Testimonium excellentiae a testimony of that excellency which we acknowledge in him above our selves of this Solomon speaks when 〈◊〉 adviseth not to meddle with a strang woman lest we lose our honour that is lest we lose the good reputation and esteeme we have in the 〈◊〉 of others and in another case he tells us that a peaceable man shall have honour and good respect with men for by a good opinion of men we testifie there is an excellency in them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they have some what more then we have and both the Apostles 〈◊〉 Paul and Saint Peter expresse this duty by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 subjection or submission to be subject as we see Christ was subject to this father and mother in respect of his manhood acknowledging himself to be a child and so consequently thought some thing to be in them to receive this honour which was not in himself The 〈◊〉 will make this more plain In the case of Corah and his company they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron they would not give them honour God calls it afterwards a dishonouring of him and their 〈◊〉 was They were not more excellent then others all the congregation was holy and the Lord was amongst them Their thesis was All men are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to the Lord and therefore Moses and Aaron had no more excellency then the rest of the congregation But we see how God by a special miracle confuted their position for the example of all that in future times should exalt themselves against their superiours The contrary to this sinne of theirs is when men do acknowledge and confesse that there is not an equality but that some do excel them and that this excellency above them is not as the Poet speaks by chance but by the appointment of God that as in creation and generation he is the special father that gives us being so for our well by government that he is our special governour and that those above us are his instruments appointed for our preservation when we acknowledge this exellency in others and that it comes from God who hath imparted his gifts to them This is the first and the inward part of honour But now as God told Samuel concerning 〈◊〉 God and man look several waves for God looks on the 〈◊〉 which man cannot see it is onely the excellency which outwardly apears which we can take notice of and honour and so likewise the inward honour of the heart of which we have spoken is seen onely by God man cannot behold it and therefore besides the inward esteeme or estimate of anothers excellency there must be also some exteriour signe or testimony whereby we acknowledge it to be others and this makes the second part of honour 〈◊〉 honour Such was that which 〈◊〉 desired of Samuel though the kingdom were taken from him as Samuel well knew yet honour me saith he before the Elders of the people and before 〈◊〉 c. And such was that which the 〈◊〉 looked after viz. The 〈◊〉 places at 〈◊〉 the uppermost 〈◊〉 and greeting in the market place This is the second part of honour What this exteriour honour is and after what manner it is to be exhibited in particular is best known by the manner of the countrey where men live because it is not alike in all places every countrey hath not the same signes of honour Holy men in scripture have exhibited outward honour by several gestures or ceremonies which may be reduced to these seven heads 1. To rise up when a person of excellency which either by nature or analogie and proportion is our 〈◊〉 in presence Job accounted it as an honour done to him when the aged arose and stood up when he was in presence And Solomon a king thought fit to expresse his duty to his mother Bathsheba by rising up to her when she came before him 2. The uncovering or making the head bear was accounted a token of honour in use with the Saints and a dishonour to keep it covered as we may gather by the words of the Apostle 3. The bowing of the knee or all or part of the body When 〈◊〉 would have 〈◊〉 honoured he thought no way better for the people to expresse it then by bowing their 〈◊〉 to him He caused them to 〈◊〉 before 〈◊〉 Abrech that is bow the knee King 〈◊〉 in the place before quoted to adde the greater honour 〈◊〉 his mother bowed himself to her Jacob meeting his brother Esau bowed himself 〈◊〉 times to the ground a great expression of this duty And Ruth no doubt thought she honoured 〈◊〉 when she bowed her self to the ground before him So for the bowing of the head it is mentioned in diverse places in scripture to set forth this duty The 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 when they came before him bowed their heads and made obeysance These were signes of honour at the first meeting or salutation 4. A fourth expression is standing up not onely to rise before them we prefer in excellency but to stand up too we see the practize of it in the people of Israel Moses 〈◊〉 as a judge among 〈◊〉 but it is said that the people stood by him from morning till evening And 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 mayd when she went to attend upon king David was to stand before him The like did 〈◊〉 before 〈◊〉 And indeed it is the common expression of service 5. The next is to be silent in the presence of them we account our betters Job tells us that when he was in prosperity the Princes refrained talking in his presence and laid their hand upon their mouth Ths Nobles held their peace c. And in the same Chapter he saith unto me men gave eare and waited and kept 〈◊〉 at my counsel 6. The sixth is that when of necessity we are to speak we use words of submission It is Saint Peters note of Sarah her submissive speech to her husband she called him Lord. And the speech of Rachel to her father 〈◊〉 is a president of this kind for children to their parents 〈◊〉 it not displease my Lord that I cannot rise up before thee And of Josephs brethren for inferiours to men in authority Thy servant our father is in good health 7. The last is dispersed throughout the scriptures and comprehended under the word ministrare to minister and wait Luc. 17. 7. And it comprehendeth all such other duties of outward honour as are to be vsed by servants to their masters As our Saviour expresseth one in the masters command to his servant to make ready that he may sup And the maid waited on Naamans ' wife And so king Davids Generals are said to wait on him And Job in the place before mentioned saith that men waited on him in token of reverence and service to him so that when we
Lastly we have a set form of prayer composed by our Saviour upon the petition of the disciples 2. The other Thanksgiving We see it vsed also before the flood by Abrahams servant when he had finished his busines successefully And we finde this duty commanded by God himself afterwards Moses had a set form of thanksgiving after the deliverance of the people from the Egyptians And King David in many places commends this part of prayer highly and penned a set form of it in a psalm which he entituleth a 〈◊〉 or song for the sabbath day Solomon his son in the time of the first Temple practized it and so did the people vsing one of King Davids psalms the burden whereof as we may so speak was for his mercy endureth for ever Ezra also vsed it after the building of the second Temple together with the priests and people So did our Saviour I thank thee o father c. In the time of the Gospel they sung a psalm Lastly it was not onely practized by the Apostle as you may see in many places I thank God through Jesus Christ and thanks be to God c. but commended by him to others speak to your selves in psalms and Hymns c. as unto the Philippians where he joyns both 〈◊〉 of this duty in one verse in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God And to omit many others in the Epistle to the Hebrews giving thanks i called the sacrifice of praise 3. As the word is Gods speech to us and Invocation ours to him so the sacraments are the Covenants between God and us Such are the type of circumcision instead whereof Baptism succeded and the type of the Passeover instead whereof we have the Lords supper And these two only we receive as sacraments generally necessarily for all But for our justification in thispoint S. Augustine saith upon the words of Saint John cited out of the institution of the Passeover A bone of him shall not be broken vnus emilitibus c. A souldier with a speare pierced his side and forthwith came out of it water and blood which are the two Sacraments of the church our mother And in another place Quedam pauca pro multis c. The Lord and Apostilical doctrine hath left to us a few in stead of many and those easy to be kept most excellent to the understanding and most pious to be observed the Sacrament of Baptisme and the celebration of the body and blood of the Lord. 1. The first Baptisme is so necessary a Badg for a Christian that he cannot be without it Saint Augustine saith sic accipiendum est c. That which the Apostle saith is thus to be understood that by the lavacre of 〈◊〉 and the word of sanctificational former sinns of the regenerate are cleansed and healed and not onely all sinns are remitted in Baptisme but those also which are afterward contracted by humane ignorance and infirmity and in another place Dimittitur eis regeneratione spirituli quod traxerunt ut 〈◊〉 dixi ex adami generatione carnali By this spiritual regeneration as I have often said whatsoever they have drawn from Adams carnal generation is forgiven them And this Sacrament is a service of faith For though children baptized cannot be properly said to beleeve of themselves by reason of their minority yet are they beleevers by their fidejussores or Godfathers and Godmothers and parents who present them and desire to have them baptized in the faith of Christ and received into the Church as were the Jews children by circumcision Inter credentes saith Saint Augustine 〈◊〉 populos baptizatos 〈◊〉 nec judicare aliter ullo modo audebis si nonvis esse apertus haereticus Thou art to repute little children that are Christened among beleevers nor must thou dare to judge otherwise if thou wilt not be an open heretick And in the same place Absit ut dicam non credentes infantes c. God forbid that I should call Infants unbeleevers I have disputed it before They beleeved by another and offended by another It is said They beleeve and it is enough to make them of the number of the faithful that are baptized This hath the authority of the Church and the Canon founded upon the truth obtained 2. The other the Lords supper is a substantial part of our servicetoo For in it is a whole Oblation of our selves souls and bodies to be a reasonable holy and lively sacrifice to God as we acknowledge in our liturgy In it we acknowledge confesse bewaile and repent us of our sinnes which cost our Saviour his most precious blood to make attonement for them And in it we professe that we are in love with God and our Neighbours which is the fulfilling of the Law Herein is a commemoration of that sacrifice which Christ offered for us upon the Crosse in which respect it may be called a sacrifice for as our reverend author else where speaks The Eucharist ever was and by us is considered both as a sacrament and a sacrifice A sacrifice is onely proper and appliable to 〈◊〉 worship c. In a word we hold with Saint Augustine de Civit. lib. 17. Chap. 20. Hujus sacrificii caro et sanguis ante adventum Christi per victimas similitudine promittebatur in passione Christi per ipsam veritatem reddebatur post adventum Christi per sacramentum memoriae celebratur Answer to Card. Perron p. 6. 7. And lastly by it we offer a most acceptable sacrifice and service to God of thanksgiving this Sacrament being called Eucharistia which signifies so much for bestowing so great a blessing upon u whereby every faithful Communicant is strengthened in the faith of Christ. Therefore Accedens debet esse plenus sanctitate he that comes to it ought to be as holy as he may for all our services to God are to be done in purity which is true internal worship and with decency which is external and both these make that compleat holinesse which becometh Gods house 4. The last part of the substance in the external wórship of God is Discipline by which men are regulated in the fear and service of God This we finde commanded Mat. 18. 15. 16. c. John 20. 22. Executed extraordinarily Act. 5. 4. By Saint Peter ordnarily 1 Cor. 5. 3. By S. Paul and Rules set down for the ordering of it 1 Tim. 5. It is as Barnard saith the yoke to keep us within the bounds of Order and as Cyprian Custos spei et retinaculnm fidei a preserver of hope and stay of faith Saint Augustine affirmes that it brings delinquents to repentance whereby they recover that which they had lost by their 〈◊〉 For it is sure enough that the Church of God hath in it of all sorts
he be for his belly as the first or degenerate to a wolf as the last they are both distinguished from the good shepherd Yet they are to be obeyed as pastors because they come in the right way obediendum est male an evil man must be obeyed though not ad malum in that which is ill of which before in the Magistrate But the end of these is wosul acording to the prophet wo unto the shepherds that feed themselves Ye 〈◊〉 the fat and cloth you 〈◊〉 the wooll yee kill them that are fed but yea feed not the flock 4. The good shepherd is the last sort who as he comes in the right way Math. 22. 12. So he is not to abuse his place after he is entred as the evil shepherd doth but to perform the duties of it which duties are 1. To shew his flock a good example 2. To employ his talent for their good 3. To converse with them as he ought 1 He must be an example He must lead the flock as our Saviour expresseth it after the manner of the Easterne countries who drave not their sheep before them but the sheep followed them The Apostle describeth it more plainly by the word Typus he must be Typus as the iron that gives a forme to the mony by making an impression on it As the iron hath the same forme in it which it stampes on the coyne so must the minister by his example represent what by his doctrine he would have the 〈◊〉 to be The same word is vsed in other places it is used by Saint Peter bidding such men to be ensamples to the flock It was Moses his order in the first place the priest was to have 〈◊〉 integrity of life and then Vrim light or learning And it pleased God to make it a signe of Aarons cal ling to the Priesthood That his rod was virga 〈◊〉 a fruit bearing rod to shew that the priest when he uses the pastoral rod for government and discipline must not be unfruitful himself but must be an example in holy life and good works which are the fruits of the spirit So was it in Christ our Prototype as Saint Luke speaks Cepit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 docere 〈◊〉 began both to do and to teach to do first and to teach after The like Saint Paul when he handleth this point ex professo tells both 〈◊〉 and Titus that a minister must be blamelesse by his example without spot and unreproveable So then he must be ex mplam or dux gregis he must be typus a pattern or example he must do and then teach This example he may be two wayes 1. In himself which is as you see before in S. Pauls direction to Timothy and Titus to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without spot which hath relation to that in the law No man that bath a blemish or is mishapen in his body of the seed of Aaron the Priest was to come nigh to offer the Lords offering This was required under the Law to preserve the outward honour and dignity of the Priesthood the better and though in that regard it may be of moral use yet withal hereby was typified that innocency and freedom from all spiritual blemishes of sin which should be in the Ministers of the gospel They should be free from all spot because no offence should be given that no scandal should be given to the weak brother within nor to the adversary without This made the Apostle so careful to avoid not onely scandal but all occasion of scandal that when alms were sent to poor brethren by the care of the Apostles he would not carry it alone but would have one go with him that there might be no suspicion of fraud that so he might 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 provide things honest not onely in the sight of God but before men also and that the adversarie might have no occasion to speak evil Therefore the Disciples marvelled when they found Christ talking with a woman alone because it was not his custom to do any thing which might cause slander or suspicion Thus much for the ge 〈◊〉 We will now set the four vertues which the Apostle requires to be in him and the four spots which are opposit 1. The first is that he be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 temperans or continens temperate and chast whether in a married or single estate The opposite to this is in Tim. 3. 2. not to be content with one Wife so continency or single life is the vertue incontinency or polygamie the thing forbidden 2. The second is that he must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vigilant or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not given to wine The opposite is in the next verse one given to wine transiens ad vinum a tavernhunter for the lust of the body and the pleasure of the taste must both be qualified in him 3. The next is he must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sober which Chrysostome distinguishes from the former and is opposite not to the inordinate desires of meat and drink but to the passions of the soul which are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 irascible it moderates the passion of anger The vertue required is mentioned 2 Tim. 2. 24. mildenesse he must be no striker not furious but one that will bear injuries and labour with meeknesse to reclaim those that erre 4. Lastly he must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 grave and modest of good behaviour which the Councils refer to habitum his apparel gestum his gesture incessum his gate he must not be light in his behaviour The opposite to which is not to fly youthful lusts and light carriage To these four we must adde that which the Apostle mentions he must so carry himself that he may have a good report of them that that are Without for it is not enough to be commended by those of his own profession or religion by birds of his own feather but so that his very enemies may say He is a man fit for this sacred calling and may be converted by his example 2. He must be an example in his houshold by his example for according to S. Paul he must rulewell his own house which must be in 3 points 1. They must be brought up by him in the true faith 2. He must keep them in subjection that they be not unruly but obedient for if he be not able to keep his own under but that they will be refractory it argueth that he is either negligent or remisse and fainthearted and therefore unfit to rule the Church 3. Lastly he must make them examples of reverence gravity sobriety and modesty 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they be not accused of riot surfet and excesse And in these two respects the Pastor must be exemplum gregis The duty of the people must be conformable and answerable to that of the Pastor If it be
both must concur S. Pauls three rules of pie juste sobrie S. Augustine his three rules contrary to three rules of corrupt nature 2. The manner of doing riquires 1. totos 2. totum 3. toto tempore 3. The reward 4. The punishment CHAP. XVI Page 83 That the moral Law of God written by Moses was known to the Heathen 1. The act or work was known to them as it is proved in every precept of the Decalogue yet their light more dim in the 1. 2. 4. 10. S. Pauls three rules of pie sobrie juste known to them 2. They knew the manner of performance toti totum semper 3. They knew the rewards and punishments CHAP. XVII Page 68 Questions about the Law 1. Why it was written by Moses seeing it was written before in mens hearts How the light of Nature became dim three causes of it it was deserved in three respects Why the Law was given at this time Why onely to the 〈◊〉 All the four parts of a Law are in the Law written 1. The Act. 2. The Manner 3. The rewards 4. The punishments 2. Whether any can keep the Law How God is just in requiring that which we cannot perform An Addition about power of keeping the Law evangelical Adam lost his ability not efficienter but meritorie God alwayes gives or is ready to give power to do what he requires if we be not wanting to our selves How Christ hath fulfilled the Law how we keep it by faith 3. Why God promises life to the keeping of the Law if we cannot keep it CHAP. XVIII Page 73 Of the preparation before the giving of the Law 1. To make them willing by consideration of 1. his benefits 2. Gods right as Lord 3. Their relation as Creatures c. 4. That they are his people His Benefits past and promised Three motives to love 1 Beauty 2. Neernesse 3. Benefits all in God 2. To make them able by sanctifying and cleansing themselves that ceremonial washing signified our spiritual cleansing how we came to be polluted how we must be cleansed Why they were not to come at their wives Of the danger and abuse of things lawful 3. That they might not run too far bounds were set Of curiosity about things unnecessary CHAP. XIX Page 79 The manner of delivering the Law 1. With thick clouds 2. With thunder and lightning 3. With sound of a trumpet The terrible delivering of the Law compared with the terrour of the last judgement when we must give account for the keeping of it the comparison in all the particulars The use of this CHAP. XX. Page 80 The end of the Law as given by Moses 1. It brings none to perfection and that by reason of mans corruption as appears 1. by the place a barren wildernesse a mountain which none might touch 2. by the mediatour Moses by the breaking of the Tables c. 2. It brings us to Christ because given by Angels in the hand of a Mediatour It Was to be put into the Ark Given fifty dayes after the Passeover Moses had a Veyl the fiery Serpent our use of the Law to know our debts as by a book of accounts then to drive us to seek a Surety to pay the debt viz. Christ amd to be thankful and take heed of running further into debt The Exposition of the first Commandment CHAP. I. Page 83 Of the Preface to the Decalogue Two things required in a Lawgiver 1. Wisdom 2. Authority both appear here Gods Authority declared 1. By his Name Jehovah which implyes 1. that being himself and that all other things come from him 2. his absolute dominion over all the Creatures from which flow two attributes 1. His Eternity 2. His Veracity or truth 2. By his Jurisdiction thy God by Creation and by Covenant 3. By a late benefit their deliverance out of Egypt How all this belongs to us CHAP. II. Page 87 The division of the Decalogue how divided by the Jews how by Christians Addition 6. That the four fundamental Articles of all Religion are implyed in the four first Precepts Of rules for expounding the Decalogue Six rules of extent 1. The affirmative implyes the negative and e contra 2. When any thing is commanded or forbidden all of the same nature are included 3. The inward act of the soul is forbidden or commanded by the outward 4. The means conducing are included in every precept 5. The consequents and signes 6. We must not onely observe the precept our selves but cause it to be kept by others left we partake of other mens sins which is 1. Jubendo by commanding 2. Permittendo by tolleration 3. Provocando by provocation 4. Suadendo by perswasion 5. Consentiendo by consenting 6. Defendendo by maintaining 7. Scandalum praebendo by giving scandal CHAP. III. Page 94 Rules of restraint in expounding the Law False rules made by the Pharisees Of Custom Addition 7. Of the force of Church Customs 3. Three rules of restraint 1. By dispensation 2. By the nature of the Precept 3. By conflict of Precepts Antinomia wherein these rules are to be observed 1. Ceremonial Precepts are to give place to moral 2. The second table is to give place to the first 3. In the second table the following Precepts are to give place to those before Rules to expound in case of 1. Obscurity 2. Ambiguity 3. Controversie CHAP. IIII. Page 98 Three general observations in the Decalogue 1. That the precepts are all in the second person 2. All but two are Negative All but two are in the future tense Observations general from the first precept 1. Impediments are to be removed before true worship can be performed 2. The worship of God is the foundation of all obedience to the rest 3. That spiritual worship is chiefly commanded in the first precept Addition 8. About the distinction of inward and outward worship CHAP. V. Page 100 In the first Commandment three things are contained 1. We must have a God 2. We must have the Lord for our God 3. We must have him alone for our God The sinne opposite to the first is 〈◊〉 to the second is false Religion to the third mixt Religion How our nanture is inclinable to those sins Reasons against them CHAP. VI. Page 102. In the first proposition of having a God is included 1. Knowledge of God wherein 1. The excellency 2. the necessity 3. how it is attained The contrary forbidden is 1. Ignorance 2. light knowledge What we are to know of God Impediments of knowledge to be removed Rules of direction to be followed CHAP. VII Page 110. The second inward vertue commanded in the first precept is faith Reasons for the necessity of faith Addition 9. Concerning the evidence of faith and freedom of assent The certainty of faith Of unbelief Addition 10. Concerning the nature of faith Means of believing Of trust in God for things temporal The tryal of our trust Six signes of Faith CHAP. VIII Page 120. The third inward vertue is fear of
thing required in every law and so in this is the manner how it must be done which by learned men is much dilated We will reduce them all to three things We are to do it 1. Toti 2. Totum 3. Toto tempore or Semper 1. Toti as Jacob said to Rachel you know that with all my power I have served your father and no doubt but he would yeeld as much service to God as he did to Man 2. Totum with our whole souls and bodies we must endeavour to keep the whole Law not as Naaman did keep it by halfes but as Noah who did all that the Lord commanded him about the Ark. 3. Toto tempore not for a time onely but all the dayes of our life Noah was 〈◊〉 tempore justus righteous all his life and Abraham was juvenis senex idem the same man in his age that he was in his youth Now for the Reward or Punishment which are the two other things required in a law it stands thus That if a man break one part of the law the commanding part it is impossible that he should escape the other part the sanction which bindes over to punishment Therefore God hath taken order that though men can over-reach the law in one part that is in contemning it yet on the other part punishment shall over-reach them So saith S. Augustine Aut faciendum aut patiendum quod debemus we must either do what we should or suffer what is due And this was known before the giving of the law That God was righteous and the people wicked It was the confession of a wicked Egyptian King And both reward and punishment were set before Cain If thou do well shalt thou not be accepted And if thou doest not well sin lyeth at the door Like a savage Bear or Mastiffe-dog or a Blood-hound So long as thou keepest within doors that is as the Fathers expound it as long as thou livest thou mayest happily escape punishment for thy sin but whensoever thou goest out of the doors out of this life then vae tibi he will flye upon thee then this Blood-hound will never lose the sent till he have brought thee to perdition and destruction More directly for the Reward it s to them that doe well 1. For temporal benefits in this life Because Joseph feared God the Lord made all things prosper under his hand 2. And secondly for eternal benefits felicity after this life Enoch was 〈◊〉 to everlasting life because he walked with God For punishment t is to them that do evil First temporal punishment in this life as we see in the case of Adam Eve Cain and Josephs brethren but especially in Pharaoh which made him cry out as we heard before Justus est Dominus c. The Lord is righteous and I and my people are wicked It was his sin drew those temporal plagues upon him 2. And secondly eternal punishment in the life to come So we read of the Spirits in prison for being disobedient in the dayes of Noah who preached repentance to them so that they were condemned for transgressing the law of God preached by Noah CHAP. XVI That the moral Law of God written by Moses was known to the Heathen 1. The act or work was known to them as it is proved in every precept of the 〈◊〉 yet their light more dimme in the 1. 2. 4. 10. S. Pauls three rules of Pie sobrie juste known to them 2. They knew the manner of performance Toti Totum Semper 3. They knew the rewards and punishments AND thus we see that Gods written Law which is Natures Law hath all those conditions that any Law should have For this Law which was before Moses was nothing else but Moses's Law in the hearts of men as if a man would get a thing by heart that is not written For what Laws then they had from GOD they kept in their hearts by tradition But now peradventure they will say that these Laws and the four Rules appear onely in the Scripture and were observed by the Jewes and those mentioned in the Scripture onely but other Heathen took no notice of them nor used them by the light of Nature and therefore think themselves not bound to them but are at liberty to use or not use them To this we say that by the writings of the Heathen themselves it appears that they had these rules written in their hearts and received many of them the son from the fathers ascending even to Noahs sons Sem Ham and Japhet though in some of the Commandements it may not seem so plain as in the rest for in every Commandement they introduced some corruptions of their own heads and declined diversly from Gods Law First for six of the Commandements it is manifest as the 3. 5. 6. 7. 8 9. the more obscure are the 1. 2. 4. 10. 3. For the third Commandement It was a law among the Egyptians Perjuri poena capitali plectentur let the perjured be punished with death as Diodorus Siculus reporteth And it was the law of Rome in the 12 Tables 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 swear not rashly And Sophocles saith that when an oath is taken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the soul will be more cautions to sin against God and to injure man 5. For the fifth Homer saith of one that had a misfortune that it came quia parentes non honoravit because he honoured not his parents 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he would not render the duty of a childe to his father therefore his dayes were not prolonged and another saith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 live well and nourish thy parents in their age And Menander saith that he which honoured his parents shall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 live long and happily And for superiours Charondas said in his laws 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the neglect of our aged parents is extremity of wrong 6. For the sixth there is no question every Nation held it as a Canon of their Law Homicida quod fecit expectet Let a murtherer expect losse of life as he deprived another of it and therefore they all punished murtherers with losse of life 7. For the seventh it was the saying of Licurgus Fuge nomen Moechi si mortem fugies Avoid adultery so shalt thou avoid untimely death and Stephanus out of Nicostratus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He that will live in this city and not dye let him abhor adultery And Menander censureth adultery as a sin disgraceful 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because the price of it is death 8. For the eighth Demosthenes against Timocrates alledgeth plainly the Lacedemonian law in the very words of this Law Thou shalt not steal And He siods precent enjoyneth men not to possesse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 stolne goods but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 given by Gods providence 9. For the ninth it was one
to embrace Gods Law is the meditation and consideration of the benefits which either We or our Countrey Parents Friends or kinred have received at his hands for the remembrance of them will stir up a love in us and love will make us do our duties with delight 2. Another way to prepare us is by taking notice of the right and interest God hath in us as he is our Creator and so hath power to command us absolutely We are as Pots in his hands either to be made or broken as he pleaseth we are his servants or born subjects and he may command us to do what he pleases for which he needed not to reward us if e had not tied himself by promise to reward us as the Subjects of Nebuchodonozor who if they performed his will had no reward if not the fornace was heated seven times hotter We are Dei Vernae Gods bondmen and as the Poet saith Quae premiae Vernae what rewards may bond-men expect we are bought with a price Ther 's nothing that takes so deep an impression in us as the consideration of Gods benefits to us and interests in us and dominion over us 3. If we consider our selves as we are his Creatures The Dragons the snow winde storm hail are as it is in the psalm to praise him so that if it had pleased God to have made us but winde or snow yet being his Creatures we were bound to praise him how much more then for that he hath given us a living soul and secondly the vse of natural faculties in every member the value or estimate whereof may be made by the want of an eye or an arme for the supply whereof how much would we think our selves beholding to any that should restore us the use of them and therefore seeing God gave us all our Limbs how much more ought we to be thankful to him for the use of all But thirdly when we shall enter into consideration that God hath given us a reasonable soul it should procure a third degree of thankfullnesse The value of which is such that as Saint Augustine saith that every man had rather 〈◊〉 cum ratione Lamentari to Lament ever with understanding then ridere sine ratione to laugh without reason 4. But the fourth transcends all the rest If we consider the goodnesse of God in choosing and preferring us above all other people to be his Church and to pertain to him in the New Covenant and the death of his Son all other benefits will seem as miseries without this And this benefit we shall the better value If we consider the Saints of God who were wiser then the sons of men how they have Laboured to be of the number of this Church Gods elect people enduring infinite calamities and rejecting the preferment of this world and with Moses rather induring to suffer affliction then to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season Again we may divide Gods benefits as God divideth them himself in the verses before mentioned Into them that are past and them that are promised 1. Deliverance 2. Eagles wings 1. Them that are past Deliverance For this we need no other argument then that which God himselfe 〈◊〉 Ye have seen what I did to the Egyptians In which as in a Type we have seen how God hath delivered us from the spritual Egypt the kingdom of sinne and Satan and this deliverance from the shadow of death ignorance blindnesse and Gods judgements doth incomparably passe that from 〈◊〉 and his servants And though the Hunter hath set a snare yet the Lord hath delivered us from it and all his snares as from the noysome pestilence a terrore nocturno sagitta diurna from terrour by night and the arrow that flieth by day multi undique ceciderunt nos autem stamus many have fallen round about us but we stand A thousand fall beside us and ten thousand at our right hand and yet the danger comes not neer us 2. I have not onely delivered you from the Egyptians but I have carried you on Eagles wings saith God In the Revelation saith he to the woman that is to the Church that he gave her two wings of a great Eagle which according to the interpretation of the learned are 1. His providence 2. His especial grace Dei providentia in 〈◊〉 seculo ala una gratia dei specialis ala ecclesiae altera his providence in this life and special grace which brings us to a better life are the two wings whereby God protects his Church 1. His providence is thus proved That he being infinite and eternal yet condiscendeth to care and provide for every particular thing we need He is said to make our bed And in the Gospel to number our haires He hath allotted to us poor worms being but ashes as Job speaks the most excellent guard of Angels commanding them to wait upon us Lastly he hath created this goodly Theater of the world and all creatures therein for our use and hath made us Lords thereof And this providence of his is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bonitatis a fountain that can never be drawn dry 2 For his especial grace preventing and following appears 1. In vouchsafing his onely Son for the worlds redemption and remission of sins 2. In giving us a measure of Sanctification and vertue in some degree to live well 3. In giving us the ministery of his Word and Sacraments as seals of his promises which the Prophets Apostles and Saints esteem so highly 4. In giving us pulsationes spiritus standing at the doors of our hearts and knocking inspiring into us good motions to do well So that if we would in particular weigh these good guifts of nature and grace which God hath bestowed upon us we could not but think that he who doth thus for us must needs love us and that if he love us he will command us nothing but that which shall be acceptable to him and profitable for us But to make his providence appeare full adde to these the benefits promised which are yet to come We have them in the fifth and sixth verses If ye will heare my voice ye shall be c. and as they had their promises under the Law so have we under the Gospel better promises for the life to come In respect of which all the rest are as nothing When we have the kingdome of heaven and the blisse thereof no more can be added to us These cannot be valued by the Eye nor by the ear nor by the heart The Prophet tels us The eye hath not seen nor the ear hath not heard nor can the heart under stand the joyes that are provided for them that seek God Now we know that the eye may see much for our Saviour saw all the kingdoms of the world at once and the Eare may hear many things but the heart may conceive infinite things in comparison of the senses
Captivity of the North it is said The dayes come saith the Lord that it shall be no more said the Lord liveth that brought up the children out of the land of Egypt But the Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North. And this title lasted to the time of Christ. sixtly The last is prophecied by Jer. Jehovah justitia nostra the Lord our Righteousnes and so by the Apostle Christus justitia nostra Christ our righteousnesse and God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now this great benefit being not fully six weeks before the Law delivered it must needs stick close to their memory and being in the wildernesse where they were wholly to depend upon God and his protection so that as well in regard of the remembrance of the late benefits and the hope of future assistance as of the place where they could not depend at all upon themselves it was both a fit time and place to give them a Law and then they were more fit to receive it in as much as it could not well be given in Egypt for thence they were unwilling to go nor in Canaan for there they murmured against God it was most fit it should be given here for their delivery was not that they should be Masters but Servants And all these pertain to us for though it be true Non obligamur Legi propter Sinai sed propter paradisum when it was first given to all the sons of Adam and though God gave this Law to one Nation to stir up others to emulation as the Gentiles were taken into Covenant afterwards to provoke the Jews to jealousie yet this is also true that there are none of those his titles but much more appertain to us who have means of better performance as having received greater benefits and our faith grounded upon better promises 1. Jehovah The excellency of this Name to us is in respect of the ordination of a new Covenant the Gospel which as the Scripture speaks is the better Covenant because it was established upon better promises for Insemine tuo benedicentur omnes nationes terrae in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed is a better promise then Semini tuo dabo terram Canaan to thy seed will I give the land of Canaan We have clearer promises of eternal life and a greater measure of sanctification of the spirit then they had 2. Deus tuus thy God As we are included with them in the first so in the second title we have part and interest in them both for he is our God by Covenant as well as theirs by a Covenant of mercy and grace 3. Qui eduxi c. which brought thee c. For this third how far greater dangers are we delivered from then they From the sting of Conscience fom sin from death how much do the Devil and his Angels passe the power and malice of Pharaoh and his task-masters Hell and Gehenna the Lime-kills the torments of Hell without number the bricks with number and as much as these everlasting pains passe those temporal so much doth our deliverance exceed theirs The Apostle saith that God hath delivered us from the power of darknesse and from the wrath to come And in another place that he hath abolished death In this world he hath freed us from errours which the most part of the world fall into He hath delivered us 1. from the justice of God 2. from the terrour of the Law 3. from the sting of Conscience 4. from sin 5. from death 6. from Hell 7. from the Devil and his Angels 8. from the Spiritual Egypt 9. from the Egypt of this world c. Now as God hath titles so have we He Jehovah we vile Creatures He our God we his servants He which hath delivered us we which have been delivered by him from sin c. from a thousand dangers Audi Israel hear O Is ael saith he Speak Lord for thy servants hear must we say and not onely be his Auditors but his servants least we be made servants to sin Sathan and the world and so be made to know the difference between his service and the service of other Masters CHAP. II. The division of the Decalogue How divided by the Jews 〈◊〉 Christians Addition 6. That the four fundamental articles of all Religion are implyed in the four first precepts Of rules for expounding the Decalogue Six rules of extent 1. The affirmative implies the negative and e contrà 2When any thing is commanded or forbidden all of the same nature are included 3 The inward act of the soul is forbidden or commanded by the outward 4. The means conducing are included in every precept 5. The consequents and signes 6 We must not onely observe the precept our selves but cause it to be kept by others least we partake of other mens sins which is 1. Jubendo by commanding 2 Permittendo by tolleration 3. 〈◊〉 by provocation 4 Suadendo by perswasion 5 〈◊〉 by consenting 6. Defendendo by maintaining 7. Scandalum praebendo by giving scandal VVE divided the Law into a stile and a Charge the first hath been handled The charge remains whereof we will now speak And this is contained in the ten words which we commonly call the ten commandments So doth Moses as well to deter men from presuming to adde any more in which respect God wrote both sides of the Tables full to prevent the adding to them as also to take from man the excuse of being so many that his memory could not bear them They being but few whereas those of the heathen are infinite These ten for better order and memory sake receive a division from the subject and are divided according to the two Tables which our Saviour in his answer to the Lawyer divideth according to the objects God and Man And this is not his own division onely we finde it in the time of the Law Our duty towards God is set down in Deuteronomy Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy hea t and with al thy soul and with all thy might Our duty towards man in Leviticus Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self From both which places this division of of our Saviour hath its ground Now because love is so often repeated S. Paul makes the end of the Law to be love And in another place after he hath recapitulated the Law he reduceth it to this Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self for our love proceeding and ascending up to God when we descend and come to our Neighbour it is but a reverberation of the love we have to God and every reverberation or reflexion presupposeth a direct beam so that every man that loves his Neighbour hath God first in his direct motion as the immediate and direct object of his love and then his Neighbour in
outward so in some sence that commandment which requires the one requires the other for every precept is given to the whole man though chiefly to the soul and to the body as the instrument of the soul yet in regard that worwip may be performed either by the heart alone or by the whole man therefore that distinction may be in some sort admitted and so it may be said that the first commandment looks chiefly to the heart though not excluding 〈◊〉 outward man and that the second looks more immediately at the outward manner of performance yet not excluding the heart CHAP. V. In the first Commandment three things are contained 1. We must have a God 2. We must have the Lord for our God 3. We must have him alone for our God The sin opposite to the first is profanenesse to the second is false religion to the third mixt religion How our nature is 〈◊〉 to those sins Reasons against them THis first precept is primae necessitatis and therfore first to be regarded it was never dispensed withal nor ever shall be And according to the first Rule of extension Praeceptum faciens non faciens It being a negative implyeth an affirmative The negative is Thou shalt have no other Gods The affirmative our Saviour quoteth to the Devil out of 〈◊〉 Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him onely shalt thou serve There are three propositions which naturally arise out of this Commandment 1. That a God we must have 2. That we must have the Lord for our God 3. That we must have him alone for our God 1. The meaning of the first is that we should not be Gods our selves which was the beginning of all mischief Dii eritis ye shall be Gods in judging good and evil at our own election but to acknowledge a superiour power from whence we are to take our rules and directions both in following good and abstaining from evil and not to be led by our own affections And to this superiour power so instructing us and promising to bring us to the full fruition of the chiefest good we should submit our selves acknowledge him and tye our selves to him which acknowledging and tying our selves to him is the proper act of Religion which is therefore called 〈◊〉 a religando as S. Augustine derlves it this is in the first place to have a God and a Religion and consequently to worship him as God 2. The meaning of the second is to inform us that the Gods of the Nations are but Idols no Gods and therefore the service and worship done to them is false and Idolatrous But 〈◊〉 our God who hath manifested himself many wayes to be the true God is the onely God and his religion true religion and therefore we are to shake off all worship and service to others and 〈◊〉 our selves wholly to him and his service 3. This third teaches us that there are no Idols nor Gods that can do as he doth either in rewards or punishments none can reveal or bestow eternall happinesse but he none can joyn with him or help him therein but he alone is both able and willing and therefore he alone will have all the glory to himself he will have none to participate with him Gloriam meam 〈◊〉 non 〈◊〉 my glory will I not give to another 1. Now the opposite sinne to the first is called Prophanesse when a man will be carried by his own affections in every thing and do that which seemeth good in his own eyes when he will be under no yoke or bands but breake them giving credit to nothing but what his own God corrupt reason 〈◊〉 him to doing nothing but by his own direction and what his own will stands affected to 2. The sinne contrary to the second is false worship and 〈◊〉 religion The holy Ghost is pleased here to call it the having of other Gods as in the Scripture he 〈◊〉 evill by the name of strange as a strange woman a harlot so strange worship Idolatry strange Gods false Gods And this is forbidden in the second proposition 3. The sinne against the third is that which Elias called mixt worship halting between two opinions mingling Gods religion with others following both God and Baal Like the Samaritans that feared the Lord when he sent lions among them and yet served the Gods of the nations whence they came they sware by the Lord and by Miclcom A sinne that divers of the kings of Israel and Judah were taxed with 2 Kings 13. 1 Now these are three things which the devil aymeth at and hath helps in our nature to set forward and bring to effect his purpose According to his own name Belial he is without yoke so would he have others to be also His argument in the first temptation was to have Adam cast off his yoke and be under no director Tast but the apple and thou shalt be a director to thy self and be able of thy selfe without any other guide to judge of good and evil And this vain desire of licentiousnesse whereby men by corruption of nature delight dissolutly to follow their concupiscence and in all things to sit Judge in defining good and evil is the high way which leads to the greatest transgression opening the door to prophanesse and Atheisme 2. So in the second place there is a marvilous itching desire in us of change which the Devil also nourisheth Stollen bread matters of secrecy strange flesh c. And where once prophanes 〈◊〉 he faileth not to adde a curious longing to search beyond the truth till at last he causeth them to finde a lie in stead thereof for there was never any error broached but it sprang from a desire of innovation and a wandring out of the beaten path And this he brought Solomon to who having the knowledge of true Religion as much as any yet not content fell to enquiring after forrein Religions mystries and conceits and so fell to 〈◊〉 3. In the third there is also a great desire in us to reconcile God and Mammon And though our Saviour said it was impossible to serve both yet are we desirous beyond measure to heape up temporal things and get eternal too to have a Paradise here and else where there is a desire in us to communicate our selves to all and to use a like freedom to good and bad thinking that while we are in the world the world will do us good and when we come to heaven God will do us good too And this the devil misliketh not for he runs not upon soli or 〈◊〉 for when he tempted Christ with promise to give him all the kingdoms of the earth it was not upon so strict a condition to worship him onely but to joyne him with God in his worship and service 1. Now the reasons whereby these are forbidden are these We must confesse that the nature of man hath recieved a great wound insomuch
Another is humility Jacob fell seven times to the ground before he came to his brother The Philosopher saith Timor contrahit non intendit fear shrinks up the heart it maks it not to swell The wiseman hath a good medicine against Pride Be not wise in thine own eyes but fear the Lord. 4. The surest signe of fear is the fear of sinne which is all one with the fear of God Come ye children saith King David and hearken unto me and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. And both these fears are joyned by holy Job of whom it was said Job was an upright man and one that feared God and eschewed evill and as it was his practise so was it his opinion The fear of the Lord is wisdom and to depart from evill is understanding Timor est fugitivns fear bids us not resist but fly and he that fears cannot be armed sufficiently though he put never so much harnesse on his back A thief being pursued fear will make him demittere furtuns drop that which he hath stollen or at least not have it about him So if we fear God we will be sure not to have sinne found about us we will be afraid of that lest it condemne us And this is a sure signe 6. The last is given us by Moses And now Israel what doth the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God and to walk in all his wayes to love him and to serve him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. And as we are to have this signe of fear in our selves so are we to wish with the Prophet that all the earth may have this fear Let all the earth fear the Lord stand in awe of him all ye that dwell in the world and it is a fault where this desire is wanting The want of this desire argues the contrary affection that is turning others from the fear of God which God condemns by the prophet and calls it strengthening the hands of the wicked Thus then we see that fear is the end of the Law CHAP. IX The fourth inward vertue is humility The nature of it The properties of it Of Pride The nature and degrees of it signes of pride The punishments of pride Of forced humility Of Counterfeit humility The means of humility The signes of humility IT is the property of him that feareth to shrink Humility ariseth out of fear Saint Peter hath a place which fits this well Humble your selves under the mighty hand of God upon which one of the fathers saith Tanquam sub securi vehementi loquitur the Apostle speaks as if Gods hand were lifted up with his Axe ready to strike us and we shrink down for fear And so should a man do cast himself down and be content with whatsoever it shall please God to lay upon him and such a dejection of our selves is the effect of fear And this as it humbleth us towards God My flesh trembleth for fear of thee and I am afraid of thy judgements so the like effect it produced towards men even from good men when they were in fear of men Jacob bowed himself seven times before he came to his brother The like we read of the wicked Benhadad King of Syria and his nobles being stricken with the fear of Ahab girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes upon their heads and came to him and said Thy servant Benhadad saith I pray thee let thy servant live And if the fear of mans wrath work so upon us much more ought the terrour of Gods justice that by it we should be presently cast down until we can say with Prophet Adhesit anima mea pavimento pulveri my soul cleaveth to the ground yea to the dust We see also that the Patriarchs and Prophets have shewed this humiliation by putting on sackcloth as judging themselves not worthy to be better clothed and in throwing dust and ashes upon their heads thereby professing themselves fitter and worthier to be cast under the earth then to tread on the ground any longer We must have that in truth which they signified by those types and emblemes we must be even with the ground and as the Psalmist speaks lay all our honour in the dust When we are thus humbled and have given all glory to God and none to our selves then followes our exaltation for when God hath brought us to the nethermost pit and as it were to deaths and hels door when we are at the very bottom of humility and can go no lower then are we fit to begin a foundation to build upon We must first set our selves in the lowest room and the Master of the feast will bid us sit up higher And this should be the true Myrrour of every Christian the true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or self knowledge which is to be commended not in the sense the Heathen took it to know and see the excellency of himselfe and so be puffed up but to see the imperfections of our soules and know our wants Pride never gets footing of us but either for want of knowledge or upon a false knowledge And therefore the Heathen considering the excellency and nobility of man and having a false apprehension of Gods Justice it was that which made them fall into that proud conceit that the preaching of Christ was foolishnesse and for the same reason it became offence also to the Jews insomuch as when Christ came to exalt and heal them they were high and sound enough already And therefore S. Augustine saith Superbis Phariseis viluit Christus Christ seems vile to the proud Pharisees Their pride made them have a base esteem of him Not that we deny but that the nature of man is most excellent yet withal remembring that the more excellent a thing is the worse it is if it degenerates And therefore seeing our estate is so vile and that it hath pleased God to vouchsafe us Christians a better way we are to follow it And this is by the true knowledge of a man himself wherein there must be 1. Humilitas mentis humility in the minde or understanding which is when the minde apprehends the infinite excellency of God and our own basenesse and this belief of the minde will raise a sutable disposition in the heart for from hence follows the second 2. Humilitas cordis voluntatis affectuum the humbling of the heart and will c. whereby a man thinks himself not worthy of food apparrel or any comforts of this life but is abased in his own sight This restrains the appetite of pride which is to be measured by that which is in every man and makes him not to exalt himself seeing there is no excellency in him and to say with the Psalmist O Lord I am not high minded I have no proud looks c. We see then that the end and use of humility is to bring
God and not to any Creature whatsoever Therefore the learneder sort among them having studied the tongues better seeing the absurdity of these conclusions found out another shift and say that they neither do adorare nor colere imagines neither bow down to nor worship the images themselves but Christ and the Saints by the Images This distinction doth little avail them the records of Antiquity can tell them that this was the shift of the Heathen Idolaters of old even in the Primitive Church Lactantius taxeth those of his time for it Quae igitur amentia est c. what madnesse is it saith he to answer that you worship not the Idol sed Numen aliquod cui Idolum fabricatur but some God to which the Idol was was made and Chrysostome Adoratis simulachra non simulachra sed Venerem Martem per simulachra Veneris Martis you adore images and not images but Venus and Mars by their images lastly S. Augustine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quis disputator c. there starts up I know not what disputer and he seems to thee to be a learned man and sayes I worship not that stone nor that senselesse Image I know like a subtill Prophet that it can neither speak nor see but I serve that Deity which I see not I worship not that Image but I adore what I see and serve him that I see not And what is that why a certain invisible Deity To which the Father answering saith Hoc modo reddendo rationem de Idolis optime factum putant c. by this means they think they do well by rendring a reason for their Idols And in another place he saith of another sort videntur sibi purgatioris esse religionis qui dicunt nec simulachrum nec 〈◊〉 colo sed per 〈◊〉 corporalem ejus rei signum intueor quam colere debeo but they seem to be 〈◊〉 a more refined Religion that say I neither worship the Image nor the Devil in it but by that corporeal shape I behold the representation of that which I should worship But what saith he to this Itaque Apostoli una sententia poenam c. one sentence of the Apostle testifles their punishment and damnation for such kinde of acts God gave them up c. But indeed this error is as ancient as the Calf in the wildernesse and if we examine it well we shall finde this of their's all one with that of the Israelites for they did not think the Calfe to be a God for these reasons 1. For first they desired a God to go 〈◊〉 them and their reason was because they could not tell what was become of Moses who formerly had bin a visible representation to them of God and not a God himself therefore they would have somewhat made instead of him and this must hold for one reason or else we must say that they took Moses for their God before 2. The assent of Aaron for if he had not had somewhat in his minde besides flat Idolatry in consenting and complying with them he had not bin favoured as he was but destroyed with the rest And therefore it cannot be understood that they conceived the calf as a visible Representation onely but that in that calf God might be worshipped for Aaron said to them that they should keep a feast to the Lord therfore they intended that the Calf should represent God in their solemnity Exo. 32. 5. And it is likely that it was so because that while they were in Egypt they knew no other God then Apis an Oxe And it is recorded that Aaron upon these words of the people These be thy Gods 〈◊〉 that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt took hold of them and built an altar and proclaimed a fast to 〈◊〉 which they must needs know could not be ascribed to the Calf So that this was the Elench that deceived him that they might worship God in the Calf though Moses could not be deceived so for he brake it in pieces and burnt it to ashes 3. The third evasion of the Papists is That these Images are not erected either to adore or worship them or God by them but that ignorant people might have something to put them in minde of God and therefore Images are called by them libri laicorum the books of lay-men This is no new device but vsed of the old Idolaters as we may see by the 〈◊〉 of Symmachus There must be something to put the ignorant in minde of God Which Ambrose and Prudentius answer thus Omnia Deo plena all things have God to manifest him and put us in remembrance of him And by Arnobius These that stand so for Images saith he vse to say that they made no account of the Image but onely in respect of the ignorant sort of people that are put in minde of God by it And 〈◊〉 in an oration saith Istiusmodi 〈◊〉 esse pro libris quae dum legunt cognitionem dei dediscunt c. That while they read these books of Images in stead of learning God they loose the knowledge of him and therefore calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 moralizing upon 〈◊〉 not teaching true divinity So that we see there is nothing said in this canse that was not said before Now if we aske the Papists that if the people must be put in minde of what it must be Not of the deity for they themselves are weary of maintaining that and though they were wont often and in many places do still to represent God and the Trinity in humane shapes yet Hosius now confesseth that such things came in Dormientibus 〈◊〉 praepositis while the gouernors of the Church were a sleep 2. Not of Christ as he is God for his attributes are 〈◊〉 but as he is man onely and in so doing in representing him by picture as man and not God seeing that person in the deity cannot be delineated they imitate Nestorius who did divide the natures of Christ and so consequently may seem to run into the Anathema of the council of Ephesus because in some sort they divide in their picture the manhood from the Godhead which they cannot expresse therewith 2. Not of Christ as man and now glorified for against this the saying of Eusebius may serve well that the glory of Christ in heaven is now far greater then it was when he was 〈◊〉 in the mount where the disciples could not look upon him and therefore cannotbe pourtrayed by any pensil 3. Nor of Christ as he was in the flesh for that were as the Prophet speaks to teach us lies and rather to forget then to remember what he suffered for us for in his picture as in that upon the crosse for example we can be put in minde we see no more then the piercing of his hands and feet a wound in his side by a spear and the thorns on his
another some come into the Church at prayer some not till the sermon begin But as the Apostle enjoyns tarry one for another that is all praise God together Inward unanimity and outward uniformity being a delight to God It was Davids joy I was glad when they said to me Let us go into the house of the Lord and soon after he addeth Jerusalem is as a City that is compact together or as some translation at unity in it self And this spiritual union is without question a great strengthening to the Church for when either one comes after another or if in time of Gods service some sing not nor pray with the other this must needs make a breach in the fabrick of it In Discordia saith Augustine nemo benedicit Dominum God is never truely or well served where there is discord or separation The Prophets earnest desire is O magnifie the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together And therefore it is that the holy Ghost mentioneth so often this unanimity to be in the infancy of the Church as being one of the chief causes of the growth and enlarging of it The Spirit came upon them when they were all together with one accord in one place as if the whole Church were one person and had but one tongue and one lip And in prayer it is said They lift up their voice with one accord And they heard so too The people with one accord gave heed to the things which Philip spake So in the point of uniformity we see that he was punished that was not like the rest of the guests that had not a wedding garment And as the separation and division of tongues was a curse that the earth was no more unius labii of one speech or language so it is a great part of the blessednesse of the heavenly Jerusalem that the Elders sing with one voice unto the Lord. The Fathers beat much upon this and Saint Chrysostome extolleth it highly and saith that it falleth upon God like a showre of hailstones and Saint Augustine saith of singing of prayses that it sounds in Gods eares tanquam resonantia maris as the voice of many waters which he seemeth to take from that place in the Revelation 2. The second is fear 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in all fear saith S. Peter with fear and trembling saith S. Paul for if the service of men according to the rule of S. Paul and Saint Peter must be so much more the service of God But in our exteriour service of God there is commonly so little fear or rather such want of fear that commonly we sleep in it like the Apostles who could not hold open their eyes being in horto in the garden with their Master they could not watch one hour and therefore that judgement befell them that they all forsook Christ and fled And there is little fear in sleep When Jacob was afraid of his brother Esau he slept not all that night The Example of the Christians in the Primitive Church is left upon record for our observation That they heard S. Paul preaching till midnight Upon which place Chrysostome saith Ad hoc commemoravit eos qui media nocte vigilabant ut pudeat eos qui media die dormiunt the Evangelist recordeth those that watch till midnight to this end that they may be ashamed that sleep at mid-day Now because the actions of a natural man are eating drinking and sleeping the same reason which 〈◊〉 the using of the two former in the Church must needs be of force to condemn sleeping too Have ye not houses to eat and drink in saith the Apostle thereby condemning those that used to eat and drink in the Church So if he could have supposed that the Corinthians would have slept there he would have asked the same question concerning sleeping And as he reasons from the place so we may reason from the time out of another place of the same Apostle Vigilate nam qui dormiunt nocte dormiunt watch for they that sleep sleep in the night But with us we may say They that sleep sleep in the day And so whereas the place of sleeping should be our houses and the time of sleeping the night we because we will be crosse in the day-time sleep at Church Natural reason tells us that Actio vestita indebitis circumstantiis illicita est every action cloathed with undue circumstances is unlawful The Prophet as his manner is after he had denounced a curse upon a carelesse people falleth to blessing the Church of God in which he saith Non dormiet quisquam neque dormitabit none shall 〈◊〉 nor sleep among them And our Saviour gives this caveat Beware that the Lord when he cometh find you not sleeping which though it have a spiritual understanding yet there follows a temporal punishment In prima poena est estimatio peccati we may consider of the sin by the first punishment and so we may weigh every 〈◊〉 in prima poena God usually punisheth sin in its own kinde We see it from the beginning Cains murder God threatneth with blood Sodoms heat of lust punished with fire c. Eutychus sleep in this case with a dead sleep This carelesnesse in Gods service is the onely way to bring us first to 〈◊〉 and then to Apostacy and no religion at all We finde it punished in the Church she slept and awoke but found not her beloved And this judgement followed the Apostles themselves because they could not watch one hour they all forsook our Saviour and Peter forsware him But howsoever it stands in respect of Gods punishments or mercies yet the former reasons condemn it and we may adde that the heart truely and rightly affected in Gods service is ardens cor as the Disciples were that talked with our Saviour going to Emaus their heart 〈◊〉 and a Father saith that it is impossible to have cor ardens sub oculo gravi a burning heart and a heavy eye are not compatible 3. There must be with these Cordis praesentia our heart must be present and watchful too for though we watch outwardly yet there may be such extravagant and wandering thoughts in the heart that we may be said to be praesentes absentes absent though present And where the heart is absent the other members will discover it The note of Cor fatui a fools heart is to be in domo laetitiae it turneth that way where the sport lyeth whereas cor prudens the heart of him that hath understanding quaerit scientiam seeketh to get knowledge The inner parts of a fool are like a broken vessel he will hold no knowledge so long as he liveth it runneth out as fast as it is poured in but the wise inquire at the mouth of the wise in the Congregation and ponder his words in their heart And these are testified by
as tending to an encouragement to the breach of this commandment But to answer it more fully we say that Punishment may be inflicted three several wayes 1. By way of satisfaction 2. Of medicine 3. Of Correction And we may safely hold that by these one may be justly punished though no offence be committed by him 1. By way of satisfaction as in point of suretyship When one man is a principal Debtor and a friend taketh the debt upon him is it injustice in this case to punish the surety with the payment of the debt God forbid we should think so For then that which Christ hath satisfied for us might be accounted unlawful and consequently of no effect So that voluntarily one may fatisfie for another and yet no violence offered to justice 2. By way of medicine or cure If the eye be ill affected or the head ake the arm may well bleed to cure them otherwise the whole body may be in danger and in this case it is not onely just but necessary so then if the punishment of another man be propter medicinam for cure and the evil inflicted be lesse then the evil prevented as to wound the finger to save the eye and the like this is not unjust and so when the temporal punishment of the son is to cure and redeem the father from eternal then punishment may be inflicted by God without any impeachment to his justice 3. By way of correction In which there is respect to be had in repairing equality broken A man should require no more then suits with the will of God but we see daily he doth and therefore breaketh equality and is to make amends for it and therefore nimis must be punished with nimis which must be either in the father or the childe and if equality be not broken in them there is no injustice The Fathers say frustra requirit debitum qui non rependit indebitum to require a debt and not to pay that which is due is no justice as God saith Do ye thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise is not he thy father that bought thee and Qui contristat patrem suum juste contristatur a filio he that brings sorrow upon his father shall have the like brought on him by his son and that justly too Again in regard the covenant of blessing was made with Abraham and his seed God will be the God of our seed therefore when the father breaketh the Covenant he may justly be punished in his seed They knew it well that said His blood be upon us and our children 2. Thus we see it is not unjust in respect of the father now that it is not unjust in respect of the son appears 1. Children may be temporally punished because filius est res patris part of the fathers possessions and substance Again in regard that the son may be guilty by nature The Church in the Cant. finds a nest of young soxes that as yet have destroyed no vineyards nor worried any lambs but if they grow up they will do both The question is whether the church may say Take us those little foxes And so because there is a poysonous nature in the Scorpions or Cockatrices egge we may tread them under feet and it stands with justice The summe of all is God never punishes one for the sin of another but he may ex jure Dominii as absolute Lord inflict any temporal evil on the son for the fathers sin without any injustice for it is onely an affliction to the son which God can turn to his good but a punishment it is to the Father who is punisht in his son To these we may adde two considerations more 1. The first is jus meriti for commonly education follows propagation Men usually bring up their children like themselves Children have traditions from their fathers As our fathers worshipped so will we and having kept our Religion so many years let us keep it still Sin propagates like to Gehezies leprosy if it take hold of the father it cleaves to his posterity commonly And therefore this punishment may come upon them ex jure meriti and that justly because they follow their fathers sin And herein God when he punishes the son exequitur chirographo suo non paterno it is for his own debt not for his fathers 2. The second is jus beneficii and this is the court of mercy God may shew mercies to whom he will the son cannot claim any thing at Gods hands for the fathers sake Gods covenant is free we can challenge nothing as due but all from grace S. Augustine said well that godly fathers have wicked children ne virtus videretur haereditaria lest vertue should be thought to be hereditary Again wicked men have good children and why ne malitia serpat in infinitum lest there should be no end of wickednesse But first this is certain there is no punishment for the grapes that are in the fathers mouthes they remain in his own mouth onely 2. And secondly this punishment is in respect of his justice onely yet miseretur 〈◊〉 vult misereri he will shew mercy on whom he will shew mercy His mercy may exempt whom in justice he might punish and besides his justice takes hold onely on those that follow their fathers sins and so the threatning is conditional Gregory saith 〈◊〉 imitatur gravatur he that follows his fathers example shall feel the burden of it God saith by the Prophet At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation to destroy it if that nation shall turn from their evil I will repent of the evil I thought to do unto them And when a son shall turn from his fathers evil wayes he shall 〈◊〉 and not die His threatnings are of justice his exemptions of mercy Jonas saith from God that Nineveh shall be destroyed but by a new decree the former sentence was reversed These come from several courts 1. The use of all this is to breed a mutual care betwixt the father and the son for we see Eli the father punished for the children and in another place the childe punished for the father David 2. Secondly to acknowledge that we are sons of sinful Parents and to say with him in Deuter. A Syrian ready to perish was my father c. and with David peccavimus cum patribus we have sinned with our fathers and with Daniel to deprecate the punishment due to us for our fathers transgressions 3. And lastly with Abraham to be careful to command our children to keep the way of the Lord there must be a mutual care of building up one another And so we go from mount Ebal the commination to mount Gerizim the promise and reward CHAP. X. The third part of the sanction a promise of mercy Gods rewards proceed from mercy which is the fountain of all our happinesse His mercy is promised
keeping them there 's great reward Nay he tells us they are better then thousands of gold and silver Therefore we are to keep them safe and carefully and lay them up where they cannot be taken away the wiseman directs us where we may bestow them to be out of fear of losing them keep them saith he in the midst of the heart for he that keepeth them keepeth his own soul. In respect of others we are also to see them kept And this is to be done by zeal and power that others breake them not We must not say as in another case Cain said Am I my brothers keeper Sum ego custos mandati tui Am I to be a keeper of thy Commandments in others Is it not enough that I keep them my self No we must reprove rebuke and exhort use all means to make others keep them we must be grieved with David when others keep them not God hath given them to us they are not onely observanda but Conservanda we must not onely observe but preserve them which if we doe we shall finde as the wise man saith that he that keepeth them keepeth his own soul. Domine Custodio adjuua Negligentiam meam Lord I keep them help my Negligence THE EXPOSITION OF THE Third Commandement Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain c. Or as the Chaldee Paraphrast reads it Thou shalt not swear by the name of the Lord thy God in vain or falsely CHAP. I The general scope of the third Commandment Of glorifying the name of God by praise The manner how it must be done Several motives to stir men up to the dutie THis Commandment forbids and prohibits not onely perjury but all other abuses of Gods name Though all vain and rash swearing and all irreverent usage of Gods name may be reduced to this commandment and therefore it is enlarged by our Saviour Math. 5. 34. to the prohibiting of all volutary oaths yet if we looke at the literal meaning of the words to take Gods name in vain doth strickly and properly signifie nothing else but to swear falsly or to forswear and therefore the 70. as they render the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 lashava by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate vain so they often render it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 falsly as Deu. 5. 18. Ezek. 12. 24. and 13. 6. 7. 8. Hos. 10. 4. Jon 2. 9. Zeah. 10. 2. and that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shava and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Shakar mentiri differ little appears in the ninth Commandment where for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sheker mendacium used in Exod. is put 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Deut. both which the 70. render by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 false witnesse Therefore Philo in explication of this place having said that we must 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not take the name of God in vain addes by way of explication 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for to call God to witnesse a lie is most wicked So likewise Aben Ezra so in Exo. 23. 1. For the Hebe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vain the Targum Hierosol reads 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 false So in Psalm 24. 4. and Psalm 12. 3. Zachary 10. 2. and in many other places the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is rendered falsehood or lying and that by Hierom him self Our Saviour himself so renders these words Mat. 5. 33. Thou shalt not 〈◊〉 thy self speaking of the litteral sense of this law as it was given by Moses which he amplifies and enlarges For that which some late expositors say that he recites and rejects onely the corrupt glosse of the Jewish Doctors is against ' the current of antiquity and against the text as might easily be proved and therefore the Syriack translation so reads the words non mentiris in jurejurando tuo thou shalt not lie in swearing This further is to be noted that this commandment speakes not of an 〈◊〉 tory oath or false swearing in bearing witnes for that belongs to the ninth Commandment but of a promissorie oath onely as the following words of Christ import Mat. 5. 34. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thou shalt performe thy vowes unto the Lord which are taken out of Numb 30. 2. and so Philo expounds this precept and Aben Ezra who addes to shew the danger of this sinne that other sinns have usully the bait of profit or pleasure which are seldome in this and that other sinnes cannot be committed at all times as this may This which is the proper sence of the words being laid as a ground other things of like nature may be reduced hither according to the explication and enlargment which Christ our great and onely Lord and Lawgiver hath left in his Gospel to which we are to have recourse in opening the true meaning of this and all other precepts of the Decalogue as the are obliging to us Christians and become a part of the second covenant In it are two things 1. A prohibition 2. A commination of punishment In the Prohibition are two things likewise considerable 1. The object God in general and his name in particular 2. The Act of which this Commandment speaks and that either 1. Negatively and expressly not to take that name in vain 2. Positively and implied to use the name of God reverently soberly considerately and upon good cause God is the immediat object and his glory or honour the immediate end of all the duties commanded in the first table This honour as was shewed is either inward in the worship of the heart required in the first commandment or outward and that either in signo by the outward gesture and adoration of the body or in verbo in our words or speeches of him that is required in the second this in the third Commandment that consists chiefely in adoration this in praise They differ in this that the honour of outward adoration is alwayes given to one that 's present and to the party himself immediately this of the tongue by praise goes beyond it in that it may be given to one that is absent for we may praise one that 's absent and though God be alwayes present yet when we speak of him to others we speak not to him then as present and besides praise may be given not onely to his person but to his name or any thing that hath relation to him Thus we are exhorted to give the glory due to his name c. And this praise is aspecial part of Gods glory for he that offereth me praise glorifieth me saith God This is the end which God propounds of all his works for as the Prophet speaks we are created by him for his glory and that which was before our creation our predestination was for his glory It was Gods end and ayme and it must be ours That all our actions be to the praise of
And when God would exalt Abraham from being father to the children of a bond woman Agar by whom he had Ismael to be the father of Isaac and the faithful and thereby to establish the Church in his house then because he was more glorious he gives him a more glorious name Thou shalt no more be called Abram but Abraham And the like we see in Jacob whose name was changed to Israel a name of more dignity when he had prevailed with God Now if a good name or good report be among private men so highly valued that as Solomon saith it is better then a precious ointment which was in great esteme for pleasure in those dayes yea then silver or gold or any precious treasure which was most esteemed for profit and if it be true which the Heathen said interesse famae est majus omni alio interesse that the weight and interest of a good name goeth 〈◊〉 all 〈◊〉 yea further as a Father saith Fama pari passu ambulat cum vita it goeth cheek by joul with life it self Of how pretious and high esteem ought the name of God to be and how highly ought we to reverence and esteem it seeing as the Psalmist saith God hath magnified his name and word above all things Therefore his glory and name is the chief thing we should look unto Thus we see what 's meant by the name of God The second is what is understood by taking the Name of God Non assumes c. The barrennesse of the English language makes the expression of the Original short for the word whence it comes signifies to take up and hath a double use to which may be referred whatsoever is borrowed in this sence 1. It is applyed to a standard or banner and hence comes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nose Armiger 2. To a heavy thing as a burden whence comes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 massae pondus and these two kinde of things we take up or remove if a thing be glorious as a standard we take it and lift it up and if a thing be necessary and useful to us though it be heavy and weighty we take it up so that the one is in rebus gloriosis the other in rebus necessariis and if a thing be neither glorious nor necessary we let it lie the first includes the duties of praise in all that take Gods name upon them the second refers to the duty of swearing which is a weighty thing and under these two are comprehended all other takings of his name 1. It is in gloriosis as Moses called his Altar erected and set up Jehovah-nissi that is the Lord my banner or standard from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ness vexillum Or as the plate made for Aaron wherein was to be graven Sanctitas Jehovae Holinesse to the Lord was to be taken up and placed upon Aarons forehead visible as a thing glorious as the badge of a noble man is lifted up upon the shoulder of a servant to be seen This lifting or taking up of Gods name is a thing glorious As the taking of a name by a childe from a father is honourable It was an honour and a priviledge to Ephraim and 〈◊〉 to be called after their grand-father Jacobs name so is it an honor to a woman to have her husbands name It was all the ambition of the women in the Prophet that desired one husband to be called by his name And we see still that in marriage the woman taketh her husbands name and it is such a glory to her that she is content to loose her own name for his And it is our own glory that from Gentiles we are called Christians Of which Esay in sundry places foretold Every one shal be called by my name saith God for I have created him for my glory And Thou shalt be called by a new name And again And shall call his servants by another name All which was fulfilled in the primitive Church when the Disciples were first called Christians The glory of Christ was taken up by Christians when they were called by his name Now being Gods servants and servants taken up his banner or badg the duty commanded is that we must like good servants do all to his glory as the Apostle speaks God can receive no profit by us but glory we may give him and therefore all our actions must refer to it We must not be so ambitious as they were in the dayes of Peleg that sought by building Babels tower to get themselves a name for that is Gigantomachia which is bellare cum Deo to fight with God It is not good to contest with him in this kinde You may read the successe of their enterprise God overthrew their plot even by the confusion of that which should have gotten them their names the tongue Nor must we set a face or false colour upon our own evil acts under pretence of Gods glory as did Absalom If the Lord will bring me again to Jerusalem I will serve him here was a fair pretence when treason lay hid in heart against his own father So 〈◊〉 makes religion a 〈◊〉 proclaims a fast for the murder of Naboth These are so far from the glory of Gods name that they are wicked abuses of it Thus Gods name is to be glorified within us now for the outward duties 1. Having taken this name upon us we must not be ashamed of it nor afraid to confesse it Judah of whom came the name to the Jews was so called the word signifying praise because his mother said she would confesse or praise God so must we wear our name of Christians and Gods servants to the glory of God and Christ and not be ashamed of it The reason Christ himself giveth Whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my father And though the Church of Philadelphia was but of small strength and its works were not great yet because it had not denyed his name Christ promiseth to set open a door for it and other things as you may read But any that shall receive the name and mark of the beast wear any others livery he shall drink of the wrath of God and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 2. There is another degree beyond that of not denying his Masters name which every good servant is bound to and which his master expects from him that is standing for his name when it is blasphemed consessing and defending it to the death as the Martyrs have done Because there was none that offered to defend Gods name when judgement was turned backward and justice stood afarr of truth was fallen in the streets and equity could not enter therefore he thereatens terrible judgement he puts on the garments of vengeance saith the 〈◊〉 3. Lastly we must not forget Gods name but often make mention of it The Prophet David threatens a
sanctification of the day and works of mercy The Prophet tells us that God refuseth all sacrifice and requireth Mercy so that sacrifice without Mercy was rejected Let us compare this with the Ritual sanctification in the Law As anoynting was the first part of typical sanctifying of which we spake formerly so was there also a second If it were a Person his hand was filled by Aaron Implevit manus ejus Aaron If it were an Altar then was there some what offered on it So that Oblation or filling the hand was the second way of legal sanctifying In the Law there was a charge to Aaron that whensoever men came to appear before the Lord none should appear empty And therefore in another place there is mention made of a basket of sanctification at the door of the Tabernacle in which was reserved the bread offered by the people which the Priests were to eat with the flesh of the sacrifices And the very same order was taken in the time of the Gospel that on the Lords day there should be collections for the poor But there is no place that setteth this out more plainly then the 26 Chapter of Deuteronomy the whole Chapter throughout where the manner is particularly set down how the people were to bring their baskets of first fruits to the tabernacle and offer them there to the Lord in token of thankfulnesse and as an acknowledgement that they received all from God And likewise every third yeer besides the ordinary tythes they were to bring the tythe of the remainder to the Tabernacle for the use of the Levite the poor the fatherlesse and stranger that they might rejoyce together c. Now mercy as misery is two fold 1. Corporeal and 2. Spiritual Either outward and such as are for the good of the body of him that is in misery or inward and such as concerne his soul or spirit 1. For the first of these our Saviour himself mentions six works of mercy in 2 verses of one Chapter which as sure as he is Christ he will acknowledge and take special notice of when he comes to judge the world and as he will pronounce those happy and blessed that have exercised them so he will denounce a curse upon those that have neglected them three of them are in the first of the two 1. Feeding the hungry 2. Giving drink to the thirsty 3. Merciful dealing with and entertaining the stranger And the other three are in the next verse 1. Clothing the naked 2. Visiting the sick 3. And succouring them that be in prison To which may be added a seventh which is the care of the dead we see that King David pronounceth a blessing from God to the men of Jabesh Gilead because they had buried the body of Saul And our Saviour commendeth the work of Mary in her anointing him as having relation to the day of his burial We finde also Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus recommended to posterity for their work of mercy in this kinde the one for begging the body of Jesus to bury it and the other for assisting him in the charge of interring it Augustine gives a reason why the burial of the dead ought to be accounted a work of mercy It is done saith he Ne pateat miseria that this misery of rotting being both lothsome to the eye and nose should not appear to every man As also because every one loveth his own flesh so well that he would have it after his death well and honestly used and therefore this is a benefit done to him when he cannot help himself And in these respects it is a work of mercy That the works of mercy are most requisite and especially upon our feasts appears by that which is related of David who upon his sacrifice on a festival day dealt to everyman and woman the poorer sort no doubt a loaf of bread and a good piece of flesh and a flagon of drink And by that which is storied of Nehemiah who upon the Sabbath day after the law read and expounded commanded the better sort to eat the fat and drink the sweet and to send portions to them for whom nothing was prepared And certainly there is a blessing or sanctifying proper to them and their actions that shall be mindefull of the poor and shew mercy to them S. Paul tells the Milesians that it is a more blessed thing to give then to receive especially seeing God so accepteth works of mercy as that he imputeth not sin to the truly charitable Therefore it was that Daniel gave that counsel to Nebuchadnezzar Break off thy sins by righteousnesse and 〈◊〉 iniquity by mercy to the poor And our Saviour gave the like in his sermon Give Alms of such things as you have and all things are clean to you Whereas he that stoppeth his ears at the cry of the Poor he also shall cry himself and not be heard But it is an easy matter for flesh and blood to finde objections against performing these works of mercy As how know I whether a man be hungry or not I see none go naked and so of the rest To this we answer with the fathers potius est occurrere necessitati quam succurvere It is better to prevent or keep a man from misery then to help him out of misery And for the practise of that they 〈◊〉 taught the monuments of their charity which they have left behinde them shew that they were more frequent in works of mercy then we And their rule was In die domini ne extende manus ad 〈◊〉 nisi extendas ad pauperem if you stretch not your hands to the poor on the Lords day it will be in vain to stretch out your hands to God And indeed when God requireth thy Almes to the poore he asketh but his own and that which he gave thee and but that which thou canst not keep long He requireth but pauxillum a very little from thee for them meaning to repay thee Centuplum a hundred fold for it He asketh of thee but Caducum that which is fraile and transitory to reward thee in aternum eternally 2. And as there were in their time some so are there now more that plead their inability to releeve the poor Our answer to this must be as theirs was si 〈◊〉 non sufficient restuae ad 〈◊〉 Christianos parcendum est ut tu sufficias illis if thou hast not sufficient for pious uses be the better husband that thou mayest be enabled to do some good though never so little for God regardeth not the quantum how much thou givest 〈◊〉 ex quanto out of what thou hast to give The widowes mites were more accepted by God then the gifts the rich men cast into the Treasury why Quia multum obtulit quae parum sibi reliquit she offered much that left but little to her self Lastly there
usually governours are careful to rule well at the first entrance into their government but afterwards post 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after Neros five years like the Princes in Ezekiel that account the city as a Caldron and the people as flesh in the midst of it Now for the better enforcing the observation of these four rules upon superiours and that as it is in Daniel they may know that the most high ruleth in the kinndoms of men and giveth it to whomsoever he pleaseth There are six reasons laid down together in the 82. Psalm 1. The 〈◊〉 is verse 1. God stands among them he stands in the congregation of the mighty and judgeth among the gods from whence he infers the 〈◊〉 vers 2. How long wil you give wrong judgement and accept the persons of the ungodly seeing as in the precedent verse God standeth among you and seeth your actions and not onely so but is a judge among you and will exact an account of vou 2. The second reason in the next two uerses is grounded upon the end why this power is committed to them To defend the poor and fatherlesse them that be in need the poor and weak and not to oppresse them their power is contra 〈◊〉 non contra 〈◊〉 not against men but sin 3. The third is from the evil consequences that will follow if they do not execute justice In the fift verse he tells them well chuse you if you will be willfully ignorant in tenebris ambulare walk in darknes do so But this will follow by your ignorance all the foundations of the earth wil be out of course concutientur omnia fundamenta all things will go to wrack you will bring all out of order by it 4. The fourth is because their power is not absolute but onely delegate verse 6. I have said you are gods indeed you are none The meaning of this place is expounded by Christ himself John 10. 35. They are called gods because the word of God came to them that is they had commission from God there came a commission from God to you it was but a delegate power therefore you are not to rule absolutely and simply but by commission for you have a superiour and God will have an account from you 5. And for abusing that commission you shall die like men there shall be no difference in your death from other but he straitway correcteth himself you shall fal like Princes you shall not die like ordinary men as it is in the book of Wisdom potentes potenter punientur mighty men shall be mightily tormented 6. Lastly because they have sought themselves by this honour which God had bestowed upon them therefore God will arise and take his inheritance into his own hands which they have neglected and he will judge the earth himself as it is vets 8. which is more fully expressed by the Prophet 〈◊〉 they have 〈◊〉 the fat and clothed themselves with the wool they killed them that are fed but they themselves fed not the 〈◊〉 that is they have bin content to receive the honour but have not 〈◊〉 the duty God will arise and take his inheritance into his own hands he willdischarge the duty himself There are two questionss concerning obedience to superiour to be resolved before we enter upon the particular duties necessary for the right understanding of that which follows because in the handling of those particulars we shall have occasion to treate of obedience 1. Whether inferiours owe any honour to one that is evil The resolution of which must be affirmative according to that of the 〈◊〉 to the Romans where the Apostle reasoneth in the like case That the unfaithfulnes of man cannot frustrate the promise of God and so it must be said in this case that the wickednes of man cannot take away the commandment nor make voyd Gods ordinance And Gods ordinance it is for the powers that be are ordained of God as the Apostle speaks Therefore it is not the evil of the person that can make voyd his ordiuance Now evill is taken two wayes it is either Culpae or Poenae of sin or punishment and so superiours may be evil in both respects and yet obedience is due 1. For the penal evil as when they are rough and froward Saint Peter chargeth servants to be subject to 〈◊〉 masters not onely to them that are good but to the 〈◊〉 We have an example of this in Hagar Sarahs maid It is said that Sarah dealt hardly with her yet the Angel meeting with her after she fled from her mistris for her hard usage willed her to return to her mistris and submit her self to her And as it was with her in a family so hath it been in the common-wealth for we see how roughly Saul used David and how he sought his life without cause yet he departed not from his obedience to him nor would offer him any violence when he had him at an advantage in the Cave his heart smote him for cutting the lap of his garment and as it is in Psalm 120. 8. He 〈◊〉 for peace when his enemies were for war 2. For the other of fault As the froward and curst Magistrate is to be honoured so the wicked also for as it is God that in his wrath denieth us a Prince and as Hoseah saith they shall say we have no king because we feared not the Lord what should a king do unto us so it is he that in his anger giveth a king as he professeth by his prophet And many times the fault is in the people if the king be bad It is for their sins that the hyppocrite raignes and the People are ensnared as Elihu in Job speaks and therfore where people choose themselves kings or rulers rejecting the lawful governours to whom the government rightly belongs or looking at their own benefit or liberty rise against their lawful Princes and change the government not proceeding in the fear of God nor looking at his glory but at themselves God punishes people by those rulers they have set up They have set up a king but not by me they have made Princes and I knew it not saith God by the Prophet And as it is in the same chapter because Ephraim 〈◊〉 made many altars to 〈◊〉 altars shall be unto him to sin so God saith concerning wicked rulers seeing people will have such God will plague them with the same people must therefore be subject to evil rulers because by their sinnes they have brought them upon themselves And besides though they be evil yet as Solomon saith The heart of the king is in the hand of God who can guide it as he pleaseth as the river of waters and as he sometimes moves evil kings to make good decrees as Balthazar and Darius and so sometimes permitteth Sathan in somethings to prevail over a good king as over David when he numbered his people And as
conjugal love in the three particulars before mentioned in forsaking what was dear to him father and mother c. In cleaving constantly to his Church and uniting himself with it so as his Church is the body and he the head so this love of his was spiritual towards the Church By which he made it without spot or wrinckle and so the husbands chief care ought to be to keep his wife sine macula ruga without spot or sinne in the sight of God And as this is required on the mans part so the woman to make her self amiable ought to resemble her that the wiseman speaks of Many daughters have done vertuously but thou excellest them all for favour is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman that feareth the Lord she shall be praised This commendation had Lydia whom the Apostle sets forth for a pattern to other women that she was one that feared and worshipped God whose heart God opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul This makes a woman truly amiable for as there must be love in the husband so there must be Amibilitas amiablenes on her part thereby to draw love which consists in modesty and other vertues for as Salomon saith A gracious or as some read it a modest woman obtaineth honour for beauty or favour without grace and fear of the Lord is but as a ring of gold in a swines snowt And therefore immodest outward allurements ought to be far from them according to the Apostles rule they ought to adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefastnes and sobriety not with broydered haire or gold or pearles or costly array but which becometh women professing godlines with good works And S. Peter requires that their adorning be not in plaiting the haire or wearing gold c. but in the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price And the Apostle Paul in another place commands that young married women beare children guide the house and give no occasion of offence And lastly Saint Peter would have them be of such conversation that even without the word the adversaries beholding them may be won and converted So much for the second duty 3. The third duty of the husband or Paterfamilias is oeconomical To provide for his wife and them of his family which if he do not he is worse then an infidel as the Apostle saith There must be in him an honest care by just and true dealing per 〈◊〉 oeconomicam by oeconomical prudence to provide sufficient maintenance for his wife and family It was the Patriarch Jacobs care as we may see in his conference with Laban for when Laban vrged him to tarry still with him his answer was that he had done sufficiently for him already he had by Gods blessing encreased his estate from a little to a great deale and if he should still follow his busines when should he provide for his own house It is the Apostles counsel that men should labour for that which is good that they may have not onely for themselves but also to give to others and so rather to be beneficial to others then chargeable And the wiseman in a Metaphorical way adviseth the like He would not have a man to come alwayes to his neighbours well when he is dry but to drink waters out of his own cisterne fontes 〈◊〉 deriventur foras let thy 〈◊〉 be aisper sed abroad and to this end in the next chapter he urgeth the example of the Auts wisdome in laying up against the hard winter to whom he sendeth the sluggard for a pattern and calleth him wise that gathereth in Summer that is while he hath time We have an example of it allowed by God and rewarded by man in the Patriarch Joseph who laid up against a dearth while the years of plenty lasted What a man obtains this way by his honest labour and industry is accompanied with a blessing from God even this blessing that he hath true peace of conscience in what he enjoyes his conscience shall not trouble him for unlawful gains according to that of Solomon The blessing of the Lord maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it viz. no inward grief of 〈◊〉 but rather peace and comfort And for the wives duty it is answerable to that of the husband The Apostle saith that he would have her guide the house not so much to provide for the house which is chiefly the husbands part but to order and dispose well of what is brought into the house which is in effect the same with that which Christ commanded the Apostles to gather up that which remaineth that nothing be lost And this is a good quality in a woman for though our Saviour reprehendeth Martha for being too much addicted to worldly cares yet it is said by another Evangelist that he loved her well And it is well said by a Father Foelixest domus ubi de Martha Maria conqueritur sed none converso ubi Martha de Maria that house is happy where Marie complains of Martha but it is not so on the other side where Martha findes fault with Maric The Wise man at large describeth the several duties in one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to qualifie a woman in this kinde and saith that he that shall finde such a vertuous woman is happy for her price is far above rubies And to the same purpose doth the Apostle advise women and in the midst of his lessons to them as a special means to observe the rest he bids them to be as snails 〈◊〉 domi-portae kcepers at home In this point following the example of Sarah of whom we read that she was for the most part either in the tent or at the tent door 4. The last thing is There must be from each of these duties officia resultantia duties resulting and arising to be performed to others viz. to each others kinred for by reason of this conjunction between the parties themselvs there is mutual love and honour to be given to each others kinred We see the example on the mans part for this duty in the man of God Moses who when his wives father Jethro came to him went out to meet him and made obeysance to him and entertained him and Aaron and all the Elders of Israel And at another time we finde what kindnesse he offered to Hobab his wives brother that if he would go with him into the land of promise be should partake of what good soever the Lord should do to him Come with us and we will do thee good And for the womans part we have an excellent example in Ruth toward her mother in law Naomi that by no means would be perswaded to leave her but would accompany her into her countrey
the first there is an objection of some that no man is to kill or be killed upon the speeches of our Saviour Resist not evil But the answer is easy for it is not publick 〈◊〉 but private revenge that is prohibited But for publick vengeance God tells us it is his Which place Saint Paul quoteth And God hath derived his power to kings who are his delegates who as the same Apostle are a 〈◊〉 to the evil for they beare not the sword in vain but have it given to them to execute vengeance upon malefactors and may by Gods own immediate warrant put an 〈◊〉 to death Thou 〈◊〉 not suffer a witch to live saith God And a wise king saith Solomon scattereth the wicked and bringeth the wheele over them Thine eye shall not pitty saith the law but life shall go for life c. For the nature of man is so perverse as that without 〈◊〉 thou shalt kill ne occides Thou shalt not kill will not be observed God hath given this power and commandment to kings and princes who are the supreame Magistrate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ne sanguit 〈◊〉 that blood should be shed to Prevent a further shedding of blood As in the body the Physitian prescribes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an incision must be made to prevent an excision or cutting off the member and in curing of some diseases of the eyes the sight must be as it were 〈◊〉 up for some dayes and the eye covered that it cannot see that so the sight may be preserved and the eye may see better afterward So here the shedding of nocent blood by kings and those that have authority from them for to such and none else hath God given the sword of justice is the way to prevent the shedding of innocent blood In the beginning Government was establisht upon this ground Optabilius est timere unum quam multos it is beter to fear one then many and therefore more fit it was for one to have power to kill then for all to have this power And he that hath this power may lawfully use it and cut off some thereby to preserve the whole body For as in the natural body if any member become so infected as that without cutting it off the whole body will be endangered as in the case of a gangrene the rule is melius est utpereat unus quam unitas better to cut off that member then the whole body perish so it is in the Civil body better one offender be cut off then the whole land endangered And as in a common fire when one house is on fire if water will not quench it the best way to prevent the rest from taking fire is by pulling it down Extinguit incendium 〈◊〉 by the ruin of that they stay the fire from doing more harm so in the Civil state they stay further mischief by one mans ruin And therefore God commands Tollere homicidam ut malum tollatur ex Israele to take a way the manslayer that evil may be taken away from Israel And this malum to be taken away is two fold 1. The wrath of God against the whole land which is defiled so long as innocent blood is shed and not punished 2. Liberty of offending further which arises by impunity by doing justice on the offender is prevented for as God saith those that remain shall heare and fear and shall henceforth commit no more such evil Thus we see that blood may by shed without pollution of our hands nay it is so far from that that Moses calleth it 〈◊〉 themselves to put some to death by lawful authority so that Tamnecesse est homines habere qui accent alios ab 〈◊〉 quam oculis habere palpebras it is as necessary to have men to keep others from exorbitancies as for the eyes to have lids for they keep out outward injuries and that which would hurt the eyes yea they keep and preserve the sight from hurting it self which without eye lids would disperse it self with continual beholding the object Therefore the Prophet David saith that it should be his common exercise every morning to cut off all the wicked from the city of the Lord. This is or should be the study of the wise king as Solomon saith how to scatter the wicked and to make the wheel to go over them It was found at first when magistracy was establisht that Cains city was the cause of Seths and that even amongst the seed of Seth were some of Cains spirit which were to be restraind with the sword or els they would like the Rams and Hee goats in Ezechiel 〈◊〉 at the leane sheep with their borns and therefore that blood may be shed to prevent the shedding of blood is evident for he that sheddeth mans blood by man shall his blood be shed and he that taketh the sword shall perish by the sword Now it is properly God and not man that sheds the blood of wicked persons for he is 〈◊〉 Dei the miuister of God to whom God hath given the sword and he must not beare it in vain Now as we do not impute the death of a man slain to the sword but to him that striketh with it so must not we 〈◊〉 the death of a malefactor to the judge or king but to God whose minister he is For Quod organon 〈◊〉 vtenti id minister est iubenti the minister is no more to him that commands then the instrument to him that useth it Now jubens est Deus the Commander is God for as we look not at the sword so neither must we to man the minister but to God whose delegates Princes are when they cut off evil doers Now as the Sheriffe may not execute any man but ex praescripto 〈◊〉 by warrant of the kings writ so may not the prince or magistrate do any thing in this behalf but ex praescripto Dei by warrant of Gods writ and his prescript is onely against malefactors The malefactor must die by Gods command but the innocent and righteous slay thou not his soul must be bound in the bundle of life He must not go beyond his prescript or bounds in either case For he that justifieth the wicked and he that conde mneth the just even they both are abomination to the Lord saith Solomon The sparing of the guilty and condemning the guiltlesse are alike 〈◊〉 sins in the sight of God we have examples of Gods anger to such as have transgressed in either kinde 1. For the acquitting and sparing the guilty Saul by Gods command and prescript was sent to destroy the Amalekites and he having got Agag the king into his hands spares him but what followed his utter rejection because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord he hath rejected thee from being King Again God gave Benhadad the King of Syria into the hands of King 〈◊〉 whom he let go contrary to Gods
have more respect to his own life then the life of another 2. Another division is here to be considered a man may be slain either ex 〈◊〉 or praeter 〈◊〉 either of purpose or besides it In natural things we do not 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 to nature which is onely per 〈◊〉 by accident and not per se. Now answerable to this distinction of per se and per accidens in things 〈◊〉 is that of ex 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 praeter 〈◊〉 in things Moral and therefore if blood be shed praeter 〈◊〉 without any purpose of shedding it this is not to be accounted murder For God himself appointed Sanctuaries to be built for them to fly unto that shed blood praeter 〈◊〉 and God would not build Sanctuaries for any sin If one be hewing a tree in the wood and his hatchet fall and by chance kills his Neighbour he having no such intent or purpose the 〈◊〉 must deliver him from the avenger of blood and restore him to the city of refuge S. Augustine goes further and proves that the intention is so necessary in murder that if we take what is praeter intentionem for murder then we must cease to have or use any thing that may be an occasion of hurt a man must not have 〈◊〉 instruments of husbandry as spades axes c. because with these a man may be killed nor must one have trees in his orchard or 〈◊〉 to plow withal because a man may hang himself on one of the trees or the ox may gore nor have any windows in his house because one may be cast 〈◊〉 of a window and be slain thus by this means a man must have nothing because almost every thing may be used praeter intentionem besides his intention But absit as he saith God 〈◊〉 when they are kept for another end Yet to make a man innocent in this case that kills 〈◊〉 praeter 〈◊〉 besides his intention there must be two qualifications 1. He must have been imployed in re licita in a lawful businesse otherwise he is not to be excused If men strive saith the law and hurt a woman with childe that she die then life for life must be paid This in case of contention which is res 〈◊〉 an unlawful act The like may be 〈◊〉 in gaming 〈◊〉 and the like 2. There must be debit a 〈◊〉 a due and just care taken to have 〈◊〉 his death as in casting timber stone or tile from a house to give warning the case is set down in Exodus of a man opening or digging a pit and not covering it again as he might have done CHAP. IIII. The extent of this commandment Murther committed 1. Directly 2. Indirectly A man may be accessory to anothers death six 〈◊〉 A man may be accessory to his own death diverse wayes Of preserving life THus much for the restraint of the Commandment and in what cases the death of a man comes not within the compasse of murther Now for the extent of it There are diverse cases wherein a man is guilty of wilful murder and that either 1. Directly 2. or Indirectly A man may commit this sin 1. Directly as Joab killed Abner and Amasa If one man smite another with any instrument of 〈◊〉 stone wood c. whereby he kills him he is a murtherer saith the law and 〈◊〉 die for it 2. Indirectly and this is of three sorts 1. When it is not openly 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in some colourable way as 1. by poyson as they in Jeremy Mittamus lignum in panem ejus let us put some poysoned wood into 〈◊〉 meat 2. By 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 under the Law 3. By killing children in the womb by medicamenta 〈◊〉 a grievous murther 〈◊〉 by two Councils If a woman take strong purgations 〈◊〉 partum 〈◊〉 cause abortion she is 〈◊〉 a Murtheresse 4. If a man be Cooperator Accessorie as 1. Judas was accessory to Christs death by betraying him with a kisse he coloured the 〈◊〉 with a kisse So did Joab when he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Amasa He tooke Amasa by the beard and kissed him and then smote him under the fist 〈◊〉 2. By bringing one into danger as 〈◊〉 did David who made him captain against the Philistims to what end my 〈◊〉 shall not be upon him but the hand of the 〈◊〉 shall be upon him As Saul dealt with David so did David with 〈◊〉 when he wrote letters to Joab to set 〈◊〉 in the forefront for though the enemies slew him yet it was Davias murther 〈◊〉 hast 〈◊〉 Vriah the Hittite saith Nathan 3. By bearing false witnesse as those that testified against Naboth 4. By advising the death of the innocent thus 〈◊〉 was guilty 5. By exhorting and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 up others the Scribes and High Priests did not put Christ to death yet they stirred up the people and perswaded Pilate c. And therefore were murtherers of Christ. 6. By consenting to the death of another as 〈◊〉 did to the death of Steven 7. By not hindring when a man is in authority and may and ought to hinder it Pilats washing his hands would not acquit him The not punishing of 〈◊〉 for the blood he unjustly shed troubled David when he was neere death and therefore he gave order to 〈◊〉 to take a time to punish him 2. A man is indirectly guilty by unnecessary exposing himself to danger when he may by ordinay means prevent it in this case he that doth the first an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the last is accessory to his own death Qui amat periculum periculo 〈◊〉 saith the wise man Our Saviour would not thrust himself into it we must not tumble down when there are staires to go down For prevention of danger we see God prescribeth a law to prevent infection of leprosie The Leprous man was to be shut up and if any would go to him and endanger himself this was presumption and And Saint Paul though he had Gods promise to come 〈◊〉 to land yet he commanded the Centurion to use the means when he was in a storm to avoyd the danger by lightening the ship c. 3. By neglecting the means which God hath given for the preservation of life as Diet Physick moderate labour and recreation When a man is sick the Son of 〈◊〉 gives good counsel In thy sicknes be not negligent why what must a sick man do but in the first place send for the physitian No he prescribes a rule contrary to the practize of the world first pray unto the Lord leave off from sinne order thy hands aright and cleanse thy heart from all wickednes here is prayer and repentance first then give place to the physitian for the Lord hath created him let him not go from thee there is his place not the physitian of the body first and of the soul last And we see that in the case of
surcharging the stomach which is called crapula when it is with meat and vinolentia when it is with drink 2. Per desidiam or otium By idlenesse which is either in excesse of sleeping or else in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a defect of labour and exercise 2. Secondly after the subactum solum there is another thing which is called Irrigatio 〈◊〉 the watering of the seed in the ground so fitted It is as when a man is sick and will not withstanding give himself to those things which are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 evil for his disease as when he that hath an ague will drink wine or he that is troubled with the 〈◊〉 the Ptisick will not for 〈◊〉 sharp things or he that hath the Colick will eat hony Such a thing is in our Concupiscence Solomon calleth it illecebram concupiscentia the inticement to lust and it bringeth forth the sin called Lascivia wantonnesse or immodestia immodesty And this is either in the body or from without 1. In the body it is either 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 platting of the hair and fucus colouring of the face or in the apparel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or in the gesture either some common gate used generally or a certain kinde of particular gate or gesture which by a peculiar name is called Dancing 2. From without our lust is watered either by corrupt company or by reading lascivious books or by beholding lascivious pictures as 〈◊〉 in Terence or such playes and spectacles as contain matter of unchast love and are apt to breed this sin in us or by giving ear to wanton tales or histories or songs that nourish the humour of lust And thus for the means 3. For the signes we will use no other then them we had before The jaundise of it is in the eyes too and it hath its foam in sermone 〈◊〉 in filthy language And not onely that but in frequenting such places using such actions and at such times as may justly be suspected Now for the outward act it self we have first the dispositions to this sin such as in Physick are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the grudgings before an Ague such as were in the other Commandment quarrelling and battery before murther Such are these here like to the signes of the leprosie before it break forth Of this kinde are 1. Incasta oscula unchast kisses 2. Wanton imbracing the bosom of a stranger 3. Going about or endeavouring to procure the act whether it be by waiting at the door for an opportunity or by 〈◊〉 or inchantments or any other means The act it self one may be guilty of two wayes as S. Augustine saith 1. Either 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by ones own motion and inclination or 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the perswasion of another and they both come to one and the same Again it is practised either with a mans own self corpus 〈◊〉 secum which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 or with another and if with another it is that which is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the abomination not to be named with beast or mankinde And with mankinde it is either willingly or unwillingly The party patient not consenting it is called 〈◊〉 a rape which may be with either sex for there may be a rape in both or else agreeing and this either with male or female with male such an one is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that defiles himself with mankinde 1 Cor. 6. 9. 1 Tim. 1. 10. and this sin is commonly called Sodomy or the sin of Sodom With female either with one or more with more if there be a pretence of Mariage it is Polygamie if without any pretence thereof it is 〈◊〉 whoredome If with one it is either in wedlock and then it called 〈◊〉 excesse of lust For there is a fault even in Matrimony as S. Ambrose saith 〈◊〉 amator 〈◊〉 proprie est adulter a man may commit adultery with his own wife or it is out of Matrimony either with a party allyed which is incest or with a stranger not allied and then we consider her either as 〈◊〉 married to another or as 〈◊〉 free if married or 〈◊〉 betrothed for all is one then it is Adultery And this is 1. When both are married which is worst of all 2. When the woman onely is married and the man single 3. When the man onely is married and the woman single The second is a greater evil then the third because in it there is corruptio prolis an adulterating of the 〈◊〉 begotten If one be free and unmarried either he retains one peculiar to himself and then she is not a common 〈◊〉 but a 〈◊〉 or else there is not this continual keeping and then if she be not common it is stuprum 〈◊〉 whether she be a virgin or a widow especially if she be a virgin if she be common it is fornication properly though that name be given to all Besides these the act is either once committed or often iterated and then for distinction sake we may call it luxuriam lechery in the habit and the party a 〈◊〉 when he sets himself after it or that which is beyond this as there was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so there 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the cry of adultery when they dare impudently defend it Last of all there is 〈◊〉 and that is either private of a particular person for his daughter or 〈◊〉 or any of his kinred which is called Prostitution or else publick of a 〈◊〉 in permitting and tolerating stews as at Rome and other places These are the 〈◊〉 branches of the sin prohibited in this Commandment Before we proceed in the handling of these 〈◊〉 let us take a view of some reasons against this sin of 〈◊〉 why it ought to be odious to man as it is to God 1. It is of all sins the most brutish and makes a man come nearest to the condition of beasts making him to lose the nobility and excellency of his nature And therefore it is that the Prophet compares Adulterers to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 horses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to exen going to the slaughter God himself saith 〈◊〉 shalt not bring the hire of a 〈◊〉 or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord. The learned observe upon this place that a whore is compared to a bitch that hath many 〈◊〉 following after her 2. The second hath a dependance upon the first yet it hath a peculiar consideration There is no sin whereby the light of mans reason is so much extinguished nor put so much besides the preheminence it hath over the affections or the 〈◊〉 The Prophet saith that it doth auferre 〈◊〉 take away the heart for 〈◊〉 it swallows up the reason and understanding and by this as the Apostle speaks of the heathen that committed all 〈◊〉 with greedines their understandings were darkened and their hearts blinded It is one of the Epithets they give to 〈◊〉
he be whom the Lord when he cometh shall finde so doing We said before that in this sin there is suppuratio the festering of it within and after that there is subactum solum the soyl fitted by feeding the evil 〈◊〉 by gluttony and idlenesse of which we have now spoken CHAP. V. The fourth 〈◊〉 Irrigatio soli the watering of the soyl by incentives and allurements to this sin which are either 1. In or about our selves or 2. In others Of the first sort are 1. Painting 2. Strange wanton apparel 3. Lascivious gestures Of the second sort are 1 Lewd company and obscene books 2. Obscene pictures and wanton dancings Of modesty the vertue opposite THe next thing is irrigatio soli watering of the soyl of which we are to beware For as we must keep our selves from being meet or fit ground for the Devil to cast in this seed of lust or evil concupiscence by meats of provocation drinks and dyet or idle living so must we also take heed of such objects and allurements as may irrigare solum water the ground foment and dispose the soul to this sin And these allurements or 〈◊〉 we consider as they are in our selves or as in others Those in or about our selves are diverse 1. As the using of 〈◊〉 painting the face which was the sin of Iezabel she painted her face and tyred her head Of this one saith that it is not facies but larva they have not a face but a vizard But the Prophet tells such In vain shalt thou 〈◊〉 thy self fair for thy lovers shall despise thee thou that rentest thy face or eyes with painting alluding to the custom of women then of 〈◊〉 their eye brows with stibium or 〈◊〉 as some learned think 2. The strange 〈◊〉 our selves in apparel which is condemned even in women who are rather to be tolerated herein then men because it is mundus muliebris the adorning of women Saint Gregory saith what a deformity is it in men when it is found fault with in women The places before quoted condemne 〈◊〉 as vsed in a wanton lascivious manner and for unchast ends 1. The platting and wreathing of the haire 2. The adding of gold and silver to adorne them 3. Rare and strange or costly apparel such as our Saviour implicitely taxes in the rich glatton who was clothed with purple and fine linnen This affectation of such vanity and cost in apparel with so much industry and care while the adorning of the inner man is neglected is here forbidden For of this we may say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in studio vestium 〈◊〉 deesse let no man conceive or 〈◊〉 himself that he can be free from sinne that takes too much care about apparel As for vestitus peregrinus strange apparel God by the Prophet threatens to punish such as are clothed with strange apparel Saint Pauls reason against such care to adorne the body is because it becomes not those that professe the 〈◊〉 of God And Saint Peter hath two reasons against it 1. Because the chief care should be about the hidden man of the heart for as Cato once said 〈◊〉 corporis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 magna mentis incuria where there is great care of the body there is usually greatest neglect of the mind therfore not the outward but the inward man is to be adorned 2. The Saints in old time did not thus apparel themselves not Sarah c. Therefore follow their examples 3. Another allurement is the gesture a proud allureing gate God threatens that he will devise evil against such as go haughtily Esay describes the particulars and tells us the manner of their proud walking 1. They are haughty going on 〈◊〉 2. They have erectum guttar stretched out necks 3. They have 〈◊〉 antes oculos rowling and wanton eyes looking wantonly 4. minutos passus a mincing or tripping gate they go as if they were 〈◊〉 shackled And the Prophet for these thundereth against the daughters of Sion but much more would he have done against the sons of Sion gestum natura dedit sed gratia 〈◊〉 There is a generation saith Agur whose eyes are haughty some have proud gates naturally but though nature hath given it yet grace can amend it Now we come to the watering of our lust by those provcations and incentives which are without us 1. The kingly Prophet tells us of some which have consortium cum adulteris are partakers or keep company with adulterers The wiseman speaking of a yong man that had entered into the company and communication with a harlot saith he goeth after her as an oxe to the slaughter or a fool to the stocks or a bird to the pitfall and feeles it not till the dart strike through his liver And indeed lewd company is very dangerous for this sinne as we see by that the Apostle tells us modicum fermenti corrumpit totam massam a little leaven 〈◊〉 the whole lump Which though it may be applyed to any vice yet Saint Paul there applyeth it particularly to this shewing that this vice hath an especial quality in it to infect and leaven others The holy Ghost bids us beware of evil company and not onely of those that are notoriously evil but of suspicious company and 〈◊〉 times The young man in the Proverbs went to a suspected house and at a suspected time in the twilight when it was now dark and these two disposed to this vice 1. Haunting suspicious places 2. At suspicious times We are not onely to refrain from evil but from the shew of evil and we must provide for things honest not onely coram Deo before God but also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 before men as the Apostle exhorts Vnder bad company come bad books that speak broadly of filthy and obscene matters The heathen man called his books comites his companions Though he were solus alone yet as long as he had his books to beare him company he was nunquamminus solus quam cum solus never lesse alone then when he was alone Evil books containe many evil words and evil words corrupt good manners as the Apostle tells out of Menander speaking of the sayings of the Epicures and evil words are like stolen waters which are sweet and as bread eaten in secret which is pleasant 2. To ill company and bad books may be added such things as by the eye and the eare make the same impression in the soul as namely imagines obscaenae obscene and filthy pictures such as that of Baal-Peor which they carried about for publike view to stir up lustful thoughts 〈◊〉 longed to look on it and as it is in the psalme they joyned themselves to Baal-Peor and eat the offerings of the dead It was the counsel of Balaam to bring them to see the image and offer to it and then to draw them to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab and therefore the Apostles advise is
Those that are in want count it a blessed thing to receive but he tells us it is a more blessed thing to give and the Apostle makes men rich by giving Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulnesse To stir us up the better to this duty it is expedient for us to know 1. How we hold our riches or how we come by them 2. What we are to think of the poor 1. For the first we may see in Deuteronomy 26. that men may know that all they have is from Gods gift God took order that they must acknowledge it by performing an homage to him 1. The man must bring his basket with his first fruits to the place where God should place his name and the Priest must take it and set it before the Altar and then he that brought it must say A Syrian ready to perish was my father c. He must acknowledge that God brought him out of Egypt into that fruitful land and that there was nothing in him or his progenitors why God should deal so bountifully with him or them and that in acknowledgement that he holds all he hath of God as Lord Paramount he brings his first tenths as a token of his homage 2. Having brought his basket before the Lords he must say Sustuli quod sanctum est de facultatibus vers 13. I have taken out that which is hallowed viz. the fruits and first-fruits c. out of my substance I have not spent it upon my self but have taken it out and given it ad usus Ecclesiasticos for the Levite and ad usus civiles For the stranger the fatherlesse and poor and that not as an arbitrary thing done of his own accord but by necessity of duty for he must say he did it according to Gods commandement So that we see here every man must confesse 1. that all he hath is held of God ex libera elemosyna as free alms from his hands 2. That there is a rent a duty to be paid which is a tenth at least for holy uses for the priest and Levite and the service of the Altar and after that a second tenth for the poor and 3. that both are due by God command 2. For the second point what we are to conceive of the poor the Psalmist saith that the man is blessed that judgeth wisely of the poor men are apt to erre in their judgement of them for the common conceit of them is as of persons that concern us not To rectifie our judgement we must judge of them as God judgeth whose judgement we are sure can never be reversed How is that As himself tels us in Deuteronomy he hath taken this order that there shall ever be some poor in the land and there I command thee saith God it is not counsel or advice that thou open thy hand to thy brother and to thy poor and to thy needy in the land so that the poor are appropriated to us they are made nostri ours we cannot shake off this affixum this hanger on which God hath fastned upon us and consequently he hath given strict precepts for their relief 1. Negative Non obsirmabis cor thou shalt not harden thy heart against them and nec claudes manus nor shalt thou shut thine hand we must neither be hard hearted nor close fisted towards them nay there must not be an evil thought in our heart against them 〈◊〉 they cry unto the Lord against us and it be sin to us the wages whereof is death as the Apostle speaks 2. Affirmative Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto him and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that he wanteth There is a double estate of the poor some are so that if any thing be lent they can imploy it so that they can live thereby and pay it again Others are so impotent that lending will not help them therefore God takes order for both we must lend to the first and give freely to the other Our Saviour joyneth both together Give to him that asketh and from him that would borrow turn thou not away Again s. Augustines counsel is if we would have the word to fructifie in us not to let thorns grow among the seed but to 〈◊〉 the seed with a hedge of thorns which is the proper use of them and this is when our riches are bestowed in works of mercy or else we must inserere verbum spinis 〈◊〉 upon these thorns by relieving our poor brother Here is a science to be 〈◊〉 we must open our hand and lend him or if that will not serve we must give him Thus we must graft and then we may look for fruit in abundance Christ tells us that God hath given us our talents to this purpose Negotiamini dum venio Occupy or trade therewith till I come we must imploy them for his advantage Now this occupying is as himself saith in another place by improving our talent and laying of it out for the use of the hungry the naked and the sick if wee expect the blessed reward from him this is the best way of increase and the surest way to binde him to reward us For hee hath to this purpose made a new promise in the Gospel that what shall be done to the least of these his brethren he will account it as done to himself As for those that the Wiseman speaks of which have viscera crudelia cruel bowels the mercies of the wicked are cruel or as the Apostle speaks 〈◊〉 viscera no bowels or as saint John speaks Viscera clausa close bowels shut up so that no fruit of mercy comes from them the love of God abides not in them 〈◊〉 can they expect any part of this reward Under the Law God took special order to meet with this sin six years they were to plough and sow the land and what should come of it they were to gather in 〈◊〉 themselves the tenths both for the Priest and poor still deducted but in the seventh year they must let it lye that the poor of the people may eat and so they were to do for the Vineyards and Olives And when they did reap their fields they were not wholly to reap the corners of their fields nor to gather the gleanings of the harvest c. but must leave them for the poor and stranger And by an argument a comparatis we may gather that if when a man saw his brothers Asse go astray or any harm befall him he must not passe by but help him much more must he help his brother if any weaknesse befal him Nor because our own necessities must be regarded in the first place for our direction in this case we must know that Divines speak of a threefold necessity which some reduce to two including the third under the first 1. Necessitas naturae the necessity of nature thus every man
sell a birthright for a messe of pottage he might have taught his belly better manners 2. For the use in laying out our riches 1. Concerning our selves this is Christs rule Gather all that is left that nothing be lost there must be nothing wasted Under the Law when they came before the Lord after the third years tithe paid they were to make protestation before the Lord among other 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 had not spent or wasted any part of it upon themselves or suffered it to perish by evil looking to ctc. The Kites the 〈◊〉 and Vultures have not devoured it for as one saith the prodigal mans goods are laid up in Rocks and high trees where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vultures and Ravens can come at them To prevent which waste God gave the Israelites a law Bake what you will bake to day and seeth what you will seeth and what 〈◊〉 keep till the morning As there must be a Sanctus Bonifacius a Saint Getter so there must be a Sanctus Servatius a Saint Saver there must be a good Saver a good Getter and a good Keeper If you have bonum Servatium a good Saver you shall have bonum Bonifacium a good Getter They are the words of Luther on those words Look what you left of what was baked on the sixth day lay up for the seventh The Rabbins say that if a man do not gather in vespere Sabbati on the evening of the Sabbath he shall esurire in Sabbato be hungry on the Sabbath day And when we have thus done we must observe that other rule mentioned by Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a man must sit down and reckon what his estate will reach too and 〈◊〉 our layings out accordingly and then that we observe that rule of the Heathen implied in that of Christ that our condus be fortior promo and promus debilior condo that our layer up be stronger then our layer out for if it be weaker then our estate will go out too fast and then a man shall not sufficere rebus suis have sufficient for his own affairs nor shall resejus his estate sufficere sibi be sufficient for himself and then he will break the rules of justice to supply his wants 2. For that other use in laying out which concerns others we see that a man must judge wisely of the poor and that some poor are appropriated to us and that we are in respect of our goods but negotiatores Stewards that must give account of them We receive all from God and consequently there is a rent charge which we must pay out of them juxt a benedictionem Domini as the Lord hath blessed us and by acknowledging as before that there is nothing in us or our Progenitors why God should deal so liberally with us and that therefore we owe an homage to him out of our estate which we must perform We must remember that Charity doth not onely not seek her own but giveth to others and is bountiful and the Apostle makes an opposition between stealing and labouring to have wherewith to give to others that need to shew that the poor must be alwayes in our minde and that every one must say I work for them as well as for my self David speaking of the materials for the temple saith to God Quod de manu tua accepimus damus tibi What we have received of thy hand we do return to thee again he saith not with Judas Ad quid perditio hac to what end is this wast We must give then and that of the best God took order that nothing which was maimed or blinde or that had any deformity should be offered to him and Solomon exhorts to honour God with our substance and with the first fruits of all our increase On the contrary if a man detain any thing due to God God calls it a spoyling or robbing of him and saith that such are cursed with a Curse Therefore S. Augustine tells us that Date Dabitur Give and it shall be given you are Brethren In particular the rules of giving to the poor 1. Because as we shewed formerly it is a sin not to give therefore every one must give except he himself be in extream necessity out of which case every man must give somewhat according to his ability The reason is given by the Apostle Every man shall be accepted according to that which he hath and not according to that which he hath not The Widows two mites are accepted and she greatly commended by our Saviour and he that gives a cup of cold water in Christs name shall not want his reward Giving in some cases and lending in other are both enjoyned by our Saviour and we have rules prescribed for the measure Those Beleevers in the Acts gave to every one as they had need they had respect to the necessity of the party they were not like the prodigal of whom the Heathen said that he fared the worse for his luxury Alms should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 chast virgins but they become 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 harlots when they are prostituted without regard to the person Neither as the Apostle saith must men so give that others may have and themselves want that others may finde case and themselves disease like those that have the passio diabetica who can hold nothing but give promiscuously to any so long as they are able for by this means their liberality doth perire liberalitate perish with liberality 2. As for the measure so also for the manner God gives rules as that we give freely God doth not love 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not one that gives of necessitie but a cheerful giver Charity must not be wrung out of us As we must not give promiscuously but use discretion so we must 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not search too curiously after the party nor 〈◊〉 or weigh too much their worthinesse for as the Heathen said we must give not homini to this man but humanitati to mankinde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a fellow feeling compassion is due to nature and to the Law we must give our approbation 2. Another rule is given by the Wise man Say not to thy Neighbour go and come again and to morrow I will give thee when thou hast it by thee we must give presently lest we be like him that S. Ambrose reproves Qui pauperi dabit potum cum acidum panem cum mucidum who will give the poor his drink when it is sowre and his bread when it is musty These are the rules 〈◊〉 which we must be guided in giving and by thus doing as the Psalmist saith a man shall be sure to eat the Labour of his hands The Lord will keep him in his sicknesse he will be his Physitian and his seed shall not want Neither shall he
receive onely Corporal blessings but by this means he shall abrumpere peccata break off his sins For when a man findes his bowels open to the poor it is a good signe and symptome of Gods mercy and forgivenesse to him When Cornelius gave alms his calling was neer Our Saviour saith Give alms and all things shall be clean 〈◊〉 you speaking of Ceremonial cleannesse under the Law and S. James saith this is a part of that moral purity required under the Gospel for pure religion and undefiled before God is to visit the fatherlesse and widows in adversity c. Besides all this we shall hereby as the Apostle saith lay up a good foundation against the time to come when we shall be called to give an account of our stewardship for this is that which will come in rationem to be accounted for at the last day the relieving or not relieving of Christ in his members I was hungry and ye fed me or fed me not saith Christ. In the 〈◊〉 of the talents the Lord asks the unprofitable servant why he gave not his money to the exchangers S. Ambrose on that place asks who be those 〈◊〉 those money changers and he findes at last that Pauperes are Campsores the poor be those money changers And therefore he saith If a man be to go into another countrey where he shall need money if he be in danger of thieves and robbers by the way or if his money will not be currant in the place whither he is to go he goes to the exchanger delivers him his money and takes a bill of his hand which he carries with him and so he fears neither robbers by the way who he is sure will not rob him of a piece of paper nor that he shall want currant money in the place he goes to so saith he is the case of every man in this life he is travelling to his heavenly Countrey and therefore he should do like a Traveller who will neither load himself with that which may endanger his life nor will passe for currant in the place to which he goes but will so lay it out here that he may receive it there Now as Job speaks We came naked out of our mothers womb and as the Apostle saith We brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out of it for if we would we are sure to be stript of all as we go The proud are robbed saith the Psalmist they have slept their sleep and when they awake in the morning they finde nothing in their hands And then secondly if a man could carry any thing in his hand yet it is not gold and silver that will serve there it will not be currant in an other world Therefore the best couse is in our passage hence to make friends of the temporal Mammon to deliver it here that we may receive the worth of it there And this is as Ambrose speaks to be dives in libro sigillato rich in the sealed book as 〈◊〉 was whose alms came 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 into Gods book of remembrance This is the committing of our wealth here to Christs factors and exchangers the poor for whom he himself is surety what ye do to them saith Christ ye do to me I will make it good he gives us his bill for it which is the very gospel the word of God which cannot fail wherein he hath promised that not a cup of cold water but shall be returned This is our warrant for delivering here and receiving it there The Heathen man said that works of mercy do swim out with us and the Scripture saith that the just when they rest from their labours opera eorum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 their works shall follow them for when as others are like him that dreams of a great dinner but when awakes he is hungry they that are rich in these works shall be surely rewarded their works shall be accounted to them to them shall be said Come ye blessed of my father c. 〈◊〉 conclude he that follows after righteousnesse by just dealing both in getting and restoring and after mercy in using of his 〈◊〉 He shall finde life and righteousnesse and honour and 〈◊〉 hereafter in the world to come The last thing to be touched is according to the sixth rule to procure the keeping of this precept in others the Psalmist makes it a sin not onely furare to steal but currere cumfure to run with a thief and Solomon saith That he that is partner with a thief destroyeth his own soul therefore we must not communicate with others in this sin And not onely must we observe this in the Negative part but also in the Affirmative we must draw others from the breach of the precept as the Psalmist who exhorts others not to trust in oppression and robbery and if riches increase that they set not their hearts upon them The like doth Solomon when he saith that bread of deceit is sweet to a man but afterward his mouth is filled with gravel and therefore he warneth every one not to let mercy and truth forsake him so he shall have favour in the sight of God and man Thus to avoid this sin of theft both in themselves and others hath been the practise and endeavour of the Saints in all Ages THE EXPOSITION OF THE Ninth Commandement CHAP. I. The words expounded What is meant by Non respondebis in the Original Addit about the meaning of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 respondere What by witnesse Four witnesses 1. God 2. The conscience 3. Men and Angels 4. The Creatures What is meant by false what by contra against what by proximum Neighbour The coherence and dependance of this Commandement The scope and use of it 1. In respect of God 2. Of the Church 3. Of the Common wealth 4. Of private persons Exod. 20. 16. Thou shalt not bear false witnesse against thy Neighbour FOr the exposition of this Commandement we must have recourse to those places of Scripture where the sin here forbidden is prohibited and the duties here implyed are commanded as in the Old Testament to Levit. 19. 11. 16 17. Ye shall not lye one to another and Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale bearer among thy people And Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart c. And to Zach. 8. 16 17. Speak ye every man the truth to his Neighbour And Love no false oath And in the New Testament to Matth. 12. 34 35 36. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh for a good man out of the good treasures of his heart bringeth forth good things c. and to Ephes. 4. 25. where we have both parts of this Commandement The Negative 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cast off lying and then in the next words the Affirmative 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c.