[1.] How far we are to deny our own wisdom. It concerns us both in doctrinals and practicals.
1. In d(jctrinals. To wave such discourse as is controversial, I shall lay down two propositions.
Ist. Reason must not be heard against scripture.
'Id. Scripture cannot be understood or applied without the Spirit.
[1st] Reason must not be heard against scripture, or be set upas the
Book I.] a treatise of «klf-denial. 215
highest judge in matters of religion ; otherwise we shall soon shift off many ot" the chiefest principles and articles of faith, as the incarnalioTi of Christ, the resurrection of the body, the mystery of the trinity, &c. Who, by his own wisdom, can see God veiled under the curtain of flesh, the root of the vine growing upon one of his own grapes ? Who can see that life must be fetched out of death ? or that one man must be healed by another s stripes ? tiiat the morsels of worms are parcels of the resurrection ? Therefore the first work of grace is to captivate the pride of our thoughts and our prejudices against religion : 2 Cor. x. 5. ' Casting down imaginations, and every higli thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every high thought to the obedience of Christ ; ' captivating every high thought, the inward reasonings of the mind, to the obedience of Jesus Christ. There is viraKoi] Triarea)';, an obedience of faith. Reason must be cap- tivated to faith, though not to fancy ; and if it be revealed, we must believe it, how absurd soever and unlikely it seems to nature. At first conversion our prejudices must strike sail to religion. When our Saviour speaks of the first conversion, he saith, Mat. xviii. 3, that ' wliosoever receives the kingdom of God, he must receive it as a little child.' A little child believes as he is taught ; so must we, as we are taught, — I mean by God, and not by men. You are never fit for heaven nor the understanding of heavenly things, till yon have denied your own wisdom ; that which is above reason cannot be comprehended by reason. All lights must keep their place. There are three lights — sense, reason, and faith. Sense, that is the light of beasts; reason, that is the light of men ; faith, that is the light of the church : all these must keep their place. To consult with nature in super- natural things is all one as if you should seek the judgment of reason among the beasts, and determine of human affairs by brutish instinct. If carnal men should but have lilierty to let nature work, and set down a divinity of their own, what a goodly religion should we have in the world ! A very comely chimera I For practicals, 1 am sure it would be large enough ; natural conscience hates fetters and restraints. And in doctrinals it would be absurd enough ; man can never take a right draught and image of God. We cannot empty the ocean with a cockle- shell ; so neither can we exhaust the divine perfections by the shallow discourse of our reason. The heathens that were most profound in the reseai'ches and inquiry of reason, they sate abrood, and thought of hatching of an excellent religion ; but what was the issue ? Rom. i. 22, 'Professing themselves wise, they became fools.' All thnt they pro- duced was fables, and high strains of folly mixed with popular rites and customs. There are many things that are necessary to religion, which The very angels themselves could not know if it had not been revealed to them : Eph. iii. 10, 'That to the principalities and powers in heavenly ])laces might be known, by the church, the manifold wisdom of God.' The way of salvation by Christ is such a mystery as that it could not have entered into the heart of any creature, no, not of an angel. If an angel had been to set down which way man should be saved ; nay, if all the cherubim and seraphim, thrones, dominions, and powers, if they all had met together in a synod and council, it would have posed ;il1 the woild and the united consultation of angels, to have fonnd
216 A TliEATISE OF SELF-DENIAL. [BoOK L
out such a way. Therefore in those things that are revealed wo must believe God upon his word ; we must believe above and without reason.
[2d.] The scripture cannot be understood nor applied without the Spirit. A blind man cannot see the sun, though it shine ever so clearly ; and so, till the inward light meet with the outward, we cannot appre- hend God's mind — We shall be ' ever learning, and never come to the Icnowledge of the truth.' As the eunuch said to Philip, Acts viii. 32, Philip saith to him, ' Understandest thou what thou readest ? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me.' Whenever you go to the word of God, you must not be your own interpreter ; it must be interpreted by the same Spirit by which it was indited. It is very notable, when Christ himself was the preacher (and certainly none can interpret as Christ could), he expounded the scriptures. But it is said, Luke xxiv. 45, ' Then opened lie their understanding, that they might understand the scripture.' Chri.st, as an external minister, first opened the scriptures, and then, as the author of grace, he opened their understandings, without which they would have been veiled up in clouds and darkness. Mere flesh and blood are apt to stumble in God's plainest ways, and when we rest in the strength of our own reason we shall soon make a contrary and indiscreet use of truth : Hosea xiv. 9, 'Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? The ways of the Lord are right, the just shall walk in them ; but the transgressor shall err therein.' The ways of the Lord become an occasion of ruin to the wicked ; they shall undo themselves by their own apprehensions. Carnal reason turnetli all to a carnal purpose ; as the sea turneth the dews of heaven and the tribute of the rivers into salt water. But they are plain to them that are enlightened by a heavenly light. As the sun draws out a stench from carrion, and a sweet savour from flowers ; or as the pillar of the cloud was ' light to the Israelites, and ' darkness to the Egyptians ; ' so are the ways of God ' the savour of life unto life ' to them that believe ; but unto the other the ' savour of death unto death,' 2 Cor. ii. 16. So Solomon saith, Prov. xvi. 29, 'As a thorn goethup into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of a fool.' The Jews were wont to sew their garments with thorns ; now when he would sew, he wounds and goreth himself, because his spirits are disturbed. Natural men may have literal knowledge, but they turn it to quite another pur- pose ; it were easy to instance in many principles : 1 Cor. vii. 29, ' The time is short,' saith the apostle, what is the use he makes ? To be more strict — ' Let them that have wives be as though they had none,' &c. There is his inference. Now compare it with 1 Cor, xv. 37 ; the epicure draws another inference — ' The time is short.' What then ? Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die.' The apostle presseth strictness, and he presseth jollity. The commonest truth in practical divinity is a mystery, and it must be divinely understood.