is much to be regarded by those who bear the Name of Christ upon them in their general profession because hereby we adorn our Christian calling most for that such actions do run into the eyes and ears of men without dispute As for actions of outward piety they are subject to debate even amongst Christians and therefore more likely are controverted by those who yet are not Christians but these actions of morality are such wherein there is no controversie whether good or not because they come from common principles So that if we have any minde to bring Christian Religion into any credit with the obstinate Jew or the blinde Gentile we cannot do it with more probability and hope then if we order our conversation so as they may conceive that Christian Religion hath some truth in it because those who are Disciples of it have so good lives It hath been said that Christianity is more to be seen in the leaves of Authors then in the lives of men but those who are aliens from the Church of Christ do not turn over the leaves of Writers and if they did yet would sooner be converted by the practice of Christians were it such as it should be according to that denomination Some would think that the time of the conversion of the Jew is now near but it seems not to be so near by our conversation Therefore saith our Saviour Let your light so shine before men that others which are strangers seeing your good works may glorifie your Father which is in heaven Matth. 5.16 which is indeed chiefly applyed to the Ministers of the Gospel but also is appliable in some proportion to all Professors of the Gospel Though our persons are not justified with God by our works yet our objective faith is surely justified with men by our good works But we are now so far from being justified by our good works that we cannot justifie our works to be good True it is which Tertullian saith We do not esteem the faith by the person but we esteem the person by the faith It is right if it be understood as amongst Christians one with another But Heathens or Jews would esteem better of our faith if they did see or hear in our persons of such actions as certainly do most become Christians not simply but in opposition to the contrary because intemperance and injustice do most unbecome them Therefore let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from iniquity as the Apostle But how then cometh it to pass that Christians should be so careless of good demeanor in these morals This is the third question to which we need not say much that it is so The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of it is proved every day As it was in St. Pauls time so it is now The name of God is blasphemed amongst the Gentiles by you Rom. 2.14 What is the cause hereof 1. They see some Heathens or some Civil men as they are called excellent herein and they think if they should be very accurate herein they should carry away no great commendation and therefore they desire to be seen more in those actions which are not so common As some have a minde to be liberal rather to those who are strangers to them then to their kindred because there is not so much notice taken of courtesies to their relations as to those who can less expect it So if they doe what Heathens or Jews or civil men do they conceive they shall have no thanks but if they be forward and eager eminent in those things as of piety which others do so little of then they render themselves in the opinion of the world to be men of high note and of great name Yet Christians if this be your aim to get repute by doing that which is not so common then take heed you forget not morality which is now less regarded then I think ever 2. Another thing which is the cause of their negligence in righteousness is because it is an unprofitable virtue and they may lose by it in this life As for excellency in external holiness it cometh naturally to them for their advantage for hereby the people who cannot distinguish are led on into an opinion of their admirable godliness which is of use to more respect and commerce and trust Like those Silversmiths in the Acts who pretended their Goddess minded their gain so do too many of these Christians make a flourish of more religion then ever came from heaven or their hearts that there may fall into their lap more of earth which they heartily love The Schoolmen from St. Austin do inform us that God is an object of fruition only and all other things even virtues also are objects of use because that only is to be injoyed which we are to rest in and not to refer to any higher end and that is God but this sort of men have got a trick to make use of God and godliness and virtue too for other ends even ends of gold and silver Thus they draw God into their party and service If it were not for the first Table some men would be undone They could not tell what shift to make if they could not make a colour of holiness in things of God Although it be no duty of the text to be rich yet they think it will not sufficiently appear that they are Gods children unless he gives them a full blessing in great bags or good lands This is their real Argument of being the people of God and therefore are they so bold as to commute with God by more outward sanctity for a dispensation in point of righteousness unless they take it for granted that they are Gods and all is Gods and therefore all is theirs Whatsoever calling they are of their singular profession of godliness brings in most This fils their purses If they did not break the second Table they could not mend their estates and maintain second dieties 3. They do not consider the nature of obedience to God in the contents of the second Table I dare not say they do not know they would think I should do them wrong if I should conceive so ill of their abilities but they do not meditate thereof For if they did it were morally impossible that those who are curious in prying into the first Table should be so backward to the observation of the second If they would perpend that he who wrote the one in stone with his own finger wrote also the other they could not put off the practice of the second as they do The reason of this obedience we touched before and therefore we shall say little Because of connexion of obedience intuitive to all is that of the Apostle St. James 2. chap. v. 10. He that shall keep the whole Law and shall offend in one is guilty of all He is guilty of all as in respect of condemnation for Cursed is every one that continueth not in
whom not those who are not Ministers because they are not such Reject none that are Ministers because they are such And in the hearing remember to be a Christian not a Critique If thou goest to Church to carp at what is said thou art not a doer of what is said but a Judge as we may allude to that of St. Iames 4.11 Thou dost not resort to Gods house to finde faults in the Minister but how to mend the faults which are in thee Discern betwixt him in his own person and in his representation Think not meanly of him who is sent to thee from God with such good news of the Gospel as if thou beest obedient in faith and practice thou mayst be saved Who ever refused an Embassadour because he did not speak in his phrase The Greeks indeed when they were at a need rejected once a fair proffer of a great lo an because he that proffered it was out in an accent onely but wilt thou forsake the tender of reconciliation because it is not made in thy tone or according to thy wilde humour wherein thou wouldst be pleased without profit And before the Sermon do thou pray for the Minister and thy self that he may be assisted in the overcoming of thy lusts which victory will be most thine Consider that no man goeth to the House of God in vain Every time we go we go for ever Think whom thou art to meet And give not by thy unprofitable hearing occasion to God to shew thee the mercy of his Ordinance when he hath taken it away Prevent the loss of that blessing by the use And prize it as if the Market were shutting up And if thou wouldst thrive by this spiritual nourishment digest it into thy soul by heat of meditation CHAP. XI MEditation is in general of great use And we should first meditate of the use of it There be three things as is observed which make a good Scholar reading conference meditation Reading parts being supposed makes a full scholar Conference a ready scholar Meditation makes a deep scholar So also in some proportion Meditation makes a good and solid Christian Reading makes him know what is the letter of Gods will Conference with others may help him to know the sense of it distinctly and to apply it to cases Meditation works all into the minde and roots it in for use Meditation at large hath many objects It may have reference to God in his Essence but this exceeds the minde of man In an Infinite beeing there is nothing to terminate the Intellect because it is infinite It may have reference to God as One singular Essènce is communicated to three Persons the Father the Son the holy Ghost But this doth more swallow up our contemplation because it doth more transcend reason For if the principles of reason which are not negative to the beeing of a God should also clearly extend to the discerning of one exclusively they would be more puzled at this how that one Divine Essence should be communicated to three and yet there should be but one And therefore saith the Father When I think upon one there comes into my minde three and when I think upon three there comes into my minde one And therefore this mysterie is rather to be admired then meditated because the conceits thereof such as we can make are not to be expatiated but squared and fixed according to such apprehensions thereof as we have in Scripture But meditate we may and ought of God in regard of his effects in Nature and in Providence For his effects in Nature do give us occasion to praise his excellent Attributes his wisdom in the beauty of them his power in the greatness of them his goodness in the usefulness of them as St. Basil meditated in his Book upon the six days work And reasonably is it thought that one of the chief ends of the Institution of the seventh Day to the Jew for a Sabbath was this that man might be at leisure that day to reflect upon the creation and to give God the honour thereof of all great and also of those which are not great in quantity for God is magnus in minimïs as he said great in that which is least And we have cause to meditate of him in his providence towards that which he hath created and doth sustain every moment by the word of his power His Providence is either towards good or evil namely the good or evil of condition By the former he engageth us to obedience by the latter to repentance And this affliction we have need of It is St. Peters expression in his 1. Epistle 1.6 Though now if need be you are afflicted with divers trials It is as necessary to us as our dayly food nay more We may live for ever without that food but it may be we should not live for ever without this adversity This is a meditation of the season because we are now so full of punishment and surely we have the more and are like to have the more because we have not thought as we should have done of this as in Ieremies time the Iews so we now Ier. 8.6 No man spake ought no man repented him of his wickedness saying What have I done Every one turned to their own race as the horse rusheth into the battail How many have how much complained that they are undone undone but how few have at all complained of what they have done We would have our Fathers blessing but will not be brought upon our knees And we would have the rod removed before it be kissed Not that we ought to approve what man hath done but what God hath done to quicken us in our obedience to him Therefore it is well said That which man doth foolishly God doth wisely We should submit in patience to his correction but we are to follow his will revealed in our obedience By dispensations of providence he affordeth us trials whereby we are proved whether when a cross lies in the way of duty we will leave the plain way that we may decline the cross Oh that we had as great a disaffection to sinning as to suffering And yet which is more evil or indeed which is evil but that of fault Oh that that which first moved God to punish were first removed Oh that sin could not be done because it should not Such meditations we might goe further in were there not four other things which because they are last quatuor novissima as they are called should be first thought upon heaven hel death judgment Canst thou believe there is an heaven and not think upon it Canst thou look up to Heaven and not consider the place of happiness Is thy treasure there and not thy heart Or is thy heart there and not thy thoughts or are thy thoughts there and yet inordinately upon the world Impossible Why should we not have a desire of as many thoughts of heaven as there are stars and every
in Humane laws there is use thereof so that if in regard of the matter we cannot obey actively yet in regard of the lawful authority he hath from God we should obey passively and not resist Therefore in obedience to Divine laws we look first to the Author in obedience to Humane laws we look first at the matter 5. Divine laws require internal obedience even of external actions which God can examine and judge but humane laws are satisfied with external obedience because the Court of man meerly can go no further Indeed obedience should be given to men heartily but this comes under the law of God and is not included in the law of man 6. Humane laws do more properly binde the person Divine laws do binde the conscience directly because we cannot dissent from the matter of the command as we cannot but dissent from some laws of men For the conscience being intellectual cannot close with that which appeareth to be wrong and cannot but embrace in its assent that which appeareth to be right as sutable to the law of God So that liberty of Conscience as to Humane laws is not in regard of it self infringed by them So then these things being premised by virtue of the former texts it is easie to conclude negatively There is no goodness consisting in the nature of inobedience much less of disobedience to the laws of men And those that pretend to a duty of obedience only to God and Christ and not to man are not obedient to God and Christ As for that plea of some to follow their conscience is good they follow their conscience it is a very weak one and needs no answer but in courtesie This makes it not simply good to be inobedient that herein they follow their Conscience which doth not necessarily but by evil accident dictate this to them 2. To follow conscience simply is not simply good but to follow conscience regulated by the Law of God for then St. Paul had done well in persecuting the Church of Christ according to his conscience with Zeal Those that follow their conscience erroneous negatively or affirmatively they do not sin in the formality against conscience because they do according to it yet they sin in the matter against the Law of God which ought to rectifie their conscience The erroneous conscience as the rule is does not binde them to do so because it is erroneous but it bindes them not to do against it because it is conscience Therefore as we should have a quick conscience to move so should we have an informed conscience to direct otherwise we may do as some have done the Divels work in Gods name That of Tacitus is very considerable Plurasaepè peccantur dum demeremur quà m dum offend mus in thinking to do well we often offend more then in plain offenses So then there is no urging conscience for things bad Affirmatively now there is a goodness belonging to humane obedience in the right state of it first if there be authority in him that makes the Law External power doth not morally ground obedience which hath relation to due authority 2. For the matter of the law it must not be contrary to the Law of God because no man can be bound against the Law of God who is absolute in his authority and infallible in his reason of Law 3. In respect of the formal motive of this obedience to man and this should be their love to the Law of God who hath commanded it as before So that the principal object in this obedience to man is God Under these conditions of obedience to man what should hinder but that this obedience should be part of our goodness which we have now so great reason to commend And it is included in our obedience to God in the fifth Commandement And Supreme Governours are reasonably comprehended under Parents because they are such superiours to us because they are as Fathers of the Countrey and because Kingly government as Aristotle also is rationally grounded in jure paterno And therefore if there be any goodness in obedience to the precepts of God then there must be goodness pro parte in this obedience to humane laws And if those sins are the greater and wasting the Conscience as Divines say which have in them most dangerous consequences towards the vastation of Societies then what should be thought of those men that deny all duty of obedience to men and make it to be a duty to be disobedient In Judg. 17.6 it is said In those days there was no King in Israel but every one did that which was good in his own eyes Whereby it is inferred that when there was a King they did what was appointed and the want of a King then is signified to be the cause of corruption of Religion which might have been restrained by him Indeed if after the lawful command of a lawful Magistrate it were free for us to do what we pleased then not only would there not be any virtue in obedience but also there would not be the nature of obedience conserved And therefore although humane laws cannot properly and in themselves binde the Conscience yet I do not yet see those things being considered which are to be considered how the person should not be bound in conscience to obey the law if the thing be not opposite to the law of God or to submit to his authority if he be the lawful Magistrate It is true Calvin who had the hap to mould Religion in way of opposition to the Romane tyranny denyes all obligation of conscience by humane laws as being contrary to Christian liberty in his third Book of Institutions the 19. chapter Only to avoid scandal he says we ought to abstain from the use of our liberty in charity to a weak brother This supposition of his many embrace only they adde that humane laws do also binde against contempt With respect to any that differ me thinks this must not serve If they binde only in these cases what will become of humane laws To what purpose are those Divine precepts of obedience to men Will not every one say though they do nothing in obedience they do not contemn the authority And yet indeed some have cruelly contemned it So that they have not stood to their own principles herein And that binding against contempt respects authority in things unlawful Is there no more respect to be given to authority in things lawful and convenient And if they binde besides this only in case of scandal then first put case one thinks in his conscience he is bound in conscience to be obedient is he in an error or not If he be not why are not they of the same mind If he be in an error what will they do towards him If they do not obey they offend him if they do obey they harden him in his error 2. If they binde only in case of scandal besides the other case before then even