' E" Ti; fjt-iv ovv n.aifjjTJij Iff'r; ^avrais ^rpo^riTiuir il Vt ri; ^rpolfnTivil ev iranTi/f lirri Upo- <pr,Ty,; 'Ex Sf tmv Vlfi tov Ka/ai^av diiie'yiypix/j.//i'ivcdv, vpo^yirtvcccvrec Vipi Tou oruTti'
pi;, itrnv oTi K.'ti fitp^^na "^u^h i-jriVi^irai tori to ^pa^tirivuv. — Origen. Corainent. m Jolian. sect. 30.
142 OPERATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT [BOOK IL
gave himself unto judicial astrology, and the conjecture of future events from natural causes, but as to his prophecies, they Avere all divine ; and the light of them, affecting only the speculative part of his mind, had no influence upon his will, heart, and affections, which were still corrupt. This Tostatus pleadeth for. But as it is ex- pressly said that he "sought for enchantments,'' Num. xxiv. 1, so the whole descrij^tion of his course and end gives him up as a cursed sorcerer : and he is expressly called Cipipn, "the soothsayer," Josh. xiii. 22; which word though we have once rendered by "prudent," — that is, one who prudently conjectureth at future events according unto present appearing causes, Isa. iii. 2, — yet it is mostly used for a diaboli- cal diviner or soothsayer. And for what he said of himself, that he " heard the words of God,'' and " saw the vision of the Almighty," it might be only his own boasting to procure veneration to his diaboli- cal incantations. But in reputation we find he was in those days in the world; and supposed he was to utter divine oracles unto men. This God in his providence made use of to give out a testimony to the nations concerning the coming of the Messiah, the report where- of was then almost lost amongst men. In this condition it may be granted that the good Spirit of God, without the least reflection on the majesty and purity of his own holiness, did over-rule the power of the devil, cast out his suggestions from the man's mind, and gave such an impression of sacred truths in the room of them as he could not but utter and declare : for that instant he did, as it were, take the instrument out of the hand of Satan, and, by his impression on it, caused it to give a sound according to his mind ; which when he had done, he left it again unto his possession. And I know not but that he might do so sometimes with others among the Gentiles who were professedly given up to receive and give out the oracles of the devil. So he made the damsel possessed with a spirit of divination and soothsaying to acknowledge Paul and his companions to be " ser- vants of the most high God," to " show to men the way of salva- tion," Acts xvi. 16, 17. And this must be acknowledged by them who suppose that the sibyls gave out predictions concerning Jesus Christ, seeing the whole strain of their prophetical oracles were ex- pressly diabolical. And no conspiracy of men or devils shall cause him to forego his sovereignty over them, and the using of them to his own glory. 5. The case of Saul is plain. The Spirit of the Lord who departed from him was the Spirit of wisdom, moderation, and courage, to fit him for rule and government, — that is, the gifts of the Holy Ghost unto that purpose, which he withdrew from him; and the evil spirit that was upon him proceeded no farther but to the stirring up vexatious and disquieting affections of mind. And notwithstanding this molestation and punishment inflicted on him,
CHAP. I.] PREPARATORY TO THE NEW CREATION. 143
the Spirit of God miglit at a season fall upon him, so as to cast him into a raptm-e or ecstasy, wherein his mind was acted and exercised in an extraordinary manner, and himself transported into actions that were not at all according unto his own inclinations. So is this case well resolved by Augustine.^ And [as] for the old prophet at Bethel, 1 Kings xiii. 11-32, although he appears to have been an evil man, yet he was one whom God made use of to reveal his mind some- times to that people; nor is it probable that he was under satanical delusions, like the prophets of Baal, for he is absolutely called a pro- phet, and the word of the Lord did really come unto him, verses 20-22.
2. The writing of the Scripture was another effect of the Holy Ghost, which had its beginning under the Old Testament. I reckon this as a distinct gift from prophecy in general, or rather, a distinct species or kind of prophecy : for many projihets there were divinely inspired who yet never wrote any of their prophecies, nor any thing else for the use of the church; and many penmen of the Scripture Y>^ere no prophets, in the strict sense of that name. And the apostle tells us that the ypafn, the scripture or writing itself, was by " in- spiration of God," 2 Tim. iii. 1 6 ; as David affirms that he had the pattern of the temple from the Spirit of God in writing, because of his guidance of him in putting its description into writing, 1 Chron. xxviii. 19. Now, this ministry was first committed unto Moses, who, besides the five books of the Law, probably also wrote the story of Job. Many prophets there were before him, but he was the first who committed the will of God to writing after God himself, who wrote the law in tables of stone ; which was the beginning and pattern of the Scriptures. The writers of the historical books of the Old Testament before the captivity are unknown. The Jews call them D'^JIt^'X") D"'X''aJ, "the first" or " former prophets." Who they were in particular is not known; but certain it is that they were of the number of those holy men of God who of old wrote and spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Hence are they called " pro-