XXI. Mark xvi. 15. 1 Cor. vii. 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, 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, seemed 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 him; yet because that did not appear diftinctly to him, he speaks with referves, and fays, he gives his judgment as one that bad 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 fpecial 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. Apoftles, 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 see that those words, feemed good to the Holy Ghoft, 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 otherwife look very ftrange to fee 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 sense 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 infpired, 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 pafs 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 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. ARTICLE XXII. Of Purgatory. The Romish Doctzine concerning Purgatory, Pazdons, Wozshipping and Adoration, as well of Images as of Relicks, and also Invocation of Saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented and grounded upon no Wazzant of Scriptuze, but rather 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 thofe Articles were firft published, fo that fome writers that foftened matters threw them upon the fchoolmen; and therefore the Article was cautiously worded, in laying them there: but before thefe that we have now were publifhed, the decree and canons concerning the mas 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 publifhed. This will ferve to juftify 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 Worthip 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 firft 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, XXII. punishment, which he must expiate by acts of penance ART. and forrow in this world, together with fuch other sufferings as God fhall think fit to lay upon him: but if he does not expiate thefe in this life, there is a ftate of suffering and mifery in the next world, where the foul is to bear the temporal punishment of its fins; which may continue longer or fhorter, till the day of judgment. And in order to the fhortening this, the prayers and fupererogations of men here on earth, or the interceffion of the faints in heaven, but above all things, the facrifice of the mafs, are of great efficacy. This is the doctrine of the Church of Rome, afferted in the Councils of Florence and Trent. What has been taught among them concerning the nature and the degrees of thofe torments, though fupported by many pretended apparitions and revelations, is not to be imputed to the whole body; and is indeed only the doctrine of schoolmen, though it is generally preached and infufed into the confciences of the people. Therefore I fhall only examine that which is the established doctrine of the whole Roman Church. And firft as to the foundation of it, that fins are only pardoned, as to their eternal punishment, to those who being justified by faith have peace Rom. v. 1. with God through our Lord Jefus Chrift: there is not a colour for it in the Scriptures. Remiffion of fins is in general that with which the preaching of the Gofpel ought always to begin; and this is fo often repeated, without any fuch referve, that it is a high affuming upon God, and his attributes of goodness and mercy, to limit thefe when he has not limited them; but has expressly said, that this is a main part of the new covenant, that he will Jer. xxxi, remember our fins and iniquities no more. Now it seems to 34 be a maxim, not only of the law of nations, but of nature, that all offers of pardon are to be understood in the full extent of the words, without any fecret referves or limitations; unless they are plainly expreffed. An indemnity being offered by a prince to perfuade his fubjects to return to their obedience, in the fulleft words poffible, without any referves made in it, it would be looked on as a very perfidious thing, if when the fubjects come in upon it, trufting to it, they fhould be told that they were to be fecured by it against capital punishments; but that, as to all inferior punishments, they were ftill at mercy. We do. not difpute whether God, if he had thought fit fo to do, might not have made this diftinction; nor do we deny that the grace of the Gofpel had been infinitely valuable, if it had offered us only the pardon of fin with relation to its eternal punishment, and had left the temporal punish Heb. viii. 12. 8. XXII. ART. ment on us, to be expiated by ourfelves. But then we fay, this ought to have been expreffed: the diftinction ought to have been made between temporal and eternal: and we ought not to have been drawn into a covenant with God, by words that do plainly import an entire pardon and oblivion, upon which there lay a limited fenfe, that was not to be told the world till it was once well engaged in the Chriftian religion. Upon these reasons it is that we conclude, that this doctrine not being contained in the Scriptures, is not only without any warrant in them, but that it is contrary to thofe full offers of mercy, peace, and oblivion, that are made in the Gospel; it is contrary to the truth and veracity, and to the justice and goodness of God, to affirm that there are referves to be understood for punishments, when the offers and promifes are made to us in fuch large and unlimited expreffions. Thus we lay our foundation in this matter, which does very fully overthrow theirs. We do not deny but that God does in this world punish good men for thofe fins, which yet are forgiven them through Chrift, according to Pfalm xcix. those words in the Pfalm, Thou waft a God that forgavest them, though thou tookeft vengeance of their inventions: but this is a confideration quite of another nature. God, in the government of this world, thinks fit, by his Providence, fometimes to interpofe in vifible bleffings, as well as judgn:ents, to fhew how he protects and favours the good, and punishes the bad; and that the bad actions of good men are odious to him, even though he has received their perfons into his favour. He has alfo in the Gospel plainly excepted the government of this world, and the fecret methods of his Providence, out of the mercy that he has promifed, by the warnings that are given to all Chriftians to prepare for croffes and afflictions in this life. He has made faith and patience in adver fities a main condition of this New Covenant; he has declared, that thefe are not the punishments of an angry God, but the chaftifements of a kind and merciful Father, who defigns by them both to fhew to the world the impartiality of his justice in punishing fome crying fins in a very fignal manner, and to give good men deep impreffions of their odioufnefs, to oblige them to a feverer repentance for them, and to a greater watchfulness against them; as alfo to give the world fuch examples of refignation and patience under them, that they may edify others by that, as much as by their fins they may have offended them. So that, upon all thefe accounts, it feems abundantly clear, |