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of the brethren there, would have written to them fo long a letter to instruct them in the true doctrine of the gospel, and to compofe the diffentions which had taken place among them, if Peter had refided among them, and inftructed them as their bishop during the space of 15 years? Befides, would Paul, who, in his epistle to the Hebrews, hath so often mentioned the apoftles, under the denomination of their rulers, have omitted, in his epistle to the Romans, to mention Peter, if he had been refiding among them as their bishop, at the time it was written ?

Since then the most ancient Chriftian fathers, Tertullian excepted, mention Peter as the first bishop of Antioch; and fince the testimonies concerning his being the first bishop of Róme are of a later date, and are in themselves, not only different but inconfiftent; also fince there are fuch strong presumptions in Paul's epiftles, that Peter did not refide in Rome during Paul's lifetime, there is good reason to think that he never was bishop of the church at Rome. But if Peter never was bishop of Rome, the claim of the bishops of that church to be his fucceffors inan office which he never held, is ridiculous. Wherefore, although it were true that the powers promised to Peter were promifed, not only to him as the bishop of a particular church, but alfo to his fucceffors in that epifcopate, the bishops of Antioch as his fucceffors would have a better title to thefe powers, than the bishops of Rome.

If any more arguments were neceffary to refute the extravagant claims of the bishops of Rome to infallibility in doctrine and difcipline, the following well known facts might be mentioned as abfolutely decifive. Different bishops of Rome in different ages, have directly contradicted each other in their decifions, concerning doctrine, as well as concerning cipline. The fame may be faid of councils, both general and particular, where the bishops of Rome have prefided, either in perfon or by their legates. Where then is the so much vaunted infallibility of the bifhops of Rome? And where the infallibility of councils, which fo much stress hath been laid, both in ancient and mo dern times?

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From the foregoing facts and reasonings it appears, that the church of Rome is not the church of the living God, which is the pillar and fupport of the truth, exclufively of all other Chriftian

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churches. Far less is it the pillar and fupport of the truth, by virtue of any infallibility which its bishops poffefs, as Peter's fucceffors in the bishoprick of Rome. The honour of fupporting the truth, as shall be fhewed immediately, belongs to no'particular church whatever, but to the Catholic church, confifting of all the churches of God which have exifted from the beginning, and which are to exift to the end of the world.-Farther, it appears that the bishops of Rome, have no just title to fupreme authority over all the churches of Chrift, as fucceffors to the apoftle Peter; because there is no certain evidence that he preceded them in the bishoprick of Rome. To conclude, the claim of the bishops of Rome to infallibility and fupreme authority in the Catholic church, which they have founded on a fact fo deftitute of evidence as Peter's having been the bishop of Rome during 25 years, ought to be strenuously refifted by the whole Christian world, as fubverfive of the liberty wherewith Christ hath made mankind free in all religious matters.

II. The futility of the claim of the church of Rome to be the pillar and fupport of the truth, will appear ftill more clearly, if we confider what the truth is, of which the church of the living God is the pillar and fupport.

The truth which is fupported by the church of the living God, as by a pillar placed on a firm foundation, is not any particular fyftem of doctrine expreffed in words of human invention, such as the fymbols of faith, which, both in ancient and modern times, have been composed by convocations of the clergy, affembled in councils, whether general or particular, under the patronage of the civil powers. But the truth which is supported by the church of the living God, is that scheme of true religion, confifting of the doctrines, precepts, and promises, which God hath made known to mankind by revelation; and which having been configned to writing by the apoftles and prophets, to whom it was revealed by the Spirit, their gospels and epiftles contain the truth, expreffed in that form of found words, which the apostle Paul commanded Timothy to hold faft, 2 Tim. i. 13.

Agreeably to this account of the truth, the gospel revelation is called the truth in the following paffages of fcripture, Gal. iii. 1. v. 7. Ephef. i. 13. 2 Theff. ii. 10. 12. 1 Tim. ii. 4. vi. 5. 2 Tim, ii. 15. 18. Tit. i. 1. and elsewhere.-The infpired writers

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having so often called the gospel revelation, The truth; it can hardly be doubted, that when the apostle Paul, in his first epiftle to Timothy, gave to the church of the living God, the honourable appellation of the pillar and support of the truth, he meant to tell him, that the Catholic church, by preserving in their original integrity the inspired writings of the evangelifts and apoftles, and of Mofes and the prophets, which contain the revelations of God from first to laft, have fupported, or preferved, the truth in the world. For all the revelations of God to mankind, being exhibited in an infallible manner, in these writings preferved by the church, if any errors, either in faith or practice, are attempted to be introduced by falfe teachers, or by men covetous of power, or of riches, they may be detected and refuted, not by appealing to the decrees of councils, and to the creeds of particular churches, but to the divinely inspired scriptures, fairly interpreted according to the plain unconstrained meaning of the paffages which relate to these subjects, taken in connection with the context where they are found.

Thus it appears, that the univerfal church of the living God, by preferving the scriptures, in their original integrity, in which the whole revelations of God are contained, hath not only fecured the truth of revelation itself from being fhaken by the attempts of infidels to overthrow it, but hath prevented its doctrines, precepts, and promises, from being corrupted by falfe teachers and worldly men, who endeavour to make gain of godlinefs. Moreover, by handing down the fcriptures from age to age, in their genuine purity, the Catholic church hath prevented the revelations of God from being loft. And by fo doing, the church of the living God hath actually become the pillar and Support of the truth; because if the fcriptures had either been corrupted or loft, the revelations of God, which are the truth, would have been corrupted or loft together with them.

III. It remains to shew in what way, the divinely inspired scriptures, which contain the gospel revelation which is the truth, have been preserved in their original integrity, by the church of the living God.

Some of the writings of the New Teftament were inscribed and fent to particular churches; fuch as Paul's epiftles to the Theffalonians, the Corinthians, the Romans, the Ephefians, and VOL. IV.

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the Coloffians. Others of them were written and sent to particular perfons; such as his epiftles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon: And John's epiftles to Caius, and the elect Lady. Others of them, were infcribed and fent to perfons profeffing the Chriftian faith, who were scattered through widely extended and diftant countries: Such as Paul's epiftles to the churches of Galatia, and to the Hebrews: Peter's two epiftles to the ftrangers dispersed through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Afia, and Bythinia: and the epistle of James, to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. These writings, though fent to particular churches and perfons, were not intended for their ufe alone, but for the ufe of the whole community of Chriftians, every where. It is therefore reasonable to believe, that while the particular churches, and perfons to whom the apostles fent their epiftles, preferved the originals with the greatest care, they would transcribe them, not only for the use of their own members, but for the use of their brethren in other churches, to whom, no doubt, they sent these transcripts, that they might have an opportunity of taking copies of them, and of difperfing them for general edification. Moreover, as in the firft age the difciples of Chrift were very zealous in spreading the knowledge of their religion, we may believe that into whatever country they travelled for the purpose of preach. ing Christ, they carried with them fuch of the facred writings as were in their poffeffion, that their converts might take copies of them, to be used in their public affemblies for worship, and by themselves in private. Thus copies of the gofpels and epistles were in a short time carried into all the provinces of the Roman empire, and even beyond the bounds of the empire, where the gofpel was introduced. And these writings being confidered, by the difciples of Chrift, as their most precious treasure, the copies of them were preferved with much more care, and were multiplied to a far greater degree, than the copies of any other book extant at that time: Infomuch, that there is no heathen writing existing, of which there are so many ancient MS. copies remaining, as of the writings which compofe the canon of the New Teftament.

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Of these ancient MSS. of the New Teftament which still remain, fome are found in the libraries of Princes, Universities, and Monafteries; and fome have been brought into Europe from

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different and distant parts of the world. These added to the former, have confiderably increased the number of the ancient copies of the scriptures: So that the learned of this and the preceding ages, have had an opportunity of examining and comparing many very ancient copies, both of the whole New Testa ment, and of particular parts thereof. Accordingly these learned men have, with incredible labour, faithfully collected all the various readings of the copies which they collated, and have found, that although in number these readings amount to many thoufands, the greatest part of them make no material alteration in the sense of the paffages where they are found. And with respect to those which alter the sense of particular paffages, the same learned men, by that critical skill for which they were famed, have been able in most instances, with a good degree of certainty, to fix upon the genuine readings of all the doubtful paffages.

Every one, however, must be sensible, that if the scriptures had come down to us, only in the copies preferved in any one church of the living God, and we had been restrained from confulting the copies preferved elsewhere, as we must have been if the fcriptures had been entrusted to a particular church, the errors unavoidably occafioned by the careleffinefs of transcribers, and by other causes, could not in many inftances have been corrected, unless by the uncertain conjectures of critics, which, in writings divinely inspired, would have been of no authority. Whereas, by consulting copies of the scriptures found in different and diftant parts of the world, the faulty readings of one copy have been happily corrected by the concurring better readings of other copies, confirmed by the readings preferved in the ancient tranflations of the fcriptures ftill remaining: So that we have the text of the gofpels and epiftles, as it was originally written by their inspired authors, or nearly fo.-The world, therefore, being indebted for the preservation of the scriptures, not to any one church of the living God, but to the whole community of the churches of Chrift, each having contributed its share, by the copies which it hath preserved, The universal church, and not any particular church, is the church of the living God, which, by preferving the scriptures, hath beeome in very deed the pillar and Support of the truth. See 1 Tim. vi. 29, note 1.

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