172 7he Life of Faith. at hathdone between the Greek and Latine Churches, and be- tween thole called Orthodox and Catholick, and many through the world that have been numbered with Hereticks ; it would be too large a fubjc& for our forrow andcomplaints. Dire&t. g. Abhor prefumptucuc curiofities in enquiring into the fecret things of God; much more in pretending to know theca and molt of all in reviling and contending agaínff others upon tbofe pretences. It is fad to obferve abundance of feemingly learned men, who arc pofed in the fmallclt creature which they fludy, yet talking as confidently of the unfcarchable things of God ; yea and raving as furioufly and voluminoufly againít all that con- tradi6them, as if they had dwelt in the inacccfîble light, and knew all the order of the as of God, much better than they know themfclves, and the motions of their own minds ; or better than they can anatomizea worm or a beaft. They that will not prefume to fay, that they know the (secrets of theirPrince, or theheart of any of their neighbours; yea they that perceive the difficulty of knowing the hate of a mans own foul, becaufe our hearts are a maze and labyrinth, and ol.t thoughts fo various and confuted, can yet give 'you fo exact a Scheme of all Gods conceptions, that it (hail be no lets than herdic to queftion the order of any part of it. They can tell you what Idea's are in the mind ofGod, and in what order they lye ; and how thole Idea's are the farne unchanged about things that are changed ; about things pact, and prefent, and to come ; and what futurition was horn Eternity, as in the Idea of Gods mind ; they can tell me in what order he ktnowetb things, and by what means ; and whe- ther future contingents are known to him in their caufes, or in his decree, or in their coexßence in eternity : They can tell what Decrees he hath about Negatives; as that fuch a man (hall not have Faith given him ; that millions of things poffible thall not be, that you thall not be a plant, or a beatt, nor any other man, nor called by any other name, &c. And how all GodsDecrees arc indeed but One, and yet not only inconceivably numerous, but the order of them as topriority and. potteriority, is tobe exactly definedand dcfended,though to the detriment of charity and peace3 As to fix, they can tell
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