The prophecy of Haggai, interpreted and applied in sundry sermonsThe prophesie of Haggai, interpreted and applyed in sundry sermons

This though I need not to stand upon here because it hath been oftentimes handled in your hearing, yet because the Prophet again and again repeateth it I cannot pass it over, chiefly seeing that the Prophet though sent immediately and instructed ¹of God, useth to warrant his message by these words, the case being not alike in us who although we be sent of God, yet are we sent by men also, neither have we our commission from his own mouth immediately, but by writing in the Scripture, but you that have learned that the whole Scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable to teach, convince, correct and instruct in righteousness, that the man of God may be absolute even throughly absolute and made perfect unto all good works, I say you have also learned that the message therein delivered us, is the same message sent before by the Prophets and Apostles, to whom the Lord himself spake immediately, neither did he only ordain in his Church Apostles and Prophets, but gave also ⟨p. 45⟩Pastors and Teachers for gathering together of the Saints for ²the work of the ministry and for the edification of the body of Christ. Therefore we also have Commission from God to deliver his will unto you, and do his message so long as we can soundly profess that the corrections, exhortations &c. which we use are deduced from the writing of the Apostles, and prophets which he hath delivered to his Church and appointed us his servants to cut his word aright and thereby to feed your souls; It ³must be therefore our care, that the words we speak be as the words of God, and you brethren should be likewise skilful in the scriptures to discern the spirits of them that preach unto you, but the doctrine we preach being rightly delivered, you are no otherwise to receive than if the Lord himself by his Prophets & Apostles did speak unto you: And this being the substance of that which I thought to note briefly in this first point, namely that both we which teach are to learn, that what we teach we must deliver unto you as the word of God, and you that hear are to •eceive and hear it as it is indeed, not the word of man, but of God. I come to the doctrine comprehended in the 2 point (with the matter of the exhortation) delivered; first to