and authority of God commanding and asserting and testifying to them, is
more convincing from its own bare assertion, than all human reason.

Although there be much light in the scriptures to guide men's way to God's
glory and their own happiness, yet it will all be to small purpose if "the
eyes of our understanding be darkened and blinded." If you shall surround
a man with day light, except he open his eyes he cannot see. The
scriptures are a clear sun of life and righteousness, but the blind soul
encompassed with that light is nothing the wiser, but thinks the lamp of
the word shines not, because it sees not, it hath its own dungeon within
it. Therefore the Spirit of God must open the eyes of the blind, and
enlighten the eyes of the understanding, that the soul may see wonderful
things in God's law, Psal. cxix. 5, 18. The light may shine in the
darkness, but "the darkness comprehendeth it not," John i. 5. I wonder not
that the most part of men can see no beauty, no majesty, no excellency in
the holy scriptures to allure them, because they are natural, and have not
the Spirit of God, and so cannot know these things "for they are
spiritually discerned," 1 Cor. ii. 14. Therefore as the inspiration of God
did conceive this writing at first, and preached this doctrine unto the
world, so there can no soul understand it, or profit by it, but by the
inspiration of the Almighty. "Verily there is a spirit in man, and the
inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding," saith Job. When the
Spirit comes into the soul to engrave the characters of that law and truth
into the heart which were once engraven on tables of stone, and not
written with pen and ink, then the Spirit of Christ Jesus writes over and
transcribes the doctrine of the gospel on "the fleshly tables of the
heart,"--draws the lineaments of that faith and love preached in the word
upon the soul, then the soul is "the epistle of Christ," "written not with
[pen and] ink, but with the Spirit of the living God," 2 Cor. iii. 3. And
then the soul is manifestly declared to be such, when that which is
impressed on the heart is expressed in the outward man in walking, that it
may be "read of all men." Now the soul having thus received the image of
the scriptures on it, understands the Spirit's voice in them, and sees the
truth and divinity of them. The eye must receive some species and likeness
of the object before it see it, it must be made like to the object ere it
can