Of the Cf\!Jelution of Faith and Tradition. thefe fubfervienr matters of faCt, by fuch a c.oncunence of eviden~es, ~s_amounteth eo an ir.fal'ibili– ty or moral ccrt.Jinty, beyond mt!r httm~nt. fatth as fu~h : A~ t· ~· an ~lhterate perfon that hath it b~t from mher_s, .may ~e certam chat It ts mdeed a ~r.blt whtch IS or~marily read and preached to hm~; and that It IS ro truly tran~~ted as to be a fufi:ictc~t Rule ?f_falth and life, having no mifiake whtch muft: hazard a mans fa\vatton : Becau~e the B1ble m_the Ongmal tongues is fa commonly to be had, and fo many among us underft:and It, and there IS among them fo great a contrariety f judgements and intcrells, that it is not poffible but tmny would deted fuch a publick lye if 0 01ould deal falfiy i~ fo w_eighty and evideht acafe. There is a M~ral certainty (equal to'a Na:~~ raJ) that forne a6hons will not be done by whole Countrcys wluch every individual perfon hath power and naturallibmy to do: As e. g• .there is no man in the Kingdom but may pollibiy kill him– felf, or may fafl to morrow, or may lye m bed many dayes together~ And yet it is certain, that all the people inEngland wilt do n@ne of thcfe: So it is poffible thanny fingle pe.fon may lye even in a palpable publick cafe, as to prct~nd that this is a Bible when it is tOme other Book, or that this is the tame Book that was received from the Apofilcs by the Churches of that age, when it is not it,&c. But f~r all tl~e. ~ounncy, and all tl~e world t.h.at .are comp:tent witnt~es, to agree to do this, is a meer tmpofitbtlny, I mean fuch a tlung as cannot be done wnhout" Mzracle, yea, an univerfal Miracle. And more than fo, it is impoffible that God fl10uld do a Miracle to accompli!h fuch an univerfal wickedndSand dfceit; whereas it is poffiblc that natural caufes by a Miracle may be rurned our of courfe, where t?ere is nothing in the nat~re of God agai~fi it (as tha.t the Son lhould fiand fijiJ, &c.) We have a ccrtaznty that there was a JulJJu C~for, a 1YiUzam the 6:onquerour,. an Arijlotle, a Ci.cero, an Augu,~ine, aChryfoj!ome, and that the Laws and Statutes of the Land were. really enacted by the Kmgs and Parhaments whofe names they bear; becaufe the Natural and Czv1l mtcreHs of Co many thoufands that arc able to dctcCl it, could never be reconciled here to a deceit. When Judges and Counfcllors, Kings and Nobles, and Plaintiffs and Defendants utter enemies are all agreed in it it is more certain ro a finglc: pcriOn than if he had feen the palling of them with his eyes. So in ~ur cafe, when an Office was fiabli(hcd in the Church, to read and preach this Gofpel in the Affemblies; and when all the Congregations took _it as the Charter of their falvation, and the Rule of ~heir faith and life; and when thcfc Pallors and Churches were difpcrfcd over all the Chrifiian world, who thus worCbipped God from day to day ; and all Seers and enemies were ready to have dttecrcd a falfili– cation or deceit, it is here as impotfible for [uch a Kind of Hifl'ory, or 1radirion, or teflimony to be j&l{e .in fuch material points of fact, as for one mans fenfcs to deceive him, and much more. ' ~· 29. Thus I have at once Oicwcd yoU the true order of the Prtacbi,:g, and proof,, and rectiving of the fevenl matters of Religion, and how and into wh'at our Faith muft be refolved ; andhow far your T<ach<rs are to be Believed> And here you muU fpecially obferve two things: r. That there can be no dangl!r in this Refolution of fairh, of derogating either from the war~<. of the Holy G!Jojl, or the ScriptHreJ folf-cvidenct, or any other caufe what ever: Becaufe we afcribe norhing to Hifiory or Tra– dition which was afcribed to any of thefe caufes by the firfi Chrifl:ians; but only put our Reception hyTradi1ion inftead of thtir Rcceptivn immediately by[en[e: Our rectiving by infallible hillory, is but in the place of their rtctiving by fight; and not in the place of the filfevidcnct of _Scripture, or aqy tejlimony or teaching of the Spirit. The method is exactly laid down 1 Htb. 2• 3, +· How jhaU we e[c•pe if we 11e~lcli [o great falvation, which at the fi'j! began 10 be [pokm by the Lortl., and Wat confirmed to rtJ by thtm that l,eftrd bim : Gild alfo btaring them winufi both withfi;.nr and wondtu and diver 1 nziraclu, and gifts of the Holy Gh,ifl according to hH own will. Here is the fum of what I have been faying• .9· 3 0 • 2 • Obfcrve alfo the great diffmncc betwem ns and the Papifis in this controverfie of ufing 1radition in the rcfolution cf our Faith. 1. Th{y decide the main quefiion in gJofs by Tndi– tion, viz. Whether the Scripture be the Word ofGod? But we only decide the qucltions about hi· jlory or m•tters of fali by ir, which are fubfcrvient to the other. 2. The Tradition which moll of them plead is nothing but the A~tthoritalive jtulgemcnl of tbe flecctffivt P.iflorJ of tbt ChHr;b in a Ge– neral Council co1rjirmtd by the Pope, and as ~nothcr faction among thun f<tith, tfJt receptioncf the whole Church both Laity and Cltrgie; and this Church mutt be only theRoman faction : But the Tradition which we plead iS' the concurrenr T cfiimony of fziends and foes, Orthodox and Hnerir;ks ; and ofall the Churches throughout the world, both Greek and Latine, Ethiopian, Armenian, Prorefianu, &~· And this Tefiimony we plead, nor meerly as ahttmane ufrimany (much lefs as fuch as is credible chiefly for the-meer Power ( real or pretended) of the Tdlifiers : but as fuch as by a concuirence of tefii– monies 1nd circurnfiances hath ( befide$ the Teachers authori1y) the evidences of hrf.Jli.ible moral ceruhrly, in the very Hiflory ; as we have of the Statutes 0£ rhc Realm. . Dirtl1• 6 • ~· 31· DireCt. 6. V;tdtrjland n'htd kjnd and meafHre of Obedience it i1 tbat you oweyour law[Hl Pa-. ftou, th::t you 1zeither prove Schi[PJ.Jtical and unruly, nor ytt havi tJ hand in {ctting :ep IdoiJ and u{t~r'ftStions ;,. the Church. This you may learn from the foregoing dcfcriprioo of the Paltors wo,k. The kJnd oLynur ob~dience is comrnenfurate to the kind of his Office and Work.; You are not to obey your We mly r .. ot Pajf 6 rr, as Civil Magifirares that bear the Sword; nor as Phyficions to tell you what you muft do fc~;c~~it ~~~ for youJ" health, nor as Artificers to command you how to plow, and {ow, and trade, &c. (except in the ~%~h~w:eden~t fo great authority given u~ by th_e l.:tw~ , as to repre~s offende_rs : ~nd ~f it were !awful fer us fo to do, _w: hlVe_ no ufe of any fuch violent po\Y;r : for t~:at. Chnft crowne~~ them ~h1ch abft~m. from un, uot ot .:t forced, bu: of a wdhng_ m:nd and purpo[c. chryf. cira~te B1l[o>z cf SJibJt{hOII p. 516. Et 1_b1d. ex H1lar•. If thu vJoltnc~ were ufed_ {or !he tr~ f.:mh,. rhe DoCtnne of Bi£hops would be againfi it: God necdeth no ~arced fe!v1ce: He requueth 110 ~onft~:t.lncd _cotr~fe(liC>..J. [ c:umot rec,e1ve any mln but him that is willipg ; l cannot give e:u, but to hm1 that mtreateth, &c. If a& Ongu.1buf. cJtat. Mrm:~lity,
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