1 John iv. 1. "Believe not every spirit, but try the fpirits." And Rev. ii. 2. "Thou haft tried them that fay they are apostles," &c.

The prevention. Though herefies and errors must (for the reafons affigned) break forth into the world, and God will turn them eventually into his own glory, and the benefit of his church; yet it is a dreadful judgment to be delivered over to a fpirit of error, to be the authors and abettors of them. This is a judicial ftroke of God, and as ever we hope to escape, and ftand clear out of the way of it, let us carefully fhun these three following caufes and provocations thereof.

(1.) Want of love to the truth, which God hath made to fhine about us in the means, or into us, by actual illumination, under the means of knowledge. 2 Theff. ii. 10, IF. "Becaufe "they received not the love of the truth, God gave them up "to ftrong delufions." They are justly plagued with error," that flight truth. Falfe doctrines are fit plagues for falfe hearts.

(2.) Beware of pride and wantonnefs of mind. 'Fis not fo much the weaknefs as the wantonnefs of the mind, which provokes God to inflict this judgment. None likelier to make seducers than boafters, Jude 16. Arius gloried, that God had revealed fome things to him, which were. hidden from the apoftles themselves. Simon Magus boasted himself to be the mighty power of God. The erroneous Pharifees loved the praises of men. When the Papift reproached Luther that he affected to have his difciples called Lutherans, he replied, “He dif"dained that the children of Chrift fhould be called by fo vile a name as his."

(3.) Beware you neglect not prayer, to be kept found in your judgments, and guided by the Spirit into all truth, Pfal. cxix. 10. "With my whole heart have I fought thee: O let me not wander, or err, from thy commandments." This do, and you are fafe from fuch a judicial tradition.

The first caufe.. We fhall next speak of the caufes of error found in the evil difpofitions of the fubjects, which prepare and incline them to receive erroneous doctrines and opinions, and even catch at the occafions, and leaft fparkles of temptation, as dry tinder and amongst these is found.

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(1.) A perverse wrangling humour at the pretended obfcu ity of the Scriptures. The Romish party fnatch at this occafion, and make it the proper caufe, when, indeed, it is but a picked

*Luther faid, not fo, O fool, not fo, for I defire that my name be concealed.

occafion of the errors and mistakes among men. They tell us, the Scriptures are fo difficult, obfcure, and perplexed, that if private men will truft to them as their only guide, they will inevitably run into errors, and their only relief is to give up their fouls to the conduct of their church; whereas, indeed, the true caufe of error is not fo much in the obfcurity of the word, as in the corruption of the mind, 1 Tim. vi. 5. 2 Tim. iii. 3.

We do acknowledge there are in the Scriptures, Ta dunovτa, HAI TIVO DUTEρμEVEUTα, fome things hard to be understood, 2 Pet. iii. 16. the fublime and mysterious nature of the matter rendering it fo; and fome things hard to be interpreted, from the manner of expreffion; as indeed all myftical parts of Scripture, and prophetical predictions are, and ought to be delivered. The Spirit of God this way defignedly cafts a veil over them, till the -proper season of their revelation and accomplishment be come. Befides (as the learned Gloffius obferves) in Paul's style, there are found fome peculiar words, and forms of fpeech, which ordinary rules of grammar take no notice, nor give any parallel examples of: as, to be buried with Chrift; to be baptized into his death; to which I may add, to be circumcifed in him, &e. There are alfo multitudes of words found in Scripture, of various and vastly different fignifications: and accordingly there is a diverfity, and, fometimes, a contrariety of fenfes, given of them by expofitors; which, to an humourift, or quarrelfome wit, gives an occafion to vent his errors with a plausible appearance of Scripture-confent. And indeed Tertullian faith, "The Scriptures are fo difpofed that heretics may pick occa"fions; " and those that will not be fatisfied may be hardened. See Mark iv. II, 12.

But all this notwithstanding, the great and neceffary things to our falvation are fo perfpicuously and plainly revealed in the Scriptures, that even babes in Chrift do apprehend and underfland them, Matth. xi. 25. 1 Cor. i. 27, 28, 29. And though there be difficulties in other points more remote from the foundation; yet the Spirit of God is not to be accufed, but rather his wisdom to be admired herein. For (1.) this serves to excite our most intense study and diligence, which, by this difficulty, is made neceflary, Prov. ii. 3, 4, 5. The very prophets, yea, the very angels fearch into thefe things, 1 Pet. i. 11, 12.

Non periclitor dicere ipfas fcripturas ita difpofitas effe, ut materiam fubminiftarent hæreticis.

(2.) Hereby a standing miniftry in the church is made neceffary, Nehem. viii. 8. Eph iv 11, 12, 13. So that to pretend obfcurity of Scripture to be the culpable caufe of error (when, indeed, the fault is in ourselves) this is too much like our father Adam, who would implicitely accufe God, to excufe himself; he laid it upon the woman which God gave him, and we upon the Scrip. tures which God hath given us.

The Remedies.

The proper remedies and preventives in this cafe, are an heedful attendance to, and practice of these rules.

Rule I. Let all obfcure and difficult texts of Scripture be conftantly examined and expounded according to the analogy or proportion of faith, which is St. Paul's own rule, Rom. xii. 6. "Let "him that prophefieth (i. e. expoundeth the Scriptures in the church) do it according to the proportion of faith." The analogy or proportion of faith, is what is taught plainly and uniformly in the whole Scriptures of the Old and New Teftament, as the rule of our faith and obedience. Whilst we carefully and fincerely attend hereunto, we are fecured from finful corrupting the word of God. Admit of no fenfe which interferreth with this proportion of faith. If men have no regard to this, but take liberty to rend off a fingle text from the body of truth, to which it belongs, and put a peculiar interpretation upon it, which is abfonous and difcordant to other Scriptures, what woful work will they quickly make?

Give but a Papift liberty to take that fcripture, James ii. 24. out of the frame of fcripture," A man is juftified by works, and "and not by faith only;" and expound it without regard to the tenor of the gospel-doctrine of juftification in Paul's epistles to the Romans and Galatians, and a grofs error starts up immediately. Give but a Socinian the like liberty to practile upon, John xiv. 28. and a grofs herefy fhall presently look with an orthodox face.

Rule II. Never put a new fenfe upon words of fcripture, in favour of your pre-conceived notions and opinions, nor wrest it from its general and common ufe and fenfe. This is not to interpret, but to rack the fcriptures as that word rpcxwow fignifies, 2 Pet. iii. 16. as * Hieron against Ruff speaks. We are not to make the fcriptures fpeak what we think, but what the prophet or apoftle thought, whom we interpret. In 1 Cor. v. 11. 14. we meet with the word [haly] applied to the children

It is the part of an interpreter to explain what the author thought whom he interprets, and not what he himself thinks,

of believers: That word is above five-hundred-times ufed for a state of feparation to God; therefore to make it fignify, in that place, nothing but legitimacy, is a bold and daring practising upon the fcripture.

Rule III. Whenever you meet with an obfcure place of scripture, let the context of that fcripture be diligently and throughly fearched; for it is ufual with God to fet up fome light there, to guide us through the obscurity of a particular text. And there is much truth in the observation of the Rabbins *, "There " is no fcruple or objection in the law, but it hath a folution "at the fide of it."

Rule IV. Let one teftament freely caft its light upon the other; and let not men undervalue or reject an Old Teftament text, as no way useful to clear and establish a New Teftament point of faith or duty. Each Teftament reflects light upon the other. The Jews reject the New Teftament, and many among us finfully flight the Old: but without the help of both, we can never understand the mind of God in either. 'Tis a good rule in the Civil Law, "We muft infpect the whole law, to know "the fenfe of any particular law."

Rule V. Have a due regard to that fense given of obfcure places of fcripture, which hath not only the current fenfe of learned expofitors, but also naturally agrees withthe scope of the place. A careless neglect and difregard to this, is juftly blamed by the apostle, 1 Tim. i. 7.

Caufe 2. A fecond evil temper in the fubject, difpofing and inclining men to receive and fuck in erroneous doctrines and o. pinions, is the abuse of that juft and due Chriftian Liberty ‡ allowed by Chrift to all his people, to read, examine, and judge the fenfe of fcriptures with a private judgment of difcretion. This is a glorious acquifition, and bleffed fruit of reformation, to vindicate and recover that juft right, and gracious grant made to us by Chrift and the apoftles, out of the injurious hands of our Popish enemies, who had ufurped and invaded it. The exercife of this liberty, is, at once, a duty commanded by Chrift, and commended in fcripture. 'Tis commanded by Chrift, John v. 39. Search the fcriptures, faith Chrift to the

* Nulla eft objectio in lege, quae non habet folutionem in latere. Turpe eft de lege judicare, tota lege nondum infpecta.

The Anabaptifts controverfy fprung up in the laft age in many places in Europe from Montzero a Saxon with his followers in the year 1521. through occafion of a book wrote by Luther on Chriftian Liberty. Fred. Spanb. Elench. Contr. p. 95.

people, 1 Cor. x. 15. "I fpeak as to wife men judge you what "Ifay." And the exercile of this private judgment of difcretion by the people is highly commended by St. Paul in the Bereans, Acts xvii. 11. "Thefe were more noble than those in "Theffalonica, in that they received the word with all readi"nefs of mind, and fearched the scriptures daily, whether those things were fo." This liberty is not allowed in that latitude in any religion, as it is in the Chriftian religion; nor enjoyed in its fulness, as it is in the reformed religion; whofe glory it is, that it allows its principles and doctrines to be critically examined and tried of all men, by the rule of the word, as well knowing, the more it is fifted and fearched by its professors, the more they will be still confirmed and satisfied in the truth of it.

But yet this gracious and just liberty of Chriftians fuffers a double abufe; one from the Popish enemies, who injuriously reftrain and deny it to the people: Another by Protestants themfelves, who finfully fretch and extend it beyond the just degree and measure in which Chrift allows it to them.

The Pope injuriously restrains it, difcerning the danger that muft neceffarily follow the conceffion of fuch a liberty to the people, to compare his fuperftitious and erroneous doctrines with the rule of the word.

St. Peter, in 2 Pet. i. 19. tells the people, they have a more fure word of prophecy, whereunto they do well that they take heed. Certainly the Pope forgot either that he was Peter's fucceffor; or that ever St. Peter told the people they did well to make use of that liberty which he denies them. Mr. Pool tells us of a Spaniard that used this expreffion to an English merchant, You people of England (faith he) are happy; you have liberty to fee with your own eyes, and to examine the doctrines delivered to you, upon which your everlasting life depends; but we dare not fay our fouls are our own, but are commanded to believe whatever our teachers tell us, be it never fo unreasonable or ridiculous. This is a moft injurious and finful reftraint upon it on the one fide.

And then fecondly, 'Tis too frequently abused, by stretch. ing it beyond Chrift's allowance and intendment upon the other fide; when every ignorant and confident perfon fhall, under pretence of liberty granted by Chrift, rudely break in upon the facred text, diftort, violate, and abuse the scriptures at pleasure, by putting fuch firange and foreign fenfes upon them, as the fpirit of God never meant or intended *.

* Prov, viii. 22. Which words Epiphanius writes, gave the first occafion to Arius to form his Herefy against the Son of God,