38 ANIMADVERSIONS ON A TREATISE
or to have been given by inspiration from God. It is as good a work as a man can well be employed in ; and there is not any thing I should more gladly "ex professo'' engage in, if the nature of my present business would bear such a diversion. Our author would quickly see what an easy task it were to remove those his reproaches of a private spirit, of an inward testimony of our own reason, which him- self, knowing the advantage they afford him amongst vulgar unstudied men, trifles withal. Both Romanists and Protestants, as far as I can learn, do acknowledge that the grace of the Spirit is necessaiy to enable a man to believe savingly the Scripture to be the word of God, upon what testimony or authority soever that faith is founded or resolved into. Now, this with Protestants is no private whisper, no enthusiasm, no reason of their own, no particular testimony, but the most open, noble, known, that is or can be in the world, — even the voice of God himself speaking publicly to all, in and by the Scripture evidencing itself by its own divine innate light and excel- lency,— taught, confirmed, and testified unto, by the church in all ages, especially the first, — founded by Christ and his apostles. He that looks for better or other testimony, witness, or foundation to build his faith upon, may search till doomsday without success. He that renounceth this shakes the very root of Christianity, and opens a door to atheism and paganism. This was the anchor of Christians of old; from which neither the storms of persecution could drive them, nor the subtilty of disputations entice them. For men to come now, in the end of the world, and to tell us that we must rest in the authority of the present church of Rome in our receiving the Scripture to be the word of God, and then to tell us that that church hath all its authority by and from the Scri})ture, — and to know well enough all the while that no man can know there is any church au- thority but by the Scripture, — is to speak daggers and swords to us, upon a confidence that we will sufler ourselves to be befooled, that we may have the after pleasure of making others like ourselves.
2. Of the translation of the Scrijjture into vulgar tongues I shall expressly treat afterward ; and therefore here pass it over.
3. Its obscurity is another thing insisted on, and highly exaggerated by our author. And this is another thing that I greatly wonder at. For as wise as these gentlemen would be thought to be, he that has but half an eye may discern that they consider not with whom they have to do in this matter. The Scripture, I suppose, they will grant to be given by inspiration from God ; if they deny it, we are ready to prove it at any time. I suppose, also, that they will grant that the end why God gave it was that it might be a revelation of him- self, so far as it was needful for us to know him, and his mind and will, so that we may serve him. If this were not the end for which
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God gave liis word unto us, I wish they would acquaint us with some other: I think it was not that it might be put into a cabinet, and locked up in a chest. If this were the end of it, then God intended in it to make a revelation of himself, so far as it was necessary we should know of him, and his mind and will, that we might serve him; for that which is any one end of any thmg or matter, that he intends who is the author of it. Now, if God mtefided to make such a revelation of himself, his mind and will, in giving of the Scripture, as was said, he hath either done it plainly, — that is, without any such obscurity as should frustratchim of his end, — or he hath not; and that because either he would not, or he could not. I wish I knew which of these it was that the Roman Catholics do fix upon, — it would spare me the labour of speaking to the other; but seeing I do not, that they may have no evasion, I will consider them both. If they say it was because he could not make any such plain discovery and revelation of himself, then this is that they say : " That God, intend- ing to reveal himself, his mind and will, plainly in the Scripture, to the sons of men, was not able to do it; and therefore failed in his design." This works but little to the glory of his omnipotency and omnisciency. But to let that pass, wherein men (so they may com- pass their o\^m ends) seem not to be much concerned, I desire to know whether this plain, sufficient revelation of God be made any other way or no ? If no otherwise, then, as I confess, we are all in the dark, so it is to no purpose to blame the Scripture of obscurity, seeing it is as lightsome as any thing else is or can be. If this re- velation be made some other way, it must be by God himself, or somebody else. That any other should be supposed, in good earnest, to do that which God cannot (though I know how some Canonists have jested about the pope), I think will not be pleaded. If God, then, hath done this another way, I desire to know the true reason why he could not do it this way, — namely, by the Scripture, — and therefore desisted from his purpose ? But it may be thought God could make a revelation of himself, his mind and will, in and by the Scripture, yet he would not do it plainly, but obscurely : let us then see what we mean by "plainly" in this business. We intend not that every text in Scripture is easy to be understood, nor that all the matter of it is easy to be apprehended; we know that there are things in it "hard to be understood," things to exercise the minds of the best and wisest of men unto dihgence, and, when they have done their utmost, unto reverence. But this is that we mean by " plainly : " — The whole will and mind of God, with whatever is needful to be known of him, is revealed in the Scripture without such ambiguity or obscurity as should hinder the Scripture from being a revelation of him, his mind and will, to the end that we may know him, and