Rule of Faith Dr. Stillingfl Defence of A. B. Laud. Dr. Sherlocks Protestant Resolution of Faith Learned Defenders of the Protestant Resolution of Faith against those Popish Writers that set up Tradition in Opposition to it and the Absurdity of the latter is evident at first sight and none but meer Enthusiasts ever made any Pretence to it But on the other side for God to communicate his Will by Writing implies nothing in it but what is Natural and Easie there is nothing requisite to continue this to Posterity but God's preserving the Writings themselves by the ordinary Methods of Providence and then men may as well learn his Will from thence as they can know the Histories of former Ages the Opinions of Philosophers the Laws of their own and other Countries from the Writings which record each of these particulars unless we will say that God cannot order a Book to be writ in as Intelligible a manner as men can indite it when they are left to themselves But 't will further appear that 't is more reasonable to suppose that God should preserve the Knowledge of Christianity by appointing a written Rule of Faith than by any other means if we consider III. That he made use of the same means formerly for the Instruction of the Jewish Church With God is no variableness and what he once approves of he does not afterward lay aside but upon some great reason Moses wrote his Law in a book by God's direction e Exod. 34.27 the Prophets appeal to the Law and to the Testimony f Is 8.20 as the only safe Guide and by which men must judge whether a Doctrine come from God or not Our Saviour bids the Jews g Joh. 5.39 search the Scriptures for in them they were perswaded and so far they were in the right was contain'd the way to Eternal Life and in all his Contests with the Jews he desired no other Vouchers for the Truth of what he said but Moses and the Prophets And 't will appear very reasonable to believe that God should use the same Method to instruct the Christian Church which he did the Jewish if we consider that our Saviour and his Apostles conform'd the External parts of their Religion to the Customs received among the Jews as much as they could being resolv'd to give no offence by studiously affecting Novelties The Two Sacraments were taken from Jewish Rites the Government of the Christian Church was framed after the Pattern of the Jewish Hierarchy the Apostles as 't is natural for all men to do being willing to retain the Customs they had been bred up in wherever the Nature of Christiany did not oblige them to the contrary From whence 't is natural to suppose that the Apostles should take care before they left the world to provide some certain means of Instruction for the Christian Church in Conformity to the Jewish which might supply their place when they were dead and gone or else they would not have been so faithful in their office as Moses was who delivered the Book of the Law to the Priests before his Decease h Deut. 31 9 26. And 't is likely the Christians themselves would expect to be provided with as good and sufficient means of knowing their duty as the Jews enjoyed or else they would have had just cause to complain that they came behind them in the Advantages of Knowledge and Instruction And that this is not a meer Conjecture but the real Sense of the first Christians is plain from the Account which the Ancient Writers give us of the occasion of St. Matthew and S. Mark 's writing their Gospels Eusebius tells us i H. E. l. 3. c. 24. that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel particularly for the use of the Jews to whom he had preached because going into other parts he would supply the Want of his Presence by Writing Clemens Alexandrinus saies k Ap Eus H. E. l. 2. c. 15. That St. Mark wrote his Gospel at the Request of the Christians at Rome who were not satisfied with an unwritten Tradition of the Word and therefore desir'd him to commit it to Writing Which St. Peter coming to understand approved and confirmed this Gospel for the use of the Church And when these and the other Apostolical Writings came into the hands of Christians there was no need of a particular Command from God to make them be received as the Rule of the Christian Faith For the Character of the Persons who wrote them the Example of the Jewish Church and the Parity of Reason why these Writings should be of equal Authority among Christians as the Writings of the Old Testament were among the Jews and lastly the Necessity of having some Standing and Settled Rule of Faith these were all sufficient Inducements to Christians to look upon the Apostolical Writings as ordained by God for the Perpetual Use and Instruction of the Church And this will further appear if we consider IV. That God has actually made use of no other way for the conveying down the Doctrine of Christianity that can be assign'd but the Writings of the N. Testament 'T is a very weak Argument to infer that things must be so because we think it Convenient they should be so This is indeed to prescribe to God Almighty and tell him he ought to have ask'd our Advice in the Managing of things And therefore tho the Arguments for the Infallibility of Tradition for an Infallible Judge of Controversies or whatever other Guide men have set up in opposition to the Scriptures were never so plausible and were as real Demonstrations as the Authors of them fancy them to be yet as long as 't is plain by Experience that Tradition is not Infallible and that there is no Infallible Judge of Controversies all these Pretences to Demonstration signify nothing for a man may demonstrate his heart out before he will be able to confute Experience And that neither the Authority of the Church Representative nor the Tradition of the Church Diffusive neither Pope nor Council jointly or separately are Infallible Guides to Christians or equivalent to the Scriptures has been made out with such admirable Clearness and unanswerable Strength of Reason by the Learned Defenders of the Protestant Cause against Popery that without further insisting upon this Point I shall refer to them for further Satisfaction and proceed to the V. Proposition That the Apostles themselves design'd their Writings for the Perpetual Vse of the Church and look'd upon them of Equal Authority with the Writings of the Old Testament The Supernatural Assistance which attended the Apostles in every thing of Moment and tending to the Edification of the Church was so Extraordinary and even their Private Judgment as men was so Upright and void of all Self-interest and Corruption that 't will very much illustrate this matter to consider what Judgment and Opinion they themselves had of their own Writings The very Design of the
Order of Ministers and Church-Governours who have the Power of Dispensing them the Necessity of being Incorporated into the Church as a Society Founded upon a Divine Charter and to whose Members alone belong the Priviledges of the New Covenant the Meritorious Efficacy of Christ's Sacrifice and Intercession towards the Procuring men's Salvation these Doctrines I say they will by no means admit to be True because as they pretend they cannot see what Natural Force there is in these things toward their producing their intended Effects And when they have deprived Christ of his Titles of Saviour and High-Priest tho perhaps they may still be contented to acknowledge him a Prophet and a Teacher come from God yet they look upon his Coming into the World as a matter of no Great Consequence and which men do well to believe if they see good Reason for it or if after having used Reasonable Diligence they are not convinc'd that 't is True there 's no great Harm done since he came only to Reinforce the Principles and Duties of Natural Religion which men's Reason will sufficiently instruct them in and if they do but live up to its Directions and lead good Moral Lives they may be saved whatever their Opinions are as to what they call the Speculative Points of Religion These Opinions every body is sensible are very much in Vogue especially among those who value themselves for being Free Thinkers and Reasoners 'T is evident likewise that men of these Principles are apt to look upon the Bible as a Book of no great Value and which the World might very well be without and are ready to declare that the Disputes it has occasion'd have done more harm than the Book has done good and so from Vndervaluing its Worth they come to question its Authority From what has been said it appears very probable that the Prevailing of these Loose Notions concerning a Church-state and Revealed Religion at first gave Rise or at least hath since given Continuance to those Controversies that have been so much Debated of late concerning the Integrity and Authority of the Scriptures And the Atheistical Party have been Industrious to keep alive this Dispute as well knowing that 't is doing no small piece of Service to their Cause to weaken the Authority of the Holy Writings Mr. Hobbs and the Author of Theologo-Politicus are the Chief of that Party who have engag'd in this Controversie tho indeed they ought to pass but for one Writer since the latter has taken the Substance of what he says from the former and seems to have little of his own Invention unless it be the Quoting of a Text now and then in Hebrew which he does I suppose to raise in his Vnlearned Readers an Admiration of his Profound Reading and Schollarship And this Design of his has in some measure taken Effect for his Atheistical Admirers are generally Ignorant enough to take him for a Writer of Sense and Learning But to pass by these Profess'd Advocates of Atheism and Irreligion the most considerable Writers that have been concern'd in the Controversie about the Integrity and Authority of the Holy Writings are Mr. Simon and his Adversaries Whose Learning as I do not intend to disparage so neither will I take upon me to judge of their Secret Intention in the Management of this Dispute I acknowledge them to be men of Learning and as to their Design I am willing to think as Charitably as I can But yet I cannot forbear saying that tho they differ very much in their Notions as to other Matters yet they seem to agree in speaking slightly and irreverently of the Holy Writers they readily lay hold of any Difficulties which tend to weaken their Credit and do not take half so much pains to Improve any of the Arguments that may be produc'd for them as they do to Vrge Objections against them But however I must say thus much in behalf of Mr. Simon that many to shew their good Will to the Bible make him say much Worse things than he really does and such as they would fain have him say and would be glad if they could Vouch his Authority for They are Industrious to make the world believe that if we will take his Judgment there have been so many Corruptions and Alterations made in the Text of the Bible that 't is impossible to tell which is the True and which is the False Reading Mr. Dryden particularly in his Religio Laici makes this Comment upon Mr. Simon 's Critick and tells us as delivering that Author's sense that the Jews have Let in Gross Errors to corrupt the Text Omitted Paragrahs and With vain Traditions stop'd the Gaping Fence Now one would think by this Account of his Work that Mr. Simon had expresly asserted that the Jews had Wilfully and Designedly Corrupted the Original by Adding to and Taking away from it as they thought fit But in my Opinion 't is taking a greater Liberty than Poetry it self will allow to make a man speak quite contrary to his Sense and Meaning For Mr. Simon makes it his Business to prove in several places of his Book a Critique upon the O. T. l. 1. ch 17 18 19 l. 2. c. 4. that the Jews have not corrupted the Hebrew Text and answers the Arguments that are usually brought for that Opinion All that he affirms as to this matter is that the Bible has been obnoxious to the same Corruptions that other Books are through the Ignorance or Negligence of Transcribers and that such kind of Faults crept into the Text in those Ages chiefly that did not mind the Niceties of Criticism and therefore the proper way to Reform those Errors is by Correcting the Suspected Places according to the Rules of that Art and by diligent Comparing of Copies as Criticks correct other Books and the Massorets have already the Hebrew Text. And as for the Additions which are supposed by many to have been made to the Original Text he supposes them inserted by Prophets whereof there was a constant Succession whose Business 't was to take Care of the Publick Records How true this Hypothesis is 't is not my Business to examine 't is sufficient to my present Purpose that Mr. Simon does not represent these Additions as so many Corruptions of the Text. So that in this Case Mr. D. has Misrepresented Mr. Simon 's Text aswell as that of the Bible and put such a Gloss upon it as it does not appear that he ever intended as far as can be gathered from his Words But I shall pursue this Matter no further because Mr. D. may think it hard measure to urge any thing said in his Religio Laici against him at this time of day when he has alter'd his Mind in so many Particulars since the Writing of that Poem and has made Amends for his Former Incredulity by turning Advocate for Implicite Faith One of Mr. Simon 's Antagonists whom he and the rest of the World take to
Holy Spirit indowed the Apostles I find our Author is very industrious to lessen the Apostolical Gifts as much as he can and to represent them very little above their natural Faculties He indeavours to shew That the Operation of the Holy Spirit upon their Minds consisted chiefly in refreshing their Memories a Fr. p. 254 257. En. p. 66. 70. and bringing to their Remembrance what Christ had said unto them He does indeed say b Fr. 255. En. p. 67. That sometimes the Holy Spirit made them understand by extraordinary Revelations that which Christ had said unto them whilst he was with them but which they then understood not And that they had many immediate Revelations and divers heavenly Visions c Fr. p. 252. Eng. 62. And in another place d Fr. 257. Eng. p. 70. That perhaps the Spirit open'd their Minds after a manner we comprehend not But while he sets out the Objections against the Inspiration of the Apostles in the best Light and with the greatest Force he can he passes over the Evidences for it very slightly and looks upon their Immemediate Inspirations to have been so extraordinary and to have happen'd so seldom that he does not stick roundly to declare e Ubi sup That their Infallibility consisted in relating faithfully what they had seen and heard He likewise endeavours to shew f Fr. p. 240. c. Eng. p. 42 c. That they had not an extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd before the Secular Powers upon the account of their Religion And he makes this another argument against the Inspiration of the Apostles and other persons in those times whom the Scripture speaks of as inspir'd g Fr. p. 248 249. 259. Eng. p. 57. 74. that they confer'd with one another and submitted to one another's Judgments and did not come to a Conclusion concerning any matter in questino till after long Deliberation and Consultation with each other with many other Cavils of less weight In Answer to which and for the Clearing of this Matter I shall shew I. How far we may allow what he says to be true and in what Cases the Apostles did not speak or act by Inspiration II. I shall shew that excepting those Cases the Apostles writ and spake by the particular Assistance and Direction of the Spirit III. I shall shew that the Assistance of the Holy Spirit did not consist only or chiefly in Improving their Natural Faculties or Strengthening and Refreshing their Memories IV. I shall shew that they had an extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd before Magistrates upon the Account of their Religion and vindicate their Behaviour under those Circumstances from the unbecoming Reflections which Mr. N. has made upon it V. I shall vindicate the Inspiration of the Apostles and other inspir'd persons from the rest of the Objections which he advances against it I. As to the first of these Inquiries What were the Cases wherein the Apostles did not act or speak by Inspiration I conceive we may allow them to be these following 1. Where they treat of the common Occurrences of Life and such things as have no Relation at all to Divine Truths As when St. Paul speaks of his design to take Rome h Rom. 15.24 in his way to Spain and to call at i 2 Cor. 1.16 Corinth as he went into Macedonia but yet it appears he was uncertain as to that Resolution k v. 1 Cor. 16.7 and did not actually l v. 2 Cor. 17. make it good Many Instances of the like nature might be alledg'd m v. 1 Cor. 1.16 r. Joh. 6.19 Act. 19 Hitherto we may refer Slips of memory in matters of no consequence some Examples of which there are to be found in in the N. Testament n v. Mat. 27.9 Act. 7.16 2. Such things as were matters only of Humane Prudence being of an Indifferent nature in themselves and consequently not the proper Subjects of a Divine Revelation For matters of Prudence i. e. Where God has given men no fix'd rule but left them at liberty to determine for themselves according as their circumstances shall direct as they are not the proper Subjects of a Divine Law so neither are they of a Divine Revelation Such is the Case of married persons where one party is an Vnbeliever which St. Paul considers o 1 Cor. 7.12 and resolves by the Rules of humane Prudence and therefore tells us before hand that 't is He that speaks not the Lord taking his measures from the general Law of Christian Charity For as to this Case I look upon Mr. Thorndike's p Laws of the Church p. 117. Opinion as the most probable which is That the Apostle look'd upon Marriage made by persons before they were Christians to lay no stricter Obligation upon the Parties than the Laws which they were under when the Marriage was contracted design'd to lay upon them So that if two persons who were under the Laws of the Roman Empire married and afterward one of them turn'd Christian this did not at all alter the Conditions of the Marriage in respect of the Converted Party from what they were before nor in a Marriage contracted by Subjects of the Roman Empire under the state of Heathenism is the Converted Party by virtue of his imbracing Christianity afterward oblig'd anew by the stricter Ties of the Christian Law concerning Marriage but only by those which the Roman Laws required upon which Terms the Marriage was made at first and so might upon just occasion take Advantage of the Privilege which the Roman Laws permitted of being Divorc'd for other Causes besides that which was allowed by our Saviour Now the reason why the Laws of Christianity do not extend to a Marriage contracted under a state of Heathenism I conceive to be this because Heathen Marriages being not in their own nature Indissoluble as Christian Marriages are but the Parties having reserv'd to themselves a liberty to part from each other in such Cases as the Laws of each Country allowed the nature of the Marriage-contract still continues the same after the Conversion of either Party which it did before i.e. Dissoluble unless the Believing Party can perswade the Unbelieving to oblige himself to the Observation of those stricter Laws of Matrimony which are injoin'd by Christ Without which mutual Consent the Marriage continues the same it was before while both Parties were Unbelievers and consequently the Laws of Christ do not reach this Case being applicable only to those Marriages which are made in the Christian Church or at least which are made Christian by an After-act and mutual Consent of the Parties to submit to the Christian Law in this particular This Opinion seems to be countenanc'd by the Apostle in the 15. verse of that Chapter q 1 Cor. 7.15 If the Vnbeliever depart a Brother or Sister is not under Bondage in such Cases the most natural Sense of which Words is
even terms with the Jews without taking the Yoke of the Law upon them he after all this could not be really perswaded in his judgment that he ought not to keep company with the Gentile Converts tho his former prejudices might put some weight into the opposite Scale and make him doubtful and wavering Which might make his fear of displeasing the Jewish Christians and giving them offence work more powerfully upon him and prevail with him to comply with them in this matter and St. Paul expresly assigns his fearing to offend them of the Circumcision q Gal. 2 12. as the cause of this his Behaviour But tho this be not a sufficient Reason why any man should dissemble the Truth yet we may observe from St. James's Advice to St. Paul r Act. 21.20 that the Apostles were very tender of giving any offence to the Jewish Converts who were very ſ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 21 20. numerous and whom they justly look'd upon as the most considerable part of the Church and as it were the Elder Brethren having a precedent Right to the Promises before the Gentiles t Act. 3.26 Rom. 15.27 This may be pleaded for an Excuse in behalf of St. Peter tho still we must confess as St. Paul tells us u Gal. 2.14 that he did not walk uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel in this matter And neither the Apostles themselves nor any in their behalf ever pretended that they were exempt from sin but on the contrary we find them freely own themselves to be men of like Passions with others x Act. 14 15. Jam. 5.17 and that they had this Treasure of the Gospel in earthen vessels y 2 Cor. 4.7 and were of the same make with other men And therefore since as our Author truly says z Fr. p. 260. Eng. p. 75. He alone is indowed with an absolute Infallibility who is incapable of sinning I do freely grant that we are no further assur'd that the Apostles were free from Errour than we find them free from Sin which naturally leads men into it I own likewise that this Instance of St. Peter is a good Argument against the perpetual Inspiration or Infallibility of the Apostles if we mean any more by it than a habitual Knowledge of Divine Truth for I cannot think S. Peter was under the immediate Conduct of the Holy Spirit when he was guilty of this Behaviour But I suppose the Apostles might have such an Assistance as was abundantly sufficient to answer all the Necessities of the Church without being always under the immediate Influence of the Holy Ghost which must make them Impeccable as as well as Infallible And even in this case we have reason to admire God's Providence and Care over his Church for so ordering it that St. Paul should be upon the place to interpose and put a stop to this ill Conduct that might else have been of dangerous Consequence and made a Breach in the Church that would not easily have been made up And humanely speaking 't is not likely that St. Peter who had such a Preeminence in the Church would have yielded to a less Authority than that of St. Paul's From whence too may further appear of what use 't was even for Inspir'd persons to consult with each other and act by common Advice which Point I have explained and proved at large above * P. 88. 5. The next Exception I shall take notice of is this Mr. N. tells us a Fr. p. 258 259. Eng. p. 72 73 74. that the Gift of Wisdom and Knowledge or the Gift of Prophecying which he makes all one with the two former was a Disposition of mind which God sometimes infused into those on whom he bestowed it whereby they became fit to instruct and that it did not consist in an immediate Inspiration of what they were to say His reasons for this are two 1. Because this Gift might be improved by Study and Reading as he proves from 1. Tim. 4.13 14. 2. Because the Apostle gave directions to the Prophets and order'd them to exercise their Gifts by turns to prevent that Confusion which the disorderly Use of their Gifts had brought into the Church b 1 Cor. 14. Now he thinks that if the Spirit had Inspir'd them with what to say he would likewise have given them directions as to the time and place Now methinks he that can confound the Gifts of Wisdom Knowledge and Prophecy which any Man that consults the place where St. Paul reckons up the several Gifts of the Spirit c 1 Cor. 8 9. will see are distinct and takes no notice of the Ambiguity of the word Prophecy which is taken in several Senses in Scripture I say he that confounds things that any one who has studied the places of Scripture which treat of the Gifts of the Spirit must needs know to be very different need not have been so nice as to distinguish between a Disposition of mind infus'd into those upon whom God bestowed it whereby they became fit to Instruct and an Inspiring them with what to say For certainly this Disposition infused into the mind if it mean any thing must mean God's giving Men a clear and distinct apprehension of what they were to teach others and I think this is much the same as Inspiring them with what to say since out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh and words are only the Expressions of our thoughts unless our Author supposes that when God Inspires a Man with what to say he only puts so many words into his mouth without conveying any Idea of the things themselves to his mind But let us proceed to examine his reasons As to the First I see no inconvenience in asserting that God very often increas'd or withheld his Extraordinary Gifts in proportion to the Industry of the Possessors For since the Extraordinary and Ordinary Gifts agree in this that they are both design'd to assist our Natural Faculties not to supersede them and to incourage our Industry not to slacken it I can't see why that Rule of our Saviour's To him that has shall be given and from him that has not i. e. does not improve and make a good use of what he has shall be taken way d Matth. 13.12 may not be applied to the Extraordinary Gifts as well as to the Ordinary and why Men might not hope God would bestow these Gifts upon them in a greater degree as a reward of their Industry and might not have reason to fear he should withdraw them if they took advantage from thence to be negligent And thus much seems to be implied in that advice of St. Paul e 1 Thess 5.19 Not to quench the Spirit viz. that God may be provok'd to take away these Gifts when he sees them abused or Men's sins may render them Unworthy to be the Instruments of the holy Spirit The story of the Ethiopian
not to be express'd in too plain words I deny not but there are some plain Prophecies in Scripture but as much the greater part of them have something of Obscurity so I doubt not but to make it appear that the Obscurity of the Prophecies is so far from being an Objection against them as some pretend that on the contrary 't is absolutely requisite that most Prophecies should be Obscure or else they would not answer the Designs for which they were given nor be Accomplish'd in a way agreeable to the Methods of Providence But of this in the next Chapter The Sum of what I have hitherto said concerning the Authority of the Prophetical Writings is this That if we consider the Prophets only as men that were the Teachers of Vertue and Religion the least that can be said of them is That in respect of their great Improvements in the several parts of Knowledge the Excellency of their Precepts the Integrity of their Lives their Contempt of the World and constant Adhering to their Principles they were equal to the greatest Philosophers but if we consider them as Inlightned from above and the Messengers of God to the world they discover to us the Various Methods of the Divine Government they unravel the Intricate Turnings and Windings of that Dark Labyrinth they display the Scene of Providence from the Beginning of this World to the End and then give us a Prospect of Another to come the Signal Accomplishment of their Predictions already fulfilled confirms our Belief in Providence and incourages us to trust in God and in the Words of his Prophets for the Future They do not open the Scene of things to come only to gratify a Vain Curiosity or with a Design to incourage the Belief of a Fatal Necessity but to assure us that God interests himself in the Government of the World that all things are Guided by his Unerring Hand and that the Changes which come to pass in the World are not the Effects of Blind Chance or Surly Fate but the Results of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness which is able to bring Good out of Evil and make the Rage and Fierceness the Folly and Madness of man turn to God's Praise and be Instrumental in bringing about his Great Purposes and Designs Thus the Holy Prophets teach us to depend upon God and acknowledge that our Sufficiency is of him and yet withal to believe that 't is in our own Power in a great measure whether we will be Happy or Miserable Thus their Doctrine promotes God's Honour without superseding men's Diligence and Indeavours and instructs us to give him the Glory when we do well and not to charge him foolishly when we do amiss And as to their way of Writing which includes a Hidden and Mysterious Sense under a Literal and Obvious one this was agreeable to the Method of Instruction which the great Sages of the world practis'd in those early Ages 't was what the Jews had been accustom'd to what they always believ'd to be the Style of Scripture and do so still tho it make against them it tends to discover the Chain of Providence and the Dependance which by the Appointment of the Divine Wisdom the Occurrences of one Age have upon those of another which is at a great distance The Prophets themselves have in most Cases left us Certain Marks to know where we are to seek for Mysteries and a Key to unlock their true Meaning and where such an Indication is wanting we have the Apostles to direct us who have given abundant Evidence of their Divine Credentials that they were appointed by God to be the Interpreters of his Oracles and Publishers of his Will CHAP. IV. Wherein some Difficulties are Resolved relating to the PROPHETS themselves or their manner of Writing III. I Proceed to discourse concerning the Third General Head I propos'd at the Beginning of the last Chapter to be consider'd in relation to the Prophets which is to Resolve some Difficulties concerning the Prophets themselves or their Prophecies And here 't is not my Design to give a particular Answer to all the Objections that have been rais'd against the Prophetical Writings most of which have been fully answer'd by several Excellent Writers of late a Bp Stillingfleet Orig. Sac. Letter to a Deist Huetii demonst Evangel M. Smith of Prophecy Dr. Spencers Vanity of Vulgar Prophecies not to mention the Ancients I intend only in this Chapter to consider Two Difficulties one relating to the Prophets themselves and the other to their manner of Writing which have not yet that I know of been throughly Explain'd by any Writer the First is The Obscurity of the Prophetical Writings the other Concerning the Marks and Signs whereby True Prophets were distinguish'd from False The latter of these Inquiries is Embarass'd with Great Difficulties for the Scripture gives us very little Light in this matter insomuch that one would wonder since there are so many Contests between the True and False Prophets related in Scripture and so many Cautions given against hearkening to False Prophets and Seducers that there should be so little said concerning the Marks whereby they might be distinguish'd from the True ones I. I begin with the former Difficulty viz. The Obscurity of the Prophecies But here I shall first Premise that Obscurity is not Inseparable from Prophecy for there are some very plain Prophecies in Scripture as the Foretelling the 70. years Captivity of the Jews and that Cyrus after that time was expired should Restore them to their Land and Rebuild Jerusalem b Jer. 25.11 12 -29.10 Is 44.28 the Succession of the Monarchies in Daniel c Dan. 2. c. 7. c. 8. and those Prophecies concerning the Messias which foretell his Coming while the Second Temple was standing and before the Destruction of the Jewish Commonwealth d Dan. 9.25 c. Hagg. 2. 6 -9 Malac. 3 1.-4.1 But notwithstanding some few Exceptions generally speaking there is something of Obscurity in the Delivery of Prophecies Now beside the Causes of this which arise from the Prophetical Style which is full of Metaphors and of lofty Expressions such as naturally flow from a Heat of Fancy where Great and Surprizing Ideas have made a deep Impression besides this there are other Reasons to be assign'd for this Obscurity which are taken from the very Nature and Design of Prophecies and the manner how they are Fulfilled 1. With Respect to the first of these viz. the Design of Prophecies I lay down this Rule That Prophecies are not so much design'd by God to give men the Knowledge of things before-hand as to confirm mens Faith after they are come to pass and convince them that this was God's Work I willingly grant that God did Reveal things to come to his Prophets both to do them a particular Honour e Gen. 18.17 by making them Privy to his secret Counsels and Designs and likewise to prepare and fit men for the Blessings foretold of