viii 0 F T H E D I V I N E A U T H 0 R I T Y 'l'hat the Scripture, or Book called th.e llible, is of divine Original, injpired by the Spirit of Cod, a;rd therefore of infallible 'l'ruth and Authority, appears, ' I. By the Contents, or Matters therein difcovered and treated of, which are fo tran– fcendently jitblime and myfterious that they could never be the Produc'l: of human In– vention, or Difcovery; and therefore though written by Men, as Jnftruments, muft needs be revealed from above: For what human Brain could ever have imagined a 'l'rinity in the Deity, Matt. xxviii. I9· 1 ]ohn v. 7· or fuch an Exiflence of one fimple Elfence as this Book acquaints us withal? lt defcribes the Perfon of Chrift, fo plainly, fitly and excellently, that if the Mind of Man confider it attentively, of necellity it muft needs acknowledge, it cloth far exceed the Reach of a finite Underf\anding. lt difcovers unto us the Mifery and Corruption of Man by Nature, together with that general Defec'l: of the whole Creation, which though fome of the Heathen had (ome glimpfe of, yet could never find Ot)t the Caufe, nor how it came to paf> ; no finite In– tellec'l: could ever have travelled into fuch Heights and Depths, touching the Nature of God and his eternal Counfds, that ltupendous Contrivement for the Salvation of Man, that the fecond Perfon fhould defcend from H eaven, and alfume human Nature into a Conjunction with the Divine, take upon hini in his own Perfon the Sin of Man– kind, and die for the World, thereby making a Satisfaction pt·oportionate to infinite Juftice, fo that God may fhew the utmoft AB: of Mercy, in a Conjunction with the higheft Exercife of ]uftice: Nothing lefs than an infinite Underftanding could have found out Expedients to reconcile thofe two infinite Attributes, in his Dealings with an apoftate Creature. lt unfolds the Covenant of Grace, which God made after the Fall, all which can be drawn from no other Fountain but Divine Revelation, I Cor. ii. 7· Eph. iii. 4, r,. It contains the L aw of God, which is wife and juft, the Gentiles themfelves being Judges, Dau. iv. 5, 6, 7· Jn its Preceprs fhines forth its Divinity; 1. The furpafling Excellency of the AB:, requiring that we !hould deny ourfelves in all thofe Things which the corrupt Nature of Man cleavetl1 to, and hateth to foreao. 2. The wonderful Equity that doth appear in every Command. 3· The admirable Strangenef> of fome AB:s, which a natural Man would account Foolifhnefs, and yet prefcribed as abfolutely necclfary, ]ohn iii. 36. and viii. 24. fhews its divine Original. 4- The Manner how Obedience is required, viz. that it proceed from a pure Heart, a good Confcience, and Faith unfeigned, Deut. vi. 5· I Cor. xiii. 1. I 'l'im. i. 4, 5· Take a View of the Ten Commandments, are they not plain, brief, perfect, juft, ex~ tending to all, binding the Confcience, and reaching to the very Thoughts? And - do not all thefe Things commend unto us the J uftice, Wifdom, Holinefs, Omnipotence, {)mnifcience, Perfection, and abfolute Sovereignty of the Law-maker? It is a,Book that comprehends an univerfal Hiftory of the World, paft, prefent, and to come: Its Contents reach as far as the firft Foundations of the Earth and Heavens, give qs an Account of God's Re·velations to Man ever fince his firft make, and the Par– ticulars of an lntercourfe between God and the World, for near upon two thoufand and five hundred Ye.rs, before they were any where extant upon Record; what other Book, fince the World began, fo much as pretended to do this ? A Book! which as it was fixteen hundred Years a writing, (for fo long it was from the Time of Mofes, till ]ohn clofed it with the Revelations;) fo the Matters it treats of, are of the moft excellent Na– ture and higheft Concernment. To give the World a fatisfac'l:ory Account not only of its Original, but of its End too; to bring Man acquainted with his true fovereign Happinefs; and a moft wonderful and aftonifhing Method of Reconciliation with his Maker: Its Promifes are everlaftina Glory, and never-fading Crowns: Its Precepts perfect Righteoufnefs, Gal. iii. 10. and altogether fuch as tend moft to the Honor of God, the Happinefs of a Man's Self, and the Quiet of the World: Its 'l'hreatenings, are of Miferies 1hat are endlefs: Its whole 'l'endency, is to a ProfpeB: beyond the Grave : What H eathen ever fo much as dreamed of the Refurrec'l:ion? yYho but the Lord could be Author of fuch Laws, that only can gtve eternal Ltfe, and mfi1B: eternal Death ? Thefe Thtngs can move the Confcience of·none, but fuch who acknowledge the Precepts thereof to be Divine, In a Word its general Subjefls are Myfteries no where elfe to be heard of, and without fuch a M~nifeftation, uuconceivable. Now confidering the P.remifes, what lefs than infinite \'i'ifdom can be the fuppofecl Author of f11ch a Book ? ' 2 II. By
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