19. And they that say that every book and text must of necessity to salvation be believed to be canonical and true.
20. And those that say that God hath so preserved the Scripture, as that there are no various readings and doubtful texts thereupon,[450] and that no written or printed copies have been corrupted (when Dr. Heylin tells us, that the king's printer printed the seventh commandment, Thou shalt commit adultery). All these err in over-doing.
III. The dangers of the former detracting from the Scripture are these: 1. It injureth the Spirit who is the author of the Scriptures. 2. It striketh at the foundation of our faith, by weakening the records which are left us to believe; and imboldeneth men to sin, by diminishing the authority of God's law; and weakeneth our hopes, by weakening the promises. 3. It shaketh the universal government of Christ, by shaking the authority or perfection of the laws by which he governeth. 4. It maketh way for human usurpations, and traditions, as supplements to the holy Scriptures; and leaveth men to contrive to amend God's word and worship, and make co-ordinate laws and doctrines of their own. 5. It hindereth the conviction and conversion of sinners, and hardeneth them in unbelief, by questioning or weakening the means that should convince and turn them. 6. It is a tempting men to the cursed adding to God's word.
IV. The dangers of over-doing here are these: 1. It leadeth to downright infidelity; for when men find that the Scripture is imperfect or wanting in that which they fancy to be part of its perfection, and to be really insufficient, e. g. to teach men physics, logic, medicine, languages, &c. they will he apt to say, It is not of God, because it hath not that which it pretends to have. 2. God is made the author of defects and imperfections. 3. The Scripture is exposed to the scorn and confutation of infidels. 4. Papists are assisted in proving its imperfection. But I must stop, having spoke to this point before in quest. 35, and partly quest. 30, 31, 33, more at large.
[444] James iv. 12; Isa. xxxiii. 22; Rev. xxii. 18, 19; Matt. xxviii. 20; Isa. viii. 16, 20; Psal. xix. 7, 8; cxix. 130; Prov. xiv. 20, 22; viii. 5; Deut. xii. 32.
[445] 1 John i. 1-3; 3 John 12; Heb. ii. 3, 4; John ii. 24; Eph. iv. 8-16.
[446] John vi. 63; Rom. viii. 9; 1 John iii. 24; John iii. 5, 6.
[447] Many Romish priests and others do so.
[448] 1 Cor. xiv. 26, 32, 40.
[449] Heb. v. 10-12.