l ~~;which m~/amryft~ d.wne in s~.~:m:h:l~:~::::~ is the honourandglory of lfoundal thofe J>Oipts wh1ch CO!ltalllt.t ·tth and God alone, &c. and he lhall bee refolued that l manncrsof/imJ'f..w:D. Vs~cmtuu Lirsnen faith ~cripture is Scripture, euen by the Scripture the (ar.on ifthe ~crtpture. u perfea, andfHilyfof1t fc:lfe.Yea,andby thismeanshe may difcerne ficsentmttftlje tor all thmgs. anyparrofScnpture,from the writingsofmen Bdide thefetelhmome~,other reafonsthere whatfoeuer. '!hus then .Scripture prooues it be.that ferueto proo~e this pomt. I. The prafelfe robe Scnpture: and yet wee defpife not chfe of Chnft and Ius Apofrles, who for the the vniuerfall confent or tradition of the confirmation of ~he doiJrine which t~ey Church in this cafe; whichthoughitdoenot taught, vfed alwa1es the telltmony ofScnpperfwadetheconfcience, yeti!iran<>tabk inture; neither can it !Je proouc:d,that they euer ducement to moouc vs to reuereuce and re· confirmed any do(lrina by rra~itirn.o;!lt.26. gard the writings of the Prophets and Apo2a./ continuevnto thi< daywirneffing&ithtofmaN !ties. lt will be laid, where it is written that andgre•t, faying llOne.othcr things th<n thofe Scripture is Scripturellanfwer,notinanyone . whtchthe Prophm andMofts dtdfaJ'Jh•uldcom.e. parucular place or booke ofScripture but in Andby this we are giuen to vndet!land, that B tuery line andpage ohhe whole Btble:tohim we muft alwaies haue recoutfe to the wutten that can reade With the fpirit of difcerning w.ord, as beein!llitfficicnt to inflrud: vs in andcandifcemetheToiceofth<truepaftou;, matters of faluanon. I.I.Ifthe beletumg ofvnas the lheepe of Chrill can doe. wtitten traditions were necelfary to faluation, Obielt. 111. Some bookes ofthe Canon of then wee mull as wdl beleeue the writi•.gsof tht' Scriptureare lol!, asthebook! oftbew•rres the ancient Fathers, as the writin~s of the ofGod,NIJmb.21.14-t~ebook!iftheiuft,Jojhua, Apoftles, becaufe Apoftohcall tradmons are 1 o. t 3· the booke of the Chronicles ot the notelfewhere tobe found bt!t in their bookes. Kings of Hra<l and Iuda, t.King·'4·19· the And w<may not beleeuethcirfayingsas the bookesofcertaine Prophets, Nath•n, q•d; word ofGod, becaufe they often erre, beeing Jddo, .AhU.h, and Semi•h: and th<r<fore the · fubied: to er~ou<: and for this caufe their aumatter of thefe bookes mu!! come to vs by thority when they fpeake oftraditions, may tradition• .Anfw. Though it beo granted that be fufped:ed: andwemay not alw•iesbdeeuc fomt bookes of Canonicall Scripture belofr: them vpon their w..ord. .. yet the Scripture llill remaines fufficient: be- . caufe the matter of thofebookcs (fo far fotrh Obieltionsfor TrAditions, C as it was neceffary to faluation) is contained in thefe bookes of Scripture that are now ex– ~ant. Againc, !take it robe atruth (though Fir!! they alleadge, ,.Thejfol. 2 15• where the Apoi!Ie bids that Churcn ktepe theordi– nanceswhichhe taHghtthemeither bywordor let. ter. Hence they g~ther, that befidcs rhe writ– ten word,thete be vnwritten traditions, that are indeed necelfary to bee kept ancl obeyed. .Anfw. Itis very likdy,that this Epi!He to rhe Thelfalonians was the lirft that euer 'Paul writ to any Church,though in order ithaue nocthe firft place: and therfore at thattime when thi• Epifile waspenning,itmight well falout,that . fome things needful'to faluati~n were dellu.e– redby word ofmourb, notbccmg aS yet writ– tenbyauy Apofile. Yet,the fame things were afterward fer downe in writh!g, $.ither in the fccond Epime,or inrneEpifllesofPani. . Obielt, JI. ThatSmp,.reu.Smpture, 1sa point to bee beleeucd l but that is a tradition vnwrit:te'n: and thereforeone tradtuon there isnotwdtten,that we.are rO be~ecue. eAnjw. That the Bookes of the old and cew Tdla– ment are Scripture, it is to bee gathered and beleeued , not vpon bare tradition, but from the very bookes themfclues, onthl~ manner: Let amanthat is endued wtth the fpmtofdtf. cernin~, readethefeuerall bookfs, withall let him c~nfider the profetfed Auther thereof, which is G 0 D himfelfe,& the matter there· in contained, whic!Jisa mofidiuineandabfo– lntetruthfull ofpiety; the manner and forme offpeech, whichis full ofmaie!licjn the lim– plieitie of words; the end w)lCreat they 1 fome think otherwife)that no part oftheCa– ne is lofr:for P~HI{aith,Wh•tfoeuertbingswere writtenafqre time, were wntlenf~r oHr /et4rnzng thuwe throughpatienceandcomfortiftheSmp– tHres,rj-c•.:&m. 11. 4• Where he takes it tor gramod,that the whole Canon of holy Scrip– ture was then extant. For ifhee had tl:oughr, tharfome bookes of Scripture had beene loft, he would haue faid: whatfoeuer was.writtcn & is now extant,was written for our learning and wmforr•.For booksthat areloft ferue nei– ther forlearningnor •omfort. Againe,to hold thatany Bookcs ofScripture lhould be Jofr, D cals into queftion Gods prouidence : and the fideli•y ofthe Church, who hatll the bookes ofGod inkeeping, and isthertforcealled 1 the pillar and ground of truth. And touching the bookes before mentioned,I anl\ver thus: The bookeof thewarresof God, './10mb. ZJ•I4· might be {omelhortbill or narration ofthings done among the lfradires, whkh in the daies ofMofts went from hand to hand. Forfome– times abooke in Scripture lignifieth aro•le or cat-log•e, asthefirll:chapt.ofMatthew, which contamctb: the gencalogie of our Sauiour Chrifi, ,is called the book[ ofthegmeratirm if le[m Chr.jl. Againc, the book£ if the iuft, and the bookesofthe Chronicles, which are faid to bee'lofi, were but as the . Chroni· clts of England are with vs; euen politicke records ofthc ads and euenrs of things, in the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=