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lieving Jews, for which St. Paul blamed him ↳ and as perhaps even Paul too did, when not knowing the High Prieft, he reproved him fo feverely, though defervedly. But there was not the least Falfehood afferted by either: and the Behaviour of both turned to the Advantage of Christianity. Some have objected to the Inspiration of the latter, that in one Place he only faith, He thinks he hath the Spirit of God. But this ironical feeming Doubt was defigned to imply the strongest Affirmation, and to put his Adverfaries to Shame. They object also, that in the fame Chapter he diftinguishes the Directions, which Chrift had given in Perfon, from his own'. And He doth fo: but what is this more, than a most amiable Expreffion of Humility, and Refpect to his dear Lord? A few Perfons have likewife apprehended, that when he faith to the Corinthians, We shall not all fleep, but we shall all be changed", and again to the Theffalonians, For this we fay unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, fhall not prevent, go to Heaven before, thofe which are asleep"; he meant, that the general Refur

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rection was to be in his Days, and therefore erred. But plainly he did not: for in his fecond Epiftle to the latter, written the fame Year, he cautions them against misunderstanding, (as it feems they fome of them had done,) what he faid on that Head in his firft: and mentions Things, which were to intervene between his own Days and the Refurrection, and must take up Time. In other Epiftles too, he speaks of his own dying, first as likely ", then as certain to happen foon. And therefore by We, in the Places objected, he meant only in general, We, or fuch of us, Chriftians: not defigning to intimate, that He himself should be one of the Number. In this Senfe he frequently ufes both, We, and even, I, elsewhere, as many approved Authors have done in different Nations and Ages.

Objections have been raised against various Paffages of holy Writ, befides the above-mentioned. Some have been thought hard to reconcile with the moral Attributes of God: fome with each other. To examiné them here particularly would be much too long. General Obfervations, capable, I hope, of removing or obviating the principal Difficulties, especially of

2 Theff. ii. 1, &c.

P Phil. i. zo.

92 Tim. iv. 6.

the

the former Sort, fhall, God willing, be made in the Sequel of these Discourses.' But without doing that, it might be fufficient to say, that reasonable Answers have been already given to them that many of them, which once appeared to be of the greatest Importance, have been fully fhewn to be of none: from whence alone we may juftly prefume, that whatever is wanting to clear up the reft will be supplied in Time by the Bleffing of God on the continued Labours of pious and learned Men: and that in the mean while, instead of thinking ill of the Scriptures, we ought to think humbly of ourselves, and be perfuaded, that in these Points we do not underftand them'.

Such, as were most eminent for Piety and Knowledge, and have enjoyed the greatest Advantages for judging of Scripture, have always esteemed it of divine Original. The Chriftians of the first and second Centuries, who must have known perfonally, whether the Books of the New Teftament were authentic, who had been Companions of the Apoftles and their immediate Succeffors, who must have been taught by Them, what Honour both Teftaments deserved, and would have been reftrained by Them from ▾ This last is Justin Martyr's Rule, Dial. with Trypho, § 65.

paying them too much, paid them the very higheft. All, who came after, exalted them above the most valuable Compofitions of the most early Fathers, by the strongest Expreffions of peculiar Regard: and this Regard was univerfal. None but the abfurdeft and vileft of Heretics refused, and that on the poorest Pretences, to be tried by their Authority. All others, whatever else they differed in, agreed in acknowledging the Infallibility of the Bible, to which they were forced to attempt reconciling their Tenets, as well as they could. In later Days, we confefs, Papifts have spoken flightly of it, and Libertines much worse: both however for bad Reafons; because it condemns the religious Notions and Practices of the former, and the irreligious ones of the latter. But all unprejudiced and ferious Men, in Proportion to their natural Abilities, acquired Knowledge, and Attention to study it, have held it to this Day in Reverence: and in Proportion as that Reverence hath influenced their Hearts and Lives, have been Examples and Bleffings to all around them.

Let us therefore walk in their Steps, and be heartily thankful; first, that God hath not left us (undeferving Wretches as we are) to our

Own

own Conjectures and Imaginations concerning what we are to believe and to do, to hope and to fear, but made gracious Difcoveries of Himfelf, his Will and Purposes, to Mankind; then, that he hath not left thefe Difcoveries to come down to us, and our Pofterity, through the uncertain Conveyance of oral Tradition, which quickly fails, or of cafual Writers, who might err in fome Points neceffary, and pass by others unmentioned; but hath excited fit Perfons to record his Truths; exalted their Faculties, and ftrengthened their Memories, where it was needful; fuggefted to them many Things, watched over them in all. Let us receive their Communications with the utmost Respect, and read them with the utmost Care, as the Means of our Salvation: and if amidst a great deal, that is highly useful and incomparably excellent, we meet sometimes with Things, for which we are unable to account; let us indeed feek for Solutions diligently, and be willing to admit any fair, any poffible one, rather than a Mistake in the facred Writings: but though we should meet with no Solution, let us confider, that humble Faith becomes us much better, than haughty Contradiction; modest Suspense, than rafh Pofitiveness: for that God knows

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