That the Holy Scriptures are the undoubted word of God. By the Scriptures, I mean tlie Old and New Testaments contained in the Bible ; both wliich are that one foundation whereupon our faith is built, Eph. ii. 21 : ' Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.' That is the doctrine which God by them hath delivered unto his church, for they were vmder the unerring guidance of the Spirit, 2 Tim. iii. 16 : ' All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.' Breathed by God, it came as truly and immediately from his very mind and heart, as our breath doth from within our bodies ; yea, both matter and words were indited by God ; for the things which they spake were ' not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth,' 1 Cor. ii. 12. God did not give them a theme to dilate and enlarge upon, with their own parts and abilities, but confined them to what he indicted. They were but his amanuenses, to write his infallible dictate ; or as so many scribes to transcribe what the Spirit of God laid before them. This is given as the reason why no Scripture is to be understood by our private fancy or conceit ; but we are to take the meaning of it from itself, as we find one place clears another, because it came not from the private spirit of any man at first ; but ' holy men spake as they were moved' (or carried) 'by the Holy Ghost,' 2 Pet. i. 20 and 21 compared : the power that makes the law must expound it.
But may be some will say. Do you bring Scripture to bear Avitness for itself? The question is, whether the Scripture be the word of God ? And you tell us the Scripture saith so, and is that enough ? This would carry weight, if it were the word of some sorry creature that stood upon trial ; but a greater than man is here. Men need arguments and witnesses to prove and vouch what they say to be true ; but the word of God is a sufficient witness to itself, because what truth itself saith, can be no other than a sincere and true testimony. Christ, who thought it derogatory to the dignity of his person, to borrow credit from man's testimony, did yet refer himself to the report that the Scriptures made of him ; and was willing to stand or fall in the opinion of his very enemies, as the testimony thereof should be found concerning him, John v. 34, compared with ver. 39 ; and, therefore, their testimony may well pass for themselves. He that cannot see this sun by its own light, may in vain think to find it with the light of human testimony and argument. Not that these are useless. The testimony of the church is highly to be reverenced, because to it are these oracles of God delivered, to be kept as a sacred deposit ; yea, it is called, ' The pillar and ground of truth,' 1 Tim. iii. 15, and the candlestick, Rev. i. 12, from whence the light of the Scriptures shines forth into the world. But who will say, that the proclamation of a prince hath its authenticity from the pillar it hangs on in the market-cross ; or that the candle hath its light from the candlestick ! The office of the church is ministerial, to publish and make known the word of God ; but not magisterial and absolute, to make it Scripture, or unmake it, as she is pleased to allow or deny. This were to send God to man for his hand and seal ; and to do by the Scriptiu'es, as Tertullian saith in his Apology the heathen did with their gods, who were to pass the senate, and gain their good will, be- fore they might be esteemed deities by the people. And does not the church of Rome thus by the Scriptures, sending us to the pope for leave to believe Scrip- ture tobe Scripture? The blasphemous speech of Hermanus is notoriously known, who said, that the Scriptures did tantum ralere, quantum JEsopi Fahila, nisi ac- cedat Ecchsia Testimonium. O how like is Rome to Rome, — superstitious Rome to pagan Rome ! We need not travel so far to be determined in this case ; the Scripture itself will save us the pains of this wearisome journey, being more able to satisfy us of its own Divine extraction, than the pope sitting in his porphyry chair, with all his cardinals about him. Neither is thei"e any necessity to ask for a messenger to ascend on high, who may from heaven bring down their letters testimonial unto us ; seeing they bear heaven's superscription so fairly written upon their own forehead, which denies them to proceed fi-om any but God himself. May a particidar man be known from a thousand others by
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