to reconcile us to God, and make known his kingdom, and his love to sinners? To procure us pardon and a spirit of vivification, illumination, and sanctification? And the word that must be the means of this must be fitted to its end, and be intelligible to the unlearned; or else he should have been the Saviour of a few learned men only, and not of the world. Kings and parliaments write their laws in a style suitable to the matter: and so do men draw up their covenants and princes their pardons, and physicians their bills and directions: And none of these useth to write a grammar or logic instead of their proper work, nor to fill their writings with ludicrous, logical tricks, and toys. He that is but to tell men how to be saved from sin and hell, and brought to heaven, and live so here that he may live with God and angels for ever, must speak in plainness and in good earnest.

V. And consider that the Scripture is not void of so much logic and philosophy as is suitable to its design. In a well-fleshed body the distinction and compagination of the parts are hid, which in an ugly skeleton are discerned. So the Scripture is a body of essentials, integrals and accidentals of religion, and every unstudied fellow cannot anatomise it but it hath its real and excellent method, for all that it is hid to the unskilful. There is a method of Scripture Theology, which is the most accurate that ever the world knew in morality. I have drawn up the body of theology into schemes. In which I doubt not but I have shewn, that the method of theology contained in the Holy Scriptures, is more accurate than any logical author doth prescribe: and the Lord's-prayer and decalogue especially will prove this, when truly opened: and the doctrine of the Trinity, and the Baptismal Covenant, is the foundation of all true method of physics, and morality in the world. What if a novice cannot anatomise Cicero or Demosthenes, doth it follow that they are immethodical? Brandmiller and Flaccher upon the Scripture text, and Steph. Tzegedine, Sohnius, Gomarus, Dudley, Fenner, and many others upon the body of theology have gone far in opening the Scripture method. But more may be yet done.

VI. Consider also that the Eternal Wisdom, Word, and Son of God our Redeemer, is the fountain and giver of all knowledge: nature to be restored, and grace to restore it, are in his hands. He is that true light that lighteneth every

one that cometh into the world: The light of nature and arts, and sciences are from his Spirit and teaching, as well as the Gospel. Whether Clemens Alexandrinus, and some other ancients were in the right or not, when they taught that philosophy is one way by which men come to salvation, it is certain that they are in the right, that say it is now the gift of Christ: And that as the light which goeth before sun-rising (yea which in the night is reflected from the moon,) is from the sun, as well as its more glorious beams; so the knowledge of Socrates, Plato, Zeno, Cirero, Antonine, Epictetus, Seneca, Plutarch, were from the wisdom and word of God, the Redeemer of the world, even by a lower gift of his Spirit, as well as the Gospel and higher illumination: and shall Christ be thought void of what he giveth so many in the world?

VII. Lastly, let it be considered above all, that the grand difference between the teaching of Christ and other men, is that he teacheth effectively (as God spake when he created, and as he said to Lazarus, Arise :) He giveth wisdom by giving the Holy Ghost: All other teachers speak but to the ears; but he only speaketh to the heart were it not for this he would have no church. I should never have else believed in him myself, nor would any other, seriously and savingly. Aristotle and Plato speak but words, but Christ speaketh LIFE and LIGHT and LOVE, in all countries, through all ages to this day. This above all is his witness in the world. He will not do his work on souls, by ludicrous enticing words of the pedantic wisdom of the world; but by illuminating minds, and changing hearts and lives by his effectual operations on the heart. God used no more rhetoric nor logic than a philosopher, when he said only "Let there be light," but he used more power. Indeed the first chapter of Genesis (though abused by ignorants and cabalists) hath more true philosophy in it than the presumptuous will understand, (as my worthy friend Mr. Samuel Gott lately gone to God, hath manifested in his excellent Philosophy; excepting the style, and some few presumptions.) But operations are the glorious oratory of God, and his wisdom shineth in his works, and in things beseeming the heavenly Majesty; and not in childish laces, and toys of wit.

Let us therefore cease quarrelling, and learn wisdom of God, instead of teaching and reprehending him. Let us

magnify the mercy and wisdom of our Redeemer, who hath brought life and immortality to light, and certified us of the matters of the world above, as beseemed a messenger sent from God; and hath taught us, according to the matter, and our capacity, and not with trifling, childish notions.

CHAP. XVIII.

Inference 6. The true and false Ways of restoring the Churches, and healing our Divisions, hence opened and made plain.

HAVING opened to you our disease, it is easy, were not the disease itself against it, to discern the cure. Pretended knowledge hath corrupted and divided the Christian world. Therefore it must be CERTAIN VERITIES, which must restore us, and unite us. And these must be things PLAIN and NECESSARY, and such as God hath designed to this very use; or else they will never do the work. One would think that it should be enough to satisfy men of this, 1. To read the Scripture. 2. To peruse the terms of concord in the primitive church. 3. To peruse the sad histories of the church's discord and divisions, and the causes. 4. To peruse the state of the world at this day, and to make use of universal experience. 5. To know what a Christian is, what Baptism is, and what a Church is. 6. To know what man is; and that they themselves, and the churches are but men. But penal and sinful infatuation, hath many ages been upon the minds of those in the Christian world, who were most concerned in the cure; and our sin is our misery, as, I think, to the damned it will be the chief part of their hell.

But this subject is so great and needful, and that which the wounds and blood of the Christian world do cry for a skilful cure of; that I will not thrust it into this corner, but design to write a treatise of it by itself, as a second part of this ".

n This book is since printed with some alteration, and called "The True and Only Way of the Concord of the Churches."

CHAP. XIX.

VIII. Of the Causes of this Disease of Prefidence, or proud Pretended Knowledge, in order to the Cure.

THE cure of prefidence and pretended knowledge, could it be wrought, would be the cure of souls, families, churches, and kingdoms. But alas, how low are our hopes! Yet that may be done on some, which will not be done on all or most. And to know the causes, and oppugn them, is the chief part of the cure, so far as may be hoped for.

I. The first and grand cause is the very nature of ignorance itself; which many ways disableth men, from knowing that which should abate their groundless confidence. For, 1. An ignorant man knoweth but little parcels and scraps of things; and all the rest is unknown to him: therefore he fixeth upon that little which he knoweth; and having no knowledge of the rest, he cannot regulate his narrow apprehensions by any conceptions of them. And all things visible to us (not light itself excepted, which, as seen by us, is fire incorporated in air;) being compounds; the very nature or being of them is not known, where any constitutive part is unknown. And in all compounds, each part hath such relation and usefulness to others, that one part which seemeth known, is itself but half-known, for want of the knowledge of others. Such a kind of knowledge is theirs, that knowing only what they see, do take a clock or watch to be only the index moving by the hours, being ignorant of all the casual parts within: or that know no more of a tree, or other plant, than the magnitude, site, colour, odour, &c. Or that take a man to be only a body, without a soul; or the body, be only the skin and parts, discerned by the eye in converse. Now that which such persons do sensibly apprehend, they are confident of, because that nature teacheth them to trust their senses; but not knowing the rest, their little partial conceptions are lame, defective, and deceitful. For most will hence rashly conclude of the negative, that there is no more, because they know no more. But if any be more wise and modest, yet do they want the conception of the unknown parts, to make the rest to be true knowledge, or to tell them what is yet unknown: and such use to turn a judicial rule

into a physical; that'non apparere et non esse,' are to them all one.

2. And an ignorant man doth not know what conceptions other men have of the same things which he is ignorant of: so that he neither knoweth the thing intelligible, (what it is) nor yet the act of knowing it, which he never had: but, as a man born blind hath no formal conception, either of sight, or of light, or visible objects; so is it here.

3. Nor hath he usually a true knowledge of his own ignorance; how imperfect his understanding is, and how much to be suspected, as liable to mistake: though in some sensible matters, it is easy to convince men of a total ignorance; yet when they know any thing, it is hard to convince them what more is to be known, and to keep them from false and hasty conclusions. A man that cannot read at all, is easily convinced that he cannot read: but he that can read a little, is apt to think that he readeth rightly, when he doth not. A man that never heard of physic, is easily convinced that he hath no skill in it: but if he have read, heard of, and tried a few medicines; he is apt to grow conceited, and venture men's lives upon his skill. A man that never saw building, navigation, or any art or manufacture, is easily convinced that he is ignorant of it: but if he have got some smattering knowledge, he is ready to think that it is more than it is, because he knoweth not what he wants.

And to err, and know that a man erreth, (at the same time, about the same thing,) is a contradiction: for he that erreth, judgeth a falsehood to be a truth: but to know that so to judge is to err, is certainly not so to judge; for 'intellectus vult verum;' that is, truth is the object which it is naturally inclined to. The same light which discovereth error, cureth it: and that light which discovereth the thing itself, is it that must convince me that I before erred about it, by misapprehensions.

4. And an ignorant man doth not so much as know the difficulties of the case, and what may be said on the other side: what contrary evidence convinceth others, or what weight there is in the objections, which are, or may be brought against him. So that all men being naturally ignorant, and little being known for much that is unknown, even to the wisest; alas, the temptation to error and false confidence is so strong, that few escape it.

II. Another cause of it is, the radical master sin of pride :