ESSAY VIII. 218 Nothwithstanding all these difficulties in scripture, and-the divided sentiments of men about them ; yet there is no room for thepopish doctrine of the insufficiency of the holy scriptures ; no peed of any livingjudge of controversies, or a seat of infallibili- ty on earth ; for the grand doctrines and duties which are ne- cessary to salvation, such, as repentance towards God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as a prophet, a high-priest, and a Icing, the necessity of universal holiness, pardon of' sin through'the blood of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal rewards and punishments in the world to come ; all these, I say, are written down in scripture, in as plain and express a manner as the nature and importance of them required ; and about these things persons of a sober, humble ,and honest mind cannot well mistake if they are diligent in their enquiry, and seek wisdom of that Godwho gives liberally, and upbraids us not with our own folly ; James i. 5. Not only are all matters necessary to salva- tion written plain enough for every reader, but we have also, as T hinted before, the promise of the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to teach us to understand all such revelations, that sincere and diligent men may not be suffered to fall into such a mistake as to fail of acceptance with God. Nay further, we have good encouragementto hope, that even in some things on which salva- tion doth not necessarily depend, but are only designed to pro- mote the farther sanctifieation and comfort, peace and hope of the church, the Spirit of God will often assist the upright and hum- ble seeker, yet still there will remain difficulties enough to exer- cise inquisitive souls, for I find no certain promise that God will always satisfy every sincere enquirer in the full meaning of all difficult texts. " I glorify thee,.0 my God, that thou hast not confined the knowledge ofthyself to the wise and the learned world, but hast written down the way of. salvation so plain, that a child may read and atfain it. Let the scribes and doctors, and critics of the age wrangle about the pins of the tabernacle, and the seats in the synagogue, let them contend, even to blood, about the " ofs," the "ands," and the "moreovers," of the bible, my soul shall dwell in peace, and rest on these pillars of safety, even the great and evident doctrines of the christian faith. I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast revealed thyself and thy Son unto babes, and hast not made it a matter of wit and criticism to be a christian ; Mat. xi. 25. The f polishand the base, and the weak things ofthis world are chosen to salvation, I Cor. i. 28. and they understand, and believe, and practise all the necessary articles, while they may differ from each other in some lesser forms of worship and discipline, and are not able to maintainan argument on either side. What ishere assèrted concerning the substance of some of
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