AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTUEE. 533
(1.) Holu dishonourable to God, for the credit of his luord to de- pend upon the testimony of men, and not to he able of itself to dis- cover its author!
\st. A dishonour it is to his ivisdom., if he could not othenvise assure men of the divine original of the Scripture, than by having men bear witness to it; if he knew no other way of certifying us of his will, and making known his laAvs to us, but by the help of our fellow-creatures, who, as well as we, are subject to those laws. Can God make " the heavens declare his glory," and cannot he make the Scripture do it? Ps. xix. 1. Can he make himself "known by the judgments which he executes," and not by the statutes he establisheth? Ps. ix. 1 6. Can he show forth his wisdom, power, and goodness by the things he doeth, and not by the things he speaks; and so make his works praise him, but not his word? Ps. cxlv. 10. Nay, can men so write, so speak, as thereby to discover themselves, and what Avis- dom, or knowledge, or skill they have; and cannot God do as much? Is God less wise and able than they are ; or is he wise in some things, and not in others? How came " the Spirit of the Lord" to be thus " straitened," Mic. ii. 7, as to have but this one way of making known the word to us; and that such an one as he must be beholden to his creatures for it? It is certain that formerly he had other ways; and Avliy hath he not now? How comes he to be less wise than he was? Surely, if there be " no variableness" in God, " nor shadow of turn- ing," James i. 17, he must be as unchangeable in his wisdom as in any other attribute, and there can be no diminution of it.
2d If God can otherwise make known the divineness of his word, than by the testimony of the church, and yet will not, it looks (to say no worse) very like a refection upon his goodness, to leave men a more uncertain way of coming to the knowledge of his will and then" duty, when he could give them a more sure one, — to leave his people no better helps against their weakness and doub tings, than the uncertain authority of a man, or a company of men, who may as easily be deceived in the testimony they give, as others may in the faith they yield to it. And if God did, formerly, give his people a better and more sure foundation for their faith than the authority of mere men, weak men, fallible men (as hath been proved), how comes his good- ness to fail now, and to be less to saints under the gospel, than to those under the law, or the patriarchs before it?
3d. This doctrine of the Romanists greatly derogates from God's sovereignty. It degrades his authority, and lifts up the church into his place ; it doth worse than make princes go on foot, and servants ride on horses, Eccles. x. 7. If what the Pai)ists teach in this point be true, the Holy Ghost is in a worse condition tlian his apostle was, who needed not " letters of commendation" to or from the churches,
53i< AUTlIOlllTY OF THE SCRIPTURK
2 Cor. iii. 1 ; he must be fain to canvass for the votes of men, or seek their testimonials; God himself cannot estaljlish his laws without the church's leave ; Jesus Christ shall not Le King of saints, — not sway his sceptre nor inile his house, without the good-liking of the pope and council. What is this but Avhat was said of old? — " Nisi homini Deus placuerit, Deus non erit ;"^ — " God must be concerned to please men," at least the Pajiists : " for if he doth not, they know how to be quit with him ; for then he shall not exercise his authority over them," — not bind their consciences, not command their faith, not presenile them their duty, not govern their lives : the church will not give their approbation to his laws, and so he shall not be their Sovereign, he shall not be their God. What can be more injurious to God's supre- macy than this doctrine, which subjects the authority of God in his Avord to the pleasure of his creatures? What sovereign prince npon earth will endure to be so dealt with, — to liave the authority of his laws suspended upon the testimony of those that publish them, of those that are themselves subject to them? I dare say, the pope scorns to have it said, that his decretals have their force from him that divulgeth them, or his bulls from him that posts them up. He would not endure, if he sent out his orders to a church or council, that they should sit upon them, and subject them to their judgment, and approve or dis- allow of them as they saw fit ; he would expect, that they should be received and submitted to, upon the account of his stamp upon them, and seal annexed to them. Why may not the Scriptvire be allowed as much, which hath God's stamp so fairly impressed on it, and had the seal of so many miracles to confirm it?