339 : fins; fuch finners can't but look upon the witnefs of fandti- fication, asihe hand-writing upon the wall, Dan.5 .5,6. But, Fou,rthly, There are many who are great flrangers to ,their own hearts and the bleffed Scriptures, and are ignorant of what may be fail from the bleffecl Word, to evidence the lawfulnefs of this praaice that is under our prefent confide- ration. And hence it comes to pafs that they cry down marks and figns, and deny fariaification to be a fare and blefied evi- dence of mens juitification, ,/g.noratfa4e iiwp otita vmhis ; ig- norance is the fource of all fin, the very well-fpring from which all wickednefs cloth iffue. Ignorance infiaves a foul to Satan, it lets in tin by Troops, locks them up in the heart, shuts out the means of recovery, and fo plaillers up a mans eyes, that he can't fee the things that belongs to his own or to others internal or eternal peace. The Scripture fets ig- norant perfons below the Ox and the Ms. Did-men either fee the deformity of fin, or the beauty and excellency of ho- linefs, they would never delight in the one, nor cry down the other. Peter tells you of fome that fpeak evil of the lthings that they underliood not, they did reprehend that which they could not comprehend. Ignorance is a breeding fin, a mother fin, all fins are feminally in ignorance ; igno- rance is the mother of all the miflakes, and of all the mifrule in the world. Chriff told the Sadduces, That they did err not knon,i,vthe Scriptures; and fo I may fay many err in crying down fuch figns and evidences of grace which are bottomed upon Scripture, becaufe they are ignorant of what the Scrip- ture faith in the cafe. But, Fifthly, The generality of Chriftians are but Lambs, Babes and Children in grace, the fprings of grace runs low in them, their fears frequently over-top their faith, and their ftrong paffions and corruptions do often raife fuch a dull and Smoak in their fouls, that if they might have all the world, yea if their falvation lay upon it, they were not ableto dif- cern the leaf' meafure of grace in their own fouls. A little grace is next to none, fmall things are hardly difcernal ; he X x 2. had 4. fis lad n be a ftranger home, and tai be leaf} ac- lquainted with a mans on hearr.,/yeflotie, '1' is faid of knowledge, nog baba irtimicam prfeter ignoran- tern. hra.i. 3. z Pet. z. II; Mar; 2.4. 29. . Ira. 4o, ix. 2. Pet. z. 2, 3. 1 John le
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