me, even fo fend I you, all of you; and therefore not one in fubjection to another, but all with equal Power: And when he had faid this, he breathed on them, and faith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whosoever fins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever fins ye retain, they are retained. Accordingly on the day of Pentecoft the Holy Ghost fell on them all, they were all endowed with the Gift of Tongues, and Miracks, and Prophefie; they all had the fame Infallible Spirit, and therefore needed no fuperiour Head over them: They were to be feparated into all parts of the World, where they could have no Communication with each other, and therefore could have no Univerfal Head. The Hiftory of the Acts of the Apoftles gives not the leaft intimation of any fuch Superiority, which either St. Peter challenged, or the other Apostles paid him; which are ftrong Prefumptions against fuch a Supremacy of St. Peter and I fuppofe they themselves will grant, that all the rest of the Apostles were as Infallible as he.

But fuppofe we should grant them, that St. Peter was the chief of the Apostles, and had a kind of Primacy not of Government,but Order,how do they prove from Scripture, that the Bishop of Rome fucceeds in all the Rights and Prerogatives of St. Peter? for unless this be proved, whatever Prerogative St. Peter had, it fignifies nothing to them and yet this cannot be proved, but by inftitution; for though Chrift had bestowed a Primacy on St. Peter, yet unless he exprefly grant it to his Succeffors too, nay to his Succeffors in the See of Rome, his Primacy, as being a perfonal Prerogative,muft die with his Perfon: As a Prince may grant a Priority to perfons in the fameOffice and Power, may make a first Colonel, or a first Captain, but if these men to whom the precedency is given, die or are removed, those who fucceed in their Office and Power,

to

to the fame Regiment or Company, do not therefore fucceed to their Priority too; for this did not belong to their Office, but to their Perfons; and the King may give the Priority again to whom he pleases, or appoint them to fucceed in course,according to their admiffion into fuch Offices. And by the fame reason, the Primacy of the Roman Bishops, who are St. Peter's Succeffors, does not follow from the Primacy of St. Peter, unless they can fhew, that Christ has given them the Primacy alfo, as well as St. Peter; and this must be proved from Scripture, because it is matter of Inftitution, and no Arguments in the World can prove any thing, which depends folely upon an Inftitution, without proving the Inftitution: But this the Roman Doctors never pretend to, for they know, that there is not one word in Scripture about it; and nothing but the Authority of Scripture can prove a Divine Inftitution. So that could they prove the Primacy of St. Peter from Scripture, they prove but half their Point, and that the most inconfiderable half too, for it does them no good. And therefore when they make a great noise about St.Peter's Primacy and Prerogatives, never trouble your felves to difpute that Point with them, which is nothing to the purpose; but require them to prove, from Scripture, that the Bishop of Rome, as St. Peter's Succeffor, is appointed by Chrift to be the fupream Oecumenical Bishop, and the Prince of all Bifhops. And if you stick here, as in reafon you ought, there is an end of that Controverfie.

Thus there is nothing the Church of Rome makes a greater noise about, than Infallibility, though they are not agreed where to place this Infallibility, whether in the Pope or a General Council: But let it be where it will, this being a matter of Inftitution, must be proved by Scripture: how then in the first place do they prove

the

the Pope to be Infallible? That they think is very plain, because Christ says,Thou art Peter,and upon this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell fhall not prevail a gainst it. But how does this prove, that the Bishop of Rome is Infallible? For here is not one word of the Bifhop of Rome. Yes, this proves St. Peter to be infallible, who was afterwards Bishop of Rome, and therefore all his Succeffors are infallible too. Now that St. Peter was infallible, as all the other Apostles were, we readily grant; though, I think this Text does not prove it: But does this prove the Bishop of Rome's Infallibility? Just as St. Peter's Primacy proves the Pope to be the Oecumenical Primate: They themselves muft grant, that an infallible Apostle may have a fallible Bishop for his Succeffor; or else they muft either deny, that the rest of the Apostles, as well as St. Peter, were infallible, or they must grant, that all the Apostles Succeffors, that is, all the Bishops, who fucceeded any of the Apostles in their Sees, must be as infallible as the Bishops of Rome, who fucceeded St. Peter; and then there will be fo much Infallibility, that it will be worth nothing: If then there be not a natural and neceffary entail of Infallibility upon the Succeffors of infallible Apostles, they must fhew us an express Institution, which makes the Succeffors of Peter at Rome infallible. And let our Proteftant demand this, before he owns the Infallibility of the Pope of Rome, and then, I believe, they will not think him worth Converting.

Thus as for those who place Infallibility in a General Council, demand a Scripture-proof of it,that they would produce the General Council's Charter for Infallibility: This they can't do ; but they fay the Church is infallible, and the General Council is the Church Representative, and therefore a General Council must be infallible too.

So

So that here are several things for them to prove, and to prove by Scripture too; (for there is no other way of proving them) before they can prove the Infallibility of General Councils: As, 1. That the Church is Infallible. 2. That a General Council is the Church Reprefentative. 3. That the Church Reprefentative, is that Church to which the Promise of Infallibility is made. And then they might conclude, that a General Council, as being the Church Representative,is Infallible. Now instead of proving every particular of this by Scripture, (as they muft do, if they will prove by Scripture, that General Councils are Infallible) they pretend to prove no more than the first of the three, that the Church is Infallible; and that very lamely too, as may appear more hereafter: and then they take all the reft for granted, without any proof: which is just as if a man, who in order to prove his Title to an Eftate, is required to prove, that this Estate did anciently belong to his Family, that it was entailed upon the Heir Male, that this entail was never cut off, nor the Estate legally alienated, and that he alone is the true furviving Heir; fhould think it enough to prove only the first of these, that the Estate did anciently belong to his Family; which it might have done, and yet not belong to it now, or if it did still belong to it, he may not be the true Heir.

Thus if we confider what it is they teach about Purgatory, we shall quickly perceive, how little it is, they pretend to prove of it: they tell us, that there is a Purgatory-fire after this life, where men undergo the punishment of their fins,when the fault is pardoned: that the Church has Power, out of her stock of Merits, which confifts of the fupererogating Works of great and eminent Saints,to grant Pardons & Indulgences to men while they live, to deliver them from several thousand years punish

ment,,

ment, which is due to their fins in Purgatory; that the Souls in Purgatory may be releafed out of it by the Prayers, and Alms,and Maffes of the living; which is the very life and foul of this Doctrine of Purgatory: Now of all this, they pretend to prove no more from Scripture, but that there is a Purgatory-fire after this Life; and how they prove it, you have already heard: But that either Penances or Pilgrimages, and other extraordinary Acts of Devotion, while we live, or the Pope's Pardons and Indulgences, can either remit or fhorten the pains of Purgatory; or that the Prayers and Alms of our living Friends, or Maffes faid for us by mercenary Priests, can deliver us out of Purgatory, which we are principally concerned to know, and without which, Purgatory will not enrich the Priests, nor the Church; this they never attempt,that I know of,to prove by Scripture: Whether there be a Purgatory or not, in it felf confidered,is a meer speculative point,and of no value : But could they prove, that the Pope has the Keys of Purgatory, and that Alms and Maffes will deliver out of Purgatory ; this were worth knowing, and is as well worth proving as any Doctrine of the Church of Rome, for there is nothing they get more by. But if you will not believe this,. till they produce a Scripture-Proof of it, you may let them dispute on about the place of Purgatory, and keep your Money in your Pocket. Thus it is in most other cafes,if you take their whole Doctrine together, and demand a Proof of every part of it, and not take a Proof of fome little branch of it,for a Proof of the whole, you will quickly find, that they will not be fo fond of difputing, as fome of them now are.

3. Another way our Roman Adverfaries have of proving their Doctrines from Scripture is, inftead of plain and pofitive Proofs, to produce fome very remote and in

evident