Affert. 3. That reve If no man can fay Jefus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghoft; then no man can know Jefus to be the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. But the first is true: therefore the fecond, From this argument there may be another deduced, concluding in the very terms of this affertion: thus, If no man can know Jefus to be the Lord, but by the Holy Ghoft, then there can be no certain knowledge or revelation of him but by the Spirit. But the firft is true: therefore the fecond. §. VII. The third thing affirmed is, That by the proved. Spirit God always revealed himself to his children, For making the truth of this affertion appear, it will be but needful to confider God's manifefting himself towards and in relation to his creatures from the beginning, which refolves itfelf always herein. The firft ftep of all is afcribed hereunto by Mofes, Gen. i. 2. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. I think it will not be denied, that God's converfe with man, all along from Adam to Mofes, was by the immediate manilation is by feftation of his Spirit: and afterwards, through the Spirit of the whole tract of the law, he fpake to his children no otherways; which, as it naturally followeth from the principles above proved, fo it cannot be denied by fuch as acknowledge the fcriptures of truth to have been written by the infpiration of the Holy Ghost: for thefe writings, from Mafes to Malachi, do declare, that during all that time God revealed himself to his children by his Spirit. But if any will object, That after the difpenfation of the law, God's method of fpeaking was altered; God. Object. Anfw. I answer, First, That God fpake always immediately to the Jews, in that he fpake always immediately to the High-Prieft from betwixt the Cherubims; who, when he entered into the Holy of Holies, Sanctorum. returning, did relate to the whole people the voice and will of God, there immediately revealed. So that this immediate fpeaking never ceafed in any age. Sanctum Secondly, Secondly, from this immediate fellowship were none shut out, who earnestly fought after and waited for it; in that many, befides the HighPrieft, who were not fo much as of the kindred of Levi, nor of the prophets, did receive it and speak from it; as it is written, Numb. xi. 25. where the Spirit is faid to have refted upon the feventy elders; None thut which Spirit alfo reached unto two that were not in this immethe tabernacle, but in the camp; whom when fome diate felwould have forbidden, Mofes would not, but rejoiced, wishing that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that he would put his Spirit upon them, ver. 29. This is also confirmed Neb. ix. where the elders of the people, after their return from captivity, when they began to fanctify themselves by fafting and prayer, numbering up the many mercies of God towards their fathers, fay, verfe 20. Thou gaveft alfo thy good Spirit to inftruct them; and verfe 30. Yet many years didst thou forbear, and teftify against them by thy Spirit in thy prophets. Many are the fayings of fpiritual David to this purpose, as Pfalm li. 11, 12. Take not thy boly Spirit from me ; uphold me with thy free Spirit. Pfal. cxxxix. 7. Whither fhall I go from thy Spirit? Hereunto doth the prophet Ifaiah afcribe the credit of his teftimony, faying, chap. xlviii. 16. And now the Lord God and bis Spirit bath fent me. And that God revealed himfelf to his children under the New Teftament, to wit, to the apostles, evangelifts, and primitive difciples, is confeffed by all. How far now this yet continueth, and is to be expected, comes hereafter to be spoken to. out from lowship. §. VIII. The fourth thing affirmed is, That these Assert. 4• revelations were the object of the faints faith of old. This will easily appear by the definition of faith, Proved. and confidering what its object is: for which we fhall not dive into the curious and various notions of the school-men, but stay in the plain and pofitive words of the apostle Paul, who, Heb. xi. de scribes is? of faith, quens. 1 What faith scribes it two ways. Faith (faith he) is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not feen : which, as the apoftle illuftrateth it in the fame chapter by many examples, is no other but a firm and certain belief of the mind, whereby it refteth, and in a fenfe poffeffeth the fubftance of fome things hoped for, through its confidence in the promise of God: and thus the foul hath a moft firm evidence, by its faith, of things not yet feen nor come to pass. The object of this faith is the promise, word, or teftimony of God, speaking in the mind. Hence it hath been generally affirmed, that the The object object of faith is Deus Loquens, &c. that is, God Deus lo- Speaking, &c. which is alfo manifeft from all those examples deduced by the apoftle throughout that whole chapter, whofe faith was founded neither upon any outward teftimony, nor upon the voice. or writing of man, but upon the revelation of God's will, manifeft unto them, and in them; as in the example of Noah, ver. 7. thus, By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not feen as yet, moved, with fear, prepared an ark to the faving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteoufnefs which is by faith. What was here the object of Noah's faith, but God fpeaking unto him? He had not the writings nor prophesyings of any going before, nor yet the concurrence of any church or people to ftrengthen him; and yet his faith in the word, by which he contradicted the whole world, faved him and his houfe. Of which Abraham's alfo Abraham is fet forth as a fingular example, being therefore called the Father of the Faithful, who is faid against hope to have believed in hope, in that he not only willingly forfook his father's country, not knowing whither he went; in that he believed concerning the coming of Ifaac, though contrary to natural probability; but above all, in that he refused not to offer him up, not doubting but God was able to raise him from the dead; of whom Noah's faith. faith. it is faid, that in Ifaac fhall thy feed be called. And laft of all, in that he refted in the promife, that his feed fhould poffefs the land, wherein he himself was but a pilgrim, and which to them was not to be fulfilled while divers ages after. The object of Abraham's faith in all this was no other but inward. and immediate revelation, or God fignifying his will unto him inwardly and immediately by his Spirit. But becaufe, in this part of the propofition, we made alfo mention of external voices, appearances, and dreams in the alternative, I think alfo fit to fpeak hereof, what in that refpect may be objected; to wit, That those who found their faith now upon imme- Object. diate and objective revelation, ought to have alfo outward voices or vifions, dreams or appearances for it. gels fpeak of men to It is not denied, but God made ufe of the mini- Answ. ftry of angels, who, in the appearance of men, The minifpake outwardly to the faints of old, and that he try of andid alfo reveal fome things to them in dreams and ing in the vifions; none of which we will affirm to be ceafed, appearance fo as to limit the power and liberty of God in the faints manifefting himself towards his children. But of old. while we are confidering the object of faith, we must not stick to that which is but circumftantially and accidentally fo, but to that which is univerfally and fubftantially fo. Next again, we must diftinguish betwixt that which in itself is fubject to doubt and delufion, and therefore is received for and because of another; and that which is not fubject to any doubt, but is received fimply for and because of itself, as being prima veritas, the very firft and original truth. Let us then confider how or how far these outward voices, appearances, and dreams were the Revelations object of the faints faith: was it because they were and vifions. fimply voices, appearances, or dreams? Nay, certainly; for they were not ignorant, that the devil might form a found of words, convey it to the ́ ́outward ear, and deceive the outward fenfes, by * Object. Anfw. The Spirit ear, not to the outward. making things to appear that are not. Yea, do we not fee by daily experience, that the jugglers and mountebanks can do as much as all that by their legerdemain? God forbid then that the faints faith fhould be founded upon fo fallacious a foundation as man's outward and fallible fenfes. What made them then give credit to thefe vifions? Certainly nothing else but the fecret teftimony of God's Spirit in their hearts, affuring them that the voices, dreams, and visions were of and from God. Abraham believed the angels; but who told him that these men were angels? We must not think his faith then was built upon his outward fenfes, but proceeded from the fecret perfuafion of God's Spirit in his heart. This then must needs be acknowledged to be originally and principally the object of the faints faith, without which there is no true and certain faith, and by which many times faith is begotten and strengthened without any of these outward or visible helps; as we may obferve in many paffages of the holy scripture, where it is only mentioned, And God faid, &c. And the word of the Lord came unto fuch and fuch, saying, &c. But if any one should pertinaciously affirm, That this did import an outward audible voice to the carnal ear; I would gladly know what other argument fuch an one could bring for this his affirmation, faving his own fimple conjecture. It is faid indeed, The fpeakstothe Spirit witneffeth with our Spirit; but not to our outfpiritual ward ears, Rom. viii. 16. And feeing the Spirit of God is within us, and not without us only, it fpeaks to our spiritual, and not to our bodily ear. Therefore I fee no reason, where it is so often faid in fcripture, The Spirit faid, moved, hindered, called fuch or fuch a one, to do or forbear fuch or fuch a thing, that any have to conclude, that this was not an inward voice to the ear of the foul, rather than an outward voice to the bodily ear. If any be otherwise |