the way to the next and that by way of commendation quia prudenter â—git non quia fraudulenter not cause he dealt dishonestly but wisely so the verse before my text that he carried the businesse cleanly handsomely the manner how you may read from the 5 to the 8 ver of this Chapter and therefore make you friends learn of him saith Christ Had it been learn of me as our Saviours precept was Matth. 11. 29. it had been an admirable pattern nay had it been but Solomon's lesson Go to the pismire Pro. 9. I should not have marvelled for she would have taught honest providence but learn of an unjust Steward can there come any goodthing from one so evil Yes For the children of this world are in their generation wiser then the children of light so the 8 ver of this Chapt. therefore learn of him what to do To make you friends How Of the unrighteous Mammon Why That when yee faile they may c. Which three Queries will direct us to three General Parts for our division The first is the quid the matter to provide for our selves by making us friends The second the cujus the manner to use the best means to get them unrighteous Mammon The third the cuibono the end that when yee faile they c. Of which in their order beginning with the first the quid the mattor to provide for our selves by making us friends And that I think is good counsel at any time and as ever so most especially now when brotherly affection is become so changeable and double-faced as 't is hard to find a true friend and liberalitie is grown so indirect and improper that 't is shewen now adaies rather to enrich a Closet or Parlour then a Christian in clothing of walls sooner then men Now the friends here meant are the Angels say some who are made out friends by works of mercie towards our brethren but the common tenet is the friends in my text are the poor quos Deus permisit egere ad illorum nostram probationem whom God suffers to want for the exercise of their patience and our charitie and the ordinarie exposition of make you friends it give Alms make you friends by works of Charitie which shall be the subject of the first part of my discourse and so much the rather because the doctrine as well as the practice of it is almost forgot The Divinity of Justification by Faith alone like one of Pharaoh's lean kine hath clean devoured the fat ones And therefore my first particular position or doctrine rais'd from this general thesis shall be to rectife your understanding in this deep point of Justification by Faith and Justification by Works to reconcile these two and make them one The Position is this That Faith Works must alwaies be united ever go hand in hand in a believer It is evident to all except they be blinde that the eie alone seeth in the bodie â—et the eie which seeth is not alone in the bodie without the other sences the fore-finger alone pointeth yet that finger is not alone on the hand the hammer alone striketh the bell yet the hammer that striketh the bell is not alone in the clock the heat alone in the fire burneth and not the light yet the heat is not alone without the light the helme alone guideth the ship and not the tackling yet the helme is not alone nor without the tackling Thus we are to conceive that though Faith alone doth justifie yet that Faith which justifies is not alone but join'd with Charitie and good Works Saint Bernard's distinction of via râ—gni and causa regnandi cleareth the truth in this point Though good Works are not the cause why God crowns us in heaven yet we must take them in our way to heaven Mat. 5. 16. It is as impious to deny the necessitie as to maintein the merits of good Works The first reason of the point wherfore Faith and good Works must alwaies be united alwaies go hand in hand in a Believer is because that God hath joined good works and salvation together in his Word and what God hath join'd let not man put asunder Now doing and life working and salvation running and obteining winning and wearing overcoming and reigning in holy Seripture evermore follow one the other wherefore the young man puts the question to our Saviour Mar. 10. 17. and the people likewise and the Publicans and the Souldiers to Saint John Luk. 3. 10 12 14. and the Keepers of the prison to Saint Pauâ— Act. 16. 30. and the Jewâ— to Saint Peter Act. 2. 37. What shall we do Not what shall we say or what shall we believe but what shall we do This is the tenour of the Law Do this and thou shalt live Levit. 18. 5. Deut. 5. 33. And the Gospel also runs in the same tune Mat. 7. 24. And again Noâ— the hearers but the doers of the Law shall bee justified James 1. 22. A second reason of the point is because that though Faith justifie our Works before God yet our Works justifie our Faith before men Though the just shall live by his Faith Hab. 2. 4. Yet this his Faith must live by his Charitie Let us therefore take from hence first a word of Cantion not to turn the doctrine of Free Justification into carnal libertie nor impose upon Christ's mercie what it will not bear nor indeavour to sever faith from good Works least we sever our soul from life I grant when we have done all we can we may nay we must say we are unprofitable servants Luke 17. 10. None may trust in their own righteousnesse but on the contrary all ought to pray that they may bee found in Christ not having their own righteousnesse Epb. 3. 9. yet their righteousnesse must exceed the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees or else they shall never enter into the kingdom of heaven Mat. 5. 20. In the second place this will serve for a word of Reproof for all those that separate Faith and Works Tell not me whoever thou art of Faith without thy Works nor of Praiers without thy Almes nor of piety without thy compassion nor of real without thy charitie if the hands be not Jacob's as well as the voice I fear thou wilt appear before God for no better then a meer Impostor and Cheat. If wee are good trees by our fruit men shall know us Mat. 7. 15. by your fruit not by your blossoms of good purposes or your leaves of good profession but by the fruit of your actions What is your devotion when it is peevish or your zeal when it is malicious or your puritie when it is schismatical or your conscience when it is factious a mover a ring-leader of sedition Too too many in this rotten age wherein we live are speakers not workers as if ostendere fidem the Apostle Saint James his shew thy Faith by thy Works were oâ— tendere
the Lord foretold them in the 31. of Deuteronomie when saies hee I shall have brought Israel into the land that floweth with milke and honey and they shall have eaten and fill'd themselvs then will they turne unto other gods then and not till then and just so they did for in the very next Chap. at the 15 ver you have Jeshurun which is Jsraell wax'd fatt and kicking and then saies the text hee forsooke God which made him Another end of fasting is to elevate the soul and put her upon the wing of holy contemplation and prayer for it stands with reason that so long as shee is conversant in the kitchin so long as her spirits and faculties are spent in dispersing vapours and exhalations of meats shee her selfe must needs bee lâ—sse apt and free for heavenly emploiment Full bellies are fittest for â—est and not the body so much as the soule is most active with emtinesse for this reason fasting and praier go together in Scripture and as in Scripture so in our Churches practise solemne praier almost ever takes fasting to attâ—nd it A third reason of fasting is to â—estify our repentance by our penance the prostration of our soules by the humiliation of our bodies and thus did the primitive times by their course diet and cloathing present their unworrhinesse of the benefits of this life and by casting ashes on their heads speake themselves but dust altogether deserving to be as farre underneath the earth as they were above it and this repentance Christ implied to bee the most reall and unfained of all others when hee told the Jewes That had the mighty works been done in Tyre and Sidâ—n which were done amongst them they would have repented and is that all no they would have repented sitting in sack-cloath and ashes their very cloaths and haire had done pennance For tâ—ue repentance is not a bare turning to God but turning with fasting they are Gods own words Turn to mee with fasting weeping and mourning The belly must grieve and sympathize with the heart and the eye be as contrite as the minde Repentance then must together with fasting under the Law in Leviticus it was so their solemne repentance was ever at the time of their generall fast and they which had not the law as Nineveâ— nature it selfe taught them to take this Physicke as wee use all other fasting and fasting wee must take it if wee would have it worke kindly Nay Saint Basil in his first dejejunto saies it works not at all upon a full stomack 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 repentance without fasting is idle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 meerly idle without any stirring any moving the ill humors atall The meaning is according to S. James As faith without works so repentance without fasting is little better then dead and again As faith without works so fasting too without works is dead and this is another end of our fasts the exercise of our charity alms To keep a fast for a nation and relieve it not is but to repeat that Sarcasme in the 2 d of S. James Depart in peace when they are already destroied by war warm your selves and fill your bellies without fire or meat Could we everimagine how our devotion should rout an enemie or our fasts raise a siege Joshua must sight against Amalek as well as Moses pray it were well then if they would order it that our hands may be lifted up no lesse then our votes and praiers and our Chests lie as open as our Church-doors For this is to fast saies God by his Prophet Isaiah To deal thy bread to the hungrie to bring the poor to thy house Israel was not chid for eating but laying up of their Mannah and therefore saies a Father Ita jejuna ut alio manducante prandisse te gaude as so fast that the poor may fare the better for it let thy Eves be their Festivals thy Lent their Easter And now we have got a fast for our time let us see whether wee can finde a time for our fast a tunc for our jejunabant which is my last part to be handled the circumstance or time of this fast implied in the Adverb then And then they shall fast and then Allowing the thing we can't chuse but allow it a time for there is a time for every thing under the Sun a time to weep and a time to laugh a time to mourne and a time to dance saies the preacher to dance when the Bridegroom is with us to sit down and mourn when hee is taken away when the marriage feast is at an end and this is that then in my text then shall they fast that is when the Bridegroom is taken away and the Bridegroom is taken away saies our Church Homilie when we are cast down with sicknesse grief of minde or the like As for sicknesse 't is a plain case that takes away the stomack quite and the time of grief is a time of fasting too Thus Hannah when she was upbraided by her adversarie wept and how then and did not eat saies the 1 of Sam. 1. 7. nor drink neither I believe unlesse her tears So Ahab also when he could not obtein the Vineyard mourn'd I that 's granted you 'l say for 't is wine that maketh glad the heart of man and Naboth denied that mourn'd yes and fasted saies the text no meat would down with him he was so vexed And so 't is here while Christ was with the Apostles they could not grieve for they had the fulnesse of joy but when that fulnesse of joy was to be taken away then they shall mourn tunc jejunabunt and then they shall fast mourn and fast all one in the text Another time of Fasting is the time of danger for when men are in jeopardy what pleasure can they take in meat knowing not how soon they may eat their last When the children of Israel saw the Egyptians at their heels they had no time then to think of their flesh-pots and onyons And this then this time of fasting is the most usuall in all the Scripture if a plague famine or Rabshekah bee fear'd sanctifie a fast in all hast put on sackcloath send for the Arke And thus was it with the Apostles Christ was their rocke and sure tower of defence from all danger and the feare of it but when this rocke was removed when Christ was once taken away then they were at St Pauls quotidie morimur every hour in danger to be drawn to the stake tunc jeiunabant and then they did fast Now if for the effect of sin we fast for the cause for sinne it selfe much more and this then this time of fasting for our sinns should wee duely observe our tunc would bee nunc our then would be now and as now ita nunc semper in secula so both now and for ever for should wee live alwaies wee should sinne alwaies and so fast alwaies But this because wee
to stretch the jawes to shew thy Faith by strong Protistations But this must not be a work of the mouth but hand If a man question thee of thy faith spare thy lips and let thy mouth make answer If words might be credited if a bare profession of the Gospel might be believed no man would want faith every one would crie with the blind man to Christ Lord I believ what mouth would not make one lie for its master Nise videro unless I see saith Thomas of Christ's rising so unless I see and feel thy saith I will not believe If therefore thou criest the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord with the Jewes and with them dost not obey the Lord of that Temple if thou art onely Sermon-sick whilst thou art rock'd in a Church-tempest abroad and presently do'st recover again as soon as thoudo'st lie at hull at home if thy voice be Jacobs but thy hands Esau's if thou do'st acknowledge God with thy tongue but denie him in thy life professe a Christian and live a Pagan join together Christ and Beliat the Temple of God and the Temple of Divels the holy and the unholy Ghost if thou do'st run to heaven one day to hell six and do'st contradict the truth of those Sermons thou do'st hear by the errors of thy life I must tell thee by way of reproof that this is the part of a grand hypocrite and not of a good Christian and at the last day shall receiv the portion of hypocrites in the lake of fire and brimstone In the third place you may here take unto your selves a word of Admonition to beware of these hypocrites and this is our Saviour's own use Mat. 7. 15. Beware saith Christ of those that come to you in sheeps cloathing in sheeps cloathing with such a cast of mortification and integritie as if their conversation spake nothing but innocencie and immaculatenesse when within they are ravening wolves A handsom garment is no argument of a straight bodie nor are those alwaies the best men that make the most shew of Religion All are not Nathanaels Israelites indeed that are of Israel many have Abraham to their father but a few his children many that came out of his loins but few that shall sit in his bosome Therefore I say again take our Saviour's advice Beware of those that come to you in sheeps cloathing you shall know them by their fruits saies Christ fruits indeed to the eie beautiful and glorious but to the finger dust and smoke like those hypocritical apples that well-complexion'd dust of Sodom and so much shall suffice for our first doctrinal position rais'd from this first general part of the Text. The second Observation that I shall draw from this general point of Charitie and Almsdeeds is that this work is not a free-will offering left to our selves to bee done or left undone as we think fit but it is our dutie and we are bound to do it if we are able and this is proved from 1 Tim 6. 17 18. It is the rich man's charge precept and dutie and therefore what is here with our Saviour a counsel was with his Apostle a precept Charge the rich saith the aforementioned Epistle to Tim. that they do good It is not left to their free choice to do good if they please but it is laid upon them as their charge and dutie they must do good Workâ— and wo to them if they do not And the reason of the point is because God haih not made them owners but servants and servants not of their goods but the giver not treasures but stewards and Almoners And this dispensation and ordering of God's that rich men should be his Stewards may very well serve for a word of encouragement and exhortation to those rich men to go on and glorie in this office of Stewardship especially when they shall consider that the praise of a Steward is more to lay out well then to have received much knowing that Well done faithful servant Mat. 25. 21. is a thousand times a sweeter note then soul take thine ease Luk 12. 10. for that first is the voice of the Master recompencing this last of the Carnal Heart presuming and what followed to the one in the Gospel but his Masters joy what to the other but the losse of his soul But what need here either our Saviours counsel or his Apostles precept you 'l say for we shall have friends enough no doubt so long as this Mammon in our Text is our friend wee shall indeed and therefore Our third Observation on the point shall bee that in making of friends by works of Charitie we must use discretion and prudence and this will teach us First Negatively who in this particular are not to bee our friends Secondly Positively who are to be these friends in the Text. First then Negatively those are not to be our friends who when we fail will not receive us into habitations who will bee ready to embrace all the favours and good turns you shal confer upon them but will return none back again These are such friends of whom holy Job in his 6 Chap. complain'd of like the brooks by the which the merchants do travel into Teman frozen in winter and dried up in Summer friends no longer then you can befriend them like leavs that fall from the trees when they begin to wither and with Saint Peter know not the man such as will bee your servant in a complement and not look upon you in a businesâ—e These are the first sort of friends that are not to bee made of the unrighteous Mammon common sence and reason forbids it Secondly you must not make those your friends who though they may perchance receive you into habitations yet they cannot receive you into everlasting habitations though they are able to give you houses they are not able to give you heaven and these are the rich in this world of whom our Saviour forewarns you Luke 6. 82 to 35. We therefore are to engage none of these to our friendship but such as when we fail shall receive us into everlasting habitations and these are the poor and needie which seemed such a paradox to the Pharisees as they derided Christ ver 14 of this Chap. whose laughter occasioned the following Parable of Dives and Lazarous had the Rich man there made this Beggar his friend with bâ—ead and a few crums would have done it himself had not afterwards wanted water but now it is but justice that he which denied a crum should be denied a drop Now in the fouâ—th place for a fourth observation upon the point you are to take notice that if you will be Gods Almoners and Stewards to disburse to the poor God will be your pay-matter and undertake for the poor if you will be their friend here he will be your friend both here and hereafter To prove this you must know that these words of
said to give almes of what they have cheated and robbed unlesse they cannot tell the persons whom they have injured or the proportions in such cases they are to give those unknown portions to the poore by way of restitution for it is no almes Onely God is the supreme Lord to whom those escheats devolue and the poor are his receivers And therefore are said in my Text to receive you into everlasting habitations which is my last generall part of the division beeing the end and motive to good works That when yee fail c. In the handling of which part I shall First propose to your consideration three brief positions and then proceed to a more full explication of this generall head For the Positions the First is this that if men were their own friends they would make others so with their Mammon and while they are on earth provide for heaven Blessed are the mercifull for they shall receive mercy was our Saviours in the Gospell God's promises though they be gracious yet they are confined and he onely shall receive mercy that shewes it The Almighty being therefore bountifull to us that we might be so to others promising that if we feast those that cannot bid us againe and build for those that cannot lodge us againe We shal be made partakers of that Mariage-feast and those habitations whose maker and builder is God If men then were their owne friends they would make others so with this Mammon Why should the rust of that gold rise up in judgment against thee the right use of which will place thee with those that shall sit in judgment Turning thy Talents into Cities and saying the foundation of that building whose walls reach up to heaven And that is our First Poâ—ition But can good workes purchase these eternall habitations By no meanes And therefore Our Second Position is this That not our good workes But Christ's merits are the formall cause of our Salvation For neither the vertue of the works they bee but the fruits of charity nor the vertue of charity that is but the fruit of faith nor the vertue of faith that 's but an instrument to apprehend Christ but he alone our Saviour alone by his merits hath made this purchase and prepared those mansions for us And yet mistake me not there is no lesse necessity of good workes then if you should be saved by them that though you cannot be saved by them as the meritorious causes of your glory yet that you cannot be saved without them as the necessary effects and arguments of that grace which brings glory Which is our Second Position upon the point Our third runns thus The poor by their praiers receive us into those eternall habitations which Christ bestowes and confers upon us Now the poor here meant in the Text are either Pauperes spiritu the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God Mat 5. or Pauperes sacculo the poor in purse and these by their prayers shall receive thee into heaven For as Christ is said to receive those almes on earth which the poor put up and not he so the poor in heaven are said to receive us into everlasting habitations which Christ shall bestow and not they Can you conceive how the Queen of Sheba and men of Nineve shall rise up at the last day In the same manner but for a better end shal the men women and children of your Hospitals rise up and testify on your behalf saying Sweet Jesus had it not been for these and these Benefactors we had perished for want As therefore Saint Paul said to the Thessalonians 1 Thes 1. Ye are our hope cause these at the last day would witnesse how he had laboured for their salvation so may every one of you say of all those to whom you have done good You are our hope for that they shall testifie your good works before men and Angels justifie that sentence which shal receiv you into everlasting habitations These are the three brief Positions I mentioned Now that we may come to a more full explication of the point these everlasting habitations according to several Expositors are severally interpreted for first to be received into these everlasting habitations is to be taken into the protection of God according to Psal 90. 1. which is interpreted by the next Psal 1 ad 4. ver from which first interpretation our position shall be That it is better to give away all that wee have to the poor and have God with nothing then all the world without God To have God with nothing did I say Nay in having him wee have all things saith Saint Cyprian de Coen Dom. cum Dei sint omnia Since all things are God's to him that hath God nothing can be wanting except he be wanting unto God nothing saith the Father no good thing saith the Prophet the young Lions do lack and suffer hunger but they that seek the Lord shall want nothing that is good Psal 34. Though all earthly persecutions entrench thee and miserie seems to come upon thee like an armed man and thou art fallen into the jawes of those enemies whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword yet Angels shall encampe about thee and the Lord of Hosts shall be thy buckler and thy shield the neighing of the horse the noise of the trumpet shall not invade thee or if they do and at such a strait that the arme of flesh growes weak yet his mercie is great unto the heavens and his truth reacheth unto the clouds the glorious hoste above shall muster all their forces to assist thee the starrs shall fight for thee and thunder speak loud unto thy enemies Thus in the height of miseries God shall be thy castle and strong tower and under the shadow of his wings shall bee thy refuge till these calamities bee overpast God never leaveth his in their extremities whether in the Cave or in the Mountain in the Den or in the Dungeon hee is alwaies there both in his power and assistance and somtimes in his person too when all natural supplies grow hopelesse God purveies for his children by his miracles rocks shall burst with water and Ravens provide bread and clouds drop fatnesse and heavens shower mannah and Angels administer comforts which when we are naked shall cloath us and receive us or rather usher us into these everlasting habitations Now besides this exposition of the words these everlasting habitations may receive a double interpretation one in respect of the everlasting fame and glorie of your name in this world the other in regard of your everlasting reward in the next and that first branch hath a double relation one to your self the other to your posteritie truly even this part of the reward and retribution namely in this life is worth a great deal of your cost and alms that God shall establish your posteritie in the world and in the
to say after him The flesh profiteth nothing If you onely know Christ as dying and rising without you it will profit you nothing unlesse you know him as dying and rising within you Any man is capable of remembring the storie of Christ and rehearsing it if hee have but common reason and can say as well as another that Christ died for him and can throw himself upon Christ and can hang upon Christ this is not faith this is not salvation for saith James Faith without works is dead and Rom. 8. 2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath `made me free from the law of sin and death he doth not say that such a proposition or text of the Gospel did set him free he doth not say that the hearing that Christ died for the sins of men doth set him free No there was the Spirit of life in Christ as well as the law or letter it is that entails life upon Christ and his seed There is an outward Covenant and there is an inward Spirit The outward Covenant is this I will be thy God and the God of thy seed and may not any man pretend to be in this Covenant of this seed do not thousands professe themselvs to be so Do not thousands in the world say Lord Lord Lord and presse to enter into heaven We cannot put a difference betwixt one or other except we know this truth for they say they are within the Covenant and of Christs seed and what hold they forth for this they hold forth the confession of Christ and say that he died for their sin and rose for their justification and this they believe and upon this they lay their souls for salvation May not the veriest hypocrite do so as well as the truest Saint but here 's that which puts the difference when the spirit of Christ brings this Covenant to the heart of a poor creature when the Spirit of Adoption the Spirit of son-ship revealing God as our Father revealing God in Union with us our righteousnesse our strength hee doth indeed seal us to the day of Redemption he sets apart Christs sheep and this distinguisheth them from the other So that if you lay salvation upon an historical Christ you 'l be deceived If you would have that in which you may confide you must have Christ revealed in you in the Spirit you must have the same Spirit of Faith that was in Christ and the same spirit of power that wrought in him you must have the same eternal spirit by which you must offer up your bodies offer up your flesh to God as a sacrifice yea your selves and your own righteousnesse this is true salvation this is salvation manifested unto life To make this yet more clear I shal shew you the difference between Christ in the flesh and Christ in the Saints between that work of God within us and that work of God in Christ the latter is the truth of the former Sanctifiethem through thy truth Joh. 17. 17. that is do thou act those things really in them which are done in a figure for them upon mee there is the truth I desire to clear this to you by some familiar experience You know that Jesus Christ is said to die for our sins and rise for our justification Here is now Christ in the flesh here is his ministration Why now hereupon salvation is preach'd to men and they are told that God is reconciled for he hath sent his Son there is nothing to be done God is reconciled his justice satitfied onely believ Here is the outward difpensation But now a poor soul notwithstanding all this lies under the guilt and weight of sin whereby he cannot believe or take comfort in these glad tidings Do you not see that there is need of another ministration Is there not need of the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus as well as the proposition of the Gospel You come and shew a poor soul the proposition of the Gospel that whosoever believeth in Christ shall have eternal life Yet all this while the poor soul lies dead till not onely the letter but the spirit of the Gospel comes and appears to him till Christ appears not onely in his first Court that is his own flesh or the letter of the Gospel but the inmost place of all that is in this man's conscience For wee may allude to Heb. 9. 24. That Christ is not entred into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us These words are spoke figuratively It is true he went visibly into heaven that is a place remote from their sight a cloud received him out of their sight The true heaven and that heaven where Christ doth appeare to the comfort and releife of a poor soul is the conscience of a poor sinner and that is called heaven because as heaven is the place of God so is the heart of man He is sayd â—o be the searcher of the heart God sits there and wounds and heales there that is God's true place It is not in the understanding of a man in the Notions there but it is in the heart of man there it is gone Christ in the spirit is in the heart of his people that is Christs place and there it is that Christ Jesus speakes a word for a poor soul there it is that Christ Jesus sits as King in our conscience Christ may offer himself long enough in the letter in the history of the Gospel but if he appeare not in the spirit and sit in our consciences to quiet them we shall never have any true understanding of the word Now for this reason I shall desire you to looke within your selves and I make no question but if you do wait upon God without prejudicate spirits he will clear this truth unto you And now while I come to some application of this truth I shall desire you in the feare of God not to mistake me Let us take heed of idolizing even the humanity of Jesus Christ himselfe of idolizing his doings and his sufferings We see God through these doings and sufferings of Jesus Christ as through a glasse but it is not blasphemie to say that a believer may come to see a love born unto him above and before the manifestation of it in the sufferings of Jesus Christ he may see it in God himself though by Christ Do not think you know so much as you need to know in knowing the flesh of Christ in knowing the man Christ Jesus for unlesse you know God in his appearance under that form you mistake Christ and make him an Idol I am nothing saith Christ and hee that sends is greater then he that is sent If God be greater then Christ then Christ himselfe is but a medium through which you come to be acquainted with God and in which you must not rest Take