IO GENERAL PRINCIPLES 'CONCERNING is any other thing capable of so pernicious an abuse. Some instances hereof 1 shall give both out of the Old Testament and the New. Sect. 16. The most signal gift of the Spirit ofGod, for the use of the Church under the Old Testament, was that ofprophesy. This thereforewasdeservedly in honour and reputation; as having a great impression of the authority of God upon it, and in it of his nearness unto mon. Besides, those in whom it was, had justly the conductof the minds and consciences-ofothers given up unto them. For they spake in the naineof God, and had his warrant for what they proposed, winch is the highest security, of obedience. And these things caused anany to pretend unto this gift, who were indeed never inspired by the :Holy Spirit, but were -rather, on the -contrary, actuated by a spirit of lying and uncleanness. For it is very probable, that when men falsely, and in There pretence, took upon them to be prophets divinely inspired, without any antecedent diabolical enthusiasm, that the devil made use of them to compass his own de- -signs. Being given up by the righteous judgment of Cod unto all delusions, for belying his Spirit and holy inspirations, they were.quicklypossessed with-a spirit of lying and unclean divination. So the false prophets of Ahab, who encouraged him to go up unto Ramoth Gi- lead, foretellinghis prosperous success, 1 Kings xxii. 6. seemedonly to bave complied deceitfully with the in- clinations of their master, and to have out-acted his other courtiers in .flattery, by gilding it with a pretence of prophesy. Bat when Micaiah came to lay open the mystery oftbeir iniquity, it appeared that a lying spirit, by the permission of God, had possessed their minds, and gave them impressions, which being supernatural, they were deceived as well as they did deceive, ver. 21-23. This they were justly given up tonto,.preteed- iing falselyunto-the inspiration ofthat HolySpirit, which they hadnot received. Andno otherways loath it fallen out with some inour - days, whom we have seen visibly actuated by an extraordinary power; unduly.pretending -unto supernatural agitations from God, they were really actuated by the devil, a thing they neither desired nor looked after; but, being surprised by it, were pleased with it for a while; as it was with sundry of the Quakers sot their firstappearance. Sect. I7.Now these false prophets of old were of 'two, _sorts, both .mentioned, Deut. xviii. 20. First, such as professedly served other gods,-directingill their prophetic actings unto the promotion of their worship. Such were the prophets of Baal, in whose name ex- pressly they prophesied, and whose assistance they ir- vocated. They called on the name ofBaal, saying, O Baal hear us, I Kings xviii. 26, 27, 28. Many of these were slain by Elijah, and the whole race of them afterwards extirpated by Iehu, 2 Kings xxv. 2G, 27, 28. This,put an end to his deity; for, it is said, he destroyed Baal out of Israel; false gods having no ex-. istence but in.the deceived minds of their worshippers. It may be asked why these are called propheta? and so in general of all the false prophets mentioned in the scripture. Was it because they merely pretended and counterfeited a spirit of prophecy, or had they really any such? I answer, that I no way doubt, but that they were of both sorts. Theseprophets of Baal were such as worshipped the sun, after the manner of the Tyrians. Herein they load invented many hellish mys- teries, ceremoanies, and sacrifices; these they taught the people, by whom they were hired. Being thus en- gaged in the service of the devil, he actually possessed their minds with a spirit of divination, and enabled them to-declare things 'unknown unto other men. They, íu the meantime, really finding themselves actuated by a power superior to them, took and owned that to be the power of their Cod; and thereby became immedi- ate worshippers ofthe devil. This our apostle declares, i Cot. x. 20. Whatever those who left the true God aimed at to worship, the devil interposed himself be- tween -that and them as the object of their adoration. Hereby he became the god ofthis world, 2 Cos. iv. 4. I-Iim whom in all their idols they worshipped- and a- dored. 'With a spirit of divination from him were tnany of the falseprephetsactuated, which they thought to be the spirit of their ,god. For they found them- selves actuated by a superior power, which they could neither excuse nor resist. a Others of them were 'nerd pretenders and counterfeits, that deceived the foolish multitude with vain false predictions. Of these more will be spoken afterwards. 'EaeiSar ree ex.lsra, a) pzyyae re.rv. awpera r s,, 6:aem- ì tpa v,re ea . aìr par ,vepoe ippaa ae. roxaear ad ieeyaa rebe.pore a-nv sepm $Avrare 0X5 ip0.xe S,«eneµ,.es re, aaes, i.vaaab ucra reiavrm ra payyar,ee @ner. Aroaér See. :.aara Peere, e:er Is irr xeeu,--cLr,vso:t. in t cor. tx
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