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First, The works of God, as to what is his will to teach and reveal of himself by them, have that expression of God upon them, that stamp and character of his eternal power and Godhead, that evidence with them that they are his, that wherever they are seen and considered, they undenia bly evince that they are so, and that what they teach concerning him, they do it in his name and authority. There is no need of traditions, no need of miracles, no need of the authority of any churches to convince a rational creature, that the works of God are his, and his only; and that he is eternal and infinite in power that made them. They carry about with them their own authority. By being what they are, they declare whose they are. To reveal God by his works, there is need of nothing, but that they be by themselves represented, or objected to the consideration of rational creatures."

The voice of God in nature is in like manner effectual. It declares itself to be from God by its own light and authority. There is no need to convince a man by substantial witnesses, that what his conscience speaks, it speaks from God. Whether it bear testimony to the being, righteousness, power, omniscience, or holiness of God himself; or whether it call for that moral obedience which is eternally and indispensably due to him, and so shews forth the work of the law in the heart,' it so speaks and declares itself, that without farther evidence or reasoning, without the advantage of any considerations, but what are by itself sup plied, it discovers its author, from whom it is, and in whose name it speaks. Those κοινὰι ἔννοιαι, καὶ προλήψεις, those common notions and general presumptions of him and his authority, that are inlayed in the natures of rational creatures by the hand of God, to this end, that they might make a revelation of him as to the purposes mentioned, are able to plead their own divine original, without the least contribution of strength or assistance from without.

And thus is it with those things; now the psalmist says unto God, 'Thou hast magnified' în¬px qbw Sɔby over all thy name the word' thou hast spoken. The name of God is all that whereby he makes himself known. Over all this God magnifies his word. It lies all in a subserviency thereunto. The name of God is not here God himself; but

every thing whereby God makes himself known. Now it were very strange that those low, dark, and obscure principles and means of the revelation of God and his will, which we have mentioned, should be able to evince themselves to be from him, without any external help, assistance, testimony, or authority, and that which is by God himself magnified above them, which is far more noble and excellent in itself, and in respect of its end and order, hath far more divinely conspicuous and glorious impressions and characters of his goodness, holiness, power, grace, truth, than all the creation, should lie dead, obscure, and have nothing in itself to reveal its author, until this or that superadded testimony be called in to its assistance. We esteem them to have done no service unto the truth, who amongst innumerable other bold denials, have insisted on this also; that there is no natural knowledge of God arising from the innate principles of reason, and the works of God proposing themselves to the consideration thereof; let now the way to the progress of supernatural revelation be obstructed, by denying that it is able to evince itself to be from God, and we shall quickly see what banks are cut to let in a flood of atheism upon the face of the earth.

Let us consider the issue of this general induction. As God in the creation of the world, and all things therein contained, hath so made and framed them, hath left such characters of his eternal power and wisdom in them and upon them, filled with such evidences of their author, suited to the apprehensions of rational creatures that without any other testimony from himself, or any else, under the naked consideration and contemplation of what they are, they so far declare their Creator, that they are left wholly inexcusable, who will not learn, and know him from thence; so in the giving out of his word to be the foundation of that world, which he hath set up in this world, as DINA JINA (DINT 'a wheel within a wheel,' his church; he hath by his Spirit implanted in it, and impressed on it, such characters of his goodness, power, wisdom, holiness, love to mankind, truth, faithfulness, with all the rest of his glorious excellencies and perfections, that at all times, and in all places, when y the expansion of it, is stretched over men by his vidence, without any other witness or testimony given unto

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it, it declares itself to be his, and makes good its authority from him, so that the refusal of it upon its own evidence brings unavoidable condemnation on the souls of men. This comparison is insisted on by the psalmist; Psal. xix. where as he ascribeth p and p a 'voice,' and ‘line' to the creatures, so &c. Light, power, stability, and permanency, like that of the heavens and sun, in commutation of perties to the word, and in an inexpressible exaltation of it above them; the light of one day of this sun being unspeakably more than that of seven others, as to the manifestation of the glory of God.

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This then is fixed as a principle of truth, Whatever God hath appointed to reveal himself by, as to any special or general end, that those whom he intends to discover him. self unto, may either be effectually instructed in his mind and will, according to the measure, degree, and means, of the revelation afforded, or be left inexcusable for not receiving the testimony that he gives of himself, by any plea or pretence of want of clear, evident, manifest revelation; that whatever it be hath such an impression of his authority upon it, as undeniably to evince that it is from him. And this now concerning his word, comes farther to be confirmed by testimonies and arguments.

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CHAP. III.

Arguments of two sorts. Inartificial arguments, by way of testimony, tỏ the truth. To whom these arguments are valid ; Isa. viii. 20. 2 Tim. iii. 16. of Geoπvevoría. The rò Ociov that accompanies the voice of God; Jer. iii. 26-29. The rejection of a plea of deoπvevorías, wherein it consists ; Luke xvi. 31. Of miracles, their efficacy to beget faith, compared with the word; 2 Pet. i. 16. 19, 20.

HAVING declared the divine original and authority of the Scripture, and explained the position laid down as the foundation of our ensuing discourse, way is now made for us, to the consideration of those self-evidences of its divine rise, and consequently authority, that it is attended withal, upon the account whereof we receive it, as (believing it to be) the word of God.

The arguments whereby any thing is confirmed are of two sorts; inartificial, by the way of testimony; and artificial, by the way of deductions and inferences. Whatever is capable of contributing evidence unto truth, falls under one of these two heads. Both these kinds of proofs we make use of, in the business in hand. Some profess they own the authority of the Scriptures, and also urge others so to do; but they well dispute on what grounds and accounts they do so. With those we may deal in the first way, by testimony from the Scriptures themselves, which upon their own principles they cannot refuse. When they shall be pleased to inform us, that they have relinquished those principles, and do no longer own the Scripture to be the word of God, we will withdraw the witnesses upon their exceptions whom for the present we make use of. Testimonies that are innate and ingrafted in the word itself, used only as mediums of artificial arguments to be deduced from them, which are of the second sort, may be used towards them who at present own not the authority of the Scripture on any account whatever, or who are desirous to put on themselves the persons of such men, to try their skill and ability for the management of a controversy against the word of God.

In both these cases the testimony of the Scripture is pleaded, and is to be received; or cannot with any pretence

of reason be refused; in the former, upon the account of the acknowledged authority and veracity of the witness, though speaking in its own case; in the latter, upon the ac count of that self-evidence which the testimony insisted on is accompanied withal, made out by such reasonings and arguments as, for the kind of them, persons who own not its authority cannot but admit. In human things, if a man of known integrity and unspotted reputation bear witness in any cause, and give uncontrollable evidence to his testimo ny, from the very nature and order of the things whereof he speaks, as it is expected that those who know and admit of his integrity and reputation do acquiesce in his assertion, so those to whom he is a stranger, who are not moved by his authority, will yet be overcome to assent to what is wit nessed by him, from the nature of the things he asserts, es pecially if there be a coincidence of all such circumstances, as are any way needful to give evidence to the matter in hand.

Thus it is, in the case under consideration. For those who profess themselves to believe the Scriptures to be the word of God, and so own the credit and fidelity of the wil ness, it may reasonably be expected from them, yea in strict justice demanded of them, that they stand to the testimony, that they give to themselves, and their own divine original. By saying that the Scripture is the word of God, and then commanding us to prove it so to be, they render themselves obnoxious unto every testimony that we produce from it that so it is; and that it is to be received on its own testimony. This witness they cannot wave without disavowing their own professed principles; without which principles they have not the least colour of imposing this task on us.

As for them, with whom we have not the present advan tage of their own acknowledgment, it is not reasonable to impose upon them with the bare testimony of that witness concerning whom the question is, whether he be worthy th acceptation pleaded for; but yet arguments taken from the Scripture, from what it is and doth, its nature and operation, by which the causes and springs of all things are discovered.

are not to be refused.

But it is neither of these, that principally I intend to deal withal; my present discourse is rather about the satis

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