)00 Of the Miracles "tProught in_ VoJ, It. he knew when rhe Devtl ' had done his urinoll, rhe dttfcrence would be apparent enough between the Confirmation which he had given ro the Chnnlan DoQ i and what the Devil fhould he able to give to his Jnllruments. As, 'ne, I. Either the Dofrrine wou ld he abfurd in,it felf, and fuch as no Miracles can confirm. As in the Cafe which Mofes mllancetb in, of a Miracle 1vrought to feducc them from the Worfhip of the one true God, who is naturally known, to the Wor• fhip of Idols. Or elfe, 2. It would. be contrary to that D~chine which had already had a far greater, and more , D~v1ne ConfirmatiOn. And ,>hts hkewtfe IS aoorher reafon innmatcci by· Mofls, why rhe People fhould not hearken toa Prophet that would fed~ce them to Idolatry, tho' he !hould W~rk. a Mtracle; /;ecaufe l1c b.1tb Jpoken to 1 urn you awa 1 ftom tbe Lo~d )Our God, tvbtch 6rou~!Jt you out of the La~d oflE;qpt, that i,, tram that God wno had demonflrared IHmfclf to them hy fuch a feries of great and un– quefltonable Mtracles, as ought 1n all rea(on ro be~r down ao fingle Sign and Wonder. And the Cafe is the fame, if Miracles tbould now be pretended for the confir· marion o( an} thing plainly comraty to tbe Chrilltan Dofrrine, which being cfla· bli01'd by fuch M1racles as never were Wrought in the Wotld upon any other oc– cation, tt cannot be thought rcafonable, that any Evtdcncc inferiour to this, fhould be able to controul ir, or to give cced1t. to any thing that comrad,fred it. And in this Cafe the , Apoflle hath exprcfly forbidden Chrifl tans to hearken to a contrary ,DoCl:nnc; tbv tbey tbem(elves, or an A11gel from Heavtn foould preach it, GAl. r. 8. Therefore St Paul exprdly lays down this R.ule, whereby we may judge what Miraculou~ Powers are' lrom the Spuit of God, and what nor, 1 Cor. 12. r. Now concerning (piritt1al gijtr, 6ret1Jren,. I would not bave you ignorant, that is, what Mi– racJ!bus Gi(ts are trom the Spmt of God, and what not ; and then, 1:er. J · he gives this Rule, Wberefore 1gtve Y"" to underftand, tbat no man!peakj11g /;y tl1eJpirit of God, caUetb J e(us accurfed: and tbat no m•n can fay, tbat Jcfus is tbe Lud, but 6y tbe Fkly GIJojl; that ts, tf any Man pretend to be lnfpired, and to be Endowed with a Miraculous Power, and yet blafphemeth Chnlt, this Spirit is not from God : . bur if any Man be endowed With this Power, and acknowledge Chrilt, we may !afely conclude this Power to be from the Holy Ghofl. The very fame R.ule Sr. John lays down yet more plaioly, I John 'b 1, 2., 3· Believe not every {pirit,that is, not every one that pretends to the Gtfts and Infpirations of the Spirit ; hut tiJ the jpirits, wlmher tiHy are of God: becaufe many Jalfe Propbets are gone oNf i11to the world. H:reby know ye the (pirit rf God: every /pirit tbar co,iftj{etb tl;,4t Jefus Chrifi is ~orne it' t be fiefh, is of G,d: and every {pirit that confeffet/J not that J cfus Chriil: ,is come in the flefh, is not of God. And ver. 6. We are of God; be that k•owetb God, 1 pearetb 11J :be tbat ZJ not of God~ l.•eareth not II! : ben6y know we tbe [p~{it of trm,/J, • f!.l'd tbe Jpirjt of Emur. Tl11s fcerns at fir([ light to be a very od~ Rule, and 1 "·whar e~ery 'falfe Teacher, and every Seer m'ay lay down in favour of themfC!ves, .~, f!e tbat 'k...•o1vetb Gotf, /Jcaretb uJ: be tbat khoweth n<t G~d, /garetb not 111; and no- : fhing can m~kc it reafonable, bur the confidcration that the Chriflian ltcligion be– ~. ing a]read,y fq abundantly confirmed beyond comradiCl:ion, is it felt become a R.ule to try Spnits or Miracles by. Or, . , , ;. T,l~e Miracles which falle Prophets work, are prcfcntly confuted and upon the !pot. Thus,Mofts 'confuted and conq~ercd Pharaolis Magicians, by workmg Mi- • x'lc!C:s. 1w~'~h 'thcy. coulp nor work. whicl\forced them to yield r,hecaufe, and ac- ,l{gowl,dg~. that tt was tk'fr.ger of (ioJ. And fo hkewife Simon Magus, who had '"ga1ned fo g'reat a R.eputatio;l among the people by hts Sl)rceries, as _to be call'd the n· ,rigbty polfer of God, was coni~ted by rf1e Apoflles, who by the laymg. on of.bands, b confer'd a Miraculous Power on Men, which he not being able to do, would have ,i purcha(ed ir with Money. And fo E!ymas the Sorcerer W:JS flru~k blind by Sr. Paul. And r)1e Miracles of the Heathen Temples and Oracles, upon. the Preach– >\' _ipg, of tp~ Gofpcl, cca.fe1, as being~fil~med of thcm,~el~es; as f.orp,hyry, one of the birri::refl .Epemies of C,l)ft(iianiry, docs exprdly acknowledge. Or el(e, Laflly, The Miracles wrought, or pretended to ~e \yrought ro confirm falfe Dotl:rines, arc fuch as do fame way or other confute rhcmf•ll·es ; or 1f they be real,
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