ounds. "Who is blind as
the Lord's servant?" And therefore who are more unmeet to declare this
message of light? What reverence and godly fear ought this to be declared
withal, when mortal man speaks of the eternal God unto mortal men? What
composure of spirit should be in us? What trembling and adoration? For, at
our best, we can but declare our own ignorance, and the furthest
attainment in this knowledge is but a further discovery of man's darkness.
We have three ways of creeping towards that glorious light of God. First,
his own works are like some visible appearances of that invisible and
incomprehensible God, and in these we know him, but not what he is in
himself. Consider how dark and dull we are in piercing into the hidden
natures of things, even below us, as beasts and plants. We behold some
effects flow from them, but from what principle these do flow, that we
know not. How much less can we apprehend any thing suitable of the divine
Majesty, that is infinitely above us, from these wonderful and glorious
works of his power and wisdom! Man is endowed with wisdom to do some
excellent works of art, as planting, grafting, building, painting,
weaving, and such like. But the beasts that are below us cannot apprehend
from these works what the nature of man is. Now is there not a more
infinite distance, a greater disproportion between us and the divine
nature, so that we cannot rise up to an understanding notion of it, in
itself? Nay, besides, one man will do many things which another cannot
understand--he beholds the art of it, he sees the matter, but yet he cannot
pierce into the mind of the workman, and look upon that wisdom and idea of
his mind. Therefore all that we can conclude from these wonderful works of
God, is some silent admiration of him. If these be such, then what must he
be? How infinitely distant from them, and transcendent over them? But what
he is, these cannot declare, and we cannot apprehend. Then we use to climb
up to the knowledge of God, by attributing to him all the perfections,
excellencies, and eminences of the creatures. Whatsoever commends them we
apprehend that originally and infinitely in him, and thus we spell out
that name that is most simply one, in many letters and characters,
according to our mean capacity, as children when they begin to learn. So
we ascribe to him wisdom, goodness, power, justice, holiness, mercy,
truth, &c. All which names being taken from the creatures, and so havin