Rule of Faith Dr. Stillingfl Defence of A. B. Laud. Dr. Sherlocks Protestant Resolution of Faith Learned Defenders of the Protestant Resolution of Faith against those Popish Writers that set up Tradition in Opposition to it and the Absurdity of the latter is evident at first sight and none but meer Enthusiasts ever made any Pretence to it But on the other side for God to communicate his Will by Writing implies nothing in it but what is Natural and Easie there is nothing requisite to continue this to Posterity but God's preserving the Writings themselves by the ordinary Methods of Providence and then men may as well learn his Will from thence as they can know the Histories of former Ages the Opinions of Philosophers the Laws of their own and other Countries from the Writings which record each of these particulars unless we will say that God cannot order a Book to be writ in as Intelligible a manner as men can indite it when they are left to themselves But 't will further appear that 't is more reasonable to suppose that God should preserve the Knowledge of Christianity by appointing a written Rule of Faith than by any other means if we consider III. That he made use of the same means formerly for the Instruction of the Jewish Church With God is no variableness and what he once approves of he does not afterward lay aside but upon some great reason Moses wrote his Law in a book by God's direction e Exod. 34.27 the Prophets appeal to the Law and to the Testimony f Is 8.20 as the only safe Guide and by which men must judge whether a Doctrine come from God or not Our Saviour bids the Jews g Joh. 5.39 search the Scriptures for in them they were perswaded and so far they were in the right was contain'd the way to Eternal Life and in all his Contests with the Jews he desired no other Vouchers for the Truth of what he said but Moses and the Prophets And 't will appear very reasonable to believe that God should use the same Method to instruct the Christian Church which he did the Jewish if we consider that our Saviour and his Apostles conform'd the External parts of their Religion to the Customs received among the Jews as much as they could being resolv'd to give no offence by studiously affecting Novelties The Two Sacraments were taken from Jewish Rites the Government of the Christian Church was framed after the Pattern of the Jewish Hierarchy the Apostles as 't is natural for all men to do being willing to retain the Customs they had been bred up in wherever the Nature of Christiany did not oblige them to the contrary From whence 't is natural to suppose that the Apostles should take care before they left the world to provide some certain means of Instruction for the Christian Church in Conformity to the Jewish which might supply their place when they were dead and gone or else they would not have been so faithful in their office as Moses was who delivered the Book of the Law to the Priests before his Decease h Deut. 31 9 26. And 't is likely the Christians themselves would expect to be provided with as good and sufficient means of knowing their duty as the Jews enjoyed or else they would have had just cause to complain that they came behind them in the Advantages of Knowledge and Instruction And that this is not a meer Conjecture but the real Sense of the first Christians is plain from the Account which the Ancient Writers give us of the occasion of St. Matthew and S. Mark 's writing their Gospels Eusebius tells us i H. E. l. 3. c. 24. that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel particularly for the use of the Jews to whom he had preached because going into other parts he would supply the Want of his Presence by Writing Clemens Alexandrinus saies k Ap Eus H. E. l. 2. c. 15. That St. Mark wrote his Gospel at the Request of the Christians at Rome who were not satisfied with an unwritten Tradition of the Word and therefore desir'd him to commit it to Writing Which St. Peter coming to understand approved and confirmed this Gospel for the use of the Church And when these and the other Apostolical Writings came into the hands of Christians there was no need of a particular Command from God to make them be received as the Rule of the Christian Faith For the Character of the Persons who wrote them the Example of the Jewish Church and the Parity of Reason why these Writings should be of equal Authority among Christians as the Writings of the Old Testament were among the Jews and lastly the Necessity of having some Standing and Settled Rule of Faith these were all sufficient Inducements to Christians to look upon the Apostolical Writings as ordained by God for the Perpetual Use and Instruction of the Church And this will further appear if we consider IV. That God has actually made use of no other way for the conveying down the Doctrine of Christianity that can be assign'd but the Writings of the N. Testament 'T is a very weak Argument to infer that things must be so because we think it Convenient they should be so This is indeed to prescribe to God Almighty and tell him he ought to have ask'd our Advice in the Managing of things And therefore tho the Arguments for the Infallibility of Tradition for an Infallible Judge of Controversies or whatever other Guide men have set up in opposition to the Scriptures were never so plausible and were as real Demonstrations as the Authors of them fancy them to be yet as long as 't is plain by Experience that Tradition is not Infallible and that there is no Infallible Judge of Controversies all these Pretences to Demonstration signify nothing for a man may demonstrate his heart out before he will be able to confute Experience And that neither the Authority of the Church Representative nor the Tradition of the Church Diffusive neither Pope nor Council jointly or separately are Infallible Guides to Christians or equivalent to the Scriptures has been made out with such admirable Clearness and unanswerable Strength of Reason by the Learned Defenders of the Protestant Cause against Popery that without further insisting upon this Point I shall refer to them for further Satisfaction and proceed to the V. Proposition That the Apostles themselves design'd their Writings for the Perpetual Vse of the Church and look'd upon them of Equal Authority with the Writings of the Old Testament The Supernatural Assistance which attended the Apostles in every thing of Moment and tending to the Edification of the Church was so Extraordinary and even their Private Judgment as men was so Upright and void of all Self-interest and Corruption that 't will very much illustrate this matter to consider what Judgment and Opinion they themselves had of their own Writings The very Design of the
Order of Ministers and Church-Governours who have the Power of Dispensing them the Necessity of being Incorporated into the Church as a Society Founded upon a Divine Charter and to whose Members alone belong the Priviledges of the New Covenant the Meritorious Efficacy of Christ's Sacrifice and Intercession towards the Procuring men's Salvation these Doctrines I say they will by no means admit to be True because as they pretend they cannot see what Natural Force there is in these things toward their producing their intended Effects And when they have deprived Christ of his Titles of Saviour and High-Priest tho perhaps they may still be contented to acknowledge him a Prophet and a Teacher come from God yet they look upon his Coming into the World as a matter of no Great Consequence and which men do well to believe if they see good Reason for it or if after having used Reasonable Diligence they are not convinc'd that 't is True there 's no great Harm done since he came only to Reinforce the Principles and Duties of Natural Religion which men's Reason will sufficiently instruct them in and if they do but live up to its Directions and lead good Moral Lives they may be saved whatever their Opinions are as to what they call the Speculative Points of Religion These Opinions every body is sensible are very much in Vogue especially among those who value themselves for being Free Thinkers and Reasoners 'T is evident likewise that men of these Principles are apt to look upon the Bible as a Book of no great Value and which the World might very well be without and are ready to declare that the Disputes it has occasion'd have done more harm than the Book has done good and so from Vndervaluing its Worth they come to question its Authority From what has been said it appears very probable that the Prevailing of these Loose Notions concerning a Church-state and Revealed Religion at first gave Rise or at least hath since given Continuance to those Controversies that have been so much Debated of late concerning the Integrity and Authority of the Scriptures And the Atheistical Party have been Industrious to keep alive this Dispute as well knowing that 't is doing no small piece of Service to their Cause to weaken the Authority of the Holy Writings Mr. Hobbs and the Author of Theologo-Politicus are the Chief of that Party who have engag'd in this Controversie tho indeed they ought to pass but for one Writer since the latter has taken the Substance of what he says from the former and seems to have little of his own Invention unless it be the Quoting of a Text now and then in Hebrew which he does I suppose to raise in his Vnlearned Readers an Admiration of his Profound Reading and Schollarship And this Design of his has in some measure taken Effect for his Atheistical Admirers are generally Ignorant enough to take him for a Writer of Sense and Learning But to pass by these Profess'd Advocates of Atheism and Irreligion the most considerable Writers that have been concern'd in the Controversie about the Integrity and Authority of the Holy Writings are Mr. Simon and his Adversaries Whose Learning as I do not intend to disparage so neither will I take upon me to judge of their Secret Intention in the Management of this Dispute I acknowledge them to be men of Learning and as to their Design I am willing to think as Charitably as I can But yet I cannot forbear saying that tho they differ very much in their Notions as to other Matters yet they seem to agree in speaking slightly and irreverently of the Holy Writers they readily lay hold of any Difficulties which tend to weaken their Credit and do not take half so much pains to Improve any of the Arguments that may be produc'd for them as they do to Vrge Objections against them But however I must say thus much in behalf of Mr. Simon that many to shew their good Will to the Bible make him say much Worse things than he really does and such as they would fain have him say and would be glad if they could Vouch his Authority for They are Industrious to make the world believe that if we will take his Judgment there have been so many Corruptions and Alterations made in the Text of the Bible that 't is impossible to tell which is the True and which is the False Reading Mr. Dryden particularly in his Religio Laici makes this Comment upon Mr. Simon 's Critick and tells us as delivering that Author's sense that the Jews have Let in Gross Errors to corrupt the Text Omitted Paragrahs and With vain Traditions stop'd the Gaping Fence Now one would think by this Account of his Work that Mr. Simon had expresly asserted that the Jews had Wilfully and Designedly Corrupted the Original by Adding to and Taking away from it as they thought fit But in my Opinion 't is taking a greater Liberty than Poetry it self will allow to make a man speak quite contrary to his Sense and Meaning For Mr. Simon makes it his Business to prove in several places of his Book a Critique upon the O. T. l. 1. ch 17 18 19 l. 2. c. 4. that the Jews have not corrupted the Hebrew Text and answers the Arguments that are usually brought for that Opinion All that he affirms as to this matter is that the Bible has been obnoxious to the same Corruptions that other Books are through the Ignorance or Negligence of Transcribers and that such kind of Faults crept into the Text in those Ages chiefly that did not mind the Niceties of Criticism and therefore the proper way to Reform those Errors is by Correcting the Suspected Places according to the Rules of that Art and by diligent Comparing of Copies as Criticks correct other Books and the Massorets have already the Hebrew Text. And as for the Additions which are supposed by many to have been made to the Original Text he supposes them inserted by Prophets whereof there was a constant Succession whose Business 't was to take Care of the Publick Records How true this Hypothesis is 't is not my Business to examine 't is sufficient to my present Purpose that Mr. Simon does not represent these Additions as so many Corruptions of the Text. So that in this Case Mr. D. has Misrepresented Mr. Simon 's Text aswell as that of the Bible and put such a Gloss upon it as it does not appear that he ever intended as far as can be gathered from his Words But I shall pursue this Matter no further because Mr. D. may think it hard measure to urge any thing said in his Religio Laici against him at this time of day when he has alter'd his Mind in so many Particulars since the Writing of that Poem and has made Amends for his Former Incredulity by turning Advocate for Implicite Faith One of Mr. Simon 's Antagonists whom he and the rest of the World take to
be Mr. Le Clerc publish'd those Letters which I have undertaken to answer the Two First of them in his Sentimens de Theologiens de Hollande sur l' Histoire Critique c. the Rest in the Defence of the Sentiments Who is the Author of these Letters whether Mr. Le Clerc himself or as he pretends a Friend of his whom he calls Mr. N. signifies little to the Controversie it self and therefore I do not think it worth while to enquire And as to the Author's Design in writing these Tracts whether they were writ by way of Enquiry only or out of a Design to undermine the Authority of the Scriptures I shall not take upon me to Determine but shall leave that to the Searcher of Hearts Charity that believes all things prompts me to believe the Author's solemn Protestation which he makes b Eng. Ed. p. 38. French p. 229. that he disowns the ill Consequences which some have drawn from his Principles and his Arguments for the Christian Religion which are contain'd in the Last Letter incourage me to persist in that Christian Perswasion However when I found the Author earnestly desirous c Fr. p. 245. Eng. p. 51. that some body would fairly answer him and indeavour to give further Light to this Matter and withall was sensible that he has laid down several Assertions which tend to lessen the Authority and Credit of the Sacred Writers and that Ill men have made use of them to this purpose as 't is their constant Method to run away with any thing that seems to favour their side but to overlook what makes against them all these Considerations perswaded me to Vndertake a particular Examination of all those Passages in these Letters that reflect upon the Holy Pen-men or their Writings I know Mr. Simon has made a brief Answer to all the Material Objections of this Author the Substance of which is inserted in the Fourth Letter together with Mr. N's Reply But I must freely profess I am not at all satisfied with Mr. Simon 's Performance and his Answers seem to have been drawn up in Hast without a thorow Examination of the Force of the Objections Perhaps Mr. Simon is not so well vers'd in the Subtilties of Reasoning as he is in the Nicities of Criticism And indeed Both his Answers to Mr. Le Clerc discover as much where he spends most of his time in Railing against the Protestants which might much better have been imployed in Vindicacating his own Principles from his Adversaries Objections or Defending those Common Truths in which the Generality both of Protestants and Papists agree tho neither he nor his Adversaries seem to have any great regard for them But this is the usual Fault of such Zealots as Mr. Simon hath of late discover'd himself to be that they are more concern'd for the particular Opinions of their own Party than for the Fundamental Articles of our Common Christianity and therefore they very often advance such Arguments in Defence of their own particular Doctrines which if they are pursued further undermine the Foundation of Christianity it self or it may be of Religion in General Of which Mr. Simon himself is an Instance who has taken a great deal of Pains to weaken the Authority of the Scripture Text on purpose to set up the Certainty of Tradition in its place But I believe another Reason may be assign'd of Mr. Simon 's Fierceness against the Protestants and that is because he lives in a Country where Heresy now-adays is reckon'd a greater Crime than Infidelity and 't is less dangerous to be thought no Christian than no Catholick And consequently it more nearly concern'd Mr. Simon to clear himself from the Suspicion of Heresy than to prove himself a good Christian tho perhaps in the Judgment of the World he stands in need of an Apology in that respect as much as in the other And perhaps he could not take a better Method to atone for his Disrespect towards the Scriptures and to regain the Favour of his Superiours whose Displeasure he has felt upon that Account than by crying up in Opposition to them the Infallibility of Tradition and the Authority of the Church and Inveighing against the Protestants with a great deal of Bitterness and Virulency And since Mr. Simon 's Answer gives so little satisfaction to the Difficulties which this Author has started concerning the Inspiration of the Scriptures I thought it might be an useful thing to examine the Substance of these Letters over again and Vindicate the holy Writings from this Author's Objections I must leave it to the Reader to judge of the Performance All I shall say for my self is That I have manag'd the Dispute with all the Calmness and Freedom from Passion which becomes an Impartial Searcher after Truth and in that respect I hope I have fully satisfied the Desire of my Antagonist d Fr. p. 245. Eng. p. 51. I have kept my self close to his main Design which is not to question the Veracity of the Holy Writers or the Truth of the Doctrine or Matters of Fact which they deliver but only to propose some Doubts and Questions How far they were Inspir'd either with the Matter or Words which they writ So that in this Discourse men must not expect I should handle all the Arguments for the Truth of the Scriptures and the Christian Religion which are proper to be alledg'd a-against Atheists and Infidels This as 't is forreign to the present Design so it has been done so Often and so Fully by several Learned men and amongst others by this very Author in his Fifth Letter that nothing more need or can be said upon this Subject And if men will still shut their eyes against all Conviction we must e'en despair of doing any good upon them and can only say to them in the words of the Apostle He that is ignorant let him be ignorant and If our Gospel be hid 't is hid to them that are lost whose minds the God of this world hath blinded However to do what Service I am able to the Cause of Religion and to make this Discourse as useful as I can I have ventur'd to go a little beyond the Bounds which my Adversary hath set me and have indeavour'd briefly to explain the Nature and Design of the Prophetical Writings where I have discours'd upon some things not commonly treated of the Explaining of which I hope may tend to Illustrate that noble part of the Scripture and remove some Prejudices against the Authority of the Prophets which have been greedily entertain'd by such persons as are apt to be unreasonably Suspicious and Jealous of being Impos'd upon and because there have been False Prophets think 't is impossible there should be True ones If I have been guilty of any Mistakes I hope the Reader will the more easily pardon them when he considers the Niceness of the Subject and that it has never yet been purposely treated of by any
their Authority was immediately Establisht And so much for the proving the Sixth Proposition And I think supposing these Six Propositions proved this Conclusion will plainly follow from what has been said that the Books of the New-Testament were Written by God's Direction and design'd by Him for the Perpetual use and Instruction of the Church and are the only Fixt Rule which he has appointed for this purpose I shall draw some Conclusions from these Premises which will tend to illustrate and explain the Divine Inspiration of the Holy Writings 1. It follows from hence that the Holy Ghost assisted the Apostles as fully when they Writ as when they Preached How far this assistance extended and wherein it consisted I shall examine particularly in the next Chapter at present I intend only to shew that we may presume there is as great a degree of Inspiration to be found in their Writings as was in their Preaching For since the reason why this Assistance accompanied them in their Preaching was the benefit of the Church that they might Guide it into all Truth without any danger of mixing error with it the same reason holds much stronger for their Writings which do not serve for the Instruction of One Age only as their Preaching did but of Many And therefore tho we should suppose that they use Arguments ad Hominem sometimes and proceed upon such Principles as were generally admitted in the Age they lived without nicely examining whether they were true or not yet this only shews that they thought fit to explain Divine Truths in such a manner as was most suitable to the Capacity of the persons they were immediately to Instruct And as we must grant that tho the New Testament was design'd for the use of future Ages yet the Phrase and Style and Argumentation used in it is wholly accommodated to the Sentiments and Usage of that Age in which 't was writ so S. Paul himself does plainly imply that he does not always use the Best Arguments but sometimes such as are best fitted to the Capacities and Notions of those he Writes to For thus we find him express himself by way of excuse for the Argument he makes use of d Rom. 6.19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh which is as much as if he had said I could bring a better argument to prove what I say but this which I make use of is more suitable to your Capacities and may perhaps more effectually convince you than a better 2. It follows secondly that since the Books of the New Testament and the same reason holds as to any other Writings of the same rank and use were design'd to be a standing rule of Faith to Christians the Holy Ghost tho he did not generally Dictate the words which the holy Writers used yet directed them to express their minds in such a manner that those who have a regard to the Dialect and way of speaking in which they write might rightly understand them or at least the Holy Spirit prevented their giving just occasion for Men's errors and mistakes in matters of Consequence by their Phrases and Expressions And such a degree of assistance is absolutely necessary to make these Books a standing Rule of Faith For tho we suppose the Holy Writers used a Popular style and consequently made use of such Hyperboles and Metaphors and other Improprieties of Speech which common practise allows of in all Languages especially where they occasionally speak of Philosophical matters and things not immediately relating to Religion yet unless we suppose them to speak properly in those Terms of Art which are of fundamental use in the explaining the Doctrines of Christianity and upon the sense of which whole Controversies turn and as they are differently taken they alter the very face of the Christian Religion I say except we suppose the Apostles to speak properly i. e. agreeably to their own Simplicity and Plainness of Speech and in such a manner as was most likely to be understood by those they writ to when they treat of matters of great Importance and such as are justly to be reckon'd Fundamental Doctrines the New Testament will not answer the ends of a Rule of Faith For a Book is of no use to explain or decide any Controversy if we can have no sixt rule whereby to judge of its style so as to be in some measure certain what is its true sense And 't is very strange if a Book writ by persons who had an extraordinary assistance from God and which was design'd for Universal use should not be worded with that care which Humane Industry uses in matters of Importance And therefore we have reason to rely upon the assistance of the Holy Spirit even with relation to the Phrase and Letter of the Scripture and to believe that he has so far directed the holy Pen-men that their Phrases and Expressions should not lead Men into error in matters of Consequence but may be rightly understood by those that acquaint themselves with the Dialect in which they writ and consult the Ages nearest the Apostles who must needs be next to their own style the best Judges of their sense If indeed the Socinian Doctrines concerning the Nature and Satisfaction of Christ were true it must be confessed there would be little reason to believe that the Holy Ghost had a hand in wording the Scriptures nay then the Scriptures will appear to be written in such a style as if the Writers design'd to lead Men into error And the Socinians themselves when they make Reason the sole Judge of Sripture and tell us they will not believe any thing contrary to Reason tho it were never so plainly asserted in Scripture do in effect confess that the expressions of Scripture taken in their natural and most obvious sense do not at all favour their Opinions e Socin de Christ Servat l. 3. c. 6. And therefore 't is no wonder to find these Gentlemen warn their Readers so often not to make Inferences from the Phrases of Scripture as if they were used strictly and properly that they so often tell us of the Improprieties and Metaphors which the Eastern Writers and those who imitate them abound with that the Apostles play with Words as Socinus with Reverence speaks f Amavit Paulus in Execrationis verbo esse argutus Socm de Chr Serâ— l. 2. c. 1 and take them sometimes in one sense and sometimes in another Our Author follows them in this as well as in some other things g v Fr. p 234. Eng p. 146. and often cautions h Eng. p 107 111. Fr. p. 280 281. En. p. 11â— Fr. p. 285. Eng. p. 145 146. Fr. p. 233 234. us not to subtilize about the expressions nor stick too close to the Letter of the Scripture since the style of Scripture is so far from being exact that 't is very careless and tells us i Eng. p. 107 116.
Fr. p. 280 285. that laying too great stress upon Words has bin the occasion of most of the Disputes among Christians I readily grant it has but then the fault has bin that Men have either Interpreted Scripture-Expressions by notions of Philosophy which the Holy Writers never heard of or else they have not inquir'd into the Sentiments of those times in which these Books were writ but have judged of their sense by the Schemes and applied them to the Disputes of Modern Ages as if they were writ only with a regard to the Controversies that should arise in After-Times without any respect to the Sentiments and Exigencies of the Age wherein they were written But if we have a regard only to the Genius of the Language which the Holy Writers used and judge of their Sentiments by the State of the Church in their time and by such Ancient Authors as were most likely to be acquainted with the Notions which were then generally received I don't think laying stress upon the Phrases of the Scriptures can lead us into such gross errors as Mr. N. imagines k Eng. p. 146. Fr p. 234. And without supposing this we can scarce deduce any Inferences from Scripture Texts and yet this is practis'd by the Apostles themselves who sometimes argue from Words and those too taken in their nicest signification A remarkable example of which is that Inference of S. Paul's l Gal. 3.16 To Abraham and to his seed were the Promises made he saith not And to seeds as of many but as of one And to thy seed which is Christ 3. Since God in his Providence took care that these Books should be Writ for the use of his Church and therefore gave Providential occasions for their being Written it follows that they are Compos'd in such a manner as not to exclude the use of the Natural Reason and Meditation of the Writers who Compos'd them Works of Providence are not suppos'd to exclude Humane means and we believe many things to be brought to pass by the determinate Counsel and Power of God tho they are not purely Miraculous and and meerly God's own Act and Deed but are brought to pass by second Causes as his Instruments And why then can't he give Men a Rule of Faith and Manners except the Writing be with the immediate Finger of God as the Two Tables were 'T is certain that the ordinary Operations of the Spirit do only excite and assist our natural Faculties not supersede or render them useless And even the extraordinary ones do very often influence Men's minds after the same manner as appears by S. Paul's advice to Timothy m 1 Tim. 4.14 Give attendance to Reading to Exhortation to Doctrine neglect not the gift which is in thee which was given thee by prophecy And to the same purpose he speaks in the second Epistle n 2 Tim. 1.6 And therefore tho we suppose the Authors of the Scriptures to have been Inspir'd and to have had the extraordinary Assistances of God's Spirit yet this will not exclude the use of their Natural Talents but that the Writers made use of them as far as they could be serviceable to their purpose and God supplied their defects From hence appears the weakness of that Argument which is urged by our Author and by some others against the Inspiration of the Poetical Books o Fr. p. 230. En. p. 27. of the Old Testament because they seem to be the effects of Study and Meditation and against that of the Historical Books of the Scripture p Grot. votum pro pace p. 672. Refutat Apologet. p. 722. because the things contain'd in them are either of the Writers own Knowledge or else taken from Ancient Memoirs or the Relation of others To the same purpose 't is urged against the Divine Authority of S. Paul's Epistles by Spinoza q Theol. Polit. c. 11 that they are full of Argumentation which he thinks must be the effect of S. Paul's own reason As if a Man that had a perfect Systeme of the Christian Religion infused into his mind by Revelation as we suppose S. Paul to have had did not apprehend it after a Rational manner and see the whole Series and Chain of its Principles by the help of which he could infer one thing from another But is it not a pleasant Argument against the Inspiration of a Book that it is writ in a Rational and Argumentative way which must either suppose that 't is below God Almighty to give a reason for his Institutions or else that 't was not proper for the Apostles to shew their Disciples that the Doctrines they taught them were such as might be Rationally deduc'd from certain Principles and to confute their Adversaries the same way who would not submit to their bare Authority nor believe a thing to be true meerly because they said so 4. It follows from what has bin said that 't is no Argument against a Book 's being design'd by God for the perpetual use of the Church that 't was at first writ upon some particular Exigency and with relation to the peculiar Circumstances of the persons to whom 't is directed For some of those Books of the Old Testament which were certainly design'd for the publick benefit of the Church as 't is granted by all that acknowledge any such thing as Inspiration and I don 't at present concern my self with any others I say some of the Undoubtedly Inspir'd Writings were occasion'd by the particular Exigences of those times in which their Authors lived I mean the Books of the Prophets who were all sent by God to testify against the sins which were committed in their own times And if God so order'd it that these Prophecies should be of perpetual use to the Church why may not the other Occasional Writings of the Scripture if I may so term them have been compos'd with the same Design I have already shewed r P. 19. that the manner of St. Paul's Writing does excellently answer this Intent From hence it appears that the Argument used by some Popish Writers why the New Testament cannot be a perfect Rule of the Christian Faith because several parts of it were writ only with Relation to particular Exigencies of some one Church holds as well against the Old Testament being a Rule to the Jews because a great part of of it viz. the Prophecies were occasion'd by the particular Circumstances of those Times in which the Prophets lived CHAP. II. A more particular Inquiry into the nature of the Apostolical Gifts and Inspiration HAving said thus much in general concerning the Divine Authority and Inspiration of the Apostolical Writings I proceed to examine more distinly the Assertions which the Author of the Letters hath laid down concerning the Inspiration of the Apostles and of their Writings and in order to that shall consider particularly both as to their Nature and Extent some of the most remarkable Gifts with which the
c. 6. that tho there are wonderful stories told in the old Testament yet that is no proof that the things themselves were Miraculous or such as exceeded the power of Natural Agents for the Jews loved to talk big and make a great deal more of a story by their way of telling it than the matter of Fact really was Just so the Socinians when they are pressed with plain Texts of Scripture for the Divinity or Satisfaction of Christ make this their constant Refuge that the Hebrew Language is full of Metaphors and the Writers don't mean half so much as they say Now this is an excellent device to render the Scriptures an insignificant Book or which is much the same make it say whatever these New Expositors please But before this trick will pass these Gentlemen should convince us that since 't is impossible to know the meaning of the Scripture by the words 't is they only have the secret of telling us its true Sense and the Key to these Mystical Characters And here I shall take occasion to reflect upon another passage in these Letters which indeed belongs to the Subject treated of in the former part of this Chapter viz. Concerning the Assistance of the Holy Ghost which our Saviour promised his Disciples but being another Essay of our Author's dexterity in this new way of Interpreting Scripture I chose to make my remarks upon it in this place 'T is his gloss upon that place of St. John z Joh. 16.13 14 15. He shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak c. He observes a Fr. p. 254. En. p. 66. that these words must be extremely figurative because the Holy Ghost properly speaking did not hear from God or Jesus Christ that which he was to Inspire the Apostles with From whence it must follow or else this Observation of his is Impertinent that the words immediately foregoing b John 16.13 When the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth must be very Figurative too and not imply that the Spirit really taught the Apostles any thing in a proper Sense Now to pass by this Consequence of his viz. that plain words are to be understood Metaphorically because they are joyn'd with words that have a Metaphor in them I can't but observe thus much for the clearing the sense of this Text that our Saviour uses no other expressions concerning the Holy Spirit here than what he had often used before of himself when he so often says that what he taught he had heard and received from the Father c John 5.30 c. 8.26.40 c. 15.15 And I hope 't will be granted that our Saviour taught his Disciples in a proper Sense without a Metaphor and why then must it follow from this way of speaking that the Holy Ghost did not But to return to our present subject That he says b Fr. p. 241. En. p. 44. which inclines him to believe that the foremention'd Promise of our Saviour the Holy Ghost or Spirit of the Father shall teach you in that hour what ye ought to say means no more then this viz. The Spirit of Courage and Holiness which the Gospel produces in your hearts will teach you what ye ought to say is That in comparing this Promise with the Event it seems not to have been perform'd in any other sense than what he has now given But has he indeed compar'd it with all the Events mention'd in the History of the Acts Not at all only has pick'd out two Instances which he thought he could make Exceptions against Sure if he had dealt fairly and impartially in this matter he would not have pass'd by the Boldness of Peter and John c Act. 4.13 which was so Extraordinary it made the. Sanhedrim wonder nor the Couragious Behaviour of all the Apostles d Act. 5.29 in both which Cases the Apostles told the Sanhedrim to their faces of their Horrid Sin in Murdering the Messias and that there was no way to Salvation but by Believing in him whom they had Crucified The Event in both these Cases seems to come up to the highest Sense of our Savior's Words and if we had an exact History of the Sufferings of the Apostles I do not question but we should find many more Proofs of the Accomplishment of this Promise Since in those few Remains that we have of the Genuine Acts of the Martyrs there are eminent Instances of their Courage in Professing the Truth e v Acta Ignat. per Usserium Edit Martyr Polycarpi ap Euseb H. E. l. 4 c. 15. Acta Martyr Lugd. Vienn Ibid. l. 5. c. 1. Cypriani Passio operibut ejus prefix which at First Sight discover something more than Humane and may justly be look'd upon as one of the greatest and most convincing Arguments of the Truth of Christianity and the Divine Power which accompanied its True Professors I am sure Justin Martyr confesses that this very Argument prevail'd with him to embrace the Christian Religion f Apol. 1. And if the Behaviour of the Martyrs in aftertimes was so Extraordinary we cannot think that the Apostles were in this respect Inferiour to their Disciples Now a man that had a real Concern for the honour of our Saviour and his Apostles and was desirous to magnify the Power of God's Grace and set it in the best Light he could would not have pass'd over all the Evidences for it and only insisted upon those Instances which he thought would lessen and obscure it But let us see whether the Instances he brings do really so much lessen the Promise of our Saviour as he imagines As for St. Paul's Behaviour to the High Priest g Act. 23.3 which is our Author's first Instance h Fr. p. 241. Eng. p. 45. he cannot be ignorant that some Expositors of the best Note i Grot. Estius Beza as well as his Adversary Mr. Simon k Eng. p. 178. Fr. p. 259. understand those words of his God shall smite thee thou whited wall as spoken by the Authority and in the Style of a Prophet as our Saviour call'd Herod Fox l Luk. 13.32 and St. Paul call'd Nero Lyon m 2 Tim. 4.17 And they that maintain this Opinion do not suppose that St. Paul in the next words beg'd Pardon and confess'd that he was to blame for what he said as our Author takes for granted that he did Å¿ Ubi sup But they take this to be the real Sense of the 5th v. tho purposely concealed under ambiguous Terms I cannot believe or own such a man to be High Priest who came into his Place by those ill Acts as Ananias did for if I had look'd upon him as High Priest I should not have transgressed the Law in giving him such disrespectful Language But if we understand the Place in the same Sense which Mr. N. does and own the Apostle to have been surpriz'd
not to be express'd in too plain words I deny not but there are some plain Prophecies in Scripture but as much the greater part of them have something of Obscurity so I doubt not but to make it appear that the Obscurity of the Prophecies is so far from being an Objection against them as some pretend that on the contrary 't is absolutely requisite that most Prophecies should be Obscure or else they would not answer the Designs for which they were given nor be Accomplish'd in a way agreeable to the Methods of Providence But of this in the next Chapter The Sum of what I have hitherto said concerning the Authority of the Prophetical Writings is this That if we consider the Prophets only as men that were the Teachers of Vertue and Religion the least that can be said of them is That in respect of their great Improvements in the several parts of Knowledge the Excellency of their Precepts the Integrity of their Lives their Contempt of the World and constant Adhering to their Principles they were equal to the greatest Philosophers but if we consider them as Inlightned from above and the Messengers of God to the world they discover to us the Various Methods of the Divine Government they unravel the Intricate Turnings and Windings of that Dark Labyrinth they display the Scene of Providence from the Beginning of this World to the End and then give us a Prospect of Another to come the Signal Accomplishment of their Predictions already fulfilled confirms our Belief in Providence and incourages us to trust in God and in the Words of his Prophets for the Future They do not open the Scene of things to come only to gratify a Vain Curiosity or with a Design to incourage the Belief of a Fatal Necessity but to assure us that God interests himself in the Government of the World that all things are Guided by his Unerring Hand and that the Changes which come to pass in the World are not the Effects of Blind Chance or Surly Fate but the Results of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness which is able to bring Good out of Evil and make the Rage and Fierceness the Folly and Madness of man turn to God's Praise and be Instrumental in bringing about his Great Purposes and Designs Thus the Holy Prophets teach us to depend upon God and acknowledge that our Sufficiency is of him and yet withal to believe that 't is in our own Power in a great measure whether we will be Happy or Miserable Thus their Doctrine promotes God's Honour without superseding men's Diligence and Indeavours and instructs us to give him the Glory when we do well and not to charge him foolishly when we do amiss And as to their way of Writing which includes a Hidden and Mysterious Sense under a Literal and Obvious one this was agreeable to the Method of Instruction which the great Sages of the world practis'd in those early Ages 't was what the Jews had been accustom'd to what they always believ'd to be the Style of Scripture and do so still tho it make against them it tends to discover the Chain of Providence and the Dependance which by the Appointment of the Divine Wisdom the Occurrences of one Age have upon those of another which is at a great distance The Prophets themselves have in most Cases left us Certain Marks to know where we are to seek for Mysteries and a Key to unlock their true Meaning and where such an Indication is wanting we have the Apostles to direct us who have given abundant Evidence of their Divine Credentials that they were appointed by God to be the Interpreters of his Oracles and Publishers of his Will CHAP. IV. Wherein some Difficulties are Resolved relating to the PROPHETS themselves or their manner of Writing III. I Proceed to discourse concerning the Third General Head I propos'd at the Beginning of the last Chapter to be consider'd in relation to the Prophets which is to Resolve some Difficulties concerning the Prophets themselves or their Prophecies And here 't is not my Design to give a particular Answer to all the Objections that have been rais'd against the Prophetical Writings most of which have been fully answer'd by several Excellent Writers of late a Bp Stillingfleet Orig. Sac. Letter to a Deist Huetii demonst Evangel M. Smith of Prophecy Dr. Spencers Vanity of Vulgar Prophecies not to mention the Ancients I intend only in this Chapter to consider Two Difficulties one relating to the Prophets themselves and the other to their manner of Writing which have not yet that I know of been throughly Explain'd by any Writer the First is The Obscurity of the Prophetical Writings the other Concerning the Marks and Signs whereby True Prophets were distinguish'd from False The latter of these Inquiries is Embarass'd with Great Difficulties for the Scripture gives us very little Light in this matter insomuch that one would wonder since there are so many Contests between the True and False Prophets related in Scripture and so many Cautions given against hearkening to False Prophets and Seducers that there should be so little said concerning the Marks whereby they might be distinguish'd from the True ones I. I begin with the former Difficulty viz. The Obscurity of the Prophecies But here I shall first Premise that Obscurity is not Inseparable from Prophecy for there are some very plain Prophecies in Scripture as the Foretelling the 70. years Captivity of the Jews and that Cyrus after that time was expired should Restore them to their Land and Rebuild Jerusalem b Jer. 25.11 12 -29.10 Is 44.28 the Succession of the Monarchies in Daniel c Dan. 2. c. 7. c. 8. and those Prophecies concerning the Messias which foretell his Coming while the Second Temple was standing and before the Destruction of the Jewish Commonwealth d Dan. 9.25 c. Hagg. 2. 6 -9 Malac. 3 1.-4.1 But notwithstanding some few Exceptions generally speaking there is something of Obscurity in the Delivery of Prophecies Now beside the Causes of this which arise from the Prophetical Style which is full of Metaphors and of lofty Expressions such as naturally flow from a Heat of Fancy where Great and Surprizing Ideas have made a deep Impression besides this there are other Reasons to be assign'd for this Obscurity which are taken from the very Nature and Design of Prophecies and the manner how they are Fulfilled 1. With Respect to the first of these viz. the Design of Prophecies I lay down this Rule That Prophecies are not so much design'd by God to give men the Knowledge of things before-hand as to confirm mens Faith after they are come to pass and convince them that this was God's Work I willingly grant that God did Reveal things to come to his Prophets both to do them a particular Honour e Gen. 18.17 by making them Privy to his secret Counsels and Designs and likewise to prepare and fit men for the Blessings foretold of
Reason to believe that either Job or his Friends spoke every thing which they say by Inspiration As to the Latter the Case is plain for God himself says that they had not spoken of him the thing that is right l Job 42.8 And even Job himself tho he maintain'd the Right side in the Controversy yet now and then is guilty of too vehement Expostulations m c. 7.11 c. 10.2 with God Almighty he stands too much upon his own Justification n c. 9 17.-10.7.-16.17.-13.23 See c. 33.9 10 11 -34.5 6. and Vindication of his Innocency and takes upon him to Censure the Methods of Providence too freely o c. 9.22 23 -19.7.-23.13 for which Faults we find afterwards he earnestly begs God's Pardon and p c. 42.3 c. Repents of them in Dust and Ashes I willingly acknowledge what the Jews themselves allow q See Bp. Patrick's Appendix to his Paraphrase tho they are very Jealous of giving this Honour to any that are not of their own Nation that Job and his Friends were Prophets among the Gentiles And indeed there 's reason to grant this for we find Eliphaz himself professes that he had a Night-vision r Job 4.13 which was not altogether Å¿ See c. 33.15 16. unusual in those days But Job had the Gift of Prophecy in a more Eminent manner as appears not only from that Famous Passage of his t Job 19.25 26 27 I know that my Redeemer lives c. which St. Jerom u In locum justly calls a Prophecy of the Resurrection but also because God spake x Job 31.8 to him by a Voice from Heaven and 't is probable he saw a Shekinah y c. 42.5 or Visible Appearance of the Divine Glory But allowing all this I see no proof that the Discourses set down in this Book ought to be lookt upon as spoken by the Spirit of Prophecy and therefore the Inspiration of the Book it self seems to me to consist in this viz. As 't is an Historical account of Job's Behaviour before and under his Afflictions and of his happy Issue out of them all together with his reflections and the discourses he had with his Friends upon that Occasion written by God's Direction for the Use of his Church to be an Example of Patience under Sufferings and a Vindication of God's Providence in permitting the Righteous to be Afflicted And since by Reason of the Antiquity of the Book the Author is not certainly known and Consequently we cannot Argue that 't is Inspired from the Character of its Author the Evidence for its being Inspired or Written by God's Direction for the Use of the Church must be Resolved into the Authority of the Jewish Canon as that is confirmed to us by Christ and his Apostles and this Book particularly Recommended by St. James z James 5.11 to the Use of Christians especially since the Design of it does exactly Answer the Character which St. Paul a Rom. 15.4 gives of the Old Testament Writings in General viz. That they were written for our Instruction that we thro Patience and Comfort of the Scriptures might have Hope And thus much I think may suffice in Answer to Mr. N's Objections against the Book of Job I shall only add that besides the Powerful Comforts this Book affords to the Afflicted and the submission it teaches us to yield to God's Will and to Adore the Unsearchableness of his Judgements which are the principal and obvious Designs of this Book 't is likewise of excellent Use upon another account viz. as it gives us a True Idea of Natural Religion b See c. 31. when it was in its Prime and as it was practis'd in those early Ages before the Tradition of the Creation was lost or the World quite overrun with Idolatry I proceed in the next place to consider what our Author alledges against the Book of Psalms His Opinion concerning these in general is b Fr. p. 230. Eng. p. 27. That there was no need of Inspiration but only of Piety and Zeal for the composing them and he further says That any Devout man may easily now-a-days praise God in that manner But all the Pious men that ever were in the Christian Church have been of another mind and never look'd upon their own Composures as Equal to the Psalms whereas if the Authors of the Psalms were assisted only with an Ordinary Degree of Piety and Devotion I can not see why the members of the Christian Church should not think themselves as well qualified to make Hymns to God as any of the Jewish that were no more than Pious and Devout men But saith Mr. N. c Ubi sup Fr. p. 277. Eng. p. 104. David never saith Thus saith the Lord as the Prophets who speak by God's Authority use to do Now tho it be false that David never uses this Expression for in several places he uses those very Words or such as are Equivalent d 1 Sam. 23.2 Psal 2.7.110.1 yet if 't were true I do not see what Service 't would do Mr. N. unless he can prove that Praising God by Inspiration is the same as Delivering a Message from him and Instructing the people in his Name which is the only proper occasion to usher in what is said with Thus saith the Lord e see Mr. Smith of Prophecy c. 7. Sure Mr. N. thinks that because we grant Prophecy to be the Highest Degree of Inspiration therefore there can be really no other sort But I am much mistaken if St. Paul was not of another mind when he said with Relation to the Diversity of Spiritual Gifts Are all Apostles are all Prophets f 1 Cor. 12.29 And If the foot shall say because I am not the hand I am not of the body is it therefore not of the body g Ib. v. 15. And we may easily apply the Apostles Reasoning to our present Case on this manner If Mr. N. shall say Because Composing of Psalms and Hymns is not Prophecying nor bringing a Message from God 't is not Inspiration is it therefore not Inspiration On the contrary 't is plain that the Holy Writers look'd upon Praising God by Spiritual Songs when 't was perform'd by Gifted Persons as a Real and Distinct sort of Inspiration and therefore call'd it Prophesying h 1 Sam. 10.5 1 Chr. 25.1 1 Cor. 11.5 Exod. 15.20 See Mr. Smith of Prophecy ch 7. and 8 And Dr. Hammond up on St. Luke 1.67 as that word is taken in a large Sense for Inspiration in General And methinks without Descanting so Nicely upon the several Degrees of Divine Inspiration and Weighing God's Gifts in a Balance to try it they can be found Wanting as our Author does this might be sufficient to convince Men that God Design'd the Book of Psalms for the Perpetual Use of the Church viz. That the Psalms have been one of the most considerable parts of
the Jews to threaten or denounce Evils in the form of Imprecation So the Comminations against those that broke the Law were utter'd by way of Imprecation Cursed be he that g Deut. 27. c. In like manner Excommunication was denounc'd in the Form of Imprecation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence the Apostle took that Expression Let him be Anathema h Gal. 1.8 1. Cor. 16.20 In the same sense we are to understand that Expression of St. Pauls concerning Alexander the Coppersmith i 2 Tim. 4.14 The Lord reward him according to his works The Reason of all which Expressions is to be taken from the promiscuous use of the Imperative and Future in the Hebrew and a very little Acquaintance with that Language will furnish a man with several Examples of this kind 3. But Thirdly if we understand these Expressions according to their common Acceptation and the Sense that is usually given of them and suppose them to imply Wishing evil to the Persons of whom they are spoken I cannot see but 't is Lawful nay our Duty in several Cases to pray to God against our Enemies and desire him to execute his Vengeance upon them the Lawfulness of this I shall prove in these following Instances 1. Where 't is not a Private Quarrel but one of a Publick Nature between two different Nations whether upon a Civil or Religious Account For in this Case as it is lawful for the Injur'd Party to indeavour to Right themselves by War so they may certainly Pray to God that he would give them Success and overthrow their Enemies especially if their Attempts be levell'd against the True Religion for then beside the Reasonableness of Praying to God to maintain his own Cause we may Pray that the Enemies of it may meet with a Remarkable Disappointment upon another Account too because it will be a powerful Argument for their Conversion and to bring them to the Acknowledgment of the Truth To which purpose the Psalmist prays k Psal 83.16 Fill their faces with shame O Lord that they may seek thy Name And accordingly those Psalms which were compos'd against the Enemies of the Jewish Church and Nation may now lawfully be used against the Enemies of the True Religion and of those that profess it and we find they have all along been applied so in the Christian Church 2. 'T is lawful to pray against our Enemies when they are the Disturbers of the Publick Peace For certainly the Charity which we owe to the Community lays upon us a Precedent and a higher Oligation than that which we owe to Private Persons and therefore where these two interfere the First Obligation must take place and 't is not only lawful but our Duty to shew no Kindness to Particular persons where we cannot do it without Prejudice to the Publick Or else I do not see how it would be consistent with Christian Charity to punish Malefactors and sure Wishing Evil is not more contrary to the Rules of Charity than Inflicting it Now many of the Imprecations which we find in the Psalms are against the Disturbers of the Publick Peace for they were not the Enemies of a Private man but of David a King and one of God's own Appointment too And certainly in such Cases where men are bound to the utmost of their Ability to bring Offenders to Condign Punishment they may every whit as lawfully leave them to God's Judgment and desire him to take the matter into his own Hand and Reward them according to their Works Especially if we consider that in David's Case where a Sovereign Authority was Oppress'd and Injur'd by Wicked men there no Court upon Earth could do him Right for he that was appointed by God to be an Avenger and to execute Wrath upon them that do Evil had this Power taken from him so that in this Case 't was very fit and just for him to Appeal to God and desire that he would execute Judgment upon obstinate Offenders who else would escape the Hand of Justice 3. T is lawful to pray to God to send down Judgments upon our Enemies when 't is not likely they will be Reform'd by Gentler Methods Sinners often despise the Patience and Long-suffering of God and take Incouragement from his Forbearance to go on in their Sins and when nothing will work upon them but Judgment and Fiery Indignation 't is a piece of Charity to pray to God to correct them and bring them under the Rod till they know that the most High rules over the Children of men Thus the Psalmist prays to God against Hardened Sinners l Psal 59.13 Consume them in thy wrath that they may not be and let them know that God rules in Jacob and unto the Ends of the Earth This severe dealing with such persons will force them at last to Glorifie God and others warn'd by their Examples will be the more careful not to offend in such a manner And this leads me to the 4th and Last Instance I shall mention wherein 't is lawful to pray against our Enemies and that is When Offenders are in all appearance Incorrigible and past Repentance When men have made themselves Uncapable of God's Mercy 't is fit that God should be Glorified in them by making them Remarkable Instances of his Justice and 't is the Duty of every one that is Zealous of God's Glory to desire and pray that he may get Honour by the Destruction of Hardned and Incorrigible Sinners as he did by the Overthrow of Pharaoh m Exod. 14.17 and likewise they ought to Rejoyce when they see it accomplish'd And surely when Charity has done her work when Patience and Kindness cannot soften our Enemies nor Prayers for their Conversion do any Good upon them it seems very agreeable to the Doctrine of the Scriptures that then we may pray God to execute his Vengeance upon them as some of the Christians when they saw Julian the Apostate's Implacable Rage and Inveterate Malice against the Christian Religion believing him to have Sinn'd the Sin unto Death pray'd to God for his Destruction that all the Kingdoms of the Earth might know that Jesus whom Julian had reproched was Lord and Christ n Greg. Naz. 2. Invect in Jul. p. 123 124. Orat. Funebr in Patr. p. 308. For the Scriptures when they teach us to be Patient and Forgive those that injure us inforce this Duty upon us by this Argument that Vengeance belongs to God and he will repay o Rom. 12.19 in due time and do us Justice Which shews that after we have done what we can to reclaim our Enemies and have indeavour'd to win them by Kindness if they still continue Implacable we may lawfully expect p Tertul. c. Marcion l. 4. c. 16. Cum dicit Mihi vindictam ego vindicabo Patientiam docet Vindictae expectatricem Ultionem mihi permisisse debuerat si ipse non praestat aut si mihi non
12.5 6. Jam. 4.6 1 Pet. 5.5 and other places plainly alluded q 2 Cor. 8.21 1 Pet. 4.18 to by them I say one would be apt to conclude that all these Considerations added to the Intrinsecal Worth of the Book it self might be a sufficient Inducement to look upon it as a Book compos'd by God's Appointment for the Benefit of the Church But before I proceed any further upon this Sebject I cannot but reflect by the way upon a Passage of our Author which the observing that this Book is quoted by the Apostles puts me in mind of and that is this He tells us r Fr. p. 278. Eng. p. 105 That the Apostles never cite the works of Solomon or the Book of Job What he says touching the former I have just now shewed to be manifestly False and there is as little truth in the later part of his words for the Book of Job is as formally quoted by St. Paul Å¿ 1 Cor. 3.19 as any Book of the Old Testament The Wisdom of the world is Foolishness with God FOR IT IS WRITTEN He taketh the Wise in their own Craftiness Which Citation as 't is certainly taken out of Job t c. 5. 13. so it shews withal a great Deference given by the Apostle to the Authority of the Book from whence 't is taken I thought fit just to observe this Mistake of Mr. N.'s tho it be of no great consequence on purpose to take down the Confidence of this Gentleman a little and shew him that he is not so exactly vers'd in the Scripture as a man that undertakes to Criticize upon it with so much Capriciousness and so little Reverence and Regard to its Authority ought to be But to return to the Matter in hand The Sum of the General Charge which our Author has advanc'd against the Divine Authority of the Book of Proverbs is a Fr. p. 271. En. p. 94. That they are Moral Sentences which a Good Man may pronounce without Inspiration As if no Book could be writ by God's Direction but where the matter is such as exceeds the reach of Humane Invention and cannot be the Product of our Rational Faculties And then by the same Reason no work must be ascribed to God but what exceeds the Power of Natural Agents and so God must be accounted the Author of nothing that happens in the World but what is purely Miraculous Now this Argument if it prove any thing at all it proves not only that this Book is not written by Divine Inspiration but farther that no Book of Moral Instructions can be For Morality is nothing but the Law of Right Reason instructing us how to govern our Actions and I suppose the Law of Reason contains nothing in it above Reason and Consequently nothing which is above the Capacity of a Wise and Good Man to think or speak from all which it will follow by our Authors Principles that whatever Book contains nothing in it but what is deducible from the Principles of meer Reason must be purely Humane and can have nothing Divine or of the Hand of God in it But is not Mr. N. sensible that the Corruption of Humane Nature the Degeneracy of the World the Uncertainty of Humane Reasoning and especially the Imperfect Knowledge we have of the Nature of God and our own Souls have so far Obscur'd a great many branches of this Law of Nature or Reason that there was need of a more than Ordinary Illumination to recover some Truths which were in a manner lost to the World and to set them in a True Light so as to Convince others of their Certainty and Excellency Sure our Author will grant that the Unity of the Godhead is a Truth that is Adequate to Humane Reason nay a Truth so Evident that one would wonder that Men of Searching Heads could miss of it and yet we find there were very few among the Heathens that had their Reason so throughly purg'd from the prejudices which Education and the Establisht Religion of the World had infected it with as to assent to this Truth And I think this is a sufficient Proof that Men may stand in need of a Teacher Divinely Inlightned to Discover such Truths to them as may indeed be deduced from the Principles of Reason when 't is in its true perfection but yet are such as few Men's Reason hath arrived to because of the Degeneracy and corruption to which 't is obnoxious And many such Truths are to be found in this Book which tho they are so reasonable that Men can't but assent to them assoon as they hear them yet 't is in vain to search for them in the Writings of the Best and Acutest Philosophers For Instance we may challenge them to shew such a Wise Instruction in any of their Books as Solomon lays down for the foundation of Morality b Prov. 1.7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom or this c Prov. 3.5 6 Trust in the Lord with all thy Heart and lean not to thy own Vnderstanding In all thy ways acknowledge him And indeed thro the whole Book the Duties of Morality are inforc'd upon Men from Religious Considerations and by Arguments taken from the Duty we owe to God and the Rewards and Punishments we must expect from him according as we behave our selves Which makes this Book differ very much from the Moral Writings of the Philosophers where we shall find little or nothing said concerning our Duty to God his Authority over us our Dependance upon him and the Submission we owe to him the Methods of Providence and the Rewards or Punishments of another Life all which are often insisted upon in this Book For this is a visible Defect in the Writings of the Philosophers that as they never inforce our Duty by Arguments which are taken from the Principles of Religion so their disswasives from Vice are taken from these Topicks viz. That 't is below the Dignity of Humane Nature and a Contradiction to Reason rather than from this Consideration That 't is displeasing to God a Breach of his Law and an Act of Disobedience which he will Punish I Confess some Philosophers that lived since the Appearance of Christianity especially the Emperor Antoninus have very Excellent Sayings concerning God's Providence and the Submission we owe to him But I am apt to think that as the Light of the Gospel Diffus'd it self over the World it in some measure Inlightned the minds even of those who Refus'd to imbrace it as the Sun gives Light before it reaches our Hemisphere My meaning is that the very Account which Inquisitive Men received of the Principles of Christianity helped to Clear up their minds and gave them more distinct Apprehensions of the Principles of Natural Religon than they had before But to return Beside the Precepts I have already mention'd there are many Excellent Advices given in the Proverbs to all sorts and Degrees of Men from Princes