Veneer on Article XXXVII: Of the Civil Magistrates

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t&g

Thirty-Nine Articles. 701

tl)C CiWl a)too?5 tlie g)tttbba?n anD tW, art.xxxvu.

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m tfiiS Eealm of England,

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The Exposition.

E R T A I N it is, from the Exam- ples of David Solomon Hezekiab and several other pious Princes, that under the Law Princes were by their Office, Keepers of both Tables, and that Ec- clefiaftical Persons as well as Lay-Men were fubjedt to their Government ; and that they had Power to take Cognizance of such Causes as concerned Piety towards God, as well as such as concerned Justice towards Men. Now, fmce Magistrates had once such a Power, how came they to lose it, or to be divefted of it ? The New Testament hath no where deprived them, but on the contrary is fre- quent in aflerting the Power of Princes and Magistrates. Thus Kom. xiii. i. we are required to he fuhje to the higher Powers, And i Pet. ii. 13. to submit ourfel-ves to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord’s Sake, And when our Sa- viour tells us, that his Kingdom is not of this World, he sufficiently intimates, that it was neither necelTary that he fliould, and that con-

iequently

^oi Jn Exposition on the

Art.xxxvii. fequently he had no Intention to alter the y Forms of Government, or revoke the Autho- rity Governors were in Poffedion of

The Primitive Chrlftians were very obedient to their Heathen Governors, and I’eftullian ad Scapitlam Cap, 2. hath these Words ; ’ We reve- ” renee the Emperor as far forth as ‘tis lawful ’ for us, and expedient for him, as a Man ftcond ’ to God ; and with Regard to what he hath ’ received from God, inferior to God only/’ But indeed the Church had no Princes for the Three first Centuries or Ages, except such as either persecuted or at least neglected her. For this Reason fhe was forced to take Care of her own Affairs without them. But as foon as the Em- perors became Christians, the Affairs of the Church depended on their Management, as ap- )ears by the Preface to Socrates\ Fifth Book of Ecclefiafiical Htftory. From this Time they be- gan to call Councils, and to receive Appeal from them, and to take Cognizance of Eccle- fiaftical Caufcs, c. In a Word, ‘tis very ma- nifeft that the Christian Emperors made Ufe of whatever Authority the Church of England afcribes to her Kings. That Ecclefiafiical as well as Temporal Persons may be punished by the Civil Magiflrate, appears from i Kings ii. 26 iSc. where we read at large, that Soloraon de- prived Ahiathar the Priest of his OfHce, and let him know, that ‘twas out of Mercy that he spared his Life. ‘Tis not therefore without Reason that our Church ordains in her Second Canon, That such as deny our Princes the Power we are pleading for, fhali ipfo faUo be excommunicated.

A5

Thirty -Nine Articles. ^03

A s for Miniftring either the Word or Sacra- Art-XXXVII. ments, it belongs no more to Princes than the V’VX Burning of Incense did to King Uzziah who for attempting it, was judicially smitten with Leprosy, and fb excluded for ever after, not only from all Sacred, but even Civil Society. A plain Argument that the Sacerdotal is not included in the Regal Office, nor derived from thence, but is of a diflindt Nature and Inftitu- tion, zChron. xxvi. i6, c,f

A s for the Bifliop of Romes Claim of Ju- rifdidtion in England I would fain know upon what it is grounded. Does it depend on his being St. Peter s SuccefTor ? My Answer is. That all the Apostles were equal in Authority ; and moreover St. Paul, who was the Apostle of the Gentiles was not afraid, we fee, to reprove St. Peter Galat. ii. 9, 14. And under the XXXIVth Article we obfervcd, that Polycarp would not yield loVot Anicetusm theControverly about the Observation of Easter, A plain In- dication that Anicetus had nothrng to do out of his Diocese. And S. Cyprian in Concil. Car-

thag. hath these Words : Nor hath any

one of us fet himself up for a Bishop of Bishops, or by any Tyrannical Usage terrified his Col- legues or Fellow Bifliops into a NecefHty of Stooping and Cringing to him , being duly fen- fible that every Bifliop is at Liberty to ufe his

t SecyeweWs Def.Apol. Part VI. cap. 11. div. i. Whit- giffs Defence, Trad. 20. Bilfon of Chrifiian Suhj. Part a. Hooker’s EccL Fol. lib. 5-. 5. i . & lib. 8. Vrldcmx “Fafi. Cont, cap. 4. §. 2. q, 3, 6. Scott’s, Chrijiian Life, Part 2. cap. 7^ §. 10, Held of the ChHrcb^ Book j-. cap. f 3.

Power

7c4 Jn Expofstion on the

Art.xxxvJj Power according to his Discretion, and is nei-

OO^N^

ther to judge nor to be judged by another. But let us all look for the Judgment of our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone hath the Power both of advancing us to the Government of his Church, and of judging us for what we do in the Exerciie of our Office.

O R does the Pope’s Claim depend upon his Right as a Patriarch ? I answer. That England is not within the Patriarchate of Korne, Or does it depend on the Gift of Constantine ? That is too ridiculous an Impofture to be ferioufly refuted. Or does it depend on his being con- cerned in converting us to the Christian Faith ? According to this Way of Reaibning, all Churches, that of Rome not excepted, ought to be ilibjedl to the Church of Jerusalem^ but none is to be fubjedl to the Church of Kome^ which did not receive the Christian Faith from her. And the Britons were converted to the Faith long before the Coming of Auguftin the Pope’s Legate.

From all this it follows, that when the Pope of Rome concerns himself with our Affairs, he is one of thole who are reprehended i Pet, iv. 15. that is, a Busy-hody in other Mens Mat- ters, *

Thai

Thirty-lSime Articles. 705

The Scriptures which those of the Church Art.xxxvii. of Rome all edge in Opposition to this Dodrine f”” are two Places in the Gospels: The one in St. Matthew xvi. iS, 19. the other in St. John xxi. 1 7. In the former of these, that Supream Authority which they contend for, is, they fay, promised to St. Peter j in the latter ‘tis conferred. I begin with the first. Mat. xvi. 18, 19. And I fay unto thee that thou art ‘Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church., &ia And I will give unto thee the Keys of the King— dom of Heaven and whatfoe’ver thou floalt hind on Earth Jhall he hound in Heaven ; and what- foever thou Jhall loose on Earth f.oall he loofed in Heaven, The Sense of which Words, faith Bellarmifie is plain and obvious ; giving us to understand, the Sovereignty over the whole Church to be here promiled to Peter in two Metaphors. The one is a Metaphor of a Foun- dation and a Building , the other is a Metaphor of Keys. For what a Foundation is in Build- , ing, that the Head is in the Body, the Gover— 1 nor in the City, the King in his Kingdom, and the Father of the Family in the House ; and to whom the Keys of a City are delivered, he is appointed the King, or at lead the Governor of that City , to admit and shut out whom he pleafeth. To which I have this to fay, before I give the true Sense of these Words : That to call this a plain and obvious Sense of the Words, which is wrapt up in a Couple of Metaphors, is to stumble at the very Threshold j and to contradid himself in Terms. For what is me- taphorical, is not plain and obvious ; but needs Explanation by putting it into common Words: Into which, if these Metaphors be reduced, we ihall find there is no such Sense contained .n

y y ihem

yo6 An Expofitioti on the

Art.xxx’TI. them as is pretended. I (hll explain them ”-”VX diftindiy, and begin with the former Part of this Promiie, hou art Peter and upon this Rock I ‘jotll build my Church: Which we may call the first Proof they bring of St. Peter s being the Monarch of the Church, Which Fenfe is fo far from being plain and obvious, that having considered both the Words, and all the aniient Expofitors upon them, I can find no- thing plainer than these two Things : First, that there is no Certainty St. Peter is here meant by the Rock, upon which Christ faith he will build his Church : Nor, secondly, If he were, that Christ intended by calling him ?. Rock, to make him the Lord of his Church. First, I fay, there is no Evidence that St. Peter is here meant by the Rock ; but quite contrary : We are led by the general Stream of antient Interpreters, to understand by the Rock upon which the Church was built, that Faith concerning Christ: which Peter had newly confefled. There arc more than two that thus expound the Words, for one that expounds them otherwise ; and even they who apply these Words to St. Peter had Refped (in calling him the Rock) to his Preaching the Dodrine of Christ ; and having the Honour to be the first Preacher of it to the Gentiles. Which is all the Privilege that can be thought to be peculiarly intended to him in these Words. For, excepting this, what- foever was said to him, was direded to all the Apostles ; bccaufe Peter as their Mouth, fpake the Scnic of them all, when he said, uhou art Christ the Son of the Living Gcd ; and there- fore Christ’s Answer was returned to them all, when he said, I’hou art Peter and upon this Rock ivill I build my Church. As much as to fay. Thou art what thy Name imports, which

I have

Thirty -Nine Articles. 7 07

I have given thee with refpea: to this solid ART.xxxvir. Faith thou haft now confefTed ; upon which, as ‘“V.-. upon a Rock, I will build my Church by your Ministry ; and particularly by thine, who fhalc have the Honour to lay the first Stone of it in the Gentile World, Thus St. Austin expounds the Words in many Places, where he observes, that St. Peter had his Name from Fctra a Kock njiz. That Faith which he confeOTed, upon which Christ told him, he would build his Church. For he doth not fay. Thou art Peter and upon thee will I build my Church, but upon this Rock j which plainly relates to another things njiz. that immoveable Foundation confefTed by Peter that he was Christ the Son of God. Whence those known Words of the fame Fa- ther, I will build thee upon me, not me upon thee. The other Exposition, which makes St. Peter the Rock here spoken of, is against the most unanimous Consent of the Fathers of the Church : Which they of the Church of Kome are bound to follow, both by the Doc- trine of the Council of Trent and by the Form of that Oath of ProfefHon of Faith which Pope Pius the Fourth drew up and enjoin’d, according to the Mind of that Council f. And yet (fb intent are fbme Men upon their Interest, fb refolutely bent to follow nothing elfe) there are those, who to make theie Words found as if Christ promised to build his Church upon Peter himself, have not been ashamed to translate them in the following manner ; Thou art Peter and upon this Peter will I build my Church. So Dr. Allen would have had the Translation run in

♦ Tr3<9:. 114. in Joh. Sermon. 13. de Verbis Dom. Sec. t Vide Seir. 4.

Y y a the

7o8 An Exposition on the

Art.xxxvii the KhemiJIo Testament, and fo Hart alledges them V/VN-/’ in his Conference with Dr. Reynolds , And the Catholick Scripturift as he calls himself, translates them after this mannerCaccording to theLanguage which Christ spoke). Thou art a Rock, and upon this Rock will I build my Church. As if it were lawful for them to do any thing, (even to contradid: that very Council, whose Decrees they are sworn to observe,) that they may make the Scripture seem to be on their Side. For the Council of frent hath decreed the old Lati7t Tranilation to be authentical, with a Prohibi- tion, that no Man dare or presume, under any Pretence, to reje6fc it. Notwithstanding which, here are Men that presume to reform it, and to make a new Tranilation of their own Heads, as different from that authentick vulgar Tranila- tion as from ours : For in this ours and that are the fame, as every one may know that under- stands the Latin Tongue. This is a Prefump- tion with a Witness, to make their own Trans lation depart fo far from the Language which Christ spoke, as to put I’m cs Petrus instead of u es Petra : For fo Christ’s Words should have been translated, if they fignified I’hou art a Rocky unless they can (hew us, that Petrus m any other Author, is Latin for a Rock. ‘Till this be done, we mud fay that such Men, con- trary to their Faith solemnly sworn, depart not only from Antiquity, but from themselves. And when they have done all they can, it will evi- dently appear, that the Church was not built by his Bands alone, (though he began, as I said, and laid the first Stone among the Gentiles but by them all, and more-elpecially by St.

^ C\2Xf, 2. Div’if. I.

Thirty-Nine Articles. 709

Paul, who was called late into this Office, but Art.xxxvu laboured more abundantly than they all ; and as */°VX a wife Master-Builder, laid the Foundation up- on which others built, i Cor. xv. lo. y iii. lo, II. which Foundation, he tells us, is Christ himself : Who, he likewise says, is the only Fomi- datton and that no Man can lay other Foundation besides him. Which fhews this Promise I am treating of, had refped to all that had the Of- fice of Apostles 5 and wholly ruins the Autho- rity of St. Peter upon which they would have the Church to be built. For if Jesus Chrill: be the only Foundation that can be laid, then Peter cannot be the Foundation , but only as a Mi- nifter of Jesus Christ, who helped to lay the Foundation, which is Christ himself and his Faith. In which Ministry he was no more em- ployed than other Apostles ; but St. Paul who came’ last into this Ministry, was as wife a Master-Builder as himself, and took more Pains than he or any of the rest laying the Foun- dati(!Mi where neither St. Peter or any other Preacher of the Goipel had ever been, left he Jhould build upon another Mans Foundation, as he tells the Roman Church, Rom. xv. 20. which Words utterly overthrow their vain Diftind:ion o(a.firfi, and a secondary Foundation, whereby they endeavour to elude thoie Words of St. Paul in the Place before-named, i Cor. iii. 11. For it appears by this other Place, that St. Paul was a secondary or ministerial Foundation, if we may fo speak ; that is, speak improperly, meaning thereby one that laid the Foundation : Which he did as much as St. Peter., or any other Apostle ; nay, a great deal more, as he himself tells us, when he faith, he laboured more abun dandy than they all. In exact speaking, there is no Foundation on which the Church is built,

Yy 3 but

W/’^TN^

710 Jn Expcfition on the

r’]’ ” ‘fi_ Cas St. Paul affures) /;/ whom all the Building fitly framed together groweth unto an Holy femple tn the Lord Ephefl ii. 21. But Faith in Chrifl, being that whereby we are joined to him, it may be called by the fame Name : And accordingly the ColoJJians are said to be grounded in the Fatth as upon a Foujtda- tion (the Greek Word fjgnifies) from which he would have them not to be moved *. And the Apostles (as he there faith) being the Preachers of this Faith, and the Inflruments whereby Men were brought to believe in Christ, and fo joined to him as Living Stones, are called by the Name of Foundation in the Place before-named, Ephef ii. 20. Built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets c. But then, it is evi- dent that Peter alone is not this Foundation, but all the Apollles. For there are Twelve Foundations of this fort, as we read Kev. xxi. 14. by whofc Ministry the Church was built upon Christ ; the sole Foundation (in proper speaking) that was laid for all to build upon. Secondly ; After all this that hath been laid, to Ihew there is nothing here promised to St. Peter but what belongs to all the Apostles, except only that of his being employ ‘d in laying the first Foundation of Faith among the Gentiles ; it remains, that I fhew there is nothing in the Word Rocky which implies any Superiority of Power and Authority over the rest of h’S Bre- thren and the whole Church ; if we would fup- pose this Promise to have been made to him alone , for it denotes nothing of Government ; but hath refpedt to the Support and Stability of that Struclure, which is firmly laid upon it.

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And

Tltrty- Nine Articles. 7 ^ i

And therefore the ancient Dodors give other t.xxxvu- Reasons of his being called a Kock and not this • hecaufe to htm was committed the Govern ment of the -whole Churchy especially about Faith, Which is the Explanation Bellarmine gives of this Word, arming it to be the S’gnificj.tion of th’s Metaphor : F r it is pnper to a Funda- metital Kockj faith he, to govern and fnflatn the whole Edifice, 1 his is perfedly new Language, never heard of in the World before, that it is proper to a Foundation to govern ; for it is altogether improper, and nobody thinks of any such thing, when he reads of a Foundation. But if it be proper, then all the Apoflles were Governors of the whole Church, as well as he, because they were all Foundations as was before observed • having the very fame Power given to them by Christ, which, we now fuppofe was here pfomiled to him alone. Unto which they of the Church of Rome have nothing to reply, but only this (which is merely a bold Affirmation, and as absurd as all the rest) they were indeed all of them the Heads, Governors, and Pastors of the Church Universal j but not after the fame manner as Peter was * But why fo ? V/hy truly we are told, That they had the highest and most ample Power as Apostles and Ambafladors ; but Peter also as an ordinary Faftor. As much as to fay, they had indeed the highest Power in the Church, and as large as he, but not fo high a Power as his. Let any Man try, if he can make any other Sense of those Words ; that is, find any Sense at all in them. For was this Power of being an Or- dinary Pastor greater than that of the Apostles,

Bellarmin. lib. i. de Pontit. Rom. cap. n.

Y y 4 pr

712 An Exposition on the

Art.xxxvii. or no ? If it were greater, then it is not true yy” which he affirms, that the Apostles had the highest Power. If it were less than the Power of the Apostles, then they were all greater than he, as he was an ordinary Pastor ; and then it is Nonfenfe to fay, they fo had a Plenitude of Power, as that St. Peter was, notwithstanding, the Head of them, and they all depended on him. For he rather depended on them, as an Ordinary Pastor, if that was leis than the Power of the Apoftlefliip : And if it were not, but greater than it j then (as I said) it is false, that the Apostles had the highest Power. This is sufficient to ftiew into what Abfurdities Men run, when they go about to maintain a False- hood ; and what wretched Shifts they devise to obscure the clear Truth, which shines in their Eyes ; which when they have done, they walk as in Darknels, and cannot be persuaded to fee or acknowledge their Error. Nay, one Error grows out of another, and having begun to wreft the Holy Scripture, they go on to strain it, fo far as to extend it to any Purpose they have to ierve by it. For having presumed that Petefj and he alone, is promised to be made the Governor of the whole Church, by these Words of our Saviour, they imm.ediately pre- fume, without the least Shew of Proof, that the Bishops of Rome succeed him in this Autho- rity. Which is a very large Step, or rather Leap, from St. Peter to the Pope of Rome be- tween whom there is such a vast Distance, that it is impoflible to make out the Claim to which they pretend from him. For there is no Evi- dence that St. Peter was Bishop of Rome but only that he founded that Church, and settled a Biihop there. For if he was Bishop of An- tioch it v/a g’linft all ancient Rules to leave

that.

Thirty ‘Nine Articles. 7 1 ^

that, and go to another See. The Truth is, Art.xxxvii. he was properly Bifliop of neither, but plant- ’-”“V ed a Church in each , and first at Anttoch be- fore he came to Rome : And who can think he did not fettle one to take care of that Church of Antioch when he left it ? Who might be call- ed his Succelfor as well as he, whom he is fuppofed to have placed afterwards in Rome. Which two Things being allowed, as unque- ftionable Matters of Fad:, there is no Reaibn can be given why all the Power and Jurif- diciion, which is claimed on the Account of Succeffion, fhoi-Jd not devolve by the Riht of Primogeniture, upon the Bishop of Antiocb : Since it is confess’d he first fat there, and fat there [even Years, which is more than can be proved he did at Kome where he was not when St. Paul came thither (As xxviii.) nor when he first answered before Nero nor when he was ready to be offered, 2 im. iv. 6, ii, 16. nor can any certain Time be affign’d when he was there, as we are sure St. Paul was, who is ac- knowledg’d to be a Founder of that Church,, and had as much (or rather more) Right tp leave a Bishop to fncceed him there as St. Peter - who could transfer to no Body, neither there nor any where elle, what was perfbnaljy velt- ed in him , as all the Privilege here .granted him was. Or if he was to have any Succeffor in his fuppofed Dominion, there were others that had a better Title to it than the Bishop of Rome ; particularly St. Jobn who it is certain survived St. Peter. Therefore all that Bellar- mine hath to fay in this Matter is, that the Apostles being dead, the apoflolical Authority remained in Peter s Succeffor alone * For

Lib. de Pont. Rom. c. 9.

which

7t4 >^n Expofitioii on the

Art.xxxvit. which he gives us not one Word of Proof, —OT* but only this notorious Falfhood, that the Ro- man Biihop alone is called by all, The Apofiolical Bijhopy and his See, simply. The Apoftolical See. When all the World knows Jerusalem Constantinople and divers other Places were call- ed by the lame Name of Apoftoltcal Sees or Churches , and their Bishops called not only Apoftolical, but Catholick, and said to be Bi- shops of the CathoUck Church. The Meaning of all which is nothing g[q but that they held the Catholick Religion and Faith, as Launoy f mod ingenuoudy confeffes, and maintains, the Roman Biihopsthemfelves intended no more, when they fubfcribed themselves Bishops of the Catho- lick Church. Nay, Bell ar mine himself, in the Place now named, is constrained to acknowledge that the supreme Ecclefiaftical Power was given not only to Peter but to other Apostles alfb. For they might all fay that of St. Paul z Cor. xi. 28. My daily Bufinefs the Care of all the Churches. But it was given to Peter as an or- dinary Pastor, who (hould have perpetual Suc- ceffors : To others as Delegates, who should have no Succeffors. Which is a meer Inven- tion, a pure Figment of his own Brain , with- ont the Shadow of a Ground for it in the Book of God, or any ancient Authority, and against his own Confeflion, that all the Apo- ftles had the highest Power, which includes a Power both Ordinary and Extraordinary and a Power to appoint their Succeffors in the Places they converted. There have abundance of other Things been said by our Writers, to [hew that whatsoever may be fuppofed to have

f Epift. pars i. ad Francis Bonum.

been

T/jirty-Nhte Articles. 7 1 5

been promised in these Words, the Bishops of aOCXimr. Rome can thence derive no lawful Claim to the •’ like Authority. And yet (as if there were no- thing plainer, than that Christ fpake to the Roman Bishops when he said these Words to St Peter they have the Confidence from hence to intitle the Pope to the Privilege of Infal- libility, as well as to a supreme Dominion over the Church. So Bellarmin who elsewhere alledges these Words, to prove that the chief Bishop (that is theirs) when he techeth the whole Church, in Things belonging to Faith, can in no Cafe err *. But this depends upon his former Suppofitions, that Peter is the Rock of the Church as its Supreme Governor ; and therefore every one of his SucceiTors in like Manner is the fame ; which having no Founda- tion, all his Superftrudure upon them falls to the Ground : And indeed, it is fo sandy, that honest Men among themselves, are afham’d to build any Thing of this Nature upon it ; par- ticularly Launoy who on fet purpose, demon- ftrates that Bellannine neither obeyed the De- cree of the frent Council, nor kept the Pro- fefTion of Faith enjoyn’d by Pius the Fourth, when he drew this tonclufion of the Pope’s In- fallibility, from these Words, Thou art Peter c, but was guilty of downright Flattery of the Court o Rome for whose Sake, he in like Manner falfified in the Citations which he brings out of the Fathers, to maintain the lame Untruth. But further than this, the fame Wri- ter prelTes these Words, to prove, that Gene- ral Councils cannot err, neither in believing nor

Lib. 4. de Rom. Pontif. c 3.

teaching,

7 1 6 Jn Exposition on the

Art.xxxvTT. teaching, * which is as much as to confefi that yy what Christ said to St. Peter was intended to all Bishops ; of whom a general Council con- lifts. But here he endeavours to bring himself off by this Salvo ; if the Council he corifirmed hy the Pope as if they received their Infallibility from him, who turns their doubtful Opinions into Oracles of Truth. Whence it comes to pais, that from the very fame Words [hou art Peter &c.] he proves the Pope to be above a Council, t immediately conflituted by Christ the Pastor and Head, not only of all particular Churches, but also of the whole universal Church congregated together. If this be to interpret the Scripture, I know not what is letting it upon the Rack, and stretching it as far as it pleafeth him who takes it in Hand. No Hereticks ever took fo great a Li- berty as this 5 which, according to their Way of Realoning, makes it neceftary to feal up the Bible quite, that no body may look into it. For if the Danger of wrefting the Holy Scrip- tures, be a just Cause for denying the Liberty of reading them to illiterate People, it ought not to be granted to the most Learned, who (it appears by this great Cardinal) are in as much, or more Danger of this than any other Men ; and fo farewell the Study of the Scriptures, which neither Priest nor People must meddle withal. But thanks be to God, there is such a Thing as Honesty and Integrity still remain- ing in the World, which qualifies all Men for the wholfome Perufal of them ; and hath preserved the Minds of fome in that Communion lo uncor-

f Lib. dc Cone. Aut;or. cap, i. * lb. cap. I J.

2 ruptedj

Jhirty-Wtne Articles. y 1 7

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perverse and arrogant Interpretations, or rather ^-OPS^.

Distortions of Holy Scripture. There is one

that hath lately declared his Sense of this Pro-

mife to St. Peter in remarkable Words ; with

which I conclude this part of my Difcourfe.

” Suppofmg Christ to have spoken these Words

*^ [and upon this Rock] of the Person o£ Peter y

’^ he meant nothing elfe thereby, but that Pe^

” ter ihould labour very much in the Edifica-

” tion of the Church j that is, in the Conver-

” fion of the Faithful, and Adminiftrat^on of

” the Churches. And therefore the molt that

” can be deduc’d from hence, is, that he fhouJd

’^ be the first and chief among those who were

’^ to preach the Gospel : But it cannot ‘rom

*’ hence be gathered with Bellarmine^ that the

’^ Government of the whole Church wa5 com-

*^ mitted to Peter ^ especially about Faith ’\ f

The Truth of this will appear further in the Explication of the next Words, which ex- pound these which I have now treated of. And I ivill give unto thee the Keys of the King- dom of Heaven : and whatsoever thou floalt hind on Earth it shall he hound in Heaven : and ivbat foever thou fh alt loose on Earth JIj all he loo fed in Heaven. The Sense of which is not fo plain and obvious as Bellarmtne pretends , but we agree that they are a plain Allurion to the Words of the Prophet If at ah concerning Eliakim If a, xxii. 23. / will give thee the Keys of the House of David that is, make thee not High Priest, as he grofly miiiakes, but Steward of the Roy- al Family, to take in and thrust out, whom

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thou

71 8 Jn Exposition on the

Art.xxxvii. thou shalt think fit. Such was the Power here -/VN promised to Peter by our Lord, who faith of himself, that he hath the Key of David QKev, iii. 7O that is of the House or Family o£ David which he alone governs by an absolute Power but tells Peter he intended to make him under himself his supreme Lord and Master, such a Steward in the Church as Eltakim had been in the Court. 1 fay in the Church, for by the Kingdom of Heaven, I think no body now will dispute, is meant the Family of Christ, or the Christian Church in a great -many Places of the Goipel, and most likely is fo to be interpreted here. But if any body be fo minded as to understand by the Ki7tgdom of Heaven not the Christian Society here below, but the Com- pany of the Bleffed above let them consider that the Sense will still be the fame, becaufc by AdmiHion into the one, and abiding in it, we come to the other. And Baptism is the Key which lets us into the Church, out of which such as notoriously break their Baptifmal Vow, oucht to be shut by the Cenfures of the Church ; and again received into it upon their hearty Repentance, by granting them Abfolution. Thus the following Words expound it, and whatfoe’ver thoujhalt hind on Earthy c. That linding and loosing are one and the fame with the Power of the Keys, is acknowledged by the Roman Catechifm *, and by Bellarmine him- self, who confefTes the plain Sense of these Words to be, that first of all an Authority or Power is promised defined by Keys ; ajid then the ACii ens or Office of this Power is explai?2ed hy those Words J loosing and binding ; fo that to loose and to open to Jhut and to Imdy is altogether the

• De Sacrament. Pcenitent. a. 44^

2 fams

Thirty-lSlwe Articles. 7 1 p

fame i’hing *. And we need not trouble our- Art.xxxvii. selves any farther to inquire how far this Power Or, extends , for it is certain there is nothing here promised, tho’ we fuppofe it never fo large, which was intended to him alone, but to them all, exccept that of opening the Door firfl, to let the Gentiles into the Church. This is apparent from what was said before concerning Christ speaking to them all in him, as he fpake for them all, in Answer to our Saviour’s Que- llion propounded to the whole Company ; which produced this Promifc from our Savi- our, not to him alone, but to all them in whole Name he fpake : Which is no new Interpreta- tion, but as old as the Church itself , for the Ancients lay, with an unanimous Consent, that these Keys were given to the whole Church in the Person oi Peter ti as a late Writer in the Roman Communion honestly confelTcs. St. ylti- fun particularly inculcates this an hundred times (as his Words are) a Proof of which may be feen in another of his Brethren t, who hath made a Collection of twenty-fix Places out of his Works, to (hew that he taught this openly, frequently, andconftantly, in such pliin Words as may be understood by themselves, without the Help of an Interpreter. I cannot well for- bear to mention one of them, bccaufe it affords us many considerable Remarks. § ” As fbme *’ Things (says he) are spoken, which may seem *’ properly to belong to the Apollle Peter *’ and yet have not a clear Sense, but when ” they are referred to the Church (whereof he

[…]

” is

720 All Exposition on the

Art .XXXVII.” is acknowledged to have represented the Per- y’TSJ c £ . Figure, because of the Primacy ’ he had among the Apostles) as that is, / will ’ give thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven ” and if there be any like : So Judas fuftains ’ after a certain Manner, the Person of the ” Je-ws the Enemies of Christ, c, ”. Here they of the Church of Kome arc very forward to catch at these Words, which signify a Place of Priority that Feter had among the Apostles (which no body denies) but are not willing to take any Notice of all the rest, which utterly overthrow that Primacy which they would ad- vance him to from this Place. For, first, he says, fome Things do but seem to belong to Peter which in Truth ought to be referred to the Church. And, secondly, that their Sense is not clear or evident, till they be carried be- yond him among which Things, thirdly, he reckons what our Saviour here faith, / will give thee the Keys &c. which they would now ingrofs to St. Peter and have us believe this to be the plain and obvious Sense of Christ’s Words, which St. Austin says, are not plain unleis we refer them to the Church. Whole Person (fourthly) he says, he bore or repre- lented, not by Virtue of his Place, or any Au- thority he had above the rest, but in a Figure to signify Unity, that is, as the Ancients inter- pret it. And it is further observable (fifthly) that Christ did not promise him the Primacy (here ipoken of ) before, and with Refpedl to that Christ direded to him these Words, ra- ther than any of the rest, because he was al- ready the firfi not in Office but in Order , and fo the fitteft Person to be singled out to repre- fent what Christ intended. And to convince every one that there is no authoritative Prima- cy

Thirty-Wine Articles. 721

cy meant in these Words of St. Auflin he adds rtcxxvii; (fixthly) that Judas fuftained the Perlbn of Christ’s Enemies, as Veter did of the Church. Will any body infer from hence, that Judas had a Jtirifdidion over all the Wicked, and left it to his Succeflbrs, one of which hath now the fame ? Let them forbear then to make such Inferences from what is la:d of St. ?eteT\ Prima- cy, which gave him no Right to rule, but only made him stand fairest, being the first to be chosen to represent the rest. If any will be still fo perverie as to wrangle, because St. Auftm doth not mention Judas\ Primacy as he doth St. Peters let them learn more Modesty, by knowing that Prosper one of St. AuftinsSho” lars, upon the very fame Psalm lays in ex- preft Terms, that Judas carried the Priority of Christ’s Enemies * which, if they will not ex- pound to signify a supreme Authority to govern Christ’s Enemies, let them no longer interpret St. Peters Primacy to signify such an Authority over his Friends. 1 hat he h:d none here pro- mifed him is as certain as any thing can be. But the Keys to commend Unity wr’t profiled htm J which were in Truth given to all the rest. This is the ancient Sense, which drew this plain and pertinent Obiervation from another honest Writer in the Roman Commi-mon, f ” He ’ said to Petefy I will give thee the Keys, but he did not fay, I will give them to thee ” alone ’\

Which is justified to be true, by thee other Paftages in the Holy Go J pels. In the

[…]

Z 2 grft

7it An Exposition on the

Art .XXXVII. fij.t of which he promises as much to all *f in the very fame Words as he had done to him.

Matt.yxm. i8. Verily I fay unto you wbatfoever yejhall bind on Earth floall he hound in Heaven : and wbatfoerer yejhall loose on Earth Jlmll he loo fed in Hea’ven. Which is the Explication, as was laid before, of the Power of the Keys in the fame Terms (without the least Difference but what is between the Plural Number and the Singular) wherein it was delivered to St. Peter and in the next Chapter he repeats it aain, only in other Words, when he faith. Matt. xiii. 28. Tejljall fit upon twelve hrones judging (that is ruling and governing) the twelve bribes of If rael without any mention of one fhrone peculiar and higher to the rest, to St Peter. And thus far, there is no more than a Promise to be met withal in the Gospel, but no adual Grant, no Words whereby our Lord makes a Conveyance of this Power to them, till after his Refurredion from the Dead. When he gives out a Commiflion to them, as large as can be made ; wherein there is nothing peculiar reserved to St. Peter but it runs in general Terms to them all, John xx. 21, 22, 23. For he neither laith, I fend thee nor breathed upon him alone, saying. Receive hou the Holy Ghost: Whofefoever Sins thou remitteft, 6r. But he faith to them, being all, fave Thomas affem- bled together, ys my Father hath fent me even fo fend I you. And when he had said thus he breathed on them and said unto them Receive ye the Holy Ghost : IVhofefoever Sins ye remit they are remitted unto thejn 3 and whofefoever Sins ye retain they are retained. And accordingly it may be added, when the Holy Ghost descend- ed (of which this breathing on them was an Emblem and Pledge) they were all Qthomas 2. with

Thirty-Nine Articles^ ;j^2 5

with the rest) with one Accord in one Place and Art.xxxvii; it was imparted to each of them alike, without -’ any Mark of Diftindion. For we read of no Flame that crowned the Head of St, Peter greater and more illustrious than that upon his Brethren : but the Text faith, the Tongues, like as of Fire, were divided, and fate upon everyone of them fnigly Ip hcths-ov dLvmv, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, A5fs ii. 2, 3. The mighty Wind also, wherein this Flame came ( betokening the powerful Inspiration which was entering into them) filled all the House where they were fittings and not only that Corner where St. Peter was placed : And fo this Promise was equally performed in com- mon to them all. Nay, this very Thing is no less than a Demonstration, that the Promise was intended to all, because the Performance was to all. That here his Promise was perform- ed, is very manifest to those who are defirous to understand the Truth , for no other Time can be named when it was performed to Peter nor any other Words found, wherein the Thing promiied was conveyed, but these. As my Father fent me fo fend I you. And, last- ly. This is the Sense of the Church, as appears by St. Cyprian in ancient Times, who oblerves, that our Lord, who said to Peter Thou art P- ter i3c. gave to all his Apostles equal Power after his Refurredlion, when he said. As the li’v* ing Father fent me fo fend I you &c. conclud- ing from thence, that all the Apostles were what St. Peter was : ” And by fheophyla in later Times, who thus glofles upon Matt. xvi. 19.

Zz2 «Tho’

724 ^^^ Expofiticn on the

ArtcXXXVIL” Tho’ our Lord said only to Peter I will ginje KyYSJ ’ thee yet they were given to all the Apollles. ” When? At that Time when he said, whose- ” ibever Sins ye remit they are remitted : For the * Word, Jwillgtve denotes the future Time, that is after the Refurredidn ”. Then he said to them all. As my Father hath fent rae fo fend J you. Which are Words fo large, that they contain in them a Plenitude of Power ; and con- fute the Conceit of those who fay, thatChrift in- deed gave the Power of remitting and retaining Sins to all the Apostles, but the Power of the Keys to Peter alone : ‘U’hereby if they meant that to Peter it was given to open the Gate first to the Gentiles, it ought to be allowed to be a true Sense ; tho’ we are not certain it was the Thing peculiarly intended by our Saviour in these Words : But understanding thereby a diftin6l Power from that of binding and loosing retaining and remitting (which St. Peter exer- ciied when he let the Gentiles into the Church) it is certainly false that he gave him such a Power, which he did not confer upon the rest. For should we fuppofe bifiding and loosing to be distinct from the Power of the Keys yet this P&wer of the Keys (be it what it will) we may be iiire is included in these comprehensive Words, As my Father hath fent rae fo fend I you which were spoken to them all : And there- fore as the Keys were not promised to him alone ; o not to him rriore than to any other Apoftie, but only the Ufe of them first before any other Apostle. That’s the most (as I have often laid) which can reafbnably be conceived to be peculiarly promised to Peter in these Words, that he should first open the Door of Faith to the Gentiles, as we read he did, A6f5 X. and J asjbme think, to the Jews also, As ii.

^ertuUian

Thirty ‘Wine Articles. 725

Itertullian seems to be of this Mind * (and I Art.xxxvi: fliall not here dispute it) who mentioning this ”'''(''' Place, I will give thee the Keys, Sc. proceeds thus ; So the Event teaches us the Church was fir II built on him that is by htm : He first hand- led the Key. See what g.ey Tc Men ofl/rael, hear these U’ords : Jesus of Nazareth a Man appronjed of God among you &c. (As ii. 22. &V.) He m fine did first by the Baptism of Christ, un- lock the E?2trance of the Heavenly Kmgdon a?id he bound Aitanias with the Bond of Death ; and he abfohved the Man lame of hts Feet frotn the Weakness wherewith he laboured and in the Btf- piite whiih arose about the Olfer-vatton or Obli- gation of the Law. Peter first of all, by the In- flind: of the Holy Ghost (having told them how God made Choice of him, that the Gen- tiles should hear the Word from his Mouth) feid. And now why tempt ye God to put a Toke tipon the Neck of the Dtfciples which neither our Fathers nor we were able to hear Sec. where he plainly makes the Power of the Keys and bind- ing and loosing to be the fame Thing 3 and from the Scope of his Dilcourfe, ic appears (jis L an- noy hath observed) that they then believed at Kome that in the Person of Peter the Keys were given to the Church ; that is, says he, the Power of binding and loosing f. Which Things, if the Catholick Scripturift had known, or would have been pleased to mind, how could he have had the Confidence to fay, That our Lord fpake theie Words to Peter to signify, that he was the Head and Chief in ordinary. For tho the Power of bind-, ingand loosing was afterward given to the other

t Epii’. Par. 2. Hadriano Vallantio, P. 6.

Zz 3 Jpofiles^

7 2^ An Exposition on the

’ Apofiles yet the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are ne’ver in Scripture said to be given to any hut St, Peter *. By which Keys also he faith is fignified, the Plenitude of highest Power : For this vain Conceit is contrary to the com- mon Op non of tl\e ancient Fathers (whonfi they are bound, by their Profeflion of Faith and Oath, to follow) contrary to their greatest Schoolmen (such as Scotus, Aquinas Alex. Alenfis) who affirm, that the Keys promised to Peter in St. Matt. xvi. were given to all the Apostles in St. John xx. contrary also to their own Catechifm, according to which he ought to have inftruded his Followers. The Sum of what hath been said is this , The Power which our Lord here promised to Peter was not meant to him alone : For he did but re- present, and fuftain the Perfbn of the Church (as the Ancients speak) to whom this Promise belongs and therefore our Lord afterward pro- mifes the very fame Thing, in the fame Words, to all the Apostles, which he here promises to Peter ; and accordingly, when he performed his Promise, he gave this Power to every one of them equally. But Christ direded this Pro- mife, at the firfl, Angularly to him, that he might commend Unity - or at the most, he promised him the Honour of opening the Door of Faith firll unto the Gentiles : From whence we can only gather, that he was the first among the /pofl-lcs • but not that he was promised any Power which the rest had not, for the contrary is apparent. To all which I must add (repeat- ing briefly what I said upon the foregoing Words) that if we should grant our Saviour to

The 7 th Point, n. 6..

Jiave

ThIrty-lSHne Articles. 727

have promised fbme Power to Prr (when he Art.xxxvii. said, Iwillgi’ve thee the Keys) \Kh the other ”—''''”'''' Apostles had not ; it would prove a perlbnal Pre- rogative, and cannot be (hewn to have descended to any Succeffor, much Icfs to the Pope of Ko7ne ; who, Bellarmine faith, is a true Prmce who hath Power to make true Laws, to bind the whole Church. And this he proves from these Words, l’hatfoe’ver thou Pj all hmd on Earth fioall he hound in Hea’ven &c. * Concerning which it will be thought too sharp perhaps to iay (tho’ they are the Words of one in the Roman Communion t ) simply to reirte the Words of this Author, is simply to confute them, they are fo very contrary to Truth and Equity. The Reader therefore may be pleased briefly to consider, what our Lord himself faith to all his Apostles, ikTf. xxiii. 8, 9, 10. which utterly overturns these proud Pretenfions. Btit he not ye called Rabbit for one is your Mafler, e’ven Christ and all ye are Brethren. And call no Man your Father upon the Earth ; for one is your Father which is in Heaven : Neither he ye called Majiersy for one is your Master even Christ. The Repetition of one and the fame Thing fo often, in Words of the fame Import, argues it to be a Matter of great Moment, which ought to be duly weighed.

And it is this, that no Man, no not any of his Apostles, should take upon him to prescribe that as a Part of Religion, which God our Sa- viour hath not prefer i bed by his Laws ; and that we ought not abfbiutely to submit to any

[…]

Z z 4. Man’s

7i8 Jjt Fypofitiofi on the

Apt.xxxvii. Man’s Didates, as Children do to the Will of k/ VV,’ tneir Fathers, nor pin our Faith, as we speak, upon any Man’s Sleeve ; that ts let it depend intirely upon his Authority : For this is a Sub- miilion which is due only to God our Saviour, (who in this Senle of the Words) is our only Father and Master and Leader ; and therefore we cannot, without the highest Injury to him, own any body elie to be such, nor give them theie Names j but as they teach, not their own, but Christ’s Doctrine unto Men. And in this Office all the Apofties were equal, and no one of them could claim an Authority over the rest o his Brethren. 1 here are many other Places wherein we read of one Shepherd one Lord one Law-ginjer who is able tofave and to destroy : From whence we may conclude, that Prr him- self had no Power to make but only to declare the Laws of his and our Lord and Law-giver jesus Christ. So the Words of Christ’s Com- miffion run, when he faith, not to him alone, but to them all. Go ye and dtfciple all Nationsj &c. tea.hing them to observe all things what- foenjer I have commanded you Matt xxviii. 20, Here is their Authority to pubJifh the Com- mands of their Master, not what they pleased to command themselves : Which Peter was fb far from do ng, that he went not about the Abrogation of the ceremonial Law, and the call” ing of the Gentiles till he was authorized by an Heavenly Vision, which dilcover’d this Myfte- ry to him, as a Part of the Counsel of God, but no I aw, nor fb much as a Thought, of his own. i or being charged fterwards by the Jews for eating with Men unrircumcifed, he excufts himklf by a long Anolojy, wherein he rebfej how he wns cj \ma’ded to do it by God himxwfj whom he could not withstand,

Aclsi

Thirty -Wine Articles. 729

A5is xi. 3, 4. which was not done like a Law- ‘it.xxxvii. giver. Nay, after this Revelation made to him, -‘VX he was fb weak as to observe this Law, to the great OflFence of the Gentiles ; for which he was reprehended by St. Faul who had the Honour to abrogate the Law of Moses among the Gentiles, while St. Peter (who began that “U ork) was the Minister of the Circumcision, G/. ii. 7, 10, II, c. Nor doth the Word [Btnd] import a Power to impose Laws, but only to tie Men to thole Laws which are al- ready made. Thus it signifies in that very Place which Bellarmine ailedges to maintain his Sense of the Word, njtz. to make Laws, Matt, xxiii. 4. For they hind heavy Burdens and grievous to he horn and lay them on Mens Shoulders &c. that is, they were rigorous Interpreters of the Laws of God, which it was their Office to ex- pound, according to the plain Sense and Mean- ing of them, and not according to the Tradi- tion of the Elders, which had made them in- tolerable Burdens. But fuppofe the Word to signify what they please, it will do them no Service, because this Power of 5i;//7/g was not promised to Feter alone, but to them all, as hath been before proved : And consequently he could do nothing, which they could not do as much as he, that is, they were 3\l Mmifiers of Christ and Stewards of the Mysteries of God : All of them like to EUakim to whom the Key of the Hotife of David is promised as the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter. For by that very Word which we tranllate Steward or D// penfer. is that Office to which Eliakiut was ad- vanced in the Room of Shehna exprelTed by

• J por. iv. I.

a the

73© j4n Exposition on the

ART.xxxvn. the LXX in Ifa. xxii. 19, 21. * which was not a OOTNJ fiipreme Power in the Court, where all the rest of the Courtiers did not depend on him as their Lord and Prince, but the Power of a Prime Mtnifter in the Royal Family, which he go- verned not after his own VVill, but the King’s. In like Manner all the Apoftks were Ministers by whom Men believed (i Cor. iii. 5.) Stewards of* the Heavenly Mysteries, which they faith- fully difpenfed (i Cor. iv. i, 2.) according to the Will of Christ, who hath the Key of David that is, is the sole supreme Governor of the Church, and gives Rules to it, which the Apo- files delivered, but did not ordain themselves, nor bind upon Men by their own Authority, but by his. For they were not Authors of the Divine Laws, which they taught, but the Pub- liihers of them, and equal Publifliers of one, and the fame common Doctrine j which every BtJJoop in the Church hath as much Authority to bind upon Men, as the Pope ; they being all of the fame Merit and Priefihood (as St. Jerom speaks) all Sticceffors of the Apoflles, f There are indeed fome other Words of St. Jerom, which it may not be amifs to take Notice of in this Place, and which are usually alledged to prove the contrary, viz. that he thought St. Peter had fbme Supremacy of Power over the rest of the Apostles ; from whence our Ad-* verfaries hope to derive the like Power to the Pope over all Bishops : They are in his first Book against Jovinian where he faith, ” One ’ among the Twelve was therefore chosen, ’ that an Head being constituted, the Occasion

• oiMVoynAV’

-}- Epifi;. ad Evagrium.

(C

of

Thirty-Wine Articles. 7 3 1

” of Schism might be removed ”. But they Art.XXXVIT. are unconfcionably difingenuous who alledge VJ this PalTage, and do not give us the entire Sen- tence, but only this Conclusion of it j which can have no such Meaning as they pretend, without making meer Nonfenfe of the Words foregoing, which are these : ’* But thou fayft the Church was founded upon Peter ; tho’ ” the very fame, in another Place, is done up-. on all the Apoflles, and they received the ” Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the ’ Strength of the Church is solidly bottomed ” upon them equally ”. And then follow the Words now named, yet one was therefore cho- fen amom the ihjelve &c. which makes it as clear as the Sun, that he dreamed of no such Headfhip of one over all the rest, as signifies a Su- premacy of Power • for what one Text, he faith, affirms of Peter another affirms of them all they all receiving the Keys (which is the highest Power) and the Stability of the Church relying upon them equally. I conclude this Part of my Difcourfe with the Observation of a late learned Writer of our Church*: If any Power, or De- gree of Power, was here promised to Peter., more than to the rest of the Apostles, it must be gathered either from the Force of the Suh- fiance of the Promise, or from the Ctrcum- fiances wherewith it was delivered. The Suhftautial Part is nothing elfe but that of a Stesjard in the Church, fet forth by the Em- blem of Keys. and more explicitly declared by the Power of binding and loosing which carries in it no Intimation of such a Thing as a Su-

pemacy

7’^ An Exposition on the

AKT.XXwU.premacy over the whole Church, but only of a yy ruling Power in fome FamiJy ; that is, in that Part of the universal Church where his Lot should fall. For this very Thing being pre- fently after promised to all the Apostles, it makes it evident, there was no Supremacy here promised ; for then there must be not ot2e but twelve Supremes. As for the Circumstances -wherein this Part and the former of our Savi- our’s Promise was delivered (which fome are pleaied to urge as very considerable) they are of no Strength to support fo great a Weight as they lay upon them. For firfi it is very unreasonable that Circumliances should be thought of greater Force to declare the Mean- ing of this Promiie, than the very Stihftance it- ielf is. And, secondly all these Circumstances (fave only that of his own Name and his Fa- ther’s joined together) are not peculiar to him, but common to others, who confejfed Cbrifi’s Divinity and had it revealed from God and were hlejfed and designed for Stones in the Fa- brick of the Church, as well as Peter. And fur- ther, even that Circumstance of calling him Simon Bar- Jonas had a visible Reason for it, to di- ftinguifh this Simon from Simon Zelotes , fo that there is nothing left but the small Circumflance of calling him by his Name, to be the grand Foundation of St. Peters Supremacy. Can any one be satisfied with such poor Proofs? Which are no better than if we should argue in this Manner ; Our Lord said to Peter Follow me and fo he did to the other Eleven, and by this made them his Disciples in common. But had he said Simon Bar-jonas follow thou me (as he might very well, if any other Simon were then present) he alone (according to this Way of difcourfing) had been taken into Difciplefliip,

and

Thirty ‘Nine Articles. 7 ^ ^

and none after him enjoyed this Honour. But Art.xxxvil I have said enough upon these Texts, and ”/‘W shall now proceed to the last Reserve of the Roman Church, for the Support of this Cause, which lies in these Words of Christ to Peter John xxi. 15, 165 17. Feed my Ldmhs and feed my Sheep. They are fenfible of the Truth of that, which hath been often repeated, that in neither of the former Places Christ gave any thing to Peter but only promiied he would give him such Things as are there mentioned. Now they are hard put to it, to find when he did perform this Promiie, and not find withal, that he performed it to all the Apostles ; and there- fore, as I have said, made it to them all. Here is the only Place they rely upon here they would fain find what is no where elfe to be found, something peculiarly granted to Peter which was conferred upon none of the rest : Read the Words, fay they, and observe how they are peculiarly Ipoken to Peter • So when they had dined Jesus [aid to Simon Peter Simon Son of Jonas lo’vest thou me more than these ? He faith tmto him Tea Lord thou knowefi Ilove thee. He faith unto him Feed my Lamhs, He faith to him again the second time SimonSon of Jonas lo-vef thou me ? He faith unto him Tea Lord thou know eft that I love thee. He faith un- to him Feed my Sheep. He faith unto him the third i’ime Simon Son of Jonas loveft thou me ? Peter was grieved hecaufe he said unto him the third ftme Loveft thou me ? And he said unto him Lordj thou knoweft all things ; thou know- eft that I love thee. Jesus faith unto him Feed my Sheep. See, fay they, with what Solemnity our Lord here speaks to Peter and to him alone, calling him three Times particularly by his Name and Relation and bidding him, as oft, ktd his

Lambs

[…]

Art.xxxvii. tamhs or Sheep 5 whereby he inflated him in yy*\J the Office he had promised him, and made him in a pecnliar Manner, to be a Pastor even the Pastor of the IVbole Churchy with a supreme Power over it. To which we reply, First That having feen and considered all this, we can fee nothing here that looks like a Grant or Commif- fion nothing given to St. Pfr by these Words 9 which are a plain Charge or Command requir- ing him to do his Office, which was therefore conferred upon him before, together with the rest of the Apostles, when our Lord said. As my Father hath fent me fo [end I you &c. Ke- ceive ye the Holy Ghost &c. Secondly That as here is no Commiffion, no Conveyance of any thing made to him, but a bcire Precept to do his Duty ; fb the Duty doth not concern him alone, but belongs to them all as much as him. It is at this Time required in a Pre- cept direded to him alone, that’s true ; and Be liar mine might have spared all his Labour to prove that these Words were spoken to Peter alone. They were fo, if we understand there* by, that he only by Name is now admonifhed of h’s Duty ; (the Reason of which we shall fee presently) but the Duty of which he was admonifhed, was not peculiar to him ; and fb the Words do not belong to him alone, as ap- pears by many Arguments. First, From St. Fetei” himself, who seems to have interpreted the Mind of (Thrift in this Speech to him, in his Words to the LIders of the Church to whom he wrote, i Peter v. i. ‘ithe Elders which are atnong you I exhort who am What ? The Monarch of the Church ? The Vicar ofChrift, or Pastor of Pastors ? The chief Apostle or fu- preme Bishop ? No such Thing, but ffvy.ri7u- iQi your FelloiV’£lder&Lc, Feed the Flock of God

which

Thirty ‘Nine Articles. 735

which is among you &c. And from whom did ATR.xxxvit these Elders receive their Power and Authority ? -V” from St. Peter ? No such Matter, but from the chief Shepherd or Pastor, from whom he bids them exped their Reward, ‘ver. 4. Se- condly, In like Manner St. Paul gives the very fame Charge to the Elders of Ephefus to take heed to themfel’ves and to all the Flock ever which the Holy Ghofi had made them Overfeers, to feed the Church of God which he hath purcha- fed with his own Bloody As xx. 28. For, Third- ly, Christ, as I said, had given this Power unto all his Apostles, when he said, As my Father hath fent me fo fend I you c. John xx. 21. What did he fend them to do ? But to gather together in one the Children of God that were scattered abroad and to feed his Flock, as he the good Shepherd had done, John x. 11. and xi.52. And therefore we may fay of these Words as Kigali tius doth of the former. He said to Peter Feed my Sheep ; but he doth net fay, Lo thou alone feed them. No, it may be furcher obferv- ed, that our Lord, jn his Life- 1’ me, fent them all to the loft Sheep of the House oj Israel Matt. X. 6, 7. And a little before this, feeing the Peo- ple scattered ahroad as Sheep having no Shepherd he bad his Disciples pray that the Lord would fend Labourers among them : Not one who should depute others, but as many as were needful to gather in his Harvest, Matt, ix. 36, fr. Fourthly, And therefore thus the ancient Fathers have expounded these Words, particu- larly the Roman Clergy themselves, in their Let- ter to the Clergy of Carthage, where, admo- niftiing them of their Duty, in the Absence of St. Cyprian, by reafbn of the then Perfecu- tion, they prefs them with these Words to Peter, Feed my Sheep ; which they tell them, the rest

of

7^6 Jn Expofitioft on the

ART.xxxviT.of the Disciples in like Manner did and accord** yy ingly it was now incumbent upon them alfb * in the Room of the Pastor to keep the Flock, This Launoy proves to be the Exposition of the Church, and most juftly condemns Bellarmtne (and iuch like Flatterers) as failing in his Duty; which required him to expound thele Words according to the Sense of the whole Church, which is diredtly against this Exposition, that Christ here gave this Power to St. Peter dAono, , A great many of the ancient Popes of Rome, he there (hews, speak otherwise , and one of their Neighbour’s St. Ambrose exprefly declares, that those Sheep, and that Flock which Christ commanded Peter to feed, he did not alone re- ceive but he both received them with tis and with him we all received them t. As much as to fay, what Christ said to Peter he fpake in him to all Bishops : Which is the Sense of St. Atiftin in a great many Places, as the fame Au- thor fhews § making Peter here also to have re- presented the whole Church • fo that when it was [aid to him it was said to all Loveft thou me ? Feed my Sheep . Fifthly, But what need have we of any further Testimonies ? When this Preface isfung not only in the Feast of St. Peter but of all the rest of the Apostles and Evange- lifts (except St. John and on their 06ian)es in the Roman Church at this very Day , ” We ” humbly befcech thee, O Lord, the eternal ” Pastor, not to forfake thy Flock, but pre- ’ serve it with continued Protection, by thy

• Vice Pafloris cuilodire gregem.

[…]

\ L. de facerd. dig. c. 2.

[…]

X De Agone ChriHiano, cap. 30,

« bleffed

Thirty-Nine Articles. 737

” blefled Apostles ; that it may be governed Art.xxxvii. ’ by the fame Rulers, which as Vicars of thy Y” ’ Work, thou didft beftow upon it, to be fet ” Paflors over it ”. This is sufficient to fhew that the Roman Church itself hath anciently believed, this Charge was given to all the Apostles to feed his Flock, and be the chief Pa- llors of it. What? will fome fay, was there nothing here peculiarly spoken to St. Peter ? No Mystery in those Words thrice repeated and specially dired:ed to him by Name, as you can- not but acknowledge ? Yes, no doubt, but it is no more than this, that Peter of all the rest, had lately thrice denied his Alafter. This might well have made Peter himself question his Love to Christ, and move our Lord to ask him, whether he still remained as confident as he was before, that he had a greater Affedlion to him, than any of his Disciples. For fo he begins his Speech, Loveft thou me more than these ? As he had fancied he did, when he said • Tho’ all Men (hall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Matt. xxvi. 33. The Vani- ty of which Thoughts he had found by fad Experience, he alone denying, nay, abjuring his Master. In this Peter v/as Angular, and did more than any of the rest • for which Cause, more was to be said to him, and more was to be done by him, than any of them. He was to answer thrice to three Questions, which were solemnly put to him, that by a threefold Con- feffion he might obliterate his threefold Denial. This is all the Mystery which the ancient Christians could find in this solemn Speech, made with particular Application to Peter as

• PrseelTe Pallores.

A a a may

f 3 8 An Exposition on the

ART.xxxviT.may be feen in St. Cyril o? Alexandria ” t, “f* Aufiin tj Gregory Nazianzen j:, and a long Train which I could fet down of other Fa- thers • which allures us that this was the com- mon and literal Exposition of these Words, and that they understood no other Reason, why our Lord addreffed himself only to Peter tho’ other Apostles were present, but only this J that he might declare he would have Peter notwithstanding his denying him thrice, be confident, upon this Profeilion of Love to him, he was restored to his Favour, and that he would have him no less than the rest, look upon the Care of his Flock as belonging to him, who had deserved by his fhamefuUy repeatedDe- nial of him, to fall from that Office, more than any other of his Apostles : For tho’ they all fled, yet none denied him but Peter alone , and there- fore these Words were as if our Lord had said Tho’ there be Cauie enough for me to rejedt thee, yet because thou didft repent thee of thy Sin, and doft now profefs thy Love to me. Feed my Sheep no lels than the rest of my Apostles, to whom I have committed the Care of them : Which will sufficiently expose the Vanity of the CathoUck Scripturlft who bids us, against the Sense of all Antiquity, to note that our Lord would not have required greater Love in Peter rather than in any of the rest, nor have said Lo’vcft thou me more than these ? if he had not here intended to give him high- er Dignity in Paftorfliip than the rest f . Let me therefore dcfire the Reader not only to note

• In Johnxxi.

f Tract. 47. in JoIian»

^ Traft. 29.

§ Seventh Point, n. 7,

what

Tbirty-Nwe Articles. 739

what hath been already said, but al£b these Art.XXXvii. Words of St. Cyril upon this Head, who was a y’ better Scripturift and more CathoUck than this Jesuit. I will not fet them down at large, but only the Conclusion of them, which are very remarkable, and exprefly expound this PaiTage as I have done. ” In that Speech of our Lord, Feed my Sheep, there was a kind of Ke- ’ newal * of the Apoftlefhip formerly bellowed ’ upon him, doing away the Infamy of his ’ Falls, and blotting out the Cowardice of hu- ” man Infirmity”. Where a great Person of our own hath very juftly remarked upon the Word Renewal f ; He doth not fay that our Lord augmented his Dignity (which is the new Dodlrine) but that he renewed it, or rejiored him to it. Which Dignity he had said in the Beginning of this Difcourfe, Peter was advan- ced unto, when our Lord named him, not above others but with other Disciples to be an Apostle t ; and therefore now did not give him more than the rest, but only declared he did not take the Forfeiture he had made of that Dig- nity, but re-inftated him in it together with the rest. This is undoubtedly the ancient Sense of Christ’s Church, to which I know not what to add for the Explication of these Words, un- less it be this that Peter had just before this Difcourfe of our Lord’s, begun to exprels his earnest Desire to recover his Favour, casting himself into the Sea (when the other Disciples came by the Ship) to get to our Saviour ; which may be looked upon as a Token of exceC-

[…]

A a a 2 five

^40 -^^ Expcfitioii on the

/iRT.XXXVli.five Love to him, and of a more than ordinary hy’SJ Desire to enjoy his Company. From hence a very learned Writer of this Church, thinks our Lord takes Occasion to make this Speech to him (but whether to check or to chen/Jj that Desire, he dares not determine) the Import of which, he gives in this Faraphrafe. ’ Thou ’ haft made FrofefHon of more than ordinary ’ Love to me, of Readiness to lay down thy Life for my Sake, tho’ all others, even these ’ thy Fellows, should forfakc me , and art will- *’ ing, I fee, by thy present Hazard of it to make good thy former Words. But wouldft thou have me yet to fhew thee a more ex- cellent Way ? I have told it thee long fmce j * Thou art converted, strengthen thy Bre- thren„ Simon the Son of Jona if thou de- fireft to prove thy self a Cephas or tcftify the Sincerity of thy Faith and Love (which by the Powers of Darkness were, of late, fo grievoufly shaken) Feed my Lamhs Feed ’ my Sheep. Yea, feeing thou thrice deniedft the Shepherd of thy Soul, I fay unto thee he third Time, Feed my Sheep, Let the Me- mory of thy fore-paffed three-fold Sin, alfb ” let this my present three-fold Admonition, ’ excite thee unto triple Diligence in thy Charge to fhew such Pity and Compaflion, as I have fhewed to thee, unto that loft and fcattcred Flock, which have denied me, or consented to my Crucifying. Let thy faith- ful Performance of what I request at my Farewel, be the first Testimony of thy Love f ’ to me, to be lastly testified by the Loss of thy Life, which thou didft promise me

Dr. Jackson upon the Creed, Book ^q c. 7.

Thirty -Wine Articled. 741

when I gave mine for my Sheep, (John xiii. Art-XXXVIT/ 37.) but shall not pay, till thou haft fulfilled -0”%= * this my Request. Verily, verily, I fay unto ” thee, when thou waft young, thou girdcdft ” thyfelf, and walkcdft whither thou wouldft, *’ but when thou art old, thou shalt stretch ” forth thy Hands, and another shall gird thee, ” and lead thee whither thou wouldft not, Sc!"" These Things being well considered, there is nd Neceffity, I think, to dispute about the Meaning of the Word Feed (which is still a Metaphor, it is fit to observe, as well as the two former, Koch and Keys) for whatlbever can be thought to be meant thereby, all the Apostles were required to do it as well as Teter and had the Lambs and the Sheep committed to their Care, as much as he. But because there are a great rhany Things, which many of the Koman Doctors draw from this Tingle Word Feed and there arc also very curious Observations made about the fhiall Word My and about Larahs and Sheep (that is, about every Word of this Ihort Sen- tence) it will not be unprofitable briefly to exa- liiine upon what Foundation they stand.

I. Now, by the Vordfeed they understand the highest Power * to have been committed to him ’, which, if it were true, then all to whom it is said Feed the Flacky had the highest Power and fo there were many Supreams, all the El- ders of Ephefus (as hath been fhewn before) being required to feed the Church of (xod As XX. si8. which includes in it, nobody doubts. Authority and Rule ; but is not the thing principally much iefs only intended , and is far

Aaa J from

74^ -^^ Exposition on the

ART.xxxviI.ffom fignifying the highest Power, For the yrJ Greek Word for Feed t in the first Mention of this Charge, Feed my Lamhs njer. 15. and in the last Feed my Sbeep “ver. 17. imports no- thing of Ruling or Governing, nor was ever apply’d to signify the Power of Princes ; but denotes merely the simple Office of leading their Flock to their Pasture. And accordingly the ancient Fathers commonly refer these Words to the Feeding by JVord and Dorine to which they had more Regard than to mere Rule and Power, which now is the only thing that is contended for from this poor Word Feed : And that because once, ver, 1 6. our Lord uses a Word which is tranjlated to this Sense. ranf- lated I fay, for it originally signifies no more than the other before-named, denoting nothing of Dominion or Empire. For a Man may be Shepherd of the Sheep, who is not their Lord. But it is apply’d to Ktngs and to God himself not because it is apt to denote the abiblute Do- minion of God over all Creatures, or the highest Power of Kings over their Subjedts, but to give us to understand how God is affeed towards us, and to admonifh Kings of their Duty ; which is to govern their People committed to their Charge, gently and diligently, as a Shep- herd doth his Flocic. There are many Places of Scripture that justify this, which I shall not fo much as mention, because there is no Reafbn ‘why this Word only should be regarded and the other negleded ; nor why the other iliould not rather interpret this (being twice repeated, and this used but once) than this interpret the ether 5 nor why either fliould signify Ruling

after

Thirty-Kme Articles. 745

a6er the manner of a Frince and not of a Art.xxxvI Pastor ’, nor (if we allow the utmost that can VVN*/. be made of it) why they should fuppofe Peter to have had any Pre-eminence in this Autho- rity over the Flock of Christ, which was not grounded upon his eminent affectionate Care and more than ordinary Fidelity in feeding it. And yet, such is the Desire of Dominion in fbme People, that they have not only made Peter universal Pastor, with an ordinary Power, as they call it, which no other Apostle had but found him a SucceJJor also in this Power, and without any Deed of Conveyance, but this one Word Feed made the Pope of Kome his fble Heir ; unto whom they afcribe the most exorbitant Power, derived to him from St. Peter sole Heir to the great Shepherd of the Sheep, Christ Jesus. If you would know what this Power is, Bellarmine will inform you 3 who here and there in his Works, afTerts the Power of the Bifliop of Rome to extend unto five great Things for the Support of which he alledges thele Words, Feed my Sheep, First, he laith, that he is hereby made the Supream Judge in Controversies of Faith. * Nothing ’ can be more clearly spoken in the Gospel, ’ than that which our Lord said to Peter in ’ the Presence of the rest of the Apostles, ’ Feed my Sheep : For he ipake to Peter only, ’ and he gave him all his Sheep to feed, fo * that he did not exclude the Apostles them- selves. Now it cannot be diiputed but that * it is one of the Offices of a Pastor to discern *’ good Pasture from bad.” Secondly, he pro- ceeds from hence also to make the Pope an

Aaa 4 ~ infallibk

5^44 -^^ Exposition on the

Art-XXXVII. infalUhle Judge, f ” For in these Words, faith ‘VN-/ ’ he. Feed my Sbeep the Pope was made Pastor ” and Dodor of the whole Church ; and if fo, ” then the whole Church is bound to hear and ’ to follow him , fo that if he err, the whole ” Church will err with him.” Thirdly, Hence also he derives his Power to make Laws for the whole Church. 4= ” For Christ, says he, giving ’ Peter what he promised, uses a kingly Word, *’ viz Toivz!” And therefore. Fourthly, He proves by this, that the Pope is abfblutely above the whole Church, even above a General Council. § ” For fmce Christ the good Shepherd ’ hath communicated to Peter his own Name, ” in these Words, Feed 7ny Sheep it is plain, ** the Pastor is fo above the Sheep, that he can ” in no wife be judged by them.” Fifthly, In fine, he proceeds fo far, as from these Words to prove the Popovs I’emporal Power over […] whom if they be Hereticks (for In- stance) he may not only excommunicate, but command the People also not to obey them, and therefore to deprive them of their Do- ” minion over their Subjeds.” Wherein he follows several of their Popes, “viz. Gregory the Vllth, Boniface the Vlllth, and Nicholas the IVth, who in their Decretals alledge this Place to maintain the Power which they challenged to themfclves in Temporal Things. But these are such far-fetch’d and absurd Inferences from these Words, that to name them, as was said before, is to confute them , this being not to interpret the Scripture, but to torture it, and

f Lib. 4. de P. R. c. g.

• Ibid. cap. 10.

’ Lib. f, cap. 7.

{ova

Thirty-Kine Articles, 745

force it to fay what they pleale, though neverART.xxxviI.

fo much against its Meaning : Which fome in ^—^0’”^

their own Communion are fo fenfible of, that

they abhor such violent Abuses of God’s holy

Word ^ and openly declare there are no such

Things as these to be found therein. One

more particularly * hath demonstrated Bellar-

wine’s Arguments to be ibphiflical, and against

the Rules of the Council of ^rent^ when he

proves from these W^ords, Feed ray Sheep^ the

Pope’s Superiority over Gejieral Councils, and

his unerring Judgment in Matters of Faith, and

then fhews that forty Popes of Kojne^ by calling

every Bifliop of the Church their FelloW’BiJhops^

have openly declared these Words, Feed my

Sheep^ are not proper to them alone ; and that

this is a most certain Tradition of the Roman

Church itself, by its Bishops j which he proves

from Stephen the First to Innocent the Third, by

near Iwo hundred ay^d twetity ‘ite ft monies ^ which,

if they be not sufficient to make a Tradition,

there can never be any sufficient Tradition, as

he speaks, it being scarce pofTible there ihould

be any thing better testified. And another

also t more lately hath overthrown these pre-

[…]

Apostles and their Succeffors, were Pastors of

the Flock of Christ ; who fpake to them in the

Perfbn of Peter ^ when he said. Feed my Sheep,

And that if these Words had been spoken to

Peter alone, and his Succeffors, they would not

have proved them to be infallible i^ or their

Authority to be above that of a General Coun-

• Launoy Epifr. Pars 2. 6c Pars f,

f Louis El. Du Pin.

. De Antiq, Eccl. Difcip. Dif. /.

Cil ^ ;

74<5 ^// Expofitioii on tie

Art.xxxvII. cil § ; much less that they have Authority over yy” Kings or their Dominions, either diretlly or indtrely ; the Church Universal having always understood these Words to speak of a Spiritual Power only. And therefore they that are not ajhamed to interpret them otherwise depart from the Sense of the Catholick Church ; that they may hy any Means defend their unlawful Attempts . But secondly. If the Word Feed alone will not do this great Bufinefs, Bellarmine hopes the next little Word My will ailift nnightily to the cftablifhing the Universal Paftorfhip. For, he faith, it furnifhes them with a notable Keafon -why all the Flock that called Christ their Owner should be looked upon as his f. ” For fmce ’ Christ adds, without any Reftridtion, the ’ Pronoun My to the Noun Sheep it mani- feftly signifies, that all those Sheep were com- mended to Peter which can be called Christ’s Sheep J and it is certain, all are Christ’s ” Sheep, none excepted ” To which, if any one should think fit to reply (as no mean Per- fons have done) that our Lord in the Word My if any Emphasis must be laid upon it, pointed to those who had been his own peculiar Charge in his Life-time, when he was not fent J?ut to the loft Sheep of the House of Israel; I appeal to all Men of Sense, whether it would not be a more reasonable Exposition than his : Especially when they Ihall eonfider, that these loft Sheepy the Jews were afterward the pecu- liar Care of St. Peter unto whom the Go/pel of the Circumcision was com??iitted as the Gospel of the Uncircumcifion to St. Paul ; for he that

§ Dif. ^

• Dif. 7. P. i\t%f.

f Lib. I. de Rom. Pon. cap. 16^,

wrought

Ihtrty^Wine Articles. 747

“brought effeually in Peter to the Apoftlejhip o/Art.xxxvil ‘he Circumcision (that is of the Jews J the [ame WVNi,/ was mighty in rne faith St. Paul towards the Gentiles &c. Gal. ii. 7, 8.

But there is no need of this Interpretation, nor do I rely upon it ; since our Lord ex- prefly declared in his Life-time, Other Sheep I ba’ve which are ?wt of this Fold them also I fHuft brings and they shall hear my Voice j afid there fh all he one Fold, and one Shepherd John X. 16. All which Sheep were committed to the Care, not of Peter alone, but of all the Apo- ftles : Every one of which had an equal Share in his Charge ; tho’ Peter (as I have ftiewn) had Need to be particularly excited to do this Part of his Office, and to feed as many as he could poflibly, feeing the Proof of his Love to Christ, and of his Fidelity, in which he had lamentably failed, did therein confift. Thirdly, after all this, they make plealant Work with the Words, Lambs and Sheep which they fay, include the whole Church, Apostles and all ; fo that they who were Pajlors no left than Peter are turned into Sheep to be led by him. Which is confuted by the whole History of the Gospel, and by all Antiquity , nothing being plainer than that Peter did not (o much as nominate a Succelfor to Judas much left take upon him by his fble Authority to appoint one ; but the whole College of the Apostles appointed two Perfbns to be presented to God, defiring him lojhew which he had chosen A6ls i, 23, 24. Nor did he ordaia St. Stephen and the other fix Deacons j but the twelve called the Multitude of the Disciples unto them, and bad them look out seven Men &c. fFbom we (not Feter alone) may appoint over this Bujinefs

Aas

748 ^h Expofitioli on the

AftT.xxxviI.f vi. 3. Nay, more than all this, Pete? wafi- C/VN fo far from exerciling supreme Authority over them, that the Apoftlcs fent him as there was Occalion, not hetbem to do an Apoftolical Of- fice ; and also fent John in joint Commiffion with him, s viii. 14. And I have observed already, how St. Paul withfiood John to his Face and thatpublickly, when he was in an Error 5 which can no Way confift with the Suppofition of his being inferior to Peter in Order or Power. For tho’ an Inferior may privately give his Ad- vice to his Superior , yet to call the supreme Governor in Question, and to reprove him he— fore allj is intolerable Presumption, and Con- tempt of Authority. But this Conceit is fb very dear to them, that they not only tell us, that if every one of the other Apoftlcs be Sheep of Christ, St. Peter is here made Pastor to every one of them, for he is commanded to Feed them. But fome of them find a Mystery in these Words, which the better to accommodate to their Fancies, they turn into three instead of two only, which are in the Greek . And by Lamhs ‘ver. 15. and by little Sheep (as they will needs have it read njer. 16.) understand the Jews and the Gentiles and by Sheep, “ver. 17. the Bishops of the Church, who are (says Bel- larmine f ) as it were the Ewes or Mothers of the Lambs and therefore the Lord commit ted to Peter the Care of the Lamhs that is of the People of the Jews ; and of the Little Sheep that is, the People of the Gentiles ; and of the Sheep that is, they that brought forth these Lamhs in Christ, which are the Apostles

4: ‘Afl’let Sc v^^ttlA

f L. I* deRom. Pontif. cap. i$»

iand

Thirty-Nine Articles. 74p

and Bishops. Or by Lamhs he faith, we Art.xxxvu. may understand mere Laymen, the People who OTNJ have no pastoral Care, being only Children, not Fathers in Christ , and by the Little Sheep inferior Priests, who are fo the Fathers of the People, that they are Bishops Sons; and by- Sheep, the great Priests, that is Bishops, who are fo fet over, both Lambs and Lambkins, that they are, notwithflanding, fubjed: them- selves to St. Peter. That is, you may under- stand this Mystery how you please, if you do but fo contrive it, that Peter have all under his Care, and the Apostles themselves be his Curates. But they who can be pleased with such Conceits as t’hefe, have very little Reve- renee for the Holy Scriptures , and ‘tis a great Affront to our Underftandings, to offer us meer Imaginations for Reasons ; their own Dreams instead of the divine Oracles. If it may con- fifl with Christian Sobriety, to make luch a nice Diftindion between Lamhs and Sheep as to make them imply different Things, (any more than the two several Words for Feed and for lonjeft thou me are thought to do * ) it is far more likely that our Lord intended to fig- nify, the Care that ought to be taken of all Christians suitable to the Diversity of their States. Someofwbicby as a great Man of our own Church speaks fare to he handled tenderly and cherijhed like Lamhs - others to he looked unto like elder Sheep and to he fed with stronger Meat hut with less personal or ajjiduotts Au tendance. This hath fome Sense in it, which Js very useful, and agreeable to all Mens

f Dr.Jackson. B, 3. c. 7, fed. 10.

Thoughts :

7^0 J72 Exposition on the

Art.xxxvii. Thoughts : But if wc fet our Fancies on Work, */VX they abound with vain Conceits, of which we can find no End. For ? Lambs and Lambkins and Sheep only be St. Peter s Walk, and he the Shepherd, where are the Rams ? (as a no left learned than ingenious Man asks § ) they are excepted it seems, and Rams as Turrianus fancies, are the Apostles or their SucceiTors, that is, Bishops ; or, as Cardinal I’olet QBellarmhws Equal) will have it, * they are Kings and Princes and fo these two, Apostles and Kings are by this Interpretation shut out, whom BcUartnine intended by his Device to have shut into Peters Fold. But the graver Sort of Wri- ters even in the Roman Church, are ashamed of such Mysteries as these, which they fee may be invented at Pleasure. Maldonate f himlelf (to fay nothing of Janfenius bids those who subtly enquire, why Chrifl calls his Disciples Lambs rather than Sbeep think again, and again, what they do, and take Heed, iefl they expole themselves to the Laughter of the Learned : For the Difference is in Word not in Sense, fave only, that the Word Lambs hath fbmething in it more soft and tender, and might be uied to commend them the more to Peters Affedion. For this diminutive Form of Speech, is a Sign of very tender and ardent Love, and more moving than any other ; as appears by the common Inflance of a dying Fa- ther, who expreffes more of his own Affedtion, and works more upon his Friends, if he says, I commend to you the Care of my little Babes

[…]

than

Thirty ‘Wine Articles. 751

than if he simply says, I commend the Care of Atr.xxxvii. my Children to you : Whence it is our Saviour W sometimes used this Form, just before he parted with his Disciples, John xiii. 33. Little Children yet a little while I am with you &c. And his Apostles alio, particularly St. John who uses it seven imes in his first Epiftie, to declare the Greatness and Tendernels of his Love, and to excite the like in others. That Writer (ilf/- donate”) indeed pursues no lels than the other the Pretenfions of the Church of Rome from these Words, tho’ he doth not approve of this Curiosity, infifting upon Christ’s committing all the Sheep (that is in his Opinion all Christi- ans) to St. Peter : Which will not do their Bu- fniefi, fmce they were no otherwise committed to him, than they were to the rest of Christ’s Apostles ; who had the fame Power given them, and were to take the fame Care of all Christ’s Flock that he did. Not that every one of them was to feed or teach all Christians, simply and universally understood , for that was impoffible, and would have made the Labours of the rest ufeleis, if one were sufficient , but all indefi- nitely, fb that among them none Ihould be neg- r led:ed, but inftruded by fome, or other of them.

This must neceffarily be the Meaning • for otherwise, our Lord required Peter to do that which could not be done by one Man, or if it could have been done, would have made all the other Apostles idle, and left them nothing to do. No, fay they, we do not mean that Peter alone was to preach the Gospel to all Nations, fb he could not feed all j but this Sort of feeding must be allowed to others , but he alone was to rule and govern in chief, to feed by Authority and Power over all, where- ty he was to prescribe yrhat was to be taught

and

[…]

Art.xXXVII. and believed. But this is to return, where wc V./‘VN* were before, to the Signification of the Word Feed which cannot mean one Thing with re- sped: to Peter and another with refped: to the rest 5 but signifies the fame Power, be it what it will, common to them all. If this need any farther Explication, those Words of our Lord, Go, and teach all Nations Matt, xxviii. 19. Go ye into all the IVorld, and preach the Gospel unto e’very Creature Mark xvi. 15. will latisfy us, that Feter had no peculiar Authority conferred on him, above the other Apostles : For he gave this Charge to them all, and it was ushered in with a far more magnificent Preface to it, than when he ipake here particularly to Peter for he first acquaints them with his own supreme Authority, saying. All Pcjuer is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth • and then adds, Go ye therefore and teach all Nations, c. Which is a Commiflion as large as could be given to Men ; including in it, all the Power that was necelTa- ry for the eftablifhing and governing thoie Churches, which they should gather unto Christ. Who can think that they who had this Autho- rity given them, were themselves to be taught and governed by Peter alone: Nothing could put such a Conceit into Mens Heads, but an ambitious Desire, to advance themselves to the highest Dominion, by raifnig Peter above all others , who, it is evident, did not take them- selves to be at all inferior to him, nor to be less able to Feed him, than he was to Feed them. For St. Paul (who was herein Inferior, that he was called late to be an Apostle, as one born out $f due ‘Jinie) did take upon him to feed Peter and that with his Staff too (if I may fo speak) that is, with his Reproof, and this at Antiocb St. Peter’s own Seat , where it had been very

proper

Tljirty-Wine Articles^ 755

proper for him, one would think, to have stood Art.xxxvii; upon his peculiar Prerogative, if he had known yY\ of any belonging to him, which, if he could have challenged, we should still be to feek by what Right the Bishop of Rome claims the lame Authority that St. Peter had, O says Boniface the Eighth *, Christ fpake to Peter and to his Succejfors when he said. Feed my Sheep. But how doth he prove it ? Why we must take his bare Word for it, both that he fpake these Words to Peter’s Succeffors, and to them alone, and that the Bishops of Rome are his sole Suc- ceffors : All this he delivers as an infallible DI- 6iator and it is not good Manners to question that the Universal Flock of Christ is fo commit- ted to them, that Whether Greeks or others jloall fay., they are not committed to Peter and his Sue— cejfors they must neceffarily confess they are none of the Sheep of Christ. But it is worth any body’s while to read on to the End of that Piece where he afferts this ; whereby the Reader will be in- fallibly latisfied, he was no infallible Interpre- ter, but a gross Perverter of the Holy Scrip- tures. For here it is, that he proves, that there is in the Church, both the Spiritual and the temporal Power, from those Words, Behold here are two Swords Luke xxii. 38. and that the Temporal Power is fabjed: to the Spiritual, be- cause the Powers that are, are ordained of God (Row.xiii. lO for they would not be in Order iinlefs Sword were under Sword, and Spiritual Things are superior to Temporal. For the Prophecy o( Jeremiah is verified of the Church and Ecclefiafiical Power, Chap. i. 10. Behold I ha’ve fet thee this Bay ouer the Nations and

Extravagant. L. i. Tit. 8. de Major Sc Obedientiu,

B b b QV$t

754 ^^^ Expofitioti on the

[…]

”y’\J Therefore the Temporal Power, if it go out of the Way, must be judged by the Spiritual ; but the supreme Spiritual Power, by God alone, not by Man j as the Apostle bears Witn efs, I Cor. ii. 15. He that is spiritual judgeth all hings htit hehimfelfis judged of no Man. Af- ter all which goodly Interpretation of the Holy Scriptures (more like Pa/quil than the Pope he concludes m.oft pontifically, iVe declare af- firm define J and pronounce that it is altogether hecejfary to Salvation for every human Creature to he fuhje5i to the Pope of Rome. This is the Conciufion from Feed my Sheep and from other places of Scripture, expounded after the fame Fashion as he abuses this : Which tho’ it be very prcfumptuous, yet is not too arrogant for him, who could entertain such a monstrous Conceit, as this, which we read in one of his Decrees % where he says, ” Christ made Peter *’ the Chief 5 that from him as from a certain * Head, he might diifufe, as it were his Gifts * into the whole Body , for that having taken ’ him In Confcrtimn individu frmitatts into ” the Partnerfliip of the undivided Trinity , * he would have him called that which the *’ Lord himself was, saying, hou art Peter *’ and upon this Kock I will build my Church”. Now \ Peter be thus exalted into the Con for tjhip of the Blejfed Trinity and the Pope have a juil Claim to all that belongs to Peter , then is the Pope no hs than our Lord God as fome of the Canonifls have called him, to whom Boniface might well conclude, all mull be fub- je(5t upon Pain of Damnation. I shall close

[…]

this

T/jirty ‘Nine Articles. 755

this Head with a few Observations, which I Art.XXavit. hope will appear much better grounded than ^-^^‘VX*’. their proud Decrees.

First, It is worth considering, that this lof- ty Structure which they have eredted in the Church of Rome of the Supremacy of their Bilhop, is built barely upon three Metaphori- cal Speeches of our Saviour to St. Peter with- out one Word or Syllable concerning tue B’l- shop of Ko7?w or any other that was to ilicceed him. One might reasonably exped to have an Affair of inch great Consequence better founded, and more clearly exprefled, than in this Manner, Upon this Kock and / will gin:e thee the Keysj and Feed my Sheep : And that we (liould have been acquainted in downright, plain, and strong Terms, whole Share the In- heritance of this iupreme Power, which is fup- posed to be conferred by these figurative Ex- prefiions, ihould iall to after St. Peters Deceafe ; especially, if the eternal Salvation of our Sou’s depends upon our acknowledging and lubmit- ting to the Person that should from time to time facceed him, as supreme Monarch of the whole Christian Church. And yet, this is the Cafe, this is all that even fo considerable a Writer as Bellarmine who seldom overlooks any thing that seems to make for his Purpose, would venture to alledgeout of the Holy Scrip- tures for the Proof of fo weighty a Point ; for he had too much Sense and Discretion to men- tion those two Places, which the Khemlfts in their AnnctattGUs on the New ‘tefiament have fo ridiculously apply’d to this Purpose. One of them is in St. Matt, xiv. 28. Where,’ upon the Word IValk they have this wife Observation. ” Peter (faith St. Bernard walking upon the B b b 2 ” Waters

75^ An Expofitioji on the

”Iy Waters as Christ did, declared himself the ” ” only Vicar of Christ v.hich should be Ruler ” not over one People, but even all ; for many ” Waters are many People. And from hence, ” he dedaceth the like Authority and jurif- ’ di6i:ion to his Succeffors the Bishops of Rome ”. An excellent Inference ! for which they are very much obliged to St. Bernard who was fo quick-sighted, as to fpy fo notable a Declaration of St. Peters fble Vicarfliip, and draw from thence such a fine Argument for the Pope’s Authority, as no ancient Dodlor, besides himself was able to find in this Place. But must his Fancies be admitted, as fubftantial Proofs of the Bishop of Rome’s Supremacy, which was railed to a great Height in his Days? If such Conceits as these may be allowed to pass for Arguments, no IMan hath any need to be at a Lois how to defend the most abomi- nable Herefies, that the Wit or Wickednefs of Man can poiilbly invent. Their second An- notation is altogether as considerable, and be- cause they do not pretend to father it on St. Bernard or any other Writer, we will let them have the Honour of inventing it themselves. We are told it seems, Luke v. 3. that our Sa- viour, feeing: t’wo Ships by the Lake of Gennefa” rethj enter ‘d into one of them ..only, which was Simons out of which he taught the People after he had dejlred him to thrust out a little from the Land. From whence they very gravely remark, ” That by Peter s Ship, the Church is figniiied ’* or resembled, in which alone the Chair of Christ, and true Preaching are to be ex- ’ peded ”. By which, it is manifest they would have us to understand, that as Peter was Owner of the Ship, fo he and his Succeffors are Rulers and Governors of the Church. For

upon

T/jirty-Nhe Articles- 757

upon the seventh and tenth Verses, they ob- Art.xxxvii. serve how Peter had fo much Work, that he XVN. was fain to call for Help, and joined those who were in the other Ship as Copartners in the Preachijjg of the GospeL As much as to fay, the Work was committed to him alone, who took in such Help as he needed. He was the only Pastor and all the rest, as was said before, his Curates : For they tell us, that ’ all this aforefaid did ” properly mean his Travels in the Converfa- ” fion of the World, and his Prerogatives ” therein before all Men ; as is evident by ” Christ’s special Promise made to him, feve- ” rally and apart in this Place, that he should ” be made the Taker of Men ”. What then became of all the rest ? were they to fit still in their Ship and do nothing ? O no, by no Means ; ” He giveth to others (fay these Anno- ’ tators) the like Office, as to Peter’s Co-ope- ” rators and Co-adjutors. Before they laid that Peter called them and joyned them to himself, as Copartners in the Preaching of the Gospel ; but now having better, it seems, be- thought themfelvcs, they fay Christ appointed them to this Office ; yet still they are but Pe- ters Co-operators and Affiftants. He was the aker of Men and converted the World j they only came in to his Help, and brought all the Fish into his Net. eir Ship fignified nothing, it was Peter alone that fignified all. Their Ship stands for a meer Cypher ; his Ship is the Figure of the whole Church, where he governs, and they are but Helps in Government, meer Co-adjutors unto him, the great, and indeed on- ly Bi(hop overall. Who can endure such An- notations as these, in which Men play with the Holy Scriptures as they please 5 and in fo B b b 3 fiucy

758 Jn ExipcCitiGTi on the

ART.XXXVlT.iaucy a Manner, as to interpret them diredly WV”X- againii the Scriptures. In which, the Apostles call thcmielves IVcrkers together with Christ 2 Cor. vi. I. employed by him to be his Co- operators, not St. Peters- who was To fir from being the Omverter of the JVorld that his ra-veh and Fains were mofh bellowed in the lead Part of it. Which Bellanmnej I fuppofe, faw well enough, and therefore was fo wife, as to avoid the mentioning of fach allegori- cal Irifles, which may serve to entertain the Fancies of filly and weak People, but are the just Scorn and Contempt of thole, who have ary toUrable Aleafure of fptritual Understand- ing • who have heard, perhaps, that the Fa- thers fbmetimcs resembled the Church of Chrifl: to Peter s Ship ; but not that they ever dreamed of making him, and the Bishop of Konie afrer him, the Governor of the whole Church, because he was Master of that Ship.

The second Observation which I desire to make, is, That if the Danger of wrefting the Holy Scriptures be a good Region, why the common People (hould not be permitted to read them, then no body at all iliould be allowed to look into them, fmce ‘tis fo appa- rent, that the moll learned of their Priells have perverted them more than the common Peo- ple 5 and that against their Oath, whereby they are bound to interpret Scripture according to the tmammous Consent of the Fathers who all agree, that what was laid to Peter in these three Places .beion8;‘d to all the Apoflles ; whose Writings, like the rest of the Scriptures, have by none been more foully abused than by the Popes of Rome whose Interpretations and Applications of them-) should they be collcded in a Book,

would

Thirty ‘Nine Articles. 75P

would make one of the most ihameful Pieces Art.xxxvil that hath been yet extant in the World. And -/”VS lastly. Let it be obierved once more, how ill they of that Church are agreed about the In- terpretation of these hree Places of Scripture which are the Subjed of my present Difcourfe. There are four interpretations of the first Place, hou art Peter c. as hath been elft where ob- served, which have had great Authors in the Roman Church as well as others. Some, by Kock understand Peters Faith in the Confeffion he had newly made, “.hich, by the way, Job. Ekim * lairh, nobody den-ed to be the Sense, and bids Luther name the Man that laid other- wife : Others Christ himself, whom Peter had confeffed to be the Son of God : Others Peter 5 and others All the Apostles ; which lali: is the Exposition of Pafchafius Kadberttis the famous Broacher of Iranfuhfiantiatwn whose Words are these ; f ” The Church of God is built not ” only upon Peter but upon all the Apostles.” Now they who follow the Jirft and second Sense can find no Prerogative here for St. Peter above the rest of the Apostles ; and they that adhere only to the third (in Opposition to the other, as they now commonly do) are confuted by those who affert the fourth that these Words were spoken to all the Apostles. And indeed, they are all forced to confess, that nothing is here promised, which is not contained in the next Words, And I will give thee the Keys &c. But what this is, none of them can certainly tell. For one fort (such as Cajetaji) hold, that the Keys contain more than binding and loosing

• L’b. I. contra Lutlier de Pjtri Primatr^ cap, xj,. t Lib, 4. in Mattli^um.

S b b 4 which

760 An ETpofition on the

ART.XXXVir.lijch Bellarmiiw faith is false ; nay, a thing ” never heard of in the Church. And confe- quently that as the Power of Binding and Loose- ing was promised to them all, Matth. xviii. 18. o likewiie was the Power of the Keys ; and since it is to be fuppoied that Christ promised nothing which he did not perform, he therefore gave the highest Power to them all, which is contained in the Keys. Here they are at a great Lois, and cannot agree how to bring themfclves off from this Difficulty, which strips Peter of his Supremacy. Therefore fome have deviled the above-mentioned Conceit, that Peter alone had the Keys given him as their Ordinary and they as his Legates, But this seems too grols to others, who acknowledge, they all had the Keys immediately from God, as much as Peter If they be considered as Apostles, but not if they be considered as Bijhops and Pastors j for thele tisoo Offices they fancy they had, the Apo-’ fiolical nd the Pastoral Dignity the first imme- diately from Christ, the other by and under St. Peter. But this is, in a manner, the fame thing in a little finer Dress than was said before. And therefore others of them who are unfatis- lied v/ith this, that the Apoftlcs should receive their Jurifdi6tion from St. Peter have fo or- dered the Matter, that St. Peter might ufe the Keys alone, but that they might not ufe them without him. But Sistiis Senenfis could not digest this j and therefore he hath devised a three-fold Power in St. Peter. of Apofllefhip, of Order, and of the Kingdom . With re- sped: to the first he grants, that St. Paul was qual to St. Peter because he had the Offiee of

Preaching

J/jirty- Nhie Articles. 7 6 1

Preaching the Gospel, not from Peter but from Art.xxxvil God, as much as Peter himself had. With .yyJ refpedt to the second also he acknowledges the Truth of what St. Jerom writes again ft Jom- nian that all the Apostles equally received the Keysy and firmly laid the Foundation of the Church : And of what he says to Evagrius 5 all Bifipops are equal hecaufe all the ypoftles were Jo, But then with reiped: to the last qjiz. the Power of the Kingdom, and Authority over all Bishops and Churches, Peter was Head of all: That is, Peter must ibme Way or other be above all the rest, but how, they do not know. For Cardinal Baronius wiil have it, that all the Apostles had the Ufe of the Keys equally with Peter by the Ordinary Power of remitting Sins j and by this Diftindion expounds the ‘fore-mentioned Words of St. Jerom. But his Brother Cardinal Bellanmiie ( being aware, that if Peter had the Keys more than the rest by an extraordinary Power, his Authority would not descend upon his Succeflbrs) lays quite con- trary, that the Apostles had the Power of the Keys after an extraordinary manner, and Peter only by an ordinary %. Thus what one builds up, his Fellow pulls down. There is a Confu- fion of Tongues in this Bahel which they la- bour to ered:. They cannot agree fo much as about the I’erms in which they deliver this new Dodlrine. For it is a pure Invention without any Reason, or any Authority for it : But it must be fo, though they know not how, be- cause it is their Pleasure. As all the rest is which they draw from the last Place, Feed my iSheep. In which, they fay, Christ gave the

Power

y6% An Exposition on tie

Art.xxxviI. Power which he had promised and therefore Kyy fmce he prom: fed it to all, he ganje it to all, if any thing was given here. And yet, against such clear Demonstration, they will have this to be a pe- culiar Grant to Peter : Nobody knows hozv or why but because it seems good to them. For this is fo little approved of by others, that they fairly grant the ancient Opinion waSjCand make it theirs) that these Words were not spoken to Peter in a Perfojtalj but in a Puhlick Capacity ; as he represented all the Apollles. Infomuch that they can find nothing peculiar to him, in the Word Feed because of that of St. yufiin ; ” When ’ Christ said to Peter j he fa id to all, Feed my ” Sheep:” Nor in the Word Sheep because St. Amhrofe faith (in the Place before-named) ’ Thole Sheep not only Peter received j but he ’ received them with us, and we received them * with him.” Which Things are fo evident, that they have brought Ibme of that Conniu- mon to this Conclusion, that out of none of these three Places, nor all of them together, can be gathered fo much as the hare Primacy of St. Peter after that manner which Bellarmine colleds it : But it m.uft be gathered thus that in those Places, ” Peter bears the Person of the ” Church, speaks for the rest of the Apostles, ’ and is himself spoken unto by Christ in their ” Name, as the First and Principal.”t Behold then the Unity of which they boast in that Church • and how little Certainty there is among them, even of the main Point of their Faith, and, as Bellarmine makes bold to call it, the Sum of the Christian P.eligion. It stands upon

• Du Fm dc Antiq. Eccl. Difc. Dif. 4.

fo

Tbirty-Nme Articles. ^67

fo tottering a Foundation, that finding how Art.xxxvii. little these Texts in tue New Testament avail ’/‘VN them, they ranfacked the Old, to fetch fome feeble Support to it from thence And the Catholick Scripturift fancies the Old Testament helps them thus far in this Point, that it teaches ” That among the Priests of the Old Law, one ” was chosen fucceflively to be the Highest and ” Chi-f Priest. Commanding all such Causes ’ as are Ecclefiaftical Causes, to be brought to ” the Tribunal of the High Priest, and his Sentence to be obey’d even under Pain of ” Death ” And for this he alledges Deut. xvii. 8. But this only proves how ignorant such Cathollcks as he are in the Holy Scriptures. Where it is impoffiblc for him to find that the High Priests were chosen fucce£ively for they had that Dignity hy Inheritance in one certain Family, and not by Eleion. And as for the Power which he afcribes to them, (though he promises us, in his Preface to produce loud- [peaking exts for all the Points we miflike in their Religion’) there is not fo much as a Whifl per of it in the Place he alledges. The Words of which he did wifely not to quote, but only the Chapter and Verse : Which we, that have Liberty to read the Bible, can easily discern speak loudly against him, and confute that Doc- trine which he would confirm by them. If there drife says Moses in that Text, a Matter too hard for thee in Judgment between Blood and Bloody between Plea and Plea and between Stroke and Stroke being Matters of Contro’verfy within thy Gates : then shalt thou arise and get thee up into the Place which the Lord thy

^ Seventh Point.

God

7^4 -An Exposition on the

AKT.XY.xvil.QojJjall cboofe. And thou Jhalt come mto the yy* Triefts the Levites and unto the Judge that jhall he in those Days and enquire and they fb all floe w thee the Sentence of Judgment. And thou jJoalt do according to the Sentence which they of that Place f which the Lordfhall choofej shall hew thee &c. I need not recite the rest at large to the End of the 12th Verie , for every understanding Reader must evidently fee, with- out going further, that he ipeaks not a Syllable of the Htgb-Priest but of the Authority of the Supreme Tribunal or Court among the Jews (which confifted of a great Number of Persons) wherein all Controversies, which could not be ended in Inferior Courts, were to be finally de- termined, without any Appeal. In which Su- pream Court the High-Pnefi was fb far from being the Chiefs that he was not fo much as ad- mitted to be a Member, unless he was a wife Man. And then he did not bear an absolute Sway there, but the Sentence was palTed by the whole Council as appears (not merely from the Jewish Writers, but) from those repeated Ad- monitions in the very Body of this Law. fhey fjj all floe w thee the Sentence of Judgment ver. 9. and thou ihalt do according to that thing, which they of that Place ihew thee ; and ob- serve to do according to all that they inform thee Qver, 10.) according to the Sentence of the Law which they (hall teach thee ; according to the Judgment which they ihall tell thee : ‘Thou Jhalt not decline from the Sentence which they Jhall Ihew thee Qver. 11.) where he must be blind, that doth not fee no less than fix flat Contradictions to the Affertion of the Catholick Scripturiji in this very Place which he produ- ces, to prove that M’fes here fets up the Iri- bunal of the High’ Pri eft and orders his Se?!-

teiice

Thirty -Nine Articles. y6$

ience to be obeyed upon Pain of Death, in ARxXXXVit- Catifes Ecclefiaftkal. This was neither his Court, /‘W nor were the Causes judged by his Sentence, nor is there one Word here of Causes Ecclefiaftical ; but only of C’nnl ; between Blood and Bloody Plea and Plea, Stroke and Stroke : Unless we fuppofe the Word we translate Stroke relates to the Plague of the Leprosy which belonged to the Priests to judge of it , but excluded Men from all Civil as well as Sacred Society. And if the utmost be granted that can be fuppoied, (that there is Mention here of something ap- pertaining to Spiritual Causes’) yet it must be also allowed, by all Men of Sense, that this Text speaks moil of Civil Causes , and there- fore can no more prove an absolute Obedience to be due to Spiritual than to Civil Governors. All which being consider’d, I do not lee but Dr. Reynolds had Reason to fay. They might as well call in the Help of the first Words of Genesis [In the Beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth’] as this Verse in Deuteronomy to support the Pope’s Supremacy. For there, as Pope Boniface the Eighth very gravely observes, (in that Piece of his already referr’d to) Moses says, God created the Heavens and the Earth, in the Beginning. not in the Beginnings , and therefore he who refills the Popes Authority, refills the Ordinance of God unless (with Manichueus) he feign two Beginnings (or Prin- ciples) which is false and heretical. And by liich fine Fetches as this, Innocent the Third ” proved his Power over the whole Church from these Words in Deuteronotny : But he did not

mincq

766 An Exposition on the

Art.xxxvii. mince the Matter (as the CathoUck Scripturifi yy doth) but ftoutly affirmed, that the Pope may exercise temporal Jurifdidion as well as Spirit tttal not only in the Churclfs Patrimony but in other Countries also, in certain Causes. ” For ’ Deuteronomy being by Interpretation a Second *’ Law it proves by the very Force of the Word, that what is here decreed (in Bent, ’ xvii. 8.) ought to be observed in the New Testament. And then the Place which the *’ Lord hath chosen is the Apofiolick See “viz, Kome ; the Levitical Priests are bis Brethren ” the Cardinals , the Higb-Priefi or Judge is * the Pope the Vtcar ox him who is a Priest for ever, after the Order of Melchifedeck appointed by God the Judge of Quick and Dead : The first Tort of Judgments between ’ Blood and Bloody is meant of Criminal and *’ Ctvil Causes 3 the last, between Stroke and ” Stroke is meant of Ecclefiafiical and Cri- minal the middle, between Plea and Plea ’ belongeth to both Ecclefiaftical and Civil ; in ’ which, if any one contemn the Sentence ot the Apoftolical See he is deemed to die ; that ’ is, to be separated by the Sentence of Excom- ’ munication as a dead Man from the Commii- ” mon of the Faithful” Nothing is more evi- dent, than that, according to this Catholick Exposition of Pope Innocent the Bishop of Kome is, by the Divine Law, Head of all Chri- flians, as well in Civil Causes as in Ecclefiaftical. This Text m Deuteronomy proves the one as much as the other 5 that is, it proves jufl nothing, but that the Myfiery of Iniquity wrought very high, when such mystical Senies of Holy Scrip- ture were swallowed glibly, to confirm the chiefeft Mystery of the Komijh Faith. If it be said, that they argue from this Place only by a

Parity

TIjirty-Nhie Articles. 767

Parity of Keafon ; that there must be but one ART.xxxvin

[…]

no more among the Jews ^ they may have my

Answer, when they prove xhditjudea was as

big as the whole Christian World. As to Mat,

[…]

an unanlwerable Text concerning the Hiv-h-

Priests of the Old Law • ‘j’be Scribes and Pba-

ri fees fit in Moses’s Seat. All therefore whatfo^

e^uer they hid you ohfer^ve^ that observe and do.

Nobody but himfelf can fee a Syllable in it

concerning the High-Priefts^ who did not fit in

Moses’s Chair, but were the Succeffors of Aaron.

And besides this Place belongs to another Head

of their Dodrine, about the Pope’s Infallibility -,

of which, if this be a Proof, it likewise proves

[…]

fies those that crucified our Bleffed Lord and

Saviour.

That the Laws of the Realm may punish Christian Men with Death for heinous and grievous Offences, appears from Rom. xiiI 4. where St. Paul tells us, that a Ruler is the Mi- 7iifter of God a Revenger to execute Wrath upon him that doth Eil and that he heareth not the Sword in ‘vain. For ‘tis certain that he must bear the Sword in vain, except it be in his Power to cut off fome very great Offenders, be- cause nothing but Death will put a Stop to their Wickednefs, or serve as a tolerable Check to others who are wickedly difpofed. Because Man departing from God, faith IrejKzus be- came fo outrageous, that he looked upon those of his own Flefhand Blood as his Enemies, and was not afraid to give himself up to an un- peaceable Life, Murder and Avarice, it pleased God to impose on him the Fear of Man, that

Men

768 Jn Exposition 07i the

Art .XXXVII. Met! being fubjed to the Laws of Men, there yy’ might be something of Justice and good Go- vernment among them, and that they might in earnest be afraid of the Sword, as the Apostle faith : For he bearetb not the Sword in njain : For he is the Minister of God a Revenger to execute Wrath upon him that doth E’vil And for this Reason the Magistrates being invested with the Laws of Justice, as long as they ad: uprightly and lawfully, they shall not be quefti- ’ oned or punished for what they do. f

That ‘tis lawful for Christians, at the Com- mand of the Magistrate, to bear Arms and serve in the Wars, is apparent from Luke iii. 14. where we fee, that when the Soldiers came to St. John the Baptist to know their Duty, his Advice to them was only this. Bo Violence to no Man neither accuse any fal/Iy and he content with your Wages. There is not the least Hint that their Employment was unlawful. And As X. 2. Cornelius a Centurion, that is, the Com- mander of an hundred Soldiers, is called a De- vout Man j nor was he, when baptized, com- manded to leave his Profeflion. And it fuffi- ciently appears from ‘fertullian de Coron Mili tis that Christians served in the Wars, even

under Heathen Emperors.

f Adv. H&r, lib. j”. cap, 24. See Hammond’s FracI, Cat, Book 2. §. J.

Article

Notes

• See Jewell’s Bef. Apol. Part 4. cap. 14. div. i. Bilfm of Christian Subj. Part i. Hammond of Schifmt cap. 4, f, 6, 7. Vrldeaux Fafc. Contr. cap. 4. §. 5. q. 1. Mason de M’mist. Angl. lib. 4. cap, 3, 4, ij”, 16. Bilhop Lloyd’s Hifi. Account of Church Government} cap, i. Held oi the Ckurcht Book f. cap. 32, 8v:c,
• Hoc utique erant 8c caeteri Apo^oli quod fiiit Petrus, Sec. L. de un. Ecclef. §c Ep. 23 . ad Julianum.
• L. dePadicit.c. 21.
• Dr. Hammond’s Dispatcher dispatched. P. 3- c. 7. fed. 2. n. i3«
• Lib. 4. de P. R. c. i. ’
• Lib. 1. de Concil, cap. 1 7.
• Biblioth. San^t. Lib. j. Annot, 149.
• : Lib. I. de Rom. Ppnt. cap. 12,
• Dc AcTon. Chvif>. c. 30.
• Dceret. Greg. Lib. 4. Tit. 17. cap. 13. per venera- bilem.