one will come after me, let him deny himself, and CHA P. XXVIII. Of the Church, alfo of Infallibility, and I' was upon this Propofition, That Jefus was the Meffiah, the Son of the living God, owned by St. Peter, that our Saviour faid he would build his Church, Matth. 16. 16, 17, 18. The Confeffion made by St. Peter, Matth. 16. 16. is the Rock on which our I 4 Saviour 3 Saviour has promis'd to build his Church. Mr. Lock, Reafonab. of Chriftian. p. 27. 48. The Romanifes fay, 'Tis beft for Men, and fo fuitable to the Goodnefs of God, that there should be an infallible Fudge of Controverfies on Earth; and therefore there is one. And I by the fame Reafon, fay, 'Tis better for Men that every Man himself fhould be infallible, I leave them to confider, whether by the Force of this Argument they hall think that every Man is fo, Eflay, 1. 1. c. 4. §. 12. I know no other infallible Guide but the Spirit of God in the Scriptures; Second Vindication of Reafonab. of Chriftian. p. 341. The Ideas of one Body and one Place, do fo clearly agree, and the Mind has fo evident a Perception of their Agreement, that we can never affent to a Propofition that affirms the fame Body to be in two diftant Places at once, however it should pretend to the Authority of a Divine Revelation: Since the Evidence, 1. That we decerve not our felves in afcribing it to God; 2. That we understand it right, can ne ver be fo great as the Evidence of our own intuitive Knowledge, whereby we difcern it impoffible for the Jame Body to be in two Places at once, Effay, 44 f. 18. §. 5. OBSERVATIONS. Mr. Lock often repeats it, That the Confeffion made by St. Peter, St. Matth. 16. 16. was the Rock on which Chrift would build his Church. We have it in his Renfonab. of Chriftian. not only in the Places already alledg'd, but alfo in p, 102,103, and 104, 105. If he would inferr thence, that this Article alone, That Jefus is the Meffiab, is neceffary to make Men Chriftians; or, that only thefe two Articles, That he is the Meffiah, and, That he is the Son of God, are fo neceffary, he may know that this can not be deduced from it. If he argue thus, The Church Church is founded upon thefe Articles, as upon a Rock, therefore only the Belief of them is neceffary to make a Man a Member of the Church; I deny his Confequence, for more than the believing the firft Foundation of the Church may be neceffary to make a Man a Member of it. As to the Words, This Rock, it is acknowledged that fundry of the ancient Expofitors have interpreted it to be the Faith which St. Peter confefs'd. Upon this Rock will I build my Church, i. e. the Faith which thou haft confefs'd; fo St. Chryfoft. in St. Matth. Homil. 55. Chrift called this Confeffion a Rock, &c. For it really is the Rock of Godliness; fo St. Bafil. Seleuc. Orat. 25. What is this, upon this Rock I will build my Church? Upon this Faith on that which is faid, Thou art Chrift the Son of the living God; fo St. Auguft. Trad. 10. in primam Joannis. I may add Theophylact: Peter having confefs'd the Son of God, he (i. e. Chrift,) faith, This Confeffion which thou haft confefs'd shall be the Foundation of Believers. Thus Theophyl. in loc. But tho these and other ancient Writers do by this Rock understand the Faith which was confefs'd, yet there want not among them those who make it to be the Author and Finisher of our Faith, viz. Christ. Upon thofe Words, 1 Cor. 3. 11. Other Foundation no Man can lay, than that which is laid, which is Fefus the Chrift. Theodoret fays thus, Blef fed Peter laid this Foundation, or rather the Lord himfelf: For Peter having Jaid, Thou art the Son of the living God, the Lord faid, On this Rock I will build my Church: Be not ye therefore denominated from Men, for Chrift is the Foundation. The Interlineary Glofs in St. Matth. 16. 18. fays, This Rock, i. e. Chrift, in whom thou believeft. And our Anfelm, Ibid. as plainly, On this Rock, i. e. upon my self I will build my Church, q. d. Thou art fo Peter, from me (Petra) the Rock, as that yet the Dignity of being the the Foundation is referv'd for me. But St. Austin, tho' he was alledged as favouring the former Expofition, yet is otherwhere as clearly and fully for this as you can defire. Therefore the Lord faith, On this Rock I will build my Church, because Peter had faid, Thou art Chrift the Son of the living God. Therefore, fays he, on this Rock which thou haft confefs'd, I will build my Church. Chrift was the Rock upon which Foundation even Peter himself was built; for other Foundation no Man can lay than that which is laid, to wit, Chrift Fefus. The Church therefore which is founded on Chrift, &c. St. Auguft. Tratat. 124. in Joannem. And again, Thou art Peter, and on this Rock which thou hoft confeffed, on this Rock which thou hast known, faying, Thou art Chrift the Son of the living God, I will build my Church, i. e. upon my felf, the Son of the living God, I will build my Church; I will build thee upon me, not me upon thee. Men that were willing to be built upon Men, faid, I am of Paul, I of Apollos, I of Cephas, i. e. Peter; but others who would not be built upon Peter, but upon Petra a Rock, faid, I am of Chrift. Thus St. Auguft. de Verbis Domini; fee Matth. Serm. 13. Thefe plainly make this Rock to be Chrift himfelf. Befides these already mention'd, there occurrs in the Writings of fome of the Fathers a third Interpretation of the Rock here fpoken of, viz. That which makes St. Peter to be the Perfon to whom Chrift makes Promife of fo great a Dignity, that he would build his Church upon him. The Romish Writers abound with Citations to this purpofe, and tho' because fome of them are out of Writings that are not judg'd to be of fufficient Authority, and in others of them they have not fhew'd that Fidelity they ought to have done, many of them are of no weight, yet it is granted that fome of the Anci ents have inclin'd to this Sense of the Place; and therefore therefore there is no Neceffity that I should give my felf the trouble to tranfcribe their Words. Mr. Lock may perhaps fay, that this Expofition is fo much for the Advantage of the Papal Intereft, and in favour of the Bifhop of Rome's Universal Paftorship, that Proteftants must not admit of it. But I anfwer, Why is it more for the Advantage of the Papal Intereft that St. Peter fhould be the Rock on which Chrift would build his Church, than it is that he would give him the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven? Why do they who say that these Words, On this Rock I will build my Church, were spoken perfonally of Peter, more favour Popery than they who will have thofe Words, To thee I will give the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, to be faid perfonally to Peter? For why may we not argue as ftrongly for the univerfal Paftorship from the latter Words, as from the former? And yet Mr. Lock himself tells us exprefly, that the latter Words were faid perfonally to Peter; fee his Reafonab. of Chriftian. p. 105. I think it not amifs here to tranfcribe the Words of Epifcopius, in loc. Concedi atque indulgeri poffe putaverim Pontificiis, quod per Hanc Petram intelligatur ipfa perfona Pe tri, idque quia probabilibus valde nituntur argumentis. At vero dicet quis, fic datur Pontificiis quod volunt. Id vero pernegatur confequi. Etfi enim Petro bic aliquid promittatur, aut de eo aliquid futurum affirmetur, id tamen non fit cum aliorum Difcipulorum aut Apoftolorum exclufione. Aliud enim longe eft Petro hoc dici, aliud foli Petro ea dici que aliis non competant, aut eodem faliem jure aliis Difcipulis tribui nequeant. Prius concedi poffe putamus, pofterius vero negamus, id enim fufficit plufquam fatis ad Primatum Petri, & quæ ei (fi quis fuiffet) ridicule admodum & ftolide fuperftruitur Pontificis Romani Pre rogativa, evertendum. Thus Epifcopius. And there are Proteftant Divines of great Efteem for their Learning |