about the satisfaction of our own consciences, than the answering of others' objections. Only, we must satisfy our consciences upon such principles as will stand against all men's objections. This, then,

is chiefly inquired after; what it is that gives such an assurance of the Scriptures being the word of God, as that we have a sure foundation for our receiving them as such; and from whence it is, that those who receive them not, are left inexcusable in their damnable unbelief. This we say, is in and from the Scripture itself; so that there is no other need of any farther witness or testimony, nor is any to be admitted.

I shall content myself with instancing in some few testimonies and arguments, beginning with the first sort, Isaiah viii. 20. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, there is no light in them." Whatever any one says, be it church or person, if it be about the things of God, his will, or worship, or our obedience to him, it is to be tried by the law and testimony. Hither we are sent; this is asserted to be the rule and standard, the touchstone of all speakings whatever. Now, that must speak alone for itself, which must try all but itself, yea, itself also.

But what doth this law and testimony; that is, this written word plead, on account of which it should be thus attended to? What doth it urge for its acceptation? Tradition, authority of the church, miracles, consent of men? or, doth it speak by its own absolute authority, and stand only upon its own sovereignty? The Apostle gives us his answer to this inquiry, 2 Tim. iii. 16. "All Scrip

ture is given by inspiration." Its plea for reception, in comparison with, and opposition to, all other ways of coming to the knowledge of God, his mind and will, founded on which it calls for submission with supreme uncontrollable authority, is its "divine inspiration." It remains then only to be inquired, whether, when divine inspiration is "pleaded," there be any middle way, but either that it be received with divine faith, or rejected as false.

Suppose a man were "divinely inspired," and should so profess himself in the name of the Lord, as did the prophets of old, Amos vii. it will not be denied, but that his message were to be received and submitted to on that account. The denial of it would justify those who " rejected and slew those that spake to them in the name of the Lord." And, it is to say in plain terms, we may reject those whom God sends. Though miracles were given only with respect to persons, not things; yet most of the prophets who wrought no miracles, insisted on this, that being "divinely inspired," their doctrine was to be received, as from God. In their so doing, it was sin, even unbelief, and rebellion, against God, not to submit to what they spake in his name. And it always so fell out, to fix our faith on the right foundation, that scarcely any prophet that spake in the name of God, had any approbation from the church, in whose days he spake, Matt. v. 12. xxiii. 29. Luke xix. 47, 48. Acts vii. 52. Matt. xxi. 33, 38. It is true there were "false prophets," that spake in the name of the Lord, when he sent them not, Jer. xxiii. 21, 22. Yet were those whom he did send, to be received on pain of damnation; and

on the same penalty were the others to be refused, Jer. xxiii. 28, 29. The foundation of this duty lies in the divine power that accompanied the word that was of divine inspiration. And, without a supposal hereof, it could not consist with the goodness and righteousness of God, to require men, under the penalty of his eternal displeasure, to make such a discrimination, when he had not given them infallible tokens to enable them so to do.

But that he hath done so, he declares, Jer. xxiii. "How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? that are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully: What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. Is not my word like a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the mountains in pieces?" In the latter days of that church, when the people were most eminently perplexed with false prophets, both as to their number and subtlety, yet God lays their eternal and temporal safety, or ruin, on their discerning aright between his word and that which was only pretended so to be. And that they might not complain of this, he tenders them security of its easiness of performance. Speaking of his own word comparatively, as to every thing that is not so, he says, it is as wheat to chaff, which may infallibly be discerned from it; and then absolutely, that it hath such properties, as will discover itself, even light,

heat, and power. A person, then, who was divinely inspired, was to be attended to because he was so.

The Scriptures, then, being, as was said before, divinely inspired, is not the case the same, as with a man that was so? Is there any thing in the writing of it by God's command, that should impair its authority? Nay, is it not freed from innumerable prejudices that attended it, in its first giving out by men; arising from the personal infirmities, and supposed interests of them that delivered it? Jer. xliii. 3. John ix. 29. Acts xxiv. 5.

This being pleaded, and insisted on, its testimony is received, or it is not. If it be received on this account, there is in it, we say, the proper foundation of faith, whereon it hath its subsistence. If it be rejected, it must be not only with a refusal of its witness, but also with a high detestation of its pretence to be from God. What ground for such a refusal and detestation any one can have, shall be afterward considered. If it be a sin to refuse it, it had been a duty to receive it: if a duty to receive it as the word of God, then was it sufficiently manifested so to be. Of the objection arising from those who pretend to this inspiration falsely, we have spoken before; and we are, as yet, dealing with those that own the book to be the word of God, and only call in question the grounds on which they, or others, ought so to do. As to these, it may suffice that, in the strength of all the authority and truth they profess to acknowledge in it, it declares the foundation of its acceptance to be no other, but its own divine inspiration; hence it is "a saying worthy of all acceptation."

Again, in that dispute between Abraham and the rich man, Luke xvi. 31. about the best and most effectual means of bringing men to repentance; the rich man in hell, speaking his own conception, fixes upon miracles-if one rise from the dead, and preach, the work will be done: Abraham is otherwise minded; that is, Christ, the Author of that parable, was so: he bids them attend to Moses and the prophets, the written word, as that on which all faith and repentance was immediately to be grounded. The inquiry being, how men might be best assured that any message is from God, if the word did not manifest itself to be from him, this direction had not been just.

The ground of the request for the rising of one from the dead, is laid in the common apprehension of men, not knowing the power of God in the Scriptures; who think, that if an evident miracle were wrought, all pretences of unbelief would be excluded? Our Saviour discovers that mistake, and lets men know, that those who will not own, or submit to, the authority of God in the word, would not be moved by the most signal miracles. If a holy man, whom we had known assuredly to have been dead for some years, should rise out of his grave, and come unto us with a message from God, could any man doubt, whether he were sent unto us of God or no? I suppose not. Yet the evidence of the mission of such a one, and the authority of God speaking in him, our Saviour being judge, is not of greater efficacy to enforce belief, than the written word, nor a surer foundation for faith to repose itself upon.