Precious faith considered in its nature, working, and growth

Seventhly, Mere notions are very apt to fume up into niceties and vain curiosities. A famous instance of this we have in the School-men, whose books are the spiders house, made of cobwebs and fine subtleties, and those spun up into the Palace of the celestial King, and there fastened upon the ineffables of God and the sacred Trinity, as if these might be wrapped up in the quiddities of reason and Philosophy; insomuch as a learned Divine, startled at this audacious vanity, saith, he reads the School-men about such things, as he hears men swear or take Gods name in vain, even seldom, unwillingly, and with horror. And the learned Capito, who professed Scholastical Divinity, was soon weary thereof, because there is subtilitatis multum, utilitatis parum, found therein. But supernatural light doth not vapour upwards into niceties and curious questions, but influence downwards into the will and affections. It brings the day of power into the heart, and makes a willing people, the holy unction drops from the head to the heart, and sets all on a flame with love to God and Christ and heavenly ⟨p. 30⟩things: wisdom speaks excellent things, Prov. 8.6. or, as the original is, it speaks princes or princely things, holy things are such in themselves. But when they are taken in by faith, they have a mighty power in the soul: Gods command to Abraham, entering by faith, wrought down into his will, and he offered up his Isaac. Gods warning to Noah, entering by faith, wrought down into his fear, and he prepared an Ark. The word works effectually in them that believe, filling the inward man with holy affections, and the outward with holy fruits. I shall conclude this difference with an excellent simile of a worthy Divine; A child and a man come into a corn field together, the child falls in love with the blue and red weeds, but the man is for the solid corn: a man of mere notions falls in love with curiosities, and fine speculations, but a man of supernatural light is for the spiritual and practical truths in Scripture; these are the corn his soul must live upon, whilst the other are but gaieties, and for a show.

Seventhly, Meer notions are very apt to fume up into niceties and vain curiosities. A famous instance of this we have in the School-men, whose books are the spiders house, made of cobwebs and fine subtleties, and those spun up into the Palace of the celestial King, and there fastned upon the ineffables of God and the sacred Trinity, as if these might be wrapped up in the quiddities of reason and Philosophy; insomuch as a learned Divine, startled at this audacious vanity, saith, he reads the School-men about such things, as he hears men swear or take Gods name in vain, even seldom, unwillingly, and with horror. And the learned Capito, who professed Scholastical Divinity, was soon weary thereof, because there is subtilitatis multum, utilitatis parum, found therein. But supernatural light doth not vapor upwards into niceties and curious questions, but influence downwards into the will and affections. It brings the day of power into the heart, and makes a willing people, the holy unction drops from the head to the heart, and sets all on a flame with love to God and Christ and heavenly