They who received the book, called The Acts or Journeys of the Apostles, Peter, John, Andrew, Thomas, and Paul, muft believe, that Chrift was not really, but only appeared as a man; and was feen by his Difciples in various forms, fometimes as a young man, fometimes as an old one, fometimes as a child, Sometimes great, fometimes fmall, fometimes fo tall, that his head would reach the clouds; that he was not really crucified himself, but another in his ftead, while he laughed at those who imagined they crucified him, &c.1

A little acquaintance with Christian antiquities will furnish us with various inftances of this fort. Pretences to inspiration were very frequent in the first ages, and it was the constant artifice of evil-minded designing men, to publish their errors under the great name of fome Apostle, or inspired writer, in order the more effectually to propagate them among the unthinking multitude. Irenæus tells us, the Gnoftics for this purpose made a prodigious number of Apocryphal and spurious Scriptures in his time; and it is well known, that Bafilides, Apelles, Cerinthus, Marcion, Tatian, and many other of the first heretics, pursued the same method with too great success. Thus, to give now no other instance, the Nicolaitans, mentioned Rev. ii. 6. forged a book under the name of the infpired Apoftle Matthias", to justify themselves in the execrable vice of the communion of women. Thus does the receiving spurious books, under fpecious pretences, lay us under a neceffity of errors in doctrine and practice; and it is not without concern, that I put the reader in mind of a living instance of this in the

See this whole matter related by the learned Photius, who read the book Biblioth. Cod. cxiv. I am' apt to think it was in the Gospel of Bafilides alfo, fince fuch a Gofpel there certainly was; and Irenæus adv. Hæref. 1. 1. c. 23. and Epiphanius Hæref. 24. tell us, Bafilides and his followers faid, it was not Chrift that was crucified, but Simon of Cyrene.

N. B. If these were the Ats of Peter, Mr. Whifton would have reckoned them among the facred

learned Mr. Whifton, whom one cannot without compaffion behold honeftly paying the greatest regard to the pretended Conftitutions of the Apoftles, and not daring (as he fays) any more to disbelieve the doctrines, or difobey the duties therein delivered and enjoined, than he dare do the like, as to the known doctrines and duties plainly contained in the uncontested books of the New Teftament P.

II. It must needs also be of very bad confequence, that any book be excluded from the Canon, which really is the word of God; for hereby,

1. We cast contempt upon God and his Spirit, in refusing to hear what the Lord our God hath spoken to us.

2. We are injurious to ourselves, as we deny ourselves the ufe of the means of falvation.

Thus the Ebionites, Manichees, and most of the primitive hereticks, by disowning several parts of the New Testament, fell into those errors, which proved fo fatal to their most important interefts.

OBSERV. III.

Notwithstanding the importance of this fubject, a very confiderable number of thofe, who are called Chriftians, are deftitute of any just arguments for their belief of the Canonical Authority of the prefent Books of the New Teftament.

HOUGH L would by no means be the occasion of shock

THO

ing any perfon's faith in a business of this nature, yet I think the present obfervation to be so much to my present purpose, and withal so very true, that I cannot pass it over, though it be on a subject so disagreeable. He, who has but the least occafion to acquaint himself with the religious state of mankind, cannot but with surprising concern have observed, how flender and uncertain the principles are, upon which men receive the Scriptures as the word of God. The truth is (though a

? Effay on Conftitut. Introd. p. 11.

very

very melancholy one), that many perfons commence religious at first they don't know why, and so with a blind zeal persist in a religion, which is they don't know what; by the chance of education, and the force of cuftom, they receive these Scriptures as the word of God, without making any serious enquiries, and confequently without being able to give any folid reasons, why they believe them to be fuch. This has been obferved and lamented by our best divines long fince, and by none more than the pious Mr. Baxter, in whose words I fhall rather choose to exprefs myself, on this tender fubject, than my own: "Few Chriftians among us, for aught I find, (says he1) "have any better than the Popish implicit faith in this point, "nor any better arguments than the Papifts have, to prove "the Scriptures the word of God. They have received it "by tradition: godly minifters and Chriftians tell them fo: it " is impious to doubt of it: therefore they believe it. Though

we could perfuade people never so confidently, that Scrip"ture is the very word of God, and yet teach them no more "reason, why they should believe this, than any other book, "to be that word; as it will prove in them no right way of "believing, so it is in us no right way of teaching. It is "ftrange (fays he') to confider, how we all abhor that piece ❝of Popery, as most injurious to God of all the reft, which "refolves our faith into the authority of the Church; and yet "that we do, for the generality of profeffors, content ourselves "with the fame kind of faith; only with this difference, the "Papists believe Scripture to be the word of God, because "their Church faith fo; and we, because our Church, or our "leaders fay fo. Yea, and many minifters never yet gave "their people better grounds, but tell them, that it is dam"nable to deny it, but help them not to the neceffary ante"cedents of faith. It is to be understood, that many a thou❝ fand do profess Christianity, and zealously hate the enemies "thereof, upon the fame grounds, to the fame end, and from "the fame inward corrupt principles, as the Jews did hate "and kill Chrift. It is the religion of the country, where

a Saint's Reft, part 2.

197.

every man is reproached, that believes otherwife; they were "born and brought up in this belief, and it hath increased "in them upon the like occafions. Had they been born ❝and bred in the religion of Mahomet, they would have "been as zealous for him. The difference betwixt him and "a Mahometan, is more that he lives where better laws and religion dwell, than that he hath more knowledge or found❝ nefs of apprehenfion." Thus far he; nor is the cafe, I fear, much altered for the better fince his time. What sorry reasons, when asked, are the generality of persons able to give for the divine authority of Scripture! Nay, to use Mr. Baxter's words once more, "Are the more exercised understanding

fort of Chriftians able, by found arguments, to make good "the verity of Scripture? Nay, are the meaner fort of minif "ters in England able to do this? Let them that have tried, “judge '." If the question be, why Barnabas's Epiftle be rejected, and Jude's received; why the Gospel of Peter was excluded, and the Epistle of Peter admitted into the Canon as the word of God, &c. alas ! how little fhall we have given in answer, unless what Mr. Baxter says, we believe as the Church does! As for those happy persons, who are able, by the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, to distinguish between Canonical and Apocryphal books, I fhall say nothing now; only observe, their number is very small, defigning hereafter to do all poffible justice to this argument, fo much infifted on by our first Reformers. What I have now to do is to obferve, from the melancholy experience we have of perfons ignorance of the grounds of Scripture-belief, how neceffary it is we fhould use our utmost endeavours to remove it. Not that I think it necessary, or indeed poffible, for every one to search the antient records of Christianity; but that thofe, who are able, fhould do it, and endeavour to convey as much knowledge, as may be, of these matters into the minds of those who cannot. And certainly this must be of the utmost neceffity; for,

Ibid. §. 1. p. 197.

1. Our assent to any propofition can only be in proportion to its evidence. The truth is, fays the learned Mr. Hooker", "That how bold and confident foever we may be in words, "when it cometh to the point of trial, fuch as the evidence is, "which the truth hath, either in itself, or through proof, "fuch is the heart's affent thereunto; neither can it be "stronger, being grounded as it should be." This evidently appears from the nature of things; and therefore, as perfons evidences for the truth of Scripture are, fuch will be their affent.

2. In proportion to the degree of our afsent to any truth, will be its influence upon us. This, however it may seem at first, will, upon clofe enquiry, be found no lefs true than the former. There seems to be no other way poffible of accounting for men's difregard of the important duties of religion, but by supposing their tacit disbelief of its principles. "For my "own part (fays Mr. Baxter *) I take it to be the greatest "cause of coldness in duty, weakness in graces, boldness in "finning, and unwillingness to die, &c. that our faith is ei"ther unfound or infirm in this point. This worm lying at "the root, causeth the languishing and decay of the whole.' St. Paul, by this very means, accounts for the ftrange disobedience of the Ifraelites, viz. they did not really believe the promises. (See Heb. iv. 2.) And it is a fort of proverbial and very just observation, that unbelief is the fource of, or is in, all our fins. It were easy to say a great deal to support the affertion, of the proportion that is in our practice to our faith, not only in principles of religion, but all other things; I fhall only now make this reflection, that if it be so, we are proportionably concerned, as we would have our practice agreeable to the will of God, to use our best endeavours to get the strongest evidence for the authority of the facred books.

u Ecclefiaft. Polit. book 2. p.

117.

* Ubi fupr. p. 197. See p. 199,

200.

OBSERV.