PAPAL PRETENSIONS CONTRARY TO SCRIPTURE. 157 who profess to instruct in such things, not testified in records con- erning the exercise of it? Such arguments, indeed, in such cases, are not merely negative, but rather privative, proving things not to be, because not affirmed where in reason they ought to be affirmed: standing, therefore, upon positive suppositions,* that holy Scripture and general tradition are not imperfect and lame toward their de- sign; that ancient writers were competently intelligent, faithful, dili- gent; that all of them could not conspire in perpetual silence about things of which they had often fair occasion and great reason to speak. In fine, such considerations, however they may be deluded by sophistical wits, will yet bear great sway, and often will amount near to the force of demonstration, with men of honest prudence. However, we shall proceed to other discourses [demonstrations] more direct and positive against the popish doctrine. II. Secondly, We shall show that this pretence, upon several ac- counts, is contrary to the doctrine of holy Scripture. 1. This pretence thwarts the holy. Scripture, by assigning to an- other the prerogatives and peculiar titles appropriated therein to our Lord. The Scripture asserts him to be our only sovereign Lord and King. "To us," says it, "there is one Lord ;" and, "One King shall be king over them," who " shall reign over the house of David [Jacob] for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end ;" who is "the only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords;" the " one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy."' The Scripture speaks of one " Archpastor," and " great Shepherd of the sheep," exclusively to any other: for, "I will," said God in the prophet, " set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed the sheep ;" and, " There," says our Lord himself, " shall be one fold, and one shepherd." Who that shall be he expresses, adding, " I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. "' By Pope Boniface's good leave, who makes St Peter or himself this shepherd?' The Scripture tells us that we have " one High Priest of our pro- fession;" answerable to that "one" in the Jewish church, his type. Heb. iii. 1, ix. 7, 24. The Scripture informs us that there is but one supreme Doctor, 4' That is, the argument, derived from the absence of all recognition of the papal authority in the documents referred to, is not only negative but positive, inasmuch as it proceeds on the suppositions afterwards mentioned, which may be assumed as settled and admitted truths, such as, that holy Scripture and general traditionare not im- perfect, &c. En. 1 Cor. viii. 6, xii. 5 ; Eph. iv. 5 ; Ezek. xxxvii. 22 ; Luke i. 33 ; 1 Tim. vi. 15 ; James iv. 12. s 1 Pet. v. 4, ii. 25 ; lieb. xiii. 20 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 23 ; John x. 16, 11, 14. 3 Extray. Cora., lib. i. tit. 8, C. 1.
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