or no this Collection be Logical it is not material to dispute because the Spirit of Prophecy not only in Christ but also in his Apostles doth it self declare the truth of it For easie it is to observe that those Prerogatives which the Jews ascribe to the Prophecy of Moses their Master are very discernable in theirs as will appear by a Transcript of them out of Maimonides who tells us 1 That all the other Prophets prophesied in a Dream or a Vision but Moses our Master beheld and stood while he was awake according to that that is said When Moses was gone into the Tabernacle of the Congregation to speak with him i. e. God then he heard the Voice of one speaking unto him which Text is so interpreted by the Jews as that it seems among the Talmudists it was a Rule that Moses had never any Prophecy in the Night i. e. in a Dream or Vision of the Night as the other Prophets had but when he was awake and in the full vigour of his Senses then the word of Prophecy came unto him 2 All the other Prophets prophesied by the help or ministery of an Angel and therefore whatever they saw they beheld it in Riddle and Similitude but Moses our Master prophesied without the intervention of an Angel as it is said With him will I speak mouth to mouth Thus again it is said The Lord spake unto Moses Face to Face it is also said The Similitude of the Lord shall he behold to shew not that there was any Similitude there but that he saw clearly without a Riddle or Parable which also the Law there testifies concerning him even apparently and not in dark speeches because he prophesied not in a Riddle but he perspicuously beheld the matter in Vision 3 All the other Prophets were horribly afraid and astonished and became faint but Moses our Master was not so and this the Scripture saith as a man speaketh to his Friend as if it had been said as one is not afraid to hear the speech of his Companion so could the mind of Moses our Master understand the words of Prophecy and remain in its perfect Constancy 4 None of the other Prophets could Prophesie when they would it was not so with Moses our Master but at what time soever he would he was cloathed with the Holy Spirit and Prophecy did abide upon him neither had he need to dispose or prepare his mind for it for he was alwayes disposed and in a readiness as a ministring Angel at what time therefore he would he could Prophesie according to that which is said Stand ye here that I may hear what the Lord will command concerning you and herein his considence was placed in God as it is said Go say to them get you into your Tents but as for thee stand thou here by me Thus Maimonides concerning the difference between the Prophecy of Moses and of the other Prophets I will not pass my word how little soever it may signifie either for the truth of all that he saith or yet for its consistence either with the Holy Scripture or the Writings of other Hebrew Masters or of himself yet supposing it to be all true we may thence gather that in the Mosaical degree of Prophecy i. e. the highest among the Jews imagination had nothing to do Divine Truth was represented immediately to the Understanding the Characters of it were clearly and plainly written on the Mind it self and therein the Prophet might read it without the Hieroglyphicks of Material Phantasms a soft and gentle irradiation did so enlighten his Vnderstanding as that he might know the mind of God without either Study or Teaching from Men or Angels Dreams or Visions panick Fears or Passions and this degree of Prophecy was in him not as the transient Effect of a sudden act upon the Patient but rather as an Intellectual habit whose acts he might elicit when he pleased This is that degree of Prophecy which Maimonides and his Adherents attribute to Moses their Master and we Christians may do it I think with greater truth to Christ and his Apostles For certainly the Soul of our Saviour had whatever knowledge was convenient for it to have in order to his being able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by him and forasmuch as even in the dayes of his Flesh he was as well as he now is the Captain of our Salvation it seems convenient for him even then to have had no less knowledge than that wherein it doth consist the reason is because that that is only in a possibility of being must be brought into actual Existence by that that actually is And forasmuch as men in this World being only in a possibility of attaining to the knowledge of the Blessed are and ever were to be actually brought unto it by the Man Christ Jesus it follows that He even in his staâ—e of Humiliation had that knowledge of Vision whereunto he then did and still doth conduct them and this Knowledge I suppose will be granted to exceed all that ever Moses or the Prophets or any other Mortals whatever either did or could attain to But we need not fly so high in Speculation because it was foretold of him that the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding the Spirit of Counsel and Knowledge should rest upon him These four saith Aquinas comprehend all things whatever can be known for the knowledge of things Divine and Immaterial pertains to the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding and the knowledge of all Practical and Speculative Conclusions to the Spirit of Counsel and Knowledge Since therefore the Spirit of these things did in an extraordinary manner or rather without measure rest upon our Messias it is to be concluded that whatever Gifts the Holy Ghost doth embellish the Souls of men withal were most eminently shed forth on the Soul of our Lord Jesus and consequently that of Prophecy far beyond the degree of Moses or all other Mortals put together and if so it were then doubtless he could elicit the acts of a Prophetick Spirit without either previous Dispositions or Preparations Dreams or Visions Angels or Consternations and that when he would in a manner far superiour to that of Moses And then for the Apostles it seems not that the Spirit of Prophecy in them was in any point inferior to that of Moses but rather more excellent for the Spirit of Truth did guide them into all Truth and shew them things to come and this he did in such a manner as that they knew the mind of God without Dreams or Visions or Angels to teach them and the Knowledge they had of Divine Truth it is evident they received without those discomposures of Soul and terrible shakings of Body which usually befell the old Prophets Evident also it is by the Sermons and Discourses that they uttered upon all occasions that the Knowledge they had they could
Argument into this form and the strength of it will be evident Those whom God employes to prophesie are Fellow servants But you and your brethren the Apostles as well as I God employes to prophesie therefore we are Fellow-servants St. John could make a doubt of nothing in this Argument but the Assumption whether he and the rest of the Apostles were sent to prophesie Yes sayes the Angel that you are for the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy Hereby to me it seems apparent that the Testimony of Jesus here signifies that which the Apostles gave unto him and would you know why this is called the Testimony of Jesus not of the Apostleâ— concerning him then observe that this Testimony of Jesus may be considered two wayes viz. Strictly or Largely if abstractly or strictly in it self then it is little or nothing else but the Record they gave of Christ or the Doctrine they taught concerning him and this is said to be the Testimony of Jesus because he is the principal thing it treats of but if it be considered largely it comprehends not only the Doctrine of the Apostles concerning Christ but also the Strength Power and Authority whereby they taught it Thus considered it is the Testimony of Jesus not only because they gave it to him but also because they received it from him For he gave them not only Command to bear this witness of him i. e. to go into all the World and to preach the Gospel to every creature but also Strength and Power so to do for he first opened their Vnderstandings that they should understand the Scriptures and afterwards he eâ—dued them with Power from on high by sending the Promise of the Father i. e. the Spirit upon them to lead them into all Truth and enable them to speak it to all Nations whatsoever and this was done so effâ—ctually as that men of every Nation under Heaven heard them speak in their own Language and this surely in it self considered was no small matter of Testimony to our Jesus The Apostles we know were ignorant and unlearned men that understood but little of Scripture less of Foreign Languages yet hereby on a sudden they were enabled exquisitely to understand the one and to speak the other of all sorts and doth it not surpass the Power of Nature to make so stupendious a change as this was What Creatures can make Men Wise Holy and Learned in an instant It is a work of Wonder that falls within the compass of little less than Omnipotent Power and Wisdom Surely therefore the Author of it was God and if so then Jesus to whom the Apostles were thereby enabled to give Testimony was at least a Man approved of him On that account therefore their Doctrine or rather their Preaching or Promulgation of the Gospel by it may well be called the Testimony of Jesus And this Testimony of Jesus my Text tells us is the Spirit of Prophecy The truth and Essence of Prophecy saith Maimonides is nothing else but an Influence from God by the Mediation of the active Intellect operating first upon the Rational afterwards on the Imaginable Faculty This Definition is thought somewhat too scanty and obscure to express the nature of Prophecy in its full Latitude it is therefore conceived that by a little alteration of its Definition by another Rabbi we may have a more adequate and clear conception of its nature viz. that it is an Influence from God upon the Rational Faculty either by the Mediation of the Fancy or otherwise and by this Influence whether by the Ministry of an Angel or otherwise a man attains to such knowledge as by his Natural Abilities would be unattainable In these Definitions of Prophecy we have nothing at present to observe but that wherein they both do agree namely the general Nature of it which they make to consist in Influence from God Prophecy is not an Ignis fatuus of a disturbed Fancy but an Impression of Divine Light thence perhaps it was that in old time the Prophets were called Seers not because or at least not so Properly because of their Fore-sight of things Future as of their Visions those Images or Appearances of things as Visible which by Divine Influence were represented on the stage of their Fancy to the sight of their Understandings And afterwards the Prophets were called Men of God because God was pleased immediately to reveal himself unto them and so the word rendred Prophet denotes one that receives what he saith from God It seems then that all Prophecy truly so called hath its descent from Above it is not of any Private interpretation or rather of a mans own starting or suggestion for it comes not by the Will of Man but Holy Men of God did thereby speak as they were moved by the Holy Ghost We Christians therefore believe the Holy Ghost spake by the Prophets and that Prophecy is a Gift of the Spirit For which cause no doubt it was that Justin Martyr intitles him the Spirit of Prophecy But when we consider that the Spirit of Prophecy as in my Text is affirmed of the Testimony of Jesus it seems most probable that it therein signifies not his Person but his Gift not his Essence or Subsistence but an Effect produced by him which is here called by his Name Thus the Spirit of a sound Mind the Spirit of Wisdom and Meckness the Spirit of Knowledge the Spirit of Grace and the Spirit of Prayer signifie Effects Works or Gifts which the Spirit of God produceth in the Souls of Men. So here in my Text the Spirit of Prophecy by an ordinary Metonymy of the Cause for the Effect is put for the Gift or Ability to prophesie which the Holy Ghost wrought in some of Gods Ministers This Gift the Angel had when he spake to St. John and so saith he had St. John too and the rest of the Apostles in their Testimony of Jesus i. e. in the Record they gave of Christ or in the promulgation of the Doctrine they taught concerning him from whence it apparently follows that the Angel here speaking and they were Fellow-servants But it is not this their Association with Angels which I now intend to discourse of but the Reason and Cause of it viz. their Gift of Prophecy It is we see here avouched by an Angel that the Apostles in the Promulgation of the Gospel were indued with the Gift of Prophecy or in short that they were Prophets and if they in their Testimony of Jesus were Prophets much more was He himself by whose Spirit they gave it to him a Prophet all then that remains for me to do will be to prove that Christ and his Apostles were Prophets Hereof methinks none can doubt but those that are slow of heart to believe the Holy Scriptures for therein we first find it fore-told to the Jews that God would raise them up a Prophet from among their Brethren like unto
Moses which Promise Petrus Galatinus proves the ancient Jews themselves understood to speak of the Mâ—ssiah and in the Acts of the Apostles St. Peter affirms that our Jesus is that Prophet And Christ himself gave such evidence of it as that his Disciples thought him a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people i. e. that God did demonstrate and the People did confess that he was a great Prophet and that they did so is manifest for the Jews themselves whose hearts were not subdued to his Doctrine did yet believe that of a truth he was that Prophet that should come into the world The Samaritan woman also perceived that he was a Prophet and the men of Samaria believed and knew as much namely that indeed he was the Christ the Saviour of the World a part of whose Office as they thought was to tell them all things and so to be a Prophet And then for the Apostles we do not only read that God by his Spirit revealed things unto them but moreover we find it recorded that he did it in this manner Our blessed Lord Jesus Christ promised his Disciples to send them a Comforter and that when He the Spirit of Truth should come he would guide them into all Truth which it seems fell out accordingly for when the day of Pentecost was fully come the Aposâ—les were all with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty Wind and it filled all the House where they were sitting and there appeared to them cloven Tongues like as of Fire and it sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance Nor did they then receive only the Gift of Tongues but that also of Prophecy For the promise of God by the Prophet Joel that He would pour out his Spirit upon all Flesh and that their Sons and Daughters should Prophesie c. The Importance of which Promise is that in the days a little before the Destruction of the Jewish Nation there should be so great and unusual an effusion of his Spirit upon Pâ—rsons of all sorts as that those who were not brought up in the Schools of Prophets should yet be indued with the Spirit or Gift of Prophecy This Prediction of Joel was fulfilled in the Apostles by the most auspicious Descent of the Holy Ghost upon them for St. Peter affirms this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel It seems then the Mystery of Christ which in other Ages was not made known unto the Sons of men as now it is was revealed unto his Holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit It is therefore manifest there can be no doubt made of our Assertion if the Holy Scripture be thought sufficient to prove it On this account I suppose it is that among those who believe the Scripture it seems an Hypothesis rather taken for granted than otherwise proved by any But because our Age is inquisitive and somewhat too apt to derogate from the Authority of the sacred Pandects because also since those parts thereof which make mention of Christ and his Apostles did drop from Their Mouths and Pens to alledge Texts from thence is but to produce their own Testimony concerning themselves and therefore whatever Truth there may be there certainly is but little Force in that way of arguing unless it be to those that already are well perswaded of their Authority For these Reasons I shall at present ascribe no more Authority to the Holy Scripture than is usually given to other Writings far inferiour and argue only from Reason and Testimony that cannot be suspected of Partiality by the help thereof together with Gods blessing I doubt not to prove these five Particulars 1. That the Notion of a Prophet is very agreeable to Reason 2. That there were Prophets among the Jews 3. That for the Tryal of Pretenders to the Gift of Prophecy they had certain Rules Notes and Signs whereby to judg of them 4. that if Christ and his Apostles be tryed thereby it will be found that they were Prophets 5. That this way of proving they were so is very sufficient and rational CHAP. II. Of the Notion of a Prophet and that there were Prophets among the Jews THE Notion of a Prophet may certainly best be learned from the Nature of Prophecy before defined from which Definitions of Prophecy we may gather this of a Prophet viz. that He is a person who by the Influence of God upon his Rational Faculty doth attain to such knowledge as by his Natural Abilities would in one respect or other be unattainable In which Description it concerns us at present to observe only that it is not Prediction but Influence from God which constitutes a Prophet at least such an one as we are now speaking of And that this is no new Notion adapted to our present Undertaking is evident enough by the words of a late Author whose Principles are thought most unluckily of any to undermine such Foundations as we are now laying yet he expresseth himself in these words Although there be many significations in Scripture of the word Prophet yet is that the most frequent in which it is taken for him to whom God speaketh immediately that which the Prophet is to say from him to some other man or to the People Gods speaking to men immediately he himself saith is to be interpreted that way whatsoever it be I suppose he means without the Ministry of man by which God makes them to understand his Will Hereby 't is evident that in his Judgment as well as ours a Prophet was a Person on whose Understanding God had immediate Influence how else is it possible he should make him immediately to understand his Will and sure it cannot seem strange to any that there have or might have been such men in the World the Power and Wisdom of God together with the Capacities of Mens Souls are enough to remove all suspition of Its impossibility He that made the Mind shall not He be able to teach men knowledge and he that was made on purpose to know God and give him the Glory of his Handy-work shall not he be thought capable of learning from such a Teacher There is therefore no show of Reason to doubt the Possibility of Prophecy especially considering that all sorts of men how wide soever their differences are in other matters do yet agree in this viz. that there are or have been such Prophets in the World This is so manifest and vulgarly known to be the Belief of Christians Jews and Turks as that among all that have heard of Christ Moses or Mahomet all necessity of proving it is perfectly fore-stalled and that the Heathens also were of the same opinion is evident by what they have reported of some of their Law-givers viz.
were Partakers and these 't is confessed were sometimes those useful Ornaments of Arts and Sciences but more frequently if not alwayes those of Intelligence and Prudence somewhat above the ordinary rate of others the Spirit of Prophecy seldom or never rested on any but those whose minds were very capable of first principles and able to guide their actions with Judgment and Discretion Now that Christ and his Apostles were so is a thing whereof it seems needless to make proof because among all the Enemies of Christianity I can find none that ever had the Impudence to say that its Founders were Fools but rather they acknowledg it is such a cunningly devised Fable or so subtil a Contrivance as that they are forced to confess the Authors of it were men of excellent Intellectuals Even Atheists themselves by saying that our Religion is an humane Invention allowed of and defended by Princes to keep men in Subjection do declare plainly that its Authors or first Founders who in all appearance were Christ and his Apostles were men of no shallow apprehension but rather of deep judgment and profound Ratiocination The whole Christian World must be thought to consist of these Fools if those that have given these Laws to it were not wise Yet evident it is whoever saith so deserves to be reckoned one of that number or worse However it seeâ—s the first Opponents of Christ and his Apostlâ—s although they were extreamly malicious yet were not so far transported with the madness of Pride as to say any such thing of them but contrariwise they admired and marvelled at them insomuch that not only the People were astonished at the Doctrine of Christ and his country-men at his Wisdom but also the very Doctors themselves at his Understandings and Answers when he was but twelve year old and afterwards being come to Maturity never man spake like this man Insomuch that the wicked Hearts of many among them prompted them to think he had a Devil but others said and gave a good reason for it too that his were not the words of one that had a devil if we lay both togethâ—r we may from thence gather that his discourse was extraordinary so far above the pitch of the hearers as that it gave Evidence of transcendent Wisdom in the Speaker Which also in some measure discovered it self in his Apostles for the Elders of Israel marvelled and Sergius Paulus a prudent man was astonished at what they heard from them and wise men we know use not to admire and marvel at the Rhapsodies of Fools if therefore the People or yet their Rulers were wise it must be concluded that Christ and his Apostles were such because in despite of Malice they were forced to admire them for so being But in this point the confessions of our modern Scoffers have given me a Supersedeas from the trouble of saying any more for though they will sometimes shoot their bolts at some Parts of our Religion divided from the rest yet they dare not say but that the Whole is so consistent with it self and subservient to the End whereunto they say it is designed as that thâ—y presume to disgrace it only with slie Insinuations that it savours more of Subtilty and Guile than of Honesty of Craft and Cunning than of the thing called Conscience Were this as great a Truth as it is a Slaunder yet this might we learn from it namely that the Author of our Faith and Founders of our Religion were very intelligent Persons men so far from Defects in their Understandings as that they had very large Intellectuals and comprehensive Capacities can Naturals befool the World and make it dance after their Pipe no surely it must therefore be concluded that Christ and his Apostles were men of Parts and Prudence of Profound Judgment and deep Intentions And in that Respect they were such as the preceeding Rule of the Rabbins style Wise But this sort of Wisdom not being peculiar to Prophets was not I suppose so much inquired after in the Trial of those that pretended to the gift of Prophecy as that that was supernatural namely that Knowledg which without Revelation was utterly unattainable and that in respect either of the Matter Manner or Measure of it That Knowledg ledg or Wisdom which in one or other of these respects was supernatural was I think principally enquired after in the Trial of Pretenders to Prophecy the Reason of this my Conjecture is not only because the Nature of the thing requires that it should be so but because the contumelious carriage of the Jews towards our blessed Saviour seems to intimate that it was so for when they had blind-folded him they stroke him on the face and asked him saying Prophesie who is it that smote thee It seems far more probable to me that this their usage of Christ should referr to a Custom of their own rather than to a sport called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 amongst the Grecian Children or Blind-mans-buff among our own if this sport were of use among the Jews also yet I do not think their Malice was then so gamesome and childish it seems a more solemn jeer allusive to some Custom or Enquiry that wont to be made in the Trial of Prophets and if so it were then is it most probable that in this affair the Jews required evidence of some supernatural Knowledg in him that pretended to the Spirit of Prophecy and such Knowledg as this we have already observed the old Prophets had in respect either of the Matter Manner or Measure of their Knowledg and that Christ and his Apostles had so as well as they is the thing which we are now to demonstrate Fore-knowledge of future Contingencies the Jews very justly held to be Supernatural in respect of the Matter of it That Christ and his Apostles were endued therewith will hereafter appear by the account we are to give of their Predictions at present therefore I shall wave that and observe that they as well as the Prophets before them had a sort of knowledge which was truly Supernatural in respect of the Manner of it i. e. those things which of their own nature were such as might have been known by the power of mens Natural Faculties were sometimes made known to them by immediate Revelation as appears not only by Jesus his knowledge of Nathaneel and of all other men but also by the Discovery which the Apostles made of Ananias and Sapphira's sacriledge Neither in the Nature of the thing known nor yet in the Measure of their Knowledg does there seem any thing extraordinary yet not being informed concerning it 't is evident the manner of their Knowledg or the means whereby they attained to it were Supernatural they received it by Inspiration or Revelation of the Spirit and that 's the reason why St. Peter told Ananias that he had not lied unto Men but to the Holy Ghost i. e. to God himself But of
as makes us with David to have respect to All Gods Commandments and careful to keep them as well as we can Although for the Glory of God and Honour of his Laws for the patefaction of his most Holy Nature and most Just Dominion over us I say that although for these and such like great ends the Gospel hath made the most perfect unsinning Obedience to be our Duty yet not that but only sincere Obedience is indispensably necessary in order to our Salvation For Thirdly Those Sins which are really inavoidable the Gospel doth not impute to us for our Condemnation I would not be mistaken that that I say is that though according to the Rigour and Severity of the Law as a Covenant of Works the wages of every Sin be death yet such is the Mercy of God in the Gospel of Christ as that those Sins which to us are really and truly inavoidable shall not be imputed to us for our Condemnation Hereof one Reason is because the Gospel puts us into a state of Trial and Probation in this Life in reference to another after it Surely therefore there is no inavoidable guilt thereby charged upon us to our eternal Condemnation it is not imaginable it should so Tantaliâ—e us with hopes of Heaven in the Confines and Power of Hell However evident it is Fourthly That the Gospel doth promise that our known Sins as well as others how heinous soever they be either in their Nature or their Aggravations yet if they are timely retracted by true Repentance and Humiliation Contrition and Confession change of Mind and amendment of Life they shall be forgiven us No mans Sins are either so many in Number or so heinous in their Quality but on these terms they may be forgiven insomuch that to me it seems most probable that the Sin against the Holy Ghost is impardonable not for want of Grace in the Gospel but for want of repentance in the Sinner Let then our modern Scoffers add these things as they ought to that against which they level their Objection and then let them tell us what Impossibility there is in obeying the Gospel so far forth as is necessary to Salvation Is it impossible to do what we can or to repent when we have done amiss I suppose not espâ—cially while we have those Motives and Assistâ—nces which the Gospel gives us to keep the Commandments Since the nature of reasonable Creaâ—ures is to be drawn by the Alliciency of those Proâ—itâ—râ—icks that present themselves to it we may well wondâ—r at our own Disobedience For so many and so great are the Motives the Gospel gives to keep its Commandments as that there is no active Vertue in us but may receive the highest Incitement therefrom What entertainment so fit for the Mind as Truth and what Truth so sweet as that that is eternal What so desireable to the Will as Goodness And what Goodness so great as that that is Infinite And where can you find Eternal Truth and Infinite Goodness so clearly revealed as they are in the Gospel Where can the Affections have the like Motives to set us a doing Hath not the Rule of our Life the highest Majesty and Authority instamped on it Are we not promised the greatest Reward that can be desired in case we walk by it And are we not threatened with the greatest evil that can be feared in case we neglect it Are we not assured of a suâ—â—iciency of Temporal Blessings and Spiritual Graces in this World if we will seek first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness i. e for Glory and Honour and Immortality in the other Is it not then strange that being thus besieged with Motives to do well we should be so prone to do ill Although we know very well the Commandments are such as that it is not more our Duty than our Interest to do them we promote our own Good as much as Gods Glory by Obedience to them for they are apt not only to enlighten our Minds and perfect our Understandings to refine our Natures and sublimate our gross Affections to amend our Lives and purifie our Conversations but also to prâ—serve our Estates and advance our Fortunes to secure our Reputation and promote our Honour and that in all Conditions and Capacities whatever insomuch that their own Goodness might be their own Eternal obligation How admirable then are that Wisdom Justice and Goodness which impose them on us and require Obedience of us Especially considering the Assistance provided for us to have in well-doing and truly 't is more than a little we do or should receive in our Childhood by being brought up in the nurture and admoâ—ition of the Lord for a Child being led by little of it self but a Chain of Imaginations Education hath the force of a Natural Agent rather than a Moral hence it is that Children of the same Parents are sometimes like Lycurgus his Whelps of the same litter whereas one ran to his dish the other after the Hare because he had brought them up so to do which Experiment he made in the sight of his Subjects on purpose to teach them to train their Children in the way they should go and that when they were old they would not depart from it But if they do the Gospel hath sufficiently provided for their reduction for it doth not only encourage brotherly Admonition and oblige us to pray for each other but it hath also ordained a Sacred Function for the perâ—ecting of the Sâ—ints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the Body of Christ till we all come in the unity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ Now not only Men on Earth but also the Angels of Heaven are obliged to afford us their assistance Are they not all ministring Spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of Salvation And besides the assistance of Angels we may have that of the Eternal Spirit also to help us For the Fathers of Flesh here on Earth are not so ready to give good Gifts unto their Children as our Heavenly Father is to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him and this it seems he doth so abundantly in the dayes of the Gospel as that it is called by his Name and the ministration of the Spirit and the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus which makes men free from the Law of Sin and Death Whereby it seems that though the History and Outward Communicatioâ—s of the Gospel be to us in Scriptis yet we are not to look upon it as a meer piece of Book-learning but as a Vital quickening thing able to give Life to those that are Dead in Trespasses and Sins to beget them again in Christ Jesus and to form divine Goodness in the Souls of Men and by so doing to help their
THE Spirit of Prophecy A TREATISE To prove by the wayes formerly in use among the Jews in the Tryal of Pretenders to a Prophetick Spirit That Christ and his Apostles were Prophetâ— Together with the DIVINE AUTHORITY OF Christian Religion And the HOLY SCRIPTURES The Insufficiency of HUMANE REASON And the Reasonableness of the Christian Faith Hope and Practice deduced therefrom and asserted against Mr. HOBBS and the Treatise of HVMANE REASON By W. H. LONDON Printed for W. Crook at the Green Dragon without Temple-Bar MDCLXXIX TO THE Right Reverend Father in God PETER Lord Bishop of ELY My Lord WHen the Gospel was first promulgated by the Preaching of Christ and his Apostles the Scribes and Pharisees among the Jews the Philosophers and Disputers of this World among the Gentiles i. e. the Wits of that Age were some of the most eminent Opposers and Rejecters of it the one required a Sign the other sought after Wisdom the one would have Signs and Miâ—â—â—les wrought at their Demand the other would have Philosophical Reasons drawn from Natural Causes to make them believe and for lack of these as it seems they pretended Christ crucified was to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness and that for the same Reasons such as they are he seemâ— to be so still to some of the Wits of these Times I am assured by the Wâ—itings of such Persons as want neither opportunities of Converse with Men nor ability to understand their Principles and Pretences Some there are that have heard and perhaps have read a little of the things called Miracles and Demonstrations and for want of these they seem to despise and contemn the Gospel But the tâ—uth is could these Brisk and Airy these Talkative and Dogmatical men obtain leave of themselves to be sâ—â—ious so long as to consider the nature of the Gospel and the Demonstration of the Spirit they might perhaps find themselves somewhat like those in the Primitive times who professing themselves to be Wise became Fools Nor have they any reason to look on this as a reproachful Suggestion foâ— since Life and Immortality are brought to light by the Gospel upon either of these Pretences and they can have no better to reject it is but to play the fool very wisely and to run mad with a reason for it and that not only because the Gospel acquaints us with matters of the highest and best importance that can be unto us but also because which of these wayes soever they chuse to palliate their Infidelity it will at length lead them to deplorable absurdity For the Semeiotical or Jewish Postulatum is a very manifâ—st and malepeâ—t piece of Folly not only because the Gospel was at first abundantly confiâ—med by Miracles uncontâ—ollably attested but also because if that were constituted the way of demonstrating the truth of Divine Revelation it would lead men to the impudence of prescribing to the Most High and setting bounds to the Almighty of expecting alterations in the course of Nature and of having Preachers like Juglers to shew tricks at the demand of every petulant Requirer Instances hereof we have divers in the Holy Scripture but few I think so pâ—egnant as that of the Pharisees seeking of Christ a Sign from Heaven tempting him They had no mind to be his Disciples but to make tryal of his Skill and ability and therefore they demand a Sign and that presently upon the spot and this Sign must be not that which he had given them but the day before by feeding four thousand with seven Loaves and a few small Fishes this did not please their Pallats but they must have a Sign of their own chusing and that not from the Earth the Wind or the Sea but from Heaven from thence it must come in all haste to satisfie their wanton Curiosity And was not this to expect that the Powers of Heaven and Earth should dance attendance on them at their senseless and impudent demand It is plain then that Insolence and Impiety Folly and asinine Stupidity are the Brood that this Postulatum brings forth And if this be the way of proving the Gospel to be of God how shall future Ages be secured against it Are men more wise and modest now than they were then I doubt it because there are some even in our Nation that are fallen into such as this Absurdity Whence else is it that they require a Miracle to prove that Miracles have been done but would they stand a little and consider whither they are going they might perhaps perceive that he who put them into this way hath no extraordinary Wit as is pretended And they that think to excuse their Infidelity or Neutrality by the Grecanick Postulatum seem not to me to be much wiser because they hanker after such Proof as the nature of the thing will not admit and reject that that is most pâ—oper for the Gospel we know contains matters of Faith and these matters of Faith especially those of them that are most excepted against are contained either in Historical Narrations or Doctrinal Propositions the former having received their Being from Free Agents not from Causes Necessary or of their own nature determined to the doing of that that is be Believed cannot admit of strict and rigorous Demonstration but are capable of proof only by Testimony and this we have for matters meerly Historical in the Gospel as fully as for any other of the same or as I think of a far lesser distance for not only all Christians of the remotest Regions but Jews and Pagans Heathens and Infidels of all sorts have received them for true and confirmed them unto us This is all the Proof we either have or can reasonably desire of these things because their nature will admit of no other And if they are not much less are the Doctrinal Propositions containing meer matters of Divine Faith capable of Demonstration because they are a Mystery concerning God his Nature Essence or Operations and one would think that men of Wit and Parts should not betray so much Folly Ignorance and want of Learning as to expect Philosophical Demonstration for things of that nature for such Demonstration must be either à priori or à posteriori à priori it cannot be because that supposes causes precedent to the First viz. God himself and so implies a Contradiction Nor can it be à posteriori because the Gospel is the mystery which hath been hid from Ages and from Generations if it be not whence was it that all the Learned as well as the Vulgar among the Jews and Gentiles were ignorant of it till Christ and his Apostles made it manifâ—st it seems therefore the Faith of the Gospel is a sort of Supernatural Doctrine which cannot possibly be demonstrated by the Light of Nature and for that reason were there no other it is unreasonable to demand it and sensless to reject the Gospel for lack of it such Doctrine
those Precepts which are written in the Law And why was this Comment committed to writing as well as the Text but because there was no preserving it intire without it Why then should it be set cheek by jole with the Text it self Was Rabbie Judah a Prophet as well as Moses no He lived a long time after the Spirit of Prophecy was ceased among them his writings therefore ought in all reason to truckle under the Scripture which was given by Inspiration of God and although the matters contained in them as is pretended came together with those of Holy Scripture from God Almighty yet having been for many hundreds of years most easiely subject to Corruptions Changes and Depravations for the prevention whereof he committed them to writing there can be but little or no certainty and consequently no knowledg of such Authority as is pretended to be in them and if not after much less before he wrote them For by committing them to writing without all doubt he did rather add unto then diminish their Authority and truly it seems probable that He devised the fable of their descent from God Almighty for had there been such an Explication as they say delivered by God to Moses by Moses to Aaron and his sons by them to the seventy Elders by them to Joshuâ— by him to the surviving Elders by them to the succeeding Prophets who delivered it from one to another through at least a thousand years had this I say been true it is very strange that in all that time they did not drop one word from their pens about it although certainly they had frequent occasions of so doing for a great part of their Office was to uphold the practice of the Law in the Purity and Integrity of it which they could no way have done better than by reducing Transgressoâ—s to that authentick Interpretation of it yet we find not a word of it but that that falls out most unluckily is that this traditional Interpretation of the Law doth thwrat and contradict the Exposition thereof by the Prophets this wretchâ—d Trâ—dition restrained the sense of the Law to the letter of it and taught men to believe it forbad no more than it expressed but the Prophets surely taught them otherwise whence â—lse was it that they râ—proved them for the thoughts of their hearts as well as the Works of their hands Thus did the Comment make void the Text and this Tradition made the Commandments of none â—ffâ—ct It is therefore most manifâ—st that they came not from the same hand Can infinite Wisdom speak contradictions or destroy what it builds it is blasphemy to say it can Since then this Tradition explodes the Law instead of expounding it we are sure it came not from God Was it then likely that the Divine Majesty as our Author often calls the Spirit of Prophecy should be made to hold up its hand at the Bar of this Tradition which perhaps was made worse by its keepers than it was in it self It was alwayes imprisoned in a Consistorie where no man knows what usage it had or how it might be dress'd up to serve the emergent exigence of Prophecy were tryed by Tradition and that Tradition known only in a Consistory and that Consistory consisted of men subject as doubtless they were to Error and Corruptions the Ark was more like to fall before Dagon than Dagon before the Ark I mean the Truth of God to be repelled by Vice and Wickedness oftener than they corrected by the Truth of God How easie was it for Vice to pretend to this Tradition and for Wickedness to plead Prescription by this Oral Law for its Protection And if they dwelt in the Consistory as too often they did or could make some friends there as no doubt they might they would certainly be more mindful of their concerns than to neglect so fair an Advantage and then if the Consistory declared that Tradition was for them that Prophet must die who presumed to speak against them But is it possible that the God of Holiness should make a Law so apt to establish wickedness no it borders upon Blasphemy to say he did Piety therefore as well as Reason inclines us to look on this Tradition as a meer Fiction at first invented to uphold the tottering Reputation of their Magisterial Rabbies and afterwards improved and used to patronize their Infidelity and justifie their barbarous Proceedings against Our Blessed Lord Jesus and all that adhered to him This therefore we do utterly reject But the other part of Maimonides his assertion viz. That Pretenders to the Spirit of Prophecy were not admitted to a Trial unless they made no alteration in the written Law of Moses is something more probable for doubtless an attempt to null the Obligation of a Law which God himself hath established if he that makes it gives little or no Evidence of Gods Intention by him to do it is a strong presumption yea a sufficient argument that he therein is a false Prophet But if God hath constituted a Law which in it self is mutable and withal hath declared that it shall be changed if the Pretender to Prophecy gives as great or greater Evidence of Gods Intention by him to do it then he did at first to establish it there is no more Reason to reject him than there was Moses and if so the Jews were certainly very rude and barbarous if they would not vouchsafe him a Trial but forthwith put him to Death without it What Law therefore of the Jews it was wherein our Author saith this Rule was contained is yet unknown to us however assured we are that though it might be of theirs yet it was no part of Gods Law because it inflicts Death on them who bring the broad Seal of Heaven to avouch their Authority to speak what they do in his Name I suppose therefore the Rule is seldom or never true but in case either of Immutability in the Law it self or want of sufficient Evidence of Gods Intention by the pretender to change it and that neither of these is the case now under debate will be evident by considering these two things 1. That the Law of Moses as to the Ceremonial and Judicial parts of it was not immutable for it was founded upon no immutable Reasons this methinks Maimonides himself must needs have confessed if he had consider'd what he himself hath elsewhere told us viz. That the first intention of our Law is to take away Idolatry to blot out the memory of it and of all things that adhere to it or give occasion of it And then after some digression he returns to his purpose and saith the Reasons and Causes of many of our Laws became known to me through the knowledge of the Faith Rites and Worship of the Zabians the knowledge of their Opinions and Sciences is a great Gate i. e. it serves much to let in the sight of the Causes of the Precepts for the
Maimonides his Expositions of the Rule now debated for he therein makes no mention at all of Riches but of Learning Religion Continence Vnderstanding and all probity of Manners And elsewhere he tells us that Prophecy falls on none but the excellently Wise one that is able to rule his Affections and cast off the dominion of Worldly Concupiscence one whose Reason rules his Appetite and is indued with large and very well disposed Intellectuals Not one word of Wealth or Worldly Riches and is it not somewhat strange that when he professedly Expounds this Rule he should so utterly forget the third part of its Contents if they had so been or he had thought them so Surely he did not for in another place of his Writings he tells us that in this Rule the word Wise without doubt comprehends Intellectual Vertues but the words Strong and Rich import Morals the former denotes Fortitude the latter Contentment for his words are these Gihbor Strong is of the Moral Vertues viz He who doth moderate and rule the Powers of his Soul according to right Reason and this is it which they say when they ask who is strong and answer he that subjugates his own Concupiscence And so also Ashir Rich is of the Moral Vertues viz. the vertue of a contented mind for he that is contented with his portion they call Rich this is it they say when describing a rich man they ask who is rich and return answer He that rejoyceth in his own portion i. e. He that is content with what the time present affords him and doth not grieve at what it denies him By all this it is very plain that if he hath given us the true meaning of this Rule the Jews thereby understood no more than that the Prophets were Excellent men in respect both of Intellectual and Moral Vertues especially Fortitude and Contentment and in this sense we affirm as well as they that generally they were Strong and Rich namely in Vertue and Probity of Manners in good Works and all Holiness of living especially in Courage and Magnanimity in Contentment and well-pleasedness with their Condition and we will not contradict our Authors saying there never was any one hitherto who would have it that God made his Divine Majesty so he calls the Spirit of Prophecy to dwell in a wicked man for a man of a more Excellent Spirit than he hath told us they were holy men of God that in old time spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost They were blessed and just Lovers of God and beloved of him And it was need ful for them so to be for being by their Office obliged to pull the Motes out of the Eyes of others it highly concerned them to have no Beams in their own so base a thing is Vice that it villifies the authority of Instruction and abates the credit of Predictions by them that are Vicious and on the contrary an holy Magnanimity and Contempt of the World accompanied with all other probity of Manners do conciliate Authority and facilitate Belief Since then the Prophets were Men of Gods own immediate chusing and that on purpose to propagate his Holiness to others and infuse it into them it is more than probable that they themselves had a great share of it Concerning these things then viz. Wisdom Strength and Holiness but especially Fortitude and Contentment when the Jews were satisfied they had at least some probable Arguments that the Pretenders to Prophecy were indeed indued with it For the Spirit of Prophecy and the Office of a Prophet had so little of Secular advantage to allure mens Affections and so much of likelihood to expose them to all manner of hardships yea perhaps to Death it self as that it was altogether improbable that a Wise and Prudent man would undertake it without a Call or Necessity laid upon him to do it much more unlikely is it that he should be Couragious and Resolute in it when in his Conscience he knew he had nothing to do and so might be put to death and damned for medling with it Nor was it at all likely that any Holy man content and well-pleased with his Condition should lye so horridly and prevaricate so prodigiously in a matter of this nature If then the Pretenders to Prophephecy were found to be Wise Strong and Rich i. e. Eminently indued both with Intellectual and Moral Vertues especially Fortitude and Contentment the Jews had great reason to believe them or at least to proceed to some farther Tryal of them Of Prophetick Predictions Sect. 3. For the performance whereof they had yet another kind of ordinary Means which in their esteem was most certain and demonstrative viz. the accomplishment of Predictions These they enquired after and sufficient warrant they had for so doing for Moses having told them that by the non-accomplishment of Prediction they might know the word which the Lord had not spoken it was easie and Logical from thence to infer that by the accomplishment of Predictions they might know the Prophet did not speak presumptuously Yet forasmuch as most if not all Predictions were either Promises of some future Good or Comminations of Evil to come and the Lord had declared that the conditions of both were mutable there was certainly no small difficulty in trying the truth of a Pretension to Prophecy by the success of Prediction It seems therefore the Rabbins have taken some pains to extricate themselves and others out of this Labyrinth We need not take notice of their unsuccessful attempts to do it it sufficeth us they seem all agreed in this that the full and exact accomplishments of Predictions whether Promises or Comminations were sure and certain signs of a Prophetick Spirit They expected that not so much as a tittle of what the Prophets foretold should ever fail or fall to the ground but that all should be fulfilled and accompliâ—hed by the Event And this they pretend to have learned from the words of Jehu to the Rulers of Jesreel there shall fall unto the Earth nothing of the word of the Lord. Which also as they think the Lord himself insinuates when he saith the Prophet that hath a dream let him tell a dream and he that hath my Word let him speak my Word faithfully what is the Chaff to the Wheat saith the Lord In which words saith Mâ—imâ—nides there are some persons reprehended for taking their Dreams to be prophetick and divulging them for such and themselves for Prophets although the Lord allows them to tell their Dreams yet he approves not their doing it for Revelations however he that hath his Word may say that he hath so provided he do it faithfully i. e. without Addition or Diminution and this surely saith the Lord will be discâ—rnable from Dreams for what is the chaff to the wheat The sense of which Question our Author saith their Wise men have rendred to be this That all Indications of things
from others or at least such Doctrines as were but obscurely revealed to others by Holy Scriptures were plainly made known to them by Tradition But besides the Holy Scriptures and Tradition they or at least some of them pretended Revelation in behalf of their idle Fables as Irenaeus makes evident by the example of one Marcus and other Gnosticks who as they gave out did not only prophesie themselves but had power to communicate the gift thereof to others and accordingly as they boasted and their Disciples believed so they did to divers especially of the weaker Sex and by this pretence they deceived and drew many after them and no wonder if they did so for all men took Prophets to be holy Men of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost and who so profligate from all Religion as to think that they were such and yet refuse to be led by or partake of their Spirit by this pretence therefore how false and fabulous soever their Doctrine was the foundation of Faith in it and of Obedience to it was laid in the Consciences of men and this Foundation is of all others the most firm and immoveable able to bear whatever superstructure shall be laid upon it yea also and to beat off whatever assaults shall be made against it as appears by the improbability of some Doctrines and severity of some Orders still received and defended because at first founded on the credit of pretended Visions and Revelations all the difficulty was in the choice of the ground wherein to lay this Foundation the minds of men that were of sharp deep and strong Discourse were not apt to receive it but men of shallow apprehensions and weak intellectuals were fittest and most prepared for it this those builders of Babel the primitive Seducers seem wisely to have considered for S. Peter insinuates they were unstable Souls whom they beguiled and S. Paul more expresly saith they were the Simple whose hearts they deceived they crept into houses and led captive silly women laden with sins and led away with divers lusts thus those in the Apostles dayes and Irenaeus tells us of others who a little after them were most busie with women especially those that were of greatest Quality and most famous for worldly Grandieur and Riches these they most frequently sought to impose upon and allure by flatteries But lest their deceiveableness of unrighteousness viz. their Artifices of deceit should not be sufficient to secure the Foundation they came also as it was foretold they would with the working of Satan with all Power and Signes and lying Wonders for we read of Simon the Samaritan the Founder of Heresies and Father of Hereticks that he used Sorcery and bewitched the People of Samaria giving out that he himself was some great one to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest saying this man is the great Power of God Yet as great as he was he at length was in some measure subdued by a greater Power than his for he believed and was baptized yet his heart not being right in the Sight of God but supposing the Apostles to be greater Magicians than himself he greedily contended against them that he might seem more glorious than they to this end he desisted not from the study of Magick but made such farther progress in it as that he provoked many to amazement by it for Claudius Caesar erected a Statue in Honour of him for it After him the Carpocratians were much addicted to Magick and Inchantments that they might entice others to love them yea and they drew Devils to their assistance that by many Delusions it might be in their Power to be Lord and Master of whom they pleased Thus also it is reported of the before mentioned Marcus that he was a very great Proficient in Magical Imposture whereby he deceived many both Men and Women the like might I observe concerning others but this may suffice to shew that in this respect as well as others the primitive Seducers did exactly fulfill the Prophecies that went before of them and from thence it is easie to inferr that they who uttered them viz. Christ and his Apostles were Prophets because the only ordinary and certain Mark of a Prophetick Spirit viz. Predictions exactly accomplish'd is manifestly found in them But forasmuch as the Predictions of Christ and his Apostles concerning Seducers are of use not only to confirm the Faith but also to direct the Judgment in the choice of what Teachers men ought to follow and adhere to it would not be unuseful for us to make Trial of our Modern Teachers thereby which if we should do impartially I doubt not but we should find that the Copy which was set by the false Teachers in the Apostles times is too fairly transcribed by too many especially the Papists in ours and consequently we need not search the Records of Antiquity our own age will afford us too sure and sad accomplishment of these Predictions the demonstration hereof I did once intend but finding I should thereby grasp at matter more sit for a Volume than a Section I shall not so far digress but proceed to speak Sect. 6. Concerning the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles And here my business will be to prove that they really wrought many and great Miracles The Truth and certainty of which Proposition because Miracles were matters of Fact is most properly demonstrable only by Testimony yet Reason methinks proves it probable or somewhat more for granted it is on all sides that our Blessed Saviour himself in regard of his Manhood was but mean in the World his Parents were no Persons of Honour and he himself had but a mean Reception at his Birth nor was he by the Jews much set by in his Life He grew up as a root out of a dry Ground they thought there was no Form Comeliness or Beauty in him that they should desire him They would see no such blossomes in his Youth as promised any extraordinary Fruit in his riper age wherein also he was despised and rejected of men a man of Sorrows and acquainted with Grief a Rock of Offence and Stone of Stumbling set at naught by the Master-Builders of Israel rejected by the chief of his own Nation pursued by his Enemies betrayed by one of his pretended Friends denyed by another and suspected by all pursued and apprehended bound and buffetted arraigned and spit on condemned and crucified by his own Country-men as one of the worst of Malefactors was this mans Name like to become great in Israel and famous among the Gentiles yet this was he that sent forth his Apostles and who were They why men as mean as himself persons of obscure Parentage of no Reputation for Wealth or Wisdom Honour or Authority in their own Country yea so far from it as that the chief of them was a Fisherman and others as rude and illiterate as the meanest
this I shall say no more because I would here speak somewhat largely of the third sort of Supernatural Knowledg viz. that that is so in respect of its Degree or Measure The Spirit of Prophecy did not only Reveal those things all knowledge whereof was utterly unattainable by the Light of Nature but moreover it did oft-times illustrate those things whereof men had some obscure Conceptions without it Thus the Being and Attributes of God although they may in some measure be understood by the things that are made yet much more clearly by those that are Revealed Now that Knowledge which doth clear up and elucidate the Principles of Natural Theology beyond the possibility of Study and Industry is that which I mean by Divine and Supernatural Knowledge in respect of its Degree or measure and this is that Knowledge which ought in all reason among the Jews to have been honoured with the name of Wisdom if they were so prodigal of that honourable Title as to bestow it on the puny Arts of Arithmetick Astrology and the like in Justice methinks they ought much rather to have given it to Theology and so indeed we find that they did for among them it was better known almost by no name than that of Divine Wisdome And well might it be so called because not only the Object but also the Teachers of it were Divine for they were the Men of God or the Prophets from whom they first learned it Probable therefore it is that in the Trial of Pretenders to the Gift of Prophecy especial sâ—arch was made after this Wisdom and for this cause it will now be my business to enquire whether or no on the account of this Wisdom Christ and his Apostles were not worthy to be thought wise this Question 't is true was denyed by many in the dayes of their Flesh and seems hardly believed by more than a few now in ours and among those that affirm it in their words there are many that deny it in their deeds as if there were Wisdom in the Profession but Foolishness in the Practice of our Religion I fear therefore it will be no needless or unseasonable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to demonstrate their superlative Wisdom in this kind Which it seems was so transcendent as that Justine Martyr after all his hard Study and Travel in almost all sorts of humane Learning found Christianity to be the only sure and useful Philosophy We cannot except against his Judgment as that of a Party because this was his Experience before his Conversion yet because those that are wise in their own eyes will not see with his we shall submit our cause to a Tryal at the bar of its Adversaries Jews and Heathens The Jews we know rested in the Law and made their boast of God that they knew his Will and approved the things that are more excellent being instructed out of the Law on this account they were confident that they were Guides of the Blind Lights of them which are in Darkness Instructers of the Foolish and Teachers of Babes And although their Theology was grievously corrupted by their Traditions yet those that were Learned in their Law were on that account so Conceited and Insolent as that they did almost wholly ingross the name of Wise men to themselves this they did with such a matchleâ—s Pride and Contempt of others as would even tempt one to think that at least in their opinion there was â—â—arce any Wisdom in any thing but Theology Methinks then if they had understood it they could not have been so disingenuously partial as to have denied the title of Wisdom to Christianity the reason is because it is a sort of Theology far more excellent than their own and that in a three-fold reference namely to our Faith our Hope and our Practice For The Object of Faith is more clearly revealed by Christ and his Apostles than by Moses and the Prophets For very evident it is that not only the Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the Divine Essence the Person and Office of the Messiah are more fully discovered but also the very Attributes of God are most auspiciously asserted and illustrated by the Doctrine of the Gospel No man hath seen God at any time the only begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father he hath declared him Our minds may apprehend God but our eyes cannot see him We can therefore have no knowledge of him but by Ratiocination or Revelation the former we have by the Light of Nature the latter by the Spirit of Prophecy which surely is apt and able to advance our knowledge above the highest pitch of meer Nature for to that end among the Jews it spake by the Prophets and after them by Christ and his Apostles for they have blessed the World with the greatest Illustration that ever yet was made of the Divine Attributes which it seems according to the Jews are distinguished into two sorts viz. Fundamental and Practical the former are those whose foundation is laid in the very Essence of God it self such as Power Wisdom Holiness c. the latter are such as have relation and reference to the Works of God in and about his Creatures such as Mercy Goodness Truth c. Whether this Distinction be Orthodox and Adaequate I will not now enquire but sure I am that Divine Attributes of both sorts are most evidently illustrated by the Gospel for its Doctrine doth not only teach us to bâ—lieve that God is Powerful Wise and Holy Merciful Just and true but the Work of Redemption therein made known doth demonstrate that he is so Where can we find so magnificent a demonstration of infinite Power and Wisdom as in the Incarnation of the Son of God and his Resurrection from the Dead wherein are Gods Holiness and Mercy his Justice and Goodness so conspicuous as in the Death and Sufferings of Christ and where do Divine Truth and Veracity shine so brightly as in the Completion of Prophecies in and by our Saviour from his Birth to his Burial yea from his Conception to his Ascension It seems then the Object of Faith as to the greatest part of it is not only more clearly revealed by Christ and his Apostles than by Moses and the Prophets but also that part thereof wherein they were most distinct and clear is illustriously demonstrated by the Gospel Nor have they therein provided worse for our Hope than they have for our Faith but as in the Object of that so also of this the Gospel far excels the Divinity of the Jews for their Master Moses in the Institution of their Religion either promised them nothing beyond the good things of this Life or if he did it was covered with such Clouds and wrapp'd up in such Obscurity as that none but the most piercing eyes could see it Thence it was that a great and learned part of his followers viz. the Sadduces did reject all hope