atheism and profaneness; casting the word of God behind their backs, so that let never so many learned and godly men witness the truth unto them for their amendment, they will believe no more than they have determined beforehand with themselves. Let us pray to God for them, that they may have better minds, even desirous to believe; and then shall they be holpen in time, as the Apostle St. Thomas was. And for ourselves, let us labour to have teachable hearts, that we may reverence and give credit unto them who in the mystery of our salvation know more than we do, and have in the matter of faith a great deal more experience than we ourselves. so it may come to pass, of what mind soever we have been before, that when God's faithful servants whom we should esteem and trust, they shall tell us so and so, whether for God's judgments, or for his promises, or for the direction of our lives, we may believe and obey them. Then shall we come to faith, and be confirmed in it (Prov. c. 10, v. 17): for he that regardeth instruction, is in the way of life.

That

And if in other matters we think it reasonable, that we should believe those that have more knowledge than ourselves; yea

even clean contrary to that we thought before: as for the matter of our health we believe many skilful physicians for the state of our bodies, and many expert lawyers for the state of our lands and goods; why should we not then in matters of divinity, and for the state of our souls, give more credit to many skilful divines than to ourselves? Especially whenas the general rule holdeth as well in that as in any other science, that every skilful man is to be credited in his own art and faculty: our reason is more corrupt in this, than in any other thing, and therefore there is more cause that we should believe others than ourselves.

Therefore, as in other matters, when we are doubtful, we confer with them that have more skill and knowledge, and give credit unto them contrary to our own thoughts, and we are ready to rely upon them rather than upon ourselves: so let us do in matters of faith, and let us not offer God's servants and ourselves this great wrong, that we will believe all men in other things, saving than in this. It is too much, that we have done it so often already,, let us not continue in it-that we should come to the Church, and hear God's word

preached, and go away not believing it: and come again the next day, and then depart away as full of unbelief as before: and thus from day to day, and so still be of this mind, that whatsoever men say, we will believe none but ourselves, thinking that we have reason as well as they, and therefore, unless we can conceive it by reason, we will not admit it, whatsoever they say.

For faith is above reason, therefore we must believe the servants of God in things whereof we can conceive no reason: nay reason is against faith, and there is nothing in us in us more to hinder us from believing, than to hearken to our own reason. For the natural man (by his best reason) perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them (by his own wit), because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. c. 2, v. 14): that is, by a supernatural enlightning of the Spirit of God. So that matters of faith we cannot only not by reason comprehend them, but they seem foolishness unto all them that will no further give credit unto things than they be demonstrated by reason: which made the Apostles, when the women came from the sepulchre, and told them that Christ was

risen, not only not to believe them, but that their words seemed unto them as a feigned thing, and a mere fable that had no truth in it (Luke c. 24, v. 11): and therefore Christ saith in the Gospel (Mat. c. 16, v.24), If any man will follow me, let him forsake himself, that is, his own reason most of all, that so he may believe others contrary unto it.

And this is that which is so highly commended by the Spirit of God in our Father Abraham (Rom. c. 4, v. 18), that he above all hope (that reason could afford him) believed under hope, that he should be the father of many nations: for he considered not his own body, which was now dead, (that is, void of strength, and unmeet to get children,) being almost an hundred years old neither the deadness of Sarah's womb: neither did he doubt of the promise of God through unbelief; but was strengthened in faith, and gave glory to God, being fully assured that he that had promised it, was able to do it: where we see, that renouncing his own reason, which would have held him in unbelief, he rested upon the truth and power of God, and so believed above that by reason could be shewed him, or he able to conceive: and so must we do also.

E

The Apostle saith (Heb. c. 11, v. 3), that through faith we understand that the world was ordained by the word of God, and that the things which we see, are not made of things which did appear: that is, that this great and beautiful frame of the world was made of nothing, is a matter not to be comprehended by any reason, but only by faith which made not only the Epicures, but also some of the wisest philosophers to hold, that the world was eternal: for it was unto them a principle in reason, that of nothing comes nothing, neither can you so multiply nothing, that there should come any thing of it. Therefore the Apostle saith, that he that will hold that all these things, which we see in heaven and earth, were made of nothing, he must believe it above all reason.

And who can by any reason conceive the truth of this article of our faith, The resurrection of the body? that is, that these very bodies of our's, being turned into dust and ashes, the same in every part and member should be raised up again. Some of the wiser sort of the Heathen did acknowledge the immortality of the soul, and that there was a place of joy for them that lived well, and of pain for them that swerved from the rules of right reason,