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SERMON XII.

JOB XXviii. 28.

And unto Man He faid; the Fear of the Lord, that is Wifdom; and to depart from Evil, is Understanding.

W

ISDOM and Underftanding are to the Soul what Meat and Drink are to the Body; and Man's Appetites for the former, are naturally as univerfal and intense, as for the latter. Accordingly we find with what Closeness of Thought, and Application of Industry, Mankind in general purfues Knowledge; and in what Efteem

thofe

thofe Perfons are held in the World, who have been at all fuccefsful in their Purfuits; thofe, for Inftance, who have made a more narrow Scrutiny, and pro-, duced more enlarged Difcoveries of natural Things and Caufes in the material World; or those, who have funk deeper than ordinary in the abftracted Niceties of thofe Scienes, which relate to the Spiritual and Moral World; or thofe again, who by History and Conversation and Business have improved in Political Knowledge, and with fome Exactnefs underftand what we call Men and Manners.

BUT among these various Purfuits after Wisdom; amidst the many Searches and Researches, wherein the Men of Speculation and Bufinefs have been ever labouring, but continue ever diffatisfied and bewilder'd, they may with great Fairnefs and Reafon put this Question of Holy Job to themselves; Where fall Wifdom be found, and where is the Place of Understanding? The Anfwer to which we are likewife furnifh'd with from the fame facred Writer; The Fear of the

Lord

Lord, that is Wisdom; and to depart from Evil, is Understanding.

IT is ufual in Holy Writ to exprefs the Whole of Religion by fome eminent Part of it. Both thefe Terms, viz. the Fear of God, and departing from Evil, are intended, tho' Branches only, to declare the Whole of our Duty; and Religion is here call'd the true, the only true Wisdom of Man: For indeed the Knowledge and Practice of that alone, doth denominate a Man truly wife ; but without it, all other Sciences are mere Vanity and Emptinefs, all other Knowledge but foolish Amusements and pompous Ignorance.

In order therefore to establish what is here afferted, I shall endeavour,

1. To enforce the Belief of the Propofition itself from thefe Words, Unto Man He faid.

And,

II. To prove the Truth of the Propofition more directly, by fhewing in what Respects, Religion is juftly

ftiled true Wisdom.

ift, THEN,

ift, THEN let us endeavour to enforce the Belief of the Propofition itself from thefe Words, Unto Man He faid.

RELIGION IS Human Wisdom; it is that which belongs to a Man, as a Man; it is that which the All-wife and good God, who gave us these ftrong Appetites for Knowledge and Understanding, propofeth to us for the correfpondent Object and compleat Satisfaction of those Appetites. God, who knoweth perfectly what is in Man, and weigheth all things in the exacteft Balance of Juftice and Harmony, hath made Religion Man's entire Bufinefs, qualifies him for attaining a fufficient Knowledge of it, and enables him to act conformably to fuch Knowledge.

BUT this will appear more evidently, from confidering that Religion lies level to every Man's Capacity. All other Parts of Learning require a peculiar Genius for their Attainment; and a tolerable Advance in any Sort of worldly Wisdom, is confequent only upon fuch great natural Abilities, as very few Perfons are enrich'd with: And after all the flow

and

and tedious Deductions, the great Pains and Fatigues, the many irk fome Watchings, the laborious, and most of them ufelefs, Searches, whereby even a slender Stock of worldly Learning is attain'd by Men of the beft Parts: There ever remain great Diffatisfactions and Perplexities upon the Mind: Confufed Gueffes and bare Probabilities make up by far the greatest Part of what they know : And as small as the Sum is, of what they can be supposed to understand, it is befet with wonderful Difficulties and Uncertainties. So true are the Obfervations of the wisest and most learned of the Sons of Men upon this Subject To know Wifdom, i. e. worldly Wifdom, is to know Madness and Folly; this is likewife Vanity and Vexation of Spirt. In much.Study is much Weariness; and le that encreafeth Knowledge, encreafeth Sorrow. But Religious Knowledge, as it is what every one ought to be informed of, fo it is what every one may be inform'd of: Here are no vaft Qualifications previously neceffary, to prepare the Soul for Divine Truths. Some Tempers indeed, it must

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