Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT770 .B39 1670

The Life ofFaith. 1 2S CHAP. VII. The weans ofmaking known all this infallibly to us. ISuppofe the evidence of divine attefation is fo clear in this Image of Godon the Chritlian Religion, which I have been opening, that few can doubt of it, who are fatisfied of the bifforical truth of the fads ; and therefore this is next to be eonfidercd, How the certain knowledge of all theft things cometb dozen to as ? The firil quellion is, whether thisDotlri,e andReligion in- deed be the imprefs of Gods WISDOM, and his GOODNESS and POWER, fuppofing this truth of the hitlorical part ? This is it which i think that few reafonable perfons wi Id eny : For the doctrine is legible, and fheweth it fell. But thenext quefion is it, which I am now to rcfolve, Hw wefhall know that this Dot3rine was indeed delivered by Cbrifi and bit Apoffles, and theft things done by them, which the Scriptures mention? And here the urti queflion thall be, How the Apoffles, and all other the lrff witneffes, knew it rbemfelves? For it is by every reafonabie man to be fuppofed, that they who were prejent, and we who are 1665 years diflance, could not re. ceive the knowledge of the matters of fats, in the very fame manner. It is certain that their knowledge was by theirpre° lent Tolle and reafoss: Theyfaw Chriti and his miracles : They beard his words : They jaw him rifen from the dead: They difcourfcd with him, and cat anddrunk with him : They law himafcending up bodily toHeaven. They need no other Revelation to tell them what they faw, and heard, and felt. Ifyou had asked them 'then, Hw know you that all theft things werefaid and done ? they would have anfwered you, Bccaufe we jam and beardtbens. But we were not then pre-' fenr : medid notfee, and hear, what they did : Nor did we fee or hear them, who were the eye- witncffes. And therefore as their fenfes told itthem ; fo the natural way for our know ledge, churl be by derivation from theirfenfe to ours For when R 3 they

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=