c. 6. that tho there are wonderful stories told in the old Testament yet that is no proof that the things themselves were Miraculous or such as exceeded the power of Natural Agents for the Jews loved to talk big and make a great deal more of a story by their way of telling it than the matter of Fact really was Just so the Socinians when they are pressed with plain Texts of Scripture for the Divinity or Satisfaction of Christ make this their constant Refuge that the Hebrew Language is full of Metaphors and the Writers don't mean half so much as they say Now this is an excellent device to render the Scriptures an insignificant Book or which is much the same make it say whatever these New Expositors please But before this trick will pass these Gentlemen should convince us that since 't is impossible to know the meaning of the Scripture by the words 't is they only have the secret of telling us its true Sense and the Key to these Mystical Characters And here I shall take occasion to reflect upon another passage in these Letters which indeed belongs to the Subject treated of in the former part of this Chapter viz. Concerning the Assistance of the Holy Ghost which our Saviour promised his Disciples but being another Essay of our Author's dexterity in this new way of Interpreting Scripture I chose to make my remarks upon it in this place 'T is his gloss upon that place of St. John z Joh. 16.13 14 15. He shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak c. He observes a Fr. p. 254. En. p. 66. that these words must be extremely figurative because the Holy Ghost properly speaking did not hear from God or Jesus Christ that which he was to Inspire the Apostles with From whence it must follow or else this Observation of his is Impertinent that the words immediately foregoing b John 16.13 When the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth must be very Figurative too and not imply that the Spirit really taught the Apostles any thing in a proper Sense Now to pass by this Consequence of his viz. that plain words are to be understood Metaphorically because they are joyn'd with words that have a Metaphor in them I can't but observe thus much for the clearing the sense of this Text that our Saviour uses no other expressions concerning the Holy Spirit here than what he had often used before of himself when he so often says that what he taught he had heard and received from the Father c John 5.30 c. 8.26.40 c. 15.15 And I hope 't will be granted that our Saviour taught his Disciples in a proper Sense without a Metaphor and why then must it follow from this way of speaking that the Holy Ghost did not But to return to our present subject That he says b Fr. p. 241. En. p. 44. which inclines him to believe that the foremention'd Promise of our Saviour the Holy Ghost or Spirit of the Father shall teach you in that hour what ye ought to say means no more then this viz. The Spirit of Courage and Holiness which the Gospel produces in your hearts will teach you what ye ought to say is That in comparing this Promise with the Event it seems not to have been perform'd in any other sense than what he has now given But has he indeed compar'd it with all the Events mention'd in the History of the Acts Not at all only has pick'd out two Instances which he thought he could make Exceptions against Sure if he had dealt fairly and impartially in this matter he would not have pass'd by the Boldness of Peter and John c Act. 4.13 which was so Extraordinary it made the. Sanhedrim wonder nor the Couragious Behaviour of all the Apostles d Act. 5.29 in both which Cases the Apostles told the Sanhedrim to their faces of their Horrid Sin in Murdering the Messias and that there was no way to Salvation but by Believing in him whom they had Crucified The Event in both these Cases seems to come up to the highest Sense of our Savior's Words and if we had an exact History of the Sufferings of the Apostles I do not question but we should find many more Proofs of the Accomplishment of this Promise Since in those few Remains that we have of the Genuine Acts of the Martyrs there are eminent Instances of their Courage in Professing the Truth e v Acta Ignat. per Usserium Edit Martyr Polycarpi ap Euseb H. E. l. 4 c. 15. Acta Martyr Lugd. Vienn Ibid. l. 5. c. 1. Cypriani Passio operibut ejus prefix which at First Sight discover something more than Humane and may justly be look'd upon as one of the greatest and most convincing Arguments of the Truth of Christianity and the Divine Power which accompanied its True Professors I am sure Justin Martyr confesses that this very Argument prevail'd with him to embrace the Christian Religion f Apol. 1. And if the Behaviour of the Martyrs in aftertimes was so Extraordinary we cannot think that the Apostles were in this respect Inferiour to their Disciples Now a man that had a real Concern for the honour of our Saviour and his Apostles and was desirous to magnify the Power of God's Grace and set it in the best Light he could would not have pass'd over all the Evidences for it and only insisted upon those Instances which he thought would lessen and obscure it But let us see whether the Instances he brings do really so much lessen the Promise of our Saviour as he imagines As for St. Paul's Behaviour to the High Priest g Act. 23.3 which is our Author's first Instance h Fr. p. 241. Eng. p. 45. he cannot be ignorant that some Expositors of the best Note i Grot. Estius Beza as well as his Adversary Mr. Simon k Eng. p. 178. Fr. p. 259. understand those words of his God shall smite thee thou whited wall as spoken by the Authority and in the Style of a Prophet as our Saviour call'd Herod Fox l Luk. 13.32 and St. Paul call'd Nero Lyon m 2 Tim. 4.17 And they that maintain this Opinion do not suppose that St. Paul in the next words beg'd Pardon and confess'd that he was to blame for what he said as our Author takes for granted that he did Å¿ Ubi sup But they take this to be the real Sense of the 5th v. tho purposely concealed under ambiguous Terms I cannot believe or own such a man to be High Priest who came into his Place by those ill Acts as Ananias did for if I had look'd upon him as High Priest I should not have transgressed the Law in giving him such disrespectful Language But if we understand the Place in the same Sense which Mr. N. does and own the Apostle to have been surpriz'd
even terms with the Jews without taking the Yoke of the Law upon them he after all this could not be really perswaded in his judgment that he ought not to keep company with the Gentile Converts tho his former prejudices might put some weight into the opposite Scale and make him doubtful and wavering Which might make his fear of displeasing the Jewish Christians and giving them offence work more powerfully upon him and prevail with him to comply with them in this matter and St. Paul expresly assigns his fearing to offend them of the Circumcision q Gal. 2 12. as the cause of this his Behaviour But tho this be not a sufficient Reason why any man should dissemble the Truth yet we may observe from St. James's Advice to St. Paul r Act. 21.20 that the Apostles were very tender of giving any offence to the Jewish Converts who were very ſ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 21 20. numerous and whom they justly look'd upon as the most considerable part of the Church and as it were the Elder Brethren having a precedent Right to the Promises before the Gentiles t Act. 3.26 Rom. 15.27 This may be pleaded for an Excuse in behalf of St. Peter tho still we must confess as St. Paul tells us u Gal. 2.14 that he did not walk uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel in this matter And neither the Apostles themselves nor any in their behalf ever pretended that they were exempt from sin but on the contrary we find them freely own themselves to be men of like Passions with others x Act. 14 15. Jam. 5.17 and that they had this Treasure of the Gospel in earthen vessels y 2 Cor. 4.7 and were of the same make with other men And therefore since as our Author truly says z Fr. p. 260. Eng. p. 75. He alone is indowed with an absolute Infallibility who is incapable of sinning I do freely grant that we are no further assur'd that the Apostles were free from Errour than we find them free from Sin which naturally leads men into it I own likewise that this Instance of St. Peter is a good Argument against the perpetual Inspiration or Infallibility of the Apostles if we mean any more by it than a habitual Knowledge of Divine Truth for I cannot think S. Peter was under the immediate Conduct of the Holy Spirit when he was guilty of this Behaviour But I suppose the Apostles might have such an Assistance as was abundantly sufficient to answer all the Necessities of the Church without being always under the immediate Influence of the Holy Ghost which must make them Impeccable as as well as Infallible And even in this case we have reason to admire God's Providence and Care over his Church for so ordering it that St. Paul should be upon the place to interpose and put a stop to this ill Conduct that might else have been of dangerous Consequence and made a Breach in the Church that would not easily have been made up And humanely speaking 't is not likely that St. Peter who had such a Preeminence in the Church would have yielded to a less Authority than that of St. Paul's From whence too may further appear of what use 't was even for Inspir'd persons to consult with each other and act by common Advice which Point I have explained and proved at large above * P. 88. 5. The next Exception I shall take notice of is this Mr. N. tells us a Fr. p. 258 259. Eng. p. 72 73 74. that the Gift of Wisdom and Knowledge or the Gift of Prophecying which he makes all one with the two former was a Disposition of mind which God sometimes infused into those on whom he bestowed it whereby they became fit to instruct and that it did not consist in an immediate Inspiration of what they were to say His reasons for this are two 1. Because this Gift might be improved by Study and Reading as he proves from 1. Tim. 4.13 14. 2. Because the Apostle gave directions to the Prophets and order'd them to exercise their Gifts by turns to prevent that Confusion which the disorderly Use of their Gifts had brought into the Church b 1 Cor. 14. Now he thinks that if the Spirit had Inspir'd them with what to say he would likewise have given them directions as to the time and place Now methinks he that can confound the Gifts of Wisdom Knowledge and Prophecy which any Man that consults the place where St. Paul reckons up the several Gifts of the Spirit c 1 Cor. 8 9. will see are distinct and takes no notice of the Ambiguity of the word Prophecy which is taken in several Senses in Scripture I say he that confounds things that any one who has studied the places of Scripture which treat of the Gifts of the Spirit must needs know to be very different need not have been so nice as to distinguish between a Disposition of mind infus'd into those upon whom God bestowed it whereby they became fit to Instruct and an Inspiring them with what to say For certainly this Disposition infused into the mind if it mean any thing must mean God's giving Men a clear and distinct apprehension of what they were to teach others and I think this is much the same as Inspiring them with what to say since out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh and words are only the Expressions of our thoughts unless our Author supposes that when God Inspires a Man with what to say he only puts so many words into his mouth without conveying any Idea of the things themselves to his mind But let us proceed to examine his reasons As to the First I see no inconvenience in asserting that God very often increas'd or withheld his Extraordinary Gifts in proportion to the Industry of the Possessors For since the Extraordinary and Ordinary Gifts agree in this that they are both design'd to assist our Natural Faculties not to supersede them and to incourage our Industry not to slacken it I can't see why that Rule of our Saviour's To him that has shall be given and from him that has not i. e. does not improve and make a good use of what he has shall be taken way d Matth. 13.12 may not be applied to the Extraordinary Gifts as well as to the Ordinary and why Men might not hope God would bestow these Gifts upon them in a greater degree as a reward of their Industry and might not have reason to fear he should withdraw them if they took advantage from thence to be negligent And thus much seems to be implied in that advice of St. Paul e 1 Thess 5.19 Not to quench the Spirit viz. that God may be provok'd to take away these Gifts when he sees them abused or Men's sins may render them Unworthy to be the Instruments of the holy Spirit The story of the Ethiopian
by Passion yet still there will appear evident Tokens of a Divine Assistance accompanying him if we take an entire View of the whole history of his Sufferings at Jerusalem With what an Undaunted Resolution he went thither when he knew beforehand That Bonds and Afflictions did abide him and did not value his Life so he might finish his Course with joy o Acc. 20.23 24. How he persisted in the same Resolution notwithstanding all the Importunities and Tears of his Friends being ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem but also to die for the Name of the Lord Jesus p Act. 21.14 with what Courage he sets forth the Grounds of his Conversion before the enrag'd Multitude q Act. 22. with what Authority he Preach'd concerning the Faith in Christ and the Fundamentals of Christianity to Felix and laid his Sins so home to him that he made him tremble Act. 24.25 How powerfully he pleaded for himself and his Religion before Agrippa r Act. 26. so as to make Impression upon the King himself and almost perswade him to be a Christian He that shall lay all these things together will see Reason to admire the Power of God's Grace in St. Paul's Behaviour at Jerusalem and will not think that that one Slip if it were one is able to obscure the Glory of all the other parts of it And as for that Prudential Act of St. Paul which our Author sayes ſ Fr. p. 242. Eng. p. 46. hath nothing of Inspiration in it viz. his dividing the Council t Act. 23.6 and thereby making one half of them his Friends 't was exactly agreeable to our Savior's Advice to the Apostles u Matth. 10.16 To use all Prudence that was consistent with Innocency as this certainly was But besides it implied an excellent Argument ad homines viz. to Jews in behalf of Christianity namely that it was unreasonable for them to reject that Religion or persecute the Abetters of it whose great Design 't is to establish the Doctrine of the Resurrection the Belief of which Point the chiefest of their own Sects for Reputation look'd upon as one of the principal Articles of their Faith And therefore we find St. Paul knowing what force there was in it insist again and again upon the very same Apology for himself x Act. 24.15 c. 26.6 7. c. 28.20 Nay God himself approved of it as appears by the Vision which St. Paul had to incourage him the very next night after his Appearance before the Council by which our Lord himself gave Testimony to him that he had witness'd a good Confession y Act. 23.11 But 't is a wonder to me that our z Fr. p. 243. Eng. p. 48.49 Author should think St. Stephen's Behaviour and Harangue b Act. 7 a proper Instance to shew that the Apostles and primitive Confessors had no immediate Assistance of the Holy Ghost when they appear'd before secular Magistrates For if Courage to speak the Truth and to back it with unanswerable Arguments be a sign of an Extraordinary Assistance certainly no person ever gave greater Evidence of it than St. Stephen To declare publickly that the Temple and its Worship should shortly be destroy'd c Act. 6.14 was such an Invidious Truth that the Apostles themselves did not think fit at first to speak it openly but shew'd a great respect to the establish'd Worship by constantly attending upon it d Act. 3 1.-18.21.-20 16 -21 26. The Dissolution of the Mosaical Oeconomy being a Truth that the new Converts from Judaism were not yet able to bear But even this Truth St. Stephen had the Boldness to profess and maintain'd it too by a continued series of Argument from Abraham whom the Jews boasted to be their Father down to the building of the Temple Wherein he shews that the Patriarchs and Founders of the Jewish Nation were accepted by God before the Temple or its Service had a Beginning nay that Moses himself the Institutor of this Worship prophecied of Christ e Acts 7.37 and design'd the Tabernacle only for a Pattern of Heavenly things f Ibid ver 44. Besides this St. Stephen all along made Reflections upon the stubborn and refractory Temper of the Jews from the beginning and told them that their Rejecting and Murdering of Christ when he came was but agreeable to their usage of the Prophets who foretold him g Ib. ver 52. I think he that said these things had the Gift of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Apostles pray'd for h Acts 4.29 in a great measure And tho our Author is pleas'd to say i Ubi supr that St. Stephen mentions divers Circumstances of History which were nothing to the purpose yet for my part I must declare I see none but what are necessary to make it a full and Complete Narrative or else serve to set forth the ill manners of the Jews under the several Dispensations of Providence And I am apt to think St. Luke was of the same mind for abstracting from his Divine Character he was too Judicious a man to trouble himself or his Reader with a Rehearsal of impertinent Circumstances I am sure there are several particulars which are of great use to explain the Writings of Moses k Acts 7.20 26. which we could never have known if this Discourse had not been preserv'd This Gentleman may call these Impertinencies if he pleases but I believe few will follow him in this bold and Unscholar-like Censure and 't is well St Luke was of another mind for we should have had a great Loss if he had not preserved them And as for those particulars which he says l Ubi supr cannot be reconciled with the History of the Old Testament m Acts 7.16 if S. Luke made these Mistakes they have been accounted for above n Supr p. 45 46. if St. Stephen himself did I suppose the same Defence that is made for a Writer will hold more strongly for a Speaker And tho we suppose St. Stephen to have been full of the Holy Ghost when he spake o Acts 6 10.-7.55 yet there 's no reason the Spirit should dictate a History to him which he was before so well acquainted with And why may we not say that although the Holy Spirit were so remarkably present with him at this time that the Glories which were shed forth upon his Soul shin'd thro his Body and made his face look like the face of an Angel p Acts 6.15 yet the Holy Ghost thought fit not to supply the Defect of his Memory in one or two particulars to shew that Inspir'd persons even in their Brightest Minutes are still but men and that the Excellency might appear to be of God and not of themselves What has been said is sufficient to shew what little ground there is for this Author 's unworthy Reflections upon the Behaviour of the First Christians before
A VINDICATION Of the DIVINE AUTHORITY and INSPIRATION of the Writings Of the OLD and NEW TESTAMENT In Answer to a Treatise lately Translated out of French Entituled Five Letters concerning the INSPIRATION of the Holy SCRIPTURES By William Lowth B. D. Fellow of St. John's College in Oxford OXFORD Printed at the THEATER And are to be sold by John Wilmot Bookseller An. Dom. 1692. Imprimatur JONATH EDWARDS Vice-Can OXON June 13. 1692. TO THE Right Reverend Father in God PETER Lord BISHOP of WINCHESTER AND PRELATE of the Most Noble ORDER of THE GARTER May it Please Your Lordship IT is the Misfortune of our times to have Religion at once assaulted by a Rude and Ignorant Profaneness by a Confident pretence to reason and by Sceptical Sophistry Its Foundations are attack'd by the Profess'd Enemies of God and Goodness Its Mysteries are Ridicul'd by Hereticks as if they intended to invite Atheists to their Assistance to joyn a Helping Hand to the Carrying on so Good a Work as the Exposing Religion and making it appear Absurd and Contemptible And as if it were not Task enough to Encounter Open Enemies it hath the Hard Fate of it's Blessed Author to be Wounded in the House of it's Friends whilest many of those who seem to Embrace it are much more Industrious to Raise Doubts and Scruples about it than to Establish the Fundamental Truths of it or else lay down such Loose Principles that Wicked Men may deduce their own Conclusions from them and can't but please themselves to see their Work done to their Hands and Christianity Undermin'd by the Imprudence or Treachery of it's own Votaries Thus by Degrees Men have proceeded from Arguing about Obscure and Nice Matters to question Known and Certain Truths and from Disputing about the Points and Tittles of the Law to Reject the Divine Authority of the whole from thence to Decry all Revelation because they cannot exactly Comprehend how God's Spirit Influences and Cooperates with Man's Understanding and at last to cast off Religion in General So True is that which a Great Man has Observ'd That the Disesteem of the Scriptures is the Decay of Religion and through many Turnings and Windings at last leads Men into the very Depth of Atheism My LORD The Design of the Letters which I have Undertaken to Answer is to Perplex Men's minds with Difficulties about the Nature of Inspiration and thereby render the Divine Authority of those Writings suspected which the Church has always lookt upon as the Sacred Depositum of Divine Truth which God has committed to it's Trust and Design'd for it's Guide and Oracle When first I saw this Treatise turn'd into English I was in Hopes that some of our Eminent Divines whose Writings are so Deservedly Admir'd for their Strength and Clearness would have Vindicated the Authority of the Scriptures and Clear'd their Title to Inspiration from those Difficulties with which Men that are Better at Pulling down than Building up have perplexed it The Subject has never yet been throughly Handled and is Worthy the Thoughts of those Great Masters of Learning Reason and Judgement But after I had waited some time and could not hear that any Abler Person Intended to take this Work in hand I resolved to do my Best Endeavour toward the Defence of so Good a Cause and give a Check to those Opinions which tend to Undermine all Revelation And when I had finished my Design there were many Considerations moved me to present it to your Lordship not doubting but your Known Candor and Goodness would pardon the Confidence of this Address Your Eminent Dignity in the Church makes You deservedly Esteem'd a Pillar of Religion and Truth Your Constant Residence in Your Diocess and Your Care and Vigilance to keep up the Good Orders and Discipline of the Church there preserve the Purity of it's Doctrine and give a Due Lustre to it's Constitution and your Generous and Obliging Temper Charms Men into a Complyance with your Good Counsel and their own Duty And as these Considerations Embolden'd me to Present this Treatise to your Lordship which is writ in Vindication of those Sacred Truths for the Defence and Confirmation of which your Lordship is Placed in that High Station so Your Signal Courage in Opposing the Enthusiasts of the Late Times whose Vile Hypocrisy and Lewd Pretences to Inspiration have made way for Open Profaneness and Contempt of all Revel'd Religion Encourages me to hope that your Lordship will favourably accept this Work how mean soever whose Design 't is to put some stop to those Lasting Ill-Effects which have proceeded from such Pernicious Principles And beside these Publick Considerations this Work does Implore your Lordship's Protection as being Visitor and Patron to the College of which the Author is a Member who readily Embraces this Opportunity of Declaring to the World how Happy that Society esteems it Self in having the Honour of your Lordships Patronage whose Government they formerly found to be so Great a Blessing and withal is glad of so good an Occasion of making this Publick and Grateful Acknowledgement of those Favours wherewith your Lordship has been pleased to Oblige My LORD Your Lordship 's Most Dutiful Servant WILLIAM LOWTH THE PREFACE THE Age we live in deservedly bears the Character of a Curious and Inquisitive Age which does not love to take things upon Trust or blindly follow the Determinations of others And I must profess for my own part that I reckon a free use of Reasoning and Judging as Valuable a Blessing as the Injoyment of our Civil Liberties and look upon no sort of Tyranny so grievous as that of forcing Persons of Ingenuous and Inquisitive Tempers exactly to square their Sentiments of things to other mens Opinions But as the Best things are liable to be abus'd so this Freedom of Enquiry has been made use of to Ill Purposes and has Accidentally produced very bad Effects For men have been so Fond of this Liberty as to think no Bounds or Limits ought to be set to it and at last to believe the Submitting to the Authority of God himself to be an undue Restraint upon the Vse of Humane Reason and the very pretending to such an Authority to be one of the Arts of Designing Priests who by this Device endeavour to Enslave the rest of the World and make them Think and Act just as they would have them Thus many men have Reason'd themselves first into Socinianism and then which is but one Remove from the former into Deism or at least into a Coldness and Indifferency to all Reveal'd Religion They think 't is to Impose upon them to Oblige them to Believe or Practise any thing unless they can see a Reason why it should be so and cannot be perswaded that they owe God so much service as to submit to those Laws which seem to them to have no other ground but his Arbitrary Will and Pleasure Vpon this account they reject the Use of the Sacraments the
Apostles thought of their own Writings and what Authority they challeng'd as due to them Irenaeus one of the Greatest men of the Church in that Age sufficiently shews the Sense of the Christians of his own time concerning the Authority of these Writings The Hereticks against whom he writes pretended that their Opinions came originally from the Apostles and that whatever the Apostles might say to the contrary in their Writings yet they taught those very things by word of mouth which these Hereticks since maintain'd In answer to this Irenaeus does not only confute their Pretences by shewing that there was Clear and Undoubted Tradition for the Catholick Faith which in those early Times could easily be trac'd up to the very Apostles g Iren. l. 3. c. 3. but likewise proves that 't is in vain to set up Oral Tradition in Opposition to the Writings of the Apostles h Ibid. l. 3. c. 1. because the very same Gospel which they at first preach'd they afterwards by the Will of God committed to Writing to be the Foundation and Pillar of our Faith In pursuance of which Testimony we may further observe that the very Arts which those Hereticks used either to Undermine or Evade the Authority of the Apostolical Writings plainly shew their Authority was look'd upon as Sacred and Decisive in the Christian Church The Writers of the same Age do fully bear witness to the Canon of the New Testament The Learned Mr. Dodwell has observ'd i Dissert in Irenaeum l. n. 40 41. that St. Paul's Epistles were generally known and received in the Church soonest of any of the New Testament Writings and accordingly besides the Testimony which St. Peter gives them which we have already mention'd we we may observe that Ignatius the earliest Writer of the second Age is very industrious in imitating St. Paul's Style and using his Expressions as if he had a mind his Readers should take notice that he had studied his Epistles The Authority indeed of the Epistle to the Hebrews hath been call'd in question because the Author 's not having set his Name to it has given occasion to doubt whether it were S. Paul's or not But as this Epistle must be of Apostolical Authority being older than Clemens Romanus who plainly alludes to it in two places of his Epistle to the Corinthians k N. 17 36. so the style the way of Arguing and the Genius of the work discover it to be S. Paul's but S. Peter puts an end to the dispute for the saying which he quotes in his second Epistle as S. Paul's is certainly taken out of the Epistle to the Hebrews l 2 Pet. 3.15 compar'd with Hebr. 10.37 The first Epistle of S. Peter is quoted by S. Polycarp who writ just after Ignatius's death About the same time certain Pious Men Travell'd from place to place on purpose to communicate the Writings of the Gospels as Eusebius informs us m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 H. E. l. 3. c. 37. which he to be sure understood of the Four Gospels now extant which only were reckon'd Authentick in his time And 't is plain they were esteem'd so in the Middle of the Second Age because Justin Martyr quotes them generally whenever he has occasion to mention any thing belonging to the History of our Saviour But in Irenaeus's time their Authority was settled beyond all dispute for he says positively n Iren. l. 3. c. 11. that there are Four Gospels neither more nor less And indeed the Authenticalness of Four Gospels seems to be owing to St. John himself who made them into one Complete Code as I observed before o p. 11. 12. The same Iraeneus gives a large Testimony to the Revelations and often quotes the first Epistle of S. John p ap Euseb H. E. l. 3. c. 18. l. 5. c. 8. I thought it not improper to give this brief Account of the Testimonies which are given by the earliest Christian Writers to the most considerable Books of the New Testament to shew how good a Foundation there is for the Authority of the New-Testament Canon and how little ground there is for Mr. Hobb's Insinuation to the contrary who tell us q Leviathan part 3. c. 33. that the Writings of the Apostles were not received nor acknowledged as such by the Church till the Council of Laodicca which was held in the Year 364. recommended them to Christians As if all Christians did not agree in acknowledging such particular Books for the Writings of the Apostles till they were Recommended to them as he speaks and Enumerated by a Council Which has as little truth in it as what he says just afterward that at the time of this Council all the Copies of the New Testament were in the hands of Ecclesiasticks which if it be not a downright and wilful falsity in him is such a piece of ignorance as a grosser cannot be found in all the Kingdom of Darkness which he has described I find Men generally agree in believing Mr. Hobbs to be the Author of the Leviathan and several other ill Books and I fear too many have a great deference for their Authority tho the Parliament which according to him hath a juster right to declare what Books or Doctrines are to be received than a Council hath not yet given us a Catalogue of his Writings or Recommended them to the World neither of which could be true if this Argument of his be good But to return I don't pretend to have Collected all that can be alledged to prove the Antiquity of the New-Testament-Canon nor will I go farther upon a Subject that is already undertaken by that Learned Person who will shortly Publish an Elaborate Collection of all the Various Readings of the New Testament from whom the World may expect full satisfaction as to this matter However I can't but just take notice that 't is no prejudice to the Divine Authority of the N. Testament as our Author intimates a Fr. p. 266. Eng. p. 85. that some Books are received into it whose Authors are not certainly known and therefore as he argues of whose Inspiration we can't be certain He instances in the Epistle to the Hebrews But there is sufficient proof that S. Paul was the Author of that Epistle as I have shewed already And as to the whole New-Testament Canon 't was certainly the design of those that Compiled it only to gather together the Writings of the Apostles or of such as writ by their direction as the Ancients tell us S. Mark did by S. Peter's b Clem. Alex. ap Eus H.E. l. 2. c. 15. S. Luke by S. Paul's c Iren ap eund l. 5. c. 8. Grot. in Luc. 21.34 1 Cor. 11.23 24 25. comparâ—d with Luk. 22.19 20. So that the only reason why some Books were doubted of was because it did not clearly appear whether they were Writ by Apostles or not and assoon as that point was cleared
Holy Spirit indowed the Apostles I find our Author is very industrious to lessen the Apostolical Gifts as much as he can and to represent them very little above their natural Faculties He indeavours to shew That the Operation of the Holy Spirit upon their Minds consisted chiefly in refreshing their Memories a Fr. p. 254 257. En. p. 66. 70. and bringing to their Remembrance what Christ had said unto them He does indeed say b Fr. 255. En. p. 67. That sometimes the Holy Spirit made them understand by extraordinary Revelations that which Christ had said unto them whilst he was with them but which they then understood not And that they had many immediate Revelations and divers heavenly Visions c Fr. p. 252. Eng. 62. And in another place d Fr. 257. Eng. p. 70. That perhaps the Spirit open'd their Minds after a manner we comprehend not But while he sets out the Objections against the Inspiration of the Apostles in the best Light and with the greatest Force he can he passes over the Evidences for it very slightly and looks upon their Immemediate Inspirations to have been so extraordinary and to have happen'd so seldom that he does not stick roundly to declare e Ubi sup That their Infallibility consisted in relating faithfully what they had seen and heard He likewise endeavours to shew f Fr. p. 240. c. Eng. p. 42 c. That they had not an extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd before the Secular Powers upon the account of their Religion And he makes this another argument against the Inspiration of the Apostles and other persons in those times whom the Scripture speaks of as inspir'd g Fr. p. 248 249. 259. Eng. p. 57. 74. that they confer'd with one another and submitted to one another's Judgments and did not come to a Conclusion concerning any matter in questino till after long Deliberation and Consultation with each other with many other Cavils of less weight In Answer to which and for the Clearing of this Matter I shall shew I. How far we may allow what he says to be true and in what Cases the Apostles did not speak or act by Inspiration II. I shall shew that excepting those Cases the Apostles writ and spake by the particular Assistance and Direction of the Spirit III. I shall shew that the Assistance of the Holy Spirit did not consist only or chiefly in Improving their Natural Faculties or Strengthening and Refreshing their Memories IV. I shall shew that they had an extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd before Magistrates upon the Account of their Religion and vindicate their Behaviour under those Circumstances from the unbecoming Reflections which Mr. N. has made upon it V. I shall vindicate the Inspiration of the Apostles and other inspir'd persons from the rest of the Objections which he advances against it I. As to the first of these Inquiries What were the Cases wherein the Apostles did not act or speak by Inspiration I conceive we may allow them to be these following 1. Where they treat of the common Occurrences of Life and such things as have no Relation at all to Divine Truths As when St. Paul speaks of his design to take Rome h Rom. 15.24 in his way to Spain and to call at i 2 Cor. 1.16 Corinth as he went into Macedonia but yet it appears he was uncertain as to that Resolution k v. 1 Cor. 16.7 and did not actually l v. 2 Cor. 17. make it good Many Instances of the like nature might be alledg'd m v. 1 Cor. 1.16 r. Joh. 6.19 Act. 19 Hitherto we may refer Slips of memory in matters of no consequence some Examples of which there are to be found in in the N. Testament n v. Mat. 27.9 Act. 7.16 2. Such things as were matters only of Humane Prudence being of an Indifferent nature in themselves and consequently not the proper Subjects of a Divine Revelation For matters of Prudence i. e. Where God has given men no fix'd rule but left them at liberty to determine for themselves according as their circumstances shall direct as they are not the proper Subjects of a Divine Law so neither are they of a Divine Revelation Such is the Case of married persons where one party is an Vnbeliever which St. Paul considers o 1 Cor. 7.12 and resolves by the Rules of humane Prudence and therefore tells us before hand that 't is He that speaks not the Lord taking his measures from the general Law of Christian Charity For as to this Case I look upon Mr. Thorndike's p Laws of the Church p. 117. Opinion as the most probable which is That the Apostle look'd upon Marriage made by persons before they were Christians to lay no stricter Obligation upon the Parties than the Laws which they were under when the Marriage was contracted design'd to lay upon them So that if two persons who were under the Laws of the Roman Empire married and afterward one of them turn'd Christian this did not at all alter the Conditions of the Marriage in respect of the Converted Party from what they were before nor in a Marriage contracted by Subjects of the Roman Empire under the state of Heathenism is the Converted Party by virtue of his imbracing Christianity afterward oblig'd anew by the stricter Ties of the Christian Law concerning Marriage but only by those which the Roman Laws required upon which Terms the Marriage was made at first and so might upon just occasion take Advantage of the Privilege which the Roman Laws permitted of being Divorc'd for other Causes besides that which was allowed by our Saviour Now the reason why the Laws of Christianity do not extend to a Marriage contracted under a state of Heathenism I conceive to be this because Heathen Marriages being not in their own nature Indissoluble as Christian Marriages are but the Parties having reserv'd to themselves a liberty to part from each other in such Cases as the Laws of each Country allowed the nature of the Marriage-contract still continues the same after the Conversion of either Party which it did before i.e. Dissoluble unless the Believing Party can perswade the Unbelieving to oblige himself to the Observation of those stricter Laws of Matrimony which are injoin'd by Christ Without which mutual Consent the Marriage continues the same it was before while both Parties were Unbelievers and consequently the Laws of Christ do not reach this Case being applicable only to those Marriages which are made in the Christian Church or at least which are made Christian by an After-act and mutual Consent of the Parties to submit to the Christian Law in this particular This Opinion seems to be countenanc'd by the Apostle in the 15. verse of that Chapter q 1 Cor. 7.15 If the Vnbeliever depart a Brother or Sister is not under Bondage in such Cases the most natural Sense of which Words is
in Christ and his Church Our Author grants k Fr. p. 283. En. p. 113. that God immediately imparted to the Apostles those Prophecies which are to be found in their Writings so that this point need not to be further Insisted upon I proceed therefore to consider their gift of Explaining the Prophecies of the Old Testament and applying them to the times of the Gospel And here 't is to be considered that tho our Saviour did explain many Prophecies to his Disciples after his Resurrection concerning his own Sufferings and Exaltation and the Preaching of the Gospel to all Nations l Luk. 24.27 45 46 47. yet there were several other Prophecies which they could not understand till they were indued with Power from on High and thereby inabled to comprehend the great Mysteries of God's Oeconomy as in several other Instances so particularly in the Rejecting of the Jews and Calling of the Gentiles And therefore those Dispensations of the Old Testament which the Apostles apply to these purposes viz. the Allegory of Ismael and Isaac m Rom. 9.7 Gal. 4.24 of Jacob and Esau n Rom. 9.10 c. by which S. Paul illustrates this matter the words of Moses in his Song o Deut. 32.21 which he applies to the same purpose p Rom. 10.19 as also the words of Habakkuk q Acts 13.41 I say the explaining the Mystical Sense and Design of these and such like Occurrences and Prophecies of the Old Testament is to be reckon'd a peculiar gift bestowed upon the Apostles by the holy Spirit 1. Because they themselves look upon it as such as appears by St. Paul's reckoning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r 1 Cor. 12.8 which word certainly signifies the gift of Interpreting the Mysteries of the Old Testament and applying them to the State of things under the New 2. Because those Providential Occurrences had a secret and hidden design in them which could be discover'd by none but God that order'd them who as he comprehends the most distant Ages in one single view so in his disposing and ordering the more Remarkable Events under the Old Testament had all along an Eye to the times under the New 3. As to the Prophecies 't is not likely that any persons without a Supernatural Illumination could look to the end and utmost Completion of them since the Prophets themselves had not this priviledge granted them as appears from those places ſ Rom. 16.25 1 Cor. 2.7 Eph. 3.9 Colos 1.26 where the Gospel is called a Mystery kept secret since the World began a hidden Mystery and hid from Ages and Generations And especially from those remarkable words of St. Peter t 1 Pet. 1.10 11 12. Of which Salvation by Christ the Prophets have inquir'd and searched diligently who prophecied of the Grace that should come unto you searching what and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the Sufferings of Christ and the Glory that should follow To whom it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they did Minister these things From whence it appears that tho the Prophets were very Inquisitive after the Manner how and the Time when their Prophecies should be fulfill'd yet they had only this general Satisfaction that they should not be fulfill'd in their own time And I think we may infer from thence that the perfect understanding them was reserv'd to the times of the Messias And tho the event would sufficiently Interpret the meaning of several of them yet there were some that needed a greater Light than that to understand them and apply them aright To which we may add that the manner of Interpreting the Prophecies of the Old Testament which the Apostles used is a Rule to after Ages how they are to Interpret the Prophetical Writings and prove the Truth of the Gospel by them and therefore the same reasons which prove the Writings of the Apostles in general Divinely Inspir'd because they are a standing Rule of Christian Faith may be applied to that part of them which consists in explaining the Mystical Sense of the Old Testament Writings But concerning the Mystical Sense of the Prophets I shall have an opportunity to speak more fully in the next Chapter And so much may suffice for the proof of the third general Head viz. That the Assistance which the holy Spirit gave the Apostles was something more than refreshing their Memories and recalling to their minds what our Saviour had said unto them I proceed to shew IV. That the Apostles had an extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd before Magistrates upon the account of their Religion and to vindicate their Behaviour at that time from the unbecoming and Irreverent Reflections of this Author One would think the words of our Saviour were plain enough in this point u Matt. 10.19 20. Mark 13.11 Take no thought before-hand what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in the same hour what ye ought to say for 't is not ye that speak but the Holy Ghost says S. Mark the Spirit of your Father saith S. Matthew speaks in you If this had been only a Spirit of Courage and Holiness arising from the Belief of the Gospel as Mr. N. pretends w Fr. p. 241. Eng. p. 44. 't would have requir'd a great deal of Care Consideration and Reflection to keep it warm upon their Hearts that it might not cool when danger approached And our Saviour's precluding the use of Humane means proves that it was something more than an ordinary Grace which always requires the Cooperation of our Natural Faculties and shews that 't was as much a new Impulse which the Apostles were to feel upon their minds on such occasions as any Prophetick Inspiration whatsoever But notwithstanding the plain import of the words rather than own an extraordinary Inspiration the natural force of the words must be dwindled away into nothing under the pretence of their being only a Hebrew way of speaking x Fr. p. 244 Eng. p. 49. like The Spirit of jealousie of slumber c. which are found in the Old Testament As if there was no difference in the nature of the Expression between the Holy Ghost or the Spirit of the Father and the spirit of jealousie or stupidity But this is the constant method of our New Interpreters of Scripture that don't care to believe any thing to be there but what Natural Powers can effect and Intellectual ones comprehend When they are pressed with plain words of Scripture they will not out of Good Manners in downright terms deny their Authority but think it more decent to evade it by explaining away all the force of them and alledging the Metaphorical and Pompous way of speaking which the Eastern Languages use which seems to imply a great deal more in it than the Writer really design'd Thus Spinoza tells us y Theol. Polit.
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
12.5 6. Jam. 4.6 1 Pet. 5.5 and other places plainly alluded q 2 Cor. 8.21 1 Pet. 4.18 to by them I say one would be apt to conclude that all these Considerations added to the Intrinsecal Worth of the Book it self might be a sufficient Inducement to look upon it as a Book compos'd by God's Appointment for the Benefit of the Church But before I proceed any further upon this Sebject I cannot but reflect by the way upon a Passage of our Author which the observing that this Book is quoted by the Apostles puts me in mind of and that is this He tells us r Fr. p. 278. Eng. p. 105 That the Apostles never cite the works of Solomon or the Book of Job What he says touching the former I have just now shewed to be manifestly False and there is as little truth in the later part of his words for the Book of Job is as formally quoted by St. Paul Å¿ 1 Cor. 3.19 as any Book of the Old Testament The Wisdom of the world is Foolishness with God FOR IT IS WRITTEN He taketh the Wise in their own Craftiness Which Citation as 't is certainly taken out of Job t c. 5. 13. so it shews withal a great Deference given by the Apostle to the Authority of the Book from whence 't is taken I thought fit just to observe this Mistake of Mr. N.'s tho it be of no great consequence on purpose to take down the Confidence of this Gentleman a little and shew him that he is not so exactly vers'd in the Scripture as a man that undertakes to Criticize upon it with so much Capriciousness and so little Reverence and Regard to its Authority ought to be But to return to the Matter in hand The Sum of the General Charge which our Author has advanc'd against the Divine Authority of the Book of Proverbs is a Fr. p. 271. En. p. 94. That they are Moral Sentences which a Good Man may pronounce without Inspiration As if no Book could be writ by God's Direction but where the matter is such as exceeds the reach of Humane Invention and cannot be the Product of our Rational Faculties And then by the same Reason no work must be ascribed to God but what exceeds the Power of Natural Agents and so God must be accounted the Author of nothing that happens in the World but what is purely Miraculous Now this Argument if it prove any thing at all it proves not only that this Book is not written by Divine Inspiration but farther that no Book of Moral Instructions can be For Morality is nothing but the Law of Right Reason instructing us how to govern our Actions and I suppose the Law of Reason contains nothing in it above Reason and Consequently nothing which is above the Capacity of a Wise and Good Man to think or speak from all which it will follow by our Authors Principles that whatever Book contains nothing in it but what is deducible from the Principles of meer Reason must be purely Humane and can have nothing Divine or of the Hand of God in it But is not Mr. N. sensible that the Corruption of Humane Nature the Degeneracy of the World the Uncertainty of Humane Reasoning and especially the Imperfect Knowledge we have of the Nature of God and our own Souls have so far Obscur'd a great many branches of this Law of Nature or Reason that there was need of a more than Ordinary Illumination to recover some Truths which were in a manner lost to the World and to set them in a True Light so as to Convince others of their Certainty and Excellency Sure our Author will grant that the Unity of the Godhead is a Truth that is Adequate to Humane Reason nay a Truth so Evident that one would wonder that Men of Searching Heads could miss of it and yet we find there were very few among the Heathens that had their Reason so throughly purg'd from the prejudices which Education and the Establisht Religion of the World had infected it with as to assent to this Truth And I think this is a sufficient Proof that Men may stand in need of a Teacher Divinely Inlightned to Discover such Truths to them as may indeed be deduced from the Principles of Reason when 't is in its true perfection but yet are such as few Men's Reason hath arrived to because of the Degeneracy and corruption to which 't is obnoxious And many such Truths are to be found in this Book which tho they are so reasonable that Men can't but assent to them assoon as they hear them yet 't is in vain to search for them in the Writings of the Best and Acutest Philosophers For Instance we may challenge them to shew such a Wise Instruction in any of their Books as Solomon lays down for the foundation of Morality b Prov. 1.7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom or this c Prov. 3.5 6 Trust in the Lord with all thy Heart and lean not to thy own Vnderstanding In all thy ways acknowledge him And indeed thro the whole Book the Duties of Morality are inforc'd upon Men from Religious Considerations and by Arguments taken from the Duty we owe to God and the Rewards and Punishments we must expect from him according as we behave our selves Which makes this Book differ very much from the Moral Writings of the Philosophers where we shall find little or nothing said concerning our Duty to God his Authority over us our Dependance upon him and the Submission we owe to him the Methods of Providence and the Rewards or Punishments of another Life all which are often insisted upon in this Book For this is a visible Defect in the Writings of the Philosophers that as they never inforce our Duty by Arguments which are taken from the Principles of Religion so their disswasives from Vice are taken from these Topicks viz. That 't is below the Dignity of Humane Nature and a Contradiction to Reason rather than from this Consideration That 't is displeasing to God a Breach of his Law and an Act of Disobedience which he will Punish I Confess some Philosophers that lived since the Appearance of Christianity especially the Emperor Antoninus have very Excellent Sayings concerning God's Providence and the Submission we owe to him But I am apt to think that as the Light of the Gospel Diffus'd it self over the World it in some measure Inlightned the minds even of those who Refus'd to imbrace it as the Sun gives Light before it reaches our Hemisphere My meaning is that the very Account which Inquisitive Men received of the Principles of Christianity helped to Clear up their minds and gave them more distinct Apprehensions of the Principles of Natural Religon than they had before But to return Beside the Precepts I have already mention'd there are many Excellent Advices given in the Proverbs to all sorts and Degrees of Men from Princes