Section 5.

were enough to convince gainfayers, where the word of the
Spirit, a piece of fpiritual armor, is faid to be the word of
God. What meaneth the Apostle by the fword of the Spi-
rit? but the fpiritual fword, the Scriptures, put into the
hands and mouths of Chriftians; no carnal, but a spiritual
weapon, mighty through the Spirit, to run into the heart of
Errors, and to cut afunder Temptations, and to repel the
Tempter. Chrift himself made this use of it against the
Scribes and Pharifees, Mat. 5. Against the Sadduces, Mat..
22. 31, 32. And against the Devil, Mat. 4. 4, 7, io, ver.
Once the Devil hath Scripture in his mouth, but Chrift hath
it thrice in his mouth, It is written, It is written, It is writ-
ten;
and is too hard for Satan at this, as all other weapons.
Here the very power of the written Letter puts to flight the
adverfary. And if 7. N. or R. F. will read over and over.
the 119 Pfalm, they will finde matter enough to cure their
contradictious Spirits, who are more nice then wife in ab-
ftaining from Scripture-expreflions, or attributing to them
their due title. There they will finde that holy David, pro-
feffing his zealous affection to God and to his Scriptures,
ufeth this phrase of [thy word] above thirty times, plainly:
enough, and yet elegantly alfo. Let their confciences an-
fwer, Is not thy word] as much as [Gods word?] And
that he speaks of Gods written word, the Scriptures (as of
what is according thereunto) is clear, in that he calls the
fame word of God, the ftatutes of God, [o teach me thy
Statutes ! &c.] near twenty times: now Gods ftatutes are
his ftanding Laws, or Rules, put into writing, as all the
Statutes of England are, upon record, written down in

Books.

Section 5.

Had charged it as another contradiction of theirs to the The writing Scripture it felf, in that they fay, The Saints ground of of the Spirit the ground of acting is not the outward Letter, but the Spirit which gave forth the Letter: Hereby fetting the Word and Spirit at difference; whereas the Spirit gives forth his word in the Scripture, and in the word written, lays down the grounds

the Saints

acting,

of

of the Saints actings and believings alfo; yea, he hath or- Section 5. dained the very Scripture to be one ground of their acting. R. F. in answer, returns me this language. * 1. Here thou * Pag. 7. art blinde, and knows not the Saints ground: and 2. Accufing them falfly that witness to it. 3. With thy Logick and Magick Art would make the Scriptures God and Chrift, cannot, and would make them the ground of the Saints acting, when they are not.

but

Saints acting.

Rep. 1. If R. F. will but understand what is, and may be faid to be the ground of a thing, he may poffibly believe I know the Saints ground of acting, as they are Saints. The word [Ground] is ambiguous, and hath divers acceptions. In ftrict propriety of fpeech, the Earth we tread upon, and Ground are all one, as the fame Ground or Earth brings forth the fame fruit. By a metaphorical Allufion, the word [Ground] is fometime put for the Caufe of a thing; fometime for the first ground-work of a Building, or for the first Principles and Rules of Art and Science, or for the firft habits in a man, of his actings. The Caufe, and that [principal-efficientGround of the Saints acting, is God, and the Father, by Chrift through the Spirit. The Scriptures are How the Scriinftrumentally a Caufe without which, fince the Lord caufed ptures are the them to be given forth, he doth not ordinarily act upon the Ground of the Saints, or draw forth their acts of grace and godlinefs. They are the first external ground-work of all their faith and workings, as Saints: They are the Rule and Warrant of all their ordinary actings, yea, the grounding Touch-ftone of all extraordinary Impulfes and Revelations. By their Authority they are a fufficient ground or reason of our faith and practice. The Scripture-commands are one ground,the Scripture-promises another, the Scripture-threatnings another, the Scripture examples: (backt by, and bottom'd upon a precept) another, the Scripture-Prophecies and Revelations another. As every word of God is pure, Prov.30.5. fo every part of the Scripture is a pure grounding-rule for a Saints faith and converfation, Rev. 21. 14. The wall of the City, the new ferufalem (made up of Saints indeed) hath twelve foundations: and in them the names of the Apostles of the Lamb, whose writings we have (with the doctrine

Section 5.

*Page 7.

Pet. 1.23.

of the Prophets, Ephef. 2.20. founding-grounding doctrine) as that golden Reed, Rev. 21.15. to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

2. If the Word and Spirit cannot be fet at difference, but are infeparable, as R. F. yieldeth, yet I did not falfly accufe them (as he faith) that witness to the Saints ground, becaufe by [Word] he and others exprefly hold forth none but the Perfon of Chrift, and God the word, but deny the Letter of Scripture to be the Word of God; which is ftrange contradiction to God himself, and to his Scripture, and to themselves alfo; For while they grant he wrote, or caused to be written the whole Letter, yet they deny him to have written a word. It is true in propriety of Grammar-speech, a letter is but the leaft part of a word, yet it is a part: But the Bible confifts of many books of letters, which God hath left written for his friends and people, to be grounded and fetled in the faith; yet because fobn 1.1. fpeaks of God the Word, and 2 Cor. 3. 17. of the Lord the Spirit, therefore Christ and the Scripture must not be called by the fame name; and because Chrift and the Spirit are infeparable, therefore the Spirit and the Scripture must be parted, as to the Cafe in hand; and if the Spirit be the ground of the Saints acting, the Scriptures must have no part nor lot in this bufinefs. Ifhall ftill accufe fuch Logick to be false reafoning, and yet not accufe the Logician falfly.

with 25.cpe.

R. F. thinking to mend the matter, marres it with his additional glofs, *The Letter is not God, nor the Letter is not the Spirit, therefore not that Word which liveth and abideth for ever, 1 Pet. 1.23. by which the World was framed Heb. 11. 3. and made, Heb. 1. 2, For what if it be not that WORD, yet it is the word of that word: it is the word of Chrift, who is God the Word: And if Chrift be the ground or Emeritoriously efficient caufe of the Saints actings, his Scripture or written Word is the regular Card and Compafs by which his Spirit fteers their course to the Haven of Happinefs and Eternal Reft: And why may not the [word] Peter Speaks of in that place, be the Scripture? He fets not Chrift fpoken of, in oppofition to that Scripture in Isaiah 40.8. but from the Prophets teftimony,advanceth the word

that.

that fpeaks of Chrift, in oppofition, first to mortal and cor- Section 5. ruptible feed, and then to withering flesh, and all the glory of man even in his words, fading away as the flower of grafs, And is not every Scripture-Gospel-promise that immortal feed? which being emitted from the Scripture by the Spirit, and quickened as it is caft into the heart, doth it not there abide, and remain in life and power? If verfe 25. may give any light to verse 23. not Christs perfon, but Chrifts promife is there (beyond all dispute) intended by the Apostle, when he faith, The Word of the Lord endureth for ever: for the Greek word is not that which is used when Chrift in perfon is fpoken of, Logos, but Rëma, both in top. the first and latter claufe, which is an explication of the for

mer: And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached un-TˇTO To Pňμa. to you as if the Apoftle fhould fay, Would ye know what word is that which endureth for ever? even the Scripture-promise which we daily do evangelize or speak of unto you, as conftant good tidings. If any fay in verfe 23. it a λóze. is Logos, it must be noted for a certain truth, that although Logos the Word, be fometimes neceffarily to be understood of Chrifts perfon, as John.1.1.&c. yet not always; and this * Apud Greis ascertain that Rëma is never used for Chrifts perfon, but. Bers. cos latè patet this is ufed ver. 25. and therefore ver.23. in Peter, is to be in fob. 1.1. expounded by it.

*

Again, Is it not the fame with the fincere milk of the word*, cap. 2. 2. which nourisheth and miniftreth growth sorov záλai

το λογικὸν to the new-born babe? Was it the wonted maner of any of the Lords Nurfes to bring up Gods children by hand (as we fay) as foon as they are new born, and not guidethem to the breafts of the Old and New Testament-Scripture, thence to fuck and draw for their refreshment, prefervation and confolation? But fuch curfed ftep-dames have we now fprung up, who would wean every new-born. babe from any further taftes of Scripture-milk, it must be no ground of their acting; then no means of their growth, no food to them at all, nay, it fhall be no feed inftrumentally to beget them, as not milk to nourish them.

3. They that deny the Scriptures to be in any good fenfe the ground of the Saints acting, in effect deny them to be

Gods

Section 5.

Gods Scriptures, and Chrifts Scriptures; for either the Authority of God and Chrift is ftampt upon them, or not: if it be, then by their Authority may, and ought the Saints to act; if it be not, then are they but humane, and not the Scriptures of God and Chrift.,

But let us examine what R. F. faith for himself, *and 2 pag. of his Epift.and 7. men of his judgement. The Lord God and his Spirit is the p.of his book. ground of the Saints acting,as it was formerly, Ifa.48.16,17. Ifaiah 48. 16, For the Lord God and his Spirit hath fent me, And the Lord 17. cleared & teacheth his that he fo fends, to profit.

vindicated.

1 Cor, 12.7. vindicased

The property of the Scri ptures.

Rep. 1. So reads he or writes (I must not say wrefteth, left I retort) but the words are directed to the people or Church, and truly thus read, [which teacheth thee to profit] The prophets had more extraordinary impulfes of the Spirit,then the Saints in ordinary for their actings. 2. One way whereby God then taught, and now teacheth his people to profit, was by reducing them to the written Rule, ver. 18. O that thou hadst hearkned to my Commandments! which they had in writings from God, before the Lord God, and the Spirit fent Ifaiah to them. Chrift who came with the Spirit, as he received it, not by measure, caine with the Scriptures, taught the people and his disciples how to profit by them, Luke 4. 18. Matth. 5. Luke 24. 27. and as the manifeftation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal (which Scripture 1 Cor. 12. 7. R. F. alledgeth in part) fo is all the Scripture given by infpiration of God, and is profitable for Doctrine, for Reproof, for Correction, for Inftruction in righteousness,2 Tim.3.16. neither is there any manifestation of the Spirit in any Teacher, if he doth not manifeft his doctrine from, or according to the Scripture, when required fo to do. It is not to be believed that God ever gave his Spirit to fuch a Teacher, who doth manifeftly or covertly (under pretence of the Spirit) flie from the light of Scripture. The Spirit of God never taught any to fpeak difhonorably or diminishingly of his written word; but to give unto the Scriptures what is its due, viz. That they are Gods holy Scriptures, Rom. 1. 2. able to make a childe wife unto falvation, through faith which is in Chrift Jefus, 2 Tim.3.15. and given ver.17. That the man of God

[the