Writer that I know as our Author himself observes e Ubi sup so that as he truly adds A man must fetch all out of his own Stock that intends to Answer him However if this Discourse do not prove satisfactory I hope 't will be the occasion of Engaging some Abler Pen in this Cause and if that be the only Good it does it will not be altogether Vnserviceable In the last place I must desire of those who think I have not carried the Inspiration of the Scriptures so high as I ought not to be Angry with me or uncharitably Censure me as if I design'd to Betray the Cause which I pretend to maintain but if they are not satisfied with my Performance to Vndertake the Argument themselves and do Justice to so Good a Causa I assure them I shall heartily wish them Success in their Vndertaking and shall be glad if my Arguments appear weak because theirs are stronger for I can do nothing against the Truth but for the Truth The Contents CHAP I. General Considerations concerning the Inspiration of the writings of the New-Testament THe Method of the whole Treatise proposed Pag. 1 The Proof of the Inspiration of the New-Testament Writings contain'd in Six Propositions p. 3 I. Proposition God design'd to provide a means for Preserving the Doctrine of Christianity to the End of the World p. 5 II. Prop. The best means of preserving Christianity in an Ordinary way was by conveying the Doctrine of it to after Ages by Writing p. 6 III. Prop. 'T is reasonable to think that God would deliver the Christian Doctrine in Writing because he used the same means formerly for the Instruction of the Jewish Church p. 10 The Reasons which enduced St. Matthew and St. Mark to write their Gospels as they are related by the Ancient Church-Writers p. 12 IV. Prop. God has actually made use of no other way for the Conveying the Doctrine of Christianity but the Writings of the New Testament p. 13 V. Prop. The Apostles themselves design'd their Writings for the Perpetual Use of the Church and lookt upon them to be of equal Authority with the Divine Writings of the Old Testament p. 15 The Reasons which moved St. Luke and St. John to write their Gospels p. 16 The Apostolical Epistles were design'd for General Use tho many of them writ upon Particular Occasions p. 17 Reflections upon the Style and way of writing used by St. Paul p. 18 Concerning the General Epistles p. 21 VI. Prop. The Age immediately following that of the Apostles lookt upon their Writings as the Standing Rule of Christian Faith p. 22 Reflections upon a Passage in Mr. Hobs's Leviathan concerning the Date of the New Testament Canon p. 26 An Answer to Mr. N.'s Objection That some Books are received into the New Testament Canon whose Authors are not known p. 28 Four Corollaries or Inferences drawn from the whole 1 Inference That the Holy Ghost Assisted the Apostles as fully when they Writ as when they Preach'd p. 29 2 Inference The Holy Ghost in several Cases Dictated to the Apostles the Words and Style they should Use and in all Cases preserved them from using such Expressions as would naturally lead men into Error p. 31 What Cautions are to be observed in Interpreting the Style of the Apostles and arguing from the Terms they use p. 35 3 Inference Since the Writing of the New Testament is owing to God's Providence and Care of his Church the Composing the several parts of it does not exclude the Use of Natural Means no more than other Acts of Providence do p. 37 4 Inference 'T is no Argument against a Book 's being design'd by God for the Perpetual Use of the Church that 't was at first Written upon a particular Exigency and with respect to the Circumstances which were peculiar to that time p. 40 CHAP. II. A More Particular Enquiry into the Nature of the Apostolical Gifts and Inspiration p. 42 The General Heads treated of in this Chapter p. 44 In what Cases the Apostles deliver'd their Judgements as Men and did not speak by Inspiration Three Instances of this Nature propos'd p. 45 1 Cor. 7.12 at large Explain'd p. 46 To grant that the Apostles spoke some things without Inspiration does not prejudice their Authority as to others p. 53 In all other Cases beside those before Excepted the Apostles Preach'd and Writ by the particular Direction and Assistance of the Spirit p. 55 The Scripture Notion of an Apostle p. 57 1 Cor. 2.10 c. and 1 Thes 4.8 considered p. 58 The Assistance which the Spirit gave the Apostles did not consist only in bringing to their remembrance what Christ had said to them p. 62 This proved 1. From those Discourses of our Saviour's concerning the Kingdom of Heaven where he represents it as a Temporal State in Complyance with the prejudices of his Disciples p. 63 2 From his Parables concerning the Future State of the Gospel p. 65 3 From the Gift which the Apostles had of Explaining the Types and Prophecies of the Old Testament p. 68 The Apostles had an Extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd to appear before Magistrates upon the account of their Religion p. 73 S. Matt. 10.20 Vindicated from the Gloss of Mr. N. p. 74 Several Instances given of his and other Modern Writers Arts to Evade the true force of Scripture Expressions Ibid. Mr. N.'s Unsincerity in passing by the plain Instances which are in Scripture of the Boldness and Courage of the Apostles p. 78 St. Paul's Behaviour before the Council Acts 23. Clear'd from Mr. N.'s Aspersions p. 80 St. Stephen's Behaviour Acts 7. Vindicated p. 84 Mr. N.'s Objections against the Inspiration of the Apostles particularly Answer'd 1 Objection That the Apostles Disputed and Conferr'd with each other Answer'd p. 88 2 Objection That St. Peter after the Descent of the Holy Ghost had need of a Vision to instruct him Answer'd p 95 3 Objection That St. Paul and St. Barnabas were forc'd to go to Jerusalem to have that Controversy decided Whether the Gentile Converts were bound to observe the Law Answer'd p. 97 4 Objection St. Peter's Dissimulation at Antioch Answer'd p. 104 5 Objection That the Spirit of Prophecy mention'd in the New Testament was only a Disposition of Mind which made men fit to Instruct Answer'd p. 104 1 Tim. 4.13 14. Clear'd p. 106 Why St. Paul gave Directions to the Prophets and Inspir'd Persons at Corinth p. 110 A brief Answer to some Lesser Cavils p. 112 CHAP. III. Concerning the Inspiration of the Prophets p. 115 The Personal Qualifications of the Prophets consider'd both as to their Intellectual Accomplishments p. 116 and their Moral Ones p. 121 The Original design of God's sending Prophets to the Jews was to hinder them from having recourse to Heathen Oracles and Divinations p. 126 The Prophetical Office design'd for Greater Purposes p. 129 1 To admonish the People of their Duty p. 130 2 To keep up a sense of
and from thence proceed to explain what is more Doubtful and Obscure And if the Divine Authority of the Writings of the New Testament be once proved that of the Old must follow as a necessary Consequence because the former gives Testimony to the latter and most of the Arguments which prove the one may be easily applied to the other Mr. N. allowes the Histories of the N. Testament to be exact and true Relations of the matter of Fact but supposes that there 's no need of Inspiration to Write a true History b Fr. p. 231 c. Engl. p. 28. c. He grants likewise that the Apostolical Epistles contain nothing but what is conformable to the Doctrine of Christ but yet that the Apostles had no need of an extraordinary Inspiration for Writing their Epistles c Fr. p. 282 283. Eng. p. 112 113. But all this while he takes no notice that these Writings were design'd by God for the Perpetual Use and Instruction of the Church and to be a Rule of Christian Faith to all Ages Which one thing if it be made out will prove their Divine Original and sufficiently distinguish them from all other Writings purely Humane where Providence cannot be supposed to have had such an extraordinary Hand in the Composure since it neither can be pretended that the Authors were the Immediate Instruments of God in publishing his Will nor that their Works were design'd for so general a Use as the Instruction of the Universal Church I shall therefore in the first place give a definition of an Inspir'd Writing and then prove that the Writings of the New Testament are truly such An Inspired Writing I take to be a Book that is writ by the Incitation Direction and Assistance of God and design'd by him for the Perpetual use of the Church The Proof of the Inspiration of the New-Testament-Writings I shall comprise in these following Propositions I. God design'd to provide a means for the preserving the Doctrine of Christ to the end of the World II. This could not be done so well in any Ordinary way or Humane means as by committing this Doctrine to Writing III. 'T is more reasonable to suppose that God would make use of this way than any other because he made use of the same means before for the Instruction of the Jewish Church IV. He has actually made use of no other way for the conveying down the Christian Doctrine that can be assign'd V. The Apostles themselves design'd their Writings for the Perpetual use of the Church and lookt upon them of equal Authority in the Christian Church as the Writings of the Old Testament were in the Jewish VI. The Age immediately after the Apostles lookt upon the Writings of the New Testament as the standing Rule of Faith to the Christian Church I think the making out these Propositions some of which need very little proof will fully prove the Divine Authority of the Books contain'd in the Canon of the New Testament and when they are made out such Consequences may be drawn from them as will silence most of the Cavils and Objections which the Author of these Letters and some others have raised against the Inspiration of the Scripture I. The first Proposition to be proved is this God design'd to provide a means for the preserving the Doctrine of Christ to the end of the World This Proposition I think any Christian will take for granted and my design at present is not to dispute with Infidels but to lay down those Principles upon which the Divine Authority of the Scriptures is built the truth of Christianity being presupposed because the Author I am to deal with professes the Belief of Christianity and yet has raised Objections against a great many of those Writings which Christians have all along lookt upon to be of Divine Authority I say therefore that no Christian can doubt of the truth of this Proposition for every Christian believes the Gospel to be the last and most perfect Revelation of the Will of God which he intends to afford to the World he believes that Christ will be with his Church to the end of the World Mat. 28.20 16.18 and that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it i. e. it shall never be so far weakned as that the Profession of Christianity should cease or the Church be perfectly deprived of the Knowledge of saving Truth Nothing further being needful for the illustrating this Proposition I proceed to the II. Proposition God could not preserve the Knowledge of Christianity in an Ordinary way or by any Humane means so well as by conveying the Doctrine of it to after Ages by Writing I do not pretend to prescribe to God Almighty what method he shall use to discover his Will to the World or confine him to any one way of doing it but thus much I think I may safely say that a standing Rule of Faith committed to Writing is liable to less inconveniencies and difficulties than any other way of conveying down Divine Truth Whereas all other ways that can be assign'd of transmitting Divine Revelation are incumbred with so many difficulties that without a constant series of Miracles they can never attain their end And therefore we can't reasonably suppose that God will make choice of any such methods to Reveal his Will by For this is to be laid down for a certain truth that God never works more Miracles than needs must nor ever suspends or overbears the force of natural Agents without evident necessity but allways uses second Causes and Humane means as far as they will go And therefore that method which offers least violence to Nature is more likely to be made choice of by God Some Men indeed are apt to think that the Hand of God can't shew it self without a constant series of Miracles but they that consider things more exactly rather judge that a continued succession of Miracles would really be a reproach to God's Ordinary Providence for often to interrupt the course of Nature must needs be a reflection upon the Wisdom that first contrived it We can imagine but two ways of God's Communicating his Will to several successive Ages without the help of Writing either Oral Tradition or making a Particular Revelation to every single Person or at least to all those whose business 't is to teach and instruct others in their Duty Now both these ways are liable to such difficulties and do suppose so many immediate interpositions of God's Power to prevent those errors which must of necessity attend them considering the present state of Humane Nature as are not suitable to the methods which God uses in Governing the World I shall not pursue this matter any further nor give a particular account of the inconveniencies to which both these Methods are obnoxious and to correct which a constant Interposition of Miracles will be necessary The Absurdity of the former has bin abundantly demonstrated by the e Dr. Tillotson's
Wonder or foretelling one Event which might come to pass by meer Chance should overthrow the Authority of so many more and greater Works For tho God doth suffer Impostors to work Strange Feats sometimes for the Trial of his people f Deut. 13.3 Matth 24.24 yet I doubt not but he always takes care that his own Works shall visibly exceed theirs both in Power in Gravity and in Vsefulness so that their Tricks shall appear as just nothing when compar'd with his Miracles as Aaron's Rod swallowed up those of the Magicians g Exod. 8.12 Or else God would allow too great an Authority to Impostors and make Miracles by themselves no Evidence of a Divine Mission since 't would be in some Cases impossible to distinguish True ones from Counterfeit And this I take to be a satisfactory Answer to that Question Whether God's permitting Evil Spirits and Seducers to shew Signs and Wonders does not evacuate the Authority of Miracles in general tho I grant there are other Marks h V. Orig. c. Cels l. 1. p. 53. l. 2. p. 90 91. Ed. Cant. Bp. Stillingfl Orig. sacr l. 2. c. 10. whereby to distinguish True Miracles from False which 't is not my Business at present to discourse of 2. 'T is reasonable to think that the Prophets when they first entred upon their Prophetick Office gave some Sign of their Mission either by working a Miracle or by revealing some Secret Remote or Future thing which was not within the Compass of Humane Knowledge and the Nature of which was such that a little time would quickly discover whether the Prophet spake True or not We may find footsteps in Scripture of these several ways being accounted the Marks of a Prophet We find the Pharisees demand a sign from Heaven i Matth. 16.1 Joh. 6.30 Matth. 12.38 of our Saviour such as Joshua k Jos 10.12 Samuel l 1 Sam. 12.18 Isaiah m Is 38.8 and Elias n 2 King 1.10 had wrought And the Samaritan Woman judg'd our Saviour to be the Christ because he told her all things that ever she did o John 4.29 This shews that in the common Opinion the Discovering of some Hidden thing and out of the ordinary reach of Humane Knowledge was esteem'd the Mark of a Prophet and the Messias being the Prophet the Jews at that time Expected the Woman concludes from thence that he who knew such Secrets must be the Messias And perhaps for this Reason the Jews who lookt upon our Saviour as a Pretender only to Prophecy demand of him the Discovery of a Mock-secret p Matth. 26.68 viz. Who it was that smote him when he was Blindfolded It appears from other places that the Prophets did commonly foretell something which should Shortly come to pass and the Accomplishment of this their Predidiction did establish their Authority for the Future and gave Credibility to those Prophecies of theirs whose Accomplishment was at a greater distance So the Man of God that Prophesied against the altar of Bethel q 1 Kings 13.1 2. beside his foretelling above 300. years before the Birth of that Prince that one of David's Family Josiah by name should Defile that Altar at the same time gave another Sign of his Mission that was presently to come to pass viz. that the Altar should be rent and the Ashes of it pour'd out r Ib. v. 3. The fulfilling of which was an Argument of his Veracity as to the other part of his Prophecy where the Event was at such a Distance that tho it should not Correspond with the Prophecy it could not at present be Disproved and therefore the bare Foretelling it did not bring along with it sufficient Evidence that the Prophet who spoke it was really sent from God In like manner 't is said of Samuel Å¿ 1 Sam. 3.19 20. c. 9.6 that all Israel knew him to be an Establisht Prophet of the Lord's when they saw that none of his Prophetick words fell to the ground So Ezekiel having deliver'd a Prediction adds t Ezek. 33.33 When this shall come to pass then they shall know that a Prophet has been among them as if he had said However Men may slight my Words now and value them no more than a Song u ver 32. which Men hearken to only to pass away the time yet the fulfilling of what I say will establish my Authority beyond Contradiction Which is an Argument that Men commonly suspended their Judgement concerning the Authority of a Prophet till they had Tried his Veracity by seeing whether some one Prophecy of his which he delivered as a Test of his Mission came to pass or no. 3. Tho Prophets usually gave a Sign in Testimony of their Mission yet Some Prophets did not who were therefore to be Tried by other Rules 'T is Recorded particularly of John Baptist that he did no Miracle x John 10.41 and yet the people counted him a Prophet y Matth. 21.26 which they would not have done if a Prophet had always given a Sign before he was accounted so and we see that even the Priests and Elders could not find any thing to Object against his Authority z Ibid ver 25. Now in such a Case I suppose they judged of a Prophet's Pretences by some of these following Tokens by the Holiness of his Life and Doctrine by the Agreement of what he said with the Predictions or discourses of other Prophets and especially if another Prophet of undoubted Authority bare witness to him according to that Maxime of the Jewish Masters a Maimonid Fundam Legis c. 10. Sect. 9. The Prophet of whom some other Vndoubted Prophet witnesseth that he is a Prophet is assuredly such All these Marks concurr'd in John Baptist his Office was plainly describ'd by Isaiah b Is 40.3 and both that and his Person by Malachi c Mal. 3.1 4.5 his Doctrine was Holy and his Life an exact Copy of what he taught so here was no room to suspect him a Counterfeit tho he gave no Sign to attest his Mission We may farther observe that the Prophets of the Old Testament insist upon these three things viz. Purity of Doctrine Holiness of Life and Agreement with other Prophets as the Tokens whereby they distinguisht themselves from the False Prophets They tell us there is as plain a difference between the Visions of True Prophets and the Dreams of False Ones as betwixt Chaff and Wheat d Jer. 23.28 which must be upon this account that the one sort tends to discourage Sin and set forth the terrible Consequences of it e Ibid. ver 29. whereas the other designs to sooth Men up in their Vices by Healing the Wounds of the Conscience Slightly saying Peace Peace f Jer. 6.14 and promising Men Prosperity without their Repentance and Amendment of Life To the same purpose Ezekiel says of the False Prophets that they Sow pillows to men's elbows