910 May we look for more Miracles? Is the Scripture to be t1ycd by t/;e Spirit? <l.!.!e!l:. 16l. May JVt uot look for Miracles hereafter? luk"l· s. Anfw. THe anfwer to .!l.!!c~. 160. may f<1ve to this. ,, God may work Mirades if he plcafe, and hath not told us chat he never wiU. 2• But he h01th not ~romifc:d us that he will, and therefore we cannot lulirvefuch...a.promifr nor expecl: them as a certam thing. Nor may any pray for the gift of miracles. ) 3• ·But if there be any probability of them, it will be to thole that are convcrti~tg Infidel Natiom, when they may be partly offuch ufe as they were at litft. 4• Yet it is CCitain, that fometimes God fiill worketh Miracles: But arbitrarily and rarely which may nor put ar.y mdividual perfon in expectation of them. , Objtcr. Tr not tht pro"'ife the fame to us a< tothe Apofllu and primitive Chrijliant, if we could but believe dt they did l Anf-v. 1• The promife to be believed goeth befote the faith that brlicveth it, and not that faith t Cor.12. z.8, before the promlfe. 2· The promife of the Holy Ghoft was for perpetuity, to fandifie all bcliev– Hcb. 2 • 1.:, ers: Bur r.he prornife of t~at fpecial gift of Miracles, was for a tin.lc, becaufe it was for a fpecial John Io.J~~ u~'c : thzt ~s, t~ be a llandmg feal to the. truth of the Gofpel, wh1ch all after ages may be convmced of m pomt of fact, and fo may fidl have the ufe and benefit of. And pwvidencc ( ceaGng Miracles, ) rhus expounduh the promife. And if Miracles mull be common to all peJfons and ages they would be as no Miracles. And we have feen thofe that moll contidently believed they !hould work them, all fail. But I have written fo largely of this point in a fet Difputation in my Treatife called The V;,. rea[onablenrfr of lnfidcliry, fully proving thofe firfl Miracles fatisfacrory .and obligatory. to all follow– ing ages, that I mull thither now refer the Reader. Q£e!t 163. Is tiJe Scripture to bt tryed by the Spirit~ or the Spirit by the Scri• pture, and JVhicb of them is to be preferred. Anfr<J· J Put the quefiion thus confufedly, for the f•ke of thofe that ufi: to do fo, to 01ew them how to get out of their own Confufion. You mutt diltint;uiih, I· Between theSpiric in it felfconfidered, and the Scripture in it fclf. 2· .Between the fevtiaJ opcrarions of the Spirit. 3· Between the fevenl perfons that have the Spirir. And{~ you mufi conclude, 1 • That the Spirit in it felf is infinitely more excellent than the Scripture. For the Spirit is God, and the Scripture is but the wor~of God,. · 2 • The operation of the Spirit in the Apofilrs was more excellent than the operation of the fame Spirit now in us; As producing more e~ccllc:nt effects~ and. more.infallible. . . . 1 Job. p,,,6. 3• Therefore the l;oly Scripturet whiCh were the mfa\hble diC~tatcs of the Sp1t1t 111 the Apofiles, John ,s,J7.& are more perfect than any of our apprehenfions which Fomc by the fame Spirit ( whid1 we have 8 • 47 • not in fo great a meafure ). A as 17.II,J1·. 4· TPerefore we mufi not ur the Scripturts by our m.o~ f~irit~l~l apprehenfions, b~t ?ur appre· Matth. 5 , 1 8. henfipns by theScriptures: that IS, we mutt prefer the Spmts tnfpzrmg tbe Apoftlu 11 md,{e the Scri· Rom. 16. ;.6. pture, before the Spiri1s illuminating of us to u~derfiand them , or before. ~ny pref~nt inf~ira1i~ns, the f 01 mer being the more perfect: Becaufe Chnfi gave the Apoftlcs the Splflt to delmr us mfalhbly ~kt~h;:.~·~:o· his own Commands, and to inditt aR\.\lc for foliowing ages; But he giveth us the Spi•t but to Hnderftand and ufe that Rule atight. . . . . . . . . Rev. 2..1.. Sw This rrying the ~pltlt by t~~ Scnpturts,. ~~ not a .fc:ttmg o! .the Scrzflure .above the Spmt 1_t )uCc 17. felt; but is Qnly a uymg the Sptrtt by the SpJul; that IS, the Sp~rttJ operauouJ m our felvts and bu ~Pet. J. 2• Revelation! to any pretenders now, by the Spirits operations in the ApoHles, and by their Revelations ;~;;~~.r~;: ncorded for our ufe. t'or they and not we) are called FoundatiiJnJ of the Chnrcb. ' 9· Epbe[. ;:,10. Qgefi.
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