CHA P. IV.

The Fidelity of the Prophets fucceeding Mofes.

I. An Order of Prophets to fucceed Mofes, by God's own Appointment in the Law of Mofes. II. The Schools of the Prophets; III. the Original and Inftitution of them. IV. The Cities of the Levites. The Occafion of their firft Inftitution. V. The Places of the Schools of the Prophets, and the Tendency of the Inftitution there to a prophetical Office. VI. Of the Mufic used in the Schools of the Prophets. VII. The Roman Affamenta, and the Greek Hymns in their folemn WorShip. VIII. The two Sorts of Prophets among the Jews, lieger and extraordinary. Ordinary Prophets taken out of the Schools, proved by Amos and Saul.

B

IV.

I.

UT although now under the Gospel (the reve- c H A P. lation of God's will being completed by Chrift and his Apostles) we have no reason either to expect new revelations, or new miracles for confirming the old; yet under the law, God training up his people by degrees till the coming of Chrift, there was a neceffity of a new fupply of divine meffengers, called Prophets, to prepare the people, and make way for the coming of Chrift. As to whom these two things are confiderable.

First, Those prophets, whose work was to inform the people of their duties, or to reprove them for their fins, or to prepare them for the coming of the Meffias (which were their chief tasks), had no need to confirm the truth of their doctrine or commiffion from heaven, by the working of miracles among them. And that on these two accounts.

First, Because God did not confummate the revelation of his mind and will to the Jews by the miniftry of Mofes, but appointed a fucceffion of prophets'

to

II.

BOOK to be among them, to make known his mind unto them. Now in this cafe, when the prophetical office was established among them, what neceffity was there that every one that came to them upon an errand from God, fhould prove his teftimony to be true by miracles, when in the discharge of his office he delivered nothing diffonant from the law of Mofes ? It is one argument God intended a fucceffion of prophets, when he laid down fuch rules in his law for the judging of them, whether they were truly infpired or no, Deut. xviii. 21, 22. And in that fame place God doth promife a fucceffion of prophets, Deut. xviii. 15, 18. A prophet will the Lord God raife up unto thee like unto me; to him fhall ye bearken. Which words though in their full and complete fense they do relate to Chrift (who is the great prophet of the Church), yet whoever attends to the full scope of the words, will eafily perceive that the immediate fenfe of them doth relate to an order of prophets which should fucceed Mofes among the Jews; between whom and Mofes there would be a great fimilitude as to their birth, calling, and doctrine, though not a just equality, which is excluded, Deut. xxxiv. 10, II: and the chief reason why it is faid there that the other prophets fell fo much fhort of Mofes, is in regard of the figns and wonders which he wrought, as is there largely expreffed. Nor may it seem ftrange, that by a prophet fhould be understood an order or fucceffion of prophets, when it is acknowledged by moft Proteftants that by 'Avrixpir, the Antichrift, is understood a rank and fucceffion of feveral perfons in the fame name and function. And that it is to be understood in those words concerning a fucceffion of prophets, will appear by the occafion of their being brought in; for ver. 14. God prohibits them to hearken, after the manner of their neighbour-nations, to obfervers of times and Diviners, and then brings in the following words, ver. 15. as to the reason of that prohibition, that God would

IV.

verf. &

gium, Pet.

I. cap. 3.

Celfum,

Deut. xviii,

raife up a prophet among themfelves like unto Mofes; and CHA P. to him should they hearken. Now let any rational man judge whether it were fo probable an argument to V. Arabic. keep them from hearkening to Diviners of other na- Calv. in tions, that there fhould a prophet arife 2000 years loc, P. Faafter like unto Mofes, as that he would raife up a Mart. Loc. continued fucceffion of prophets among themselves, Com. Claff to whom they should hearken. Thus Origen, in fect. 12. his excellent book against Celfus, fhews the neceffity Origin. con. of the prophetical office among the Jews from hence; lib. i. For, faith he, it being written in their law that the Gen- p. 28. Ed. tiles hearkened unto oracles and divinations; but God Spencer. would not fuffer it to be fo among them, it prefently fol- 14. lows, A prophet will the Lord God raife up in the midft of thee, &c. Therefore, faith he, when the nations round about them had their oracles, and feveral ways of divínation, all which were ftrictly prohibited among the Jews, if the Jews had no way of foreknowing things to come, it had been almost impoffible, confidering the great curiofity of human nature, to have kept them from defpifing the law of Mofes, or apoftatizing to the Heathen oracles, or fetting up fomething like them among themselves. Which interpretation of his feems to have a great deal of reason, not only from the coherence of the words here, but from the analogy of many other precepts of the law of Mofes ; which it is moft certain have a respect to the customs of the idolatrous nations round about them. Another reafon why it is moft probable, that by this is understood a fucceffion of prophets, is the charge which follows against falfe prophets, and the rules to discover them, ver. 20, 21, 22; which had not been fo pertinent and coherent, if the oppofition did not lie between the order of true prophets among the Jews, and the falfe prophets, which should rife up in the midft of them. And that which yet further juftifies this interpretation is, that there is no other place in the whole Pentateuch which doth exprefsly fpeak of a fucceffion of prophets, if this be not understood of it; and

II.

BOOK is it any ways probable a matter of so great moment and confequence fhould be wholly pretermitted? efpecially when we find it fo exactly performed in the fuccceding ages of the Jewish commonwealth; their immediate rulers, like dictators at Rome, after Mofes's death, being most raised up by immediate incitation and impulfe from God, and many of them inspired with a spirit of prophecy. How fhould the Jews have expected thefe, or obeyed them when they appeared, had not God foretold it to them, and provided them for it by the law of Mofes ?

II.

Neither did thefe prophets arife fingly among them, like blazing ftar, one in an age, to portend future events, but whole conftellations of them fome

times appeared together; yea, fo many smaller prophets were fometimes united together, as made up a perfect Galaxy, when they were entered into focieties, and became fchools of the prophets for fuch we frequently read of in Scripture. The original and inftitution of which may caft a further light into our prefent defign, and fhew us the little reafon the Jews could have to expect miracles from them to confirm their doctrine, who were brought up in the knowledge of their law, and were called out from their several focieties into the prophetical office by the immediate incitation of God himself: which being fo commonly known among them, there needed no fuch extraordinary proofs to manifeft the Divine authority by which they were employed. Two things then we shall endeavour to clear: Firft, the original and inftitution of these schools of the prophets; and, fecondly, that it was the ordinary course for the prophets by employment to be taken forth of these focieties wherein they were educated. Firft, for the original and institution of these fchools of the prophets. The first feminaries, or places of inftitution among the Jews, were the cities of the Levites, which were dispersed up and down in the feveral tribes of Ifrael; God thereby turning that into a bleffing

IV.

c. 7 & 8.

V. Sherlog.

bleffing, which was pronounced as a curfe upon Levi CHA P. by his father Jacob, viz. that he should be divided in Jacob, and fcattered in Ifrael. But though the ful- Gen. xlix. filling of that prophecy might be the primary ground 7 of that scattering, yet it is evident that God aimed at fome further good in it, both in reference to the Levites and the Ifraelites. Lyra undertakes to affign four reasons of this diftribution of the cities of the Levites among the tribes. 1. Because, if they had Joh. xxi. lived but in one tribe, the worship of God would have feemed to have been confined to that tribe. 2. Because they would have been a burthen to that tribe they had their habitations in. 3. From the equity of being maintained by all who ferved for all. 4. Because it was their office to teach the people, and therefore it was neceffary they should live among them. These reafons are moft of them oppofed by Abulenfis, but defended by others. The laft is that Abulenfis in which most infift on, it being the peculiar office of Joh. xxi. the Levites to teach the people; fo 2 Chron. XXXV. 4. And faid unto the Levites, qui erudiebant omnem Ifraelem, as Vatablus renders it, who taught all Ifrael; and Mafius infifts on that as the great reafon of their difperfion, to be ready to teach the law among the Ifraelites. But yet all thofe who are agreed that teaching the law was the duty of the Levites, are not yet agreed of the manner of that teaching; for there being two parts of their law, the one ceremonial and judicial, and the other moral and fpiritual, the queftion is, whether of these two did belong to, or was performed by the Priefts and Levites? There are many who understand all that office of teaching, which belonged to the Priests and Levites, to be merely concerning the ceremonial law, i. e. deciding all cafes and controverfy which should arife concerning their ceremonial worship, which in Levit. x. 10. is called putting a difference between holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean. But it feems fomewhat strange that God fhould take fo great care

about

Antiq. Hebraic. 1. ii.

c.

3. f. 4

Mafius in

Josh. c. 14.