that so, whenever occasion required, they might be duly qualified to prophesy to the world. And accordingly, as those ancient masters of the prophetic schools had ordinarily their scholars personally attending on them, and upon emergent occasions did frequently send them forth as their ministers upon prophetic messages, (vide 2 Kings ix. 1. and 1 Kings xx. 35.) so our blessed Saviour kept his in ordinary attendance about him, that so they might hear his doctrine, and see his miracles, and observe his conversation; and upon particular occasions he sent them forth as his ministering disciples to prophesy in his name, (vide Luke x. 1.) And out of this prophetic school of our Saviour the primitive prophets of our religion were called, and sent forth to preach the gospel through the world. For that his gospel might be taught through all succeeding ages to the end of the world, he first erected his sacred school, and when he was to leave it, he deposited a standing commission in the hand of his twelve apostles, whom he ordained to preside in it in his room, by which he empowered them, not only to ordain and send forth the present disciples of it, viz. the presbyters and deacons, to teach his gospel to all nations, but also to derive down the same authority to their successors through all generations to come; For as the Father hath sent me, saith he, so send I you, John xx. 21. and as he sent them, so they still sent others, and so in an uninterrupted line of succession hath this commission been handed and derived from one generation to another; the bishops, who next succeeded the apostles in presiding over the sacred school, not only still ordaining other bishops to succeed them, but also still admitting other presbyters

and deacons, who are as the disciples of that school, to minister under them in the propagation of the gospel. Thus Christ, as the great prophet of the church, hath erected a standing prophetic school, or order of men, authoritatively to teach and declare his gospel to all succeeding ages of the world.

VI. And lastly, as he was a prophet, he also sent his holy Spirit, when he left the world, to recollect and explain to his disciples the doctrine he had taught them, and to enable them also to prove and assert it by miracles. For, as Elias, the great prophet of Israel, when he was snatched up into heaven, let drop his mantle, and, with that, derived that Holy Spirit on his disciple Elisha, by which he prophesied and wrought his miracles; so Jesus, the great prophet of the world, when he ascended into heaven, derived that divine Spirit upon his apostles and disciples, by which he himself prophesied, and confirmed his prophecies by miraculous evidences while he was upon earth, (vide supra, p. 302, 303, &c.) For, in all likelihood, the Holy Ghost descended, on the day of Pentecost, not only on the apostles, but also upon the rest of the hundred and twenty disciples of whom we read in Acts i. 15. For of these consisted the prophetic school of our Saviour, who, in all probability, separated them, while he was yet upon earth, from the rest of his followers, to be the heralds and preachers of his gospel to the world: and if so, we may reasonably conclude, that the Holy Ghost fell on them all, as well as on the apostles, to qualify them for that work, which, together with the apostles, they had been foreordained to. Indeed, as the apostles were placed in a higher station than any of the rest, as being authorized by Christ to super

intend and preside over them, so they received a peculiar gift of the Holy Ghost, in which none of the rest communicated with them; and that was confering, by imposition of hands, the Holy Ghost upon others. For so, in Acts viii. we find that when Philip had converted the people of Samaria, he could not confer the Holy Ghost on them, but Peter and John are sent thither for that purpose; who laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost, ver. 17. Now, by thus deriving his holy Spirit on his apostles and disciples, the blessed Jesus still proceeded by them to prophesy to the world, till, through their ministry, he had fully consummated his prophetic office, and revealed and explained the whole doctrine of the gospel. For till such time as the whole New Testament was complete, his ministers generally preached by the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost, who, as I have shewn at large, p. 304. &c. not only recollected to their memories those doctrines which Christ himself had taught them, but also explained them fully to their minds, and thereby enabled them to explain them fully to the world; and when this was once finished, and the whole doctrine of the gospel committed to writing, and collected into a volume, the Spirit of prophecy was withdrawn from the ministers of Christianity; who were, from thenceforth, obliged to supply the want of it by their own study and industry. For now, the gospel being fully revealed, there needed no farther revelation; and for the Holy Spirit to reveal over again to men's minds what he had plainly enough revealed already, and set before their eyes, would have been but actum agere, to multiply actions to no purpose. Whilst the gospel lay hid in

the eternal counsel of God, out of the reach and prospect of human understandings, it was necessary that the Holy Ghost should immediately reveal it to the minds of those who were to declare it to the world; otherwise it is impossible it should ever have been known to mankind; but when once he had fully revealed it to them, and declared it by them, and transmitted their declaration by a standing scripture to all succeeding generations; to what end should he still proceed to make new revelations of it, unless it were to gratify men's sloth and idleness, and excuse them from the trouble of searching and studying that scripture in which he had taken care to transmit his gospel to them? But though that blessed Spirit has never been wanting to mankind in any necessary assistance, yet, when once he hath put things within our own power, he always expects that we should do them, and not sit still with our hands in our pockets, expecting that he should do them for us. Since therefore, by transmitting to us the scripture, he hath put it within the power of its ministers to understand and teach the gospel, he expects that they should exercise that power in a diligent study of those things which lead to the true understanding of religion, and not depend upon new revelations for the understanding of that which he hath already sufficiently revealed to them. For thus, till the whole Old Testament was finished, God continued the Spirit of prophecy in the Jewish church, after which he immediately withdrew it, and wholly remitted his people to the conduct of the priests and Levites; who, in their forty-eight cities, which were so many universities for their education in divine learning, diligently read and studied the law,

and thereby accomplished themselves to preach and explain it to the people. And in like manner God continued the same Spirit of prophecy in the Christian church, till the whole New Testament was revealed and written, and copies of it dispersed through all the churches; and from henceforth the Spirit of prophecy ceased, and in the room of its first inspired ministers there succeeded an ordinary standing ministry, who, by their learning and industry, and diligent search of scripture, were to supply the defect of immediate revelation, and qualify themselves to teach and instruct the several flocks that were committed to their charge. In short, therefore, the spirit of prophecy remained upon the ministers of Christ, till such time as it had fully revealed and clearly explained the gospel to them; and when this was done, and they had transmitted its revelations to writings, there could be no farther need of it, unless it be supposed either that he had not sufficiently revealed the gospel to them, or that he hath some new gospel to reveal. And thus you see what it is that our Saviour had done in the discharge of his prophetic office. And considering all, I know not what farther he could have added to complete and perfect it, and to render his prophecy effectual to teach and instruct the world. So that if, after all these mighty performances, we still remain in darkness and ignorance, the blame of it wholly redounds upon ourselves; for he hath in all respects abundantly performed his part towards the enlightening of the world, and chalked out to us the way to our happiness with such plain and visible lines, that if we are but willing to walk in it, we cannot mistake or wander from it; but if we will be so supine and