And for Incoherent Speech, it was amongst the
Gentiles
taken for
one sort of Prophecy, because the Prophets of their Oracles, intoxicated
with a spirit, or vapour from the cave of the Pythian Oracle at Delphi,
were for the time really mad, and spake like mad-men; of whose loose
words a sense might be made to fit any event, in such sort, as all
bodies are said to be made of Materia prima.
one sort of Prophecy, because the Prophets of their Oracles, intoxicated
with a spirit, or vapour from the cave of the Pythian Oracle at Delphi,
were for the time really mad, and spake like mad-men; of whose loose
words a sense might be made to fit any event, in such sort, as all
bodies are said to be made of Materia prima.
Hobbes - Leviathan
And (Micah 4.
7.
) "And the Lord shall
reign over them in Mount Zion:" This Mount Zion is in Jerusalem upon the
Earth. And (Ezek. 20. 33. ) "As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a
mighty hand, and a stretched out arme, and with fury powred out, I wil
rule over you; and (verse 37. ) I will cause you to passe under the rod,
and I will bring you into the bond of the Covenant;" that is, I will
reign over you, and make you to stand to that Covenant which you made
with me by Moses, and brake in your rebellion against me in the days of
Samuel, and in your election of another King.
And in the New testament, the Angel Gabriel saith of our Saviour (Luke
1. 32,33) "He shall be great, and be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord shall give him the throne of his Father David; and he shall
reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his Kingdome there shall
be no end. " This is also a Kingdome upon Earth; for the claim whereof,
as an enemy to Caesar, he was put to death; the title of his crosse,
was, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews; hee was crowned in scorn with
a crown of Thornes; and for the proclaiming of him, it is said of
the Disciples (Acts 17. 7. ) "That they did all of them contrary to
the decrees of Caesar, saying there was another King, one Jesus. The
Kingdome therefore of God, is a reall, not a metaphoricall Kingdome; and
so taken, not onely in the Old Testament, but the New; when we say, "For
thine is the Kingdome, the Power, and Glory," it is to be understood of
Gods Kingdome, by force of our Covenant, not by the Right of Gods Power;
for such a Kingdome God alwaies hath; so that it were superfluous to
say in our prayer, "Thy Kingdome come," unlesse it be meant of the
Restauration of that Kingdome of God by Christ, which by revolt of the
Israelites had been interrupted in the election of Saul. Nor had it been
proper to say, "The Kingdome of Heaven is at hand," or to pray, "Thy
Kingdome come," if it had still continued.
There be so many other places that confirm this interpretation, that it
were a wonder there is no greater notice taken of it, but that it gives
too much light to Christian Kings to see their right of Ecclesiastical
Government. This they have observed, that in stead of a Sacerdotall
Kingdome, translate, a Kingdome of Priests: for they may as well
translate a Royall Priesthood, (as it is in St. Peter) into a Priesthood
of Kings. And whereas, for a Peculiar People, they put a Pretious Jewel,
or Treasure, a man might as well call the speciall Regiment, or Company
of a Generall, the Generalls pretious Jewel, or his Treasure.
In short, the Kingdome of God is a Civill Kingdome; which consisted,
first in the obligation of the people of Israel to those Laws, which
Moses should bring unto them from Mount Sinai; and which afterwards the
High Priest of the time being, should deliver to them from before the
Cherubins in the Sanctum Sanctorum; and which kingdome having been cast
off, in the election of Saul, the Prophets foretold, should be restored
by Christ; and the Restauration whereof we daily pray for, when we
say in the Lords Prayer, "Thy Kingdome come;" and the Right whereof we
acknowledge, when we adde, "For thine is the Kingdome, the Power, and
Glory, for ever and ever, Amen;" and the Proclaiming whereof, was
the Preaching of the Apostles; and to which men are prepared, by the
Teachers of the Gospel; to embrace which Gospel, (that is to say, to
promise obedience to Gods government) is, to bee in the Kingdome of
Grace, because God hath gratis given to such the power to bee the
subjects (that is, Children) of God hereafter, when Christ shall come
in Majesty to judge the world, and actually to govern his owne people,
which is called the Kingdome of Glory. If the Kingdome of God (called
also the Kingdome of Heaven, from the gloriousnesse, and admirable
height of that throne) were not a Kingdome which God by his Lieutenant,
or Vicars, who deliver his Commandements to the people, did exercise on
Earth; there would not have been so much contention, and warre, about
who it is, by whom God speaketh to us; neither would many Priests have
troubled themselves with Spirituall Jurisdiction, nor any King have
denied it them.
Out of this literall interpretation of the Kingdome of God, ariseth also
the true interpretation of the word HOLY. For it is a word, which in
Gods Kingdome answereth to that, which men in their Kingdomes use to
call Publique, or the Kings.
The King of any Countrey is the Publique Person, or Representative of
all his own Subjects. And God the King of Israel was the Holy One of
Israel. The Nation which is subject to one earthly Soveraign, is the
Nation of that Soveraign, that is, of the Publique Person. So the Jews,
who were Gods Nation, were called (Exod. 19. 6. ) "a Holy Nation. " For by
Holy, is alwaies understood, either God himselfe, or that which is Gods
in propriety; as by Publique is alwaies meant, either the Person of the
Common-wealth it self, or something that is so the Common-wealths, as no
private person can claim any propriety therein.
Therefore the Sabbath (Gods day) is a Holy Day; the Temple, (Gods house)
a Holy House; Sacrifices, Tithes, and Offerings (Gods tribute) Holy
Duties; Priests, Prophets, and anointed Kings, under Christ (Gods
ministers) Holy Men; The Coelestiall ministring Spirits (Gods
Messengers) Holy Angels; and the like: and wheresoever the word Holy is
taken properly, there is still something signified of Propriety, gotten
by consent. In saying "Hallowed be thy name," we do but pray to God for
grace to keep the first Commandement, of "having no other Gods but
Him. " Mankind is Gods Nation in propriety: but the Jews only were a Holy
Nation. Why, but because they became his Propriety by covenant.
Sacred What
And the word Profane, is usually taken in the Scripture for the same
with Common; and consequently their contraries, Holy, and Proper, in the
Kingdome of God must be the same also. But figuratively, those men also
are called Holy, that led such godly lives, as if they had forsaken all
worldly designes, and wholly devoted, and given themselves to God.
In the proper sense, that which is made Holy by Gods appropriating or
separating it to his own use, is said to be Sanctified by God, as the
Seventh day in the fourth Commandement; and as the Elect in the New
Testament were said to bee Sanctified, when they were endued with the
Spirit of godlinesse. And that which is made Holy by the dedication of
men, and given to God, so as to be used onely in his publique service,
is called also SACRED, and said to be consecrated, as Temples, and other
Houses of Publique Prayer, and their Utensils, Priests, and Ministers,
Victimes, Offerings, and the externall matter of Sacraments.
Degrees of Sanctity
Of Holinesse there be degrees: for of those things that are set apart
for the service of God, there may bee some set apart again, for a neerer
and more especial service. The whole Nation of the Israelites were a
people Holy to God; yet the tribe of Levi was amongst the Israelites a
Holy tribe; and amongst the Levites, the Priests were yet more Holy; and
amongst the Priests, the High Priest was the most Holy. So the Land
of Judea was the Holy Land; but the Holy City wherein God was to be
worshipped, was more Holy; and again, the Temples more Holy than the
City; and the Sanctum Sanctorum more Holy than the rest of the Temple.
Sacrament
A SACRAMENT, is a separation of some visible thing from common use;
and a consecration of it to Gods service, for a sign, either of our
admission into the Kingdome of God, to be of the number of his peculiar
people, or for a Commemoration of the same. In the Old Testament, the
sign of Admission was Circumcision; in the New Testament, Baptisme. The
Commemoration of it in the Old Testament, was the Eating (at a certain
time, which was Anniversary) of the Paschall Lamb; by which they were
put in mind of the night wherein they were delivered out of their
bondage in Egypt; and in the New Testament, the celebrating of the
Lords Supper; by which, we are put in mind, of our deliverance from
the bondage of sin, by our Blessed Saviours death upon the crosse. The
Sacraments of Admission, are but once to be used, because there needs
but one Admission; but because we have need of being often put in
mind of our deliverance, and of our Allegeance, The Sacraments of
Commemoration have need to be reiterated. And these are the principall
Sacraments, and as it were the solemne oathes we make of our
Alleageance. There be also other Consecrations, that may be called
Sacraments, as the word implyeth onely Consecration to Gods service; but
as it implies an oath, or promise of Alleageance to God, there were no
other in the Old Testament, but Circumcision, and the Passover; nor
are there any other in the New Testament, but Baptisme, and the Lords
Supper.
CHAPTER XXXVI. OF THE WORD OF GOD, AND OF PROPHETS
Word What
When there is mention of the Word of God, or of Man, it doth not
signifie a part of Speech, such as Grammarians call a Nown, or a Verb,
or any simple voice, without a contexture with other words to make it
significative; but a perfect Speech or Discourse, whereby the speaker
Affirmeth, Denieth, Commandeth, Promiseth, Threateneth, Wisheth, or
Interrogateth. In which sense it is not Vocabulum, that signifies a
Word; but Sermo, (in Greek Logos) that is some Speech, Discourse, or
Saying.
The Words Spoken By God And Concerning God, Both Are Called Gods Word
In Scripture
Again, if we say the Word of God, or of Man, it may bee understood
sometimes of the Speaker, (as the words that God hath spoken, or that
a Man hath spoken): In which sense, when we say, the Gospel of St.
Matthew, we understand St. Matthew to be the Writer of it: and sometimes
of the Subject: In which sense, when we read in the Bible, "The words
of the days of the Kings of Israel, or Judah," 'tis meant, that the acts
that were done in those days, were the Subject of those Words; And in
the Greek, which (in the Scripture) retaineth many Hebraismes, by the
Word of God is oftentimes meant, not that which is spoken by God, but
concerning God, and his government; that is to say, the Doctrine of
Religion: Insomuch, as it is all one, to say Logos Theou, and Theologia;
which is, that Doctrine which wee usually call Divinity, as is manifest
by the places following (Acts 13. 46. ) "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed
bold, and said, It was necessary that the Word of God should first
have been spoken to you, but seeing you put it from you, and judge your
selves unworthy of everlasting life, loe, we turn to the Gentiles. "
That which is here called the Word of god, was the Doctrine of Christian
Religion; as it appears evidently by that which goes before. And (Acts
5. 20. ) where it is said to the Apostles by an Angel, "Go stand and speak
in the Temple, all the Words of this life;" by the Words of this life,
is meant, the Doctrine of the Gospel; as is evident by what they did in
the Temple, and is expressed in the last verse of the same Chap. "Daily
in the Temple, and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach
Christ Jesus:" In which place it is manifest, that Jesus Christ was the
subject of this Word of Life; or (which is all one) the subject of the
Words of this Life Eternall, that our saviour offered them. So (Acts
15. 7. ) the Word of God, is called the Word of the Gospel, because it
containeth the Doctrine of the Kingdome of Christ; and the same Word
(Rom. 10. 8,9. ) is called the Word of Faith; that is, as is there
expressed, the Doctrine of Christ come, and raised from the dead. Also
(Mat. 13. 19. ) "When any one heareth the Word of the Kingdome;" that is,
the Doctrine of the Kingdome taught by Christ. Again, the same Word, is
said (Acts 12. 24. ) "to grow and to be multiplied;" which to understand
of the Evangelicall Doctrine is easie, but of the Voice, or Speech
of God, hard and strange. In the same sense the Doctrine of Devils,
signifieth not the Words of any Devill, but the Doctrine of Heathen men
concerning Daemons, and those Phantasms which they worshipped as Gods.
(1 Tim. 4. 1. )
Considering these two significations of the WORD OF GOD, as it is taken
in Scripture, it is manifest in this later sense (where it is taken for
the Doctrine of the Christian Religion,) that the whole scripture is the
Word of God: but in the former sense not so. For example, though these
words, "I am the Lord thy God, &c. " to the end of the Ten Commandements,
were spoken by God to Moses; yet the Preface, "God spake these words
and said," is to be understood for the Words of him that wrote the holy
History. The Word of God, as it is taken for that which he hath spoken,
is understood sometimes Properly, sometimes Metaphorically. Properly,
as the words, he hath spoken to his Prophets; Metaphorically, for his
Wisdome, Power, and eternall Decree, in making the world; in which
sense, those Fiats, "Let there be light," "Let there be a firmament,"
"Let us make man," &c. (Gen. 1. ) are the Word of God. And in the same
sense it is said (John 1. 3. ) "All things were made by it, and without it
was nothing made that was made; And (Heb. 1. 3. ) "He upholdeth all things
by the word of his Power;" that is, by the Power of his Word; that is,
by his Power; and (Heb. 11. 3. ) "The worlds were framed by the Word
of God;" and many other places to the same sense: As also amongst the
Latines, the name of Fate, which signifieth properly The Word Spoken, is
taken in the same sense.
Secondly, For The Effect Of His Word
Secondly, for the effect of his Word; that is to say, for the thing it
self, which by his Word is Affirmed, Commanded, Threatned, or Promised;
as (Psalm 105. 19. ) where Joseph is said to have been kept in prison,
"till his Word was come;" that is, till that was come to passe which
he had (Gen. 40. 13. ) foretold to Pharaohs Butler, concerning his being
restored to his office: for there by His Word Was Come, is meant, the
thing it self was come to passe. So also (1 King. 18. 36. ) Elijah saith
to God, "I have done all these thy Words," in stead of "I have done all
these things at thy Word," or commandement: and (Jer. 17. 15. ) "Where is
the Word of the Lord," is put for, "Where is the Evill he threatened:"
And (Ezek. 12. 28. ) "There shall none of my Words be prolonged any
more:" by "Words" are understood those Things, which God promised to his
people. And in the New Testament (Mat. 24. 35. ) "heaven and earth shal
pass away, but my Words shall not pass away;" that is, there is nothing
that I have promised or foretold, that shall not come to passe. And in
this sense it is, that St. John the Evangelist, and, I think, St. John
onely calleth our Saviour himself as in the flesh "the Word of God
(as Joh. 1. 14. ) the Word was made Flesh;" that is to say, the Word, or
Promise that Christ should come into the world, "who in the beginning
was with God;" that is to say, it was in the purpose of God the Father,
to send God the Son into the world, to enlighten men in the way of
Eternall life, but it was not till then put in execution, and actually
incarnate; So that our Saviour is there called "the Word," not because
he was the promise, but the thing promised. They that taking occasion
from this place, doe commonly call him the Verbe of God, do but render
the text more obscure. They might as well term him the Nown of God:
for as by Nown, so also by Verbe, men understand nothing but a part
of speech, a voice, a sound, that neither affirms, nor denies, nor
commands, nor promiseth, nor is any substance corporeall, or spirituall;
and therefore it cannot be said to bee either God, or Man; whereas our
Saviour is both. And this Word which St. John in his Gospel saith was
with God, is (in his 1 Epistle, verse 1. ) called "the Word of Life;" and
(verse 2. ) "The eternall life, which was with the Father:" so that he
can be in no other sense called the Word, then in that, wherein he is
called Eternall life; that is, "he that hath procured us Eternall life,"
by his comming in the flesh. So also (Apocalypse 19. 13. ) the Apostle
speaking of Christ, clothed in a garment dipt in bloud, saith; his name
is "the Word of God;" which is to be understood, as if he had said his
name had been, "He that was come according to the purpose of God from
the beginning, and according to his Word and promises delivered by the
Prophets. " So that there is nothing here of the Incarnation of a Word,
but of the Incarnation of God the Son, therefore called the Word,
because his Incarnation was the Performance of the Promise; In like
manner as the Holy Ghost is called The Promise. (Acts 1. 4. Luke 24. 49. )
Thirdly, For The Words Of Reason And Equity
There are also places of the Scripture, where, by the Word of God, is
signified such Words as are consonant to reason, and equity, though
spoken sometimes neither by prophet, nor by a holy man. For Pharaoh
Necho was an Idolator; yet his Words to the good King Josiah, in which
he advised him by Messengers, not to oppose him in his march against
Carchemish, are said to have proceeded from the mouth of God; and that
Josiah not hearkning to them, was slain in the battle; as is to be read
2 Chron. 35. vers. 21,22,23. It is true, that as the same History is
related in the first book of Esdras, not Pharaoh, but Jeremiah spake
these words to Josiah, from the mouth of the Lord. But wee are to
give credit to the Canonicall Scripture, whatsoever be written in the
Apocrypha.
The Word of God, is then also to be taken for the Dictates of reason,
and equity, when the same is said in the Scriptures to bee written in
mans heart; as Psalm 36. 31. Jerem. 31. 33. Deut. 30. 11, 14. and many other
like places.
Divers Acceptions Of The Word Prophet
The name of PROPHET, signifieth in Scripture sometimes Prolocutor; that
is, he that speaketh from God to Man, or from man to God: And sometimes
Praedictor, or a foreteller of things to come; And sometimes one that
speaketh incoherently, as men that are distracted. It is most frequently
used in the sense of speaking from God to the People. So Moses, Samuel,
Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others were Prophets. And in this sense
the High Priest was a Prophet, for he only went into the Sanctum
Sanctorum, to enquire of God; and was to declare his answer to the
people. And therefore when Caiphas said, it was expedient that one man
should die for the people, St. John saith (chap. 11. 51. ) that "He spake
not this of himselfe, but being High Priest that year, he prophesied
that one man should dye for the nation. " Also they that in Christian
Congregations taught the people, (1 Cor. 14. 3. ) are said to Prophecy. In
the like sense it is, that God saith to Moses (Exod. 4. 16. ) concerning
Aaron, "He shall be thy Spokes-man to the People; and he shall be to
thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him in stead of God;" that which here
is Spokesman, is (chap. 7. 1. ) interpreted Prophet; "See (saith God)
I have made thee a God to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy Brother shall be thy
Prophet. " In the sense of speaking from man to God, Abraham is called
a Prophet (Genes. 20. 7. ) where God in a Dream speaketh to Abimelech
in this manner, "Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a
Prophet, and shall pray for thee;" whereby may be also gathered,
that the name of Prophet may be given, not unproperly to them that
in Christian Churches, have a Calling to say publique prayers for the
Congregation. In the same sense, the Prophets that came down from the
High place (or Hill of God) with a Psaltery, and a Tabret, and a Pipe,
and a Harp (1 Sam. 10. 5,6. ) and (vers. 10. ) Saul amongst them, are said
to Prophecy, in that they praised God, in that manner publiquely. In the
like sense, is Miriam (Exod. 15. 20. ) called a Prophetesse. So is it
also to be taken (1 Cor. 11. 4,5. ) where St. Paul saith, "Every man that
prayeth or prophecyeth with his head covered, &c. and every woman that
prayeth or prophecyeth with her head uncovered: For Prophecy in that
place, signifieth no more, but praising God in Psalmes, and Holy Songs;
which women might doe in the Church, though it were not lawfull for them
to speak to the Congregation. And in this signification it is, that the
Poets of the Heathen, that composed Hymnes and other sorts of Poems in
the honor of their Gods, were called Vates (Prophets) as is well enough
known by all that are versed in the Books of the Gentiles, and as
is evident (Tit. 1. 12. ) where St. Paul saith of the Cretians, that a
Prophet of their owne said, they were Liars; not that St. Paul held
their Poets for Prophets, but acknowledgeth that the word Prophet was
commonly used to signifie them that celebrated the honour of God in
Verse
Praediction Of Future Contingents, Not Alwaies Prophecy
When by Prophecy is meant Praediction, or foretelling of future
Contingents; not only they were Prophets, who were Gods Spokesmen, and
foretold those things to others, which God had foretold to them; but
also all those Imposters, that pretend by the helpe of familiar spirits,
or by superstitious divination of events past, from false causes, to
foretell the like events in time to come: of which (as I have declared
already in the 12. chapter of this Discourse) there be many kinds, who
gain in the opinion of the common sort of men, a greater reputation
of Prophecy, by one casuall event that may bee but wrested to their
purpose, than can be lost again by never so many failings. Prophecy is
not an art, nor (when it is taken for Praediction) a constant Vocation;
but an extraordinary, and temporary Employment from God, most often of
Good men, but sometimes also of the Wicked. The woman of Endor, who
is said to have had a familiar spirit, and thereby to have raised a
Phantasme of Samuel, and foretold Saul his death, was not therefore a
Prophetesse; for neither had she any science, whereby she could raise
such a Phantasme; nor does it appear that God commanded the raising of
it; but onely guided that Imposture to be a means of Sauls terror and
discouragement; and by consequent, of the discomfiture, by which he
fell.
And for Incoherent Speech, it was amongst the Gentiles taken for
one sort of Prophecy, because the Prophets of their Oracles, intoxicated
with a spirit, or vapour from the cave of the Pythian Oracle at Delphi,
were for the time really mad, and spake like mad-men; of whose loose
words a sense might be made to fit any event, in such sort, as all
bodies are said to be made of Materia prima. In the Scripture I find
it also so taken (1 Sam. 18. 10. ) in these words, "And the Evill spirit
came upon Saul, and he Prophecyed in the midst of the house. "
The Manner How God Hath Spoken To The Prophets
And although there be so many significations in Scripture of the word
Prophet; yet is that the most frequent, in which it is taken for him,
to whom God speaketh immediately, that which the Prophet is to say from
him, to some other man, or to the people. And hereupon a question may
be asked, in what manner God speaketh to such a Prophet. Can it (may some
say) be properly said, that God hath voice and language, when it cannot
be properly said, he hath a tongue, or other organs, as a man? The
Prophet David argueth thus, "Shall he that made the eye, not see? or he
that made the ear, not hear? " But this may be spoken, not (as usually) to
signifie Gods nature, but to signifie our intention to honor him. For
to See, and Hear, are Honorable Attributes, and may be given to God, to
declare (as far as our capacity can conceive) his Almighty power. But
if it were to be taken in the strict, and proper sense, one might argue
from his making of all parts of mans body, that he had also the same use
of them which we have; which would be many of them so uncomely, as it
would be the greatest contumely in the world to ascribe them to him.
Therefore we are to interpret Gods speaking to men immediately, for that
way (whatsoever it be), by which God makes them understand his will: And
the wayes whereby he doth this, are many; and to be sought onely in the
Holy Scripture: where though many times it be said, that God spake to
this, and that person, without declaring in what manner; yet there be
again many places, that deliver also the signes by which they were
to acknowledge his presence, and commandement; and by these may be
understood, how he spake to many of the rest.
To The Extraordinary Prophets Of The Old Testament He Spake
By Dreams, Or Visions
In what manner God spake to Adam, and Eve, and Cain, and Noah, is not
expressed; nor how he spake to Abraham, till such time as he came out of
his own countrey to Sichem in the land of Canaan; and then (Gen. 12. 7. )
God is said to have Appeared to him. So there is one way, whereby God
made his presence manifest; that is, by an Apparition, or Vision. And
again, (Gen. 15. 1. ) The Word of the Lord came to Abraham in a Vision;
that is to say, somewhat, as a sign of Gods presence, appeared as Gods
Messenger, to speak to him. Again, the Lord appeared to Abraham (Gen.
18. 1. ) by an apparition of three Angels; and to Abimelech (Gen. 20. 3. )
in a dream: To Lot (Gen. 19. 1. ) by an apparition of Two Angels: And
to Hagar (Gen. 21. 17. ) by the apparition of one Angel: And to Abraham
again (Gen. 22. 11. ) by the apparition of a voice from heaven: And (Gen.
26. 24. ) to Isaac in the night; (that is, in his sleep, or by dream):
And to Jacob (Gen. 18. 12. ) in a dream; that is to say (as are the words
of the text) "Jacob dreamed that he saw a ladder, &c. " And (Gen. 32. 1. )
in a Vision of Angels: And to Moses (Exod. 3. 2. ) in the apparition of a
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: And after the time of Moses,
(where the manner how God spake immediately to man in the Old Testament,
is expressed) hee spake alwaies by a Vision, or by a Dream; as to
Gideon, Samuel, Eliah, Elisha, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the rest of the
Prophets; and often in the New Testament, as to Joseph, to St. Peter, to
St. Paul, and to St. John the Evangelist in the Apocalypse.
Onely to Moses hee spake in a more extraordinary manner in Mount Sinai,
and in the Tabernacle; and to the High Priest in the Tabernacle, and in
the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple. But Moses, and after him the
High Priests were Prophets of a more eminent place, and degree in
Gods favour; And God himself in express words declareth, that to other
Prophets hee spake in Dreams and Visions, but to his servant Moses, in
such manner as a man speaketh to his friend. The words are these (Numb.
12. 6,7,8. ) "If there be a Prophet among you, I the Lord will make my
self known to him in a Vision, and will speak unto him in a Dream. My
servant Moses is not so, who is faithfull in all my house; with him I
will speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, not in dark speeches; and
the similitude of the Lord shall he behold. " And (Exod. 33. 11. ) "The
Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend. "
And yet this speaking of God to Moses, was by mediation of an Angel, or
Angels, as appears expressely, Acts 7. ver. 35. and 53. and Gal. 3. 19.
and was therefore a Vision, though a more cleer Vision than was given to
other Prophets. And conformable hereunto, where God saith (Deut. 13. 1. )
"If there arise amongst you a Prophet, or Dreamer of Dreams," the later
word is but the interpretation of the former. And (Joel 2. 28. ) "Your
sons and your daughters shall Prophecy; your old men shall dream Dreams,
and your young men shall see Visions:" where again, the word Prophecy is
expounded by Dream, and Vision. And in the same manner it was, that God
spake to Solomon, promising him Wisdome, Riches, and Honor; for the text
saith, (1 Kings 3. 15. ) "And Solomon awoak, and behold it was a Dream:"
So that generally the Prophets extraordinary in the old Testament took
notice of the Word of God no otherwise, than from their Dreams, or
Visions, that is to say, from the imaginations which they had in their
sleep, or in an Extasie; which imaginations in every true Prophet were
supernaturall; but in false Prophets were either naturall, or feigned.
The same Prophets were neverthelesse said to speak by the Spirit; as
(Zach. 7. 12. ) where the Prophet speaking of the Jewes, saith, "They
made their hearths hard as Adamant, lest they should hear the law, and
the words which the Lord of Hosts hath sent in his Spirit by the former
Prophets. " By which it is manifest, that speaking by the Spirit, or
Inspiration, was not a particular manner of Gods speaking, different
from Vision, when they that were said to speak by the Spirit, were
extraordinary Prophets, such as for every new message, were to have a
particular Commission, or (which is all one) a new Dream, or Vision.
To Prophets Of Perpetuall Calling, And Supreme, God Spake In The
Old Testament From The Mercy Seat, In A Manner Not Expressed In The
Scripture. Of Prophets, that were so by a perpetuall Calling in the Old
Testament, some were Supreme, and some Subordinate: Supreme were first
Moses; and after him the High Priest, every one for his time, as long
as the Priesthood was Royall; and after the people of the Jews, had
rejected God, that he should no more reign over them, those Kings which
submitted themselves to Gods government, were also his chief Prophets;
and the High Priests office became Ministeriall. And when God was to be
consulted, they put on the holy vestments, and enquired of the Lord,
as the King commanded them, and were deprived of their office, when
the King thought fit. For King Saul (1 Sam. 13. 9. ) commanded the burnt
offering to be brought, and (1 Sam. 14. 18. ) he commands the Priest to
bring the Ark neer him; and (ver. 19. ) again to let it alone, because he
saw an advantage upon his enemies. And in the same chapter Saul asketh
counsell of God. In like manner King David, after his being anointed,
though before he had possession of the Kingdome, is said to "enquire
of the Lord" (1 Sam. 23. 2. ) whether he should fight against the
Philistines at Keilah; and (verse 10. ) David commandeth the Priest to
bring him the Ephod, to enquire whether he should stay in Keilah,
or not. And King Solomon (1 Kings 2. 27. ) took the Priesthood from
Abiathar, and gave it (verse 35. ) to Zadoc. Therefore Moses, and
the High Priests, and the pious Kings, who enquired of God on all
extraordinary occasions, how they were to carry themselves, or what
event they were to have, were all Soveraign Prophets. But in what manner
God spake unto them, is not manifest. To say that when Moses went up to
God in Mount Sinai, it was a Dream, or Vision, such as other Prophets
had, is contrary to that distinction which God made between Moses, and
other Prophets, Numb. 12. 6,7,8. To say God spake or appeared as he
is in his own nature, is to deny his Infinitenesse, Invisibility,
Incomprehensibility. To say he spake by Inspiration, or Infusion of the
Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit signifieth the Deity, is to make Moses
equall with Christ, in whom onely the Godhead (as St. Paul speaketh Col.
2. 9. ) dwelleth bodily. And lastly, to say he spake by the Holy Spirit,
as it signifieth the graces, or gifts of the Holy Spirit, is to
attribute nothing to him supernaturall. For God disposeth men to Piety,
Justice, Mercy, Truth, Faith, and all manner of Vertue, both Morall,
and Intellectuall, by doctrine, example, and by severall occasions,
naturall, and ordinary.
And as these ways cannot be applyed to God, in his speaking to Moses, at
Mount Sinai; so also, they cannot be applyed to him, in his speaking
to the High Priests, from the Mercy-Seat. Therefore in what manner God
spake to those Soveraign Prophets of the Old Testament, whose office
it was to enquire of him, is not intelligible. In the time of the New
Testament, there was no Soveraign Prophet, but our Saviour; who was both
God that spake, and the Prophet to whom he spake.
To Prophets Of Perpetuall Calling, But Subordinate, God Spake By The
Spirit. To subordinate Prophets of perpetuall Calling, I find not any
place that proveth God spake to them supernaturally; but onely in
such manner, as naturally he inclineth men to Piety, to Beleef, to
Righteousnesse, and to other vertues all other Christian Men. Which
way, though it consist in Constitution, Instruction, Education, and the
occasions and invitements men have to Christian vertues; yet it is truly
attributed to the operation of the Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit
(which we in our language call the Holy Ghost): For there is no good
inclination, that is not of the operation of God. But these operations
are not alwaies supernaturall. When therefore a Prophet is said to speak
in the Spirit, or by the Spirit of God, we are to understand no more,
but that he speaks according to Gods will, declared by the supreme
Prophet. For the most common acceptation of the word Spirit, is in the
signification of a mans intention, mind, or disposition.
In the time of Moses, there were seventy men besides himself, that
Prophecyed in the Campe of the Israelites. In what manner God spake to
them, is declared in the 11 of Numbers, verse 25. "The Lord came down in
a cloud, and spake unto Moses, and took of the Spirit that was upon him,
and gave it to the seventy Elders. And it came to passe, when the Spirit
rested upon them, they Prophecyed, and did not cease," By which it is
manifest, first, that their Prophecying to the people, was subservient,
and subordinate to the Prophecying of Moses; for that God took of the
Spirit of Moses, to put upon them; so that they Prophecyed as Moses
would have them: otherwise they had not been suffered to Prophecy at
all. For there was (verse 27. ) a complaint made against them to Moses;
and Joshua would have Moses to have forbidden them; which he did not,
but said to Joshua, Bee not jealous in my behalf. Secondly, that
the Spirit of God in that place, signifieth nothing but the Mind and
Disposition to obey, and assist Moses in the administration of the
Government. For if it were meant they had the substantial Spirit of God;
that is, the Divine nature, inspired into them, then they had it in no
lesse manner than Christ himself, in whom onely the Spirit of God dwelt
bodily. It is meant therefore of the Gift and Grace of God, that guided
them to co-operate with Moses; from whom their Spirit was derived. And
it appeareth (verse 16. ) that, they were such as Moses himself should
appoint for Elders and Officers of the People: For the words are,
"Gather unto me seventy men, whom thou knowest to be Elders and
Officers of the people:" where, "thou knowest," is the same with "thou
appointest," or "hast appointed to be such. " For we are told
before (Exod. 18. ) that Moses following the counsell of Jethro his
Father-in-law, did appoint Judges, and Officers over the people, such as
feared God; and of these, were those Seventy, whom God by putting upon
them Moses spirit, inclined to aid Moses in the Administration of the
Kingdome: and in this sense the Spirit of God is said (1 Sam. 16. 13,
14. ) presently upon the anointing of David, to have come upon David, and
left Saul; God giving his graces to him he chose to govern his people,
and taking them away from him, he rejected. So that by the Spirit is
meant Inclination to Gods service; and not any supernaturall Revelation.
God Sometimes Also Spake By Lots
God spake also many times by the event of Lots; which were ordered by
such as he had put in Authority over his people. So wee read that God
manifested by the Lots which Saul caused to be drawn (1 Sam. 14. 43. )
the fault that Jonathan had committed, in eating a honey-comb, contrary
to the oath taken by the people. And (Josh. 18. 10. ) God divided the
land of Canaan amongst the Israelite, by the "lots that Joshua did cast
before the Lord in Shiloh. " In the same manner it seemeth to be, that
God discovered (Joshua 7. 16. , &c. ) the crime of Achan. And these are the
wayes whereby God declared his Will in the Old Testament.
All which ways he used also in the New Testament. To the Virgin Mary, by
a Vision of an Angel: To Joseph in a Dream: again to Paul in the way
to Damascus in a Vision of our Saviour: and to Peter in the Vision of
a sheet let down from heaven, with divers sorts of flesh, of clean and
unclean, beasts; and in prison, by Vision of an Angel: And to all the
Apostles, and Writers of the New Testament, by the graces of his Spirit;
and to the Apostles again (at the choosing of Matthias in the place of
Judas Iscariot) by lot.
Every Man Ought To Examine The Probability Of A Pretended Prophets
Calling
Seeing then all Prophecy supposeth Vision, or Dream, (which two, when
they be naturall, are the same,) or some especiall gift of God, so
rarely observed in mankind, as to be admired where observed; and seeing
as well such gifts, as the most extraordinary Dreams, and Visions, may
proceed from God, not onely by his supernaturall, and immediate, but
also by his naturall operation, and by mediation of second causes;
there is need of Reason and Judgement to discern between naturall, and
supernaturall Gifts, and between naturall, and supernaturall Visions, or
Dreams. And consequently men had need to be very circumspect, and wary,
in obeying the voice of man, that pretending himself to be a Prophet,
requires us to obey God in that way, which he in Gods name telleth us to
be the way to happinesse. For he that pretends to teach men the way of
so great felicity, pretends to govern them; that is to say, to rule, and
reign over them; which is a thing, that all men naturally desire, and
is therefore worthy to be suspected of Ambition and Imposture; and
consequently, ought to be examined, and tryed by every man, before hee
yeeld them obedience; unlesse he have yeelded it them already, in
the institution of a Common-wealth; as when the Prophet is the Civill
Soveraign, or by the Civil Soveraign Authorized. And if this examination
of Prophets, and Spirits, were not allowed to every one of the people,
it had been to no purpose, to set out the marks, by which every man
might be able, to distinguish between those, whom they ought, and those
whom they ought not to follow. Seeing therefore such marks are set out
(Deut. 13. 1,&c. ) to know a Prophet by; and (1 John 4. 1. &C) to know a
Spirit by: and seeing there is so much Prophecying in the Old Testament;
and so much Preaching in the New Testament against Prophets; and so much
greater a number ordinarily of false Prophets, then of true; every
one is to beware of obeying their directions, at their own perill. And
first, that there were many more false than true Prophets, appears by
this, that when Ahab (1 Kings 12. ) consulted four hundred Prophets, they
were all false Imposters, but onely one Michaiah. And a little before
the time of the Captivity, the Prophets were generally lyars. "The
Prophets" (saith the Lord by Jerem. cha. 14. verse 14. ) "prophecy Lies
in my name. I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, nor spake
unto them, they prophecy to you a false Vision, a thing of naught; and
the deceit of their heart. " In so much as God commanded the People by
the mouth of the Prophet Jeremiah (chap. 23. 16. ) not to obey them.
"Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, hearken not unto the words of the
Prophets, that prophecy to you. They make you vain, they speak a Vision
of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. "
All Prophecy But Of The Soveraign Prophet Is To Be Examined
By Every Subject
Seeing then there was in the time of the Old Testament, such quarrells
amongst the Visionary Prophets, one contesting with another, and asking
When departed the Spirit from me, to go to thee? as between Michaiah,
and the rest of the four hundred; and such giving of the Lye to one
another, (as in Jerem. 14. 14. ) and such controversies in the New
Testament at this day, amongst the Spirituall Prophets: Every man then
was, and now is bound to make use of his Naturall Reason, to apply to
all Prophecy those Rules which God hath given us, to discern the
true from the false. Of which rules, in the Old Testament, one was,
conformable doctrine to that which Moses the Soveraign Prophet had
taught them; and the other the miraculous power of foretelling what God
would bring to passe, as I have already shown out of Deut. 13. 1. &c.
reign over them in Mount Zion:" This Mount Zion is in Jerusalem upon the
Earth. And (Ezek. 20. 33. ) "As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a
mighty hand, and a stretched out arme, and with fury powred out, I wil
rule over you; and (verse 37. ) I will cause you to passe under the rod,
and I will bring you into the bond of the Covenant;" that is, I will
reign over you, and make you to stand to that Covenant which you made
with me by Moses, and brake in your rebellion against me in the days of
Samuel, and in your election of another King.
And in the New testament, the Angel Gabriel saith of our Saviour (Luke
1. 32,33) "He shall be great, and be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord shall give him the throne of his Father David; and he shall
reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his Kingdome there shall
be no end. " This is also a Kingdome upon Earth; for the claim whereof,
as an enemy to Caesar, he was put to death; the title of his crosse,
was, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews; hee was crowned in scorn with
a crown of Thornes; and for the proclaiming of him, it is said of
the Disciples (Acts 17. 7. ) "That they did all of them contrary to
the decrees of Caesar, saying there was another King, one Jesus. The
Kingdome therefore of God, is a reall, not a metaphoricall Kingdome; and
so taken, not onely in the Old Testament, but the New; when we say, "For
thine is the Kingdome, the Power, and Glory," it is to be understood of
Gods Kingdome, by force of our Covenant, not by the Right of Gods Power;
for such a Kingdome God alwaies hath; so that it were superfluous to
say in our prayer, "Thy Kingdome come," unlesse it be meant of the
Restauration of that Kingdome of God by Christ, which by revolt of the
Israelites had been interrupted in the election of Saul. Nor had it been
proper to say, "The Kingdome of Heaven is at hand," or to pray, "Thy
Kingdome come," if it had still continued.
There be so many other places that confirm this interpretation, that it
were a wonder there is no greater notice taken of it, but that it gives
too much light to Christian Kings to see their right of Ecclesiastical
Government. This they have observed, that in stead of a Sacerdotall
Kingdome, translate, a Kingdome of Priests: for they may as well
translate a Royall Priesthood, (as it is in St. Peter) into a Priesthood
of Kings. And whereas, for a Peculiar People, they put a Pretious Jewel,
or Treasure, a man might as well call the speciall Regiment, or Company
of a Generall, the Generalls pretious Jewel, or his Treasure.
In short, the Kingdome of God is a Civill Kingdome; which consisted,
first in the obligation of the people of Israel to those Laws, which
Moses should bring unto them from Mount Sinai; and which afterwards the
High Priest of the time being, should deliver to them from before the
Cherubins in the Sanctum Sanctorum; and which kingdome having been cast
off, in the election of Saul, the Prophets foretold, should be restored
by Christ; and the Restauration whereof we daily pray for, when we
say in the Lords Prayer, "Thy Kingdome come;" and the Right whereof we
acknowledge, when we adde, "For thine is the Kingdome, the Power, and
Glory, for ever and ever, Amen;" and the Proclaiming whereof, was
the Preaching of the Apostles; and to which men are prepared, by the
Teachers of the Gospel; to embrace which Gospel, (that is to say, to
promise obedience to Gods government) is, to bee in the Kingdome of
Grace, because God hath gratis given to such the power to bee the
subjects (that is, Children) of God hereafter, when Christ shall come
in Majesty to judge the world, and actually to govern his owne people,
which is called the Kingdome of Glory. If the Kingdome of God (called
also the Kingdome of Heaven, from the gloriousnesse, and admirable
height of that throne) were not a Kingdome which God by his Lieutenant,
or Vicars, who deliver his Commandements to the people, did exercise on
Earth; there would not have been so much contention, and warre, about
who it is, by whom God speaketh to us; neither would many Priests have
troubled themselves with Spirituall Jurisdiction, nor any King have
denied it them.
Out of this literall interpretation of the Kingdome of God, ariseth also
the true interpretation of the word HOLY. For it is a word, which in
Gods Kingdome answereth to that, which men in their Kingdomes use to
call Publique, or the Kings.
The King of any Countrey is the Publique Person, or Representative of
all his own Subjects. And God the King of Israel was the Holy One of
Israel. The Nation which is subject to one earthly Soveraign, is the
Nation of that Soveraign, that is, of the Publique Person. So the Jews,
who were Gods Nation, were called (Exod. 19. 6. ) "a Holy Nation. " For by
Holy, is alwaies understood, either God himselfe, or that which is Gods
in propriety; as by Publique is alwaies meant, either the Person of the
Common-wealth it self, or something that is so the Common-wealths, as no
private person can claim any propriety therein.
Therefore the Sabbath (Gods day) is a Holy Day; the Temple, (Gods house)
a Holy House; Sacrifices, Tithes, and Offerings (Gods tribute) Holy
Duties; Priests, Prophets, and anointed Kings, under Christ (Gods
ministers) Holy Men; The Coelestiall ministring Spirits (Gods
Messengers) Holy Angels; and the like: and wheresoever the word Holy is
taken properly, there is still something signified of Propriety, gotten
by consent. In saying "Hallowed be thy name," we do but pray to God for
grace to keep the first Commandement, of "having no other Gods but
Him. " Mankind is Gods Nation in propriety: but the Jews only were a Holy
Nation. Why, but because they became his Propriety by covenant.
Sacred What
And the word Profane, is usually taken in the Scripture for the same
with Common; and consequently their contraries, Holy, and Proper, in the
Kingdome of God must be the same also. But figuratively, those men also
are called Holy, that led such godly lives, as if they had forsaken all
worldly designes, and wholly devoted, and given themselves to God.
In the proper sense, that which is made Holy by Gods appropriating or
separating it to his own use, is said to be Sanctified by God, as the
Seventh day in the fourth Commandement; and as the Elect in the New
Testament were said to bee Sanctified, when they were endued with the
Spirit of godlinesse. And that which is made Holy by the dedication of
men, and given to God, so as to be used onely in his publique service,
is called also SACRED, and said to be consecrated, as Temples, and other
Houses of Publique Prayer, and their Utensils, Priests, and Ministers,
Victimes, Offerings, and the externall matter of Sacraments.
Degrees of Sanctity
Of Holinesse there be degrees: for of those things that are set apart
for the service of God, there may bee some set apart again, for a neerer
and more especial service. The whole Nation of the Israelites were a
people Holy to God; yet the tribe of Levi was amongst the Israelites a
Holy tribe; and amongst the Levites, the Priests were yet more Holy; and
amongst the Priests, the High Priest was the most Holy. So the Land
of Judea was the Holy Land; but the Holy City wherein God was to be
worshipped, was more Holy; and again, the Temples more Holy than the
City; and the Sanctum Sanctorum more Holy than the rest of the Temple.
Sacrament
A SACRAMENT, is a separation of some visible thing from common use;
and a consecration of it to Gods service, for a sign, either of our
admission into the Kingdome of God, to be of the number of his peculiar
people, or for a Commemoration of the same. In the Old Testament, the
sign of Admission was Circumcision; in the New Testament, Baptisme. The
Commemoration of it in the Old Testament, was the Eating (at a certain
time, which was Anniversary) of the Paschall Lamb; by which they were
put in mind of the night wherein they were delivered out of their
bondage in Egypt; and in the New Testament, the celebrating of the
Lords Supper; by which, we are put in mind, of our deliverance from
the bondage of sin, by our Blessed Saviours death upon the crosse. The
Sacraments of Admission, are but once to be used, because there needs
but one Admission; but because we have need of being often put in
mind of our deliverance, and of our Allegeance, The Sacraments of
Commemoration have need to be reiterated. And these are the principall
Sacraments, and as it were the solemne oathes we make of our
Alleageance. There be also other Consecrations, that may be called
Sacraments, as the word implyeth onely Consecration to Gods service; but
as it implies an oath, or promise of Alleageance to God, there were no
other in the Old Testament, but Circumcision, and the Passover; nor
are there any other in the New Testament, but Baptisme, and the Lords
Supper.
CHAPTER XXXVI. OF THE WORD OF GOD, AND OF PROPHETS
Word What
When there is mention of the Word of God, or of Man, it doth not
signifie a part of Speech, such as Grammarians call a Nown, or a Verb,
or any simple voice, without a contexture with other words to make it
significative; but a perfect Speech or Discourse, whereby the speaker
Affirmeth, Denieth, Commandeth, Promiseth, Threateneth, Wisheth, or
Interrogateth. In which sense it is not Vocabulum, that signifies a
Word; but Sermo, (in Greek Logos) that is some Speech, Discourse, or
Saying.
The Words Spoken By God And Concerning God, Both Are Called Gods Word
In Scripture
Again, if we say the Word of God, or of Man, it may bee understood
sometimes of the Speaker, (as the words that God hath spoken, or that
a Man hath spoken): In which sense, when we say, the Gospel of St.
Matthew, we understand St. Matthew to be the Writer of it: and sometimes
of the Subject: In which sense, when we read in the Bible, "The words
of the days of the Kings of Israel, or Judah," 'tis meant, that the acts
that were done in those days, were the Subject of those Words; And in
the Greek, which (in the Scripture) retaineth many Hebraismes, by the
Word of God is oftentimes meant, not that which is spoken by God, but
concerning God, and his government; that is to say, the Doctrine of
Religion: Insomuch, as it is all one, to say Logos Theou, and Theologia;
which is, that Doctrine which wee usually call Divinity, as is manifest
by the places following (Acts 13. 46. ) "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed
bold, and said, It was necessary that the Word of God should first
have been spoken to you, but seeing you put it from you, and judge your
selves unworthy of everlasting life, loe, we turn to the Gentiles. "
That which is here called the Word of god, was the Doctrine of Christian
Religion; as it appears evidently by that which goes before. And (Acts
5. 20. ) where it is said to the Apostles by an Angel, "Go stand and speak
in the Temple, all the Words of this life;" by the Words of this life,
is meant, the Doctrine of the Gospel; as is evident by what they did in
the Temple, and is expressed in the last verse of the same Chap. "Daily
in the Temple, and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach
Christ Jesus:" In which place it is manifest, that Jesus Christ was the
subject of this Word of Life; or (which is all one) the subject of the
Words of this Life Eternall, that our saviour offered them. So (Acts
15. 7. ) the Word of God, is called the Word of the Gospel, because it
containeth the Doctrine of the Kingdome of Christ; and the same Word
(Rom. 10. 8,9. ) is called the Word of Faith; that is, as is there
expressed, the Doctrine of Christ come, and raised from the dead. Also
(Mat. 13. 19. ) "When any one heareth the Word of the Kingdome;" that is,
the Doctrine of the Kingdome taught by Christ. Again, the same Word, is
said (Acts 12. 24. ) "to grow and to be multiplied;" which to understand
of the Evangelicall Doctrine is easie, but of the Voice, or Speech
of God, hard and strange. In the same sense the Doctrine of Devils,
signifieth not the Words of any Devill, but the Doctrine of Heathen men
concerning Daemons, and those Phantasms which they worshipped as Gods.
(1 Tim. 4. 1. )
Considering these two significations of the WORD OF GOD, as it is taken
in Scripture, it is manifest in this later sense (where it is taken for
the Doctrine of the Christian Religion,) that the whole scripture is the
Word of God: but in the former sense not so. For example, though these
words, "I am the Lord thy God, &c. " to the end of the Ten Commandements,
were spoken by God to Moses; yet the Preface, "God spake these words
and said," is to be understood for the Words of him that wrote the holy
History. The Word of God, as it is taken for that which he hath spoken,
is understood sometimes Properly, sometimes Metaphorically. Properly,
as the words, he hath spoken to his Prophets; Metaphorically, for his
Wisdome, Power, and eternall Decree, in making the world; in which
sense, those Fiats, "Let there be light," "Let there be a firmament,"
"Let us make man," &c. (Gen. 1. ) are the Word of God. And in the same
sense it is said (John 1. 3. ) "All things were made by it, and without it
was nothing made that was made; And (Heb. 1. 3. ) "He upholdeth all things
by the word of his Power;" that is, by the Power of his Word; that is,
by his Power; and (Heb. 11. 3. ) "The worlds were framed by the Word
of God;" and many other places to the same sense: As also amongst the
Latines, the name of Fate, which signifieth properly The Word Spoken, is
taken in the same sense.
Secondly, For The Effect Of His Word
Secondly, for the effect of his Word; that is to say, for the thing it
self, which by his Word is Affirmed, Commanded, Threatned, or Promised;
as (Psalm 105. 19. ) where Joseph is said to have been kept in prison,
"till his Word was come;" that is, till that was come to passe which
he had (Gen. 40. 13. ) foretold to Pharaohs Butler, concerning his being
restored to his office: for there by His Word Was Come, is meant, the
thing it self was come to passe. So also (1 King. 18. 36. ) Elijah saith
to God, "I have done all these thy Words," in stead of "I have done all
these things at thy Word," or commandement: and (Jer. 17. 15. ) "Where is
the Word of the Lord," is put for, "Where is the Evill he threatened:"
And (Ezek. 12. 28. ) "There shall none of my Words be prolonged any
more:" by "Words" are understood those Things, which God promised to his
people. And in the New Testament (Mat. 24. 35. ) "heaven and earth shal
pass away, but my Words shall not pass away;" that is, there is nothing
that I have promised or foretold, that shall not come to passe. And in
this sense it is, that St. John the Evangelist, and, I think, St. John
onely calleth our Saviour himself as in the flesh "the Word of God
(as Joh. 1. 14. ) the Word was made Flesh;" that is to say, the Word, or
Promise that Christ should come into the world, "who in the beginning
was with God;" that is to say, it was in the purpose of God the Father,
to send God the Son into the world, to enlighten men in the way of
Eternall life, but it was not till then put in execution, and actually
incarnate; So that our Saviour is there called "the Word," not because
he was the promise, but the thing promised. They that taking occasion
from this place, doe commonly call him the Verbe of God, do but render
the text more obscure. They might as well term him the Nown of God:
for as by Nown, so also by Verbe, men understand nothing but a part
of speech, a voice, a sound, that neither affirms, nor denies, nor
commands, nor promiseth, nor is any substance corporeall, or spirituall;
and therefore it cannot be said to bee either God, or Man; whereas our
Saviour is both. And this Word which St. John in his Gospel saith was
with God, is (in his 1 Epistle, verse 1. ) called "the Word of Life;" and
(verse 2. ) "The eternall life, which was with the Father:" so that he
can be in no other sense called the Word, then in that, wherein he is
called Eternall life; that is, "he that hath procured us Eternall life,"
by his comming in the flesh. So also (Apocalypse 19. 13. ) the Apostle
speaking of Christ, clothed in a garment dipt in bloud, saith; his name
is "the Word of God;" which is to be understood, as if he had said his
name had been, "He that was come according to the purpose of God from
the beginning, and according to his Word and promises delivered by the
Prophets. " So that there is nothing here of the Incarnation of a Word,
but of the Incarnation of God the Son, therefore called the Word,
because his Incarnation was the Performance of the Promise; In like
manner as the Holy Ghost is called The Promise. (Acts 1. 4. Luke 24. 49. )
Thirdly, For The Words Of Reason And Equity
There are also places of the Scripture, where, by the Word of God, is
signified such Words as are consonant to reason, and equity, though
spoken sometimes neither by prophet, nor by a holy man. For Pharaoh
Necho was an Idolator; yet his Words to the good King Josiah, in which
he advised him by Messengers, not to oppose him in his march against
Carchemish, are said to have proceeded from the mouth of God; and that
Josiah not hearkning to them, was slain in the battle; as is to be read
2 Chron. 35. vers. 21,22,23. It is true, that as the same History is
related in the first book of Esdras, not Pharaoh, but Jeremiah spake
these words to Josiah, from the mouth of the Lord. But wee are to
give credit to the Canonicall Scripture, whatsoever be written in the
Apocrypha.
The Word of God, is then also to be taken for the Dictates of reason,
and equity, when the same is said in the Scriptures to bee written in
mans heart; as Psalm 36. 31. Jerem. 31. 33. Deut. 30. 11, 14. and many other
like places.
Divers Acceptions Of The Word Prophet
The name of PROPHET, signifieth in Scripture sometimes Prolocutor; that
is, he that speaketh from God to Man, or from man to God: And sometimes
Praedictor, or a foreteller of things to come; And sometimes one that
speaketh incoherently, as men that are distracted. It is most frequently
used in the sense of speaking from God to the People. So Moses, Samuel,
Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others were Prophets. And in this sense
the High Priest was a Prophet, for he only went into the Sanctum
Sanctorum, to enquire of God; and was to declare his answer to the
people. And therefore when Caiphas said, it was expedient that one man
should die for the people, St. John saith (chap. 11. 51. ) that "He spake
not this of himselfe, but being High Priest that year, he prophesied
that one man should dye for the nation. " Also they that in Christian
Congregations taught the people, (1 Cor. 14. 3. ) are said to Prophecy. In
the like sense it is, that God saith to Moses (Exod. 4. 16. ) concerning
Aaron, "He shall be thy Spokes-man to the People; and he shall be to
thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him in stead of God;" that which here
is Spokesman, is (chap. 7. 1. ) interpreted Prophet; "See (saith God)
I have made thee a God to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy Brother shall be thy
Prophet. " In the sense of speaking from man to God, Abraham is called
a Prophet (Genes. 20. 7. ) where God in a Dream speaketh to Abimelech
in this manner, "Now therefore restore the man his wife, for he is a
Prophet, and shall pray for thee;" whereby may be also gathered,
that the name of Prophet may be given, not unproperly to them that
in Christian Churches, have a Calling to say publique prayers for the
Congregation. In the same sense, the Prophets that came down from the
High place (or Hill of God) with a Psaltery, and a Tabret, and a Pipe,
and a Harp (1 Sam. 10. 5,6. ) and (vers. 10. ) Saul amongst them, are said
to Prophecy, in that they praised God, in that manner publiquely. In the
like sense, is Miriam (Exod. 15. 20. ) called a Prophetesse. So is it
also to be taken (1 Cor. 11. 4,5. ) where St. Paul saith, "Every man that
prayeth or prophecyeth with his head covered, &c. and every woman that
prayeth or prophecyeth with her head uncovered: For Prophecy in that
place, signifieth no more, but praising God in Psalmes, and Holy Songs;
which women might doe in the Church, though it were not lawfull for them
to speak to the Congregation. And in this signification it is, that the
Poets of the Heathen, that composed Hymnes and other sorts of Poems in
the honor of their Gods, were called Vates (Prophets) as is well enough
known by all that are versed in the Books of the Gentiles, and as
is evident (Tit. 1. 12. ) where St. Paul saith of the Cretians, that a
Prophet of their owne said, they were Liars; not that St. Paul held
their Poets for Prophets, but acknowledgeth that the word Prophet was
commonly used to signifie them that celebrated the honour of God in
Verse
Praediction Of Future Contingents, Not Alwaies Prophecy
When by Prophecy is meant Praediction, or foretelling of future
Contingents; not only they were Prophets, who were Gods Spokesmen, and
foretold those things to others, which God had foretold to them; but
also all those Imposters, that pretend by the helpe of familiar spirits,
or by superstitious divination of events past, from false causes, to
foretell the like events in time to come: of which (as I have declared
already in the 12. chapter of this Discourse) there be many kinds, who
gain in the opinion of the common sort of men, a greater reputation
of Prophecy, by one casuall event that may bee but wrested to their
purpose, than can be lost again by never so many failings. Prophecy is
not an art, nor (when it is taken for Praediction) a constant Vocation;
but an extraordinary, and temporary Employment from God, most often of
Good men, but sometimes also of the Wicked. The woman of Endor, who
is said to have had a familiar spirit, and thereby to have raised a
Phantasme of Samuel, and foretold Saul his death, was not therefore a
Prophetesse; for neither had she any science, whereby she could raise
such a Phantasme; nor does it appear that God commanded the raising of
it; but onely guided that Imposture to be a means of Sauls terror and
discouragement; and by consequent, of the discomfiture, by which he
fell.
And for Incoherent Speech, it was amongst the Gentiles taken for
one sort of Prophecy, because the Prophets of their Oracles, intoxicated
with a spirit, or vapour from the cave of the Pythian Oracle at Delphi,
were for the time really mad, and spake like mad-men; of whose loose
words a sense might be made to fit any event, in such sort, as all
bodies are said to be made of Materia prima. In the Scripture I find
it also so taken (1 Sam. 18. 10. ) in these words, "And the Evill spirit
came upon Saul, and he Prophecyed in the midst of the house. "
The Manner How God Hath Spoken To The Prophets
And although there be so many significations in Scripture of the word
Prophet; yet is that the most frequent, in which it is taken for him,
to whom God speaketh immediately, that which the Prophet is to say from
him, to some other man, or to the people. And hereupon a question may
be asked, in what manner God speaketh to such a Prophet. Can it (may some
say) be properly said, that God hath voice and language, when it cannot
be properly said, he hath a tongue, or other organs, as a man? The
Prophet David argueth thus, "Shall he that made the eye, not see? or he
that made the ear, not hear? " But this may be spoken, not (as usually) to
signifie Gods nature, but to signifie our intention to honor him. For
to See, and Hear, are Honorable Attributes, and may be given to God, to
declare (as far as our capacity can conceive) his Almighty power. But
if it were to be taken in the strict, and proper sense, one might argue
from his making of all parts of mans body, that he had also the same use
of them which we have; which would be many of them so uncomely, as it
would be the greatest contumely in the world to ascribe them to him.
Therefore we are to interpret Gods speaking to men immediately, for that
way (whatsoever it be), by which God makes them understand his will: And
the wayes whereby he doth this, are many; and to be sought onely in the
Holy Scripture: where though many times it be said, that God spake to
this, and that person, without declaring in what manner; yet there be
again many places, that deliver also the signes by which they were
to acknowledge his presence, and commandement; and by these may be
understood, how he spake to many of the rest.
To The Extraordinary Prophets Of The Old Testament He Spake
By Dreams, Or Visions
In what manner God spake to Adam, and Eve, and Cain, and Noah, is not
expressed; nor how he spake to Abraham, till such time as he came out of
his own countrey to Sichem in the land of Canaan; and then (Gen. 12. 7. )
God is said to have Appeared to him. So there is one way, whereby God
made his presence manifest; that is, by an Apparition, or Vision. And
again, (Gen. 15. 1. ) The Word of the Lord came to Abraham in a Vision;
that is to say, somewhat, as a sign of Gods presence, appeared as Gods
Messenger, to speak to him. Again, the Lord appeared to Abraham (Gen.
18. 1. ) by an apparition of three Angels; and to Abimelech (Gen. 20. 3. )
in a dream: To Lot (Gen. 19. 1. ) by an apparition of Two Angels: And
to Hagar (Gen. 21. 17. ) by the apparition of one Angel: And to Abraham
again (Gen. 22. 11. ) by the apparition of a voice from heaven: And (Gen.
26. 24. ) to Isaac in the night; (that is, in his sleep, or by dream):
And to Jacob (Gen. 18. 12. ) in a dream; that is to say (as are the words
of the text) "Jacob dreamed that he saw a ladder, &c. " And (Gen. 32. 1. )
in a Vision of Angels: And to Moses (Exod. 3. 2. ) in the apparition of a
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: And after the time of Moses,
(where the manner how God spake immediately to man in the Old Testament,
is expressed) hee spake alwaies by a Vision, or by a Dream; as to
Gideon, Samuel, Eliah, Elisha, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the rest of the
Prophets; and often in the New Testament, as to Joseph, to St. Peter, to
St. Paul, and to St. John the Evangelist in the Apocalypse.
Onely to Moses hee spake in a more extraordinary manner in Mount Sinai,
and in the Tabernacle; and to the High Priest in the Tabernacle, and in
the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple. But Moses, and after him the
High Priests were Prophets of a more eminent place, and degree in
Gods favour; And God himself in express words declareth, that to other
Prophets hee spake in Dreams and Visions, but to his servant Moses, in
such manner as a man speaketh to his friend. The words are these (Numb.
12. 6,7,8. ) "If there be a Prophet among you, I the Lord will make my
self known to him in a Vision, and will speak unto him in a Dream. My
servant Moses is not so, who is faithfull in all my house; with him I
will speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, not in dark speeches; and
the similitude of the Lord shall he behold. " And (Exod. 33. 11. ) "The
Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend. "
And yet this speaking of God to Moses, was by mediation of an Angel, or
Angels, as appears expressely, Acts 7. ver. 35. and 53. and Gal. 3. 19.
and was therefore a Vision, though a more cleer Vision than was given to
other Prophets. And conformable hereunto, where God saith (Deut. 13. 1. )
"If there arise amongst you a Prophet, or Dreamer of Dreams," the later
word is but the interpretation of the former. And (Joel 2. 28. ) "Your
sons and your daughters shall Prophecy; your old men shall dream Dreams,
and your young men shall see Visions:" where again, the word Prophecy is
expounded by Dream, and Vision. And in the same manner it was, that God
spake to Solomon, promising him Wisdome, Riches, and Honor; for the text
saith, (1 Kings 3. 15. ) "And Solomon awoak, and behold it was a Dream:"
So that generally the Prophets extraordinary in the old Testament took
notice of the Word of God no otherwise, than from their Dreams, or
Visions, that is to say, from the imaginations which they had in their
sleep, or in an Extasie; which imaginations in every true Prophet were
supernaturall; but in false Prophets were either naturall, or feigned.
The same Prophets were neverthelesse said to speak by the Spirit; as
(Zach. 7. 12. ) where the Prophet speaking of the Jewes, saith, "They
made their hearths hard as Adamant, lest they should hear the law, and
the words which the Lord of Hosts hath sent in his Spirit by the former
Prophets. " By which it is manifest, that speaking by the Spirit, or
Inspiration, was not a particular manner of Gods speaking, different
from Vision, when they that were said to speak by the Spirit, were
extraordinary Prophets, such as for every new message, were to have a
particular Commission, or (which is all one) a new Dream, or Vision.
To Prophets Of Perpetuall Calling, And Supreme, God Spake In The
Old Testament From The Mercy Seat, In A Manner Not Expressed In The
Scripture. Of Prophets, that were so by a perpetuall Calling in the Old
Testament, some were Supreme, and some Subordinate: Supreme were first
Moses; and after him the High Priest, every one for his time, as long
as the Priesthood was Royall; and after the people of the Jews, had
rejected God, that he should no more reign over them, those Kings which
submitted themselves to Gods government, were also his chief Prophets;
and the High Priests office became Ministeriall. And when God was to be
consulted, they put on the holy vestments, and enquired of the Lord,
as the King commanded them, and were deprived of their office, when
the King thought fit. For King Saul (1 Sam. 13. 9. ) commanded the burnt
offering to be brought, and (1 Sam. 14. 18. ) he commands the Priest to
bring the Ark neer him; and (ver. 19. ) again to let it alone, because he
saw an advantage upon his enemies. And in the same chapter Saul asketh
counsell of God. In like manner King David, after his being anointed,
though before he had possession of the Kingdome, is said to "enquire
of the Lord" (1 Sam. 23. 2. ) whether he should fight against the
Philistines at Keilah; and (verse 10. ) David commandeth the Priest to
bring him the Ephod, to enquire whether he should stay in Keilah,
or not. And King Solomon (1 Kings 2. 27. ) took the Priesthood from
Abiathar, and gave it (verse 35. ) to Zadoc. Therefore Moses, and
the High Priests, and the pious Kings, who enquired of God on all
extraordinary occasions, how they were to carry themselves, or what
event they were to have, were all Soveraign Prophets. But in what manner
God spake unto them, is not manifest. To say that when Moses went up to
God in Mount Sinai, it was a Dream, or Vision, such as other Prophets
had, is contrary to that distinction which God made between Moses, and
other Prophets, Numb. 12. 6,7,8. To say God spake or appeared as he
is in his own nature, is to deny his Infinitenesse, Invisibility,
Incomprehensibility. To say he spake by Inspiration, or Infusion of the
Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit signifieth the Deity, is to make Moses
equall with Christ, in whom onely the Godhead (as St. Paul speaketh Col.
2. 9. ) dwelleth bodily. And lastly, to say he spake by the Holy Spirit,
as it signifieth the graces, or gifts of the Holy Spirit, is to
attribute nothing to him supernaturall. For God disposeth men to Piety,
Justice, Mercy, Truth, Faith, and all manner of Vertue, both Morall,
and Intellectuall, by doctrine, example, and by severall occasions,
naturall, and ordinary.
And as these ways cannot be applyed to God, in his speaking to Moses, at
Mount Sinai; so also, they cannot be applyed to him, in his speaking
to the High Priests, from the Mercy-Seat. Therefore in what manner God
spake to those Soveraign Prophets of the Old Testament, whose office
it was to enquire of him, is not intelligible. In the time of the New
Testament, there was no Soveraign Prophet, but our Saviour; who was both
God that spake, and the Prophet to whom he spake.
To Prophets Of Perpetuall Calling, But Subordinate, God Spake By The
Spirit. To subordinate Prophets of perpetuall Calling, I find not any
place that proveth God spake to them supernaturally; but onely in
such manner, as naturally he inclineth men to Piety, to Beleef, to
Righteousnesse, and to other vertues all other Christian Men. Which
way, though it consist in Constitution, Instruction, Education, and the
occasions and invitements men have to Christian vertues; yet it is truly
attributed to the operation of the Spirit of God, or Holy Spirit
(which we in our language call the Holy Ghost): For there is no good
inclination, that is not of the operation of God. But these operations
are not alwaies supernaturall. When therefore a Prophet is said to speak
in the Spirit, or by the Spirit of God, we are to understand no more,
but that he speaks according to Gods will, declared by the supreme
Prophet. For the most common acceptation of the word Spirit, is in the
signification of a mans intention, mind, or disposition.
In the time of Moses, there were seventy men besides himself, that
Prophecyed in the Campe of the Israelites. In what manner God spake to
them, is declared in the 11 of Numbers, verse 25. "The Lord came down in
a cloud, and spake unto Moses, and took of the Spirit that was upon him,
and gave it to the seventy Elders. And it came to passe, when the Spirit
rested upon them, they Prophecyed, and did not cease," By which it is
manifest, first, that their Prophecying to the people, was subservient,
and subordinate to the Prophecying of Moses; for that God took of the
Spirit of Moses, to put upon them; so that they Prophecyed as Moses
would have them: otherwise they had not been suffered to Prophecy at
all. For there was (verse 27. ) a complaint made against them to Moses;
and Joshua would have Moses to have forbidden them; which he did not,
but said to Joshua, Bee not jealous in my behalf. Secondly, that
the Spirit of God in that place, signifieth nothing but the Mind and
Disposition to obey, and assist Moses in the administration of the
Government. For if it were meant they had the substantial Spirit of God;
that is, the Divine nature, inspired into them, then they had it in no
lesse manner than Christ himself, in whom onely the Spirit of God dwelt
bodily. It is meant therefore of the Gift and Grace of God, that guided
them to co-operate with Moses; from whom their Spirit was derived. And
it appeareth (verse 16. ) that, they were such as Moses himself should
appoint for Elders and Officers of the People: For the words are,
"Gather unto me seventy men, whom thou knowest to be Elders and
Officers of the people:" where, "thou knowest," is the same with "thou
appointest," or "hast appointed to be such. " For we are told
before (Exod. 18. ) that Moses following the counsell of Jethro his
Father-in-law, did appoint Judges, and Officers over the people, such as
feared God; and of these, were those Seventy, whom God by putting upon
them Moses spirit, inclined to aid Moses in the Administration of the
Kingdome: and in this sense the Spirit of God is said (1 Sam. 16. 13,
14. ) presently upon the anointing of David, to have come upon David, and
left Saul; God giving his graces to him he chose to govern his people,
and taking them away from him, he rejected. So that by the Spirit is
meant Inclination to Gods service; and not any supernaturall Revelation.
God Sometimes Also Spake By Lots
God spake also many times by the event of Lots; which were ordered by
such as he had put in Authority over his people. So wee read that God
manifested by the Lots which Saul caused to be drawn (1 Sam. 14. 43. )
the fault that Jonathan had committed, in eating a honey-comb, contrary
to the oath taken by the people. And (Josh. 18. 10. ) God divided the
land of Canaan amongst the Israelite, by the "lots that Joshua did cast
before the Lord in Shiloh. " In the same manner it seemeth to be, that
God discovered (Joshua 7. 16. , &c. ) the crime of Achan. And these are the
wayes whereby God declared his Will in the Old Testament.
All which ways he used also in the New Testament. To the Virgin Mary, by
a Vision of an Angel: To Joseph in a Dream: again to Paul in the way
to Damascus in a Vision of our Saviour: and to Peter in the Vision of
a sheet let down from heaven, with divers sorts of flesh, of clean and
unclean, beasts; and in prison, by Vision of an Angel: And to all the
Apostles, and Writers of the New Testament, by the graces of his Spirit;
and to the Apostles again (at the choosing of Matthias in the place of
Judas Iscariot) by lot.
Every Man Ought To Examine The Probability Of A Pretended Prophets
Calling
Seeing then all Prophecy supposeth Vision, or Dream, (which two, when
they be naturall, are the same,) or some especiall gift of God, so
rarely observed in mankind, as to be admired where observed; and seeing
as well such gifts, as the most extraordinary Dreams, and Visions, may
proceed from God, not onely by his supernaturall, and immediate, but
also by his naturall operation, and by mediation of second causes;
there is need of Reason and Judgement to discern between naturall, and
supernaturall Gifts, and between naturall, and supernaturall Visions, or
Dreams. And consequently men had need to be very circumspect, and wary,
in obeying the voice of man, that pretending himself to be a Prophet,
requires us to obey God in that way, which he in Gods name telleth us to
be the way to happinesse. For he that pretends to teach men the way of
so great felicity, pretends to govern them; that is to say, to rule, and
reign over them; which is a thing, that all men naturally desire, and
is therefore worthy to be suspected of Ambition and Imposture; and
consequently, ought to be examined, and tryed by every man, before hee
yeeld them obedience; unlesse he have yeelded it them already, in
the institution of a Common-wealth; as when the Prophet is the Civill
Soveraign, or by the Civil Soveraign Authorized. And if this examination
of Prophets, and Spirits, were not allowed to every one of the people,
it had been to no purpose, to set out the marks, by which every man
might be able, to distinguish between those, whom they ought, and those
whom they ought not to follow. Seeing therefore such marks are set out
(Deut. 13. 1,&c. ) to know a Prophet by; and (1 John 4. 1. &C) to know a
Spirit by: and seeing there is so much Prophecying in the Old Testament;
and so much Preaching in the New Testament against Prophets; and so much
greater a number ordinarily of false Prophets, then of true; every
one is to beware of obeying their directions, at their own perill. And
first, that there were many more false than true Prophets, appears by
this, that when Ahab (1 Kings 12. ) consulted four hundred Prophets, they
were all false Imposters, but onely one Michaiah. And a little before
the time of the Captivity, the Prophets were generally lyars. "The
Prophets" (saith the Lord by Jerem. cha. 14. verse 14. ) "prophecy Lies
in my name. I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, nor spake
unto them, they prophecy to you a false Vision, a thing of naught; and
the deceit of their heart. " In so much as God commanded the People by
the mouth of the Prophet Jeremiah (chap. 23. 16. ) not to obey them.
"Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, hearken not unto the words of the
Prophets, that prophecy to you. They make you vain, they speak a Vision
of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. "
All Prophecy But Of The Soveraign Prophet Is To Be Examined
By Every Subject
Seeing then there was in the time of the Old Testament, such quarrells
amongst the Visionary Prophets, one contesting with another, and asking
When departed the Spirit from me, to go to thee? as between Michaiah,
and the rest of the four hundred; and such giving of the Lye to one
another, (as in Jerem. 14. 14. ) and such controversies in the New
Testament at this day, amongst the Spirituall Prophets: Every man then
was, and now is bound to make use of his Naturall Reason, to apply to
all Prophecy those Rules which God hath given us, to discern the
true from the false. Of which rules, in the Old Testament, one was,
conformable doctrine to that which Moses the Soveraign Prophet had
taught them; and the other the miraculous power of foretelling what God
would bring to passe, as I have already shown out of Deut. 13. 1. &c.
