6. In our search after truth our minds are greatly to be influ- enced and guided by the analogy of faith. He that “ prophesieth,” —that is, interpreteth Scripture,—must do it xard riy dvaroyiav ris wiorews, Rom. xii. 6; “according,” say we, “to the proportion of faith.” There is a harmony, an answerableness, and a proportion, in the whole system of faith, or things to be believed. Particular places are so to be interpreted as that they do not break or disturb this order, or fall in upon their due relation to one another. This our apostle calls trorbrwor iyrosvivrav Aéywy, 2 Tim. i. 13,—a fixed, and as it were an “engraved form of sound, wholesome, or healing words or doctrines,” or a summary of fundamental truths; byseswvobou didae- zaria,—* the sound doctrine of the gospel,” chap. iv. 3. And this, probably, is that which he intends by his mwéppwois evoeCeiae, chap. iii, 5, a “form” or “delineation of godliness,” in the doctrines of it; which many may have, who, as we say, are orthodox and sound in the faith, who yet in their hearts and lives deny the power of it. This “proportion of faith,” this “ form of sound words,” is continually
316 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. IV.
to be remembered in our inquiry after the mind of God in any parti- cular place of the Scripture; for all the Scripture is from the same spring of divine inspiration, and is in all things perfectly consistent with itself, And the things that are of greatest importance are de- livered in it plainly, clearly, and frequently. Unto these the sense of every particular place is to be reduced; none is to be assigned unto it, none to be pretended from it, that falls in upon any of the truths elsewhere clearly and fully confirmed. For men to come to a place of Scripture, it may be dark and obscure in itself, and, through I know not what pretences, draw a sense from it which is inconsistent with other doctrines of faith elsewhere plainly revealed, is openly to corrupt the word of God. And as indeed there is no place which doth not afford a sense fairly reconcilable unto the analogy of faith, so, if it do not appear unto us, we must sit down in the acknowledg- ment of our own darkness and ignorance, and not admit of any such sense as riseth up in contradiction thereunto. Want of a due attend- ance unto this rule is that which hath produced the most pestilent heresies in the church. Thus the Papists, taking up these words, “ This is my body,” without a due consideration of the analogy of faith about the human nature of Christ, the spirituality of the union and communion of believers with him, the nature of sacramental expressions and actions, which are elsewhere evidently declared, by which the interpretation, according to the apostle’s rule, is to be re- gulated and squared, have from them fancied the monstrous figment of their transubstantiation, absolutely destructive of them all. It is the known way of the Quakers amongst ourselves, if they can get any one single text of Scripture which, in the sound of the words, or on any other account, seems to favour some fancy they have a mind unto, instantly they take it up, not once considering whether it do not dissolve the whole proportion of faith, and overthrow the most fundamental articles of Christianity: so from the outward sound of that one text, John 1. 9, “ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” they fear not to take up a pretended sense of them, destructive to what is taught about the nature of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, of faith, grace, con- version to God, plainly and evidently in a thousand other places. Our apostle doth not so; for although he deduces great and myste- rious truths out of the Scriptures of the Old Testament, yet they are such as answer the whole system of divine revelation, and have a due place and order in the “form of sound words.”
7. A due consideration of the nature of the discourse wherein any [dark ?] words are used, tends much to give light into their sense and importance. And the discourses in the Scripture may be referred materially to four general heads; for they are either histo- rical, or prophetical, or dogmatical, or hortatory. And for the way
VER. 8.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 317
or form of writing used in them, it is in general either proper and literal, or figurative and allegorical, as is the whole book of Canticles, and many other parts or passages in the Scripture. Now these things are duly to be weighed by them who intend to dig deep into this mine of sacred truth. But particular directions in reference unto them are too many here to be insisted on.
8. The proper grammatical sense of the words themselves is duly to be inquired into and pondered. This principally re- spects them who are able to pursue this search after truth in the original languages. Others also may have much help by comparing parallel places, even in translations; whence the proper sense or usual acceptation of any words may be learned. And of this nature many other particular rules might be added, which are by others com- monly insisted on, and therefore may be here omitted.