Part of my Discourse and therefore shall lengthen it no further Heb. 6.9 I am persuaded better things of you and things that accompany Salvation For your Presence here in the House of God and in the Assembly of Christians makes it reasonable to believe that you are already convinced not only of the Being and Providence of God but likewise of the Truth of the Christian Religion and of the Divine Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scriptures 2. To you therefore who are Christians I shall now turn my Discourse Heb. 13.22 And I beseech you Brethren suffer the word of Exhortation it is only this Since you have Moses and the Prophets and Christ and his Apostles and believe that they are Messengers to you from God to instruct you in his Will receive the Truth and the Law at their Mouths mind what they say and be careful to follow their Directions in all things For even we who have the Scriptures the lively Oracles of God may perish for want of Knowledge as well as they that have them not unless we make that Use of them which they were given for unless we are diligent in reading them and careful to practise what they teach For the Rich Man spoken of in this Parable had the Scriptures but his meer having them did not keep him from Hell And his five surviving Brethren had likewise the Scriptures and yet were then in a fair way of following their Brother to that Place of Torment They had Moses and the Prophets but they did not hear them And this also may be our Case who have not only these but also Christ and his Apostles Preaching to us if we do not hear them for what Advantage can it be to us to have good Instructors if we will not mind what they say if we stop our ears to all their Counsels and Reproofs No Man was ever made a Scholar only by having a good Library in his Possession No Man ever learnt any Art or Science tho' it was never so well taught in any Book only by keeping the Book in his Chamber or carrying it about in his Pocket And as little shall we be the wiser only by having the Holy Scriptures tho' as the Apostle says they are able to make us wise unto Salvation 2 Tim. 3.15 if we do not read and study them with an honest Design to furnish our selves from thence with a stock of useful Knowlege and with a firm Resolution to lead our Lives according to the Directions which they give us Nay so far shall be from receiving any Advantage only by our having the Holy Scriptures given us and free Liberty allowed us to look into them a Privilege we of this Nation have above most of our Neighbours that if we do not read and study them it will be much the worse for us our Condemnation will be the greater and our Destruction so much the more certain For the Case of those who offend thro' Ignorance when their Ignorance is unaffected is very pitiable and tho' we can't certainly say how God will deal with those who had no clear Revelation of his Will made to them this we may be sure of that God who is a merciful God will deal mercifully with them John 15.22 If I had not come and spoken unto them says our Saviour they had not had Sin But the Case will be quite otherwise with those Luke 12.47 who knew their Master's will and did not do it They as our Saviour says shall be beaten with many Stripes And it will be all one if they did not know it if their Ignorance of it was occasioned by their own fault in neglecting those Means of Knowledge which God has afforded them And much rather if their ignorance of their Duty was affected and chosen that they might Sin with less disturbance of Mind for our Saviour's Judgment in this Case is very plain and and 't is his Judgment by which we must stand or fall to all Eternity Joh. iii. 19. This is the Condemnation that Light is come into the World and Men loved Darkness rather than Light because their Deeds were Evil. Having therefore Moses and the Prophets and also Christ and his Apostles continually Preaching to us in the Books of Holy Scripture let us hear them This is both our Duty and our Interest And that our study of the Scripture may be with good success and we may thereby be thoroughly furnished unto all good Work Let us Pray as we are taught by our Church in a most excellent Collect suited to the Subject I have been Discoursing of Collect for 2d Sunday in Advent Blessed Lord who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our Learning Grant that we may in such wise hear them read mark learn and inwardly digest them that by Patience and Comfort of thy Holy Word we may embrace and ever hold 〈◊〉 â—he blessed Hope of everlasting Life which thou hast given us 〈…〉 â—ur Jesus Christ Amen FINIS ERRATA Page 55. line 10. for some read same
in the Holy Scripture it must be either in the Matter of it or in the Proof of it And if it be in the Matter of it it must be either that it does not give us sufficient Directions what to do or that it does not propose sufficient Motives to persuade Men to do what it requires And therefore in speaking to this Head I shall shew 1. That the Holy Scripture gives us sufficient Directions what to do 2. That the Motives which the Scripture proposes are sufficient to persuade us to do what it requires And 3. That we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines which are taught by it 1. I shall shew that the Holy Scripture gives us sufficient Directions what to do And of this there can be little Doubt among those that believe the divine Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scripture because to them its own Testimony of its own sufficiency is a Proof thereof beyond all Exception For if as the Apostle says 2. Tim. 3.16 it be profitable for Doctrine and for Reproof and for Correction and for Instruction in Rigteousness it is plainly profitable for all the Purposes for which we can desire a divine Revelation And if as he says in the next Verse it was given to make perfect the Man of God that is the Man whose Business it is to teach and instruct others and throughly to furnish him unto all good Works it cannot be deficient in delivering all such Rules and Directions as are necessary to be given by a Pastor to the People committed to his Care And if as the same Apostle had said at the 15th Verse of that Chapter it be able to make us wise unto Salvation we have no Reason to desire to be wiser than this excellent Book can make us And if all this could truly be said by the Apostle before the Canon of the New Testament was compleated if it could be said by him of those Holy Scriptures which Timothy had known from a Child that is of the Books of the Old Testament only much more may it be now said of the Books of both Testaments together But to speak at large of this Point at present would be too great a Digression from the Design of these Lectures which were intended only against Infidels not against any Sect of Christians and such they pretend to be such because they hold the Foundation Christ Jesus they may in Charity be allow'd to be who do chiefly differ from us in this Article and deny the sufficiency of Scripture only because they are resolved to maintain some gainful Doctrines and Practices of their own Church which they are sensible have no Warrant from Scripture and so can be maintained no other Way but by affirming that they have been delivered down to them by Tradition and that unwritten Tradition is a necessary Supplement to the written Word and of equal Authority with it For between us and Infidels who reject the Scripture the Sufficiency of the Scripture as a Rule of Faith and Manners is hardly Matter of Controversie for these do not reject the Scripture because it teaches too little but rather because it teaches too much because it teaches Doctrines above their Reason and commands such Duties as they do not like to practise and if it taught less than it does they would be more ready to own its divine Authority But nevertheless even these Men that they may leave no Stone unturned will be sometimes discoursing upon this Point and altho' those Books of Holy Scripture which are now extant and which are now generally receiv'd do teach much more than they themselves are willing to believe and practise yet that they may as much as they can unsettle the Belief of others do not stick to argue againast the Christian Religion from this Topick and to affirm that the Books of Holy Scripture which are now receiv'd do not contain the whole Will of God For there were say they in former times several other Gospels and Epistles and other Tracts designed to instruct Men in the Christian Religion which were written by the Apostles or other inspired Men and which were consequently of the same Authority in themselves with those which are now receiv'd into the Canon of which nevertheless we have nothing now left but the Names and Titles or some imperfect and uncertain Fragments so that it may well be doubted whether those few Books which are now remaining are sufficient to instruct us in all necessary Points of Knowledge and Practice And of this Matter of Fact there is they say some Evidence even from the Scripture its self For St. Luke in the Beginning of his Gospel takes Notice that many before him had taken in Hand to set forth a Declaration of those things which were surely believed among Christians that is had written and published Narratives of the Life Actions Miracles Preaching Death and Resurrection of our Saviour But there are no Histories of this Kind no Gospels now extant that were written before St. Luke's except only St. Matthew's and St. Mark 's and if there had been no more extant at that time it would have been very improper they say for the Evangelist to have said that many had written upon this Subject when he spake only of those two And that there was Matter enough for several such Narratives so that tho' they were very different Gospels they might nevertheless be all true we are told by St. John who wrote his Gospel the last of the Four Evangelists Joh. 20.30 Many other Signs truly did Jesus in the Presence of his Disciples which are not written in this Book and again Ch. 21. Vers 25. There are also many other things which Jesus did the which if they should be written every one I suppose that even the World its self could not contain the Books that should be written Now if it be true that there were several other Books formerly extant but which are now lost that were written by the Apostles and other inspired Men and consequently by divine Inspiration either these were needless when written and it is unreasonable to suppose that any Book written by divine Inspiration was needless or else the Loss of these Books is a Loss to Religion and we cannot be well assured that those which we have now remaining do sufficiently instruct us in all Points of Christian Faith and Practice But admit the Truth of this Matter of Fact viz. that more Books were written by the Apostles or inspired Men than are now extant which I will not now dispute because I think it needless because I think it may be granted without any Prejudice to the Christian Cause altho' there be none or at most but very slender Evidence of it nay admit more than is upon any good Grounds alledged viz. not only that several but that every one of the Apostles and immediate Disciples of
he thought he himself had written enough in his Gospel to persuade Men to believe in Christ and to direct them in the Way to eternal Life There being therefore in those Books of the New Testament which we now have several Abridgments of the whole Christian Doctrine it cannot with any Reason be pretended that all these Books together are not sufficient fully to instruct us therein Besides The Gospel of Christ that was preached suppose by St. Thomas in India or by St. Simon in Africa or by any other of the Apostles in Countries remote from Judea or without the Bounds of the Roman Empire was undoubtedly the very same Gospel that was preached by St. Peter and St. Paul or those other of the Apostles whose Books are now extant and received by the Catholick Church for they were all taught by the same Master Christ and were all enlightned by the same Holy Ghost so that if any of them did as 't is reported they did write any Gospels for the present Use of those particular Churches which they had planted tho' they might be somewhat different from any of the four Gospels which we now have in the Expression or perhaps in the Relation of some particular Passages of our Saviour's Life which our Evangelists have omitted just as the four Gospels which we now have do differ from one another yet for Substance they must needs have been the same with these and with one another if indeed they were all true Relations of the Matters of which the Authors thereof had been Witnesses so that if we had them all now they could all together teach us no other Doctrines than are taught in the Books of the New Testament Nevertheless I do not deny but that if we had more Books of this Kind than we have that if we had all the Books that were written by the Apostles or their immediate Successors who had been taught by them they might be of very good Use to us to help us to understand more readily and easily those Books which we have as now we receive from some Portions of Holy Scripture great Light to help us to understand and to put a right Interpretation upon others But perhaps it was for this very Reason that the Providence of God did order no more to be written than were written or has suffered those to be lost that are supposed to be lost that it might cost us some Pains and Study to understand our Religion that so our Knowledge as well as our Practice being in some Measure the Fruit of our own Industry might be a proper Subject of Reward In short That there were more Books in the first Age of Christianity written by Apostles or other inspired Men than are now extant or than if extant can be well proved to be of their Writing is a Point which I believe cannot be now upon any certain Evidence either affirmed or denied But if it be granted I say however there is no Reason to inferr from thence that those which we now have are not sufficient For if there be a God and a Providence and if there be any Truth in the Scripture Declarations of the Love of God to Mankind and that he would have all Men to be saved and to come to the Knowledge of the Truth most certainly the necessary Means of Mens Salvation is a proper Subject of the divine Care And if so it can't be thought but that the same good Providence which as is now supposed took Care for the writing of more Books when more might be necessary has likewise taken Care for the Preservation of so many of these Books as are now sufficient Or if the Men we are now arguing with will not grant that there is such a particular Providence of God yet if they will but allow that God is just that he is not a hard Master expecting to reap where he has not sown I think they must allow that all things necessary to our Salvation not knowable by Reason are taught in the Books of Holy Scripture which we now have because there are no other Books extant which we have reason to receive and accept as divine Revelation Or if they deny this it will lie upon them to produce those other Books which we ought to receive besides these and to give good Evidence to the World of their divine Authority Which when they have done or if they shall but only shew that there is as good Reason to receive them as these We must own our selves to blame if we shall not then take them also into the Canon of Scripture But till that shall be done what hath been already said is enough to shew that the Holy Scripture is a compleat Rule both of Faith and Manners Especially considering as was noted before that when-ever the Insufficiency of Scripture in this Respect is urged by those who do not believe the Scripture which are the Persons I have now to deal with it can be only for Cavilling sake the true Reason of their Backwardness to receive it as a divine Revelation being not because it teaches not enough but because it teaches more than they are willing to believe and commands more than they are disposed to practise For I cannot imagine that these Men do truly desire more Duty than is laid upon them in the Books of Scripture now received by the Christian Church But what they may most reasonably be thought to desire is either some better Encouragement to undertake that difficult Task which the Scripture lays upon them or some better Evidence that the Scripture is a divine Revelation I proceed now therefore to the second thing propounded which was 2. To shew that the Motives which the Scripture proposes are sufficient to persuade Men to do what it requires Now Hopes and Fears are the great Springs of Action and the greater the Good is we hope for or the Evil we fear the stronglier do they move and incline us to Action And therefore how difficult soever the Undertaking be so it be but possible if the Motives are proportioned to the Difficulty they must be granted to be sufficient Inducements to undertake it But that the Task or Business required of us is possible to be done needs not to be proved now because it must be granted by those who say they believe they should be persuaded to do what is required if they had better Encouragement for no Arguments or Motives whatsoever can reasonably persuade a Man to undertake a thing that he believes impossible Supposing it therefore possible I say that whatsoever Difficulty there really is or we may apprehend there is in a Christian Life if any Motives that could possibly be proposed to us can be thought sufficient to induce us to undertake it most evidently those Motives which the Gospel proposes are so because better or greater cannot be so much as conceived or imagined seeing both the good things which it promises to persuade us to Virtue and
other Matter that he has related as of his own Knowledge that 't is possible there might be Mistake in the Sign and Proof of the divine Revelation as well as in the Revelation its self that 't is possible that the Author of the Report whether it was the Prophet himself or any other Man who has reported the Miracles done by the Prophet as Matters of his own Knowledge did imagine he saw things which he did not see and that he heard things which he did not hear But if this be supposed possible that any Man and much more that several Men agreeing in the same Report the Organs of whose Senses were rightly disposed and who by all their other Actions and Discourses appeared to be sober and considerate and judicious should yet in the Day time and in a clear Light and when they were sure they were broad awake be mistaken in the plainest Matters of Sense then there is no such thing as Certainty in the World Then they that make the Objection can be no more sure of what they themselves see and hear than other Men can be And 't is to no Purpose to hold an Argument with such as dare not believe their own Eyes and Ears The only sense whereby I think such Men can be convinced must be Feeling And it will be well for them if they can carry the same Scepticism with them into the other World and when they are compassed about with the Flames of Hell can be able to doubt whether it be a real or a painted fire whether they are tormented in that Flame or not Leaving these therefore to be convinced in the other World as being I think not capable of Conviction here I shall content my self with having said what I suppose is enough to satisfie others That the Witness of a plain Matter of Fact may be sure of the Truth of what he witnesses and that 't is possible for God to speak so plainly to Men that they may be certain they have had a divine Revelation and that such Evidence may be given of the Veracity of an Author and of the Authority of a Book as is sufficient to satisfie a reasonable Man And by this and what was said before I hope I have made it appear that a Standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient to effect its Design viz. to bring Men to Repentance Whether the Standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scripture be sufficient for this Purpose will be Matter of Enquiry in the next Discourses In the mean time what has been already said may serve to dispose us to hear without Prejudice the Arguments that may be offered to prove the sufficiency of the Holy Scripture For 1. If it be possible that there may be such a Standing Revelation it is very probable that there is one for from that natural Notion that we have of the Goodness of God it may be fairly argued that he is not wanting to Men in the necessary Means of Salvation and therefore it being evident that there are not new Revelations made every Day it may be reasonably concluded that the Reason is because there is already some Standing Revelation of God's Will extant that is sufficient to direct us in the Way to Happiness And 2. If there be already any such Standing Revelation extant it may be strongly presumed that it is that which we have in the Holy Scripture because there is no other Book that we know of which has such good Evidences of divine Authority and Inspiration as that has Let us then be prepared to inquire into the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Faith and Religion with unprejudiced Minds with a sincere Love and Desire of Truth and with a Resolution to hear Reason and to be convinced by it And above all which indeed is the best Preparation for Truth and the best Security against Error let us in the Sincerity of our Hearts apply our selves to God for his Help and Direction And that our Prayer may be effectual let us be careful to approve our selves to him by a conscientious Discharge of all those Duties of Piety Justice Temperance and Charity which are clearly taught even by natural Reason and be readily disposed to practise whatever else we shall learn to be our Duty by any farther Illumination Joh. 7.17 for if any Man will do his Will he shall know of the Doctrine whether it be of God FINIS ERRATA IN Epist Ded. l. 3. r. Arch-Bishop p. 8. l. 31. r. forborn p. 13. l. 19. r. he who p. 14. l. 16. r. a Book THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE Scripture-Revelation As to the Matter of it A SERMON Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul February the 5 th 1699 700. BEING The Second for the Year 1700 of the LECTURE Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq By OFSPRING BLACKALL Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead THE first thing which I propounded to do in Discoursing on these Words was to endeavour to shew that the present Standing Revelation of God's Will contained in the Books of the Old and New Testament is abundantly sufficient to persuade Men to Repentance if they are not unreasonably blind and obstinate They have Moses and the Prophets they have also Christ and his Apostles let them hear them And if that Standing Revelation which God hath made to us of his Will in the Holy Scriptures can upon any Account be thought insufficient to effect this Design it must be I think either 1. Because no Standing Revelation can be sufficient for this Purpose Or 2. Because there are some particular Defects in that Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a Standing Revelation might be I have therefore in a former Discourse upon these Words endeavoured to shew in general that a Standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient for this Purpose I proceed now in the second place 2. To Consider whether that Standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scriptures be such a Revelation whether it be sufficient to persuade Men to Repentance and fully to direct them in the Way to Happiness Or whether there be not some particular Defects in this Revelation which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a Standing Revelation might be And if there be any such Defect
and we do not take Care to avoid it our Lot will be extremely miserable and we shall be tormented Day and Night for ever and ever in the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone And when we consider withal the very little Trouble in Comparison that it will cost us to attain that and to avoid this that 't is but the Labour of a few Years and that the most we can suffer by it is the Loss of a little Sensual Pleasure for which after this Life is over we should be never the better or the enduring of some little Pain or Hardship which will be soon over and for which if no Good should ever come of it after this Life we shall however be then never the worse Considering I say thus the infinitely vast and wide Difference that there is between being eternally happy and eternally miserable 't is enough that it is possible 't is more than enough that 't is probable that there will be such a state and if we neglect to make Provision for it because we are not absolutely certain that it will be it is plain that we do not act so prudently in this as we do in other Cases that are of infinitely less Moment and Concern to us and that as our Saviour says The Children of tâ—â— World are in their Generation wiser than the Children of Light Now this is the most that the professed Atheists or Infidels can pretend They 'll say perhaps that for their own parts they do not believe the Being of a God or a Judgment or a Life to come and that they do not see any good Reason to believe these things forasmuch as all the Proofs that are brought for them do in their Judgment fall short of Demonstration and they are resolved not to believe them till such Proof thereof shall be offered as they can make no Exception against not till they shall see with their own Eyes that there is a Heaven and a Hell or till they shall have a Messenger sent to them from thence on purpose to assure them thereof And be it so as they say that there is not an absolute Certainty of the Truth of these things that we have not yet such a sure Proof of them as ocular or mathematical Demonstration would be yet this is the most they can say they themselves cannot pretend that there is any Demonstration on the other side They are not sure they say that there will be another Life or that it will be everlasting Well but are they sure that there will not be such a Life is it absurd or impossible that there should be such a Life this I 'm sure they can't say and all that they have yet dared to say is only that those Proofs thereof that we rely upon are not in their Opinion sufficient But suppose them as insufficient as they can think them yet still if they are not sufficient to prove the Certainty they may be sufficient to prove the Probability of what they are brought to prove or if not so yet still a future Life if it be not certain nay if it be not probable however may be possible And if it be only possible that we may live for ever and that we may be eternally happy or eternally miserable this Possibility alone considering what an infinite Difference there is between these two States ought in reason to put us upon taking the best Care we can that if there be an eternal Life we may be eternally happy in it But after all our Proof of this and other great Truths of our Religion is not so very weak and slender as these Men would represent it It is indeed as good as the Nature of the thing will bear and he 's an unreasonable Man that requires a better Proof of any thing than it is capable of This therefore is what I should now in the next Place proceed to do viz. 3. To shew that there is sufficient Reason to give Credit to the Scripture wherein these Truths are plainly taught But this being too large a Subject to be handled now I have already said I would deferr it to the next Opportunity FINIS THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE Scripture-Revelation As to the Proof of it PART I. A SERMON Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul March the 4 th 1699 700. BEING The Third for the Year 1700 of the LECTURE Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq By OFSPRING BlACKALL Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead HAving in my first Discourse on these Words endeavoured to shew in general that a Standing Revelation of God's Will may be so well contrived and so well attested as to be sufficient to persuade Men to Repentance if they are not unreasonably blind and obstinate I came the last time to consider whether that Standing Revelation which we have in the Holy Scripture be such a Revelation Or whether there be not some particular Defects in it which render it not so sufficient for this Purpose as 't is possible a Standing Revelation might be And if there be any such Defect in the Holy Scripture it must be as I said either in the Matter of it or in the Proof of it And if in the Matter of it it must be either that it does not give sufficient Directions what to do Or that it does not propose sufficient Motives to persuade Men to do what it requires And therefore in speaking to this Head I propounded to shew 1. That the Holy Scripture gives us sufficient Directions what to do 2. That the Motives which it proposes are sufficient to persuade us to do what it requires And 3. That we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines that are taught by it And the Two first of these I have already done I proceed now to the Third viz. 3. To shew that we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines that are taught by it And that I shall presume to be sufficient Reason in this Case which we readily accept and allow of as sufficient in all other Cases of the like Nature And I suppose it will be granted that we have sufficient Proof given us of the Truth of the Things contained in Holy Scripture and of the Authority of it if it can be shewn 1. That we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books
of Holy Scripture were written by those Persons who are said to be the Authors thereof 2. That there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to them in their Relation of those Matters of Fact which they have recorded And 3. That if the Matters of Fact recorded in the Scripture are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein taught These things therefore I shall now endeavour to make good But in speaking to this Point I shall for Brevity's sake confine my Discourse only to the Books of the New Testament Partly because these are the Books wherein our Christian Religion is chiefly taught And especially because I think there are none who receive the New Testament as of divine Authority that do or â—ndeed can with any Reason reject the Old 1. Then I am to shew that we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books of Holy Scripture of the New Testament in particular were written by those Persons that are said to be the Authors thereof This indeed is a Point that it does not properly lie upon us to make any Proof of For as a Man's Possession of an Estate is alone a good and a sufficient Title to it till a better is shewn by the Person that endeavours to eject him so it is here These Books are generally receiv'd as written by such and such Persons These Authors have the Name these have as it were â—he Possession of them and that 's Title enough if no other could be produced so long as no Evidence is ofâ—ered to shew that any other Persons have a better Title â—o them It lies on them therefore who deny that the Books are theirs to give a Reason of what they say â—ither by alledging some special Matter out of the Books â—hemselves whereby it may be proved that they could â—ot be of their Writing or by producing some creâ—ible and authentick History testifying that they were written by some other Persons and not by them And â—ill they can and shall do this which I am persuaded â—an never be done we may very well refuse to proâ—uce any positive Evidence to affirm or prove their Title their Possession being a good Title enough till a better appears And a Tenant might with as good Reason refuse to pay Rent to the Person of whom he â—ook the Estate and to whom he hath ever hitherto â—aid Rent and whose Right to it is not at all controverted until he shall suffer his Writings to be perused and examined and by them make it plainly appear that he is the lawful Landlord as any Man can now refuse to give that Credit to these Books as written by the Apostles which has been given hitherto and is still given by all Christians unless he may have now as good positive Evidence of their being written by the Apostles as might have been given thereof at first and as it may be presumed was given before their Title to them was so universally acknowledged But nevertheless what a Man is not under any Obligation to do for the asserting of his Right he may do wisely enough for his own Satisfaction And it must needs be a Satisfaction and Pleasure to a Man altho' his Title to his Estate be not at present controverted if in looking over the Writings and Evidences of it he sees plainly how it descended to him by a lineal Succession from Father to Son for many Generations past and how it came at first to his Ancestors by a clear and fair Purchase from the former Possessors or by Donation from the Prince in the Division of a wast or conquered Country and if he also finds ancient Terriers agreeing in the same Measure and Boundings and exactly describing the same Estate which he now possesses and if moreover looking far back he sees that upon some Disputes or Law-suits that have formerly been concerning it Judgment has been always given on his Side It cannot but please him I say that upon such a Search into Antiquity he finds that he is so very well provided to make out his Title if there should ever be any Occasion for it altho' by Reason of the long and quiet Possession that he and his Ancestors before him time out of Mind have had of it he has no just Cause to fear he shall ever meet â—ith any Disturbance And so it is here These Writings the Books of â—he New Testament are generally acknowledged to be â—ritten by the Apostles of Christ and their Authoâ—â—ty is at present uncontested It may therefore reaâ—â—nably be presumed especially by those who have â—ot Parts or Learning or Leisure to examine into the â—easons of such things that they would not have â—â—en so universally acknowledged and reverenced as â—â—ey are upon this Account but upon very good â—rounds tho' what the Grounds thereof are they â—â—ve not yet inquired Their being in Possession is â—one Reason enough to acknowledge and assert their â—â—tle It lies upon them that deny these Books to 〈◊〉 theirs to produce satisfactory Evidence of their â—ing forged or counterfeit and till they shall proâ—â—ce some Evidence thereof that has a Shew and Apâ—â—arance of Truth we have no Reason to be stagâ—â—red in our Belief by their bare however bold and â—â—nfident Denial of their Authority And much â—s shall we need to give our Reasons for our reâ—â—ving them as written by the Apostles till our Adâ—â—â—saries shall offer some Reasons why we ought not 〈◊〉 receive them as such But nevertheless because we see there are some in â—s incredulous Age that shew a good Will to deny 〈◊〉 Authority of these Sacred Books and whose Inâ—est it would be to prove them Spurious and beâ—se we cannot tell what unwarrantable Practices â—ir Inclination and Interest may put them upon 〈◊〉 what Writings or Evidences plausibly forged 〈◊〉 counterfeited they may hereafter produce it cannot be amiss for us to inquire and see and it cannot but be a Pleasure and Satisfaction to us who hold our Hope of eternal Life chiefly by these Writings to find and consider how well provided we are to detect and disprove any such Forgeries if they should be offered by being able to produce in Opposition thereto as good positive Proof that these Books are genuine as such a Matter is capable of much better than I believe can be produced for the Authority of any other Books of the like Antiquity And it gives us some Satisfaction in the Belief wâ— have been bred up in that these are the genuiâ—â— Books of the Authors to whom they are ascribed tâ— find that they are receiv'd as such not by a smaâ—â— Party of Men not by that Church and Nation onlâ— to which we belong but by all Christians disperseâ— in all Parts of the World and likewise that they aâ— agree with us in the same Testimony viz. that theâ— received then as such from their Fathers For thâ—â— these Books should be thus generally receiv'd anâ— acknowledged
was For in Matters of common Testimony we make little Difference between Speech and Writing If a Man whom we dare trust sends us a Letter and therein relates such and such things as heard or seen by himself or as well attested to him by unexceptionable Witnesses we give as full Credit to his Letter as we should do to his Words So that in Truth our Case who live now is not very different from theirs who lived in the Apostles Days and heard them saying those same Things which we now read in their Books and if we think those inexcuseable who did not receive their Testimony when given by Word of Mouth we can't in good Reason hold our selves excused if we receive not the same Testimony of the same Persons given under their Hands In one Respect indeed it must be granted that they had the Advantage of us viz. because they might be surer that they heard an Apostle speak than the Nature of the Thing will admit we should be that we read the Words of an Apostle written But we are sure enough of this We have as good moral Certainty of it as we can have of any thing that is not capable of any other than a moral Certainty And if the Words that we read in the New Testament are the Words of the Apostles of Christ we have in some Respects the Advantage of those who lived in those early Times for we have the concurrent Testimony of several of the Apostles written whereas hardly any in those times when a few Persons were to bear Witness to all the World could have more than the Testimony of one single Apostle only by Word of Mouth and many Witnesses are more credible than one And besides there being several Witnesses their Testimony if it be false may be more easily proved so by their Disagreement with one another than the Testimony of one single Witness could be And lastly a Writing which we may review and read over as often as we will and which we may take what time we please to consider of may be more throughly understood and better digested than a Sermon or Discourse only once spoken can well be But if it be granted that the Faith of the first Converts to Christianity which came by Hearing of the Apostles might be built upon more certain and infallible Grounds than ours that comes only by Reading is And some Reasons may perhaps be given hereafter why 't was fit it should be so it is enough however to render our Infidelity inexcusable if the Grounds of Faith that we now have are very rational if they are a sufficient Support for such a Faith as will enable us to please God and to overcome the World And this may be farther said for our Comfort and to make us easie and satisfied with those Grounds and Reasons of Faith which are afforded to us by the written Testimony of the Apostles in the Books of the New Testament that as there is more Certainty in that Belief if it may be called Belief which is grounded upon Demonstration or infallible Evidence so there is more Praise and Vertue in that good Disposition of Mind which makes us rest satisfied with such Grounds of Faith as tho' not absolutely and infallibly certain yet cannot with any good Reason be denied or excepted against According to that Saying of our Saviour to St. Thomas in a like Case with which I shall conclude Joh. 20.29 Thomas because thou hast seen me thou hast believed blessed are they that is they are more blessed their Faith is more excellent and praise-worthy and so will intitle them to a greater Reward who have not seen and yet have believed Which Blessedness that we may all attain God of his great Mercy and Goodness grant for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ c. FINIS ERRATA Pag. 8. l. 19. for then r. them Books Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's-Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard A Sermon Preach'd before the Honourable the House of Commons at St. Margaret's Westminster January the 30th 1698 9. The Sufficiency of a Standing Revelation A Sermon Preached at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul's Jan. 1st 1699 700. being the first for the Year 1700. of the Lecture Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq The Sufficiency of the Scripture Revelation as to the Matter of it Being the Second for the Year 1700. of the Lecture Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq These Three by Ofspring Blackall Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty A Perswasive to Prayer A Sermon Preach'd before the King at St. James's A Sermon Preach'd before the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament Assembled in the Abby Church at Westminster Jan. 30th Fifteen Sermons Preached on several Occasions the Last of which was never before Printed These Three by the most Reverend Father in God John Lord Arch-Bishop of York Primate of England and Metropolitan The Faith and Practice of a Church of England Man A False Faith not Justified by Care for the Poor Prov'd in a Sermon Preach'd at St. Paul's Church Mysteries in Religion Vindicated or the Filiation Deity and Satisfaction of our Saviour asserted against Socinians and others with Occasional Reflections on several late Pamphlets These Two by Luke Milbourn a Presbyter of the Church of England Two Sermons of Mr. Young's about Nature and Grace Preach'd at Whitehall THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE Scripture-Revelation As to the Proof of it PART II. TWO SERMONS Preach'd at the CATHEDRAL-CHURCH of St. Paul April 1 st and May 6 th 1700. BEING The Fourth and Fifth for the Year 1700 of the LECTURE Founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq By OFSPRING BLACKALL Rector of St. Mary Aldermary and Chaplain in Ordinary to His MAJESTY LONDON Printed by J. Leake for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. St. LUKE XVI 29 30 31. Abraham saith unto him They have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them And he said Nay father Abraham but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent And he said unto him If they hear not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead THE Point I entred upon the Proof of the last time was this 3. That we have sufficient Reason given us to convince us of the Truth and Authority of the Holy Scripture and consequently of all the Doctrines that are taught by it And for the Proof of this having for Brevity sake confined my Discourse upon it to the Books of the New Testament only the rather because the Authority of that being granted the Authority of the Old Testament cannot reasonably be questioned I propounded to shew 1. That we have sufficient Reason to believe that the Books of the New Testament were written by those Persons who are said to be the Authors thereof 2. That there is sufficient Reason to give full Credit to them in their Relations of those
is enough in all Reason and as much as could be expected in this Case supposing there Facts to be true that they are not by any Historians that were of another Religion contradicted or attempted to be disprov'd more than this would have been too much And should we now in some ancient Manuscript History new brought 〈◊〉 Light and bearing the Name of some Jewish or Heathen Author find a large and formal Account of any of those Facts relating to the Christian Religion that are recorded in the Gospel this would give very just ground to suspect that the whole History whatever other Appearance it had of Truth was forged and counterfeit or at least that those Passages speaking honourably of the Christian Religion or the Author of it were knavishly foisted into the Book by some Christian Transcriber For this is indeed the best Argument that is brought to discredit some Passages of this kind that are now to be found in some Heathen or Jewish Historians and particularly in Josephus viz. that they say more than was proper or likely to be said by Heathens or Jews that if those Passages are genuine and the Authors had believed what they themselves wrote they must have been Christians Now this I 'm sure is not fair Dealing that the Paucity and slenderness of those corroborating Testimonies to the Truth of the Christian History that are to be met with in other Historians and that the Multitude and Fulness of such Testimonies should both be urged as Arguments against Christianity And therefore when they are both urged as they are and have been by our Adversaries we may reasonably conclude that the Truth is in the Mean and that there are indeed no more nor no fewer Testimonies of this kind to be met with in other Writers and that they are not either more or less to the Purpose than supposing the Christian History to be true might fairly be expected It only remains then that we enquire whether there be in the Gospel History any intrinsick Evidences of Falshood And 't is pretended by the Adversaries of our Religion that there are many such For there are they say some things related in the Gospel History that are altogether incredible and there is they say oftentimes great Difference in the several Relations of the same Story by the several Evangelists And not only so but there are they say besides in their several Histories compared together some flat Contradictions and Repugnancies I intended therefore at the End of this Discourse if I had had time for it to have spoken largely upon this Subject But because I have not must referr you to those Books that have been written on purpose to give an Account of the difficult Texts of Scripture and to reconcile those that are seemingly repugnant Or for want of such Books to any good Commentary on the Bible in which you will hardly fail to meet with Satisfaction in any Difficulty of this kind if you read it with a Mind disposed to receive satisfaction And I shall conclude this Discourse with only observing in General 1. That the pretended Impossibilities that are said to be related in the Sacred History are only Difficulties They are indeed Events above and beyond the known Power and common Course of Nature but they are such as are easily Credible when they are ascribed as they must be to the Almighty power of God 2. That the Difference that may sometimes be observ'd in the several Relations of the same Story by the several Evangelists is very inconsiderable consisting only in this That one perhaps relates the Story in a different Order of things than another does Or that One tells it briefly another more at large Or One with a few another with more Circumstances Or that some Circumstances are mentioned by each of them which the other had omitted So that this Observation is so far from being a just Objection against the Truth of the History that it is rather a Proof and Confirmation of it For 't is an Argument that the Evangelists did not conferr together in the Writing of their Histories and that they did not Copy or Transcribe from one another but that every one of them reported the Story he wrote in such manner as he himself remembred it to have been and with such Circumstances as he himself took most notice of And 3. As to the Repugnancies and Inconsistences that are said to be in the Evangelical History These we absolutely deny I have not time now to consider or attempt to reconcile all the Places that are pretended to be contradictory to each other but those Passages which seem most liable to this Exception are I think the Relation of Judas's Death and the Account of our Saviour's Genealogy But as to the first There is plainly no Impossibility no Contradiction in it if we should say that after he had hanged himself as St. Matthew Mat. 27.5 Acts 1.18 says he did fall down and his Bowels gush'd out as St. Luke affirms Or it may be that he did not hang himself but only was * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 choaked or suffocated by the violence of his Grief and that the same Passion by which he was strangled made him also fall down headlong and burst assunder in the midst so that all his Bowels gushed out And as to the other when 't is remembred that by the Jewish Law the next of Kin was to raise up Seed to his near Relation that died without Issue Deut. 25.5 by Marrying his Widow and that the First-born of the Woman after such second Marriage was reputed in Law the Son as well as he was the Heir of the Deceased so that consequently the same Person might be the Legal Son of one Man and the Natural Son of another Man tho' it may be difficult perhaps impossible for us at this Distance of Time to say with certainty which of the two different Lines by which our Saviour's Pedigree is deduced from David is the Legal and which the Natural Line it is very easie nevertheless to believe that one is the Legal and that the other is the Natural Line and if so there is plainly no Contradiction between the two Evangelists altho' St. Matthew Mat. 1.16 makes our Saviour to be descended from Solomon and St. Luke from Nathan altho' St. Matthew says that Joseph the Husband of the Blessed Virgin was the Son of Jacob and St. Luke Luâ—e 3.23 that he was the Son of Heli. And now the Truth of the Gospel History being as I hope by what hath bâ—en said sufficiently established I should proceed to shew That if the Matters of Fact related in the New Testament are true they are sufficient Proofs of the Truth and Divine Authority of all the Doctrines that are therein Taught But I am sensible that I have trespassed too much upon your Patience already and so shall reserve this for the Subject of my next Discourse FINIS ERRATA IN