did any thing in the ministery by or of himselfe he addes yet not I but the grace of God which was with me wherefore to speak with tongues or humane learning is not essentiall to the being of a Prophet Reas 5. Our own blessed experience in the times wherein wee live in which the Lord is pleased in a very large measure to make good his promise this very way even to us as to his Church in former time as was prophesied by Joel in his second chapter v. 16 17. which was accomplished and fulfilled upon the Apostles as appeares Acts 2.16 17 18. All which I say is made good unto us in our time For doe we not or at least may we not heare even illiterate men speak in our own tongue the wonderfull works of God Acts 2.11 Of whose prophesying in respect of what Prophets were heretofore we may say as it was said of Christ by the Scribes Matth. 7. â—9 That as Christ so his people now teach as having authority and not as the Scribes Wherefore divine prophesying is not restrained to humane learning Object We read in 2 Pet. 1.20 that no prophesie of Scripture is of any private interpretation wherefore privat men which are unskilled in the Languages and Sciences are not to preach or prophesie Ans 1. If this be so expounded then of necessity you must conclude that Peter hath sealed up the little book which is no other but the Gospel which Peters Master and our Lord Jesus the Lion of the Tribe of Iudah hath opened to all the illiterate people as well as to the greatest Clerkes if not more fully For if illiterate men may not adventure the expounding of what they read to gain the sense and true meaning thereof as they read they were better not read at all And whosoever dares maintain this opinion is not onely guilty of slandring the truth of Christ but doth also submit to the Pope whose subtilty it is as much as in him lieth to seale up by his Chaplaines and Ministers what Christ hath unsealed and opened to the very end that all his people great and small bond and free may freely read expound and edifie thereby Secondly that this exposition of the words of Peter is false and they how profound in learning soever doe hereby discover themselves to be but private persons unable to interpret the prophesies of Scripture will thus appeare because by private interpretation of Scripture is meant first that we are not to limit or restrain the end aim or purpose of any scripture to any particular privat man onely but that it concernes and speaks as well to all and every one as any one as our Saviour seems to hold forth in that one expression Mark 13.37 And what I say unto you I say unto all Secondly because by private interpretation is meant also that the Spirit of God hath no one particular meaning onely in any one prophesie of Scripture but hath many meanings and all truths linked as a golden chain one in and with another as is cleare by 2 Tim. 3.16 where the Apostle saith All Scripture is given by divine inspiration of God and is profitable For what for one thing onely Surely no but for every thing for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in righteousnesse Thirdly because by private interpretation of Scripture is meant the Interpretation thereof without the Spirit of God For all interpretation of Scripture though it be by great ones publicke persons in a Common-wealth or by learned ones by Councels or by multitudes of them yet if they be but meere naturall men void of the Spirit of God their own interpretation of Scripture is but private and for the most part false 1 Cor. 2.11 For what man knoweth the things of a man save the Spirit of a man that is in him even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God So that no man that hath not the Spirit of God can know the things of God contained in the Scripture any more then one man can know what is the heart or mind of another Now as a man may by chance conjecture or guesse what is the minde or thought of another man as oftentimes men doe even so by chance a naturall man or men may know or decern the mind of God in the Scripture and many times they doe yet it is by chance and although carnall men that have nothing of God in them at all have preached many truths yet it hath not been by themselves but onely by the light of gracious men that have interpreted the Scriptures by the Spirit of God unto them So that the interpretation of Scripture by men publick or private learned or unlearned without the Spirit of God is privat interpretation and all interpretation of Scripture by men publick or private high or low rich or poore young or old one or many with and by the Spirit of God is publick and warrantable interpretation for that Spirit is truth in whom it is it neither deceiveth nor is deceived Both of these are true and cleare as is made cleare by the same Apostle in the following words verse the last which are a reason of the former and runs thus For saith he the Prophesies came not in old time by the will of man but by the will of God For holy men spoke as they were moved by the holy Spirit which holy Spirit onely knowes its owne mind in the prophesies of Scripture and holy men of God onely can constantly and truly interpret the prophesies as they are moved by the holy Spirit wherefore to speak with tongues is not essentiall to the being of a Prophet nor is divine prophesying restrained to humane learning Object 2. We rean in 2 Pet 3.16 where the Apostle speaking about Pauls Epistles saith In which are some things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest as they doe also the other Scriptures to their owne destruction Therefore to speak with tongues is essentiall to the being of a Prophet and divine prophesying is restrained to humane learning Answer The Apostle there speaks of some of the Church which doubted and questioned the truth of Gods promise as is plain verse 15. and he in this 16. verse reproves them for it and shewes them the ground of their doubting which was their weaknesse in grace or faith and then labouring to beat them off from impatience and to confirme them in the promise of God by faith he sets before them a president of their doubting condition to wit Those that are unlearned c. that is unsanctified and untaught of Christ Now that it is so the next word Vnstable shews Now who are unstable wrenching the Scriptures to their own destruction but onely those that are unsanctified that had never learned Christ Jam 1.8 A double-minded man is unstable in all his wayes therefore it is not the want of humane learning but the want of grace that is
the cause of mens wrenching the Scripture to their owne destruction Moerover if Peter by unlearned meant such as had no human learning then he should here have excluded himselfe as well as many others from the understanding and saving use of the Scriptures For he was unlearned in that respect himselfe Act. 4.13 and then how durst he to have adventured upon Pauls Epistles and the other Scriptures as he did in that place of the objection lest he should wrench them to his own destruction Therefore by learning he meanes divine learning onely and so excludes none but naturall unsanctified men from the right and saving use of the Scriptures Object Though Peter was not bled a scholar and had not human learning yet both he and the rest of the unlearned Apostles had the tongues given them from heaven by miracle or miraculously to teach us thus much that to speake with Tongues is essentiall to the being of a Prophet or a Teacher Answer To speak with Tongues now is not as it was then by the unlearned Apostles in them then it was a miracle with us none but is common nor is there now a necessity to speak with tongues by way of miracle wrought from heaven as the Apostles did because with us there is not now the same use of it For first the Apostles had then to doe with Heathens who would not have beleeved their report nor their word to have been of God unlesse they had spoken miraculously and so not the tongues but the miraculous speaking with them from heaven was the very cause that made many of them to beleeve and with wonderfull astonishment to acknowledge God in it as appeares in Act. 2.11 12. We doe heare them speak in our own tongues the wonderfull works of God and they were all amazed and were in doubt saying one unto another What meaneth this whereas we live in a time wherein there is not that necessity for speaking with tongues miraculously from heaven to confirme the Scripture we preach because all amongst us and to whom we preach doe at least in a common way beleeve the Scriptures which we hold out to them to be the word of God and if they did not and if there were any such necessity now as was then I doubt not but God would now confirm it by miracle either by miraculous speaking with tongues now as he did then or else by some other way by miracle wherefore as Saint Paul saith this maner of speaking with tongues is out of date with us in this time 1 Cor. 14.21.22 With men of other tongues other lips wil I speak unto this people yet for all that they will not hear me saith the Lord. Wherefore saith he tongues are for a signe not to them that beleeve but to them that beleeve not but prophesying serveth not only for them that beleeve not but also for them that beleeve And therefore as the Apostles miraculously speaking with tongues from heaven made Infidels that beleeved not the Word to beleeve it and to acknowledge God in it so on the contrary this should be a miracle to us that doe beleeve the Word to make us the more to beleeve and to admire and acknowledge Gods power in the weaknesse of illiterate and unlearned men prophesying and preaching with great power the glorious word of Jesus Christ Secondly the Apostles were to teach all Nations Matth. 28.19 20. who were of divers Languages and therefore they must of necessity speak with tongues to the understanding of all Nations whereas we speake or preach but to our own Nation and they all speaking our own Language Answer 2. Though Peter and the rest of the Apostles that were unlearned had the tongues miraculously Act. 2.4 yet they had not the Languages as an habituall or perpetuall quality imprinted in them as the Languages are in those that have them by study and practice but onely whiles they were speaking or preaching to men and people of those Languages and was onely an actuall gift which shewed it selfe when the motion of the holy Spirit came upon them seconding their sanctified desires as is very probable 1 Cor. 14.18 where Paul sayes I thank my God I speak with Tongues more then you all yet Peter with the rest of the unlearned Apostles spake with as many tongues as learned Paul himselfe Act. 2.12 But now this is a Paradox yea a contradiction and how shall these two Scriptures be reconciled you will say I answer thus Paul spake with tongues more then they all yet not speaking more tongues or languages then Peter and the rest but as speaking those tongues constantly without intermission they being in him an habituall perpetuall quality gained by hard and tedious study and practice as they are learned in our dayes which Peter and the other unlearned Apostles that spake tongues by the inspiration of the holy Spirit did not being at other times ignorant of them Acts 22.3 and understanding and speaking them onely when and whilst they had to doe with people of those tongues And as God alwayes put the Word into their mouthes what they should speak so he gave them the tongue or language in which they should speak it to the understanding of the hearers of what Nation or Language soever And therefore the unlearned Apostles Peter and the rest had not the tongues in an extraordinary way to understand the Scriptures by but onely to speak to the understanding of those to whom they preached the Scriptures Answer 3. Although Peter and the rest of the unlearned Apostles amongst other tongues spake also the learned tongues of the Hebrew Greek c which our learned men now speak yet in them these tongues were not humane as they are in us that learn them of men but divine having learned them of God onely Acts 26.4 1 Cor. 12.10 Therefore those Apostles and others had not the tongues humane neither had they any humane learning when they could speak the tongues Compare Acts 24. with chap. 4.13 Answer 4. Peter and the rest of the Apostles had not humane learning though they could sometimes speak the learned tongues because humane learning consists not so much in the Languages as in the Sciences It is possible and usuall for men to speak the languages tongues and yet be no Scholars and again it is possible and usuall for men to be able Scholars in respect of the learned Sciences and Arts and yet not able to speak with Tongues And the pith and marrow of humane learning is the right understanding and knowledge of the Arts which I am sure Peter never learned as he never learned the Tongues Therefore we cannot gather from the example of Peter speaking with tongues miraculously by inspiration of God that to speak with tongues is essentiall to the being of a Prophet or that divine prophesying is restrained to humane learning Object 3. Our Translation of the Bible is not according to the originall but is corrupted and
in many places contrary to the Testament in the Hebrew and the Greek and therefore though in the primitive times to speak with tongues more then wherein the Scriptures were written was not essentiall to the being of a Prophet yet notwithstanding now it is because our translation of the Bible is nought and the Hebrew and Greek are the originall in which the Scriptures were first written Answer 1. For my part I conceive that our English translation of the Bible is but little differing if any thing at all from the originall Copies for I doe beleeve that God that was good and carefull to commit unto his people as much of his will as was necessary for them to know and serve him by and to bring them through Jesus Christ to eternall glory John 20.30 31. would not be lesse carefull to preserve it to his people to the end Matth. 5.18 1 Pet. 1.25 And to these Scriptures I will adde one main Reason proving the Scriptures that we have and hold to be Canonicall and by divine inspiration and it is because godly men would not devise or indite and write a fiction for truth to delude and deceive men by 2. Wicked men Gods enemies to wit Antichrist and others did not devise or indite our Bible because it yeelds them no footing for their wayes but is altogether against their Tenents so farre as they are against Jesus Christ and it is wholly and onely for Jesus Christ whereas if it were the study and work of wicked men Antichrist and others of Christs enemies they would have made it so as to serve their own turns as we see they have alwayes and doe still labour with all their wits policie and power to wrench and rend the Scriptures to make them for Antichrist and against Jesus Christ Therefore our Bible is the word of God But now if in our Translation there be any corruption by the means of ignorance or malice of Antichrist through altering adding or diminishing of matters of smallest consequence fundamentals being alwayes so cleare to the eyes and so clearly eyed by the Saints of all ages that they could not be corrupted by the cunning of the enemy Neither doe I beleeve God would suffer it to be done nor hath he suffered it for not onely in our Bible but also in our translation of it Christ onely is exalted yet it is clear that the understanding Saints are able in due time to find it out and to discover it Read Psal 25.9 Ioh. 7.17 8.31 32. 10.4 5 14.21 1 Cor. 2.10 12 15 16. And for the Saints easier and surer proceeding in their preaching or expounding and discovering of the truths of the Scriptures let them alwayes observe this short Rule Consider the place of Scripture thou art upon thus 1. Who writ it 2. To whom it was written 3. When it was written 4. Why it was written and then expound it so and draw such conclusions from it as will most of all magnifie God in his severall Attributes and Merits by shewing man his own nothingnesse and misery by nature or fall in Adam with his happinesse in or by Christ onely and with the preservation of the analogy agreement harmony and onenesse of the Scriptures that there be no jarring nor discord but concord by the exposition Thus a godly man observing this briefe and plain rule in the opening of the Scriptures may be able to come to know and to preach the very mind of the holy Spirit in the Scriptures Answer 2. It is probable and as likely that the Bible in all languages and Tongues is as corrupt as in our Translation or Tongue it was as easie to corrupt the Testament in the Hebrew Greek as it was to corrupt thē in our English tongue or in any other language And it is as likely that Antichrist hath as much as in him lay poysoned the Scriptures as well in the Hebrew and Greek tongues as in ours or in any other tongue Wherefore the corruption of our or any other translation of the Bible makes not the speaking with tongues to be essentiall to the being of a Prophet For though we may have the originall tongues of the Bible yet we have not the originall Copies Answer 3. If the Testaments in the Hebrew and Greek are uncorrupted as we have them now then neither is the speaking with tongues essentiall to the being of a Prophet if our English translation be undoubtedly corrupt because we have all the Scriptures translated into English according to the Testaments now in the Hebrew and Greek some by one written and some another and therefore to speak with tongues is not essentiall to the being of a Prophet nor is divine prophesying restrained to humane learning Answer 4. Besides if the Testaments in their original tongues as is by the most conceived we have them are as true divine authentic as the originall copies were yet to speak with those tongues is not essential to the being of a Prophet because when men do preach to the illiterate and unlearned they haue no more ground to believe what is said from the originals then they haue ground from what others haue said from the originals before them who haue been as honest and as able as men are now and haue laboured faithfully to translate the Bible out of the original tongues And if any now amongst us are able to amend our translation if they be as honest and as able they will do it or at least labour to do it not only by parcels in the Pulpit but also wholly and also for the satisfaction and benefit of all whereby there will then be no need of tongues to the understanding of Scripture and if any can so do and account their paines too great to effect so great a good they are not to be accounted faithfull in that which is least to wit in what they in a Pulpit by parcels deliver as they say from the originall to the illiterate people if men may not believe what able and faithfull men afore-time have spoken and written from the originall tongues how shall they believe what any particular man sayes from them now in a Pulpit wherefore to speak with tongues is no more essentiall to the being of a Prophet then they are to the being of a Christian Answ 5. Again if to speak the originall tongues of the Scriptures be essentiall to the being of a Prophet then as well any one of those tongues as all of them is essentiall to the being of a Prophet whence it will follow that there is not a true Prophet or Preacher to be found in all the world much lesse in England for there is not one man in England nor in all the world that can speak all the originall tongues wherein all the Scriptures in the New Testament were spoken and written neither doe men now know those tongues probably they were those tongues which the Apostles spake by divine revelation specified Act. 2.
learned Prophets that they be so far from endeavouring to seal up the mouthes and suppressing the graces of our Prophets which speak not the tongues that they do their diligence rather to open their mouths and unlose their tongues incourage thē in the holding forth of Iesus Christ who holds himself out to all that al that are gifted graced by his spirit might also hold him forth to others let it not be accounted any disgrace to any of the learned that poor illiterate men which should preach spread the glory of God our Saviour remember the modest words carriage of Moses that Prophet of the Lord in his answer to Ioshua and the young-man that brought tydings that Eldad Medad prophecied in the Campe bad Moses to forbid them Numb 11.26 27 29. Moses said unto him enviest thou for my sake would God that all the Lords people were Prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them which teacheth us thus much that a true Prophet of the Lord will not for any by-ends envie the gifts of God in others nor desire the obscure but to discover them wishing all as well as some of the Lords people were Prophets not by putting Vniversity Arts but by putting the Apostles approbation in the New Testament is this 1 Cor. 14.31 Ye may prophesie all one by one that all may learn and all may be comforted all may prophesie that is all the Prophets to wit all that God hath endued with the Spirit of Prophecie for there is no restraint observing their time and order one by one Wherefore let none dare to forbid prophecie where God himself commands and his Word gives both freedome and allowance for further proof read Act. 8.4 Vse 3. It may serve now at length to call England to give God the glory of his grace by acknowledging and approving this that out of the mouthes of very Babes and Sucklings God hath founded strength as it is in the Hebrew Psalm 8.2 And saith the Apostle it is written I will destroy the wisdome of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent where is the wise wheris the Scribe where is the Disputer of this World For after that in the wisdome of God the world by wisdome knew not God it pleased God by the foolishnesse of preaching to save them that believe because the foolishnesse of God is wiser then men and the weaknesse of God is stronger then men and God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty base things of the world and things that are despised hath God chosen yea and things which are not to bring to naught 2 Tim. 2 7. things that are consider what the Lord saith and the same Lord give you understanding in all things now the reason of all you haue at last that is that no flesh should glory in his presence 1 Cor. 1.19 20 21 25 27 28 29. Vse 4. Is to confute the desperate folly of many men if not most men in making prophecie a humane thing and therfore haue appointed their sonnes unto it as unto a trade to live by as thus when their children are yet young they haue resolved what callings or trades to put them to the eldest happily to be a Lawyer the second to be a Physitian or a Chirurgion the third a Merchant or the like and commonly the youngest especially if hee were in any part deformed should be a Minister that should be his trade concluding it to be in his power to make him a Minister by putting him out for a time to the Vniversity and paying for his learning as if the gift of God might be bought with money a cursed thought indeed and a damnable ignorant conclusion and let such men look back and see the effect of it and tremble at the example of Simon Magus Act 8.20 21 22 23 v. But Peter said unto him Thy money perish with thee because thou thoughtest that the gift of God may be purchased with money thou hast neither part nor let in this businesse for thine heart is not right in the sight of God Repent therefore of this thy wickednesse pray God if it be possible if perhaps the thoughts of thine heart may be forgiven thee for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitternesse in the bond of iniquity Vse 5. Is for encouragement of all those to whom the Lord hath given the spirit of Prophesie to improve their gifts for the best advantage of the Church of Christ and his glory Rom. 12.6 7 8. having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us whether prophecie let us prophecie according to the proportion of faith or Ministry let us wait on our Ministry or he that teacheth on teaching or he that exhorts on exhortation Vse 6. It is a use of excellent comfort to all the people of God for though outward gifts and all meanes thereof may faile yet there is a spirit of Prophecie left to all the People of God by which they shall be made able to know so much of the mind of God as shall be sufficient to sanctifie them here and to make them eternally haypy hereafter So that to speak with tongues is not essentiall to the being of a Prophet nor is divine prophesie restrained to humane learning POSTSCRIPT Isaiah 29.11 12. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed which men deliver to one that is learned saying Read this I pray thee and he saith I cannot for it is sealed And the Book is delivered to him that is not learned saying Read this I pray thee and he saith I am not learned Rev. 5 1 2. And I saw in the right hand of him that sate on the Throne a Book written within and on the back-side sealed with seven seales And I saw a strong Angel proclaiming with a loud voyce Who is worthy to open the Bookes and to lose the seales thereof FINIS