for taking it on others' words, you must in reason do it, if you have no other way; and if you have reason to think that they know that which you do not know: but if you think that the most learned men do know no more than yourselves, and are as unable to resolve these doubts as you are, you go against the full light of the whole world's experience. Let their writings bear witness, wherein they do indeed resolve them; and do you call them to a trial, and see whether they are able or not: and let any that understandeth the matter, and is competent, be the judge.

7. Yea, some men are so far from having all the fore-mentioned qualifications for knowledge, that they have not a natural strength of understanding, or capacity to conceive of difficult things; and yet they will expect that all should be made plain to them, who cannot understand a plain case in law, physic, or any other profession that they are not versed in, no, nor any great difficulties in the things that they are more conversant with.

8. Besides this, it is most certain, that when the best men have done all that they can, they will here know but in part. Perfection of knowledge is reserved for the time of our perfect blessedness; and he that knows but in part, is not like to se through every difficulty: and this imperfection, joined with the corruptions which we shall anon mention, doth cause these suspicions of the truth that should be entertained.

9. There are some truths also which are not well understood without experience; and it is only sanctification that giveth that experience: and, therefore, the unsanctified take them but for fancies, and suspect the truth of that word which doth assert them.

10. But one of the greatest causes of this sin, is the pride of men's hearts, which makes them forget their great ignorance, shallowness, and incapacity. Men have such arrogant understandings, that be they ever so empty, they think themselves immediately capable of receiving any truth that shall be delivered to them. And if they understand not what they read or hear, they never suspect their own wit, but the writer or speaker; because they are at age, and are now past childhood, they think they need no more to make them capable. Little know they the nature of that knowledge which they want; and how it must be attained: they know not that there is a certain higher order among truths; and that one presupposeth another; and

all the lower are pre-requisite to the higher: they know not how many hundreds of the lower preparatory truths must be known before some of the higher can be well understood. They would go to the top of the stairs, without going up the lower steps. It would make a sober man wonder to see the impudent pride and arrogancy of some ignorant men, that when they have need to sit many a year at the feet of some teacher, and humbly learn that which they know not, they will as confidently pass a present censure on the things that they understand not, as if they were as thoroughly acquainted with them as the best and if they see not the evidence of a truth, they will as confidently and scornfully call it an error, as if they were indeed most capable of judging of it; when men of true understanding do see that truth as clear as the light.

If they hear a confident seducer, that hath a glossing tongue, and plausible cavils against a truth, these arrogant wits will presently conclude, that he is in the right, and cannot be answered; as if nobody can do it because they cannot; when, alas! men of understanding may presently discern gross ignorance and absurdity, in that which shallow brains are so confident of. We can scarcely meet with the man so grossly ignorant, but he is confident of his own understanding, and wise in his own conceit. So that when we may expect that they should say, 'What ignorant, foolish wretches are we, that cannot understand the word of God!' they are ready to accuse and suspect the word, and say, "How can these things be?"

11. And this arrogancy is much increased by the very nature of ignorance, which is, to be even ignorant of itself. He that never saw the light knows not what light is, nor what darkness is as differing from light. A dead man knows not what death is a brute knows not what brutishness is, because he knows not what reason is.

There is a good measure of knowledge necessary to make some men to know their ignorance. What can show a man his error, but the contrary truth? This is it, therefore, that hinders men's conviction, and makes them confident in their most false conceits; seeing they want both that light and that humility which should take down their confidence. We have as much ado to make some men know that they do not know, as to make them know that which they know not, when once they will believe that they do not know it: especially, if men have but any plausible, natural wit, or a little taste of learning, or a

little illumination in some greater matters, which in gross ignorance they did not understand; they presently think that all things should be now plain to them. It is the ruin, or dangerous perverting, at least, of many young zealous professors, that formerly lived in great ignorance and ungodliness; that when God hath showed them their error, and brought them to see the excellency of a holy life; the new light seems so glorious to them that they think they know all things, and need but little more and now they are illuminated by the Spirit of God, they think that they should understand all truths at the first hearing, and see through all difficulties at the first consideration; little knowing how much lamentable ignorance doth yet remain in them; and how much more glorious a light is yet before them; and how little they know yet, in comparison of that which they do not know. So that it is the nature of the ignorant, especially half-witted men, that have some little knowledge which may puff them up, to think they have that which indeed they have not; and so to have this arrogancy of understanding, and speak against the darkness of truth, when they should lament the darkness of their own understandings; and to think the candle is put out, or the sun is darkened, because this web is grown over their eyes.

12. Moreover, infidelity is a natural, deep-rooted, obstinate sin; and, therefore, no wonder if it be hardly overcome, and will be striving in us to the last. The first sin of man, in believing the serpent before God, hath left a vicious habit in our nature. Man is now so estranged from God, that he is the less acquainted with his voice, and the more distrustful of him. We are so much in the dark, that we are the more diffident. When a man knows not where he is, or who is near him, he is still fearful; when he knows not what ground he stands on, whether firm, or quick-sands, he is naturally apt to distrust it: an unknown God will not be well believed. Were it easy to cure infidelity, all other sins would be of much more easy cure. He is a conqueror indeed, that thoroughly conquers his unbelief: but the most are captivated by it to their perdition.

13. And it somewhat addeth to this disease, that man is conscious of deceitfulness in himself, and from thence is apt to suspect all others. Because he finds himself both fallible and fallacious, he is ready to think that God himself is so too: for corrupt man is prone to question whether there be any higher virtue than he hath experience of in himself.

14. Also, it is a great occasion of this sin of infidelity and

arrogancy, and questioning all that men do not understand, that they know not the true nature of the christian state and life, and build not in the order that Christ hath prescribed them. Christ's method is this that they should first understand and believe those essentials of Christianity, without which there is no salvation, and then engage themselves to learn of him as his disciples; and so to set themselves to school to him, and live under his teaching, that they may know, by degrees, the rest of his will: and his teaching is jointly by his word, ministers, and Spirit. Men must first lay the foundation in an explicit faith, and hold to those fundamentals as of infallible certainty, and not expect to know the rest in a moment, nor without much diligence and patience, but wait on Christ in the condition of disciples, to learn all the rest. All this is expressed in Christ's commission to his apostles, (Matt. xxviii. 19-21,) where he first bids them disciple the nations; which contains the convincing them, at age, of the fundamentals, and procuring their consent; and then to baptise them, that they may be solemnly engaged; and then teach them to observe all things whatsoever he commandeth them; and this must be the work of all their lives.

Now, here are two gross errors, contrary to this established order of Christ, which professors do often run into, to their own perdition. The one is, when they do not first lay the fundamentals as certainties, but hold them loosely, and are ready, on all occasion, to reduce them to doubtful and uncertain points; or to question them, though their evidence be never so full, because of some defect of evidence in other points.

A most foolish and perverse course, which will hinder any man that useth it, from the true understanding of any science in the world; for in all sciences there are some undoubted principles, which must be first laid, and it must not be expected that all points else should be of equal necessity or evidence as they: but if we should meet with never so much doubtfulness in any of the superstructure, yet these principles must still be held ast; for he that will be still plucking up his foundation, upon every error in the building, is never like to perfect his work.

The second common error is, that as professors do not lay the foundation as certain, so they do not unfeignedly set themselves in the true posture of disciples or scholars, to learn the rest, but think themselves past scholars when they have gone to school, and engaged themselves to Christ, their teacher. This is the undoing of the greatest part of the visible church.

If they come to the congregation, it is not as scholars to

school, but as judges to pass sentence of the doctrine of their teachers, before they understand it; and if they read the Scripture, it is in the same sort. When they are at a loss, through any occurrent difficulty, they do not go to their teachers, as humble scholars, to learn the true sense of the word and the solution of their doubts, but they go as confident censurers, and as boys that will go to school to dispute with their masters, and not to learn; and, therefore, no wonder if they turn self-conceited heretics or infidels; for Christ hath resolved that the most learned and worldly-wise, if they will come to school to him as his disciples, must come as little children, conscious of their ignorance, and humble enough to submit to his instructions, and not proudly conceited that they are wise enough already; and they must wait upon his teaching, year after year, and not think that they are capable of a present understanding of each revealed truth.

15. Lastly, besides all the former causes of this sin, some men are judicially deserted, and left to the power of their arrogancy and infidelity. When God hath showed men the light of fundamental verities, and, instead of hearty entertaining and obeying them, they will imprison them in unrighteousness, and receive not the truth in the love of it, that they may be saved, God often gives them over to believe a lie, and to reject that truth which would have saved them, if they had received it.

I have noted many professors that have lived in pride, fleshpleasing, or secret filthiness, or unrighteousness, or worldliness, and would not see, nor forsake, their sin, but hold on in their professions and their lusts together, that these are most commonly given over to gross heresies or infidelity; for when they are once captivated to their fleshly lust and interest, and yet read and know the damnableness of such a state, they have no way left to quiet their conscience but either to believe that Scripture is false (and then they need not fear its threatenings) or else to leave their sins with confession and contrition, which their carnal hearts and interest will not permit.

Use. From what hath been said already in the opening of this point, we may see what a corrupt and froward heart is in man, as to the matters of God and his own salvation; three notable corruptions are together comprehended in the distemper, which we have here described and expressed in the common, incredulous questioning, "How can these things be?"

First, you may hear in this question, the voice of ignorance: