character of the persons, "Who is wise, he shall understand," &c. Secondly, From the nature of the doctrine taught, "For the ways of the Lord are right." Thirdly, From a double use and fruit of it made by different sorts of men: to the "just," it is a way of happiness; they will "walk :" to the "wicked," it is an occasion of stumbling; they will "fall therein.”

Touching the persons, we observe two things; the one intimated, their paucity; the other expressed, their prudence.

SECT. 4. From the former consideration we may note, That there are few men who are wise unto salvation, and who do seriously attend and manage the ministry of the Word unto that end. If there be any kind of accidental 'Lenocinium' to allure the fancies, or curiosities, or customary attendances of men on the ordinances; elegancy in the speaker, novelty and quaintness in the matter, credit or advantage in the duty; upon such inducements, many will wait on the Word, some to hear a sweet song f; others to hear some new doctrines; some for loaves, to promote their secular advantages"; having one and the self-same reason of following Christ, which the Gadarenes had, when they entreated him to depart from their coasts. But very few there are who do it propter se,' and with respect to the primary use and intention of it. Our prophet seems to do as the philosopher did, who lighted a candle at noon to find out a wise man indeed; "to run to and fro through the streets, and in the broad places, to find out a man that seeketh the truth," as the Lord commanded the prophet Jeremy *. How doth the most elegant of all the prophets complain, "Who hath believed our report1?" How doth the most learned of the apostles complain, that the preaching of the gospel was esteemed foolishness m?' Noah was a preacher of righteousness to a whole world of men, and yet but eight persons saved from the flood, and some of them rather for the family's sake than their own". Paul preached to a whole academy at Athens, and but a very few

h John vi. 26.

f Ezek. xxxiii. 32. g Acts xvii. 19. i Rari sunt qui philosophantur, Ulpian. P. de Excusationibus Leg. 5.—Rari quippe boni, numero vix sunt totidem quot Thebarum portæ vel divitis ostia Nili;

Jer. v. 1.

1 Isai. liii. 1. xlix. 4.

m 1 Cor. i. 23.

Juven. Sat. 13.

n 1 Pet. iii. 20,

converted; some disputed, and others mocked; but few believed the things which they were not able to gainsay. Hezekiah sent messengers unto all Israel, to invite them unto the true worship of God at Jerusalem; but they were mocked and laughed to scorn, and a remnant only humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem P; whereunto the prophet seemeth to allude 9. Though a gun be discharged at a whole flight of birds, there are but few killed; though the net be spread over the whole pond, but few fishes are taken; many thrust their heads into the mud, and the net passeth over them and so most hearers do busy their heads with their own sensual or worldly thoughts, and so escape the power of the Word. In the richest mine that is, there is much more earth and dross digged out, than pure metal. Christ's flock in every place is but a little flock';' 'few chosen ;' few saved ';' few that find the narrow way which leadeth unto life "." The basest creatures are usually the most numerous, as flies and vermin; those that are more noble, are more rare too. The people of the God of Abraham are, in the scripture-style, 'princes and nobles ';' and how few are such kind of men in comparison of the vulgar sort! They are indeed many in themselves; but very few and thin, being compared with the rest of the world.

It

SECT. 5. We must learn therefore not to be offended or discouraged by the paucity of sincere professors, no more than we are in a civil state by the paucity of wise counsellors and politicians, in comparison of the vulgar people. is no strange thing at all in any societies of men, to see the weaker part more than the wiser. If but few attend the right ways of the Lord, and walk in them,-remember it is a work of wisdom; and such wisdom as cometh from above, and hath no seeds or principles in corrupt nature out of which it might be drawn; nay, against which, all the vigour of carnal reason doth exalt itself; so that the more natural

• Acts xvii. 34.

r Luke xii. 32.

vii. 13, 14.

p 2 Chron. xxx. 10, 11.

q Isai. xvii. 6. xxiv. 13. t Luke xiii. 23. u Matth.

s Matth. xx. 16.

* Τὰ μέγιστα μονοτόκα τῶν ζώων ἐστι. Arist. de Generat.

Anima. lib. 4. cap. 4.-Unum pario, sed Leonem: vid. Aul. Gell. 1. 13. c. 7.Gesner. de quadruped. in Elephanto, et Leone. C.

xvii. 11. 1 Pet. ii. 9.

y Psalm xlvii. 9. Acts

4 Heb. ii, 10. Rev. vii. 9.

Therefore, First, In the must continue our labour,

wisdom men have, the more in danger they are to despise and undervalue the ways of God, as being better able to reason and to cavil against them. ministry of the word, we though Israel be not gathered 4. We must stretch out our hands, though it be to a disobedient and gainsaying people. Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, we must speak unto them, be they never so rebellious; and the reason is, because the Word is never in vain, but it doth ever prosper in the work, whereunto God sends it "." If men be righteous, they walk; if wicked, they stumble ; and in both, there is a sweet savour unto God. God's work is accomplished, his glory promoted, the power of his gospel commended, in the one and the other *;-as the virtue of a sweet savour is seen as well by the antipathy which one creature hath unto it, as by the refreshment which another receiveth from it;-the strength of a rock, as by holding up the house that is built upon it, so by breaking in pieces the ship that doth dash against it;—the force of the fire, as well by consuming the dross, as by refining the gold;-the power of water, as well in sinking the ship that leaks, as in supporting the ship that is sound. The pillar of the cloud was as wonderful in the darkness which it cast upon the Egyptians, as in the light which it gave unto the Israelites: the power of the angel as great in striking terror into the soldiers, as in speaking comfort unto the women". Secondly, In attendance on the Word, we must resolve rather to walk with the wise, though few, than to follow a multitude to do evil, and to stumble with the wicked, though they be many; rather enter the ark with a

ii. 7.

■ Pudet doctos homines ex discipulis Platonis fieri discipulos Christi, &c. vid. Aug. de Civ. Dei. 1. 10. c. 29. et 1. 13. c. 16. et Ep. 102. b Matth. xi. 25. Acts iv. 11. John vii. 48. 1 Cor. xx. 28. ii. 8. 2 Cor. x. 5, 6. • FolioEdition, p. 595. d Isai. xlix. 4, 5. • Isai. xlix. 4, 5. f Ezek. g Isai. lv. 11. Η Υπακούουσιν εὐαγγέλιον, παρακούσασιν κριτήριον. Clem.Alex. Protrept. ed. Potter, vol. 1. p. 90. i 2 Cor. ii. 15. * Vultures unguento fugantur, et scarabæi rosa. Plin. et Ælian. Kavėágovs podívų Xgwbévras μúgy TEλευτήν λέγουσι. Clem. Padag. 1. 2. c. 8. Ο γὰρ Στωϊκὸς ἔρως, ὥσπερ οἱ κάνθαροι λέγονται τὸ μὲν μύρον ἀπολιπεῖν· τὰ δὲ δυσώδη διώκειν. Plut. Quod Stoici doceant absurdiora poetis. Xyland. tom. ii. p. 1058. Múpov tỷ wepiσtepâ púμn, tw δὲ κανθάρῳ φθορά. Nissen. Hom. 3. in Cantic. Τὸν αἴλουρον ὀδμῇ μύρων ἐκταράτTeodai kal paíveodai Xéyovoi. Plut. in Conjugalib. præcept. I Exod.

few, than venture the flood with a world of sinners; rather go three or four out of Sodom, than be burnt for company. We must not affect a humorous singularity in differing unnecessarily from good men, being one for Paul against Apollos, another for Apollos, against Cephas; but we must ever affect a holy and pious singularity in walking contrary unto evil men, in shining as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation". For the righteous is more excellent than his neighbour. Though there be but few in the way, there will be many in the end of the journey: as the tribes and families went up divided towards Jerusalem; but when they were come thither, they appeared, every one of them, before God in Sion P.'

SECT. 6. Secondly, In that the prophet calleth upon his hearers to attend unto his doctrine by this argument, because it will be an evidence of their prudence and wisdom, we learn, That true and solid wisdom doth draw the heart to know aright; namely, to consider and ponder the judgements, blessings, ways, and Word of God, in order to the chief ends, and accordingly to direct all their conversation: for, in God's account, that knowledge which doth not edify, is no knowledge at all. None are his wise men, which are not wise unto salvation; who do not draw their wisdom from his Word, and from his commandments".

There is a twofold wisdom', as the philosopher distinguisheth, σοφία ὅλως and κατὰ μέρος; wisdom in some particulars -as we esteem every man who is excellent in his profession, to be a wise man eo usque,' so far as concerns the managing of that profession;-as when a man knows all the necessary principles and maxims of that way wherein he is, the right ends thereof, and the proper conclusions deducible from those principles, and dirigible unto those ends. And next, wisdom in general, and in perfection; which is of those principles, ends, and conclusions, which are universally and most transcendently necessary unto a man's chiefest and most general good and this the philosopher calleth the knowledge of the most excellent and honourable things ", or of the last

D Phil. ii. 15.

viii. 2.

• Prov. xii. 26. P Psalm viii. 4, 7. q 1 Cor. r2 Tim. iii. 15. • Psalm xix. 7. cxix. 98, 99. Jer. viii. 9. t Eth. 1. 6. c. 7. - Επιστήμη τῶν τιμιωτάτων. Eth. 1. 6. c. 7. Ἡ ἀρχι κωτάτη καὶ ἡγεμονικωτάτη, καὶ ἡ ὥςπερ δούλας οὐδ ̓ ἀντειπεῖν τὰς ἄλλας επιστή

end and chief good of man. Now the end, by how much the more supreme, perpetual, and ultimate it is, by so much the more it hath of excellency and goodness in it, as bearing thereby most exact proportion and conveniency to the soul of man. For the soul, being immortal itself, can have no final satisfaction from any good, which is mortal and perishable; and being withal so large and unlimited, as that the reasonings and desires thereof extend unto the whole latitude of goodness, being not restrained unto this or that kind, but capable of desiring and judging of all the different degrees of goodness which are in all the whole variety of things, it can never therefore finally acquiesce in any but the most universal and comprehensive goodness, in the nearer or more remote participation whereof consisteth the different goodness of all other things.

SECT. 7. This supreme and absolute goodness can, indeed, be but one, all other things being good by the participation of that. There is none good but One, that is God'.' But because there are two sorts of men in the world, righteous and wicked, the seed of the woman, and the seed of the serpent; therefore, consequently, there are two sorts of ends, which these men do differently pursue. The end of wicked men is a happiness, which they, out of their own corrupt judgements, do shape themselves, and unto which they do finally carry all the motions of their souls, called in Scripture, the pleasures of sin,' and 'the wages of iniquity:' that thing, whatsoever it is, for obtaining whereof men do direct all their other endeavours, as profit, pleasure, and honour, or power; and there are mediums exactly proportionable unto these ends, namely, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. And there is a wisdom, consonant unto these ends and means, and fit to direct and manage these lusts unto the attaining of those ends; which therefore the apostle calleth the wisdom of the flesh,' or corrupt nature, and St. James, a wisdom 'earthly, sensual, and devilish;' 'earthly,' managing the lusts of the eyes unto the ends of gain; sensual,' managing

* Vide Heb. xi. 25.

μας δίκαιον, ἡ τοῦ τέλους καὶ τἀγαθοῦ τοιαύτη. Arist. Metaphys. edit. Du Val vol. 4. p. 288. Πολλῶν καὶ θαυμαστῶν ἐπιστήμη. Rhet. 1. 1. c. 37. Field of the Church, 1. 1. c. 1. 2 Pet. ii. 15. 1 John ii. 16.

y Matth. xix. 17.

b Rom. viii. 7.

e James iii. 15.