Doth not God say, "He that seeketh, shall find ;" and wisdom must be laboriously searched for, as a hidden treasure? And doth not God use to give his blessing, on supposition of men's faithful endeavours?

7. Is it not palpable pride, when a few men, no wiser nor better than others, can easily believe that all the rest of the Christian world, the most learned, godly, and concordant Christians, are all deceived, ignorant souls; and they and their few adherents only are in the right, in some doubtful controversies, wherein they have no advantage above others, either for capacity or grace? I know, that when the world is drowned in wickedness, we must not imitate them, be they never so many, nor "follow a multitude to do evil;" and I know that the certain truth of the Gospel must be held fast, though most of the world be infidels and that when the Arians were the most, they were not therefore the rightest. And that even among Christians, carnal interests use to breed and keep up such corruptions, as must not for the number of the vicious be approved. But when those that truly fear God, and seek the truth, and faithfully serve him as self-denyingly as any others, shall agree in any part of holy doctrine or worship; for a few among them to raise up in a conceit of their own understandings, and separate from them as they separate from the world; and this upon less study than many of the rest have used to find out the truth; I am sure, none but a proud person will do this; without great jealousy of his own understanding, and great fear of erring, and without long and serious search and deliberation at least.

8. Is it not pride of understanding, when we see men confident upon inconsiderable reasons? When they bring nothing that should move a man of any competent understanding; and tyet they build as boldly on this sand, as if they built upon a rock?

9. And when they slight the strongest and clearest arguments of another; and in their prefidence disdain them, before they understand them, as not worthy of consideration, and as silly things?

10. When they obtrude all their conceits magisterially upon others, and expect that all men presently be of their mind, and say as they do. When they value men just as they agree with, or disagree from their opinion; and all are

dear to them, that hold with them; and all are slighted, that think they err. When a man, that without chewing, presently swalloweth their conceits, is taken for a sounder man, than he that will take nothing as sure, till evidence prove it to him: is not this notorious pride of understanding? And O how common is this imposing pride, even in them that cry out against it, and condemn it: they that will vilify one party, as imposing all their own conceptions, even in words, and forms, and ceremonies, on the Churches of Christ, will yet themselves be rigid imposers: no man shall be of their communion, nor judged meet for the holy Sacrament, who cometh not to their opinions in many of their singularities; nay, worse, that will not abstain from communion with other churches, whom their presumption separateth from.

11. And do not those people most value their own understandings, who choose teachers to please them, and not to teach them; and hear them as judges, or censurers, and not as learners? How ordinary is this? If they be to choose a pastor; they will rather have the most injudicious man, who thinks as they think, than the wisest man that is able to teach them better. If they hear any thing which agreeth not with their former conceits, they go away magisterially censuring the preacher; he taught unsound doctrine, dangerous things; and neither understand him, nor endeavour to learn. I have seldom preached in strange congregations, nor seldom written on any subject, but among many learners, some such hearers and readers I have had, that neither have understanding enough to teach, nor humility enough to know it, and to learn: but they go away prating among their companions of what they never understood; and if it fall out that I know of it, and answer them, they have nothing to say, but a 'putaram,' or 'non putaram ;' I thought you had meant thus or thus, contrary to what I spoke; or I noted not this or that word, which the sense depended on. Do but say as they would have you, and you are an excellent man! But if you tell them more than they knew, if it detect any error or ignorance which they had before; they condemn your teaching, instead of learning of you. Poor souls! if you are wise enough already, what need you a teacher? If you are not, why will you not learn? If you were wiser than he, why did you choose or take him for your teacher? If you are not, why will you not learn of him?

12. The deep and cruel censures which they pass against Dissenters, doth shew their self-conceitedness. None more censorious than raw, unexperienced persons, not only ignorant preachers, but women and boys. How readily and boldly, without any fear of God, doth one seek to make his brother odious as a schismatic and a fanatic, and worse than words can describe him; and another to reproach others as antichristian and carnal, whom he never understood! Nothing but pride could make men so ready and bold, and fearless in their most foolish censures.

13. And it further sheweth their proud presumption, when they dare do all this upon bare rumours and hearsay, and ungrounded suspicions. Were they not proud and presumptuous, they would think, alas, my understanding is not so clear and sure, nor my charity so safe and strong, as that I should in reason venture to condemn my brother, upon uncertain rumours, and such slight reports! Have I heard him speak for himself? or is it charity or common justice to condemn a man unheard? What, though they are godly men that report it? So was David, that committed adultery and murder, and hastily received a lie against Mephibosheth; and perhaps many of those Corinthians, against whose false censures, Paul was put so largely to vindicate himself.

14. Yea, when they dare proceed to vend these false reports and censures upon hearsay, to the destruction of the charity of those that hear them; and so entangle them all in sin. As if it were not enough to quench their own love to their brother by false surmises, but they must quench as many others also as they can.

15. Yea, when they dare venture so far as to unchurch many churches, yea, most in the world, and degrade most ministers, if not unchristian most Christians, or at least themselves withdraw from the communion of such churches, and all for something which they never understood; about a doctrine, a form, a circumstance, where self-opinion or self-interest draweth them to all this bold adventure.

To say nothing of condemnations of whole churches and countries, the tyrannical, proud impositions, the cruel persecutions, which the Papal faction hath been guilty of by this vice; judge now whether it be not too common a case to be guilty of an unhumbled understanding, and of pretended knowledge?

Object. If it be so, is it not best to do as the Papists, and keep men from reading the Scriptures, or meddling with divine things which they cannot master, any further than to believe what the Church believeth.'

Answ. 1. It is best no doubt, to teach men to know the difference between teachers and learners, and to keep in a humble, learning state, and in that state to grow as much in knowledge as they can; but not to cast away knowledge, for fear of overvaluing it, nor renounce their reason, for fear of error: no more than to put out their eyes for fear of mistaking by them, or choosing madness lest they abuse their wits: else we might wish to be brutes, because abused reason is the cause of all the errors and mischiefs in the world.

2. The Popish clergy who give this council for the blinding of the vulgar, are worse themselves; and by their proud contendings, censures and cruelties, shew more self-conceitedness than the vulgar do.

3. The truth is, the cause is the common frailty of man, and the common pravity of corrupted nature; and it is to be found in persons of all ranks, religions and conditions; of which more after in due place.

CHAP. XII.

VI. Of the mischievous Effects of this proud Pretence to more Knowledge than men have.

If the mischiefs of this sin had not been very great, I had not chosen this subject to treat of.

1. It is no small mischief to involve men's souls in the guilt of the sins which I named in the last chapter, as the discovery of this vice. Sure all those disorders, censures, slanders, and presumptions, should not seem small in the eyes of any man that feareth God, and loveth holiness, and hateth sin.

2. Pretended knowledge wasteth men some time in getting it, and much more in abusing it: all the time that you study for it, preach for it, write for it, is sinfully lost and cast away.

3. It kindleth a corrupt and sinful zeal; such as James

describeth, (James iii. 1. 15,) which is envious and striving, and is but earthly, sensual and devilish : a zeal against love, and against good works, and against the interest of our brother, and against the peace and concord of the Church; a hurting, burning, devouring, excommunicating, persecuting zeal. And a fever in the body is not so pernicious as such a sinful zeal in the soul. Such a zeal the Jews had, as Paul bears them witness. (Rom. xi. 1.) Such a zeal, alas! is so common among persecuting Papists on one side, and censorious Sectaries and Separatists on the other, that we must all bear the sad effects of it: and self-conceited knowledge is the fuel of this zeal, as James iii. fully manifesteth..

4. This pretended knowledge is the fixing of false opinions in the minds of men, by which the truth is most powerfully kept out. A child will not wrangle against his teacher, and therefore will learn; but these overwise fools do presently set their wits against what you say to keep out knowledge. You must beat down the garrison of his pride, before you come within hearing to instruct him: he is with more difficulty untaught the errors which he hath received, than an unprejudiced man is taught to understand most excellent truths.

5. By this, the gifts of the most wise and excellent teachers are half lost it is full bottles that are cast into these seas of knowledge, which have no room for more, but come out as they went in. If an Augustine, or an Aquinas, or Scotus were among them, yea, a Peter or Paul, what can he put into these persons that are full of their own conceits already?"Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit, there is more hope of a fool than of him."

6. Yea, they are usually the perverters of the souls of others. Before they can come to themselves, and know that they were mistaken, what pains have they taken to make others of their own erroneous minds, whom they are not able afterward to undeceive again?

7. It is a vice that blemisheth many excellent qualifications. To hear of a man that valueth his own judgment but according to its worth, and pretendeth to know but so much as he knoweth indeed, is no shame to him; though knowledge is a thing fitter to be used than boasted of: but if a man know never so much, and can never so well express it,