a fourth for Christ in opposition to Paul Apollos and Cephas all Teachers and all Ordinances And indeed though difference in judgment about smaller matters ought not to produce distance in Affections and standing aloof from Unity and Association yet we find by dayly experience that it doth bring forth these Apples of Sodom Amos 3.9 Can two walk together except they be agreed Yea it hath occasioned many to become indifferent others Scepticks in matters of Religion And all these things have conspired to produce another effect of dangerous consequence even the putting of a stumbling block in the way to turn them aside from Religion which else might have come to the embracing of it The best and most proper Expedient to help us against these growing mischiefs is to get our souls well ballasted with substantial Knowledge of the Fundamentals of our Faith that an over-large sail of Affections may not betray us to those prejudices that are prepared against us by the various Winds of strange Doctrine that are abroad That we may be like the Mountains fixed and unmoveable and not like Chaff and other leight and loose matter easily carried away and driven to and fro with these blasts 1 Cor. 3.11 Now it is certain that Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ. And therefore as they are to be esteemed Houses built without a Foundation that are not bottomed upon him so it will greatly concern all of us to endeavour to be rooted and built up in him Col. 2.7 which will be our best safegard in these perilous times wherein there are so many Seducers that watch for our souls divers of whom do bring in damnable Heresies 2 Pet. 2.1 even denying the Lord that bought them CHAP. II. A right understanding of the Holy Scriptures is our best security against Errors We need not sail to Rome to fetch it thence Two extreams in the Interpreting of Scripture both which do dangerously tend to induce us to Error THe Papists do both injuriously and absurdly alledge to the undervaluing of the Authority of the Holy Scriptures and setting the Authority of their Church above it that all sorts of Hereticks have pretended the Scriptures to favour and father even their most deformed and monstrous Conceits In this Allegation they do not onely wrong the Word of God in attempting to detract from its Authority but also prejudice their own cause by giving us just occasion to suspect either the Judgment or Designe of those that would impose upon us by such a Non-concluding Argument For this very thing doth argue what great respect men are naturally enclined to shew to the Word of God seeing though many men hold that which is really contrary to it yet they would make it seem as near as they can to be agreeable to it And it hence appears that they account an Argument drawn from the Scriptures to be very firm and powerful seeing they take such pains to wrest the Scriptures to make them speak that which they never intended on their side It is then very evident and may be spoken for the honour of this sure word of Prophesie that men of all Professions and Perswasions 2 Pet. 1.19 do appeal to it as the last Judge in all Controversies appertaining to our Christian Faith But the great thing controverted is What is the best way for Interpreting the Scriptures The Papists if either Self-interest or the just Judgment of God upon them did not quite put out their eyes could not possibly give up themselves to going round in these mills which grind for their advantage In treating of the Authority of the Scriptures they first will have the Scriptures to obtain Authority from the Testimony of the Church and then the Authority of the Church shall be established from the Testimony of the Scriptures So that the Church before its Authority be proved must give Authority to the Scriptures and then the Scriptures which they suppose to have received their Authority from the Church must give Authority to the Church And in like manner they deal about the Interpretation of the Scriptures For if we ask Who must have Authority so to Interpret the Scriptures that we must rest in that Interpretation They will tell you The Church And who is that Church but he whom they suppose the Head of the Church The Pope So that first that Interpretation which the Pope gives of the Scriptures must establish his Authority to interpret them and then by vertue of Authority with which he conceives himself to be invested by the Scriptures he takes Authority over the Scriptures But we may well reckon it a considerable part of our happiness in matters of our Faith that as we do upon good grounds believe the Authority of the Scriptures to be such as needs not to be supported by the Pope but to which indeed he ought to submit himself and by which he must be judged So we believe upon sufficient grounds that for the Interpretation of Scripture in matters necessary to our salvation we need not send to Rome to be informed We should esteem it an unpardonable injury both to the Wisdom and Goodness of our Heavenly Father if we should suppose that he had left his Will in order to our salvation involved in such intricacies as should not be obvious to be apprehended by those that with an honest heart set themselves to search the Scriptures And whereas in matters of less moment there are some dark places of Scripture which the Lord hath thought meet to leave for the exercise of our Industry and trial of our Humility As to these we say that as a man may be saved without a distinct understanding them so the Pope not onely may erre but hath fouly erred in attempting the Interpretation of them And I may reasonably add before I leave this that the Papists in pleading for a necessity of appealing to the Pope as the last Judge of the Interpretation of Scripture do quite shake the foundation of his power by overloading it with a too-high structure For if we must needs believe our selves to be at a loss as to the meaning of the Scriptures unless we have the gracious Nod of his pretended Holiness to confirm it then why may we not as well suspect our selves not rightly to understand those Scriptures that are alleadged for the Popes Authority to interpret Scripture unless his Authority do confirm us in this meaning of them And if so then the Popes Authority to interpret the Scriptures is wholly founded as I intimated before upon his own Magisterial deciding the meaning of Scriptures And if even our Saviour saith If I bear witness of my self John 5.31 my witness is not true then why may we not suspect the Popes Authority which is wholly built upon his own Testimony And if the Popes authority in this case be not reasonably confirmed then are we as far to seek for the
meaning of the Scriptures as before he delivered his judgment And consequently the appealing to him in this matter is so far from putting an end to all strife that it is the way to continue an endless strife till he hath better Asserted his own authority then ever yet he hath done And therefore we may very reasonably invert this Argument and say that if the appealing to the Pope be not the way to satisfie our saith but rather to make it giddy by running round in these mazes therefore it is not the best way to refer our selves to him as an Arbitrator or Vmpire in those differences that are amongst us about the meaning of some Texts of Scriptures If yet they persist in pleading necessity to draw us to this inconvenience and that without putting it to this reference the suit will never be at an end We answer That as the case is very sad in our Church in regard of these divisions of Reuben so we may well suppose that the evil eye with which they look upon us represents it as much worse then it is when they would draw us to lean upon a broken Reed for fear of falling to rest upon that for the strengthening of our Faith which is not able to uphold it self I mean the Pope's authority and therefore will afford but a sorry support to us Besides when we find that in the Apostles times there was great cause to complain of Multitudes of false Teachers which then were risen up in the Church all which no doubt did pretend to the Patronage of the Scriptures as our Modern Opiniators now do and yet we never hear St. Paul who complains so much of them to appeal to St. Peter who was then alive and able to give a better construction of the Scriptures than those that call themselves his Successors for deciding those controversies and pronouncing who was in the right But he proceeds to cut his way by the Sword of the Spirit Eph. 6 17. which is the Word of God and reckons these Weapons to be mighty through God for pulling down strong Holds 2 Cor. 14.4 5. casting down Imaginations and every high thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledg of God and bringing into Captivity every thought into the Obedience of Christ Therefore I say Why may not we believe that the same strength is able to do the same works still and that if we be diligent in endeavouring by sound Doctrine Tit. 1.9 Chap. 2 v. 1.8 both to exhort and to convince the gain-sayers and preach the things that becomes sound Doctrine and use sound Speech which cannot reasonably be contradicted that this I say shall be effectual for the discovery of the Truth And that we shall find in the issue that Great is the Truth and stronger than all things that it endureth and is alwayes strong 1 Esdras 4.35 38. and conquereth evermore Whereas Error though it appear boysterous and turbulent for the present yet it shall in the end appear to be weak and yield the Victory unto Truth And though for the present it afford us no small trouble in the Church that men of perverse mindes will not see the plain and true meaning of some Scriptures because they are blinded with prejudice and self-conceit yet do we not think that the onely expedient to remedy this is to turn Papists both because their Pope hath nothing to shew as a Commission for his Vmpirage and therefore we should be never the better for appealing to him and also because we doubt not but the Lord who is pleased to permit these errours for the trial and exercise of our Faith when we have suffered under them as much as he thinks meet for us will without applying our selves to this indirect course stablish 1 Pet. 5.10 strengthen and settle us and â—â—â—ry true member of his Church in the right Faith Rom. 16.20 and that the God of peace will himself tread Satan under our feet shortly I might add to make this up weight the contrary judgements of Popes and Antipopes which have for some time made a great stir in the Church and must needs be a great distraction to the mindes of them that were bound by their Religion to rest upon the judgement of an infallible person when it was so hard to determine which of the two contraries was truly infallible And beside that in the successions in that See there have been divers that have contradicted the judgement of their Predecessors yea we are not certain but that the same Pope may the next year esteem himself infallible in holding that which is quite contrary to what he now doth infallibly determine and these cases must needs puzzle the Faith of those that apply themselves to such a judge as may be subject to such alterations and contrariety But these things have been so fully and excellently managed by far abler hands that I shall content my self with giving a brief hint of them And this I think is sufficient to convince any person of an unbyassed minde That there is neither necessity nor convenience to invite us to refer our selves to the Pope for deciding of controversies about the interpretation of difficult Scriptures But to proceed As there are many places of Scripture which are not easie to be understood so it behooves us both to be industrious in using the means which God affords us for attaining the knowledge of them and withal to be very modest in passing our judgements concerning the meaning of them And indeed it is mostly to be observed that they are most confident of their understanding the darkest places of Scripture that have very little to support this confidence but onely that good Opinion they have thought meet to entertain of their own abilities And as the Moralist saith of moral and natural knowledge Seneca Multi ad scientiam pervenissent nisi putâssent se jam pervenisse Mens confidence that they are in the right hinders them from finding out their errour and seeking after the truth So we may say of spiritual Knowledge that one great thing which keeps many from the knowledge and belief of the truth and locks them up fast in the fetters of errours is that presumption they have taken up that they are in the right and that it is not possible they should be deceived and therefore Though you bray them in a morter yet will not this wisdom depart from them In the interpreting of Scripture it hath alwaies been observed as a general Rule that That interpretation which is nearest to the letter is the safest and most genuine and that The further men go from the letter the more hazzardous path they tread Indeed if the litteral meaning do either contradict our Senses or Reason or be expresly contrary to any other more plain Text or to the analogy of Faith then we must leave the letter and look for another meaning that will not run us upon such inconveniences So
fallen may be raised up and we our selves may be clear from the blood of them that wilfully and obstinately resolve to perish Acts 20.26 CHAP. IV. An Introduction to the Doctrine of Christ our Mediator shewing how far the Light of Nature will lead us toward Eternal Happiness and wherein it comes short The various acceptions of the Words Christ and Mediator in the Scriptures opened for preventing Erronious constructions of those places of Scriptures THe Apostle tells us Rom. 1.20 that The invisible things of God even his Eternal Power and Jodhead are clearly seen and to be understood by the things that are made The Philosophers and as many amongst the Heathens as did improve the Light of Nature and study the Book of the Creatures as they ought could not but apprehend that this stately Fabrick of Heaven and Earth could not be reared up without an Architect yea that Praesentem refert quaelibet herba Deum The smallest Creatures that are in the World may convince us that there was some first cause to Create or produce them upon the Earth And as every Workman is more noble then his Work so he that made all Things must be a more Noble and Excellent Being then any or all of those Creatures And this was sufficient to convince them that there is a Being Infinite in all Excellencies and Perfections in Wisdom Power Goodness c. who had a Being before any of the Creatures even from all Eternity and gave beginning and being to all things beside Himself and this is that Supream Being and first Cause which we call GOD. And he that duly considers himself and all Things else to be Creatures might easily from hence conclude that this Supream Being which gave beginning and being to all things ought by them all to be Loved and Served and Adored as he Acts 17.28 In whom they live and move and have their beeing And as Reason binds us to believe the Maker of Heaven and Earth infinitly to excel the most excellent of all the Creatures so it must be thought very unreasonable to entertain any dishonourable thoughts of God to subject our Maker to our own making or to carve out him from the stock of a Tree who formed Us and all other Creatures out of nothing To impute to him those Quarrels Rapes Adulteries Incests and other Enormities which the Heathens fathered upon their gods For if we esteem these the fruits of the most debauched Natures amongst men and every man accounts them faults wheresoever they are then sure to impute these Acts to that Supream Being that infinitly excels whatsoever is excellent in us and is free from whatsoever is evil or imperfect in us must needs be a great wrong to our Maker and to be esteemed no better then a project of the sensitive Appetite in man to excuse its own highest enormities by fancying the same to have been acted by him that made us and whom we ought as near as we can to resemble in our Affections and Practises Beside the like exercise of Reason would readily shew us that the first Cause and Mover of all things is but one and that to conceit more than one infinite Being or first Cause is equally absurd as to believe none at all And consequently they might easily have seen that their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was a most absurd Chimera fancied by idle and extravagant brains Yea further Reason might be ready to prompt us that as we owe our beginning and being and whatsoever we do enjoy to this first Cause the Lord our Maker so we owe to him the best and fairest of those fruits that we can possibly bring forth as a testimony of our thank fulness to him for his favours vouchsafed unto us And as the infinit perfections that are in him may reasonably be supposed to oblige him to love what is like them and to abhor what is contrary so whosoever doth desire to please his Maker must endeavour to be like him in his Imitable Attributes of Holiness Justice Goodness and Mercy c. and that whosoever doth not endeavour to frame his Heart and Life to a conformity to the Nature and Will of God cannot please him nor be said to answer the ends of his Creation Nor yet can reasonably expect to partake of those rewards which Nature prompts us to hope for from the goodness of God in pleasing him nor to be free from those punishments which Nature tells us we are to expect to suffer from the Justice of God in displeasing and provoking him Thus far I say the Light of Nature and right Reason will easily carry any man who doth not violently disturb it in its proceedings And from hence the Apostle Ro 1.20 c. in the forecited place doth conclude that even the Gentiles though they had not enjoyed the written Law of God yet would be without excuse before Gods Tribunal for that they had not walked up to these Dictates of Reason but had entertained dishonourable apprehensions concerning him whom Reason did prompt them to believe to be their Maker Some of them denying the being of God others by multiplying it confounding their own conceptions touching a first cause Most of them by the impious practices which they imputed to their gods dishonouring that God in whose Throne they set these Idols And all of them by their own impious and wicked lives coming short of that obedience which the Law of Nature did oblige them to pay to him that made them As to this light that shines unto us from the Heavens and all the host thereof the earth and the Sea and all that therein is the Psalmist tells us Ps 19.3 4. That it is gone forth into the ends of the world and that there is no Speech nor Language where the voice of it is not heard But that this is not sufficient to lead a man to heaven without a further guide is evident both in that the Lord hath thought meet to set up a clearer Light before his own people in all ages the light of the Law and the Prophets to the Jews and the light of the Gospel to us Christians which though they differ in the way of administration the services of the Law pointing them to Christ that was to come the services of the Gospel pointing us to Christ as already come and also in the clearness of them the Law representing Christ in Types and shadows the Gospel taking off the vail from Moses face and letting us with open face 2 Cor. 3.18 as in a glass behold the glory of the Lord Yet I say That as the light of the Gospel is sufficient to us Christians so was the light of the Law and Prophets sufficient to the Jews to point them to Christ who was represented in all their typical oblations and expiations and who is the onely way to eternal Righteousness and Salvation Now forasmuch as the great God of heaven and earth who maketh nothing in
also the prevalency of this Temper is many times conspicuous To this many of their groundless Doubts and fears as to their spiritual Estate do owe their beginning which though they represent themselves as the fruits of tenderness of Conscience and are seldom or never to be found but in persons of truly tender Consciences as many bad weeds do not grow but in the best soyl yet they are evil in themselves as being a false judgement passed upon our selves and a denying the great things which God hath done for our souls and as to their tendency which is ordinarily the hindering of the soul from its vigorous actings in good duties and from taking due comfort in the performances which Gods Spirit hath carried it through These I say are to be imputed to the constitution of the body helped on by Satans Temptations If any enquire upon hearing this How we may distinguish these workings of Fancy from the true and genuin Motions of Conscience and truly know what impulses we are to follow and what to reject I answer 1. Look to the Constitution of thy Body or if thou hast not much skill in such matters be content to receive the advice of those that are able and competent Judges of it Art thou of a sanguin Constitution and findest the motions that solicite thee to a prosecution of them to be of that nature Or art thou naturally inclined to Melancholy and findest such motions in thee as are suitable to that humour It will be a great right done to Conscience to forbear to impute those motions to it which our own Reason may shew us to come from another cause 2. Observe when the temper of thy Body doth alter and see whether these motions and inclinations do alter with it It is sufficiently evident that the temper of mens bodies doth admit of alteration The Sanguin temper will alter by age or sickness or worldly cares The Melancholick will vary by change of Air or Dyet or by the use of Physick beside those lucid intervals wherein most Melancholick persons do meet with an abatement of that humour Now ask thy own experience whether these motions do not ebb and flow according to the abating and encreasing of these Distempers in thy body If so there is great reason to impute these motions and inclinations not to Conscience but to the temper of thy body and it would be a great wrong to the sacred name of Conscience to father them upon it Secondly Even the motions of Lust will sometimes deceive us under the pretence of being the dictates of Conscience This may seem very strange to them that have never been willing to put themselves to the trouble of examining the motions which they have followed whence they have come But it is very palpable to every man that with a discerning eye and unbyassed mind looks upon them Sometimes the lust of the Eye Covetousness and Ambition lapps it self in the Mantle of Conscience Come see my zeal 2 King 10.16 for the Lord of Hosts saith Jehu when every man knows that it was somewhat else and not true zeal that made him drive so furiously Yea some may go so far as not only to deceive others but themselves also in this point as in their denying Tythes and other Payments 't is too too palpable that Covetousness hath taken the place and office of Conscience and yet sets so bold a face upon it as if it were pure Conscience that guided these men to such practises Sometimes that lust of malice and revenge may put us forward to serve it under the notion of Conscience So the Scribes and Pharisees persecuted Christ out of malice and yet with a great shew of Zeal and Conscience And those others of whom our Saviour fore-tels that they would persecute his Apostles Joh. 16.2 and verily think they did God good service in doing it Now if any enquire of the manner how these lusts come to prevail so far as to deceive us under the name of Conscience I need say no more then I did upon the former Head viz That the Impetuousness of these motions in the mind may be apt to make us mistake them for some extraordinary Inspirations which we ought not to resist But to undeceive us in this point it may be very useful to consider 1. That what motions soever do encline us to any thing that is forbidden by the Law of God are evil and to be rejected Now the motions of lust do alwayes stir us up to do that which is contrary to Gods Law and therefore are to be opposed though never so suitable and grateful to our sensitive appetite Isa 8.20 To the Law and to the Testimony we ought to look and whatsoever persons or motions are contrary to that this very thing is sufficient to convince us that they are not of God 2. If we find our selves to be zealously carried forward onely in some things that tend to our own profit or pleasure and careless and remiss in other things we have great reason to conclude these zealous motions not to proceed from Conscience but a worse Principle 2 Kings 10.28 29. Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel and was very zealous in it as that which was a fair pretence for cutting off the house of Ahab that none might be left to lay claim to the Crown and also to dazle the eyes of the people that they might not rise up in opposition to him who shewed himself so zealous in executing the Lords pleasure But from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat the serving of the golden Calves at Dan and Bethel from these he departed not because he thought the continuance of this to be a good piece of policy to keep the people from returning to Jerusalem to worship lest they should also carry back the Kingdom to the House of David Hereby Jehu did discover that it was not zeal for God but Covetousness and Ambition that made him so strict in obeying Gods commands in other respects And if any man find the same temper and tendency in his zeal he will have just reason to suspect the same things concerning it 3. Satans temptations and suggestions may sometimes impose upon men under the notion of Conscience and inspirations from the Spirit of God The Apostle tells us that Satan hath an art to transform himself into an Angel of light 2 Cor. 11.14 to represent his temptations as the advice of some good Angel or as the motions of the holy Spirit of God He had the impudence to cite the Scripture in his tempting of our Saviour Mat. 4.6 and therefore it is no marvel if he seduce so many ignorant people to pervert the Scriptures for the encouraging of themselves to do that which is quite contrary to the meaning of the Scriptures Yea we have very strong reasons to perswade us that those raptures and Enthusiasms which have possessed some of them have been nothing else but an higher
that delight in war Or wish them with Cyrus to be once glutted with blood Justin who delight in blood No far be it from us to have a zeal as hot as fire to call for fire from Heaven even upon those that would gladly set us all in a flame We rather wish they may shew themselves such men of wisdom as they pretend to be and may learn to shew forth that wisdom which is from above which is not onely pure but peaceable also From hence let us proceed Thirdly 3 Pillar to view the next Pillar in this Palace and that is Peaceableness This Wisdom is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gentle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith a Learned and judicious Annotator is the ordinary word of the Philosophers Dr. Ham. in locum and taken from them by the Lawyers to signifie the mitigation of exact and strict Justice when the execution of it is not so agreeable to the Rules of Charity And so it notes in general the fit and proper temper that is to be observed in all things Hesychius saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which is fit decent or due This general word is several wayes applied in divers places of Scripture In this Text the word peaceable that goes before it and other words of the same Nature attending it advise us to construe it a readiness to recede from our own strict right in order to Peace In this sense the Apostle exhorts Ministers especially to be gentle 2 Tim. 2.24 Tit. 3.2 And all men also to labour after this frame of Spirit In which places he opposeth gentleness to a contentious strictness in standing upon our own Right to the prejudice of Peace And indeed Peace being so excellent a Jewel as I have before shewed Wisdom but especially that which is from above will perswade a man to part with much to purchase this pearl of price Beside that God who is infinite in Wisdom is said to be gentle Psal 18 39. hanvathekah tarbeni Thy gentleness hath made me great Christ who is the Wisdom of the Father is gentle 2 Cor. 10.1 I exhort you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the gentleness of Christ The Holy Ghost who is the Spirit of Wisdom is gentle Gal. 5.22 for gentleness is reckoned among the fruits of this Spirit How far then are they from this Wisdom which is from above who with the Spanish begger will not alter one step of their gravity for all the lashes of the Law for all the entreaties of friends nor for the preservation of publick peace Yea who had rather see Heaven and Earth blended together then to abate any thing of their own humours Certainly if this Wisdom be not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet it looks very like it and represents men as much resembling that sort of persons whom the Apostle describes to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 presumptuous and self-willed This is none of the Fruits of the Wisdom that is from above And indeed there are so few endued with this Virtue of gentleness that we may leave this with a lamentation and proceed to the Fourth Pillar in the House of Wisdom 4th. Pillar viz. Easiness to be entreated it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which word may either signifie an easiness to believe any good of another or that may mitigate his fault and so our Doctor Hammond paraphraseth it and thus it casts a frowing eye upon those that are very prone to evil surmises malignant interpretations of other mens actions and intentions to calumniating and backbiting their Brethren and who 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Pet. 2.10 are not afraid to speak evil of dignities at least in their secret discourses A sin which as it is very common so is it very contrary to the nature of that Charity which as the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 13.6 7. doth not rejoyce in iniquity in evil and false reports of others but believeth all things and hopeth the best and consequently it is contrary to the nature of Heavenly Wisdom But Beza renders this word Obtemperans and Tremellius out of the Syriack version Obsequens It is the property of the Wisdom that is from above to be obedient to Government How great care God hath taken to preserve the Authority of the Magistrates is evident by his investing them with the title of Father and Mother in the fifth Commandment Yea he calls them Elohim gods Psal 82.6 and joyns the fear of the Lord and the King together jirah eth Jehovah ve hammelech fear thou the Lord and the King Prov. 24.21 Nor hath he in the New Testament been more remiss in exhorting to obedience even when they were subject to the worst of men for their Governours but exhorts us to be obedient not onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for fear of wrath and punishment but chiefly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for Conscience sake Rom. 13.5 and in obedience to Gods Commandment So strange is it that any man can pretend Conscience as an encouragement to disobedience 1 Pet. 2.13 And St. Peter exhorts us to be obedient to every ordinance of man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Lords sake Strange then it is that any can pretend obedience to God as opposite to their Allegiance to Caesar Piety is defined by Cicero Cicero de Na. Deor. to be Justitia erga Deos And St. Augustine explains it It is Verus cultus veri Dei the right way of worshipping the true God Ludovicus Vives Aug. Civ D. l. 4. c. 23. Comment in Aug. tell us that Piety is also taken for reverence to our Elders and Superiours Which makes it the more strange that any should oppose Piety to that reverence and obedience which they owe to their Parents and Superiours What shall we then say of them who Tacitus Hist l. 2. as the Historian saith of Otho's Souldiers Jussa Dueum interpretari quam exequi malunt are nimbler at disputing then at obeying the commands of their Governours How far are they from that Wisdom which is from above There is no doubt but such persons are furnished with many pleas to colour and countenance their disobedience Some will find fault with those that rule them And no doubt but Facilis cuivis rigidi censura chachinni Juvenal Sat. 18. he that is indued with a malicious mind towards any person and carries a pestilent tongue in his head may easily open his mouth against that mans person or actions and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is much easier to see faults in those that govern then to rule well if our selves were in Authority He takes but little notice of the state of the present world who is not sensible that one great cause of breeding and nourishing this malignant and disobedient temper in mens spirits is the multitude of Seducers who creep into houses and lead by the ears not