Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulness of sin. The life…Three treatises of the vanity of the creature. The sinfulnesse of sinne. The life…

there is no scoria, no refuse in it, nothing which is not of great moment, and worthy of special and particular observation, and therefore much are we still to bewail the unfaithfulness of our memories and understandings, which retain so little, and understand less then they do retain. If David were constrained to pray Open mine eyes to see more wonders in thy Law, how much more are we to pray so too? If there were a damp of sin in Davids ⟨p. 184⟩heart, that did often make his light dim, that did make him as a beast in understanding, as himself complains; how much darkness then and disproportion is there between us and that blessed light? Look upon Heretics old and new, Marcions two gods, a good and an evil, Valentinians thirty and odd gods in several lofts and stories; worshippers of Cain, worshippers of Judas, worshippers of the Serpent, and a world of the like sottish¹ impieties: nay amongst men that pretend more light, to see the same Scriptures on both sides held, and yet opinions as diametrally contrary as light and darkness, one gospel in one place, and another gospel in another, to speak nothing of those [Greek or Hebrew] and naevi, those blemishes that are in the writings of the most rare and choicest instruments in Gods Church; All these are notable evidences of that radical blindness which is in our nature, and is never here quite removed: for if the light be not seen, it is not for want of evidence, but for want of² sight.

there is no scoria, no refuse in it, nothing which is not of great moment, and worthy of speciall and particular observation, and therefore much are we still to bewaile the unfaithfulnesse of our memories and understandings, which retaine so little, and understand lesse then they doe retaine. If David were constrain'd to pray Open mine eyes to see more wonders in thy Law, how much more are we to pray so too? If there were a dampe of sinne in Davids ⟨p. 184⟩heart, that did often make his light dimme, that did make him as abeast in understanding, as himselfe complaines; how much darkenesse then and disproportion is there betweene us and that blessed light? Looke upon Heretiques old and new, Marcions two gods, a good and an evill, Valentinians thirty and odde gods in severall lofts and stories; worshippers of Caine, worshippers of Iudas, worshippers of the Serpent, and a world of the like sottish