sary to it. Naturally or ordinarily, long learning and use increase knowledge. Do not all take it for granted, that, usually, the boys who have been many years at school, are better scholars than those who are only beginners? It is the same in all other acquisitions. Therefore the elders in former ages were commonly the rulers of the people in the church and the commonwealth; from which circumstance pastors and rulers are called elders: and if they were not ordinarily the wisest, why did not God make the children the ordinary teachers and rulers of their parents, instead of parents being the teachers of their own children? Old men may be ignorant and erroneous, as well as wicked; but young men cannot be ripe in wisdom without a miracle. We are not, therefore, now to suppose unusual things to be usual. Ordinarily, youth is ignorant and raw; their conceptions undigested, not well fixed or improved: it is but few things that they know; and their ignorance of the rest, maketh them liable to many errors. "For the time, ye ought to have been teachers;" (Heb. v. 11, 12. ;) fitness to teach supposeth time; the young cannot digest strong meats. A novice must not be a bishop; the reason may seem strange," Lest he be lifted up with pride, and fall into the condemnation of the devil." (1 Tim. iii. 6.) One would think youth should be most humble, as being conscious of defectiveness. But because the ignorant know not that more is to be known than ever they attained, therefore they know not their own ignorance.

(2.) And this proud ignorance is so odious a sin, and the nurse of so many more, and so great an enemy to wisdom and all good, that it is no wonder it is the way to "the condemnation of the devil."

5. Therefore though young men should not receive any falsehood, heresy, or ill example from the aged, yet they should still remember, that, cæteris paribus,' (other circumstances being alike) age hath the great advantage for knowledge, and youth must live in a humble and teachable sense of ignorance; other men's abuse of time, and aged folly, will not prove them miraculously wise. The aged are always the wisest if their improvement bear any equal proportion to their time, their helps, and opportunities.

6. It is so odious a sin for lads and young students to be

self-conceited and unteachable, and to set up their apprehensions with ungrounded confidence against their elders, that all should be fearful of that guilt, and ought to entertain such humble thoughts of their own understandings, as to be jealous of their conceptions. For all the following vices make up their self-conceited prefidence:

(1.) It is both great IGNORANCE of the darkness of men's understandings, and great ignorance of themselves,to be ignorant that they are ignorant,—and to think they are sure of that which they know not.

(2.) It is an odious sort of PRIDE, to over-value an ignorant understanding, and to be proudly confident of that which they have not.

(3.) It is FOLLY, to think that truth can be known without sufficient time and trial, and contrary to the world's continual experience.

(4.) It is as absurd and inhuman a SUBVERTING OF THE ORDER OF THE WORLD, for lads to set up their wits by groundless self-conceitedness against their elders, as for subjects to set their wills against rulers.

(5.) It is a continual UNRIGHTEOUSNESS; for there is a justice required in our common private judging, as well as in the public adjudications and awards of judges. All should be heard and tried before we venture peremptorily to judge.

(6.) It is a nest of continual ERROR in the mind, which is the soul's deformity, and contrary to nature's love of truth. 7. It hath also abundance of mischievous effects.

(1.) It keepeth out that truth or knowledge which should be received. It obstinately resisteth necessary teaching, whereas the most willing entertainment is little enough to get true knowledge, even by slow degrees. As God giveth birds an instinct to feed their young, so the young ones by instinct hunger and open their mouths. But if they abhorred their meat and were to be crammed, they would commonly perish. The knowledge which such conceited persons get, must be from themselves,-in their own thinking and observation only; whereas their minds are yet unfurnished with those truths that must let in more. Daily objects will occasion error or confusion in their minds that are unprepared to improve them; their own lusts will pervert them, and one error will draw in more; whereas the assist

ance of those who, by long and successful study, have rightly ordered and digested their conceptions, might be an exceeding great help to willing learners.

(2.) Such young persons by pride do forfeit the grace of God, which he giveth to the humble, while " he resisteth the proud;" and they are often gven up to the self-conceitedness which they so strenuously defend, till their own counsels and ways be their utter confusion.

(3.) The devil hath advantage to set upon and even to possess such proud minds, prepared for him by their ignorance. He then becomes their teacher, and leads them to almost whatever he wills, against the truth and the Church, against themselves and against God.

(4.) Self-conceit and hasty confidence make them continual liars, even while they rage for what they say as being actually true: for being themselves usually mistaken for want of patient trial, they say what they think, and are not to be much believed even when speaking in their utmost prefidence.

8. But some one will say, 'Seeing many old men are ignorant and erroneous, and some young men have sounder understandings than their elders, how shall I know when I am guilty of pride, self-conceit, prefidence, and refusing to bow to the judgment of others?'

Answ. You will know this by the following marks:

(1.) When you rashly neglect the judgment and counsel of those who have had as good helps and parts as you, and far longer time and experience, without so much as hearing what they have to say, or taking time to try the cause according to its weight, especially if they be those from whom nature or the ties of relationship oblige you to learn.

(2.) When you more easily suspect such persons than your own understandings.

(3.) When your confidence of your understandings is so unproportionable to your time and studies, that you must suppose you know by a miracle, or by some rare capacity and wit, as if you had acquired more wisdom in a few years than the rest of mankind obtain in many.

(4.) When you judge suddenly before you take time to think, and when you may know that you never heard what may be said against you.

(5.) When you talk the most, in a bold asserting or a

teaching way, as if you were oracles to be heard and reverenced; and not in a humble inquiring way, with that necessary doubting which beseemeth learners. "Except ye become as little children" in teachable humility, you are not fit for the school of Christ. (Matt. xviii. 3.) Even he that is a teacher, conscious of his remaining ignorance, must be a learner still, and not think himself above it, nor set himself to dispute against all that he understands not, but must continue humbly to search and try.

(6.) When those reasons of your own seem good and cogent which are sufficiently confuted, (yet you cannot see it,) or which men of the most approved learning and fitness to form a judgment do consider to be but folly; and when other men's soundest reasons seem light to you, because you judge by a proud and selfish understanding, being confident and tenacious of all that is your own, and contemning that which is against you.

(7.) When you can too easily, without certain and cogent reason, dissent from the judgment, not only of those whose light and integrity have by self manifestation convinced the world, but also from the generality of such as are commonly known to be the wise, the godly and intpartial; yea, perhaps, when you proceed so far as to differ from all the Church of Christ.

(8.) When the greatest number of the wisest men that know you, think you not so wise as you think yourselves to be, nor your reason so good; but they pity your self-conceitedness, and yet this brings you not to suspect and try.

(9.) When you are hardly and rarely brought to a humble confession of your errors, but in all debates, whatever the cause may be, you seem still to be in the right; and when you have once said any thing, you will stand to it, and justify untruths, or extenuate and excuse them.

(10.) When you too much affect the esteem of wisdom, and love to have your judgments made a rule to others, and are unfit for true subjection.

(11.) In a word, when, instead of being "swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath," you are swift to speak and dictate, slow to hear and learn, and swift to wrathful censure of those who dissent from you.-These are strong signs of pride, self-conceit, great confidence, and unbending stubbornness in judging.

9. So common and hurtful is this sin in mankind, that you should still be duly fearful of it. Error, I fear, taketh up the greater portion of the thoughts of men; most persons are rather deceived than in the right; man's mind in the flesh, is in great darkness; and, therefore, PROUD IGNORANCE is a monstrous and pernicious vice. Most of the confusions and miseries of the world, of kingdoms, churches, and societies, come from it. Yea, though it seems most contrary to scepticism, it tendeth at last to infidelity or atheism. For when experience hath convinced such conceited persons, that their most confident rage was but a mistake, they turn themselves to think that there is nothing certain, and begin to deny the greatest truths. It is by this one sin of proud self-conceitedness in false thoughts, that kingdoms, particular churches, and the world itself, through obstinacy, seem remediless; and the wisest men that would gladly attempt to cure them, can do no good except on themselves and a few others.

10. But this sin is no where more misplaced or unnatural, than in children against the counsel of their parents, and scholars against that of their tutors, and ignorant persons against the common consent of the most able and godly pastors. What an odious thing is it to see an ignorant lad run against all his father's words, and think that he is wiser than his parents, and always in the right! and to hear ignorant persons magisterially judge and despise their wise and faithful teachers, before they are capable to understand them, or the matter about which they talk! O how happily might parents, pastors, and wise men, promote knowledge and goodness in the world, were it not for this selfish confidence, which shuts the door against their necessary helps!

CHAP. XV.

The Conclusion, addressed to Ministers.

THERE is another sort of helpers, on whom the welfare of youth much depends;-even the ministers of Christ. But I presume not here to teach them. In my "REFORMED PASTOR," I have spoken somewhat freely when I had leave. I cannot expect that those who silence me, should hear me ;