his sovereignty to leave it to men, to prescribe what is acceptable in
his sight. They may, indeed, give laws, and thereby oblige their
subjects to obedience; but these must be such as are within their own
sphere; their power does not extend itself to religious matters, so that
our faith and duty to God should depend upon their will; for this would
be a bold presumption, and extending their authority and influence
beyond due bounds; therefore since a rule of faith is necessary, we must
conclude that God has given us such an one; and it must certainly be
worthy of himself, and therefore perfect, and every way sufficient to
answer the end thereof.
That it is so, farther appears from the event, or from the happy
consequences of our obedience to it; from that peace, joy, and holiness,
which believers are made partakers of, while steadfastly adhering to
this rule: thus it is said, that _through comfort of the scriptures they
have hope_, Rom. xv. 4. and that hereby _the man of God is made wise to
salvation, and perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works_, 2
Tim. iii. 15, 17. The perfection of the law is demonstrated, by the
Psalmist, by its effects, in that it _converts the soul, makes wise the
simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes_, Psal. xix. 7, 8.
We might farther argue, that the scripture is a perfect rule of faith,
from those threatnings which are denounced against them, who pretend to
add to, or take from it; this was strictly forbidden, even when there
was but a part of scripture committed to writing. Thus says God; _Ye
shall not add to the word which I command you; neither shall ye diminish
ought from it_, Deut. iv. 2. And the apostle denounces an anathema
against any one who should pretend to preach any other gospel, than that
which he had received from God, Gal. i. 8, 9. And, in the close of the
scripture, our Saviour testifies, to every man, that _if any should add
to these things, God would add to him the plagues written in this book.
And if any should take away from this book, God would take away his part
out of the book of life_, Rev. xxii. 18, 19.
Thus having considered the scripture as a rule of faith, we proceed to
shew what are the properties which belong to it as such.
1. A rule, when it is designed for general use, must have the sanction
of public authority: thus human laws, by which a nation is to be
governed, which are a rule to determine the goodness or badness of men’s
actions, and their desert of rewards or punishments accordingly, must be
established by public authority. Even so the scripture is a rule of
faith, as it contains the divine laws, by which the actions of men are
to be tried, together with the ground which some have to expect future
blessedness, and others to fear punishments threatened to those who walk
not according to this rule.
2. A rule by which we are to judge of the nature, truth, excellency,
perfection, or imperfection of any thing, must be infallible, or else it
is of no use; and, as such, nothing must be added to, or taken from it,
for then it would cease to be a perfect rule: thus it must be a certain
and impartial standard, by which things are to be tried: Such a rule as
this is scripture, as was but now observed. And it is an impartial rule,
to which, as a standard, all truth and goodness is to be reduced and
measured by it; _To the law, and to the testimony; if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them_, Isa.
viii. 20.
3. All appeals are to be made to a rule, and controversies to be tried
and determined by it. Thus the scripture, as it is a rule of faith, is a
judge of controversies; so that whatever different sentiments men have
about religion, all must be reduced to, and the warrantableness thereof
tried hereby, and a stop put to growing errors by an appeal to this
rule, rather than to coercive power, or the carnal weapons of violence
and persecution.
Moreover, the judgment we pass on ourselves, as being sincere or
hypocrites, accepted or rejected of God, is to be formed by comparing
our conduct with scripture, as the rule by which we are to try the
goodness or badness of our state, and of our actions.
4. A rule must have nothing of a different nature set up in competition
with, or opposition to it; for that would be to render it useless, and
unfit to be the standard of truth: thus scripture is the only rule of
faith, and therefore no human traditions are to be set up as standards
of faith in competition with it, for that would be to suppose it not to
be a perfect rule. This the Papists do, and therefore may be charged, as
the Pharisees were of old by our Saviour, with _transgressing and making
the commandment of none effect by their tradition_, Mat. xv. 3, 6.
concerning whom he also says, that _in vain they worship him, teaching
for doctrines the commandments of men_, ver. 9. What is this but to
reflect on the wisdom, and affront the authority and sovereignty of God,
by casting this contempt on that rule of faith which he hath given?
Having considered scripture as a rule of faith and obedience, it is
farther observed, that it is the only rule thereof, in opposition to the
Popish doctrine of human traditions, as pretended to be of equal
authority with it; by which means the law of God is made void at this
day, as it was by the Jews in our Saviour’s time, and the scripture
supposed to be an imperfect rule; the defect whereof they take this
method to supply; and to give countenance thereto,
1. They refer to those Scriptures, in which, it is said, our Saviour
_did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not
written_, John xx. 30. and his own words, wherein he tells them, that he
had _many things to say unto them, which they could not then bear_, John
xvi. 12. as also to the words of the apostle Paul, Acts xx. 35. in which
he puts the church in mind of a saying of our Saviour, received by
tradition, because not contained in any of the evangels, _viz._ _it is
more blessed to give than to receive_.
To which it may be replied,
_Answ._ (1.) That though it is true there were many things done, and
words spoken by our Saviour, which are not recorded in Scripture, and
therefore we must be content not to know them, being satisfied with
this, that nothing is omitted therein which is necessary to salvation,
yet to pretend to recover, or transmit them to us by tradition, is to
assert and not to prove, what they impose on us as matters of faith.
(2.) Those things which our Saviour had to say, which he did not then
impart to his disciples, because they were not able to bear them,
respected, as is more than probable, what he designed to discover to
them after his resurrection, during his forty days abode here on earth,
or by his Spirit, after his ascension into heaven, concerning the change
of the Sabbath, from the seventh, to the first day of the week, the
abolition of the ceremonial law, the Spirituality of his kingdom, which
they were at that time less able to bear than they were afterwards, and
other things relating to the success of their ministry, the gathering
and governing of those churches, which should be planted by them; these
seem to be intended by that expression, and not those doctrines which
the Papists transmit by oral traditions; such as the use of oil and
spittle, together with water in baptism, and the sign of the cross
therein; the baptism of bells, the lighting up of candles in churches at
noon-day: nor that of purgatory, or praying for the dead, or giving
divine adoration to images or relics, which are altogether unscriptural,
and such as he would not have, at any time, communicated unto them.
(3.) Those words of our Saviour, _It is more blessed to give than to
receive_, though they are not contained in one distinct proposition, or
in express words in the gospels, yet he therein exhorts his people _to
give to him that asketh_; and speaks of the blessing that attends this
duty, _that they might be_, that is, approve themselves to be _the
children of their Father_, Mat. v. 42. compared with 45. and exhorts
them to hospitality to the poor, and adds a blessing to it, Luke xiv.
12, 13, 14. Or, suppose the apostle refers to a saying frequently used
by our Saviour, which might then be remembered by some who had conversed
with him; this is no sufficient warrant for any one to advance doctrines
contrary to those our Saviour delivered, under a pretence of having
received them by unwritten tradition.
2. This doctrine is farther defended from the words of the apostle, in 1
Tim. vi. 20. where he advises Timothy to _keep that which was committed
to his trust_, _viz._ those traditions which he was to remember and
communicate to others: and also the advice which he gives to the church,
_To hold the traditions which they had been taught, either by word or by
his epistle_, 2 Thess. ii. 15. the former respects, say they, unwritten
traditions, the latter is inspired writings.
_Answ._ That which was committed to Timothy to keep, was either _the
form of sound words_, or the gospel, which he was to _hold fast_, 2 Tim.
i. 13. or the ministry which he had received of the Lord, or those gifts
and graces which were communicated to him, to fit him for public
service. And as for those traditions which he speaks of in the other
scripture, the meaning is only this: that they should remember not only
the doctrines they had received from him, which were contained in his
inspired epistles, but those which were agreeable to scripture, that he
had imparted in the exercise of his public ministry; the former were to
be depended upon as an infallible rule of faith, the latter to be
retained and improved as agreeable thereunto, and
3. They farther add, that it was by this means that God instructed his
church for above two thousand years before the scripture was committed
to writing.
_Answ._ To this it may be replied, that God communicated his mind and
will to them, during that interval, in an extraordinary manner, as has
been before observed, page 52, 53, which cannot be said of any of those
traditions which are pleaded for by them.
4. It is farther argued, that the book of the law was formerly lost in
Josiah’s time; for it is said, that when it was found, and a part of it
read to him, he rent his clothes, and was astonished, as though he had
never read it before, 2 Kings xxii. 8. to 11, yet he being a good man,
was well instructed in the doctrines of religion; therefore this must
have been by tradition.
_Answ._ To this it may be answered, that the book, which was then found,
was doubtless, an original manuscript of Scripture, either of all the
books of Moses or Deuteronomy in particular, but it is not to be
supposed that he had never read it before; for a person may be affected
at one time in reading that portion of scripture, which he has often
read without its having the like effect upon him; and doubtless, there
were many copies of scripture transcribed, by which he was made
acquainted with the doctrines of religion, without learning them from
uncertain traditions.
5. They farther allege, that some books of scripture are lost, and
therefore it is necessary that they should be supplied this way; the
instances they give of this are some books referred to in scripture,
_viz._ _the book of the wars of the Lord_, Numb. xxi. 14. and another
going under the name of Jasher, 2 Sam. i. 18. compared with Josh. x. 13.
and another called _the book of the acts of Solomon_, 1 Kings xi. 41.
and also his Songs and Proverbs, and the account he gives of _trees,
plants, beasts, fowls, creeping things, and fishes_, 1 Kings, iv. 32,
33. There are also other books said to be written by Samuel, Nathan, and
Gad, 1 Chron. xxix. 29. the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and _the
visions of Iddo the seer_, 2 Chron. ix. 29. and Jeremiah’s lamentation
for Josiah, is said to be written _in the books of the Lamentations_, 2
Chron. xxxv. 25. whereas there is no mention of Josiah in the book of
scripture, which goes under that name; therefore they suppose that there
was some other book so called which was written by that prophet, but is
now lost.
_Answ._ 1. As to the argument in general, that some books of scripture
are lost, suppose we should take it for granted that they are so, must
this loss be supplied by traditions, pretended to be divine, though
without sufficient proof: however, I am not willing to make this
concession, though, indeed, some Protestant divines have done it, as
thinking it equally supposable, that some books, written by divine
inspiration, might be lost, as well as many words spoke by the same
inspiration: but even these constantly maintain that whatever inspired
writings may have been lost, yet there is no doctrine necessary to the
edification of the church, in what immediately relates to salvation, but
what is contained in those writings, which are preserved, by the care
and goodness of providence, to this day; but, without giving into this
concession, I would rather adhere to the more commonly received opinion,
that no book designed to be a part of the canon of scripture is lost,
though many uninspired writings have perished; and therefore as to those
books but now mentioned, they refer to some books of scripture, in which
we have no mention of the inspired writers thereof, which, as is more
than probable, were wrote by some noted prophet that flourished in the
church at that time, which their respective histories refer to;
therefore some suppose that the books of Nathan and Gad, or Iddo, refer
to those of Kings or Chronicles, which are not lost. But since this is
only a probable conjecture, we pass it over, and add, that it is not
unreasonable to suppose that the books said to be written by them, as
also those of Solomon, that are not contained in scripture, were not
written by divine inspiration, which is not only a safe but sufficient
answer to the objection. As for Jeremiah’s lamentation for Josiah, it is
probable that the book of scripture, which goes under that name, was
written on the occasion of Josiah’s death, in which, though he doth not
mention the name of that good king, yet he laments the desolating
judgments which were to follow soon after it.
Moreover, the Papists pretend, that some part of the New Testament is
lost; particularly the epistle from Laodicea, mentioned in Col. iv. 16.
and one written to the Corinthians, _not to company with fornicators_, 1
Cor. v. 9. and another mentioned, 2 Cor. vii. 8. _by which he made them
sorry_.
_Answ._ 1. As to the epistle from Laodicea that was probably one of his
inspired epistles, written by him when at Laodicea, and not directed, as
is pretended, to the Laodiceans.
2. As to that epistle, which he is supposed to have written to the
Corinthians, it is not expressly said that it was another epistle he had
wrote to them; but it is plainly intimated, ver. 12. that he refers to
the epistle, which he was then writing to them; a part of which related
to that subject, as this chapter, in particular does,
3. As to the letter, which he wrote to them, _which made them sorry_, it
is not necessary to suppose that it was written by divine inspiration;
for as every thing he delivered by word of mouth, was not by the
extraordinary _afflatus_ of the Holy Ghost, why may we not suppose that
there were several epistles written by him to the churches, some to
comfort, others to admonish, reprove, or make them sorry, besides those
that he was inspired to write?
Having considered the arguments brought to prove that some books of
scripture are lost, we shall now prove, on the other hand, that we have
the canon thereof compleat and entire. Some think this is sufficiently
evident from what our Saviour says, _Till heaven and earth pass away,
one jot, or tittle shall not pass from the law_, Mat. v. 18. and _it is
easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one tittle of the law to
fail_, Luke xvi. 17. If God will take care of every jot and tittle of
scripture, will he not take care that no whole book, designed to be a
part of the rule of faith, should be entirely lost? It is objected,
indeed, to this, that our Saviour hereby intends principally the
doctrines or precepts contained in the law; but if the subject matter
thereof shall not be lost, surely the scripture that contains it shall
be preserved entire.
But this will more evidently appear, if we consider that the books of
the Old Testament were compleat in our Saviour’s time; for it is said,
_That beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded to them in
all the scriptures, the things concerning himself_, Luke xxiv. 27. and
this may also be proved from what the apostle says, _Whatsoever things
were written aforetime, were written for our learning_, Rom. xv. 4. now
it is impossible that they should be written for our learning if they
are lost.
To this it may be added, that the goodness of God, and the care of his
providence, with respect to this church, farther evinces this truth; for
if he gave them ground to conclude that _he would be with them always,
even to the end of the world_, Matth. xxviii. 20. surely this argues,
that he would preserve the rule he had given them to walk by, from all
the injuries of time, so that it should not be lost to the end of the
world.
Again, the Jews were the keepers of the oracles of God, Rom. iii. 2. now
they are not reproved by our Saviour, or the apostle Paul, for any
unfaithfulness in not preserving them entire; and certainly our Saviour,
when he reproves them for making void the law by their traditions, and
threatens those that should add to or take from it, if he had found them
faulty, in not having faithfully preserved all the scriptures committed
to them, he would have severely reproved them for this great breach of
trust.
_Object._ It is objected against the scriptures being a perfect rule of
faith, that they are in several places corrupted, _viz._ that the Old
Testament was so by the Jews, out of malice against our Saviour, and the
Christian religion, that they might conceal, or pervert to another
sense, some prophecies relating to the Messiah, and the gospel-state.
And as for the New Testament, they pretend that it was corrupted by some
heretics, in defence of their perverse doctrines.
_Answ._ 1. As to the Old Testament, it is very improbable and
unreasonable to suppose that it was corrupted by the Jews. For,
(1.) Before our Saviour’s time, no valuable end could be answered
thereby; for then they expected the Messiah to come, according to what
was foretold by the prophets, and understood their predictions in a true
sense.
(2.) After he was come, and Christianity took place in the world, though
malice might have prompted them to it, yet they would not do it, because
they had always been trained up in this notion, that it was the vilest
crime to add to, take from, or alter it: so that one of their own
writers[19] says concerning them, that they would rather die an hundred
deaths, than suffer the law to be changed in any instance; yea, they
have such a veneration for the law, that if, by any accident, part of it
should fall to the ground, they would proclaim a fast as fearing lest,
for this, God would destroy the whole world, and reduce it to its first
chaos: and can any one think, that, under any pretence whatever, they
would designedly corrupt the Old Testament? Yea, they were so far from
doing it, that they took the greatest care, even to superstition, to
prevent its being corrupted, through inadvertency, and accordingly
numbered not only the books and sections, but even the words and
letters, that not a single letter might be added to, or taken from it.
(3.) If they had any inclination to do this, out of malice against
Christianity, it would have been to no purpose, after our Saviour’s
time; for it was then translated into Greek, and this translation was in
the hands of almost all Christians; so that the fallacy would soon have
been detected. And if they had corrupted some copies of the Hebrew
Bible, they could not have corrupted or altered them all; therefore to
attempt any thing of this kind, would have been to expose themselves to
no purpose.
(4.) It would not have been for their own advantage to pervert it; for,
in altering the texts that make for Christianity, they would (especially
if the fraud should have been detected) have weakened their own cause so
far, that the reputation of scripture being hereby lost, they could not
have made use of it to that advantage, to prove their own religion from
it.
But, notwithstanding all this out-cry of the scriptures being perverted,
they pretend to give no proof hereof, except in two or three words,
which do not much affect the cause of Christianity; whereas, if the Jews
had designed to pervert it, why did they not alter the fifty-third of
Isaiah, and many other scriptures, which so plainly speak of the person
and offices of the Messiah?
2. As to the other part of the objection, that the New Testament hath
been corrupted by heretics since our Saviour’s time, whatever charge
hath been brought against the Arians, and some others, of having out
some words, or verses, which tend to overthrow their scheme, they have
not been able, even when the empire was most favourable to their cause,
to alter all the copies; so that their fallacy has been detected, and
the corruption amended.
As for those various readings that there are of the same text, these
consist principally in literal alterations, which do not much tend to
pervert the sense thereof. It was next to impossible for so many copies
of scripture to be transcribed without some mistakes, since they who
were employed in this work were not under the infallible direction of
the Spirit of God, as the first penmen were; yet the providence of God
hath not suffered them to make notorious mistakes; and whatever mistakes
there may be in one copy, they may be corrected by another; so that the
scripture is not, for this reason, chargeable with the reproach cast
upon it, as though it were not a perfect rule of faith.
Footnote 15:
He who has created all things, with all their relations, and who is
the universal Sovereign, has a right to the allegiance of his rational
creatures, and they are under obligation to obey his laws, because it
is his will that they should do so. He has connected our _interest_
with our duty, as a motive to obedience, and because he is good; but
if we should substitute utility for his authority, and conform to his
laws, merely because they are advantageous, we rebel against our
Sovereign, and renounce his authority, that we may pursue our own
advantage. Virtue is amiable for its intrinsic rectitude. If we choose
to practice it merely because _beautiful_, we please ourselves; and
though the excellency of virtue is intended as a motive, and it is
well for the man who is charmed by it, yet, if this be the only
inducement, he has lost sight of the Divine authority, and his virtue
is no obedience to the laws of God. If the obligation of virtue be
founded solely on its utility, or beauty, we are at liberty to forego
our advantage, or pleasure without guilt, and remorse of conscience
will be unaccountable. It is also _fit and proper_, that we should
practice virtue, but this is no more to be substituted for the Divine
authority, than the other motives of advantage or pleasure. If it be
objected, that the fitness of moral good is eternal, and a rule even
to Deity, and so may be deemed a foundation of the obligation of human
virtue. It is conceded that the fitness of virtue is eternal, for God
is eternal, and has been always holy, and just; in the same manner
also the beauty of virtue is eternal; but to suppose these to have
existed anterior to thought and action, and to be independent of an
eternally and immutably holy God is to indulge the mind in
speculations, which, to say the least of them, are groundless. We may
as well assign a cause to eternal existence, as to eternal holiness.
When the Creator formed the Universe of intelligent creatures, he gave
them, with their existence, the various relations and circumstances
which sprang up with them: and their obligations with respect to him
and his works originated at the same time, and from the same source;
which could be no other than the Divine pleasure; and the positive
express appointments, which have been since super-added, rest upon the
same basis, the will of God.