in the Holy Scripture it must be either in the Matter of it or in the Proof of it And if it be in the Matter of it it must be either that it does not give us sufficient Directions what to do or that it does not propose sufficient Motives to persuade Men to do what it requires And therefore in speaking to this Head I shall shew 1. That the Holy Scripture gives us sufficient Directions what to do 2. That the Motives which the Scripture proposes are sufficient to persuade us to do what it requires And 3. That we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines which are taught by it 1. I shall shew that the Holy Scripture gives us sufficient Directions what to do And of this there can be little Doubt among those that believe the divine Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scripture because to them its own Testimony of its own sufficiency is a Proof thereof beyond all Exception For if as the Apostle says 2. Tim. 3.16 it be profitable for Doctrine and for Reproof and for Correction and for Instruction in Rigteousness it is plainly profitable for all the Purposes for which we can desire a divine Revelation And if as he says in the next Verse it was given to make perfect the Man of God that is the Man whose Business it is to teach and instruct others and throughly to furnish him unto all good Works it cannot be deficient in delivering all such Rules and Directions as are necessary to be given by a Pastor to the People committed to his Care And if as the same Apostle had said at the 15th Verse of that Chapter it be able to make us wise unto Salvation we have no Reason to desire to be wiser than this excellent Book can make us And if all this could truly be said by the Apostle before the Canon of the New Testament was compleated if it could be said by him of those Holy Scriptures which Timothy had known from a Child that is of the Books of the Old Testament only much more may it be now said of the Books of both Testaments together But to speak at large of this Point at present would be too great a Digression from the Design of these Lectures which were intended only against Infidels not against any Sect of Christians and such they pretend to be such because they hold the Foundation Christ Jesus they may in Charity be allow'd to be who do chiefly differ from us in this Article and deny the sufficiency of Scripture only because they are resolved to maintain some gainful Doctrines and Practices of their own Church which they are sensible have no Warrant from Scripture and so can be maintained no other Way but by affirming that they have been delivered down to them by Tradition and that unwritten Tradition is a necessary Supplement to the written Word and of equal Authority with it For between us and Infidels who reject the Scripture the Sufficiency of the Scripture as a Rule of Faith and Manners is hardly Matter of Controversie for these do not reject the Scripture because it teaches too little but rather because it teaches too much because it teaches Doctrines above their Reason and commands such Duties as they do not like to practise and if it taught less than it does they would be more ready to own its divine Authority But nevertheless even these Men that they may leave no Stone unturned will be sometimes discoursing upon this Point and altho' those Books of Holy Scripture which are now extant and which are now generally receiv'd do teach much more than they themselves are willing to believe and practise yet that they may as much as they can unsettle the Belief of others do not stick to argue againast the Christian Religion from this Topick and to affirm that the Books of Holy Scripture which are now receiv'd do not contain the whole Will of God For there were say they in former times several other Gospels and Epistles and other Tracts designed to instruct Men in the Christian Religion which were written by the Apostles or other inspired Men and which were consequently of the same Authority in themselves with those which are now receiv'd into the Canon of which nevertheless we have nothing now left but the Names and Titles or some imperfect and uncertain Fragments so that it may well be doubted whether those few Books which are now remaining are sufficient to instruct us in all necessary Points of Knowledge and Practice And of this Matter of Fact there is they say some Evidence even from the Scripture its self For St. Luke in the Beginning of his Gospel takes Notice that many before him had taken in Hand to set forth a Declaration of those things which were surely believed among Christians that is had written and published Narratives of the Life Actions Miracles Preaching Death and Resurrection of our Saviour But there are no Histories of this Kind no Gospels now extant that were written before St. Luke's except only St. Matthew's and St. Mark 's and if there had been no more extant at that time it would have been very improper they say for the Evangelist to have said that many had written upon this Subject when he spake only of those two And that there was Matter enough for several such Narratives so that tho' they were very different Gospels they might nevertheless be all true we are told by St. John who wrote his Gospel the last of the Four Evangelists Joh. 20.30 Many other Signs truly did Jesus in the Presence of his Disciples which are not written in this Book and again Ch. 21. Vers 25. There are also many other things which Jesus did the which if they should be written every one I suppose that even the World its self could not contain the Books that should be written Now if it be true that there were several other Books formerly extant but which are now lost that were written by the Apostles and other inspired Men and consequently by divine Inspiration either these were needless when written and it is unreasonable to suppose that any Book written by divine Inspiration was needless or else the Loss of these Books is a Loss to Religion and we cannot be well assured that those which we have now remaining do sufficiently instruct us in all Points of Christian Faith and Practice But admit the Truth of this Matter of Fact viz. that more Books were written by the Apostles or inspired Men than are now extant which I will not now dispute because I think it needless because I think it may be granted without any Prejudice to the Christian Cause altho' there be none or at most but very slender Evidence of it nay admit more than is upon any good Grounds alledged viz. not only that several but that every one of the Apostles and immediate Disciples of
and we do not take Care to avoid it our Lot will be extremely miserable and we shall be tormented Day and Night for ever and ever in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone And when we consider withal the very little Trouble in Comparison that it will cost us to attain that and to avoid this that 't is but the Labour of a few Years and that the most we can suffer by it is the Loss of a little Sensual Pleasure for which after this Life is over we should be never the better or the enduring of some little Pain or Hardship which will be soon over and for which if no Good should ever come of it after this Life we shall however be then never the worse Considering I say thus the infinitely vast and wide Difference that there is between being eternally happy and eternally miserable 't is enough that it is possible 't is more than enough that 't is probable that there will be such a state and if we neglect to make Provision for it because we are not absolutely certain that it will be it is plain that we do not act so prudently in this as we do in other Cases that are of infinitely less Moment and Concern to us and that as our Saviour says The Children of tâ—â— World are in their Generation wiser than the Children of Light Now this is the most that the professed Atheists or Infidels can pretend They 'll say perhaps that for their own parts they do not believe the Being of a God or a Judgment or a Life to come and that they do not see any good Reason to believe these things forasmuch as all the Proofs that are brought for them do in their Judgment fall short of Demonstration and they are resolved not to believe them till such Proof thereof shall be offered as they can make no Exception against not till they shall see with their own Eyes that there is a Heaven and a Hell or till they shall have a Messenger sent to them from thence on purpose to assure them thereof And be it so as they say that there is not an absolute Certainty of the Truth of these things that we have not yet such a sure Proof of them as ocular or mathematical Demonstration would be yet this is the most they can say they themselves cannot pretend that there is any Demonstration on the other side They are not sure they say that there will be another Life or that it will be everlasting Well but are they sure that there will not be such a Life is it absurd or impossible that there should be such a Life this I 'm sure they can't say and all that they have yet dared to say is only that those Proofs thereof that we rely upon are not in their Opinion sufficient But suppose them as insufficient as they can think them yet still if they are not sufficient to prove the Certainty they may be sufficient to prove the Probability of what they are brought to prove or if not so yet still a future Life if it be not certain nay if it be not probable however may be possible And if it be only possible that we may live for ever and that we may be eternally happy or eternally miserable this Possibility alone considering what an infinite Difference there is between these two States ought in reason to put us upon taking the best Care we can that if there be an eternal Life we may be eternally happy in it But after all our Proof of this and other great Truths of our Religion is not so very weak and slender as these Men would represent it It is indeed as good as the Nature of the thing will bear and he 's an unreasonable Man that requires a better Proof of any thing than it is capable of This therefore is what I should now in the next Place proceed to do viz. 3. To shew that there is sufficient Reason to give Credit to the Scripture wherein these Truths are plainly taught But this being too large a Subject to be handled now I have already said I would deferr it to the next Opportunity FINIS THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE Scripture-Revelation As to the Proof of it PART I. A SERMON Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul March the 4 th 1699 700. BEING The Third for the Year 1700 of the LECTURE Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq By OFSPRING BlACKALL Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead HAving in my first Discourse on these Words endeavoured to shew in general that a Standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient to persuade Men to Repentance if they are not unreasonably blind and obstinate I came the last time to consider whether that Standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scripture be such a Revelation Or whether there be not some particular Defects in it which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a Standing Revelation might be And if there be any such Defect in the Holy Scripture it must be as I said either in the Matter of it or in the Proof of it And if in the Matter of it it must be either that it does not give sufficient Directions what to do Or that it does not propose sufficient Motives to persuade Men to do what it requires And therefore in speaking to this Head I propounded to shew 1. That the Holy Scripture gives us sufficient Directions what to do 2. That the Motives which it proposes are sufficient to persuade us to do what it requires And 3. That we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines that are taught by it And the Two first of these I have already done I proceed now to the Third viz. 3. To shew that we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines that are taught by it And that I shall presume to be sufficient Reason in this Case which we readily accept and allow of as sufficient in all other Cases of the like Nature And I suppose it will be granted that we have sufficient Proof given us of the Truth of the Things contained in Holy Scripture and of the Authority of it if it can be shewn 1. That we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books
of Holy Scripture were written by those Persons who are said to be the Authors thereof 2. That there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to them in their Relation of those Matters of Fact which they have recorded And 3. That if the Matters of Fact recorded in the Scripture are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught These things therefore I shall now endeavour to make good But in speaking to this Point I shall for Brevity's sake confine my Discourse only to the Books of the New Testament Partly because these are the Books wherein our Christian Religion is chiefly taught And especially because I think there are none who receive the New Testament as of divine Authority that do or â—ndeed can with any Reason reject the Old 1. Then I am to shew that we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books of Holy Scripture of the New Testament in particular were written by those Persons that are said to be the Authors thereof This indeed is a Point that it does not properly lie upon us to make any Proof of For as a Man's Possession of an Estate is alone a good and a sufficient Title to it till a better is shewn by the Person that endeavours to eject him so it is here These Books are generally receiv'd as written by such and such Persons These Authors have the Name these have as it were â—he Possession of them and that 's Title enough if no other could be produced so long as no Evidence is ofâ—ered to shew that any other Persons have a better Title â—o them It lies on them therefore who deny that the Books are theirs to give a Reason of what they say â—ither by alledging some special Matter out of the Books â—hemselves whereby it may be proved that they could â—ot be of their Writing or by producing some creâ—ible and authentick History testifying that they were written by some other Persons and not by them And â—ill they can and shall do this which I am persuaded â—an never be done we may very well refuse to proâ—uce any positive Evidence to affirm or prove their Title their Possession being a good Title enough till a better appears And a Tenant might with as good Reason refuse to pay Rent to the Person of whom he â—ook the Estate and to whom he hath ever hitherto â—aid Rent and whose Right to it is not at all controverted until he shall suffer his Writings to be perused and examined and by them make it plainly appear that he is the lawful Landlord as any Man can now refuse to give that Credit to these Books as written by the Apostles which has been given hitherto and is still given by all Christians unless he may have now as good positive Evidence of their being written by the Apostles as might have been given thereof at first and as it may be presumed was given before their Title to them was so universally acknowledged But nevertheless what a Man is not under any Obligation to do for the asserting of his Right he may do wisely enough for his own Satisfaction And it must needs be a Satisfaction and Pleasure to a Man altho' his Title to his Estate be not at present controverted if in looking over the Writings and Evidences of it he sees plainly how it descended to him by a lineal Succession from Father to Son for many Generations past and how it came at first to his Ancestors by a clear and fair Purchase from the former Possessors or by Donation from the Prince in the Division of a wast or conquered Country and if he also finds ancient Terriers agreeing in the same Measure and Boundings and exactly describing the same Estate which he now possesses and if moreover looking far back he sees that upon some Disputes or Law-suits that have formerly been concerning it Judgment has been always given on his Side It cannot but please him I say that upon such a Search into Antiquity he finds that he is so very well provided to make out his Title if there should ever be any Occasion for it altho' by Reason of the long and quiet Possession that he and his Ancestors before him time out of Mind have had of it he has no just Cause to fear he shall ever meet â—ith any Disturbance And so it is here These Writings the Books of â—he New Testament are generally acknowledged to be â—ritten by the Apostles of Christ and their Authoâ—â—ty is at present uncontested It may therefore reaâ—â—nably be presumed especially by those who have â—ot Parts or Learning or Leisure to examine into the â—easons of such things that they would not have â—â—en so universally acknowledged and reverenced as â—â—ey are upon this Account but upon very good â—rounds tho' what the Grounds thereof are they â—â—ve not yet inquired Their being in Possession is â—one Reason enough to acknowledge and assert their â—â—tle It lies upon them that deny these Books to 〈◊〉 theirs to produce satisfactory Evidence of their â—ing forged or counterfeit and till they shall proâ—â—ce some Evidence thereof that has a Shew and Apâ—â—arance of Truth we have no Reason to be stagâ—â—red in our Belief by their bare however bold and â—â—nfident Denial of their Authority And much â—s shall we need to give our Reasons for our reâ—â—ving them as written by the Apostles till our Adâ—â—â—saries shall offer some Reasons why we ought not 〈◊〉 receive them as such But nevertheless because we see there are some in â—s incredulous Age that shew a good Will to deny 〈◊〉 Authority of these Sacred Books and whose Inâ—est it would be to prove them Spurious and beâ—se we cannot tell what unwarrantable Practices â—ir Inclination and Interest may put them upon 〈◊〉 what Writings or Evidences plausibly forged 〈◊〉 counterfeited they may hereafter produce it cannot be amiss for us to inquire and see and it cannot but be a Pleasure and Satisfaction to us who hold our Hope of eternal Life chiefly by these Writings to find and consider how well provided we are to detect and disprove any such Forgeries if they should be offered by being able to produce in Opposition thereto as good positive Proof that these Books are genuine as such a Matter is capable of much better than I believe can be produced for the Authority of any other Books of the like Antiquity And it gives us some Satisfaction in the Belief wâ— have been bred up in that these are the genuiâ—â— Books of the Authors to whom they are ascribed tâ— find that they are receiv'd as such not by a smaâ—â— Party of Men not by that Church and Nation onlâ— to which we belong but by all Christians disperseâ— in all Parts of the World and likewise that they aâ— agree with us in the same Testimony viz. that theâ— received then as such from their Fathers For thâ—â— these Books should be thus generally receiv'd anâ— acknowledged
was For in Matters of common Testimony we make little Difference between Speech and Writing If a Man whom we dare trust sends us a Letter and therein relates such and such things as heard or seen by himself or as well attested to him by unexceptionable Witnesses we give as full Credit to his Letter as we should do to his Words So that in Truth our Case who live now is not very different from theirs who lived in the Apostles Days and heard them saying those same Things which we now read in their Books and if we think those inexcuseable who did not receive their Testimony when given by Word of Mouth we can't in good Reason hold our selves excused if we receive not the same Testimony of the same Persons given under their Hands In one Respect indeed it must be granted that they had the Advantage of us viz. because they might be surer that they heard an Apostle speak than the Nature of the Thing will admit we should be that we read the Words of an Apostle written But we are sure enough of this We have as good moral Certainty of it as we can have of any thing that is not capable of any other than a moral Certainty And if the Words that we read in the New Testament are the Words of the Apostles of Christ we have in some Respects the Advantage of those who lived in those early Times for we have the concurrent Testimony of several of the Apostles written whereas hardly any in those times when a few Persons were to bear Witness to all the World could have more than the Testimony of one single Apostle only by Word of Mouth and many Witnesses are more credible than one And besides there being several Witnesses their Testimony if it be false may be more easily proved so by their Disagreement with one another than the Testimony of one single Witness could be And lastly a Writing which we may review and read over as often as we will and which we may take what time we please to consider of may be more throughly understood and better digested than a Sermon or Discourse only once spoken can well be But if it be granted that the Faith of the first Converts to Christianity which came by Hearing of the Apostles might be built upon more certain and infallible Grounds than ours that comes only by Reading is And some Reasons may perhaps be given hereafter why 't was fit it should be so it is enough however to render our Infidelity inexcusable if the Grounds of Faith that we now have are very rational if they are a sufficient Support for such a Faith as will enable us to please God and to overcome the World And this may be farther said for our Comfort and to make us easie and satisfied with those Grounds and Reasons of Faith which are afforded to us by the written Testimony of the Apostles in the Books of the New Testament that as there is more Certainty in that Belief if it may be called Belief which is grounded upon Demonstration or infallible Evidence so there is more Praise and Vertue in that good Disposition of Mind which makes us rest satisfied with such Grounds of Faith as tho' not absolutely and infallibly certain yet cannot with any good Reason be denied or excepted against According to that Saying of our Saviour to St. Thomas in a like Case with which I shall conclude Joh. 20.29 Thomas because thou hast seen me thou hast believed blessed are they that is they are more blessed their Faith is more excellent and praise-worthy and so will intitle them to a greater Reward who have not seen and yet have believed Which Blessedness that we may all attain God of his great Mercy and Goodness grant for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ c. FINIS ERRATA Pag. 8. l. 19. for then r. them Books Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's-Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard A Sermon Preach'd before the Honourable the House of Commons at St. Margaret's Westminster January the 30th 1698 9. The Sufficiency of a Standing Revelation A Sermon Preached at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's Jan. 1st 1699 700. being the first for the Year 1700. of the Lecture Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq The Sufficiency of the Scripture Revelation as to the Matter of it Being the Second for the Year 1700. of the Lecture Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq These Three by Ofspring Blackall Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty A Perswasive to Prayer A Sermon Preach'd before the King at St. James's A Sermon Preach'd before the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled in the Abby Church at Westminster Jan. 30th Fifteen Sermons Preached on several Occasions the Last of which was never before Printed These Three by the most Reverend Father in God John Lord Arch-Bishop of York Primate of England and Metropolitan The Faith and Practice of a Church of England Man A False Faith not Justified by Care for the Poor Prov'd in a Sermon Preach'd at St. Paul's Church Mysteries in Religion Vindicated or the Filiation Deity and Satisfaction of our Saviour asserted against Socinians and others with Occasional Reflections on several late Pamphlets These Two by Luke Milbourn a Presbyter of the Church of England Two Sermons of Mr. Young's about Nature and Grace Preach'd at Whitehall THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE Scripture-Revelation As to the Proof of it PART II. TWO SERMONS Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul April 1 st and May 6 th 1700. BEING The Fourth and Fifth for the Year 1700 of the LECTURE Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq By OFSPRING BLACKALL Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead THE Point I entred upon the Proof of the last time was this 3. That we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines that are taught by it And for the Proof of this having for Brevity sake confined my Discourse upon it to the Books of the New Testament only the rather because the Authority of that being granted the Authority of the Old Testament cannot reasonably be questioned I propounded to shew 1. That we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books of the New Testament were written by those Persons who are said to be the Authors thereof 2. That there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to them in their Relations of those
mention as briefly as may be the Answers that have been usually given to these Objections And 1. Whereas 't is said that of some of the Books of the New Testament the Authors Names are not certainly known as namely of the Epistle to the Hebrews and that of others the Authors have been doubted particularly of the second and third Epiâ—tles of St. John To this it hath been answered 1. That the Credit and Authority of a Book depends many times much more upon the good Assurance that we have of the time when it was written and of the Character of the Person that wrote it than upon the certain Knowledge of his Name It is therefore a Matter of no great Conseâ—uence whether the Epistle to the Hebrews was writâ—en by St. Paul himself as is commonly and upon â—ery probable Grounds believed Or as some have â—onjectured by St. Luke his constant Companion Or as others by St. Clemens his Fellow-labourer â—hose Name was in the Book of Life Phil. 4.3 Or as others â—y St. Barnabas his Assistant in Preaching the Goâ—pel Acts 14.14 and who is dignified by St. Luke with the Tiâ—e of an Apostle And so neither is it very maâ—erial whether the Epistles called the second and third Epistles of St. John and commonly believed to be written by the same Person that wrote the first were indeed written by St. John the Apostle and Evangelist or as some have thought by another â—ohn who was made Bishop of the Jewish Christians â—t Ephesus by him For it is sufficient that the Writers of these Books which soever they were of the Persons before-mentioned were of good Ability and Integrity and well instructed in that Doctrine and Religion which they wrote about And of this besides the Testimony of the Ancients there is good Evidence enough in the Writings themselves 2. In Answer to this and to all other Objections of this sort against these or any other Books or Chapters or Paragraphs of the New Testament it hath been farther truly said that there is nothing singular in these Books that there is no Doctrine of Christianity taught in any Part of the New Testament of the Author or Authority of which there hath ever been any Doubt in the Church which is not taught in some other undoubted and uncontroverted Part of the same Book So that if it were granted that those Parts of the New Testament of which there has been formerly any Doubt were still of uncertain Authority our Christianity would suffer no real Loss thereby Only giving up these controverted Places we should sometimes want a good Help to enable us to understand readily those other uncontroverted Places of the New Testament wherein the same Doctrines are but perhaps more briefly or obscurely delivered 2. Whereas 't is said that some Parts of the New Testament have been rejected in ancient Times This is granted But then it hath been shewn that considering by whom they have been rejected and under what Notion and for what Reasons they were rejected this Objection is of no force to invalidate the Authority even of those Parts of the New Testament which have been so rejected and much less of the rest of the Book which has been allowed by all Thus some Portions of the New Testament have been rejected by Hereticks because they contradicted their private and singular Notions Some by Judaizing Christians as the Two first Chapters of St. Matthew because they were not found in that Hebrew Copy of that Gospel which they used and all the Epistles of St. Paul were likewise rejected by the same Persons but not as not written by St. Paul but only because they were written by him whom they looked upon as an Enemy to their Nation because he levelled them with other Nations and as too averse to that Religion which had been introduced by Moses which they continued so wedded to even after their embracing Christianity that they could not but suspect him to be a false Apostle who had so plainly taught the Abrogation thereof And for the like Reasons some other Parts of the New Testament have been likewise rejected by some few Men that is not because they wanted the same Attestation which the other Parts of it had or because it appeared by credible History that they were Spurious but only because they contradicted too plainly some Notions which their former Prejudices or Education had made them fond of So that this Argument against the Authority of the New Testament taken from the Rejection of some Parts of it by some particular Men or Sects is manifestly of no Strength unless there was some good Reason for their Rejecting them And that there was good Reason for it has not yet been shewn but the contrary has been shewn very plainly by the ancient Writers of the Church in several Books written by them in Confutation of those Sects and Heresies which are still extant And 3. Whereas it is further said that some Books which are now receiv'd as Parts of the New Testament were not universally receiv'd in the most early Times when their Authority if they were authentick might have been asserted upon more certain Grounds than it can be now viz. the Epistle to the Hebrews the Epistle of St. James the 2d of St. Peter the 2d and 3d. of St. John the Epistle of St. Jude and the Book of the Revelation This is likewise granted But in Answer to it it is said 1. That there is good Evidence from Antiquity that these controverted Books were receiv'd in the most early Times by those who had the best Opportunity of satisfying themselves of the Authors and Authority thereof viz. by those to whom they were sent and in general by the whole Greek Church 2. That it is no Wonder that these Books being written either to Christians dispersed and consequently only published by giving out Copies thereof to some to be communicated as there was Opportunity to others or else to private Persons living perhaps at great Distance from the Places from which they were sent were not so easie to be attested and upon that Account were not at first so generally receiv'd as the others were which were either written to particular Churches to which the Authors Hands and the Messengers that brought them were well known or which were first published and receiv'd in the same Places where they were written And 3. That even those Churches which did for some time doubt of the Authority of these Books were persuaded at last to receive them as the Authentick Writings of the Apostles or other Inspired Men. If therefore it be supposed that while they doubted of these Books they had Reason for their Doubt that is that they did it because they were not as yet fully satisfied that they were Apostolical Writings which the Objectors I believe will readily enough grant it may be very reasonably presumed that they had afterwards greater Reason to lay aside their Doubt and that when they did receive
them it was because there had been then lately such Evidence and Attestation given of their being written by the Apostles or other Inspired Men as they had not heard of before such as they could not then with any Reason contradict or gainsay For ordinarily a less Reason will persuade a Man to take up an Opinion at first than will persuade him to go back from an Opinion how weakly soever grounded which he has before embraced and defended So that this Objection is so far from lessening that it rather strengthens the Proof we have of the Authority even of these once controverted Books And it is besides a very good corroborating Evidence of the Authority of all the other Books of the New Testament For the Backwardness of some Churches to receive these controverted Books at first when they had nothing to object to the Matter of them makes it evident that the Christians of the first Ages were not so very easie and credulous as some have represented them that they did not so very greedily swallow any Book for divine Revelation that contained a great many Miracles mixed with a few good Morals without making due Enquiry concerning the Author and Authority thereof But on the contrary their being so hard to be persuaded to receive these controverted Books for some time while they wanted as they thought sufficient Attestation altho' the Doctrine of them was in all Points agreeable to the Doctrine of the other Books which they had before received their being so hard I say to receive these Books of the Authority of which there nevertheless really was such Evidence as they themselves after having well weighed and considered it declared themselves satisfied with gives very good Ground to believe that they had from the Beginning such Evidence as was without Exception of the Authority of all those other Books that is of much the greatest Part of the New Testament which were never controverted which were from the first and with universal Consent receiv'd by all Christian Churches For if there had not been very undeniable Evidence of their being the genuine Writings of the Apostles or other inspired Men there would certainly have been the same Doubt and Controversie concerning them that there once was concerning these But 4. It hath been further objected that in the early Times of Christianity there were several counterfeit Gospels and Epistles which passed among some for the Writings of the Apostles and that 't is possible some of them may have slipped into the Canon unawares to the first Christians who by all the Accounts of those Times were more remarkable for their Honesty and Simplicity and Zeal than for their extraordinary Parts and Learning But this Objection granting the Matter of Fact alledg'd in it to be true is so far from lessening that it rather adds to that reasonable Assurance that we have that all the Books of the Canon are true and genuine For there is nothing so apt to put Men upon using Caution as a great Probability of being cheated if they be not cautious Thus when the Coin is generally good and there is very little base or counterfeit Money stirring Men commonly take it by Tale without examining the Weight and Purity of every Piece and so may more easily have a single Piece of lighter Weight or baser Metal put upon them without discerning it But if the Coin be much corrupted they look more narrowly upon every single Piece of Money that they take and if there be the least Cause to suspect it make Trial of it by the Scale or Touchstone before they accept it as good If therefore there were in the early Times of Christianity many counterfeit Pieces given out and perhaps receiv'd by some as written by the Apostles and which were some of them discovered to be spurious and there is not greater Evidence from Antiquity that there were any such spurious Writings than there is that the Spuriousness of some of them was soon discern'd this could not but put the Christians of those Times upon examining more strictly what Evidence and Attestation there was that those other Books were true and genuine which had been generally receiv'd as such So that the more there were of these spurious and counterfeit Books so much the more assured and confident we may reasonably be that none but such as were undoubtedly true and authentick and very well attested were admitted into the Canon And of the two it is much more probable that they did for Want of clear Attestation refuse to admit some that had been written by the Apostles than that they did without sufficient Attestation admit any that were not And that the Christians of those early Times who had the best Means and Opportunities of satisfying themselves whether any Book given out as written by an Apostle was so or not wanted not Skill to discern between a true and a spurious Writing as is maliciously suggested by some Men is abundantly evident from those Monuments of the excellent Parts and Learning of some of the first Converts to Christianity which are still extant in their Books and from the Testimony that is therein given to the like good Ability of several others who were famous in their Generation for their Preaching and Writings and for their stoutly maintaining the Truths of Christianity both against Infidels and Hereticks but whose Books are now unhappily lost But 5. and lastly It was further said That tho' it be granted that all the Books of the New Testament that are now receiv'd were originally written by the Apostles or other inspired Men yet those which we now have are but Copies in which by so many Transcriptions thereof as must have been in about 1400 Years many Alterations may have happened thro' the Ignorance or Oversight or evil Design of the Transcribers And that several Changes have been made iâ— undeniably plain by the various Readings that have been observed in comparing the best Manuscript Copies that are now or have been extant since Printing began So that we cannot be sure whether any particular Passages once found in those Books are the very Words of an Apostle or of some ignorant or careless Scribe But to this it hath been answered 1. That so far as this Objection is of any Force it â—nvalidates the Credit of all History and of all other Books of ancient Date as well as of the New Testament Nay indeed of all other Books much more than of â—his for the faithfully Transcribing whereof it may â—easonably be presumed there was formerly greater Care taken as there is now for the correctly Printing 〈◊〉 than there ordinarily was of other Books that â—ere of less Consequence 2. That tho' it be certain that some Hereticks â—ave attempted to corrupt the Text of the New Testaâ—ent in some Places and have made Changes in some â—â—w Copies thereof it is almost as certain that their â—ttempts of this kind neither have nor ever could â—â—ount to a Corruption of all
Matters of Fact which they have recorded And 3. That if the Matters of Fact related in the New Testament are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and Divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught And I hope enough was said the last time to shew that we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books of the New Testament were written by those Persons who are said to be the Authors thereof What I am next to do is 2. To shew that there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to these Authors in their Relations of those Matters of Fact which they have recorded And I hope none of you that hear me whom I presume to be all Christians will take Offence at it if now while I am arguing this Point I sometimes speak of the Holy Evangelists with the same Freedom that might be used in speaking concerning any other Authors and if I sometimes Plead for no more Credit to be given to them in their Relations than is fit and reasonable to be given to any other Historian that was naturally as well furnished and qualified to write a true History as they were and whose Fidelity and Veracity is as well attested and confirmed other Ways as theirs was For you will consider I hope that my Business is now with Infidels with whom we can argue only upon the Principles of common Reason And tho' we who are Christians already do believe as one of the first Principles of our Religion that these Sacred Writers were divinely and supernaturally assisted in their Work and that upon that Account they deserve much greater Credit in what they have written than other Historians do yet this is what those who are yet Infidels will not allow And in Disputation nothing is to be presumed on one side but what will be readily allowed by the other Party So that the divine Inspiration of the Evangelical Writers and the supernatural Assistance which we believe they had in their Writing cannot as yet be regularly insisted upon as an Argument to gain them Credit But it is what will easily be granted afterwards when the Truth of their History shall be well established upon other Grounds as I hope it will be in the following Discourse and 't is what may then serve to procure a religious Respect and Reverence to these Sacred Writings 1 Thess 2.13 and to ingage us to receive them not as the Word of Men but as they are in Truth as the Word of God But this one thing nevertheless I suppose I may presume viz. that if the Books of the New Testament the Historical Parts of it in particular were written by those Authors to whom they are ascribed which has been already proved the Matters of Fact recorded by the Evangelists in Writing are the same which they and the other Apostles testified by Word of Mouth in their Preaching For it cannot I think with any Reason be suspected that their Preaching and Writings were disagreeable to each other because such Disagreement would most certainly have utterly destroyed the Credit of them both And this being supposed I hope it will clearly appear that there is abundantly sufficient Reason to give full Credit to these Writings if these following things be considered 1. If we consider the Nature Conditions and Circumstances of the Matters that are recorded in the Historical Books of the New Testament and of the History its self 2. If we consider the good Capacity that the Authors thereof were in to know the Truth of the things they have related 3. If we consider the strong Obligations they were under to write nothing but the Truth according to the best of their Knowledge or Information 4. If we consider the good Evidences that we have of their Honesty and Faithfulness And 5. Lastly If we consider the Confirmation that was given to the Truth of their History by God himself 1. I say the Evangelical History will appear to be highly credible if without any Regard as yet had to the Ability and Integrity of its Authors we only consider the Nature Conditions and Circumstances of the Matters therein recorded and of the History its self Concerning which there are two things especially that may be observed 1. That the Matters recorded by the Evangelical Writers are such as might be certainly known And 2. That they are such and in such manner related by the Evangelists that if their History of them had been false it could never have gained Credit in the World 1. First I say the Matters recorded by the Evangelical Writers are such as might be certainly known I mean either by the Historians themselves or by those from whom they had their Information For 1. They are for the most part plain Matters of Sense which those who were present at them could have no doubt of without Distrusting their own Faculties of Hearing or Seeing and which those who testified them might be as certain of the Truth of as we can be of any thing that we hear with our own Ears or see with our own Eyes For thus whether our Saviour gave out himself to be the Messias foretold by the Prophets whether he said that he was the Son of God and whether he uttered those other Speeches which the Evangelists have recorded as spoken by him could not but be certainly known by the People who often heard him and especially by his Apostles who constantly attended him And so likewise whether he did those many wonderful Works which the Evangelists have recorded of him could not but be known by those that were present with him They might be certain either that he did them or that he did not do them Thus for instance it might be certainly known to those that first affirmed that he gave Sight to the Blind whether those Persons had been once blind and whether afterwards they â—aw and to those that witnessed that he gave Strength â—o the Cripples whether the Men whom they said he wrought this Cure upon had been Lame or disabled â—n their Feet Hands or Body before and whether â—fterwards they walked and had Strength like other Men and to those that testified that he raised the Dead whether the Persons said to have been raised by â—im had been truly dead and whether afterwards â—hey lived But above all his own Resurrection which the preâ—ent Season as well as the Wonderfulness and Imporâ—ance of the thing obliges us to have a special â—egard to was a thing that might be most certainly â—nown to those that pretended to be Witnesses of it This Sermon was Preached on the Monday in Easter Week â—hey might be certain whether he had been once dead â—nd whether he shewed himself alive after his Passion â—y many infallible Proofs and was seen of them forty Days Of this they might be rather more certain than â—f any other of his Miracles because it was a thing â—ot to be judged of by one sense only as some of the â—est were
Sermon III. Page 25. Line 1. for once read now for those read these ADVERTISEMENT THE Three remaining Lectures for this Year are to be at St. Paul's on the first Mondays in September October and November But the first Monday in September being the Fast-Day for the Fire of London when there will be in the Morning a Sermon suitable to that Occasion Preached before the Lord Mayor Aldermen and Companies of the City Mr. Boyle's Lecture on that Day is Order'd to be Preached in the Afternoon THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE Scripture-Revelation As to the Proof of it PART III. A SERMON Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul September 2d 1700. BEING The Sixth for the Year 1700 of thâ— LECTURE Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq By OFSPRING BLACKALL D. D. Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead IN Order to shew that we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the New-Testament and of all the Doctrines that are taught by it I have formerly propounded to shew 1. That we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books of the New-Testament were written by those Persons who are said to be the Authors thereof 2. That there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to them in their Relation of those Matters of Fact which they have recorded And 3. That if the Matters of Fact therein recorded are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and Divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught And the two first of these Points I have I hope already made good I proceed now to the third viz. 3. To shew That the Doctrine of the Gospel is well grounded upon the History of it That if the Matters of Fact recorded in the New-Testament are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and Divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught And Here by the Doctrines of the Gospel I understand both the Articles of Faith which it proposes to our Belief and the Rules which it prescribes to our Practice Many of the former of which are themselves Parts of the Gospel History as the Incarnation Life Sufferings Death Resurrection and Ascension of our Saviour and the rest of both sorts are taught in the New Testament either by our Saviour himself or by his Apostles And I suppose it will be readily granted that all their Doctrines are true and also of divine Authority if it shall appear that they were commissioned and sent by God to instruct the World for he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God Joh. iii. 34. The single Point therefore to be consider'd at this time is whether there be sufficient Evidence from the Matters of Fact recorded in the History of the New Testament that our Saviour and his Apostles were commissioned and sent by God to instruct the World And first Whether there be sufficient Evidence from thence that our Saviour himself was a Teacher sent from God Now that he said he was sent from God is a Matter of Fact and a part of the Gospel History Joh. xii 49. See Joh. 5.37 38.8.38.14.10 24. I have not spoken of my self but the Father which sent me he gave me a Commandment what I should say and what I should speak And that he said that he was the Messiah which had been foretold by the Prophets is likewise Matter of Fact and a Part of the same History Joh. iv 25 26. The Woman of Samaria saith unto him I know that Messias cometh which is called Christ Mat. 16.16 17. Mar. 9.41 Luke 24.46 Joh. 9.47 when he is come he will tell us all things Jesus saith unto him I that speak unto thee am HE. The Question therefore is whether from the things which are recorded of him by the Evangelists there be sufficient Ground to believe the Truth of either or both these Pretences I say of either or both of them because either of them is a sufficient Reason to receive his Doctrine as True and Divine for which cause therefore I shall not in speaking to this Subject distinguish between the Evidences which the Gospel-History affords of his being a Prophet and those which it affords of his being the Messiah but shall propose them promiscuously as they come to mind And here I shall consider First The Credibility of our Saviour's own Testimony concerning himself and Secondly The Confirmation that was given to this Testimony by God grounding all that shall be said on both these Heads upon the Gospel-History the Truth of which I now take for granted as being I hope already sufficiently prov'd First then I shall consider the Credibility of our Saviour's own Testimony concerning himself when he said that he was sent by God and that he was the Christ the Son of God And I know 't is commonly said that a Man is not to be believed in his own Case And this very thing was objected to our Saviour by the Jews Joh. viii 13. Thou bearest Record of thy self thy Record is not true But this Saying is not without Exception When indeed what a Man witnesses is for his own Benefit his Testimony if it be single may reasonably be rejected especially if any Proof be made that at other times he hath told a Lye or done any other ill thing for his Advantage But otherwise a Man's Testimony concerning himself may be credible nay in some cases it may be more credible than another Man's because he may sometimes be surer of what he says concerning himself than another Man could be And therefore our Saviour who in Joh. v. 31. allows of the Reasonableness of that Saying If I bear witness of my self my Witness is not true yet when this very thing was afterwards objected to him by the Pharisees in the Place before-cited makes answer in the following words Tho' I bear Record of my self Joh. 8.14 yet my Record is true for I know whence I came c. And that the Testimony of our Lord concerning his own divine Mission was such as we might rationally give Credit to tho' we had no other Evidence of it will I suppose sufficiently appear if these following things be consider'd 1. That his whole Life according to the Account that is given of it by the Evangelists which we now build upon as true was in all Respects spotless and unblameable 1 Pet. 2.22 1 Pet. 1.19 He did no Sin neither was Guile found in his Mouth He was a Lamb without blemish and without spot
less easie to conceive that a standing Revelation may be at once so contrived as to be for ever sufficient to direct Men in all Points of Practice Because altho' t is possible that every Age may afford new Instances of Wickedness yet the Law that they are all Transgressions of may be but one And the Rule once given is a perpetual Direction not only what to do but likewise what to avoid and this as well in those Instances of Wickedness which may be invented afterwards as in those which were in Practice before the Rule was made For he that giving Direction to a Traveller in his Way bids him keep strait forward shall not need if he speaks to a Man of Reason to tell him over and above that he must be careful to avoid all Turnings to the right hand or to the left and much less shall he need to give him a particular Account of every Turning that he is to avoid And tho' in Time to come there would be many more By-ways and Turnings out of the Road than there are at present yet the same one Direction to keep strait forward will be as full and as sufficient a Direction then as it is now And the Necessity that Humane Law-givers find themselves under to be every Day repealing former Laws and adding new Ones is not caused by an absolute Impossibility of making at once such a Body of Laws as might be sufficient for all after Times but arises as I suppose Partly from the Nature of Humane Laws which are for the most part Negative and Prohibitive only and by such a Law nothing is rendred unlawful but what is named and to name at once every thing that is then or may be in all after Ages needful to be prohibited would indeed be a Work of very great Difficulty Partly from the Nature of that Obedience that is due to a meer Humane Law which is only an external Obedience and to the Letter of the Law and that indeed must needs be a Law or a Body of Laws of a prodigious Bulk and very difficult to be contrived at once which in the Letter thereof shall comprehend and give Direction concerning every Action and every Mode of Action that are necessary to be done or forbore in order to the preserving Justice and Peace among Men Partly from the little Regard that Men generally have to the good of Posterity which makes them only careful to contrive such Orders and Constitutions as they hope will suffice to preserve Peace in their own time leaving it to those that come after to take the like Care for themselves in their Times Partly from the Weakness and Ignorance of the wisest of Men who not understanding exactly the Tempers of all their Subjects cannot know certainly what Effect their Laws will have till after they have been for some time experienced And partly from the unexpected Difficulty that is sometimes met with in the Execution of a Law which may make it necessary afterwards to enforce it with a greater Penalty or to take some further Care than at first was thought needful to see it executed But none of these Reasons of the Necessity of new Laws among Men are of any force to shew that it is also necessary that God should be every Day making new Declarations of his Will and that no Standing Revelation can be sufficient for all Times For the Laws of God are positive and commanding enjoining the truest and heartiest Love both to God and Men and every natural and proper Expression thereof and by consequence prohibiting every Affection of Mind and every outward Act that is contrary thereto whether it be expressly named or not And the Obedience that we owe to a divine Law is the Obedience of the Heart and of the whole inner Man such as looks beyond the Letter to the Design and Intention of the Law and avoids as carefully whatsoever is contrary to the Reason of the Law as if it had been forbidden in the most express Words And God being King for ever and ever has the same Relation to all Men in all Ages and cannot but be supposed to design the good Government of his Subjects in after as well as in former Times And he also understanding fully the Tempers of all his Subjects knows beforehand what Effect the Laws he gives them will have and can never be disappointed in his Expectation and so can never be obliged to repeal or alter any of his Laws by an unforeseen Experience that they are not so convenient or so effectual as he thought they would be And lastly He having all Power in his Hands and a soveraign and uncontroulable Dominion over all can appoint what Penalty he pleases to the Transgression of his Laws can at any time convict Transgressors by his own unerring Knowledge only and the Testimony of their guilty Consciences without other Witnesses and has it in his own single Power without any Help of others to execute when-ever he will whatever Penalty he threatens Thus I think it appears that a standing Revelation may be so well contrived as to be sufficient for all Times that all Matters necessary to be known and done by Men at all Times may be at once committed to Writing 2. But Secondly Tho' this be granted it may be still further objected against the Sufficiency of a Standing Revelation that it can hardly be sufficiently attested that there cannot be sufficient Evidence given to satisfie a Rational Man that any such Writing which is said to be of divine Inspiration and Authority is indeed so And that 1. Because there is no Way but Eye-witness to be sufficiently assured that any Book was written by the Person who is said to be the Author of it 2. Because there is no Way to be sufficiently assured that the Author of such a Book did not design to impose upon his Readers And 3. Because no Man can be sure that he himself was not deceived in his Opinion of his own Inspiration or of a Revelation made to him or in the Truth of any other Matter which he has related as of his own Knowledge 1. It may be said that there is no Way but Eye-witness to be sufficiently assured that any Book was written by the Person that is said to be the Author of it But that is very strange that there should be no other Way to be sufficiently assured of the Author of any Book and yet that there are a great many Books in the World ancient as well as modern the Authors whereof were never in the least doubted of who yet I suppose did not use to call together a Company of Men to stand by and see them write those Books which they intended to Publish It seems then that either there may be besides Eye-witness sufficient Reason to believe that a Book was written by the Person under whose Name it goes or else that all the World has been extremely credulous in receiving an infinite Number
of Books as written by such and such Authors without sufficient Assurance thereof But I believe the Truth is There are some Men who for Reasons best known to themselves but which may some of them be easily enough guessed at will not allow that to be sufficient Evidence that a Book was written by a Prophet or an Apostle which they must and do allow to be sufficient Evidence in any other Case of the like Nature For in other Cases we make no Doubt to receive a Book as written by such an Author if he owns himself to be the Author of it or if it be shewn written with his own Hand or if they that are the Publishers of it declare that they had it from him as his own or that they transcribed or printed it from a Copy which they knew to be of his Hand-writing or if it passes current in common Fame and Report to be his and his most intimate friends believe it so and he himself does not disown it and there be none else that pretend any Claim or Title to it Where these or most of these Circumstances do concurr we never doubt but that the Person said to be the Author of such a Book is so indeed unless there be some very clear Reason grounded upon the known Incapacity of the Person to write in such a Language in such a Stile concerning such a Subject or the like whereby it may be demonstrated that whoever was he could not be the Author of it The truth is Now adays and I suppose the Case was much the same formerly whoever is the true Author of any Book finds very little Difficulty to make Men believe that the Book is his the greatest Difficulty is for a Man to conceal himself in case he be not willing to be known to be the Author of it And when once a Book is generally receiv'd as written by such a Person when I say 't is thus receiv'd in that Age in which it was first publish'd and by those that were in the best Capacity to inquire and to judge who was the true Author of it they that live in after times never think it reasonable to question the Authority thereof unless there be evidently something either in the Language Dialect or Stile or else in the Matter of the Book as in the Relation of some Piece of History the References to some ancient Customs the Citations out of other Authors or the like by which it may be clearly made out that the Book cannot be of such Antiquity as it pretends to or could not be the Writing of that Person who is reported and has been commonly taken to be the Author of it Upon such Reasons as these a great many Books are every Day received as written by such and such Authors and tho' we cannot be so sure of a thing that we believe upon these Inducements as we are of what we see with our own Eyes yet such Reasons as these are by the general Consent of Mankind judged to be sufficient in a Matter of this Nature which is hardly capable of better Proof And for a Man to disallow in one Case that same Evidence of the Truth of a Matter of Fact which in other Cases of the like kind he allows to be sufficient for a Man to receive a Book as written by another Person and not to receive a Book as written by a Prophet or an Apostle when he has as much Reason to receive one as the other and no more Reason to reject one than the other is not Judgment or Discretion or reasonable Caution but manifest Prejudice and Partiality But 2. It was further said That tho' we might be well enough assured that a Book was written by the Person who is said to be the Author of it there is no Way to be sufficiently assured that who he was the Author of it did not design to impose upon his Readers It seems then there is no Way to be sufficiently satisfied that any Man is an honest Man and fit to be credited that he does not lye in every thing he says and intend a Cheat in every thing he does For if a Man may be believed in what he says he may as well be believed in what he writes And if he may be trusted in one Concern he may be as safely trusted in another unless good Reason can be shewed to the contrary But in judging of humane Nature in general Men commonly judge of others by themselves What they are inclined to they think is the Inclination of Mankind what they allow themselves in they think others whatever they may pretend make as little scruple of as they do what they freely practice they make no Doubt other Men would practise as freely on the same Occasions and upon the same Inducements So that when any Man is so very suspectful of the Honesty and Veracity of other Men it gives but too just Ground to think that the Reason of his Aptness to distrust all others is his Consciousness of his own evil Designs and of the little Regard that he himself has to Truth in his own Assertions And if those he has to deal with should refuse to give any Credit to any thing that he affirms because according to his own declared Opinion very little Credit can reasonably be given to the Report and Affirmation of others I do not see with what Reason he can blame them for so doing Not but that after all 't is possible that a Man may 't is doubtless what has been done by some give out a Report or write Book on purpose to deceive Mankind But nevertheless I say that it ought not without very good Reason to be suspected that this is any Man's Design and that we may have Assurance enough that a thing is not which yet we must grant was possible to have been Particularly as to the Matter we are now speaking of First In case the Author of any Book or of any Report relates a Matter of Fact of which there are not nor well could be any other Witnesses but himself as if he says that he has received from God such a Revelation with order to publish it to the World or that he himself was an Eye or Ear-witness that such a thing was privately done or spoken by another the Credibility of such a Report whether written or spoken depends Partly upon the Nature of the Report its self Partly upon the Credit of its Author And partly upon the Proofs that he gives of his Honesty and Veracity in that particular And where there is a full Concurrence of all these that is When the Matter of the Report is credible in its self when its Author is a Person of Credit and when he gives the best Proofs that can be of his Veracity in that particular there is no Reason to reject his Testimony there is sufficient Reason to give Credit to it 1. If the Matter of his Report be credible in its
other Matter that he has related as of his own Knowledge that 't is possible there might be Mistake in the Sign and Proof of the divine Revelation as well as in the Revelation its self that 't is possible that the Author of the Report whether it was the Prophet himself or any other Man who has reported the Miracles done by the Prophet as Matters of his own Knowledge did imagine he saw things which he did not see and that he heard things which he did not hear But if this be supposed possible that any Man and much more that several Men agreeing in the same Report the Organs of whose Senses were rightly disposed and who by all their other Actions and Discourses appeared to be sober and considerate and judicious should yet in the Day time and in a clear Light and when they were sure they were broad awake be mistaken in the plainest Matters of Sense then there is no such thing as Certainty in the World Then they that make the Objection can be no more sure of what they themselves see and hear than other Men can be And 't is to no Purpose to hold an Argument with such as dare not believe their own Eyes and Ears The only sense whereby I think such Men can be convinced must be Feeling And it will be well for them if they can carry the same Scepticism with them into the other World and when they are compassed about with the Flames of Hell can be able to doubt whether it be a real or a painted fire whether they are tormented in that Flame or not Leaving these therefore to be convinced in the other World as being I think not capable of Conviction here I shall content my self with having said what I suppose is enough to satisfie others That the Witness of a plain Matter of Fact may be sure of the Truth of what he witnesses and that 't is possible for God to speak so plainly to Men that they may be certain they have had a divine Revelation and that such Evidence may be given of the Veracity of an Author and of the Authority of a Book as is sufficient to satisfie a reasonable Man And by this and what was said before I hope I have made it appear that a Standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient to effect its Design viz. to bring Men to Repentance Whether the Standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scripture be sufficient for this Purpose will be Matter of Enquiry in the next Discourses In the mean time what has been already said may serve to dispose us to hear without Prejudice the Arguments that may be offered to prove the sufficiency of the Holy Scripture For 1. If it be possible that there may be such a Standing Revelation it is very probable that there is one for from that natural Notion that we have of the Goodness of God it may be fairly argued that he is not wanting to Men in the necessary Means of Salvation and therefore it being evident that there are not new Revelations made every Day it may be reasonably concluded that the Reason is because there is already some Standing Revelation of God's Will extant that is sufficient to direct us in the Way to Happiness And 2. If there be already any such Standing Revelation extant it may be strongly presumed that it is that which we have in the Holy Scripture because there is no other Book that we know of which has such good Evidences of divine Authority and Inspiration as that has Let us then be prepared to inquire into the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Faith and Religion with unprejudiced Minds with a sincere Love and Desire of Truth and with a Resolution to hear Reason and to be convinced by it And above all which indeed is the best Preparation for Truth and the best Security against Error let us in the Sincerity of our Hearts apply our selves to God for his Help and Direction And that our Prayer may be effectual let us be careful to approve our selves to him by a conscientious Discharge of all those Duties of Piety Justice Temperance and Charity which are clearly taught even by natural Reason and be readily disposed to practise whatever else we shall learn to be our Duty by any farther Illumination Joh. 7.17 for if any Man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God FINIS ERRATA IN Epist Ded. l. 3. r. Arch-Bishop p. 8. l. 31. r. forborn p. 13. l. 19. r. he who p. 14. l. 16. r. a Book THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE Scripture-Revelation As to the Matter of it A SERMON Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul February the 5 th 1699 700. BEING The Second for the Year 1700 of the LECTURE Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq By OFSPRING BLACKALL Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead THE first thing which I propounded to do in Discoursing on these Words was to endeavour to shew that the present Standing Revelation of God's Will contained in the Books of the Old and New Testament is abundantly sufficient to persuade Men to Repentance if they are not unreasonably blind and obstinate They have Moses and the Prophets they have also Christ and his Apostles let them hear them And if that Standing Revelation which God hath made to us of his Will in the Holy Scriptures can upon any Account be thought insufficient to effect this Design it must be I think either 1. Because no Standing Revelation can be sufficient for this Purpose Or 2. Because there are some particular Defects in that Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a Standing Revelation might be I have therefore in a former Discourse upon these Words endeavoured to shew in general that a Standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient for this Purpose I proceed now in the second place 2. To Consider whether that Standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures be such a Revelation whether it be sufficient to persuade Men to Repentance and fully to direct them in the Way to Happiness Or whether there be not some particular Defects in this Revelation which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a Standing Revelation might be And if there be any such Defect
Christ every one that had heard him Preach and had been a Witness of his Life and Miracles and Resurrection and had received the Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost did write a distinct Gospel giving an Account of some of the most remarkable Passages of our Saviour's Life which he had been a Witness of and did likewise as he had Occasion write Epistles or other Tracts for the Use and Instruction of the Christian Church every one of all which Books if they were now extant and as well attested as the Books of the New Testament are would be of equal Authority with them because dictated by the same Spirit by which all the Apostles were led into all Truth and had all things that Jesus had spoken brought to their Remembrance yet I say it would by no Means follow from hence either that those Books which are now lost if indeed there are any lost that were written by the Apostles were needless when they were written or that those which do now remain are not sufficient And a very little Consideration of the State of things as it was then and as it is now will make this which I have said very plain For the Case then was thus The Gospel of Christ was to be preached to the whole World by a few Persons who had been Eye-witnesses of his Miracles and were enabled by the Power of the Holy Ghost to confirm their Testimony of him by doing the like Miracles themselves And that this great Work might be accomplished within the Term of their Life it was necessary that they should quickly disperse themselves into all Parts of the World one going this Way and another that according as they had agreed among themselves or were directed by the Spirit And in this Division of Countries every one had a large Province assigned to him so that having much Work to do in a little Time he could not well stay long in one Place And upon this account it might be very proper for him after he had preached the Gospel in one City and made a good number of Converts and ordained Elders and established a Christian Church there when he went thence to leave behind him in Writing the Sum of what he had before preached among them for the Help of their Memories for the Direction of their Pastors and to prevent any Mis-representation that might afterwards be made of his Doctrine by ignorant or designing Men And after he was gone from thence he might have frequent Occasion to send them Letters either to confirm them in their Faith or to caution them against some Errors which he had heard were springing up among them or to correct some Fault in their Discipline or Manners By this Means I say it might well enough be tho' there be no Evidence that it was so that in the first Age of Christianity there might be besides occasional Letters as many distinct Gospels as there were Apostles every One writing a Gospel for the proper Use of those Churches which he himself had planted and in the Language that was best known to them And this if it was done might be no more than might be then necessary when it was not so easy as it is now since the Increase of Commerce and Navigation and the Invention of Printing to communicate and disperse the Books that are Published in one Country to other Countries that are far distant Besides if this could have been done then it can't well be supposed that a Gospel written by any other of the Apostles who had never been in that Province or Division and of whom they had never heard perhaps more than only his Name should be at first of so great Authority to them as a Gospel written by that very Apostle by whose Ministry they had been converted and of whose Miracles they themselves had been Witnesses Thus it might be and if it was so it might be agreeable to the divine Wisdom and Goodness so to order it that before those Books of the New Testament which we now have could be well dispersed and upon good Attestation receiv'd in all Christian Countries some particular Churches and especially those most remote from Judea should have for their present Use other Books written by some other of the Apostles containing the same Form of sound Words and relating the same things concerning the Life and Doctrine of our Saviour that these do And that some of those many Books which might be written by the Apostles or other inspired Men upon this Subject should be lost is no Marvel at all 't is rather a Wonder considering the Poverty of the first Christians and the constant Persecutions they were then under and the many Revolutions of Government that have been in Christendom since that time that so many as we have now left could be preserved for so many Ages before Printing was found out And those were of all the most like to be lost which were published in rude and barbarous Countries and which were written in some Language that was peculiar to one Nation only And those the most easie and consequently the most probable to be preserved which were published in the learned Part of the World and written in the most learned Language then in Use But altho' a greater Number of inspired Books than are now extant might be necessary in the first Age of Christianity before the Christian Churches then newly planted in all Countries of the then known World could have Communication with one another it cannot be argued from hence that those Books which we have now remaining are not sufficient for the present Time and for all the Time that has passed since the other Books were lost But rather it may very reasonably be presumed that there was nothing more for Substance in those Books which are supposed to be lost than there is in these which are now remaining so that the Loss of them may be no real Loss or Detriment to Religion and those which remain and are now receiv'd in all Christian Churches may be abundantly sufficient to instruct us in all Points of Christian Faith and Practice And there is indeed no Reason to think they are not seeing some of those single Books which we have now were written for this very Purpose were designed as Compendiums of the whole Christian Institution For St. Luke wrote his Gospel that Theophilus might know the Certainty of those things wherein he had been instructed And if this was the Evangelist's Design Luke 1.4 it can't be supposed but that he thought he had put into his Gospel whatever was necessary or very material And St. John in the same Place where he acknowledges that he had omitted the Relation of many things which Jesus did Joh. 20.30 31. says that he had written the things contained in his Gospel that Men might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing they might have Life through his Name By which it appears that
he thought he himself had written enough in his Gospel to persuade Men to believe in Christ and to direct them in the Way to eternal Life There being therefore in those Books of the New Testament which we now have several Abridgments of the whole Christian Doctrine it cannot with any Reason be pretended that all these Books together are not sufficient fully to instruct us therein Besides The Gospel of Christ that was preached suppose by St. Thomas in India or by St. Simon in Africa or by any other of the Apostles in Countries remote from Judea or without the Bounds of the Roman Empire was undoubtedly the very same Gospel that was preached by St. Peter and St. Paul or those other of the Apostles whose Books are now extant and received by the Catholick Church for they were all taught by the same Master Christ and were all enlightned by the same Holy Ghost so that if any of them did as 't is reported they did write any Gospels for the present Use of those particular Churches which they had planted tho' they might be somewhat different from any of the four Gospels which we now have in the Expression or perhaps in the Relation of some particular Passages of our Saviour's Life which our Evangelists have omitted just as the four Gospels which we now have do differ from one another yet for Substance they must needs have been the same with these and with one another if indeed they were all true Relations of the Matters of which the Authors thereof had been Witnesses so that if we had them all now they could all together teach us no other Doctrines than are taught in the Books of the New Testament Nevertheless I do not deny but that if we had more Books of this Kind than we have that if we had all the Books that were written by the Apostles or their immediate Successors who had been taught by them they might be of very good Use to us to help us to understand more readily and easily those Books which we have as now we receive from some Portions of Holy Scripture great Light to help us to understand and to put a right Interpretation upon others But perhaps it was for this very Reason that the Providence of God did order no more to be written than were written or has suffered those to be lost that are supposed to be lost that it might cost us some Pains and Study to understand our Religion that so our Knowledge as well as our Practice being in some Measure the Fruit of our own Industry might be a proper Subject of Reward In short That there were more Books in the first Age of Christianity written by Apostles or other inspired Men than are now extant or than if extant can be well proved to be of their Writing is a Point which I believe cannot be now upon any certain Evidence either affirmed or denied But if it be granted I say however there is no Reason to inferr from thence that those which we now have are not sufficient For if there be a God and a Providence and if there be any Truth in the Scripture Declarations of the Love of God to Mankind and that he would have all Men to be saved and to come to the Knowledge of the Truth most certainly the necessary Means of Mens Salvation is a proper Subject of the divine Care And if so it can't be thought but that the same good Providence which as is now supposed took Care for the writing of more Books when more might be necessary has likewise taken Care for the Preservation of so many of these Books as are now sufficient Or if the Men we are now arguing with will not grant that there is such a particular Providence of God yet if they will but allow that God is just that he is not a hard Master expecting to reap where he has not sown I think they must allow that all things necessary to our Salvation not knowable by Reason are taught in the Books of Holy Scripture which we now have because there are no other Books extant which we have reason to receive and accept as divine Revelation Or if they deny this it will lie upon them to produce those other Books which we ought to receive besides these and to give good Evidence to the World of their divine Authority Which when they have done or if they shall but only shew that there is as good Reason to receive them as these We must own our selves to blame if we shall not then take them also into the Canon of Scripture But till that shall be done what hath been already said is enough to shew that the Holy Scripture is a compleat Rule both of Faith and Manners Especially considering as was noted before that when-ever the Insufficiency of Scripture in this Respect is urged by those who do not believe the Scripture which are the Persons I have now to deal with it can be only for Cavilling sake the true Reason of their Backwardness to receive it as a divine Revelation being not because it teaches not enough but because it teaches more than they are willing to believe and commands more than they are disposed to practise For I cannot imagine that these Men do truly desire more Duty than is laid upon them in the Books of Scripture now received by the Christian Church But what they may most reasonably be thought to desire is either some better Encouragement to undertake that difficult Task which the Scripture lays upon them or some better Evidence that the Scripture is a divine Revelation I proceed now therefore to the second thing propounded which was 2. To shew that the Motives which the Scripture proposes are sufficient to persuade Men to do what it requires Now Hopes and Fears are the great Springs of Action and the greater the Good is we hope for or the Evil we fear the stronglier do they move and incline us to Action And therefore how difficult soever the Undertaking be so it be but possible if the Motives are proportioned to the Difficulty they must be granted to be sufficient Inducements to undertake it But that the Task or Business required of us is possible to be done needs not to be proved now because it must be granted by those who say they believe they should be persuaded to do what is required if they had better Encouragement for no Arguments or Motives whatsoever can reasonably persuade a Man to undertake a thing that he believes impossible Supposing it therefore possible I say that whatsoever Difficulty there really is or we may apprehend there is in a Christian Life if any Motives that could possibly be proposed to us can be thought sufficient to induce us to undertake it most evidently those Motives which the Gospel proposes are so because better or greater cannot be so much as conceived or imagined seeing both the good things which it promises to persuade us to Virtue and
by so many different and far distanâ— Nations without some good Grounds is not conceâ—vable because it can neither be imagined that thâ— Christians of the present Age dispersed in all Countriâ— should combine together to say that they receiv'â— these Books from their Fathers as the genuine Wrâ—tings of the Apostles if they had not so receiv'd them nor that their Forefathers in any of the Ages paâ—â— should have all agreed together to put a Cheat upoâ— their Posterity by delivering down to them theâ—â— Books as written by the Apostles when they themselves had no good Reason to believe them so or whâ—â— they knew the contrary It is a further Satisfaction to us to observe and consider that the Authority of these Books is as well proved as it can be not only by oral but also by the best written Tradition The Christian Writers of all Ages citing them as they had Occasion as the genuine Writings of the Apostles And that as well before the Canon of the New Testament was defined and declared by Councils as since And lastly It gives us very good Satisfaction that these Books are the genuine Writings of the Persons to whom they are ascribed that we do not find they were ever excepted against as spurious and counterfeit in those times when it would have been most proper to have made the Exception and by those Persons whose Cause and Interest it would have served very much to have proved them Spurious if it could have been done For the proper time to have made this Exception to these Writings was when or soon after they were first published when it would have been easie to have proved them Spurious if they had been so and no less easie to have brought positive Evidence of their being Genuine if indeed they were Genuine either by the living Testimony of the Authors themselves or of others that knew their Writing or by producing the original Copies under their own Hands And therefore their being then received as the Writings of the Apostles by those who were best able to know whose Writings they were and their being not for ought appears excepted against upon this Account at that time â—s a very good Argument that there was no just Ground for any such Exception And the most likely Persons they whose Cause and Interest it would have served most to deny that these Books were written by the reputed Authors thereof were the Enemies of our Religion The Jews or the Heathens who neither of them wanted either Malice or Wit to alledge any Fact that they could have justified the Truth of in Disproof of the Christian Religion It is therefore no small Satisfaction to us to observe that they never argued against the Christian Religion from this Topic that they never denied that the Books which the Christians received as written by the Apostles were genuine Nay that Julian himself one of the subt'lest as well as of the bitterest Adversaries of the Christian Faith did yet expresly own that the Books read by the Christians as the Books of Peter Paul Matthew Mark and Luke were indeed theirs After all indeed it must be owned that we have not such Demonstration that the Books of the New Testament were written by the Apostles as is self-evident and cannot possibly be contradicted for the Matter it self is not capable of such Demonstration But we have such Demonstration of it as cannot be contradicted with any Reason We have as good Assurance of it as we have or can have of any Matter of that kind We have as good Evidence of the Truth of it as supposing it to be true we could have of it and more than this cannot be desired We are as morally certain that these Books were written by the Authors to whom they are ascribed as we are that any other ancient Book was written by the Person who is said to be the Author of it There being no Argument by which it is or can be proved that any ancient Book was written by the Person who is said to be the Author of it which does not prove the Authority of these Books rather more strongly than it does the Authority of any other Book And there being no Argument that is or can be urged against the Authority of these Books which may not with as good Reason be urged to disprove the Authority of any other Book of the like Antiquity nay indeed of all the Books in the World ancient or modern the Authors of which are not now living or of whose Writing the Books ascribed to them no living Evidence can be produced For what is there that can be said to disprove or to render suspected the Authority of these Books but only that there is a Possibility that Things may not be as we believe them to be It may be the Atheist or Infidel will say that these Books were not written by the Persons under whose Names we receive them but by some others It may be he 'll say for Instance that there never was such a Man as Matthew the Publican afterwards an Apostle of Christ Or if there was yet it may be that the Gospel that goes under his Name was not of his Writing but is a Book of a much later Date It may be that it was written by some crafty Priest no longer ago than the last Age And that he and some others in Confederacy with him at the same Time that they forged this Gospel in the Greek Tongue did likewise make and contrive all those Translations of it into several Languages that are now extant some of which pretend to very great Antiquity and which are all made with such an Appearance of Truth and with such Congruity to the several Times in which they are said to be made that none of the Learned Men of the present Age have been able to discover the Fraud And It may be also that when they forged the Gospel it self they forged likewise all the other Books that are pretended to be written by several Historians and Divines in divers Languages and in several Ages of the World for Sixteen Hundred Years past in which this Gospel is either testified to be written by St. Matthew or is cited or commented upon as his And it may be likewise that at the same Time that they trumped up all these Books in one Countrey they had their Confederates and Correspondents that did the same in all the other Countries where they are now found not only exposing them to publick Sale as Books of ancient Date and venerable Antiquity but likewise slily conveying an infinite Number of written and printed Copies of the same into all Libraries both publick and private unknown to the Keepers and Owners thereof And it may be that all these things were done so secretly that none of the Confederacy did ever confess nor any besides ever discover the Cheat And it may be that all the rest of the World was so much asleep at that time as to have
no Suspicion of what was done nor any Sense of that great Alteration that had been made in the World by these Books nor any Remembrance afterwards when they awoke and found themselves Christians that they had been of some other Religion before when they were first taken with that Lethargick Fit But if these things may be what is there of this kind that may not be If the World be so much mistaken in this Matter it may be as much mistaken in any other Matter of the like Nature And then It may be that there never was such a Man as Homer or Virgil or Coesar or Cicero or Plutarch or any other of those Persons as whose Writings we now receive the Books that go under their Names but that all the Books pretended to be written by those Authors and likewise all the Books of later Date whereby the Authority of those former Books is attested were in like Manner contrived and made and dispersed by such another Gang of crafty and designing Knaves who took a Pleasure in abusing the rest of the World or hoped to make a Gain to themselves â—hereby Nay then for why should we stop here It may be that not only the Laws of our Religion but the Laws of our Civil State too are all forged and counterfeit It may be that once upon a time The Keeper of the Publick Records having by much and long Observation attained to good Skill â—n the ancient Ways of Writing for many Ages backward and being a compleat Master of his Pen and having also gotten an Art to make a fresh Writing seem just as old as he had a Mind it should be thought to be did compose and deposite in â—heir proper Places those Original Acts of Parliament which are now taken to be the Laws of some of our former Kings and that to confirm and establish his Fraud he procured some other Persons at the same Time to Write or Print and to convey into all Shops and Libraries several Books of Reports and Pleadings wherein these counterfeit Acts were cited and referred to and it may be that while as this was doing none else had their Eyes open to see it nor had ever after the least Suspicion of what was done Or if they had yet that they were so well pleased with the Cheat which they thought would be a good Means of preserving Peace and Justice in the Nation as to be willing it should pass to Posterity undiscovered These May be 's are I am sure every whit as possible and as likely as the other Either therefore let those Men who upon this Account doubt of the Authority of the Books of the New Testament Or who would make others doubt of it only by suggesting that it is a thing possible in Nature that they may be all forged and counterfeit let them I say either entertain and suggest the same Doubt concerning all other ancient Books of the Antiquity and Authority of which there is not greater Evidence than there is of these And then they will render themselves so justly ridiculous to the World that there will be no Need to expose their Folly for then they must call in Question the Authority of all Books and the Truth of all History Or else let them fairly own that the true Reason of their making a Doubt concerning these Books rather than concerning others is because they do not relish the Matter of them because they find it easier to resist that strong Evidence that is given of the Authority of these Books than they do to govern their Lives according to those strict Rules of Holiness and Purity that are therein prescribed and to bring their Wills to the Obedience of Faith And if they will but own this which I believe is the Truth their Prejudice and Partiality will be so evident to all that it may be reasonably hoped their impious Suggestions will do but little Harm in the World and that few Men of any Sense or Reason will be so fool-hardy as to venture their Souls and run the Hazard of a miserable Eternity upon so many and such very improbable I had almost said such impossible may be 's as must be supposed to have been if indeed these Books are forged and counterfeit if indeed they were not written by those Persons whom they are commonly ascribed to But yielding this Point may the Atheist or Infidel farther say viz. that the Gospel called St. Matthew's was written by St. Matthew and that of St. Mark by St. Mark and the Rest of the Books which are ascribed to any other certain Authors by those Persons to whom they are severally ascribed yet the Authority of the whole New Testament will not by this Concession be sufficiently established For of some Books of the New Testament the Authors are not known of others they are doubted Some Parts of this Book that are now received have been rejected in ancient Times and â—thers not universally receiv'd And besides 't is cerâ—ain that in the early Times of Christianity there were several Counterfeit Gospels and Epistles some of which may possibly have slipped into the Canon unawares And lastly If it be granted that all the Books of the New Testament were originally written â—y the Apostles or other Inspired Men yet however the Books that we now have are but Copies in which many Alterations may have been made by designing Men or careless Transcribers These Objections or Cavils rather for such I am sure they would be accounted in any other Case against the Authority of these Sacred Books have been urged by some Men both anciently and lately But they have been also so well and fully answered by those learned Persons that have written in Defence of the Canon that I once thought to have taken no Notice of them and I believe had not done it but that I considered on the other Hand that when an old Objection that has been answered an Hundred times is urged afresh a great many may take it for a new one and if it be not quickly answered may be apt to think it unanswerable so that in this Case it may be better to repeat the same Answer if it be a good one that has been often formerly made to it than to say nothing And besides in this degenerate Age in which any wild or Atheistical Discourse passes for Wit it may be the Hap of some Persons who have not much Mind or Leisure or Opportunity to read Books to hear these things in Conversation and not knowing readily what Answers to make to them to be somewhat staggered in their Belief thereby Especially if they be such whose loose and licentious Way of Living makes them easie to receive without Examination any Notions that may give them Ease or Encouragement in Sin For these Reasons therefore I thought it would not be amiss especially because it is a Matter properly belonging to the Subject I am now upon and because I have some time left for it to
the Copies thereof that â—ere generally in Mens Hands In which there is â—en to this Day an admirable Agreement in all Matâ—â—rs of Moment And from that general Agreement â—â—at always was in all the Copies of this Book exâ—â—pt those few that were sometimes corrupted by Heâ—â—ticks to serve a Turn their Attempts of this kind â—â—ve been always rendred successless and those false â—octrines that were justified only by their own false â—opies of this Book solidly confuted 3. It is further answered that not only there is no â—â—idence that there has been but that 't is morally â—â—possible that there should be a general Depravation 〈◊〉 the Copies of this Book either designedly or by â—ance in any Place of great Consequence either Point of History or Doctrine For when was it possible that this Corruption should be Was it in the Copies that were given out in the Days of the Apostles and while they were living This can't well be supposed Or if it had been done then it can't be thought but that the Authors of these Books being living would have taken Care to have had such false Copies of their Books suppressed or well corrected or at least have given publick Notice in order to their Correction of those Faults that had been committed in the transcribing which did either obscure or spoil their sense Was it then in the Times immediately after the Apostles were dead But neither could this be for by this time an infinite Number of true Copies had been made and dispersed in all Parts of the Christian Church And besides the Autographs of the Books themselves were then probably all in being For Tertullian who lived in the Third Century witnesses that some of them were extant and to be seen even in his Time So that by comparing of the new false Copies with the ancient true ones or with the Originals themselves then extant the Fraud would have been quickly discovered or the Mistake easily rectified Was it then in the Times after this when the Originals were lost or worn out This was still less possible For by this Time not only a greater Number of true Copies thereof in the Original Greek were dispersed and in the Hands of all Christians but several Translations thereof had been likewise made into other Languages several Commentaries had been written thereupon and the most material Passages thereof had been occasionally cited by the Christian Writers of those or the foregoing Times And the further we go on downwards 't was still for such Reasons as have been given already more impossible that the Copies of this Book should be generally corrupted in any Place or Matter of Moment as well as more likely that there should be every Day an Increase of such small and literal Mistakes as could hardly be avoided by the greatest Care and Faithfulness And these are the Various Readings before spoken of Concerning which and in Answer to the before-mentioned Objection so far as it is grounded upon them it is farther said 4. In the fourth Place That they are no other than such as are to be met with in Comparing the Manuscripts of all other Books That these various Readings if they be compared together with Judgment are more like to lead us to understand the true Meaning of the Writers than to endanger our mistaking their Sense it being very probable that when there are several Readings one of them is the right and easier by their Help to rectifie the Mistakes that may have been made in some Copies than it would have been if all Copies had agreed in the same Mistake And lastly that it is hardly in any Place of which there are such various Readings very material which is the true Reading there being no Point that is of the Substance either of the History or Doctrine of Christianity that is grounded upon any Text of which there are in different Copies various Readings but which may be proved by some other Texts in the Reading whereof all Copies do agree 5. And Lastly In Answer to this Objection that the Text of the New Testament is depraved and corrupted and consequently of uncertain Authority it is further said That supposing these Books to be written by the Apostles and by divine Direction and Inspiration which must be supposed or at least for Argument sake be allow'd by those that make this Objection Or else the Objection is trifling it is by no Means credible that the same Goodness of God which took Care for the Writing has not likewise taken Care for the preserving of these Books so free at least from Corruption that they may be sufficient to answer the Ends for which they were written that is fully to instruct Men in all Points of Christian Faith and Practice to make them wise unto Salvation and throughly to furnish them unto all good Works And now from all that hath been said I hope it appears that we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books of the New Testament were written by those Persons whose Names they bear or to whom they are ascribed viz. by the Apostles of Christ or other inspired Men Which was the first thing I was to make good Whether there be sufficient Reason to give them Credit in the Matters of Fact which they have related and whether the Doctrine of the Gospel be well proved by the History of it shall God willing be hereafter enquired In the mean Time supposing their Testimony to be credible what has been said upon this first Head may serve to shew in some Measure the Unreasonableness of those Men who are not satisfied with the Scripture Revelation For I believe there are few that have heard anything of the Manner of the first Preaching of the Gospel but who think that they that lived in those Times and heard the Apostles themselves had sufficient Reason to receive their Testimony And this perhaps they 'll say is what they could with for themselves viz. That they might have heard the Apostles themselves or that they might now have as good and sure Grounds of Faith as those had who were converted to Christianity by the Preaching of the Apostles which if they had they make no Doubt but they should be not only almost but altogether such as the Primitive Christians were both in Belief and Practice But if they are not such now 't is much to be doubted whether they would have been such if they had lived then For by what has been now said it appears that the Books of the New Testament being as we have very good Reason to believe they were written by the Apostles themselves are their Words their Sermons that therein the Apostles themselves being dead do yet truly speak to us the very same things tho' not just in the same Manner that they spake before while they were living and that their Testimony written if indeed it be theirs which I have shewn there is no Cause to doubt of is as credible as their living Testimony
is enough in all Reason and as much as could be expected in this Case supposing there Facts to be true that they are not by any Historians that were of another Religion contradicted or attempted to be disprov'd more than this would have been too much And should we now in some ancient Manuscript History new brought 〈◊〉 Light and bearing the Name of some Jewish or Heathen Author find a large and formal Account of any of those Facts relating to the Christian Religion that are recorded in the Gospel this would give very just ground to suspect that the whole History whatever other Appearance it had of Truth was forged and counterfeit or at least that those Passages speaking honourably of the Christian Religion or the Author of it were knavishly foisted into the Book by some Christian Transcriber For this is indeed the best Argument that is brought to discredit some Passages of this kind that are now to be found in some Heathen or Jewish Historians and particularly in Josephus viz. that they say more than was proper or likely to be said by Heathens or Jews that if those Passages are genuine and the Authors had believed what they themselves wrote they must have been Christians Now this I 'm sure is not fair Dealing that the Paucity and slenderness of those corroborating Testimonies to the Truth of the Christian History that are to be met with in other Historians and that the Multitude and Fulness of such Testimonies should both be urged as Arguments against Christianity And therefore when they are both urged as they are and have been by our Adversaries we may reasonably conclude that the Truth is in the Mean and that there are indeed no more nor no fewer Testimonies of this kind to be met with in other Writers and that they are not either more or less to the Purpose than supposing the Christian History to be true might fairly be expected It only remains then that we enquire whether there be in the Gospel History any intrinsick Evidences of Falshood And 't is pretended by the Adversaries of our Religion that there are many such For there are they say some things related in the Gospel History that are altogether incredible and there is they say oftentimes great Difference in the several Relations of the same Story by the several Evangelists And not only so but there are they say besides in their several Histories compared together some flat Contradictions and Repugnancies I intended therefore at the End of this Discourse if I had had time for it to have spoken largely upon this Subject But because I have not must referr you to those Books that have been written on purpose to give an Account of the difficult Texts of Scripture and to reconcile those that are seemingly repugnant Or for want of such Books to any good Commentary on the Bible in which you will hardly fail to meet with Satisfaction in any Difficulty of this kind if you read it with a Mind disposed to receive satisfaction And I shall conclude this Discourse with only observing in General 1. That the pretended Impossibilities that are said to be related in the Sacred History are only Difficulties They are indeed Events above and beyond the known Power and common Course of Nature but they are such as are easily Credible when they are ascribed as they must be to the Almighty power of God 2. That the Difference that may sometimes be observ'd in the several Relations of the same Story by the several Evangelists is very inconsiderable consisting only in this That one perhaps relates the Story in a different Order of things than another does Or that One tells it briefly another more at large Or One with a few another with more Circumstances Or that some Circumstances are mentioned by each of them which the other had omitted So that this Observation is so far from being a just Objection against the Truth of the History that it is rather a Proof and Confirmation of it For 't is an Argument that the Evangelists did not conferr together in the Writing of their Histories and that they did not Copy or Transcribe from one another but that every one of them reported the Story he wrote in such manner as he himself remembred it to have been and with such Circumstances as he himself took most notice of And 3. As to the Repugnancies and Inconsistences that are said to be in the Evangelical History These we absolutely deny I have not time now to consider or attempt to reconcile all the Places that are pretended to be contradictory to each other but those Passages which seem most liable to this Exception are I think the Relation of Judas's Death and the Account of our Saviour's Genealogy But as to the first There is plainly no Impossibility no Contradiction in it if we should say that after he had hanged himself as St. Matthew Mat. 27.5 Acts 1.18 says he did fall down and his Bowels gush'd out as St. Luke affirms Or it may be that he did not hang himself but only was * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 choaked or suffocated by the violence of his Grief and that the same Passion by which he was strangled made him also fall down headlong and burst assunder in the midst so that all his Bowels gushed out And as to the other when 't is remembred that by the Jewish Law the next of Kin was to raise up Seed to his near Relation that died without Issue Deut. 25.5 by Marrying his Widow and that the First-born of the Woman after such second Marriage was reputed in Law the Son as well as he was the Heir of the Deceased so that consequently the same Person might be the Legal Son of one Man and the Natural Son of another Man tho' it may be difficult perhaps impossible for us at this Distance of Time to say with certainty which of the two different Lines by which our Saviour's Pedigree is deduced from David is the Legal and which the Natural Line it is very easie nevertheless to believe that one is the Legal and that the other is the Natural Line and if so there is plainly no Contradiction between the two Evangelists altho' St. Matthew Mat. 1.16 makes our Saviour to be descended from Solomon and St. Luke from Nathan altho' St. Matthew says that Joseph the Husband of the Blessed Virgin was the Son of Jacob and St. Luke Luâ—e 3.23 that he was the Son of Heli. And now the Truth of the Gospel History being as I hope by what hath bâ—en said sufficiently established I should proceed to shew That if the Matters of Fact related in the New Testament are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and Divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein Taught But I am sensible that I have trespassed too much upon your Patience already and so shall reserve this for the Subject of my next Discourse FINIS ERRATA IN
Part of my Discourse and therefore shall lengthen it no further Heb. 6.9 I am persuaded better things of you and things that accompany Salvation For your Presence here in the House of God and in the Assembly of Christians makes it reasonable to believe that you are already convinced not only of the Being and Providence of God but likewise of the Truth of the Christian Religion and of the Divine Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scriptures 2. To you therefore who are Christians I shall now turn my Discourse Heb. 13.22 And I beseech you Brethren suffer the word of Exhortation it is only this Since you have Moses and the Prophets and Christ and his Apostles and believe that they are Messengers to you from God to instruct you in his Will receive the Truth and the Law at their Mouths mind what they say and be careful to follow their Directions in all things For even we who have the Scriptures the lively Oracles of God may perish for want of Knowledge as well as they that have them not unless we make that Use of them which they were given for unless we are diligent in reading them and careful to practise what they teach For the Rich Man spoken of in this Parable had the Scriptures but his meer having them did not keep him from Hell And his five surviving Brethren had likewise the Scriptures and yet were then in a fair way of following their Brother to that Place of Torment They had Moses and the Prophets but they did not hear them And this also may be our Case who have not only these but also Christ and his Apostles Preaching to us if we do not hear them for what Advantage can it be to us to have good Instructors if we will not mind what they say if we stop our ears to all their Counsels and Reproofs No Man was ever made a Scholar only by having a good Library in his Possession No Man ever learnt any Art or Science tho' it was never so well taught in any Book only by keeping the Book in his Chamber or carrying it about in his Pocket And as little shall we be the wiser only by having the Holy Scriptures tho' as the Apostle says they are able to make us wise unto Salvation 2 Tim. 3.15 if we do not read and study them with an honest Design to furnish our selves from thence with a stock of useful Knowlege and with a firm Resolution to lead our Lives according to the Directions which they give us Nay so far shall be from receiving any Advantage only by our having the Holy Scriptures given us and free Liberty allowed us to look into them a Privilege we of this Nation have above most of our Neighbours that if we do not read and study them it will be much the worse for us our Condemnation will be the greater and our Destruction so much the more certain For the Case of those who offend thro' Ignorance when their Ignorance is unaffected is very pitiable and tho' we can't certainly say how God will deal with those who had no clear Revelation of his Will made to them this we may be sure of that God who is a merciful God will deal mercifully with them John 15.22 If I had not come and spoken unto them says our Saviour they had not had Sin But the Case will be quite otherwise with those Luke 12.47 who knew their Master's will and did not do it They as our Saviour says shall be beaten with many Stripes And it will be all one if they did not know it if their Ignorance of it was occasioned by their own fault in neglecting those Means of Knowledge which God has afforded them And much rather if their ignorance of their Duty was affected and chosen that they might Sin with less disturbance of Mind for our Saviour's Judgment in this Case is very plain and and 't is his Judgment by which we must stand or fall to all Eternity Joh. iii. 19. This is the Condemnation that Light is come into the World and Men loved Darkness rather than Light because their Deeds were Evil. Having therefore Moses and the Prophets and also Christ and his Apostles continually Preaching to us in the Books of Holy Scripture let us hear them This is both our Duty and our Interest And that our study of the Scripture may be with good success and we may thereby be thoroughly furnished unto all good Work Let us Pray as we are taught by our Church in a most excellent Collect suited to the Subject I have been Discoursing of Collect for 2d Sunday in Advent Blessed Lord who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our Learning Grant that we may in such wise hear them read mark learn and inwardly digest them that by Patience and Comfort of thy Holy Word we may embrace and ever hold 〈◊〉 â—he blessed Hope of everlasting Life which thou hast given us 〈…〉 â—ur Jesus Christ Amen FINIS ERRATA Page 55. line 10. for some read same