1 have written to him the great things of my Law

I have written to him the great things of my Law.

This is made an aggravation of their sin, they multiply altars to sin, and yet says God, I have written to them the great things of my Law: they find no such things in my Law written to them, this was against the very written Word of God, and what that written Word of God against those many altars was, that you had the last day, but in that from this connexion that these are made sins because they were against the written Word of God: from there the note is,

That whatever is urged to us, or practised by us in matters of worship, it must have warrant out of the written Word of God. It was sin, Why? Because I have written to them (says he) the great things of my Law, and they counted it a strong thing; though that which they did had a great deal of seeming devotion in it, yet it was otherwise than that they found written in my Law.

This question should be put to any that tender to us any way of worship, or doctrine of religion under any specious shew whatever; Where is it written? To the Law, and to the Testimony (Isaiah 8:20): If they speak not according to this Word, it is, because they have no light in them; Oh they seem to be very judicious and wise, but if they speak not according to this Word they have no light in them, not only to the Law and Testimonies, but to the written Law and Testimonies, this must be the standard at which all doctrines and ways of worship must be tried. Many may put fair colours upon their ways, that it is for common peace, and a great deal of good may be done by it, and the like; But is it written? Did I ever command it says God? Policy may say it's fit, Reason may say it's comely, and Experience may say it's useful, But does the written Law say it should be? No, it's not enough to say, That we cannot say it is forbidden, But where is it written? In matters of worship this is a certain rule. Says Tertullian about the crowning of the soldier with bays; If it be said, It is lawful, because the Scripture does not forbid it; it may equally be retorted, It is therefore not lawful, because the Scripture does not command it. No matter what the thing be (says Luther) in matters of religion, but who it is that bids it, who it is that commands it, we must look to that; Never argue thus in any point of religion (I beseech you consider, it is a point that has been, is, and may yet further prove to be of great use to us) never argue thus, Why, what hurt is there in it? Is it not very comely? I cannot think but it may do a great deal of good, these arguments are weak arguments in matters of worship: but to all these arguments we must answer, Is it written? As Christ answered the Devil and his temptations, it was enough to say, it was written thus and thus: So if you can but bring a word written against it, and if you can put them to it to shew what they would have you to do, let them shew it where it is written; in Exodus 39 we find in that chapter at least ten times it is said, they did according to what the Lord had commanded Moses, and in the conclusion of the chapter Moses blessed the people; the people are blessed when in the matters of worship they keep to what is commanded.

And again, As we must not make what we think the rule for worship, so neither the opinions of learned men, nor custom, nor antiquity, must be the rule of our worship, but what's written? I have written to them the great things of my Law, they must keep to that; whatever use we may make now of the opinions of ancients and the like, yet if the ancients themselves were alive they would abhor the use that many make of their quotations. Cyprian in one of his Epistles says, We must not look what this man, or that man that were before us (he speaks of his predecessors) — what he did, or what he taught, but what he that was before all, namely Christ, who alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And so Augustin has another speech to the same effect, speaking of the ancients, of learned men, saving all due respect that is due to them, yet for us to think that we may not cast out, even reject from their writings some things, because they were learned men, this must not be admitted, for (says he) such a one I'll be in respect of the writings of other men, and such a one would I have those that understand my writings to be to me, I will not think of the writings of any other men before, that there should be nothing cast out nor mended, neither would I have any body think so of my writings. And so Ambrose, Where the Scripture is silent we must not speak. Thus we see that those men for the maintaining of that which is evil they will make use of quotations and antiquities, yet we see the ancients did abhor this, Christ and his Apostles they quoted none of the learned men before them, but Moses and the Prophets.

But you will say, Though we must not take that which other men write to be the rule, yet that which other men write may help us to understand the Scripture.

Now I remember Luther has such a speech, That Scripture should rather help us to understand mens writings, than mens writings to understand the Scripture; Many men they will make mens writings to be as a judge, and to be the rule of understanding Scriptures, not the judge of truth, but the rule of understanding Scripture, whereas (says he) the Scripture should rather be the rule of understanding them.

And so Hilary, (says he) for the sense of Scripture and understanding them, He is the best Interpreter, that rather takes the sense from out of Scripture, and by comparing one Scripture with another, than bring any new sense; therefore the understanding of Scripture is more by Scripture than by the Writings of any man living. And yet still no question we may make use of the gifts of God in others, but so as to keep us close to the written Word for the Rule, yes, and for the meaning of the Rule; they may help us to see whether the Scripture will justify this truth, or this sense, for there lies the mistake. Most people in the world will think this indeed, That whatever any man writes, if it be contrary to the Word, we may not receive it, but we must understand the Word in what sense they take it; now we must not go so far. For the Scripture written, is not only that we might know what the Rule is, but it is written, that we might understand the meaning of the Rule, and we must fetch out the meaning of Scriptures by Scripture. Now so far as the Writings of men will help us to fetch out the meaning of Scripture by Scripture, so far we may make use of them; but we cannot say, this is the meaning, because it is the judgment of such and such learned men; but such and such learned men will give you reasons, and compare one Scripture with another, to show why it is the meaning of it, and they will show you the history of the time, and show you how to compare old and new Testament one with another; and this is the use of Writers for understanding the Scriptures. Then you will say, Why do we make use of Writers so much? Why thus, they show how one Scripture looks towards another, and to compare one Scripture with another, and show the coherence of things.

The sense of things is to be resolved in the Scripture its self, and therefore we must keep our selves very close to what is written.

Written: It was not so at first, it was delivered but from hand to hand, but afterwards when the Church began to multiply, then the Word was written. And this is a mighty blessing of God, that we may have the mind of God written, so as we may look into it, and search to know the mind of God, by reading it over and over again, and taking it into our hands, when we are lying upon our beds, if we light a candle in the night, we may be reading and looking into the mind of God. If we should only hear of such a book that were in the world, that were in China in the uttermost parts of the habitable world, if we should hear that there were such a book, that God had written, or that God had used men to write by an inspiration of his own Spirit, a book that was certainly indited by the Holy Ghost every word of it, wherein the Lord had revealed the great counsels of his will concerning man's eternal estate, if we should hear that there came such a book down even from Heaven, and this was in the uttermost parts of the earth, Oh! what a longing desire should we have to see that book? What man or woman but would give their whole estate to have a week, or a fortnight's time to see and read in such a book as that is; if one could, he would be willing to travel to the end of the world to have the use of such a book as that is. No man need say, Shall I go to the uttermost parts of the earth? for it is in your hands, it is in your houses, there is the book wherein the great God has written his mind, has written all things to you which concerns your eternal salvation, has written there whatever he would have you to know and believe to eternal life; this it is that you have in your hands. However we prize it now, heretofore it has been prized at a high rate; how many of the Martyrs would venture their lives to keep but a few leaves of Scripture in their houses? But how vile is it then for us to neglect the reading of this written Word? I have read of one Theodorus a physician at Constantinople, that he sent to Gregory the Great a great sum of money for the redeeming of captives, and Gregory he commends his liberality; but though he was so liberal and bountiful to redeem captives, yet he writ back again to him in way of reprehending him for not reading Scripture, and uses this expression to him, The Emperor of Heaven, the Lord of the Angels and Men, has sent to you, that which concerns your life, and will you neglect to read them with a fervent, with a zealous spirit? He would not but blame him even at that time when he sent such gifts to him, it did grieve him to think that such a one so bountiful to the poor should so neglect the reading of Scripture. Many men and women that have excellent parts and yet for all that they find but little savor in the Scripture. There's no books that are written that should take us off from this written Word; although we have cause to bless God abundantly for what is written, for those excellent helps which we have written, yet we must take heed that there be no written book in the world take us off from this written Word of God. Luther therefore has such a speech, I even hate mine own books, and I often times even wish that they were burnt, that they might perish, Why? because I fear lest they should be any way of hindrance to men, or withdraw them from reading the Scriptures: and so he falls a commending the Scriptures: It is the only fountain of all wisdom; and further says he — I am even terrified, I tremble at the example of the former age, upon this, Because (says he) many divines spent so much time in reading of Aristotle and Averroes and other writers and spent so little time in reading Scripture. And the truth is it was that which brought so much ignorance into the world in the time of the schoolmen which was a time of great learning and yet the time of the greatest ignorance in the mysteries of godliness, because they minded Scripture very little, but only turned things into questions and disputes that tended not according to Scripture. Though we may make use of the labors and gifts of other men, yet look we especially to the written Word, and let not other writings take us off from them; hence we say, the Scripture in way of excellency we must keep ourselves to the written Word, and therefore take heed of being led aside by any traditions of men. That's a most detestable derogation from the written Word: but we find in the Council of Trent, speaking of the Scriptures, says one of the canons of the Council of Trent, We (says he) do receive Scripture and reverence Scripture, but (says he) moreover we receive and reverence traditions with the same affection of piety and reverence as we do the Scripture. Those are the very words that all Papists are bound to hold, and for them to deny any council there were death to them. It argues men to be in the dark, to mind traditions so: as the Jews, that's the reason that they vanish so in their thoughts, and understand the Scripture so little, because they mind traditions as much as Scripture, and more; for so they say, that divide a man's life into three parts, one part must be spent in reading Scripture, and two parts more in the two several parts of their Talmud, which is their traditions. And some of them say that this is one tradition among them, that Moses did study the Scripture in the day time, and those Talmudical traditions that they have they were studied in the night; and indeed it is night-work, and it is a sign that the world is so much in darkness because they look so much at traditions. The written Word of God which we must look at more than if one came from the dead, or if an Angel from Heaven came and preached to us.

But you will say, That we must not look to it more than if God should reveal any thing to us, suppose it were a voice of God from Heaven.

We have warrant to have regard to the written Word of God more than the voice of God from Heaven (2 Peter 1:19). There it's spoken of the voice that came down upon the transfiguration at the Mountain, but says the Apostle there, We have a more sure word of prophecy, more, more even than that was; that is, it is more sure to us, and there is not so easy a way to be deceived by resting upon the written Word, as if we look for revelations from God, we have a more sure word of prophecy, therefore it is not so much after revelations that we are to look (especially in such times as these are) but to the written Word of God. There is a generation of men rising now, if not risen, that begin to have vile thoughts of the written Word of God, and think to understand the mind of God otherwise, they finding the written Word of God to keep their hearts too close and lay too strong bonds upon them, but because they would fain be loose they would feign and imagine to themselves other ways of God's mind, but when they are rotten, and it may be when their souls are perished eternally in Hell, the written Word of God shall stand and be honorable in the eyes of his Saints.