THe Papists do both injuriously and absurdly alledge , to the undervaluing of the Authority of the Holy Scriptures , and setting the Authority of their Church above it , that all sorts of Hereticks have pretended the Scriptures to favour and father even their most deformed and monstrous Conceits . In this Allegation , they do not onely wrong the Word of God in attempting to detract from its Authority , but also prejudice their own cause , by giving us just occasion to suspect either the Judgment or Designe of those that would impose upon us by such a Non-concluding Argument . For this very thing doth argue what great respect men are naturally enclined to shew to the Word of God ; seeing , though many men hold that which is really contrary to it , yet they would make it seem , as near as they can , to be agreeable to it . And it hence appears that they account an Argument drawn from the Scriptures to be very firm and powerful , seeing they take such pains to wrest the Scriptures to make them speak that which they never intended , on their side .

It is then very evident ( and may be spoken for the honour of this sure word of Prophesie ) that men of all Professions and Perswasions , 2 Pet. 1.19 . do appeal to it as the last Judge in all Controversies appertaining to our Christian Faith . But the great thing controverted , is , What is the best way for Interpreting the Scriptures ?

The Papists , if either Self-interest , or the just Judgment of God upon them , did not quite put out their eyes , could not possibly give up themselves to going round in these mills which grind for their advantage . In treating of the Authority of the Scriptures , they first will have the Scriptures to obtain Authority from the Testimony of the Church , and then the Authority of the Church shall be established from the Testimony of the Scriptures . So that the Church , before its Authority be proved , must give Authority to the Scriptures , and then the Scriptures which they suppose to have received their Authority from the Church , must give Authority to the Church . And in like manner they deal about the Interpretation of the Scriptures . For if we ask , Who must have Authority so to Interpret the Scriptures , that we must rest in that Interpretation ? They will tell you , The Church . And who is that Church ? but he whom they suppose the Head of the Church , The Pope . So that , first that Interpretation which the Pope gives of the Scriptures , must establish his Authority to interpret them ; and then by vertue of Authority with which he conceives himself to be invested by the Scriptures , he takes Authority over the Scriptures .

But we may well reckon it a considerable part of our happiness in matters of our Faith , that as we do , upon good grounds , believe the Authority of the Scriptures , to be such as needs not to be supported by the Pope ; but to which indeed he ought to submit himself , and by which he must be judged : So we believe , upon sufficient grounds , that for the Interpretation of Scripture in matters necessary to our salvation , we need not send to Rome to be informed . We should esteem it an unpardonable injury , both to the Wisdom and Goodness of our Heavenly Father , if we should suppose that he had left his Will in order to our salvation , involved in such intricacies , as should not be obvious to be apprehended by those that with an honest heart , set themselves to search the Scriptures . And whereas in matters of less moment , there are some dark places of Scripture , which the Lord hath thought meet to leave for the exercise of our Industry , and trial of our Humility ; As to these we say , that as a man may be saved without a distinct understanding them , so the Pope not onely may erre , but hath fouly erred in attempting the Interpretation of them . And I may reasonably add before I leave this , that the Papists in pleading for a necessity of appealing to the Pope as the last Judge of the Interpretation of Scripture , do quite shake the foundation of his power by overloading it with a too-high structure . For if we must needs believe our selves to be at a loss as to the meaning of the Scriptures , unless we have the gracious Nod of his pretended Holiness to confirm it , then why may we not as well suspect our selves not rightly to understand those Scriptures that are alleadged for the Popes Authority to interpret Scripture , unless his Authority do confirm us in this meaning of them ? And if so , then the Popes Authority to interpret the Scriptures is wholly founded ( as I intimated before ) upon his own Magisterial deciding the meaning of Scriptures . And if even our Saviour saith , If I bear witness of my self , John 5.31 . my witness is not true ; then why may we not suspect the Popes Authority , which is wholly built upon his own Testimony ? And if the Popes authority in this case be not reasonably confirmed , then are we as far to seek for the meaning of the Scriptures , as before he delivered his judgment . And consequently the appealing to him in this matter , is so far from putting an end to all strife , that it is the way to continue an endless strife , till he hath better Asserted his own authority , then ever yet he hath done . And therefore we may very reasonably invert this Argument , and say , that if the appealing to the Pope , be not the way to satisfie our saith , but rather to make it giddy by running round in these mazes ; therefore it is not the best way to refer our selves to him as an Arbitrator , or Vmpire in those differences that are amongst us , about the meaning of some Texts of Scriptures . If yet they persist in pleading necessity to draw us to this inconvenience , and that without putting it to this reference , the suit will never be at an end . We answer , That as the case is very sad in our Church , in regard of these divisions of Reuben ; so we may well suppose that the evil eye with which they look upon us , represents it as much worse then it is , when they would draw us to lean upon a broken Reed for fear of falling , to rest upon that for the strengthening of our Faith , which is not able to uphold it self ( I mean the Pope's authority ) and therefore will afford but a sorry support to us . Besides , when we find that in the Apostles times , there was great cause to complain of Multitudes of false Teachers , which then were risen up in the Church ( all which , no doubt , did pretend to the Patronage of the Scriptures , as our Modern Opiniators now do ) and yet we never hear St. Paul , who complains so much of them , to appeal to St. Peter ( who was then alive , and able to give a better construction of the Scriptures than those that call themselves his Successors ) for deciding those controversies , and pronouncing who was in the right ; But he proceeds to cut his way by the Sword of the Spirit , Eph. 6 , 17. which is the Word of God , and reckons these Weapons to be mighty through God , for pulling down strong Holds , 2 Cor. 14.4 , 5. casting down Imaginations , and every high thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledg of God , and bringing into Captivity every thought into the Obedience of Christ . Therefore , I say , Why may not we believe that the same strength is able to do the same works still , and that if we be diligent in endeavouring by sound Doctrine , Tit. 1.9 . Chap. 2 , v. 1.8 . both to exhort and to convince the gain-sayers , and preach the things that becomes sound Doctrine , and use sound Speech which cannot reasonably be contradicted ; that this , I say , shall be effectual for the discovery of the Truth : And that we shall find in the issue , that , Great is the Truth , and stronger than all things , that it endureth , and is alwayes strong , 1 Esdras 4.35 , 38. and conquereth evermore : Whereas Error ( though it appear boysterous and turbulent for the present ) yet it shall in the end appear to be weak , and yield the Victory unto Truth , And though for the present it afford us no small trouble in the Church , that men of perverse mindes will not see the plain and true meaning of some Scriptures , because they are blinded with prejudice and self-conceit : yet do we not think that the onely expedient to remedy this , is to turn Papists , both because their Pope hath nothing to shew as a Commission for his Vmpirage , and therefore we should be never the better for appealing to him : and also because we doubt not but the Lord who is pleased to permit these errours for the trial and exercise of our Faith , when we have suffered under them as much as he thinks meet for us , will ( without applying our selves to this indirect course ) stablish , 1 Pet. 5.10 . strengthen , and settle us , and ●●●ry true member of his Church in the right Faith , Rom. 16.20 . and that the God of peace will himself tread Satan under our feet shortly .

I might add , to make this up weight , the contrary judgements of Popes and Antipopes , which have for some time made a great stir in the Church , and must needs be a great distraction to the mindes of them that were bound by their Religion to rest upon the judgement of an infallible person , when it was so hard to determine which of the two contraries was truly infallible . And beside that in the successions in that See , there have been divers that have contradicted the judgement of their Predecessors ; yea , we are not certain , but that the same Pope may the next year esteem himself infallible in holding that which is quite contrary , to what he now doth infallibly determine : and these cases must needs puzzle the Faith of those that apply themselves to such a judge as may be subject to such alterations and contrariety . But these things have been so fully and excellently managed by far abler hands , that I shall content my self with giving a brief hint of them . And this I think is sufficient to convince any person of an unbyassed minde , That there is neither necessity nor convenience to invite us to refer our selves to the Pope for deciding of controversies , about the interpretation of difficult Scriptures .

But to proceed : As there are many places of Scripture , which are not easie to be understood ; so it behooves us , both to be industrious in using the means which God affords us for attaining the knowledge of them ; and withal , to be very modest in passing our judgements concerning the meaning of them . And indeed it is mostly to be observed , that , they are most confident of their understanding the darkest places of Scripture , that have very little to support this confidence , but onely that good Opinion they have thought meet to entertain of their own abilities . And as the Moralist saith of moral and natural knowledge , Seneca . Multi ad scientiam pervenissent , nisi putâssent se jam pervenisse : Mens confidence that they are in the right , hinders them from finding out their errour , and seeking after the truth : So we may say of spiritual Knowledge , that one great thing which keeps many from the knowledge and belief of the truth , and locks them up fast in the fetters of errours , is that presumption they have taken up , that they are in the right , and that it is not possible they should be deceived ; and therefore Though you bray them in a morter , yet will not this wisdom depart from them .

In the interpreting of Scripture it hath alwaies been observed , as a general Rule , that That interpretation which is nearest to the letter , is the safest and most genuine ; and that The further men go from the letter , the more hazzardous path they tread .

Indeed , if the litteral meaning do either contradict our Senses or Reason , or be expresly contrary to any other more plain Text , or to the analogy of Faith ; then we must leave the letter , and look for another meaning , that will not run us upon such inconveniences . So when the Prophet speaks of the calves of our lips , Hos. 14.3 . we must needs qualifie it , by rendring it the Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving , which proceeding from thankful lips and hearts , is more acceptable to God , then the offering of Calves or Lambs was under the old Law . So when the Scripture applies to God , hands , and feet , and mouth , and eyes , &c. we must not with the Anthropomorphitae entertain such gross and absurd conceits of God , as to think him to be a body , and endued with such parts of a body as be in us : but we must understand those expressions to set forth unto us , such works of God in the World , as some-what resemble these actions of ours , in which we use those members of our bodies as Instruments ? So when the Apostle saith , Christ sent him not to baptize , 1 Cor. 1.17 . but to preach the Gospel ; for as much as in the former verses , the Apostle expresly tells us , that he had Baptised some , which he could not have done without a commission ; we must therefore understand it , that Christ sent him not so much to Baptize as to Preach ; even as the same negative particle in other places , Mat. 9.13 . doth not deny absolutely but comparatively : as in that Text , I will have mercy and not sacrifice . So when the Papists pertinaciously urge the letter of those words , Mat. 26.16 . ( This is my Body ) to prove the Body of Christ to be present , in their sense , in the Eucharist : we say , That forasmuch as this is both contrary to what our senses witness , and is a contradiction to reason , and also destroys the very nature and end of a Sacrament ; that therefore it is a great injury to the Text , to adhere so pertinaciously to the letter of it , and not to qualifie it with a milder and more intelligible construction .

This then is one extream in which many run on to the wronging of the Scripture , and of their own judgements , when they are over-severe in adhering to the letter . And indeed such a pertinaciousness , as it sometimes argues men to be guilty of a fond ignorance , so for the most part it smells of a design : for I have still observed , that they who would be over-strict in sticking to the letter of a Text , when they have conceived it meet to serve their own turn , would be forward enough to run off from the letter , when another interpretation would suit better with their purpose : And therefore it argues that they are not onely deceived themselves , but have a design to deceive others also .

But there are others , who run in another extream , which is equally dangerous , viz. those that , without necessity do , fly to a spiritual or mystical sense , so as quite to reject the literal : and this , as it doth commonly proceed from affectation , and a desire to seem to take notice of som●thing more than vulgar eyes are aware of ; so it is , for the most part , used to serve a design , to evade the force of some plain & convincing Scripture , by mudding the water that so themselves and their tenets may escape unseen . Did it not smell of a design in those female teachers , who when that Text was alledged against their usurping of this office , 1 Tim. 2.11 . I suffer not a woman to teach ; would seek to evade it by giving a mystical interpretation thereof , as if by woman should be understood the flesh , by which the Apostle will not have us to be taught . But so it is , that too many do not search the Scriptures , to the end that they may conform their own opinions and practices to this Rule , but that they may warp the Rule as far as possible , to a compliance with the irregularity of their own thoughts and actions .