Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	daughter_n	father_n	son_n	10,765	5	4.8829	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61378	Sober singularity, or, An antidote against infection by the example of a multitude being practical meditations on Exod. 23, vers. 2 : wherein is opened the influence of the practise of a multitude, to draw men to sin, the special cases, wherein it concerns us to be most cautious, reasons why we must not follow them, together with the application of the whole : and therein, besides the general improvement of the point, an instance given of nineteen practises of the multitude to be avoided, seven of their grand principles to be rejc̈ted [sic] : sundry particulars concerning peace and unity, and the sanctification of the Lords Day, useful for these times / by R. Stedman ...	Stedman, Rowland, 1630?-1673.	1660 (1660)	Wing S5376; ESTC R38303	146,089	254

maketh over himself unto you That you do not walk as others walk a Cor. 6.17 18. Wherefore come out from amongst them and be ye separate saith the Lord and touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you And I will be a father to you and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty That is the second argument for demonstration of the doctrine 3. A third reason that may be pressed against following a multitude in evil is taken from the duties that are incumbent on us in relation unto them when they sin against the Lord and do that which is displeasing in his sight There are such duties required at our hands as are not only inconsistent with confederating with them and walking after their example but diametrally opposite and contrary thereunto as light is to darkness I might insist upon many but shall content my self to instance in these four only 1. It is our duty to pity them and mourn over them and to take up a lamentation on their account To make it the grief of our spirits to see the name of God dishonoured and his statutes contemned and the bloud of the Lord jesus despised and poor souls running headlong to destruction This hath been the carriage of the Saints of God in times of corruption and wickedness Psal 119.136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they keep not thy law As David was humbled for his own transgressions so it was an heart-breaking to him to see others transgress And see how the prophet Jeremy was affected with the sin and misery of the disobedient Jer. 13.17 But if not will not hear it my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride and mine eye shall weep sore and run down with tears because the Lords flock is carried away captive Now these compassionate workings and godly sorrow are a frame of spirit at a great distance from complyance with the ungodly And this is one particular that will render us conformable unto our Lord and master As he loved his own unto the end with an insuperable everlasting and unparallell'd love so his bowels were moved with pity and compassion towards his very enemies that set against him because of their folly and the wretched estate into which they had plunged themselves Luk. 19.41 42. And when he was come near he beheld the City and wept over it saying if thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace but now they are hid from thine eyes Mark the speech of Christ here how it is made up of a kind of abrupt expressions as proceeding from a spirit full of affection and tenderness and seeking as it were to ease it self in a passionate lamentation If thou hadst known q.d. Alas poor Jerusalem thy desolation is approaching because thou hadst not known the things that belong unto thy peace Well had it been for thee if thou hadst but known them Would to God thou hadst been so wise as to have taken them into thy knowledg and consideration that so thy calamities might have been averted and prevented O what a grief is it to my heart that thou bost not known them So that here is our duty if God hath cast our lot amongst many wicked that commit abominations in his sight we should be so far from joyning in a combination with them that it should stir up an holy mourning in our souls to see them trampling upon the word of God and lightly esteeming the rock of our salvation And these are the persons whom in times of publick judgments the Lord is pleased to set a mark upon namely such as do not only cry out of their own sins but are filled with sorrow for the abominations of the multitude See it in Ezekiels vision Ezek. 9.4 And the Lord said unto him Go thorow the midst of the City thorow the midst of Jerusalem and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof Set a mark upon them i. e. a mark of special and gracious observation here are the people that are beloved of the Lord unto such as these he will have respect and secondly a mark for sure deliverance and preservation when others fall at their right hand and at their left the evil determined shall not come near unto them as it is v. 6. Come not near any man upon whom is the mark You know the Angel could do nothing as to the overthrowing of Sodom till Lot was secured What was he above other men See 2 Pet. 2.7 8. And he delivered just Lot vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked For that righteous man dwelling amongst them in seeing and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds 2. When others sin it is our duty to reprove them as we have occasion and opportunity and that plainly and faithfully with christian prudence and discretion And this is utterly inconsistent with following their example * Turpe est doctori cum culpa redarguit ipsum For thou art altogether inexcusable O man whosoever thou art that judgest them that do evil and doest the same for wherein thou judgest another thou condemnest thy self He that would do good by reproving another must be sure to look warily to himself that he be not involved in the same guilt lest his words recoyle into his own face and be retorted unto his own shame and confusion That is an excellent saying of the vulgar latine and the original text will well bear the translation * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Prov. 18.17 Justus primus est accusator sui venit amicus ejus investigabit eum A just man before he meddle in the reproof of others will diligently search his own Soul and see to the cleansing and reforming of his wayes So that the duty of reproving the ungodly doth suppose we ought to keep free from the taint of their ungodliness This is the Apostle Paul's way of argumentation Eph. 5.11 Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them 3. Our duty in relation unto sinners is what in us lieth to convert them and win them over to the truth To endeavour that of ignorant they may become verst in the wayes of God and of wicked and sinful they may become serious and holy and of enemies of religion they may be sure friends and assertours of it And this is far from imitation of them For if you comply with them in sin that will harden them exceedingly and make them more bold and venturous and obstinate in their evil wayes They will argue after this sort well may we take this course for such professours of religion joyn with us and such as are accounted godly are men of our confederacy It is charged upon the prophets of Jerusalem that they committed adultery and walked in lies and

conversations Deal faithfully with their Souls by meekness of reproof and admonition as there is occasion Often provoke and stir them up to follow after righteousness that so they may bear you company in the way to heaven Let me give you the counsel of the Lord to Jeremy in this case Jer. 15.19 Let them return unto thee but return not thou unto them But perhaps you will object and say this is the work of a Minister Yea my brethren and it is incumbent on every particular Christian also what in them is to render the wayes of God lovely and amiable in the sight of others and to endeavour to win them over by all means to an effectual closure with those wayes Prov. 11.30 He that winneth souls is wise Jam. 5.19 20. Brethren if any of you do erre from the truth and one convert him any one this is a work to be minded by every one of you without exception Let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the errour of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins So we are come to the close of the second head of enquiry concerning the influence which the practise of a multitude hath to encline a man or woman to do evil SECT IV. Qu. 3. IN what cases especially doth it concern us to be most cautious and circumspect upon this account that we be not drawn to evil by the practise of a multitude Ans For satisfaction to this enquiry you must well observe and remember that this caution is needful in every case and doth oblige us to be circumspect in every respect to keep a strict eye of jealousy upon our selves at every turn that we be not insnared or drawn aside into sin by following a multitude The counsel is delivered indefinitely without limitation to times persons or cases and is equipollent to an universal prohibition For as where the spirit of God hath not added we must not make additions so where he hath not limited we must not set bounds and limits by a narrowing interpretation Thou shalt not follow a multitude i. e. not any multitude of what sort soever wheresoever they are or in what ages or places soever they live in the doing of evil Nevertheless there are some peculiar cases in which this word of advice doth especially concern us wherein we are more than usually inclined to follow the multitude and therefore ought to be more than ordinarily watchful over our hearts that they do not turn us aside upon this temptation I will only mention six 1. In case of our Ancestors and progenitors that have gone before us When our forefathers have generally taken any corrupt way there is a great addictedness in their posterity to take the same course and there needs a great measure of caution that we be not followers of them What! will some say shall we condemn our forefathers and judg our selves wiser and better then all that have been before us they made no scruple of such and such actions they worshipped God in this or the other manner and shall we be more scrupulous then they were No we will be for the old way and cleave to that religion which our fathers were of This was the argument which the woman of Sychar produced in her discourse with Christ to countenance the schismatical temple on Mount Gerizim Joh. 4.20 Our father 's worshipped in this mountain and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship As if she had said whatever scriptures you may bring or reasons you may press to keep close to the institution of God and to worship him at Jerusalem yet I am sure Our fathers were of another mind They thought the punctilio's of institution and divine appointment were not so stiffly to be adhered unto and why should not we do as our fathers have done And how hot were the Scribes and Pharisees for maintaining and upholding their fathers traditions though some of them were down right contradictions against and others corrupt additions unto the word of the Lord See how they plead and quarrel with Christ and his disciples for their non-conformity therein Mar. 7.5 Then the Pharisees and Scribes asked him why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders but eat bread with unwashen hands q.d. This constitution we received from our fathers the elders of former generations and why should not you be concluded by it and give obedience thereunto If it had been a novel upstart opinion something might be said against it but it hath continued a long time in the Church even since the dayes of our forefathers To set you right in this matter and to discover the vanity and danger of this way of ratiocination Give me leave to put you in mind of these five things 1. It was one end of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ wherein all those are sharers that are saved by him that he might redeem his people from the vain conversation received by tradition from their fathers that he might bring them to embrace the commandments of God and to give up themselves entirely in subjection to the Law of the Lord. So that mark it Sirs Have you an interest in the blood of Jesus Christ would you make it appear that you are reconciled unto God by the sufferings of his Son Why this is one way to prove it By renouncing the vain traditions of your Fathers as far as they are dissentaneous to the word of God and have no footing in the word As Christ redeemed God's peculiar people from the curse of the Law that their persons might be accepted and their iniquities forgiven and as he redeemed them from their bondage unto Satan that their natures might be sanctified and themselves set apart unto communion with God So he redeemed them also from the vain practises of their Fathers that their lives might be ordered according to the Law of the Lord. What can be more perspicuous and evident 1 Pet. 1.18 19. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers But with the precious bloud of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot 2. One special reason why the Lord was graciously pleased to give forth the Scriptures and to leave his will upon record in the Scriptures was this that we might not pin our faith upon our fathers sleeves nor think it enough to do as our ancestors have done Sirs If God had intended the traditions of our fathers as a rule of direction for us and that they should have been obligatory upon us on all occasions he would have left us unto them and not have signified his will by writing in the word So that take heed left you frustrate the grace of God in sending the holy Ghost to endite the Scriptures and stirring up the Prophets and holy men of God to

hold upon eternal life Why should the work cease whilst I spend my time in trifles I have not an hour to spare that may be passed away in idleness and negligence in doing nothing or what is as good as nothing 2. This was one of the sins of Sodom for which they were destroyed in such a dreadful manner by fire from heaven and upon which account they are set forth as an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire namely the spending their time in idleness and vanity without taking care for the right improvement of it And very probably this sin might be a means to carry them into those other horrid abominations for which they are branded to all the succeeding generations For when men take liberty to spend their time in idleness and make no conscience of laying it out to the ends for which they are intrusted with it they will soon be wrought upon to spend it wickedly Through idleness and slothfulness or that which is tantamount vain delights and fooleries sinners are obnoxious and exposed to all Satanica● assaults ready to run upon any of the devils errands Whereas if Christians were exact and conscientious in filling up their time with duty there would be no such room left open for the devils suggestions to enter in at Besides it's putting them under the verg of Gods protection and safe custody Ezek. 16.49 Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom pride fulness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters 3. This is one of the Talents for which you are strictly accountable at the great and notable day of the Lord viz. All the time of your continuance upon the face of the earth You read the kingdom of heaven is compared to a man travelling into a far countrey who called his servants and delivered certain Talents unto them to be imployed according to their several abilities And after a long time the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them Now pray what are those Talents which God will call us to a reckoning for Why as there are talents of grace so there are talents of nature such as strength of body parts and endowments of the mind and the like And amongst these the time which is allotted to us is not the meanest or least considerable How hath that been managed in the Masters service What good have you done answerably to the time you have enjoyed Rev. 2.21 I gave her space to repent of her fornication and she repented not And mark it my beloved If you would come off with comfort at the day of accounts and be found unto praise and glory at the glorious appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ it will not be enough to plead that you spent not your time prophanely or licentiously It will suffice to bring you under a sentence of condemnation if it were spent idly vainly and unprofitably Mat. 25.30 Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth What millions of gold would sinners then give for the least portion of that time to repent in which now they throw away as if it were not to be regarded This is the first thing I would note as to the time of religion when it is minded 2. In respect of the special time that is to be consecrated and appropriated to the more immediate service of God The multitude have been much set upon the observation of the dayes of mans devising and inventing but little concerned in the sanctification of the Lords day If they spend two or three hours in the publike exercises of religion then they think themselves acquitted for the rest of that day they find their own pleasures and follow their recreations and sports they let their tongues loose to vain and worldly discourses if they have any visit to make or merriment to be at this is the day wherein they have best leisure for it And yet as the whore in the Proverbs they wipe their mouths and say We have done no wickedness But ye my friends be not acted with the spirit of the multitude Give unto the Lord that which is due unto him He hath graciously allowed you six dayes for your own imployments wherein you may lawfully labour and do all that you have to do and he hath reserved a seventh day for himself a whole seventh day as he hath granted unto us the six Do not grudg the Lord and your souls this equitable and merciful proportion Be not as the rich man in Nathans parable who had many flocks and herds and yet when the wayfaring man came to him he spared to take of his own flock but took the poor mans lamb that lay in his bosom and dressed it for the man that was come unto him 2 Sam. 12. Thus do the carnal world deal with the God of heaven He hath given to them a whole flock of daies and kept unto himself but one Lamb the Lords day And yet when they have a journey to take or an errand to do some mirth and pleasure to follow or bodily ease to indulge they spare of their own flock and make bold with the Lords But my brethren be not ye like unto them As you would expect a blessing upon your souls and a blessing upon your labours on the six dayes be careful of the spiritual and entire sanctification of the Lords day the Christian Sabbath For blessed is the man that doth this and the son of man that layeth hold on it that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it and keepeth his hand from doing any evil Isa 56.2 That you may be careful in the discharge of this great daty and not fall short of the blessedness thereto annexed suffer me to leave upon you a few words by way of advice and counsel 1. Study much the morality of the Law of God concerning the weekly Sabbath That it is a commandment which carries with it a perpetual and everlasting obligation The ceremonial Sabbaths were observan●●s that disappeared upon the death of the Lord our righteousness When the Sun was risen in his glory the shadowes vanished But the weekly Sabbath was appointed to continue in the Church of Christ unto the end Be well setled I say in this great truth For if there be haesitation in your thoughts of the obligation of the commandment you will proportionably waver in your obedience unto the commandment Wavering and unstedfast obedience is the usual product of fluchuating apprehensions An unsetled judgment will usher in unconstant service And therefore be well verst in the morality of the weekly Sabbath 1. It was part of the Law given unto our first parents in the state of innocency when there was no ground for distinction of Jew and Gentile Gen. 2.2 3. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because that in it he had refted from all his work which

couldest thou lay down thy life for his sake and part with all that thou hast at his call who wilt disobey him for a trisle as it is in thine account If you go to a neighbour or friend to lend you a small sum of money or to do you a lesser kindness and he will not do it you will presently conclude He would never be at any great expence to do you good nor trust you with a matter of any considerable value So may the Lord say in this case This is an hypocritical wretch who thus complieth with the multitude to sin against me in a small matter Surely he will never stick close to me in times of danger and difficulty when he must exercise any greater measure of self-denial You know the words of our Saviour unto Peter Mat. 26.40 He come●h unto the disciples and findeth them asleep and saith unto Peter What could ye not watch with me one hour What may be the reason that he doth expostulate the case with Peter more particularly than with the rest Why you shall find in 35. v. Peter had promised that although he should die with Christ yet he would not deny him and and therefore he said unto Peter What could ye not watch with me one hour q. d. How couldest thou die for me If thou faulter in the smallest how wouldest thou be able to grapple with greater hardships So should you reason the case with your own spirits If I will be a Christian indeed I must be ready to forsake all that I have at his command and to follow him through tribulations and distresses whithersoever he leadeth me And how shall I be able to do it if I stick with him for a trifle Besides as was intimated before It is a monstrous and intolerable slighting and undervaluing the autherity of God and that eternal blessedness to be enjoyed in his presence to venture the loss of it for matter of little weight and moment This is instead of counting all things to be but dross and dung in comparison of the favour of God to esteem dross and dung above the light of his countenance Jer. 2.11 12 13. Hath a Nation changed their gods which yet are no gods But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit Be astonished O ye heavens at this and be horribly afraid be ye very desolate saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters and hewed them out cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no water q. d If they had exchanged me for something of worth and value the contempt had not been so great but they cast me off for that which is of no worth The weaner and the slighter is the object wherewith you close in contradiction unto Gods precepts the greater is your contempt of his Majesty and the lighter esteem you have of his loving-kindness So much for the second influence which the practise of the multitude hath to draw persons to sin viz. By contributing to the extenuation and lessening the evil of sin 3. By the practise of the multitude men are usually drawn into sin By being from thence encouraged to expect impunity in their sins and to be free from the judgments that are deserved thereby Surely think they the Lord will spare us for we are a great number he will not execute his wrath upon so many Take it thus Sirs That passion which God doth make especial use of as a preservative against sin it is the passion of fear and dread of his judgments and that both as to the righteous and the wicked the just and unjust This made Laban the Idolater that he durst not meddle with Jacob nor speak a word to his hurt because the dread of the wrath of God was upon him Gen. 31.24 29. And this restrained the Heathen that they durst not disturb Jehoshaphat in his reformation The fear of God was upon all the Kingdoms of those Countries when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel 2 Chron. 20.29 And what made Job so strict and precise in his carriage that he made a Covenant with his eyes that he might not so much as think upon a maid that he did not despise the cause of his man-servant or his maid-servant when they contended with him See what account he giveth of it himself Job 31.1 2 3. Is not destruction to the wicked and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity And again v. 23. For destruction from God was a terrour to me and by reason of his highness I could not endure So that when sinners have gotten but some competent measure of presumptuous hopes that they shall be free from divine vengeance notwithstanding their transgressions this will let loose the reins of restraint and open the current to all profaness and licentiousness Psal 10.13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God He hath said in his heart Thou wilt not require it And so much is plainly intimated in the Apostles question to the impenitent Rom. 2.3 And thinkest thou this O man that judgest them which do such things and doest the same that thou shalt escape the judgment of God q. d. Certainly these are thy vain imaginations and the secret workings of thy spirit For did the ungodly believe and consider that they shall be everlastingly damned for sin It would cause their hearts to tremble in the very apprehensions of lying under the guilt of it If they were in expectation of the judgments of God as the certain consequent of their impieties they would hasten to make their peace with him and nothing should hinder them from returning to him by repentance But the truth is they hope to escape and to have peace though they walk in the imaginations of their evil hearts Now the example of a multitude doth confirm these hopes and strengthen them mightily in such expectations For they are apt to conceive that however the Lord may proceed in severity against some particular persons yet he will not destroy a multitude when they are joyned together See how sinners argue themselves into a Fools-confidence from this very consideration Ezek. 33.24 Son of man they that inhabit those wasts of the land of Israel speak saying Abraham was one and he inherited the land But we are many the land is given us for an inheritance Mark it They make no question but God would deal favourably with them because they were many The Lord had threatened them by his Prophets with utter desolation and ruine because of their abominations and that the land wherein they dwelt should spue them out Yea but say they we cannot believe it God gave this land to Abraham who was but one and behold we are many and therefore undoubtedly he will have mercy upon us To discover a little the weakness and folly of this argumentation let me beseech you to give heedful attendance to these three particulars 1. Although the

at the Judgment-seat of Christ and save thee from everlasting burnings Alas they are not able to save themselves For he accepteth not the persons of princes nor regardeth the rich more than the poor for they are all the work of his hands Job 34.19 He shall break in pieces mighty men without number and set others in their stead v. 24 He shall cut off the spirit of princes he is terrible to the kings of the earth Ps 76.12 So that I will shut up this point with that passage of Solomon Prov. 29.26 Many seek the Rulers favour but every mans judgment cometh from the Lord. Men may think it is a point of wisdom and policy to please Rulers and to keep in with them though to the defiling of conscience and robbing the Lord of his glory But in the end it will appear to be gross folly and sottishness For it is upon the God of heaven we have our constant dependance both for this life and eternity And if God adjudge thee to hell for thy sinful compliance who can reverse the sentence or can be able to deliver thee out of his hands That is the second case wherein special caution is required 3. In case of neer relations and kindred and intimate friends and acquaintance Their practise hath a more than ordinary attractive influence This is a snare of the devil wherein many have been taken captive an engine whereby Satan hath drawn abundance to destruction Persons are apt to plead for themselves that they must carry it fairly and courteously towards their relations and friends and hold a familiar correspondency with them so that if their relations be vain themselves must be so too and if they be wicked how should they help it but that they must sometimes partake with them in their wickedness What would you have us to do will they say Would you have us cast off our dearest friends and to separate from our nearest relations This is given as the reason of the wickedness of Jehoram His relations were sinners and he joyned with them He had contracted affinity with a wicked family and so drank of the cup of their abominations 2 Chron. 21.6 He Jehoram walked in the way of the Kings of Israel like as did the house of Ahab for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord. And this was one of the reasons why God did so frequently and severely charge his ancient people that they should not make a league nor joyn themselves in affinity with Idolaters Because he knew it would be a strong incentive to carry them into the like courses and woful experience proved it to be a truth Deut. 7.2 3 4. Thou shalt make no covenant with them nor shew mercy unto thm Neither shalt thou make marriages with them thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son For they will turn away thy son from following me that they may serve other gods so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you and destroy thee suddenly As godly relations and acquaintance that follow after holiness may be a means to turn a man unto the Lord or at least a great restraint to with-hold from open profaneness and professed rebellion against the Lord so it is upon the other hand When most of a mans relations and kindred and acquaintance are evil it proveth a strong temptation to lead him unto evil with them and to make him such as they are Now therefore to fortifie your spirits for the vanquishing of this temptation let these following truths sink deep into your hearts 1. That the best love you can manifest and the most signal kindness you can shew to your dear friends and relations is to endeavour to turn them from their sins and so to be a means of promoting their deliverance from the infernal pit of perdition And if you will walk humbly and seriously as in the sight of God and thereby adorn the doctrine of the gospel and put a lustre upon religion to the practical condemnation of their evil deeds who knoweth what effect it may have to their conviction and consequently to their conversion and the salvation of their souls So that here is the question Dost thou love thy relations indeed Hast thou an affectionate desire of the welfare of thy friends Why here is the way to do them the greatest office of love by endeavouring to ingage them in the way that leadeth to eternal life If thou dost comply with them in sin that will but further harden them and help them forward to hell whereas if thou art perfect and upright with the Lord Peradventure thy counsels and example may win them over to the wayes of holiness As the Apostle speaks in the case of conjugal relation 1 Cor. 7.16 What knowest thou O wife whether thou shalt save thine husband Or how knowest thou O man whether thou shalt save thy wife The like may I press upon you as to all kinds of relations How knowest thou but thou mayest be a means to convert thy friends and acquaintance Or how canst thou tell but thou mayest save the souls of thy relations at least of some of them As thy self art a servant of God so thou mayest possibly bring them into the same covenant with the Lord. 2. It is no point of incivility and discourteousness however persons may call it for a man to stop his friends or acquaintance in a course of ungodliness and to pull them as firebrands out of the burning This I adde to obviate the vain objections and to prevent the carnal excuses that sinners commonly insist upon to shift off their duty in this respect Alas will they say would not you have us to be courteous towards them and to deal civily with them Why man it is the greatest incivility imaginable for thee to see thy friend or thy brother or some of thy near relations to be in danger every day of being everlastingly undone and dropping down into hell and for thee to look on and let them perish without speaking a word in order to the prevention and not to make use of any means for their deliverance but rather to hasten their eternal ruine and destruction Put the case that one of your dearest friends or nearest relations were distracted and mad and you should see him take up a sword into his hand that he might fall upon it and destroy himself Would you let him alone and say I am loath to disturb him He is my dear friend and I would not deal uncivily with him Or would not you rather make hast and snatch the weapon away to prevent his killing This is parallel to the case that we are upon For Sirs all impenitent sinners are mad and besides themselves they have lost the right use of their reason Eccl. 9.3 The heart of the sons of men is full of evil and madness is in