VOL. VIII. 33
514 AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURE.
notliing that the Council of Nice itself di'l never define which it was ; but acknowledged it as already received.
3. if a council meets to declare the divine authority of the Scrip- ture, we would know by what authority it meets. If the several pastors of the church come together on the authority and by tlie command of the Scripture itself, then it hath its authority before tliey meet; else it could not make it their duty so to do. If by some revelation or impulse of the Spirit Avithout the Scripture, what kind of spirit is that which acts in separation from the Scripture? And if the Papists will affirm this, let them no more call themselves good Catholics, but even the worst of fanatics.
Arg. IV. The authority of the church is not more certain or clear, as to us, than that of the Scripture; and therefore the Scripture can- mot have its a utliority from it. That which proves another thing, must itself be more clear and better known. But that the authority of the church is not better kno^vn to us than that of the Scripture mil soon appear; for whatever authority the church hath, she must prove it either from herself, or from something else.
If from any thing else, it must either be from the testimony of those that are out of the church ; but they know not the church, nor any authority it hath : or from the Scripture ; but then the authority of the Scripture must be more known than that of the church : or from the Spirit ; but how will they make it out that they have the testi- mony of the Spirit for them, otherwise than by the Scripture, in and by which he is wont to bear witness? If they say the Spirit witnesseth to the authority of the church inwardly, so as to persuade the minds of dissenters that the church is the church of God; this is merely begged, and not proved, and yet will not satisfy neither. For we ask not, " What is the efficient cause of men's believing the authority of the church?" but, "What is the argument whereon that belief is grounded, and whereby the church persuades men of its own authority ?"
Or else, on the other side, if the church prove its authority from itself, then the same thing shall be proved by itself. But yet, I ask. What judgment of the church is it whereby its authority is proved? They say, " Both the testimony of the ancient and of the present church." But how can the testimony of the ancient church be known but by the writings of those that formerly lived, the books of fjxthers, and decrees of councils? But we would know how we shall have greater assurance that those books were written by those fathers whose names they bear, and those decrees made by those councils to which they are ascribed, than that the Scripture is the word of God. How came we to be more certain that Cyprian's or Austin's works were written by them, than that the four Gospels were written by the four e\va\- gelists, or Paul's Epistles by him? And if the present church prove
AUTHOEITY OF THE SCRIPTURE. 515
Its authority by tlie ancient cliurcli, it must prove it but to very few ; for they are but few that ever saw, and yet fewer that ever i-ead, the writings of the ancients; and many, perhaps, have never heard of them. And besides, the ancient church was some time the present church ; and when it was so, from whence might it prove its authority? From some more ancient, no doubt ; according to our adversaries' dis- course, it must be. But from whence did the first church prove its authority (for we must come to a first), when there was none before it to prove it by?
Lastly. The authority of the present church cannot be proved by tlie testimony of the present church. For then it must be either by a part of it; but that cannot be, for a part of the present church is inferior to the whole of it, and he that questions the authority of the whole will no less question that of a part : or else by the whole church ; and then the authority of the whole church must be proved by the authority of the whole church, — we must believe she is the church, because she says she is the church.
Arg. V. If we are to believe the divinity of the Scripture merely on the church's authority, then that faith can he hut a human faith, hecause founded on no hetter than the authority of men. Our faith can be no better than its foundation ; a divine faith cannot be built upon human testimony. But the Papists themselves are ashamed to own a thing so grossly absurd, as that the faith whereby we believe one main article of religion — the divineuess of the Scrip- ture— should be but a human faith.
Except. To this, therefore, they say, that " the faith whereby we believe the Scripture to be the word of God is a divine faith, and built on the testimony of God ; and that testimony is no other than the testimony of the church." ^ We easily reply, —