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The design of God's revealing to us the Holy Scriptures, and that whole Evangelical Doctrine contained therein, being it was to destroy the King∣dom of Satan, which ever since the Fall, that rebeli∣ous Spirit had begun to set up in the World, in opposi∣tion to God's; and had advanced to almost an Univer∣sal Monarchy over Mankind, by that time the Son of God descended from Heaven to reduce us to the obe∣dience of our Maker: And on the other side, its
Design being to advance the Kingdom of God, con∣sisting in Righteousness and true Holiness, and withal to humble us with a sense of our own Imperfect Righte∣ousness, by making us depend solely upon the Media∣tion of Christ with the Father, for the Acceptance thereof to our Justification; This, I say, being its De∣sign, and Satan being therefore enraged, that his U∣surp'd Dominion should be wrested from him: So it is, that the Church-Militant is ever since, through his Instigation, and the Malignity of his Agents, in that unhappy State, that like the Walls of Jerusalem, it must be defended with a Sword in one hand, whilst Built with a Trowel in the other. All which considered, it is very requisite that our American Pastor should, next to his Knowledge in the Holy Scriptures, (out of whose Materials he is to build) be provided of those defen∣fensive Weapons wherewith he may be inabled to op∣pose the Gainsayers to that Christianity he is to propa∣gate in the World: And for this End that he should be furnish'd with those Apologies, both Ancient and Mo∣dern, which have been written in defence of the Au∣thority of the Scriptures, and of the Truth of Christia∣nity; And also with such Discourses as Illustrate those Noble and Blessed Ends above-mention'd, which it was design'd to serve.