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our neighbour. The knowledge we gain, whether it be more or lefs, being drawn from the true fountain, will compose our spirits, and incline us neither to defpife the weakness of those that know less, nor to reject the inftructions of those that may know more than ourselves.

Thefe weighty confiderations should engage us to read the Scriptures with all poffible care and diligence; to ftudy them with an upright defire to gain their true sense and meaning. We all know how much men are at variance about the sense of Scripture, one affirming that this, another that that is the true fenfe. So it may well be expected to be in our prefent weakness; and fo God hath permited it to be; not to give us occafion to cenfure, judge, and difparage one another, as is too common, for this is exprefly forbiden; but this variety of fentiments is permited to teach us to cease from man, and should convince us that we ought not to refign our understandings or confciences to any man's judgment whatsoever.

CHA P. XXXIX.

The Hiftory of REVELATION, and fome OBJECTIONS to it answered.

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SHALL confider firft,

The authority and original of holy Scripture; and then, The use and importance of it; it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for inftruction in righteoufnefs. 2 Tim. iii. 16. and fo is profitable for the nobleft purposes, the enlightening of our minds, the purifying of our hearts, the regulating of our practice, and the saving of our fouls.

As to the authority and original of holy Scripture, it is faid, by a very good and fufficient judge, that it is given by inspiration of God. How we are to understand being given by infpiration of God, the Apostle PETER will inform us, 2 Ret. i. 20, 21. Knowing this, fais he, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, fenfe, or impulse; meaning, that no prophecy did iffue or proceed from the private sense or thoughts of the writer; it was not giving a loose to his own conceits and imaginations. For, as it follows, the prophecy came not in old time by. the will of man; but holy men of God fpake as they were moved by the holy Ghoft; or by the holy Spirit of God, enlightening their minds and directing them what to fay, Thus the Scriptures are infpired, they are the word of God, and what is contained in them, we are to understand and reverence as spoken by God himself. But then, in the ftricteft sense, this is to be understood only of what Prophets, as Prophets, have delivered to us; fuch as Mofes, Samuel, David, Ifaiah, Jeremiah, and the reft. VOL. I. No

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No prophecy of Scripture did proceed from the private sense of the writer, but was dictated by the fpirit of God. But as for the historical writings, though, doubtlefs, they owe their original to the special Providence of God, yet it is fufficient to fuppofe, that they were wrote by men of probity, fully acquainted with the facts which they relate.

This premifed, I should now advance a few arguments to establish the authority and excellency of the Scriptures, that they were indeed given by infpiration of God, or that in them holy men of God fpake as they were moved by the holy Spirit. But to prepare the way it is neceffary I fhould give a general account and hiftory of Revelation; then remove fome Objections which are leveled against it, as if it were needlefs, too partial, or too ineffectual, to be confiftent with the Divine goodness; or as if we were not fufficiently fecure, that we now have in poffeffion those very books entire and perfect, in which Revelation was originally recorded.

Revelation is that which makes known to us the will and ways of the moft high God, the Father of the universe, the Fountain of all being and happiness, upon whom we have a neceffary dependence for life, for understanding, and knowledge, for well-being, and enjoyment, at all times and in every refpect; for without him we cannot live, we cannot breathe, we can have no kind or degree of fenfe and understanding. This is true. And it is equally true, that the best, and most beneficent of Beings, the greatest, and the kindeft of all Fathers, could have no other end or defign in creating mankind, but his own glory, and their happiness. The chief end of man must be to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever; for perfect goodness cannot be conceived to propofe any lower end in making a creature so noble and excellent. But then it is certain, both from the holinefs of God, and the nature of an intelligent, rational being, that a character of holiness and virtue, of obedience, righteoufnefs, or right conduct, is neceffary, on our part, to our enjoyment of God, or our happiness in his favor and bleffing. It is neceffary that we love the great Author of our being, that we pay him all due honor and obedience, that we are dutifully fubmiffive to his will, that we understand our dependence upon him, and what we have to expect from him, that we may be excited to gratitude, and a due improvement of his benefits.

We cannot love, honor, and obey God, unless we know him, and are acquainted with him; nor can we poffibly have any knowledge, or understanding of any kind whatever, but what must come originally from God. Therefore, that God, our Father, fhould inftruct and teach his creatures, whom he has made for the highest and nobleft ends, in those things which immediately relate to his glory and their happiness, is perfectly confonant to his goodness and love. And that Infinite wisdom, the Lord and Proprietor of all Being, should have various ways of making known himself and his will to us, is alfo perfectly true. He hath produced a great variety of creatures with different powers and inftincts in our world, by them to fhow that he can bestow upon us any kind or degree of being; he hath difplayed his immenfe greatnefs, power, wifdom, and goodness in the numberless glorious bodies which, by his hand, are perpetually rolled about us in the heavens. His continually

providing

providing for our fubfiftence, in a way which is quite out of our power, plainly demonftrates our abfolute dependence upon him, and obligations to him. This is the book of nature spread before all nations, and legible to every understanding; in which every attentive mind may read the perfections of God, and the main duties which we owe him. But, to him who made our fenfes and minds, and is always intimate to them, there must be many other poffible ways of making known his will to us; as by an audible voice, a vifion, or fecret impreffions upon our fpirits. Therefore to believe, that God at fundry times, and divers manners, fpake to the ancient fathers by the Prophets, is believing a thing very poffible, reasonable, and fiting.

And it is no improbable fuppofition, that in the earliest ages of the world, God fhould only communicate his will to pious men, and leave them to hand it down to others by tradition. For in thofe days the longevity of mankind favored this manner of conveyance. With our grand-parent Adam, Methuselah lived 243 years; with Methuselah, Shem the fon of Noah lived about 97 years; and with Shem, Jacob the fon of Ifaac, the fon of Abraham, lived 50 years, as appears from the hiftory of Genefis. So that no more than three perfons, Methuselah, Shem, and Jacob, were fufficient to hand down the knowledge and worship of the true God, from Adam to the time when the children of Ifrael went down into Egypt, that is, through the space of 2238 years. But when the life of man was reduced to the narrow period of fourfcore years, and the world on all fides was fallen into various forts of corruption, and idolatry and ignorance of God generally prevailed among the nations, tradition evidently ceafed to be a fafe mean of conveyance.

It was then the Divine wifdom judged it a proper time to erect a peculiar kingdom, church, or congregation in the world; and for its illumination gave the knowledge of his will and worship in writing, by the hand of his fervant Mofes; that by fuch writing, or Scripture, divine truth might more eafily be preferved, be further fpread, and, when loft, more cafily reftored. This must be acknowledged a wife and proper expedient. After the time of Mofes, God was pleafed to give Revelations to the fubfequent Prophets, as occafion required; till in the fulnefs of time, the great Prophet, the Son of God, came into the world, opened a new difpenfation, and all the treasures of the Divine grace, which had not before been fo clearly made known to the church and people of God. And what he and his Apoftles taught is alfo committed to writing, and compleats what we call the Canon of Scrip

ture.

This is the general account and hiftory of Revelation which I propofed to give. And we may here observe, that a writen Revelation and the church of God are co-exiftent; that is to fay, at the fame time the church was brought into the world, the Scriptures were brought into the church; and both are fo effentially connected, that take away the one, and you take away the other. Take away the Scriptures, and we are reduced to the state of meer nature; our charter is deftroyed, and our polity, as we are God's church and kingdom, is overthrown. We may indeed, poffibly, pretend, as the Papifts do, that we are, though deprived of the Scripture, ftill a church; yet without the Scriptures, as

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our rule and foundation, we are not the church of God, but under a different head, it may be the Pope, or fome other ufurped authority. But this by the bye.

I shall now remove fome Objections which may be leveled against Revelation in general.

It is pretended To be quite needlefs, nature and reafon being fufficient to direct any man in the plain way of his duty, without any fupernatural affiftance. I anfwer-It must be allowed, in general, that nature and reafon are fufficient to direct any man in the way of his duty, fo far as God, in his circumftances, expects duty from him. For God expects duty from every perfon only in proportion to the light he enjoys, and to the talents he hath received. But the experience of all mankind fhews that nature and reafon, by themselves, will advance but a little way in the knowledge of Divine things. Gentlemen in a land like ours, where, in spite of themselves, their nature and reason is enlightened and directed in a confiderable degree by Revelation, may talk of the perfection and fufficiency of nature and reafon.

If we look into those nations, which are perfect ftrangers to Revelation, we fhall find them grofsly ignorant of the being, unity, and perfections of God, the difpenfations of his Providence, the proper honor and worship that is due to him, the prayers we may address to his goodnefs, and the hopes we may entertain of his acceptance. They know nothing of the pardon of fin, the promises of God's mercy and bleffing, nor of any thing belonging to the covenant of his love, the prefent privileges, or future glory of his kingdom. The refurrection from the dead, the day of judgment, the immortal life, which will be the reward of piety and virtue, and the death everlafting, which will be the fad lot of all the impenitently wicked, they are altogether, or in a great meafure, unacquainted with. But all these are great principles in religion, and of great force to purify our fpirits, ennoble our minds, animate our hopes, and guard us against the influence of bodily appetites, and the violence of temptation.

And however others may fare, in a great degree of darkness and ignorance, through the favourable allowance of God, yet furely every man's reafon will tell him, that fuperior knowledge, and a more extenfive view of the Divine difpenfations, is abfolutely neceffary to a higher degree of goodness, comfort, obedience, and devotednefs to God. What the poets relate may be true, that fome primitive mortals fubfifted only upon acorns and water, in dens and caves; and we know there are fome parts of the world where the naked inhabitants enjoy very few conveniences of life; but fhall we therefore despise the bleffings of agriculture, and the various accommodations which make life happy and comfortable, and fay they are needlefs? Would any man in England ever think of turning out naked, into the fields and woods, because it is poffible, and may fomewhere in fact be true, that men may live upon wild fruit and water, without clothes, or any habitation, but the dens and caves of the earth? Corn and other agreable food, clothes, and commodious habitations, fited up with proper furniture and utenfils, are neceflary to our kind and degree of life in the natural world; and fo is Revelation to a corresponding kind and degree of fpiritual life. The

food,

food, raiment, and habitations we enjoy are the gift of God's goodness, and it is our duty to accept and ufe them with thankfulness. In like manner, Revelation is the gift of God, and, as fuch, it ought to be received; and as it gives greater light, we are obliged to attend accordingly to it, because we muft, in the nature of things, be accountable for it.

I may add upon this head, that however nature and reason, in their pure and moft perfect ftate, may be fufficient to direct in the way of duty, yet when nature is corrupted, and reafon obfcured, or almoft quite extinguished, they are by no means fufficient to restore and recover themselves to the knowledge and obedience of the truth; because they themselves, who fhould be the phyfician to heal themselves, are fick and disabled. But it was the primary intention of Revelation to restore and preserve the knowledge of God and of his will in a corrupt and degenerate world.

So far therefore I fee no Objection against Revelation, but it may be both very needful, and a very great bleffing to mankind.

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It may be faidIf this bleffing was given to all mankind, who all equally fand in need of it; but whereas it is confined only to a part of mankind, while others are left to grope in the dark, how can it be accounted the gift of Divine goodness? For is not God equally the God, Father, and Sa- · viour of all men? How then can it be confiftent with his beneficence to confine the light of Revelation to fome, which would fo much contribute to the happiness of all? May we not then conclude, that a partial Revelation is no Revelation from God, nor worthy of our regard?

I anfwer-It is very certain that God is the Saviour of all men, that he is good to all, and that his tender mercies are over all his works. But while we are fure of this, we are not equally fure that our reason is a perfect rule for adjusting the diftribution of his benefits. On the other hand, we may be very fure that it is not. From the lowest to the highest degree of existence, from a grain of fand, to the most glorious Angel in heaven, every higher degree of being is an inconteftible proof, that God may very justly, according to his own wifdom and good pleafure, beftow what gifts, endowments, privileges, and advantages upon his creatures he fees fit. He is debtor to none. Our understanding is no measure of his wifdom, neither are his difpenfations to be cenfured by our narrow and imperfect judgments. And methinks, we may as well make it an Objection against the goodness of Divine Providence, that all men are not rich alike, wife alike, or knowing and learned alike.

Would you not think him a very foolish man, who fhould be displea fed that God has made him rich, and placed him in eafy circumftances, because there are many about him in a poor low condition? Who refuses wealth, or objects against plenty, because his neighbours are pinched, and make but a hard shift to get a living? Or who can be fo abfurd, as to reckon his fuperior knowledge and learning to be no valuable advantage, because there are numbers of illiterate perfons, who are much below him in understanding? Or that the poffeffion of reafon is no bleffing, because there are so many idiots to be found among mankind? Or can you suppose there are any of the angelic body, or of those

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fpirits.

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