felf, and the Apostles preached him to be. Since there→ fore the phrase in itself may admit various senses, we may (with most reason and probability) take it here, according to the nature and defign of the Creed; which is to be a fhort comprehenfion of fuch verities, which we profess our affent unto: it hath, I fay, been always taken (not directly for an exercise of our charity, or patience, or hope in God, or any other kind of devotion, but fimply) for a confeffion of Christian principles and verities; and accordingly when I say, I believe in God Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth; it is moft proper fo to underftand my meaning, as if I had faid, I believe there is one God; that he is Almighty; that he is Maker of heaven and earth: and fo of the reft: to confirm which interpretation, I fhall only add, that anciently IOTEúe eis was commonly applied to the Church, to the refurrection, to repentance, and remiffion of fins: many examples might be produced to that purpose: I fhall only mention those words of Jerome; Solenne eft in lavacro poft Trinitatis confeffionem Hieron. interrogare, Credis in fanctam ecclefiam? Which expref- cif fion, according to the Schoolmen's interpretation of be lieving in, were not allowable.

contra Lu

So much for the general notion of belief; it is some kind of affent to the truths propounded in the Creed: but what kind particularly it is, that we may more clearly judge, we fhall obferve, that belief hath two acceptions moft confiderable; one, more general and popular; the other, more restrained and artificial: in its greatest latitude, and according to most common ufe, (as also accord ing to its origination, from weaσTO, by which it should import the effect of perfuafion,) thus, I fay, it fignifies generally, being well perfuaded, or yielding a ftrong affent unto the truth of any propofition ; ἡ σφοδρὰ ὑπόληψις, (fo we have it defined, agreeably to common ufe, in Ari- Top. iv. 5. ftotle's Topics ;) that is, a vehement or ftrong opinion about a thing: and fo it involves no formal respect to any particular kind of means or arguments productive of it; but may be begot by any means whatever. So we are So A&s faid to believe what our fenfe reprefents, what good rea

Q 2

xvii. 31.

σχών πᾶσιν,

fon infers, what credible authority confirms unto us. Whence in rhetoric all forts of probation (from what topic foever of reafon deduced, upon whatever attestation grounded) are called wiaras, by a metonymy, because they are apt to beget a perfuafion concerning the cause maintained, its being good or bad, true or falfe. But according to a more restrained and artificial acception, (artificial I call it, because it is peculiar to men of art, and invented by the fchool, to the purpose of distinguishing fuch affent or perfuafion into several kinds, whereof they make belief in one kind diftinct from those others which are grounded upon experience, or apparence to sense; or upon rational inference, according to which acception,) belief doth precisely denote that kind of affent, which is grounded merely upon the authority (the dictate or teftimony) of fome person afferting, relating, or attesting to the truth of any matter propounded; the authority, I fay, of fome person: which implies two things; 1. That fuch a perfon hath, de facto, afferted or. attefted the matter; 2. That his qualifications be fuch, that his affirmation fhould in reafon have an influence upon our minds, and incline them to confent; for that he is both able to inform us rightly, and willing to do it ; is so wife, that he doth know; and fo juft, that he will speak according to his knowledge, and no otherwife. And this authority (which by reafon of the author's qualities mentioned is called credible; that is, fuch, as in fome measure is apt in a well-difpofed understanding to beget fuch an affent to the truth of what is depofed) is one kind of argument, (diftinct from thofe which are drawn from experience, or from principles of reafon, before known or admitted by us) whereby perfuafion concerning the truth of any propofition (concerning either matter of fact, or any doctrine) is produced in our minds: and according to the degrees of our affurance, either concerning the fact, that the author doth indeed affert the matter; or concerning the perfon's qualifications, (rendering his authority credible,) are the degrees of our belief proportioned; it is more ftrong and intense, or weak and remifs; we are confident

or doubtful concerning the matter: if we plainly can perceive by our fenfe, or have great rational inducements to think, that fuch an affertion proceeds from fuch an author; and then by like evidence of experience or reason are moved to think him not liable himself to be deceived, nor difpofed to deceive us, then we become ftrongly perfuaded; believe firmly, in proportion to the validity of the faid grounds.

It is now to be determined according to which of these two acceptions the belief we here profess is to be underftood and to my feeming, we fhould adequately mean, according to the first, the more general and vulgar notion: that, I fay, we profefs to be perfuaded in our minds, concerning the truth of the propofitions annexed, not implying our perfuafion to be grounded upon only one kind of reason, that drawn from authority; but rather involving all reafons proper and effectual for the persuasion of all the points jointly, or of each fingly taken. In this notion I understand the word, for these reasons.

nation of

cians.

1. Upon a general confideration; because the ancient The very teachers of our religion, both as being themfelves men the Jews not seen in fubtility of fpeculation, nor verfed in niceties no logiof speech, (used by men of art and ftudy,) and as defigning chiefly to inftruct the generality of men, (for the greatest part being fimple and grofs in conceit,) could not or would not use words otherwife than according to their moft common and familiar acception. They did not employ avSpanivns copias λóyous, terms devised by human wifdom 1 Cor. ii. 4. σεσοφισμένοι

for extreme accuracy and diftinction; but expreffed their μύθοι. conceptions in the most vulgar and beft understood lan- 2 Pet. i. 16, guage.

Devised too after their

is times; for

this fcho

this laftical ac

not ancient.

2. Because we find that de facto the word wireÚ used by them (in Scripture, I mean) according to general notion; that is, fo as to fignify indifferently all ception is kind of perfuafion, having regard to the particular ground thereof. Thomas would not believe that our Saviour was rifen, except he difcerned vifible marks, diftinguishing his perfon from others: he did fo, and then believes: whereupon our Saviour faith; Thou believeft, becaufe thou haft John xx.29.

Seen: bleffed are they that have not feen, and yet have be

lieved: we fee that faith may be grounded upon fenfe. John x. 37. And, If I do not the works of my Father, faith our Saviour, believe me not: but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works. Our Saviour requires them not to rely upon his bare teftimony concerning himself, but to confider rationally the quality of his works; and upon that to ground their faith: which kind of perfuafion seems grounded rather upon principles of reason, than any auJam. ii. 19. thority. The devils, St. James tells us, do believe there is one God: how fo? Because they know it by experience, rather than upon any relation or teftimony given Heb. xi. 6. to them. And you know, He that comes to God, muft believe that he is; that is, must be perfuaded of God's existence, by arguments proper to enforce fuch affent, For I argue farther,

3. That the belief of the firft and main article of this Creed, that there is a God, cannot be grounded only upon authority; human authority cannot alone fuffice to prove fo great a point; and divine authority doth prefuppofe it for how can we believe that God doth this or that; that he hath revealed his mind to us; that he teaches us fo or fo, before we believe that he is? The belief of the fubject muft precede the belief of any attribute or action belonging to it: the belief therefore of God's exiftence is properly grounded upon other arguments, befide authority. Yea, farther,

4. The belief of other main points, not expreffed indeed, but understood and fuppofed as the foundation of our believing all the other articles thereof, doth depend upon more than bare authority: as for inftance, the belief of God's veracity, (taken most largely, as including his infallible wisdom, and his perfect fincerity or fidelity;) the truth of God's having actually revealed his mind to us by Jefus and his Apoftles, and by all the Prophets before; (or the truth of Christianity itself in grofs, as also of ancient Judaism:) the truth of the holy Scriptures: the validity of general tradition and common confent of the Christian churches inftructed by the Apoftles, fo far as

they may conduce to the probation of any of these articles: these things, I fay, we must be perfuaded of, as grounds of our believing all the other articles, not immediately deducible from principles of reafon and yet none of these points can properly be grounded upon mere authority to prove God is veracious because he faith fo, or that revelation in general must be trufted from particular revelations, are petitiones principii, most inconclufive and ineffectual difcourfes. Spirits are to be tried, 1 Johniv.1. and revelations themselves are to be examined, before we 15, 16. can upon their word believe any particular doctrine avouched by them: this must be performed by use of our fenfes, and of our reafons; and therefore virtually and mediately the belief of whatever relies upon fuch foundations doth depend upon them, and not upon bare authority.

Matt. vii.

5. I will add, laftly, that if we confider the manner how the faith of the firft Chriftians was produced, we may perhaps also perceive that even their faith was not merely founded upon authority, but relied partly upon principles of reafon, taking in the affiftance and atteftation of fenfe. They that beheld the fincerity and innocency of our Saviour's conversation; the extraordinary wisdom and majefty of his difcourfes; the excellent goodness and holinefs of his doctrine; the incomparably great and glorious power difcovered in his miraculous works, (withal comparing the ancient prophecies concerning such a person to come with the characters and circumftances of his perfon,) were by these confiderations perfuaded, not merely by his own teftimony, that our Saviour himfelf did not fo much infilt upon, but rather difclaimed it, as infufficient to beget faith; If I witness of myself, my witness is not true; (not John v. 31. true; that is, not credible :) you were not obliged to accept my teftimony as true, if it were not alfo accompanied with other convincing reafons. It was by fuch a fyllogifm as this, that believers did then argue themselves into faith upon our Saviour: He that is fo qualified, (doth fo live, so speak, fo work; fo admirably in himself, fo