But let us proceed with the supposed principles of the Reformation.

"For the work of salvation sufficient means are afforded in the Holy Scriptures, without having recourse to the doctrines and commandments of men."

The sense which I presume the Author to have intended in this place, is very loosely expressed. For means, as the word is generally applied by divines, signify the means of grace, or sacraments of the Church; which are indeed prescribed by the Holy Scriptures, but cannot possibly be administered by them. Whence it comes to pass, that every Christian is thrown into a state of dependence upon other Christians by the very conditions of his religion, and cannot subsist as such but in society. And as the sacraments cannot be administered without some form, which form is not set down for us in so many words by the New Testament; necessity requires that it should be settled by the governors of the Church, after the pattern of the best times.

However, let us take these for the means of knowledge, and instruction in Christian learning. Neither will this sense agree with the principles of the first Protestants; if we may judge by their practice, which is the surest rule. For the Augustan Confession plainly discovers, in the matter of it, that the compilers had a particular regard to the faith of the primitive Church; which the Author understands, by the doctrines and commandments of men; and is an enemy to all Confessions, chiefly on account of their conformity with the doctrines of the first Christians. In the conference at Worms, anno 1557, de normâ judicii ecclesia, the Protestants assumed, as the rule of their judgment, prophetica et apostolica scripta, et SYMBOLA, &c. not the Scripture alone, but the Scrip

ture interpreted according to the faith of the primitive Creeds".

Mr. Chillingworth, than whom no man ever argued with more earnestness for the Bible as the only religion of Protestants, doth nevertheless allow to the Church," an authority of determining controversies of faith, according to plain and evident Scripture, and universal tradition;" and that the Church is infal lible, so long as it proceeds according to this rule. He affirms, that this tradition was valuable so long as the primitive Churches preserved their unity in matters of faith which is the ground of that passage in Tertullian-Variasse debuerat error Ecclesiarum; quod autem upud multos unum est, non est erratum, sed traditum†Here the way of Papists and Protestants divides: for they deduce their traditions down to the modern ages of the Church. We only say, what is certainly both true and reasonable, that the tradition Tertullian speaks of, is as good now as it was then.

All Protestants ever were, and now are, bound by their profession to grant, that the Gospel hath delivered us from the doctrines and commandments of men, properly so called, as certainly as from the vain traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees: but it hath not absolved us from the prudence and caution, and indeed the common-sense, which requires every believer to pay a proper regard to a general consent amongst the first and best Christians; nor did the Protestants think so; as this Author, forgetting himself a little, hath taken care to inform us in the next paragraph but one; where he complains, that the Reformers determined the one sense of Scripture to be

• Matthie Theatr. Historic. p. 1072.

+ Tertull. Prescr. contr. Hæret. See Chillingworth, chap. ii. $147. § 162.

the sense of the primitive Church, that is, the sense of the orthodox fathers, for a certain number of centuries. From these they took their interpretations of Scripture, and upon these they formed their rule of faith and doctrine, and so reduced their respective Churches within the bounds of a theological system. Did they so? and who were the Reformers then that set up private judgment and the Scripture, independent of the faith of the primitive Church? The truth of the matter is, this principle of the Reformation is such as the Author finds; the other is such as he thought proper to make, that there might be some foundation for his new superstructure.

He proceeds to instruct us, that faith and conscience are not to be compelled by man's authority. Whatever authority the Christian society may be invested with, no Protestants were so absurd as to think that it could force any man to believe, and be baptized, and be saved: for the Christian life is a work of choice, and a reasonable service, not to be extorted by any authority, even of. God himself; so that men must be gained over to the truth by sufficient evidence; yet not without the grace of God disposing the heart to understand and admit of it. The Church administers this evidence in behalf of its own injunctions: but be the evidence ever so just and cogent, it always will and must be in the power of men to reject it; as many did the preaching of the Apostles, and even of Christ himself: and they would again do the same at this day, were Christ/ and his Apostles to preach the doctrine of the Church of England in person, as they still do by their writings.

When it is objected (in the next words) as a principle of the reformation, that the Church of Rome hath none other than human authority for the spiritual de

minion she claimeth, the assertion is too general to be true; and the Papists will rather despise the Protestants who advance it, than be at the pains to answer them for the Church of Rome, in common with the Churches of France, England, and Abyssinia, is so far invested with spiritual authority, as to have the commission of Christ for baptizing, confirming, ordaining preachers, and administering the Communion in both kinds, if she would be so just to herself as to make use of it. For those inventions of later times, which distinguish her from the primitive Church, she hath indeed none other than human authority. If every kind and degree of spiritual dominion is denied to the Church, then these distinctions will be of no value; and therefore the Author points his reflections either against the reformed Church of England, or the idolatrous Church of Rome, as his occasions make it convenient. But the first Reformers, a few fractious and unreasonable men excepted, were always inclined to do this Church more justice.

The last article is as follows: "The Church of Christ is congregated by the word of God." This principle hath neither truth nor sense: for the Scripture can no more congregate a Church, than it can administer Baptism and the Lord's Supper: and it is a notorious fact, that the Church was congregated by Christ and his Apostles before the Scriptures of the New Testament were written. Our blessed Lord ordained his twelve Apostles, and his seventy disciples, by his own personal act; and appointed the two sacraments of the Church while he was present with it. The Apostles appointed the order of deacons soon after the ascension; and the Church is now congregated by descent or succession from that Church, which

was originally congregated by Christ and his Apostles. Paul received his commission from Heaven immediately he laid his hands upon Timothy, investing him at the same time with an authority to lay his hands* upon others; and so on to the end of the world. The same rule had obtained before in the Jewish Church, which was congregated by descentfrom the family of Aaron, and the tribe of Levi; and so it was understood by Christ himself, who allowed the Scribes and Pharisees to sit in the seat of Moses, though Moses had been dead two thousand years before. There is no other possible way of deriving any authority from God, now he hath ceased to act personally in the Church, without being exposed to all the excesses of imposture and licentiousness. If the Church were congregated, as this writer imagines, in opposition to reason and fact, any enthusiast, with the Bible in his hand, might form a society, extract a new set of doctrines, contrary in every respect to the old, appoint new sacraments, plead co-ordinate rights, and supersede the present Church upon Protestant principles; that is, upon such principles as this gentleman, and the Papists, have falsely imputed to the whole body of Pro

testants.

There are two other principles, which the Reformers are allowed on all sides to have maintained very expressly; but these are exhibited in the new system only to be condemned. The Author tells us, they' unhappily adopted certain maxims as self-evident; namely, that there could be no edification in religious society without uniformity of opinion; and that the true sense of Scripture could be but one." The design

* 2 Tim. i. 6. 1 Tim. v. 22.

+ Conf. p. 3.