68 THE REASON OF FAITH. [BOOK VI., PART I.
influenced by the poison of these disputes to think it no way neces- sary to believe the Scripture to be the word of God, or at least are shaken off from the grounds whereon they have professed it so to be. And the like disservice is done unto faith and the souls of men by such as advance a light within, or immediate inspiration, into competition with it or the room of it ; for as such imaginations take place and prevail in the minds of men, so their respect unto the Scripture and all sense of its divine authority do decay, as experi- ence doth openly manifest.
It is, I say, from an unusual concurrence of these and the like causes and occasions that there is at present among us such a decay in, relinquishment of, and opposition unto the belief of the Scrip- ture, as, it may be, former ages could not parallel.
But against all these objections and temptations the minds of true believers are secured, by supplies of spiritual light, wisdom, and grace from the Holy Ghost.
There are several other especial gracious actings of the Holy Spirit on the minds of believers, which belong also unto this internal real testimony whereby their faith is established. Such are his "anoint- ing" and " sealing" of them, his " witnessing with them," and his being an "earnest" in them ; all which must be elsewhere spoken unto. Hereby is our faith every day more and more increased and estab- lished. Wherefore, although no internal work of the Spirit can be the formal reason of our faith, or that which it is resolved into, yet is it such as without it we can never sincerely believe as we ought, nor be established in believing against temptations and objections.
And with respect unto this work of the Holy Ghost it is that divines at the first reformation did generally resolve our faith of the divine authority of the Scripture into the testimony of the Holy Spirit. But this they did not do exclusively unto the proper use of external arguments and motives of credibility, whose store indeed is great, and whose fountain is inexhaustible; for they arise from all the undubitable notions that we have of God or ourselves, in reference unto our present duty or future happiness. Much less did they ex- clude that evidence thereof which the Holy Ghost gives unto it in and by itself. Their judgment is well expressed in the excellent words of one of them. " Maneat ergo," saith he, " hoc fixum, quos Spiritus sanctus intus docuit, solide acquiescere in Scriptura, et hanc quidem esse avroviorov, neque demonstration! et rationibus subjici earn fas esse : quam tamen meretur apud nos certitudinem Spiritus testi- monio consequi. Etsi enim reverentiam sua sibi ultro maj estate con- ciliat, tunc tamen demum serib nos afficit, quum per Spiritwm obsig- nata est cordibus nostris. Illius ergo veritate illuminati, jam non aut nostro, aut aliorum judicio credimus a Deo esse Scripturam; sed
CHAP. V.] THE ONLY FOUNDATION AND REASON OF FAITH. 69
supra hmnanum judicium, certo certius constituimus (non secus ac si ipsius Dei numen illic intueremur) hominum ministerio, ab ipsissimo Dei ore ad nos fluxisse. Non argumenta, non verisimilitudines qua3- rimus, quibus judicium nostrum incumbat; sed ut rei extra sestimandi aleam positse, judicium ingeniumque nostrum subjicimus. . . . Neque qualiter superstitionibus solent miseri homines captivam mentem ad- dicere: sed quia non dubiam vim numinis illic sentimus vigere ac spirare, qua ad parendum, scientes ac volentes, vividius tamen et effi- cacius quam pro humana aut voluntate aut scientia trahimur et accen- dimur. . . . Talis ergo est persuasio quse rationes non requirat: talis notitia,c\ii optima ratio constet, nempe, in qua securius constantiusque mens quiescit quam in ullis rationibus : talis denique sensus, qui nisi ex ccelesti revelatione nasci nequeat. Non aliud loquor quam quod apud se experitur fidelium unusquisque, nisi quod longe infra justam rei explicationem verba subsidunt." — Calv. Instit., lib. i. cap. 7, sec. 5. And we may here briefly call over what we have attained or passed through : for, — 1. We have showed, in general, both what is the nature of divine revelation and divine illumination, with their mutual respect unto one another; 2. What are the principal ex- ternal arguments or motives of credibility whereby the Scripture may be proved to be of a divine original ; 3. What kind of persua- sion is the effect of them, or what is the assent which we give unto the truth of the Scriptures on their account; 4, What objective evidence there is unto reason in the doctrine of the Scriptures to in- duce the mind to assent unto them; 5. What is the nature of that faith whereby we believe the Scripture to be the word of God, and how it is wrought in us by the Holy Ghost; 6. What is that inter- nal testimony which is given unto the divine authority of the Scrip- tures by the Holy Spirit, and what is the force and use thereof. The principal part of our work doth yet remain.
CHAPTER V.
Divine revelation itself the only foundation and reason of faith.
That which we have thus far made way for, and which is now our only remaining inquiry is, What is the work of the Holy Ghost with respect unto the objective evidence which we have concerning the Scripture, that it is the word of God, which is the formal reason of our faith, and whereinto it is resolved? — that is, we come to inquire and to give a direct answer unto that question, Why we believe the Scripture to be the word of God? what it is that our faith rests upon herein? and what it is that makes it the duty of every man