I see no other way they can possibly clear themselves of this difficulty, but by saying as they do, that an implicit belief is enough; that is, a believing as the Church believes, though they cannot tell what that is. This is only believing by proxy, or rather a mere readiness to believe, if they knew what it was that they were to believe. A pretty device, to make the infallibility of the Church an excuse for the ignorance of the people; but the surest way that they have left, never to be mistaken, is to be very careful to know nothing.

I have now shewed, that we may come to a right understanding of the Scriptures, in all things necessary, in that way which the Protestants use; that the Papists have no such unquestionable interpretation as they would persuade us they have; or granting they had, whatever they object against us would be of the same force against themselves; whatever they say against our interpreting the Bible will hold as well against their interpreting their interpreter. But they know they have no such interpreter; and the pains they have taken to extol the imaginary sense of the Church, and decry the private spirit, has been only to deter the people from reading the Scripture, or else from presuming to understand it, which, when all is done, will be found at last to have been the greatest security of the Popish cause.

THE TEXTS WHICH PAPISTS CITE OUT OF THE BIBLE, FOR THE PROOF OF THEIR DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE OBSCURITY OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, EXAMINED.

THAT the Romanists are much more concerned for the interests of their Church than for the credit of our common Christianity, doth too manifestly appear by not a few of their avowed doctrines, but by none more than that of the obscurity of the holy Scriptures. In order to their Church's advancement to the highest pitch of glory imaginable, it is the most fundamental of all the articles of their faith, that she is infallible. And that the holy Scriptures themselves may be subjected to her authority, they resolve their belief of them into it ultimately; they found their judgment of canonical books wholly thereon; and not content herewith, they make their Church the only judge of the true sense of Scripture, and . do their utmost to persuade the world of its great obscurity, even in the most necessary points, that they may demonstrate the absolute necessity of an infallible judge, and consequently of relying on the judgment of the Church of Rome for the understanding of Scripture, there being no Church besides that dares to pretend to the miraculous gift of infallibility.

And Cardinal Bellarmine, in the first and second chapters of his Third Book of Disputations, sets himself to oppose the plainness and perspicuity of the Scripture, in order to this end, as appears by all the following chapters of this book. And this he doth,

First, By Scripture.

Secondly, By sayings of several Fathers.

Thirdly, By answering objections: all which he doth perfectly like himself, as he appears in his other controversies, though much unlike a man of so great a name.

He opposeth the Scripture's perspicuity by Scripture two ways:

First, By producing several texts, by which he pretends to prove the Scriptures to be obscure.

Secondly, By giving us instances for a specimen of the

Scripture's obscurity. And the chief business of this discourse. is, to examine how serviceable the Cardinal's particular texts of Scripture are to this his design against the Scriptures in general; as also to take those into consideration which are urged by others of his party for the same purpose.

But it is necessary first to shew what Protestants believe touching the perspicuity of Scripture; and,

1. I shall not need to say, that we are far from thinking the Scripture to be throughout plain and easy to be understood; that there are no obscurities, or no very great obscurities, to be found therein.

2. We are as far from thinking that all persons are in a capacity of understanding all Scripture; but we know that, according to men's educations and parts, and other circumstances, they are capable of knowing the true meaning of more or less of it.

3. We acknowledge that there are not a few places of Scripture so obscure and difficult as that those who are furnished with the best, both natural and acquired, advantages for the understanding of Scripture, cannot be certain of their having attained to the true sense of them, And we know,

4. That a great part of Scripture is now very easy that was once as difficult; and that many things therein contained are now extremely difficult, which time will make as easy. For instance, many of the types and prophecies of the Old Testament which relate to the Messias, were, perhaps, till his coming, at least as to their chief intention, unintelligible to all who were not inspired for the 'understanding of them, that since his coming, are to us Christians as plain and perspicuous. And several predictions in the book of Daniel and the Apocalypse, which we see accomplished, are as plain to us as they were before obscure; and those that are to be accomplished, are now as obscure as they shall be plain. And it is evident that the types and prophecies were designed by Providence chiefly for the benefit of after ages, for their greater confirmation in the Christian faith, as they came to be fulfilled; and divers of them might probably be designed wholly for their benefit. But,

5. We are abundantly assured, that all things necessary to be rightly understood in order to our salvation are in the holy Scriptures delivered with great perspicuity. That the meaning of those words and phrases by which the essential points of Christianity (whether they be matters of practice or of mere

belief) are made known to us, is as plain as we can reasonably desire it should be. This is shewn in a late excellent treatise, entitled, "Search the Scriptures," &c.* to which I refer the reader. And if any of these points are in some places less clearly expressed, they are in others most clearly; as the Divinity of our Saviour, &c.

This we shall anon prove by Scripture; and in the mean time we affirm, that St. Paul's words to his son Timothy, 2 Epist. iii. 15, do plainly imply this concerning the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which will be acknowledged not to be so perspicuous as those of the New. He there tells him, that "from a child he had known the holy Scriptures, which were able to make him wise to salvation," &c. ; which must, at least, be understood of all things necessary to salvation contained in them. And in saying that Timothy knew them from a child, is implied sure that he understood them, and not that he had only learnt, like a parrot, to prate Scripture. And in believing thus concerning the Scriptures, we believe with the ancient Fathers, particularly we believe with St. Austin, who hath this well known saying,† “Ea quæ manifeste posita sunt in sacris Scripturis, omnia continent quæ pertinent ad fidem, moresque vivendi." We believe with St. Chrysostom, who, Hom. 3. on the Second to the Thessalonians, saith, that "all things necessary are dñλa manifest." Nay, we might shew that some of the Popish writers themselves have declared their belief herein to be the same with ours; particularly Thomas Aquinas saith,‡ that "the Scriptures were proposed to all, and in such a manner that the rudest people might understand them." By which he must mean, in things necessary, at least.

But whereas it is objected, that it is not plain in Scripture what points are necessary, and what not, we answer: that as to whatsoever is necessary ratione medii, as a means in itself necessary to qualify us for the pardon of our sins, and the enjoyment of God, our own reason can find it out in Scripture; and whatsoever is only necessary, ratione præcepti, by positive precepts, the Scripture plainly declares it so to be. But further, we are assured that it is necessary to salvation to believe the truth of all things contained in Scripture, in that

*From page 74 to 91.

+ De Doct. Christ. 1. 2. c. 9. [vol. 3. par. 1. p. 24. Par. 1680.]

sense which is therein meant; and if, after a faithful search after the true sense, wherein it is disputable, we happen to be mistaken, this shall be no obstruction to our salvation. Of this several Scriptures, which we shall hereafter have occasion to cite, do give us unquestionable assurance.

And, therefore, we cannot but esteem it as an instance of most heinous ingratitude to Almighty God and our blessed Saviour; as an intolerable affront to the grace of the Gospel, and an infinite injury to the souls of men, to persuade the world that the holy Scriptures are obscure in matters necessary, i. e. (as we said) in any of those points of faith or practice, which are either means in their own nature necessary to qualify us for that happiness which is brought to light by the Gospel, or are made necessary to the attainment thereof by express declarations in Scripture.

6. As to those matters revealed in Scripture, the knowing of which is only profitable, and of use to our greater growth and progress in virtue, or to our being the more serviceable to God in the world, or to the managing of ourselves with the best Christian prudence in particular cases and circumstances, we affirm that most of them also are very plainly delivered; and if they are not in some places, they are in others, or may by evident consequence be inferred from what is plainly revealed, so that it will not cost us much pains to inform ourselves truly concerning them. But particular cases that may fall out are infinite, and consequently cannot be expressly determined in any writing; and therefore it is unreasonable to expect to find them so in the holy Scriptures. Yet they contain such general rules, as by the use of our reason, and prayers to God for direction and good advice, we may either understand how to govern ourselves in such cases; or if, after faithful endeavours in the use of the best means to know our duty, we are mistaken, we are sure, upon a general repentance of all our faults, known and unknown, of God's pardon. But yet,

7. We do not assert the Scriptures so plain in the most necessary points as to be uncapable of being misunderstood and perverted to an ill sense: if we did, we should think citations out of the most primitive Fathers, and those Councils which best deserve to be called General, wholly needless for the clearing of these, both which we have a great esteem of, as excellent good witnesses, though not as judges. And we need no greater evidence for the Scriptures being capable of