Writer that I know as our Author himself observes e Ubi sup so that as he truly adds A man must fetch all out of his own Stock that intends to Answer him However if this Discourse do not prove satisfactory I hope 't will be the occasion of Engaging some Abler Pen in this Cause and if that be the only Good it does it will not be altogether Vnserviceable In the last place I must desire of those who think I have not carried the Inspiration of the Scriptures so high as I ought not to be Angry with me or uncharitably Censure me as if I design'd to Betray the Cause which I pretend to maintain but if they are not satisfied with my Performance to Vndertake the Argument themselves and do Justice to so Good a Causa I assure them I shall heartily wish them Success in their Vndertaking and shall be glad if my Arguments appear weak because theirs are stronger for I can do nothing against the Truth but for the Truth The Contents CHAP I. General Considerations concerning the Inspiration of the writings of the New-Testament THe Method of the whole Treatise proposed Pag. 1 The Proof of the Inspiration of the New-Testament Writings contain'd in Six Propositions p. 3 I. Proposition God design'd to provide a means for Preserving the Doctrine of Christianity to the End of the World p. 5 II. Prop. The best means of preserving Christianity in an Ordinary way was by conveying the Doctrine of it to after Ages by Writing p. 6 III. Prop. 'T is reasonable to think that God would deliver the Christian Doctrine in Writing because he used the same means formerly for the Instruction of the Jewish Church p. 10 The Reasons which enduced St. Matthew and St. Mark to write their Gospels as they are related by the Ancient Church-Writers p. 12 IV. Prop. God has actually made use of no other way for the Conveying the Doctrine of Christianity but the Writings of the New Testament p. 13 V. Prop. The Apostles themselves design'd their Writings for the Perpetual Use of the Church and lookt upon them to be of equal Authority with the Divine Writings of the Old Testament p. 15 The Reasons which moved St. Luke and St. John to write their Gospels p. 16 The Apostolical Epistles were design'd for General Use tho many of them writ upon Particular Occasions p. 17 Reflections upon the Style and way of writing used by St. Paul p. 18 Concerning the General Epistles p. 21 VI. Prop. The Age immediately following that of the Apostles lookt upon their Writings as the Standing Rule of Christian Faith p. 22 Reflections upon a Passage in Mr. Hobs's Leviathan concerning the Date of the New Testament Canon p. 26 An Answer to Mr. N.'s Objection That some Books are received into the New Testament Canon whose Authors are not known p. 28 Four Corollaries or Inferences drawn from the whole 1 Inference That the Holy Ghost Assisted the Apostles as fully when they Writ as when they Preach'd p. 29 2 Inference The Holy Ghost in several Cases Dictated to the Apostles the Words and Style they should Use and in all Cases preserved them from using such Expressions as would naturally lead men into Error p. 31 What Cautions are to be observed in Interpreting the Style of the Apostles and arguing from the Terms they use p. 35 3 Inference Since the Writing of the New Testament is owing to God's Providence and Care of his Church the Composing the several parts of it does not exclude the Use of Natural Means no more than other Acts of Providence do p. 37 4 Inference 'T is no Argument against a Book 's being design'd by God for the Perpetual Use of the Church that 't was at first Written upon a particular Exigency and with respect to the Circumstances which were peculiar to that time p. 40 CHAP. II. A More Particular Enquiry into the Nature of the Apostolical Gifts and Inspiration p. 42 The General Heads treated of in this Chapter p. 44 In what Cases the Apostles deliver'd their Judgements as Men and did not speak by Inspiration Three Instances of this Nature propos'd p. 45 1 Cor. 7.12 at large Explain'd p. 46 To grant that the Apostles spoke some things without Inspiration does not prejudice their Authority as to others p. 53 In all other Cases beside those before Excepted the Apostles Preach'd and Writ by the particular Direction and Assistance of the Spirit p. 55 The Scripture Notion of an Apostle p. 57 1 Cor. 2.10 c. and 1 Thes 4.8 considered p. 58 The Assistance which the Spirit gave the Apostles did not consist only in bringing to their remembrance what Christ had said to them p. 62 This proved 1. From those Discourses of our Saviour's concerning the Kingdom of Heaven where he represents it as a Temporal State in Complyance with the prejudices of his Disciples p. 63 2 From his Parables concerning the Future State of the Gospel p. 65 3 From the Gift which the Apostles had of Explaining the Types and Prophecies of the Old Testament p. 68 The Apostles had an Extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd to appear before Magistrates upon the account of their Religion p. 73 S. Matt. 10.20 Vindicated from the Gloss of Mr. N. p. 74 Several Instances given of his and other Modern Writers Arts to Evade the true force of Scripture Expressions Ibid. Mr. N.'s Unsincerity in passing by the plain Instances which are in Scripture of the Boldness and Courage of the Apostles p. 78 St. Paul's Behaviour before the Council Acts 23. Clear'd from Mr. N.'s Aspersions p. 80 St. Stephen's Behaviour Acts 7. Vindicated p. 84 Mr. N.'s Objections against the Inspiration of the Apostles particularly Answer'd 1 Objection That the Apostles Disputed and Conferr'd with each other Answer'd p. 88 2 Objection That St. Peter after the Descent of the Holy Ghost had need of a Vision to instruct him Answer'd p 95 3 Objection That St. Paul and St. Barnabas were forc'd to go to Jerusalem to have that Controversy decided Whether the Gentile Converts were bound to observe the Law Answer'd p. 97 4 Objection St. Peter's Dissimulation at Antioch Answer'd p. 104 5 Objection That the Spirit of Prophecy mention'd in the New Testament was only a Disposition of Mind which made men fit to Instruct Answer'd p. 104 1 Tim. 4.13 14. Clear'd p. 106 Why St. Paul gave Directions to the Prophets and Inspir'd Persons at Corinth p. 110 A brief Answer to some Lesser Cavils p. 112 CHAP. III. Concerning the Inspiration of the Prophets p. 115 The Personal Qualifications of the Prophets consider'd both as to their Intellectual Accomplishments p. 116 and their Moral Ones p. 121 The Original design of God's sending Prophets to the Jews was to hinder them from having recourse to Heathen Oracles and Divinations p. 126 The Prophetical Office design'd for Greater Purposes p. 129 1 To admonish the People of their Duty p. 130 2 To keep up a sense of
their Authority was immediately Establisht And so much for the proving the Sixth Proposition And I think supposing these Six Propositions proved this Conclusion will plainly follow from what has been said that the Books of the New-Testament were Written by God's Direction and design'd by Him for the Perpetual use and Instruction of the Church and are the only Fixt Rule which he has appointed for this purpose I shall draw some Conclusions from these Premises which will tend to illustrate and explain the Divine Inspiration of the Holy Writings 1. It follows from hence that the Holy Ghost assisted the Apostles as fully when they Writ as when they Preached How far this assistance extended and wherein it consisted I shall examine particularly in the next Chapter at present I intend only to shew that we may presume there is as great a degree of Inspiration to be found in their Writings as was in their Preaching For since the reason why this Assistance accompanied them in their Preaching was the benefit of the Church that they might Guide it into all Truth without any danger of mixing error with it the same reason holds much stronger for their Writings which do not serve for the Instruction of One Age only as their Preaching did but of Many And therefore tho we should suppose that they use Arguments ad Hominem sometimes and proceed upon such Principles as were generally admitted in the Age they lived without nicely examining whether they were true or not yet this only shews that they thought fit to explain Divine Truths in such a manner as was most suitable to the Capacity of the persons they were immediately to Instruct And as we must grant that tho the New Testament was design'd for the use of future Ages yet the Phrase and Style and Argumentation used in it is wholly accommodated to the Sentiments and Usage of that Age in which 't was writ so S. Paul himself does plainly imply that he does not always use the Best Arguments but sometimes such as are best fitted to the Capacities and Notions of those he Writes to For thus we find him express himself by way of excuse for the Argument he makes use of d Rom. 6.19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh which is as much as if he had said I could bring a better argument to prove what I say but this which I make use of is more suitable to your Capacities and may perhaps more effectually convince you than a better 2. It follows secondly that since the Books of the New Testament and the same reason holds as to any other Writings of the same rank and use were design'd to be a standing rule of Faith to Christians the Holy Ghost tho he did not generally Dictate the words which the holy Writers used yet directed them to express their minds in such a manner that those who have a regard to the Dialect and way of speaking in which they write might rightly understand them or at least the Holy Spirit prevented their giving just occasion for Men's errors and mistakes in matters of Consequence by their Phrases and Expressions And such a degree of assistance is absolutely necessary to make these Books a standing Rule of Faith For tho we suppose the Holy Writers used a Popular style and consequently made use of such Hyperboles and Metaphors and other Improprieties of Speech which common practise allows of in all Languages especially where they occasionally speak of Philosophical matters and things not immediately relating to Religion yet unless we suppose them to speak properly in those Terms of Art which are of fundamental use in the explaining the Doctrines of Christianity and upon the sense of which whole Controversies turn and as they are differently taken they alter the very face of the Christian Religion I say except we suppose the Apostles to speak properly i. e. agreeably to their own Simplicity and Plainness of Speech and in such a manner as was most likely to be understood by those they writ to when they treat of matters of great Importance and such as are justly to be reckon'd Fundamental Doctrines the New Testament will not answer the ends of a Rule of Faith For a Book is of no use to explain or decide any Controversy if we can have no sixt rule whereby to judge of its style so as to be in some measure certain what is its true sense And 't is very strange if a Book writ by persons who had an extraordinary assistance from God and which was design'd for Universal use should not be worded with that care which Humane Industry uses in matters of Importance And therefore we have reason to rely upon the assistance of the Holy Spirit even with relation to the Phrase and Letter of the Scripture and to believe that he has so far directed the holy Pen-men that their Phrases and Expressions should not lead Men into error in matters of Consequence but may be rightly understood by those that acquaint themselves with the Dialect in which they writ and consult the Ages nearest the Apostles who must needs be next to their own style the best Judges of their sense If indeed the Socinian Doctrines concerning the Nature and Satisfaction of Christ were true it must be confessed there would be little reason to believe that the Holy Ghost had a hand in wording the Scriptures nay then the Scriptures will appear to be written in such a style as if the Writers design'd to lead Men into error And the Socinians themselves when they make Reason the sole Judge of Sripture and tell us they will not believe any thing contrary to Reason tho it were never so plainly asserted in Scripture do in effect confess that the expressions of Scripture taken in their natural and most obvious sense do not at all favour their Opinions e Socin de Christ Servat l. 3. c. 6. And therefore 't is no wonder to find these Gentlemen warn their Readers so often not to make Inferences from the Phrases of Scripture as if they were used strictly and properly that they so often tell us of the Improprieties and Metaphors which the Eastern Writers and those who imitate them abound with that the Apostles play with Words as Socinus with Reverence speaks f Amavit Paulus in Execrationis verbo esse argutus Socm de Chr Serâ— l. 2. c. 1 and take them sometimes in one sense and sometimes in another Our Author follows them in this as well as in some other things g v Fr. p 234. Eng p. 146. and often cautions h Eng. p 107 111. Fr. p. 280 281. En. p. 11â— Fr. p. 285. Eng. p. 145 146. Fr. p. 233 234. us not to subtilize about the expressions nor stick too close to the Letter of the Scripture since the style of Scripture is so far from being exact that 't is very careless and tells us i Eng. p. 107 116.
in Christ and his Church Our Author grants k Fr. p. 283. En. p. 113. that God immediately imparted to the Apostles those Prophecies which are to be found in their Writings so that this point need not to be further Insisted upon I proceed therefore to consider their gift of Explaining the Prophecies of the Old Testament and applying them to the times of the Gospel And here 't is to be considered that tho our Saviour did explain many Prophecies to his Disciples after his Resurrection concerning his own Sufferings and Exaltation and the Preaching of the Gospel to all Nations l Luk. 24.27 45 46 47. yet there were several other Prophecies which they could not understand till they were indued with Power from on High and thereby inabled to comprehend the great Mysteries of God's Oeconomy as in several other Instances so particularly in the Rejecting of the Jews and Calling of the Gentiles And therefore those Dispensations of the Old Testament which the Apostles apply to these purposes viz. the Allegory of Ismael and Isaac m Rom. 9.7 Gal. 4.24 of Jacob and Esau n Rom. 9.10 c. by which S. Paul illustrates this matter the words of Moses in his Song o Deut. 32.21 which he applies to the same purpose p Rom. 10.19 as also the words of Habakkuk q Acts 13.41 I say the explaining the Mystical Sense and Design of these and such like Occurrences and Prophecies of the Old Testament is to be reckon'd a peculiar gift bestowed upon the Apostles by the holy Spirit 1. Because they themselves look upon it as such as appears by St. Paul's reckoning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 r 1 Cor. 12.8 which word certainly signifies the gift of Interpreting the Mysteries of the Old Testament and applying them to the State of things under the New 2. Because those Providential Occurrences had a secret and hidden design in them which could be discover'd by none but God that order'd them who as he comprehends the most distant Ages in one single view so in his disposing and ordering the more Remarkable Events under the Old Testament had all along an Eye to the times under the New 3. As to the Prophecies 't is not likely that any persons without a Supernatural Illumination could look to the end and utmost Completion of them since the Prophets themselves had not this priviledge granted them as appears from those places ſ Rom. 16.25 1 Cor. 2.7 Eph. 3.9 Colos 1.26 where the Gospel is called a Mystery kept secret since the World began a hidden Mystery and hid from Ages and Generations And especially from those remarkable words of St. Peter t 1 Pet. 1.10 11 12. Of which Salvation by Christ the Prophets have inquir'd and searched diligently who prophecied of the Grace that should come unto you searching what and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the Sufferings of Christ and the Glory that should follow To whom it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they did Minister these things From whence it appears that tho the Prophets were very Inquisitive after the Manner how and the Time when their Prophecies should be fulfill'd yet they had only this general Satisfaction that they should not be fulfill'd in their own time And I think we may infer from thence that the perfect understanding them was reserv'd to the times of the Messias And tho the event would sufficiently Interpret the meaning of several of them yet there were some that needed a greater Light than that to understand them and apply them aright To which we may add that the manner of Interpreting the Prophecies of the Old Testament which the Apostles used is a Rule to after Ages how they are to Interpret the Prophetical Writings and prove the Truth of the Gospel by them and therefore the same reasons which prove the Writings of the Apostles in general Divinely Inspir'd because they are a standing Rule of Christian Faith may be applied to that part of them which consists in explaining the Mystical Sense of the Old Testament Writings But concerning the Mystical Sense of the Prophets I shall have an opportunity to speak more fully in the next Chapter And so much may suffice for the proof of the third general Head viz. That the Assistance which the holy Spirit gave the Apostles was something more than refreshing their Memories and recalling to their minds what our Saviour had said unto them I proceed to shew IV. That the Apostles had an extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd before Magistrates upon the account of their Religion and to vindicate their Behaviour at that time from the unbecoming and Irreverent Reflections of this Author One would think the words of our Saviour were plain enough in this point u Matt. 10.19 20. Mark 13.11 Take no thought before-hand what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in the same hour what ye ought to say for 't is not ye that speak but the Holy Ghost says S. Mark the Spirit of your Father saith S. Matthew speaks in you If this had been only a Spirit of Courage and Holiness arising from the Belief of the Gospel as Mr. N. pretends w Fr. p. 241. Eng. p. 44. 't would have requir'd a great deal of Care Consideration and Reflection to keep it warm upon their Hearts that it might not cool when danger approached And our Saviour's precluding the use of Humane means proves that it was something more than an ordinary Grace which always requires the Cooperation of our Natural Faculties and shews that 't was as much a new Impulse which the Apostles were to feel upon their minds on such occasions as any Prophetick Inspiration whatsoever But notwithstanding the plain import of the words rather than own an extraordinary Inspiration the natural force of the words must be dwindled away into nothing under the pretence of their being only a Hebrew way of speaking x Fr. p. 244 Eng. p. 49. like The Spirit of jealousie of slumber c. which are found in the Old Testament As if there was no difference in the nature of the Expression between the Holy Ghost or the Spirit of the Father and the spirit of jealousie or stupidity But this is the constant method of our New Interpreters of Scripture that don't care to believe any thing to be there but what Natural Powers can effect and Intellectual ones comprehend When they are pressed with plain words of Scripture they will not out of Good Manners in downright terms deny their Authority but think it more decent to evade it by explaining away all the force of them and alledging the Metaphorical and Pompous way of speaking which the Eastern Languages use which seems to imply a great deal more in it than the Writer really design'd Thus Spinoza tells us y Theol. Polit.
Holy Spirit indowed the Apostles I find our Author is very industrious to lessen the Apostolical Gifts as much as he can and to represent them very little above their natural Faculties He indeavours to shew That the Operation of the Holy Spirit upon their Minds consisted chiefly in refreshing their Memories a Fr. p. 254 257. En. p. 66. 70. and bringing to their Remembrance what Christ had said unto them He does indeed say b Fr. 255. En. p. 67. That sometimes the Holy Spirit made them understand by extraordinary Revelations that which Christ had said unto them whilst he was with them but which they then understood not And that they had many immediate Revelations and divers heavenly Visions c Fr. p. 252. Eng. 62. And in another place d Fr. 257. Eng. p. 70. That perhaps the Spirit open'd their Minds after a manner we comprehend not But while he sets out the Objections against the Inspiration of the Apostles in the best Light and with the greatest Force he can he passes over the Evidences for it very slightly and looks upon their Immemediate Inspirations to have been so extraordinary and to have happen'd so seldom that he does not stick roundly to declare e Ubi sup That their Infallibility consisted in relating faithfully what they had seen and heard He likewise endeavours to shew f Fr. p. 240. c. Eng. p. 42 c. That they had not an extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd before the Secular Powers upon the account of their Religion And he makes this another argument against the Inspiration of the Apostles and other persons in those times whom the Scripture speaks of as inspir'd g Fr. p. 248 249. 259. Eng. p. 57. 74. that they confer'd with one another and submitted to one another's Judgments and did not come to a Conclusion concerning any matter in questino till after long Deliberation and Consultation with each other with many other Cavils of less weight In Answer to which and for the Clearing of this Matter I shall shew I. How far we may allow what he says to be true and in what Cases the Apostles did not speak or act by Inspiration II. I shall shew that excepting those Cases the Apostles writ and spake by the particular Assistance and Direction of the Spirit III. I shall shew that the Assistance of the Holy Spirit did not consist only or chiefly in Improving their Natural Faculties or Strengthening and Refreshing their Memories IV. I shall shew that they had an extraordinary Assistance when they were summon'd before Magistrates upon the Account of their Religion and vindicate their Behaviour under those Circumstances from the unbecoming Reflections which Mr. N. has made upon it V. I shall vindicate the Inspiration of the Apostles and other inspir'd persons from the rest of the Objections which he advances against it I. As to the first of these Inquiries What were the Cases wherein the Apostles did not act or speak by Inspiration I conceive we may allow them to be these following 1. Where they treat of the common Occurrences of Life and such things as have no Relation at all to Divine Truths As when St. Paul speaks of his design to take Rome h Rom. 15.24 in his way to Spain and to call at i 2 Cor. 1.16 Corinth as he went into Macedonia but yet it appears he was uncertain as to that Resolution k v. 1 Cor. 16.7 and did not actually l v. 2 Cor. 17. make it good Many Instances of the like nature might be alledg'd m v. 1 Cor. 1.16 r. Joh. 6.19 Act. 19 Hitherto we may refer Slips of memory in matters of no consequence some Examples of which there are to be found in in the N. Testament n v. Mat. 27.9 Act. 7.16 2. Such things as were matters only of Humane Prudence being of an Indifferent nature in themselves and consequently not the proper Subjects of a Divine Revelation For matters of Prudence i. e. Where God has given men no fix'd rule but left them at liberty to determine for themselves according as their circumstances shall direct as they are not the proper Subjects of a Divine Law so neither are they of a Divine Revelation Such is the Case of married persons where one party is an Vnbeliever which St. Paul considers o 1 Cor. 7.12 and resolves by the Rules of humane Prudence and therefore tells us before hand that 't is He that speaks not the Lord taking his measures from the general Law of Christian Charity For as to this Case I look upon Mr. Thorndike's p Laws of the Church p. 117. Opinion as the most probable which is That the Apostle look'd upon Marriage made by persons before they were Christians to lay no stricter Obligation upon the Parties than the Laws which they were under when the Marriage was contracted design'd to lay upon them So that if two persons who were under the Laws of the Roman Empire married and afterward one of them turn'd Christian this did not at all alter the Conditions of the Marriage in respect of the Converted Party from what they were before nor in a Marriage contracted by Subjects of the Roman Empire under the state of Heathenism is the Converted Party by virtue of his imbracing Christianity afterward oblig'd anew by the stricter Ties of the Christian Law concerning Marriage but only by those which the Roman Laws required upon which Terms the Marriage was made at first and so might upon just occasion take Advantage of the Privilege which the Roman Laws permitted of being Divorc'd for other Causes besides that which was allowed by our Saviour Now the reason why the Laws of Christianity do not extend to a Marriage contracted under a state of Heathenism I conceive to be this because Heathen Marriages being not in their own nature Indissoluble as Christian Marriages are but the Parties having reserv'd to themselves a liberty to part from each other in such Cases as the Laws of each Country allowed the nature of the Marriage-contract still continues the same after the Conversion of either Party which it did before i.e. Dissoluble unless the Believing Party can perswade the Unbelieving to oblige himself to the Observation of those stricter Laws of Matrimony which are injoin'd by Christ Without which mutual Consent the Marriage continues the same it was before while both Parties were Unbelievers and consequently the Laws of Christ do not reach this Case being applicable only to those Marriages which are made in the Christian Church or at least which are made Christian by an After-act and mutual Consent of the Parties to submit to the Christian Law in this particular This Opinion seems to be countenanc'd by the Apostle in the 15. verse of that Chapter q 1 Cor. 7.15 If the Vnbeliever depart a Brother or Sister is not under Bondage in such Cases the most natural Sense of which Words is
sure his Disciples would never pretend to know more then their Master Having thus considered the Cases in which the Apostles spake or writ without Inspiration I proceed in the II. Place to shew that Excepting those Cases the Apostles writ and spake by the particular Assistance and Direction of the Spirit Our Author confines the Infallibility of their Preaching and Writing to those things which they Learn'd from Christ or related as spoken by him p Fr. p. 256 257. Eng. p. 69 70. But as to the Arguments which they fram'd upon those Principles and the Consequences they deduc'd from the Old Testament here he supposes them to have used only their own Memory and Judgment tho he grants these Discourses of theirs are to be received because there 's nothing in them but what is conformable to the Doctrine of Christ and to right Reason and nothing that can lead us into the Belief of what is false or contrary to Piety q En. p. 112 131 135. Fr. p. 282 283. 224 227. This as exactly as I can gather is all the Authority he allows the Sermons and Writings of the Apostles and this indeed is as much Authority as can be given to any Humane Discourse and tho it does not exclude all possibility yet it excludes all likelyhood of error But as we look upon the Apostles to have been somewhat more than Sound Divines or Men that very well understood the Doctrine which they were to teach others so their Discourses and Writings have been always esteem'd of an higher Rank than any Religious Treatises purely Humane which however solid and true they may be are to be judged of by these Writings and are no further true than they agree with them The Scripture makes this the Characteristick of an Apostle whereby he was distinguisht from the other Inspir'd persons who were then in the Church viz. that he did not learn the Gospel in an Humane way r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gal. 1.11 compar with ver 12. 1. v. 1 Cor. 2.10 but purely by Revelation S. Paul might have been sufficiently instructed in the Gospel by those who were Pillars in the Church ſ v. Gal. 2.6 9. so as to have been out of all likelyhood either of mistaking any part of it himself or leading others into error but we see this way of Instruction was not sufficient to advance him to the Dignity of the Apostolate and therefore Christ himself made a particular Revelation of the whole Gospel to him t v. Ubi supr 1 Cor. 11.23 Eph. 3.3 4. that he might not be Inferior in any respect to the chiefest Apostles And since the Gospel was communicated to him and the rest of the Apostles by Divine Revelation only that they might teach it to others whether by Word or Writing with the greater assurance and certainty and without any danger of error their Discourses which were design'd for the Instruction of the Church must be the effects of this supernatural habit of Christian Knowledge which God infus'd into their minds I have shewed in the former Chapter u P. 29. that the same Assistance accompanied the Apostles in their Writing which did in their Preaching and therefore shall now speak of these two indifferently and shew what kind of Authority the Apostles claim'd in either of them S. Paul says w 1 Cor. 2.10 that God has revealed the deep things and the Mysteries of the Gospel to the Apostles by the Spirit which probably were the same things Christ told his Disciples they were not able to bear while he was with them x John 16.12 Such was particularly the Doctrine of the Cross which S. Paul's Discourse chiefly relates to in that place y 1 Cor. 1.18 c c. 2.2 These things S. Paul says z Ib. ver 13. they spoke and taught others and that too in the Words which the Holy Ghost taught them Where the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comprehends their style a Ver. 1. 4. as well as their Arguments and shews there 's a greater regard to be had to the style of the Apostles than our Author b v. loc supr citat p. 35. is willing to allow and even for that very Reason which he alledges as an Argument why 't is not dictated by the Spirit viz. because 't is plain and without any Affectation of Wit or Learning and conform'd to the style of the Old Testament For this style however Negligent and Careless our Author may think it c Fr. p. 233. En. p. 145. the Apostles used by the direction of the Holy Ghost as appears from this place It follows immediately Comparing Spiritual things with Spiritual where the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may signify Explaining Illustrating d v. Grot. in locum i. e. proving one Divine Revelation by another the Revelations of the New Testament by those of the Old At last the Apostle concludes e Ib. ver 16. We have the mind of the Christ and therefore ye are to hearken to us and receive what we say tho in many things not agreeing with the Principles of Philosophy or Worldly Wisdom which the Apostle in the Verses before f 1 Cor. 1.20 c. c. 2.1 c. had undervalued in comparison of the Gospel In all which Discourse S. Paul plainly ascribes his and the rest of the Apostles Preaching to the Instructions the Holy Ghost gave them without making any restrictions and particularly that part of it which consisted in drawing Consequences and bringing Proofs from the Old Testament Again we find the same Apostle threatning those that despise his Advice as not despising man but God who gave the Apostles his holy Spirit g 1 Thes 4.8 that they might teach with uncontroulable Authority And I think we may fairly conclude from hence that St. Paul expected all his Precepts and Instructions should be submitted to not meerly as coming from one of the Governours of the Church but as having something more then Humane Authority and being derived from the Spirit of God For what he says in this place tho it immediately respect only those Advices which are contain'd in the foregoing part of the Chapter may by parity of Reason be applied to all other Apostolical injunctions for as the words are general and do not specify that the Apostle deliver'd these particular Rules by an extraordinary Revelation more than any others which he elsewhere gives so neither are the Advices such in their own Nature as require a greater degree of Inspiration to deliver them than the other Exhortations and Commands which are every where to be found in the Apostolical Writings From whence I conclude we ought to look upon those Writings as a Divine Rule of Faith and Practise and that he who despises or undervalues them despises not man but God who gave his holy Spirit to the Authors of them And how far our Author may be guilty of this fault
c. 6. that tho there are wonderful stories told in the old Testament yet that is no proof that the things themselves were Miraculous or such as exceeded the power of Natural Agents for the Jews loved to talk big and make a great deal more of a story by their way of telling it than the matter of Fact really was Just so the Socinians when they are pressed with plain Texts of Scripture for the Divinity or Satisfaction of Christ make this their constant Refuge that the Hebrew Language is full of Metaphors and the Writers don't mean half so much as they say Now this is an excellent device to render the Scriptures an insignificant Book or which is much the same make it say whatever these New Expositors please But before this trick will pass these Gentlemen should convince us that since 't is impossible to know the meaning of the Scripture by the words 't is they only have the secret of telling us its true Sense and the Key to these Mystical Characters And here I shall take occasion to reflect upon another passage in these Letters which indeed belongs to the Subject treated of in the former part of this Chapter viz. Concerning the Assistance of the Holy Ghost which our Saviour promised his Disciples but being another Essay of our Author's dexterity in this new way of Interpreting Scripture I chose to make my remarks upon it in this place 'T is his gloss upon that place of St. John z Joh. 16.13 14 15. He shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak c. He observes a Fr. p. 254. En. p. 66. that these words must be extremely figurative because the Holy Ghost properly speaking did not hear from God or Jesus Christ that which he was to Inspire the Apostles with From whence it must follow or else this Observation of his is Impertinent that the words immediately foregoing b John 16.13 When the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth must be very Figurative too and not imply that the Spirit really taught the Apostles any thing in a proper Sense Now to pass by this Consequence of his viz. that plain words are to be understood Metaphorically because they are joyn'd with words that have a Metaphor in them I can't but observe thus much for the clearing the sense of this Text that our Saviour uses no other expressions concerning the Holy Spirit here than what he had often used before of himself when he so often says that what he taught he had heard and received from the Father c John 5.30 c. 8.26.40 c. 15.15 And I hope 't will be granted that our Saviour taught his Disciples in a proper Sense without a Metaphor and why then must it follow from this way of speaking that the Holy Ghost did not But to return to our present subject That he says b Fr. p. 241. En. p. 44. which inclines him to believe that the foremention'd Promise of our Saviour the Holy Ghost or Spirit of the Father shall teach you in that hour what ye ought to say means no more then this viz. The Spirit of Courage and Holiness which the Gospel produces in your hearts will teach you what ye ought to say is That in comparing this Promise with the Event it seems not to have been perform'd in any other sense than what he has now given But has he indeed compar'd it with all the Events mention'd in the History of the Acts Not at all only has pick'd out two Instances which he thought he could make Exceptions against Sure if he had dealt fairly and impartially in this matter he would not have pass'd by the Boldness of Peter and John c Act. 4.13 which was so Extraordinary it made the. Sanhedrim wonder nor the Couragious Behaviour of all the Apostles d Act. 5.29 in both which Cases the Apostles told the Sanhedrim to their faces of their Horrid Sin in Murdering the Messias and that there was no way to Salvation but by Believing in him whom they had Crucified The Event in both these Cases seems to come up to the highest Sense of our Savior's Words and if we had an exact History of the Sufferings of the Apostles I do not question but we should find many more Proofs of the Accomplishment of this Promise Since in those few Remains that we have of the Genuine Acts of the Martyrs there are eminent Instances of their Courage in Professing the Truth e v Acta Ignat. per Usserium Edit Martyr Polycarpi ap Euseb H. E. l. 4 c. 15. Acta Martyr Lugd. Vienn Ibid. l. 5. c. 1. Cypriani Passio operibut ejus prefix which at First Sight discover something more than Humane and may justly be look'd upon as one of the greatest and most convincing Arguments of the Truth of Christianity and the Divine Power which accompanied its True Professors I am sure Justin Martyr confesses that this very Argument prevail'd with him to embrace the Christian Religion f Apol. 1. And if the Behaviour of the Martyrs in aftertimes was so Extraordinary we cannot think that the Apostles were in this respect Inferiour to their Disciples Now a man that had a real Concern for the honour of our Saviour and his Apostles and was desirous to magnify the Power of God's Grace and set it in the best Light he could would not have pass'd over all the Evidences for it and only insisted upon those Instances which he thought would lessen and obscure it But let us see whether the Instances he brings do really so much lessen the Promise of our Saviour as he imagines As for St. Paul's Behaviour to the High Priest g Act. 23.3 which is our Author's first Instance h Fr. p. 241. Eng. p. 45. he cannot be ignorant that some Expositors of the best Note i Grot. Estius Beza as well as his Adversary Mr. Simon k Eng. p. 178. Fr. p. 259. understand those words of his God shall smite thee thou whited wall as spoken by the Authority and in the Style of a Prophet as our Saviour call'd Herod Fox l Luk. 13.32 and St. Paul call'd Nero Lyon m 2 Tim. 4.17 And they that maintain this Opinion do not suppose that St. Paul in the next words beg'd Pardon and confess'd that he was to blame for what he said as our Author takes for granted that he did Å¿ Ubi sup But they take this to be the real Sense of the 5th v. tho purposely concealed under ambiguous Terms I cannot believe or own such a man to be High Priest who came into his Place by those ill Acts as Ananias did for if I had look'd upon him as High Priest I should not have transgressed the Law in giving him such disrespectful Language But if we understand the Place in the same Sense which Mr. N. does and own the Apostle to have been surpriz'd
by Passion yet still there will appear evident Tokens of a Divine Assistance accompanying him if we take an entire View of the whole history of his Sufferings at Jerusalem With what an Undaunted Resolution he went thither when he knew beforehand That Bonds and Afflictions did abide him and did not value his Life so he might finish his Course with joy o Acc. 20.23 24. How he persisted in the same Resolution notwithstanding all the Importunities and Tears of his Friends being ready not only to be bound at Jerusalem but also to die for the Name of the Lord Jesus p Act. 21.14 with what Courage he sets forth the Grounds of his Conversion before the enrag'd Multitude q Act. 22. with what Authority he Preach'd concerning the Faith in Christ and the Fundamentals of Christianity to Felix and laid his Sins so home to him that he made him tremble Act. 24.25 How powerfully he pleaded for himself and his Religion before Agrippa r Act. 26. so as to make Impression upon the King himself and almost perswade him to be a Christian He that shall lay all these things together will see Reason to admire the Power of God's Grace in St. Paul's Behaviour at Jerusalem and will not think that that one Slip if it were one is able to obscure the Glory of all the other parts of it And as for that Prudential Act of St. Paul which our Author sayes ſ Fr. p. 242. Eng. p. 46. hath nothing of Inspiration in it viz. his dividing the Council t Act. 23.6 and thereby making one half of them his Friends 't was exactly agreeable to our Savior's Advice to the Apostles u Matth. 10.16 To use all Prudence that was consistent with Innocency as this certainly was But besides it implied an excellent Argument ad homines viz. to Jews in behalf of Christianity namely that it was unreasonable for them to reject that Religion or persecute the Abetters of it whose great Design 't is to establish the Doctrine of the Resurrection the Belief of which Point the chiefest of their own Sects for Reputation look'd upon as one of the principal Articles of their Faith And therefore we find St. Paul knowing what force there was in it insist again and again upon the very same Apology for himself x Act. 24.15 c. 26.6 7. c. 28.20 Nay God himself approved of it as appears by the Vision which St. Paul had to incourage him the very next night after his Appearance before the Council by which our Lord himself gave Testimony to him that he had witness'd a good Confession y Act. 23.11 But 't is a wonder to me that our z Fr. p. 243. Eng. p. 48.49 Author should think St. Stephen's Behaviour and Harangue b Act. 7 a proper Instance to shew that the Apostles and primitive Confessors had no immediate Assistance of the Holy Ghost when they appear'd before secular Magistrates For if Courage to speak the Truth and to back it with unanswerable Arguments be a sign of an Extraordinary Assistance certainly no person ever gave greater Evidence of it than St. Stephen To declare publickly that the Temple and its Worship should shortly be destroy'd c Act. 6.14 was such an Invidious Truth that the Apostles themselves did not think fit at first to speak it openly but shew'd a great respect to the establish'd Worship by constantly attending upon it d Act. 3 1.-18.21.-20 16 -21 26. The Dissolution of the Mosaical Oeconomy being a Truth that the new Converts from Judaism were not yet able to bear But even this Truth St. Stephen had the Boldness to profess and maintain'd it too by a continued series of Argument from Abraham whom the Jews boasted to be their Father down to the building of the Temple Wherein he shews that the Patriarchs and Founders of the Jewish Nation were accepted by God before the Temple or its Service had a Beginning nay that Moses himself the Institutor of this Worship prophecied of Christ e Acts 7.37 and design'd the Tabernacle only for a Pattern of Heavenly things f Ibid ver 44. Besides this St. Stephen all along made Reflections upon the stubborn and refractory Temper of the Jews from the beginning and told them that their Rejecting and Murdering of Christ when he came was but agreeable to their usage of the Prophets who foretold him g Ib. ver 52. I think he that said these things had the Gift of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which the Apostles pray'd for h Acts 4.29 in a great measure And tho our Author is pleas'd to say i Ubi supr that St. Stephen mentions divers Circumstances of History which were nothing to the purpose yet for my part I must declare I see none but what are necessary to make it a full and Complete Narrative or else serve to set forth the ill manners of the Jews under the several Dispensations of Providence And I am apt to think St. Luke was of the same mind for abstracting from his Divine Character he was too Judicious a man to trouble himself or his Reader with a Rehearsal of impertinent Circumstances I am sure there are several particulars which are of great use to explain the Writings of Moses k Acts 7.20 26. which we could never have known if this Discourse had not been preserv'd This Gentleman may call these Impertinencies if he pleases but I believe few will follow him in this bold and Unscholar-like Censure and 't is well St Luke was of another mind for we should have had a great Loss if he had not preserved them And as for those particulars which he says l Ubi supr cannot be reconciled with the History of the Old Testament m Acts 7.16 if S. Luke made these Mistakes they have been accounted for above n Supr p. 45 46. if St. Stephen himself did I suppose the same Defence that is made for a Writer will hold more strongly for a Speaker And tho we suppose St. Stephen to have been full of the Holy Ghost when he spake o Acts 6 10.-7.55 yet there 's no reason the Spirit should dictate a History to him which he was before so well acquainted with And why may we not say that although the Holy Spirit were so remarkably present with him at this time that the Glories which were shed forth upon his Soul shin'd thro his Body and made his face look like the face of an Angel p Acts 6.15 yet the Holy Ghost thought fit not to supply the Defect of his Memory in one or two particulars to shew that Inspir'd persons even in their Brightest Minutes are still but men and that the Excellency might appear to be of God and not of themselves What has been said is sufficient to shew what little ground there is for this Author 's unworthy Reflections upon the Behaviour of the First Christians before
Fr. p. 280 285. that laying too great stress upon Words has bin the occasion of most of the Disputes among Christians I readily grant it has but then the fault has bin that Men have either Interpreted Scripture-Expressions by notions of Philosophy which the Holy Writers never heard of or else they have not inquir'd into the Sentiments of those times in which these Books were writ but have judged of their sense by the Schemes and applied them to the Disputes of Modern Ages as if they were writ only with a regard to the Controversies that should arise in After-Times without any respect to the Sentiments and Exigencies of the Age wherein they were written But if we have a regard only to the Genius of the Language which the Holy Writers used and judge of their Sentiments by the State of the Church in their time and by such Ancient Authors as were most likely to be acquainted with the Notions which were then generally received I don't think laying stress upon the Phrases of the Scriptures can lead us into such gross errors as Mr. N. imagines k Eng. p. 146. Fr p. 234. And without supposing this we can scarce deduce any Inferences from Scripture Texts and yet this is practis'd by the Apostles themselves who sometimes argue from Words and those too taken in their nicest signification A remarkable example of which is that Inference of S. Paul's l Gal. 3.16 To Abraham and to his seed were the Promises made he saith not And to seeds as of many but as of one And to thy seed which is Christ 3. Since God in his Providence took care that these Books should be Writ for the use of his Church and therefore gave Providential occasions for their being Written it follows that they are Compos'd in such a manner as not to exclude the use of the Natural Reason and Meditation of the Writers who Compos'd them Works of Providence are not suppos'd to exclude Humane means and we believe many things to be brought to pass by the determinate Counsel and Power of God tho they are not purely Miraculous and and meerly God's own Act and Deed but are brought to pass by second Causes as his Instruments And why then can't he give Men a Rule of Faith and Manners except the Writing be with the immediate Finger of God as the Two Tables were 'T is certain that the ordinary Operations of the Spirit do only excite and assist our natural Faculties not supersede or render them useless And even the extraordinary ones do very often influence Men's minds after the same manner as appears by S. Paul's advice to Timothy m 1 Tim. 4.14 Give attendance to Reading to Exhortation to Doctrine neglect not the gift which is in thee which was given thee by prophecy And to the same purpose he speaks in the second Epistle n 2 Tim. 1.6 And therefore tho we suppose the Authors of the Scriptures to have been Inspir'd and to have had the extraordinary Assistances of God's Spirit yet this will not exclude the use of their Natural Talents but that the Writers made use of them as far as they could be serviceable to their purpose and God supplied their defects From hence appears the weakness of that Argument which is urged by our Author and by some others against the Inspiration of the Poetical Books o Fr. p. 230. En. p. 27. of the Old Testament because they seem to be the effects of Study and Meditation and against that of the Historical Books of the Scripture p Grot. votum pro pace p. 672. Refutat Apologet. p. 722. because the things contain'd in them are either of the Writers own Knowledge or else taken from Ancient Memoirs or the Relation of others To the same purpose 't is urged against the Divine Authority of S. Paul's Epistles by Spinoza q Theol. Polit. c. 11 that they are full of Argumentation which he thinks must be the effect of S. Paul's own reason As if a Man that had a perfect Systeme of the Christian Religion infused into his mind by Revelation as we suppose S. Paul to have had did not apprehend it after a Rational manner and see the whole Series and Chain of its Principles by the help of which he could infer one thing from another But is it not a pleasant Argument against the Inspiration of a Book that it is writ in a Rational and Argumentative way which must either suppose that 't is below God Almighty to give a reason for his Institutions or else that 't was not proper for the Apostles to shew their Disciples that the Doctrines they taught them were such as might be Rationally deduc'd from certain Principles and to confute their Adversaries the same way who would not submit to their bare Authority nor believe a thing to be true meerly because they said so 4. It follows from what has bin said that 't is no Argument against a Book 's being design'd by God for the perpetual use of the Church that 't was at first writ upon some particular Exigency and with relation to the peculiar Circumstances of the persons to whom 't is directed For some of those Books of the Old Testament which were certainly design'd for the publick benefit of the Church as 't is granted by all that acknowledge any such thing as Inspiration and I don 't at present concern my self with any others I say some of the Undoubtedly Inspir'd Writings were occasion'd by the particular Exigences of those times in which their Authors lived I mean the Books of the Prophets who were all sent by God to testify against the sins which were committed in their own times And if God so order'd it that these Prophecies should be of perpetual use to the Church why may not the other Occasional Writings of the Scripture if I may so term them have been compos'd with the same Design I have already shewed r P. 19. that the manner of St. Paul's Writing does excellently answer this Intent From hence it appears that the Argument used by some Popish Writers why the New Testament cannot be a perfect Rule of the Christian Faith because several parts of it were writ only with Relation to particular Exigencies of some one Church holds as well against the Old Testament being a Rule to the Jews because a great part of of it viz. the Prophecies were occasion'd by the particular Circumstances of those Times in which the Prophets lived CHAP. II. A more particular Inquiry into the nature of the Apostolical Gifts and Inspiration HAving said thus much in general concerning the Divine Authority and Inspiration of the Apostolical Writings I proceed to examine more distinly the Assertions which the Author of the Letters hath laid down concerning the Inspiration of the Apostles and of their Writings and in order to that shall consider particularly both as to their Nature and Extent some of the most remarkable Gifts with which the
even terms with the Jews without taking the Yoke of the Law upon them he after all this could not be really perswaded in his judgment that he ought not to keep company with the Gentile Converts tho his former prejudices might put some weight into the opposite Scale and make him doubtful and wavering Which might make his fear of displeasing the Jewish Christians and giving them offence work more powerfully upon him and prevail with him to comply with them in this matter and St. Paul expresly assigns his fearing to offend them of the Circumcision q Gal. 2 12. as the cause of this his Behaviour But tho this be not a sufficient Reason why any man should dissemble the Truth yet we may observe from St. James's Advice to St. Paul r Act. 21.20 that the Apostles were very tender of giving any offence to the Jewish Converts who were very ſ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 21 20. numerous and whom they justly look'd upon as the most considerable part of the Church and as it were the Elder Brethren having a precedent Right to the Promises before the Gentiles t Act. 3.26 Rom. 15.27 This may be pleaded for an Excuse in behalf of St. Peter tho still we must confess as St. Paul tells us u Gal. 2.14 that he did not walk uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel in this matter And neither the Apostles themselves nor any in their behalf ever pretended that they were exempt from sin but on the contrary we find them freely own themselves to be men of like Passions with others x Act. 14 15. Jam. 5.17 and that they had this Treasure of the Gospel in earthen vessels y 2 Cor. 4.7 and were of the same make with other men And therefore since as our Author truly says z Fr. p. 260. Eng. p. 75. He alone is indowed with an absolute Infallibility who is incapable of sinning I do freely grant that we are no further assur'd that the Apostles were free from Errour than we find them free from Sin which naturally leads men into it I own likewise that this Instance of St. Peter is a good Argument against the perpetual Inspiration or Infallibility of the Apostles if we mean any more by it than a habitual Knowledge of Divine Truth for I cannot think S. Peter was under the immediate Conduct of the Holy Spirit when he was guilty of this Behaviour But I suppose the Apostles might have such an Assistance as was abundantly sufficient to answer all the Necessities of the Church without being always under the immediate Influence of the Holy Ghost which must make them Impeccable as as well as Infallible And even in this case we have reason to admire God's Providence and Care over his Church for so ordering it that St. Paul should be upon the place to interpose and put a stop to this ill Conduct that might else have been of dangerous Consequence and made a Breach in the Church that would not easily have been made up And humanely speaking 't is not likely that St. Peter who had such a Preeminence in the Church would have yielded to a less Authority than that of St. Paul's From whence too may further appear of what use 't was even for Inspir'd persons to consult with each other and act by common Advice which Point I have explained and proved at large above * P. 88. 5. The next Exception I shall take notice of is this Mr. N. tells us a Fr. p. 258 259. Eng. p. 72 73 74. that the Gift of Wisdom and Knowledge or the Gift of Prophecying which he makes all one with the two former was a Disposition of mind which God sometimes infused into those on whom he bestowed it whereby they became fit to instruct and that it did not consist in an immediate Inspiration of what they were to say His reasons for this are two 1. Because this Gift might be improved by Study and Reading as he proves from 1. Tim. 4.13 14. 2. Because the Apostle gave directions to the Prophets and order'd them to exercise their Gifts by turns to prevent that Confusion which the disorderly Use of their Gifts had brought into the Church b 1 Cor. 14. Now he thinks that if the Spirit had Inspir'd them with what to say he would likewise have given them directions as to the time and place Now methinks he that can confound the Gifts of Wisdom Knowledge and Prophecy which any Man that consults the place where St. Paul reckons up the several Gifts of the Spirit c 1 Cor. 8 9. will see are distinct and takes no notice of the Ambiguity of the word Prophecy which is taken in several Senses in Scripture I say he that confounds things that any one who has studied the places of Scripture which treat of the Gifts of the Spirit must needs know to be very different need not have been so nice as to distinguish between a Disposition of mind infus'd into those upon whom God bestowed it whereby they became fit to Instruct and an Inspiring them with what to say For certainly this Disposition infused into the mind if it mean any thing must mean God's giving Men a clear and distinct apprehension of what they were to teach others and I think this is much the same as Inspiring them with what to say since out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh and words are only the Expressions of our thoughts unless our Author supposes that when God Inspires a Man with what to say he only puts so many words into his mouth without conveying any Idea of the things themselves to his mind But let us proceed to examine his reasons As to the First I see no inconvenience in asserting that God very often increas'd or withheld his Extraordinary Gifts in proportion to the Industry of the Possessors For since the Extraordinary and Ordinary Gifts agree in this that they are both design'd to assist our Natural Faculties not to supersede them and to incourage our Industry not to slacken it I can't see why that Rule of our Saviour's To him that has shall be given and from him that has not i. e. does not improve and make a good use of what he has shall be taken way d Matth. 13.12 may not be applied to the Extraordinary Gifts as well as to the Ordinary and why Men might not hope God would bestow these Gifts upon them in a greater degree as a reward of their Industry and might not have reason to fear he should withdraw them if they took advantage from thence to be negligent And thus much seems to be implied in that advice of St. Paul e 1 Thess 5.19 Not to quench the Spirit viz. that God may be provok'd to take away these Gifts when he sees them abused or Men's sins may render them Unworthy to be the Instruments of the holy Spirit The story of the Ethiopian
Opinion that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Conclusion of the Letter which he finds so much fault with is for all that a very elegant Expression He has printed the Close of this Synodical Epistle in great Letters as if it had something more than ordinary in it and were a manifest argument of his side but as Big as the words look whoever considers them will find there 's very little sense in his Application of them CHAP. III. Concerning the Inspiration of the PROPHETS I Do not see much in our Author that reflects upon the Authority or Inspiration of the Prophets But since I am engag'd in the Subject of Inspiration and those persons who have no great esteem for the Sacred Books fancy there are many things relating to the Prophets liable to Exception I think it will not be altogether impertinent or beside my main Design which is to Vindicate the Authority of the Holy Writings if I take a short View of those Considerations which tend to establish the Authority of the Prophets and to answer some of the most Popular Objections against them I shall therefore I. Consider the Personal Qualifications of the Prophets II. I shall consider the chief Design of their Prophecies III. I shall resolve some Difficulties which relate to the Prophets themselves or their manner of Writing I. As to the first 't would in a great measure take off mens Prejudices against the prophetical Writings if they would but consider what manner of men the Prophets were and what excellent Qualifications they were indowed with Men that are glad of any Argument that makes Religion look like a Cheat think they have a great Advantage against all sorts of Prophecy because there have been so many Cheats of this kind and they find that usually the persons that pretend to a prophetick Spirit are in all other respects of such shallow Intellectuals and such mean Qualifications that no wise man would take their Advice in any thing of ordinary concern and therefore 't is very unlikely God should make choice of such persons to be his Messengers and the Conveyers of his Will to men But if they would likewise consider how unlike the Prophets of the Old Testament were to these Pretenders both as to their Intellectuals and their Morals 't would go a great way to discover how vastly different they are from each other and the Truth and Excellency of the one would more evidently appear by comparing it with the evident marks of Imposture and Meanness which are found in the other As to the Intellectual Accomplishments of the true Prophets they had usually an Ingenuous and liberal Education as appears by the Institution of the Schools of the Prophets so often mention'd in the History of the Kings And we find 't was reckon'd a wonder that Saul should be among the Prophets a 1 Sam. 10 11 -19.24 because he had not been Educated suitably to that Profession So God's calling Amos to this Office from being a Herds-man was extraordinary and unusual as he himself intimates b Amos 8.14 And indeed the style of the Prophets plainly discovers them to have been Men of a good Education and therefore the Criticks have all observed what great difference there is between Amos's style and that of the other Prophets which they justly impute to their different Education Isaiah's style is Elegant c Isaiae dictio purissimaâ—ntor omnes qui post Mosen scripserunt ejus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pulcherrimae Grot. in Is 50 4. and Lofty Jeremy's shews him to have been a great Master of Rhetorick d Mirus in affectibus concitandis Jeremias Idem Ezekiel plainly discovers in his way of writing great skill in Architecture and Geography Daniel's Wisdom was so famous even when he was young that it became a Proverb among the Chaldeans to say Art thou wiser than Daniel e Ezek. 28.3 And not to descend to any more particulars we find that all their writings are full of Powerful Exhortations to Vertue of weighty and Pathetick Representations of the heinousness of those Vices which were then prevailing and the miseries which would attend them We find they set forth the absurdity of Pagan Idolatry f Is 40.18 c. 44.9 c with great strength and smartness of Argument and endeavour to give Men clear and distinct Notions of Gods Spirituality g Is 40.12 c. Unity h Jer. 10.11 12. Is 44.6 Omnipresence i Jer. 23.23 24. Is 66.1 Universal Providence of which the foretelling how Free Agents will determine themselves is a signal instance and Justice in rewarding Men according to their works k Jer. 18.7 c. Ezek. 18. They unfold the methods of Providence in disposing of Kingdoms l Jer. 25. and making use of wicked Princes and Nations to be the Instruments of God's Justice in punishing the sins of others m Is 10.6 c. Ezek. 29.18 19. Such discourses don't look like the idle dreams of a Melancholy and disturb'd fancy but do indeed answer the Character they pretend to And those Men who will not believe them to be of Divine Original ought in reason to allow them to be the Product of a settled Judgement and can't in Justice but grant that if the Prophets did not foresee what was to come by a Prophetical Spirit yet they made very probable Conjectures by a Natural Sagacity since the event has so plainly justifyed a great part of their Predictions And if they will not be perswaded that God inlightned the minds of the Prophets by an extraordinary Revelation yet they can't in Justice deny but that they discourse of the Nature of God and of his Providence and of the Obedience which he requires with as great a degree of clearness and certainty as Men's Natural Faculties can arrive to And therefore 't is not without reason that Origen does often in his Books against Celsus n P. 18 -177.-260.-359 Ed. Cant. insist upon this That Moses and the Prophets instructed Men in the nature of God and of their duty much better than the acutest Philosophers among the Heathens So malicious and groundless is that pretence of Spinoza where he tells us o Theol. Polit. c. 1. p.m. 21. that the Prophets did not agree in their Notions about the Nature of God because forsooth different Prophets saw different Signs of the Divine Presence As if they could not distinguish between a Symbol of God's Presence and the Divine Nature it self And he may as well say that Moses took the Cloudy Pillar to be God himself and by the same reason he must conclude that Moses thought the Cherubims and the Cloud upon the Mercy-seat which he himself order'd to be made to be God or at least to resemble his Essence and then I think he would have been guilty of greater Idolatry than Aaron was in making the Golden Calf 2. If we consider the Moral Indowments of the Prophets we shall find
their Vertues so extraordinary that none of the Whifling Pretenders to Prophecy can in the least compare with them With what undaunted Courage and Constancy did they reprove the Popular Vices of the times they lived in Not sparing the Greatest Persons either out of fear or flattery And if we suppose them to have acted like Men in their Wits and ther'e 's no tolerable reason to suspect the contrary we must conclude that nothing but a Sense of their Duty could prompt them to do this for they could propose no advantage to themselves by it but on the contrary were to expect all the scorn and misery which the Angry and Revengeful Temper of wicked Men in Power whom they had offended could bring upon them And it could certainly be no pleasure to be continually reproving Men when there was little or no hopes of reclaiming them nay when they had not so much Civility as to thank them for their good Intentions and take the good Advice which they offer'd kindly at their hands If it had not been purely out of a principle of Conscience and that they were perswaded of the truth and great Concern of these things and therefore spoke they might with much more advantage to themselves have let Men be quiet and go on securely in their sins Many of their Troubles and Sufferings we find Recorded in their own Books p Jer. 15.10 c. c. 18 18 -20 1. c. -26.8 c. -36 26 -37 15 -38 6. Dan. 6. Amos 7.10 but several other Scripture-Writers q Matt. 5 12.-2â—.37 Acts 7.52 Heb. 11.36 37 38. vâ— etiam 1 Kings 19.10 Nehem. 9.26 assure us that they were generally Martyrs for the truth's sake and yet none of these Sufferings could prevail with them to retract any thing they had said or to confess that they had been deluded themselves or impos'd upon others and said The Lord saith tho he had not spoken Origen hath an excellent passage to our present purpose which I shall here set down at length r c. Celsum l. 7. p. 336. Ed. Cant. He was speaking just before concerning the Heathen Prophets and Priests that utter'd the Oracles and then he adds these remarkable words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Å¿ deest vox f. supplend 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vel legend 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. ex Hebr. 11.37 38. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But as for the Jewish Prophets some of them were honour'd with Divine Inspiration as being eminent for Wisdom before and some of them having their minds inlightned by the very Gift of Prophecy became Wise being made choice of by Providence as persons fit to be intrusted with the Divine Spirit and the Dictates of it by reason of the Inimitable perfections of their Lives their Boldness Impartiality and Courage that could not be daunted by Death or Danger For reason tells us that 't was fit the Prophets of God should be such Men for Courage and Constancy of mind that if we should compare the Fortitude of Antisthenes Crates or Diogenes with theirs this would look but like Childrens-play to that And therefore because they spoke the truth and rebuked Sinners with a great deal of freedom t Heb. 11.37 38. they were ston'd sawn asunder were tempted were slain with the Sword they wander'd about in sheep-skins and goats-skins being destitute afflicted tormented they wander'd in deserts in mountains in dens and caves of the earth of whom the world was not worthy Having their minds always fixed upon God and upon the invisible things which are with him which cannot be discern'd by Sense and therefore are Eternal A little after the same Author has these words to the same purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We saith he do not value the Pythian or any other of the fam'd Heathen Oracles yet we reverence the Prophets that were amongst the Jews because we see that the unshaken Courage and Constancy of their Lives made them worthy to receive the Spirit of God that prophecied quite another way and had nothing in it like the Oracles which the Devils utter'd From what has been said we may conclude That if we consider the Prophets with relation to their personal Qualifications only they will appear to be persons of unquestionable Credit since their Intellectual Accomplishments were such that they could not probably be deceived themselves and the Integrity of their Lives was so great that we cannot suppose they had any Design to impose upon others I proceed in the II. Place to consider the chief Aim and Design of God's sending Prophets to the Jews and what was the principal End of their Office I confess I am apt to believe that the occasion of Gods promising to send a succession of Prophets to the Jews as many Learned men understand that place u Deut. 18.15 of Deuteronomy was That they might have no Temptation to have recourse to the Heathen Oracles and Soothsayers to know what should come to pass for want of Prophets of their own Thus much the words of Moses seem to imply x Ibid. à v. 10 ad v. 15. There shall not be any among you that useth Divination or an Observer of times or an Enchanter for these nations whom thou shalt possess hearkened to Observers of times and to Diviners but as for thee the Lord thy God hath not suffer'd thee so to do The Lord thy God shall raise thee up a Prophet of thy Brethren like unto me unto him shall ye hearken The promise of a Prophet which tho it eminently relate to the Messias yet the Context shews it was primarily and immediately meant of an order of Prophets that should succeed Moses this promise I say was given to the Jews as appears from this place to prevent their applying themselves to the Heathen pretenders to Prophecy This is Origen's Observation upon this place y L. 1. c. Celsum p. 28. Ed. Cant. and he adds this judicious remark Therefore saith he when the nations round about the Jews had their Oracles and several ways of Divination all which were strictly prohibited among the Jews if they had not had the satisfaction of foreknowing things to come some way or other it had been almost impossible considering the great Curiosity of humane nature to have kept them from despising the Law of Moses as having no mark of Divinity upon it or rejecting the Prophets who succeeded him and taking no care to preserve their Discourses or else apostatizing to the Heathen Oracles or setting up something like them among themselves Therefore 't is no wonder that the Prophets now and then gave answers to those that enquir'd of them about ordinary Accidents as Samuel z 1 Sam. 10.2 told Saul that his asses were found and Ahijah the Prophet a 1 King 14.12 foretold the death of Jeroboam's son Or else how could they that stood up for the Law of Moses reprove them that went to consult
Prophets often speak after a slighting manner of the Levitical Rites and Ceremonies p Is 1.11 c. 66.3 Jer. 7.22 23. Hos 6.6 Amos 5 21-24 Micah 6.6 7 8. and press men to the Practice of the Weightier matters of the Law Judgment Mercy and the Love of God and require inward Purity of heart q Ezek. 18.31 instead of outward Ceremonial Worship Which is such a pitch of Perfection in obedience as Moses's Law seldom recommends for indeed that was chiefly design'd to be a Political Law instituted for the Government of the Jewish Common-wealth and therefore as all Political Laws are 't is more careful to restrain Men from the Overt-Acts of Sin than to make them sincerly and Inwardly Good In which respect St. Paul says r 1 Tim. 1.9 that the Law was not made for a Rule to the Righteous but for a Restraint to the Lawless and Disobedient And therefore the Prophets by refining upon the Law and exhorting Men to fulfil the Righteousness of the Law by walking not after the Flesh but after the Spirit did contribute very much toward the preparing Men's minds for the times of the Messias Å¿ Prophetae omnes Egregii ad Evangelium Duces Grot. in Jer. 7.9 as they wean'd them from the overfondness they had to the Levitical Rites by shewing them a more excellent way to please God and as they gave them to understand that God did not design the Mosaical Covenant to be Perpetual but that that it should at last give way to a Better And these discourses which the Prophets made to the Jews together with the several Afflictions God brought upon them both in the Captivity and afterward on purpose to take off their minds from the Temporal Promises and make them look up to Spiritual and Heavenly Ones had so great an effect upon the generality of that People that in the latter times we find their Writers discourse of the Nature of Religion in a style much more agreeable to the Spirit of the Gospel than they used formerly as appears by the Book of Ecclesiasticus and speak of a Future State with much greater Clearness and Assurance as may be seen in the Dying Speeches of the Maccabees t 2 Macc. 7. and in several other parts of the Apocryphal Writings u Wisd 3. c. 5. Tob. 3.6 And all this contributed very much to raise in the minds of the Jews that Expectation of the Messias which we find the generality of them had at the time of our Saviour's Coming w John 1.20 21 -7.40 41. Luke 2 38.-3.15 I proceed to consider 2. The manner how the Prophets deliver'd this Prophecy and that was Twofold 1. There were some Prophecies which in the Proper Literal and Primary meaning related to Christ and can't in any Tolerable Sense be applied to any other 2. Others tho in their Literal and Direct sense they foretold some other Event which was nearer at hand yet had a further and Mystical sense contain'd in them which related to Christ and his Kingdom 1. Concerning the First sort I need not say much for they are but few in Comparison with those of the Second but are withal so plain that all the Art of the Adversaries of Christianity has not been able to avoid the force of them or wrest them to any other sense but what the Christians give of them Origen is very copious upon this Subject x v. Cels l. 1. p. 39 c. and proves at large that several Texts of Scripture never were fulfill'd in any person but our Saviour The Instances he gives are Gen. 49.10 Mich. 5.2 Isaiah c. 52. and 53. Psalm 45. To which we may add Dan. 9.24 c. Psalm 110. Psalm 22.16 18. 69.21 The greatest difficulties concern the Second sort of Prophecies which have a double sense Literal and Mystical for the explaining of which I shall lay down these following Observations 1. That most of the Prophecies concerning Christ have a double sense Literal and Mystical 2. That those Prophecies concerning Christ which do Directly point at something which happen'd before the time of our Saviour yet have some evident Marks in them which shew that they have some Further meaning than that which was first intended 3. That there are several very good Reasons upon which this Opinion of a Double sense in the Prophets Literal and Mystical is grounded 1. The First Observation I lay down is That most of the Prophecies concerning Christ have a Double sense Literal and Mystical Now to avoid all Cavilling about words I shall first premise that by the Literal sense I mean that which the Prophet more immediately intended and which pointed at some Event that was nearer the Prophets own time than the Mystical Completion was and by the Mystical sense I understand that which had a respect to the times of the Gospel tho sometimes this Latter sense is more properly express'd by the words and more agreeable to their Natural Import than the former as we shall see presently Having premised this I proceed to shew that there is a Literal as well a Mystical sense in most of the Prophecies relating to Christ Without allowing this we shall make great Confusion and Disorder in the Prophetical Writings if we suppose them to break off Abruptly from the matter in hand and without any visible Transition go to a quite different Subject And this is to speak more particularly very unreasonable to suppose in the Prophet Isaiah who as he is most eminent for the clearness of his Prophecies concerning the Messias so he is as remarkable for the Regular Order and Contexture of his Prophecies and their Coherence one with another And the Historical Relations which he intersperses in his Writings y Chap. 7. c. 36-37 -39 serve as a Key to open the Primary and Literal Intention of his whole Prophecy But the Beauty of it taken all together will be quite spoil'd except we suppose him in most Cases to have some regard to the Subject he is upon and rather to take Hints from thence to discourse concerning the state of the Gospel than to fly out into a Forreign Subject without any Respect to Order or Coherence The wonderful Restauration of the Jewish Nation and Deliverance out of their Captivity gave a very fit occasion to the Prophet to foretell at the same time that Great Salvation which Christ the Redeemer of Israel should Accomplish and was a proper Representation of our Saviour's giving Light to the Gentiles who sat in darkness and z Isaiah 61.1 proclaiming liberty to the Captives of Sin and Satan And accordingly the Prophet pursues this with a pompous Eloquence from the 40th Chapter almost to the end of his Prophecy But yet there 's no reason to think that he was so intent upon this Latter Subject as quite to forget the Former for he was not only an Evangelical Prophet but likewise knew how to speak a word in season to him
whether those words of this Paraphrase As is a great part of the Old Testament be not added meerly to serve the present Turn without the least Intimation of such a Restriction from the Text it self and whether the Coherence of these two Verses be not plainly this Continue in the Study of the Old Testament because all the Books which that consists of are Divinely Inspir'd But I supposes he grounds this Interpretation of his upon that Reading of the Text for which Grotius f In locum contr Rivetum vouches the Syriack and Vulgar Translations Omms Scriptura Divinitùs Inspirata utilis est But if we should admit of this Reading still the Sense will come all to one and the Words as they lie then tho they do not in Express terms assert that all the Old Testament Writings are Divinely Inspir'd yet they Imply it and take it for granted For if we read the Greek thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 will be an Explicative Epithet to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 just as if we add the Epithet Rationalis to Homo in such a Proposition as this Homo Rationalis creatus est ad colendum Deum In which Proposition tho it be not expresly asserted that Homo is Rationalis yet so much is Implied and if it were not true 't would make the whole Proposition false as Monsieur Nicol has observed in his Ars Cogitandi g Pars 2. c. 5. And just so in the Proposition we speak of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies the Scriptures of the Old Testament in which sense the word is always taken in the New Testament and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is added for a fuller Explication of that term I know Grotius h Votum pro Pace prout citatur Fr. p. 270. Fn. p. 193. will needs have the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 taken here in its General Sense and signify simply a Book or Writing But I can't forbear saying that this gloss is Unworthy of Grotius and 't is a sign of a Bad Cause when so Great a Man is fain to betake himself to such Pitiful Sophistry as is to be seen in the fore-cited Place For he can't produce one Instance in all the New Testament where the word is used in that Sense and if he could yet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 added to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sufficiently Restrains the General sense of it and makes one Complex Term which must signify the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Verse before both which Expressions signify the Old Testament because 't is a Collection of Inspir'd Writings and consequently the Phrase it self asserts so much by way of Implication or else it would be an Improper Expression I think it appears from what has been said what was the Judgement of Christ and his Apostles concerning the Canon of the Old Testament and since 't is certain that they approved the Canon of the Old Testament as it was received by the Jewish Church of their own time I can't guess what evidence of Reason can be sufficient to perswade a Christian to Oppose such an Authority And therefore I can't be of our Author's mind when he tell us i Eng. p. 188. Fr. p. 267. He knows not why we may not doubt of the Books of the Old Testament as well as of some of the New the Authority of several of the Latter having been question'd But there is a visible Difference between the Authorities that confirm the Old Testament Canon and those which give Testimony to the New To the Former Christ and his Apostles bear Witness whereas the Credit of the Latter depends upon the Consent and Testimony of much the Greater part of the Church in the Ages succeeding that of the Apostles which tho it be sufficient for any Wise and Unprejudic'd Man to ground his assent upon yet it hath not that Sacredness and Infallibility in it which the other hath For those Ages made use only of Humane Means for settling the New Testament Canon which was sufficient for that purpose considering the Nearness of those times to the Writing of the Books to which they give Testimony Nor does the name of Chetubim which the Jews give to those Writings of the Old Testament which Mr. N. calls in question at all justify his Opinion He fancies k Fr. p. 276. En. p. 102. they were call'd Chetubim i. e. Simply Writings as he Interprets it to signify that they were like other Humane Writings and had nothing at all of Inspiration in them But the Jewish Writers say not one Syllable to confirm this Opinion that I can find On the contrary by their placing Daniel among the Chetubim it appears that they look upon the Writers of that Class to have been Inspir'd for the Jews all agree that Daniel had really the Gift of Prophecy tho they fancy it to be in a lower Degree Further Maimonides saith expresly l More Nevoch p. 2. c. 45. that they are called Chetubim quia scripta sunt per Spiritum Sanctum And tho he reckons that Impulse which he calls Spiritus Sanctus inferiour to the Degree of Inspiration which Isaiah and the other Prophets properly so call'd had yet 't is plain that he looks upon it as a proper kind of Inspiration for the instances he gives of it are by his own Confession real Inspirations m See Mr. Smiths Discourse of Prophecy c. 7. So that I do not see how Maimonides take his Explication altogether gives any Advantage to this Opinion tho Grotius n Votum pro pace prout citatur Fr. p. 231. Eng. p. 141. quote him for it The Jews do indeed acknowledge a Difference between the Inspiration of the Hagiographa and the Prophetical Writings but this doth not prove them to be no part of the Scripture for I think there is no body that considers the manner of the Spirit 's Operation upon the Minds of Inspir'd Persons but will readily acknowledge that there 's no need of the same Degree of Inspiration to write a History or a Book of Morality as is requisite to make a Prophet But concerning the different Degrees of Inspiration I have discours'd already in several places of this Treatise and shall have Occasion to speak of it hereafter But if the Jewish Division of the Old Testament favour'd Mr. N's Opinion never so much I do not see any Force at all in the Argument taken from thence for that Division is not of so early a Date as to be able to vye with the much Ancienter Opinion concerning the Inspiration of the whole Jewish Canon St. Jerom is the first that I find takes notice of this Division o Prolog Galeat Praef. in Daniel the placing the Prophet Daniel among the Chetubim in this Division besides that there is no shadow of Reason for it except it be that the Jews bear him a Spight for Prophecying so plainly of our Saviour discovers that