He appeals to the Papists, indeed, that they ought to believe it, as holding her a prophetess; but he clearly speaks, also, as believing it himself. He

says,

"I will note here a certain prophecy of hers, taken out of the Common-places of Henry Token, because we see it manifestly fulfilled in our time. She prophesieth of the reformation of religion, and saith that it shall be most godly."―The prophecy is as follows:

"Then shall the crown of apostolical honour be divided, because there shall be found no religion among the apostolical order; and for that cause shall they despise the dignity of that name, and shall set over them other men and other archbishops. Insomuch that the apostolic see of that time (by the diminution of his honour) shall scarce have Rome, and a few other countries thereabout, under his crown. And these things shall partly come to pass by incursion of wars, and partly also by a common counsel and consent of the spiritual and secular persons. Then shall justice flourish, so that in those days men shall honestly apply themselves to the ancient customs and discipline of ancient men, and shall observe them as ancient men did." Fox proceeds:

"These things thus premised, now will we come to the prophecy of the foresaid Hildegard, concerning the foresaid begging friars above mentioned; reciting her words, not only as they are printed in a book printed of late in Germany; but also as myself have seen and read, agreeing to the same book word for word, and yet have the same to shew, written in old parchment leaves, in such sort as the thing itself most evidently declareth a great iniquity" [misprint for antiquity?] "of time. The words of her prophecy be these:

"In these days shall arise a senseless people, proud, greedy, without faith, and subtile, the which shall eat the sins of the people," &c.

Here follows a description: but at length,

"Whenas their wickedness and deceit shall be found out, then shall their gifts cease," &c.

Then follow the reproaches of the people:

"Then shall the people cry out upon them: Woe be unto you, ye miserable children of sorrow, the world hath seduced you," &c.

Fox concludes,

"This Hildegardis, whose prophecy we have mentioned, lived about the year of our Lord 1146, as we read in Chronico Martini *.”

Thus, even the darkness of the middle ages witnessed the imprudence of those to whom the Lord gave power to testify of things to come; and whose testimony has been marvellously and signally confirmed, in the history of the church and of the world. Two things demand notice in this prophecy of Hildegardis: first, its exact correspondence to events; secondly, the satisfactory proof given by Fox, that it was uttered and written before the events took place.

* Acts and Monuments, vol. i. pp. 294, 295.

CHAP. IV.

THE REFORMERS.

PART I.

66

THE reader, having already met with some citations in the last chapter, especially those from Fox, Luther, and Melancthon, not wholly in accordance, perhaps, with the views which he has been taught to entertain respecting the Reformers' sentiments in regard to miracles, may by this time have felt disposed to exclaim, But, if these were their views, how is it that so many passages are brought before us from their writings, of a seemingly opposite character? If they really, as it now appears, believed in miracles, especially in prophecies, subsequent to the first ages of the church, how is it that we find them speaking of miraculous gifts and operations, in other places, as belonging, rather, to the times of the Apostles, or their immediate successors?"

This is a point which requires to be explained. The explanation, indeed, is by no means difficult; but it cannot be properly given without entering into some details. To these, then, we must now address ourselves. We must account for various expressions which lie scattered through the writings of the Reformers-unfavourable, at first sight, to a belief in modern miracles-ere we adduce the testimony of the same Reformers on the other

side. Of such testimony we have abundance to bring we find them admitting miracles; we find them alleging miracles; nay, we find some of them working miracles. But, first, we must set forth the general principles which afford the true explanation of language, confessedly and not unfrequently employed by them; language which, to all appearance, discourages the expectation of miraculous manifestations.

There are three things, then, by which such language may be accounted for:

I. By the views, commonly prevalent among them, on the subject of the Apostolic commission: II. By their opposition and hostility to the spurious miracles of Papists and fanatics:

III. By the continual challenges addressed to them by their opponents, to prove by miracles the truth of their doctrines.

I. We may account for expressions in the Reformers, unfavourable to the doctrine of miracles, first, by the views, commonly prevalent among them, on the subject of the Apostolic commission.

The views to which I refer, and they may have derived them from some of the Fathers, were briefly these:

-That the commission given by Christ to his Apostles, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature," was by Him intended, not, as it is generally understood by orthodox believers in modern times, for his church in every age to the end of the world; but for the

*Mark xvi. 15.

Apostles, or for the Apostles and their immediate successors, alone:

-That the Apostles, having received this command, actually performed and fulfilled it in their own persons; that they went literally into all the world; that the work was then done and finished once for all; that the world was then evangelized; and that nothing of the kind was left to be done in subsequent ages:

-That our Lord's promise of miraculous aid, accompanying the commission ("These signs shall follow," &c. t) was given for their support and furtherance in the execution of that commission : and, consequently,

-That, as the commission was fully executed in the first ages, the promise was then, also, fully performed and exhausted; no longer stands good; and affords us no authority for expecting, in the present day, any such miracles as are therein enumerated.

Here then, while in some passages of the Reformers miraculous occurrences are explicitly recorded and alleged, the reader will see one reason why, in others, the idea of modern miracles is more or less discouraged. The reader has had before him, in the second chapter, a passage which shews that this view of the Apostolic commission, as wholly accomplished in the first ages, was not strange to the mind of Augustine. I refer to the citation where he speaks of the "world" as having believed, once for all. Yet we saw clearly that Augustine did not deny all miracles, but

Mark xvi. 17, 18.