miserably deceived, not a small number of credulous people, but the
whole Christian world, among whom we must allow that many were
judicious, and such as would not easily suffer themselves to be imposed
on; to which we may add, that others to whom the gospel was preached,
were exasperated enemies to those that preached it, and particularly to
these inspired penmen of scripture, and greatly prejudiced against their
doctrine, and therefore would use all possible endeavours to detect the
fallacy, if there had been any; so that it was morally impossible for
them to deceive the world in this instance, or make them believe that
the scriptures were the word of God, if there had not been the strongest
evidence to convince them of it, which they could not withstand or
gainsay.
But, that we may enter a little further into the character of the penmen
of scripture, let it be observed,
1. That they could not be charged by their enemies with immoral
practices, or notorious crimes, which might weaken the credit of the
truths they delivered: they were, indeed, compassed about with like
infirmities with other men; for it is not to be supposed, that, because
they were inspired, therefore they were perfectly free from sin; since
that does not necessarily follow from their having this privilege
conferred upon them; yet their enemies themselves could find no great
blemishes in their character, which might justly prejudice them against
their writings, or that might render them unfit to be employed in this
great work of transmitting the mind of God to the world.
2. They appear to be men of great integrity, not declining to discover
and aggravate their own faults, as well as the sins of others. Thus
Moses, though a man of great meekness, as to his general character,
discovers his own failing, in repining, and being uneasy, because of the
untoward and turbulent spirit of the people, over whom he was appointed
a governor, when he represents himself as complaining to God; _Wherefore
hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour
in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
Have I conceived all this people? Have I begotten them, that thou
shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom? Whence should I have
flesh to give unto all this people? I am not able to bear this people
alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me,
kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight;
and let me not see mine own wretchedness_, Numb. xi. 11-15. This was
certainly a very great blemish in the character of this excellent man;
but he does not attempt to conceal it; nor does he omit to mention his
backwardness to comply with the call of God, to deliver his brethren out
of their bondage in Egypt, but tells us what poor trifling excuses he
made; as when he says, Exod. iv. 10, 13, 19. _O Lord, I am not
eloquent_; and when God answers him, by promising to supply this defect,
he obstinately persists in declining this service, and says, _O my Lord,
send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send_; that is, by
any one but myself; so that he who expressed such courage and resolution
forty years before in defending the oppressed Israelites, and supposed
that his brethren would have understood that God, by his hand, would
deliver them, but they understood it not, Acts vii. 24, 25. when God
really called him to deliver them, he obstinately refused to obey; and,
indeed, whatever excuses he might make, the main thing that lay at the
bottom was fear, and therefore, as a further inducement to it, God tells
him, _The men were dead that sought his life_. All this he says
concerning himself; and elsewhere he tells us, Deut. xxxii. 51, 52.
compared with Numb. xx. 10, 11, 12. and Deut. iii. 25-27. that he did
not sanctify the name of God in the eyes of the people, but spake
unadvisedly with his lips; and that, for this, God would not let him go
into the land of Canaan, though he earnestly desired it.
And the prophet Jeremiah tells us, how he was ready to faint, and, in a
murmuring way, curses the day of his birth, Jer. xx. 7, 8, 14, 15, 16.
and seems almost determined _not to make mention of God, nor speak any
more in his name_, because he had been put in the stocks by Pashur, and
was derided and mocked by others, who were, indeed, below his notice.
And David discovered his own sin, though it was a very scandalous one,
in the matter of Uriah, Psal. li. the title, compared with ver. 14. and
prays, _Deliver me from blood guiltiness_; which is a confession of his
being guilty of murder.
The apostles also discover their infirmities. Thus Paul discovers his
furious temper, in persecuting the church, before his conversion, and
ranks himself amongst the chief of sinners, 1 Tim. i. 13, 15. And how
willing is Matthew to let the world know, that, before his conversion,
he was a publican: thus he characterises himself, Matt. x. 3. and says,
chap. ix. 9. that when Christ called him, he sat _at the receipt of
custom_, though the publicans were reckoned among the vilest of men for
extortion, and other crimes, and were universally hated by the Jews.
Moreover as the penmen of scripture expose their own crimes, so they do
those of their nearest and dearest friends and relatives, which carnal
policy would have inclined them to conceal. Thus Moses tells us how
Aaron his brother made the golden calf, and so was the encourager and
promoter of the people’s idolatry; that it was he that _bid them break
off the golden ear-rings, which he received at their hand, whereof he
made a molten calf, and then built an altar before it_, Exod. xxxii.
2-5. Though the Jewish historian[42] was so politic, as to conceal this
thing, for the honour of his own nation; and therefore when he tells us,
that Moses went up into the mount to receive the law, he says nothing of
the scandalous crime, which the people were guilty of at the foot of the
mountain at the same time.
Moreover, as they do not conceal their sins, so they sometimes declare
the meanness of their extraction, which shewed that they did not design
to have honour from men. Thus Amos tells us, Amos i. 1. _He was among
the herdmen of Tekoa_: and that he was not bred up in the schools of the
prophets, which he intends, when he styles himself, _no prophet, neither
a prophet’s son_, chap. vii. 14.
And the evangelists occasionally tell the world how they were
fisher-men, when called to be Christ’s disciples, and so not bred up in
the schools of learning among the Jews.[43]
3. They were very far from being crafty or designing men; neither did
they appear to be men that were able to manage an imposture of this
nature, or frame a new scheme of religion, and, at the same time, make
the world believe that it was from God. For,
(1.) None that read the scriptures can find any appearance of design in
the penmen thereof, to advance themselves or families. Moses, indeed,
had the burden of government, but he did not affect the pomp and
splendor of a king; neither did he make any provision for his family, so
as to advance them to great honours in the world, which it was in his
power to have done: the laws he gave, rendered those of his own tribe,
to wit, that of Levi, incapable of, and not designed for kingly
government; and the highest honour of the priesthood, which was fixed in
that tribe, was conferred on his brother’s children, not his own.
(2.) The prophets were very few of them great men in the world, not
advanced to great places in the government; the esteem and reputation
they had among the people at any time, was only for their integrity, and
the honour conferred on them by God; and the apostles were plain men,
who drove on no design to gain riches and honours from those to whom
they preached the gospel; but, on the other hand, they expected nothing
but poverty, reproach, imprisonment, and, at last, to die a violent
death: therefore, how can it be supposed that they were subtle designing
men, who had some worldly advantage in view? It is plain that they had
no design but to do what God commanded, and to communicate what they had
received from him, and shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God,
whatever it cost them. The apostle Paul was so far from endeavouring to
enrich himself by preaching the gospel, that he tells the church, _I
seek not your’s, but you_, 2 Cor. xii. 14. and how he was fortified
against the afflictions, which he foresaw would attend his ministry,
when he says, Philip, iv. 11, 12. _I have learned in whatsoever state I
am, therewith to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to
abound, to be full, and to be hungry, to abound and to suffer want_: and
he was not only content to bear afflictions, but, when called to it, he
professes himself to _take pleasure in reproach, in necessities, in
persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake_, 2 Cor. xii. 10.
Hitherto we have proved, that the penmen of scripture were men of such a
character, that they would not designedly impose on mankind. But some
will say, might they not be imposed on themselves, and think they were
divinely inspired, when they were not?
To this it may be answered, that if they were deceived or imposed on
themselves, when they thought they received the scripture by divine
inspiration, this must proceed from one of these two causes: either,
1. They took what was the result of a heated fancy, a strong
imagination, or raised affections for inspiration, as some of our modern
enthusiasts have done, who have prefaced their warnings, as they call
them, with, _Thus saith the Lord_, &c. when the Lord did not speak by
them. And the deists have the same notion of the prophets and inspired
penmen of scripture, and esteem their writings no farther than as they
contain the law of nature, or those doctrines that are self-evident, or
might have been invented by the reason of man; and as such they receive
them, without any regard to divine inspiration. Or,
2. If the inspired penmen of scripture were otherwise imposed on, it
must be by a diabolic inspiration, of which, in other cases, the world
has had various instances, when Satan is said (to use the apostle’s
words) to _transform himself into an angel of light_, 2 Cor. xi. 14. or
has been suffered to deceive his followers, not only by putting forth
signs and lying wonders, but impressing their minds with strong
delusions, whereby they have believed a lie, 2 Thess. ii. 9, 11. as
supposing it to proceed from divine inspiration; and, to give
countenance thereto, has produced such violent agitations, tremblings,
or distortions in their bodies, as have seemed preternatural, not much
unlike those with which the heathen oracles were delivered of old, which
were called by some, a divine fury; but this cannot, with any shadow of
reason, be applied to the inspired writers, therefore they were not
imposed on.
1. They did not mistake their own fancies for divine revelation.
To suppose that they did so, is not only to conclude that all revealed
religion is a delusion; but that the church in all ages, and amongst
them the wisest and best of men, have been enthusiasts, and all their
hope, founded on this revelation, has been no better than a vain dream.
But it is one thing to assert, and another thing to prove; and because
they who take this liberty to reproach the scriptures, pretend not to
support their charge by argument, it might seem less necessary to make a
reply: however, that our faith may be established, we shall briefly
consider this objection. Therefore,
(1.) This charge is either brought against all that ever spake or wrote
by divine inspiration, or only against some of them; if only some of
them have been thus deluded, we might demand particular instances of any
of the inspired writers, who are liable to this charge, together with
the reasons thereof. If it be said that some of them were men of less
wisdom, or had not those advantages to improve their natural abilities,
as others have had; this will not be sufficient to support their cause,
since God can make use of what instruments he pleases, and endow them
with wisdom in an extraordinary way, to qualify them for the service he
calls them to, whereby the glory of his sovereignty more appears. If he
pleases to chuse the _foolish things of the world, to confound the wise,
that no flesh shall glory in his presence_, 1 Cor. i. 27, 29. shall he
for this be called to an account by vain man? And it is certain, that
some who have had this gift, have, as the consequence thereof, been
endowed with such wisdom, as has tended to confound their most malicious
enemies. But we will suppose that they, who bring this charge against
the inspired writers, will not pretend to single out any among them, but
accuse them all in general of enthusiasm; and if this charge be grounded
on the vain pretensions of some to inspiration in this age, in which we
have no ground to expect this divine gift, will it follow, that, because
some are deluded, therefore divine revelation, supported by
incontestable evidence, was a delusion? Or if it be said, that some of
old, whom we conclude to have been inspired, were called enthusiasts, as
Jehu, and his fellow-soldiers concluded the prophet to be, who was sent
to anoint him king, 2 Kings ix. 11. nothing can be inferred from thence,
but that there were, in all ages, some Deists, who have treated things
sacred with reproach and ridicule.
(2.) But if this charge be pretended to be supported by any thing that
has the least appearance of an argument, it will be alleged, in defence
thereof, that it is impossible for a person certainly to know himself to
be inspired at any time; if that could be proved indeed, it would be
something to the purpose: and inasmuch as we are obliged to assert the
contrary, it will be demanded, how it might be known that a person was
under inspiration, or what are the certain marks by which we may
conclude that the inspired writers were not mistaken in this matter? I
confess, it is somewhat difficult to determine this question, especially
since inspiration has so long ceased in the world; but we shall
endeavour to answer it, by laying down the following propositions.
1. If some powerful and impressive influences of the Spirit of God on
the souls of men, in the more common and ordinary methods of divine
providence and grace, have been not only experienced, but their truth
and reality discerned by them, who have been favoured therewith, so that
without pretending to inspiration, they had sufficient reason to
conclude that they were divine; certainly when God was pleased to
converse with men in such a way, as that which we call inspiration, it
was not impossible for them to conclude that they were inspired; which
is an argument taken from the less to the greater.
2. There were some particular instances, in which it seemed absolutely
necessary, that they who received intimations from God in such a way,
should have infallible evidence that they were not mistaken, especially
when some great duty was to be performed by them, pursuant to a divine
command, in which it would be a dangerous thing for them to be deceived;
as in the case of Abraham’s offering up his son; and Jacob’s going with
his family into Egypt, which was a forsaking the promised land, an
exposing them to the loss of their religion, through the influence or
example of those with whom they went to sojourn; and it might be
uncertain whether they should ever return or no; therefore he needed a
divine warrant, enquired of God with respect to this matter, and
doubtless had some way to be infallibly assured concerning the divine
will relating hereunto, Gen. xlvi. 2, 3, 4. Moreover, our Saviour’s
disciples, leaving their families, going into the most remote parts of
the world to propagate the gospel, which they had received in this way,
evinces the necessity of their knowing themselves to be under a divine
inspiration: and if they had been deceived in this matter, would they
not have been reproved for it by him, whose intimations they are
supposed to have followed in the simplicity of their hearts?
3. As to the way by which God might convince them, beyond all manner of
doubt, that he spake to them who were under divine inspiration, there
are various ways, that might have been taken, and probably were. As,
(1.) Sometimes extraordinary impressions were made on the soul of the
prophet, arising from the immediate access of God to it: of this we have
frequent instances in scripture; as in that particular vision which
Daniel saw, which occasioned his _comeliness to be turned into
corruption, and his having no strength_, Dan. x. 8. and the vision of
our Saviour, which John saw, the effect whereof was his falling at his
feet as dead, Rev. i. 17. and many other instances of the like nature
might be referred to, which were, at least, antecedent to inspiration,
and the result of the access of God to the soul, which occasioned such a
change in nature, as could not but be discerned after the person had a
little recovered himself. But if it be said, that such an effect as this
might be produced by an infernal spirit, the answer I would give to that
is, that supposing this possible, yet it must be proved that God would
suffer it, especially in such an instance, in which his own cause was so
much concerned; and besides, it is not improbable that the soul of the
prophet was sometimes brought into such a frame of spirit, as resembled
the heavenly state, as much as it is possible for any one to attain to
in this world; such an intercourse as this made Jacob say, _This is no
other but the house of God, and this the gate of heaven_. Gen. xxviii.
17.
(2.) As this converse with God contained in it something supernatural
and very extraordinary in the effects thereof, so it is not improbable
that God might work miracles, of various kinds, to confirm the prophet’s
belief as to this matter, though they are not particularly recorded in
all the instances in which we read of inspiration; and this would be as
full an evidence as could be desired.
If it be objected, that it is not probable that miracles were always
wrought to give this conviction: I would not be too peremptory in
pretending to determine this matter, it is sufficient to say they were
sometimes wrought; but, however, there were, doubtless, some other
concurring circumstances, which put the thing out of all dispute; for
not to suppose this, is to reflect on the wisdom and goodness of God, as
well as to depreciate one of the greatest honours which he has been
pleased to confer upon men. Thus we have considered the unreasonableness
of the charge brought against the inspired penmen of scripture, as
though they were imposed on, by mistaking their enthusiastic fancies for
divine revelation. We proceed to consider,
2. That they were not imposed upon by the devil, as mistaking some
impressions made by him on their minds, for divine revelation: this is
evident; for
1. Divine inspiration was not only occasional, or conferred in some
particular instances, with a design to amuse the world, or confirm some
doctrines which were altogether new, impure, and subversive of the
divine glory in some ages thereof, when men were universally degenerate,
and had cast off God and religion; but it was continued in the church
for many ages, when they evidently appeared to be the peculiar objects
of the divine regard; and therefore,
2. God would never have suffered the devil, in such circumstances of
time and things, to have deluded the world, and that in such a degree,
as that he should be the author of that rule of faith, which he designed
to make use of to propagate his interest therein; so that his people
should be beholden to their grand enemy for those doctrines which were
transmitted by inspiration.
3. Satan would have acted against his own interest, should he have
inspired men to propagate a religion, which has a direct tendency to
overthrow his own kingdom; in which instance, as our Saviour observes,
_His kingdom would be divided against itself_, Matth. xii. 25, 26. As it
is contrary to the wisdom and holiness of God to suffer it, so Satan
could never have done it out of choice, and he has too much subtilty to
do it through mistake; therefore the inspired writers could not be
imposed on by any infernal spirit.
And to this we may add, that this could not be done by a good angel; for
if such a one had pretended herein to have imitated, or as it were,
usurped the throne of God, he would not have deserved the character of a
good angel; therefore it follows, that they could not have been inspired
by any but God himself.
Having considered that the penmen of scripture have faithfully
transmitted to us what they received by divine inspiration, we must now
take notice of some things which are alleged by those who endeavour not
only to depreciate, but overthrow the divine authority of the sacred
writings, when they allege that they were only inspired, as to the
substance or general idea of what they committed to writing, and were
left to express the things contained therein in their own words, which,
as they suppose, hath occasioned some contradictions, which they pretend
to be found therein, arising from the treachery of their memories, or
the unfitness of their style, to express what had been communicated to
them. This they found on the difference of style observed in the various
books thereof; as some are written in an elegant and lofty style, others
clouded with mystical and dark expressions; some are more plain, others
are laid down in an argumentative way; all which differing ways of
speaking they suppose agreeable to the character of the inspired writers
thereof: so that, though the matter contains in it something divine, the
words and phrases, in which it is delivered can hardly be reckoned so.
And as for some books of scripture, especially those that are
historical, they suppose that these might be written without
inspiration, and that some of them were taken from the histories which
were then in being, or some occurrences which were observed in the days
in which the writers lived, and were generally known and believed in
those times, to which they more immediately relate.
And as for those books of scripture, which are more especially
doctrinal, they suppose that there are many mistakes in them, but that
these respect only doctrines of less importance; whereas the providence
of God has prevented them from making any gross or notorious blunders,
subversive of natural religion; so that the scripture may be deemed
sufficient to answer the general design thereof, in propagating religion
in the world, though we are not obliged to conclude that it is
altogether free from those imperfections that will necessarily attend
such a kind of inspiration.
_Answ._ If this account of scripture be true, it would hardly deserve to
be called the word of God; therefore, that we may vindicate it from this
aspersion, let it be considered,
1. As to the different styles observed in the various books thereof, it
does not follow from hence, that the penmen were left to deliver what
they received, in their own words; for certainly it was no difficult
matter for the Spirit of God to furnish the writers thereof with words,
as well as matter, and to inspire them to write in a style agreeable to
what they used in other cases, whereby they might better understand and
communicate the sense thereof to those to whom it was first given; as if
a person should send a message by a child, it is an easy matter to put
such words into his mouth as are agreeable to his common way of
speaking, without leaving the matter to him to express it in his own
words: thus the inspired writers might be furnished with words by the
Holy Ghost, adapted to that style which they commonly used, without
supposing they were left to themselves to clothe the general ideas with
their own words.[44]