Soul therein included So Secondarily he ought to take care of his Honour in the World when it crosses neither Piety nor Virtue and by all lawful means defend it when maliciously and violently assaulted by bad Men. And this those that set themselves for Censors of other Men's Actions ought to take notice of especially when they know them to be no Despisers of good Advice when duly given But the abominable Disease of Calumny being now so Epidemical the danger of suffering it so visible and great and the harm thereby done so frequent it requires the greater Care to prevent and suppress it Nothing more destructive to Society and nothing brings more confusion into the World than doth speaking ill one of another Whence do often arise Quarrels Fightings Duels Bruises Wounds and Death but from words Mis-spoken Mis-reported and Mis-understood O the Tongue that cannot be governed thô (a) Jam. 3.5 6. A little member how great a matter a little fire kindleth it setteth on fire the course of nature More mischief proceeds from the Organ of Speech than from all the other Members of the Body as we may see in what the Apostle saith about it (b) Rom. 3.13 14. With their tongues they have used deceit the poison of asps is under their lips their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness What in English we call Slanderers or False Accusers is in Greek called Devils for the Devil is their Father who as our Saviour saith was a lyar and a murderer from the beginning How many children in that kind hath he in the World Prov. 10.18 thô in some different degrees and ways But He that hideth hatred with lying lips and he that uttereth slander is a fool Some out of Malice Revengefulness or the like sinful Principle do either invent Lies with out any ground against others or misinterpret their Words and Actions and are glad of any pretence to Blacken their Neighbour with false Aspersions and malicious Insinuations And these Men have another fortunder them who publish the Lies and Slanders which the others forged and so become partakers of other men's sins Both he who steals the Money and he who puts it into the Bag are guilty so he who spreads abroad the Slander is as guilty as he who invented it thô herein sometimes there is a difference for some publish it out of Imprudence others out of a sinful Compliance and others out of Malice Nay there are some who out of their own natural Corruption take pleasure to hear others ill spoken of and thô in their mind they be convinced the things are not true yet in their Heart are glad of it and contrary to the Rules of Charity and Prudence will rather believe Evil than Good thô in doubtful Cases the least they should do is to suspend their Judgment till they see a just cause and not presently to proclaim it abroad and thus fall into the snare for this is a direct breach of the Ninth Commandment Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour whether his Goods Good Name or Life be concerned Spreading ill Reports upon uncertainties and hear-say is a base thing and odious before God and a nice point in the sight of Men who being pinch'd in so sensible a part as Reputation will kick against such as thus lash them behind Neither do I think that the Laws of God and Men require in a Man the Stoician 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Insensibility as if he was a Stock or a Stone but rather do allow him in lawful ways to vindicate his good Name as to defend his Life One Case excepted when 't is plainly for the Cause of the Lord Jesus then suffer all things gladly from those that have Authority and Power over you The Spaniards have a saying Por tu honra pon la vida y pon los dos por tu Dios. Hazard thy Life for thy Honour But venture both for thy God 'T is fit for the good of Human Society that a strong Curb should be be put upon Authors and Promoters of Slanders ' to take away from the Sufferers all just cause from doing themselves justice when wronged in this case and by these means shall Peace be kept and it will strike Terror upon Offenders in this kind or else this will bring in Trouble and Confusion for there are some Men in the World who are as ready to venture all they have to vindicate their Reputation when unjustly assaulted as to defend their Life This is spoken as to Men. But in relation to God there are more pressing Motives not only against him who raises false Reports against another but also against him that takes it up Believes and Propagates it God's word we have for it for he that doth so shall not abide in God's Tabernacle nor dwell in his Holy Hill for David puts the Question to God (a) Psal 15.1 3. Lord who shall abide c. which he Answers He that taketh not up a reproach against his Neighbour What is to take up a reproach the Old Translation hath it very plain not to receive a false report against his neighbour He who desireth to be in God's Favour and be admitted into his House must not hearken to encourage or support a false Report against another but say I will not be concern'd and so let it fall The meaning of the place is of a large extent some explain the words takes not up a reproach by doth not lift up ignominy and scandal upon his Tongue and with it lays no snares to others either with forming false things or wresting those that be true Who will not hear speak or believe a Reproach or false Report against his Neighbour thereby to keep innocent his Ear Tongue and Heart I say further that in some cases Truth it self as to matters of Fact when prejudicial to some body ought not to be published without necessity and a lawful Call as when a Man is upon Oath summoned to bear Evidence in a Court of Justice to preserve a Man's Right but when by such Reports some body receives harm and no body no good thô they were True ought to be suppressed and buried Doeg's report to Saul of what had happened between David and Abimelech was True Psal 53. yet David for it cursed him 't is not always well and fit to speak the Truth A Son 's Saying My Father is a Thief and a Drunkard may be True but 't is ill of him to say it so 't is when against the Rules of Charity Several other kinds of Sins we have here which to mention would prove an endless Task and indeed who can number them all Whether of Inclination and Temper of Relations Professions Conditions Ages of both Sexes Family Personal and National Sins and there is too much cause to complain that England is become a sink of evil in all sorts not only the iniquities of the Country but also those of others How great Sinners
in their urgent occasions to relieve them upon hard and unreasonable terms as to lend Money upon great and unconscionable Interest or else refuse to do 't which is a Cruelty T is also a wresting by force Threatnings or Authority that which is not his due or more than it is as when an Officer doth exact more than he ought or than his Fees come to I am afraid we had of late and now have too many of these Unjust and Merciless Men But let them know that if the Law in a way of punishment takes no notice of their Crime at one time or other God if they continue and Repent not will visit them for it Another kind of Injustice is called Illegal without or against Law and this directly regards the Courts of Judicature I confess 't is sad that Law and Equity do not always agree and that sometimes a Just and Conscientious Judge who as in the Presence of God would discharge the Duty of his Place is not always free in a Cause to follow the Dictates of his own Judgment but must be drawn away with certain Formalities of the Law thô in his mind he be satisfied a Witness Swears Falsly yet he must Judge and Act according to Allegata Probata and not according to his own Judgment but this being not directly to our present purpose I omit and come to that which is The Courts of Judicature are the Seat of Justice the Oracles and Interpreters of the Laws which in the Administration of Justice are there Righted or Wronged Thô I speak not of Persons but of Things I gladly own that upon the Benches sit some Persons of known Abilities and Integrity yet that Profession is not free from Flaws it hath its Sins and grievous ones too is often a Remedy which proves worse than the Disease and for the Truth of this I appeal to those therein concern'd that are sincere and make Conscience of their ways therefore Abuses therein should be Reformed Things Regulated and those Springs when Corrupt Purged to delay Doing Justice to Deny and Pervert it makes many times the Law to be a Grievance and are Three abominable thô different Degrees of Injustice Long and tedious Proceedings at Law are Vexatious Chargeable and make one unnecessarily lose abundance of time Why should one put off till to Morrow that which he ought and can do to Day May be God will take away that Power and thy Life too 'T is an unhappy Inclination of some Men of Business out of a Humour Custom Pride Neglect Prejudice of some other corrupt Motive or Design to prolong time to do things which require Speed So that sometimes it would be better to have to deal with a Bashaw who before Men go out of his Sight will decide a difference and thô sometimes he doth one wrong yet on the other side he doth a Kindness with saying Charges Time and Trouble For what mean the Long Tedious and Chargeable Suits at Law which become endless to the ruin of Persons and Families and the Oppression of the Poor by the Rich who with strength of Money tire and disable them from holding out the Law say some is ever open to all that is for the Rich to Ruin the Poor thus the Remedy is turn'd into Poison which ever keeps things unsettled and at uncertainties and affords continual occasions for one to disquiet and wrong another and sometimes both are serv'd like the two that Quarrel'd about an Oyster they had found one saying he had seen it first the other that he had taken it up for he whom they referr'd the business to did open and eat up the Oister and gave each of them a Shell The Emperor (a) Instit l. 4. Tit. 16. de Paenâ temerè litigantium Justinian appointed punishment against those who went to Law without a just Cause To Deny Justice when due and sued for is another degree of Injustice We know a competent time to Examin and Inquire into the Matter must be allowed but after that one may well expect to see it done I cannot believe any Man in that station can so far forget himself as positively to say I will not do you Justice but not to do 't is by a side-Wind in effect the same Besides the unnecessary Trouble a Plaintiff's put to and made to lose his other Occasions bis dat qui citò dat is with me a good Rule soon to do Justice or a Kindness lays a double Obligation The Judge spoken of in the Parable did not tell the Widow You shall have no Justice from me only (b) Luke 18.4 he would not for a while at last he did nor for Justice sake but out of a Selfish Motive that is to be no longer troubled with her Importunities and in the place for this reason our Saviour calls him (c) v. 6. The unjust Judge After he had passed this Sentence upon himself That be feared not God nor regarded Man But to pervert Justice is the highest Degree of Injustice as is to Condemn the Just and Justifie the Wicked which (d) Prov. 17.15 Both are abomination to the Lord. Or to give one that which belongs to another this happeneth when out of the corruption of the Heart Judges through Bribery Favour or other perverse Motives suffer themselves to be byassed when once any one hath been noted for it he ought for ever to be branded with Infamy as being a Scandal to the Law and a Shame to the Bench the Injustices of Subordinate Judges cry loud for Vengeance to God the Supream Judge of all Would to God there was not so much cause as there is to Complain of it no Court either Ecclesiastical Politick or Civil is free from Abuses and Sins in relation to this last I must give a hint of another Abuse which is When Lawyers undertake for Money to Patronize any Cause whatsoever thô in their Judgment they be convinced it is bad Indeed in dubious Causes for a Fee they may make the best they can of it but to encourage Clients in a wrong way with telling they are in the Right is certainly a Sin for 't is to betray the Truth to engage them in an Ill Cause put them to unnecessary Charges and Trouble and make them run the hazard of being Cast and Losers at the end But a great piece of Injustice very common and Hurtful is among Tradesmen who make a great part of the Nation I do not say every one for some make Conscience of their ways but too many when you come into their Shop then out with their Lies 't is say they the best in the kind cost so much and the like to wheedle one to Buy which the Apostle hath forewarned of and forbidden when he saith (e) Ephes 4.25 Wherefore putting away lying speak every Man truth with his neighbour But the worst is that in such Shops and Houses are kept False Weights and False Measures contrary to what
God so often and so strictly Commanded his People (a) Lev. 19.36 Just Balances Just Weights a Just Ephah and a Just Hin shall ye have Elsewhere repeated (b) Deut. 25.15 But tbou shalt have a Perfect and Just weight (c) Prov. 11.1 a Perfect and Just Measure shalt thou have (d) Ch. 20.23 The contrary God abhorreth For a false balance is abomination to the Lord but a just weight is his delight Again Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord and a false balance is not good Some have different Weights one to Buy another to Sell by As to Measures would to God there was less cause than we have to complain of it I shall give an Instance which is obvious and thô in some respect the Thing be not of great Moment yet the Sin is not the less rather because it reaches many chiefly the poor People it is the greater In many Alehouses where an ordinary Man goeth for a Quart of Drink out comes a False Measure a Black Pot or the like holding less than it should This for the Master but the Drawer to have his share doth not fill it up but gives Froth instead of Drink so that one hath at least half a Pint wanting of his measure and sometimes but a whole Pint instead of a Quart with some this Observation will seem mean But for all that I would have them to know that it is a great Sin and no Sin may be call'd a mean Sin And seeing I am upon this Subject I farther shall take notice of the Injustice of Brewers who for Instance under pretence of a Shilling Excize given the Government because there is no Assize which upon these Occasions should ever be to prevent Abuses they take may be Two for themselves and so make the Drink small raise the Price and lessen the Measure The like may be said of Bakers who make their Bread Lighter than it should be or raise the Price of it As Butchers do of their Meat Chandlers of their Candles so do other sorts of Tradesmen even as they please without any curb put upon them Thus the generality are left to the mercy of unreasonable Men And for they to plead The Liberty of the Subject is an aggravation to pretend to or desire a Liberty to do wrong and injury Here I speak for the poorest sort who by such dealings are the greatest Sufferers One of the chief grounds of Policy in matters of Government is to Prevent or Remedy Abuses put upon the People about necessary Provisions for Life nothing more apt to cause Tumults and Insurrections than to want Food and Raiment or Money to buy it One thing more I shall observe upon this Head How in common Dealings even without distinction of the Quality of Persons in their Bargains according to their several ways there is abundance of False Dealing Tricking Cheating and Over-reaching and the worst is that when Men have gained their Point they Laugh at it and Brag of it when the Tradesman Sells his Commodities with False Weights and False Measures and not satisfied with a moderate Gain at unreasonable Rates Doth he wonder after if he be ill paid or not at all thô I will neither excuse nor justifie the Buyer but I say 't is Just with God to Retaliate him so others are unjust to him because he hath been so to them So our trivial Saving is very True Honesty is the best Policy There are Sins also which attend the Profession of Physicians as are sometimes to prolong the Cure of their Patients especially when they are Rich to have many Fees and the more to squeeze Money out of their Purse and also when they begin to recover strength to prescribe strong Remedies to weaken them again At other times they without a due regard to the good of the Patient try Experiments upon them to the hazard of Life And withal thô no sort of Men more than they have occasion to observe the finger of God in the Works of Nature wherein his Power and Wisdom are so evident yet none more apt to attibute to Second Causes that which is due to the First and Supreme one We know God hath appointed means to be used and hath tied us to them which we ought not to neglect but Men must not be so unjust as to give them the Praise and Glory which belongs to God who prescribed and whose Blessing made them effectual for when God calls for our Life all Remedies are in vain Contra vim mortis non est medicamen in hortis The recovery of Hezekiah was not so much to be attributed to the Virtue of the (e) King 20.7 Lump of dry Figs thô the Remedy was very proper for the Disease which was a Boil and the dry Fig a great Drawer as it was to God's Blessing who by the Prophet Isaiah appointed it In this same predicament of Profession we include Apothecaries who to put off their Old Drugs which having lost their Virtue can indeed stir Humours but want strength to carry them out and so are rather Poison than Physick in the Body keep the best and thereby do Patients more harm than good they sometimes also lessen the Dose yet will be paid for the whole Besides that often their Bills are unreasonable and unjust and so a Sin in them Under this Classis for at the first in the days of Hippocrates Dioscorides Avicenna Galenus c. One and the same Man professed Physick Apothecarie if I may so call that Art and Chirurgery I leave for Chirurgeons to examine and leave off Sins attending their Profession 'T is a saying of Augustin that Sin amidst the Disorders it hath caused in the World hath left Mans Goods and Estates in the hands of Lawyers his Body in that of Physicians and his Soul to the Care of Divines This is a great Charge indeed and thô every one be bound to look to his own Soul yet God hath been pleased to appoint a sort of Men whose Office is to be Pastors Teachers Overseers Watchmen to Warn Guide and Direct others in the way to Salvation The Care of Souls is a great and difficult Task and a high Trust attended with a world of Le ts Hinderances and Oppositions from the Devil the Flesh the World and from Sin Therefore without God's especial Grace which such Men ought constantly to pray for are liable to great and many Sins of the highest Consequence for sometimes the Eternal Felicity or Misery of Souls doth as to means depend thereupon and (f) 2 Cor. 2.16 Who is sufficient for these things The Clergy or Ministers of the Gospel which use hath made to be the meaning of the Word are called (a) 1 Cor. 4. and v. 1.2 Stewards of the Mysteries of God The Apostle in the same place saith Moreover 't is required in Stewards that a man be found faithful and blameless for (b) Tit. 1.7 A Bishop under which name is understood every Pastour
the good Prince is like the true q 2 Kin. 3.26 Mother of the Child who had rather lose her Right than to see him torn and out in pieces Tyrants are otherwise minded divide impera is their Motto again Authority must be kept within lawful bounds for in the world ought to be no unlimited Power only God's even giving just grounds of fear ought in prudence to be avoided Punish and Reward well those who deserve it or else the neglect or misapplying these can at last pull up by the root any Government give those who deserve and want and not undeserving Men to bestow it upon their evil and vicious courses It is a shame that Palaces should be turned into a Den of Thieves and be made a Sanctuary for some Brokers Cheats and the like who there would shelter themselves from the hands of Justice whilst other such places as were before have justly been taken away Sollicitors of Pardons for Rapes are abominable especially when attended with such circumstances as highly aggravate the Crime who without a just Indignation can hear of it No doubt for Money or such other Considerations they will become Advocates for Murtherers Robbers Sodomites and Villains in any kind God who is the Supream Judge of all hath committed some in High Places and these others under them to execute Justice for him in the World and woe be to them if they neglect it The People being a collective Body which consists of so many different and contrary Humours 't is not easy to specifie all their Sins only generally speaking of the middle and lower sort in relation to Governments when any way pinched they are apt to fall in Discontents Grumblings Tumults and the like chiefly when they see themselves wronged and oppressed and finding no redress from the Government they will make Reflections against it for by reason of their yielding Obedience paying Taxes and undergoing other Burthens they think they have cause to expect Safety and Protection from Wrong and Injuries but most of all when they want necessaries either by reason of Scarcity unreasonableness of the Price or want of Money to Buy 'T is the Prudence and ought to be the Care of the Ruling Power with removing the Cause to prevent their doing themselves Justice for then they go beyond all Bounds and so fall into Violence Rage Injustice and Cruelty which hath given occasion to the saying a furore populi libera nos Lord deliver us from the fury of the People I know 't is too usual with them to repine at any thing that is amiss and to complain of the least inconveniency not considering that there happen sometimes such conjunctures and accidents when miscarriages are unavoidable not so much through the fault of the Government as the concurrence and contingency of Causes that have ill influences as sometimes we see a good Watch to be out of Order not by any defect in the Workmanship but by reason of the injury of the weather or other accidents which ariseth not out of the Watch itself and herein and when such things happen I could wish the Government to pity those whose ignorance of such things make them uncapable of that necessary Observation and deal with them accordingly The Head must be the Seat of Wisdom but if it suffers Grievances to accumulate and takes no care to prevent or redress with punishing the Guilty and relieving the Sufferers then not only the Ignorant but also the Wise part of the Subject will suspect some ill Design wherof the bad consequences are obvious Fear is a great distemper in the Spirits of Men which by all means State-Physicians ought without delay go about to Cure else that Distemper is of such a nature as can soon make it increase wherefore when the Patient calls for Remedy let it soon be applyed or else there is danger the Disease shall turn into a Delirium and Madness which some Tempers are more apt than others to fall into which should make Rulers well to study how to understand the Constitution of the Government and the Temper of their People He who denies another a just thing doth thereby provoke him to ask for things that are unjust and if he hath strength along with him that will make him the more dangerous Let Rehoboam be an example for all Rulers who being influenced by evil Counsel deny'd and that in a smart way to ease the People of unjust and heavy Burdens 'T is true in that case 't is expresly said (a) 1 King 12.24 That thing was from the lord so 't is in every other for sometimes when Princes Rebel against God in his Just Judgment their Subjects Rebel against them Great Men tho' placed in a higher Orb yet come within the predicament of Subjects and have Sins proper to their station some of them out of Pride Ambition or Covetousness make use of the Power which God hath put into their hands to wrong and oppress their Inferiours and consider not their Authority as means they are intrusted with to do much Good and not much Evil for like Stewards they shall give God an account thereof those Abuses of theirs are taken notice of in Scripture (b) Jam. 2.6 7. Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called If with Power God had given them Grace and Wisdom they would consider that their being Seated in High Places lays them the more open to the eyes of others and that their failings and false steps are more taken notice of and exposed to the censure of Men they must not make Cyphers of themselves nor be like the fiery Vapours in the middle Region of the Air which are taken notice of only by their fall Great Men God hath placed within their Sphere to give Light unto those of an inferiour Orb but too often they are conspicuous only for their bad examples and the ill Influences they have upon others They think themselves to be above all Rules and Quod libet licet they may do what they please which in them is a great mistake therefore often God to make them know themselves doth lay their Honour and Power in the Dust as of late years we have seen examples even of Crowned Heads That King of Egypt who hearing Alexander to be called the Great said He is not Greater except he be better than I he spake well There are other sins and of a very dangerous consequence the more because so Epidemical and these committed by Men of several Sorts and Tempers whereof some suffer their Judgment to be imposed upon others out of partiality or for some Worldly Considerations to their own Loss let their Heart to be Bribed in the choice they make of some Men whom they entrust with their Concerns who neither fear God nor love their Country Atheists Epicures who oppose any thing that tends to promote Piety and Virtue or
exercise loving-kindness judgment and righteousness in the Earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord and not in Sin which I abhor Once there were great outcry 's against the Sins of the late Reigns and there was cause for it as God's Judgments which are always just declared But are we now better in the least On the contrary we can observe those same Sins to increase and daily grow stronger and more frequent upon us Have any of the guilty and offenders against God and the Country been punished for their notorious Offences How can the Effect cease if we remove not the Cause and what signifies to find fault except we mend I look upon 't only as an aggravation We know yet act not according to knowledge neither do we improve the means and opportunities which God had put into our hands to assert his Honour and his Truth to reform Abuses redress Grievances promote the good of the Nation prevent Evil restrain Sin punish Sinners and with greparing our Hearts unto God to fit ourselves for further Mercies Rather with continuing as we do in our Sins and through our unthankfulness we provoke the Lord and are in a way to draw his vengeance upon us The most notorious Sins of the late Reigns were Whoredom and Adultery taking other Mens Wives and without Shame living with them in the sight of the Sun Also downright and open Idolatry yet such were Prayed for as our Religious Kings and Defenders of the Faith when they were about destroying it So was Hypocrisie in pretending to be Protestants tho' actually Papists yet 't was made Treason to say the King was a Papist or Popishly affected which I say to shew how any Society or Assembly of Men chiefly when guided by Interest and Passion is apt to Err and be mistaken and thereby Men were made guilty of Death for telling the Truth Well these Sins and many more in Church and State were under the late Reigns the cause of our Complaints and have been the grounds for our Deliverance But what are we the better for it Tho' God (a) Ezek. 16.50 hath taken away some of the Sinnners as he saw good if the same Sins in the same degree nay in a higher do still continue among us and are become our master Sins is not there Cause to put this Question after God hath so graciously and wonderfully wrought for us are these Distempers remedied and all the great Abuses we complained of Reform'd nay are we so much as in earnest about to do it Tho' we may say some few are in a small degree yet far from it as to others for specially those relating to God ' Honour and Service are increased and without restraint daily multiplied We have bad Examples whence we expected good ones How careful are Men to promote their worldly selfish Interest and how neglectful of God's as if it was not worth minding Hence it is that we see obscene blasphemous and impious Books publickly exposed to Sale in Shops Auctions c. without any Curb and when there hath been other Books in opposition to those how much unfaithfulness tricking and unfair dealings have been used to smother or mangle them about the time of the coming out nay after that for Love nor Money one could not get them put into the Gazzetts among the Advertisements tho' desir'd more than once So that Diana's Interest wants no Demetrius of several kinds among us Some think they may be of no Religion others of any and profess what they please some do vent and publish their Opinions whilst others cheat and revile their Neighbours and wrong them in their good Name Fortune Liberty and sometimes in their Life without little or no Curb at all which is a bringing in a-pace of Confusion and Anarchy and all this some would call the Liberty of the Subject which is with Impunity to abuse one another and to run into all manner of Licentiousness Some think themselves Priviledged to Defraud others of their own nay others go further to Strike those Persons whose Character ought to be Respected and that in such Places as require a special Punishment and upon such occasions as deserve Thanks and not Blows Thus in one kind or other (a) Judg. 17.6 Every one doth that which is Right in his own Eyes as we read it was when there was no King in Israel Thus God in his wise Providence suffereth Abuses to Creep in and sometimes to Prevail of which we may say what our Blessed Saviour speaks of Offences (a) Luke 17.4 It is impossible but that Offences will come but Wo unto him through whom they come by Right it should be so with those who commit Abuses but also he from time to time raiseth Instruments in his hand for his People's good and makes them as Paul would have us to be (b) Rom. 12.11 Acts 17.16 Fervent in Spirit Serving the Lord. As we read how his Spirit was stirred in him in Athens when he saw the City wholly given to Idolatry Not Lukewarm in his Service for such (c) Rev. 3.16 He speweth out of his Mouth Nor such as (d) Jer. 48.10 Do his Work deceitfully For such are Cursed But for his Honour and the benefit of his People he makes use of such as Love Fear and Serve him with their Heart such a one was Moses to deliver Israel out of Aegypt and Joshua to bring them into the promised Land After the Babylonian Captivity God chose Zerubbabel to carry them home Ezra to reform their Manners settle Religion and build the Temple then Nehemiah to build up the Walls of Jerusalem So he never wants Instruments to do his Work and if some Men ly as Blocks in his way he knows well how to Remove them Happy those whom he is pleased to make use of for so good a Work But as Rules back'd with Examples make a greater impression so I shall mention some whom Scripture hath proposed as Patterns in matters of Religion for after Ages to follow Asa I begin with for after the falling off of the Ten Tribes he was the first Reformer of the Kings of Judah To his commendation 't is Recorded of him that (e) 1 King 15.11.14 He did that which was Right in the Eyes of the Lord as did David his Father and that his Heart was perfect with the Lord all his days Whereof Instances are given to shew how he minded the true Worship of God and removed Abuses therein Committed 'T is with every collective Body whether Ecclesiastical Civil or Politick as with the Natural in this ill humours and destructive are sometimes Bred and Formed which 't is necessary to Purge away Thus often Corruptions which cause Distempers do creep into the sore-named Bodies which to preserve the whole ought to be taken away and Remedied This good King began his Reign with minding things of Religion 't is just that God should be served first The Right way for a
and quarrels selfish Men who would make God's Holy Name and Cause subservient to their own ends And if through their base way of Calumniating they gain their Point they are pleased with and applaud themselves in 't and as the Prophet saith they rejoice and are glad (d) Habak 1.15.16 therefore they Sacrifice unto their Net and burn Incense unto their Drag And like the Assyrian boast of the Mischief which through the Credulousness of others they have done and say by the strength of my hand I have done it and by my wisdom for I am prudent Therefore when you are about suppressing one evil have a great care not to make way for another Hot headed and fiery Men are not proper Instruments for the work of Reformation they are fitter to Destroy than to Build up and commonly they will use means not conducing to the true End But the manner of doing things is that which Men should be very Cautions in 't is not enough to do a good thing but it must be well done in a due manner the saying is true Prosunt verba parum prosunt adverbia multum Non bona tam pensat quam bene facta Deus Will you get rid of Slanderers then frown upon them for an angry Countenance driveth away a backbiting tongue or else who can be safe Si accusare sat est quis erit innocens A zeal for God's Glory is with some nothing but a pretence when it breaks the rules of Charity without which no true Piety 'T is highly Commendable when sincere and real but withal it must not be inconsiderate rather according to knowledge and managed with meekness and Christian prudence for (a) Prov. 25.23 the Servant of the Lord must be gentle to all Men. What such Men call Zeal is only an Effect of the violence and imperuosity of their Temper and not a real desire of God's Honour 't is more to please their passion than to serve God (c) 1 King 19.11.12 13. When God appeared to Elijah he was not in the (b) 2 Tim. 2.24 great and strong Wind nor in the Earthquake nor in the Fire but in the still small Voice God doth so when he comes in the way of Mercy if otherwise 't is in Judgment and as God is Merciful Just Men are commanded to be so one to another Peragit tranquilla potestas Quod violenta nequit Saith a Latin Poet which is true therefore gentle and fair means must be try'd before you come to hard and rough ones for they effectually work upon some Tempers when the contrary do not For this Reason I would have private Men that are willing to promote the work of Reformation the more to gain upon the Spirits of Men to make use only of perswasion and leave the way of compulsion for the Magistrates whose Office is to see the Laws executed against hardned and refractory Offenders but ever to avoid base and false ways But when all is said Reformation is properly God's work who turns the hearts disposes things and Persons and blesses means in order to 't But now to our Times for we are more nearly concerned The Nation is wholly overgrown with Sin in Soul and Body we are quite overspread with that Spiritual leprosie so that with the Leper we may well cry out (a) Levit. 13.45 unclean unclean And out of God's holy Word the experience of all Ages and of our own with a witness we may know the sad effects and consequences of Sin not only on the low Shrubs but also upon the talest Cedars I can remember so may many more how within this half Century God's Thunderbolt hath thô in some different degrees lighted upon the Heads of several Countrys I can name Six nay Seven whereof (a) Charles I. one lost his life and (b) James II. his Son his Kingdom (c) Frederic III. K. of Denmark another for a while lost his Kingdom and was a long time besieged in his Capital City (d) Christina Q. of Sweden died in Rome Two others left their Crowns and Country not so willingly as they would have had (e) John Casimir K. of Poland died Abbot of St. Germain in Paris seemed to be and went to Travel and died in Foreign parts (f) Alfonso K. of Portugal a Sixth one was Transported out of his Kingdom confin'd in a Prison and his Brother raised upon his Throne All these were Christians thô of different Perswasions the Seventh (g) Mahomet IV. the present Sultan's Father Emperor of the Turks Dethroned and his Brother made his Successor God forbid I should pretend to dive into God's Secrets and assign the particular Causes of these Judgments but I may boldly say Sin was the general One for except they had been Sinners they should have been no Sufferers but let this make us all adore and tremble at those Effects of God's wise and just Providence The great (a) Psal 76.12 God is terrible to the Kings of the Earth as well as to other Men When it seems good unto him he can drive (b) Dan. 4. Nebuchadnezzar from his Throne and make his dwelling among the Beasts of the Field till he had humbled himself before him for the most High Ruleth in the Kingdom of Men and giveth it to whomsoever he will herein the Psalmist concurs with the Prophet when he saith (c) Psal 75.7 God is the Judge he pulleth down one and setteth up another He hath Angels whereof (d) 2 King 19.35 one can in one Night destroy an Hundred fourscore and five thousand Men of Sennacharib's Army and send him home to be killed by his Sons The same God who then did doth now Govern the World and his Hand is not shortned but that he can still reach his Churches Enemies yea such ones as in Cruelty and Falsness have outdone all the Nebuchadnezzars and Sennacheribs in the World and some wait to see what in God's due time will be the end of such Pharaohs and Oppressors as now are alive When God chastiseth Men and his Arrows are fast in them they may and must own themselves to be the Cause of it and and with King David say (e) Psal 38.18 I will declare mine iniquity and will be sorry for my Sin It were well to say and do so before the Judgment hath overtaken us to prevent it therefore bring forth Fruits worthy of Repentance We know the Doom of the fig Tree that bare no fruit (f) Luke 13.7 cut it down why cumbreth it the Ground For Three years he had been looking for fruit but found none God hath been waiting for fruit from some of us not only Three but Thirty years and more yet we are barren still at the desire of the dresser of the Vineyard there is a reprieve granted for a year longer lord let it alone this year also till I shall dig about it and dung it and if it bear not fruit then after that
an Epidemical Sin again (c) v. 20. who call evil good and good evil that put darkness for light and light for darkness bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter that are wise in their own Eyes and prudent in their own sight which justifie the wicked for Reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him Doth not every thing here reach some of us But in the same Chapter the Prophet adds the Harp and the Viol the Tabret and Pipe and Wine are in their Feasts but mark what follows as a mighty aggravation but they regard not the work of the Lord neither consider the operation of his hands an effect whereof is therefore my People are gone into Captivity But that which is worse and damnable therefore Hell hath enlarged her self and opened her mouth without measure If it were but the Grave it were enough to terrifie Men from such things and in v. 24 25.26 we read of further Judgments very terrible with a therefore to shew they are the fruits of their Sins which should make us all fear and tremble They are God's own Words to the same People to us as well as to Israel (d) Jer. 5.22 Fear ye not me saith the Lord will ye not tremble at my Presence If ye do not I will make you before I have done For all these Judgments which ye feel my anger is not turned away but my hand is stretched out still Not long before his death (a) Josh 24. Joshua gathered the People to put them in mind of what God had done for them to represent unto them their Duty and gave them a strict charge about it in a remarkable circumstance (b) v. 26.27 he took a great Stone and set it up there and said behold this Stone shall be a Witness unto us for it hath heard all the words of the Lord. God uever wanteth Witnesses and rather than fail the very Stones shall speak However he often is pleased to make use of weak Instruments whose Testimony is not to be rejected when they speak in his Name and out of his own Word As for me who am come to an Age wherein I have little to hope for desire or fear from Men and tho' I had I would always Fear God rather than Men therefore being instructed by some experience which my God hath given me of his gracious and wise Providence do now upon this nice and important conjuncture give in my Evidence for God and a serious warning to all Sinners in the Land I begin with and speak to my self first as the chief of Sinners then to King Parliaments Judges Magistrates Clergymen and others of all Conditions Ages Relations and Professions whatsoever as at the last and terrible day we shall answer to God every one within our respective Stations as much as in us lieth to encourage and promote Piety and Virtue to discountenance punish and suppress Error and Vice and let every one begin with himself in his own Person or else I denounce God's terrible and infallible Judgments upon you and upon me and these lines of mine shall upon occasion if we neglect our Duty be Evidences against you and against me this is neither time nor thing to flatter or to dally with for (a) Num. 16.46 there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun therefore hear that faithful Servant of God Moses as speaking to you (b) Deut. 30.35 see I have this day set before thee life and death good and evil light and darkness Heaven and Hell Christ and Sin chuse well and be wise unto Salvation I have brought and laid a looking Glass before all wherein every one may see himself therefore make a right use of it as much as I could I made what I said to reach all I hope none that is good will take ill what I write as for the bad and impenitent I neither intend nor care to please them truth doth offend some who thereupon harden themselves others are better for hearing it and mend these will thank God for the occasion he affords them to learn by being told to the other in Pauls words I say (c) Gal. 4.16 am I therefore become your Enemy because I tell you the truth but know I will not betray it for any Man's sake Our Sins are many great and frequent and God's hand is lifred up against us therefore let every one Prince and Subject High and Low Rich and Poor Man and Woman Young and Old mend and repent and in his place do his duty or else (d) Amos 4.12 prepare to meet thy God O Israel If not in the way of Repentance in that of his Judgments which I am afraid are hanging over our heads at least we have cause to think so therefore hear ye the sound of the Trumpet and know the meaning of it learn and be wise for thereby God doth invite us all to repent and to mind his work and Service which is Honourable Glorious and Profitable But if blowing the Trumpet in Sion cannot do with but be neglected by Men then (a) Joel 3.16 the Lord also shall roare out of Sion nay hath already roared and if (b) Amos 3.8 the Lion hath roared who will not fear 'T is a terrible voice which denounceth Judgments and thundereth Threatnings and if yet by this Men will not be awaked from their Sins then at that (c) Joel 2.31 great and very terrible day of the Lord at last they shall come out of their Graves to suffer the punishment due to their impenitence and unbelief when (c) 1 Thess 4.16 the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel and with the Trumpet of God May the great God our most gracious Father be pleased to prevent us with Temporal blessings to continue with Spiritual and to end with Eternal by the merits and mediation of his only begotten Son our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through the powerful working of the Holy Ghost in one most simple and undivided Godhead three Persons Co-essential in Nature Co-eternal in Time and Co-equal in Power to whom be by every Creature rendred as most due all Honour Glory Power Majesty and Dominion now and for evermore Amen FINIS Some Books Printed for D. Brown at the Black Swan and Bible without Temple-Bar FOur Tracts 1. A shore Discourse about Divorce and its Causes Fornication and Adultery 2. A Charge to Judges Juries and Witnesses concerning Oaths 3. About Infant Baptism 4. A Letter to a Lady who hath forsaken the Protestant Religion for the Romish The 2. Edition Free Thoughts in Defence of a Future State as discoverable by natural Reason and stript of all Superstitious appendages Demonstrating against the nominal Deists that the consideration of Future Advantages is a just motive to Virtue of Future loss and misery a powerful and becoming restraint of Vice With occasional Remarks on a Book Intituled an enquiry concerning Virtue and a Refutation of the revived Hylyzoicism of Democritus and Leucippus A compleat History or Survey of all the dispensations and methods of Religion from the beginning of the World to the consummation of all things as represented in the Old and New Testament shewing the several Reasons and Designs of those different Administrations and the wisdom and goodnes of God in the Government of his Church through all the Ages of it in which also the Opinion of Dr. Spencer concerning the Jewish Rights and Sacrifices is examined and the certainty of the Christian Religion demonstrated the Cavils of the Deists c. By John Edwards C. D.