ESSAY VIII. 217 convince us of this assertion. St. Paul does not there decide ?the little controversies about observationsOf meats and days,'' hut seems to have them to/charity.' Nor are the lesser points of christianity hàlf so often mentioned, or urged with half so much vehemence, as the grand duties of faith: and love; repentance and holiness.- In matters of lower concernment among thefor- malities and -modes of religion, or even in some higher articles, whose circumstantes and logical relations are not necessary to salvation, thescripture has its buo-vow.ie et fere asuva, as divines call them, that is, almost insolveable difficulties, and things .very hard to be understood by men in this state, at least by corn- mon readers. Sometimes the matter is so sublime, so unlikeall mortal af- faire,'and so divinely superior to every thing here below, that per- haps it was notpossible to describe it fully and plainly in human ivords : And the more enlightened the writer or speaker was; the deeper and more inexpressible might the truths be which he reveals. Our Saviour, has made some Such discoveries at the latter end of his prayer in theivii. of St. John's gospel. Such are the doctrines of the .union or oneness of Christ with God his Father and theoneness or union ofthe saintswith God and Christ. Some ;bugs areconstrained to be expressed in ahuman way less suitable to their own dignity, and yet even then they are not per- fectly easy to beunderstood, for earthly metaphors will not con- vey to our thoughts a full idea of things divine and heavenly. When Christ had been teaching Nieodemus the doctrine of rege- neration ; John iii. 12. he adds; ÍfI have toldyou earthly things and _aje believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly thin_ts ?':. The apostle Paul, the most enlightened of all mere men,- saw and heard some things among his visions and revela- tions, that were unutterable ; '2 Cor. xii. 4. And some things which helms published for the use of the church, according to the wisdomgiven to him, are hard to be understood, as St. Peter himself assures us ; '2 Pet. iii. 16. Again, I might take notice, that in matters which are prophetical both in the Old Testament and ill the New, there are many- darle expressions, many para- bles and hard figures of speech, t.bleb are made use of to ex- press and convey some general and in distinct ideas of future events, which werenot fit to be more fully revealed in that day, and which .only the accomplishment was designed to explain to future days or ages, when these things are crone to pass, then shall ye know that I haveforetold them; John xiii. 19. and chapters xiv. 29.. and xvi. 4. The Spirit of God, for wise ends, bath expressed some things in particular seasons; whether doctrinal or prophetical, in obscure phrases,' capable of a double interpretation. Other things are very briefly ttintod, and the holy writer (loth but just
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