ART. all occafioned by that abfolute and univerfal authority of which they are now poffeffed.

XXI.

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 fpirit of prophecy conclude, that, unless Chriftendom puts on a new face, there will be no more General Councils. And fo bere infallibility is at an end, and has left the Church at leaft for a very long interval.

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

15.

These words in themselves, and feparated from all that went before, feem to fpeak 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 such private differences as may arife among men, and of the practice of forgiving injuries, and compofing their differences. If thy brother fin against thee; firft, 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 refractorinefs 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 less to lay much weight upon them.

The Jews defcribed their fynagogues by fuch honourable 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 fpeaks of the Church where Timothy was then, in which he inftructs him to behave himself well. It has vifibly a relation to thofe infcriptions that were made on pillars which refted upon

firm pedestals: but whatsoever the strict importance of the ART, metaphor may be, it is a metaphor, and therefore it can be XXI. no argument. Chrift's promise of the Spirit to his Apostles, that should lead them into all truth, relates vifibly to that Joh. xvi. extraordinary infpiration by which they were to be acted, 13. and that was to fhew them things to come; fo that a fucceffion of prophecy may be inferred from these words, as well as of infallibility.

Those words of our Saviour, with which St. Matthew concludes his Gofpel, Lo, I am with you always, even to Matth. the end of the world, infer no infallibility, but only a xxviii. 20 promife of affiftance and protection: which was a neceffary 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 with any, his walking with 2 Cor. vi. them, his being in the midst of them, his never leaving nor forfaking them, are expreffions often used in the Scripture, which fignify no more but God's watchful providence, guiding, fupporting, and protecting his people: all this is far from infallibility.

16.

Heb. xiii,

5.

The laft objection to be propofed is that which feems to relate moft to the point in hand, taken from the decree made by a Council at Jerufalem, which begins, It feemed A&ts xv. good to the Holy Ghoft, and to us: from which they infer, 28. that the Holy Ghoft is prefent with Councils, and that what feems good to them is alfo approved by the Holy Ghoft. But it will not be eafy to prove that this was fuch a Council, as to be a pattern to fucceeding ones to copy after it. We find Brethren are here joined with the Apostles themselves: now fince these were no other than the laity, here an inference will be made, that will not eafily go down. If they fate and voted with the Apostles, it will feem ftrange to deny them the same privilege among Bifhops. By Elders here it seems 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 Apoftles as happened to be then at Jerufalem, who called to them the Elders or Prefbyters, and other Christians 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, that the Apostles might defire them to meet and to join with them.

:

The Apostles were divinely affifted in the delivering

that

XXI.

Mark xvi.

15.

6, 12.

Ver. 40.

Ver. 25.

ART. that commiffion 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, 1 Cor. vii. did as St. Paul, who fometimes writ by permiffion, as well as at other times by commandment: of which he gives notice, by saying, 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 reafon to think that what he propofed, flowed from the Spirit of the Lord, from that infpiration that was acting him; yet because that did not appear diftinctly to him, he speaks with referves, and says, he gives his judgment as one that had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. So the Apoftles here, receiving no infpiration 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 Acts xv. 9. Apostles, who were Jews by nature, and that he did put no difference in 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 Ghoft, relate to the cafe of Cornelius; and thofe 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 sense, which agrees with all that had gone before; whereas it will otherwise look very ftrange to see them add their authority to that of the Holy Ghoft; which is too abfurd to suppose: nor will it be easy to give any other confifting fenfe to these words.

Here is no precedent of a Council, much less 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 fuppofed 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 pass for fuch;

and

XXI.

and that may be called General Councils, much better ART. than many others 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 reafon 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 were made according to them: that the Son is truly God, of the fame fubftance 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 distinct; and that the human nature was not fwallowed up of the divine. These truths we find in the Scriptures, and therefore we believe them. We reverence those 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.

ARTICLE

ARTICLE XXII.

Of Purgatory.

The Romish Doarine concerning Purgatorp, par. dons, Worthipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Relicks, and also Juvocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented and grounded upon no Wazzant of Scripture, but zather repugnant to the Word of God.

THERE

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 fchoolmen. The plain reafon of this is, that these errors were not fo fully efpoufed by the body of the Roman Church, when those Articles were first published, so that fome writers that foftened matters threw them upon the fchoolmen; and therefore the Article was cautiously worded, in laying them there: but before these 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 fuppofed; 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 Relics, and the Invocation of Saints; that are rejected not only as ill-grounded, brought in and maintained without good warrants from the Scripture, but as contrary to it.

The first of thefe is Purgatory; concerning which, the doctrine of the Church of Rome is, that every man is liable both to temporal and to 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,