the whole College of Apostles agreed in came with greater Authority and Evidence of it's being God's Will than what was deliver'd by one Apostle only Just as we are more assur'd of the Truth of those Doctrines which are often repeated by different Writers in the Holy Scripture than of those which are only mention'd by one because the Authority of several Writers adds weight to the matter it self and the comparing them together prevents our mistaking the sense of the Scripture concerning it whereas what is but once mention'd is more liable to Ambiguities and the Sense of it more easily mistaken From what has been said I hope it appears that there is sufficient reason why Inspir'd persons should consult each other and that this is no prejudice to their Inspiration 2. The second Objection is ſ Fr p. 249. Eng p 58. That the Holy Ghost which the Apostles received on the day of Pentecost had not taught them all they ought to know so far was it from rendring them at first dash Infallibe so that St. Peter needed a Vision to learn that he ought not to scruple Preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles I do not know any body that ever yet maintain'd that the Spirit once for all instructed the Apostles in all things that were needful for the Discharge of their Office 'T is certain several things were reveal'd to them by Degrees and in proportion to the Exigences of the Church and this Author himself owns as much when he tells us t Fr. p. 252. Eng. p. 62. That the Apostles had MANY Immediate Revelations and DIVERS Heavenly Visions And as for the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon them in a visible manner on the day of Pentecost the chief Design of that was publickly to Authorize them to preach the Gospel and to Initiate them into the Body of Christ's Church which was then founded and to do this by more solemn Tokens of the Divine Presence among the first Professors than any other Institution could ever pretend to according to what the Baptist foretold u Matth. 3.11 and our Savior promis'd x Act. 1.5 that John indeed baptized or admitted Proselytes with the bare Ceremony of Water which had been a Rite made use of by the Jews long before upon such occasions but the Apostles should be Baptized or admitted into the Church with the Holy Ghost and with fire 3. The third Objection is that a Fr. p. 248. Eng. p. 57. When the Dispute arose whether the Gentiles that were Converted were to be Circumcised or not tho St. Paul and St. Barnabas were against this yet their Authority was not sufficient to put to silence the Judaizing Christians which was a sign they did not look upon them as Infallible To the same purpose he urges b Fr. p. 249. Eng. p. 58. The Believers that were of the Circumcision contending with St. Peter for going to men uncircumcised and conversing with them c Act. 11 2 3. To begin with the latter part of the Objection to the instance of St. Peter I answer that the Converts of the Circumcision were throughly perswaded that the Laws and Institutions of Moses were of perpetual Obligation and therefore 't is no wonder if at first they were surpriz'd to see any of them laid aside and a door open'd to let in the Gentiles to the same Privileges with the Jews and to take away that Discrimination which the Law makes between the Jews and the rest of the world d Exod. 19.5 6. Deut. 7.6 And since this Action of St. Peter's touch'd them so nearly in their Privileges and Prerogative or at least was contrary to the Traditions they had received from their Teachers and held as sacred as the Law it self * Matt. 15.2 Mat. 7.3 Joh. 18.28 't is no wonder they were not easily satisfied about it till they examin'd the reasons upon which St. Peter acted in this matter And the Apostles never laid so much stress upon their Infallibility as to require their Disciples to believe them upon their own word as Mr. N. himself e Fr. p. 283. Eng. p. 112. observes or without demanding a reason why they did so But if we should grant all this Objection contends for certainly 't is but a weak Argument that the Apostles were not Infallible because some new Converts f See Mr. Dodwel of Schism ch 19. sect 18 19. did not think so who 't is plain did not well understand the Principles of their own Religion and had not as yet intirely submitted to the Authority of the Apostles And by the same reason we may argue that our Saviour was not Infallible which yet Mr. N. himself looks upon g Fr. p. 257 260 281. Eng. p. 70 75 109. as a certain Truth because his Disciples seem not to be satisfied sometimes of the Truth of what he sayes h Matth. 16.22 and demand of him a reason i Matth 15.15 of those Doctrines of his that look'd like Paradoxes to them A great deal of what has been said will hold much stronger in the case of St. Paul and Barnabas k Act 15. for the admitting the Gentiles into the Church without Circumcision must needs be thought a great Violation of the Law of Moses by those that look'd upon it to be of perpetual Obligation in the Church of God To which may be added that St. Paul and Barnabas had not so clear and indisputable an Authority as the rest of the Apostles not being of the number of the Twelve whose Commission was so solemnly seal'd and ratified on the day of Pentecost And they who were of a different Perswasion from them would in all likelyhood lay hold of this Objection against their Authority as Men are willing to take advantage of any Exception to an Authority that is against them And accordingly we find in after times when the Judaizing Christians found St. Paul zealous in asserting the Liberties of the Gentile Converts and teaching men every where to Apostatize from Moses as they term'd it l 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 21.21 that they did what they could to lessen his Authority and represented him as far Inferiour to the rest of the Apostles and therefore that no great stress was to be laid upon his Doctrine which forc'd him to vindicate himself and his Apostleship at large Galat. 1. and 2. Chapters 4. The fourth Objection is m Fr. p. 250. Eng. p. 60. St. Peter's Dissimulation at Antioch for which St. Paul reproved him as he tells us n Gal. 2.11 And here I agree with our Author that St. Peter acted contrary to his Judgment and dissembled his Opinion for he that had been warned by a Vision o Act. 10.28 that he should not call any man common or unclean and but just before had a great hand in making the Decree at the Synod of Jerusalem p Act. 15 7. whereby the Gentiles were made Members of the Church upon
Order of Ministers and Church-Governours who have the Power of Dispensing them the Necessity of being Incorporated into the Church as a Society Founded upon a Divine Charter and to whose Members alone belong the Priviledges of the New Covenant the Meritorious Efficacy of Christ's Sacrifice and Intercession towards the Procuring men's Salvation these Doctrines I say they will by no means admit to be True because as they pretend they cannot see what Natural Force there is in these things toward their producing their intended Effects And when they have deprived Christ of his Titles of Saviour and High-Priest tho perhaps they may still be contented to acknowledge him a Prophet and a Teacher come from God yet they look upon his Coming into the World as a matter of no Great Consequence and which men do well to believe if they see good Reason for it or if after having used Reasonable Diligence they are not convinc'd that 't is True there 's no great Harm done since he came only to Reinforce the Principles and Duties of Natural Religion which men's Reason will sufficiently instruct them in and if they do but live up to its Directions and lead good Moral Lives they may be saved whatever their Opinions are as to what they call the Speculative Points of Religion These Opinions every body is sensible are very much in Vogue especially among those who value themselves for being Free Thinkers and Reasoners 'T is evident likewise that men of these Principles are apt to look upon the Bible as a Book of no great Value and which the World might very well be without and are ready to declare that the Disputes it has occasion'd have done more harm than the Book has done good and so from Vndervaluing its Worth they come to question its Authority From what has been said it appears very probable that the Prevailing of these Loose Notions concerning a Church-state and Revealed Religion at first gave Rise or at least hath since given Continuance to those Controversies that have been so much Debated of late concerning the Integrity and Authority of the Scriptures And the Atheistical Party have been Industrious to keep alive this Dispute as well knowing that 't is doing no small piece of Service to their Cause to weaken the Authority of the Holy Writings Mr. Hobbs and the Author of Theologo-Politicus are the Chief of that Party who have engag'd in this Controversie tho indeed they ought to pass but for one Writer since the latter has taken the Substance of what he says from the former and seems to have little of his own Invention unless it be the Quoting of a Text now and then in Hebrew which he does I suppose to raise in his Vnlearned Readers an Admiration of his Profound Reading and Schollarship And this Design of his has in some measure taken Effect for his Atheistical Admirers are generally Ignorant enough to take him for a Writer of Sense and Learning But to pass by these Profess'd Advocates of Atheism and Irreligion the most considerable Writers that have been concern'd in the Controversie about the Integrity and Authority of the Holy Writings are Mr. Simon and his Adversaries Whose Learning as I do not intend to disparage so neither will I take upon me to judge of their Secret Intention in the Management of this Dispute I acknowledge them to be men of Learning and as to their Design I am willing to think as Charitably as I can But yet I cannot forbear saying that tho they differ very much in their Notions as to other Matters yet they seem to agree in speaking slightly and irreverently of the Holy Writers they readily lay hold of any Difficulties which tend to weaken their Credit and do not take half so much pains to Improve any of the Arguments that may be produc'd for them as they do to Vrge Objections against them But however I must say thus much in behalf of Mr. Simon that many to shew their good Will to the Bible make him say much Worse things than he really does and such as they would fain have him say and would be glad if they could Vouch his Authority for They are Industrious to make the world believe that if we will take his Judgment there have been so many Corruptions and Alterations made in the Text of the Bible that 't is impossible to tell which is the True and which is the False Reading Mr. Dryden particularly in his Religio Laici makes this Comment upon Mr. Simon 's Critick and tells us as delivering that Author's sense that the Jews have Let in Gross Errors to corrupt the Text Omitted Paragrahs and With vain Traditions stop'd the Gaping Fence Now one would think by this Account of his Work that Mr. Simon had expresly asserted that the Jews had Wilfully and Designedly Corrupted the Original by Adding to and Taking away from it as they thought fit But in my Opinion 't is taking a greater Liberty than Poetry it self will allow to make a man speak quite contrary to his Sense and Meaning For Mr. Simon makes it his Business to prove in several places of his Book a Critique upon the O. T. l. 1. ch 17 18 19 l. 2. c. 4. that the Jews have not corrupted the Hebrew Text and answers the Arguments that are usually brought for that Opinion All that he affirms as to this matter is that the Bible has been obnoxious to the same Corruptions that other Books are through the Ignorance or Negligence of Transcribers and that such kind of Faults crept into the Text in those Ages chiefly that did not mind the Niceties of Criticism and therefore the proper way to Reform those Errors is by Correcting the Suspected Places according to the Rules of that Art and by diligent Comparing of Copies as Criticks correct other Books and the Massorets have already the Hebrew Text. And as for the Additions which are supposed by many to have been made to the Original Text he supposes them inserted by Prophets whereof there was a constant Succession whose Business 't was to take Care of the Publick Records How true this Hypothesis is 't is not my Business to examine 't is sufficient to my present Purpose that Mr. Simon does not represent these Additions as so many Corruptions of the Text. So that in this Case Mr. D. has Misrepresented Mr. Simon 's Text aswell as that of the Bible and put such a Gloss upon it as it does not appear that he ever intended as far as can be gathered from his Words But I shall pursue this Matter no further because Mr. D. may think it hard measure to urge any thing said in his Religio Laici against him at this time of day when he has alter'd his Mind in so many Particulars since the Writing of that Poem and has made Amends for his Former Incredulity by turning Advocate for Implicite Faith One of Mr. Simon 's Antagonists whom he and the rest of the World take to
their Authority was immediately Establisht And so much for the proving the Sixth Proposition And I think supposing these Six Propositions proved this Conclusion will plainly follow from what has been said that the Books of the New-Testament were Written by God's Direction and design'd by Him for the Perpetual use and Instruction of the Church and are the only Fixt Rule which he has appointed for this purpose I shall draw some Conclusions from these Premises which will tend to illustrate and explain the Divine Inspiration of the Holy Writings 1. It follows from hence that the Holy Ghost assisted the Apostles as fully when they Writ as when they Preached How far this assistance extended and wherein it consisted I shall examine particularly in the next Chapter at present I intend only to shew that we may presume there is as great a degree of Inspiration to be found in their Writings as was in their Preaching For since the reason why this Assistance accompanied them in their Preaching was the benefit of the Church that they might Guide it into all Truth without any danger of mixing error with it the same reason holds much stronger for their Writings which do not serve for the Instruction of One Age only as their Preaching did but of Many And therefore tho we should suppose that they use Arguments ad Hominem sometimes and proceed upon such Principles as were generally admitted in the Age they lived without nicely examining whether they were true or not yet this only shews that they thought fit to explain Divine Truths in such a manner as was most suitable to the Capacity of the persons they were immediately to Instruct And as we must grant that tho the New Testament was design'd for the use of future Ages yet the Phrase and Style and Argumentation used in it is wholly accommodated to the Sentiments and Usage of that Age in which 't was writ so S. Paul himself does plainly imply that he does not always use the Best Arguments but sometimes such as are best fitted to the Capacities and Notions of those he Writes to For thus we find him express himself by way of excuse for the Argument he makes use of d Rom. 6.19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh which is as much as if he had said I could bring a better argument to prove what I say but this which I make use of is more suitable to your Capacities and may perhaps more effectually convince you than a better 2. It follows secondly that since the Books of the New Testament and the same reason holds as to any other Writings of the same rank and use were design'd to be a standing rule of Faith to Christians the Holy Ghost tho he did not generally Dictate the words which the holy Writers used yet directed them to express their minds in such a manner that those who have a regard to the Dialect and way of speaking in which they write might rightly understand them or at least the Holy Spirit prevented their giving just occasion for Men's errors and mistakes in matters of Consequence by their Phrases and Expressions And such a degree of assistance is absolutely necessary to make these Books a standing Rule of Faith For tho we suppose the Holy Writers used a Popular style and consequently made use of such Hyperboles and Metaphors and other Improprieties of Speech which common practise allows of in all Languages especially where they occasionally speak of Philosophical matters and things not immediately relating to Religion yet unless we suppose them to speak properly in those Terms of Art which are of fundamental use in the explaining the Doctrines of Christianity and upon the sense of which whole Controversies turn and as they are differently taken they alter the very face of the Christian Religion I say except we suppose the Apostles to speak properly i. e. agreeably to their own Simplicity and Plainness of Speech and in such a manner as was most likely to be understood by those they writ to when they treat of matters of great Importance and such as are justly to be reckon'd Fundamental Doctrines the New Testament will not answer the ends of a Rule of Faith For a Book is of no use to explain or decide any Controversy if we can have no sixt rule whereby to judge of its style so as to be in some measure certain what is its true sense And 't is very strange if a Book writ by persons who had an extraordinary assistance from God and which was design'd for Universal use should not be worded with that care which Humane Industry uses in matters of Importance And therefore we have reason to rely upon the assistance of the Holy Spirit even with relation to the Phrase and Letter of the Scripture and to believe that he has so far directed the holy Pen-men that their Phrases and Expressions should not lead Men into error in matters of Consequence but may be rightly understood by those that acquaint themselves with the Dialect in which they writ and consult the Ages nearest the Apostles who must needs be next to their own style the best Judges of their sense If indeed the Socinian Doctrines concerning the Nature and Satisfaction of Christ were true it must be confessed there would be little reason to believe that the Holy Ghost had a hand in wording the Scriptures nay then the Scriptures will appear to be written in such a style as if the Writers design'd to lead Men into error And the Socinians themselves when they make Reason the sole Judge of Sripture and tell us they will not believe any thing contrary to Reason tho it were never so plainly asserted in Scripture do in effect confess that the expressions of Scripture taken in their natural and most obvious sense do not at all favour their Opinions e Socin de Christ Servat l. 3. c. 6. And therefore 't is no wonder to find these Gentlemen warn their Readers so often not to make Inferences from the Phrases of Scripture as if they were used strictly and properly that they so often tell us of the Improprieties and Metaphors which the Eastern Writers and those who imitate them abound with that the Apostles play with Words as Socinus with Reverence speaks f Amavit Paulus in Execrationis verbo esse argutus Socm de Chr Serâ— l. 2. c. 1 and take them sometimes in one sense and sometimes in another Our Author follows them in this as well as in some other things g v Fr. p 234. Eng p. 146. and often cautions h Eng. p 107 111. Fr. p. 280 281. En. p. 11â— Fr. p. 285. Eng. p. 145 146. Fr. p. 233 234. us not to subtilize about the expressions nor stick too close to the Letter of the Scripture since the style of Scripture is so far from being exact that 't is very careless and tells us i Eng. p. 107 116.
not to be express'd in too plain words I deny not but there are some plain Prophecies in Scripture but as much the greater part of them have something of Obscurity so I doubt not but to make it appear that the Obscurity of the Prophecies is so far from being an Objection against them as some pretend that on the contrary 't is absolutely requisite that most Prophecies should be Obscure or else they would not answer the Designs for which they were given nor be Accomplish'd in a way agreeable to the Methods of Providence But of this in the next Chapter The Sum of what I have hitherto said concerning the Authority of the Prophetical Writings is this That if we consider the Prophets only as men that were the Teachers of Vertue and Religion the least that can be said of them is That in respect of their great Improvements in the several parts of Knowledge the Excellency of their Precepts the Integrity of their Lives their Contempt of the World and constant Adhering to their Principles they were equal to the greatest Philosophers but if we consider them as Inlightned from above and the Messengers of God to the world they discover to us the Various Methods of the Divine Government they unravel the Intricate Turnings and Windings of that Dark Labyrinth they display the Scene of Providence from the Beginning of this World to the End and then give us a Prospect of Another to come the Signal Accomplishment of their Predictions already fulfilled confirms our Belief in Providence and incourages us to trust in God and in the Words of his Prophets for the Future They do not open the Scene of things to come only to gratify a Vain Curiosity or with a Design to incourage the Belief of a Fatal Necessity but to assure us that God interests himself in the Government of the World that all things are Guided by his Unerring Hand and that the Changes which come to pass in the World are not the Effects of Blind Chance or Surly Fate but the Results of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness which is able to bring Good out of Evil and make the Rage and Fierceness the Folly and Madness of man turn to God's Praise and be Instrumental in bringing about his Great Purposes and Designs Thus the Holy Prophets teach us to depend upon God and acknowledge that our Sufficiency is of him and yet withal to believe that 't is in our own Power in a great measure whether we will be Happy or Miserable Thus their Doctrine promotes God's Honour without superseding men's Diligence and Indeavours and instructs us to give him the Glory when we do well and not to charge him foolishly when we do amiss And as to their way of Writing which includes a Hidden and Mysterious Sense under a Literal and Obvious one this was agreeable to the Method of Instruction which the great Sages of the world practis'd in those early Ages 't was what the Jews had been accustom'd to what they always believ'd to be the Style of Scripture and do so still tho it make against them it tends to discover the Chain of Providence and the Dependance which by the Appointment of the Divine Wisdom the Occurrences of one Age have upon those of another which is at a great distance The Prophets themselves have in most Cases left us Certain Marks to know where we are to seek for Mysteries and a Key to unlock their true Meaning and where such an Indication is wanting we have the Apostles to direct us who have given abundant Evidence of their Divine Credentials that they were appointed by God to be the Interpreters of his Oracles and Publishers of his Will CHAP. IV. Wherein some Difficulties are Resolved relating to the PROPHETS themselves or their manner of Writing III. I Proceed to discourse concerning the Third General Head I propos'd at the Beginning of the last Chapter to be consider'd in relation to the Prophets which is to Resolve some Difficulties concerning the Prophets themselves or their Prophecies And here 't is not my Design to give a particular Answer to all the Objections that have been rais'd against the Prophetical Writings most of which have been fully answer'd by several Excellent Writers of late a Bp Stillingfleet Orig. Sac. Letter to a Deist Huetii demonst Evangel M. Smith of Prophecy Dr. Spencers Vanity of Vulgar Prophecies not to mention the Ancients I intend only in this Chapter to consider Two Difficulties one relating to the Prophets themselves and the other to their manner of Writing which have not yet that I know of been throughly Explain'd by any Writer the First is The Obscurity of the Prophetical Writings the other Concerning the Marks and Signs whereby True Prophets were distinguish'd from False The latter of these Inquiries is Embarass'd with Great Difficulties for the Scripture gives us very little Light in this matter insomuch that one would wonder since there are so many Contests between the True and False Prophets related in Scripture and so many Cautions given against hearkening to False Prophets and Seducers that there should be so little said concerning the Marks whereby they might be distinguish'd from the True ones I. I begin with the former Difficulty viz. The Obscurity of the Prophecies But here I shall first Premise that Obscurity is not Inseparable from Prophecy for there are some very plain Prophecies in Scripture as the Foretelling the 70. years Captivity of the Jews and that Cyrus after that time was expired should Restore them to their Land and Rebuild Jerusalem b Jer. 25.11 12 -29.10 Is 44.28 the Succession of the Monarchies in Daniel c Dan. 2. c. 7. c. 8. and those Prophecies concerning the Messias which foretell his Coming while the Second Temple was standing and before the Destruction of the Jewish Commonwealth d Dan. 9.25 c. Hagg. 2. 6 -9 Malac. 3 1.-4.1 But notwithstanding some few Exceptions generally speaking there is something of Obscurity in the Delivery of Prophecies Now beside the Causes of this which arise from the Prophetical Style which is full of Metaphors and of lofty Expressions such as naturally flow from a Heat of Fancy where Great and Surprizing Ideas have made a deep Impression besides this there are other Reasons to be assign'd for this Obscurity which are taken from the very Nature and Design of Prophecies and the manner how they are Fulfilled 1. With Respect to the first of these viz. the Design of Prophecies I lay down this Rule That Prophecies are not so much design'd by God to give men the Knowledge of things before-hand as to confirm mens Faith after they are come to pass and convince them that this was God's Work I willingly grant that God did Reveal things to come to his Prophets both to do them a particular Honour e Gen. 18.17 by making them Privy to his secret Counsels and Designs and likewise to prepare and fit men for the Blessings foretold of