CHAP. I.] PRELIMINARY REMARKS. ] 1
hammedanism, and idolatry, I say, this hath not come to pass through any defect in the way and means of illumination, or the communi- cation of the truth unto them, but God hath given them up to be de- stroyed for their wickedness and ingratitude ; and " except we repent we shall all likewise perish/' Rom. i. 18; 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12, Luke xiii. 3. Otherwise, where the standard of the word is once fixed, there is a constant means of preserving divine revelations. Wherefore, —
Thirdly, God hath gathered up into the Scripture all divine reve- lations given out by himself from the beginning of the world, and all that ever shall be so to the end thereof, which are of general use unto the church, that it may be thoroughly instructed in the whole mind and will of God, and directed in all that worship of him and obedience unto him which is necessary to give us acceptance with him here, and to bring us unto the eternal enjoyment of him here- after; for, — 1. When God first committed the law to writing, with all those things which accompanied it, he obliged the church unto the use of it alone, without additions of any kind. Now, this he would not have done had he not expressed therein, — that is, in the books of Moses, — all that was any way needful unto the faith and obedience of the church: for he did not only command them to attend with all diligence unto his word as it was then written, for their instruc- tion and direction in faith and obedience, annexing all sorts of pro- mises unto their so doing, Deut. vi. 6, 7, but also expressly forbids them, as was said, to add any thing thereunto or to conjoin any thing therewith, Deut. iv. 2, xii. 32 ; which he would not have done had he omitted other divine revelations before given that were any way necessary unto the use of the church. As he added many new ones, so he gathered in all the old from the unfaithful repository of tradition, and fixed them in a writing given by divine inspiration. 2. For all other divine revelations which were given out to the church for its use in general under the Old Testament, they are all comprised in the following books thereof; nor was this, that I know of, ever questioned by any person pretending to sobriety, though some, who would be glad of any pretence against the integrity and perfection of the Scripture, have fruitlessly wrangled about the loss of some books, which they can never prove concerning any one that was certainly of a divine original. 3. The full revelation of the whole mind of God, whereunto nothing pretending thereunto is ever to be added, was committed unto and perfected by Jesus Christ, Heb. i. 1, 2. That the revelations of God made by him, whether in his own person or by his Spirit unto his apostles, were also by divine inspiration committed to writing, is expressly affirmed con- cerning what he delivered in his own personal ministry, Luke i. 4, Acts i. 1, John xx. 31, and may be proved by uncontrollable argu-
12 THE KEASON OF FAITH. [BOOK VI., PART I.
ments concerning the rest of them. Hence, as the Scriptures of the Old Testament were shut up with a caution and admonition unto the church to adhere unto the law and testimony, with threatening of a curse unto the contrary, Mai. iv. 4-6; so the writings of the New Testament are closed with a curse on any that shall presume to add any thing more thereunto, Rev. xxii. 18. Wherefore, —
Fourthly, The Scripture is now become the only external means of divine supernatural illumination, because it is the only reposi- tory of all divine supernatural revelation, Ps. xix. 7, 8; Isa. viii. 20; 2 Tim. iii. 15-17. The pretences of tradition, as a collateral means of preserving and communicating supernatural revelation, have been so often evicted of falsity that I shall not farther press their impeachment. Besides, I intend those in this discourse by whom it is acknowledged that the Bible is, as a sufficient and per- fect, so the only treasury of divine revelations ; and what hath been offered by any to weaken or impair its esteem, by taking off from its credibility, perfection, and sufficiency, as unto all its own proper ends, hath brought no advantage unto the church, nor benefit unto the faith of believers. But yet, —
Fifthly, In asserting the Scripture to be the only external means of divine revelation, I do it not exclusively unto those institutions of God which are subordinate unto it, and appointed as means to make it effectual unto our souls; as, —
1. Our own personal endeavours, in reading, studying, and medi- tating on the Scripture, that we may come unto a right apprehen- sion of the things contained in it, are required unto this purpose. It is known to all how frequently this duty is pressed upon us, and what promises are annexed to the performance of it: see Deut. vi. 6, 7, xi. 18, 19; Josh. i. 8; Ps. i. 2, cxix.; Col. iii. 16; 2 Tim. iii. 15. Without this it is in vain to expect illumination by the word ; and, therefore, we may see multitudes living and walking in extreme darkness when yet the word is everywhere nigh unto them. Bread, which is the staff of life, will yet nourish no man who doth not provide it and feed upon it; no more would manna, unless it was gathered and prepared. Our own nature and the nature of divine revelations considered, and what is necessary for the applica- tion of the one to the other, make this evident ; for God will instruct us in his mind and will, as we are men, in and by the rational facul- ties of our souls. Nor is an external revelation capable of making any other impression on us but what is so received. Wherefore, when I say that the Scripture is the only external means of our illumination, I include therein all our own personal endeavours to come to the knowledge of the mind of God therein ; which shall be afterwards spoken unto. And those who, under any pretences, do