by them? Upon what Scripture do you ground this ? I thought it was the fame to Him, to fave by many or by feru. Upon what Reafon? Why cannot Gon fave Ten thoufand Souls by One Man, as well as by Ten thoufand? How little, how inconfiderable a Circumftance is Number before GOD? Nay, is there not Reafon to believe, that whenfoeyér GOD is pleas'd to work a great Deliverance, fpiritual or temporal, he may firft fay, as of old, The People are too many for me to give the Midianites into their Hands? May he not purposely chufe Few as well as Inconfiderable Inftruments, for the greater Manifeilation of his own Glory? Very few, I grant, are the Inftruments now employ'd Yet a great Work is wrought already. And the fewer they are by whom this large Harveft hath hitherto been gathered in, the more evident must it appear to unprejudiced Minds, That the Work is not of Man, but of God. 8. "But they are not only Few, but Unlearned "alfo." This is another grievous Offence; and is by many efteem'd a fufficient Excufe, for not acknowledging the Work to be of GOD. The Ground of this Offence is partly true. Some of those who now preach are unlearned. They neither understand the antient Languages, nor any of the Branches of Philofophy. And yet this Objection might have been spared, by many of those who have frequently made it: Because they are Unlearned too (tho' accounted otherwife.) They have not themselves the very thing they require in others. Men in general are under a great Miftake with Regard to what is called "The Learned World." They do not know, they cannot easily imagine, how little Learning there is among them. I do not fpeak of Abfrufe Learning; but of what all Divines, at least of any Note, are fuppofed to have, viz. The Knowledge of the Tongues, at least Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and of the common Arts and Sciences. How few Men of Learning, fo called, understand Hebrew? Even fo far as to read a plain Chapter in Genefis ? Nay, how few underftand Greek? Make an eafy been urged, I will for once spend a few Words upon it, tho' it does not deserve that Honour. Why, must not every Man, whether Clergyman or Layman, be in fome Refpects like the Apoftles, or go to Hell? Can any Man be faved, if he be rot holy, like the Apofiles? A Follower of them, as they were of Chrift? And ought not every Preacher of the Gospel, to be in a peculiar Manner like the Apoftles, both in holy Tempers, in Exemplarinefs of Life, and in his indefatigable Labours for the Good of Souls? Woe unto every Ambaffor of Chrift, who is not like the Apostles in this! In Holiness; in making full Proof of his Miniftry ; in fpending and being spent for Chrift! We cannot, and therefore we need not be like them, in working Outward Miracles. But we may and ought, in working together with GOD for the Salvation of Men. And the fame GOD who was always ready to help their Infirmities, is ready to help Ours alfo. He who made them Workmen that needed not to be ashamed, will teach us alfo rightly to divide the Word of Truth. In this Refpect likewife, in Respect of his having Help from GOD, for the Work whereunto he is called, every Preacher of the Gospel is like the Apoftles. Otherwise he is of all Men moft miferable. 10. And I am bold to affirm, that these unletter'd Men, have Help from GOD for that great Work, the faving Souls from Death; feeing he hath enabled, and doth enable them ftill, to turn many to Righ-· teousness. Thus hath he deftroyed the Wisdom of the Wife, and brought to nought the Understanding of the Prudent. When they imagined they had effectually fhut the Door, and blocked up every Paffage, whereby. any Help could come to two or three Preachers, weak in Body as well as Soul; who they might reasonably believe wou'd, humanly speaking, wear themfelves out in a fhort Time: When they had gain'd their Point, by fecuring (as they fuppofed) all the Men of Learning in the Nation; He that fitteth in Heaven laughed them to fcorn, and came upon them by a Way they thought not of. Out of the Stones he raised up those who should beget Children to Abraham. We had had no more Forefight of this than you. Nay, we had the deepest Prejudices against it: Until we could not but own, that GOD gave Wisdom from above to thefe unlearned and ignorant Men; fo that the Work of the Lord profper'd in their Hand, and Sinners were daily converted to GOD. Indeed in the one Thing which they profefs to know, they are not ignorant Men. I truft there is not one of them who is not able to go thro' fuch an Examination, in fubftantial, pra&tical, experimental Divinity, as few of our Candidates for holy Orders, even in the Univerfity (I fpeak it with Sorrow and Shame, and in tender Love) are able to do. But Oh! what Manner of Examination, do most of thofe Candidates go thro'? And what Proof are the Teftimonials commonly brought (as folemn as the Form is wherein they run) either of their Piety or Knowledge, to whom are intrusted thofe Sheep, which GOD hath purchased with his own Blood! 11. "But they are Laymen. You seem to be fenfible yourself, of the Strength of this Objection. For as many as you have answered, I obferve you have never once fo much as touched on this." I have not. Yet it was not Diftruft of my Cause, but Tenderness to you which occafioned my Silence. I had fomething to advance on this Head allo: But I was afraid you could not bear it. I was confcious to myfelf, that fome Years fince, to touch this Point, was to touch the Apple of my Eye. And this makes me almoft unwilling to fpeak now; least I should hack the Prejudices I cannot remove. Suffer, me however, juft to intimate to you fome Things, which I would leave to your farther Confideration. The Scribes of old, who were the ordinary Preachers among the Jews, were not Priefts; they were no better than Laymen. Yea, many of them were incapable of the Priesthood, being of the Tribe of Simmern, not of Levi. Hence probably it was, that the Jews themfelves never urged it as an Objection to our Lord's Preaching (even thofe who did not acknowledge or believe, that he was fent of GOD in an extraordinary Character) that that he was no Prieft after the Order of Aaron. Nor indeed could be; feeing he was of the Tribe of Judab. Nor does it appear, that any objected this to the Apoftles. So far from it, that at Antioch in Pifidia, we find the Rulers of the Synagogue fending unto Paul and Barnabas, Strangers juft come into the City, faying, Men and Brethren, if ye have any Word of Exhortation. for the People, fay on, Acts xiii. 15. If we confider thefe Things, we shall be the lefs furprized at what occurs in the eighth Chapter of the Acts: At that Time there was a great Perfecution against the Church, and they were all scattered abroad: (i. e. all the Church, all the Believers in Jefus) throughout the Regions of Judea and Samaria, (v. 1.) Therefore they that were fcattered abroad, went every where preaching the Word, (v. 4.) Now, what Shadow of Reafon have we to say or think, that all these were ordained before they preached? 12. If we come to later Times; Was Mr. Calvin ordain'd? Was he either Prieft or Deacon? And were not most of those whom it pleased GOD to employ in promoting the Reformation abroad, Laymen alfo ? Could that great Work have been promoted at all in many Places, if Laymen had not preach'd? And yet how feldom do the very Papifts urge this, as an Objection against the Reformation? Nay, as rigorous as they are in Things of this Kind, they themselves appoint, even in fome of their ftricteft Orders, that "if any Laybrother believes himfelf called of GOD, to preach as a Miffionary, the Superior of the Order, being inform'd' thereof, thall immediately fend him away." In all Proteftant Churches it is ftill more evident, that Ordination is not held a neceffary Prerequifite of Preaching: For in Sweden, in Germany, in Holland, and I believe in every reform'd Church in Europe, it is not only permitted but required, that before any one is ordained, (before he is admitted even into Deacon's Orders, whereever the Distinction between Priefts and Deacons is retain'd) he should publickly preach a Year or more, ad probandam facultatem. And for this Practice, they be K lieve 3 |