LX.

and all the promises of God as the means of falva. SERM. tion which his goodness and wisdom hath prescribed, may be of no efficacy; if the priest do not intend in the administration of the facraments to do that which God and the church intend.

Now if this be true; there is certainly no church in the world, in which the falvation of men runs fo many hazards; and yet all this hazard and uncertainty has its rife, from a fcholaftical point, which is directly contrary to all the notions of mankind concerning the goodnefs of GoD, and to the clear reafon of the thing, and to the conftant tenor of the gofpel; and which was never afferted by any of the ancient fathers; much lefs defined by any council before that of Trent: fo that it is a doctrine new and heedlefs, and in the neceffary confequences of it unreasonable and abfurd to the utmost degree.

The laft inftance I fhall mention, is their rule of faith. The fule of faith univerfally received and acknowledged by the chriftian church in all ages, before the council of Trent, was the word of God, contained in the canonical books of holy fcripture; which were therefore by the church called canonical, because they were the rule of faith and manners, of the doctrines to be believed, and the duties to be practifed by all Chriftians. But when the errors and corruptions of the Romish church were grown to the height, and the pope and his council at Trent were refolved not to retrench and reform them, they faw it neceffary to enlarge and lengthen out their rule; because the ancient rule of the holy fcriptures would by no means reach feveral of the doctrines and practices of that church, which they were refolved to maintain and make good by one means or other: as namely, the doctrine of transubstantiation; of

purga

SERM. purgatory; and of the seven facraments: and the LX. practice of the worship of faints, and images; of the fcriptures, and the fervice of God in an unknown tongue; of indulgences; and the communion in one kind; and several other fuperftitious practices in use among them.

Now to enlarge their rule to the beft advantage for the juftification of thefe doctrines and practices, they took these two ways.

First, they have added to the canonical books of the old testament, which were received by the Jewish church, (to whom were committed the oracles of GOD) I fay to these they have added feveral apocryphal books not warranted by divine inspiration, because they were written after prophecy and divine infpiration was ceafed in the Jewish church; Malachi being the last of their prophets, according to the general tradition of that church. But because the addition of thefe books did not make a rule of faith and practice large enough for their purpose ; in imitation of the Jews, in the time of the greatest confufion and degeneracy of that church, they added in the

Second place to their books of scripture, which they call the written word, an unwritten word, which they call oral tradition from CHRIST and his apostles; which they declare to be of equal authority with the holy scriptures themselves; and that it ought to be received with the fame pious veneration and affection of which traditions, they being the keepers and judges, they may extend them to what they please, and having them in their own breafts, they may declare whatever they have a mind to, to have been a constant and univerfal tradition of their church; though it is evident to common fenfe, that

nothing

nothing can be more uncertain, and more liable to SER M. alteration and mistake, than tradition, at the diftance LX. of fo many ages, brought down by word of mouth, without writing, and paffing through fo many hands. He that can think these to be of equal certainty and authority with what is delivered by writing, and brought down by books, undertakes the defence of a strange paradox, viz. that general rumour and report of things faid and done 1500 years ago, is of equal authority and credit with a record, and a written history.

By which proceeding of the council of Trent, concerning the rule of faith and practice; it is very evident that they had no mind to bring their faith to the ancient rule, the holy fcriptures. That they knew could not be done; and therefore they were refolved to fit their rule to their faith. And this foundation being laid in their firft decree, all the reft would afterwards go on very smoothly. For do but give men the making of their rule, and they can make good any thing by it. And accordingly the council of Trent having thus fixt and fitted a rule to their own purpofe; in the conclufion of that decree, they give the world fair warning, upon what grounds, and in what ways they intend to proceed in their following decrees of practice, and definitions of faith. Omnes itaque intelligant, quo ordine & via ipfa fynodus poft jactum fidei confeffionis fundamentum fit progressura, &c. "Be it known therefore to all men, in what "order and way the fynod, after having laid this "foundation of the confeffion of faith, will proceed; " and what teftimonies and proofs fhe chiefly in"tends to make use of, for the confirmation of doc❝trines, and reformation of manners in the church." And no doubt all men do fee very plainly to what

LX.

SERM. purpose this foundation is laid of fo large a rule of faith. And this being admitted, how eafy is it for them to confirm and prove whatever doctrines and practices they have a mind to establish?

But if this be a new, and another foundation, than that which the great author and founder of our religion hath laid and built his church upon, viz. “ the "foundation of the prophets and apostles;" it is no matter what they build upon it. And if they go about to prove any thing by the new parts of this rule; by the apocryphal books which they have added to the ancient canon of the fcriptures, brought down to us by the general tradition of the christian church; and by their pretended unwritten traditions: we do with reafon reject this kind of proof, and defire them first to prove their rule, before they pretend to prove any thing by it: for we proteft against this rule as never declared and owned by the chriftian church, nor proceeded upon by the ancient fathers of the church, nor by any council whatsoever, before the council of Trent.

In vain then doth the church of Rome vaunt itfelf of the antiquity of their faith and religion; when the very foundation and rule of it is but of yesterday; a new thing never before known or heard of in the christian world: whereas the foundation and rule of our religion is the word of God, contained in the holy fcriptures; to which Chriftians in all ages have appealed, as the only rule of faith and life.

I proceed now to the

3. Thing I propofed, viz. that we are "to hold "faft the profeffion of our faith without wavering,' against all the temptations and terrors of the world. And this feems more efpecially and principally to be here intended by the apoftle in this exhortation.

I fhall

I fhall first speak of the temptations of the world. SERM. And they are chiefly these two; the temptation of LX. fashion and example: and of wordly intereft and advantage.

1. Of fashion and example. This in truth and reality is no ftrong argument; and yet in experience and effect it is often found to be very powerful. It is frequently feen, that this hath many times too great an influence upon weak and foolish minds. Men are apt to be carried down with the ftream, and to follow a multitude in that which is evil. But more especially men are prone to be fwayed by great examples; and to bend themselves to fuch an obfequiousness to their fuperiors and betters, that in compliance with them, they are ready not only to change their affection to perfons and things, as they do; but even their judgment also; and that in the greatest and weightieft matters, even in matters of religion, and the great concernments of another world. But this furely is an argument of a poor and mean fpirit, and of a weak understanding, which leans upon the judgment of another, and is in truth the lowest degree of fervility, that a reasonable creature can stoop too; and even beneath that of a slave, who in the midst of his chains and fetters doth still retain the freedom of his mind and judgment.

But I need not to urge this upon confiderate perfons, who know better how to value their duty and obligation to GOD, than to be tempted to do any thing contrary thereto, merely in compliance with fashion and example. There are some things in religion fo very plain, that a wife and good man would ftand alone in the belief and practice of them, and not be moved in the leaft by the contrary example of the whole world. It was a brave refolution of Jofhua;

though