LXIII. SERM. and their adminiftring the communion to the people ,in one kind only, contrary to clear fcripture, and the plain institution of our bleffed SAVIOUR. And then their worship of images, and invocation of angels and faints, and the blessed virgin, in the fame folemn manner, and for the fame bleffings and benefits which we beg of God himself; contrary to the exprefs word of God, which commands us "to "worship the LORD our GOD, and to ferve him only; " and which declares, that as there is but "one'GOD, "fo there is but "one mediator between "GOD and man, CHRIST JESUS;" but one mediator, not only of redemption, but of interceffion too; for the apostle there fpeaks of a mediator of interceffion, by whom only we are to offer up our prayers, which are to be put up to GoD only; and which exprefly forbids men to worship any image or likeness. And the learned men of their own church acknowledge, that there is neither precept nor example for these practices in fcripture, and that they were not used in the christian church for feveral ages; and this acknowledgment we think very confiderable, fince fo great a part of their religion, especially as it is practised among the people, is contained in these points. For the fervice of GOD in an unknown tongue, and withholding the fcriptures from the people, they do not pretend fo much as one teftimony of any father for the first 600 years; and nothing certainly can be more unreafonable in itfelf, than to deny people the best means of knowing the will of God, and not to permit them to understand what is done in the publick worship of GoD, and what prayers are put up to him in the church. The two great doctrines of tranfubftantiation and purgatory are acknowledged by many of their own learned LXIII. learned writers, to have no certain foundation in SER M. fcripture: and that there are feven facraments of the christian religion, though it be now made an article of faith by the council of Trent, is a thing which cannot be fhewn in any council or father far above a thousand years after CHRIST. And we find no mention of this number of the facraments, till the age of Peter Lombard the father of the fcoolmen. That the church of Rome is the mother and miftrefs of all churches, though that alfo be one of the new articles of pope Pius IV. his creed, which their priests are by a folemn oath obliged to believe and teach; yet it is moft evidently falfe. That fhe is not the mother of all churches is plain because Jerufalem was certainly fo; for there certainly was the first christian church, and from thence all the chriftian churches in the world derive themselves: that she is not, (though fhe fain would be) the mistress of all churches, is as evident, because the greatest part of the christian church does at this day, and always did, deny that fhe hath any authority or fupremacy over them. Now these are the principal matters in difference betwixt us; and if these points, and a few more, be pared off from popery, that which remains of their religion, is the fame with ours, that is, the true ancient christianity. III. I fhall fhew that our religion hath many clear advantages of theirs, not only very confiderable in themselves, but very obvious and discernible to an ordinary capacity, upon the very firft propofal of them; as, 1. That our religion agrees perfectly with the fcriptures, and all points both of our belief and practice, esteemed by us as neceffary to falvation, are there contained, even our enemies themselves being judges. VOL. V. F We LXIII. SERM. We "worship the LORD our GoD, and him only" do we "ferve." We do not fall down before images and worship them: we addrefs all prayers to GOD alone, by the only mediation and interceffion of his fon JESUS CHRIST, as he himself hath given us commandment, and as St. Paul doth plainly direct, giving us this plain and substantial reason for it, because as there is but "one GOD," fo there is "but one mediator between GoD and man, the man "CHRIST JESUS." The publick worship and service of GOD is perform'd by us in a language which we understand, according to St. Paul's exprefs order and direction, and the universal practice of the ancient church, and the nature and reafon of the thing itself. We adminifter the facrament of the LORD's fupper in both kinds, according to our SAVIOUR's example and plain institution, and the continual practice of all the christian churches in the world, for above a thousand years. 2. We believe nothing as neceffary to falvation, but what hath been owned in all ages to be the chriftian doctrine, and is acknowledged fo to be by the church of Rome itfelf; and we receive the whole faith of the primitive chriftian church, (viz.) whatever is contained in the apoftles creed, and in the explications of that in the creeds of the four first general councils. By which it plainly appears, that all the points of faith in difference betwixt us and the church of Rome are mere innovations and plain additions to the ancient chriftian faith: but all that we believe, is acknowledged by them to be undoubtedly the ancient chriftian faith. 3. There is nothing wanting in our church and religion, whether in matter of faith or practice, which either the fcripture makes neceffary to fallvation, or SER M. was so esteemed by the christian church for the firft LX III. five hundred years; and we truft, that what was fufficient for the falvation of Chriftians in the best ages of christianity, for five hundred years together, may be fo ftill; and we are very well content to venture our falvation upon the fame terms that they did. 4. Our religion is not only free from all idolatrous worship, but even from all fufpicion and probable charge of any fuch thing: but this the church of Rome is not, as is acknowledged by her most learned champions, and as no man of ingenuity can deny; and the reason which the learned men give, why the worship of images and the invocation of angels and faints departed were not practifed in the primitive church, for the first three hundred years, is a plain acknowledgment that these practices are very liable to the fufpicion of idolatry; for they fay that the Christians did then forbear those practices, becaufe they seemed to come too near to the pagan idolatry, and left the heathen should have taken occafion to have juftified themselves, if these things had been practifed among Chriftians; and they cannot now be ignorant, what scandal they give by these practices both to the Jews and Turks, and how much they alienate them from christianity by this fcandal; nor can they chufe but be fenfible, upon how great advantage they are in defending thefe practices from the charge of idolatry, and that by all their blind diftinctions, with which they raise fuch a cloud and duft, they can hardly make any plaufible and tolerable defence of themselves from this charge; infomuch that to fecure their own people from difcerning their guilt in this matter, they have been put upon that fhameful fhift of leaving out the second commandment in F 2. dif their LXIII. SERM. their common catechisms and manuals, left the people feeing so plain a law of GOD, against fo common a practice of their church, fhould upon that discovery have broken off from them. 5. Nor is our religion incumbered with fuch an endless number of fuperftitious and troublesome obfervances, as theirs infinitely is, even beyond the number of the Jewish ceremonies, to the great burden and scandal of the christian religion, and the diverting of mens minds from the fpiritual part of religion, and the more weighty and neceffary duties of the christian life; fo that, in truth, a devout paftor is fo taken up with the external rites and little obfervances of his religion, that he hath little or no time to make himfelf a good man, and to cultivate and improve his mind in true piety and virtue. 6. Our religion is evidently more charitable to all Chriftians that differ from us, and particularly to them, who, by their uncharitablenefs to us, have done as much as is poffible to discharge and damp our charity towards them. And charity, as it is one of the most effential marks of a true Chriftian, fo it is likewise the best mark and ornament of a true church; and of all things that can be thought of, methinks the want of charity in any church fhould be a motive to no man to fall in love with it, and to be fond of its communion. 7. Our religion doth not clash and interfere with any of the great moral duties, to which all mankind ftand obliged by the law and light of nature; as fidelity, mercy, and truth. We do not teach men to break faith with heretics or infidels; nor to destroy and extirpate thofe who differ from us, with fire and fword: no fuch thing as equivocation or mental refervation, or any other artificial way of falfhood, is |