to the falvation of mankind? Their faving claufe will not help them in this cafe; wherein they fay, that thefe facraments are not all neceffary to every one. For there may be cafes, wherein, according to the exprefs tenor of the gospel conftitution, and the declaration of Chrift himself, not one of them fhall be necessary to falvation: for example, when a man is convinced of the truth of the chriftian doctrine, and with his very heart and foul embraces it, but has not by the providence of God an opportunity for having any one of these ordinances adminiftred to him. Such was the cafe of the thief on the cross who, according to the acknowledgment of Chrift himself, became a hearty believer in him just before his death, and had the promise of entring with him that day into paradife. This indeed is no ground of encouragement for defpifing or neglecting any inftitution, which really has the stamp of Chrift's authority, when the good providence of God allows opportunity to comply with it: nor would I dare to promife safety to any man in that cafe. But however, it is a proper rebuke to the confidence of pope Pius; who declares all the feven Romish facraments to be neceffary to the falvation of mankind: and of the council of Trent; which curfes to the pit of hell * all those who shall fay they are not neceffary to falvation; and curfes || all thofe likewife, who fball Jay that any one of the feven is not truly and properly a facrament inftituted by Jefus Chrift.

But befides the prefumption of these declarations, and the unchristian bitterness of the curfes, there

Concil. Trid. Seff. VII, de facram, can. 4.

I can. 1.

there are corruptions of a pernicious nature in the doctrinal part of the Romish facraments. The very notion of an indeleble character, given in baptifm, which is the reafon affigned by the * council of Florence why that ordinance fhould not be reiterated, has a tendency to make children, when they grow up, neglect inward and real religion as unneceffary. And as the fame indeleble charaEter is likewife affirmed to be + impreffed on the foul in the facrament of confirmation, which is ufually adminiftred to very young people; the fame dangerous indolence is hereby more encouraged. By the fame indeleble character, communicated in the facrament of orders, the wicked men among the clergy, who 'tis to be feared amount to a large number, are hardned in their wickedness. "Tis much to the like purpose, that the council of Florence + affirms concerning the facrament of the eucharift, that in respect of fuftenance, increafe, recruit, and delight, it operates all that effect with regard to the spiritual life, which material food and drink operate with regard to the corporeal. And from this doctrine, and from the commands of the || canon law to give this facrament as a viaticum to dying malefactors and others, it is no wonder that the common people fhould look upon it as a fort of charm in the very external action itself, to defend the foul

*Concil. Flor. apud Labbé, tom. XIII. pag. 535. † ibid.

Omnem effectum, quem materialis cibus & potus quoad vitam agunt corporalem, fuftentando, augendo, reparando & delectando ; facramentum hoc quoad vitam operatur fpiritualem. Labbé, Concil. tom. XIII. pag. 537·

Decr. part. II. cauf. 13. quæft. 2. cap. 30. Decret. Gregor. lib. V. tit. 18. cap. 2. tit. 38. cap. 11. Clementin. lib. V. tit. 9. cap. 1.

foul from all evil, and thereby incur the danger of neglecting the true defign of facraments, and of becoming ftrangers to ferious religion. Transubstantiation, another doctrinal part of this facrament, will be confidered in an article by itself, and therefore I fhall fay nothing of it now.

But how abominably does the church of Rome ufurp the divine prerogative, and enflave the confciences of men, in their pretended facrament of penance? How directly do auricular confeffion and priestly abfolution, as established and practifed in that church, tend to make vicious men defpife the thought of reftraining corrupt affections; when they fee, that upon confeffing to a prieft, fubmitting to the penance enjoined, and receiving absolution, which it is no difficult matter to come at, they may repeat their beloved fins as often as they will, and make no doubt of getting a compleat abfolution from all fins when they come to die? And what miferable straits are the * papists reduced to, for fupporting this their facrament of penance, when they are forced to have their chief recourfe to expreffions which are manifeftly figurative; fuch as those of our Saviour, John XX. 22, 23. and Mat. XVIII. 16. and in oppofition both to reafon and fcripture will needs take them in a literal fenfe? The former of these texts is a commiffion given by our Lord to his apoftles: and, upon comparing it with other paffages of the new teftament, plainly appears to relate to the awful effects of their preaching that gofpel, the reception of which would fecure the forgiveness of fins, and

H

See Grounds of cath. dot. pag. 21.

the

the rejection of which would fasten men's fins upon them. It is in reality the fame commiffion, which was given in plainer words, Mark XVI. 15, 16. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature: he that believeth and is baptized fhall be faved; but he that believeth not fhall be damned. The apoftles, by their preaching, were to be the happy inftruments of conveying this falvation: and therefore their preaching is, in a figurative way of fpeech, not unaptly ftiled remitting of fin. And in like manner all good chriftians, even they who are not sent forth to preach, are affured by the apostle James, V. 20. that if they become the happy means of converting a finner from the error of his way, they fhall fave a foul from death. And as the word preached by the apoftles would be fure to have its effect, whether received or rejected: fo the apostles, who preached it, might for the fame reafon be faid to retain the fins of those who rejected it, as to remit the fins of those who embraced it. The fcriptures abound with figurative expreffions of this kind; where the effect is afcribed to the inftrument employed, even in cases where it is moft evident, that God himself is the grand efficient. So Jer. I. 9, 10. God himfelf tells the prophet, See I have fet thee this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to deftroy, and to throw down; to build and to plant. The meaning of which expreffions, it is manifeft, can be no more, than that God fent him to deliver to the nations that word of his, which, if not complied with, fhould have thefe terrible effects. It is plain, by

the

the conduct of the apoftles, that they thus understood their master's words in the XXth of John; and not of receiving fecret confeffions, and thereupon giving abfolution: for there is not one fyllable in the whole new teftament which intimates they were ever fo employed. And yet they must have been the fittest men in the world to grant fuch abfolutions: and accordingly fuch crouds would have flocked daily to them, that they would have had no time to do any thing else, if they themselves had believed that Chrift gave them authority for that purpose.

As to that other text, Mat. XVIII. it fignifies, that wherever any fociety of chriftians, acting agreeably to the known mind of Chrift, withdrew from a diforderly perfon, their conduct therein should be ratified and approved of God; and that they should have the fame divine approbation when, upon fuch perfons repentance, they received him again. But all this is fpoken to the apostles, not in their apoftolical character, but confidered in general as fubjects of the kingdom of heaven; as appears from the foregoing parts of the fame chapter.

As to the power of binding and loofing, promifed to St. Peter, Mat. XVI. 19. that has a manifeft connexion with the grant made to him of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; that is, of opening the doctrine of that kingdom, by being first employed to preach it. And thus the words perfectly agree with that other figurative text, John XX. concerning the awful effects of preaching Chrift's gospel.

But from fuch figurative expreffions as thefe, for mortal men to pretend to forgive the fins of

H 2

their