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snarled that so is God's will concerning us. Now to know liis will concerning us, we are often bidden to search the scripture ; but never bidden to consult with the church, to know what unwritten traditions she hath in her keeping to instruct us in our duty. (3.) No certain expectation of happiness. We are never safe till we know by what rule Christ will judge us ; that is, reward or punish men at the last dny. Now he will judge us according to the gospel, Eom. ii. IG ; 1 Thes. i. 8. Obey the gospel, and 3-ou have a perfect rule to guide you to happiness ; but if you neglect this great salvation, or be un- faithful in the profession of it, this word condemneth you, and God will ratify the sentence of it.
IV. That whilst the apostles were in being, there were two ways of delivering the truth, and that was by word of mouth and writing. So in the text : ' Whether by word or our epistle.' The apostles went up and down and preached Christ everywhere ; that needeth no proof, unless you would have me to produce the whole book of the Acts of the Apostles. But they did not preach only, but write ; and both by the instinct of the Holy Spirit, who guided their journeys, and moved them to write epistles. For being often absent irom churches newly planted, and heresies arising, or some contentions, which could not be avoided among weak Christians, God overruled these occasions for the profit of the church in after ages : upon one occasion or another they saw a necessity to write ; dvdyKrjv ea-^ov : Jude ver. 3, ' It was needful for me to write unto you.' As, in the Old Testament, God himself delivered the law with great majesty and terror, and afterwards caused the same to be written in tables of stone, for the constant use of his people ; and the prophets first uttered their prophecies, and then Avrote unto them ; so the apostles first preached evangelical doctrine, and then consigned it to writing for the use of all ages. And though all things delivered by them were not delivered in one sermon or one epistle, yet by degrees the canon of the New Testament was constituted and made perfect by the writings of the evangelists and apostles.
V. That now, when they are long since gone to God, and we cannot receive from them the doctrine of life byword of mouth, we must stick to the scriptures or written word. (1.) Because we are taught to do so by Christ and his apostles. Christ always appealeth to the writings of the Old Testament, both against traditions, which he condemneth, Mat. XV. 2, and against pretended revelations: Luke xvi. 31, ' If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded to repent, if one should come from the dead.' And the apostles still have re- course to this proof : Acts xxvi. 22, ' Witnessing no other things than the jirophets and Moses did say should come to pa.ss.' And when they pleaded they were eye and ear witnesses, and so their testimony w;:s valuable ; yet they say we have iSe/SaioTepov \6yov, ' A surer word of prophecy, whereunto ye shall do well to take heed,' 2 Peter i. 19, Now, how can we do better than to imitate these great examples ? (2.) Because those things were written for our sakes : 1 Joim i. 4, ' These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.' The r.nostles, being to leave the world, did know the slipperiness of man's memory, and the danger of corrupting Christian doctrine, if there were not a sure authentic record left ; therefore they wrote, and so fully, that
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130 THE TlilRTEENTH SEKMON. [2 TlIES. II. 15.
nothiiiic is wanting to complete our joy and liappinesa. (3.) Because the scriptures are perfect. The perfection of scri})tnre is known by its end and intended use, which is to give us a knowledge of those things which concern our faith, duty, and happiness. (1st.) Our faith in Christ. If there be enough written for that end, we need not unwritten traditions to complete our rule. Now, St John telleth us he might have written more things : ' But these things are written that ye might believe in the Son of God, and have life tln-ough his name,' John xx. 30, 31. Certainly nothing is wanting to beget a faith in Christ. The object is sufficiently propounded ; the warrant or claim is laid down in the new covenant, and the encouragements to believe it are clear and strong. What would men have more ? So that here is a perfect rule, ]ierfect in its kind , and for its proper use. (2dly.) For our duty ; that is sutficiently provided for. The apostle telleth us that ' the grace of God ' — take it objectively for the grace of the gospel, or subjectively for grace in our hearts — ' teacheth us ;' — if j'ou mean objective grace, it piescribetii, directeth ; if subjective grace, it persuadeth and exciteth ; what to do ? ' To live soberly, righteously, godly in the present world,' Titus ii. 12. There are all the branches of man's duty enumerated : so- briety relateth to self-government; righteously, to our carriage towards our neighbour; godly, to our commerce and communion with God. What is there wanting that belongeth either to worship, or justice, or personal holiness ? Therefore certainly we need no other rule ; for it layeth down whatsoever men are bound to do in all ages and places of the world, and in whatsoever circumstances God shall put them. And so it is fit to be the law of the universal King and Lawgiver ; yea, it is so per- fect, that whatever other way is set up, it presently dasheth against those notions that we have, or should have, of God, his service and worship : or it infringeth or perverteth the liberty and nature of man. (:3dly.) For our happiness. That doctrine and institution which is able to make us wise unto salvation is enough for us ; but so the holy scriptures are said to do: 2 Tim. iii. 15, ' And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through the faith which is in Christ Jesus.' Nay, afterwards, ver. 17, ' The man of God is by them made perfect, and thoroughly furnished to every good woi'k.'