others à creatione mundi, ex creatione mundis fo Beza. But all these are far enough from the meaning of the place: for their fense is, That the invisible things of God are Teen by the creatures, or by the creation. It is true our Apostle faith io much in this verse, buc not in these very words; for chen it should be én ?issas nors nedop@ Tes, when as I doubc not but Stra' xjísees xóous is the fame sto' Ke ta Bolañs xásuk, a mundo condito. Piscator and Drypius, both meer in this, and the Syriack Translation is clear for it oynana à jaétis mundi fundamentis. And then the words speak thus much: From the first infancy of the world, ever since it was created, the eternal power and hóths, which are the so goðssor Os8 mentioned in the former verfe , and the po' d'oeg ta ti ol in the beginning of this verse, the eternal pows er and Godhead have manifested themselves, and the prime cause hath been very apparent in those effects of his, which are here stiled tohum te mes, and could not poflibly be produced by any inferiour Being. And as for that which we render is clearly feen, in the Original it is no more than xzoopā ww. I know not how it comes do denote so clear a vision; sure it may well confist with , siviguan, and yet witball they are so clearly seen sis na Håvaronoghtas, which though some would have the same with

) evaneyhtes, yes here I shall easily yield to the learned Interpreter, and grant that it includes somewhat more. : This vast volume of the creatures set out by God himself without any irrata in it, was printed in fo fair a character, as he that ran might read ir ; and the least letter in it made théw. of a most divine impression. But alas ! fin, besides weakniog of the fouls eye,hath foiled and defaced the book; and hence we come to see in it so darkly. And yet still the letters are visible, & carry with them the print of a Deity. The world is, as one callsit, Anigma Des. And it is full of looking glasses: For God liath communicated several resemblances of himself to the creature,ras the face sheds thac image or species upon the glafs whereby itself is represented. I need not speak of the blessed Angels, 'those pure & crystal mirrours, what glorious representations they give of their Creatour: Look but into your selves,& you with find im mortal fouls shewing forth that image according to which they were made; or if you will look up to chat vast and polished looka ing-glafle, you will see. The beavens declaring the glory of Gods

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and e be firmament forming bis handy work. Or cast but an eye upon the poorest and most abjec Being, and even there you will find. Some faint resemblances of a Deicy. For as in che molt glorious creacure, as a creacure there is aliquid nihili; so in the most contemptible creature, as a creature, there is aliquid Des. I, but the Atheist he shurs his eyes, & quid cæco cum speculo? wbat should a blind man do with a looking glass? And yet sometimes there a are lightning flashes of cerrour darted into him; and he begins with the Devils to believe and tremble. The Papists, as it there were not glasses enough of Gods making, they must have images of their own to put them in mind of God; their painted glasses: bur surely they see through these very darkly. The Heachens they shall be judged for not ordering their lives and dressing themselves according to this glasse; for resisting those reliques of primitive light that shined out so strongly upon them. Well, here are glaffes, but we see in them very darkly, and cbat by reafon of a double defe&t.

1. Ex parte speculi. 'Tis true, some of Gods attributes here clearly shew themfelves ; his power, and soveraigaty, I, and his wisdom, and goodness too; but those sweetest manifestations of his love, the treasures of free grace and infinite mercy, the whole plot of the gospel, not the least shadow of these to be found. Now for this very cause, the Gentiles in Eph.2.1', are called 'peor, becaufe they were withouc the knowledge of God in Christ You know they had a goodly company of gods, an whole croop of Deities: I, but they were without God in Christ, and hence chey are stiled Stores xosuw, without God in the world.

2. Ex parte oculi. 1. Adam in innocency. had a glorious foul full of light, bright and sparkling eyes, quei a aja nytówrn birlw. He could read the smallest print, the leaft jot and tittle in the book of Nature. See how quickly he tumbles ore the vast volume, and in a name gives a brief gloss upon every creature, a concise epttome of their natural bistories. He had a fair portion of knowledge, if he could bave been contented with it. I, but he would fain have more, he must needs be casting of the tree of Knowledge ; & bence springs our ignorance; we bave had ever since an unhappy. áp sarniache foul hath been darkned and dimfighted. Perhaps it can see some

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goodly capital letters, fome fairflourishe character;1, but there are multitudes of beings in a smaller princ,that it takes no notice of.

2. The soul might see more, if it would imploy.it self more, and look ofcoer into this glass of checreatures. Medication would raise the creature higher and distil sweetness out of every objed. 'Tis iseg. Tas nomu pesy woor'rn, as the elegant Moralist. The foul is busie with every ching it fees, as busie as a Bee; it goes from flower to flower, and extracts most precious sweetnesse.

3. Some eyes have been dazled too much with the glitrerings of be creatures,fo as to take the servant for the Master ; & bave been so much in admiring the glass, as they forgot the glorious beaury that it represented. What worship and adoration hath the Sun had? even almost as much as the great Creatour of heaven and earth himself; strange that they should see so darkly as not to discern the face from the veil tbat covers it. For the Sun is at best but umbra Dei,and nubecula citó iransitura ; a meer spot, a cloud, if compared with so bright an eflence; and as he saich notably, The fup's worshippers must needs be a'Star xan yuzlós, Atheists in the night-time. You have seen the glass of the Creatures and how in it we fee'very darkly.

ic Secondly, in learnings glass, in speculo scientiarum. Learning brighcens the intelle&ual eye,and clarifies the souls the Hebrews wise men are D'npa aperti, men with eyes open ; and it sets a man on higher ground and gives bim a fair profpe&t of Beings, and many advantages over others. Anão ogão Covor casóites giunea τα, when as έπαρος γραμμα των και βλέπει βλέπων, they have eyes and see not; 1,bur these see,and yet very darkly. What need I tell you how invincible doubes blemish their brightest notions? How che Naturalists head is non-pluft with an occult quality,and he knows not how to take it off: How the choicest Moralists are por’d with the riddle of fummum bonum, and cannot cell how to excricate themselves. Look up higher to Mecapbyficks, which some stile fimbria Theologie; 1, but you may touch the hem of its garment long enough before you find any virtue coming from it.Converse but with the Schoolmens works, and there you shall meet with ænigmata in folio, voluminous riddles. Tis their grand imploye ment co cie a knot, and then see if they can undo it; to frame an enemy, and then triumph over bim; to make an objection, and then answer it if they can: there are speculations enough, buc i£ you see through them,it will be very darkly.

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But if you could see very clearly in all these, yet how weak and insufficient are they to acquaint you with the Arcana of Res ligion, and the great mysteries of Godlinesse?

Some such as have been molt eminent in them, and as he Speaks, have had wits of elevation liquated as upon a cliff, but how little have they seen of heaven and heavenly things! Aristotle with the rest of the Heachen,wbac uncertain and luctuating notions had they of a Deity? We are beholden to their dying specches for most of their Divinity.

2. Many under the light of the gospel, and furnisht with helps of humane learning; how strangely unacquainted are chey with the knowledge of Christ crucified! A plain experienced Christian (notwithstanding all their auxiliary forces) only by the belp of a Bible, will put an whole Army of them to flight:Surgunt in docti & rapiunt cælum. when they in the mean time do but, as be speaks, ornare Diabolum; they become learned spoils, Sapienter descendunt in infernum, they go cunningly to hell." And yet methinks none should be fo filly and malicious as to put the fault in learning,wbereas there is no greater vicinity than bęcween truth and goodnesle; and heaven is full of knowledge, as it is of holis nefs;

and it is brimful of both.. 3. Sciences themselves are weak and imperfect things, and therefore s dvãos netopy nh"Cemet, as our Apostle telsus, knowledge fhall

be abolisht, and Tongues wbich are vehicula scientia rum, chey shall passe away.So then in chis glass we see but darkly.

Thirdly, in the glass of the Scriptures, in fpeculo verbi. This is a pure and spotless glass, representing the will of God unto us, an eternal glass that shall never be broken, more durable than heaven it felt: David was looking in this glasfe day and night. There are many false flattering glasses in the world ; I, but here the soul may fee ics face in a most exact resemblance:it will shew the least {pot & deformity;the sinfulness of an idle word, of avain rhought, of a first motion though without conlent, the least cena dencies to fin, the first bublings up of corruption. It deals fo plain. ly as many are offended with it,& swell the more against it & thus fin takes occasion by the commandement,as Rom.7. Fond Lais breaks her looking.glassé, because it shews the wrinkles in her face and gives the reason, Me cernere taleria qualis fum nolo, qualis eram nequeo. Well, the Law that's a glass to thew us our spots, but it can

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not wipe them off;l, bat the Gospel is a pure well of salvation, there one may see them and wash them too.

In chat Evangelical mirrour you may see the face of a Saviour, coming in an amiable way with smiles of love, with offers of grace and saving mercy. Nay,the gospel is called the face of Jesus Chrift, 2 Cor.4.6. Jónator 'Ingi Xorst. As suppose a glass, when a man had once look into it,should keep a permanent & unvanishing speci. es of his face, though he himself afterwards were absent;we might well say, There was the face of such a man ; the gospel is such a glafs, Chrift hath lookt into it, and Thed his image upon it, and es ver since it hath given molt glorious representations of him: it is απαύγασμα της δόξης, υστάσεως , Wazkoue tins d'Ens, xj zacaxlap izarse stes aire, that I may borrow that expression in the Hebrews:fo that when we shall come to see bim wegou Toompods môro Tar in heaven, we shall be able to say, Surely this is the very Saviour that was described to me in the Gospel ; - fic ille manu, fic ora feribat. And till we come to heaven it self, we cannot meet with more full manifeltations of God and Christ,and all the mysteries of salvation than in theword of God; and yet here we see but darkly.

For if we consider them under the Old Testament, how long was chere comfort lockt up in that Anigma, that primitive promise, which was Aurora Evangelii; the first dawning of the gofa pel, The feed of the woman Ball break the Serpents head? and when truth began to shew it self in sonje fuller discoveries, yet still it was mixt with much obscuricy. He

They had a twofold glass. I. Speculum ceremoniarum. 2. Spes culum prophetiarum.

1. In the glass of the ceremonies they saw very darkly. We could: not look for much lighe where there were so many shadows; where there were so many veils, they could not fee face to face. That che Jews worshipped a cloud for their God, was a meer calumny; but that they worshipped their God in a cloud we will easily grant,for all our fathers were under the cloud; 1 Cor 10.1. The Ceremonial law was nothing else but an heap and miscellany of riddles: who amongst them could not tell the meaning of them? nay, it is well if we that have the type & antitype meeting together,can give a just explanation of fome of them. Well, this glasse is now broken:for ceremonies like false looking-glaffes represent the object with too much fhadow, and yet still the scarlet whore

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