PART III, ofgracious .f1 egions. 171 And if Perfons have the Will of God concerning their Anions, fuggefted to them by fome Text of Scripture, fuddenly and extraor- dinarily brought to their Minds, which Text, as the Words lay in the Bible before they carne to their Minds, related to the Anion and Be- haviour of fome other Perfon, but they fuppofe, as God fent the Words to them, he intended fomething further by them, and meant fuch a particular Anion of their's ; I fay, if Perfons Ihould have the Will of God thus fuggefted to 'em with Texts of Scripture, it alters not the Cafe. The Suggeflion being accompanied' with' an apt Text of Scripture, don't make the Suggettion to be of the Nature of fpiri- tual Inftrunion. As for Inft-ance, If a Petfon in New- England, on force Occafion, were at a Loss whether it was his Duty to go into fonte popith or heathenith Land, where he was like to be expofed to many Difficulties and Dangers, and Ihould pray to God 'that he would 'hew him the Way of his Duty ; and after earneft Prayer, fhould have thofe Words which God fpake to 'Jacob, Gen. 46. fud- denly and extraordinarily brought to his Mind, as if they were fpo- ken to him ; Fear not to go down into Egypt ; and I will go with thee ; and I will al a furely bring thee up again. In which Words, tho' as they lay in the Bible before they came to his Mind, they related only to 'Jacob, and his Behaviour ; yet he fuppofes that God has a further Meaning, as they were brought and applied to him ; that thus they are to be under`tood in a new Senfe, that by Egypt iT to be underftood this particular Country he has in his Mind, and that the Anion in- tended is his going thither, and that the Meaning of the Promife is that God would bring him back into New- England again. There is nothing of the Nature of a fpiritual or gracious Leading of the Spirit in this ; for there is nothing of the Nature of fpiritual Underflanding in it. Thus to underftand Texts of Scripture, is not to have a fpiri- tual Underftan ding.of them. Spiritually to underftand the Scripture, is rightly to underftand what is in the Scripture, and what was in it before it was under'tood : 'Tis to underftand rightly, what ufed to he contained in the Meaning of it ; and not the making a new Meaning. When the Mind is enlighten'd fpiritually and rightly to ' underftand the Scripture, it is enabled to fee That in the Scripture, which before was not feen, by Reafon ofBlindnefs. Bat if it was by Reafon of Blindnefs ; that is an Evidence that the fame Meaning was in it be- fore ; otherwife it would have been no Blindnefs -not to fee it : 'Tis no Blindnefs not to fee a Meaning which is not there. Spiritually enlightening the Eyes to underftand the Scripture, is to open the Eyes, Pfal. 119. 18. Open thou mine Eyes, that I may beholdwondrous Things out of thy Law ; which argues that the Reafon why the fame was not feen in the Scripture before, was that the Eyes werePhut ; which would not be the Cafe, if the Meaning that is now underftood was not there before, but is now newly added to the Scripture, by the Manner
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