it is often fpoken of as one of the highest gifts, and joined with wifdom, allowed to be the higheft gift of all, and moft peculiar to an apoftle; which I think cannot be ac counted for but from this notion, which I have given of it. The word of knowledge is reckoned the fecond gift of the Spirit, of all thofe high spiritual gifts which are enumerated there; and feems to be the gift that made a man a prophet of the highest rank, by prophets being those minifters of the church which ftand in the fecond place, in a difcourfe that is but one continued exhortation about these gifts throughout the chapter. To fuch revelations as these, some of thofe which God made to Abraham, to Mofes, Ifaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and to fome of the leffer prophets, concerning the great events that should happen to the people of the Jews, and concerning the kingdom of the Meffiah, bear a confiderable refemblance. But as these two were the highest gifts of the Holy Ghoft, and feem to have been given only to the apostles, I fhall fay no more of w See to this purpose 1 Cor. xiv. 6. where revelation is ranked with knowledge and revelation there stands for the revelation of the Gofpel made to Paul; and fo fignifies the fame with wifdom. See alfo Col. ii. 3. Rom. xi. 33. 2 Cor. xi. 6. xii. 8. Ibid. ver. 28, 29. y See the Table of Spiritual Gifts. them them here; but refer my reader for the rest to the second Effay'; where I fhall endeavour to confider every thing that was peculiar to an apostle. But God did not only (by the gift of the word of wisdom, and of the word of knowledge) give fome apoftles to his church, and fome more eminent prophets; to whom the revelations of matters of the greatest importance, and more extenfive ufefulness (I have juft now mentioned) were made; but also prophets of an inferior order, which were more numerous in the church (but which were all called prophets, as having the Spirit, whofe gifts continued to be called by the general name of prophetic gifts in the church down to the times of Irenæus 2). The different forts of prophefyings of thefe prophets may be ranked under these heads. 1. Prediction, or the foretelling of fome thing future, but of lefs confequence: fuch as the dearth; the binding of St. Paul at Jerufalem, foretold by Agabus; the Holy Ghoft witneffing, that in every city bonds and afflictions abode Paul; and Paul's foretelling, that neither the ship that carried him, nor any that were on board, fhould be loft d. These were not unlike the particular difcove z Iren. 1. v. c. 6. a Acts xi. 28. " ries which were made to Deborah, to Eli, to the man of God, to Samuel 1, to Nathan, to the man of God, to Ahijah', and to Elijah These prophets likewife foretold the fitness of perfons for fome peculiar fervice in the church. Thus as the prophets miniftered to the Lord, and fafted in the church of Antioch, the Holy Ghost faid by them, or which is the fame thing, they said by the Holy Ghoft, Separate me Barnabas and "Paul for the work to which I have called "them"." Thus Timothy received the gift (or the gifts) of the Holy Ghoft by (or according to) prophecy. And Paul tells him, that "he had committed a charge unto him, ac"cording to the prophecies which went be"fore of him "." And thus poffibly it might be that the Holy Ghost had made the elders of the church of Ephefus, overfeers or Bifhops (ETINоTs) of that flock: though I think that not fo likely to be the sense of the Holy Ghoft's making them overfeers, as that which I have given in the fecond Effay. Thus Mofes understood that God had fitted Aholiab and Bezaleel, and other wife-hearted And men, for the work of the tabernacle. thus Samuel knew which of the fons of Jeffe fhould be the Lord's anointed. On this occafion I would step fo far out of my way as to obferve, that I do not find, that God revealed to the prophets the wickedness and malignity, that would arife in the hearts of fome of those who were appointed to fome ministry in the church. But as Chrift himfelf, though he fully knew what was in man, chofe one of the twelve who had a devil; fo he suffered the church fometimes to appoint perfons from whom great mifchiefs fhould arife to it; as, particularly, Nicolas, one of the seven deacons (if the doctrines and fect of the Nicolaitans came from him, mentioned Rev. ii. 6. as many of the fathers thought with great probability); fuffering them to come into stations of fervice in the church for its trial; that is, for the discovery of hypocrites, and the confirmation of thofe who were fincere. 2. The difcernment of fpirits: for this feems to be ascribed to the prophet', and is reckoned as a gift of the Spirit, among other gifts" and in the former of those places, St. Paul fays, that if " they all prophefy, and "there come in one that believeth not (or an heathen), or one unlearned (or ignorant), 66 • Exod. xxxv. 30. xxxvi. 1. VOL. I. K • I Sam. xvi. " he "he is convinced (or discovered) of all. He "is judged (or difcerned) of all; and thus are "the fecrets of his heart made manifeft; and "fo falling down on his face, he will worship "God; and report, that God is in you of a "truth"." And in the epiftle to the Hebrews we find, that the word of God (ö xóy TO) which is the word spoken by the reve lation of Chrift, or by the gifts of the Spirit, is, among other things, faid to be "a dif"cerner of the thoughts of the heart *;" as it had been of old y; and as it now was. have a particular inftance of this gift of dif cernment in Peter: the fame may be obferved in Elisha; and in Ahijah . And by this discernment of Spirits they were not only to judge of the heathen, or the ignorant; or of the faith and hypocrify of particular perfons; but of the prophets too: for St. Paul fays, "Let the prophets fpeak, two or three, "and let the reft judge (dianewtwo av)." And he fays, that "the fpirits of the prophets are 66 We fubject to the prophets." And likewise, that the fpiritual man (veupatios, the "man that hath the Spirit) judgeth (avangive) "all things." And he directs the Theffa 10 I Cor. xiv. 24, 25. a 2 Kings xiv. 25, 26. * Heb. iv. 12. b1 Kings xiv. 15, 16. lonians, |