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thofe Motives or Arguments, which immediately determine the Affent in this more ordinary Infpiration. To fpeak yet plainer if poffible: The Apoftles believ'd fuch or fuch a Doctrine. Why? Because they were fure they were Infpir'd. But what made their Infpiration thus felt and diftinguifh'd from the Operations of their own Minds? First, A ftronger Influence of the Spirit; And Secondly, The Spirit not making ufe of Arguments or Motives, to convince them of Doctrines, or as Means to determine their Affent. But why doth a Man now believe fuch or fuch Doctrines? Because he finds them agreeable to Divine Revelation. But how doth he prove this? Upon diverfe Confiderations or Motives. But is he Infpir'd, or Affifted by the Spirit in this? Doubtlefs. How comes he then not to feel it? Becaufe of lefs Influence, but more efpecially, because the Spirit makes ufe of thefe Motives or Arguments, to determine the Affent; and confequently, although the Spirit affifts, yet it is in the Virtue of thofe Means or Motives. So that hence that which appears to the Mind to determine the Affent, is not immediately the Spirit, but the Grounds or Motives, by which the Spirit Acts, and on which a Man Affents. But fay you not, the Spirit holds the Mind attentive, and enables it to fee the weight and force of thefe Motives of Belief? How then is it that the Mind is not fenfible of it? For this very Reason; Because the greater weight or force the Spirit gives to any Arguments or Confiderations, the more it will appear to the Mind that thofe Arguments or Confiderations determin'd the Affent, and confequently the lefs will it feel of the Spirit in its Affent.

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B. I need no more Words about this; for we! all fay, the Spirit makes ufe of Means to thefe Ends. And what is the meaning of this, but that through thefe Means the Spirit convinces Men; and what fhould Men be fenfible of here, but the Means that it uses? If the Spirit acts! by Means, what fhould we be fenfible of, or feel, but the Means? As in other Cafes, if Providence makes ufe of Means to procure to me any Temporal Good, the Means will feem to me the immediate Caufe of fuch a Good or End, altho' upon other Chriftian Grounds, I believe the Hand of GOD in it. But if the End is obtain'd without Means, this is Miraculous; and renders me abundantly more fenfible of a Divine Affiftance; the Cafe feems to me parallel.

A. The End of this is to fhew, that in Order to believe or prove any Doctrine to be agree-1 able to Divine Revelation, the Work of thei Spirit is not to Infpire Men, as it Infpir'd the› Apoftles, to render them directly fenfible of its Infpiration; becaufe First, You fee the Matter! will not easily admit of it, the Spirit in thefe Cafes convincing Men by proper Motives and Arguments which it ufes as Means. Secondly, Becaufe if Men were thus fenfible of the Operations of the Spirit, they would be as infallible" as the Apofties themselves; and their Words utter'd or recorded, when they were under this fenfible Influence or Infpiration, would be ash infallible as the Divine Writings. Thirdly, The End of fuch an Infpiration ceafes, because Men's are now a-days to make no Additions to the Scriptures. Fourthly, Because it would be to others infignificant, it being deftitute of Proof; no Man now being endu'd with Miracles:

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And this is another good Argument that there is no fuch Thing, it being not to be prov'd; and that is all one, as if never granted, as to any Good the World can reap from it; when there is no rational Grounds to induce Men to believe it. Lastly, Such an Imagination proves the Ground of the moft abfurd Enthufiafm, and very frequently of difregarding and departing from the Doctrines and Commands of Scripture, and preferring private Lights to the reveal'd Word; what Men can no more prove to themselves than others. Of which in our First Part.

B. You having clear'd the Four Cafes you propos'd, I would requeft you, before we part, to draw thofe Rules into Practice, to try by them fome very eminent Pretences to Infpi

ration.

Pretences

A. I believe there is no need of trying here- An Exaby the Infpiration of the Sacred Writers, we mination having all along alluded to them, and taken of fome chiefly our Notions of Infpiration or Revelati- to Infpiraon from them. And fo clear and found do their tion by the Profeffions, as touching their Infpirations, ap- foregoing pear, whether we confider the External Proofs Rules. and Evidences that did at first accompany them, viz. the moft unconteftable Miracles, the Goodnefs and Excellency of their Doctrines, their Agreeablenefs to the Natural Notions we have of GOD and Virtue, their Confent and Agreement amongst themselves: And lastly, the many Prophecies of theirs we fee accomplifh'd (which are ftill a continu'd Evidence of their Infpiration); upon all these Accounts, I prefume, we may adventure to try other Pretences to Infpiration by them.

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B. I never doubted their Inspiration, my tertainment and Inftruction would be, to fee how others come near, or fall fhort of them.

A. To proceed therefore, and to be as brief as poffible. ft. Of the Sibyls. 2dly, The Hea then Oracles. 3dly, Of Socrates. 4thly, The Quakers; And 5thly, Your admir'd Author Mrs. Anthionette B. Laftly, The prefent Prophets we hear fo much of.

of the InWe begin with the Sibyls. How many there Spiration of the Si. Were of them, or when they liv'd, Authorities byls. being fo divided, is utterly uncertain; neither is it much material, only they appear to have been very ancient, their Books being prefented in Rome, to fo early a King as Tarquinius Superbus; and by which Accident (I know not whe ther to call it lucky or unlucky) they became known, and fo much the Talk and Difpute of after Ages. How long before this they liv'd, and utter'd their Prophecies I know not, nei ther fhall trouble my felf to enquire, or if I did perhaps it would be to little purpofe. They were thought Infpir'd by the Age wherein they liv'd, and by many of the Fathers of the Chriftian Church. What Authorities their Cotemporaries had to believe them Infpir'd at this diftance of time, we cannot well judge. Very probably from the manner of their feizure, their mad furious diftracted way of uttering their Prophecies, and likewife their foretelling fome Events, which they at least thought Predictions. The Reafon of the Fathers conceiving them Infpir'd, was the fame. The Gift of Prophecy they thought them endu'd with; which appear'd from the many plain and evident Predictions touching our Saviour and his Kingdom, found in the Books paffing under their Name;

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and likewife many other important Doctrines, tending to the Establishment of the Chriftian Faith. For which Reason they rank them among the true Prophets, and urg'd their Authority against the Heathens. If the Authority of the Fathers could be depended on here, we muft needs carry it for their Divine Inspiration; fuch Predictions as are imputed to them, being fure and undeniable Teftimonies of the Divine Spirit; neither upon any other Grounds can they be accounted for. But that which puzzles the Cafe exceedingly, and hinders us from fo fuddenly concluding, is the Judgment of Modern Criticks, of great Learning, and diligent in Enquiry; who not only queftion, but make no difficulty entirely to explode the Authority of the Fathers in this Cafe, and aver them impos'd on in these Sibylline Books; which is a modern fpurious Work, of which these Propheteffes were never the Authors, nor ever was receiv'd by the Roman Emperors. All we can here do, is briefly to examine upon what Authorities the Moderns conceive the Sibylline Books in the Fathers Hands, and quoted by them, to be fpurious, and confequently reject them. On this Point Three Things will require Examination.

First, What were the Contents of thofe Verfes receiv'd by King Tarquin?

Secondly, Whether the Verfes of latter date; the Collection made by Otacilius Craffus, and Valerius Flaccus, that was receiv'd and laid up as Sibyllines were of the fame Nature, as the former, as thofe receiv'd by Tarquin?

Thirdly,

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