tions and problems in divinity, he keeps a good conceit of himself,
and that "knowledge puffeth up," and swells a man into a vain tumour, the
venom of poison blows him up full of wind and self-confidence, and
commonly they who doubt least are not the freest of error and
misapprehension. And truly, whoever seriously reflects upon the difficulty
of knowledge, and darkness of men's minds, and the general curse of vanity
and vexation that all things are under, so that what is wanting cannot be
numbered, nor that which is crooked made straight,--he cannot but look upon
too great confidence and peremptoriness in all points, as upon a race at
full speed in the dark night, in a way full of pits and snares. Oftentimes
our confidence flows not from evidence of truth, but the ignorance of our
minds, and is not so much built upon the strength of reason, as the
strength of our passions, and weakness of our judgments.

But when once a man comes to see God, and know him in a lively manner,
then he sees his own weakness and vileness in that light, and cries out
with Isaiah, "Wo is me, I am a man of polluted lips," and he discerns in
that light, the amiableness and loveliness of God that lavisheth his heart
after it, and then, as Jeremiah saith, he will not glory in riches, or
strength, or beauty, or wisdom, but only in this, that he hath at length
gotten some discovery of the only fountain of happiness. Then he will not
think so much of tongues and languages, of prophesyings, of all knowledge
of controversies, neither gifts of body nor of mind, nor external
appendages of providence will much affect him. He would be content to
trample on all these, to go over them into a fuller discovery and
enjoyment of God himself.

If we search the scriptures, we shall find that they do not entertain us
with many and subtile discourses of God's nature, and decrees, and
properties, nor do they insist upon the many perplexed questions that are
made concerning Christ and his offices, about which so many volumes are
spun out, to the infinite distraction of the Christian world. They do not
pretend to satisfy your curiosity, but to edify your souls, and therefore
they hold out God in Christ, as clothed with all his relations to mankind,
in all those plain and easy properties, that concern us everlastingly,--his
justice, mercy, grace, patience, love, holiness, and such like. Now, hence
I gather, that the true knowledge of God, consists not in the
comprehens