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the Church, as in Reality there can be no other, but that, which can lead and inftruct the Church favingly. We must therefore exclude from the Prophetick Office all human Study barely, and the Preparation which is made by Method and • Art, which comes by a Man's own Effort and Endeavours: much more a Spirit of Vanity and < Pride that often carries Men to fpeak of God, and meddle in divine Things, to be feen and • taken Notice of. And lastly, the Way of Speaking as Orators and Rhetoricians, who ftrive to polifh their Language, and fpeak by Rule and fet Periods: For the Holy Spirit is • what ought to furnish both Things and Words: And indeed St. Paul calls that the Adminiftration ⚫ of the Word of God by his Power, that is, by • the Prefence and Affistance of his Spirit. And St. Peter adds, that he who speaks in the Church, ought to speak as if God fpoke by him, for otherwife a holy Church would not be enter⚫tain'd and inftructed worthily, that is, divinely. • It would be entertain'd and instructed in a human Manner, and in Things divine too, which ⚫ought carefully to be avoided: And fuch Ways of Inftruction must be excluded from Gofpel Affemblies, or they will become human.

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Now to attain to this Manner of Preaching, which is Prophefying, or speaking without Study, of Things contain'd in the Scriptures, we muft partake of that Spirit, which, as Paul fays, 6 trys

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all Things, fpeaks Myfteries, and searches the deep Things of God; and as Luke fays, Acts ii. 4. II. caufes one to speak of the wonderful Works of God. We muft partake of that Unition from the Holy One that teaches all Things; and as St. John affures us, teaches all Truths, and leads therein, as Christ himself affures us: As there

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•fore upon fuch an Occafion it is neceffary above ⚫ all that the Mouth speak from the Abundance of the Heart,*fo the Heart alfo fhould be fill'd with • Grace.

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*To speak from the Abundance of the Heart is undoubtedly more edifying to a Church than speaking from the Abundance of the Head or Memory, or by premeditated Subjects, and this was the Opinion of the Archbishop of Cambray, and what he practis'd himself. The Editor of his Sermons in French fays in the Advertisement to the Reader,

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these Sermons are the juvenile Productions of this Prelate, ⚫ when he was only call'd the Abbot of Fenelon; for tho' he preach'd very often in his Diocese, yet it is long fince he pratis'd what he has remark'd in his Dialogue upon Eloquence, that is, never to preach but from the Abundance of the Heart. His Sermons were nothing but the Overflowings of Love, which fill'd his Heart and fhed it self upon the Auditory. The Difcourfes which we now publish, are only the firft Bloffoms of ripe Fruit that came afterwards, ' of which there is none remaining but in the Hearts of those that heard him.

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The Advantage and Excellency of this Way of Preaching, is finely defcrib'd by one who liv'd above thirteen Hundred Years ago, and by his Homilies, which seem to be extemporary Difcourfes, we think likewife, that he preach'd from the Abundance of the Heart, and the imme*Homily 18. diate Influence of the Holy Spirit. They, fays Macarius, that are enrich'd with the Holy Spirit, that have the heavenly Riches in Truth, and the Communion of the Spirit ⚫ within themselves; if they speak theWord of Truth to any, or impart to any their fpiritual Difcourfes, propofing there by to cheer thelr Souls, it is out of their own Store, and their own Treasure, which they aré poffefs'd of in themfelves; out of that do they speak, and from that do they glad the Souls of them that hear their fpiritual Difcourfe. Nor are they afraid they fhall be at a Lofs, because they • have in actual Poffeffion that Heavenly Treasure of Goodnefs, from which they take and revive those that are fpiritually entertain'd by them. But he that is poor and not poffefs'd of the Riches of Chrift, and has not that spiritual Treasure in his Soul, that sendeth forth an univerfal Good• nefs both of Words and Works, of divine Thoughts and : Myfteries

THIS truly Apoftolical and Primitive Way of Prophefying, or fpeaking from the immediate Influence of the Spirit, as any of the Affembly should find themfelves mov'd and concern'd, ob ferving the Order and Decorum prefcrib'd by the Apostle (in 1 Cor. xii.) was what Jacobus Acontius, a Learned Man of Italy, mightily defir'd to fee reftor'd again to the Churches. He left the Superftitious:

Myfteries unutterable; tho' he is willing to speak the Truth, and to comfort fome that hear him, yet not having ⚫ obtain'd the Word of God in Power and Truth within him; ⚫ but only recollecting and borrowing Sentences from every Part of Scripture, or what he has heard from spiritual Perfons, and relating, and teaching them, Lo, he seems indeed to make others glad, and they certainly enjoy the • Benefit of what he delivers: But when he has done repeating, every Word returns back to its proper Home, whence it was taken; and the Man himself remains naked and poor as afore: Having no Treasure of the Spirit he can call his own, whence to take, and profit, and revive, not being firft reviv'd himself, nor rejoicing in Spirit.

For which Reason ought we first to beg of God with • Earneftness of Heart and with Faith, that he would grant Luke 22.44. ⚫ unto us that we may find his Riches, the true Treasure of "Chrift in our Hearts, in the Power and Efficacy of the Spirit. And thus having found firft within our felves the Be⚫nefit of it, Salvation and Eternal Life, the Lord himself,

we shall then profit others alfo, as we are able to have Ac. Luke 22.32. cefs to them: Producing from that Treasure of Chrift within us, all the Goodness of spiritual Difcourfes, and declaring heavenly Myfteries. For fo it pleased the good Mat. 12.35. Will of the Father, that he fhould dwell with every one

⚫ that believeth, and is defirous of him. For he that loveth

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6 me, fays Chrift, fhall be lov'd of my Father, and I will love Joh. 14.21. bim, and will manifeft my felf to bim. And again, We will

come unto him, I and my Father, and make our Abode with bim. For they that have been thought worthy to become the Sons of God, and to be born of the Spirit from Above, -3.3, 5. John 1.12. and have Chrift within enlightning and refreshing them, are 2 Cor. 4.6. led by the Spirit after various and divers Manners, and Mat. 10.28. are actuated by Grace invifibly in the Heart; and that too isattended with fpiritual Reft.

perftitious Worship of his native Country, and came and refided in England, where he publish'd a Book entitl'd Stratagematum Satana.* The Stratagems of Satan, in detaining Men from the true Way of Worship, &c. This Book, written in Elegant Latin, he dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, of whofe Bounty and Benevolence to him, he makes honourable Mention. On these Words of the Apostle, Wherefore Brethren, Labour that 1 Cor.14 ye may Prophefie, and forbid not to speak with Tongues, let all Things be done decently and in Order, he fays, It is exceedingly to be lamented,

that this Cuftom, and the Practice of this Com• mand of the Lord, is not again restor❜d into the Churches, and brought into Ufe.Now befides the Glory of God, great Profit does accrue hereby to the Church. For if the People fhall fee now one Man, now another, endued " with the Spirit beyond allExpectation, many will be encouraged to hope for the fame Gift if they fhall afk it; many will be excited to the Reading the Holy Scriptures; many will learn and profit; and it will thereby come to pafs, that when Occafion fhall be to choose a Minister, the Church fhall not need to call ftrange and • unknown Perfons to that Office, but the may have of her own, fuch as are fit to be chofen; • Men whofe Conversation and Manners are fufficiently

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*This Book was Reprinted at Oxford in the Year 1650, with this Title, Stratagematum Satanae Libri octo. Quos Jacobus Acontius Vir fummi judicii, nec minoris pietatis, annis abhinc pene 70. primum edidit, & Sereniffimæ Reginæ Elizabethae infcripfit.

+Proinde Fratres ad id enitamini, ut prophetetis, & loqui linguis ne vetueritis, omnia decenter & ordine fiant. Hanc confuetudinem,hujufque Dominici præcepti ufum,non reftitui in Ecclefiis magnopere dolendum eft. Liber quartus, p. 204.

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ficiently known. And when the Number of fuch as are able to prophefie, shall be great, the Church will not be forced to ufe fuch Paftors as from their very Childhood have propos'd to themselves fuch Office as the Reward of their • Studies; and addicted themselves to the Study of Scripture and Religion, no otherwise than they would have done to fome Trade, whereby they meant in Time to get their Living So that a Man can expect but very few of them to • prove other than Mercenary or Hireling Pastors. Now, that it was the Custom of the Jewish Church, that all might thus Prophefie, we may hence Conjecture, in that it is upon Record, • Luke iv. How our Lord upon the Sabbath Day, according to the Custom, came into the Synagogue, • took a Book and expounded a Place of Ifaiah, and, how being twelve Years of Age, he fate at Jerufalem in the Temple among the Doctors and did difpute. For he could not fo do by Virtue of any ordinary Office; forafmuch as his Age was uncapable, neither did the Doctors know < who he was. Yea, rather, our Lord in fo doing muft needs make Ufe of the Power which ⚫ was granted to every one to speak. It remained in the Churches of Chriftians until the Time of Conftantine at leaft, for Eufebius, in the ninth Book of his Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, has thefe • Words concerning it. If any Man infpir'd by the Grace of God fhould preach unto the People, they all with great Silence, fixing their Eyes upon him, liften to him as if he was about to re⚫late fomething brought from Heaven. So great was the Reverence of the Auditory, fuch Order was feen among the Minifters, now one, then another spoke, and not only two or three," as the Apostle fays, but any to whomfoever

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