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the third day, by no other precedent topic, and that upon these things Christian religion relied, as upon its entire foun dation, and on the other side the Jewish doctors had brought in many things by tradition, to which our blessed Saviour gave no countenance, but reproved many of them, and made it plain that tradition was not the first and self-evident principle to rely upon in religion, but a way by which they had corrupted the commandment of God: it will follow from hence, that the Scriptures are the way that Christ and his apostles walked in, and that oral tradition was not. But then to this add what more concerns the New Testament, when St. Luke wrote his Gospel; in his preface he tells us; that many had taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things, which are most surely believed amongst us Christians, and that he having perfect understanding of all things, (viz. which Christ did and taught) from the very first did write this Gospel, that Theophilus might know the certainty of those things in which he had been instructed:" Now here, if we believe St. Luke, was no want of any thing; he was fully instructed in all things; and he chose to write that book, that by that book Theophilus might know the truth, yea, the certainty of all things. Now if we be Christians, and believe St. Luke to be divinely inspired, this is not indeed a first but an evident principle; that a book of Scripture can make a man certain and instructed in the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. To the same purpose is that of St. John, "These things are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, ye might have life through his name.' The end is salvation by Jesus Christ; the means of effecting this, was this writing the Gospel by St. John; and therefore it is a sure principle for Christians to rely upon, the word of God written by men divinely inspired, such as Christians believe and confess St. Luke and St. John to be. Hear St. Luke again': "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day he was taken up."-No man then can deny but all Christ's doctrine and life was fully set down by these evangelists and apostles; whether it were to any purpose, or no,

let J. S. consider, and I shall consider with him in the sequel. But first, let us hear what St. Paul saith in an epistle written, as it is probable, not long before his death; but certainly after three of the Gospels, and divers of the epistles were written, and consequently related to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. "Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them: and that, from a child, thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Now I demand; does J. S. believe these words to be true? Are the Scriptures able to make us wise unto salvation? Are they profitable to all intents and purposes of the spirit, that is, to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct? Is the end of all this economy, to make a Christian man, yea, a Christian bishop perfect? Can he by this dispensation be thoroughly furnished unto all good works, and that by faith in Jesus Christ?' If so, then this is the true principle, the apostolical way, the way of God, the way of salvation: and if Scriptures, the books written by the finger of God and the pen of apostles, can do all this, then they are something more than 'ink varied into divers figures, unsensed characters,' and I know not what other reviling epithets J, S, is pleased to cast upon them.

"Yea, but all this is nothing, unless we know that Scriptures are the word of God, that they were written by the apostles; and of this the Scriptures cannot be a witness in their own behalf: and therefore oral tradition must supply that, and consequently is the only first and self-evident principle;"To this I answer; that it matters not, by what means it be conveyed to us that the Scriptures are the word of God. Oral tradition is an excellent means; but it is not that alone, by which it is conveyed. For if, by oral tradition, he means the testimony of the catholic church; it is the best external ministry of conveyance of this, being a matter

f 2 Tim. v. 14.

of fact, and of so great concernment. To which the testimony of our adversaries, Jews and heathens, adds no small moment; and the tradition is also conveyed to us by very many writings. But when it is thus conveyed, and that the church does believe them to be the word of God, then it is that I inquire, whether the Scripture cannot be a witness to us of its own design, fulness, and perfection. Certainly no principle is more evident than this, none more sure and none before it; Whatever God hath said is true, and in Scripture God did speak, and speak this; and therefore this to us is a first, at least, an evident principle.

Yea, but if this proposition, that the Scriptures are the word of God,' is conveyed to us by oral tradition, this must needs be the best and only principle; for if it be trusted for the whole, why not for every particular. This argument concludes thus: This is the gate of the house, therefore this is all the house. Every man enters this way; and therefore this is the hall and the cellar, the pantry and diningroom, the bed-chambers and the cocklofts. But besides the ridiculousness of the argument, there is a particular reason why the argument cannot conclude: the reason in brief is this, because it is much easier for any man to carry a letter; than to tell the particular errand; it is easier to tell one thing, than to tell ten thousand; to deliver one thing out of our hand, than a multitude out of our mouths; one matter of fact, than very many propositions; as it is easier to convey in writing all Tully's works, than to say by heart, with truth and exactness, any one of his orations. That the Bible was written by inspired men, God setting his seal to their doctrine, confirming by miracles what they first preached, and then wrote in a book, this is a matter of fact, and is no otherwise to be proved (unless God should proceed extraordinarily and by miracle) but by the testimony of wise men, who saw it with their eyes, and heard it with their ears, and felt it with their hands. This was done at first, then only consigned, then witnessed, and thence delivered. And with how great success, and with the blessing of how mighty a providence, appears it in this; because although as St. Luke tells us, many did undertake to write Gospels, or the declaration of the things so surely believed amongst Christians; and we find in St. Clement of Alexandria, Origen,

St. Irenæus, Athanasius, Chrysostom, and St. Jerome mention made of many Gospels, as that of the Hebrews, the Egyptians, Nazarenes, Ebionites, the Gospel of James, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, and divers more, yet but four only were transmitted and consigned to the church; because these four only were written by these whose names they bear; and these men had the testimony of God, and a spirit of truth, and the promise of Christ, that the spirit should bring all things to their minds, and he did so: now of this we could have no other testimony but of those who were present, who stopped the first issue of the false Gospels, and the sound of the other four went forth into all the world, according to that of Origen; "Ecclesia cum quatuor tantum Evangelii libros habet, per universum mundum Evangeliis redundat; hæresies cum multa habeant, unum non habent." Those which heretics made are all lost, or slighted; those which the Spirit of God did write by the hands of men divinely inspired, these abide, and shall abide for ever. Now then this matter of fact how should we know, but by being told it by credible persons who could know, and never gave cause of suspicion that they should deceive us. Now if J. S. will be pleased to call this oral tradition, he may; but that which was delivered by this oral tradition, was not only preached at first, but transmitted to us by many writings, besides the Scriptures, both of friends and enemies. But suppose it were not; yet this book of Scriptures might be consigned by oral tradition from the apostles and apostolic men, and yet tradition become of little or no use after this consignation and delivery. For this was all the work which of necessity was to be done by it; and indeed this was all that it could do well.

1. This was all which was necessary to be done by oral tradition; because the wisdom of the Divine Spirit having resolved to write all the doctrine of salvation in a book, and having done it well and sufficiently in order to his own gracious purposes (for who dares so much as suspect the contrary?), there was no need that oral tradition should be kept up with the jointure of infallibility, since the first infallibility of the apostles was so sufficiently witnessed, that it convinced the whole world of Christiaus; and therefore was enough to consign the Divinity and perfection of this book for ever.

For it was in this as in the doctrine itself contained in the Scriptures; God "confirmed it by signs following;" that is, by signs proving that the apostles spake the mind of God; the things which they spake, were proved and believed for ever; but then the signs went away, and left a permanent and eternal event. So it is in the infallible tradition delivered by the apostles and apostolic age, concerning the Scriptures being the word of God; what they said was confirmed by all that testimony, by which they obtained belief in the church, to their persons and doctrines; but when they had once delivered this, there needed no remaining miracle, and entail of infallibility in the church, to go on in the delivery of this; for by that time that all the apostles were dead, and the infallible spirit was departed, the Scriptures of the Gospels were believed in all the world, and then it was not ordinarily possible ever any more to detract faith from that book; and then for the transmitting this book to after-ages, the Divine providence needed no other course, but the ordinary ways of man, that is, right reason, common faithfulness, the interest of souls, believing a good thing, which there was and could be no cause to disbelieve; and an universal consent of all men, that were any ways concerned for it, or against it; and this not only preached upon the house-tops, but set down also in very many writings. This actually was the way of transmitting this book, and the authority of it, to after-ages respectively.

These things are, of themselves, evident; yet because J. S. still demands we should set down some first and selfevident principle, on which to found the whole procedure, I shall once more satisfy him; and this is a first and selfevident principle, 'whatsoever can be spoken, can be written;' and if it be plain spoken, it may be as plain written. I hope I need not go about to demonstrate this; for it is of itself evident, that God can write all that he is pleased to speak; and all good scribes can set down in writing whatsoever another tells them; and in his very words too, if he please, he can as well transcribe a word spoken, as a word written. And upon this principle it is that the protestants believe, that the words of Scripture can be as easily understood, after they are written in a book,-as when they were spoken in the churches of the first Christians; and the apos