told him that he had ordained him a prophet unto the nations, he replies, Ah, Lord God! behold I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord,' saith he, 'said unto me, Say not I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak ;' Jer. i. 6, 7. Nothing can excuse any from going on his message, who can perfect his praise out of the mouth of babes and sucklings. This the prophet Amos rested upon, when he was questioned, although he were unfit for that heavenly employment, either by education or course of life: 'I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman, and a gatherer of sycamore fruit: and the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and said unto me, Go prophesy to my people Israel;' Amos vii. 14, 15. So on the contrary, St. Paul, a man of strong parts, great learning and endowments, of indefatigable industry, and large abilities, yet affirms of himself, that when God called him to preach his word, he conferred not with flesh and blood,' but went on presently with his work; Gal. i. 16, 17.

CHAP. V.

Of the several ways of extraordinary calling to the teaching of others. The first way.

Now three ways may a man receive, and be assured that he hath received this divine mission, or know that he is called of God to the preaching of the word; I mean not that persuasion of divine concurrence, which is necessary also for them that are partakers of an ordinary vocation, but which is required in extraordinary cases to them in whom all outward calling is wanting.

1. By immediate revelation.

2. By a concurrence of Scripture rules, directory for such occasions.

3. By some outward acts of Providence, necessitating him thereunto.

For the first, not to speak of light prophetical, whether it consists in a habit, or rather in a transient irradiating motion, nor to discourse of the species, whereby supernatural

things are conveyed to the natural faculty, with the several ways of divine revelation (for St. Paul affirmeth it to have been πολυτρώτως as well as πολυμέρης), with the sundry appellations it received, from the manner whereby it came; I shall only shew what assurance such a one as is thus called may have in himself that he is so called, and how he may manifest it unto others. That men receiving any revelation from God had always an assurance that such it was, to me seems most certain. Neither could I ever approve the note of Gregory on Ezek. i. viz. That prophets being accustomed to prophesying, did oftentimes speak of their own spirit, supposing that it proceeded from the spirit of prophesy.' What is this but to question the truth of all prophetical revelations, and to shake the faith that is built upon it? Surely the prophet Jeremiah had an infallible assurance of the author of his message, when he pleaded for himself before the princes, 'Of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears;' chap. xxvi. 15. And Abraham certainly had need of a good assurance whence that motion did proceed, which made him address himself to the sacrificing the son of promise; and that all other prophets had the like evidence of knowledge, concerning the divine verity of their revelations, is unquestionable. Hence are those allusions in the Scripture, whereby it is compared unto things whereof we may be most certain by the assurance of sense. So Amos iii. 8. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?' and Jer. xx. 9. His word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones;' things sensible enough. Haply Satan may so far delude false prophets, as to make them suppose their lying vanities are from above: whence they are said to be 'prophets of the deceit of their own heart;' Jer. xxiii. 26. being deceived, as well as deceivers ; thinking in themselves, as well as speaking unto others, 'He saith,' ver. 31. But that any true prophets should not know a true revelation from a motion of their own hearts, wants not much of blasphemy. The Lord surely supposes that assurance of discerning, when he gives that command; 'The pro

a Sciendum est quod aliquando prophetæ sancti dum consuluntur ex magno usu prophetandi quædam ex suo spiritu proferunt, et se hoc ex prophetiæ spiritu dicere suspicantar. Gregor. Hom. 1. in Ezek.

phet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully; what is the chaff to the wheat?' Jer. xxiii. 28. He must be both blind and mad that shall mistake wheat for chaff; and on the contrary, what some men speak of a hidden instinct from God, moving the minds of men, yet so as they know not whether it be from him or no, may better serve to illustrate Plutarch's discourse of Socrates' Dæmon, than any passage in holy writ. St. Austin says, his mother would affirm, that though she could not express it, yet she could discern the difference between God's revelation, and her own dreams. In which relation, I doubt not but the learned father took advantage from the good old woman's words of what she could do, to declare what might be done, of every one that had such immediate revelations. Briefly then, the Spirit of God never so extraordinarily moveth the mind of man to apprehend any thing of this kind whereof we speak, but it also illustrateth it with a knowledge and assurance that it is divinely moved to this apprehension. Now, because it is agreed on all sides, that light prophetical is no permanent habit in the minds of the prophets, but a transient impression, of itself not apt to give any such assurance, it may be questioned from what other principle it doth proceed. But not to pry into things perhaps not fully revealed, and seeing St. Paul shews us that in such heavenly raptures there are some things unutterable of them, and incomprehensible of us, we may let this rest, amongst those appnra. It appeareth then from the preceding discourse, that a man pretending to extraordinary vocation, by immediate revelation, in respect of self-persuasion of the truth of his call, he must be as ascertained of it, as he could be of a burning fire in his bones, if there shut up.

b Dicebat se discernere (nescio quo sapore quem verbis explicare non poterat) quid interesset inter Deum revelantem, et animam suam somniantem. Aug. Confess.

CHAP. VI.

What assurance men extraordinarily called can give to others, that they are so called in the former way.

THE next thing to be considered is, what assurance he can give to others, and by what means, that he is so called. Now the matter or subject of their employment may give us some light to this consideration: and this is, either the inchoation of some divine work to be established amongst men, by virtue of a new, and before never-heard-of, revelation of God's will; or a restoration of the same, when collapsed and corrupted by the sin of men. To the first of these, God never sendeth any but whom he doth so extraordinarily and immediately call and ordain for that purpose; and that this may be manifested unto others, he always accompanieth them with his own almighty power, in the working of such miracles as may make them be believed, for the very works' sake which God by them doth effect. This we may see in Moses, and (af er Jesus Christ anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows to preach the gospel) the apostles: but this may pass, for nothing in such a way shall ever again take place, God having ultimately revealed his mind concerning his worship and our salvation; a curse being denounced to man or angel that shall pretend to revelation, for the altering or changing one jot or tittle of the gospel. For the other, the work of reformation, there being, ever since the writing of his word, an infallible rule for the performance of it, making it fall within the duty and ability of men, partakers of an ordinary vocation, and instructed with ordinary gifts; God doth not always immediately call men unto it: but yet, because oftentimes he hath so done, we may inquire what assurance they could give of this their calling to that employment. Our Saviour Christ informs us, that a prophet is often without honour in his own country. The honour of a prophet, is to have credence given to his message; of which it should seem, Jonas was above measure zealous, yet such is the cursed infidelity and hardness of men's hearts, that though they cried, 'Thus saith the Lord,' yet they would reply the Lord hath not spoken:' hence are

those pleadings betwixt the prophet Jeremiah and his enemies; the prophet 'averring of a truth, the Lord hath sent me unto you,' and they contesting, that the Lord had not sent him, but that he lied in the name of the Lord.' Now to leave them inexcusable, and whether they would hear or whether they would forbear, to convince them that there hath been a prophet amongst them, as also to give the greater credibility to their extraordinary message, to them that were to believe their report, it is necessary that 'the arm of the Lord should be revealed,' working in and by them, in some extraordinary manner; it is certain enough, that God never sent any one extraordinarily, instructed only with ordinary gifts, and for an ordinary end. The aim of their employment I shewed before was extraordinary, even the reparation of something instituted by God, and collapsed by the sin of man; that it may be credible, or appear of a truth that God had sent them for this purpose, they were always furnished with such gifts and abilities, as the utmost reach of human endeavours, with the assistance of common grace, cannot possibly attain. The general opinion is, that God always supplies such with the gift of miracles. Take the word in a large sense for every supernatural product, beyond the ordinary activity of that secondary cause whereby it is effected, and I easily grant it; but in the usual restrained acceptation of it, for outward wonderful works, the power of whose production consists in operation, I something doubt the universal truth of the assertion. We do not read of any such miracles wrought by the prophet Amos, and yet he stands upon his extraordinary immediate vocation; I was neither prophet nor the son of a prophet, but the Lord called me,' &c. It sufficeth then, that they be furnished with a supernatural power either in, 1. Discerning; 2. Speaking; 3. Working. The power of discerning, according to the things by it discernible, may be said to be of two sorts; for it is either of things present, beyond the power of human investigation, as to know the thoughts of other men's hearts, or their words not ordinarily to be known, as Elisha discovered the bedchamber discourse of the king of Syria (not that by virtue of their calling they come to be raptoyvwdrat, knowers of the heart,' which is God's property alone, but that God doth sometimes reveal such things unto them; for otherwise