at this rate of interpreting fcripture by tradition, it is impoffible to fix any objection from scripture upon any doctrine or practice which they have a mind to maintain.

4. Whereas they pretend the tradition of their church, delivered from the mouth of Chrift, or dictated by the Holy Spirit, and brought down to them, and preferved by continual fucceffion in the church, to be of equal authority with the word of God; for fo the council of Trent fays, that "the holy fynod doth receive and ve66 nerate thefe traditions with equal pious affection and

reverence as they do the written word of God: " this we muft declare against, as unreasonable in itself, to make tradition, conveyed by word of mouth from one to another, through fo many ages, and liable to fo many mistakes and mifcarriages, to be, at the distance of one thousand five hundred years, of equal certainty and authority with the holy fcriptures, carefully preferved, and tranfmitted down to us; because this, as I faid before, is to make common rumour and report of equal authority and certainty with a written record. And not only fo, but hereby they make the fcriptures an imperfect rule, contrary to the declared judgment of the ancient fathers and councils of the Christian church; and so, in truth, they fet up a new rule of faith, whereby they change the Chriftian religion for a new rule of faith and religion, makes a new faith and religion. This we charge the church of Rome with; and do challenge them to fhew this new rule of faith before the council of Trent, and, confequently, where their religion was before that council; to fhew a religion, confifting of all thofe articles which are defined by the council of Trent as neceffary to falvation, and established upon this new rule, profeffed by any Christian church in the world before that time. And as they have pitched upon a new rule of faith; fo it is eafy to fee to what end. For take Pope Pius IV.'s creed, and we may fee where the old and new religion parts; even at the end of the twelve articles of the Apostles creed, which was the ancient Chriftian faith; to which are added in Pope Pius's 'creed twelve articles more, defined in the council of Trent, and fupported only by tradition. So that as the fcripture

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fcripture answers for the twelve old articles, which are plainly contained there; fo tradition is to answer for the twelve new ones. And therefore the matter was calculated very exactly, when they make tradition just of equal authority with the fcriptures; because as many articles of their faith were to be made good by it, and rely upon it, as those which are proved by the authority of fcripture. But that tradition is of equal authority with the fcriptures, we have nothing in the whole world for it, but the bare affertion of the council of Trent.

I fhould now have added some other confiderations, tending to confirm and establish us in our religion, against the pretences and infinuations of feducing fpirits. But I fhall proceed no farther at prefent.

SERMON

LXIII.

Of conftancy in the profeffion of the true religion.

HE B. X. 23.

Let us hold faft the profeffion of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promifed.

TH

The fixth fermon on this text.

Hefe words contain an exhortation to hold faft the profeffion of our faith without wavering; and an argument or encouragement thereto, Because he is faithful that promifed. By the exhortation to hold faft the profeffion of our faith without wavering, is not meant, that thofe who are capable of examining the grounds and reafons of their religion, fhould blindly hold it fast against the best reasons that can be offered; becaufe, upon these terms, every man must continue in the religion in which he happens to be fixed by education, or an ill choice, be his religion true or falfe, without examining and looking into it, whether it be right or wrong for, till a man examines, every man thinks his religion

religion right. That which the Apoftle here exhorts Chriftians to hold fast, is the ancient faith, of which all Christians make a folemn profeffion in their baptifm; as plainly appears from the context. And this profeffion of our faith we are to hold in the following inftances; which I fhall but briefly mention, without enlarging upon them. 1. We are to hold fast the profeffion of our faith, againft the confidence of men, without fcripture or reason to fupport that confidence.

2. And much more against the confidence of men, contrary to plain scripture and reason, and to the common fenfe of mankind.

3. Against all the temptations and terrors of the world; against the temptations of fashion and example, and of worldly interest and advantage; and against all terrors and fufferings of perfecution.

4. Against all vain promifes of being put into a fafer condition, and groundless hopes of getting to heaven upon easier terms than the gofpel has propofed, in fome other church and religion.

5. Lastly, We are to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, against all the cunning arts and infinuations of bufy and difputing men, whofe defign it is to unhinge men from their religion, and to make profelytes to their party and faction.

But, without entering into these particulars, I fhall, in order to our establishment in the reformed religion, which we profefs, in oppofition to the errors and corruptions of the church of Rome, apply myfelf at this time, to make a fhort comparison betwixt the religion which we profefs, and that of the church of Rome, that we may difcern on which fide the advantage of truth lies; and, in making this comparison, I fhall infift upon three things, which will bring the matter to an iffue, and are, I think, fufficient to determine every fober and confiderate man, which of these he ought in reason, and with regard to the fafety of his foul, to embrace. And they are thefe :

1. That we govern our belief and practice in matters of religion by the true ancient rule of Chriftianity, the word of God contained in the holy fcriptures: but the church of Rome, for the maintenance of their errors and corruptions,

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corruptions, have been forced to devife a new rule, never owned by the primitive church, nor by the ancient fathers and councils of it.

2. That the doctrines and practices in difference betwixt us and the church of Rome, are either contrary to this rule, or deftitute of the warrant and authority of it, and are plain additions to the ancient Christianity, and corruptions of it.

3. That our religion hath many clear advantages of that of the church of Rome, not only very confiderable in themselves, but very obvious and difcernible to an ordinary capacity, upon the firft proposal of them. I thall be as brief in thefe as I can.

1. That we govern our belief and practice in matters of religion, by the true ancient rule of Chriflianity, the word of God contained in the holy fcriptures: but the church of Rome, for the maintaining of their errors and corruptions, have been forced to devife a new rule, never owned by the primitive church, nor by the ancient councils and fathers of it; that is, they have joined with the word of God contained in the holy fcriptures, the unwritten traditions of their church, concerning feveral points of their faith and practice, which they acknowledge cannot be proved from fcripture; and these they call the unwritten word of God; and the council of Trent hath decreed them to be "of cqual authority "with the holy fcriptures; " and that they do "receive "and venerate them with the fame pious affection and << reverence:" and all this contrary to the exprefs declaration and unanimous confent of all the ancient councils and fathers of the Christian church, as I have already fhewn and this never declared to be a point of faith, till it was decreed, not much above a hundred years ago, in the council of Trent. And this furely, if any thing, is a matter of great confequence, to prefume to alter the ancient rule of Chriftian doctrine and practice, and to enlarge it and add to it at their pleasure. But the church of Rome having made fo great a change in the doctrine and practice of Chriftianity, it became confequently neceffary to make a change of the rule: and therefore with great reafon did the council of Trent take this into confideration in the first place, and put it

in the front of their decrees; becaufe it was to be the foundation and main proof of the following definitions of faith, and decrees of practice; for which, without this new rule, there had been no colour.

2. The doctrines and practices in difference betwixt us and the church of Rome, are either contrary to the true rule, or deftitute of the warrant and authority of it, and plain additions to the ancient Chriftianity, and corruptions of it. The truth of this will beft appear, by inftancing in fome of the principal doctrines and practices in difference betwixt us.

As for their two great fundamental doctrines, of the fupremacy of the Bishop of Rome over all the Christians in the world, and the infallibility of their church, there is not one word in fcripture concerning these privileges. Nay, it is little lefs than a demonftration that they have no fuch privileges, that St. Paul, in a long epiftle to the church of Rome, takes no notice of them, that the church of Rome either then was, or was to be foon af ́ter, the mother and miftrefs of all churches, which is now grown to be an article of faith in the church of Rome; and yet it is hardly to be imagined, that he could have omitted to take notice of fuch remarkable privileges of their Bishops and church above any in the world, had he known they had belonged to them. So that in all probability he was ignorant of thofe mighty prerogatives of the church of Rome; otherwise it cannot be, but that he would have written with more deference and fubmiflion to this feat of infallibility, and centre of unity: he would certainly have paid a greater refpect to this mother and mistress of all churches, where the head of the church, and Vicar of Christ, either was already feated, or, by the appointment of Chrift, was defigned for ever to fix his throne, and establifh his refidence. But there is not one word, or the least intimation of any fuch thing throughout this whole epiftle, nor in any o ther part of the New Testament.

Befides that both thefe pretended privileges are omitted, by plain fact and evidence of things themfelves; their fupremacy, in that the far greatest part of the Chriftian church neither is at this day, nor can be fhewn by the records of any age, ever to have been fubject to

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the