and he will be responsible The holy Ghost tells us not with what punishments He will chastise him beeaus he sends divers sorts of them some He chastiles in one manner other in another according to the Rules of his Providence and good pleasure But why labour I in this behalf This word which the Son of God sayd ought to be S. Matt 5. more then enough to avert men from unnecessary Oathes You have heard that it was sayd to them of old Thou shalt not forsweare thy self But I say to you Sweare not at all He understands here vainly or in vaine for He explicates or extends this Precept Thou shalt not take the Name of God in vain 15. If Christians must abstain from oathes with greater reason yet from Blasphemy Which is a reproach or contumely thrown upon God himself or upon his Saints This Vice is so detestable that vertuous Persons in the Scripture had a horrour to pronounce it and in stead of sayng blaspheme God they were wont to say Bless God Lest perhaps my children have sinned and blest God sayd holy Iob. The Iewes had this Vice in so great-abomination Iob. 1. 5. that when they heard a blasphemy they rent and tore their garmetns to shew they would have no part in so enormous a Crime and that they detested it extreamly I would not counsell you to tear your cloathes as often as you hear blasphemy you would do it too often in these times I dare not counsell you that which S. Chrysostom counselled his Auditours when you hear a monster of Chrysost hom ad pop Antioc infin nature who dares to blaspheme give him a great blow upon his face you will sanctify your hand by this action this service which you do to God will be as sacred oyle and a holy unction that will consecrate your hand I dare not give you this counsell unless for those that are under your care as your children and your servants But when you hear others blaspheme you ought at least to rent your heart to be displeased at this impudence and to shew that it displeases you admonish charitably the insolent and if he will not hear you fly his company and adore the high Majesty of God making him by this action as it were amends for the injury He received that you may avert from you and from the Community the wrath and Vengeance of God that blasphemy brings upon you 16. Follow then if you be wise and put in practise the advertisement of the Son of God Let your speech be yes yes S. Matth. 5. no no when you will affirm any thing content your selves to say this is so or els it is not so and that which is over and above these is of Evill says JESUS-CHRIST if you add any oath it is an ill effect of an evill cause This evill comes sometimes from the incredulity of him to whome you speak But if he will not believe you let him go see or let him stay there ought his incredulity to make you disobedlent to God if you sweare not he will not believe you and if you sweare God will be offended with you which of the two is most to be feared It is of evill This evill coms often from your bad Conscience you sweare becaus your Conscience dictates to you that you deserve not to be credited upon your simple word and consequently you shew that you are subject to lying if you be subject to lying you are bad if you are bad you deserve not to be believed also when you sweare It is of evill This evill coms from a bad habit you have contracted you will never put it off if you watch not over your selves if you do not some penance as often as you sweare Give something to the Poor say a Pater noster bite your tongue pull a haire out of your head that the rigour of the penance may make the ill Custome to give place says S. Austin Can you cure a dangerous and inveterate infirmity without bleeding phisick or any remedy Thinke you to root out this bad custome without labour penance or any violence It is of evill this evill coms from your anger you excuse your selves there upon but it is to wash your selves with inke you are culpable both for being angry and for swearing or blaspheming in anger If you correct not your self God hath anger as well as you but very different from yours He hath anger most reasonable and just which will punish yours most justly It is of evill This evill comes from the evill Spirit who rages with hatred against God and against you and who is glad to vse your tongue to spite God and to make you criminal unhappy an enemie of God as he companion in his miseries and his paines Let us then detest the execrable language of sinners and let us say with Saints I will bless our Lord in all times I will bless him in the morning becaus He ought to have the first and the best of all things In the evening becaus He is the last end of all my workes During the day becaus by his order the day continues to enlighten me I will bless him in adversity becaus then He is with me In prosperity becaus it is a present that he makes me to oblige me to praise and love him I will bless him in all times that I may begin in this life what I shal do by his grace in heaven where I shal praise bless and glorify him for ever Amen DISCOURS XXXI OF THE THIRD COMMANDEMENT Remember that thou Sanctify the Sabbath day 1. IF this commandement does oblige us Christians as it oblig'd the Iewes we commit three great faults each of which does bring damnation This Commandement oblig'd the Iewes to rest on the same day that God Exod. 20. 9. Levit. 23 3. Exod. 35 3. Exod. 16 23. Levit. 23. did rest to wit on saturday and we rest on Sunday It forbid them all worke as to light a fire to dress meat to waâ—k in the fields except one mile or there about And we do on sunday these workes which were forbidden The day of rest began from the evening of its Vigil and we begin it but after midnight Who hath given us all these dispensations Who hath licenced us to break all these Lawes We find not in the new Testament one only word that gives us a playn and clear excuse We read indeed in the Apocalyps that S. Iohn was in spirit upon our Lords day there was then such a day as our Lords Apoc. 1. day But a Sabbatharian will say to us he does not tell you that the Sanctification given to saturday was taken from that day nor that there was given a command to all the world not to worke upon that day which he called our Lords day nor does it appear there or elswhere in the scripture that it was not the day of the Resurrection or Ascension or Christmas day
which S. Iohn called our Lords day We read again in the Acts that the first christians met upon the first day of the week which is our sunday to communicate But Acts. 20. 7. a Sabbatharian wil reply again what then The Text does not say they assembled always on that day or only on that day yea we read in the Acts that they communicated very frequently Acts. 2. or every day How do you then inferr from their communicating once upon that day that the Sabbath was abrogated and the Sunday was subrogated in its place Nay you find in the new Law that though the old Law was by CHRIST evacuated yet the ten Commandements were by Him confirm'd For in S. Matthew one came to our Saviour saying what good shal I do that I may have everlasting life Our Saviour Matth. 10. answered keep the commandements And when that man reply'd to know what commandements Our Lord explicated himself to mean those Commandements which that man knew very well S. Mark 10. S. Luke 18. Cor. 7. 19 as appears also in S. Mark and in S. Luke Secondly S Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians says Circumcision is nothing and prepuce is nothing but the observance of the Commandements of God this is the thing you must look too if you will have everlasting life Behold here that great Apostle tels you rhat even then when Circumcision was abolished and made nothing yet the observance of the Commandements and he excepts not one was necessary to salvation And our Saviour foretelling his Apostles the destruction of Hierusalem which was to be 40. yeares after his Resurrection when one would think the observance of the Sabbath would have been S. Matthew 24. 20. if ever it were to be abolished yet He bids them pray that their flight might not be upon the Sabbath or the 7. th day for to avoyd the prophanation of that day The seventh day then was to be observ'd long after the supposed practise of Communion upon the Sunday Acts. 20. 7. 1. Cor. 16 and long after S. Paul bids Christians to make their collections upon the first day of the week from whence you draw another argument though the Apostle does not so much as say that they did use to meet that day and seems to appoint that day only for a pious beginning of the week 2. Since then the Scriptures are not clear for us in this important point yea seem rather to be against us How do we know that the obligation of sanctifying the Sabbath or seventh day was taken away And how do we know that a new obligation of sanctifying the Sunday was put upon us we know it by the same way we know the Bible is the Word of God that the Creed was made by the Apostles that infants are to be baptized that the prohibition of the new Law to eate suffocated Acts. 15. meats and blood is repeal'd and to be short as we know other things of great importance not written or not plainly 2. Thes. 2. 15. declar'd in Scripture And this is Apostolical Tradition which S. Paul bids us hold For the Church by the instruction of the Apostles tells us plainly that the Son of God hath freed us from all obligation to sanctify the Sabbath of the Iewes and hath instituted Sunday for us Christians For on this day the principal Workes attributed to the most holy Trinity and don in favour of us were begun or accomplished It was on Sunday that God began to create the World It was on Sunday that our Saviour came into the world that He was born of the B. Virgin and that he rose again from the dead It was on Sunday that the holy Ghost descended upon the Faithfull to sanctify the world 3. These incomparable Workes should be the object of our devotion on Sundays to conforme our selves to the intentions of our Saviour and of the Church For this Commandement is both affirmative and negative as negative it forbids servil workes as affirmative it commands us to sanctify the day that is to employ the day in holy Workes as in assisting devoutly at divine service in praying in contemplating particularly those great workes of God for to admire the excellencie of them and to thank bless and praise him for them in receiving the Sacraments in reading spiritual books in hearing the word of God in visiting the Poor Sick and Prisoners which is an act af Religion says S. Iames in instructing one another in the Mysteries of Faith in the Commandements of God in S. Iames 1. 27. the practise of vertue and Religion S. Chrysostome sayd that Sunday was called the day of bread becaus all Christians then receiv'd the bread of Angells in the Eucharist the day of light becaus we ought to receive tâ—erein light and guidance for all the week by sermons catechismes spiritual reading and meditation If then we employ great part of the day in dancing playing and recreating our selves we offend not indeed against the negative Commandement which forbids servil workes but we do not accomplish perfectly the affirmative precept which commands us to sanctify the day 4. They violate the negative Commandement who employ the holy days in traficking in buying or selling or other servil and mercenary employments and are subjects of the complaynt which God makes by Ezechiel The houses of Israel provoked me and my Ezeeh. 20. 13. Sabbaths they violated exceedingly 4. You wilâ— say If I sell not another will I shal lose my custome and shal want But if this be so S. Paul would not say Piety is profitable to all things that is both to the spiritual 1. Tim. 4. 8 Matt 6. 31. and the temporal Nor would our Saviour conclude Be not therefore solicitous for the Sustenance of your bodys seek first the kingdom of God and his Providence will furnish you the rest by the meanes of moderate labour If we ever ought to seek the kingdom of God we ought to do it at least on Sundays and becaus you seek it not you are not supplyed with the rest You neglect the spiritual for the temporal and you lose both temporal and spiritual you are poor in this world and in the other 5. They have violated my Sabbaths exceedingly God says Exceedingly against those who not only serve not God on sundays but offend him more outragiously than in any other day by debaucheries impieties and dissolutions It seems the sunday is made by some the sink of all the week who having not leasure to offend God on other days transferr this to the sunday It is not now our Lords day with them but the devills their solemnities are not the festivalls of Saints but of Bacchus Ceres and Venus Heretofore the devills left the bodyes of possessed persons and withdrew themselves into the desert as unable to endure the piety and devotion of the Faithfull But now they possess the hearts of Christians as those hoggs of the
amity Know brothers sayd S. Austin that there are Aug hom 5. ex 50. post medium two sorts of alms the one of the heart the other of the purs you may excuse your selves sometimes from this but not from that the alms of the heart is to pardon your enemies to love cordially your neighbors to have pity and compassion on the poor to be sorry you have not wherewith to succour them and to pray God that the rich may help them our Saviout says not only give and it shal be given to you but he says first pardon and you shal be pardoned Behold how easily and at how small a rate you may buy the kingdom of heaven see now when or in what time you must buy it The time of buying it is the time of this life only do not as the foolish Virgins who neglected to make provision of oyle till they were called before the Bridgroom and whilst they went to buy it the Bridchamber door was shut and they excluded for ever Imitate rather the wise Virgins make in time provision of oyle and be not surpriz'd by death Remember that two sorts of oyle are necessary for us shat of God on us for woe to the most laudable life if God examin it without mercy sayd S. Austine and ours upon our neighbor for judment without mercy to him who shal not have don mercy But if you open to your neighbour your bowells of mercy God will open his to you and so happy are the mercifull for they shal obtaine mercy Amen DISCOURS XXVII of the Commandements in general IT was with great reason that God giving the Law to his people did use this Preface Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus I am the Lord thy God For by many most just Titles He is our Lord and hath right to command us And to oblige us to pay dutys to his commandements and Orders and principally three we must study them we must keep them and we must love them 1. In the first place we must study them learn them and meditate upon them Some will say Who is he that is ignorant of them what little schoolboy is there amongst us that does not know the ten commandements Yes they can rehearse them but this is not enough We must study them learn the sense and meaning of them and search into the depth of them David was a great Prophet and he studied them searched into them meditated upon them and prayed God to teach him them Give me understanding sayd he to God and I will learn thy justifications and to learn them he contemplated them attentively And in effect if it be necessary to study the rules of grammer and of rhetorick to learn to speak well is it not necessary to study the Law of God and his Gospell to learn to live well sayd S. Austin And S. Ambrose makes us to consider that in she book of Ecclesiastes the holy Ghost says not only Mandata ejus serva keep his Commandements Eccles 12. 13. but observa Note them and search into them diligently For the Decalogue given to Moses does nor declare so clearly all things that are necessary to be don nor forbid so expressly many sins which render us most criminal before God we must then ponder them examin and consider all the words beg light of the holy Ghost to find out the sense meaning and intention of God 2. Moreover the Commandements of the Decalogue were given to men as men But God gave moreover many to the Iews as Iews which made S. Paul say He that made himself a Iew receiving Circumcission oblig'd himself to keep Gal. 5. 3. all the Law of Moses And to learn it well the Israelites in the time of the Prophet Esdras made a Lecture of it four times a day and in the time of S. Paul on all Saturdays so 2. Esdras 9. 3. also the Son of God hath given other Commandements to Christians as Christians which made the same Apostle say to the faithfull They who obey not the Gospell shal suffer eternal paines 2. Thes 1. 8. We must be then solicitous to learn the Evangellical Commandements to read the books which treat of them to assist at Sermons and Catechismes which teach them to beg the grace of God to understand them and to learn them not only nor chiefly for to know them but to keep them and to put them in practise Thou hast very much commanded thy commandements to be kept says the Royal Prophet Note very much very much 3. It is wonderfull to see with what earnestness and instance God recommended to his people the memory and observance of them First He wrote them upon Tables of stone to teach us to engrave in our hearts what He vouchsafed to write with his own hand Secondly He commanded a Tabernacle to be made and within it an Arke of incorruptible wood cover'd with fine gold to lodge therein the Tables In the third place that the king of the people should write with his own hand these holy Commandements In the fourth place He Commanded the people that having passed Jordan and entred into the land of promise they should place great stones upon the shore upon which the Commandements should be written that all might be ascertain'd if they kept them not they should not enjoy long that happy land And because they would not be always there to read them often He commanded them to be written upon the doores of all their houses to be imprinted in their hearts and in the hearts of their children Behold his words these wordes Deut. 6. 5. which I command thee shal be in thy heart and thou shalt tell them to thy children and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house and walking on thy journey sleeping and rising And thou shalt bind them as a signe in thy hand and thou shalt write them in the entrie and on the doores of thy house And becaus profit and recompence are the baits of humane hearts He makes promises so advantagious to the observers of them that they would be incredible if any other then himself did make them I will send you rain in time and season the earth Levit 26. shal bring forth its Spring and the trees shal be burdened with fruits I will give peace in your coastes you shal sleep and there shal be none to fright you five of yours shal pursue a hundred strangers and a hundred of you ten thousand I will respect you and make you increase you shal be multiplyd and I will establish my Covenant with you Note that 't was to the Iews He made these great promises whom He was wont to recompence with worldly goods when they observ'd his Commandements and chastise them with temporal punishments when thy transgrest them becaus they were material gross and terrestrial But to Christians He promises Spiritual and Celestial goods recompences that are eternal so great so charming and so excellent that