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Part III. 7. Fifthly, After in the wifdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, after they had spent the time allotted them, for the trial and discovery of the vanity of their own wifdom, with a fuccefs anfwerable to the vanity of the attempt; God in the depth of his compaffion, ftepp'd in for the relief of mankind; and for a furtherance of the glorious defign abovementioned, was pleased to pitch on a way quite oppofite to all that the wisdom of foolish man aim'd at. The means he made ufe of, were not fuch as man's wisdom would or could expect, prescribe, or approve of. He made not choice of the enticing words of man's wifdom, or eloquence, humane eloquence. It was no way fuitable to the majefty, truth and fincerity of God, to make choice of that mean art, whereby the affections of weak men are inveigled, and their judg mments byaffed, and led blind-fold in a fubjection to thefe paffions, which they fhould govern. He made no choice of artificial reafonings, the other eye of hu man wisdom. It did not become the majefty of God to difpute men into their duty, or a compliance with his will. And albeit he wrought figns to waken the attention of a world drown'd in fecurity, to conciliate refpect to his ambaffadors, to ftrengthen the faith of his own, and cut off all feemingly rational pleas for unbelief; yet he choos'd not them, nor did he prin cipally infift on them as the means of converting and recovering the world, not being willing to derogate fo far from his word, as to encourage an opinion, that the devil would, and has forwardly propagate, That God's word is not upon its own evidence, without miracles worthy of the acceptation of rational crea tures. Nor would he gratifie the unbelieving curio fity of men, who would put God to the drudgery of altering the courfe of nature, and please their humour on every turn.

8. Sixthly, God having rejected all thefe, made. choice of the foolishness of preaching, that is a plain. declaration

declaration of his mind and will in his name, in the demonstration of the fpirit and power and not in the enticing words of man's wifdom,' by perfons commiffionated for that effect by him. After that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not • God, it pleafed God by the foolishnefs of preaching, to fave them that believe.' Now this was every way worthy of God. Man was injurious to God by crediting the devil rather than God. The devil feem'd to have gain'd a confiderable advantage, in perfuading man in his integrity to credit him, and difcredit God. God on the other hand rubb'd shame on him by engaging fallen man to reject the devil, and credit him on his bare word; And upon this, to give up with Satán, and all that adhered to him.

9. Seventhly, God yet further to manifeft his de-. fign, as he made ufe of the foolishness of preaching, that mean which, though really it is the wisdom and power of God, yet men look on as foolish and weak; fo he made choice not of the Scribes, the learned, wife difputers to be his ambaffadors, but of foolish, weak, illiterate men, that by things which in appearance are not, he might bring to nought thefe that are.

10. Eightly. In a further congruity to this defign, God faw meet to disappoint mens expectation and wifdom as far, with refpect to the Saviour whom he raised up, as the means of difcovering him. He made choice of a crucified Christ, a man of forrows, and acquainted with griefs, and pass'd by all the great and high potentates of the earth, and the worldly pomp and grandeur, which men refpect and dote upon.

11. Ninthly, To lay man yet lower, that the Lord alone might be exalted, he chofe not fuch perfons, as the world would have thought stood fairest for mercy: But he chose the most miferable and contemptible for most part. Not many wife, not many noble, not many mighty are called: But God hath chofen

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Part III. the foolish things of this world, to confound the wife, and God hath chofen the weak things of this world, to confound those that are mighty; and bafe things of this world, and things which are defpifed, hath God chofen; yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.

12. Tenthly, The Lord hereon let me fee. 1. That it was to be expected, and was indeed inevitable, that a great oppofition fhould be made to the gofpel, and whole revelation of himself in the word. 2. That this opofition was principally to be by pretenders to wifdom, learned men. 3. That their objections should be against all the concernments of the gofpel, matter, manner, means, all being open to their expectations. And that therefor it was no wonder to fee fome ftumble at the cross, fome at preaching, fo ne at preachers. 4. That their pleas fhould be very different and various: The Jews feeking figns, and the Greeks wisdom, according as their different principles and inclinations led them, 5. That it was to be expected, that their objections fhould be fpecious, they being fuited to the wisdom, the natural apprehenfions of all men unrenewed, and not brought to a compliance with the grand defign of God, 6. That it was impoffible for any man that was not brought to be a fool in his own eyes, to be wife in the matters of God, or to difcern and approve of the wisdom of God in this whole matter.

13. Upon this discovery, I was fully fatisfied, that though those things were in the wisdom of God hid from the wife and prudent, yet babes might have a fatisfying difcovery of them, because it has pleas'd the father to reveal thefe things to them.

14. I was made to fee, that this oppofition of learned men, and their unfuccefsfulness in their enquires were fo far from being a juft prejudice to the truth of God, that on the contrary, it was a strong confirmation of the truth of religion. Thus, Out of the eat

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er came forth meat, and fweet out of the strong. While I thought to know this, it was too hard for me. Then went I to the Janctuary, and there I faw their end. Hence I was made to hope, that though my heart and my flesh fhould, and did fail me, God would be the ftrength of my heart, and portion for ever, that he would guide me by his counfel, and afterwards receive. me to glory; And therefor, Surely it is good for me to draw near to God, who has not faid to the feed of Faceb feek ye me in vain: He is good to the foul that leeks bim, to them that wait for him. In the mount of the Lord it fhall be seen.

15. I found frequently that common and much noifed pretence against the most important truths of the fcripture, especially thofe who are controverted by Pelagians, Arminians, and Socinians, that they are contrary to reafon, making confiderable impreffion on my mind: But this being rather by fits and starts, than for any fixed tract of time, I fhall fhortly point at the fprings of my relief, from temptations of this fort.

16. First, God had long before I got a full relief, fixed me in a deep, rational conviction of the shortnefs of human knowlege, and that there is no truth we receive, whether upon the evidence of metaphifical, mathematical, or moral principles, or even on the evidence of our fenfes, against which there lay not infoluble objections on which no man yet thought it reasonable to question those truths; nor though we would never fo much, yet could we not for thofe objections bring our minds to hefitate about many of them. This I was fully fatisfied about, on the clearest conviction of reafon and experience. And as this was. one of the most confiderable fruits of my ftudies in philofophy, fo it was many ways useful to me; For, 1, It made me fee through the vanity of that pretence against divine truths, that there ly unanfwerable arguments against them. This I thought would not

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fhake me, if once I faw fufficient evidence for them. 2. I was brought under a conviction hereby, that it was reasonable to expect more inextricable difficulties about truths fupernaturally revealed, than about others because they ly farther out of our reach, 3. When difficulties occurred, I was led rather to fufpect my felf of ignorance, than the truths of God.

17. Secondly, When the Lord gave me the foregoing difcovery of himself, he fixed me in the faith, of his incomprchenfibility. While he let me fee his. back parts, he convinced me, that I could not fee his face. He let me fee, that his ways are not our ways: And hereon I durft not any more attempt to measure him, or his ways, by my fhort line.

18, Thirdly, Hereby likewife I was brought to reft quietly in the determination of the word. I took all to the law and to the teftimony. And where the word clearly interpofed its teftimony, my foul was now in fome measure taught to acquifce in, and ftand to its determination,

19, Fourthly, When I found the fubtile endeavours of adverfaries to prevent any particular teftimony, and myfelf unable at first to difaprove their evafions; I was much relieved by a view of the multiplied teftimoniesof the word, all running the fame way, and declaring as it were with one mouth for the truth.

20. Fifthly, When by confulting interpreters, ef pecially Criticks, I found myfelf rather darkned than cleared about the meaning of particular teftimonies; I had recourfe to the fcope of the words, the plain meaning as it offered itfelf to view, with a humble dependance upon God for light as to his mind; and hereby found my foul much more fatisfied about the meaning of the word, than by the fubtile fetches of bold Criticks that are often injurious to truth.

21. Sixthly, When for a time by the fubtile perverfions of fcripture teftimonies, I could not find the ufe of them: The analogy of faith stayed my mind

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