claim a Power of Commiflion 
 to confecrate from one another, till they rife up 
 to the bleifed Apoftles thcmfelves, and they 
 from Chrift alone. And thus St. Ignathis's Ca- 
 tholick Phrafe of one Altar ^ one Btjhop^ and the 
 like, does no more prove the Neceflity of but 
 one Communion-Table in a primitive Bifhop^s 
 Diocefe, than it would do in the moft extcnfive 
 one of this or any former Ages, or in the largeft 
 patriarchal Province that was ever fettled in the 
 Church, provided every one who minifter'd at 
 each of them had a juft Commiflion from their 
 Orthodox Superiors for doing fo : But what is 
 otherwife than fb, is Altar againft Altar indeed, 
 and no lefs than formal Schifm. Let us take 
 care then not to draw up Forces (as St. Igna- 
 ^///i's Words import) againft the Bifhop, if we 
 mean not to withdraw our Subje6tion from 
 God f. By this Account the Reader will fee 
 what the Antients truly meant, when they called 
 afchifmatical Ufurpation of the Epifcopal Power 
 by the Name of a Profane Altar ^ which yet our 
 learned Enquirer urges again and again, as a 
 fair Argument to prove that there could be no 
 more than one fingle Congregation in a whole 
 Diocefe, though the Minifters of the fecond, or 
 third, or more, fhould never fo much agree with 
 the Bifhop himfeif in all his Principles and Mi- 
 niftrations, and be even authorized and ap- 
 
 Bu 6wolA^oi/.iV.i' Ad EphcL p. 20. 
 
 proved 
 
Thirty-'Nine Articles. ^ 571 
 
 proved of by him : as St. Ignatius exprefly tells Art. xxiIT. 
 us, a Bifhop might fo authorize and approve ^^^^'"'VN.i/ 
 him ; in which Cafe they were fo far from being 
 a profane Altar ^ that they were truly owned to 
 be but one and the fame t- Our Author having 
 gleaned all the fhort Phrafes that he found in 
 St. Ignatius % Epiftles that he thought gave any 
 Countenance to his Hypothefis, and offered them 
 at once to prove his general Propofition from 
 Page the 17th to the aift, givesus them all again 
 by Retale, Page the 27th3 and applies the felf- 
 fame Quotations by Piece-meal to prove that 
 each of thofe Churches St. Ignatius wrote to, 
 were mere Congregational Churches, and no 
 more. This makes the Bulk of Authority look 
 great indeed, but adds not one Grain of Weight 
 to it ; and therefore the Reader will excufe me 
 (I know) if I take no more Notice of his re- 
 peated Arguments here about one Altar^ one 
 Eucharifty ^c. by which Repetitions he here 
 labours feparately to prove that the Diocefes of 
 Smyrna^ Ephefus^ Magnefia^ Philadelphia^ and 
 ^r allium^ were fuch fort of Churches as he con- 
 tends for. The Strength of all thefe Arguments, 
 I conceive, I have fairly tried already , and 'tis 
 much there fhould fcarcely be one new one to be 
 found, when he took the Pains to confider each 
 of thofe Churches fingly, and one by one. 
 
 'T I s true, to make the Diocefe of Smyrna 
 appear fuch, he adds a fhort Claufe or two, 
 (omitted before), " i. That the Bifhop of 
 '' that Church could know his whole Flock per- 
 '' fonally by their Names *. " So he tranflates 
 
 is^'^Q. div (IvtU ^7?ft4«- Ad Smyr. p. 6. 
 
 * 'Ef oj'ofwcT©- Tdv-mi C»7£/. Ep. ad Po'ycarp. p. 15- 
 
 the 
 
572 ^n Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. the Place, though St. Ignatius s Words have no 
 W>Or\J fuch Affirmation in them j but are only a plain 
 Advice to St. Polycarp to do what the primitive 
 Bifhops always did, that is to keep the Names of 
 every Member of his Church enrolled in what 
 the Antients called the Matricula of their 
 Church: The Occafion of the Words imply it 
 to be fo. He juft before befought St. Polycarp 
 not to negle^ the Widows of the Church f, and 
 immediately after defires him not to overlook 
 fomuch as the Men-Servants and Maid-Servants 4: 
 in it: and in the Midft of this (as a Means to 
 know the Quality, Number, and Condition of 
 his Diocefe) adviles him to enquire out all hy 
 Name , that is, to get fuch a Regifter of their 
 Names, that upon Occafion of any Objed of 
 Charity propofed to him, of any Complaint or 
 Application made to him about any within his 
 Care or Jurifdidion, or in cale of Apoftacy or 
 Perfeverance in Time of Perfecution or the like, 
 by Means of this general Matricula he (as the 
 other Bifliops did) might more diredlly know 
 how the Cafe ftood with them : And, which was 
 more than all this, the Names thus entered in 
 this facred Record were perfonally intitled then 
 to all the publick Interceflions and fpiritual Blef- 
 fings obtained by the Euchariftical Prayers, Obla- 
 tions, and Sacraments of the whole Church , 
 and to have their Names blotted out of this, 
 was a conftant Effed: of Excommunication, and 
 . was dreaded by all that had true Veneration (as 
 thofe primitive Chriftians had) for the holy Or- 
 dinances of God. Thofe who know the right 
 Nature of the Orthodox Commemorations, and 
 
 Eucha« 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles. 373 
 
 Eucharlftical Offerings for the Saints, before the Art. xxill, 
 
 Roman Corruption fo wretchedly infeded them <-/^^^"^*^ 
 
 as they now do, cannot be unacquainted with 
 
 this. And thefe were fufficient Reafbns for that 
 
 Apoftollcal Father to mind a Bifhop of the 
 
 Church to be careful of keeping fuch a neceflary 
 
 Matricula as this, and an effedual Way for 
 
 St. Polycarp to take Care of the meaneft and 
 
 pooreft Members of his Diocefe ; which the 
 
 Context tells us, was the Occafion of St. Igna- 
 
 tius's uflng thele Words : But as to the Matter 
 
 of but one fmgle Congregation being then under 
 
 his Care, and that he muft perfonally know them 
 
 all hy Name^ as one Neighbour knows another, 
 
 (which our Enquirer'sTranflation affirms of them) 
 
 I think they no more imply it, than that Au- 
 
 guftiis Cxfat had but one Town to command, 
 
 and could know every Subjed: he had, when 
 
 (for many political Occafions) he caufed them 
 
 all to be enrolled, and required the State of his 
 
 Empire to be brought in to him • for the Cen- 
 
 for's Work in fuch a Cafe as that, was to give in 
 
 an Eftimate of the Age, Children, Family, and 
 
 Eftates of all the People under him, as I'lilly 
 
 gives us an Account of it *. 
 
 But ftill (fays our Enquirer) Smyrna could 
 not have more than one Congregation in it, be- 
 caufe, as St. Ignatius faith again, it was not fit- 
 ting that any fhould marry there without the 
 Bifhop's Conlent f. \Now I confefs it feems to 
 me no unpradicable Matter for the fame Thing 
 
 ■* Cenfbres Populi evirates, foboles, famlias pecuniafque 
 cenlento. Cic.de Leg. 1. 3. fol. i. 
 
 '%7TtrKQ7r\i humv wt&i»%(,t» Ad Pol. p. 15. 
 
 to 
 
574 ^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. to be done in the very City of London^ or Torkj 
 ^^^^y''^^^ at this Day, if either Banns or Licences were 
 managed with that proper Care which the Church 
 defigned they fhouJd j nay, I think it may be 
 laid, (even as Matters ftand now) that either 
 the Bifhop in Perfon, or fuch as are commifHoned 
 by him, (which is much the fame Thing) have 
 a neceffary Cognizance of all fuch folemn Con- 
 trad:s (before the Confummation of them) in 
 the largeft Diocefes amongft us. And this gives 
 Opportunity, at leaft, to confent to or difallow 
 of them, without reducing their Diocefes to fewer 
 Congregations than they have all along had. 
 Once more the Holy Martyr is fummoned to 
 bear Witnefs to this Congregational Caufe t, 
 and his Evidence (as 'tis managed) muft be ac- 
 knowledged to be a very clofe one, for our 
 Author makes the Holy Martyr expreily fay, 
 that the Dioccie oi Magnefia had but barely one 
 Church in it ; and I am now to fhew you how 
 he faith it. § In his Zeal for the Unity of all 
 the Chriftians there, he bids them all run one 
 Way together, as to the Temple of God, (or 
 as to the one Temple of God, as the old Latin 
 Tranilation hath it, and the learned Editor from 
 the Florentine Manufcript fays it fhould be) and 
 as to the one Altar -^ plainly exhorting them, (by 
 JVa^ of Similitude ) to Chriftian Unity and Con- 
 munion, after the Pattern of the antient Church 
 of God among the Jews , who tho' they had 
 never-fo-many Synagogues, yet they all cen- 
 tred, and were united in that one Temple, and 
 one Altar, which God had fixed for them at 
 
 ■^ 'E/< volIv 0SK. Ignat. Ep. ad Mag. p. 3^. 
 
 aov, ike. J bid. 
 
 Jeru^ 
 
Thirty-Wine Articles. 575 
 
 Jerufalem. But that this comparative Way of Art. xxilL 
 the Holy Martyr's arguing might be the \c{^s *^/VV^ 
 perceived, our careful Enquirer takes no Notice 
 of the little Particle a^^ or as^ but quotes the 
 Temple of God in the fmgular Number by it- 
 felf, as clear to his Purpoie, and gives it the 
 Name of a Chriftian Church ; tho' (befides this 
 unfair Dealing in the Cafe) it may juftly be 
 a Queftion, Whether St. Jgnatius himfelf, or 
 any cotemporary Writer, ever ufed that 
 Word Nfito? for a Place of Chriftian Worfhip 
 at all, it being generally a Term in primi- 
 tive Writers applyed to JewiJIj or Heathen Tem- 
 ples i and then judge what a Proof this muft be^ 
 for but one Congregation in the whole Diocefe 
 of Magnefia. And now, tho' all the Churches 
 St. Ignatius wrote to were eminent Cities of the 
 Lydian^ or Proconfular Afia^ moft of them the 
 Seats of Publick Juftice for the Province where 
 the Roman Governor kept his Refidence, and 
 (which is infinitely more) were dignify 'd with a 
 fmgular Vifitation by our Blefled Lord in his 
 great Revelation to St. John -^ and therefore 
 fcarcely to be imagined fuch inconfiderable 
 Churches as our learned Enquirer labours to re- 
 prefent them to us : yet, for fuller Satisfaction 
 in the Cafe, he frankly appeals to Anttocb^ R.ome^ 
 Carthage^ and Alexandria^ (the undoubted Me- 
 tropolitan Cities of the Empire) to bear Witnefs 
 to the Congregational Scheme : and therefore, 
 not to negled: him, I (hall take a brief Survey 
 of the former, v^z. Antioch -^ as to the others, I 
 hope I have laid enough of them already. 
 
 Antioch was early blefled with the glad 
 Tidings of thcGofpel: The Blood of the firft 
 Martyr became the Seeds of a Chriftian Church 
 there, (as the Fathers took a Pleaiure tofpeak) 
 
 for 
 
57^ Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art XXIII. for many Chriftians difperfed upon that Occafiort 
 ^^-^y^*^ reforted thither ; and the firft Account we have 
 of their Labours is, fhat the Hand of the Lord 
 was with them^ and a great Number believed and 
 turned unto the Lord. Tidings of this came to 
 the Church of Jerufalem^ where the whole Col- 
 lege of Apoflles was in Readinefs to confult for 
 them : They fend Barnabas^ a good Man, and 
 full of the Holy-Ghoft and of Faith, to improve 
 this happy Opportunity, and the Succeis an- 
 fwered their Exped:ation ^ , for by his powerful 
 Exhortations, much People (fays the holy Text) 
 was added to the Lord. But to forward this 
 Work of the Lord ftill more, Barnabas travels 
 to ^arfus^ and joins Saul^ the great Apoftle of 
 the Gentiles now, and returning with him to 
 Antioch^ they continue a whole Year together 
 in that populous City, teaching much People : 
 What a Harveft of Chriftian Converts thofe A- 
 poftolical Labourers made in that Compafs of 
 Time, aififted by all that fled thither from Je- 
 rufalem befides, by the Men oi Cyprus and Cyrene^ 
 t Fellow-Labourers with them, to convert the 
 Greeks as well as Jews to the Faith ; and by the fe- 
 veral infpired Prophets, io peculiarly noted:}: to 
 be amongft them, I refer to the fober Judgment 
 of all who know the Fruits of many fingle Ser- 
 mons preached by an Apoftle, at the firft Pro- 
 mulgation of the Goipel. Two things are fure, 
 I. That the Reputation and Honour of the Con- 
 verts there, was fuch, that they laid afide the 
 derided Name of Nazarenes or Galileans now, 
 and openly aifumed the Name of their Lord 
 
 ^ Afts xi. 19. vcr. 21. to ver. 27. 
 
 •f Afts xi. 20. 
 
 ^ Acts xi. 27. and chap, xiii, i- 
 
 2 and 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 577 
 
 and Mailer, and were firft called Chriflians Art. xxill. 
 there *. 2. That there were two diftindl Stdis COTN^i 
 or Parties of them, Judaizing Chriftlans, zea- 
 lous of the Law ^ and Gentile Converts, as ear- 
 neftly infifting on their Freedom and Exemption 
 from it: Each Party fo confiderable, as to call 
 for an Apoftolical Council to decide theContro- 
 verfy between them \. Such was the very 
 Infant State of this Church oiAntioch^ the Over- 
 fight whereof (Antiquity tells us) the great Apo- 
 ftle St. Peter ^ in a peculiar Manner, took upon 
 himfelf, and for fix or feven Years (at leaft) 
 made it his firft and fpecial Apoftolick See. After 
 him, Church-Hiftory acquaints us with fourteen 
 Bifliops fucceflively there, before the Heretick 
 Paulus of Samofata was promoted to that See: 
 In the Number of thefe were thofe Mirrors of 
 Learning, Zeal, Fortitude, and Piety, Ignatmr^ 
 ^heophilus^ and Bahylas^ fcarce to be equalled 
 in all the Monuments of the Church after the 
 Apoftles Time : whereof the firft fat forty Years, 
 and each of the other two thirteen Years toge- 
 ther were the watchful and laborious Bilhops of 
 that exceeding ^vaft and laborious Flock -, as the 
 AVords of the learned Dr. Caxe are, where he 
 {peaks of St, Ignatius^ s Charge at Antiocb ^. Yet 
 notwithft;anding all the united Labours of fo 
 many Apoftles, Prophets, Holy Martyrs, and 
 Confeffors, to plant and improve a Cbriftian 
 Church in this renowned City of the Ea(i^ in 
 this ©soTTBA/f or City of God^ as the Antients 
 thought fit to name it, we are borne down that 
 there never were more Believers in it for two 
 
 * ABs xi. 15. 
 
 •f Chap. XV. I, 1, 
 
 ^ Cav^i in the Life of St. Ignmus, p. loS. 
 
 O o hundred 
 
578 ^^i Expofition on the 
 
 Apt. xxiii. hundred and feventy Years after Chrift, than 
 ^<y^y^\J what could meet together in one fingle Houfe 
 of Prayer, and barely make a fingle Congrega- 
 tion : One would reafonably look for very un- 
 anfwerable Evidence to prove Co extraordinary 
 an AlTertion, * elpecially fince this City oi An- 
 tiochj according to St. Cbryfofiojns Calculation 
 of it, for Ignatius's Times, contained no lefs 
 than two hundred thoufand Souls in it ^ and 
 ^ertulUan f, as we have feen before, durft tell 
 the perfecuting Scapula^ that the Chriftians then 
 *were 'well nigh the greater Part of enjery City : 
 Yet all that is offered us to the contrary is only 
 this, that Paulus of Samofata^ the heretical Bi- 
 fhop of Antioch^ after the Middle of the third 
 Century, refufed to rejign the Church's Hoiife^ 
 when he was fynodically depofed by a Council 
 held there ^ and this Church's Houfe^ as our 
 learned Author will have it, muft needs be the 
 only Houfe of Prayer or Pub lick IVorfloip for all 
 ^ that Diocefe^ and confequently they could make 
 
 but one Congregation 4^. Now, that the Bifhop 
 oi Antioch had a peculiar Church or Houfe of 
 Prayer for himfelf (as Bifhop) more immediately 
 to worfhip or officiate in, need not be dilputed : 
 and this fb peculiarly the Church's Houfe, that 
 fo long as he was rightly poireffed of that, he 
 was poifeffed of the Church or Diocefe whereof 
 he was Bifhop ; and to be legally and canonically 
 ejeded out of that, was to be ejedted out of the 
 Church, be the Diocefe great or fmall, of more 
 or fewer Congregations belonging to it : For Co 
 when Conft ant ills the Emperor was refolved to ejecS: 
 
 ^ See Cave, Ubi fupra, p. loi. 
 
 f Tertul. ad Smp. c. z. p. 86. 
 
 4: MtiJkiAcii hfUvai i 'EKKMmAi oiK\i> I-nfeb, lib. 7. c. 50. 
 
 Paulus 
 
Thirty-Nhie Articles. 579 
 
 Paulus of Conftantinople out of that Biihoprick *, Art. xxill. 
 he ordered PhtUp the Pn^fe^i to turn him only ^•^^rS-^. 
 out of the Church, in the fingular Number, and 
 place Macedonius in ; that is, out of that fingle 
 Church where the Bifhops oiConfiantinople uied 
 to refidc and officiate, tho' there were feveral 
 other Churches long before that built by Con- 
 ftantine in that City, and an undoubted Part of 
 that Bifhop's Diocefe f : But this fmgle Church 
 or Houfe of Prayer was fo peculiarly the Church's- 
 Hoiife^ that by being difpoffeffed of that, he 
 was intirely thrown out of the whole Church or 
 Diocefe of Conftantinople • and Inflances enough 
 of this kind might be given^ if Need required ^ 
 but I think the Cafe is known to be the very 
 fame in refped: of any modern Bifhop's Cathe- 
 dral at this Day. Yet, to come more diredly 
 to the Cafe before us, I think the Synod of 
 Antioch\ Account of Paulus Samofatenus^ from 
 whence this very Objedion is taken, does pretty 
 fairly prove to us, that that heretical Bifliop had 
 more Churches under him, befides that Honfe 
 of the Church which he kept Poflfeflion of j 
 (which 'tis quedioned indeed whether 'twas a 
 Houfe of Worfhip or no) becaufe among the 
 many Accufations of him, they tell us, he fent, 
 Presbyters out to preach up his own Praifes in 
 their Sermons to the People % : and who fhould 
 thefe be, but Presbyters that officiated under 
 him within his own Jurifdidion j for the Phrafe 
 imports no In treaty, as if it were to Aliens not 
 iubjcd: to him, but an Ad of Authority rather, 
 for he fent them out to do fo : Nay, fhould they 
 
 * Socrat. E. H. 1. 2. c. 16. 
 
 f Zufeb, de vit. Confl. 1. 3. c. 48. 
 
 4 Ettfib, 1. 7. c. 30. p. azp. 
 
 O o ^ havf 
 
580 J?i Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxiii. have been Presbyters related to another See, 
 ^/V^i-/' they arc at leall an Inftance of religious Aflem- 
 blies held by fuch, in Contradiftindlion to the 
 Bifhops to whom they did belong ; which over- 
 throws the Enquirer's Congregational Scheme, 
 take it in what Senfe you pleafe. I will not con- 
 ceal what is farther (aid here, that he fent out 
 Bifhops of adjacent Villages and Cities to do the 
 fame Thing for him , to which I fhall only fay, 
 that the judicious Valefius underftands thofe Bi- 
 fhops to be no other than flattering Chorepifcopi^ 
 which makes them a farther Part of his own Dio- 
 cefe dill. The Chorepifcopt were -r %cfj£^.f vsrjVxo:^/, 
 or Country Bifljops^ ordained by the City Bi- 
 fhops to affift them when they grew old, or 
 when their Diocefes became very large by rea- 
 fon of new Converfions ; but this alters not the 
 prefent Cafe, and ib the Bifhoprick ofAntioch^ I 
 hope, will lofe but little of its Glory and Extent 
 by one fuch unconcludiug Argument. I fhall 
 wave thofe Arguments which our Author thinks 
 himfelf intitled to from the Works of St. Cy- 
 prian^ becaufe I have fhewn already what fort 
 of a Bifhop St. Cyprian was in the Church of 
 Carthage-^ and therefore if any thing in his 
 Works feem to favour the Congregational 
 Scheme, 'tis certain that they that urge it with 
 fuch a View, either mifunderftand or mifrepre- 
 fent it. I fhall jufl take Notice of a Quotation 
 or two more under this Head, and then 1 fhall 
 think it high Time to difmifs it. Our Author 
 tells us, P. 19. ''* That the Chriftians in ^er- 
 ^' ttiUians Time and Country received the Sa- 
 '' crament of the Lord VSupper from the Hands 
 *^ of the Bifnop alone "^^ '' But how do wc 
 
 ^ Nee de aliorum maiiu quam Prselidenuumj 5;c, Ter d« 
 Cor. Mil. p. III. 
 
 know 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles- 581" 
 
 know that ^ertuUiaits Prefidents in this Place Ai^t. xxill. 
 (for that's his Word, as you fee in the Margin) v^/VX-^ 
 were the Bifhops only ? Now as far as our En- 
 quirer can aflure us of it, you may find in Page 
 the 67th of this Trad: of his ; where we read, 
 that Prefident was one difcretive Appellation of 
 a Bifhop ; and yet St. Cyprian (fays he) calls 
 his Presbyters Prefidents too : Mayn't we be very 
 "well afTured then, do you think, That fertulUan 
 (whom St. Cyprian familiarly called his Mafter) 
 could mean nothing elfe by his Prefidents but 
 Bifhops of a Diocefe alone, fince his great Difci- 
 ple St. Cyprian thought no fuch thing of it ? at 
 leaft would not one think that our ingenious 
 Author Ihould fatisfy his Reader a little with 
 fome certain Note here, that in this Paffage of 
 ^ertullian it could be meant no otherwife, fmce 
 he himfelf had made that Obfervation for us-? 
 But to be ihort, and to give a fair Account of 
 the Scope of that Paflage in ^ertullian^ it was 
 thus : " 'fertiillian was contending for the Au- 
 *' thority of tradition for many common Rites 
 •' then ufed in the Chriflian Church, without a 
 '^ Scripture Warrant for them *. " Amongft 
 thefe Cuftoms, he inftances a general Pradlice in 
 the Church then, to communicate in the Morn- 
 ing different from the Time of the Inftitution 
 itfelf j and together with that, this which we 
 are now fpeaking of, That they received the 
 Communion from the Prefident's Hands alone ; 
 both equally common in his Days in the Chri- 
 ftian Church : which, to make as clear an Inter- 
 pretation of it as we can, 1 think implies neither 
 
 * Euchariftix Sacramentum £c in tempore vlttu;;, Sc omni- 
 bus mandatum a Domino, etiam antclucanis CLx:tibu<;, nee de 
 aliorum manu quam Pi-jclidentium fumimus. Tcrtul. ibid. 
 
 O o 3 more 
 
582 ^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxiii. more nor lefs than this, that as the Sacrament 
 U/*V^N^ was then generally adminiiler'd in the Morning, 
 fo where-ever it was adminifter'd, the confe- 
 crated Elements were ufually delivered to the 
 Communicants, (as it is indeed moft in Ufe 
 now) by the Hands of them only who prefided 
 in the feveral Affemblies where thofe hoJy Ex- 
 ercifes were performed ; that is, I humbly con - 
 ceive, by the oflBciating Ministers themfelves: 
 whereas in many Places, as yuftin Martyr tells 
 us, the Deacons ufed to do it. And I want to 
 know what Appearance of Proof there is in all 
 this, for a Biihop's perfonally diflributing the 
 blcfled Elements to every Communicant in his 
 whole Diocefe, at one Time, and in one Place : 
 I defire the Words and Context may be fifted, 
 and I fhould be willing to fit down by the Rea- 
 der's Judgment of the Cafe. Well, but the Bi- 
 iliop alone (generally fays he) baptized all in 
 his Diocefe * , how much the Word generally 
 implies, I need not over-nicely inquire: He him- 
 y^// again gives me aneafier Solution of it, P. sS'i 
 where he tells us from the fame 7'ertullian^ " That 
 '^ the Bifhop hath the Right of Baptifm, and 
 *^ then the Presbyters and Deacons; but, for 
 ^' the Honour of the Church, not without the 
 '' Bifliop's Authority. " I Ihall obferve no more 
 at prefent from this Quotation than this : That 
 the Presbyters and Deacons might baptize in the 
 Diocefe, if the Bifhop allowed them fb to do ; 
 as St. Ignatius (we know before) admitted that 
 Baptifm to be acceptable to God, which the 
 Eifhop fhould approve ; fo that the whole of 
 ^he Aiatter (it feems) is this, that the Bifhop 
 
 + SubAntiJlite co nteftamur nos renunciare Diabolo Sc Fomp^i 
 '£rtnL dc Cor, Mil. c. 3. p, 121. ut fupra, 
 
Thlrty-Nhie Articles. 585 
 
 with his Presbyters and Deacons muft baptize Art.xxtil 
 all in the Diocefe : And this is offered as a Rea- ^^y^^^^^^ 
 fon, that a Diocefe muft be no more than a 
 Congregational Church, becaufe the Bilhop 
 could not otherwiie do all ; for as for his gene- 
 rally doing it, that is our Enquirer's own pretty 
 Invention, for neither Quotation hath a Tittle 
 of it. I confefi, that Conteftation mentioned by 
 ^ertiillian^ or the Form of Renunciation, which 
 all adult Catechumens ufcd in their own Perfons, 
 to teftify their for fa kmg the Devil ^ the Pomp.j Sc, 
 before they actually were baptized, 'tis probable 
 (and poilible enough too) it might be in the Pre- 
 fence of the Bifhop himfelf, and the Diocefe 
 have a fufficient Plurality of Congregations in it 
 too ^ ; fince it was a very large Space of Time 
 (as Tertullian expreffes it) which was fet apart 
 for this very ordering of Baptifm every Year, 
 even the fifty Days, from Eafter to IVhitfmtide^ 
 including the Feftivals, as you'll fee his Account 
 of it in the Margin fhews. 
 
 It 13 a hard Task to attend fuch minute Par- 
 ticulars, when 1 have produced before fuch ge- 
 neral Rules, as might anfwer all at once: But I 
 am willing to pleafe. He tells us farther then, 
 that Jitftin Martyr afTures us, the Bifhop was 
 common Curator and Overfeer of all the Or- 
 phans, Widows, Difeafed, in a Word, of all 
 that were needy and indigent ; and thence in- 
 fers, that the Diocefe could not be very large. 
 
 *■ Diem Ijaptifmo fblennem pafchaprseflat exindc Penfccofle, 
 ordinandis lavacris latiirimum fpatium eft, quo 6c Domini Re- 
 furredtio inter Difcipulos trequentata eft. Terttil. de Bapr. 
 c. 19. Ed. Rigal. Lutet. 1641. 
 
 O o 4 where 
 
584 An Fxpofitiofl on the 
 
 Art. xxiii. where the Bifhop perionally relieved them all * 
 ^**-''^'^^''^^« Now the feeming Force of this Argument does 
 not lie in Jiifiin Martyr % Words, but in the dif^ 
 creet manner of wording the Inference from 
 them, with a little Help in the Tranflation : 
 The holy Martyr faid juft before^ that the Col- 
 ]e6lion of the People's Alms was depofited in 
 their Frefident's Hands, and immediately fub- 
 joins, that he took Care to relieve all kind of 
 diftrefTed Perfons (there mentioned), out of the 
 Offerings, to be fure, that were fo entrufted 
 with him. Our Enquirer infers, that he per- 
 fbnally did this , by which he would have us 
 underftand, that all whom the Church's Charity 
 relieved, the Bilhop perfonally vifited, infpeded 
 every individual Caie from firft to laft himfelf 
 alone, and diftributC':^ Relief to the poor Suf- 
 ferers with his own Hand ^ for here the Strcis 
 of all lies, which muft nccefT^.rily prove them 
 to be io few , and to gi^ e a better Colour to 
 this Interpretation, he finds out a noted Parifh 
 Term for this EpifcoprJ Almoner, and tranfiates 
 him an Cverfeer. I^iow let the common Senfe 
 of all Mankind judge for us, if any publick 
 Truft of this Nature was ever underftood to be 
 neceffarily executed fo in any Sort of Society 
 whatfbever. I believe yi:/Im Martyr himfelf, or 
 any other Chriftian Writer befides him, would 
 have ventured to have faid as much or more, 
 than all we have iaid here, of St. Paul's Care in 
 treafuring up and diftributing the Alms of many 
 Chriflian Congregations for the Relief of all his 
 
 JuH.Mar. Apol. 2. p.5?p. Edit. Colon. i'686. 
 
 Churches : 
 
Tbirty-Nine x\rticles. 585 
 
 Churches : And yet in the Senfe we here con- Art. xxill. 
 tend for, he had fuccoured but a poor Number <->^"^^'^^ 
 of the Whole, and been but a fmall Almoner 
 in the Matter, if what he obtained of the feve- 
 ral Churches to colledt what the Presbyters and 
 Elders did by his Order in it, and the Meflen- 
 gers of their own too, which he allowed to di- 
 flribute it for him, had not been imputed to his 
 own Perfbn, as common Governor and Guardian 
 for them all. And why (hould it then be fo im- 
 pradlicable a Thing, as is here pretended, for 
 any fnigle Perfon to take Care of diftrefled 
 Chriftians in more than a fingle Congregation ? 
 Befides, the Charity of the Church in thofe 
 Days, was, among other Ufes, to be employed 
 for Relief of baniflied and captive Brethren, in 
 Mines, in Illands, in remoteft barbarous Coun- 
 tries : And in what Senfe can we imagine the 
 Bifhop could perfonally do all this ? And yet 
 what follows, I fhould lefs expert to meet with 
 from fb judicious a Hand, f For he obfervej 
 in no lefs than feventeen or eighteen Inftances 
 produced together, that when the ancient 
 Church Writers give an Account of feveral 
 publick and folemn Ads of Difcipline in a Dio- 
 ceie, (as Ceniures, Excommunications, Abfb- 
 lutions, Elections, Ordinations, or the like) 
 they tell us, they were done before the whole 
 Church, before the Multitude, before all the 
 People, by the Suffrage of all the Brotherhood, 
 with the Knowledge, and in the Prefence of the 
 People; and from hence concludes, that all 
 the whole Diocefe met together in one Place 
 upon thefe Occafions, and confequently were 
 no more than could make one fingle Congre- 
 
 f See Biquiry, 6cc. p* 2Z, 23, 24, 
 
 gation. 
 
5^6 Jn Expofitipfl on the 
 
 Art. xxiii. gation. And here I cannot but obfervej 
 ^-^^'V""^^^ I. That this fingular Conftrudion of luch ob- 
 vious and familiar Forms of Speech as thefe are, 
 bears very hard upon the common Senfe and 
 Language of all Mankind : Can no publick 
 Acb of civil Juftice or folemn Miniftration in 
 the Church amongft us, be faid to pafs in the 
 Face of the Country, before all the People, 
 openly, and in the Sight of all Men, nay, in 
 the Face of the whole World, as fome will 
 think it no Abfurdity to fay, unlefs the Matter 
 of Facl will anfwer to the very Letter of the 
 Phrafe ? Are not all publick or folemn Ads of 
 Church or State (as to Difcipline and Govern- 
 ment) familiarly diftinguifhed from any others 
 by fuch a Latitude of ExprefTion as this, and 
 no otherwife taken by any Man, that ever I 
 heard of, than that a general Liberty is given to 
 all, who either can or will, or are concerned to 
 be prefent at them, to come and offer what 
 they think material , to judge or bear Witnefs 
 of the Regularity and Juftice of what is done ? 
 And if every individual Member of each re- 
 fpedlive Society were expecSbed to be perfonally 
 prefent at fuch Solemnities as thefe, neither 
 Courts, nor Halls, nor Cathedrals, were ever 
 yet ereded that could anfwer the Occafions 
 which the Church or State would have for 
 them ; and yet no EngliJJo Author, I am per- 
 fuaded, would think it an Impropriety to fay, that 
 fuch publick Ads of Law or Difcipline as thefe, 
 were done in the Prefence, Sight and Cogni- 
 zance of the whole Country, Church, or Peo- 
 ple ; and if no Exceptions, but rather Accla- 
 maticns were made, (as is not unuflial upon fe- 
 veral Occafions of this Nature) they would lay 
 they were done with the general Confent, Suf- 
 frage and Approbation of them all. But, sdly, 
 
 that 
 
ThiYty-'Nine Articles. 587 
 
 that other Way of Arguing bears no lefs hard Art^xxiti. 
 upon the very Language of the holy Scriptures 
 themfeJves ^ and therefore there is little Rea- 
 fon to fcflen it on the Writings of the primitive 
 Fathers, who were the true Guardians and Af- 
 lerters of them. What more familiar Phrafe in 
 the whole Hiftory of the Law delivered by 
 MofeSy and during all the Time of his Govern- 
 ment, than that Mofes himfelf /pake to all the 
 Congregation of Ifrael, whatfoever the Lord com- 
 vjanded him , nay, even in the Ears of all the , 
 Congregation of Ifrael^ he is faid to fpeak all 
 the Words of that Song, which he left for a 
 Teftimony amongft them *. In what Senle do 
 we conceive he himfelf could be iaid to fpeak in 
 the hearing of ^o numerous a Hoft as the Chil- 
 dren of Ifrael then were? At different Times, 
 do we think ? or Tribe by Tribe, and by 
 Piece-meals in his own Pcrfon ? No, he himfelf 
 gives us a better Key for the underftanding 
 fuch Phrafes as thefe : For at the 28th VcTfe 
 immediately foregoing, Gather tinto me (lays he) 
 the Elders of the T'ribes^ ami the Officers ^ that I 
 may fpeak thefe IVords in their Ears^ and call 
 Heaven and Earth to record againft them. So 
 that it plainly appears, that whatlbever Mofes 
 fpake in fuch a Manner, and in fuch an Audi- 
 ence, as was fufficient to convey his Words and 
 Precepts to all the Tribes of Ifrael ^ tho' not im^ 
 mediately from his own Lips, nat the holy 
 Prophet himfelf thought not improperly ex- 
 prelTed, when he faid afterwards, that hefpoke 
 then to the '■jiyhole Congregation of Ifrael. And if 
 we can conceive any literal Way of interpreting 
 
 * Exod. XXXV. I, 4. Deut.v. i. — xxix. 2, &c. Deut. 
 yxx. 31. Sfe Matt, iii? ^. Joh. xii. 19. Acis xvii. f, See. 
 
 thefe, 
 
588 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 "^v-^"^* ^^^^^3 ^"^ "^^"y fuch-jike ExprefTions in the 
 
 L/^YN^ 
 
 holy Bible, lo that fix hundred thoufand Men 
 fhould at once be inftruded by the Minlftry of 
 one Man, we n^ed diipute no more about the 
 greater or lelTer Numbers in the Diocefe of a 
 primitive Church, fince one iuch extraordinary 
 Comment as that would anfwer all for us. But, 
 ^dly, To argue more diredly ad hominem in 
 this Cafe : If that Way of Reafoning be right, 
 then it will prove the Diocefes of latter Ages, 
 as well as the ancienteft of them all, to be but 
 mere Congregational Churches too : Compare 
 the Times and Phrafes, and you^ll find it to be 
 fo. Our Enquirer tells us, that Sabinus was 
 eledled Bifhop o£ Emerita by the Suffrage of all 
 the Brotherhood. This was in the third Age. 
 Now ^heodoret tells us, that Ket^arius was made 
 Bifhop of Conftantinople by the Suffrage of the 
 whole City too , and F/aviams made Bifhop of 
 of Atitiochj the whole Church, as it were with 
 one Voice, giving their Suffrage for him. And 
 this was towards the latter End of the fourth 
 Age f. The like fays Plat'nia of Gregory the 
 Great, that he was made Biihop of Rome by 
 the unanimous Ccnfent of all : And again. All 
 the People chofe him, fays Gregory of I'riers ^ -, 
 and this at the very Clofc of the fixth Age. 
 The learned Enquirer again tells us, from an 
 African Synod in 258, That Ordinations fhould 
 be done with the Knowledge, and in the Pre- 
 lence of the People , that fb they might be juffc 
 and lawful, being approved by the Suffrage and 
 Judgment of all , and accordingly that St. Cy- 
 
 f ThcoJ. lib. y. c. 9. p. 211. Paris i^;^^. 
 
 4: Plat, in Vit. Greg. 5c Grcf. Turon. Hill. Franc. 1. 10. 
 c. I. 
 
 prian 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 589 
 
 priajt confuked his People Co : And from hence Art. XXIII. 
 he infers, that his Diocefe could be no more than OOTV^ 
 one Congregation. How the Matter ftood as to 
 this Point I have fhewn fufficiently already, and 
 therefore, as I promifed, I will not tire the Rea- 
 der with a Repetition of it: And if this Quota- 
 tion had referred to this Father alone, I fliould 
 have pafled it by j but as it appeals to the De- 
 termination of a whole Synod, 'tis fit that fbme 
 Notice Ihould be taken of it. I obferve then 
 that the Roman Presbyters, in their Letter to 
 Honorius the Emperor, (which was in the fifth 
 Century) fpeak juft the fame Thing in relation 
 to Boniface their Bifhop, whom they chofe and 
 confecrated in fuch a manner. '^ On a fet Day 
 ^^ (fay they) calling all to an Affembly, we 
 '' went to a Church we had all agreed upon : 
 '' and there confulting with the Chriftian Peo- 
 '^ pie, we chofe him whom God had ordered ; 
 '' for by the Applaufe of all the People, and 
 '' the Confent of the befl in the City, we pitched 
 ^' upon the venerable Boniface^ a Man ordained 
 " and confecrated by divine Inflitution." Here^s 
 an Election and Ordination in one certain Place, 
 in a general Affembly of the Church, Confulta- 
 tion with and Applaufe of all the People in it : 
 and yet our learned Enquirer is very well affured 
 (1 doubt not) that there were many Congrega- 
 tions in the Church of Kome at that Time j and 
 therefore what Proof fuch Arguments can be, 
 that there were no more than one in the third 
 Century, I fhall leave to himfelf to judge. I 
 mufl beg the Reader's Patience whilfl I confider 
 one Argument more of this learned Author's, 
 which is indeed a very pretty and popular one ^ 
 but is fb far from having any Force or Evidence 
 in it, that 'tis taken from the Sound alone, and 
 not from the Senfe of a fmgle Word. " The 
 2, " Antientsr 
 
590 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Ar.TOCXTll. « Antients (fays he) frequently denominated 
 their Biihop's Cure by the Greek Word 
 " Uctc?iKU. 1 he modern EngltJJj ufe that Word 
 ^' no.v, to exprefs a Parijlj by (approaching very 
 '^ near in Sound indeed to one another.)" And 
 hence he concludes it very probable at leaft, that 
 a Bifliop's Cure then, and an EngliJJj Parifh now, 
 were both the fame Thing , nay, he pofitively 
 affirms, that our prefent Senfe of the Word is 
 the very fame that the antient Chriftians took it 
 in, and lays a great Strefs upon the genuine Signi- 
 fication of the Word itfelf forit: Now, before 
 1 give an Account of the Ufe or Meaning of this 
 primitive Word Uae^tKia for a Chriflian Church, 
 I hope I need not fay, that whatever gave Oc- 
 cafion for the Ufe of it, it could have no refpedt 
 to any Language then or ?wjj in Ufe amongft us 
 of this Nation : It would be too abfurd Co much 
 as to imagine fuch a Thing ; and therefore to fug- 
 ged the modern Affinity of the Words, by way of 
 Argument in the Cafe, is diredly to amufe only 
 where we undertake to inftrud. The truefl Me- 
 thod I know to learn the Idiom or Propriety of 
 a primitive Ecclefiaftical Word, is by one or all 
 of thefe three Ways : Either, i. By the S^nfe it 
 bears in the holy Scriptures, if we find it there; 
 or, 2. By the continued Ufe of it in the Chri- 
 ftian Church for fome Time afterwards: or, 3. 
 By the com.mon Signification of it in the origi- 
 nal Language from whence it is taken : And by 
 thefe three Tefls I Ihall try at prefent what the 
 W^ord Uci^iicici antiently might mean. In holy 
 Scripture I find it ufed by St. Luke to denote 
 a temporary Refidence of a Stranger in a Place 
 remote from home ; For in the Qiieftion of Cleo- 
 pas to our blelfed Lord, after his Refurredion, 
 y^^s xxiv. 1 8, y^rt than a Stranger in Jerufalem, 
 \3c ? the original Words are, %\» fMvQ- m^tv^^n 
 
 'Ufa- 
 
Tbirty-Nhie Articles. 591 
 
 %pii9u^riix ; which evidently includes this UctepmA Art. XXIII. 
 in it, as the immediate Theme from whence it ^^/""Y"*^^ 
 comes ; And fhould it be rendered with any 
 Analogy to the Member of a Parifh, or fuch- 
 like Society in the City, the holy Penman's 
 Senfe would be very fingular and unintelligible 
 indeed. Again, St. Paul ufes it in the very 
 fame Senfe and Signification afterwards, Epbe- 
 Jtans ii, 19. Tou are no longer Strangers and Fo- 
 reigners^ fays he, calling his Foreigners there by 
 the Name of Udej^iKot 3 which, if we fhould take 
 it in our learned Enquirer's Senfe, mufl be ren- 
 dered 'very Jiear Neighbours at leaft, or Fellow- 
 Members of one and the fame Society together, 
 which I think diredly inverts the Meaning of the 
 holyApoftle: And other fuch-like Inftances there 
 are. So that the holy Scriptures (you fee) fuggefted 
 a very different Notion of the Word Uae^mU to 
 the primitive Chriilians, and fuch as one fhould 
 fuificiently warrant, and (one would think) give 
 fair Occafion to thofe heavenly-minded Saints to 
 denominate their firft Societies and Churches 
 from it ; fmce they ordinarily look'd upon them- 
 felves as meer Sojourners and Foreigners in the 
 World, and were no otherwife accounted by 
 the Heathen round about them. 
 
 But, 2dly, we often meet v/ith the Word 
 UtLepmet both in the Greek and Latin Writers 
 for feveral Ages afterwards, denoting the fame 
 Thing with a Diocefe of many Parifhes and 
 Congregations in it 3 which farther proves that 
 the Ecclefiaflical Senfe of the Word had not fo 
 narrow a Notion in it, till particular Places de- 
 terminately made it fo. In the Code of the Afri- 
 can Church, publifh'd both in Greek and Latin 
 by Juftellus^ we meet with Dioecefis in one Lan- 
 guage rendered by UAepma. in the other. Thus 
 
 it 
 
592 ^^^ Expofitioii on the 
 
 Art. xxiii. it is in the Title of the 56th Canon "*, and 
 V>Or>^ again and again in the Body of the Canon itfelf 
 So St. Jerom^ tranflating an Epiftle of St. Epi^ 
 fhanius to John Bifhop oi Jerufalem f, expreftes 
 both their large Diocefes (as they furely were 
 then) by the Word Parochia only. St. Aiigti" 
 ftine^ in his Epiftle to Pope Cosleftin +, tells him, 
 that the 1 own of Fu{falala was forty Miles di- 
 ftant from Hippo^ yet both the Place itfelf and 
 the Country round about it, did before this Time 
 belong to the Parcschia of his Church of Hippo. 
 And to come home to ourfelves, the venerable 
 Bede § calls the Dioceie of IJ^'mcheJler by the 
 fame Name, even when the whole Province of 
 the South Saxons did belong to it. And then, 
 whether the Word Biccefe (fo cuftomarily ufed 
 for fecular Diftridts and Provinces in the Em- 
 pire) were immediately adopted into the Church 
 or no I think it argues little j fmce, when it was 
 received, Church-Writers themfelves made no 
 Scruple to uie both Dicecejis and Parochia often- 
 times as Terms fynonymous in ieveral Ages and 
 Nations where Diocefan Diftricls were efta- 
 blifhed : which makes it plain enough, that 'twas 
 not with reference to Circuit or Extent of 
 Churches that they ufed either, till latter Set- 
 tlements gave more appropriated Senfes to them, 
 as it is obvious enough to be obfervcd and {ttx\ 
 in feveral other Ecclefiaftical Terms. 
 
 * vide Chrift. Juftcll. Can. Ecclef. Afiicanx, iw Can.f^. 
 Ed. Paris. 1 614. 
 
 f Vide Epiphan. Ep. ad Johan. Hierofol. inter opera Hid- 
 ron. Vol. 2. 'Tom. 3. FoJ. 71. Ed.t. Enifin. Bafil. item in 
 Epiphan. Tom. i. Pag. 312. Edit. Petav. Colon. 1682. 
 
 ^ Vide Auguft. opera a Theolog. Lovan. Edit. Colon. Agnp. 
 i6i6. Tom. 2. P. 327. Ep. 26. Fuilala iimul coatigua ilbi 
 Keglone ad Parceciam Hipponenris Ecciclia; pertinebat. 
 
 § Bede Kcd, Hiftor. lib, f. c 19. 
 
 But 
 
Tiytrty-Nine Articles. 5^95 
 
 But then, sdly, The very Signification of the Art. xxiil 
 Word Ua^qikia our learned Author will aflure us, '^-OTV^ 
 does make all clear : For it fignifies (fays he) 
 a dwelling one by another as Neighbours do, or 
 an Habitation in one and the lame Place. But 
 here I muft take Leave to fay (and I hope fhall 
 prove it too) that it is taken in a very diiferent 
 Senfe by Writers of unqueftionable Autho- 
 rity, and by Gloffaries andCriticks in theCr^^^ 
 Language is fufficiently warranted to be fo. 
 The inquifitive Suiccr *, in his firft Obfervation 
 on the Word na^iKU^ renders it by the Latin 
 Ad'vena^ or Peregrinus fum^ that is (as the in- 
 fpired Penmen, 1 fhewed you before, always 
 ufe it in the holy Scriptures) I am a Stranger 
 and Foreigner in any Place, But this is not all ; 
 he adds immediately, that this very Word is put 
 in diredt Oppofition to y^Tnimi'^ which, accord- 
 ing to the ancient Gloffes (fays he) fignifies to 
 dwell or have an Habitation in any Place : And 
 is this any thing more or lefs, than a downright 
 Oppofition to our learned Enquirer's peremptory 
 Interpretation of it ? And what this judicious 
 GiofiTary does thus affirm, he makes good by 
 the unexceptionable Authorities of Philo Jii* 
 daus t, St. Bafil the Great t, I'heodoret §, and 
 others, whofe particular (Quotations you have 
 here noted at the Bottom, which makes it 
 clearer ftill. I am fenfible it may be alledged, 
 that the Greek Prepofition ^ra^", when joined in 
 
 * Suicer in Voc. Ilct^i)dso, ^c. 
 
 f Philo Judxus de Sacrit. Abel 6c Cain. 'O rots lyaw 
 
 ^ Bilil. m. in Piai. xiv. t. 1. p. 149. 'H Tiap.iKia, Wt Jlicf 
 
 J Tlieodoret, in Pf. cxix. p. 91 1. Uct^iKUv yj.hei, ^ If 
 
 P p Compo" 
 
594 ^^ Fypofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. Compofition with another Word (as it is here) 
 "^^y^y^^J does often fignify the fame as ju>ita with the 
 L^tins^ that is, mgb^ or near to any Place. And 
 this I take to be the fble Motive indeed, that in- 
 duced our learned Author to make this pofitive 
 Conftrudion of the Word. But let Devarius 
 (that accurate Critick in the Particles oftheGr^^y^ 
 Tongue) be heard in this Cafe , and he will 
 teach us chat we can't, with any Authority, at- 
 tribute fuch a determinate Senfe to it : ^ For his 
 Note upon it is this, w 7m£^ (lays he) non folum 
 -n lyyvi^ fed etiam t) Tnp^ ;^ l?<y fignificat ; that 
 is, the Prepofition 'ra^^'does not only fignify ntgb^ 
 or near to^ but alio beyond-^ or from abroad^ and 
 witbout^ according to the different Phrafe or 
 Authors we may meet it in , which fufFiciently 
 juftifies the above-mention'd ancient Writer's 
 ufing it (even in this very Word before us) in 
 direct Oppofition to that of dwelling nigh one 
 another in one and the fame Place. But too 
 much of this, for I ever took Criticifm to be a 
 flender Way of Arguing on {o great a Subje6b 
 as this is 3 only 1 found no Help for it here, the 
 Determination was fo pofitive in the Cafe, and 
 fuch Imooth Infinuations advanced upon the 
 Plaufibility of a fingle Word. 
 
 Having thus far confider'd the Platform of 
 the Independent or Congregational Scheme, and, 
 as I hope, fufficiently fhewn how fallacious a 
 Bottom it ftands upon, I fhall proceed to confi- 
 der what our Adverfaries have endeavoured to 
 build upon. But here, confidering what hath 
 been already advanced in Favour of Fpifcopacy, 
 
 '^ Vide Matth. Devarii, Lib. de Grxc. &mg. particul. 
 Edifc du Gard. A. D. 16/7. pag, 20^. 
 
Thirty ISline Articles, 595 
 
 in Oppofition to the Presbyterian Scheme, it will Art. xxill. 
 not, 1 hope, be expeded that 1 fhould be very V>Or\-/. 
 long upon this Head. I fliall begin here alio 
 with the Church o( Jerufalem^ and endeavour 
 to gratify Mr. Normajt fo far as to prove, that 
 the feveral Congregations of it in the Scripture- 
 Times were govcrn'd by St. fames ^ and that 
 the proving of this, is proving fomething to 
 our Purpofe. This Gentleman hath been al- 
 ready told by Mr. Lowth^ that this Qviz. that 
 St. James was Bifbop of Jerufalem') appears 
 from feveral Paffages in the A^s of the Apoftles j 
 that we read in the 12th Chapter, that upon St. 
 Peters being kept in Prifon, Prayer was made 
 without ceafmg of the Church to God for him, 
 Verfe the 5th , and after his miraculous Delive- 
 rance, he ordered feme of the Faithful to ac- 
 quaint James and the reft of the Brethren with 
 it, Ver. 1 7. denoting him to be Governor of that 
 Church, as the Diffenters, in their Notes upon 
 that Place, acknowledge in the Continuation of 
 Mr. Pool', that at the Synod which was held at 
 Jerufalem^ and recorded in the 15th Chapter, 
 Ver. 19. the Decree was pronounced by him; 
 and that after the Synod or Council we find 
 him at Jerufalem^ as appears from Gal. ii. 12. 
 and laflly, that fome Years after we read, A^s 
 xxi. 18. that St. Pmil^ after he was come to Je^ 
 rufalem^ gives an Account of the Succefs of his 
 Preaching to James^ in the Prefence of all the 
 Elders, 1 will not pretend to lay that this is ir- 
 refiftible Reafoning, as Mr. Norman is pleafcd 
 in a fcoffing and bantering Sort of a Way to 
 call it J all that I contend for, and, without 
 doubt, all that Mr. Lowth expeded, is, that it 
 be admitted to carry with it the Face of a. very 
 ftrong Probability • and, from a Paffagc in Mr. 
 Normans Defence, I am ape to think he is a 
 
 P p 2 little 
 
596 ^^ Fxpofition on tJje 
 
 Art.XXIII. little inclined to be of the fame Opinion, or elfc 
 ^J^^^f^^ why docs he in his Reply to it, Lef. p. 20. in- 
 ftead of James and the Churchy fay only the 
 church ? But then if we compare thefe Paffages 
 of Scripture with fome others in Church Hiflory, 
 they do fo illuftrate and confirm each other, that 
 I think a Man had need have as ftrong Eye- fight 
 as Mr. Norman^ that can look up againft fo much 
 Light, and boldly outface fb ftrong a Degree of 
 Evidence. 
 
 The firft Author Mr. Lowth mentions among 
 the ancient \\ riters of the Church to prove that 
 St,James was Bifhop oVJenifalem^ is Hegefippus 
 in EufebiiiSj Book 2. Chap. 23. Upon the Frag- 
 ment of this Father, which the Hiilorian pre- 
 fents us wiih, Mr. Norman makes the following 
 Obfervations. i. '^ That it contains a Relation 
 '^ of the Martyrdom of St. James ^ who is faid 
 '"^ to be Bifhop of Jerufalefu^ but that the learn- 
 " ed Dti Ftn takes Notice that his Way of tel- 
 '' ling it looks more like a fabulous Narative 
 ^^ than a true Hiftory!' To which I anfwer, 
 that the learned Etifehius tells us, in this very 
 Chapter, that Hegefippus being one of thole 
 who were of the firft Succeffion after the Apo- 
 ftles, does in the fifth Book of his Commenta- 
 ries ivoft accurately relate thefe Things concern- 
 ing this James^ fpeaking after this manner : 
 James, the Brother of our Lord^ &c. • which is 
 the Beginning of this very Relation. 2. Mr. 
 Norman obierves, '' That the Notes on this 
 " PaiTage, thcitjamcs \vd.sVA{b.o^ oijerufalem^ 
 '' tell us, that Scaliger hath proved by many 
 '^ Arguments that this Relation is fabulous." 
 But in the Enghjh Tranllation of £'/.//^/?/f/j, with 
 Valefius's Notes, for I have not the Greek by 
 me, there are no Notes upon this FalTage at all. 
 
 Indee(J 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 797 
 
 Indeed as to that which follows it in thefe Art. XXIII 
 Words, -J^o him only it zvas lawful^ &c. in which ^>>''''V'N^. 
 a particular Privilege is faid to belong to him, 
 and an Account is given of his more than ordi- 
 nary Piety, the Notes tell us that ScaUger^ in 
 his Animadverfions upon Eujebius^ hath exa- 
 mined it thoroughly in the 178th Page of that 
 Work, and finds fault with many Thin2;s in it ; 
 which are well worth reading, and if Mr. Nor- 
 man will give himfelf the Trouble to turn to the 
 1 2th Chapter of this Book, he will fee that Va- 
 lefius in the Notes there calls him the firft Bifhop 
 oijerufalem. 3. He obfcrves further, that the 
 Words of Hegefippus J zscittdby Eufeb his ^ can't 
 be a Proof of what Mr. Lowtb refers to them 
 for, but will rather prove the contrary -, he fay- 
 ing, that James the Brother of our Lord go- 
 verned the Church of Jerufalem with the Apo- 
 ftles : And if he governed the Church with the 
 Apoftles, continues he, how was he fettled there 
 as a Diocefan ? The Prepofition ^t* is indeed 
 fometimes rendered by Po/?, after -^ bu'- when 
 it has a Gemtiije Cafe after it, I do not remem- 
 ber that it ever fignifies Po/?, but frequently 
 Cum^ with : And the learned Vakfins^ in his Notes 
 on the PalTage we are now confidering, plainly 
 favours this Interpretation. Now, fuppofmg 
 Mr. Norman in the Right, and Mr. Lowtb in the 
 Wrong, as to this Piece of Criticifm, yet it will 
 not prejudice the Caufe of Epifcopacy in gene- 
 ral; becaufe it is allowed by the Epifcoparians, 
 and fuppofed in this very Argument, that the 
 Apoftles did for a Time govern the Church of 
 Jerufalem^ all of them together. But I cannot 
 fee any Reafon to give up Mr. Lowtb' s Argu- 
 ment at fo eafy a Rate. ?vlr. Norman hath given 
 us the Greek of Eufehius in the Margin ; which 
 Valefiiis^ and the Engllflo Tranllator above- 
 p p 3 mention dg 
 
598 -^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxiii. mention'd, and Mr. Norman^ are for rendering 
 W^^TN^^ as the Englrjh Tranflation hath it: — Undertook 
 together wttb the Apoftles the Government of the 
 church. The Words are, ^.tet^^Tai J^ nv "'^kilkw- 
 cidLv yATti 'niv A^grAftjy. It may be no great Pre- 
 fumption, 'tis to be hoped, if I offer at another 
 Tranflation of thcfe Words, and fubmit it to 
 the unprejudiced Reader when I have done, 
 whether it be not the moft natuiral of the two. 
 /^tcLSi^ui/.i in my Lexicon fignifies as much as ac-' 
 cipo per alhim^ quafi per 7?ianus traditum ^ that 
 is, to receive by or from another ^ as when a ^h'tng 
 is delivered to us by another Perfons Hands. 
 And the Prepofition {u-m: fignifies Per^ By or 
 From, as well as Cum., JVtth -^ fo that I take 
 the Engljlj of thefe Words to be, that he re- 
 ceived the Church (/. e. the Government and 
 Charge of it) by or from the Apoftles. 
 
 The next Father which Mr. Lowth appeals 
 to in order to prove that St. James was made 
 Bifliop of Jerufalem^ is Dionyfius Bifhop of Co- 
 rinth , and for a Proof that this is attefted by 
 him, he refers us to the 4fh Book of EufebiuSj 
 Chapter the 23d : I muft be fo ingenuous as to 
 own that I cannot find any fuch Paifage, tho* 
 I have carefully peruied the whole Chapter. 
 Mr. Bingham., in the firft Volume of his Anti- 
 quities, Book 2. Chap. I. afferts the fame • and 
 directs us to Lionyfitis's Epiftle to the Athenians^ 
 in the Book and Chapter of Eu'ebms above- 
 mention'd : But 'tis certain that the Extracfl or 
 Abridgment of this Bpiille, for the Chapter 
 hath nothing more of it, contains no fuch 
 Thing. Whether thefe learned Gentlemen have 
 made Ufe of any other Edition of Eufehius be- 
 fides that put out by Valejius, and whether this 
 Paffage be there, or whether they are miftaken. 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles. 599 
 
 I cannot take upon me to fay ; but fuppofing Art. xxiTI, 
 the latter to be the Cafe, I muft take the Li- OO^X^^ 
 bcrty to tell Mr. Norfjmn^ that tho' it may be 
 true that Mr. Lowtb may not efcape the Ccnfure 
 of him and his Brethren upon this Account, yet 
 my Comfort is that their Cenfure will do him 
 but very little Harm : for fo well is the Reputa- 
 tion of that truly-excellent Perfon ellablifhed, 
 fo fully ienfible hath the World been made of 
 his great and uncommon Learning and Abilities, 
 as likewile of Mr. Bingbam\^ that 'tis in vain to 
 endeavour to leflen either of them ; efpecially 
 by nibbling at an unwary Expn flion, or a Slip 
 of the Pen, which 1 bslieve no Mm 's any fr^er 
 from than from any other Inilancc^ of h-mm 
 Frailty whatfoever. I'hirdly, Mr. Lowth nr.en- 
 tions Clement of Alexandria^ as attelting that 
 St. James was conftituted Bifhop of Jcrufalcm ; 
 for whofe Teftimony we are likewile dircd:ed 
 to Etifehius^ Book the fecond. Chapter the firft. 
 ^^ Now Eufehius^ faith Mr. Not man. ^ it muft 
 *' be owned, doth fay, that Clement ipeaks of 
 ^' St. fames % being cholen Bifhop of Jtrnfalem ; 
 ^^ but it may not be improper, he fays, lo take 
 " notice, that the Hiftorian mentions this as 
 '^ contained in a Work of that Father's, called 
 ^^ his Inftitutions : Which (as a very confidera- 
 *^ ble Man tells us, the learned Critick PbotiuSj 
 ^' who had feen it) was full of Errors. " Now, 
 who would expect fuch Reafoning as this from 
 a Man that argues in the 52d Page of this Book 
 C'viz. his Defence^ &c.J in the following man- 
 ner 1 '' Now we will fuppofe Fhilofiorgius to be 
 
 fuch a notorious Lyar as Mr. Lowtb has repre- 
 " fented him, and Socrates to be an Hiftorian 
 '^ of much better Credit j Is it not poflible 
 
 that Pbilofiorgius fhould he once in the right, 
 
 '^ and Socrates miftaken ?" But not to quarrel 
 
 P p 4 with 
 
6oo j4n Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxni. with Mr. Norman for fmall Matters, I will 
 *^/VN^ agree with him that the Teftimony of this Fa- 
 ther fhall not be admitted any farther than 'tis 
 agreeable to what other Writers have delivered 
 upon the fame Subject. But Mr. Nor7nan does 
 not feem to lay a great deal of Strefs upon this, but 
 faith, " Be this as it will, when I confider how 
 '' that PafTage is e:spre{red, it does not appear 
 '^ to me that it can be of any great Advantage 
 '' to Mr. Lowth in this Argument. " Clement^ 
 it feems, fays, " That Peter ^ James^ and John^ 
 '^ tho' they were preferred by Jcfus Chrift to 
 ^' the other Apoftles, did not contend among 
 '' themi elves for the firft Degree of Honour, 
 *' but ehofe St. Jariies to be Bifhop of Jerufa- 
 '' km:" As if it were a greater Degree of 
 Honour to be confined to Jerufalem^ than to 
 have a Commiilion from Chrift which extended 
 to all Nations, and to be Bifhop of a particular 
 Diocefe, was a greater Dignity than the Apo- 
 ftolick Office itlelf Ail that I need to fay in 
 Anfwer to thisj is, that I never heard or knew 
 the Preference occafion'd by a Seniority either 
 of Perfons or Things fo much wondered at be- 
 fore in my Life, and 1 hope 1 never fhail again ; 
 and to my Knowledge a Deference hath been 
 paid to a Diffenting Mmifter, by his Brethren, 
 on the account of his Age, when his perfonal 
 Merit and Abilities have required nothing of this 
 kind. The laft of the Antients cited by Mr. 
 Lo'Wtb^ to prove that St. "James was by the Apo- 
 ftles confdtuted Bifhop oi Jerufalem^ is St. Je- 
 rom ; but he being reckoned among the Writers 
 of the fijih Century^ Mr. Norman faith, ^' He 
 '^ mufl be fuppoled to have his Accounts rela^- 
 '^ ting to the primitive Church from thofe who 
 ^^ fiounfhcd in the Ages before him: and there- 
 ^^ fore» if he does mention St Janws as Bifliop 
 
Thirty -l^tne Articles. 6o\ 
 
 *^ of Jcrufalem^ which he could not fay, be- Art. xxiit. 
 ^' caufe he had not his Works by him to exa- V>0/'^N^ 
 " mine the Chapter referred to, if he fays no 
 " more than Mr. Lowth has made appear to 
 " have been faid by the Fathers of the fecond 
 " Century, it does not come up to his Purpofe ; 
 '^ and if he aflerts more than they did, he thinks 
 ^' his Authority may without Offence be juftly 
 '' called in queftion." What the Fathers which 
 Mr. LoisJth hath quoted have been made appear 
 to fay, muft be left to the Reader to confider 
 of. I hope they will be thought to have faid 
 enough ^ but 1 am willing to believe, that no 
 unprejudiced Perfbn will think it to be amifs if 
 I add the Teflimony of Dionyfius of Aleyiandriay 
 which is contained in the 7th Book of Eufebius, 
 and Chapter the 19th : " The Epifcopal Chair 
 '^ of JarrJes the firfl Bifhop of Jerufalem^ who 
 '' was confecrated by our Saviour himfelf, and 
 '' the Apoflles, (who in holy Writ is honoured 
 ^' with the Title of Brother of Chrift) being 
 " referved till this Time, the Brethren, who 
 ^' have fucceeded in that Church do reverence 
 '^ it : " Hence they plainly manifefl to all what 
 great Veneration and Refpedt both the Antients 
 and alfo thofe of our Age have and do pay to 
 holy Men, for their Love to God. This Father 
 fiourifhed about the Middle of the third Cen- 
 tury. I am very willing to take leave of this 
 Subjed:, but I muft confefs that I cannot with- 
 out Indignation take notice upon this Occafion, 
 that all the glorious Lights of the Chriftian 
 Church in the fourth and fifth Centuries, whofe 
 Names can fcarcely be mentioned without De- 
 ference and Veneration by any true Sons of the 
 Church of Chrift, muft be wholly fet afide, and 
 implicitly (at leaft) ftigmatized with Innovation 
 gnd pr>evaricating from the Evangelical Inftitu- 
 
 tion 
 
^6o^ ^^ Eypofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. tion and Apoftolical Eftablifhment of the Chri- 
 V/VN-/' ftian Church, to make way for the Congrega- 
 tional Scheme ; which makes the fagacious Au- 
 thor of the Enquiry Jay fuch ftri6t Injunctions 
 as he does in his Preface upon any that (hould 
 confider his elaborate Work, not to ftir a HairV 
 Breadth from the third Century of the Church: 
 for to the glorious Bafil^ Gregories^ Cbryfoftom^ 
 Augufttne^ or any of their Cotemporaries, he 
 dares not appeal , knowing how notorioufly the 
 Catholick Church of God, then acknowledged 
 in the World, and ever fince, had Diocefes and 
 Churches of a very different Conftitution from 
 his. ThisConfideration, I verily believe, would a 
 little affed fome fort of modeft Men ; but 1 leave 
 it to themfelves. 
 
 A s to Mr. Normans Demand, Whether one 
 Bifhop governed the feveral Congregations of 
 the Church of Jerufalem? I anfwer, That St. 
 James was, as I have proved, Bifhop of that 
 Church : And Mr. Nor man knows what that means, 
 and that he knows the Independent Maxim 
 of one Bifhop to a Church as well as I do. As 
 to his other Query, Whether St. James governed 
 the Church of Jerufalem as a Bifhop, or as an 
 Apoftle? I think I have anfwered it already out 
 of Mr. Baxter-^ and Vis to no purpofc for 
 Mr. Norman to tell us that Mr. Baxter hath 
 laid one thing in one Place and another thing in 
 another, or that he is not concerned to appear 
 in Defence of Mr. Baxter s Notions. What I 
 expe6t from him is, that he fhould anfwer Mr. 
 Baxter s Arguments ; becaufe, as Mr. Norman 
 argues with relation to Bifhop Stillingfleefs 
 Jrcnium^ the Reafon of them, unanfwered by Mr. 
 Baxter or any Body elfe, prevails with me and 
 with feveral other Perlbns, tho' we are far from 
 
 being 
 
Thirty "'Nine Articles. (5o3 
 
 being Ignorant that there is fuch a Book in the Art. xxiil. 
 World as Richard againft Baxter, In a Word, V^'VX^J 
 I hope what the blefled Martyr King Charles I. 
 aflerts in his Reply to the firft Anfwer of the 
 Presbyterian Divines, hath been fufficiently made 
 good, viz, " That tho' the Apoftles had no 
 '' Succeffors in eundmngradum as to thofe Things 
 '^ that were extraordinary in them, as namely, 
 '^ the Meafure of their Gifts, the Extent of their 
 '^ Charge, the Infallibility of their Dodrine, 
 " and the having itQn Chrift in the Flefh ; yet 
 '^ in thofe Things that were not extraordinary 
 '^ (and fuch thofe Things are to be judged 
 *' which are neceffary for the Service of the 
 '^ Church in all Times, as the Office of Teach- 
 '^ ing and Power of Governing are) they were 
 '^ to have and had Succeflbrsj and therefore 
 " (continues he) the learned and godly Fathers 
 '^ and Councils of old Times did ufually ftile 
 '' Biftiops the Succeffors of the Apoftles, with- 
 '^ out ever fcrupling thereat." But how con- 
 vincingly foever this may be made out now, 
 or hereafter, our Adverfaries will ftill advance 
 and alfert, that the fucceeding the Apoftles in 
 the ordinary Part of their Office, makes them 
 Parochial Bifhops, that is, Presbyters. This 
 Mr. Norman doth in his Defence^ &c. p. 15. and 
 this the Author of the Enquiry^ &c. doth at 
 full length in the 4th Chapter of his Book. 
 '' The Definition of a Presbyter, he faith, may 
 " be this : A Peribn in Holy Orders, having 
 " thereby an inherent Right to perform the 
 '' whole Office of a Bifhop ; but being pof- 
 " feffed of no Place, or Parifh, not adually 
 '^ difcharging it, without the Permiffion and 
 '^ Confent of the Bifhep of a Place or Parifh." 
 But left this Definition ftiould feem oblcure, he 
 proceeds tp illuftrate it by this following In- 
 
 ftance: 
 
OOTN^ ^t 
 
 604 An Expofitioii on the 
 
 JkRT^xxiil. ftance : '^ As a Curate hath the fame Mifflon 
 and Power with the Minifter, whofe Place he 
 fupplies ; yet being not the Minifter of that 
 Place, he cannot perform there any Ads of 
 his Minifterial Function, without Leave from 
 the Minifter thereof; So a Presbyter had 
 the fame Order and Power (he means for the 
 three fir ft Centuries) with a Bifhop whom he 
 aflifted in his Cure ^ yet being not the Bifhop 
 or Minifter of that Cure, he could not there 
 perform any Parts of his Paftoral Office, 
 without the Permiflion of the Bifhop thereof ^ 
 {o that what we generally render BiPoops^ 
 Priefts^ and Beacons^ would be more intelli- 
 gible in our Tongue, if we did exprefs it by 
 " Re^orsy Vicars^ and Deacons ^ by Recflors 
 underftanding the Bifhops, and by Vicars the 
 Presbyters ^ the former being the adtual In- 
 cumbents of a Place, and the latter Curates 
 or Affiftants, and fo different in Degree, but 
 yet equal in Order/' In anfwer to this, it 
 will be neceflary to inquire into the Senfe and 
 Judgment of Antiquity, concerning the holy 
 Rite or folemn Office of promoting a Presbyter 
 to the Station of a Bifhop ; wherein I obferve, 
 (after the Example of the Enquirer himfelf, 
 p. 10.) I. That the fame IVord^ which all An- 
 tiquity uies for expreffing the Promotion of a 
 Layman to a Deacon, or a Deacon to a PreC- 
 byter, they ufed alfo for the Promotion of 
 Presbyters into the Station of a Bifhop : 'Tis 
 Ordination of Bifhops, as well as of Friefts and 
 Deacons, in the familiar Language of the Fa- 
 thers : This our Enquirer owns, for he hath 
 quoted an Authority from St. Cyprian for it, 
 p. 49. and 'tis too obvious a Matter to need any 
 Proofs. Hence I argue, in his own Words, 
 J. 67. '^ If the fame appellation of a Stbing h& 
 
 cc 
 cc 
 
 a 
 
 u 
 
 
 
(C 
 
 Tbirty-'N'me Articles. 605 
 
 a good Proof for the Identity of its Nature^ Art. xxiil, 
 ^' then the Rite of confecrating a Bifhop muft L/W^ 
 " confer a new Order upon him, becaufe the 
 '"' fanie Name is as familiarly ufed for it, as 
 ^^ for the Rite of ordaining a Presbyter, who 
 '' undoubtedly had a new Order conferred upon 
 " him by it." In this manner our Enquirer proves 
 hisBifhops and Presbyters to be of one and the.famc 
 Order, from the Identity of their Names, QEfiqui- 
 ry^ p. 67.) and thofe Names fufficiently liable to 
 diftindt Conftrudtions, as 1 have fhewn before ; 
 and tho' the Argument would have had confi- 
 derable Vv' eight in it, if he had proved the main 
 Thing necelfary there, namely, that a Presbyter 
 was ordinarily, or indeed ever called a Bijhop^ 
 after the Apoftolical Age w^as a little over ; yet 
 for want of that (which he did not, and I am 
 free to fay, he cannot prove) his Argument, I 
 think, cannot come up to the Application I 
 make of it here ; fmce the Word Ordination^ 
 for making of Bifhops, has been authentick in 
 all Ages of the Church, without any Mark of 
 Diftindion put upon it ; and for Fathers, 
 Councils and Hiftorians generally to make ufe 
 of it, where no Order is given at all, not only 
 puts a Force upon the Word it felf, but is little 
 lefs than an Impofition upon all Poflerity alfo, 
 by applying one ^nd the fame common Term to 
 folemn Rites of the Church, of fo near a Re- 
 femblance to one another in all vifible Appear- 
 ance, and yet io vaftly different in the Intention 
 of the Church, as our Enquirer's Angular Notion 
 of it would make it to be ; tho', 1 believe, he 
 is the firft who ever ventured to tell the World, 
 that Ordination in the making of a Bifhop, did 
 in our Language fignify no more than an /«- 
 Jl ailment (as I obferved before), and now again 
 will have the Meaning of it to be a Presbyter's 
 
 Infiitution 
 
6o6 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art, XXIII. Inftittitkn and Induction into a Cure ; which 
 
 <y^y^^ to have proved, as well as faid, had been no 
 
 more than was necelTary to his Caufe. 
 
 But, lecondly, as the Name, fb the Rite it 
 lelf of conftituting a primitive Bifhop, deferves 
 to be confidered : A fingle Bifhop, by the an- 
 cient Canons of the Church, and by fufficient 
 Evidence befides, might ordain a Presbyter or 
 Deacon ; but to make a Bijhop^ a whole Pro- 
 vince of Bifhops (our learned Enquirer knows) 
 did moft commonly afTcmble, and with the like 
 holy Ceremony by which all Orders of the 
 Church were conferred, that is, by Impofition 
 of Hands and Prayers, did collate that Power 
 and Character upon him, which ever after, and 
 never before (as far as Fadt and Words together 
 can prove it) he was invefted in ; and if the 
 former be the giving of an Order by a fingle 
 Hand, and this latter but a Licenfe (as it were) 
 to ufe it, or, as our learned Author chules to 
 exprels it, but a formal Inftallment into an Epif- 
 copal Chair j then the greater facrcd Solemnity*, 
 this united Application of an Apoftolical Rife 
 to it, and this joint-fynodical Invitation of the 
 holy Spirit for it, are all of them to fo fingular 
 and indifferent a Purpofe, as is not to be paral- 
 leled (we may fafely fay) in any other minifle- 
 rial Solemnity in the whole Oeconomy of the 
 Chriftian Church. 
 
 Thirdly, By this Ordination the promoted 
 Presbyter became a Member of a diflind Eccle- 
 fiaflical College, from all other Officers or Mini- 
 fters in the Church , from whence St. Cyprtan 
 {6 peculiarly calls the Bifhops his CoUegues in 
 that higher Function with him, which (as hum- 
 ble as he was) he never once applied to Presby- 
 
 ters 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles. 607 
 
 ters or Deacons *i tho' the learned Enquirer Art. xxiir. 
 hath been pleaied to aflert the contrary, and, as ^-/^^'"^^ 
 it were, without making the leaft Attempt to 
 prove it : And we know one immediate EfFe6t of 
 it was, that he gained a rulmg Power over both 
 of them, tho' he was but a Co-ordinate Brother 
 to the Higheft of them before : And fuch as are 
 curious to fee how fuch diftind Colleges implied 
 diftind Orders in them, in the Nature of the 
 Thing, may find it learnedly argued by the late 
 fmgularly-learned and inquifitive Antiquary 
 Mr. Dodwell, in his tenth Differtation upon 
 St, Cyprian, 
 
 But, 4thly, This promoted Presbyter, from 
 the Time he had paffed under the Provincial 
 Impoiition of Hands, acquired a Prerogati\^e 
 parallel to that of God's High-Prieft among the 
 Jews. Ihvs St. Cyprian not only makes the 
 Rebellion of his Presbyters and others againft 
 him, of the fame kind with that of Corab., Da- 
 tban^ and Abiram^ againft Aaron -^ but affirms 
 the fame Law which God gave for the High- 
 Prieft, or any the fupremeft Ruler whatfoever, 
 to judge decifively in the great Council of their 
 Sanbedrim^ and to punifh the Offender, did au- 
 thorize theChriftian Biinop to judge and cenfure 
 rebellious Schifmaticks within his Jurifdidion. 
 So he alTures Rogatian^ a BiOiop in his Pro- 
 vince t i and applies it to his own and Cornelius's 
 Cafe, in another Epiftle f : where he gives us a 
 further Character of his promoted Presbyter's 
 
 ■* See Cyp. Ep. 28. (which is what our Author refejrs to, 
 and is a dired Evidence agaiiiil him) and Ep. 34. 
 + Cyp. Ep. 3. §. I. 
 t Ep. S9^ §. 4. 
 
 Dignity 
 
6o8 Jn Eipofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. Dignity too, n)iz. that he was then become the 
 ^^y^y"^^ one Judge, as well as the one High-Prieft^ and 
 Chrifi's Vicegerent in the Church. Farther, he 
 is from that Time peculiarly ranked in the 
 Number of the Apoftles Succejjors^ to whom 
 they themfelves committed their Churches^ and 
 delivered up to them their Place of Mafterfhip, 
 or Magifterial Authority in them. So Irenceus 
 fays in plain Terms, and in that very Place 
 where he was proving Orthodoxy from the per- 
 fonal SucceHion of them, which our Enquirer 
 owns related to the fupreme Presbyter or Biftiop 
 alone *. Again, St. Cyprian minds Cornelius, 
 Bifliop of Rome^ to be zealous with him of the 
 Unity of the Church, becaufe it came from the 
 Lord, and by the Apoftles (fays he) to us their 
 Succeffors f. Firmtlian ftiles Bi(hops the Apo- 
 ftles SuccefTors by a Vicarious Ordination t. 
 And the Confeffor Clarus a Mafcula (a Bi- 
 Ihop in the Carthaginian Council under St. C>- 
 frian) gives this unanfwerable Suffrage for it : 
 The Sentence, faith he, of our Lord Jefiis 
 Chrift is manifeft, who fent his Apoftles, 
 and granted to them alone the Power which 
 was given to him of the Father, whom we 
 fucceed, governing the Church of the Lord 
 with the fame Power §. " 
 
 Lastly, He prcfided in the Confiftory (to 
 ufe St. Ignatius\ Words) in the Place of God, 
 whilft the Presbyters (in Analogy to that Com- 
 parifon) fat as a College of Apoftles under him. 
 
 * Iren. 1. 3. c. 3. 
 
 t Enquiry, p. 12, 15. 
 
 4: Ep. FirmiL inter Ep." Cyp. 75*. p. 225-. 
 
 § Concil. Carthag. apud Cyp. Suftrag. 79. p. 242, 
 
 and 
 
thWty-Kine Articles. fep 
 
 and then the Deacons as intriifted with the mi- Art. xxiir. 
 nifterial Service of Jefus Chrift *. Very firgu- ^s.yy\J, 
 lar Phrafes ! for exprefling Officers, whereof 
 any two were of the fame Order. Thefe and 
 many fuch Characters of a common Presbyter^ 
 after Ordination by Provincial Bifhops, which 
 'twould be tedious to fet down, are frequently 
 to be met with in the Writings of the Primi- 
 tive Fathers, whereof not one of them was 
 attributed to him 'till then, or to any in that 
 inferior Station wherein he ftood before ; and 
 if thefe AccefHons of fuperlative Titles, Prero- 
 gatives, and Jurifdiclion^ denote no other Or- 
 der conferr'd upon him than he had before, it 
 will be very difficult to conceive, in what Senle 
 the Jewifh High-Prieft, the Chriftian Apoftles, 
 the fupremeft Judges and Rulers in Societies, 
 or the peculiar Vicegerents of God h*rnfelf, are 
 of a higher Order in Church and State, than all 
 other Men of whatfoever Dignity or Station in 
 any of them befides. 
 
 The next Propofition which I am to prove, 
 is, that the Power of Ordination hath ever in- 
 communicably belong'd to the Order which we 
 now call Bifhops. 
 
 That the Apoftles had this Power, and that 
 timothy and Titus had it, is acknowledged by 
 all who allow of Ord'tiation, either by Bifhops 
 or Presbyters. But our Adverfaries have been 
 challenged long fince to produce one Ordination 
 during the firft fifteen hundred Years after Chrift 
 which was perform'd by Presbyters, and not 
 generally look'd upon as invalid. W hereas, on 
 
 * Igaat. Epill. ad Magnef. §. 6. 
 
 Q_q the 
 
6io ^n Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxill. the Other hand, they who have been ordained 
 Ky>r\J by mere Presbyters in the Primitive Times, 
 have been dripped of their pretended Orders, 
 and with Derifion turned down to the Laick 
 Form. A famous and known Inftance is Jfcby" 
 ras^ who was depofed by the Synod of Alexan- 
 dria^ becaufe Colluthus^ who ordain'd him, was 
 fuppofed to be no more than a Presbyter, tho' 
 pretending to be a Bifhop. The Council of 
 Sardica^ and the Council of Sevil in Spain^ aded 
 in like manner on the like Occafions. 
 
 But 'tis objected, that St. Paul exhorts Ti- 
 met by not to negle^ the Gift that was in him^ 
 ivhich was given him by Prophecy^ with the lay- 
 ing on of the Hands of the Presbytery^ i Ttm. 
 iv. 14. Now fmce there were apparently two 
 Sorts of Presbyters when this Epiftle was writ- 
 ten ; one which had Power over other Presby- 
 ters, and {o by Confequence another which was 
 lubordinate or in Subjed:ion to this firft Sort ; 
 one which anfwers to that Order which we call 
 Bifhops, and another which anfwers to the Or- 
 der which we call Presbyters , {o that the Pref^ 
 bytery here fpoken of might be an AiTembly of 
 the Apoilles themfelves : For to make this Senfe 
 the more probable, we may obferve, that Igna- 
 tnis^ a Difciple of the Apoftles,* called the 
 Apoftles, the Presbytery of the Church, and 
 made ufe of the very fame Greek Word that is 
 here ufed in the Original : I would fain know 
 which is moll reafonable, to explain the Text 
 agreeably to the conftant Sentiments and Prac- 
 tice of the moft ancient Writers, and the Primi- 
 tive Church, or to the novel Fancies of thofe 
 who are but of Yefterday ? 
 
 * Epift. ad Phihd. 
 
 z Mr. 
 
Thirty-'Nme Articles. 6fi 
 
 Mk. Norman hath two Things to fay npon Art. xxiii 
 this Head : i. He faith, " That though Ig^na- 
 ^' tms life the Words in that Senfe, it does not 
 *' follow, that it was an Affembly of Apoftles 
 *^ who laid their Hands on Timothy!' Very 
 tn^e, but it follows, that the Laying on of the 
 Hands of the Presbytery is an ExprelTion no way 
 repugnant to our Scheme, and becaufe capable 
 of a double Signification, not plain enough to 
 introduce new Prad:ices into the Church, in 
 Oppofition to what is already eftablifl^ed, and 
 as much, if not more, favoured by the Text 
 on which this Oppofition is built, as what Mr. 
 Norman and his Brethren would have fubfti- 
 tuted in the Room of it. 
 
 2. Mr. Norman faith, /^ That Ignatius (peaks 
 '^ of fleeing to the Gofpel as to the Flefh of 
 '^ Chrlft, and to the Apoftles as to the Pre{^ 
 '^ bytery of the Church ; and if the Gofpel be 
 " not the Flefh of Chrift, he fubmits it to 
 '^ Confideration, whether from that Father's 
 ^^ Way of Speaking, we are to conclude, that 
 ^^ an Affembly of Apoftles miy properly be 
 '^ called the Presbytery of the Church." Now, 
 if there be any-thing in this Argument it muft 
 be this, that if one Branch or Member of a 
 Sentence be figurative, the Remainder of it 
 muft not be underftood literally. This Gen- 
 tleman knows that our Saviour faith of himfelf 
 in the Revelation^ I am the bright and Morning 
 Star-^ I am the Offspring of David. The former 
 Part of thefe Words are figurative, and what 
 will Mr. Norman fay of the latter ? Surely {o 
 intelligent a Perfbn as Mr. Norman never fur- 
 prized the World with fuch Reaibning as this 
 is before! 
 
 Q_q 2 But 
 
6 1 2 An Expofition on the 
 
 ^'^i^^^^^^' ^^^ though we fhould grant that the PreC- 
 
 Kjr>r>u 
 
 bytery here fpoken of was an AlTembly of mere 
 Presbyters, which I can as yet fee no Neceflity 
 for ; yet it appears from 2 1'im. i. 6. that 
 St. Paul was concern'd in fimothys Ordination. 
 The Text runs thus. Wherefore I put thee in 
 Remembrance^ that thou fiir up the Gift of God 
 which is in thee^ by the putting on of my Hands. 
 And therefore, the utmoft that can be deduced 
 from this Text, ^uiz. 1 fim. iv. 14. is this, "vtz. 
 That one or more of fuch as were mere Pref^ 
 byters, might lay on their Hands in Concurrence 
 with him, to teftify their Confent and Appro- 
 bation • as is the Cuftom at th's Day in the 
 Ordination of a Presbyter, and has been fome- 
 times done at the Ordination of a Bifhop. 
 
 This, as fome learned Gentlemen have been 
 of Opinion, is at leaft exceeding probable from 
 the Prepofition c/>i, or^^^, which is annexed to 
 St. Paul's laying on of Hands^ and from the 
 Prepofition f^sTa^ or 'with^ which precedes the 
 laying on of the Hands of the Presbytery , the 
 former of them proving St. Paul to be the prin- 
 cipal Conveyor of the Authority which was 
 given to I'lmothyj and the latter indicating the 
 Presbytery to be a Company of fubordinate 
 Ailiftants. But as Criticifm is, as I have hinted 
 already, too little a Part of this Argument to 
 be long dwelt upon, I pafs on to another Diffi- 
 culty, which our Objedors ought to clear, be- 
 fore they argue- from i ^im. iv. 14. with fo 
 much AiTurance as they do : I mean, that they 
 fhould fliew that timothy s Ordination is there 
 int€nded* To argue upon the Suppofition that 
 it is, will do our Caufe, as hath been feen, no 
 Hurt j but methinks, thoie Writers of ours that 
 
 obferve 
 
Tbirty-Nme Articles. (5 13 
 
 obferve how frequently laying on of Hands was Art. XXIII. 
 ufcd in other Cafes befides Ordination, and of ^^-^''''V^^ 
 how large and comprehenfive a Signification the 
 Word Gift is, are too confiderable to be fo en- 
 tirely negledted as they feem to be by the Ad- 
 vocates for the Presbyterian and Independent 
 Schemes. Dr. Cala?ny would fain have 2 ^im, 
 i. 6. refer to timothys receiving the Holy Ghoft, 
 by the laying on of the Hands of the Apoftle ; 
 but lurely, if the Gift in this latter Place may 
 fignify the Holy Ghoft, it may alio ^o it in the 
 former, for I can find nothing in the Context 
 that will determine the Signification of the one 
 more than the other. 
 
 T N a Word, the Neceflity of Ordination, 
 and of Ordination by luch as we call Bifhops, 
 is here proved in the fame manner that the 
 DilTenters prove that fuch and fuch Books are 
 Canonical Scripture, and were written by thoie 
 whofe Names they bear ; that we are to ob- 
 serve the Lord's-Day infteadofthe JewiJJoSdb' 
 bath, and to baptize Infants. And how unequal 
 it is not CO allow the fime Force where there is 
 the fam.e Evidence, is left to all impartial Judges 
 %o determine. 
 
 But ftill it is objeded, that we hereby Un- 
 church the Reformed Churches abroad. My 
 Anfwer is, That thefe Churches are irregular as 
 to the Point in Debate , but inafinuch as they 
 have affured us, that 'tis not Choice which 
 makes them be v/ithout fuch as we call Bifhops, 
 but Neceflity , on the Account of which I hope 
 any polltive Inftitution may be difpenfed with j 
 w-e neither judge them nor defpife them. And 
 'tis with a great deal of Satisfidion that I ob- 
 ferve, that they join with us in accufiag thoie 
 Q.q 3 of 
 
^14 ^n Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxhi. of our own Countrymen, who in this particular 
 
 L/^VN-^ rebel againfl: the beft conftituted Church in the 
 
 World, as Schifmaticks and diforderly Walkers. 
 
 C^LF/As for inftance, faith, " Thit no 
 ^^ Anathema is too great for fuch as refufe to 
 '' reverence and obey fuch an Hierarchy, 
 '^ fuch an Epifcopacy as ours is " His own 
 Words are in the Margin, X and are much 
 ftronger than my Tranllation of them. Let 
 Monfieur VAngle^ one of the Preachers of the 
 Reformed Church at Charenton near Paris^ in 
 his Letter to the Bifhop o^ London ^ dated O^o- 
 her 31, 1680. who was himfelf a Presbyterian, 
 be heard as his Interpreter, who fhould, one 
 "v^'ould think, be free from the lead Sufpicion 
 of explaining him in a higher Senfe than his 
 Words were plainly intended to bear. " Calvin^ 
 *' faith he, in his Treatiie of the Neceflity of 
 '^ the Reformation, makes no Difficulty to fay, 
 '^ That if there (hould be any fo unreafonable 
 *' as to refufe the Communion of a Church 
 ^' that was pure in its Worfhip and Dodrine, 
 ^' and not to fubmit themfelves with refpedt to 
 ^^ its Government, under Pretence that fhe had 
 retained an Epifcopacy qualify 'd as yours is, 
 there would be no Cenfure nor Rigour of 
 Difcipline that ought not to be cxercifed up- 
 on them." 1 will take it upon me to alfuie 
 
 cc 
 
 cc 
 
 ■^ Talem nobis Hierarcliiam fi exhibcant in qua iic emi- 
 jicant Epifcopi utChrifto iiibcilc non recuicnt, ut ab illotan- 
 quam ab uno capitc pendeant, 8c ad ipllim rcfcrantur i in cui- 
 lie inter fe fraternani Ibcictatcm coiant, ut non alio modq 
 quam ejus vcritate lint colligati s turn vero nuUo non Ana- 
 thematv; ciignos fatcar li qui crunt qui non earn revercanlur 
 fumm-aauc obedientiu obfcrycnt. 'Calv. Edit, Amilel. Tom. 
 S. P. 62. 
 
 the 
 
Thtrty-Nme Articles. 615 
 
 the Reader, that Zanchy declares himfelf to be Art.xxiii. 
 of the fame Opinion, though, becaufe I have ^^-^^^^^^^ 
 not his Works by me, I cannot refer the Rea- 
 der to the Place where be does it. Let us 
 therefore hear Mr. V Angle a little further : 
 " Beza himfelf, continues he, who did not in 
 '' the general approve of Epifcopal Govern- 
 '^ ment, makes fuch a Diftindtion of yours, 
 '^ and is fo far from believing that one may, 
 '' or one o Light to take Occafion from thence 
 " to fcparate from your Church, that he prays 
 '' earneftjy to God that fhe may always remain 
 '^ in that happy I'flate in which fhe had been 
 ^' put and prelerved by the Blood, by the Pu- 
 '^ rity of the Fairh, and by the wife Conduct 
 '^ of her exce!l< nt Bifhops." f Monfieur Le 
 Moyne^ ProfefTor of Divinity at Lcyden^ in his 
 Letter to the fame mod excellent Prelate, not 
 only profeffes that he can fee nothing in the 
 Epifcopal Government that is dangerous, and 
 may reafonably alarm Mens Conlciences, but 
 alfo faith, ^^ That if this be capable of depriv- 
 '^ ing us of Eternal Glory, and (hutting the 
 " Gates of Heaven, who was there that enter'd 
 ^^ there for the Space of Fifteen hundred Years, 
 '^ fince that for all that Time all the Churches 
 '^ of the World had no other kind of Go- 
 '' vernment ?" He goes on celebrating the juft 
 Praifes of Bifhops in the Catholick Church, 
 and in ours in particular, but this I fhall leave 
 
 f Quod 11 nunc Anglicma Ecclefia inftaurata ruorumEpif^ 
 coporum authorirate perfirtat, queinadmodum hoc noftra me- 
 moria contigit, ur ejus ordinis homin'^s non rantum inii'^nes 
 Dei Mirtyrcs led etiam Prxllantiirimos Paftores &c Do6tores 
 hibuerir, fruatur fan-^ ifd lingulari Dei Bcneficentid, quse uri- 
 jiam illi lit peipetua. 
 
 Qq 4 the 
 
6x6 An Expofition on the 
 
 AjiT.xxin. the Reader to perufe at his Leifiire, as not 
 ^^^^y^'^^ being diredly to my prefent Purpofe. 
 
 Monsieur Claude^ another of the Minifters 
 of the Reformed Church at Charenton^ in his 
 Letter to the fame Bifnop faith, '^ That it was 
 '' an indifpenfable NeceHity that put their 
 '' Churches under the Presbyterian Govern- 
 " ment at the Reformation/' The learned 
 Grotius was for having the Clergy of the Church 
 which he belong'd to, ordained by Bifhop i^r^/;^- 
 Joall^ who was then in thofe Parts, as appears to 
 any body that will confult hij Letters, in the 
 beft Edition of his Book concerning the ^ruth 
 of the Chriftian Religion. " I have always 
 '' profeffed, fa'th Mr. Le Clerc^ ^ to believe, 
 ^^ that Epiicopacy is of Apoftolical Inftitution, 
 '' and confequently very good, and very law- 
 " ful ; that Men had no manner of Right 
 to change it in any Place, unlefs it was im- 
 poffible otherwife to reform the Abufes that 
 crept into Chriftianity ; that it was juftly 
 preferved in England^ where the Reformati- 
 on was pra61:icable, without altering it : That 
 therefore the Proteftants in England^ and 
 other Places where there are Bifhops, do very 
 ill to feparate from that Dilcipline , that 
 they would flill do much worfe in attempting 
 to deftroy it, in order to fet up Presbytery, 
 " Fanaticifm, and Anarchy. Things ought 
 " not to be turned into a Chaos, nor People 
 ^^ feen every where, without a Call, and with' 
 ^^ out Learning, pretending to Infpiration. — - 
 Nothing is more proper to prevent them 
 
 (C 
 
 + This Gcnrlcman, if not alive, cannot have been long 
 dead, 
 
 ^' than 
 
nirty-Nme Articles. 6x7 
 
 ^^ than the Epifcopal Difcipline, as by Law Art. xxilL 
 ^' eftablifhed in England , efpecialiy when thofe V-/''Y>^ 
 *' that prcfide in Church Government, are 
 ^^ Perfons of Penetration, Sobriety, and Dif^ 
 '' cretion/' 
 
 The Letter from Geneva to the Univerfity 
 of Oxford ipeaks the fame Lanf};uage ^ it laments 
 our unhappy Differences, it blames our Diffen- 
 ters highly, and declares that Epifcopacy is 
 wanted among them, not out of Choice, but 
 downright real Neceility : By the Means of 
 which Letter a Mifunderftanding was removed, 
 and a very good Underftanding fettled betwixt 
 the two Places, which, I hope, the youngeft 
 Perfbn now living will nev^er fee the End of. 
 That any of thefe Letters were obtained by 
 Milreprefentations, or any other Methods not 
 altogether to be juftified, as Mr. Norman in- 
 finuates in the 56th Page of his Defence^ ^c. 
 is fo hard a Reflection upon fo many excellent 
 Peribns, that I wonder he was not afhamed to 
 fuggeft it, without a very great Degree of Evi- 
 dence ; and much more that he could venture 
 to do it, and at the fame Time acknowledge 
 that he hath no Proof, befides his own kind and 
 charitable Suppofition. Surely one may ven- 
 ture, without the leaft Offence, to call this a very 
 bold and delperate Way of proceeding. Nor is 
 there a s:rcat deal more Modefty in what he af- 
 ferts in the next Period , " That the Reformed 
 '• Churches abroad are without Dtocefan Epif^ 
 ^' copacy, and that this is a Cafe of Neccffity, 
 '" is afferted without the leafl Shadow of Rea- 
 ^^ fon" This likewife is ufher'd in with an 
 uncommon Degree of Affurance. ^his^ faith 
 he, we are fur e of Well, then, the Letter from 
 Geneva^ which did not come from a few parti- 
 cular 
 
6i8 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII, cular Men, but from a whole Society, is what 
 
 K^rY>^ 
 
 1 humbly offer to Mr. Normans ferious Perufal? 
 not forgetting Mr. Btnghams Book, intitled, 
 ^he French Churches Apology for the Church of 
 England, Book IV. Chap. 4. which hath been 
 already recommended by his learned Adverfary 
 Mr. Loivth^ but to no manner of Purpofe, for 
 he is not pleas'd to take the lead Notice of it. 
 In the next place let me refer him to Bifhop 
 Burnet's Expofition upon this Article, where he 
 will find it alferted, that there is as great a Ne- 
 ceflity for fubmitting to a Presbyterian Ordi- 
 nation in the foreign Reformed Churches, as 
 there was for the Je'-jvs to fubmit to Caiaphas as 
 High-Prieft. The Governments they live un- 
 der, as he tells us, compel them to it, for feve- 
 ral political Reafons, which, as his Lordfhip 
 was long converfant among them, he had very 
 fair Opportunities of difcovering. As to what 
 he fays about the French Churches refufing to 
 receive a Clergy ordained by £"7/?///^ Bifhops, 
 though earneftly follicited to it, and particularly 
 by Bi(hop Moreton^ I can only anfwer at prefent, 
 that 'tis impoiliblc to know whether, if we 
 fuppofe it to be true, it affeds the Matter in 
 Debate, 'till we know the Reafons upon which 
 this Refufal was grounded. Mr. Norman hath 
 neither told us the Story at full Length, nor 
 directed us where to find it, and therefore I 
 Ihall content myielf with telling him another, 
 but much better attefted than this which he 
 offers upon his bare Word. " Firft then, my 
 ^^ Lord, faith Monfieur Claude^ to the Bifhop 
 *^ of London^ we are fo very fir from believing 
 *^ that a Mvan cannot live with a good Con- 
 '' fcience under your Difcipline, and under your 
 '' Epifcopal Government, that^ in our ordinary 
 ^' Pradice, we make no Difficulty to beftow 
 
 " our 
 
^^/'^rv^ 
 
 Thirty-lShie Articles. 619 
 
 " our Chairs, or to commit the Care of our Art. xxiir. 
 '^ Flocks to Minifters received and ordained by 
 ^' my Lords the Bifhops, as might be juftified 
 " by a great Number of Examples, both old 
 " and new ; and a little while fince Mr. Du- 
 '^ pl^ffi^^ that was ordained by my Lord Bifhop 
 " of Lincoln., hath been eftablifhed and called 
 **^ in a Church of this Province , and Monfieur 
 ^^ Wiccart^ whom you, my Lord, received to 
 '^ the Holy Miniftry, did us the Honour but 
 '' fbme Months ago, to preach at Charenton^ to 
 *' the general Edification of our Flock/' That 
 fome of the Trench Minifters that fled hither 
 from Perfecution, did not procure thcmfelves to 
 be Epifcopally ordained, may, for ought I 
 know, be Matter of Fad, which if they had 
 done, they would have been qualified for the 
 taking of fuch Ecclefiaftical Preferments as they 
 could find Friends to procure for them ; and 
 this I am apt to think is the Piece of Self- 
 Den ial that Mr. 'Norman fo artfully afcribes to 
 them. But, alas ! He muft be a great Stran- 
 ger to the World, who imagines that they 
 might not be under a greater Temptation of a 
 worldly Nature, to herd among the Sedaries, than 
 to conform to the Church oi EnHand^ in which 
 Mr. Norman knows there are a great many very 
 poor Livings, befides Curacies, and many Mini- 
 fters whofe Incomes are a great deal \t{s than the 
 Salaries and other Gratuities which the Diften- 
 ters, in leveral Places, beftowed upon their 
 Teachers about Thirty or Forty Years ago. 
 But as to the main Body of the P^efugees, 'tis 
 as notorious as any thing can poffibly be, that 
 they crowded for Epifcopal Orders and Prefer- 
 ment fo thick, that it becameatiafta Grievance 
 both to the Clergy and Laity of this Church, 
 
 and 
 
6io J^n Eypofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. and made it to be doubted by fome, whether 
 L/VNw^ Confcience was not the pretended, and Conve- 
 niency the real Motive which prevail'd upon 
 Ibmc of them to forfake their native Country. 
 
 But if the Neceflity which is alledged in 
 behalf of the foreign Reformed Churches be 
 nothing but a Pretence or Sham, I fhall leave 
 to Mr. Norman the Honour of branding them 
 with the Charader of Hypocrites, a Compli- 
 ment not much more acceptable, I believe, 
 than the Calling in Queflion the Regularity of 
 their Ordinations. 
 
 Upon a Review of what I have faid under 
 this Article, I judge it neceffary to fay fome- 
 what concerning the Miniftration of the Sacra- 
 ments. We fee that the Confecration of the 
 Lord's Supper w-as committed to the Minifters 
 of the Church, i Cor. xi. as the Power of Bap- 
 . tizing was Matth. xxviii. 19. And all Commif^ 
 fions are naturally exclufive of all fuch as they 
 are not granted to. Nor is it pretended by any 
 Writer of Note, (if by any Chriftian) that the 
 Confecration of the Lord's Supper belongs to 
 any but the Miniftry. Much Difpute indeed 
 hath been raifed concerning the Validity of 
 Baptifm given by private Chriftians : But they 
 who contend for the Validity of Lay-Baptifm, 
 allow it to be irregular and unlawful, which is 
 as much as 1 am concerned to prove. ^ 
 
 I 
 
 * See Bllfon's Perpetual Government, c. 12, 13. Hall's Epif- 
 copacy by Divine Right, Part 2. Hooker^ Eccl. Pel. Book. 7. 
 §. 5". BilV.op Lloyd's Hiflor. Account of Church Government, 
 Bur/cough of Schifm, §. 2, 3. Scott's Ckrijliun Life, Part 2. 
 c. 7. §. 10. Held oi the Chtirc'n^ Book f. c. 27. Nelfon\ 
 
Thirty-Wine Articles. 6%x 
 
 I THINK it proper to obferve to the Reader, Art. xxill. 
 that (bme of the Books hereunder referred to, C/'W^ 
 have indeed been written againft ; but that 
 Writing againft a Book is one Thing, and An- 
 fwering it another. 
 
 Before I conclude my Obfervations u^on of the minter- 
 this Article, 1^ think it not amifs to take Notice ^^^P^^^ ^^'^<^^[' 
 pf thofe Gentlemen, who have of late Years -^^'^^ 
 made themfelves fo merry with the Notion of 
 an uninterrupted Succeflion of Bifhops. I ques- 
 tion not but that this is looked upon by many 
 of them as a Point maintained by none but 
 High-Church-Men, High-Flyers, ^c. as fome 
 of the Clergy and other Members of the Church 
 have the Honour to be diftinguifhed by them. 
 I am therefore exceeding glad, that I can tell 
 them that Bifhop Burnet^ who cannot, I am 
 fure, be accufed of letting his Zeal for the 
 Church of England get the Start of his Judg- 
 ment, hath not only confuted the Popijlj Story 
 of the Nags-Heady in his Abridgment of the 
 Hiftory of the Reformation^ Book IV. pag. 364. 
 but is alio chargeable with this Dodrine of the 
 Uninterrupted Succeflion, as well as a great 
 many other eminent Divines. His Words, faith 
 the learned Mr. Lcwth^ in his Anfwer to Mr. ^' 34- 
 NormaUy are very remarkable in his Preface to 
 
 FaJIs, T.jnber-Bays in Whitfcn-Week. Chir'mgvporth's Demon- 
 ftration of Epifcopacy. Mr. Roberts's Vlfitation Sermon. Dr. 
 Bijfe's, Sermon on the fame Text. Biagham's Origines Eccle- 
 JiafiicA, Book 2. c. i,& 3. The French Churches Apology for 
 the Church of England^ by the lame Author, Book 4. c. 4. 
 Mr. fachnan's, Fxational and Moral Comlu^ of Mr. Feirce, ^<=nc, 
 Mr. Lowth's Sermon on A'^s ii. 42. Bis Defence of it, in 
 Anfwer to Mr. Norman. Dr. Rogers of the Vifble and Invi- 
 fible Church, oc* Part 2. c. 3, 8c f. 
 
 his 
 
62 1 j4n Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIII. his Regale ; where, fpeaking of the Epilcopa! 
 
 ^yy^^ Form of Government, he faith, " I do verily 
 '' believe it was begun by the Apoftles, and 
 " continned down in an uninterrupted Succef- 
 " fion, in all Parts of the World, to our Days." 
 P^ 55/ As to his (Mr. Normans) Demand, How I 
 prove this Succeflion "> '^ I anfwer, faith Mr. L, 
 '^ That it being a Dodrine univerfaliy received, 
 '^ that Bifhops alone could ordain ; it was morally 
 ^' impoffible that any Perfons could be received 
 as Bifhops, who had not been ib ordained.'' 
 
 (C 
 
 I HAVE often wondred what Anfwer could 
 be returned to this excellent Argument, which 
 Mr. Lowth faith^ contains an Hiftorical Truth, 
 againft which nothing of Moment hath been at 
 any Time advanced. Mr. Normans Anfwer to 
 it, Page 75. of his Defence^ &c. is either a little 
 trifling Banter, or elfe nothing but what I have 
 fully confider'd, and, I hope, as fully confuted 
 in feveral Parts of this Difcourfe. I fhall only 
 add, that if the feveral Oppofitions that were 
 made to Presbyterian Ordination in the Primi- 
 tive Times, which are recorded by the antient 
 Writers of the Church, be not, in this Gentle- 
 man's Opinion, Hiftorical Evidence, it will 
 puzzle, I believe, the whole World, and him- 
 ielf among the reft, to call them by their right 
 Name. A ColIed:ion of Evidence like this, re- 
 lating to Infant Baptifm, is what the learned 
 Dr. IVall calls a Hiftory of Infant Baptifm, 
 and it hath carried that Title a great many 
 Years, with very great and deferved Applaufe. 
 
 I AM exceeding fenfible how long I have de- 
 tained the PvCader upon this Article, but I muft 
 take the Freedom to defire his Patience a little, 
 while I confider a bold and fmgular Paradox 
 
 which 
 
Thirty-lSIme Articles. 623 
 
 which Bi(hop Burnet hath advanced in his Ex- Art. xxiiI. 
 pofition upon the fame Article. U' hen he comes ^^/VX^ 
 to confider the fecond Part of the Article, which 
 is the Definition which it gives of thole that are 
 Lawfully Called and Sent into Chrift's Vineyard; 
 '^ This, he fays, is put in general Words, far 
 " from that magiflerial St'fFnels in which Icme 
 ^' have taken upon them to didate in this Mat- 
 " ter. The Article, continues he, does not 
 *^ refolve this into any particular Conflitution, 
 '^ but leaves the Matter open and at large, for 
 " fuch Accidents as had happened, and fuch 
 *^ as might ftill happen. They who drew it, 
 '' had the State of the ieveral Churches before 
 " their Eyes that had been differently reformed, 
 '^ and although their own had been lefs forced 
 " to go out of the beaten Path than any other, 
 '^ yet they knew, that all Things among them- 
 '' felves had not gone according to thofe Rules 
 " that ought to be facred in Regular Times. 
 '' Neceflity has no Law, and is a Law to itfelf." 
 Now, thofe whom his Lordfhip iuppofes to 
 didate in this Matter with fuch a magiflerial 
 Stiffnefs, are, at leafl, all other Expofitors on 
 the Articles befides himfelf All that they can 
 fee in this Place is what I have taken Notice of 
 in the Beginning of thefe Obfervations, ^iz. 
 That fmce the immediate and extraordinary 
 Way of appointing the Peribns who are to mi- 
 nifler in holy Things is over, as it prefently 
 was, fuch Perfbns as are duly ordained by Per- 
 fons authorized for that Purpofe, that is, fuch 
 as receive a mediate or ordinary Call and Mii^ 
 fion, are, to all Intents and Purpofes, as much 
 Miniflers of the Gofpel as thofe who were im- 
 mediately called and fent by God himfelf The 
 Circumflances and Neceffities which particular 
 Churches had been or might be under, were, 
 
 without 
 
6i4 ^n Expofition on the 
 
 Art- XXIII. without doubt, before the Eyes of the Com- 
 
 C/TN^ 
 
 pliers of the Articles when they drew them up 5 
 but it doth not appear that they thought them- 
 felves obl'ged to affert any thing concerning 
 them. Their Bufinefs was to draw up a Con- 
 feflion of Faith, which might be proved to be 
 plainly agreeable to the Word of God, and 
 whatever Compaflion and Tendernefs they might 
 have for Perfons and Churches which were- con- 
 ftrained to be irregular^ when they were to de- 
 Jiver their private Judgment, founded upon 
 Charity and the Confideration of God's infinite 
 Goodnels, who, 'tis to be. hoped, will in Cafes 
 of Neceflity, difpenfc even with the want of 
 the Sacraments themfelves^ yet it would have 
 very ill become them to expreis themfelves 
 with fo much AfTurance in a Cafe which is 
 confefTedly a Deviation from the Rule prefcrib'd 
 in the Scriptures, and yet compel us to declare, 
 as they foon after did, in the Thirty-fixth Ca- 
 non, the whole Thirty-nine Articles to be agree- 
 able to the iVord of God. Nay, if it was their 
 Intention to declare themfelves with relation to 
 extraordinary Cafes, and not to leave them to 
 be defended when they happen, by fuch as are 
 concerned in them, it feems ilrange to me how 
 they came to affert. That it is not Lawful to 
 Preach or Admimfter the Sacraments without Or- 
 ders ; fince it may certainly happen to be as 
 neceffary for a Man to take upon him to do this 
 as to accept of an irregular Ordination. This the 
 Compilers could not be ignorant of, and I cannot 
 think they could deny and affert the Principle, 
 which the Bilhop faith they built upon, in the 
 lame Breath and in the fame Article, which 
 confifts of no more than two Sentences, and 
 thofe of a very moderate Length. I know no 
 better Way to explain the Senfe of the Church 
 
 of 
 
Ihirty-Kine Articles. 61^ 
 
 Ki? England than by comparing what it delivers Art. xxiir- 
 in one Place with what it fays in another, it ^->^'Y"*Vi^' 
 having been efteemed a good Rule among the 
 Learned, to look upon the Articles, Liturgy^ 
 Homilies, and Canons to be, as it were, the 
 Compofition of one Man, and therefore I fhall 
 here tranfcribe the firft Paragraph of the Pre- 
 face to our Ordination Service, which the 
 Clergy fubftribe to at the fame Time that they 
 fubfcribe to the Articles. " It is evident unto 
 " all Men, diligently reading Holy Scripture 
 '^ and ancient Authors, that from the Apoftles 
 '^ Time there have been thefe Orders of Mi- 
 " nifters in Chrift's Church ; Bifhops, Priefts, 
 '' and Deacons. Which Offices were evermore 
 " had in fuch reverend Eftimation, that no 
 '' Man might prefume to execute any of them, 
 " except he were firft called, tryed, examined, 
 '' and known to have fuch Qualities as are re- 
 " quifite for the fame, and alio by Publick 
 '' Prayer with Impofition of Hands, were ap- 
 " proved and admitted thereunto by lawful ^ 
 
 " Authority. And therefore, to the Intent that 
 *^ thefe Orders may be continued, and reve- 
 " rently ufed and efteemed in the Church of 
 '' England 5 no Man fhall be accounted or 
 *' taken for a lawful Biihop, Prieft, or Deacon 
 in the Church of England^ or fuffer'd to 
 '^ execute any of the faid Fundiions, except he 
 '^ be called, tryed, examined, and admitted 
 ^' thereunto, according to the Form hereafter 
 " following, or hath had form.erly Epifcopal 
 '^ Confecration or Ordination." This, I think, 
 fufficiently vindicates the Church of England 
 from the falfe, though artificial Glofs, which 
 the Bifhop had fb injurioully and with fo much 
 Aifurance given to the latter Part of this Ar- 
 R r tide. 
 
i^(i An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxiii. tide. I exprefs mylelf in this manner, becaufe 
 '^-/'"Y"'^^ he only afferts, with a magiflerial Stiffnefs^ what 
 Views the Compilers of the Articles proceeded 
 upon, without giving us the leaft Proof, and 
 at laft fmks, of his own accord, fo low as to fay, 
 that what he afferted to be their Meaning, 
 feems to he fo. But his Lordfliip leaves the Ar- 
 ticle, and goes on to argue from the Atonement 
 which was to be made among the Jews by the 
 High-Prieft alone. '' Here it may be very 
 "^ reafonably fuggefted, he fays, that fmce none 
 '^ befides the High-Prieft might make this A- 
 '^ tonement, then no Atonement was made, if 
 '^ any other befides the High-Prieft fhould fb 
 ^' officiate." And then he proceeds to tell us, 
 '^ That the OilBce of the High-Prieft was en- 
 " tailed by God himfelf on the eldeft oi Aaron s 
 " Family, and that it might not be transferred 
 ^^ to any other without a particular Revelation 
 '^ from God himfelf; That yet feveral Changes 
 ^^ of this kind had been made ; That to lay 
 ^^ nothing cf the Changes made by the Macca- 
 '^ h4!esj and all their SuccelTors of the Afmodean 
 ^^ Family, as Herod had begun to change the 
 '^ HighPriefthood at Pleafure,fo th^Komans not 
 " only continued to do this, but in a moft mer- 
 '^ cenary manner, they let this facred Function 
 '^ to iale; That the Perfons they fold it to 
 ^^ were, in Fad, High-Priefts, and fince the 
 " People could have no other, the Atonement 
 " was ftili performed by their Miniftry; That 
 ^^ our Saviour owned Caiaphas^ whom he calls 
 ** a facriiegious and ufurping High-Prieft, and 
 ^^ that as iiich he prophefied : This, he faith, 
 '^ ilievvs, that where the Neceility was real and 
 '' unavoidable, the Jews were bound to think, 
 ^* that God did^ m Confideration of that, dil- 
 
 '• penfe 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 627 
 
 " penfe with his own Precept." And then he ART.xxnt, 
 goes on to apply this to the Cafe of the Re- OOTV^ 
 formed Churches abroad, and to determine 
 what the real and unavoidable NecefHty is, 
 that will juftify a Departure from the Rule 
 which God hath been pleafed to eftablifh for 
 the Ordering and Government of his Church. 
 What I have to fay to all this, \s^ i. That our 
 Bleffed Saviour doth not own Caiaphas in either 
 of the Places referred to by the Bifhop, which 
 are John xi. 51. and xviii. 22, 23. St. John^ 
 indeed, calls him the High-Prieft, but whether 
 he had any View to the Difpute before us, or 
 only called him fb in compliance with the Lan- 
 guage of the Times, I leave to be deter- 
 mined by A6is xxiii. 5. 2. If Prophecying be 
 an Argument to prove that our Saviour owned 
 him, it will follow, I think, that Balaam and 
 Saul were High-Pr lefts; and I muft leave the 
 Reader to judge, whether God's permitting this 
 Man to prophecy were defigned as a Confirma- 
 tion of his being the High-Prieft, or of the 
 Truth of the Chriftian Religion, in order to 
 render the malicious Oppofition of the Jews 
 the more inexcufable. 3. That the Bifhop 
 himfelf calls Caiaphas a facrilegious and ufurp- 
 ing High-Prieft, and the Miniftrations or t\{Q 
 the Appointments of fuch High-Priefts as he 
 was, as great Nullities as can be well imagined 
 to be. 4. And, that though we charitably 
 hope, and that too with a pretty deal of Firm- 
 nefs and AiTurance, that our good and gra- 
 cious God did accept of the beft Endeavours 
 of all fmcere Perfons among the Jcws^ to do 
 his Will, though they were necelfarily and 
 unavoidably deftitute of a lawful Priefthood, 
 fo we doubt not but that he does as readily 
 R r a accept 
 
6x8 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xXIII. accept of the Devotions of all the pious and 
 V>''Y>^ devout Chriftians belonging to the Foreign 
 Reformed Churches, and of all others, who 
 are neceffarily and unavoidably without a regii' 
 lar Miniftry , yet it will go very hard with a 
 great many of us, to fubfcribe this Article 
 in Bifhop Btirnefs Senfe, and fo by Confe- 
 quence aiTert, that an irregular Ordination is 
 agreeable to the IVord of God. 5. That the 
 Bifhop himfelf, by his way of Reafoning, 
 makes the Minifters of thefe Churches to be 
 no more in Holy Orders than Cat af has was 
 High-Prieft, or no more than fuch as are ap- 
 pointed to minifter in Holy Things by mere 
 Laymen, fuppofe in fome of our diftant Fac- 
 tories or Plantations, and therefore 'tis ftrange 
 that he fhould be fb hot^ as to call fuch as are 
 in Reality of his own Opinion, at the Bottom, 
 a hotter fort of Men than their Fore-fathers, 
 who he could not but know inhibited Tra'vers 
 from Preaching in the ^einple^ becaufe he had 
 received no other Orders than fuch as were 
 agreed upon in the National Synods in the 
 LoiV'Countries^ and confequently that we have 
 as favourable an Opinion of them as they had, 
 with whom, as we agree in fo many great and 
 fundamental Points of Chriflianity, and in the 
 common Caufe of all Proteftants, we have 
 been conftantly ready, and Hill are, to behave 
 ourfelves towards them, upon all proper Oc- 
 cafions, with all due Tenderneis and Brotherly 
 Affe<5iion5 though vve think, that endeavour- 
 ing to pleafe them at the Expence of v/hat 
 we believe to be the 'irnth^ is a ftraining of 
 the Compliment a little too far. 6. And laftly. 
 That 'tis juftly look'd upon as abfurd and trifling 
 t© put Qjaeftions to the Dead, and therefore 
 
 as 
 
Thirtv-lSIine Articles. 
 
 629 
 
 as his Lordfhip hath not thought fit to tell us Art. xxill- 
 what thofe Rules are which our Church hath ^<>0^>c> 
 tranfgrefled, which ought to be facred in re- 
 gular Times ^ I am afraid I fhall never know 
 what thofe Rules are: but my Comfort is, 
 that he would not, in my Opinion, have neg- 
 ledted to mention them, if there had been the 
 leaft Hopes that the reft of the World would 
 have thought them to be of as much Confe- 
 quence as he hath been pleafed to reprefent 
 them. 
 
 Rr 3 
 
 Article 
 
630 
 
 An Expofition on the 
 
 Ar 
 
 T I G L E 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Of fpeaking in the Congregation in 
 fuch a "Tongue as the People un^ 
 derjlandeth. 
 
 Apt. XXIV. 3|t !g a tIjfiiD: plaiiilp tepugnant to trie 
 ^y^y^-sj £k:io?b of ©od, ana tlje Ctiftom of tlje 
 l:i)?im(tii3e Cfjurcfj, to Ijaue ptiblicft 
 IP^apci: tit tljc Cljurcf), 0? to mintftci: 
 tlje ©aciaments (n a €;ongue not un- 
 DcrffanCeQ of t&e people^ 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 I N C £ all Divine Worfhip is rather 
 an Ad: of the Mind than of the Bo- 
 dy, it follows, that that Worfhip, in 
 which the Mind is not concerned, is 
 impious and abfurd. So agreeable is this Rea- 
 foning to the Word of God, and the Practice 
 of the Primitive Church, that I cannot fuffi- 
 ciently wonder at the contrary Pradtice of the 
 Church of Koine. St. Paul ipeaks to this Point 
 at large, i Cor. xiv. Thus, njer. ii. he exprefles 
 
 himfelf in this manner , If I kucw not the 
 
 Meaning of the Voice^ J fJoall he unto him that 
 fpeakctb a Barbarian \ and he that fpeakethjhall 
 be a Barbarian unto me. And from icr. 14. to 
 
 the 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. ($31 
 
 the 2oth5 he hath thefe Words ; - — Jf I pray Art^xxiv. 
 in an unknown ^ongiie^ my Sprit prayeth^ hut 
 my Underftanding is unfruitful What is it then ? 
 J will pray with the Spirit^ and I will pray with 
 the Underfiandittg alfo. Elfe when thou Jhalt 
 hlefs with the Spirit^ how Jlcall he that occupieth 
 the Koofn of the Unlearned^ fay Amen at thy 
 giving of uhanks^ feeing he miderftandeth not 
 what thou fayeft ? For thou verily gi-veft thanks 
 welly hut the other is not edify d. I thank my 
 Gody I fpeak with Tongues more than you all : Tet 
 in the Church I had rather fpeak five IVords with 
 my Underftanding^ that hy my Voice I might teach 
 others alfo^ than ten thoufand IVords in an un- 
 known tongue. And again, ver. 26. he faith. 
 Let all things he done to Edifying. On the Day 
 which is called Sunday^ faith Juftin Martyr^ 
 there's an AfTembly ot all thofe who live either 
 in the Cities or in the Country, and thofe 
 Things which are written of or by the Apo- 
 files, and the Writings of the Prophets, are 
 read as long as Time will permit. Vl hen the 
 Reader hath done, he that prefides in the Af- 
 fembly admonifhes and exhorts us to put thofe 
 good Things which we have heard in Fradice. 
 And afterwards we rife up with one Confent, 
 and fend up our Prayers to God. * 
 
 We go together, faith ^ertulllan^ into the 
 AfTembly and Congregation, that we may, as 
 it were, with one Confent, encompafs God 
 with our Prayers. This Force is acceptable to 
 
 God. We go together for the Reading 
 
 of the Scriptures, in order to obferve what the 
 
 Apol. I. c. Sy, 
 
 R r 4 Circum* 
 
6^1 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIV. Circumftances of the prefent Times ihall have 
 *^/VN^ made neceflfary to be taken Notice of, by way 
 of Caution, or to be treafur'd up in our Me- 
 mories. By theie holy Words we certainly 
 nourifh our Faith, heighten our Hope, and 
 make our Confidence in God fix'd and fted- 
 faft. t 
 
 Wh e n we ftand at our Prayers, my dearly 
 beloved Brethren, faith S. Cyprian^ * we ought 
 to watch, and attend to them with our whole 
 Heart ; all carnal and worldly Thoughts muft 
 be difcarded , and the Mind muft be exercifed 
 on nothing but what it prays for : And there- 
 fore the Prieft doth by a Preface prepare the 
 Minds of the Brethren, by faying. Lift up your 
 Hearts : That as the People anfwer, IFe lift 
 them up unto the Lord ; they may thereby be 
 admonifh'd, that they ought to think on no- 
 thing but the Lord. At that Time the Breaft 
 fhould be fhut againft our ^nemy, and open 
 to God only : Neither fhould God's Enemy be 
 fdifer'd to come near it in the Time of Prayer. 
 For he frequently breaks in ^on us, gets within 
 us^ and in a fubtle manner draws off our 
 Prayers from God , fo that we have one thing 
 in our Mouth, and another in our Heart : 
 Whereas we ought to pray to the Lord, not 
 with the Sound of our Voices, but with the 
 fmcereft Fervency of Heart and Spirit, t 
 
 f Apol. adv. Gcntes, c. 59. . 
 
 * De Oratione Dominica. 
 
 4: See HGmily of Cojnmon-Trayer and Sa,craments. Tatrich's 
 ^.pfwer to the Totich-flcne, §. j-z. Jerod's Reply, Art. III. 
 Nov}eUi Cat. p. 112. Bilfon of Chyifdan Subj. Part 4. p. 393, 
 Tield of ihz Church j Append, to Book 3. p. 238. 
 
 In 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles. 655 
 
 I N a Word, they that can have the Face Art. xxiv. 
 to maintain, that to have Publick Prayer in the ^-^'^V""^ 
 Church, or to minifter the Sacraments in a 
 Tongue not underftood by the People, is not 
 contrary to the Dodlrine of St. Paul^ and to 
 the Pradtice of the firft Ages of Chriftianity, 
 need not be afhamed to fet up for the Defence 
 of the groffeft Falfhood in the World. Such 
 a ftedfaft Devotion as the Fathers before- men- 
 tioned require, is, I am fure, utterly incon- 
 fiftent with a Man's Praying for he knows not 
 what, or in a Language which he does not 
 underftand. 
 
 S o true was it, as Origen tells us in the 4o2d 
 Page of his Book againft Celfus, That the 
 Chriftians in his Time ufed feveral Languages 
 in their Prayers. The Greeks^ faith he, in their 
 Prayers ufe the Greek^ the Romans the Latin 
 Tongue, and fo every one of us prays to God 
 according to his own Dialed, and celebrates his 
 Praifes as he can ; and he who is the Lord of all 
 DialedSa hears them praying in every Tongue, 
 heading them as if it were one Voice mani- 
 fefted from divers Tongues, according to the 
 Things fignified by them : For the Great God 
 is not one that hath chofen one Tongue, Greek 
 or Barbarous, before others, as either not know- 
 ing, or not regarding what was ipoken to him 
 in other Languages ; fo certain is it, that this 
 ancient Kite of every Churchy as the Irent 
 Council calls their Latin Service^ was not in his 
 Time become the univerfal Pradice of the 
 Church of Chrift. 
 
 A s to the Cuftom of the Catholick Church 
 at this Day, the Learned Brerewood^ in his 
 
 Enquiries 
 
(^34 ^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXIV. Enquiries touching the Diverfity of Languages 
 
 \^rr>^ 
 
 and Rehgions through the chief Parts of the 
 World, hath very plainly proved. That the 
 
 Armenians^ HahaJJines^ Mofcovites^ Rujffians^ 
 and Sclavonians^ as well as Proteftants, celebrate 
 their Liturgies in their own vulgar Tongue j 
 that the Neftorians celebrate theirs in the Chaldee 
 or Syriac^ together with the Indians and the 
 Jacobites of Mefopotamia^ Babylon^ Faleftine^ 
 Syria^ and Cyprus^ the Cophti or Chriftians of 
 Egypt ^ the Maronites^ and the poor Chriftians of 
 the \^Q oi Zocotora^ without the Bay o^ Arabia-, 
 that the Greeks who inhabit Greece^ and a 
 great Part of NatoUa^ Macedon^ and Thrace^ 
 together with all the lllands of the yEgean Sea, 
 and the other many fcattered Iflands about the 
 Coafts of Greece^ celebrate theirs, not indeed, 
 in the Vulgar, but in the pure and antient 
 Greek Tongue, as likewife do fuch of the Syrians 
 as are called Mekhites ^ the Gregorians^ and all 
 the Monaft:eries that are of the Greek Pvcligion, 
 wherefoever difperfed within the i'urktjJo Do- 
 minions in Ajrick or Afia ; as in Mount Sinai^ 
 the Cities of Fetra and Eltor in Arabia ^ in 
 yertifalem^ Alexandria^ Damafcus^ and in feveral 
 other Places, as Bellonitis and others have re- 
 corded : So that notwithftanding the Attempts 
 of the Church of Rome to obtrude their Latin 
 Service upon all Chrifiendom^ it is received by 
 none befidcs thofe of her own Communion, 
 and not by all of them ; for, as I obferved be- 
 fore, it is not uled by the Sclavonians in Europe ; 
 nor is it received by the new Roman Purchafes in 
 Afia ; of the Maronites in Syria ^ and the 
 Chriftians of St. lloomas in India^ who ftill re- 
 tain the old accuftomed Language, which \^^ in 
 the Liturgies of both thefe Nations, in the Syriac 
 
 Tongue, 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles. 635 
 
 Tongue *. I Ihall conclude my Obfervations Art. xxiv. 
 upon this Article with the Confefiions of two OOPk.,/. 
 very learned Perfons of the Church of Ro?7se, 
 The firft is Mercer^ ProfefTor of Hebrew at 
 PariSy who is fo free as to fay, I'emere fecerunt^ 
 (^c. They amongft us have done rafhly, that 
 brought in the Cuftom of Praying in an un- 
 known Tongue, which very often, neither they 
 themfelves, nor our People underftand f. And 
 Cardinal Cajetan faith. Melius eft^ &c. It is 
 better for our Church, that the Publick Prayers 
 in the Congregation be faid in a Tongue com- 
 mon to the Priefts and People, and not in 
 Latin %. 
 
 * Brerevpood's Enquiry, ch. 1 6. 
 f Comment, in Ecclef. f. 
 \. In I £/). Corinth, c. 14. 
 
 Article 
 
6]6 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Article XXV. 
 Of the Sacmments. 
 
 f^^L^^- ®actattt£itts! ojnafnea cf C6?iff, ht not 
 ^^-^^^r>^ nnip TSaBrjcg o? tokens of Clj?tftian 
 S0zn& P2oftfQou ', but tntljcc tl)t\> be 
 certain Tute mttmUS^ anu effectual 
 S^igns of (©?ace, anti ©on'S ®oob- 
 toill toiuacos uk5, bp tlje iDljtclj Ije notfi 
 tD02lt iuMblp lu ug, auo botlj not onip 
 quicken, but alCo ffcenetljcn anD confirm 
 our fattlj m ijtm. 
 
 Ciiere are ttoo Sacraments o^natnea of 
 Cb?Ht our Loia in tlje ^Scfpel, tljat is 
 to rap, I3aptifm ano tlje Supper of tlje 
 !Lo;d* 
 
 Cbofe fibe commonl)) a\un Sacraments, 
 tbat !0 to fap, Confimitition, peniince, 
 SDjners, ^atrimonp, ann dErtreme Slix^ 
 ction, are not to be counteB fo? Sacra- 
 mentg of tlje ©ofpel, being fuclj as 
 Ijabe QTtmn partip of tije corrupt fol-- 
 Iob3ing of tbe ^pottles, partlp are 
 States of Life aHomeD bp tfje ^&crip-- 
 turcs; but pet Ijabe not like ji^ature 
 of Sacraments t^itlj TSaptifm antJ tlje 
 lu?a S Sapper, foj tfjat tijcp fjalie not 
 
 anp 
 
Thirty-Nhie Articles. 6^7 
 
 anp MfiMe Stgtt 0? Cctemoni? o?5a{ncti art. xxv. 
 of mv. ^^r>r\j 
 
 CJje ©actamentg toere not ojBamcii o£ 
 CMll to be gajen upon, 0? to be catcieti 
 about, but tt)at toe llioulB uulp ufe tftenu 
 ^ito utfucf) ottlp as too?tl)iIp tecetbe tijc 
 fame, tljep fiaw a toljolefome effect o? 
 SDperatiott •, but tbep tljat tecetbe tljem 
 untou?tlj(lp, putcljafe to t!jenife!iies52:)am-- 
 nation, asi ©t* Paul faitfj* 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 ACRAMENTS are indeed fo 
 many Marks of Diftindion, by which 
 Chriftians are diftinguifh'd from Un- 
 believers 5 but they are alfo Vifible 
 Signs of an Invifible Grace, and do really con- 
 vey that Grace to fuch as worthily receive 
 them. But this is not done by any Power of 
 their own, but by the Operation of the Holy 
 Ghoft. Thus Baptifm regenerates us, ^^j ii. 38. 
 Then Peter [aid u7ito them^ Repent^ and he bap- 
 tized every one of you^ in the Name of Jefus 
 Chrift^ for the Remijfion of Sins -, and ye Jljall 
 receive the Gift of the Holy Ghoft. And i Cor.yi. 
 we are told, that the Lord's Supper communi- 
 cates to us the Body and Blood of Chrift. 
 
 A s for the Number of the Sacraments, fince 
 it belongs to Him alone toinftitute them, who 
 is able to confer the Grace which accompanies 
 them, there cannot be more than thofe which 
 God himfelf hath inftituted. And thofe which 
 he hath inftituted are but two, viz. Baptifm, ^'^^^^^ '*''^ ^^' 
 and the Supper of the Lord ; for to thefe only ^/^^^f*^ * 
 doth the Definition of a Sacrament belong. 
 z The 
 
658 Jn Exposition on t/je 
 
 Art. XXV. The Inftitution of thefe is feen. Mat. xxviii. 19. 
 
 ^^y^^y^^^ Go ye and teach all Nations^ baptizing them in 
 the Name of the Father^ and of the Sony and of 
 the Holy Ghoft, And i Cor. xi. 23, 24, 25, 26. 
 For I have received of the Lcrd^ that which alfo 
 
 1 delivered unto you., 'That the Lord Jefus^ the 
 fame Night in which he was betrayed^ took 
 Bread : And when he had given Thanks^ he 
 brake ity andfaid^ Take^ eat ; This is my Body^ 
 which is broken for you : This do in Remem^ 
 Jprance of me. For as often as ye eat this Bread^ 
 and drink this Cup, ye do /J:?ew the Lord's Death 
 till he come. 
 
 As to thefe five commonly call'd Sacra- 
 ments, that is to fay. Confirmation, ^c. the 
 Word Sacrament was indeed ufed by the an- 
 tient Writers of the Church for any facred or 
 holy Myftery, Rite, or Ceremony 3 every one 
 calling what holy Thing he pleafed a Sacra- 
 ment : So that according to this extenfive Signi- 
 fication of the Word, there can be neither {o 
 few Sacraments as thofe Two which Proteftants 
 declare for, nor fb few as thofe Seven which 
 the Church of Kome contends for. 
 
 But the Word Sacrament hath alfo a proper 
 and limited Signification ; and when ufed ac- 
 cording to it, and put to fignify an outward 
 Sign of a Covenant betwixt God and Men, ap- 
 pointed by God himfelf as a Pledge of our 
 Juflification, and a Means of our San6tifica- 
 tion, which is the Ratio Fonnalis of a Sa- 
 crament, properly fpeaking, or that without 
 which it cannot polTibly be one ; it entirely 
 excludes thefe Five from the Number of Sa- 
 craments. 
 
 2 Con F IK- 
 
Thirty-Kine Articles. 639 
 
 Confirmation is, weconfefs, an Apoftoli- /^]o/->^ 
 cal Ceremony : As fuch it is ftill retained and of confirma,' 
 pradlifed by us : But then it is at moll: but an thn, 
 Apoftolical Ceremony. Chrift neither ordained 
 any fuch Sign, nor made it either the Means 
 of conveying any fpecial Spiritual Grace to us, 
 or a Pledge to affure us thereof 
 
 Penance, if publick, is confefledly a Vaxt of Vennmc^ 
 of Church-Difcipline : If private, is only the 
 Application of the Power of the Keys to a 
 particular Perfon for his Comfort and Correc- 
 tion. It has neither any outward Sign inftituted 
 by Chrift, nor any inward Grace particularly 
 annexed to it. Indeed, if a true Penitent re- 
 ceive Abfolution from his Minifter, God rati- 
 fies the Sentence, and forgives the Sin. But fo 
 God would have done, had neither any Con- 
 feffion been made to, or Abfolution received 
 from him. And that the Sin is forgiven, is 
 owing to the Mercy of God, upon the Repen- 
 tance of the Sinner, and not to be afcribed to 
 the Prieft's Sentence. 
 
 In Extreme Undlion there is an Oi\t^2ir6i of i-xmmt 
 Sign, but neither of Chrift's nor his Apoftles ^«^^^«- 
 Inftitution, They anointed fick Perfbns for the Mark vi. 1 5. 
 Recovery of their bodily Health ^ and in cer- Jam. v. 14, if^ 
 tain Cafes, advifed the Elders of the Church 
 to be fent for to do likewife. But as to any 
 Spiritual Effeds, they neither ufed any fuch 
 Sign themfelves, nor recommended it to others : 
 Nor is there any the leaft Ground on which to 
 exped: any fuch Benefic from the Ufe of it. 
 'Tis true, if the Sickr.eis were inflided for any 
 particular Sin which the Perfon had committed, 
 the Healing of the Sicknefs was a Token that 
 
 the 
 
6/^0 An Eypofition on the 
 
 Art. XXV. the Sin was alfo forgiven : Becaufe 'till the Sin 
 yy^y^<J was forgiven, the Difeafe could not be removed. 
 But the Anointing was of no more Ufe to ob- 
 tain the one, than it would have had Power, of 
 itfelf, to effed: the other. 
 
 ofMMrl-mny. Matrimony is a Holy State, ordained by 
 God, and highly to be accounted of by all Men. 
 It was provided for a Remedy againft Sin, and 
 to avoid Fornication 3 that fuch Perfons as have 
 not the Gift of Continence might marry, and 
 keep themfelves undefiled Members of Chrift's 
 Body. But it neither confers any Grace where 
 it is not, nor increafes it where it is : And 
 therefore it is not to be looked upon as a true 
 and proper Sacrament. 
 
 of ordimtion. Ordination alfo is a Divine Inftitution. 
 By the Adminiftration of it. Authority is given 
 to thofe who partake of it, to minifter in holy 
 Things ; which otherwift it would not have 
 been lawful for them to do. We do not at all 
 doubt but that the Grace of God accompanies 
 this Ordinance, and the Difcharge of thofe Mi- 
 nifleries which are performed in confequence 
 of it. But then this Grace is only the BlefHng 
 of God upon a particular Employ, and is given 
 to fuch Perfons rather for the Benefit of others, 
 than for the Furtherance of their own Salva- 
 tion. 
 
 The Writings of the mod early Fathers 
 afford no Light to this Debate : And the Rea- 
 fon is, becaufe there was no Diipute about the 
 Number of Sacraments in their Time. Peter 
 hombard^^ Writer of the Twelfth Century, was 
 the firll that talk'd of Seven Sacraments. Euge^ 
 nius IV. taught the Armen'tans the fame Doc- 
 trine 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 641 
 
 trine Anno Domini 1439. The Co-ancil of Trent ^^^^t. xxv. 
 afterwards confirm'd it by a Decree, from ^^^^^y^""^ 
 whence Pius IV. inferted it into iiis new Creed ^ 
 and fb at laft the Fancy of a trifling Schoolman 
 became an Article of Faith. 
 
 On the other hand, Jufiin Martyr^ in his 
 Expofition of our Religion, (in which he de- 
 clares that he fays nothing out of Spite to any 
 Man, or deceitfully) makes Mention of no 
 more than Two Sacraments, that is to fay, 
 Baptifm, and the Eucharift or Lord's Supper *. 
 Tertiillian likewife joins theie two together, and 
 fays nothing of any more. De Corcn^^. Mtlttis^ 
 Cap. 3. To pais by S. Augufttne de Do^r. 
 Chrifti^ Lib. 3. Cap.g. Epijt. :i8. ^ 23. Chry- 
 foftom in Joan. 85. and to fay nothing of Wri- 
 ters of the following Ages, t 
 
 What remains of this Article, requiring 
 any-thing to be faid upon it, is, that they 
 that receive the Sacraments unworthily, are by 
 St. Paul faid to purchafe to themfelves Damna- 
 tion. This is faid by St. Paul exprefly of the 
 Lord's Supper only ; but we are, by what he 
 faith, taught to ipeak the fame of Baptiim, 
 inafmuch as it is an Inflitution of Chrift as 
 well as the Lord's Supper. Speaking, i Cor. xi. 
 of the Drunken Communicants at Corinth^ he 
 faith, n^er. 29. that he that recei^eth the Lord's 
 Supper univorthily^ eateth and drtnketh Damna- 
 
 * See his Afdo^y from Chap. 79. to the End. 
 
 t See HofvAly or" Common-VrayeY and SMraments. Nonyelli 
 Cat. p. 157. Hammonas Pract. Cat. Book 6. §. i. Je'^vel's 
 Bef. Apol Part 2. c. 11. div. 2. Hooker's Eccl Pol. Book 5-. 
 §• fo, & 5-7. PrUcaux Fafc. Com, c. 6. q. i, 2. Arch- 
 biihop WAke s Ex^ojltion on the Catechifm, §.42. 
 
 S f tion 
 
642 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 ART.XXV. Hon to himfelf. What I have here to obfervc 
 
 {^j'ys^ 
 
 that the Word * KeT^ct, which our Tranflators 
 render Damnation^ does not here fignify Eter- 
 nal Condemnation, but a Temporal Judgment 
 and Chaftifement, in order to prevent Eternal 
 Condemnation. This is plain from the three 
 next Verfes : For this Caufe many are weak and 
 fickly among you^ and many Jleep. For if we 
 Jhould judge ourfelwes^ we JJonuld not he judged. 
 But when we are judged^ we are chaftened of the 
 Lord^ that we fbould not he condemned of the 
 World, t 
 
 ^ Inftead of K£i^#i I had put Ke/(77? in the Firft Edition of 
 this Book, for ib I found it in all the Editions of Arch- 
 bifliop Tiilotfon's Sermons, which I looked upon as a better 
 Authority than any Greek Teftament I had by me, and there 
 it hath palled above Forty Years unobferved, at leaft as far as 
 I could underfland. The Truth is, Keiff?^ and Ke^^ct are de- 
 rived from the fame Verb, and have exaftly the lame Signi- 
 fication. Neverthelefs, fince Dr. Mills, and all other Editors 
 of the Greek Teftament that I can meet with, read Ket/xe6 
 and not Keiw?, I have now rather chofen to follow them, 
 than to depend upon the Authority of one great Man, who 
 was, perhaps, too much engaged in the more uleful Parts 
 of Learning, to attend to luch minute and inconfiderable 
 Parts of Criticifm, fo as to be exa£l in Trifles of this Nature. 
 
 f See Tillctfcn on i Cor. xi. 26, 27, 28. 
 
 Article 
 
Thirty -Nine Articles. c^i 
 
 .^^ c^ 1^1 ^ cU U « /^;a .f«*. Ji^ 
 
 :/Mr«nM,J.. wC»/s flmvjiekwt h»«^ "'^M oIm*: >i?«iU- 
 
($44 ^^ Expofition on the 
 
 art.xxvl uHt of tljeir ©ffenceg: mti fittaHp, 
 ^-^'^^'^ ftetng foima guiitpj tip juft lusement 
 fie cepofeo. 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 ;@^} H E Miniilcrs of the Gofpel do not 
 miniflier their own, but Chrift's Sa- 
 craments ; and the Church in receiv- 
 ing them, hatli Refped to Chrift 
 himfeif5and not to them, and therefore receives 
 them not fo much from the Minifters as froni 
 ChriiV, by their Hands. For the Virtue and 
 Efficacy of them cannot, fmce it depends on 
 Chrifl alone, be hindered by the Wickednefs of 
 a Miniiler, how wicked fbever he may be. So 
 likewife in hearing the Word of God, it is the 
 Duty of a good Chrift ian to regard not fo much 
 the Life and Converfation of the Perfon that 
 Ipeaketh, as the Truth and Reafonablenefs of 
 what is ipoken by him. IVho then is Faul^ and 
 who is Apollos^ faith St. Faul^ hut Minifters by 
 'whom ye helieved^ even as the Lordga've to e'very 
 Man ? I ha've planted^ A'pollos watered ^ hut 
 God gave the Increafe. So then^ neither is he 
 that plant eth any things neither he that watereth j 
 hut God that giveth the Increafe^ i Cor. iii. 5, 
 6, 7. And Alatth, xxiii. 2, 3. our Saviour ob- 
 ferves, that the Scribes and Fh art fees fat in 
 Mofes\s Seat. ylU therefore whatfoever they bid 
 you obferve^ continues he, that obferve and do ; 
 hut do not ye after their IVcrks ; for they fay ^ and 
 do not. Some indeed^ laith St. Faul^ preach Chrift 
 even of Envy and Strife ; andfome alfo of Good- 
 IVtlL ihe one preach Chrift of Contention^ not 
 fincerely^ ftippofing to add Afli^ion to my Bonds : 
 But the ether of Love^ knowing that lam fetfor 
 
 tbs 
 
Thirty^ Nhie Articles, 645 
 
 the Defence of the Gofpet. IVhat then ? Not- Art. xxvi. 
 withftanding every IVay^ whether in 'Pretence^ or V.>Or\^> 
 in d'ruth^ Chrift is preached , and I therein do 
 rejoice^ yea^ and will rejoice^ PhiJ. i. ij:, i6, 
 17, 18. 
 
 A Minister, faith S. Attgnftine^ that is, a 
 Difpenfer of the Word and Sacraments of the 
 Gofpel ; if he be a good Man, is a Companion 
 of the Gofpel's, if a bad Man, he is not there- 
 fore no Difpenfer of the Gofpel. Peter and 
 other good Men preached it -, Judas did the 
 fame, though unwillingly ; notwithilanding be- 
 ing fent with them, he preached it. They have 
 their Reward, to him a Dilpenfation was com- 
 mitted. * 
 
 Nevertheless, the Church hath a Power 
 to depofe fuch Minifters as are Icandaloufly 
 wicked. ylgai7tft an Elder^ faith St. Paul to 
 Sjmothy^ receive ?tot an Accufaticn^ hut before 
 two or three IVitnejfes. Which proves that El- 
 ders or Presbyters were fubjedt to S^'imothy's 
 Jurif3i6bion j and to no Purpofe was I'imothy 
 invefted with Power over them, if he could 
 not by Virtue of it force them to do their 
 Duty, or remove fuch' as brought a Scandal 
 upon Religion from the Exerciie of the Mini- 
 fterial Fundion ; it being certain, that many 
 times nothing lefs than this is a fufficient Re- 
 medy f<:^r fo great and lamentable an Evil. 
 St. John likewife, in his Third Epiftle, ver. lo. 
 threatens to rememher the Deeds of Diotrephes, 
 
 * Contra Lit. Petiliani, lib. 3 . c. fj: 
 
 S f 3 What- 
 
64^ ^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Apt. XXVI. WHATEVER is wanting in thefc Places of 
 V>O^N*^ Scripture, which might ferve to make the Point 
 we are upon very clear, is abundantly fupply^d 
 by the Fradbice of the Primitive Church 5 
 .which is, as I have obferved before more than 
 once, the beft of Commentaries. Thus S. Cy- 
 prian^ fpeaking of FeUciJJimus^ a Deacon, hath 
 thefe Words — L^t him know^ that he is 
 caft out from among us , inafmuch as over and 
 above his Frauds and Thefts, of which we are 
 very certain that he is guilty, he is alfb charged 
 with Adultery, which fbme of our Brethren, 
 who are grave Men, declare they have caught 
 him in, and have engaged thcmfelves, to make 
 good the Charge. ^ 
 
 * Epifl. 41. See Whitgifi's Def. Tradt. 9. c. 5. Nelfon's 
 Trflivals, c. 13. and Itafts, c. 10. Field of the Church, 
 Book I. c. 14. See the Second Part of the Glergyman*s 
 
 A&TXCLS 
 
Thirty-Nme Articles. 
 
 647 
 
 Article XXVU. 
 
 0/B 
 
 A P T I S M. 
 
 'Baptifm 15 not ottip a ^tgi! of p^ofcfQctt, art xxvn 
 an9 S^arfe of Difference^ too^refc)>Cij?ifti-- v>vx^ 
 an ^eH are DiTcerneti from otljerg tijat 
 he not cIjiitteneD :, fcut it iis alfo a Sign 
 of Eegeneration 02 Bm loittih to&ereDp, 
 ag bp an Slnffrument, tljep tljat receive 
 TBaptifm rfgfjtlp, are giaftec into tije 
 Ciiurcfj : €&€ p?omifes of tlje jFo?5iDe^ 
 nef0 of @iu, aiiB of our aaoption to hz 
 tlje ^tjng of ©00 bp tfie Jpoip ©fioff, 
 are toiiMp figneo ann ftaleu : jfattl^ 10 
 confirniea ana ©?ace increafeU bP Sirtue 
 flf pjaper unto ©on. Cije 'Baptifm of 
 goiing CljilDjen 10 in anv luife to te le-- 
 taineo in tlje Cljurcfj, as moil agjeeaMe 
 MVd tlje 3inttitution cf Clj?itt^ 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 A P T I S M among the lacred Writers 
 fignifies any Wafhing, whether it be 
 by Dipping or Sprinkling ; in which 
 
 foever of thefe Manners it be admini- 
 
 ftred, it points out to us, fignificantly enough, 
 the Grace which is conferred by this Sacranaent. 
 For as the Filth of the Body is wafhed away 
 with Water^ fo the Pollution of the Soul is done 
 
 S f 4 away 
 
648 
 
 Jn EiDofition on the 
 
 i^y-Nw^ 
 
 Art, xx^/li. away by Remif!ion of Sins ; and as in Dipping 
 ^'^ 'tis intimcfted that we are buried, and rife again 
 
 with Chriil, fo in Sprinkling, 'tis hinted, that we 
 are de^.d and born again. For as the immcr- 
 fmg or dipping the Body of the Baptized, re- 
 prcfents the Burial of a dead Corpfe under 
 Ground, fo alfo the fprinkling or pouring Water 
 upon the Party, anfvver.s to the covering or 
 throwing Earth upon a Perfbn fo dead. And 
 as a Death unto Sin is thus figured by either of 
 thefe Ceremonies, and the Poflures we are in 
 when they are performed on us j fo likewife a 
 Life, or Rifmg again unto Righteoufneis, is as 
 fignificantly by the Removal or Abfence of the 
 one, as v/ell as by the Removal or Abience of 
 the other. Hs Carved us^ faith St. Paul^ 'fit. iii. 
 5. hythe Wajloin^^ ofRegeneraticn^ and Renewing 
 of the Holy Ghoft. " We defcend into the 
 '^ Water, faith Barnahas^ fall of Sins and 
 " Filth, and afcend out of it full of Fruits or 
 '^ Benefits, having Fear in our Hearts, and 
 ^' tlope towards the Lord in the Spirit. " * 
 
 "As many as are perfuaded, faith Juftin 
 ^' Martyr^ and do believe that thofe Things 
 '^ which are taught and declared by us are true, 
 '^ and promife to lead Lives agreeable thereto, 
 <c -== — are by us brought to the Water, and 
 '^ receive the Means of Regeneration, as we 
 ^^ have done before them. " f 
 
 They that are rightly baptized, that is, 
 they that receive it in the Name of the Father, 
 of the Son, and of the Holy Ghofl, together 
 
 Ep'ijl, r. Ti. 
 ApL I. c. j^. 
 
 with 
 
thtrty-Kine Articles. 649 
 
 with a ferious ProfefHon of Faith and Repen- ^^t- ^xvir. 
 tance, are thereby grafted into the Church; ^-^"y*^ 
 
 For by one Spitit are we all baptized into one 
 Body J I Cor. xii. 13. To them the Promiles of 
 the Forgiveneis of Sin are vifibly figned and 
 fealed ; and therefore, the Author of the Epiftle 
 to the Hebrews^ exhorts them to draw near to 
 God with a true Hearty in full Ajjurance of Faith ^ 
 halving their Hearts fprinkled from an evil Con^ 
 fcience^ and their Bodies wajJoed with pure Water ^ 
 Heh. X. 32. J lift in Martyr fays §, that we 
 receive in, or by Water, the RemifHon of all 
 our paft Sins. And Theophilus ofAntioch ipeaks 
 of Mens receiving R.epentance and Remiffion of 
 Sins by Water, and the Laver or Regeneration, 
 even as r any as come unto it in Truth, and ^e 
 born again, and receive the BleiHng of God ^. 
 
 The Promifes of our Adoption to be the Sons 
 of God by tlic Holy Ghoft, are likewife figned 
 
 and feaied <-^> then: ; Gal. iii. 26, 27. For ye are all 
 the Childrer. ■/ ^aod by Faith in Chnft Jefus. For 
 as many of you o^s have been baptized into Chrift^ 
 have put on Chrift. By Baptifin. Faith is con- 
 firmed, and Grace increafed by Virtue of Prayer 
 unto God. Thus we ^f;e, At'tsW. 41, 42. with 
 how ardent a Zeal the New Converts behaved 
 themfelves after they had been baptized, con- 
 tinuing ftedfftly in the Apoftles Do^rine^ &c. 
 '^ This wafhing, faith Juftin Martyr^ is called a 
 " Light, by which 'tis intimated, that the 
 " Minds of fuch as underftand thefe Things 
 ^' are inlightened. '' 4^ 
 
 § Ibhl. c. 80. 
 
 * Ad Autol. lib, i. ^. igp, 
 
 ■^ Apt, I. (, 80. 
 
 That 
 
6.50 Jin Expofition on the 
 
 /rt. XXVII. That baptizing of young Children is raoft 
 ^-^'^^"^'^'"^*^ agreeable with the Inftitution of Chrift, I 
 prove thus : 
 
 Infant Baptifin I f our Saviour hath declared that none but 
 
 lawful. baptized Perfbns can enter into the Kingdom 
 
 of God ; and if he hath declared that young 
 
 Children are capable of entring, it follows, that 
 
 he intended they ihould be baptized. 
 
 But our Saviour hath declared, that none but 
 baptized Perfons are capable of entring into the 
 Kingdom of God, yohn iii. 5. J^ftis anfweredy 
 Verily ^verily I fay unto thee^ Except a Man he 
 torn of Water and of the Spirit^ he cannot enter 
 into the Kingdom of God. And that young 
 Children are capable of entring, Mark x. 14. 
 Suffer the little Children to come unto me^ and forbid 
 them not^ for of fucb is the Kingdom of God. 
 Therefore he intended they fhould be baptized. 
 
 'T I s eafy to forefee the Objedions that will 
 be raifed againft this Argument, and therefore 
 I think fit to add, that I am far from fending 
 all unbaptized Perfons to Hell, but that the 
 Queftion is about covenanted Mercies, and 
 covenanted Privileges. Where the Qualifica- 
 tions neceifary for the obtaining of thele cannot 
 be had, I have as great Confidence in the Good- 
 nefs of God as any Man. And left the ordinary 
 Reader fnould think thofe Words of our Saviour 
 before-mentioned QExcept a Man he born^ &c.) 
 to contain an Objedlion againft what I am en- 
 deavouring to prove, I add, that the Words in 
 the Original arc, 'Eai' /^m 77? y^mQIi', ^c. that is, 
 except a Perfon he born., &c. {o that they take 
 in both Sexes, and all Ages. Secondly, I prove 
 
 that 
 
Thirty-Nme Articles* 651 
 
 that the Baptizing of young Ghildren is mbft Art. xxvU- 
 agreeable to Ghrift's Inftitution, ffxjm Mai. \J^y^\J 
 xxviii. 19. where all Nations are commanded to 
 le baptized. It will be anfweftd^ ^hat our 
 Saviour faith in thi3 f ext^ Gd ye therefore and 
 teach all -Nations^ baptizing them : I reply 
 therefofe. That the Greek Word, which is here 
 rendered ^ach^ ought to have been rendered 
 Difciple^ and then the Words would have run 
 thus; Go ye therefore and Difciple all Nations, 
 A Difciple is a Scholar, which a Child may be 
 before he begins to learn any thing. 
 
 The Word I am Ipeaking of, as not rightly 
 rendered, is UetQn-nvatiT^ -^ concerning which, 
 Archbp. Stillotfon^ Bifhop Fenjeridge^ Dr. Ellis^ 
 and many other Learned Men, have made the 
 fame Obfervation with me. 
 
 I H A V E alfo looked into feveral Places of 
 the New Teftament ^ and where I find the 
 Word ^each made ufe of in the Senie which the 
 Anahaptifts would have this Word bear, 1 find 
 the Verb A/c/i«V;c<y, or fome Word or other 
 derived from it in the Original *'. 
 
 The Sum of this Argument is, That if all 
 Nations are commanded to be baptized, it fol- 
 lows, that Infants ac well as grown Peribns are 
 included within this Command. 
 
 Thirdly, I prove the Point we are upon 
 from I Cor. vii. 14. For the unhelien)i?2g Husband 
 is fan^ified by the JVife^ and the unbelieving 
 
 * See I Tim, ii. 7. ch. iv. ver. 11. ch. iii. ver. 2. x Tim, 
 
 a Ifife 
 
6^1 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art, XXVII. JVife is fan5iified by the Husband : Elfe were 
 ^"-^^y^ your Children unclean : but now are they holy. 
 
 I N order to explain as much of this Text as 
 is ablblutely necelTary for our prefent Purpofe, 
 let us oblerve the Ufe of the Word which is 
 here rendered Unclean in another Place of 
 Scripture. We read, Acis x. that St. Peter in 
 his Vifion refufeth to eat any thing Common or 
 Unclean ; where it feems by the Sequel, that 
 Unclean Men are thofe which are not vifible 
 Members of the Church, and therefore muft 
 not be allowed the Privileges of it. For God 
 reforming his Error, bids him call nothing, that 
 is, no Man, Common or Unclean, whom he 
 had cleanfed or fandtified, that is, whom he had 
 reputed fit to partake of the Privileges of 
 Preaching and Baptifin. 
 
 B Y Analogy with which Place, and Ufe of 
 the Word Unclean, it is moft reafonable that 
 theie Words [_Now are they holy'] fhould fignify 
 \_Now are your Children thought fit to he Parta- 
 kers of the Privileges of the Church] that is, being 
 capable of no other, ofbeing admitted to Baptiim, 
 which the Children of Heathens are not. 
 
 In the laft Place, let me defire. That the 
 Teftimony of the antient Fathers may have as 
 much Weight in this Argument, as the j^na* 
 baptifts muft give it, whenever they attempt to 
 prove the Scriptures to be written at the Times 
 when we fuppofe they were, and by the Perfbns 
 who are believed to have been the Writers of 
 them. After this Requeft, which I am fure is 
 no unreafonable one, let me obferve to them, 
 that Ineneus tells us ^y that Chrift came to 
 
 4: Ad^■» H^ar. lib, %. c, 39. 
 
 favc 
 
Tbirty-Nine Articles. ($55 
 
 iave us all by himfelf, all that are born Art. XXvii. 
 
 again in God through him. Infants and V^^^VN^, 
 
 young Children, and Boys, and Young 
 
 and Old. And that I have, under the Nmtb 
 
 Article^ taken Notice of thefe Words of 
 
 St. Cyprian^ in his 64th Epiftle j • — ^- '^ If 
 
 '^ Remiffion of Sins be given to the greateft of 
 
 '^ Sinners, and thofe that grievoufly offend God, 
 
 '^ if they afterwards believe, and if no Perlbn 
 
 " be kept back from Bapcilm and the Grace of 
 
 *^ God 5 by how much more ought not an In- 
 
 *^ fant to be reftrained or kept back from thefe 
 
 '• Benefits, v/hich being but newly born, hath 
 
 '^ committed no Sin, ^r." f 
 
 There is one Objedion againft Infant-Bap- 
 tifm which I had like to have forgotten, and 
 which I muft by no means negle(ft. Our Saviour 
 hath faid, Marky^v'i, 16. He that helieveth^ and 
 is baptized^ Jloall he fanned. From whence our 
 Adverfaries argue, that Infants can't be capable 
 of Baptifm, becaufe not capable of believing. 
 My Anfwer is. That the Words which imme- 
 diately follow, 'But he that bellevetb not^ 
 
 Jhall he damned^ ihew plainly, that our Saviour 
 is fpeaking only of grown Perfons, who were 
 capable of hearing the Word of God, and be- 
 lieving or disbelieving ; becaufe Infants, as I 
 have (hewn before, are declared, chap. x. 
 capable of Salvation. This Text therefore, 
 only proves that grown Perlbns (hould not be 
 baptized, if they do not believe the Gofpel j 
 but it no more excludes Infants from Baptifm, 
 
 f See NoTPelli Catech. pag. 141. HammomVs Pra6t. Cat. 
 Book VI. §. 2, 5. Wdl's Hiilory of Infant-Baptifm and 
 Conference. lVdher\ Modeft Plea. JeyoeVs Def. ApoL 
 Part II. c. II. Div. 3. 
 
 than 
 
654 -^^ Expofition en the 
 
 Art. XXVII than what St. Fatil faith, Ko?n. ii. 28, 29- 
 
 ^^,^'y'Sf^ proves that the Jews a^ed irregularly in cir- 
 
 eumcifing their Children when eight Days old 
 
 His Words are thefe. For he is not a Jew which 
 
 is one QUtwardly ; neither is that Circmncifion 
 which is outward in the Flejh : But he is a Jew 
 who is one inwardly ; and Circumcifion is that of 
 the Hearty in the Spirit^ and not in the Letter^ 
 whefe Praife is not of Men^ hut of God, 
 
 Upon the Whole, I cannot but offer two 
 Things more to the Reader's moft ferious Con- 
 fideration, which, whenever I think of them, 
 never fail of having a very great Influence upon 
 me in relation to this Controverfy. i. The 
 Firft is, That throughout the long Difputes 
 with Felagius and Celeftius^ and their Followers^ 
 who were Men of Note before the Year 400 ^ 
 about Original Sin, the Lawfulnefs or NeceOity 
 of Infant-Baptifm were never called in Queftion^ 
 though the fetting it afide would have been of 
 the lait Importance to the Pelagian Herefy ; 
 and though both Pelagius and Celeftius^ were 
 Men of much greater Learning, Subtlety, and 
 Penetration, than any that have appeared in 
 Favour of the Anahaptifts : Nay, they are fo 
 far from denying either, that when St. Juguftine 
 mentions it as a Prad,ice of the whole Church 
 from the ApoftlesTime ; they do not deny it, but 
 own it, as the Reader may iee at large, in the 
 19th Chapter of Dr. IVall's Hiftory of Infavit^ 
 Baptifm^ Parti. Only they faid. That in the 
 Cafe of an Infant, Baptifm is not forForgiveneis 
 of Sin (though they were afterwards driven frojn 
 this Hold) but to procure the Child an En- 
 trance into the Kingdom of Heaven. For they 
 held^ That an Infant dying unbaptized, fhallbc 
 raifed again, and live eternally in a Middle State, 
 
 with-? 
 
Thirty^lSlzne Articles. 655^ 
 
 without Punifhment, as having no Sin , but not Art. xxvir. 
 enjoying the Kingdom of Heaven, as being ^yy^^ 
 not baptized into Chrift. But that a baptized 
 Infant fhall go into the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 2. The Second Thing I have to offer, is 
 contained in the Great, Learned, and Judicious 
 Bifhop Sanderfons Preface to his Sermons, Se^. 
 23. ^'^ The Reverend Archbilhop Whit gift ^ 
 " and the Learned Hooker^ Men of great Judg- 
 ^' ment, and Famous in their Times, did Jong 
 '' fmce forefee, and accordingly declared their 
 " Fear, that if ever Puritamfm (hould prevail 
 '^ among us, it would ibon draw in Anabaptifm 
 *^ after it. At this Cariwright^ and the other 
 ^^ Advocates for the Difiiplinarian Inter efl in 
 *^ thofe Days, feemed to take great Offence, as 
 '^ if thofe Fears were rather pretended, to derive 
 '^ an Odium upon them, than that there was 
 " otherwife any jufl Caufe for the fame; pro- 
 '^ tefting ever their utter Diflike of Anabaptifm, 
 " and how free they were from the lead Thought 
 " of introducing it. But this was only their 
 ^' own Miftake, or rather Jealoufy -, for thofe 
 *^ godly Men were neither fo unadvifed, nor Co 
 '^ uncharitable, as to become Judges of other 
 '^ Mens Thoughts or Intentions, beyond what 
 '' their Adions fpoke them. They only con* 
 ^' fidered, as prudent Men, that Anabaptifm 
 '^ had its Rife from the fame Principles the 
 " Puritans held ; and its Growth from the fame 
 '^ Courfe they took, together with the natural 
 Tendency of thole Principles and Pradices 
 towards it ; efpecially of that one Principle, 
 as it was by them mifunderflood, that the 
 Scripture was Adcequata agendorum regula^ fo i 
 as nothing might be la^-jjftilly done without ex- 
 '^ prefs Warranty either from fome Command^ 
 
 " or 
 
6*) 6 An Expofition on the 
 
 A21T. XXVII. " or Example therein contained. The Clu€ 
 ^-^^^^''\J '^ whereof, if followed on as far as it would lead, 
 '^ would certainly in Time carry them as far as 
 '^ the Anahaptifts were then gone. But that it 
 '^ was no vain Fear, the unhappy Event hath 
 '^ proved, and juftified them, fmce what they 
 '^ feared is now come to pafs, and that in a very 
 '' high Degree : Yet did not they lee the 
 ^^ Thread drawn out to that Length as we have 
 " fcen it (the Name oi ^takers ^ Seekers^ &c. 
 ^^ not having been then heard of in the World) 
 ^^ but how much farther it will reach, none can 
 *^ fay 5 for no Man yet ever faw the Bottom of 
 '^ the Clue." Then he goes on to fiiew how pro- 
 bable it is, from the great Scandal and Advan- 
 tages given to Papifts by our Confufions, that 
 Popery will over-run all at laft , intimating, 
 thrt while (6 many feveral Parties of Proteltants 
 are flill crumbling into Fadions and Fractions, 
 biting, and ready to devour one another, a 
 vigilant Adverfary, that is intent upon all Ad- 
 ^vantages and Opportunities, may, when he fpieth 
 his Time, overmafter them with much Eafc 
 and little Refiftance. 
 
 Article 
 
Thirty 'KiJie Articles. 657 
 
 Article XXVIH. 
 
 Of the L o R d's - S u p p E R. 
 
 %\)z ®ttppec of tlie !Lo;?ti 10 not onlpa ©1011 art.xxvih. 
 of tlje loi)e Kjiit Cljjifiians oujjlit to Ijabc ^.yy^^^ 
 amono: tfjcmfeiscs cue toanotljcr^ but 
 ratljec it is a Sacrament of out Jaenemp- 
 tioit bp Clj;m'0 Deatf) •, infomuclj tfiat 
 to fucD as tisWh iDo^tljilp, ann iuitlj 
 jFaitlj teceibe tlje fattie, tlje OS^eao tuljicl) 
 tue b^eafe, is a pattafeing of tlje TSofip 
 of Cb;:? -; an:i !(ketuife tlje Cup of TSIet 
 fiuff, is a Ipattalung of tlje TBlooti of 
 Clj^itttCtanfubaantiation (o? t!jeCljano:e 
 of tbe ©ubttance one jean anu 2HtuO ux 
 tlje Supper of tlje ILo^, cannot be pjoljeo 
 bp 5)oli) ISl^iti but it is repugnant ta 
 tlje plain mom of Scripture, ober-- 
 tlj?oiiiet!] tlje ji5ature of a Sacrament, 
 nm batlj giijen ©ccafion to manp Supers 
 flitions* 
 
 Clje TBotip of Clj^ift is fftben, tafecn, ana 
 eaten in tlje Supper onlp after an ipeaben* 
 !p ani5 Spiritual asanner* m\\} tlje 
 ^ean toljerebp tlje OSobp of Clj?ia is re- 
 ceiben ano eaten in tlje Supper? in 
 Jfaitlj. 
 
 T t Cfie 
 
6)8 
 
 An Expofition on tie 
 
 ART.xxviiL^ge ©actament of tlje !Ld?5'iS ^>tippei: toas 
 kJ^S"^ not top C{}?ift's ©jBiuancc tefetbec, cai;- 
 rieoafiout^ liftea up, o? tto;ftippc5. 
 
 The E xposiTio 
 
 N. 
 
 HE Lord's Supper is, indeed, a Sign 
 of that mutual Love, and intimate 
 Fellowfhip that is, or ought to be 
 among Chriilians. For we being 
 many^ are ciw Breads and one Body ^ for we 
 are all Partakers of that one Bread^ i Cor x. 
 17. Relation is one of the ftrongeft Obli- 
 gations to Friendihip -, and by this Text 'tis 
 declared, that by receiving the Lord's Supper 
 we are made Members one of another. But it 
 chiefly ferves to point out to us the Sacrifice and 
 Death of Chriil, as an Atonement for our Sins, 
 which it really exhibits to all fuch as worthily par- 
 take of the Sacred Elements of Bread and Wine, 
 as appears from the following Places of Scripture j 
 Mat. xxvi. 26, 27, 28. And as they were eating, 
 Jefus took Bread^ and hie [fed it^ and brake it^ and 
 ganje it to the Difciplesj and [aid, ^ake^ eat ; 
 this is my Body. And he took the Cup^ and 
 gave thanks, and gave it to them^ f^yi'^^g-^ Brink 
 ye all of it : For this is my Bkod of the New 
 Stefiament^ which is Jhed for 771 any for the Remif- 
 fion of Sins, And Luke xxii. 19, 20. And he 
 took Bread, and gave ^hanks^ and brake it, 
 and gave unto them, faying., ^his is my Body 
 'which is given for you •, this do in Kememhrance 
 of me. Likewife alfo the Cup after Supper, fay- 
 ing, ^his Cup is the New ^"ejiament in my Bloody 
 which isfljcdfor yotu 
 
 It 
 
Thirty 'N'me Articles* 659 
 
 1 F Men come to the Lord's Supper with due Art.xxviii. 
 Preparation, and receive it worthily, ^he Cup '^-^OPv^ 
 
 of BleJJiJig wbicb we hlefs^ is it not the Com- 
 munion of the Blood of Chrift ? And the Bread 
 which 'we hreak^ is it not the Communion of the 
 Body of Chrift ? i Cor. x. i6. 
 
 .''We receive not the Lord's Supper, faith 
 " Juftin Martyr^ as Common Bread or Com- 
 '^ mon Drink. But as our Saviour Jefus Chrift 
 '^ was by the Word of God made Flefh, and 
 " laid down both his Flefh and his Blood for out 
 *^ Salvation ; fo we have learned that this Food 
 '' which hath been fanclified by the Word of 
 " Prayer and Thankfgiving, and by the Con- 
 *' veriion of which our Blood and Flefh are 
 " nourilhed, is the Flefli and Blood of that fame 
 " Jefus who was made Flefh * ." " The Bread 
 '^ which is from the Earth, faith Irenceus^ re- 
 '^ ceiving the Divine Invocation, is now no 
 '^ longer Common Bread, but the Eucharift or 
 *^ Sacrament, confifting oi two Things ^ the 
 " one Earthly, the other Heavenly §. " 
 
 By Tfanfubftantiation,- is meant a Change of 
 the Subftance of Bread and Wine into the Sub- 
 fiance of Chrift's Flefh and Blood, not in a 
 Figurative but Real Manner. A Notion the 
 mofl abiiird of any in the World, if any Credit 
 be to be given to our Reafon and Senfes. 'Tis 
 likewife contradided by the Scripture, which 
 
 * Apol, I. c. 85. 
 § Adver. Haer. lib. 4. c. 34, 
 
 See Hooker's Ecci. Pol. Book V. §.57. JsweVs Def. 
 Apol. PartIL c, iz. div, i. 
 
 T t 2 callj 
 
66o An Expofition on the 
 
 ^^^^^^^^- calls the Elements that Bread and that Cup even 
 ^^^^^^<^ after Confecration, i Cor. xi. 28. And even 
 by the very Canon of the Mafs, in which 'tis 
 prayed, that the Eucharift or Sacrament may 
 become to us the Body and Blood of Chrift, a 
 plain Intimation that it is not fo in itfelf, in the 
 Senfe which I am now oppofing. 
 
 Moreover, this Dodrine of Tranfubftan- 
 tiation overthrows the Nature of a Sacrament ; 
 for nothing can be a Sacrament, or a Sign of 
 itlelf And finally, it hath given Occafion to 
 much Superftition ; to lifting up of the Sacra- 
 ment, and carrying of it about, and indeed 
 to worfhipping of it, which is no lefs than 
 Idolatry. 
 
 It cannot be denied, but that the Fathers do, 
 and that with great Reafon, very much magnify 
 the wonderful Myftery and Efficacy of this 
 Sacrament, and frequently fpeak of a great 
 Supernatural Change made by the Divine Bene- 
 diction ; w^hich we alio readily acknowledge. 
 They fay, indeed, that the Elements of Bread 
 and Wine, do by the Divine Bleffing become to 
 us the Body and Blood of Chrift.-'^But they 
 _ likewife fay, that the Names of the Things 
 fignified are given to the Si'igns , that the Bread 
 and Wine do ftill remain in their proper Nature 
 and Subftance, and that they are turned into 
 the Subftance of our Bodies j that the Body of 
 Chrift in the Sacrament is not his Natural 
 Body, but the Sign and Figure of it ; not that 
 Body which was crucified, nor that Blood which 
 w^as filed upon the Crois , and that it is impious 
 to underftand the eating of the Flefh of the Son 
 of Man, and drinking his Blood literally. 
 
 Thus 
 
Thirty-Nhie Articles. 66 1 
 
 Thus Iren^eus^ in that remarkable Tefli- Art. xxviii. 
 mony of his, preferved by OEcumenius^ faith as ^>/VNi-^ 
 
 follows, " When the Greeks had taken 
 
 " fome Servants of the Chriftian Catedni?7ieni 
 " (that is, fuch as had not been admitted to 
 '^ the Sacrament) and afterwards urged them by 
 " Violence to tell them fome of the Secrets of the 
 " Chriftians , thefe Servants having nothing to 
 '^ fay that might gratify thofe who offered 
 " Violence to them, except only, that they had 
 " heard from their Mafters, that the Divine 
 " Communion was the Blood and Body of 
 " Chrift ; they, thinking that it was really 
 " Blood and Flefh, declared as much to thofe that 
 " queflioned them. The Greeks taking this as if 
 " it were really done by the Chriflians, dif- 
 ^^ covered it to others of the Greeks'^ who here- 
 " upon put Sancius and Bland.ma to the Torture 
 '' to make them confefs it. To whom Blan- 
 '' dina boldly anf,vered, How would they en- 
 " dure to Ao this, who by way of Exercife (or 
 " Abftinence) do not eat that Flefh which may 
 "-' be lawfully eaten f. " " The Bread which 
 ^^ our Saviour took, faith 'Tertidlian^ and di- 
 ftributed to his Difciples, he made his own 
 Body, faying, ^his is my Body:, that is, 
 " the Image and Figure of my Bodv. But it 
 *^ could Dot have been the Figure of his Body, 
 " if there had not been a true and real Body ||." 
 
 S. CTPKIAN hath a whole Epiflle to 
 Caecilli'.s againft thofe who gave the Communion 
 in Water only, without Wine mingled with it ; 
 and his main Argument againft them is this, 
 
 f Comment, in i Vet, c. 5 , 
 li Adver. iMarcion, lib. 4. 040. 
 
 Tt 3 That 
 
 CC 
 
66i An Expofition on the 
 
 Ap.t.xxviii. That the Blood of Chrift, with which we are 
 ^<yy^^^ redeemed and quickened, cannot feem to be in 
 the Cup, when there is no Wine in the Cup by 
 which the Blood of Chrifl is reprefented X. So 
 that if there be any Tranfubftantiation, it is of 
 Blood into Wine, and not of Wine into Blood ; 
 and fince the Blood is reprefented by the Wine, 
 the W^ine cannot be the Blood itfelf, fmce no- 
 thing can be a Sign or Reprefentation of itfelf 
 
 The Body of Chrifl: therefore is given, 
 taken, and eaten in the Lord's Supper, after 
 an Heavenly and Spiritual Manner only : Which 
 agrees with St. Anguftines way of explaining 
 ^ohn vi. 57. In his Treatife de Do5lrina 
 Chriftiana^ he lays down feveral Rules for the 
 right Underftanding of Scripture. Among 
 Others he lays down this : " If, lays he, the 
 '^ Speech be a Precept forbidding fome heinous 
 " Wickednels or Crime, or commanding us to 
 " do Good, it is not Figurative ; but if it feem 
 '' to command any heinous Wickednefs or 
 ^' Crime, or to forbid that which is profitable 
 '^ and beneficial to others, it is Figurative. 
 ^"^ For Example, Except ye eat the Vlejlo of the 
 '^ Son of Man^ and drink his Bloody ye have no 
 •^ Life in you : This feems to command a 
 '^ heinous Wickednefs and Crime , therefore it is 
 " a Figure commanding us to communicate 
 '' of the Pailion of our Lord • and with De- 
 ^^ light and Advantage to lay up in our Me° 
 ^' m.ory, that his Flefh was crucified and 
 ^ ^^ wounded for us *. " 
 
 4: Epifb. 65. * Lib. 3. c. 16. 
 
 See N<?T57£/ii Cat. p. 1 5-0. Jnve/'s Def. Apol. Part II. c. 15. 
 div. I. and Reply, Art- 5-, 10, 2j-, 26. Rubrick after the 
 Communion Service. Mafon de Min. Angl. Book V. c. 6, 
 Tillotfon's Difcourfe againft Tranfubruntiation. 
 
 The 
 
Thirty 'Nine Articles. 66 1 
 
 The Mean whereby the Body of Chrift is Art.xxviii. 
 received and eaten in the Lord's Supper, is V^^'YN^, 
 Faith. For fince our Saviour hath faid, John 
 vi. 53. Except: ye eat the Flejh of the Son of 
 Man, and drink his Bloody ye ha^ve no Life in 
 you: And fince he faith, ver. 47. that he that 
 belienjeth on him^ hath everlajiing Life 3 'tis 
 manifeft that Faith is the Mean whereby the 
 Body of Chrift is eaten 4^. i, 
 
 As to the laft Sentence of this Article, 
 which relates to referving, carrying about, lift- 
 ing up, and worfhipping the Lord's Supper; 
 'tis true, as the Article afferts, that all this is no 
 Part of Chrift's Ordinance, who, when he in- 
 ftituted the Lord's Supper, faid, ^ake^ eat^ 
 drink '^ h tit not keep ^ carry ah out ^ &c. || 
 
 4: See Homily on the Sacrament. Part I. Nowelli Cat. p. 
 77, ij-o. Jewel's Def. Apol. Part II. c. 15. div. i. Bilfon 
 of Chriftian Subjedlion. Part IV. p. 5-82, (^c, 
 
 (I See Jewell Def. Apol. Part II. c. 15-. div, i. and 
 Reply, Art. VII, VIII, IX. 
 
 T t 4 Article 
 
6^4 
 
 An Expofitiofl on the 
 
 Article XXIX. 
 
 Of the Wicked J n^vhich eat not the Body 
 ofChriJi in the Ufe of the Lord's 
 Supper. 
 
 Art XXIX. %iyt SUicfectJ, anil fuel) as be Ijoiti of a liftclp 
 '<^-^^^y^\j jTaitfi, altljo' trjep »o catnallp ana DifiWp 
 
 p2efS Ul!tfj tIjCtt %tZt\) (ag ^* Auguftin 
 
 fiiitij) tijc S)aiTautcnt of tljc iSonp ana 
 TSIoot! of Clj2ill : f et III no tnife arc tljep 
 Ti^aitafeees of Cljjiff, liuttntljet totljeit 
 €oni)cmnat(onno eat antinjtnktijeg^ign 
 02 sacrament of fo g?eat a Cijing:^ 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 HIS Article is an Inference or De- 
 dudlion from the former. For fince a 
 Hvely Faith is the Mean whereby we 
 eat the Body of Chrift in the Lord's 
 it follows, that wicked Men, who 
 
 Supper I 
 have not this 
 
 Faith, cannot poilibly be Par- 
 
 takers of Chrift. And St. John tclJs us, i John 
 -3. 6. that if'ujefay that ive ha-vc Fellow fJjip with 
 hm^ and walk in Darknefs, we lye^ and do 7tot 
 the ^ruth : Bat if we walk in the Lights as he is 
 tn the Ligfjt^ we have FellowJJyip one with another^ 
 and the Blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cleanfeth 
 us from all Sin, That fuch wicked Men as 
 
 receive 
 
Thirty -'Nine Articles. 66^ 
 
 receive the Sacramental Bread and Wine, eat Art\XXIX. 
 and drink Condemnation or Judgment to them- ^^^^f^^ 
 felves, and fm againft Chrift, by ufmg fuch 
 Things as are Holy in an unworthy Manner, 
 hath been already proved from i Cor. xi. 29. 
 under the XXVth y^rticle. 
 
 Moreover, this Article which I am now con- 
 
 fidering, which is drawn up in the very Words 
 
 of St. Attguftine in his XXYIth Treatife on 
 
 St. John^ plucks up the Dodlrine of Tranfub- 
 
 ftantiation by the Roots. For if the Elements 
 
 of Bread and Wine are changed into the Body 
 
 and Blood of Chrift, ftridly and literally fpeak- 
 
 ing, no Reafon can be afligned why wicked 
 
 Men, and even Mice, may not eat the Body of 
 
 Chrifl. Thus much they of the Church of Rome 
 
 acknowledge, and fay withal, that the Hoft, 
 
 or Sacramental Bread, by whomfoever, or 
 
 whatfbever devoured, is the Body of Chrift, as 
 
 long as any Appearance of it remains. So that 
 
 according to this Dodrine, we muft give no 
 
 Credit to what S. Paul&ith to the Cor'mthians^ 
 
 I Cor. X. £i. Te cannot drink the Ctip of the Lord, 
 
 and the Cup of Devils : Te cannot he Partakers 
 
 of the horde's ^ahle^ and of the ^ahle of Devils. 
 
 Or to what he faith Chap. xi. ver. 20. where, 
 
 fpeaking of their diforderly Communions, he 
 
 tells them, that this zvas not eating of the Lord's 
 
 Supper *. 
 
 * SeeAntoniniFlorent. Summ. Parr III. c.6. §. 3. Norpelli 
 Cat. p. If?, if4. J?i//^» of Chrillian Subjection. Part I V, 
 p,628. F/>W ot the Church. Book III. Apperxd. c. iS. 
 
 Article 
 
666 
 
 An Expofitioii on the 
 
 Article XXX, 
 
 Art. XXX. 
 
 Ofhoth KIN^S. 
 
 m)t Cup of tlje la?B is not to bt sentea to 
 tfje lap People: fo? botD t&e parts of 
 tJje ILo^U'is sacrament, by Clj?iil'g €)?- 
 Binance ann Commandment, ongijtto bz 
 numBres to all C&jifitan ^en alifee. 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 g[HAT St. P^/// faith i Cor. xl 265 
 28. about Eating the Sacra- 
 mental Bread, and Drinking the Cup 
 is addreffed to the whole Church of 
 Corinth. I have had Occafion to mention the 
 Words of this Place already, and therefore I 
 Ihall not repeat them. 
 
 Where-ever the Inflitution of the Lord's 
 
 Sapper is mentioned, there is noc the leaft Hint 
 
 that the Clergy are to receive it in one manner, 
 
 and the Laity in another. And if one Part of 
 
 this Sacrament be more neccffary than the other, 
 
 it feems to be the Cup, fmce it reprefents the 
 
 Blood of Chrift, to which Remiflion of Sins, 
 
 and our Redemption, are more often afcribed 
 
 in Scripture than to his Body. ^Tis trifling for 
 
 2 thoff 
 
Thlrty-'Nme Articles. 667 
 
 thofe of the Church of Rome to fay, that he Art. xxx. 
 
 who receives the Body of Chrift, does therewith V.>^"V*V/ 
 
 receive the Blood too , fince it appears from fb 
 
 many Places of Scripture, that it was the Defign 
 
 of our Bleffed Saviour, in this Sacrament to 
 
 reprefent his crucified Body, his Body as it was 
 
 given for us, particularly from i Cor. xi. 26. 
 
 Luke xxii. 19, 20. Now we know that when 
 
 he fuffered, his Blood was fhed, and let out of 
 
 his Body , and that to reprefent his Blood thus 
 
 feparated from his Body, the Cup was confe- 
 
 crated apart by him. He feems like wife to 
 
 have guarded defignedly againft this Piece of 
 
 Sacrilege of denying the Cup to the Laity, by 
 
 commanding that all who were prefent at the In- 
 
 ftitution of it fhould drink of it. Mat. xxvi. 27. 
 
 And Mark xiv. 23. 'tis faid, that all of them 
 
 did drink of it ; which is no where laid exprefly 
 
 of eating the Bread. 
 
 But thofe of the Church of Rome object. 
 That this is applicable to none but the Apoilles, 
 who reprefented the whole Chriftian Priefrhood 
 that was to be j and that therefore, by this 
 Argument, none but Priefts have a Right to 
 partake of the Cup. To which I reply. That 
 the fad Confequence of this will be, that the 
 Laity have no Right at all, either to the Bread 
 or the Wine, becaufe it was confefTedly the 
 fame Company that ate the one and drank the 
 other. They return. That the Apoftles were 
 Laymen when they received the Bread, but were 
 made Priefts immediately before they received 
 the Cup, by thefe Words, Do this. A fhort 
 Ordination, and a notable Argument ! But it 
 happened, that our Bleffed Saviour faid. Bo 
 this., juft as he gave them the Bread, and fpoke 
 them in one continued Sentence with, i'ake^ 
 
 Eat: 
 
66% Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXX. Eat t I'his is my Body ^ fb that whether he 
 "^^yy^^^-^ gave the Bread feverally to each of them, oi^ 
 they took it as it was upon the Table, as it is 
 faid, they divided the Qip among themfelves j it 
 cannot be fuppofed but that thofe Words Bo this^ 
 were fpoken by Chrift before the Apoftles did 
 receive the Bread, at leaft before they ate it ; 
 and fo it may be as fairly pretended, that they ate 
 the Bread as Priefts, as well as drank the Wine as 
 fuch : So that I hope it now plainly appears, 
 how far, and into what intolerable Abfurdities, 
 this fubtle and fine-fpun Hypothefis, will, if 
 it be clofely followed, unavoidably lead us. ^ 
 
 Secondly, We are told by thofe of the 
 Church of Rome J '' That the Sacrament of the 
 "^ Lord's Supper may be taken fometimes in 
 '^ one kind, fometimes in both, as it feems pro- 
 '^ per and expedient to the Church, which is 
 '^ certainly left to her Liberty, to order and 
 '^ difpofe as fhe pleafes, whenfoever the Scrip- 
 '^ ture, or Almighty God does not otherwife 
 *^ determine. " I anfwer, IVhat God hath joined 
 te^ ether let not Man put a/under. 'Tis true, this 
 Saying of our Saviour's is applied to a particular 
 Cafe of a different Nature from that before us -, 
 but then 'tis certain, that 'tis a general Propo- 
 fition, and, by Confequence, applicable to 
 whatever is within the fame Reafon and Equity. 
 But as what I have here faid fuppofes the Reverfe 
 of the Objedion to be true, and that ther^ is a 
 Command to' receive in both Kinds, I make bold 
 to affert. That the Inftitution of the Sacrament 
 is fuch a Command, as much as the Inftitution 
 of the Sabbath is to be looked upon as a Com- 
 mand toobferve it. An Inftitution and a Com- 
 mand are the very fame Thing, and differ only 
 in Sound. And as 'tis pofiible, that an Inftitu- 
 tion 
 
Thirty 'Wtne Articles. 66^ 
 
 tion or Command may confift of feveral Articles Art. XXX, 
 or Branches, fo every one of thefe is of equal V^'VXy. 
 Force and Obligation with the whole , and there- 
 fore the Church hath no more Power to keep 
 back one Part of the Lord's Supper, than fhe 
 hath to abrogate the whole of it. And if any 
 Cavil arife about the Words of the Inftitution, 
 I add, as I have obferved before, that the 
 Words of St. Paul^ i Cor. xi. 26, 27, 28. are 
 addrefled to the whole Church, and muft be 
 allowed to be an indifputable Comment upon the 
 Words of our BlefTed Saviour, which he recites 
 in this very Chapter. In the 27th Verfe of 
 this Chapter, Monfieur Boileau^ and the 
 Author of a Book intitled, ACathoUck Anfwer 
 to Mr. Barrct'.f Sermon^ would gladly find fome- 
 thing for either eating or drinking, without 
 doing both , which is luch a Shift and Cavil, as 
 nothing would make a Man catch at, but fuch 
 a defperate Caufe as hath nothing elfe to be faid 
 for it : If the Particle, w, cr, were ufed in that 
 Place inftead of ^^ and, yet he has but little 
 Skill either in Greek or Latin Authors, who 
 knows not that it is the commoneft Thing in 
 both, to ufe that Disjunctive for a Copulative; 
 as, to Abraham or his S^ed, for to Abraham and 
 his Seed, Kom. iv. 13. Of which it were eafy 
 to give innumerable Inftances, both in the Bible 
 and profane Hiftory : The Apoftle having ufed 
 the Copulative in all other Verfes, and all along 
 in this Chapter ; and having joined eating and 
 drinking, cannot be fuppofed here to ufe a DiC- 
 jundive, and to feparate them ; but after all, 
 there are Copies of as great Credit and Autho- 
 rity for the Particle «^, and^ as for », or, though 
 I think no fuch Weight bears upon the Dif- 
 ference of thefe Particles, as to make it worth 
 our while to examine them 1 for if the Apoftles 
 
 did 
 
67 o -^;/ Expolition on the 
 
 Art. XXX. did disjoin them, it was only to lay a greater 
 "^yy^^ Emphafis upon the Guilt of unworthy eating 
 and drinking, which though they both go to- 
 gether, yet are both very great Sins, and 
 I fee no manner of Confequence, that becaufe 
 a Man may both eat and drink unworthily, that 
 therefore he fhould only eat, and not drink 
 at all ^ or that the Apoftles fuppofed it lawful 
 to eat without drinking, or drink without 
 eating. In a Word, the next Verfe, But let 
 a Man examine himfelf^ &c. is liable to no fuch 
 little Piece of Criticifm, and not only clears 
 the Point, and fe.ttles it on our Side of the 
 Queftion, but likewife exhibits a Command 
 for receiving in both Kinds. Here likewife we 
 have a Key to let us into the Meaning of all 
 thofe Places in the Ads of the Apoftles, where- 
 in 'tis faid of the firft Converts to Chriftianity, 
 that they continued in breaking of Bread, and 
 in Prayer, and in breaking of Bread from 
 Houle to Houfe, and that they came together 
 on the firft Day of the Week, to break Bread, 
 ch. ii. 42, 46. and ch. xx. 7. By a ufual Synec- 
 doche both eating and drinking are included in 
 the Phrafe of breaking of Bread , as in Ifaiab 
 Iviii. 7. and Lament, iy. 4. and Luke xiv. i. 
 And Boileau, Monfieur de Meaux^ and Valentia^ 
 do agree. That the Pricfts ought always to 
 confecrate the Eucharift in both Kinds ; and 
 Bellarmine owns. That the taking of both 
 Species is neceftary to the Priefts that confe- 
 crate*. So that the Argument which the 
 Komanifts fetch from thofe Places in the A^s^ 
 
 * See Boileflu {!e Com. ftil> utraque fpccie, p. 207, Monfieur 
 ile Meaux, on the fame Subjedl, p. 182. Valenua de ufu 
 Sacrum, c. 1 3 . Bellarmine de Each, c. 4. 
 
 19 
 
Tbirty-'lSline Articles. 671 
 
 is too high charged, and recoils upon them- Art. xxx. 
 
 felves. I ihall conclude this Part of the Argu- ^^^^V>^ 
 
 ment with the Words of St. Cyprian^ in his 63d 
 
 Epiftle, which I fhall prefently quote more at 
 
 large. They relate, indeed, immediately to 
 
 thoie who were for omitting the Wine in the 
 
 Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and ufing 
 
 Water in the Room of it , but they are fo 
 
 generally exprefled, that it will be far from 
 
 being impertinent to make ufe of them in this 
 
 Place, and upon this Occafion. '' But if it be 
 
 '^ not lawful to loofe any one of the leaft Com- 
 
 '^ mands of Chrift, how much more is it not 
 
 ^^ lawful to infringe fo great and fo weighty 
 
 '' ones ? and fuch as the very Sacrament of our 
 
 ^' Lord's Paflion, and our Redemption, and 
 
 *^ to change it by Human Inftitution, into 
 
 '' quite another Thing, than what it is by 
 
 " Divine Inftitution ? " 
 
 J US^IN MAK ^TR, fpeaking of the Man-^ 
 ner of receiving the Lord's Supper in his Time, 
 hath thefe Words : " Afterwards there are 
 '^ brought to him that prefides among the Bre- 
 " thren. Bread, and a Cup of Water, and 
 " Wine and Water. And he having taken 
 them, gives Praife and Glory to God, the 
 '^ Father of all Men, in the Name of the Son, 
 '^ and of the Holy Ghoft : And gives hearty 
 '^ Thanks to God, becaufe he hath vouchfafed 
 '^ to receive thel'e Things at our Hands. Having 
 " made an end of his Prayers and Thankl^ 
 giving, all the People that are preient praife 
 God, faying Ajnen, The chief Minifter 
 having thus given Thanks, and all the People 
 having praiied God, fuch as are among us 
 called Deacons, give to every one preient 
 '' fomc of the Euchariftical or Sacramental 
 
 '' Bread, 
 
67 1 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXX. " Bread, and Wine and Water, that they may 
 ^^^^^r^J " receive it ^. " 
 
 cc 
 
 Take care, faith Ignatius^ to ufe one 
 Eucharift : For there is but one Body of our 
 Lord Jefus Chrift ; and one Cup according 
 to the Unity of his Blood t- " 
 
 "The Baptifm of faving Water, faith 
 St. Cyprian^ is but once received, and is 
 repeated no more -, but the Cup of the Lord 
 is always thirfted after, and drank in his 
 
 Church. Since we make mention of his 
 
 Paffion in all our Sacrifices (for the Paflion 
 of our Lord is the Sacrifice that we offer) we 
 ought to do nothing but what he did. For 
 the Scripture faith. For as often as ye eat this 
 Breads and drink this Cup^ ye do fkiew the 
 
 Lord's Death till he come. ■ For to fhew 
 
 forth the Juftification and the Teftament of 
 our Lord, and not to do the fame which the 
 Lord hath done ; what is it, but a cafting his 
 Sayings behind our Backs, and defpifing the 
 Lord's Difcipline, and a committing not 
 Earthly, but Spiritual Thefts and Adulteries ; 
 fmce he that fteals from the Truth of the 
 Gofpel fuch Words as our Lord hath fpoken, 
 and fuch Fads as he hath done, corrupts and 
 adulterates the Divine Precepts. And again. 
 How do we teach or encourage thofe who are 
 to fight Chrift's Battles, to fpend their Blood 
 in the Confeflion of his Name, if, when they 
 are going to engage, we deny them the Blood 
 ^' of Chrift ? Or how fhall we make them fit for 
 
 Apol. 1. c. 8f. 
 Epifl. ai Philad- 
 
 " the 
 
Thirty- Nine Articles, 67 f 
 
 the Cup of Martyrdom, if we do not before Art. xxx. 
 *' admit them to drink the Cup of the Lord in V^^Wy^i 
 " the Church which they have a Right to par= 
 '' take of?" + 
 
 cc 
 
 t Epift. 63. 
 
 See Nowelli Cat. p. 149. ye-beh Def. A^ol. Part 11, 
 c. 12. div. 5. and Reply, Art. II. Difcourfe of Communion 
 in one Kind. Hammond's Pradt. Cat. Book VI. §. 4. Bilfon 
 of Chriftian Subj. Part IV. p. 494. Field of the Church. 
 Append, to the 3d Book, p. 193, Archbp, ff^^^'s Expofitionr 
 on the Catechifm, §. 47. 
 
 u« 
 
 Artici* 
 
074 
 
 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Article XXXI. 
 
 Of the one Oblation of Chrijt Jiniflo d 
 upon the Crofs. 
 
 f ^i^^; %l)t mttm of Cfj^ffl once tttanej i$ tfiat 
 ^-^^^^^ perfect Eeccmpttan, l^^opittatioit, auD 
 S)atiSfactian fo2 al! tlje S ing of tfie toljdie 
 £Oo?I5, botlj ©^ttitnal snu actual-, ano 
 tljece IS none ^attstacticn fo? &m but 
 t&at alone* iieifjerefo^e tfjc j^acnfices of 
 S0aUm in tlje Mjtclj it toag commonly 
 faio, tljat tl}e p^ieff Bia offer eij^tff fo? 
 tfie Cluicfe ana tije Dears, to f)UU Eemif^ 
 fion of patn oj iJDUtft, tuere biafpfjemous 
 jfabieg, ano nanffetous Deceits. 
 
 The ExPosiTio n. .• 
 
 HE Author of the Epiftle to the 
 Hebrews tells us, rhap. x. lo. that we 
 are fan^itfied through the Suffering of 
 the Body of Jefus Chrift once for all. 
 St. Ignatius tells us f, that the Suffering of Chrift 
 is our Refurrec^lion. Irenceus §, that 'tis one 
 and the fame Jefus Chrift, the Son of God^ 
 
 f EpiiL ad Smyr, 
 §• Lib. 3.' c. 18. 
 
 who 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 675 
 
 who by his Paflion hath reconciled us to God ; Art. xxxt. 
 
 and that he hath truly faved us. And again, ^.y^y^^ 
 
 that for this Caufe Chrift died, that the Tetla- 
 
 ment of the Gofpel being open to, and read by 
 
 the whole World, might firft make thofe free 
 
 who were in Bondage, and afterwards make them 
 
 Heirs of fuch Things as were his ||. 
 
 Since then the Oflfering which Chrift made 
 upon the Crofs was fufficient, what Occafion is 
 there for any more } And indeed, the Author 
 of the Epiftle to the Hebrews^ in the 26th Vcrfe 
 of the Chapter before-mentioned, ipeaking of 
 Apoftates from Chriftianity, fiith, that there 
 remained no further Sacrifice for Sin\ after they 
 had renounced the great Sacrifice he had been 
 ipeaking of. 
 
 And further. If Chrifl himfelf be truly offered 
 in the Mafs, it follows, that he is alfo fiain again, 
 which is fhocking and abfurd to iuppofe : For then 
 miift he often have fttffered fince the Foundation of the 
 World 5 but now once in the End of the IVorld^ 
 hath he appeared to put away Sin by the Sacrifice ■■ 
 of himfelf^ Heb. ix. 26. 'Tis likewife a necel^ 
 fary Confequence of this DocTtrine, that the 
 Blood of Chrift is often fhed, which is likewife 
 fhocking to fuppofe 3 for we are told, ver. 22. 
 of this Chapter, that without fljedding of Blood 
 there is no Kemtffion, St. Cyprian ^ hath indeed 
 thefe Words, " We make mention of his 
 " (Chrift's) PafTion in all our Sacrifices ; for 
 the Paffion of the Lord is the Sacrifice that 
 we offer." And we do not deny, but that in 
 
 I) Lib. f. c. 9. 
 * Epift. 63, 
 
 U u 2 a large 
 
676 
 
 Art.XXXI. 
 
 Jn Expofitioii 072 the 
 
 a large Senfe, the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper may be called a Sacrifice ; as the Bread 
 and Wine may be called the Body and Blood 
 of Chrift. But that this Sacrament is a true and 
 proper Sacrifice, as thofe of the Church of 
 Rome define the Mafs to be, is altogether falfe 
 and blafphemous, becaufe it afcribes that to a 
 Prieft, which the Scriptures have afcribed to 
 Chrift alone , and dangerous, becaufe it tends 
 to make Men believe that Chrift is often offered, 
 and dies daily, and that he is offered by a Prieft : 
 Which Proportions are, as I have fhewn, 
 diredtly contrary to Scripture. 
 
 I N fbort, the Mafs, or Sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper, is nothing elfe but a perpetual, 
 Iblemn, and facred Memorial of Chrift's dying 
 for us • that as often as we come to the Lord's 
 Table, and there join in the Celebration of this 
 Holy Sacrament, we might be moved, by what 
 is there done, at once both to call to our Remem- 
 brance all the Paffages of his Paflion (to con- 
 fider him as there iet forth crucified before our 
 Eyes) and to meditate upon the Love of Chrift 
 thus dying for us, and upon the mighty Bene- 
 fits and Advantages which have accrued to us 
 thereby • and have our Hearts affeded after a 
 f jitable manner towards him. * 
 
 * Sec Archbp. F/akes Expofition on the Church Catechifm, 
 §* 46. Norveili Cat. p. iji, 15-;. Ma/on de Mm. Ang.l, 
 lib. 5*. Vottcr of Church Government, c. j*. §• 4. JerpeVs 
 Reply, Art. XVII. Frulemx Fafc. Cont. c. 6. q. 6. Biifai 
 of Chriilian Subj. Part IV. p, yoy. Jieid of the Church. 
 Append, to the 3d Book, p. 203, 33^-. Btukmdge of Kneel- 
 ing r»t the Communion, p. 47. 
 
 Article 
 
A N 
 
 J PP E N DIX 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 O N THE 
 
 Thirty - Firft Article. 
 
 H E Sacrifice of the Mafs is fb Appendix to 
 material a Pare of the Romljh ^^^' ^^'^^• 
 Religion, and carries with it a ^^^^^'V>ci/ 
 Notion, fo pleafing to the cor- 
 rupt Inclinations of Men, and is 
 withal, a Means to procure an 
 immenfe, and conftantly increafmg Treafure, 
 for the Support and Maintenance of the Cler- 
 gy of that Communion, that there is no Error 
 whatfoever, that can reafonably be fuppofed 
 to be retained with more Obftinacy, and given 
 lap with greater Unwillingnefs than this. And 
 therefore it may not be improper to confider 
 and anfwer, what our Adverfaries bring from 
 
 Scrip- 
 
ii An Expofition on the 
 
 'Appendix Scripture for the Sacrifice of the Mafs, con" 
 Art. XXXI ^^^^^^ ^^ ^ ^"^^^ ^^^^ proper Sacrifice, as well as 
 \^^^/^ys^' to offer thofe Places of Scripture that are di- 
 rectly contrary to it, and do, in our Judgment, 
 perfectly overthrow it. Firft, then they go 
 back as far as Genefis for it, and if they can 
 find it there, they will prove it to be very 
 primitive and ancient indeed ^ but where ever 
 they meet with Bread and Wine, which are 
 Things of very great Antiquity, they refolve 
 to make a Sacrifice of them ^ efpecially, if 
 there be but a Prieft by, who hath the Power 
 of Confecrating, for they fuppofe, he muft 
 prefently fall to his Office, and put on his f-Ja- 
 ' bit, if Bread and Wine beb?forehim i, and that 
 he cannot, like other Men, eat and drink them 
 as his ordinary Food, or entertain his Friends 
 and others with them ^ except, he not only 
 religioufly blefs them by Prayer and Thankf- 
 givirg, v^hich every good Man ought to do, 
 and it was the Cuftom even of the Heathens 
 to do this before Eating, but he mufl facrifice 
 and offer them up to God. This they will needs 
 have Melchifedeck do in the fourteenth Chap- 
 ter of Genefis^ and the eighteenth Verfe, Mel- 
 chifedeclij King of SaUm^ brought forth Bread and 
 Wine^ and he was a Prlefi- of the mofl high God. 
 What is there here to fhew, that Melchifedeck 
 offered Bread and Wine, as a Sacrifice to God ? 
 The very Word in their own vulgar Latin^ an- 
 fwering to the Hebrew is Frotulity he brought 
 forthy not Ohtulity he offered *, and if it were the 
 latter, could not he offer Bread and Wine to 
 Abraham and his Company upon a Table, but 
 muft it necefrarily be to God upon an Altar? 
 Abraham with his Three hundred and eighteen 
 trained Servants, had been by i^ight purfuing 
 thofe, who had taken away his Brother Lot 
 
 Captive, 
 
Thirty-Nme Articles. iii 
 
 Captive, and when they were thus very weary Appendix 
 and hungry, Melchlfedecky holpitably and l<ind- * ^ ^^xr 
 ly entertained them with Provifion to refrelh i/-vr>^' 
 them, and Ivought forth Bread and Wine to 
 them ^ thus it lies in the facred Hiftory and 
 Context, and thus Jofephus ^ relates it, and 
 there is not the leaft mention or Intimation - 
 of any Sacrifice, as Cajetan f owns upon the 
 Place, and fo do many of their own Authors, 
 whom Poftevine ^ the Jefuit takes upon him to 
 correO: for it. Bellarmine indeed, as if he had 
 been by at the Entertainment, and been one 
 of Abraham's Soldiers ; tells us, they had eaten 
 and drank very well before^ and therefore de- 
 lires Melchlfedeck to excufe them, for they had 
 no need of his Bread and Wine at that Tim^ $, 
 and yet in the fame Place owns, that thele 
 were given to Abraham and his Companions 
 for Food I, but that they were juft offered to 
 God, and then given to them to partake of 
 them as of a Sacrifice : But why were they 
 given as Food, if they had no need of Food } 
 Did Adelchifedeck know they had eaten ? Or 
 does the Scripture fay fo ? Or might not he 
 treat them as a King, tho* they had Yiduals 
 of their own? How does Bellarmine know they 
 were firft facrificed, when there is not the leaft 
 Word of that ? Why, it is faid that he was a 
 Priefl of the mofb high God, therefore it is 
 likely he facrificed, why elfe ihould that be 
 added ? It was added becaufe it was Ic), or 
 becaufe, as it immediately follows, he blejfed 
 
 f Nihil hie icribitur de Sacrilicio. Cajetaa. in Gen. xiv. 
 
 4: Biblioth. L. 4* c. 13. 
 
 § Bellarm. de MifT.l. i.e. 6. D. 
 
 4 Ibidem. 
 
 [ ^ ] Ahraham'^ 
 
iv An Expofition on the 
 
 Appendix Abraham.^ and Ahrahayn gave him tythes of all 
 Art. xxXv.^^"^ Sfo'ds^ ver. 19,20. This is more likely than 
 \^jry>^ becauie he facriliced, for there is no mention 
 of that as of the other, and 'tis not laid he 
 Wcaght forth Bread and Wine, becauie he 
 was the Prieft of the high God, 'tis only a 
 coi)janO:ive Particle, andy he was, and not a 
 Caufal/or. It is faid alfo in the fame Place, 
 that he was King of Salem, and why might not 
 his Entertainment of Abraham, be as he was 
 a King, becaufe he is faid there to be a King, 
 as well as a Prieft > and yet, I fuppofe, a Prieft 
 may be faid to treat hJs Friends, as another 
 Man without officiating then as a Prieft, tho' 
 lie b3 called a Prieft. Why Bcllarmlne ikouli 
 cite any Fathers for his Opinion, I cannot 
 imagine, ftnce the oldeft of them are at fo 
 great a Diftance from the Times of Melchlfe- 
 decJi, that they could no more know what Mel- 
 chifedeck did at that Time, than we can now, 
 and they are very improper WitnefTes of a 
 Matter of Fact that was fo long ago, which 
 nothing but the Scripture Iliftory can give us 
 any Account of, to which it is not only pre- 
 carious, but rafh to add any of our own 
 Gue-ffes and ConjeO:ures •, however, tho' fome 
 of the Fathers do by Way of Figure and AI- 
 lufion, make this Bread and Wine of Melchi^ 
 fedecky to relate to the facramental Bread and 
 Wine, as they make Manna, and feveral other 
 Things, which were not Sacrifices, yet none 
 apply it to the Sacrifice of the Maf^, nor 
 could they well do it, ftnce they believed no 
 fuch Thing in the Senfe which we are now 
 oppofing. But not to enter into fo large a 
 Field of Controverfy as this is, in which, 
 confidering the Bulk which this Treatife is 
 alieady fwelled to, I m.ay peihaps tire both 
 
 the 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. v 
 
 the Reader and ray felf before we can find our Appendix- 
 Way out of it \ let us fuppofe, that AJeUhl- , ^^ 
 
 ------ - Art. X> 
 
 fedeck did facrifice Bread and^VVine ^ what Ser-^'"'"- ^^^^• 
 
 vice will this do to the Sacrifice ot the Mafs ? 
 The Priefts do not there lacrifice Bread and 
 Wine according to this myftical Type, nor 
 did Melchifedeck fure cffar up Chrifi's Body 
 and Blood under the Species of his Bread and 
 Wine *, if we allow all that can be begged 
 and defired, that Melchifedeck did facrifice, and 
 that this his Sacrifice was a Type and Figure 
 of another Sacrifice, why may not that be of 
 the Sacrifice of the Crofs, which is the true 
 and only proper Chriftian Sacrifice, when 
 Chrift the Bread of Life was offered up unto 
 God for us > So that there is no NeceiTity to 
 bring in the Sacrifice of the Mafs, to cora- 
 pleat and anfwer this Figure, were there any 
 Thing in it befides Guefs and Fancy, v/hich I 
 fee no Manner of Reafon to believe there is, - " 
 iince there is nothing to countenance it in the 
 New Tefiament ^ and 'tis very prefumptuous 
 and ungrounded to make any thing a true Type, 
 or to have a typical Meaning farther than God's 
 Spirit, which alone could know this, hath given 
 us Warrant to do it by P.evelation. Yet with- 
 out any fuch Ground doth BelUrmine ^, and 
 the Council of Trent f , make this to be the 
 Notion of Chrifl's being a Prie/l, after the 
 Order of Melchifedec'ky that he was to offer up 
 a vifible and unbloody Sacrifice of Bread and 
 Wine, and to appoint others to do this for 
 ever ^ whereas the Scripture makes Chrift to 
 be a Prieft after the Order of Melchifedeck^ noC 
 
 * DeMifH L. I. c,6, 
 t Seir.(>. c. I. 
 
 [ 2 2 ] upon 
 
vi An Expofitioii on the 
 
 Appendix upoii any fuch Account : For the Author to 
 ^^ the Hebrews^ makes not the lead mention of 
 ^^JXSP^- this in his large Difcourfe of this Matter ^^ 
 ^^^^*^ but in his having no PredeceiTor, nor no Suc- 
 ceifor in his Priefthood, as Melckfedeck is re- 
 prefented in Scripture, without any Account 
 of his Family or Genealogy, without Father, 
 without Mother, without Defcent, Heb. vii. 3. 
 And in the Excellency of that in general, 
 above the im^er^ediu^aronical Triefthood^ and in 
 the Eternity and Immutability oi: it, becaufe 
 he continueth for ever, and hath an unchange- 
 able Priefthood, ver, 24. How little the Mel- 
 chifedehan Prielthood of Chrift, upon which 
 they lay fo much Strefs, will ferve the Pur- 
 pofe of the Mafs-Sacrifice, nay, how contrary 
 'tis to it, I iliall endeavour to manifefl in a few 
 Particulars. 
 
 First then, Chrift, it is plain, did offer up 
 to God not an unbloody, but a bloody Sacri- 
 fice upon the Crofs •, I ask whether he did 
 this according to his Melchlfedelian Priefthood > 
 If he did, then Melchifedeck probably a Prieft 
 of the High God, might offer the bloody Sa- 
 crifices of living Creatures •, and if he were 
 Shenij the eldeft Son of Noahj as is fairly con- 
 jectured by learned Men, he might learn this 
 of his Frthei-, who after the Flood, built an 
 jiltar unto the Lord^ and took of every clean Beafiy 
 and of every dean Fowl^ and offered burnt Offerings 
 on the Altar ^ Gen. viii. 20. But then, how will 
 this be reconciled with what our Adverfaries 
 pretend, that it was the Power and peculiar 
 Office of Melchifcdcck^ to offer the pure and 
 
 4 Keb. V. 7. 
 
 unbloody 
 
Tbirty-Nme Articles. vii 
 
 unbloody Sacrifice of Bread and Wine ? And Appendix 
 that according to that, the Roman Priefts are ^^ 
 
 to do that, and that Chrift did that at his^^^^S^* 
 laft Supper. Chrift's Prieflhood was the fame^^^^"^' 
 at his Supper and upon the Crofs ^ if he a£]:- 
 ed therefore as a Prieil: oi Mdchifedecl in one, 
 he did fo in both. Secondly, The Scripture 
 mentions no Ad: or Office of Melchlfe deck's 
 Priefthood but in bleiling Abraham^ Gen. xiv. 
 1 8, 19. Melchijedecky King of Salem j brought forth 
 Bread and Wlne^ and he was the Priefi of the mo(I- 
 high Gody and he hie (fed him, and f aid ^ Bleffcd he. 
 Abraham of the mo ft- high Gody which hath delivered 
 thine Enemies into thine Hand. And this the Author 
 to the Hebrews takes particular Islotice of, cha^, 
 viuver, I. and this anfwers to what St. Peter 
 fays of Chrift after his Refurredion, God 
 having raifed up his Son fefus^ fsnt him to hlefs 
 ycuy Atlsm. 25. Which general Word of Blef- 
 fmg may include in it whatever is done for 
 us by Chrift's Priefthood after his Pve(urre£lion, 
 particularly his praying and interceding to 
 God for us. Had it. been any Part of Chrift's 
 Melchifedehan Priefthood to offer up Bread and 
 Wine, much more had it wholly confifted in 
 this \ *tis ftrange the Apoftle, in a fet and 
 large Difcourfe of this, ftiould not fpe^k one 
 Word, nor take the leaft Is'otice olr it. Third- 
 ly, Chrift is to have none to fucceed him in 
 his Melchifedehan Priefthood, but he was him- 
 felf to remain a Prieft for ever ^ the Author 
 to the Hebrews makes this Diilerence between 
 the Aaromcal Priefts and Chrift, that tney 
 were to llicceed one another, and they tru- 
 ly were many Priefts, becaufe they were not 
 fuffered to continue by Reafon of Death. 
 Heb. vii. 23. but Chrift was an immortal, and 
 fo a perpetual Prieft ^ but this Man, becaufe 
 he continueth ever, h?th an unchangegible 
 [ ^ 3 ] Priefthood, 
 
viii An Eipofition Q7i the 
 
 Appendix prleflhood, mr. 24. dTet^^.^aivy hfeomvm, a Priefl:- 
 Ar ^xxxi ^^^^ ^^^^ pafTes net to others, but is ever 
 iy"\i^s7 fixM and appropriate to his own Perlon, and 
 he is made a Priefi: after the Power of an 
 endlefs Life, 'ver. id. That which belongs then 
 to Chri/1", as he is an immortal Prieft, and con- 
 tinueth ever, and hath none to fucceed him, 
 that it is which conftitutes his Melchifedekian 
 Priefihood ^ and what that is the Apoftle plain- 
 ly informs us ii the very next Verfe to thofe 
 I have quoted, feeing he ever Iheth to make Inter- 
 cejfior/for us, ver. 24. Chrift's interceding with 
 God by Yertue of his Sacriiice upon the Crofs, 
 and ?tppearing in Pleaven in the Prefence of 
 God lor lis, and there prefenting his Sacri- 
 fice to his Father, and powerfully mediating 
 on our Behalf^ th^'s is the proper unchangea- 
 ble, eternal, intranfitive Melchifedekian Priefl- 
 hood, and 'tis great Arrogance for any to pre- 
 tend to fliare with him, or to ilicceed him, 
 therefore, in his proper Prieflhood, and to 
 call themfelves, as the Romanifts do, Priefts 
 after the Order of Melchifedeck^ when none 
 but Chrifl is ib. This his Prieithood is not 
 committed to any upon Earth, but is to be for 
 ever executed in Heaven by himfeif, and he hath 
 left none to be proper Priefts in this Senfe, but 
 only to be Minifters of this great High Prieft, 
 in performing fome lelTer, tho' peculiar Offices 
 proper to them, as the Levites under the Jewilh 
 Difpenfation had their proper Work, tho' they 
 were not proper Priefts, 
 
 The next Thing they produce out of Scripture 
 for the Sacrifice of the Mafs, is, the Pafchal 
 Lamb, which they will needs have to be a Fi- 
 gure of the Eucharifl, and fnice that was a Sa- 
 crifice, therefore the Eucharift, which was fi- 
 gured by it, ought to be lb too : Now thefe figu- 
 rative 
 
Thirty -Wine x^r tides. ix 
 
 rative Arguments, tho^ they help to make fome Appendix 
 Show, as they are dreft out by Fancy, yet they vv-vt 
 
 have generally this Fault, that they P/'o^e^^^^^^ 
 either too much or too little, and fo either 
 ihoot over the Mark, or fall a great deal 
 Jhort of it, but feldom hit it. The Pafchal 
 Lamb, and the Eucharift, the Chriilian Paf- 
 fover, do agree in this, that they are both 
 folemn and religious Rites, commemorative 
 of a great Deliverance, and that they are 
 both flicred and myftical Feafts, wherein fome- 
 thing is to be eaten with Joy and Thank ful- 
 nefs, and our Saviour inftltuted one to fuc- 
 ceed and take Place of the other *, in thefe 
 Particulars they fuit, and have an agreeable 
 Analogy with one another ^but Figures are like 
 Circles, which may touch one another in fome 
 Points, but not in all, for if we go any farther, 
 they will neceiTarily divide and differ. The 
 Pafchal Lamb was to be eaten but once a Year, 
 the Eucharift much oftener ; thM was a Feaft 
 of vilible and folid Flefh, the Eucharift only 
 of Bread and Wine ^ or if there be any Flefh, 
 'tis inviiible, and as like Bread and ^A^ine as 
 can be •, however, this is the Flefh, according 
 to our Adverfaries of a living Man, that of 
 a dead and roafced Lamb, this is not to be flain, 
 but eaten whole and alive, the other was ^ 
 and therefore why may v/e not add, to go no 
 further, this is no proper Sacrifice, that pro- 
 bably was, for it is not pafl: Qu eft ion, whe- 
 ther it was or no ; but yet fuch a Sacrifice 
 as was offered without a Prieft by every Ma- 
 fter of a Family ? And if the Eucharifl were 
 to agree with it in this, the Priefts would Icfe 
 a great deal of their Defign in making it a 
 Sacrifice, for then, without their Affiftance, 
 every Houfe-keeper would offer it himfelf ^ 
 [ ^ 4 ] beiideSj 
 
to 
 Art. XXXI. 
 
 An Expofition on the 
 
 Appendix befideSj the Pafchal Lamb was not a propi- 
 tiatory Sacrifice, I prefume for the Quick and 
 Dead, fo then, in Correfpondence to that, nei- 
 ther is the Sacrifice of the Mafs, but only an 
 Eucharil^ick one ^ but af:er all, the Pafchal 
 Lamb was not truly a Type and Figure of the 
 Eucharift, but of Chrift crucified, fo fiith 
 St. Pjiul exprefly, Chrifi our Tajfo'ver is /acrifi&ed for 
 iiSy I Cor, V. 7, and that not, I fuppofe, in the 
 Sacrament, but upon the Crofs, the Pafchal Fl- 
 gure was fulfilled^ fays their own JanfenluSy 
 when our true PaiTover Chrift was immola- 
 ted ^. And to fhew how exad a Figure he 
 then bare of the Pafchal Lamb, a Bone of him 
 was mt to he broken '{-, as it was not likewife of 
 that Exod. xii. 46. and this exprefly remarked, 
 that the Scripture might be fulfilled ^. The Sa- 
 crifice of the Pafchal Lamb, and theother Jewifh 
 Sacrifices, wherein Atonement was made for 
 Sin by fhedding of Blood, without which, 
 under the Law, there was to be no Remiilion, 
 were all, as the Apofile fays. Shadows of good 
 Things to corne §, and Types of the more per- 
 fed Sacrifice of Chrift upon the Crols, who 
 was the Lamb fain in Types and Figures j as well 
 as in Defign and. Intent ion ^ from the Beginning of 
 the World. And 1 cannot but think, that from 
 hence arofe the univerlal Cuftom of facrificing 
 in all Religions over all the World, from au 
 original Tradition of the Sacrifice of Chrifr, 
 and out of a primary Regard and Refped to 
 that •, for I cannot imagine what elfe ihould 
 
 * Impleta erat figura Paichatis quando verum noflrum 
 Pafcha immolatus eft. Janlen. Harmon, c. 131. fol, S^^f. 
 f John xix. 33. 
 ^ ver. 36. 
 § Heb. XX. J. 
 
 be 
 
Art. XXXr. 
 
 Thtrty-Nme Articles. xi 
 
 be the Reafbn, or give Rife to expiatory Sacri- Appendix 
 fices, and be the true Caufe of lb general a ^^ ^^ 
 Pradice. But that any of rhele Sacrifices had 
 Relation to the Eucharift, or were intended 
 as Figures of that, is very precarious and un- 
 grounded : ThofeEuchariftical Sacrifices indeed, 
 in which, Part ofwhat was offered, was eaten 
 by the Offerers, or in Holocaufts, when the 
 whole was confumed, where a Peace-Offering 
 was joined with them, which the Sacrificers uled 
 to feaft and partake of, as a Toke:i of their 
 Peace and Reconciliation with God ^ thefe 
 may fairly relate and have fome Refpe^t to, 
 or at leaft Refemblance with the Eucharifl-, 
 which is a Kind of facrificial Feaft, or facra- 
 mental Feeding upon an Ohlatumy Chrift's Body 
 and Blood offered for us upon the Crofs ^ but 
 that they were Types of this, is more than 
 we can be allured of^ for a Type is a Sign or 
 Figure appointed and defigned by God, to fig- 
 nify and mark out fuch a Thing, and we 
 cannot know that God appoints or deiigns any 
 fuch Thing, further than we have fbme Ground 
 from Scripture and Revelation, and therefore 
 we muft reftrain typical Matters within thofe 
 Bounds, and muft not let Fancy loofe, to make 
 what Types it pieafes. There may be fome 
 Similitude and Likenefs, by which one Thing 
 may be compared with another, without its 
 being a Type or a Figure of it, as Ju(lln 
 Martyr^ in his Dialogue with Tryfho the Jew, 
 calls ^^ the Meat-Offering of fine Flower, which 
 " the Leper was to bring for his cleanfing, 
 ** Lev. iv. lo. an Image or Likenefs of the 
 *' Euchariftical Bread, which Chrift our Lord 
 ^^ appointed to be brought in Remembrance 
 ^' of his Paliion, whereby our Souls are clean - 
 ^[ led from Sin and Wickednefs, and that we 
 
 " may 
 % 
 
xii An Expofition on the 
 
 Appendix *^ may hereby give Thanks to God the Crea- 
 
 XXXI *^ ^^^ " ^' ^^ ^^-^^^ ^^^ makes the Eucharift to 
 ^^J^yr%^' anfwer the Analogy of that Meat -Offering 
 in three Things, in the Oblation of Bread, and 
 this in Commemoration of Chrift's Pailion, 
 whereby we are delivered from Sin, and as 
 a Thankfgiving to God ^ and in all thefe it 
 doth very well correfpond with it, tho' that 
 it was ftridly a Type of this, and fo intended 
 byjGod, is ftill to be queftioned • and he that 
 is acquainted with the Fathers, and their alle- 
 gorical Way of explaining Scripture, and ap- 
 plying all Things in the Old Teftament to 
 Matters in the New, will have great Reafon 
 to doubt, whether they did not give too much 
 Scope to their Fancy in many Things, and 
 whether folid Arguments may be drawn from 
 all their allegorical Difcourfes and Applica- 
 tions \ but yet none of them, that I know of, 
 do make any of the antient propitiatory Sacri- 
 fices, to be Types and Figures of the Eucha- 
 rift, but of the Sacrifice of the Crofs ; how- 
 ever, if they ihould do this by lome remote 
 Allufion, and partial Refemblance, yet not as 
 it is a proper Sacrifice or truly propitiatory, 
 therefore not at all to the Purpofe of the Sa- 
 crifice of the Mafs. 
 
 The Prophecy of Mdachl is one of the great 
 Scripture-Proofs for this Sacrifice, but it can 
 be at mofl but a collateral Evidence ^ for if 
 Chrift d'd not, in Fa^l, inftitute any fuch Sacri- 
 fice, as I have proved he did not, this is a much 
 better Argument to fiiew there was none fuch 
 foretold, than it can be to prove he did inftitute 
 
 jullin Martyr. Dialog, cum Tryph. p. i6o. Par. 
 
 it 
 
Jhirty-Wtne Articles. xiii 
 
 It becaufe it was foretold : Predictions are beft Appendix 
 underftood by the Completion of them,\nd if ^^ 
 no fach thing was done as is pretended from ^^'^•,.^P^^' 
 this Prediftion, this demonflrates that no fuch ^^^^^"""^ 
 thing was intended or meant by it, fo that by 
 taking away that firft Ground of the Mafs- 
 Sacrifice, 1 have taken away all thefe little 
 Under-props aad Supporters of it. But let us 
 fee what feeming Ailiftance this Place of Ma- 
 Uchl will afford them : God having reproved 
 the Jews for their undue and unfit Offerings, 
 tells them, that better and purer Oiferings 
 fhall be made him every where by the Gemllcs \ 
 For from the fifing of the Sun^ eveti nnto the goirifr 
 down of the fame^ my Nmne Jhall he great anions 
 the Gentiles^ and in every Place hicenfe fiiall he 
 offered unto my Name^ and a ftire Offeri?ig^ for my 
 Name fljall he great among the Heathen^ faith the 
 Lord of Hofis^ Mai. i. 1 1. Thus it is both in the 
 Hehrew and Greek Copies, as Bcllarmine owns 
 but it is fomething diiferent from both thofe ia 
 the vulgar Latin^ where it is, In every Place is 
 facrificedy and is offered to my Name a pure Oblation, 
 They are fo in love with the Word Sacriiice, 
 that they choofe to ufe that above any other, 
 as if where-ever they meet with that in Scrip- 
 ture, it muft be meant properly, and of an ex- 
 ternal Sacrifice, and of no other but the pro- 
 pitiatory Sacrifice of the Mafs. Thoui^h the 
 Word Mincha, which is here made ufe of, 
 from which feme of our Adverlaries are fo fool- 
 ifh as to derive the Latin Word Mi fa, that figv 
 nifies only a Difmiillon of the Catechumens and 
 Penitents before the Office of the EuchariO- 
 does not fignify a propitiatory Sacrifice, but 
 only a Meat-Offering, which was merely Eu- 
 chariftical ^ and whereas nothing is more com- 
 monly meant by Sacrifice in Scripture, than 
 
 the 
 
to 
 Art, XXXI. 
 
 xiv Jn Expofitioii on the 
 
 Appendix the Spiritual Sacrifice of Praife and Thankf- 
 giving, and Prayer, and the like, when a pious 
 and devout Soul cjfers unto God Thankfg'ving^ and 
 fays its J^orvs unto the mo ft- High^ PtaJ. 1. 14 5 
 when the Prayer of the Righteous is fet forth as 
 Incenfe^ and the lifting np of his Hands ^ as an 
 'Evening Sacrifice^ Pial. cxli. 2. And this is the 
 Incenle and pure Oblation which the Fathers 
 generally underftand to be meant in that Place, 
 to wit, Glorifying and hUffmg God^ and Praife and 
 Hyrnns^^ as Tertullian in lo many Words ex- 
 plains this Place , and again, A pure Offerings 
 as Malachi Ipeaks, is an honefi Prayer from a pure 
 Confctence f ; and fo in other Places 4: he explains 
 it altogether of Spiritual Sacrifices, Eufehius calls 
 this fure Offering of Malachi^ the Incenfe of Pray- 
 ers II . Su'ferom upon the Place fays. The Pro- 
 fhet teaches^ that the Prayers of Holy Men fiould 
 be offered to the Lord^ not only in the fmqle Province 
 of Judd^a, to which the Jewifh Sacrifices were 
 confined, but in every Place ^. There can be no 
 Sacrifice more acceptable to God, no Offering 
 with which he is fo well pleafed, no Incenle 
 that is of fo lAveet a Savour, as the Prayers and 
 Praifes of a devout Mind, andapureunblemifh'd 
 Confcience, and efpecially when thefe are 
 kindled and inilamed to the higheit Degrees 
 and Ardors at the Blelfed Sacrament, when 
 the Soul is truly fenfible of the Love of God, 
 and the infinite Kindnefs of its dying Saviour ; 
 when it hath the Symbol and Reprefentation 
 of his Death before it, and ihall pour out its 
 
 * Tertull. contra Marc ion. lib. 3» 
 
 f Ibid. lib. 4. 
 
 ^; Adverf. Judceos, Ibid= 
 
 |! Eufeb. Demonftrat. lib. i. cap. <S. 
 
 § Hieron. in Malach. i. 
 
 grateful 
 
Thirty-lShie Articles.^ xv 
 
 grateful and hearty Refentments, and thereby Appendix 
 offer up a more pure and precious Sacrifice, ^^^ ^ . 
 than Thoufandt of Rams^ or Ten thoufand Rivers of i/^V's^ 
 OyL This is that Incenfe, and that pure Of- 
 fering of Chriftians, which is foretold by the 
 Prophet, and this efpecially offered in the mofl 
 facred Office of our Religion, the blelled Eu- 
 chnrii^ ; and therefore fome of the Fathers, 
 Juftin Martyr J Irenms^ and St. Auftln apply this 
 Place to the bleffed bacrament, not as any pro- 
 per Sacrifice is there offered, but only fuch 
 divii^e and fpiritual ones as thefe. Why 
 fhould our .Adveriliries then charge us with 
 having no Sacrifice, and therefore, as they 
 charitably tell us, no Religion, when we have 
 the beft and the noblefl Sacrifice that can be, 
 that which mil fleafe the Lord much better than an 
 Ox or a Bullock that hath Horns and Hoofs ^ Vfal, 
 Ixix. 3 1, and xl. 6, Ifai. i. it. ? God was never 
 pleafed with thofe external Sacrifices for them- 
 f elves, but he often refufes and difregards 
 them, even under the Jewifh Difpenfation, and 
 they were all to ceafe with that, and infiead 
 of fuch mean Sacrifices and external Oblations, 
 which were to be offered then but in one Place, 
 there ihould in every Place, under Chriftia- 
 nity, be offered the more pure and fpiritual 
 Sacrifices, the Incenfe of Prayer, and the pure 
 Oblation of Fraife and Thankfgiving, and fuch 
 like Chriftian Sacrifices as are often mentioned 
 in Scripture, and which are meant in this Pro- 
 phecy of Malach'u 'Tis a fort of Judaifm then, 
 and a returning back to that lefs perfe^.t and 
 •lefs fpiritual Sta^e, to make the Religion of 
 the Gofpel confift in any vifible and external 
 Sacr-fice, which our Adveifaries fo earneflly 
 contend for, rather than in thofe Sacrifices 
 which are more fpiritual, and therefore more 
 
 truly 
 
xvi Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Appendix truly cliriftian, and more agreeable to the fpi- 
 ritual Worfhip, ai.d the fpirii-ual OEconomy of 
 the Go/pel. 
 
 to 
 Art. XXXI. 
 
 There are feme other Places which Bellar- 
 mine and other Defenders of the Sacrifice of 
 the Mafs produce out of the Old Teflament, 
 which are fo weakly and impertinently al- 
 ledged, that they only ferve to expofe it, and 
 therefore they are not at all mentioned in the 
 Council of Trent or in the Roman Catechifm, 
 fuch is that Saying of the Prophet to £//, 2 Sam. 
 n. 35. That Gcd would raife up a faithful 
 Priett that ihould do according to that which 
 was in his Heart, and in his Mind, and that he 
 would build him a fure Houfe, and he ihould 
 walk before his Anointed tor ever. This new 
 Priell that was to fucceed Eli. \v2ls^ very pro- 
 bably, to be a iacriiicing Pried ^ but that he 
 was to offer the Sacrifice of the Mafs, I leave 
 thofe who bring this Place for it to prove , for 
 without doubt this was fulfilled long before 
 Chrifi:, \nSamuelj ivho fucceeded£//, and in Zadoch^ 
 who came in the room of y^hiathar„ who was of 
 the Family of £//, and who was thrvfl out 
 by Solomon from hewg Pyiefi nmo the ■ Lord^ that 
 he might fulfil the Word of the Lord, which he 
 ffah concerning the Houfe of Eli in Shiloy 1 Kings 
 ii. 27. as the Scripture obferves ; and to make 
 this figurative or prophetical of the Chriftian 
 Friefthood's fucceeding the Aaronical^ is great 
 Streneth of Fancy, but a very weak Argument, 
 however, for the Sacrifice of the Mafs, unlefs 
 that were the Work' of the Chriftian Prieft- 
 hood, which is hard to be made out. The fe- 
 cond is that out of Tfalm Ixxii. z'er. \6. There 
 jloall be an Handful of Corn in the Earth upon the 
 Top of the Mountains. This Handful of Corn 
 is hy Galatitius and otliers of the fame Rabbinical 
 
 Stampj 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. xvii 
 
 Stamp, made into a Cake or VUcenta^ and that Appendix 
 muft needs be the Wafer Cake, which being ^^ 
 upon the Top of the Mountains, muft be heaved ^^j?^^^ 
 and elevated over the Head of the Priefts. 
 Whatever Feafts or Dainties the ^ews might 
 exped, as foretold by this V[dm^ to be received 
 in the Days of the Meffiah, and whatever they 
 were willing to mean by this Handful of Corn 
 on the Top of the Mountains, that they never 
 dreamt of the Sacrifice of the Mafs, is what I 
 ihall not be fo vainly prodigal of my Time, 
 as to endeavour to difprove. 
 
 The next is that of Proverbs^ chap. ix. ver. 2. 
 Wifdom hath killed her Beafis, flie hath mingled her 
 Wine^ fie hath alfo furmfljed her Table ^ but I am 
 fure ihe never made this Argument for the Sa- 
 crament of the Mafs : I will improve this Argu- 
 ment, if they pleafe, for the Proof of other 
 Things, as of^ Priefts Celibacy, becaufe in the 
 next Words 'tis faid, Wifdorn hath [ent out her 
 Maidens J ver* 4. Of the Church o^ Rome\ being 
 the Houfe that was built by Wifdom, becaufe 
 'tis faid in the firft Verfe, jlw hath hewn out 
 her feven Pillars^ which are as undoubtedly 
 the ihven Hills of Romey as this allegorical 
 Banquet is the Sacrifice of the Mafs. Oar Ad- 
 verfaries, fure, could not be very ferious and in 
 good earnef^, when they produced fuch Places 
 as thefe, and therefore they mufl excufe us 
 for not being Co in anfwering them. I fliall 
 mention but one more, which if it be not as 
 ridiculous, yet it is as impertinent as the other, 
 and that is out o^ Daniel ^ chap. viii. ver. ir. 
 where it is faid, the daily Sacrifice was taken away^ 
 by a great Prince that is there propheticallv 
 defcribed. It is plain, that by the daily Sacri- 
 fice there is meant that of the Jews^ a^id by 
 
 the 
 
xviu 
 
 Appendix 
 to 
 Art. XXXI. 
 
 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 the Prince that fliould take it away, Antlochus'^ 
 who did literally perform this by deftroying 
 the y^n?//?; VVorihip, and horribly profaning the 
 Temple ^ if by him was allegorically and pro- 
 phetically meant the Chriftian Antichrifl^ if I 
 may fo ipeak, fpoken of by St. Vaul^ 2 Iheff. 
 ii. and by St. ^ohn^ Rev, xiii. defcribed as a 
 Beaft, having leven Heads and ten Horns, as 
 Bellarmine will have it *, then whether this 
 Mark belongs not to him that fets up the Sa- 
 crifice of the Mafs, and deftroys, as far as he 
 hath Power, and tcikes away all the purer Wor- 
 ihip of Chrift, and harh a great many other 
 Chara£lers upon him that look very fuipicious, 
 will be a great Queflion, for which, I dare fay, 
 there are a great many more Probabilities, than 
 that by the daily Sacrifice here is meant the 
 Sacrifice of the Mafs. 
 
 T COME now to the Kew Teftament, where, 
 if there be any Proofs for the Sacrifice of 
 the Mafs, it is more likely to find them, 
 than in the Old, yet they produce twice as 
 many, fuch as they are, out of that than 
 this, and, like fome other People, are more 
 beholden to dark Types and obfcure Prophecies 
 of the Old Tellament to make out their Prin- 
 ciples, tiian to the clear Light of the Gofpel, 
 and to any plain Places in the New ; and yet if 
 any fuch Dodrine as this were to be received 
 by Chriftians, and if any fuch wonderful and 
 elfential Part of Woriliip were appointed by 
 Chrift, or taught and praftifed by the Apo^ 
 liles, we fliould furely have it more plainly fet 
 down in the Kew Teftament than they are 
 able to fliew it. The firft Place they urge from 
 thence belongs no more to the Sacrifice of the 
 
 Chap. 9. dcMiir. lib. i, 
 
 Mafs, 
 
Art. XXXI. 
 
 Thirty-Nine Articles. xix 
 
 Mafs, than the Firft Commandment does in Appendix 
 the Decalogue, and they had as good have ^_ ^% 
 quoted our Saviour's Words to the Devil, Thou 
 jhalt worjJnp the Lord thy God^ and fo have proved 
 from thence, that God ought to be worfhipped 
 hy the Sacrifice of the Mafs, as thofe to the 
 Woman of Samaria^ which BelUrmine brings to 
 this Purpofe out of John iv. 21, 23.^ The 
 Hour Cometh when ye jloall neither in this Mountain^ 
 nor yet at Jerufalem worjliip the Father ^ for the Hour 
 Cometh and now is^ when the true Worfluffers jliall 
 worpjip the Father in Spirit and in Truth. From 
 whence he infers, that they mult worihip him 
 hy Sacrifice, and that this mufi: be the Sacrifice 
 of the Mafs, and that this is to worfhip him 
 in Spirit and in Truth. If this be not all 
 Evidence and Demonllration, there is none in 
 Euclid ^ and if we may not here cry out, lopny^, 
 the Mafs is found, we are blind and obftinate. 
 But I fee very little more for it here than from 
 the other Places which I named before, but ra- 
 ther fomething againft it, for to worihip God 
 in Spirit and Truth, and that becaufe he is a 
 Spirit, as our Saviour there adds, ver, 24. is not 
 to worfhip him by an External, Vifible, Typi- 
 cal Sacrifice as the Mafs is, and as thofe of the 
 Jews were, but by a more pure and fpiritual 
 Worihip of Praife and Thankfgiving,andPrayer, 
 fuch as that of Chriflians is to be, as more fuit- 
 able to the fpiritual Nature of God \ and thele 
 fpiritual Sacrifices ofChriftians are not to be ty'd 
 to one Place, as thofe more grofs and carnal 
 ones of the Jews were, which was the thing 
 our Saviour here defigned. The greateft Part 
 of the publick Jewi^i Worihip was fix'd to the 
 Temple and to Jerufalem-^ their Tythes, and 
 Firit-fruits, and Firftlings, and Feltivals, as 
 well as their Sacrifices, and there may be Di- 
 
 * De MifT. lib. i . cap. 1 1 . 
 
 ^ ^3 vine 
 
xx Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Appendix vine Worihip without Sacrifice as well as with 
 Art. ^xxxf '^' ^"^ whatever the Worihip be, which our 
 .lXV%^ Saviour here fays was to be fpiritual, it was not 
 like thejewijh^ to be fix'd to one Place, which 
 is the true Scope of thofe Words to the Samari- 
 tan Woman, in anfwer to her Queftion, ver. 20. 
 Whether Mount Geridm or Jerufalem was the 
 true Place of Worship, which was the great 
 Difpute between the Jews and the Samaritans \ 
 our Saviour determines for neither, but puts an 
 End to the Queftion, and fays. That now under 
 the Gofpely the Wor^nf of God was not local^ and as 
 to the manner of it^ that it was fpiritual. The fe- 
 cond and principal Arg jment for the Sacrifice 
 of the Mafs, is from Chrift's Inftitution and 
 firft Celebration of the Eucharift with his Dif- 
 ciple% and here, indeed, is the true Place to 
 find it, if there be any fuch thing, but I hope 
 to lh?w that Chrift did neither then facrifice 
 himfelf, nor command his Difciples to do fo, 
 and thereby to take away that which is the 
 very Foundation of the Mafs-ficrifice, and 
 without which every thing elfe that can be faid 
 for it, falls to the Ground. 
 
 Let us therefore erqulreinto the Truth of 
 this Doftrine, That our BlelTed Saviour did, 
 at his lafl Supper, when he celebrated the 
 Communion with his Difciples, offer up his 
 Body and Blood to his Father, as a true pro- 
 pitiatory Sacrifice, before he offer'd it as fuch 
 upon the Crofs. Is there any the leaft Colour 
 or Shadow of any fuch thing in any of the 
 Accounts that is given of this in the three 
 Evangelifts, or in St. Paul ? Tlhe Lord Jefus the 
 fame Night in which he was betrayed, took Bread and 
 gave Thanh ^ or blejfed it and brake ity a?td gave it 
 to his Difciples^ f^^^K^ Take, eat^ this is my Body 
 which is given for you^ this do in Remembrance of 
 
Thirty-Wine Articles^ xxi 
 
 me J after the fame manner alfo he tool the Cup and Appendix 
 gave Thanh y and gave it to them^ faying^ Drinl ye %^yX 
 
 all of this, for this is my Blood of the New 7>/?^- r^J-J^ 
 trjent ivhith is fhed for you and for many, for the Re- 
 miffion of Sins, Is here any Mention or any In- 
 timation of offering up any thing to God : Was 
 not the Bread and the Cup, and what he called 
 his Body and his Blood, given to his DifcipleS 
 to be eaten and drank by them ? And was any 
 thing elfe done with them ? Is there any thing 
 like an Offering or a Sacrificing of them ? Yes, 
 fay they, Chrift there calls it his Body which is 
 broken, and his Blood which is flied, in. the Prefent 
 Tenfe ^ therefore the one mull be then broken 
 and the other ihed. So indeed it is in the 
 Original Greek, though in the vulgar Latin it is 
 in the Future Tenfe, and fo it is alfo put in 
 their Miffal^ Sanguis cjui ejfundcttir. This is my 
 Blood which fhall bepied'^ and is it not ufual to 
 put the Prefent Tenfe inftead of the Future, 
 when that is fo near and certain ? Does not our 
 Saviour do it more than once at other Times ? 
 77?^ Son of Man is betrayed into the Hands of Sin- 
 ners, \l&e^.^\Jbf). Mat. xxvi. 45. before he was 
 fo, though "judas was then nigh and coming 
 about it. So John X. 17. / lay down my Life, 
 ti^lit ^ 4^;Sv, when he was ready to do fo •, as 
 he was to have his Body broken and his Blood 
 ihed, when he was prepared as a Vi£lim, to be 
 offered the next Day, fo St. Paul fays, '£7^ nJ^ 
 ffTTiv/bfMi, I now offer up myfelf, 2 Tim, iv. 6* when, 
 as we tranflate it, he was ready to he cffered. That 
 Chrift here ufed the Prefent Tenfe for the Fu-' 
 ture is owned by Cardinal Cajetav, on Luke xxii. 
 and other learned Men of the Church of Rome, 
 and Janfenius fays,. The pouring out of the 
 Blood is rightly underftood of the pouring if: 
 out upon the Crofs, Concord. 131. Chrift's Body 
 was not broke, nor his Blood poured out 'till 
 the rext Day, nor did he ofler up himlelf as 
 [**2] a 
 
to 
 Apt, XXXI. 
 
 xxii Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Appendix a Sacrifice to his Father 'till then, Chrift did 
 not then command his Apoftles to offer him 
 up in the Eucharift, when he bad them do 
 this •, hoc facite does not fignify to facrifice, nor 
 will it be fuppofed, I hope, that our Saviour 
 did then ufe the vulgar Latin. The Phrafe in 
 Virgily Cum faciam vitula^ which is always quoted 
 to this Purpofe, fhews it only to be fo meant 
 when the Occalion or Subject Matter does re- 
 quire it \ but in our Saviour's Words it plainly 
 refers to thofe A^ts of taking Bread and break- 
 ing it, and taking Wine and bleiling it, and 
 then giving or diflributing of them, as he had 
 done juft before, and as he commanded them 
 to do in Remembrance of him ^ and that it does 
 not relate to Sacrificing is plain, from St. Fauly 
 who applies it particularly to drinking the 
 Cup, Do this as oft as ye drink it in Bememhrance 
 of me J I Cor. xi. 25. That the Apoftles were 
 made Priefts by Chrift at his iaft Supper, 
 by thofe Words^ hoc facite^ do thisy is fo pre- 
 carious and fenfelefs an Opinion, that it 
 only ihews what wonderful Streights and 
 Extremities our Adverfaries are driven to, 
 who are forced to efpoufe this to fupport 
 their ill-framed Hypothefis about the holy 
 Eucharift, in thofe two Doftrines, of the 
 Communion in one Idndy and the Sacrifice of the Mafs, 
 There is not one Father or ancient Interpre- 
 ter, that gives any the leaft Countenance to 
 it, and many of their own Authors are aftiam- 
 ed of it, fo that I ihall fay no more of it 9 
 but that if thofe Words make the Apoftles 
 Priefts, it makes them fo twice, for they are 
 twice repeated by our Saviour after giving the 
 Cup, as well as after giving the Bread, as St. 
 P^/// witnefTes, i C(?r. xi. 25. and fo the Cha- 
 rader of Prieflhood muft be double, and they 
 muft be twice ordained at the fame Time, 
 when there is nothing appears like an Ordina- 
 tion 
 
Thirty-lSlme Articles. xxiii 
 
 tion at all ^ but if they were then made Appendix 
 Priefts, they were not made fo *to facritice ^^ 
 Chrift's Body and Blood, or to do more than ^^JX^^^' 
 he did at that Time ^ and fo this is nothing ^^^^^ 
 to the Purpofe, if he himfelf did not then 
 truly offer and facrifice himfelf, which is the 
 plaineft Thing in the World he did not. And 
 what ihould make any Man imagine that 
 Chrift's Body was broke, and his Blood Hied 
 at his laft Supper, or that he then facrificed 
 and offered up himfelf, I cannot conceive : Had 
 he been no otherwife facrificed, nor his Body 
 any otherwife broken, nor his Blood in any 
 other Way Ihed, befides this, the Jews had 
 been liable to much lefs Guilt, but Mankind 
 had been in a more wretched Condition ; 
 Chrift had not redeemed them, had he not 
 died for them upon the Crofs. If the Sacri- 
 fice of Chrift at his laft Supper, the Night 
 before his Crucifixion, was a true and proper 
 propitiatory Sacrifice, what needed he to have 
 luffered the next Day ? If that was of the 
 fame Nature and Value with the other, as 
 they fay, and did truly propitiate God, and 
 procure Pardon and Remiilion of Sins for 
 Mankind, what need was there of the Crofs 
 of Chrift ? It was hereby mxade void and of 
 no Effe^, or at leaft of no Neceftity. If 
 Chrift had done the Work without it, his Sa- 
 crifice upon the Altar or the Table, might 
 have excufed his Sacrifice upon the Crofs ^ 
 and thus the bitter Cup might have pafTed 
 from him, and he might have been crucified 
 only in Effigie, and flain myftically and fa- 
 cramentallyj and his Body might have been 
 thus broken, and his Blood fhed, and yet the 
 one have been ftill whole, and the other in 
 his Veins. For thefe Reafons one of their 
 own Bifhops at the Council of Trenty denied 
 openly, That Chrift olfered up any proper 
 
 * Sacrifice 
 
XXIV 
 
 Appendix 
 
 to 
 
 Art. XXXI. 
 
 An Expofitlon on the 
 
 Sacrifice at his laft Supper ^, But if he did 
 nor, then there was no Ground for them ever 
 to offer any in the Eucharift, and therefore 
 the Council was forced to declare he did, 
 tho' no fuch Thing appears in the Evange- 
 lical Hiftory, nor could any colled it from 
 thence ^ but it was a necelfary After-thought, 
 and a groundlefs Suppofal, to help out and 
 eftabliili the Sacrifice of the Mafs. There 
 are but two other Proofs, and thofe very weak 
 ones behind, the one out of the 13th of 
 the A^ls^ where it is faid of Sml and Barnahasy 
 and the Prophets and Teachers of the Church 
 at Am loch ^ that they miniflered unto the Lord ; 
 but could they not minifter, and perform the 
 Divine Office and Service without facriftcing ? 
 It muft be proved, that that was Part of the 
 religious Office, before it can appear that it 
 was meant here ^ it is faid they faded and 
 prayed, and in that probably their Mn\ityitL or 
 Miniftry confifted, or as St. Chryfoftom in his 
 37rh Homily upon the AB;sy and after him 
 Oecumenkus explain it in Preaching •, but that 
 they facrificed, there is not the leaft Evidence. 
 The Word huT^^ydv, doth not fignify to facri- 
 fice, but to perform any proper Fun8:ion, and 
 therefore it is attributed in the Scripture, 
 both to the Angels who are called MiTa^yiK^ 
 vrvii'iAATdL, Mi nift ring Spirits, Heb. i.l^. and to 
 the Magift rates, who are called the Alinlfters 
 of Gody ^uTuf^t Qiv, Rom. xiii. (5. and yet facri- 
 ficing I fuppofe, belongs to neither of them, 
 nor does their own vulgar Latin fo tranflate 
 it here. The lafl is out of i Cor, 10. for Bel- 
 larmine gives up that out of Heh, xiii. We have 
 an Altar of rt>hich they have no Right to eaty wha 
 ferz'e the Tabernacle^ tho' 'tis as much to his 
 
 * Cornelius Epiicopus Bitontinus in Concilio apud Tri- 
 dentum, — qui dixerit Chridum in cosnu non ilium Corpus 
 & Sanguinem obtulilur. Canus in Loc. TheoL Lib. li. 
 
 Purpofe, 
 
ThWty-'N'me Articles. xxv 
 
 Purpofe, in my Mind, as any of the reft *, but Appendix 
 fome Catholick Writers, he fays, do by Altar xxxT 
 
 mean there ^ either the Crofs or Chrifl himjelf'^-^^^j^^m,^,' 
 but if ic were meant of the Eucharift, that 
 is but an Altar in an improper Senfe, as the 
 Sacrifice offered on it, is but improper and 
 metaphorical, as we fhall prove *, but in the 
 Place to the Corinthians^ the Apofile commands 
 them not to eat of Things offered to Idols, for 
 to eat of them, was to partake of Things 
 facriiiced to Devils, and (o to have Commu- 
 nion with Devils, which was very unfit for 
 thofe who were Partakers of the Lord's Ta- 
 ble, and therein, truly commun-cated of the 
 Body and Blood of Chrift, as thofe who are 
 of the JevviJh Sacrifices, were Partakers of the 
 Jevvifh Altar. Now what is there here of the 
 Sacrifice of the Mafs, or any Way fervice- 
 able to it ? Why, yes, the Apoftle compares the 
 Table of the Lord, with the Table of Devils, 
 and eating of the Lord's Supper, with eating 
 the Jewifh and the heathen Sacrifices ; there- 
 fore the Chriftians ought to have an Altar 
 as well as the Jews, and what they fed on 
 ought to be facrificed as well as the Heathen 
 s/cAyAo3v7«, but the Apoftle fays nothing of this, 
 nor makes any fuch Comparifon between them, 
 but only fhews the Unfitnefs of Chrifcians eat- ^ 
 ing of the heathen Sacrifices, who partook of 
 the Lord's Table *, he does not call the Lord's 
 Table an Altar, nor the Eucharift a Sacrifice, 
 nor was there any Danger that the Chriftians 
 ihould go to eat in the Idol Temples ; but he 
 would not have them eat of their Sacrifices 
 brought Home, and the whole Comparifon lies 
 here, the eating of the Lord's Supper, did 
 make them true Partakers of the Lord's Body 
 and Blood facrificed upon the Crofs, as eating 
 of the Jewifh Sacrifices did make the Jews 
 
 * Bcllariia. dc MilT. c. 14. 
 
 Partakers 
 
XXVI 
 
 Appendix 
 to 
 Art. XXXI. 
 
 J?2 Expofition on the 
 
 Partakers of the Jewifh Altars, and as eating 
 of Things offered to Idols, was to have Fel- 
 lowihip with Devils, fo that they who par- 
 took of fuch holy Food as Chriftians did, 
 ihould not communicate of fuch execrable and 
 diabolical Food, as the Heathen i/JJyAo3v7«. If 
 indeed Chriftians could not partake of Chrift's 
 Body and Blood in the Eucharift, unlefs they 
 firft made a proper Sacrifice and Oblation of 
 them, then the Apoftle's Difcourfe would ne- 
 ceffarily fuppofe and imply them to be thus 
 offered, as the jewifh and Heathen Sacrifices 
 were before they were eaten, but lince Chrift's 
 Body and Blood being once offered upon the 
 Crofs, is a fufficient Sacrifice and Oblation 
 of them, and the Eucharift is a religious 
 and facramental Feaft upon the Sacrifice of 
 Chrift once offered ^ this is fufficient for the 
 Apoftle's Scope and Defjgn in that Place, 
 where there is no other Comparifon made be- 
 tween the Table of the Lord, and the Table 
 of the Devils, but that one makes us to be 
 Partakers of the Body and Blood of Chrift, 
 and the other to have Fellowlhip with Devils ; 
 and as to the JewiOi Altar, the Antithefis does 
 not lie here, as BelUrmine would have it, be- 
 tween that and the Table of the Lord, that 
 both have proper Sacrifices offered upon them, 
 "which are eaten after they are facrificed ; but 
 the Crofs of Chrift rather is the Antithefis to 
 the Jewifh Altar, on which Sacrifices were real- 
 ly and properly flain, which are not on the 
 Chriftian Altar, and the feeding and partaking 
 of thofe Sacrifices fo offered, whereby they 
 were made Partakers of the Altar •, this an- 
 jRvers to the facramental feeding upon Chrift's 
 Body and Blood in the Chriftian Altar, where- 
 by we are made Partakers of the Crofs oi 
 Chrift, and have the Vertue and Merit of his 
 Sacrifice communicated to us. 
 
 Article 
 
Thirty 'Nine Articles. 
 
 677 
 
 Article XXXIL 
 
 Of the Marriage ofTriejls. 
 
 'Bi'fljopjS, p^ierts nna Deaccn^, are not art.xxxu. 
 commantJeD bp ® i^n'^ ?! atu, citljeu to laoiu v>nrv^ 
 tlje (Eftate of fingle life, 0,! to ^mm\ 
 ftom Carriage : Cijeceto^e it :0 lauifiii 
 fo: tljcm, as 'm all otijer Cfj2fman a3ea, 
 to macrp at tljeii- ouin Difcretiou, as 
 tijep Hjaii jtitiffe tl)e fame to ferine better 
 to 0oDI:nefsf* 
 
 The E xPosiTiON. 
 
 I N C E it appears from i Cor, ix. 5. 
 that the Apoflles had, and led about 
 their Wives ^ for there St. Paul faith, 
 Ha^ve isoe not a Power to lead ah out a 
 Sifter^ a Wife^ as well as other Apoftles^ and as 
 the Brethren of the Lord^ ajid Cephas ? And 
 fince St. Paul tells us, i J/;??, iii. 11. what Qua- 
 lifications the Wives of Presbyters and Deacons 
 Ought to have, that they mufi he graue^ not 
 Slanderers^ foher^ faithful in all things ; and 
 finally, fince we are told, Hch. xiii. 4. that 
 Marriage is honour ahle in all^ and the Bed un^ 
 defiled'^ it follows, that 'tis lawful for the Clergy 
 to marry as well as for other Chriftians, as th© 
 Article directs, 
 
 U u 9 fEK^ 
 
(578 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXXII. T'EKTULLUNy a married Presbyter, 
 \^y^y"\J v/rote two Books to a Wife ^ in the feventh 
 Chapter of which he intimates that he had made 
 ufe of the Privileges of Matrimony, and faith. 
 Why don't we endeavour as much as we can 
 after the Gift of Continence ? Let us take all 
 Opportunities to obtain it, that we may in the 
 Time of Widowhood dedicate ourfelves to that 
 which in a married State is impracticable. And 
 S. Cyprian does not objed: againft Novatus^ a 
 Presbyter, on the Account of his being married, 
 but on the Account of his having ufed his Wife 
 with fuch inhuman and unnatural Violence, as 
 caufed her inftantly to fall into Labour, and 
 bring forth a dead Child f. 
 
 Nothing is here intended in Prejudice of 
 fuch Laws as relate to Degrees of Kindred, and 
 Confent of Parents and Governors allowed of 
 in this Kingdom. * 
 
 t Epifl. 5-2. 
 
 * Si^ 7er0el's Dcf. Apol. Part II. c. 8. div. i. HaWs 
 Letter to V/hiting, Dec. z. Epift. 3. and Honour of the mar- 
 ried Cler^. Fatrick^s Anfwcr to the Touchftone, §. 4. 
 Treatife of the Celibacy of the Clergy. Field of the Church = 
 800k V. c. f7> 5-8. 
 
 Article 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 
 
 679 
 
 Article XXXIII. 
 
 Of Excommunicate ^erfons how they 
 are to he avoided. 
 
 Cfjat pcrfoit Wt^ l3i? open ^mmziation art. xxxm. 
 Df m Cijurcfi 10 ngijtip cut off fcom t&e v.>nr>^ 
 23;nitp of tlje C&urcJj, aiiD ftcommunf^ 
 catei?, ouffljt to be tafeen of tiie mijole 
 ^iiltttune of ti}c Jfaitljful as an ^e^:* 
 t&crx anrs publican, until fee be openlP 
 teconcilcB bp penance, ants reccibed info 
 m Cijurcb bp a Jiunge tljat ftatfi ^utl)o^ 
 titj? tljercunto. 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 I N C E the Church is a Society of 
 Holy Perfbns in Subjedion to Chrifl, 
 what can be more equitable than that 
 fuch an one as hath rebelled againft 
 Chrift, and by reaion of his notorious Crimes 
 is become a Scandal to the Chriftian Name, 
 fhould be driven out from the Communion of 
 the Church, and that he Tnould be looked upon 
 as a Heathen who lives a heathenifh Life ? 'Tis 
 the Bufmels of all good Chriilians to note that 
 Jlhn^ and have no Socieiy ijoith him^ that he may 
 he afiamed^ 2 Thejf. iii. 14. Thus our EleiTcd 
 U u 4 Saviour 
 
wnrN^ 
 
 ^80 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 ^^'^'.^F^l' saviour tells us. Mat. xviii. 17. That fuch a§ 
 ^ ' negleSi to hear the Church.^ Jhould he unto us as 
 Heathen Men and Publicans. And i Cor. v. we 
 have a large Account of St. Paul's Excommuni- 
 cating the inceftuous Cormhian., at the End of 
 which Chapter the Apoftle faith, Wherefore put 
 away from yourfelves that wicked Perfon. I 
 caution you, faith S. Ignatius^ againft Beafts in 
 the Shape of Men, which you are not only not 
 to receive, but alfo not to meet, t 
 
 Whosoever holds not the Unity of the 
 Church, faith S. Cyprian^ how much fbever he 
 may boaft of himfelf, and notwithflanding his 
 very great Claims, is a profene Perfon, an Alien, 
 and without the Pale of the Churchy. And 
 * I befeech you depart from fuch Perfons, and 
 acquiefce in fuch Advice as ye have had from 
 
 ViS. ^ 
 
 If an excommunicated Perfon repents, he 
 is to be reftored to Communion with the Church 
 again, but regularly, and by a Judge that hcith 
 A^uthority thereunto. For though the Power 
 of Excom.munication hath been by fbme ex- 
 plained away into a Right which all Chriftians 
 have to avoid open and fcandalous Sinners , yet 
 jt muil be remcmbred, that there is fuch a 
 Place of Scripture as i Cor. v. 12, 13. For what 
 have -I to do to j.udge them alfo that are without ? 
 Do 7wt ye judge them that are within ? But them 
 that are without^ God judgeth. And then im« 
 mediately follow the Words before-mentioneda 
 
 f Epift. ad Smyrc 
 
 * Ibid. 43, 
 
 0erffi9r§ 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 6%i 
 
 therefore put away from yourfelves that wicked Art. xxxill. 
 Perfon. From hence it follows, that there is a ^^-/VN^ 
 Power veiled in the Governors of the Church 
 over its Members, which extends not to fuch 
 as are not Members ^ whereas, if Excommupir 
 cation were only a Right to avoid ftandalou^ 
 Sinners, Heathens as well as Chriftians would 
 be within the Reach of it. 
 
 'T 1 s neceffary to obferve, that no Excom- 
 munication difTolvesthe Ties of Nature 5 fb that 
 notwithftanding any Sentence of Excommuni- 
 cation, Subje^s are to perform their Duties to 
 their Princes, Wives to their Husbands, Chil- 
 dren to their Parents ; and fo are Princes to 
 their Subjeds, Husbands to their Wives, and 
 Parents to their Children. For thefe are Du- 
 ties which have no Dependence on the Reli- 
 gion of the Perfbns they are to be perforn^ed 
 to.t 
 
 f See V otter of Church Government, c. 5-. §. 8. Whitgiff& 
 pefenccy Tradt. 18. Field of the Church, Book I. c. i j-. 
 
 Article 
 
68 z An Expofition on the 
 
 Article XXXIV. 
 Of the Traditions of the Church 
 
 ap.t. XXXIV. 3it 10 not mceffarp tljnt CtaHttions nnts 
 ^->''"VN-/ ceremomeg be in aU places onr, o? 
 uttetli) like •, fo; at all Cimes tljep Ijaie 
 been Wierg, ano map be djangeu ac« 
 coitJing to t&e Diberfitp of Countrie05 
 Cimes, ano ^tm ^annerg) fo tfjat 
 notljingbe o?5atners affainft ©on's 0[Io?5. 
 ©ai&ofoeftei: tljjougb big p^ibate 3lUi3s:-- 
 mentU)i!Unglpant! puipofeip cotij openlp 
 b;eaU t\)z Ctarsitiotis ani5 Cereuionieg 
 cf tlje Cbiitcb, toljicb be not repugnant 
 to tlje mm of ^oD, anQ be oroaineo 
 anti appioben bi> common ^utbo^itp, 
 0U5bt to be rebufeeo openlp, (tljat otijix 
 map fear to no tbe liUe) as ije tfjat of= 
 fennetb againft tlje common ^mt of 
 tbe Cljutcft, aiiB \yx\tm\y tfje m\iUni\> 
 of tlie i^agiSrate, ant? tuoiinBct!) ttje 
 Canfcience of tlje aeah "^izWmiu 
 
 Cb^rp patticuLir o? JSational Cljurcb 
 
 fjatb sutijojitp to o^aain, cbange, auD 
 
 aDoitfij Ceremoiiieg o? Eites of tlje 
 
 2 Cijuixlj, 
 
Thtrty-'Nine Articles. 6% 2 
 
 CIJUIX&, mmm onip bp Span's ?ltttIio« Art. XXXIV 
 nth fa mt all C|)in0S be uoue to ^^rY>sj 
 CDifj?niff. 
 
 The E xposiTioN. 
 
 I T E S and Ceremonies are in them- 
 feJves indifferent, as is agreed on all 
 Hands i and therefore there is no 
 Neceflity for their being the fame in 
 all Countries, and all Times. For as the Apo- 
 ftle argues, Koni. xiv. 1 7. the elfential Parts of 
 Religion are of another Nature, n)iz. Righte^ 
 oufnefs^ Peace^ and Joy in the Holy Ghofi. 
 
 Nevertheless^ when thofeindiflferentThings 
 are eftablifhed by the Authority of the Church, 
 they ought to be obferved by all, out of Re- 
 verence to that Authority, becaufe it is from 
 God, who hath commanded us to chey thofe who 
 banje the Rule ever us^ Heh. xiii. i. and to he 
 fuhje^i to the higher Powers^ Rom. xiii. i. And 
 hath left a Power with the Governors of the 
 Church to take Care .that all things in the 
 Publtck U^orjhip he done decently^ and in Order ^ 
 I Cot. xiv. 40. And therefore, whofoever wil- 
 fully and openly breaks the Traditions and 
 Ceremonies of the Church thus ordained, is a 
 fchifmatical Perfon, aDifturber of the Church's 
 Peace ; and, inafmuch as all Vice is of a fpread- 
 ing and infectious Nature, as St. Paul tells us, 
 I Cor. XV. 3 3. a Wounder of the Confciences of 
 the weak Brethren, by inclining them to follow 
 his bad Example. And although private Ad- 
 monition be necelfary when Mens Faults are not 
 open and notorious ; for then we are to intreat 
 them as Fathers if they are old^ and as Brethren 
 
 if 
 
684 ^'^ Eypofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxiv. if they are youngs as we fee i 7'im. v. i. Yet 
 ^^.yy^J when the Cafe is otherwife, they that fin are to 
 
 he rebuked hefore all^ that others alfo may fear^ 
 
 ver. 20. 
 
 I T hath been already obferved, that fuch 
 Rites and Ceremonies as are of Human Inftitu- 
 tlon, may be different in different Countries or 
 different Times ; and the laft Claufe of this Ar- 
 ticle obferves, where the Authority of ordain- 
 ing, changing, and abolifhing fuch Ceremonies 
 is lodged, 'viz. in every National Church, and 
 how far it extends, njiz. as far forth as they 
 tend to Edification. For fuch Churches have 
 no Power over each other ; they afe equally 
 fubjedb to Chrift, who is their King and Lord, 
 and their Authority is equal. From whence it 
 follows, that in fuch Things as he hath neither 
 commanded nor forbidden, every Church may 
 ufe its Liberty as Occafion fhall require, pro- 
 vided it does as St. P^/// directs, Kom. xiv. 19. 
 that is, if it follo'W after the things that make 
 for Peace^ and things zvherewitb one may edify 
 another. 
 
 IKENjEUSyin his Account of the Dif- 
 pute betwixt Polycarp Bifhop of Smyrna^ and 
 Anicetus Bifhop of Kome^ concerning the Ob- 
 fervation of Eafter, hath thefe Words ^ S. Po- 
 lycarp being at Rome with Anicetus^ and they 
 having had fbme little Controverfy with each 
 other, prelently compofed the Difference, and 
 fhewed themfeives no Lovers of Strife upon 
 this Account : For neither could Polycarp be 
 perfuaded by A^ticetus to obferve it as he did, 
 having always obferved it as St. John^ the Dif- 
 ciple of our Lord, and the reft of the Apoftles 
 
 obferve4 
 
Thirty 'Mne Articles. 685 
 
 obferved it, with whom he had been conver- Art.xxxiv. 
 
 fant. Neither could he perfuade Anicetiis to *">^'V>w^ 
 
 obferve it as he did, who laid in his Defence, 
 
 that 'twas his Duty to obferve it as the Elders 
 
 did who were before him. And this being the 
 
 Refult of their Debate, they communicated 
 
 with each other, Vag, 466. t 
 
 f See Freface to the Common-Trayer. Hooker's EccL Pol, 
 Book III. and IV. §. 13. Whitgiffs Def. Tracft. 2. Fri- 
 deaux lafc. Cont, c. 4. §. 3. q. ^. Burf cough of Schifm, 
 Sed. 4. §. 6, 
 
 RTICLS 
 
686 An Expofition on the 
 
 Article XXXV. 
 Of the Homilies. 
 Art. XXXV, %\)t ©ecoilt! TBOOfe Of Homilies, tljC ftDetal 
 
 ^^^^y^^ Cities toSetcpf W UU jaiueD uniJci: 
 tljis article, uctlj contain a gcBlP ano 
 ttljolfome Dotttine, anti neceflarp fo? 
 tljefe Cimes, as uotlj tfje fo;m:t OSoofe 
 Uf Homilies^ \xAyi\) Wu ftt fo?tlj in tfie 
 Cime of Edward tlje %\xt\) -, anD tljerc-- 
 fo?e toe |ur>ge tljem to bt tean in 
 C8ut:clie0 6p tfte ^imfferSj BiUsentlp 
 ann Diffntrtlp^ tliat t&ep ma? be unoee- 
 ffantieti of tlje people* 
 
 5 Of the Names of the ©OmtlieS* 
 
 I. Of t!)e tigfjt aife of t&e Cfiuit&t 
 
 II. ajyainff peril of SlBoiatrp* 
 
 III. ©f Repairing ana feeeping clean of 
 Cljurcljes. 
 
 IV. ©f goon moM, nm of jfafiing. 
 
 V. againft ©luttonp anu D?unfecnnefS* 
 . vi. ^gainff Cjecefs of apparel* 
 
 VII. ©f PAiper* 
 
 VIII. SDf 
 
Thkty'Wwe Articles. 687 
 
 VIII. SDf tftc Place mm cime of ast xxxv. 
 
 IX. €6at Conimoit p^awrs atiti §a« 
 ctawentsi oug&t to be nimtttteo in 3 
 fenottin Conguc* 
 
 X. ©£ tljeEeDetentdESdiiatton of (^oo'sr 
 
 XI. Of jalmguomff* 
 
 XII. ©f tlje aattwtp of crj?iff» 
 xiii. m. t&e pafOoit of Cfi^ilf, 
 
 XIV. 2Df tOe Eefutccrtfon of Cljn'ff. 
 
 XV. ®f tlje iHilo;t6p Ecceiiii'nff of tfje 
 feaccament of tlje 'Boo? aiio Xlooo of 
 Cljjiff. 
 
 XVI. 2Df t()c <Stft0 of tfie ij)olp (©ijoft* 
 
 XVII. jFoi tlje Eogattou Dap0. 
 
 XVIII. m tlje atate of ^attfmonp, 
 
 XIX. f)f Eepentauce* 
 
 XX. againtt aoienefg* 
 xxi. asatnff EeljelUon* 
 
 The -E X p o s i t i o n. 
 
 N this Article, the Do6trine of the 
 Homilies is afferted in Oppofition to 
 thofe of the Church of Kome^ who 
 condemn them as Heretical ; and the 
 Reading them in Churches is afferted in Op- 
 pofition to the Puritans, who fay, that nothing 
 ought to be publickly read in Churches but the 
 
 Holy 
 
688 J7i Expofition on the 
 
 ^^^^in^N^^y ^^^Y Scriptures, for which I fliould be glad to 
 <^^^y^^ fee one Scripture Proof. "^ 
 
 But the Truth and Equity of this Article 
 %vill befl appear by perufing the Homilies them- 
 felves. And 'tis indeed the Duty of all thofe 
 who are to fubfcribe to the Articles, to peruie 
 them ferioufly : The Book of Homilies is cer« 
 tainly a very ufeful Book , and whoever reads 
 it over, will have no Occafion to think his La- 
 bour loft. No Quotations either from Scripture 
 or the Fathers are made Ufe of under this Ar- 
 ticle, becaufe the Homilies do in all proper 
 tlaces abound with both. 
 
 * See Whhgifi's Def, Tra6t. %i. Hcoker's EccL VoU 
 Book V. §. 20, 
 
 Aetxcie 
 
Thirty Nine Articles. 
 
 689 
 
 Article XXXVI. 
 
 Of Confecration of Bijhops and 
 Minijlers. 
 
 C&e OBoofe of Confecrati'oit of ^rcPifi&opiS art.xxxvl 
 ann TBifijops, anti ©jncnns of p^iefls v.>nrN^. 
 ann ©eacons, latcip fet fojtfj in tfie 
 Cime of Edward tfic ®!t:t&5 ana con- 
 firmed at tlje fome Cime bp siiitijo^ttp 
 of ^atliament, 5otIj contain all Cfjings 
 nccEffatp to foclj Confecration anu ©;-- 
 aering t Bcitfjer Ijatlj it anp tfjing tfiat 
 of itfelf is fuperflitious ano unsonij^^ 
 ^nti t{j£refo;!e MjofoeBer are Confecra- 
 teu 02 ©?l5ere5 accojuinff to t!je Eites 
 of tflat TSoofe, fince tije ^econB fut 
 of tlje fo?enameD 5^ing: Edward, unta 
 tfjis Cime, 0^ Dereaftet f^all be Confe* 
 crateD 0? ©;oeren accojuing to tfie fame 
 Eite05 toe uecree all fuc8 to tie visUlVy 
 o^oerlp, ann latofullp Confecraten ano 
 €);OereD* 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 I F any-thing be wanting in the Ordi- 
 nations of the Church of England^ 
 the Form of which is preicribed in 
 the Book which this Article men- . 
 tionsa it muft be on the Part of the Ordainers , 
 but thefe are Bifliops : Or in the Manner of 
 X X Ordaining j 
 
6go An Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XXXVI. Ordaining , but this is the Impofition of Hands 
 ^^y^Y^\J with proper Prayers. Thus the Apoftles or- 
 dained the feven Deacons, A6is vi. 6. When 
 they had prayed^ they laid their Hands on them. 
 Or finally on the Part of fuch as are to be 
 ordained , but thefe are examin'd as to their 
 Faith, Manners, and Knowledge. There is 
 therefore nothing wanting which is necelTary 
 to make thefe Ordinations juft and complete.* 
 
 The Forms which were made Uie of in Con-* 
 fecrating the Clergy in the Primitive Church 
 are not now extant. But if the Reader confult 
 the moft antient that are now to be met with, 
 he will find nothing omitted by our Church 
 which was formerly required to make an Ordi- 
 nation complete. 
 
 But to difcourfe a little more fully upon 
 this Article, I ihall endeavour to obviate and 
 anfwer what Objections it is either liable to, or 
 may have met with, either from the Se(5taries 
 or thofe of the Church of Kome, And^ 
 
 First, I think it proper to obferve. That by 
 Archbifliops we do not mean Perfbns of a di^ 
 ftind: Order from BilTiops j for when a Bifhop 
 Is made an Archbifliop^ he is only tranflated as 
 any other Bifhop is from one ordinary or com- 
 mon Bifhoprick to another, and without any 
 other Ordination or Confecration than he had 
 before. Archbifhops, indeed, were not fb foon 
 
 * See Ma>[on de Minifl. Anglic, lib. i.e. \6, Bedel's An- 
 fwer to Waddvfworthy c. ii. Prideaux Fafc. Cont. c. 4. §. 5. 
 q. 7. Hooker's Eccl. FoL Book V. §. 77. A Vindication of 
 the Ordination of the Church ^/England. Fsdd oi the Church, 
 BookV. c. j6. £x^ofonAn.%Kllh 
 
 known 
 
Thirty-Wine Anidt^. ^pi 
 
 known by that Name as Bifhops were, but thelf Art. xxxvl^ 
 Eminency feems to be admitted fooii after the V-/*V>^ 
 Days of the Apoftles ; for when a Bifhop was 
 io lucceisf il in his own and his Presbyters Mi- 
 niftry, as to convert, at too gre^t a Diftance 
 for his own Infpedlion, a numerous People, he 
 divided his Charge into more Hands, and con- 
 fecrated other Bifhops, to take a more imme- 
 diate Care of the Flock ; retaining to himfelf 
 and his SuccefTors, the Cognizance of Cauies of 
 Appeal ; and by reafbn of his Eminency over 
 thofe that were delegated from him, he was 
 Called Archbiihop or Chief Bifhop, under v/hofe 
 Infpe6lion the other Bifhops ruled the Flock : 
 When Sovereign Princes became Chriftian, they 
 changed the Bounds of Archbifhops and Bifhops 
 JDiocefes, as ftood moft with the Conyeniency 
 of their Dominions, the Bifhops enjoying the 
 fame Power they derived from Chrift without 
 Moleftation. 
 
 Secondly, I muft obferve, that feme have 
 looked upon thefe Words in the Ordinatiorf 
 Service, mentioned in this Article, Receive ye 
 the Holy Ghoft^ as too bold and affuming, and 
 to intimate that it is in our Power to convey 
 the Holy Ghoil. And to this it is to bd 
 anfwered. That fmce the feveral Fundions and 
 Adminiftrations that are in the Church, are by 
 the Apoftle, faid to flow from one and the fame 
 Spirit^ all of them, from the Apoflles down ' to 
 the Paftors and Teachers, we may then reckon, 
 that the Holy Ghoft is given, though in a much 
 lower Degree, to thofe who are inwardly moved 
 by God, to undertake that Holy Office ^ fo that 
 though that extraordinary Effufion that was 
 poured out upon the Apoftles, was in them In 
 a much higher Degree, and was accompanied 
 
6<)z Jn Expofitioii on the 
 
 Art. xxxvl.. with moit amazing Charaders ^ yet ftill lueh 
 ^^-^OTN*^ as do fmcerely offer themfelves up, on a Divine 
 MotioHj to this Service, receive a lower Portion 
 of this Spirit. This being laid down, the 
 Words Receive ye the Holy Ghuft^ may be con- 
 fidered as a Wifh or Prayer ^ and fo it will 
 better agree with what follows. And he thou a 
 faithful Difpenfer of the IVord and Sacraments. 
 Or it may be oblerved, that in thofe Sacred 
 Miffions the Church and Church-men confider 
 themielves as ading in the Name and Perfon of 
 Chriil. In Baptifm it is exprefly faid, / Bap- 
 tize in the Name of the Father^ ^c. In the 
 £ucharifl we repeat the Words of Chrifl as 
 well as in Ordination, and apply them to the 
 Elements, as faid by him , fo we confider fuch 
 as deferve to be admitted to thofe Holy Func- 
 tions, as Perfons called and fent of God ; and 
 therefore the Church, in the Name of Chrift, 
 fends them ; and becaufe he gives a Portion of 
 his Spirit to thofe whom he fends, therefore the 
 Church, in his Name, fays, Receive ye the 
 Holy Ghofl. And in this Senfe, and with this 
 Refped, the Ufe of thefe Words may well be 
 juftify'd. But, 
 
 Thirdly, The chief thing intended in this 
 Article is to oppoie the grand Objedion of the 
 Komanifts^ againfl the Orders of the Church of 
 England^ founded upon the Alteration which 
 was made in our Ordinal, Anno 1662. as if that 
 were a tacit Confent on our Side, that before 
 this Alteration Vv^as made our Ordinal was not 
 fufficient, and therefore no Orders could be 
 conferred thereby, and confequently that neither 
 they which were ordained by it, or we that have 
 derived our Orders from them, have received 
 any legal and fufficient Ordination thereby. To 
 
 whicb 
 
ThWty-Nme Articles. ^93 
 
 which I anfwer ^ i. That the putting in of Ex- Art.xxxvi. 
 planatory Words, to make things clearer, and 
 render them more free from Cavil and Objedbion, 
 cannot well be termed Alteration. 2. That 
 fuppofing really there had been any fuch Alte- 
 ration made as to the whole Subftance of the 
 Form, yet this is no more than what the Church 
 of Kome hath often done, there being fcarce an 
 Age in which fhe hath not confiderably varied 
 from herfelf herein, as may be fecn by compar- 
 ing thofe many different Forms of Ordination 
 ufed in the Church of Rome^ which are col- 
 lected together by Morinus^ a leirned Prieft of 
 that Church, in his Book concerning Ordina- 
 tions. 3. The Alterations, or rather Explana- 
 tory Additions, made in our Ordinal in the 
 Year 1662. were not inferted out of any refpecSt 
 to the Controverfy v/hich we have with the 
 Church ojf Kome^ but only to filence a Cavil 
 of the Presbyterians, who from the old Ordinal 
 drew an Argument to prove, that there was no 
 Difference between a Bifhop and a Prieft, be- 
 caufe, (as they fay) their Offices were not at all 
 diftinguifhed in the Words w^hereby they were 
 conferred on them when ordained, or any new 
 Power given a Bifliop, which he had not before 
 as a Prieft. For the Words of Ordination in 
 King Edward's Ordinal, are, for a Prieft, as 
 followeth ^ *•' Receive the Holy Ghoft ; Whofe 
 " Sins thou doft forgive they are forgiven, and 
 " whofe Sins thou doft retain they are retained, 
 " and be thou a faithful Difpenfer of the Word 
 " of God, and of his Sacraments, in the Name 
 " of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 " Holy Ghoft. '' And for a Bifnop, " Take 
 " the Holy Ghoft, and remember that thou 
 *' ftir up the Grace of God which is in thee by 
 ^' Impofition of Hands. For God hath not 
 Xx 3 '' givca 
 
694 ^^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 ^RT.xxxvi. " given thee the Spirit of Fear, but of Power^ 
 k/'^Y^^ '^ and I.ove, and Sobernefs. " And they fo 
 continued 'till the Review of our Liturgy, y^nna 
 1662. And then to obviate the above-mention'd 
 Cavil of the Presbyterians, thofe Explanatory 
 Words were inferted, whereby the Diftindion 
 ^ between a Biihop and a Prieft is more clearly 
 and unexceptionably exprefs'd : So that now 
 the Words of Ordination for a Prieft are, 
 "^ Receive the Holy Ghoft for the Office and 
 ^* Work of a Prieft in the Church of God, 
 '^ now committed to thee by Impofition of 
 ^^ our Hands. Whofe Sins thou doft forgive, 
 '' &c/' And for a Biihop^ " Receive the 
 " Holy Ghoft for the Office and Work of a 
 ^' Biihop, now committed to thee by the Im- 
 ^^ pofition of our Hands, in the Name of the 
 '^ Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 ^' Ghoft 5 and remember that thou, &e" But^ 
 4. Having thus ftated the Cafe, and laid before 
 you the Differences between the new Ordinal 
 and the old j now, to come to the main of the 
 Objedion, I after t, that had the old Ordinal 
 been continued without any fuch Addition-, 
 although it might not clearly have obviated the 
 Cavils of the Adverfaries, yet the Orders con- 
 ferred by it would have been altogether as valid. 
 And as to the Objedion made by the Gentle- 
 men of the Church of Rome^ that the Words 
 of our old Ordinal do not liifficiently exprefl 
 the Office conferred thereby, this muft be un- 
 •derftood either in reference to the Prieftly Ordi- 
 nation, or the Epilcopal, or both. And, i. As 
 to the Prieftly Ordination there leems not to be 
 the leaft Ground for it, becaufe the Form ih 
 the old Ordinal doth as fully exprefs the Office, 
 Power, and Authority of a Prieft as need be 
 rcouireda in thefe Words, *^ Whofe Sm thou 
 
 ^ doft 
 
TJjirty-Nme Articles. 695 
 
 " doft forgive they are forgiven, and whofe Art. xxxvl. 
 " Sins thou doft retain they are retained. And L/'Y^^ 
 " be thou a faithful Difpenfer of the Word of 
 '' God, and of his Sacraments ," wherein the 
 Whole of the Prieftly Office is exprefled. 
 But, 2. As to the Epifcopal Ordination, the 
 whole Pinch of the Argument feems to lie 
 there, becaufe in the old Form of the Words, 
 Ipoken at the Impofition of Hands, the Office 
 and Authority of a Bifhop (they fay) is not {o 
 particularly fpecify'd. To this I anfvver, i. That 
 I think this fufficiently done in the Words of the 
 Form, " Remember that thou ftir up the 
 '^ Grace of God which is in thee by Impofition 
 '^ of Hands, for God hath not given us the 
 '^ Spirit of Fear, but of Power, and Love, and 
 '^ Soberneis ; " for they are the very Words of 
 St. Paul to "timothy Bifhop oi Ephefus, (2 Epift, 
 cb. I. "ver. 6, 7.) whereby he exhorts and ftirs 
 him up to the Execution of his Epifcopal Of- 1 
 
 fice, and they have always been underftood to 
 refer thereto, and therefore, I think, they may 
 be alfb allowed fufficient to exprefs the fame 
 Epifcopal Office, when fpoken to any other, 
 and fully determine to what Office the Holy 
 Ghoft is given by Impofition of Hands in the 
 Form mentioned, and properer for this Purpofe 
 than any other, becaufe of the greater Autho-* 
 rity which they muft have, in that they are 
 taken out of the Holy Scripture. But if Men 
 will cavil on, and ftill object that the Name of 
 Bifhop is not expreifed in the Form, or the Du- 
 ties and Power of that Office with fufficient 
 Clearnefs fpecify'd in the Words mentioned, the 
 Objection lies much more againfl the Ro??mn 
 Ordinal than againft ours, as being much more 
 defedive herein. For the whole Form ufed 
 therein at the Confecration of a Bifhop is no 
 X s 4 more 
 
6()(i An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvi. more than this, \_Keceive the Holy Gboft'] that 
 00^>^ being all that is faid at the Impofition of Hands, 
 and aflerted by them to be the whole Form of 
 Eptfcopal Ordination. And therefore Vafques^ 
 a learned Jemit and moft eminent School-man, 
 makes the fame Objedlion againft the Roman 
 Ordinal, that the Komanifts do againft ours. 
 For in Terthmi I'homce Difp. 240. c. 5. n, $"], 
 his Words are, ^' Thefe Words, Receive the 
 '' Holy Ghoft^ which are fpoken by three Bifhops 
 '' together, with Impofition of Hands, over 
 '" the Perfon to be ordained, feem to be fb 
 '^ general, that they do not expreis the proper 
 '^ Office and Degree of a Biihop, which yet 
 " did feem necelTary for the Form of his Ordi- 
 " nation." But to this he himfelf gives a So- 
 lution (A^ 60. of the fame Chapter') in thefe fol- 
 lowing Words : " Neither doth that hinder 
 ^^ which I have faid before, that thefe Vv^ords 
 '' [Receive the Holy Ghof] were too general ; 
 '' For although by thefe Words confidered in 
 '^ themfelves, the Office or peculiar Degree of 
 '^ a Biihop cannot be denoted, and they may 
 " be alfo faid for any other Order • but as they 
 '^ are pronounced (the Impofition of Hands of 
 • '^ three Bifhops joined together being alfb had 
 '' therewith for the Matter of Ordination) they 
 " do truly denote the Degree, of a Bifhop, 
 ^^ to which the Perfon eleded is ordained. 
 '^ For they, after this manner, laying on their 
 '^ Hands all together, by thofe Words do de- 
 ^^ note that they receive him into their Fel- 
 " lov/fhip, and to this end do give the Holy 
 '' Ghofl, and therefore do place him in the 
 '" fame Epifcopal Order with themfelves, 
 '^ whereas the Impofition of Hands made ufe 
 '^ of by one Bifhop only, and the fame Words 
 ^^ [Receive the Holy Qboff] with a few. others 
 
 '^ added 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 6^7 
 
 '^ added to them, fpoken by the lame Bifhop Apt. xxxvi. 
 *^ in the Ordination of a Deacon, do not either ^<y^y^\J 
 '^ as confidered in themfelves, or as fpoken by 
 " the Bifhop and apply'd to this Matter, denote 
 ^^ the peculiar Office or Degree of a Deacon ; 
 " neither can they, as fpoken by one Bifhop, 
 '^ with fuch a Matter, denote the Ordained to 
 '^ be admitted into the Fellowfhip with the 
 " Bifhop rather in this Order than in another, 
 '*^ feeing one Bifhop is as well the Miniller of 
 '^ Conferring the Orders of the Prieflhood, and 
 " of the Sub-Deacon as of the Deacon. But 
 ^^ on the contrary, three Bifhops are only the 
 '^ Miniflers of Conferring Epifcopal Ordina- 
 '^ tion. And I do therefore think it to be the 
 '^ Will of Chrifl, that his Church fhould in this 
 '^ Ordination, ule fuch Words as, confider'd in 
 '' themfelves, are only general, that it might 
 ^' denote thereby that abundant Grace of the 
 '^ Holy Spirit which is conferred on Bifhops in 
 *^ their Ordination. For it feems to be much 
 ^' more that the Holy G hoft be given abiolutely, 
 " than that it be given for this or that peculiar 
 " Eifea." Thus far the learned Jefuit ; and 
 if this may be allowed to be a Solution of the 
 Objedion againfl the Ordinal of the Church of 
 Rome, it mufl alfo be a fulHcient Solution of\ 
 the fame Obje(5lion againfl: our Ordinal. For 
 with us, as well as in the Church of Rome, 
 there are always three Bifhops prefent at the 
 Ordination of a Bifhop, which all together lay 
 their Hands on the Bifhop eled when or- 
 dained, and not only this Circumflance, but 
 many others in the Admin iflration of this Of^ 
 fice, according to our Ordinal, do as fully fhew 
 what Order the Perfbn on whom they thus lay 
 their Hands, and pronounce the above-mcn- 
 tion'd Form of Confecration over, is to be 
 
 admitted 
 
698 Jn Expoiition on the 
 
 Art. XXXVI. admitted to. The Complex of the whole 0& 
 ^^^'VV^ fice (hews it. For the Perfon to be ordained 
 or confecrated is prcfented to the Metropolitan, 
 as one to be made a Bilhop , is prayed for as 
 one to be made a Bifhop 5 is examined or inter- 
 rogated as one to be made a Bilhop ; is vefted 
 in the Epifcopal Robes, and is ordained by a 
 Form never ufed but in the Ordination of a 
 Bifhop ; and all thefe together, with many 
 other fuch like Circumftances in that Office, 
 too long all to be put down, are certainly fuffi-^ 
 cient to determine the Words of the Form to 
 the Epifcopal Office only, were there nothing 
 in the Words themfelves to do it, as it is cer- 
 tain there is not in the Form ufed by the Church 
 of Kome to this Purpofe. To this let me add, 
 I. That though fuch of the Clergy as had been 
 ordained by King Edward's Ordinal, and re- 
 fufed to comply with Popery at its Reftauration 
 in Queen Marys Reign, were declared by the 
 Papifts, in the Heat of their Fury and Re- 
 venge, to be only in pretended Orders, yet 
 fuch of them as did comply, which were not a 
 few, kept both their Livings and their Orders 
 without any new Ordination, all being falved 
 by a Difpenlation, which could not have been 
 done, had their Orders by that Ordinal been 
 conferred contrary to Chrift's Inftitution, againft 
 which there can be no Difpenfation by any 
 Power on Earth whatfbever. 2. That Bonner 
 himfelf, in the Heighth of his Zeal and Rage 
 againft us, hath nothing to alledge againft this 
 Ordinal, in his Book that he wrote againft our 
 Orders, except this, that in the Ordinal for the 
 Ordaining of Priefts we have not this Form, 
 '' Receive thou Power to offer Sacrifices to 
 " God, and to celebrate Mafs both for the 
 ^^ Living and the Dead ^ and if this be a De* 
 
Thirty-Wine Articles. 6^^ 
 
 fed in our Ordinal, and on this Account an Art.xxxvl 
 efTential Part is wanting in our Orders, (as the i^/V>!¥^ 
 Gentlemen of Kome contend , for this is indeed 
 the whole of what they have to fay, when they 
 come clofe to the Poiilt) it hath ^Ifo been a 
 Defetft in the Church of Kmie itfelf, which 
 for a thoufand Years together never ufed any 
 fuch Form in their Ordination, and it is not 
 now ufed to this Day, either in the Greek 
 Church, or in the Churches of the Maronites 
 upon Mount Lihanus^ although the Church of 
 Kome allows the Orders of the former to be 
 good, and the latter are Members of their own 
 Communion. Nay, it is further to be obferved, 
 that thoie Greeks which live in Rome^ not only 
 under the Pope's Jurifdidion, to which they 
 have fubmitted, but alfb under his very Nofe, 
 and have Churches there riiaintain'd for them 
 at his Coft and Charges, are ftill allowed to be 
 ordained by their owti Ordinal, in which this 
 Form is wanting, as Mmntis^ a learned Prieft 
 pi the Komijh Communion, and one that lived 
 fome Time at Kome^ doth atteft j and there- 
 fore, if for this Defed, (as they call it) our 
 Orders be null and invalid, (as now they Would 
 have) why do they allow them to be good and 
 Valid in others, which have received thetti with 
 the fame Defed alfo ? or rather, how can they 
 be good and valid in themfdves, who have 
 received them from fuch, as for near a thoufand 
 iTears (as 1 have before obferved) nev^r ufe4 
 tills Form? 
 
 j^RtlCXE 
 
700 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Article XXXVII. 
 
 Of the Civil Magijtrates. 
 
 ART.xxxvn. tZDfje mtiiB's Wm^)> fjatft tlje cfiief potocr 
 v.>nrv^ in tijtis Eealm of England, ano otDcc fits 
 Domtmon0, unto toljom tlje cljtef ®a-- 
 Becnment of all ctftates of tljts Realm> 
 luljctftei: tbep be oScclefiaRfcal o? CiWl, 
 m all Caufe^g Botlj appertain, ann is not 
 mi oufffjt to be Cubject to anp jf ojeign 
 SurirDicttom 
 
 miyttz m attribute to tbe king's ^a^ 
 Ittti) tlje cljief ©obctnment, bj? toljicfj 
 Cities toe un5eraan5 tfte ^mm of 
 fome flanoetous jTolfes to be ofienBea ^ 
 toe gibe not to out pjmces tlje ®tnt 
 ifcing eitfjee of ©ou's 22Jo?b o? of tbe 
 Sacraments, tlje toljiclj Cljmg tfie Sin* 
 junctions alio latel|> fet fojtlj bp Elizabeth 
 our flClueen, bo mod plainly teftif? -, but 
 tljat omp p^erogatibe toljiclj toe fee to 
 babe been gi^en altoaps to all ©oblu 
 Princes in ipolp ,^cripture bp i^oa Ijtm* 
 felf, tijat 105 tbat tljep fljouin rule all 
 dilates anti Degrees committea to tbeit: 
 Cbatge bp ©oa, tobetljer tljep be (Eccle^ 
 fiallical 01 ^empo?ab ana tfftrain toit§ 
 
 t&g 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 701 
 
 tl)C CiWl a)too?5 tlie g)tttbba?n anD tW, art.xxxvu. 
 
 Cge TBifljop of Rome Ijatfi no 3lutirt!i(tiatt 
 
 m tfiiS Eealm of England, 
 
 cee JLatos of tfie Eealm map puniCb 
 C6?iftian ^en toitfi IDeatft fo? Ijeinoug 
 ana gjiciiouis Mmtzd* 
 
 3lt (0 latofal fa? Cljnfftait s^eit, at tljc 
 Commannment of tlje iogagiCrate, to 
 toeac aneapon^, ann ferae in tfje imtg. 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 E R T A I N it is, from the Exam- 
 ples of David^ Solomon^ Hezekiab^ 
 and feveral other pious Princes, that 
 under the Law Princes were by their 
 Office, Keepers of both Tables, and that Ec- 
 clefiaftical Perfons as well as Lay-Men were 
 fubjedt to their Government ; and that they 
 had Power to take Cognizance of fuch Caufes 
 as concerned Piety towards God, as well as 
 fuch as concerned Juftice towards Men. Now, 
 fmce Magiftrates had once fuch a Power, 
 how came they to lofe it, or to be divefted 
 of it ? The New Teftament hath no where 
 deprived them, but on the contrary is fre- 
 quent in aflerting the Power of Princes and 
 Magiftrates. Thus Kom. xiii. i. we are required 
 to he fuhje^ to the higher Powers, And i Pet. 
 ii. 13. to fubmit ourfel-ves to every Ordinance of 
 Man for the Lord's Sake, And when our Sa- 
 viour tells us, that his Kingdom is not of this 
 World, he fufficiently intimates, that it was 
 neither necelTary that he fliould, and that con- 
 
 iequently 
 
^oi Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvii. fequently he had no Intention to alter the 
 ^^^^^y^^^^ Forms of Government, or revoke the Autho- 
 rity Governors were in Poffedion of 
 
 The Primitive Chrlftians were very obedient 
 to their Heathen Governors, and I'eftullian ad 
 Scapitlam^ Cap, 2. hath thefe Words ; '^ We reve- 
 '' rence the Emperor as far forth as 'tis lawful 
 '^ for us, and expedient for him, as a Man ftcond 
 ^' to God ; and with Regard to what he hath 
 '^ received from God, inferior to God only/' But 
 indeed the Church had no Princes for the Three 
 firft Centuries or Ages, except fuch as either 
 perfecuted or at leaft neglected her. For this 
 Reafon fhe was forced to take Care of her own 
 Affairs without them. But as foon as the Em- 
 perors became Chriftians, the Affairs of the 
 Church depended on their Management, as ap- 
 })ears by the Preface to Socrates\ Fifth Book of 
 Ecclefiafiical Htftory. From this Time they be- 
 gan to call Councils, and to receive Appeal^ 
 from them, and to take Cognizance of Eccle- 
 fiaftical Caufcs, ^c. In a Word, 'tis very ma- 
 nifeft that the Chriftian Emperors made Ufe of 
 whatever Authority the Church of England 
 afcribes to her Kings. That Ecclefiafiical as well 
 as Temporal Perfons may be punifhed by the 
 Civil Magiflrate, appears from i Kings ii. 26^ 
 iSc. where we read at large, that Soloraon de- 
 prived Ahiathar the Prieft of his OfHce, and 
 let him know, that 'twas out of Mercy that he 
 fpared his Life. 'Tis not therefore without 
 Reafon that our Church ordains in her Second 
 Canon, That fuch as deny our Princes the 
 Power we are pleading for, fhali ipfo faUo be 
 excommunicated. 
 
 A5 
 
Thirty -Nine Articles. ^03 
 
 A s for Miniftring either the Word or Sacra- Art-XXXVII. 
 ments, it belongs no more to Princes than the V^'^VX^ 
 Burning of Incenfe did to King Uzziah^ who 
 for attempting it, was judicially fmitten with 
 Leprofy, and fb excluded for ever after, not 
 only from all Sacred, but even Civil Society. 
 A plain Argument that the Sacerdotal is not 
 included in the Regal Office, nor derived from 
 thence, but is of a diflindt Nature and Inftitu- 
 tion, zChron. xxvi. i6, ^c,f 
 
 A s for the Bifliop of Rome^s Claim of Ju- 
 rifdidtion in England^ I would fain know upon 
 what it is grounded. Does it depend on his 
 being St. Peter s SuccefTor ? My Anfwer is. That 
 all the Apoftles were equal in Authority ; and 
 moreover St. Paul, who was the Apoftle of the 
 Gentiles^ was not afraid, we fee, to reprove 
 St. Peter^ Galat. ii. 9, 14. And under the 
 XXXIVth Article we obfervcd, that Polycarp 
 would not yield loVo^t Anicetusm theControverly 
 about the Obfervation of Eafter, A plain In- 
 dication that Anicetus had nothrng to do out 
 of his Diocefe. And S. Cyprian in Concil. Car- 
 
 thag. hath thefe Words : Nor hath any 
 
 one of us fet himfelf up for a Bifhop of Bifhops, 
 or by any Tyrannical Ufage terrified his Col- 
 legues or Fellow Bifliops into a NecefHty of 
 Stooping and Cringing to him , being duly fen- 
 fible that every Bifliop is at Liberty to ufe his 
 
 t SecyeweWs Def.Apol. Part VI. cap. 11. div. i. Whit- 
 giffs Defence, Trad. 20. Bilfon of Chrifiian Suhj. Part a. 
 Hooker's EccL Fol. lib. 5-. 5. i . & lib. 8. Vrldcmx "Fafi. Cont, 
 cap. 4. §. 2. q, 3, 6. Scott's, Chrijiian Life, Part 2. cap. 7^ 
 §. 10, Held of the ChHrcb^ Book j-. cap. f 3. 
 
 Power 
 
7c4 Jn Expofstion on the 
 
 Art.xxxvJj Power according to his Difcretion, and is nei- 
 
 OO^N^ 
 
 ther to judge nor to be judged by another. 
 But let us all look for the Judgment of our 
 Lord Jefus Chrift, who alone hath the Power 
 both of advancing us to the Government of his 
 Church, and of judging us for what we do in 
 the Exerciie of our Office. 
 
 O R does the Pope's Claim depend upon his 
 Right as a Patriarch ? I anfwer. That England 
 is not within the Patriarchate of Korne, Or 
 does it depend on the Gift of Conftantine ? That 
 is too ridiculous an Impofture to be ferioufly 
 refuted. Or does it depend on his being con- 
 cerned in converting us to the Chriftian Faith ? 
 According to this Way of Reaibning, all 
 Churches, that of Rome not excepted, ought 
 to be ilibjedl to the Church of Jerufalem^ but 
 none is to be fubjedl to the Church of Kome^ 
 which did not receive the Chriftian Faith from 
 her. And the Britons were converted to the 
 Faith long before the Coming of Auguftin the 
 Pope's Legate. 
 
 From all this it follows, that when the Pope 
 of Rome concerns himfelf with our Affairs, he 
 is one of thole who are reprehended i Pet, 
 iv. 15. that is, a Bufy-hody in other Mens Mat- 
 ters, * 
 
 * See Jewell's Bef. Apol. Part 4. cap. 14. div. i. Bilfm 
 of Chriftian Subj. Part i. Hammond of Schifmt cap. 4, f, 
 6, 7. Vrldeaux Fafc. Contr. cap. 4. §. 5. q. 1. Mafon de 
 M'mift. Angl. lib. 4. cap, 3, 4, ij", 16. Bilhop Lloyd's Hifi. 
 Account of Church Government} cap, i. Held oi the Ckurcht 
 Book f. cap. 32, 8v:c, 
 
 Thai 
 
Thirty-lSime Articles. 705 
 
 The Scriptures which thofe of the Church Art.xxxvii. 
 of Rome all edge in Oppofition to this Dodrine ^^^^^^f"'^^' 
 are two Places in the Gofpels: The one in 
 St. Matthew xvi. iS, 19. the other in St. John 
 xxi. 1 7. In the former of thefe, that Supream 
 Authority which they contend for, is, they 
 fay, promifed to St. Peter j in the latter 'tis 
 conferred. I begin with the firft. Mat. xvi. 
 18, 19. And I fay unto thee^ that thou art 'Peter ^ 
 and upon this Rock I will build my Church., &ia 
 And I will give unto thee the Keys of the King-- 
 dom of Heaven^ and whatfoe'ver thou floalt hind 
 on Earth Jhall he hound in Heaven ; and what- 
 foever thou Jhall loofe on Earth f.oall he loofed in 
 Heaven, The Senfe of which Words, faith 
 Bellarmifie^ is plain and obvious ; giving us 
 to underftand, the Sovereignty over the whole 
 Church to be here promiled to Peter ^ in two 
 Metaphors. The one is a Metaphor of a Foun- 
 dation and a Building , the other is a Metaphor 
 of Keys. For what a Foundation is in Build- ,^ 
 ing, that the Head is in the Body, the Gover--^ 1 
 nor in the City, the King in his Kingdom, and 
 the Father of the Family in the Houfe ; and 
 to whom the Keys of a City are delivered, he 
 is appointed the King, or at lead the Governor 
 of that City , to admit and fhut out whom he 
 pleafeth. To which I have this to fay, before 
 I give the true Senfe of thefe Words : That to 
 call this a plain and obvious Senfe of the W^ords, 
 which is wrapt up in a Couple of Metaphors, 
 is to ftumble at the very Threfhold j and to 
 contradid himfelf in Terms. For what is me- 
 taphorical, is not plain and obvious ; but needs 
 Explanation by putting it into common Words: 
 Into which, if thefe Metaphors be reduced, we 
 ihall find there is no fuch Senfe contained .n 
 
 y y ihem 
 
yo6 An Expofitioti on the 
 
 Art.xxx^'TI. them as is pretended. I (h^ll explain them 
 ^"-'^'VX^ diftindiy, and begin with the former Part of 
 this Promiie, ^hou art Petcr^ and upon this 
 Rock I 'jotll build my Church: Which we may 
 call the firft Proof they bring of St. Peter s 
 being the Monarch of the Church, Which Fenfe 
 is fo far from being plain and obvious, that 
 having confidered both the Words, and all the 
 aniient Expofitors upon them, I can find no- 
 thing plainer than thefe two Things : Firft, that 
 there is no Certainty St. Peter is here meant by 
 the Rock, upon which Chrift faith he will build 
 his Church : Nor, fecondly, If he were, that 
 Chrift intended by calling him ?. Rock, to make 
 him the Lord of his Church. Firft, I fay, 
 there is no Evidence that St. Peter is here meant 
 by the Rock ; but quite contrary : W^e are led 
 by the general Stream of antient Interpreters, 
 to underftand by the Rock upon which the 
 Church was built, that Faith concerning Chrift: 
 which Peter had newly confefled. There arc 
 more than two that thus expound the Words, 
 for one that expounds them otherwife ; and 
 even they who apply thefe Words to St. Peter 
 had Refped (in calling him the Rock) to his 
 Preaching the Dodrine of Chrift ; and having 
 the Honour to be the firft Preacher of it to 
 the Gentiles. Which is all the Privilege that 
 can be thought to be peculiarly intended to 
 him in thefe Words. For, excepting this, what- 
 foever was faid to him, was direded to all the 
 Apoftles ; bccaufe Peter^ as their Mouth, fpake 
 the Scnic of them all, when he faid, uhou art 
 Chrift^ the Son of the Living Gcd ; and there- 
 fore Chrift's Anfwer was returned to them all, 
 when he faid, I'hou art Peter^ and upon this 
 Rock ivill I build my Church. As much as to 
 fay. Thou art what thy Name imports, which 
 
 I have 
 
Thirty -Nine Articles. 7 07 
 
 I have given thee with refpea: to this folid ART.xxxvir. 
 Faith thou haft now confefTed ; upon which, as '^^^"V^.-^. 
 upon a Rock, I will build my Church by your 
 Miniftry ; and particularly by thine, who fhalc 
 have the Honour to lay the firft Stone of it in 
 the Gentile World, Thus St. Auftin expounds 
 the Words in many Places, where he obferves, 
 that St. Peter had his Name from Fctra^ a Kock^ 
 njiz. That Faith which he confeOTed, upon which 
 Chrift told him, he would build his Church. 
 For he doth not fay. Thou art Peter^ and upon 
 thee will I build my Church, but upon this 
 Rock j which plainly relates to another things 
 njiz. that immoveable Foundation confefTed by 
 Peter^ that he was Chrift the Son of God. 
 Whence thofe known Words of the fame Fa- 
 ther, I will build thee upon me, not me upon 
 thee^. The other Expofition, which makes 
 St. Peter the Rock here fpoken of, is againft 
 the moft unanimous Confent of the Fathers of 
 the Church : Which they of the Church of 
 Kome are bound to follow, both by the Doc- 
 trine of the Council of Trent ^ and by the Form 
 of that Oath of ProfefHon of Faith which Pope 
 Pius the Fourth drew up and enjoin'd, according 
 to the Mind of that Council f. And yet (fb 
 intent are fbme Men upon their Intereft, fb 
 refolutely bent to follow nothing elfe) there are 
 thofe, who to make theie Words found as if Chrift 
 promifed to build his Church upon Peter himfelf, 
 have not been afhamed to tranflate them in the 
 following manner ; Thou art Peter^ and upon 
 this Peter will I build my Church. So Dr. 
 Allen would have had the Tranflation run in 
 
 ♦ Tr3<9:. 114. in Joh. Sermon. 13. de Verbis Dom. Sec. 
 t Vide Seir. 4. 
 
 Y y a the 
 
7o8 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvii the KhemiJIo Teftament, and fo Hart alledges them 
 V/VN-/' in his Conference with Dr. Reynolds ^, And the 
 Catholick Scripturift^ as he calls himfelf, tranflates 
 them after this mannerCaccording to theLanguage 
 which Chrift fpoke). Thou art a Rock, and 
 upon this Rock will I build my Church. As if 
 it were lawful for them to do any thing, (even 
 to contradid: that very Council, whofe Decrees 
 they are fworn to obferve,) that they may make 
 the Scripture feem to be on their Side. For 
 the Council of frent hath decreed the old Lati7t 
 Tranilation to be authentical, with a Prohibi- 
 tion, that no Man dare or prefume, under any 
 Pretence, to reje6fc it. Notwithftanding which, 
 here are Men that prefume to reform it, and 
 to make a new Tranilation of their own Heads, 
 as different from that authentick vulgar Tranila- 
 tion as from ours : For in this ours and that 
 are the fame, as every one may know that under- 
 ftands the Latin Tongue. This is a Prefump- 
 tion with a Witnefs, to make their own Tranf^ 
 lation depart fo far from the Language which 
 Chrift fpoke, as to put I'm cs Petrus^ inftead of 
 ^u es Petra : For fo Chrift's Words fhould have 
 been tranflated, if they fignified I'hou art a 
 Kocky unlefs they can (hew us, that Petrus^ m 
 any other Author, is Latin for a Rock. 'Till 
 this be done, we mud fay that fuch Men, con- 
 trary to their Faith folemnly fworn, depart not 
 only from Antiquity, but from themfelves. And 
 when they have done all they can, it will evi- 
 dently appear, that the Church was not built by 
 his Bands alone, (though he began, as I faid, 
 and laid the firft Stone among the Gentiles^ 
 but by them all, and more-elpecially by St. 
 
 ^ C\\2Xf, 2. Div'if. I. 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 709 
 
 Paul, who was called late into this Office, but Art.xxxvu 
 laboured more abundantly than they all ; and as ^*/°VX^ 
 a wife Mafter-Builder, laid the Foundation up- 
 on which others built, i Cor. xv. lo. y iii. lo, 
 II. which Foundation, he tells us, is Chrift 
 himfelf : Who, he likewife fays, is the only Fomi- 
 datton^ and that no Man can lay other Foundation 
 befides him. Which fhews this Promife I am 
 treating of, had refped to all that had the Of- 
 fice of Apoftles 5 and wholly ruins the Autho- 
 rity of St. Peter ^ upon which they would have 
 the Church to be built. For if Jefus Chrill: be 
 the only Foundation that can be laid, then Peter 
 cannot be the Foundation , but only as a Mi- 
 nifter of Jefus Chrift, who helped to lay the 
 Foundation, which is Chrift himfelf and his 
 Faith. In which Miniftry he was no more em- 
 ployed than other Apoftles ; but St. Paul^ who 
 came' laft into this Miniftry, was as wife a 
 Mafter-Builder as himfelf, and took more Pains 
 than he or any of the reft ^ laying the Foun- 
 dati(!Mi where neither St. Peter or any other 
 Preacher of the Goipel had ever been, left he 
 Jhould build upon another Mans Foundation, as 
 he tells the Roman Church, Rom. xv. 20. which 
 Words utterly overthrow their vain Diftind:ion 
 o(a.firfi, and a fecondary Foundation, whereby 
 they endeavour to elude thoie Words of St. 
 Paul in the Place before-named, i Cor. iii. 11. 
 For it appears by this other Place, that St. Paul 
 was a fecondary or minifterial Foundation, if 
 we may fo fpeak ; that is, fpeak improperly, 
 meaning thereby one that laid the Foundation : 
 Which he did as much as St. Peter., or any other 
 Apoftle ; nay, a great deal more, as he himfelf 
 tells us, when he faith, he laboured more abun^ 
 dantly than they all. In exact fpeaking, there 
 is no Foundation on which the Church is built, 
 
 Yy 3 but 
 
W/'^TN^ 
 
 710 Jn Expcfition on the 
 
 ^r'^^^]' ^"^ ^^^^'^fi_ ^^^^^^ Cas St. Paul affures) /;/ whom all 
 the Building fitly framed together^ groweth unto 
 an Holy femple tn the Lord^ Ephefl ii. 21. But 
 Faith in Chrifl, being that whereby we are 
 joined to him, it may be called by the fame 
 Name : And accordingly the ColoJJians are faid 
 to be grounded in the Fatth^ as upon a Foujtda- 
 tion^ (the Greek Word fjgnifies) from which he 
 would have them not to be moved *. And the 
 Apoftles (as he there faith) being the Preachers 
 of this Faith, and the Inflruments whereby 
 Men were brought to believe in Chrift, and fo 
 joined to him as Living Stones, are called by the 
 Name of Foundation^ in the Place before-named, 
 Ephef ii. 20. Built upon the Foundation of the 
 Apoftles and Prophets^ ^c. But then, it is evi- 
 dent that Peter alone is not this Foundation, 
 but all the Apollles. For there are Twelve 
 Foundations of this fort, as we read Kev. xxi. 
 14. by whofc Miniftry the Church was built 
 upon Chrift ; the fole Foundation (in proper 
 fpeaking) that was laid for all to build upon. 
 Secondly ; After all this that hath been laid, 
 to Ihew there is nothing here promifed to St. 
 Peter^ but what belongs to all the Apoftles, 
 except only that of his being employ 'd in laying 
 the firft Foundation of Faith among the Gentiles ; 
 it remains, that I fhew there is nothing in the 
 Word Rocky which implies any Superiority of 
 Power and Authority over the reft of h'S Bre- 
 thren and the whole Church ; if we would fup- 
 pofe this Promife to have been made to him 
 alone , for it denotes nothing of Government ; 
 but hath refpedt to the Support and Stability of 
 that Struclure, which is firmly laid upon it. 
 
 TjT Tfifei Ti^iUi^^faiiiyQi, Col. i. 23, 
 
 And 
 
Tltrty- Nine Articles. 7 ^ i 
 
 And therefore the ancient Dodors give other ^^t.xxxvu- 
 Reafons of his being called a Kock^ and not 
 this • hecaufe to htm was committed the Govern^ 
 ment of the -whole Churchy efpecially about Faith, 
 Which is the Explanation Bellarmine gives of 
 this Word, a^rming it to be the S^'gnificj.tion 
 of th's Metaphor : F r it is pnper to a Funda- 
 metital Kockj faith he, to govern and fnflatn the 
 whole Edifice, 1 his is perfedly new Language, 
 never heard of in the World before, that it is 
 proper to a Foundation to govern ; for it is 
 altogether improper, and nobody thinks of any 
 fuch thing, when he reads of a Foundation. 
 But if it be proper, then all the Apoflles were 
 Governors of the whole Church, as well as he, 
 becaufe they were all Foundations^ as was before 
 obferved • having the very fame Power given 
 to them by Chrift, which, we now fuppofe 
 was here pfomiled to him alone. Unto which 
 they of the Church of Rome have nothing to 
 reply, but only this (which is merely a bold 
 Affirmation, and as abfurd as all the reft) they 
 were indeed all of them the Heads, Governors, 
 and Paftors of the Church Univerfal j but not 
 after the fame manner as Peter was * But why 
 fo ? V/hy truly we are told, That they had the 
 higheft and moft ample Power as Apoftles and 
 Ambafladors ; but Peter alfo as an ordinary 
 Faftor. As much as to fay, they had indeed 
 the higheft Power in the Church, and as large 
 as he, but not fo high a Power as his. Let 
 any Man try, if he can make any other Senfe 
 of thofe Words ; that is, find any Senfe at all 
 in them. For was this Power of being an Or- 
 dinary Paftor^ greater than that of the Apoftles, 
 
 Bellarmin. lib. i. de Pontit. Rom. cap. n. 
 
 Y y 4 pr 
 
712 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvii. or no ? If it were greater, then it is not true 
 ^yy"^ which he affirms, that the Apoftles had the 
 higheft Power. If it were lefs than the Power 
 of the Apoftles, then they were all greater than 
 he, as he was an ordinary Paftor ; and then it 
 is Nonfenfe to fay, they fo had a Plenitude of 
 Power, as that St. Peter was, notwithftanding, 
 the Head of them, and they all depended on 
 him. For he rather depended on them, as an 
 Ordinary Paftor, if that was leis than the Power 
 of the Apoftlefliip : And if it were not, but 
 greater than it j then (as I faid) it is falfe, that 
 the Apoftles had the higheft Power. This is 
 fufficient to ftiew into what Abfurdities Men 
 run, when they go about to maintain a Falfe- 
 hood ; and what wretched Shifts they devife to 
 obfcure the clear Truth, which fhines in their 
 Eyes ; which when they have done, they walk 
 as in Darknels, and cannot be perfuaded to fee 
 or acknowledge their Error. Nay, one Error 
 grows out of another, and having begun to 
 wreft the Holy Scripture, they go on to ftrain 
 it, fo far as to extend it to any Purpofe they 
 have to ierve by it. For having prefumed that 
 Petefj and he alone, is promifed to be made 
 ^^^~ the Governor of the whole Church, by thefe 
 Words of our Saviour, they imm.ediately pre- 
 fume, without the leaft Shew of Proof, that 
 the Bifhops of Rome fucceed him in this Autho- 
 rity. Which is a very large Step, or rather 
 Leap, from St. Peter to the Pope of Rome^ be- 
 tween whom there is fuch a vaft Diftance, that 
 it is impoflible to make out the Claim to which 
 they pretend from him. For there is no Evi- 
 dence that St. Peter was Bifhop of Rome^ but 
 only that he founded that Church, and fettled 
 a Biihop there. For if he was Bifhop of An- 
 tioch^ it v/a»^ ^g'linft all ancient Rules to leave 
 
 that. 
 
Thirty 'Nine Articles. 7 1 ^ 
 
 that, and go to another See. The Truth is, Art.xxxvii. 
 he was properly Bifliop of neither, but plant- '-^''"V^^ 
 ed a Church in each , and firft at Anttoch^ be- 
 fore he came to Rome : And who can think he 
 did not fettle one to take care of that Church 
 of Antioch when he left it ? Who might be call- 
 ed his Succelfor as well as he, whom he is 
 fuppofed to have placed afterwards in Rome. 
 Which two Things being allowed, as unque- 
 ftionable Matters of Fad:, there is no Reaibn 
 can be given^ why all the Power and Jurif- 
 diciion, which is claimed on the Account of 
 Succeffion, fhoi-Jd not devolve by the Ri^ht of 
 Primogeniture, upon the Bifhop of Antiocb : 
 Since it is confefs'd he firft fat there, and fat 
 there [even Years, which is more than can be 
 proved he did at Kome^ where he was not when 
 St. Paul came thither (^A^s xxviii.) nor when 
 he firft anfwered before Nero^ nor when he was 
 ready to be offered, 2 ^im. iv. 6, ii, 16. nor 
 can any certain Time be affign'd when he was 
 there, as we are fure St. Paul was, who is ac- 
 knowledg'd to be a Founder of that Church,, 
 and had as much (or rather more) Right tp 
 leave a Bifhop to fncceed him there as St. Peter -^ 
 who could transfer to no Body, neither there 
 nor any where elle, what was perfbnaljy velt- 
 ed in him , as all the Privilege here .granted him 
 was. Or if he was to have any Succeffor in 
 his fuppofed Dominion, there were others that 
 had a better Title to it than the Bifhop of 
 Rome ; particularly St. Jobn^ who it is certain 
 furvived St. Peter.^ Therefore all that Bellar- 
 mine hath to fay in this Matter is, that the 
 Apoftles being dead, the apoflolical Authority 
 remained in Peter s Succeffor alone * For 
 
 Lib. de Pont. Rom. c. 9. 
 
 which 
 
7t4 >^n Expofitioii on the 
 
 Art.xxxvit. which he gives us not one Word of Proof, 
 ^--OT*^^ but only this notorious Falfhood, that the Ro- 
 man Biihop alone is called by all, The Apofiolical 
 Bijhopy and his See, fimply. The Apoftolical 
 See. When all the World knows Jerufalem^ 
 Conftantinople^ and divers other Places were call- 
 ed by the lame Name of Apoftoltcal Sees^ or 
 Churches , and their Bifhops called not only 
 Apoftolical, but Catholick, and faid to be Bi- 
 fhops of the CathoUck Church. The Meaning of 
 all which is nothing g\[q^ but that they held the 
 Catholick Religion and Faith, as Launoy f mod 
 ingenuoudy confeffes, and maintains, the Roman 
 Biihopsthemfelves intended no more, when they 
 fubfcribed themfelves Bifhops of the Catho- 
 lick Church. Nay, Bell ar mine himfelf, in the 
 Place now named, is conftrained to acknowledge 
 that the fupreme Ecclefiaftical Power was given 
 not only to Peter^ but to other Apoftles alfb. 
 For they might all fay that of St. Paul^ z Cor. 
 xi. 28. My daily Bufinefs^ the Care of all the 
 Churches. But it was given to Peter as an or- 
 dinary Paftor, who (hould have perpetual Suc- 
 ceffors : To others as Delegates, who fhould 
 have no Succeffors. Which is a meer Inven- 
 tion, a pure Figment of his own Brain , with- 
 ont the Shadow of a Ground for it in the 
 Book of God, or any ancient Authority, and 
 againft his own Confeflion, that all the Apo- 
 ftles had the higheft Power, which includes a 
 Power both Ordinary and Extraordinary^ and 
 a Power to appoint their Succeffors in the 
 Places they converted. There have abundance 
 of other Things been faid by our Writers, to 
 [hew that whatfoever may be fuppofed to have 
 
 f Epift. pars i. ad Francis Bonum. 
 
 been 
 
T/jirty-Nhte Articles. 7 1 5 
 
 been promifed in thefe Words, the Bifhops of ^^^aOCXimr. 
 Rome can thence derive no lawful Claim to the ^•^^'^^ 
 like Authority. And yet (as if there were no- 
 thing plainer, than that Chrift fpake to the 
 Roman Bifhops when he faid thefe Words to 
 St Peter^ they have the Confidence from hence 
 to intitle the Pope to the Privilege of Infal- 
 libility, as well as to a fupreme Dominion 
 over the Church. So Bellarmin^^ who elfewhere 
 alledges thefe Words, to prove that the chief 
 Bifhop (that is theirs) when he te^cheth the 
 whole Church, in Things belonging to Faith, 
 can in no Cafe err *. But this depends upon 
 his former Suppofitions, that Peter is the Rock 
 of the Church as its Supreme Governor ; and 
 therefore every one of his SucceiTors in like 
 Manner is the fame ; which having no Founda- 
 tion, all his Superftrudure upon them falls to 
 the Ground : And indeed, it is fo fandy, that 
 honeft Men among themfelves, are afham'd to 
 build any Thing of this Nature upon it ; par- 
 ticularly Launoy who on fet purpofe, demon- 
 ftrates that Bellannine^ neither obeyed the De- 
 cree of the frent Council, nor kept the Pro- 
 fefTion of Faith enjoyn'd by Pius the Fourth, 
 when he drew this tonclufion of the Pope's In- 
 fallibility, from thefe Words, Thou art Peter^ 
 ^c, but was guilty of downright Flattery of 
 the Court o^ Rome^ for whofe Sake, he in like 
 Manner falfified in the Citations which he 
 brings out of the Fathers, to maintain the lame 
 Untruth. But further than this, the fame Wri- 
 ter prelTes thefe Words, to prove, that Gene- 
 ral Councils cannot err, neither in believing nor 
 
 Lib. 4. de Rom. Pontif. c 3. 
 
 teaching, 
 
7 1 6 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvTT. teaching, * which is as much as to confefi that 
 ^^<yy^^<^ what Chrift faid to St. Peter^ was intended to 
 all Bifhops ; of whom a general Council con- 
 lifts. But here he endeavours to bring himfelf 
 off by this Salvo ; if the Council he corifirmed hy 
 the Pope^ as if they received their Infallibility 
 from him, who turns their doubtful Opinions 
 into Oracles of Truth. Whence it comes to 
 pais, that from the very fame Words [^^hou art 
 Peter^ &c.] he proves the Pope to be above a 
 Council, t immediately conflituted by Chrift 
 the Paftor and Head, not only of all particular 
 Churches, but alfo of the whole univerfal 
 Church congregated together. If this be to 
 interpret the Scripture, I know not what is 
 letting it upon the Rack, and ftretching it 
 as far as it pleafeth him who takes it in 
 Hand. No Hereticks ever took fo great a Li- 
 berty as this 5 which, according to their Way 
 of Realoning, makes it neceftary to feal up the 
 Bible quite, that no body may look into it. 
 For if the Danger of wrefting the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, be a juft Caufe for denying the Liberty 
 of reading them to illiterate People, it ought not 
 to be granted to the moft Learned, who (it 
 appears by this great Cardinal) are in as much, or 
 more Danger of this than any other Men ; 
 and fo farewell the Study of the Scriptures, 
 which neither Prieft nor People muft meddle 
 withal. But thanks be to God, there is fuch 
 a Thing as Honefty and Integrity ftill remain- 
 ing in the World, which qualifies all Men for the 
 wholfome Perufal of them ; and hath preferved 
 the Minds of fome in that Communion lo uncor- 
 
 f Lib. dc Cone. Aut;or. cap, i. 
 * lb. cap. I J. 
 
 2 ruptedj 
 
Jhirty-Wtne Articles. y 1 7 
 
 rupted, as to make them difdain and rejeft thefe Art.xxxviL 
 
 perverfe and arrogant Interpretations, or rather ^-OPS^. 
 
 Diftortions of Holy Scripture. There is one 
 
 that hath lately declared his Senfe of this Pro- 
 
 mife to St. Peter in remarkable Words ; with 
 
 which I conclude this part of my Difcourfe. 
 
 '' Suppofmg Chrift to have fpoken thefe Words 
 
 *^ [and upon this Rock] of the Perfon o£ Peter y 
 
 '^ he meant nothing elfe thereby, but that Pe^ 
 
 '' ter ihould labour very much in the Edifica- 
 
 '' tion of the Church j that is, in the Conver- 
 
 '' fion of the Faithful, and Adminiftrat^on of 
 
 '' the Churches. And therefore the molt that 
 
 " can be deduc'd from hence, is, that he fhouJd 
 
 '^ be the firft and chief among thofe who were 
 
 '^ to preach the Gofpel : But it cannot 'rom 
 
 *' hence be gathered with Bellarmine^ that the 
 
 '^ Government of the whole Church wa5 com- 
 
 *^ mitted to Peter ^ efpecially about Faith '\ f 
 
 The Truth of this will appear further in 
 the Explication of the next Words, which ex- 
 pound thefe which I have now treated of. 
 And I ivill give unto thee the Keys of the King- 
 dom of Heaven : and whatfoever thou floalt hind 
 on Earth it fhall he hound in Heaven : and ivbat^ 
 foever thou fh alt loofe on Earth JIj all he loo fed in 
 Heaven. The Senfe of which is not fo plain and 
 obvious as Bellarmtne pretends , but we agree 
 that they are a plain Allurion to the Words of 
 the Prophet If at ah ^ concerning Eliakim^ If a, 
 xxii. 23. / will give thee the Keys of the Houfe 
 of David^ that is, make thee not High Prieft, 
 as he grofly miiiakes, but Steward of the Roy- 
 al Family, to take in and thruft out, whom 
 
 * Du PiU de Anticju. EccleE Diicipl. Dif. 4.. cap. i. fe6t. i. 
 
 thou 
 
71 8 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvii. thou fhalt think fit. Such was the Power here^ 
 <-/^VN^ promifed to Peter by our Lord, who faith of 
 himfelf, that he hath the Key of David QKev, 
 iii. 7O that is of the Houfe or Family o£ David^ 
 which he alone governs by an abfolute Power ^ 
 but tells Petcr^ he intended to make him under 
 himfelf his fupreme Lord and Mafter, fuch a 
 Steward in the Church as Eltakim had been 
 in the Court. 1 fay in the Church, for by 
 the Kingdom of Heaven, I think no body now 
 will difpute, is meant the Family of Chrift, or the 
 Chriftian Church in a great -many Places of the 
 Goipel, and moft likely is fo to be interpreted 
 here. But if any body be fo minded as to 
 underftand by the Ki7tgdom of Heaven^ not the 
 Chriftian Society here below, but the Com- 
 pany of the Bleffed above ^ let them confider 
 that the Senfe will ftill be the fame, becaufc 
 by AdmiHion into the one, and abiding in it, 
 we come to the other. And Baptifm is the Key 
 which lets us into the Church, out of which 
 fuch as notorioufly break their Baptifmal Vow, 
 ouc^ht to be fhut by the Cenfures of the Church ; 
 and again received into it upon their hearty 
 Repentance, by granting them Abfolution. 
 Thus the following Words expound it, and 
 whatfoe'ver thoujhalt hind on Earthy ^c. That 
 linding and loofing are one and the fame with 
 the Power of the Keys, is acknowledged by the 
 Roman Catechifm *, and by Bellarmine him- 
 felf, who confefTes the plain Senfe of thefe Words 
 to be, that firft of all an Authority or Power 
 is promifed^ defined by Keys ; ajid then the ACii^ 
 ens or Office of this Power is explai?2ed hy thofe 
 Words J loofing and binding ; fo that to loofe and 
 to open^ to Jhut and to Imdy is altogether the 
 
 * De Sacrament. Pcenitent. a. 44^ 
 
 2 fams 
 
Thirty-lSlwe Articles. 7 1 p 
 
 fame i'hing *. And we need not trouble our- Art.xxxvii. 
 felves any farther to inquire how far this Power ^^>Or\^, 
 extends , for it is certain there is nothing here 
 promifed, tho' we fuppofe it never fo large, 
 which was intended to him alone, but to them 
 all, exccept that of opening the Door firfl, 
 to let the Gentiles into the Church. This is 
 apparent from what was faid before concerning 
 Chrift fpeaking to them all in him, as he fpake 
 for them all, in Anfwer to our Saviour's Que- 
 llion propounded to the whole Company ; 
 which produced this Promifc from our Savi- 
 our, not to him alone, but to all them in whole 
 Name he fpake : Which is no new Interpreta- 
 tion, but as old as the Church itfelf , for the 
 Ancients lay, with an unanimous Confent, that 
 thefe Keys were given to the whole Church in 
 the Perfon oi Peter ti as a late Writer in the 
 Roman Communion honeftly confelTcs. St. ylti- 
 fiin particularly inculcates this an hundred times 
 (as his Words are) a Proof of which may be 
 feen in another of his Brethren t, who hath 
 made a Collection of twenty-fix Places out of 
 his Works, to (hew that he taught this openly, 
 frequently, andconftantly, in fuch pliin Words 
 as may be underftood by themfelves, without 
 the Help of an Interpreter. I cannot well for- 
 bear to mention one of them, bccaufe it affords 
 us many confiderable Remarks. § " As fbme 
 *' Things (fays he) are fpoken, which may feem 
 *' properly to belong to the Apollle Peter^ 
 *' and yet have not a clear Senfe, but when 
 " they are referred to the Church (whereof he 
 
 * Lib. i.dePont. Rom. cap. ii. 
 f Du Pinde Antiq. Ecclef. Difc. Dif. 4. c. i. left. i. 
 4: ]o. Launo/ Ep. par. 2. Hadriano Valantio p. 14, 6cc. 
 i Aug. Enar. inPial. 108. 
 
 " is 
 
720 All Expofition on the 
 
 Art .XXXVII." is acknowledged to have reprefented the Per- 
 ^y^'^^TSJ «c £^^ .^ ^ Figure, becaufe of the Primacy 
 '^ he had among the Apoftles) as that is, / will 
 '^ give thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven^ 
 " and if there be any like : So Judas fuftains 
 '^ after a certain Manner, the Perfon of the 
 '' Je-ws^ the Enemies of Chrift, ^c, ". Here 
 they of the Church of Kome^ arc very forward 
 to catch at thefe Words, which fignify a Place 
 of Priority^ that Feter had among the Apoftles 
 (which no body denies) but are not willing to 
 take any Notice of all the reft, which utterly 
 overthrow that Primacy which they would ad- 
 vance him to from this Place. For, firft, he 
 fays, fome Things do but feem to belong to 
 Peter ^ which in Truth ought to be referred 
 to the Church. And, fecondly, that their Senfe 
 is not clear or evident, till they be carried be- 
 yond him ^ among which Things, thirdly, he 
 reckons what our Saviour here faith, / will 
 give thee the Keys^ &c. which they would now 
 ingrofs to St. Peter^ and have us believe this 
 to be the plain and obvious Senfe of Chrift's 
 Words, which St. Auftin fays, are not plain 
 unleis we refer them to the Church. Whole 
 Perfon (fourthly) he fays, he bore or repre- 
 lented, not by Virtue of his Place, or any Au- 
 thority he had above the reft, but in a Figure^ 
 to fignify Unity, that is, as the Ancients inter- 
 pret it. And it is further obfervable (fifthly) 
 that Chrift did not promife him the Primacy 
 (here ipoken of ) before, and with Refpedl to 
 that Chrift direded to him thefe Words, ra- 
 ther than any of the reft, becaufe he was al- 
 ready the firfi^ not in Office but in Order , and 
 fo the fitteft Perfon to be fingled out to repre- 
 fent what Chrift intended. And to convince 
 every one that there is no authoritative Prima- 
 cy 
 
Thirty-Wine Articles. 721 
 
 cy meant in thefe Words of St. Auflin^ he adds ^rt^cxxvii; 
 (fixthly) that Judas fuftained the Perlbn of 
 Chrift's Enemies, as Veter did of the Church. 
 Will any body infer from hence, that Judas 
 had a Jtirifdidion over all the Wicked, and 
 left it to his Succeflbrs, one of which hath now 
 the fame ? Let them forbear then to make fuch 
 Inferences from what is la:d of St. ?eteT\ Prima- 
 cy, which gave him no Right to rule, but only 
 made him ftand faireft, being the firft to be 
 chofen to reprefent the reft. If any will be 
 ftill fo perverie as to wrangle, becaufe St. Auftm 
 doth not mention Judas\ Primacy^ as he doth 
 St. Peters^ let them learn more Modefty, by 
 knowing that Profper^ one of St. AuftinsS^ho" 
 lars, upon the very fame Pfalm^ lays in ex- 
 preft Terms, that Judas carried the Priority of 
 Chrift's Enemies * ^ which, if they will not ex- 
 pound to fignify a fupreme Authority to govern 
 Chrift's Enemies, let them no longer interpret 
 St. Peters Primacy to fignify fuch an Authority 
 over his Friends. 1 hat he h:^d none here pro- 
 mifed him is as certain as any thing can be. 
 But the Keys to commend Unity wr't profiled 
 htm J which were in Truth given to all the reft. 
 This is the ancient Senfe, which drew this plain 
 and pertinent Obiervation from another honeft 
 Writer in the Roman Commi-nion, f " He 
 ^' faid to Petefy I will give thee the Keys, but 
 ^^ he did not fay, I will give them to thee 
 " alone '\ 
 
 Which is juftified to be true, by thee 
 other Paftages in the Holy Go J pels. In the 
 
 * Judas Primatum geflit inimicorum Chrifti, 
 t Regaitius in Fiimii, Ep.^t. 
 
 Z 2 grft 
 
7it An Expofition on the 
 
 Art .XXXVII. fij.{t of which he promifes as much to all 
 ^*^^f^ in the very fame Words as he had done to him. 
 
 Matt.y^xm. i8. Verily I fay unto you^ wbatfoever 
 yejhall bind on Earth floall he hound in Heaven : 
 and wbatfoerer yejhall loofe on Earth Jlmll he 
 loo fed in Hea'ven. Which is the Explication, 
 as was laid before, of the Power of the Keys^ in 
 the fame Terms (without the leaft Difference 
 but what is between the Plural Number and 
 the Singular) wherein it was delivered to St. 
 Peter ^ and in the next Chapter he repeats it 
 a^ain, only in other Words, when he faith. 
 Matt. xiii. 28. Tejljall fit upon twelve ^hrones^ 
 judging (that is ruling and governing) the 
 twelve bribes of If rael^ without any mention of 
 one fhrone^ peculiar and higher to the reft, to 
 St Peter. And thus far, there is no more than 
 a Promife to be met withal in the Gofpel, 
 but no adual Grant, no W^ords whereby our 
 Lord makes a Conveyance of this Power to 
 them, till after his Refurredion from the Dead. 
 When he gives out a Commiflion to them, as 
 large as can be made ; wherein there is nothing 
 peculiar referved to St. Peter^ but it runs in 
 general Terms to them all, John xx. 21, 22, 23. 
 For he neither laith, I fend thee^ nor breathed 
 upon him alone, faying. Receive ^hou the Holy 
 Ghoft: Whofefoever Sins thou remitteft, 6^r. But 
 he faith to them, being all, fave Thomas ^ affem- 
 bled together, y^s my Father hath fent me^ even 
 fo fend I you. And when he had faid thus^ he 
 breathed on them^ and faid unto them^ Receive ye 
 the Holy Ghoft : IVhofefoever Sins ye remit^ they 
 are remitted unto thejn 3 and whofefoever Sins ye 
 retain^ they are retained. And accordingly it 
 may be added, when the Holy Ghoft descend- 
 ed (of which this breathing on them was an 
 Emblem and Pledge) they were all Qthomas 
 2. with 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles^ ;j^2 5 
 
 with the reft) with one Accord in one Place^ and Art.xxxvii; 
 it was imparted to each of them alike, without ^-^'^^^^^^ 
 any Mark of Diftindion. For we read of no 
 Flame that crowned the Head of St, Peter^ 
 greater and more illuftrious than that upon his 
 Brethren : but the Text faith, the Tongues, like 
 as of Fire, were divided, and fate upon everyone 
 of them fnigly Ip hcths-^ov dLvmv, and they were 
 all filled with the Holy Ghoft, A5fs ii. 2, 3. 
 The mighty Wind alfo, wherein this Flame 
 came ( betokening the powerful Infpiration 
 which was entering into them) filled all the 
 Houfe where they were fittings and not only 
 that Corner where St. Peter was placed : And 
 fo this Promife was equally performed in com- 
 mon to them all. Nay, this very Thing is 
 no lefs than a Demonftration, that the Promife 
 was intended to all, becaufe the Performance 
 was to all. That here his Promife was perform- 
 ed, is very manifeft to thofe who are defirous 
 to underftand the Truth , for no other Time 
 can be named when it was performed to 
 Peter ^ nor any other Words found, wherein 
 the Thing promiied was conveyed, but thefe. 
 As my Father fent me^ fo fend I you. And, laft- 
 ly. This is the Senfe of the Church, as appears 
 by St. Cyprian in ancient Times, who oblerves, 
 that our Lord, who faid to Peter ^ Thou art P^- 
 ter^ i3c. gave to all his Apoftles equal Power 
 after his Refurredlion, when he faid. As the li'v* 
 ing Father fent me^ fo fend I you^ &c. conclud- 
 ing from thence, that all the Apoftles were 
 what St. Peter was : "^ And by fheophyla^ in 
 later Times, who thus glofles upon Matt. xvi. 19. 
 
 * Hoc utique erant 8c caeteri Apo^oli quod fiiit Petrus, Sec. 
 L. de un. Ecclef. §c Ep. 23 . ad Julianum. 
 
 Zz2 «Tho' 
 
724 ^^^ Expofiticn on the 
 
 ArtcXXXVIL" Tho' our Lord faid only to Peter ^ I will ginje 
 K^yY^SJ '^^ thee^ yet they were given to all the Apollles. 
 " When? At that Time when he faid, whofe- 
 '' ibever Sins ye remit they are remitted : For the 
 *^ Word, Jwillgtve^ denotes the future Time, 
 ^^ that is after the Refurredidn ". Then he 
 faid to them all. As my Father hath fent rae^ fo fend 
 J you. Which are Words fo large, that they 
 contain in them a Plenitude of Power ; and con- 
 fute the Conceit of thofe who fay, thatChrift in- 
 deed gave the Power of remitting and retaining 
 Sins to all the Apoftles, but the Power of the 
 Keys to Peter alone : 'U'hereby if they meant 
 that to Peter it was given to open the Gate firft 
 to the Gentiles, it ought to be allowed to be a 
 true Senfe ; tho' we are not certain it was the 
 Thing peculiarly intended by our Saviour in 
 thefe Words : But underftanding thereby a 
 diftin6l Power from that of binding and loofing^ 
 retaining and remitting^ (which St. Peter exer- 
 ciied when he let the Gentiles into the Church) 
 it is certainly falfe that he gave him fuch a 
 Power, which he did not confer upon the reft. 
 For fhould we fuppofe bifiding and loofing to be 
 diftinct from the Power of the Keys^ yet this 
 P&wer of the Keys (be it what it will) we may 
 be iiire is included in thefe comprehenfive 
 Words, As my Father hath fent rae^ fo fend I 
 you^ which were fpoken to them all : And there- 
 fore as the Keys were not promifed to him 
 alone ; {o not to him rriore than to any other 
 Apoftie, but only the Ufe of them firft before 
 any other Apoftle. That's the moft (as I have 
 often laid) which can reafbnably be conceived 
 to be peculiarly promifed to Peter in thefe 
 Words, that he fhould firft open the Door of 
 Faith to the Gentiles, as we read he did, A6f5 
 X. and J asjbme think, to the Jews alfo, A^s ii. 
 
 ^ertuUian 
 
Thirty 'Wine Articles. 725 
 
 Itertullian feems to be of this Mind * (and I Art.xxxvi^: 
 fliall not here difpute it) who mentioning this ^^^"'^''(^'''^ 
 Place, I will give thee the Keys, Sc. proceeds 
 thus ; So the Event teaches us^ the Church was 
 fir II built on him^ that is^ by htm : He firft hand- 
 led the Key. See what g.ey ^ Tc Men ofl/rael, 
 hear thefe U'^ords : Jefus of Nazareth^ a Man 
 appronjed of God among you^ &c. (^A^s ii. 22. &V.) 
 He m fine did firft ^ by the Baptifm of Chrift, un- 
 lock the E?2trance of the Heavenly Kmgdo^n^ a?id 
 he bound Aitanias with the Bond of Death ; and 
 he abfohved the Man lame of hts Feet^ frotn the 
 Weaknefs wherewith he laboured^ and in the Btf- 
 piite whiih arofe about the Olfer-vatton^ or Obli- 
 gation of the Law. Peter firft of all, by the In- 
 flind: of the Holy Ghoft (having told them 
 how God made Choice of him, that the Gen- 
 tiles fhould hear the Word from his Mouth) 
 feid. And now why tempt ye God^ to put a Toke 
 tipon the Neck of the Dtfciples^ which neither our 
 Fathers nor we were able to hear^ Sec. where he 
 plainly makes the Power of the Keys^ and bind- 
 ing and loofing to be the fame Thing 3 and from 
 the Scope of his Dilcourfe, ic appears (jis L an- 
 noy hath obferved) that they then believed at 
 Kome^ that in the Perfon of Peter ^ the Keys were 
 given to the Church ; that is, fays he, the Power 
 of binding and loofing f. Which Things, if the 
 Catholick Scripturift had known, or would have 
 been pleafed to mind, how could he have had 
 the Confidence to fay, That our Lord fpake theie 
 Words to Peter to fignify, that he was the Head 
 and Chief in ordinary. For tho the Power of bind-, 
 ingand loofing was afterward given to the other 
 
 * L. dePadicit.c. 21. 
 
 t Epii'. Par. 2. Hadriano Vallantio, P. 6. 
 
 Zz 3 Jpofiles^ 
 
7 2^ An Expofition on the 
 
 ^^^^^^^' Apofiles^ yet the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven 
 are ne'ver in Scripture faid to be given to any 
 hut St, Peter *. By which Keys alfo he faith 
 is fignified, the Plenitude of higheft Power : 
 For this vain Conceit is contrary to the com- 
 mon Op non of tl\e ancient Fathers (whonfi 
 they are bound, by their Profeflion of Faith 
 and Oath, to follow) contrary to their greateft 
 Schoolmen (fuch as Scotus, Aquinas^ Alex. 
 Alenfis) who affirm, that the Keys promifed 
 to Peter in St. Matt. xvi. were given to all 
 the Apoftles in St. John xx. contrary alfo to 
 their own Catechifm,^ according to which he 
 ought to have inftruded his Followers. The 
 Sum of what hath been faid is this , The Power 
 which our Lord here promifed to Peter^ was 
 not meant to him alone : For he did but re- 
 prefent, and fuftain the Perfbn of the Church 
 (as the Ancients fpeak) to whom this Promife 
 belongs ^ and therefore our Lord afterward pro- 
 mifes the very fame Thing, in the fame Words, 
 to all the Apoftles, which he here promifes to 
 Peter ; and accordingly, when he performed his 
 Promife, he gave this Power to every one of 
 them equally. But Chrift direded this Pro- 
 mife, at the firfl, Angularly to him, that he 
 might commend Unity -^ or at the moft, he 
 promifed him the Honour of opening the Door 
 of Faith firll unto the Gentiles : From whence 
 we can only gather, that he was the firft among 
 the /pofl-lcs • but not that he was promifed any 
 Power which the reft had not, for the contrary 
 is apparent. To all which I muft add (repeat- 
 ing briefly what I faid upon the foregoing 
 Words) that if we fhould grant our Saviour to 
 
 The 7 th Point, n. 6.. 
 
 Jiave 
 
Thlrty-lSHne Articles. 727 
 
 have promifed fbme Power to P^r^r (when he Art.xxxvii. 
 faid, Iwillgi've thee the Keys) ^\\Kh the other ''^--''''"^^^''''^^ 
 Apoftles had not ; it would prove a perlbnal Pre- 
 rogative, and cannot be (hewn to have defcended 
 to any Succeffor, much Icfs to the Pope of 
 Ko7ne ; who, Bellarmine faith, is a true Prmce^ 
 who hath Power to niake true Laws, to bind 
 the whole Church. And this he proves from 
 thefe Words, l^'hatfoe'ver thou Pj all hmd on Earth 
 fioall he hound in Hea'ven^ &c. * Concerning 
 which it will be thought too fharp perhaps to 
 iay (tho' they are the Words of one in the 
 Roman Communion t ) fimply to reir^te the 
 Words of this Author, is fimply to confute 
 them, they are fo very contrary to Truth and 
 Equity. The Reader therefore may be pleafed 
 briefly to confider, what our Lord himfelf faith 
 to all his Apoftles, ikT^f^. xxiii. 8, 9, 10. which 
 utterly overturns thefe proud Pretenfions. Btit 
 he not ye called Rabbit for one is your Mafler, 
 e'ven Chrift ^ and all ye are Brethren. And call 
 no Man your Father upon the Earth ; for one is 
 your Father which is in Heaven : Neither he 
 ye called Majiersy for one is your Mafter even 
 Chrift. The Repetition of one and the fame 
 Thing fo often, in Words of the fame Import, 
 argues it to be a Matter of great Moment, 
 which ought to be duly weighed. 
 
 And it is this, that no Man, no not any of 
 his Apoftles, fhould take upon him to prefcribe 
 that as a Part of Religion, which God our Sa- 
 viour hath not prefer i bed by his Laws ; and 
 that we ought not abfbiutely to fubmit to any 
 
 * L. 4. de Rom. Pontif. c. 16. 
 t Launpy ubi fupra, P.77. 
 
 Z z 4. Man's 
 
7i8 Jjt Fypofitiofi on the 
 
 Apt.xxxvii. Man's Didates, as Children do to the Will of 
 k/^ VV,' tneir Fathers, nor pin our Faith, as we fpeak, 
 upon any Man's Sleeve ; that ts^ let it depend 
 intirely upon his Authority : For this is a Sub- 
 miilion which is due only to God our Saviour, 
 (who in this Senle of the Words) is our only 
 Father^ and Mafter^ and Leader ; and therefore 
 we cannot, without the higheft Injury to him, 
 own any body elie to be fuch, nor give them 
 theie Names j but as they teach, not their own, 
 but Chrift's Doctrine unto Men. And in this 
 Office all the Apofties were equal, and no one 
 of them could claim an Authority over the reft 
 o^ his Brethren. 1 here are many other Places 
 wherein we read of one Shepherd^ one Lord^ one 
 Law-ginjer^ who is able tofave^ and to deftroy : 
 From whence we may conclude, that P^r^r him- 
 felf had no Power to make^ but only to declare 
 the Laws of his and our Lord and Law-giver 
 jefus Chrift. So the Words of Chrift's Com- 
 miffion run, when he faith, not to him alone, 
 but to them all. Go ye and dtfciple all Nationsj 
 &c. tea.hing them to obferve all things what- 
 foenjer I have commanded you^ Matt xxviii. 20, 
 Here is their Authority to pubJifh the Com- 
 mands of their Mafter, not what they pleafed 
 to command themfelves : Which Peter was fb 
 far from do ng, that he went not about the 
 Abrogation of the ceremonial Law, and the call" 
 ing of the Gentiles^ till he was authorized by an 
 Heavenly Vifion, which dilcover'd this Myfte- 
 ry to him, as a Part of the Counfel of God, 
 but no I aw, nor fb much as a Thought, of his 
 own. i or being charged fterwards by the 
 Jews for eating with Men unrircumcifed, he 
 excufts himklf by a long Anolojy, wherein 
 he rebfe^j how he wns cj \ma'^ded to do it by 
 God himxwfj whom he could not withftand, 
 
 Aclsi 
 
Thirty -Wine Articles. 729 
 
 A5is xi. 3, 4. which was not done like a Law- ^'^i^t.xxxvii. 
 giver. Nay, after this Revelation made to him, ^^-^^'VX^ 
 he was fb weak as to obferve this Law, to the 
 great OflFence of the Gentiles ; for which he 
 was reprehended by St. Faul^ who had the 
 Honour to abrogate the Law of Mofes among 
 the Gentiles, while St. Peter (who began that 
 "U ork) was the Minifter of the Circumcifion, 
 G^/. ii. 7, 10, II, ^c. Nor doth the Word 
 [Btnd] import a Power to impofe Laws, but 
 only to tie Men to thole Laws which are al- 
 ready made. Thus it fignifies in that very Place 
 which Bellarmine ailedges to maintain his Senfe 
 of the Word, njtz. to make Laws, Matt, xxiii. 
 4. For they hind heavy Burdens and grievous to 
 he horn^ and lay them on Mens Shoulders^ &c. 
 that is, they were rigorous Interpreters of the 
 Laws of God, which it was their Office to ex- 
 pound, according to the plain Senfe and Mean- 
 ing of them, and not according to the Tradi- 
 tion of the Elders, which had made them in- 
 tolerable Burdens. But fuppofe the Word to 
 fignify what they pleafe, it will do them no 
 Service, becaufe this Power of 5i;/^/7/g was not 
 promifed to Feter alone, but to them all, as hath 
 been before proved : And confequently he could 
 do nothing, which they could not do as much 
 as he, that is, they were 3\l Mmifiers of Chrift^ 
 and Stewards of the Myfteries of God ^ : All of 
 them like to EUakim^ to whom the Key of the 
 Hotife of David is promifed^ as the Keys of the 
 Kingdom of Heaven to Peter. For by that 
 very Word which we tranllate Steward^ or D//^ 
 penfer.^ is that Office to which Eliakiut was ad- 
 vanced in the Room of Shehna^ exprelTed by 
 
 * J por. iv. I. 
 
 a the 
 
73© j4n Expofition on the 
 
 ART.xxxvn. the LXX in Ifa. xxii. 19, 21. * which was not a 
 OOTNJ fiipreme Power in the Court, where all the reft 
 of the Courtiers did not depend on him as their 
 Lord and Prince, but the Power of a Prime 
 Mtnifter in the Royal Family, which he go- 
 verned not after his own VV^ill, but the King's. 
 In like Manner all the Apoftks were Minifters^ 
 by whom Men believed (i Cor. iii. 5.) Stewards 
 of* the Heavenly Myfteries, which they faith- 
 fully difpenfed (i Cor. iv. i, 2.) according to 
 the Will of Chrift, who hath the Key of David ^^ 
 that is, is the fole fupreme Governor of the 
 Church, and gives Rules to it, which the Apo- 
 files delivered, but did not ordain themfelves, 
 nor bind upon Men by their own Authority, 
 but by his. For they were not Authors of the 
 Divine Laws, which they taught, but the Pub- 
 liihers of them, and equal Publifliers of one, 
 and the fame common Doctrine j which every 
 BtJJoop in the Church hath as much Authority 
 to bind upon Men, as the Pope ; they being all 
 of the fame Merit and Priefihood (as St. Jerom 
 fpeaks) all Sticceffors of the Apoflles, f There 
 are indeed fome other Words of St. Jerom, 
 which it may not be amifs to take Notice of 
 in this Place, and which are ufually alledged 
 to prove the contrary, viz. that he thought 
 St. Peter had fbme Supremacy of Power over 
 the reft of the Apoftles ; from whence our Ad-* 
 verfaries hope to derive the like Power to the 
 Pope over all Bifhops : They are in his firft 
 Book againft Jovinian^ where he faith, " One 
 '^ among the Twelve was therefore chofen, 
 '^ that an Head being conftituted, the Occafion 
 
 * oiMVoynAV' 
 
 -}- Epifi;. ad Evagrium. 
 
 (C 
 
 of 
 
Ihirty-Wine Articles. 7 3 1 
 
 "^ of Schifm might be removed ". But they Art.XXXVIT. 
 are unconfcionably difingenuous who alledge ^^^^^VJ 
 this PalTage, and do not give us the entire Sen- 
 tence, but only this Conclufion of it j which 
 can have no fuch Meaning as they pretend, 
 without making meer Nonfenfe of the Words 
 foregoing, which are thefe : '*^ But thou fayft 
 ^^ the Church was founded upon Peter ; tho' 
 " the very fame, in another Place, is done up-. 
 ^^ on all the Apoflles, and they received the 
 " Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the 
 '^ Strength of the Church is folidly bottomed 
 " upon them equally ". And then follow the 
 Words now named, yet one was therefore cho- 
 fen amom the ihjelve^ &c. which makes it as 
 clear as the Sun, that he dreamed of no fuch 
 Headfhip of one over all the reft, as fignifies a Su- 
 premacy of Power • for what one Text, he faith, 
 affirms of Peter ^ another affirms of them all ^ they 
 all receiving the Keys (which is the higheft 
 Power) and the Stability of the Church relying 
 upon them equally. I conclude this Part of my 
 Difcourfe with the Obfervation of a late learned 
 Writer of our Church*: If any Power, or De- 
 gree of Power, was here promifed to Peter., 
 more than to the reft of the Apoftles, it muft 
 be gathered either from the Force of the Suh- 
 fiance of the Promife, or from the Ctrcum- 
 fiances wherewith it was delivered. The 
 Suhftautial Part is nothing elfe but that of a 
 Ste^sjard in the Church, fet forth by the Em- 
 blem of Keys.^ and more explicitly declared by 
 the Power of binding and loofing^ which carries 
 in it no Intimation of fuch a Thing as a Su- 
 
 * Dr. Hammond's Difpatcher difpatched. P. 3- c. 7. fed. 
 2. n. i3« 
 
 pemacy 
 
7'\^ An Expofition on the 
 
 AKT.XXwU.premacy over the whole Church, but only of a 
 ^^yy^^^ ruling Power in fome FamiJy ; that is, in that 
 Part of the univerfal Church where his Lot 
 fhould fall. For this very Thing being pre- 
 fently after promifed to all the Apoftles, it 
 makes it evident, there was no Supremacy here 
 promifed ; for then there muft be not ot2e^ but 
 twelve Supremes. As for the Circumftances^ 
 -wherein this Part and the former of our Savi- 
 our's Promife was delivered (which fome are 
 pleaied to urge as very confiderable) they are 
 of no Strength to fupport fo great a Weight 
 as they lay upon them. For firfi^ it is very 
 unreafonable that Circumliances fhould be 
 thought of greater Force to declare the Mean- 
 ing of this Promiie, than the very Stihftance it- 
 ielf is. And, fecondly^ all thefe Circumftances 
 (fave only that of his own Name and his Fa- 
 ther's joined together) are not peculiar to him, 
 but common to others, who confejfed Cbrifi's 
 Divinity^ and had it revealed from God^ and 
 were hlejfed^ and defigned for Stones in the Fa- 
 brick of the Church, as well as Peter. And fur- 
 ther, even that Circumftance of calling him Simon 
 Bar- Jonas had a vifible Reafon for it, to di- 
 ftinguifh this Simon from Simon Zelotes , fo that 
 there is nothing left but the fmall Circumflance 
 of calling him by his Name, to be the grand 
 Foundation of St. Peters Supremacy. Can any 
 one be fatisfied with fuch poor Proofs? Which 
 are no better than if we fhould argue in this 
 Manner ; Our Lord faid to Peter^ Follow me^ 
 and fo he did to the other Eleven, and by this 
 made them his Difciples in common. But had 
 he faid Simon Bar-jonas^ follow thou me^ (as he 
 might very well, if any other Simon were then 
 prefent) he alone (according to this Way of 
 difcourfing) had been taken into Difciplefliip, 
 
 and 
 
Thirty 'Nine Articles. 7 ^ ^ 
 
 and none after him enjoyed this Honour. But Art.xxxvil 
 I have faid enough upon thefe Texts, and "^/'W^ 
 fhall now proceed to the laft Referve of the 
 Roman Church, for the Support of this Caufe, 
 which lies in thefe Words of Chrift to Peter^ 
 John xxi. 15, 165 17. Feed my Ldmhs^ and feed 
 my Sheep. They are fenfible of the Truth of 
 that, which hath been often repeated, that in 
 neither of the former Places Chrift gave any 
 thing to Peter ^ but only promiied he would give 
 him fuch Things as are there mentioned. Now 
 they are hard put to it, to find when he did 
 perform this Promiie, and not find withal, that 
 he performed it to all the Apoftles ; and there- 
 fore, as I have faid, made it to them all. Here 
 is the only Place they rely upon ^ here they 
 would fain find what is no where elfe to be 
 found, fomething peculiarly granted to Peter^ 
 which was conferred upon none of the reft : 
 Read the Words, fay they, and obferve how 
 they are peculiarly Ipoken to Peter • So when 
 they had dined^ Jefus [aid to Simon Peter^ Simon 
 Son of Jonas ^ lo'veft thou me more than thefe ? 
 He faith tmto him^ Tea^ Lord^ thou knowefi Ilove 
 thee. He faith unto him^ Feed my Lamhs, He 
 faith to him again the fecond time^ Simon^Son of 
 Jonas ^ lo-vef thou me ? He faith unto him^ Tea^ 
 Lord^ thou know eft that I love thee. He faith un- 
 to him^ Feed my Sheep. He faith unto him the 
 third i'ime^ Simon Son of Jonas ^ loveft thou me ? 
 Peter was grieved hecaufe he faid unto him the 
 third ftme^ Loveft thou me ? And he faid unto 
 him^ Lordj thou knoweft all things ; thou know- 
 eft that I love thee. Jefus faith unto him^ Feed my 
 Sheep. See, fay they, with what Solemnity our 
 Lord here fpeaks to Peter^ and to him alone, 
 calling him three Times particularly by his Name 
 and Relation^ and bidding him, as oft, ktd his 
 
 Lambs 
 
7^4 ^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvii. tamhs or Sheep 5 whereby he inflated him in 
 ^^y^y^*\J the Office he had promifed him, and made him 
 in a pecnliar Manner, to be a Paftor^ even the 
 Paftor of the IVbole Churchy with a fupreme 
 Power over it. To which we reply, Firft^ That 
 having feen and confidered all this, we can fee 
 nothing here that looks like a Grant or Commif- 
 fion^ nothing given to St. P^f^r by thefe Words 9 
 which are a plain Charge or Command^ requir- 
 ing him to do his Office, which was therefore 
 conferred upon him before, together with the 
 reft of the Apoftles, when our Lord faid. As 
 my Father hath fent me^ fo [end I you^ &c. Ke- 
 ceive ye the Holy Ghoft^ &c. Secondly^ That 
 as here is no Commiffion, no Conveyance of 
 any thing made to him, but a bcire Precept to 
 do his Duty ; fb the Duty doth not concern 
 him alone, but belongs to them all as much 
 as him. It is at this Time required in a Pre- 
 cept direded to him alone, that's true ; and 
 Be liar mine might have fpared all his Labour to 
 prove that thefe Words were fpoken to Peter 
 alone. They were fo, if we underftand there* 
 by, that he only by Name is now admonifhed 
 of h's Duty ; (the Reafon of which we fhall 
 fee prefently) but the Duty of which he was 
 admonifhed, was not peculiar to him ; and fb 
 the Words do not belong to him alone, as ap- 
 pears by many Arguments. Firft, From St. 
 Fetei" himfelf, who feems to have interpreted 
 the Mind of (Thrift in this Speech to him, in 
 his Words to the LIders of the Church to 
 whom he wrote, i Peter v. i. 'ithe Elders^ which 
 are atnong you^ I exhort^ who am^ What ? The 
 Monarch of the Church ? The Vicar ofChrift, 
 or Paftor of Paftors ? The chief Apoftle or fu- 
 preme Bifhop ? No fuch Thing, but ffvy.r^i7^u- 
 i^Qi^ your FelloiV'£lder^&Lc, Feed the Flock of God 
 
 which 
 
Thirty 'Nine Articles. 735 
 
 which is among you^ &c. And from whom did ATR.xxxvit 
 thefe Elders receive their Power and Authority ? ^-^^V''^ 
 from St. Peter ? No fuch Matter, but from 
 the chief Shepherd or Paftor, from whom he 
 bids them exped their Reward, 'ver. 4. Se- 
 condly, In like Manner St. Paul gives the very 
 fame Charge to the Elders of Ephefus^ to take 
 heed to themfel'ves^ and to all the Flock^ ever 
 which the Holy Ghofi had made them Overfeers, 
 to feed the Church of God^ which he hath purcha- 
 fed with his own Bloody A^s xx. 28. For, Third- 
 ly, Chrift, as I faid, had given this Power unto all 
 his Apoftles, when he faid, As my Father hath 
 fent me^ fo fend I you^ ^c. John xx. 21. What 
 did he fend them to do ? But to gather together 
 in one^ the Children of God that were fcattered 
 abroad^ and to feed his Flock, as he the good 
 Shepherd had done, John x. 11. and xi.52. And 
 therefore we may fay of thefe Words as Kigali 
 tius doth of the former. He faid to Peter^ 
 Feed my Sheep ; but he doth net fay, Lo thou 
 alone feed them. No, it may be furcher obferv- 
 ed, that our Lord, jn his Life- 1' me, fent them 
 all to the loft Sheep of the Houfe oj Ifrael^ Matt. 
 X. 6, 7. And a little before this, feeing the Peo- 
 ple fcattered ahroad as Sheep having no Shepherd^ 
 he bad his Difciples pray that the Lord would 
 fend Labourers among them : Not one who 
 fhould depute others, but as many as were 
 needful to gather in his Harveft, Matt, ix. 36, 
 f^r. Fourthly, And therefore thus the ancient 
 Fathers have expounded thefe Words, particu- 
 larly the Roman Clergy themfelves, in their Let- 
 ter to the Clergy of Carthage, where, admo- 
 niftiing them of their Duty, in the Abfence of 
 St. Cyprian, by reafbn of the then Perfecu- 
 tion, they prefs them with thefe Words to Peter, 
 Feed my Sheep ; which they tell them, the reft 
 
 of 
 
7^6 Jn Expofitioft on the 
 
 ART.xxxviT.of the Difciples in like Manner did^ and accord** 
 ^<yy^^ ingly it was now incumbent upon them alfb *» 
 in the Room of the Paftor^ to keep the Flock, This 
 Launoy proves to be the Expofition of the 
 Church, and moft juftly condemns Bellarmtne 
 (and iuch like Flatterers) as failing in his Duty; 
 which required him to expound thele Words 
 according to the Senfe of the whole Church, 
 which is diredtly againft this Expofition, that 
 Chrift here gave this Power to St. Peter dAono, \, 
 A great many of the ancient Popes of Rome, 
 he there (hews, fpeak otherwife , and one of 
 their Neighbour's St. Ambrofe^ exprefly declares, 
 that thofe Sheep, and that Flock which Chrift 
 commanded Peter to feed, he did not alone re- 
 ceive^ but he both received them with tis^ and 
 with him we all received them t. As much as 
 to fay, what Chrift faid to Peter^ he fpake in 
 him to all Bifhops : Which is the Senfe of St. 
 Atiftin in a great many Places, as the fame Au- 
 thor fhews § making Peter here alfo to have re- 
 prefented the whole Church • fo that when it 
 was [aid to him^ it was faid to all^ Loveft thou 
 me ? Feed my Sheep \. Fifthly, But what need 
 have we of any further Teftimonies ? When this 
 Preface isfung not only in the Feaft of St. Peter^ 
 but of all the reft of the Apoftles and Evange- 
 lifts (except St. John^ and on their 06ian)es in 
 the Roman Church at this very Day , " We 
 '' humbly befcech thee, O Lord, the eternal 
 " Paftor, not to forfake thy Flock, but pre- 
 '^ ferve it with continued Protection, by thy 
 
 * Vice Pafloris cuilodire gregem. 
 
 -j- Epif. Par. 2. ad Raimundum Tormentinum, P. 27. Sec. 
 
 \ L. de facerd. dig. c. 2. 
 
 § Launoy Epift. Pars 5-. Carolo Magiflro. 
 
 X De Agone ChriHiano, cap. 30, 
 
 « bleffed 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 737 
 
 " blefled Apoftles ; that it may be governed Art.xxxvii. 
 '^ by the fame Rulers, which as Vicars of thy ^^Y^"^ 
 ^' Work, thou didft beftow upoii it, to be fet 
 '' Paflors over it ". This is fufficient to fhew 
 that the Roman Church itfelf hath anciently 
 believed, this Charge was given to all the 
 Apoftles to feed his Flock, and be the chief Pa- 
 llors of it. ^ What? will fome fay, was there 
 nothing here peculiarly fpoken to St. Peter ? 
 No Myftery in thofe Words thrice repeated and 
 fpecially dired:ed to him by Name, as you can- 
 not but acknowledge ? Yes, no doubt, but it 
 is no more than this, that Peter of all the reft, 
 had lately thrice denied his Alafter. This might 
 well have made Peter himfelf queftion his Love to 
 Chrift, and move our Lord to ask him, whether 
 he ftill remained as confident as he was before, 
 that he had a greater Affedlion to him, than 
 any of his Difciples. For fo he begins his 
 Speech, Loveft thou me more than thefe ? As 
 he had fancied he did, when he faid • Tho' all 
 Men (hall be offended becaufe of thee, yet will I 
 never be offended. Matt. xxvi. 33. The Vani- 
 ty of which Thoughts he had found by fad 
 Experience, he alone denying, nay, abjuring 
 his Mafter. In this Peter v/as Angular, and 
 did more than any of the reft • for which Caufe, 
 more was to be faid to him, and more was to 
 be done by him, than any of them. He was 
 to anfwer thrice to three Queftions, which were 
 folemnly put to him, that by a threefold Con- 
 feffion he might obliterate his threefold Denial. 
 This is all the Myftery which the ancient 
 Chriftians could find in this folemn Speech, 
 made with particular Application to Peter^ as 
 
 * PrseelTe Pallores. 
 
 A a a may 
 
f 3 8 An Expofition on the 
 
 ART.xxxviT.niay be feen in St. Cyril o? Alexandria "^^ ^t, 
 ^^^^"^f*^ Aufiin tj Gregory Nazianzen ^j:, and a long 
 Train which I could fet down of other Fa- 
 thers • which allures us that this was the com- 
 mon and literal Expofition of thefe Words, 
 and that they underftood no other Reafon, 
 why our Lord addreffed himfelf only to Peter^ 
 tho' other Apoftles were prefent, but only 
 this J that he might declare he would have 
 Peter^ notwithftanding his denying him thrice, 
 be confident, upon this Profeilion of Love to 
 him, he was reftored to his Favour, and that 
 he would have him no lefs than the reft, look 
 upon the Care of his Flock as belonging to him, 
 who had deferved by his fhamefuUy repeatedDe- 
 nial of him, to fall from that Office, more than 
 any other of his Apoftles : For tho' they all fled, 
 yet none denied him but Peter alone , and there- 
 fore thefe Words were as if our Lord had faid ^ 
 Tho' there be Cauie enough for me to rejedt 
 thee, yet becaufe thou didft repent thee of thy 
 Sin, and doft now profefs thy Love to me. 
 Feed my Sheep^ no lels than the reft of my 
 Apoftles, to whom I have committed the Care 
 of them : Which will fufficiently expofe the 
 Vanity of the CathoUck Scripturlft^ who bids 
 us, againft the Senfe of all Antiquity, to note^ 
 that our Lord would not have required greater 
 Love in Peter^ rather than in any of the reft, 
 nor have faid Lo'vcft thou me more than thefe ? 
 if he had not here intended to give him high- 
 er Dignity in Paftorfliip than the reft f . Let 
 me therefore dcfire the Reader not only to note 
 
 * In Johnxxi. 
 
 f Tract. 47. in JoIian» 
 
 ^ Traft. 29. 
 
 § Seventh Point, n. 7, 
 
 what 
 
Tbirty-Nwe Articles. 739 
 
 what hath been already faid, but al£b thefe Art.XXXvii. 
 Words of St. Cyril upon this Head, who was a <^^^y^'^^ 
 better Scripturift^ and more CathoUck than this 
 Jefuit. I will not fet them down at large, but 
 only the Conclufion of them, which are very 
 remarkable, and exprefly expound this PaiTage 
 as I have done. '' In that Speech of our Lord, 
 ^^ Feed my Sheep, there was a kind of Ke-^ 
 '^ newal * of the Apoftlefhip formerly bellowed 
 '^ upon him, doing away the Infamy of his 
 '^ Falls, and blotting out the Cowardice of hu- 
 " man Infirmity". Where a great Perfon of 
 ^ our own hath very juftly remarked upon the 
 Word Renewal f ; He doth not fay that our 
 Lord augmented his Dignity (which is the new 
 Dodlrine) but that he renewed it, or rejiored 
 him to it. Which Dignity he had faid in the 
 Beginning of this Difcourfe, Peter was advan- 
 ced unto, when our Lord named him, not 
 above others^ but with other Difciples to be an 
 Apoftle t ; and therefore now did not give him 
 more than the reft, but only declared he did 
 not take the Forfeiture he had made of that Dig- 
 nity, but re-inftated him in it together with the 
 reft. This is undoubtedly the ancient Senfe of 
 Chrift's Church, to which I know not what to 
 add for the Explication of thefe Words, un- 
 lefs it be this ^ that Peter had juft before this 
 Difcourfe of our Lord's, begun to exprels his 
 earneft Defire to recover his Favour, cafting 
 himfelf into the Sea (when the other Difciples 
 came by the Ship) to get to our Saviour ; 
 which may be looked upon as a Token of exceC- 
 
 * tlvAvktdffii' uff'TTi^ Tt(, &c. L. 12. inJoh,P. uao. 
 f Bp. Andrews's Tortura Tort. P._f i. 
 
 A a a 2 five 
 
^40 -^^ Expcfitioii on the 
 
 ■/iRT.XXXVli.five Love to him, and of a more than ordinary 
 h^y'SJ Defire to enjoy his Company. From hence 
 a very learned Writer of this Church, thinks 
 our Lord takes Occafion to make this Speech 
 to him (but whether to check or to chen/Jj that 
 Defire, he dares not determine) the Import of 
 which, he gives in this Faraphrafe. ^ '^ Thou 
 ^' haft made FrofefHon of more than ordinary 
 '^^ Love to me, of Readinefs to lay down thy 
 ^^ Life for my Sake, tho' all others, even thefe 
 '^^ thy Fellows, fhould forfakc me , and art will- 
 *^' ing, I fee, by thy prefent Hazard of it to 
 ^^ make good thy former Words. But wouldft 
 ^^ thou have me yet to fhew thee a more ex- 
 ^^ cellent W^ay ? I have told it thee long fmce j 
 *^^ Thou art converted, ftrengthen thy Bre- 
 ^^ thren„ Simon the Son of Jona^ if thou de- 
 ^^ fireft to prove thy felf a Cephas^ or tcftify 
 ^^ the Sincerity of thy Faith and Love (which 
 ^^ by the Powers of Darknefs were, of late, 
 ■^ fo grievoufly fhaken) Feed my Lamhs^ Feed 
 ^' my Sheep. Yea, feeing thou thrice deniedft 
 ^^ the Shepherd of thy Soul, I fay unto thee 
 ^■^ ^he third Time, Feed my Sheep, Let the Me- 
 ^^ mory of thy fore-paffed three-fold Sin, alfb 
 " let this my prefent three-fold Admonition, 
 ^' excite thee unto triple Diligence in thy 
 ^^ Charge to fhew fuch Pity and Compaflion, 
 ^^ as I have fhewed to thee, unto that loft and 
 ^^ fcattcred Flock, which have denied me, or 
 ^^ confented to my Crucifying. Let thy faith- 
 ^^ ful Performance of what I requeft at my 
 ^^ Farewel, be the firft Teftimony of thy Love 
 f ' to me, to be laftly teftified by the Lofs of 
 ^^ thy Life, which thou didft promife me 
 
 Dr. Jackfon upon the Creed, Book ^q c. 7. 
 
Thirty -Wine Articled. 741 
 
 ^^ when I gave mine for my Sheep, (John xiii. Art-XXXVIT/ 
 « 37.) but fhall not pay, till thou haft fulfilled ^-^0^"%=^^ 
 *^ this my Requeft. Verily, verily, I fay unto 
 " thee, when thou waft young, thou girdcdft 
 " thyfelf, and walkcdft whither thou wouldft, 
 *' but when thou art old, thou fhalt ftretch 
 '' forth thy Hands, and another fhall gird thee, 
 '' and lead thee whither thou wouldft not, Sc!"" 
 Thefe Things being well confidered, there is nd 
 Neceffity, I think, to difpute about the Meaning 
 of the Word Feed (which is ftill a Metaphor, it 
 is fit to obferve, as well as the two former, Koch 
 and Keys) for whatlbever can be thought to be 
 meant thereby, all the Apoftles were required 
 to do it as well as Teter^ and had the Lambs 
 and the Sheep committed to their Care, as much 
 as he. But becaufe there are a great rhany 
 Things, which many of the Koman Doctors 
 draw from this Tingle Word Feed^ and there arc 
 alfo very curious Obfervations made about the 
 fhiall Word My^ and about Larahs and Sheep^ 
 (that is, about every Word of this Ihort Sen- 
 tence) it will not be unprofitable briefly to exa-^ 
 liiine upon what Foundation they ftand. 
 
 I. Now, by the V^ordfeed^ they underftand 
 the higheft Power * to have been committed to 
 him ', which, if it were true, then all to whom 
 it is faid Feed the Flacky had the higheft Power | 
 and fo there were many Supreams, all the El- 
 ders of Ephefus (as hath been fhewn before) 
 being required to feed the Church of (xod^ A^s 
 XX. si8. which includes in it, nobody doubts. 
 Authority and Rule ; but is not the thing 
 principally^ much iefs only intended , and is far 
 
 Aaa J from 
 
74^ -^^ Expofition on the 
 
 ART.xxxviI.ffom fignifying the higheft Power, For the 
 ^^^y^^r^J Greek Word for Feed t in the firft Mention of 
 this Charge, Feed my Lamhs^ njer. 15. and in 
 the laft^ Feed my Sbeep^ "ver. 17. imports no- 
 thing of Ruling or Governing, nor was ever 
 apply'd to fignify the Power of Princes ; but 
 denotes merely the fimple Office of leading their 
 Flock to their Pafture. And accordingly the 
 ancient Fathers commonly refer thefe Words to 
 the Feeding by JVord and Do^rine^ to which 
 they had more Regard than to mere Rule and 
 Power, which now is the only thing that is 
 contended for from this poor Word Feed : 
 And that becaufe once, ver, 1 6. our Lord ufes 
 a Word which is tranjlated to this Senfe. ^ranf- 
 lated^ I fay, for it originally fignifies no more 
 than the other before-named, denoting nothing 
 of Dominion or Empire. For a Man may be 
 Shepherd of the Sheep, who is not their Lord. 
 But it is apply'd to Ktngs^ and to God himfelf^ 
 not becaufe it is apt to denote the abiblute Do- 
 minion of God over all Creatures, or the higheft 
 Power of Kings over their Subjedts, but to give 
 us to underftand how God is affe^ed towards 
 us, and to admonifh Kings of their Duty ; 
 which is to govern their People committed to 
 their Charge, gently and diligently, as a Shep- 
 herd doth his Flocic. There are many Places 
 of Scripture that juftify this, which I fhall not 
 fo much as mention, becaufe there is no Reafbn 
 'why this Word only fhould be regarded and 
 the other negleded ; nor why the other iliould 
 not rather interpret this (being twice repeated, 
 and this ufed but once) than this interpret the 
 ether 5 nor why either fliould fignify Ruling 
 
 after 
 
Thirty-Kme Articles. 745 
 
 a6er the manner of a Frince^ and not of a Art.xxxvI^ 
 Paftor ', nor (if we allow the utmoft that can V^VN*/. 
 be made of it) why they fhould fuppofe Peter 
 to have had any Pre-eminence in this Autho- 
 rity over the Flock of Chrift, which was not 
 grounded upon his eminent affectionate Care^ 
 and more than ordinary Fidelity in feeding it. 
 And yet, fuch is the Defire of Dominion in 
 fbme People, that they have not only made 
 Peter univerfal Paftor, with an ordinary Power, 
 as they call it, which no other Apoftle had^^ 
 but found him a SucceJJor alfo in this Power, 
 and without any Deed of Conveyance, but 
 this one Word Feed^ made the Pope of Kome 
 his fble Heir ; unto whom they afcribe the moft 
 exorbitant Power, derived to him from St. Peter^ 
 fole Heir to the great Shepherd of the Sheep, 
 Chrift Jefus. If you would know what this 
 Power is, Bellarmine will inform you 3 who 
 here and there in his Works, afTerts the Power 
 of the Bifliop of Rome to extend unto five 
 great Things ^ for the Support of which he 
 alledges thele Words, Feed my Sheep, Firft, he 
 laith, that he is hereby made the Supream 
 Judge in Controverfies of Faith. *^ Nothing 
 *' can be more clearly fpoken in the Gofpel, 
 '^ than that which our Lord faid to Peter^ in 
 '^ the Prefence of the reft of the Apoftles, 
 '^ Feed my Sheep : For he ipake to Peter only, 
 '^ and he gave him all his Sheep to feed, fo 
 *^ that he did not exclude the Apoftles them-* 
 ^^ felves. Now it cannot be diiputed but that 
 *^ it is one of the Offices of a Paftor to difcern 
 *' good Pafture from bad." Secondly, he pro- 
 ceeds from hence alfo to make the Pope an 
 
 * Lib. 4. de P. R. c. i. ' 
 
 Aaa 4 ~ infallibk 
 
5^44 -^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art-XXXVII. infalUhle Judge, f " For in thefe Words, faith 
 ^^^'VN-/ '^ he. Feed my Sbeep^ the Pope was made Paftor 
 " and Dodor of the whole Church ; and if fo, 
 " then the whole Church is bound to hear and 
 '^ to follow him , fo that if he err, the whole 
 " Church will err with him." Thirdly, Hence 
 alfo he derives his Power to make Laws for the 
 whole Church. 4= " For Chrift, fays he, giving 
 '^ Peter what he promifed, ufes a kingly Word, 
 *' viz^ Toi^vz!" And therefore. Fourthly, He 
 proves by this, that the Pope is abfblutely 
 above the whole Church, even above a General 
 Council. § " For fmce Chrift the good Shepherd 
 '^ hath communicated to Peter his own Name, 
 " in thefe Words, Feed 7ny Sheep ^ it is plain, 
 ** the Paftor is fo above the Sheep, that he can 
 " in no wife be judged by them." Fifthly, In 
 fine, he proceeds fo far, as from thefe Words 
 to prove the Popovs I'emporal Power over Prhi* 
 '"^y, * " whom if they be Hereticks (for In- 
 ftance) he may not only excommunicate, but 
 command the People alfo not to obey them, 
 and therefore to deprive them of their Do- 
 " minion over their Subjeds." Wherein he 
 follows feveral of their Popes, "viz. Gregory the 
 Vllth, Boniface the Vlllth, and Nicholas the 
 IVth, who in their Decretals alledge this Place 
 to maintain the Power which they challenged to 
 themfclves in Temporal Things. But thefe are 
 fuch far-fetch'd and abfurd Inferences from 
 thefe Words, that to name them, as was faid 
 before, is to confute them , this being not to 
 interpret the Scripture, but to torture it, and 
 
 f Lib. 4. de P. R. c. g. 
 
 + Ibid. cap. 10. 
 
 § Lib. 1. de Concil, cap. 1 7. 
 
 ' Lib. f, cap. 7. 
 
 {ova 
 
 
Thirty-Kine Articles, 745 
 
 force it to fay what they pleale, though neverART.xxxviI. 
 
 fo much againft its Meaning : Which fome in ^--^0'"\^ 
 
 their own Communion are fo fenfible of, that 
 
 they abhor fuch violent Abufes of God's holy 
 
 Word ^ and openly declare there are no fuch 
 
 Things as thefe to be found therein. One 
 
 more particularly * hath demonftrated Bellar- 
 
 wine's Arguments to be ibphiflical, and againft 
 
 the Rules of the Council of ^rent^ when he 
 
 proves from thefe W^ords, Feed ray Sheep^ the 
 
 Pope's Superiority over Gejieral Councils, and 
 
 his unerring Judgment in Matters of Faith, and 
 
 then fhews that forty Popes of Kojne^ by calling 
 
 every Bifliop of the Church their FelloW'BiJhops^ 
 
 have openly declared thefe Words, Feed my 
 
 Sheep^ are not proper to them alone ; and that 
 
 this is a moft certain Tradition of the Roman 
 
 Church itfelf, by its Bifhops j which he proves 
 
 from Stephen the Firft to Innocent the Third, by 
 
 near Iwo hundred ay^d twetity 'ite ft monies ^ which, 
 
 if they be not fufficient to make a Tradition, 
 
 there can never be any fufficient Tradition, as 
 
 he fpeaks, it being fcarce pofTible there ihould 
 
 be any thing better teftified. And another 
 
 alfo t more lately hath overthrown thefe pre- 
 
 fumptuous Affertions ; fhewing, that all the 
 
 Apoftles and their Succeffors, were Paftors of 
 
 the Flock of Chrift ; who fpake to them in the 
 
 Perfbn of Peter ^ when he faid. Feed my Sheep, 
 
 And that if thefe Words had been fpoken to 
 
 Peter alone, and his Succeffors, they would not 
 
 have proved them to be infallible i^ or their 
 
 Authority to be above that of a General Coun- 
 
 * Launoy Epifr. Pars 2. 6c Pars f, 
 
 f Louis El. Du Pin. 
 
 \. De Antiq, Eccl. Difcip. Dif. /. 
 
 Cil ^ ; 
 
74<5 ^// Expofitioii on tie 
 
 Art.xxxvII. cil § ; much lefs that they have Authority over 
 ^y^y"^ Kings or their Dominions, either diretlly or 
 indtre^ly ; the Church Univerfal having always 
 underftood thefe Words to fpeak of a Spiritual 
 Power only. And therefore they that are not 
 ajhamed to interpret them otherwife^ depart from 
 the Senfe of the Catholick Church ; that they may^ 
 hy any Means^ defend their unlawful Attempts ^. 
 But fecondly. If the Word Feed alone will not 
 do this great Bufinefs, Bellarmine hopes the 
 next little Word My^ will ailift nnightily to the 
 cftablifhing the Univerfal Paftorfhip. For, he 
 faith, it furnifhes them with a notable Keafon^ 
 -why all the Flock that called Chrift their Owner 
 fhould be looked upon as his f. " For fmce 
 '^ Chrift adds, without any Reftridtion, the 
 '^ Pronoun My to the Noun Sheep^ it mani- 
 feftly fignifies, that all thofe Sheep were com- 
 mended to Peter ^ which can be called Chrift's 
 ^^ Sheep J and it is certain, all are Chrift's 
 '' Sheep, none excepted " To which, if any 
 one fhould think fit to reply (as no mean Per- 
 fons have done) that our Lord in the Word 
 My^ if any Emphafis muft be laid upon it, 
 pointed to thofe who had been his own peculiar 
 Charge in his Life-time, when he was not fent 
 J?ut to the loft Sheep of the Houfe of Ifrael; I 
 appeal to all Men of Senfe, whether it would 
 not be a more reafonable Expofition than his : 
 Efpecially when they Ihall eonfider, that thefe 
 loft Sheepy the Jews^ were afterward the pecu- 
 liar Care of St. Peter^ unto whom the Go/pel of 
 the Circumcifion was com??iitted^ as the Gofpel of 
 the Uncircumcifion to St. Paul ; for he that 
 
 
 § Dif. ^ 
 
 * Dif. 7. P. i\t%f. 
 
 f Lib. I. de Rom. Pon. cap. 16^, 
 
 wrought 
 
Ihtrty^Wine Articles. 747 
 
 "brought effe^ually in Peter to the Apoftlejhip o/Art.xxxvil 
 '^he Circumcifion (that is of the Jews J the [ame W^VNi,/ 
 was mighty in rne^ faith St. Paul^ towards the 
 Gentiles^ &c. Gal. ii. 7, 8. 
 
 But there is no need of this Interpretation, 
 nor do I rely upon it ; fince our Lord ex- 
 prefly declared in his Life-time, Other Sheep I 
 ba've^ which are ?wt of this Fold^ them alfo I 
 fHuft brings and they fhall hear my Voice j afid 
 there fh all he one Fold, and one Shepherd^ John 
 X. 16. All which Sheep were committed to the 
 Care, not of Peter alone, but of all the Apo- 
 ftles : Every one of which had an equal Share 
 in his Charge ; tho' Peter (as I have ftiewn) 
 had Need to be particularly excited to do this 
 Part of his Office, and to feed as many as 
 he could poflibly, feeing the Proof of his Love 
 to Chrift, and of his Fidelity, in which he 
 had lamentably failed, did therein confift. 
 Thirdly, after all this, they make plealant 
 Work with the Words, Lambs and Sheep^ which 
 they fay, include the whole Church, Apoftles 
 and all ; fo that they who were Pajlors no left 
 than Peter ^ are turned into Sheep^ to be led by 
 him. Which is confuted by the whole Hiftory 
 of the Gofpel, and by all Antiquity , nothing 
 being plainer than that Peter did not (o much 
 as nominate a Succelfor to Judas^ much left 
 take upon him by his fble Authority to appoint 
 one ; but the whole College of the Apoftles 
 appointed two Perfbns to be prefented to God, 
 defiring him lojhew which he had chofen^ A6ls i, 
 23, 24. Nor did he ordaia St. Stephen and the 
 other fix Deacons j but the twelve called the 
 Multitude of the Difciples unto them, and bad 
 them look out feven Men^ &c. fFbom we (not 
 Feter alone) may appoint over this Bujinefs^ 
 
 Aas 
 
748 ^h Expofitioli on the 
 
 AftT.xxxviI.^f^^ vi. 3. Nay, more than all this, Pete? wafi^- 
 C/VN^ fo far from exerciling fupreme Authority over 
 them, that the Apoftlcs fent him^ as there was 
 Occalion, not hetbem^ to do an Apoftolical Of- 
 fice ; and alfo fent John in joint Commiffion 
 with him, ^^s viii. 14. And I have obferved 
 already, how St. Paul withfiood John to his Face^ 
 and that^publickly, when he was in an Error 5 
 which can no Way confift with the Suppofition 
 of his being inferior to Peter ^ in Order or Power. 
 For tho' an Inferior may privately give his Ad- 
 vice to his Superior , yet to call the fupreme 
 Governor in Queftion, and to reprove him he-- 
 fore allj is intolerable Prefumption, and Con- 
 tempt of Authority. But this Conceit is fb 
 very dear to them, that they not only tell us, 
 that if every one of the other Apoftlcs be Sheep 
 of Chrift, St. Peter is here made Paftor to every 
 one of them, for he is commanded to Feed 
 them. But fome of them find a Myftery in 
 thefe Words, which the better to accommodate 
 to their Fancies, they turn into three inftead of 
 two only, which are in the Greek ■^. And by 
 Lamhs^ 'ver. 15. and by little Sheep (as they 
 will needs have it read njer. 16.) underftand the 
 Jews and the Gentiles ^ and by Sheep, "ver. 17. 
 the Bifhops of the Church, who are (fays Bel- 
 larmine f ) as it were the Ewes or Mothers of 
 the Lambs ^ and therefore the Lord commit^ 
 ted to Peter the Care of the Lamhs^ that is of 
 the People of the Jews ; and of the Little 
 Sheep ^ that is, the People of the Gentiles ; and 
 of the Sheep^ that is, they that brought forth 
 thefe Lamhs in Chrift, which are the Apoftles 
 
 4: 'Afl'let Sc v^^ttlA 
 
 f L. I* deRom. Pontif. cap. i$» 
 
 iand 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 74p 
 
 and Bifhops. Or by Lamhs^ he faith, we Art.xxxvu. 
 may underftand mere Laymen, the People who ^^^OTNJ 
 have no paftoral Care, being only Children, 
 not Fathers in Chrift , and by the Little Sheep^ 
 inferior Priefts, who are fo the Fathers of the 
 People, that they are Bifhops Sons; and by- 
 Sheep, the great Priefts, that is Bifhops, who 
 are fo fet over, both Lambs and Lambkins, 
 that they are, notwithflanding, fubjed: them- 
 felves to St. Peter. That is, you may under- 
 ftand this Myftery how you pleafe, if you do 
 but fo contrive it, that Peter have all under 
 his Care, and the Apoftles themfelves be his 
 Curates. But they who can be pleafed with 
 fuch Conceits as t'hefe, have very little Reve- 
 rence for the Holy Scriptures , and 'tis a great 
 Affront to our Underftandings, to offer us meer 
 Imaginations for Reafons ; their own Dreams 
 inftead of the divine Oracles. If it may con- 
 fifl with Chriftian Sobriety, to make luch a 
 nice Diftindion between Lamhs and Sheep^ as 
 to make them imply different Things, (any 
 more than the two feveral Words for Feed^ and 
 for lonjeft thou me^ are thought to do * ) it is 
 far more likely that our Lord intended to fig- 
 nify, the Care that ought to be taken of all 
 Chriftians fuitable to the Diverfity of their 
 States. Someofwbicby as a great Man of our 
 own Church fpeaks f^are to he handled tenderly^ 
 and cherijhed like Lamhs -^ others to he looked 
 unto like elder Sheep ^ and to he fed with ftronger 
 Meat^ hut with lefs perfonal or ajjiduotts Au 
 tendance. This hath fome Senfe in it, which 
 Js very ufeful, and agreeable to all Mens 
 
 f Dr.Jackfon. B, 3. c. 7, fed. 10. 
 
 Thoughts : 
 
7^0 J72 Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvii. Thoughts : But if wc fet our Fancies on Work, 
 *^/VX^ they abound with vain Conceits, of which we 
 can find no End. For \? Lambs ^ and Lambkins ^ 
 and Sheep only be St. Peter s Walk, and he the 
 Shepherd, where are the Kams ? (as a no left 
 learned than ingenious Man asks § ) they are 
 excepted it feems, and Rams^ as Turrianus 
 fancies, are the Apoftles^ or their SucceiTors, that 
 is, Bifhops ; or, as Cardinal I'olet QBellarmhws 
 Equal) will have it, * they are Kings and 
 Princes ^ and fo thefe two, Apoftles and Kings 
 are by this Interpretation fhut out, whom 
 BcUartnine intended by his Device to have fhut 
 into Peters Fold. But the graver Sort of Wri- 
 ters even in the Roman Church, are afhamed 
 of fuch Myfteries as thefe, which they fee may 
 be invented at Pleafure. Maldonate f himlelf 
 (to fay nothing of Janfenius^ bids thofe who 
 fubtly enquire, why Chrifl calls his Difciples 
 Lambs^ rather than Sbeep^ think again, and 
 again, what they do, and take Heed, iefl they 
 expole themfelves to the Laughter of the 
 Learned : For the Difference is in Word not 
 in Senfe, fave only, that the Word Lambs^ hath 
 fbmething in it more foft and tender, and 
 might be uied to commend them the more to 
 Peters Affedion. For this diminutive Form of 
 Speech, is a Sign of very tender and ardent 
 Love, and more moving than any other ; as 
 appears by the common Inflance of a dying Fa- 
 ther, who expreffes more of his own Affedtion, 
 and works more upon his Friends, if he fays, 
 I commend to you the Care of my little Babes^ 
 
 § Dr. Collin's Epphata. P.^u 
 * In ij- Joh. Annot. 3, 
 t In Joh. 21, \^>^c^ 
 
 than 
 
Thirty 'Wine Articles. 751 
 
 than if he fimply fays, I commend the Care of Atr.xxxvii. 
 my Children to you : Whence it is our Saviour ^^^^W> 
 fometimes ufed this Form, juft before he parted 
 with his Difciples, John xiii. 33. Little Children^ 
 yet a little while I am with you^ &c. And his 
 Apoftles alio, particularly St. John^ who ufes it 
 feven ^imes in his firft Epiftie, to declare the 
 Greatnefs and Tendernels of his Love, and 
 to excite the like in others. That Writer (ilf^/- 
 donate") indeed purfues no lels than the other 
 the Pretenfions of the Church of Rome from 
 thefe Words, tho' he doth not approve of this 
 Curiofity, infifting upon Chrift's committing 
 all the Sheep (that is in his Opinion all Chrifti- 
 ans) to St. Peter : Which will not do their Bu- 
 fniefi, fmce they were no otherwife committed 
 to him, than they were to the reft of Chrift's 
 Apoftles ; who had the fame Power given them, 
 and were to take the fame Care of all Chrift's 
 Flock that he did. Not that every one of them 
 was to feed^ or teach all Chriftians, fimply and 
 univerfally underftood , for that was impoffible, 
 and would have made the Labours of the reft 
 ufeleis, if one were fufficient , but all indefi- 
 nitely, fb that among them none Ihould be neg- r 
 led:ed, but inftruded by fome, or other of them. ^ 
 
 This muft neceffarily be the Meaning • for 
 otherwife, our Lord required Peter to do that 
 which could not be done by one Man, or if it 
 could have been done, would have made all 
 the other Apoftles idle, and left them nothing 
 to do. No, fay they, we do not mean that 
 Peter alone was to preach the Gofpel to all 
 Nations, fb he could not feed all j but this 
 Sort of feeding muft be allowed to others , but 
 he alone was to rule and govern in chief, to 
 feed by Authority and Power over all, where- 
 ty he was to prefcribe yrhat was to be taught 
 
 and 
 
75^ ^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xXXVII. and believed. But this is to return, where wc 
 V./'VN*^ were before, to the Signification of the Word 
 Feed^ which cannot mean one Thing with re- 
 fped: to Peter ^ and another with refped: to the 
 reft 5 but fignifies the fame Power, be it what 
 it will, common to them all. If this need any 
 farther Explication, thofe Words of our Lord, 
 Go, and teach all Nations^ Matt, xxviii. 19. Go 
 ye into all the IVorld, and preach the Gofpel unto 
 e'very Creature^ Mark xvi. 15. will latisfy us, that 
 Feter had no peculiar Authority conferred on 
 him, above the other Apoftles : For he gave this 
 Charge to them all, and it was ufhered in with 
 a far more magnificent Preface to it, than 
 when he ipake here particularly to Peter ^ for 
 he firft acquaints them with his own fupreme 
 Authority, faying. All Pcjuer is given unto me 
 in Heaven and in Earth • and then adds, Go ye 
 therefore and teach all Nations, ^c. Which is 
 a Commiflion as large as could be given to Men ; 
 including in it, all the Power that was necelTa- 
 ry for the eftablifhing and governing thoie 
 Churches, which they fhould gather unto Chrift. 
 Who can think that they who had this Autho- 
 rity given them, were themfelves to be taught 
 and governed by Peter alone: Nothing could 
 put fuch a Conceit into Mens Heads, but an 
 ambitious Defire, to advance themfelves to the 
 higheft Dominion, by raifnig Peter above all 
 others , who, it is evident, did not take them- 
 felves to be at all inferior to him, nor to be 
 lefs able to Feed him, than he was to Feed them. 
 For St. Paul (who was herein Inferior, that he 
 was called late to be an Apoftle, as one born out 
 $f due 'J^inie) did take upon him to feed Peter ^ 
 and that with his Staff too (if I may fo fpeak) 
 that is, with his Reproof, and this at Antiocb^ 
 St. Peter's own Seat , where it had been very 
 
 proper 
 
Tljirty-Wine Articles^ 755 
 
 proper for him, one would think, to have ftood Art.xxxvii; 
 upon his peculiar Prerogative, if he had known ^>y^Y\^ 
 of any belonging to him, which, if he could 
 have challenged, we fhould ftill be to feek by 
 what Right the Bifhop of Rome claims the lame 
 Authority that St. Peter had, O fays Boniface 
 the Eighth *, Chrift fpake to Peter and to his 
 Succejfors^ when he faid. Feed my Sheep. But 
 how doth he prove it ? Why we muft take his 
 bare Word for it, both that he fpake thefe 
 Words to Peter's Succeffors, and to them alone, 
 and that the Bifhops of Rome are his fole Suc- 
 ceffors : All this he delivers as an infallible DI- 
 6iator^ and it is not good Manners to queftion 
 that the Univerfal Flock of Chrift is fo commit- 
 ted to them, that Whether Greeks or others jloall 
 fay., they are not committed to Peter and his Sue-- 
 cejfors^ they muft neceffarily confefs they are none 
 of the Sheep of Chrift. But it is worth any body's 
 while to read on to the End of that Piece where 
 he afferts this ; whereby the Reader will be in- 
 fallibly latisfied, he was no infallible Interpre- 
 ter, but a grofs Perverter of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. For here it is, that he proves, that there 
 is in the Church, both the Spiritual and the 
 temporal Power, from thofe Words, Behold here 
 are two Swords^ Luke xxii. 38. and that the 
 Temporal Power is fabjed: to the Spiritual, be- 
 caufe the Powers that are, are ordained of God 
 (Row.xiii. lO for they would not be in Order^ 
 iinlefs Sword were under Sword, and Spiritual 
 Things are fuperior to Temporal. For the 
 Prophecy o( Jeremiah^ is verified of the Church 
 and Ecclefiafiical Power, Chap. i. 10. Behold^ 
 I ha've fet thee this Bay ouer the Nations^ and 
 
 Extravagant. L. i. Tit. 8. de Major Sc Obedientiu, 
 
 B b b QV$t 
 
754 ^^^ Expofitioti on the 
 
 Art.xXXVII. Qr^^cr the Kingdoms^ to root tip and pull down^ &c. 
 
 <^''y'\J Therefore the Temporal Power, if it go out of 
 the Way, muft be judged by the Spiritual ; but 
 the fupreme Spiritual Power, by God alone, 
 not by Man j as the Apoftle bears Witn efs, 
 I Cor. ii. 15. He that is fpiritual judgeth all 
 ^hings^ htit hehimfelfis judged of no Man. Af- 
 ter all which goodly Interpretation of the Holy 
 Scriptures (more like Pa/quil than the Pope^ 
 he concludes m.oft pontifically, iVe declare^ af- 
 firm^ define J and pronounce^ that it is altogether 
 hecejfary to Salvation^ for every human Creature 
 to he fuhje5i to the Pope of Rome. This is the 
 Conciufion from Feed my Sheep^ and from 
 other places of Scripture, expounded after the 
 fame Fafhion as he abufes this : Which tho' it 
 be very prcfumptuous, yet is not too arrogant 
 for him, who could entertain fuch a monftrous 
 Conceit, as this, which we read in one of his 
 Decrees % where he fays, " Chrift made Peter 
 *' the Chief 5 that from him as from a certain 
 *^ Head, he might diifufe, as it were his Gifts 
 *^ into the whole Body , for that having taken 
 '^ him In Confcrtimn individu^ frmitatts^ into 
 " the Partnerfliip of the undivided Trinity , 
 *^ he would have him called that which the 
 *' Lord himfelf was, faying, ^hou art Peter^ 
 *' and upon this Kock^ I will build my Church". 
 Now \{ Peter be thus exalted into the Con for tjhip 
 of the Blejfed Trinity^ and the Pope have a 
 juil Claim to all that belongs to Peter , then 
 is the Pope no h^s than our Lord God^ as fome 
 of the Canonifls have called him, to whom 
 Boniface might well conclude, all mull be fub- 
 je(5t upon Pain of Damnation. I fhall clofe 
 
 * Scxti Decree. L. i. Tit. ($. cap. 17. Fuad^uienta. 
 
 this 
 
T/jirty 'Nine Articles. 755 
 
 this Head with a few Obfervations, which I Art.XXavit. 
 hope will appear much better grounded than ^-^^'VX*'. 
 their proud Decrees. 
 
 First, It is worth confidering, that this lof- 
 ty Structure which they have eredted in the 
 Church of Rome^ of the Supremacy of their 
 Bilhop, is built barely upon three Metaphori- 
 cal Speeches of our Saviour to St. Peter^ with- 
 out one Word or Syllable concerning tiie B'l- 
 fhop of Ko7?w^ or any other that was to ilicceed 
 him. One might reafonably exped to have 
 an Affair of inch great Confequence better 
 founded, and more clearly exprefled, than in 
 this Manner, Upon this Kock^ and / will gin:e 
 thee the Keysj and Feed my Sheep : And that 
 we (liould have been acquainted in downright, 
 plain, and ftrong Terms, whole Share the In- 
 heritance of this iupreme Power, which is fup- 
 pofed to be conferred by thefe figurative Ex- 
 prefiions, ihould iall to after St. Peters Deceafe ; 
 efpecially, if the eternal Salvation of our Sou's 
 depends upon our acknowledging and lubmit- 
 ting to the Perfon that fhould from time to 
 time facceed him, as fupreme Monarch of the 
 whole Chriftian Church. And yet, this is the 
 Cafe, this is all that even fo confiderable a 
 Writer as Bellarmine^ who feldom overlooks 
 any thing that feems to make for his Purpofe, 
 would venture to alledgeout of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures for the Proof of fo weighty a Point ; for 
 he had too much Senfe and Difcretion to men- 
 tion thofe two Places, which the Khemlfts in 
 their AnnctattGUs on the New 'tefiament have 
 fo ridiculoufly apply'd to this Purpofe. One of 
 them is in St. Matt, xiv. 28. Where,' upon the 
 Word IValk^ they have this wife Obfervation. 
 " Peter (faith St. Bernard^ walking upon the 
 B b b 2 " Waters 
 
75^ An Expofitioji on the 
 
 ^^''I^^y^ Waters as Chrift did, declared himfelf the 
 '^^^'^^ " only Vicar of Chrift ^ v.hich fhould be Ruler 
 '' not over one People, but even all ; for many 
 '' Waters are many People. And from hence, 
 "^ he dedaceth the like Authority and jurif- 
 ^' di6i:ion to his Succeffors the Bifhops of 
 ^^ Rome ". An excellent Inference ! for which 
 they are very much obliged to St. Bernard^ who 
 was fo quick-fighted, as to fpy fo notable a 
 Declaration of St. Peters fble Vicarfliip, and 
 draw from thence fuch a fine Argument for the 
 Pope's Authority, as no ancient Dodlor, befides 
 himfelf was able to find in this Place. But 
 muft his Fancies be admitted, as fubftantial 
 Proofs of the Bifhop of Rome's Supremacy, 
 which was railed to a great Height in his Days? 
 If fuch Conceits as thefe may be allowed to 
 pafs for Arguments, no IMan hath any need 
 to be at a Lois how to defend the moft abomi- 
 nable Herefies, that the Wit or Wickednefs of 
 Man can poiilbly invent. Their fecond An- 
 notation is altogether as confiderable, and be- 
 caufe they do not pretend to father it on St. 
 Bernard^ or any other Writer, we will let them 
 have the Honour of inventing it themfelves. 
 We are told it feems, Luke v. 3. that our Sa- 
 viour, feeing:^ t'wo Ships by the Lake of Gennefa" 
 rethj enter 'd into one of them ..only, which was 
 Simons^ out of which he taught the People after 
 he had dejlred hiin to thruft out a little from the 
 Land. From whence they very gravely remark, 
 " That by Peter s Ship, the Church is figniiied 
 '* or refembled, in which alone the Chair of 
 ^^ Chrift, and true Preaching are to be ex- 
 '^ peded ". By which, it is manifeft they 
 would have us to underftand, that as Peter was 
 Owner of the Ship, fo he and his Succeffors 
 are Rulers and Governors of the Church. For 
 
 upon 
 
T/jirty-Nhe Articles- 757 
 
 upon the feventh and tenth Verfes, they ob- Art.xxxvii. 
 ferve how Peter had fo much Work, that he <^XVN^. 
 was fain to call for Help, and joined thofe who were 
 in the other Ship^ as Copartners in the Preachijjg 
 of the GofpeL As much as to fay, the Work 
 was committed to him alone, who took in fuch 
 Help as he needed. He was the only Paftor^ 
 and all the reft, as was faid before, his Curates : 
 For they tell us, that '^ all this aforefaid did 
 " properly mean his Travels in the Converfa- 
 " fion of the World, and his Prerogatives 
 " therein before all Men ; as is evident by 
 " Chrift's fpecial Promife made to him, feve- 
 '' rally and apart in this Place, that he fhould 
 " be made the Taker of Men ". What then 
 became of all the reft ? were they to fit ftill 
 in their Ship and do nothing ? O no, by no 
 Means ; " He giveth to others (fay thefe Anno- 
 ^' tators) the like Office, as to Peter's Co-ope- 
 " rators and Co-adjutors. Before they laid 
 that Peter called them and joyned them to 
 himfelf, as Co^partners in the Preaching of the 
 Gofpel ; but now having better, it feems, be- 
 thought themfelvcs, they fay Chrift appointed 
 them to this Office ; yet ftill they are but Pe- 
 ters Co-operators and Affiftants. He was the 
 ^aker of Men ^ and converted the World j they 
 only came in to his Help, and brought all the 
 Fifh into his Net. ^^eir Ship fignified nothing, 
 it was Peter alone that fignified all. Their 
 Ship ftands for a meer Cypher ; his Ship is the 
 Figure of the whole Church, where he governs, 
 and they are but Helps in Government, meer 
 Co-adjutors unto him, the great, and indeed on- 
 ly Bi(hop overall. Who can endure fuch An- 
 notations as thefe, in which Men play with 
 the Holy Scriptures as they pleafe 5 and in fo 
 B b b 3 fiucy 
 
758 Jn ExipcCitiGTi on the 
 
 ART.XXXVlT.iaucy a Manner, as to interpret them diredly 
 W^V"X-^ againii the Scriptures. In which, the Apoftles 
 call thcmielves IVcrkers together with Chrift^ 
 2 Cor. vi. I. employed by him to be his Co- 
 operators, not St. Peters-^ who was To fir from 
 being the Omverter of the JVorld^ that his 
 ^ra-veh and Fains were mofh bellowed in the 
 lead Part of it. Which Bellanmnej I fuppofe, 
 faw well enough, and therefore was fo wife, 
 as to avoid the mentioning of fach allegori- 
 cal Irifles, which may ferve to entertain the 
 Fancies of filly and weak People, but are the 
 juft Scorn and Contempt of thole, who have 
 ary toUrable Aleafure of fptritual Underftand- 
 ing • who have heard, perhaps, that the Fa- 
 thers fbmetimcs refembled the Church of 
 Chrifl: to Peter s Ship ; but not that they ever 
 dreamed of making him, and the Bifhop of 
 Konie afrer him, the Governor of the whole 
 Church, becaufe he was Mafter of that Ship. 
 
 The fecond Obfervation which I defire to 
 make, is, Ihat if the Danger of wrefting 
 the Holy Scriptures be a good Region, why 
 the common People (hould not be permitted 
 to read them, then no body at all iliould be 
 allowed to look into them, fmce 'tis fo appa- 
 rent, that the moll learned of their Priells have 
 perverted them more than the common Peo- 
 ple 5 and that againft their Oath, whereby they 
 are bound to interpret Scripture according to the 
 tmammous Confent of th>e Fathers^ who all agree, 
 that what was laid to Peter in thefe three Places 
 .beion8;'d to all the Apoflles ; whofe Writings, 
 like the reft of the Scriptures, have by none 
 been more foully abufed than by the Popes of 
 Rome^ w^hofe Interpretations and Applications 
 of them-) fhould they be collcded in a Book, 
 
 would 
 
Thirty 'Nine Articles. 75P 
 
 would make one of the moft ihameful Pieces Art.xxxvil 
 that hath been yet extant in the World. And ^-/''VS^ 
 laftly. Let it be obierved once more, how ill 
 they of that Church are agreed about the In- 
 terpretation of thefe ^hree Places of Scripture 
 which are the Subjed of my prefent Difcourfe. 
 There are four interpretations of the firft Place, 
 ^hou art Peter ^ ^c. as hath been elft where ob- 
 ferved, which have had great Authors in the 
 Roman Church as well as others. Some, by 
 Kock^ underftand Peters Faith in the Confeffion 
 he had newly made, ".hich, by the way, Job. 
 Ekim * lairh, nobody den-ed to be the Senfe, 
 and bids Luther name the Man that laid other- 
 wife : Others Chrift himfelf, whom Peter had 
 confeffed to be the Son of God : Others Peter 5 
 and others All the Apoftles ; which lali: is the 
 Expofition of Pafchafius Kadberttis^ the famous 
 Broacher of Iranfuhfiantiatwn^ whofe Words 
 are thefe ; f " The Church of God is built not 
 '' only upon Peter^ but upon all the Apoftles." 
 Now they who follow the Jirft and fecond Senfe^ 
 can find no Prerogative here for St. Peter above 
 the reft of the Apoftles ; and they that adhere 
 only to the third (in Oppofition to the other, 
 as they now commonly do) are confuted by 
 thofe who affert the fourth^ that thefe Words 
 were fpoken to all the Apoftles. And indeed, 
 they are all forced to confefs, that nothing is 
 here promifed, which is not contained in the 
 next Words, And I will give thee the Keys^ &c. 
 But what this is, none of them can certainly 
 tell. For one fort (fuch as Cajetaji) hold, that 
 the Keys contain more than binding and loofing ^ 
 
 * L'b. I. contra Lutlier de Pjtri Primatr^ cap, xj,. 
 t Lib, 4. in Mattli^um. 
 
 S b b 4 whicli 
 
760 An ETpofition on the 
 
 ART.XXXVir.^lijch Bellarmiiw faith is falfe ; nay, a thing 
 ^^^^^^^^"^^^ never heard of in the Church. And confe- 
 quently that as the Power of Binding and Loofe- 
 ing was promifed to them all, Matth. xviii. 18. 
 {o likewiie was the Power of the Keys ; and 
 fince it is to be fuppoied that Chrift promifed 
 nothing which he did not perform, he therefore 
 gave the higheft Power to them all, which is 
 contained in the Keys. Here they are at a great 
 Lois, and cannot agree how to bring themfclves 
 off from this Difficulty, which ftrips Peter of 
 his Supremacy. Therefore fome have deviled 
 the above-mentioned Conceit, that Peter alone 
 had the Keys given him as their Ordinary^ and 
 they as his Legates, But this feems too grols to 
 others, who acknowledge, they all had the 
 Keys immediately from God, as much as Peter^ 
 If they be confidered as Apoftles, but not if 
 they be confidered as Bijhops and Paftors j for 
 thele tisoo Offices they fancy they had, the Apo-' 
 fiolical ^nd the Paftoral Dignity ^ the firft imme- 
 diately from Chrift, the other by and under 
 St. Peter. But this is, in a manner, the fame 
 thing in a little finer Drefs than was faid before. 
 And therefore others of them who are unfatis-^ 
 lied v/ith this, that the Apoftlcs fhould receive 
 their Jurifdi6tion from St. Peter^ have fo or- 
 dered the Matter, that St. Peter might ufe the 
 Keys alone, but that they might not ufe them 
 without him. But Sistiis Senenfis could not 
 digeft this j and therefore he hath devifed a 
 three-fold Power in St. Peter.^ of Apofllefhip, 
 of Order, and of the Kingdom ^. With re- 
 fped: to the firft he grants, that St. Paul was 
 ^qual to St. Peter^ becaufe he had the Offiee of 
 
 ^ Biblioth. San^t. Lib. j. Annot, 149. 
 
 Preaching 
 
J/jirty- Nhie Articles. 7 6 1 
 
 Preaching the Gofpel, not from Peter but from Art.xxxvil 
 God, as much as Peter himfelf had. With ^^.yy^^J 
 refpedt to the fecond alfo he acknowledges the 
 Truth of what St. Jerom writes again ft Jom- 
 nian^ that all the Apoftles equally received the 
 Keysy and firmly laid the Foundation of the 
 Church : And of what he fays to Evagrius 5 
 all Bifipops are equal^ hecaufe all the y^poftles 
 were Jo, But then with reiped: to the laft^ qjiz. 
 the Power of the Kingdom, and Authority over 
 all Bifhops and Churches, Peter was Head of 
 all: That is, Peter muft ibme Way or other 
 be above all the reft, but how, they do not know. 
 For Ca^rdinal Baronius wiil have it, that all 
 the Apoftles had the Ufe of the Keys equally 
 with Peter^ by the Ordinary Power of remitting 
 Sins j and by this Diftindion expounds the 
 'fore-mentioned Words of St. Jerom. But his 
 Brother Cardinal Bellanmiie^ ( being aware, 
 that if Peter had the Keys more than the reft 
 by an extraordinary Power, his Authority would 
 not defcend upon his Succeflbrs) lays quite con- 
 trary, that the Apoftles had the Power of the 
 Keys after an extraordinary manner, and Peter 
 only by an ordinary %. Thus what one builds 
 up, his Fellow pulls down. There is a Confu- 
 fion of Tongues in this Bahel^ which they la- 
 bour to ered:. They cannot agree fo much as 
 about the I'erms in which they deliver this new 
 Dodlrine. For it is a pure Invention without 
 any Reafon, or any Authority for it : But it 
 muft be fo, though they know not how, be- 
 caufe it is their Pleafure. As all the reft is 
 which they draw from the laft Place, Feed my 
 iSheep. In which, they fay, Chrift gave the 
 
 4: Lib. I. de Rom. Ppnt. cap. 12, 
 
 Power 
 
y6% An Expofition on tie 
 
 Art.xxxviI. Power which he had promifed ^^ and therefore 
 Kyy^^ fmce he prom: fed it to all, he ganje it to all, if any 
 thing was given here. And yet, againft fuch clear 
 Demonftration, they will have this to be a pe- 
 culiar Grant to Peter : Nobody knows hozv or 
 why^ but becaufe it feems good to them. For 
 this is fo little approved of by others, that they 
 fairly grant the ancient Opinion waSjCand make it 
 theirs) that thefe Words were not fpoken to Peter 
 in a Perfojtalj but in a Puhlick Capacity ; as he 
 reprefented all the Apollles. Infomuch that they 
 can find nothing peculiar to him, in the Word 
 Feed^ becaufe of that of St. y^ufiin^ ; " When 
 '^ Chrift faid to Peter j he fa id to all, Feed my 
 " Sheep:'' Nor in the Word Sheep^ becaufe 
 St. Amhrofe faith (in the Place before-named) 
 '^ Thole Sheep not only Peter received j but he 
 ^'^ received them with us, and we received them 
 *^ with him." Which Things are fo evident, 
 that they have brought Ibme of that Con^niu- 
 nion to this Conclusion, that out of none of 
 thefe three Places, nor all of them together, 
 can be gathered fo much as the hare Primacy of 
 St. Peter^ after that manner which Bellarmine 
 colleds it : But it m.uft be gathered thus ^ that 
 in thofe Places, " Peter bears the Perfon of the 
 " Church, fpeaks for the reft of the Apoftles, 
 '^ and is himfelf fpoken unto by Chrift in their 
 '' Name, as the Firft and Principal."t Behold 
 then the Unity of which they boaft in that 
 Church • and how little Certainty there is among 
 them, even of the main Point of their Faith, 
 and, as Bellarmine makes bold to call it, the 
 Sum of the Chriftian P.eligion. It ftands upon 
 
 * Dc AcTon. Chvif>. c. 30. 
 
 - Du Fm dc Antiq. Eccl. Difc. Dif. 4. 
 
 fo 
 
Tbirty-Nme Articles. ^67 
 
 fo tottering a Foundation, that finding how Art.xxxvii. 
 little thefe Texts in tiie New Teftament avail '^/'VN^ 
 them, they ranfacked the Old, to fetch fome 
 feeble Support to it from thence And the 
 Catholick Scripturift fancies the Old Teftament 
 helps them thus far in this Point, that it teaches 
 " That among the Priefts of the Old Law, one 
 " was chofen fucceflively to be the Higheft and 
 " Chi-f Prieft. Commanding all fuch Caufes 
 '^ as are Ecclefiaftical Caufes, to be brought to 
 " the Tribunal of the High Prieft, and his 
 ^^ Sentence to be obey'd even under Pain of 
 " Death " And for this he alledges Deut. xvii. 
 8. ^ But this only proves how ignorant fuch 
 Cathollcks as he are in the Holy Scriptures. 
 Where it is impoffiblc for him to find that the 
 High Priefts were chofen fucce£ively^ for they 
 had that Dignity hy Inheritance^ in one certain 
 Family, and not by Ele^ion. And as for the 
 Power which he afcribes to them, (though he 
 promifes us, in his Preface^ to produce loud- 
 [peaking ^exts for all the Points we miflike in 
 their Religion') there is not fo much as a Whifl 
 per of it in the Place he alledges. The Words 
 of which he did wifely not to quote, but only 
 the Chapter and Verfe : Which we, that have 
 Liberty to read the Bible, can eafily difcern 
 fpeak loudly againft him, and confute that Doc- 
 trine which he would confirm by them. If there 
 drife^ fays Mofes in that Text, a Matter too 
 hard for thee in Judgment^ between Blood and 
 Bloody between Plea and Plea^ and between 
 Stroke and Stroke^ being Matters of Contro'verfy 
 within thy Gates : then fhalt thou arife^ and 
 get thee up into the Place^ which the Lord thy 
 
 ^ Seventh Point. 
 
 God 
 
7^4 -An Expofition on the 
 
 AKT.XY.xvil.Qo^jJjall cboofe. And thou Jhalt come mto the 
 <y^y^*^ Triefts^ the Levites^ and unto the Judge that 
 jhall he in thofe Days^ and enquire^ and they 
 fb all floe w thee the Sentence of Judgment. And 
 thou jJoalt do according to the Sentence which they 
 of that Place f which the Lordfhall choofej fhall 
 {hew thee^ &c. I need not recite the reft at 
 large to the End of the 12th Verie , for every 
 underftanding Reader muft evidently fee, with- 
 out going further, that he ipeaks not a Syllable 
 of the Htgb-Prieft^ but of the Authority of 
 the Supreme Iribunal or Court among the Jews 
 (which confifted of a great Number of Perfons) 
 wherein all Controverfies, which could not be 
 ended in Inferior Courts, were to be finally de- 
 termined, without any Appeal. In which Su- 
 pream Court the High-Pnefi was fb far from 
 being the Chiefs that he was not fo much as ad- 
 mitted to be a Member, unlefs he was a wife 
 Man. And then he did not bear an abfolute 
 Sway there, but the Sentence was palTed by the 
 whole Council ^ as appears (not merely from the 
 Jewifh Writers, but) from thofe repeated Ad- 
 monitions in the very Body of this Law. fhey 
 fjj all floe w thee the Sentence of Judgment^ ver. 9. 
 and thou ihalt do according to that thing, 
 which they of that Place ihew thee ; and ob- 
 ferve to do according to all that they inform 
 thee Qver, 10.) according to the Sentence of the 
 Law which they (hall teach thee ; according to 
 the Judgment which they ihall tell thee : 'Thou 
 Jhalt not decline from the Sentence which they 
 Jhall Ihew thee^ Qver. 11.) where he muft be 
 blind, that doth not fee no lefs than fix flat 
 Contradictions to the Affertion of the Catholick 
 Scripturiji^ in this very Place which he produ- 
 ces, to prove that M'fes here fets up the Iri- 
 bunal of the High' Pri eft ^ and orders his Se?!- 
 
 teiice 
 
Thirty -Nine Articles. y6$ 
 
 ience to be obeyed upon Pain of Death, in ARxXXXVit- 
 Catifes Ecclefiaftkal. This was neither his Court, ^^/'W^ 
 nor were the Caufes judged by his Sentence, nor 
 is there one Word here of Caufes Ecclefiaftical ; 
 but only of C'nnl ; between Blood and Bloody 
 Plea and Plea, Stroke and Stroke : Unlefs we 
 fuppofe the Word we tranflate Stroke relates to 
 the Plague of the Leprofy^ which belonged to 
 the Priefts to judge of it , but excluded Men 
 from all Civil as well as Sacred Society. And 
 if the utmoft be granted that can be fuppoied, 
 (that there is Mention here of fomething ap- 
 pertaining to Spiritual Caufes') yet it muft be 
 alfo allowed, by all Men of Senfe, that this 
 Text fpeaks moil of Civil Caufes , and there- 
 fore can no more prove an abfolute Obedience 
 to be due to Spiritual than to Civil Governors. 
 All which being confider'd, I do not lee but 
 Dr. Reynolds had Reafon to fay. They might 
 as well call in the Help of the firft Words of 
 Genefis [In the Beginning God created the Heaven 
 and the Earth'] as this Verfe in Deuteronomy^ to 
 fupport the Pope's Supremacy. For there, as 
 Pope Boniface the Eighth very gravely obferves, 
 (in that Piece of his already referr'd to) Mofes 
 fays, God created the Heavens and the Earth, 
 in the Beginning.^ not in the Beginnings , and 
 therefore he who refills the Popes Authority, 
 refills the Ordinance of God ^ unlefs (with 
 Manichueus) he feign two Beginnings (or Prin- 
 ciples) which is falfe and heretical. And by 
 liich fine Fetches as this, Innocent the Third "^ 
 proved his Power over the whole Church from 
 thefe Words in Deuteronotny : But he did not 
 
 * Dceret. Greg. Lib. 4. Tit. 17. cap. 13. per venera- 
 bilem. 
 
 mincq 
 
cc 
 
 cc 
 
 766 An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxvii. mince the Matter (as the CathoUck Scripturifi 
 ^yy^^ doth) but ftoutly affirmed, that the Pope may 
 exercife temporal Jurifdidion as well as Spirit 
 tttal^ not only in the Churclfs Patrimony^ but in 
 other Countries alfo, in certain Caufes. '' For 
 '^ Deuteronomy being by Interpretation a Second 
 *' Law^ it proves by the very Force of the 
 ^^ Word, that what is here decreed (in Bent, 
 ^' xvii. 8.) ought to be obferved in the New 
 Teftament. And then the Place which the 
 *' Lord hath chofen^ is the Apofiolick See^ "viz, 
 Kome ; the Levitical Priefts^ are bis Brethren 
 '' the Cardinals , the Higb-Priefi or Judge^ is 
 *^ the Pope^ the Vtcar ox him who is a Prieft 
 for ever, after the Order of Melchifedeck^ 
 appointed by God the Judge of Qiiick and 
 Dead : The firft Tort of Judgments between 
 '^ Blood and Bloody is meant of Criminal and 
 *' Ctvil Caufes 3 the laft, between Stroke and 
 '' Stroke^ is meant of Ecclefiafiical and Cri- 
 minal ^ the middle, between Plea and Plea^ 
 '^ belongeth to both Ecclefiaftical and Civil ; in 
 '^ which, if any one contemn the Sentence ot 
 ^^ the Apoftolical See^ he is deemed to die ; that 
 '^ is, to be feparated by the Sentence of Excom- 
 *' munication as a dead Man^ from the Commii- 
 " nion of the Faithful" Nothing is more evi- 
 dent, than that, according to this Catholick 
 Expofition of Pope Innocent^ the Bifhop of 
 Kome is, by the Divine Law, Head of all Chri- 
 flians, as well in Civil Caufes as in Ecclefiaftical. 
 This Text m Deuteronomy proves the one as much 
 as the other 5 that is, it proves jufl nothing, 
 but that the Myfiery of Iniquity wrought very 
 high, when fuch myftical Senies of Holy Scrip- 
 ture were fwallowed glibly, to confirm the* 
 chiefeft Myftery of the Komijh Faith. If it be 
 faid, that they argue from this Place only by a 
 
 Parity 
 
TIjirty-Nhie Articles. 767 
 
 Parity of Keafon ; that there muft be but one ART.xxxvin 
 
 Higb'Priefi among Chriftians, becaufe there was ^^O^X^, 
 
 no more among the Jews ^ they may have my 
 
 Anfwer, when they prove xhditjudea was as 
 
 big as the whole Chriftian World. As to Mat, 
 
 xxiii. 2, 3. which the Catholick Scripturift calls 
 
 an unanlwerable Text concerning the Hiv-h- 
 
 Priefts of the Old Law • 'j'be Scribes and Pba- 
 
 ri fees fit in Mofes's Seat. All therefore whatfo^ 
 
 e^uer they hid you ohfer^ve^ that obferve and do. 
 
 Nobody but himfelf can fee a Syllable in it 
 
 concerning the High-Priefts^ who did not fit in 
 
 Mofes's Chair, but were the Succeffors of Aaron. 
 
 And befides this Place belongs to another Head 
 
 of their Dodrine, about the Pope's Infallibility -, 
 
 of which, if this be a Proof, it likewife proves 
 
 the Infallibility of Annas and Caiphas^ andjufti- 
 
 fies thofe that crucified our Bleffed Lord and 
 
 Saviour. 
 
 That the Laws of the Realm may punifh 
 Chriftian Men with Death for heinous and 
 grievous Offences, appears from Rom. xiil 4. 
 where St. Paul tells us, that a Ruler is the Mi- 
 7iifter of God^ a Revenger to execute Wrath upon 
 him that doth E^il^ and that he heareth not the 
 Sword in 'vain. For 'tis certain that he muft 
 bear the Sword in vain, except it be in his 
 Power to cut off fome very great Offenders, be- 
 caufe nothing but Death will put a Stop to their 
 Wickednefs, or ferve as a tolerable Check to 
 others who are wickedly difpofed. Becaufe 
 Man departing from God, faith IrejKzus^ be- 
 came fo outrageous, that he looked upon thofe 
 of his own Flefhand Blood as his Enemies, and 
 was not afraid to give himfelf up to an un- 
 peaceable Life, Murder and Avarice, it pleafed 
 God to impofe on him the Fear of Man, that 
 
 Men 
 
768 Jn Expofition 07i the 
 
 Art .XXXVII. Met! being fubjed to the Laws of Men, there 
 ^<y^y^'^<^ might be fomething of Juftice and good Go- 
 vernment among them, and that they might in 
 earneft be afraid of the Sword, as the Apoftle 
 faith : For he bearetb not the Sword in njain : 
 For he is the Minifter of God^ a Revenger to 
 execute Wrath upon him that doth E'vil And 
 for this Reafon^ the Magiftrates being invefted 
 with the Laws of Juftice, as long as they ad: 
 uprightly and lawfully, they fhall not be quefti- 
 ' oned or punifhed for what they do. f 
 
 That 'tis lawful for Chriftians, at the Com- 
 mand of the Magiftrate, to bear Arms and 
 ferve in the Wars, is apparent from Luke iii. 14. 
 where we fee, that when the Soldiers came to 
 St. John the Baptift to know their Duty, his 
 Advice to them was only this. Bo Violence to 
 no Man^ neither accufe any fal/Iy^ and he content 
 with your Wages. There is not the leaft Hint 
 that their Employment was unlawful. And A^s 
 X. 2. Cornelius^ a Centurion, that is, the Com- 
 mander of an hundred Soldiers, is called a De- 
 vout Man j nor was he, when baptized, com- 
 manded to leave his Profeflion. And it fuffi- 
 ciently appears from 'fertullian de Coron^ Mili^ 
 ^ tis^ that Chriftians ferved in the Wars, even 
 
 under Heathen Emperors. 
 
 f Adv. H&r, lib. j". cap, 24. See Hammond's FracI, Cat, 
 Book 2. §. J. 
 
 Article 
 
Thirty-Kine Articles. 
 
 7(^9 
 
 Article XXXVIU. 
 
 Of Chrtjilan Mem Goods^ which are 
 not common. 
 
 VL\)t Efc8?js ana ©aons of Cljjiffiang atCAR.xxxvm 
 not commcit as touching tlje Etrtbt^oorv^ 
 Citfe, ana poffeffion of tf)e famrr ag 
 cfttatn ^nabaptifts tiofiilfl^ tioRff. Ji5ot^ 
 toitJjffanDinof eUerp 95an m^\)i of fuclj 
 Cljfnijs a0 ije polTclTes, libcraUp to iji&e 
 ^\m to tJje poo;^ acco?Diiig to W 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 I S faid indeed, A5is iv. 32. that ^Z'^ 
 Multitude of them that believed ivere 
 of one Hearty and of one Soul : Nei-> 
 ther faid any of them^ that ought of 
 the I'hings which he poffc(fed '-jcere hh own^ hut 
 they had all I'bings common : But that theie 
 Words denote no more than a Charitable Con- 
 tribution, and not a Legal Community, appears 
 from chap. v. 'ver, 4. where St. Peter ibenks to 
 Ananias concerning Part of the Price of the 
 Land which he had fold, and which he and his 
 "Wife had agreed to keep back, in che following 
 Manner : Whiles it remained^ was it fwt thine 
 own ? And after it was fold^ was it not in thine 
 vjon Power ? And S. Clement o£ Alexandria ex- 
 C c c horts 
 
770 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Ar..xxxviIT. horts US not to fufFer on the Account of what 
 ^-*^^^V^^^^ we poifefs when we have enough, but to help 
 fuch as apply to us for Relief, and not to fend 
 them away empty-handed , and enforces his 
 Exhortation from the Confideration of the Na- 
 ture of Society, which would be deftroy'd, or 
 very much damaged, if Men were not to re- 
 ceive Favours from one another ; and from that 
 Precept of our Saviour's, Make to yourfelves 
 Friends of the Mammon of Unrighteoufnefs 3 that 
 when ye fatl^ they may receive you into everlafi-' 
 ing Bahttations ^ which he fays muft be looked 
 upon as manifeftly oppofite to the reft of his 
 Precepts, if the Duty of Charity be negleded. 
 And then he goes on to tell us, that this can- 
 not be obferved, where Men negled: to feed the 
 Hungry^ to give Brink to the Tbirfty^ to cloathe 
 the Naked ^ and to receive the Stranger , and 
 that they that do not thefe Things, but per- 
 form the cheap Part of their Duty only, are 
 threatned with Hell Fire, and Outer Darknefs.f 
 And Mat. xxv. 34, ^c. we are affured, That 
 the Negle6l or Performance of no Duty fhall 
 be Co much taken Notice of, as of this great 
 Duty of Charity to the Poor and Needy. And 
 I STim. VI. 18. Such as are rich m this Worlds 
 are commanded to do Good^ to he rich in good 
 IVorks.^ ready to dtfirihute^ willing to communi- 
 cate. From all this it appears, that a Man is to 
 relieve the Poor according to his Ability ^ and 
 alfb that the Subftance out of which he is to 
 do it, is his own, fince 'tis acknowledged to be 
 {o by Scripture and Antiquity 5 and fmce there 
 would be none to give Alms, and none to re- 
 ceive, if all Things were common. 4^ 
 
 f Quis dives falv. c. 1 3 . 
 ^ See Homily of Alms-deeds. 
 
 Ajs^ticle 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. 
 
 771 
 
 Art. XXXIX. 
 
 Article XXXIX. 
 
 Of a Chrtjlian Man s Oath. 
 
 ^S toe confeftj tfiat saitt aitn taft ©aiea^ 
 ing; is fojbiDtien Cij.iffian ^tiu bp out: 
 
 LO^a 3ierag Cijjtft, auD James IjlS ^p0-- 
 
 ftle; fo toe juDge tljat Clj?ittian Kelicioii 
 BotI) not p^oljibit, Mt tfjat n S@an map 
 toeat: to6en tlje ^aBtftcate rcqinretlj, in 
 a Cafe of ifaitfj ano Cfiatitp, fo it be 
 none accoiiWng to tlje p^oplietjs teacljina; 
 in auttice, auogwent, aim Ctutij. 
 
 The Exposition. 
 
 U R Saviour's Words which this Ar- 
 ticle refers to are in Mat, v. 34. But 
 I fay unto you^ Swear not at all. And 
 thofe of St. James are in chap. v. 
 ^oer. 12. But ahove all 'fhings^ my Brethrejt^ 
 Swear not. But 'tis very plain that thefe Words 
 do only forbid heedlefs and needlefs Oaths: 
 For, as fertuUian obferves, God Almighty hath 
 fworn himfelf, and yet we dare not accufe him 
 of Perjury or vain Swearing^. So that in his 
 
 * ^1', Marc'iQn* lib. 2. c. ^6, 
 
 G CC 2^ 
 
 Opinionj 
 
771 Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art. xxxiX. Opinion, a Man does not fni by Swearing, ex- 
 ^^^^""y*^^ cept he forfwears himfelf, or fv^ears vainly, 
 without due Caufe or Warrant. One Text of 
 Scripture, which ^ertullians Obfervation is 
 built upon, is Pfalm xcv. ii. where 'tis faid, 
 that God [ware in his Wrath ^ that the rehelUons 
 Ifraelites JJjould fiot enter into his Reft. Our 
 Saviour Hkewife himfelf, who furely did not 
 break his own Laws when adjured by the High- 
 Prieft, that is, called upon by him to anfwer 
 upon Oath, refuHd not to do it. Mat. xxvi. 63. 
 What makes the Dodtrine which I am endea- 
 vouring to eilablilh, more clear, is, that the 
 Jewijlo Rabbi's expreffed themfelves in the fame 
 manner that our Saviour and St. 'Janies have 
 upon the Subject of Oaths ; and yet it cannot 
 be imagined that they fcrupled them in fuch 
 Cafes as Mo[es had required them to be made 
 Ufe o£ 1 hus Mairaonides^ for inftance, from 
 the ancient Rabbis gives this F.ule, That it is 
 heft not to [wear at all -, and Phik ufeth almoft 
 the fame Words. And Rabbi "Jonathan comes 
 very near our Saviour's Expreflion, when he 
 fays, '^ The juft Man will not fwear at all ^ 
 '^ not fo much as by the common Names of 
 '' God, nor by his Attributes, nor by his 
 ^^ Works, as by Heaven, or the Angels, or 
 '^ the Law:" And that the Effenes^ a Se6b 
 among the Jews., forbad all Swearing, and yet 
 adminiftred an Oath to all fuch as were ad- 
 mitted into their Society, in order to oblige 
 them to obfcrve the Rules of it. 
 
 Let it be confider'd farther, that in other 
 general Prohibitions, it is acknowledged by all, 
 that we muft make the fame or the like Excep- 
 tions. Thus tho' our Saviour faith, Matt. v. 
 21. ^houjljalt not kill^ and whofoe^ver pall kill^ 
 
 Jloall 
 
Thirty 'Wine Articles. 7^1 
 
 Jhalt he in Danger of the Judgment-:, yet wcArt.xxxix; 
 all grant that this muft be confined to private ^^^'VN^ 
 Perlbns, and that it forbids not the Magiftrate's 
 inflidling Capital Punifhments , and then, that 
 as to private Perfons, it is meant only of killing 
 innocent Men ; but that flill it is lawful for us 
 in the Prefervation of our own Lives, to kill 
 thofe who unjuftly aflault us. So the Mean- 
 ing of Sziear not at all^ is, that we muft not 
 fwear of our own Motion, without any neceffa- 
 ry or fufficient Caufe. But this doth not in- 
 fringe the Right which Magiftrates have to im- 
 pofe Oaths on their Subjeds, and to require 
 the utmoft and greateft Security for their Fi- 
 delity and Obedience , this doth not forbid 
 Swearing, when it is requifite for the determin- 
 ing of important Controverfics, or Diftribu- 
 tion of Juftice , when it is for the Publick 
 Good, that our Teftimony fhould be credited 
 and made more valid by the Solemnity of 
 an Oath : And that fuch Exceptions as thefe 
 muft be allowed from this general Rule, will 
 appear, if we confider the pofitive Command 
 that is oppofed to the Prohibition of our Sa- 
 viour, contained, as I faid before. Matt. v. 34. 
 from which the Words of St. James Chap. v. 
 'ver. 12. are plainly taken, and therefore what 
 will explain the one, will alio ferve to ex« 
 plain the other. After S^i^cear not at all^ our 
 Lord adds. But let your Communication he yea^ 
 yea ^ 7iay^ nay ; for whatfoe^er is more than. thefe 
 Cometh of E'vil. Let your Com muni c at i on ^ that 
 is yo-ur Speech, your ordinary familiar Dif^ 
 courfe, be yea^ yea , nay^ nay , which was a 
 proverbial Way of exprefiing an honeft Man, 
 whom you may believe and truft. Ju(iorHm 
 etiam eft ctiam^ & non eorum eft non : His yea 
 C c c 3 i^jcis 
 
774 ^^^ Expofition on the 
 
 Art. XT^Y^.'was yea j and his 710 was no. His Promlfes and 
 U<V>^ Performances did exadly and conftantJy agree ; 
 without any more ado you may give Credit to, 
 and rely upon whatever he lays, whate'ver is 
 more than thefe cometh of E'vil , that is, what- 
 foever is more than bare affirming or denying 
 any Thing (that is ftill in our Communication, 
 in our ordinary Talk and Difcourfe) is from 
 En)il • from Mens lb commonly breaking of 
 Promifes, and fpeaking of Falfities 5 from 
 whence that lewd Cuftom of adding Oaths 
 proceeds, becaufe they cannot be believed with- 
 out them. Now therefore fince our Saviour 
 is here directing us how to govern our com- 
 mon Difcourfe and Converfation together, the 
 Prohibition alfo in the Beginning muft be re- 
 llrained to the fame Matter, and fo the full 
 Senfe of the Words is clearly this : In your 
 Communication, in your common Talk, ufe no 
 fwearing, not i^o much as by any Creature, 
 , but let it fuffice barely to affirm or deny ; and 
 be always fo true to your Words, that nothing 
 farther need be defired or expected from you 3 
 all other Confirmation in fuch ordinary Affairs, 
 is pradiied only by fuch as are ufed to lye and 
 dilTemble, and intend to impofe upon others. 
 For it was, it feems, a common Pradtice amongft 
 the Jews^ to fwear by fome of God's Crea- 
 tures, which Cuiiom prevailed amongft them 
 from a pretended Reverence of God's Holy 
 Name : Vv henever they would affirm any thing 
 with more than ordinary Vehemence and Ear- 
 neftnefs, or beget an Alfurance of what they faid, 
 in another, they thought it not fit or decent 
 prefently to invoke the Sovereign God of Hea- 
 ven and Earth, and on every flight and trivial 
 OccafioHj to run to the great Maker and Father 
 
 of 
 
TJArty-Wme Articles. 77 j 
 
 of all Things ^ but in fmaller Matters, and in Art^xxix. 
 ordinary Talk, they would fwear by their Pa- 
 rents^ by the Heavens^ by the Earthy by Je- 
 rufalem^ the Altar^ T'empk^ their Head^ or 
 the like : Nor did they count fuch Forms of 
 Swearing equally obliging with thofe Oaths 
 wherein the Name of God was folemnly and 
 exprefly called upon. To this our Saviour 
 probably refers, 'ver. 33. Te have heard that it 
 hath been fatd by them of old l^ime^ I'hou jloalt 
 not forfwear thyfelf^ but Jhalt perform tinto the 
 Lord thme Oaths : They thought fuch only in- 
 curr'd the Guilt and Penalty of Perjury, who 
 ftood not to thoft Promifes they had confirmed, 
 by explicit calling the Lord himfelf to witnefs, 
 but that there was but little Evil or Danger 
 either in the common Uie of Swearing by Crea- 
 tures, or in breaking fuch Oaths. Now our 
 Saviour here abfolutely forbids Swearing by 
 any of God's Creatures ^ Swear not at all^ no 
 not fo much as by the Hea^vens^ by the Earthy 
 or by Jerufalem. And the Reafon he gives is, 
 becaufe in all fuch Forms of Swearing by Crea- 
 tures, though God is not exprefly named, yet 
 he himfelf is really referred to, and tacitly invok- 
 ed, who is the fupreme Lord and Maker of all : 
 When we fwear by the Heavens^ we call upon him 
 whofe Throne is there placed, when by the Earth, 
 we appeal to him whole Footftool it is ; when by 
 Jerufalem^ we implicitly and by juft Interpre- 
 tation fwear by him that is the great King 
 thereof: See Chap, xxiii. 20. Now, who that 
 ferioufly and impartially confiders all this, can 
 {6 much as dream of its affording an Argument 
 againft fuch Oaths as were, doubtlefs, confei- 
 fedly obligatory ? For fuch only can any Go- 
 vernment be fuppofed to require of its Subje6i:s, 
 fuch as there can be no Room to queftion the 
 C c c 4 Obligation 
 
77 <5 j4n Expofition on the 
 
 ^^^"^^^^^^^ obligation of. And unlefs we fuppofe thi5. 
 
 <yy\^ 
 
 which I have fuggefted to be our Saviour's 
 Meaning, I do not fee what good Re^fon can 
 be given why he fhould only forbid them exprefly 
 to fwear by the Creatures, and not much rather 
 by the Name of God j fuch Oaths being furely, 
 of all others, moft to be avoided, as being 
 the moft dire(5i: Abule and Profanation of the 
 Name of God. It is to be acknowledg'd, how- 
 ever, that fom.e of the ancient Fathers, from 
 thefe Words, did conclude it utterly unlawful 
 for a Chriftian, at any Time, to fwear ^ fome 
 of their Sayings, are quoted by Grotiiis^ in his 
 Comment upon Matth. v. 34 : But then it is to 
 be confider'd ; Firft^ That there were but ibme 
 few of them of this Opinion, and that againft 
 the current Doctrine of the Primitive Chriftians : 
 And, Secondly^ Againft the known allowed Prac- 
 tice amongft them ; for we all along find there 
 were many Chriftians in the Armies oi th^ Hea- 
 then Emperors, and they could not have ferved 
 under them without taking the Military Oath^ 
 which they did not ufe to fcruple, fo they 
 were not put to fwear by any of their Genii^ 
 or Heathen Deities^ or Fortune^ or the like. 
 Sthlrdly^ That their great Argument againft 
 taking of Oaths was drawn from the invincible 
 Faith and Truth of Chriftians, who upon no 
 Confideration whatibever, could either be forced 
 or won to affirm what they knew to be falfe, 
 or promiie what they never intended to per- 
 form : And this they were i^o remarkable for, 
 that they thought it a Diminution, or icanda- 
 lous Anront offered to them, to be put to their 
 Oaths ^ they always had fuch a Regard to their 
 Words, and it was fo facred a thing at all times 
 to ipeak Truth, that they would not be fo mucli 
 
 diurufted 
 
Thirty-TSIine Articles, 777 
 
 diftrufted or difparaged, as to have the Security^RT.xxxiX, 
 of an Oath required of them ; the conftant Tenor O'VN^ 
 of their Lives they thought did bear a greater 
 Teftimony to what the Chriftians affirmed, and 
 render it more credible, than the Oaths of 
 any other Men ^ and indeed. Lying was then 
 more fcandalous, than, I fear. Perjury is now. 
 For as to the Nature of the thing. Swearing, 
 when rightly circumftanced, is fo far from be- 
 ing a thing in itfclf evil, that it is indeed a moft 
 eminent Part of Religious Worfhip and Divine 
 Adoration, by which we do moft fignally own 
 and recognize God Almighty to be the great 
 Sovereign Lord and Governor of the World, 
 the higheft and fupreme Power, to which the 
 laft and final Appeal is in all Cafes to be made. 
 By it we acknowledge the Immenfity of his 
 Prefence, his exad: Knowledge and continual 
 Care of human Affairs, and all Things that 
 happen here below ^ his all-feeing Eye, by 
 which he fearcheth into the Depth of our Hearts, 
 and is confcious to our moft inward Thoughts 
 and fecret Meanings. We do by it avow him 
 as the grand Patron of Truth and Innocence, 
 as the ievere Punifher and Avenger of Deceit 
 and Perfidioufnefs. And therefore doth God 
 often in Holy Scripture appropriate this to him- 
 felf ; Hun only Jhalt thou ferve^ and to him fh alt 
 thou cleave^ and Jlo alt [wear by his Name, And 
 if this be done with that Confideration and So- 
 lemnity which doth become fuch a fpecial Part 
 of Devotion ^ upon an Occafion that doth de- 
 ferve, and that v/ill, in fome meafure, excuie 
 our engaging the Divine Majefty as a Witneis in 
 it ^ I fay, if it be performed with due Awe 
 and Reverence, with hearty Intention for a 
 confiderable Good^ we do, by thus calling upon 
 
 God 
 
77 S Jn Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xXXTx. God when we fwear by him, honour and glo- 
 ^^/V\./ rify his great and holy Name, as welJ as by 
 Prayer or Praifes, or any other A61 of Reli- 
 gious Worfhip whatfoever. Add to this the 
 jSecellity of taking Oaths in order to civil Go- 
 vernment, publick Adminiflration of Juftice, 
 and the Maintaining of good Order and Peace 
 in Societies. And therefore the Apoftle tells 
 us, Heh,\i. i6. S^'kat an Oath for Confirmation 
 to Men is the End of all Strife j and that not 
 by particular Cuftoms and Laws prevailing in 
 feme Places only, but from the Appointment of 
 God, the Reafonablenefs and Fitnefs of the 
 thing itfelf, and the conftant Pradice of the 
 World in all Ages : For as far and wide as the 
 Senfe of a Deity hath fpread itfelf, hath alfb 
 the Religion of an Oath, and the final Deter- 
 mination of Matters in DiiFerence, by calling 
 to Witnefs the Lord and Maker of all Things • 
 this being the utmoft AfTurancc, and the 
 fureft Pledge that Men can give of their Faith 
 and Sincerity. For nothing can be imagined 
 fufficient or effectual to engage Men to fpeak 
 Truth, or to be faithful and conftant to their 
 Promifes, if an Oath doth not. He muft 
 furely renounce all Senfe and Fear of God, all 
 Conlcience of Duty or Regard to the Almighty's 
 Love and Favour, who can with open Face 
 call him to teftify to a Lye, or challenge him 
 to puniih him, if he fpeaks not true, when yet 
 at that very Time he knows he does not. This 
 is the greateft Security Men can give of their 
 Honefty, and that they mean as they fay. And 
 it being neceffary for the Government of the 
 World in fo many Cafes ( indeed in too 
 many to be here particularly fpecified) that 
 Truth fhouid be found our, 'and the greateft 
 
 Certainty 
 
Thirty-Nine Articles. yy^ 
 
 Certainty of it be given that can poffibly, and Art. xxxix. 
 that Men fhould, by the ftrideft Ties, be ob- UOTN^ 
 liged to fome Duties , it thence alfo became 
 neceflary, that Oaths fhould fomctimes be re- 
 quired, efpecially when Men cannot by other 
 Means well affure the Sincerity of their Inten- 
 tions, or fecure the Fidelity of their Refoluti- 
 ons. Upon the whole, tho' I readily grant, 
 that there is fcarce any Error whatfoever, that 
 hath a more plaufible Colour from Scripture, 
 than the Opinion concerning the utter Unlaw- 
 fulnefs of Oaths, which makes the Cafe of 
 thofe who are feduced into it the more pityable, 
 yet it ought to be confidered, how much it re- 
 flects upon the Chriftian Religion,, fmce it is fb 
 evidently prejudicial, both to human Society 
 in general, and particularly to thofe Perfons 
 that entertain it ; neither of which ought raih- 
 ly to be fuppofed and taken for granted, con- 
 cerning any Law delivered by our Saviour ; be- 
 caufe upon thefe Terms, it will be very hard 
 for us to vindicate the Divine Wifdom of our 
 Saviour's Dodtrine, and the Reafonablenefs of 
 the Chriftian Religion. 
 
 The Prophet mention'd in this Article as 
 teaching us to fwear in Judgment, Juftice, and 
 Truth, is Jeremiah, The Place hereby referr'd 
 to is chap, iv. "ver. 2. And in the Third Com- 
 mandment wc are affured, that God will not 
 hold him guiltlefs that taketb his Name in 'vain. 
 And Zeck v. 4. that a Curfe jloall enter into the 
 Houfe of the 'I'hief^ and of him that fwearetb 
 falfly hy the Name of God. From whence we 
 may obferve, that next to Idolatry and the 
 Worfhip of a falfe God, Perjury is 6ne of the 
 greateft Affronts that can be offered to the Di- 
 vine 
 
780 ' An Expofition on the 
 
 Art.xxxix. vine Majefty, one of thofe Sins that cry aloud 
 Ky^^\j to Heaven, and quicken the Pace of God's 
 Judgments ; a Sin which by the fecret Jndg- 
 nient of God undermines Eftates and Families 
 to the utter Ruin of them. And indeed, 
 among the Heathen^ it was always reckoned 
 among the greateft of Crimes, and which they 
 did believe God did not only punifh upon 
 the guilty Perfbn himfelf, but upon his Fami- 
 ly and Pofterity, and many times upon whole 
 Nations ; as the Prophet alio tells us, that he- 
 catife of Oaths the Land mourns, 1 need not 
 ufe many Words to aggravate this Sin, it is 
 certainly a Crime of the higheft Nature. Deli- 
 berate Perjury being dirediy againfl: a Man's 
 own Knowledge, fo that no Man can commit 
 it without ilaring his Conlcience in the Face ; 
 which is one of the greateft Aggravations of 
 any Crime : And it is equally a Sin againfl both 
 ^ahles^ being the higheft Affront to God, and 
 of moft injurious Coniequence to Men. It is 
 an horrible Abufe of the Name of God, an 
 open Contempt of his Judgments and an info- 
 lent Defiance of his Vengeance 5 and in Re- 
 fpe6t of Men, it is not only a Wrong to this 
 or that particular Perfon who fuffers by it, but 
 Treafon againft human Society ; fubverting at 
 once the Foundations of pubiick Peace and 
 Juftice, and the private Security of every Man's 
 Life and Fortune : It is a defeating of the beft 
 and laft VJay that the Wifdom of Men could 
 devife for the Decifion of doubtful Matters. 
 Solomon very fully and elegantly expreffeth 
 the deftrudive Nature of this Sin, Prov. xxv. 
 18. A falfe IVitnefs againft his Neighbour^ is 
 d Maiil^ and a Sword^ and aparp Arrow ; in- 
 timating, that amongft all the Inftruments of 
 Ruin and Mifchief that have been devifed by 
 
 Mankind^ 
 
Thirty^ Nine Articles. 781^ 
 
 Mankind, none is of more pernleioiis Confe- Art.xxxix. 
 quence to human Society than Perjury, and 0^"Y"N^ 
 Breach of Faith. It is a Peflilence that ufually 
 walketb in Darknefs^ and a lecret Stab and 
 Blow, ?»gainft which, many times there is no 
 PofTibility of Defence. 
 
 T conplude with the Words of St, Atigufiin^ 
 which contain a great deal of good Advice, and 
 are very much to the Purpofe : '^ Avoid Swear- 
 " ing as much as you can : For 'tis better not 
 ^' to fwear the Truth, than to accuftom one's 
 '^ felf to Swearing, by which Men fall into 
 " Perjury, and are always in Danger of fb 
 '' doing." But they, as far as I can hear, that 
 fcruple the Ufe of Oaths, are entirely igno- 
 rant of what an Oath is. For they imagine 
 that they don't fwear when they ufe thefe 
 Words i God knoweth ; and God is my IVttnefs ; 
 / call God for a Record upon my Soul , becaufe 
 they don't ufe thefe Words, By Gody and be- 
 caufe the Words before-mention'd are found in 
 the Writings of St. Paul. But even fuch Words 
 as they confefs to be Swearing are found there 
 too. Thus the Apoflle laith, / proteji hy your 
 Rejoicing which I hanje in Chrift Jefus our Lord^ 
 I die daily. In the Gr^f7>^ Copies, this Sentence 
 is a complete Oath. This I obferve, that no 
 Man may imagine that the Words, [^By your 
 Rejoicing] are like thefe, [_By my Coming again 
 to you] and the like, in which we fay. By a 
 Sthing^ without Swearing. But becaufe St.Paul^ 
 who was a Man of unfliakable Veracity, fw'ore 
 in his Epiftles, we mud not trifie and make 
 Sport with Oaths. For 'tis much fafer, as I 
 faid before, to avoid Swearing as much as we 
 can, and to let our Communication be Yea, yea, 
 
 and 
 
782 
 
 An Expofitlon on the 
 
 Art, XXXIX. and Nay, nay ^ as our Lord advifes us. Not 
 
 <y^Y^^ becaufe 'tis a Sin to fwear the Truth ^ but be« 
 
 caufe 'tis a very ' grievous Sin to fwear falfly, 
 
 which that Man is moft likely to be guilty of 
 
 who fwears often. * 
 
 * Ad HiUrmm Ep, 89. See Hammond's Traci. Cat, Book 
 II. §. 8. Nowelli Cat. p. 20, 21. Homily 2.g2An^ Swearings 
 Part I. Sander fon de ObUgatione Juramenti Trdeci. 1. Til- 
 lotfon on HeL vi. 1 6. 
 
 Gloria DEO. 
 
 FINIS, 
 
in 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 RISrOTELIJN Hypothefis, 
 that the World is eternal, refuted 
 
 Pa^e 36 
 
 The Attributes of God, viz. 
 
 His Unity 27 
 
 His being a Living and True God 31 
 
 His Eternity , ihid. 
 
 His Spiritual Nature ihid^ 
 
 God without Paflions 32 
 
 His Infinite Power iUd. 
 
 His Infinite Wifdom 34 
 
 The Goodnefs of God ihd^ 
 
 G o D the Creator of the Univerfe ibid, 
 
 God the Preferver of all things 42 
 
 Arrians^ their Arguments againft the Divinity 
 
 of Chrift, confider'd 51, 52, 53, 54, ^r, 
 
 Afcenfion of Chrift into Heaven 96 
 
 Not metaphorical, but real ^7 
 
 Why not perform'd in the Sight oi thtjews 
 
 100 
 Apocryphal Books of Scripture, what 1 6^5 
 Why not taken into the Canon 390 
 
 Apollonius Tyanceus 170 
 
 Aratus 179 
 
 AqidJ^rane^ Council of 23 r 
 
 [ * ] Jdafn's 
 
ii IN^ E X. 
 
 Adatn^s begetting a Son in his own Likenefs^ 
 
 what is meant by it 252 
 
 Angels, the Caufe of their Fall unknown to us 
 
 25S 
 Angels mention'd in the Revelations^ what 49S 
 Antipodes 396 
 
 Su Amhrofe^ his Advice to St. Augufiine^% Mo- 
 ther concerning Rites and Ceremonies 439 
 Abfolution, what the Church of England holds 
 concerning it 447 
 
 Apoftles, their Inflitution 497 
 
 Adricomius^ his Miftakes in Relation to the Mea- 
 fure o^Jerufalem 541 
 
 Arifteas^ his Opinion concerning the Circumfe% 
 rence of it 542 
 
 U Angle ^ Monfieur, his Opinion of our EngliJJj 
 Dilfenters 6 1 4 
 
 Admonition, when it ought to be private 683 
 Archbiihop, what 690 
 
 Bllhops, Spanijh^ add to the Nicene Creed^ 
 the Proceeding of the Holy Ghoft from 
 the Son as well as the Father, and were foon 
 followed by the French 231 
 
 Bifhops fettled by the Apoftles in all Churches 
 at their firft Plantation 489 
 
 Baxter^ Mr. his Judgment in relation to the 
 ordinary governing Part of the Apoftolical 
 Office 5 1 7 
 
 He, Mr. Cotton^ and Dr. Owen^ appeal ta 
 the Church as it was in the Time of Su 
 Cyprian ^S3 
 
 Bahylas^ Bi(hop of Antiocb 577 
 
 Boniface mzdc Bidiop of Rome ^ and how 589 
 Biihop, the Independent Notion of his Office 
 and Power confider'd 603, ^c. 
 
 Bifhops 
 
1 1^ Ti E X. m 
 
 feilhop's ftyled the Apoftles SuccefTors by Anti- 
 quity 608 
 Btirnet^ Bifhop, advances a bold and fingular 
 Paradox in his Expofition on the 23d Ar- 
 ticle 623 
 Baptifm, what 642 
 Infant Baptifm, the Lawfulnefs of it 650 
 Barret^ Mr. the Idlenefs of the Criticifm which 
 his Anfwerer makes ufe of to prove the Law- 
 fulnefs of Communicating in one Kind only 
 
 669 
 B'oileau^ Monfieur, guilty of the fame ihid^ 
 
 CHrift the Son and Word of G o d' 49 
 
 — —Begotten of the Father 50 
 
 — -In whatSenfe Very andEternal God ibid. 
 
 • His Omnifcience 54, ^c^ 
 
 *— The Sum of the Argument in Defence 
 of his Divinity 5^^ ^c. 
 
 His Manhood 64 
 
 Chrift God and Man in the fame Perfon 6^ 
 
 The Error of the Arrians and Apollindridns as 
 
 to this Point 6S 
 
 The two Natures of Chrifl not confounded ibid. 
 
 Communication of Properties, what ibid. 
 
 Chalcedony Council of, its Decerminatioh that 
 
 Chriil is the fame in two Natures 69 
 
 The Sufferings of Chfift 72 
 
 The Reafon of his Sufferings 75 
 
 Chrift fuffer'd for all Mh ibid. 
 
 Chrift's Sufferings a true, real and propitiatory 
 
 Sacrifice ibid; 
 
 Canonical Books of Scripture, what we merm by 
 
 - .them- ,. , 165 
 
 flow we diftinguifii them from others ibid. 
 
 "What they are ibid, and ly^ 
 
 i*2j No' 
 
iy I N2) E X. 
 
 No 2d or 3d Canon heard of among thg 
 antient or modern Jews 177 
 
 Ckfuens ad Corinihios 189 
 
 Creed, what is meant by it 229 
 
 The iVzV^ Creed, why fo called ibid. 
 
 Council of Nice 230 
 
 Council of Coitftantinople^ in Oppofition to Ma- 
 cedonius and Eiino?nius ibid. 
 
 Council of Ephefus 231 
 
 j^thanafms' sCr ted y by whom written 233 
 
 The Apoflle's Creed, what it is 235 
 
 The antient Creed oijerufalein 238 
 
 Covenants of Works and Grace compared 326 
 Church vifible, what it is 434 
 
 Churches, particular ones have err'd, not ex- 
 cepting the Church of Rome ibid. 
 Church invifible, what ibid. 
 What things are effential to a Church 435 
 Churches ot Jerufalem^ Alexandria^ and Antiochy 
 why taken Notice of in the 1 9th Article 43 6 
 Church Authority, how far it extends, and 
 where it is lodg'd 437 
 Of no Force when it commands any thing 
 contrary to the written Word of G o d 440 
 As alfo when it expounds one Text of Scripture 
 fo as to make it repugnant to another 44 1 
 Calamy^ Dr. his Argument againft the Suc- 
 cefTion of Bifhops anfwer'd ^ 491 
 His rafh Cenfure of St. Ignatius* s Epiftles 522 
 Congregations, particular ones, in what Senie 
 called Churches 527 
 Cornelius, the State of the Church of Ro?ne in 
 his Time, as contained in his Letter to Fabius 
 B'l^op of Antiocb 549 
 St„ Chryfofio7n his Account of the Poor in the, 
 Church of Antioch 551 
 Cborepifcopi^ what s^^ 
 
 King 
 
«t.« 
 
 I N T> E X. r 
 
 King Charles the Firft his Anfwcr to the Preshy- 
 terian Divines 603 
 
 Calvin very much difpleas'd with the Separa- 
 tifls of this Kingdom 614 
 
 Claude^ Monfieur, tells the Bifhop of London^ 
 that indifpenfable NecelTity put their Churches 
 under the Preslyterian Government at the Re- 
 formation 616 
 
 Le Clerc, Mr. his Opinion of Epifcopacy ibid. 
 
 Celejlius 654 
 
 Cartwrightj Mr. his Jealoufy of Archbilhop 
 Whitgift and Mr. Hooker^ without any juft 
 Grounds 6^^ 
 
 The Cup not to be feparated from the Bread in 
 the Lord's Supper 6(iS 
 
 D. 
 
 DOubtful Cafes how to be proceeded in 64 
 Ao;tMTct/, an Account of them 67 
 
 Doxology, the finding Fault with that which 
 
 we have in the Church, unreafonable 117 
 Doubts concerning fome Books of the New 
 
 Teilament, no Argument for our rejeding 
 
 them now 192 
 
 Deifts, their Opinion that Natural Religion is 
 
 fufficient without Revelation, refuted 325 
 Death may be inflided by the Laws for great 
 
 and heinous Offences 767 
 
 Epicurean Hypothefis confider'd 3 7 
 
 Epiphanes 6y 
 
 Eutyches^ his Error 6^ and 71 
 
 Epiftle to the Hebrews^ of St. James and 
 
 St. Jude^ the fecond Epiflle of St. Peter ^ the 
 [ * 3 ] fecond 
 
rf 
 
 I N T> E X. 
 
 fecond and third Epiftles of St. Jchn^ doubted 
 of, in Relation to their Authority 165 
 
 Enoch his Prophecy 179 
 
 Epimenides ihid, 
 
 Enthufiafts, their Pretence to an Extraordinary 
 Call to the Miniftry, groundlefs 496 
 
 Evangelifls, what 508 
 
 Eiifehius^^ Account of them no way contradic» 
 tory to the Epifcopal Scheme 513 
 
 His Account of the Numbers of the Primi- 
 tive Chriftians 547 
 Extreme Undion, what 639 
 No Sacrament ih'id. 
 Eating and Drinking Damnation in the Lord's 
 Supper, what to be underftood by it 642 
 Excommunication, the Reafonablenefs and Ef- 
 feds of it 679 and 680 
 — ought to be taken off upon Repentance Wid. 
 No Excommunication dilTolves the Ties of 
 Nature 681 
 Edification, the Rule which ought to guide the 
 Church in appointing of Rites anq Cere- 
 monies 684 
 
 FAITH, nothing to be impos'd as an Ar^ 
 tide of it, which cannot be prov'd from 
 Scripture 123 
 
 The old Fathers look'd for Spiritual and Eter- 
 nal, as well as Temporary Promifes 214 
 Faith, an Expofition of it out of /r^;?^z/J 236 
 And out of "Tertullian de FnEfcrlp. Adverf. 
 Hceref. Cap. 13. 237 
 Faith, in what Senfe it juflifieth 3 03 , i^c. 
 Free Will 265 
 Faith, the feveral Senfes of it in Holy Scripture 
 
 Faith 
 
I N 9) E X. vu 
 
 Faith without Works is dead 235 
 
 Foreknowing or Prefcience, when applied to 
 
 God, how to be underftood 361 
 
 Flavianus madeBifhop o^ Antioch 588 
 
 Feliciffimus^ a criminous Deacon, depos'd by St. 
 
 Cyprian 646 
 
 Faith, the Mean whereby the Lord's Supper is 
 
 eaten 657 
 
 G. 
 
 C^ O D, His Being prov'd by feveral Argu- 
 J ments from Page 17 to 26 
 
 Holy Ghofl proceeds from the Father and the 
 Son 105 
 
 -—proved to be God 106 
 
 —and a diftind Perfon from the Father 
 and the Son ibid. 
 
 The Gofpel preach' d to every Soul under Hea- 
 ven in St. Paul*s Time 213 
 Grace, the NecefTity of it 266 
 ——freely given to thofe who defire it ibid. 
 The Defedibility of it 360 
 General Councils, how they are to be afiembled, 
 and how far to be depended on 442 
 Gregory the Great, the Number of Presbyters 
 that fubfcribe in the Synod held by him 550 
 His being made Biihop of Rome^ as men- 
 tion'd by Flatina and Gregory of I'riers 588 
 Grotius defirous to have the Clergy of his Church 
 ordained by Biihop Brarnhall 616 
 Geneva^ a Letter from thence to the Univerfity 
 Q^ Oxford 617 
 Goods among Chriftians are not common 769 
 
 £*4 3 H. 
 
i^iii I N T^ E X 
 
 HEracleonitiS 6y 
 
 Hell, Chriil-s Defcent into it varioufly 
 underftood 77 
 
 The moft probable Opinion concerning it ibid. 
 The Opinion that Chrift defcended into Hell, 
 as it fignifies the Place pf the Damned, 
 examined 7 8 
 
 Reafons for the other Opinion 90 
 
 Heaven, various Senfes of it in Holy Scrip- 
 ture 1 00 
 Chrift to remain there till the Day of Judg- 
 ment 102 
 Heathens, upon what Principle they efteem'd 
 Vertue and abhorr'd Vice 103 
 Hagiography 178 
 Hermas^s Paflor 189 
 HecatcBUs^ his Computation of the Inhabitants of 
 Jerufalem ^ SZS 
 Hiftorical Evidence, what 622 
 Homilies of the Church of England contain a 
 godly and wholfome Do6kine 686 
 
 ' may be read in Churches 687 
 
 — — ought to be ferioufly perusM by all 
 fuch as fubfcribe to the Articles 688 
 
 ISidorus 67 
 
 A Judgment to come, the Reafonablenefs 
 of it 103 
 
 -—clearly reveal'd in Holy Scripture ibid, 
 Chrift to judge the World ibid, 
 
 Infpiration Extraordinary, the Folly of pre- 
 tending to it now 142, ^r, 
 J^nnes and Jamhre% 1 79 
 
I N ^ EX. ix 
 
 John the Eighth of Rovie^ againft adding to the 
 NicefjeCretd 232 
 
 -his Letter to Photius on this Head ibid, 
 
 Juftification, how it is obtain'd 303 
 
 St. James and St. Paul reconciled upon this 
 Head 306 
 
 The feveral Senfes in which the Word Juftify 
 is ufed in Scripture 313 
 
 Infidels, fuch as Chriil hath not been preach'd 
 amongft, we are to determine nothing con- 
 cerning them 433 
 Images, the Roniljh Diflin<5i:ion betwixt them 
 and Idols vain and frivolous 448 
 Ignatius^ his Epillles genuine 505 
 Su Jerom^ his Opinion in Favour of Presbyters, 
 confider'd 5 1 8 
 Independents^ their Scheme of Church Govern- 
 ment, confider'd 523 
 —never heard of till our Civil Wars tbid, 
 *— condemn'd at its firft Appearance by 
 allReform'd Churches both at Home and 
 Abroad 524 
 Idumeans^ their Cruelty to the Jews 543 
 Jufiin Martyr gives no Teflimony for Indepen- 
 dency ^^6 
 St. Ignatius gives no Teflimony for it S^y 
 St. James prov'd to be the firft Bifhop of Jeru^ 
 falem^ from Scripture and Antiquity ^95'^ ^^• 
 Ifchyras depofed by the Synod of Alexandria for 
 want of Epifcopal Ordination 610 
 Indifferent Things, when commanded by Autho- 
 rity, ought to be obferv'd 6^^ 
 
 u 
 
I N 2) E X. 
 
 L. 
 
 LUcanus 67 
 
 The Laft Day, what is meant by it 102 
 The Light of Nature difcovers the Difference 
 betwixt Good and Evil, and the Reafonable- 
 nefs of future Rewards and Punilhments ihid, 
 l^aodicea^ Council of 186 
 
 l^aw, Je'wijhj the Ceremonial Part of it does 
 not oblige Chriftians 215 
 
 The Law our School-mailer, to bring us to 
 Chrift ibid, 
 
 Chriftians under no NecefTity to receive the Ci- 
 vil Precepts of Mofes^s^ Law 226 
 The Moral Part of the Law obliges all Men 
 
 ibid, 
 
 *tis fo far from being abolifh'd, that 
 
 'tis ratified and confirm'd by Chrifl 226 
 
 Leo the Tliird refufes to add to the Nicene Creed 
 
 231 
 
 Caufes it to be engrav'd in a Table of Silver 
 
 as it had been deliver'd in the Councils, and 
 
 places it behind the Altar of St. Peter ibid. 
 
 Lowtb^ Mr. 477 
 
 Lyra^ his Obfervation on the Feails of Weeks 
 
 and Tabernacles ^o^y 
 
 Lord'^s Supper, what 6^"^^ 
 
 M 
 
 M, 
 
 Iracles, their Reality 24, 25, &c. 
 
 Menander^ his Writings refer'd co by 
 
 Sz.Paul 66 
 
 Marco/tans 6j 
 
 Marcwn ibid, 
 
 Mamcbecs 6j 
 
 Mqforites^ 
 
I N2) E X. xi 
 
 Maforltes^ their Care of the Holy Scriptures 
 
 i68 
 Miracles, true and falfe, the Dillindion be« 
 
 twixt them 170 
 
 Marcus the Heretick ibid. 
 
 Mahomet ibide 
 
 Menander 179 
 
 Marcion the Heretick 183 
 
 MefTiah, that he was to come, an Article of 
 Faith among the Jews 201 
 
 The Grounds of this Expedation ibid. 
 
 That the MefTiah is already come, proved 
 
 at large 203, ^c. 
 
 Mediator, Chrift the only one betwixt God and 
 
 Man 213 
 
 Mofes^ his Law not unalterable in its own Na- 
 ture 217, ^r. 
 
 Nor by reafon of any Promife of God 219 
 Merits of Chrill the only Caufe of our Jufliii'- 
 
 cation 203 
 
 Merit of Congruity and Merit of Defert, how 
 
 diftinguifh'd by thofe of the Church o^ Rome 
 
 340 
 
 The Abfurdity of fuppofing any fuch thing as 
 
 Merit in Man ibid, 
 
 Maurice ^ Dr. his Opinion about a Paflage in 
 
 St. Clemens's Epiflles 488 
 
 l^e Moyne^ Monfieur, his Opinion of fuch as 
 
 feparate from the Church o^ England 61^ 
 
 Matrimony no Sacrament 640 
 
 Minifters, their Unworthinefs hinders not the 
 
 Effedl of the Sacraments 643 
 
 Methods of punifhing them when wicked 
 
 644, ^c. 
 
 Mafs, the Sacrifice of it as pradis'd in the 
 
 Church ofRo?ney blafphemous and dangerous 
 
 674 
 
 The 
 
xii I N T> E X. 
 
 The Mafs, or Sacrament of the Lord's Sup- 
 per, what it really is 6^]$ 
 Marriage of Bilhops, Priefls, and Deacons, not 
 forbidden by any Law of God 6jy 
 Mafs, Arguments for and againft that Sacri- 
 iice, as they are taken out of the Scriptures 
 by Papifls and Proteflants, largely propos'd 
 in the Appendix to Article the XXXIft 
 Minifters-» whether Archbifhops, Bifhops, Priefts 
 or Deacons, confecrated according to King 
 Edward the Sixth's Ordinal, duly confecrated 
 
 689 
 
 The grand Objedlion of the Romanifts upon 
 
 this Head refuted at large 692, i^c. 
 
 Magiftrate Civil, his Authority in this Realm 
 
 700 
 
 This prov'd to be agreeable to the Dodbrine 
 
 of the Old and New Teftament 701, &fr. 
 
 N. 
 
 NEftorius^ his Error 69 
 
 Condemn'd by the Council of Chalcedon 
 
 ibid. 
 
 By the Council of Ephefus 72 
 
 Nicholas^ Pope of Roine^ permits the Addition 
 
 of the Holy Ghoil's proceeding from the Son 
 
 to the Nicene Creed 232 
 
 fJorman^ Mr. his Reafoning on a PafTage in St. 
 
 Clemens^ s Epiftles 472 
 
 NeBarius Bifhop of Co7ifiantinopk 588 
 
 Novatus^ his barbarous Ufage of his Wife 6y^ 
 
 National Churches have no Authority over each 
 
 other 684 
 
 O, 
 
INDEX, xiii 
 
 ORphitce €j 
 
 Old Teilament and the New confirm and 
 ftrengthen each other 197 
 
 The Old Teftament concerns itfelf abo\it the 
 Eternal Salvation of Mankind 19S 
 
 And points out Chrift to us, as the Author of 
 our Salvation, by the Shadowings of Cere- 
 monies, Types, and Prophefies 199 
 This Argument purfued at large 200, ^c. 
 Original or Birth-Sin 241 
 Ordination, the NecefTity of It 475 
 Orders of Minifters in the Chriftian Church, 
 how many 477 
 Ordination, only regular when Epifcopal 497 
 Optatus^ his Account of the Number of Churches 
 in the City of Rome about the Beginning of 
 the fourth Century 548 
 Ordination the incommunicable Privilege of 
 Bifhops 609 
 Ordination by Presbyters conftantly difan- 
 nulPd in the Primitive Church 610 
 Ordination, what it is 640 
 No Sacrament ih'id. 
 Oflering of Chrift once made a fufficient Sacrifice 
 and Propitiation for the Sins of the World 674 
 Oaths, the Lawfulnefs and Sacrednefs of them 
 
 Not fcrupled by the Primitive Chriftians, if 
 they were not put to fwear by fome Hea- 
 thenifh Deity, by Fortune, or the like ']']6 
 
 Oaths, vain and raih ones, a Caution againft 
 them jGjaiidy'^i 
 
3t!v I N5D E X. 
 
 PRovidence, Objedlions againfl it anfwer''d 
 43 
 Prophefies, the Reality of them 22, 23,24 
 
 Pythagoras 170 
 
 Prophets, how they prov'd their Miflion 171 
 Paulus Samofaienus, Declaration of the Synod of 
 yf;z/iVy6 concerning him 239 
 
 Pelagians^ their Opinion concerning Original Sin 
 refuted 242 
 
 Bt. Paul and St. Ja7nes teach the fame thing 
 about Juftification 307 
 
 Philofophers, the heft of their Precepts did not 
 make Revelation unnecefTary 325 
 
 Predeflination 35^ 
 
 Abfolute Predeflination condemned in the 
 third Council o^Mentz 359 
 
 Predeftinating, when applied to God, how to 
 beunderflood 361 
 
 Rigid Predeftinarians, their Arguments ftated 
 at large 399 
 
 Pope EkutberiuSj Pope LiheriuSy and Pope Zo- 
 fwius^ their Errors 437 
 
 Purgatory, a Fidion 444, and 445 
 
 Pardons, the Romijh Doctrine concerning them 
 not grounded upon Scripture, but rather con- 
 trary thereto ihid. 
 Presbyterians^ their Scheme confider'd 499 
 Promifcuous ufe of the Words Billiop and Pres- 
 byter in Holy Scripture, no Proof againft 
 Epifcopacy, as it is now taken to be in the 
 Church o^ England 506 
 Pliny ^ his Account of Jerufalem 542 
 Prefxdents, what TtrHdlian m&d,n%hj i)itm 581 
 
I N ^ E X. it 
 
 Ude^inUy what the ancient Signification of it 
 
 59^ 
 
 Presbyters, the promoting them to the Order of 
 Biihops, call'd Ordination^ by all Antiquity 
 
 604 
 
 Presbyters rebelling againft their Bifhop, com- 
 par'd by St. Cyprian to the Rebellion of Co- 
 rah, Datban and Abiram 607 
 
 Proteftant Churches beyond Sea irregular^ as to 
 Ordination, but neither judg'd nor defpis'd. 
 by us, for very good Realbns 613 
 
 Penance, the Nature of it 639 
 
 No Sacrament ihid. 
 
 Felagius ^54 
 
 Polycarp, Bifliop of Smyrna, his Difpute v/ith 
 Anicetus, Bilhop of Rc7ne, about the Obler- 
 vation of £^/^^ ^ ^ 684 
 
 Pope of Rome hath no Jurifdidion in E^igland 
 
 Scripture Arguments for his Supremacy, con- 
 
 fider'd at large 705 
 
 Poor ought to be reliev'd by all fuch Perfons as 
 
 are of Ability ^ 77^ 
 
 Perjury, the great Guilt of k 779 
 
 QiUahrs, their Obje6lions againft fwearing 
 
 ^ upon any Occafion whatfoever, confider'd, 
 
 from 77'^^n79 
 
 R. 
 
 REpentance, in what Senfe afcribed to God 
 in Holy Scripture 33 
 
 Refurre6tion of Chrift explain'd and prov'd 92 
 Why he did not appear to the whole Jewijh 
 Nation, to convince them of its Truth 95 
 
 Revelation 
 
xvi I N^ E X. 
 
 Revelation of St. Johi^ its Authority doubted 
 of infome Churches 165 
 
 Afterwards receiv'd into the Canon 185 
 
 Romans refiife to add to the Nkene Creed 231 
 Regeneration 253 
 
 Repentance to be alIo\^ed after Baptifm 351 
 
 Never in vain when fincere 352 
 
 Reprobation, in a ftrid: and rigid Senfe, not 
 
 taught in the 17th Article 361 
 
 Remonftrants, their Arguments dated at large 
 
 413 
 
 Rites and Ceremonies, the Church hath Power 
 
 to ordain them 43 8 
 
 Reliques, the Abfurdity of worfhipping them 
 
 449 
 Rites and Ceremonies in themfelves indifferent 
 
 Rebuke, when it ought to be open 684 
 
 SLnon Magus 66 
 
 Saturnilusy or Saturnlus ibid. 
 
 Secundus 6y 
 
 Sun, the leaving the Body of Chrift in it after 
 his Afcenfion, a low Conceit loi 
 
 Scriptures, theSufficiency of them 122 
 
 The Objedions of Infidels and other Adver- 
 faries againft the Sufficiency of the Scrip- 
 tures, examined at large 124, ^c, 
 Succefs, no certain Proof of Go d's approving 
 of what we do 160 
 Shiloh and Meffias the fame 204 
 Sovereign Princes, when they became Chriftians 
 
 Supererogation 342 
 
 Sin, Chrift alone without it 345 
 
 Of Sin after Baptifm 348 
 
 All 
 
I N T> E X. ivii 
 
 All Sins pardonable, except the Sin agaihfl the 
 
 Holy Ghoft ibid, 
 
 A Defcription of this Sin ibid, 
 
 Sublapfarians 4^2 
 
 Supralap/ariam ^ ibid, 
 
 Socinians^ their Arguments concerning God's 
 
 Decrees ftated ^ 427 
 
 Saints, Invocation of them, the Vanity of ic 
 
 45C5 
 
 Seventy, their Inftitution 497 
 
 Sabinus BiHiop of Emerita 588 
 
 Sardica and Sevil Councils of, deppfe iuch from 
 
 the Miniftry as had not received Epifcopal 
 
 Ordination 61O 
 
 Sacraments though fuppos'd to be valid, yec 
 
 are agreed by all to be irregular when admi- 
 
 nifler'd by uncommiffion'd Minifters 620 
 
 Succeflion ofBiiliops probably uninterrupted 621 
 
 Sacraments, their Nature and Number 6^6 
 
 The Defign of them 6^y 
 
 The Danger of profaning them ^ . . 641 
 
 Sander/on, Billiop, his Account of Archbilhop 
 
 PFbilgifi's and Mr. Hooker's Opinion, that 
 
 Anabaptifm would certainly follow Puritanifm 
 
 Soldiers their Duty y6d 
 
 ry^Rinity, Coequal and Coeternal 46 
 
 X Tranfubdantiation 7 1 
 
 Tradition, no Rule of Faith and Manners 
 
 Travels of Paul and Jhecia a Forgery 189 
 Tryphoy Dialogue betwixt him and jujiin Mar- 
 tyr 193 
 Temples, Old and Ne^ compared 206 
 
 [ * * 3 Thres 
 
xvlii I N 2) E X. 
 
 Three Perfons in the Godhead no Abfurdity 
 
 timothy and Titus^ their being Evangelifls no 
 
 Objedlion againfi: their being Bifhops 508 
 'Tertullian^ his Account oi the great Numbers of 
 
 Chriftians in hjs Tirne 546 
 
 ^heo^biliis E i fliop of Antioch c^jy 
 
 } Tim. iv. 14. no Argument ^ox Presbyterian Ov- 
 
 di nation 610 
 
 A Tongue not underflood by the People, not 
 
 proper tor tlie Celebration of Divine Service 
 
 This proved from Scripture 630, 631 
 
 The Practice of the Primitive and Modern 
 
 Churches enquir'd into ibid. ^c. 
 
 Tranfubftantiation, what 6^^9 
 
 The Abfurdity of it ibid, and 66^ 
 
 Traditions different in diiTerent Churches 682 
 
 VAlentinus 66 
 
 Union, Plypollatick, what meant by it 
 
 68 
 Verfions of the Scriptures, viz. the Samaritan., 
 tlie Chaldee., and the Greek 16^ 
 
 Villalpandus^ his Meafareof J^'n/y'^/^?;? 541 
 
 Jje la Vaile, his Obfervation on the Pov/er of 
 Fathers of Families in the Kail 545 
 
 Kin^Uzziab^ hisCrim.e and Puniflimenc 703 
 
 W, 
 
 '^'KJ Ilij^on, Mr, proves himfelf and the Jrians 
 V V "i'ld Socinidiis to be Idolaters 6-^., and ^j^ 
 
 58. 59 
 ¥v''prld, the Time it is to endure fx'd by Gop 
 
 102 
 
 Water J 
 
I N 7> E X. xix 
 
 Water, why the outward and vifible Sign in 
 
 Baptifm 254 
 
 Works, the beft of the beft Men imperfed 
 
 303 
 Works, in how many Senfes to be underflood in 
 
 the Scripture 322 
 
 Works,- when Good, acceptable to God, tho* 
 
 not meritorious 335 and 336 
 
 Tfithers^ Mr. his Opinion about a PafTage in St. 
 
 Clemens^ ^ Epiftles 487 
 
 The Wicked eat not the Body of Chrift in the 
 
 Lord's Supper 664 
 
 War, the Lawfulnefs of it 768 
 
 Stellay his Obfervation on the Jewi/h Feails 
 
 z 
 
 Z. 
 
 Ofimus^ Pope of Rome 437 
 
 Zanchy^ his Opinion of Separatifts from 
 the Eftablifh'd Church in this Kingdom 615 
 
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