THat this Text is perverted, for the Main­tenance of the Pope's Supremacy over the whole Christian Church, as being ground­ed on two weak Foundations: The One, That St. Peter is hereby constituted Oecumenical Pastor; The Other, That the Bishop of Rome is herein St. Peters Successor, and enjoys all his [Page 2]supposed Priviledges, is so Notoriously Known, that having but read the Words, I am concerned to vindicate them from that perverted sense, and to discover the full meaning and design of the place; whereby I shall wrest this Scripture out of their Hands, and render it Unserviceable to their Cause. And this I shall endeavour to do by this following Method.

I. I shall propose the Interpretation, which the Advocates for the Pope's Supremacy put on these Words.

II. I shall give the True Sense of the Words, and explain the meaning of every particular Phrase in the Text, and thereby Answer all that is mate­rial in their Interpretation.

III. I shall consider the Power, Authority, and Priviledges hereby conferred on St. Peter, which are either

• 1. Extraordinary, or Personal.
• 2. Ordinary, or to be derived down to his Successors; in which latter Branch, I shall endeavour to Refute the Supremacy of the Pope, as it is pretendedly Supported there­by.

I. I begin with the Romish Gloss and Interpre­tation. Cajetan in locum. The first I meet with, is Cardinal Caje­tan's literal Exposition: In which we need not doubt to find the Doctrine of the Roman Church: since he professes in his Epistle to Pope Clement the 7th, that he submits it to the Apostolical Seat; and that he accounts it not safe to Write any thing but what agrees thereto. Thou Art, (sayes he) and not only art Called, a Rock; and to this purpose thou [Page 3]art such, that thou maist be the Foundation of the Church. And the Pronoun This, shews the Rock of which it is spoken; for of no other is it said, either Before or After, that it is a Rock, but of Peter: As if Christ had plainly said, Thou art a Rock; and upon this Rock, I will lay the Foundation of my Church: Whereby he promises the Govern­ment of his Church to Peter; since he was to be the same in the Church, as the Foundation is in the Building. So that Christ appointed his Church to be Supported and Susteined upon the Strength of St. Peter's Seat; Against which, the Gates of Hell should not prevail. But he proceeds; I will give thee: Now he promises, after his Re­surrection he gave; as Joh. 21.15, &c. Feed my Sheep: Which Text, whether it prove what it is produced for, it is not my Business at present to enquire. Upon the Word Keyes, he tells us; That Christ by many Metaphors describes and explains the Supremacy of Peter: As before, by the Foundation in a Building; so now, by the Resemblances of Keyes. For it is observable, That when Princes come first to their Crowns, or by Conquest gain new Towns; the Keys are presented to them, in Acknowledgment of their Supreme Au­thority: In Conformity to which Custome, Christ promises, That he will give Peter the Keyes; and thereby, the Primacy in his Church. And he adds, That it is said Keyes, in the Plural Num­ber; because the Supream Power consists of two things: One is the Power of Discerning, Judg­ing, and Defining those Things that belong to the Kingdom of Heaven; and this is called, The [Page 4]Key of Knowledge: The Other, is the Power of Doing and Executing what is so Defined; and this is called, The Key of Power. What follows concerning the Kingdom of Heaven, limits St. Peter's Power to Spirituals; not admitting it in Temporals, unless in Ordine ad Spiritualia; As his Note afterwards, upon Super Terram, denyes St. Peter to have any Authority in Purgatory: But these things concern not us; let them Dispute them amongst themselves.

The next Assertor of St. Peter's Supremacy, and consequently a Corrupter of this Text, Bell. de Pont. Rom. cap. x. &c. is Bel­larmine; who, when he had concluded, that Mo­narchy is the best sort of Government in the Church, (as indeed it is, if all things be subjected to the Scepter of Christ) proceeds to prove, That St. Peter had this Power committed to him by this Place: For (sayes he) this Power is deli­vered to him by this Double Metaphor: The First is of a Foundation; because the same as a Foundation is to the Edifice, that the Head is to the Body, a Governour to his City, a King to his Subjects, and a Father of a Family to his House. The other Metaphor of Keys signifies thus much: That to whomsoever the Keys are delivered, the same is appointed King or Gover­nour of the City; who may Admit, or Exclude, whom he pleases. And he very peremptorily calls them Hereticks, who will not grant Peter to be the Rock; nor by the Metaphors of the Foundation, and of the Keys, will allow Chief and Soveraign Ecclesiastical Authority to be given.

Concerning the Rock, he sayes, There are Four Opinions: The First, that of the Catholicks, as they call themselves, excluding us; That it is Peter; not as a Particular Person, but as Pastor, and Head of the Church. The Second is, Eras­mus his; That the Rock is every Faithful Chri­stian. The Third is Calvin's; That the Rock is Christ. The Fourth is Luther's; That the Rock is the Faith of Peter, and the Confession that he but now made.

As a Proof for the First of these, he tells us, That Cephas in the Syriack, is Peter, and a Rock too: In Greek, [...] and [...] signifie the same thing. In Confirmation of it also, he brings the Testimony of many Fathers, whose Sense is so a­greeable to the Protestant Doctrine; That the Ro­mish Cause is quite destroyed, if they may be Judges; as in due Place shall be seen.

I am not so much concerned for Erasmus's Opi­nion, as to enter the Lists for it: But let it pass with the same Remark that Bellarmine doth; That if every Christian were the Foundation, where were the Building?

When I come to give the true Meaning of my Text, I shall shew, that both Calvin's and Lu­ther's Sense may be admitted: And that either of Them is a safer and truer Exposition of this Text, than what they produce; and doth stand Confirmed by the Authority of Antient Doc­tors.

The Cardinal understands by the Power of the Keys, Supreme Power over all the Church; which he endeavours to prove out of Isaiah 22.22. [Page 6] The Key of the House of David will I lay upon his Shoulder: So he shall Open, and none shall Shut; and he shall Shut, and none shall Open.

This Power (he sayes) is so given to St. Peter, as not to be kept by him alone; but to be trans­ferred to other Pastors, by his Authority. But as to the Extent of the Power of the Keys, it is not agreed upon betwixt Cajetan & Bellarmine; The latter of which, quarrels with the Other for say­ing, That the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, are not the same thing with the Power of Bind­ing and Loosing; But that the Keys contain some­thing beside Order and Jurisdiction: Which Di­stinction (as Bellarmine observes) is more Subtle than True.

What is wanting in these two Cardinals for the support of St. Peters Primacy, is supply'd by Stapleton and the Rhemish Interpreters; to con­sider whose Glosses I now proceed: In these words, says Stapleton, Upon this Rock will I build my Church; Christ declares the Reason why he gave Simon the Name of Peter, because he was to be the Rock on which the whole Church was to be Built. The building of the Church is not given, but promised; The Church is said to be built, when it is Gathered, Fed, Taught, and Ruled; and when any Member is anew added to it, or reconciled. But in all this manner of buil­ding or gathering the Faithful into one Sheep­fold; The other Pastors are VVorkmen, and wise Architects, but Peter the Master of the Family; the rest are Pillars, Peter the Foundation on which they rely: He allows Christ to be called [Page 7]in Scripture a Rock; and therefore when he went away, he left St. Peter his Successor, and gave him the same Name, because he was to be the Fa­ther and Prince of the Church; even such a Foundation of it, against which the Gates of Hell should not prevail. Then he adds, that by the Keys, Christ gave the fulness of all Ecclesi­astical Power only to St. Peter: VVhich Power, is to open and shut the Kingdom of Heaven, whe­ther by it is meant Life Eternal, or the Commu­nion of the Militant Church. VVhich power of the Keys is greater, as given to St. Peter, than to the rest of the Apostles: The power of bind­ing and loosing is a partial and inferior Power which they have; but his is to Govern, to Teach, to Dispose, and Exercise all things which belong to the Office of General Pastor. For, as a King in his Kingdome hath the Sword given to him alone, but he commits the use of it to In­ferior Magistrates: so St. Peter hath the Power of the Keys commited to him properly and prin­cipally, but transfers the use of them in some inferior manner, to Pastors of a lower Rank, that are substituted by him.

In the Remish Translation, that we may ob­serve how great stress they put upon these words, they are decyphered in a distinct Character; and are rendred remarkable by being appointed the Gospel for so many Festivals, as for St. Peter's day, for the Cathedra Petri Romae, Jan. 18. & Antiochiae. Feb. 22. for the Feast of Petri ad Vincula. Aug. 1. and on the day of the Creation and Coronation of the Pope, and on the Anniversary thereof. What is [Page 8]to be found in their Annotations, more than what the Gentlemen already named have hinted, is not much: Only they are angry with the English Translators for not rendring the words thus. Thou art a Rock, and upon this Rock; or, Thou art Peter; or, Upon this Peter I will build my Church. VVhich if it be a fault, is likewise to be found in their so much adored vulgar Translation. In the Exposition of the Keys, they enlarge St. Peter's Power, by ascribing to him the Authority and Chair of Doctrine, Knowledg, Judgment, and Discretion between true and false Doctrine: The height of Government, the power of making Laws, of calling Councils, of the principal Voice in them, of Confirming them, of making Ca­nons and wholsome Decrees, of Abrogating the contrary, of Ordaining Bishops and Pastors, or deposing or suspending them; finally, the Power to dispense the Goods of the Church, both Spiri­tual and Temporal: and therefore by the Name of Keyes, is given that Super-eminent Power, which is called in respect of the Power granted to other Apostles, Bishops, and Pastors, plenitudo Potestatis, fulness of Power.

This is that Exposition on which the Advo­cates for the Popes Supremacy lay so great stress, that they can by no means afford us any other; it is the grand support of the Holy Chair, the very bottom of all Papal Authority; for, on what­ever Rock other parts of the Christian Church are founded, yet this we are assured of, that the Roman is built upon this, and the greatness of it's Bishop must sink, if we take away this on­ly Prop of it.

By such meanes are the Waters of Life trou­bled, but not by good Angels; not to heal the VVounds, and make up the breaches of the Church, but to vex and widen them; and when the Fountain is rendred so muddy, we must ex­pect nothing but putrid streams. It is a great Argument of a sinking Cause, when men catch at Straws for their support. And we may con­clude, that the Scriptures are altogether silent in their Cause, when upon this one Foundation, they raise so many Structures, as the Suprema­cy of the Pope, the Infallibility and Visibility of their Church, and the Power of Indulgences; All which must of necessity fall to the Ground, if the Rock on which they be Built, be removed.

II. As it is certainly in our following Exposi­tion (the second thing propos'd) whereby the Scriptures shall be so far vindicated from the sense already put on them, to which they are rackt, that they shall speak in their own proper Language, and in it deliver Truth openly and clearly.

There are (as you remember) several Opi­nions concerning the Rock in the Text. The first whereof is, that Peter is the Rock, which be­cause Bellarmine proves by the Authority of some Fathers, I shall take off their Testimony: The Authorities are, St. Cyril. lib. 2. cap. 12. com. in Jo. That upon Peter, as on a firm Rock, his Church should be built. The Next is St. Hilary, (In hunc Locum). Oh happy Foundation of the Church, in imposing thy new Name, &c. The last is St. Basil, [Page 10](lib. de poenit.) Tho Peter be a Rock, yet he is not a Rock as Christ is: For, Christ is the true and un­moveable Rock of himself: Peter is unmovable by Christ the Rock. Now we confess with Cyril, Hilary, and Basil, that Peter was a Stone, design­ed for the Foundation of the Church, but so as all the Apostles are Stones, upon which the Church is Builded, ( Rev. 21.14.) And though we are taught by the Apostles (1 Cor. 3.11.) That other Foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ: Yet we do not ex­clude the Ministery and Laborers of his Apostles, whom also we acknowledg to be Stones and Foundations of his Church; not in respect of their Persons, but of their Heavenly Doctrine, whereby they became, with the Prophets, the Foundation, Jesus Christ being the Corner Stone, Ephes. 2.20.

So that we can safely allow, that Peter may be stiled, the Rock on which the Church is built, if we take it in a qualified and Secundary sense: He is that Apostle on whom (in the Planting of the Church, as on a chief stone in the Building) there is great stress and weight laid: He was already one of the most considerable Disciples of Christ, sharing with James and John in many signal Favors which others enjoyed not: He twice made Confession with greatest Alacrity and firmest boldness, of Christ's being the Messias, and the Son of God: He first made known both to Jews and Gentiles the Truth of that which he here professes, that Jesus is the Christ. And as amongst the Hebrews all the Levites were in a [Page 11]common Notion of this Phrase, called Stones of the Temple: so he is called by way of Excel­lence, such a Stone, as relying on the Corner Stone, was with the Rest of the Apostles a prin­cipal Stone in the Building of Christ; yet not so, as excluding the rest of the Apostles from that Pri­viledge; as is already said, and shall be in its place proved. Now should we grant (as in this sense we may, without any prejudice to our own Cause) That St. Peter is the Rock, on which the Church is built; yet it availes the Gentlemen of Rome but little, towards the Maintenance of their pretended Supremacy.

But there are other Opinions concerning this Rock, Videsis St. Ignat. Ep. ad Phila­delph. St. Greg. Nyss. de Trin. adver­sus Judaeos. St. Isid. Pelus. Epist. lib. i. ep. 235. B. Theodo­ret. in Can. St. Greg. Epist. lib. 3. ep. 33. Theoph. in Mat. 16. St. Aug. in Ep. St. Joh. Tract. 10. St. Bas. Seleuc. Orat. 25. St. Jacob. Liturg. [...]. p. 26, &c. And some which joyn the Person of St. Peter, profess it is Propter Robur Con­fessionis. Justin Martyr Dial. cum Tryph. St. Chrysost. Hom. 2. in Psal. 50. St. Ambros. Lib. 10. in St. Luc. c. 24. And St. Gregory gives it for a Rule, When Petra is read in the Singular Number (and so it is here) Christus est, Christ is signifyed. which will give us a more clear and per­spicuous Sense of the Place: One of them is Calvin's, (Instit. Lib.) That the Rock is Christ: As if Christ had said; Upon this Rock, that is, my Self; pointing out, as it were, himself unto them; as when he said, Destroy this Temple, Joh. 2.19. So that, the Mistake of the Romanists in one Case, seems not to be less Partial or Willful, than that of the Jews in the other. That this Rock is Christ, is manifest (sayes Chemnitius) from divers places in Scripture, in which the Name of a Rock is ascribed to Christ, or to the Lord: As Deut. 32.18. Psal. [Page 12]18.3. & 31.3. And Christ is called, The only Foundation, 1 Cor. 3.11. & 1 Pet. 2.6. That our Saviour seems to refer to these Words in Isaiah 28.16. Behold! I lay in Sion for a Foundation, a Stone, a Tryed Stone, a precious Corner Stone, a Sure Foundation; is the Judgement of Dr. Lightfoot, (Her. Heb. in Locum.) So that, when St. Peter first of all declared the Mystery of the Incarnation, and Deity of Christ; the Disciples were taught out of the Prophet, who was that Stone that was laid in Syon for a Foundation, never to be thrown down; which was therefore so Firm, because he was not a Creature, but the Son of God: Which Sir-name Peter obtained; not that he was that Stone, but that he should have great Concern in building the Church upon it.

The other Sense of the Rock, is, That the Church is built on the Faith of Peter, and the Confes­sion thereof then made: Which Opinion is by Bellarmine ascribed to Luther; and by his Confessi­on, stands Established by the AUthority of many Fathers.

Hil. lib. 6. De Trin. sayes; Upon the Rock of this Confession, the Church is built: This Faith is the Foundation of the Church: By this Faith, are the Gates of Hell weakned: This Faith hath the Keys of the Kingdome of Heaven. Ambr. lib. 6. cap. 9. in Luc. Fundamentum Ecclesiae Fides est. Chrysost. Hom. 55. in Mat. Upon this Rock will I build my Church; That is, Upon this Faith and Confession. Cyril Alex. lib. 4. De Trin. The Rock (as I take it) is nothing else, but the firm and unshaken Faith of the Disciple: In quâ Ecolesia Chri­sti [Page 13]ita fundata & firmata esset, ut non laberetur, &c. For, were the Church founded upon St. Peter, and not rather upon the Confession he had made, it had presently Faln: For, Peter stumbled at the Article of our Saviour's Passion immediately after the Text, and was Rebuked by the Name of Satan: And Matth. 26. he thrice denyed Christ.

But to proceed, Because the Church is usually in Scripture called the Temple and House of God ( Ephes. 2.20. &c. 2 Cor. 6.16.) which rests up­on one unmovable Foundation, and is raised by the joyning together of Living Stones, Christ therefore uses the Metaphorical Word, I will Build. As he is said to destroy, who alienates mens Minds from the Truth to believe a Lye, and se­parates them from the Church; so he is said to Build, who reconciles men to it, and gains Mem­bers thereto by Preaching the Word.

Were there so much Mystery in the Promise, as they of Rome pretend; that because Christ (who always was, and ever will be the Foundation and Head of the Church) says in the future, I will Build; therfore, St. Peter must needs be the Rock, on which it will be Built: It should have been ad­ded upon the same Reason; Not my, but thy Church; Because Christ had a Church, before this Pro­mise should be accomplisht. But there are bet­ter Reasons to be given, why Christ says, I will Build my Church.

I. Comparing it to the Church he had before; because after Christ's Ascension, the Light of the Gospel shone clearer; & those things were Revealed [Page 14]and brought to open view, which before had been wrapt up in Darkness.

II. Because of the Gentiles, who were to be cal­led to the Knowledg of the Gospel of Christ, and to be made one Sheepfold under the great Shep­herd, and Bishop of their Souls.

The next Phrase is, And the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. The Christian Church shall be so founded, and so Built, that the Power of Hell, Death, and the Grave, shall not get the Victory over it: It shall be so Planted and Watred by Peter and the rest of the Apostles, that God shall give it an eternal Increase; it shall never be destroyed. The Church thus Establisht, may be understood either as it signifies Particular Per­sons, Believers, true faithful Christians, of which the Church consists: and tho these shall die, yet Death shall have no Dominion over them; Christ shall break open the Bars, and cast those Cords from them, and shall rescue them by his Resur­rection from the power of the Grave. Or, Second­ly, The Church may be taken for the whole Congregation of Christian Professors, and then this promise secures it from the Gates of Hell, so as it shall never perish totally, or irrecovera­bly; It is inexpugnable, and shall remain for ever; and whatever Change it suffers in the World, it shall again lift up its Head, which is truly and effectually performed, if, as it decays or perishes in one Branch or Part, it revives or flourish in another. Nay, should it at some one time (as Mr. Chillingworth observes; tho neither he nor we lay any great stress upon it,) be quite extinct, yet the [Page 15]Gates of Hell have not prevailed against it, if it ri­ses again Victorious: As the Enemy is not said to have prevailed against a Town, if it be ever recovered out of his Hands.

The 19. v. And I will give unto thee the Keys &c. is capable of this Interpretation: That the Keyes are the Word of God, whereby the King­dom of Heaven is opened, i. e. Remission of sins and Eternal Life is promised, to those that Believe and Repent; or shut, when Pardon and Life are denyed to the Impenitent and Unbelievers. Peter binds when he inflicts punishment, as Excommu­nication, Penance, &c. or refers to the dreadful Judg­ment of God; he looses, when he remits those Penal­ties, and declares the sinner Absolved: And this judgment past on Earth, if according to the Rule proposed, the Word of God, is ratified, and con­firmed in Heaven; To explain this Power here conferred, Dr. Lightfoot gives us the Form of Ordi­nation amongst the Jews, which was in these or the like words; Receive thou Power to Bind, or to Loose: So Christ, when he confers on the A­postles the Ministerial Function, Commands them to bind and to loose, i. e. to Teach what is to be done, or not to be done; as will appear, if you will observe with the same Author, that this Power extends only to Things, not to Per­sons: So that according to him, this is the sense of the Place. The time is coming (says Christ) when the Law of Moses shall be in part abrogated, and in part continued: so that to Peter and the other Apostles Power is granted to confirm or abolish, what seems good unto the Holy Ghost, and unto [Page 16]them: As they forbad Circumcision and other Rites ( Acts 15.28, 29.) and permitted Paul to purify himself, ( Acts 21.24.) and the same Au­thor will not allow this power of Binding and Loosing, to import as much as that given, Joh. 20.23. of Remitting and Retaining sins. For there (sayes he) it is treated of the Persons to be, or not to be, Punished; Here of Doctrines and things Lawful or Prohibited, that are subject to the de­termination of the Apostles. But we must crave leave to differ from the judgment of this Learn­ed and Reverend Author; and declare with Cal­vin, lib. Inst. lib. 4. cap. 6. §. 3. cap. 11. §. 1. That Christ explained what He meant by binding and loosing, when He gave the Apostles Authority to to remit or retain Sins. He is said to remit sins, who, by Preaching the Gospel, converts men to God; he is said to Retain, who declares, that the obstinate sinner is reserved for everlasting Punish­ments: From whence it follows, To receive the Keyes of the Kingdom of Heaven, is not to be promoted to any Principality or Power over o­thers, but the Ministry of the Word: Which is approved by St. Hierom, when he sayes, That the Apostles do Loose men by the Word of God, by the Te­stimony of Scriptures, and by the Word of Exhortation. Which Sense is safe and plain; and with the Ju­risdiction here implyed, and by Calvin not exclu­ded, is the entire meaning of the Place.

For the Power of Administring and Ruling the Church of God, the Family of Christ, is hereby conferred on the Apostles. This primarily and in­dependently belongs to Christ, the Holy and True, [Page 17]who hath the Key of David, Rev. 3.7. Keyes are confessed­ly an Ensigne of Power; But that Power is not all of one kind; it is Greater or Less; Principal and Independent; or Inferior and Derivative: And several Keyes are Em­blems of these several Powers. David was a King, and in­dependent from any on Earth; and consequently, the Key of David notes an Independent Supreme Power; and that applyed to the Church, belongs only to Christ. But the Keyes of the House of David, mentioned ( Isa. 22.22.) to which the Text seems to refer, notes an Inferior Power; that of a Steward in David's Family, who being perfectly subordinate to him, hath yet the Administration of the Af­fairs of his Family intrusted to him. Now, Christ is the Original, and Prime Fountain of all Power over the whole Church, that Spiritual Kingdom of David; as to whom was given, by the Father, all Power in Heaven and Earth; par­ticularly, that of Loosing or Remitting Sin on Earth, Mat. 9.6. And this is by Christ communicated to his Apostles, and their Successours, the Bishops in the Church, as so ma­ny several Stewards: As St. Chrysostome observes; That the Bishops are those Faithful Servants in the Parable, whom the Lord sets over his House.

The Sense of the Words on both Sides thus given, our Passage is clear to the Third and Last Thing proposed: which was to consider, The Power, Honour, and Priviledges hereby conferred on St. Peter; which are,

• 1. Extraordinary, or Personal.
• 2. Ordinary, or to be derived down to his Successours.

I. I begin with the Extraordinary Power, Honour, and Priviledges of St. Peter: Which I also call Personal; not as Excluding the rest of the Apostles, but their Successours.

In Discoursing of which, I shall lay down these Two Things:

[Page 18] 1. VVhat the Extraordinary Power, Honour, and Privi­ledges of an Apostle are; of which the succeeding Church did not partake.

2. That in these Things, St. Peter hath no Superiority o­ver the other Apostles; But that they were all Equal.

First, I am to shew, what the Extraordinary and Personal Power, Honour, and Priviledge of an Apostle is.

Christ, while he had his Residence on Earth, did not com­mit the Government of his Church into the Hands of others; but Exercised the Office of Apostle and Bishop, in his own Person: Which Stile is given him, Heb. 3.1. 1 Pet. 2.25. But that he might shew himself Faithful in the House of God; before he was to leave the World, and return back to Heaven, he did Ordain and Constitute several Officers, who might in his Absence, Conduct and Over-see the Af­fairs of the Church; accordingly therefore, He gave some Apostles, some Prophets, some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers; For the the gathering together of the Saints, the Work of the Ministry, and the Edifying of the Body of Christ; Un­til we all meet in the Unity of the Faith, and Knowledge of the Son of God into a Perfect Man, even into the Measure of the Age of the Fulness of Christ, Eph. 2.11, &c. Amongst these, the Apostles were Chief and Principal; and as far in Office as Honour, before all other Orders of the Church: Having these Badges of their Power and Priviledges, not com­municable to any other Ministers of Christ: Immediate Vo­cation, and Election; Infallibility of Judgement, in delivering the Doctrines of the Kingdome of Heaven; Generality of Commission, comprehending all Places and Persons; The Gift of Tongues, enabling them to speak in all the Languages of the World, and the Knowledge of all Secrets, and Power to confirm their Doctrines by Signes and Miracles,; and by the Imposition of their Hands, the Power of Bestowing the [Page 19]Miraculous Gifts of the Spirit to Others. These Powers and Privileges, even in the Times of the Apostles, were not con­ferred on Any but Themselves: The Evangelists and Pro­phets were not called Immediately by Christ, but appoin­ted by the Apostles; neither were they led Infallibly, in­to all Truth: General Commission they had not; but were taken into the Fellowship of the Apostles Labours, to As­sist their Presence, and Supply their Absence; to Build up­on their Foundation, and to Perfect what they Began. And tho the Miraculous Gifts of Tongues, and Working Miracles, were not proper to the Apostles; yet having them in such sort, as by the Imposition of their Hands to Give the Spi­rit, Enabling others to VVork Miracles, was Peculiar and Proper to them. Hence it is, that St. Chrysostome concludes; That, tho Prophecy, the Gift of Miracles, and Expelling Devils, the Orders of Pastors and Teachers, were all Spiritual Pow­ers, and Ensignes of great Authority; yet the Apostolical Eminency is far above all these: VVhich therefore he calls, a Spiritual Consulship: An Apostle having as great Prehemi­nence, above all other Officers in the Church; as the Con­sul had, above all other Magistrates in Rome. These were a few Select Men, whom our Lord chose out of the rest of his Disciples; to devolve Part of the Government on their Shoulders, and to Depute them for the first Planting and Settling Christianity in the VVorld: He chose Twelve, whom he named Apostles, (Luk. 6.13.) whom he Endow­ed with Extraordinary Gifts, that they might more preva­lently contend against the strong Prejudices of Pleasure and Interest. The Power of Tongues, and other Miraculous Ef­fusions of the Holy Ghost, being like VVatering to a Plant; which, when it hath taken Root, and filled the Land, could Subsist without those Extraordinary Helps. VVhen Israel was brought into Canaan, and Jacob into a Strange Land, [Page 20]God in a most signal manner Fought against the Nations; and Dispossest them: But when his People were settled there, God sends them not, even in their greatest Distress, such Remarkable Deliverances, as he did before. So Christ, in the Establishment of his Church, observes the same Me­thods of Providence: The Powers of the Devil, when free and instigating all Mankind against the Doctrine of Christ, must be Resisted and Opposed by a Power superior to his own: But when he was once Subdued by Christ, and then by his Church, there needs not the same Power to keep him in Bonds, as at first to Conquer and Fetter him. He may still rage, and shake his Chain; but he cannot break it. He looks Terribly, like the Souldiers of Tarentum to the Romans, when they lay Dead with their Swords in their Hands: He may affright, but he cannot Hurt. So that, in this case, the Holy Ghost acts not so Extraordinarily to Pre­serve, as at first to Plant it; because he that Opposes it, is not now so Strong as he then was: For, a less Force can keep the Garrison, than take the City. St. Augustine gives a good Reason ( De Util. Credendi, cap. 16.) why it was not fit, that these Miraculous Courses should still have continued; Because the Liveliness of the Spring, after a Dead Winter, is no Wonder, since acted every Year: So the Strangeness of Miracles, which moved at first, would not now be regarded, if continu­ed, &c.

This Power and Honour of the Apostle-ship, conveyed by the Commission to the Apostles, was equally con­ferred on all; (which is my Second Consideration). They were all Chosen in the same Manner, and at the same Time: All equally Infallible in their Judgements, and Determinati­ons; All sent to Preach, and Baptize all Nations, and in­trusted with the Power of Binding and Loosing; and All fur­nished with the necessary Gifts and Powers of the Holy Ghost. [Page 21]Indeed, the Fortunes of the Church of Rome depend upon a different Doctrine; and the Tide of its Interest runs ano­ther way: and it behoves the Patrons of the Pope's Supre­macy, to contend with mighty Zeal and Fierceness for St. Peter's: For, if the Original Right be questioned, that which is derived from it must fall, when it loses its Foundation.

There is nothing so certain, as that Men want Good Ar­guments, when they urge VVeak Ones: and none but a Fool will Build his House upon the Sands, that hath a Rock at hand for a Foundation: So that, when we hear Bellarmine recko­ning up such Prerogatives of St. Peter, as these are; The Change of his Name, The Fishing in his Ship, Paying Tri­bute for Christ and Himself; and such like: We may con­clude; That he hath proved nothing but the Weakness of the Cause he maintains. Indeed, there is one Argument, which is as Uncharitable as it is VVeak: When St. Peter hath this Promise, That the Gates of Hell shall not prevail a­gainst him; By it the Cardinal understands, not only the Per­petual Stability of the Universal Church; but of the Rock on which it is Founded: So that, by a Special Priviledge, it is promised to Peter, That his Sea shall never fail: Which Promise, had it been made to the rest of the Apostles; St. James's Seat had been still at Jerusalem; St. John's at Ephe­sus; St. Mathews in Aethopia; and St. Andrews in Scythia: But all these have yielded to the Gates of Hell. VVere this a safe and honest way of Defending a Cause, the Prospe­rous Villain is ever secure from the Imputation of Guilt: and Success is as good an Argument for the great Turk of Con­stantinople, as for the Pope of Rome.

If we consult the Fathers, they tell us, That all the A­postles were Equal, as having equal Power committed to them in the Keys: Tho it be said to St. Peter only in this Place; That upon this Rock and, To thee I give &c. [Page 22]Yet in another Place, the same Charge is committed to all the Apostles, (as Joh. 20.) And all of them Receive the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and the Stability of the Church is fixt upon them All; (Hieronym.) Christ after his Resurrection gave Equal Power and Autho­rity to all his Apostles; and said to them all, Whose Sins ye Remit, &c. Cyprian: And in another Place; What Peter was, that were the rest of the Apostles; having a Fellowship of the same Honour and Power. Theophylact also intimates; That the Church may be said to be Built upon Peter, but no otherwise than upon the rest of the Apostles: And he adds; They who have obtained the Grace to be Bishops, have Power to Remit and Bind, as well as Peter: For, al­tho it were said to Peter alone, I will give to thee yet the Keys were granted to all the Apostles. This was the Doctrine of the Primitive Church; To which agrees the Judgement of a Pope in those Times, ( Greg. Epist. lib. 4. Ep. 34, 38.) who was very severe upon the Patriarch of Constan­tinople, for affecting a Supremacy over the whole Church: And so little did he think of putting in his own Plea, that he Condemns it, as Intrenching upon the Prerogative of Christ. To these Authorities, which plainly destroy the Roman Cause, there must be some Answers given by Bellar­mine and Stapleton; which are very indifferent, tho the best they could afford: Stapleton tells us, That the same Power is not conferred by Mat. 18. & Joh. 20. as in my Text: Which St. Jerome affirms, and we have already proved. To the o­ther Part of St. Jerem's Testimony, Bellarmine grants, That all the Apostles are equally the Foundation of the Church; but they as Messengers and Ambassadors, Peter as Ordinary Pastor: What he means, shall be presently considered. Thus he also endeavours to silence St. Cyprian's Testimony, by telling us; That the Apostles were all Equal in respect of the [Page 23]Christian People, having all the same Authority over them; but were not Equal amongst themselves, St. Peter being Su­perior to the rest. Out of these Answers, and other their Writings concerning this Matter, we may gather these three Differences betwixt St. Peter, and the rest of the Apostles:

1. In the Apostleship, all the Apostles were Equal: But Peter received this Plenary Power, not as Apostle, but as Ordinary Pastor, and Bishop of the Church; which was to continue to his Successours.

2. The Apostles were Equal in respect of the Nations to be Converted by them; but not in respect of Themselves. All the Apostles had Supreme Authority over the Christian VVorld: But Peter was so Supreme Head of all Christians, that he was also Superior to the Apostles.

3. All the Apostles had Equal Power of Executing what Christ commanded them: But St. Peter only had Power of making New Orders; and prescribing, by his Successors, what is alwayes to be done in the Church.

Which Pretences we shall now Examine, and Confute.

First, It is pretended, that the Amplitude of Power, which all the Apostles had in common, the rest had only for them­selves; and as a Priviledge meerly Personal, was to end with them. But Peter had the same in such sort, that he might leave it to his Successours: So that, that Power which in the rest was Apostolical and Temporary, was Or­dinary, Pastoral, and Perpetual in Peter: Which, were it True, then every Pope is immediately Chosen by God, not by the Cardinals. Then they are all Consecrated, and Or­dained Immediately by Christ, not by Bishops: Then have they all Power to write Books of Canonical Scripture; and are free from Danger of Erring, whensoever they either Preach or Write: Then can they confirm their Doctrine by Miracles, and give the Holy Ghost by the Imposition of [Page 24]their Hands. But since no Pope can pretend, without great Impiety to any of these Preheminencies; it is vain for them to urge, That some part of that Dignity and Power that was in Peter, is in Peter's Successours; for so there is in the meanest Priest in the VVorld.

Secondly, As for that other Shift; That the Apostles were Equal towards the People, but not amongst themselves; in­asmuch, as they had no Superiour, in respect of their Office of Teaching and Governing the VVorld; but were subject to one Head, in respect of their Personal Actions: It is one of the strongest Paradoxes, the VVorld ever heard of. For, who can imagine, that God would trust the Apostles with the managing the weightyest Affairs of his Church, and the Govern­ment of the whole VVorld, without being any way accountant in respect thereof, unto any one amongst them as Superiour; and that he would appoint an Head and Chief, and subject them to his Censure in their Personal Actions? But this is not the only Absurdity, this Doctrine runs them into:

For, Thirdly, They tell us; That all the Apostles had E­qual Power of Executing what Christ commanded them: But St. Peter only had Authority to make New Constituti­ons, and to prescribe by his Successors, what is alwayes to be done in the Church. But this is said, without any Proof at all; and indeed, is a Matter of another Debate; Of which, I have now thus much to say; That it doth not appear, That Peter had Power of himself, to Determine any Matter of Moment: Else, when he was question'd for going unto the Gentiles, he needed not to have made his Defence before the Apostles, and Brethren; but would have strengthned his Practice by his own Authority. And at the Great Council at Jerusalem, he neither presided as Chief; nor was his Vote more Requisite, than any other Apostle's, for the Confirma­tion of what they then Determined.

The Apostles were all Stars of the greatest Magnitude, and had each of them a Light to guide men to Christ in the ordi­nary concerns of Christianity: But when any momentous matter arises in debate, They then are gathered together, and make up a glorious Constellation, which by its illustrious emanations of Light, leads the Church in its darkest emer­gencies. By whose Acts and Writings, the Church is so se­cured from Error, and directed into all Truth, that it no longer needs the extraordinary ways of Guidance: If men would submit to the Truths, they find, there is no want of any power of defining new Articles of Faith. The Church cannot, by her Approbation, make those Assertions and Pro­positions to be Catholick Verities, that were not so before: She may indeed propose what was before not so throughly thought on. But it is not the Authority of the Church, but the clear deduction from the things which we are bound ex­pressly to believe, that maketh things of that Sort, that they must be particularly and distinctly Known and Believed, that were not necessarily so to be Believed before.

I conclude this part, with the judgment of the magdebur­genses, (Cen. 2. lib. 2. cap. 7.) who prove, That there is no Supremacy given to St. Peter by this place, because the Apo­stles ( Mat. 18.) afterwards doubted who was the greatest a­mong them. And it is Reasonable to suppose, that Christ would have commanded them to strive no more about it, had he appointed St. Peter to be their Chief; His silence herein is Argument enough.

II. I come now to the Ordinary Power, Honour, and Pri­viledges of St. Peter, and the Apostles; which were to be deri­ved down to their Successors.

That it is Essential to the being and constitution of a Church, not only that there should be a distinction of Cler­gy and Laity; but that in the Clergy also there should be different Orders, is demonstrable from Scripture, Antiquity, [Page 26]and the general Concurrence of the Church in all Ages: Tho indeed for the Reasons before-given, it is not necessary that the Ministers of the Gospel should in every Age have the same qualifications the Apostles had: For as those were re­served as peculiar and proper unto the Apostles, and not Communicated to any other in their time; so are they not passed over to their After-comers by Succession: But in place of Immediate Calling, we have now Succession: Instead of Infallibility of Judgment, the direction of their Writings, guiding us in the search of Truth. There is now no gene­ral Commission, but a particular Assignation to Bishops and Pastors, of several Churches to rule, and parts of Christ's Flock to Feed: Instead of Miraculous Gifts, and the Apostles Power to confer them, there are planted and settled amongst us, Schools and Universities, fitting men for the Work of the Ministry. In place of their Miracles, wherewith they Ap­pealed to the Senses of men, in establishing the Christian Doctrine; we are Educated and brought up in the Faith, and have it by so many Generations recommended to us, as con­firmed at first by the Apostles Miracles. So that we see, how the Apostles extraordinary Gifts, which were most necessary for the planting of the Church, are changed in respect of their Successors: But the standing, and perpetual part of their Office, was to Teach and Instruct the People in the Principles and Duties of Religion, to Administer the Sacra­ments, to confer Orders by the Imposition of Hands, to con­stitute and appoint Guides and Officers, who should Bind and Loose Sinners by Ecclesiastical Censures; and finally to exercise the Discipline and Government of the Church. And in these they are Succeeded by the ordinary Rulers, and Ec­clesiastick Guides, who are to super-intend and discharge the Affairs and Offices of the Church to the end of the World. It is not my Business at present, to defend the different Or­ders [Page 27]of the Church, from the Cavils of those, whose Inte­rest, or Malice, would bury it in Confusion: Neither am I concerned to prove the Succession of Pastors against them, who (by pretence of an immediate and extraordinary Call) leap into, and invade the Offices of the Church; These are not the men with whom I now intend. I shall prove, That the Pope (as St. Peter's Successor) hath none of those Extra­ordinary Gifts, which will qualifie him for the Oecumenical Pastorship: For granting not only that St. Peter was at Rome, but that he was Bishop there, & that for Five & Twenty years together, (tho the Antients attribute the founding, the Epis­copacy and Government of that Church equally to Peter and Paul, making the one as much concerned in it as the other); yet what would this make for the unlimited soveraignty and universality of that Church, unless a better Evidence could be produced, than this Succession to St. Peter, for its uncon­troulable Supremacy and Dominion over the whole Christian World? For had not the same Peter a Successor at Antioch, and the other Apostles in their several Sees; and yet none of these pretended, tho they seem to have equal Right, to this Power. But here we are told, That immediate Vocation, the seeing Christ in the Flesh, power to write Canonical Books of Scripture, and other priviledges, extraordinarily conferred on the Apostles, were fitting to the first beginnings of Chri­stianity, and so not of Perpetual use and Necessity: But that Universality of Jurisdiction, and a kind of Infallibility of Judgment are perpetually necessary; and therefore these were to pass from Peter to Others, tho the rest of the Apostolick Pre-eminencies were not: Which I shall examine, and then conclude. That the Roman is a Patriarchal Church, and the Bishop of it hath Prime Place amongst other Bishops of the World, would never be denyed him, would he rest contented with that: But it must by no means be granted, that he is [Page 28]an Universal Bishop, having Jurisdiction over the whole Church; that is, such a Bishop, in whom all Episcopal Ju­risdiction, Power, and Authority is Originally Invested, from whom it is derived to Others, and who may Limit and Restrain the Use of it in Others, as seemeth good unto Him­self: For every Bishop hath, in his place and keeping in his proper Station, the Episcopal Power and Authority immedi­ately from Christ; which is not to be Limited and Restrain­ed by any, but by the Company and Suffrages of Bishops: Wherein, tho one be Chief for Order sake, and to preserve Unity in the Church; yet he can do nothing without the Concurrence of the Rest. When the Constantinopolitan Pa­triarch affected this Title, as I before hinted; Gregory, then Pope, compares him to Lucifer, who despising the Angels, his Companions, sought to climb up to that Heighth, that he neither might seem to be Under any, nor any be found, Over whom he was not.

As for Infallibility of Judgement, pretended to, as perpe­tual and necessary in the Church; and as they would have it derived down from St. Peter to his Successours at Rome: If it be granted to them, that there is a kind of Infallibility, or Non-deficiency rather, in the Universal Church; they presently confound the Notion, and apply it to whom they please. Accordingly there is this Distinction of a Church:

1. A Church Essential, which is the whole Multitude of Believers.

2. The Representative; The Assembly of Bishops in a Ge­neral Council, representing the whole Body of the Church from the several Parts whence they come.

3. The Virtual Church, by which they understand the Bishop of Rome; who being by Christ's Appointment, as they suppose, Chief Pastor of the whole Church, hath in himself Eminently and Virtually as great Certainty of Truth, [Page 29]and infallibility of Judgement, as is in the whole Church; upon whom dependeth all that Certainty of Truth that is found in it.

Of these we affirm, That the Church in the first Notion, cannot erre or fall away; In the Second, That it may Erre; In the Third, (tho we also deny the Notion) That it doth Erre: And against Matter of Fact, as I take it, there can be no Proof: Of which, I could give many Instances, were it not Loss of Time to do so.

The Supremacy of the Pope, so much contended for, and so meanly supported, is the greatest Intrenchment in the Ex­ercise of it, that was ever made upon the Prerogative of Princes, and the Authority of Bishops; The Crown and Mitre being swallowed up in this Plenitude of Power. So that, it is the Interest as well as Duty of Church and State, of Prince and People, of Pastors and their Flocks, to oppose what is so much against the Wellfare of all Civil and Christian So­cieties. I shall not urge the Inconveniencies only, but the Injustice of such a Subjection; whereby all Bonds Natural, Civil, and Christian are broken, if it please him who usurps such a Supreme Power over Mens Consciences: It is the Pre­rogative of God alone, to set up his Throne in the Consci­ence of Man; and by the Laws of right Reason, to lay such a Restraint upon it, as all Humane Powers cannot be able to gain say or resist, to cancel or disanul. Nothing but an express Dispensation from God himself, can acquit the Sub­ject or Child from the Obedience, he ows his Prince or Pa­rent. Nature, which is God's Law, being herein so plain and positive, must never upon the Interposition of any Hu­mane Power be transgrest. So that, we must be very ear­nest to assert our own Liberty, and our Superiours Autho­rity, against that Forreign Prelate, who by his Emissaries doth dayly disturb the Peace of this our Syon, and draw off ma­ny [Page 30]from their Duty and Obedience to God, the Church, their Country, and their Prince.

Our own Nation is at present the Theatre, wherein most Hideous Villanies are Plotted and Designed; and it is much to be feared, that the Actors are not yet gone off the Stage: And all this, not without a manifest Respect to, and in di­rect Pursuance of, this most Pernitious Doctrine: Which is a strong Argument to us, how far blind Zeal can transport; and what a wicked Principle can inspire into their Breasts, who thus obstinately adhere to it. For if by such a pre­tended Power, a King be declared an Heretick, upon that Declaration be Excommunicated, upon that Excommunicati­on be deprived of his Dominions, and Condemned to Death; And if his Subjects at the same time be not only absolved from all Allegiance to him, but bound in Conscience to De­pose and Destroy him, and Execute that direful Sentence a­gainst his Life; What Security can any Prince or People expect from those that maintain such Principles, as tend in so direct a Consequence to the Confusion and Subversion of Church and State, when-ever it shall please this Supreme Power to pronounce such a Sentence?

But some have gone farther, and absolved all Subjects from their Allegiance, if they are resolved in Conscience, that their Prince is Heretical. The other is bad enough, I need not trace this any farther.

This Doctrine (which by them that maintain it, hath been sometimes accounted Scandalous) is not confined to Theory, but hath been often reduced to Practice: It hath not only been Disputed of in Schools, but Preach't in Pulpits, maintained in Press, and confirmed by Actions. From hence is apprehended all our Danger, and from hence springs all our Mischief; That the Subjects of any Prince, or who­ever else shall come under the Protection of his Laws and [Page 31]Government (who for the time are to be reckoned Sub­jects) shall presume to own any Power under Heaven Su­perior to him; and by vertue of Commission from that For­reign Power, shall endeavour to disturb and subvert the Laws and Government Establisht. This is the First Mover in the Roman Sphear, that hurryes all Inferior Orbs; The Spring that gives Motion to the Papal Machin; When this is swallowed down, there is nothing can oppose or hinder any of the Designs of Rome. Wherefore, tho other Doctrines are pitcht upon, as more Absurd; yet in my Judgement, (and I think, I have the Experience of this Nation to confirm the Truth of it) this is of most fatal and pernitious Conse­quence; And with its Infallibility annext, throws down all that can oppose it self against the Holy Chair: The latter makes Men stick at no Absurdities; The former encoura­ges and commands them to commit all Villanies. Let us therefore fortify our Reason against the One, and strengthen our Arms against the Other: Let us put on the whole Ar­mor of God, and with them joyn our Prince's too, that we may be able to stand against these Adversaries of both; And then we shall not only fight with Honour and Praise, but come off with Success and Glory.