The proper remedies and preventives in this case, are an heedful attendance to, and practice of these rules.
Rule I. Let all obscure and difficult texts of Scripture be con- stantly examined and expounded according to the analogy or pro- portion of faith, which is St. Paul's own rule, Rom. xii. 6. " Let " him that prophesieth (i. e. expoundeth the Scriptures in the " church) do it according to the proportion of faith." The ana- logy or proportion of faith, is what is taught plainly and uniformly in the whole Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, as the rule of our faith and obedience. Whilst we carefully and sincerely at- tend hereunto, we are secured from sinfully corrupting the word of God. Admit of no sense which interfereth with this proportion of faith. If men have no regard to this, but take liberty to rend off a single text from the body of truth to which it belongs, and put a peculiar interpretation upon it, which is absonous and dis- cordant to other Scriptures, what woful work will they quickly make?
Give but a Papist liberty to take that scripture, James ii. 24. out of the frame of scripture, " A man is justified by works, and " not by faith only ;'■* and expound it without regard to the tenor of the gospel-doctrine of justification in Paufs epistles to the Romans and Galatians, and a gross error starts up immediately. Give but a Socinian the like liberty to practise upon, John xiv. 28. and a gross heresy shall presently look with an orthodox face.
Rule II. Never put a new sense upon words of scripture, in fa- vour of your pre-conceived notions and opinions, nor wrest it from its general and common use and sense. This is not to interpret, but to rack the scriptures, as that word ^^iZXaaiv signifies, 2 Pet. iii. 16. as* Hieron against RufF speaks. We are not to make the scripture speak what we think, but what the prophet or apostle thought, whom we interpret. In 1 Cor. v. 11, 14. we meet with
♦ It is the part of an interpreter to explain what the author thought whom he in- terprets, and not wliat Le himself thinks.
446 A BLOW AT THE ROOT ; OB,
die word [^lolt^] applied to the children of belierers : That word is above five hundred times used for a state of separation to God; therefore to make it signify, in that place, nothing but legitimacy, is a bold and daring practising upon the scripture.
Rule III. Whenever vou meet with an obscure place of scripture, let the context of that scripture be diligently and throughly search- ed ; for it is usual ^ith God to set up some light there, to guide us through the obscurity of a particular text. And there is much truth in the observation of the Rabbins *, " There is no scruple '• or objection in the law, but it hath a solution at the side of it.""
RuklY. I et one Testament freely cast its light upon the other; and let not men undervalue or reject an Old-Testament text, as no wav useful to clear and establish a New-Testament point of faith or duty. Each Testament reflects light upon the other. The Jews reject the New Testament, and many among us sinfully slight the Old : but without the help of both, we can ne^er understand the mind of God in either. It is a good rule in the Civil Law,-f- "We *' must inspect the whole law, to know the sense of any particular *' law."
Rule V. Have a due regard to that sense given of obscure places of scripture, which hath not only the current sense of learned ex- positors, but also naturally agrees with the scope of the place. A careless neglect and disregard to this, is justly blamed by the apostle, 1 Tim. i. 7.
Cause 2. A second evil temper in the subject, disposing and in- clinino' men to receive and suck in erroneous doci^rines and opinions, is the abuse of that just and due Christian LibeHy ^ allowed by Christ to all his people, to read, examine, and judge the sense of scriptures with a private judgment of discretion.
This is a glorious acquisition, and blessed fruit of reformation, to vindicate and recover that just right, and gracious grant made to us by Christ and the apostles, out of the injurious hands of our Popish enemies, who had usurped and mvaded it. The exercise of this liberty^ is, at once, a duty commanded by Christ, and com- mended in scripture. It is commanded by Christ, John v. 39. Search the scriptures, saith Christ to the people, 1 Cor. x. 15. "I *' speak as to wise men; judge vou what I say."" And the exercise of this private judgment of discretion by the people is highly com- mended by St. Paul in the Bereans, Acts xvii. 11. " These were
* NvEa est objectio in Use, quce non hahet solutionem in latere.
I Turpe est d£ lege Judicare, tola lege nondum inspect a.
i The Anabaptist controversy sprung up in the last age in many places in Europe, frona Montzero a Saxon with his followers in the year 1521, through occasion of a book V rote by Luther on Chrifciian Liberty. Fred. Spanh. Elench. Contr. p. 95.
THE CAUSES AND CUBE OF MENTAL ERRORS. 447
** more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the " word with ail readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures " daily, whether those things were so.'' This liberty is not allowed in that latitude in any religion, as it is in the Christian re- ligion; nor enjoyed in its fulness as it is in the retbrraed reli- gion ; whose glory it is, that it allows its principles and doctrines to be critically examined and tried of all men, by the rule of the word, as well-knowing, the more it is sifted and searched by its professors, the more they will be still confirmed and satisfied in the truth of it.
But yet this gracious and just liberty of Christians suffers :i double abuse ; one from the Popish enemies, who injuriously restrain and deny it to the people : Another by Protestants themselves, who sinfully stretch and extend it beyond the just degree and measure in which Christ allows it to them.
The Pope injuriously restrains it, discerning the danger that must necessarily follow the concession of such a liberty to the people, to compare his superstitious and erroneous doctrines with the rule of the word.
St. Peter, in 2 Pet. i. 19- tells the people they have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto they do well that they take heed. Certainly the Pope forgot either that he was Peter s successor, or that ever St. Peter told the people they did well to make use of that liberty which he denies them. Mr. Pool tells us of a Spaniard who used this expression to an English merchant. You people of England (saith he) are happy ; you have liberty to see with your cum eyes, and to examine the doctrines delivered to you, upon which your everlasting life depends ; but we dare not say our senile are our own, but are commanded to believe whatever our teachers teU us, be it never so unreasonable or ridiculous. This is a most injurious and sinful restraint upon it on the one side: