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<DATE>2012-04-04</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>LAY-PREACHING VNMASKED.</P>
<P>OR, A DISCOVRSE TENDING to &s;hew the unlawfulne&s;&s;e of Lay|mens preaching in Publique or Private.</P>
<P>being A REFVTATION OF &s;ome Arguments brought for the Ju&s;tification of the law fulne&s;&s;e and uniuer&s;all exerci&s;e of every mans gift publique and private:</P>
<P>By a well-willer to Reformation.</P>
<Q><BIBL><HI>ROM. 16.17.</HI></BIBL> Marke them which cau&s;e divi&s;ion.</Q>
<P>London Printed for <HI>W. L.</HI> 1644.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>_THe holy Gho&s;t in &s;acred Scriptures doth often inculcate by many iterations, and per&s;wa&s;ive expre&s;&s;ions to the di|ligent, and &s;erious &s;tudy after Truth: and among&s;t them all, there is one (as I may &s;o &s;peake) tran&s;cends the re&s;t. In the third Epi&s;tle, <HI>Iohn</HI> 4. <HI>I have no greater joy than this to heare that my &s;onnes walke in verity:</HI> a &s;trong inducement to incite all men to &s;uch a proficiency:
<NOTE PLACE="marg">3. Epi&s;t. Joh. 4.</NOTE> for as <HI>Solo|mon</HI> &s;peaks, <HI>Without knowledge the minde is not good,</HI> becau&s;e it deprives a man of the in&s;trumentall means, to the attaining of which, his chiefe&s;t happi|ne&s;&s;e con&s;i&s;ts: &s;o unle&s;e this knowledge be originally radicated in the principles of Truth,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">E&s;ay 50.4.</NOTE> it can never <HI>mi|ni&s;ter to a man</HI> (as the Prophet &s;peakes <HI>a word in due time,</HI> for comfort and &s;atisfaction: which point if &s;e|riou&s;ly &s;tudyed, would prove a meanes to extirpate tho&s;e Here&s;ies, and Schi&s;mes which do mi&s;erably devide the &s;eamle&s;&s;e Coate of Chri&s;t: It is true, the Apo&s;tle &s;aies, <HI>There mu&s;t be Here&s;ies, &amp;c.</HI> but I may to this &s;peech of the Apo&s;tle, adde that of Chri&s;t, <HI>Woe be unto them to whom &s;uch offences come,</HI> Mi&s;take me not Reader, I doe not heare condemne the holy
<PB REF="3">oppo&s;itions that accompany the &s;incere Mini|&s;ters of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, again&s;t the corruptions of the times: no, no, farre be it from me to be &s;uch a Proctor for the devill, or to maintaine his quarrell, I onely &s;peake again&s;t that blinde zeale, which po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;es abundance in the world, that zeale that wants both knowledge and truth, for direction, and runns either upon conjectures, or evill <HI>Enthu&s;ia&s;mes,</HI> of which the Apo&s;tle aimes at, that hath its Originall and breeding from a di&s;tempered braine, and at length produces many exorbitant and giddy devia|tions from the &s;obriety and analogy of true Reli|gion,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">M. Bolton.</NOTE> as a Learned Divine &s;peakes, this is that zeale which requires ju&s;t cen&s;ure and &s;ound conviction: What &s;hall I &s;ay? I onely wi&s;h that the God of heaven, who hath all power in his hands, and knowes the hearts of all men would bridle the out|ragiou&s;ne&s;&s;e of his enemies and cure the errors of his owne people, that we might all with one heart and one &s;oule, willingly &s;ubmit to the Scepter of his deare Sonne, endeavouring to keepe the <HI>unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, &amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="discourse">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>LAY-PREACHING VNMASKED</HEAD>
<P>ARGVMENT</P>
<P><HI>That there is no private gifts, nor private Chri&s;tians that we reade of in Scripture.</HI></P>
<P>ANSVVER</P>
<P>_THat this is otherwi&s;e, may ea&s;ily apeare: for &s;ome actions are private, and &s;ome are al&s;o publique: and againe &s;ome per&s;ons are private, and &s;ome are publique: and &s;o it followeth, that &s;ome actions proceeding from men as private, their actions are pri|vate al&s;o: private actions have reference to private men and men are private in re&s;pect of there conditions, and callings God hath &s;et them in; and private men may &s;om|times performe publique actions, being by authority called there unto: and this may not only hold in the Civill Stat, but in the Eccle&s;ia&s;tique: for Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath left Offices, and Officers in his Church, and tho&s;e de&s;inged to perticular places: This appeares manife&s;tly, as may bee &s;eene in Scripture: To &s;et downe one in&s;tance in <HI>Acts</HI> 6. <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 1, 2. <HI>The Gre|cians complaining that their Widdowes were neglected,</HI> the Ap|o&s;tles
<PB N="2" REF="4">to remedy it, <HI>called the multitude together, and wi&s;hed them to looke out &s;o many men, full of the holy Gho&s;t to be appoin|ted for this bu&s;ine&s;&s;e:</HI> Now ther is no man will deny, but that this act was divine: if &s;o and that none could performe the&s;e actions but tho&s;e who were publiquely ordained to that purpo&s;e, then it follows.</P>
<P><HI>That the&s;e men (who were full of the holy Gho&s;t) by adivine ordinance were appointed to doe &s;uch Offices in the Church, not only as they were Chri&s;tians, and &s;o had a &s;pirituall &s;ufficiency to performe tho&s;e duties, but being private men were now publikely ordained to execut that which they were called to.</HI></P>
<P>But it is worth while to con&s;ider what you under&s;tand by private Chri&s;tians, and private &s;pirits, for if you meane that every Chri&s;tians gifts, are not for private u&s;e, but pub|like, and in that re&s;pect to doe &s;ervice to the whole, and &s;o generally to be a&s;&s;i&s;tant according to tho&s;e gifts given him, then your &s;peech is true, and &s;o there is no Chri&s;tian what|&s;oever that is a true member of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but hath a duty lying upon them to help to edifie the body in his place: but if by private Chri&s;tians, and private gifts, you under&s;tand that there are none &s;uch, becau&s;e that every one that hath gifts from the head may doe and performe any Office in the Church, which is onely properly and peculiarly atribute to &s;ome, and &s;o not to be differenced, out of any particular Office, from him that is &s;pecially called to a cer|taine Office, then your &s;peech is untrue and tends the high|way to Anabapti&s;me, be&s;ides your &s;elfe tells us, that in re&s;pect of Congregated bodies, the more part are out of office: now if the more part in this re&s;pect be out of office, then they that are out of office cannot performe the duties of them that are in office: for what doth the word Office import, but onely a calling to, and a performing of certaine duties that pertain either to the civill State, or the Church, and none can perform the&s;e duties, but only tho&s;e that are de&s;igned thereunto, and if there be the&s;e differences in tho&s;e that are in office, and tho&s;e that are out of office, I would knowe of you upon what grond you can affirme that there are no private gifts, nor private Chri&s;tians, if in the fir&s;t &s;en&s;e you acknoledge it, it is grant|ed
<PB N="3" REF="4">to you, if in the &s;econd &s;ence which you mu&s;t a&s;&s;ent to, or el&s;e you do but daily; then &s;hew us better proofes then the&s;e, or el&s;e cea&s;e to be &s;o univer&s;all in your conclu&s;ions, untill the premi&s;&s;es be better: for every member that is out of office may be &s;ayd to have private gifts and private &s;pirits, becau&s;e they are not to execute, and performe tho&s;e actions in a publike way which others may but in private, as <HI>&V;r&s;inus</HI> writes.</P>
<P>Furthermore in things pertaining to the Church, and as eve|ry member &s;tands in relation one to another, and are members of that head from whom they receive life, &s;o there is di&s;tincti|ons of the&s;e members in their &s;everall operations. The Apo|&s;tle in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12.4. &s;ayes, <HI>that there are diver&s;ities of gifts flowing from one and the &s;ame &s;pirit,</HI> and although he doth diffu&s;e &s;everall gifts to tho&s;e members for a mutuall benefit, and <HI>to profit with|all, ver&s;.</HI> 7. yet the&s;e gifts that are thus given, and the per&s;ons to whom they are given, are to be differenced in their proper operations, for the gifts make the members, and not the mem|bers the gifts, and to this purpo&s;e the Apo&s;tle &s;peakes very per|tinently, <HI>are all Apo&s;tles, are all Prophets, have all the gift of tongues, doe all prophe&s;ie, &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Hence then it followes, that as &s;ome gifts con&s;i&s;t in the per|formance of &s;ome things, and &s;ome of other things; &s;o al&s;o tho&s;e per&s;ons in whom tho&s;e gifts are, are to be differenced like|wi&s;e, and this the Apo&s;tle doth clearely intimate in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 12. for &s;peaking of the gifts of the Spirit, <HI>and their diver&s;ities of ope|rations, ver&s;</HI> 6. he proceeds by way of compari&s;on, that as in naturall bodies, one member cannot performe the office of another, and the di&s;tinctions of their operations in the body, &s;o al&s;o Chri&s;t Je&s;us being the head of the &s;pirituall body, hee hath communicated &s;everall gifts to &s;everall members, and hath de&s;igned certaine peculiar offices to &s;ome of tho&s;e mem|bers; now not onely the &s;everall gifts, but al&s;o the &s;everall functions in the body Eccle&s;ia&s;tick proceed from Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;ayes, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 28. <HI>And God hath &s;et &s;ome in the Church, fir&s;t, Apo&s;tles, &s;econdly, Prophets, thirdly, Teachers, &amp;c.</HI> and although in the generall the gifts may concurre in one man, yet there are &s;ome particulars affirmed of one, which can|not be &s;poken of another, and therefore the Apo&s;tle againe,
<PB N="4" REF="5"><HI>ver&s;.</HI> 29. <HI>Are all Apo&s;tles, are all Prophets, are all Teachers, &amp;c.</HI> but you &s;ay, the&s;e
<NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg">For <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> being both li|ving things are &s;evered one from an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">her by their &s;eve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters">l pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">es <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nd &s;peciall di<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e|rences, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s they be c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ll<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">d <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> the L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">gic<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="2 letters"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 word">; ever <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Apo|&s;tles, P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">phe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s. Evangel<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ts, Pa&s;tors, and Do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ors being all Preachers of the Go&s;pell, are &s;evered by that wherein they differ one from another, and as he can be no man, which have none of the&s;e differences wherby a man is &s;evered from living things, &s;o he cannot be Prophet, or A|po&s;tle which hath nothing whereby hee may differ from a Pa&s;tor, Doctor, or Evangeli&s;t. Cartwright, 1. Part of his Reply to Whitgift. Pag. 380.</NOTE> offices were extraordinary, true, but yet by them and after them, the ordinary offices have the &s;ame di|&s;tin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ns, as thus. Pa&s;tors, Elders, and Deacons, are not the&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;tinct offices? from all which that hath beene &s;poken, it is a nece&s;&s;ary conclu&s;ion and i&s;&s;uing from the&s;e premi&s;es: to wit,</P>
<P><HI>That as God hath &s;et downe, not onely a di&s;tinction of tho&s;e Offices and Officers which are extraordinary, but al&s;o ordinary, and that even in the&s;e ordinary Offices which &s;hould &s;ucceed perpetually in the Church, the lea&s;t of them cannot take that publike Office upon him without the call of the Church, as was in&s;tanced in the&s;e Dea|cons, Acts the &s;ixth, it followes invincibly that there is an ab&s;o|lute and plaine di&s;tinction betweene, and a difference in, a publike and private Spirit, and &s;o of tho&s;e per&s;ons in whom there are; and that when &s;uch places are void, no man can take upon him that arrogancy, (unle&s;&s;e in ca&s;e of nece&s;&s;itie) to execute them, unle&s;&s;e called thereunto.</HI></P>
<P>Againe, that there is difference betwixt the &s;pirit of a Mi|ni&s;ter publikely called, and a private man, to whom God hath given the gifts of the Spirit; is proved from Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> where he &s;ayes, <HI>the Spirit of the Prophets are &s;ubject to the Prophets,</HI> and not to every private man, as Ma&s;ter
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In his Ca&s;es of Con&s;cience.</NOTE> <HI>Perkins</HI> &s;ayes, and hee &s;hewes al&s;o that God doth give a larger mea&s;ure of gifts to Mini&s;ters and publike di&s;pen&s;ers of his Word and Sacraments, then to ordinary and private men;
<NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg">The Vertues of the third Commandement con&s;i&s;ts in the propagation and &s;preading abroad of the true doctrine of Gods E&s;&s;ence, not that publication which is done by the publique Mini&s;try, and which belongeth to the publique function of the Church, but that propaga|tion which pertaineth to every one, becau&s;e every one privately in his place is bound to bring others to the knowledge and wor&s;hip of God. Deut. 4. 9. Luke 22. 32. Col. 3. 16. 1 Th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;. 5. 11. Ur&s;in. Cat.</NOTE> and this al&s;o may bee proved by a nece&s;&s;ary induction from tho&s;e words of the Apo|&s;tle, 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14. 5. <HI>I would that you all &s;pake with tongues,</HI> from which it is evident, that the Apo&s;tle by a&s;cribing to the know|ledge of tongues, the Epithite of a &s;pirituall gift, and that tho&s;e men whom God hath called al&s;o by his Spirit to the worke of the Mini&s;tery, &s;anctifying tho&s;e gifts unto them; it
<PB N="5" REF="5">followes nece&s;&s;arily, that to whom larger gifts are given, both unto the knowledge of tongues, and of the Scriptures in tho&s;e tongues, that there a larger mea&s;ure of grace may and doth dwell; now if a larger mea&s;ure of grace and gifts doe remaine in &s;ome men more then others, then tho&s;e men are more fitter for the greate&s;t Offices in the body, and &s;o likewi&s;e a di&s;tinction of their duties mu&s;t be granted for the manner; for the know|ledge of the true and exact meaning of the Scriptures, and the extents of the holy Gho&s;ts meaning therein;
<NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg">Without the &s;tudy and learning of Arts and Sci|ences men can|not be made fit to teach, nor the purity and &s;incerity of do|ctrine main|tained again&s;t Heretiques. Ur&s;in. Catt.</NOTE> There mu&s;t be &s;omething el&s;e to concurre be&s;ides the gifts and graces given to the Elect; and to this purpo&s;e
<NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg">Wherefore &s;aith he, &s;erves the Schooles of the Prophets, and the know|ledge of Arts and Tongues, but to divide the Word a|right, and to di&s;tribute to every mans ne|ce&s;&s;ities, Bol|ton in his 3. Treat. pag.</NOTE> Ma&s;ter <HI>Bolton</HI> &s;peakes excellently: and &s;o al&s;o how &s;hall the Mini&s;ters of God convince the learned adver&s;aries, if there be no skill nor knowledge in Arts and Tongues, from all which it appeares, that as God endued his Mini&s;ters with larger mea&s;ures of gifts in tongues, and in the knowledge of the holy Scriptures, and the&s;e being &s;anctified unto them, and hath not given &s;uch large mea&s;ures to private men, who have not &s;uch publike offices de&s;igned to them by the Church (becau&s;e indeed not fit) hee mu&s;t needs be a very &s;trange man that will deny that there are not private gifts, nor private Chri&s;tians; the con&s;ent of judi|cious, godly, and learned Divines a&s;&s;enting thereunto: and &s;o tho&s;e Divines, as <HI>Perkins, Calvin, Bolton, &amp;c.</HI> doe onely &s;hew that there ought to be a mutuall edifying of one another in tho&s;e graces that God hath given to his people, and members of the Church, but they doe not prove this &s;peech: <HI>That there is no private gifts nor private Chri&s;tians.</HI></P>
<P>Now becau&s;e that which followes in your booke, is not to be que&s;tioned, but by all faithfull men, Divines, and others gran|ted, to wit, that Chri&s;tians may edifie one another mutually, and according to tho&s;e gifts that God hath given them, we will therefore proceed to that which followes to be an&s;wered.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t you make an objection again&s;t the univer&s;alitie of this truth.</P>
<P>That none ought to preach but tho&s;e in office, <MILESTONE UNIT="Object."> nor el&s;e may be properly &s;aid to preach.</P>
<P>To this you an&s;wer, when the di&s;per&s;ed Chri&s;tians in that per&s;ecution were &s;cattered abroad, it it &s;aid, that they went about
<PB N="6" REF="6">preaching, and the hand of the Lord was with them, <HI>Act.</HI> 11.19, 20, 21.</P>
<P>But doe you thinke that this is a &s;ufficient warrant for you to preach publikely,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rep.</NOTE> in a time when the Word of God is free|ly preached by his faithfull me&s;&s;engers, and who have ordina|ry callings thereunto? As for tho&s;e Chri&s;tians, without doubt it was extraordinary in them to doe this, and if you had &s;eri|ou&s;ly weighed the circum&s;tance of the place, and the cau&s;e thereof, you would not have made &s;uch a bad conclu&s;ion; for by rea&s;on of the greatne&s;&s;e of the per&s;ecution at Jeru&s;alem, &s;ome Chri&s;tians &s;cattered them&s;elves abroad except the Apo|&s;tles; now the Apo&s;tles
<NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="marg">Becau&s;e they would ra|ther lo&s;e their lives at Jeru&s;a|lem, then <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e|part from the Congregati|ons they had converted. Gualt. in 4. Acts.</NOTE> remaining at Jeru&s;alem, privately for feare of the per&s;ecutors as &s;ome thinke, as St. <HI>Paul</HI> did in the like ca&s;e for feare of the Jewes, and &s;o by that meanes the Go&s;|pell could not be preached to them; other places Saint <HI>Steven</HI> was &s;toned, and others of them no doubt but were in pri&s;on, there was now a nece&s;&s;itie that the Word &s;hould bee preached by them if at all; e&s;pecially in tho&s;e parts of <HI>Iudae,</HI> where the Churches at that time were not plainted, or if they were, it was newly done, and the&s;e Chri&s;tians no doubt were extraor|dinarily called to the &s;ame; and mee thinkes there is &s;uch &s;trength in the particle (therefore) of <HI>Act.</HI> 8.4. the &s;cope of that Chapter being to declare the per&s;ecution of the Church, and of the &s;toning of Saint <HI>Steven,</HI> and of his buriall, then comes the holy Gho&s;t with an inference; (therefore) <HI>tho&s;e that Were &s;cattered abroad preached the Word,</HI> implying, that had not that per&s;ecution beene, and that the Apo&s;tles had not thought fit to &s;u&s;pend their preaching in the&s;e places, there had beene no &s;uch gate opened for the&s;e men to doe as they did; and be&s;ides al&s;o in the next ver&s;e, &s;peaking of <HI>Philip,</HI> who was but a Deacon, &s;erves to illu&s;trate this point, for in the fifth ver&s;e, he went into <HI>Samaria</HI> and preached there, which he could not have done, nor could he, had it not beene a thing extraor|dinary, and therefore well &s;ayes
<NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="marg">At this time Philip, who was but a Deacon might preach, nece&s;&s;i|ty requiring it, Ibidem.</NOTE> Ma&s;ter <HI>Gaulter</HI> upon the place, now if this was a thing nece&s;&s;ary and &s;o extraordi|nary in <HI>Philip,</HI> who was an under Church officer; why not in the Chri&s;tians who were no Church officers at all, and wee finde al&s;o that <HI>Philip</HI> was one of tho&s;e &s;even Deacons cho&s;en
<PB N="7" REF="6">in the fixth of <HI>Acts,</HI> from all which I argue thus.</P>
<P>That per&s;ons which could not performe the place of an in|feriour Church officer, without being ordeined by the Church, could not much le&s;&s;e performe a greater office, unle&s;&s;e called by the Church.</P>
<P>But the fir&s;t is true, <HI>Acts</HI> 6.5, 6. as was in&s;tanced in the Dea|cons, <HI>Ergo,</HI> &s;o is the &s;econd.</P>
<P>Furthermore it was never the practi&s;e of any either in the old or new Te&s;tament, that was not in office in the Church, and de&s;igned to publike preaching of the Word, that did ever take upon them to preach,
<NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="marg">Neither is there any one except tho&s;e which are cal|led extraordi|narily which can baye any a&s;&s;urance of an inward calling but by meanes of the outward, Cart. 2. rep. 1. part. pag. 260.</NOTE> but upon an extraordinary occa|&s;ion, and in ca&s;e of nece&s;&s;itie, as here the&s;e men did, let the contrary be proved, and you may write to &s;ome purpo&s;e. As for the Apo&s;tles, they were called extraordinarily by Chri&s;t him|&s;elfe, inwardly by his Spirit, and outwardly by his owne voyce, onely Saint <HI>Paul,</HI> to whom was added <HI>Barnabas,</HI> was after Chri&s;ts a&s;cention called to the worke of the Mini&s;tery, yet neither of the&s;e two, but had the confirmation of their calling, the one by <HI>Ananias,</HI> the other by tho&s;e of <HI>Antioch,</HI> as al&s;o in <HI>Act.</HI> 11. <HI>Barnabas</HI> was &s;ent by the Church at <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>For no doubt But God could have given <HI>Paul</HI> his &s;ight, without the laying on of the hands of <HI>Ananias,</HI> but God to &s;hew that he loves order, and that although he can doe things altogether by him&s;elfe, yet he is plea&s;ed to u&s;e man as an in|&s;trument to worke by, and without whom &s;ome things cannot be done without manife&s;t violation and breach of his Law, as here it is evident <HI>Ananias</HI> was &s;ent by Chri&s;t, that <HI>Paul</HI> might receive his &s;ight and the holy Gho&s;t, that &s;o he might preach the Go&s;pel, now if you will have &s;uch &s;ending here as is mentioned in the 10. <HI>Rom</HI> 15. and &s;uch preaching too, although it is won|derfull to &s;ee what a &s;trange collection you fetch from the 10. of <HI>Rom.</HI> but I for my part take it, that the Apo&s;tle &s;peakes there of the extraordinary &s;ending, and if you plea&s;e to looke in the Margent
<NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="marg">Although Paul in this place &s;peak of calling and &s;ending, and this is as I &s;aid, ordinary, and extraordinary; there is no doubt but hee &s;peakes here of the extraor|dinary, Pet. Mart. on this place of the 10. to the Rom. Paul doth not here &s;peak of the law full calling of eve|ry man, Calvin upon the place.</NOTE> you &s;hall &s;ee the expo&s;itions of two excellent ju|dicious, and learned Divines, &s;o that if you collect any thing from the&s;e places it mu&s;t be applyed to extraordinary practi&s;e, and if you can plead, and make good the calling to be extra|ordinary, then you have a &s;ufficient warrant for the fact, but
<PB N="8" REF="7">if you cannot, you mu&s;t an&s;wer to God for your intru&s;ion to &s;uch an office, without a &s;ufficient warrant from the Church, and be&s;ides, the &s;incere Mini&s;ters of Je&s;us Chri&s;t are utterly again&s;t you in the univer&s;alitie of this your practi&s;e.</P>
<P>But you alleadge the fact of the woman of <HI>Samaria,</HI> at which a man may wonder at; the woman of <HI>Samaria</HI> went and told the <HI>Samaritans</HI> what Chri&s;t &s;ayd to her; <HI>Ergo,</HI> a lay man may publikely preach the Go&s;pell; here is an excellent con&s;equence, that hath neither forme nor fa&s;hion in it, you might better have concluded that women may preach; for con&s;ider judiciou&s;ly what pa&s;&s;age is there in this womans fact, (which you would have ordinary, and inevitable) but may bet|ter be applyed to women than to men, and if you are of that minde, then you &s;hall heare the judgement of Divines in that point,
<NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="marg">The Mini|&s;tery of the Church is nor to be commit|ted unto wo|men, but to men. Ur&s;in. Cat. pag. 588. Eng. Our Saviour Chri&s;t hath joyned the preaching of the Word, and the admini|&s;tration of the Sacraments to|get<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, and this S. Paul knew by the Com|mandement, of Chri&s;t, whereupon it follows, that as women may not bapti&s;e, &s;o they may not preach. Cart. Rep. to Whitgift. pag. 109. That which the&s;e Samaritans beleeved was, that this Chri&s;t was the promi&s;ed Me&s;&s;iah, which yet was not &s;o certaine by the womans report, as appeares in the 42. ver&s;e; Now there is difference be tween beleeving on him generally to be the Me&s;&s;iah, and in particuler for ones &s;alvation; in the fir&s;t &s;ence the Samaritans beleeved at the womans report, in the &s;econd &s;ence when they came to Chri&s;t.</NOTE> I but the <HI>Samaritans</HI> beleeved at the report of the woman; What then, therefore a woman may preach? &s;tay good &s;ir, you are too wide, this woman did no more then call her neighbour Citizens to Chri&s;t, being convinced in her con|&s;cience that he was the Me&s;&s;ias, which Chri&s;t in plaine tearmes told her, &s;he being now overjoyed to communicate that to others which &s;he now had her &s;elfe, leaving her water pot be|hinde her, and making ha&s;t to informe her neighbours, not onely that he told all that ever &s;he did, but al&s;o de&s;iring them to come them&s;elves, and the <HI>Samaritans</HI> beleeved the womans report; to wit, that &s;uch a Prophet there was as was promi&s;ed, being the Me&s;&s;ias, and when they came to Chri&s;t them&s;elves and had &s;eene manife&s;tations from him, then they beleeved on him, not &s;o much for her &s;peech, but becau&s;e they had &s;eene tho&s;e things of him with their owne eyes, which made them cry out, this is the Saviour of the world; &s;o that this womans fact was no more, but in generall termes to call her neighbour Citizens, <HI>Come,</HI> &s;ayes &s;he, <HI>and &s;ee a man that told me all that ever
<PB N="9" REF="7">I did, is not this the Chri&s;t?</HI>
<NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="marg">She &s;hould have dealt very ra&s;hly, if &s;he had taken up|on her the of|fice of teach|ing, but &s;eeing &s;he only de&s;ires to &s;tir up her Citizens to heare Chri&s;t &s;peak, we will not &s;ay that forgetting her &s;elfe &s;he went beyond her reach; &s;he only playes the part of a Trumpet or Bell, that &s;he might win men to Chri&s;t, for that which I finde in the P&s;al. 116.10. I beleeved, therefore have I &s;poke, mu&s;t needs be true, and we mu&s;t &s;o much the more note the ear|ne&s;tne&s;&s;e, and the gladne&s;&s;e of the woman, becau&s;e only a &s;mall &s;parkle of faith breeds them, for &s;he had yet &s;carce ta&s;ted of Chri&s;t when &s;he pub|li&s;hed him to the City. <HI>Calvin</HI> on the place.</NOTE> which was a very &s;hort Ser|mon, and was not &s;o convincing till they had beene with Chri&s;t them&s;elves; now what is all this to preaching, or to ones being &s;ent that he might preach; you know Saint <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aies, how &s;hall they preach except they be &s;ent? and &s;ending is either ordinary or extraordinary, and if you will needs have this woman to be a Preacher, &s;hew us her Commi&s;&s;ion? You will &s;ay &s;he preached, but how is that proved? well &s;up|po&s;e &s;he did preach (for we will grant nothing) where is her &s;ending mentioned? you will &s;ay it is not expre&s;&s;ed, her fact is &s;ufficient; I tell you that if &s;he preached, and was not ordina|rily called, it followes, it was extraordinary, and &s;o unimita|ble; and &s;hew me if you can, any in&s;tance in the Scripture that ever any per&s;on tooke upon him to preach publikely, but they were called thereunto, not onely inwardly by God, but out|wardly by the Church, and that expre&s;&s;ed in the Scripture, un|le&s;&s;e in &s;ome ca&s;es extraordinary; &s;o even the Apo&s;tles them|&s;elves, who were extraordinary called, for their manner, yet their calling is &s;et downe, both inward and outward al&s;o; and now if the Apo&s;tles, who were extraordinarily called for man|ner, and yet is &s;et downe for all that; how comes it to pa&s;&s;e, that the womans fact; which you would have ordinary is not &s;et downe, &s;eeing ordinary callings and ordinary actions, which the &s;ucceeding Churches was to walke by for directions, are not regi&s;tred? the Apo&s;tles as was &s;ayd were extraordina|ry in the manner of their calling, and in the manner of the exemption of that to which they were called, but the &s;ub&s;tance of their dutie which they exempted, to wit, preaching was com|municated to po&s;terity, el&s;e how hath God provided for his Church; but as for the&s;e allegations of yours out of the <HI>Acts,</HI> and of this woman of <HI>Samaria</HI> (if you will have her a Prea|cher) they were extraordinary both in circum&s;tance and &s;ub|&s;tance; the rea&s;on of the fir&s;t, becau&s;e of the per&s;ecution at Jeru|&s;alem, there were none now to preach the Go&s;pell, but &s;uch as God had extraordinarily rai&s;ed up, and you &s;hould doe well to &s;hew us when here was ever any &s;uch practi&s;e of preaching by lay men in the times of the Apo&s;tles libertie, and when they
<PB N="10" REF="8">were freed from the &s;tops and hinderances of per&s;ecution, then the cau&s;e could nor po&s;&s;ibly but winne credit to judicious un|der&s;tanders; but when you can alleadge no examples then the woman of <HI>Samaria,</HI> and the&s;e Chri&s;tians in the Acts, I mu&s;t needs conclude to you as Chri&s;t did to the woman, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 22. yee wor&s;hip you know not what, no more doe you of what you affirme, of the &s;econd for the rea&s;on before alleadged.</P>
<P>The next argument is taken from the 8. of <HI>Luk.</HI> 39 the man in whom Chri&s;t wrought the Miracle being po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed with divels, after the divels were gone from him, Chri&s;t bids him to goe to his owne hou&s;e and tell what great things the Lord had done for him; <HI>ergo,</HI> a lay man may publikely' preach the Go&s;pell; this inference is like the former, well, but how prove you hee was a preacher? Marry becau&s;e the Text &s;aith, hee went and prea|ched, &s;ome copies read it <HI>Publi&s;hed;</HI> but it &s;eemes where ever you finde the Word <HI>preached</HI> or <HI>prophe&s;ied</HI> in the Scripture, though God he knowes the meaning is farre otherwi&s;e, where in this ca&s;e the holy Gho&s;t onely by way of Narration hath &s;et downe this miracle, and how the per&s;on in whom it was wrought, publi&s;hed it, for the joy that po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed him; and why doe not you as well conclude that becau&s;e tho&s;e two blind men in <HI>Matth.</HI> 9.31. that had received their &s;ight, were Preachers too, for the Text &s;aith, <HI>they &s;pread abroad his fame in all that coun|trey,</HI> and you may better &s;o conclude from the&s;e two then from the other, becau&s;e the&s;e two proclaime his fame. Why although it be a generall expre&s;&s;ion, yet containes more in it then that, and may as well have relation to Chri&s;ts doctrine, as to that particular miracle he did to them; in this there was but a di&s;|po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of tho&s;e divels, and this proclaiming of what Je&s;us had done for him, now if you will needs have this man to be a Preacher too, and &s;o a warrant for you, you may be plea&s;ed to know, that although he had no extraordinary &s;pirit, yet the fact may and was
<NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="marg">For &s;ome things are ex|traord in my be|&s;ides the pen|ning of Scrip|ture and work|ing of Mira|cles, as we &s;ee in <HI>Timothy</HI> and <HI>Titus,</HI> for they went up and down and per|formed the office of Vice-Apo&s;tles when yet they were inediatly cal|led by the Church.</NOTE> extraordinary, becau&s;e that hee in &s;o doing had the command of Chri&s;t,
<NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="marg">Chri&s;t pur|po&s;ely com|mandeth him to &s;hew forth the worke of God, &s;o that he being <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">c|counted for a true Prophet and Mini&s;ter of God might &s;o get the more credit to his doctrine, <HI>Calvin</HI> on the place.</NOTE> and that from his owne mouth, which I thinke you will confe&s;&s;e to be extraordinary, doe you thinke or &s;uppo&s;e if the ordinary way as Chri&s;t pre|&s;cribes
<PB N="11" REF="8">&s;cribes in <HI>Matth.</HI> 17.21. if doing Miracles were performed by &s;ome Mini&s;ters to re&s;tore a man from &s;ome &s;oare di&s;ea&s;e, or to di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e him from Satan by Prayer and Fa&s;ting, would not you (if &s;uch a one &s;hould di&s;per&s;e that act through a whole Ci|tie, when he was wi&s;hed onely to goe to his owne hou&s;e and to declare what great things the Lord hath done for him) con|clude him that &s;o did to be a Preacher? I know you would, el&s;e what can you make of this example, certainely the&s;e be very &s;trange collections, to &s;ay, that becau&s;e &s;uch a one reeceived &s;uch a perticular mercy by Prayer and Fa&s;ting, and proclaimed it to his friends or neare neighbours, and to tho&s;e of his neere acquaintance; he was therefore a Preacher; &s;o here, the Act on Chri&s;ts part was &s;uddaine, and &s;o no doubt but extraordina|ry, and upon the &s;uddaine performance of the &s;ame, the man proclaimed what Chri&s;t had &s;o done, being full of great joy, that if he could he would, as the Text &s;aith, have continued with Chri&s;t; and may not you as well conclude that tho&s;e two blind men were Preachers, for they did the &s;ame that this man did in &s;preading abroad his fame, if you &s;ay that the&s;e two were not &s;ent, but the other were, then let mee aske you this que&s;tion, where is it &s;aid that the woman of <HI>Samaria</HI> was &s;ent? and yet you will have her a Preacher, and be&s;ides upon the &s;ame ground that you take her to be a Preacher, upon the &s;ame will I prove the two blind men to be &s;o too, for the wo|man &s;he called her Citizens to come to Chri&s;t, the other which was di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of the divels went and preached what things God had done for him, and the&s;e two blind men that Chri&s;t cu+red, went and &s;pread his fame abroad, now if it be a &s;ufficient proofe to make a di&s;&s;ent, in the&s;e actions becau&s;e the one Text &s;aith, the one preached, and the other hath it not, and &s;o to make a difference upon the word (Preaching) which in the &s;ence is all one, I leave all men to judge.</P>
<P>Furthermore, if the uttermo&s;t that you can gather from this place be granted you, that this man did preach, yet you cannot hence prove your calling, to wit that a Lay man may publikely preach, being not called by the Church, when there is the meanes that may be afforded for that end, becau&s;e Chri&s;t &s;ent this man out by his voyce and command, and &s;o mu&s;t
<PB N="12" REF="9">needs be extraordinary, and that not becau&s;e he wanted an ex|traordinary &s;pirit, but becau&s;e he being no Church officer, nor was mediatly called or &s;ent, but immediatly, for as was &s;aid before, &s;ome things were extraordinary be&s;ides penning of Scripture, and the workes of Miracles, as tho&s;e actions perfor|med by <HI>Timothy</HI> and <HI>Titus,</HI> they were extraordinary per&s;ons, &amp; did and performed acts and offices that were extraordinary for their manner, and their performances made them extraordi|ry men, whence they are called Evangeli&s;ts, and although they were mediatly called by the Church, yet the execution of that to which they were called made them extraordinary, but here this man was not onely extraordinary in what he did, but al&s;o was extraordinarily &s;ent from Chri&s;ts owne vocall commi&s;&s;i|on; now if <HI>Timothy</HI> and <HI>Titus</HI> were extraordinary becau&s;e they did actions extraordinary for their manner, why is not this man extraordinary, when he was not onely extraordina|rily &s;ent, but did execute that al&s;o, in an extraordinary manner to which purpo&s;e he was &s;ent, neither was a Church offi|cer? likewi&s;e it behoves you to prove that the&s;e actions per|formed by the &s;cattered Chri&s;tians, and the woman, and this man, were perpetually &s;o done by them, and not once or twice, which you cannot prove, for there was good rea&s;on for them now to doe that, but not as Church officers, and &s;o left imitable to po&s;teritie, but as the Chri&s;tians for the nece&s;&s;itie that then was, the woman and the man for the great joy that did then po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e them, when Chri&s;t did tho&s;e things for them.</P>
<P>To that other allegation of yours from that &s;peech of <HI>Mo&s;es, Numb.</HI> 11.29. where he wi&s;hes that all the Lords people were Prophets, is very impertinent to this purpo&s;e: do you not know to what end this &s;peech of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> was, or is you skill in com|paring &s;pirituall things with &s;pirituall, &s;o weake that you know not how to apply them when they are compared, or el&s;e in comparing them not right, you apply them to a wrong end? for according to your manner of rea&s;oning, the argument runs thus; <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> wi&s;hed that all the Lords people were Prophets, therefore a Lay man, or he that is no Church officer may out of extraordinary times preach the word publikely, which is as
<PB N="13" REF="9">farre from true rea&s;oning, as <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> from <HI>Am&s;terdam;</HI> but you cannot bee &s;o ignorant as you make your &s;elfe, that the meaning may be this, <HI>that they were Prophets,</HI> that is, that they had a &s;pirit of prophecie, to &s;ound forth the prai&s;es of God and to expre&s;&s;e the &s;ame by Timbrels and other Mu&s;icall In&s;tru|ments as <HI>Eli&s;ha</HI> did in the &s;ame manner, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 3.15. but to put you out of all doubts, becau&s;e we will not u&s;e conjectures in &s;o plaine a matter, the true &s;ence is this, which doth be&s;t agree with the order of the &s;tory in this, <HI>Numb.</HI> 11.29. and in a plaine Narration you may be plea&s;ed to under&s;tand that the&s;e I&s;raelites mentioned in the Chapter <HI>did murmure and com|plaine, ver&s;.</HI> 1. <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> he being not able to beare this burthen de|&s;ires the Lord in a po&s;&s;ionate expre&s;&s;ion <HI>that be might die, ver&s;.</HI> 14.15. But God moved with the complaint and griefe of his &s;ervant yeeldeth him helpers to beare his burden with him, that &s;o he might have the more comfort, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 16. the&s;e 70. men will he have furni&s;hed with his Spirit; never placing any to doe a dutie, to whom he gives not a mea&s;ure of abilitie to doe the &s;ame, and God did here extraordinarily call them to be a&s;&s;i&s;tant to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in this worke of government, and to con|firme this calling, he did as he promi&s;ed <HI>Mo&s;es, tooke off the &s;pirit that was on him, and gave it to the&s;e Elders, ver&s;.</HI> 25. now &s;o &s;oone as this was done the Text &s;aith, <HI>they prophe&s;ied and did not cea&s;e,</HI> which prophe&s;ie did con&s;i&s;t in &s;ounding forth Gods prai&s;es and al&s;o in mini&s;tring a&s;&s;i&s;tance to <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> in this worke of go|vernment; now what <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> meant by wi&s;hing that all the Lords people were Prophets, is ea&s;ie to finde, for his wi&s;h was &s;poken in relation to <HI>Eldad, and Medads phophe&s;ying in the Campe,</HI> peru&s;e the Chapter well, and you cannot but &s;ee in what &s;ence <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> words are to be taken, that had it not beene that tho&s;e two Elders were in the Campe who were &s;poken again&s;t by <HI>Jo&s;hua, Mo&s;es</HI> &s;ervant, that expre&s;&s;ion had never beene utte|red by him towards the people, the two Elders being in the Campe, a young man ran and told <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and &s;aid; <HI>Edlad and Medad doe prophe&s;ie in the Campe, and Jo&s;hua the &s;ervant of Mo&s;es &s;aid, My Lord Mo&s;es forbad them, Mo&s;es</HI> he an&s;wers him with a reproofe. <HI>Envie&s;t thou them for my &s;ake, &s;aith he, would God that all the Lords people were Prophets,</HI> whereby it appeares that
<PB N="14" REF="10"><HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his &s;peech mu&s;t needs carry a dependance and reference to tho&s;e two Elders in the Camp, or el&s;e it were very incon|gruous: Now &s;hall I aske you this que&s;tion? Had not <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;ome ground for his wi&s;h, and is not this wi&s;h &s;poken with re|ference to tho&s;e two Elders? I know you cannot deny it; doth it not follow then by nece&s;&s;ary con&s;equence, that as the Spirit (that God took from <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and put it upon the&s;e Elders, and which Spirit <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> wi&s;hed were in the Lords people) was a &s;pirit of Government, which tho&s;e Elders were to &s;hare in with <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and which would have produced a happy effect in the people, if they had had the &s;ame: Will you &s;ee an exam|ple to illu&s;trate this point; Let the example of <HI>Saul</HI> then bee here brought forth, and which comes next to be an&s;wered. That as he was extraordinarily called by God to his Kingly office, &s;o was this his calling confirmed to him by the pouring of his Spirit on him. 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10 6. Such an example we have likewi&s;e in <HI>Gideon,</HI> in the 6. <HI>Judges</HI> 34. Who by this &s;igne of prophecie, and other things joyning with it, had his place con|firmed to him, the Spirit it &s;elfe was a Spirit of government and of courage and magnanimity to &s;upport them, and to fill them with &s;ufficiency for the performance of tho&s;e places that God had de&s;igned them to.</P>
<P>The prophecying it &s;elfe con&s;i&s;ted in &s;ounding out Gods prai&s;es by the in&s;tinct of that Spirit they now had, with P&s;alte|ry, Tabret, and Pipe, and in this very &s;ence are tho&s;e places to bee under&s;tood of <HI>Gideon,</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Sam. 10.5.</NOTE> and <HI>Saul,</HI> and <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> as al&s;o a pregnant place to his purpo&s;e of <HI>Jeduthun</HI> in 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 25.3. who is &s;aid to prophe&s;ie with a Harpe, and to give thankes and prai&s;e to the Lord, by all which it may ap|peare what is the true revealed intent of the holy Gho&s;t in <HI>Mo|&s;es</HI> &s;peech, to wit;</P>
<P><HI>That the Lord would if hee &s;o plea&s;ed poure upon the&s;e people (who before did murmure) a &s;pirit of government,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Paraphra&s;ed.</NOTE> that &s;o they might know how to carry them&s;elves towards their God and his &s;ervant</HI> Mo&s;es <HI>their governour, and the&s;e</HI> 70. <HI>Elders, whom hee had extraordinarily and &s;pecially de&s;igned for that pur-po&s;e.</HI></P>
<PB N="15" REF="10">
<P>To that other objection of <HI>Saul,</HI> in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.6. and you have it, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 6.10. but it is no great matter, wee will pa&s;&s;e that by, becau&s;e the whole booke almo&s;t is full fraught with ill applications and mi&s;con&s;tructions: to the place of <HI>Samuel</HI> then I an&s;wer, that the meaning of <HI>Sauls</HI> prophe&s;ying is as was &s;ayd before, to &s;ound forth Gods prai&s;es, by the in&s;tinct of that Spirit he now had, with tho&s;e Prophets in the fifth ver&s;e,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Or changed his &s;pirit.</NOTE> the whole &s;tory is this.</P>
<P>Foure things <HI>Samuel</HI> had prophe&s;ied concerning <HI>Saul,</HI> after his annointing and departing from him and that when the&s;e things came to pa&s;&s;e, <HI>Saul</HI> might be a&s;&s;ured of Gods calling of him to be King; the &s;ignes were the&s;e.</P>
<P N="1">1. That when he was departed, he &s;hould finde two men by <HI>Rachels</HI> Sepulchre, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 2.</P>
<P N="2">2. That after that hee &s;hould meete three men going to <HI>Bethel</HI> to the hou&s;e of God, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 3.</P>
<P N="3">3. After that he &s;hould meete a company of Prophets with Harpe, Tabret, Pipes, &amp;c.</P>
<P N="4">4. When he came thus farre and &s;aw the&s;e Prophets, then the Spirit of the Lord &s;hould come upon him, and he &s;hould prophe&s;ie <HI>with them.</HI></P>
<P>Now when all the&s;e came upon him, he might be a&s;&s;ured in the accompli&s;hment of the&s;e prophe&s;ies that God had called him to be the ruler of the people, and that he &s;hould doe them as occa&s;ion &s;erved, for the hand (<HI>ver&s;e</HI> 7.) of the Lord was with him; &s;o that it &s;eemes undeniably that <HI>Sauls</HI> prophe&s;ying among&s;t the&s;e Prophets, was &s;uch prophe&s;ying as theirs was; for &s;o the words (with them) doe clearely intimate the &s;pirit it &s;elfe was poured upon him for the confirmation of his calling, and the effect of that Spirit, filling of him with &s;trength and valour, and al&s;o to &s;ound out Gods prai&s;es; and be&s;ides the holy Gho&s;t hath thought fit to expre&s;&s;e the man|ner thereof (the Spirit of the Lord came upon him) now God gives his &s;pirit either vi&s;ibly, or el&s;e invi&s;ibly; the one is extra|ordinary, the other ordinary.</P>
<P>Now the holy Gho&s;t came upon <HI>Saul</HI> in a vi&s;ible manner, not by any locall appearance
<NOTE N="(n)" PLACE="marg">The holy Gho&s;t comes vi&s;ibly not by any locall mo|tion, but by the &s;ignes, he workes, onely the &s;ign<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s is taken for the thing it &s;elfe, <HI>Vr&s;in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t.</HI></NOTE> but by tho&s;e &s;ignes which were produced to the eyes &amp; &s;en&s;es of the by-&s;tanders, his operations;
<PB N="16" REF="11">not by any locall or vi&s;ible &s;ight of him&s;elfe, but by tho&s;e effects which he wrought.</P>
<P>The holy Gho&s;t is given invi&s;ibly when hee be&s;towes his gifts, not &s;o much with infallible, outward, &amp; externall te&s;timo|nies, as by an inward operation on the faculties of the &s;oule, in mea&s;ures, and &s;o is given to wicked men, and the elect; to wick|ed men at the be&s;t &s;peculatively regenerating them; to the elect both &s;peculatively and practically.</P>
<P>The &s;pirit then was given to <HI>Saul</HI> in an extraordinary man|ner vi&s;ibly by tho&s;e effects he did produce,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">The gifts of the Holy Gho&s;t, as Mi|racles, and Tengues, Prephe&s;ies were given in the Apo&s;tles times in an ex|traordinary manner. <HI>ibid.</HI></NOTE> &s;o that it appeares that his example &s;erves your turne not one whit, for if the ho|ly Gho&s;t came upon <HI>Saul</HI> in an extraordinary manner, and that this his prophe&s;ying con&s;i&s;ted in pray&s;ing God with Tabret, Pipe, as the Prophets did in the fift ver&s;e, and hee with them, then what can this prove to your purpo&s;e? &amp; as the holy Gho&s;t was given to the Apo&s;tles in the primitive Church extraordi|narily &amp; immediatly becau&s;e of tho&s;e effects they did produce, why not upon <HI>Saul</HI> who had this &s;pirit given him immediatly as appeares by the effects they wrought in him? <HI>as making him another man, and by his prophe&s;ying,</HI> all which were confirmati|ons extraordinary to confirme his calling of being King, which was extraordinary al&s;o, the like we &s;ee in <HI>David,</HI> 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 16.13. who had the Spirit poured upon him in the &s;ame manner as it was on <HI>Saul,</HI> and all to fit him for tho&s;e weightie duties of his kingly office, and although <HI>David</HI> had not &s;uch vi&s;ible con&s;pi|cuous &s;ignes at his annointing as <HI>Saul</HI> had, yet wee reade in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 16.18. that he was &s;trong, valiant, a man of warre; in &s;o much that it is &s;aid, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 18.14, 15. that <HI>Saul</HI> was afraid of him, all which things being laid together will evince this truth, to wit that the&s;e were extraordinary Spirits in their manner of being given to certaine per&s;ons; again if <HI>Saul</HI> were a Preacher, as this allegation &s;eemes to in&s;inuate, then a que&s;tion would be asked, to vvhom did he preach? It is &s;aid indeed he prophe&s;i|ed, but there is divers kinds of prophe&s;ie in Scripture, onely the Text &s;aith he prophe&s;ied with the re&s;t of the Prophets, but not that he preached to any, for hee neither did as the Samaritan woman did, nor as the man in whom the devils vvere; and tru|ly their actions and performance of them doe manife&s;t a di&s;pa|ritie,
<PB N="17" REF="11">the woman went onely and told what things had pa&s;&s;ed betweene her &s;elfe and Chri&s;t. The man preached it, but as for King <HI>Saul,</HI> he prophe&s;ied by the in&s;tinct of that &s;pirit he now had in pray&s;ing and &s;inging with in&s;truments of mu&s;icke to God, which did confirme him in his extraordinary call of being King, all which you could not chu&s;e but know, onely it &s;eemes you are di&s;po&s;ed to make the world merry.</P>
<P>To the next, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 19.20. where <HI>Saul is faid to &s;end me&s;&s;en|gers to David, and that they prophe&s;ied,</HI> that is all one with the other, 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.6. and <HI>Sauls</HI> me&s;&s;engers here prophe&s;ied, with the re&s;t of the Prophers, as <HI>Saul</HI> him&s;elfe did there, and their prophe&s;ying mu&s;t needs have reference to the prophe|&s;ying of the Prophers, for &s;o the words imply, that when the&s;e me&s;&s;engers came and &s;aid the colledge or company of the Prophets, then &s;aith the Text, <HI>they al&s;o prophe&s;ied,</HI> and &s;o al|&s;o in the &s;ame manner did <HI>Saul</HI> him&s;elfe prophe&s;ic; Now what this prophe&s;ie was is expre&s;&s;ed in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.6. as before was declared, it con&s;i&s;ted in &s;ounding forth Gods prai&s;es with Ta|bret, Pipe, Harpe, and as <HI>Jeduthun</HI> did, 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 25.3. an this was to declare the infinite power and mercy of God towards <HI>David,</HI> whom <HI>Saul</HI> now had an intent to have &s;laine, as ap|peares by the whole Chapter, <HI>Saul</HI> &s;ending his me&s;&s;engers, and going him&s;elfe, yet all could not doe, nor bring to a full period his wicked de&s;ignes again&s;t <HI>David,</HI> the like example wee have in 2 <HI>King.</HI> 1. of tho&s;e two Captaines and their fifties, <HI>that came to apprehend the Prophet Eliah,</HI> the&s;e men thinking to bring the Prophet to King <HI>Ahaziah,</HI> their ends were fru&s;trated, and they them&s;elves were con&s;umed with fire from heaven, wherein the power &amp; mercy of God, was al&s;o manife&s;ted towards <HI>Eliah.</HI></P>
<P>So that it appeares here, it was the wonderful mercy of God to <HI>David</HI> to deliver him from the hands of <HI>Saul</HI> &amp; his me&s;&s;engers, the opportunitie being &s;o, that notwith&s;tanding <HI>Saul</HI> &s;ent time after time, vet God &s;o ordered the matter, that the&s;e me&s;&s;en|gers being &s;ent from <HI>Saul</HI> who was enraged again&s;t him, ver&s;. 10. could not have acce&s;&s;e, much le&s;&s;e to doe him any wrong; &s;o gracious is the Lord, that to vindicate his peoples innocency or el&s;e his owne in them, that the &s;tronge&s;t a&s;&s;aults of wicked men, though attended with never &s;o much policie, &s;hall chal|lenge
<PB N="18" REF="12">no &s;uoce&s;&s;e but by his over-ruling power, not that God had a &s;peciall ayme that the&s;e men &s;hould be Preachers, much le&s;&s;e to be example therein to po&s;teritie, but onely that God might deliver <HI>David</HI> from the hands of <HI>Saul;</HI> nay, <HI>Saul</HI> him&s;elf, who like <HI>Herod,</HI> after he had &s;ent forth the wi&s;e men to di&s;|cover Chri&s;t but came not againe, was now as much in his bed|lam moods as <HI>Saul</HI> was at this time, who went him&s;elfe to <HI>Ramah, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophe&s;i|ed and rent his cloathes,</HI> as an infallible te&s;timony of a convicted con&s;cience for pur&s;uing &s;o innocent a man as <HI>David</HI> was; an excellent example wee have to this purpo&s;e in the 7. of <HI>John.</HI> 46. of the Phari&s;ees who &s;ent their me&s;&s;engers to &s;etch Chri&s;t before them, but contrary to their expectation, that in &s;tead of the&s;e mens intended fact of taking Chri&s;t, Chri&s;t tooke them, and as they came to apprehend Chri&s;t, as <HI>Sauls</HI> me&s;&s;engers did <HI>David,</HI> they were &s;o wrought upon by his powerfull &s;peeches, that in the 46. ver&s;e they cry out, That never man &s;pake like this man; and you may better conclude that the&s;e &s;ervants of the Phari&s;ees were Preachers, then <HI>Sauls</HI> me&s;&s;engers; and the rea&s;on is &s;tronger in them then in the other; for,</P>
<P><HI>Sauls</HI> me&s;&s;engers prophe&s;ied among the Prophets when there was not &s;uch neede, but onely here that the workes of God might be made manife&s;t, turning that into good which the&s;e men intended for evill, and never returned againe, to give <HI>Saul</HI> account of his me&s;&s;age. But here the&s;e men that came to Chri&s;t had their eyes opened, and had &s;ome &s;matterings of il|lumination that he was Chri&s;t, and did al&s;o returne to the Pha|ri&s;ees againe, declaring Chri&s;ts &s;aying, <HI>Never man &s;pake like this man;</HI> the&s;e men had beene better pre&s;idents for you to have pro|ved the point; all the marrow of the bu&s;ine&s;&s;e I &s;ee lies in this one word (Prophe&s;ie) which if you were at a dead lift, as here you are, can never helpe you, con&s;idering its divers accepta|rions.</P>
<P>As for that you &s;ay afterwards, that the&s;e men were no way extraordinary, for &s;o your words imply, they had no extraordi|nary &s;pirit, <HI>Ergo,</HI> were not extraordinary.</P>
<P>Here you &s;hew your &s;elfe either very ignorant in the Scrip|tures, or el&s;e your writing at this time was very ra&s;h and incon|&s;iderate,
<PB N="19" REF="12">&s;iderate, and becau&s;e I have here ju&s;t occa&s;ion to &s;peake of that I mentioned before, let me aske you this que&s;tion.</P>
<P>If nothing were extraordinary but the penning of Scripture and the workes of Miracles, <MILESTONE UNIT="Que&s;t."> how &s;hall we di&s;pure again&s;t the Hierarchie to prove that <HI>Timothy</HI> and <HI>Titus</HI> were extraordi|nary Officers, by tho&s;e offices and acts which they did, if no|thing were extraordinary but what you &s;ay: for you affirme (when it was objected that the&s;e men had extraordinary &s;pi|rits) that none had extraordinary &s;pirits but they that pen'd the Scriptures, or wrought Miracles, implying, that becau&s;e they had not exeraordinary &s;pirits in perming Scriptures or work|ing Miracles, therefore they were not extraordinary, and &s;o you have with one pu&s;&s;e taken away all the &s;trength of the An|nepi&s;copall pa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="3 letters">e, and given occa&s;ion to them to triumph in the di&s;cord which they maliciou&s;ly attribute to our Divinces for my part I leave you either to cleare your felfe, or el&s;e to ac|knowledge your errour, for it is mamfe&s;t abroad in the world, that by rea&s;on of the ill, unadvi&s;ed, ra&s;h, incon&s;iderate, imper|tinent Famphlets that are now extant (&s;etting &s;ome a&s;ide) the adver&s;aries of a through reformation do not &s;ticke to &s;ay in their Bediam fits, that all di&s;&s;entions about the Church are &s;et on foot, by the occa&s;ion of our be&s;t and &s;incere&s;t Divines.</P>
<P>To the next you &s;ay, that &s;uch a &s;pirit as this was promi&s;ed to all Gods people.</P>
<P>It is mo&s;t true, that God hath promi&s;ed to his people a &s;pirit of Prophe&s;ie, but now all the que&s;tion is what this kinde of Prophe&s;ying is, becau&s;e it &s;erves much for the illu&s;tration of this point; and the opening of this Text; there are then divers acceptations of the word Prophe&s;ie in Scripture.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is taken in the &s;tricte&s;t &s;ence, for foretelling things to come, thus the Prophets, as <HI>P&s;aiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel</HI> were Pro|phets.</P>
<P N="2">2. For publike preaching the Word, by Sermons to the Church, &s;o it is taken and attributed to the Shepherds of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> men in a publike office in the Church, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 34.2. <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 56.10.</P>
<P N="3">3. For private interpretation (yet not being contrariant to publike doctrines that are true) for the iu&s;e and benefit of the Church, &s;o it is taken in 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 14 now although the&s;e men
<PB N="20" REF="13">here of Corinth did according to their gifts given them,
<NOTE PLACE="marg">Wee doe not read in all the&s;e two E|pi&s;tles to the <HI>Corinthians,</HI> that there were any &s;etled Pa&s;tors, and therefore the&s;e mens prophe&s;ying in the publike meerings, was without all doubt extraor|dinary.</NOTE> exer|ci&s;e publikely, yet they did not doe it as publike Church Of|ficers, but as men private, not in what they did, but as they were, for there were now as is thought, no publike Church Of|ficers, and the Apo&s;tles with their fellow Labourers did conti|nually vi&s;it them, both by per&s;onall pre&s;ence, and Epi&s;tles.</P>
<P N="4">4. For &s;ounding forth Gods prai&s;es by mu&s;icall in&s;tru|ments, as Harps, Pipes, &amp;c. &s;o it is taken in 1 <HI>Sam.</HI> 10.5. 1 <HI>Chron.</HI> 25.3.</P>
<P N="5">5. For profe&s;&s;ing and celebrating God, &s;o all Gods peo|ple doe prophe&s;ie, and are likewi&s;e. Prophets <HI>Gen.</HI> 20.7. <HI>Matth.</HI> 10.32.</P>
<P>Now in what &s;ence, you take this &s;peech in the 2. <HI>Acts</HI> 18. is pre&s;ently proved, for you take it to be meant of a Spirit of prophe&s;ie, to con&s;i&s;t not only to interpret Scriptures privately, but publikely too; and it &s;o appeares, becau&s;e you bring this Text to prove a promi&s;e made to &s;ome, nay to all Gods peo|ple, to enable them publikely to di&s;pence the heavenly Mi&s;te|ries of Salvation: but now what rea&s;on can you bring to prove this Text is to be &s;o expounded, I &s;ee not; if you can produce none but your own fancy, then you will give me leave, to di&s;|&s;ent from you for this rea&s;on: you know the Scriptures call Gods people Prophets, as before was in&s;tanced, and if they are Prophets, then they have a propheticall office, which con|&s;i&s;ts (according to your de&s;cription) in publike Preaching of the Word of God, as well as profe&s;&s;ing it; only you are defici|ent in your proving it, unle&s;&s;e your, bare affirmations bee proofes; but Sir, one word with you, let me tell you as a friend, you have done wonderfull wrong to the &s;acred Scrip|tures, thus to abu&s;e them by &s;uch wretched and extorted Ex|po&s;itions; the true meaning of the place is this, as if Saint <HI>Pe|ter</HI> had &s;aid, or the Lord by Saint <HI>Peter. I will poure out my Spirit in tho&s;e dayes, and on your Sons, Daughtors, I will poure out my Spirit and they &s;hall prophe&s;ie:</HI> That is,
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">So <HI>Vr&s;inus</HI> ex|pounds the place.</NOTE> Profe&s;&s;e my Name, Truth, walk according to tho&s;e dictates of my Spirit, celebra|ting and prai&s;ing me; &s;o that it appeares that this your mi|&s;take i&s;&s;uer from an univer&s;all Expo&s;ition of a Word, which you &s;ee admits of divers acceptations (Prophe&s;ie) is the onely
<PB N="21" REF="13">beame that hides the truth from approaching your judgement; it is true that all Preaching is Prophe&s;ying, but all Prophe&s;ie is not Preaching, and I wonder a man &s;hould be &s;o mi&s;erably mi&s;taken, as to expo&s;e him&s;elfe to the publike cen&s;ures of lear|ned Divines, who cry out in their Pulpits again&s;t &s;uch imperti|nent allegations, certainly if wee had but the Presbyteriall di|&s;cipline e&s;tabli&s;hed in the Church
<NOTE N="(o)" PLACE="marg">O Lord who can pati|ently heare this horrible di&s;or|der a&s;cribed to the Apo&s;tles Church, which here you attri|bute unto it, that every one hand overhead Preached, Bap|tized, and ex|pounded the Scriptures; what a win|dow, nay what a gate is here opened to A|nabapti&s;ts to confirme their fanta&s;ticall o|pinion, where|in they hold that every man whom the Spi|rit moves, may come even from the Plough-taile to to the Pulpit to Preach the Word of God, <HI>Cart.</HI> 1. <HI>Rep.</HI> to <HI>Whitg</HI> pag. 38.</NOTE> you would goe neare to come under the &s;conrge of Eccle&s;ia&s;ticall cen&s;ure, for broach|ing &s;uch dete&s;table opinions, although you never practi&s;ed them, becau&s;e herein you open wide the mouthes of the Ana|bapti&s;ts; and in the meane time if you repent not of this your &s;inne, you &s;hall certainly an&s;wer to that God before whom there is no re&s;pect of per&s;ons in the di&s;pen&s;ations of his ju&s;tice, and cha&s;ti&s;ements, and if a Spirit of Prophecy be admitted in your &s;ence, then it will follow, that all Gods people mu&s;t bee publike Preachers, for what other &s;ence or interpretation can the words admit, or your allegations from this Text, for the holy Cho&s;t &s;aith (they &s;hall Prophe&s;ie) and you &s;ay this Pro|phe&s;ie is publike Preaching, which is a pretty expo&s;ition and &s;erves excellent well to trouble the Church.</P>
<P>As for that you &s;ay, that &s;ome object and &s;ay, that this pro|mi&s;e was made good in the Apo&s;tles times, are you able to di&s;prove them that &s;o &s;ay, or doe you know what you doe in taking upon to an&s;wer &s;uch an objection. All that you can &s;ay is (If in the Apo&s;tles times they were called the la&s;t times, much more now) all this is true in it &s;elf, but it behooved you to &s;hew, that the la&s;t times there mentioned are our la&s;t times in which we live, for it is not to be denied but the Apo&s;tles times were the la&s;t times, and the la&s;t times, are al&s;o our times, and there|fore the Apo&s;tles, as <HI>Peter</HI> and <HI>Paul,</HI> when they &s;peake of the la&s;t times do give us evident light, that when &s;uch or &s;uch things come to pa&s;&s;e that then we may a&s;&s;ure our &s;elves that tho&s;e la&s;t times are the la&s;t times they meane, and &s;o when the Apo&s;tle &s;aith in the la&s;t dayes, or towards them, &s;hall come perillous times, wherein men &s;hall be lovers of them&s;elves, covetous, proud, boa&s;tors, cur&s;ed &s;peakers, &amp;c. and this &s;igne &s;aith Mr. <HI>Perkins</HI> hath beene in formerages, and is no doubt at this day in the world.</P>
<PB N="22" REF="14">
<P>So you &s;ee that &s;ome times are &s;ayd to bee the la&s;t times not becau&s;e they are &s;o in them&s;elves but with reference to certaine &s;peciall things which then happen; now the la&s;t times here in <HI>Joels</HI> prophe&s;ie, and in Saint <HI>Peters</HI> allegati|tion is (as
<NOTE N="(p)" PLACE="marg">That the Jewes might know the Church could not be repaired which was now almo&s;t ruined, but <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y the Me&s;|&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s, that is the &s;ence <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">f <HI>Calvin</HI> on <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> &s;econd of <HI>Acts.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Calvin</HI> excellently notes) &s;poken in refe|rence to the going out of the Jewi&s;h Church, for &s;o his words import, which was &s;ome foure or five hundred yeares after <HI>Joels</HI> prophe&s;ie, and therefore they that &s;ayd this Prophe&s;ie was fulfilled in the Apo&s;tles time, &s;ay more then you &s;hall ever bee able to di&s;prove; yet you mu&s;t take &s;ome limitation; this promi&s;e was not &s;o univer&s;ally fulfilled in the Apo&s;tles time
<NOTE N="(q)" PLACE="marg">It comprehends a larger knowledge of him which was to bee given to the faithfull in the Kingdome of Chri&s;t, <HI>Cal. in&s;t. pag.</HI> 706.</NOTE> as that the people of God in after ages reape no benefit from it, but the &s;peciall thing in <HI>Iocls</HI> Prophe|&s;ie, as vi&s;ions, reiling things to come, was fulfilled in the Apo|&s;tles time, as appeares by Saint <HI>Peters</HI> al|legation, and therefore Prote&s;tant Divines doe affirme again&s;t the Je&s;uites that this promi&s;e was fulfilled in the Apo&s;tles daies, &s;o &s;aith
<NOTE N="(r)" PLACE="marg">In his <HI>Synop Pap.</HI> St. <HI>Peter</HI> thewed how the&s;e prophe&s;ies were fulfilled when the holy Gho&s;t was &s;ent like fiery cloven tongues, and he citeth the very words of <HI>Joel</HI> to confirme the &s;ame Saying. Dr. <HI>Williams</HI> true Church, pag. 547.</NOTE> Dr. <HI>Willet. Ruffinies</HI> an anci|ent writer &s;aith <HI>they are impudent that thinke otherwi&s;e,</HI> onely <HI>Cornelius a Lapide,</HI> a lear|ned Je&s;uite, with <HI>Bellarmine,</HI> and deny it, becau&s;e for&s;ooth, they alledge this place of <HI>Acts</HI> to prove their Church are ne|ver without Prophets that can foretell things to come.</P>
<P>But the other part of this Prophe&s;ie in <HI>Acts</HI> 2. <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 18. doth belong to Gods people to the end of the World and doth conteine a &s;pirit of conformitie, and of profe&s;&s;ing the name, truth of God; &s;o <HI>Calvin</HI> and <HI>&V;r&s;inus</HI> expound the place; <HI>Calvin</HI> &s;aith it is referred to the wor&s;hippers of God, tho&s;e that are in Covenant with him, &amp;c. <HI>&V;r&s;inus</HI> of pro|fe&s;&s;ing and celebrating God, &s;o that from hence it is evi|dent, you can have &s;mall comfort from the&s;e Texts; And I mu&s;t-further admoni&s;h you, to take heede, ere you bee aware le&s;t you &s;lide into the Tents of the Papi&s;ts while you thus plead for a Text, and the expo&s;ition thereof.</P>
<PB N="23" REF="14">
<P>To the next, contained in &s;ix An&s;wers: None is fit for the work of the Mini&s;try, unle&s;&s;e he be skilled in Arts &amp; Tongues, for if he be not &s;o qualified, how &s;hall he be able to an&s;wer the learned Adver&s;ary? Neither is it your an&s;wer that hath, or ever will prove the contrary; if you had &s;aid, The true under|&s;tanding of the Scripture comes not only by humane learning, then your &s;peech might have been admitted, and the Texts of Scripture that you have alleadged, prove nothing to this pur|po&s;e, or if they did, yet they doe not exclude humane Learn|ing; the &s;cope of the Apo&s;tles meaning in that place of 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.13. and yours is, 2 <HI>Cor.</HI> 2.13. is to &s;hew that we cannot under&s;tand or know that Eternall Love, that &s;uperabounding mercy, that incomprehen&s;ible &s;weetne&s;&s;e that is to be found in the powerfull wayes of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but by the Spirit; this is evidently proved from the foregoing Chapter; the Apo&s;tle &s;peaking that Chri&s;t was made unto us Wi&s;dome, Righteou&s;|ne&s;&s;e, Sanctification, and Redemption, proceeds all along, tel|ling us that we cannot know the&s;e things but by the Spirit, for as no man knowes the things of man, but the &s;pirit of a man which is in him, &s;o nothing can reveale Gods love to the &s;oule concerning Prede&s;tination, and Sanctification, but the Holy Gho&s;t, which &s;heds abroad the love of God in the hearts of his people; and as Je&s;us Chri&s;t doth impart the&s;e things by his Spirit to his people, &s;o he &s;ends his Mini&s;ters to preach the &s;ame, not in the words of mans wi&s;dome, but in the demon|&s;tration of the Spirit. Now I would intreat you in the next Pamphlet, to tell me if there be not a large difference be|tween the interpretation of the true and univer&s;all, revealed meaning of the Holy Gho&s;t in the &s;acred Scriptures, as well by the under&s;tanding of the Originall, and line reading, point|ing, collation, as by the Spirit him&s;elfe: And the certifica|tion of tho&s;e things that concerne a mans Eternall Salvation, by the &s;ame Spirit, which lye hid in Gods everla&s;ting love, yet revealed in the Scriptures, of which the Apo&s;tle here &s;peaks: It is true, a man my run into extreames as well one way as in another; And as he that is skilled in Arts and Tongues, without the light of the holy Gho&s;t, cannot univer&s;ally interpret &amp; apply
<PB N="24" REF="15">Scripture according to the minde of Chri&s;t, &s;o a man that is de&s;titute of skill in Arts and Tongues, and hath nothing in him, but that light which proceeds from Gods Spirit, cannot on the other &s;ide expound according to the originall, for God workes by meanes, he will and doth convey his minde revea|led, &s;o farre forth as men can comprehend him, with the con|junction of tho&s;e meanes he hath ordeined in&s;trumentally to communicate him&s;elfe; now your &s;elfe &s;aith, that this may be de&s;ired in tho&s;e that want it, be&s;ides the Apo&s;tle wi&s;hes that the <HI>Corinthians</HI> had the gifts of tongues, calling it a &s;pirituall gift; now if this be a &s;pirituall gift, and ought to be de&s;ured, and without which a man cannot interpret according to that tongue in which the holy Gho&s;t &s;pake, then God doth com|municate him&s;elfe more to him in larger mea&s;ures of his re|vealed will, by tho&s;e meanes he hath ordeined and commen|ded to that purpo&s;e, then to him who is deficient in the enjoy|ment of tho&s;e meanes, by which he &s;o conveyes him&s;elfe, and &s;o he that is univer&s;ally qualified and hath both the&s;e, is fit for the vvorke of the mini&s;tery,
<NOTE N="(&s;)" PLACE="marg">Therefore to the end that unquiet and trouble&s;ome men &s;hould ra&s;hly thru&s;t in them&s;elves to reach or rule; it is expre&s;ly pro|vided, that no man &s;hould without cal|ling take upon him a publike office in the Church unle&s;&s;e called. This we may often|times marke in <HI>Paul,</HI> when hee meanes to ap|prove his A|po&s;tle&s;hip, hee doth alledge his calling; if &s;o great a Mi|ni&s;ter dare not take this upon him but by the commande|ment of the Lord, how great &s;hame|fulne&s;&s;e &s;hall it be, if any man wanting either of the&s;e &s;hall challenge &s;uch honour to him&s;elfe, <HI>Calv. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="3 letters">tit. pag.</HI> 522.</NOTE> and &s;o is not he that is wanting in either; true it is that Je&s;us Chri&s;t hath not greater adver&s;a|ries then tho&s;e that are greatly learned, and un&s;anctified, wit|ne&s;&s;e the Phari&s;ees; but yet againe, he hath no greater friends and &s;ouldiers to fight his battels (although vilified by the world) then tho&s;e who have tho&s;e humane excellencies &s;ancti|fied unto them; to the other five an&s;wers, becau&s;e they are for their &s;ub&s;tance conteined in the fir&s;t, and are an&s;wered in that, I will here pa&s;&s;e them by and come to the next, where you &s;ay;</P>
<P>All the call mentioned in Scripture, was the peoples great nece&s;&s;itie, and their great willingne&s;&s;e to heare is mo&s;t untrue; yet to be admitted in ca&s;es extraordinary, and if you had made that limitation you had done well, but when your &s;peeches are indefinite, making no caution and re&s;truction, where it is required, you &s;hew your palpable ignorance, for God hath pre|&s;cribed other things as additionall to the calling of a Mini&s;ter publikely to preach the Word, be&s;ides the peoples nece&s;&s;itie and their owne willingne&s;&s;e, his orders mu&s;t be ob&s;erved, not neglected, now the peoples nece&s;&s;itie is to be relatively con&s;i|dered,
<PB N="25" REF="15">and &s;o made their election, but before a Mini&s;ter can be compleatly fitted for the publike function of the Church, hee mu&s;t be ordained by the Presbytery, for if none be fit for the publike function of the Mini&s;tery, but men &s;ufficiently learned, as before was declared, how can the people judge of his ability who have no knowledge therein? And if the Apo&s;tles would not have any to execute the office of a Deacon in the Church, which was a le&s;&s;er, and an inferior Church-officer, why &s;hould tho&s;e that are de&s;igned to a greater and more publike duty mi&s;s of that confirmation? And
<NOTE N="(t)" PLACE="marg">You &s;hould under&s;tand that the a&s;&s;u|rance of the in|ward calling dependeth up|on the out|ward, for al|beit the Spirit of God work|eth that a&s;&s;u|rance, yet he worketh by the outwardmeans, by the judge|ment of the Elders, and of the Church, touching his aptne&s;&s;e for the Mini&s;tery, while&s;t he con|&s;idereth that calling is not the calling of men, but of God, through the Mini&s;tery of men; &s;o that this &s;eparation of the know|ledge of an in|ward calling from the out|ward is not on|ly ab&s;urd, but confirmes the Anabapti&s;ts, which boa&s;t of an inward cal|ling, where no calling of the Church went before. <HI>Cart.</HI> 2. <HI>rep. to Whitg.</HI> 1. <HI>part. p.</HI> 260, 261.</NOTE> although a man can plead never &s;o much his inward calling, yet &s;ent he mu&s;t be as well by the Church, as by God him&s;elfe; and &s;hew if you can any per&s;on in the New or Old Te&s;tament, that ever publikely Preached, unle&s;&s;e in extraordinary ca&s;es, but he was confirmed in his cal|ling by the Church; now what nece&s;&s;ity you can plead is &s;ome|what hard to be under&s;tood; doubtle&s;&s;e there was no nece&s;&s;ity in you &s;o to doe, when there were godly Divines and others to do it; or is your nece&s;&s;ity &s;o great, as tho&s;e Chri&s;tians in the 8. <HI>Acts</HI> when there were none at all, but the Apo&s;tles now at the per&s;e|cuted Church at Jeru&s;alem? if you object, that tho&s;e Mini&s;ters that did &s;o preach, did not Preach Je&s;us Chri&s;t purely; what of that, they preached him truly, did they overthrow any &s;ub|&s;tantiall points of Faith? the Apo&s;tle <HI>Paul</HI> notwith&s;tanding did rejoyce when &s;ome preach Chri&s;t out of envy: &s;o although they preached him not purely, yet they preached him truly.</P>
<P>To the next.</P>
<P>Spenc. <HI>That it may be lawfull in a mans family, but not in a Church.</HI></P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> And &s;o it may be lawfull in a mans family, but not in a Church.</P>
<P><HI>For as there is no member of the body of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, but is of the &s;ame nature of the whole, a publike member of a publike body, and the &s;pirit proceeding from the head to every member is one and the &s;ame &s;pirit, and his gifts of like nature, publike gifts of a publike &s;pirit, for the good of the whole body;</HI> and &s;o though they be mem|bers of one body, and are to be a&s;&s;i&s;tant one to another in that body, yet can the&s;e members performe the duties of each other? indeed in the generall they may becau&s;e the generalitie
<PB N="26" REF="16">of their duty is to be a&s;&s;i&s;tant; but here lies the que&s;tion, whe|ther one member can performe the office of another, which is perticularly appropriated to him, and none other? or as you had it before, can the eye performe the office of the hand, or the hand of the eye? for as you &s;ay, <HI>though in re&s;pect of congre|gated bodies, the more part are out of office, yet as we are one body in Chri&s;t &amp; members one of another, fir&s;t all members may be generally a&s;&s;i&s;tant to the &s;orvice of the whole,</HI> but can every member per|forme that which is &s;pecially affirmed of, and attributed to one? if you grant it, then <HI>factume&s;t,</HI> it is done, Anabapti&s;me, and Anarchie, and all, we &s;hall have come tumbling into the Church; for tell me, are not you he that &s;aid a little before from the A|po&s;tle, that the chiefe&s;t members cannot &s;ay to the lea&s;t, I have no need of thee; now if every member can performe that which is &s;pecially affirmed of another, then how can you ju&s;tifie your &s;peech from the Apo&s;tle, who &s;aith, the one hath need of the other, and if the one have need of the other, it followes that hee wants that in another which hee can|not performe him&s;elfe; if one have no need of another, then he cannot onely doe that which properly is this, but that al&s;o which is &s;pecially attributed to another, and &s;o you have fal&s;i|fied the Apo&s;tle, and beaten your &s;elfe with your owne weapon.</P>
<P>To the next, tis true, <HI>that in the work of Reformation it is ne|ce&s;&s;ary that all errours &s;hould be di&s;covered, and all truths imbraced,</HI> but you have very &s;lenderly proved that your univer&s;all pra|ctice is a truth, and if you bring no better rea&s;on then you have here in your booke publi&s;hed to the world, I am not afraid to tell you, that in &s;tead of being truth, it is a mo&s;t notorious un|truth, and &s;uch a one, that you going about to prove true, you have both expo&s;ed your &s;elfe, to abundance of cen&s;ure from godly Divines, but al&s;o &s;hewed the ignorance in re&s;ting upon &s;uch broken Reeds that will never hold in the tryall, and be|&s;ides, are there not abundance of faithfull Mini&s;ters of Je&s;us Chri&s;t that notwith&s;tanding they have had their admi&s;&s;ion in|to their publike offices from the Prelates, yet doe preach Chri&s;t in his puritie, and doe not you here &s;hew your pride, that dare take acception of their allowance by the Prelates for
<NOTE N="(u)" PLACE="marg">Say a man have been trai|ned up in the Schols of lear|ning, and have never &s;o great gifts, and fit|ne&s;&s;e to exer|ci&s;e a publike office in the Church, yet he may not take upon him to Mini&s;ter till he fir&s;t be ap|proved, 1. <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.10. that would open a gap to dange|rous Schi&s;mes in the Church, good therefore it is to h<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">ken to the advice of the Apo&s;tle. <HI>Rom.</HI> 12.3. <HI>Hil|der<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ham</HI> on Joh. <HI>pag.</HI> 248.</NOTE> they would not preach the Word publikely, nor take upon
<PB N="27" REF="16">them any publike function in the Church, unle&s;&s;e they were ex|ternally allowed thereunto, and although there be imperfecti|ons in the &s;ame, yet Sir, the &s;ub&s;tance of it is conteined in their ordination, being onely this, that Mini&s;ters &s;hould be exami|ned, and proved for their abilitie to be apt to teach, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3.2. and by &s;ound doctrine to exhort and convince the gaine|&s;ayers; now can every man that pretends the &s;pirit be able to convince, nay are they able to &s;peake a word to a learned ad|ver&s;ary? and is it fit now that &s;uch &s;hould have any publike of|fice in the Church? In the 1 <HI>King.</HI> 12.31. it is noted by the holy Gho&s;t as a fault in <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> that hee made Prie&s;ts of the
<NOTE N="(x)" PLACE="marg">You know they meane the ba&s;e&s;t of the people, &s;uch as gave but one leap out of the Shop into the Church, as &s;uddenly are changed from a Serving mans Coat, into a Mini&s;ters Cloak, making for the mo&s;t part the Mini|&s;tery their la&s;t Refuge. <HI>Cart.</HI> 1. <HI>rep.</HI> to <HI>Whitgift. pag.</HI> 26.</NOTE> lowe&s;t of the people, which was a great prophanation to the Mini&s;try, and that he tooke them not out of the Tribe of <HI>Levi,</HI> which were men fitted and qualified for the Mini&s;tery, and if this were a fault in <HI>Jeroboam,</HI> becau&s;e he chu&s;ed &s;uch as he &s;hould not chu&s;e, why &s;hall it not be a fault and a great pre|&s;umption in you to take that function upon you without a call by the Church, and I am afraid that in &s;tead of expecting a glo|rious Reformation, we may rather expect a hinderance of the &s;ame, occa&s;ioned by your practi&s;e, u&s;e your gifts you may in a private way (and it were to be wi&s;hed, that you did not &s;o tu|multuou&s;ly draw &s;uch a number of people after you) the rea&s;on is becau&s;e it doth open the mouths of the adver&s;aries of a thorough Reformation, which if it were otherwi&s;e, might le&s;&s;e offend good Chri&s;tians, and upon the right performing of the &s;ame, might have good warrant from the Word of God.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
