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Show 594 OJ the General Rule VoL. I 167J. is a Rule for that Faith. And if the Faith he of One Natuie, the Ru!; ~ is of One Nature alfo. And fince the faith is Inward, Spiritual, begotten of the Immortal W.ord, in which is Life, and that Life the Light of Men :md that this Word of Life and Light was the I~u/e; then no Book, Writ~ ing, .or Ingravjng on vifible and perifh3hle Mateer, can be the Rule 110tf. Again, fuch as the Faith is, fuch mult the Rule be: But the Faith is as before, Inward and Spiritual, which no Mur Book can be. 2. If the Scriptur-es were The Gnural Rule, they rnuft have always been a Perfe8: Rule, ever Iince they were a Rule : But this is impoffible, fince they recrc mairy H11ndred Tears in Writing, and are now lmperfeEl alfo as to Ntnnbcr; How then ~ue they the Perfc[i Rule? That they were not the Perfe!l Rule, before they were written, muft be granted; and 11\Jt they were many Hundred Yeal"5 writing mufr alfo be at ... lowed; and that they are Imperfefl now, as to 1\JJmber, I prove. . . Firft, Enoch's Prophecy is mentioned by Jude, but not extant in the Bible. The Book of the War; of the Lord, Numb. 21. 14. The Book of ]ujher, Jo(h. ro. 13. 2 Sam. 1. 18. The Book of 1\'iztban, 2 Chron. 9· 29. The Book of Sbemaiah, 2Chron. 12. 15. The Book of ]tbM; ThcEpiftle of the Aeo!tle Paul to tht: LaoJicemu, Colof. 4· 16. and feveral others rnentioneO. in the S~riptures, not now extant. And lafily, Luke fays, Tbat mmry took iu band to rdae from Ej·e-Witneffu tbe Tbin,g.r 11Jofifurely he· lievtd, &c. Now, 'tis taken for granted that John wrote many Years after Lu~t,. Some think Lu_ke wrote before .A1ark .- However, Man hew and ftlark were not many, and, to this Day we fee no more than thofe Four in our Bibles. and therefore many fuch Writings are loft: And if loft, then the Sc~p: tures, as aforefaid, not Perfe!t; and if ImperfeEl:, how can they be The Rule of Faith, fince the Rul(1 of Faith muft, be Perfect? ;. My Third Reafon is this, The Scriptures, however Ufeful to Edifica· tion ~nd Cornforr7 feem not in their own Na.rure and Frame to ha\'e. been COJRQll'd ?nd delivered, ~s the General Rule, and Intire. &d] of Failb, but ratHer wntten uppn parncular Occafions and Emergenaes. The DoEhines; · are fqttered throughout the Scriptures, infomuch that thofe Societies who have given forth Verbal Coofellij:~ns of their Faith, have Peen neceffirated ro tofs them to and fro, fearch here and fearch there,. to lay down this or r.he other Princit?le; and then as like the original Text as their Apprehen~ hons can render It: Whereas, were it as plain Jnd diftinEl: as the Namre of a Rule requires, they needed only .ro have gi\'en their Subfcription for a Confe~on. Be~des, here they ~te Proper, there ltl-ttaphorical: In on~ Place LrtcraOy , m another Myflrcally to be accepted : M€1ft Times Potnts are to be prov'd by comparing :1nd weighi_ng Places coherent · where to allude !\Ptly, an~ not wro_ng the Senfe, is Dijjr.flllt, and require; a clear a.n? ~ertam Dtfcefmng, nor~uh~anding the Clamours upon us about Info1J· hht_hr~ .. Now frorq all thts, wnh abundance more that might be faid, 1 t>lam It IS that the Scriptures are not plain, but to the SpiJitu:l~iD. : ~Thus Peter faid of Pnul's Writings, that in many Thin,g.t they were t1lr~o he rmderflood: Therefore not fuch a Rule which ought to be Plain Proper and lntelligible. ' Eph. 2• s. 4· Again, the Scripture cannot be the Rule of Faith becaufe it cannot 1 john S• 4. give Faith ; ~or Faith is the Gift of GoJ wbhb €1V£r&om;s tb& World: Nei· ther of PraChce, _becaufe ir cannOt diftingpi!h of it felf in all Cafes what ougltr to be pra€bfed and what not; fince it contains as wen what ought not to be pra8:ifed~ as what ought. This was the Cafe o~ _Chrlft's Difciples,_who had 'no particular Rule · in the Old Teftal!l~nt Wnungs, for rhe abollfhing of fame P:irr of the Old Tefhrn~nt Re~~gwn : On the _cont~ary they might have pleaded for the Perpet,uay ~f H, becaufe Chrtfi fatd unto them, Dt~ a~ they, fny rbnt fit;, Mofes s Cbatr, more reafonably than many who make th.:u a Plea now-a# pa:ys ~or their inyent~d _Worfhips. 'Yh3t then guided them in their declar· Jng vo1d and rehnqu1fhmg thofe Jhmgs? For lnftance, God gave Circum· cifion VoL. I. of Faith and Praetice. S9S cifion a1 a Sign for ever: And Paul reUs the Galatians, That if tbty he'cir~ 1673. (umci[ed, Cbrijl jhould prajit tbem nothing: Was not this the Spirit of Truth ~ that 1eJds into all Truth, that the Apoftles rn:1de the Judge and Rule of Gen. 17: 7· rheir DoCtrine and Pra8:ices? So faid ]nmu and the Afi"embly of the A· ~~· S· r, ;· pofi:les, when they told the Believers, Ir ftemed t.ood ro rhe Holy Gbojl and s ''· 2 • 10 III, fl.C. . ~- The!e very Men that fay it ii tbt Rule of Faitbnnd Life, deviate in their Proof from their Afferrion, for. the Scriptures no where fay fo of themfelves. Here they fl.y to Meanings and Interpretations: The Queftion arifes not about the Truth of the Text, for that is agJeed on all Hands; hut the Expofition of it: If then I yield to that Man, do I bow to the Letter of the Text, or to his Interpretation ? If the Latrer, as mcmifeftly I do, is the Scripture or tbar M·fln's Senft of it my Rule? Nay the Perfon fo interpreting makes not the Scripture his Rule bur his own Apprehenfion, whatever he may fay to gain Credit to his Conceptions with others; then Mine it muft needs be, I confenting thereto. 6, How 01all I be affured that thefe Scriptures came from God ? 1 am bound ro try all Things : If all Things, then Them amongft the reft. I would fain. know what I muft rry them with? with the Scriptures? Then the Scriptures mufi be the Rule (If my Examination, and Faith concern~ ing themfelves, which is improper: If with the Spirit that gave them forth, which fearchech !he deep Th_inss of God {a Meafure of whic~ .is given to me to profit wnhal) Then ts 1t moft congruous to call the Spuu, by Way of Excellency, and not the Scriptures, The Rule. 7· If the Scriptures are the Rule, they mufi be fo in the Original, or Copits: lf in the Original, that is nor extant, and fo there would be no Rul~ in being ; for the laft of it that was extant, was the Evangelift John's Hiftory at t.phefm, not feen almoft thefe Thouf,md Years: If the Copies muft be the Rule, it were to be wiChed we knew which were the nigheft to the Original, there being above Thirty in Number: This is undetermin• ed, and for ought we fee Indeterminable. And that which further confirms whar I fay, is the Variety of Readings whick we find among thofe Copie~ amounting to feveral Tboufands. And if the Copies cannot, how can the Tranflations be the Rule, fo various {if nor difFerin~) from the true Senfe of the Copies in many Things, and one from another? Befides, I would fain know of thofe of our pre!ent Age, who thus contend for the Scrip~ rures being the General Rule, f.:! c. in Oppojirion to' the Spirit, apon what foot thev receive them into this Place and Authority: Is it by Tradition, or Rtwiation ? I mean, the Internal Teftimony of rhe Spirit; or the Ex· urnal .A.wcrd and Dft(rminaJion of Men: If the former, they muft una .. voidably come over to us; for then the Spirit will, and muft be both Rule and Judgt: If'the Latter, I afk how are they aCfured that they are not mi· fcrably Jbufed by Cnrelefntft or Defign; fince we fee, that ufing utmoft Diligence, both Tranflation, Tranf~ription aud Print.ing, ar~ fubjeEl:_ to nu .. merous Miftakes, and thofe fomettmes very matenal, agamft whtch the Scripture of it felf can be no Fence? . . But admit there were no Ground for any fhch ObjeCl:ton, I further de-mand of our Adverfaries, if they are well aifured of thofe Men that firft Collel.led Embodied and declared them Authentick by a Publick Can~m ? Which w~ read was in the CP.11ncil of Looditta. held 360 Years after Chrift, though not as they are now received: During which time They had been totTed and tumbled through many Hands, an~ of many Judgments and Q .. pinions. Some were receiv'd, and fame reJefted, and doubtlefs many Thoufands of Times tranfcribed; :1nd it is not improbable that th~y were alfo abufed. If they mifs in their Judgment here, they a~e gone ~til they come to us. I fay, h.ow do they know that thefe Men ~1ghrly dtfcerned true from fpurious > Either their Judgment was _infallible m. t~~ Matter, or it was not: If it were, then there w:Js fuch a. Th10g as Infalltb!l1t>: fince theApoftles Days, which is a ContradiCtion to your felves. But be tt fo that thev were infallible · boW came you to be a!rured they were fo? Not by . . ' G g g g ' fnfp>: |
