What a folly is it then to put any trust in a religion of rational notions and opinions logically deduced from Scripture words? Do we not see sinners of all sorts, and men under the power of every corrupt passion, equally zealous for such a religion? Proof enough, that it has not the good of religion in it, nor any contrariety to the vices of the heart; it neither kills them, nor is killed by them. For as pride, hypocrisy, envy, or malice do not take away from the mind its geometrical or critical abilities; so a man may be most logical in his religion of reason, words, doctrines, and opinions, when he has nothing of the true good of religion in him. "But as soon as it is known and confessed that all the happiness or misery of all creatures consists only in this, as they are more or less possessed of God, or as they differently partake of the divine nature, then it must be equally known, that nothing but God can do or be any religious good to us, and also that God cannot do, or be any religious good to us, but by the communication of Himself, or the manifestation of His own life within us." Hence may be seen the great and like blindness both of infidels and Christians; the one in trusting to their own reason dwelling in its own logical conclusions; the other in trusting to their own reason dwelling in learned opinions about Scripture words and phrases, and doctrines built upon them. For as soon as it is known and confessed that God is all in all, that in Him we live and move and have our being, that we can have nothing separately, or out of Him, but everything in Him, that we have no being or degree of being but in Him, that He can give us nothing as our good but Himself, nor any degree of salvation from our fallen nature, but in such degree as He again communicates something more of Himself to us, as soon as this is known, then it is known with the utmost evidence, that to put a religious trust in our own reason, whether confined to itself or working in doctrines about Scripture words, has the nature of that same idolatry that puts a religious trust in the sun, a departed saint, or a graven image." 1 And as image-worship has often boasted of its divine power, because of the wonders of zeal and devotion that have been raised thereby in thousands and ten thousands of its followers, so it is no marvel, if opinion-worship should often have and boast of the same effects. But the truth of the whole matter lies here: as the word manifested in the flesh or become man, is the one Mediator or restorer of union between God and man, so to seeing eyes it must be evident, that nothing but this one mediatorial nature of Christ, essentially brought to life in our souls, can be our salvation through Christ Jesus. For that which saved and exalted that humanity in which Christ dwelt, must be the salvation of every human creature in the world. 25. The Presence of the Holy Spirit means more than the Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. But to return. What poor divinity knowledge comes from great scholars, and great readers, may be sufficiently seen from the two following judicious quotations in a late dissertation on enthusiasm; the 1 Demonstration of the Gross Errors in the Plain Account, etc. one is taken from Dr. Warburton's sermons, the other from a pastoral letter of Mr. Stinstra, a preacher among the Mennonists of Friesland. That from Dr. Warburton stands thus: "By them (that is, by the writings of the New Testament) the prophetic promise of our Saviour, that the Comforter should abide for ever, was eminently fulfilled. For though His ordinary influence occasionally assists the faithful, yet His constant abode and supreme illumination is in the sacred Scriptures. "1 Dr. Warburton's doctrine is this, that the inspired books of the New Testament is that Comforter, or Spirit of Truth, and illuminator, which is meant by Christ's being always with His Church. Let us therefore put the Doctor's doctrine into the letter of the text, which will best show how true or false it is. Our Lord says, 'It is expedient for you that I go away, or the Comforter will not come "; that is, it is expedient for you, that I leave off teaching you in words, that sound only into your outward ears, that you may have the same words in writing, for your outward eyes to look upon, for if I do not depart from this vocal way of teaching you, the Comforter will not come, that is, ye will not have the comfort of My words written on paper. But if I go away, I will send written books, which shall lead you into such a truth of words as you could not have, whilst they were only spoken from My mouth; but being written on paper, they will be My spiritual, heavenly, constant abode with you, and the most supreme illumination you can receive from Me. Christ says further: "I have many things to say 1 Dissertation, p. 10. unto you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He shall guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself, for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you;" that is, though you cannot be sufficiently instructed from My words at present, yet when they shall hereafter come to you in written books, they will give you a knowledge of all truth, for they shall not speak of themselves, but shall receive words from Me, and show them unto you. Again, Christ says, "These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs; but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but will show you plainly of the Father." That is, hitherto you have only had spoken proverbs from Me, and therefore you have not plainly known the Father; but the time cometh when these spoken proverbs shall be put into writing, and then you shall plainly know the Father. Again, Christ adds: "Ye now therefore have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your hearts shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." That is, you are now troubled at My personal departure from you, but some written books shall be My seeing you again, and in that visit you shall have such joy as cannot be taken from you. Christ also says, "If any man loves Me, My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." That is, according to the Doctor's theology, certain books of Scripture will come to him, and make their abode with him; for he expressly confines the constant abode and supreme illumination of God to the Holy Scriptures. Therefore (horrible to say) God's inward presence, His operating power of life and light in our souls, His dwelling in us, and we in Him, is something of a lower nature, that only may occasionally happen, and has less of God in it than the dead letter of Scripture, which alone is His constant abode and supreme illumination. Miserable fruits of a paradoxical genius! Christ from heaven says, "Behold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open unto Me, I will come into him, and sup with him." This is His true eminent fulfilling of His prophetic promise of being a Comforter and Spirit of Truth to His Church to the end of the world. But according to the Doctor, we are to understand, that not the heavenly Christ but the New Testament continually stands and knocks at the door, wanting to enter into the heart, and sup with it; which is no better than holding, that when Christ calls Himself Alpha and Omega, He means not Himself, but the New Testament. Again, "I am the vine, ye are the branches; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me; for without Me, ye can do nothing." Now take the Doctor's comment, and then the truth of all these words of Christ was only temporary, and could be true no longer, than till the books of the New Testament were written; for then all this, which Christ has affirmed of Himself, of the certainty and necessity of His life and power in them, ended in Christ, and passed over to the written words of the New Testament, and they are the true vine, and we its branches, they are that without which we can do nothing. For this it must be, if, as the Doctor affirms, the writings of the New Testament are that, by which |