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which it hath in itself, manifestly declaring itself so to be. It is all one, by what means, by what hand, whether of a child or a church, by accident or traditions, by common consent of men or peculiar providence, the Scripture comes unto us; come how it will, it hath its authority in itself, and towards us, by being the word of God; and hath its power of manifesting itself so to be, from its own innate light.

Now this light in the Scripture, for which we contend, is nothing but the beaming of the majesty, truth, holiness, and authority of God, given unto it, and left upon it, by its author the Holy Ghost; an impress it hath, of God's excellency upon it, distinguishing it by infallible Tεkungia, from the product of any creature; by this it dives into the consciences of men, into all the secret recesses of their hearts; guides, teaches, directs, determines, and judges in them, upon them, in the name, majesty, and authority of God. If men who are blinded by the god of this world, will yet deny this light, because they perceive it not, it shall not prejudice them who do. By this self-evidencing light, I say, doth the Scripture make such a proposition of itself, as the word of God, that whoever rejects it, doth it at the peril of his eternal ruin; and thereby a bottom and foundation is tendered for that faith which it requireth, to repose itself upon.

For the proof then of the divine authority of the Scriptures, unto him, or them, who as yet on no account whatever do acknowledge it, I shall only suppose, that by the providence of God, the book itself be so brought unto him or them, as that he, or they, be engaged to the consideration of it; or do attend to the reading of it. This is the work of God's providence in the government of the world; upon a supposal hereof, I leave the word with them; and if it evidence not itself unto their consciences, it is because they are blinded by the god of this world; which will be no plea for the refusal of it, at the last day; and they who receive it not on this ground, will never receive it on any, as they ought.

The second sort of things that evidence themselves, are things of an effectual powerful operation in any kind. So doth fire by heat, the wind by its noise and force, salt by its taste and savour, the sun by its light and heat; so do also moral principles that are effectually operative; Rom. ii. 14, 15. Men in whom they are, evdeíкvvvтaι Tò ρyov, do

there is no other principle or means of its discovery, no other rule or measure of judging and determining any thing about or concerning it, but only the writing from whence it is taken: it being wholly of divine revelation, and that revelation being expressed only in that writing. Upon any corruption then supposed therein, there is no means of rectifying it. It were an easy thing to correct a mistake, or corruption, in the transcription of any problem, or demonstration of Euclid, or any other ancient mathematician, from the consideration of the things themselves about which they treat, being always the same, and in their own nature equally exposed to the knowledge and understanding of men, in all ages. In things of pure revelation, whose knowledge depends solely on their revelation, it is not so. Nor is it enough to satisfy us, that the doctrines mentioned are preserved entire; every tittle and iwra in the word of God, must come under our care and consideration, as being as such from God; but of these things we shall treat afterward at large; return we now to the apostle.

This προφητεία γραφος, this written prophecy, this λόγος προφετικός, saith he, ἴδιας ἐπιλύσεως οὺ γίνεται ; “is not of any private interpretation.' Some think that iλúσɛwc is put for indúoews or inλvoías, which, according to Hesychius, denotes afflation, inspiration, conception within; so Calvin. In this sense the importance of the words is the same with what I have already mentioned; namely, that the prophets had not their private conceptions, or self-fancied enthusiasms, of the things they spake. To this interpretation assents Grotius. And ἐπηλύσεως, for ἐπιλύσεως, is reckoned amongst the various lections that are gathered out of him, in the appendix to the Biblia Polyglotta. Thus idíaç ¿πiλúσews où viveraι, is the other side of that usual expression, ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ ̓ ἐμὲ ὁ λογὸς, οι τὸ πνεῦμα. Camero contends for the retaining of πiλúσews; and justly. We begin a little too late to see, whither men's bold conjectures, in correcting the original text of the Scriptures, are like to proceed. Here is no colour for a various lection; one copy, it seems by Stephen, read Staλvoews; without ground, by an evident error; and such mistakes are not to be allowed the name or place of various readings. But yet, says Camero, iníλvous is such a' resolution' and interpretation as is made by revelation.

He adds, that in that sense riλvav is used by the LXX, in the business of Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dream, Gen. xl. which was by revelation. But indeed the word is not used in that chapter. However, he falls in with this sense (as do Calvin and Grotius), that idiac πiλúσewe, is not to be referred to our interpretation of the prophets, but to the way and manner of their receiving the counsel and will of God.

And indeed, ἰδίας ἐπιλύσεως οὐ γίνεται, taking ἐπίλυσις for an interpretation of the word of prophecy given out by writing, as our translation bears it, is an expression that can scarcely have any tolerable sense affixed unto it; yíverai, or οὐ γίνεται, relates here to προφητεία γραφῆς; and denotes the first giving out of its word, not our after consideration of its sense and meaning. And without this sense, it stands in no coherence with, nor opposition to, the following sentence, which by its casual connexion to this, manifests that it renders a reason of what is herein affirmed, in the first place; and in the latter, turning with the adversative aλà, an opposition unto it: οὐ γὰρ θελήματι ἀνθρώπου ἠνέχθη ποτὲ προφη τεία, ἀλλ ̓ ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἁγίου φερόμενοι ἐλάλησαν ἃγιοί Θεοῦ avρwπо for prophecy came not at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.' What reason is in the first part of this verse, why the Scripture is not of our private interpretation? or what opposition in the latter to that assertion? Nay on that 'supposal, there is no tolerable correspondency of discourse in the whole TepLoxn. But take the word to express the coming of the prophecy to the prophets themselves, and the sense is full and clear.

This then is the intention of the apostle; the prophecy which we have written, the Scripture, was not an issue of men's fancied enthusiasms; not a product of their own minds and conceptions, not an interpretation of the will of God, by the understanding of man, that is, of the prophets themselves; neither their rational apprehensions, inquiries, conceptions of fancy, or imaginations of their hearts, had any place in this business; no self-afflation, no rational meditation, managed at liberty by the understanding and wills of men, had place herein.

Of this, saith the apostle, τοῦτο πρῶτον, γινώσκοντες"

knowing, judging, and determining this in the first place. This is a principle to be owned and acknowledged by every one that will believe any thing else. Twokw is not only to know, to perceive, to understand; but also to judge, own, and acknowledge. This then, in our religion, is to be owned, acknowledged, submitted unto, as a principle, without farther dispute. To discover the grounds of this submission and acknowledgment, is the business of the ensuing dis

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That this is so indeed, as before asserted, and to give a reason why this is to be received as a principle, he adds, ver. 21. οὐ γὰρ θελήματι ἀνθρώπου ἠνέχθη ποτὲ προφητεία. That word of prophecy which we have written, is not idías ¿πλúσεç, ́ of private conception,'' for it came not at any time by the will of man.' vexen, which is the passive conjugation of pépw from ivéykw, denotes at least to be 'brought in ;' more than merely it came;' it was brought into them by the will of God. The affirmative, as to the will of God, is included in the negative, as to the will of man. Or it came as the voice from heaven to our Saviour on the mount; ver. 18. where the same word is used. So Ezek. i. 3. 7 'n min ́essedo fuit verbum;' it was brought into him, as was shewed before. Thus God brought the word to them, and spake in them, in order of nature, before he spake by them. As ǹvéxen, it was brought to them, it was the voice of the Lord,' Gen. iii. 8. or pn as the Jews call it; as spoken by them, or written, it was properly verbum Dei,' 'the word of God;' which by his immediate voice he signified to the prophets. Thus some of them in visions, first eat a written book, and then prophesied, as was instanced before. And this is the first spring of the Scripture; the beginning of its emanation from the counsel and will of God. By the power of the Holy Ghost, it was brought into the organs or instruments, that he was pleased to use, for the revelation, and declaration of it unto others.

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That which remains for the completing of this dispensation of the word of God unto us, is added by the apostle; ὑπὸ πνεύματος ἁγίου φερόμενοι ἐλάλησαν ἅγιοι Θεοῦ ἂνθρωποι. When the word was thus brought to them, it was not left to their understandings, wisdoms, minds, memories, to order, dispose, and give it out; but they were borne, acted, carried

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out by the Holy Ghost, to speak, deliver, and write, all that,
and nothing but that, to every tittle, that was so brought to
them. They invented not words themselves, suited to the
things they had learned; but only expressed the words, that
they received. Though their mind and understanding were
used in the choice of words, whence arises all the difference,
that is, in the manner of expression (for they did use

Dn' words of will,' or choice), yet they were so guided, that
their words were not their own, but immediately supplied
unto them; and so they gave out and the 'writing of
uprightness,' and
'words of truth' itself. Eccles.
xii. 10. Not only the doctrine they taught, was the word of
truth, truth itself, John xvii. 17. but the words whereby
they taught it, were words of truth from God himself. Thus
allowing the contribution of passive instruments for the re-
ception and representation of words, which answers the mind
and tongue of the prophets, in the coming of the voice of
God to them, every apex of the written word is equally di-
vine, and as immediately from God, as the voice wherewith,
or whereby, he spake to, or in, the prophets; and is there-
fore accompanied with the same authority, in itself and

unto us.

What hath been thus spoken of the Scripture of the Old Testament, must be also affirmed of the New; with this addition of advantage and pre-eminence, that apxǹv kλaßev λadéïodai dià Tou Kuρíov, Heb. ii. 3. 'it received its beginning of being spoken by the Lord himself;' God spake in these last days, v т vių, 'in the Son;' Heb. i. 1.

Thus God, who himself began the writing of the word with his own finger, Exod. xxxi. 11. after he had spoken it, Exod. xx. appointing or approving the writing of the rest that followed; Deut. xxxi. 12. Josh. xxiii. 6. 1 Kings ii. 3. 2 Kings xiv. 6. xvii. 13. 1 Chron. xxi. 15. 2 Chron. xxv. 4. Ezek. ii. 9, 10. Hab. ii. 2. Luke xvi. 29. John v. 39. xx. 31. Acts xvii. 11. doth lastly command the close of the immediate revelation of his will, to be written in a book; Rev. i. 11. and so gives out the whole of his mind and counsel unto us in writing; as a merciful and stedfast relief, against all that confusion, darkness, and uncertainty, which the vanity, folly, and looseness, of the minds of men, drawn out and heightened by the unspeak

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