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A94772 The Scriptures proved to be the word of God, and the only foundation of faith, and rule for our obedience. Or, A clear conviction of the errours of those that are called Quakers. Who blasphemously affirm that the Scriptures are not the word of God, nor the foundation of faith, nor the only rule for our obedience ... / By Sampson Tounesend, minister of the Gospel, and pastor of S. Austins, and Saviours parish in Norwich. Townsend, Sampson. 1654 (1654) Wing T1986A; ESTC R185411 14,687 23

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THE SCRIPTURES Proved to be the Word of God And the only foundation of Faith and Rule for our obedience OR A CLEAR CONVICTION Of the Errours of those that are called QUAKERS Who blasphemously affirm That the Scriptures are not the Word of God nor the foundation of Faith nor the only rule for our Obedience Against which Errours these two Propositions are maintained I. That the Scriptures contained in the Books of the Old and New Testament commonly called the Bible is the revealed Will Word of God II. That the Scriptures which is the Word of God is the only foundation for our faith and the only rule for our obedience By SAMPSON TOVNESEND Minister of the Gospel and Pastor of S. Austins and Saviours Parish in Norwich Prov. 13.13 Who so despiseth the Word of God shall be destroyed Jer. 8.9 Lo they have rejected the Word of the Lord and what wisdome is in them Exod. 32.16 And the Tables were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God graven upon the Tables 2 Pet 1.21 For the prophesie came not in old time by the will of man but holy men spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost Isa 8.20 To the Law and to the Testimony If they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no light in them London Printed by S.G. for R. Tomlins at the Sun and Bible in Pye-Corner 1654. TO CHRISTOPHER ADKINSON JAMES LANCASTER GEORGE WHITEHEAD and THOMAS SIMONDS Now in Norwich Gaol for their blasphemy and miscariages IF ever the truth of God were turned into a lye Rom. 1.25 It is by you that deny the Scriptures to be the truth of God and pretend immediate revelations to be the rule for your actions I shall mind you of a passage of a reverend minister now with God * Mr. Burroughs on Hosea 8.12 pag. 91. he saith There is a generation of men rising now if not risen that begin to have vile thoughts of the written word of God and think to understand the mind of God otherwise c. But saith he when they are rotten and it may be when their souls are perished in hell the written word of God shall stand and be honourable in the eies of all his Saints You acknowledge the Scriptures to be the trnth and yet deny them to be the word of God A strange paradox As if the scriptures which are called the truth of God And God which is the God of truth should not be the author of the truth 1 King 17.24 Rom 3.7 Deut. 32.4 Psal 31.5 Or as if man which is vanity yea a ly should yet be the onely author of the truth Upon this your error depēd your other errors of denying the scriptures to be the only ground of your faith and the onely rule for your obedience for did you believe the scriptures to be the word of God they would cleerly convince you of the errors of your judgement and practice in many things Let me reason with you a little you acknowledge the scripture to be the truth you must of necessity also grant that whatsoever is contrary to truth is an error And having granted this see what will follow upon it by way of trial of your judgement and practice It is your judgement that you are perfect and free from all sin see this to be an error contrary to the truth in Eccle. 7.20 1 John 1.8 10. You deny the power of the Magistrate in the matters of God contrary to the truth in Rom. 13.1 to 6. Joh. 31.11 28. You not only speak evill of governers but of government also contrary to the truth in Tit. 3.2 2 Pet. 2.10 Jude 8. You condemn the ministers of the Church of England and despise them as false teachers and say they know nothing of the true light although they speak nothing but what is according to the Law and testimonie of God in his word which is the rule to try all teachers by Isa 8.20 This your judgement is an error it being contrary to Tit. 2.15 and know that in thus doing ye doe not onely despise man but God I shall not foul paper 1 Thes 4.8 Luk. 10.16 in mentioning your judging censuring and condemning of both Magistrates and Ministers onely see how contrary this your practice is to truth Mat. 7.1 2. Rom. 14.10 13. Jam. 4.11 You condemn rhe ministers of the Church of England for preaching for hire whereas ye do not know their ends in preaching and thus you are become judges of evill thoughts Jam. 2.4 Contrary to the truth in 1 Cor. 4.5 Judge nothing before the time And you deny that ministers should take any wages for their work But your error herein you may easily perceive If you consider that Christ and the Apostle give strong reasons for their maintenance Mat. 10.10 Luk. 10.7 1 Tim. 5.18 1 Cor. 9.13 14. note it Likewise the Apostle himselfe took wages of the Churches to do service in the ministerie 2 Cor. 11.8 and laid an injunction upon the people to give him wages Gal. 6.6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things Mark he doth not say let him contribute as an almes but communicate as a right as wages And in the next verse Gal. 6.7 he intimates that God is mocked when his Ministers are not maintained But God will not be mocked neither will he be robbed but they shall hear ye are Cursed Mal. 3.8.9 Jer. 12.13 I shall mention no more of your errors My designe according to promise is To prove the Scriptures to be the word of God the onely ground of faith and rule for our obedience which I have here presented you with Read it examine it if it be not truth witnesse by truth against it If it be truth as undoubtedly you will find it so then submit to it be ruled by it And doubtlesse your bodies shall be freed from your deserved imprisonment and your souls from the threatned damnation against false Prophets 2 Pet. 2.1 2 3. 1 Tim. 5 12. and such as cast off their first faith I rest an enemie to error and A friend to truth Sampson Tounesend From my studie January 29. 1654 5 THE EPISTLE To the READER READER IF thy heart be not grieved to hear the blasphemy of those that deny Gods truth his messengers his ordinances thou hast much cause to suspect thy love to God his truth or ordinances The first step to errour is to have our love abated towards the truth You need not marveil if those that receive not the truth in the love of it that they may be saved but deny God to be the authour of the truth 2 Thes 2.10 11 12. that they are carried on by strong delusions to believe a lye that they might be damned the judgement is long since threatned When men forsake the right way they must needs goe astray When men forsake the fountain of
Word of God Reason 13. The sweet Harmony of the Scriptures prove them to be the Word of God for no writings of man do so debase man exalt God and presse men to obedience But the Pen-men of the Scriptures doe all agree together in these things and although there were many Pen-men yet there is no contradiction in their writings but the Old Testament witnesses to the New and the New to the Old It is not thus in the writings of men Therefore they must needs be the Writings of God Reason 14. If they were written by man they were written either by good men or bad men But they were not written by bad men for they hate the purity of the Scriptures and to be sure they were not written by good men as the Authours thereof for they abhor to lie and say The Lord saith if the Lord hath not said the Word Therefore they must needs be the written Word of God Reason 15. The wonderful calling of Moses the Prophets and Apostles to make known the Scriptures doe manifestly prove them to be the Word of God see for Moses how he was called Exod. 2.7 10. and 3.2 Acts 7.20 21. and Amos and divers of the Apostles were unlearned men which had not been brought up in the schools of men Amos 7 14 15. Mark 1.16 And yet these declared the Scriptures which manifest more wisdome then all the wise men in the world can declare yea the Apostles that were unlearned and ignorant men spake in several tongues the wonderful works of God to the admiration of the hearers Acts 2.11 and 4.13 this could not come from man Therefore it must needs be the Word of God Reason 16. No writings of man could declare the heavy wrath of God against sin and the remedy how to get rid of that wrath But this doth the Scriptures Psa 9.17 Rom. 5.9 1 Thess 5.9 Luke 21.36 therefore they are the Word of God Reason 17. If the Scriptures were not the Word of God but of man then certainly God would not have wrought so many miracles to confirm the truth of mans sayings But there are many miracles both in the Old and New Testament to confirm the truth of the Scriptures Therefore they are the Word of God Reason 18. No creature Angels men or Devils if all were put together could ever be able to declare before hand what particular persons should be born and what should be their names and what they should do some thousand and hundred years before their parents were born But this do the Scriptures as we read of the Messias Gen. 3.15 Isa 9.6 7. and Iosiah 1 Kings 13.2 2 Kings 23.16 17. Therefore it is the Word of God Reason 19. No man will write and declare to the world their own failings and infirmities But many of the Pen-men of the Scriptures do declare their own failings and infirmities which they would never have done had they not been moved thereunto by the Spirit of God Therefore the Scriptures must be the Word of God Reason 20. All the prophecies of the Scripture from time to time have been punctually performed and fulfilled But so are not all mans prophecies Therefore they are the Word of God Reason 21. The word of man is often broken But the Scripture cannot be broken Iohn 10.35 Therefore it is the Word of God Reason 22. If the Scriptures were not the Word of God the Churches of God would long before this time have found them out to be only the word of man as Jeremiah found out Hannaniah Jer. 28.15 16. and as the Church of Ephesus found out the false Apostles Rev. 2.2 But the truth of Gods Word in the Scriptures hath ever been held forth by the Churches of God as a Proclamation upon a pillar 1 Tim. 3.15 Now as a Proclamation receives not its authority from the pillar nor the light from the Candlestick that bears it So neither do the truths of the Scriptures receive their authority from the Church or any member thereof but from God which is the onely Authour thereof and so all Christian Churches acknowledge And thus you see that the Scriptures are the Word of God 1. Reason shews it 2. The Spirit of God perswades it Isa 59.21 3. The Scriptures themselves affirm it and 4. The Churches of God have ever received it as the Word of God Therefore it must needs be the Word of God To conclude this If the Scriptures be not the Word of God but of man only then 1. Man should teach himself his duty towards God 2. We should have no certain rule for our Faith and Religion 3. There should be no necessity of reading and hearing the Scriptures 4. If we deny the Scriptures to bee the Word of God we cast off all means which God hath appointed for eternal life Iohn 5.39 And lastly doubting of this exposes us to all Atheisme and contempt of Religion and Justice Therefore seeing as hath been fully proved the Scriptures themselves and Reason also make it apparent that the Scriptures are the Word of God let us believe they are so And as the Apostle exhorts Phil. 3.16 Let us walk by the same rule and mind the same thing And thus have I done with the first Proposition That the Scriptures contained in the Books of the Old and New Testament commonly called the Bible is the revealed Will and Word of God Prop. II. I come now to the second Proposition That the Scriptures which is the Word of God is the only foundation for our faith and the only rule for our obedience This Proposition falls into these two parts 1. That the Scriptures is the only foundation for our faith 2. That it is the only rule for our obedience I shall very briefly speak to both these things First That the Scriptures is the only foundation of our faith 1. The Scriptures are the means by which faith is wrought Rom. 10.17 Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God Eph. 1.13 In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth the Gospel of your salvation And saith Christ John 5.24 He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life And the Word is called the word of Faith Rom. 10.8 The mystery of Faith 1 Tim. 3.9 The faith of the Gospel Phil. 1.27 And all this to teach us that all true faith is wrought by and founded upon the Word of God 2. It is the very end why the Scriptures are written John 20.31 That we might make them the foundation of our faith and hope in God 1 John 5.13 These things have I written c. that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God Rom. 15.4 Whatsoever things were written afore time were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope 3. The Scriptures must needs be the only foundation to build faith on because we find the faithful in Scripture did ever