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Against this fundamental error of the church of Rome, on which we have been remarking, the church of England bears her most decided and scriptural protest, in the vi. xx. and xxi. articles given at the head of this chapter. It would be difficult to find in the compass of so few sentences a more glorious recognition of the sufficiency and supreme authority of the holy Scriptures, as the only rule of faith to Christians. The force and fulness of the protest in this noble testimony against the fundamental error of the church of Rome, are best expressed in the judicious statements of Bishop Marsh. "In the articles of our religion we may of course expect a declaration of the authority on which the doctrines of our church are founded. Now, the sixth article exactly corresponds with the decree which had been made a few years before, at the fourth session of the Council of Trent. As the Council of Trent had declared in that decree the authorities by which it proposed to establish its doctrines, so the Synod of London declared, in the sixth article, on what authority its doctrines were founded. The Council of Trent had acknowledged two equal and independent authorities as foundations of doctrines. But our sixth article declares, that there is only one such authority. Holy Scripture,' (saith this article,) 'containeth all things necessary to salvation, so that whatever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man,

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that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.' This article then directly contradicts the decree in question. For, instead of describing the total rule of faith, as composed of two partial rules of faith, in Scripture and tradition-instead of describing tradition, or the unwritten word, as equal in authority with Scripture, or the written word, it gives the whole authority to Scripture alone. The sixth article, therefore, rejects, entirely and absolutely, tradition as a rule of faith, though the term tradition is not used in it. The twentieth and twenty-first articles are no less decisive. The former declares, that although the church be a witness and keeper of holy writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing against the same, so, besides the same, ought it not to enforce any thing to be believed for necessity of salvation.' The latter declares, that things ordained by general councils, as necessary to salvation, have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they be taken out of holy Scripture. Nothing can be more pointed than this article, against such general councils as the Council of Trent, where many things relating to faith were ordained, of which it neither was, nor could be declared, that they were taken out of holy Scripture." *

How accordant the practice of the church of England has been with the avowal made in the * Bishop Marsh's Comparative View, p. 39, 40.

above articles, is evident from the zeal of the Reformers in giving the people the holy Scriptures in a language which they understood, and in the provision which they made for the reading of the word of God in the churches. Not only were the clergy enjoined by authority to read the Scriptures publicly, but by the same authority the people were encouraged to read them for themselves, as the means by which they might be made wise unto salvation. The Liturgy of the church of England exhibits the most satisfactory proof of this: here an appeal is constantly made to God's written word-large portions of which, eight chapters at least, including the Psalms, are ordered to be distinctly read to the congregation on each occasion of assembling for public worship. The following extracts from the homilies, drawn up by the Reformers, will not be uninteresting as explaining their views of the authority and sufficiency of holy Scripture as the only rule of Christian faith and practice.

"Unto a Christian man there can be nothing either more necessary or more profitable, than the knowledge of holy Scripture, forasmuch as in it is contained God's true word, setting forth his glory, and also man's duty. And there is no truth nor doctrine necessary for our justification and everlasting salvation, but that it is, or may be, drawn out of that fountain and well of truth. Therefore,

as many as be desirous to enter into the right and perfect way unto God, must apply their minds to know holy Scripture, without the which, they can neither sufficiently know God and his will, neither their office and duty." "Let us diligently search for the well of life in the books of the New and Old Testament, and not run to the stinking puddles of men's traditions, devised by men's imagination, for our justification and salvation." "As St. Augustine saith, by the Scripture all men be amended, weak men be strengthened, and strong men be comforted. So that surely none be enemies to the reading of God's word, but such as either be so ignorant that they know not how wholesome a thing it is; or else be so sick that they hate the most comfortable medicine that should heal them; or so ungodly that they would wish the people still to continue in blindness and ignorance of God."*

"Our Saviour taketh not and needeth not any testimony of man; and that which is once confirmed by the certainty of his eternal word, hath no more need of the confirmation of man's doctrine, than the bright sun at noon-tide hath need of the light of a little candle to put away darkness and increase his light." +

Bishop Jewel, in his Apology for the Church of England, says, "We receive and embrace all the canonical Scriptures, both of the Old and New

* Hom. i. 1.

+ Hom. xiv. 1.

Testament: and we give our gracious God most hearty thanks that he hath set up this light for us, which we ever fix our eyes upon, lest by human fraud and the snares of the devil, we should be seduced to errors or fables: we own them to be the heavenly voices by which God hath revealed and made known his will to us; in them only can the mind of man acquiesce; in them all that is necessary for our salvation is abundantly and plainly contained, as Origen, St. Augustine, and St. Cyril, have taught us. They are the very might and power of God unto salvation; they are the foundations of the apostles and prophets, upon which the church of God is built; they are the most certain and infallible rule by which the church may be reduced, if she happen to stagger, slip, or err; by which all ecclesiastical doctrines ought to be tried. No law, no tradition, no custom, is to be received or continued, if it be contrary to Scripture: no, though St. Paul himself, or an angel from heaven, should come and teach otherwise. (Gal. i. 8.)"

The remarks of the acute Chillingworth will furnish a suitable conclusion to this chapter:"The Bible, I say, the Bible ONLY, is the religion of Protestants!-I, for my part, after a long and (as I verily believe and hope) impartial search of the true way to eternal happiness, do profess plainly, that I cannot find any rest for the sole of my foot but upon this rock only. I see plainly,

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