TO ALL SUFFERING SAINTS. 427
commands, and pollutions in worship do sadly reflect upon the name of God, the honour of God, the truth of God ; and therefore his heart rises against them. Defilements in worship do sorely reflect upon the wisdom of Christ and the faithfulness of Christ, as if he were not faith- ful enough, nor wise enough, nor prudent, nor understanding enough, to order, direct, and guide his people in the matters of his worship ; but must be beholden to the wisdom, prudence, and care of man, of vain man, of sinful man, of vile and unworthy man, to complete, per- fect, and make up something that was wanting in his worship and service, &c. , Heb. iii. 4-6. Now if a man sufi'ers for owning pure wor- ship and ordinances, for standing for pure worship and ordinances, and for being found in the practice of pure worship and ordinances, his cause is good, and he suffers as a Christian. But,
[2.] Secondly, When a man suffers for refusing, or for not doing, that which Christ comdemns in his word, then his cause is good, and he suffers as a Christian for well-doing. Now in matters of divine worship, God condemns all mixtures, all inventions and devices of men. The very spirit, life, and soul of the second commandment lies in these words, ' Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image.' God abhors that men should mix their water with his wine, their dross with his gold, their chaff with his wheat, &c. When men will venture to be so hardy and bold with God as to defile his worship with their mixtures, then God is fully resolved to be a swift and terrible witness against them, as you may clearly see by comparing those notable places of Scripture together in the margin. l There is no sin that does 80 greatly incense and provoke God to jealousy and wrath against a people, as mixtures in his worship. God can bear with defilements anywhere rather than in worship and service. God did bear much and bear long with the Jews ; but when they had defiled and corrupted his worship, then God gave them a bill of divorce, and scattered them as dung among the nations. Now when a man suffers for refusing to worship God with a mixed worship, or with an invented or devised worship, which Christ in his word doth everywhere condemn, then his cause is good, and he suffers as a Christian. But,
[3.] Thirdly, They that stoutly and resolutely assert that the blessed Scriptures are a sufficient rule to order, guide, and direct them in all matters ofivorship, they have a good cause, Luke x. 25, 26 ; and they that suffer upon this account suffer as Christians for well-doing. Such vain men greatly detract from the sufficiency of the Scripture, who mingle their own or other men's inventions with divine institutions ; and who set their posts by God's posts, and their thresholds by God's thresholds, Ezek. xliii. 9. The precepts and traditions of men, with their inventions and additions to the worship of God, are styled posts and thresholds, because the authors of them do lean and stand so much upon them, and set them in the way to hinder others from the enjoy- ment of temple-privileges, unless they will own and comply with them in their way and mode of worship ; but upon all such posts and thresh- olds, that are of men's setting up in the worship of God, you may run and read folly, weakness, rottenness, and madness. It is only God's
3 Lev. X. 1, 2 ; Ezek. v. 11, 12, and xiiii. 38, 39 ; Jer. vii. 29, 30 ; Ezek. viii. 17, 18 • Rev. ii. 22, 23; Deut. iv. 2, and xii. 32, &c.
428 A GENERAL EPISTLE
posts, God's thresholds, God's institutions, God's appointments, that have wisdom and holiness, beauty and glory, written upon them.i For men to set up their posts by God's posts, and to give their posts equal honour and authority with God's posts, this is a defiling of the worship of God, and a profaning of the name of God, which he will certainly avenge ; for he will admit no rival or proprietary in the things of his worship. 0 sirs ! the blessed Scriptures are sufficient to direct us fully in everything that belongs to the worship and service of God, so as that we need not depend upon the wisdom, prudence, care, and authority of any man under heaven to direct us in matters of worship: 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17, 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.' The Scriptures are suffi- cient to inform the ignorant, to confute the erroneous, to reform the vicious, and to guide and direct, support and comfort, those that are gracious. 2 Here a lamb may wade, and an elephant may swim ; here is milk for babes, and meat for strong men ; here is comfort for the afflicted, and succour fojr the tempted, and ease for the troubled, and light for the clouded, and enlargement for the strait- ened, &c. Oh, how full of light, how full of life, how full " of love, how full of sweetness, how full of goodness, how full of righteousness and holiness, &c., is every chapter, and every verse in every chapter, yea, and every line in every verse ! The Eabbins say that a mountain of matter hangs upon every word of Scripture, yea, upon every tittle of Scripture. When the people of God have been in any outward or inward distresses or troubles, God never sends them to the shop of men's traditions and inventions, but he still sends them to the blessed Scriptures : Isa. viii. 20, ' To the law, and to the testimony ; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light' (intt^, no morning) 'in them:' chap, xxxiv. 16, ' Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read; no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate ; for my mouth it hath commanded, and my Spirit it hath gathered them.'^ And in the New Testament, Christ sends his hearers to the Scriptures: John v. 39, ' Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.' The Greek word, ipewdre, that is here rendered ' search,' sig- nifies a strict, narrow, curious, diligent search. We must search the Scriptures as we would search for gold, or for some precious stones, which we would fain find ; we must search the Scriptures as hunters seek and search out their game. The Scripture is so perfect a rule that the most specious observances, the most glorious performances, the most exact worship, is no way acceptable unto God if not directed in his word. They may have \6<yov ao(f)la<; iv iOeXoOprjaKeia, ' a show of wisdom in will-worship,' to the pleasing of men, not to the honour
^ It is very remarkable that of old they were to be cut off that made anything like the institutions and appointments of God, Exod. xxx. 32, 33, 37, 38 ; and if some were so served, would not the world be in more love, peace, and quietness than now it is?
* Adoro plenitudinem Scripturarum, I adore the fulness of the Scriptures. — Tertullian.