complete without any of these additions; yet, as I think it a very shameful neglect in learned men, not to enquire into these things, fo, I am fure, he who does, will find great difficulties in fettling the Canon of the books of the New Testament.

II. The other part of the question about the Canon is, Whether all the books now admitted into the Canon of the New Teftament are of equal authority, or the fame authority which their being placed in the Canon fuppofes. The difcuffing this question will appear to be no less a difficulty than the former, if we confider,

I. That it is impoffible to affign any certain time, when a collection of these books, either by the Apostles, or any council of inspired or learned men near their times, was made.

2. That they have been all, or most of them, rejected by fome hereticks, or others, in the first ages.

3. That feveral of them have not been received by those, who did not go under the name of hereticks before Eufebius's time.

4. That several of them have had their authority difputed by learned men in later times.

Though I hope fully to confute these specious objections, and all others that can be made against our present collection, in the fourth part of this book; yet every one must allow fuch objections to make the business of settling the Canon not so easy, as is commonly imagined.

I. As to the first of these, viz. That we cannot affign any certain time, when a collection of these books was made, or a Canon fettled by the Apoftles, or any infpired perfons near their time, the matter is too certain to need much to be faid of it. Mr. Dodwell', Dr. Grabe ", and Dr. Mills", our best writers on these heads, have observed it already; though I

hope to prove their arguings on this head (I mean of the two former) to be falfe and groundless.

2. That many, or most of the books of the New Teftament, have been rejected by hereticks in the first ages, is also certain.

Fauftus Manichæus and his followers are faid to have rejected all the New Teftament, as not written by the Apof

tles °.

Marcion rejected all, except St. Luke's Gofpel".

The Manichees disputed much against the authority of St. Matthew's Gospel 9.

The Alogians rejected the Gospel of St. John, as not his, but made by Cerinthus '.

The Acts of the Apostles were rejected by Severus, and the fect of his name ".

The fame rejected all Paul's Epiftles ', as did also the Ebionites ", and the Helkefaites *.

Others, who did not reject all, rejected fome particular Epiftles, of which instances will be given hereafter.

3 Several of the books of the New Teftament were not univerfally received, even among them who were not hereticks, in the first ages. Eufebius tells us, the authority of the fecond Epiftle of Peter, and the Epiftle to the Hebrews, was difputed; and in another place, that the Epiftles of James, Jude, the fecond Epiftle of Peter, the second and third Epiftles of John, were not universally received, but doubted of by fome: the fame, or rather more, he says of the Revelation of St. John.

4. Several of them have had their authority difputed by learned men in later times. Luther and several of his followers utterly reject the Epiftle of James, not only as a fpurious piece,

but as containing things directly contrary to the Gospel'. Erafinus had a very mean opinion, and doubted the Canonical authority, of the Revelations". Calvin, Cajetan, and the learned Kirstenius, had the fame fentiments of it. But referring this and many other things, which might be faid under this and the foregoing heads, to their proper place, I shall only infer from the whole, that if fo many books, befide what we now receive, claim admiffion into our Canon, in the judgment of learned men ; if we can prove no certain time, when the Canon was fixed in the firft, or beginning of the second century; if there were fuch controverfies, not only among the orthodox and heretics, but among the orthodox themselves, concerning the authority of several books; and laftly, if several books have been rejected by learned men of late; it follows moft undeniably, that it requires our utmost diligence and industry, as being apparently a work of the greatest difficulty, to fettle the Canon of the New Teftament.

OBSERV. II.

That fettling the Canonical Authority of the Books of the New Teftament, is a Matter of the greatest Confequence and Importance.

FOR

OR if, on the one hand, any book be received as the word of God, which is not fo; or, on the other hand, any book be not received as the word of God, which really is fo, the confequences are fatal and dangerous, and the neglect of due enquiry in fuch a matter must needs be very criminal.

I. As to the first, viz. Receiving books for infpired, which are not fo, the confequences are evidently very bad; as,

1. We thereby offer a notorious affront to our Maker, not only making him the author of lies and forgeries, but imputing the false, perhaps blafphemous conceptions of ill-defigning

See Manton. Pref. to James.
Vid. Annot. in Rev. 22.

See the Preface to Dr. Grego

ry's Works, p. 10.

men,

men, fuggefted by the father of lies, to the infpiration of his Holy Spirit. Thus injurious to the honour of God are many of the Apocryphal books both of the Old and New Teftament, in which we find, not only the most filly and frivolous ftories, not like the dictates of the Holy Ghoft, but direct contrarieties to the most certain truths. Thus the author of the book of Tobit makes his angel guilty of a grofs lie, faying first, that he was Azarias the son of Ananias, ch. v. ver. 12. and afterwards, ch. xii. ver. 15. that he was Raphael, one of the feven angels.

The author of the Wisdom of Solomon very plainly afferts the doctrine of the pre-existence of fouls, before they are brought into bodies, ch. viii. ver. 19, 20.

The author of Baruch fays, ch. i. ver. 1, 2, 3. that he read his book to the captives the fifth year of the captivity in Babylon, when it is certain the true Baruch was with Jeremiah in Egypt, Jer. xliii. ver. 5, 6, 7.

To omit a hundred fuch inftances, I fhall only produce a few fuch from the Apocryphal books of the New Teftament, by which it will appear, how bad the confequence would be of receiving those books for genuine, which are not. Thus for inftance it would be, fhould any receive those spurious books, attributed to our Saviour, which, the wicked authors of them pretended, did contain those magical arts, by which he wrought his miracles.

Thus it would be, should the celebrated Gospel of the Nazarenes (which Father Simon and others reckon the true one of St. Matthew) be received as inspired; which makes our Lord Jefus Chrift unwilling to be baptized by John, nay intimates, he was not baptized at all; that he questioned, whether he was not a finner, &c. that the Holy Ghost took him by one of his hairs into the great mount Thabor, &c f.

In the book, intitled The Preaching of Paul, we have almoft the fame ftory of Chrift's unwillingness to be baptized, till forced to it by his mother; his confeffing his fins, &c 5.

It were easy to produce many fuch inftances; these may fhew us, of how dangerous confequence it is, to receive any books for the word of God, which are not so, seeing we impute fuch wretched fooleries, nonsense, and contradictions to the inspiration of the Holy Ghoft.

2. By receiving books as the word of God, which are not fo, we affent to the most grofs and notorious errors as indubitable truths, and so very often shall be like to oblige ourselves to many burdenfome imaginary duties, not only not required in the word of God, but perhaps directly contrary to the true mind and will of God revealed in it.

St. Luke was fo fenfible of this dangerous confequence from the many spurious Apocryphal Gospels extant in his time, that he wrote his Gospel with this kind intention to prevent it, as he himself informs us in his preface h. St. Paul likewife, apprehenfive of fuch pernicious evils, that might be produced by any spurious Epiftles pretending under his name to inspiration, warns the Theffalonians not to receive them, nor be influenced in their judgment by them. And indeed there is apparently the greatest reafon for care and caution in this matter; for inftance,

What wretched principles in Chriftianity muft they have, who received the forementioned books, of Chrift's working his Miracles by magical arts, or believed him to be a finner! What an odd religion must they profess and practise, who should receive that other book, attributed to our Saviour *, in which he declares, he was no way against the heathen Gods, &c.