PllOTESTANT DOCTRINE OF UNITY OF FAITH. 27o
truth, if we may take the example of Christ and all his apostles for our warrant. And it were endless to recite the full and plain testi- monies of the ancient fathers and councils to this purpose; neither is that my present design, though I did somewhat occasionally that way upon the former principle. It shall suffice me to show that the denial of this assertion also, as it is inferred from the fore- going principle, is prejudicial, if not pernicious, to Christian reli- gion in general. The whole of our faith and profession is resolved into the known excellencies and perfections of the nature of God. Amongst these there are none that have a more immediate and quickening influence into them than his wisdom, goodness, grace, care, and love toAvards them unto whom he is pleased to reveal him- self; nor is there any property of his nature that in his word he more frequently gives testimony unto. And all of them doth he de- clare himself to have exalted and glorified in a signal manner, in that revelation which he hath made of himself, his mind and will therein. I suppose this cannot be denied by any who hath the least sense of the importance of the things revealed. Now, if the revelation made for the end before proposed be not perfect and complete, — that is, iiufficient to enable a man to know so much of God, his mind and will, and to direct him so in his worship and obedience unto him, as that he may please him here and come to the fruition of him here- after,— it must needs become an evident means of deceiving him and ruining him, and that to all eternity. And the least fear of any such event overthrows all the notions which he had before entertained of those blessed properties of the divine nature ; and so, consequently, disposeth him unto atheism. For if a man hath once received the Scripture as the word of God, and that [as] given unto him to be his guide unto heaven by God himself, if one shall come to him and tell him, " Yea, but it is not a perfect guide ; but though you should attend sincerely to all the directions that it gives you, yet you may come short of your duty and expectation ; you may neither please God here nor come to the fruition of him hereafter;" — in case he should assent unto this suggestion, can he entertain any other thoughts of God but such as our first parents did, when, by attendance unto the false in- sinuations of the old serpent, they cast off his sovereignty and their dependence on him ? Neither can you relieve him against such thoughts by your pretended traditional supply, seeing it will still be impossible for him to look on this revelation of the will of God as imperfect and insufficient for the end for which it plainly professeth itself to be given forth by him, without some intrenchment on those notions of his nature which he had before received; for it will pre- sently occur unto him, that, seeing this way of revealing himself for the ends mentioned is good, and approved of himself so to be, if he
276 A VINDICATION OF THE ANIMADVERSIONS ON FIAT LUX.
hath not made it complete for that end, it was either because he could not; and where, then, is his wisdom? or because he would not; and where, then, is his love, care, and goodness? and seeing he saith he hath done what you would have him to believe that he hath not done, where is his t7'uth and veracity? Certainly, a man that seriously ponders what he hath to do, and knows the vanity of an irrational, fanatical "credo," will conclude that either the Scripture is to be received as perfect or not to be received at all.
2. Protestants conclude hence. That the Scripture, given of God for this purpose, is intelligible unto men using the oneans hy God appointed to come to the understanding of his mind and will therein. I know many of your way are pleased grievously to mistake our intention in this inference and conclusion. Sometimes they would impose upon us to say that all places of Scripture, all words and sentences in it, are plain, and of an obvious sense, and easy to be understood. And yet this you know, or may know if you please, and, I am sure, ought to know before you talk of these things with us, that we absolutely deny. It is one thing to say that all necessary truth is plainly and clearly revealed iu the Scripture, which we do say; and another, that every text and passage in the Scripture is plain and easy to be understood, Avhich we do not say, nor ever thought, as confessing that to say so were to contradict our own ex- perience and that of the disciples of Christ in all ages. Sometimes you feign as though we asserted all tlw things that are revealed in the Scripture to be plain and obvious to every man's understanding ; whereas we acknowledge that the things themselves revealed are many of them mysterious, surpassing the comprehension of any man in this world, and only maintain that the propositions wherein the revelation of them is made are plain and intelligible unto them that use the means appointed of God to come to a right understanding of them. And sometimes you would commit this with another prin- ciple of ours, whereby we assert that the supernatural light of grace, to be wrought in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, is necessary to give unto us a saving perception and understanding of the mind of God in the Scripture ; for what needs such special assistance in so plain a matter? as though the asserting of the perspicuity in the ol)ject made ability to discern in the subject altogether unnecessary, or that he who affirms the sun to give light doth at the same time affirm also that men have no need of eyes to see it withal. Besides, we know there is a vast difference between a notional speculative appre- hension and perception of the meaning and truth of the propositions contained in the Scripture, — which we acknowledge that every reason- able, unprejudiced person may attain unto, — and a gracious, saving, spiritual perception of them, and assent unto them with faith divine