XXI,

ART. our ever seeing another. The charge and noise, the expectations and disappointments of that at Trent, has taught the world to expect nothing from one: they plainly fee that the management from Rome must carry every thing in a Council: neither princes nor people, no nor the bishops themselves, defire or expect to fee one. The claim fet up at Rome for infallibility, makes the demand of one feem not only needlefs there, but to imply a doubting of their authority, when other methods are looked after, which will certainly be always unacceptable to those who are in poffeffion, and act as if they were infallible: nor can it be apprehended, that they will defire a Council to reform those abuses in difcipline, which are all occafioned by that abfolute and univerfal authority of which they are now poffeffed.

Matth.

So by all the judgments that can be made from the state of things, from the interefts of men, and the last management at Trent, one may without a spirit of prophecy conclude, that, unlefs Christendom puts on a new face, there will be no more General Councils. And fo here infallibility is at an end, and has left the Church at least for a very long interval.

It remains that thofe paffages fhould be confidered that are brought to fupport this authority. Chrift fays, Tell the xviii. 17. Church; and if he neglects to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man, and a publican.

These words in themfelves, and feparated from all that went before, feem to speak this matter very fully: but when the occafion of them, and the matter that is treated of in them, are confidered, nothing can be plainer than that our Saviour is fpeaking of fuch private differences as may arife among men, and of the practice of forgiving injuries, and compofing their differences. If thy brother fin against thee; first, private endeavours were to be used, then the interpofition of friends was to be tried; and finally, the matter was to be referred to the body, or affembly, to which they belonged: and those who could not be gained by fuch methods, were no more to be efteemed brethren, but were to be looked on as very bad men, like heathens. They might upon fuch refractoriness be excommunicated, and profecuted afterwards in temporal courts, fince they had by their perverfenefs forfeited all fort of right to that tenderness and charity that is due to true Chriftians.

This expofition does fo fully agree to the occafion and scope of these words, that there is no colour of reason to carry them further.

The character given to the Church of Ephefus, in St. 1 Tim. iii. Paul's Epiftle to Timothy, that it was the pillar and ground of truth, is a figurative expreffion and it is never fafe to build upon metaphors, much lefs to lay much weight upon

them.

The

XXI.

The Jews defcribed their fynagogues by fuch honourable ART. characters, in which it is known how profufe all the Eastern nations are: these are by St. Paul applied to the Church of Ephefus: for he there speaks of the Church where Timothy was then, in which he instructs him to behave himself well. It has visibly a relation to those infcriptions that were made on pillars which refted upon firm pedestals: but whatsoever the ftrict importance of the metaphor may be, it is a metaphor, and therefore it can be no argument. Chrift's promife of the Spirit to his Apoftles, that fhould lead them into all truth, relates vifibly to that Joh. xvi. extraordinary infpiration by which they were to be acted, and that 13. was to fhew them things to come; so that a fucceffion of prophecy may be inferred from thefe words, as well as of infallibility.

Those words of our Saviour, with which St. Matthew con cludes his Gospel, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of Matth. the world, infer no infallibility, but only a promife of affiftance xxviii. 20, and protection; which was a neceflary encouragement to the Apostles, when they were fent upon fo laborious a commiffion, that was to involve them in fo much danger. God's being Cor. vi. with any, his walking with them, his being in the midst of them, 16. his never leaving nor forfaking them, are expreffions often ufed Heb. xiii. in the Scripture, which fignify no more but God's watchful providence, guiding, fupporting, and protecting his people: all this is far from infallibility.

5.

The last objection to be proposed, is that which seems to relate moft to the point in hand, taken from the decree made by a Council at Jerufalem, which begins, It feemed good to the Holy Acts xv. Ghost, and to us: from which they infer, that the Holy Ghoft 28. is prefent with Councils, and that what feems good to them is alfo approved by the Holy Ghoft. But it will not be easy to prove that this was such a Council, as to be a pattern to fucceeding ones to copy after it. We find brethren are here joined with the Apostles themfelves: now fince these were no other than the laity, here an inference will be made, that will not go eafily down. If they fate and voted with the Apoftles, it will seem ftrange to deny them the fame, privilege among Bifhops. By Elders here it feems Prefbyters are meant, and this will give them an entrance into a General Council, out of which they cannot be well excluded, if the laity are admitted. But here was no citation, no time given to all Churches to fend their Bishops or proxies: it was an occafional meeting of fuch of the Apostles as happened to be then at Jerufalem, who called to them the Elders or Prefbyters, and other Chriftians at Jerufalem for the Holy Ghoft was then poured out fo plentifully on fo many, that no wonder if there were then about that truly mother Church, a great many of both forts, who were of fuch eminence,

ART. eminence, that the Apoftles might defire them to meet and to join with them.

15.

XXI.

Ver. 40.

The Apoftles were divinely affifted in the delivering that comMar. xvi. miffion which our Saviour gave them in charge, To preach to every creature; and fo were infallibly affifted in the executing of it; yet when other matters fell in, which were no parts of that commiffion, they, no doubt, did as St. Paul, who sometimes writ by permiffion, as well as at other times by commandment : of which he gives notice, by faying, It is I, and not the Lord: he fuggefted advices, which to him, according to his prudence and experience, feemed to be well founded; and he offered them with great fincerity; for though he had fome reason to think that what he propofed, flowed from the Spirit of the Lord, from that infpiration that was acting in him; yet because that did not appear diftinctly to him, he fpeaks with referves, and fays, he Ver. 25. gives his judgment as one that had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. So the Apoftles here, receiving no inspiration to direct them in this cafe, but obferving well what St. Peter put them in mind of, concerning God's fending him by a special vifion to preach to the Gentiles, and that God had poured out the Holy Ghoft on them, even as he had done upon the Apostles, who were Jews by nature, and that he did put no difference in Acts xv. 9. that between Jews and Gentiles; purifying the hearts of the Gentiles by faith: they upon this did by their judgment conclude from thence, that what God had done in the particular inftance of Cornelius, was now to be extended to all the Gentiles. So by this we fee that those words, feemed good to the Holy Ghost, relate to the cafe of Cornelius; and those words, feemed good to us, import that they refolved to extend that to be a general rule to all the Gentiles.

This gives the words a clear and diftinct fenfe, which agrees with all that had gone before; whereas it will otherwise look very strange to see them add their authority to that of the Holy Ghoft; which is too abfurd to fuppofe: nor will it be easy to give any other confifting fenfe to these words.

Here is no precedent of a Council, much lefs of a General one: but a decifion is made by men that were in other things divinely inspired, which can have no relation to the judgments of other Councils. And thus it appears that none of thofe places which are brought to prove the infallibility of Councils, come up to the point: for fo great and fo important a matter as this is, must be supposed to be either exprefsly declared in the Scriptures, or not at all.

The Article affirming, that fome General Councils have erred, must be understood of Councils that pafs for fuch; and that may be called General Councils, much better than many others

that

that go by that name: for that at Arimini was both very numerous, and was drawn out of many different provinces. As to the ftrict notion of a General Council, there is great reason to believe that there was never any affembly to which it will be found to agree. And for the four General Councils, which this Church declares the receives, they are received only because we are perfuaded from the Scriptures that their decifions are made according to them: that the Son is truly God, of the fame fubstance with the Father. That the Holy Ghoft is alfo truly God. That the divine nature was truly united to the human in Chrift; and that in one perfon. That both natures remained diftinct; and that the human nature was not swallowed up of the divine. These truths we find in the Scriptures, and therefore we believe them. We reverence thofe Councils for the fake of their doctrine; but do not believe the doctrine for the authority of the Councils. There appeared too much of human frailty in fome of their other proceedings, to give us fuch an implicit fubmiffion to them, as to believe things only because they fo decided them.

A R T.

XXI.

ARTICLE

ART.
XXII.

ARTICLE XXII.

Of Purgatory.

The Romish Dodrine concerning Purgatory, Pazdons, Worshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Relicks, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented and gzounded upon no Warrant of Scripture, bift rather repugmant to the Word of God.

TH

HERE are two fmall variations in this Article, from that published in King Edward's reign. What is here called the Romish doctrine, is there called the doctrine of schoolmen. The plain reafon of this is, that these errors were not so fully espoused by the body of the Roman Church, when thofe Articles were first published, so that some writers that softened matters threw them upon the schoolmen; and therefore the Article was cautiously worded, in laying them there but before thefe that we have now, were published, the decree and canons concerning the mafs had paffed at Trent, in which most of the heads of this Article are either affirmed or supposed; though the formal decree concerning them was made fome months after thefe Articles were published. This will ferve to justify that diverfity. The fecond difference is only the leaving out of a fevere word. Perniciously repugnant to the Word of God, was put at firft; but perniciously being confidered to be only a hard word, they judged very right in the fecond edition of them, that it was enough to fay repugnant to the Word of God.

There are in this Article five particulars, that are all ingredients in the doctrine and worship of the Church of Rome; Purgatory, Pardons, the Worship of Images, and of Relicks, and the Invocation of Saints; that are rejected not only as illgrounded, brought in and maintained without good warrants from the Scripture, but as contrary to it.

The firft of thefe is Purgatory; concerning which, the doctrine of the Church of Rome is, that every man is liable both to temporal and eternal punishment for his fins; that God, upon the account of the death and interceffion of Chrift, does indeed pardon fin as to its eternal punishment; but the finner is ftill liable to temporal punishment, which he must expiate by acts of penance and forrow in this world, together with such other fufferings as God fhall think fit to lay upon him: but if he does not expiate thefe in this life, there is a state of furffeing and mifery in the next world, where the foul is to bear the

temporal