lightens every man that comes into the World, the Light of the World, and the Light of Life. And St Paul ípeaking of the Gofpel fays, That the Grace of God which bringeth Salvation hath appeared to all Men, has been manifeft to all Men. For who is there that is not capable of a sufficient Understanding of the Story, the Precepts, the Prohibitions, the Promises, and Threatnings of the Gofpel? Who, that will but read it, is not able to understand the Meaning of that heavenly Sermon of our Saviour's upon the Mount, deliver'd with Equal Plainnefs and Power to the Capacity of the Weakeft, as well as the Conviction of the Wifeft? Both the Law and the Gospel were writ for All Men, that All might come to the Knowledge of the Truth. And as God commanded, not only the Priests and the Levites, but the whole People to read and be perpetually converfant in the Law; So has Chrift, by his Apoftles, deliver'd his Gofpel, and commanded it to be read, not

the Learned only, or the Clergy, but by the whole Chriftian Church, by all Ranks and Conditions of Men, from the higheft to the loweft, in Fortune, or Underftanding. Further, Every Man, to whom the Writings of the Gofpel have come, is oblig'd under Pain of everlafting Damnation both to believe its Doctrines and obey

its Commands; and St Paul tells us, That in the great Day God ball judge the fecrets of Men's hearts by Chrift Fefus according to his Gospel. Now what is the direct and natural Conclufion from this, but that this Covenant between God and Man, which is fo Univerfal as equally to concern all Mankind the Wife and the Unwife, the Simple and the Learned, fo Obligatory, that without the fulfilling the Conditions of it, No One can be fav'd, fo adequate a Measure of the whole Duty of a Chriftian, that it fhall be the Standard by which Chrift will judge the World, muft bear a Senfe moft perfpicuous and plain to all Perfons it concerns, that is the Whole World, in those Parts of it by which they are to be judg'd, that is all that are Fundamental and abfolutely Neceffary to Salvation? Unless we would charge the Judge of all the World with the highest Injustice, in exacting Belief and Obedience of thofe, who had no Means of knowing what they were either to believe or obey; and of the most Barbarous Cruelty, in pu nishing his Creatures to all Eternity, for not finding that plain, which he himself had purposely left Obfcure.

This I think may be fufficient, both from the Teftimony of Scripture, and from the Nature and Reason of the thing it felf, to evince the perfpicuity of Holy Writ in all Neceffary

Neceffary Points. In all Neceffary Points I fay, which I defire may all along this whole Difcourfe be obferv'd and remembred. For, that there are feveral difficultys, not only in St Paul's Epiftles, in which the Romanifts object to us from St Peter, Some things are hard to be Understood; but in many other Places of both Old and New Teftament, none is fo blind or partial as not to grant. But because fome are Obscure, do's it thence follow that all are fo? Because things, that are not Neceffary, are not always and in every place fo clear, that the most ordinary capacity may fee thro' them; can it be concluded from hence, that whatever is abfolutely neceffary to every Mans Soul's health is equally Dark? This were Injurious to God, Contradictory to Scripture, Difagreeing to Reason, and which is the most impudent of all Oppofitions, against Experience too.

To fum up this Head therefore, It must be allow'd that as in Scripture there is contain'd every thing, that of Neceffity a Chriftian Man ought to Believe or Practice, in Terms most expreffive and Evident to the Simple and Unlearn'd; fo there are alfo in it, depths and hidden Treasures of Knowledge, which may exercise all the Industry, and Skill, and Parts, of the moft Learned and Wife, and furpafs them too. But then

this is our comfort, that Where the Scripture is not plain, There, if We ufing honeft diligence to find the Truth do yet mifs of it and fall into Error, there is no danger in it. Neither therefore need we any living Infallible Judge or decider of Controverfies; For Thofe places that contain things neceffary, and wherein Errors are dangerous, need no fuch Interpreter, because they are plain; And those that are Obfcure need none, because containing things not necessary, Error in them is not dangerous. The Scripture itself, by its own Light, is able to end all Controverfies neceffary to be ended; and for others that are not fo, they will end when the World ends, and that will be time enough, In the mean while, let us be thankful to God for that Knowledge of his Will which he has been pleas'd to favour us with, and having done Our Duty, according to fo much of it as he has plainly taught, and which therefore he may juftly claim of us, and we are indifpenfably bound to perform; be content to wait his good Pleasure for the reft, and leave those things, which he has more obfcurely deliver'd, to his All-wife difpofal; Remembring that of Mofes, Deut. 29. 29. The Secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are reveal'd, belong unto Us and to our Children for Ever, that we may do all the Words of his

Law.

I have

I have thus, with what brevity I could, endeavour'd to affert the Scripture's being an Abfolute Rule, by fhewing it to be qualify'd for fuch in both its capacitys; fo that by Reason of its Fullness and Perfection, there is no need of Human Tradition; nor by reafon of its Clearness and Perfpicuity, of any infallible Judge upon Earth.

III. But because the Scriptures, as plain as they are in themselves, may thro our default prove obfcure, and thro' our blindness of Heart be to Us dark; I fhall now proceed to the Qualifications requifite to the Reading of 'em with Profit and Underftanding, which I fhall comprehend under a few Heads, and

The First I fhall name is Humility. Truth never takes Root so kindly, never finds fo agreeable a Soil as in an Humble Heart. He that is conscious of his Own Natural Blindness, and having a juft Sense of his Infirmitys, approaches reverently thefe Holy Oracles with the perfect and entire Submiffion of a Disciple, whose business is to Learn, and not to Judge or Controll; void of all vain Conceit of his Own Wisdom, or Natural Reason, or acquir'd abilitys, is of all Others fitteft to be admitted into the School