of the revelation of Christ, but the books of the New Testament. Whilst he believes this, nothing else can justly be required of him; and he will believe this, till it shall be made appear to him by plain arguments, that the knowledge of Christianity is safely to be had somewhere else, which I believe will never be done.

If any one, therefore, attempts to take away from Christians the books of the New Testament, or to add to them such things as do not appear to be true, we are by no means to hearken to such an one; because he requires that of us, which no prudent man will allow, viz. that we should believe that which we are not certain of, or neglect that which all own to be the sure record of the revelation of the Gospel. There is no need of examining all controversies singly, and one by one; which would be an endless thing, and cannot be done but by very learned men, who have abundance of leisure. Whoever imposes anything upon us, as necessary to be believed, which we cannot believe, he drives us from himself; because belief cannot be extorted by force; nor will any one who fears God, and is a lover of truth, suffer himself to profess what he does not believe, for the sake of another.

But they who differ from this, object, that if every one be left to their own liberty, in judging of the meaning of the books of the New Testament, there will be as many religions as there are men, and truth, which is but one, will immediately be oppressed by a multitude of errors. But I think, that before an opinion,

which is established upon solid arguments, be opposed by objections, the foundation upon which it is built ought to be overthrown; because so long as that remains firm, the whole superstructure raised upon it cannot be shaken, as we see here. For if any inconvenience should follow from what has been said, it is nevertheless true, till it be made appear not to be fixed on a firm bottom. But to pass by this now; it is false that the revelation of the New Testament is so obscure, that the sum of the Christian religion cannot be truly learned from it, by any one of a sound mind, who is desirous of truth. It is evident from experience, that

it

may be truly learned from thence; for all Christians, as has been already shewn, agree in the principal parts of it; which was observed by Grotius. We have no regard here, to a few simple or wicked men; since whole societies of Christians, who in other respects, out of their too great eagerness of contention, are apt to differ from one another, and to run into the contrary extremes, are here agreed.

SECTION VII.

The Providence of God, in preserving the Christian Doctrine, is very wonderful.

In this particular, as in numberless others, which relate to the government of human affairs, the divine providence is very wonderful; which, notwithstanding

so many differences, as were of old, and are at this day amongst Christians, yet hath preserved the books of the New Testament entire, even to our times; that the Christian doctrine may be recovered out of them, as often as it happens to be corrupted. Nor has it only delivered down to us this treasure entire; but also, in the midst of the hottest differences, has so secured the Christian doctrine itself, that the sum of religion has never been forgotten amongst Christians.

No inconsiderable number of Christians at this day contend, that many errors, in former ages, crept by degrees in amongst the sects of Christians, which, when others denied in the sixteenth century after the birth of Christ, that famous separation in the west was made upon that account, by which Christianity was divided into two parts, not very unequal. Yet in those ages, (whose errors are reproved by that part of the Christians, which made the separation I now mentioned, and whose faults were highly aggravated by both sides, and that not without grounds,) the sum of the Christian religion, before drawn up by us, was all along maintained. There is no age so thick clouded with ignorance and vice, but the forementioned articles of faith may easily be collected from their writings that remain. It must not indeed be dissembled, that many things, foreign and unknown to the books of the New Testament, have been added and thrust into the Christian Theology; whence it is, that the true wheat of the sower, in the Gospel, hath not brought forth so much fruit as it would

otherwise have done, had the ground been cleared of thorns, and hurtful, and unprofitable weeds. Many vices and faults were not only admitted or borne with, but applauded also. Yet was not sound doctrine ever the less safe, whilst the books of the New Testament remained, and whilst Christians were endued with common sense; for by this means, very eminent men were often raised up, who corrected the errors and vices of their age, and ventured to oppose the torrent. Thus according to the promise of Christ, God hindered the gates of death from prevailing against the church; that is, did not suffer every society wherein the Christian doctrine was preserved entire, to be extinguished; though sometimes they were blended and obscured with foreign and contrary opinions, and sometimes were more sincere and pure. Wherefore, (to observe this by the way,) unless this doctrine was really sent to us from God, it could never have escaped out of such a deluge of vices and errors, but would, at length, have been overwhelmed by the changeableness and folly of human nature, and have entirely perished.

SECTION VIII.

An Answer to that Question, Why God permits Differences and Errors to arise amongst Christians?

Perhaps some may here object against what has been said, that the divine providence would have better consulted the preservation of the Christian doctrine, if it

had prevented the errors that are and have been amongst Christians, and maintained truth and constant agreement, which is the companion of it, amongst them, by its omnipotence. But it is not for us to instruct God how he ought to direct himself, in the government of human affairs, that they might be better. On the contrary, it is our duty to think that God had very wise reasons for suffering what he did suffer, though we cannot so much as guess at what they are. But if any probable reasons can be given for the things that are done, we ought to believe that God permits those things, which daily come to pass, to be done for these or more weighty reasons.

To make a conjecture from the reasons of things, we are above all things sure, that the design of God was to create men free, and to suffer them to continue so to the end; that is, not so good, that they must necessarily continue good always; nor so bad, as that they must of necessity submit to vice; but mutable, so as that they might pass from vice to virtue, and again from virtue to vice; and this with more or less ease, according as they had a longer or shorter time given up themselves to virtue or vice. Such we see the Hebrew people of old were, and such were the Christians afterwards. Neither of them were drawn by an irresistible force either to virtue or vice; but only restrained bylaws, which proposed rewards to the good, and punishment to the bad; to which were added, by the divine providence, various incitements to virtue and discouragements from vice;