and he proceeds daily in acting that over again. For what was it destroyed Adam, but the preferring of the tree of knowledge before the tree of life? 21. St. James, speaking of such person so ensnared, seems to take much of the envy and deceit of so cruel deceit and cozenage, as this is, from off the devil, and to lay it upon themselves: "Be not hearers of the word only, but doers also ; deceiving yourselves." He confesses such to be fools, cozened and deceived people; but themselves, saith he, are their own cheaters; wherein lies a strong emphasis, expressing the extreme unhappiness of such poor deceived wretches. If the cunning insinuation of one, that for his own ends pretends friendship to me, draw me into some inconvenience or danger, the world will think me a fool for being so catched, and not being able to dive and pierce into his secret purposes: but this folly is not of so perfect a strain, but that it may deserve both excuse and pity. But that man that spends his whole life in contriving and plotting, and laying snares for his own soul; if, after all this ado, he be indeed caught in the pit, that, with so much pains, he digged only for himself, would not any man forfeit his discretion, that should either excuse or pity him? And in such, or a worse case, is he, that contents himself with bare hearing and knowing the word. 22. Who do you think would undertake to excuse a pharisee, if he should be condemned for want of spiritual wisdom; one whose profession it was, whose trade and course of life, to be con *James i. 22. versant in the Scriptures; who had spent his age in reading the Holy Writ, and teaching others out of it; one that was so curious in having the Scripture always near him, that he wore it continually about him; it was a trimming and ornament to his apparel; it was always in his eyes; it was girded about the wrists of his arms, and instead of a lace or fringe at the bottom of his garment? If one, after all this curiosity of dressing, sedulity in reading, industry in teaching, should, at length, with so good parts, in such good clothes, go down into hell, and so die for want of true knowledge; who would adventure to excuse him, who would dare to pity him? 23. Yet not one or two, but the whole college, the whole faction of them, you shall find, in Matt. xxiii. very near the end, no less than eight woes denounced against them by our Saviour himself (who is not very forward to destroy; he came upon a far other business), and all those woes for their folly and blindness. In the denouncing of every woe, but one, he styles them hypocrites (and a hypocrite, you know, is the veriest fool in the world; for he thinks to couzen and put a cheat upon God, whom yet himself confesses to be omniscient, and who knoweth all things): in that single woe he calls them "blind guides," elsewhere "fools and blind." This was our Saviour's judgment of them, and you may rest upon it, that it was upon sufficient grounds. 24. But their folly and ridiculous madness will yet more appear, if you take notice of the opinion and judgment that these very pharisees gave of themselves: it is in John vii. 48, 49. The occasion of it was this: the great council of the sanhedrin, seeing so many of the ignorant people (as they thought) seduced by our Saviour, to remedy any further spreading of so dangerous a contagion, they, by common advice, send officers to attach him, and to make him sure enough for preaching. The officers find him busy, instructing the people; and, instead of laying hands on him, themselves are even caught, and almost bereft of their infidelity. When sermon was done, they return to their masters, the rulers and pharisees, without their prisoner, and give a good account why they did not fulfil their command, in telling them, they never heard a better preacher in their lives: "Never man (say they) spake like this man." These wise magistrates, pitying the simplicity and easiness of their sergeants, answer them thus: " Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers, or of the pharisees, believed on him? But this people, who know not the law, are cursed:" implying that, if the people had been as well read in the law of God as their teachers were, they would have kept themselves safe enough from the ensnaring sermons of Christ. But now they may see what difference there is between men utterly unacquainted with God's word, and themselves; how subject they are to destruction, and to be cursed of God. 25. How is it possible for the wit of man to imagine folly and madness of a more perfect strain? Our Saviour Christ, who is truth itself, did not exact faith from his followers merely for his miracles' sake, but sent them to search the Scriptures: "For they (saith he) testify of me." And yet these wise men impute it to their knowledge of the law, that they were freed from this curse, into which the poor ignorant people fell. How cunningly have these fools laid a snare for their own lives! 26. Alas! what could the poor people think, when they heard their doctors and magistrates (men that were gods to them, that sat in Moses' chair) condemned of such extreme folly and indiscretion? What will become of us, might they say, if the pharisees (from whom all that we know is but a thin thrifty gleaning) have so many woes denounced against them for want of spiritual knowledge? 27. Certain it was, there were many poor souls whom the pharisees kept out of heaven for company. Our Saviour tells them so much, "Ye neither go into heaven yourselves, nor suffer others to go in:" but they were such as they had infected with their leaven; such as made those rotten superstructions, which those great doctors built upon the word, foundations of their faith and hope. And as certain it is, that many there were, upon whom God, out of his gracious favour and mercy, had not bestowed such piercing brains, and inquiring heads, as to make them acquainted with their dangerous opinions and traditions. They were such as made better use of that little knowledge they had, than to vent it in discourse, or in maintaining opinions and tenets against the church. They heard the word with an humble honest heart, submitting themselves wholly to it, and restored their faith to its proper seat, the heart and affections; and it was fruitful in their lives and practice. The wisdom of Solomon himself, as long as he gave himself to idolatry and luxury, was folly and madness, to the discretion and prudence of these poor despised people. 28. Thus you see, "the fool," that in my text is so mad as to say, "There is no God," may have wit enough to understand more; nay, in the opinion of the world, may make a silly fool of him that has laid up in his heart invaluable treasures of spiritual wisdom and knowledge. And, therefore, the Latin translation, following St. Paul, might more significantly have styled him imprudens than insipiens. For the wisdom which is according to godliness, doth most exactly answer to that prudence which moral philosophers make a general overruling virtue, to give bounds and limits to all our -actions, and to find out a temper and mean wherein we ought to walk: and, therefore, a most learned divine of our church, yet alive, knew very well what he said, when he defined our faith to be a spiritual prudence; implying, that faith bears the same office and sway in the life and practice of a Christian, as prudence of a moral honest man. 29. Now, saith Aristotle, there may be many intemperate, youthful, dissolute spirits, which may have an admirable, piercing, discerning judgment in speculative sciences, as the mathematics, metaphysics, and the like; because the dwelling upon such contemplations does not at all cross or trouble those rude untamed passions and affections of theirs; yea, they may be cunning in the speculative knowledge of virtues: but all this while they are, notwithstanding, utterly, invincibly imprudent; because prudence requires not only a good discerning judgment and apprehension, but a serenity and calmness in the passions. 30. Therefore the same philosopher does wor |
