True Preaching by the Spirit.To this we oppose, that when the Saints are met together, and every one gathered to the Gift and Grace of God in themselves, he that ministereth, being actuated thereunto by the Arising of the Grace in himself, ought to speak forth what the Spirit of God furnisheth him with; not minding the Eloquence and Wisdom of Words, but the Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power: And that either in the Interpreting some Part of Scripture, in case the Spirit, which is the good Remembrancer, lead him so to do, or otherwise Words of Exhortation, Advice, Reproof, and Instruction, or the Sense of some spiritual Experiences: All which will still be agreeable to the Scripture, though perhaps not relative to, nor founded upon any particular Chapter or Verse, as a Text. Now let us examine and consider which of these two Sorts of Preaching is most agreeable to the Precepts of Christ and his Apostles, and the Primitive Church, recorded in Scripture? For, First, as to their Preaching upon a Text, if it were not merely customary or premeditated, but done by the immediate Motion of the Spirit, we should not blame it; but to do it as they do, there is neither Precept nor Practice, that ever I could observe, in the New Testament, as a Part of the instituted Worship thereof.
Object.But they allege, That Christ took the Book of Isaiah, and read out of it, and spake therefrom; and that Peter preached from a Sentence of the Prophet Joel.
Answ.1. Christ’s and Peter’s Speaking was not by Premeditation. I answer, That Christ and Peter did it not but as immediately actuated and moved thereunto by the Spirit of God, and that without Premeditation, which I suppose our Adversaries will not deny; in which Case we willingly approve of it. But what is this to their customary conned Way, without either waiting for or expecting the Movings or Leadings of the Spirit? Moreover, that neither Christ nor Peter did it as a settled Custom or Form, to be constantly practised by all the Ministers of the Church, appears, in that most of all the Sermons recorded of Christ and his Apostles in Scripture were without this, as appears from Christ’s Sermon upon the Mount, Matt. v. 1. &c. Mark iv. 1. &c. and Paul’s Preaching to the Athenians, and to the Jews, &c. As then it appears that this Method of Preaching is not grounded upon any Scripture Precept, so the Nature of it is contrary to the Preaching of Christ under the New Covenant, as expressed and recommended in Scripture; for Christ, in sending forth his Disciples, expresly mentioneth, that they are not to speak of or from themselves, or to forecast beforehand, but that which the Spirit in the same Hour shall teach them, as is particularly mentioned in the three Evangelists, Matt. x. 20. Mark xiii. 11. Luke xii. 12. Now if Christ gave this Order to his Disciples before he departed from them, as that which they were to practise during his Abode outwardly with them, much more were they to do it after his Departure, since then they were more especially to receive the Spirit, to lead them in all Things, and to bring all Things to their Remembrance, John xiv. 26. And if they were to do so when they appeared before the Magistrates and Princes of the Earth, much more in the Worship of God, when they stand specially before him; seeing, as is above shewn, his Worship is to be performed in Spirit; and therefore after their Receiving of the Holy Ghost it is said, Acts ii. 4. They spake as the Spirit gave them Utterance, not what they had studied and gathered from Books in their Closets in a premeditated Way.
Franciscus Lambertus’s Testimony against the Priests studied Inventions and Figments.Franciscus Lambertus, before cited, speaketh well and sheweth their Hypocrisy, Tract. 5. of Prophecy, Chap. 3. saying, “Where are they now, that glory in their Inventions, who say, A fine Invention! A fine Invention! This they call Invention, which themselves have made up; but what have the Faithful to do with such Kind of Inventions? It is not Figments, nor yet Inventions, that we will have, but Things that are solid, invincible, eternal, and heavenly; not which Men have invented, but which God hath revealed: For if we believe the Scriptures, our Invention profiteth nothing, but to provoke God to our Ruin.” And afterwards, “Beware, (saith he) that thou determine not precisely to speak what before thou hast meditated, whatsoever it be; for though it be lawful to determine the Text which thou art to expound, yet not at all the Interpretation; lest if thou so dost, thou take from the Holy Spirit that which is his, to wit, to direct thy Speech, that thou mayest prophesy in the Name of the Lord, void of all Learning, Meditation, and Experience, and as if thou hadst studied nothing at all, committing thy Heart, thy Tongue, and thyself wholly unto his Spirit, and trusting nothing to thy former Studying or Meditation; but saying with thyself, in great Confidence of the divine Promise, The Lord will give a Word with much Power unto those that preach the Gospel. But above all Things be careful thou follow not the Manner of Hypocrites, who have written almost Word for Word what they are to say, as if they were to repeat some Verses upon a Theatre, having learned all their Preaching as they do that act Tragedies. And afterwards, when they are in the Place of Prophesying, pray the Lord to direct their Tongue; but in the mean Time, shutting up the Way of the Holy Spirit, they determine to say nothing but what they have written. O unhappy Kind of Prophets, yea, and truly cursed, which depend not upon God’s Spirit, but upon their own Writings or Meditation! Why prayest thou to the Lord, thou false Prophet, to give thee his Holy Spirit, by which thou mayest speak Things profitable, and yet thou repellest the Spirit? Why preferrest thou thy Meditation or Study to the Spirit of God? Otherwise why committest thou not thyself to the Spirit?”
§. XIX.
3. The Church’s Method was to speak by Revelation.Thirdly, This is contrary to the Method and Order of the Primitive Church mentioned by the Apostle, 1 Cor. xiv. 30, &c. where in Preaching every one is to wait for his Revelation, and to give Place one unto another, according as Things are revealed; but here there is no waiting for a Revelation, but the Preacher must speak, and not that which is revealed unto him, but what he hath prepared and premeditated beforehand.
4. The Spirit is shut out by Priests from being the Teacher.Lastly, By this Kind of Preaching the Spirit of God, which should be the chief Instructor and Teacher of God’s People, and whose Influence is that only which makes all Preaching effectual and beneficial for the edifying of Souls, is shut out, and Man’s natural Wisdom, Learning, and Parts set up and exalted; which no Doubt is a great and chief Reason why the Preaching among the Generality of Christians is so unfruitful and unsuccessful. Yea, according to this Doctrine, the Devil may preach, and ought to be heard also, seeing he both knows the Truth, and hath as much Eloquence as any. But what avails Excellency of Speech, if the Demonstration and Power of the Spirit be wanting, which toucheth the Conscience? We see that when the Devil confessed to the Truth, yet Christ would have none of his Testimony. And as these pregnant Testimonies of the Scripture do prove this Part of Preaching to be contrary to the Doctrine of Christ, so do they also prove that of ours before affirmed to be conformable thereunto.
§. XX.
Answ.I answer, Though that be granted, which I shall not deny, it will not infer that the Thing was good in itself, more than because Paul was met with by Christ to the converting of his Soul riding to Damascus to persecute the Saints, that he did well in so doing. Paul persecuting was converted, is therefore persecuting good?Neither particular Actions, nor yet whole Congregations, as we above observed, are to be measured by the Acts of God’s Condescension in Times of Ignorance. But besides, it hath oftentimes fallen out, that God, having a Regard to the Simplicity and Integrity either of the Preacher or Hearers, hath fallen in upon the Heart of a Preacher by his Power and holy Influence, and thereby hath led him to speak Things that were not in his premeditated Discourse, and which perhaps he never thought on before; and those passing Ejaculations and unpremeditated but living Exhortations, have proved more beneficial and refreshing both to Preacher and Hearers than all their premeditated Sermons. But all that will not allow them to continue in these Things which in themselves are not approved, but contrary to the Practice of the Apostles, when God is raising up a People to serve him, according to the primitive Purity and Spirituality; yea, such Acts of God’s Condescension, in Times of Darkness and Ignorance, should engage all more and more to follow him, according as he reveals his most perfect and spiritual Way.