0 F T [I c H 0 L y s c ~ I P. T u R E s. xxiii • Things that ~··e made, fa th~t we need no .o\her Argqn1ents to prP\'e that God Vl'lfle • t~e World but irldf, &c. Pfa!. civ. ' N;o,y th~r!' are gr,:at~> ~ncj more evident l<1Jpr~(11on> of rlivine .Excell,ncies left Ofl • the writtefl Word, frpm the mfiq•te W\(dom or t~e Author of lt, than aqr, t~at are • .cpmnwqicared unto the Worl<.s of G9d m the C• eaHon of the World. Hence Davrd • comparing the Work~ a~d Waycl of God, as to th~ll' mO:ruel;1ve EffiqlC)', pot~ prefGr •.the Wprd incq'l'flar~bly befor~ them,, PfaJ. XIJ>· I-lo· Apd rhefe do ·~:ap•f-c;(l: tpe • WPrd rq our F~ith to be his, !D'lrF ~{>arjy th~q t11e other do tlw Wor~s 10 be hJs, • ro our Re~fqo, &c. G9d, ~s th~ im'1'ediate Aut]]qr of tl)e Scriptures hath l.eft in • the yery Wqrd i*lf evicjl'nt Token.s ~nd lmpre!fwns of h•s. V\'JI~om,. frefc,epc~, • Omnifciep>e, Pow!'r, Goodne(s, f-lal,nefs, Truth 1 a~~ other dJVJne J~Qnjte EJ>Cel!en. • cies, fufficienrly evicjenq:d un1o the enlig)1tene~ lY\jqcjs of Believers, &c.' T his is that whereon w~ beli, ve rh\' Scriptures to be the \Vord of Go~, ·with a F 0 ith divine and fupern~tura].-And this Evidence is manitcO: unto the meaneO: and moO: unlearned-, no lefs than untQ the wi!~O: Philofoph\'!rs: And tl)e Truth is, if r~tiqnal Ar<>umenrs, and external Motives were the foie Ground of receiving the Scripture to 0e ~he W urd of God, it could not be bm the learned Men and Philofophers would alwcvs have been the forwardeO: and moll: ready to admit it, and moO: firmly to adhere unt,/it, ecaufe fuch Arguments do prevail on the Minds of Men, according as they arc ab!., •r•ght to difcern their Force, and judge of them.-But how appar61lt the eo:\ r.ry is, is evident: You fee )'OUr Calling, Brethren ; not mall)' wife Men aft~r the FIJh, &c. 1 Cor. i. 26. ' 2 , T he Spint of God evidenceth the divine Original and Authority of the Scrip– ' ture, by the Power and Authority which he puts forth in it and by it, over the Minds ' and Confciences of Men, with its Operation of divine EffeCts thereon : This the ' Aportle exprefsly affirms to be the Reafon and Caufe of Faith,' I Cor. xiv. 24, 25. And thus are the Secrets of his Heart made manifeft, &c. It was not the Force of ex– ternal Arguments, it was not the TeO:imony of this or that Church, nor was it the Ufe of Miracles, that wrought upon them, Ver. 23, 24. vVherefore the only Evidence whcreon they received the \llford, and acknowledged it to be of God, was that divine Power and Efficacy in themldves : He is convinced of all, a11d thus the Secrets of his Heart are made manifeft, &c. He cannot deny but there is a divine Efficacy in it, or, accompanying of it. And rhus the Woman ofSamaria was convinced of the Truth of Chrilt's Words, and believe<i in him, i.e. becaufe he told her all 'l'hings that ever foe did, J ob" iv. 29. I John v. 10. The Word of God is, as all Gncere Souls find, quick and powerful, &c. fo that be that be!ievetb, bath the Witnefs in bimfelf, John vii. I6, I7· Jefus a;ifwered them, and faid, My Doilrine is not mine, but his that fen! me. If any Man wit! do bis Will, he foal! know of the Doilrine, whether it be of God, or whether J JPeak of myfe!f. 'In a Word, let it be granted, that all who are really converted unto God, by the 'Power. of the Word, have that infallible Evidence and TeO:imony of its divine ori– ' ginal Amhority and Power in their own Souls and Confciences, that they thereon be– ' lie've it with liaith divine and fupernatural, in ConjunCtion with the other Evidences 'beforementioned, and largely demonll:rated, as parrs of the fame divine Te!limony; ' and it is alii aim at herein. This Te!timony, though it is not common unto all, nor can it convince another, yet is it very forceable to thofe who experience tfte Virtue and Efficacy thereof, which we, having in another place more largely opened, \VC !hall conclude rh is laO: Ar<>ument, entreating all to labor after a TaO:e of its divine, powerful, and foul-changingOpera– tions, and then they will need no further Arguments to prove it is of God. We !hall therefore conclude this brief Difcourfe on this SubjeCt, with thofe excellent Words of a learned Man upon the fame Occafion :-' Let this remain and be re– ' cei:ved as an _eftab.lilhed Truth, that thofe whom the Spirit bath inwardly taught, do 'fohdly acqmefce tn the Scnpture; and that the fame is C<uTcmrO> Self-credible, or for ' its own fake worthy of Belief, and that it obtains that certainty which it jurtly deferves ' with us, by the TeO:imony of the Spirit: For thoucrh its own MajeO:y does of irfelf ' ~onciliate a Reverence, yet then only does it feriourly afl:"eEt us, when by the Spirit it ' ts fealed m and upon our Hearts. With whofe truth being enlightened, we no longer 'beheve that the Scnpture lS from God by our own Judgment, or that of other Men, ~ but moO: certainly above all human Judgment, we are affured thereof no otherwife, 2 ' th~n
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