Introdu&. The way to come to Godis by belief. Chap. 4 ti 4. And in Metaphyfrques Dews & c.eleffiafenfibusnon fubjiciunter, God is above nature, and fenfe cangive no reafon nor rules concerningCceleflial matters : our rea- fon and underßanding are confounded, but they are frmpre and unconfounded. There- fore we cannot come CO God by reafon alone, we muff findout fomeother way, t Theway of neceffity then muff be by faith. For take away belief,and overthrow By Faith t. all commerce, menwill be friends to none, nor any to them. Saint fluguff. faith, that if upon our report of that we have feen, to another that was not prefent nor did fee that whichwe related, 'he fhouldnot believe it, unlefs we make proof ofevery cumßance conducing to thefight thereof, nonne adigerit ,sad infaniam, ? would it it not almoftdrive us intomadnefs? z. Again he faith, If a man should come to me and fay, Phew me the trueway by De *What Reafon, and I reply, thou comeft but in the way ofdifâimulatjpn and hypocrifie, not erode"di ad HO" out ofany good meaning : then will hemake proteßation ofhis integrity and good in- HOrat' 1°. tent, and explain it with words, as well as he is able : then I fay, I believe you Sir, yet you cannot perfwade me to it by reafon. And feeing you will have me believe you, is there not as great equity, that you ihould believe me, feeing that your be- lieving me redounds not to my benefit, but your own ? Who dates call in queftion theword of aPrince? andGod being st leafs as good as a Prince, ip/us vyerbo non credere quanta impietiu? it were great impiety nor to believe his Word, Therefore the way by beliefis nor altogether tobe rejected. There are malty thingsthat çannot be demonftrated byreafon, yet ofnece(jity mull bebelieved : as a Father to bea Fa- ther. A man that would travel to a place which he knows not; muff believe thofe that have been there. And if a man returning from travel, report that hebath feen fuch a man, orfilch a place, it were hard he should not be believed except he bring proof or witnefs, it being impotfible to make demon(Lration by reafon, of that or the like. So much for the neceility of Belief. In the way of Faith we arc to obferve foàr Rules. I. It was the Rule of the Heathen, that into what Art foever a Scholar was initi- aced, Oportet difcentem credere, the Scholar muff believe his Maftcr : for whatfoever good we receive at the firft, we receive it from our Teachers. And thisground, hach this Principle, AcTio perfecTi in imperfetîo recipitur, we are imperfeft before we can come to any perfef1ion, firft imperteft, then perfect, Wood receives heat from fire before it can burn and be fire. So Learners receive knowledge by faith from others, Efa 7* q, before they come tobe perfef} themfclves. This is confirmed by the Prophet, Nil; eredidernis, non ffabiliemoni, if you will not believe, furely you (hall not be eta_ blühed, 2. When we have received by belief, then we may Peek for demontrations, eithera priori, orapofferiori to confirm our belief, bccaufc, ut virtütum reliquartem, ira & religionii principio quadam in hobis innata funs, tome principles of Religion as of other virtues are inbred and natural to us, though mooch defaced and depravedby humane corruption : and prissespia re1Qionis on front inter fe contraria, the principles of Religion are not contrary to one another, for then we should never come to any Certainty oftrue knowledge. But Reafon and Religion agree; and the true wor(hip AEts r7, is. of God is proved by the Principles of natural Reafon.True Reafon is an help toFaith, Rom. r ip. and Faith an help to Reafon : But Faith is the Lady, Reafon her dutiful Handmaid, x Faith and right Reafon are not contrary, but ag a r'eatçr and a leffer Light ; yea Faith x is ¡ammo ratio. 3. Having thus fubmitted our (elves tol3elfef, and ftrengthned it with Reafon, we mull look for an higher Teacher. For though Faith he a perfe{l way, yet we being unperfcfb, walkunperfeEìly in it and therefore in thofe things which tranfcend Na- ture and Reafon, we mull believe God only, and pray to him, that by the infpiratiotl ofhis Holy Spirit we may bedirelhed, and kept in thisway. ¢. Becai fe this Infpiration cornerh not totally at the firß, all at once, we mutt grow to perfeduion pedetentim by little and little : and come top by'degrees, till it pleafe him to fend in full nreafure to us. Feffinandum lente we muit haften, yet (lowly, and take heed of and avoidprepropera confconfab; ralh attempts : according to the Prophets Efa. Rule, Qi crediderit non feflinabit, he chat belies erh (hall not makehate, but go on y pet."r, y according to theApofiles gradation; Add Vertue toFaith; and Knowledge to Vertue, &e. and fo by degrees. And
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