there is which is not obtained by the signs of the things but by the things themselves immediately perceived and this sort of knowledge is intuitive most near and immediate and therefore much more excellent and pleasant than that other Note secondly that all words and names of divine things and consequently all the words and names of the Scripture are not the divine things themselves the words and names of God and Christ are not God and Christ are not the Light Life and power of God to speak properly they are not the spirit of God the love of God the peace and joy of God the righteousness and holiness and Kingdom of God if we will speak properly and without a figure And even in Natural things the words and names of them do not give us an intuitive clear and immediate knowledge of them but abstractive remote and mediate as when one heareth or readeth of the Kingdom of Italy of the City of Rome or Ierusalem not having seen that Kingdom or these Cities his knowledge of them is only abstractive or discursive obtained by the signs of their names and words But when afterwards by the reading and hearing of those places his desire is kindled to see them and that he travelleth into them when he is come thither he now seeth what only before he read or heard of and he converseth face to face with the Citizens of those places he tasteth of the delightful fruits of the Country and eateth and drinketh abundantly of them this last sort of knowledge is intuitive most near and Immediate and so more excellent more clear and more pleasant then the former only by hear-say and report Now if it be a more excellent and desirable knowledge to know a natural thing and that which is visible by seeing and perceiving the thing it self without and beyond all signs of words and names whatsoever than only to know it by the external signs of words in reading hearing and meditating on them how much more desirable and clear and more delightful shall that knowledge be of God and Christ whereby God and Christ is seen and heard smelled tasted and felt yea touched and apprehended by the most inward parts of the Soul in smost Sweet embraces And let none object unto me that such a knowledge of God belongeth not unto the saints in this mortal life but is reserved for Heaven and the World to come for I answer that a first fruits pledge and earnest of it are communicated to the Saints in this mortal life by the Lord which is abundantly clear both out of many places of Scripture and also from the many experiences of many Thousands of the Saints in all Ages for the places of Scripture see but these few that follow Psal. 34.8 1 Pet. 2.3 Matth. 5.8 2 Cor. 3.18 Eph. 1.17 18. Again the inward Operations Inspirations and Illuminations of the Holy Spirit when they are present in the hearts of the faithful without any outward teacher or signs of words whatsoever make evidence unto themselves and by their own self-evidence beget a most certain and clear knowledge of themselves in the Souls of those who have them even as if one doth take Hony Milk or Wine he needeth not to use the signs of words and names to perceive them but rather in quietness and silence without the noise or whisper of words he doth better perceive those things and enjoyeth the sweetness virtue and benefit of them And so indeed God in Christ and with Christ in a deep silence as well inward as outward of all words the discursive thoughts and reasonings of the mind being also excluded for some time is much better and more clearly and delightfully felt and known then by all the words that the tongues of men and Angels ever did Utter But is therefore the use and exercise of the Scripture Words in reading hearing and meditation of them to be rejected and laid aside Nothing less only the faithful Soul following its inward guide the Holy Spirit is led from that exercise of useing the Scripture words for some time unto another kind of more noble exercise and life as it were from labour unto rest and as it were from the six days working it is led into this pleasant Sabbath yea from all its other exercises whether outward or inward where the Scriptures have a good place and service it is brought into this rest and Sabbath and spiritual sleep so to speak where with Iacob it seeth the Heavens opened and as it were the Angels of God ascending and descending Nor is this to reject the Scripture or its use and exercise if at any time the soul is led from that unto another exercise wherein the Scripture hath not Immediate place As he doth not reject preaching who from preaching passeth unto prayer nor doth he reject prayer who from that passeth unto singing and blessing or praising the blessed name of God Nor doth a man reject his studies who leaving them at certain times goeth to rest and sleep or to refresh himself with meat and drink and many such examples may be brought But if it be further enquired what the use of the Scriptures can be to a man who hath received such an Immediate knowledge of God as doth not in many things depend Immediately upon the use and exercise of the Scripture I answer the powers or faculties of the Soul are various some inferiour as the Imaginative and discursive and some superiour as the intuitive and from the good and right use of the inferior powers whose proper object are the words of Scripture or any other words proceeding from the same spirit the Soul is carried unto the use and exercise of its superior or most supream power which is the intuitive whose proper object is God and Christ with his divine riches and gifts without and beyond all words Now it is the will of God that not one only power of our Souls be exercised in the knowing and worshiping of him but all the powers and faculties or abilities of our Souls both the low and high yea and our whole man inward and outward And therefore the most bountiful and gracious God hath provided sutable and fit objects unto every power of the Soul unto the highest he hath prepared himself in his son Christ to be seen and enjoyed by the Soul without those veils and coverings of words but to the inferiour and lower powers of our Souls he hath provided the words without which they could not reach to that knowledge or apprehension of God And moreover by reading and hearing these most sweet and excellent Testimonies of Scripture our outward man is piously and holily employed the holy Spirit concurring and when the words pass or extend into outward good works and deeds then not only the tongue and ears but the hands and feet and whole body is duely and fitly exercised in the service of God And by these inferiour exercises the Holy Spirit leading and assisting because
to obtain their Revelations Or did God use no means when he did communicate unto them those Revelations and Inspirations Did he not always use their Souls and Minds at least as means and instruments when he did inspire them as he did use their Tongues and Lips to speak forth and their Hands to bring forth in writing their Prophecies Vissons and Revelations For that the Souls and Minds of the Prophets and their Intellectual Faculties or Powers were not altogether passive and suppose they had been passive altogether yet they might be accounted passive means but were partly active is clearly enough manifest from the diversity of style and phrase of speaking and writing that doth occur both in the Prophets and Apostles For Isaias doth after another manner of style express his Visions and Revelations than Amos And among the Apostles Paul and Matthew and Iohn do differ in their style and manner of expression The which diversity of style and manner of speech did proceed from the different qualifications and endowments of their minds for as the spirit of God findeth any man furnished or endued with gifts whether natural or acquired so he worketh upon him accordingly sanctifying those gifts and making use of them as means in his work and service Again that the Souls and Minds of the Prophets might be rendred apt and fit to be used by God as his instruments and means both to receive and convey the Revelations of his Will how many and how great preparations and purifications did they require all which might be called means Yea with what watchings fastings prayers and wrestlings against all inward impurities and evil and unclean suggestions and temptations of the Devil did they labour both day and night How soberly how holily how chastly how purely how obediently behoved they to walk and have their conversation in all Gods commandments both in respect of the inward and outward Man that they might be approved Ministers and Prophets of God And therefore never any Prophet of God who was true and faithful whom God inspired immediately but used divers sorts of means And did not some of the Prophets under the Law make use of Minstrels as means to fit or dispose them to prophecy in that legal and shadowy dispensation And David at sundry times when he considered the Heavens and the Stars and other excellent works of God did fall into most excellent and noble Visions and Prophesies as may be seen Psal. 8.104 107 c. And therefore the right and lawful use of means whether of Scripture in reading or hearing preaching or praying meditating or waiting singing or thanksgiving or any other appointed of God doth not in the least hinder that the illumination and revelation of God in the hearts and souls of his people be immediate and properly so to be accounted For the Sun shineth as immediately while the Husbandman doth labour in his Field using many sorts of means as when he doth nothing and oft-times the Divine Sun of Righteousness which is in Christ doth as immediately shine in the hearts of the faithful and inspire and inlighten them when they are exercised according to the Will and moving of God in the use of means as reading hearing meditating and the like as when they are not so employed but only silently waiting upon God which also may be called a mean CHAP. V. WHat doth now remain of Controversie or Debate betwixt our Adversary and us in the matter of inward and Immediate Revelation and Inspiration Perhaps he will say in this That we affirm that God doth in many things inlighten and inspire us without making use of the Scripture Means But he pleadeth that none of the Faithful is inlightened or inspired in any particular without the concurrence of Scripture To this I answer First the Controversie of Immediate Revelation is more large and general than to be restricted to that without Scripture For it is one question whether Divine Revelation be received without all means and another question whether without the means of Scripture But secondly If it were granted which yet I do not grant that no man hath any inward illumination or Inspiration or Revelation in our days without the conveyance and concurrence of Scripture used either in reading and hearing or meditation all this should not hinder the said Illumination or Inspiration to be immediate because the Scripture in that case is a continued mean or medium most closely and nearly conjoyned with that Illumination as doth sufficiently appear from what is above said Moreover it may be affirmed that as to those who from their Infancy and Childhood or from their first Conversion have been instructed and exercised in reading and hearing the Scriptures and meditating upon them that they have been a remote means at least and continue so to be in respect of their knowledge of Divine Things to wit by disposing and fitting or preparing their Minds and Hearts through the secret operation of the Holy Spirit unto true Piety Purity and Holiness and to the begetting those Divine Vertues in them whereby at length the Soul and Mind may be raised up to behold Divine Things and God and Christ himself far beyond and above the reach and measure of words which as is already said are not the Divine Things themselves but the signs and shadows as it were of them and so to see God in Christ without these veils and coverings of words We do therefore greatly esteem and value the use of the holy Scripture when it is joyned with the inward operation and illumination of God but if the use of the Scripture be separate from the said inward illumination and operation as it happeneth most frequently among the most of these called Christians it doth nothing profit but is only a killing Letter And seeing the Adversary doth acknowledge that the Gentiles know many things of God and some things that are Divine by General Revelation and these inward notices of Truth planted in them by God without Scripture whereby that which may be known of God is manifest in them therefore many things are also revealed unto Christians of God and Divine Things by General Revelation For the said General Revelation is as large or indeed more large and full in true Christians who have the Scriptures as in those Gentiles which have them not because the General Revelation commune to us with the Gentiles by virtue of Special Revelation and the doctrine of the Scriptures is much improved and perfected in true Christians yet retaining its Nature of General Revelation Even as Natural Reason and other Natural Gifts of the Soul are much improved and perfected by the operation of the Holy Spirit and yet retain their Nature as such And if we except these Doctrines and Heads of General Religion common to us with the Gentiles which are revealed both to them and us without Scripture of all which notwithstanding the Scripture doth abundantly testifie all other Doctrines and Heads of the Christian
Kingdom of God standeth not in words but in power And seeing a Christians Faith is a part of Gods Kingdom in his Soul the said Faith stands not in the words even of the Apostles by Pauls own Testimony but hath a greater and more noble and excellent Foundation to wit the Power and holy Spirit of God in the Heart of the Believer as that doth inspire and inwardly operate move and act upon the intellectual Faculties of the Soul And here possibly some will grant that the Spirit hath the greatest efficiency or stroke in working this spiritual assent or Perswasion to the Doctrine of the Gospel as an efficient Cause in the Souls of Believers but perhaps they will say as this Author saith of the common saving Graces of the Spirit that they are Moral Virtues insensibly wrought in our Hearts by the Holy Ghost and that therefore any Divine Assent or Perswasion which the Holy Ghost works in our Hearts is wrought insensibly and that the Holy Ghost in his Inspiration and Operation is incognitum quid as some Popish Schoolmen and others have affirmed the Spirits operation to be medium incognitum assentiendum i. e. an unknown medium or mean that worketh in us insensibly or without all perception on our part whose footsteps this Author seemeth to follow And seeing the Spirits Influence or Operation is altogether unperceptible to the Soul as having no objectve evidence whereby to make it self known as they affirm and that the Soul or Mind of man cannot assent to Truth without some objective evidence of truth The Scripture therefore is that medium or mean which alone as they say giveth this objective Evidence of truth to the Soul and moveth it objectively to assent to the truth Hence they distinguish betwixt subjective and objective Illumination and the Subjective and objective Influence and Assistance saying that the Spirit indeed giveth us the Subjective illumination and Assistance but the Scripture only giveth us the objective Illumination and Assistance But this distinction I have sufficiently at length refuted in my Book of Immediate Revelation above cited so that I need not insist to make a new Refutation of it here until the Author or some else disprove the Arguments I have brought there to evince that the Holy Spirit worketh sensibly and perceptibly in the hearts of Believers and giveth unto them an objective Assistance and Illumination as well as subjective or effective that both can be known and is known to be a divine assistance and to proceed from the Holy Spirit in them who have it and whose minds are well prepared and disposed to receive and observe it for the Spirits inward Operation and Inspiration or Influence is sufficiently observable and reachable enough by the inward and spiritual Senses of the Soul when excited and awakned by the power of the Holy Spirit as I can appeal to all who have the least measure of experience in the case and whose spiritual senses are awakned and duly exercised to discern betwixt Good and Evil. Such by an inward spiritual divine sensation are able to discern and distinguish betwixt a good motion and Inspiration that cometh from the Spirit of God and an evil motion and Inspiration that cometh from the Devil or some evil Spirit Again seeing by the Inspiration and Illumination of the Spirit of God we are principally inclined moved and perswaded to assent to the truth of the Scripture-Testimony and are made to believe that the Scriptures are no cunningly devised Fable but the Holy Oracles and Sayings of God by men divinely inspired as all good and sound Protestants do acknowledge we must needs consequentially affirm that the spirits illumination is the more noble Rule and preferable to the Scripture And thus we evite that fallacious Circle that some run into and for which they are derided by some of the Church of Rome because they say they believe the Scriptures for the spirits inward Testimony and to go round again they say they believe the spirits inward Testimony for the Scriptures This say the Romanists is a fallacious Circle and not to be allowed according to the Rules of right Disputation But say we as we own the Scriptures Testimony as a good secondary Confirmation to induce or move us to believe the spirits inward Testimony so we beleive the Spirits inward Testimony being chiefly moved or induced so to do by the spirit of God himself inspiring us and inwardly moving and inclining us thereunto and we principally believe the Scriptures for the spirit but the spirit we principally believe for himself or his own immediate Testimony in our hearts which is secondarily confirmed to us by the Scriptures Testimony And I see not how any true Protestant or sober rational man who owneth a necessity of the spirits Inspiration to produce saving faith in the soul can blame us for so doing And thus the Romanists have no occasion to deride or blame us for running into a vicious Circle in giving the reason of our Faith And we judge it no derogation to the Scripture to prefer the spirit of God and Christ as he doth immediately bear witness in our Hearts to the external Testimony of the Scriptures For as Iohn and all the Prophets and Apostles gave the preference to Christ as more worthy so no doubt the Scriptures which are their Words and Writings prefer the holy spirit of Christ whose servants and Instruments they are And here I give the Reader a necessary Caution which I desire him well to observe that when the Question is stated betwixt the inward and immediate Testimony of the spirit in the soul of a true Christian and the outward Testimony of the Scripture we affirm the inward is the more noble the greater and the more preferable even as the soul is the more noble part of a man and of greater value than the Body however so excellent or beautiful as being that which giveth life to the Body for as the soul quickneth the body and useth it as its Instrument so the holy spirit inspiring the Heart of a true Christian quickneth the Scriptures Testimony and maketh it to live and bring forth Fruit in the soul yet when the Question is stated betwixt the Scriptures and any Revelation Vision or Inspiration externally brought forth in Words or Writing that in this case we most willingly prefer the Scripture words and writings to any words and writings of ours how much soever inspired or proceeding from Inspiration and do most willingly submit all our Words and Writings to the publick standard Test and Touch-stone of the Scriptures to be tryed by them and not otherwise to be received than as agreeing with them A second thing which possibly this Author or some other may answer in the case is That though the Church of England according to the Common Prayer owneth the Inspiration of the holy spirit as necessary to saving Faith and to the begetting a saving and spiritual knowledge of God and the Scriptures yet
Miracle nor do we read that he spoke any Tongue but that which was common to the Iews And it is yet more unreasonable and unequal not to believe us unless we have all the miraculous Gifts of the spirit as if some were not sufficient if so we had them Surely few Churches or Persons had all the miraculous Gifts of the spirit even when they were most common And though we pretend not to those miraculous Gifts of the spirit such as speaking with Tongues healing the sick raising the dead c. yet the absence or not having any of these miraculous Gifts cannot prove that we are not otherwise divinely inspired for there are common divine Inspirations necessary to all true Christians which are of a saving Nature where they are received in Faith and Love whose peculiar and proper quality is to sanctifie those who are inspired with them and consequently are of a moral Nature the which sort of Divine Inspirations being of a different kind from these which were Miraculous that is easie to understand how the miraculous and peculiar sort of Inspirations ceasing those other of a Moral consideration do remain the which though outwardly they are not Miraculous yet inwardly they are as performing the greater Miracles for to raise the soul from Death to Life and to heal the Diseases of the soul is a greater Miracle than to raise or heal the Body A third Condition he requireth of us before we can be believed to have the spirit is That we receive what the Apostle hath written in particular that a Woman should not speak in the Church as the Commandments of God To this I answer that we do receive what the Apostle hath written as the Commandments of God when it doth appear that what he writeth is such But some things he said he wrot by permission and not by commandment And as concerning Womens speaking in the Church he doth not deliver it as an Universal Commandment that did admit no Restriction or Limitation otherwise he had contradicted his own words elsewhere in prescribing an Order to Women that their Heads be covered when they did Pray or Prophesie which to be sure was in the Church for as to private or mental Prayer no such Order is required 1 Cor. 11.5 And whereas Paul said I permit not a Woman to speak in the Church it is easie to be understood in what case that was viz. to dispute or ask Questions in the Church which was permitted unto Men and Children both among the Jews and primitive Christians but not unto Women yet did not this restrain Women to speak either in Prayer or Prophesie when they were divinely inspired so to do for both the Scripture and Church-History informs us how Women did Prophesie and Pray in the Church But this being a digression which the Author introduceth to little purpose here I shall not insist on it CHAP. III. AND now as to his Arguments or rather one bare Argument to prove that Divine Inspiration which he calleth Enthusiasm is ceased in the true Church and among true Christians I shall first produce what he saith in his own words pag. 21 22. which is the sum of all he hath said in his whole Sermon Now this reason saith he is to be taken from the wants and necessities of the Primitive Church whose Infant-state required that God should assist her with the Miraculous Gifts of the Spirit till the Gospel was sufficiently Preached about the Empire the Scriptures of the New Testament compleated the Temple-worship abolished among the Jews Idolatry destroyed among the Gentiles and both were united together under Christ into one Communion or Catholick Church And this is the sum of all the Reasons or Reason he giveth why Divine Inspirations were given to the Church in the Apostles days and for some time after and why they are ceased since as being necessary to the Churches of former times but not to the Churches of the later Now the whole force of all this Argument if all were conceded which he layeth down in the Premisses doth not conclude as concerning the Miraculous kind of Divine Inspirations wherewith they who were so miraculously inspired did spake with strange Tongues cure Diseases and the like But nothing of all this Authors Reasons doth conclude against the other sort of Divine Inspirations which were not for working any outward Miracles but were of a Moral Nature whose direct Tendency and service was to beget the true Knowledge Faith and Love of God and other Evangelical Vertues in the hearts and souls of the Ispired and also to preserve and nourish them in order to a perfect growth And that there were such Inspirations of the Spirit of God which were of a Moral Nature is clear not only from the Scripture-Testimony in abundant places but also from the Common Prayer of the Church of England already cited And seeing the Author himself granteth the necessity of saving Gifts and Operations of the Spirit in all true Believers how can these Operations of the Spirit be understood without Inspiration for how can the Spirit be suppose to operate or work any Divine effect in the Souls of Believers but as he inspireth them with his Light and Life and other divine Vertues To Inspire signifyeth nothing else but to in-breath or to breath into the Soul any Divine Vertue whatsoever and therefore that Operation or Motion of the Divine Spirit whereby he quickens the Soul that once was dead and makes it alive unto God is very properly called Inspiration or In-breathing yea from this sort of operation it is that the Spirit hath its name whether in Latin Greek or Hebrew and signifieth a Breathing so that Spiration or Inspiration may well deserve to be the common and general name of all the various kinds of the Spirits Operations in the Souls of men and especially in Believers according to the words of Christ Iohn 3.8 The Spirit breatheth or inspireth where he willeth for so the words may be translated and so did the Fathers so call'd generally understand them And we know that the occasion of Christs speaking these words was his Discourse with Nicodemus about the Regeneration or spiritual new Birth as intimating plainly unto us that the Spirits Inspiration or in breathing into the Soul is necessary unto its Regeneration This is that breath or breathing of the Spirit which Ezekiel saw come upon the dead and dry bones which made them to live the same that made Adam a living Soul of whom it is said that God breathed into him Nismah Chaim the Breath or Inspiration of life and he became a living soul and indeed it is the Inspiration of life that maketh the Soul of any man that truly liveth unto God a living soul is as necessary to the Souls spiritual Life as the breathing of the Air is unto the Life of the Body And as the Breath or Inspiration of the Spirit of God and Christ quickneth the dead Soul and raiseth a
new and spiritual Life in it so is that which slayeth Antichrist whom as the Scripture saith Christ shall destroy or slay with the Breath of his mouth and the brightness of his coming I need not be at pains I hope to prove that the Breathing and In-breathing of the Holy Spirit which is to say his Inspiration is all one thing for all the breathing of the Spirit on men is within in the Hearts and inward parts of men and therefore is properly Inspiration And according to Solomons words in the Song it is the Breathing or Inspiration of the Holy Spirit which like the South-wind blowing upon the Garden maketh the spices thereof to send forth a sweet and fragrant smell The which Spices are nothing else but the Christian Graces wherewith God indueth his Church which he maketh as a Garden and which Graces are made to operate and send forth-their Divine Smell as the Spirit of God doth breath or inspire upon the Souls of those in whom these Sacred and Heavenly Spices grow and according to Elihu in Iob the Inspiration of the Almighty giveth understanding And thus in brief we see the great necessity of Divine Inspiration both to the Church in general and to all the Members of it in particular though not in respect of those Miraculous and extraordinary Gifts of Tongues and Healings of bodily Diseases yet in regard of more Noble and Divine Effects as the Souls Regeneration and quickning and both for the planting and nourishing the Divine Graces of Gods Holy Spirit in the Hearts of all true Believers And notwithstanding of all this as it seemeth the Author of this Sermon hath a marvellous prejudice and antipathy at the word Inspiration as not applicable to any sort of the Spirits Operation in our days For though he granteth the necessity of the Spirits Operations yet I no where can find that he owneth the Word or Term Inspiration in any respect as applicable to any Operation of the Spirit at present in any Believer And the same prejudice he seemeth to have against divers other Phrases and Terms all which are either expresly found in Scripture or fully agreeable to the sense of Scripture which yet he hath the confidence to call invented and uncouth Terms as the Spirit of Preaching and Prayer the In-comings Out-lettings and In-dwellings of the Spirit How like is his Discourse in this particular to the Socinians and Pelagians who deny the necessity of any Supernatural and Divine aid or Assistance of the holy Spirit to perform our acceptable Service and Obedience unto God He saith further That the Spirit of Preaching or Praying ought to signifie no more than the skill or habit of Preaching or Praying But if he mean only a natural and acquired habit he joyneth with the Socinians and contradicteth his own former Concessions wherein he did acknowledg the necessity of the saving Gifts of the Spirit and that these were Supernatural such as Faith Love Humility Now every one that Preacheth and Prayeth either acceptably unto God or profitably for himself or his Neighbours he must Preach and Pray with Faith and Love and Humility so that these and other Divine Graces must be exercised in his Preaching and Praying which require more than even a spiritual habit to wit a present actual assistance of the Divine Spirit otherwise a man who hath the habit of Preaching and Praying according to this Author needeth not any dependance upon any new assistance of the Spirit and so it is in vain for him to pray for the same which yet is contrary to the common practice of most Preachers But whereas the Author taxeth some for pretending to the Spirit of Preaching and Praying and make as if their extemporary Prayers were the effect of Ispiration I acknowledge they are worthy to be blamed when in the mean time these very persons deny all Inspiration or Preaching and Praying by it in our days and are as great Opposers to the Principle of Immediate Revelation and Inspiration as any men in the World And it is indeed a great Error to imagine that all extemporary Prayers are the Effect of Divine Inspiration for some are and some are not and they who pretend to pray extempore by the Spirit and as with the same breath deny the very Principle of Inspiration fall into a great inconsistency which yet very many do for which they are justly taxable But to return to the Author he confesseth That in the Primitive Church in the days of the Apostles many Preached and Prayed and did sing by Inspiration and being Enthusiastically moved or acted and that this did continue in the Church for some time And first as concerning singing and praising God by inspired Hymns and Psalms He saith pag. 14. For inspired persons did usually spend their Enthusiasm in composing of Hymns and spiritual Songs And again concerning Preaching and Praying he saith pag. 15. In the Apostles time there was a miraculous Gift of Praying as well as Preaching when the spirit used to seize upon the souls of men in Publick and affect them in such an extraordinary way as to make them Pray for such things and in such a due manner as in those times when as yet the Church had composed no Liturgies Persons not inspired could not do And here he citeth a Testimony out of Chrysostome Ep. ad Rom. cap. 8. hom 14. which I thought worthy to translate into English and here insert Moreover together with all these Gifts there was the Gift of Prayer the which was called the Spirit and he who was endued with it he did pray for the whole multitude for seeing we are ignorant of many things which are profitable to us and that we ask things that are no wise profitable the Gift of Prayers did come unto one of them who standing for all the rest did pray for what was usually convenient to the whole Church and also did teach others Therefore he viz. Paul Rom. 8. calleth the Spirit both such a Gift and also that Soul which did receive it and which did intercede with God and sigh For he who is favoured with such a Grace standing with great compunction or Contrition of mind and with many sighs being humbled in mind before God asketh the things which are profitable unto all of which now is a Symbol the Minister offering Prayers unto God for the people Therefore Paul feeling this said The Spirit himself intercedeth for us with groans unutterable To the same purpose speaks Theoph. and Oecumenius upon the place But now the thing which the Author of this Sermon should have proved is That this Gift of Preaching and Praying and Singing by Divine Inspiration was of the same sort and nature with the Miraculous and extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit and equally Miraculous and Extraordinary with them which he not having done nor so much as once essayed to do from any Scripture Authority he had as good done nothing at all And the words of Chrisostome cited by
the ministry of the outward senses or those of its own making is necessary unto the attaining the fruitive or intuitive knowledge of God as aforesaid and the conversing with him nearly and intimately This I prove first from the testimony of Scripture Psalm 46.10 Be still and know that I am God and as the Septuagint hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 otiamini vacate vake ye Psalm 4.4 Speak in your heart upon your Bed and be silent so the Hebrew doth carry it Observe here by the Bed is signified the inward rest of the mind which when it attaineth it is fittest to speak unto God and vers 8. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep c. Psalm 23.2 He maketh me to lye down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters Eccles. 5.1 2. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God and be more ready to hear then to offer the sacrifice of fools for they consider not that they do evil Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God Observe in that he saith let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before the face of the Lord so the Hebrew he layeth a restraint not only upon rash words of the mouth but upon rash thoughts also of the heart which it may utter before the face of the Lord which face of the Lord is the Light of the Lord that shineth in mans heart according to the words of the fourth Psalm called the light of his Face or Countenance Now which thoughts may be called rash or hasty thoughts Surely all such as are its own as proceeding simply from the heart it self without the Divine Instinct and Inspiration of the Spirit of God for saith the Apostle not that we are sufficient to think any thing as of our selves 2 Cor. 3.5 Canticles of Solomon 5.2 I sleep but by heart waketh how Bernard undestandeth this place I shall shew afterwards and Cant. 2.3 Cant. 2.3 I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my tast Observe this whole speech being allegorical the sitting down must needs signifie the quiet and still condition of the mind and then to wit in this inward quietness of mind the fruit of her beloved is sweet to her tast Again Cant. 1.7 Tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest where thou makest thy flocks to rest at noon Isaiah 26.23 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee and as the Hebrew hath it the thought being stayed Isaiah 66.2 And on whom will I look but upon the humble and the silent and who tremble at my words So do the Septuagint translate the place And Isaiah 41.1 Keep silence before me O Islands and let the people renew their strength And Isaiah 30.15 In returning and rest shall ye be saved in silence and expectation shall be your strength Lamentations 3.26 He shall wait and be silent for the salvation of the Lord. Observe here the Scripture expresly mentioneth silent waiting or waiting in silence let the Opposers and Adversaries of Truth consider this who speak so much against silent waiting or waiting in silence and who say they read not of such a thing in Scripture and they acknowledge no waiting upon God but as they are exercised in somewhat as reading or hearing or speaking which they call waiting in Ordinances but here is a waiting in silence which is as real an Ordinance or appointment of God as any other which they utterly deny and are ignorant off Again Lamentations 3.28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence Hosea 2.14 I will perswade her and bring her into a solitary place remote from all speech and I will speak unto her heart Zechariah 2.13 Be silent O all flesh before the Lord for he is raised up out of his holy habitation Moreover notwithstanding all the disdainful language which the opposers of Truth use against silence yet see what the Prophet saith of it in the Psalm Psalm 65.1 Unto thee silence praise O God in Zion so doth the Hebrew bear it and so doth Arias Montanus translate it Tibi silentium laus Deus in Sion which may be understood either 1. That silence is praise as well as words unto God or 2. That silence is due or belonging unto God as where he said Psalm 62.1 My soul is silent verily unto God or 3. That silence is necessary as a preparation unto praise all which are true Now that silence mentioned so frequently in Scripture is not a bare outward silence but a silence of the mind or soul from its own thoughts whether arising from corrupt and inferiour nature or from the active part of it self as it can act so much as in thought without the Divine Inspiration of the Spirit of God for without this all thoughts of mans heart touching Divine and Spiritual things are but barren and hurtful but such as are conceived in the mind by vertue of a Divine Instinct and Inspiration of God are profitable and fruitful and sweet unto the soul above hony or the hony comb even as David said how sweet are thy thoughts unto me O God For as I have already showed out of Bernard such thoughts are the words or speech of God as he speaketh in us by the Spirit Now when we speak of being silent from thoughts we do not understand these thoughts which are conceived or formed in us by Divine Inspiration for they are not inconsistent with the true silence but arise out of it and remain or spring up therein Secondly I prove the same from Antiquity I. Clemens Alexandrinus lib. 5. Stromatum he who neither maketh use of his sight nor any other of his senses in his thinking or contemplating but by the pure mind it self applieth to things obtaineth the true Philosophie Also Pythagoras his five years silence had this signification that he commanded his disciples that they should turn away from sensible things and behold and Contemplate God with the pure mind observe by the pure mind he understandeth the mind not only cleansed from its lusts but separated from the sensible Images of sensible things II. Augustin lib. 9. cap. 10. of his Confessions If to any the tumults of the flesh were silent and the phantasies of the Earth Water and Air were silent and the Poles of Heaven were silent and if the soul were silent unto it self and should pass beyond it self not thinking on it self and if Dreams and Imaginary Revelations were silent and every Tongue and Sign and whatever is made passing from one to another if to any it can be silent for if any hear all these things speak we have not made our selves but he hath made us who remaineth for ever Having said this if now they be silent because they have roused or awakened up the ear to him who made them let him speak alone not by them but by himself that we may
but mediately beside that such a distinction cannot be proved from scripture being altogether a mere invention and fiction of mans brain they who had the Spirit immediately did oftentimes obtain it by means of the preaching of others unto them And the gift of Prophecying or speaking immediately by the Spirit was continued in the Church in the times of Iustin Martyr and Tertullian as they themselves do testifie the which continuation of so excellent a gift was by means of preaching so long as the Preachers did preach purely by the Spirit and also did purely and chastly live and walk in the Spirit But when the Preachers left off or ceased to preach by the Spirit and to live in the Spirit and to put their own spirit in the room and place of the Spirit of God and of Christ that Spirit and gift of Prophesie the which is greatly to be lamented did cease in great part What the Adversary disputeth against R. B. in his following Paragraphs to the end of his dissertation and answereth to R. B. his solid and firm arguments taken from scripture doth altogether lean upon that false foundation sufficiently refuted by me to wit that because the faithful both under the new and old covenant received the Holy Spirit by means of outward Preaching ordinarily and commonly that therefore they were not immediately endued and inspired with the same the which consequence I have already over and over again showed to be most false although it were granted that all the faithful had always received the Spirit by means of outward Preaching or using of the scriptures the which I will never grant unto him And if I shall grant unto him that the faithful received the Spirit of Christ in some degree by means of the doctrine outwardly preached while as yet they were as children and Infants he can never prove from this that when they were more advanced into a spiritual and holy life and come unto the state of men that they did always receive the further measures and degrees of the Spirit by means of outward Preaching For it doth not follow that because at sometime they received the Spirit by means thereof that they always did so receive it in the fuller and larger measures and degrees thereof even as it doth not follow that because a Child or Infant needeth the ministry or means of a Nurse or Servant to feed it in that weak state that therefore it always needeth the help of that Nurse or Servant when it is come to a mans Age and growth I shall not therefore stay to answer to every thing of his Dissertation by giving still new answers seeing one answer doth suffice to them all and if I should still repeat that one Answer I should both lose my time and labour and also should weary the Reader and beget a loathing in him and therefore with this one Answer I reply unto all he hath objected against R. B. That he departeth from the state of the question and still beggeth the thing in controversie and so falleth into that error commonly called in the Schools Petitio principii i. e. a taking for granted the thing in controversie while he doth continually oppose and set at variance the immediate communication of the Holy Spirit and the means of outward Preaching and other the like helps which are not to be opposed but do well agree And it is so far otherwise that the Spirits immediate communication doth not only not hinder or make void the use of any means appointed of God as of Preaching Reading and Hearing the scriptures and meditating upon them that on the contrary it doth truly and solidly establish them sanctifie them and maketh them all effectual But that the Adversary doth continually bind up or tye the operation of the Holy Spirit to the outward letter of the Scripture either as read or heard or meditated upon is too rashly done in him and he hath not in all his Dissertation so much as once essayed to prove it And however his common and too credulous Hearers and Disciples in the School may easily receive his bare Affirmations without Proof yet they cannot find place with us nor with others we know better things and whose inward and spiritual eyes God out of his abundant Grace hath opened to discern the Truth But suppose which yet is not at all to be granted that the Illumination of the Holy Spirit is continually bound up or tyed to the outward Sign or Letter yet it doth not thence follow even upon that absurd principle that the Illumination of the Holy Spirit is not immediate or is not immediately perceived by us Even as if it were granted that the outward Illumination and Light of the outward and visible Sun is never seen by the eyes of men separated from all other visible objects but always joyned and united with them and always shining upon some one or other of the visible objects and reflecting its beams upon them though such who have Eagles eyes can look strait upon the Sun himself yet it will not from thence follow that the outward Illumination or Light of the outward Sun is not immediately received and seen or perceived by us CHAP. VIII ANd here I might well enough by right make an end of my Answering but because he doth affirm divers things in his other Paragraphs following which partly need correction and partly conduce to manifest the truth therefore I shall not be unwilling to take notice of them in a few particulars In his Twenty Second Paragraph he erreth in saying universally and without making any distinction that there is no substantial difference but only accidental and circumstantial betwixt mediate and immediate outward and inward Revelations according to the different kind of the signs under which God doth manifest himself For although this may be granted in those inward Revelations made in the Imagination yet not in these which have place in the highest faculty or power of the Soul which is the intuitive aforementioned For the Revelation which is given to this supreme or highest power of the soul that is intuitive and which is opened and awakened only in those who are sanctified and spiritually renewed doth not consist of signs but God himself and the Divine Things of his Kingdom in their own proper light and evidence discover themselves in the souls and hearts of the faithful without all signs And therefore however the outward Revelation may be called accidental because it doth but contain the signs which are accidents yet the inward Revelation which hath place in the Souls intuitive power and respecteth the Divine Things themselves without signs is to be called substantial In his Twenty Fourth Paragraph he hath these notable words When our men saith he affirm that at sometimes the outward Revelation is the formal object of the Saints Faith the meaning is not that the Faith of the Saints doth precisely lean or rely upon that which is outward in that Revelation or
Holy Spirit alone to the Heart and Soul of the Faithful I inquire if in this case the inward presentation of the object were not to be called an Immediate Revelation The which if he grant therefore I say it is now immediate when the outward object is adjoyned to it for that inward illumination and Revelation doth not change its Nature in the absence and presence of the outward object having all entirely in it self that belongs to an Immediate Revelation but remaineth the same whether it be joyned to the outward or separated therefrom Even as the soul of man whether joyned to the Body or separated therefrom yet it still retaineth its own Nature that it is the immediate Principle of its operations both in the Body and out of the Body And indeed by a certain Analogy as the Soul is to the Body so is the Spirit of God inwardly operating and illuminating to the outward testimony of the Letter And because the Soul doth many things by the means of the Body yet that doth not hinder but that it is the immediate principle of its operations But the Soul doth many things in respect of its most inward and intellectual operations without the means and help of the Body even when it is in the Body and therefore why may not that Divine Spirit as it doth many things in the Saints by means of the Letter of the scripture do or work some other things and not use the means of the Letter Yea how many things doth the Holy Spirit reveal and open in Men as belonging to the special and particular acts of Vertue and Vice that do far transcend and go beyond the straitness and narrow compass of words of which Seneca the Gentile and an Heathen so called doth Write well Lib. 2. De Ira. How narrow Innocency is that saith he to be good according to the Law He understandeth a Law writ or contained in words How much more doth the Rule of Duties extend than that of Law How many things doth Piety Humanity Liberality Iustice and Faithfulness require which are not in the publick Tables or Records to wit all written Laws Thus Seneca For as he who describeth some Kingdom as of Germany or England with Words or Mapps cannot describe it in as great largeness as it doth contain in it self but in much narrower bounds And although he describe all the Cities Towns and Villages of the said Kingdom yet he doth not describe all the houses of every City and Village or all the Fields and Orchards belonging to it much less all the Rooms and Chambers of each House or all the Acres and Roods of the Corn Fields or all the particular Ears of Corn that grow in those Fields or all the Trees and Fruits of these Orchards particularly one by one And even so they who describe the Kingdom of God which is within us to wit the Writers of the Holy Scripture they could not describe all the particulars contained in that Kingdom the which particulars are yet very necessary to be known unto the Saints and therefore the Holy Spirit revealeth unto them those particular things which are not contained in the Scripture And the same is to be understood of the Kingdom of Vices and of Satan that it containeth many more particular vices and sins than can be described by any words And as concerning the glory of Gods Kingdom in the Saints it may be well said in the words of the Queen of the South concerning Solomon's Glory that the same or report of the Glory was true but the half of it was not told the which cannot be told by any words And therefore the Scripture it self calleth the joy of the Lord in the Saints a joy unspeakable and that the Peace of God which is in them doth not only surpass all words but all to wit discursive understanding Moreover R. B. showeth in his Apology from pag. 39. to pag. 43. to which the Adversary hath answered nothing that there are many particular things very necessary to be known unto every one of the faithful which are no where revealed in the Scripture and are therefore immediately to be revealed unto them by the Spirit such as especially concerning the Souls inward state and those inward calls of God unto the soul to the discharging or performing of its particular services In his thirtieth parag he saith it is one thing that the Spirit is within a man and another thing that the said Spirit is given not mediately but Immediately by a meer inward operation without an outward mean surely saith he the habits of arts and sciences are within in the mind of man and yet for most the part they are given to men not Immediately but mediately or by means of the outward teaching of the Master and a few lines after he saith we not only grant but we earnestly plead for the indewlling of the Holy Spirit as altogether necessary to Christians That he doth acknowledge and plead for the indwelling and inbeing of the Holy Spirit to be altogether necessary to Christians it is well but that he doth absolutely deny the Immediate Operation and Revelation of the indwelling Spirit of God he doth badly for although that this inward teacher and Master doth frequently teach his Disciples by means of the Scripture shall he therefore teach them nothing by word of mouth or his own living voice Immediately shall he not expound open to them what they read in the Scriptures with his living voice or shall he sit and remain in them always as one dumb which God forbid that we should so imagine speaking or saying nothing nay not so much as one small sentence but what is in express words contained in the Scripture and borrowed from them surely such an assertion is too rash and without all ground from Scripture and is most unworthy of God immortal our most excellent Master and Pastor yea our Bridegroom and Husband to fain any such things of him which no Mortal or Earthly School-Master would do to his Disciples and if he did so all would judge him a Fool and unfit for such an affair if to wit he should say nothing unto them but what is contained in the Book which they became in so many words and which he takes out of the Book and should speak nothing to them Immediately by word of mouth What disciple would bear such a School-Master or rather would not turn him off and chuse another more friendly and familiar unto him or what woman would not take it very unkindly and unworthy if her Husband did not speak to her any one small sentence immediately and by word of mouth but did leave all that is to be said to letters or epistles writ by him of old or what servant would willing serve such a Master who being presently with him in the same house did not speak to him at any time not one word by word of mouth immediate whither he did well or ill please him Surely this
of the connexion and union of the powers of the Soul we are brought into the divine vision for the things which we read and hear in the Scripture the Holy Spirit cooperating excite our attention attention exciteth memory memory exciteth the imagination viz. not the vain every imagination but that which is a natural faculty of the Soul given it of God the imagination exciteth the reason or reasonable and discursive facultie and reason exciteth in us the love and desire of seeing and lastly this love and desire exciteth vision it self or the intuitive faculty and power of the Soul whereby God himself that most desireable good and most delightful object is seen as he is pleased to reveal himself and not otherwise and enjoyed yea and as it were with both the arms of the Soul is held and embraced for some space of time but this intuitive power of the Soul whereby God is seen is blinded and shut up in all unregenerated and unsanctified men And thus the Soul is led as it were through those six daies or steps of labour of its inferiour powers in reading hearing and meditating on the Scriptures and practising what it reads of the practical part in the leadings and enablings of God's Holy Spirit until it cometh unto the sweet Sabbath and rest of the divine fruition And this is that state of which Augustine seemeth to speak lib. 1. de Doctrina Christiana cap. 39. saying A man that is endued with Faith Hope and Love and holdeth them firmly needeth not the Scriptures but to instruct others that is as I understand in respect of that supreme power of his Soul whereby he reacheth unto God and apprehendeth him with Faith Hope and Love far beyond and above all manner or measure of words he needeth not the Scriptures although he needeth them in regard of his inferiour powers as well for his own instruction as for the instruction of others And in his first Book de consensu Evangelistarum cap. 5. discoursing of the active and contemplative vertue he saith thus In this mortal life that to wit the active vertue is in the work of a good Conversation but this to wit the Contemplative is more in Faith and with some darkly as in a Glass and in part in some vision of the unchangeable truth These two vertues are figuratively understood in Jacob 's two Wives for Lea signifieth labouring and Rachel signifieth the beginning of Vision Thus Augustine than which what can be more clear as belonging to the present question And Luther also as appeareth out of a Book published in High-Dutch Anno 1618. called the Harmony or Concord did assert Such an inward Illumination and Inspiration immediate of God which did teach the faithful above all Books and outward hearing by vertue of which they needed not the Books of the Scripture but to prove unto others that it is so written And he said That a man so taught and inlightned of God was above all Law to wit outward in a Sermon of his on Pentecost And in the same Sermon he describeth the second Law not to be of the Letter but of the Spirit not pronounced with the mouth nor writ with Pen and Ink but to be the holy Spirit Himself or at least his work which he worketh in the heart And in a Sermon of his upon the Magnificat he saith No man can know God or his Word aright who doth not receive it immediately from the holy Spirit Note here that the term Immediate is used by Luther Again on the fourth Psalm he saith Faith is well called the light of God's countenance because it is an Illumination divinely inspired into our mind and a certain Ray of the Divinity infused into the heart of the Believer whereby every one who is saved is directed and saved Again in his Postill dom 8. Serm. 2. speaking of Faith as aforesaid he saith the Preached Word is to be ruled by Faith and not Faith by the Preached Word And after All Doctrines are to be grounded on Faith to wit that Divine Illumination inspired into the Mind for Faith is the Touchstone Measuring Line Rule and Ballance wherewith all Doctrines are to be weighed proved and judged And on the 11 th Psalm The words of the Lord are pure words he saith The Prophet David here doth not speak of the Scripture but specially of the Word of God and they are then the words or speeches of the Lord when he speaketh them in us as he did in the Apostles And in his Sermon on Pentecost he saith It is necessary that God speak to thee in thy heart and that is Gods Word otherwise the Word of God remaineth unspoken What can be more clearly said for immediate Inspirations and Illuminations or who can be a greater Enthusiast than Luther according to the aforesaid words I know indeed that Luther spoke and writ many things against false Enthusiasts who did vaunt and boast of their Revelations and Inspirations that were false and contrary to Scripture which yet doth not hinder but that Luther might be a true Enthusiast even as he may be a true Christian who Writeth against false or Christians falsely so called CHAP. III IN his Fifth Paragraph he findeth fault with R. B. his words for saying where outward means are wanting God himself infinitely good and merciful is present to supply their defect as to the salvation of Souls and that Gods immediate help is present unto all and that God doth prevent the use of means by the inward and immediate motions influences and illuminations of his Spirit This is that saith our Adversary in which we dissent from him To whom I answer If in this ye dissent from him ye also dissent from your Ancestor Luther on the same Question For he in his Commentary upon the Epistle to the Galatians cap. 3. Enquiring of Infants and dumb persons how they believe doth answer with Ierome that nothing is deaf unto the Word of God nor void of hearing which speaketh not unto the outward ears but these of which it is said He who hath ears to hear let him hear Again that the Adversary denyeth that God doth prevent or go before the use of means by his inward illumination and operation he dissenteth from Augustine as well as from Scripture lib. 4. de consensu Evangelist where he thus expoundeth the words of Christ Matth. 26.32 I will go before you into Galilee This saying is to be taken saith he prophetically For Galilee signifieth either Transmigration or Revelation According then to its first signification of Transmigration what other thing doth occur to be understood than this that the Grace of Christ was to pass over from the People of Israel into the Gentiles to whom the Apostles when they should Preach if the Lord had not prepared the way in their hearts they would not have believed the Gospel Preached by them and this should be understood by these words He shall go before you into Galilee But according
Religion which is a special Religion more perfect and excellent than the General and perfiting the said General Religion in true Christians are made known unto us by the Scripture means the Holy Spirit inwardly inlightning and inspiring us that we may understand the Doctrines declared in the Scripture and may savingly apply them with true and sincere Faith to the salvation of our souls And what more any can require of us to establish the due use of the Scripture or of any other means I do not understand And as concerning the aforesaid experimental and sensible knowledge of God that is only manifest or obvious to the inward and supreme sences and powers of the Soul as they are opened and awakened in us by the work of Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Ghost although the Scripture words do not immediately concur in the formal act of such a Divine and Intuitive Knowledge as the words of a mans name do not make me see the man yet the Scriptures do witness abundantly concerning such an experimental and spiritually sensible knowledge of God which is perceived in a most inward union and communion of the Soul with God and in a certain Intellectual or spiritual contact or touch of which not only Plato and Plotin and others among those called Philosophers but the Apostles among the Christians have largely made mention And after the Apostles Athanasius Gregory Nazianzen Clemens Alexandrinus Origen and many others among the Grecians and Augustine and Ierome with many others many Ages ago among the Latines and in latter Ages Bernard Thauler and Thomas a Kempis and the Author of the German Theology unto whose Book Luther did write a Preface and did much commend it All these and generally these called Mysticks and Writers upon Mystick Divinity so called do Preach and hold forth a certain Knowledge of God which is received without all words by a certain inward gust taste and touch and inward feeling of God and Divine Things in the souls and hearts of those who have attained unto that due state and degree of purity and holiness requisite in order to such a knowledge and enjoyment And hence it is that they distinguish Theology or the knowledge of God into discursive on the one hand and mystick or intuitive and contemplative on the other and they say the former is had or received by words and verbal discourses syllogisms propositions premisses and conclusions gathered and collected from Scripture which yet without the Spirits inward illumination and operation is not effectual to the salvation of those who have it but that this latter is obtained by a naked and simple perception and intuition of God and Divine Things as the mind is purified and cleansed and denuded as it were from all images and similitudes or signs of words or outward things whatsoever That we may therefore put a conclusion to the forming the state of the controversie aright which is the most principal thing if the question be made concerning doctrinal and discursive Theology or knowledge which require words propositions definitions reasons arguments and conclusions we shall readily grant that the Scriptures are a General Principle of the same but Secundary the Holy Spirit inwardly inlightning and inspiring mens souls and hearts being still the Primary and Principal and that by means of the Scriptures in reading and hearing and meditating upon them and as they are preached and opened and used by men spiritually gifted and fitted of God we attain to the knowledge of the said discursive and doctrinal Theology and most especially the Scriptures are of service unto us when we turn or convert the words of them that do most nearly respect Holiness of Life and Manners such as the precepts and examples of Christian Vertues into good works and deeds and into a good and Christian Life But in the experimental and mystick or intuitive and contemplative Theology not the Scripture words but the things themselves signified by the words to wit God Christ the Holy Spirit the Life Light and Power of God the Love Peace and Joy of God and the Kingdom of God which Christ did testifie to be within us reveal and demonstrate themselves to the souls and hearts of the faithful by themselves nakedly in their own proper and native light glory and evidence without words even as the outward things and riches of this visible world and the beauty glory and vertue of them reveal and discover themselves unto our outward senses without words and far beyond the force or reach of words And if outward things without words are continually presented to our outward senses it followeth that inward things to wit the things of the Divine and Heavenly Kingdom which is in us are presented to our inward and spiritual senses without words seeing these inward and spiritual things are as near to our souls yea much nearer ' as those outward things are to our bodies And thus the state of the Controversie being rightly framed and brought to a period I shall have little difficulty to answer the following Paragraphs or Sections of the Adversary seeing in all things almost he goeth without or beyond the state of the Controversie and so contendeth not so much against us or R. B. as his own shadow or thoughts CHAP. VI. WHat the Adversary saith in his Ninth and Tenth Paragraphs are of the same tendency with the things he had formerly mentioned belonging to the state of the Controversie In his Eleventh Paragraph he saith the Controversie is not of any sort of Revelation but that of Immediate And in his Twelfth he affirmeth that Revelation considered in it self doth prescind or abstract from that which is Immediate and Mediate And he assenteth unto R. B. his five Propositions pag. 9. of his Apology and that Divine Revelations remain to be the formal object of the Saints Faith but he denyeth them to be Immediate To whom I answer that he granteth with us That he inward illuminations and operations of the Holy Spirit are altogether necessary to beget true and saving Faith in men and that these inward illuminations are objective or by way of Object Par. 32. and Par. 34. So that the act of Faith is occupied or exercised and doth finally stay in God himself revealing as the Object And what he subjoyneth That God revealing as the formal Object in whom the Vnderstanding stayeth or resteth and the Divine Revelation consisting of the external signs are not to be opposed Because when God the revealer by outward words Preached or Writ moveth the Vnderstanding to acknowledge them to be as a Divine Revelation it cannot be denyed that the Vnderstanding doth so rest in God revealing as the formal Object So that it doth also regard these signs depending on God by which that Revelation doth consist meaning the words All this is granted both by me and R. B. yea that is it for which R. B. pleadeth viz. that God inwardly illuminating and moving the Understanding to the assent of the
adversary doth fain or devise a wonderful strange sort of indwelling of God and the Holy Spirit in the Souls of the faithful without all Immediate speech or concern Certainly to speak after the manner of men it is hard to think how two intimate Friends can dwell together in one house and follow the same manner of life in many things and yet the one speak nothing to the other immediately or by word of mouth all the whole time of their living so nearly But indeed the indwelling and habitation of God and Christ by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the faithful is a thing far more sweet and joyful then this adversary doth imagine the which as it is most inward or Primitive and Immediate in them so it doth import likewise an Intimate and Immediate familiarity converse and communication And as concerning the habits of arts and sciences whereof he made mention which are in the minds of men and yet are given not Immediately but by means of the outward teaching of the Master I say the seeds and principles of all these arts and sciences are Immediately planted and sowed in our minds as the purest and truest Philosophy doth teach and all arts and sciences do Immediately sprout and spring forth from these seeds and principles Immediately planted in us as the Flouers and fruits of Herbs and Trees do spring and grow from their Seeds and Roots Nor is such an Immediate production hindered but rather much helped by the external culture of means applyed both to the Seeds and Roots of the Earth and also to these unplanted and ungrafted notices and principles of natural knowledge and of this the aforesaid Seneca doth discourse very well lib. 4. de benef cap. 6. The seeds of all ages and of all arts are implanted in us saith he and God the inward or secret Master brings forth Engines or knowledges and cap. 7. thou will say nature doth these things unto me Dost thou not understand saith he when thou sayest this that thou changest the name of God for what else is nature but God and Divine reason infused into the whole World and all its parts and Tertullian discoursing of the innate witness in the Soul worthy of behalf some calling it natural the more natural saith he the more divine In his 34 parag Because R. B. did argue from the nature of the new Covenant that all the faithful under the Gospel were Immediately taught of God the adversary doth infer against him that then it doth follow that the faithful under the Old Covenant were not Immediately taught which is against his first assertion But this is easily answered in few words that all the faithful under the Old Covenant were Immediately taught of God yet not by virtue of the Old Covenant but of the New which New Covenant in some degree had place in the time of the Old and was to be further revealed in Gospel days after the coming of Christ in the flesh and I think strange that this Doctor or Teacher did not advert to this being so obvious a thing Again that he thinketh R. B. understandeth by the phrase of Scripture in those Gospel promises of God his putting his Spirit in his people and his words in their mouths as that Isaiah 59. that all using of means is excluded he is much described for R. B. doth not understand an exclusion of means but doth abundantly acknowledge a necessary use of them Only he doth plead that over and beside the outward testimony of the letter God hath promised to speak himself to the Soul which two things are not to be opposed but both are to be granted Again that he affirmeth God his putting words in the mouths of his people to design that the word is outwardly to be preached we grant it is but so that those words be put in the mouths of those speakers by God himself Immediately as he put words in the mouths of the Prophets and Apostles Immediately to preach unto others and outwardly to instruct them But if God put not his words in the mouth of any since the Apostles days certainly the Church ever since should be in a worse and more abject condition now under the Gospel then it was under the Law for in all ages under the Law God raised up some Prophets and Ministers to whom he spoke Immediately and in whose mouth he put his words Immediately to speak them forth And if nothing of this kind now be given to the Church instead of her being nearer unto God and more familiar and partaking more abundantly of the life and light of God and Christ she shall be further removed and more estranged from him and receive much less of these his Divine Gifts and blessings now under the Gospel then formerly under the Law Moreover as to what he writeth of the Scripture being a Canon so filled up as if nothing since the days of the Apostles to the end of the World either by Word or Writ it to proceed Immediately from the Spirit of God conform to the Doctrine of the Scripture already delivered and declared in Scripture he affirmeth this indeed very confidently but proveth it nothing at all and the authority of Iustine Martyr Ireneus and Tertullian doth contradict him who expresly writ that the gift of prophesying or speaking in the Church by Immediate Inspiration were continued unto their times In his 35 Parag. he saith the Christians are the more happy viz. then the Jews although the Christians want altogether Immediate Revelation which some of the Jews at last had because the Christians may know the mind of God out of the Scripture that is made publick and obvious unto all whereas the Jews were to take long Journeys from home to consult the Priests and to solicite and wait for the respouses of the High Priests which were rare to be obtained But what for a refuge and evasion is this instead of answering more becoming some Socinian or Pelagian then our Adversary who at other times doth so much profess the indwelling and inward Illumination of the Holy Spirit its being necessary to all the faithful But was it not a great glory and ornament to the Church of the Jews and which was greatly to the advantage of it to have their Prophets to whom God spoke immediately and were they not in this more happy than other Nations that the gift of Prophecy did flourish among them and when Devils and unclean Spirits gave forth their Oracles unto the Nations God most Holy and most Pure gave his Immediate Oracles unto the Jews and his Holy Spirit unto the Prophets that they might declare them and unto the People that they might believe and understand them without which holy Spirit its being given to the people the Oracles themselves could not be understood as is manifest in the Jews at this day who although they have these ancient Preachers to wit the Scriptures of the Old Testament yet they do not understand them
owneth the words Enthusiasm Enthusiast and Enthusiastical as applicable to some Persons who were true and sincere Christians and divinely inspired And yet the Title of his Printed Sermon presumeth to Exorcise the Spirit of Enthusiasm without making any distinction as if the said Spirit were some Devil or unclean Spirit universally But if he say he meaneth not the Spirit of Enthusiasm as it was in the Primitive times but as it is now in the following ages since the true Divine Spririt of Enthusiasm did universally cease or expire To this I answer it is more than he hath proved or can prove that the true Spirit of divine Enthusiasm hath universally ceased among Christians and as for his reasons or proofs I hope with Gods assistance sufficiently to discover their weakness and invalidity and that he layeth a too weak and unsteddy foundation for so great and weighty superstructure But how this Author presumeth to Exorcise the Spirit of Enthusiasm without the least measure of the Spirit of Divine Enthusiasm I am at a loss to understand for if the Spirit of Enthusiasm be such a Devil as he supposeth it generally to be how can it be Exorcised or cast out but by a measure of the Divine Spirit of Enthusiasm for the Author will readily as I suppose acknowledge that all the Exorcists in the Apostles times who had power to Exorcise and cast out evil Spiritsâ— were Enthusiastically inspired so that by the Spirit of God and Christ inspiring them as being the stronger they did cast out evil Spirits who were the weaker But if the Author think that without some divine Enthusiasm or inspiration he can cast out or Exorcise any devil or unclean Spirit only by the strength of his parts or humane Spirit or barely naming the words of Scripture and of Jesus and Paul let him call to mind and consider what happened unto them who presumed to Exorcise a certain unclean Spirit with the names of Jesus and Paul without having that divine Spirit which was in Jesus and Paul To whom the Spirit answered Iesus we know and Paul we know but who are Ye and the Man in whom the evil Spirit was leapt on them and overcame them and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded read Acts 19.13 14 15 16. I no where find in Scripture or any credible History that any ever had power to Exorcise the Devil or any unclean Spirit unless he was in indeed with the Spirit of God for the weaker must be overcome by the stronger but whither the Author thinketh himself by his meer natural parts and humane Spirit stronger then the Devil let him see to it Another thing he should greatly advert to lest he hath called the Operation of the Spirit of God and Christ in his Children the work of the Devil which to do is a great iniquity and yet is pardonable through repentance if not committed knowingly and willfully which I hope this Author hath not done therefore I can heartily pray unto God that he may be forgiven and his eyes may be opened to see and acknowledge the Truth But to pass from the name of word Enthusiasm for which being no Scripture word we shall not contend let us come to the thing it self to wit true divine inspiration Vision and Revelation and true divine inward teaching and leading and moving of the holy Spirit Immediately whither in some measure or degree it be not the common priviledge of all Gods people and of all sincere and true Christians I take notice of the Authors distinction pag. 4. of two sorts of spiritual gifts Common and Special By the common gifts of the Spirit he saith he meaneth all those that all Christians are bound to pray for and expect and that are given by God in common to all those who sincerely desire them and labour after them and that are necessary for the Salvation of the Soul and of this sort he saith are all the saving gifts and graces of the Spirit called in the Schools gratiae gratium facientes which the Spirit helps to work in mens hearts as Faith Hope Charity Purity Humility and all other gracious habits of the Mind which the Apostle calls the fruit of the Spirit and wherein the image of God the power of Godliness and the Spirit of Christianity truly do consist By special gifts he understandeth those which men are not ordinarily bound to expect and which unless it be in some few circumstances that seldom happen would be vanity and presumption to beg of God and which by consequence are not necessary for the Salvation of the Soul Of this sort he saith are all the Miraculous unctions of the Holy Ghost called by the Schoolmen gratiae gratis datae such as the gift of tongues power of working Miracles signs and wonders the Spirit of prophecy c. But these sorts of gifts saith he agree in this that they are supernatural and freely given by God to men This distinction brought by the Author I willingly own and acknowledge But the thing that remains for him to prove is that no sort of Immediate divine Revelation and Inspiration and Immediate divine teaching is any of those common and ordinary gifts given freely of God to all true and sincere Christians Now that the inspiration of the holy Spirit is one of these common gifts of the Spirit doth plainly appear from the Common Prayer of the Church of England according to this very difinition of a common saving gift of the Spirit given here by the Author to wit that it is such as all Christians are bound to pray for and expect but such is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit according to the Common Prayer of the Church of England for thus she prayeth in the Collect on the first Sunday after Easter Lord from whom all good things do come grant us thy humble Servants that by thy Holy Inspiration we may think those things that be good and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same through our Lord Iesus Christ Amen Again in the first prayer at the Communion immediately after our Father c. it saith Almighty God unto whom all hearts be open cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy holy Spirit that we may perfectly love thee and worthily magnifie thy name c. Again in the 4 Prayer which hath this Title for the whole state of Christs Church Militant here on Earth it saith thus beseeching thee to inspire continually the universal Church with the Spirit of Truth Vnity and Concord Thus we see how at three several times the Church of England prayeth for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and if she pray for it she ought certainly to expect it and not believe it is ceased or expired which makes me think it the more strange that one of her own members and that a Doâ—tor also should deny this so excellent and precious a gift and condemn it as some Devil
his other Brethren to Paul and all the other Apostles as if the Apostles because of their Inspirations and Revelations knew but in part and as Children having little use of their rational Faculties whereas this Author having attained to the adult state he is become perfect in Knowledge and like Moses converseth with God face to face and that without all Revelation or Inspiration immediately from God But how did Moses converse or speak with God face to face to whom the Lord said Thou canst not see my face and live was it without all manner of immediate Revelation or Inspiration I trow not but rather after a more noble and higher sort of Divine Inspiration than was commonly given to other Prophets But how much more sutable and agreeable to truth is that exposition of Pauls words that is commonly given that Paul compareth his highest attainments in this Life even by Vision and Revelation or Inspiration with what he did expect and wait for after death so as the highest attainments of Divine Knowledge by Revelation or Inspiration belonging to this life are but as the attainments of Children in comparison with what the Saints are to expect after death in the life to come But whereas the Author thinketh that the highest Revelations given in this life are but by symbolical Representations upon the phansie as in a Glass he is much mistaken There is a Revelation of God which God pleaseth at times to give to his Children far beyond all symbolical Representations or Similitudes of things whereby God in Christ and the pure Glory of God is seen and enjoyed by the highest and noblest faculty of the Soul which is an earnest and first Fruits of Eternal Life Nor is the Author more dexstrous in expounding all that diversity of Gifts mentioned 1 Cor. 12.4 8 9 10. to have been the miraculous and extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit for why might not some of them have been the common and ordinary and others of them miraculous and extraordinary By common and ordinary I mean not here such as were given to all and every one in particular but such common ministerial Gifts as God gave in common to all ordinary Teachers and Preachers and Ministers of the Lords fitting and sending for of these ministerial Gifts the Apostle is here principally to be understood And whereas the Author here doth argue that the Gifts mentioned in this place cannot be the saving Gifts of the Spirit because these God bestoweth joyntly on those who have them or not at all whereas the Gifts mentioned here are given some to one and some to another But to this I answer although the Gifts here mentioned in the foregoing Verses be not the saving Universal Gifts mentioned by him which are given to every one of the Faithful yet it doth not follow that therefore they are all miraculous and extraordinary for some of them might be of a third and middle sort to wit given in common to all Teachers and Preachers and may be called saving in such a sense or respect as the Preaching of the Gospel and distinct Offices of the Ministry may be called saving as being instrumental to the Salvation of Souls as it is said in Scripture That it pleased God by the foolishness of Preaching to save them that believe And if according to the Author all the Gifts here mentioned be miraculous and all ceased within some few ages after the Apostles days then according to him there is no word of Wisdom nor of Knowledge in the Church which how harsh it will sound to Christian ears I leave the spiritual to judge But that the Author taketh this place of Scripture viz. 1 Cor. 12.4 for his Text and Foundation of his whole Discourse to prove that all the Gifts here mentioned were miraculous and consequently expired within some few Ages to the Apostles times is meerly asserted by him but not at all really proved And he might as well say that Faith Hope and Charity were miraculous Gifts of the Spirit and consequently expired with those other for of them also he discourseth a little after and compriseth them with the other sorts under the diversity of Gifts mentioned v. 4. whereas the Spirit is one So that in this whole Discourse of Pauls concerning the diversity of Gifts Chap. 12.13 14. he mentioneth no less than three several sorts one miraculous and extraordinary another sort common and ordinary to the Teachers in the Church and peculiar unto them a third sort viz. Faith Hope Charity common to all true and sincere Christians so that this diversity of Gifts extendeth it self to all the Church one way or another all having some although every one had not all even as the precious Ointment that ran down from Aarons beard unto the lowest skirts of his Garments And though when the Apostle doth treat of Faith Hope and Charity it is in the thirteen and fourteenth Chapters yet the Discourse is still one and the same as one intire piece and all the Gifts mentioned in all the three Chapters are contained under the diversity of Gifts viz. Spiritual Gifts mentioned v. 4. of Chap. 12. and all proceed from one Spirit so that it may and ought to be said of them of all Now there are diversities of Gifts but the same Spirit and the best of these Gifts are Faith Hope and Love and the greatest of these is Love or Charity And thus I have answered to every thing that seemed material in his Sermon to prove that Divine Inspirations which he calleth Enthusiasms are ceased in the Church and though I have not observed strictly the method of his Sermon so as to answer to every thing in his order because the Nature of my answer required to put several things together that lay scattered in his Sermon and sometimes to take that last which he putteth first yet I hope the diligent and impartial Reader will find that the whole substance of his Sermon against Divine Inspirations is sufficiently answered And now in the Close I shall only take notice of some Reflections of his on the people called Quakers and some few other particulars and then make an end CHAP. V. IN his page 37. Edit 3. he undertakes to show what a dangerous damnable and precarious Principle that is which asserts that Immediate Revelation or Inspiration is not ceased c. But the Instances he bringeth to prove what he saith are wholly precarious and false as 1. That it differs only from the Popes Infallibility in this That that makes only the Bishop of Rome but this makes every private Christian a Pope This I say is altogether a false charge as to us For we place not an absolute Infallibility upon any person or persons whatsoever but we say the Spirit of God in all his Leadings Teachings and Motions is infallible and men only conditionally so far as they receive and are in unity with these Leadings and Teachings are Infallible We say further That every true Christian hath
divine and a little after Nature is the Mistress the Soul is the Scholar whatever the one hath learned or the other taught is delivered from God who is the Master or Teacher of the Mistress and again after surely saith he the soul was before the letter and the word was before the book note and the sense was before the stile and man himself was before Philosopher or Poet must we therefore believe that before letter-knowledge men lived dumb or without testimonies of this sort And the same Tertullian in his Apology against the Gentiles treating of this inward testimony of the souls of all men concerning the oneness truth goodness greatness and justice of God cryeth out with an exclamation O testimony of the soul naturally Christian. cap. 17. Apol. XIV The same Tertullian in his Book of the Soul cap. 7. saith Because we acknowledge spiritual gifts we are counted worthy to receive the gift of Prophesie after Iohn XV. Eusebius a greek Father and writer of the Ecclesiastick History for the first three hundred years after Christ came into the flesh in his history writeth of Iustin Martyr that in his Dialogue with Tryphon the Jew he affirmeth that the gifts of Prophesie continued in his Church unto his time The words of Iustin Martyr in the said Dialogue are these and again in another Prophesie and it shall come to pass that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh and on my servants and handmaids and they shall exercise the office of a Prophet Among us also saith he are to be seen both women and men who have these gifts from the Spirit of God And the same Eusebius lib. 5. cap. 7. citeth Ireneus writing to the same purpose that the gift of Prophesying and Expounding Divine Mysteries yea and speaking with Tongues and revealing the secrets of men continued among the Christians to his time this Ireneus lived towards the end of the second Century about the year 180. XVI Iustin Martyr a Greek Father and greatly approved among all Christians in his first Apology for the Christians unto the Senate of Rome writeth thus that Christ was in part known unto Socrates for saith he the reason and the word was and is in all men even the same which foretold by the Prophets things that were to come to pass And in the same Apology he speaketh expresly of the Innate Word or Reason which Iames declared Iam. 1.21 greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 calling it both Divine Reason and Innate which was in the Philosophers Poets and Historiographers saying thus expresly every one of them when by the impulse of that measure of Divine Reason the seeds of which they had in them did contemplate that which was of the same kind they spoke some things excellently Again what things are said by all which are well and excellently said they are ours who are Christians for we reverence adore and love the word which proceeded from God which is without beginning and is unexpressible And in his second Apology to the Emperour he writeth thus We have learned that Christ is the first born of God and we have declared that he is the Reason or Word of whom all mankind is partaker and who liveth with or according to the Word are Christians although esteemed Atheists as among the Grecians Socrates and Heraclitus and many others But they who were before and followed not that divine reason the guide were evil men and enemies of Christ and killers of them who lived according thereunto Note that whereas Iustine Martyr called Socrates and others who lived in conformity to the Divine Word in them Christians it is to be understood in part even as he said before that Christ was in part known to Socrates viz. as that Divine word and Reason and according to that general Revelation which it gave although we find not that Socrates had the knowledge of Christ as he was to come in the flesh and suffer death for the sins of the world nor had he any knowledge of many other particular mysteries of the Christian Religion and therefore cannot equally and in all respects be accounted a Christian with these who have a true knowledge of and belief in Christ in respect both of his inward and outward coming and whose conversation and life answer their profession XVII Athanasius the Great so called a man reputed of great authority especially for his opposition to the Arian Heresie in what he writes of the life of Anthony whom he greatly commendeth for his piety and wisdom Among other instances of his great wisdom giveth this for one that whereas some learned men or Philosophers came unto him thinking to make sport with him being ignorant of Letters Anthony asked them which was first whether the mind or letters and whither did the mind come from letters as the cause or letters from the mind they answered that the mind was first and the Cause or Inventer of Letters Anthony replyed therefore he who hath a sound mind needeth not Letters at which saying both they and others present were astonished and went away admiring so great wisdom in an Ideot or unlearned man XVIII The forecited Iustin Martyr in his Dialogue with Triphon the Jew declareth that a certain old man commending to him the Scriptures to read them said unto him these words But first of all pray God that the gate of the Light may be opened unto thee for the Scriptures cannot be known nor understood by all but only to whom it is given by the grace and gift of God and his Christ. XIX Theodorus Abucara in Opusculis Bibliotheca Patrum a Greek Writer denyeth that the Scriptures are ogia Dei i. e. the Speeches of God or the Word of God which is but one only yet that they may be called so tropologically or figuratively Augustine lib. 15. de Trinitate cap. 11. saith the word that soundeth outwardly is a sign or signification of the word that shineth within or inwardly unto which the name of the word doth rather or more agree for that which is expressed with the fleshly mouth is the voice of the word and it is called the word because of that of which it is assumed that it might outwardly appear And whereas we are blamed and greatly accused by some because we say the Scripture viz. the letter of it is not the incorruptible living and abiding word that remaineth for ever but Christ is that living incorruptible word and seed mentioned by Peter for that evil men may not only wrest but corrupt some places and passages of Scripture and accordingly have so done not only with the translations but even with the Hebrew and Greek although we believe God by his gracicous providence hath preserved the Scriptures testimony intire and without corruption as to the main so as to be a sufficient testimony of all necessary truth let us hear what the aforesaid Iustine Martyr saith in the case In his Dialogue with Triphon the Jew he expresly
writeth clearly to the fame purpose homilia 13. in Genesin The word of God saith he is present and this now is its operation to remove the earth from every one of our souls and to open the living Fountain for it is within thee and cometh not from without even as the Kingdom of God is within thee And that woman which losed the piece of Silver did not find it without but in her own House after she had lighted her Candle and cleansed her House from the filthiness which the sloth and dulness of a long time had gathered and there she found the piece of Silver And thou therefore if thou shalt light thy Candle if thou receive or take unto thee the illumination of the Holy Spirit and in his light see light thou shalt find the piece of Silver in thee for within thee is placed the Image of the Heavenly King The Fountain of Knowledge was placed in thee but it could not run or stream out because the Philistines had filled the place of it with earth and made in thee the Image of the earthly XXVIII Again Origin lib. 1. contra Celsum saith The simple or perfect words of Sacred Scripture have made the sincere Readers of it to be Enthusiastically moved gr 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who nourish that light with the Oyl which the five Virgins are said to have in their Lamps as in the Parable Note how Origin here again useth the word Enthusian as properly applied to every sincere Reader of the Scripture And near the beginning of the said 6th Book he saith The Divine Word teacheth us that it doth not suffice what is spoken although it be ever so true in it self or worthy of credit to overcome the soul unless a Divine Vertue or Power be given to the Speaker and that the grace of God blossom forth in the words spoken the soul not being without a Divine Assistance in them who speak effectually for the Prophet saith in the 67th Psalm v. 11. God shall give the word to them who Preach it with great Power XXIX Hierom otherwise called Ierom who lived about 400 years after Christ saith as Lucas Osiander in his Ecclesiastical History doth cite him cent 4. lib. 4. cap. 19. The knowledge of God is in all men by nature nor is any man born who is without Christ and who hath not in him the seeds of Wisdom and Righteousness and the other Vertues whence many without the faith and evangel of Christ meaning as outwardly preached do many things wisely or holily And that he mentioneth nature it is clear he understood it not in Pelagius sense but of Paul who said the Gentiles did by nature the things contained in the Law so as nature is not the cause but subject of this knowledge An observable passage that happened at the Counsel of Nice XXX A certain Philosopher that trusted much to his Logick did dispute with diverse Bishops against the Christian Religion without the Synod where was a great concourse of people but the Bishops could not at all prevail to convince him at last cometh an old man altogether ignorant of his sort of learning and biddeth him hear the truth in the name of Jesus Christ and reciteth the sum of the Christian Faith before him saying thus Dost thou not believe these things O Philosopher he answered I do believe and confessed himself to be overcome by that old man also he exhorted these of his Profession to embrace the Christian Faith Being asked why he could not be convinced by the Bishops he replied so long as they contended against me with words I opposed words to words but a vertue went forth out of this old mans mouth which I could not resist Osiander hist. eccles cent 4. lib. 1. cap. 5. XXXI Augustine who lived about the middle of the 5th Century in his Book of Confessions cap. 10. And being upon this admonished to return unto my self I entred into my inwards thou leading me and I was able to do it for thou becamest my helper I entred in to my self and with the eye of my soul such as it was I saw over the eye of my soul over my mind the unchangeable light of the Lord. And again a little after he that knows the Truth knows that Light and who knoweth that knoweth eternity love knoweth it O eternal Truth and true Love and dear Eternity thou art my God to thee do I sigh night and day when I first knew thee thou didst lift me up that I might see there was something which I might see and that that was not I who did see and thou didst beat back the infirmity of my sight powerfully shining in me and I trembled both with love and horrour c. Again Augustin in his 10th Book of Confessions cap. 6. not with a doubtful but with a certain Conscience do I love thee O Lord thou hast strucken my heart with thy word and I have loved thee And after What now do I love when as I love thee Not the beauty of my body not the order of times not the brightness of the light which is so friendly to these eyes not the pleasant melodies of all kinds of Songs nor the fragant smells of Flowers and Ointments and Spices not Manna and Hony nor any members acceptable to fleshly embracements I love not these things when as I love my God and I love a certain light and a certain voice and yet a certain fragrancy and a certain meat and a certain embracement when as I love my God who is both the Light and the Voice and the Sweet Smell and the meat and embracement of my Inner Man where that Light shineth unto my soul which no place can receive that Voice soundeth which time doth not take away that fragrancy smelleth which the wind scatters not and that Meat tasteth which eating devours not and that Embracement cleaveth unto me which satiety breaketh not off Again cap. 7. What is this therefore which I love when as I love my God who is he that is above the head of my soul. By this very soul will I ascend unto him I will soar beyond that faculty of mine by which I am united unto my body and by which I fill the whole frame of it with life I cannot by that faculty find my God Again Augustin lib. 10. cap. 40. of his Confessions Sometimes O Lord thou lettest me go in into a delight very unusual a sweetness I know not of what kind which if it were perfected in me I know not what it shall be but it shall not be in this life but by certain cumbersom weights am I tumbled down again and am swallowed up by old wont and held by it much do I lament and I am much held c. Again Augustine lib. 7. cap. 17. of his Confessions And thus by degrees I passed from bodies to the sensitive soul and from that to the imagination and again from that to the reasoning faculty unto which
hear his word not by the tongue of flesh nor by the voice of an Angel nor by the noise of a Cloud nor by the dark riddle of a Similitude but let us hear him whom we love in them without them as we now stretch after it and by a most swift cogitation are arrived unto a touch of that Eternal Wisdom which is over all if this were continued and all visions of a far other kind were removed and this one should ravish its beholder and swallow him up and hide him in its inward joys as that his life must be for ever like unto this moment of understanding after which we have breathed were not this enter into the joy of thy Lord. III. The Author of the Treatise de Spiritu anima bound up among Augustins Works who is thought to be Hugo de Sancto victore cap. 32. The reasonable soul saith he is above all these things which are created of God and therefore it is most near unto God when it is pure and how much it cleaveth unto him by love in so much being well besprinkled and enlightned by him with intelligible light it beholdeth God not by the bodily eyes but by its principal part to wit the understanding in whom is most perfect beauty and a most blessed vision by which it is made happy let it therefore remove from its cogitation all knowledges which are received by the bodily senses and cap. 2. yea surely the soul withdrawith it self unto it self from all bodily senses as hindring and resisting with their noise that it may see it self in its self and may know it self and when it would know God it lifteth up it self above it self with the eye of the mind and cap. 34. Let the mind therefore return to it self and collect or gather it self into it self that without bodily images it may consider it self and the invisible nature of God Almighty let it reject the phantasms of earthly Images and whatever earthly thing presenteth unto its thought and let it consider it self such as it is created under God above the body then let it rise above it self and forsake it self and let it come in a manner into a forgetfulness of it self and subject or bow down it self humbly and devoutly to the comtemplation of God for when the mind beginneth to exercise it self by the pure intelligence or understanding and in whole to behold that glory of the incorruptible Light and to draw out of the things which it seeth inwardly a taste of most inward sweetness and thereof to season its understanding and turn it into wisdom in this so great an excess of mind that peace is found and obtained which passeth all sense so that there is silence in Heaven as it were half an hour so that the mind of the beholder is troubled with no tumult of contending thoughts finding nothing that it seeketh by desire or blameth by loathing or accuseth by hatred but within the quietness of the Contemplation is wholly gathered and is let in into a certain affection or delight very unusual to a sweetness of I know not of what kind which if it were always felt surely it would be a great happiness Here sensuality doth nothing imagination doth nothing but all the inferiour powers of the soul are made destitute of their proper Office but the more pure part of the soul is led into that secret of most inward quiet and that mystery of the greatest tranquility in a happy joyfulness IV. Antiochus a Greek Author homilia 103. How good and seasonable a thing is silence the mother of the wisest thoughts for the good Spirit fleeth multitude of speech as remaining without all perturbation and imagination therefore silence is a good Mother of all vertues Again also the Prophet Amos instructing us by his Oracle saith in that time the understanding shall be silent for it is an evil time and Isaias to whom shall I look but unto the humble and the silent and who tremble at my words so the Septuagint also Isaias 66. V. Bernard in his 52d Sermon on the Canticles Blessed is he who can say behold I have gone far away in fleeting and have remained in a solitude Psalm 54. He was not content to go forth unless he should go far away that he might be at rest hast thou passed beyond the delights of the flesh that thou dost not obey the desires thereof neither art thou held with its baits thou hast profited thou hast separated thy self but hast not gone far away unless that by the purity of thy mind thou canst flee beyond the Phantasms or images of bodily similitudes that rush in from every hand until thou comest hither promise not rest to thy self thou art in an error if thou being short of this thou thinkest to find the place of quiet the secret of solitude the clearness of light the habitation of peace And in the Treatise of the degrees of humility There to wit in the Bedchamber of the King for a little space as it were for half an hour silece being made in Heaven sweetly reposing in the desired embracements she indeed sleepeth but he heart waketh or watcheth whereby verily in the mean time she searcheth into the secrets of the truth Observe Here it is plain how Bernard understandeth this sleeping to be the silencing or quieting of the thoughts and imaginations and all the workings of the inferiour powers of the soul at which time the heart waketh or watcheth and is in the fittest condition to converse with the Lord and to search into those inward secrets which he revealeth only to those who are brought in thither And in the Treatise of the inward house cap. 70. But he who would vake unto the contemplation of truth it is necessary that he learn to rest not only from evil works but also from superfluous thoughts for many although they know how to vake in body yet they cannot vake in the heart not knowing to make a Sabbath of a Sabbath and therefore they cannot fulfill that which is said vake ye and see that I am God for vaking in body but vaging in heart every where they are not worthy to see how sweet the Lord is and how good unto Israel to them who are of a right heart Again in the same Treatise cap. 5. he often visiteth and willingly inhabiteth the tranquillity of the heart and the rest of the quiet mind for he is peace and his dwelling place is in peace Again Bernard in his 341. Epistle The discipline of silence saith he seemeth burthensome unto some but the Prophet considering that it was rather a strength than a burden saith in silence and in hope shall be your strength in silence he saith and hope for it is good to wait for the Lord in silence for the consolation of present things weakneth the soul but the expectation of future things doth strengthen it Observe what a testimony Bernard giveth to silent waiting whereas he saith it
declared concerning Divine Inspiration as being absolutely necessary for the attaining of the true knowledge of God are unto the principles of Socrates and Plato whom Augustin in his Books de Civitate Dei commendeth as the best Philosophers I shall give you a summ of their Doctrine out of Marsilius Ficinus his argument in Euthydemum Platonis that wisdom is not acquired so much by humane study as it is divinely infused into purified minds yea Socrates in his discourse with Theages denyeth that ever any men learned ought from him neither would he acknowledge himself to have any further use unto men than to be as a Spiritual Midwife unto them to help to bring forth that wisdom or knowledge which God himself had put in them And concerning the necessity of inward silence and unmoveableness of mind in order to converse with God how agreeable it is to Socrates and Plato let us further hear Marsilius Ficinus Theol. Platon lib. 9. cap. 3. love God alone saith he O soul love the Light alone the infinite Light of the bountiful God love thou infinitely now thou shalt shine and be delighted infinitely I pray thee therefore seek his face and thou shalt rejoyce for ever but I pray thee be not moved that thou may touch that Light because it is stability be not scattered through diverse things that thou may apprehend it for it is Unity Stay the motion gather together the multitude immediately thou shalt find God who hath already found thee In this search Oh how repugnant is the mind unto all bodys how much doth it despise their Images and deceits How much doth it condemn the phantasie and bodily senses Thirdly As concerning that great duty of returning or turning in into the heart which our opposers who deny Immediate Revelation and Inspiration do so much speak against as nonsense and the like that it is a thing required of God and commanded This I prove first from the testimony of Scripture Deuteronomy 4.39 and know this day and return unto thy heart So the Hebrew Deuteronomy 30.1 And shall return to thy heart Hebrew 1 Kings 8.47 if they shall return unto their heart so the Hebrew and 1 Kings 8.48 and shall return unto thee in their whole heart Isaiah 46.8 Return O ye transgressors unto the heart so the Hebrew and the Old Latine Lamentations of Ieremy Therefore or for this will I return unto my heart that so I may wait cap. 3.21 Secondly I prove the same from antiquity I. Augustin quinquagena 2 a Psalm 57.10 citante Beda The written Law what cryteth it unto them who have forsaken the Law written in their hearts return O ye transgressors unto the heart Observe it is worth your observation that all along the Translators have otherwise translated all these places of Scripture which expresly mention this great duty of returning unto the heart because as seemeth they were ignorant of it as people generally now are who when they hear us bidding them turn into their hearts or minds are ready to gnash their teeth at us and to say as I have heard them there is no good in our hearts what should we turn in unto them for and surely if there were no Divine Revelation in the heart it were in vain to turn in unto it Again Augustin in his Confessions lib. 7. cap. 10. And being upon this admonished to return unto my self I entred even into my inwards thou O Lord leading me and I was able to do it for thou becamest my helper I entred into my self and with the eye of my soul I saw over the eye of my soul over my mind the unchangeable Light of the Lord. Observe how Augustin first turned in to his heart that he might see the Light of the Lord but they who believe not that there is any Light of the Lord to be seen in their hearts think it in vain to turn into their hearts And verily most men are so turned or extraverted unto outward objects that for them to be turned inward unto an invisible object of Light and Life from God in their hearts is to make them change their element which they are as unwilling to do as the Fish is to leave the water And on the contrary one that is truly an inward liver and is come to converse with the inward Light and Life and Word of God in his heart is an unwilling to leave this place and go forth unto outward things which are but as shadows in respect of that inward substance which is to be found and enjoyed in the heart II. The Author de Spiritu Anima joyned with Augustin cap. 34. Let the mind therefore return unto it self and gather it self into it self III. Bernard de Conversione ad clerum cap. 2. as yet wisdom cryeth in the streets return unto the heart O ye Transgressors for this is the beginning of the Lords speech and it appeareth that this word hath gone before unto all who are turned unto the heart Observe how Bernard understandeth it to be one of the first things which God speaks to the heart to return unto the heart Again Bernard in Sermone de verbis Habakkuk super custodiam meam Stabo But he calleth back sinners unto the heart and reproveth them for the error of the heart because he dwelleth there and there he speaketh Again Bernard Tractatu de Precepto Dispensatione Surely to seek the Kingdom of God and the Righteousness thereof ye shall endeavour rather to enter within your selves than to go sorth or to ascend above Again in his Epistle 108. I pray thee return unto the heart Again e Sermone parvo de tribus panibus A Friend cometh unto me off the way when forsaking transitory things I return unto the heart as it is written return unto the heart ye Transgressors Isa. 46.8 Again in the Treatise de Domo interiori cap. 14. But now saith he perhaps thou hast ascended Now thou hast returned unto thy heart and hast learned there to stand neither let this suffice thee learn to dwell there and to make it a mansion and by whatsoever wandring of mind thou be drawn from thence hasten always to return thither again Without doubt by much use at some time it shall become a delight unto thee insomuch that without any difficulty of labour thou maist be there daily yea it will be rather a pain unto thee to make a stay any where else but there And as touching waiting or watching for the Lord in the inward retiredness or recollection of the mind see what Bernard saith Bernard Sermone de visitationibus Domini Who is among us so vigilant and observant of the time of his Visitation and diligently searching after the coming of the Bridegroom at all moments so that when he cometh and knocketh it is opened unto him and after Surely our want doth argue us of neglect and carelesness for if any of us uprightly and perfectly according to the word of the Wise man would deliver up his heart to watch for the Lord early who made it and would pray in the sight of the Most High and also by all endeavours study according to the Prophet Isaiah to prepare the ways of the Lord and to make straight the paths of his God Who hath to say with the Prophet my eyes are ever unto the Lord and I have had the Lord always in my sight shall not he receive a blessing from the Lord and mercy from the God of his Salvation Surely he shall be frequently visited neither shall he ever be ignorant of the time of his Visitation however so secretly and as a thief he cometh who visiteth in Spirit who is a modest lover and while he is yet afar off he well watching soul with a sober mind shall perceive him Now that silent waiting is according unto Scripture I have above showed out of the Lamentations Also the words of Habakkuk do plainly hold forth the same I will stand on my watch and I will hear what the Lord will speak in me Moreover that Socrates and Plato taught this doctrine of the converting or turning in of a man to himself to within himself to behold the innate idea of vertue in him see Plato his Charmides And as concerning profiting by silence in the company of good men Seneca that renowned Philosopher saith thus Epistola 94. est aliquid quod ex magno viro vel tacente proficias there is somewhat that thou mayst profit by a great man to wit who is great in virtue even when he is silent And concerning retiring unto a mans self to converse with the Divine Spirit that is within him that famous Emperor and Philosopher Marcus Aurelius Antoninus in his Books of Meditation concerning himself lib. 4. num 3. saith thus A man cannot any whther retire better than to his own soul. And again he saith afford then thy self this retiring continually and thereby refresh and renew thy self and lib. 2. num 11. It is sufficient saith he for a man to apply himself wholly and to confine all his thoughts and care to the tendance of that Spirit which is within him and truly and really to serve him his service doth consist in this that a man keep himself pure from all violent passion and evil affection from all rashness and vanity and from all manner of discontent either in regard of the Gods or men Note that by the Gods Antonius Seneca Socrates Plato and others of the best Philosophers understood Angels and Immortal Spirits which the Scripture at times calleth also Gods for they did believe there was but only one supream and infinite God the Creator and upholder of all things who is over all blessed for ever THE END See Cor.
because they have departed and Apostatised from that Holy Spirit given of old unto their Fathers And therefore was it not also a great glory and honour to the ancient Christian Church to have in it the gift of prophecy or speaking by Immediate Inspiration and would it not be now a great glory and honour to the Church if that gift of prophecy which did anciently flourish in the Church for some Ages after the Apostles days should flourish and spring forth again was not this gift with many others lost by the apostacy of the professors of the Christian Religion and therefore when the apostacy goeth out and people doth return to the sincere worship and obedience of God shall not this excellent gift be restored together with many others Had not the ancient Christian Church after the Apostles days all the Books of Scripture of the Old and New Testament as well as we The Jews also had the Scriptures of the Old Testament which contained all the heads of Christian Doctrine in respect of the substance of Religion a people therefore having the Scripture but wanting the Spirit Immediately teaching leading and inspiring them which both the Jewish Church had and also the Christians after the Apostles days shall be more happy then both these because they want the said Holy Spirit Immediately inspiring teaching and leading them This is a wonderful paradox but most false for the Christians are not more happy than the Jews because out of the Scripture barely they could know the will of God for the Jews had the Scripture also containing all the heads of the Doctrine of their Religion clearly enough But for this cause true Christians are more happy than those Jews that whereas the Jews for all their having the Scripture did need to take long Journeys to consult the Priests to solicite wait for the respouses of the High Priests all true Christians because they partake more largely of the Holy Spirit they need not make these Journeys or travels to consult either Priests or High Priest because they have a most excellent Priest yea an High Priest more high then the Heavens or the Angels that dwell in them to wit Jesus Christ dwelling in their hearts who by his Spirit teacheth them all things and doth clearly and without all doubtfulness answer them iâ— all things needful to be known by them and who doth also clearly and infallibly expound the Scripture unto them And therefore true Christians have no need to run to these Jewish Priests and High Priests nor unto these Doctors so called and preachers at this day who do not so much as profess to have any thing of the Divine Inspiration and inward Revelation with which the Prophets and holy men of God were of old endued and do not pretend to have any infallible sense or understanding of the holy Scripture or to have received any infallible Judgment of its meaning And so true Christians may spare both their labour and their mony and not spend it nor give it away to such Doctors and Preachers but leaving them all behind as unprofitable let them go unto Jesus Christ the Lord the eternal Priest who liveth for ever by whom they shall be well and sufficiently taught and instructed and that freely without either labour or mony And lastly as to these notable testimonies of the ancients and reformers in Luther's times cited by R. B. in his Apology because the Adversary endeavoureth to elude or evade the form of them after the same manner as he doth the testimonies of the holy Scripture therefore he is the same way refused in both and the answers given in the one will serve in the other the which if I have effectually given I leave unto the â—qual and impartial Reader for to Judge THE Pretended EXORCIST DETECTED In a Brief REPLY TO A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE The University of Oxford by George Hicks stiled Doctor of Divinity in the Month called Iuly 11. 1680. the which Sermon is called The Spirit of Enthusiasm Exorcised CHAP. I. UPon my reading of this Authors Printed Sermon which is called the Spirit of Enthusiasm exorcised I find the said Author very unskilful and unacquainted with the true notion of Enthusiasm as it is owned and received among the People called in derision Quakers with all possible moderation And though he hath been pleased to cite my Book of Immediate â—evelation and R. B. his Apology and Theses yet I can hardly believe he hath been at any pains to read and consider throughly what is said by us on that Subject for had he but read and well considered what we have said or writ in that matter he would have â—â—â—â—e fairly and genuinely stated the controversy betwixt us and our opposers as to this particular In my answer to Io. Bajer the Lutheran Doctor in Iena so much is already said as less needs be added for a reply to what this Author hath brought against us As for the word or term Enthusiasm as I have already said in my answer to the Lutheran Doctor we do not plead for it or affect such a name or title for it being no Scripture phrase or expression we can and do very well declare our Faith in the thing we intend without it Yet we cannot altogether reject the term when thrust or cast upon us by opposers on purpose many times to render us odious because the Etimology of the word Enthusiasm according to the best and most approved Greek Lexicons signifieth Divine Inspiration And whereas it hath been used by heathenish writers to signifie the inspirations or inward suggestions of Daemons and evil Spirits yet this hath rather been an abuse and improper signification of the word then a true and genuine acceptation of it and notwithstanding of this abuse of the word among heathenish writers and Poets yet divers of the Fathers useâ— it in a good sense and as applicable to good and sincere Christians Yea this Author himself with respect to the Prophets and Apostles and others their successors for 3 or 4 hundreds of years owneth the term Enthusiasm and that in the Apostles times and downwards to the 4 or 5 Century there were some real and sincere Christians who had Enthusiasms and were enthusiastically acted and moved by the Spirit of God for thus he saith Pag. 12. Edit 3. of this sort of Enthusiastical confidence with which the Spirit filled the minds of men is that place to be understood Math. 21. vers 21. and Pag. 14. he saith prophecy may be taken as it is often in the Old and New Testament for praising of God by inspired Hymns and Psalms for inspired persons did usually spend their Enthusiasm in composing of Hymns and Spiritual Songs And Pag. 16. he saith the groanings wherewith some inspired persons prayed in the Apostles days according to Rom. 8. were the effect of those supernatural raptures and Enthusiasms with which the Spirit filled the souls of those inspired Orators so we see how this Author