Our Saviour's parable of the great absurdity of a man after he hath lighted a candle, imme-.. diately covering it with a bushel, that no one may be benefitted by the light of it, seems evidently to allude to something beyond the merely temporary subject of his discourse with the jews at that time; and there never was any thing commensurable to it, except the contemptuous and injurious treatment of the word of God, exactly in that manner, by the pretended master of the house, THE POPE.

her head, the bishop of Rome; in whom resideth the full autho⚫ rity of the church, when he pleaseth to determine matters of faith, whether he do it with a council or without." THOMAS AQUINAS maintains that "the right of making a new creed appertains to the POPE; yea the whole authority of the whole church resides in him." T. Aquin. 22. 9. 1 Art. 10. To which doctrine agree ANDRADIUS in his defence of the COUNC. OF TRENT, GRAFFUS, ALVARUS, PELAGIUS, AND BELLARMINE. The same was long ago, challenged by their CANON LAW, which in the sixth extrav. of POPE JOHN XXII. Tit. 14. cum inter, in the Gloss, says "It were heresy to think or imagine, that our LORD GOD THE POPE might not decree as he

doth.

It is no wonder they give so much weight to tradition and make the Pope the gaoler of the scriptures, since they freely confess that their doctrine has no foundation in scripture, and

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Nothing can be more to the purpose, than the pains that have been taken to withhold the light of the scripture from the people, by prohibiting a translation, and every way discouraging the reading of the scripture; putting it absolutely under the pope's feet, to give as little credit and authority to it as suits his own purpose; setting up doctrines and practices contradictory to it, upon other authority superior to scripture; and where translation must be admitted, fouling the pure stream of the waters of life with their feet,

ta."

that a pediment to support it must be made on purpose out of the MIRY CLAY OF TRADITION. "multo maxima pars evangelii pervenit ad nos TRADITIONE, perexigua literis est mandasays HOSIUS Confess, cap. 92. and EсKIUS Enchir. cap. 4, de scrip."The much greater part of the gospel is conveyed to us by TRADITION, for a very little thereof is contained in the scriptures," So CANUS, Locor. lib. cap. 3, admonishes his popish confederates that "there is more strength to confute hereticks in traditions, than in the scriptures, yea, all disputations with them must be determined by traditions." And BRISTOW, in his MOTIVES bids them first get the proud heretick out of his weak and false castle of ONLY SCRIPTURE, into the plain field of traditions, councils, fathers, miracles &c." and then

Hist. Pop. vol. 2 p. 194.

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with their corrupt tampering, disguising, interpolation, and omission; making it, as they blasphemously and contemptuously speak of it, A NOSE OF WAX. "Seemeth it a small thing unto you, (says the prophet Ezekiel, of the same, or similar corrupt practices,) to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pas tures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet."* But "every one that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved," as our Saviour said again; and the astonishing discoveries of the dark and wicked impositions that had been practised upon the credulity and false devotion of the people, (that were made as soon as the light of the scriptures began again. to shine,) is the best comment upon these words, and perhaps was a principal part of their meaning.

* Ezek .xxxiv. 18.

To such dark and wicked practices, and antichristian doctrines, issuing forth from the fountain of popish light, the sun of their ecclesiastical heavens, there seems also a manifest allusion in the strong caution our Lord gives to his disciples, (the proposed teachers of the world,) to take heed to themselves how they hear, or accept doctrines proposed to them, and what they themselves teach to others. "The light of the body is the eye. If thine eye be single, (no artificial obstruction in it, no unwillingness to see,) thy obole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee bé darkness, bow great is that darkness !"* 'If the HEAD OF THE CHURCH be a source of corruption of manners and darkness of doctrine, if he la

*In Sect. xxii. p. 93. and Sect. xxxii. I have endea voured to shew that the eye is a prophetic emblem of the oculus ecclesia or eye of the church, as the Pope would fain be esteemed, because he contains in himself the whole power of vision in spiritual things, and (even without a council) is infallible in whatever he decrees. He is above councils, and above scripture, and is the fountain of their authority to both. Daniel in giving "eyes like the eyes of a man," to his little horn, has there

bors to propagate falsehood, and to suppress truth, it is no wonder we have packed councils set to work, and all the engines of wordly power, and diabolical subtilty employed, to set up again the kingdom of darkness. The light must be kept back, and covered with a bushel, until the time shall come when bolder matters may be attempted, even to a total extinction of it. For the organ of vision is itself diseased, and darkness is indispensable to it. The whole body of popery is consequently full of darkness, and how great is that darkness!

It has been remarked by many, with what a very particular injunction Christ delivered to his disciples the sacramental cup, at the holy supper. "Take this, and divide it among yourselves." (Luke xxii. 17.) "Drink ye ALL of it". (Matt. xxvi. 27.) And I think

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fore noticed a very pre-eminently distinguishing feature of the There is every reason in the world to suppose the same prophetic allusion to this jaundiced oculus mundi, (eye of the world) in the above parable of our blessed Saviour, whe quoted Daniel as a great prophet.