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Show Of the General Rule VoL. I. 1673. That Men, in all Ages, have had a Belief of God, and fame Knowledge ~ of him, tho' nor upon equal Difc?vcr_y, muft be gran~e~ from that Ac· coum that a1l Srory gives of Manlund m Ma.uers of .H.ehgton; feveral have fully performed this: Of old, 111/jin Marr~r' C/em(llf .d.l~xandrin~r, A11· gujllne, and others; of latrer Tip:lCS, IJ.u I:klfy, Grot111.;! .ll.Jitrrnldus, L. Herbert, and above all Dr. Cudn:ortb: A:nd mdeed the Rehcks we have of the moft.- OlOCienr .!"iftori:tn~ and J\uthors,,6!1'e a Domonftrarion_.;·n~e :Mat. 11, 27, Poi.,r~ NQ,Mt'thc ScJipture iells us, 'rb~'t, no J,rlatt- knorK rl;e P11rher.jJtJt 7h& 1 cor.2.u. So~4Bd IJ~ J6 v;!Jim the !fldevttJ!I'blm: And as none 'knows the 'lhings of M:tn fave the Spirit of Man; fo the Things of God knows no Man but the Spirit of ~od. Henc~ we may ilife{f conclude, ~hat the Creating "Vord that was wtth God, a~d was Go~~-~~ whon: _was L1fe, and that Wfe the I,i.tbt of .illtn, and who IS rhe Qmq<I»>g S"pmt, · wa• f{e, by Y(~o& God.io all Ages hath revealed H1mfelf; <brifequendr, thot l1ght or Spirit mull have been the General Rule of Men's Knowledge, Faith and Obedi~ ence wirh ref pea to God.. And thjls mtfih Pyzb~o~a4 W)jo liv'd about Six Hundred Years before rhofe Words were ipolre or wrir; laid down for a Maxim, vi;;. That no "Man can know what is agreea~le to God, exupr 4 JUan bear God, himjtlf, and that mull be wirhln; for tlm was hiS DOc. Eph. 'i· q. trine. To which the ApolUe and Prophet ~hus ~gree: 1 • . rn thou wbauver 'Rom.,, 19. • nta!:.es man;foff it Li&ht. 2. That wba~1p~r mii!Jr be k11own· of God.rpas made manife)l fl)itbin; for God (who iS Light, 1 Jobn 1. 5.) bad foewn ir Micf6~8. JI/ZlO them: And, God batbjhewn umo thee, 0 Man, wbtll is good, ttnd ttbar Godret_Juiretbof tbee, &c. which could not be wit~out the Light of His Son fhming in Man's Confcience ; Therefore the L1ght of Chrilt in the Confciencc muft needs h1ve been the General Rule, &c. It was by this Law that Enoch, Noah, Jibrab.un, A1eicbizedeck, .tlbimeiecb, Job, Jerbrc, &c: walked and were accepred, as faith Ire/1~tll5 and Tcrru!Ji,m; They uere ]JJft by the Ln» wriuen in rbeir Hearts: Then was it their Rule to, and in, that juft State . I'en.l. 2• <:, JO. Tertul. c.o..n.. Jud. p. Obj. It fulllr then y•u deny tfJe &riptures robe the Genu11l Rule, &c: A11fiv. How can they be the Gener;1l Rule, th:lt ha.Ve not been Gener3l? That which was both before, and fince they were in Being, muft needs be more Gcner:Jl than they : But that was this Light in the Confcience, the Law and Guide of thofe Patriarchs (fot the Scriptures began long after, in rhe Time of Mojes) confequently thlt muft be the Genetll Rule, f5c. Obj. Bitt ,trllnt..i'llg thor th6 Light Within f!l:.ere Jo 'b~fon Scripture·wiu -extant, yet fince rbe Writings of Holy Scripture, the Script11re, and nottbe· Light, barb been tbe General Rule. A.nfm. That cannot be, onlefs Pa!ejlina, or Canaan, a little Province of .Afia, was the whole World, and that the Jews, a particular People, were All Mankind. For ._r what Time thofe Writings were among the ]nor, other Nations were only left to the Law and Light Within; this the Apoftle Rom. 2. •4, confirrneth in that Paffage,. For tbe Gentiles. wbicb h!tVe not tbc L.1w {that 1 S• is, the ounv:ud Law, or Law wrinen upon Stone) do by ~1'{au1re rbe Tbingr ronrained in the Law, wbicb jhewetb tbe Work of rbe Law wriuen in their Hearu. And the Gentiles themfelves called ir. The ltnmutable Lc11t1, the Everl< Jjling Found.uion oJ Virtue; no Lifdtfz Preupu, but Immortal; a Sacred Good, God rbe Over jeer; the Living Rule, tbe Root of the Soul, that r.cfJic!J makes the Good M1111. Thus Tbttles, PJthagorar, Socrates, Plato, Plot in, Jlieron, Philo, Plutttrcb, as cited. And faith Sophocles, GoJ. grant rbar l tnay always obJerve that Vtlterable S1tnOiry in my WOrdr and Det'dr wbicb rlufe 1\'oblt Precept,r (writ in Man•s Heart) requi~e: God is their F~ubtr, neitl,rr jh4IJ rbey ever bt iibrogareJ; for rbere ir m tbem a Great God" th.tr net:rr vMxetb Old. More Reverent Epithets rhan our Oppofers can afford. ~s theu VoL. I. of Faith and Practice. their Books but too openly witnefs ; yet would go for O,rijlipz~Men, tho' manifeftly Otorc of Heatlunz. ~ Thus it is evident that the Scripture was itot the General Hulr, lfter it was given forth. Obj. But barb it nor been jillCe, and is it not now the Genua/ Rule, &:c. .AnJw. There hath been fince, and is now the fame Impediment ; for he· fore Chrift's Coming in the Flerh, and fince, where. the Scriptures never reach'd, there hath beeR the fame Lighc : And though Nations, by not Glorifying God as God, when they have known Him, have been given up to all manner of Iniquities, infomuch as their Underfiandings ha\'C been greatly vail'd; yet did not the Light Within fo entirely lofe its Rulin~ Ex· ercife among them, as that they lived without any Scnfe of fuch a Thing: Therefore ftill the Scriptures have not been, neither are the General Rule, no not fo much as of any Age; Iince in no Age c~n ic be prov'd that the whole, or grearCft Part of the World had them. But had they been fo for feme one or two Ages, as they never were; yet the granting it will not reach our<l!teition, where the Word General implietb the N:uure of the Thing it felf, ref peEling Mankind from rhe Beginning of t~e World ro this Day, and fo ro the End. Obj. But U not the Scripture the Rule, &c. of o11r Doy? '.A.ttfw. If The Rule, then The (Jenera/ Rule: For whatfocver is The II.IJ!t of Faith ahd Life, excludeth all other from being General, they heing but F!~:~c~l~J. i£if:~pett of it felf; Therefore not Tbe Rule, though A Rule, of But befides their not being Grneral, I have feveral Reafons to offer, why they cannot be Tbe Rule of l"airhand Life, e!c: :f. t. If now the Rule, then ever the Rule; But they were not ever .the Rule; and therefore rhey cannot noW be the Rule. That they were not ever the Rule is gt::tnted: But that they are not therefore now the Rule may be by fome denied ; which I !hall prove rhus. If the Faith of God's People in all Ages be of One Nature, then the Rule but of One Nature ; But clear it is, Heb. 1 J, The Faith has been bur of One Natute. In thort, If the holy Ancients had Faith before they had or wrote Scripture, they had a Rule before rhey had or wrote Scripture; for where Faith is, there • ~~~ofiin M.tr!fr faith, 1 That all are Chrillians who live with Chrift, as A!r.Iu"' and EJiu; and amongft the Grrds, as soullrs, Hrr~rJitu, &c, See JeuJw* on him, who alfo faith, That fome ac this DAy are of his Judgme~t, who have taught that 1 ~elcbitrdrrb, • .Abimtlub, Jtlub, ~ub.cb; Jbc i(uun of SbeiJJ, Hmrn. of Tjrr, Nunw• Jb.: SJYim, ~"d. 1br: 1 CirJ af Ninewb, are in the Catalogue of Chri(li~m. E•ftbila Pampb. in his Ecdef11ftical Hiftory, faith, That .Aimth•• ud 1be 4Mitnl FAtk,.s 'R>tre Chriftiaas : And Mfines a Chriftian to be, one that bJ tbt (._nowledge •nd D•llrine af Cbrifr tXttls i~adewian af Mind, in 1($lnto~~ofnefs •nd qamintrq •f Life, 4114. Strength a] Virr~ Dtd Gadlinejs ro-,.,rd.saneon!!GoJ; Jee Stlltttul on hLm. • • . . ~e~e,7s c:d~;~'~h:' J~:~n~~\~~e0~a~f~~~e ~f~r~~ ~~~ccP~~~~!~t0~~s u:rn~ [!0{~~(..~~: Scripture; for that is the Covenant, which God, theCaufe of aU, fetteth, whence his Name in Grtd~ is derived. And in the Pre2ching of Pmr, thou mayA: find th~ Lord call~d the Word or J(.e•fon,andtheLA'ID. ~eehis l ~kStrom.atthelind. ~ndbe~re, Page1').J· he faith, The Law and the Gofp~l•s theOperatton of one Lord, who 1sthe Vutue and W1fdom of God: .And. t.bt 1't4rwbich rhtUw h•dhrtd, il Jl!trciful to S.dvo~rion: .An:J. the FttU of the ~"tt~r~7s a~~fi~:~f; 11;n'cr~~0e'"Po!:ratofh:Ogha~;:~r~f4S~?v!~~ ~~~:~~~e p~~~~~i~ as Miftrefs · the other being Bountiful, as a Bcne~aor l for one muft ~rs from Duknefsto Life; and ~pplyirlg his Ear to VVifdom, fir/l ~e 1. ServDtr_ dttn •fllitbjul Ninifter, «#d fo .zf und. inr.o tbt Numier of Sons, and. !t brD~bt •mo tbt ElelJ AJDpll•n r.f Sll1fl: 7h.t~ the 1.4• worh to IIUit them /mtllfiYtAI1 t.hr thu(t ro Lt'llt ltmptr~ltlj md jufi!.f• And agam! E11U Men 41 ':~or:~~C B:O~"~f~~e ;s~:;,~~i~·~r[::!~~ ;:~"~o:: ,h~~t:i~~t~7 ~~J~~~m~~e ~~1,:;.: ur PbilafopbJ, as he calls it. 593 ! 6]l· ~ |
