Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

CHAP. III.

Of the second part of Precious Faith, the belief of the Testimony of God in the Scriptures: What manner of belief it is, and the consequents of it, in order to an holy self-resignation.

THUS far of the first thing in Faith, supernatural illumination. I now proceed to the second, A belief of the testimony of God in the Scriptures: and here I need use no words to prove this belief an ingredient in Faith, for faith in the Grammatical notion of it, is nothing else but a belief of a Testimony; and, being applied to God, it is a belief of his Testimony in Scripture. Only I shall open two things; first, what manner of belief of the divine testimony in Scriptures this is: and then, what the consequents of it are in order to resignation.

First, What manner of belief this is. And this I shall explain in these particulars.

First, This belief is divine, and congruous to the divine testimony. Such as the testimony is, such must be the ratio credendi: the Scriptures being a divine testimony, must be believed for themselves, because of the divine authority stamped upon them. Thus the Thessalonians received the word, not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God,