An exposition with practical observations continued upon the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of…

Truth should be conveyed down to our Posterity: Truth is a more precious inheritance then Land or Money; if Parents are careful to secure (as much as they can) earthly things to their Children, how much more should they be careful to secure heavenly? In the first Ages of the World, till the Law was given on Mount Sinai, faithful men were in stead of Books, and Tradition supplied the want of Scripture: But now, our recourse must be to what God hath commanded to be written, not to what men have said. No Tradition is of any force, but as consentient with Scripture, and none of so much force as Scripture. The Council of Trent, in the fifth Session, thunders out Anathemas against those who receive not Tradition with the same godly affection, and devotion, with which they receive the Scripture it self; Bellarmin in his controversy about Tradition, entitles his Book thus, Of the Word of God not written; as if the Word of God were to be divided into these two orders, The Word written, and the Word not written: Tradition with him is the Unwritten word, and must be held of as much authority as the Word written; This is (as Christ taxeth the Pharisees) to make the word of God of none effect, through mans Tradition: It is still a wise mans duty to to tell Posterity what the Word and Truth of God is, but we must not receive any thing, as a truth of God, upon the bare Word of the wisest men, Wise men have told their Fathers.

Truth should be conveyed downe to our Posterity: Truth is a more precious inheritance then Land or Money; if Parents are carefull to secure (as much as they can) earthly things to their Children, how much more should they be carefull to secure heavenly? In the first Ages of the World, till the Law was given on Mount Sinai, faithfull men were in stead of Books, and Tradition supplyed the want of Scripture: But now, our recourse must be to what God hath commanded to be written, not to what men have said. No Tradition is of any force, but as consentient with Scripture, and none of so much force as Scripture. The Councill of Trent, in the fifth Session, thunders out Anathemaes against those who receive not Tradition with the same godly affection, and devotion, with which they receive the Scripture it selfe; Bellarmin in his controversie about Tradition, entitles his Book thus, Of the Word of God not written; as if the Word of God were to be divided into these two orders, The Word written, and the Word not written: Tradition with him is the Ʋnwritten word, and must be held of as much authority as the Word written; This is (as Christ taxeth the Pharisees) to make the word of God of none effect, through mans Tradition: It is still a wise mans duty to to tell Posterity what the Word and Truth of God is, but we must not receive any thing, as a truth of God, upon the bare Word of the wisest men, Wise men have told their Fathers.