first of these thou art neither thine owne Master nor fit to be Gods servant Resolve nothing but upon good ground nor alter thy resolution but upon good reason not inconstantly to waver nor obstistinately to persevere in things to heare others judgements besides thine owne and if right to submit to them not to thinke it a disparagement that there are wiser than thy selfe to think it a fault rather to stand in an errour than to fall into one not choose to defend a lye rather than descend to yeild to others in that which is the truth to maintaine an opinion because it is thine not because it is true is to maintaine thy selfe not the truth and to preferre thy selfe to the truth So farre intend thy profit as that thou still subject it to your religion not make thy commodity the sterne of thy conscience he was not the best Disciple that had the bag so procure or continue to thy selfe a place upon earth as that thou lose not thy place in heaven Learne not to examine thy selfe by what thou art not as the Pharisee not like other men and while some others are worse to think thou art wel enough we measure crooked things by that which is straight not by that which is more crooked the rule of goodnesse is Gods Word not other mens deeds not to measure the straitnesse of thy life by the crookednesse of anothers he that measures his beauty by anothers deformity may stil be unhandsom enough if a drunkard shall measure himselfe by some debauchednesse he will seeme a sober man in the day of judgement God will not examine thee by what others were but by what thou wert commanded to bee Plead not for licentiousnesse of life under liberty of conscience as if Christian liberty consisted in doing what they lift or that Christ hath so freed thee from the yoke of the Law as that thou art not stil subject to the commandements not thinke that Christ was therefore obedient unto the death that thou shouldst be tied to no obedience of any thing during thy life that the merits of our Redeemer hath obtain'd not that the Commandements of God should not stil be observ'd but that the not sufficient observing of them should not be imputed Make not other mens sinnes thine by imitating thē nor thine other mens by teaching of them doe nothing in which thou wouldst not be follow'd follow nothing of which thou canst not well justifie the doing Affect not much business especially of other mens yet to hate idlenesse to use recreations but not dwell in them to affect rather what is needfull than curious not to overdoe and in all these things to suffice nature not humour it Be slow in choosing a friend but slower in changing him when thou hast chosen be curteous to all but inward onely with a few thou mayest use that freedom to a friend which thou wilt not to every acquaintance thy acquaintance is but thy neighbour but thy friend is thy selfe Scorne no man for his meanenesse and humour no man for his wealth do nothing to please any whereby thou shalt displease God never be drunk to please the company or thinke it uncivility to part sober or cease to bee a good Christian that thou mayest be thought a good companion Be displeased with nothing which God doeth and as neere as thou canst doe nothing wherewith God is displeased doe all thou doest as in Gods presence and speake all as in his audience and let neither thy words nor actions be such as to which thou mayest willingly desire Gods absence or not desire his assistance It is the goodnesse of God to us that is the cause of the love of God to us and it is the goodnesse of God in us that is the cause of the love of God in us confesse that the good w ch thou receivest is not for thine owne sake nor the good which thou doest is not by thine owne power it is the mercy of God that moves him to doe for us that inables us to doe that which pleaseth him Account that good which is lawful not which is profitable and endeavour rather to serve God than thine own turne in al make these two the rule of thy self justice and godlinesse and thou shalt fullfill the dutys of both Tables God and thy neighbour Not repiningly to complaine of thy sufferings of this life since it is partly in thy power to make thē blessings and if to make them blessings bee in thy own power then that they are otherwise it is thy own fault God intends amendment in it if it doe not amend thee thou makest it a punishment not he Labour to see thy owne mortality in other mens deaths and thy own frailty in other mens sins and since thou must shortly die be afraid to sin and so order thy sins as thou mayest not be afraid to die that thy sins doe not bring thee to a worse death and that this death may lead thee to a better life Do what thou art commanded not what others doe make no mans example a rule not the best mans all may erre and he that in all things followes him that may erre will be sure in some things to fall into errour Call to thy minde often what thou hast done and then compare with it what thou hast suffered what thou hast received and when thou shalt finde that thou hast received more good than thou hast done and hast done more evill than thou hast suffered fear that there is lesse good behinde for thee and more evill and therefore betake thee to repentance and a new life and by that thou mayest prevent the evill which thou hast deserved to suffer and procure to thy selfe though not deserved a reward of that good which thou hast done Let it not trouble thee that some others have livd longer than thy selfe not the length of thy life but the goodnesse is the measure of thy happinesse if thou hast lived well thou hast lived long enough if thou hast not lived well thou hast lived too long Never think it too soon to repent thou doest not know how soon thou mayest dye and after death it is too late he that puts off his amendment with hope of living loseth eternall life in a presumption of this Intend rather the effecting of a publike good than a particular for by intending onely thy particular good thou mayest doe wrong to the publike whereas thou canst not effect a publike good without thine own good in particular for what ever is beneficiall to the whole cannot be prejudiciall to the parts so then thou being a member of the whol in performing a generall good even by that thou art so farre good to thine own particular as thou hast an interest in the generall whereas by seeking thy private good with the neglect of the publike thou dost both decline from the common nature of things and from the nature of goodnesse which is by so much
is not enough that the word be the same if the hearers be not as the same physick doth not worke or cure alike nor the same seed thrive alike in all grounds so neither doth the same word save alike or prevaile alike with all Sodome would have repented with those meanes which CoraZin did not in thine impenitency therfore not to accuse God or the meanes but thine owne selfe in thy conversion not to thank thy ownselfe or the meanes but God and the meanes under God Remember that as there is one death which thou must prepare to meet so there is another death w ch thou must study to avoide the death of the soule the naturall death consists in the dissolution of the soule from the body the spirituall death in the dissolution of the soule from God and one day of soule and body from God which is the second death now as we say of the naturall body that the way to bee young long is to be old betimes so the way to live not long but ever is to dye betimes if thou dye but once wâ—â—e thou livest the death of sinne thou shâ—lt live eternally after thou art dead Love nothing in this world too well no not thy selfe think of the pleasures of this World either as sinnes or occasions of it and the other more necessary things of it though they have thy presence let them not have thy heart use them rather because thou want'st them than because thou likest them and so provide that thy death may bee the beginning of thy happinesse not the end of it Ever suspect ever feare For to bee too happy here Lest in Heaven thou have lesse If any for this happinesse Seldome any have I knowne To have Heavens more than one All the pleasures of this life They are usefull but a knife I may warme me by their fire But take heed of comming nigher Yet in this is danger still He that warmes is after chill Oh IEHOVAH but with thee Is there true felicitie All this sublunary treasure Yeelds but counterfeit of pleasure Silken cares Kings of clouts Ful of torments fears and doubts Trifles dangers baited hookes Shadowes only shape and lookes Of what we call theÌ„ worse than naughts Snares temptations if not faults Whether it bee birth or place Beauty and the pride of face Honour wealth or higher yet That they call a Favourite Like a shaddow on the Sunne Have their being and are done From anothers like or frowne So they rise and so goe downe They are got and kept with feares And are parted with with teares And accounted for with horror And theÌ„ Dives is the poorer When that finall day shall come A dreadfull day indeed to some And wee answer for their use Then to want them wee would choose So then much of these to aske Is to begge thy selfe a taske A beggery for thus to be Is the greatest poverty All thou hast is on the score What is that but to bee poore Adde to this it doth not last And happiness is torment pass'd It may bee present so thy boast Is but may bee at the most In Heaven onely is their blisse That ever shall be ever is Worldly laughter is not mirth Borne and buried in the birth Where ô God there wants thy grace Mirth is onely in the face O God thou art onely thou Tomorrow yesterday and now To thee my selfe my time I give All that I have all that I live Deliberately to move to any businesse is proper to man headily to be carried by desire is common to beasts in civill actions be led by thy reason not thy appetite in divine actions by Religion and doe nothing that may forfeit either thy reason or thy honesty measure the goodnesse of things by their lawfulnesse not by their profit nor bee drawne to doe ill for advantage not intend thy particular good with the forfeiture of the generall In Religion publish nothing which thou darest not stand to nor libell against the truth if thou think it is not the truth why doest thou publish it if thou thinkest it is the truth why art thou ashamed of it such are betweene two Rocks either of which splits them for either they sinne in publishing that which is a lye or else having published it they sin in being asham'd or afraid to stand to it which they think is the truth true gold flyes not the Touchstone a good mans actions are such as he feares not to be discovered it is a signe their workes are ill when they dare not owne them Oderunt lucem is our Saviours note of such if it bee the truth they ought not onely in some case to owne it but to dye in it if it be a lye they ought not to live in it much lesse to give it life every lye is a sin but to print a lye is to justifie a sin and in Religion to print a lye for truth is to father a lye upon God a good Man will publish nothing in God's Name to which he dares not set his owne Measure not thy selfe by what men say of thee they may mistake thee it is their sin not thine if others slander thee to be ill spoken of and undeservedly is neither thy fault nor alone thy case Christ himselfe was thought a Wine-bibber and S. Paul mad if ill tongues could make men ill good men were in ill taking never regard what any can say against thee but thine owne conscience though all the World condemne thee while God and thy self do not thou art innocent enough the wickednesse of ill tongues doth but dirt themselves the mire that is cast upon thee is not thine care not to have ill men speake well of thee it may bee if thou wert worse thou should'st heare better Parcit cognatis maculis similis fera the divell doth not accuse his owne if thou wert one of them they would speak more favourably be carefull to be cleane to God what ever thou art to the world and bee slow in soyling and blacking others if they are not so clean as thou couldst wish their foulnesse be to themselves let them bee never the fouler for thy mouth they that are forward in censuring and accusing others are usually such themselves To al thy promises need no other bond but thy word nor no other witnesse but God be carefull never to promise any thing of which thou shalt wish to bee forgiven the performance nor plead either want of ability or testimony an honest man doth not promise more than he meanes nor a wise man more than he is able Be not a servant to those things which thou shouldst command thy money thy body and thy appetite or thy sensitive part but use thy estate to serve thy body and thy occasions and thy body to be subservient to thy soule and thy soule to serve God thus while either of these serve in their proper office God is serv'd in all if thou art commanded by the
we doe not commend his providence that hath his furniture to buy when he should take horse Make not a neighbours fault greater to men than it is nor thine owne lesse to God to excuse thine own sin is to double it detractingly to aggravate anothers fault is to make it thine owne Busie not thy selfe in searching into other mens lives the errors of thine owne are more than thou canst answer for it more concernes thee to mend one fault in thy selfe than to finde out a thousand in others Be carefull not to fall into sin being fallen not to lie in it being surprized not to stand in it confession is some part of satisfaction by denying a little sin thou makest it great by truly confessing a great sin to GOD thou makest it none If thou hast liv'd long thinke thou hast the longer account thinke thou hast had the longer time to provide for thy account and therefore hast the greater sin if unprovided where GOD forbeares a great while he expects a greater increase as where men give long day they expect larger payment Performe not the things of Religion either out of vaine-glory or custome since the goodnesse of these is not measur'd by what is done but by what minde we do it with Cursed bee he that doth the worke of the Lord negligently there is that curse upon negligent doing which upon unwilling leaving of it undone is not there is little difference betweene not doing what thou shouldest and not doing it as thou shouldest to doe thy duty for shew only or in shew only is to doe thy duty and be stil undutiful if that which thou doest be right if the mind with which thou doest it be not so al is wrong and thou forfeitst the acceptation of what was good by the ill performance Two things do not trouble thy selfe to know other mens faults nor other mens estates the estate of thine owne soule and the amendment of thine owne faults let that be thy study not thinke any sinne lesse because it is hid remember that to him that shall judge thee it is open and that in the last day God will not measure his judgement by ours the day of judgement will condemne many a man whom wee have quitted Do not practise Religion in shew only yet shew it in thy practise think no sinne little nor no good which thou doest great it is from the acceptance of God that it is good at all hope for but not challeng a reward of thy wel doing yet not for it selfe but for what Christ hath done measure thy selfe not by what others are but by what thou oughtest to be remember thy sinnes with griefe and thy goodnesse the one for that thou hast beene so bad the other that thou canst be no better and though thou canst not attaine to perfection on earth yet aime at it Labour not only to know what thou shouldst bee that most men doe but to be so nor at all to know what other men are thou shalt not answer for it be carefull if thou canst to make others better by thy good counsell or at least not to make them worse by thy example Be ever contented with thy present estate but if thou canst better it do not corruptly thrust thy selfe into any place and being in doe nothing that may thrust thee out make the execution of thy office a discharge of thy conscience not an improvement of thy estate and desire any place rather to doe good than to grow rich give no bribes to procure an unjust thing nor take none to do one and if thou art in the place of judicature remember thy office is to give sentence but not sell it Doe not make any sinne lesse by custome for as men doe at first lesse like sinne so with continuance they doe lesse feele it as those that are accustomed to carry burdens are lesse sensible of the weight and if thou doest now the same things with more ease doe not thinke that the sinne is more light but that thou art more hardned and thy case is so much more desperate by how much want of sense is neerer to death than paine feeling is an argument of life thou art a dead member if thou hast lost thy feeling but here 's the misery that thou hast lost thy feeling in regard of sin but not of punishment Fix thy desires upon such things as may not shame thee in the obtaining and compasse thy desires by such meanes as may not shame thee to own though that which thou seekest for be good yet while the way by which thou seekest for it is evill thou shamest the end by the way and shamest thy self in the end Thinke no sin little and make it not great by iteration what is a Mountaine of earth but an accumulation of many little dusts What is a floud but a concurrence of many little drops a little prick being neglected may fester to a Gangroin by how much that in which thou sinnest is lesse by so much thy sin is the greater that wouldst dishonour God for so little a thing Think of death as a thing thou must meet with and of thy life as a thing thou must part with and not to love too well that life that keepes thee from a better nor at al to feare that death that leads thee to a better life this life is a journey and the world an uneasie horse that with much jolting and some fals brings you to your home and why art thou unwilling to alight love rather that passage that leads to eternall happinesse than that life which keepes thee from it and not without continuall misery Study rather to make thy selfe fit for any employment and place than to thinke thy selfe so and be preferred by thy desert not by purchase slip no lawfull meanes to doe thy selfe good and use no unlawfull he which groweth great by buying doth likely continue that greatnesse by selling Measure thy wealth by thy minde not by thy estate a contented minde is ever rich but measure thy expence by thy estate not by thy minde not what thou would'st doe but what thou art able to doe think not frugality a disparagement nor out-run thy selfe to keepe pace with others this is to procure that which thou fearest and lest thou shouldst be thought meane to become so many times a slow pace performes that journey whil'st galloping tyres by the way Let thy thoughts bee such to thy selfe as thou art asham'd to have God know them and thy words such to God as thou art not afraid to have men heare them and let thy whole life be such toward God and Man as that thou neither dishonour God by thy il life nor draw others to the same dishonour of him by thy ill example Pleasure not thy selfe by wronging others nor with the unjust Steward make thee friends with other mens monies left while thou would'st buy other friends thou fell GOD comē to promotiō if thou canst by friends