SERM. 3dly, Shew what advantage this standing reveCXXVII. lation of the scriptures hath above any other way of conveying the will of God to the world.

4thly, That there is sufficient evidence for the divinity of the fcriptures,

5thly, That is is unreasonable to expect that God fhould do more for our conviction, than to afford fuch a standing revelation of his mind and will. I fhall go over these as briefly as I can. I begin with

the

ift, What we are to understand by a divine revelation. By a divine revelation we are to underftanda fupernatural discovery, or manifeftation of

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any thing to us;" I fay, "fupernatural," because it may either be immediately by GoD; or by the mediation of angels, as most, if not all the revelations of the old teftament were. "A fuper"natural discovery or manifeftation," either immediately to our minds, by our understandings and inward faculties; (for I do not fo well understand the distinction between understanding and imagination, as to be careful to take notice of it,) or else mediately to our understandings by the mediation of our outward fenfes, as by an external appearance to our bodily eyes, or by a voice and found to the fense of hearing. "A discovery or manifestation "of a thing," whether it be fuch as cannot be known at all by the use of our natural reason and understandings; or fuch as may be discovered by natural light, but is more clearly revealed or made known, or we are awakened to a more particular and attentive confideration of it. For it is not at all unfuitable to the wifdom of GoD, to make a fupernatural discovery to us of fuch things as may

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be known by the light of nature, either to give S ERM.
us a clearer manifeftation of fuch truths as were
more obfcurely known, and did as it were lie bu-
ried in our understandings; or elfe to quicken our
minds to a more serious and lively confideration of
thofe truths.

2dly, For the feveral kinds of divine revelations. That they were various, the apostle to the Hebrews tells us, chap. i. I. "GOD who at fundry "times, and in divers manners, fpake to the fa"thers by the prophets;" where by the prophets we are to understand not only those who did foretel future things; but any perfon that as divinely infpired, and to whom Go D was pleased to make any fupernatural difcovery of himself.

Now the several kinds of revelation taken notice of by the Jews, are vifions; dreams; prophely; oracle; infpiration, or that which they call the HOLY GHOST; Voice Bath-col; or that which was the highest of all, which they call gradus Mofaicus, the degree of revelation which was peculiar to Mofes. The Jewish writers, especially Maimonides, have many fubtle obfervations about the differences of thefe feveral kinds of revelation, which depend upon fubtle and philofophical diftinctions of the faculties of perception; as that fome of thefe revelations were by impreffion only upon the understanding; fome only upon the imagination; fome upon both; fome upon the outward fenfes ; but the fimple and plain difference between them, fo far as there is any ground in fcripture to diftinguish them, feems fo be this vifion was a reprefentation of fomething to a man, when he was walking, in oppofition to dreams, which were reprefentations made to men

in

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SER M. in their fleep Prophefy might be either dream of vifion, and the Jews obferve that it was always one of these two ways, which they grounded upon Numb. xii, 6. "If there be a prophet among you. "I the LORD will make myfelf known to him in "a vifion, and will fpeak unto him in a dream." But prophefy in a ftrict notion of it, had this peculiarly belonging to it, that it was not only monitory, or inftructive, but did fortel fome event of concernment to others; and the Jewifh doctors tell us that it was a clearer revelation, and carried a greater affurance along with it, and that this was common to all the three, that there was fomething of extafy and tranfport of mind in all thefe.

The fourth fort of revelation, which was by oracle, which is called Urim and Thummim, was a rendring of answers to queftions by the high-priest looking upon the ftones in the breaft-plate, which how it was done, is uncertain.

The fifth fort of revelation is that which they call the HOLY GHOST, which was a more calm and gentle inspiration, without any extraordinary transport of mind or extafy; fuch as David had in the writing of the pfalms.

The lowest of all was that which they call'd Bath-col, which was by a voice from heaven; and this is the way of revelation, which the Jews obferved did only continue among them from the days of the prophet Malachi to our SA

VIOUR.

The highest of all was that which they called gradus Mofaicus, to which the Jews give feveral prerogatives above all the other ways of revelation;

as

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as that it was done by impreffion merely upon the SER M. understanding, without extafy, or rapture, or tranfport, when he was waking, and in his ordinary temper, and his fenfes not bound up either by extafy or fleep; that it was a revelation immediately from God himself, and not by the mediation of angels, without any fear, or amazement, or fainting, which was incident to other prophets; and the fpirit of prophefy refted upon him, and he could exert it arbitrarily, and put it forth when he would. Of which thus much is evidently true from the story of him, that the fpirit of prophefy did rest more conftantly upon him, and that he could exert it with greater freedom, and without any difcernible amazement or transport from his ordinary temper. But that it was by impreffion merely upon his understanding, as that is a diftinct faculty from the imagination, is not fo certain: that it was always by an immediate communication from GOD, without the mediation of angels, feems not to be true; for St. Stephen tells us, that "the law was

given by the difpofition of angels," Acts vii. 53. And St. Paul, that "it was ordained by the angels "in the hand of a mediator," that is Mofes, Gal. iii. 19. But that the revelation which was made to him, had fome fingular prerogatives above those of other prophets, is plain from fcripture, Numb. xii. 5, 6, 7, 8. when Aaron and Miriam contended with Mofes as being equal to him, GoD tells them that there was a vaft difference between him and other prophets; "Hear now my words, if there "be a prophet among you, I the LORD will "make myself known unto him in a vifion, and "will speak unto him in a dream. C c

VOL. VII.

My fervant

"Mofes

SER M." Mofes is not fo.With him will I speak mouth

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ઃઃ

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to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark "And the fpeeches," &c. Exod. xxxiii. 11. "LORD fpake unto Mofes face to face, as a man fpeaketh unto his friend." Deut. xxxiv. 10. "And there arose not a prophet fince in Ifrael "like unto Mofes, whom the LORD knew face to "face." All which fignify at least this, that God made the clearest, and most familiar, and most perfect discoveries to Mofes of any of the prophets; only our LORD JESUS CHRIST, by whom GOD hath discovered his will to us under the new teftament, did excel Mofes; Mofes being but " a faith"ful fervant," that is, bumilis amicus, a meaner fort of friend; but "the LORD JESUS CHRIST, "the only begotten Son of GOD," who came from "the bofom of his FATHER," and was intimately acquainted with the fecrets of his will, and had "not the SPIRIT given him by measure," but the most plentiful effufion of it, being "anointed "above his fellows."

Now these being the feveral forts and degrees of revelation, which God hath made of himself to the world, the holy fcriptures are a fyftem or collection of these, the authentick inftrument or record, by which the things revealed any of these ways, are tranfmitted to us, and is therefore called "the "word of God," as containing those things which GOD in feveral ages hath fpoken to the world; that is, matters of divine revelation, which are neceffary to be known by men, in order to their eternal happiness. And this being now the great and standing revelation of GoD, which is to continue to the end of the world, I intend to limit

my