one, and the fame individual Will, or that all three in one complex Notion, do one and the fame individual Action? The Falfhood of which Affertion, I have elsewhere proved. And,

Laftly, Where doth the Scripture fay, that three Perfons can fubfift in one numerical Ef fence? This being in Effect to fay, as Dr. Wd doth not blush to do, (a) that three intelligent Agents may be one intelligent Agent, and no more? Had all these things been neceffary to have been believed, furely they would have been, either in exprefs Words, or plain Confequence contained in the Holy Scripture. And if they cannot be found there, it must be granted, at least by all Proteftants, that they are not neceffary to be believed, as not being contain'd in their Rule of Faith.

In our Difcourfes with the Doctors of the Roman Communion, we diftinguish betwixt such Articles as we call pofitive, or affirmative, or which we do affert to be delivered in that Scripture which is our Rule of Faith; (and that these are contained in Scripture we own our felves oblig'd to prove) and those which we call negative, or fuch as we deny to be contained in our Rule of Faith; as that the Pope is Chrift's Vicar upon Earth; That the Hoft is tranfubftantiated into the real Body and Blood of Chrift, united to his Divinity,

(a) Defence, p. 350.

and

and therefore is to be worshipped with Latria, that is, with Worship only due to the great God of Heaven: That it is to be offered as a propitiatory Sacrifice for the Sins of the Living, or the Dead: That Saints, and Angels are to be worshipped by Mental, or Ŏral Prayers: That we are to bow down to, or worship Images, or Crucifixes: That the Sacraments of the New Teftament are Seven: That Prayers are to be offered for the Dead, to free them from the Pains of Purgatory: That Prayers are to be adminiftred in Latin, though it be an unknown Tongue to the People: And laftly, That general Councils are infallible; and that Priests do formally forgive Sins, and not declaratively only.

Now as to thefe negative Propofitions, we declare we are not obliged to prove from Scripture, that it doth exprefly deny them, but think it fufficient, that we don't find them contained in our Rule of Faith: because whatfoever is of Divine Revelation, must be contained in thefe Scriptures, in which alone, we have the Mind of God revealed to us. From

whence it follows, that if we would act agreeably to our Fundamental Principle, we also must reject all other pretended Articles of Chriftian Faith, which cannot be fufficiently proved to be contain'd in the Holy Scrip

tures.

It is a true and excellent Saying of one of the Antients, that Deus non ducit ad Calum

per

per difficilia, That God brings not Men to Heaven by difficult Matters. And fecing God would have all Men to be faved, and come to the Knowledge of the Truth, necessary to that End, 1 Tim. ii. 4; and fince the Gospel was indited for the Salvation of all Men in general, Greeks, and Barbarians, Wife, and Unwife; and feeing St. Paul declares, that in preaching of it, they used great plainness of Speech, 2 Cor. iii. 12; fecing, lastly, our excellent Homily on this Subject, teacheth us, That there is nothing spoken in dark Myfteries in one Place of Scripture, but the fame thing is more familiarly and plainly taught in another, to the Capacity both of the Learned, and Unlearned; And those things which are plain to understand, and neceffary for Salvation, every Man's Duty is to learn them; And feeing alfo, all the antient Fathers exprefly and frequently fay the fame thing, as I have proved elsewhere, (f) Hence it is very evident, that not only the Niceties contain'd in the Pfeudo-Athanafian Creed, cannot be neceffary to be believed unto Salvation, as the Author of that Creed thrice afferts, because fome of the unlearned Laiety cannot understand them; but also that the Propofitions mentioned by me, as not clearly contained in Scripture, cannot be neceffary to be believed in order to that End; fince by Experience we find

(*) Hom. Ift.

D

(+) Defence of Bishop Bangor's Prop, p. 36, 37, 38.

find that even learned Clerks are fo exceedingly divided, and fo eagerly difpute concern ing the Truth, or Falfhood of them. Some faying, That they are not only true, but alfo neceffary to be believed; and others, as fincerely honeft, and upright in their Enquiries after Truth, affcrting, not only that they are false, but that they are obnoxious to many Contradictions, and Abfurdities; which is a certain Demonftration that they are not delivered in Holy Scripture, with that clearness of Speech, which St. Paul mentions: And much lefs without great Difficulties, furmounting the Capacity of the unlearned. Again,

It seems to me very confiderable, that the Wisdom of our Bleffed Lord, of the Holy Ghoft, and of the facred Writers, should be fo full, copious, and frequently express in things neceffary to be done in order to Salvation; and yet be fo fparing, or rather filent, as to the Articles pretended to be as necessary to be believed unto Salvation. Since All wile Agents, truly defirous of the Salvation of them whom they inftruct, will be as much concerned that they should know what is neceffary to be believed, as what is neceffary to be done, in order to Salvation.

Nor can Salvation be obtained by our Obedience to what is neceffary to be done in order to Salvation, without the Knowledge of what is neceffary to be believed to the fame End.

And

And yet it seemeth evident, that the Holy Scriptures, and infpired Pen-Men of them, who have fo fully taught us all things neceflary to be done in order to Salvation, have been comparatively filent, in reference to thefe Articles, pretended to be as neceffary to be believed to the fame End. For Instance,

Our bleffed Saviour in his excellent Sermon on the Mount, concludes with thefe Words, Therefore whofoever heareth thefe Sayings of mine, and doth them, I will liken him to a Man which built his Houfe upon a Rock.

Whence it is evident, that they who did thofe Sayings, must be wife unto Salvation. In the very beginning of that Scrmon, he pronounceth the pure in Heart blessed, for they shall fee God; The poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven; They that mourn, for they shall be comforted; The merciful, for they shall obtain Mercy; The Peace Makers, for they shall be called the Children of God; They who are perfecuted for Righteoufnefs fake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven: Though in all that whole Sermon he taught them nothing of these Propofitions. Now, either it must be faid, that no Man can be poor in Spirit; pure in Heart; truly merciful; true Mourners; true Peace-Makers; or truly Sufferers for Righteoufnefs fake; unless they do affent to thofe Propofitions, (and then wonderful is it, that he who faid thofe things to the Jews that they might be faved, fhould