without money in the case as is generally too evident how should houses Haud facile emergunt quarum virtutibus obstat Res angusta domus is as true as if it had been domi that is it holds as certain in houses as in men It is mony must raise them But what shall they do that have it not nor can by any means procure it I know no way but one viz. they must fell their ground but there is the misery who will give them to the worth of it They that know they must or are forced to sell think to buy it as they list or at some such rates as too many have bought Debenters it may be at a Noble for the worth and value of each pound Thus poor men are bought and sold as the Prophet expresseth it for a pair of shoes Amos 2.6 A rich commodity in a poor mans hand is nothing worth so barbarously are men upon the catch taking their utmost advantages one against another which is to make a vice instead of a vertue of necessity I mean a vice to themselves out of the necessity of others For doubtless he that buyeth out poor men so cheaply selleth himself to work wickedness Well what said Ahab to Naboth 1 Kin. 21.2 Give me thy Vineyard and I will give thee for it a better Vineyard than that or if it seem good to thee I will give thee the worth of it in money He offered a valuable consideration for Naboths ground will you be worse than that Ahab If your Brethren be hungry will you take occasion thereby to purchase their Birth-right for a mess of pottage as Jacob did who was many wayes crossed afterwards in one kind and in another What blessing can be expected or rather what curse may not be lookt for upon those houses the foundations of which are laid in oppression and grinding the faces of the poor who in order to bread are forced to suffer their own faces to be ground Are no merciful men to be found who in consideration of the necessity of poor men will give them for their ground rather more than it is worth at leastwise full as much yea why should not every man be so far forth merciful sith the latter of the two is but to be just Art thou in a purchasing case buy poor mens ground at a full rate build upon it and when that is done if they be able to pay a moderate Rent and it may be a courtesie to them become their Landlord He may prove a sufficient Tenant who is not able to build his own house and his Landlord may have a blessing for his sake for blessed is he that considereth the poor Psa 40.1 Be not you discouraged if you cannot build your selves another mans house may be as commodious for you as one of your own erecting and if there happen to be inconveniencies in it they will not so much upbraid and vex you as if they had been contracted by your own misbuilding as they might have been Nam quae non fecimus ipsi haud ea nostra voco you are not chargeable with the faults of those houses which you did not make or build your selves I have one thing more to say to such as must sell their ground and are dejected at the thoughts of so doing Were you not so far undone that you could not attempt to build who knows whither you as many others have been and it is supposed will be might not be undone by building DISCOURSE XI That a strict observation of the Lords day might greatly promote the rebuilding of the City THe Lords Day is not that Sabbath which was first so called for that was the last day of the week whereas it is the first yet a Sabbath it is and doubtless injoyned in and by the same Commandment that the Jewish Sabbath was viz. the fourth for whosoever doth not acknowledge it so to be must either say that there is no Sabbath at all or day of holy rest to be kept under the New Testament and consequently that there are now but nine Commandments in the Moral Law the fourth being abrogated and expired whereas Christ hath told us That till heaven and earth pass one jot shall in no wise pass from that Law Mat. 5.18 or else they must say that the last day of the week is that which ought alwayes to be observed by Christians as it is by Jews for the only Sabbath and weekly holy day that is for ever to be celebrated in obedience to that Command Most Christians are averse from Judaizing in taking Saturday for their Sabbath chusing rather to imitate the practise of the Apostles whose manner it was to observe not the last but first day of the week which we conclude they would not have done but by Warrantie and Commission from Christ who alone was Lord of the Sabbath so to do Yet some few Christians there are who symbolize with the Jews in their saturday-Saturday-Sabbath and keep the same day as holy as they can And verily if in this case I may speak my mind freely they are much less too blame who keep a Saturday Sabbath than they who keep none at all who understand that Commandment as the Jews do than they who make as if it were abrogated and disannulled But he that shall fall into neither of the extremes aforesaid but shall confess that the first day of the week is that which was instituted for Christians by the fourth Commandment must needs own it to be a Sabbath because instituted and appointed by and under that name Exod. 20.8 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy and v. 11. The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it That it was necessary I should prove there is a Sabbath yet in being and that the day which men ought weekly to observe as holy to the Lord thoroughout all Ages is called the Sabbath to the end I might shew that the Promises made and incouragements given to such as have kept or shall keep holy the Sabbath day are not insignificant and out of date as to us who live under the New Testament Having done that it will be easie to prove what I have affirmed in the Title of this Chapter viz. that a strict observation of the Sabbath for so is the Lords day to Christians would greatly promote the building of the City witness that pregnant promise which of its self were a sufficient testimony Isa 58.12 13. And they that shall be of thee shall build the wast places thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach and restorer of paths to dwell in If thou turn away thy foot from my Sabbath from doing thy pleasure on my holy day and call the Sabbath a delight the holy of the Lord honourable and shalt honour him not doing thine own wayes nor finding thine own pleasure nor speaking thine own words v. 14. I will cause thee to ride
upon the high places of the earth that is to dwell aloft in places of security and safety or the words may glance at the Land of Judea being much of it Mountainous and feed thee with the Heritage of Jacob thy Father that is with the good things of the Land of Canaan gâ—ven for an inheritance to him for his posterity See Isa 56.6 7. Every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it even them will I bring to my holy Mountain that is to Mount Sion on which the Temple was scituate See also Jer. 17.24 If ye hallow the Sabbath to do no work thereon then the Inhabitants of Jerusalem and this City shall remain for ever v. 28. But if you will not hallow the Sabbath day I will kindle a fire which shall devour the Palaces of Jerusalem and it shall not be quenched From those Texts I infer that unto keeping the Sabbath several promises of God building and blessing of Cities and furnishing men with desirable habitations are made as on the other hand the profaning and polluting of the Sabbath is threatned with the destruction of Cities and of their Inhabitants which being true in the general or in thesi it must needs be in hypothesi or in particular that a Religious observation of the Sabbath day would help to build our City Who knows not that Nehemiah was a great and principal Agent in the building of Jerusalem after it was burnt Nehem. 2.5 and what Magistrate was ever more zealous than he if so zealous to have the Sabbath day kept holy witness his contending with Merchants and Tradesmen of all sorts yea with the very Nobles of Judah for profaning the Sabbath Nehemiah 13. from 15. to v. 22. Did not your Fathers thus said he to the Nobles and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon our City viz. destruction by fire yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath If profanation of Sabbaths procure the burning of Cities the sanctification of that day will promote the building thereof It is said Eadem est ratio loci temporis time and place are much akin if we would have regard to Gods time he would have respect to our place or places if we would mind his day would he not mind our dwellings the sanctifying of Sabbaths is the intrusting of God with the seventh part of our time even then when time is most precious with us Now God is alwayes bountiful to them that do greatly trust him Mal. 3.10 Bring all the tithes into the Storehouse and prove me therewith saith the Lord if I will not poure you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it as if God had said Do but trust me with the tenth part of the encrease and you shall see what the other nine shall amount to If we in like manner would trust God with the seventh part of our time for so our Sabbaths are doubtlesse the other six would through the blessing of God turn to a much better account I doubt not to say that one day in seven that is every Lords day we might promote the building of London much more in Churches and Closets than we could do in working upon the respective foundations for that indeed would set it back and might provoke God to swear in his Wrath it should never be brought to perfection I observe what is said of Manna Exod. 16.29 The Lord hath given you the Sabbath therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two daies let no man go out of his place on the seventh day viz. to gather Manna God made them amends for forbearing to progue on the Sabbath-day They that did as God had appointed them on the Sabbattical year viz. Neither sow their Fields nor prune their Vineyards Levit. 25.4 nor reap what grew of its own accord intirely for themselves but let it lye in common to others lost no more by so doing than a Husbandman doth by letting his ground lye fallow when it is out of heart that it may yield a greater encrease hereafter see Levit. 25.20 If ye shall say what shall we eat the seventh year behold we shall not sow nor gather in our encrease not for two years together when a Sabbattical year and a Jubile came together verse 21. Then will I command my blessing upon you in the sixth year and it shall bring forth fruit for three years He knew not what he said who derided Christians as men that lost the seventh part of their time because of the Sabbaths they kept whereas Sabbaths kept as they ought to be are no losse but the most profitable part of time But alas we so carry the matter as to lose a great part of that hallowed time which is of all our time most precious making holyday of a great part thereof in such sense as Children do understand holy-daies viz. as meer pastimes and play-daies I fear we begin our Sabbaths too late and end them too early we do not remember the Sabbath soon enough to keep it holy as we should and we forget it too soon we are not intent enough either upon preparation before or prosecution afterwards The Sabbaths which men generally keep now a daies are not only unlike to those of glorious Saints and Angels in Heaven but to such as were kept by those good Christians whom some intended to reproach by fixing upon them the honourable name of Puritans which sort of men I remember one that was none of them himself had wont to divide into two ranks saying there was the Knave Puritan that is one that was so but in pretence and for a colour and there was the Knave 's Puritan whom he confessed to be a very honest man and of an excellent sort but out of malice called a Puritan by such as were Knaves themselves because that to such as themselves the Name was odious though both Name and Person were so only for their goodness Now having heard a distinction to that effect I must explain my self and tell you that it was the Knave 's Puritan that is he and such as he whom Knaves had wont to call so of whom I affirm that he had wont to keep Sabbaths at anotherguise rate than we observe them kept now a daies such as Reverend Dod Hildersham c. and yet they were not upon their good behaviour as we are for the building a poor City lying in ashes They would have blusht to have seen our Sabbaths Oh that we could blush to think of them they would scarce have been able to think us sincere Christians observing us to have so small a regard to the fourth Commandement They would have often rebuked us sharply for our Sabbath-daies discourse and minded us of the Text that saith we should not speak our own words on the Lords day Isa 58. when in this respect shall we be followers of those worthies aforesaid who now inherit the Promises A City the
to night in visiting the sick on a Dying-bed as also the means how a Christian may do this and some motives to it 4. The Door of Salvation opened by the Key of Regeneration 5. Heaven and Hell Epitomized and the True Christan Characterized 6. The Fading of the Flesh and the flourishing of Faith Or One cast for Eternity with the only way to throw it well all these by George Swinnock M. A. Large Octavo's A learned Commentary on the fourth Chapter of the second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians to which is added First A Conference between Christ and Mary Second the Spiritual Mans Aim Third Emanuel or Miracle of Miracles by Richard Sibbs D. D. 4 to An Exposition of the five first Chapters of Ezekiel with useful observations thereupon by Will. Greenhil 4 to The Gospel-Covenant or the Covenant of Grace opened Preached in New England by Peter Bulkeley 4 to Gods Holy Mind touching Matters Moral which himself uttered in ten words or ten Commandments Also an Exposition on the Lords Prayer by Edward Elton B. D. 4 to A plain and familiar Exposition of the ten Commandments by John Dod 4 to Fiery Jesuite or an Historical Collection of the Rise Increase Doctrines and Deeds of the Jesuites Exposed to view for the sake of London 4 to Horologiographia Optica Dialing Universal and Particular Speculative and Practical together with the Description of the Court of Arts by a new Method by Sylvanus Morgan 4 to Praxis Medicinae or the Physicians Practice wherein are contained all inward diseases from the head to the foot by Walter Bruel Regimen Sanitatis Salerni or the School of Salerns Regiment of Health containing Directions and Instructions for the guide and government of Mans Life 4 to Christ and the Covenant the work and way of Meditation Delivered in ten Sermons Large Octavo's By William Bridge late of great Yarmouth Heart-treasure or a Treatise tending to fill and furnish the head and heart of every Christian with soul-inriching treasure of truths graces experiences and comforts to help him in Meditation Conference Religious Performances Spiritual Actions Enduring Afflictions and to fit him for all conditions that he may live Holily dye Happily and go to Heaven Triumphantly by O. H. with an Epistle prefixed by John Chester Large Octavo A Glimpse of Eternity by A. Caley A Practical Discourse of Prayer wherein is handled the Nature and Duty of Prayer by Tho. Cobbet Of Quenching the Spirit the evil of it in respect both of its causes and effects discovered by Theophilus Polwheile Wells of Salvation opened or Words whereby we may be saved with advice to Young Men by Tho. Vincent The sure way to Salvation or a Treatise of the Saints Mystical Union with Christ wherein that great Mystery and Priviledge is opened in the nature properties and the necessity of it by R. Stedman M. A. The greatest loss upon Matth. 16.26 By James Livesey small Octavo's Moses unvailed by William Guild The Protestants Triumph being an exact answer to all the sophistical Arguments of Papists By Ch. Drelincourt A Defence against the fear of Death By Z. Crofton Gods Soveraignty displayed By William Geering A sober Discourse concerning the Interest of words in Prayer The Godly Mans Ark or City of refuge in the day of his distress in five Sermons with Mistriss Moores Evidences for Heaven By Ed. Calamy The Almost Christian Discovered or the false Professor tryed and cast By Mr. Mead. Spiritual Wisdom improved against temptation by Mr. Mead. A Divine Cordial A word of comfort for the Church of God A Plea for Alms in a Sermon at the Spittle The Godly Mans Picture drawn with a Scripture-pensil These four last were written by Tho. Watson The Doctrine of Repentance useful for these times with two Sermons against Popery by Thomas Watson The True bounds of Christian freedom or a Discourse shewing the extents and restraints of Christian liberty wherein the truth is setled many errors confuted out of John 8. ver 36. A Treatise of the Sacrament shewing a Christians Priviledge in approaching to God in Ordinances duty in his Sacramental approaches danger if he do not sanctifie God in them both by Sam. Bolton D. D. The Lords Day enlivened or a Treatise of the Sabbath by Philip Goodwin The sinfulness of Sin and the Fulness of Christ two Sermons by W. Bridge A serious Exhortation to a Holy Life by Tho. Wadsworth Ovid's Metamorphosis Translated Grammatically by J. Brinsley Comfortable Crumbs of refreshment by Prayers Meditations Consolations and Ejaculations with a Confession of Faith and summ of the Bible Aurifodina Linguae Gallicae or the Golden Mine of the French Language opened by Ed. Gostlin Gent. The difference between the spots of the Godly and Wicked in four Sermons by Jer. Burroughs Four Centuries of Select Hymns collected out of Scripture by Will. Barton