The Heavenly Academy, Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
A second step: Deniall of mans wit and wisedome.
HE that will ascend up to the heavenly Schoole, there to bee taught of God, must leave mans carnall wit and wisedome behind him, as Abraham left his Asses at the foot of the mount. The wisedome of man, saith St. Paul, is foolishnesse before God; and the naturall man discerneth not the things of God: therefore if thou endevourest by thy naturall wit to discerne the things of God, thy labor is employed rather not to discerne them: thou mayest perchance conceive, and after perceive, bastard, mis-begotten, and false shapes of them; but the things themselves, in their true shapes, thou doest not see and perceive. The carnall wit seeth the shapes which it selfe puts upon spirituall things, and not what they themselves do beare, and indeed appeare in, to a spirituall eye. And surely if mans wit see, and by seeing teach it selfe truly the things of God, what need were there of an heavenly Teacher? But because thou art naturally blind to the things of God, and they are onelyonly spiritually to bee discerned, therefore must thou goe up to a spirit, to give thee a spirituall eye-sight, that so thou mayest spiritually discerne them. And when thou goest up, to get a spirituall mind of the great Father of Spirits▪ remember to put off thy carnall wit and wisdome, which must be stript off before thou canst put on the other. The keeping of thy naturall and carnall wit, is the keeping of thy folly; and this folly will cast her owne colour on the things of God, and make them seeme folly to thee, or onelyonly wise in that colour which that casts upon them. And this is a reason why the greatest wits doe stumble so often at the wisedome of God, upon which they behold the shape of folly, of their owne setting on; and why they fall into errours, thinking to mend Gods wisedome by their wits; and why themselves, though professing themselves wise, yet remaine fooles; even because they think and professe themselves to bee wise. While they think their owne wits to be fit instruments for the discerning of Gods wisedome, they not finding his, wisedome to be wisedome by their wits, they censure it to bee folly; and therefore goe about to correct it, which is indeed to pervert it. In the meane time it is the greatest folly, which puts the shape and title of folly upon the greatest wisedome, and goes about to amend wisedome with folly. And thus are these wise men taken in their owne wisedome; for their owne wisedome becomes a snare to them, and makes them first, and after takes them as fooles. Yea, miserie and folly are met together in them, and that in a highest degree, while they see not, but censure and reject the most wise mysteries of God, which offer and present to them salvation, and eternall felicitie.
Therefore let the heavenly Scholler put off his owne earthly and carnall wisedome, and goe up to God for a new Principle, even a new mind, by which hee may truly see and know the things of God. The new world of Divinitie must be begun in a man, as God began the old world, it must have nothing for a foundation; and when man is nothing in himselfe, then God will begin to create, and make him something. This is that which St. Paul saith: Let him bee a foole, that hee may be wise. For indeed, that which thou thinkest to be thy wisedome, thou must put off, and make it vanish into nothing, being a foole in regard of that wisedome; and so thou shalt be made wise in the true wisedome. But this is not perfected at once. Therefore, as at thy first entrance into the heavenly Academie, thou must begin a deniall, and annihilation of thy owne wit and wisedome, so after thou art entred, thou must strive to continue and increase this deniall: for though thou doe in will and purpose put it off, and deny it wholly at first; yet in act it is not wholly put off, it being part of the remaining body of sin, which hangeth so fast on, that it cannot wholly bee put off, untill man be dissolved. But thou must strive to get ground of it while thou livest; and the greater thy naturall wit is, the more must thou strive. For the greater it is, the more apt will it be to see reasons by it selfe, and without Gods teaching, which will fall out too often to bee reasons against Gods reasons, and wit against Gods wisedome. And the admission of humane wit, against Gods wisedome, by some great wits, (that perchance first in purpose or profession submitted to the wisedome of God) hath beene the cause of many dangerous errours in the Church. I say, A mixture of mans wit with the Divine Word, hath bred Mules in Divinitie, even confused, foolish, and mishapen errours. But let the learner in this high Academie lay aside his owne sight, which is blindnesse, and get from his Teacher that eye-salve, which may give him spirituall discerning. Let him keep his wit in a perpetuall captivitie, and passivenesse to the Spirit of God; and beware that by no meanes hee make that portion of Spirit which is in him, to suffer under the activitie of his owne carnall wit. But having received an eye from God, let him see Gods matters with Gods eye, and so shall hee keep himselfe safe from error, and shall bee led into the truth. For a mind given of God, doth approve onelyonly the truth of God. And though in this life of imperfection, no man have so much spirituall light, as to discerne all truth; yet the spirituall light, which every spirituall man that is taught of God receiveth, is sufficient for the discoverie, or discerning of so much truth, as may lead him like a streame to the Ocean and fulnesse of truth and blessednesse. And for a preparation toward this fulnesse, let him work out, and endevour to perfect his owne emptinesse: for the more degrees hee gaines of this emptinesse, the more degrees shall he receive of Gods fulnesse; even of his teaching grace here, and his crowning grace for ever hereafter.