None but Christ, Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII. A reproof of thoſe that ſtudy to know all things elſe ſave Jeſus Chriſt and him crucified.
Vſe 2 IN the ſecond place; If we ought to ſtudy to know nothing ſave Ieſus Chriſt and him crucified: Then it juſtly reproves thoſe that ſtudy to know nothing of Ieſus Chriſt, but ſtudy all other things ſave the knowledg of Chriſt. Some ſtudy the knowledge of the creatures, and of the things of the world (like Mouls always grovling in the earth) to have skill in corne, cattle, land, &c. Others befoole themſelves in the ſtudying of vanities; the ſoule ſpending her ſelf to catch at ſhadows, and leting go ſubſtance, as thoſe heathens Rom. 1. 21. They became vaine in their imaginations: That is, ſpending their time, and taking great paines in ſtudying ſuch things, the knowledge whereof is no wayes profitable to themſelves or others: like the Spider that with her intrals weaves a curious web, yet good for nothing, but to be ſwept downe; Or like unto fooliſh children that ſweat and toyle, and heat themſelves to catch Butterflyes; Or as the Iſraelites did weary themſelves to gather ſtubble in ſtead of ſtraw; or as Jeat that gathers droſſe and refuſe things to it ſelfe, but lets go all precious things; Or as the Loadſtone that drawes Iron to it, but lets go Gold and Silver: And thus they ſow the wind, and reap the whirlewind.
I remember a ſtory I have read of Alexander the Great, when one was preſented before him that could do famous exploits, who ſaid he could throw a Peaſe at a farre diſtance upon the point of a Needle: But inſtead of a reward or countenance given him from that noble warrier, he had a check from him; what ſaid he, doſt thou ſpend thy precious time in throwing Peaſe upon the point of a needle? And ſurely all ſtudy after vain knowledge is but as throwing Peaſe upon the point of a needle, and ſhall receive from God a check rather then a reward.Queri non debet, qd ſolvi non poteſt. Me lius eſt dubitare de occultis, quam litigare de in certis. Aug Quaeſupra nos, nihil ad nos. Socrat. Quae ſunt oculta non ſunt ſcrutand…, quae manifeſta, non ſunt negligenda, Preſp.
Others ſpend their time in ſtudying to know things hidden from them, and that concerns them not. Thus the diſciple enquired when Chriſt would reſtore the Kingdome of Iſrael, Acts 1. It is not for you, ſaith our Saviour, to know the times and ſeaſons, &c. So Peter, John 31. 21. Maſter, what ſhall this man do, &c? What if I will that be tarry till I come, what is that to thee &c? Eſt aliqua docta ignorantia, Aug. There is a learned ignorance, Secret things belong to God, but revealed to us and to our children.
Others ſpend their time in ſtudying fooliſh queſtions, genealogyes and curioſities, the knowledge whereof may gender ſtrife, but are uſually unprofitable and vaine, Tit. 3. 9. 2 Tim. 2. 23. Thus the Athenians had books of curious arts (foreign)Its thought they were books of Necromancy. yet good for nothing but for the fire, Acts 19. 19. though they priſed them at five Myriads, or 50000. peeces of ſilver, which if they were but the Roman pennies, ſome have computed to come to about eight hundred pounds. And thus the Schoolmen have waſted a great deale of precious time in very vaine and unprofitable queſtions, Picking ſtrawes in Divinity Biſh. Hall.(as a Reverend, godly, and learned Biſhop ſpeaketh:) And at the beſt they areQuantum mali facit nimia ſubtilitas? Senec. *Nor can they agree in their rules of Art; ſome ſay Plato wanted order; Ariſtot. was dark; Pliny wanted method; and Seneca was lime without ſand. Corn. Agrip. de vanit. Scient. but Queſtiunculis laſcivientes, waxing wanton with vaine and curious queſtions, as ſaith another.
Others they ſpend their time in ſtudying Arts and Sciences, but ſtudy not to know Jeſus Chriſt; Scientes in omnibus niſi in quibus vera conſtat ſapientia, that is, ſtudying to know all things but onelyonly thoſe wherein lies all true good and happineſſe.
Firſt, * The Grammarian he will tell you, he ſtudyes about letters, and words, how to ſpeake every word aright, but forgets to ſtudy how to live aright; And yet alas words are but ſounds and ſpoken according to the cuſtome of the people, and not alwayes according to rules of Art.
2 Secondly, the Rhetorician he will tell you, he ſtudyes to ſpeake his words in print (Perpolitè, elegantèr, Ornatè) adorning them with flowers, and adding as it were vermilion to the colour: And yetPlus horret orationis in…legantiam, quàm vitae deformitatem. he regards not ſordeſcere vita & moribus, how foule his life and converſation is. And in concluſion they are but ſo many painted words, or wiſe words at the beſt, good onelyonly to tickle wanton eares and deceive the ſimple: But ſolid reality, good matter, clothed with decent words, takes more with the wiſe. Hence Demoſthenes feared Phocion vera & ad rem pertinentia ſimpliciter dicentem (that is, ſpeaking home and to the purpoſe) more then all other Orators; And he called him ſecurim orationum ſuarum, the hatche… of his orations. Hence many of the wiſer heathens deſpiſed this art; Socrates cals it Nec artem nec Scientiam, ſed ſagacitatem & ſervilem adulationem. Neither an art, nor Science, but ſubtilty, and flattery. Plato eſteemed them but as ſtage-players, calumniators, and ſycophants (Hinc innocens ut nocens damnatur & contra) making the guiltleſſe guilty, and the guilty guiltleſſe. Cato Refuſed that Rhetoricians ſhould plead, quia Orationis facundiâ, facile poſſent aequa & iniqua perſuadere, becauſe by eloquence of words, they could eaſily perſwade to right or wrong. Demoſthenes boaſted he could change the ſentence of the judges at his pleaſure; and Cicero was cald Rex oratione ſua omnia regens, playing Rex with his oratory, thereby ruling all things at his pleaſure.
3. The Logician he will tell you that heIrrationale hominū genus ſi abſ que Diſciplina neſciat ratiocinari. ſtudyes how to ſee clearly with the eye of reaſon, and therwith oft times he puts out the eye of faith, which though never againſt, yet it is oft times above our reaſon: But we muſt walke by faith, and not by ſence or reaſon, 2 Cor. 5. 7. Heb. 11. 1. 3. Its true, voluntas eſt caeca ſine ratione, the will is blind without reaſon; but it is alſo as true, Theologia eſt ſepulchrum rationis, Divinity is the grave that burieth reaſon, where we muſt learn oft times to ſhut thePlato, Cicero, Socrates, and the Athenians condemned this Art. Aug. cals it Vinum erroris, Hier. Cibum daemonum, Democritus, Non artem ſed inſania… eye of reaſon, that we may ſee the better with the eye of faith.
4. Fourthly, The Poets, how light and emply are they? Like fits of muſick which delight us for the preſent, while the muſick is in our eares, but after leave us malancholy; Of whom wee may ſay as Aug. ſaid of Homer, that they are Dulciſſime vani, but pleaſantly vaine. And what do they elſe but pleaſe the eares of fooliſh men, with wanton Rhimes, with meaſures and weights of words and ſyllables, with fables and lyes? Yea they are ſo given to lying (ſaith one) that they ſtudy nil ſani dicere, but ſtultis auribus cantillare.
And all their ſtudy is, that they may not claudicare pedibus, halt in their feet, but yet they regard not claudicare moribus, to halt in their manners.
5. Fifthly, The Hiſtorian, he can tell you a long ſtory of Nations, cityes and countryes, and of the lives and actions of other men, but neglects to ſtudy the hiſtory of his own life, he never ſtudyes his own heart, but is a ſtranger at home, though buſy abroad. And how often do they take things upon truſt by heareſay from others, flattering ſome, and detracting from others, that (as one ſaith) Plerumque aliorum auditu, nihil certi ſcribunt; Non quod eſt, ſed quod cupiunt & volunt. That is, very often they have things onelyonly by relation, and do not write the naked truth as things were, but as they deſired and would have them to be.
6. Sixtly, The Arithmetician he will tell you, that he can number all things, yea he can number the ſtarres; but never ſtudyes to number his dayes, that he might apply his heart unto wiſedome
7. The Aſtrologian, he will tel you, that he was nuper è coelis delapſus lately dropt out of heaven; And his though…s are celeſtiall, as high as the ſtarres, but not ſuperceleſtiall above the ſtarres: And, Quid futurum erit divinatur, he can divine by the ſtarres, and tell you your fortune what ſhall happen to you hereafter; And yet he knowes not Quid ſibi ipſi quotidie imminet, what hangs over his own head every houre, or what ſhall happen to himſelf to morrow. Jam. 4. 14. And let men phancy what they pleaſe, certainly to conjecture of mens fortunes, end…, vertues, vices. &c.* Picut Mirand. Quae ſolius dei ſunt aſtris tribuunt & nos liberos natos, ſiderum ſervos faciunt. Some of the Heathens cald this art, ſuperſtitioſorum hominum conjectura fallax 1. they know not certainly, vires ſtellarum, and therefore cannot give certain judgement of their effects. 2. Propter innumeras cooperantes cum caelo alias cauſas. 3. becauſe influxus ſtellarum inclinant, ſay they, non cogunt. 4. Si vita & fortuna eſt abaſtris, quid timemus? 5 Saepe iis, quibus maximè confidunt maximè infaeliciſſimi ſunt, as they were to Nebuchadnezzar. Pharaoh, Caeſar, Pompey, Nero, &c. by the ſtarres, is (I conceive) very impious; for (as Picus Mirand. ſaith) they attribute thoſe things to the ſtarres which belong to God alone. Eſa. 8. 20.
8. The muſician, he will tell you, he ſtudyes to tune his ſtrings aright to make ſweet harmony, and will not endure a jarring ſtring in his inſtruments of muſick, and yet forgets to tune the ſtrings ofDulciſonum reficit triſtia corda m… los. his untun'd affections. It is true, it cannot be denyed but it is a great refreſher of the ſpirits, yet it is but vanity; for the birds in the aire ſeeme to ſing as ſweet as any artificiall melody can be made. The Egyptians denyed it to be learn'd by their youth becauſe they thought it would make them effeminate, Antigonus hearing Alexander making muſick; Citharam fregit, inquiens aetati tuae regnare convenit, non canere, he brake his harpe, and told him, it beſeem'd him rather to learn to reigne, then learn to ſing and make muſick.
9. The Philoſopher, he will tell you he ſtudyes to know the nature of the whole fabrick of Gods creation, as Birds and Beaſts, and creeping things, foules of the aire, fiſh in the ſea. &c. And yet knowes nothing of God and Chriſt, and his own corrupt nature, he knoweth not that himſelfe is wretched and miſerable.
10. The Phyſician, he will tell you, he ſtudyes to know how to cure the diſeaſes of other mens bodyes, but regards not to cure the diſeaſes of his own ſoule; who lookes upon his own ſins, as he doth upon his Patients deſeaſes, as in a glaſſe, wherein he ſees other mens diſeaſes rather then his own, and is not pained withDum dolet accipe, ergo agit ſepè ut dolca…. them. And though I will not ſay ſaepè plus periculi eſt à medico quàm à morbo, that is, there is more danger often in the Phyſician then in the diſeaſe, as it was ſaid of Adrian, Medicorum turba Principem perdiderunt, they kild their king with a multitude of phyſicians; Or as Cato ſaid of them, quòd plures occiderent quam ſanare…t, they would kill more than they would cure; Or as he that was askt how he came to live ſo old, anſwered, Nunquam uſus ſum medico, I never went to Phyſician: Yet this we know, except God be the Phyſician, they are Phyſicians of no value, and nothing can cure the diſeaſes of the ſoule, but the knowledge of Chriſt and him crucified.
11. The lawyer, he will tel you, he ſtudies to know the lawes of the Land, and not the lawes of heaven: the lawes of men, but not the lawes of God: and is often more skild in Law then Goſpel, many having little or no knowledge of Ieſus Chriſt and him crucified, and ſo dye with what they have gotten by the law, becauſe (God knowes) they have got nothing, many of them, by the Goſpell.
12. Laſtly, the Theologian, he will tell you he ſtudyes Ʋerba dei dicere, not facere, to ſay and do not, and ſo turnes Phariſee, by making his words bluſh, when his deeds reprove them. Yea how often do we Miniſters preach the knowledge of Chriſt to others, when we know him not our ſelves ſavingly? while we preach to others, we our ſelves may become reprobates. But the truth is, he knowes nothing that knowes not Chriſt, and that he hath his part in him; or if he do, yet fruſtra novit omnia, he knoweth nothing as he ought to know.
I intend not by this diſcourſe to condemne the ſtudying of arts and ſciences, which are good in their degree, and of great uſe, but when men ſtudy theſe with the neglect and ſlighting of the knowledge of Chriſt: Were it not ſolly to ſlight the light of the ſunne, and prefer the light of the moon and ſtarres before it? Alaſſe, other ſciences are at the beſt butCornel. Agrip. de van. Hominum opiniones, veritatis imagines (opinions of men and ſhadowes of truth) but Chriſtus eſt ipſa veritas, Chriſt is the way, the truth, and the life, without the knowledge of whom there is no ſalvation.