74 TheVignitieoftheSciiptute. them; or wee thinke in a burthen, anda kinde ofrefraint tobee tyed toobfetti6 them. Thus wee are like veto thole ofwhome God complainethby 'crania bler.z.r . They heteforfaken me (faithhe) thefoamaineofliningWaters ,anddiggetbemfb;et 3 pities, men brokenpits that can hoick nowater h; fo we letgoo thebenaduicewhich cannot cue, and deuìfe rules and precepts toourfelues, which mull needesde- One vs. To reforme this commoncull, letvs remember what weehaue heard, viz. that Godbath furnilhed hisword with varietyofdireaions,theprecepts of it are ofequall largneffe to ourfpiritualioccafronseas manyas Welkeaccording to íGal,6,i6, this rule, peace Jhallbevpon them i (faith the Apoflle :) but toeuery other courfe whatfoeuer itbe ; we may boldly apply the laying ofSalomon: There is a way that k Proux4a,, feemet @right toa man,but the quo:thereofare theways ofdeathk,And thusmuch ofthecommendationgiuen to theLawofGod, it is largein matter,andabound- ding withvariety ofdoetrine. Dottrine z. Nowfolloweth to fpeakeof thenext thingby whichit is t smmended;lt it pre. Lions, the value andprice of the matter, lothequal!the largeneffèand varietyof it: The precioufneffeand excellency may many wavesbeemade knowne veto vs; firI by the Author of it, which is Gerd, forwhich caufe it is fooftencalled the Jy,Pee,i.z5. word ofGod ; the lawofGodm; the comnJellofCod ";the oraclesofGod "; Thewhole rn Pfal,t:a, Smiptnre Was g ;uen (faithPaul) by infpirationofGodPf Audit came (faith Saint_ n A. no. 27. meter) not by the Will ofman but ofthe holyGbäfí v; and, dhave written it (faith her oRom, ;,z. heere in my Text, So that it is no idle tale, deuifed as Atheifts fay, by the.witte p z.Tim.z.r6' ofman to keepe the vulgar fubieâiotg but itis theVet windeoft God, and q P y Prou.i,a;. the very cxpelle patternofthat truth,which isoriginally in thefountaine ofall truth, which is the Lord. Secondly,bythe matterof it; thematter of theScrip: tare is in a word,thatgrear mi(ièryg fGodlinrße, ofwhich the Ape lle(peaked:, f r,Tiro,;,sci, Godmanifefied in the ¡lefts' &c. A gloriosso miller) r e Ahidmyfterie whichnone ,Col.ra7, ofthe 'Princes of thisworldcould know °: Amyfterie whichcomanby the wit of lu. Cor,a,S. man in euer able ro conceiuc; A myllerie which the Angels'inheauendoead. mire, and the diuellsin hell dot trembleat; AmyfteriewhichtheAtheiftsin there mouthes doe fco(fe at, but evenat the fametime in theirhearts, doequake to confider. This is the matter oftheScripture, lefts Chrilt,yeferdety, today, thefameferener; hee is theyea, and theamen i ofall thepromifen, the Alpha, y s,Cor,r,zo, and the Omega, thefir t, and theGaff =, the pithand marrowof thewhole. Third- sB,csc,t,e,. ly, by the Isle of it : Falnefe ormaieftie infìmplicirie ofwords, the like temper no where elfeto beefoundinanyhumane writer wh¡tfoeuer. Iknowthatinfundry parcels of the Scripture, there are tobefeene m 'any morethenfrppesor prints ofeloquence, which the wifedome ofGoddid to makevn know, thathe could if it had pleafed him , hauefretted (as it were) thewhole volumeof theBooke' with excellency ofwords ; yet generally it isfocarried, in fuch a lowe phrafeof fpeech, which yet Both not fauourof any earthly mould, burmakes a manwen as it were in difpight ofhimfelfe toadmire it :Thy reJlimonies arewonderjAll (faith Dauid,) yet in thenextverfe hefaith, the entrance into themßseweebligbe,andgins aPfol,tri, vnderftanding 0:fo that thereis a depthofmyfterie in plainnesofwords.Fourth- 109 30' ly, theend ofit; the endof the Scripture is notto pleafe theidle humours with variety ofdelightful matters, neithertoexercife bufre wits withfubtilitieofque- fions, nor tobee as a matter oflodeonly to acquaint menwith thecourfe of nimes,nor tofurnifir men withabilitytod;fcoutfe;thewordofGod aimes at none ofthefe ends, (whichyet notwithflanding arethe cheife fcope, and menthehap- 6 2.Tim.3:7 g pines ofthe moft Authors,)but it deities at this onepoinr,ro make amanwifevmo c Pfakro.ir, fahostion b.To :thew thepathof life ;Toguldeanr feet into theWay efpeaced; wemay d reade is the great booke of the creatures(as Imay focall ir)inuftblethingsof eRom, a ,ao God bis eterna8powerandGodbeod ;yetthe knowledgeofGod gotten there,is of nopower, bur onely tomakevsinexcufable. And therfor 'asidhauingfpoken of the tuaienieofGod whichappeares men inthecreationof things, comesac daft
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=