Hooker - BT780 H7 1637

38o The Souks e,(feF,luaíl cafling to Chríft. fathers and Gal. IA t 4. Heeprofited in the Iewi(h re- ligion exceedingly, andyet all thiswhilehe confef feth that bee was an unbeleever, i Tim. I. 13. Lattly,the powerofmeans are notable to frame the foule tothis bleflèd gift cf beleeving : a man would thinke that ifamans paines were great and themeans powerful', that this would undoubted. ly worke faith, but yet this will not doe it nei- ther : for then Ierufalem that hadall the Prophets to foretell a Chrift, and all theproclamationsof iohn Baptifl, andChrift himfelfe preaching, that fpake as never mandid, and betides all thele, Thee had miracles expreffing thepower ofGod,tocon- firme that dofrine,yet the fatsfhort ofthe work; as, Iohn 12.3 7. Though they tawmany miracles, yet they beleeved not in chri(i: they had all thePro- phets and Apoftles, and all the facrifices and fer- vices, and thither the Tribes went up, and all the helpe that ever any had, and yet they belee- vednot : and therefore it is that Chrift upbraids them heavily for their fearful' fcandalous hard- neffe ofheart, Matthew I I.16.He compareth them to littlechildren f tting in the marketplace,andcalling unto theirfellowes, faying, we havepiped to you, and yehave not danced; weehave mourned.untoyou, and yebave not lamented: that is, nomeans in the world wouldworke upon them: JohnBaptifl came in the way ofhumiliation, and Chrift came in the way ofcomfort, but all wouldnot prevaile with their hearts, no Law, norGofpell. &gig, But youwill fay, if this bee fo, that neither a mans endevonri4northemeans will make a mari .able

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