fies, even in the church of Rome herfelf, concerning matters of religion, which still remain undecided; and in their commentaries upon fcripture, many dif ferences about the fenfe of feveral texts concerning which he hath not thought fit to give an infallible interpretation. And where their Popes, and feveral of their general councils, have thought fit to meddle with fcripture, they have applied and interpreted texts more improperly and abfurdly than even their private doctors. And, which is more, in differences about points of faith, which are pretended on both fides to be fundamental, this church hath not thought fit to put an end to them by her infallible decifion, after two hundred years brangling about them. For inftance, in that fierce and long difference about the immaculate conception of the bleffed virgin, which, on both fides, is pretended to be an article of faith, and for which, contrary revelations of their canonized faints are so frequently pretended; and yet neither Pope, nor general council, have thought fit to exert their infallibility for the decifion of this controverfy. So that if their church had this talent of infallibility ever committed to them, they have, with the flothful fervant, laid it up in a napkin; and according to our Saviour's rule have long fince forfeited it, for not making use of it.

And whereas it is pretended that the fcripture is but a dead rule, which can end no controverfies without a living judge ready at hand, to interpret and apply that rule upon emergent occafions; the famé ob. jection lies against them, unless a general council, which is their living judge, were always fitting; for the definitions of their councils in writing are liable to the fame, and greater objections than the written rule of the fcriptures.

The fum of all is this. In differences about leffer matters, mutual charity and forbearance will fecure the peace of the church, though the differences rèmain undecided; and in greater matters, an infallible rule fearched into with an honeft mind, and due diligence, and with the help of good inftruction, is more likely to extinguish and put an end to fuch differences,

ferences, than any infallible judge, if there were one s because an humble and honeft mind is more likely to yield to reafon, than a perverfe and cavilling temper is to fubmit to the fentence of an infallible judge, unless it were backed with an inquifition. The church of Rome fuppofeth herself infallible, and yet notwithstanding that, he finds that fome question and deny her infallibility, and then her fentence fignifies nothing. And of thofe who own it, many difpute the fenfe and meaning of her fentence; and whether they deny the infallibility of her fentence, or difpute the fenfe of it, in neither of these cafes will it prove effectual to the deciding of any difference.

But after all this provifion which we pretend God hath made for honeft and fincere minds, do we not fee that men fall into dangerous and damnable errors, who yet cannot, without great uncharitableness, be fuppofed not to be fincerely defirous to know the truth, and to do the will of God?

To this I fhall briefly return these two things:

I. That the fame errors are not equally damnable to all. The innocent, and (humanly fpeaking) almost invincible prejudices of education in fome perfons even against a fundamental truth; the different capacities of men, and the different means of conviction afforded to them; the greater and leffer degrees of obftinacy, and a faulty will in oppofing the truths propofed to them; all these, and perhaps feveral other confiderations befides, may make a great difference in the guilt of mens errors, and the danger of them.

II. When all is done, the matter must be left to God, who only knoweth the hearts of the children of men. We cannot fee into the hearts of men, nor know all their circumftances, and how they may have provoked God to forfake them, and give them up to error and delufion, because they would not receive the truth in the love of it, that they might be faved. And as on the one hand God will confider all mens circumstances, and the difadvantages they were under for coming to the knowledge of the truth, and make allowance to men for their invincible er

rors,

rors, and forgive them upon a general repentance : So on the other hand, he who fees the infincerity of men, and that the errors of their understandings did proceed from grofs faults of their lives, will deal with them accordingly. But if men be honest and fincere, God, who hath said, if any man will do his will, he hall know of the doctrine, will certainly be as good as his word.

It now remains only to draw fome inferences from this difcourfe, and they fhall be these three:

First, From this text, and what hath been difcourfed upon it, we may infer how flender and ill-grounded the pretence of the church of Rome to infallibility is, whether they place it in the Pope, or in a general council, or in both. The laft is the moft general opinion; and yet it is hard to understand how infallibility can refult from the Pope's confirmation. of a general council, when neither the council was infallible in framing its definitions, nor the Pope in confirming them. If the council were infallible in framing them, then they needed no confirmation: If they were not, then infallibility is only in the Pope that confirms them, and then it is the Pope only that is infallible.. But no man that reads thefe words of our Saviour, if any man will do his will, he shall' know of the doctrine, would ever imagine that the Bifhop of Rome (whoever he shall happen to be) was fecured from all fatal errors in matters of faith, much lefs that he were endowed with an infallible spirit in judging what doctrines are from God, and what not. For it cannot be denied, but that many of their Popes have been notorioufly wicked and vicious in their lives Nay, Bellarmine himself acknowledgeth, that for a fucceffion of fifty Popes together, there was not one pious and virtuous man that fat in that chair and fome of their Popes have been condemned and depofed for herefy; and yet for all this, the Pope, and the governing part of that church, would bear the world in hand that he is infallible. But if this faying of our Saviour be true, that if any man will do his will, he shall know of his doctrine, whether it' be of God; then every honeft man that fincerely de

fires to do the will of God, hath a fairer pretence to infallibility, and a clearer text for it, than is to be found in the whole Bible, for the infallibility of the Bishop of Rome. What would the church of Rome give, that there were but as exprefs a text in fcripture for the infallibility of their Popes, as this is for the fecurity of every good man, in his judgment of doarines; which makes infallibility needlefs? What an infufferable noife, and what endless triumphs would they make upon it, if it had been any where faid in the Bible, That if any man be the Bishop of Rome, and fit in St. Peter's chair, he shall know of my doEtrine whether it be of God? Had there been but fuch a text as this, we fhould never have been troubled with their impertinent citation of texts, and their remote and blind inferences from pafce oves, and fuper hanc petram; feed my sheep; and upon this rock will I build my church; to prove the Pope's infallibility. And yet no man of fenfe or reafon ever extended the text I am fpeaking to, fo far as to attempt to prove from it the infallibility of every good man; but only his fecurity from fatal errors and mistakes in religion. The largest promises that are made in fcripture of fecurity from error and mistake about divine things, are made to good men, who fincerely defire to do the will of God. And if this be fo, we must conclude several Popes to have been the fartheft from infallibility of any men in the world. And indeed there is not a more compendious way to perfuade men that the Chriftian religion is a fable, than to fet up a lewd and vicious man for the oracle of it. Nay, I will go farther yet; that there are no other promifes made in fcripture, of direction or affiftance, or fecurity from mistake, to any church; but the fame are made in as full and exprefs terms to every good man that fincerely defires to know the truth, and to practise it. Is it promifed to the church, or to the paftors of it, I will be with you always? And hath not our Saviour promifed the fame to every one that is obedient to his word, John xiv. 23. If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our aVOL. V.

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bode with him? And does not the Apoftle apply the fame promise to every good Chriftian, Heb. xiii. 5. I will never leave thee nor forsake thee? For where is the difference between thefe expreffions? I will be with you, and I will make my abode with him? I will be with you always, and I will never leave thee nor for fake thee? Is it promifed to the church, that the Spirit fhall lead her into all truth? And is not the fame promise made to every good man? John xiv. 21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me, fhall be loved of my father; and I will love him, and will manifeft myself to him; that is, God will reveal his will to thofe that love him, and keep his commandments. Hath God promised to build his church upon a rock? And doth not our Saviour ufe the fame metaphor concerning every man that doth the will of God? Matth. vii. 24. Whosoever heareth thefe fayings of mine, and doth them, is like a wife man that built his house upon a rock. So that if to be built upon a rock fignifies infallibility, it belongs to every good man, who fincerely practifeth what he knows, as much as to any church.

When men are enabled by God to work miracles for the confirmation of the doctrines which they deliver, there is great reafon to believe that they are infallibly affifted in the delivery of thofe doctrines : But without this, it is the vaineft thing in the world for any perfon or church to pretend to it; because they offer no evidence fit to fatisfy any man that they are fo affifted: And I do not hear that the Pope, among all his privileges, does pretend to the power of miracles.

Secondly, From hence likewife we may infer the great reafon of error and infidelity in the world. If any man be an infidel, it is not the fault of his understanding, but of his will; it is not because there is not fufficient evidence that the Chriftian religion is from God, but because mens interefts and lufts make them partial and incompetent judges of matters of religion. The evidence of the Chriftian religion is fuch as recommends it to every man's reason and

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