Chap. 4. An 2 xpofrtion upon the Book of J O B. Verl tz. Now a thing tras fecretly brought untome, and mine esr recei- ved a little thereof; I muff yet refolve a question before I explain the termes; the quellion is this. Whether it were a true vdìon lent fromGod,or whether it were only feigned by Eliphaz,whereby togain autho- rity to what he fpake ? There are many Expolitors of great name,who are very confi- dent that this vifion was a .&bon or holy fraud ; a vifion of Eli- phazhis own brain, not a vilion from Heaven. Some have gone further,maintaining that it was a vilion tent fromHell-,an iiluAon of the Devil, thereby to tlrengthen the hands ofElipbaz,in vex- ing and troubling Job. It cannot be denyed, but that many have pretended vifions from God, when they have received none ; they have belyed the Al- mighty with their Dreams and Revelations, when they have leen nothing; Thus (1 Kings 22.15 o Zedeltiab the Falk Prophet takes uponhim,to have had a vifion from God,by whichhe would con- firmAhab in his counfeJi to go up to Ramoth Gilead.And Zedekiah the fox of Chenaanah madehirn hornet of iron, and he fàid, thus faith the Lord, with .there(halt thou pufh the llffyrians till thou have confumed them. And in the propheteof Jeremiah you have Hananiah the falle Prophet, not only (peaking the language, but dretling himfelf in all the formalities of a vifion; he comes forth with a yoke upon his neck, and breaks it before the people, and telleth them, thus will God break the yoke ofyour captivity,and at fuck a time. The true Prophets complain often of the falle, for crying up their deceivings,under the warrantofvitons and dreams,when all was but a dream indeed, a meer phancy, or ftudied impotlure to rníilead the people, and gain credit to their lies. While a man bath nothing but ordinary humane authority, for things extraor- dinary, he is eafily rejected. Man is fabje4 to error,hemaydeceive and bedeceived; there- fore when they would put a new nothing upon the world,as an in fallible truth, and have it (wallowed without chewing, received without difputing, then ufhally they pretended that it was;'quid' Divinum)a dof rine or mefage received immediately from God. And it is well obfcrved, that this courre of pretending to Divine relation, was very frequent among(( the Heathen: when their Wife
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