that hath given us the higher faculty requireth that we use it as well as the lower And remember that they are not meer co-ordinate faculties but the sensitive faculty is subordinate to the Intellectual And accordingly that which the sensible creature objectively revealeth through the sense unto the Intellect is something to which things sensible are subordinate Therefore if you stop in sensible things and see not the Principle which animateth them the Power which ordereth and ruleth them and the End which they are made for and must be used for you play the Beasts you see nothing but a dead carkass without the soul and nothing but a useless senseless thing You know nothing indeed to any purpose no not the creature it self while you know not the use and meaning of the creature but separate it from its Life and Guide and End § 15. Direct 12. First therefore see that you ever look upon all things sensible as the products of the Direct 12. will of the invisible God depending on him more than the Sunshine doth upon the Sun and never see or taâ—â—e a creature separatedly from God Will you know what a plant is and not know that it is the earth that beareth and nourisheth it Will you know what a Fish is and yet be ignorant that he liveth in the water Will you know what a branch or fruit is and yet not know that it groweth on the Tree The nature of things cannot be known without the knowledge of their causes and respective parts It is as no knowledge to know incoherent scraps and parcels To know a hand as no part of the body or an eye or nose without knowing a head or a body without knowing its life or soul is not to know it for you make it another thing It is the difference between a wise man and a fool that Sapiens respicit ad plura insipiâ—ns ad pauciora A wise man looketh comprehensively to things as they are conjunct and takes all together and leaveth out nothing that is useful to his end but a fool seeth one thing and overseeth another which is necessary to the true knowledge or use of that which he seeth see God as the Cause and Life of every thing you see As a carkass is but a ghastly sight without the soul and quickly corrupteth and stinketh when it is separated so the Creature without God is an unlovely sight and quickly corrupteth and becomes a snare or annoyance to you God is the beauty of all that 's beautiful and the strength of all that 's strong and the glory of the Sun and all that is glorious and the wisdom of all that 's wise and the goodness of all that 's good as being the only original total cause of all You play the Brutes when you see the creature and overlook its Maker from whom it is whatsoever it is Will you see the Diall and overlook the Sun Remember it is the use of every Creature to shew you God and therefore it is the use of every sense to promote the knowledge of him § 16. Direct 13. See God as the Conductor orderer and disposer of all the creatures according to their natures as moved necessarily or freely and behold not any of the motions or events of the world without observing the interest and over-ruling hand of God Sense reacheth but to the effects and events but Reason and faith can see the first cause and disposer of all Again I tell you that if you look but on the particles of things by sense and see not God that setteth all together and doth his work by those that never dream of it you see but the several wheels and parcels of a Clock or Watch and know not him that made and keepeth it that setteth on the Poise and winds it up to fit his ends Ioseph could say God sent me hither when his Brethren sold him into Aegypt And David felt his Fathers Rod in Shimei's curse § 17. Direct 14. See God the End of every creature how all things are ordered for his service and Direct 14. be sure you stop not in any creature without referring it to a higher end Else as I have oft told you you will be but like a Child or illiterate person who openeth a Book and admireth the workmanship of the Printer and the order and well forming of the Letters but never mindeth or understandeth the subject sense or end Or like one that looketh on a comely picture and never mindeth either him that made it or him that is represented by it Or like one that gazeth on the Sign at an Inn-door and praiseth the workmanship but knoweth not that it is set there to direct him to entertainment and necessaries within And this folly and sin is the greater because it is the very end of God in all his works of Creation and Providence to reveal himself by them to the intellectual world And must God shew his Power and Wisdom and Goodness so wonderfully in the frame of the creation and in his daily general and particular providence and shall man that daily seeth all this overlook the intended use and end and so make all this glorious work as nothing or as lost to him Sense knoweth no End but its own Delight and the natural felicity of the sensitive creature such as things sensible afford But Reason must take up the work where sense doth end its stage and carry all home to him that is the End of all For OF Him and THROUGH Him and TO Him are all things to whom be Glory for ever Amen Rom. 11. 36. § 18. Direct 15. Besides the General Use and Ultimate End of every creature labour for a clear acquaintance Direct 15. with the particular Use and nearer End of every thing which you have to do with by which it is serviceable to your Ultimate End And suppose still you saw that special use as subserving your highest End as the Title written upon each creature As suppose upon your Bible it were written The Word of the Living God to acquaint me with himself and his will that I may please and glorifie and enjoy him for ever And upon your godly friend suppose you saw this Title written A Servant of God that beareth his Image and appointed to accompany and assist me in his service unto life everlasting Upon your meat suppose you saw this Title written The provisions of my Father sent me as from my Saviours hands not to gratifie my sensuality and serve my inordinate desires but to refresh and strengthen my body for his service in my passage to everlasting life So upon your Clothes your Servants your Goods your Cattel your Houses and every thing you have inscribe thus the proper use and end § 19. Direct 16. Know both the final and the mediate danger of every thing that you have to do Direct 16. with and suppose you still see them written upon every thing you see The final
Unthankfulness and neglect are the way to be denyed further help § 18. Quest. But how shall I know whether good effects be from the Means or from my Reason and Quest. Endeavour and when from the Spirit of God Answ. Answ. It is as if you should ask How shall I know whether my harvest be from the Earth or Sun or Rain or God or from my labour I will tell you how They are all con-causes If the effect be there they all concur If the effect be wanting some of them were wanting It 's foolish to ask which is the cause when the effect is not produced but by the concurrence of them all If you had asked which cause did fail when the effect faileth there were reason in that question But there is none in this The more to blame those foolish Atheists that think God or the Spirit is not the cause if they can but find that Reason and Means are in the effect Your Reason and Conscience and Means would fall short of the effect if the Spirit put not life into all § 19. Obj. But I am exceedingly troubled and confounded with continual doubts about every motion that Object is in my mind whether it be from the Spirit of God or not Answ. The more is your ignorance or the malice of Satan causing your disquiet In one word Answ. you have sufficient Direction to resolve those doubts and end those troubles Is it Good or Evil or Indifferent that you are moved to This question must be resolved from the Word of God which is the Rule of duty If it be good in matter and manner and circumstances it is from the Spirit of God either its common or special operation If it be evil or indifferent you cannot ascribe it to the Spirit Remember that the Spirit cometh not to you to make you new duty which the Scripture never made your duty and so to bring an additional Law but to move and help you in that which was your duty before Only it may give the Matter while Scripture giveth the Obligation by its general command If you know not what is your duty and what not it is your ignorance of Scripture that must be cured Interpret Scripture well and you may interpret the Spirits motions easily If any new duty be motioned to you which Scripture commandeth not take such motions as not from God Unless it were by extraordinary confirmed Revelation DIRECT IV. Gr. Dir. 4. Let it be your chiefest study to attain to a true orderly and practical knowledge of God For the true and orderly impression of Gods Attributes on the heart in his several Attributes and Relations and to find a due impression from each of them upon your hearts and a distinct effectual improvement of them in your lives § 1. BEcause I have written of this point more fully in another Treatise Of the Knowledge of God and Converse with him I shall but briefly touch upon it here as not willing to repeat Laert. in Zeno. saith Dicunt Stoici Deum esse animal immortale rationale perfectum ac beatum à malo omni remotissimum providentia sua mundum quae sunt in mundo administrans omnia Non tamen inesse illi humanae â—ormae lineamenta Caeterum esse opificem immensi hujus operis sicut patrem omnium Eumque multis appellari nominibus juxta proprietates suas Quosdam item esse daemones dicunt quibus insit hominum miseratio inspectores rerum humararum Heroas quoque so utas corporibus sapientum animas Bonos aiunt esse Divinoâ— quod in seipsis quasi habeant Deum Malum vero impium sine Deo esse quod duplici ratione accipitur sive quod Deo contrarius dicatur sive quod aspernetur Deum Id tamen malis omnibus non convenire Pios autem Religiosos esse sapientes peritos divini juris omnes Pâ—â—tatem esse seiâ—â—iam divini cultus Diis item eos sacr ficia sacturos castosque futuros Quippe ea quae in Deos admittuntur peccata detesâ—ari Diisque charos ac gratos fore quo sancti justique in rebus divinis sint that which there is delivered Only let me briefly mind you of these few things 1. That the true knowledge of God is the summ of Godliness and the end of all our other knowledge and of all that we have or do as Christians As Christ is a Teacher that came from God so he came to call and lead us unto God Or else he had not come as a Saviour It is from God that we fell by sin and to God that we must be restored by grace To save us is to restore us to our perfection and our happiness and that is to restore us unto God § 2. 2. That the true knowledge of God is powerful and effectual upon the heart and life And every Attribute and Relation of God is so to be known as to make its proper Impress on us And the measure of this saving knowledge is not to be judged of by Extensiveness or number of Truths concerning God which we know so much as by the Clearness and Intensiveness and the measure of its holy effects upon the heart § 3. 3 This is it that denominateth both our selves and all our Duties HOLY when Gods Image is thus imprinted on us and we are like him by the new birth as Children to their Father and by his knowledge both our Hearts and Lives are made Divine being disposed unto God devoted to him and employed for him he being our Life and Light and Love § 4. This is the summ of the Covenant of God with man I will be thy God and thou shalt be my people And the other parts of the Covenant that Christ be our Saviour and the Holy Ghost our Sanctifier are both subservient unto this there being now no coming unto God but as Reconciled in Christ our Mediator and by the teaching and drawing of the Holy Ghost To be our God is to be to us An Absolute Owner a most Righteous Governour and a most Bountiful Benefactor or Father as having Created us Redeemed and Regenerated us and this according to his most Blessed Nature properties and perfections § 5. 5. It is not only a loose and unconstant effect of your particular thoughts of God that is the necessary Impress of his Attributes as to Fear him when you remember his Greatness and Iustice But it must be an Habit or holy nature in you every Attribute having made it s stated Image upon you and that Habit or Image being in you a constant Principle of holy spiritual operations A Habit of Reverence Belief Trust Love c. should be as it were your Nature § 6. 6. Not that the knowledge of God in his perfections should provoke us to desire his properties and perfections For to have such an aspiring desire to be Gods were the greatest Pride and wickedness But only we must desire 1.
that giveth me all Life is not for meat or drink or play but these are for Life and Life for the higher Ends of Life § 16. 2. Look unto thy Redeemer drowsie soul and consider for what end he did Redeem thee Was it to wander a few years about the earth and to sleep and sport a while in flesh Or was it to crucifie thee to the world and raise thee up to the Love of God He came down to Earth from Love it self being full of Love to shew the Loveliness of God and reconcile thee to him and take away the enmity and by Love to teach thee the art of Love His Love constrained him to offer himself a Sacrifice for sin to make thee a Priest thy self to God to offer up the Sacrifice of an enflamed heart in love and praise And wilt thou disappoint thy Redeemer and disappoint thy self of the benefits of his Love The Means is for the End Thou maist as well say I would not be Redeemed as to say I would not Love the Lord. § 17. 3. And bethink thy self O drowsie soul for what thou wast Regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit Was it not that thou mightst KNOW and LOVE the Lord What is the Spirit of Adoption that is given to Believers but a Spirit of predominant Love to God Gal. 4. 6. Thou couldst have loved Vanity and doted on thy fleshly friends and pleasures without the Spirit of God It was not for these but to destroy these and kindle a more noble heavenly fire in thy breast that the Spirit did renew thee Examine search and try thy self whether the Spirit hath sanctified thee or not Knowest thou not that if any man have not the Spirit of Christ the same is none of his 2 Cor. 13. 5. Rom. 8. 9. And if Christ and his Spirit be in thee thy Love is dead to earthly vanity and quickned and raised to the most Holy God Live then in the Spirit if thou have the Spirit To walk in the Spirit is to walk in Love Hath the Regenerating Spirit given thee on purpose a new principle of Love and done so much to excite it and been blowing at the Coals so oâ—t and shall thy carnality or sluggishness yet extinguish it As thou wouldst not renounce or contemn thy Creation thy Redemption and Regeneration contemn not and neglect not the Love of thy Creator Redeemer and Regenerater which is the End of all § 18. Direct 2. Think of the perfect fitness of God to be the only Object of thy superlative Love Direct 2. and how easie and necessary it should seem to us to do a work so agreeable to right Reason and uncorrupted Nature and abhorr all temptations which would make God seem unsuitable to thee O sluggish and unnatural soul Should not an object so admirably â—it allure thee Should not such attractive Goodness draw thee Should not perfect amiableness win thee wholly to it self Do but know thy self and God and then forbear to love him if thou canst Where should the fish live but in the Water And where should Birds flye but in the Air God is thy very Element Thou dyest and sinkest down to brutishness if thou forsake him or be taken from him What should delight the smell but odours or the appetite but its delicious food or the eye but Light and what it sheweth and the ear but harmony And what should delight the soul but God If thou know thy self thou knowest that the Nature of thy Mind inclineth to knowledge and by the knowledge of effects to rise up to the cause and by the knowledge of lower and lesser matters to ascend to the highest and greatest And if thou know God thou knowest that he is the cause of all things the Maker Preserver and Orderer of all the Being of Beings the most Great and Wise and Good and Happy so that to know him is to know all to know the most excellent independent glorious being that will leave no darkness nor unsatisfied desire in thy soul. And is he not then most suitable to thy mind If thou know thy self then thou knowest that thy will as free as it is hath a natural necessary inclination to goodness Thou canst not Love evil as evil nor canst thou choose but Love apprehended goodness especially the chiefest good if rightly apprehended And if thou know God thou knowest that he is Infinitely good in himself and the Cause of all the good that is in the world and the giver of all the good thou hast received and the only fit and suitable good to satisfie thy desires for the time to come And yet shall it be so hard to thee to Love so agreeably to perfect Nature so Perfect and full and suitable a good even goodness and Love it self which hath begun to Love thee Is any of the Creatures which thou Lovest so suitable to thee Are they good and only Good and Perfectly Good and unchangeably and eternally Good Are they the spring of comfort and the satisfying happiness of thy soul Hast thou found them so Or dost thou look to find them best at last Foolish soul Canst thou love the uneven defective troublesome creature if to some one small inferiour use it seemeth suitable to thee and canst thou not Love him that is all that rational Love can possibly desire to enjoy What though the creature be near thee and God be infinitely above thee He is nearer to thee than they And though in glory he be distant thou art passing to him in his glory and wilt presently be there Though the Sun be distant from thee it communicateth to thee its Light and Heat and is more suitable to thee than the Candle that is nearer thee What though God be most Holy and thou too earthly and unclean Is he not the fitter to purifie thee and make thee Holy Thou hadst rather if thou be poor have the company and favour of the Rich that can relieve thee than of beggars that will but complain with thee And if thou be unlearned or ignorant thou wouldst have the company of the wise and learned that can teach thee and not of those that are as ignorant as thy self Who is so suitable to thy Desires as he that hath all that thou canst wisely desire and is willing and ready to satisfie thee to the full Who is more suitable to thy Love than he that Loveth thee most and hath done most for thee and must do all that ever will be done for thee and is himself most lovely in his infinite perfections O poor diseased lapsed soul if sin had not corrupted and distempered and perverted thee thou wouldst have thought God as suitable to thy Love as meat to thy hunger and drink to thy thirst and rest to thy weariness and as the earth and water the Air and Sun are to the inhabitants of the world O whither art thou fallen and how far how long hast thou wandered from thy God that thou now drawest
Actions divers from that which commandeth my affections As those that put children relations families neighbours under our especiall charge and care though often others must be more loved 20. That Good which is the object of Love is not a meer Universal or General notion but is allwaies some particular or singular being in esse reali vel in esse cognito As there is no such thing in rerum natura as Good in a meer General which is neither the Good of natural existence or of moral perfection or of Pleasure Profit Honour c. Yea which is not in this or in that singular subject or so conceived so there is no such thing as Love which hath not some such singular object As Rada and other Scotists have made plain 21. All Good is either GOD or a CREATURE or a Creatures Act or Work 22. GOD is GOOD Infinitely Eternally Primitively Independently Immutably Communicatively of whom and by whom and to whom are all things The Beginning or first efficient the Dirigent and ultimately ultimate cause of all created Good As Making and Directing All things For Himself 23. Therefore it is the duty of the Intellectual Creature to Love God Totally without any exceptions or restrictions with all the Power Mind and Will not only in degree above our selves and all the world But also as GOD with a Love in kind transcending the Love of every Creature 24. All the Goodness of the Creature doth formally consist in its threefold Relation to GOD viz. 1. In the Impresses of God as its first Efficient or Creator as it is his Image or the effect and demonstration of his perfections viz. his Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness 2 In its Conformity to his Directions or Governing Laws and so in its Order and Obedience 3. And in its Aptitude and Tendency to God as its final cause even to the demonstration of his Glory and the Complacency of his Will 25. All Created Good is therefore Derivative Dependant Contingent Finite Secondary From God By God and To God receiving its Form and Measure from its respect to Him 26. Yet as it may be subordinately From man as the Principle of his own Actions and By man as a subordinate Ruler of himself or others and To man as a subordinate End so there is accordingly a subordinate sort of Goodness which is so denominated from these respects unto the Creature that is himself Good subordinately 27. But all this subordinate Goodness Bonum à nobis Bonum per nos Bonum nobis is but Analogically so and dependantly on the former sort of Goodness and is something in due subordination to it and against it nothing that is not properly Good 28. The best and excellentest Creatures in the foresaid Goodness-related to God are most to be loved and all according to the Degree of their Goodness more than as Good in relation to our selves 29. But seeing their Goodness is formally their Relation unto God it followeth that they are Loved 〈◊〉 only for his sake and consequently Gods Image or Glory in them is first Loved and so the true Love of any Creature is but a secondary sort of the Love of God 30. The best being next to God is the universe or whole Creation and therefore next him most to be loved by us 31. The next in Amiableness is the whole coelestial society Christ Angels and Saints 32. The next when we come to distinguish them is Christs own Created Glorified Nature in the Person of the Mediator Because Gods Glory or Image is most upon him 33. The next in Amiableness is the whole Angelical society or the orders of Intellectual Spirits above man 34. The next is the spirits of the Just made perfect or the Triumphant Church of Saints in Heaven 35. The next is all this lower world 36. The next is the Church in the world or militant on earth 37. The next are the particular Kingdoms and Societies of the world and so the Churches according to their various degrees 38. The next under societies and multitudes are those individual persons who are Best in the three fore-mentioned respects Whether our selves or others And thus by the objects should our Love that is Rational be diversified in Degree and that be Loved best that is best 39. The Amiable Image of God in man is as hath oft been said 1. Our Natural Image of God or the Image of his three Essential properties as such that is Our Vital Active Power our Intellect and our will 2. Our Moral Image or the Image of his said properties in their perfections viz. Our Holiness that is Our Holy Life or spiritual vivacity and Active Power Our Holy Light or Wisdom our Holy Wills or Love 3. Our Relative Image of God or the Image of his Supereminencie Dominion or Majesty which is 1. Common to Man in respect to the Inferiour Creatures that we are their Owners Governâ—rs and End and Benefactors 2. Eminently in Rulers of Men Parents and Princes who are Analogically sub-owners sub-rulers and sub-benefactors to their inferiors in various degrees By which it is discernable what it is that we are to Love in man and with what variety of kinds and degrees of Love as the Kinds and degrees of amiableness in the objects differ 40. Even the Sun and Moon and frame of Nature the Inanimates and Bruits must be Loved in that Degree Compared to Man and to one another as their Goodness before described that is the Impressions of the Divine perfections do more or less Gloriously appear in them and as they are adapted to him the ultimate end 41. As God is in this life seen but darkly and as in a Glass so also proportionably to be Loved For our Love cannot exceed our Knowledge 42. Yet it followeth not that we must Love him only as he appareth in his works which demonstrate him as effects do their cause For both by the said works improved by Reason and by his word we know that he is before his works and above them and so distinct from them as to transcend and comprehend and cause them all by a continual causality And therefore he must accordingly be Loved 43. It greatly hindereth our Love to God when we overlook all the intermediate excellencies between Him and us which are much better and therefore more amiable than our selves such as are before recited 44. The Love of the universe as bearing the liveliest Image or impress of their Cause is an eminent secondary Love of God and a great help to our Primary or Immediate Love of him Could we comprehend the Glorious excellency of the universal Creation in its matter form parts order and uses we should see so Glorious an Image of God as would unspeakably promote the work of Love 45. Whether the GLORY of God in HEAVEN which will for ever beatifie the beholders and possessors be the Divine Essence which is every where or a Created Glory purposely there placed for the felicity of holy spirits and
1 Pet. 2. 21 22 23 24. Isa. 53. cast down who never despised or envied man nor never feared man who never was over-merry or over-sad who being reviled reviled not again but was dumb as a lamb before the shearers § 21. Direct 17. Keep as far from all occasions of your passions as other duties will allow you And Direct 17. contrive your affairs and occasions into as great an opposition as may be to the temptation Run not into temptation if you would be delivered from evil Much might be done by a willing prudent man by the very ordering of his affairs God and Satan works by means let the means then be regarded § 22. Direct 18. Have a due care of your bodies that no distemper be cherished in them which causeth Direct 18. the distemper of the soul. Passions have a very great dependance on the temperament of the body And much of the cure of them lieth when it is possible in the bodyes emendation § 23. Direct 19. Turn all your passions into the right chanel and make them all Holy using them for Direct 19. God upon the greatest things This is the true cure The bare restraint of them is but a palliate cure like the easing of pain by a dose of opium Cure the fear of man by the fear of God and the Love of the creature by the Love of God and the cares for the body by caring for the soul and earthly fleshly desires and delights by spiritual desires and delights and worldly sorrow by profitable godly sorrow § 24. Direct 20. Controul the effects and frustrate your passions of what they would have and that Direct 20. will ere long destroy the cause Cross your selves of the things which carnal Love and desire would have Forbear the things which carnal mirth or anger would provoke you to and the fire will go out for want of fewel Of which more in the particulars Tit. 2. Directions against sinful Love of Creatures § 1. LOve is the Master Passion of the soul because it hath the chiefest Object even Goodness which Solus Amor facit hominem bonum vel malum Paul Sâ—aliger Thes. p. 721. is the object of the will And simple Love is nothing but Complacencie which is nothing but the simple Volition of Good And it is a Passionate Volition or Complacencie which we call the Passion of Love When this is Good and when its sinful I shewed before But yet because the one half of the cure here lieth in the conviction and it is so hard a thing to make any Lover perceive a sinfullness in his Love I shall first help you in the tryal of your Love to shew the sinfullness of it when I have first named the objects of it § 2. Any creature which seemeth Good to us may possibly be the object of sinful Love As Honor Greatness authority praises money houses lands cattle meat drink sleep apparel sports friends relations and life it self As for Lustful Love I shall speak of it anon Helps for discovering of sinful Love § 3. Direct 1. Make Gods interest and his word the standard to judge of all affections by That Direct 1. which is against the Love of God and would abate or hinder it yea which doth not directly or indirectly tend to further it is certainly a sinful Love And so is all that is against his word For the Love of God is our final act upon our ultimate end and therefore all that tends not to it is a sin against our very end and so against our nature and the use of our faculties § 4. Direct 2. Therefore whatever creature is Loved ultimately for it self and not for a higher end Direct 2. even for God his service his honour his relation to it or his excellencie appearing in it is sinfully loved For it is made our God when it is Loved ultimately for it self § 5. Direct 3. Suspect all Love to creatures which is very strong and violent and easily kindled and Direct 3. hardly moderated or quieted Though you might think it is for some spiritual end or excellencie that you Love any person or any thing yet suspect it if it be so easie and strong Because that which is truly and purely spiritual is against corrupted nature and comes from Grace which is but weak we find no such easiness to Love God and scripture and prayer and holiness nor are our affections so violent to these It s well if all the fewel and blowing we can use will keep them alive It s two to one that the flesh and the Devil have put in some of their fewel or gunpouder if it be fierce § 6. Direct 4. Suspect all that Love which selfishness and fleshly-interest have a hand in Is it some Direct 4. bodily pleasure and delight that you love so much Or is it a good book or other help for your soul We are so much apter to exceed and sin in carnal fleshly mindedness than in Loving what is good for our souls that there we should be much more suspicious If it be violent and for the body it s ten to one there is sin in it § 7. Direct 5. Suspect all that Love to creatures which your Reason can give no good account of nor Direct 5. shew you a justifiable cause If you Love one place or person much more than others and know not why but Love them because you cannot choose this is much to be suspected Though God may sometime kindle a secret Love between friends from an unexpressible unity or similitude of minds beyond what reason will undertake to justifie yet this is rare and commonly fansie or folly or carnality is the cause However it is more to be suspected and tryed than Rational Love § 8. Direct 6. Suspect all that fervent Love to any Creature which is hasty before sufficient tryal for Direct 6. commonly both persons and things have the best side outward and seem better at the first appearance than they prove Not but that a moderate Love may be taken up upon the first appearance of any excellency especially spiritual But so as to allow for a possibility of being deceived and finding more faultiness upon a fuller tryal than we at first perceive Have you dwelt in the house with the persons whom you so much admire and have you tryed them in their conversations and seen them tryed by crosses losses injuries adversity prosperity or the offers of preferment or plenty in the world you would little think what lurketh undiscovered in the hearts of many that have excellent parts till tryal manifest it § 9. Direct 7. Try your affections in prayer before God whether they be such as you dare boldly pray Direct 7. God either to increase or continue and bless and whether they be such as Conscience hath no quarrel against If they endure not this tryal be the more suspicious and search more narrowly The name and presence
another for a holy use p. 109 c. CHAP. XIX General Directions and particular Cases of Conscience â—boâ—t Contracts in general and about Buying and selling borrowing and lending and Usury in particular p. 113 Tit. 1. General Directions against injurious bargaining and contracts ibid. Tit. 2. Cases about Iustice in Contracts p. 114. Q. 1. Must I in all Cases do as I would be done by Q. 2. Is a Son bound by the Contracts which Parents or Guardians made for him in his Infancy Q 3. Is one obliged by a Contract made in ignorance or mistake of the matter Q. 4. Doth the contract of a man drunk or in passion or melancholy bind him Q 5. May another hold such a one to his contract or if he give or play away his money Q. 6. Am I obliged by Covenanting words without a Covenanting intent Q. 7. May I promise a Robber money to save my life or to save a greater commodity Q. 8. May I give money to a Iudge or Magistrate to hire him to do me justice and not to wrong me or not to persecute me Q. 9. If I make such a contract may the Magigistrate take it of me Q 10. If I promise money to an Officer or Robber under a force am I bound to pay it when the necessity is over So of other constrained promises Q. 11. May I promise a Thief or Bribe-taker to conceal him and must I keep that promise Q. 12. Must I keep a promise which I was drawn into by deceit Q 13. Is it a Covenant when neither of the contracting parties understand each other Q. 14. Must I stand to a bargain made for me by a friend or servant to my injury Q. 15. If I say I will give one this or that am I bound to give it him Q 16. Doth a mental promise not uttered oblige Q. 17. May I promise to do a thing simply unlawful without a purpose to perform it to save my life Q. 18. May any thing otherwise unlawful become a duty upon a promise to do it Q. 19. May he that promised for a reward to promote anothers sin take the reward when he hath done it Q. 20. Am I bound by a contract without witness or legal form Q 21. May an Office in a Court of Iustice be bought for money Q. 22. May a place of Magistracy or Iudicature be bought Q. 23. May one sell a Church Benefice or Orders Q. 24 May one buy Orders or a Benefice Q. 25. May I give money to Servants or Officers to assist my Suit Q. 26. May I after give by way of gratitude to the Bishop Patron c. Q. 27. May a Bishop or Pastor take money for Sermons Sacraments or other Offices Q. 28. May I disoblige another of his promise made to me Q. 29. What if it be secâ—nded by an Oath Q. 30. Doth a promise bind when the cause or reason proveth a mistake Q 31. What if a following accident make it more to my hurt than could be foreseen Q. 32. Or if it make it injurious to a third person Q. 33. Or if a fâ—llowing accident make the perfâ—rmance a sin Q. 34. Am I bound to him that breaketh Covenant with me Q. 35. May I contract to do that which I foresee like to become impossible before the time of performance Tit. 3. Cases about Iustice in Buying and Selling p. 120 Q 1. Am I bound to endeavour the gain of him that I bargain with as well as my own Q. 2. May I take more for my labour or goods than the worth if I can get it Q. 3. May I ask more in the Market than the worth Q. 4. How shall the worth of a Commodity be judged of Q. 5. May I conceal the faults or make a thing seem better than it is by setting the best side outward adorning c. Q. 6. If I was deceived or gave more than the worth may I do so to repair my loss Q. 7. If I foresee a cheapness of my Commodity as by coming in of Ships c. must I tell the buyer of it that knoweth it not Q. 8. May I keep my Commodity if I foresee a dearth Q. 9. May one use many words in buying and selling Q. 10. May I buy as cheap as I can or below the worth Q. 11. May I sell dearer for anothers necessity Cases instanced in Q. 12. May I take advantage of the buyers ignorance Q. 13. May I strive to get a good bargain before another Q. 14. May I buy a thing or hire a servant which another is first about or call away his Chapman Q. 15. May I dispraise anothers Commodity to draw the buyer to my own Q. 16. What to do in cases of doubtful equity Q. 17. What if the buyer lose the thing bought before the payment as a Horse dye c. Q. 18. If the thing bought as Amber-Chryse Iewels c. prove of much more worth than either party expected must more be after payed Q. 19. What if the title prove bad which was before unknown Q. 20. If a change of powers overthrow a title speedily who must bear the lâ—ss p. 120 Tit. 4. Cases about Lending and Bâ—rrowing Q 1. May one borrow money who seeth no probability that he shall be able to repay it Q 2. May one drive a Trade with borrowed money when success and repayment is uncertain Q. 3. May be that cannot pay his debts retain any thing for his food and rayment Q. 4. May one that breaketh secure that to his Wife and Children which on Marriage he promised before he was in debt Q. 5. May one that breaketh retain somewhat to set up again by compounding with his Creditors Q. 6. May I in necessity break my day of payment Q. 7. May I borrow of one to keep day with another Q. 8. May one that hath no probability of paying the last man borrow of one to pay another Q. 9. Is it lawful to take pledges pawns or mortgages for security Q. 10. May a foâ—feiture pledge or mortgage be kept on Covenant breaking Q. 11. May I take the promise or bond of a third person as security for my money Q. 12. Is it lawful to lend upon usury interest or increase Q. 13. Whom are we bound to lend to Q. 14. Is it lawful to take money on usury in such cases as the Lender sinneth in Q 15. Doth not contracting for a certain summ make usury the more unlawful p. 124 Tit. 5. Cases about Lusory Contracts Q. 1. Is it lawful to lay wagers about the truth of our discourses Q. 2. Is it lawful to lay wagers about Horse-races Dogs Hawks c. Q. 3. May one give money to see Games or Activities Bear-baitings Playes c. Q 4. Is it lawful to play for money at Cards Dice Lottery c. Q. 5. Or at Games of Activity as Bowling Shooting Running c. Q. 6. If the looser prove angry and unwilling to pay may I get it of him by Law p. 129 Tit.
p. 199 CHAP. XXXI Cases and Directions about Confessing sins and injuries to others Tit. 1. The Cases p. 201 Q. 1. When must we confess wrongs to those that we have wronged Q. 2. What will excuse us from such Confessions Q. 3. Must I confess a purpose of injury which was never executed Q. 4. When must sins against God be confessed to men Tit. 2. The Directions for just confessing sin to others p. 202 CHAP. XXXII Cases and Directions about satisfaction and Restitution p. 203 Tit. 1. The Cases Q. 1. What is Satisfaction what Restitution and when a duty Q. Why did they restore fourfold by the Law of Moses Q. 2. How far is Satisfaction and Restitution necessary Q. 3. Who are bound to make it Q. 4. To whom must it be made Q. 5. What Restitution is to be made for dishonouring Rulers or Parents Q. 6 How must Satisfaction be made for Slanders and Lyes Q. 7. And for tempting others to sin and hurting their souls Q. 8. And for Murder or Man-slaughter Q. 9. Iâ— a Murderer bound to offer himself to justice Q. 10. Or to do execution on himself Q. 11. What Satisfaction is to be made by a Fornicator or Adulterer Q. 12. In what cases is a man excused from Satisfaction and Restitution Q. 13. What if Restitution will cost the Restorer more than the thing is worth Q. 14. What if confessing a fault will turn the rage of the injured person against me to my ruine p. 203 Tit. 2. The Directions for Practice p. 206 CHAP. XXXIII Cases and Directions about our obtaining pardon from God p. 206 Tit. 1. The Cases Q 1. Is there Pardon to be had for all sin without exception Q. 2. What if one oft commit the same heinous sin Q. 3. Is the day of Grace and Pardon ever past in this life Q. 4. May we be sure that we are pardoned Q. 5. Can any man pardon sins against God and how far Q. 6. Is sin forgiven before it be committed Q. 7. Are the Elect Pardoned and Iustified before Repentance Q. 8. Is Pardon or Iustification perfect before Death Q. 9. Is our pardon perfect as to all sins past Q. 10. May Pardon or Iustification be lost or reversed Q. 11. Is the pardon of my own sin to be Believed â—ide Divina and is it the meaning of that Article of the Creed Q. 12. May one in any kind Trust to his own Faith and Repentance for his Pardon Q. 13. What are the Causes and Conditions of Pardon p. 208 Tit. 2. Directions for obtaining Pardon from God p. 209 CHAP. XXXIV Cases and Directions about self-judging p. 210 Tit. 1. The Cases Q. 1. What are the Reasons Vses and Motives of Self-judging Q. 2. What should ignorant persons do whose capacity will not reach to so high a work as true self-examination and self-judging Q. 3. How far may a weak Christian take the judgement of his Pastor or others about his sincerity and justification Tit. 2. Directions for judging of our Actions p. 211 Tit. 3. Directions for judging of our estates to know whether we are Iustified and in a state of life p. 212 c READER Thou art desired to mend the following Errata with thy Pen especially those markt with a Star Some more false Spellings false Pointings c. there are but too slight to give thee any trouble PAg. 26. l. antepen r. have lived p. 48. l. 7. r. if they p. 44. l. 20. r. once * listed p. 4â— l. 31. r. 〈◊〉 to p. 55. l. 30. r. in the practice p. 59. l. 13. del not l. 43. r. from them that p. 63. l. 46. del not p. 99. l. 50. r. â—ew reâ—â— not fit p. 105. Sect. 11. l. 2. r. â—â—â—â— serves v. 120 â—â— 12â— l. 36. r. * â—â—arl sâ—â—ss p. 150. l 29. r. * world 〈◊〉 p. 154. Sect. 37. l. anteâ— r. 2 * Chron. p. 165. l. 1. r. before them p. 180. l. 3. r. * that clearly p. 219. Sect. 11. l. 1. r. câ—â—jâ—â—es p. 233. Sect. 16. l. ult r. 〈◊〉 â—â—â—â— p. 238. Sect. 50. l. 3. r sound p. 244. l. 21. r. their shame p. 261. l 13. r. * a dâ—â—p p. 323. Sect. â—9 l. 6. r. i◠〈◊〉 p. 325. l. 5â— â— * Dury p. 33. Title r. sinful Desires p. 354. l. 33. r. love him p. 380. Sect. 63 l. 6. r. loath p. 384. l. 4â— r * senseless 〈◊〉 p 386. l. 6. r. * most defile p. 397 Sect. 14. l. 11. r. yet of p. 398. Sect. 19. l. 2. r. sights p. 404. Sect 3 l. 7. r. * present 〈◊〉 p. 410. l 9. r. * mod p. 433. l. 51. r. sermonum l. 53. r. * aftercations p. 437. l. 18. r. General to get p. 4â—â— l. antep r. their â—â—ot p. 442. l. 41. r. give thee p. 445. l. 7. r. contented l. 42. r. got p. 452. l. 26. r. * best employment l. 6. del best p. 460. Title r. â—â—â—â— Zeal Lust. r. in the world p. 461. Sect. 16. l. 2. r. unprofitable * prating p. 462. l. 37. r. 〈…〉 l. 4â— r. othâ—â—s l. 52. r. using them p. 495. l. 8. r. Gods p. 496. l. 45. r. Riâ—ht of propriety p. 500. l. 37. r. Psalms of praise p. 503. l. 33. r. 1 Câ—r l. â—4 r. 〈◊〉 â—oâ— tâ—â—ir house l. 35. r. thy house l. pen. r. Therefore p. 506. l. 56. r. the faith p. 507. l. 37. r. â—it to oâ—â— p. 523 l. â—2 del it ibid. r. this heat p. 536. l. 26. r. will do p. 550. l. ult r. heart-breaking p. 551. l. 39. r evâ—◠〈◊〉 p. 557. l. 46. r. hath * not given p. 599. l 30. r. shorter p. 625. l. â— r. * not wholly p. 635. l. 39. r. * not able p 641. l. 39. r. your 〈◊〉 p. 676. Sect. 19. l. 4. â— Your work p. 692. l. 17. r. himself p. 695. l. 1. r. arctius nobis p. 701. l. 24. r. wicked hands p. 705. Prop. 8. l. 5â—6 del half each line p. 711. l. 42. r. in force l. 58. r. needeth it * not p 713. l. 38. r. by a faâ—se p. 720. l. 3. r. Here note p. 722. l. 19. r. Sâ—â— p. 724. Sect. 3. l. 5. del you p. 727. Sect. 19. l. 10. r. ask p. 745. Sect. â—4 l. r. del of intrusions p. 756. l. antep r. would â—idâ— p. 757. l. 55. r. imitate them p. 759. l. 10. r. murder p. 771. l. ult r. to all p 798. l. 34. r. Oâ—â—â—â—ined as p. 812. Q. 36. l. 5. r. as such unknown p 844. l. 9. r. to * remove p 885. l. 12. r. * not to institute p 898 l. 10 11. r. Gomarus * Somnius p. 900. l. antep r. bare witness p 915. l. 17. r 2 Some things p. 919. l. antep r. see that * aptâ—ntâ—r p. 921. l. 22 r. 〈◊〉 * 〈◊〉 maâ—â— l. 39. r. after * the Scriptures which Paul is commonly supposed to mean and some of it after he â—ud so p. 922. l. 25. r. Hotâ—â—kis l. 46. r. * Sâ—ccaâ—i l.
it And what do men at death say of it And what do converted souls or awakened consciences say of it Is it then followed with delight and fearlesness as it is now Is it then applauded Will any of them speak well of it Nay all the world speaks evil of sin in the general now even when they love and commit the several acts Will you sin when you are dying § 29. Direct 10. Look alwayes on sin and judgement together Remember that you must answer for Direct 10. it before God and Angels and all the world and you will the better know it § 30. Direct 11. Look now but upon sickness poverty shame despair death and rottenness in the Direct 11. grave and it may a little help you to know what sin is These are things within your sight or feeling You need not saith to tell you of them And by such effects you might have some little knowledge of the cause § 31. Direct 12. Look but upon some eminent holy persons upon earth and upon the mad prophane Direct 12. malignant world and the difference may tell you in part what sin is Is there not an amiableness in a holy blameless person that liveth in love to God and man and in the joyful hopes of life eternal Is not a beastly Drunkard or Whoremonger and a raging Swearer and a malicious persecutor a very deformed loathsome creature Is not the mad confused ignorant ungodly state of the world a very pittiful sight What then is the sin that all this doth consist in Though the principal part of the Cure is in turning the Will to the haired of sin and is done by this discovery of its malignity yet I shall add a few more Directions for the executive part supposing that what is said already have had its effect § 32. Direct 1. When you have found out your disease and danger give up your selves to Christ as Direct 1. the Saviour and Physicion of souls and to the Holy Ghost as your Sanctifier remembring that he is sufficient and willing to do the work which he hath undertaken It is not you that are to be Saviours and Sanctifiers of your selves unless as you work under Christ But he that hath undertaken it doth take it for his glory to perform it § 33. Direct 2. Yet must you be willing and obedient in applying the Remedies prescribed you by Christ and observing his Directions in order to your Cure And you must not be tender and coy and fineish and say This is too bitter and that is too sharp but trust his Love and skill and care and take it as he prescribeth it or giveth it you without any more ado Say not It is grievous and I cannot take it For he commands you nothing but what is safe and wholesome and necessary and if you cannot take it you must try whether you can bear your sickness and death and the fire of Hell Is humiliation confession restitution mortification and holy diligence worse than Hell § 34. Direct 3. See that you take not part with sin and wrangle not or strive not against your Direct 3. Physicion or any that would do you good Excusing sin and pleading for it and extenuating it and striving against the Spirit and Conscience and wrangling against Ministers and godly friends and hateing reproof are not the means to be cured and sanctified § 35. Direct 4. See that malignity in every one of your particular sins which you can see and say Direct 4. is in sin in general It 's a gross deceit of your selves if you will speak a great deal of the evil of sin and see none of this malignity in your Pride and your worldliness and your passion and pievishness and your malice and uncharitableness and your lying backbiting slandering or sinning against conscience for worldly commodity or safety What self-contradiction is it for a man in prayer to aggravate sin and when he is reproved for it to justifie or excuse it For a Popish Priest to enter sinfully upon his place by subscribing or swearing the Trent Confession and then to preach zealously against sin in the general as if he had never committed so horrid a crime This is like him that will speak against Treason and the Enemies of the King but because the Traytors are his friends and kindred will protect or hide them and take their parts § 36. Direct 5. Keep as far as you can from those temptations which feed and strengthen the sins which Direct 5. you would overcome Lay siege to your sins and starve them out by keeping away the food and fewel which is their maintenance and life § 37. Direct 6. Live in the exercise of those graces and duties which are contrary to the sins which Direct 6. you are most in danger of For grace and duty is contrary to sin and killeth it and cureth us of it as the fire cureth us of cold or health of sickness § 38. Direct 7. Hearken not to weakning unbelief and distrust and cast not away the comforts of God Direct 7. which are your cordials and strength It is not a frightful dejected despairing frame of mind that is fittest to resist sin but it is the encouraging sense of the love of God and thankful sense of grace received with a cautelous fear § 39. Direct 8. Be alwayes suspicious of carnal self-love and watch against it For that is the Direct 8. burrow or fortress of sin and the common Patron of it ready to draw you to it and ready to justifie it We are very prone to be partial in our own cause as the case of Iudah with Thamar and David when Nathan reproved him in a Parable shew Our own passions our own pride our own censures or back-bitings or injurious dealings our own neglects of duty seem small excusable if not justifyable things to us whereas we could easily see the faultiness of all these in another especially in an enemy when yet we should be best acquainted with our selves and we should most love our selves and therefore hate our own sins most § 40. Direct 9. Bestow your first and chiefest labour to kill sin at the Root To cleanse the Heart Direct 9. which is the fountain For out of the heart cometh the evils of the life Know which are the Master-Roots and bend your greatest care and industry to mortifie those And that is especially these that follow 1. Ignorance 2. Unbelief 3. Inconsiderateness 4. Selfishness and Pride 5. Fleshliness in pleasing a bruitish appetite lust or fantasie 6. Senseless hard-heartedness and sleepiness in sin § 41. Direct 10. Account the world and all its pleasures wealth and honours no better than indeed Direct 10. they are and then Satan will find no bait to catch you Esteem all as dung with Paul Phil. 3. 8. And no man will sin and sell his soul for that which he accounteth but as dung § 42. Direct 11. Keep up
to fight against his cause and work which is by fighting against the World and the Flesh and for the glory of God § 13. In opening to you this holy War I shall 1. Shew you what we must do on the Offensive part The Mâ—â—â—â—d 2. What on the Defensive part And here I shall shew you I. What it is that the Tempter aimeth at as his End II. What matter or ground he worketh upon III. What are his Succours and Assistants IV. What kind of Officers and Instruments he useth V. What are his Methods and actual Temptations 1. To actual sin 2. Against our duty to God § 14. 1. Our offensive arms are to be used 1. Against the power of sin within us and all its advantages and helps For while Satan ruleth and possesseth us within we shall never well oppose him without 2. Against sin in others as far as we have opportunity 3. Against the credit and honour of sin in the world As the Devils Servants would bring Light and Holiness into disgrace so Christs Servants must câ—si disgrace and shame upon sin and darkness 4. Against all the Reasonings of sinners and their subtile fallacies whereby they would deceive 5. Against the passions and violent lusts which are the causes of mens other sins 6. Against the holds and helps of sin as false Teachers prophane Râ—vilers ignorance and dâ—câ—it Only take heed that on this pretence we step not out of our ranks and places to pull down the powers of the world by rebellions For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal 2 Cor. 10. 4. § 15. 2. As to our Defence I. The ends of the Tempter which must be perceived are these 1. In general his aâ—m is at our utter ruine and damnation and to draw us here to dishonour God as much as he can But especially his aim is to strengthen the great heart-sins which are most mortal and are the root and life and spawners of the rest Especially these 1. Ignorance which is the friend and cloke to all the rest 2. Error which will justific them 3. Unbelief which keeps off all that should oppose them 4. Atheism prophaneness unhâ—liness which are the defiance of God and all his Armies 5. Presumption which emboldneth them and hides the danger 6. Hardness of heart which fortifieth them against all the batteries of Grace 7. Hypocrisie which maketh them serve him as Spies and Intelligencers in the Army of Christ. 8. Disaffection to God and his wayes and servants which is the Devils colours 9. Unthankfulness which tends to make them unreconcileable and unrecoverable 10. Pride which commandeth many Regiments of lesser sins 11. Worldliness or love of money and wealth which keepeth his Armies in pay 12. Sensuality Voluptuousness or flesh-pleasing Animi molles aetate fluxâ— doâ—â—s hâ—ud dâ—fficulter câ—pâ—untur which is the great Commander of all the rest For selfishness is the Devils Lieutenant General which consisteth chiefly in the three last named but especially in Pride and Sensuality Some think that it is outward sins that bring all the danger but these twelve heart-sins which I have named to you are the twelve Gates of the infernal City which Satan loveth above all the rest § 16. II. The Matter and Grounds of his Temptations are these 1. The Devil first worketh upon the outward sense and so upon the sensitive appetite He sheweth the Cup to the Drunkards eye and the bait of filthy lust to the fornicator and the riches and pomp of the world to the covetous and proud The Glutton tasteth the sweetness of the dish which he loveth Stage-playes and tempting sports and proud attire and sumptuous buildings and all such sensual things are the baits by which the Devil angleth for souls Thus Eve first saw the fruit and then tasted and then did eat Thus Noah and Lot and David sinned Thus Achan saith Josh. 7. 21. I saw the Garments Silver and Gold I coveted them and I took them The sense is the door of sin § 17. 2. The Tempter next worketh on the Fantasie or Imagination and prints upon it the loveliest image of his bait that possibly he can and engageth the sinner to Think on it and to rowl it over and over in his mind even as God commandeth us to Meditate on his Precepts § 18. 3. Next he worketh by these upon the Passions or affections which fantasie having enflamed they violently urge the Will and Reason and this according to the nature of the passion whether fear or hope sorrow or joy love or hatred desire or aversation but by none doth he work so dangerously as by Delight and Love and Desire of things sensual § 19. 4. Hence he proceedeth to infect the Will upon the simple apprehension of the understanding to make it inordinately cleave to the temporal good and to neglect its duty in commanding the understanding to meditate on preserving objects and to call off the Thoughts from the forbidden thing It neglecteth to rule the Thoughts and Passions according to its office and natural power § 20. 5. And so he corrupteth the understanding it self first to omit its duty and then to entertain deceit and to approve of evil And so the servant is put into the Government and the commanding powers do but serve it Reason is blinded by sensuality and passion and becomes their servant and pleads their cause § 21. By all this it appeareth 1. That Satans first bait is ordinarily some sensible or imaginary good set up against true spiritual good 2. That his first assault of the Reason and Will is to tempt them into a sluggish neglect and neutrality to omit that restraint of Sense Thought and Passion which was their duty 3. And that lastly he tempteth them into actual complyance and committing of the sin And herein 1. The bait which he useth with the understanding is still some seeming Truth And therefore his art and work is to colour falshood and make it seem Truth For this is the deceiving of the mind And therefore for a sinner to plead his mistake for his excuse and say I thought it had been so or so I thought it had been no sin or no duty this is but to confess and not to excuse It is but as much as to say my Understanding sinned with my Will and was deceived by the Tempter and overcome 2. And the bait which he useth with the Will is alwayes some appearing good And self-love and love of good is the principle which he abuseth and maketh his ground to work upon as God also useth it in drawing us to good § 22. III. The Succours and Auxiliaries of the Devil and his principal means are these 1. He doth what he can to get an ill tempered Body on his side For as sin did let in bodily distempers so do they much befriend the sin that caused them A cholerick temper will much help him to draw men to passion malice murder cruelty and revenge A sanguine and bilious
Unhumbledness Impurity Unreformedness and all sin in general as sin In the ninth you are directed against †Of Presumption and false hope enough is said in the Saints Rest and here about Temptation Hope and other Heads afterward Security Unwatchfulness and yielding to temptations and in general against all danger to the soul. In the tenth you are directed against Barrenness Unprofitableness and Sloth and Uncharitableness and against mistakes in matter of duty or good works In the eleventh you are directed against all Aversness Disaffection or cold Indifferency of heart to God In the twelfth you are directed against Distrust and sinful Cares and Fears and Sorrows In the thirteenth you are directed against an over sad or heartless serving of God as meerly from fear or forcedly without delight In the fourteenth you are directed against Unthankfulness In the fifteenth you are directed against all unholy or dishonourable thoughts of God and against all injurious speeches of him or barrenness of the tongue and against all scandal or barrenness of life In the Books referred to in the sixteenth and seventeenth you are directed against selfishness self-esteem self-love self-conceit self-will self-seeking and against all worldliness and fleshliness of mind or life But yet leâ—t any necessary helps should be wanting against such heinous sins I shall add some more particular Directions against such of them as were not fully spoken to before PART I. Directions against UNBELIEF § 1. I Know that most poor troubled Christians when they complain of the sin of Unbelief do mean by it their not Believing that they are sincere believers and personally justified and shall be saved â— Whether not to believe that my sins are pardoned â—e indeed Unbelieâ— And I know that some Divines have affirmed that the sense of that Article of the Creed I believe the Remission of sins is I believe my sins are actually forgiven But the truth is to believe that I am elect or justified or that my sins are forgiven or that I am a sincere Believer is not to Believe any word of God at all For no word of God doth say any of these nor any thing equivalent nor any thing out of which it can be gathered For it is a Rational Conclusion and one of the premises which do infer it must be found in my self by reflexion or internal sense and self-knowledge The Scripture only saith He that truly believeth is justified and shall be saved But it is Conscience and not Belief of Scripture which must say I do sincerely believe Therefore the Conclusion that I am justified and shall be saved is a Rational Collection from what I find in Scripture and in my self set together and resulting from both can be no firmer or surer than is the weaker of the premises Now Certainty is objective or subjective in the Thing or in my Apprehension As to Objective Certainty in the thing it self all truths are equally true But all Truths are not equally discernable there being much more cause of doubting concerning some which are less evident than concerning others which are more evident And so the Truth of Gods promise of Justification to believers is more certain that is hath fuller surer Evidence to be discerned by than the Truth of my sincere believing And that I sincerely believe is the more Debile of the premises and therefore the conclusion followeth this in its Debility And so can be no article of faith And as to the subjective Certainty that varyeth according to mens various apprehensions The premises as in their evidence or aptitude to ascertain us are the cause of the Conclusion as evident or knowable And the premises as apprehended are the Cause of the Conclusion as known Now it is a great doubt with some Whether a man can possibly be more certain that he believeth Whether a man can be more certain that he believeth than he is that the thing believed is true than he is that the thing believed is true because the act can extend no further than the object and to be sure I believe is but to be sure that I take the thing believed to be true But I shall grant the contrary that a man may possibly be surer that he believeth than he is that the thing believed is true because my believing is not alwayes a full subjective certainty that the thing is true but a believing that its true And though you are fully certain that all Gods word is true yet you may believe that this is his word with some mixture of unbelief or doubting And so the question is but this Whether you may not certainly without doubting know that you Believe the Word of God to be true though with some doubting And it seems you may But then it is a further question Whether you can be surer of the saving sincerity of your faith than you are that this Word of God is true And that ordinarily men doubt of the first as much as they doubt of the later I think is an experimented truth But yet grant that with some it may be otherwise Because he believeth sincerely that so far believeth the Word of God as to trust his life and soul upon it and forsake all in obedience to it And that I do so I may know with less doubting than I yet have about the Truth of the Word so believed All that will follow is but this That of those men that doubt of their Iustification and Salvation some of their doubts are caused more by their doubting of Gods Word than by the doubting whether they sincerely though doubtingly believe it and the doubts of others whether they are justified and shall be saved is caused much more by their doubting of their own sincere belief than by their doubting of the truth of Scriptures And the far greatest number of Christians seem to themselves to be of this later sort For no doubt but though a man of clear understanding can scarcely believe and yet not know that he believeth yet he may believe sincerely and not know that he believeth sincerely But still the knowledge of our own justification is but the effect or progeny of our Belief of the Word of God and of our Knowledge that we do sincerely believe it which conjunctly are the Parents and Causes of it And it can be no stronger than the weaker of the Parents which in esse cognoscibili is our faith but in esse cognito is sometime the one and sometime the other And the effect is not the cause The effect of faith and knowledge conjunct is not faith it self It is not a Believing the Word of God to believe that you believe or that you are Iustified But yet because that faith is one of the Parents of it some call it by the name of faith though they should call it but an effect of faith as one of the causes And well may our doubtings of our own salvation be said to be from Unbelief because
be ready to pour out to others and not be silent and lose his Time for want of matter or skill or zeal for in all these three your provision doth consist An ignorant empty person wants matter for his thoughts and words An Imprudent person wants skill to use it A careless cold indifferent person wants life to set his faculties on motion and oyl and poise to set the wheels of his soul and body a going Bethink you in the morning what company you are like to meet and what occasions of duty you are like to have and provide your selves accordingly before you go with matter and resolution Besides the general preparative of habitual Knowledge charity and zeal which is the chief you should also have your particular preparations for the duties of each day A workman that is strong and healthful and hath all his tools in readiness and Act. 6. 5. Matth. 7. 17. Luk. 6 45. Matth. 12 34. order will do more in a day than a sick man or one that wanteth tools or keeps them dull and unfit for use will do in many Psalm 37. 30 31. The mouth of the Righteous speaketh wisdom and his tongue talketh of judgement And no wonder when The Law of his God is in his Heart none of his steps shall slide Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh A good man out of the good Treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things Math. 12. 35. Every Scribe which is instructed to the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man that is an housholder that bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old Matth. 13. 52. § 47. Direct 8. Promise not long life to your selves but live as those that are allwaies uncertain of Direct 8. another day and certain to be shortly gone from hence The groundless expectation of long life is a very great hindrance to the Redeeming of our Time Men will spend prodigally out of a full purse who would be sparing if they knew they had but a little or were like to come to want themselves Young people and healthful people are under the greatest temptation to the loss of Time They are apt to think that they have Time enough before them and that though its possible that they may die quickly yet it is more likely that they shall live long and so putting the day of death far from them they want all those awakenings which the face of death doth bring to them that still expect it and therefore want the wisdom zeal and diligence which is necessary to the Redemption of their time Pray therefore as Psalm 90. 12. So teach us to number our daies that we may apply our hearts to wisdom Dream not of rest and plenty for many years when you have no promise to live till the next morning Luke 12. 19 20. When they perceive death is at hand and time is near an end allmost all men seem highly to esteem of Time and promise to spend it better if God would but try them once again Do you therefore continually perceive that death is even at hand and time near an end and then it will make you continually more wise then death maketh the most and to redeem your Time as others purpose to Redeem it when it is too late § 48. Direct 9. Sanctifie all to God that you have and do And let Holiness to the Lord be written Direct 9. upon all whether you eat or drink let it be intended and ordered ultimately to his Glory Make all 1 Cor. 10. 31. Zeâ—h 14. 20 21. Rom 6. 19 22. Luk. 1. 75. 1 Tim. 5. 5. 1 Tim. 4 5. 2 Tim. 2. 21. your civil relations possessions and employments thus Holy designing them to the service and pleasing of God and to the everlasting good of your selves or others and mixing holy meditation and prayer with them all in season And thus we are bid to pray continually and in all things give thanks 1 Thes. 5. 17 18. And in all things to make known our requests to God in prayer supplication and giving of thanks Phil. 4. 6. And all things are sanctified by the word and prayer This sacred Alchymie that turneth all our conversation and possessions and actions into Holy is an excellent part of the art of Redeeming Time § 49. Direct 10. Lastly be acquainted with the great Thieves that rob men of their Time and with Direct 10. the Devils methods in entising them to lose it and live in continual watchfullness against them It is a more necessary thriftiness to be sparing and saving of your Time than of your money It more concerneth you to keep a continual watch against the things which would rob you of your Time than against those Thieves that would break your house and rob you by the high-way Those persons that would tempt you to the loss of Time are to be taken as your enemies and avoided I shall here recite the names of these Thieves and Time-wasters that you may detest them and save your Time and souls from their deceits Tit. 4. The Thieves or Time-wasters to be watchfully avoided § 50. Th. 1. ONe of the greatest Time-wasting sins is idleness or sloth The slothful see their Thief 1. Time pass away and their work undone and can hear of the necessity of Redeeming it and yet they have not hearts to stir When they are convinced that duty must be done they are still delaying and putting it off from day to day and saying still I will do it to morrow or hereafter To morrow is still the sluggards working day and to day is his idle day He spendeth his Time in fruitless wishes He lyeth in bed or sitteth idly and wisheth Would this were labouring He feasteth his flesh and wisheth that this were fasting He followeth his sports and pleasures and wisheth that this were prayer and a mortified life He lets his heart run after lust or pride or Covetousness and wisheth that this were heavenly mindedness and a laying up a treasure above Thus the soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat Prov. 13. 4. Prov. 21. 25. The desire of the slothful killeth him for his hands refuse to labour Every little opposition or difficulty will put him by a duty Prov. 20. 4. The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing Prov. 22. 13. The slothful man saith There is a Lyon without I shall be slain in the streets Prov. 26. 14 15 16. As the door turneth upon his hindges so doth the slothful upon his bed The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth And at last his sloth depraves his Reason and bribeth it to plead the cause of his negligence The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason Time will slide on and duty will be undone and
will of that which they are most afraid of thinking As the spirits and blood will have recourse to the part that is hurt The very pain of their fears doth draw their thoughts to what they fear As he that is over-desirous to sleep and afraid lest he shall not sleep is sure to wake because his fears and desires keep him waking so do the fears and desires of the Melancholy cross themselves And withall the malice of the Devil plainly here interposeth and taketh advantage by this disease to tempt and trouble them and to shew his hatred to God and Christ and Scripture and to them For as he can much easier tempt a cholerick person to anger than another and a flegmatick fleshy person to sloth and a sanguine or hot tempered person to lust and wantonness so also a melancholy person to thoughts of blasphemy infidelity and despair And ost-times they feel a vehement urgency as if something within them urged them to speak such or such a blasphemous or foolish word and they can have no rest unless they yield in this and other such cases to what they are urged to And some are ready to yield in a temptation to be quiet and when they have done they are tempted utterly to despair because they have committed so great a sin and when the Devii hath got this advantage of them he is still setting it before them 27. Hereupon they are further tempted to think they have committed the sin against the Holy Ghost not understanding what that sin is but fearing it is theirs because it is a fearful sin At least they think they shall not be forgiven not considering that a temptation is one thing and a sin another and that no man hath less cause to fear being condemned for his sin than he that is least willing of it and most hateth it And no man can be less willing of any ☞ sin than these poor souls are of the hideous blasphemous thoughts which they complain of 28. Hereupon some of them grow to think that they are possessed of Devils and if it do but enter into their fantasie how possessed persons use to act the very strength of imagination will make them do so too so that I have known those that will swear and curse and blaspheam and imitate an inward aliene voice thinking themselves that it is the Devil in them that doth all this But these that go so far are but few 29. Some of them that are near distraction verily think that they hear voices and see lights and apparitions that the Curtains are opened on them that something meets them and saith this or that to them when all is but the errour of a crazed brain and sick imagination 30. Many of them are aweary of their lives through the constant tiring perplexities of their minds and yet afraid of dying some of them resolutely famish themselves some are strongly tempted to murder themselves and they are haunted with the temptation so restlesly that they can go no whither but they feel as if somewhat within them put them on and said Do it do it so that many poor creatures yield and make away themselves 31. Many of them are restlesly vexed with fears of want and poverty and misery to their families and of imprisonment or banishment and lest some-body will kill them and every one that they see whisper they think is plotting to take away their lives 32. Some of them lay a law upon themselves that they will not speak and so live long in resolute silence 33. All of them are intractable and stiffe in their own conceits and hardly perswaded out of them be they never so irrational 34. Few of them are the better for any Reason conviction or Counsel that is given them If it seem to satisfie and quiet and rejoyce them at the present to morrow they are as bad again it being the nature of their disease to think as they do think and their thoughts are not cured while the disease is uncured 35. Yet in all this distemper few of them will believe that they are melancholy but abhor to hear men tell them so and say it is but the rational sense of their unhappiness and the forsakings and heavy wrath of God And therefore they are hardly perswaded to take any Physick or use any means for the cure of their bodies saying that they are well and being confident that it is only their souls that are distressed This is the miserable case of these poor people greatly to be pittyed and not to be despised by any I have spoken nothing but what I have often seen and known And let none despise such for men of all sorts do fall into this misery learned and unlearned high and low good and bad yea some that have lived in greatest jollity and sensuality when God hath made them feel their folly § 3. The causes of it are 1. Most commonly some worldly loss or cross or grief or care which made too deep an impression on them 2. Sometime excess of fear upon any common occasion of danger 3. Sometime over-hard and unintermitted studies or thoughts which screw up and rack the fantasie too much 4. Sometime too deep fears or too constant and serious and passionate thoughts and cares about the danger of the soul. 4. The great preparatives to it which are indeed the principal cause are a weak Head and Reason joyned with strong Passion which are oftest found in Women and those to whom it is natural 5. And in some it is brought in by some heynous sin the sight of which they cannot bear when Conscience is but once awakened § 4. When this disease is gone very far Directions to the persons themselves are vain because they have not Reason and free-will to practise them but it is their friends about them that must have the Directions But because with the most of them and at first there is some Power of Reason left I give Directions for the use of such § 5. Direct 1. See that no errour in Religion be the cause of your distress especially understand well Direct 1 the Covenant of Grace and the Riches of mercy manifested in Christ. Among others it will be useful to you to understand these following truths 1. That our thoughts of the Infinite Goodness of God should bear proportion with our thoughts Special Truths to be known for preventing causeless troubles concerning his Infinite Power and Wisdom 2. That the Mercy of God hath provided for all mankind so sufficient a Saviour that no sinner shall perish for want of a sufficient satisfaction made for his sins by Christ nor is it made the condition of any mans salvation or pardon that he satisfie for his own sins 3. That Christ hath in his Gospel-Covenant which is an Act of oblivion made over himself with pardon and salvation to all that will penitently and believingly accept the offer And that none perish that hear the Gospel but
avoided And usually narrow sighted persons are fearful only of one extream and see no danger but on one side and therefore are easily carried by avoiding that into the contrary § 38. I think it not unprofitable to instance in several particular Cautions that you imitate not them that put asunder what God hath conjoyned and cast not away truth as oft as you are puzzled in the right placing or methodizing it § 39. Inst. 1. The first and second Causes are conjoyned in their operations and therefore must not Instance 1. be put asunder If the way of influx concourse or co-operation be dark and unsearchable to you do not deny that it is because you see not how it is The honour of the first and second Cause also are conjunct according to their several interests in the effects Do not therefore imagine that all the honour ascribed to the second cause is denyed or taken away from the first For then you understand not their order Otherwise you would see that as the second causeth independance on the first and in subordination to it and hath no power but what is communicated by it so it hath no honour but what is received from it and that it is no less honour for the first cause to operate mediately by the second than immediately by it self And that there is no less of the Power Wisdom or Goodness of God in an effect produced by means and second causes than in that which he produceth of himself only without them And that it is his Goodness to communicate a power of doing good to his creatures and the honour of working and causing under him but he never loseth any thing by communicating nor hath the less himself by giving to his creatures For if all that honour that is given to the Creature were taken injuriously from God then God would never have made the world nor made a Saint and then the worst creatures would least dishonour God Then he would not shine by the Sun but by himself immediately and then he would never Glorifie either Saint or Angel But on the contrary it is Gods honour to work by adapted means And all their honour is truly his As all the commendation of a Clock or Watch is given to the Workman And though God do not all so immediately as to use no means or second causes yet is he never the further from the effect but immediatione virtutis suppositi is himself as near as if he used none § 40. Inst. 2. The special Providence of God and his being the first Universal cause are conjunct Instance 2. with the culpability of sinners and no man must put these asunder Those that cannot see just how they are conjoyned may be sure that they are conjoyned It is no dishonour to an Engineer that he can make a Watch which shall go longer than he is moving it with his finger Nor is it a dishonour to our Creator that he can make a Creature which can Morally determine it self to an action as commanded or forbidden without the predetermination of his Maker though not without his universal concourse necessary to action as action If Adam could not do this through the natural impossibility of it than the Law was that he should dye the death if he did not overcome God or do that which was naturally impossible and this was the nature of his sin Few dare say that God cannot make a free self-determining agent And if he can we shall easily prove that he hath and the force of their opposition then is vanished § 41. Inst. 3. The Omniscience of God and his Dominion Government and Decrees are conjunct with Instance 3. the liberty and sin of man yet these by many are put asunder As if God must either be Ignorant or be the author of sin As if he made one poor by Decreeing to make another Rich As if he cannot be a perfect Governour unless he procure all his subjects perfectly to keep his Laws As if all the fault of those that break the Law were to be laid upon the Maker of the Law As if all Gods will de debito were not effective of its proper work unless man fulfill it in the Event And as if it were possible for any Creature to comprehend the way of the Creators Knowledge § 42. Inst. 4. Many would separate Nature and Grace which God the author of both conjoyneth Instance 4. When Grace supposeth Nature and in her Garden soweth all her seed and exciteth and rectifieth all her powers yet these men talk as if Nature had been annihilated or Grace came to annihilate it and not to cure it As if the Leprosie and Disease of Nature were Nature it self And as if Natural Good had been lost as much as Moral Good As if man were not man till Grace make him a man § 43. Inst. 5. Many separate the Natural Power of a sinner from his Moral impotency and Instance 5. his Natural freedome of will from his Moral servitude as if they were inconsistent when they are conjunct As if the Natural faculty might not consist with an evil disposition or a Natural power with an habitual unwillingness to exercise it aright And as if a sinner were not still a man § 44. Inst. 6. Many separate General and special Grace and Redemption as inconsistent when they Instance 6. are conjunct When the General is the proper way and means of accomplishing the ends of the special Grace and is still supposed As if God could not give more to some if he give any thing to all Or as if he gave nothing to all if he give more to any As if he could not deal equally and without difference with all as a Legislator and righteously with all as a Iudge unless he deal equally and without difference with all as a Benefactor in the free distribution of his gifts As if he were obliged to make every Worm and Beast a man and every man a King and every King an Angel and every Clod a Star and every Star a Sun § 45. Inst. 7. Many separate the Glory of God and mans salvation God and man in assigning the Instance 7. ultimate End of man As if a Moral Intention might not take in both As if it were not finis amantis and the end of a Lover were not union in Mutual Love As if Love to God may not be for ever the final act and God himself the final object And as if in this magnetick closure though both may be called the End yet there might not in the closing parties be an infinite disproportion and one only be finis ultimate ultimus § 46. Inst. 8. Yea many would separate God from God while they would separate God from Heaven Instance 8. and say that we must be content to be shut out of Heaven for the Love of God! When our Heaven is the perfect Love of God And so they say in effect that for
continually in that case your selves If you should be still so what were you good for or what could you enjoy or what comfort would your lives be to you Why if a long pain be so bad a short one is not lovely Keep not wilfully so troublesome a malady in your mind § 6. Direct 4. Observe also what an enemy it is to the body it self It inflameth the blood and Direct 4. stirreth up diseases and breedeth such a bitter displeasedness in the mind as tends to consume the strength of nature and hath cast many into Acute and many into Chronical sicknesses which have proved their death And how uncomfortable a kind of death is this § 7. Direct 5. Observe how unlovely and unpleasing it rendereth you to beholders deforming the Direct 5. countenance and taking away the amiable sweetness of it which appeareth in a calm and loving temper If you should be alwayes so would any body love you or would they not go out of your way if not lay hands on you as they do anything that is wild or mad You would scarce desire to have your picture drawn in your fury till the frowning wrinkles and inflamed blood are returned to their places and have left your visage to its natural comeliness Love not that which maketh you so unlovely to all others § 8. Direct 6. You should love it the worse because it is a hurting passion and an enemy to Love and Direct 6. to anothers good You are never angry but it inclineth you to hurt those that angred you if not all others that stand in your way It putteth hurting thoughts into your mind and hurting words into your mouths and enclineth you to strike or do some mischief And no men love a hurtful creature Avoid therefore so mischievous a passion § 9. Direct 7. Nay mark the tendency of it and you will find that if it should not be stopt it would Direct 7. tend to the very ruine of your brother and end in his blood and your own damnation How many thousand hath anger murdered or undone It hath caused Wars and filled the world with blood and cruelty And should your hearts give such a fury entertainment § 10. Direct 8. Consider how much other sin immoderate anger doth incline men to It is the great Direct 8. crime of drunkenness that a man having not the government of himself is made lyable by it to any Proâ—rium est magnitudinis verae non sentire se esse percussum Qui non irâ—scitur inconcussus injuria persistit qui irascitur motus est Sexec de Ira. l. 3. c. 5. wickedness And so is it with immoderate anger How many Oaths and Curses doth it cause every day How many rash and sinful actions What villany hath not anger done It hath slandered railed reproached falsly accused and injured many a thousand It hath murdered and ruined Families Cities and States It hath made Parents kill their Children and Children dishonour their Parents It hath made Kings oppress and murder their Subjects and Subjects rebell and murder Kings What a world of sin is committed by sinful anger throughout all the world How endless would it be to give you instances David himself was once drawn by it to purpose the murdering of all the family of Nahal Its effects should make it odious to us § 11. Direct 9. And it is much the worse in that it suffereth not a man to sin alone but stirreth up Direct 9. others to do the like Wrath kindleth wrath as fire kindleth fire It s two to one but when you are angry you will make others angry or discontent or troubled by your words or deeds And you have not the power of moderating them in it when you have done You know not what sin it may draw them to It is the Devils bellows to kindle mens corruptions and sets hearts and families and Kingdoms in a flame § 12. Direct 10. Observe how unfit it maketh you for any holy duty for prayer or meditation or Direct 10. any communion with God And that should be very unwelcome to a gracious soul which maketh it unfit to speak to God or to be employed in his Worship If you should go to prayer or other Worship in your bedlam passion may not God say as the King of Gath did of David Have I need of mad men Yea it unfitteth all the family or Church or society where it cometh for the Worship of God Is the family fit for prayer when wrath hath muddied and disturbed their minds Yea it divideth Christians and Churches and causeth confusion and every evil â—am 3. 15 16. work § 13. Direct 11. It is a great dishonour to the grace of God that a servant of his should shew the Direct 11. world that grace is of no more force and efficacy that it cannot rule a raging passion nor so much as keep a Christian sober that it possesseth the soul with no more patience nor fear of God nor Government over it self O wrong not God thus by the dishonouring of his Grace and Spirit § 14. Direct 12. It is a sin against Conscience still repented of and disowned by almost all when Direct 12. they come to themselves again and a meer preparation for after sorrow That therefore which we fore-know we must repent of afterwards should be prevented and avoided by men that choose not shame and sorrow § 15. Object 1. But you 'll say I am of a hasty cholerick nature and cannot help it Object 1. Answ. That may strongly dispose you to anger but cannot Necessitate you to any thing that is sinful Answ. Reason and Will may yet command and master passion if they do their Office And when you know your disease and danger you must watch the more § 16. Object 2. But the provocation was so great it would have angered any one Who could choose Object 2. Answ. It is your weakness that makes you think that any thing can be great enough to discharge Answ. a mans reason and allow him to break the Laws of God That would have been small or nothing to a prepared mind which you call so great You should rather say Gods Majesty and dreadfulness is so great that I durst not offend him for any provocation Hath not God given you greater cause to obey than man can give you to sin § 17. Object 3. But it is so sudden that I have no time of deliberation to prevent it Object 3. Answ. Have you not Reason still about you And should it not be as ready to rule as passion to Answ. rebell Stop passion at first and take time of deliberation § 18. Object 4. But it is but short and I am sorry for it when I have done Object 4. Answ. But if it be evil the shortest is a sin and to be avoided And when you know before hand Answ. that you must be sorry after why will
you breed your own sorrow § 19. Object 5. But there is none that will not be angry sometime no not the best of you all Object 5. Answ. The sin is never the better because many commit it And yet if you live not where grace is Answ. a stranger you may see that there are many that will not be angry easily frequently furiously nor miss-behave themselves in their anger by railing or cursing or swearing or ill language or doing wrong to any § 20. Object 6. Doth not the Apostle say Be angry and sin not let not the Sun go down upon your Object 6. wrath Ephes. 4. 26. My wrath is down before the Sun therefore I sin not Answ. The Apostle never said that anger is never sinful but when it lasteth after Sun-setting Answ. But entertain no sinful anger at all but if you do yet quickly quench it and continue not in it Be not angry without or beyond cause and when you are yet sin not by uncharitableness or any evil words or deeds in your anger nor continue under the justest displeasure but hasten to be reconciled and to forgive These Reasons improved may rule your Anger Directions Practicall against sinful Anger § 1. Direct 1. The principal help against sinful anger is in the right habituating of the soul that Direct 1. you live as under the Government of God with the sense of his authority still upon your hearts and in the sense of that mercy that hath forgiven you and forbeareth you and under the power of his healing and assisting grace and in the life of Charity to God and man Such a Heart is continually fortified and carrieth its preservatives within it self as a wrathful man carrieth his incentives still within him There is the main cause of Wrath or Meeâ—ness § 2. Direct 2. Be sure that you keep a humbled soul that overvalueth not it self for Humility Direct 2. is patient and aggravateth not injuries But a proud man takes all things as â—einous or intolerable that are said or done against him He that thinks meanly of himself thinks meanly of all that is said or done against himself But he that magnifieth himself doth magnifie his provocations Pride is a most impatient sin There is no pleasing a proud person without a great deal of wit and care and diligence You must come about them as you do about Straw or Gunpowder with a Candle Prov. 13. 10. Only by pride cometh contention Prov. 28. 25. He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strise Prov. 21. 24. Proud and haughty scorner is his name who dealeth in proud wrath Psal. 31. 18. Let the lying lips be put to silence which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous Humility and meekness and patience live and dye together § 3. Direct 3. Take heed of a worldly covetous mind for that setteth so much by earthly things Direct 3. that every loss or crâ—ss or injury will be able to disquiet him and enflame his passion Neither neighbour nor child nor servant can please a covetous man Every little trespass or crossing his commodity toucheth him to the quick and maketh him impatient § 4. Direct 4. Stop your Passion in the beginning before it go too far It s easiest moderated at Direct 4. first Watch against the first stirrings of your wrath and presently command it down Reason and Will can do much if you will but use them according to their power A spark is sooner quenched than a flame and this Serpent is easiliest crushed in the spawn § 5. Direct 5. Command your tongue and hand and countenance if you cannot presently quiet or Direct 5. command your passion And so you will avoid the greatest of the sin and the passion it self will quickly be stifled for want of vent You cannot say that it is not in your power to hold your tongue or hands if you will Do not only avoid that swearing and cursing which are the marks of the prophane but avoid many words till you are â—itter to use them and avoid expostulations and contending and bitter opprobious cutting speeches which tend to stir up the wrath of others And use a mild and gentle speech which favoureth of Love and tendeth to asswage the heat that 's kindled Prov. 15. 1. A soft answer turneth away wrath but grievous words stir up anger And that which mollifieth and appeaseth another will much conduce to the appeasing of your selves § 6. Direct 6. At least command your self into quietness till Reason be heard speak and while you Direct 6. deliberate Be not so hasty as not to think what you say or do A little delay will abate the fury and give Reason time to do its office Prov. 25. 15. By long forbearing is a Prince perswaded and a soft answer breaketh the bone Patience will lenifie anothers wrath and if you use it but so long as a little to stay your selves till reason be awake it will lenifie your own And he is a fury and not a man that cannot stop while he considereth § 7. Direct 7. If you cannot easilier quiet or restrain your selves go away from the place and company Direct 7. And then you will not be heated by contending words nor exasperate others by your contending When you are alone the fire will asswage Prov. 14. 7. Go away from the presence of a foolish man when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge You will not stand still and stir in a Wasps Nest when you have enraged them § 8. Direct 8. Yea ordinarily avoid much talk or disputes or business with angry men as far as Direct 8. you can without avoiding your duty and avoid all other occasions and temptations to the sin A man that is in danger of a Feavor must avoid that which kindleth it Come not among the infected if Unicuique pertinacius contendenti justam habere causam permitte tacendoque contumaci cede sic uterque quieâ—i imperturbaâ—i paermanebitis Thauâ—er flor pag. 84. you fear the Plague Stand not in the Sun if you are too hot already Keep as far as you can from that which most provoketh you § 9. Direct 9. Meditate not on injuries or provoking things when you are alone suffer not your Direct 9. thoughts to feed upon them Else you will be Devils to your selves and tempt your selves when you have none else to tempt you and will make your solitude as provoking as if you were in company And you will be angring your selves by your own imaginations § 10. Direct 10. Keep upon your minds the lively thoughts of the exemplary meekness and patience of Direct 10. Iesus Christ who calleth you to learn of him to be meek and lowly Matth. 11. 28 29. Who being reviled reviled not again when he suffered he threatned not leaving us an example that we should follow his steps 1 Pet. 2. 21 23. Who hath pronounced a special blessing on
that toucheth not the heart neither Is it loss of children or friends or is it pain and sickness I confess these are sore but yet they do not touch the heart If they come thither it is your doing and though thither they should come moderately if they are immoderate it is your own sinful doing It is you that grieve and make the heart ake God and man did but make the flesh ake If others hurt your bodys will you therefore vex your minds Will you pierce through your hearts because they touch your name or goods If so remember which part of your sorrow is of their making and which is of your own And can you for shame go beg of Gâ—d or man to ease the grief which you your selves are causing and willfully continue it while you pray against it And why lament you that which you cause and choose It is a shame to be willfully your own tormentâ—r◠§ 20. Direct 14. Abhor all that tendeth to take down the power and government of Reason that is Direct 14. all fâ—â—bleness and câ—wardize of mind and a melancholy a piâ—vish passionate disposition and labour to keep up the authâ—rity of Reason and to keep all your passions subject to your wills which must be done by Christian faith and fortitude If you come once to that childish or distracted pass as to grieve and say I cannot help it I know it is sinful and immoderate but I cannot choose if you say true you are out of the reach of counsel advice or comfort You are not to be preacht to nor talkt to nor to be written for we do not write Directions to teach men how to touch the Stars or explain the Asperites or inequalities of the Moon or the Opacous parts of Saturn or to govern the Orbs or rule the Chariot of the Sun If it be become a natural impossibility to you Doctrine can give you no remedy But if the impossibility be but Moral in the weakness of your Reason and want of consideration it may by Doctrine Consideration and Resolution be overcome You can do more if you will than you think you can How come you to lose the command of your Passions Did not God make you a rational creature that hath an understanding and will to rule all Passions How come you to have lost the Ruling power of Reason and will You would take it for a disparagement to be told that you have lâ—st the use of your Reason And is it not a principal use of it to Rule the passions and all other inferior subject powers You say you cannot choose but grieve But if one could give you that creature which you want or desire then you could choose You could rejoyce if one could restore you that Child that Friend that Estate which you have lost But God and Christ and Heaven it seems are not enough to cure you if you must have but theâ— you cannot choose but grieve And what hearts have you then that are thus affected Should not those hearts be rather grieved for God will sometime make you see that you had more power than you used § 21. Direct 15. Observe the mischiefs of excessive sorrow that you may feel what reason you have Direct 15. to avoid it While you know not what hurt is in it you will be the more remiss in your resisting it I shall briefly name you some of its unhappy fruits § 22. 1. It is a continual pain and sickness of the mind This you know by feeling 2. It is a The ill effects of sinful grieâ— destroyer of bodily health and life For worldly sorrow worketh death 2 Cor. 7. 10. Prov. 17. 22. A merry heart doth good like a medicine but a broken spirit dryeth the the bones 3. It putteth the soul out of relish with its mercies and so causeth us to undervalue them and consequently to be unthankful for them and not to improve them 4. It destroyeth the sense of the Love of God and lamentably undisposeth the soul to Love them And therefore should be abhorred by us were it but for that Even Anaâ—agoâ—as a Philosopher could say â—o one that asked him Nullâ—m tibi paâ—riae â—ura est Mihi quidem pâ—â—â—â—iae cura est quidem summa digitum 〈…〉 lum intendâ—ns Laâ—rt p 85. one effect 5. It destroyeth the joy in the Holy Ghost and unfitteth us to obey that command of God Rejoyce continually 6. It contradicteth a Heavenly mind and conversation and hindereth us from all foreâ—asts of the everlasting joys 7. It undisposeth us to the excellent work of Praise Who can ascend in the Praises of God while Grief doth oppress and captivate the soul 8. It destroyeth the sweetness of all Gods Ordinances Hearing Reading Prayer Sacraments we may force our selves to use them but shall have no delight in them 9. It hindreth the exercise of Faith and raiseth distrust and sinful doubts and fears within us 10. It causeth sinful discontents and murmurings at God and man 11. It maketh us impatient pievish froward angry and hard to be pleased 12. It weakneth the soul to all that 's good and destroyeth its fortitude and strength For it is the Ioy of the Lord that is our strength Neh. 8. 10. 13. It hindreth us in the duties of our callings who can do them as they should be done under the clog of a disquiet mind 14. It maketh us a grief and burden to our friends and robs them of the comfort which they should have in and by us 15. It maketh us unprofitable to others and hindreth us from doing the good we might when we should be instructing exhorting and praying for poor sinners or minding the Church of God we are all taken up at home about our own afflictions 16. It maketh us a stumbling block and scandal to the ungodly and hindreth their conversiion while the Devil setteth us before the Church doors to keep away the ungodly from a holy life as men set scar-crows in their fields and gardens to frighten away the birds 17. It dishonoureth Religion by making men believe that it is a melancholy vexatious self-tormenting life 18. It obscureth the Glory of the Gospel and crosseth the work of Christ his Spirit and Ministers who all come upon a message of Great joy to all Nations and proclaim Glad tidings to the worst of sinners much more to the sons of God and heirs of life 19. It misrepresenteth God himself as if we would perswade men that he is a hard and cruel master that none can please though they do all through a Mediator upon a covenant of grace and that it is worse with us since we served him than before and that he delighteth in our grief and misery and is against our peace and joy and as if there were no joy nor pleasure in his service Such hideous doctrine do our lives preach of God when those that profess to fear and seek him do live in such immoderate
Direct 6. It must be well considered how powerful and dangerous things sensible are and how Direct 6. high and hard a work it is in this our depraved earthly state to live by faith upon things unseen and to rule the sense and be carryed above it that so the soul may be awakened to a sufficient fear and watchfulness and may fly to Christ for assistance to his faith It is no small thing for a man in flesh to live above flesh The way of the souls reception and operation is so much by the senses here that its apt to grow too familiar with things sensible and to be strange to things which it never saw It s a great work to make a man in flesh to deny the pleasures which he seeth and tasteth and feeleth for such pleasures as he only heareth of and heareth of as never to be enjoyed till after death in a world which sense hath no acquaintance with O what a glory it is to faith that it can perform such a work as this How hard is it to a weak believer And the strongest find it work enough Consider this that it may awake you to set upon this work with that care that the greatness of it requireth and you may live by faith above a life of sight and sense For it is this that your Happiness or misery lyeth on § 9. Direct 7. Sense must not only be kept out of the Throne but from any participation in the Government Direct 7. and we must take heed of receiving it into our counsels or treating with it or hearing it plead its cause and we must see that it get nothing by striving importunity or violence but that it be governed despotically and absolutely as the Horse is governed by the Rider For if the Government once be halved between sense and reason your lives will be half bestial And when Reason ruleth not Faith and Grace ruleth not For faith is to reason as sight is to the eye There are no such Beasts in humane shape who lay by all the use of Reason and are governed by sense alone unless it be idcots or madmen But sense should have no part of the Government at all And where it is chief in power the Devil is there the unseen Governour You cannot here excuse your selves by any plea of necessity or corstcaint For though the sense be violent as well as entising yet God hath made the Reason and Will the absolute Governours under him and by all its rebellion and violence sense cannot depose them nor force them to one sin but doth all the mischief by procuring their consent Which is done sometime by affecting the fantasâ—e and passions too deeply with the pleasure and alluring sweetness of their objects that so the higher faculties may be drawn into consent and sometime by wearying out the resisting mind and will and causing them to remit their opposition and relax the reins and by a sinful privatiâ—n of restraint to permit the sense to take its course A head-strong Horse is not so easily ruled as one of a tender mouth that hath been well ridden And therefore though it be in the power of the Rider to rule him yet sometime for his own case he will loose the reins and a Horse that is used thus by a slothful or unskilful Rider to have his will when ever he striveth will strive when ever he is crossed of his will and so will be the Master As ill-bred Children that are used to have every thing given them which they cry for will be sure to cry before they will be crost of their desire So is it with our sensitive appetite If you use to satisfie it when it is eager or importunate you shall be mastered by its eagerness and importunity And if you use but to regard it over much and delay your commands till sense is heard and taken into counsel it s two to one but it will prevail or ar least will be very troublesome to you and prove a traytor in your bosome and its temptations keep you in continual danger Therefore be sure that you never loose the reins but keep sense under a constant government if you love either your safety or your ease § 10. Direct 8. You may know whether Sense or Faith and Reason be the chief in Government by Direct 8. knowing which of their objects is made your chiefest End and accounted your Best and loved and delighted in and sought accordingly If the objects of sense be thus taken for your Best and End then certainly sense is the chief in Government But if the objects of faith and Reason even God and life eternal be taken for your Best and End then faith and reason are the ruling power Though you should use never so great understanding and policy for sensual things as Riches and honour and worldly greatness or fleshly delights this doth not prove that Reason is the ruling power but proveth the ☜ more strongly that sense is the Conquerour and that Reason is depraved and captivated by it and truckleth under it and serveth it as a voluntary slave And the greater is your learning wit and parts and the nobler your education the greater is the victory and dominion of sense that can subdue and rule and serve it self by parts so noble § 11. Direct 9. Though sense must be thus absolutely ruled its proper power must neither be disabled Direct 9. prohibited nor denyed You must keep your Horse strong and able for his works though not head-strong and unruly And you must not keep him from the use of his strength though you grant him not the Government Nor will you deny but that he may be stronger than the Rider though the Rider have the ruling power He hath more of the power called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 natural power though the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be yours So is it here 1. No man must destroy his bodily sense The quickest sense is the best servant to the soul if it be not headstrong and too impetuous The Body must be stricken so far as to be kept under and brought into subjection 1 Cor. 9. 27. but not be disabled from its service to the soul 2. Nor must we forbid or forbear the exercise of the senses in subordination to the exercise of the interior senses Heb. 4. 14. It is indeed a smaller loss to part with a right hand or a right eye than with our salvation But that proveth not that we are put to such streights as to be necessitated to either unless persecution put us to it 3. Nor must we deny the certainty of the sensitive apprehension when it keepeth its place as the Papists do that affirm it necessary to salvation to believe that the sight and taste and smell and feeling of all men in the world that take the Sacrament are certainly deceived in taking that to be Bread and Wine which is not so For if all the senses of all
excess in whomsoever 4. And in curiosity of dyet a difference must be allowed The happier healthful man need not be so curious as the sick And the happy Plowman need not be so curious as state and expectation somewhat require the Noble and the Rich to be 5. And for length of time though unnecessary sitting out time at meat be a sin in any yet the happy poor man is not obliged to spend all out so much this way as the Rich may do 6. And it is not all delight in meat or pleasing As Isaac's pleasant meat Gen. 27. 7. the appetite that is a sin But only that which is made mens end and not referred to a higher end even when the Delight it self doth not tend to health nor alâ—crity in duty nor is used to that end but to please the flesh and tempt unto excess 7. And it is not necessary that we measure the profitableness of quantity or quality by the present and immediate benefits but by the more remote sometimes so merciful is God that he alloweth us that which is truly for our good and forbiddeth us but that which doth us hurt or at least no good 8. All sin in eating is not Gluttony but only such as are here described § 5. II. The causes of Gluttony are these 1. The chiefest is an inordinate appetite together with a Non potest temperantiam laudare is qu summum bonum ponit in voluptate Est enim temperantia libidinum inimica Cicero Saith Aristotle He is temperate that takes pleasure to deny fleshly pleasure but he is intemperate that is troubled because he cannot have them Ethic. l. 2. c. 3. fleshly mind and will which is set upon Flesh-pleasing as its felicity They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh Rom. 8. 6 7. This Gulosity which Clemens Alexandrinus calleth The Throat-Devil and the Belly-Devil is the first cause § 6. 2. The next cause is The want of strong Reason faith and a spiritual appetite and mind which should call off the Glutton and take him up with higher pleasures even such as are more manly and in which his real Happiness doth consist They that are after the spirit do mind the things of the spirit Rom. 8. 6. Reason alone may do something to call up a man from this felicity of a beast as appeareth by the Philosophers assaults upon the Epicures but faith and love which feast the soul with sweeter delicates must do the cure § 7. 3. Gluttony is much increased by Use when the Appetite is used to be satisfied it will be the more importunate and impetuous whereas a custome of Temperance maketh it easie and makes excess a matter of no delight but burden I remember my self that when I first set upon the use of Cornario's and Lessius dyet as it is called which I did for a time for some special reasons it seemed a little hard for two or three dayes but within a week it became a pleasure and another sort or more was not desirable And I think almost all that use one dish only and a small quantity do find that more is a trouble and not a temptation to them so great a matter is use unless it be with very strong and labouring persons § 8. 4. Idleness and want of diligence in a calling is a great cause of Luxury and Gluttony Though labour cause a healthful appetite yet it cureth a beastly sensual mind An idle person hath leisure to think of his guts what to eat and what to drink and to be longing after this and that whereas a man that is wholly taken up in lawful business especially such as findeth employment for the mind as well as for the body hath no leisure for such thoughts He that is close at his studies or other calling hath somewhat else to think on than his appetite § 9. 5. Another incentive of Gluttony is the Pride of Rich men who to be accounted good House-keepers Socrates dixit eos qui praecocia magno emerent desparere se ad maturitatis tempus perventuros Laâ—rt ia Socrat Cum vocasset ad coenam divites Zantippâ—n modici puderet apparatus Bono inquit esto animo Nam siqui em modesti erunt frugique mensam non aspernabuntur sin autem intemperantes nulla nobis de hisce cura fuâ—rit Idem ibid. Arebat alios vivere ut ederent se autem edere ut vivat Ibid. and to live at such rates as are agreeable to their Grandure do make their houses shops of sin and as bad as Ale-houses making their Tables a snare both to themselves and others by fullness variety deliciousness costliness and curiosity of Fare It is the honour of their Houses that a man may drink excessively in their Cellars when he please and that their Tables have excellent provisions for gluttony and put all that sit at them upon the tryal of their Temperance whether a bait so near them and so studiously fitted can tempt them to break the bounds and measure which God hath set them It is a lamentable thing when such as have the rule of others and influence on the common people shall think their honour lieth upon their sin yea upon such a constant course of sinning and shall think it a dishonour to them to live in sweet and wholsome Temperance and to see that those about them do the like And all this is either because they over-value the esteem and talk of fleshly Epicures and cannot bear the Censure of a Swine or else because they are themselves of the same mind and are such as Glory in their shame Phil. 3. 18 19. § 10. 6. Another incentive is the custome of urging and importuning others to eat still more and more as if it were a necessary act of friendship People are grown so uncharitable and selfish that they suspect one another and think they are not welcome if they be not urged thus to eat And those that invite them think they must do it to avoid the suspicion of such a sordid mind And I deny not but it is fit to urge any to that which it is fit for them to do and if we see that modesty maketh them eat less than is best for them we may perswade them to eat more But now without any due respect to what is best for them men think it a necessary complement to provoke others more and more to eat till they peremptorily refuse it But amongst the familiarest friends there is scarce any that will admonish one another against excess and advise them to stop when they have enough and tell them how easie it is to step beyond our bounds and how much more prone we are to exceed than to come short And so custome and complement is preferred before temperance and honest fidelity You 'll say what will men think of us if we should not perswade them to eat much more if we should desire them to eat no more I
when their appetite desireth it to the hindring of concoction and the increase of Crudities and Catarhs and to the secret gradual vitiating of their humours and generating of many diseases and this without any true necessity or the approbation of sound Reason or any wise Physicion Yet they tipple but at home where you may find the pot by them at unseasonable times § 12. 3. The third degree are many poor men that have not drink at home and when they come to a Gentlemans house or a feast or perhaps an ALE-house they will pour in for the present to excess though not to Drunkenness and think it is no harm because it is but seldom and they drink so small drink all the rest of the year that they think such a fit as this sometimes is medicinal to them and tendeth to their health § 13. 4. Another rank of Bibbers are those that though they haunt not ALE-houses or Taverns yet have a throat for every health or pledging Cup that reacheth not to drunkenness and use ordinarily to drink many unnecessary cups in a day to pledge as they call it those that drink to them And custom and complement are all their excuse § 14. 5. Another degree of Bibbers are common ALE-house haunters that love to be there and to sit many hours perhaps in a day with a pot by them tipling and drinking one to another And if they have any bargain to make or any friend to meet the ALE-house or Tavern must be the place where Tippling may be one part of their work 6. The highest degree are they that are not apt to be stark Drunk and therefore think themselves less faulty while they sit at it and make others drunk and are strong themselves to bear away more than others can bear They have the Drunkards appetite and measure and pleasure though they have not his giddiness and loss of wit § 15. 3. And of those that are truly Drunken also there are many degrees and kinds As some will be drunk with less and some with more so some are only possessed with a little diseased Levity and talkativeness more than they had before Some also have distempered eyes and stammering tongues Some also proceed to unsteady reeling heads and stumbling feet and unfitness for their callings Some go further to sick and vomiting stomachs or else to sleepy heads and some proceed to stark madness quarrelling railing bawling hooting ranting roaring or talking non-sense or doing mischief the furious sort being like mad dogs that must be tyed and the sottish prating and spewing sort being commonly the derision of the boys in the streets § 16. II. Having told you what Tipling and Drunkenness is I shall briefly tell you their causes But briefly because you may gather most of them from what is said of the Causes of Gluttony 1. The first and grand causes are these three concurrent A beastly raging appetite or gulosity A weakness of Reason and Resolution to rule it And a want of Faith to strengthen Reason and of Holiness to strengthen Resolution These are the very cause of all § 17. 2. Another cause is their not-knowing that their excess and tipling is really a hurt or danger to their health And they are ignorant of this from many causes One is because they have been bred up among ignorant people and never taught to know what is good or bad for their own bodys but only by the common talk of the mistaken vulgar Another is because their Appetite so maiâ—â—reth their very Reason that they can choose to believe that which they would not have to be true Another reason is because they are of heathful bodies and therefore feel no hurt at present and presume that they shall feel none hereafter and see some abstemious persons weaker than they who began not to be abstemious till some chronical disease had first invaded them And thus they do by their Bodys just as wicked men do by their souls They judge all by present feeling and have not wisdom enough to take things foreseen into their deliberation and accounts That which will be a great while hence they take for nothing or an uncertain something next to nothing As Heaven and Hell move not ungodly men because they seem a great way off so while they feel themselves in health they are not moved with the threatning of sickness The cup is in their hands and therefore they will not set it by for fear of they know not what that will befall them you know not when As the thief that was told he should answer it at the day of judgement said he would take the other Cow too if he should stay unpunished till then so these Belly-Gods think they will take the other cup if they shall but stay till so long hence And thus because this temporal punishment of their gulosity is not speedily exercised the hearts of men are fully set in them to please their appetites § 18. 3. Another cause of Tipling and Drunkenness is a wicked Heart that loveth the company Why Gregory set up Wakes and Church-Ales and Meetings on Holy-days in England you may see Li. 10. Regist. Ep. 71. in policy to win the heathens Qui boves solent multos in sacrificio daemonum occideâ—e debet his etiam de hac re aliqua solemnitas immutari ut die dedicationis vel natalitiis martyrum tabernacula sibi circa easdem ecclesias quae ex fanis commutatae sunt de ramis aborum faciant religiosis conviviis solennitatem celebrenâ— Nec Diabolo jam animalia immolent sed ad laudem Dei in esu suo animalia occidant donatori omnium de satietate sua gratias agant c. But do Christians need this as heathens did when we see the sad effects of such riotings Lâ—gâ— Aâ—ost l. 3. c. 34. of wicked men and the foolish talk and cards and dice by which they are entertained One sin ticeth down another It is a delight to prate over a pot or rant and game and drive away all thoughts that savour of sound Reason or the fear of God or the care of their salvation Many of them will say It is not for love of the drink but of the company that they use the ALE-house An excuse that maketh their sin much worse and sheweth them to be exceeding wicked To love the company of wicked men and love to hear their lewd and idle foolish talk and to game and sport out your time with them besides your tipling this sheweth a wicked fleshly heart much worse than if you loved the drink alone Such company as you love best such are your own dispositions If you were no Tiplers or Drunkards it is a certain sign of an ungodly person to love ungodly company better than the company of wise and godly men that may edifie you in the fear of God § 19. 4. Another cause of Tipling is Idleness when they have not the constant employments of their
Treason against their King or reviled Magistrates and Superiours and perhaps attempted and done mischief as well as spoken it If you are superiours how unfit are you to judge or govern Is it not lawful for any to appeal from you as the Woman did from Philip drunk to Philip sober You will be apter to abuse your inferiours than well to govern them Also Drunkenness destroyeth civility justice and charity It inflameth the mind with anger and rage It teacheth the tongue to curse and rail and slander It makes you unfaithful and uncapable of keeping any secret and ready to betray your chiefest friend as being master neither of your mind or tongue or actions Drunkenness hath made men commit many thousand murders It hath caused many to murder themselves and their nearest relations many have been drowned by falling into the water or broke their neâ—ks with falling from their Horses or dyed suddenly by the suffocation of nature It draweth men to idleness and taketh them off their lawfull calling It maketh a multitude of thieves by breeding necessity and emboldening to Villany It is a principal cause of lust and filthiness and the great maintainer of whoredomes and taketh away all shame and fear and wit which should restrain men from this or any sin What sin is it that a drunken man may not commit no thanks to him that he forbeareth the greatest wickedness Cities and Kingdoms have been betrayed by Drunkenness Many a drunken Garrison hath let in the enemy There is no confidence to be put in a drunken man nor any mischief that he is secure from 12. Lastly Thou sinnest not alone but temptest others with thee to perdition It is the great crime of Ieroboam that he made Israel to sin The judgement of God determineth those men to death that not only do wickedness but have pleasure in them that do it Rom. 1. 32. And is not this thy case Art thou not Satans instrument to tempt others with thee to waste their Time and neglect their souls and abuse God and his creatures Yea some of you glory in your shame that you have drunk down your companions and carryed it away the honour of a sponge or a tub which can drink up or hold liquor as well as you And what is that man worthy of that would thus transform himself and others into such Monsters of iniquity § 55. IV. Next let us hear the drunkards excuses for even drunkenness will pretend to Reason and Obj. 1. men will not make themselves mad without an argument to justifie it 1. Saith the Tipler I take no mâ—re than doth me good you allow a man to eat as much as doth him good and why not to drink as much No man is fiâ—â—er to judge this than I For I am sure I feel it do me good Answ. What good dost thou mean man Doth it fit thee for holy thoughts or words or deeds Answ. Doth it help thee to live well or fit thee to die well Art thou sure that it tendeth to the health of thy bâ—dy Thou canst not so say without the imputation of folly or self-conceitedness when all the wise Physicions in the world do hold the contrary No it doth as Gluâ—tony doth It pleaseth thee in the drinking but it filleth thy body with crudities and flegme and prepareth for many Mortal sicknesses It maketh thy body like grounds after a flood that are covered with stinking slime or like fenny Lands that are drowned in water and bear no fruit or like grounds that have too much rain that are dissolved to dirt but are unfit for use It maketh thee like a leaking ship that must be pumpt and emptied or it will sink If thou have not Vomits or Purges to empty thee thou wilt quickly drown or suffocate thy life As Basil saith A drunkard is like a Ship in a Tempest when all the goods are cast over-boord to disburden it lest it â—ink Physicions must pump thee or disburden thee or thou wilt be drowned And all will not serve if thou hold on to fill it up again For intemperance maketh most diseases uncurable A Historian speaketh of two Physicions that differed in their Prognosticks about a Patient one forsook him as uncurable the other undertook him as certainly curable but when he came to his remedies he prescribed him so strict abstinence as he would not undergo and so they agreed in the issue when one judged him uncurable because intemperate and the other curable if he would be temperate Thou that feelest the drink do thee good dost little think how the Devil hath a design in it not only to have thy soul but to have it quickly that the mud walls of thy body being washt down may not hold it long And I must tell thee that thou hast cause to value a good Physicion for greater reasons than thy life and art more beholden to him than many others even that he may help to keep thy soul out of Hell a little longer to see if God will give thee repentance that thou mayest escape out of the snare of the Devil who taketh thee captive at his will 2 Tim. 2. 25 26. As Aelian writeth of King Antigonus that having great respect for Zeno the Philosopher he once met him when he was in drink and embracing him urged him to ask of him what he would and bound himself with many Oaths to give it him Zeno thanked him and the request he made to him was that he would go home and Vomit To tell him that he more needed to be disburdened of his drink than â—e himself did need his gifts The truth is the good that thou feelest the drink do thee is but the present pleasing of thy appetite and tickling thy fantasie by the exhilerating vapours And so the Glutton and the Whoremonger and every sensual wretch will say that he feeleth it do him good But God bless all sober men from such a good So the Gamester feeleth the sport do him good but perhaps he is quickly made a Beggar by it It is Reason and faith and not thy appetite or present feeling that must tell thee what and how much doth thee good § 36. Obj. 2. But I have heard some Physicions say that it is wholsome to be Drunk sometimes Obj. 2. Answ. None but some Sot that had first drunk away his own understanding I have known Physicions Answ. that have been Drunkards themselves and they have been apt to plead for their own vice Q. May one be Mâ—dicinally Drunk But they quickly killed themselves and all their skill could not save their lives from the effects of their own Beastiality even as the knowledge and doctrine of a wicked Preacher will not save his soul if he live contrary to his Profession And what if the Vomiting of a Drunkard did him some good with all the harm Are there not easier safer lawfuller means enough to do the same good without the harm He is a Bruit
dreams and lustful dreams and hath its ill effects by night and by day § 4. Direct 2. Endeavour the cure of those sinful distempers of the mind which cause sinful dreams Direct 2. The cure of a worldly mind is the best way to cure worldly covetous dreams And the cure of a lustful heart is the best way to cure lustful dreams and so of the rest Cleanse the fountain and the waters will be the sweeter day and night § 5. Direct 3. Suffer not your Thoughts or tongue or actions to run sinfully upon that in the day Direct 3. which you would not dream sinfully of in the night Common experience telleth us that our dreams Cogitationeâ— sanctiores sequuntur somnâ—a blandiora delectabilioria Greg. Moral are apt to follow our foregoing thoughts and words and deeds If you think most frequently and affectionately of that which is good you will dream of that which is good If you think of lustful filthy objects or speak of them or meddle with them you will dream of them and so of covetous and ambitious dreams And they that make no conscience to sin waking are not like much to scruple sinning in their sleep § 6. Direct 4. Commend your selves to God by prayer before you take your rest and beseech him to Direct 4. set a guard upon your fantasie when you cannot guard it Cast the cure upon him and fly to him for help by faith and prayer in the sense of your insufficiency § 7. Direct 5. Let your last Thoughts still before your sleep be holy and yet quieting and consolatory Direct 5. thoughts The dreams are apt to follow our last Thoughts If you betake your selves to sleep Iturus in somnum aliquid tecum defer in memoria cogitatione in quo placide obdormies quod etiam somniare juvet sic tibi noâ— ut dies illuminatur in deliciis tuis placide obdormies in pace quiesces facilè evigilabis surgens promptus eris ad redeundum in id unde non totus discessisti with worldliness or vanity in your minds you cannot expect to be wiser or better when you are asleep than when you are awake But if you shut up your dayes thoughts with God and sleep find them upon any Holy subject it is like to use them as it finds them Yet if it be distrustful unbelieving fearful thoughts which you conclude with your dreams may savour of the same distemper Frightful and often sinful dreams do follow sinful doubts and fears But if you sweeten your last Thoughts with the Love of Christ and the remembrance of your former mercies or the foresight of eternal joyes or can confidently cast them and your selves upon some promise it will tend to the quietness of your sleep and to the savouriness of your dreams And if you should dye before morning will it not be most desirable that your last thoughts be holy § 8. Direct 6. When you have found any corruption appearing in your dreams make use of them Direct 6. for the renewing of your repentance and exciting your endeavours to mortifie that corruption A corruption may be perceived in dreams 1. When such dreams as discover it are frequent 2. When they are earnest and violent 3. When they are pleasing and delightful to your fantasies Not that any certain knowledge can be fetcht from them but some conjecture as added to other signs As if you should frequently earnestly and delightfully dream of preferments and honours or the favour of great men suspect ambition and do the more to discover and mortifie it If it be of riches and gain and money suspect a covetous mind If it be of revenge or hurt to any man that you distaste suspect some malice and quickly mortifie it So if it be of lust or feasting or drinking or vain recreations sports and games do the like § 9. Direct 7. Lay no greater stress upon your dreams than there is just cause As 1. When you Direct 7. have searcht and find no such sin prevailing in you as your dreams seem to intimate do not conclude that you have more than your waking evidence discovers Prefer not your sleeping signs before your waking signs and search 2. When you are conscious that you indulge no corruption to occasion such a dream suppose it not to be faulty of it self and lay not the blame of your bodily temperament or unknown causes upon your soul with too heavy and unjust a charge 3. Abhor the presumptuous folly of those that use to prognosticate by their dreams and measure their expectations by them and cast themselves into hopes or fears by them Saith Diogenes What fâ—lly is it to be careless of your waking thoughts and actions and inquisitive about your dreams A mans happiness or misery lyeth upon what he doth when he is awake and not upon what he suffereth in his sleep CHAP. IX See the Directions for holy Conference Tâ— 2. â—â— 1â— Directions for the Government of the Tongue Tit. 1. The General Directions § 1. Direct 1. UNderstand in general of what moment and concernment it is that the Tongue Direct 1. be well governed and used For they that think words are inconsiderable will use them inconsiderately The conceit that words are of small moment as some say of Thoughts that they are free doth cause men to use their Tongues as if they were free saying Our lips are our own who is Lord over us Psal. 12. 4. § 2. 1. The tongue of man is his glory by which expressively he excelleth the brutes And a The Greatness of the sins and duties of the Tongue Psal. 57. 8. Psal. 16. 9. Psal. 30 12. wonderful work of God it is that a mans tongue should be able to articulate such an exceeding number of words And God hath not given man so admirable a faculty for vanity and sin The nobler and more excellent it is the more to be regarded and the greater is the fault of them that do abuse it Hilary compareth them to an ill Barber that cuts a mans face and so deformeth him when his work was to have made him more neat and comely So it is the Office of the tongue to be excellently serviceable to the good of others and to be the glory of mankind The shame therefore of its faults is the more unexcusable § 3. 2. The tongue is made to be the Index or expresser of the mind Therefore if the mind Matth. 7 16 17 18. Matth. 12. 33 34. be regardable the tongue is regardable And if the mind be not regardable the man is not regardable For our Lord telleth us that the Tree is known by its fruit an evil Tree bringeth forth evil fruits and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh And Aristotle saith that Such as Lingua index menâ—is Aristippus being asked Quid differat sapiens ab insipiente Mitte inquit ambos nudos ad ignotos disces
must either be a very great help or hinderance But yet if there be any persons whose case may be so equally poised with accidents on both sides that to the most judicious man it is not discernible whether a single or married state of life is like to conduce more to their personal Holiness or publick usefulness or the good of others to such persons Marriage in the individual circumstantiated act is a thing indifferent § 4. By these conditions following you may know what persons have a Call from God to marry and Who are called to marry who have not his call or approbation 1. If there be the peremptory will or command of Parents to Children that are under their power and Government and no greater matter on the contrary to hinder it the command of Parents signifieth the command of God But if Parents do but perswade and not command though their desires must not be causlesly refused yet a smaller impediment may preponderate than in case of a peremptory command 2. They are called to marry who have not the gift of Continence and cannot by the use of lawful means attain it and have no impediment which maketh it unlawful to them to marry 1 Cor. 7. 9. But if they cannot contain let them marry for it is better to marry than to burn But here the divers degrees of the urgent and the hindering causes must be compared and the weightiest must prevail For some that have very strong lusts may yet have stronger impediments And though they cannot keep that chastity in their Thoughts as they desire yet in such a case they must abstain And there is no man but may keep his body in chastity if he will do his part Yea and Thoughts themselves may be commonly and for the most part kept pure and wanton imaginations quickly checkt if men be Godly and will do what they can But on the other side there are Unmarried men are the best friends the best masters the best servants but not always the best subjects For they are light to run away and therefore ventrous c. Iâ— â—aâ—oâ— Essay 8. some that have a more tamable measure of Concupiscence and yet have no considerable hinderance whose duty it may be to Marry as the most certain and successful means against that small degree as long as there is nothing to forbid it 3. Another cause that warranteth Marriage is when upon a wise casting up of all accounts it is apparently most probable that in a married state one may be most serviceable to God and the publick good that there will be in it greater helps and fewer hinderances to the great ends of our lives the glorifying of God and the saving of our selves and others And whereas it must be expected that every condition should be more helpful to us in one respect and hinder us more in another respect and that in one we have most helps for a contemplative life and in another we are better furnished for an Active serviceable life the great skill therefore in the discerning of of our duties lyeth in the prudent pondering and comparing of the commodities and discommodities without the seduction of fantasie lust or passion and in a true discerning which side it is that hath the greatest weight § 5. Here it must be carefully observed 1. That the two first Reasons for Marriage Concupiscence Observations and the will of Parents or any such like have their strength but in subordination to the third the final cause or interest of God and our salvation And that this last Reason from the end is of it self sufficient without any of the other but none of the other are sufficient without this If it be clear that in a married state you have better advantages for the service of God and doing good to others and saving your own souls than you can have in a single state of life then it is undoubtedly your duty to marry For our obligation to seek our ultimate end is the most constant indispensable obligation Though Parents command it not though you have no corporal necessity yet it is a duty if it certainly make most for your ultimate end 2. But yet observe also that no pretence of your ultimate end it self will warrant you to marry when any other accident hath first made it a thing unlawful while that accident continueth For we must not do evil that good may come by it Our salvation is not furthered by sin And though we saw a probability that we might do more good to others if we did but commit such a sin to accomplish it yet it is not to be done For our lives and mercies being all in the hand of God and the successes and acceptance of all our endeavours depending wholly upon him it can never be a rational way to attain them by willful offending him by our sin It is a likely means to publick good for able and good men to be Magistrates or Ministers And yet he that would lye or be perjured or commit any known sin that he may be a Magistrate or that he may Preach the Gospel might better expect a curse on himself and his endeavours than Gods acceptance or his blessing and success so he that would sin to change his state for the better would find that he changed it for the worse or if it do good to others he may expect no good but ruine to himself if repentance prevent it not 3. Observe also that if the question be only which state of life it is married or single which best conduceth to this ultimate end than any one of the subordinate Reasons will prove that we have a call if there be not greater Reasons on the contrary side As in case you have no corporal necessity the will of Parents alone may oblige you if there be no greater thing against it or if Parents oblige you not yet corporal necessity alone may do it or if neither of these invite you yet a clear probability of the attaining of such an estate or opportunity as may make you more fit to relieve many others or be serviceable to the Church or the blessing of Children who may be devoted to God may warrant your Marriage if no greater reasons lye against it For when the Scales are equal any one of these may turn them § 6. By this also you may perceive who they be that have no Call to marry and to whom it is a Who may not marry sin As 1. No man hath a Call to marry who laying all the commodities and discommodities together may clearly discern that a married state is like to be a greater hinderance of his salvation or to his serving or honouring God in the world and so to disadvantage him as to his ultimate end Quest. But what if Parents do command it or will set against me if I disobey Quest. Answ. Parents have no authority to command you any thing against God or your salvation
souls to do their undertaken work § 1. Motive 1. Consider that the Holy Government of Families is a considerable part of Gods own Government Motive 1. of the world and the contrary is a great part of the Devils Government It hath pleased God to settle as a natural so a Political order in the world and to honour his creatures to be the instruments of his own operations And though he could have produced all effects without any interior causes and could have Governed the world by himself alone without any instruments he being not as Kings constrained to make use of Deputies and Officers because of their own natural confinement and insufficiency yet is he pleased to make inferiour causes partakers in such excellent effects and taketh delight in the frame and order of causes by which his will among his creatures is accomplished So that as the several Justices in the Countries do govern as Officers of the King so every Magistrate and Master of a family doth govern as an Officer of God And if his government by his Officers be put down or neglected it is a contempt of God himself or a rebellion against him What is all the practical Atheism and Rebellion and ungodliness of the world but a rejecting of the Government of God It is not against the Being of God in it self considered that his enemies rise up with malignant rebellious opposition But it is against God as the Holy and Righteous Governour of the world and especially of themselves And as in an Army if the Corporals Sergeants and Lieutenants do all neglect their offices the Government of the General or Colonels is defeated and of little force so if the Rulers of Families and other Officers of God will corrupt or neglect their part of Government they do their worst to corrupt or cast out Gods Government from the earth And if God shall not Govern in your families who shall The Devil is always the Governour where Gods Government is refused The world and the flesh are the instruments of his Government Worldliness and Fleshly living are his service Undoubtedly he is the Ruler of the family where these prevail and where Faith and Godliness do not take place And what can you expect from such a Master § 2. Motive 2. Consider also that an ungoverned ungodly family is a powerful means to the damnation Motive 2. of all the members of it It is the common Boat or Ship that hurrieth souls to Hell that is bound for the devouring gulf He that is in the Devils Coach or Boat is like to go with the rest as the Driver or the Boatman pleaseth But a well-governed family is an excellent help to the saving of all the souls that are in it As in an ungodly family there are continual temptations to ungodliness to swearing and lying and railing and wantonness and contempt of God so in a Godly family there are continual provocations to a holy life to faith and love and obedience and heavenly mindedness Temptations to sin are fewer there than in the Devils Shops and Workhouses of sin The Authority of the Governours the conversation of the rest the examples of all are great inducements to a holy life As in a well ordered Army of valiant men every coward is so linked in by order that he cannot choose but fight and stand to it with the rest and in a confused rowt the valiantest man is born down by the disorder and must perish with the rest even so in a well ordered holy family a wicked man can scarce tell how to live wickedly but seemeth to be almost a Saint while he is continually among Saints and heareth no words that are profane or filthy and is kept in to the constant exercises of Religion by the authority and company of those he liveth with O how easie and clean is the way to Heaven in such a gratious well ordered family in comparison of what it is to them that dwell in the distracted families of prophane and sensual worldlings As there is greater probability of the salvation of souls in England where the Gospel is preached and professed than in Heathen or Mahometane countrys so is there a greater probability of their salvation that live in the houses and company of the Godly than of the Ungodly In one the advantages of instruction command example and credit are all on Gods side and in the other they are on the Devils side § 3. Motive 3. A holy well-governed Family tendeth not only to the safety of the members but also Motive 3. to the ease and pleasure of their lives To live where Gods Law is the principal Rule and where you may be daily taught the mysteries of his Kingdom and have the Scriptures opened to you and be led as by the hand in the paths of life where the praises of God are daily celebrated and his name is called upon and where all do speak the heavenly language and where God and Christ and Heaven are both their daily work and recreation where it is the greatest honour to be most holy and heavenly and the greatest contention is who shall be most humble and godly and obedient to God and their superiors and where there is no reviling scornes at Godliness nor no prophane and scurrilous talk what a sweet and happy life is this Is it not likest to Heaven of any thing upon earth But to live where worldliness and prophaneness and wantonness and sensuality bear all the sway and where God is unknown and holiness and all religious exercises are matter of contempt and scorn and where he that will not swear and live prophanely doth make himself the hatred and derision of the rest and where men are known but by their shape and speaking-faculty to be men nay where men take not themselves for men but for bruits and live as if they had no rational souls nor any expectations of another life nor any higher employments or delights than the transitory concernments of the flesh what a sordid lothsom filthy miserable life is this made up by a mixture of BEASTLY and DEVILISH To live where there is no communion with God where the marks of Death and Damnation are written as it were upon the doors in the face of their impious worldly lives and where no man understandeth the holy language and where there is not the least foretast of the Heavenly everlasting joys what 's this but to live as the Serpents seed to feed on dust and to be excommunicated from the face and favour of God and to be chained up in the prison of concupiscence and malignity among his enemies till the judgement come that is making haste and will render to all men according to their works § 4. Motive 4. A holy and well-governed family doth tend to make a Holy Posterity and so to propagate Motive 4. the fear of God from Generation to Generation It is more comfortable to have no children than to beget
14. between light and darkness a believer and an Infidel Answ. It maketh it unlawful for a Believer to marry an Infidel except in case of true necessity Because they can have no Communion in Religion But it nullifieth not a marriage already made nor maketh it lawful to depart or divorce Because they may have meer conjugal Communion still As the Apostle purposely determineth the case in 1 Cor. 7. Quest. 15. Doth not the Desertion of one party disoblige the other Quest. 15. Answ. 1. It must be considered what is true Desertion 2. Whether it be a Desertion of thâ— Relation it self for continuance or only a temporary desertion of co-habitation or congress 3. What the temper and state of the deserted party is 1. It is sometimes easie and sometimes hard to discern which is the deserting party If the Wife go away from the Husband unwarrantably though she require him to follow her and say that she doth not desert him yet it may be taken for a desertion because it is the man who is to rule and choose the habitation But if the man go away and the woman refuse to follow him it is not he that is therefore the deserter Quest. But what if the man have not sufficient cause to go away and the woman hath great and urgent reasons not to go As suppose that the man will go away in hatred of an able Preacher and good company and the woman if she follow him must leave all those helps and go among ignorant prophane heretical persons or Infidels which is the deserter then Answ. If she be one that is either like to do good to the Infidels Hereticks or bad persons whom they must converse with she may suppose that God calleth her to receive good by doing good or if she be a confirmed well-setled Christian and not very like either by infection or by want of helps to be unsetled and miscarry it seemeth to me the safest way to follow her Husband She must lose indeed Gods publick Ordinances by following him But it is not imputable to her as being out of her choice and she must lose the benefits and neglect the duties of the Conjugal Ordinance if she do not follow him But if she be a person under such weaknesses as make her remove apparently dangerous as to her perseverance and salvation and her Husband will by no means be prevailed with to change his mind the case then is very difficult what is her duty and who is the deserter Nay if he did but lead her into a Countrey where her life were like to be taken away as under the Spanish Inquisition unless her suffering were like to be as serviceable to Christ as her life Indeed these cases are so difficult that I will not decide them The inconveniencies or mischiefs rather are great which way soever she take But I most incline to judge as followeth viz. It is considerable first what Marriage obligeth her to simply of its own nature and what it may do next by any superadded Contract or by the Law or Custome of the Land or any other accident As to the first it seemeth to me that every ones obligation is so much first to God and then to their own souls and lives that marriage as such which is for Mutual help as a Means to higher Ends doth not oblige her to forsake all the Communion of Saints and the place or Countrey where God is lawfully worshipped and to lose all the helps of publick Worship and to expose her soul both to spiritual famine and infection to the apparent hazard of her salvation and perhaps bring her children into the same misery nor hath God given her Husband any power to do her so much wrong nor is the Marriage-Covenant to be interpreted to intend it But what any humane Law or Contract or other accident which is of greater publick consequence may do more than Marriage of it self is a distinct Case which must have a particular discussion Quest. But what if the Husband would only have her follow him to the forsaking of her estate and undoing her self and children in the world as in the case of Galeacius Caracciolus Marquess of Vicum yea and if it were without just cause Answ. If it be for greater spiritual gain as in his case she is bound to follow him But if it be apparently foolish to the undoing of her and her children without any cause I see not that Marriage simply obligeth a Woman so to follow a fool in beggary or out of a Calling or to her ruine But if it be at all a controvertible Case whether the Cause be just or not then the Husband being Governour must be Judge The Laws of the Land are supposed to be just which allow a Woman by Trustees to secure some part of her former Estate from her Husbands disposal Much more may she before hand secure her self and children from being ruined by his wilful folly But she can by no Contract except her self from his true Government Yet still she must consider whether she can live continently in his absence otherwise the greatest sufferings must be endured to avoid incontinency 2. Moreover in all these cases a temporary removal may be further followed than a perpetual transmigration because it hath fewer evil consequents And if either party renounce the Relation it self it is a fuller desertion and clearer discharge of the other party than a meer removal is Quest. 16. What if a Man or Wife know that the other in hatred doth really intend by poyson or Quest. 16. other murder to take away their life May they not depart Answ. They may not do it upon a groundless or rash surmise nor upon a danger which by other lawful means may be avoided As by Vigilancy or the Magistrate or especially by love and duty But in plain danger which is not otherwise like to be avoided I doubt not but it may be done and ought For it is a duty to preserve our own lives as well as our neighbours And when Marriage is contracted for mutual help it is naturally implyed that they shall have no power to deprive one another of life However some barbarous Nations have given men power of the lives of their Wives And killing is the grossest kind of Desertion and a greater injury and violation of the Marriage-Covenant than Adultery and may be prevented by avoiding the murderers presence if that way be necessary None of the Ends of Marriage can be attained where the hatred is so great Quest. 17. If there be but a fixed hatred of each other is it inconsistent with the Ends of Marriage Quest. 17. And is parting lawful in such a case Answ. The injuring party is bound to Love and not to separate and can have no liberty by his or her sin And to say I cannot love or my Wife or Husband is not amiable is no sufficient excuse Because every person hath somewhat that is amiable if it
sin 2. And such as lose the very Resolution of the Will also and grow unresolved what to do if not resolved to do evil and to omit that which is good § 4. The third sort Backsliders in Life comprehendeth 1. Those that fall from Duty towards God or Man 2. And those that fall into positive sins and turn to sensuality in voluptuousness worldliness or pride § 5. II. 1. Backsliders in judgement do sometimes fall by slow degrees and sometimes suddenly at once Those that fall by degrees do some of them begin in the failing of the understanding but most of them begin at the failing or falseness of the Heart and the corrupted Will corrupteth the understanding § 6. 1. Those that fall by degrees through the failing of the Understanding are those simple souls that never were well grounded in the truth And some of them reason themselves into error or unbelief and others of them which is most usual are led into it by the cunning and diligence of seducers And for the Degrees They grow first to doubt of some Arguments which formerly seemed valid to them and then they doubt of the truth it self Or else they hear some argument from a seducer which through their own weakness they are unable to answer And then they yield to it as thinking that it is right because they see not what is to be said against it and know not what others know to the contrary nor how easily another can confute it And when once they are The method of falling into Heresie or Sects brought into a suspicion of one point which they formerly held they quickly suspect all the rest and grow into a suspicion and disaffection to the persons whom they did before most highly value And then they grow into a high esteem of the persons and party that seduced them and think that they that are wiser in one thing are wiser in the rest and so are prepared to receive all the errors which follow that one which they first received And next they imbody with the Sect that seduced them and separate from the sober united part of the Church And so they grow to a zealous importunity for the increase of their party and to lose their charity to those that are against their way and to corrupt their Morals in thinking all dishonesty lawful which seemeth necessary to promote the interest of their Sect which they think is the interest of the Truth and of God And at last its like they will grow weary of that Sect and hearken to another and another till in the end they come to one of these periods either to settle in Popery as the easiest Religion and being taken with their pretence of Antiquity Stability Unity and Universality or else to turn to Atheism or Infidelity and take all Religion for a meer deceit or else if they retained an honest heart in their former wanderings God sheweth them their folly and bringeth them back to Unity and Charity and maketh them see the vanity of those Reasonings which before seduced them and which once they thought were some spiritual coelestial light This is the common course of error when the Understanding is the most notable cause But sometimes a deceiver prevaileth with them on a sudden by such false appearances of truth which they are unable to confute But still an ill-prepared unfurnished Mind is the chiefest Cause § 7. 2. But those whose Iudgements are conquered by the perverse inclination of their Wills are usually carnal worldly hypocrites who never conquered the fleshly mind and interest nor overcame the world nor ever were acquainted with the heavenly Nature and Life nor with the power of Divine Love and these having made a change of their profession through the meer conviction of their understandings and benefit of Education or Government or the advantages of Religion in the Countrey where they live without a renewed holy Heart the byas of their Hearts doth easily prevail against the Light of their Understandings And because they would fain have those Doctrines to be true which save them from sufferings or give them liberty for a fleshly ambitious worldly life therefore they do by degrees prevail with their understandings to receive them § 8. 2. Backsliders in Heart do fall by divers degrees and means for Satans Methods are not alwayes the same Some of them fall through the corruption of their Judgements for every error hath much influence on the heart Some are tempted suddenly into some gross or sensual sin and so the errors of their lives call away their hearts from God Not but that some sin of the Heart or Will doth still go first but yet the extraordinary declension and pravity of the heart may sometimes be caused by the errors of the Iudgement or the Life But sometimes the beginning and progress is almost observable in the Appetite and Will it self And here the Inclining to Evil that is to sensual or carnal good and the declining from true spiritual good do almost alwayes go together And it is most usually by this method and by these degrees 1. The Devil usually beginneth with the fantasie and appetite and representeth some worldly fleshly thing as very pleasant and desirable 2. Next that he causeth this Complacency to entice the Thoughts so that they are much and oft in thinking on this pleasure 3. Next that the Will is drawn into a liking of it and he wisheth he might enjoy it whether it be riches or pleasant dwellings or pleasant company or pleasant meats or drinks or fleshly accommodations or apparel or honour or command or ease or lust or sports and recreations or whatever else 4. Next that the understanding is drawn into the design and is casting and contriving how it may be obtained and all lawful means are first considered of that if possible the business might be accomplished without the hazard of the soul. 5. Next to that Endeavours are vsed to that end by such means as are supposed lawful and the conscience quieted with the conceit of the harmlesness and security 6. By this time the man is engaged in his carnal cause and course and so the difficulty of returning is increased And the inclination of the heart groweth stronger to the sensual pleasure than before 7. And then he is drawn to prosecute his design by any means how sinful soever if it be possible making himself believe by some reasonings or other that all is lawful still or if the case be too palpable to be so cloaked conscience at last is cast asleep and seared and stupified that it may be silent under all Till either Grace or Vengeance awake the sinner and make him amazed at his madness and stupidity This is the most usual Method of the Hearts relapse to positive evil § 10. 2. And by such degrees doth the heart decline from the Love of God and Goodness As 1. The thoughts are diverted to some carnal vanity that is overloved And the thoughts
of God are seldomer and shorter than they were wont to be 2. And at the same time the thoughts of God do grow less serious and pleasing and more dead and lifeless 3. And then the means which should kindle love are used with more dulness and remissness and indifferency 4. And then Conscience being galled with the guilt of wilful omissions and commissions being acquainted with the fleshly designs of the heart doth raise a secret fear of Gods displeasure and this being not strong enough to restrain the man from sin doth make his sin greater and maketh him very backward to draw near to God or seriously to think of him or call upon him and turneth Love into terror and aversation 5 And if God do not stop and recover the sinner he will next grow quite aweary of God and out of love with a holy life and change him for his worldly fleshly pleasures 6. And next that he will entertain some Infidel or Atheistical or Libertine Doctrine which may quiet him in his course of sin by justifying it and will conform his judgement to his heart 7. And next that he will hate God and his wayes and servants and turn a persecutor of them Till vengeance lay him in Hell where pain and desperation will increase his hatred but his fleshly pleasure and malitious persecution shall be for ever at an end § 11. 3. Backsliders in Life and Practice do receive the first infection at the heart and the life declineth no further than the Heart declineth But yet I distinguish this sort from the other as the effect from the cause And the rather because some few do much decline in heart that yet seem to keep much blamelessness of life in the eye of Men. And it is usually done by these degrees § 12. 1. In the mans backsliding into positive sin as sensuality or worldliness the heart being prepared as before 1. The judgement doth reason more remisly against sin than it did before And the Will doth oppose it with less resolution and with greater faintness and indifferency 2. Then the sinner tasteth of the bait and first draweth as near to sin as he dare and embraceth the occasions and opportunities of sinning while yet he thinketh to yield no further And in this case he is so long disputing with the Tempter and hearkning to him and gazing on the bait till at last he yieldeth and having long been playing at the pits brink his violent lust or appetite doth thrust him in 3. When he hath once sinned against knowledge he is troubled a while and this he taketh for true Repentance And when he is grown into some hope that the first sin is forgiven him he is the bolder to venture on the like again and thinketh that the second may be as well forgiven as the first 4. In the same order he falleth into it again and again till it come to a custome 5. And by this time he Loveth it more and wisheth it were lawful and there were no danger by it 6. And then he thinketh himself concerned to prove it lawful to quiet conscience that it may not torment him and therefore he gladly heareth what the justifiers of his sin can say for it and he maketh himself believe that the Reasons are of weight 7. And then he sinneth without remorse § 13. 2. So in mens backsliding from the practice of Religion 1. The Heart is alienated and undisposed as aforesaid 2. And then the Life of the duty doth decay and it dwindleth towards a dead Formality Like a body in a Consumption the vivid complexion and strength and activity decay 3. Next this he can frequently omit a duty especially in secret where no man knoweth it till by degrees he grow more seldome in it 4. All this he taketh for a pardoned infirmity which consisteth with a state of grace and therefore he is little troubled about it 5. Next this he loseth all the life and comfort of Religion and misseth not any duty when he hath omitted it but is glad that he scapeth it and when it is at an end as an Oxe is when he is out of the yoke 6. Next he beginneth to hearken to them that speak against so much ado in Religion as if it were a needless unprofitable thing 7. And if God forsake him he next repenteth of his former diligence and settleth himself either in a dead course of such customary lip-service as doth cost him nothing or else in utter worldliness and ungodliness and perhaps at last in malignity and persecution § 14. III. Though the Signs or Symptomes of declining may be gathered from what is said already I shall add some more 1. You are declining when you grow bolder with sin or with the 1 Tim. 1. 19. occasions of it and temptations to it than you were in your more watchful state 2. When you Signs of declining make a small matter of those inward corruptions and infirmities which once seemed grievous to you and almost intollerable 3. When you settle in a course of Profession o◠Religiousness that putteth your flesh to little cost in labour reproach or suffering from the ungodly but leave out the hard and costly part and seem to be very Religious in the rest 4. When you are quiet and contented in the daily customary use of Ordinances though you find no profit or increase in grace by it or communion with God 5. When you grow strange to God and Jesus Christ and have little converse with him in the Spirit and your thoughts of him are few and cold and lifeless and your Religion lyeth all in conversing with good men and good Books and outward duties 6. When you grow neglecters of your hearts and strangers to them and find little work about them from day to day either in trying them or watching them or stirring them up or mortifying their corruptions but your business in Religion is most abroad and in outward exercises 7. Yea though your own hearts and duties be much of your care and thoughts you are on the losing hand if the Wonders of Love and Grace in Christ have not more of your thoughts or if you set not your selves more to the study of a Crucified and Glorified Christ than of your own distempered hearts 8. All is not well with you when spiritual helps and advantages are less relished and valued and you grow more indifferent to the Sermons and Prayers and Sacraments which once you could not live without And use them but as bare Duties for necessity and not as Means with any great hope of benefit and success 9. When you grow too regardful of the eye of man and too regardless of the eye of God and are much more careful about the words and outside of your Prayers and discourses than the Spirit and inward part and manner of them and dress your selves accurately when you appear abroad as those that would seem very good to men but go at home in the
and endeavours do contain the seed of life eternal and are such a preparation for it as cannot be in vain Would God concurr thus with any word which is not true and holy and good to make it effectual for the renovation of so many millions of souls Have you not found that his work of Grace is earryed on by heavenly Wisdom Love and Power and is a witness of his special providence and containeth his own Image upon the soul And shall we then question the Author of the seal when we see that the Image and superscription which it imprinteth is Divine And have you not had such experiences your 5. self of the fulfilling of this word in the answer of prayers manifest both on mens souls and bodies which are enough to confute the Tempter that would shake your faith when he seeth you in your weakness unfit to call up all those Evidences which at another time you have discerned For my own part I must bear this witness to the truth that I have known and felt and seen and heard such wonders wrought upon servent prayer as have many a time convinced me of the truth of the promises and the special providence of God to his poor petitioners I have oft known the Acute and Chronical Diseases of afflicted ones relieved by prayer without any natural means Some of the most violent cured in an hour and some by more slow degrees Besides the effects upon mens souls and estates and publick affairs which plainly demonstrated the means and cause And shall a promise thus sealed to us be ever questioned again Nay have you not the Witness in your self 6. 1 John 5. 10 11 12. Even the Spirit of Christ which is the pledge and earnest of your inheritance and the seal and mark of God upon you In a word it is an unquestionable truth that the rational 7. world neither is nor ever was nor can be governed agreeably to its nature without an End to move and rule them which is beyond this life and without the Hopes and fears of a Reward and Punishment hereafter Were this but taken out of the world man would no longer live like man but as the most odious noxious creature upon earth And it is as sure that it agreeth not with the Omnipotence Wisdom and Goodness of God to Govern so noble a Creature by a lye and to make a Nature that must be so governed And it is as certain that all other Revelation is defective and that Life and Immortality the end and the way were never so brought to light as they are in the Gospel by 2 Tim. 1. 10. Christ and by his Spirit Say then to the malitious Tempter The Lord rebuke thee O Satan even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke theâ— Zech. 3. 2. O full of all subtilty and mischief thou enemy of God and righteousness Wilt thou not cease to be a lying Spirit and to pervert the truth and right wayes of the Lord Act 13. 10. Lift up your soul to God and say I believe Lord help mine unbelief Though Satan stand to resist me at my right hand am I not a brand pluckt out of the fire Am I not thine and have I not resigned this soul to thee and didst thou not accept it in thy holy Covenant O then defend it as thine own Plead thou my Cause and confirm thy work and justifie both thy truth and me against the malitious enemy of both O let the intercession of my Saviour prevail that my faith fail not And take away the filthy garments from me Zech. 3. 3 4. and cause mine iniquities to pass away And though my soul be troubled what shall I say Father save me from this hour But then what passage shall I have into thy presence I was born a mortal wight John 12. 23 27 28. John 17. 1. and go but the way as all Generations have gone before me and follow my Lord and all his Saints Father receive and glorifie thy servant that thy servant may glorifie thy name for ever Receive O Father the soul which thou hast made Receive O Saviour the soul which thou hast so dearly bought and loved to the death Acts 7. 59. and washed in thy blood Receive the soul which thou hast regenerated by thy Spirit and in some measure quickned Psal. 39. 5 7 8 11. Psal. 32. 1 2 3. Rom. 4. 7 8. 24. Psal. 25. 7. Psal. 19. 12 13. 1 Pet. 2. 22. Matth. 3. 15. Heb. 9. 26. Isa. 53. 10. 3 4 6 7 8 9. Matth. 3 17. 17. 5. 12. 18. Rom. 5. 1 2 3 5 10. Ephes. 2. 14. Heb. 10. 10 12 14 18. Heb 7. 26 2â— Ephes. 1. 6 7 11 13. 1 Pet. 2. 24. Phil. 3. 9 10 11. Eph. 5. 26 27. Psal. 139. 16 17 18. Psal. 16. 6 7. Psal. 6â— 9. Psal. 46. 4. Psal. 42. 3 4. Psal. 89. 15. Psal. 36. 8. John 4. 10 13 14. Psal. 42. 4. Psal. 107. 6. 13. Psal. 107. 17 14. by the immortal seed Behold thou hast made my dayes as an hand breadth my age before thee is as nothing and every man at his best estate is vanity When thy rebukes correct us for iniquity thou makest our beauty to câ—nsume as a nâ—oth And now O Lord what wait I for Is not my hope alone in thee Deliver me from my transgressions and impute not to me the sins which I have done Remember not against me the sins of my youth and forgive the iniquities of my riper years Charge not upon me my grieving of thy Spirit and neglects and resistances of thy grace Forgive my sins of ignorance and of knowledge my sins of slâ—thfulness rashness and presumption especially those which I have wilfully committed against thy warnings and the warnings of my Conscience Who can understand his errors Cleanse thou me from secret sins O pardon my unprofitableness and abuse of thy mercies and my sluggish loss of pretious time that I have served thee no better and loved thee no more and improved no better the day of grace Though folâ—y and sin have darknâ—d my light and blemished my most holy services and my transgressions have been multiplyed in thy sight yet is the Sacrifice sufficient which thou hast accepted from our great High Priest who made his soul an offering for sin In him thou art well pleased He is our peace In him I trust He was holy harmless undefiled and separate from sinners He did no iniquity He fulfilled all Righteousness and by once offering of himself he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified He is able to save to the utmost them that come to God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them Accept me O Father in him thy well beloved Let my sinful soul be healed by his stripes who bare our sins in his body on the Cross. Let me be found in him not having any Legal righteousness of my own but that which
c. He goeth on to confirm it at large by argument § 20. Rule 9. An Oath is to be taken and interpreted strictly Sandersoa saith Iuramenti obligatio Rule 9. est stricti juris that is non ut excludat juris interpretationem aequitate temperatam sed ut excludat juris interpretationem gratia corruptam not as excluding an equitable interpretation but as excluding an interpretation corrupted by partiality that it be a Iust interpretation between the extreams of Rigid and favourable or partial and in doubtful cases it is safer to follow the strict than the benign Sand. p. 41 42 4â— 44. Ubi de justo sensu ambigitur longe satius est naturae rei accommodatius strictiore quam benigniore uti interpretatione Sand. pag. 44. or favourable sense It is dangerous stretching and venturing too far in matters of so sacred a nature and of such great importance as Vows and Oaths § 21. Rule 10. In the exposition of such doubtful oaths and Vows 1. We must specially watch against Rule 10. self-interest or commodity that it corrupt not our understandings 2. And we must not take our oaths or Sand. pag. 45. any part of them in such a sense as a pious prudent stander-by that is impartial and no whit interested in the business cannot easily find in the words themselves § 22. Rule 11. In doubtful cases the greatest danger must be most carefully avoided and the safer Rule 11. side preferred But the danger of the soul by perjury is the greatest and therefore no bodily danger should Sand. p. 46. so carefully be avoided And therefore an oath that in the common and obvious sense seemeth unlawful should not be taken unless there be very full evidence that it hath another sence Sand. p. 46. Nititur autem c. This reason leaneth on that general and most useful rule that in doubtful cases we must follow the safer side But it is safer not to swear where the words of the oath proposed do seem according to the common and obvious sence of the words to contain in them something unlawful than by a loose interpretation so to lenifie them for our own ends that we may the more securely swear them For it is plain that such an oath may be refused without the peril of perjury but not that it can be taken without some danger or fear The same Rule must guide us also in keeping Vews § 23. Rule 12. It is ordinarily resolved that imposed Oaths must be kept according to the sense of Rule 12. the imposer See Sanders p. 191 192. But I conceive that assertion must be more exactly opened and bounded 1. Where justice requireth that we have respect to the will or right of the imposer there the oath imposed must be taken in his sence But whether it must be kept in his sence is further to be considered 2. When I have done my best to understand the sence of the imposer in taking the Oath and yet mistake it and so take it without fraud in another sense the Question then is somewhat hard whether I must keep it in the sense I took it in or in his sense which then I understood not If I must not keep it in my own sense which I took it in then it would follow that I must keep another oath and not that which I took For it is the sense that is the oath And I never obliged my self to any thing but according to my own sense And yet on the other side if every man may take Oaths in their private sense then oaths will not attain their ends nor be any security to the imposers § 24. In this case you must carefully distinguish between the formal obligation of the Oath or Vow as such and the obligation of justice to my neighbour which is a consequent of my Vow And for the former I conceive with submission that an Oath or Vow cannot bind me formally as such in any sense but my own in which bonâ fide I took it Because formally an oath cannot bind me which I never took But I never took that which I never meant nor thought of if you so define an oath as to take in the sense which is the soul of it § 25. But then in regard of the consequential obligation in point of Iustice unto man the question I think must be thus resolved 1. We must distinguish between a lawful imposer or contracter and a violent usurper or robber that injuriously compelleth us to swear 2. Between the obvious usual sense of the words and an unusual forced sense 3. Between a sincere involuntary misunderstanding the imposer and a voluntary fraudulent reservation or private sense 4. Between one that I owe something to antecedently and one that I owe nothing to but by the meer self-obligation of my Vow 5. Between an Imposer that is himself the culpable cause of my misunderstanding him and one that is not the cause but my own weakness or negligence is the cause 6. Between a case where both senses may be kept and a case where they cannot being inconsistent Upon these Distinctions I thus resolve the question § 26. Prop. 1. If I fraudulently and wilfully take an oath in a sense of my own contrary to They were ill times that Abbas Urspergensis describeth Chron. pag. 320. Ut omnis homo jam sit perjurus praedictis facinoribus implicatus ut vix excusari possit quin sit in his sicut populus sic sacerdos O that this calamity had ended with that age Et pag. 321. Principes terrarum Barones arte diabolicâ edocti nec cuâ—abant juramenta infringeâ—e nec fidem violare jus omne confundere the sense of the Imposer and the common and just sense of the words themselves I am guilty of perfidiousness and prophaneness in the very taking of it Prop. 2. If it be long of my own culpable ignorance or negligence that I misunderstood the Imposer I am not thereby disobliged from the publick sense Prop. 3. When the Imposer openly putteth a sense on the words imposed contrary to the usual obvious sense I am to understand him according to his own expression and not to take the oath as imposed in any other sense Prop. 4. If the Imposer refuse or neglect to tell me his sense any otherwise than in the imposed words I am to take and keep them according to the obvious sense of the words as they are commonly used in the time and place which I live in Prop. 5. If it be long of the Imposers obscurity or refusing to explain himself or other culpable cause that I mistook him I am not bound to keep my oath in his sense as different from my own unless there be some other reason for it Prop. 6. If the Imposer be a robber or usurper or one that I owe nothing to in justice but what I oblige my self to by my oath I am not then
how contrary soever among themselves but they all pretended Gods authority and entitled him to their sin and called it his service and censured others as ungodly or less godly that would not do as bad as they St. Iames is put to confute them that thought this wisdom was from above and so did glory in their sin and lye against the truth when their wisdom was from beneath and no better than earthly sensual and deviliish For the wisdom from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be entreated full of mercy c. James 3. 17. § 78. 12. Church divisions are unlike to our Heavenly state and in some regard worse than the Kingdom of the Devil for he would not destroy it by dividing it against it selâ— Matth. 12. 26. O what a blessed harmony of united holy souls will there be in the Heavenly Ierusalem where we hope to dwell for ever There will be no discords envyings Sideings or contendings one being of this party and another of that but in the Unity of perfect Love that world of Spirits with joyful Eph. 4. 13 14 16. praise will magnifie their Creator And is a snarling envy or jarring discord the likely way to such an end Is the Church of Christ a Babâ—l of confusion Should they be divided party against party here that must be one in perfect Love for ever Shall they here be condemning each other as none of the children of the Most High who there must live in sweetest concord If there be shame in Heaven you will be ashamed to meet those in the delights of Glory and see them entertained by the Lord of Love whom you reviled and cast out of the Church or your communion causelesly on earth § 79. Remember now that Schism and making parties and divisions in the Church is not so small a sin as many take it for It is the accounting it a duty and a part of Holiness which is the greatest cause that it prospereth in the world And it will never be reformed till men have right apprehensions of the evil of it Why is it that sober people are so far and free from the sins of swearing drunkenness fornication and lasciviousness but because these sins are under so odious a character as helpeth them easily to perceive the evil of them And till Church-divisions be rightly apprehended as whoredom and swearing and drunkenness are they will never be well cured Imprint therefore on your minds the true Character of them which I have here laid down and look abroad upon the effects and then you will fear this confounding sin as much as a consuming Plague § 80. The two great causes that keep Divisions from being hated as they ought are 1. A charitable Two Hinderances of our true apprehensions of Schisme respect to the good that is in Church-dividers carrying us to overlook the evil of the sin judging of it by the Persons that commit it and thinking that nothing should seem odious that is theirs because many of them are in other respects of blameless pious conversations And indeed every Christian must so prudently reprehend the mistakes and faults of pious men as not to asperse the piety which is conjunct and therefore not to make their persons odious but to give the person all his just commendations for his piety while we oppose and aggravate his sin Because Christ himself so distinguisheth between the good and the evil and the person and the sin and loveth his own for their good while he hateth their evil and so must we And because it is the grand design of Satan by the faults of the godly to make their Persons hated first and their Piety next and so to banish Religion from the world And every friend of Christ must shew himself an enemy to this design of Satan But yet the sin must be disowned and opposed while the person is Loved according to his worth Christ will give no thanks for such Love to his children as cherisheth their Church-destroying sins There is no greater enemy to sin than Christ though there be no greater friend to souls Godliness was never intended to be a fortress for iniquity or a battery for the Devil to mount his Cannons on against the Church nor for a blind to cover the Powder-mines of Hell Satan never opposeth Truth and Godliness and Unity so dangerously as when he can make Religious men his instruments Remember therefore that all men are vanity and Gods interest and honour must not be sacrificed to theirs nor the most Holy be abused in reverence to the holiest of sinful men § 81. The other great hinderance of our due apprehension of the sinfulness of divisions is our too deep sense of our sufferings by superiours and our looking so much at the evil of persecutions as not to look at the danger of the contrary extream Thus under the Papacy the people of Germany at Luthers Reformation were so deeply sensible of the Papal cruelties that they thought by how many wayes soever men fled from such bloody persecutors they were very excusable And while men were all taken up in decrying the Roman Idolatry corruptions and cruelties they never feared the danger of their own divisions till they smarted by them And this was once the case of many good people here in England who so much hated the wickedness of the Prophane and the Haters of Godliness that they had no apprehensions of the evil of Divisions among themselves And because many prophanâ— ones were wont to call sober godly people Schismaticks and Factious therefore the very names begâ—n with many to grow into credit as if they had been of good signification and there had been really no such sin as schism and factiâ—n to be feared Till God permitted this sin to break in upon us with such fury as had almost turned us into a Babel and a desolation And I am perswaded God did purposely permit it to teach his people more sensibly to know the evil of that sin by the efâ—â—cts which they would not know by other means And to let them see when they had reviled and ruined each other that there is that in themselves which they should be more afraid of than of any enemy without § 82. Direct 5. Own nâ—t any cause which is an enemy to Love And pretend neither Truth nor Holiness Direct 5. nor Unity nor Order nor any thing against it The Spirit of Love is that one Vital Spirit which 〈…〉 9 〈…〉 4. 〈…〉 2. 〈…〉 19. â—â— 1 〈…〉 1 â—â—â—â— 5 〈…〉 2 â—â—â—â— 1. 7. Heb. 10. 24. 〈…〉 5. 6 13. doth animate all the Saints The increase â—f Love is the powerful Balâ—â—me that healeth all the Churches wounds Though loveless lifeless Physicions think that all these wounds must be healed by the Sword And indeed the Weapon-salve is now become the proper cure It is the Sword that must be medicated that the wounds made by it may be healed The decayes of
carnal mind is enmity against God and is not subject to his Law nor can be Rom. 8. 7. And they that are in the flesh cannot please God v. 8. And you may easily conceive what work will be made in the Ship when an enemy of the Owner hath subtilly possessed himself of the Pilots place He will charge all that are faithful as mutineers because they resist him when he would carry all away And if an enemy of Christ shall get to be Governour of one of his Regiments or Garrisons all that are not Traytors shall be called Traytors and cashiered that they hinder not the treason which he intendeth And as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the spirit even so it is now But what saith the Scripture cast out the bond-woman and her son c. Gal. 4. 29 30. It is not the sacred office of the Ministry nor the profession of the same religion that will cure the enmity of a carnal heart against both Holiness and the Holy seed The whole business of the world from age to age is but the management of that war proclaimed at sins first entrance into the World between the seed of the woman and the Serpent And none of the serpents seed are more cruel or more successful Gen. 3. 15. than those of them that creep into the Armies of Christ and especially that get the conduct of his Regiments Neither Brotherhood nor Unity of profest Religion would hold the hands of Poetae nunquam perturbarunt Respublicas Oratores non raro Buchoâ—tz malignant Cain from murdering his Brother Abel The same Religion and father and family reconciled not scoffing Ishmael to Isaac or prophane Esau to his brother Iacob The family of Christ and an Apostles office did not keep Iudas from being a Traytor to his Lord. If carnal men invade the Ministry they take the way of ease and honour and worldly wealth and strive for Dominion and who shall be the greatest and care not how great their Power and Iurisdiction is nor how little their profitable work is and their endeavour is to fit all matters of Worship and discipline to their ambitious covetous ends and the spiritual Worshipper shall be the object of their hate And is Acosta l. 6. c. 23. p. 579. Nothing so much hurteth this Church as a rabble of hirelings and self-seekers For what can natural men that scarce have the Spirit do in the cause of God A few in number that are excellent in vertue will more promote the work of God But they that come hither being humble and lovers of souls taking Christ for their pattern and bearing in their bodies his Cross and death shall most certainly find heavenly treasures and inestimable delights But when will this be When men cease to be men and to savour the things of men and to seek and gape after the things of men With men this is utterly impossible but with God all things are possible Because this is hard in the eyes of this people shall it therefore be hard in my eyes saith the Lord Zech. 10. pag. 580. I may say to some Ministers that cry out of the schismatical disobedience of the people as Acosta doth to to those that cryed out of the Indians dulness and wickedness It is long of the Teachers Deal with them in all possible love and tenderness away with Covetousness Lordliness and Cruelty give them the example of an upright life open to them the way of truth and teach them according to their capacity and diligently hold on in this way who ever thou art that art a Minister of the Gospel and saith he as ever I hope to enjoy thee O Lord Jesu Christ I am perswaded the harvest will be plentiful and joyful l. 4. p. 433. passim But saith he we quickly cease our labours and must presently have hasty and plenteous fruit But the Kingdom of God is not such Verily it is not such but as Christ hath told us like seed cast into the earth which groweth up by degrees we know not how p. 433 434. Hieroms case is many anothers Concivit odia perditorum Oderunt eum haeretici quia eos impugnare non desinit Oderunt Clerici quia vitam eorum insectatur crimina Sed plane eum boni omnes admirantur diligunt Posthumianus in Sulp. Severi Dialog 1. And Dial. 2. Martinus in Medio caetu conversatione populorum inter Clericos dissidentes inter Episcopos saevientes cum fere quotidianis scandalis huic atque inde premeretur inexpugnabili tamen adversus omnia virtute fundatus stetit Nec tamen huic crimini miscebo populares soli illum Clerici soli nesciunt Sacerdotes nec immerito Nosce illum invidi noluerunt quia si virtutes illius nossent suorum vitia cognovissent it any wonder if the Churches of Christ be torn by Schism and betrayed to prophaneness where there are such unhappy guides § 85. Direct 8. In a special manner take heed of pride Suspect it and subdue it in your selves Direct 8. and do what you can to bring it into disgrace with others Only by Pride cometh contention Prov. How the Jesuites have hereby distracted the Church read Mariana Archiâ—pisc Pragensis Censur de Bull. Iesâ—it Daâ— Hospital ad Reges c. Auâ— Ardingbelli Paradoxa Iesuitica Galindus Giraldus c. Arcana Iesuit 13. 10. I never yet saw one schism made in which Pride conjunct with Ignorance was not the cause nor never did I know one person forward in a schism to my remembrance but Pride was discernably his disease I do not here intend as the Papists to charge all with Schism or Pride that renounce not their understandings and choose not to give up themselves to a beastial subjection to Usurpers or their Pastors he that thinks it enough that his Teacher hath Reason and be a man instead of himself and so thinketh it enough that his Teacher be a Christian and Religious must be also content that his Teacher alone be saved But then he must not be the Teacher of such a damning way But by Pride I mean a plain over-valuing of his own understanding and Conceits and Reasoningâ— quite above all the Evidences of their worth and an undervaluing and contempt of the judgements and reasonings of far wiser men that had evidence enough to have evinced his folly and â—rror to a sober and impartial man Undoubtedly it is the Pride of Priests and people that hath so lâ—mensably in all ages â—orn the Church He that readeth the Histories of Schisms and Church-confusions and marketh the effects which this age hath shewed will no more doubt whether Pride were the cause than whether it was the wind that blew down Trees and houses when he seeth them one way overturned by multitudes where the tempest came with greatest force Therefore a Bishop must be no Nâ—vice lâ—st being lifted up with pride 〈◊〉
of Heaven and happiness but not sensibly punished or cast into Hell For this Iansenius hath wrote a Treatise and many other Papists think so 4. Some think that all the Children of sincere believers dying in infancy are saved that is Glorified whether baptized or not and no others 5. Some think that God hath not at all revealed what he will do with any Infants 6. Some think that he hath promised salvation as aforesaid to believers and their seed but hath not at all revealed to us what he will do with all the rest 7. Some think that only the Baptized Children of true believers are certainly by promise saved 8. Some think that all the adopted and bought Children of true Christians as well as the natural are saved if baptized say some or if not say others 9. Some think that Elect Infants are saved and no other but no man can know who those are And of these 1. Some deny Infant Baptism 2. Most say that they are to be baptized and that thereby the non-elect are only received into the visible Church and its priviledges but not to any promise or certainty of Justification or a state of salvation 10. Some think that all that are baptized by the Dedication of Christian Sponsors are saved 11. Some think that all that the Pastor Dedicateth to God are saved because so dedicated by him say some or because baptized ex opere operato say others And so all baptized Infants are in a state of salvation 12. Some think that this is to be limited to all that have right to Baptism coram Deo which some think the Churches reception giveth them of which anon 13. And some think it is to be limited to those that have right 〈…〉 m Ecclesia or are rightfully baptized ex parte Ministrantis where some make the Magistrates command sufficient and some the Bishops and some the baptizers will Of the title to Baptism I shall speak anon Of the salvation of Infants it is too tedious to confute all that I dissent from not presuming in such darkness and diversity of opinions to be peremptory nor to say I am certain by the Word of God who are undoubtedly saved nor yet to deny the undoubted certainty of wiser men who may know that which such as I do doubt of but submitting what I say to the judgement of the Church of God and my superiours I humbly lay down my own thoughts as followeth 1. I think that there can no promise or proof be produced that all unbaptized Infants are saved either from the poena damni or sensus or both 2. I think that no man can prove that all unbaptized Infants are damned or denyed Heaven Nay I think I can prove a promise of the contrary 3. All that are rightfully baptized in foro externo are visible Church members and have Ecclesiastical right to the priviledges of the visible Church 4. I think Christ never instituted Baptism for the collation of these outward Priviledges alone unless as on supposition that persons culpably fail of the better ends 5. I think Baptism is a solemn mutual contract or Covenant between Christ and the Baptized person And that it is but one Covenant even the Covenant of Grace which is the sum of the Gospel which is sealed and received in baptism And that this Covenant essentially containeth our saving relation to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and our Pardon Justification and Adoption or right to life everlasting And that God never made any distinct Covenant of outward Priviledges alone to be sealed by Baptism But that outward mercies are the second and lesser gift of the same Covenant which giveth first the great and saving blessings 6. And therefore that whoever hath right before God to claim and Receive Baptism hath right also to the benefits of the Covenant of God and that is to salvation Though I say not so of every one that hath such right before the Church as that God doth require the Minister to Baptize him For by Right before God or in foro coeli I mean such a Right as will justifie the claim before God immediately the person being one whom he commandeth in that present state to claim and receive baptism For many a one hath no such right before God to claim or receive it when yet the Minister hath right Mark 16. 16. Act. 2. 37 38. Act. 22. 16. 1 Cor 6. 11. Tit. 3. 3 5 6. Heb. 10. 22. Eph. 5. 26. Rom. 6. 1 4. Col. 2. 12. 1 Pet. 3. 21 22. Eph. 4. 5. Act. 8. 12 13 16 36 38. to give it them if they do claim it The case stands thus God saith in his Covenant He that believeth shall be saved and ought to be Baptized to profess that belief and be invested in the benefits of the Covenant And he that Professeth to believe whether he do or not is by the Church to be taken for a visible believer and by Baptism to be received into the Visible Church Here God calleth none but true believers and their seed to be Baptized nor maketh an actual promise or Covenant with any other and so I say that no other have right in foro coeli But yet the Church knoweth not mens hearts and must take a serious Profession for a credible sign of the faith professed and for that outward title upon which it is a duty of the Pastor to Baptize the claimer So that the most malignant scornful hypocrite that maketh a seemingly serious profession hath right coram Ecclesia but not coram Deo save in this sense that God would have the Minister Baptize him But this I have largelyer opened in my Disputations of Right Act. 9. 18. 16. 15 33. 19 5. Gal. 3. 27. to Sacraments 7. I think therefore that all the Children of true Christians do by Baptism receive a publick Investiture by Gods appointment into a state of Remission Adoption and right to salvation at the present Though I dare not say that I am undoubtedly certain of it as knowing how much is said against it But I say as the Synod of Dort Art 1. that Believing Parents have no cause to doubt of the salvation of their Children that dye in infancy before they commit actual sin that is not to trouble themselves with fears about it The Reasons that move me to be of this judgement though not without doubting and hesitancy are these 1. Because whoever hath right to the present Investiture delivery and possession of the first and great benefits of Gods Covenant made with man in Baptism hath right to Pardon and Adoption and everlasting life But the Infants of true Christians have right to the present investiture delivery and possession of the first and great benefits of Gods Covenant made with man in Baptism Therefore they have right to pardon and everlasting life Either Infants are in the same Covenant that is are subjects of the same promise of God with their believing Parents
ridiculous to ask whether we may give Gods proper Worship to a creature And so I answer 1. By way of distinction 2. Of solution 1. We must distinguish between the honour or worshiping acts of the mind and of the Body 2. Between Idolatry as against the first Commandment and Idolatry or scandal as against the second Af. Prop. 1. There is due to every creature a true estimation of it according to the degree of its dignity or goodness And a Love proportionable As also a Belief a Trust a Fear proportionable to every mans credibility fidelity power c. 2. There is an eminent degree therefore of estimation reverence and Love and trust due to Good men above bad and to those in Heaven above those on earth And a peculiar honour to Rulers as such Psal. 15. 4. which is not due to their inferiours 3. This is to be expressed by the Body by convenient actions 4. The highest honour which we owe to any is for the Image of God in them viz. 1. His Natural Image as men 2. His moral Image as Saints 3. His Relative Image of supereminency as superiours And so it is God in them first and they next as the Images of God who are to be honoured 5. There is no honour to be given to any Creature but that of which God himself is the End viz. as it referreth to his Glory 6. Therefore all honour given to men must be thus far Religious honour or worship For as all 1 Tim. 4. 5. Tiâ— 1. 15. 1 Cor. 10. 14. 1 Pet. 4. 3. 1 Cor. 6. 9. 10. 17. Rev. 21. 8. 2â— 15 Act. 17. 16. Gal. 5. 20. 2 Commandment Rev. 22. 8 9. Rev. 2. 14 20. 1 Cor. 8. 10. 19 28. 1 Joh. 5. 21. Dan. 3. things are sanctified to and by Saints so all things that Religious men do must be Religiously done 7. As Persons so places books words utensils times c. must be honoured for Gods sake as they are Related to God with such estimations and expressions as are suitable to their Relations Neg. 1. No Creature must be esteemed to be a God nor any of Gods proper attributes or honour given to any Creature whatsoever 2. No Creature must be esteemed better or greater or wiser than it is As far as we have means to know it 3. Whatsoever outward expressions of honour by word or deed are appropriated to the true God 1. By Divine Institution 2. Or by nature 3. Or by received usage that expression of honour ought not to be used to a creature were the heart never so free from honouring it 1. Because it is bodily Idolatry 2. And scandal as being Idolatry interpretatively in the just sense of others 4. Whatsoever outward expressions of honour Idolaters have used and do use to signifie their inward Idolatry or taking a Creature or a fiction to be God and so make it a tessara or symbol or Professing sign of that their Idolatry if those actions are so used or esteemed among us or within the notice of our actions It is unlawful for us to use the like to any Creature Because the use of their expression maketh it to be a Profession of Idolatry by us and so to be interpretative Idolatry and scandal For to use Professing symbols is to profess Except when there is some notorious reason to use the same words or actions to another lawful signification which is of greater weight than the scandal And we make it as publick to obviate the scandal that we do it not to the Idolaters intents For example If the Mâ—hometans make it a symbole of their Religion to say God is but one upon a false supposition that the Christians make more Gods than one yet it is lawful for us to use that symbolical word to a better end But if they add to their symbol And Mahomet is his Prophet we may not use that because it 's 1. Symbolical of a false Religion 2. And a falshood of it self So if they make it a distinctive note of their religious meetings to congregate the people by Voice and not by Bells when it will be taken for a professing their Religion to do the same we must avoid it But not when there is great cause for it as if we have no other means and the reason against it or scandal may be well avoided 5. Image Worship or bowing or otherwise worshipping towards an Image as an object in the time of Divine worship or when we otherwise pretend to be worshiping God is so gross an appearance of inward Idolatry either as visibly describing God to be like a Creature or else as seeming to mean what Idolaters did by that action that God hath thought meet to forbid it to all mankind by a special Rom. 11. 4. 1 King 19. 18. Rev. 22. 8 9. Jos. 23. 7. 2 King 17. 35. Exod. 20. 5. Law Command 2. 6. The scandal of seeming Idolatry is a heynous sin and not to be excused by the contrary meaning of the heart no more than lying Idolatrous professions are Because to blaspheam God as if he were like a Creature or to tell the World by our actions that a creature is God are both very heynous And so is it to murder our brethrens souls by tempting them to the like 7. It is no appearance of Idolatry to kneel to a King or a Father or Superiour when we are professing Gen. 27. 29. 32. 10. 44. 8. Exod. 11. 8. â—2 King 5. 18. Gen. 41. 43. Ruth 2. 10. 1 Sam. 25. 23 41. nothing but to Honour them with due honour But when the Church assembleth professedly to Worship God if then they mix expressions of veneration to Angels and Saints in Heaven or to a King or any Creature in their Worshipping of God without a very notorious signification of sufficient difference it will seem a joyning them in part of the same Divine honour 8. So we may put off our hats to the Chair of state or Kings Image yea and kneel towards it as to him if he command it in due time and place when it is humane Worship only which we profess But to kneel or bow as an act of honour towards the Image of King Saints or Angel in the time of our professed Worshipping of God is scandalous and an appearance that we give them a part of that which we are giving to God 9. Yet it is not unlawful even in the sacred Assemblies to bow to our Superiour at our entrance or going out or in the intervals of Gods Worship because the time and custome and manner may sufficiently notifie the distinction and prevent the scandal 10. If any presumptuous Clergy men on pretence of their Authority will bring Images into the Churches and set them before us in Divine Worship as objects only of Remembrance and means of exciting our affections to God that they may shew quam proxime se accedere posse ad peccatum sine peccato how neer
with Government in Athens Quia plebs aliis institutis moribus assueverat Laert. in Platone and many other Philosophers that were fittest for Government refused it on the same account through the disobedience of the people your own If your Rulers sin you shall not answer for it but if you sin your selves you shall If you should live under the Turk that would oppress and persecute you your souls shall speed never the worse for this It is not you but He that should be damned for it If you say But it is we that should be oppressed by it I answer 1. How small are temporal things to a true believer in comparison of eternal things Have not you a greater hurt to fear than the killing of your bodies by men Luke 12. 4. 2. And even for this life do you not believe that your lives and liberties are in the power of God and that he can relieve you from the oppression of all the world by less than a word even by his will If you believe not this you are Atheists If you do you must needs perceive that it concerneth you more to care for your duty to your Governours than for theirs to you and not so much to regard what you receive as what you do nor how you are used by others as how you behave your selves to them Be much more afraid lest you should be guilty of murmuring dishonouring disobeying flattering not praying for your Governours than lest you suffer any thing unjustly from them 1 Pet. 4. 13 14 15 16 17. Let none of you suffer as a muderer or as a thief or as an evil doer or as a busiâ—-body in other mens matters yet if any man suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed but let him glorifie God on this behalf If ye be reproached for the name of Christ ye are happy Live so that all your Adversaries may be forced to say as it was said of Daniel Dan. 6. 5. We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel except we find it against him concerning the Law of his God Let none be able justly to punish you as drunkards or thieves or slanderers or fornicators or perjurâ—d or deceivers or rebellious or seditious and then never fear any suffering for the sake of Christ or Righteousness Yea though you suffer as Christ himself did under a false accusation of disloyalty fear not the suffering nor the infamy as long as you are free from the Guilt See that all be well at home and that you be not faulty against God or your Governours and then you may boldly commit your selves to God 1 Pet. 2. 23 24. § 46. Direct 22. The more Religious any are the more obedient should they be in all things lawful Direct 22. Exâ—â—l others in Loyalty as well as in Piety Religion is so far from being a just pretence of rebellion that it is the only effectual bond of sincere subjection and obedience § 47. Direct 23. Therefore believe not them that would exempt the Clergy from subjection to the Direct 23. Civil powers As none should know the Law of God so well as they so none should be more obedient to Kings and States when the Law of God so evidently commandeth it Of this read Bilson of Christian subjection who besides many others saith enough of this The Arguments of the Papists from the supposed incapacity of Princes would exempt Physicions and other Arts and Sciences from undâ—r their Government as well as the Clergy § 48. Direct 24. Abase not Magistrates so far as to think their office and power extendeth not to Direct 24. matters of Religion and the worship of God Were they only for the low and contemptible matters of this world their office would be contemptible and low To help you out in this I shall answer some of the commonest doubts § 49. Quest. 1. Is the Civil Magistrate Iudge in Controversies of faith or Worship Answ. It hath Quest. 1. many a time grieved me to hear so easie a Question frequently propounded and pitifully answered Who shall be Iudge in poâ—nts of faith and Worship by such as the publick good required to have had more understanding in such things In a word Iudgement is Publick or Private The Private judgement which is nothing but a Rational discerning of truth and duty in order to our own Choice and practice belongeth to every Rational person The Publick Iudgement is ever in Order to execution Now the execution is of two sorts 1. By the Sword Of thâ—se things see my Prâ—positions of the Difference of the Magistrates and Pastors power to Dr. L d. Moul. 2. By Gods word applyed to the case and person One is upon the Body or Estate The other is upon the Conscience of the person or of the Church to bring him to Repentance or to bind him to avoid Communion with the Church and the Church to avoid Communion with him And thus Publick Judgement is Civil or Ecclesiastical Coercive and violent in the execution or only upon Consenters and volunteers In the first the Magistrate is the only Iudge and the Pastors in the second About faith or worship if the Question be who shall be protected as Orthodox and who shall be punished by the Sword as Hereâ—ical Idolatrous or irreligious here the Magistrate is the only Judge If the Question be who ☞ shall be admitted to Church Communion as Orthodox or ejected and excommunicate as Heretical or prophane The Rex sacrorum among the Romans was debarred from exercising any Magistracy Plut. Rom. Quest. 63. here the Pastors are the proper Judges This is the truth and this is enough to end all the voluminous wranglings upon the Question Who shall be Iudge and to answer the cavils of the Papists against the Power of Princes in matters of Religion It is pity that such gross and silly sophisms in a case that a Child may answer should debase Christian Princes and take away their chief Power and give it to a proud and wrangling Clergy to persecute and divide the Church with § 50. Quest. 2. May our Oath of Supremacy be lawfully taken wherein the King is pronounced supream Quest. 2. Governour in all causes Ecclesiastical as well as Civil Answ. There is no reason of scruple to him that Of the Oath of Supremacy understandeth 1. That the title Causes Ecclesiastical is taken from the ancient usurpation of the Pope and his Prelates who brought much of the Magistrates work into their Courts under the name of Causes Ecclesiastical 2. That our Canons and many Declarations of our Princes have expounded it fully by disclaiming all proper Pastoral power 3. That by Governour is meant only one that Governeth coercively or by the sword so that it is no more than to swear that In all causes See Bilson of subject p. 238 256. Princâ—s only be Governours in things and causes Ecclesiastical that iâ— With the Sword But if you
blesseth those that furthered him 1 Sam. 23. 21. Blessed be ye of the Lord for ye have compassion on me He justifieth himself in murdering the Priests because he thought that they helped David against him and Doeg seemeth but a dutiful subject in executing his bloody command 1 Sam. 22. And Shimei thought he might boldly curse him 2 Sam. 16. 7 8. And he could scarce have charged him with more odious sin than to be a bloody man and a man of Belial If the Prophet speak against Ieroboams political Religion he will say Lay hold on him 1 King 13. 4. Even Asa will be rageing wrathful and imprison the Prophet that reprehendeth his sin 2 Chron. 16. 10. Ahab will feed Michaiah in a Prison with the Bread and Water of affliction if he contradict him 1 King 22. 27. And even Ierusalem killed the Prophets and stoned them which were sent to gather them under the gracious wing of Christ Matth. 23. 37. Which of the Prophets did they not persecute Act. 7. 52. And if you consider but what streams of blood since the death of Christ and his Apostles have been shed for the sake of Christ and righteousness it will make you wonder that so much cruelty can consist with humanity and men and Devils should be so like The same man as Paul as soon as he ceaseth to shed the blood of others must look in the same way to lose his own How many thousands were murdered by Heathen Rome in the ten persecutions And how many by the Arian Emperours and Kings And how many by more Orthodox Princes in their particular distasts And yet how far hath the pretended Vicar of Christ out-done them all How many hundred thousands of the Albigenses Waldenses and Bohemians hath the Papal rage consumed Two hundred thousand the Irish murdered in a little space 〈…〉 o outgo the thirty or forty thousand which the French Massacre made an end of The sacrifices offered by their fury in the flames in the Marian persecution here in England were nothing to what one day hath done in other parts What Volumes can contain the particular Histories of them what a Shambles was their Inquisition in the Low-Countries and what is the employment of it still so that a doubting man would be inclined to think that Papal Rome is the murderous Babylon that doth but consider how drunken she is with the blood of the Saints and the Martyrs of Iesus and that the blood of Saints will be found in her in her day of tryal Rev. 17. 6. 18. 24. If we should look over all the rest of the World and reckon up the the torments and murders of the innocent in Iapan and most parts of the World where ever Christianity came it may increase your wonder that Devils and men are still so like Yea though there be as lowd a testimony in humane nature against this bloodiness as almost any sin whatsoever and though the names of persecutors alwayes stink to following Generations how proudly soever they carryed it for a time and though one would think a persecutor should need no cure but his own pride that his name may not be left as Pilates in the Creed to be odious in the mouths of the Ages that come after him Yet for all this so deep is the Enmity so potent is the Devil so blinding a thing is sin and interest and passion that still one Generation of persecuters doth succeed the others and they kill the present Saints while they honour the dead ones and build them Monuments and say If we had lived in the dayes of our fathers we would not have been partakers with them in the Prophets blood Read well Matth. 23. 29. to the end What a Sea of righteous blood hath malignity and persecuting zeal drawn out § 5. 4. Another cause of Murder is Rash and unrighteous judgement When Judges are ignorant or partial or perverted by passion or prejudice or respect of persons But though many an innocent hath suffered this way I hope among Christians this is one of the rarest Causes § 6. 5. Another way of murder is by oppression and uncharitableness when the poor are kept destitute of necessaries to preserve their lives Though few of them die directly of famine yet thousands of them dye of those sicknesses which they contract by unwholsome food And all those are guilty of their death either that cause it by oppression or that relieve them not when they are able and obliged to it Iam. 5. 1 2 3 4 5. § 7. 6. Another way and cause of murder is by Thieves and Robbers that do it to possess themselves of that which is another mans when riotousness or idleness hath consumed what they had themselves and sloath and pride will not suffer them to labour nor sensuality suffer them to endure want then they will have it by right or wrong what ever it cost them Gods Laws or mans the Gallows or Hell shall not deter them but have it they will though they rob and murder and are hang'd and damn'd for it Alas how dear a purchase do they make How much easier are their greatest wants than the wrath of God and the pains of Hell § 8. 7. Another cause of murder is Guilt and Shame When wicked people have done some great disgraceful sin which will utterly shame them or undo them if it be known they are tempted to murder them that know it to conceal the crime and save themselves Thus many a Whoremonger hath murdered her that he hath committed fornication with And many a Whore hath murdered her Child before the birth or after to prevent the shame But how madly do they forget the day when both the one and the other will be brought to light and the righteous judge will make them know that all their wicked shifts will be their confusion because there is no hiding them from him § 9. 8 Another cause is Furious anger which mastereth Reason and for the present makes them mad And Drunkenness which doth the same Many a one hath killed another in his fury or his drink So dangerous is it to suffer Reason to lose its power and to use our selves to a Bedlam course And so necessary is it to get a sober meek and quiet spirit and mortifie and master these turbulent and beastly vices § 10 9. Another cause of Murder is Malice and Revenge When mens own wrongs or sufferings are so great a matter to them and they have so little learnt to bear them that they hate that man that is the cause of them and boile with a revengeful desire of his ruine And this sin hath in it so so much of the Devil that those that are once addicted to it are almost wholly at his command He maketh witches of some and Murderers of others and wretches of all who set themselves in the place of God and will do Justice as they call it for themselves as if God were not just enough to
to find them out so that the blood-thirsty man doth seldome live out half his dayes The Treatises purposely written on this subject and the experience of all Ages do give us very wonderful Narratives of Gods judgements in the detecting of murderers and bringing them to punishment They go about awhile like Cain with a terrified Conscience afraid of every one they see till seasonable vengeance give them their reward or rather send them to the place where they must receive it 3. For it is eternal torment under the wrath of God which is the final punishment which they must expect If very great Repentance and the blood of Christ do not prevent it There are few I think that by shame and terrour of Conscience are not brought to such a Repentance for it as Cain and Iudas had or as a man hath that hath brought calamity on himself and therefore wish they had never done it because of their own unhappiness thereby except those persecutors or murderers that are hardened by Errour pride or power But this will not prevent the vengeance of God in their damnation It must be a deep Repentance proceeding from the Love of God and man and the hatred of sin and sense of Gods displeasure for it which is only found in sanctified souls And alas how few Murderers ever have the grace to manifest any such renovation and repentance Tit. 2. Advice against Self-murder THough Self-murder be a sin which Nature hath as strongly inclined man against as any sin in the World that I remember and therefore I shall say but little of it yet experience telleth us that it is a sin that some persons are in danger of and therefore I shall not pass it by The prevention of it lyeth in the avoiding of these following Causes of it § 1. Direct 1. The commonest cause is prevailing Melancholy which is neer to madness therefore Direct 1. to prevent this sad disease or to cure it if contracted and to watch them in the mean time is the chief prevention of this sin Though there be much more hope of the salvation of such as want the use of their Understandings because so far it may be called involuntary yet it is a very dreadful case especially so far as reason remaineth in any power But it is not more natural for a man in a Feaver to thirst and rave than for Melancholy at the height to incline men to make away themselves For the disease will let them feel nothing but misery and despair and say nothing but I am forsaken miserable and undone and not only maketh them aweary of their lives even while they are afraid to dye but the Devil hath some great advantage by it to urge them to do it so that if they pass over a Bridge he urgeth them to leap into the Water If they see a Knife they are presently urged to kill themselves with it and feel as if it were something within them importunately provoking them and saying Do it Do it now and giving them no rest In so much that many of them contrive it and cast about secretly how they may accomplish it Though the cure of these poor people belong as much to others care as to their own yet so far as they yet can use their reason they must be warned 1. To abhor all these suggestions and give them not room a moment in their minds And 2 To avoid all occasions of the sin and not to be neer a Knife a River or any instrument which the Devil would have them use in the execution And 3. To open their case to others and tell them all that they may help to their preservation 4. And especially to be willing to use the means both Physick and satisfying Counsel which tends to cure their disease And if there be any rooted cause in the mind that was antecedent to the Melancholy it must carefully be lookt to in the cure § 2. Direct 2. Take heed of worldly trouble and discontent for this also is a common Cause Direct 2. Either it suddenly casteth men into Melancholy or without it of it self overturneth their reason so far as to make them violently dispatch themselves Especially if it fall out in a mind where there is a mixture of these two Causes 1. Unmortified love to any Creature 2. And an impotent and passionate mind there discontent doth cause such unquietness that they will furiously go to Hell for ease Mortifie therefore first your worldly lusts and set not too much by any earthly thing If you did not foolishly overvalue your selves or your credit or your wealth or friends there would be nothing to feed your discontent Make no greater a matter of the world than it deserveth and you will make no such great matter of your sufferings And 2. Mortifie your turbulent passions and give not way to Bedlam fury to overcome your reason Go to Christ to beg and learn to be meek and lowly in spirit and then your troubled minds will have rest Matth 11. 28 29. Passionate Women and such other feeble spirited persons that are easily troubled and hardly quietted and pleased have great cause to bend their greatest endeavours to the curing of this impotent temper of mind and procuring from God such strengthening grace as may restore their Reason to its power § 3. Direct 3. And sometimes sudden passion it self without any longer discontent hath caused Direct 3. men to make away themselves Mortifie therefore and watch over such distracting Passions § 4. Direct 4. Take heed of running into the guilt of any heynous sin For though you may Direct 4. feel no hurt from it at the present when Conscience is awakened it is so disquieting a thing that it maketh many a one hang himself Some grievous sins are so tormenting to the Conscience that they give many no rest till they have brought them to to Iudas's or Achitophel's End Especially take heed of sinning against Conscience and of yielding to that for fear of men which God and Conscience charge you to forbear For the case of many a hundred as well as Spira may tell you into what Calamity this may cast you If man be the master of your Religion you have no Religion For what is Religion but the subjection of the soul to God especially in the matters of his Worship And if God be subjected to man he is taken for No-God When you Worship a God that is inferiour to a man then you may subject your Religion to the will of that man Keep God and Conscience at peace with you if you love your selves though thereby you lose your peace with the World § 5. Direct 5. Keep up a Believing foresight of the state which Death will send you to and then if Direct 5. you have the use of Reason Hell at least will hold your hands and make you afraid of venturing upon death What Repentance are you like to have when you dye in the very
and that all strict Religion is but hypocrisie or at least to refuse their help and counsels Even Plutark noted that It so comes to pass that we entertain not virtue nor are â—apt into a desire of imitating it unless we highly honour and love the person in whom it is discerned And if they see or think the Preacher to be himself of a loose and careless and licentious life they will think that the like is very excusable in themselves and that his doctrine is but a form of speech which his office bindeth him to say but is no more to be regarded by them than by himself Two wayes is mens damnation thus promoted 1. By the ill lives of hypocritical ungodly preachers who actually bring their own persons into disgrace and thereby also the persons of others and consequently their sacred work and function 2. By wicked Preachers and people who through a malignant hatred of those that are abler and better than themselves and an envy of their reputation do labour to make the most zealous and faithful Preachers of the Gospel to be thought to be the most hypocritical or erroneous or factious and schismatical § 5. 5. The neglect of Ministerial duties is a common cause of sin and of mens damnation When they that take the charge of souls are either unable or unwilling to do their office when they teach them too seldome or too unskilfully in an unsuitable manner not choosing that doctrine which they most need or not opening it plainly and methodically in a fitness to their capacities or not applying it with necessary seriousness and urgency to the hearers state When men preach to the ungodly who are neer to damnation in a formal pase like a School-boy saying his lesson or in a drowsie reading tone as if they came to preach them all asleep or were afraid of wakening them When they speak of sin and misery and Christ of Heaven and Hell as if by the manner they came to contradict the matter and to perswade men that there are no such things The same mischief followeth the neglect of private personal inspection When Ministers think that they have done all when they have said a Sermon and never make conscience of labouring personally to convince the ungodly and reclaim offenders and draw sinners to God and confirm the weak And the omission much more the perversion and abuse of sacred Discipline hath the like effects When the Keys of the Church are used to shut out the good or not used when they ought to rebuke or to shut out the impenitent wicked ones nor to difference between the precious and the vile it hardeneth multitudes in their ungodliness and perswadeth them that they are really of the same family of Christ as the Godly are and have their sins forgiven because they are partakers of the same Holy Sacraments Not knowing the difference between the Church mystical and visible nor between the judgement of ministers and of Christ himself § 6. 6. Parents neglect of instructing Children and other parts of holy education is one of the greatest causes of the perdition of mankind in all the World But of this elsewhere § 7. 7. Magistrates persecution or opposition to Religion or discountenancing those that preach it or most seriously practise it tendeth to deceive some who over-reverence the judgement of superiours and to affright others from the obedience of God § 8. 8. Yea the negligence of Magistrates Masters and other Superiours omitting the due rebuke of sinners and due correction of the offenders and the due encouragement of the good is a great cause of the wickedness and damnation of the World § 9. 9. But above all when they make Laws for sin or for the contempt or dishonour or suppression of Religion or the serious practice of it this buildeth up Satans Kingdom most effectually and turneth Gods Ordinance against himself Thousands under Infidel and ungodly Princes are conducted by Obedience to damnation and their Rulers damn them as honourably as the Physicion kill'd his Patients who boasted that he did it secundum artem according to the rules of art § 10. 10. The vulgar example of the multitude of the ungodly is a great cause of mens impiety and damnation They must be well resolved for God and holiness who will not yield to the major Vote nor be carryed down the common stream nor run with the rabble to excess of ryot When Christianity is a Sect which is every where spoken against it proveth so narrow a way that Act. 2. 8. few have a mind to walk in it Men think that they are at least excusable for not being wiser and better than the multitude Singularity in honour or riches or strength or health is accounted no crime but singularity in godliness is at least thought unnecessary What! will you be wiser than all the Town or than such and such superiours is thought a good reprehension of Godliness where it is rare Even by them who hereby conclude their superiours or all the Town to be wiser than God § 11. 11. Also the vulgars scorning and deriding Godliness is a common cause of Murdering souls Because the Devil knoweth that there cannot one Word of solid Reason be brought against the Reason of God and so against a Holy life he therefore teacheth men to use such weapons as they have A Dog hath teeth and an Adder hath a sting though they have not the Weapons of a man A fool can laugh and jeer and rail and there is no great wit or learning necessary to smile or grin or call a man a Puritan or precisian or Heretick or Schismatick or any name which the malice of the age shall newly coin Mr. Robert Bolton largely sheweth how much the malignity of his age did vent it self against Godliness by the reproachful use of the word Puritan When Reason can be bribed to take the Devils part either natural or literate reason he will hire it at any rate But when it cannot he will make use of such as he can get Barking or hissing may serve turn where talking and disputing cannot be procured Drum and Trumpets in an Army serve the turn instead of Oratory to animate cowards and drown the noise of dying mens complaints and groans Thousands have been mocked out of their Religion and salvation at once and jeered into Hell who now know whether a scorn or the fire of Hell be the greater suffering As Tyrants think that the Greatest and Ablest and wisest men must either be drawn over to their party or destroyed so the Tyrant of Hell who ruleth in the Children of disobedience doth think that if Reason Learning and wit cannot be hired to dispute for him against God they are to be suppressed silenced and disgraced which the noise of rude clamours and foolish jeers is fit enough to perform § 12. 12. Also idle sensless prating against Religion as a needless thing doth serve turn to deceive the simple Ignorant people
to be the more hurtful encouragement of unlawful ones such examples must be forborn though the Law were not against them But to sell Orders is undoubted Simony That is the Office of the Ministry or the act of Ordination though Scribes may be paid for writing instruments § 31. Quest. 24. May a man give money for Orders or Benefices when they cannot otherwise Quest. 24. be had Answ. 1. This is answered in Quest. 22. 1. If the Law absolutely forbid it for the common safety you may not 2. If the consequents are like to be more hurt than the benefit will recompence you may not 3. If your end be chiefly your own commodity ease or honour you may not But in case you were clear from all such evils and the case were only this Whether you might not give money to get in your self to keep out a Heretick a Wolf or insufficient man who might destroy the peoples souls I see not but it might well be done § 32. Quest. 25. May I give money to Officers Servants or Assistants for their furtherance Quest. 25. Answ. For Writings or other servile acts about the circumstantials you may But not directly or indirectly to promote the Simoniacal Contract What you may not give to the principal agent you may not give his instruments or others for the same end § 33. Quest. 26. May I give or do any thing afterward by way of gratitude to the Patron Bishop or Quest. 26. any others their relations or retainers Answ. Not when the expectation of that Gratitude was a secret or open condition of the Presentation or Orders and you believe that you should not else have received them Therefore promised Gratitude is but a kind of contracting Nor may you shew Gratitude by any scandalous way which seemeth Simony Otherwise no doubt but you may be prudently grateful for that or any other kindness § 34. Quest. 27. May not a Bishop or Pastor take money for Sermons Sacraments or other Offices Quest. 27. Answ. Not for the things themselves He must not sell Gods Word or Sacraments or any other holy thing But they that serve at the Altar may live on the Altar and the Elders that Rule well are worthy of double honour And the mouth of the Ox that treadeth out the corn should not be muzzled They may receive due maintenance while they perform Gods service that they may be vacant to attend their proper work § 35. Quest. 28. May one person disoblige another of a promise made to him Quest. 28. Answ. Yes if it be no more than a promise to that person Because a man may give away his right But if it be moreover a Vow to God or you intend to oblige your self in point of Veracity under the guilt of a lye if you do otherwise these alter the case and no person can herein disoblige you § 36. Quest. 29. But what if the Contract be bound by an Oath may another then release me Quest. 29. Answ. Yes if that Oath did only tye you to perform your promise and were no Vow to God which made him a party by dedicating any thing to him For then the Oath being but subservient to the promise he that dischargeth you from the promise dischargeth you also from the Oath which bound you honestly to keep it § 37. Quest. 30. Am I bound by a promise when the cause or reason of it proveth a mistake Quest. 30. Answ. If by the Cause you mean only the extrinsical Reasons which moved you to it you may be obliged nevertheless for finding your mistake Only so far as the other was the culpable cause as is aforesaid he is bound to satisfie you But if by the Cause you mean the formal reason which constituteth the contract then the mistake may in some cases nullifie it of which enough before § 38. Quest. 31. What if a following accident make it more to my hurt then could be foreseen Quest. 31. Answ. In some Contracts it is supposed or expressed that men do undertake to run the hazard And then they must stand obliged But in some contracts it is rationally supposed that the parties intend to be free if so great an alteration should fall out But to give instances of both these Cases would be too long a work § 39. Quest. 32. What if something unexpectedly fall out which maketh it injurious to a third person Quest. 32. I cannot sure be obliged to injure another Answ. If the case be the later mentioned in the foregoing answer you may be thus free But if it be the former you being supposed to run the hazard and secure the other party against all others then either you were indeed authorized to make this bargain or not If not the third person may secure his right against the other But if you were then you must make satisfaction as you can to the third person Ye◠if you made a Covenant without authority you are obliged to save the other harmless unless he knew your power to be doubtful and did resolve to run the hazard § 40. Quest. 33. What if somewhat fall out which maketh the performance to be a sin Answ. You must not do it But you must make the other satisfaction for all the loss which you were the cause of unless he undertook to stand to the hazard of this also explicitely or implicitely § 41. Quest. 34. Am I obliged if the other break Covenant with me Quest. 34. Answ. There are Covenants which make Relations as between Husband and Wife Pastor and Flock Rulers and Subjects and Covenants which convey title to commodities of which only I am here to speak And in these there are some Conditions which are essential to the Covenant If the other first break these conditions you are disobliged But there are other conditions which are not essential but only necessary to some following benefit whose non-performance will only forfeit that particular benefit And there are conditions which are only undertaken subsequent duties trusted on the honesty of the performer And in these a failing doth not disoblige you These latter are but improperly called Conditions § 42. Quest. 35. May I contract to perform a thing which I foresee is like to become impossible or sinful Quest. 35. before the time of performance come though it be not so at present Answ. With all persons you must deal truly and with just contractors openly But with Thieves and Murderers and Persecutors you are not alwayes bound to deal openly This being premised either your Covenant is absolutely This I will do be it lawful or not possible or impossible And such a Covenant is sin and folly Or it is Conditional This I will do if it continue lawful or possible This condition or rather Exception is still implyed where it is not exprest unless the contrary be exprest Therefore such a Covenant is lawful with a Robber with whom you are not bound to deal
visit or relieve them Tit. 2. Directions for Loving the Children of God Direct 1. ONce get the Love of God and you cannot choose but love his Children Therefore first set Direct 1. your hearts to that and study the Directions for it Tom. 1. God must be first loved as God before the Godly can be loved as such Though perhaps this effect may sometime be more manifest than the cause Fortifie the cause and the effect will follow Direct 2. Get Christ to dwell in your hearts by faith Eph. 3. 17. and then you will love his members Direct 2. for his sake The study of the love of God in Christ and the belief of all the benefits of his love and sufferings will be the bellows continually to kindle your love to your Redeemer and to all those that are like him and beloved by him Direct 3. Cherish the motions of Gods spirit in your selves For he is a spirit of Love And it is Direct 3. the same spirit which is in all the Saints Therefore the more you have of the spirit the more Unity and the more Love you will have to all that are truly spiritual The decays of your own holiness containeth a decay of your love to the holy Direct 4. Observe their Graces more than their infirmities You cannot love them unless you take Direct 4. notice of that goodness which is their loveliness Overlooking and extenuating the good that is in others doth shew your want of love to goodness and then no wonder if you want love to those that are good Direct 5. Be not tempters and provokers of them to any sin For that is but to stir up the worser Direct 5. part which is in them and to make it more apparent and so to hide their amiableness and hinder your own love They that will be abusing them and stirring up their passions or oppressing wise men to try if they can make them mad or increasing their burdens and persecutions to see whether there be any impatiency left in them are but like the Horseman who was still spurring his Horse and then sold him because he was skittish and unquiet or like the Gentleman that must needs come as a Suitor to a beautiful Lady just when she had taken a Vomit and Purge and then disdained her as being unsavoury and lothsome Direct 6. Stir up their Graces and converse much with them in the exercises of grace If Aristotle Direct 6. or Socrates Demosthenes or Cicero stood silent by you among other persons you will perceive no difference between them and a fool or a vulgar wit But when once they open their lips and pour out the streams of wisdom and eloquence you will quickly perceive how far they excell the common world and will admire love and honour them So when you converse with Godly men about matters of trading or common employments only you will see no more but their blamelesness and justice But if you will joyn with them in holy Conference or Prayer or observe them in good works you will see that the spirit of Christ is in them When you hear the longings of their souls after God and their Heavenly desires and hopes and joys and their love to piety charity and justice express themselves in their holy discourse and prayers and see the fruits of them in their lives you will see that they are more than common men Direct 7. Foresee the perfection of their Graces in their beginnings No man will Love a seed or Direct 7. stock of those plants or trees which bear the sweetest and most beautiful flowers and fruits unless in the seed he foresee the fruit or flower which it tendeth to No man loveth the egg aright who doth not foreknow what a â—iâ—d it will bring forth Aristotle or Cicero were no more amiable in their infancy than others except to him that could foretell what men they were like to prove Think oft of Heaven and what a thing a Saint will be in Glory when he shall shine as the Stars and be equal to the Angels and then you will quickly see cause to love them Direct 8. Frequently think of the Everlasting union and sweet agreement which you must have with Direct 8. them in Heaven for ever How perfectly you will love each other in the Love of God How joyfully you will consent in the Love and Praises of your Creator and Redeemer The more believingly you foresee that state and the more you contemplate thereon and the more your Conversation is in Heaven the more will you love your fellow Souldiers and Travellers with whom you must live in blessedness for ever Tit. 3. Motives or Meditative helps to love the Godly Mot. 1. COnsider what Relation all the Regenerate have to God They are not only his Creatures Motive 1. but his Adopted Children And are they not honourable and amiable who Gal. 4. 6. are so near to God Mot. 2. Think of their near Relation to Jesus Christ They are his Members and his Brethren Motive 2. and the purchase of his sufferings and coheirs of everlasting life Rom. 8. 16 17. Ephes. 5. 26 27. Mot. 3. Think of the excellency of that spirit and holy Nature which is in them Regeneration Motive 3. hath made them partakers of the Divine nature and hath indued them with the spirit of Christ and hath by the incorruptible seed made them new Creatures of a Holy and Heavenly mind and life and hath renewed them after the Image of God And what besides God himself can be so amiable as his Image Mot. 4. Think of the precious price which was paid for their Redemption If you will estimate Motive 4. things by their price if the purchaser be wise how highly must you value them Mot. 5. Remember how dearly they are beloved of God their Creator and Redeemer Read and Motive 5. observe Gods tender language towards them and his tender dealings with them He calleth them his Children his beloved yea dearly-beloved his jewels the apple of his eye Deut. 33. 12. Psal. 60. 5. 127. 2. Col. 3. 12. Ier. 12. 7. Mal. 3. 17. Zech. 2. 8. Deut. 32. 10. Christ calleth the least of them his Brethren Matth. 25. Judge of his love to them by his incarnation life and sufferings Judge of it by that one heart melting message after his resurrection Joh. 20. 17. Go to my brethren and say unto them I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God And should we not love them dearly who are so dearly beloved of God Mot. 6. They are our Brethren begotten by the same father and Spirit of the same holy seed the word Motive 6. of God and have the same nature and disposition And this Unity of nature and neerness of relation is such a suitableness as must needs cause love Mot. 7. They are our companions in labour and tribulation in our duty and sufferings They
by his best hours and of a good man by his worst is the way to be deceived in them both Direct 14. Look not unequally at the good or evil that is in you but consider them both impartially Direct 14. as they are If you observe all the good only that is in you and overlook the bad or search after nothing but your faults and overlook your graces neither of these wayes will bring you to true acquaintance with your selves Direct 15. Look not so much either at what you should be or at what others are as to forget Direct 15. what you are your selves Some look so much at the glory of that full perfection which they want as that their present grace seemeth nothing to them like a candle to one that hath been gazing on the Sun And some look so much at the debauchery of the worst that they think their lesser wickedness to be holiness Direct 16. Suffer not your minds to wander in confusion when you set your selves to so great a Direct 16. work But keep it close to the matter in hand and drive it on till it have come to some satisfaction and conclusion Direct 17. If you are not able by meditation to do it of your selves get the help of some able Direct 17. friend or Pastor and do it in a way of conference with him For conference will hold your own thoughts to their task and your Pastor may guide them and tell you in what order to proceed and confute your mistakes besides confirming you by his judgement of your case Direct 18. If you cannot have such help at hand write down the signs by which you judge either Direct 18. well or ill of your self and send them to some judicious Divine for his judgement and counsel thereupon Direct 19. Expect not that your assurance should be perfect in this life For till all grace be perfect Direct 19. that cannot be perfect Unjust expectations disappointed are the cause of much disquietment Direct 20. Distinguish between the knowledge of your justification and the comfort of it Many Direct 20. a one may see and be convinced that he is sincere and yet have little comfort in it through â— sad or distempered state of mind or body and unpreparedness for joy or through some expectations of enthusiastick comforts Direct 21. Exercise grace when ever you would see it Idle habits are not perceived Believe and Direct 21. repent till you feel that you do believe and repent and Love God till you feel that you love him Direct 22. Labour to increase your grace if you would be sure of it For a little grace is hardly Direct 22. perceived when strong and great degrees do easily manifest themselves Direct 23. Record what sure discoveries you have made of your estate upon the best enquiry Direct 23. that it may stand you in stead at a time of further need For though it will not warrant you to search no more it will be very useful to you in your after doubtings Direct 24. What you cannot do at one time follow on again and again till you have finished A Direct 24. business of that consequence is not to be laid down through weariness or discouragement Happy is he that in all his life hath got assurance of life everlasting Direct 25. Let all your discoveries lead you up to further duty If you find any cause of doubt Direct 25. let it quicken you to diligence in removing it If you find sincerity turn it into joyful thanks to your Regenerater and stop not in the bare discovery of your present state as if you had no more to do Direct 26. Conclude not worse of the effects of a discovery of your bad condition than there is Direct 26. cause Remember that if you should find that you are unjustified it followeth not that you must continue so you search not after your disease or misery as uncurable but as one that hath a sufficient remedy at hand even brought to your doors and cometh a begging for your acceptance and is freely offered and urged on you And therefore if you find that you are unregenerate thank God that hath shewed you your case for if you had not seen it you had perished in it And presently give up your selves to God in Jesus Christ and then you may boldly judge better of your selves It is not for despair but for recovery that you are called to try and judge Nay if you do but find it too hard a question for you whether you have all this while been sincere or not turn from it and resolvedly give up your selves to God by Christ and place your hopes in the life to come and turn from this deceitful world and flesh and then the case will be plain for the time to come If you doubt of your former repentance Repent now and put it out of doubt from this time forward Direct 27. When you cannot at the present reach assurance undervalue not a true probability or Direct 27. hope of your sincerity And still adhere to universal grace which is the foundation of your special grace and comfort I mean 1. The infinite Goodness of God and his mercifulness to man 2. The sufficiency of Jesus Christ our Mediator 3. The universal gift of Pardon and Salvation which is conditionally made to all men in the Gospel Remember that the Gospel is glad tidings even to them that are yet unrecovered Rejoice in this universal mercy which is offered you and that you are not as the Devils shut up in despair And much more rejoice if you have any probability that you are truly penitent and justified by faith Let this support you till you can see more Direct 28. Spend much more time in doing your duty than in trying your estate Be not Direct 28. so much in asking How shall I know that I shall be saved as in asking What shall I do to be saved Study the duty of this day of your visitation and set your selves to it with all your might Seek first the things that are above and mortifie your fleshly lusts Give up your selves to a Holy Heavenly life and do all the good that you are able in the World Seek after God as revealed in and by our Redeemer And in thus doing 1. Grace will become more notable and discernable 2. Conscience will be less accusing and condemning and will easilier believe the reconciledness of God 3. You may be sure that such labour shall never be lost and in well doing you may trust your souls with God 4. Thus those that are not able in an argumentative way to try their state to any full satisfaction may get that comfort by feeling and experience which others get by ratiocination For the very exercise of Love to God and man and of a Heavenly mind and holy life hath a sensible pleasure in it self and delighteth the person who is so employed As if a man were to take the comfort of his Learning or Wisdom one way is by the discerning his learning and wisdom and thence inferring his own felicity But another way is by exercising that learning and wisdom which he hath in reading and meditating on some excellent Books and making discoveries of some mysterious excellencies in Arts and Sciences which delight him more by the very acting than a bare conclusion of his own Learning in the general would do What delight had the inventers of the Sea-Chart and magnetick traction and of Printing and of Guns in their inventions What pleasure had Galileus in his Telescopes in finding out the inequalities and shady parts of the Moon the Medicean Planets the adjuncts of Saturn the changes of Venus the Stars of the Via lactea c. Even so a serious holy person hath more sensible pleasures in the right exercise of faith and Love and holiness in Prayer and Meditation and converse with God and with the Heavenly hosts than the bare discerning of sincerity can afford Therefore though it be a great important duty to examine our selves and judge our selves before God judge us and keep close acquaintance with our own hearts and affairs yet is it the addition of the daily practice of a Heavenly life which must be our chiefest business and delight And he that is faithful in them both shall know by experience the excellencies of Christianity and Holiness and in his way on Earth have both a prospect of Heaven and a foretaste of the Everlasting Rest and Pleasures FINIS