him who knows his own law and thy heart In the course of thy secular affaires the debate in thy soul betwixt interess and duty goeth thus by carnall reason which speaks for interess thou art advised thus If I goe this way I shall get much and I shall live splendidly I shall be made then conscience which is for God and duty adviseth otherwise If thou doest thus thou doest undoe thy immortall soul and thus it sticks a while peradventure But then carnall reason which is eager to satisfie the appetite inordinate deviseth how to satisfie consoience about the lawfulness in such cases and either puts it off with easie arguments or determins tumultuously against it Alas poor Christian how long will the pleasure of this resolution hold untill the heat of the appetite and of the advantage be over Then conscience returns and doubles the sorrow of guilt and when the lust of thy interess is cooled filleth thy soul with nothing but horrour Or if thy conscience by thy habit of sin and Gods judgment be layed fast asleep yet remember there is a trumpet which will awaken thee and it Think upon it and that great Assize and before thou doest conclude what to do in a case of doubt meditate with thy selfe which part Affirmative or Negative is nearest unto virtue and which thou wilt wish thou hadst taken when thou dost appear at the Iudgment seat of Christ and do accordingly Wherefore hath God put in thee an ability of flying back in thy mind upon time and actions past unto repentance and so also of running forwards in the thoughts of what is to come but that by the presensation of that formidable tryall thou mightest prevent repentance and condemnation repentance now condemnation then Thou hast a small voice within thee to direct thy practice and to check thy errours and to threaten thee with another manner of proceeding at the day of judgment There is another voice without thee the voice of the Minister who is to lift up his voice like a trumpet as the Prophet was bidden to tell thee of thy sins and what thou must expect when the judge cometh if thou doest not mende Do not silence the first voice nor the second Refuse to hear neither of these But if thou doest there is another great voice of a Trumpet of the Arch-angel which at last will sound and will awaken thee Think as the Father did that thou doest hear alwayes sounding in thy ears the Trumpet Arise ye dead and come to judgment This Supreme and last Court will examine and judge and sentence our thoughts our words our actions will cut up and lay open all our plots and designes and private haunts and undeliberated motions and will sentence them in their guilt though it doth not redound to the person through Christ unto those who are in him accepted unto life and glory O sweet sentence Come ye blessed But what confusion and amazement will fall upon the wicked then when the universe shall be dissolved by that terrible conflagration when conscience shall then loudly accuse Christ shall everlastingly condemn and Satan shall take them home to be punished with him because they have been obedient to him against the law of God the dictates of conscience the tenders of grace and reconciliation So just it is with God to appoint Satan for their Executioner of punishment whom they have served as a Tempter in their sin as Aquinas notes O that dismall sentence Goe ye cursed Goe then into thy closet and think seriously of these things Adventure all rather then the losse of thy immortal soul in an everlasting death Make peace with thy God through Christ betimes before there is no peace to be made Consider the differences of those two places but two there is no place for a third And if thou beest tempted of Satan through the world by the flesh with hopes or fears to forsake God or Christ or the truth or righteousness say as the Martyr said whom St. Basil speaks of that they cannot threaten thee with any thing so bad as Hell and they cannot offer thee any thing so good as Heaven thou art worse threatned and better offered Be as wise now as thou wilt wish thou hadst been when that day cometh CHAP. XII WEE have hitherto spoken somewhat in commendation of Goodnesse in severall parts of it The formall respect of this goodness as hath been touched doth lie in obedience of our actions unto God And in this we have not as I know of any dissenters All carrie up in true obedience a respect to God from whom the commandement of service and worship doth come But the present world seems to make it a great question whether there be any goodness accountable in obedience to lawfull authority amongst men either in Civill or Ecclesiasticall things And they do in effect place a goodness in inobedience thereunto since they will not allow any degree of goodness unto those who will not relinquish conformity to former principles Yea too many have put an high godliness in high disobedience to some known laws I have been moved to think upon this case and it doth somewhat concern me Therefore first Negatively where unto we shall premise some cautionary conclusions to avoid misprision 1. We do not say that there is no goodness in any of those who are inobedient to men Some may be led away in simplicity of their hearts as is said of the people who went with rebellious Absalom and followed him It may be some think that those who complied with the present turnes were in this wise men but it is best for them to be simple otherwise their sin is the greater 2. We do not say that inobedience to that which is bad is not good That which is not good it is good to decline understanding that which is not good not of things indifferent which in themselves are neither good nor bad but of that which is unlawfull 3. We do not put an equality betwixt the laws of God and the laws of Men God forbid For 1. Humane laws cannot injoyne any new doctrine of faith to be subscribed or new worship to be practised this belongs to the written Word of God which is the adequate rule of faith and worship 2. Divine laws require intuitive ebedience as coming from God who hath authority absolutely supreme and cannot command any thing bad Humane laws require but a limited and conditionate obedience as comming neither from absolute authority but subordinate to God and also may though he cannot justly impose that which is not right Therefore 3. Divine laws binde immediately but Humane laws binde by mediation of the Divine law in general as Matth. 23.2 Rom. 13.1 1 Pet. 2.13 Heb. 13.17 to name no more 4. There is no distinction of duty by active or passive obedience in the laws of God because the authority is absolutely absolute and the matter morally good therefore commanded or good because commanded by him but
starve the virtue and the poor together Take it for an honour from God that he hath made thee able to be like him in doing good As he said it is good to be Gods Alms-man but it is better to be his Almoner Because the Papists think to merit by their good works do thou communicate more lest thou dost decline their errour by another Distinguish betwixt their Substantives and their Adjectives in Religion Shall not we pray or fast because they make a sat is faction in them Their actions in Religion are due in their substance their conceit of merit is added When two do the same thing it is not the same thing done as the rule is Because others herein deal with God by way of commutative justice wilt thou shew no mercy to the poor Because others require infinite use for their money given by manner of debt wilt not thou put out thy money to use upon Gods favour such use as will not bite thy neighbor and yet may increase thy own Let us vindicate our Doctrine from their slanders by our works And let us shew it to be as necessary for us to do good works as for them though we do not hold them to be meritorious and more because no man can rightly be said to be bound to merit but when salvation is freely given us we are the more obliged to do good works in duty and thankfulness and ingenuity We are not at liberty herein because we are plenarily redeemed by Christ without any purchase of ours but because we are thus redeemed we are more bound I have heard of one who commended in three sorts of men three several things good works of the Papist sound faith of the Protestant good chear of the Puritane But let the sound faith of the Protestant work by love and chear the poor that the Pontifician may be ashamed to impute the want of our practise to the severity of our tenet Whosoever separated that which is just from that which is profitable is under Socrates's curse as Clem. Alexandrinus hath it and to be sure he that separateth true charity from right faith is not like to have Gods blessing And he is not like neither to have a good word given him from man that will not do a good work to man Do not thou shut up thy bowels Christian but open thy heart and thy hand and do not say the times are hard for if thou pleadest that thou canst hardly live with that thou hast how shall they live who have nothing nor work but good works of others to live upon But charity begins at home Yes therefore communicate lay it out for advantage traffique with it Improve it Pay Tithes that you may be rich as the Jew said and scatter thy seed and give it to the poor that thou mayst have a good harvest Riches are rather in the use then in the possession said he in his Rhetoricks And he is rich not that hath much but that hath given much as St. Chrysostom Dorcas was full of good works which she had done Act. 9.36 She had done them as we may gloss and she was full of them We are full of nothing more then that we have done well Shall I give my bread and my meat But who said it Nabal and folly was with him The fool nabal hath said in his heart there is no God They think there is no God to whom these things in propriety do belong In respect of one another we have a propriety but in respect of God we are but as Stewards and dispensers of these things to all as they have need but specially to the houshold of faith All the world is Gods great house we are to take care of all but specially of his children Yet we cannot be deceived in the object if we finde him to be man God hath given him in his nature a ticket to thee for his entertainment If thou dost shut him out of thy house take heed God doth not shut thee out of heaven If he be bad yet it is good for thee to do him good that he may be better Thou canst not do ill in doing as God doth And he doth good to them who are not good Either thou art not good or thou hast been not good if thou art not good what would become of thee should God deal with thee as thou dealest with him if thou hast been naught remember what mercie God hath shewed to thee and do thou likewise Therefore let thy love be as universal as man There is no man a stranger to thy nature And did not he that made thee make him Have we not al one Father as is said Abraham said of Sarah that she was indeed his sister for she was the daughter of his father though not the daughter of his mother although the tearms be taken largely according to the manner of the language so he whosoever he is is thy brother and he is the child of thy Father God though he be not the childe of thy Mother Ierusalem which is above which is the Mother of us all as the Apostle speaks Were he thine Enemy yet thou must love him otherwise thou art not thy heavenly Fathers own childe A Christian is one that hath no enemy as one of the Fathers said he hath enemies and he hath not enemies he hath enemies to him such as hate him but he hath no enemies from him such as he hates There is not such another creature in the world as a Christian if he be right as there is not a worse creature in the world if he be false For then he is a white Devil and worse as white then as Devil What shall we do with him where shall we have him If he were not a promising Christian we would not trust him If he were not an hypocritical Christian he would not deceive us But a true real Christian is one of the Admirables under heaven Nay indeed there is none but he And declaratively towards men all that he is he is by charity whereby his spirit and affection goeth over all the world in an universal diffusion and would do had it efficacy good to all the Earth at once but would serve those which are good in a special intention First it wraps all men together in one community of notion but in particular consideration would prefer those whom God hath preferred Thou hast not where withal to give thy neighbor grace for it exceeds morality but have the grace to give more to those who are virtuous because it is more of charity As for any exhortations to this virtue there is no need of any to those who know more delight in it then in any thing else We have reason to love it for it is love He that doth not hath a misery in the negative greater then in the contrary St. Paul giveth it the prelacy 1 Cor. 13. ult Those three are the three Worthies amongst the Theological virtues And he
the Church and conveniently ordered and administred by Discipline to glory which is the universal end of all the world and therefore even of polities So that we may without much demurre conclude if we be bound in religion to obedience of laws Civil we have as much reason to be bound in obedience of religion to Church laws And to say no more at this time about this subject we have experience to compel as much as may be a more sober and strict and serious apprehension of the necessity we have to forbear hereafter the violaof Ecclesiastical orders since we have paid so dear for our liberty in our breaches which will not be made up by further differences and rents and dissolutions When all is done or undone we shall then sadly see that if any thing must save this Nation and this Church then it will be this to do as we did but better Conformity to God and men would reconcile us to God and man Had we had this goodness of obedience we had not been at this day the astonishment of the world in misery as before in prosperity and glory of such a Nation and such a Church as could not be endured by envy and enemies CHAP. XIII TO commend now goodness to some sorts of men with a little more singular respect will make an end For this is the way to our end We have hitherto spoken of it in communi as unto persons We shall now in our wishes recommend it to some from whom it may be more derivative to others and when we have dedicated the consideration of it to them we have done Every man in his own naturals as such hath a duty to prosecute this goodness but yet they have a more peculiar obligation hereunto who have outward qualities wherein every one doth not communicate Those that are superior to others should be more eminent herein in virtue and they should be distinguished by this excellency No such Characteristique of greatness as goodness And yet if honour went by virtue how many hypocrites should we have Every one would be like Galba worthy to be a Prince if he were not a Prince Nevertheless if men be not the highest because they are best yet they should be best because they are highest For every sin they commit which is known is notorious and exemplary and sin from them goeth easily down tumbling into the valley of the people The Prince amongst the Jews was to have a copy of the law and some will say he was to have the best copy such as with points that he might read in it diligently and observe it for himself and others As there is no worse way of security to the people then resistance so there is no better way of security to the Prince then goodness Power is the secular motive of obedience the moral motive is virtue It is like to go well with a Nation when the Prince is feared and the people loved but surely also it will not go amiss if the people be loved by the Prince and the Prince loved by the people But here is the mischief the people will not account that a virtue which is not directed by their prudence nor that to be goodness which is not dictated by their understanding And then he that pleaseth the people doth not do his duty It were very desirable that Princes had no faults or that the people had not a fault to desire to look into them It is natural for men to love but little those who are above them because men have no minde to be ruled and therefore have more need of it and also they would not seem to have such imperfections as might make them fit for obodience And therefore how brave were it that as the authority so the worth of Princes were unquestionable so as no man might covet his place or dislike his rule And it would be happy if their subjects would not suspect them the more because they have so much liberty or that Princes would not take their liberty And they have the less reason to take it because they have it He is a good Prince said he whose vices do not exceed his virtues but should we northen love him who is not yet charged with any vice But this is too lofty a Theme for a deducted style It is fit there should be those who by their place and abilities should more move them at less distance And as for Nobles if it did become me to speak of them what would more become them then to be as they are called not to be base in disingenuity and vice Surely there can be no better Nobility then in Royal bloud And there can be no higher bloud then the bloud of Christ And why then should not those who are to be accounted Nobles though they were not Christians yet be as much Christians as others and so be more Honourable because they are made good then because they were born Nobles To be well born and to live ill is a contradiction in the Original Lewdness in a Noble is as a dunghil in a Court-yard if I might say it But to press the ingagements of goodness upon these great personages is rather meet for those and such there have been who have descended from Nobles to be Clerks These may speak home As for me my minde is towards the Clergy of these Kingdoms in whom surely virtue is most expected and whose coat it most adorns and from whom it is most influxive into the residue of men Holy orders do make an appropriation of it to them No man can be well without it surely not they The Imposition of hands doth lay this charge upon them They are consecrated to God they are elect vessels they are to be clean they are to be holy they not for common usages Their facultie as none other hath its end in heaven and the action of them is to draw men up from earth and out of the danger of hell to heaven and what they teach should they not do St. Luke in the first verse of the Acts speaks of his relating what Christ did do and teach first what he did Practice of the people follows more easily the Ministers teaching when the practice of the Minister goes before his teaching A good Minister preacheth all the week He hath never done his Sermons that doth them His Ministery is good without goodness but his Ministery is not so profitable without it nor is he a good Minister without it Their Ministery is not so apt to work upon men without virtue although the acts of their Ministery are as valid as of others For who can know who are really good And if the efficacy of their acts did absolutely follow the goodness of the Minister the goodness must be without dissimulation and hypocrisie which to know belongs to him who knows the hearts not to them who see their faces Yet as God worketh by weak means so can he work by bad men And if