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fon, that the faid extraordinary Works are fuch Affurances, or that That is their Intent and Defign. For the Poffibility of God's afJuring us of the Truth of a Doctrine by extraordinary Works is no Proof, that That is, or must be his Method, in Fact, of affuring us of the Truth of any Doctrine, and of communicating his Will to us. That is the Thing to be proved by Reason, and not fuppofed; for, if we do not know by Reafon, that extraordinary Works are Proofs of a Doctrine coming from God; we cannot know by Reason that extraordinary Works must be God's Method of affuring us of the Truth of a Doctrine. Nothing therefore follows, from the Allowance of this Poffibility, to his Purpofe; and yet I cannot find that he offers at any farther Proof of his Point, unless what he adds is intended for a Proof, that if God's doing extraordinary Works is not proper to answer this End, he does not fee any Thing that can be thought to be fo; which seems a ftrange Proof; for, what if nothing else can be thought of by him or any one else, proper to anfwer this End, does it therefore follow, that That is God's Method of revealing his Will? And tho' he cannot fee that any other Method can be thought of, whereby God can give Proof of revealing his Will, yet I think others may fee one. And indeed all the religious Sects of the World contend, that God not only may have, but has had, a conftant Communication with Mankind, by what they call internal Revelation, Experi

ences,

ences, and Infpiration; which is inward Conviction of Mind, and ftronger than any traditional Evidence for Miracles can be, or any Evidence of our Senfes for Miracles, which yet, if proved to be done, we can neither know to be Works of God, nor Proofs of a Doctrine coming from him. And it is furprizing to me, that the reverend Mr. GREEN, who must openly pretend he has had a Call from the Holy Ghoft to the Ministry; who, one would think, fhould be perfwaded, that the holy Spirit is the greatest Witness to the Truth of the Chriftian Religion; and who is of a Sect that deals in Experiences, and talks much of the Witness, or Teftimony, and Operations of the Spirit, fhould be fo little affected with the faid Doctrine himself, as to imply, that fuch Things are not fo much as thought of by him, when he is talking to you of the Methods, that God may take of affuring us of the Truth of a Doctrine; for I dare fay he speaks (whatever he thinks) of it, in his Pulpit, and upon other Occafions. But whatever his real Senfe may be of InSpiration, or of the Witness, Teftimony, and Operation of the Spirit, and of Experiences, I conceive that they may be much better Proofs of God's affuring us of the Truth of a Doctrine, than extraordinary Works; which, when confider'd as they ftand in Fact, were done in an obfcure Corner, (where there were numerous (x) Pretenders to perform fuch ex

(x) Bishop of Litchfield's &c. Defence of Chrift. p. 431.

traordinary

traordinary Works,) the Report, and Evidence whereof, reach'd but a little Way; which do not render the Perfons, who do them, infallible; for (y) JUDAS, and perhaps fome, who had fometimes wrought Miracles by Chrift's Commiffion, did afterwards renounce him, and apoftatize from the Faith; and their having been used by God as his Inftruments and Messengers did not authorize them for ever after to be accounted fuch, nor was to give them Credit in all they faid, or did s which have been reported and testify'd to be done in Behalf of all Religions; for as Dr. JENKIN obferves, (z) there never was any of the falfe Religions, but it was pretended to have been confirmed by fomething miraculous; which can be done by Beings inferior to God, and even by evil Beings, or Workers of Iniquity (who can do fuch wonderful Works, as would deceive, if poffible, the very Elect; That is, all but thofe, who by being elected must neceffarily perfevere in Grace to the End, and cannot poffibly fall from Grace, or be deceived into an erroneous Belief,) nay, by SATAN, or the Devil, who can transform himself into an Angel of Light; and which are Proofs. only of the Power, but not of the Veracity of their Author. In Juftification of my affigning Inspiration, as a Way that God, if he pleafes, may take to give Proof of the Truth of a Doctrine's coming from him, give

(y) Fleetwood's Effay on Miracles, 111. (x) Jenkin's ReaJonabl. of Chrift, Vol. 1. p. 28.

me

me leave to produce fome Authorities in Behalf of my Opinion; all which will be found, either to affert the Method of Inspiration to be a better Method for God to reveal his Will, than the Method by Miracles, or extraordinary Works, or to confound the Method by Miracles, or to affert the Excellency and Reality of Infpiration, as a Method taken by God to reveal his Will.

I find the following Claufes, (both in the Articles of the Chriftian Religion, approved and pass'd by both Houses of Parliament, after Advice had with the Assembly of Divines by Authority of Parliament fitting at Westminster, printed 1648; and in the Declaration of the Faith and Order own'd and practifed in the congregational Churches in England, agreed upon and confented unto by the Elders and Meffengers in their Meeting at the Savoy, Oct. 12. 1658.)

*

"The Authority of the holy Scripture, for "which it ought to be believed and obey'd, dependeth not upon the Teftimony of any "Man or Church, but wholly upon God રં (who is Truth itself) the Author thereof; "and therefore it is to be received, because "it is the Word of God."

"We may be moved and induced, by the "Teftimony of the Church, to an high and "reverend Éfteem of the holy Scripture. And "the Heavenlinefs of the Matter, the Efficacy "of the Doctrine, the Majefty of the Style, the Confent of all the Parts, the Scope of the whole, (which is, to give all Glory to

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"God,)

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"God,) the full Discovery it makes of the only Way of Man's Salvation, the many "other incomparable Excellencies, and the "entire Perfection thereof, are Arguments, "whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself "to be the Word of God; yet notwithstand

ing, our full Perfwafion and Affurance of "the infallible Truth and divine Authority "thereof is from the Work of the holy Spirit, bearing Witness by and with the Word "in our Hearts."

The learned and acute Mr. BAXTER fays, (a) he is much more apprehenfive, than heretofore, of the Neceffity of well grounding Men in their Religion, and especially of the Witness of the indwelling Spirit; for he more SENSIBLY PERCEIVES, that the SPIRIT is the great WITNESS of CHRIST and Christianity to the World.

The renown'd Dr. OWEN, a great Divine of the independent Sect, thus treats the Argument for the Truth of Christianity, from Miracles, in his Confiderations upon the Biblia Polyglotta, as I find him reprefented by Dr. WALTON, the Editor of the Biblia Polyglotta, in the Defence of that Work, against the said Confiderations. Dr. WALTON (b) fays, “He (That is, Dr. OWEN) rejects that main Argument to prove the Scriptures to be from God, p. 103, 104, viz. the Miracles wrought by MoSES and CHRIST, the

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(a) Reliqui Baxterianæ, p. 127. fiaerator coufider'd, p. 22.

(b) Walton's Con

"Prophets

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