22. Live continually as one that is going to be judged at the barr of God where all Direct 22. Hypocrisie will be opened and shamed and Hypocrites condemned by the All-knowing God One thought of our appearing before the Lord and of the day of his impartial judgement one would think should make men walk as in the light and teach them to understand that the Sun is not eclipsed as oft as they wink nor is it night because they draw the Curtains What a shame will it be to have all your dissimulation laid open before all the world Luke 12. 1 2 3. Beware of the leven of the Pharisâ—es which is Hypocrisie For there is nothing covered which shall not be revealed neither â—id that shall not be known Therefore what ever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed on the house tops § 28. Direct 23. Think not that you avoid Hypocrisie by changing the expressions of it but see that Direct 23. you run not into a more subtile kind while you avoid a grossee There is no outward way of worshipping God nor no opinion in Religion so sound but an Hypocrite can make a cloak of it You see an ignorant ridiculous Hypocrite such as Bishop Hall describeth in his character that can pray up to a Pillar when his heart knoweth not what his tongue is doing that babbleth over a few words to God while he is dressing or washing him and talking between to the standers by who offereth to God the Sacrifice of a fool and knoweth not that he doth evil Eccles. 5. 2. that serveth God with toyes and antick gestures and saying over certain words which were never acquainted with the feeling of his heart nor scarce with his understanding And to avoid his hypocrisie perhaps you can merrily deride him and make a formal Popish Hypocrite the subject of your jeasts and you can your selves with good understanding poure out your selves many hours togethers in orderly and meet expressions of prayer But remember that many an Hypocrite maketh himself a cloak of as good stuff as this And that as Pride hath more advantage to work upon your greater knowledge and better parts so Hypocrisie is but the off-spring of Pride All this without a Heart entirely devoted unto God is but a carkass better drâ—sâ— as the rich have more curious monuments than the poor There is no outside thing in which an Hypocrite may not seem excellent Direct 24. § 29. Direct 24. Be true to Conscience and hearken diligently to all it saith and be often treating Quid proâ—â—st reâ—o dâ—â—eâ—se oâ—â—â—â—os hoâ—â—num auâ—eâ—que viâ—are â—â—â—â—a 〈…〉 entia tâ—â—â—â—m ad 〈…〉 maâ—â— aâ—â—em in so 〈…〉 anxâ—â— â—oâ—â—â—â—iâ—a est Sâ— honesta sunt quae sa is omnes sâ—â—ant Sâ— turyâ—a quid reâ—ert neminem sâ—â—re cum â—u tu scias Oâ—â— miserum si câ—ntâ—mâ—ts â—unâ—â—â—â—â—em Sâ—â— Ep. 9â— Matth. 23. 13 14 15 23 25 27 29. with it and daily conversant and well acquainted with it Hypocrites bear little reverence to their Consciences They make so often and so grosly bold with them that Conscience is deposed from its office at the present and 〈…〉 d by them lest it should gall them by preaching to them those hard sayings which they cannot bâ—â—â—â— And perhaps at last it is â—eared or bribed to take part with sin But usually an Hypocrite hath â— secret Judge within him which condemneth him Take heed how you use your Consciences as you love your peace or happiness Next Christ it must be your best friend or your gr 〈…〉 y Palliate it how you will at present if you wound it it will smart at last And it is easier to bear poverty or shame or torment than to bear its wounds Prov. 18. 14. 1. Mark the very principles and former judgement of your Consciences and if they are changed know what changed them 2. Hearken to all the secret counsel and reproofs of Conscience especially when it speaketh oft and terribly Turn it not off without a hearing yea know the reason of its very scruples and doubts 3. When it is sick and disquieted know what the matter is Psal 53. 5. and vomit up the matter that justly disquiets it whatever it cost you and be sure you go to the bottom and do not leave the root behind 4. Open your Consciences to some able trusty guide when it is necessary though it cost you shame An over-tender avoiding of such shame is the Hypocrites sin and folly Counsel is safe in matters of such importance 5. Prefer Conscience before all men how great soever None is above it but God It is Gods messenger when it is Conscience indeed Remember what it saith to you and from whom and for what end Let friends and neighbours and company and basiness and profit and sports and honour stand by and all give place whilst Conscience speaketh For it will be a better friend to you than any of these if you use it as a friend It would have been better to Iudas than his thirty pieces were 6 Yet see that it be well informed and see its commission for it is not above God nor is it masterless or lawless 7. Converse not with it only in a crowd but in secret Psal. 4. 4. 8. Keep it awake and keep it among awakening means and company It will much sooner fall asleep in an Ale-house or a Play-house or among the foolish and prophane than at a lively Sermon or Prayer or reverent discourse of God If I could but get Conscience awakened to perform its office and preach over all this that I have said in secret it would â—â—rret the Hypocrite out of his self-deceit Go Conscience and search that deceitful heart and speak to it in the Name of God Ask that Hypocrite whether Conversion ever made him a new Creature and whether his soul and all that he hath be entirely devoted unto God and whether his hopes and treasure be laid up in Heaven and his heart be there and whether he subject all his worldly interest to the Will of God and the interest of his soul and whether his greatest work be about his Heart and to approve himself to God and whether he make an impartial diligent enquiry after the truth with a desire to receive it at the dearest rates Tell him that a proud self-flattery may now make him justifie or extenuate his sins and take his formalities and lip-service and abuse of God for true devotion and hate every man that would detect his hypocrisie and convert him by bringing in the light But a light will shortly appear to his soul which he shall not resist And then let him stand to his justification if he can and let him then make it good that he gave up himself in sincerity simplicity and self-denyal to his God § 30. Direct 25. Remember that Hypocrisie lyeth much in doubling and
componere c. Acosta l. 4. c. 18 p. 418. his servants whose calling and daily business it must be as that which they are made for as the Sun is made to give light and heat to inferiour things Ephes. 2. 10. Matth. 5. 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven Christ was far from their opinion that think all good works that are attributed to good men are dishonourabie to God 10. He is most beholden to God that is most exercised in good works The more we do the more we receive from him And our very doing it self is our Receiving For it is he that giveth us both to will and to do by his operation in us Phil. 2. 13. Even he without whom we can do nothing John 15. 5. 11. The obligation to good works that is to works of Piety Justice and Charity is essential to us as servants of the Lord We are practical Atheists if we do not works of piety to God we are rebells against God and enemies to our selves and unmeet for humane society if we do not the works which are good for our selves and for others if we have ability and opportunity This is our fruit which God expecteth and if we bear it not he will hew us down and cast us into the fire 12. Though doing no hurt will not serve turn without doing good yet it is not the same works that are required of all nor in the same degree but according to every mans talent and opportunities Matth. 25. 14 15 c. 13. God looketh not only nor principally at the external part of the work but much more to the Heart of him that doth it nor at the length of time but at the sincerity and diligence of his servants And therefore though he is so just as not to deny the Reward which was promised them to those that have born the burden and heat of the day yet is he so gracious and bountiful that he will give as much to those that he findeth as willing and diligent and would have done more if they had had opportunity Matth. 20. 12 13 14 15. You see in all this what our doctrine is about good works and how far those Papists are to be believed who perswade their ignorant Disciples that we account them vain and needless things Directions for faithful serving Christ and doing Good § 4. Direct 1. Be sure that you have that Holiness Iustice and Charity within which are the necessary Direct 1. Principles of good works For a good Tree will being forth good fruit and an evil Tree evil fruit Make the Tree good and the fruit good A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil things As out of the Heart proceed evil works Matth. 15. 19 20. So out of the heart must good works come Matth. 7. 16 17 18 19 20. Can the dead do the works of the living Or the unhâ—ly do the works of holiness or the unrighteous do the works of justice or the uncharitable do the works of charity Will he do good to Christ in his members on earth who hateth them Or will he not rather imprison them than visit them in prison and rather strip them of all they have than feed and clothe them Or if a man should do that which materially is good from pride or other sinful principles God doth not accept it but taketh all sacrifice but as Carrion that is offered to him without the Heart § 5. Direct 2. Content not your selves to do some good extraordinarily on the by or when you are Direct 2. urged to it but study to do good and make it the Trade or business of your lives Having so many obligations and so great encouragements do what you do with all your might If you would know whether you are servants to Christ or to the Flesh the question must be which of these have the main care and diligence of our lives For as every carnal act will not prove you servants to the flesh so every good action will not prove you the servants of Christ. § 6. Direct 3. Before you do any work consider whether you can truly say it is a service of God Direct 3. and will be accepted by him See therefore that it be done 1. To his glory or to please him 2. And in obedience to his command Meer natural actions that have no moral good or evil in them and so belong not to morality these belong not to our present subject as being not the matter of rational or at least of obediential choice Such as the wâ—nking of the eye the setting of this foot forward first the taking of this or that meat or drink or instrument or company or action when they are equal and it is no matter of rational or obediential choice c. But every act that is to be done deliberately and rationally as matter of choice must be moralized or made good by doing it 1. To a â—ight end and 2. According to the rule Whether we eat or drink or whatever we do that is matter of rational choice must be done by us to the glory of God 1 Cor. 10. 31. All works tend not alike to his glory but some more immediately and directly and others remotely But all must ultimately have this end Even Servants that labour in their painful work must do it as to the Lord and not only or ultimately to men not with eye-service as men-pleasers but as the servants of Christ from whom they must have their greatest reward or punishment Ephes. 6. 5 6 7 8. Col. 3. 22 23 24 25. All the comforts of food or rest or recreation or pleasure which we take should be intended to fit us for our Masters work or strengthen cheer and help us in it Do nothing deliberately that belongs to the government of Reason but Gods service in the world which you can say he set you on § 7. Direct 4. Set not duties of Piety Iustice or Charity against each other as if they had an enmity Direct 4. to each other but take them as inseparable as God hath made them Think not to offer God a Sacrifice Some think they merit by curing the hâ—â—â—â—s which they have caused themselves Sed nequitia est ut extâ—ahas mergere eveâ—tere ut suscites includere ut emittas Non enim beneficium injuriae sinis nec unquam id detraxisâ—e meritum est quod ipse qui detraxit intulerat Senec. de Benes of injury bribery fraud oppression or any uncharitable work And pretend not the benefit of men or the safety of Societies or Kingdoms for impiety against the Lord. § 8. Direct 5. Acquaint your selves with all the talents which you receive from God and what is Direct 5. the use to which they should
act Keep your hearts with all diligence for from thence are the issues of life Prov. 4. 23. Make the tree good and the fruit will be good But the viperous generation that are evil cannot speak good for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Math. 12. 33 34. Till the spirit have regenerated the soul all outward Religion will be but a dead and pittiful thing Though there is something which God hath appointed an unregenerate man to do in order to his own conversion yet no such antecedent act will prove that the person is justified or reconciled to God till he be converted To make up a Religion of doing or saying something that is good while the heart is void of the spirit of Christ and sanctifying grace is the Hypocrites Religion Rom. 8. 9. § 8. Direct 3. Make conscience of the sins of the thoughts and the desire and other affections or passions Direct 3. of the mind as well as of the sins of tongue or hand A lustful thought a malicious thought a proud ambitious or covetous thought especially if it proceed to a wish or contrivance or consâ—nt is a sin the more dangerous by how much the more inward and neer the heart as Christ hath shewed you Mat. 5. 6. The Hypocrite who most respecteth the eye of man doth live as if his Thoughts were free § 9. Direct 4. Make conscience of secret sins which are committed out of the sight of men and may Direct 4. be concealed from them as well as of open and notorious sins If he can do it in the dark and secure his reputation the Hypocrite is bold But a sincere believer doth bear a reverence to his conscience and much more to the all-seeing God § 10. Direct 5. Be faithful in secret duties which have no witness but God and Conscience As meditation Direct 5. and self-examination and secret prayer And be not only Religious in the sight of men § 11. Direct 6. In all publick worship be more laborious with the heart than with the tongue or knee Direct 6. and see that your tongue over-run not your heart and leave it not behind Neglect not the due composure of your words and due behaviour of your bodys But take much more pains for the exercise of holy desires from a believing loving fervent soul. § 12. Direct 7. Place nâ—t more in the externals or modes or circumstances or ceremonies of worship Direct 7. than is due and lay not out more zeal for indifferent or little things than cometh to their share but 〈…〉 ed mâ—â—â—â—ad of hurt fuâ—â—â—â—nes ceremonies be obâ—iteraâ—â—d by ceremoniâ—s Let the Prâ—â—sts perswade the novâ—â—â—â— that holy water Images â—oâ—aâ—â—â—◠〈◊〉 and â—oâ—ches and the rest which the Church alloweth and uâ—â—th are very â—it for them and let them exâ—â—l them with many praises in their popular Sermons that instead of the old superstition they may be used to new and religious signs This is to quenth the â—iâ—e with oyl let the great substantials of Religion have the precedencie and be far preferred before them Let the Love of God and man be the sum of your obedience And be sure you learn well what that meaneth I will have mercy and not sacrifice And remember that the great thing which God requireth of you is to do Iustice and love mercy and walk humbly with your God Destroy not him with your meat fâ—r whom Christ dyed Call not for fire from Heaven upon dissenters and think not every man intollerable in the Church that is not in every little matter of your mind Remember that the hypocrisie of the Pharisees is described by Christ as consisting in a zeal for their own traditions and the inventions of men and the smallest matters of the Ceremonial Law with a neglect of greatest moral duties and a furious cruelty against the spiritual worshipers of God Math. 15. 2. Why do thy disciples transgress the Tradition of the Elders for they wash not their hands when they eat bread v. 7. Ye Hypocrites well did Esaias prophesie of you saying This people draweth niâ—â—â—ntâ— me with their mouth and hâ—â—â—â—ureth me with their lips but their heart is far from me but in vain do they worship me teaching fâ—r doctrines the commandments of men Math. 23. 4 5 6 13 14 c. They bind heavy burdens which they touch not themselves All their works they do to be seen of men They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the burdens of their garments and love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief sâ—ats in the Synagogues and greetings in publick and to be called Rabbi But they shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men and were the greatest enemies of the entertainment of the Gospel by the people They tythed mint and annise and cummin and omitted the great matters of the Law Iudgement and Mercy and Faith They streined at a gnat and swallowed a Camel They had a great veneration for the dead Prophets and Saints and yet were persecuters and murderers of their successors that were living v. 23 c. By this description you may see which way Hypocrisie doth most ordinarily work even to a blind and bloody zeal for opinions and traditions and ceremonies and other little things to the treading down the interest of Christ and his Gospel and a neglect of the life and power of Godliness and a cruel persecuting those servants of Christ whom they are bound to love above their ceremonies I marvel that many Papists tremble not when they read the Character of the Pharisees But that hypocrisie is a hidden sin and is an enemy to the light which would discover it § 13. Direct 8. Make conscience of the duties of obedience to superiors and of justice and mercy Direct 8. towards men as well as of acts of piety to God Say not a long mass in order to devour a widows house or a Christians life or reputation Be equally exact in justice and mercy as you are in prayers And labour as much to exceed common men in the one as in the other Set your selves to do all the good you can to all and do hurt to none And do to all men as you would they should do to you § 14. Direct 9. Be much more busie about your selves than about others and more censorious of Direct 9. your selves than of other men and more strict in the Reforming of your selves than of any others For this is the character of the sincere When the Hypocrite is little at home and much abroad and is a sharp reprehender of others and perniciously tender and indulgent to himself Mark his discourse in all companies and you shall hear how liberal he is in his censures and bitter reproach of others How such men and such men that differ from him or have opposed him or that he hates are thus and thus faulty and bad and hateful Yea he is as great an accuser of his
be ready to pour out to others and not be silent and lose his Time for want of matter or skill or zeal for in all these three your provision doth consist An ignorant empty person wants matter for his thoughts and words An Imprudent person wants skill to use it A careless cold indifferent person wants life to set his faculties on motion and oyl and poise to set the wheels of his soul and body a going Bethink you in the morning what company you are like to meet and what occasions of duty you are like to have and provide your selves accordingly before you go with matter and resolution Besides the general preparative of habitual Knowledge charity and zeal which is the chief you should also have your particular preparations for the duties of each day A workman that is strong and healthful and hath all his tools in readiness and Act. 6. 5. Matth. 7. 17. Luk. 6 45. Matth. 12 34. order will do more in a day than a sick man or one that wanteth tools or keeps them dull and unfit for use will do in many Psalm 37. 30 31. The mouth of the Righteous speaketh wisdom and his tongue talketh of judgement And no wonder when The Law of his God is in his Heart none of his steps shall slide Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh A good man out of the good Treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things Math. 12. 35. Every Scribe which is instructed to the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man that is an housholder that bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old Matth. 13. 52. § 47. Direct 8. Promise not long life to your selves but live as those that are allwaies uncertain of Direct 8. another day and certain to be shortly gone from hence The groundless expectation of long life is a very great hindrance to the Redeeming of our Time Men will spend prodigally out of a full purse who would be sparing if they knew they had but a little or were like to come to want themselves Young people and healthful people are under the greatest temptation to the loss of Time They are apt to think that they have Time enough before them and that though its possible that they may die quickly yet it is more likely that they shall live long and so putting the day of death far from them they want all those awakenings which the face of death doth bring to them that still expect it and therefore want the wisdom zeal and diligence which is necessary to the Redemption of their time Pray therefore as Psalm 90. 12. So teach us to number our daies that we may apply our hearts to wisdom Dream not of rest and plenty for many years when you have no promise to live till the next morning Luke 12. 19 20. When they perceive death is at hand and time is near an end allmost all men seem highly to esteem of Time and promise to spend it better if God would but try them once again Do you therefore continually perceive that death is even at hand and time near an end and then it will make you continually more wise then death maketh the most and to redeem your Time as others purpose to Redeem it when it is too late § 48. Direct 9. Sanctifie all to God that you have and do And let Holiness to the Lord be written Direct 9. upon all whether you eat or drink let it be intended and ordered ultimately to his Glory Make all 1 Cor. 10. 31. Zeâ—h 14. 20 21. Rom 6. 19 22. Luk. 1. 75. 1 Tim. 5. 5. 1 Tim. 4 5. 2 Tim. 2. 21. your civil relations possessions and employments thus Holy designing them to the service and pleasing of God and to the everlasting good of your selves or others and mixing holy meditation and prayer with them all in season And thus we are bid to pray continually and in all things give thanks 1 Thes. 5. 17 18. And in all things to make known our requests to God in prayer supplication and giving of thanks Phil. 4. 6. And all things are sanctified by the word and prayer This sacred Alchymie that turneth all our conversation and possessions and actions into Holy is an excellent part of the art of Redeeming Time § 49. Direct 10. Lastly be acquainted with the great Thieves that rob men of their Time and with Direct 10. the Devils methods in entising them to lose it and live in continual watchfullness against them It is a more necessary thriftiness to be sparing and saving of your Time than of your money It more concerneth you to keep a continual watch against the things which would rob you of your Time than against those Thieves that would break your house and rob you by the high-way Those persons that would tempt you to the loss of Time are to be taken as your enemies and avoided I shall here recite the names of these Thieves and Time-wasters that you may detest them and save your Time and souls from their deceits Tit. 4. The Thieves or Time-wasters to be watchfully avoided § 50. Th. 1. ONe of the greatest Time-wasting sins is idleness or sloth The slothful see their Thief 1. Time pass away and their work undone and can hear of the necessity of Redeeming it and yet they have not hearts to stir When they are convinced that duty must be done they are still delaying and putting it off from day to day and saying still I will do it to morrow or hereafter To morrow is still the sluggards working day and to day is his idle day He spendeth his Time in fruitless wishes He lyeth in bed or sitteth idly and wisheth Would this were labouring He feasteth his flesh and wisheth that this were fasting He followeth his sports and pleasures and wisheth that this were prayer and a mortified life He lets his heart run after lust or pride or Covetousness and wisheth that this were heavenly mindedness and a laying up a treasure above Thus the soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat Prov. 13. 4. Prov. 21. 25. The desire of the slothful killeth him for his hands refuse to labour Every little opposition or difficulty will put him by a duty Prov. 20. 4. The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold therefore shall he beg in harvest and have nothing Prov. 22. 13. The slothful man saith There is a Lyon without I shall be slain in the streets Prov. 26. 14 15 16. As the door turneth upon his hindges so doth the slothful upon his bed The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth And at last his sloth depraves his Reason and bribeth it to plead the cause of his negligence The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason Time will slide on and duty will be undone and
distress that if he would but spare them and try them once again they would amend their lives and live more holily and spend their time more carefully and diligently for their souls and shew all about them the truth of their Repentance by the greatness of their change and an exemplary life O it is a most dangerous terrible thing to return to security sloth and sin and break such promises to God! such are often given over to woful hard-heartedness or despair for God will not be mocked with delusory words § 70. Thus I have opened this great duty of Redeeming Time the more largely because it is of unspeakable importance and my soul is frequently amazed with admiration that the sluggish world can so insensibly and impenitently go on in wasting precious time so near Eternity and in so needy and dangerous a case Though I bless my God that I have not wholly lost my Time but have long lived in a sense of the odiousness of that sin yet I wonder at my self that such over-powring motives compell me not to make continual haste and to be still at work with all my might in a case of everlasting consequence CHAP. VI. Directions for the Government of the Thoughts I Have shewed you in my Treatise of walking with God how much mans Thoughts are regarded by God and should be regarded by himself and what agents and instruments they are of very much Good or Evil This therefore I shall suppose and not repeat but only Direct you in the Governing of them The work having three parts they must have several Directions 1. For the avoiding of evil thoughts 2. For the exercise of good thoughts 3. For the improvement of good thoughts that they may be effectual Tit. 1. Directions against evil and idle Thoughts § 2. Direct 1. KNow which are evil Thoughts and retein such an odious Character of them continually Direct 1. on your minds as may provoke you still to meet them with abhorrence Evil thoughts are such as these 1. All thoughts against the Being or Attributes or Relations or honour or works of God Atheistical and Blasphemous Idolatrous and unbelieving thoughts All thoughts that tend to disobedience or opposition to the will or word of God And all that savour of unthankfullness or want of Love to God or of discontent and distrust or want of the fear of God or that tend to any of these Also sinful selfish covetous proud studies to make a meer trade of the Ministry for gain To be able to overtalk others Searching into unrevealed forbidden things Inordinate curiosity and hasty conceitedness of your own opinions about Gods Decrees or obscure Prophecies Prodigies Providence mentioned before about Pride of our understandings All thoughts against any particular word or truth or precept of God or against any particular duty against any part of the worship and ordinances of God that tend to unreverent neglects of the name or Holy Day of God All impious thoughts against publick duty or family duty or secret duty and all that would hinder or marr any one duty All thoughts of dishonour contempt neglect or disobedience to the authority or higher powers set over us by God either Magistrates Pastors Parents Masters or any other Superiors All thoughts of Pride self-exalting ambition self-seeking Covetousness Voluptuous sensual Thoughts proceeding from or tending to the corrupt inordinate pleasures of the flesh Thoughts which are unjust and tend to the hurt and wrong of others Envyous malicious reproachful injurious contemptuous wrathful revengeful thoughts Lustful wanton filthy thoughts Drunken gluttonous fleshly thoughts Inordinate careful fearful anxious vexatious discomposing thoughts Presumptuous and secure despairing and dejecting thoughts Slothful delaying negligent and discouraging thoughts Uncharitable cruel false censorious unmerciful thoughts And idle unprofitable thoughts Hate all these as the Devils spawn § 3. Direct 2. Be not insensible what a great deal of Duty or sin is in the Thoughts and of how Direct 2. dangerous a signification and consequence a course of evil thoughts is to your souls They shew what a Man is as much as his words or actions do For as be thinketh in his heart so is he Prov. 23. 7. A good man or evil is denominated by the good or evil treasure of the heart though known to men but by the fruits O the vile and numerous sins that are committed in mens thoughts and proceed from mens thoughts O the pretious Time that is lost in idle and other sinful thoughts O the good that is hindered hereby both in heart and life But of this having spoken in the Treatise aforementioned I proceed § 4. Direct 3. Above all be sure that you cleanse the Fountain and destroy those sinful inclinations Direct 3. of the heart from which your evil thoughts proceed In vain else will you strive to stop the streams Or if you should stop them that very Heart it self will be lothsom in the eyes of God Are your Thoughts all upon the world either coveting or caring or grieving for what you want or pleasing your selves with what you have or hope for Get down your deceived estimation of the world cast it under your feet and out of your heart and count all with Paul but as loss and dung for the excellent knowledge of God in Christ For till the world be dead in you your worldly thoughts will not be dead But all will stand still when once this poise is taken off Crucifie it and this breath and pulse will cease So if your thoughts do run upon matter of preferment or honour disgrace or contempt or if you are pleased with your own preheminence or applause Mortifie your Pride and beg of God a humble self-denying contrite heart For till Pride be dead you will never be quiet for it but it will stir up swarms of self-exalting and yet self-vexing thoughts which make you hateful in the eyes of God So if your thoughts be running out upon your back and belly what you shall eat or drink or how to please your appetite or sense Mortifie the flesh and subdue its desires and master your appetite and bring them into full obedience unto reason and get a habit of temperance or else your thoughats will be still upon your guts and throats For they will obey the ruling power And a violent passion and desire doth so powerfully move them that it is hard for the reason and will to rule them So if your thoughts are wanton and filthy you must cleanse that unclean and lustful heart and get Christ to cast out the unclean spirit and become chast within before you will keep out your unchast cogitations So if you have confusion and vanity in your thoughts you must get a well-furnished and well-composed mind and heart before you will well cure the maladie of your thoughts § 5. Direct 4. Keep at a sufficient distance from those tempting objects which are the fuel and incentives Direct 4. of your evil
up thy self or if thou hast thought evil lay thy hand upon thy mouth § 13. Direct 12. Cast out vain and sinful thoughts in the beginning before they settle themselves Direct 12. and make a dwelling of thy heart They are easiliest and safeliest resisted in the entrance Thy heart will give them rooting and grow familiar with them if they make any stay Besides it shews the greater sin because there is the less resistance and the more consent If the will were against them it would not let them alone so long Yea and their continuance tendeth to your ruine It is like the câ—nâ—inuance of poyson in your bowels or fire in your thatch or a spie in an armie As long as they â—â—ay they are working toward your greater mischief If these flies stay long they will blow and multiply They will make their nests and breed their young and you will quickly have a swarm of sins § 14. Direct 13. Take â—eed lâ—st any practical error corrupt your understandings or lest you be engaged Direct 13. in any ill design For these will command your thoughts into a course of sinful attendance and service to their ends He that erreth and thinks his sin is his virtue or his duty will indulge the thoughts of it without controul Yea he will drive on his mind to such cogitations and steal from the authority and word of God the motives and incentives of his sin As false prophets speak against God in the name of God and against his word as by the pretended authority of his word so an â—rring mind will fetch its arguments from God and from the Scripture for those sinful thoughts which are against God and Scripture And if evil thoughts will so hardly be kept out when we plead the authority of God and his word against them and do the best we can to hinder them how will they prevail when you plead the authority of God and the sacred Scriptures for them and take it to be your duty to kindle and promote them For instance all the sinful thoughts by which the Romish Clergy are contriving the support of their Kingdom of darkness in the world and the continuance of their tyranny in the Church are but the products of their error which â—â—lls them that all this should be done as pleasing to God and profitable to the Church All the blâ—â—dy thoughts of persecutors against the Church and holy ways of Christ have been cherished by this 〈◊〉 thought John 16. 23. The time cometh that whoever killeth you will Think that he doth God service and thâ—se things they will do unto you because they have not known the Father nor me All Pâ—uls bloody contrivances and practices against the Church did come from this Act. 26. 9. I verilâ— thought with my self that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Iesus of Nazareth which thing I also did All the scornful and reproachful thoughts and speeches of many of the ungodly against a holy life are hence 1 Pet. 4. 4. They think it strange that you run not with them tâ— excess of ryâ—t speaking evil of you The vain babling of hypocrites who cheat their souls with idle lip-labour instead of the spiritual service from the heart and the sacrifice of fools who offer God some outward thing while they deny him their hearts and holy obedience do proceed from this that They think to be heard for their much babling Matth. 6. 7. and they consider not that they do evil Ecâ—l 5. 1. All the self-flattery and presumption of the ungodly and consequently all their ungodly lives are much from their erroneous thoughts He that thinketh he is something when he is nothing deceiveth himself Gal. 6. 3. O come into the light and forsake your darkness For sinful thoughts are like hobgoblins and hags that fly from the light and like worms and serpents that creep into holes and crawl and gender in the dark § 15. Direct 14. Remember what an opening of thoughts there will be when you come into the Direct 14. light either here by conviction or at the furthest at the day of judgement Then you will be ashamed to see what filth and vanity you entertained and with what dross and rubbish you stust your minds When the light comes in what abundance of things will you see to your astonishment in the dungeon of your hearts which now you take no notice of Remember that all your hidden thoughts must â—one day be brought into the open light Say not that this is a thing impossible because they are so numerous For God who seeth them all at once and causeth his sun to illuminate so many millions at once can make you see them all at once and yet distinctly and see the shame and filthiness of every one of them § 16. Direct 15. When you find that some thoughts of sin and vanity are following you still for Direct 15. all that you can do you must not therefore plunge your souls into so much sollicitousness fear and trouble as may discourage and distract your mind but wait on God in the complacential and obediential way of cure It is the Tempters method to keep sinners utterly careless of their thoughts and senseless of any sin that is in them as long as he can and when that hope faileth him he will labour to make a humbled obedient soul so sensible of the sin of his thoughts and so careful about them as to confound him and cast him into melancholy discouragement and despair and then he will have no command of his thoughts at all but they will be as much ungoverned another way and feed continually upon terror The end of this temptation is to distract you and confound you The pretence of the Tempter will be contrary to his end For while he driveth you with terrors to think of nothing else but what you have been or are thinking on and to make your own thoughts the only or principal matter of your thoughts he will confound you and make you undisposed to all good and unable to govern your thoughts at all But if you principally study the excellencies of God and Godliness and take the course which tends to make Religion pleasant to you and withall keep up an aweful obedience to God this Complacential obedience will best prevail § 17. Direct 16. Therefore deliver up your hearts to Christ in Love and duty and consecrate Direct 16. your thoughts entirely to his service and keep them still exercised on him or in his work and this Siâ—ut â—gnis in aqua durare nâ—n potest ita nequeâ—urpâ—s cogitatio in Dei amante Quoniam omnis qui Dei amator est etiam laboris amans est Caeteruâ— labor volunâ—arius naturaliter voluptati inimicus existit Marcus Ereâ— will most effectually cure them of vanity and sin If you have a friend that you love entirely you will not feed swine in the room that must entertain him
obliging you hereunto As 1 Ioh. 3. 11 23. 4. 7 12 20 21. Direct 4. To this end let Christ be your continual study He is the full revelation of the Love of Direct 4. God the lively pattern of love and the best teacher of it that ever was in the world His incarnation life and sufferings his Gospel and Covenant his intercession and preparations for our heavenly felicity all are the great demonstrations of condescending matchless love Mark both Gods Love to us in him and his Love to man and you will have the best directive and incentive of your Love Direct 5. Observe all the good which is in every man Consider of the good of Humanity in his Direct 5. nature and the goodness of all that truth which he confesseth and of all that moral good which appeareth in his heart and life And let not oversight or partiality cause you to overlook it or make light of it For it is Goodness which is the only attractive of Love And if you overlook mens goodness you cannot love them Direct 6. Abhor and beware of a censorious disposition which magnifieth mens faults and vilifieth Direct 6. their virtues and maketh men seem worse than indeed they are For as this cometh from the want of love so doth it destroy that little which is left Direct 7. Beware of superstition and an erring judgement which maketh men place Religion where Direct 7. God never placed it For when this hath taught you to make duties and sins of your own humour and invention it will quickly teach you to love or hate men accordingly as they fit or cross your opinion and humour Thus many a Papist loveth not those that are not subjects of the Roman Monarch and that follow not all his irrational fopperies Many an Anabaptist loveth not those that are against his opinion of rebaptizing One loveth not those who are for Liturgies Forms of Worship and Church-musick and many love not those who are against them And so of other things of which more anon Direct 8. Avoid the company of censorious backbiters and proud contemners of their brethren Hearken Direct 8. not to them that are causelesly vilifying others aggravating their faults and extenuating their virtues For such proud supercilious persons religious or prophane are but the messengers of Satan by whom he intreateth you to hate your Neighbour or abate your love to him And to hear them speak evil of others is but to go hear a Sermon against Charity which may take with such hearts as ours before we are aware Direct 9. Keep still the motives and incentives of Love upon your minds Which I shall here next set Direct 9. before you Tit. 3. The Reasons or Motives of Love to our Neighbour Mot. 1. COnsider well of the Image and interest of God in man The worst man is his Creature Motive 1. and hath his natural Image though not his Moral Image And you should love the work for the workmans sake There is something of God upon all humane nature above the bruits It is intelligent and capable of knowing him of loving him and of serving him And possibly may be brought to do all this better than you can do it Undervalue nor the noble nature of man nor overlook not that of God which is upon them nor the interest which he hath in them Mot. 2. Consider well of Gods own Love to man He hateth their sins more than any of us and Motive 2. yet he loveth his workmanship upon them and maketh his sun to shine and his rain to fall on the evil and on the good on the just and on the unjust Matth. 5. 45. And what should more stir us up to Love than to be like to God Mot. 3. And think oft of the Love of Christ unto mankind yea even unto his enemies can you have Motive 3. a better example a livelyer incentive or a surer guide Mot. 4. Consider of our Unity of Nature with all men suitableness breedeth and maintaineth Motive 4. love Even Birds and Beasts do love their kind And man should much more have a love to man as being of the same specifick form Mot. 5. Love is the principle of doing good to others It enclineth men to beneficence And all men Motive 5. call him good who is inclined to do good Mot. 6. Love is the bond of all Societies Of Families Cities Kingdoms and Churches Without Mot. 6. Love they will be but enemies conjunct who are so much the more hurtful and pâ—rnicious to each other by how much they are nearer to each other The soul of Societies is gone when Love is gone Mot. 7. Consider why it is that you love your selves rationally and why it is that you would be Mot. 7. beloved of others And you will see that the same reasons will be of equal force to call for Love to others from you Mot. 8. What abundance of duty is summarily performed in Love And what abundance of sin is Mot. 8. avoided and prevented by it If it be the fulfilling of the Law it avoideth all the violations of the Law proportionably So far as you have Love you will neither dishonour superiors nor oppress interiors nor injure equals You will neither covet that which is your neighbours nor envy nor malice them nor defame nor backbite nor censure them unjustly nor will you rob them or defraud them nor withold any duty or kindness to them Mot. 9. Consider how much Love pleaseth God and why it is made so great a part of all your Mot. 9. duty and why the Gospel doth so highly commend it and so strictly command it and so terribly condemn the want of it And also how suitable a duty it is for you who are obliged by so much love of God These things well studied will not be without effect Mot. 10. Consider also that it is your own interest as well as your great duty 1. It is the soundness Mot. 10. and honesty of your hearts 2. It is pleasing to that God on whom only you depend 3. It is a condition of your receiving the saving benefits of his love 4. It is an amiable virtue and maketh you lovely to all sober men All men love a loving nature and hate those that hate and hurt their neighbours Love commandeth love and hurtfulness is hatefulness 5. It is a sweet delightful duty All Love is â—ssentiated with some complacence and delight 6 It tendeth to the ease and quietness of your lives What contentions and troubles will love avoid What peace and pleasure doth it cause in families neighbourhoods and all societies And what brawling and vexations come where it is wanting It will make all your neighbours and relations to be a comfort and delight to you which would be a burden and trouble if Love were absent 7. It maketh all other mens felicity and comforts to be yours If you love them as
to Hell that they cannot be known asunder Hath not Christ taught us plainly how to know them Psal. 1. 15. 1 Iohn 3. and bid us give diligence to make our calling and election sure 2 Pet. 1. 10. If all men must hope that they shall be saved then most must hope for that which they shall never have But it is no hope of Gods making which deceiveth men Should so great a matter as our everlasting joy or misery be cast out of our Care and ventured so regardlesly in the dark When it is it that we have life and time and all for to make it sure And what hurt can it do you to find out the truth of your own condition If you are indeed unregenerate and unholy discover it now in time and you have time to be recovered You must despair of being saved without conversion But that preventeth absolute final despair Whereas if you find not out your case till time is past then hope is past and the Devil hath you in endless desperation where he would § 20. Tempt 10. If this prevail not the Devil will seek to carry it by noise instead of reason Tempt 10. and will seek to keep you in jovial merry voluptuous company that shall plead by Pots and Playes and pleasures and shall daily make a jest of Godliness and speak of the godly with scorn as a company of Fanatick Hypocrites § 21. Direct 10. But consider that this is but the rage of fools that speak of what they never understood Direct 10. See Prov. 13. 20 Prâ—v â—8 â— Ephes. 5. 7. 11. Did they ever try the way they speak against Are they to be believed before God himself Will they not â—at their words at last themselves Will their merry lives last alwayes Do they dye as merrily as they live and bring off themselves as well as they promised to bring off you He that will be cheated of his salvation and forsake his God for the ranting scorns of a distracted sinner is worthy to be damned § 22. Tempt 11. Next be telleth them that a godly life is so hard and tedious that if they should begin Tempt 11. they should never endure to hold on and therefore it is in vain to try it § 23. Direct 11. But this pretence is compounded of wickedness and madness What but a wicked Direct 11. heart can make it so hard a thing to live in the Love of God and holiness and in the hopes and seeking of eternal life Why should not this be a sweeter and pleasanter life than drinking and roaring and gaming and fooling away time in vain or than the enjoying of all the delights of the flesh There 's nothing but a sick distempered heart against it that nauseateth that which in it self is most delightful When Grace hath changed your hearts it will be easie Do you not see that others can hold on in it and would not be as they were for all the world And why may not you God will help you It is the Office of Christ and the Spirit to help you Your encouragements are innumerable The hardness is most at first It is the longer the easier But what if it were hard Is it not necessary Is Hell easier and to be preferred before it And will not Heaven pay for all your cost and labour Will you sit down in desperation and resolve to let your salvation go upon such silly bug-bear words as these § 24. Tempt 12. Next the Devils endeavour will be to find them so much employment with Tempt 12. worldly cares or hopes or business that they shall find no leisure to be serious about the saving of their souls § 25. Direct 12. But this is a snare though frequently prevalent yet so irrational and against so Direct 12. many warnings and witnesses even of all men in the world either first or last at conversion or at death that he who after all this will neglect his God and his salvation because he hath worldly things to mind is worthy to be turned over to his choice and have no better help or portion in the hour of his necessity and distress Of this sin I have spoken afterward Chap. 4. Part. 6. § 26. Tempt 13. Lest the soul should be converted the Devil will do all that he can to keep you from Tempt 13. the acquaintance and company of those whose holiness and instructions might convince and strengthen you and especially from a lively convincing Minister and to cast you under some dead hearted Minister and Society § 27. Direct 13. Therefore if it be possible though it be to your loss or inconvenience in the Direct 13. world live under a searching heavenly Teacher and in the company of them that are resolved for Heaven It is a dead heart indeed that feeleth not the need of such assistance and is not the better for it when they have it If ever you be fair for Heaven and like to be converted it will be among such helps as these § 28. Tempt 14. But one of the strongest Temptations of Satan is by making their sin exceeding Tempt 14. pleasant to them for the gain or honour or fleshly satisfaction and so encreasing the violence of their sensual appetite and lust and making them so much in Love with their sin that they cannot leave it Like the thirst of a man in a burning Feavor which makes him cry for cold drink though it would kill him the fury of the appetite conquering reason So we see many drunkards fornicators worldlings that are so deeply in Love with their sin that come on it what will they will have it though they have Hell with it § 29. Direct 14. Against this Temptation I desire you to read what I have said after Chap. 4. Direct 14. Part. 7. Chap. 3. Direct 6. 8. O that poor sinners knew what it is that they so much Love Is the pleasing of the flesh so sweet a thing to you and are you so indifferent to God and holy things Are these less amiable Do you foresee what both will be at last Will your sin seem better than Christ and Grace and Heaven when you are dying O be not so in Love with damning folly and the pleasure of a Beast as for it to despise the heavenly wisdom and delights § 30. Tempt 15. Another great Temptation is the prosperity of the wicked in this life and the reproach Tempt 15. and suffering which usually falls upon the godly If God did strike every notorious sinner dead in the place as soon as he had sinned or struck him blind or dumb or lame or inflicted presently some such judgement then many would fear him and forbear their sin But when they see no men prosper so much as the most ungodly and that they are the persecutors of the holy seed and that sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed then are their hearts set in them
they are sins § 73. Direct 6. And indeed do you not know that it is a sin to love the world better than God Direct 6. and fleshly pleasure better than Gods service and Riches better than grace and holiness and to do more for the body than for the soul and for earth than for Heaven Are you uncertain whether these are sins And do you not feel that they are your sins You cannot pretend ignorance for these But what causeth your Ignorance Is it because you would fain know and cannot Do you read and hear and study and enquire and pray for knowledge and yet cannot know Or is it not because you would not know or think it not worth the pains to get it or because you love your sin And will such wilful ignorance as this excuse you No it doth make your sin the greater It sheweth the greater dominion of sin when it can use thee as the Philistines did Sampson put out thy eyes and make a â—rudge of thee and conquer thy Reason and make thee believe that evil is good and good is evil Now it hath mastered the principal fortress of thy soul when thy understanding is mastered by it He is reconciled indeed to his enemy who taketh him to be a friend Do you not know that God should have your heart and Heaven should have your chiefest care and diligence and that you should make the Word of God your Rule and your delight and meditation day and night If you know not these things it is because you would not know them And it is a miserable case to be given up to a blinded mind Take heed lest at last you commit the horridst sins and do not know them to be sins For such there are that mock at Godliness and persecute Christians and Ministers of Christ and know not that they do ill but think they do God service John 16. 2. If a man will make himself drunk and then kill and steal and abuse his neighbours and say I knew not that I did ill it shall not excuse him This is your case You are drunken with the love of fleshly pleasure and worldly things and these carry you so away that you have neither heart nor time to study the Scriptures and hear and think what God saith to you and then say that you did not know § 74. Tempt 7. But saith the Tempter it cannot be a mortal reigning sin because it is not committed Tempt 7. with the whole heart nor without some strugling and resistance Dost thou not feel the Spirit striving against the flesh And so it is with the Regenerate Gal. 5. 17. Rom. 7. 20 21 22 23. The good which thou dost not do thou wouldst do and the evil which thou dost thou wouldst not do so then it is no more thou that dost it but sin that dwelleth in thee In a sensual unregenerate person there is but one party there is nothing but flesh but thou feelest the combat between the Flesh and the Spirit within thee § 75. Direct 7. This is a snare so subtile and dangerous that you have need of eyes in your head Direct 7. to scape it Understand therefore 1. That as to the two Texts of Scripture much abused by the Tempter they speak not at all of mortal reigning sin but of the unwilling infirmities of such as had subdued all such sin and walked not after the flesh but after the Spirit and whose wills were habitually bent to good and fain would have been perfect and not have been guilty of an idle thought or word or of any imperfection in their holiest service but lived up to all that the Law requireth but this they could not do because the flesh did cast many stops before the will in the performance But this is nothing to the case of one that liveth in gross sin and an ungodly life and hath strivings and convictions and uneffectual wishes to be better and to turn but never doth it This is but sinning against Conscience and resisting the Spirit that would convert you and it maketh you worthy of many stripes as being rebellious against the importunities of Grace Sin may be resisted where it is never conquered It may Reign nevertheless for some contradiction Every one that resisteth the King doth not depose him from his Throne It 's a dangerous deceit to think that every good desire that contradicteth sin doth conquer it and is a sign of saving grace It must be a desire after a state of godliness and an effectual desire too There are degrees of Power some may have a less and limited power and yet be Rulers As the evil Spirits that possessed mens bodies were a Legion in one and What Resistance of sin may be in the ungodly but one in others yet both were possessed So is it here Grace is not without resistance in a holy Soul there is some remnants of corruption in the will it self resisting the good and yet it followeth not that Grace doth not Rule So is it in the sin of the unregenerate No man in this life is so good as he will be in Heaven or so bad as he will be in Hell Therefore none is void of all moral good And the least good will resist evil in its degree as Light doth darkness As in these cases § 76. 1. There is in the unregenerate a remnant of natural knowledge and conscience some discoveries of God and his will there are in his works God hath not left himself without witness See Acts 14. 17. 17. 27. Rom. 1. 19 20. 2. 7 8 9. This Light and Law of Nature governed the Heathens And this in its measure resisteth sin and assisteth conscience § 77. 2. When supernatural extrinsick Revelation in the Scripture is added to the Light and Law of Nature and the ungodly have all the same Law as the best it may do more § 78. 3. Moreover an ungodly man may live under a most powerful Preacher that will never let him alone in his sins and may stir up much fear in him and many good purposes and almost perswade him to be a true Christian and not only to have some uneffectual wishings and strivings against sin but to do many things after the Preacher as Herod did after Iohn and to escape the common pollutions of the world 2 Pet. 2. 20. § 79. 4. Some sharp affliction added to the rest may make him seem to others a true penitent when he is stopt in his course of sin as Balaam was by the Angel with a drawn Sword and feeth that he cannot go on but in danger of his life and that God is still meeting him with some cross and hedging up his way with thorns for such mercy he sheweth to some of the ungodly this may not only breed resistance of sin but some reformation When the Babylonians were planted in Samaria they feared not God and he sent Lyons among them and then they feared him and
company or outward advantages to his Religion nor avoideth sin for want of a temptation but is Religious though against the stream and innocent when cast unwillingly upon temptations and is Godly where Godliness is accounted singularity hypocrisie faction humour disobedience or heresie and will rather let go the reputation of his honesty than his honesty it self Direct 2. TAke heed of being Religious only in Opinion without Zeal and holy practice or only in Direct 2. Zealous affection without a sound well grounded judgement But see that Iudgement Zeal and practice â—e conjunct § 1. Of the first part of this advice against a bare Opinionative Religion I have spoken already in my Directions for a Sound Conversion To change your Opinions is an easier matter than to change the Heart and Life A holding of the truth will save no man without a Love and practice of the truth This is the meaning of Iames 2. where he speaketh so much of the unprofitableness of a dead uneffectual belief that worketh not by love and commandeth not the soul to practice and obedience To believe that there is a God while you neglect him and disobey him is unlike to please him To believe that there is a Heaven while you neglect it and prefer the world before it will never bring you thither To believe your duty and not to perform it and to believe that sin is evil and yet to live in it is to sin with aggravation and have no excuse and not the way to be accepted or justified with God To be of the same Belief with holy men without the same hearts and conversations will never bring you to the same felicity He that knoweth his Masters will and doth it not shall be so far from being accepted for it that he shall be beaten with many stripes To believe that Holiness and Obedience is the best way will never save the disobedient and unholy § 2. And yet if Iudgement be not your Guide the most zealous affections will but precipitate you Scientiâ— quae est 〈…〉 ota à just 〈…〉 caâ—â—iditaâ— poâ—â—us quam sapientia 〈◊〉 est ◠〈◊〉 Of the necessity of Pâ—udence in Religious men â—ead 〈…〉 The unprudenciâ—s of welâ—-meaning men have done as much hurt to the Church sometimeâ— as the persecution of enemies e. g. When Coâ—stantine the Son of Constans was Emperour some busie men would prove from the Orthodoâ— Doctrine of the Trinity That his two Brethren Tibtrius and Heraclius should reign with him saying Si iâ— Trinitate creâ—iâ—â—is â—res etiam 〈…〉 which cost the chief of them a hanging Abbas Urspergens Edit Melancth p. 162. and make you run though quite out of the way like the Horses when they have cast the Coachman or the Riders To ride Post when you are quite out of the way is but laboriously to lose your time and to prepare for further labour The Jews that persecuted Christ and his Apostles had the testimony of Paul himself that they had a zeal of God but not according to knowledge And Paul saith of the deceivers and troublers of the Galathians whom he wisheth even cut off that they did zealously affect them but not well Rom. 10. 2. Gal. 4. 17. And he saith of himself while he persecuted Christians to prison and to death I was zealous towards God as ye are all this day Acts 22. 3 4. Was not the Papists Saint Dominick that stirred up the persecution against the Christians in France and Savoy to the murdering of many thousands of them a very zealous man And are not the Butchers of the inquisition zealous men And were not the Authors of the third Canon of the General Council at the Laterane under Pope Innocent the third very zealous men that decreed that the Pope should depose Temporal Lords and give away their Dominions and absolve their Subjects if they would not exterminate the godly called Hereticks Were not the Papists Powder-Plotters zealous men Hath not zeal caused many of later times to rise up against their lawful Governours and many to persecute the Church of God and depriue the people of their faithful Pastors without compassion on the peoples souls Doth not Christ say of such Zealots The time cometh when whosoever killeth you will think he doth God service John 16. 2. or offereth a service acceptable to God Therefore Paul saith It is good to be zealously affected alwayes in a good matter Gal. 4. 18. Shewing you that zeal indeed is good if sound judgement be its guide Your first question must be Whether you are in the right way and your second Whether you go apace It is sad to observe what odious actions are committed in all Ages of the world by the instigation of mis-guided zeal And what a shame an imprudent Zealot is to his profession while making himself ridiculous in the eyes of the adversaries he brings his prosession it self into contempt and maketh the ungodly think that the Religious are but a company of transported brain-sick Zealots And thus they are hardened to their perdition How many things doth unadvised affection provoke well-meaning people to that afterwards will be their shame and sorrow § 3. Labour therefore for knowledge and soundness of understanding that you may know truth from falshood good from evil and may walk confidently while you walk safely and that you become not a shame to your profession by a furious prosecution of that which you must afterwards confess to be an error by drawing others to that which you would after wish that you had never known your selves And yet see that all your knowledge have its efficacy upon your heart and life And take every truth as an instrument of God to reveal himself to you or to draw your heart to him and conform you to his holy will Direct 3. LAbour to understand the true Method of Divinity and see Truths in their several degrees Leg. Acost l. 4. c. 21. 22 de fructu catechizandi Et Li. 5. and order that you take not the last for the first nor the lesser for the greater Therefore see that you be well grounded in the Catechism and refuse not to learn some Catechism that is sound and full and keep it in memory while you live § 1. Method or right order exceedingly helpeth understanding memory and practice Truths Opas est imprimis duplici Catechismo Uno compendaâ—io brevi quem memoâ—iter addiscant ubi summa sit eorum omnium quae ad fidem mores Christiano sunt necessaria altero ubeâ—iore ubi eadem amplius dilucidiusque dicantur copiosius confirmentur Ut ille prioâ— discipulis potius hic posterior ipsâ— praeceptoribus usu sit Acosta l. 5. c. 14. p 490. have a dependance on each other The lesser branches spring out of the greater and those out of the stock and root Some duties are but means to other duties or subservient to them and to be measured accordingly And if it be not
That if you Tempt 10. are weak he may either discourage you or which is more usual and dangerous make you think better of them than they are and to think you know much when its next to nothing and to make you wise in your own eyes and easily to receive an error and then to be confident in it not to discern between things that differ but to be deceived into false zeal and false wayes by the specious pretences and shews of truth and then to be zealous for the deceiving of others Also that you may be a dishonour to truth and godliness by your weakness and ill management of good causes and may give them away through your unskilfulness to the adversary If you are of stronger wits and parts the Tempter will draw you to despise the weak to take common gifts for special grace or to undervalue holiness and humility and overvalue learning and acuteness He will tempt you dangerously to lothe the simplicity of Christianity and â—f the Scriptures as to style and method and to be offended at the Cross of Christ. So that such persons are usually in greater danger of Infidelity Heresie Pride and insolent domineering over the flock of Christ than vulgar Christians that have lower parts § 20. Direct 10. Labour to be well acquainted with your selves If you are weak know your Direct 10. weakness that you may be humble and fearful and seek for strength and help If you are comparatively strong remember how weak the strongest are and how little it is that the wisest know And study well the Ends and use of knowledge that all that you know may be conâ—â—cted into Love and Holiness and use it as remembring that you have much to give account of § 21. Tempt 11. Moreover the Tempter will fetch advantage against you from your former life Tempt 11. and actions If you have gone out of the way to Heaven he would harden you by custom and make you think it such a disgrace or trouble to return as that it s as good go on and put it to the venture If you have done any work materially good while your heart and course of life is carnal and worldly he would quiet you in your sinful miserable state by applauding the little good that you have done If a good man have erred or done ill he will engage his honour in it and make him study to defend it or excuse it left it prove his shame and tempt men as he did David to hide one sin with another If he gâ—t hâ—ld of one link he will draw on all the chain of sin § 22. Direct 11. Take heed therefore what you do and foresee the end Let not the Devil get Direct 11. in one foot Try your way before you enter it But if you have erred come off and that throughly and betime whatever it cost for be sure it will cost more to go on And if he would make a snare of the good that you have done remember that this is to turn it into the greatest evil And that there must be a concurrence and integrity of good to make you acceptable and to save you Heart and life must be good to the End § 23. Tempt 12. Lastly He fitteth his Temptations to the season He will take the season just Tempt 12. when an evil thought is likest to take with you and when the Winds and Tyde dâ— serve him that will take at one time when a man hath his wits and heart to seek which would be abhorred at another In afflicting Times he will draw you to deny Christ with Peter or shift for your selves by sinful means In prosperous Times he will tempt you to security worldliness and forgetfulness of the night and Winter which approacheth The Timing his Temptations is his great advantage § 24. Direct 12. Dwell as with God and you dwell as in Eternity and will see still that as Time Direct 12. so all the pleasure and advantages and dangers and sufferings of Time are things in themselves of little moment Keep your eye upon Iudgement and Eternity where all the errors of Time will be rectified and all the inequalities of Time will be levelled and the sorrows and joyes that are transitory will be no more And then no reasons from the frowns or flatteries of the Times will seem of any force to you And be still employed for God and still armed and on your watch that Satan may never find you disposed to take the bait The Tempters Method in applying his prepared baits § 25. Tempt 1. The Devils first work is to present the Tempting bait in all its alluring deceiving Tempt 1. properties To make it seem as true as may be to the understanding and as good and amiable as may be to the will To say as much as can be said for an evil cause He maketh his Image of Truth and Goodness as beautiful as he can Sin shall be sugared and its pleasure shall be its strength Heb. 11. 25. Sin shall have its wages paid down in hand 2 Pet. 2. 15. He will set it out with full mouthed praises O what a fine thing it is to be rich and please the flesh continually to have command and honour and lusts and sports and what you desire Who would refuse such a condition that may have it All this will I give thee was the Temptation which he thought fit to assault Christ himself with And he will corrupt the History of Time past and tell you that it went well with those that took his way Jer. 44. 17. And for the future he will promise them that they shall be gainers by it as he did Eve and shall have peace though they please their flesh in sinning See Deut. 29. 19. § 26. Direct 1. In this case first enquire what God saith of that which Satan so commendeth Direct 1. The commendations and motions of an enemy are to be suspected God is most to be believed 2. Then consider not only whether it be good but how long it will be good and what it will prove at the end and how we shall judge of it at the parting And withal consider what it tendeth to whether it tend to good or evil and whether it be the greatest good that we are capable of And then you will see that if there were no good or appearance of good in it it could do a voluntary agent no hurt and were not fit to be the matter of a Temptation And you 'll see that it is temporal good set up to deceive you of the Eternal Good and to entice you into the greatest evil and misery Doth the Devil shâ—w thee the world and say All this will I give thee Look to Christ who sheweth thee the glory of the world to come with all things good for thee in this world and saith more truly All this will I give thee The world and Hell are in one end of the ballance
observest thy danger Nor perceivest that this very desire to have the Power to do evil sheweth a degree of the evil in thy heart and that thou art not yet sâ—t so far from it as thou must be if thou wouldst be safe Contrive thy self if thou be wise and love thy self into the greatest difficulties of sinning that thou canst Make it Impossible if it may be done The Power is for the act Desire not to be able to sin if thou wouldst not sin Not that Natural power to do goâ—d should be destroyed because it is also a power to do evil but cast as many blâ—cks in the way of thy sinning as thou canst till it amount to a moral impossibility Desire the strictest Laws and Gâ—vernâ—rs and to be still in the eye of others and contrive it that thou maist Psal 101. 3. have no hope of secrecie Contrive it so that it may be utter shame and lâ—ss to thee if thou sin If thou be tempted to fornication never be private with hâ—r or him that is thy snare If thou be tempted to deceive and rob those that trust thee avoid the trust or if ever thou have done it restore and confess that shame may preserve thee § 37. Tempt 7. Next the Tempter importunately soliciteth ouâ— Thoughts or fantasies to feed upon Tempt 7. the tempting thing That the lustful person may be thinking on the objects of his lusts and the ambitious man thinking on his desired honour and the coveteous man of his desired wealth his house or lands or gainful bargains and the malitious man be thinking of all the real or imaginary wrongs which kindle malice § 38. Direct 7. Keep a continual watch upon your thoughts Remember that this is the common Direct 7. entrance of the greatest sins And if they go no further the searcher of hearts will judge thee for the adultery murder and other sins of thy heart But especially see that your thoughts be so employed on better things that sin may never find them vacant § 39. Tempt 8. The Tempter also is diligent to keep the end from the sinners eye and to perswade Tempt 8. him that there is no danger in it and that it will be as good at last as at first He cannot endure a thought a word of death or judgement unless he can first fortifie the sinner by some presumptuous hope that his sons are pardoned and his case is good either he will make them believe him that there is no such danger to the soul as should deterr them or else he keepeth them from thinking of that danger He is loth a sinner should so much as look into a grave or go to the house of mâ—urning and see the end of all the living lest he should lay it to heart and thence perceive what worldly pleasure wealth and greatness is by seeing where it leaveth sinners If one do but talk of death or judgement and the life to come the Devil will stir up some scorn or weariness or opposition against such dâ—scourse If a sinner do but bethink himself in secret what will become of him after death the Devil will either allure him or trouble him and never let him rest till he have cast away all such thoughts as tend to his salvation He cannot endure when you see the pomp and pleasure of the world that you should think or ask How long will this endure And what will it prove in the latter end § 40. Direct 8. Go to the holy Scriptures and see what they foretel concerning the end of Direct 8. Psal. 1. 15. Mat. 25. Godliness and sin God knoweth better than the Devil and is more to be believed You may see in the word of God what will come of Saints and sinners Godly and ungodly at the last and what they will think and say when they review their present life and what Christ will say to them and how he will judge them and what will be their reward for ever This is the infallible Prognostication where you may foresee your endless state In this glass continually foresee the end Never judge of any thing by the present gust alone Ask not only how it tasteth but how it worketh and what will be the effects Remember that Gods Law hath inseparably conjoyned Holiness and Heaven and sin unrepented of and Hell and seeing these cannot be separated indeed let them never be separated from each other in your thoughts Otherwise you will never understand Christ or Satan When Christ saith wilt thou deny thy self and take up the Cross and follow me his meaning is shall I â—eal thy carnal worldly heart and life and bring thee by grace to the sight of God in endless Glory You will never understand what prayer and obedience and holy living mean if you see not the End even Heaven conjoyned to them When the Devil saith to the Glutton eat also of this pleasant dish and to the Drunkard take the other cup and to the Fornicator take thy pleasure in the dark and to the Voluptuous go to the Play-house or the Gaming-house come play at Cards or Dice his meaning is Come venture upon sin and fear not Gods threatnings and refuse his word and spirit and grace that I may have thy company among the Damned in the fire which never shall be quenched This is the true English of every temptation Open thy ears then and when ever the Devil or any sinner tempteth thee to sin hear him as if he said I pray thee leap into the flames of Hell § 41. Tempt 9. If the Tempter cannot quickly draw men to the sin he will move them at least to Tempt 9. abate their resolution against it and to deliberate about it and hear what can be said and enter into a dispute with Satan or some of his instruments telling them that it is a sign of falshood which will not indure the trial and that we must prove all things And while the sinner is deliberating and disputing the vâ—â—â—â—me is working it self into his veins and sense is secretly undermining and betraying him and deceiving his mind brâ—bing his reason and seducing his will Iust as an enemy will treat with those that keep a Garrison that during the treaty he may send in spies and find out their weakness and corrupt the souldiers So doth the Devil with the sinner § 42. Direct 9. Remember that it is Christ and not Satan that you are to hear Truth is strong and Direct 9. can bear the tryal before any competent judge but you are weak and not so able to judge as you may imagine Ignorant unskilful and unsetled persons are easily deceived be the cause never so clear If it be a cause untryed by you it is not untryed by all the godly nor unknown to him that gave you the holy Scriptures If it be fit to be called in questim and disputed take the help of able godly Teachers or friends and hear what they
Heaven and audience with God and is dearly beloved by him in Christ. Thou seest in flesh a companion of Angels and one that hath the Divine Nature and must shortly be above the Stars in glory and must be with Christ and must love and magnifie God for ever And is not the amiableness of God apparent in such mercy bestowed upon sinful man And should we not now begin to admire him in his Saints and glorifie him in believers who will câ—me with thousands of his Angels to be glorified and admired in them at the last 2 Thess. 1. 10. O the abundant deliverances preservations provisions encouragements which all his servants receive â—â—â—â— God! Who ever saw the just forsakâ—n even while they think themselves forsaken For the Lâ—rd 〈…〉 h judâ—â—ment and forsaketh not his Saints they are preserved fâ—r ever The Law of his God is in â—â—s heart none of his steps shall slide Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end â—â— that man is peace Psal. 37. 25 28 31 37. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints Psâ—lm 116. 15. Ye that love the Lord hate evil he preserveth the souls of his Saints be delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked Light is sowen for the righteous and gladness for the upriâ—ht in heart Psal. 97. 10 11. O love the Lord all his Saints for the Lord preserveth the faithful and plentifully rewardeth the prâ—ud doer Psal. 31. 23. § 32. Direct 11. Insist not so much on your desires after vision as to undervalue the lower apprehensions Direct 11. of Faith but love God by the way of Faith as in order to the Love of Intuition We are exceeding â—pt to be over-desirous of sight and to take nothing as an object fit to affect us which sense perceiveth not When we have the surest evidence of the truth of things unseen it hardly satisfieth us unless we may see or feel And hereupon our Love to God is hindered while we think of him as if he were not or take the apprehensions of faith as if they were uncertain and little differed from a dream Yea it proveth the ground of most dangerous temptations to Infidelity it self While we take that knowlâ—dge which we have of God in the way of Faith the Love and Communion which is exercised thereby to be as nothing we are next tempted to think that there is no true knowledge of God and communion with him to be attained And when we have been searching and striving long and find that we can reach no more we are tempted to think that the soul oâ— man is made but as the beasts for present things and is uncapable of those higher things which are revealed in the Gospel and that if there were indeed a life to come and man were made to enjoy his God we should get nearer to him than we are and know him more and love him better But is it nothing O presumptuous soul to see God in a Glass in order to a nearer sight Is it nothing to have the Heavenly Ierusalem described and promised to thee unless thou see it and possess it Wilt thou travel to no place but what thou seest all the way Wouldst thou have no difference betwixt Earth and Heaven What canst thou have more in Heaven than immediate intuition Wouldst thou have no life of tryal in the obedience of faith before the life of fruition and reward Or canst thou think that a life of sight and sense is fit for tryal and preparation to shew who is meet for the rewarding life Unthankful soul Compare thy state with that of bruits Is it nothing for thee to know thy Maker in the Works of his Creation and Providence and in the revelations of grace and the belief of promised immortality unless thou presently see him in his glory When these thy fâ—llow creatures know him not at all Compare thy self now with thy self as heretofore in the dayes of thy ignorance and carnality Hadst thou then any such knowledge of God as thou now undervaluest or any such communion with him as thou now accountest next to none When the Light first shined in thine eyes and thou hadst first experience of the knowledge of God thou thoughtst it something and rejoycedst in the light If then thou couldst have suddenly attainâ—d but to so much as thou hast now attained wouldst thou have called it Nothing Would it not have seemed a greater treasure to thee than to have known both the Indies as thine own O be not unthankful for the little which thou hast received when God might have shut thee out in that darkness which the greatest part of the world lyeth in and have left thee to thy self to have desired no higher knowledge than such as may feed thy fansie and pride and lust Art thou so far drowned in flesh and sense as to take Intellectual apprehensions for dreams unless thy sense may see and feel Wilt thou take thy soul thy self for nothing because thou art not to be seen or felt Shall no Subjects honour and obey their King but they that have seen his Court and him Desire the fullest and the nearest sight the purest and the strongest Love and desire and spare not the liâ—e where all this will be had But take heed of being too hasty with God and unthankful for the mercies of the way Know better the difference betwixt thy travail and thy home And know what is fit for passengers to expect Humbly submit to an obedient waiting in a life of faith And make much of the Testament of Christ till thou be at age to possess the inheritance Thou must live and love and run and fight and conquer and suffer by saith if ever thou wilt come to â—â—â—â— and to possess the Crown § 33. Direct 12. It is a powerful means to kindle the Love of God in a believer to foresee by faith Direct 12. the glory of Heaven and what God will be there to his Saints for ever And thus to behold God in his Read 〈…〉 his Prognostiâ—on Si in â—â—â—â—lis sâ—de 〈…〉 haâ— sâ—â—vatur â—aeâ—editus 〈…〉 quaedam tâ—pida pâ—oserunâ— aliqui putantes eam se percipere in teâ—rena Jerusalem Mille ann's existimant esse deliâ—iarum praemia proprietatâ— recâ—pturâ—â— Qui iâ—â—rrogandi sunt quomodo astruant delicias corporales dum dicatur hanc haereditaâ—em nec corrum â—i posse nec marcesceâ—e Didymâ— Alexand. i. Petr. 1. câ—â—â—â— Millâ—nar GLORY is the use of GRACE Though the manner of knowing him thus by faith be far short of what we there expect yet it is the same God and glory that now we believe which then we must more openly behold And therefore as that Apprehension of Love will unconceivably excel the highest which can be here attained so the fore-thoughts of that doth excell all other arguments and means to affect us here and will raise us as high as means can raise us The greatest
thou but say This man is more powerful than God Or God cannot deliver me out of his hands If it be want or sickness or death which thou fearest what dost thou but say in thy heart that God either knoweth not what is best for thee so well as thou knowest thy self or else is not Powerful or Gracious enough to give it nor true enough to keep his promise He that believeth not makes God a lyar 1 Iohn 5. 10 11. § 13. Direct 6. Remember that Trusting God doth as it were oblige him and distrusting him doth Direct 6. greatly disoblige him especially when any thing else is trusted before him If any man trust you upon any encouragement given him by you you will take your selves obliged to be trusty to him and not to fail any honest trust But if he trust you not or trust another you will turn him off to those that he hath trusted God may say to thee Let them help thee whom thou hast trusted Thou trustedst not in me and therefore I fail not thy trust when I forsake thee § 14. Direct 7. Remember that thou must trust in God or in nothing For nothing is more sure Direct 7. nor more frequently experienced than that all things else are utterly insufficient to be our help Shall we choose a broken reed that we know before hand will both deceive and pierce us Wo to the man that hath no surer a foundation for his Trust than Creatures The greatest of them are unable and the Best of them are untrusty and deceitful How sad is thy case if God turn thee off to these for help in the hour of thy extremity Then wilt thou perceive that it is better to trust in the Lord than to put any confidence in Princes Psal. 118. 8 9. The righteous shall see and fear and laugh at him Lo this is the man that made not God his strength but trusted in the abundance of his riches and strengthned himself in his wickedness Psal. 52. 6 7. But they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion that cannot be removed but abideth for ever Psal. 125. 1. Creatures will certainly deceive thy trust but so will not God § 15. Direct 8. Believe and remember the particular providence of God which regardeth the falling Direct 8. of a Sparrow on the ground and numbereth the very hairs of your heads Matth. 10. 30. And can you distrust him that is so punctually regardful of your least concernments that is alway present and watcheth over you You need not fear his absence disregard forgetfulness or insufficiency Doth he number your hairs and doth he not number your groans and prayers and tears How then doth he wipe away your tears and put them all as in his bottle Psal. 56. 8. Rev. 7. 17. § 16. Direct 9. Compare God with thy dearest and most faithful friend and then think how boldly Direct 9. thou caust trust that friend if thy life or wellfare were wholly in his hand and how much more boldly thou shouldst trust in God who is more wise and kind and merciful and trusty than any mortal man can be When thou art in want in prison in sickness and in pain expecting death think now if my life or health or liberty were absolutely in the power of my surest friend how quietly could I wait and how confidently could I cast away my fears though I had no promise what he would do with me For I know he would do nothing but what is for my good And is not God to be trusted in much more Indeed a friend would ease my pain or supply my wants or save my life when God will not But that is not because God is less kind but because he is more wise and better knoweth what tendeth to my hurt or good My friend would pull off the Plaister as soon as I complain of smart but God will stay till it have done the cure But sure God is more to be trusted for my real final good though my friend be forwarder to give me ease All friends may fail but Gâ—d 〈◊〉 faileth § 17. Direct 10. Make use of the natural Love of quietness and thy natural weariness of tormenting 〈◊〉 10. câ—res and feaâ—â— and sâ—rrows to move thee to cast thy self on God and quiet thy soul in trusting on him For God hath purposely made thy self and all things else insufficient unsatisfactory and vâ—xatious to theâ— that thou mightst be driven to rest on him alone when nothing else affords theâ—â—â—st Cares and fears and unquietness of mind are such Thorns and Bryars as nature cannot love â—â— be content with And you may be sure that you can no way be delivered from them but by trusting upon God And will you choose care and torment when so sure and cheap a way of case is sâ—t before you Who can endure to have fears torment him and cares feed daily upon his heart that may safely be delivered from it An ulcerated fâ—stered pained mind is a greater calaâ—ity than any bodily distress alone And if you be cast upon your own care or committed to the trust of any creature you can never rationally have peace For your own ease and comfort then betake your selves to God and cast all your care and burden on him who careth for you and knoweth perfectly what you want 1 Pet. 5. 7. Matth 6. 32. Read often Matth. 6. from â— 2â— How sweet an â—ase and quietness is it to the mind that can confidently trust in God How quiet is he from the storms of trouble and the sickness of mind which others are distressed with Isâ— 26. 3 4. Thou wilâ— keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thâ—e Trust â—â— in the Lord for ever for in the Lord Jâ—hovah is everlasting strength Psal. 112. 7 8. He shall not be afraid of evil tydings his heart is fixed trusting in the Lord His heart is established â—e shall not be afraid Psal. 31. 19 20. O how great is thy goodness which thou hast lâ—id up for them that fear thee which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the Sons of men Thâ—u shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man thou shalt keep them secretly in thy pâ—viliâ—n from the strife of tongues 24. Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart â—â— ye that hope in the Lord Psal. 56. 3 4. What time I am afraid I will trust in thee In God I will prâ—ise his word In God have I put my trust I will not fear what flesh can do unto me How easie and sweet a life is this § 18. Direct 11. Remember that Distrust is a pregnant multiplying sin and will carry thee to all iniquity Direct 11. and miseâ—y if thou suffer it to prevail Distrusting God is but our entrance upon a life of error sin and wo It presently sets us on idolatrous confidence on
But the misery is that few of the ignorant and weak have knowledge and humility enough â—o pâ—rceive their ignorance and weakness but they think they speak as wisely as the best and are offended if their words be not reverenced accordingly As a Minister should study and labour for a skill and ability to preach because it is his work so every Christian should study for skill to discourse with wisdom and meet expressions about holy things because this is his work And as unfit expressions and behaviour in a Minister do cause contempt instead of edifying so do they in discourse § 31. Direct 10. When ever Gods holy Name or Word is blasphemed or used in levity or jeast Direct 10. or a holy life is made a scorn or God is notoriously abused or dishonoured be ready to reprove it with gravity where you can and where you cannot at least let your detestation of it be conveniently manifested Of Prayer I have spoken aâ—terwaâ—d Among those to whom you may freely speak lay open the greatness of their sin Or if you are unable for long or accurate discourse at least tell them who hath said Thou shalt Tom. 2. c. not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain And where your speech is unmeet as to some Superiours or is like to do more harm than good let your departing the room or your looks or rather your tears shew your dislike Directions for the glorifying God in our Lives § 32. Direct 1. Our Lives then glorifie God when they are such as his Excellencies most appear in Direct 1. And that is when they are most Divine or Holy when they are so managed that the world may see that Turâ—issimum est Philosopho secus docere quam viviâ— Paul Scaligâ—r p. 728. it is God that we have chiefly respect unto and that HOLINESS TO THE LORD is written upon all our faculties and affairs So much of GOD as appeareth in our lives so much they are truly venerable and advanced above the rank of fleshly worldly lives God only is the real glory of every person and every thing and every word or action of our lives And the natural conscience of the world which in despight of their Atheism is forced to confess and reverence a Deity will be forced even when they are hated and persecuted to reverence the appearance of God in his holy ones Let it appear therefore 1. That Gods Authority commandeth you above all the powers of the earth and against all the power of fleshly lusts 2. That it is the Glory and Nam illa quae de regno calorum commâ—mâ—rantur à nâ—bâ—â— dâ—que praesentâ—um reâ—um contâ—mpâ—u vel non caâ—â—unt vel non â—aâ—â—le sibi peâ—suadeâ—t cum sâ—rmo factis evertitur Interest of God that you live for and look after principally in the world and not your own carnal interest and glory And that it is his work that you are doing and not your own and his cause and not your own that you are engaged in 3. That it is his Word and Law that is your Rule 4. And the example of his Son that is your pattern 5. And that your hearts and lives are moved and acted in the world by motives fetcht from the Rewards which he hath promised and the punishments which he hath threatned in the world to come 6. And that it is a supernatural powerful principle sent from God into your hearts even the Holy Ghost by which you are inclined and actuated in the tenor of your lives 7. And that your daily converse is with God and that men and other creatures are comparatively nothing to you but are made to stand by while God is preferred and honoured and served by you and that all your business is with him or for him in the world Acâ—staâ—l 4. c. 18. p. 418. § 33. Direct 2. The more of Heaven appeareth in your Lives the more your Lives do glorifie God Worldly and carnal men are conscious that their glory is a vanishing glory and their pleasure but a transitory dream and that all their honour and wealth will shortly leave them in the dust And Direct 2. therefore they are forced in despight of their sensuality to bear some reverence to the life to come And though they have not hearts themselves to deny the pleasures and profits of the world and to spend their dayes in preparing for eternity and in laying up a treasure in Heaven yet they are convinced that those that do so are the best and wisest men and they could wish that they might dye the death of the righteous and that their last end might be like his As Heaven exceedeth Earth even in the reverent acknowledgement of the World though not in their practical esteem and choice so Heavenly Christians have a reverent acknowledgement from them when malice doth not hide their Heavenliness by slanders though they will not be such themselves Let it appear in your lives that really you seek a higher happiness than this world affordeth and that you verily look to live with Christ and that as Honour and Wealth and Pleasure command the lives of the ungodly so the hope of Heaven commandeth yours Let it appear that this is your design and business in the world and that your Hearts and conversation are above and that whatever you do or suffer is for this and not for any lower end and this is a life that God is glorified by § 34. Direct 3. It glorifieth God by shewing the excellency of faith when we contemn the riches Direct 3. and honours of the world and live above the worldlings life accounting that a despicable thing which he accounts his happiness and loseth his soul for As men despise the toyes of children so a believer must take the transitory vanities of this world for matters so inconsiderable as not to be worthy his regard save only as they are the matter of his duty to God or as they relate to him or the life to come Saith Paul 2 Cor. 4. 18. We look not at the things which are seen they are not worth our observing or looking at but at the things which are not seen For the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal The world is under a believers feet while his eye is fixed on the coelestial world He travelleth through it to his home and he will be thankful if his way be fair and if he have his daily bread but it is not his home nor doth he make any great matter whether his usage in it be kind or unkind or whether his Inn be well adorned or not He is almost indifferent whether for so short a time he be rich or poor in a high or in a low condition further than as it tendeth to his Masters service Let men see that you
inspirations of their own So that the people were not left to the credulity of naked unproved assâ—rtions of any one that would say that he was sent of God 7. There were some signs given by some of the Prophets to confirm their word As Isaiahs predictions of Hezekiahs danger and remedy and recovery and of the going back of the shadow on Ahaz dyall ten degrees c. And more such there might be which we know not of 8. All Prophecies were not of equal obligation The first Prophecies of any Prophet who brought no attestation by Miracles nor had yet spoken any Prophecie that had been fullfilled might be a merciful revelation from God which might oblige the hearers to a reverent regard and an enquiry into the authority of the Prophet and a waiting in suspense till they saw whether it would come to pass And the fullfilling of it increased their obligation Some Prophecies that foretold but temporal things captivities or deliverances might at first before the Prophets produced a Divine attestation be rather a bare prediction than a Law and if men believed them not it might not make them guilty of any damning sin at all but only they refused that warning of a temporal judgement which might have been of use to them had they received it 9. But our obligation now to believe the same Scripture Prophecies is greater because we live in the ages when most of them are fullfilled and the rest are attested by Christ and his Apostles who proved their attestations by manifold Miracles 10. When the Prophets reproved the known sins of the people and called men to such duties as the Law required no man could speed ill by obeying such a Prophet because the Matter of his Prophecies was found in Gods own Law which must of necessity be obeyed And this is the chief part of the recorded Prophecies 11. And any man that spake against any part of Gods Law of natural or super-natural revelation was not to be believed Deut. 13. 18. Because God cannot speak contrary to himself 12. But the Prophets themselves had another kind of obligation to believe their own Visions and Inspirations than any of their hearers had For Gods great extraordinary Revelation was like the Light which immediately revealed it self and constrained the understanding to know that it was of God And such were the Revelations that came by Angelical apparitions and Visions Therefore Prophets themselves might be bound to more than their bare word could have bound their hearers to As to wound themselves to go bare to feed on dung c. And this was Abrahams case in offering Isaack Yet God did never command a Prophet or any by a Prophet a thing simply evil but only such things as were of a mutable nature and which his will could alter and make to be good And such was the case of Abraham himself if well considered PART II. Directions against Hardness of Heart § 1. IT is necessary that some Christians be better informed what Hardness of Heart is who most complain of it The Metaphor is taken from the Hardness of any matter which a workman would make an impression on And it signifieth the passive and active Resistance of the heart against the Word and Works of God When it receiveth not the impressions which the Word should make and obâ—yeth not Gods Commands but after great and powerful means remâ—ineth as it was before unmoved unaffected and disobedient So that Hardness of heart is not a distinct sin but the habitual power of every sin or the deadness unmoveableness and obstinacy of the heart in any sin So many duties and sins as there be so many wayes may the heart be hardned against the Wâ—rd which forbiddeth those sins and commandeth those duties It is therefore an exâ—or that hath had very ill consequents on many persons to think that Hardness of Heart is nothing but a want of passionate feeling in the matters which concern the soul especially a want of sorrow and tears This hath made them over-careful for such tears and grief and passions and dangerously to make light of the many greater instances of the Hardness of their Hearts Many beginners in Religion who are taken up in penitential duties do think that all Repentance is nothing but a change of opinion except they have those passionate griefs and tears which indeed would well become the penitent And hereupon they take more pains with themselves to affect their hearts with sorrow for sin and to wring out tears than they do for many greater duties But when God calleth them to Love him and to Praise him and to be Thankful for his Mercies or to love an enemy or forgive a wrong when he calleth them to mortifie their earthly mindedness their carnality their pride their passion or their disobedience they yield but little to his call and shew here much greater Hardness of Heart and yet little complain of this or take notice of it I intreat you therefore to observe that the greater the Duty is the worse it is to Hardeâ— the Heart against it And the greater the sin is the worse it is to Harden the heart by obstinacy in it And that the great duties are The Love of God and man with a mortified and heavenly mind and life and to resist Gods Word commanding these is the great and dangerous Hardning of the Heart The life of grace lyeth 1. In the preferring of God and Heaven and Holiness in the Estimation of our minds before all worldly things 2. In the Choosing them and Resolving for them with our Wills before all others 3. In the Seeking of them in the bent and drift of our Endeâ—vours These three make up a state of Holiness But for strength of parts or memory or expression and so for passionate affections of sorrow or joy or the tears that express them all these in their time and place and measure are desireable but not of necessity to salvation or to the life of grace They follow much the temperature of the body and some have much of them that have little or no grace and some want them that have much grace The work of Repentance consisteth most in lothing and falling out with our selves for our sins and in forsaking them with abhorrence and turning unto God And he that can do this without tears iâ— truly penitent and he that hath never so many tears without this is impenitent still Non tamen ideo beatus est quia patienter mâ—â—er est Aâ—â—â—â—â— â—e â—iâ—â—â—â—l 14 c. 25 And that is the hard hearted sinner that will not be wrought to a love of Holiness nor let go his sin when God commandeth him but after all exhortations and mercies and perhaps afflictions is still the same as if he had never been admonished or took no notice what God hath been saying oâ— doing to reclaim him Having thus told you what Hardness of heart is you may see that I have given you Directions
against it at large before Chap. 3. Direct 6. 8. but shall add these â—ew § 2. Direct 1. Remember the Majesty and presence of that Most Holy God with whom we have to dâ— Direct 1. Heb. 4. 13. Nothing will more affect and awe the heart and over-rule it in the matters of Religion than the true knowledge of God We will not talk sleepily or contemptuously to a King How much less should we be stupid or contemptuous before the God of Heaven It is that God whom Angels worship that sustaineth the world that keepeth us in life that is alwayes present observing all that we think or say or do whose commands are upon us and with whom we have to do in all things and shall we be hardned against his fear Who hath hardned himself against him and hath prospered Job 9. 4. § 3. Direct 2. Think well of the unspeakable greatness and importance of those Truths and Things Direct 2. which should affect you and of those duties which are required of you Eternity of Iâ—y or Torment is such an amazing thing that one would think every thought and every mention either of it or of any thing that concerneth it should go to our very hearts and deeply affect us and should command the obedience and service of our souls It is true they are things unseen and therefore less apt in that respect to affect us than things visible But the Greatness of them should recompence that disadvantage a thousand fold If our lives laâ— upon every word we speak or upon every step we go how carefully should we speak and go But O how deeply should things affect us which our everlasting life is concerned in One would think a thing of so great moment as dying and passing into an endless life of pain or pleasure should so take up and transport the mind of mâ—n that we should have much ado to bring our selves to mind regard or talk of the inconsiderable interests of the flâ—sh How unexcusable a thing is a sensless careless negligent heart when God looketh on us and Heaven or Hell is a little before us Yea when we are so heavily laden with our sins and compassed about with so many enemies and in the midst of such great and manifold dangers to be yet sensless under all is so far to be dead Will not the wounds of sin and the threatnings of the Law and the accuâ—â—tions of conscience make you feel He that cannot feel the prick of a Pin will feel the stab of a Dagger if he be alive § 4. Direct 3. Remember how near the time is when stupidity and sensless neglect of God will be banished Direct 3. from all the world and what certain and powerful means are before you at death and judgement Lento gradu ad vindictaâ—â— suâ— Divina procâ—dit ira â—arditatemque supplâ—â—iâ— gravitare compensat Valerius Maâ— de Dioâ—ys l. 1. c. 2. to awaken and pierce the hardest heart There are but few that are quite insensible at Death There are none past feeling after death in Heaven or Hell No man will stand before the Lord in the day of Judgement with a sleepy or a sensless heart God will recover your feeling by misery if you will lose it by sin and not recover it by grace He can make you now a terror to your selves Ier. 20. 4. He can make conscience say such things in secret to you as you shall not be able to forget or slight But if conscience awake you not the approach of Death its likely will awake you when you see that God is now in earnest with you and that dye you must and there is no remedy will you not begin to think now whither must I go and what will become of me for ever Will you then harden your heart against God and his warnings If you do the first moment of your entrance upon Eternity will cure your stupidity for ever It would grieve a heart that is not stone to think what a feeling stony hearted sinners will shortly have When God will purposely make them feel with his wrathful streams of fire and brimstone When Satan that now hindereth your feeling will do his worst to make you feel and Conscience the never dying Worm will gnaw your hearts and make them feel without ease or hope of remedy Think what a wakening day is coming § 5. Direct 4. Think often of the Love of God in Christ and of the bloody sufferings of thy Redeemer Direct 4. for it hath a mighty power to melt the heart Iâ— Love and the Love of God and so great and wonderful a Love will not soften thy hardned heart what will § 6. Direct 5. Labour for a full apprehension of the evil and danger of a Hardned heart It is Direct 6. the Death of the soul so far as it prevaileth At the easiest it is like the stupidity of a paralytical member or a seared part Observe the names which Scripture giveth it The Hardning of the heart Prov 28. 14. The hardning of the neck Prov. 29. 10. which signifieth Inflexibility The hardning the face which signifieth impudency Prov. 21. 29. The seâ—redness of the Conscience 1 Tim. 4. 2. The Impenitency of the heart Rom. 2. 5. Sometime it is called sottishness or stupidity Ier. 4. 22. Sometime it is called a not caring or not laying things to heart and not regarding Isa. 42. 25. 5. 12. 32. 9 10 11. Sometime it is denominated metaphorically from inanimates A face harder than a rock Jer. 5. 3. Stony hearts Ezek. 11. 19. 36. 26. A neck with an Iron sinew Isa. 48. 4. and a brow of brass It is called sleep and a deep slumber and a Spirit of slumber Rom. 13. 11. 11. 8. Matth. 25. 5. and Death it self 1 Tim 5. 6. Ephes. 2. 1. 5. Col. 2. 13. Jude 12. § 7. Observe also how dreadful a case it is if it be predominant both symptomatically and effectively It is a fore-runner of mischief Prov. 28. 14. It is a dreadful sign of one that is far more unlikely than others to be converted when they are alienated from the life of God by their ignorance and are past feeling they are given up to work uncleanness with greediness Ephes. 4. 14. Usually God calleth those that he will save before they are past feeling Though such are not hopeless their hope lyeth in the recovering of the feeling which they want And a hardned heart and Iron neck and brazen forehead is a sadder sign of Gods displeasure than if he had made the Heavens as Brass and the Earth as Iron to you or let out the greatest distress upon your bodies When men have eyes and see not and ears and hear not and hearts but understand not it is a sad prognostick that they are very unlikely to be converted and forgiven Mark 4. 12. Acts 28. 27. A hardned heart prâ—dominantly is garrisoned and fortified by Satan against all the means
own word for it and plead with them the Arguments which he hath put into our mouths and yet we speak as to posts and stones to men past feeling what a pittiful sight was it to see Christ stand weeping over Ierusalem for the hardness of their hearts and the nearness and greatness of their misery while they themselves were so far from weeping for it that they raged against the life of him that so much pityed them We bless God that it is not thus with all He hath encouraged some of us with the heart-yielding obedient attention of many great Congregations But among the best alas how many of these hardned sinners are mixed and in many places how do they abound Hence it is that such odious abominations are committed such filthiness and lying and perjury and acts of malicious enmity against the servants of the Lord and that so many are haters of God and Godliness If Satan had not first hardned their hearts he could never have brought them to such odious crimes as now with impudency are committed in the Land As Lots daughters were fain to make their Father drunk that he might commit the sin of incest so the Devil doth first deprive men both of reason and feeling that he may bring them to such heinous wickedness as this and make them laugh at their own destruction and abhor those most that fain would save them And they are not only past feeling but so hate any quickning Ministry or Truth or Means which would recover their feeling that they seem to go to Hell as some condemned Malefactors to the Gallows that make themselves drunk before they go as if it were all they had to care for to keep themselves hoodwinkt from knowing or feeling whither they go till they are there § 9. See what a Picture of a hardned people God giveth to Ezekiel 3. 7. But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee for they will not hearken to me for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard hearted Observe but what a case it is that they are so insensible of and then you will see what a hard hearted sinner past feeling is 1. They are the servants of sin Rom. 6. 16. in the power of it corrupted by it and yet they feel it not 2. They have the guilt of many thousand sins upon them all is unpardoned that ever they committed and yet they feel it not 3. They have the threatnings and curses of God in force against them in his Word even words so terrible as you would think might affright them out of their sins or their wits and they take on them to believe this Word of God and yet they feel not 4. They are in the power of the Devil ruled and deceived by him and taken captive by him at his will Acts 26. 18. 2 Tim. 2. 26. 5. They may be certain that if they dye in this condition they shall be damned and they are uncertain whether they shall live another day they are never sure to be one hour longer out of Hell and yet they feel not 6. They know that they must dye and that it is a great change and of the greatest endless Ferâ—emini moriem nâ— sentieti â— an caeci autem an videntes id in vestra manu est Optate igitur bene mori quod ipsum nisi bene vixeritis frustra est Optate inquam initimini quod in vobis est facile reliquum illi committite qui vos in hanc vitam ultro non vocatos intulit egressuris non nisi vocatus rogatus manum dabit Non mori autem nolite optare Petrarch Dial. 107. l. 2. consequence that death will make with them and they know that this is sure and near and are past doubt of it and yet they feel it not 7. They must shortly appear before the Lord and be judged for all that they have done in the body and be doomed to their endless state and yet they feel not 8. They know that life is short and that they have but a little time to prepare for all this terrible change and that it must go with them for ever as they now prepare and yet they feel not 9. They hear and read of the case of hardned wicked men that have gone before them and have resisted grace and lost their time as they now do and they read or hear of the miserable end that such have come to and yet they feel not 10. They have a world of examples continually before them They see the filthy lives of many for their warning and the holy lives of others for their imitation and see how Christ and Satan strive for souls and yet they feel not 11. They are alwayes before the eye of God and do all this before his face He warneth them and calleth them to repentance and yet they feel not 12. They have Christ as it were crucified before their eyes Gal. 3. 1. They hear of his sufferings They may see in him what sin is and what the Love of God is He pleadeth with them his blood and sufferings against their obstinate unkindness and yet they feel not 13. They have everlasting joy and glory offered them and Heaven so opened to them in Gods promises that they may see it as in a glass 1 Cor. 13. 12. They take on them to believe how much the blessed Spirits there abhorr such wickedness as theirs and yet they feel not 14. They have the Torments of Hell opened to them in the Word of God They read what impenitent souls must suffer to all eternity They hear some in despair in this life roaring in the misery of their souls They hear the joyful thanksgivings of believers that Christ delivereth them from those torments and yet they feel not 15. All the promises of Salvation in the Gospel do put in an exception against these men unless they be converted They are made to the penitent and not to the impenitent There is Justification and life but not for them There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Iesus that walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8. 1. But he that believeth not is condemned already John 3. 18 36. and they that after their hardness and impenitent hearts do treasure up wrath against the day of wrath shall have tribulation and anguish Rom. 2. 5 6 7. Here is comfort for repenting sinners but none but on condition they Repent for them when others are welcomed to Christs marriage feast he saith to these How came you in hither and yet they feel not 16. They still carry about with them the doleful evidences of all this misery One would think the ambitious and covetous and voluptuous might see these death-marks on themselves and the ungodly might feel that God hath not their hearts especially they that hate the godly and shew their wolvish cruelty against them and are the progeny of Cain and yet they feel not any
than a heavenly portion for children and friends and rejoyce more in their bodily than their spiritual prosperity and are troubled more for their poverty than their ungodliness or sin 16. When we can see our brother have need and shut up the bowels of our compassion or can part with no more than meer superfluities for his relief when we cannot spare that which 1 Tim 6. 17 18. Mal. 3. 8 9. Judg. 7. 21. makes but for our better being when it is necessary to preserve his Being it self or when we give unwillingly or spâ—â—ingly 17. When we will venture upon sinful means for gain as lying over-reaching deceiving flattering or going against our Consciences or the Commands of God 18. When we are too much in expecting liberality from others and think that all we buy of should sell cheaper Duâ— râ—s maxime homines ad maleficium impellunt Luxuries avaritia 〈◊〉 1. ad Heâ—en Corrupti sunt depravatique mores admiratione divitiarum Idem 2. Offâ—â— Nihil est tam sanctum quod non violaâ—i nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecunia possit Cicero 2. in Verreâ— When Alexander sent Phocion an hundred tâ—lents â—e asked why he rather sent it to him than all the rest of the Atâ—enians He answered Because he took him to be the only honâ—st man in Aâ—â—eas whereupon Pâ—ocion returned it to him again intreating him to give him leave to be honest still to us than they can afford and consider not their loss or want so that we have the gain nor are contented if they be never so bountiful to others if they be not so to us 19. When we make too much ado in the world for riches taking too much upon us or striving for preferment and flattering great ones and envying any that are preferred before us or get that which we expected 20. When we hold our money faster than our innocency and cannot part with it for the sake of Christ when he requireth it but will stretch our consciences and sin against him or forsake his cause to save our estates Or will not part with it for the service of his Church or of our country when we are called to it 21. When the Riches which we have are used but for the pampering of our flesh and superfluous provision for our posterity and nothing but some inconsiderable crums or driblets are imployed for God and his servants nor used to further us in his service and towards the laying up of a treasure in Heaven These are the signs of a worldly covetous wretch § 7. V. The counterfeits of liberality or freedom from covetousness which deceive the worldling are such as these 1. He thinks he is not Covetous because he hath a necessity of doing what he doth for more Either he is in debt or he is poor and scarcely hath whereon to live And the poor think that none are worldlings and covetous but the Rich. But he may love riches that wanteth them as much as he that hath them If you have a necessity of labouring in your callings you have no necessity of loving the world or of caring inordinately or of being discontented with your estate Impatience under your wants shews a love of the world and flesh as much as other mens bravery that possess it § 8. 2. Another thinks he is not a worldling because if he could but have necessaries even food and rayment and conveniencies for himself and family he would be content and it is not riches or great matters that he desireth But if your hearts are more set upon the getting of these necessaries or little It was one of â—hiâ—ons sayings Lapideis cotibus aurum examinari aâ—ro autem bonorum malorumque hominum mentem cujusmodi sit comprobaâ—â— i. e. As the touchstone trveth Gold so Gold tryeth mens minds whether they be good or bad Laâ—â—â—â—us iâ—â—â—â—â— p. 43. things than upon the preparing for death and making sure of the Heavenly treasure you are miserable worldlings still And the poor man that will set his heart more upon a poor and miserable life than upon heaven is more unexcusable than he that setteth his heart more upon Lordships and Honours than upon Heaven Though both of them are but the slaves of the world and have as yet no treasure in Heaven Math. 6. 19 20 21. And moreover you that are now so covetous for a little more if you had that would be as covetous for a little more still and when you had that for a little more yet You would next wear better cloathing and have better fare and next you would have your house repaired and then you would have your land enlarged and then you would have something more for your children and you would never be satisfied You think otherwise now but your hearts deceive you You do not know them If you believe me not judge by the case of other men that have been as confident as you that if they had but so much or so much they would be content but when they have it they would still have more And this which is your pretense is the common pretence of allmost all the covetous For Lords and Princes think themselves still in as great necessity as you think your selves As they have more so they have more to do with it and usually are still wanting as much as the poor The question is not How much you desire but to what use And to what end and in what order § 9. 3. Another thinks he is not covetous because he coveteth not any thing that is his neighbours They think that covetousness is only a desiring that which is not our own But if you love the world and worldly plenty inordinately and covet more you are covetous worldlings though you wish it not from another It is the worldly mind and love of wealth that is the sin at the root The ways of getting it are but the branches § 10. 4. Another thinks he is no worldling because he useth no unlawful means but the labour of his calling to grow rich The same answer serves to this The love of wealth for the satisfying of the flesh is unlawful whatever the means be And is it not also an unlawful means of getting to neglect God and your souls and the poor and shut out other duties for the world as you often do § 11. 5. Another thinks he is no worldling because he is contented with what he hath and coveteth no more When that which he hath is a full provision for his fleshly desires But if you over-love the world and delight more in it than God you are worldlings though you desire no more He is described by Christ as a miserable worldly fool Luke 12. 19 20. that saith Soul take thy ease eat drink and be merry thou hast much goods laid up for many years To overlove what you have is worldliness as well as to desire more § 12. 6. Another thinks he is no worldling
into the causes of all the oppressions rapines cruelties and inhumanity which have made men so like to Devils Look into the corrupted lacerated Churches and enquire into the cause of their contentions divisions usurpations malignity and cruelty against each other And you will find that Pride and Worldliness are the Causes of all When men of a Proud and Worldly mind have by fraud and friendship and Simony Usurped the Pastorship of the Churches according to their Minds and Eâ—ds they turn it into a Malignant Domination and the Carnal worldly part of the Church is the great enemy and Persecutor of the spiritual part and the fleshly Hypocrite as Cain against Abel is filled with envy against the serious believer even out of the bitter displeasure of his mind that his deceitful Sacrifice is less respected What Covetousness hath done to the advancement of the pretended Holy Catholick Church of Rome I will give you now but in the words of an Abbot and Chronicler of their own Abbas Urspergens Chron. p. 3â—â— Vix remansit aliquis Episcopatus sive dignitas Ecclesiastica vel etâ—am Parochialis Ecclesiae quae ron fieâ—et litigâ—osa Romam deduceretur ipsa causa sed non manu vacua Gaude mater nostra Roma quonâ—am aperiuntur cataractae thesaurorum in teâ—ra ut ad te consâ—uant rivi aggeres nummoâ—um in magna copia Laetare super iniquitate filiorum hominum quonâ—am in recompensationem tantorum malorum datur tibi precâ—um Jocundare super adjutrice tua discordia quia erupit de puteo infernalis abyssi ut accumulentur tibi multa pecuniaâ—um praemia Habes quod semper sitisti decanta Canticum quia per malitiam hominum non pâ—â— tuam Religionem orbem vicistâ— Ad te trahit homines non ipsorum devotio aut pura Conscientia sed sâ—â—lerum multiplicium perpetratio litium decisio precio comparata Foâ—tun Galindas speaking of Pope Paul the fifth his love to the Iesuites for helping him to money saith Adeo praestat acquirendarum pecuniarum quam animarum studiosum peritum esse apud illos qui cum animarum Christi sanguine redemptarum in se curam receperint vel quid anima sit nesciunt vel non pluris animam hominis quam piscis faciunt quod credo suum officium Piscatum quendam esse aliquando per strepitum inaudierint quibus propterea gratior fuerit qui Animam auri cum Paracelso quam animam Saxoniae Electoris invenisse nuntiet Arcan Soci Iesu. pag. 46. Lege ibid. Iâ—struct secret de Iesuitarum pâ—axi Et Ioh. Sarisbur l. 7. c. 21. de Monach. Potentiores ditiores favore vel mercede recepta facilius absolutione exâ—nerant peccatis alienis humeros supponentes jubent abire in tunicas vestes pullas quicquid illi se commisisse deplorant Si eis obloquetâ—s Religionis inimicus veritatis diceris impugnator hand It is the departing of the heart from God to creatures See the malignity of it before Good men have been overtaken with heinous sins but its hard to find where Scripture calleth any of them Covetous A heart secretly cleaving most to this present world and its prosperity is the very killing sin of every hypocrite yea and of all ungodly men 2. Worldliness makes the Word unprofitable and keepeth men from believing and repenting and coming home to God and minding seriously the everlasting world What so much hindereth the Conversion of sinners as the love and caâ—es of earthly things They cannot serve God and Mammon Their treasure and hearts cannot be chiefly be both in Heaven and Earth They will not yield to the terms of Christ that love this world They will not forsake all for a treasure in Heaven In a word as you heard The love of money is the root of all evil and the Love of the Father is not in the lovers of the world 3. It destroyeth holy meditation and conference and turneth the thoughts to worldly things And it corrupteth Prayer and maketh it but a means to serve the flesh and therefore maketh it odious to God 4. It is the great hinderance of mens necessary preparation for death and judgement and stealeth away their hearts and time till it is too late 5. It is the great cause of contentions even among the nearest relations and the cause of the Wars and calamities of Nations and of the woful divisions and persecutions of the Church when a worldly generation think that their worldly interest doth engage them against self-denying and spiritual principles practices and persons 6. It is the great cause of all the injustice and oppression and cruelty that rageth in the world They would do as they would be done by were it not for the love of money It maketh men perfidious and false to all their friends and engagements No vows to God nor obligations to men will hold a Lover Iâ—m â— 1. 2 3 4 5. 1 Iohn â— â—â— of the world The world is his God and his worldly interest is his rule and law 7. It is the great destroyer of Charity and Good works No more is done for God and the poor because the Love of the world forbids it 8. It disordereth and proâ—aneth families and betrayeth the souls of Children and Servants to the Devil It turneth out prayer and reading the Scripture and good books and all serious speeches of the liâ—e to come because their hearts are taken up with the world and they have no relâ—sh of any thing but the provisions of their flesh Even the Lords own Day cannot be reserved for holy works nor a duty performed but the world is interposing or diverting the mind 9. It tempâ—eth mâ—n to sin against their knowledge and to forsake the truth and fit themselves to the rising side and save their bodies and estates whatever become of their souls It is the very price that the Dâ—vil gives for souls With this he bought the soul of Iudas who went to the Pharisâ—es with a What will you give me and I will deliver him to you With this he attempted Christ himself 2 Tim 4. 10. Matth. 4. 9. All these will I give thee if thâ—u wilt fall down and worship me It is the cause of Apâ—â—â—â—acy and unfaithfulness to God And it s the price that sinners sell their God their Conscience and their salvation for 10. It depriveth the soul of holy communion with God and comfort from 1 â—im 6. 17 1â— him and of all foretaste of the life to come and finally of Heaven it self For as the Love of the world keepeth out the Love of God and Heaven it must needs keep out the hopes and comforts Christs Sheep mark is 〈◊〉 on the Sheep that are shorâ— When the Hâ—ece groweth long the Mark wears out which should arise from holy love It would do much to cure the love of money and of the world if you knew how pernicious a sin it is § 35.
Direct 14. Remember how base a sin it is and how dishonourable and debasing to the mind of Direct 14. man If earth be baser than Heaven and money than God than an earthly mind is baser than a heavenly mind As the Serpents feeding on the dust is a baser life than that of Angels that are employed in admiring and obeying and praising the Mâ—st Holy God § 36. Direct 15. Call your selves to a daily reckoning how you lay out all that God committeth to Direct 15. your trust and try whether it be so as you would hear of it at judgement If you did but use to sit Pecunia apud cum nunquam mansâ—â—â—â—e probatur nisi 〈◊〉 hora oâ—â—eraâ—ur quando sol â—â—â—â— expâ—â—ans cursum nâ—cturnis tenebris daret locum Victor ut de Eugen. Epise Caâ—th Plato compareth our life to a Game at Tables We may wish for a good throw but what ever it be we must play it as well as we can Plutarch dâ— tranquil anim in judgement daily upon your selves as those that believe the judgement of God it would make you more careful to use well what you have than to get more And it would quench your thirst after plenty and prosperity when you perceived you must give so strict an account of it The flesh it self will less desire it when it finds it may not have the use of it § 37. Direct 16. When you find your Covetousness most eager and dangerous resolve most to cross Direct 16. it and give more to pious or charitable uses thoâ—â—â—â—t another time For a man hath reason to fly furthest from that sin which he is most in danger of And the acts tend to the encrease of the habit Obeying your Covetousness doth increase it And so the contrary acts and the disobeying and displeasing it do destroy it This course will bring your Covetousness into a despair of attaining its desires and so will make it sit down and give over the pursuit It is an open protesting against every covetous desire and an effectual kind of repenting and a wise and honest disarming sin and turning its motions against it self to its own destruction Use it thus oft and Covetousness will think it wisdom to be quiet § 38. Direct 17. Above all take heed that you think not of reconciling God and Mammon and Direct 17. mixing Heaven and Earth to be your felicity and of dreaming that you may keep Heaven for a reserve at last when the world hath been loved as your best so long as you could keep it Nothing so much defendeth worldliness as a cheating hope that you have it but in a subdued pardoned degree and that you are not worldlings when you are And nothing so much supports this hope as because you confess that Heaven only must be your last refuge and full felicity and therefore you do something for it on the by But is not the world more loved more sought more delighted in and â—aster Luke 14. 26 27 30 33. held Hath it not more of your hearts your delight desire and industry If you cannot let go all for Heaven and forsake all this world for a treasure above you cannot be Christs true Disciples § 39. Direct 18. If ever you would overcome the love of the world your great care must be to mortifie Direct 18. the Flesh for the world is desired but as its provision A mortified man hath no need of that which is a sensualists felicity Quench your hydropical feavorish thirst and then you will not make Socrates saepe cum eorum quae publice vendebantur multitudinem intueretur secum ista volvebat Quam multis ipse non egeo Laert. in Socr. Pecuniam perdidisti Bene si te illa non peâ—didit quod jam multis possessoribus suis fecit Gaude tibi ablatum unde infici posses teque illaesum inter pericula transivisse Petrarch l. 2. Dial. 13. such a stir for drink Cure the disease which enrageth your appetite and that is the safest and cheapest way of satisfying it Then you will be thankful to God when you look on other mens wealth and gallantry that you need not these things And you will think what a trouble and burden and interruption of your better work and comfort it would be to you to have so much land and so many servants and goods and business and persons to mind as rich men have And how much better you can enjoy God and your self in a more retired quiet state of life But of this more in the next Part. § 40. Did men but know how much of an ungodly damnable state doth consist in the Love of the world and how much it is the enemy of souls and how much of our Religion consisteth in Exod. 18. 21 2 Pet. 2. 14. 1 Tim. 3. â— Col. 3. 5. the contempt and conquest of it and what is the meaning of their renouncing the World in their baptismal Covenant and how many millions the Love of the world will damn for ever they would not make such a stir for nothing and spend all their dayes in providing for their perishing flesh nor think them happiest that are richest nor boast themselves of their hearts desire and bless the Covetous whom the Lord abhorreth Psal. 10. 3. They would not think that so small a sin which Christians should not so much as name but in detestation Ephes. 5. 3. When God hath resolved that the covetous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6. 10. Ephes. 5. 5. And a Christian must not so much as eat with them 1 Cor. 5. 11. Did Christ say in vain Take heed and beware of Covetousness Luke 12. 15. Wo to him that coveteth an evil Covetousness to his house that he may set his nest on high that he may be delivered from the power of evil Hab. 2. 9. O what deserving servants hath the world that will serve it so diligently so constantly and at so dear a rate when they before hand know that besides a little transitory deluding pleasure it will pay them with nothing but everlasting shame O wonderful deceiving power of such an empty shadow or rather wonderful folly of mankind That when so many ages have been deceived before us and almost every one at death confesseth it did but deceive them so many still should be deceived and take no warning by such a world of examples I conclude with Heb. 13. 5. Let your conversation be without Covetousness and be content with such things as ye have for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee PART VII Directions against the Master sin SENSUALITY FLESH-PLEASING or Voluptuousness § 1. I Shall be the shorter on this also because I have spoken so much already in my Treatise of Self-denyal Before we come to more particular Directions it is needful that we discern the nature and evil of the sin which we speak against I shall therefore 1. Telly you what
thoughts Can you expect that the Drunkard should rule his Thoughts whilst he is in the ALE-house or Tavern and seeth the drink Or that the Glutton should rule his thoughts while the pleasing dish is in his sight Or that the Lustful person should keep chast his thoughts in the presence of his enamouring toy Or that the wrathful person rule his thoughts among contentious passionate words Or that the Proud person rule his thoughts in the midst of honour and applause Away with this fuel Fly from this infectious air if you would be safe § 6. Direct 5. At least make a Covenant with your senses and keep them in obedience if you Direct 5. will have obedient thoughts For all know by experience how potently the senses move the thoughts Iob saith I made a Covenant with my eyes why then should I think upon a Maid Mark how the Covenant with his eyes is made the means to rule his thoughts Pray with David Turn away my eyes from beholding vanity Psalm 119. 37. Keep a guard upon your eyes and ears and tast and touch if you will keep a guard upon your thoughts Let not that come into these outer parts which you desire should go no further Open not the door to them if you would not let them in § 7. Direct 6. Remember how near kin the Thought is to the deed and what a tendencie it hath to Direct 6. it Let Christ himself tell you Matth. 7. 22. But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Iudgement vers 28. I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart A malicious thought and a malicious deed are from the same spring and have the same nature Only the deed is the riper serpent that can sting another when the Thought is as the younger serpent that hath only the venemous nature in it self A lustful thought is from the same defiled puddle as actual filthiness And the thought is but the passage to the action It is but the same sin in its minority tending to maturity § 8. Direct 7. Keep out or quickly cast out all inordinate passions For Passions do violently press Direct 7. the thoughts and forcibly carry them away If anger or grief or fear or any carnal Love or joy or pleasure be admitted they will command your thoughts to run out upon their several objects And when you rebuke your thoughts and call them in they will not â—aer you till you get them out of the crowd and noise of passion As in the heat of civil wars no Government is well exercised in a Kingdom And as violent storms disable the marryners to govern the ship and save it and themselves so passions are too stormy a Region for the Thoughts to be well Governed in Till your souls be reduced to a calm condition your thoughts will be tumultuating and hurryed that way that the tempests drive them Till these warrs be ended your Thoughts will be licentious and partakers in the rebellion § 9. Direct 8. Keep your souls in a constant and careful obedience unto God Observe his Law Be Direct 8. continually sensible that you are under his Government and awed by his authority Man judgeth not your Thoughts If you are subject to man only your Thoughts must be ungoverned But the Heart is the first Object of Gods Government and that which he principally regardeth His Laws extend to all your thoughts And therefore if you know what Obedience to God is you must know what the obedience of your Thoughts to him is For he that obeyeth God as God will obey him in one thing as well as another and will obey him as the Governor and Iudge of Thoughts The powerful searching word of Christ is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart and as a two-edged sword is sharp and quick and will pierce and cut as deep as the very soul and spirit Heb. 4. 12 13. It casteth down every imagination and bringeth into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor. 10. 5. Therefore David saith to God search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting Psalm 139. 23 24. And you find Gods laws and reproofs extending to the thoughts Isa. 59. 7. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity The fools heart-atheism is rebuked Psalm 14. 1. He reproveth a rebellious people for walking in a way that is not good after their own thoughts Isa. 65. 2. See how Christ openeth the heart Matth. 15. 9. He chargeth them Deut. 15. 9. to beware that there be not a thought in their wicked hearts against the mercy which they must shew to the poor Psalm 49 11. He detecteth the inward thought of the wâ—â—ldâ—ing that their hâ—uses shall continue for ever Psalm 24. 9. He â—aith The thought of foolishness iâ—â—â—â—â— The old world was â—â—ndemnâ—d because the imaginations of their hearts were only evil continually Gâ—n 6. 5 And when God calleth a sinner to conversion he saith Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteâ—us man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upâ—n him Isa. 55. 6 7. You see then if you are subject to God your Thoughts must be obedient § 10. Direct 9. Remember Gods continual presence that all your thoughts are in his sight He Direct 9. seâ—th evâ—ry â—ilthy thought and every covetous and proud and ambitious thought and every uncharitable malitious thought If you be not Atheists the remembrance of this will somewhat check and controul your thoughts that God beholdeth them He understandeth your thoughts afar off Psalm 139 â— Dâ—th not â—e that pâ—ndereth the heart consider it Prov. 24. 12. Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts â—aith Christ Matth. 9. 4. § 11. Direct 10. Bethink you seriously what a Government you would keep upon your thoughts if Direct 10. they were but written on your foreheads or seen to all that see you yea or but open to some person whom â—â—u reverence O how ashamed would you then be that men should see your filthy thoughts your malitious thoughts your covetous and deceiving thoughts And is not the eye of God ten thousand times more to be reverenced and regarded And is not man your God if you are awed more by mâ—n than by God And if the eye of man can do more to restrain you § 12. Direct 11. Keep tender your Consciences that they may not be regardless or insensible of the Direct 11. smallest sin A tender Conscience feareth evil and idle thoughts and will smart in the penitent review â—â— thoughts But a â—eared Conscience feeleth nothing except some grievous crying sins A â—â—nder Conscience obeyeth that precept Prov. 30. 32. If thou hast done foolishly in lifting
the chief part of this sin is to be cured according to the Directions in the first Chapter as a state of wickedness is and more I shall say anon about the Worship of God and Chap. 3. Direct 11. containeth the cure also Only here I shall add a few Directions to a God-hating Generation § 2. Direct 1. The first thing you have to do is to discover this to be your sin For you are confident Direct 1. that you love God above all while you hate him above all even above the Devil You will confess that this is horrid wickedness where it is found and well deserveth damnation Take heed lest thy own confession judge thee Remember then that it is not the bare Name that we now speak of I know that Gods Name is most honoured and the Devils name is most hated Nor is it every thing in God that is hated None hateth his Mercifulness and Goodness as such Nor is it every thing in the Devil that is loved None love his hatred to man nor his cruelty in tormenting men But the Holiness of God which is it that man must receive the Image of and be conformed to is hated by the unholy And the Devils unholiness and friendship to mens sin and sensuality is loved by the sensual and unholy And this hatred of God and Love of the Devil one would think you might casily perceive § 3. 1. In that you had rather God were not so Iust and Holy you had rather he had never commanded you to be Holy but leâ—t you to live as your flesh would have you you had rather God were indifferent as to your sins and would give you leave to follow your lusts Such a God you would have And a God that will damn you unless you be Holy and hate your sins and forsake them you like not you cannot abide but indeed do hate him § 4. 2. Therefore you will not Believe that God is such a holy sin-hating God Because you would Malunâ— nescire quia jam oderunt Tertul. Apoâ—get c. â— not have him so you will not believe he is so and so hate his nature while you believe that you love him and love but an Idol of your unholy fantasies Psal. 50. 21 22. These things hast thou done and I kept silence thou thoughtst that I was altogether such a one as thy self but I will reprove thee and set them in order before thy eyes Now consider this ye that forget God lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver § 5. 3. You love not the Holiness of the Word of God which beareth his Image You love not these strict and holy passages in it Ioh. 3. 3 5. Luke 14. 26 33. Matth. 18. 3. Rom. 8. 13. Col. 3. 1 2 3 4. 2 Cor. 5. 17. with abundance more You had rather have had a Scripture that would have left your ambition covetousness lust and appetite to their liberties and that had said nothing for the absolute necessity of Holiness nor had condemned the ungodly § 6. 4. You love not the holiest Ministers or servants of Christ that most powerfully preach his holy Word or that most carefully seriously and zealously obey it your hearts rise against them when they bring in the Light which sheweth that your deeds and you are evil Iohn 3. 19 20. They are an eye-sore to you your hearts rise not so much against Whoremongers Swearers Lyars Drunkards Atheists or Infidels as against them What sort of persons on the face of the earth are so hated by the ungodly in all Nations and of all degrees and used by them so cruelly and pursued by them so implacably as the holiest servants of the Lord are § 7. 5 You love not to call upon God in serious fervent spiritual prayer praises and thanksgiving You are quickly weary of it you had rather be at a Play or Gaming or a Feast your hearts rise against holy Worship as a tedious irksome thing § 8. 6. You love not holy edifying discourse of God and of heavenly things Your hearts rise against it and you hate and scorn it as if all serious talk of God were but hypocrisie and God were to be banished out of our discourse § 9. 7. You cannot abide the serious frequent Thoughts of God in secret but had rather stuff your minds with thoughts of your Horses or Hawks or bravery or honour or preferments or sports or entertainments or business and labours in the world So that one hour of a thousand or ten thousand was never spent in serious delightful thoughts of God his holy truths or works or Kingdom § 10. 8. You love not the blessed day of Judgement when Christ will come with his holy Angels to judge the world to justifie his accused and abused servants to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that do believe 2 Thess. 1. 8 9 10 11. And can you be so blind after all this as not to see that you are HATERS OF GOD § 11. Direct 2. Know God better and thou canst not hate him especially know the beauty and Direct 2. glorious excellency of that Holiness and Iustice which thou hatest Should the Sun be darkned or disgraced because sore eyes cannot endure its light Must Kings and Judges be all corrupt or change their Laws and turn all men loose to do what they list because Malefactors and licentious men would have it so § 12. Direct 3. Know God and Holiness as they are to thee thy self and then thou wilt know them not only to be Best for thee as the Sun is to the world and as life and health is to thy body but to be thy only good and happiness and then thou canst not choose but love them Thy prejudice and false conceits of God and Holiness cause thy Hatred § 13. Direct 4. Cast away thy cursed unbelief If thou believe not what the Scripture saith of God Direct 4. and man and of the souls immortality and the life to come thou wilt then hate all that is Holy as a deceit and needless troubler of the world But if once thou believe well the Word of God and the life everlasting thou wilt have another heart § 14. Direct 5. Away with thy beastly blinding sensuality While thou art a slave to thy flesh Direct 5. and lusts and appetite and its interest reigneth in thee thou canst not choose but hate that Holiness which is against it and hate that God that forbiddeth it and tells thee that he will judge thee and damn thee for it if thou forsake it not This is the true cause of the Hatred of God and Pene omnis sermâ— Div nus habet aemuloâ— suos Quot genera prâ—â—â—ptorum sunt â—â—t adversa â—oâ—um si larg 〈…〉 esse 〈…〉 buâ— juâ—â—t Dominus avarus irascitur si parsimomam eâ—gâ—â— prodigus execratur Sermones sacros improbi hostes suos dicunt Salvian li. 4 ad Eccles. Cath. Non ego tibi
revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil Would you have the fuller exposition of this It is in 1 Pet. 3. 10 11 12 13 14 15. For he that will love life and see good dayes let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile Let him eschew evil and do good let him seek peace and ensue it For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and his eares are open to their prayers but the face of the Lord When Socâ—aâ—es wife lamenâ—ing him said Injuste mâ—riâ—râ—s he answered An tu juste malles 〈◊〉 in So 〈…〉 is against them that do evil And who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake happy are ye and be not afraid of their terrour neither be troubled but sanctifie the Lord God in your hearts and be ready alwayes to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear Having a good conscience that whereas they speak evil of you as evil-doers they may be ashamed that falsly accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better if the will of God be so that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil doing See also 1 Pet. 4. 13 14 15. § 5. Direct 5. Either you fear sufferings from men as guilty or as innocent for evil doing or for well doing or for nothing If as guilty and for evil doing turn your fears the right way and fear God and his wrath for sin and his threatnings of more than men can inflict and acknowledge the goodness of Iustice both from God and man But if it be as innocent or for well doing remember that Christ commandeth you exceedingly to rejoyce and remember that martyrs have the most glorious Crown And will you be excessively afraid of your highest honour and gain and joy Believe well what Christ hath said and you cannot be much afraid of suffering for him Matth. 5. 10 11 12. The seven Bâ—eâ—hren that suffâ—red in Aâ—â—â—â—â— under Hâ—â—â—â—eâ—iâ—us Incedâ—â—ans cum â—iducia ad supplicium quasi ad epulas decanâ—â—nâ—es Gloria Deo in excelsis c. Voâ—â—va nobis haec est dies omni solennitate fâ—stivior Ecce nunc tempus acceptabile ecce nunc dies est salutis quando pro side nunc domini dei nostri perferimus praeparatum supplicium ne amittamus acquifitae fidei vndumentum sed populi publica voce clamabant Ne timeatis populi Dei neque formidetis minas atque terrores presentium tribulationum sed moriâ—mur pro Christo ut ipse mortuus est redimens nos pretioso sanguine salutari Victor Uticâ—â—s p 368. In Paulo qumque gloriationes observavi Gloriatur in imbecillitate in cruce Christi in bona conscientia in afflictionibus in spe vitae aeternae Bucholtzâ—â— Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake Rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you And will you fear the way of blessedness and exceeding joy Matth. 10. 17 18 19. Beware of men for they will deliver you up to the Councils and they will scourge you in their Synagogues and ye shall be brought before Governours and Kings for my sake for a testimony against them But take no thought c. You are allowed to beware of them but not to be over fearful or thoughtful of the matter Vers. 22 23. And ye shall be hated of all men for my names sake but he that endureth to the end shall be saved But when they persecute you in this City fly to another Fly but fear them not with any immoderate fear vers 39. He that findeth his life shall lose it and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it Luk. 18. 29 30. Verily I say unto you there is no man that hath left house or Parents or Brethren or Wife or Children for the Kingdom of Gods sake who shall not receive manifold more in this present time and in the world to come life everlasting Can you believe all this and yet be so afraid of your own felicity O what a deal of secret unbelief is detected by our immoderate fears 1 Pet. 4. 12 13 14 16 19. Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery tryal which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you But rejoice in as much as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy If ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are ye for the spirit of Glory and of God resteth on you On their part he is evil spoken of but on your part he is glorified But let none of you suffer as an evil doer yet if any man suffer as a Christian let him glorifie God on that behalf wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful Creator There is scarce any point that God hath been pleased to be more full in in the holy Scriptures than the encouraging of his suffering servants against the fears of men acquainting them that their sufferings are the matter of their profit and exceeding joy and therefore not of too great fear § 6. Direct 6. Experience telleth us that men have never so much joy on earth as in suffering for the Direct 6. cause of Christ nor so much honour as by being dishonoured by men for him How joyfully did the ancient Christians go to Martyrdom many of them lamented that they could not attain it And what Idololatria taÌ„ altas in mundo egit radices ut non possit extirpari Ideo optimum est Câ—nsiteâ—i Patâ— Bâ—choltâ—â—r Victor Utiâ—ensis saith That Gensericus commanded that when Mâ—sculin â—s came to dye if he were fearful they should execute him that he might dye with shame but if he were constant they should forbear lest he should have the honour of a glorious Martyrdom And so his boldness saved his life Etsi martyrem invidus host is nolâ—â—t same coâ—â—â—â—â—orem tamen non potuit violaâ—e comfort have Christs Confessours found above what they could ever attain before And how honourable now are the names and memorials of those Martyrs who dyed then under the slanders scorn and cruelty of men Even the Papists that bloodily make more do yet honour the names of the antient Martyrs with keeping Holy dayes for them and magnifying their shrines and relicts For God will have it so for the honour of his holy sufferers that even that same generation that persecute the living Saints shall honour the dead and they
and Love-songs and Romances and lascivious plays and the talk of wanton lust and dalliance 21. A self-provoking ear that hearkneth after all that others say against them which may kindle hatred or dislike or passion in them 22. A busie medling ear which loveth to hear of other mens faults or matters which concern them not and to hearken to twatlers and carry-tales and make-bates and to have to do with evil reports 23. A timerous cowardly unbelieving ear which trembleth at every threatning of man though in a cause which is Gods and he hath promised to justifie 24. An idle ear which can hearken to idle time-wasting talk and make the sins of twatlers your own All these ways and more you are in danger of sinning by the ear and becoming partakers in the sins of all whose sinful words you hear and of turning into sin the words of God and his servants which are spoken for your good § 3. Direct 3. Know when the hearing of evil and not hearing good is your sin that is 1. When it Direct 3. is not out of any imposed necessity but of your voluntary choice and when you might avoid it upon When hearing Evil is a sin lawful terms without a greater hurt and will not 2. When you hate not the evil which you are necessitated to hear and love not the good which through necessity you cannot hear but your hearts comply with your necessities 3. When you shew not so much disowning and dislike of the evil which you hear as you might do without an inconvenience greater than the benefit but make it your own by sinful silence or compliance 4. When you are presumptuous and fearless of your danger § 4. Direct 4. Know wherein the danger of such sinful hearing lieth As 1. In displeasing God Direct 4. who loveth not to see his children hearkning to those that are abusing him nor to see them playing too The danger of hearing boldly about fire or water nor to touch any stinking or defiling thing but calls to them Come out from among them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you 2 Cor. 6. 16 17 18. 2. It is dangerous to your fantasie and memory which quickly receiveth hurtful impressions by what you hear If you should hear provoking words even against your wills yet it 's hard to escape the receiving of some hurtful impression by them And if you hear lascivious filthy words against your wills much more if willingly it 's two to one but they leave some thoughts in your minds which may gender unto further sin And it is dangerous to your passions and affections lest they catch fire before you are aware And it is dangerous to your understandings lest they be perverted and seduced and to your wills lest they be turned after evil and turned away from good and alas how quickly is all this done 3. It is dangerous to the speaker lest your voluntary hearing encourage him in his sin and hinder his repentance 4. And it is dishonourable to God and Godliness § 5. Direct 5. Do your best to live in such company where you shall hear that which is good and edifying Direct 5. and to escape that company whose conference is hurtful and corrupt Run not your selves into this When you are called into ill company temptation Be sure you have a call and your call must be discerned 1. By your office or place whether any duty of your office or relation bind you to be there 2. By your ends whether you be there as a Physicion to do them good as Christ went among sinners or to do the work of your proper calling or whether you are there out of a carnal man-pleasing or temporizing humour 3. By the measure of your abilities to attain those ends 4. By the measure of your danger to receive the infection 5. By the quality of your company and the probability of Good or Evil in the event § 6. Direct 6. When you are called into ill company go fortified with defensive and offensive arms as Direct 6. foreseeing what danger or duty you are like to be cast upon Foresee what discourse you are like to hear and accordingly prepare your selves Let your first preparation be to preserve your selves from the hurt and your next preparation to confute the evil and convince the sinful speaker or at least to preserve the endangered hearers if you have ability and opportunity If you are to hear a seducing heretical Teacher there is one kind of preparation to be made If you are to hear a beastly filthy talker there is another kind of preparation to be made If you are to hear a cunning Pharisee or malignant enemy of Godliness reproach or cavil or wrangle against the Scriptures or the ways of God there is another kind of preparation to be made If you are to hear but the senseless scorns or railings and bawlings of ignorant prophane and sensual sots there is another kind of preparation to be made To give you particular Directions for your preparations against every such danger would make my work too tedious But remember how much lieth upon your own preparations or unpreparedness § 7. Direct 7. Be not sinfully wanting in good discourse your selves if you would not be ensuared by Direct 7. bad discourse from others Your good discourse may prevent or divert or shame or disappoint their evil discourse Turn the stream another way And do it wisely that you expose not your selves and your cause to scorn and laughter And do it with such zeal as the cause requireth that you be not born down by their greater zeal in evil And where it is unfit for you to speak if it may be let your countenance or departure signifie your dislike and sorrow § 8. Direct 8. Specially labour to mortifie those sins which the unavoidable discourse of your company Direct 8. doth most tempt you to that where the Devil doth most to hurt you you may there do most in your own defense Doth the talk which you hear tend most to Heresie Seduction or to turn you from the truth Study the more to be established in the truth Read more books for it and hear more that is said by wise and godly men against the error which you are tempted to Is it to prophaneness or dislike of a holy life that your company tempt you Address your selves the more to God and give up your selves to holiness and let your study and practise be such as tendeth to keep your souls in relish with holiness and hatred of sin Is it Pride that their applauding discourse doth tempt you to Study the more the doctrine of Humiliation Is it lust that they provoke you to or is it drunkenness gluttony sinful recreations or excesses Labour the more in the work of mortification and keep the strictest guard where they assault you § 9. Direct 9. Be not
pound of â—â—m 〈…〉 but a pâ—nny â—â— thâ— nâ—â—â—â— Because â—aith he I may oft receive of them but God knows whether ever I shall have more of him Laert. in Diog. Prov. 28. 19. scattereth and yet increaseth Prov. 11. 24. But this is not the issue of thy scattering Prov. 23. 19 20 21. Hear thou my son and be wise and guide thy heart in the way Be not amongst wine bibbers amongst riotous eaters of flesh For the Drunkard and the Glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall cloath a man with rags § 28. 5. Thou art an enemy to thy family Thou grievest thy friends Thou impoverishest thy children and robbest those whom thou art bound to make provision for Thou fillest thy house with discontents and brawlings and banishest all quietness and fear of God A discontented or a brawling wife and ragged dissolute untaught Children are often signs that a Drunkard or Riotous person is the mâ—â—â—â—er of the family § 29. 6. Thou art a heynous consumer of thy pretious Time This is far worse than the wasting of thy estate O that thou didst but know as thou shalt know at last what those hours are worth which thou wastest over thy pots and how much greater work thou hadst to lay it out upon How many thousands in Hell are wishing now in vain that they had those hours again to spend in prayer and repentance which they spent in the ALE-house and senselesly cast away with their companions in sin Is the glass turned upon thee and death posting towards thee to put an end to all thy time and â—ay thee where thou must dwell for ever and yet canst thou sit tipling and prating away thy time as if this were all that thou hadst to do with it O what a wonder of sottishness and stupidity is a hardned sinner that can live so much below his reason The senses neglect of thy souls concernment and greater matters is the great part of thy sin more than the drunkenness it self § 30. 7. How base a Price dost thou set upon thy Saviour and salvation that wilt not forbear so much as a cup of drink for them The smallness of the thing sheweth the smallness of thy Love to God and the smallness of thy regard to his word and to thy soul. Is that loving God as God when thou lovest a cup of drink better Art thou not ashamed of thy Hypocrisie when thou saiest thou lovest God above all when thou lovest him not so well as thy Wine and Ale Surely he that loveth him not above Ale loveth him not above all Thy choice sheweth what thou lovest best more certainly than thy tongue doth It is the dish that a man greedily eateth of that he loveth and not that which he â—â—h 14 15. â— Jâ—â— 5. 2 3. commendeth but will not meddle with God tryeth mens Love to Him by their keeping his commandments It was the aggravation of the first sin that they would not deny so small a thing as the forbidden fruit in obedience to God! And so it is of thine that wilt not leave a forbidden cup for him O miserable wretch dost thou not know thou canst not be Christ Disciple if thou forsake not all for him and hate not even thy life in comparison of him and wouldst not rather die than forsake him Luk. 14. 26 33. And art thou like to lay down thy life for him that wilt not leave a cup of drink for him Canst thou burn at a stake for him that canst not leave an ALE-house or vain company or excess for him What a sentence of condemnation dost thou pass upon thy self Wilt thou â—â—ll thy God and thy soul for so small a matter as a cup of drink Never delude thy self to say I hope I do not so when thou knowest that God hath told thee in his word that Drunkards shall not inherit the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6. 10. Nay God hath commanded those that will come to Heaven to have no familiarity with thee upon earth no not so much as to eat with thee 1 Cor. 5. 11. Read what Christ himself saith Matth. 24. 48 49 50 51. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart My Lord delayeth his coming and shall begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and to drink with the drunken the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him and in an hour that he is not aware of and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth Read Deut. 29. 19 20. If when thou hearest the words of Gods curse thou bless thy self in thy heart and say I shall have peace though I walk in the imagination of my heart to add drunkenness to thirst the Lord will not spare that man but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousie shall smoak against him and all the curses that are written in this Book shall lye upon him and the Lord shall blot out his name from under Heaven and the Lord shall separate him to evil Thou seest here how God will spice thy Cups § 31. 8. Thou art the shame of humane nature Thou representest man in the likeness of a Beast And a shame to thy fâ—mâ—ly As its said thâ—â— Ciâ—â—ro's son pâ—oved a drunkard to whom he directed his Book de offiâ—iâ—sâ— which is made his fathers reproach and worse As if he were made but instead of a Barrel or a sink Look on a drunkard filthing and spewing and reeling and bawling and see if he be not uglyer than a bruit Thou art a shame to thy own Reason when thou shewest the world that it cannot so much as shut thy mouth nor prevail with thee in so small a thing Wrong not Reason so much as to call thy self Rational and wrong not mankind so much as to call thy self a man Non homo sed ampbora said one of Bonâ—sus the drunken Emperour when he was hang'd It is a barrel and not a man § 32. 9. Thou destroyest that Reason which is the Glory of thy Nature and the natural part of the Image of God upon thy mind If thou shouldst deface the Kings Armes or Image in any publick place and set in the stead of it the image of a dog would it not be a Traiterous contempt How much worse is it to do thus by God If thou didst mangle and deform thy body it were less in this respect for it is not thy body but thy soul that is made after the Image of God Hath God given thee Reason for such high and excellent ends and uses and wilt thou dull it and drown it in obedience to thy throat Thy Reason is of higher value than thy house or land or money and yet thou wilt not cast them away so easily Had God made thee an ideot or mad and lunatick thy case had been to be pityed but to make thy self mad and despise
wouldst be free from lust keep far enough from the tempting object If possible Direct 3. dwell not in the house with any person that thou feelest thy self endangered by If that be not possible avoid their company especially in private Abhor all lascivious and immodest actions Dost thou give thy self the liberty of wanton dalliance and lustful embracements and yet think to be free from lust wilt thou put thy hand into the fire when thou art afraid of being burnt either thou hast the power of thy own heart or thou hast not If thou hast why dost thou not quench thy lust If thou hast not why dost thou cast it upon greater temptations and put it farther out of thy power than it is Fly from a tempting object for thy safety as thou wouldst fly from an enemy for thy life These Loving enemies are more dangerous than hating enemies They get the Key of our hearts and come in and steal our treasure with our consent or without resistance when an open enemy is suspected and shut out § 6. Direct 4. Command thy Eyes and as Job 31. 1. make a Covenant with them that thou mayest Direct 4. not think on tempting objects Shut these Windows and thou preservest thy heart Gaze not upon any 〈…〉 and â—â—proveâ—â— them that â—ast a wanton 〈…〉 at women in Coaches aâ— they pass by and look out at Windows to have a full view of them and yet think that they 〈…〉 fault suffering a curious eye and a wandering mind to slide and run every way pag. 142. alluring object A look hath kindled that fire of Lust in many a heart that hath ended in the fire of Hell It s easier to stop lust at these outward doors than drive it out when it hath tainted the heart If thou canst not do this much how canst thou do more An ungoverned eye fetcheth fire to burn the soul that should have governed it § 7. Direct 5. Linger not in the pleasant snares of lust if thou feel but the least beginnings of it Direct 5. but quickly cast water on the first discerned spark before it break â—um hâ—â—t modiâ—â—â—angunt praecordia motus Sâ— pâ—get in primo lâ—minâ— siste pedem Opâ—r me dum nova sunt subiti mala semina morbi â—â—â—â—uus incipienâ—ire resiâ—â—aâ— equus Nâ—m mâ—â—a daâ— vires Dum noâ—uâ—â—st câ—â—pto poâ—ius pugnemus amoâ—i Hamma râ—â—â—â—ns parva sparsa resedit aqua Iâ—â—â—â—ea â—aciâ—â— serpunt in vesâ—era flammae â—â— mala â—adiâ—es altius arbor agit out into a flame The Amorous Poet can teach you this Ovid. de Rem Am. If ever delay be dangerous it is here For delay will occasion such engagements to sin that you must come off at a far dearer rate If the meat be undigestible its best not look on it it s the next best not to touch or taste it but if once it go down it will cost you sickness and pain to get it up again and if you do not you perish by it § 8. Direct 6. Abhor lascivious immodest speech As such words come from either vain or filthy Direct 6. hearts and shew the absence of the fear of God so they tend to make the hearer like the speaker And if thy eares grow but patient and reconcileable to such discourse thou hast lost much of thy innocence already Christians must abhor the mentioning of such filthy sins in any other manner but such as tends to bring the hearers to abhor them Be not deceived evil words corrupt good manners 1 Cor. 15. 33. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace to the hearers and grieve not the holy spirit of God Corrupt communication is rotten stinking communication and none but Dogs and Crows love Carrion But Fornication and all uncleanness and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 inordinate lust or luxury let it not be once named among you as becometh Saints neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting c. § 9. Direct 7. Abhor the covering of filthy lust with handsome names to make it the more acceptable Direct 7. Their discourse is more dangerous that would thus dress up an ugly lust than theirs that speak of it in nâ—sty language Thus among the bruitish party it goeth under the names of Love and having a Mistris and Courting and such like But as one saith thats cited in Stobaeus It is doubled Lust that is commonly called Love and doubled Love is stark madness If filthiness will walk abroad let it go for filthiness and appear as it is § 10. Direct 8. Avoid the Reading of Romances and Love stories which are the Library of Venus Direct 8. or the Devils Books of the Lustful art to cover over filthiness with cleanly names and bewitch the fantasies of fools with fine words To make men conceive of the ready way to Hell under the notions and images of Excellency Beauty Love Gallantry And by representing strong and amorous passions to stir up the same passions in the Reader As he that will needs read a Conjuring Book is well enough served if Devils come about his ears so he that will needs read such Romances and other Books of the Burning art it is just with God to suffer an unclean Devil to possess them and to suffer them to catch the Feaver of Lust which may not only burn up the heart but cause that pernicious deliration in the brain which is the ordinary symptome of it § 11. Direct 9. Avoid all wanton Stage-plays and Dancings which either cover the odiousness of lust Direct 9. or produce temptations to it As God hath his preachers and holy assemblies and exercises for the Communion 〈…〉 ial 30. of Saints and the stirring up of Love and holiness so these are Satans instruments and assemblies and exercises for the communion of sinners and for the stirring up of lust and filthiness They that will go to the Devils Church deserve to be possessed with his Principles and numbred with his Disciples The ancient Christians were very severe against the seeing of these spectacula shews or plays especially in any of the Clergy § 12. Direct 10. Avoid all tempting unnecessary ornaments or attire and the regarding or gazing Direct 10. on them upon others It is a procacious lustful desire to seem comely and amiable which is the common Ly 〈…〉 dâ—r forbad his daughters to wear the brave attire which Dâ—o 〈◊〉 sent them Ne lâ—xuâ—iâ— consâ—iâ—uae tâ—â—poâ—â—es videantur Iâ—st câ—â—spicuoâ—s in â—â—â—â—ury they shoâ—ld seem the moâ—e dâ—formed cause of this excess The Folly or Lust or both of fashionists and gawdy Gallants is so conspicuous to all in their affected dress that never did Pride more cross it self than in such publications of such disgraceful folly or lust They that take on them to be adversaries to lust and yet are careful when they present themselves to sight to appear
dreams and lustful dreams and hath its ill effects by night and by day § 4. Direct 2. Endeavour the cure of those sinful distempers of the mind which cause sinful dreams Direct 2. The cure of a worldly mind is the best way to cure worldly covetous dreams And the cure of a lustful heart is the best way to cure lustful dreams and so of the rest Cleanse the fountain and the waters will be the sweeter day and night § 5. Direct 3. Suffer not your Thoughts or tongue or actions to run sinfully upon that in the day Direct 3. which you would not dream sinfully of in the night Common experience telleth us that our dreams Cogitationeâ— sanctiores sequuntur somnâ—a blandiora delectabilioria Greg. Moral are apt to follow our foregoing thoughts and words and deeds If you think most frequently and affectionately of that which is good you will dream of that which is good If you think of lustful filthy objects or speak of them or meddle with them you will dream of them and so of covetous and ambitious dreams And they that make no conscience to sin waking are not like much to scruple sinning in their sleep § 6. Direct 4. Commend your selves to God by prayer before you take your rest and beseech him to Direct 4. set a guard upon your fantasie when you cannot guard it Cast the cure upon him and fly to him for help by faith and prayer in the sense of your insufficiency § 7. Direct 5. Let your last Thoughts still before your sleep be holy and yet quieting and consolatory Direct 5. thoughts The dreams are apt to follow our last Thoughts If you betake your selves to sleep Iturus in somnum aliquid tecum defer in memoria cogitatione in quo placide obdormies quod etiam somniare juvet sic tibi noâ— ut dies illuminatur in deliciis tuis placide obdormies in pace quiesces facilè evigilabis surgens promptus eris ad redeundum in id unde non totus discessisti with worldliness or vanity in your minds you cannot expect to be wiser or better when you are asleep than when you are awake But if you shut up your dayes thoughts with God and sleep find them upon any Holy subject it is like to use them as it finds them Yet if it be distrustful unbelieving fearful thoughts which you conclude with your dreams may savour of the same distemper Frightful and often sinful dreams do follow sinful doubts and fears But if you sweeten your last Thoughts with the Love of Christ and the remembrance of your former mercies or the foresight of eternal joyes or can confidently cast them and your selves upon some promise it will tend to the quietness of your sleep and to the savouriness of your dreams And if you should dye before morning will it not be most desirable that your last thoughts be holy § 8. Direct 6. When you have found any corruption appearing in your dreams make use of them Direct 6. for the renewing of your repentance and exciting your endeavours to mortifie that corruption A corruption may be perceived in dreams 1. When such dreams as discover it are frequent 2. When they are earnest and violent 3. When they are pleasing and delightful to your fantasies Not that any certain knowledge can be fetcht from them but some conjecture as added to other signs As if you should frequently earnestly and delightfully dream of preferments and honours or the favour of great men suspect ambition and do the more to discover and mortifie it If it be of riches and gain and money suspect a covetous mind If it be of revenge or hurt to any man that you distaste suspect some malice and quickly mortifie it So if it be of lust or feasting or drinking or vain recreations sports and games do the like § 9. Direct 7. Lay no greater stress upon your dreams than there is just cause As 1. When you Direct 7. have searcht and find no such sin prevailing in you as your dreams seem to intimate do not conclude that you have more than your waking evidence discovers Prefer not your sleeping signs before your waking signs and search 2. When you are conscious that you indulge no corruption to occasion such a dream suppose it not to be faulty of it self and lay not the blame of your bodily temperament or unknown causes upon your soul with too heavy and unjust a charge 3. Abhor the presumptuous folly of those that use to prognosticate by their dreams and measure their expectations by them and cast themselves into hopes or fears by them Saith Diogenes What fâ—lly is it to be careless of your waking thoughts and actions and inquisitive about your dreams A mans happiness or misery lyeth upon what he doth when he is awake and not upon what he suffereth in his sleep CHAP. IX See the Directions for holy Conference Tâ— 2. â—â— 1â— Directions for the Government of the Tongue Tit. 1. The General Directions § 1. Direct 1. UNderstand in general of what moment and concernment it is that the Tongue Direct 1. be well governed and used For they that think words are inconsiderable will use them inconsiderately The conceit that words are of small moment as some say of Thoughts that they are free doth cause men to use their Tongues as if they were free saying Our lips are our own who is Lord over us Psal. 12. 4. § 2. 1. The tongue of man is his glory by which expressively he excelleth the brutes And a The Greatness of the sins and duties of the Tongue Psal. 57. 8. Psal. 16. 9. Psal. 30 12. wonderful work of God it is that a mans tongue should be able to articulate such an exceeding number of words And God hath not given man so admirable a faculty for vanity and sin The nobler and more excellent it is the more to be regarded and the greater is the fault of them that do abuse it Hilary compareth them to an ill Barber that cuts a mans face and so deformeth him when his work was to have made him more neat and comely So it is the Office of the tongue to be excellently serviceable to the good of others and to be the glory of mankind The shame therefore of its faults is the more unexcusable § 3. 2. The tongue is made to be the Index or expresser of the mind Therefore if the mind Matth. 7 16 17 18. Matth. 12. 33 34. be regardable the tongue is regardable And if the mind be not regardable the man is not regardable For our Lord telleth us that the Tree is known by its fruit an evil Tree bringeth forth evil fruits and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh And Aristotle saith that Such as Lingua index menâ—is Aristippus being asked Quid differat sapiens ab insipiente Mitte inquit ambos nudos ad ignotos disces
men are never unprovided for wise speech But the mouth of fools bewrayeth their folly Prov. 15. 2. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness Prov. 14. 3. In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride but the lips of the wise shall preseve them Prov. 18. 6 7. A fools lips enter into contention and his mouth calleth for strokes A fools mouth is his destruction and his lips are the snare of his soul. But you 'll say To tell us that we should get wisdom is a word soon spoken but not a thing that 's easily or quickly done It 's very true And therefore it 's as true that the tongue is not easily well used and governed for men cannot express the wisdom which they have not unless it be by rote Therefore you must take Solomons counsel Prov. 2. 1 2 3 4 5. My son if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee so that thou encline thine ear to wisdom and apply thy heart to understanding yea if thou cryest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for unstanding If thou seâ—kest her as silver and searchest for her as for hidden treasures Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God For the Lord giveth wisdom c. § 44. Direct 6. In the mean time learn to be silent till you have learnt to speak Let not your Direct 6. tongues run before your wits speak not of that which you do not well understand unless as Learners to â—â—m 1 19. Slow to speak slow to wâ—ath Prov. 17. 28. receive instruction Rather of the two speak too little than too much Those that will needs talk of things which they understand not do use either to speak evil of them as Iud. 10. when they are good or to speak evilly of them be they good or bad He that cannot hold his tongue well cannot speak well There is a time to keep silence and a time to speak Eccles. 3. 9. Amos 5. 13. There is a time so evil that the prudent should keep silence At such a time Nihil aequè proderit quam quiescere minimum cum aliis loqui plurimum secum saith Seneca It 's then the best way to be quiet and to say little to others and much to your selves You have two ears and one tongue Hear twice and speak once we oftner repent of speaking then of being silent Few words are quickly answered for To be wary and sparing of your speech doth not only avoid abundance of contention danger and repentance but also procureth you a reputation of wisdom Plutark saith well that Pauca loquentibus paucis legibus opus est There needs but few Laws for them that speak but few words When one said to the Cynick when he was much silent If thou art a wise man thou dost foolishly If thou be a fool thou dost wisely He answered Nemo stultus tacere potest A fool cannot hold his tongue And he that cannot hold his tongue cannot hold his peace Pythagoras his counsel in this agreeth with Christs Aut sile aut affer silentio meliora either be silent or say something that is better than silence It was a wise answer of him that being asked whom covetous Landlords and whom covetous Lawyers hated most did answer to the first Those that eat little and sweat much For they usually live long and so their Leases are not soon expired and to the second Those that speak little and love much For such ☜ seldom make any work for Lawyers Two things are requisite in the matter of your speech that it be somewhat needful to be spoken and that it be a thing which you understand Till then be silent § 45. Direct 7. Take heed of hasty rashness in your speech and use deliberation especially in great Direct 7. or in doubtful things Think before you speak It 's better to try your words before you speak them Noli cito loqui est enim insaniae indicium Bias iâ— Laert. than after A preventing tryal is better than a repenting tryal But if both be omitted God will try them to your greater cost I know in matters that are throughly understood a wise man can speak without any further premeditation than the immediate actuating of the knowledge which he doth express But when there is any fear of mis-understanding or a disability to speak fiâ—ly and safely without fore-thoughts there hasty speaking without deliberation especially in weighty things must be avoided Prov. 29. 20. seest thou a man that is hasty in his words there is more hope of a fool than of him especially take heed in speaking either to God in prayer or in the name of God or as from God in preaching or exhortation or about the holy matters of God in any of thy discourse Eccles. 5. 1 2. Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God and be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools for they consider not that they do evil that is watch thy self in publick worship and be forwarder to learn of God and to obey him as sensible of thy ignorance and subject to his will than to offer him thy sacrifice as if he stood in need of thee while thou neglectest or rejectest his commands Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God for God is in Heaven and thou upon earth therefore let thy words be few For a dream cometh through multitude of business and a fools voice is known by multitude of words that is Come to God as an obedient learner and a receiver and not as a giver and therefore be readier to hear what he hath to command thee than to pour out many words before him as if he would accept and hear thee for thy babling If loquacity and forwardness to talk many undigested words be a sign of folly among men how much more when thou speakest to God that is in Heaven § 46. Direct 8. Keep a holy government over all your passions as aforesaid and especially try all Direct 8. those words with suspicion which any passion urgeth you to vent For Passion is so apt to blind the judgement that even holy passions themselves must be warily managed and feared as you carry fire among straw or other combustible matter As grievous words stir up anger Prov. 15. 1. so anger causeth grievous words Be not hasty in thy spirit to he angry for anger resteth in the bosom of fools Eccles. 7. 9. To govern the tongue when you are in any Passion either Love or fear or grief or anger is like the governing of a Ship in storms and Tempests or the managing of a Horse that is fierce and heated Prov. 14. 16 17. The fool rageth and is confident He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly Prov. 21. 19. It is better to dwell in the
Wilderness than with a contentious angry woman Prov. 29. 22. An angry man stirreth up strife and a furious man aboundeth in transgression There is no ruling the tongue if you cannot rule the passions Therefore it 's good counsel Prov. 22. 24. Make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man thou shalt not go lest thou learn his way and get a snare to thy soul. § 47. Direct 9. Foresee your opportunities of profitable discourse and your temptations to evil Direct 9. speeches For we are seldom throughly prepared for sudden unexpected accidents Consider when you go forth what company you are like to fall into and what good you are like to be called to or what evil you are likest to be tempted to especially consider the ordinary stated duties and temptations of your daily company and converse § 48. Direct 10. Accordingly besides your aforesaid general preparations be prepared particularly Direct 10. for these duties and those temptations carry still about with you some special preservatives against those particular sins of speech which you are most in danger of and some special provisions and helps to those duties of speech which you may be called to As a Surgeon will carry about with him his instruments and Salves which he is like to have use for among the persons that he hath to do with And as a Traveller will carry such necessaries still with him as in his travail he cannot be without If you are to converse with angry men be still furnished with patience and firm resolutions to give place to wrath Rom. 12. 19. If you are to converse with ignorant ungodly men go furnished with powerful convincing reasons to humble them and change their minds If you are to go amongst the cavilling or scorning enemies of holiness go furnished with well digested arguments for the defence of that which they are likest to oppose that you may shame and stop the mouths of such gainsayers This must be done by the word of the spirit which is the word of God Ephes. 6. 17. Therefore be well acquainted with the Scripture and with particular plain Texts for each particular use By them the man of God is compleat throughly furnished to every good work 2 Tim. 3. 17. § 49. Direct 11. Continually walk as in the presence of God and as under his Government and Direct 11. Law and as those that are passing on to Iudgement Ask your selves whatever you say 1. Whether Psal. 1 9. 4. it be fit for God to hear 2. Whether it be agreeable to his holy Law 3. Whether it be such speech as you would hear of at the day of judgement If it be speech unmeet for the hearing of a grave and reverend man will you speak it before God will you speak wantonly or filthily or foolishly or maliciously when God forbiddeth it and when he is present and heareth every word and when you must certainly give account to him of all § 50. Direct 12. Pray every morning to God for preservation from the sins of speech that you are Direct 12. lyable to that day Commit the custody of your tongues to him Not so as to think your selves discharged of it but so as to implore and trust his grace Pray as David Psal. 141. 3 4. Set a watch O Lord before my mouth keep the door of my lips encline not my heart to any evil thing and that the Psal. 19. 14. words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart may be acceptable to him § 51. Direct 13. Make it part of your continual work to watch your tongues Carelesness and negligence Direct 13. will not serve turn in so difficult a work of government Iames telleth you that to tame and rule the tongue is harder than to tame and rule wild beasts and birds and serpents and as the ruling of a horse by the bridle and of a Ship that 's driven by fierce winds and that the tongue is an unruly evil and that he that offendeth not in word is a perfect man and able also to bridle the whole body Jam. 3. Make it therefore your study and work and watch it continually § 52. Direct 14. Call your tongues daily to account and ask your selves what evil you have Direct 14. spoken and what good you have omitted every day and be humbled before God in the penitent confession of the sin which you discover and renew your resolution for a stricter watch for the time to come If your servant be every day faulty and never hear of it he will take it as no fault and be little careful to amend Nay you will remember your very Ox of his fault when he goeth out of the Furrow by a prick or stroke and your Horse when he is faulty by a spur or rod And do you think if you let your selves even your tongues be faulty every day and never tell them of it or call them to account that they are ever like to be reformed and not grow careless and accustomed to the sin Your first care must be for preventing the sin and doing the duty saying as David Psalm 39. 1 2 3. I said I will take heed to my ways that I offend not with my tongue I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me I was dumb with silence I held my peace Psalm 35. 28. My tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long Psal. 71. 24. Psal. 119. 172. My tongue shall speak of thy word Psalm 45. 1. My tongue is as the pen of a ready writer But your next care must be to repent of the faults which you commit and to judge your selves for them and reform Remembering that there is not a word in your tongues but it is altogether known to God Psalm 139. 4. § 53. Direct 15. Make use of a faithful monitor or reprover We are apt through custom and partiality Direct 15. to overlook the faults of our own speech A friend is here exceeding useful Desire your friend therefore to watch over you in this And amend what he telleth you of And be not so foolish as to take part with your fault against your friend Tit. 2. Special Directions against prophane swearing and using Gods name unreverently and in vain § 1. I. TO swear is an affirming or denying of a thing with an appeal to some other thing or person as a witness of the truth or avenger of the untruth who is not producible as Witness What an Oath is or Iudge in humane courts An affirmation or negation is the matter of an oath The peculiar appellation is the form It is not every appeal or attestation that maketh an Deu 6. 13 10 20. oath To appeal to such a witness as is credible and may be produced in the Court from a partial incredible witness is no oath To appeal from an incompetent Iudge or an inferior Court to
knoweth what he is and what he hath done and what he hath deserved and in what a dangerous case his soul yet standeth must needs have his soul habituated to a humble frame Every penitent soul is vile in its own eyes and doth loath it self for its inward corruptions and actual sins And he that loatheth himself as vile will not be very desirous to have his sinful corruptible body seem fine nor by curious ornaments to attract And no wonder when the light of Nature reduced the serious sort of Philosophers to so plain a Garb no Socrates Zenocrates with almost all the Stâ—icks and Cyâ—â—ks and many of the Academicks and Pythagoreans the eyes of vain spectators How oft have I seen a proud vain Gallant suddenly cast off their bravery and gawdy gay attire and clothe themselves in plainness and sobriety as soon as God hath but opened their eyes and humbled their souls for sin and made them better know themselves and brought them home by true Repentance So that the next week they have not seemed the same persons And this was done by meer Humiliation without any arguments against their fashions or proud â—ttire As old Mr. Dod said when one desired him to preach against long hair Preach them once to Christ and true Repentance and they will cut their hair without our preaching against it As Pride would be seen in Proud apparel so humility will appear in a dress like it self though it desire not to be seen Maâ—k 1 Pet. 3. 3 4 5. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair or of wearing of Gold or of putting on of apparel that is curious dressing for adorning the body beyond plain simplicity of attire But let it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible even the ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit which in the sight of God is of great price For after this manner that is with inward Holiness and outward plainness in the old time the holy women also who trusted in God adorned themselves being in subjection to their own husbands O that God would print those words upon your hearts 1 Pet. 5. 5. Yea all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility For God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble Plainness among Christians is a greater honour than fine clothing Jam. 2. 2 3 4 5. 1 Tim. 2. 9 10. In like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefasteness and sobriety not with broidered hair or Gold or Pearl or costly array but which becometh women professing godliness with good works I intreat those that are addicted to bravery or curiosity to read Isa. 3. from ver 16. to the end § 21. Direct 12. Make not too great a matter of your clothing but use it with such indifferency as a Direct 12. thing so indifferent should be used Set not your hearts upon it For that is a worse sign that the excess in it self Take no thought wherewith ye shall be cloathed but remember how God clotheth the Lillies of the field Matth 6. 28. If you have food and rayment be therewith content though it be never so plain 1 Tim. 6. 8. § 22. Direct 13. Be not too censorious of others for different fashions of apparel Be as plain and Direct 13. modest your selves as you can But lay no greater stress on the fashions of others than there is cause If they be grosly impudent disown such fashions and seek to reform them But to carp at every one that goeth â—â—â—â—â— than your selves or to censure them as proud because their fashions are not like yours may be of worse signification than the fashions you find fault with I have oft observed more pride in such censures than I could observe in the fashions which they censured When you have your eye upon every fashion that is not according to your breeding or the custom of your rank or place and are presently branding such as proud or vain it sheweth an arrogant mind that steppeth up in the judgement seat and sentenceth those that you have nothing to do with before they are heard or you know their reasons Perhaps their fashion was as common among the modest sort where they have lived as your fashion is among those that you have converst with Custom and common opinion do put much of the signification upon fashions of apparel I Should next have given you special Directions about the Using of your Estates about your Of the proportion of our Estates to be given see my Letter to Mr. Goâ—ge Dwellings about your Meat and Drink and about your Honour or good Name But being loth the Book should prove too tedious I shall refer you to what is said before against Covetousness Pride and Gluttony c. and what is said before and after of Works of Charity and Family-Government AS to Sacred Habits and the different Garbs Laws Orders of Life Dyet c. of those called Religious Orders among the Papists Regular and Secular whether and how far such are lawful or sinful they are handled so largely in the Controversies of Protestants and Papists that I shall pass them by Only remembring the words of the Clergy of Ravenna to Carolus Iunior King of France inter Epist. Hincmari Rhemensis Discernendi à plebe vel caeteris sumus doctrina non veste conversatione non habitu mentis puritate non cultu Docendi enim potius sunt populi quam ludendi nec imponendum est eorum oculis sed mentibus praecepta sunt infundenda The End of the first Tome A Christian Directory Or A SUMM of PRACTICAL DIVINITY THE SECOND PART VIZ. Christian Oeconomicks OR THE FAMILY DIRECTORY Containing Directions for the true Practice of all Duties belonging to Family Relations with the Appurtenances By RICHARD BAXTER Josh. 24. 15. And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord choose you this day whom you will serve But as for Me and my House we will serve the Lord. Deut. 6. 6 7 8. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy Children and thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy House and when thou walkest by the way and when thou lyest down and when thou risest up c. Dan. 6. 10. When Daniel knew that the Writing was signed he went into his House and his Window being open in his Chamber towards Jerusalem he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and Prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime Acts 10. 1. 2. Cornelius a devout man and One that feared God with all his House which gave much Alms to the people and Prayed to God alwayes Ephes. 6. 4. Ye Fathers provoke not your Children to wrath but bring them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the Lord. Psal. 101. 6 7. He that walketh in a perfect way
on to Heaven All your labour must be as the labour of a traveller which is all for his journeys end And all your respect or affection to any place or thing in your way must be in respect to your attainment of the end as a Traveller loveth a good Way a good Horse a good Inn a dry Cloak or good Company But nothing must be loved here as your end or home Lift up your hearts to Heaven and say If this work and way did not tend thither directly or indirectly it were no work or way for me Whatever you do do all to the Glory of God 1 Cor. 10. 31. § 8. Direct 8. Follow the labours of your calling painfully and diligently From hence will follow Direct 8. many commodities 1. You will shew that you are not sluggish and servants to your flesh as those that cannot deny its ease And you will further the mortification of all fleshly lusts and desires which are sed by â—ase and idleness 2. You will keep out idle thoughts from your mind which swarm in the minds of idle persons 3. You will scape the loss of pretious Time which idle persons are daily guilty of 4. You will be in a course of obedience to God when the slothful are Eph. 4 28. Prov. 10 4. 12. 24 27. 13 4. 21. 5. 22. 29. 18. 9. 21. 25. 24. 30. in a constant sin of omission 5. You may have the more time to spare for holy exercises if you follow your labour close when you are at it when idle persons can have no time for Prayer or Reading because they lose it by loitering at their work and leave their business still behind hand 6. You may expect Gods blessing for the comfortable provision for your selves and families and to have to give to them that need when the slothful are in want themselves and cast by their want into abundance of temptations and have nothing to do good with 7. And it will also tend to the health of your bodies which will make them the fitter for the service of your souls When flothfulness wasteth time and health and estate and wit and grace and all § 9. Direct 9. Be throughly acquainted with your Corruptions and Temptations and watch against Direct 9. them all the day especially the most dangerous sort of your corruptions and those Temptations which Antequam domo quit exeat quid acturus sit apud se pertractâ—â— Rursus â—â—m redier â—â— quid â—gâ—â—i recogâ—et Câ—eobulus iâ— Laâ—t p. 59. your company or business will unavoidably lay before you Be still watching and working against the master radical sins of Unbelief Hypocrisie Selfishness Pride Sensuality or flesh-pleasing and the inordinate Love of earthly things Take heed lest under pretence of diligence in your Calling you be drawn to earthly mindedness and excessive cares or covetous designs for rising in the World If you are to trade or deal with others take heed of selfishness which desireth to draw or save from others as much as you can for your selves and your own advantage Take heed of all that savoureth of Injustice or Uncharitableness in all your dealings with others If you converse with vain talkers be still provided against the temptation of Vanity of talk If you converse with angry persons be still fortified against their provocations If you converse with wanton persons or such as are tempting those of the other Sex maintain that modesty and necessary distance and cleanness of speech which the laws of Chastity require If you have servants that are still faulty be so provided against the temptation that their faults may not make you faulty and you may do nothing that is unseemly or unjust but only that which tendeth to their amendment If you are poor be still provided against the Temptations of Poverty that it bring not upon you an evil far greater than it self If you are Rich be most diligent in fortifying your hearts against those more dangerous temptations of Riches which very few escape If you converse with flatterers or those that much admire you be fortified against swelling Pride If you converse with those that despise and injure you be fortified against impatient revengeful Pride These works at first will be very difficult while sin is in any strength But when you have got an habitual apprehension of the poisonous danger of every one of these sins and of the tendency of all Temptations your hearts will readily and easily avoid them without much tiring thoughtfulness and care even as a man will pass by a house infected with the Plague or go out of the way if he meet a Cart or any thing that would hurt him § 10. Direct 10. When you are alone in your labours improve the time in practical fruitful not Direct 10. speculative and barren meditations especially in Heart-work and Heaven-work Let your chiefest meditations be on the Infinite Goodness and perfections of God and the life of Glory which in the Love and praise of him you must live for ever And next let Christ and the mysteries of Grace in mans Redemption be the matter of your thoughts And next that your own hearts and lives and the rest before expressed Chap. 16. Dir. 6. § 8. If you are able to manage meditations methodically it will be best But if you cannot do that without so much striving as will confound you and distract you and cast you into Melancholy it is better let your Meditations be more short and easie like ejaculatory prayers But let them usually be operative to do some good upon your hearts § 11. Direct 11. If you labour in company with others be provided with Matter Skill Resolution Direct 11. and Zeal to improve the time in profitable conference and to avoid diversions as is Directed Chap. 16. § 12. Direct 12. Whatever you are doing in company or alone â—â—eâ— the day be spontâ—in the inward Direct 12. excitation and exercise of the Graces of the soul as well as in external bodily duties And to that end know that there is no external duty but must have some internal grace to animate it or else it is but an image or carkass and unacceptable to God When you are praying and reading there are the Graces of Faith Desire Love Repentance c. to be exercised there when you are alone Meditation may help to actuate any Grace as you find-most needful when you are conferring with others you must exercise Love to them and Love to that truth about which you do confer and other Graces as the subject shall require When you are provoked or under suffering you have patience to exercise But especially it must be your principal daily business by the exercise of faith to keep your hearts warm in the Love of God and your dear Redeemâ—â— and in thâ—â—â—ipâ—m and delightful thoughts of Heaven As the means are various and admit of deliberation and châ—ice because they are to
Christ and his Disciples But walk with the most Holy and blameless and charitable that live upon that truth which others talk of and are seeking to please God by the wisdom which is first pure and then peaceable and gentle Jam. 3. 17 18 when others are contending for their several sects or seeking to please Christ by killing him or censuring him or slandering him in his servants Ioh. 16. 2 3. Matth. 25. 45. 40. Direct 8. § 8. Direct 8. Keep a just account of your Practice Examine your selves in the end of every day and week how you have spent your time and practised what you were taught and judge your selves before God according at you find it Yea you must call your selves to account every hour what you are doing and how you do it whether you are upon Gods work or not And your hearts must be watcht and followed like unfaithful servants and like loitering Scholars and driven on to every duty like a dull or tired horse § 9. Direct 9. Above all set your hearts to the deepest contemplations of the wonderful Love of God Direct 9. in Christ and the sweetness and excellency of a holy life and the certain incomprehensible glory which it tendeth to that your souls may be in Love with your dear Redeemer and all that is holy and Love and obedience may be as natural to you And then the practice of holy doctrine will be easie to you when it is your delight § 10. Direct 10. Take heed that you receive not ungrounded or unnecessary prejudices against the Direct 10. person of the Preacher For that will turn away your heart and lock it up against his doctrine And therefore abhor the spirit of uncharitableness cruelty and faction which alway bendeth to the suppressing or vilifying and disgracing all those that are not of their way and for their interest And be not so blind as not to observe that the very design of the Devil in raising up divisions among Christians is that he may use the tongues or hands of one another to vilifie them all and make them odious to one another and to disable one another from hindering his Kingdom and doing any considerable service to Christ. So that when a Minister of Christ should be winning souls either he is forbidden or he is despised and the hearers are saying O he is such or such a one according to the names of reproach which the Enemy of Christ and Love hath taught them CHAP. XX. Directions for profitable Reading the holy Scriptures § 1. SEeing the diversity of mens tempers and understandings is so exceeding great that it is impossible that any thing should be pleasing and suitable to some which shall not be disliked and quarrelled with by others and seeing in the Scriptures there are many things hard to be understood which the unlearned and unstable wrest to their own destruction 2 Pet. 3. 16. and the Word is to some the savour of death unto death 2 Cor. 2. 16. You Mar. 4. 24. have therefore need to be careful in Reading it And as Christ saith Luke 8. 18. Take heed how you hear so I say Take heed how you read § 2. Direct 1. Bring not an evil heart of Unbelief Open the Bible with holy Reverence as the Book Direct 1. Read Chap. 3. Dir. 1. and against Unbelief Tom. 1. of God indited by the Holy Ghost Remember that the Doctrine of the New Testament was revealed by the Son of God who was purposely sent from Heaven to be the Light of the world and to make known to men the Will of God and the matters of their salvation Bethink you well if God should but send a Book or Letter to you by an Angel how reverently you would receive it How carefully you would peruse it and regard it above all the Books in the world And how much rather should you do so by that Book which is indited by the Holy Ghost and recordeth the doctrine of Christ himself whose authority is greater than all the Angels Read it not therefore as a common Book with a common and unreverent heart but in the dread and Love of God the Author Direct 2. § 3. Direct 2. Remember that it is the very Law of God which you must live by and be judged by at last And therefore read it with a full Resolution to obey what ever it commandeth though flesh and men and Devils contradict it Let there be no secret exceptions in your heart to baulk any of its Precepts and shift off that part of obedience which the flesh accounteth difficult or dear § 4. Direct 3. Remember that it is the Will and Testament of your Lord and the Covenant of most Direct 3. full and gracious Promises which all your Comforts and all your hopes of pardon and everlasting life are built upon Read it therefore with Love and great delight Value it a thousand fold more than you would do the letters of your dearest friend or the Deeds by which you hold your Lands or any thing else of low concernment If the Law was sweeter to David than honey and better than thousands of Gold and Silver and was his delight and meditation all the day O what should the sweet and pretious Gospel be to us Direct 4. § 5. Direct 4. Remember that it is a Doctrine of unseen things and of the greatest Mysteries and therefore come not to it with arrogance as a Iudge but with Humility as a Learner or Disciple And if any thing seem difficult or improbable to you suspect your own unfurnished understanding and not the sacred Word of God If a Learner in any Art or Science will suspect his Teacher and his Books when ever he is stalled or meeteth with that which seemeth unlikely to him his pride would keep possession for his ignorance and his folly were like to be uncurable Direct 5. § 6. Direct 5. Remember that it is an Universal Law and Doctrine written for the most ignorant as well as for the curious and therefore must be suited in plainness to the capacity of the simple and yet have matter to exercise the most subtile wits and that God would have the style to savâ—ur more of the innocent weakness of the instruments than the matter Therefore be not offended or troubled when the style dâ—th seem less polite than you might think beseemed the Holy Ghost nor at the plainness of some parts or the mysteriousness of others But adore the wisdom and tender condescension of God to his poor creatures § 7. Direct 6. Bring not a carnal mind which savoureth only fleshly things and is enslaved to those Direct 6. sins which the Scripture doth condemn For the carnal mind is enmity against God and neither is nor can be subject to his Law Rom. 8. 7 8. And the things of God are not discerned by the meer natural man for they are foolishness to him and they must be spiritually
thing in it steal again into your hearts and seem Direct 7. too sweet to you If your friends or dwellings or lands and wealth or honours begin to grow too pleasant and be over-loved your thoughts will presently be carryed after them and turned away from God and all holy affection will be damped and decay and grace will fall into a consumption It is the Love of money that is the root of all evil and the love of this world which is the mortal enemy of the Love of God Keep the world from your hearts if you would keep your graces § 19. Direct 8. Keep a strict Government and watch over your fleshly appetite and sense For the Direct 8. loosing of the reins to carnal lusts and yielding to the importunity of sensual desires is the most ordinary Rom. 8. 13. Rom. 13. 13 14. way of wasting grace and falling off from God § 20. Direct 9. Keep as far as you can from Temptations and all occasions and opportunities of sinning Direct 9. Trust not to your own strength And be not so fool-hardy as to thrust your selves into needless danger No man is long safe that standeth at the brink of ruine If the fire and straw be long near together some spark is like to catch at last § 21. Direct 10. Incorporate your selves into the Communion of Saints and go along with Direct 10. them that go towards Heaven and engage your selves in the constant use of all those means which God hath appointed you to use for your perseverance Especially take heed of an idle slothful unprofitable life And keep your graces in the most lively exercise For the slothful is Brother to the waster And idleness consumeth or corrupteth our spiritual health and strength as well as our bodily Set your selves diligently to work while it is day and do all the good in your places that you are able For it is acts that preserve and increase the habits And a Religion which consisteth only in doing no hurt is so lifeless and corrupt that it will quickly perish § 22. Direct 11. Keep alwayes in thine eye the doleful case of a Backslider which I opened Direct 11. before O what horror is waiting to seize on their consciences How many of them have we known that on their death-beds have lain roaring in the anguish of their souls crying out I am utterly forsaken of God because I have forsaken him There is no mercy for such an apostate wretch O that I had never been born or had been any thing rather than a man Cursed be the day that ever I hearkned to the counsel of the wicked and that ever I pleased this corruptible flesh to the utter undoing of my soul O that it were all to do again Take warning by a mad besotted sinner that have lost my soul for that which I knew would never make me satisfaction and have turned from God when I had found him to be good â—nd gracious O prepare not for such pangs as these or worse than these in endless desperation § 23. Direct 12. Make not a small matter of the beginnings of your backsliding There are very Direct 12. few that fall quite away at once the misery creepeth on by insensible degrees You think it a small matter to cut short one duty and omit another and be negligent at another and to entertain some pleasing thoughts of the world or first to look on the forbidden fruit and then to touch it and then to taste it but these are the way to that which is not small A thought or a look or a taste or a delight hath begun that with many which never stopt till it had shamed them here and damned them for ever CHAP. XXVII Directions for the Poor THere is no condition of life so low or poor but may be sanctified and fruitful and comfortable to us if our own misunderstanding or sin and negligence do not pollute it or imbitter it to us If we do the Duty of our condition faithfully we shall have no cause to murmurr at it Therefore I shall here direct the Poor in the special Duties of their condition and if they will but conscionably perform them it will prove a greater kindness to them than if I could deliver them from their poverty and give them as much riches as they desire Though I doubt this would be more pleasing to the most and they would give me more thanks for money than for teaching them how to want it § 1. Direct 1. Understand first the use and estimate of all earthly things that they were never made Direct 1. to be your portion and felicity but your provision and helps in the way to Heaven And therefore they Prov. 28. 6. Jam. 2. 5. are neither to be estimated nor desired simply for themselves for so there is nothing good but God but only as they are Means to the Greatest Good Therefore neither Poverty nor Riches are simply to be rejoyced in for themselves as any part of our happiness But that condition is to be desired and rejoyced in which affordeth us the greatest helps for Heaven and that condition only is to be lamented and dislikt which hindereth us most from Heaven and from our duty § 2. Direct 2. See therefore that you really take all these things as matters in themselves indifferent Direct 2. and of small concernment to you and as not worthy of much love or care or sorrow further than they conduce to greater things We are like runners in a race and Heaven or Hell will be our End and therefore woe to us if by looking aside or turning back or stopping or trifling about these matters or burdening our selves with worldly trash we should lose the race and lose our souls O Sirs what greater matters than poverty or riches have we to mind Can those souls that muâ—â— shortly be in Heaven or Hell have time to bestow any serious thoughts upon these impertinencies Shall we so much as look at the temporal things which are seen instead of the things eternal that are unseen 2 Cor. 4. 18. Or shall we whine under those light afflictions which may be so improved as to work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory v. 17. Our present life is not in the abundance of the things which we possess Much less is our eternal life Luke 12. 15. § 3. Direct 3. Therefore take heed that you judge not of Gods Love or of your happiness or misery by Direct 3. your riches or poverty prosperity or adversity as knowing that they come alike to all and Love or hatred Eccles. 2. 14. 9. 2. 9. 3. is not to be discerned by them except only Gods Common Love as they are common mercies to the body If a Surgeon is not to be taken for a hater of you because he letteth you blood nor a Physicion because he purgeth his Patient nor a Father because he
whether you find it or not for any good its like to do you Every Truth of God is appointed to be his Instrument to do some holy work upon your heart Let the Love of Holiness be it that maketh you search after Truth and then you may expect that God should be your teacher § 4. Direct 3. Seek after Truth without too great or too small regard to the judgement of others neither contemn them nor be captivated to them Use the help of the wise but give not up your Direct 3. Reason absolutely to any Engage not your selves in a Party so as to espouse their errors or Non tam autoritatis in disputando quam rationis momenta quaerenda sunt Cic. Nat. Deo p. 6. Obest plerumque iis qui discere volunt autoritas eorum qui se docere profitentur Desinunt enim suum judicium adhibere Id habent ratum quod ab eo quem probant judicatum vident Cic. de Nat. Deo p. 7. implicitely to believe whatever they say For this breedeth in you a secret desire to please your party and interesseth you in their dividing interest and maketh you betray the Truth to be accounted Orthodox by those you value § 5. Direct 4. Take heed of Pride which will make you dote upon your own conceits and cause Direct 4. you to slight the weightiest reasons that are brought by others for your conviction And if once you have espoused an error it will engage all your wit and zeal and diligence to maintain it It will make you uncharitable and furious against all that cross you in your way and so make you either Persecutors if you stand on the higher ground or Sect-leaders or Church-dividers and turbulent and censorious if you are on the lower ground There is very great reason in Pauls advice for the choice of a Bishop 1 Tim. 3. 6. Not a Novice lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil It is no more wonder to see a Proud man erroneous and in the confidence of his own understanding to rage against all that tell him he is mistaken than to hear a drunken man boasting of his wit to the increase of his shame § 6. Direct 5. Take heed of slothfulness and impatience in searching after Truth and think not Direct 5. to find it in difficult cases without both hard and patient studies and ripeness of understanding to enable you therein And suspect all opinions which are the off-spring of idleness and ease what ever Divine illumination they may pretend except as you take them from others upon trust in a slothful way who attained them by diligent studies For God that hath called men to labour doth use to give his blessing to the laborious And he that hath said by his Spirit 1 Tim. 4. 15. Meditate upon these things give thy self wholly to them that thy profiting may appear to all doth accordingly cause those men to profit who seek it in this laborious way of his appointment And he that hath said The desire of the slothful killeth him doth not use to bless the slothful with his teachings He that Prov. 24. 30. Prov. 21. 25. Matth. 25. 26. will say to him in judgement Thou wicked and slothful servant will not encourage the slothfulness which he condemneth My Son if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee so that thou incline thine ear to wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding Yea if thou cryest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding If thou seekest her as Silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God For the Lord giveth Wisdom Prov. 2. 1 2 3 4 5 6. Mark here to whom God giveth wisdom All the godly are taught of God But mark here how it is that he teacheth them Not while they scorn at Studies and Universities and look that their knowledge should cost them nothing or that the Spirit should be instead of serious studies or that their understandings should discern what 's true or false at the first appearance But while they think no pains or patience too great to learn the truth in the School of Christ. § 7. Direct 6. Keep out Passion from your Disputes and in the management of all your controversies Direct 6. in Religion For though Passion be useful both antecedently to the the Resolution of the Will and consequently Quae duae virtutes in Disputatore primae sunt eas ambas in Hubero deprehendi Patientiam adversarium prolixe sua explicantem audiendi lenitatem etiam aspere dicta perserendi inq Scultetus post disâ— Cuâ—â—ic p. 33. to the effectual execution of its Resolutions yet it is commonly a very great seducer of the understanding and strangely blindeth and perverteth judgement so that a Passionate man is seldome so far from the truth as when he is most confident he is defending it When Passion hath done boyling and the heart is cooled and leaveth the judgement to do its work without any clamour and disturbance its strange to see how things will appear to you to be quite of another tendency and reason than in your Passion you esteemed them § 8. Direct 7. Keep up a sense of the evil and danger of both extreams and be not so wholly intent Direct 7. upon the avoiding of one extream as to be fearless of the other The narrow minds of unexperienced men are hardly brought to look on both sides them and to be duly sensible of the danger of both extreams But while they are taken up only with the hating and opposing one sort of errors they forget those on the other side And usually the sin or error which we observe not is more dangerous to us than that which we do observe if the wind of temptation sit that way Direct 8. § 9. Direct 8. When you detect any antient error or corruption enquire into its original and see whether Reformation consist not rather in a restitution of the primitive state than in an extirpation of the whole Even in Popery it self there are many errors and ill customs which are but the corruption of some weighty truth and the degenerating of some duty of Gods appointment And to reduce all in such cases to the primitive verity is the way of wise and true reformation and not to throw away that which is Gods because it is fallen into the dirt of humane depravation But in cases where all is bad there all must be rejected § 10. Direct 9. Pretend not Truth and Orthodoxness against Christian Love and Peace and so follow Direct 9. Rom. 12. 13. 1 Cor. 13. Truth as that you lose not Love and Peace by it As much as in you lyeth live peaceably with all men Charity is the End of Truth And it is a mad use of Means to use them against the End
of his conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity he had had his conversation in the world and not in fleshly wisdom 2 Cor. 1. 12. And this was Davids comfort 2 Sam. 22. 22 23 24. For I have kept the wayes of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God For all his judgements were before me and as for his Statutes I did not depart from them I was also upright before him and have kept my self from mine iniquity Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness with the merciful thou wilt shew thy self merciful and with the upright thou wilt shew thy self upright Yea peace is too little exceeding joy is the portion and most beseeming condition of the upright Psal. 32. 11. Be glad in the Lord and rejoyce ye righteous and shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart Psal. 33. 1. Rejoyce in the Lord O ye righteous for praise is comely for the upright Psal. 64. 10. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord and trust in him and all the upright in heart shall glory Psal. 97. 11. Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart The Spirit that sanctifieth them will comfort them 4. As the Upright so their upright life and duties are specially delightful and acceptable to God Prov. 15. 8. The prayer of the upright is his delight Psal. 15. 2. Therefore God blesseth their duties to them and they are comforted and strengthened by experience of success Prov. 10. 29. The way of the Lord is strength to the upright but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity Mic. 2. 7. Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly 5. No carnal policies no worldly might no help of friends nor any other humane means doth put a man in so safe a state as Uprightness of heart and life To walk uprightly is to walk surely because such walk with God and in his way and under his favour and his promise And if God be not sufficient security for us there is none Psal. 140. 13. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name the upright shall dwell in thy presence Prov. 11. 3 6. The integrity of the upright shall guide them but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness 6. Lastly The failings and weaknesses of the Upright are pardoned and therefore they shall certainly be saved Rom. 7. 24 25. 8. 1. The upright may say in all their weaknesses as Solomon 1 Chron. 29. 17. I know also my God that thou tryest the heart and hast pleasure in uprightness As for me in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things God will do good to them that are good and to them that are upright in their hearts Psal. 125. 4. The Upright love him Cant. 1. 4. and are loved by him No good thing will he withhold from them Psal. 84. 11. The way to right comforting the mind of man is to shew to him his uprightness Job 33. 23. And who so walketh uprightly shall be saved Prov. 28. 18. For the high way of the upright is to depart from evil and he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul Prov. 16. 17. I conclude with Psal. 37. 37. Mark the upright man and behold the just for the end of that man is peace § 4. II. The true Rules of an Upright life are these that follow Psal. 73. 25. 63. 3. 1 Cor. 4 3 4. Phil. 3. 8 9 18 19. Psal. 4. 7 8. Luke 12. 4. Mat. 6. 1 2 3. 1. He that will walk uprightly must be absolutely devoted and subjected unto God He must have a God and the true God and but one God not notionally only but in sincerity and reality He must have a God whose word shall be an absolute Law to him A God that shall command himself his time his estate and all that he hath or that he can do A God whose will must be his will and may do with him what he please and who is more to him than all the world whose Love will satisfie him as better than life and whose approbation is his sufficient encouragement and reward Luke 14. 26 27 33 34. Luke 18. 22. Mat. 6. 19 20. 1 John 2. 15. Phil. 3. 18 21. 2. His Hope must be set upon Heaven as the only felicity of his soul He must look for his Reward and the End of all his labours and patience in another world and not with the Hypocrite dream of a felicity that is made up first of worldly things and then of Heaven when he can keep the world no longer He that cannot that doth not in heart quit all the world for a heavenly treasure and venture his all upon the Promise of better things hereafter and forsaking all take Christ and everlasting happiness for his portion cannot be upright in heart or life 3. He must have an Infallible Teacher which is only Christ and the encouragement of pardoning John 12. 16. Joh. 15. 1 c. grace when he faileth that he sink not by despair And therefore he must live by faith on a Mediator And he must have the fixed principle of a Nature renewed by the Spirit of John 3. 5 6. Rom. 8. 8 9. 2 Tim. 3. 15. Isa. 8. 20. 1 Thess. 5. 12. Isa. 33. 22. James 4 12. Heb. 8. 10 16. Neh. 9. 13 14. Psal. 19. 7. 119. 1 2 3. Christ. 4. He that will walk uprightly must have a certain just infallible Rule and must hold to that and try all by it And this is only the Word of God The teachings of Men must be valued as helps to understand this Word and the judgements of our Teachers and those that are wiser than our selves must be of great authority with us in subordination to the Scripture But neither the Learned nor the Godly nor the Great must be our Rule in co-ordination with the Word of God 5. He that will walk uprightly must have both a solid and a large understanding to know things truly as they are and to see all particulars which must be taken notice of in all the cases which he must determine and all the actions which his integrity is concerned in 1. There is no walking uprightly Prov. 1. 5. 10. 23. 17. 27. 3. 4. Psal. 111. 10. Ephes. 1. 18. Acts 26. 18. Col. 1. 9. 2. 2. 2 Tim. 2. 7. 1 Cor. 14 15 20. Luke 24. 45. Mat. 15. 16. Ephes. 5. 17. 1 Tim. 1. 7. Prov. 8. 5. John 12. 40. 2 Pet. 2. 12. Rom. 3. 11. Mat. 13. 19 23 Isa. 52. 13. Hos. 14. 9. Prov. 14. 15 18. 18. 15. 22. 3. 8. 12. Ephes. 5. 15. Psalm 101. 2. in the dark Zeal will cause you to go apace but not at all to go Right if Judgement guide it not Erroneous zeal will make
them speedily Luk. 18. 7 8. what need you be so forward to justifie and avenge your selves Obj. If God will have their names to rot and spoken evil of when they are dead why may I not do it while they are alive Answ. There is a great deal of difference between a true Historian and a self-avenger in the reason of the thing and in the effects To dishonour bad Rulers while they live doth tend to excite the people to rebellion and to disable them to govern But for Truth to be spoken of them when they are dead doth only lay an odium upon the sin and is a warning to others that they follow them not in evil And this no wicked Prince was ever so Great and powerful as to prevent For it is a part of Gods resolved judgement Yet must Historians so Sâ—rt Aâ—râ—l Victor de Calig De quo nescio an decuerit memoriae prodi nisi forte quia juvat de principibus nosse omnia ut improbi saltem famae metu talia declinent open the faults of the person as not to bring the office into contempt but preserve the reverence due to the authority and place of Governours § 29. Direct 7. By all means overcome a selfish mind and get such a Holy and a publick spirit as Direct 7. more regardeth Gods honour and the publick interest than your own It is SELFISHNESS that is the great Rebel and Enemy of God and of the King and of our Neighbour A selfish private spirit careth not what the Common-wealth suffereth if he himself may be a gainer by it To revenge himself or to rise up to some higher place or increase his riches he will betray and ruine his King his Countrey and his nearest friends A selfish ambitious covetous man is faithful to no man longer than he serveth his ends nor is he any further to be trusted than his own interest will allow Self-denyal and a publick spirit are necessary to every faithful subject § 30. Direct 8. Wish not evil to your Governours in your secret thoughts but if any such thought Direct 8. would enter into your hearts reject it with abhorrence Eccles. 10. 20. Curse not the King no not in thy thought and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber for a bird of the air shall carry the voice and that which hath wings shall tell the matter A feaverish misguided Zeal for Religion and a passionate discontent for personal injuries do make many greatly guilty in this point They would be much pleased if God would shew some grievous judgement upon persecutors and take no warning by Christs rebukes of Iames and Iohn but secretly are wishing for fire from Heaven not knowing what manner of spirit they are of They cherish such thoughts as are pleasing to them though they dare not utter them in words And he that dare wish hurt is in danger of being drawn by temptation to do hurt Obj. But may we not pray for the cutting off of persecutors And may we not give God thanks for it if he do it himself without any sinful means of ours Answ. Every Ruler that casteth down one sect or party of Christians and setteth up another perhaps as true to the interest of Christianity as they is not to be prayed against and his destruction wished by the suffering party 2. If he be a persecuter of Christianity and Piety it self as Heathens and Infidels are yet if his Government do They are dangerous passages which Petrarch hath though a good and learned and moderate man Dial. 49. Non tot passim essent Domini nec tam late â—urerent nisi populi insanirent cuique civium pro se charior â—oret res privata quam publica voluptas quam gloria pecunia quam libertas Vita quam Virtus Et statim Et sane si vel unum patria civem bonum habeat malum Dominum diutius non habebit The meaning is too plain Abundance of the most learned writers have such passages which must be read with caution Though I would draw none to the other extream Pâ—trarchs 68. Dial 85. Dialog de boâ—o Domino is as smart as the former but yet speaketh not all that contra Reges which be doth contra Dominos However he say that Inter Regem Tyrannum non discernunt Gâ—aii c. So Sr. Thoâ— More in his Poems Regibus è multis Regnum bene qui â—egat unum Vix tamen unus erit si tamen unus erit And that of Senec. Trag. ult Tantum ut noceat cupit esse potens more good than his persecution doth harm you may not so much as wish his downfall 3. If he were a Nero or a Iulian you must pray first for his conversion and if that may not be then next for his restraint and never for his destruction but on supposition that neither of the former may be attained which you cannot say 4. You must pray for the deliverance of the persecuted Church and leave the way and means to God and not prescribe to him Hurtful desires and prayers are seldom of God 5. You may freelyer rejoyce afterwards than desire it before because when a Iulian is cut off you know that Gods righteous will is accomplished when before you knew not that it was his will Yet after it is the deliverance of the Church and not the hurt of a persecuter as such that you must give thanks for Be very suspicious here lest partiality and passion blind you § 31. Direct 9. Learn how to suffer and know what use God can make of your sufferings and think Direct 9. not better of prosperity and worse of suffering than you have cause It is a carnal unbelieving heart that maketh so great a matter of poverty imprisonment banishment or death as if they were undone Bias interrogatus quidnam esset difficile Ferre inquit fortiter mutationem rerum in deterius Laert. p. 55. if they suffer for Christ or be sent to Heaven before the time As if Kingdoms must be disturbed to save you from suffering This better beseems an infidel and a worldling that takes his earthly prosperity for his portion and thinks he hath no other to win or lose Do you not know what the Church hath gained by suffering How pure it hath been when the fire of persecution hath refined it and how prosperity hath been the very that that hath polluted it and shattered it all to pieces by letting in all the ungodly world into the visible Communion of the Saints and by setting the Bishops on contending for superiority and overtopping Emperours and Kings Many thousands that would be excellent persons in adversity cannot bear a high or prosperous state but their brains are turned and pride and contention maketh them the scorn of the adversaries that observe them § 32. Direct 10. Trust God and live by faith and then you will find no need of rebellions or any Direct 10. sinful means
this time may become at this time no duty but a sin by the evil consequents which I may foresee as if another man will make it an occasion of his fall So that this may oblige me to defer a duty to a fitter time and place For all such duties as have the nature of a means are never duties when they cross the interest of their chief ends and make against that which they are used to effect And therefore here Christian prudence foreseeing consequents and weighing the Good and Evil together is necessary to him that will know a duty from a sin and a scandal from no scandal § 7. III. The several wayes of scandalizing are these following 1. Scandal is either intended The sorts of scandalizing or not intended either that which is done malitiously of set purpose or that which is done through negligence carelesness or contempt Some men do purposely contrive the fall or ruine of another and this is a Devillish aggravation of the sin And some do hurt to others while they intend it not yet this is far from excusing them from sin For it is Voluntary as an Omission of the Will though not as its positive choice That is called Voluntary which the will is chargeable with or culpable of And it is chargeable with its Omissions and sluggish neglects of the duty which it should do Those that are careless of the consequent of their actions and contemn the souls of other men and will go their own way come of it what will and say let other men look to themselves are the commonest sort of scandalizers and are as culpable as a servant that would leave hot water or fire when the children are like to fall into it or that would leave Straw or Gunpowder near the fire or would leave open the doors though not of purpose to let in the Thieves § 8. 2. Scandal is that which tendeth to anothers fall either directly or indirectly immediately or remotely The former may easily be foreseen but the latter requireth a large foreseeing comparing understanding Yet this kind of scandal also must be avoided and wise men that would not undo mens souls while they think no harm must look far before them and foresee what is like to be the consequent of their actions at the greatest distance and at many removes 3. Scandals also are Aptitudinal or Actual Many things are Apt to Tempt and occasion the ruine of another which yet never attain so bad an end because God disappointeth them But that is no thanks to them that give the scandal § 9. 4. Scandal also as to the Means of it is of several sorts 1. By Doctrine 2. By perswasion 3. By alluring Promises 4. By Threats 5. By Violence 6. By Gifts 7. By Example 8. By Omission of duties and by silence By all these wayes you may scandalize § 10. 1. False Doctrine is directly scandalous for it seduceth the judgement which then mis-guideth the will which then misruleth the rest of the Faculties False Doctrine if it be in weighty practical points is the pernitious plague of souls and Nations § 11. 2. Also the sollicitations of seducers and of tempting people are scandalous and tend to the ruine of souls when people have no reason to draw a man to sin they weary him out by tedious importunity And many a one yields to the earnestness or importunity or tediousness of a perswasion who could easily resist it if it came only with pretence of reason § 12. 3. Alluring promises of some gain or pleasure that shall come by sin is another scandal which doth cause the fall of many The course that Satan tryed with Christ All this will I give thee was but the same which he found most successful with sinners in the world This is a bait which sinners will themselves hunt after if it be not offered them Iudas will go to the Pharisees with a What will ye give me and I will deliver him unto you Peter saith of the scandalous Hereticks of his time They allure through the lust of the flesh through much wantonness those that were clean escaped from them who live in error While they promise them liberty they themselves are the servants of corruption 2 Pet. 2. 18 19. § 13. 4. Threatnings also and scorns are scandals which frighten unbelieving souls into sin Thus Rabshekah thought to prevail with Hezekiah Thus Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 3. thought to have drawn those three Worthies to Idolatry Thus the Pharisees thought to have frightned the Apostles from preaching any more in the name of Christ Acts 4. 17 21. Thus Saul thought to have perverted the Disciples by breathing out threatnings against them Acts 9. 1. § 14. 5. And what words will not do the ungodly think to do by force And it enrageth them that any should resist their wills and that their force is patiently endured What cruel torments What various sorts of heavy sufferings have the Devil and his instruments devised to be stumbling blocks to the weak to affright them into sin § 15. 6. Gifts also have blinded the eyes of some who seemed wise Exod. 23. 8. As oppression maketh a wise man mad so a gift destroyeth the heart What scandals have preferments proved to the world and how many have they ruined Few are able to esteem the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than the treasures of the world § 16. 7. And evil examples are the commonest sort of scandals not as they offend or grieve or Feb. 11. 26. are apparently sinful but as they seem good and therefore are temptations to the weak to imitate them So apt are men to imitation especially in evil that they will do what they see another do without examining whether it be justifiable or not Especially if it be the example either of Great men or of Learned men or of men reputed eminently Godly or of a Multitude any of these the people are apt to imitate This therefore is the common way of scandal When people do that which is evil as if it were good and thereby draw the ignorant to think it good and so imitate them Or else when they do that which is lawful it self in such a manner as tendeth to deceive another and draw him to that which is indeed unlawful or to hinder him in any thing that is good § 17 8. Lastly Even Silence and Omissions also may be scandalous and draw another into error and sin If by silence you seem to consent to false doctrine or to wicked works when you have opportunity to controll them hereby you draw others to consent also to the sin Or if you omit those publick or private duties which others may be witnesses of you tempt them to the like omission and to think they are no duties but indifferent things For in evil they will easily rest in your judgement and say that you are wiser than they But they are not so ductile and flexible to good § 18. 5. Scandals
it as some of a higher degree The thing pretended by Eminent Hypoâ—â—ites is to be zealous eminent Christians or at least to be sincere in a special manner while they discern the common Hypocrite not to be sincere 2. The cloak of seeming or pretense by which they would be thought to be what they are not is any thing in gâ—neral that hath an appearance of Godliness and is apt to make others think them godly And thus there are diverse sorts of Hypocrites according to the variety of their cloaks or ways of dissimulation though hypocrisie it self be in all of them the same thing As among the very Mahometanes and Heathens there oft arise some notable Hypocrites that by pretended Revelations and austerity of life profess themselves as Mahomet did to be Holy persons that had some extraordinary familiarity with God or Angels So among the Papists there are besides the common ones as many sorts of Hypocrites as they have self-devised Orders And every where the cloak of the common Hypocrite is so thin and transparent that it sheweth his nakedness to the more intelligent sort And this puts the Eminent Hypocrite upon some more laudable pretense that is not so transparent As for instance the Hypocrisie of common Papists whose cloak is made up of penances and ceremonies of saying over latine words or numbering words and beads for prayers with all the rest of their trumpery before named Chap. 3. Gr. Dir. 15. Dir. 11. is so thin a cloak that it will not â—atisfie some among themselves but they withdraw into distinct societies and orders the Church and the profession of Christianity being not enough for them that they may be Religious as if they saw that the rest are not Religious And then the common sort of ungodly Protestants have so much wit as to see through the cloak of all the Popish Hypocrisie and therefore they take up a fitter for themselves and that is the name of a Protestant Reformed Religion and Church joyned to the Common Profession of Christianity The Name or Profession of a Christian and a Protestant with going to Church and a heartless lip-service or saying their Prayers is the cloak of all ungodly Protestants Others discerning the thinness of this cloak do think to make themselves a better and they take up the strictest opinions in Religion and own those which they account the strictest party and own that which they esteem the purest and most spiritual worship The cloak of these men is their opinions pâ—rty and way of worship while their carnal lives detect their Hypocrisie Some that see through all these pretenses do take up the most excellent cloak of all and that is An appearance of serious spirituality in Religion with a due observation of all the outward parts and means and a Reformation of life in works of piety Iustice and charity I say An appearance of all these which if they had indeed they were sincere and should be saved in which the Godly Christian goeth beyond them all § 4. By this it is plain that among us in England all men that are not Saints are Hypocrites because that all except here or there a Jew or Infidel profess themselves to be Christians and every true Christian is a Saint They know that none but Saints or Godly persons shall be saved And there is few of them that will renounce their hopes of Heaven and therefore they must pretend to be all godly And is it not most cursed horrid hypocrisie for a man to pretend to Religion as the only way to his salvation and confidently call himself a Christian while he hateth and derideth the power and practice of that very Religion which he doth profess Of this see my Treat of The Vain Religion of the Formal Hypocrite When Pâ—â—â—â— in vita sua speaketh of others extolling his eloquence he addeth his own neglect of it Ego modo bene vixisâ—em qualiter dixisâ—em parvi sacerem Venâ—osa gloria est de solo verborum splendore famam quaerere Conscientiam potius quam famam attende Falli saepe poterit fama Conscientia nunquam Seâ—ec § 5. The Hypocrites Ends in his pretenses and dissemblings are not all the same One intendeth the pleasing of Parents or some friends on whom he doth depend that will else be displeased with him and think ill of him Another intendeth the pleasing of the higher powers when it falls out that they are friends to Godliness Another intends the preserving of his esteem with religious persons that they may not judge him wicked and prophane Another intendeth the hiding of some particular villany or the success of some ambitious enterprise But the most common end is to quiet and comfort their guilty souls with an Image of that Holiness which they are without and to steal some peace to their Consciences by a lie And so because they will not be Religious indeed they will take up some shew or image of Religion to make themselves as well as others believe that they are Religious § 6. Direct 1. To escape Hypocrisie understand well wherein the life and power of Godliness doth consist Direct 1. and wherein it differeth from the lifeless Image or Corps of Godliness The life of Godliness is expressed in the 17 Grand Directions in Chap. 4. It principally consisteth in such a faith in Christ as causeth us to Love God above all and obey him before all and prefer his favour and the hopes of Heaven before all the pleasures or profits or honours of the world and to worship him in spirit and truth according to the direction of his word The Images of Religion I shewed you before § 3. Take heed of such a lifeless Image § 7. Direct 2. See that your chief study be about the Heart that there Gods Image may be planted Direct 2. and his interest advanced and the interest of the world and flesh subdued and the Love of every sin cast out and the Love of Holiness succeed and that you content not your selves with seeming to do goâ—d in outward acts when you are bad your selves and strangers to the great internal duties The first and Sic vivendum est quaâ—i in coâ—â—â—â—ctu â—â—â—amuâ— Sic cogitandum tanquam aliquis pectus intimum prospicere poâ—â—iâ— Senec. Rem dâ—â—am ex qua mâ—â—â—â—s a stimes nâ—straâ— Vix quempiam invenâ—es qui possit aperto ostiâ—â—ivâ—re jâ—â—itores conscientia nostra suposuit sic vivimus ut deprehendi sit sabiâ—â— aspici Senec. Ep. 96. great work of a Christian is about his heart There it is that God dwelleth by his spirit in his Saints And there it is that sin and Satan reign in the ungodly The great duties and the great sins are those of the heart There is the root of Good and Evil The tongue and life are but the fruits and expressions of that which dwelleth within The inward habit of sin is as a second nature And a sinful nature is worse than a sinful
to be pleased because he hath too great expectations Sign 9. from others He looks for so much observance and respect and to be humoured and honoured by all that it is too hard a task for any man to please him that hath much to do with him and hath any other Trade to follow He that will please him must either have little to do with him and come but seldome in his way or else he must study the art of man-pleasing complement and flattery till he be ready to commence Doctor in it and must make it his Trade and business as Nurses do to tend the sick or quiet Children One look or word or action will every day fall cross and some respect or complement will be wanting And as godly humble men do justly aggravate their sins from the Greatness and Excellency of God whom they offend so the proud man foolishly aggravates every little wrong that is done him and every word that is said against him and every supposed omission or neglect of him by the high Estimation he hath of himself against whom it is done § 61. Sign 10. The proud are desirous of Precedency among men To be saluted with the first Sign 10. and taken by Great ones into the greatest favour and to be set in the upper room at Table and at Church and to take the better hand He grudgeth at those that are set above him and preferred before him unless they are much his Superiours Or if he have the wit to avoid the disgrace of contending for such trifles and shewing the childishness of his Pride to others yet he retaineth a Luke 14. 9 10. displeasure at the heart When the humble give precedency to others and set themselves at the lower end § 62. Sign 11. A proud man expecteth that all the good that he doth be remembred and that Sign 11. others do keep a register of his good works and take notice of his learning worth and vertues As their own memories are stronger here than in any thing so they think other mens should be As if being conscious how unfit they are for the esteem of God they thought all were lost which is not observed and esteemed by men As their eye is upon themselves so they think the eye of Hesich Illust. saith of Arâ—esilaus In communicandis facultatibus ac deferendis beneficiis supra quam dici potest promptus atque facilis fuit Alienissimus à captanda gloriola à beneficio quod latere maluerat Invisens Câ—esibium aegrotantem quum videret illum in egestate esse clam cervicalâ— supposuit crumenam nummariam qua ille inventa Arceselai inquit hicce ludus est others should be also and that as their own to admire the good and not to see the infirmities and evil § 63. Sign 12. No man is taken for so great a friend to the proud as their admirers whatever Sign 12. else they be they love those men best that highliest esteem them The faults of such they can extenuate and easily forgive Let them be Drunkards or Whoremongers or Swearers or otherwise ungodly the proud man loveth them according to the measure of their honouring him If you would have his favour let him hear that you have magnified him behind his back and that you honour him above all other men But if the holiest servant of God think meanly of him and speak of him but as he is especially if he think they are disesteemers of him or are against his interest and honor all their wisdom and holiness will not reconcile him to them if they were as wise or good as Peter or Paul It signifieth nothing to him that they are honourers of God if he think they be not honourers of him Nay he will not believe or acknowledge their goodness but take all for hypocrisie if they suit not with his interest or honour and all because he is an Idol to himself § 64. Sign 13. A proud man is apt to domineer with insolency when he gets any advantage Sign 13. and perceiveth himself on the higher ground He saith as Pilate to those that are in his power John 19. 10 11. Psal. 10. 2 4. Psal. 73 6. Psal. 36 11. Eccles. 10. 7. Psal. 119 51. Knowest thou not that I have power to crucifie thee and power to release thee Forgetting that they have no power at all against any but what is given them from above Victories and successes lift up fools and make them look big and forget themselves as if their shadows were longer than before Servants got on Horsback will speak disdainfully of Princes that are on foot David saith The proud have had me in derision If they get into places of power by preferment they cannot bear it but are puffed up and intoxicated as if they were not the same men they were They deal worse by their inferiours if they humour them not than Balaam by his Ass when they have made them speak their insolency cannot bear it whereas the humble remembreth how far he is equal with the lowest and dealeth gently with his servants themselves remembring that he also hath a Master in Col. 4. 1 2. Heaven Ephes. 6. 9. § 65. Sign 14. A proud man is impatient of being contradicted in his speech be it right or wrong Sign 14. you must say as he or not gainsay him Hence it is that Gallants think that a mans life is little enough to expiate the wrong if a man presume to say they Lye I know that Children and servants and other inferiors must not be unreverent or immodest in an unnecessary contradicting the words of their superiours but must silently give place when they cannot assent to what is said But yet an impatience of sober and reasonable contradiction even from an inferiour or servant is not a sign of a humble mind § 66. Sign 15. Whereever a proud man dwelleth he is turbulent and impatient if he have not his Sign 15. will If he be a publick person he will set a Kingdom all on fire if things may not go as he would have them Among the crimes of the last and perilous times Paul numbereth these to be Lovers of their own selves boasters proud traytors heady high-minded If they have to do in Church affairs 2 Tim. 3. 2 3 4. they will have their will and way or they will cast all into confusion and hinder the Gospel and turn the Churches upside down In Towns and Corporations they are heady and turbulent to have their wills In families there shall be no peace if every thing may not go their way They cannot yield to the judgement of another § 67. Sign 16 Proud men are passionate and contentious and cannot put up injuries or foul words Sign 16. When a humble man giveth place to wrath and avengeth not himself nor resisteth evil but is meek and patient forbearing and forgiving and so heaping coals of fire on his enemies heads
Only by Rom 1â— 1â— Pride cometh contention Prov. 13. 10. He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife Prov. 28. 25. What is their wrath their scorns their railing and endeavouring to vilifie those that have offended them but the foam and vomit of their pride Proud haughty scorner is his name that dealeth in proud wrath Prov. 21. 24. § 68. Sign 17. A proud man is either an open or a secret boaster If he be ashamed to shew his Sign 17. Pride by â—pon bâ—â—â—â—ing then he learneth the skill of setting out himself and making known his excellencies in a closer and more handsome way His own commendations shall not seem the design of his speech but to come in upon the by or before he was aware as if he thought of something else or it shall seem necessary to some other end and a thing that he is unavoidably put upon as against his will Or he will take on him to conceal it but by a transparent veil as some proud women hide their beauties Or he will conjoyn the mention of some of his infirmities but they shall be such as he thinks no matter of disgrace but like proud womens beauty-spots to set out the better part which they are proud of But one way or other either by ostentation or insinuation his work is to make known all that tendeth to his honour and to see that his goodness and wisdom and greatness be not unknown or unobserved And all because he must have mens approbation the hypocrites reward He is as buried if he be unknown Proud and boasters are joyned together Rom. 1. 30. 2 Tim. 3. 2. Theudas the deceiver boasted himself to be some body Acts 5. 36. Simon Magus gave out that himself was some great one and the people all gave heed to him from the least to the greatest saying This man is the great power of God Acts 8. 9 10. Such love the praise of men more than the praise of God John 12. 43. But the humble hath learned another kind of language not affectedly but from the feeling of their hearts to cry out I am vile I am unworthy to be called a child My sins are more than the hairs of my head And he hateth their vanity that by unseasonable or immoderate commendations endeavour to stir him up to pride and so to bring him to be vile indeed by proclaiming him to be excellent Much more doth he abhor to praise himself having learned Prov. 27. 2. Let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth a stranger and not thine own lips He praiseth himself by Works and not by Words Prov. 31. 31. § 69. Sign 18. A proud man loveth honourable Names and Titles as the Pharisees to be called Sign 18. Rabbi Matth. 23. And yet they may have so much wit as to pretend that it is but to promote their service for the common good and not that they are so weak to care for empty names or else that they were forced to it by some bodies kindness without their seeking and against their wills § 70. Sign 19. Pride doth tickle the heart of fools with content and pleasure to hear themselves applauded Sign 19. or see themselves admired by the people or to hear that they have got a great reputation in the world or to be flockt after and cryed up and have many followers Herod loveth to hear in commendation of his Oration It is the voice of a God and not of a man It is a feast to the proud Acts 12. 22. to hear that men abroad do magnifie him or see that those about him do reverence and love and honour and idolize him Hence hath the Church been filled with busie Sect-masters even of those that seemed forwardest in Religion which was sadly prophesied of by Paul to the Ephesians Acts 20. 29 30. Two sorts of troublers under the name of Pastors pride hath in all Ages thrust upon the Church Devouring Wolves and dividing Sect-masters For I know this that after my departure shall grievous Wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock Also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them See also Rom. 16. 16 17. § 71. Sign 20. Pride maketh men censorious and uncharitable They extenuate other mens vertues Sign 20. and good works and suspect ungroundedly their sincerity A little thing serves to make them think or call a man an hypocrite Very few are honest or sincere or godly or humble or faithful or able or worthy in their eyes even among them that are so indeed or that they have cause to think so A slight conjecture or report seemeth enough to allow them to condemn or defame another They quickly see the Mote in a Brothers eye Their pride and fancy can create a thousand Hereticks or Schismaticks or hypocrites or ungodly ones that never were such but in the Court of their presumption Especially if they take men for their adversaries they can cast them into the most odious shape and make them any thing that the Devil will desire them But the humble are charitable to others as conscious of much infirmity in themselves which makes them need the tenderness of others They judge the best till they know the worst and censure not men until they have both evidence to prove it and a call to meddle with them having learned Matth. 7. 1 2 3 4. Iudge not that ye be not judged § 72. Sign 21. Pride causeth men to bate Reproof The proud are forward in finding faults in Sign 21. others but love not a plain Reprover of themselves Though it be a duty which God himself commandeth Lev. 19. 17. as an expression of love and contrary to hatred yet it will make a proud man to be your enemy Prov. 15. 12. A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him neither will he go unto the wise Prov. 9. 7 8. He that reproveth a scorner getteth himself shame and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot Reprove not a scorner lest be hate thee Rebuke a wise man and be will love thee It galleth their hearts and they take themselves to be injured and they will bear you a grudge for it as if you were their enemy If they valued or honoured you before you have lost them or angred them if you have told them of their faults If they love to hear a Preacher deal plainly with others they hate him when he dealeth so with them Herod will give away Iohns head when he hath first imprisoned him for telling him of his Sin though before he reverenced him and heard him gladly They can easily endure to be evil and do evil but not to hear of it As if a man that had the Leprosie loved the disease and yet hated him that telleth him that he hath it or would cure him of it This pride is the thing that hath made men so unprofitable to each other by