If the scriptures do thoroughly direct men to know God in Christ, and save their own souls, why should we look any further ? Now, they do not only furnish every private Christian with this knowledge ; but the man of God, who is to instruct others, he needeth look no further, but is furnished out of the scripture with all things necessary to discharge his office. Therefore here we fix and rest, we have a suffi- cient rule, and a full record of all necessary Christian doctrine.
Use 1. The use of all is, let us not seek another rule than the Avord of God. Papists cry up unwritten traditions, to be received with equal respect and reverence as we receive the holy scriptures. But you, brethren, stand fast, holding the apostolical tradition : you cannot have it by Avord of mouth from them now, therefore you must stick to what is written, or else you cannot preserve yourselves from the frauds and impostures of antichrist. These apostolical writings have been re- ceived in all ages and times of the church from the beginning ; and all disputes among Christians have been tried by them. None were allowed good or sincere Christians who doubted of the truth of them. But because we have to do with a people that will sacrifice all to the honour and interest of their church, and knowing they are not able to stand before the light of scriptures, have, to the no little prejudice of the Christian cause, done all that they can to weaken the authority, sufficiency, and perspicuity of them, that we might have no religion
496 THE SCRIPTURE SUFFICIENT [2 Thes. IL 15.
without the testimony and recommendation of their church ; therefore I shall resume the matter and dechu'e it afresh.
1. Mankind lying in darkness, and in the shadow of death, it was necessary that one way or another God should reveal his mind to them, that we may know wliat belongeth to our duty and happiness, for onr chief good and last end. Being altered by sin, we strangely mistake things, and put light for darkness, and darkness for light, good for evil, and evil for good ; weighing all things in the balance of the flesh, which we seek to please. We confound both the names and natures of things, and wander in a maze of a tliousand perplexities ; therefore God in pity to mankind hath given us a sure direction in his word, ' which is a lamp unto oar feet, and a light unto our path,' Ps. cxix. 105. Mark the words of 'light' and ' lamp;' the use of a lamp is by night, and in the day we have the light of the sun ; whether it be day or night with us, here we are taught how to carry ourselves. Mark again the words of 'path' and 'feet ;' the one signifieth our way and general course, the other all our particular actions, so far as religion is concerned in them ; we have directions in the word about them. Besides, man's condition is such that he needeth a supernatural remedy by a redeemer, which, de- pending upon the mere love and free grace of God, cannot be found out by natural light left to us ; for that only can judge of things necessary, but not of such things as depend upon the mere pleasure of God. Therefore a divine revelation there must be.
2. Since it is necessary that God should some way or another reveal his mind to his people, it must be done by oracles, visions, dreams, or by extraordinary messengers, who by word of mouth might convey it to us ; or else by writing, and by ordinary teachers, whose lips may preserve knowledge in the church. The former ways might suffice, while God saw fit to reveal but a few truths, and such as did not burden the memory ; and men were long-lived and of great simplicity, and the church -was confined within a small compass of ground, and not liable to so many miseries and clianges as now in the latter ages. But when once God hath spoken to us by his Son, these extraordinary ways ceased, Heb. i. 1, 2, ' God. who at sundiy times, and in divers manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last times spoken unto us by his Son.' As formerly God did speak irokvTpoTTOi^, in divers manners, that is to say, by visions, oracles, dreams, &c., so -rroXvfiepco^, at sundry times, by several steps and de- grees, he acquainted tlie world with the truths necessary for man to know, delivering them out by portions, not altogether at once, till ' he came Avho had the Spirit without measure,' John iii. 34. The pro- phets, to whom God revealed himself before by visions, oracles, dreams, or the coming of the Spirit upon them, had the Spirit e'/c fxerpov, by measure, to fit them for some particular errand or message on which' God sent them. But when God sent his Son out of his bosom to reveal the whole doctrine of faith at once, and to declare his Father's will with full authority and power, he fixed and closed up the rule of faith. So it was not fit that after him there should come any extraordinary nuncios and ambassadors from heaven, or any other should be owned as infallible messengers, but such as he immediately sent abroad in the world to disciple the nations. Therefore all former