and to Eternity with God For with him things are not past present and come as with us but always present in one infinite moment And therefore the Lord who seeth all the sins of a Reprobate by one pure individual act from and to all Eternity may as well pass an act of Damnation against them as if they were actually committed Par. Might not God as well damn men in a Capacity of holiness as thus to leave them to sin and then condemn them for it Conf. It is a curious and unprofitable question to dispute whether he might not without wrong to the Creature have done so Perhaps Rom. 9.20 21 22. will prove he might but such a case never did nor never will fall out However to our Capacity the justness of God should not shine so perspicuously if he should damn a Creature that never sinned for then should he inflict undeserved Punishment whereas in the course he now takes he only denyeth undeserved Favours and layeth on them deserved Penalties Par. But if Gods Decrees binds not man to a necessity of sinning how came sin into the World seeing Men and Angels were made holy and the whole Creation is by God himself pronounced good Conf. Gods Decree doth no otherwise bind man to a necessity of sinning than the withdrawing of the upholding hand from a staff reared up binds it to a necessity of falling viz. in a privative way I shewed before that sin is only privative that is a defect of some thing required as darkness is nothing else but a defect of light and these privations do not necessarily require causes or Creation light was indeed created but darkness was before on the face of the deep Now though God made Angels and Men holy he made them not Gods that they should stand of themselves without his help which when he withheld from man and some of the Angels they faltred in their obedience and so became sinful DIALOGUE III. Concerning the Providence of God Par. HOW can God by his Providence dispose of second causes that things can come to pass contingently freely or miraculously when he hath fore-ordained how they shall be in his immutable will Conf. There is a twofold necessity 1. In Gods Decree so all things that are fall out necessarily and cannot be otherwise 2. In Natural Causes so fire necessarily burns water necessarily wets c Now to us things are said to fall out necessarily when we apprehend a sufficient next cause But this sometimes is not sometimes appears not before the effect from whence the Notions contingent free miraculous have their rise As for Example When an Infant is formed in the Womb though in respect of Gods Decree it is necessarily a Male or necessarily a Female and so in time will prove yet to us from whom the next cause of this distinction in the womb is hid it is contingent whether it be Male or Female Par. How can God strengthen and govern all Creatures in their actings and be free from sin seeing many actions are sinful Conf. You must distinguish betwixt the action and the evil in it some sins are actual but none actions Therefore as a skilful Minstrel playing on a jarring Instrument causeth it to sound but it s own badness causeth it to sound jarringly So God causeth us to act but that we act sinfully the cause is in our selves To kill a man is not simply evil sometimes it is not only lawful but a duty but killing a man upon such terms without a just cause or call Sin lyeth in the moral circumstances not in the physical substance of the Action Par. If God be perfectly glorious how can he glorifie himself in the works of his Providence seeing nothing can be added to that which is perfect Conf. We may consider the glory of God these two ways 1. As it is essential to him and so it is ineffably perfect 2. As it is revealed to us and this because of our weakness is only in part and by degrees A Moses can but view the back parts a Paul but see in part and darkly as in a glass And God is said to glorifie himself when by the great works of his Providence he lets us see further into his glorious Attributes Par. If the Providence of God offer to men occasions to sin how is God free from the iniquity committed by reason thereof Conf. As a King that executeth Justice though he know some wicked fellows will thereat take occasion to be Traytors to him is not to be blamed So Gods works being holy though wicked men abuse them through their own perversness and make them occasions to sin he is not unrighteous out punisheth them in just Judgment suffering them to fall by their own folly Par. When God by his Providence makes wicked men scourges to his people how can they be blamed for doing what God would have done Conf. Though wicked men can do nothing to the people God but what he gives way to yet forasmuch as they endeavour to exceed their Commission and aim not at Gods Glory but their own ends shewing hostility and not pity to Gods people they shall answer for their ambitious malice though God by his wisdom will cause the wrath of man to praise him and the remainder of wrath he will restrain DIALOGUE IV. Concerning the Fall of Man Par. HOW could tasting the forbidden Fruit be so great an offence as to deserve Damnation Conf. Some give this reason that this act of our Parents was a breach of each of Gods Commandments in particular and indeavour to make it appear by an induction though for mine own part I think it holds in some not in all but this I desire to speak with modesty and submission However it cannot be denyed but the breach of the least of Gods Commandments maketh us guilty of all And the violation of his Law who is infinite deserveth infinite punishment which because it cannot be in extent we being finite must be in duration Nor doth the small value of the fruit abate any thing but rather aggravate it for as Master Byfield saith well their sin was greater that upon so small an Advantage would adventure Eternal happiness Par. But how comes it to pass that Adams fault and punishment is derived to his whole Posterity Conf. Adam stood in Covenant with God as Man not as a Man that is as a publick not a private person And therefore as he received the Covenant of Works and for a time stood by it for himself and all mankind so for himself all mankind he fell from it Par. Would it not have made more for Gods glory to have kept men from sin to serve him in holiness Conf. No for by this means man is a fit object for the rich mercy or just Judgment of God which by occasion hereof God manifesteth to his own glory Par. Some affirm that sin dishonoureth God others say he cannot be dishonoured whether of these is true Doctrine Conf.
Slave When I despised the Liberal Provisions of his Family did I or could I have thought I should come to want Bread to feed upon Husks How sad is the changel how severe is my Fate which I know no more how to bear than how to avoid But this is not the worst yet For He fore-thinks what is like to be the Issue of this it is not only feeding upon Husks but I perish for Hunger I have a prospect of nothing but Death before me in the case I am in I am lost undone undone in most dreadful Circumstances for I perish and it is with Hunger Death makes its sure approaches and that in the most ghastly shape Vivens vidensque pereo I see and feel my self dying But yet in the last place he looks about him to see if there be not some escape I am dying saith he but not quite dead whilst there is Life there is Hope Who will not catch hold of any thing rather than perish And it agrees not with my Condition to stick at any thing that can minister the least probability of safety Am not I a Son though I am here a Slave Have not I a Father and hath not he pity Why then do I stand still and die and not rather make the utmost Experiment And here we may fancy the Prodigal thus Arguing with himself Woe and alas is me this miserable Life cannot last always Death will Arrest me shortly and present me before a just Tribunal the Grave will ere long cover me but not be able to conceal me for I must come to Judgment methinks I hear already the sound of the last Trump Let the Dead arise let them come to Judgment I see the Angels as Apparitions gathering all the World together and presenting them before that dreadful Tribunal How shall I be able with my guilty Conscience to appear upon that huge Theatre before God Angels and Men Methinks I see the Devil standing at my Right hand to aggravate those faults which he prompted me to the commission of I behold the Books opened and all the Debaucheries Extravagancies and Follies of my whole Life laid open Christ the Judge of all the World coming in flaming Fire to take Vengeance upon them that have not known him nor obeyed his Gospel how shall I endure his presence How shall I escape his Eye I cannot delude his Judgment nor evade his Sentence Come then ye Rocks and fall upon me and ye Mountains cover me from the face of the Lamb and from him that sitteth upon the Throne But the Rocks rend in sunder the Sea and the Earth disclose their Dead the Earth dissolves the Heavens vanish as a scroll and I hear the dreadful Sentence Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels Methinks I hear Christ Jesus thus upbraiding me You have listened to the Devil and not to me I would have saved you but you would not be ruled by me you have chosen the way of Death now therefore you shall be filled with your own ways I fore-warned you what would be the Issue of your Courses but you would have your full swing of Pleasure for the present whatever came of it hereafter You laughed at Judgment and it is come in earnest you have had your time of Jollity and sensual transports and now your Portion is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth But is there no hope left Must I lie down thus in sorrow and dispair These things I may justly expect but they are not yet incumbent upon me I am yet alive and they say there is hopes in the Land of the Living the Door is not yet shut against me Hell hath not yet closed her mouth upon me I have heard God is a Merciful God and thereupon I presumed hitherto and abused his goodness but sure his Mercies are above the measure of a Man if they be infinite like himself he hath more Goodness than I have Ingratitude Possibly there may be some hope left in the bottom of this Pandora's Box of Calamities If there be none it is in vain to Repent fruitless to Weep endless to Bewail madness to add to my own Infelicities If there be a rigid Fate upon me I will curse God and dye But sure whilst there is a God there must be goodness his Name speaks his Nature will he break a bruised Reed Will he contend with Dust and Ashes It is true he hath no need of me but for the same Reason he cannot delight in my Misery He cannot Repent and change his mind because his Wisdom fore-saw from the beginning all possible contingencies but if I Repent and change my mind the same unchangeableness of his will oblige him as well then to save me as before to destroy me How far he will extend Mercy and what instances he will make of it I cannot define but who knows but he may yet admit of my submission however I cannot be worse than I am and it is possible my condition may be better here I perish certainly if I cast my self upon his goodness I can but perish therefore I will try I will arise and go to my Father c. And thus his deliberation brings him to resolution which is the second Stage of Repentance But here I think it proper in the next place for the benefit of all that shall read this Book but especially for the sake of incogitant Youth here again to give the same Paraphrase formerly given upon the whole Parable of the Prodigal Son that so all may more fully see the deplorable effects of Rashness and Folly Pride and Curiosity Insolence and Disobedience how they work joyntly and severally together and by turns till by degrees they have trained poor inconsiderate Man to his utter Ruine And in the following Paraphrase you may see lively Pourtrayed the beginning the Progress the up-shot the Causes and the Effects of a sinful Course Well then take the Paraphrase upon the whole as follows Viz. A certain Man had two Sons one whereof and he the Eldest continued always in his Family content with his Provision subject to his Government and in diligent Obedience to all his Commands But the other viz. the Younger full of Juvenile heat and confidence considers himself at the Age of Discretion grows impatient of Restraint and desirous of Liberty especially fancying that he could Live better to his own content and every whit as well provide for himself if he were at his own disposal Therefore he desires his Father to set him out his share and to put his Portion into his own Hands and leave him to his own conduct The Father gratifies him in all his desires gives him his Portion and his Liberty which done the Son as if his Fathers Presence or vicinage would put too great a restraint upon him and give check to his Freedom he betakes himself to another Countrey where being in the height of his Jollity amongst his Harlots and lewd
we may see what it was especially that touched him to the quick namely this that he had abused and wronged the love and kindness of so good a Father This was that which made him so much to insist upon the name of Father I will go to my Father I will say Father The misery that he was in as his want of Bread and other Necessaries no doubt was grievous yet all this troubled him not so much as this that he had carried himself so undutifully towards so gracious a Parent Let this then be noted That nothing is so grievous to a true Penitent as this that by committing of sin he hath offended God This was that which most troubled David and went nighest to his Soul that he had sinned against the Lord and offended his Majesty by his committing of evil Against thee against thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight The Reason of this the Apostle St. Paul giveth They have not received the spirit of Bondage again to fear but they have received the spirit of Adoption Which Spirit doth make them love the Lord and fear to offend and exceedingly grieve when he is offended As it is with a true Lover towards his Beloved Now for the Uses and first we may see here a difference between the sorrow of the Godly and of the Wicked Both grieve both mourn Ahab as well as David Judas as well as Peter Yet the sorrow of the one is Godly and bringeth Life the sorrow of the other Worldly and bringeth Death And therefore for thy further establishment know if thou dost truly grieve these things shalt thou find in thee First thou wilt grieve for sins of all sorts Original and Actual of Ignorance and of Knowledge of Commission and of Omission Secret and Open for less as well as for bigger whatsoever is sin thou wilt mourn for because Gods Law is by it broken and so his Majesty is offended Secondly If thou grievest because God is offended then wilt thou grieve also for the sins of others as well as for thy own because God is dishonoured by the one as well as by the other Thirdly if thy sorrow be right it will be a Proportional Sorrow A Sorrow answerable to the sin as we see in Manasses his sin was great and his Contrition was great 2 Chron. 33.12 So in Peter his sorrow was great for denying his Master Mat. 26.75 Fourthly If thy Sorrow be Godly and is for sin as it is an offence against God thou wilt then be more desirous to be rid of sin than of any other cross whatsoever yea as heartily desirous never to commit it as thou art desirous that God would never impute it Now in the Second place this may serve for the Reproof yea for the terror of many who rest in a counterfeit and unsound Repentance For doth a true Penitent grieve more for Gods cause than for his own Is he more grieved for the offence against God than for any manner of respect unto himself Then surely such are far from true Repentance who were it not for fear or shame could be content to live in sin and tumble in it all their days And before thee That is in thy sight as afterwards Verse 21. This did add much unto his sorrow and did very much aggravate his fault Two Points are here to be observed The first is this That Gods Eye is on all mens Actions The second is this The forgetting of Gods All-seeing Eye in the committing of evil doth aggravate the sin and increase the same To come then to the Reasons First God is every where present he can be shut out of no place as man can or as the Sun can because he is infinite in Nature Do not I fill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord Am I a God at hand and not afar off And therefore it cannot otherwise be but he must needs behold our doings and our actions Psal 139.7 Acts 17.27 Secondly It is he that made the Eye and shall he not see It is he that made the Ear and shall he not hear He giveth knowledge and shall he not know Can any thing be hid from him from whom they have their being The work is known unto the worker the Art unto the Artificer the Pot unto the Potter And shall not the Creature be known unto the Creator Thirdly He it is that chastiseth the Nations as the Prophet speaks in the same Psalm Verse 10. shall not he correct He shall be the Judge every one shall be Judged by him according to his works Now albeit he shall not want Witnesses at that day yet it is fitting that himself should have knowledge of the Actions of all men seeing he will not reprove after the hearing of his Ears Isa 11.3 These Reasons shall suffice instead of many Now for the Uses Vse 1. And first this may serve for Terror to all such as live in sin what greater terror to a Thief than to have the Judge an Eye-witness of his Villany So what greater terror to the wicked than this to have the Lord behold their doings Oh think on these things you lurking Dans close Enemies of the Church whose sleep departs from you till you have caused some to fall The Lord seeth your Plots and cunning Devices your close Practises against his Church and People But he that sitteth in Heaven shall laugh you to scorn the Lord will have you in derision Take notice of this also you Adulterers and Whoremongers who say in your Hearts Who seeth us We are compassed about with darkness we need not fear Behold the Lord himself who shall be thy Judge he seeth thy Villany and looketh thee in the Face in the Act doing Vse 2. Secondly this serveth to set forth Gods wonderful Patience and long-suffering For is all sin in his Eye Then wonder at Gods forbearance who seeing so many and outragious sins daily committed yet for all that spares us Some are Swearing some Tipling some Cheating some Whoring when his Eye is on them All our Impurities Impieties he doth plainly behold yet he forbears and doth not strike Wonder at this wonder at it Oh you Sons of Men and let it teach you to Repent Vse 3. A Third Use may serve to stir us up and encourage us to well-doing what lazie Servant will not put forth his strength when his Masters Eye is on him So who is it were he well perswaded that the Lord is a spectator and beholder of his doings would not put forth his strength to the Lords work Were this well considered how couragious should we be both in the Duties of our general and special Callings The second Doctrine hence to be observed is this That the forgetting of Gods All-seeing Eye in the committing of evil doth aggravate the sin and increase the same The Reasons of this Point are these First we sin against the means that ought to keep us from sin and this doth aggravate the sin
for less as well as for bigger whatsoever is sin thou wilt mourn for because Gods Law is by it broken and so his Majesty is offended Secondly If thou grievest because God is offended then wilt thou grieve also for the sins of others as well as for thy own because God is dishonoured by the one as well as by the other Thirdly if thy sorrow be right it will be a Proportional Sorrow A Sorrow answerable to the sin as we see in Manasses his sin was great and his Contrition was great 2 Chron. 33.12 So in Peter his sorrow was great for denying his Master Mat. 26.75 Fourthly If thy Sorrow be Godly and is for sin as it is an offence against God thou wilt then be more desirous to be rid of sin than of any other cross whatsoever yea as heartily desirous never to commit it as thou art desirous that God would never impute it Now in the Second place this may serve for the Reproof yea for the terror of many who rest in a counterfeit and unsound Repentance For doth a true Penitent grieve more for Gods cause than for his own Is he more grieved for the offence against God than for any manner of respect unto himself Then surely such are far from true Repentance who were it not for fear or shame could be content to live in sin and tumble in it all their days And before â—â—ee That is in thy sight as afterwards Verse 21. This did add much unto his sorrow and did very much aggravate his fault Two Points are here to be observed The first is this That Gods Eye is on all mens Actions The second is this The forgetting of Gods All-seeing Eye in the committing of evil doth aggravate the sin and increase the same To come then to the Reasons First God is every where present he can be shut out of no place as man can or as the Sun can because he is infinite in Nature Do not I sill Heaven and Earth saith the Lord Am I a God at hand and not afar off And therefore it cannot otherwise be but he must needs behold our doings and our actions Psal 139.7 Acts 17.27 Secondly It is he that made the Eye and shall he not see It is he that made the Ear and shall he not hear He giveth knowledge and shall he not know Can any thing be hid from him from whom they have their being The work is known unto the worker the Art unto the Artificer the Pot unto the Potter And shall not the Creature be known unto the Creator Thirdly He it is that chastiseth the Nations as the Prophet speaks in the same Psalm Verse 10. shall not he correct He shall be the Judge every one shall be Judged by him according to his works Now albeit he shall not want Witnesses at that day yet it is fitting that himself should have knowledge of the Actions of all men seeing he will not reprove after the hearing of his Ears Isa 11.3 These Reasons shall suffice instead of many Now for the Uses Vse 1. And first this may serve for Terror to all such as live in sin what greater terror to a Thief than to have the Judge an Eye-witness of his Villany So what greater terror to the wicked than this to have the Lord behold their doings Oh think on these things you lurking Dans close Enemies of the Church whose sleep departs from you till you have caused some to fall The Lord seeth your Plots and cunning Devices your close Practises against his Church and People But he that sitteth in Heaven shall laugh you to scorn the Lord will have you in derision Take notice of this also you Adulterers and Whoremongers who say in your Hearts Who seeth us We are compassed about with darkness we need not fear Behold the Lord himself who shall be thy Judge he seeth thy Villany and looketh thee in the Face in the Act doing Vse 2. Secondly this serveth to set forth Gods wonderful Patience and long-suffering For is all sin in his Eye Then wonder at Gods forbearance who seeing so many and outragious sins daily committed yet for all that spares us Some are Swearing some Tipling some Cheating some Whoring when his Eye is on them All our Impurities Impieties he doth plainly behold yet he forbears and doth not strike Wonder at this wonder at it Oh you Sons of Men and let it teach you to Repent Vse 3. A Third Use may serve to stir us up and encourage us to well-doing what lazie Servant will not put forth his strength when his Masters Eye is on him So who is it were he well perswaded that the Lord is a spectator and beholder of his doings would not put forth his strength to the Lords work Were this well considered how couragious should we be both in the Duties of our general and special Callings The second Doctrine hence to be observed is this That the forgetting of Gods All-seeing Eye in the committing of evil doth aggravate the sin and increase the same The Reasons of this Point are these First we sin against the means that ought to keep us from sin and this doth aggravate the sin exceedingly and make sin out of measure sinful Secondly we rob God of his Honour and give not that unto him which is his right we would pluck out his Eyes that he should not see or at least judge him to be blind To think God seeth us not is a kind of Atheism for after a sort we deny him to be God And am no more worthy to be called thy Son See how he humbleth and abaseth himself even to the uttermost I am not worthy to be thy Son nay not worthy of the name of a Son make me but as an hired Servant and I shall think my self most happy Oh rare Humility yet greatly necessary because God is good to such But as for the Proud he beholds them afar off But to come to the Lesson and this it is Where there is true Repentance there is a sight and sense of a mans own unworthiness And it stands with good Reason for the Affections must needs follow the temperature of the Mind so that as the conceit of Holiness and Happiness doth puff up a Man in Pride and Presumption so the true sight and sense of his sinful and wretched estate must needs cast him down with shame and sorrow Let us then examine our Repentance by our Humility Hast thou truly Repented Then thou art truly Humbled and cast down with a sight and sense of thy sins and transgressions But in the second place I must fall from Exhorting to Lamenting for certainly there is but small store of true Repentance upon the Earth there is so little Humility among Men and Women Thirdly this may serve for Terror to all such who as yet have not this mean and base esteem of themselves Let all such know they are void of Grace I have Gods Word for my Warrant Behold saith the
and estates must be respected and accordingly must we cut our Coat and have our Ornament Nor may they be the Ornaments of Light House-wives or of known dissolute Persons it is not Modesty for Women professing the Gospel to go like Whores or to imitate them in their Strumper-like behaviour Christians ought not to seem to be such as indeed they would be loath to be Neither may it any way tend to provoke inordinate desires in our selves or others but such as may express the Vertues of our Minds being correspondent to Decency and Holiness Thus we see the Manner Thirdly for the Measure Excess of Ornament is to be avoided we may not have too many on our backs nor in our Wardrobes Go to now you Rich Men weep and howl for your Miseries that shall come upon you Your Riches are corrupted and your Garments are Moth-eaten and shall not these Witness against you In Ancient times such were counted infamous as did exceed this way so Graccus noted Naevius for a Licentious Fellow for having on his Hands more Rings than one Beware then of excess in this kind seeing both Heathen and Heaven doth condemn it It is a sin that goeth not alone but draws many after it For first excess in Ornament doth cause thee to abuse thy Wealth and makes thee spend it on needless and superfluous Uses when thou oughtest to spend it better as in Relieving of the Poor and such as are in want Secondly It is commonly maintained with Covetousness and Injustice When was more Pride and Bravery And when more Oppression and Cruelty What greater cause of Bribing and Extortion of Fraud and Cousenage of increasing Fines and inhauncing Rents than this excessive Bravery Pride must be maintained though it be with sale of Faith Conscience Religion and all Thirdly It is a Thief of Time Many a golden hour is spent in casting how to be most brave and what Fashion doth best become them And many an hour is spent in pranking and trimming of the Body in the too accurate and curious culture of it Had Plautus lived in these our times he would never have wondred why dainty Dames are so long in trimming of themselves if he did but see what a shop of Vanities and Fooleries they bear about them See here a cause why such as are most brave are usually most ignorant and impenitent Alas they have no time to adorn their Souls with Gods saving Graces they dress themselves by the Hour and therefore can Pray but by the Minute they want leisure for the one so much is taken up about the other And in a word what more impoverisheth the Common-wealth than our excessive Bravery Our Monies and our chief Commodities are daily Transported into other Countries and what comes in lieu thereof but Apes and Peacocks Costly stuffs silks and velvets gold and silver Laces Feathers and such like Toys for giddy pated Fools which within a few days wearing must be cast off and given to some Serving Man or Maid and soon after become good for nothing but to adorn a Dung-hill See then what a fruitful Mother of much Wickedness Excessive Bravery is Let it therefore be avoided of all such as bear any Love to themselves or to their own Countrey The last Rule to be Observed doth respect the End and that must be not the priding up thy self or to cause the Eyes of others to be set upon thee but Gods Glory while thou dost adorn his Temple See then that that be thy chiefest aim And moreover look thou make a spiritual use of the Ornaments thou wearest Remember the Body is more worth than Raiment and the Soul more worth than thy Body Affect not therefore the Adorning of thy Body more than the Adorning of thy Mind the Jewel is far more worth than the Cabinet wherein it 's kept and the thing covered is more to be respected than the Case that covers it Again let the Adorning of thy Body put thee in mind of thy shame and Nakedness in respect of sin There is a Wound else what needs a plaister And these plaisters though they be of Silk or Velvet argue that under them are some loathsome sores which being seen would shame us Before Man sinned these Ornaments would have Adorned him no more than a silken case a sweet Rose but when his Beauty became blemished by sin then was he driven to seek for Ornaments and on his uncomely parts to put on more comeliness supplying Natural defects with the helps of Art Were this well considered the best Ornaments would bring rather cause of blushing than of boasting Hath a Cripple who hath lost his Leg any cause to brag of his wooden stump Or a Thief any cause to boast of his Bolts or glory in his brand and mark of Felony What more cause have we to brag of Ornament This is that which indeed should humble us as being a continual Testimony of our sin and shame Let us then use them as a daily Monitor to put us in mind of our deformity by sin for our further humbling And thus have we seen some special Rules to be observed in this particular of Ornament which being kept we may safely and comfortably use our Liberty in this kind also Object But it may seem that Ornament is Unlawful and may at no hand be used For the Apostles both Paul and Peter condemn all broidered Hair Gold Pearls and other such like costly Ornaments as unbeseeming Christians I Answer neither Paul nor Peter do simply condemn the things themselves but the abuse of them they being used by Persons of low Estate and very mean Condition for of such in those days did the Church of God especially consist And therefore howsoever it were Lawful in it self yet it was altogether unbeseeming their Estate being in them little better than Riot and Excess And Secondly the Church was then under grievous Persecution Now at such times our Ornament must be laid aside as formerly we have heard that being a time of Humiliation and Mourning And thirdly I Answer The words are rather an Admonition than a Prohibition he forbiddeth not the using of them but admonisheth them that they would rather adorn the inside than the outside and be more careful of the Mind than of the Body And this evidently appeareth by the Antithesis that is used in both places Not with broidered hair saith Paul But with good works Not that outward adorning saith Peter But let it be the hidden man of the heart According to that saying of our Saviour Christ Labour not for the meat that perisheth But for that which endureth to eternal life The meaning is not so much for one as for the other desire more the Adorning of the Mind than of the Body Again some may demand Whether it be Lawful to cover a deformity in the Body or to mend the Complexion it being less beautiful than others is For seeing the Body may be adorned with Ornament it may seem that
suffered much in sundry parts of the Realm At Senlis At Senlis he caused many of the true Godly Christians to suffer much some were Beheaded some Murthered in a popular Tumult some were Whipt some Imprisoned some Fined and others sent to the Gallies not sparing the simple Women Yet through Gods Mercy some escaped amongst whom was one John Gardens and his Wife who lived with his Wife and Child in the Fields at length determined to go back into the City casting themselves upon Gods Providence but when they came into the Suburbs they met some who bad the Soldiers to put them to the Sword The Woman kneeling down begged of the Soldiers that if they must needs die they would kill her Child first A special Providence saying That so she should die with the more Comfort which speech of hers so wrought upon the Soldiers that they spared all their Lives I thank thee for they seasonable Counsell Dear Brother Ioine hand in hand A Presbiterian minister Let there be no strif between thee and me for we are bretheren A Romish Prelat an English Iesuite Alas we are utterly undone our 〈◊〉 is spoyled for they are both agreed A Friendly DIALOGUE between a moderate Conformist and one of his Parishioners concerning several Points of great Moment DIALOGUE I. Concerning God Conformist FOrtunately met Neighbour I am glad to see you look so well again after your long fit of Sickness Parishioner Sir I most humbly thank you but I must likewise tell you that though I am again arrived to a competent measure of Health yet I have those Doubts now upon my Spirit which if not timely resolv'd will I fear in a little time be very prejudicial to my Peace and Quiet And I do therefore Sir now humbly beg that you would give me a Resolution to every Query that I shall now propose unto you for the easement of my mind Conform If I may be instrumental any ways in advancing the Glory of God by instructing of you I shall reckon my time well spent Parish Well then Sir pray give me an Answer to this Query viz. If God be unchangable how can he be said to repent Conf. It is spoken according to our Capacity for though God do never repent that is change his Counsel yet he doth as if he did repent when he undoeth what he had before done Nor may God be charged with changeableness though the course of his Providence be turned but the change is in us You know the Sun by the same quality and in the same season will soften Wax and harden Clay yea will soften the earth when it is frozen and harden it at other times and yet the Sun never altereth his quality but is still the same So though God be gracious to some and severe to others yea severe and gracious to the same person at divers times and in different respects yet he is one and the same for ever Parish If God be a Spirit how is he said to have hands eyes wings c Conf. This is only spoken as the former according to our Capacity that by the hand of God we may note his power by his eye wisdom by his wings protection Parish If God be indivisible and simple how can the sacred Essence be distinguished into three Persons Conf. I see your skill in Logick is small or else it were easie to know how to distinguish betwixt things that cannot be divided I can distinguish between the Essence and existence of the same thing betwixt inseparable accidents and their subjects or to speak common-rode language between a body and its substance form figure c. and yet not divide them So it is no repugnancy in reason it self that the Godhead be one entire entity and yet considered in a personal respect may be distinguished into the Father Son and Holy Ghost Par. I find in the 45. of Isaiah verse 21. that Christ saith There is no God but himself notwithstanding we hear him saying as much by his Father John 17.3 how can both be the only true God Conf. God and Christ differ not essentially but only personally the Father is God so is the Son yet they are not two Gods but one There is no other God but that God which the Father is nor any God but that which Christ is and this word only is not exclusive of any person of the Trinity for every Person is the only God but of all others whether reputed Gods or Creatures DIALOGUE II. Concerning Gods Decrees and Creation Parish TO what purpose should I seek the good of my Soul If I be elected I shall be saved if not I cannot Conf. It is not for you to search the Cabinet of Gods Counsel but to believe and repent which if you do you are not to question your salvation Saving Faith tho' it be not a cause is a fruit of Election for God hath respect to the means as well as the end and conjoyneth them in his Decree And therefore we may conclude that believing we are justified which is an assured Argument we were predestinated and shall be saved But on the other hand they that are hardened by sin are rejected of God and shall be damned Par. If God predestinate the means as well as the end seeing sin is the means tending to damnation whom he predestinates to damnation doth not he predestinate them to sin And if so how can he be freed from it Conf. In Predestination two things are to be considered 1. Gods Preterition passing by or non-electing of a person 2. Predamnation or fore-condemning a person to Perdition The former is of the meer pleasure of God for there can be no other Reason given why this man is chosen and that refused Now those whom God thus passeth by through want of that assistance which he is not bound to give fall finally from God and so considered are pre-damned or fore-ordained to Destruction God doth not force or cause men to sin but leave them to it For sin being no positive thing but a privation of what should be viz. of obedience ariseth from the insufficiency of the Creature left to it self If a King by his Wisdom could foresee that divers of his subjects would prove Traytors and be hanged unless he prefer them and doth forbear to gratifie them so far only because it is not his pleasure so to do can he be justly accused of the Treason which after they commit I believe no Politition will affirm it Must we then be so bold as to charge him who is of purer Eyes than to behold iniquity to be in any sort the cause thereof because he doth not uphold us against it Par. If God do not only pass by men but predamn them to Hell also by this Decree as you shewed in the Resolution of the last Doubt how can his Justice be cleared seeing man had then not actually sinned Conf. Men sin in time not from Eternity yet are their sins from Eternity
Solomon a foolish Nabal a holy Isaac a prophane Esau of what sort soever he must be Deaths Prisoner Nay let there be a concurrance of all in one let Samuel be both a good Man and a good Minister c. and have as many Priviledges as are incident to a man yet can he not procure a Protection against this Officer his Mother may beg his Life but none can compound for his Death Speak we this according to men saith not the Scripture as much Wise men die saith David and Fools die Rich men die and poor too and therefore he calls both upon the Sons of Nobles and of the Earth to mind the Lesson indeed the Heathens could compare the Sons of Adam to Counters Chess Stage-plaies in reckoning Counters have their several Place and use for a time but in the end they are all jumbled on a heap in a Game at Chess some are Kings some Bishops c. but after a while they go all into the same Bag on the Stage one is in his rags another in his Robes one is the Master another the Man and very busie they be but in the end the Play ends the bravery ends and each returns to his place such and no other is the state of man We wear death in our faces and bear it in our bones we put it upon our backs and into our mouths and cannot be ignorant of it Yea the dead proclaim this Lesson go to the Earth and they that make their Beds in darkness and sleep in the dust will tell you that it s neither wisdom nor power nor strength nor friends nor place nor grace nor any thing else that can exempt from this Tribute of Nature Our deceased Brother here before us speaks this to all this vast Assembly If greatness of Spirit feature of Body gifts of mind chastness of life soberness in diet diligence in a calling Prayers of the Church would have given any advantage against death darkness and blackness had not at this time covered us That there is no Prescription against Death appears by these Reasons The first of which is taken from the Decree of God it s a Statute enacted in that highest Court the voice of Heaven that man should once die No man as yet hath breathed but he hath had his death or translation no man is yet to come but he must either see death or an alteration so hath Heaven concluded it and who can possibly reverse it The second is taken from the matter whereof all men are made the Scripture compares man to a house whose foundation is laid in the dust whose walls are made of Clay the whole is but a Tabernacle and that of Earth and that of mans building as Paul after Job tells us this is the estate of man of all men some are more painted than some but all earthen Vessels some more clear than some but all Glasses all built of earth all born of Women and therefore all short of continuance as Job infers The third is taken from the proper cause of Death Sin Sin is Poyson to the Spirits Rottenness to the Bones where it comes and where doth it not come And therefore now what 's to be done Vse 1. Surely as men that must travel stand not to dispute but Arm themselves for all Weather So must we die we must that 's already concluded young and old good and bad c. Whatsoever we be now we must be dead anon You will think strange perhaps of my pains in this kind whilst I perswade a Mortality For howsoever we can all say in the general we are Mortal nothing so sure as Death yet when it comes to our own particular we dream of an Immortality in Nature we never set any bounds to Life we do not resolutely conclude I must die shortly I may instantly this day may be the last that I shall see this hour the last that I shall spend this word the last that I shall speak this deed the last that I shall perform this place the last that I shall breath in and so live by the day by the hour But it is our duty daily to consider what it is to die what goes before it what comes with it what follows upon it For first before we come to the very Gate of Death we are to pass through a very strait long heavy Lane Sickness first tameth us which many times is worse than Death it self that renders us unfit for all Religious Services Prayer Repentance c. as being a time not of getting but of spending that cleaves the Head and pains the Heart and wounds the Spirits and leaves us so distressed that Meat is no Meat the Bed no Bed Light no Light to us that makes us catch at Death for help But alas what help in Death if not fore-thought of Oh the Misery of a poor Creature that is so pained that he cannot live so unprepared that he dares not die he goes to Bed but cannot sleep he tastes his Meat but it will not down he shifts his Room but not his pain Death saith the Conscience would end and amend all wert thou prepared for Death but to die before were to lose those Comforts one hath and to fall under those Curses that are unsufferable Ah beloved we may intimate somewhat of his Misery but it falls not within our thoughts to conceive what his fears be who hangs between Life and Death Earth and Hell thus forthwith ready to drop into flames at every stroke of Death and to sink down down down till he be gone for ever And yet this is not all When I am dead saith the Carnal wretch all the World have done with me He saith truth all the World and all the comforts of the World have done with him indeed he shall-never laugh more he shall never have a moments ease more But though the World hath done with him yet God hath not done with him he sends for his Soul having first taken order that the Body be forth coming convents that and dooms that and casts that from him with greatest indignation into such a place such a company such a condition as would make the Heavens sweat and the Earth shrink to hear it Ah beloved therefore without all delays as a man that is now dying as well as he for whom the Bell tolls though not haply so near to Death set upon two things First set your House in order next your Souls For the first you have your persons and things to look unto To begin with Persons so live with your Wives being Husbands with your Servants being Masters with your Children being Fathers as becomes dying Men exercise such wisdom kindness faithfulness mercy every day as thou wouldest do if thou knowest it to be the last day And for things mark me well hearken not to Satan who disswades all seasonable wills because he would administer the Goods by being timely in this Errand thou shalt not shorten thy days but
this life saith the Prophet all the sweet he hath fore-goeth death after he hath a Portion indeed but it is a Portion of Fire and Brimstone of Storms and Tempests of Anguish and Tribulation of Shame and Confusion of Horror and Amazement in a fiery Lake from the presence of God in the midst of cursed Spirits Thus death must needs be terrible to him but as comfortable to the Godly for it makes his Crosses as short as the others Comforts The Wicked cannot promise to himself Comforts of an hours length nor may the Godly threaten himself with Crosses of an hours continuance Death in an instant turns the sinners Glory into Shame Pleasure into Pain Comfort into Confusion Death in an instant eases the Godly's body of all pain his Soul of all sin his Conscience of all fears and leaves him in an estate of perfect happiness And happy are they whose Misery is no longer than life but woe be to the wicked whose jollity ends when death enters and whose Torments survive death it self and so we leave Samuel to his rest Well Samuel is well himself but in what case doth he leave his poor Neighbours at Ramah that the Text now speaks and it is my trouble yet better one than all troubled that I must speak it so briefly Israel saith the Text Jacobs issue Gods people all Israel distributively taken that is of all sorts some were gathered in great Troops either by publick command or of their own voluntary accord or both ways First to lament according to the then custom in most solemn manner Samuels end and their own loss and next to honour him at his Burial in Ramah The Points which in a passage or two must be touched from this part are two the first is this Samuel a publick and a profitable man dieth Israel publickly mourneth you see what followeth Great and publick losses must be entertained with great and publick sorrows Sorrow must be suited to the loss as a Garment to the body a Shoe to the foot when the cause of Grief is great the measure of Grief must be answerable This is one Principle when a good man and Neighbour dies there is cause of great forrow this is another the inference will soon follow and result hence and that is our Conclusion Good men of publick use and place should never pass to the Grave unlamented their death should be considered and bewailed And indeed reason calls for it for we must mourn in respect of the cause of such mens deaths not private but publick sins too God never beheads a State a Country but for some Treason Reason 1. If Samuel die it is because God is angry with the people the sheep be not thankful nor fruitful therefore the shepherd is smitten Now should it be thus when useful persons die what then shall we say to these times wherein men have not put off Piety only but Nature also No marvel if the Prophet complain The righteous perish and no man considereth it in his heart The wife perisheth and the Husband doth not consider it the Parents perish and the Children do not consider it the Children perish and the Parents do not consider it few such Brethren as David to Jonathan such Husbands as Abraham such Children as Isaac such Fathers as Jacob. These long and long felt the loss of their dearest Friends but now one month is enough to wear out all thoughts of a Brother nay of a Child nay of a Mother nay of a Wife nay in the nearest tyes one in that space may be buried a second wooed a third married Hitherto in hardest pressures and worst measures David could go to Samuel in Ramah and there meet with good Counsel and Comfort but now both Samuel himself dies and poor David must flie Shall I beloved speak as the thing is In the fall of one Cedar of Ramah we have lost much shade and shelter in the splitting of one Vessel of price wherein we had all our interesses and adventures we are all losers what we have lost we shall better see seven years hence than now but losers we are all losers Wife Children Neighbours Friends Ministers People all losers so that here that is verified which was anciently uttered of another In one we have lost many a chast Husband a tender Father a religious Minister a kind Neighbour in few a Samuel Speak I this after the flesh to please No I speak it for use to profit I report my self to your hearts You tell me that you have a publick loss your mouthes have uttered it your faces speak it my Ears and Eyes have received it from you and if so then see what follows if we have Israels loss we must make Israels Lamentation Let us take up Davids words with Davids Affection I am distressed for thee Brother Jonathan very pleasant hast thou been to me thy love to me was wonderful passing the Love of Women Are we as David to Saul Isaac to Rebekah sons Are we as Jeremiah to Josiah Prophets As David to Abner Kindsmen Are we by any name entituled to this loss Mourn then mourn not as the Infidel desperately nor bitterly as doth the froward but soberly as did David when Abners Death put him to a Fast Let his dearest Yoak-fellow say Ah mine unthankfulness and unfruitfulness let Children say Ah our Disobedience and Stubbornness and Servants Ah our Idleness and Untrustiness and all Ah our Folly and Frowardness who could not see Vertves through Frailties and Corn through chaff till we had lost all These sins of ours have strip'd us of a Samuel and covered us with darkness He is gone the Arm and Shoulder is faln from this our little body the sooner for our sins let us see it or else what abides us In the Body what Medicines cannot do cutting must what that cannot burning must or else nothing saith the Master of Physick It is so in the Soul too Oh that we could see it In our Friends Sicknesses we have been Medicined in private distresses lanced but in the loss of Publick Persons the Lord proceeds to burning If these wounds upon the very Head of us strike us not down what shall next be smitten but our Heart it self Well Israel laments and it hath cause What do they next That next we must hear They bury him and the place and manner be observed For the place they bury him at his House in Ramah the Ancient and the Mannor House his Father dwelt there before him 1 Sam. 1. where also you may be informed touching the Town Whereas there were of Ramahs four or sive this was Ramah Zophim in Mount Ephraim which borrows his Name from the Situation of it it stood high and the name importeth no less In this Ramah Samuel sometime lived and here he is Interred For the Selemnity of the Funeral it is such as argues Israels love and Samuels worth they do him all the Honour that is possible First Israel the first-born of Men