A Body of Practical Divinity

Use 2. Is all Scripture of Divine Inspiration, is it a Book made by GOD himself? Then this reproves, 1. The Papists who take away part of Scripture, and so clip the King of Heaven's Coin; they expunge the second Commandment out of their Catechisms, because it makes against Images; 'tis usual with them if they meet with any thing in Scripture which they dislike, either they put a false Gloss upon it, or if that will not do, pretend it is corrupted; these are like Ananias who kept back part of the Money, Acts 5.2. so they keep back part of Scripture from the People. This is an high Affront to God, to deface and obliterate any part of his Word: by this they bring themselves under that Premunire, Rev. 22.19. If any man shall take away from the words of the book this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life. Is all Scripture of Divine Inspiration? 2. It condemns the Antinomians that lay aside the Old Testament as useless and out of date; they call them Old Testament Christians: God hath stamped a Divine Majesty upon both Testaments, and till they can show me where God hath given a Repeal to the Old it stands in force. The two Testaments are the two Wells of Salvation; the Antinomians would stop up one of these Wells, they would dry up one of the Breasts of Scripture. There is much Gospel in the Old Testament; The Comforts of the Gospel in the New Testament have their rise from the Old. The great Promise of the Messiah is in the Old Testament, A Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son:—Nay, I say more, the Moral Law in some part of it speaks Gospel, I am the Lord thy God; here is the pure Wine of the Gospel. The Saints great Charter where God promiseth to ⟨p. 17⟩pour clean water on them, and put his spirit within them, is to be found primarily in the Old Testament, Ezek. 36.26. So that they who go to take away the Old Testament, do as Sampson, Pull down the pillars; they would take away the Pillars of a Christian's Comfort. 3. It condemns the Enthusiasts who pretending the Spirit, lay aside the whole Bible, they say the Scripture is a Dead Letter, and they live above it. What Impudency is this? till we are above Sin we shall not be above Scripture; let not Men talk of a Revelation from the Spirit, suspect it to be an Imposture; the Spirit of God acts regularly, it works in and by the Word;