938 A Difcourfe of the Fear of God. .. ~of Divinity~hath in his Head the _moft fublime Notions;_ yet'if;~~ Chap. 1 ~-not xhe Fear, of God, that Knowledg: IS no more able to fati>fie his Soul, than tile ~P1Elure of a great Feaft JS able to fausfie the Appetite of one that .is almoft ilarv d with Hunger; this can never render a Man ~appy. VJc read of Dtves when he w~s in Hell, he had a Heaven and a Bleffednefs 10 Ius Eye, but they did him no good. ~~;thi~ ~~~~- k~~~~~~~~ ~:~~~~'~c~dat~;r~~~~~r:}';'na~'I~~o;:~': i;7e~~~,~'n \~~~gl~r~~~: yet he neither knows its Vertue nor its Operation, nor how to prepare it for a Me~ dicinc: So many Perfons among us, who know in general what the Truths of Religion are; as to their Praaice, as to the Vertue and Operation ?f them, they are ut.. terly Strangers. Pfal. 95· to. There is a notable Expreffion, ltti a people that do err in th~,.; Hearts, and they have 110t known m) wap. A frrange ~xprcffion, that the lfra· elsw lhould not !mow the Ways of God, who had recewed InftruElions miracu. loufly from Heaven; the meaning of it I conceive_ to be this, This People do err in their Hearts, and they have not my Ways (m thetr Hearts) they had luch a T<nowledgeofGod's Ways, asaManhathofa Country by a Map, but they had not the experimental Knowledge of God's Ways. Now you know a Perfon rim is 10 walk imo a fl:range Country, it is far better for him to have a beaten Path, and the Di r e~ Cl:ions of an ordinary Traveller, than to ha~e the mo!l: accurate Geographical Defcription of it, and he fi1all fooaer come to hJS Journey• end; fo that Perfon that defires to attain Everlafting Reft, let him walk in the ficps of thole before him that have attained the place, and let him experience thofe Truth~ they have praEliced in the Fear of God, and fa he fhall attain it. So th'at in refpeEl of the Glory of God and the Reft of the Soul, it is notthc bare Knowlege of dtvinc Truths that can malt~ us wife: But let me annex ~· A third thing, which is this; the bare Kno\vfedge of divine Truths is fo far froin attaining th~s double end, that where ~t is dJS!OY' ed fr?m d1e Fear of God, ji <1ggravates the rume of a Perfon; and therefore th1s can never render a Man wife. This Knowled~e will_ light .a .Man to a brighte~ Uamna~ion. There are many Perfons that are right 1.n .their Opm~ons, but have VIle ~ffeC.hons ;.a~d the _Knowledge of thefe perfans wtll mcreafe thetr Sorrow; they are like the Ethsoptam that have a bright Eye in a dark Body, fa the~ have much Knowledge. wlu!e they walk in the Ways of Sin: llut in Conclufion, thiS Knowledge ofthetrs wtll be like a Talent of Gold to a Man that is in the Sea, it will drown him the fooner, and fink him the deeper· fa it is here, their Knowledge ofdivine things will fink them dee]JCrin the Wrath ofGod, an ignorant Wretch lhall have a cooler Hell ~ban. thefe fubltmated Chniltans that are without the Fear of the Lord. The Sum ts thts, put It thus to your fclves; what a Folly is it for men to be difputing of Religion and. Heaven, while others that are Iefs !wowing furprize it, like that perfon that was gazmg on the Moon till he fell into a ~}''tl:p~,~~:.rk ~~~:~~~su~i:ht~~~a~~:or a Ttme, but at !aft falls iota the Net V(e 4· 1 his Confideration, that the Fear of God is Wifdom, fhews unto us the Falfnels of that finful Craft which is fo much ufcdin the World; when men defign by the night of Brain to over-reach their Neighbours, and this they efteem their Glory. There are many among us that live according to that Hell-bred Proverb, That Plain ·de<lmg ts •1ewel, but he th41 ufeth it {ball dte • Beggar; I co1fefs, if this Proverb were true, it is a Wonder, fince we havefo many dill10neft men among us, that fo many die Beggars: But know thus much, That that perfon that employs his Underftanding to dece1ve Ins Netghbour, that perfon winch doth affeEl the Glory of Acutenefs in the ways of Sin, doth but the more ~onform bimfelf to the Devil, who is a Spirit of great Knowledge, but of greater W1ckednefs. Happy are thofe Souls that do not enter into Sin's Secrets; I will onely fay thus much to thefe perfon•, thofe that now employ their parts in the ways of Sin, God will hereafter employ his Wifdom to contrive a puniihmentfor them; and when the infinite Wifdom of God lhall contrive a punilhment, and the infinite Power of God infliEl it, there will be a proportionable RecorRpence for all their Guilt. So much to difcoverrhofe feveral forts and degrees of f&l~ W ifdoms that are in the World. CHAP.
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