but for confirmation of the Gospel. 4. It would confirm his testimony the more, if his name in the very mouth of an unbeliever would work such miracles.

Argument 3. He argueth, because elsewhere the apostle draweth them to the spirit of promise, by which they are sealed, as Eph. i. 13, 2; Cor. i. 22. Answ. Neither do these texts exclude, but principally include the gift of miracles. The Spirit of promise was that promised Spirit, and not only that Spirit which assureth men of their part in the promise, as many do amiss expound it.

His fourth argument is, because in the fifth verse following he mentioneth miracles, therefore not in this second. Answ. The clean contrary seemeth to me hence to be proved; because the apostle plainly speaks of the same thing in the fifth verse, and second, and not of divers things.

Now to the point.

Doct. The Spirit of Christ, especially for working miracles, was given in those times so commonly, evidently, and convincingly to the churches of believers, that the apostle durst appeal to that one testimony alone for the confirmation of the christian doctrine; and that with such confidence, as concluding them bewitched into madness, that would not be convinced by it. For explication, we must do these things in their order.

1. I shall prove to you that this Spirit was given commonly; 2. Convincingly, or miraculously; 3. Evidently, or undeniably; 4. That the apostle appealeth to it, as is said. 2. The reason why Christ would thus send the Spirit. 3. The use of all.

1. The commonness of this gift is proved both by the promise and the history of the performance. (Mark xvi. 17.) "These signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.' (Matt. x. 1.) He gave this power first to his disciples, and (Luke x. 1, 17, 19,) he gave the same power to the seventy disciples; and in Acts ii. 1, 2, &c., you may see the promise fulfilled, not in some, but all that were present, one hundred and twenty, at least.

John the Baptist could prophesy of this as the great mark of Christ's baptism. "He shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and fire." (Matt. iii. 11.) And (Acts iv. 31, 33) "When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled

together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all."

The generality of Samaria, who are said all to believe, received the Holy Ghost by the apostles' praying, and laying on of hands; (Acts viii. 17;) insomuch that Simon would have bought that gift of them with money, to be able to give the Holy Ghost. (Acts x. 44.) When Peter preached to the congregation which Cornelius had gathered together, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard him; so that the believing Jews were astonished when they heard the gentiles speak with tongues, and magnify God. (Verse 46.) So the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. (Acts xi. 15; Acts xiii. 52.) Paul laid his hands on the twelve men there, and they all received the Holy Ghost, and all spake with tongues, and prophesied. (Acts xix. 6.) Paul, writing to the Corinthians, saith, "That by one Spirit we are all baptised into one body, whether Jews or gentiles, bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit ;" and what Spirit that was, the following verses show, where he saith, "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal; to one is given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another, the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophesy; to another, discerning of spirits; to another, divers tongues; to another, the interpretation of tongues; but all these worketh that one and same Spirit, dividing to each man severally as he will." (Cor. xii. 12, 13.) So that in one kind or other, and most extraordinarily, all Christians then had the Spirit. (1 Cor. xiv.) The gift of tongues was so common in that church, and consequently likely in all, for that was none of the best, that Paul is fain to restrain their too much exercise of them, and to desire them to study, and be zealous rather for the gift of prophesying, and, if they did speak with tongues, pray that they might interpret, and show the end of tongues. (Verse 22.) They are for a sign to unbelievers, and not for believers. And (verse 26) he chideth them thus, "How is it then, brethren, that when you come together every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation ? Let all things be done to edification. If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two or three at the most, and that by course, and let one interpret; but if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church, and let him speak to himself,

and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge; for you may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn." (Jam. v. 14, 15.) He directeth them that are in sickness to seek to the elders, to heal them by prayer and anointing in the name of the Lord. And Christ saith, "That many shall say to him in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and done many wonderful works?" (Matt. vii. 22;) who yet were workers of iniquity, and shall be rejected for ever. I will add no more proof of the

commonness.

2. That those gifts of the Spirit were so miraculous as to be sufficient for convincing those that were not bewitched into madness by the devil, may appear, both from the commonness already mentioned, and the greatness of them being so far above nature. 1. For not one, nor two, but so many thousands of people, in so many several churches, to speak tongues that they never heard, to prophesy, to heal the sick; some of them to give men up to Satan, to be destroyed by him by a word, and some of them to make the lame to go with a word speaking, and some of them to raise the dead; so that even the clothes that went from Paul's body, healed the sick. When they were in prison an earthquake comes and causes the doors to fly open for Paul and Silas, and the trembling jailor comes in, and lets them out; and the angel takes off Peter's bolts, and opens the doors, and frustrates the meeting of the rulers that would have judged him. Beside all those wrought by Christ himself, in raising the dead, giving sight to them born blind, &c., the works are so many and so great through the whole story of the Gospel, that I think it vain to cite particular texts to men that read the Scripture. Now if any man shall question whether this might not be done without divine testimony to the doctrine which it accompanieth; that is, in plain English, if any man be tempted to the incurable sin against the Holy Ghost, to think that all this is done by the devil, and not by God, I would have him consider these things:

1. There is a God.

2. This God is the Ruler of the world.

3. He is good, merciful, and just.

4. His will revealed is a law to the creature.

As man is not made to be lawless or ungoverned, so God is his chief Governor, and without that knowledge of his will, we cannot obey him, nor can we know his will without revelation.

5. No man that is well in his wits can expect that God should speak to us immediately, and that no other Revelation is to be trusted. Alas! man cannot endure his voice, nor see him and live.

6. lf, therefore, any shall prove to us that they come from God, and are his messengers to reveal his will, we must believe them according to the proof that they bring.

7. If any shall seal the doctrine that he bringeth in the name of God, with the testimony of such numerous, evident, undeniable miracles, it is the highest proof of the truth of his doctrine that flesh and blood can expect. And if God do not give us sufficient help to discover a falsehood in this testimony, we must take it for his voice and truth. For if God shall let men or devils use the highest mark of a divine testmony to confirm a lie, while they pretend it to be divine, and do not control this, he leaveth men utterly remediless. For we cannot go up into heaven to see what hand these things are wrought by. We are certain they cannot be done without divine permission and commission. And we are sure that God is the true, just, merciful Governor of the world; and as sure that it belongeth to a rector to promulgate, as well as enact his own laws and that they cannot oblige us till promulgated, i.e. sufficiently revealed. And if he shall suffer any to say, 'God sent me to you on this message,' and to back this affirmation with such a stream of miracles, through a whole age, by many thousand hands, and shall not any ways contradict them, nor give us any sufficient help to discover the delusion, then it must needs be taken for God's own act, seeing by office he is our Rector; or else, that God hath given up the world to the disposal and government of the devil. Now, let any man of right reason judge whether it be possible that the just and merciful God, being naturally our Governor, as we are his creatures, should give permission or commission to the devil to deceive the world in his name, by changing and working against the very course of nature, and by means that no man can possibly try, and so leave his creature remedilessly to be misled and perish. And whether this be not plainly to say, God is not just, nor merciful, or is not the Governor of the world; and whether that be not to deny that there is a God; for if he be not just, and good, and Governor, he is not God. So that he that denieth Christianity, and Scripture verity, must deny the Godhead, if he know the arguments for it.

Now, for the discovery of a deceit in such a case as the testimony of miracles, I know but two ways by which man can discover the deceit, if there be any. 1. By some truth of God, which is revealed to us by a more certain means than those miracles are which this new revelation doth contradict; 2. Or by some greater works by which God shall presently contradict the testimony of those wonders or miracles, as Moses did by the Egyptians. Now, we have neither of these contradictions from God, against the doctrine of Christ or his apostles. So far are they from contradicting former, or certainly revealed truths, that they consent with truth before revealed; and Christ, as the Light of the world, hath given us the kernel and clear explication of all. And so far was God from sending any to work greater miracles for the contradicting of Christ, that the poorest of his followers, for many a year after, did do wonders without any such contradiction. No enemy of the church did ever pretend to any such testimony against him. I would fain know, in one word, whether God can reveal his will to us or not? If not, then he cannot be our Rector. If he can, then by what more evident and convincing way, supposing we cannot see himself? 3. The next thing we are to prove, is, that those gifts and works of the Holy Ghost were evident and undeniable. And here are two questions in this one: 1. Whether they were evident and undeniable to the first witnesses; 2. Whether they are so to us. That is, whether the history of them be certain: and for the first, it is left beyond all doubt. For, 1. The works were numerous, done both by Christ himself and his apostles: and the wonderful gifts of the Spirit were common in every church, and in one kind or other on the generality of Christians, as I have before proved; 2. They were continued for many years together, even from Christ till the end of the apostles' time, and not all ended of long time after. For Irenæus saith the dead were raised, and lived again among them, in his days. And Tertullian (and after him Cyprian) made public challenges to the pagans and persecuting rulers, to bring their possessed with devils into the christian assemblies, and if they did not cast them out, and make them confess themselves to be devils, and Christ to be the Son of God, then they were content to suffer. 3. They were done in various places at great distance; at Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, Rome, Galatia, and through a great part of the world. 4. They were done before multitudes of people, and that ordinarily; not in a corner, but