Ioq. Ephefianr,Ghap.r. V E:)IL .8. Chriftians f If F h' hl child aged old Ch 'í h f Yfe 2. yfe 3. have received (aa) knowledge, in regardof thofe who are more im- peded ; as there are force ri more carnal!, weake, then others, o moreignorant alb. or as t is eart y underftanding is not in that degree in a or young man, as it is in an : So when there are babes, young men, men in rt , t ere is a mea ure in wifdome anfwerableto thefe ages, as it were inChrift ; but Saint Paul here fee- meth to fet this downe, fo as it may admit a common application,rather then otherwife. Seeing then that God dothgive wifdome plentifully toal,towhomhe giveth pardon of fin; how fearful! is their eftate,who even feeme to flie from knowledge! Some thinke ita dangerous thing to knowmuch; they will live without laving light, rather thendifquiet their fleepe; force hope iftheybe butbaptized,and can their praiers,Creede,and that men muff love God above all,their neighbours asthemfelves,they think they know enough,and whocan teach them more ! Nay, evenin thefe daies oflight, force will fpeake as iftheywould bring people to the old implicite faith : Some are fo without underftanding, that ifyou aske them any common queftion,they are ready to put it offthey are not book- learned : askethem a reafon of that they doe, they havenothing buta childifhimitation; they [eeothersdoe f ; they putofunderftanding more fully, as ifit were a thing appropriated to our coate. Sufpeet your felves. 1 While the darkneffeofnight abideth,who will thinktheSunne is rifen ! and how can the Sunne of righteofneffe be rifen in thy heart , who(till doff remaine in fo great darkneffe ! Some cry out againft muchknow- ledge,they fay,men livedbetter whenleffe was knowne;as ifthey would fet that on föote againe,that ignorance is she mother ofdevotion ; orwere of the mind, that men might have too muchoftheir heavenly fathers bleffing.;Finally, fuchasupbraid Chrilians,counting it pride in themto take upon them knowledge in the Scriptures,orjudgementin theparti- cularities ofdivinitie. Let us feeke to God for wifdome, feeing he will give plentifully, even that annointing which (hell teach usall neceffary things : As God hath not fet any certaine degreeof fanâification,which fhall ferve us for falvation;fo he bath not hinted us toany certaine degree ofknowledge, but would have us feeke tobe filledwith all knowledgeand wifdome, ashe would have us flrive toperfeEtion ofholineffe : Wherefore though we fee but things, as the blinde mandid when now he was rclored, yet we neede not be difmaied while we hive to makeproceeding. We takegreat paines to get the knowledge ofearthly things, and we efteeme itas a great benefit to have infight into earthly matters, whichbelong to our elates ; but what is it to havethisunderftanding in the things which concerne our heavenly conditionithe rather let us feeke,becaufe God will heare us gracioufly. He who anfwered Solomon, feeking politike wifdome, and granted him aboveall he did thinke and aske ; what would hedoc to us, wereour hearts fct to beg heavenly under- handing .' This muff comfort us,whohave received our part in this heauenly wifdome.
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