by God, with an extraordinary Commiffion, to declare his Will; and they were not confined to the Tribe of Levi,or to any one particular Tribe, but fometimes taken out of one Tribe,and fometimes out of another: for tho' the Jews had Colleges and Schools to prepare and qualifie Men, by a vertuous and religious Education, for Divine Illuminations; yet divers others, who had not been educated in this manner, were endued with the Spirit of Prophecy; and fome of them were but of very mean Employments, and others again of Royal Blood.

They reproved both their Kings and their Priefts with a fearless and undaunted Freedom and Authority: and this Plain-dealing, fuch as became Men who fpake and acted by a Divine Impulfe, without Defign, and without any Difguife, fometimes commanded great Reverence towards them from Princes,not eafie to be well advised or directed. Rehoboam, a willful and rafh Prince, at the head of an Army of an Hundred and fourscore thousand chofen Men,upon the Word of the Lord, delivered to him by Shemaiah, returned home without attempting any thing, to regain the Tribes that had revol ted from him to Jeroboam, 1 King.xii.21. Ahab, though an exceeding wicked King, after a fignal Victory,bore the reproof of a Prophet,who denounced a Judgment upon Him and his People, for letting Ben-badad go, and was much concerned at it, I King. xx. 42, 43. and the fame Ahab rent his Cloaths, and put on Sackcloth,

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and fafted,at the reproof of Elijah, 1King.xxi.27. Amaziah, by the admonition of a Prophet, dif mifs'd an Hundred thousand mighty men of valour, whom he had hired of the Ifraelites for an Hundred Talents,being content to lose fo many Ta lents, and to want their help in the War, and to venture the ravage that fuch an Army, who look'd upon themfelves as affronted, made in his Country; upon the Prophets affuring him, that God would give him the victory, if he would difmifs them, but not otherwise; and telling him, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this: and the Event proved the Truth of the Prediction, 2 Chron.xxv. The Children of Ifrael likewife, at the word of Oded the Prophet, fent back Two hundred thousand Perfons of the Kingdom of Judah with great fpoil, which they had taken, 2 Chron. xxviii. So ready and fo ge neral a Compliance, in fuch cafes, could arife from nothing but a certain Belief and Experience of the Truth of what the Prophets delivered; but at other times they were defpifed and perfecuted And the Truth of their Prophecies was not only attested by Miracles, and juftified by the Event, and confeffed by the Deference and Refpect both of the Kings and People; but it was afferted by their Sufferings, and fealed by the Blood of the Prophets, and was at last acknowledged by the Pofterity of thofe who had flain them; they being moft forward and zealous to adorn the Tombs of the Prophets, whom their Fore-fathers had killed; and to die, in vindication

Q 2

dication of those Prophecies,for which they had been flain. There was a conftant fucceffion of Prophets, from the time of Mofes, till the return of the Jews from their Captivity in Babylon: fome prophefied for many Years; Feremiah, for above One and forty Years; Ezekiel, about Twenty Years; the least time affigned to Hofea's Prophecying, is Forty three years; Amos prophefied about Six and twenty years; Micha, about Fifty; Ifaiah, Jonah, and Daniel, a much longer time: fo that they lived to fee divers of their own Prophecies fulfilled; and to have fuffered as Falfe Prophets, if they had not come to pafs. And though many Prophecies were not to be fulfilled, till long after the death of the Prophets who deliver'd them; yet they wrought Miracles, or they foretold fome things, which came to pass foon after, according to their Predictions, to give evidence to their Authority, and confirm their Divine Mission.

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The Prophets committed their Prophecies to writing, and left them to Pofterity, Ifa. xxx. 8. Fer.xxx.2.& xxxvi.32. Hab.ii.1,2. And the writing of the Hiftories of the Jews belong'd to the Prophets, 1 Chron. xxix. 29. 2 Chron. xii. 15. & xiii. 22. & xx. 34. & xxvi. 22. & xxxii. 32. And both in their Prophetical and Hiftorical Books they deal with the greateft plainness and fincerity; they record the Idolatries of the Nation, and foretell the Judgments of God which were to befall it upon that account; and they

leave to Pofterity a Relation of the Miscarriages
and Crimes of their best Princes: David, Solo-
mon, and others, who were Types of the Mehas,
and from whofe Race they expected Him, and
looked upon the Glories of their feveral Reigns
to be Prefages of His, are yet defcribed not on-
ly without flattery, but without any reserve or
extenuation. They write as Men who had no
regard to any thing but Truth, and the Glory
of God, in telling it.

The Prophets were fometimes commanded to
feal and fhut up their Prophecies, that the Ori-
ginals might be preserved till the fulfilling of
them, and then compared with the Event,
Ifai.viii. 16. Jer.xxxii.14. Dan. viii. 26.& xii. 4.
For when the Prophecies were not to be fulfilled
till many Years, and, in fome cases, not till feve-
ral Ages afterwards, it was requifite that the
Original Writings fhould be kept with all care;
but when the time was fo near at hand, that the
Prophecies must be in every one's memory, or
that the Originals could not be fufpected or
fuppofed to be loft, there was not the fame care
(1) Jofeph.
required, Rev. xxii, 10. It feems to have been Antiquit.
cuftomary (y) for the Prophets to put their 1. 1. c. 1.
Writings into the Tabernacle, or lay them up (2) Epi-
before the Lord, 1 Sam.x.25. And there is a Tra- phan. de
dition, (2) That all the Canonical Books, as well

as the Law, were put into the fide of the Ark.
It is certain, that the Books of the Law, and

the Writings of the ancient Prophets, were care-
fully preferved, during the Captivity, and are
frequently

Q3

& 1.6.c.5.

Ponderib.

& Meafur.

C.4.

frequently referred to, and cited by the latter Prophets The Pentateuch has been already books of spoken of; and this is as evident of the B the Prophets. The Prophecy of Micah is quoted, fer. xxvi. 18. a little before the Captivity; and under it,the Prophecy of Jeremiah is cited,Dan.ix.2. and all the Prophets, ver.6. and fo the Prophets in general are mention'd, Nehem.ix. 26,30. And Zechariah not only cites the former Prophets, Zech.i.4. but fuppofes their Writings well known to the People; Should ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerufalem was inhabited, and in profperity ? chap. vii. 7. The Prophet Amos is likewise cited, Tob.ii.6. and Jonas, and the Prophets in general, chap. xiv. 4, 5, 8. There can then be no reason to queftion, but that Ezra, Nehemiah,Daniel,Zechariah, and the other Prophets in the time of the Captivity, were very careful to keep the Books of the former Prophets; for they fre quently cite them and appeal to them; and expected Deliverance out of their Captivity, by the accomplishment of them. And perhaps, from the Originals themselves,or however,from Copies taken by Ezra the Scribe, or by fome of the latter Prophets, or at least acknowledged for genuine, and approved of by them, the ancient Prophecies, and other Infpired Writings, were preferved; and thofe of the latter Prophets were added to them; and all together, make up the Book of the Prophets, mention'd Act. 42. which was read, as well as the Law,

vii.