Anf. This, fays Dr. Whitby *, is that pride which thofe 7000, who would not bow the knee to Ball, were guilty of, in 'oppofition to the generality of the Ifraelites, who had agreed fo to do. It was fuch an inftance of prefumption, as was practifed by those Jews who believed in Chrift, and acknowledged him to be the Meffiah, against the fentence of the great Sanhedrim, and of thofe Scribes and Pharisees who fat in the chair of Mofes. The fame difpofition was allo the foundation of the reformation of the church of England, and of all Proteftant churches. The doctrines and fuperftitious practices they renounced, being confirmed by many general councils, as agreeable to fcripture, or confirmed and handed down to them by catholic tradition, and which all Christians have a peculiar obligation to, as they would not prejudice the purity of the faith, which was once delivered to the faints, and hold faft the profeffion of it without wavering. Many points of the Chriftian doctrine are not mere matters of fpeculation, in which perfons of different denominations are divided in their fentiments; but many of them are equally the concern of all, and will ever remain of fuch importance, that, till Chriftians are well acquainted with and confirmed in them, no one can be inexcufable that has opportunities to inquire, to remain ignorant of them. Such in general are the great principles and rules of human conduct; and what is next to it, are thofe truths of religion, that have a proper rational influence on our conduct, to animate us in the practice of virtue, and deter us from vice. Of this kind are inquiries concerning our own state and circumftances, as reasonable and accountable beings; that God is the moral Governor of his rational creatures; and that there will be a ftate of futurity, in which will be a righteous retribution, according to men's actions in this life. Sermon IV. p. 96, 97, 98. Obj. Obj. 4. Is of a very different nature, viz. That faith has no virtue or true merit in it, because we cannot avoid affenting to particular truths, when the proofs are clearly difcerned, and appear to be ftrong and conclufive; and that we must in all cafes believe or disbelieve, just as the evidence appears to our underftanding. A. This is at beft a vague fuperficial objection; for it depends in a great measure upon ourselves, that things appear to our understandings in a true or a falfe light; if this be owing, as it is almoft univerfally on the one hand, to diligent and mature reflection; and, on the other, to entire neglect or partial inquiry, to criminal prejudices, or strength of corrupt paffions; it follows of course, that in all fuch cases, where our right belief fprings from integrity, and the due exercise of our rational powers, and our infidelity or errors from a vicious indulgence and depravity of temper; the one may fitly be rewarded, and the other righteously punifhed; as fitly indeed as any inftances of moral rectitude, or of corruption and iniquity, that can be mentioned *. Some OBJECTIONS to the Study of the SCRIPTURES, particularly confidered. T HE holy fcriptures, fays St. Gregory, is, as it were, a letter written by God to man; and we ought therefore to read it with reverence, to weigh it attentively, and learn the will of God from God himfelf; to defpife or neglect fo extraordinary a bleffing, were not only an imprudence, but a crime. The reading and meditating on the fcripture are, fays St. Bernard, a character of our relation to God, Jesus Christ having himself said, He that is of God, heareth God's words. What can we read elfe that can be more a* Dr. Fofter of Incredulity, and the Morality of Faith, vol. HI. p. 226 to 236. greeable greeable than this book? There is no true and falutary joy, fays St. Auftin, but that which arifes from hope, that hope, moft efpecially, whofe object is the kingdom of heaven. Now, the fcriptures fhew us the way thither, and fill the heart with innumerable fecret delights, whilft we walk in it, agreeably to what St. Paul fays, that through patience and comfort of the fcriptures, our hope becomes more steady and refolved *. Now, the doctrines and duties of a revelation men must be capable of understanding the fenfe of fo much. as is neceffary, or elfe it is a revelation unrevealed; for to fuppofe that a farther fupernatural and inward illumination, is abfolutely neceffary to give a right and juft idea of fcripture doctrines, is, in effect, to affert that the fcriptures are of no ufe at all; and that the internal teaching, is the only revelation of the mind of God to mankind. But here again a confiderable difficulty occurs, and that is, how we can poflibly know that this inward teaching is really divine, but from its correfpondence with, the external revelation, and with the light and dictates of reafon; and confequently without admitting that the external revelation may be understood without it, and that reafon is the eternal ftandard of truth. But there are a variety of difficulties started, that obftruct the knowledge of the true fenfe of fcripture, which deferve to be taken notice of in this place. Obj. 1. It is faid the New Teftament cannot be well understood without the Old, which was for the moft part wrote in Hebrew, and for the understanding of which a good knowledge of the oriental language is neceffary. That a great part of the fcriptures are wrote in a file extremely figurative; and those figures, fuch as this part of the world are very great ftrangers to; and confequently the verfion of books, Lamy's Introduction to the Holy Scripture, Pref. p. 1. e little little understood from their language and ftile, muft be extremely difficult. And if the knowledge of the Old Teftament could be difpenfed with, the language of the New Teftament is not to be understood without much pains. The ftile indeed, in the historical part, is plain; yet there are great difficulties in the doctrinal parts. The whole is wrote in the ftile adapted to the Jews, and the idiom is Hebrew or Syriac, though the words be Greek, which renders fome knowledge of this language the more neceffary. I might add, that it requires a good knowledge of the Jewish ftate, at the time of our Saviour's coming; a knowledge of their government, Sanhedrim, fynagogue worship, cuftoms, traditions, opinions, fects, &c. A farther dif. ficulty arises from the fublimity of fome of its peculiar doctrines, and the excellency of fome of its precepts, as appearing incongruous to their antient maxims, principles, and prepoffeffions *. Anf. As to the difficulties arifing from the languages, a common critic will make fome allowances for the deficiencies and redundancies that might be pointed out in books of fuch great antiquity, as the books of the Old Teftament confeffedly are: and when feveral of thofe books treat of the fame matters, and relate the fame facts, a candid reader will fupply what appears deficient in one, by what appears compleat in the other; and more efpecially when we can attain to the general view and defign, make the most favourable conftruction of fuch as appears harfh and difficult, and content ourselves with being unable to account for fome feeming contradictions, as in many cafes it may be feen to be an omiffion in the tranfcriber. Thus, 2 Sam. xxiv. 1. it is written, The anger of the Lord was kindled against Ifrael, and he moved David against them to fay, Go number Ifrael and Judah. And 1 Chron. xxi. 1. it is faid, And Satan *Abstracts from Bishop Hare's Difficulties, &c. that attend the ftudy of the fcriptures. ftood ftood up against Ifrael, and provoked David to number Ifrael; and God was difpleafed with the thing; v. 7. therefore he fmote Ifrael. And fome of the prophecies of fcripture, with their application, seems to ftand in need of the fame candid comparison of fcriptures, and other circumftances, to come at the right knowledge of them. The relation given of fome particulars in our Saviour's life and doctrine, are in fome minute circumftances differently related by the Evangelifts; but in no material and effential points. Secondly, It is plain the orthodox faith is not founded on a nice and critical knowledge of the fcripture; many of the primitive Chriftians were no great critics, but argued very much in a myftical way. Origen in particular, who was the greateft fcholar christianity had bred to that time, perpetually turns the letter of scripture into allegory; from whence we may reasonably conclude, that the knowledge of the pure literal fenfe was, in the judgment of many, even in those times, thought to be of little use. But it is certain, that the original language of the Old Teftament was known to very few for the first fix centuries, in which thofe general councils were held, wherein all the articles of the orthodox faith were settled; they governed themselves, and determined all their points by the Greek verfion. Now, if an exact and critical knowledge of the fcriptures was not neceffary to the fettling the faith, it cannot be neceffary to the understanding it, or to the understanding those who have wrote in the explication of it: on the contrary, fuch a knowledge tends to leffen our efteem of the fathers of the church, by difcovering their miftakes, and muft weaken our regard to the decifion of councils, by expofing the falfenefs of the ground they feem to be built on. A man well fkilled in the fathers and councils, will often find texts of fcripture are very infufficiently or improperly applied; which fuggeft |