standing over against him with his sword drawn, and the three men that Abraham entertained in the plains of Mambre, were really and substantially no men; and that notwithstanding all the information and evidence of sense, from their colour, features, proportion, talking, eating, &c. of their being men; yet without any discredit to his senses, he really believes they were no such thing, because God's words has assured him of the contrary: and with this faith he believes Christ's body and blood to be really present in the blessed sacrament, though, to all outward appearance, there is nothing more than bread and wine: thus, not at all hearkening to his senses in a matter where God speaks, he unfeignedly confesses, that he that made the world of nothing by his sole word; that cured diseases by his word; that raised the dead by his word; that commanded the winds and seas; that multiplied bread; that changed water into wine by his word, and sinners into just men, cannot want power to change bread and wine into his own body and blood by his sole word. And this without danger of multiplying his body, of making as many Christs as altars, or leaving the right hand of his Father; but only by giving to his body a supernatural manner of existence, by which, being without extension of parts, rendered independent of place, it may be one and the same in many places at once, and whole in every part of the symbols, and not obnoxious to any corporal contingencies. And this kind of existence is no more, than what in a manner he bestows upon every glorified body; than what his own body had, when born without the least violation of his mother's virginal integrity; when he arose from the dead, out of the sepulchre, without removing the stone; when he entered amongst his disciples, the doors being shut. And though he cannot understand how this is done, yet he undoubtedly believes that God is able to do more than he is able to understand.

7. Of Confession.-The Papist truly represented believes it damnable in any religion to make gods of men. However, he firmly holds, that when Christ, speaking to his apostles, said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained; he gave them, and their successors, the bishops and priests of the Catholic.

Church, authority to absolve any truly penitent sinner from his sin. And God having thus given them the ministry of reconciliation, and made them Christ's legates, Christ's ministers, and the dispensers of the mysteries of Christ, and given them power that whatsoever they loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven, he undoubtedly believes, that whosoever comes to them making a sincere and humble confession of his sins, with a true repentance and firm purpose of amendment, and a hearty resolution of turning from his evil ways, may from them receive absolution, by the authority given them from heaven, and no doubt but God ratifies above the sentence pronounced in that tribunal; loosing in heaven whatsoever is thus loosed by them on earth. And that, whosoever comes without the due preparation, without a repentance from the bottom of his heart, and a real intention of forsaking his sins, receives no benefit by the absolution; but adds sin to sin, by a high contempt of God's mercy, and abuse of his sacraments.

8. Of Indulgences.-The Papist truly represented believes it damnable to hold, that the Pope, or any other power in heaven or earth, can give him leave to commit any sins whatsoever: or that for any sum of money he can obtain an indulgence or pardon for sins that are to be committed by him, or his heirs, hereafter. He firmly believes that no sins can be forgiven, without a true and hearty repentance: but that still, there is a power in the Church of granting indulgences, by which, as he is taught in his catechism, nothing more is meant than a releasing, to such as are truly penitent, the debt of temporal punishment, which remained due on account of those sins, which as the guilt and eternal punishment had been already remitted by repentance and confession. For we see in the case of King David, that the debt of the temporal punishment is not always remitted, when the guilt of the sin is remitted; and as the Church of God from the beginning was ever convinced of this truth, therefore, besides the hearty repentance and confession, which she insisted upon in order for the discharge of the guilt of sin; she also required severe penances, sometimes of three, seven, ten years or more, for the discharge of the debt of the temporal punishment due to divine justice. Now the releasing or moderating for just causes these penalties incurred by sin, is called an indul

gence. And the power of granting such indulgences is visibly implied in the promise of the keys, and of binding and loosing made to the pastors of the Church. And the exercise of this power was frequent in the primitive church; and is even authorized by the example of St. Paul himself, who granted such an indulgence to the incestuous Corinthian, forgiving, as he says, in the person of Christ; that is, by the power and authority he had received from him. Now the good works usually required for the obtaining indulgences, are prayer, fasting, visiting churches, confession, communion, and alms-deeds; but what money there is given at any time on this account concerns not at all the Pope's coffers, but is, by every one given as they please, either to the poor, to the sick, to prisoners, &c., where they judge it most charity. As to the rest, if any abuses have been committed in granting or gaining indulgences, through the fault of some particular persons, these cannot in justice be charged upon the church, to the prejudice of her faith and doctrine; especially, since she has been so careful in the retrenching them; as may be seen by what was done in the council of Trent.

9. Of Satisfaction.-The Papist truly represented believes it damnable to think injuriously of Christ's passion. Nevertheless he believes, that though condign satisfaction for the guilt of sin, and the pain eternal due to it, be proper only to Christ our Saviour; yet that penitent sinners being redeemed by Christ, and made his members, may in some measure satisfy by prayers, fasting, alms, &c. for the temporal pain, which by order of God's justice, sometimes remains due after the guilt, and the eternal pains are remitted. So that trusting in Christ, as his Redeemer, he yet does not think that by Christ's sufferings, every Christian is discharged of his particular sufferings; but that every one is to suffer something for himself, as St. Paul did, who by many tribulations, and by suffering in his own flesh, filled up that which was behind of the passion of Christ; and this not only for himself, but for the whole church, and this he finds every where in scripture, viz. people admonished of the greatness of their sins, doing penance in fasting, sackcloth, and ashes, and by voluntary austerities, endeavouring to satisfy the divine justice. And these personal satisfactions God has sufficiently also minded him of in the

punishments inflicted on Moses, Aaron, David, and infinite others; and even in the afflictions sent by God upon our own age, plagues, wars, fires, persecutions, rebellions, and such like: which, few are so atheistical, but they confess to be sent from heaven for the just chastisement of our sins; and which we are to undergo, notwithstanding the infinite satisfaction made by Christ, and without any undervaluing it. Now being thus convinced of some temporal punishments being due to his sins, he accepts of all tribulations, whether in body, name, or estate, from whencesoever they come, and with others of his own chusing, offers them up to God; for the discharging this debt; still confessing, that his offences deserve yet more. But these penitential works he is taught to be no otherwise satisfactory than as joined and applied to the satisfaction which Jesus made upon the cross; in virtue of which alone, all our good works find a grateful acceptance in God's sight.

10. Of reading the Holy Scriptures.-The Papist truly represented believes it damnable in any one to think, speak, or do any thing irreverently towards the scripture; or by any means whatsoever to bring it into disrepute or disgrace. He holds it in the highest veneration of all men living; he professes it to be the pure oracles of God; and that we are rather bound to lose our lives, than concur any way to its profanation. It is true, he does not think it fit to be read generally, by all, in the vulgar tongues: not for any disrespect to it; but, 1, Because he understands, that private interpretation is not proper for the scripture, because in the epistles of Saint Paul are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as also the rest of the scriptures, to their own perdition. Because God hath given only some to be apostles, some prophets, other some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. For these reasons he is taught, that it is not convenient for the scripture to be read indifferently by all men, but only by such as are humble, discreet and devout, and such as are willing to observe directions in the perusing this sacred volume: that is, to take notice of all godly histories, and imitable examples of humility, chastity, obedi ence, mercy to the poor, &c. and in all hard, obscure and disputable points to refer all to the arbitration of the church, to the judgment of those whom God hath appointed pastors

and teachers: never presuming to contend, controul, teach, or talk of their own sense and fancy in deep questions of divinity, and high mysteries of faith; but expecting the sense of these from the lips of the priest, who shall keep knowledge, and from whose mouth they shall require the law. And this caution is used, lest the scripture coming into the hands of a presuming sort of proud, curious, and contentious people, be abused and perverted: who make it their business to enquire into high and hidden secrets of God's counsels, and upon the presumption of I know not what spirit, immediately become teachers, comptrollers, and judges of doctors, church, scripture and all; and acknowledging no authority left by Christ, to which they are to submit; under pretence of scripture and God's word, make way for all sort of profaneness, irreligion, and atheism. So that it is not for the preserving ignorance, he allows a restraint upon the reading the scriptures, but for the preventing a blind ignorant presumption; and that it may be done to edification and not to destruction, and without casting what is holy to dogs, or pearls to swine.

11. Of the Scripture as a Rule of Faith.-The Papist truly represented believes it damnable to undervalue the scripture, or to take from it the authority given it by Christ. He gives it all respect due to the word of God; he owns it to be of the greatest authority upon earth, and that it is capable of leading a man to all truth, where it is rightly understood. But to any one that understands it, and takes it in any other sense than what it was intended by the Holy Ghost, he believes it to such a one, to be no scripture, no word of God; that to such a one, it is no rule of faith, nor judge of controversies; and that what he thinks to be the doctrine of Christ, and command of heaven, is nothing but his own imagination and the suggestion of the devil. And since by the experience of so many hundred heresies since our Saviour's time, all pretending to be grounded on scripture, he finds that almost every text of the bible, and even those that concern the most essential and fundamental points of the christian religion, have been interpreted several ways, and made to signify things contrary to one another; and that while thus contrary meanings are by several persons drawn from the same word, the scripture is still silent, without discovering which of all those senses is