Man áim'd at. The Means he made ufe of, were not fuch as Man's Wifdom would or could expect, prefcribe, 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 Sincerity of God, to make Choice of that mean Art, whereby the Affections of weak Men are inveigled, and their Judgments. byaffed, and led blind-fold in a Subjection to thele Paffions; which they fhould govern. He made no Choice of Artificial Reafonings, the other Eye of humane 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 Signs to waken the Attention of a World drown'd in Security, 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 principally 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 Creatures: Nor would he gratifie the unbelieving Curiofity 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 of his Mind and Will in his Name, in the Demonftration of the Spirit and Power, and not in the enticing Words of Man's Wisdom, by Perfons commiffionated for that Effect by hime After that in the Wisdom of God, the World by wifdom knew not God, it pleafed God by the Foolishness 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 perfwading 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 Satan, and all that adhered to him.

9. Seventhly, God yet further to manifeft his Defign, as

he

he made ufe of the Foolishness of preaching, that Mean which, though really it is the Wildom 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. Eighthly, In a further Congruity to this Defign, God faw meet to difappoint 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 Chrift, a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with Griefs, and pals'd by all the great and high Potentates of the Earth, and the worldly Pomp and Grandeur, which Men refpect and dote on.

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 ftood faireft. for Mercy: But he chose the moft miferable and contemptible for moft Part. Not many wife, not many noble, not many mighty are called but God hath chofen the foolish Things of this World, to confound the wife, and God hath chofen the weak Things of this World, to confound thofe that are mighty; and bafe Things of this World, and Things which are defpifed, bath 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 great Oppofition fhould be made to the Gofpel, and whole Revelation of himself in the Word. 2. That this Oppofition was principally to be by Pretenders to Wisdom, learned Men. 3. That their Objections fhould be againft all the Concernments of the Gofpel, Matter, Manner, Means, all being oppofite to their Expectations. And that there fore it was no Wonder to fee fome ftumble at the Crofs, fome at Preaching, fome at Preachers. 4. That their Pleas fhould be very different and various: The Jews feeking Signs, and the Greeks Wisdom, according as their different Principles and Inclinations led them. 5. That it was to be expected, that their Objections should be specious, they being fuited to the Wisdom, the natural Apprehenfions of all Men unrenewed, and not brought to a Compli

ance

ance 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 Difcovery, I was fully fatisfied, That though thofe Things were in the Wisdom of GOD bid from the wife and prudent, yet Babes might have a fatisfying Dif covery 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 Inquiries were fo far from being a juft Prejudice to the Truth of God, that on the Contrary, it was a ftrong Confirmation of the Truth of Religion. Thus, Out of the Eater came forth Meat, and Sweet out of the Strong. While I thought to know this, it was too hard for me. Then went I to the Sanctuary, and there I Jaw their End. Hence I was made to hope, that though my Heart and my Flefh fhould, and did fail me, GOD would be the Strength of my Heart, and Portionfor ever, that he would guide me by his Counfel, and afterwards receive me to Glory: And therefore, Surely it is good for me to draw near to GOD, who has not faid to the Seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: he is good to the Soul that feeks him, to them that wait for him. In the Mount of the LORD it fhall be seen.

15. I found frequently that common and much noised Pretence againft the most important Truths of the Scripture, efpecially thofe which are controverted by Pelagians, Arminians, and Socinians, That they are contrary to Reason, 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 Springs of my Relief, from Temptations of this Sort,

16. First, GOD had long before I got a full Relief, fixed me in a deep, rational Conviction of the Shortness of humane Knowledge, and that there is no Truth we receive, whether upon the Evidence of metaphyfical, mathematical, or moral Principles, or even on the Evidence of our Senfes, against which there lay not infoluble Objections, on which no Man yet thought it reafonable to queftion thofe Truths; nor though we would never fo much, yet could we not for thefe Objections bring our Minds to he

fitate

10

fitate about many of them. This I was fully fatisfied about, on the cleareft Conviction of Reason and Experience. And as this was one of the moft confiderable Fruits of my Studies in Philofophy, fo it was many Ways ufeful to me; For, 1. It made me fee through the Vanity of that PreI tence againft divine Truths, that there ly unanswerable Arguments againft them. This I thought would not shake me, if once I faw fufficient Evidence for them. 2. I was brought under a Conviction hereby, that it was reason10 able to expect moe inextricable Difficulties about Truths fupernaturally reveal'd, than about others, because they ly farther out of our Reach. 3. When Difficulties occurr'd, I was led rather to fufpect my self of Ignorance, than the Truths of God.

17. Secondly, When the LORD gave me the forego ing Discovery of himself, he fixed me in the Faith of his Incomprehenfibility. 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 1 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 interpos'd its Teftimony, my Soul was now in fome Measure taught to acquiefce in, and ftand to its Determination.

my

19. Fourthly, When I found the fubtile Endeavours of Adverfaries to pervert any particular Teftimony, and felf unable at firft to difprove their Evafions; I was much reliev'd by a View of the multiplied Teftimonies of the Word, all running the fame Way, and declaring as it were with one Mouth for the Truth.

20. Fifthly, When by confulting Interpreters,efpecially Criticks,I found my self rather darkned than cleared about the Meaning of particular Teftimonies; I had Recourse to the Scope of the Words, the plain Meaning as it offered it self to View, with a humble Dependence upon God for Light, as to his Mind; and hereby found my Soul much more fatiffied 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.

I

Scripture

Part III Scripture Teftimonies, I could not find the Ufe of them :The Analogy of Faith ftayed my Mind as to the Truth, till I was in Cale to recover the particular Teftimonies out of the Enemies Hand: When the LORD manifefted himself from the Word to me, he gave me a fweet View of himself and his Defign,principally aim'd at in the whole Revelation he made of himfelf, and of the fweet and harmonious Confent and Concurrence of the principal Doctrines of the Golpel, in promoting that Defign; and he let me fee how the End and the Means were fo cloísly linked together, that one of these Truths could not be overturned, but almoft all the reft muft follow its Fate: Hereon, whenever any of thefe Truths was controverted, its Connection with the other Truths uniformly and plainly attefted by the Current of the Scriptures prefented it felf, and my Mind was fatiffied, it could not fall, without they all fell: This I take to be the Analogy of Faith; and herein I oft took Sanctuary.

22. Seventhly, My Mind was oft ftayed by the concurrent Suffrage of the Pious in all Churches and Nations, and Ages, witneffed in their particular Writings and Confefli ons of Faith. I loved to walk in the Footsteps of the Flock, that is, of thefe of whofe Piety we had the beft Security.

23, Eighthly, The direct Oppofition, efpecially of the Pelagian Notions, to my own Experience, and that of all the Fearers of God I converfed with, as well as the Scrip tures, was a very great Relief.

24. Ninthly, One Thing that made me always read Arminians and Socinians with a juft Jealoufie, was a clear View of their fcandalous Difingenuity in mifreprefenting the Opinions they oppofed.

25. Tenthly, When I ferioufly viewed the Difficulties they urged against the Truth, I oft found them caught in the Thicket, and as deeply faftned and intangled in the fame, or other full as great or greater Inconveniencies.

26. Eleventhly, The fore-mentioned View of the Defign of the Gospel, as represented from the firft of the Corinthi ans, was of great Ufe.

27. Twelfthly, God very oft, when I was perplexed about particular Scriptures, gave me a View of their Meaning in his own Light, opened them to me; and after him Temptations fpoke not again.

28 Many'