- 1. If both these schemes, the physical and the moral, coincide and form one whole, then our inability to criticise the system of nature, renders it credible that we are incompetent to criticise the system of grace.
- 2. Nature shows many things we should not have expected, prior to experience.
- 3. Hence it is altogether likely it would be so in religion.
- 4. If a citizen is incompetent to judge of the propriety of the general laws of his government, he is equally incompetent to judge when and how far those laws should be suspended, or deviated from.
II. We are no better judges of how revelation should be imparted.
Whether to every man, or to some for others; or what mode or degree of proof should be given; or whether the knowledge should be given gradually or suddenly.
- 1. We are not able to judge how much new knowledge ought to be given by revelation.
- 2. Nor how far, nor in what way, God should qualify men to transmit any revelation he might make.
- 3. Nor whether the evidence should be certain, probable, or doubtful.
- 4. Nor whether all should have the same benefit from it.
- 5. Nor whether it should be in writing, or verbal. If it be said that if not in writing it would not have answered its purpose: I ask, what purpose? Who knows what purposes would best suit God’s general government?
- 6. All which shows it to be absurd to object to particular things in revelation as unsuitable.
III. Hence the only question, concerning the truth of revelation is, whether it is a revelation.
- 1. No obscurities, &c. could overthrow the authority of a revelation.
- 2. It can only be overthrown by nullifying the proofs.
- 3. Though the proofs could be shown to be less strong than is affirmed, it still should control our conduct.
IV. Modes of arguing, which are perfectly just, in relation to other books, are not so as to the Bible.
- 1. We are competent judges of common books, but not of Scripture.
- 2. Our only inquiry should be to find out the sense.
- 3. In other books, internal improbabilities weaken external proof; but in
regard to revelation, we scarcely know what are improbabilities.
- 1.) Those who judge the Scripture by preconceived expectations, will imagine they find improbabilities.
- 2.) And so they would by thus judging in natural things.
- —It would seem very improbable, prior to experience, that man should be better able to determine the magnitudes and motions of heavenly bodies, than he is to determine the causes and cures of disease, which much more nearly concerns him.
- —Or that we should sometimes hit upon a thing in an instant, even when thinking of something else, which we had been vainly trying to discover for years.
- —Or that language should be so liable to abuse, that every man may be a deceiver.
- —Or that brute instinct should ever be superior to reason.