AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURE. 499
it, are clearly enough laid down in tlie Scripture; and if tliey believe not these things, and are not persuaded to repentance upon the authority of God in his word, much less will they be moved by the testimony of one coming from the dead." Hence I infer, that the holy Scripture, or written word of God, is sufficient in itself, and most effectually able, to convince men of the truth of those things which are contained in it. It was so then ; why not now ? " Moses and the prophets " were so; why are not the apostles and evangehsts? Is all the whole Scripture grown Old Testament, and so old as to be decayed ? When and by what means did it lose that life and power, that authority and efficacy, it sometimes had ? It had foiTuerly more virtue to convince men than a miracle itself; and now, belike, it hath less than a council ! It could have done more than a man " from the dead;" and now it can do less than a dead niian, a sinful pope ! For his Holiness of Rome may be very wicked, the Papists themselves being judges.
From the former proposition it wdll undeniably follow, that the Scripture is sufficient in itself to convince men of its oivn divineness, or its being itself the tvord of God, that being one truth it doth so often assert. The general must comprehend the particular; and there- fore, if the Scripture be sufficient to satisfy the minds of men as to all that it affirms to be truth, it must needs be able to satisfy them as to this too, — that the whole of it is the word of God.
But this our adversaries wdll not allow; and therefore, instead of taking it for granted, or resting on this single proof, we must here put it to the question, from whence the Scripture hath its authority, or upon what grounds we are to believe it to be the word of God. If you will give the Papists leave to answer, they will presently tell you, "Upon the sole authority of the church;" or, "Because the church declares it to be the word of God;" and that "without the determination of the church, it hath very little authority or weight in it," and you are " no more bound to believe the gospel of Matthew, than the history of Livy." Nay, one says plainly,^ that " but for the church, you are no more bound to believe the Scripture than ^sop's Fables." And you may be sure the man was in earnest, when you do but consider how many incredible things another of them (alleged at large by our learned Whitaker) musters up out of the Scripture, which he would fain persuade the world would never be believed if the church did not interpose her testimony ; and yet, as broad as the blasphemy mentioned is, another of the same party minceth the mat- ter, and says [that] the words might be " piously spoken." And if a private doctor of the Church of Rome may thus transubstantiate blas- phemy mto piety, or make that pass for pious which is really blas- ' Surdis. ajmd Chamierum.
500 AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTUP-E.
phemous, I see no reason why a pope might not add his authority, and make it canonical too. But, that we may give the best account of the controversy before us, — L 8ome tilings onust he jiremised hy way of explication, for the better tinderstanding of terms. II. The state of the question must he laid down. III. The truth confirmed. IV. Popish objections answered. V- Some applica- tion m,ade.
I. For explication of terms, let us see, —
1. What we mean by the Scripture. By that, therefore, is un- derstood " the word of God," declaring his mind concerning men's happiness and duty, or teaching us what we are to believe concerning God, and how we are to obey him ; as it was at first revealed by him- self to the apostles and prophets, and by them delivered by word of mouth; and afterward, for the perpetuity and usefulness of it, com- mitted to writing, as we now have it, in the books of the Old and New Testament. So that " the word of God" and " the Scripture" are the same materially, and differ only in this, that " the word of God" doth not in itself imply its being %vritten, nor exclude it, but maybe consi- dered indifferently as to either; whereas " the Scripture" signifies the same word, only with the addition of its being committed to writing.
2. What is meant by authority, when we inquu-e whence the Scripture hath its authority.^ Authority in this business is a power of commanding or persuading, or, as some phrase it, " convmcing," arising from some excellency in the thing or person vested with such authority. Whatever hath authority de facto, so far forth hath esteem and honour, or reverence, yielded to it; as whatever hath authority de jure, hatJi such esteem or honour of due belonging to it, and answering it as its correlate. And both the one and the other are founded on some excellency: — sometimes of nature, both m persons and things; sometimes of office and dignity; sometimes of knowledge ; sometimes of virtue and manners ; sometimes of pm- dence, as in persons: according to each of which, a suitable respect and honour is du€ to the authority therefrom arising. And as any man excels in any of these, so he hath authority in that, though he may not in other things. Thus, he that excels in the knowledge of the law may have authority in that, though he may have none in physic or divinity, in which he may not excel; and an honest man, that excels in morality, may on that account have the autho- rity of a witness, though not of a judge. Now, when we speak of the authority of the Scripture, and ask from whence it hath it, we do but inquire whence it is that the Scripture persuades, convinces, or binds us to believe it, or commands us to assent to it, as the word of God; or whereon its power of so doing Ls founded, — whether it be