not perform it And Psal 56.4 In God I will praise his word And Psal 60.6 7. God hath spoken in his holiness I will rejoyce c. In a word It 's to little purpose to the children of God in a waiting posture to offer to be acquaint with the Word and make use of it except they lean their weight on it and be determined by it otherwise a man may sâ—arve beside his allowance he may see enough in the Bible to make him up and yet not be the better of it because he will not captivat his sense reason and carnal imaginations to credit and lay weight on it But to press and follow this forth I proceed to the 3d thing I proposed to be spoken to in this Head of Doctrine and it is the main thing to the end we may lean weight upon the Word and it may put an end to all controversies that may arise in our bosoms we would fix this principle that the Word of God is of Divine Authority and of infallible verity and certainty That 's a Principle a man that would live by Faith must fix that as it is Tit. 1.2 The Scriptures are the word of him that cannot lie Here it is that Faith resolving to wait on God must begin his exercise to fix this well that the Scriptures and the Doctrine contained therein are the Word of the faithful God that they are of infallible verity and Divine Authority and therefore when the Apostle 2 Pet. 1.19 is pressing upon believers to take heed to the Scriptures as a more sure word of prophecy than the voice that came from heaven He intimats in the two following Verses that that will be to no purpose except they know first that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation The meaning whereof is not that privat spirits must not Expone or give the sense of Scripture for the Passage speaks not of the interpretation or giving of the sense but of the authority of the Scripture In which sense Prophets were inspired to reveal the Word of God and his will betwixt him and men as Aaron was betwixt Moses and Pharaoh when Moses was unto him as a God as the Heathen Sybills werâ— called Deorum Interpretes and so the meaning is that the Scriptures are not of any private inspiration by men but from God as is contained in the reason which he gives in the next Verse For the Prophesie came not of old time by the will of men but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost These sure words of Prophecy â—ould he say to which I invite you to take heed are of Divine Authority spoken by holy men as they were inspired by the Spirit and his ye must know and believe ere ye can receive light and comfort from them Hence Paul dealing with Agrippa Act. 26.27 presses him to look to the Scriptures Divine Authority as being a solid ground of Faith King Agrippa believest thou the Prophets I know that thou believest he threaps upon him that he believed This Principle being necessary to be fixt our work in fixing it might soon be at an end if we were quit of the wicked and perverse clamours of Papists who expecting little kindness of the Scriptures as I asserted the last day are in tops with it at every bout they will have none to read the Scriptures without their licence and when they are read they will not have them a perfect rule for Faith and Manners without their traditions not will they grant that they can be understood without their interpretations And in the point I am upon they will not have the Scriptures to be of Divine Authority in respect of us what ever Authority they have of themselves more than the Fables of Aesop without the testimony of their Church so blasphemously speak they against that Scripture from which they expect so little friendship For us we acknowledge it is a mercy that there is a Church to hand down the Scriptures to us and that we have the testimony of the Church by her Ministry 〈◊〉 sure that testimony is not from the Romish Church only The Ancients when they speak of Testimonies concerning the Doctrine of the Scriptures adduce the Testimony of the Romish Church being then Orthodox only among other Churches and there are many other Churches beside the Protestants who acknowledge the authority of the Scripture and yet do not acknowledge the authority of the Church of Rome such as the Grecian Ethiopian Armenian Churches and others whatever the Church do in asserting the Authority of the Scriptures she is in that like the woman of Samaria Joh. 4. Who testified to the Samaritans concerning Christ saying Come see a man that told me all that ever I did is not this the Christ but when they came to him on her information they said Now we believe not because of thy information and saying for we have seen and heard him our selves and know that this is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world They founded not their faith on her Testimony though that was inductive to their meeting with Christ but ascended to their own perswasion which was founded on their hearing of him themselves But to batter out this a little which ye may have to do with ere long to let you see that the Scripture must not subject its authority to the Roman Church I shall speak a little to these four 1. I enquire whether they have given this Testimony or not Further Whether it be arbitrary for them to give it or not if it be arbitrary and the Word have no Authority but at their pleasure they put a cheat upon the World by asserting the authority of that which hath no antecedent authority in it self But if it be not arbitrary but they are bound to give it and have given their Testimony already as Pope Innocent long ago pronounced his authority in his Decretal concerning the Scripture Then they can no more be heard pleading against the Authority of the Scriptures determining in these Controversies that are betwixt them and us 2. Who gives this Testimony The Pope or his Counsel or both Again How came they to give this Testimony They are perswaded or not perswaded are they not perswaded and yet give it then are they the grandest cheats in the world If they are perswaded how came they to that perswasion If they go up to the Church preceeding how was that Church perswaded and let them ascend as far as they can ascend they must still fist at some who were perswaded of the truth of the Authority of the Scriptures without any antecedent Testimony of the Church as for Revelations witnessing the Divine Authority of the Scriptures they will not pretend to them they call us Enthusiasts though falsely on that account and if they had that perswasion from the Scriptures themselves why may not others having the Spirit of God discern that Divine Authority of
note I took up here was That waiting on God will not be gotten cherisht without faith and hope I wait for the Lord my soul doth wait because I hope The Tryals of the people of God for greatness sharpness and continuance may be so ordered as an out-gate from them can only be discerned by faith and looked after by hope yet when it is so that things are most dark faith chearfully imployed will apprehend a promised delivery in the greatest difficulties Faith will see an issue worth the waiting for I wait and I hope says he The second general Observation that I proposed from these Words was that the faith and hope that sends a believer and carries him through in waiting for God that enables him to endure hard lots without succumbing must take the Word for its ground I wait because I hope and I hope because I have the Word of God for the ground of my hope Ye know that I proceeded to speak to four Heads in the prosecuting of this Note That really needy souls who are put to live by Faith ought and will be much conversant with the Word of God to know what is for them and their through-bearing there 2. That as they will be conversant with the Word so they will judge of things according to the verdict of the Word that it may ground their Faith and beget Hope 3. That to fix the Saints in this resolution and to the end they may lean weight on the Word they would be fixt in this Principle that the Word of God is of Divine Authority and infallibly certain In his Word do I hope 4. That the waiter having fixt this Principle that the Word is of Divine Authority he must send out his Faith to believe and his Hope to look for all he finds in so divine and sure a Word that he may be sure under foot as the Word of God makes him It 's his duty to put forth Faith and Hope to fend For the first of these that needy Saints who are put to live by Faith and Hope ought to be and will be much conversant with the Word I spoke to it the last day I both proved it that it was lawful and incumbent on all to read and be acquaint with the Scriptures against the tyranny of the man of sin that will have no Laickâ— â—s they call them to read the Scripture without his licence and I insisted to press the duty on you by several arguments which I shall nor resume Only I shall desire that it may be a Preaching daily practised as ye would prove your selves to be among these blessed folk who have their delight in the Law of God and meditate therein day and night who have the Word dwelling richly in you that ye may be acquaint with the Charter of your inheritance with your Card and your Compass your elder Brothers Testament the Magazine and Store-house of your Furniture and Touch-stone whereby ye try all things Let me I say exhort you that that Preaching may be conspicuously seen in your practice daily A 2d thing in the point is that as really needy Saints will be conversant with the Word so they must learn to judge of things according to the rule of the Word they must learn to be determined by what the Word says to have the Scriptures ending all controversies and debates to have the Scriptures grounding their Faith and Hope in all things The Psalmist doth so here he contents not himself to take a look of the word but he is so acquaint with and so improves it as he lives by Faith and Hope in it This Point will lead me to the 3d and therefore I shall pass it briefly by recommending to all that would be acquaint with the Scripture and judge things according to it that they would avoid two extreams one is the practice of wicked men who will not be determined by the Word but live and feed upon their own presumptuous dreams Let the Word of God say what it will against the generality of men and the way wherein they walk they will not take the Word for Gods final answer but still look out for some other thing from God I can compare the generality of Church-members to none better than these Luk. 20. where Christ tells of the ill usage of the Servants sent to seek the fruit of the Vineyard and of their killing of the Heir and said he will come and destroy these Husband-men they perceiving that he meant by them as the other Evangelist hath it v. 16. say God forbid They would not take that for Gods final answer and so it is with the generality of men speak of the Scriptures in general to them they will acknowledge them but shew unto them how the Scripture condemns their way and what judgments it hath denounced against sins that they are living in they will not take that for Gods final answer they will still look out for some other thing from God I shall not stand on this though it be the general disease of the visible Church but in opposition to that extream of wicked men I shall desire you to mark that word Joh. 12.48 He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words hath one that judgeth him the word that I have spoken the same shall judge him at the last day Thou wilt not take that word for Gods final sentence yet it is that which shall judge thee in the last day and all self-deceiving and self deluding souls shall find God is and will be no other thing than what he hath declared himself in his Word to be If this were believed and laid to heart folk would more labour to live so as they may have the Word more their friend But on the other hand as men in making use of the Word would guard against the presumptuous dreams of wicked men so they would guard against the faithless fears of the godly who see enough in the Word to make them and needy sinners happy but their fears and want of probabilities lays them by from improving what they find in the Word for their comfort and encouragement in duty and lean as little weight on the Word upon the one hand as wicked men do on the other I shall not resume what I said at another occasion what use ye should make of reason in the matters of Religion Sure ye should make use of it for taking up things revealed in Scripture in gathering what is exprest therein or may be drawn from it by native consequence But ye would remember that Reason must stoop to Divine Revelation your Reason must stoop and strike Sail to what God hath revealed in his Word though ye have no probability of the thing yea though ye have probability of the contrary remembring that Numb 23.19 God is not as man that he should lie nor as the son of man that he should repent Hath he said and shall he not do it Hath he spoken and shall he
continue in it and when he hath done his duty and hath denyed himself and in his best performances is humbled for the iniquity of his holy things he hath need of Faith to sit down under Christs shadow to put it up in his hand and to close with imputed righteousness Thus ye see what need there is of Faith and Hope in respect of the relation they have to duty And 5. There is constant need of Faith in relation to Sense and manifestations of comfort and love A man that wants Sense and would be at it the only right way is by believing that he may see by believing that he may rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1.8 Believing that he may be sealed with the holy Spirit of promise Eph. 1.13 And when a man is win up to believing and finds no sensible comfort it 's no call to cast away his Faith but he must cherish his Faith more and yet more till God be pleased to send Sense He must still hold the grip of Faith if he would have sensible manifestations flowing out rightly and solidly to him Again when he hath gotten Sense he hath need of Faith still to try Sense when he doubts of his comfort whether it be a delusion or not and whether it be of God or a lie in his right hand it is by Faith and the rule of Faith by which he must examine and try that So that when he is hugged in his Fathers bosome there is need of Faith walking by its rule to assure him that he is not deluded And yet further when he hath gotten Sense and tryed it by the rule of Faith he hath need of Faith still he must not observe Peters way while he was on the Mount with Christ Master saith he it is good to be here if thou wilt let us make three tabernacles Mat. 17.4 But he must lay his account to come down again he must not reckon now I see and it will never be dark again now I have peace and I shall have no more perplexity but after a Sun-blink he must come down from the Mount of sensible enjoyment and meet with desertion and when he hath sensible manifestations he must lay them at his Masters feet and be content to return to the Trade of Believing Even as the Bride Cant. 2.17 when there hath been much fair Weather betwixt the beloved and her what says she Until the day break and the shadows flee away turn my beloved as if she had said I look not upon this as my ordinary allowance within time the day is not broken in time The shadows are not fled away as yet therefore I will submit to it that thou turn or flee that thou withdraw only on this condition that when I need thou wilt come swiftly unto me like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether or division Thus ye see how in all cases and lots there is constant need of Faith and Hope and that there should be a constant esteem of these Graces all that I shall say from it by way of inference shall be in the first place to press you to study this necessity well that ye may not mistake that ye may not be surprized what ever ye may meet with if ye have Faith and Hope God will not let it rust he will give you clouds to see thorow dark nights of Dispensations to grapple with And once fix your self in the perswasion of the constant usefulness and necessity of Faith and Hope and it will help to break many snares and temptations and particularly your fretting and petting and the casting away of your confidence Let Faith be your one thing O how cruel are they to themselves that weaken their confidence and cast away their esteem of Faith and Hope They consider not the constant necessity of these Graces And 2dly Particularly I would recommend to you that as I hinted in the forenoon ye would take grace to believe for an out gate Do never complain that ye are ill-guided so long as Faith keeps the Feet that were the moderation and sobriety becoming a Christian Spirit That whatever means for an issue be used that it be a mans satisfaction to get grace to judge well of God and of all his dealing Paul counted it a great favour 2 Cor. 4.1 That having received mercy he fainted not if folk knew what a woful life want of delivery and issue joyned with unbelief makes they would think them delivered folk who get grace to believe whose faith is not brangled or though it be brangled yet it is not put off the field Ye that have advanced to believing bless God for it and follow it as your chiefest mercy And 3. I shall add as a consequence of what I had in the Explication of the Point that ye would learn to hold a loose grip of all things that come to give Faith relief when either ye meet with a temporary delivery from a difficulty or with a sun-blink of Consolation coming to Faith as its post and saying sit down and rest you a while hold a loose grip of the one and the other It is but a fair blink in a Winter stormy day and it will overcast again Remember when ye have drawn your breath a little ye must up and make to your Faith and hope again when ye have seen your Sun he must be overclouded and ye must wait on the Lord who hides his Face from the house of Jacob and through the clouds ye must look for him Isai 8.17 And therefore as ye would not cast your Sun-blinks because they are not lasty as many do so ye must take heed ye sit not down upon them like a tir'd body set down to rest him he sits not long least he grow stiff The sober mind is a fixt mind he feeds with an eye to his journey he takes his comfort with an eye to the sight wherein he knows not how soon he may be engaged So much for the first Note on the second general Head of Doctrine that the Saints will have constant need of Faith and Hope and therefore should highly esteem of them The second is That if Faith and Hope be constantly necessary then there is need for a constant warrand for believing and hoping in God Now what is my warrand the Psalmists Exhortation to hope in the Lord imports the constant will of God concerning this as a duty even a constant warrand to believe and hope without any restriction of time lot person or condition Let Israel hope c. The Observation then is clear That it is allowed to the Saints at all times to believe and hope in God at all times whatever their lot or case be or seem to say there is no time wherein this duty wears out of fashion or the Command enjoyning it wears out of date whatever times pass over them or lots they fall under it is a constant duty and it is a sin