Works, Part 4 · Religious instruction · Chapter 56
CHAP. LVI. Of Prophecie and Preaching.
THe office of a Prophet is not onelyonly to foretell things, although many did so; (theProphecying. grosse vnderstanding whereof hath put downe our prophecies) but also to teach to pray, and plainly to interpret with a fit application to the people, by the reuelation of the Spirit, 1. Corinth 24 Genes. 18. and 19 Number 11. Deu… 18. 1. Sam. 12. This reuelation commeth sometimes by meanes, sometimes extraordinarily, but alwayes spirituallay: for this difference is betweene prophecying and teaching, that a man may teach that he hath learned in the Schooles, but the other hath a further reuelation of the Spirit: to applie the word to times and persons fitly, that eueryevery one may hauehave his portion. Reuelation is ordinarie or extraordinarie; ordinarie when hee spiritually speaketh of theReuelation. word, as the word of God, with power deuiding it aright (as the Apostle Pau… saith) If any be spirituall, let him vnderstand what I say. Extraordinarie, when by some reuelation of1. Cor. 14 37. Gods Spirit, hee can note and specifie the time, or manner, or place of Gods threatnings▪ here againe I say as the Apostle saith: If any be spirituall let him consider what I say, and the Lord giuegive them vnderstanding: yet this is not to bring in the reuelations of the Familie of louelove, or any other Heretikes, which dreame of such things as are not in, and according to the word.
2 To receiue a Prophet in the name of a Prophet, is effectually to profit by their doctrine: for all things are written for our learning: so are all gifts which God bestoweth vponupon others.
3 As they that receiue a Prophet in the name of a Prophet, shall receiue a ProphetsThe dutie o a Prophet. reward: so he that is receiued in the name of a Prophet, must performe the dutie of a Prophet.
4 It is one thing to speake daily by meditation, and to beate vponupon the consciences as aPastor. Pastour, and another thing to set downe a thing with iudgement and deepe studie, as a Doctour must doe.
5 There are three kindes of false Prophets. The first teacheth false doctrine. The secondThree kinds of false Prophets. teacheth true doctrine, but applieth it falsely. The third teacheth and applie well, but liue ill.
6 It is good to preach according to the state of a mans owne conscience, vnlesse wisedome require a consideration to be had of the time, person, and place.
7 Pastors were not able to deuoure their great paines to the people, vnlesse they should consider what paines Christ deuoured for them: and that their paines may bee the more profitable, as the Pastor or Preacher should pray for the people: so in like sort the people should pray for the Preacher.
8 We care not though the Lord accuse or condemne neuer so much, so he doth it in anotherThe people are to pray for the Preachers, as well as the Preachers for the people. court and touch vsus not. So long as Ieremy prophecied against Edom, against Moab, against Ammon, or against mount S…ir, so long presently after the threatnings, the people would goe to the Church, & they were willing enough to heare the burthens of the Lord so long as it concerned not Iudah and Ierusalem: but when he came to the burthen of Iudah and Ierusalem, then they say the Lord hath not sent thee, thou art taught to speak euil, &c. Wherefore wee must bring our selues to this, to bee as glad to heare, and with as great patience, the action of the Lord commenced against vsus, as against any other. And we mayIeremiahs preaching. note it as a fault and marke of false Prophets, to prophecie against other countries, and to be full of generall tearmes, but to come to particulars, that they were loth to speake, and others were loth to heare. Being at Samaria, they speake against Ierusalem: and being at Ierusalem, they speake against Samaria: being at Bethel, they prophecie against Gilgall: and when they are at Gilgall, they speake against Bethel: at Dan against Sheba, at Sheba against Dan. This is a sinne of false Prophets, the true Prophets doe not so.
9 The honour of a Prophet is not from the breast of his Mother, it is not so materiall,Prophecying. who was his father, as who was his teacher. In whom chiefly is to bee considered, what the Prophet speaketh, & how. The Prophets did somtimes threatē, sometimes promise, sometimes comfort, sometimes reprooue, but this they did rather as teachers than Prophets, as whose proper function specially was in speaking of future things, we doe not so much imbrace good things▪ as wonder at strange things. The Prophets spake that by inspiration, which they knew by reuelation, God disposing both their words and writings, so that all that they spake and wrote, they did but as instruments from God; so great a difference is there betwixt our speeches and theirs. Though we conceiue exquisitely, how long are wee before we can speake? And when we hauehave meditated wel, doe not our tongues falter in our mouthes? Though our tongues vtter most the puritie of knowledge, when wee vtter the wisedome of God; yet when herein we adde much indeuour, how sore we grieue our hearers, sometimes by obscuritie, sometimes by vnsauorie, and sometimes by vnseemly speeches? In things of arte or reason, be they Prophets, bee they Apostles, be they Euangelists, or be they Pastors, they may be deceiued. Was not Moses counselled by his father in law Iethro? Was not Peter conuicted of error by Paul? Was not some of the Prophets conuictedThe certainty of holy Scripture. by Ieremiah and Ezechiel? But how then are the bookes of the Prophets so generally allowed? Answere is, that the Prophets were exempted from all possibilitie of errour in those things which they receiued by diuine reuelation, indeede they must be voide of errour, because God teaching them immediatly eueryevery word and writing is voide of errour.Note. But how shall wee know, that these their bookes were of such diuine reuelation, and deliuered from God himselfe? We must know, that the certaine knowledge hereof to the prophetsProphecies tried. was one, and to the hearers was another. The Prophets by vision most certainly knew, that the things they deliuered were from God. The knowledge and certaintie of these things were confirmed to the hearers by miracle, and oracle: by miracle the persons of the Prophets were authorized (for without doing of miracles, they were accounted of as the sonnes of the Prophets, not as Prophets), by oracle their bookes were tried by offering them to the view of other of the Prophets, and of the Priests, who asking counsell of God for the w…r…ant of them, were answered by oracle from God.
10 Another scruple is yet to be answered, whether the Prophets did speake these things being in themselues, or as rapt out of themselues. True it is, the Heathen Prophets did speake things to others onelyonly, the Prophets of God did otherwise, as they that were themselues rauished and affected with the things giuen out to others. The promises of God byA note betweene the true & false Prophets. them deliuered, were as honey in their owne mouthes, so sweetly were they mooued with them: the threatnings denounced abroad, left a sharpe sting in their owne bowels, and made themselues to tremble; the word of obedience taught to others, bound them as straightly, as if others had been the teachers of that word, and they to be taught by it. Seeing then this is the certaintie and dignitie of the writings of the Prophets, is it not strange that the Prophets, at whose doores and thresholds, stood Princes and Gouernours in times past to aske counsell, should now of eueryevery meane person be either wholie contemned, or re…chlesly receiued, whē they are read or interpreted? Though the greater thing is to do, yet the first thing is to learne. For as hearing without doing addeth to our confusion, so doing without knowledge, is neither acceptable to God, nor profitable for vsus. Let vsus not therefore heare only or heare vanitie, let vsus not heare the Preachers as we heare Minstrels, least that when we should be old men in knowledge, and children in malice, wee become old men in malice, and remaine as children in vnderstanding.
11 It is a greater thing in a Pastour to deale wisely and comfortably, with an afflicted conscience, and soundly and discreetly to meete with an Heretike, than to preach publikelyPastors office in coforting the afflicted. and learnedly.
12 He said to some dwelling in a place where the word was preached: Oh consider it is the easiest thing to heare, it is the painfullest thing to preach the Gospell. The sitting of one houre, receiueth a fruite vntounto immortalitie: for howsoeuer men thinke the Ministers of God to speake euen whatsoeuer commeth into their mouthes; it is not so, they speake that which many yeeres they hauehave studied for, earnestly they hauehave prayed for, which by experience they hauehave bought, and by a painfull life dearely payed for. If a Prince should giuegive out by portion a mint of money for the fetching, who would spare to goe? The Lord offereth the mint of his merciemercy, to bee deuided to them that will but heare, and beleeue it, and no man almost regardeth it.
13 We must not so presse the Law, that we suppresse the Gospell in mens consciences.Law and Gospel.
14 All applications of doctrine must be referred to one of these heads.
1 To teach and establish true opinions.Applications of Doctrine.
2 Or to consute false opinions.
3 Or to correct euill manners.
4 Or to frame good manners.
5 Or to comfort withall.
The first foure are set downe in this text: the whole Scripture is giuen by inspiration of God and is profitable. First to teach. Secondly, to conuince. Thirdly, to correct. Fourthly, to instract inrighousnes, &c. 2. Tim. 3. 16. The fift and last in this text: Whatsoeuer things are written afore time, are written for our learning, that we through Patience, and comfort of the Scriptures might hauehave Simile.hope, Rom. 15. vers. 4. These thigns are profitable, saith the Apostle to Timothie. And these things are written for our learning, saith the same Apostle to the Church of the Romanes, therefore by these things we must onelyonly profit and onelyonly learne by these: for as application is a concluding of one thing out of another; so these are the fiue heads from which all application must flow, and he that thus speaketh, attaineth to the purpose of S. Paul, as elsewhere …e noteth. He that prophecieth speaketh vntounto men, to edifying, to exhortation and to comfort, 1. Cor. 14▪ 3. That is to say, applieth the vse of his doctrine to edification, exhortation, and comfort.
15 The meanes to increase our faith, is the word preached, prayer, the Sacraments, and the discipline of the Church. The word crucifieth thee a new in thine heart. Prayer giueth thee a feeling of thy faith. The Sacraments confirme both thy faith, and feeling; and discipline continueth vsus in obedience both of the word and prayer, and the Sacraments; and consequently, is a meanes to continue in vsus al those comforts, which by the other meanes are to be found in Christ.
16 The word of God is as a Glasse, it blusheth not to tell our faults; yet great infirmities hauehave beene in them, that should carrie this glasse. Moses foreseeing his cold entertainmentThe word of God must be charged vponupon mens consciences, and how many waies men faile in this. in the faith, saith. Exod; 4. Mitte quem missurus. As Ionah when he should hauehave carried the Glasse of Gods word, and of the peoples sinnes, sayled from Niniuie flat East, to Tharsis, flat West. Nathan 2. Sam. 12. Though Dauid was a man easie to be spoken to, made off notwithstanding a good while, vntill the king had made the premises himselfe, he would make no conclusion. To come to our times, some there be, that doe not onelyonly sow pillowes, but draw Curtaines, and spread Couerlets ouer mens sinnes. Others there are, that for gaine will runne apace, and yet with Balaam will neither blesse nor curse. Some there are, that doe conceiue and are readie to bring forth, yet they cannot be deliuered.1 Others there are, who very softly and easily doe their dutie, as Elie did to his children,2 1. Sam. 2. Others there be that speake with some courage, but keepe a loofe and in a generalitie.3 Lastly, some there are, who can and will particularize duties: but when they spare4 some, either rich or noble, these can be very hot & vehement against those that be absent.56