108 THE REASON OF FAITH. [BOOK VI., PART I.
the Saviour of the world ; and so did many of them upon his preach- ing only, John iv. 42, [viii. SO.] And in like manner they were bound to believe the doctrine of John Baptist, and to submit unto his institu- tions, although he wrought no miracle ; and those who did not rejected the counsel of God for their good, and perished in their unbelief. But although our Lord Jesus Christ wrought no miracles to prove the Scripture then extant to be the word of God, seeing he wrought them among such only as by whom that was firmly believed, yet the wisdom of God saw it necessary to confirm his personal ministry by them. And without a sense of the power and efficacy of the divine truth of the doctrine proposed, miracles themselves will be despised ; so they were by some who were afterward converted by the preaching of the word, Acts ii. 13: or they will produce only a false faith, or a ravished assent upon an amazement, that will not abide, Acts iii. 7, 8, viii. 13, 21.
APPENDIX.
A summary representation of the nature and reason of that faith wherewith we believe the Scripture to be the word of God, with some attestations given unto the substance of what hath been delivered concerning it, shall give a close to this discourse. As to the first part of this design, the things that follow are pro- posed:—
I. Unto the inquiry, on what grounds, or for what reason, we believe the Scrip- ture to be the word of God, many things are supposed, as on all hands agreed upon, whose demonstration or proof belongs not unto our present work. Such are, —
1. The being of God and his self-subsistence, with all the essential properties of his nature.
2. Our relation unto him and dependence on him, as our creator, benefactor, preserver, judge, and rewarder, both as unto things temporal and eternal. Where- fore,—
3. The to yvairrov rov &sov, " whatever may be known of God" by the light of nature, whatever is manifest in or from the works of creation and providence, and necessary actings of conscience, as to the being, rule, and authority of God, are supposed as acknowledged in this inquiry.
4. That beyond the conduct and guidance of the light of nature, that men may live unto God, believe and put their trust in him, according to their duty, in that obedience which he requireth of them, so as to come unto the enjoyment of him, a supernatural revelation of his mind and will unto them, especially in that condi- tion wherein all mankind are since the entrance of sin, is necessary.
5. That all those unto whom God hath granted divine revelations immediately from himself, for their own use, and that of all other men unto whom they were to be communicated, were infallibly assured that they came from God, and that their minds were no way imposed on in them.
6. That all these divine revelations, so far as they are any way necessary to guide and instruct men in the true knowledge of God and that obedience which is acceptable unto him, are now contained in the Scriptures, or those books of the Old and New Testament which are commonly received and owned among all sorts of Christians.
These things, I say, are supposed unto our present inquiry, and taken for granted ; so that the reader is not to look for any direct proof of them in the preceding dis- course. But on these suppositions it is alleged and proved, —
1. That all men unto whom it is duly proposed as such are bound to believe this Scripture, these books of the Old and New Testament, to be the word of God, — that is, to contain and exhibit an immediate, divine, supernatural revelation of his mind and will, so far as is any way needful that they may live unto him, — and that nothing is contained in them but what is of the same divine original.
2. The obligation of this duty of thus believing the Scripture to be the word of
1 ] 0 APPENDIX.
God ariseth partly from the nature of the thing itself, and partly from the espe- cial command of God ; for it being that revelation of the will of God without the knowledge whereof and assent whereunto we cannot live unto God as we ought, nor come unto the enjoyment of him, it is necessary that we should believe it unto these ends, and God requireth it of us that so we should do.
3. We cannot thus believe it in a way of duty, but upon a sufficient evidence and prevalent testimony that so it is.
4. There are many cogent arguments, testimonies, and motives, to persuade, convince, and satisfy unprejudiced persons, that the Scripture is the word of God or a divine revelation, and every way sufficient to stop the mouths of gainsayers, proceeding on such principles of reason as are owned and approved by the gene- rality of mankind. And arguments of this nature may be taken from almost all considerations, of the properties of God and his government of the world, of our relation unto him, of what belongs unto our present peace and future happiness.