In procefs of time it happened that various errors began to spread and gain ground in those parts where his ministerial work lay; and as Prodigalis had not been fuffered to stumble into any of thofe errors, he was at a lofs for argument to oppose them. Several of the falfe ambaffadors challenged and often difputed with Prodigalis; you know there are none more daring, more confident, or more bold, than those that are hardened under the gofpel, and blinded by the devil. In order to furnish himself with weapons for these champions, Prodigalis took to reading feveral books of their tenets, that he might dive into their errors, and overthrow their arguments. This dry, barren, and foul-destroying study, foon brought Prodigalis from his heavenly-mindednefs; and the fweet refreshing dew that used daily to fall on his foul was fenfibly withheld. These books brought an heavy gloom on his mind, which beclouded his understanding; and fome of their fubtle, cunning, artful, crafty, and fophiftical arguments, at times puzzled his judgment, though his heart and foul heaved with indignation against the whole of their works.

Now was the time for Satan to work again; and as Prodigalis had been a little lifted up through the abundance of the revelations, fome of these errors was a thorn in his flesh, and as messengers of Satan they buffeted him (which God permitted), lest he fhould be exalted above measure. 2 Cor. xii. 7. The devil fet in with many of those errors, and gained a fecond

a fecond advantage over him, until by buffeting his mind, by fuggefting thefe errors perpetually to him, he fenfibly wounded Prodigalis in his judgment, filled his foul with confufion, and kept truth and falfehood in a perpetual debate on his mind. This withered all his joys, banished peace and comfort from his heart, and left him to bemoan a fenfible suspension of spiritual life and divine

confolation.

Abimaaz. O how dangerous are erroneous books! What havoc have they made in the church of Chrift! They are nets which the Lord permits the infernal fowler to fpread, in order to catch hypocrites, who receive not the truth in the love of it, and to humble fome of his own children, who, instead of trusting in the Lord with all their hearts, lean too much to their own understanding.

Prodigalis had no business to fish in any fuch waters, but to dive deeper and deeper into the mystery and spirit of God's truth: truth is fufficient both for fhield and buckler. Let a man arm himself with this, and through grace he will be able to ftand and withstand. Nothing overthrows error like plain and fimple truth brought from God by prayer; and the knowledge of it, the experience of it, and the practice of it infifted on by the power of the Holy Ghost. These things, delivered by one who has an experience of them, attended with a folemn appeal to God and conscience, carry all before them, except the prefumptuous, whom God

in juft judgment, and to their own destruction, permits, like Jannes and Jambres, imperiously to ftand their ground.

For my part, I hate to fee a young Christian trying the strength of his judgment by an erroneous book, or an erroneous miniftry. I always think it is a daring prefumptuous tempting of God, and provoking of him to leave us expofed to the temptations of the devil, as a proof of his disapprobation, and a just reproof for our prefumption. All that ever came before me, faith the Saviour, were thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. John x. 8. And many fuch thieves and robbers are yet to come; and we are commanded not to follow them: And Jefus answered and said unto them, Take beed that no man deceive you: for many shall come in my name, faying, I am Chrift, and fhall deceive many. Matt. xxiv. 4, 5. And many false prophets fhall arife, and fhall deceive many. Matt. xxiv. 11. Go not after them, nor follow them. Luke xvii. 23. Take heed bow ye hear. Beware of the leaven of the Pharifees and of the Sadducers, which is hypocrify. All these are warnings and cautions that we should not tempt God. He commands us to beware of dogs, Phil. iii. 2; and not to be fo fond of taking them by the ears. Prov. xxvi. 17.

The Lord grant that I may ever exercise my mind in the knowledge of good, and not study the myfteries of fpiritual wickednefs. Eph. vi. 12. Adam and Eve were happy while they knew only good;

but

but when they attained to the knowledge of evil, they foon found the "knowledge of evil got, and " of good loft," as faith the learned Milton: and fo many happy fouls have found it fince, by diving into the infernal myfteries of ghoftly iniquity. It is life eternal to know God, and Jefus Christ whom he bath fent; while, on the other hand, the devils, who are mafters of arts with refpect to their knowledge of the myfteries of iniquity, are as far from happinefs as divine felicity can place them. Some indeed read all forts of authors, in order to obtain the right knowledge of God, and the way of falvation, by human means. And we may fay of them, as a great apoftle faith, They are ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The Star of Jacob can never be found out by a telescope: nor can a faving knowledge of God be obtained by all the lines of practical philofophy. The man into whose heart God shines knows him, but no other. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, bath shined into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift. 2 Cor. iv. 6. This is the only revealed way that a faving knowledge of God can be attained in: philofophical rules are wholly excluded in this matter: Beware left any man spoil you through philofophy and vain deceit; after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Chrift. Col. ii. 8.

Cufbi. I much admire your affertions. Divine knowledge

R 2

knowledge muft be fought with a fuppliant knee at. a throne of grace; to seek it any other way is a

contempt of the revealed will of God, and an attempt to be wife above what is written. And the farther they go to find out God by human means, the deeper they fink into error. To measure divine perfections, and divine conduct, by human lines, and tracing all from the proper centre, down to the bar of depraved and unrenewed reason, is puzzling the human foul in her fallen ftate, and loading her rationality with a burden, under which fhe is fure. (without divine aid) to fink.

When any child of God meets with a difficult text of fcripture, a difficult experience, or providence, how is his mind burdened, until by humble prayer he caft it off, or refolve it in the fovereign will of his God; which, when done, his faculties refume their ufual vigour, and he moves sweetly in his heavenly fphere; and by these things he finds that God lays no more on him than he enables him to bear.

Many have been drowned in error, open profanity, defpondency, defpair, deftruction, and perdition, by attempting the knowledge of Infinite Divinity by human wifdom, instead of fubmitting human wifdom to that which is divine and infinite. Who can find out the Almighty to perfection? it is Ligher than heaven, and deeper than hell; broader than the earth, and wider than the fea. Job xi. 7, 8, 9. It has puzzled many of the learned naturalifts