non vetat peccare cum possit Iubet Hee that suffereth sinne vncontrouled doth as it were command it But rightly to reprehend is one of the greatest difficulties incident to humane discretion And yet it is easier known then done partly by reason of the way wardnesse of the delinquents dispositiō that may not suffer reproofe partly by reason of the diuers affections of the reprouers themselues whom either ignorance disables fauour withdrawes feare deterres or fury transports beyond the bounds of reason First such I say is the waywardnes of mans crooked nature that for the most part they may not heare of their offences according to the example of Herod who heard Iohn Baptist willingly Mar. 6.20 and did many things after him but when hee told him that it was not lawfull for him to take Herodias h◠brother Philips wife hee laide holde on him and cast him in prison Ieroboam also stretched out his hand from the Altar 1 Kin. 13.4 22.27 saying lay hold on him so soone as hee was reproued and Michaiah must bee fed with bread and water of affliction till Ahab returne in peace Wee can enery one of vs cry out against the sinnes of the time and age wherein we liue saying Hos 4.1 There is no truth nor mercy nor knowledge of God in the Land But what man is hee among a thousand that in the true humiliation of his owne soule will stand out with Dauid and say Behold I haue sinned yea I haue done wickedly 2 Sam. 14.17 〈◊〉 these sheepe what haue they done For albeit in generall we all confesse our selues to be sinners yet so great is the selfe-loue that euery man by nature carrieth in his owne bosome that when it commeth to the particulars he coueteth to lay the burthen vpon another mans shoulders and not to say with Iudah that he or shee Gen. 38.16 is more righteous then I. A first part of Ecclesiasticall Corrigidors there are whom ignorance disables these poast vpon Gods message before they haue learned their errand being more greedy of the gaine then gainefull in the grace of their calling hauing not as yet receiued any warning from the mouth of the Lord to giue to his people and therefore no way fit to execute the charge whereinto they haue thrust themselues There are a second sort whom either fauour withdrawes or feare deterres from reprouing sinne 1 Iohn 1.15 Such who louing the world loue net the Father that is to say when Michael your Minister or Peter Please-man his Curate will not tell Ahab of his cruelty Nabal of his churlishnesse Iezebel of her painting Gehazi of bribery c lest they thereat offended should withdraw their affection from him pleasure another And thus whilest hee preferreth gold before God honour before honesty and money more then the good of any hee is ready euen with the false Prophets 1 Kin. 22.15 to bid Ahab goe vp and prosper In stead of correcting vices he is ready to flatter and sooth men vp in their conceited vertues couering a rusty blade with a veluet scabbard and crying peace peace when warre is approaching whereas Almighty God commandeth Esai 58.1 Crie aloud spare not lift vp thy voice like a Trumpet tell ludah his sinnes Israel their transgressions Shall God bid cry aloud and shall we be silent A third sort of corrigidors there are whom sury transports beyond the bounds of reason those men can winke 〈◊〉 all things till they themselues be first offended and then passing the bounds of charity they lay all things open yea peraduenture more then all stuffing their Pulpits with inuectiues and declamations so farre are they transported with the fury of their affections And yet for all this sinne must bee checkt errour must bee restrained and vices must be spoken against lest vnder pretence of supposed defects in our selues or respects to others they gather head and like the vnruly Sea break down the bankes ouerwhelme the Land with Atheisme and superstitious impiety Thus much touching Ecclesiasticall correction Domesticall correction is twofold reproofe and punishment this duty is to be performed by Parents towards their children and by Masters towards their seruants Salomon is very copious in this matter Pro 23.13 Withhold not correction from thy child thoushalt smite him with the rod and shalt deliuer his soule from hell Correct thy sonne and he will giue thee rest Pro. 29.17 and he will giue pleasures to thy soule Againe Pro. 13.24 He that spareth the rod hateth his sonne but he that loueth him correcteth him betimes All which testimonies tendes to this that if we desire our owne peace and not to be molested nor vexed but much comforted by them if we would testifie our faithfull loue to them if wee would purge their hearts from folly and sinne and preserue their soules from euerlasting perdition then let vs bee carefull to giue them due correction which is Gods blessed ordinance to reforme and saue their soules Let all cockering Parents harken what the Lord saith to the Prophet Samuel touching Eli for not correcting his children 1 Sam. 3.12 13. In that day will I raise vp against Ely all things that I haue spoken concerning his house when I begin I will also make an end and I haue tolde him that I will iudge his house for euer for the iniquity which hee knoweth because his sonnes ranne on in a slander and hee stayed them not So that you may see how that the irrespectiue conniuency of Parents vpon their Childrens faults bringeth often times Gods iudgements vpon the whole family and not without great cause Nam tenera est dum virga recensque flectitur huc illuc vt vis at post vbi creuit non rob usta arbos while the twig is tender and greene it is bent hither thither as you wil but after it is growne you cannot it will bee a strong tree And as Gods iudgement fell vpon Ely and his Family for this sinne 1 Sam. 4.17 18. for Hophni and Phinehas died in the battell and Ely at the newes thereof fell from his seat backward and brake his necke so in these dayes many adiudged to execution for murther Fellony or the like haue cryed out vpon their tender hearted Parents for bearing with them too much in their child-hood But whilest I insist vpon this point I beseech you mistake me not for my meaning is that we should haue an eye to the counsel of our Sauiour in this Text so to shew mercy to others as we would expect the mercy of God towards our selues Si quoties peccant homines sua fulmina mittat Iupiter exiguo tempore inermis erit For if that Ioue should strike So oft as Men offend The Poets say his Thunderbolts Would soone be at an end Thus much touching domesticall correction Iudiciall correction is to bee performed by Magistrates towards the Subiects therefore thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts
that is of the sinnes of others hastily and rashly to step forth and censure the secret infirmities of others which can not be so easily discerned as the Leprosie of the body This kinde of iudgement is oposite to Christian charitie which if we be Gods children should shine forth amoÌ„gst vs it springeth from a two fould pestilent roote First because a man himselfe is wicked hee iudgeth others to be like himselfe neither can any iudge better of another then he doth of himselfe Qualis quisque tales et â—liot iudis at As the man is so he iudgeth of others The coueteous man that iâ— aconstomed in buying and selling to deceiue suspecteth all others in the same The Adulterâ—â— and carnall liuer easily misdeemeth others So impure Nero was perswaded Neâ—â—â—em 〈◊〉 pudicum saith Suttoniâ—â— that no man liued honestly Mala mens malâ—s animâ—â— An euill conscience hath euer an euil surmising minde Secondly rash iudgement proceedeth of hatâ—ed and euill will for of him whom a man hateth or enuieth vpon the least signes hee is ready to iudge euill and condemne him Euery one is easily perswaded in the thing that he desueth Such was Simon the Pharises iudgement vpon Christ Luk. 7.39 for that hee suffered himselfe to be touched of the sinfull woman This rash iudgement is caused of the long experience of the manners of men that when they haue oftentimes sâ—â—â—â— men fall into many sinnes they are in duced thereby vpon very light occasions or surmises to condemne their brethren But it should not so be if wee be truly graâ—ted into Iesus Christ charity will measure all our thoughts and actions Loue saith the Apostle thinketh not euill 1 Cor. 13 5 vnto the pure are all things pure Tit. 1.15 but vnto them that are defilled vnbeleeuing iâ— nothing pure but euen their mindes and consciences are defiled And is euen as the swine which are euer rooting in dyre dung so an euill and filthy minde is alway plodding vpon filthy things and hee that is affected with wicked desires loueth to be rubbing the same vpon another either that he might iustifâ—â— his owne faults by the comparison of other mens or at the lestwise by reason of the multitude of offendours make his owne through society seeme light Euen as they that can finde little to doe at home are often walking and gadding abroade so when men are negligent in examining their owne liues they are curious in scanning and iudging the dooings of others men Non iudicat personalitor qui diligit aqualiter saith S. Augustine in his thirtieth sermon vpon Iohn For we iudge according to the person and not according to the matter because wee are accepters of persons and loue not the person of him whom weiudge But shall I set thee downe a rule whereby to examine thy iudgement whether it proceede from reason or from some corrupt passion Before thou condemnest thy brother Imagine the fact which thou dislikest to be done by some other whom thou louest or transferre it vpon thy selfe suppose thou thy selfe hadst done it And if the fact doth yet displease thee then it is reason and not thy passion that iudgeth But if now thou canst â—igest and brooke it without any distast well enough or with Menius in the Pâ—â—t say Egomet mihi iguâ—sco I pardon my selfe and count it no fâ—ult in thy selfe surely thy iudgement is corrupt some depraued affection hath deceiued thee It is a law among the good Merchants to be coparmeâ— as well in their losse as in their gaine so should it be in the society of the faithfull For euen as charity maketh an others good her owne and so gaineth much so mercy maketh also anothers euill her owne by a fellow feeling of others miseries according to this of the Apostle Reioyce with them that reioyce Rom. 12.16 weepe with them that weepe and be of like affection one towards another But on this iron and flinty age of the world where are now become the bowels of mercy louing kindnes This simpathy of affection one towards another which was amongst the Christians of ancient time which were of one heart and one soule Acts. 4. in what angle of the world almost shall we find them Shall we locke them as one once sought for a good man in the temples among the tombes of the dead For surely such is in these daies the depriuation of manners from that which was in our fore-fathers daies that we may truly say as the wise man did once Quos fugiam scio quos sequar non video whom to beware of I know but whom I should follow I see not Nothing in Christian society is worse or more troublesome then such kind of vncharitable censurers of their neighbours who as it were violently divulge lay open mens secrets pull from them the best ornament of their good name and cast out of their vncleane mouths all the filth and corruptions of their brethren that is their faults and infirmities That therefore we may the better beware how we commit this odious sinne I will here set downe some remedy against this peruerse and dangerous disease of rash iudgement First if our neighbour haue done or said any thing we should not rashly iudge or condemne it interpret calumniate or touch his credit for wee know not whether the report be true sometimes this or that may be fastned on a good man It was a goulden counsaile of the wise man Eclesicus 19.10.11.15 If thou hast heard a word against thy neighbour Let it die with thee and be sure it will not burst thee A foole traueleth with a word as a woman with childe Tell thy friend his fault for often times a slander is raised and giue no credit to euery word Secondly though a thing be done or spoken as wee thinke amisse yet we are ignorant of the causes and occasions why then doe we exaggerate and iudge of things vnknowne Good workes are manifest and thâ—se that are otherwise cannot be hid that is a man may many times doe that which is good and right but thou knowest not by and by his intent yet afterwards thou maist find that he did well Thirdly consider that if thou hadst bin in the place of thy neighbour at that time thou wouldst perhaps haue done as he did Digito courpesce labellum Put thy finger to thy mouth 1 Cor. 4.5 lest thou be iniurious to thy self Iudge nothing saith the Apostle before the time And S. Iames willeth vs â—ames 4. not to speake euill arte of another And againe the Apostle Paul giueth this counsaile Let vs not Iudge one another any more Rom. 14.13 but vse our Iudgement rather in this that no man put a stumbling blocke before his brother Pasquils and Libels are not to be cast forth as the heathenish manner of some is for who appointed thee a iudge of thy brother Fourthly if thou findest a defect in thy brother suppose that vnder that
vrgent resort to any of them who either is not able or willing so to lauish his expences according to their greedy demands albeit otherwise they will content them to the vttermost farthing yet will they turne him away bid him be gon and tel him their Roomes are prouided for others And truely these abuses I haue had experience of and therefore may well sing with Dido Non Ignara mali miseris succurrere disco The knowledge of this euill mooueth me to pittie those that are thus afflicted Your Sergeants and Baileues in the second place are to be found fault withall and that for two causes first for their iugling double dealing with men If they be well contented they can play see me and see me not yea albeit they goe daily by the party and the creditor be at great cost and charges with them for attaching of their debtors But if the debtor giue not to them such reward as they expect then let him looke to himselfe he shall be catched dragd and haled to prison he shal be pincht flieced to the bare bones yea they will hardly leaue till they haue pluckt from him all that hoe is able to make I might tâ—â—e bad executors for their bad and vnconscionable dealing towards orphans and fatherlesse children many being so barely flieced by those into whose tuition protection they haue beene committed that they can scarce recouer from them ten for a hundred towards their reliefe and sustenance So hard harted are many in these our dayes and of so woluish a nature that in stead of education and protection they will giue them their baine and destruction iniuriously wresting from theÌ„ almost al that is coÌ„mitted to their bands But let them beware take heede least the Lord who heareth the cry of the poore and appressed reward them not accordingly I could also blame hard-hearted Chirurgions and Phisitians in Hospitals who hauing often times poore patients vnder their cure continue them in torture and paine suffering them grieuously to languish in their maladies because they cannot extort from them such summes of money as they would But God who also deliuereth all his Lazars out of their hands will one day call these to account and pay them their hire in hell vnlesse by repentance they preuent Gods iudgement speedily What should I say to gardians and ouer-seers to the guifts of the dead who often times conuert and turne those things to their owne gaine and prosit which the deceased by will bequeathed towards the reliefe of the poore the nake the halt the blind I say if there be any such let them be circumspect and wary yea let their repentance be quick and speedy least God in his iudgement ouertake them I could also touch watermen the behauiour of whoÌ„ for the most part is so rude irreuerent and currish that they will scarce spare or for beare any state age person or sex But I will conclude with the laylour whose oppressing and extorting cruelty towards the poore prisoner is vnsupportable For whosoeuer falleth into his hands though he enter with a full purse yet shall he be sure to haue it empty before his departure being during his abode in prison entertaiend with huÌ„ger cold iron fees enough for his reliefe and comfort These mercilesse misers shew to none any further coÌ„miseration then they themselues may haue a large consideration But let them hearken to Christ saying Depart from me ye cursed into euerlasting fire Mat. 25.41 prepared for the Deuill and his Angels For if euery man be bound to giue to the reliefe of the needy what shall we thinke of those men who not only neuer practise this lesson of giuing but also by alsubtile meanes cunning shifts fraudulent dealing poll pill oppresse wring cousen and deceiue the poore and catch that little they haue from them who feed them selues with others wants cloath themselue by others nakedues pamper vp themselues by others penurie Iam. 5.4 Surely this crieth into the eares of the Lord of hoasts who being a righteous Iudge and the God to whom vengeance onely belongeth will reward them accordingly Si sterilitas in Ignom mittitur rapaâ—ita quid meretur Fulgentius If barren nesseshould be cast into the fire what doth catching rapine deserue Iames 2.3 If the Apostle Iames sayth There shall be iudgement without mercy to him that sheweth no mercy what iudgement thinke you belongeth to him which doth also shew cruelty to the poore Quid recipiat qui aliena tulit si semper ardebit qui sua non dedit what shall he receiue that taketh away other mens goods if hee shall euer burne in hell fire Rabunus that hath not giuen of his owne I was an hungred saith Christ and thou gauest me no meate nay the little meate I had thou tookest from me I was naked and thou gauest me no cloathes nay the poore cloathes I had thou tookest from me Is there an Item aledicti for them which doe not feede the hungry and shall they goe free which take away the bread of the hungry Is the punishment so great for them that lodge not the strangers and is there nothing for them that wrong the fatherlesse and strangers If those who cloathed not the naked finde it so hard a doome what may they feare that take away the cloathing of the naked S. Chrisostome in his thirtie fourth Homily to the people of Antioch sayth that whatsoeuer is a boue our necessary maintenance is not ours but the goods of the poore and to retaine this from them cryeth into the eares of the Lord for veÌ„geance And surely there will come a day when men would wish they had beene more mercifull For with what measure you meate Luk. 6.38 with the same shall men meate to you againe Innumerable are the examples of like measure of Gods iustice towards the vnmerciful worthy the obseruation to teach vs the necessity of mercy towards our neighbours if wee would auoid the same measure of Gods reuenging hand for our cruelty shewed to others It is recorded by Nicephorus in his Ecclesiastical history Lib 1. Cap. 29. that the dancing daughter or Herodias who required of wicked Herâ—â— the head of inndent Iohn Baptist and had it that afterwards going on soote ouer a hard frozen riuer the ice breaking she sunke downe euen vnto the necke which through the violence of a great piece of ice comming downe the riuer was cut off from therest other body and so she tasted of the like death she procured to another King Dauid at his death 1 King 2.5 gaue charge to Salomon his sonne Thou knowest what Ioab did he stird the bloud of battaile in the time of peace put the bloud of warre vpon his girdle that was aboute his loines and in his shooes that were on his feete let not his gray head go down to the graue in peace Wherefore he was afterward slaine taking hould