Object. II. " It is necessary for us, in religion, to have the canon of Scripture certain : but this we cannot have, otherwise than by the church ; because its authority is most certain, and the only one which is sufficient, to remove all doubts concerning the divineness of the Scripture out of our minds; both because God speaks by the church, and because the church best knows the Scripture. She is Christ's bride, and therefore best knovv^s the voice of the Bridegroom; she hath the Spirit of Christ, and therefore can best judge of his word and the style of it."
Ans. We deny that the canon of the Scripture cannot be known but b}^ the church, and the contrary hath been already ]3roved: the
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Scripture hath been owned and received where no such judgment of the church hatii been. And it is as false, that the authority of the church is the greatest and most certain ; for that of the Scripture, upon which the church and her authority depend, is above it. God speaks in the Scripture, and by it teacheth the church herself; and therefore his authority in the Scripture is greater, — the authority of him that teacheth, than of those by whom he teacheth : as the autlio- rity of a king in his laws, is greater than that of an officer that pro- claims them. A king may, by his council or judges, acquaint his subjects with his laws; but Avill it therefore follow, because he speaks his mind, which is in those laws, by such officers, that their authority is greater than that of those laws themselves? God speaks by the church (the true church, we mean) ; but he speaks nothing by her but what he speaks in the Scripture, which she doth only ministe- rially declare to us : and therefore the authority of God and his law is above hers, who, though she publish, yet did not make it, but is herself subject to it, and by that law only stands obliged to publish it to others. And for what they say of the church's ability to judge of the Scripture, we answer, that she cannot judge of the style of the Scripture otherwise than by the help of the Spirit, and by the same private Christians may judge too; and there l)e no means whereby the church can know the Scripture to be the word of God, but par- ticular believers may know it by the same. And if the church's authority be so great, in our adversaries' opinion, because she can so well judge of the style of the Scripture, how much greater is that of the Scripture, which is able, by its style, to manifest itself to the church !
Except. " But," say they, " we do not know the voice of Christ in the Scripture but by the church ; therefore her authority is gi'eater."
Ans. This is both false and inconsequent: false, for it hath been sufficiently evinced that the voice of Christ may be otherwise known, and hath been, too; inconsequent, in that it follows not that the authority of the church is therefore greater than that of the Scrip- ture. John Baptist directed many to Christ: and su])posc, without his direction of them and witnessing to Christ, they had never come to him, will it thence follow that John's authority was greater than Christ's? The church, we grant, may be a mean whereby many are brought to the belief of the Scrijjture, who yet, afterward, do believe upon better grounds, as being persuaded by tiie word itself.
Object. III. " We can no other^\•ise know the Scripture to be the Word of God, than as we know what books are canonical, and what nut — what were written by inspired men, and Avhat were not; but this we can know only hy the authority of the church. This is proved, because some l)ooks which at first were not received as canonical, the
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church did afterwards receive, as Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Susanna, tlie books of Maccabees, etc.; the Epistle to the Hebrews, the second of Peter, second and third of John, and the Revelation. And books which are not canonical, are therefore not canonical because the church Avould not allow them as such ; namely, the Revelation of Paul, the Gospel of Peter, Thomas, Matthias, etc. And, lastly, some books written by prophets and apostles are not canonical, because the church hath not determined that they are so."
Ans. To let pass what a learned Protestant^ largely proves, — namely, that it is possible to know the Scripture to be the word of God, and yet not know which books are particularly canonical and Avritten by inspired penmen,— that it may be known that the doctrine contained in those books is of God, though it be not known Avhether it were written by such as were immediately inspired themselves, or had it from those that were, — in the primitive times, some not only good men, but churches too, did deny some of those books to be canonical which we now generally receive ; and yet they did receive the word of God, and the doctrine contained in those books, though they questioned whether those books themselves were written by such as were immediately inspired or not. And do not the Papists them- selves tell us, that the canon of the Scripture was not established for a long time after the apostles' days, till it might be done by general councils? And yet, surely the church did in the meantime own the word of God, and know the voice of Christ.