Chrift is bead, the redeemed, regenerated church of Chrift, is quite another thing than to be of any vifible fociety. whatever; for in all fuch communions there are but too many that have no true title to Chriftianity. If, then, that immaculate church, of which Christ is head, be made up only of holy and regenerated fouls throughout the focieties of Chriftians, this will administer but little comfort to thofe, that prefume upon their being within the pale of the visible church, that are without the pale of virtue and holiness.

But to proceed to those scriptures that are irreconcileable to implicit faith and blind obedience: "He that "believeth, hath the witness in himself," 1 John v. 10. This general rule refpects no perfons: it is the refult of the Holy Ghoft to all believers. Such have no need to go to Rome, nor Winifred's Well, to the brines of faints, the priests, nor the church,' for a proof of their faith. They have an evidence nearer home: they have the witness of their faith, and the reafon of their hope, in themselves.

It is true, this is a private judge; but (as it happens) it is one of the Holy Ghoft's fetting up; of all things, I confefs, most destructive to papacy, no doubt; for there is a judge in every man, that fincerely believes, to whom he muft ftand or fall in this and the other world. For, faith the apostle, "If our heart condemn us, God "is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things: " beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have "we confidence towards God," John iii. 20, 21. That is, The witnefs in ourselves difcharges us.' "The Spirit beareth witness with our fpirits, that we "are the children of God;" Rom. viii. 16. and fons of the true church: not fhe that hath fatted herself with the flesh of the faints, and died her garments in the blood of martyrs, who hath merchandized in the fouls of men; but of that church which is crowned with stars, and cloathed with the fun, and has the moon under her feet. A church of light and knowledge, of understanding and truth, and not of implicit faith and blind obedience: one that tramples upon all fublunary glory;

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glory; and not fhe that makes her pretences to religion a decoy to catch the empire of the world.

Of like tendency is that notable paffage of the apoftle Paul to the Corinthians, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. " Examine "yourselves, whether ye be in faith; prove your own "felves: know ye not your own felves, how that "Jefus Chrift is in you, except ye be reprobates?" Here is not a word of the Pope, nor an external judge! no human inquifition or authority. "Examine your

"felves, whether ye be in the faith? Prove your own "felves:" but which way fhall we do this? By Christ, who is the great light, that shines in our hearts, to give us the knowledge of God and ourfelves: "He that "believes in him, has the witness in himself;" he is no reprobate; his heart condemns him not.

To which I will add another paffage to the fame purpose, in his epiftle to the Galatians, Gal. vi. 4, 5.

But let every man prove his own work; then fhall " he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in ano"ther: for every man fhall bear his own burden." Here every man is enjoined to turn inquifitor upon himself; and the reafon rendered fhews the juftice of the thing; because my rejoicing must be in myself alone, and not in another, I ftand and fall to no • man; fuch as I sow, I must reap at the hand of God,' if Paul fay true. Mens pardons are vain, and their indulgencies fictitious; "For every man fhall bear his ❝own burden, in that great day of the Lord." It cannot therefore be reasonably thought that another man should have the keeping of my understanding at my eternal cost and charge; or that I must entirely depend upon the judgment of a man, or men, who erring, (and thereby caufing men to err) cannot be damned for me, but I must pay their reckoning at the hazard of my own damnation.

I am not unacquainted with the great objection that is made by Roman Catholicks, and fome Proteftants too, high church-men perhaps, that love the treason, but hate the traitor; that like this part of popery, but hate the pope, viz. There are doubts in fcripture, even • about

' about the most important points of faith: fomebody 'must guide the weak; there must be fome one ultimate, external, and vifible judge to appeal to, who < muft determine and conclude all perfons, as to their ⚫ doubts and apprehenfions concerning the interpretation of fcripture; otherwife fo many men, fo many minds; the church would be filled with controverfy and confufion.'

I answer, That the fcriptures are made more doubtful than they are, by fuch as would fain preferve to themselves the umpirage and judgeship of their meaning. I deny it, in point of fact, that man's duty is not moft plainly expreffed in all that concerns eternal falvation. But it is very strange, that when God intends nothing more by the fcriptures, than to reach the capacities of men as to things on which their eternal falvation depends, that no book, if fuch men say true, fhould be fo obfcure, or subject to fo many various, nay, contradictory, conftructions. Name me one author, Heathen, few, or Chriftian, that ever wrote with that obfcurity and feeming inconfiftency, which fome gladly pretend to find in the holy fcripture, that they might have the ufe and keeping of them from the vulgar, and make their own ends by it. Is, then, every body's book to be understood but God's? Was that writ not to be understood? In fhort, one of these two things must be true; Either that God intended not to be un'derstood, or to be understood, in what he command'ed to be written.' If he refolved not to be understood, it had been better there had been nothing writ; for then there had been no doubts about the meaning of it: but if it was his purpose to be understood of men, it must be fuppofed that what he caused to be written, was plain enough for men to understand, or he miffed his own aim and end, and writ it to no purpose; which were too low and abfurd a thought of the infinite goodnefs and wisdom.

If it should be told me, That it is not denied but that the fcriptures may be understood by fome body, but not by every body; for that the great, vifible

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judge muft needs understand them, because it belongs to his office to refolve those doubts, and determine thofe controverfies that may arise about understanding them; but not every one that reads them." Anf. I must alfo fay, that this is not true in fact : for it is ridiculous to imagine, that Luke did not make Theophilus bis own judge in the reading of what he writ to him; or that the apostles, in writing to the feveral churches, as Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, &c. to whom they directed their epiftles, did not intend that they should understand what they writ; or that they erected any fuch officer in the church, as an expounder of their epiftles to the affembly to be neceffarily believed. For we know, in thofe days, the people made the church; they were the xangós, the clergy, however it came about that it be now engroffed into fewer hands; as you may fee in the Greek of Peter, 1 Pet. ν. 4. Μηδ' ώς κατακυριευοντες τῶν κλήρων; which κλήρων, is tranflated heritage in all our Bibles. But this is as if the priests only were the Lord's heritage; which cannot be, for a reafon obvious to all; namely, that they have long reigned as lords over God's heritage, or clergy, forbid exprefly by Peter; therefore not the heritage and clergy over which they fo rule like lords; by no means. I will fay no more but this, it is no convincing proof to me of their humility. But to fhut up this argument about the difficulty of understanding the fcripture, and pretended neceffity of a vifible judge; I fay, • Whatsoever may be spoken, may be written:' Or thus, < Whatsoever a vifible judge can now fay, the holy 'penmen, by God's direction, might have written?" and what an omnifcient and omnipotent God did know, and could do, for man's falvation, an omnibenevolent God, that tells us, "He delights not in the death of "one foul, but rather that he fhould be faved," would certainly have done for man. And because God is an omnibenevolent, as omnifcient and omnipotent, we muft conclude he has done it: and it is great prefumption, and a mean fhelter to ignorance or ambition,

to raise a credit to human devices, by beating down the true value of the fcriptures.

They are dark:' What follows? They must not be read.' What follows then? Why then fuch teachers may do as they lift with the people. But did the Pharifees, with their broad phylacteries, know God's mind better than the prophets? Or could they deliver it clearer? No fuch matter: it is by the fame ftrange figure, that the schoolmen know the mind of Chrift better than the apostles; and that the Council of Trent can declare faith more clearly than the Holy Ghost in the fcripture hath done: and yet this is the English of their doctrine, that hold to us thofe lights to read the fcripture by and that would have us fearch their canons and decrees, to find out the mind of the Holy Ghost in fcripture.

The confufions that are pretended to follow fuch an inquiry, are but the wretched arts of selfish men, as much as in them lies, to keep light and truth out of the world. When the net was caft into the fea, there came fome good, fome bad fish; it was not the fiberman's fault they were no better. Enquiry is not to be blamed, for the ill ufe weak, or worfe men, make of it. The Bereans might not all believe, though they might all fearch; for men do not enquire with equal wisdom, love, and good defire. "Some feek and "find not, fome afk and receive not;" James iv. 3. Muft none therefore afk or feek after that which is good? Or, because some ask or feek amifs, will it follow that the thing itfelf is naught? If fuperftition, error, idolatry, and spiritual tyranny be detected, and truth discovered, will it not more than make amends for all that weakness and folly fome men have brought forth by the liberty of fuch an enquiry? The enemies of light may be as rhetorical as they please upon the excess or prefumption of fome, bolder than wife, and more zealous than knowing; but if they had nothing to lose by the discovery, they would never be the enemies of a Chriftian fearch. It is to be feared, fuch get that obedience and fubjection by a blind devotion,

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which