h

lonians, that they fhould not defpife prophecyings; but fhould prove all things (difcerning between the true and falfe prophecyings); and whilst they rejected that which is falfe, that they should hold fast that which is good. And those to whom St. John writes, who had received an unction from the Holy One (that is, the internal unction, or gifts of the Spirit, which the external unction under the law reprefented), and knew all things; and they on whom that anointing abode 1; (and, no doubt, the lower gift of prophecying among others, that being the gift which all the members of the church generally enjoyed in one kind or another), were not to believe every fpirit, but to try the fpirits: and as there were general rules given them to try the fpirits by; as, that "no man can fay that "Jefus is the Lord but by the Spirit; and no "man fpeaking by the Spirit calleth Chrift "accurfed." So if any perfon pretended to a new discovery, which, what was already known by them, did not enable them to judge of; they had reafon to hope, that God would reveal even that unto them; and that they should, through the Spirit, know alfo whether that was of God. So Clement says, "that "the apoftles did ordain the first fruits of fuch

f

I Theff. v. 20, 21.

Ibid. ver. 27.

* 1 John ii. 20.

i Ibid. iv. 1.

k 1 Cor. xiii. 3. 1 John iv. 1-6.

I

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as believed, making trial (donipaavles) of them by the Spirit ;" the fame word that is made ufe of i Theff. v. 20, and 1 John iv. I.

I am inclined to think, that thefe two kinds of prophecying (at least the laft) are what St. Paul calls a revelation, 1 Cor. xiv. 26. (as it ftands diftinguished from a pfalm, a doctrine, a tongue, and an interpretation), and which he afcribes there to this kind of prophet, as well as a pfalm, a doctrine, and the reft, which I am now going to confider. For,

3. There feems to be yet a lower degree of prophecying than either of thefe: it appearing to me, that all the public performances in the church, by fingle perfons, through the illumination of the Holy Ghost, were called prophecying for fo I apprehend St. Paul calls every fuch public action done in the church, by a fingle perfon, to edification, and exhortation, and comfort; in oppofition to speaking any thing in the affembly in a tongue that was not understood ". And there feems to me to be thefe different actions of this kind, to which prophecying is applied in that chapter.

The firft is a doctrine. And therefore to thefe prophets, or to those that prophecy in this fenfe, belongs a doctrine"; which, perhaps,

1 Epift. ad Cor. § 42.

Ibid. ver. 26.

I Cor. xiv. I f

may be any truth about faith or manners: and in this fenfe these prophets would be the fame thing with teachers; of which I fhall fay more presently. And because in this sense it would coincide with the gift of teaching, and for other reafons, it may much more pro bably mean an exhortation, or a forcible way of convincing men of what is wrong in their conduct, reproving them for it, admonishing them to amend it; and confirming and cftablishing them in what was right in it; and comforting them under any of the difficulties or afflictions they fell under for it, or in the practice of it. For we often find the first Christian prophets in the New Testament employed in all these ways. So Barnabas, who appears to have been a prophet before he was an apoftle, is faid to have "exhorted the "Grecians at Antioch, that with full purpose "of heart they should cleave unto the “Lord." And fo Judas and Silas, being prophets, exhorted the brethren at Antioch, with many words, and confirmed them. Thus St. Paul directs fome among the Romans, who had the gift of exhortation, to wait on exhortation: and he afterwards tells some of them, that he is perfuaded, that they, "being full of goodness, and filled with all "knowledge, are able to admonish one ano

"ther."

And the Coloffians were not only to fing pfalms and hymns and spiritual fongs, but fuch as fhould admonish one another. And the brethren in Theffalonica were to admonif him that obeyed not the epistle ". And the Ephefians were to reprove the unfruitful works of darknefs, when committed by the children of the light w. And they were to comfort one another, particularly the feeble minded, as we may fee, 1 Theff. iv. 18. and V. II, 14. And this was even the business of the prophets under the Old Teftament: who were fent to exhort, comfort, confirm, or reprove the people on feveral occafions.

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2dly, A Pfalm; ver. 26, which is called, finging with the Spirit,” (ψάλλειν τῷ πνεύ pal), ver. 15, 16. And this may either fignify, the compofing new poems, fuch as were compofed by Mofes, Deborah, David, Afaph, Heman, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, &c. or the finging fuch poems as had been compofed by others, with proper and extempore melody; or both. For as finging the praifes of God in the Old Teftament, by the Spirit of God, is called prophecying, fo finging with the Spirit feems to comprehend both the poem and the tune, under the New; not only from the generality of the phrase,

which leaves it open to be understood, either as to the matter or as to the mufic of the Pfalm, or as to both of them, being dictated by the Spirit; but from Eph. v. 18. where the apostle directs the Ephefians not to be drunk with wine (as the heathens were at their Bacchanalia), but to be filled with the Spirit. And that then, inftead of giving vent to their mirth in the mad and exceffive way in which the heathens did it at their idolatrous feafts, they fhould exprefs their joy by fpeaking to one another in pfalms (thofe of David, which contain matter of inftruction, as well as many others, &c.), hymns (fuch as only contain matter of praife), and fpiritual fongs, ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς, fongs of the Spirit, dictated by the Spirit (as the Χάρισμα πνευματικόν, is the fpiritual gift, or gift of the fpirit: and the bands, which we tranflate fpiritual man, is the man that has fome of the gifts of the Spirit), finging and making melody in their hearts to the Lord. For though melody is not expreffed in the original, it is fairly implyed in adoles

les, or finging, not only with their voice, but with their heart to the praife of the Lord. In finging pfalms and hymns perhaps the Spirit dictated the tune only; in the fongs of the Spirit, both the poem and the

y Rom. i. 12.

1 Cor. ii. 15. iii. 1.

Gal. vi. 1.

K 4

tune