VII. To dispute the Divine Original and Authority of _Gods Word_, is

not the least of those _Temptations_ with which the Devil troubles us. God from Heaven, had newly said unto our Lord, _this is my Beloved Son;_ but now the Devil would have him to make a dispute of it, _If thou be the son of God_. The Devil durst not be so Impudent, and Brasen fac'd, as to bid men use _Pharaohs_ Language, _Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?_ But he will whisper into our Ears, what he did unto our Mother _Eve_ of old, _It is not the Lord that hath spoken what you call his Word_. The Devil would have men say unto the _Scripture_, what they said unto the _Prophet_, in Jer. 43. 2. _Thou speakest falsely; the Lord our God hath not sent thee to speak what thou sayest unto us;_ & he would fain have secret & cursed Misgivings in our hearts, _that things are not altogether so as the Scripture has represented them_. The Devil would with all his heart make one huge Bonefire of all the Bibles in the world; & he has got Millions of persecutors to _assist him in the suppression of that miraculous book. It was the devil once in the tongue of a Papist_, that cry'd out, _A plague on this bible; this 'tis that_ [89] _does all our mischief_. But because he can't _Suppress_ this Book, he sets himself, to _Disgrace_ it all that he can. Altho' the Scripture carries its _own Evidence_ with it, and be all over, so pure, so great, so true, and so powerful, that it is impossible it should proceed from any but God alone; yet the Devil would gladly bring some Discredit upon it, as if it were but some _Humane Contrivance;_ Of nothing, is the Devil more desirous, than this; That we should not count, _Christ_ so precious, _Heaven_ so Glorious, _Hell_ so Dreadful, and _Sin_ so odious, as the Scripture has declared it. §. The Second of our Lords Three Temptations, is related after this manner, in Mat. 4. 5, 6. _Then the Devil taketh him up, into the Holy City, and setteth him upon a Pinacle of the Temple; and saith unto him, if thou be the Son of God, cast thy self down; for it is written, He shall give his Angels charge concerning thee, and in their Hands, they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy Foot against a Stone_. From whence take these _Remarks_.