202 'By what 1\_eaJo1z the Jews were bouud to ·bcliew t/,eProp/,ets. of the word, that if you pu"Zzle his head with fubtitc reafonings againfi it, yet his heart and experience will not futfer him to let it go. He hath tajlcd it fo fweet~ that he will not Believe: it to be bitter though he cannot anfwer an that is raid againll it. Ifanmher would perfwade you to bdievc ill of your deareft frioul or Father, Love and exptrimce would better preferve you from his deceit, than rea– fining would Jo. l~he !few creatur~, or nrw n,lture in believers, and the txperience of GodJ Lrve coRJ.. municucd by jtfus Chrlll unto thea fouls, are conHant wirndfc:s to the word of God : He thatlntie– vttb b:Jtb the rviut~jf iu bi.mfclf; that is, Tbe Holy Gbrgf which was given him, which is lll objeCtive tcllimony or an evJdcncc, and an ejfe[live. Of this fee my Treat. of Infidelity. Unfanctitied men may be tafiiier turned eo lntJddi1y, for thr.y never felt the renewed quK:kning work of faid1 ; nor were evc:r bwughr by it to the Love of God and a-:holyand heavenly mind and life. They that nt~ ver were Chrillians at the Heart, are foonett turned from being Chriltians in opinion and 11ame. Q uell. By ~h.zt Reafon, evid~nce (}r oblit,atinn were the Jew/ bound lo believe tbt PtophetJ? Sting lla1ah, )cn:my, Ezcktel,&c: wrottght no mitacler, and there were f.Jlje Prophtts in their daie 1 ; H(}w tlm: could any m.m k,.now that i~tdttd tbey were font of God, when they nt~k.._edly affi1mtd it l Anfw. I mention this objedion or C.i[e, becaufe in my book of the Rea[. of ChriHian Religion ( to which for all the reil I sefer the R<ader ) it is forgotten: And b<caufe it is clllt of the hardell queO:ions about our fairh. ~· Thofe that thin~ that every book of ~cript~re doth ~ow prove it fc:lf to be Divine propria f:et:e, ·by 1ts own matter, fble and other properues,. will accordmgly fay, that by Headng the Ptuphet.r tben, as well as by Reading 1hem Hew, this intrmfick fatisfad-ory evidence was difccrnabJe. All thar I ~an fay of thi~ is, tha_t there ue fuch Characters in the Prophecies as are a help to faith, as making 1t the more eahly cred,ble that they are of God, but not fuch as I could have been afcertained by ( <fpccially as delivered by parcel• •hen, ) if there h•d been no more. 2. Nor do 1 acquiefce in their anfwer who fay that, Thofe that have the fame fpirit, know the fii!e of the {jJirit in the Prophets. For, 1, This would fuppofe none capable of believing rhem ground– edly·that had not the {~me fpirit; 2· And the Jpirit of fand:ifi.cation is not enough to our di!Cern– ing Prophetical infpirations, as reafon and experience fully proveth. The guift ot' difccrning fpiriu·. 1 Cor. 12· 10. was not common to all the fanctified. 3• It is much to be obferved that God never fent any Prophet tp make a Law or Covenant on which the falvation of the people did depend, without the attellation of unquellionable Miracles. Mofer wrought numerous open miracles, and fuch as controlled and confuted (he contradicters feem– ing Miracles in Egypt. And Chrill and his Apofiles wrought m?re than Mofir. So that thefe Laws and Covenants by which God would rule and JUdge the people were all confirmed b,yond all jull exception. 4-· It mu£\ be noted that many other Pro~hrts _alfo wrought Miracles to confirm thflir dod:rine, and prove that they were fent ot God; as drd EltM, and Eli_jha. 5 • It mutt be noted, that there were Schools of Prophers, or Socierics of them in thofe times: 1 Sam.IO. Io. & 19· 20· 1 Kings 20. 35, 4t• & 22. 13· 2 Kings 2· 3, 5• 7, 15· &.4· r, 38. & 5· 22• & 6. I· & p. 1· 1 Cor. 14-- 32• Who were educated in fuch a way as ri(ced them to the rcc.:prion of prophetical infpirations, when it pleafed God to give them. NJt that meer education made any one a Prophet; nor tint the Prophets had at all times the prdCnt actual guift of prophetic: But God was pleafed fo far to own mens commanded diligence, as td joyn his bleiling to a meet educJti~ on, and at fuch times as he thought meet, to illuminate (Uch by Villous and revelations above all others. And therefore it is fpokc:n of AmoJ as a thing extraordinary , lhat he WaS mclde a Prophet of.a herdfman. • 6. Therefore a Prophet among the Jews was known to be fuch, ufllally, before thcfc Recorded Prophecies of theirs, which we have now in the Holy Scriptures: I· The fpirits of rhe Prophets which are fubjcct to the Prophets, were judged of by thofe Prophets that had indeed the Spirit: And fo the people had the tellimony of the other Prophets concerning them. 2. The Lords own dirtdion ro know a true Prophet by Deul. I 8. 22· is the coming to po~fs of that which he foretellcth. Now it is like that before they were received il)tO the number of Prophets, they had given fatisfaCl-ion to the focieties of the Prophets, by the events of things ·before foretold by them : 3· Or they mi£1•t have wrought miracles before to have fatisfied the members of the Colledge of their calli11g, though thefe Miracles are not all mentioned in the Scrip(ure. 4· Or the other Psophets might have fome Divine tef1imony concerning them, by vifions revelations or infpiratjons of their own. So that the people were not Jeh to the credulity ofnaked unproved affenions, of any one that wouU fay that he was Cent ofGod. 7· There were fome figns given by fome of the Prophets to co11firm th<ir word: As Ifaialu predictions of HczekJalu danger, and remedy, and recovery , and of the gomg back of the fuadow on A/~az dy•ll ten degrees, &c. And more fuch. there might be, which we know not of. 2. All
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