Serm.LXXIII. Rich Man and Lazárus. 547 4thly, That there is fufficient Evidence for the Divinity ofthe Scriptures+ 5thly, That it is únreafonable to expeêt that God fhould do more for our Con- viâion, than to afford fuck a Banding Revelation of his Mind and Will. I Ihali go over thefeas briefly as I can. I begin with the tff. What we are to underhand by a Divine Revelation. By a Divine Reve- lation we are to underhand a fupernatural difeovery, or manifefiation of any thing to us ; I fay fupernatural, becaufe it may either be immediately by God or by the mediation of Angels, as moil, if not all the Revelations of the Old Teftament were. A fupernatural Difcovery orManifeffation, either immediately to our Minds, by our Underftandings and inward Faculties ; (for I do not fo well underhand the diftindion between Underftanding and Imagination, as tobe careful to take no rice of it,) or elfe mediately to our Underftandings by the mediation of our out- ward Senfes, as by an external appearance to our Bodily Eyes, or by a Voice and Sound to the Senfe of Hearing : A Difcovery or Manifeflation ofa thing, whe- therit be fuch as cant be known at all by the ufe of our natural Reafon and Underftanding ; or fuchas may be difcovered by natural Light, but is more clear- ly revealed or made known, or we are awakened to a more particular and atten- tive confderation of ir. For it is not at all unfuitable to the wifdomof God, to make a fupernatural Difcovery to us of fuch things as may be known by the light of Nature, either to give us a clearer manifeftationof fuch Truths as were more obfcurely known, and did as it were lie buried in our Underflandings ; or elfe to quicken our Minds to a more ferious and lively confideration of thofe Truths. zdly. For the feveral kinds of DivineRevelation. That they were various, the Apoftte to the Hebrews tells tts, ch. a. t. God who at fundry times, and in fever& manners, fpáke to theFathers by the Prophets ; where by Prophets we are to under, Rand not only thofe who did foretell future things ; but any Perfon that was di- vinely infpired, and to whom God was pleafed to make any fupernatural difcovery of himfelf. Now the feveral Kinds of Revelation taken notice of by the Jews, are Vifi- ons ; Dreams ; Prophecy ; Oracle ; Inspiration, or that which they call the Ho- lyGhoft ; voice Bath-col ; or that which was the higheft of all, which they call gradas Mofaicus, the degree of Revelation; which was peculiar to Mofes. The 9ewifh Writers, efpecially Maimonides, have many fubtil Obfervations about the differences of thefe feveral kinds of Revelation, which depend upon fubtil and Philofophical Diftinétions of the Faculties of Perception ; as that tome of thefe Revelations were by impreffion only upon the `Underflanding ; Ionic only upon the Imagination ; fòme upon both ; Tome upon-the outward Senfes ; But the fimple and plain difference between them, fo far as .there is any ground in Scrip- ture to diftinguifh them, Teems to be this ; Vifion was a Reprefentation of fome- thing to a Man, when he was waking, in oppofition to Dreams, which were Reprefentations made to Men in their fleep. Prophecy might be either Dream or Vifon, and the yews obferve, that it was always one of thefe two ways, which they grounded uponNumb. iz. 6. If there be a Prophet among you, Ithe Lordwill make my felf known to him in a Vifion, andwill fpeak unto him ina Dream. But Prophecy in the flrid Notion, of it, had this peculiarly belonging to it, that it was not only monitory or inftru ive, but did foretel Come Event of Concern- ment to others ; and the yewifh Doétors tell us, that it was a clearer Revelation, and carried a greater affärance along with it, and that this was common to all the three, that there was fomething of Extafy and Tranfport of Mind in all there. The fourth fort of Revelation, which was, by Oracle, which is call'd ïïrim and Thummim, was a rendering of Anfwers to Queftions, by the High- Prieft looking upon the Stones in the Bteaft- plate; which how it was done, is uncertain. The Fifth fort of Revelation is that which they call the Holy Ghoft, which was a more calm and gentle Infpiratton, without any extraordinary Tranfport of Mind or Extafy ; Inch as David had in the writing of thePfalrns. Aaaax
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