The Life of Faith. 91 fcveral Methods ; and though that method of them all, be perfc&, inorder to their proper end ; yet is it not ncceflfary that therebe in the Method no humane imperfeaion, or that one or all of them,be written in that method which is ufually moil logical, and belt. But the frame ofReligioncontained in thofcBooks, is compofed in the moil perfi.& method in the world. And thofe fyjiemes of Theology which endeavour to open this method toyou, do not feign it, or makeit of them- felves ; but only attempt the explicationof what they find in the holy Scriptures, Synthetically or Analytically : (Though indeed all attempts have yet fallen fhort ofany full explication of this divine andperte harmony.) r r. Therefore the true Order of fettling your faith, is not firfi torequire a proofthat aQ the Scriptures is the Word of God; but firfl to prove the marrow of them, which is property called the Cbriflian Religion, and then toproceed tofirengthenyour par- ticular beliefof the refl. The contrary opinion, which hath obtained with'many in this Age, bath greatly hindered the faithof the unskilful : And it came from 4 prepofcrous care of thc honour of the Scriptures, through an exceflive oppo- fition to the Papitls who undervalue them. For hence it comes to pafs, thatevery teeming contraditïion, or inconfifien- cy in any Book of Scripture, in Chronology or any other rcfpc&, is thought tobe a fuffiicicnt eaufe, to make the whole eaufe of Chrifiianityas difficult as that particular text is : And fo all thofc Readers, who meet with great or infeparable difficulties, in their daily reading ofthe Scriptures, arc there- by 'expofcd to equal temptations, to damning infidelity it felt: So that if the Tempter draw any man to doubt of the handing hill ofthe Sun in the time of 7ofhua ; of the life of ?mar in.thebelly of the Whale; or any other ftick paffage in any one Book of the Scriptures, he muh equally doubt of all his Religion. But this was not the ancient method of faith : It was many years after Chrifis refurre&ion, before any one Book of the New Tehament was written ; and almoft an Age before it was finithed : And all that time the Chritlian Churches had the fameFaith and Religion as we have now ; and the fame foundation of it : That is, the Gofpel preached to them by, the N z Apohles
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