Section 18.

Page 29. HERE I find one passage more in this book of W.P's, that I am sure greatly derogates from the Scrip∣tures, and is justly offensive to Christian Ears. Having quoted our Saviour's words to Nicodemus, that he saith may be credited Historically, that unless a Man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God, John 3. But what is that (saith he) to the Knowledge and Experience of the new Birth, that they are never like to be informed of there: Nor can that Scrip∣ture be my Rule in that heavenly Travel, re∣specting the many and wonderful Trials and Ex∣ercises, that are to be met with in the way to it. Neither can any other Writing whatever. This Only is the Office of that Spirit and Word Immortal, by which we are begotten again. I answer, Here he excludes not only that Page  124 place above mentioned, but the whole Scrip∣ture, from being instrumental to our Infor∣mation, and plainly denies that any can be informed of it there; this is indeed to make it not only not the Rule, but not a Rule in this great case. But his assertion is extream∣ly false, the place quoted (John 3.3, 5.) in∣forms us of the necessity of Regeneration; and the following words informs us, of the way and manner how it is wrought, to wit, by the Spirit, as the principal Efficient, and by Faith in the Son of Man, as the Instru∣mental cause; v. 14, 15, 16. and this Faith is wrought instrumentally, by the Words and Doctrine of the Gospel, called by Paul, (Rom. 6.17.) The Form, or Pattern, of Do∣ctrine, whereunto the believing Romans were delivered, as the Mettal that is melted into the Mould, that frames it into a Vessel. And will W.P. say, that his and his Brethrens Preaching and Words, inform People no∣thing of Regeneration, nor of the manner of it, and the several steps in the progress of it. If not, their Preaching so much of the New Birth, and the manner of it (at least as they think) is very unprofitable; but if they think their Preaching profitable, to inform concerning Regeneration, and man∣ner of it, then their Preaching must be bet∣ter than the whole Scripture. Had he said the Scripture without the Spirit cannot Page  125 guide or direct us in the way of Regenera∣tion, nor be instrumental towards it, with∣out the same, he had not been to blame, all true Christians say the same; but to exclude the Scriptures, that is, the Word and Do∣ctrine contained in the Scriptures, from be∣ing so much as an Organ or Instrument in the hand of the Spirit, as the Spirit giveth Efficacy to it, is extreamly false and erroni∣ous, and contradicts the Scriptures Testi∣mony, and the Experience of Thousands, who can set to their Seal, that the Spirit of God has made the Scriptures, to wit, the Word and Doctrine delivered in them, In∣strumental, both to their Conviction and Conversion. Surely James was of another mind than W.P. who said, That the Faithful were begotten of the Will of God, by the Word of Truth, and Peter said, They were made Partakers of the Divine Nature, by the exceeding great and precious Promises, (which are to be found in the Holy Scrip∣tures) through the Operation of the Divine Power. And as false it is, what he saith, That Experience (to wit, of the New Birth,) must go before all Doctrinal Scripture: Mean∣ing the Doctrine delivered in the Scripture, which was the same before it was written: This is to set the Cart before the Horse, as the Proverb is, or the Fruit before the Seed; Are Men regenerated in Blindness and Igno∣rance, Page  126 or rather are they not renewed in Knowledge? And this Knowledge, doth it not presuppose some doctrinal Principles, of which Men must be first convinced? Has the Doctrine of the great Love of God, in send∣ing his Son into the World outwardly to dye for us, and inwardly to enlighten us, no Influence on our Regeneration? Was Adam regenerated, before God gave him the Promise of the Womans Seed, after his Fall? by his Assertion it must be so, which is won∣derful Ignorance! Is he so little acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, as not to have seen the Lineaments, Steps and Progress of the New Birth, fairly delineated, and the whole manner of it, as clearly as any Coun∣try can be delineated in the fairest Map, with all the several Roads; but as the Map can be of no use; to a blind Man, though to a seeing, it is of great use; so to a Man whom the Spirit of God has in some measure en∣lightned, the Scriptures are as serviceable, as a Map to a Traveller, yea, and much more, they are really the Instrument of the Spirit, both for convincing and converting Men, and the Rule according to which the Spirit leads them, in the various steps of it. It is granted, That the Experience of Regeneration, in whom it is wrought, is much more than any verbal account of it by the best of words, and gives a Man in some respect, a more sa∣tisfactory Page  127 Knowledge of it, than any Man can have by Scripture words, or any words whatsoever, who is not himself regenerated, as the sight of a Country is more, and gives a Man a more satisfactory account of it, than all verbal Descriptions or Maps can do, to him that never was in the Country. Yet this proves not, but that the Geographical account of that Country by words and Maps, truly and accurately given, by Men of great Wisdom and Sincerety, is of great Service and Advan∣tage, both to Strangers who desire to see the Country and live in it, and also to them that already live in it. And for all the great Con∣ceit that W.P. has of his knowledge of the great Mystery of Regeneration, by his Ex∣perience, of which he denieth, That the Scrip∣tures have given him any Information: Yet he is very ignorant of it still, if he be of his former mind, as he wrote in his Preface to R.B's Works, That Regeneration is a greater Mystery than God manifest in the Flesh. Had W.P. con∣sulted Scripture, it would have better in∣formed him, and to be sure, the true Experi∣ence of Regeneration, never taught him any such horrid and extreamly false Assertion.

Page 31. He saith, The knowledge of those Pro∣phesies of Christ's Sufferings, was by extraordi∣nary Revelation, not falling within the ordinary Discoveries, that are absolutely necessary to Man's Salvation, by which he shews his Power and Faith∣fulness Page  128 that he is God, and can foretell, and will bring to pass. But therefore must there be an ex∣traordinary Light or Spirit, and not rather an ex∣traordinary Sight and Sense from one and the same Light and Spirit in them.

Answ. First, this quite overthrows his No∣tion of a general Rule, that must be one and the same to all Mankind; for if the Prophets had extraordinary Revelation, concerning Christ's Sufferings, which other Men have not that extraordinary Revelation, was the Rule of their Faith touching that matter, which could not be the Rule of Faith to them, who had no knowledge of that thing. Secondly, Though the inward extraordinary Revelati∣on, given to the Prophets concerning Christ's Sufferings, was not necessary to others of the Faithful, who were not Prophets, for their Salvation; yet the Knowledge and Faith of them was necessary to Salvation by some other means, to wit, by having the Doctrine, given to the Prophets by extraordinary Re∣velation, preached, or conveyed to the Faith∣ful by the ordinary outward means of Instru∣ction; which differing manner of convey∣ance makes not any difference in the Do∣ctrine, nor yet in the Faith of it, for Matter and Substance. Thirdly, That he makes the Faith of Christ's Sufferings, none of the ab∣solute Necessaries to our Christianity and Sal∣vation, because not given to us, as it was to Page  129 the Prophets by extraordinary Revelation. This plainly gives us a new and fresh Instance of his Deism and Paganism, appearing with open face; for if the Faith of Christ's Suffer∣ings be not necessary to our Salvation, because we have it not given us by extraordinary Re∣velation, as the Prophets had (which is a false Consequence) by the same reason, not one of the twelve Articles of the Apostles Creed, or any of the other Creeds, called the Nicene and Athanasian, nor any one of the peculiar Do∣ctrines and Articles of the Christian Faith, are necessary to our Salvation, though we hear them daily preached, or may daily read them in the Holy Scriptures, because by his false In∣ference, not given us by extraordinary Reve∣lation; and at this rate no more Faith is ne∣cessary to our Salvation, than what any Infi∣del Jew, or Mahometan, or Heathen may have, by the common Dictates of the Light in every one of their Consciences abstractly consider'd, without all means of outward Instruction by the Holy Scriptures, which is a plain under∣mining of the whole Christian Religion, and introducing Deism and Paganism in its room, and is really a degree more remote from Chri∣stianity, than any Pelagianism or Socinianism. Fourthly, Whereas he querieth, Must there be therefore an extraordinary Light or Spirit, and not rather an extraordinary Sight or Sense, from one and the same Light and Spirit in them. Page  130 I answer, Taking Light and Spirit in the high∣est sense, to signifie God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit, it will not infer another Light or Spi∣rit, but another Illumination, Inspiration and Revelation, as well as another Sight and Sense, proceeding from one and the same Spirit, and from one and the same Light, originally ac∣cording to the Doctrine of the Holy Scrip∣ture, that teacheth there is diversity of Ope∣rations, Administrations and Gifts, but one God, one Lord, and one Spirit. But the words and terms Light and Spirit sometimes in Scrip∣ture, signifie some Internal Act of Illuminati∣on, and Operation, and Gift of the Spirit; as when we read of the seven Spirits of God in Scripture, and that God is called the Father of Lights, this doth not signifie seven real di∣stinct Spirits of God, but seven Gifts or Vir∣tues, and Operations of one and the same Spi∣rit: And because there are several sorts of Illuminations, proceeding from one Light ori∣ginally, which is God, and the Divine Word, therefore they are called Lights; and in this sense (fully agreeable to Scripture) the Pro∣phets and all the Pen-men of the Holy Scrip∣tures, may be said to have had an extraordi∣nary Light and Spirit, as well as an extraordi∣nary Sight, that others of the Faithful had not, or now have not, and yet the Faith the same for Matter and Substance [for extraor∣dinary Revelation, may be called extraordi∣nary Page  131 Light well enough] and also the Faith∣ful may be said to have an extraordinary Light and Spirit, that no Infidel Jew, Mahometan, Heathen, or meer Moralist, Deist, or meer For∣mal Professor of Christianity hath, to wit, in respect of the diversity of the kinds and sorts of the Illuminations, according to the differ∣ing subjects, that of the Prophets differing from that of other Faithful Men that were not Prophets, who yet had the same Faith, though not conveyed by the same manner of Illumination, and the Illumination of the Faithful differing from the common Illumi∣nation, given in common to Mankind, which in the respects above-mentioned, may be said to be three several Lights and Spirits, accord∣ing to the three several subjects, all which are but originally one and the same; like to which we have an Example in the Beams of the Sun, that remaining the same in their nature, yet according to the differing Mediums and Sub∣jects of reception, seem wonderfully diversi∣fied, so that passing through Glasses of seve∣ral colours, as green, red, blew and yellow, the Beams or Rayes, will have these differing col∣ours, which diversity proceeds not from the nature of the Sun-beams, but the differing Me∣diums and Subjects; and thus also the same Influence of the Sun, melteth Wax and hard∣neth Clay; and operating on a Field where Barley is sown, contributes to produce a Crop Page  132 of Barley; but operating on a Field where Wheat is sown, contributes to produce a Crop of Wheat, from the differing Seeds and Sub∣jects it works upon.