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Show Of the General IRu1e VoL 1. ~ 6, Unto you, 0 Men, I call, and my ~ice is to the Son..r If/ ftlen; bear,[or I wiUJpeok Excellent Things, was alfo heard by the Gen11kr; and thJt wblt concerned the Doaripe of Holy Living was not hid from them; I mean, Evangellcallyfo; provided Chrilfs Heavenly Sermon upon the ~aunt, rela~ ted by lt1aubew the Evangelift, may be efte~med S11cb: for theu Wriringa flow with Amtnr thereunto. Bu·r allowing our Adverfaries that the V,oice was then fo low, and the Manifeftation .of the Light fo fmall, ~s it difcovered not many of thofe Things before-mentioned ; could that g1ve Redbnable Men Ground to conclude Therefore the Divine. Wifdom or Light was lnfuflicient; or that the Divi~e Wifdom or Light was nor then, :tnd fhould not in other Ag~s bec-ome The Rule and Guide of the Children of Men ? Yet fuch falfe Confequences have been the Corner-Stone and Founda~ion o~ our Oppofer's Building agaioft us; and no Reafonable Man, I thmk, wlll attempt to clear it from boing .ll. Sandy One. Of the Judge of Controverlie. I SbaJI explain what I mean by thefe. Terms. A Judge is One that has not only Power to determine, but Difcernjng to do it Rightly. Conrroverfie is a Debate between Two Parties about the Truth or FalChood of any Propofition to be dete1·mined by that Judge. · From wheace I am led to afi'ert, that the Judge of Controverfie mufi be Certain and Unerring. And though this may fe.em ftrange to fame, 'tis neverthelefs True in it felf: For ifrhe Judge b~ faUibk, he may indeed filence the Contending Par· ties by his Authority, but not the Conuoverfie by a Certain Judgment, fmce he may as well determine Falf/y a~ -Truly. So that Conrrovcrfie can never be rightly determined by a faJiible Judge, therefore he is no True Judge of Controverfie. Indeed it is abfurd, and a ContradiEl:ion in it felf :-o think otherwife; fince he that is u-ncertain, can never be cercain of his Decifion: And if not a certain One, then none to the Purpofe. N or ought any Per· fon, no othe'rwife juaged, that is perfuaded of the Truth of hJs Caufe, to let fall his Belief upon fo doubtful a Determination; fince he moves not only without ConviEtion, but againft Conviaion : And which is worfe, he is not afcertained of the Truth of what he is required to fubmir to. There· fore of all 'People they are moft Condemnable, who, notwithltanding they keep fo great a Stir about Religion, and fomctimes ufe CoerciVe Means to compafs their defigned Uniformity, acknowledge to us, They are not certain of t heir own Faith. Since then .the Judge rnuft be unerring, it will be Worth our While to confider, where this infaHible Judge is to be fOund. Tbtre is none Good bllt God, fa_id God himfelf, when manifefted in the Flerh, that is Originally, or as of htmfelf: So truly there is none InfalliMe but God, as of himfelf; yet as the Supreme Good is communic:ned unto Man according to Meafure; fo Book of Mar· (as well fays Bifhop Latimer) is there Infr~!Jibility, Certainty or .Ajfunmu of tyrs, Vol. 3• the Truth of Things given to .Man according to Capacity: drherwife Men Pt+'7~· would be oblig'd to believe and obey, and 'that upon Damnation, thofe Things concerning which there can be no Certai,ty, whether they be True or Falfe. Emmanuel, God roirb lHen, as He is their R11le, fo their ]PJgc; He is the Law-Giver, and therefore the heft Interpreter of any PGillt that may eon· cern his own Law: And Men are fo far Certain, as they are fuhje8: w His Voice, Light, or Spirit io them, and no farther; for, H11mnnllm eft Errore, ;~an is Errable. No.r can any Thing refcue him out of Error, or prefer\'e htm from the lnfeChons of It, but the Sound and Certain Judgment lhat God, by the Light of His Spirit gives unto him. Obj. VoJJ. I. Of Faith and Pratlice. Obj. But ;, not tbt-:iCI'ipllm the Judge of Conrroverjie I 6as .ll.nfro. How cao that he, fince the QjJ ft" . . I67J. Meamng of Scripture? Is there an Place ton nwft T.tmes anfes about fhe ~· whether the Socinian or Trinitnria~ be i~ t~ellkis, W~thout _lm~!PI~tat-on, preh.enfions of the Three that Bear R d e ght, m theu dtffcnng Ap- .Jlrrtnn, ahour Cbrifl's Divinit . o ecor '·&:c. Alfo the llomoufian and f11bjlantiation? If then Thin/s 'arer 1 tie Pdp~s or Protejlams about Tranf· Literally and Exi)refly in the Sc . e t un e ned and undetermined. I {llean rhe Senfe of Worll.r, d~th the ScJ~ture j and t~at the.Q.uellion arifes about ters hit the Mark ? As this is n t Rre f( etebjtne wh.lch of thofe Interpreknowledged, that if Inter retati~ ea. ana e to thi~k, fo ~uft it be ac4 not the Sc~pture, but the Ynurpre~e~e~~fi. t~e ~atJterdm Conrroverfie, then Now thts Interpreter muft . h . e t e u ge. Sp~rit, called by the Apoftle "~' •.nrerpret by his own meer Wifdom or Weighing the Text confulti~ I J. u. II. the Splrtt uf a Man, who h tqgether, gives th~ Jud_gmen~ ~~\l~t:~t gr .the Wrirer, comparing Place; or, from the Spirit of God wh" h . e cnpture ~oes not give of it fe!£ as the fame Apoftle faith in th~c fi glVeplUndctandtng, as Job xxxii. 8. ·and God. If the firft then a' F.ll"bl a~e h aceft, earcherh the Deep Thingz of I would f.tin k~ow Wh a z ~ J I t e la ' · then an lnfoUible Judge. prefided among the Apoftle~the~lt w~s the Scnpture or the Holy Ghoft thar they faid, Ir flemeth Gooi ~~ rebe H=J (;b~acomd together, ifOs xv. when Ghoft~ then pray give us a plain Sc i ~ 0J~ an to m, &c. If the Holy rher Judge now; if that cann bel pture to prove we are to have anocotJ. fequentiy an In/aOih/e Ju~ .oneT:ehe$ ~~ muft have the Same, and Cbri}Uans into all Truth, and is g1~~nv•.~· G d b P1C~~t. of Truth, which leadt • 0J g , 'Y IJrijl, fpr that very End .. Obj. 't;. granted thot the Spi · · · .r Y"b any Man determines a Thin b rtt. u m.J~ ' le: Bllt bow jb4!J I knflw that own Senfe upon m under 1'!1. 'Y8tbu. Spri,''• ond does not rather obrr11Je his , ')(It pec1o11.r .~;rete nee. Anfw. By the fame Spirit 11 f: · robetber the Spir11 be tn 111 1 ;. 3~ we aid GtJa/t. Cndock, The fVay to Rnow 11 zn others too. And the ;1~: th~: bE~hde;cs.; .and that H the rVay to !mow G.-Ctlll.. Dt· 47fotber: Tbereu faithhe Kid .~a 1 e optrlt, may lmowtbeSplririn nne Drops.' Which is alfo tr~e in the' jud n °J tgacuy m the Samu to thn P11rpo.fo. P• :ue. For as they held that no Ma gmelJ k abundance. of Protejlant-Writers : Spirit which intliaed them~ n cou now the Scnptnres but by the fame could affure him of the Truth ~f c~n~eq~intly that the fame Spirir only !Jr, as before quoted tells us Th t R /lGh~CJ.rprebation. And Peter .il-1ar .. DoB::or } . Owen faith, Tbnt the 11: o'fcn o;~ :s I e Amb~r or Judge. Alfo ter of the Scrrpture .' And If the ~ ? j(' ~ tb~ gn.;. ll.utbentrck Inte'/re· fullible Judge; the~ the Jud f nhy Mt enuc , the~ rhe Only an In· both an Only ana an Infalhbr: I d~: Btnd or Meam~g of Scripture, is very fame ObjeEl:ion lie againft th~ s:· fe ftJo .wave t~s : Does nor the "the Senfe, and ilnotberTb t1 T kn o G c~~~~re, nee one fays,. Thit Gt'sfhSpirir~ elfe Difficulti~ ~f th~t S~r~ a'r~~rudenr~'bl~en muft come to uncno nccorrnr,'d I t ·w edr'ef ig rea· tly tob be w"1f h'd rh a t aI I M en wou, d· hold themfeJves of from th; H~l/jl!t~ng fi out what they have not received an Afi"urance Satisfaction neithe!'~~~~ ~hence they bear but the Air, and obtam no foHd his Secrets 'to Mi d d'fi b /-upon any other Bottom. God never proftrar~ PraEhce what then afru~ed e lent to what t~ey do already know. Ler aU Search after Nic~ and U iy know~o be theu Duty, and be fp~ring in their 'and u the A oftle• S 0 no~n arters. Weighty and Seafonable was, tamed let p lk.s :.lYing, 1\evertbelef,, where11nto we bflf.)t already at-rent K~owt:dg:a /Jy th~ fame Rule: Where he both limits us to the pre· Phil 3'• ~ if any Thin"' be f.mhmumcateffid to us, and exhorts us ro live up to that; and • tt an er nece ary for us, Gail m due Ttme rDili Reve11lrt by • His |