a Funeral Sermon. zz" See, a good man how littlehe pleafeth himfelf in any a&ion ofhis life, in any performance of duty that he does. He cannever think that he does well enough, whatever he does, but Dill defires to do otherwife, and would fain do better. There is an affe&iotr of modefky and humility , which (kill accompanies real piety and every pious man is an humble modell man, and never reckons him- felfa perfe& proficient, or to be advanced above teaching : but is content and cove- tous to bea continual learner,to know more thenhe knows, and ro do better then he does : yea, and thinks it no difparagement to his graces at all, to take advice, and to Peek inflruótion, where it is to behad. A proud man is evermore high and lofty in his own conceit, and none is fo wife ashe, none fit and worthy enough to teach him : what doff thou teachera? (aid the Pharifees (you know) co the blind man in the Gofpel,7ohn 9.35. oh; but an humble man, is ever meekand lowly inhis own eyes, and takes it well ; yea, and is glad anddefirousto be taught. Accordingly, O teach me, fays holy David, to do the thing that pleafeth thee, Pial, 143. ro. and here in the Text : So teach usto numberour days. Sr. Paul, sTim. 4. 3. reports it of force, So ,7 OfgOlIS A&RAW sew tieçrorna, who will not endure found doCirine. But filch, what kind of men they are, he plainly defcribes in the fame Epifkle. Men that run after their own lurks, men that (leer altogether by the compa(sof their private fancies and inventions, making their pride and ambition the foie ground and Oracle of their Religion. The fame report does holy Davidalfo make of force fuch in his time, Pfal. 84.4. (accord- ing to our Pfalter Tranflation) they will not be learned, nor underhand : as who would fay, they are above a teacher, they (corn to be taught, that they may be infkru&ed, they will not endureto be learned,that they maybe brought tó a better knowledge and underftandingofthemfelves 5 they reckon themfelves wife enough, and knowing enough, and learned enough. But did Mofes in the Text think fo of himfelf? and yet (you know) he was a man of men. As to his intelle&uals, at.esátvtcir® 'mdep 7 Copla, Xi. 7. 22. learned in all the Widens of the Egyptians. And thenas co his fpirituals vas-es de gain, faithful inall btu houfe,and yet (fee) as learned a Schollar,and asexcellent a Saintas he was, he difdainednot at inf eu&ion, he thought it no (corn to Mercerand beg, and pray robe taught. Soteachus tonumber our days. In truth it is amatter this, ferioufly tobe laid to heart by us, for learning is a dangerous flare. And yamaura, fays the Apofkle, r Cor.8. I. ,knowledge puf eth up, and great wits areufually great temptations, and people arenaturally apt co admire them, and delight in them,as children do in babies and pietures; not confidering, that great witsare many times condemned togreat follies and indif- cretions and that our more refined reafons, and molt fkudied Philofophy of all, lays, (Godwet) within a very narrow compafs : neither is there the viler} creature in the world, but is able to pofe us, why fuch an hair is white, fuch black, or why fuch a part of the body rs fo figured, fuch otherwife ; and we are forced at lark, to fly to the difpofition and natureof thefirfl matter, which is indeed but a fan&uary of ignorance, and nothingbetter thena modell confeffion, that (true indeed) there is acertain reafonof all therethings, but it isbeyond our reach,and we know it not. And have wenot then great reafon to cry out, and pray with Mofes here in the Text, Oteach us? Efpecially, if we confider, how few things (in comparifon) they are which we know, and how imperfe&ly (as to the man- ner of knowledge) we knowwhatever we know. And to give you a clear proof hereof, I (hall neither carry you up intothe heavens to fee what is done there, nor down into the depths to enquire and fearch what is lodged there : for do but take the daily and natural occurrences of our lives, and they alone will fuf- ficiently prov e the point. When we are born, we cannot tell whether or no we (hall live ; when we live, we cannot tell how long, or how (hors it may be ere we dye ; and if we are folittle knowing, and fo groflyignorant of matters which fo nearly concern us, how much more probably of other things? can we think that chore eyeswhichare fo weak and dimfightednigh hand and at home, Ihould ever fee much afar off and at difkance? Oh !
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