Senn. LXV1Il:' of a °Divine Revelation. 4. 9 this in general, that confidering the end of this Inspiration, w men was .. inform the World certainly of the Mind and Will of God, it is neceffary for every man to believe that the infpired Pen-men of Scripture were fo tar affifled as was neceffary to this End : and he that thinks upoia good Grounds rhat this End cannot be fecured, unlefs every Word and Syllable were immediately diftated, he bath reafon to believe it was fo ; but if any man upon good Grounds thinks the end of writing the Scripture may be fufficiently fecured without that, he bath no reafon to conclude, that God, who is not wanting iii what is necessary, is guilty of doing what is fuperfluous. And if any Man is of opinion that Moses might write the Hiflory of thofe Afions which he himfelf did or was prefent at, without an immediate Revelation of them g or that Solomon by his natural and acquired Wifdom might fpeak thofe Wife Sayings which are in his Proverbs; or the Evangelists might write what they heard andTaw, or what they had good Affurance of from others, as St. Luke tells he did ; or that Sr. Paul might write for his Cloak and Parchments at Trocs, ,and falute by name his Friends .and Brethren, or that he might advise Timothy to drink a little Wine, Úc. without the immediate difkate of the Spi- rit of God, he feems to have reafon on his fide. For that men may, with- out an immediate Revelation, write thofe things which they think without a Revelation Teems. vety plain. And that they did fo, there is this probable Ar- gument for it, becaufe we find that the Evangelifts in relating the Difcourfes: of Christ, are very far from agreeing in the particular expreffions and Words rho' they do agree in the Substance of the Difcourfes : but if-the Words had been diftated by the Spirit of God, they mutt have agreed in them. For when St. Luke differs from Sr. Matthew, in relating what our Saviour faid, it is impoffible that they lhould both relate it right as to the very Words and Formsof Expreflìon; but they both relate the Subitanee of what he Paid. And,' if it had been of Concernment, that every thing that they wrote, should. be diftated ad apicem, to a tittle, by the Spirit of God, it is of the fame Con.` cernment [till, that the Providence of God should have fecured the Scriptures since to a tittle from the least alteration; which that it is not done, appears by the various readings both of the Old and New Testament, concerning which, no man can infallibly fay, that this is right, and not the other. It deems fufficient in this matter to assert, that the Spirit of God did reveal to the Pen-men of the Scriptures what was neceffary to be revealed; and as to all other things, that he did fuperintend them in the writing of it, fo far as- to fecure them from any material Error or Miftake in what they have deliver'd. Or, 4. If the Queftion be, What affurance we have from Miracles, that all thofe Books which we receive are canonical? To this I Anfwer, I do not knowof any Miracle that was ever wrought on purpofe to confirm the Canon of the Scriptures: but as for the Books of the Old Testament, we have fufficient af- furance, that thofe which we now receive, are thofe which the Jews receiv- ed for fuch inour Saviour's time; and he dothnot any where find fault with any of them as not Canonical, which we have no reafon to doubt but he would have done, if any one of them had been otherwife. And that thefe are the fame the Jews then received, appears fufficiently, becaufe both Jews and Chri/lians to this dayagree in them. As for the Books of the New Testament, we are sufficiently aftur'd, That thefe and no other are the Books which the Antient Church recei- ved for Canonical, and of Divine Authority, and tho' force of them were for a time controverted, yet upon farther Enquiryand Examination they were Received. V. Whether this Faith concerning a Divine Revelation made to others, do ad- mit of degrees? That it doth is Evident from Chef Expreffions which the Scrip- ture ufeth, of increafing Faith, of growing in it, of a weak, and Thong faith, ail which plainly fuppofe degrees. And that thefe degrees of Faith which the Scripture fpeaks of, are to be underflood of a higher and lower degree of affurance concerning a Divine Revelation as fuck, and concerning the things reveal'd, I lhew'd before, For all the Doubts which the Difciples had concerning what our Sa. 14 m m viour
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