A fourth volume containing one hundred and fifty sermons on several texts of Scripture…

First; God must be honoured as the First Cause, which giveth Being to all things, and hath his Being from none; and so we are bound to know him, to depend upon him, to observe his Providence, and to acknowledge his Dominion over all Events or Things which happen in the World. And so far as any of these are neglected, so far are we guilty of Ungodliness. Well then, under this Head,

First; God must be honoured as the First Cause, which giveth Being to all things, and hath his Being from none; and so we are bound to know him, to depend upon him, to observe his Providence, and to acknowledg his Dominion over all Events or Things which happen in the World. And so far as any of these are neglected, so far are we guilty of Vngodliness. Well then, under this Head,

1. Ignorance is a Branch of Ungodliness; and I name it in the first place, because it is the Cause of all our Disorder in Worship and Conversation. This is the first cause of all Wickedness, to be ignorant of God. The Apostle seconds the Observation, 3 Epist. John, 11. He that doth Evil, hath not seen God. Certainly he that makes a Trade of Sin, hath not a right sight and sense of God; he knows not God. A true sight and sense of God keepeth the Soul from Sin. There is nothing that keeps in the Fire of Religion, nor maintains Respect between Man and Man, nothing that preserves Honesty and Piety so much as right Thoughts and Apprehensions of God. But now generally People are ignorant of God; they know him as blind Men do Fire. A Man that is born blind, can tell there is such a thing as Fire, because he feels it warm; but what a kind […] thing it is, he that never saw it, cannot tell. So the whole World, and Conscience, proclaim there is a God; the blindest Man may see that, but little do they know of his Nature and Essence, what God is according as he hath revealed himself in the Word. Look as the Athenians built an Altar, and the Inscription was [Greek or Hebrew], to the unknown God, Acts 17.23. so do most Christians worship an unknown God. And as Christ taxed the Samaritans,