Ruffinies an ancient writer saith they are impudent that thinke otherwise onely Cornelius a Lapide a learned Jesuite with Bellarmine and deny it because forsooth they alledge this place of Acts to prove their Church are never without Prophets that can foretell things to come But the other part of this Prophesie in Acts 2. verse 18. doth belong to Gods people to the end of the World and doth conteine a spirit of conformitie and of professing the name truth of God so Calvin and Vrsinus expound the place Calvin saith it is referred to the worshippers of God those that are in Covenant with him c. Vrsinus of professing and celebrating God so that from hence it is evident you can have small comfort from these Texts And I must-further admonish you to take heede ere you bee aware lest you slide into the Tents of the Papists while you thus plead for a Text and the exposition thereof To the next contained in six Answers None is fit for the work of the Ministry unlesse he be skilled in Arts Tongues for if he be not so qualified how shall he be able to answer the learned Adversary Neither is it your answer that hath or ever will prove the contrary if you had said The true understanding of the Scripture comes not only by humane learning then your speech might have been admitted and the Texts of Scripture that you have alleadged prove nothing to this purpose or if they did yet they doe not exclude humane Learning the scope of the Apostles meaning in that place of 1 Cor. 2.13 and yours is 2 Cor. 2.13 is to shew that we cannot understand or know that Eternall Love that superabounding mercy that incomprehensible sweetnesse that is to be found in the powerfull wayes of Jesus Christ but by the Spirit this is evidently proved from the foregoing Chapter the Apostle speaking that Christ was made unto us Wisdome Righteousnesse Sanctification and Redemption proceeds all along telling us that we cannot know these things but by the Spirit for as no man knowes the things of man but the spirit of a man which is in him so nothing can reveale Gods love to the soule concerning Predestination and Sanctification but the Holy Ghost which sheds abroad the love of God in the hearts of his people and as Jesus Christ doth impart these things by his Spirit to his people so he sends his Ministers to preach the same not in the words of mans wisdome but in the demonstration of the Spirit Now I would intreat you in the next Pamphlet to tell me if there be not a large difference between the interpretation of the true and universall revealed meaning of the Holy Ghost in the sacred Scriptures as well by the understanding of the Originall and line reading pointing collation as by the Spirit himselfe And the certification of those things that concerne a mans Eternall Salvation by the same Spirit which lye hid in Gods everlasting love yet revealed in the Scriptures of which the Apostle here speaks It is true a man my run into extreames as well one way as in another And as he that is skilled in Arts and Tongues without the light of the holy Ghost cannot universally interpret apply Scripture according to the minde of Christ so a man that is destitute of skill in Arts and Tongues and hath nothing in him but that light which proceeds from Gods Spirit cannot on the other side expound according to the originall for God workes by meanes he will and doth convey his minde revealed so farre forth as men can comprehend him with the conjunction of those meanes he hath ordeined instrumentally to communicate himselfe now your selfe saith that this may be desired in those that want it besides the Apostle wishes that the Corinthians had the gifts of tongues calling it a spirituall gift now if this be a spirituall gift and ought to be desured and without which a man cannot interpret according to that tongue in which the holy Ghost spake then God doth communicate himselfe more to him in larger measures of his revealed will by those meanes he hath ordeined and commended to that purpose then to him who is deficient in the enjoyment of those meanes by which he so conveyes himselfe and so he that is universally qualified and hath both these is fit for the vvorke of the ministery (Å¿) Therefore to the end that unquiet and troublesome men should rashly thrust in themselves to reach or rule it is expresly provided that no man should without calling take upon him a publike office in the Church unlesse called This we may oftentimes marke in Paul when hee meanes to approve his Apostleship hee doth alledge his calling if so great a Minister dare not take this upon him but by the commandement of the Lord how great shamefulnesse shall it be if any man wanting either of these shall challenge such honour to himselfe Calv. â—â—â—tit pag. 522. and so is not he that is wanting in either true it is that Jesus Christ hath not greater adversaries then those that are greatly learned and unsanctified witnesse the Pharisees but yet againe he hath no greater friends and souldiers to fight his battels although vilified by the world then those who have those humane excellencies sanctified unto them to the other five answers because they are for their substance conteined in the first and are answered in that I will here passe them by and come to the next where you say All the call mentioned in Scripture was the peoples great necessitie and their great willingnesse to heare is most untrue yet to be admitted in cases extraordinary and if you had made that limitation you had done well but when your speeches are indefinite making no caution and restruction where it is required you shew your palpable ignorance for God hath prescribed other things as additionall to the calling of a Minister publikely to preach the Word besides the peoples necessitie and their owne willingnesse his orders must be observed not neglected now the peoples necessitie is to be relatively considered and so made their election but before a Minister can be compleatly fitted for the publike function of the Church hee must be ordained by the Presbytery for if none be fit for the publike function of the Ministery but men sufficiently learned as before was declared how can the people judge of his ability who have no knowledge therein And if the Apostles would not have any to execute the office of a Deacon in the Church which was a lesser and an inferior Church-officer why should those that are designed to a greater and more publike duty miss of that confirmation And (t) You should understand that the assurance of the inward calling dependeth upon the outward for albeit the Spirit of God worketh that assurance yet he worketh by the outwardmeans by the judgement of the Elders and of the Church touching his aptnesse for the Ministery whilest he considereth that calling
a reproofe Enviest thou them for my sake saith he would God that all the Lords people were Prophets whereby it appeares that Moses his speech must needs carry a dependance and reference to those two Elders in the Camp or else it were very incongruous Now shall I aske you this question Had not Moses some ground for his wish and is not this wish spoken with reference to those two Elders I know you cannot deny it doth it not follow then by necessary consequence that as the Spirit that God took from Moses and put it upon these Elders and which Spirit Moses wished were in the Lords people was a spirit of Government which those Elders were to share in with Moses and which would have produced a happy effect in the people if they had had the same Will you see an example to illustrate this point Let the example of Saul then bee here brought forth and which comes next to be answered That as he was extraordinarily called by God to his Kingly office so was this his calling confirmed to him by the pouring of his Spirit on him 1 Sam. 10 6. Such an example we have likewise in Gideon in the 6. Judges 34. Who by this signe of prophecie and other things joyning with it had his place confirmed to him the Spirit it selfe was a Spirit of government and of courage and magnanimity to support them and to fill them with sufficiency for the performance of those places that God had designed them to The prophecying it selfe consisted in sounding out Gods praises by the instinct of that Spirit they now had with Psaltery Tabret and Pipe and in this very sence are those places to bee understood of Gideon 1 Sam. 10.5 and Saul and Elisha as also a pregnant place to his purpose of Jeduthun in 1 Chron. 25.3 who is said to prophesie with a Harpe and to give thankes and praise to the Lord by all which it may appeare what is the true revealed intent of the holy Ghost in Moses speech to wit That the Lord would if hee so pleased poure upon these people who before did murmure a spirit of government Paraphrased that so they might know how to carry themselves towards their God and his servant Moses their governour and these 70. Elders whom hee had extraordinarily and specially designed for that pur-pose To that other objection of Saul in 1 Sam. 10.6 and you have it 1 Sam. 6.10 but it is no great matter wee will passe that by because the whole booke almost is full fraught with ill applications and misconstructions to the place of Samuel then I answer that the meaning of Sauls prophesying is as was sayd before to sound forth Gods praises by the instinct of that Spirit he now had with those Prophets in the fifth verse Or changed his spirit the whole story is this Foure things Samuel had prophesied concerning Saul after his annointing and departing from him and that when these things came to passe Saul might be assured of Gods calling of him to be King the signes were these 1. That when he was departed he should finde two men by Rachels Sepulchre vers 2. 2. That after that hee should meete three men going to Bethel to the house of God vers 3. 3. After that he should meete a company of Prophets with Harpe Tabret Pipes c. 4. When he came thus farre and saw these Prophets then the Spirit of the Lord should come upon him and he should prophesie with them Now when all these came upon him he might be assured in the accomplishment of these prophesies that God had called him to be the ruler of the people and that he should doe them as occasion served for the hand verse 7. of the Lord was with him so that it seemes undeniably that Sauls prophesying amongst these Prophets was such prophesying as theirs was for so the words with them doe clearely intimate the spirit it selfe was poured upon him for the confirmation of his calling and the effect of that Spirit filling of him with strength and valour and also to sound out Gods praises and besides the holy Ghost hath thought fit to expresse the manner thereof the Spirit of the Lord came upon him now God gives his spirit either visibly or else invisibly the one is extraordinary the other ordinary Now the holy Ghost came upon Saul in a visible manner not by any locall appearance (n) The holy Ghost comes visibly not by any locall motion but by the signes he workes onely the signâ—s is taken for the thing it selfe Vrsin â—aâ—t but by those signes which were produced to the eyes senses of the by-standers his operations not by any locall or visible sight of himselfe but by those effects which he wrought The holy Ghost is given invisibly when hee bestowes his gifts not so much with infallible outward externall testimonies as by an inward operation on the faculties of the soule in measures and so is given to wicked men and the elect to wicked men at the best speculatively regenerating them to the elect both speculatively and practically The spirit then was given to Saul in an extraordinary manner visibly by those effects he did produce The gifts of the Holy Ghost as Miracles and Tengues Prephesies were given in the Apostles times in an extraordinary manner ibid. so that it appeares that his example serves your turne not one whit for if the holy Ghost came upon Saul in an extraordinary manner and that this his prophesying consisted in praysing God with Tabret Pipe as the Prophets did in the fift verse and hee with them then what can this prove to your purpose as the holy Ghost was given to the Apostles in the primitive Church extraordinarily immediatly because of those effects they did produce why not upon Saul who had this spirit given him immediatly as appeares by the effects they wrought in him as making him another man and by his prophesying all which were confirmations extraordinary to confirme his calling of being King which was extraordinary also the like we see in David 1 Sam. 16.13 who had the Spirit poured upon him in the same manner as it was on Saul and all to fit him for those weightie duties of his kingly office and although David had not such visible conspicuous signes at his annointing as Saul had yet wee reade in 1 Sam. 16.18 that he was strong valiant a man of warre in so much that it is said 1 Sam. 18.14 15. that Saul was afraid of him all which things being laid together will evince this truth to wit that these were extraordinary Spirits in their manner of being given to certaine persons again if Saul were a Preacher as this allegation seemes to insinuate then a question would be asked to vvhom did he preach It is said indeed he prophesied but there is divers kinds of prophesie in Scripture onely the Text saith he prophesied with the rest of the Prophets but not
in their proper operations for the gifts make the members and not the members the gifts and to this purpose the Apostle speakes very pertinently are all Apostles are all Prophets have all the gift of tongues doe all prophesie c. Hence then it followes that as some gifts consist in the performance of some things and some of other things so also those persons in whom those gifts are are to be differenced likewise and this the Apostle doth clearely intimate in 1 Cor. 12. for speaking of the gifts of the Spirit and their diversities of operations vers 6. he proceeds by way of comparison that as in naturall bodies one member cannot performe the office of another and the distinctions of their operations in the body so also Christ Jesus being the head of the spirituall body hee hath communicated severall gifts to severall members and hath designed certaine peculiar offices to some of those members now not onely the severall gifts but also the severall functions in the body Ecclesiastick proceed from Jesus Christ and therefore the Apostle sayes vers 28. And God hath set some in the Church first Apostles secondly Prophets thirdly Teachers c. and although in the generall the gifts may concurre in one man yet there are some particulars affirmed of one which cannot be spoken of another and therefore the Apostle againe vers 29. Are all Apostles are all Prophets are all Teachers c. but you say these (a) For â—s a 〈…〉 being both living things are severed one from anâ—â—her by their seveâ—â—l prâ—â—peâ—â—es â—nd speciall diâ—â—erences â—s they be câ—llâ—d 〈◊〉 the Lâ—gicâ—◠〈◊〉 ever 〈◊〉 Apostles Pâ—â—pheâ—s Evangelâ—sts Pastors and Doâ—â—ors being all Preachers of the Gospell are severed by that wherein they differ one from another and as he can be no man which have none of these differences wherby a man is severed from living things so he cannot be Prophet or Apostle which hath nothing whereby hee may differ from a Pastor Doctor or Evangelist Cartwright 1. Part of his Reply to Whitgift Pag. 380. offices were extraordinary true but yet by them and after them the ordinary offices have the same distinâ—â—ns as thus Pastors Elders and Deacons are not these â—â—stinct offices from all which that hath beene spoken it is a necessary conclusion and issuing from these premises to wit That as God hath set downe not onely a distinction of those Offices and Officers which are extraordinary but also ordinary and that even in these ordinary Offices which should succeed perpetually in the Church the least of them cannot take that publike Office upon him without the call of the Church as was instanced in these Deacons Acts the sixth it followes invincibly that there is an absolute and plaine distinction betweene and a difference in a publike and private Spirit and so of those persons in whom there are and that when such places are void no man can take upon him that arrogancy unlesse in case of necessitie to execute them unlesse called thereunto Againe that there is difference betwixt the spirit of a Minister publikely called and a private man to whom God hath given the gifts of the Spirit is proved from Saint Paul where he sayes the Spirit of the Prophets are subject to the Prophets and not to every private man as Master * In his Cases of Conscience Perkins sayes and hee shewes also that God doth give a larger measure of gifts to Ministers and publike dispensers of his Word and Sacraments then to ordinary and private men (b) The Vertues of the third Commandement consists in the propagation and spreading abroad of the true doctrine of Gods Essence not that publication which is done by the publique Ministry and which belongeth to the publique function of the Church but that propagation which pertaineth to every one because every one privately in his place is bound to bring others to the knowledge and worship of God Deut. 4. 9. Luke 22. 32. Col. 3. 16. 1 Thâ—ss 5. 11. Ursin Cat. and this also may bee proved by a necessary induction from those words of the Apostle 1 Cor. 14. 5. I would that you all spake with tongues from which it is evident that the Apostle by ascribing to the knowledge of tongues the Epithite of a spirituall gift and that those men whom God hath called also by his Spirit to the worke of the Ministery sanctifying those gifts unto them it followes necessarily that to whom larger gifts are given both unto the knowledge of tongues and of the Scriptures in those tongues that there a larger measure of grace may and doth dwell now if a larger measure of grace and gifts doe remaine in some men more then others then those men are more fitter for the greatest Offices in the body and so likewise a distinction of their duties must be granted for the manner for the knowledge of the true and exact meaning of the Scriptures and the extents of the holy Ghosts meaning therein (c) Without the study and learning of Arts and Sciences men cannot be made fit to teach nor the purity and sincerity of doctrine maintained against Heretiques Ursin Catt There must be something else to concurre besides the gifts and graces given to the Elect and to this purpose (d) Wherefore saith he serves the Schooles of the Prophets and the knowledge of Arts and Tongues but to divide the Word aright and to distribute to every mans necessities Bolton in his 3. Treat pag. Master Bolton speakes excellently and so also how shall the Ministers of God convince the learned adversaries if there be no skill nor knowledge in Arts and Tongues from all which it appeares that as God endued his Ministers with larger measures of gifts in tongues and in the knowledge of the holy Scriptures and these being sanctified unto them and hath not given such large measures to private men who have not such publike offices designed to them by the Church because indeed not fit hee must needs be a very strange man that will deny that there are not private gifts nor private Christians the consent of judicious godly and learned Divines assenting thereunto and so those Divines as Perkins Calvin Bolton c. doe onely shew that there ought to be a mutuall edifying of one another in those graces that God hath given to his people and members of the Church but they doe not prove this speech That there is no private gifts nor private Christians Now because that which followes in your booke is not to be questioned but by all faithfull men Divines and others granted to wit that Christians may edifie one another mutually and according to those gifts that God hath given them we will therefore proceed to that which followes to be answered And first you make an objection against the universalitie of this truth That none ought to preach but those in office Object nor else may be properly said to preach To this you answer when the dispersed Christians in