Part II. OF THE FIGURES OF A SENTENCE IN LOGISM. Ajk of me and I will give thee the Heathen {or thine Inberi!ance, and the Utiilojl Parts "f the Earth for thy Pojjifjio11. 'I'hou Jhalt break them with a Rod of !roJZ; thou ./bait h ·eak them in pieces like a Pollers Vejfel. Pfal. I. 16. But mllo the Wicked, God jaitb, lVbat haft thou to do to declare my Statutes, or that thouJhouldft tak• my Covewmt iit thy Mouth? Verfe 17. Seeing thou hate.ft Inftruflion, &c. ifa. lxvi. 1. 'I'hus faith the Lord, the Heav en is my 'J'hrone, and the Earth is my Footftool. A nd fo very frequently the Pro– phets introduce God htm!Clf fpeal<ing, not only that their Speech may have the greater Authority by it, bm chiefly becaufe (as 2 Pet. i. 2 r.) 'J'he Prophecy came not in old 'J'ime by the Will of Man ; but holy M en ofCod fpake as they were moved by the Holy Ghoft: It is therefore doubtful, whether (!peaking accurately) this Kind of Speech belongs to this Kind of rhetorical Profopop~tia; becaufc God is the real Author of the Scripture, and immediately both !poke and writ it by the Prophets, who were his Minifters and Amanumfcs ; Men do not introduce God as !peaking, but God moves them by lnfpira– tion to reprefent him ; fee Heb. i. I . As for the Speech of Angels and good Men, we need not produce Examples, the Scriptures are full of them; in reading of which we are carefully to heed the '"P''"""'; or Circumftances of every T ext, and the Speaker, that the Fallacy of Compofition and Divifion may be avoided. Jer. xxvi. 17, 18, ' 9· The Elders of Judea are intro– duced, as !peaking for Jeremiah ; but if any will attribute to them, Verfe 20, 2I, 22, 23. he goes againft their Words, and the Scope of the prophetica] Text : For thefe Verfes have a coherence with the lalt, and continue the hiftorical Relation of the Execution of the Sentence, and the Deliverance of Jeremiah by a juft Judgment from the lawlefs Violence of the King, the Example of which is contained in thole four Verfes; on the contrary, the ·words of Paul, Acts xix. 4, 5· are to ne joined together to prevent Error. 2· A falfe and evil Speech is propofed, when the Devil and wicked Men are intro– duced as fpoaking, Pfa!. iii 2. Many there be which fr'.y of my Soul, 'I'here is no Help for him in his God. l'fal. xii. 4· Who have faid, With our 'fongue will we prevail; our L ips are our own; Who is Lord over us? !fa. xiv. I3· For thou haft faid in thy Heart, I will afcend into Heaven; I will exalt my 'fhrone above the Stars of God, &c. Matt. xxiii. , 6. Wo unto you, ye bliud Guides, wbichfay, Wl-cfoever Jball fwcar by the 'J'emp!e, it is nothing ; but whofoe·ver Jhall fwear by the Cold of the 'J'emple, he is a Debtor, &c. Of this Kind of Speech we will give fame ufeful Objervations. r. An Hijlorical N arration, although moft true, )'Cl all 'I'hings thenin [aid, are ttor .believed to be true.- For when a canonical Writer treats of a Thing, and !peaks of what is fallly or foolifhly done or laid by another, he does not approve of it, bm only relates it : The Things in Scripture are of two Sorts,- fame arc '"l"w<, by W ay of Narrative, or Recital; and fame ·~•ym.xw;, by way of Aj}ertion, and Approbation; Things related of the latter Kind are always true; bm not of the former. Here like– wife we muft diftingufh between the lii.ftory itfelf, and the Speech introduced by him that fpeaks; the firft is always true, the latter not, & c. 2 . When the wickedor falfe Speech of another is related, a true Sentence, or Word of the holy Scripture is intermixed, as I Kings xxi. ro. the Words of Jezebel, writino– to the Citizens of Jezreel aie thus related ; Set t wo Men, Sons of Belial, before him, t~ bear Witnejs againjl him, &c. the Words (Sons ofBelial) are not J ezebel's, who would fain de.ftroy Naboth by a Color and Pretext of Right and Juftice; but they are the Words of the H oly Spirit, which exegetically and according to Truth, defcribc thole fuborned Wretches that would teftify againft the Innocent, as Verfe 13, &c. Ifa. xxviii. IS. Becaufeye havefaid, We haw made a Covenant with Death, and with Hell are we at Agreement ; when the overflowing Scourge Jhall pafs through, it jhall not come unto us, for we have made Lies our Refuge, and under Faljhood have hid ourfelves. It was not they that called it L ies and Fa!Jbood, but the Prophet fo intitles their Hope. The Words of the falfc Prophets are hereby to be underftood, who lyingly advifed them tO hope well: Ifa. xxx. 10. Which fay to the Seers, .fee not; and untothe Prophets, prophejj not unto us rigbt 'lhhtgs; fpeak uuto us fmooth 'I'hinf!:s, prophejj Deceits: lt is not thole Unbelievers, but the Holy Spirit that calls thole Vifions which they fough t for, Delufions, for fuch indeed they were, &c. Brentius upon !fa. xliv. thus fpeaks of th;s Scripture-way of E xpreffion, and brings more Examples. ' It is ufual for ' mgemous Men to paint out Impiety of Words in Colors, and obtrude it upon M en ' as
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