Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n
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A42786
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Remarks on remarks, or, The Rector of Bury's sermon vindicated his charge exhibited against the dissenters for endeavouring to corrupt the word of God justified and farther confirmed : also the absurdities and notorious falsities of Mr. Owen and other pretended ministers of the Gospel are detected and expos'd / by Thomas Gipps, Rector of Bury.
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Gipps, Thomas, d. 1709.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing G780; ESTC R34916
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57,995
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68
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Slur upon the Word of God and question'd its Divine Authority But Dr. L. further adds pag. 542. That it was one Fundamental of the Sadducees Faith That no Article in Religion ought to be admitted which cannot be made out plainly from the Five Books of Moses From hence it appears that they did not believe the other Books of Scripture to be of equal Authority with the Pentateuch nor sufficient of themselves to establish any Doctrine of Faith Now whereas the Doctor argues and proves out of his Rabbins that the Sadducees and Samaritans us'd and read and believ'd all the other Books as well as the Pentateuch and that they were not ignorant of 'em nor accounted 'em Tales and of no value and again that those Books were known to 'em and of Authority among ' em All this I readily grant for they doubtless highly esteem'd the rest of the Scripture and â—inâ—d it in confirmation of any Doctrine reveal'd by Moses as we Christians do the Primitive Fathers tho' uninspir'd I have been longer on this trivial Subject than I intended Only let the Reader mark how the two Ministers are here Advocating for the Samaritans and Sadducees as they before undertook the Protection of the other Jews In good time the Dissenters will comprehend these also Some of the Quakers and Anabaptists the Modern Sadducees and Mahometans I mean the Socinians and almost all the Nation of Schismaticks and Hereticks are in their Interests already The Samaritans and Jews are happily coming into the Confederacy 7. The Rector laid down this Observation also We diminish from the Word when we lay it aside as not necessary or not the Supreme Rule of Faith Hereunto Mr. O. answers This implys as if there were some other at least subordinate Rules of Faith We know no other Rule of Divine Faith but the Holy Scripture The Man thinks verily he has caught me now But I am not afraid to say there are many subordinate Rules of Faith and do pretend here to teach him them because he seems to be ignorant of them I reckon then that whatsoever confirms or illustrates any Doctrine is a Subordinate Rule of Faith for whatsoever doth make manifest is Light Eph. 5. 13. Such are the ancient Creeds Catechisms Decrees of Councils Testimony of Fathers Consent of Adversaries the Instructions of Parents the Dictates of Wise and Good Men the Voice of Conscience the Light of Natural Reason the Preaching of the Word the Intimations of Providence and lastly Universal Tradition every one of which when it administers Light to the Divine Truths contain'd in the Word of God are Subordinate Rules of Faith But of all these Universal Tradition may on very good Grounds be accounted a Rule For I ask Mr. Owen why he believes the Scripture to be Divinely inspir'd but because 't is transmitted unto us as such by Universal Tradition The Excellency of its Moral Precepts the high Strains and noble Flights of Piety which we meet with there renders it worthy every good Man's Acceptation true but they prove not that 't was written by Inspiration For then Plato and Seneca St. Ignatius and St. Clemens Romanus the Seven Wise Men of Greece and Mr. O. may reckon himself the eighth if he please and a thousand other celebrated Authors might lay claim to Inspiration The Miracles reported in Scripture to have been wrought by the Authors or Divine Writers of the Books do not evince 'em to have been written by Inspiration until it be first made out that those Writers did work those Miracles and this cannot be proved at this time of day but by Tradition So then it is the Universal Testimony of the Church in conjunction with that vein of intrinsick Goodness and Piety running through all the Holy Scriptures which convinces us that they were deliver'd by Persons inspir'd and authoriz'd thereto by God Tradition therefore is at least a Subordinate Rule of Faith and confirms the Divine Authority of the Books of Scripture Another perhaps would affirm it the first and leading Rule But I give Mr. O. liberty to assign it which place he pleases Only I ask whether this Minister of the Gospel who pretends to be a Teacher of others and a Guide of the Blind was ever yet able to give a solid Reason of his own Faith and of the Hope that is in him He can never do it without the help of Tradition The Rector added under this Head some things concerning the Sufficiency Perspicuity and Supreme Authority of the Scripture which this Critick being it seems in a better humour than ordinarily that Generation of Men are is pleas'd out of his great Condescension to declare Are well Asserted But I must confess I like not the Rector one jot the better for this Commendation and yet wish I could in any measure return his Complement and let him know that he has said any one thing well and wisely in his Remarks Master said those vile and Hypocritical Pharisees and Herodians we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in Truth c. when at the same time they had a design upon Jesus Christ to puzzle and insnare him with a cramp Question So my Adversary here notwithstanding his Commendations has something against the Rector Some Men can never be pleas'd and the Remarker is one of that number I perceive Tell me says he is it lawful to Impose indifferent things His words are Were this Principle practically acknowledg'd it would soon heal our breaches c. As who should say did we once lay aside Vnscriptural Terms of Communion and thereby Practically acknowledg the Sufficiency Perspicuity and Supreme Authority of the Scriptures all would be well in a trice an end then would be put to our Divisions Verily if this would do the feat I would embrace it with both arms I 'd do any thing for the purchase of so valuable a Blessing But how comes this wise Seer to look so far before him as to assure us of this good issue the experiment has been once made already but without success Time was when Episcopacy was exploded and the Unscriptural Terms of Communion here complain'd of laid aside but were our breaches soon healed It was so far from that that they were not healed at all nor ever will be upon the Presbyterian and Congregational Principles Our Division were increas'd and multiply'd Schisms and Heresies grew to be as numerous as the Heads of Hydra In short I know no way of healing our Breaches but that every Man should obey them that have the Rule over 'em in all lawful things q.d. which are not forbidden by God For why should any one presume to scruple or call that unclean which the Lord has not made so They are much more superstitious who abhor a Surplice than they who wear it I lastly observ'd that We diminish from the Word when we add any thing to it I mention'd the Apocrypha which the Romanists insert
and is meer cavil and shuffling It betrays the weakness of Mr. Owen's Defence of Mr. Delaune Our omitting Chapters and Books will not vindicate Mr. Delaune's unjust Accusation of us about reading the Epistles and Gospels As for the rest of my Reply to Mr. Delaune the Remarker puts me off with this slight Answer I leave him and Mr. Delaune to argue c. But Mr. Delaune is long since dead where and when we shall meet God only knows I am pretty sure not in this World Mr. Owen perhaps with the help of our Lancashire Exorcists will undertake to bring Mr. Delaune back again Why not They who can cast out Devils 't is probable can raise the Dead One Miracle is as easily wrought as another yet still the mischief is tho' these Wonder-workers should conjure him up again as the Woman of Endor did Samuel I am not sure the Rector would have the courage to meet him In plain terms Mr. O. has declin'd the Cause being as little able to make good the Objection laid against us as the Accuser himself was 3. Mr. Delaune tax'd the establish'd Church That in the Liturgy Translation of the Psalms three whole Verses are foisted into the 14th Psalm immediately after the third Verse Hereunto I return'd That the inspir'd Pen-men of the New Testament had done the same 1 Cor. 15. 54 55 v. that is had put distant Passages of Scripture together and cited 'em as one single and intire Testimony That St. Paul had borrowed these very three objected Verses at least from other Psalms and Books of the Old Testament and inserted them with the other Parts of the Psalm into Rom. 3. 10. v. c. The which I suppose is sufficient to justifie us And what has the Minister reply'd unto all this Why just nothing at all He has not so much as taken the least notice of it so as to vindicate Mr. Delaune's groundless clamour against us that 's out of doors Ne'rtheless something he has to say against the Rector which whether it be to the purpose is no matter 't will make a noise among his Party and that 's all He acquaints us then from Jerome That the said three Verses were transcrib'd out of Romans into Psal 14. that they are not in the LXX and that none of the Greek Interpreters have commented upon them My Answer hereunto is 1. That this is nothing to the Argument before us It acquits us from the charge of Mr. Delaune It was not the Church of England then which foisted those three Verses into Psal 14. Besides we have the Authority of St. Paul and of the Primitive Church to warrant our continuing them in Psal 14. 2. As for Jerome I do here protest against him as unfit to be a Witness in this Case He too warmly espous'd the Defence of the Hebrew Text against the LXX and manifestly betray'd his Partiality He car'd not what in his heat he said or wrote for the support of his own opinion Let any one consult his Hebrew Questions and Traditions on Genesis and it may be he 'l be of my mind Here arguing for the Hebrew against the LXX because forsooth St. Luke Act. 7. 14. agreed not with the Hebrew Text but with the Septuagint he gives that holy Evangelist this scurvy Character Lucae qui ignotus vilis non magnae fidei in nationibus ducebatur I 'll not English the words because I will pay some deference to the Presbyterian Father This only I say He who sticks not to revile the inspir'd Evangelist after this manner is unworthy to be believ'd in any thing he affirms upon this Point in Controversie or indeed in any else 3. I would desire to know when and by whom those three Verses were transcrib'd out of St. Paul into the 14th Psalm 'T was done before St. Paul was born for any thing I know 4. Whereas Jerome affirms as Mr. Owen tells me that these Verses are not in the LXX Translation I ask where then did Jerome find 'em and how came he to enter into the Dispute about ' em Looking into the Place Jerome I find confesses the Verses are in vulgatâ Editione quae Graece 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dicitur in toto orbe diversa est I do not well understand him but it seems the Copies of the Scripture then in ordinary use whence Eustochium argu'd had these Verses and Jerome acknowledges there was a Greek Edition call'd the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or vulgar which had the said Verses in it tho' Jerome's had 'em not if he is to be credited But by whom and when these Verses were put into this vulgar Edition of the Seventy Jerome says not The Vatican Copy Mr. Owen confesses to be one of the best that has these three Verses I dare not then believe that the Seventy Translation in Jerom's days was without ' em Be this as it will 't is manifest that the Church of England added 'em not to Psal 14. that St. Paul made no scruple to join distant Places of Scripture to one another and how this should become so heinous a Crime in us to follow those Examples Mr. Owen is yet in arrear to account for in behalf of Mr. Delaune Mr. Delaune moreover asserted That the three Verses are not in any of the Original Copies whereas if there be many as is imply'd in those words the Greek must be one as I noted and there they are And I further acquaint the Remarker that they are in the Arabick and Aethiopick Versions also Of this the Minister has ne 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quidem not one Syllable Only because I took occasion hereupon to offer unto consideration whether the Greek Copy be not as good as the Hebrew at this day is and grounded my self upon the Judgment of the Learned Isaac Vossius he endeavours to make his Party believe I design'd to Depress the Authority of the Hebrew Copies Surely this Minister never considers what he writes If I had affirm'd roundly which I did not that the Seventy's Version is as good as the Hebrew this would not have been any disparagement unto the Hebrew tho' it would be an advancement to the Seventy Except Mr. Owen thinks that the Commendation of one Man is the reproach of another I don't think it any dispraise unto St. Matthew if in answer to Jerom's foremention'd disparagement of St. Luke one should affirm that St. Luke's Writings are of as good Credit as St. Matthew's In short tho' I am inclin'd to believe the Seventy to be of Divine Authority 't was never in my thoughts to depress the Hebrew So that it were sufficient for me to justifie the choice of my Text tho' it were to be found in the Hebrew only It has I do believe among them who are as ignorant as himself past for a current Piece of Wit when he thus speaks If the Seventy be of at good Authority as the present Hebrew