Bates - BT775 B274 1675

110 VitOttrinoitv of tile ,t)ibine 2fttriblit0, Chap. .-- fincere and for nlightened Mind ha of it, knowledge s notuncer- tain opinion, but a clear, folid and frm'apprehenfion. 2 Cot. 3..,g, 'Tis a Contemplation ofthe Glory ofGodwith openface. This appears by the effeCls it produces in thofe that have received the true tinîlure of it in their Souls, they defpife all things which carnal Men admire, in comparifon of this ineftimable Treafure. 2. The Dedirine of the Gofpel exceeds all prat-tick Sciences in the excellency of its end, and theefficacy of the means to obtain it. The end of it is, The Supreme Happinefs of Man: the reftoring of him to the Innocence and Excellency of his firfl Rate. And the means are appointed by in- finite Wifdom, fo that the moft infuperable obfacles are removed : and thefe are the Juftice of God that condemns the guilty, and that ftrong and obftinate averfion which is in corrupted man from true Felicity. lIeb, 7. 25, Here is a Mediator reveal'd, who is able to fave to the utterrmofl : who hath quencht the wrath of Godby the Blood of his Divine Sacrifice: who hath expiated Sin by the valueof his Death, and purifies the Soul by the vertue ofhis Life, that it may confent to its own Sal- vation. No lets than a Divine Power could perform this work. From hence the fiiperlative excellency of Evangelical Knowledge doth arife: all other Know- ledge is unprofitable without it, and that alone can Iota, 17.3. make us petted-1y bleffed ; This it Life eternal, to know thee, and Jefs Chrift whom thou haft f nt. I will briefly confider how ineffecîual all other Knowledge is, whether Natural, Political, or Moral, to recover us fromour Mifery. The moff exa& infight into Natural things leaves the Mind blind andpoor, ignorant of Happinefs, and the way to it. Solomon who had an extraordinarymea- lure ;,

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