The Protestant religion truely stated and justified by the late Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter ; prepared for the press some time before his death ; whereunto is added, by way of preface, some account of the learned author, by Mr. Danel Williams and Mr. Matthew Sylvester.

The Fifth accused Point.

That a Man by his own understand∣ing and private Spirit, may rightly judge and interpret Scripture.

Ans. Can any Man unriddle what this Deceiver meaneth?

1. Can a Man judge without his own understanding?

2. What meaneth he by a private Spi∣rit? Little know I. If he mean God's Spirit, it is no contemptible nor private Spirit, even in a private Man: If he mean a Man's own Spirit, Soul or Intellect, it is the same as [his own understanding.] If he mean any Evil Spirit, or fancy and Er∣roneous self-conceit, we defie such Spirits, and Deceivers that use them.

To understand without our own under∣standings, is a Mystery fit for Rome; Why may not a Dog, or a Sheep, be said so to understand the Scripture, if it may be un∣derstood without our own understandings? What a Curse is on the ignorant Nations, that will be led by such words as these!

But if he will say that he meant, [By his own understanding alone without a Tea∣cher,] why did he not say so, but say one thing and do another. But that had been too gross a Lye, to have been be∣lieved, by them that see that we set up Teachers in all our Congregations.

3. Therefore I can imagine nothing but absurdity in his words, unless he mean, that we hold that a Man may rightly In∣terpret Scripture by his own understand∣ing immediately, instructed by his Teacher

and God's Spirit, without taking the Sence only at the rebound, on the belief of the Pope and his Clergy. For we never thought that a Man's own natural Wit without a Teacher, and the help of God's Spirit, can savingly understand and apply the Scripture.

And yet we would fain tell Papists a better way to Convert a Philosopher, or a Turk, than to Preach to them thus: God hath written his Law and Gospel to the World, but you cannot tell what is the mean∣ing of it, till you take that sence on trust from our Pope and Clergy, and know that Christ authorized him to be Judge; and that before you believe in Christ, or understand the word that so authorizeth him. Were not corrupted Nature very blind in things Spiritual, Plow-men, and Tinkers, and Coblers, would be able to confute such Fopperies, and much more Priests, and Popes, and Prelates.

4. But I pray you tell me, whether the Pope and his Prelates, do not interpret Scripture by their own understandings? Whose understandings else do they judge by, in Conclaves or Councils?

5. And tell me, whether he that judg∣eth that the Pope is Christs Vice-Christ and Ruler, at the Antipodes, and is infallible,

tho' he be by Councils condemned for a Si∣monist, and Infidel, an Atheist, a Seducer, or an ignorant Sot? Doth not this Man judge all this by his own understanding? If a Man take an ignorant sottish Priest for the Mouth of the Catholick Church, tho' he know no more what he talks a∣gainst, than this Roman Deceiver, doth he not judge this by his own understand∣ing? If a Sot will believe you, that your Sect is the whole Church, and all are Dam∣ned, tho' they love God, and believe in Christ, if they will not be ruled by the Pope and every Mass-Priest, doth he not judge thus by his own understanding? Do you Preach to Men, or Beasts, that have no un∣derstanding of God's Law and Will? If a Man must believe all the Canons of Popes and Councils, in Baronius, Binnius, Suri∣us, Nicolinus, Caranza, &c. doth he not do it by his own understanding?

6. Oh! But the meaning is, You are all private ignorant Men, and we are the Cler∣gy; Kings choose some of us, and Popes choose others, and whether we are Wise or Fools, Learned or Ʋnlearned, Infidels or Christians, you are all Damned if you will not follow us, and if we be Damned, you must be content to be Damned with us. And is it so? Hath God made Man for no safer

and better a Condition, than to be Dam∣ned when ever Sottish Drunken Priests will tell him, [You must believe us that are the Mouth of the Pope, and the Pope, tho' you think that the Word of God is against it?] Speak out Deceiver; would you have all Men be of their Rulers Reli∣gion, or not? Should the Jews have be∣lieved the Church, that Christ was a Blas∣phemer, Deceiver and Traytor, and the Apostles Seditious Fellows? Must we be Mahometans under Turks, Persians, and Indians, and Papists under Papists? And why not Lutherans under Lutherans also? And so our King shall be our God, and our Religion humane. Or must Men judge what is true or false, good or bad, by their own understandings? Do Kings and Prelates Rule Men, or Dogs, and Brutes? If Cromwell say, He is Supream, and King Charles say, He is Supream, tell us whether we must not use our own understandings, to know which of them to believe and obey? And must we not do so, if the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, say one thing, and Christ another?

And I pray you tell us, whether that be Religion that is not Divine, and whether it be not our own understanding, that must distinguish between God and Man? Did

not Vulgar Folly fit slothful Fools for Hell, they would easily perceive that Po∣pery engaging them to renounce their own understandings, maketh us all Voluntary Brutes, to gratify the ambition of Men, and puts down God from being our Gover∣nour, and Man from being a Voluntary Subject, and turns the Kingdom of Christ into the Kingdom of Beasts.