flf; A CI1RUSTIAN CHURCH. it is tó secure christians from all impositieti of human forms, and from making confestions of faith drawn up in the words of fallible men, a test of knotledge in the things of God: But this method is no effectual security; for since the inspired words of Greek and Hebrew can be no test of knowledge in English churches, a confession must be made in words of English: Now all English words, into which the scripture is, or may be translated, are the words of fallible men ; and no person can be infallibly sure in some difficult and controverted texts, that they do fully and truly express the sense of the sacred originals. I grant here that for private christians to search their Eng- lish bibles, and find the matters of their salvation, there is abun- dantly stifücient certainty Of the truth of every translation in general, that it clearly declares all that is of such importance Because whatsoever is necessary to salvation, is sufficiently con- tained and revealed, not in one or two, but in various texts of scriptiue, though perhaps not always in express words; and in most of these texts learned men generally agree about the mere translation of them : This need create no manner of scru- ple to sincere and humble christians in their own knowledge, faith and practice. The English bible is gloriously sufficient for the salvation of every humble christian in England. The Eng- lish gospel has saved many thousands, without any skill or know- ledge of other languages. But in this controverted case, when men assert that a con- fession of express words of scripture shall be sufficient to purge any man from the charge of heresy, or give him a right to de- mand christian communion, even where his opinions are justly suspected, I must take notice here that some of these Contro- verted and difficulttexts may naturally come into question; such as those which seem to favour any heresies, and those which seem to guard against them. Now in such a case as this the mere translating of the words oftentimes determines the sense of them ' the translation of such a text is a sort of interpretation of the meaning of it ; and then, what translation of any particular text, shall be the standard of orthodoxy for all our churches ? Shall that which is public and established by the magistrate have this honour? But who gave it this authority over all the churches ? Man or God ? Shall any private translation of learned and pious men met in council, determine the sense for all communions ? But whence had they this power ? Much less can the translation of any single person be a public standard. Wandering over all nations and churches, and surveying all the various pretences to such a power, 1 cannot find where to fix the soleof my foot, but on the only protestant principle, viz. " That as each person with regard to his own conduct in sacred
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=