in their urgent occasions to relieve them upon hard and unreasonable terms as to lend Money upon great and unconscionable Interest or else refuse to do 't which is a Cruelty T is also a wresting by force Threatnings or Authority that which is not his due or more than it is as when an Officer doth exact more than he ought or than his Fees come to I am afraid we had of late and now have too many of these Unjust and Merciless Men But let them know that if the Law in a way of punishment takes no notice of their Crime at one time or other God if they continue and Repent not will visit them for it Another kind of Injustice is called Illegal without or against Law and this directly regards the Courts of Judicature I confess 't is sad that Law and Equity do not always agree and that sometimes a Just and Conscientious Judge who as in the Presence of God would discharge the Duty of his Place is not always free in a Cause to follow the Dictates of his own Judgment but must be drawn away with certain Formalities of the Law thô in his mind he be satisfied a Witness Swears Falsly yet he must Judge and Act according to Allegata Probata and not according to his own Judgment but this being not directly to our present purpose I omit and come to that which is The Courts of Judicature are the Seat of Justice the Oracles and Interpreters of the Laws which in the Administration of Justice are there Righted or Wronged Thô I speak not of Persons but of Things I gladly own that upon the Benches sit some Persons of known Abilities and Integrity yet that Profession is not free from Flaws it hath its Sins and grievous ones too is often a Remedy which proves worse than the Disease and for the Truth of this I appeal to those therein concern'd that are sincere and make Conscience of their ways therefore Abuses therein should be Reformed Things Regulated and those Springs when Corrupt Purged to delay Doing Justice to Deny and Pervert it makes many times the Law to be a Grievance and are Three abominable thô different Degrees of Injustice Long and tedious Proceedings at Law are Vexatious Chargeable and make one unnecessarily lose abundance of time Why should one put off till to Morrow that which he ought and can do to Day May be God will take away that Power and thy Life too 'T is an unhappy Inclination of some Men of Business out of a Humour Custom Pride Neglect Prejudice of some other corrupt Motive or Design to prolong time to do things which require Speed So that sometimes it would be better to have to deal with a Bashaw who before Men go out of his Sight will decide a difference and thô sometimes he doth one wrong yet on the other side he doth a Kindness with saying Charges Time and Trouble For what mean the Long Tedious and Chargeable Suits at Law which become endless to the ruin of Persons and Families and the Oppression of the Poor by the Rich who with strength of Money tire and disable them from holding out the Law say some is ever open to all that is for the Rich to Ruin the Poor thus the Remedy is turn'd into Poison which ever keeps things unsettled and at uncertainties and affords continual occasions for one to disquiet and wrong another and sometimes both are serv'd like the two that Quarrel'd about an Oyster they had found one saying he had seen it first the other that he had taken it up for he whom they referr'd the business to did open and eat up the Oister and gave each of them a Shell The Emperor (a) Instit l. 4. Tit. 16. de Paenâ temerè litigantium Justinian appointed punishment against those who went to Law without a just Cause To Deny Justice when due and sued for is another degree of Injustice We know a competent time to Examin and Inquire into the Matter must be allowed but after that one may well expect to see it done I cannot believe any Man in that station can so far forget himself as positively to say I will not do you Justice but not to do 't is by a side-Wind in effect the same Besides the unnecessary Trouble a Plaintiff's put to and made to lose his other Occasions bis dat qui citò dat is with me a good Rule soon to do Justice or a Kindness lays a double Obligation The Judge spoken of in the Parable did not tell the Widow You shall have no Justice from me only (b) Luke 18.4 he would not for a while at last he did nor for Justice sake but out of a Selfish Motive that is to be no longer troubled with her Importunities and in the place for this reason our Saviour calls him (c) v. 6. The unjust Judge After he had passed this Sentence upon himself That be feared not God nor regarded Man But to pervert Justice is the highest Degree of Injustice as is to Condemn the Just and Justifie the Wicked which (d) Prov. 17.15 Both are abomination to the Lord. Or to give one that which belongs to another this happeneth when out of the corruption of the Heart Judges through Bribery Favour or other perverse Motives suffer themselves to be byassed when once any one hath been noted for it he ought for ever to be branded with Infamy as being a Scandal to the Law and a Shame to the Bench the Injustices of Subordinate Judges cry loud for Vengeance to God the Supream Judge of all Would to God there was not so much cause as there is to Complain of it no Court either Ecclesiastical Politick or Civil is free from Abuses and Sins in relation to this last I must give a hint of another Abuse which is When Lawyers undertake for Money to Patronize any Cause whatsoever thô in their Judgment they be convinced it is bad Indeed in dubious Causes for a Fee they may make the best they can of it but to encourage Clients in a wrong way with telling they are in the Right is certainly a Sin for 't is to betray the Truth to engage them in an Ill Cause put them to unnecessary Charges and Trouble and make them run the hazard of being Cast and Losers at the end But a great piece of Injustice very common and Hurtful is among Tradesmen who make a great part of the Nation I do not say every one for some make Conscience of their ways but too many when you come into their Shop then out with their Lies 't is say they the best in the kind cost so much and the like to wheedle one to Buy which the Apostle hath forewarned of and forbidden when he saith (e) Ephes 4.25 Wherefore putting away lying speak every Man truth with his neighbour But the worst is that in such Shops and Houses are kept False Weights and False Measures contrary to what
exercise loving-kindness judgment and righteousness in the Earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord and not in Sin which I abhor Once there were great outcry 's against the Sins of the late Reigns and there was cause for it as God's Judgments which are always just declared But are we now better in the least On the contrary we can observe those same Sins to increase and daily grow stronger and more frequent upon us Have any of the guilty and offenders against God and the Country been punished for their notorious Offences How can the Effect cease if we remove not the Cause and what signifies to find fault except we mend I look upon 't only as an aggravation We know yet act not according to knowledge neither do we improve the means and opportunities which God had put into our hands to assert his Honour and his Truth to reform Abuses redress Grievances promote the good of the Nation prevent Evil restrain Sin punish Sinners and with greparing our Hearts unto God to fit ourselves for further Mercies Rather with continuing as we do in our Sins and through our unthankfulness we provoke the Lord and are in a way to draw his vengeance upon us The most notorious Sins of the late Reigns were Whoredom and Adultery taking other Mens Wives and without Shame living with them in the sight of the Sun Also downright and open Idolatry yet such were Prayed for as our Religious Kings and Defenders of the Faith when they were about destroying it So was Hypocrisie in pretending to be Protestants tho' actually Papists yet 't was made Treason to say the King was a Papist or Popishly affected which I say to shew how any Society or Assembly of Men chiefly when guided by Interest and Passion is apt to Err and be mistaken and thereby Men were made guilty of Death for telling the Truth Well these Sins and many more in Church and State were under the late Reigns the cause of our Complaints and have been the grounds for our Deliverance But what are we the better for it Tho' God (a) Ezek. 16.50 hath taken away some of the Sinnners as he saw good if the same Sins in the same degree nay in a higher do still continue among us and are become our master Sins is not there Cause to put this Question after God hath so graciously and wonderfully wrought for us are these Distempers remedied and all the great Abuses we complained of Reform'd nay are we so much as in earnest about to do it Tho' we may say some few are in a small degree yet far from it as to others for specially those relating to God ' Honour and Service are increased and without restraint daily multiplied We have bad Examples whence we expected good ones How careful are Men to promote their worldly selfish Interest and how neglectful of God's as if it was not worth minding Hence it is that we see obscene blasphemous and impious Books publickly exposed to Sale in Shops Auctions c. without any Curb and when there hath been other Books in opposition to those how much unfaithfulness tricking and unfair dealings have been used to smother or mangle them about the time of the coming out nay after that for Love nor Money one could not get them put into the Gazzetts among the Advertisements tho' desir'd more than once So that Diana's Interest wants no Demetrius of several kinds among us Some think they may be of no Religion others of any and profess what they please some do vent and publish their Opinions whilst others cheat and revile their Neighbours and wrong them in their good Name Fortune Liberty and sometimes in their Life without little or no Curb at all which is a bringing in a-pace of Confusion and Anarchy and all this some would call the Liberty of the Subject which is with Impunity to abuse one another and to run into all manner of Licentiousness Some think themselves Priviledged to Defraud others of their own nay others go further to Strike those Persons whose Character ought to be Respected and that in such Places as require a special Punishment and upon such occasions as deserve Thanks and not Blows Thus in one kind or other (a) Judg. 17.6 Every one doth that which is Right in his own Eyes as we read it was when there was no King in Israel Thus God in his wise Providence suffereth Abuses to Creep in and sometimes to Prevail of which we may say what our Blessed Saviour speaks of Offences (a) Luke 17.4 It is impossible but that Offences will come but Wo unto him through whom they come by Right it should be so with those who commit Abuses but also he from time to time raiseth Instruments in his hand for his People's good and makes them as Paul would have us to be (b) Rom. 12.11 Acts 17.16 Fervent in Spirit Serving the Lord. As we read how his Spirit was stirred in him in Athens when he saw the City wholly given to Idolatry Not Lukewarm in his Service for such (c) Rev. 3.16 He speweth out of his Mouth Nor such as (d) Jer. 48.10 Do his Work deceitfully For such are Cursed But for his Honour and the benefit of his People he makes use of such as Love Fear and Serve him with their Heart such a one was Moses to deliver Israel out of Aegypt and Joshua to bring them into the promised Land After the Babylonian Captivity God chose Zerubbabel to carry them home Ezra to reform their Manners settle Religion and build the Temple then Nehemiah to build up the Walls of Jerusalem So he never wants Instruments to do his Work and if some Men ly as Blocks in his way he knows well how to Remove them Happy those whom he is pleased to make use of for so good a Work But as Rules back'd with Examples make a greater impression so I shall mention some whom Scripture hath proposed as Patterns in matters of Religion for after Ages to follow Asa I begin with for after the falling off of the Ten Tribes he was the first Reformer of the Kings of Judah To his commendation 't is Recorded of him that (e) 1 King 15.11.14 He did that which was Right in the Eyes of the Lord as did David his Father and that his Heart was perfect with the Lord all his days Whereof Instances are given to shew how he minded the true Worship of God and removed Abuses therein Committed 'T is with every collective Body whether Ecclesiastical Civil or Politick as with the Natural in this ill humours and destructive are sometimes Bred and Formed which 't is necessary to Purge away Thus often Corruptions which cause Distempers do creep into the sore-named Bodies which to preserve the whole ought to be taken away and Remedied This good King began his Reign with minding things of Religion 't is just that God should be served first The Right way for a
is righteous and I and my people are wicked So could Balaam to the Angel (d) Numb 22.34 I have sinned So Saul to Samuel (e) 1 Sam. 15.24 I have sinned because I feared the people and obeyed their voice Let all Princes have a care not to fear Men more than God So said Judas (f) Matth. 27.4 I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent Blood This Confession of Sin must not meerly come out of the mouth but from the bottom of the Heart with Grief and Sorrow attended with a real and sincere desire hereafter to do so no more to be able to say with David (g) Psal 18.23 I kept my self from mine iniquity If God was pleased to make us all sensible of our sins and send us to Peter for Counsel the Answer is (h) Acts. 2.38 Repent but that Counsel must be asked to that effect by the Angel's direction Cornelius sent for him And Paul when the voice from Heaven came to him said Lord (i) Ch. 9.6 what wilt thou have me to do No other remedy for Sin but Repentance and to make it acceptable nothing else but the Bloud of Christ But how can those who impiously prophane it as too many among us do hope to have any benefit by it chiefly those who like the Jews one day cry out (k) Marth 21.9 Hosanna and few days after and few days after (a) Luke 23.1 Crucific Crucifie him as the People of Lystra who to Paul and Barnabas (b) Acts. 14.13 19. would have done Sacrifice but soon after stoned him To shew how apt on a sudden some Men are to change for the worse or rather to appear really to be contrary to what they were but seemingly before The Trumpet saith And who knows but that this may be the last Sound (c) Rom. 13.13 12 13. It is high time to awake out of sleep-the night's far spent the day is at hand let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armour of light let us walk honestly as in the day not in rioting and drunkenness not in chambering and wantonness not in strife and envying If not I boldly denounce God's Judgments against impenitent Sinners not as of my self (d) Psal 68.21 but after the Royal Prophet God shall wound the head of his enemies and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses Wounds in the Head thô not Mortal are known to be dangerous We have daily examples of some who die suddenly and of an unusual death there being in God's Quiver such a number and variety of deadly Arrows And will Sinners take no warning Then in the name of the just God of Truth I declare that those who die by means of extraordinary Accidents are not always greater Sinners than we who are left behind no more then were the (e) Luke 13.1 Galileans whose Bloud Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices or those upon whom the tower of Siloam fell and slew them above all that dwelt in Jerusalem I tell you nay but except we repent we shall all likewise perish Time to repent allowed us is a mercy if we have the Grace to consider it or else the slower vengeance is a coming on the harder it will strike And because Men must not be afraid or ashamed to speak for God's Cause for such was Elias such John Baptist and 't is said of Apollos that (a) Acts 18.25 he was fervent in the Spirit after such examples without any pretence to immediate Inspirations only according to the rule of the revealed Will of God I think I may be more plain and free in delivering God's Message which tends to a speedy and sincere Reformation in Doctrines and Practices in Head and Members which when compared one with another admit of a difference but in relation to God are all equal being consider'd in themselves Every Man's Breath is in his Nostrils some have Death in the Head others in the Lungs Bloud Stomach Bowels therefore all equally concerned to prepare for it and finish the Task given them to do before they die I think no Man in Authority if asked will deny it to be his Duty to raise and erect Monuments for the Honour and Service of God but he who hath a mind to Build must clear the ground and remove all rubbish out of the way The building of God's House is an Honourable Work committed chiefly to the care of Princes but when they mind their own more then God's they give him just ground of complaint which is follow'd with his Judgment 'T is likely David had not kept that good Resolution of his (b) Psal 101. of the good Orders he said he would keep in his House and Kingdom with punishing correcting and rooting out Wickedness encouraging and favouring Piety Virtue and Godly Persons But he was sensible that he was to begin at home in his own Heart therefore he said as all Princes who as well as ordinary Men meet with Crosses and Troubles ought to do (c) Psal 66.18 If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me In consequence of this he would not see or suffer wicked Men in his Presence which made him say (d) Psal 6.8 Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity and there he gives this reason for the lord hath heard the voice of my weeping implying that he would not hear him if he continued to keep such This is an example for all Kings to follow who often have wicked Men about their Persons who Humour Flatter and for Self-ends do what they can to please them thus they insinuate themselves into their Hearts and Affections Such consider themselves more than their Master and what they do is to promote their Designs which as they arise out of an evil Principle so they tend to a bad end 'T is the Duty and Interest of every Prince who hath such Men about him to remove them from his Presence If Rulers go about to Reform they ought thoroughly to know the Disease and well apply the Remedy or else like Job's Friends (a) Job 13.4 they shall prove Physicians of no value Then they ought first to begin at home and in their own Houses Hence may flow a National Reformation whereof the necessity hath with the Method well been (b) An Account of the Societies for Reformation demonstrated of late God hath been pleased to stirr up the Hearts of some as much as within their station they are able to encourage Piety and Virtue and get impiety and Vice discouraged and punished And if the Superiour Powers were pleased to lend a helping hand it might through God's Blessing be hoped in some good degree to see it effectually done Indeed 't is very sad and a shame that notwithstanding Presentments of Grand Juries Acts of Parliament and King's Proclamations for want of a due execution Heretical Doctrines and Sinful
and Minister as Overseer of his Flock must be blameless as the Steward of God not self willed not soon Angry not given to wine no striker not given to filthy lucre but a lover of hospitality a lover of good Men Sober just holy temperate The like charge to this is by another Apostle given the Elders which is the same Office (c) 1 Pet. 9.1 2.3 Feed the flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind neither as being lords over Gods heritage but being examples to the flock examples of Prety 〈…〉 Charity Temperance Sobriety Humility and of every other Christian and Moral Virtues Learning of Christ for (d) Matth. 11.29 he is meek and lowly in heart who (e) John 13.15 hath given an example or Humility After the example of the Sovereign Lord and Master Ministers ought also to follow that of the Apostles as Paul gives himself for one (f) Phil. 3.17 but be together followers of me and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example For his Design was (g) 2 Thes 3.9 to make himself an example unto others to follow him Another Apostle exhorted those whom he wrote to in some particulars (h) Jam. 5.10 to take the prophets who have spoken in the name of the lord for an example I have a great Respect for the high Character of the Ministers of Christ and of the Stewards of the Mysteries of God and I know we have some who as much as Human frailty can allow perform the Duty of that Holy Office but to others whose number is too great and who do not walk worthy of Christ what Paul upon another account saith upon this I say (i) 1 Cor. 7.28 I spare you for the Offices sake I spare the Persons unworthy of it leaving them to examine themselves by the Rules and Examples I mentioned a little before Whether they have not prevaricated but taken due care of Souls fed them with the sincere Milk of the Word given good Counsel and good Examples or a Scandal that made the weak of the Flock to stumble and the enemies of God to Blaspheme I know no perfection can be attained to in this world nothing without spots and stains (k) Deut 32.5 but I doubt their spot is not the spot of God's children the corruption of the best things is the worst of all and where more of Christ's Image in Holiness Purity and of every Christian Grace is required the more conspicuous and odious are Sins and Things contrary to 't (a) 2 Cor. 12.20 I fear to speak somewhat like in Paul's words Lest there be among them debates envyings wraths strifes backbitings whisperings swellings tumults and that many have not repented of the uncleanness Drunkenness and other sins which they have committed One fault more I shall but name which some of the best are sometimes guilty of and that is In Preaching or Praying to be inconsiderate when in the Pulpit in their Expressions for they should use none but such as become the Majesty of the Great God whose Ambassadors they are and whose Holy Word they Preach which ought to be done with an awful Reverence and in a serious and grave manner Graciously God allows them to be free in Preaching and Prayer but not to be Saucy or Careless with him There is besides a worse and greater Fault and of very ill consequence which out of Covetousness they often commit for to have Money they in Priviledged places as called Favour Clandestine Marriages and without examining about the Qualification of Persons Consent of Parents other Abuses or Inconveniences which to prevent they should be better informed and satisfied about yet they Declare the Parties to be Husband and Wife One of the greatest Causes of Miscarriages of Clergy-men is the Ignorance and Inconsiderateness of Parents who Devote their Sons to the Ministry without inquiring whether they be well Inclined Fit and have the necessary Qualifications and Dispositions for that Holy Office which they look upon as a Trade and to get a livelyhood whereby is caused a great Prophanation of God's Service In consequence of this a young Man doth not examine himself to know whether he hath a Call to and be Gifted for it but when once he is engaged in 't doth indeed make a Trade of is not so much minding the Duty as the Profit of the place and is striving from a Good to get into a Better Benefice not to do good to the Souls of his Flock but to have larger Profits and more Income Hence it is that sometimes I have been ashamed and then moved with some Indignation instead of good Pious and Profitable Discourse when Three or Four Parsons are got together to hear them talk after the rate of Farmers at Market how such a Benefice is worth so much such another more one hath gotten a good one and another hath a prospect of a better For my part I could wish all Merchants and Changers of Money and Benefices were driven out of God's House their Tables overthrown and such unsavoury Discourses laid aside till there be a necessary occasion for they smell too much of Simony Would to God there was no more than the Smell but there 's too much of the Body of it And now I am upon this Point I cannot forbear taking notice of a commendable Care by a neighbour Nation lately taken to revent Simony by (k) By the States of Holland and West Fr. Dated Hague April 18 1698. a Proclamation which thô it doth not concern us yet the thing 't is about doth and 't is no harm nor disparagement to learn good from others Therefore out of it I shall take notice only of this That-all Candidates for the Ministry in the Church after the preparatory Examination is over when they are called to any Benefice to take care of Souls ought upon Oath to Declare that they have neither promised nor given any Gifts nor caused to be given nor directly or indirectly promised to any person for their being call'd and know not that any hath done it in their behalf The Controvenors thereof to lose their places and to pay Forfeiture amounting to four times as much as in Gift Besides the usual Penalty inflicted for Perjury This may work upon any that makes Conscience of an Oath But here the abuse of Patronage is very great the Presentation thô to take away the appearance of Simony some unworthy Tricks and Prerences are made use of is sometimes actually bargained for and bought thus a Minister is intruded upon a Congregation who dislike him which is as bad as to force a Husband upon a Woman whether she will or not One thing more relating to the Clergy I shall observe how to the grief of sound and Orthodox Men a due and necessary Care hath by some not been taken to curb and restrain the damnable
Heresies of Socinianism which of late have been and still are too much abroad I know a late worthy Prelate and others to their immortal Praise have as it becomes them bestirred themselves for this Cause but in others there hath been a great Lukewarmness I say not to Write but to make use of the Authority which the Laws give them against such things Besides others in the (a) Anno 29. Caroli 2d in 1677. Act for taking away the Writ De haereticô comburendo 't is provided that nothing in that Act shall extend or be construed to take away or abridge the Jurisdiction of Pretestant Arch-Bishops or Bishops or any other Judges of Ecclesiastical Courts in Cases of Atheisme Blasphemy or Heresie and other damnable Doctrine and Opinions so that still they may prosecute the Of fenders This is still in Force and Unrepealed but certainly it hath not been made use of as it might and ought to have been I am afraid that those who in things of that nature have been so remiss would if they had by the late Act been allowed have been more severe about Formalities and Ceremonial things for thô Thanks be to God Persecution about indifferent things be ceased yet in many remains the persecuting Spirit and 't is often found that those who (b) Matth. 23.24 Swallow a Camel will strain at a Gnat. It is a great Mercy of God when he is pleased to raise up and send those who give Men warning of the Danger and of their Duty Such are the fore-runners of a Blessing as the Lord mentions it by a Prophet (c) Isai 62.6 I have set watchmen over thy walls O Jerusalem which shall never hold their peace day nor night These are the faithful Servants which never grow remiss or weary but are continually doing their Work standing upon their Guards giving warning where there is any danger or approach of an Enemy and how great must the Guilt be of those who when the Enemy is at the Gate and the (d) Isaia 56.10 Wolves amidst the Flock are as unconcerned as Dumb dogs and Idol Shepherds then in such a case even those who are not Christ's Ministers by way of Office ought to speak out for which out of that same place of the Prophet they have God's Warrant ye that make mention of the name of the Lord keep not silence When the Watchman doth not give warning then any Member of the Society may give it for the Publick Good And upon this occasion this is my Warrant and the ground of this Acting of mine Another kind of Sins which the Nation abounds in is call'd Sins of Age for every part of Man's life hath some Sins which that Age doth particularly incline him to And First The Sins of Youth as are Rashness chiefly Lust and Pleasures (e) Zech. 11.17 of Sin which heat of Blood in that Age draws them into These David could not forget but Repented of (c) Psal 25.7 and Prayed to God to forget and forgive Remember not the sins of my youth Ambition is one of the proper Sins of Men of ripe years and Covetousness of Old Age 't is very strange to see Men the nearer they draw to the journey's end the more sollicitous to be to make provision for it and God knows how many unlawful ways are by Men made use of to attain to their ends The Nation is full of them and thô we cannot tell all the Works of Darkness subservient to their evil Designs there is enough of it known to grieve the Heart of all that love God and hate Sin There are also Sins of Relations as are between Husband and Wife how many daily miscarriages are there of one of those Relations against the other Want of Union want of Love full of Wranglings Divisions Quarrels hard Usage and Abuses by one put upon the other And no wonder for God's Blessing goeth not along with the breakers of so Sacred a Bond as is Marriage of God's own immediate Institution at the very beginning of the World There hath been a mutual Contract a reciprocal Agreement a solemn Promise in the Presence of God and in the face of the Church but is the Husband Faithful to his Wife Is the Wife True to the Husband Far from that in too many Families the Husband to maintain his Whore or to satisfie his Drunkenness or some other Lusts doth almost starve his Wife and Children and too often an ill Wife to please her Vanity and others more than her Husband instead of looking to her Family and doing her self and others some good misspends her precious time with standing idle before her Looking-Glass Dressing Patching like Jezebel Painting and sometimes in gaudy Cloaths Gaming Gossiping and the like pernicious courses doth often Beggar her Husband Thus (d) Isai 3.16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24. the Daughters of Zion were haughty and walked with stretched out necks and wanton eyes walking and mincing as they went and making a tinkling with their feet But what doth God say to all this Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion and the lord will discover their secret parts in that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments and their cauls and their round tire like the Moon the chains and the bracelets and the mufflers the bonnets and ornaments of the legs and the head bands and the tablets and the ear-rings and nose-jewels the changeable suits of apparel and the mantles and the pimples and the crisping pins the glasses and the fine linnen and the woods and the vails and it shall come to pass that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink and instead of a girdle there shall be a rent and instead of a well set hair baldnesi and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth and burning instead of beauty Many of those vanities our present times do not want which they seem to have borrowed of them so we may expect the like punishment Some of these vanities continued in the days of the Apostles therefore they would Reform it and give the Sex the example of Holy Women in the Old times for saith he (e) 1 Pet. 3.5 6. after this manner in the old time the hold women also who trusted in God adorned themselves being in subjection unto their own husbands and in the next verse he names what old time he meaneth namely of Abraham for he adds even as Sara obeyed Abraham calling him lord whose daughters ye are as long as ye do well and to instruct them well in this matter he tells first Negatively what this vain Apparel must not be whose adorning let it be not that outward one (f) v. 3. of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of apparel Then Positively what kind it ought to be (g) v. 4. but let it be the hidden man of the heart in that
very zealous for the Glory of God and when he was Twenty he abolished Idolatry and restored true Religion in Jerusalem and in Judah and so continued to do in the (d) v. 6. Cities of Manasseh Ephraim Simeon and Naphtali which belonged not to his Kingdom and because he would not trust others to do 't without him this great Work he would see it done with his own Eyes For 't is said (e) v. 4. They brake down the Altars of Baalim in his presence and the Images that were on high above them he cut down and the Groves and the carved Images and molten Images he broke in pieces and made dust of of them and strowed it upon the Graves of those that had sacrificed unto them The Altar in Bethel which Jeroboam had built and the high places he brake down he defiled Tophet put down the Chemarims or Idolatrous Priests whom the Kings of Judah had ordained to burn Incense in the high Places He brake down the Houses of the Sodomites and so we may think he did of Baudy Houses if there were any for he aimed at a general Reformation whereof we (a) 2 King Chap. 22. and 23. read the particulars How much grieved was he when he heard the Words of the Law seeing he thereupon rent his Clothes This his tenderness of heart as of having humbled himself the Lord took notice off by the mouth of (b) 2 Chr. 34.27 Huldah the Prophetess Now judge of the happiness of having pious Kings by the good effects and consequences thereof for not only they do good but by their example influence others to do so Often the good King makes his Subjects good Regis ad exemplum many times the People follows the King's Example hence it is that in Scripture we read that when the Kings were good or bad the Subjects were commonly such as they so like Prince like People Because (c) Chap. 35.7 8 9. Josiah gave to the People of the Flock Lambs and Kids all for the Passover-offerings to the number of Thirty thousand and Three thousand Bullocks and 't is expressed these were out of the King's Substance So in the next verse we read how that good example was followed and his Princes gave willingly unto the People to the Priests and to the Levites And to their immortal Praise not only their gifts are specified but also the givers Names are upon Record Josiah's Princes were acted by the same Zeal and they not only worshipped God but helped others to do so These examples are insisted upon in hopes that at this present Time and in this Conjuncture when Sins overflow and there is a necessity of a speedy Remedy it will not be in vain Neither can any just exceptions be taken against what I say for 't is not I that speak but God all is out of his holy Word The Trumpet of Sion must Speak or Sound in the Language of Sion Happy those who can understand the Language of Canaan 't is a gracious promise as a Blessing to the Gentiles (a) Isai 19.18 In that day shall Five Cities in the Land of Egypt speak the Language of Canaan and Swear to the Lord of Hosts I write as a Christian for Christians about the things of Christ therefore I lay aside human Reason Wisdom Considerations and Stile to express my self in Christs that is Scriptural Phrase to please God and not Men (b) Gal. 1.10 for if I yet pleased Men I should not be the Servant of Christ But my design is if possible after (c) Rom. 10.19 God's Example without distinction of Persons to move Men to Emulation and Godly jealousie to out-do one another and upon this as upon every other occasion to practise the Apostles exhortation (d) 2 Cor. 14.31 Whatsoever ye do do all to the Glory of God Chiefly Rulers who are publick Springs whence the People draw whose carriage the Subjects Eyes are fixed upon and when the Princes heart is affected with zeal for God's Honour and Service it commonly passeth upon and influenceth the People whose Head he is Therefore he should be careful of the way he leads them by either into Salvation or Destruction In the Christian Church also after many Persecutions Heresies and wicked practises God raised Instruments to do his Work suppress Errors defend his People and purge his Church of notorious Vices Such were the Constantines the Theodosius's and other Christian Emperors whom God made Nursing Fathers to the Church So in the last Age at the beginning of and since the Reformation from the abominations of the Romish Church some pious Princes in Germany and other Northern Countreys and in some Southerly parts of Europe whose Names are to their high Commendation Recorded in History And here Pious young King Edward VI. never to be mention'd without Elogy who for Zeal in his tender years might have been compared to Josiah if God had been pleased to have allowed him a longer Life he upon all occasions expressed his Piety and Abhorrency of Popish Idolatry besides that Providence made this Conformity between those Two good Kings both died young One by the Sword the other as strongly suspected by Poison Josiah not long before the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Captivity And Edward just before the Judgment and violent Persecution under Bloody Queen Mary Commonly such matters as these admit of necessary Cautions thus when I was upon the point of Slander to which what I intend now to say hath some affinity I spake of some who under specious pretences as that they hate not the Person but the Hypocrisie or such other thing which they invent do put abuses upon others and thus to satisfie their Hatred Malice Revengefulness or some other disordinate Passion would bring in their false accusations under the Name of the cause of God and by these means impose upon imprudent and credulous Men or easily perswaded those that are as ill disposed as themselves whom Solomon sets this brand upon A wicked doer gives heed to false lips (a) Prov. 17.4 and a lyar gives ear to a naughty tongue for similis simili gaudet Now in this place I must enter a Caveat which is this That about the great Work of Reformation of Life Manners and other Abuses the Magistrates in the Execution of the Laws must be very Cautious how they receive Accusations and Informations from private Men against their Neighbour specially when the accused are for one quality or other Eminent above the Vulgar sort thus the Apostle charges his disciple against an Elder receive not an Accusation (b) 1 Tim. 5.19 but before two or three Witnesses They ought not to believe every thing they hear but must first endeavour to know who the accuser is and whether he is biassed for in such Cases sometimes (c) Gal. 2.4 to speak in the Apostles Words false Brethren creep in privily to spie out occasions of doing mischief and avenging their grudges