the Church in those days were so little careful of what was taught in it, as to allow such books to be publickly read in its congregations, the doctrine whereof it did not approve: or we must confess, that the following pieces are delivered to us, not only by the learned men of the first ages of the Church, but by the whole body of the faithful, as containing the pure doctrine of Christ; and must be looked upon to have nothing in them, but what was then thought worthy of all acceptation. 30. Now how much this adds to the authority of these Discourses, may easily be concluded from what I have before observed. For since it is certain, that, in those times, the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were bestowed, not only upon the bishops and pastors of the Church, (though upon them in a more eminent degree,) but also upon a great many of the common Christians too-since one particular design of these gifts was for the discerning of Prophecies; to judge of what was proposed by any to the Church, or written for the use and benefit of it-we cannot doubt, but that what was universally approved of, and allowed, not by a few learned men, but by the whole Church in those days; what was permitted to be read to the faithful, for their comfort and instruction, must, by this means, have received the highest human approbation; and ought to be looked upon by us, though not of equal authority with those books, which the same Church has delivered to us as strictly canonical, yet as standing in the first rank of ecclesiastical writings; and containing the true, and pure doctrine of Christ in all things necessary to our salvation; without the mixture of any of those errors which have since been so unhappily brought into the Church, and have been worthily censured as dangerous to, if not destructive of, it. CHAP. XI. OF THE SUBJECT OF THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSES; AND OF THE USE THAT IS TO BE MADE OF THEM. That, in the following Treatises, there is delivered to us a good account both of the Doctrine and Discipline of the CHURCH in the Apostolical Times-This shewn in several ParticularsWhat they taught concerning GOD the Father, our Saviour CHRIST, and the HOLY GHOST-Of Angels and SpiritsOf the rest of the Articles of the Apostles' Creed-Concerning the two Sacraments of Baptism, and the LORD's Supper-Of the Holy Scriptures, and the Divine Authority of them-What we meet with in these Treatises concerning the Government of the Church-Of the necessity of communicating with the Bishops and Pastors of it-Of Schismatics, Heretics, and Apostates-Of their public assembling for the Service of GOD, and what was done by them in those Meetings-Of several other instances of their Discipline, particularly of their Fasting and Confession of Sins-Of the care which their Bishops had of the whole Church-Of the respect that was paid to them-Of their Martyrs, and the veneration which they thought due to them—Of their practical Instructions, and how severe their Morality was, shewn in several particulars-That, upon the whole, we may here see what the state of Christianity then was, and still ought to be. 1. AND now, having shewn, in the foregoing chapter, what deference we ought to pay to the authority of those holy men whose writings I have here collected, it may not be amiss, in the third place, to inquire, What it is which they deliver to us? What account we find in them, of the doctrine and discipline of the Church, in those times in which they lived? 2. It would be endless for me to go about to make a just catalogue of all the particulars of this kind that occur in the following pieces; and I have already, in a great measure, performed it in the Index, which I have for that purpose subjoined to them. I shall therefore here consider only a few particulars, in such points as may seem most worthy to be remarked; and by them (as by a short specimen) shew how the judicious Reader may himself improve it, into a more particular history of the faith and practice of the Church in this first, and purest, period of it. 3. And (First) for what concerns the doctrines of those times there is hardly any point that is necessary to be believed, or known by us, that is not very plainly delivered in some or other of the following pieces. 4. Here we may read what we are to believe concerning the first article of our Creed, God the Father': That he is One, Almighty, Invisible, the Creator and Maker of all things: That he is Omniscient, Immense; neither to be comprehended within any bounds, nor so much as to be perfectly conceived by us: That his Providence is over all things; and that we can none of us flee from him, or escape his knowledge: That we are to believe in him, to fear him, to love him; and fearing him, to abstain from all evil. 5. If from thence we go to the next person of the Blessed Trinity, Our Saviour Jesus Christ; here we shall find all that either our Creed teaches us to profess concerning him, or that any Christian need to believe: That he existed not only before he came into the world, but from all eternity: That he is not only the Son of God, but is himself also God: That in the fullness of time he took upon him our nature, and became man; was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified under Pontius 1 See the Index, God. 2 See ib. Christ. Pilate; that he suffered for our salvation, and was raised again from the dead, not only by the power of the Father, but by his own also: That he is our high-priest, and protector now, and shall come again at the end of the world, to judge the whole race of mankind: That there is no coming unto God but by him; insomuch that even the Ancient Fathers, who died before his appearing, were yet saved by the same means that we are now. 6. As for what concerns, the Holy Spirit, the third person in the glorious 'Godhead: he is here set out to us as the Spirit of God, which is glorified and worshipped together with the Father and the Son, although distinct from both; and communicated by the Son' to the Prophets; who also sanctifieth and endueth the faithful with many gifts, for the edification of the Church. 7. And now I am mentioning the Holy Spirit, let me add, that we may here see what is needful to be known concerning all the other spirits of an inferior nature: how the Holy Angels minister unto us; but especially then, when we have the most need of them, at the time of our death. that though the Devil may attack us, and use all his arts to draw us away from our duty, yet it must be our own fault if we are overcome by him; and that therefore we ought not to be afraid of him. And 8. But to return to our Creed, and the articles of it; here we farther see both what a great obligation there lies upon us to keep up a Communion of Saints in the Unity of the Church on earth, and what is that true fellowship that we 3. See the Index, Trinity. * See Mart. Ignat. sec. 14. Polyc. sec. 14. 22. 5 See the Index, Angel, Devil. See ib, Peace, Unity, Martyrs, Reliques, &c. ought to have with those who are gone before us to heaven: That it consists not in the worship of any, though never so gloriously exalted by God; but in love, and remembrance; in thanksgiving to God for their excellencies; and in our prayers to him, joined with hearty endeavours of our own, to imitate their perfections. 9. And whilst we do this, we are assured of the Forgiveness of our Sins, through the merits and satisfaction of Jesus Christ; and that not only of those which we committed before our baptism, but of all such as we shall chance to fall into after, if we truly repent of them; except only the great sin of wilfully and maliciously blaspheming God and his Holy Spirit, which was thought to be hardly, if at all, remissible, either in this world, or in the other. 10. As for the next point, the Resurrection of the Body: it is not barely asserted, but is at large proved too, in the following discourses. There we are told, not only that there shall be a future resurrection, but a resurrection of the flesh; that we shall be raised in the very same bodies in which we go down into the grave; and that, being raised, we shall be judged by Christ, according to our works; and be either unspeakably rewarded, or exceedingly punished to all eternity. 11. If from the articles of our Creed, we go on to the Holy Sacrament' of the Church; here we have set out to us the great benefit of our baptism, and of what a mighty concern it is to us in the business of our salvation. And for the other sacrament: here we are taught, that the elements of 1 See the Index, Repentance. 3 See ib. Punishment. |