Faithful to have God to be his Friend and to be called the Friend of God I pray God we may have the like felicity that following Abraham's example we may rest in his bosome which God of his infinite mercy grant for Christ Jesus his sake Amen VIII THere was a great contest between Apelles a famous Painter and another which should appear the better Artist and as a trial of skill Apelles drew Grapes which were so naturally done that the Birds pecked at them supposing them to be real Grapes The other drew onely the lively picture of a Curtain and bringing it to Apelles for his approbation he was desired to draw away the Curtain that his Picture might be judged of He then concluded himself the better-Artist For says he Apelles deceived the Birds but I deceived Apelles Thus with Art and cunning we may deceive birds beasts and men nay our selves but we cannot deceive God Let us therefore so behave our selves in our words gestures thoughts actions as considering we are alwaies in God's presence to whom we must be accountable at our Death and at the day of Judgment and therefore let us not dare to commit sin unlesse we can conceal our actions from his all-seeing Eye IX I Have heard of a Jury of twelve men who being asked by the Judg whether the Prisoner at the Barre were Guilty or Not guilty before the Fore-man could conveniently make answer another person who stood by said Not guilty to whom the Fore-man looking with indignation repeated his words Not guilty adding I say my Lord he is Guilty but before he expressed the latter his two first words were recorded according to Law and by this mistake the Offender escaped But at the day of Judgment the Guilty have no advantage by any possibility of a mistake or accident for the Judge is infallible and righteous and the Conscience which is both Jury and Witnesse Conscientia mille Testes will certainly deliver true evidence not being deceived in the least tittle At this Barre voluble Oratorie prevails not neither can subtile Law-distinctions any waies avail but Judgment shall be given to every one in Righteousnesse and in Truth by him who is Truth it self and cannot lie whose mercy we had need implore in our lives and at our Deaths that he may not be severe to mark what is done amisse but forgive and pardon us for Christ his sake X. THe Dog in the Fable having meat in his mouth by the water side and perceiving the shadow of it reflect which he erroneously mistook for real flesh opened his mouth greedily in hopes to get it and by this means lost the true substance Thus it fares with many worldly men to whom God hath given meat in their Mouths his blessings in a liberal proportion Eccles. 6. 2. Riches wealth and honour so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof but they not satisfied therewith seek to increase their wealth per fas nefas ravenously coveting the shadow which is vexation and vanity and neglecting to improve their Talents to God's glory and their own good and by this means lose the true substance their hopes of eternal welfare XI A Scholar of Socrates observing that many of his fellow-Pupills had presented their Master with great and rich presents which he was uncapable of doing by reason of his poverty came to Socrates and told him he freely gave him what was in his power Himself devoted to his service The most acceptable Gift to the God of Heaven is our selves our hearts and affections My son give me thy heart says Solomon Without this Present all others are vain Oblations Sacrifices which are an abomination to the Lord He will despise us and our Offerings if they are not tendred with an intire humble dutiful and obedient heart which I beseech God to give us that we may retribute the same to him again Amen XII A Story is told of the same Socrates that one day being in his School a Physiognomist came to visit him and taking great remark of his face plainly averred that Socrates was guilty of such and such notorious Vices which Accusation his Disciples heard with much impatience and could hardly forbear striking him declaring that he was a silly fellow and that he had done their Master injurie for what he had said was very false upon their knowledge Socrates interposes and assures them that what this Artist had delivered concerning him was well grounded and therefore they had no such reason to blame him for says he I have a great natural propensity and inclination to those Crimes which certainly would have had a great predominancy over me had not my Reason and my Philosophie prevailed over them which was no small difficulty Thanks be given to Almighty God for his restraining Grace that we have not been actually guilty of those sins to which our particular natures do so much incline us that every single offence hath not been the unhappy parent of many more and this is wholly to be imputed to God's goodnesse to us for our resolutions may fail us of doing good and avoiding evil our Reason may be blinded and deceived Philosophie both as to the Theorie and as to the Practick part may be vain and unprofitable but if we are indued with God's Grace this cannot fail us He giveth us to will and to doe of his good pleasure but the more we rely upon him and pray for his blessed assistance the surer we are to find the happy influence and benefit of his good Spirit which will teach us to walk holily penitently soberly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the daies are evill XIII IT was said of a good man that he should confesse he had been undone unlesse he had been undone meaning that if God had not awakened his Conscience with temporal losses and afflictions and caused him to look into himself Prosperity and inconsideration had swallowed him up God many times grants our requests in denying of them when to his Majestie these appear inconsistent with his Glory and our Good for he onely knows what is best for us In a prosperous condition we seldome take up the complaint of that good Heathen who sadly said O Amici diem perdidi O my friends I have lost a day because he could not call to mind any good he had done that day but lose day after day for many years together untill at last we have not a day left to repent in though many a misspent day to repent of and then we must know though true Repentance is never too late yet late Repentance is seldome true XIV ALL Societies and Compaines of men as well Merchants as others who are sober industirous wise and well-governed conduce much to the advantage and benefit of that Kingdome or Common-wealth in which they live Rich Merchants make a Rich Kingdome But let the great Traders have a
hath demonstrated to delude the people under specious pretences and upon this Maxime no Kingdome or Common-wealth is safe XXII A Painter who was esteemed a good Artist being asked why he painted so slowly he answered Pingo aeternitati I paint for eternity If we did consider our Eternity of happinesse or miserie depends upon the well or ill spending our time here we should then take greater care of our actions and not hastily doe amisse XXIII WE are not naturally apt to content our selves here in this World with any one constant place or the same company We find no perfect contentment in any of our setled affairs and therefore we indeavour to find it in variety but all in vain Onely this use we may make of it Let us consider with our selves the things of this World may satiate us cannot satisfie what appertains to a better life may satisfie us and not satiate Therefore being our Souls are of such immortal capacities as not to be contented with nor confined to terrestrial things let us make it our great design to provide for the eternal Felicity of our Souls XXIV EDe bibe lude post mortem nulla voluptas inquit Epicurus This is the vulgar Tradition concerning Epicurus and yet it cannot be proved that he ever said or writ any such thing totidem verbis onely in effect he said it for he denied the Immortality of the Soul and consequently every one is by that Position left at liberty to doe as he pleases si post mortem nulla voluptas Thus if many of us were to be judged of by our practices many abominable Principles would be layd to our charge which in words and outward profession we wholly disown and detest But what a deplorable thing is it that there should be such contrariety between our Opinions and our Actions that the latter should give the first the lie which we account a word of greatest disgrace and reproach to us if given by another and yet contentedly and frequently we give it our selves XXV PRaedicat vivâ voce qui praedicat vitâ voce He preaches with a loud voice who preaches with his Life and Voice That Minister whose Life is in good measure proportionable to his Doctrine prevails much with his Auditory and converts many Souls otherwise the people are apt to say 'T is true he preaches well but why should I believe him who does not appear to credit himself for he says one thing and practises another And if we condemn this in a Preacher we must not approve it in our selves The moral Heathens will rise up in judgment against us at the great Day if we shall rely upon a bare Form and outward profession of Godlinesse but deny the Power of it in our lives and conversations for to whom much is given of them much is required It was a wise saying of a natural Fool when he lay upon his Death-bed Lord require no more of me then thou hast given me Let this be remembred to humble the wise men Many have been the wise sayings of Fools but not so many as the foolish actions of Wise men XXVI IT is reported in storie of a great Emperor who had made large promises that when his faith was suspected because his Predecessors had broke theirs so frequently he replied That if faith and truth were no-where else to be found but in his breast there they should remain This I am well assured may without flattery be justly applied to our gracious Sovereign CHARLES the Second whom I beseech God to blesse with a long and happy Reign His sweet obliging mild disposition is more agreeable to the English temper then to any Nation whatsoever our Climate being so justly famed for producing in all Ages so many good-natured people What the Emperor said of himself every one in particular ought to make applicable and not to follow the Generality who constantly doe amisse and thus argue Tell not me what vain fashions or customes others follow how perfidious they are in their promises I will keep my word and doe my duty leaving the successe to the wise Disposer of all things endeavouring to walk unblameably both in the sight of God and men XXVII IT is reported of the Lacedemonians that they had this fond Ceremony at the Death of their Kings That all both men and women mangled their Foreheads and in their Lamentations cried out that their deceased King how wicked soever he were was the best Prince they ever had In all times there want not some or other who will praise those that are great and in power giving them high applauses for their Vertues and deserts though they be never so deformed with the Leprosy of Vicious enormities but such servile spirits will be despised by good men nay at last abominated even by those they so unworthily flatter and shall receive one of the Punishments of Liars which is Not to be believed when they speak truth XXVIII HOnesty is the best Policy it is simple and innocent like a true Story or Narrative natural and easy that needs no defence and a good Conscience is a continual Feast He that in all his actions deals plainly and honestly gains such a reputation that all persons both believe him and believe well of him and therefore in all the affairs of the World he meets with many friends and chearful assistances whereas those that have used great artifices to deceive and undermine are soon found out seldome trusted We have an English Proverb to this purpose Once a Knave and alwaies suspected If any of the most vertuous gentlest mildest and fairest Sex shall by any act of great Immodesty and Indiscretion expose themselves to the just censure of the World it will be difficult to recover their fame lost by after-acts of Sobriety and Modesty but this should not discourage any to attempt it but the best way is to preserve a good Conscience which is a Feast prepared for us by the God of Heaven to be fed on at all times and in all conditions it is introductive of the Peace of God which is an happinesse so great that it passeth humane under standing and is a blessing of a vast magnitude such as the World can neither give to us nor take from us when God in mercy has afforded it to us When a man's ways please God he makes his very enemies to be at peace with him so that many times their hearts being turned they perform offices of friendship and great kindnesse to us XXIX OUr Christian Charity which consisteth partly in forgiving our Enemies returning good for evil and partly in giving to all who are the objects of Charity more especially to those of the houshold of Faith is not onely a Charity to them but our selves too The first part being devested from any vindicative spirit is the most lawfull and most politick way of Revenge the Holy Writ saies it is an heaping Coals of Fire upon their heads so justly
upbraiding them for the injuries they have done us that we may have cause to believe probably speaking they will become our Friends but if not let us not be discouraged from forgiving them as oft as they offend as we hope God will forgive us farre greater offences let us in all things endeavour to doe our Duties and leave the successe to God As for the second part of our Charity Commiserating and relieving our brethren in distresse God will reward it plentifully in this World and in the world to come infinitely with a Go ye blessed c. as we find in Scripture besides the great satisfaction which must necessarily arise to any good-natur'd man to be the occasion of doing good with small Gifts so much to revive and rejoyce the disconsolate spirits of suffering persons The Italian poor man sayes Sir doe good to your self and bestow something on me and certainly if truely considered we doe ourselves more good then those we relieve XXX IT hath pleased God heavily to afflict my extraordinary Friends in depriving them of their onely Son Leves loquuntur Ingentes stupent God intends this as a great trial of the Patience and Piety of the Parents now God calls upon them to rein their Wills to his readily and contentedly without excessive sinfull Lamentation not to grieve as without hope they may goe to him he cannot come to them Let them consider Heaven is the best Inheritance God hath given them his Son to redeem them from their sins and the just punishment of them therefore certainly 't is their Duty and I hope and believe it is their Inclinations not to repine that God hath taken away their Son from the Evil to come Let them be comforted that he died of a natural Disease not occasioned by vicious Disorder but departed penitently willingly submitting to the Will of God as I pray we may all doe at all times both living and dying All things work for good to those that love God together if not singly every individual thing yet jointly if we love God And because it was the will of the good God it was better so then if it had been otherwise All good Christians wisely acquiesce in God's Providence he knows what is best for us I hope God may restore to them his Blessings as he did to his Servant Job with a great increase if not let them remember the blessed Angels have no Off-spring XXXI WE can never be enough thankfull to God for his Mercies to us especially for that Great transcendent one the Mercy of all Mercies in sending his Son to die for us to redeem us from the Slavery of Sin that we may live and not die eternally that we may live happily here and hereafter In the Obedience of his Commands is great delight They that are of a contrary opinion it is because they are unexperienced in his service in whose Service is perfect Freedome For to obey Sin and the Lusts of the Flesh is the greatest Vassalage in the world and he is a greater man who subdues his vile Affections then if he were a victorious Conqueror over all the World For God doth not account of us by our outward Greatness but by our inward Goodnesse All humane Greatnesse however idolized by worldly men is a Pageantry and a mere Representation acted upon the Theatre of the World which quickly disappears and the Scene si changed and withdrawn when the Play is done Farther to advance the Mercies of God to us Let us consider God might have commanded us to have sacrificed an Isaac to have lived all the time of our lives in painfull and vexatious Trouble exercising our selves in Acts contrary to our natural and reasonable appetites and yet after an Obedience to such seeming severe commands for an hundred years or more if he should give us Heaven at last we had great reason to be thankfull But now on the contrary he onely commands us to live chastly and temperately not to deceive our Neighbours but to love them as our selves to keep up a good report to endeavour to doe all the good we can and to refrain from evil to forgive our Enemies and not to be of contentious natures but as much as lies in us to live peaceably with all men which Commands if we endeavour to conform to it will conduce to a temporall as well as an eternall Felicity When we digresse from such Rules given us by our great Law-giver we find sad effects as consequential Punishments of our Disobedience as Losse of Reputation many ill Casualties and Diseases many times hastening our end by vicious Excesses These Inconveniences to a rational and considering person were sufficient if there were no higher to deterre him from evil practices XXXII I Being sick and under some dejection of spirit opening my Bible to see what place I could first light upon which might administer Comfort to me casually I fixed upon the Sixth of Hosea the first three verses are these 1. Come let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us he hath smitten and he will bind us up 2. After two days he will revive us the third day he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight 3. Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord his going forth is prepared in the morning and he shall come unto us as the Rain as the latter and former Rain unto the Earth I am willing to decline Superstition upon all occasions yet think my self obliged to make this use of such a providentiall place of Scripture First by hearty repenting me of my sins past Secondly by sincere reformation for the time to come desiring to turn from the evil of my ways to serve the living God that so long as he spares me life I may live as in his sight and presence XXXIII Upon the 29th day of May THis day is an Holiday a day of Congratulation upon a double account First of the King's Birth Secondly of his Restauration The first was great cause of rejoycing That so Brave a Prince was born the Heir apparent to three great Kingdomes and an universal Joy to all good Subjects He was an high Blessing to the Excellent Monarch his Father and to his sweet and Pious Consort Daughter of the Great Henry the IVth of France The second was the greatest That his Majesty after so much unjust Suffering and Banishment by his Father's Murtherers and his Rebellious Subjects should by the miraculous Providence of God Almighty be restored to his own Dominions by the unanimous Consent of all his Subjects nemine contradicente without the effusion of one drop of bloud These so transcendent Mercies to so distressed a Nation ought to be had in continual remembrance Our thankfulnesse to God Almighty and our Serving him ought to be in some measure proportionable to our Mercies nor ought we to provoke him to wrath by our Sins as we have done which God grant we
may repent of from the highest to the lowest that so God may repent him of the evil of Punishments which our sins have deserved Amen XXXIV If God be for us who shall be against us WHo Hence learn If a Question be asked in Scripture and let fall without an Answer it amounts to a Negative First let us ingage in God's Cause then having the lawfull Authority of his Vice-gerent who shall be against us no man can It is not in the power of humane policy to oppose or countermine Divine Determinations They who trust in the arme of Flesh and in the son of Man whose breath is in his nostrils are sure to be deceived they trust to a broken Reed to a Bul-rush We ought to look upon men but as God's instruments if we doe otherwise we may justly be made the objects of God's wrath and severer punishments So long as we doe lawfull things we may hope God is on our side and expect his protection out of our Calling we are out of God's keeping Qu. But how shall we know God is on our side Ans. By examining our selves whether we look upon God as our ultimate End in all our actions and designs if we make all things subordinate to his Glory if we look upon him as the Well-spring and Fountain of Life Health and Salvation with a chearfull Christian indifference submitting to his Will whether he please to blast our actions or blesse and prosper our purposes if we have no sinfull impatient desire after temporal blessings but upon all occasions endeavour to doe our Duties and leave the successe to God if we shall chuse to die rather then deliberately to offend God These I say are signs we are the true Servants of God and if we be so then God will be on our side and then we need not fear what men or Devils can doe against us we are well guarded no Bullet in Warrs by Sea or Land can hurt us without God's commission There is an over-ruling Providence governs all Sublunary things XXXV IT is a most deplorable thing to consider that there should be such great Dissensions and Animosities amongst Christians who professe to believe in the same Saviour and many times about Circumstantials not Essentials or Fundamentals in Religion even to a Scandal There are many pious learned well-disposed persons who expresse great zeal and fervency of spirit to reconcile the Differences in Christian Religion but commonly meet with a severe fate in stead of their deserved Reward to be abominated or at least disliked by all Parties But we must remember good men are but men and transported many times with ungovernable passions and humours Naturally men have a great affection to those of their own Interest and Party sometimes either not discerning or conniving at their faults and too much prejudice to those who differ from them in opinion though if we consider calmly and rationally no man differs more in opinion from me then I do from him and if I desire he should think charitably of me I am obliged in conscience to doe so of him unlesse I know by his actions he pretends Piety to cloak his Rebellious and Factious spirit with a design to disturb the Kingdom 's peace and by violence or Arms to resist the Civil Magistrate God's Vice-gerent or is guilty of some notorious Crime such a man I am bound to detect and no waies to countenance or protect It were an happinesse much to be prayed for that men of several Judgments whether Episcopal Presbyterians Roman Catholicks Independents and under that notion may be comprehended Anabaptists Quakers and many other new fanatick and infatuated Sects would more put in practice those Principles of Piety Charity and Morality wherein all or most of them agree this would conduce much to Union for then they would think better one of another and bear with the frailties of their brethren being there is no Perfection in this life and by a gentle mild and unpassionate way of arguing would sooner convince one another of their Errours Some can suffer better then dispute who by calm disputation might soon be convinced and reduced to sobriety of judgment This would I believe prevail more then Punishments and Persecutions which so often beget Proselytes and create in others tender Commiserations of such mens sufferings especially if they be of honest deportment and dealing and of good lives as many of them are though such Sufferers may be faulty in neglecting those Condescensions and just Compliances which if they rightly consider they may with a good Conscience expresse towards both Civil and Ecclesiasticall Governours But these Dissenters are ready to plead for themselves What I suffer it is for my Conscience it is not out of Faction or a spirit of Contradiction and therefore in these cases I must obey God and not Man which is highly true when that is the case and farther say they It appears to us an hard case that we must be under a temptation either to go against our Consciences or suffer for them But God's will be done if we suffer for his sake we are contented XXXVI MEn of several Opinions in the World fondly believe that onely those of their Judgments shall be saved excluding others out of Heaven who haply may be admitted when their Censurers may be refused for their Uncharitablenesse The way to Heaven certainly is not so streight in matters of Opinion as Practice for what will it advantage to be orthodox in Opinion and dissolute in Life God will pardon many Errors where the persons who maintain them intend well and live well if they do not obstinately and pertinaciously persist in them but are both willing to retract them and heartily pray to God to convert them from all their Errors and Failings and to teach and confirm them in all saving Truths We must all ingenuously confesse that in our tenderest years those Principles we first receive in our Education take a great impression in us and are not easily removed we have an affection for them study Arguments in their defence and have many times too great an aversion to the very Persons who differ from us as well as to their Opinions yet certainly difference in Judgment ought not to cause strangenesse and difference in Affection Possibly God may accept of this Plea from many particular persons hereafter I have endeavoured to serve thee O Lord sincerely in the way I was brought up in which appears to me to be true otherwise I should with as much zeal have embraced any other Opinion which I should have been convinced was the truest We have no warrant in the Word of God to condemn so much as the very Heathens who were men of good Lives and many of them of pious devout Conversations who never heard of Christ no more then we have to condemn little infant Children who are not capable of committing actual sin XXXVII IT appears strange to me that wicked worldly men should be accounted wise