480 r PREFACE. Mrs forthe truthhave mustered together out of all the bible whatsoever texts couldpossibly be turned by art or force tosupport any one doctrine which they undertook to defend, just as ancient heretics have done to support their errors. Now among this great number of scriptures, it may be easily sop_ posed, that there is here and there one which is not so fit and apposite to their purpose, and which does not carry in it naturally that sense which has been imposed upon it ; or at least which does not contain that three st argu- ment which has been generally believed ; and yet the saine point of doctrine may remain immoveable, without the help ofthat particular text. Now though they have been learned and wise and pious men that have used these scriptures to support some particular doctrine of scriptureor article of faith, yet it is possible theymay have been mistaken in theapplication of them. Latter days, and the maturer age of the world have given light to many passages of the bible which were not well understood in the days of the fathers : and though I read theirwritings with sincere reverence, yet.not with an absolute submission to their dictates.The sanie doctrines and articles of faith which they espoused and defended in their time, may be still espoused and defended with as much zeal and succession in our day by somenew argu- ments broughtto support them, though in reason and justice we are con- strained todrop some of the old ones. Besides, There is morehonour done to the cause of christianityand the gospel, by building all the articles of it upon such scripturesonlyas are firm and unshaken to support them, thanby mul- tiplying feeble spews and shadowsof defence. We expose ourselves and our faith at once to the insult and ridicule of our adversaries, by persisting in -a mistaken exposition of scripture, and by maintaining every colour or false ap- pearance of argumen', even though it be in the defence of a most important truth. We oughtto make use of all the advantages of encreasing light, nor continue in a wrong applicationof scriptures to support any point of our faith in opposition to their most open and evident meaning. Though truth is infi- nitely preferable to error, yet men may use insufficient arguments for one as well as the other. And in our days, I conceive a wise and thoughtful roan will not be charmed at once with a title-page, merely because it pretends to many hundred proofs of thegodhead ofChrist. 4. I request that theywould consult their bible with diligence, as I have done, especially in the places which I have cited, and like honest English readers would look onlyat the sense as it lies before them, and neither consi- der nor care whether it be new or old, so-it be true: For he that doth this, is much more likely to be led into the truth than a greater scholar, full of his own notions which he has learned in the schools, who brings his own opinions always to direct and determine his owninterpretation of scripture whensoever be reads it ; and thus he interprets every text, not so much accordingto the plain, obvious, and easy sense of it, and in correspondence with the context, as he does in correspondence with bis own opinions and his learnedschemes. 5. That they would suffer themselves to yield to truth wheresoever they find it, and imagine that the loss of an old opinion by the force and evidence of truth is avictorygained over error, and a honourableadvancement in their own knowledge in thelhings of God. 6. That theywould apply themselves with sincere diligence to consider the evidence ofscripture for any of the opinions that I have proposed or main- tained, rather than labour to invent objections as fast as ever they canagainst it, as though they knew it was false before-hand ; for if we read a treatise which contains ever so much truth, with a previous aversion to the doctrines of it, and a resolution before hand toobject against it all the way, we hinder ourselves from attending to the force of reason, and prevent our minds from taking in the evidence on which any doetiine is founded. f grant it is neces- sary that all just objections should have their dee weight, and they ought to be well considered in our enquiries after Guth ; yet when any doctrine bas
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=