32 The Fliilders of Babel Gen. 3.7. and refolve to a& like wife men, and make all fecure for thentfelves; their building Thal belirQn? and durable, and their materials accordingly : Bricks.throuuhlyburnt, which. Thal not fail and moulder away that is, the things that he chufeth fhal be things agreeable to his own liking, and they nmft beof his own inventing, elle he wil put no con- fidLnce in them ; none fhal chufe for him : whatever it be that wil advance man and make him fomething and great, as to himfelf and others, and things that men efteern highly of, thole he chufcth : Nay, and not onely fo, but he wil have fómething ofhis own to trtifi to, to conic into the pre- fence ofGod with, and hewil frame to himfelf a religion and a righteoufnefè that Thal avail before Gode which he Thal accept, and in which himfelf may put confidence. And here now poor man hath deluded himfelf, and they bave made them(elves aprons, and (as they think) a fecure Co- vering : herebath he madehimfelf a filcher and aTaberna- cle, and built up to himfelfe a Tower reaching to Heaven, and fo (hall prevent deftru&ionand condemnation ; When man begins thus to 'build, he chufeth (as he thinks) the likeliefl and the probablefi means for his fecurity , and in his conceit builds fofirong, that no winds nor no flow, s caii (hake him, nor no delugeoverflow bis building : and fo confident he is, that he thinks the power of Heaven and Earth can never (hake this building : for the Top thereoffhall reach to Heaven:he is fo far fafe,that he is fheltered from the wrath ofGod, and from thefrowns ofGod : he hath gotten fuch a righteoufnefs and fuch a conformity to the rule and mind of God, thathe is as it wereaperfec`i man, he fees lit- tle anti-ffe in him : and thoughhemay inwords confelle he is afanner, yet let but any one fn be charged upon him, and hehash (as he thinks) a fufficient excufe,andwil clear him- f elf from all fin. b'ut is this all the endof this firong and ftately building no ; But let us make us a Name, leafs we beJcat tered upon the face of the whole earth : Leaft we fhould be in as bad a condi- tion as others are, and as the wickedof theworld are : we wil be wifer, and condemn them, wewil not be like the Publicans,
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