OF THE

Prefervative

AGAINST

POPERY:

Shewing how Contrary

POPERY is to the True Ends

OF THE

Christian Religion.

Fitted for the

INSTRUCTION

OF

Unlearned PROTESTANTS.

By WILLIAM SHERLOCK, D. D. Mafter of the Temple.

LONDON:

Printed for William Rogers, at the Sun over against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet -street.

M DC LXXXVIII.

པ

THE

PRESERVATIVE

AGAINST

POPER Y.

CHA P. IV.

Some Directions relating to particular Controverfies,

T

Hofe who would understand the particular Disputes be-tween us and the Church of Rome, muft of neceflity read fuch Books as give the true State of the Controverfie between us, and fairly represent the Arguments on both fides; and where fuch Books are to be met with, he may learn from a late Letter, Entituled, The Prefent State of the Controver fie between the Church of England and the Church of Rome, Or an Account of Books written on both fides. But my prefent Design is of another nature, to give fome plain and easie Marks and Characters of true Gospel Doctrines; whereby a man, who has any relish of the true Spirit of Christianity, may as certainly know Truth from Error in many cafes, as the Palate can diftinguish Tafts. There are fome things fo proper to the Gospel, and fo primarily intended in it, that they may fitly ferve for diftinguishing marks of true Evangelical Doctrine: I fhall name fome of the chief, and Examine fome Popish Doctrines by them.

SECTION

1 John 3.

8.

I.

SECTION I.

Concerning IDOLATRY.

NE principal intention of the Gofpel, was more perfectly to extirpate all Idolatry: For this purpose the fox of God was manifefted to destroy the works of the devil, that is, not only all Sin and Wickedness, but the very Kingdom of Darkness; that Kingdom the Devil had erected in the world, the very Foun dation of which was laid in Idolatrous Worship.

To this purpose Chrift has exprefly taught us, that there is but one God, and has more perfectly inftructed us in the nature of 1. Joh. 18. God: For no man bath feen God at any time, but the only begotten fox, who is in the bofom of the father, he hath declared him. Ignorance was the Mother of Pagan Idolatry, because they did not know the true God, they Worshipped any thing, every thing, for a God; and therefore the most effectual course to cure Idolatry, was to make known the true God to the world: for those men are inexcufable who know the true God, and Worship any thing else. Tho' indeed according to fome mens Divinity, the knowledge of the true God cures Idolatry, not by rooting out Idolatrous Worship, but by excufing it; by making that to be no Idolatry in a Chriftian, who knows God, which was Idolatry in a Heathen, who did not know him: for if (as fome fay) none can be guilty of Idolatry, who acknowledge one Supream Being; then the Heathens, when once they were inftructed in the knowledge of the one true God, might have Worshipped all their Country Gods, which they did before, without being guilty of Idolatry; which is, as if I fhould fay, that man is a Rebel, who through mistake and ignorance owns any man for his Prince, who is not his Prince; but he, is no Rebel, who knows his lawful Prince, and pays Homage to another, whom he knows not to be his Prince,

And therefore our Saviour confines all Religious Worship to Mat. 10. God alone: Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thou ferve: It is his Anfwer to the Devil, when he tempt

ed him to fall down and worship him, but he gives fuch an anfwer as excludes all Creatures, not only bad but good Spirits, from any share in Religious Worship: Our Saviour does not deny to worship him meerly because he was the Devil, (tho' that a man may do without the guilt of Idolatry, who knows him to be the Devil, if thofe men are in the right, who allow nothing to be Idolatry, but to. worship fome Being for the Supreme God, who is not Supreme; for then you may worship the Devil without the guilt of Idolatry, if you do not believe him to be the Supreme God) but our Saviour's reafon for not worshipping him was, because we must Worship none but God. Which is as good a reason against the worship of the most glorious Angel, as of the Devil himself: Nay, our Saviour denies to worship him, though the Devil made no terms with him, about the kind or degrees of Worship: He does not require him to offer Sacrifice to him, (which is the only Act of Worship the Church of Rome appropriates to the Supreme God) but only to bow down before him, as an expreffion of Religious Devotion; he did not demand that degree of Worship, which the Church of Rome calls Latria, and appropriates to the Supreme God: nay, he confeffes that he was not the Supreme God, for he does not pretend to di spose of the Kingdoms of the World in his own right, but says, they were given to him, and he had power to give them to whom he pleased; in which he acknowledges, that he had a Superiour, and therefore could not in the fame breath defire to be owned and worshipped as the Supreme. But our Saviour denies to give him this inferiour degree of Worship, and thereby teaches us, that no degree of Religious Worship must be given to any Be ing, but the Supreme God.

And because Mankind were very apt to worship inferiour Dæ-.. mons, as believing them to have the care of this lower World, and that it was in their power to do great good to them, to anfwer their Prayers, and to mediate for them with the Superiour Deities, or with the Supreme God, if they believed one Supreme, which appears to be a received Notion among them: to prevent this kind of Idolatry, God advances his own Son to be the uni

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