on the Nature of God. God ? for God made man at fiat alale to know him ; cer- tainly Adam did know all thefe things perfectly : it was the happiness of Adams in his firft creation to bee able to look upon the face'of God, and know what fuch things as thefe meant; but now liince our fall, wee are Paid not onely to bee in the dark, but darknefs it felf ; and therefore it is Ephl.s. but very little that wee can know of God ; wee have fuch a fight of God, as a poor man that lives all his dayes in a Dungeon , if hee fhould have one day a little crevife opened, where a little beam of the Sun fhould Thine , cer- tainly bee would ( +and and admire at it, if hee never faw it before, but how little would that man know of the nature of the Sun that had but a little crevife opened for a beam to Chine in a little time ? Truly all that ever the Minifters of God can tell you, or if God fhould fend his Angels to preach to open the Nature of God to you , it can bee no other but a little glimmering. But I hope if you bend your mindes you may know fo much as to make you delire after the knowledge of him; for if there bee no other effect than this, et it will bee worth the while to make you to fee that you do not know God ; and therefore your thoughts not £eing thus of God, as I have fpoken, the truth is, you have made God unto your felves but as an Idol ( for if wee con- ceive otherwife of God than hee is , wee do but make him an Idol to our (elves), now, Oh that it might have but this effete at leaft (this that I have faid, with force few other things that are to bee fpoken) to caufe men and women to . humble themfelves before God for want of the knowledge of God, and to bee crying to God , that bee would bee pleafed to make himfelf known unto them in another way than they have known him , that fo when they come to worfhip God , they may bee able to look upon him in ano- ther way than they have done : And therefore I befeech you, bee not difcouraged, to think, I thall never know thefe things, if God be thus, I fhall never know what God is bee not dïfcouraged, for this God hee is able to com- mtiunicate himfelf beyond that way that any creature is able ?1 to
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