5 8 Of a Religions and `Divine Faith. Vol. 11. Authority, gives us the higheft affurance, that he neither can be deceived himfelf, nor will deceive us.in any thing that he reveals to us. i fay the Teftimony or Au.thórity of God fome way or other revealing things to us, is the Argument whereby a Faith of any fupernatural Revelation is wrought in us : but if we re. ¡train all Supernatural Revelations to theBible, as I told you we know of no ether, then the particular kind of Teftimony whereby this Faith is wrought in us, is the written Word of God. . lit. As to the Degrees of this Faith. Suppofing Men fufficiently fatisfied that the Scriptures are the Word of God, that is, a Divine Revelation; then all thofe who are fufficiently fatisfied of this, do equally believe the things contained in the Scriptures. For if Menbe once fully fatisfied that God bath fpoken any thing, I think no Man makes the leaft doubt but what God Pays is true. Now there can be no Degrees of Faith, where there. is no doubt of the contrary ; all the Degrees that are in Faith, arifing from a greater or fiefs mixture of doubting. So that those who do not at all doubt but that the Scriptures are the Word of God, have the fame Degree of Perfwafion concerning the Matters contained in them : and that no Man doubts whether ,what.God Pays is true, arifeth from the fix'd and confiant Notion which Men univerfally have of God, that he is Infal- lible and True. Therefore we find, Matt. 21. 2 . when our. Saviour puts the Dilemma to the Pharifees, concerning the aptifm of john, Whether it were from Heaven, or of. Men ? That they reafoned with themfelves, fayiag, If we 'hall fay, from Heaven ; he will fay unto us, Why did ye not then believe him ? Which kind of reaft ping imports thus much, that it is univerfally acknowledged, that no Man can in reafon make the leaft doubt of that which he believes to be from God. Therefore a Man would wonder' what Becanus the Jefuit meant, unlefs it were to abufe the Prophets and'A.pofiles, when he fays, Tom. 3, of his School Divinity, that the Prophets and Apofiles had evidentìam revelations, non amens evidehtiam prim,e veritatis : tametfienim evidenter. cognofcerent Deum efe, qui ipfis revelabat myfieria Pei, non tanteas evidevter cegnofcebant Deum efeflume veracerx, qui sec falli potuit, nec fallere ; that is, " Tho' it was fufficiently evident to the Prophets and Apottles; that thofe Revelations which they had,were from Gad; '° yet it was not evident to them, that..Divine Revelationsare true': for tho' they " did evidently know that there was a God, who revealed to them the myfieries " of Faith ; yet they didnot evidently know that God was infallible and True, " who, could neither deceive, nor be deceived. By which he cloth not only make the Prophets and Apofiles: ídeots, and deftitute of one of the molt common no- tions of human Nature, which is, that God is Infallible and True ; but he dodo likewife make all Divine Revelation ufelefs, and to `no purpofe. For to what purpofe is it for a Man to be fatisfied that God reveals fuch a thing to him ; if he be in the mean time unfatisfied, whether what God reveals is true ? .for 'no Man that is unf tisfied, whether what God revealsbe true, can upon any tolera- ble ground of reafon, yield a firm afTent to a Divine Revelation. But 'cis pity to fpcnd time in confuting any thing which confutes it Pelf by its own abfurdity, and its diced contradiftion to thecommon notions of' human Nature. I proceed therefore. Suppofing any Man be unfatisfied, and do make any doubt whether there Books call'd the Holy Scriptures, or any of them, be the Word of God, tirar is a Di- vine Revelation proportionably to the degree of his doubting concerning the Divine Authority of the Scriptures,' there will be an abatement of his Faith, as to the things contained in them : for he that believes a thing meetly upon the Credit or Teftimony of fucha Perfon ; fo much reafon as he bath to doubt, whe- ther fuch a Perfon did Speak, or tëflifie fuch a thing; fo much realms he hath to doubt whether the thing be true. And upon this account I think it is, that the Scripture fpeaks of Degrees of Faith, of growing and encreafing in Faith, of a Strong Faith, that is, fuch a Faith, as was either wholly, or in a great meafure free from doubting; and of a weak Faith, that is, loch a Faith, as had a.great mixture of doubting by which we are not to underfiand, that they doubted of the Truth of any .thing of which they
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