Quest. But ye will say, the prophet Isaiah saith it, whose words they were.
Ans. I answer, Isaiah was the penman, God the mouth. The head dic- tateth, the hand WTiteth. Christ the head dictates, and his servant writeth. So that holy men write as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost, a better spirit than their own. ' Why do ye look on me ? ' saith Isaiah. Think not it is I that say it ; I am but a man like yourselves ; but ' the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'
We should not regard men, nor the ministr}^ of men, but consider who speaks by men, who sendeth them, with what commission do they come. Ambassadors are not regarded for themselves, but for them that send them. And therefore Cornelius said well, ' We are here in the presence of God to hear what thou wilt speak in the name of God,' Acts x. 83. And so people should come with that reverend* expression, We are come in the presence of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, in the presence of the blessed angels, to hear what thou shalt say in the name of God, by the Spirit of God. We are not to deal with men, but with God. And therefore he saith, ' The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.'
Quest. 2. Hence may this question be easily answered. Whence hath the Scripture authority ?
Am. Why, from itself. It is the word ; it carrieth its own letters testi- monial with it. Shall God borrow authority from men ? No ; the autho- rity the word hath is from itself. It hath a supreme authority from itself. And we may answer that question about the judge of aU controversies, What is the supreme Judge "? The word, the Spirit of God in the Scrip- tures. And who is above God ? It is a shameless, ridiculous impudency of men that will take upon them to be judges of Scripture, as if man would get upon the throne, and as a judge there judge. The Scriptures must judge all ere long, yea, that great antichrist. Now an ignorant man, a * That is, ' revercut.' — G.
494 THE MABRIAGE FEAST [SeRMON VII.
simple man, that perhaps never read Scriptures, must judge of all contro- versies, yea, that that is judge of all and of himself, the word, which is from the very mouth of God,
Quest. 3. You will ask me, How shall I know it is the word of God if the church tells us not ?
Ans. A carrier sheweth us these be [letters from such a man, but when we open the letter, and see the hand and seal, we know them to be his. The church knows the word, and explaineth it ; and when we see and feel the efficacy of the word in itself, then we believe it to be the word, for there is that in the word that sheweth it to be the word :
1. The majesty that is in it.
2. The matter that is mysterious, forgiveness of sins through a mystery, forgiveness of sin,* victory over death, life everlasting in the world to come, great matters, ' which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man,' 1 Cor. ii. 9. If it had not been revealed, it could not have entered into the heart of angels, it containeth such glorious, transcending mysteries. And then again,
3. The word to all them that belong to God hath the Spirit of God, by which it passeth, rightly accompanying it, witnessing to the soul of man that it is so ; and, 4, by a divine efficacy it is mighty in operation. What doth it in the heart? (1.) It icarmeth the heart upon the hear- ing, and speaking, and discoursing of it, as when the disciples went to Emmaus, Luke xxiv. 82. (2.) It hath a heat of Spirit going with it to affect the heart with heavenly joy and delight; it hath power going with it by the Spirit to raise joy unspeakable and glorious ; it hath a power to pacify the soul amidst all troubles. "When nothing will still the soul, the Spirit of God in the word will do it by its divine power. (3.) Yea, it will change a man from a beastly or devilish temper to a higher and happier estate, as you have it, Isaiah xi. 6-9. It makes lions lambs, leopards kids. And what is the ground of all ? In that very place ' the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.' The knowledge of God reconciled is such a powerful knowledge that it hath a transfonning virtue to alter men's dispositions. What was Paul before conversion ? and Zaccheus ? Therefore, it is the word, because it hath divine operation to heat the soul, and raise the soul, and change the soul, and (4.) cast down the sold, as low in a manner as hell, in sense of its o^sti misery. It will make a Felix to tremble, a man that it doth not effectually work upon. The truths of it are so moving that it will make a carnal man to quake. When Paul spake of judgment to come, of giving account of all that is done in the flesh, when a possibility of it was apprehended, it made Felix to quake. It makes mountains level, and it fills up the valleys. The word can raise up the soul ; when man is as low as hell, and looketh for nothing but damnation, the Spirit with the word will fetch him from thence ; as the jailor. Acts xvi. 31, there was little between him and hell, ' W^hat shall I do to be saved ? Why, believe in the Lord Jesus.' And with these words there went out an efficacy. He believed, and he afterward was full of joy.