Page:A Compendium of the Chief Doctrines of the True Christian Religion.djvu/220

36 parrot, a jackdaw, or a raven, and that, of consequence, with respect to spiritual things he is a true and real ass, and only a man with respect to natural things; but, my beloved friends, lest this subject should be troublesome to our reason, let me advise that in this also we keep our understandings obedient to faith; for our theology is like a bottomless abyss, into which, if we suffer our understandings to look down, we shall instantly sink over head, and perish as in a shipwreck; yet hear what I have to say; We are nevertheless in the true light of the gospel, which shineth aloft over our heads, but the misfortune is, that the hair of our heads, and the bones of our skulls prevent it from penetrating into the inner chambers of our understandings." When he had spoken these words he descended from the pulpit, and after he had offered up a prayer at the altar, and the service was ended, I joined some of the congregation, who were in discourse together, and had formed themselves in a circle round the priest, to whom they paid their compliments, saying, We are ever bound to thank thee for thy most excellent discourse, so full of majesty and wisdom. Then I addressed myself to them, and said, Did ye understand at all what the priest was preaching about? and they replied, We took all in with open ears; but why dost thou ask whether we understood it? Is not the understanding too much astonished with such subjects to have any clear comprehension of them? Then the priest interposed, and said, Blessed are ye, because ye have heard, and have not understood, for hereby are ye saved. I had some conversation afterwards with the priest, and asked him, whether he had taken his degrees regularly? He answered in the affirmative, and that he was a master of arts; then addressing him by his title, I said,—Thou hast been preaching about great mysteries, but