Dan a Serpent by the way or an Adder in the path biting the Horse heeles so that the Rider falleth to the ground Foenum non habet in cornu he is no horned Beast that will be goring whomsoere hee meetes but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an innocent and harmelesse Dove 6. And lastly a single heart is a cleare heart a quiet heart and a constant heart 1. It is a cleare heart a heart which is at no time so overcast with mists of ignorance and Clouds of passionate Affection but that it is able to discerne the things that are excellent Phil. 2.10 2. It is a quiet heart The day of the Lords comming is to the Righteous a day of redemption when they shall lift up their heads Luk. 21.28 but to the wicked a day of darkenesse Amos 5.18 and why but because of the terrours of a guilty conscience which produce nothing but cramps and cold convulsions in the soule Sathan hath no sooner drawne a man to sinne but hee would drive him into desperation by possessing him with feare Cain after hee had slaine his brother was so miserably distracted that hee fled from his owne Father as from a deadly enemy Philosophers asking why Swine make a greater noyse when they be taken thaÌ„ any other Creatures render this reason that by an instinct of Nature they know when they bee taken nothing is desired but their lives Sinners are Swine 2 Pet. 2. ult and ever grunting their Heart is like the raging Sea which casteth up nothing but mire and dirt 3. And lastly it is a Constant Heart a heart free from infidelitie free from grudging and free from all distrustfulnes Such a one had holy Iob when neither the fury of the Devill nor the folly of his Wife nor the frenzy of his friends could any way alter the dialect of his patience but in the depth of his disasters he cryed out Iob 2.10 Shall wee receive good at the hands of God and shall wee not receive evill the Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken blessed bee the name of the Lord. Yea such a heart had blessed Paul when having propouÌ„ded a question he gave also the resolution â—om 8.35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or anguish persecution or famine nakednesse perill or sword Surely no I am perswaded that neither life nor death nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers nor height nor depth nor any other Creature shall ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord. And thus much concerning singlenesse of Heart as it is in Gods servants we will now treate of it as it is in the servants of men And in these it may bee discovered divers wayes 1. Hee may bee said to serve in singlenesse of Heart who eyes not the condition of his Master but whether hee bee rich or poore milde or moody hee considers his Authority and thereto suites his Obedience 2. If for Conscience sake and not either for feare of punishment or hope of reward hee doe apply his best endeavours to the performance of his masters commands counting ipsum officium esse fructum officii the thing done a sufficient recompence for the doing 3. He would seeme what hee is and hee would bee what hee seemes For there are servants who like lying Hennes will make a great deale of cackling though they seldome Lay. Like a Mill that is loose hung they keepe a mighty clacking but grinde no Grist I may liken them to nastie dung-hils that are covered over with Snow an outward diligence distinguisheth their inward sloth like the Partridges of Paphlagonia they have two hearts the one pious and officious stirring them up to all dutifull obsequiousnesse so long as the Master looketh on the other impious and inofficious moving them as soone as his backe is turned to fraud and negligence but hee that obeyeth in singlenesse of Heart hath but one heart and that is ever like it selfe as painfull being alone as if he had the world for his spectator 4. And lastly hee may bee said to serve in singlenesse of heart that serves with a faithfull heart Now this faithfulnesse in a servant expresseth it selfe in severall things 1. In the diligent and ready performance of what his Master shall enjoyne him Yee may see it in him whom Abraham sent to seek a wife for his sonne Isaac Having received his instructions he presently began his journey and being upon the way hee invocated the the God of his Master for the good successe and dispatch of his businesse and when hee was come to the house of Bethuel hee could not bee drawne to taste a morsell of meate till he had delivered his message but servants now a dayes I speake for the greater part are like Phoebus his Crow they may be sent in haste Ovid. lib. 2. Fast they will returne at leasure 2. In the concealment of his counsels and Secrets a thing wherein servants are usually too too much defective For indeed they may bee counted so many spies in the house whose common practise is where they may be heard to blaze abroad whatsoever may tend to their Masters or Mistresses reproach having at once cast off both the religious feare of God and also the reverend respect of his Image in the persons of their Superiors I finde yet such fidelity among some heathenish slaves as may set a blush upon the face of Christian servants M. Antony the Oratour had one Val. Max. lib. 6. cap. 8. who though hee were conscious to those incestuous practises wherof his Master was accused and knowne to have carried a Lanthorne before him at such times did yet with patience endure the greatest tortures that an incensed rage could possibly devise to put him to and by his constant secrecy delivered him from the malice of his adversaries Macrob l. 1. Saturn Cals him Vrbinus Panopio had another who when the rest of his fellowes upon his proscription had given notice to the Souldiers that they should finde him at his Countrey house came and informed him of his imminent destruction and having changed apparell with him and put on his Ring conveighed him out at a backe doore went presently into his masters chamber lay down in his Bed and there received that mortall wound which was intended unto him It is but a short story yet full of admiration that a man on such a suâ—den and in such a hurry should so calmely compose himselfe to die for another There is yet a third example equalling if not surpassing in some respects eyther of these Antius Restio perceiving his Domesticks when the Triumviri had proscribed him so farre from grieving at his misfortune that all their care was to ransack his Chests and make havock of his goods stole avay by night from amongst them yet not so covertly but that one of them whom he had often caused to bee cruelly whipped ignominiously branded and
brings them afterwards to full maturity It is the Oceans yeelding to the Moone which occasioneth her daily ebbes and flowes without which motion the waters thereof would quickly putrifie and with their stench poyson the creatures In a word there is no maintayning of any politicke society without this vertue Rule and subjection saith the Philosopher are things not onely profitable but likewise absolutely necessarie When the people will not obey the Prince when the Mariner will not listen to the master when the Souldier will not follow the directions of his Leader what can follow but confusion In the beginning GOD established a superiority among all the workes of his Hands after their severall kindes Hee made two great Lights the one to rule the day the lesser to rule the night and afterwards when hee had created man he did invest him presently into imperiall authority To subdue the earth and to râ—le over the Fishes of the Sea Gen. 1. and over the Foules Bees have their Soveraigne little Ants are not without their Discipline In a word wee reade of an Hoste in heaven and why is it so called but because there are orders and degrees therein which being withdrawne from an Army it can have no setled composition There must bee then a Masterie and dominion specially designed to say Hoâ— puto non iustum est illud malè rectius istud This is not right that is evill the other is better This is the Soder by which the severall parts and Members of a Common-weale are all united and combined together 'T is the very life-breath of every Creature which if the Spirit and Soule of government were taken from them were like to prove nothing but a burden to themselves a booty to their enemies Maximilian the Emperour comparing the Kings of France and Spaine together with himselfe said wittily and merrily that the King of Spaine was Rex hominum a King of Men because he used them ingenuously and liberally The King of France Rex Asinorum a King of Asses by reason of the many burdens and taxations which he laid upon his people Himselfe Rex Regum a King of Kings because all that were under him would doe but what they pleased themselves The best is Rex Subditorum a King of Subjects And whosoever shall shake from off their necks this yoke they provide but ill for their owne good 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obedience is the mother of all happinesse saith the ancient adage and surely he that followes her shall shew a noble and a generous minde Facile imperium in bonos pessimus quisque asperrime rectorem patitur Good men are easily govern'd only the base and refractary spirit will admit no reines Let the lawlesse Anabaptist therefore together with the ambitious Romanist cry out in Church and Common-weale against the Gods and Christs of the Earth as sometimes did those cursed Vipers among the Heathen against the anointed Sonne of GOD Let us breake their bonds in sunder Psal 2. and cast their cords from us We must know yet that there is no Power but of God and hee that resisteth the Powers that bee hee resisteth the ordinance of God The Lord is King be the earth never so impatient Promotion commeth not either from the East or from the West or from the South but wholly from the Lord. By him Kingdomes are disposed Princes inaugurated Scepters and States established By Him were Corah Dathan and Abiram with their Confederates sent downe alive into the darker bowels of the earth by him was Zimri burnt in his Pallace Achitophel hanged in a halter and Absalom by his owne haire all for denying their duteous fealtie to those whom hee had constituted and appointed over them as his Vicegerents And thus much concerning subjection in generall The particular followeth Wiues be subiect This subjection of the Wife unto her Husband consisteth principally in three things The first is an internall Act of the heart as when the Wife notwithstanding shee come of a nobler house and have brought with her a a greater portion than she found and know herselfe to be of a more able understanding than her husband she doth yet in her minde acknowledge him to be her head counting herselfe every way inferiour unto him in that she is his wife This humbling of the heart is the fountaine of all externall subjection And when it floweth not from hence 't is eyther constrain'd or counterfeit For the avoyding of this St. Paul would have the wife to feare her husband Eph. 5.33 Now this may bee expressed divers kinds of waies 1. By giving him reverend and respective titles So Sarah obeyed Abraham and cal'd him Lord Non blandiendi con uetudine sed hujus subjectio is testificandae voluntate Not out of any soothing custome but out of a serviceable conscience And her daughters ye are 1 Pet. 3.6 saith the Apostle while ye doe well not being compelled thereto by any terror 2. It may be exprest by living without suspition and making ever the best interpretation of his doubtfull actions Michol fayld in this when so presumptuously she taunted David for dancing before the Arke of God in presence of the mayds of Israel 3. A woman may shew a feare towards her husband by striving to walke continually under the lee of his anger making her eye rather a Bucket to quench the fire than her breath a Bellowes to kindle it 2. This subjection of a wife towards her husband consisteth in a desire to conforme her will her words her workes as neere as she can in things lawfull and indifferent to those of her husband For likenesse in manners argues a likenesse in minde and there is no affectation of similitude but where there is some similitude of Affection This I confesse is a hard taske but the more painefull the more praisefull It is hard because all are addicted to love their owne waies to like of their owne humours and distaste the contrary Oderunt hilares tristem Hor. Epist 18. lib. 1. tristemque jocosi sayth the Poet Mirth will not willingly come into the house of mourning nor mourning into the house of mirth Lamenting Niobe will sit alone and Rahel weeping for her children will not be comforted 'T is a laborious thing therefore for any to strip themselves of their owne disposition and put on an others 'T is requisite yet for a wife to doe it that which above all must bee commended in her For as a looking-glasse though it bee curiously wrought and richly garnished with sundry sorts of gemmes is nothing esteemed as it is a glasse unlesse it reflect the true resemblance of them that looke therein So let a woman be never so rich never so faire never so comely never so qualifyed she is not to be valued as a wife if she be not conformable to the inclination of her husband She that is married sayth the Apostle careth how she may please her husband The word in the
Anabaptists therfore erre that thinke the Rule and Government of Christians over Christians repugnant to the freedome of the Gospell The Papist likewise is mistaken Gerson qu. 1. de Potest Ecclesi ca. 9. qu. 2. c. 8. while hee counts Heresie a sufficient ground to take away the Soveraignty of Kings when the Apostle here allowes not Paganisme to prejudice the authority of a private Master over his Family If they bee Servants their duty is required Servants bee Obedient The word in the Original is the same which he used unto children and as there so here it implies 1. An humble promptitude in entertaining the commands of others 2. A carefull application of our best endeavours to a quicke performance of the same Their Obedience must expresse it selfe 1. With Reverence and that internally and externally Internally they must not despise either the Person of their Masters or the place but must count them worthy of all Honour that the name of God and his doctrine bee not evill spoken 1 Tim. 1.6 of Externally their speech and their behaviour must bee such as may not savour either of contempt or contumacy They must feare their Masters This is that which the Lord himselfe requireth in all his Servants If I bee a Master saith hee where is my feare Mal. 1.6 And in Ephes 6.5 Our Apostle exacteth feare and trembling from them towards their Masters The second Character of their Obedience must be Patience They must endure without resistance rebukes and Corrections bee they never so bitter and unjust For if when we do well 1 Pet. 2.20 and suffer wrong wee take it patiently this is well pleasing unto God Agar being roughly dealt withall by Sarai ranne away and would not abide her chastisements but the Lord by an Angell did controll this course advised her to returne home to her Mistresse and to humble her selfe under her hand A Servant may lawfully withdraw himselfe so it be done conveniently and without despising his Masters authority till the fury of his unjust anger be allayed For so David conveighed himselfe from Saul and the Aegyptian that directed David to the Amalekits made him sweare 1 Sam. 30.15 not to deliver him into the hands of his Master from whom hee was fled neither did David sinne in 〈…〉 an oath For in Deut. 23.15 it is set downe as a Law that if a servant were fled from his Masters cruelty especially if hee were a Heathen who little regarded the very lives of their servants hee should not bee presently redelivered but kindly entrâ—ated till mediation might bee made for the reinstating of him in his Masters favour but hee must not shew him selfe at any hand peremptory and rebellious And thus much of the duty the Extent of it followes In all things A Servant like a Bow in the hand of his Master must not be bended or unbended but according to his will and pleasure I am a man in authority saith the Centuâ—ion and I say unto one Goe and he goeth to another Come and hee commeth and to a third Doe this and hee doth it But there are some of that sturdy disposition that if the things enjoyned them doe any way crosse their credit prejudice their profit disturbe their ease or are contrary to their liking they will either not doe them at all or they will doe them with a left hand and as they list themselves Their usuall coÌ„plaint is that the master whom they serve is a churlish Nabal and one that forgetteth all humanitie both in exacting and rewarding the service that is done him But this is not enough to unyoke them from their Obedience For though they receive no comfort from their masters God yet to whom and for whom they doe their service will not leave them unrequited Iacob served a hard Laban 21 yeares In the day hee melted away with heate in the night he was benummed with cold yea the very sleepe departed from his Eyes that nothing might miscarry which was committed to his charge all which Laban regarded not but God in the end requited his care and travaile in a large measure And surely whatsoever a man doth that shall hee receive of the Lord whether he be bond Eph. 6.8 or free And therefore Servants bee obedient in all things In all things .i. in all outward things which are indifferent and lawfull Even Servants must look to that supreme Power whereunto their Masters are but subordinate and bee wary of doing any thing but the command of the one which they know to bee countermanded by the other The Master of our flesh is to bee obeyed so farre as he commands not that which is forbidden by the Master of our Spirit saith Saint Hierome They which please them in this kinde are utterly condemned It is said of Pharaoh That both hee and his servants sinned And indeed many are contented to prostitute their best indeavours to their Masters most adulterate designes Absalons followers were very forward in smiting of Amnon and those of Caiaphas to spit in the face of our blessed Saviour to buffet him with their hands Mat. 26 67 Let a great one make a scoffe of Religion and presently his Attendants to keepe him company will doe the like As there are Flatterers in Princes Courts so also are there in private cottages Many Apprentices and Iourneymen will never bee unfurnished of a Lie or an Oath that they may fill their masters houses as the Prophet speakes by bribery and cruelty whereas indeed they should humour them no farther than stands with the safety of a good Conscience The Servants of wicked Saul were none of the best yet they refused to execute his unjust sentence upon the Priests of the Lord though his commands had beene enough to countenance the deed Let Christian Servants therefore much more abhorre to please any Flesh so farre as to displease the Lord. The Apostle aymes not at a lawlesse and irreligious Obedience he onely forbids such a dimidiated and arbitrary subjection as Servants according to their owne fancy are willing to tender when he saith Servants bee obedient in all things This for the extent The Persons follow to whom this Duty must be tendred and that is generally Masters Particularly Masters according to the flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The very Title speakes the Equity of the Precept as well as that of Servants For as the word Servant intimates an Obedience to bee exhibited to to another so the name of Master implies a due Obedience to bee exacted from another Whosoever therefore is a Master must bee obeyed whether hee bee rich or poore kind or crabbed a true beleever or a false The Apostle sets it downe indefinitely without any difference of condition Servants bee obedient to them that are your Masters And we must understand it likewise without distinction of Sexe For the Head of the Family bee it Man or woman must be obeyed 1 Tim. 5.14 No Salik Law for the cutting
off of this But to passe by this why doth the Apostle say Obey your Masters according to the Flesh What needed this addition I answer that this may bee referred eyther to Masters or Servants If to Masters the sense is this That Servants must bee obedient even to such Masters as are fleshly and carnall men And indeed what greater praise can happen to a Christian man than to shew himselfe a Ioseph in the house of a Putiphar If to servants they serve as a limitation shew them to bee subject onely in respect of their flesh and so here are two things remarkable The one exprest viz That the Bodies of servants are with Christian mercy and moderation to bee disposed of at their masters pleasure They should learne therefore from hence willingly to suffer their flesh to be commanded and corrected by them The other implied viz. That none but GOD alone must bee acknowledged to hâ—ve dominion over their soules and consciences It was the answer of a Lacedaemonian youth to his Maâ—ter That hee might command him what was unâ—itting but he should quickly finde that it was in his choyce not to doe it Sen. Errat si quis existimat Servitutem in totum hominem descendere saith the Heathen moralist Pars melior ejus exempta est Bondage descends not upon the whole man his better part is still exempted the Bodie may bee obnoxious to the imperiousnesse of a Master but the minde remaineth still as free as Aire and can never bee so pent up in her earthly prison but ever and anon shee will be breaking forth as farre as heaven The Rule which man hath over man is onely temporall and in outward things A Servant must be of the same Trade and Calling that his Master is of but hee is not bound to bee of the same humour or ReligioÌ„ with his Master It is a fault not to give the Master what thou oughtst but it is a greater fault to give him more than thou shouldest Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's but still reserve for God that which is Gods It is our Saviors own Caution Feare not them which can kill the Body but are not able to kill the Soule feare yee rather him who is able to destroy both soule and body in Hell And thus wee have done with the Precept and are now to fall upon the direction for the Practise and first of the Negative part thereof wherein two faults commonly incident to servants are absolutely prohibited 1. They must not bee Eye-servers Eye-service is said to bee that which is done onely in the presence of â—he Master and with no better intent than to please him for the time that hee looketh on For his backe shall bee no sooner turned but such a servants labour will bee at an end Luk. 12.54 Our Saviour himselfe gives us his true Character Hee sees his master deferres his comming and begins therefore to tyrannize over his Fellowes and gives himselfe to rioting and drunkennesse consuming in those and other such desbauched courses his Masters substance And amongst the Heathen most were of this nature It was wittily and fitly therefore answered both of the Persian and African The one being demanded what Provender would best fatten up a horse replyed The masters eye The other what dung would most enrich the Field made answer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The steps of the Owner His continuall walking about to oversee what was done unto them himself The Apostle would have this fault to bee farre removed from Christian servants His Exhortation therefore is Servants hee obedient to your Mâ—sters in all things but not with Eye-service Nor as Men-pleasers And this mâ—y seeme to bee the Fountaine from whence issueth the former faultinesse Now hee may bee said to 〈◊〉 a Man-pleasâ—r that applies his best endeavours more to please man than God A fault frequent enough in these later dayes and which in many places hath shaken the foundations both of Church and Common-weale Wee are all of us Habent hoc in se naturale blanditiae etiam cum rejiciuntur â—lacent saepè exclusae novissimè recipiuntur Sen. qu. nat lib. 4. cap. 1. high and low naturally inclined to covet praise and from what mouth so ever it proceeds wee give it a chearefull entertainment notwithstanding our owne Conscience whispers inwardly unto us that it is not any way deserved Croesus King of Lydia drove Solon out of his Kingdome because he could not flatter him Dionysius put to death Philoxenus the Poet because hee waâ— so boâ—d as to tell him that thâ— Verses which hee had published were absurd yea some are ambitious of it in a prodigious manner Lucian tels us of a great Lady who being fair Dialo pro Imag. comely but of a low stature a certain Poet having composed Verses in commendation of her among other beauties extold her for her talnesse comparing her for height and streightnesse to the Poplar and finding by her gesture that she so gloried in this as if shee had felt her selfe really shot up to a longer measure hee tooke all occasions to sing them in her hearing till at length one of the Assistants said unto him in his eare 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My friend give over that thou move not the woman to rise up from her seate and so betray the falshood of thy Encomiums The like but more ridiculous is reported of Stratonico the Wife of Seleucus who being bald and having scarce so many haires upon her head as one whom Martial mentions in his Epigrammes Lib. 3. ep 51. imployed a comâ—any of Poets to commend her Tresses with promise of a Talent to him that should doe it best Yea there are some that affect it in their Pictures and will enjoyne the Artist when their eyes are naturally grey to make them blacke when their Nose is long to make it short and so to alter or add whatsoever other perfection themselves doe most approve and desire should be in them not remembring that in so doing they cause their fancy to bee drawne and not their feature Now this inbred propension in every one to heare and beleeve whatsoever may bee any way advantagious to his glory is that which drawes so many Sycophants about the Eares of Greatnesse who make hâ—r proud of what shee neiâ—her is noâ— hath noâ— caring so they may raise themselves to ruine those on whom they most rely But hee that is truely wise will â—â—refully avoid them Gulâ—dâ—us Pâ—risiâ—â—sis termes thâ—m Sacerdotes Diaboli The Devils Priests and Salomon saith their discourse is Panis mendacii Pro. 20.17 The Bread of Lies Rehoboam was fed with it by his Courtiers Ahab by his Priests They found it sweet at the first but in the end it proved Gravell in their mouth and was an occasion of ruin unto both A famous Statuarie came to Alexander the Great Lucian dial pro imaginib and offered to transforme the high Hill Atho wholly
his owne most precious blood they redeemed oneâ—y the body that no farther than out of one servitude into another but Christ hath ransomed both soule and body into a glorious liberty that shall last for ever and therfore Christ is to bee served before them 2. Our earthly Masters are to bee obeyed no otherwise than Christ prescribes they are to him as a steward to a Noble man hee hath the command of all the inferiour Servants but if he command any thing that is contrary to the will of the Lord they are to suspend their obedience 3. Christ himselfe hath declared it to bee his will and pleasure that Servants should obey their Masters and in his wisedome and power he hath ordeyned some for soveraignty and some for subjection All which considered Christian servants may be rightly said even in the performance of any office to their Master to serve the Lord and not men And it is a great motive to doe whatsoever wee doe heartily considering that the eye of Christ can scrue it selfe into our inmost retreates and that in every Action hee more regards the heart than the hand The defects of men towards men in their observance arise from a want of feare and reverence toward God We have it from the mouth of a Heathen That he who behaves himselfe impiously and perfidiously towards him can never bee Single-hearted towards Man In all the works therefore of our vocation wee must studie rather to keepe a good Conscience than to gaine the applause of men For how laudible so ever our outward Obedience may seeme it is but hypocriticall and adulterate if referred to an ill end A Christian servant must not think it enough to please his earthly Lord unlesse withal hee please Christ who is his heavenly one To conclude this is the manner of Christian obedience that every faithfull man should so doe the workes of his Calling as if there were none in the world besides God and himselfe For then hee will not dare to doe those offices for men which he knowes are hatefull unto him but will shew himselfe so farre serviceable to the one as that he may bee truely serviceable to the other And thus much concerning the Precept imposed upon servants as likewise of the Obedience required at their hands Now follow the Inducements which must stirre them up to the tender of this Obedience these are drawne from those things which usually make the greatest impression in the mindes of men Reward and Punishment In handling of the former we will consider 1. The qualitie of the Reward proposed It is a Reward of inheritance 2. The Person from whom it is to bee expected and that is the Lord Yee shall receive from the Lord. 3. The certainty of receiving it Yee know that hee shall receive 4. And lastly the Reason of this certainty For Yee serve the Lord Christ As touching the quality of the Reward It is the Reward of Inheritance But in this may some say lyes a contradiction For a Reward is commonly that which wee give unto servants an inheritance which wee bequeath to sonnes Whereunto I answere that the Apostle speakes not of any temporall Reward which might in worth bee correspondent to their labour but of that eternall beatitude which God conferreth upon his Saints and which farre surmounteth the worth and excellency of all humane obsequiousnesse whatsoever and he cals it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Retribution not that men are able any way to interest themselves therein by the dignity of their workes but because in regard of some circumstances it obtaines the similitude of a recompence For first as Wages are not given but to them that worke no more is the Kingdome of heaven conferred on any that are idle They that would have it must not lie snoring in the lappe of worldly pleasure but diligently labour in the workes of their Vocation 2. As wages are not given till our worke be ended no more is life eternall till our course be finished after the Race the runner must looke for his reward 2 Tim. 4.8 and after the combate the Souldier expect his Crowne Now as this heavenly reward is for two respects in which it resembleth wages entituled by the Apostle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Retribution so for two other respects in which it differeth from wages it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 An Inheritance For 1. Wages are given as a due to him that worketh but this heavenly reward proceedeth wholly from the grace and liberality of him that doth conferre it For when we have done all that is commanded us wee are yet unprofitable servants â—ukâ— 17 10 and what have wee done which was not our duty to doe We are all of us Filii divini beneficii The Children of divine kindnesse as S. Augustine termes us by grace saved through faith and that not of our selves it is the gift of God 2. Wages have usually a proportion with the worke for which they are paid but this heavenly reward hath no proportion with our services For what proportion can there be betwixt that which is finite and that which is infinite It is called therefore an Inheritance to exclude it wholly from being a Desart For Children come not to inherite their Fathers lands by vertue of any merit because most an end the land is purchased before the Childe is borne much lesse can we by any such title lay claime to heaven who can not pretend so much as this that wee came out of the Loynes of our Coelestiall Father For wee are his Children onely by grace not by any priviledge of Nature So speaks the Apostle Ye have received the spirit of Adoption Rom. 8.15 by which ye cry Abba Father Now Adoption admits no Merit For if Civilians define it rightly Adoptio est gratuita assumptio personae non habentis jus in haereditate ad participationem haereditatis Adoption is the free assumption of a person that hath no right in the inheritance to a full participation of the same The right which wee have to eternall life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Hesychius speakes is not a guerdon but a gift We have it Propter promissum according to S. Gregory yet not propter commissum It is not factuâ— but pactum saith S. Aug. the Mercy of the Giver not the Merit of the Worker which deriveth it upon us The possession of this life yet is as the Apostle termes it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Reward or Retribution And the Lord so stileth it not to puffe us up thereby with any vaine conceit of our own sufficiency but only to cheare and hearten up with some kinde of solace the debility of our Nature And therefore when the Scripture saith that God the righteous Iudge will one day render the Crowne of righteousnesse to those that are his 1. I except with S. Augustine where should this righteous Iudge bestow his glory but where the mercy of a loving
Father hath bestowed his Grace How should any righteousnesse bee seene if Grace which justifieth the sinners and wicked men did not precede Quomodo ista debita redderentur nisi prius illa in debita darentur How should the things which are due bee rendred if first the things that are not due were not given 2. I adde how should hee impute righteousnesse to our workes if his owne indulgency should not hide that unrighteousnes which is in them How should hee thinke them worthy of Reward unlesse out of the riches of his mercy hee did abolish that in them which is worthy of punishment Yea the Scripture seekes to humble us a little farther For it doth not onely forbid us to glory in our works because they are the free gifts of God but teacheth us withall that they are stained and defiled and such as being brought to the rule of his judgement will be no way able to satisfie But how then are we to understand that saying of the Apostle in Heb. 6.10 Where he saith God is not unrighteous that he should forget our workes and the labour of our love as if in justice it were fit hee should remunerate our good endeavours I answere we must remember first of all that even this promise like all the rest could afford us no benefit at all if the free covenant of mercy whereon relies the hope of our salvation did not goe before 2. Being resolved in this wee ought to bee securely confident that God will not suffer our good performances how short so ever they come of true perfection to passe without a worthy Retribution For according to S. Augustine Fidelis Dominus qui se nobis debitorem facit non aliquid à nobis recipiendo Psal 32. â—09 sed omnia promittendo The Lord is faithfull and makes himselfe our debtor not by receiving any thing from us but by promising althings unto us Now promise is a debt 'T is requisite therfore that God should recompence our workes though not forany worthines in them yet for his own engagement Here is matter then of comfort generally for all that groane under the heavy burdens of their sinnes and earnestly desire reconcilement if they doe what in them lyeth a reward attends them and it is a Reward of Inheritance even a weight of immortall glory in comparison whereof all the sufferings of this present world are to be counted nothing And this must animate them to persevere with all alacrity and patience in the exercise of godly workes for unto these belongeth this good and gratious Retribution But servants may draw from hence a more particular solace For it is to them that the holy Ghost himselfe doth particularly apply the words and that without any limitation or exception to shew that there is no Vocation so vile so abject and so base but if men piously undergoe it a reward shall follow it Servants thereto should not 1. So much regard the outward face of their Calling but how meane so ever it bee so it bee lawfull and honest should labour to discharge it with a good Conscience For this is the counsel of the Apostle Let every man abide in the same Vocation wherein he was called For hee that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lords free-man And hath as large a Patent to bee good as in the highest degree of dignity whatsoever Nulli praeclusa est virtus omnibus patet saith the very Heathen Vertue keepes open house and without any respect of persons gives a faire accesse to all that come whether they bee Male or Female rich or poore bond or free Lazarus in his rags shall be admitted into her inmost Cabinet when Dives notwithstanding his Purple fine Linnen shall not bee received into her utmost Courts Honour beautie riches and the like are no incitements to her favour Wee our selves chuse not a horse by the sumptuousnes of his trappings nor she her followers by any accessory complements If their manners be blamelesse no other defects shall ever lessen theÌ„ in her estimation Againe hee that subjects himselfe to fleshly lusts is in a baser bondage than hee that is enthrall'd to a fleshly Lord The one being voluntary so an argument of a degenerate spirit the other onely of necessity which never brings w th it a brand of infamy Diâ—g Laer. Diogenes shewed as free a mind wheÌ„ the Pirates set him forth to bee sold in the Market as ever he had done in his better fortunes For being then demanded by a Chapman what hee could doe I can rule and governe said hee them that are free And afterwards so little prejudice and inconvenieÌ„ce did he meet within that servile state that when his friends would have redeemed him out of it hee said they were unwise For Lyons were not servants to their Keepers but their Keepers rather unto theÌ„ of whom they stood in feare and durst not for their lives provoke Other immunities there are the consideration wherof will help to sweeten the bitternes of this condition some of them are wittily comorized by Martial in an Eâ—igramme which hâ—e wrote to one who much groned under this burden The tenour of it is this Lib. 9 ep 94. Quae mala sunt domini quae servicommoda nescis Condile qui servum te gemis esse diu Dat tibi securos vilis lecticula somnos Pervigil in pluma Caïus ecce jacet Caïus à prima tremebundus luce salutat Tot dominos at tu Condile nec dominum Quod debes Caï redde inquit Phoebus illine Cinnamus hoc dicit Condile nemo tibi Tortorem metuis podagra Chiragraque secatur Caïus mallet verbera mille pati Sure Conâ—ilus while thou do'st so bemoane Thy servile state those troubles are not knowne It seemes to thee which Masters doe attend Nor doth thy shallow judgement apprehend The great advantages a servant findes Above his Lord in many severall kindes On a course Matt sleepe closeth up thy sight When hee in Downe lies waking all the night At breake of day hee trembling must salute A thousand Lords whil'st thou to him standst mute He cannot step into the vulgar streetes But with some churlish Creditor hee meetes Claiming his debts with a disgracing note When none can challenge Condile for a groate Dost thou the torture feare he would endure A thousand stripes to bee from Goute secure When wee cannot framâ— our fortune to our will let us conforme our will to ouâ— fortune and not suffer the dislike of our condition to mâ—ke us neglect the discharge of our Dutie 2. Servants may learne from hence not to fixe their eyes upon those triviall recompenses and rewards which are promised them by men for their good service but still to looke to that eternall Reward of Inheritance which God thâ— Father promiseth to his obedient Children So did Paul in the execution of his Vocation he sought not for any glory grace or gaine from the hands of men
but onely for that Crowne which the Lord in the great day of his visitation will give unto all that love his appearing And thus much concerning the Qualitie of that Reward which the Apostle the better to stirre up servants to Obedience propoundeth unto them The next point is the Person from whom the reward is to bee expected and that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 From the Lord. A sure Pay-master one that hath Will and Power to make good what ere he undertakes Will for hee never useth either delayes or shifts in the peformance of what hee promiseth Twenty yeares was Iacob a Servant unto Laban during which space by false pretexts and forged Cavillatitions ten times did he alter and change the Wages whereon they had agreed And it is the humor of many Masters to bee unmercifull to their servants in this kind Those of the Apostles time thought it enough to use them as they did their Beasts Occon lib. 1 cap. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Philosopher Let them have meate and it is a sufficient meed To comfort therefore such hee shewes that howsoere they may be neglected of their earthly Lord they have yet a heavenly Lord who is liberall and munificent and will not suffer their Labours to passe without requitall so their obedience to their Masters be hearty and such as becommeth religious and Christian men And what greater assurance can bee looked for Hee gives us himselfe the Character of his bounty in Gen. 1.29 Ecce dixi Behold I have said is that of mans but Ecce dedi Behold I have given is that of Gods He openeth his hand and not his mouth hee shewes his workes and not his words Manifold are his works saith the Kingly Prophet Ps 104.24 and the earth is full of his riches Man may sometimes peradventure say Ecce do Behold I give as moved thereto by some precedent merit of the partie to whom he gives But Gods Motto is Ecce dedi Behold I have given Hee provides for us before we are borne Fecit quae fecit omnia pro homine prinsquam dixerat Faciamus hominem He made al that hee made for man before ever hee had said Let us make man He loved us when yet wee had no Beeing His Will therefore is not to bee doubted of much lesse his power And thus much concerning the person from whom the Reward is to bee expected I come now to the third point and that is the certainty of receiving it Yee know yee shall receive Yee know It is a plaine inference that every true Christian whether hee bee bond or free should be sure of his wages so long as hee performes his worke And indeed there is not the poorest Worme that crawls upon the earth but if a Tongue were given it to dispute with man it might maintaine against him that the hope hee hath in Christ Iesus onely set a part hee is of all Creatures the most miserable But that unspeakable comfort which is now lockt up in the Bosomes of those that are marked with the Seale of Gods Spirit and have received the adoption of sonnes is that though their present life be full of misery and vexation and that themselves are oppressed and cast downe on every side they know yet that hee who raised up the Lord Iesus Christ from the dead shall also raise up them at the later day and for all the light and momentany afflictions which they have endured here reward them with an exceeding weight of glory They know it And indeed Faith should be confident By Faith yee stand 2 Cor. 1. saith the Apostle And By Faith wee live saith the Prophet Abac. 2. It is the very soule Spirit of the inward Man If wee beleeve not wee are dead to God-ward and his soule will take no pleasure in us Woe unto him saith the Wise man that hath a double heart and to the wicked lippes and faint hands and to the sinner that goeth two manner of wayes Woe to him that is faint-hearted for hee beleeveth not therefore shall he not be defended It is not the property of faith to waver like a Reed to and fro nor of the faithfull like a Wave of the Sea to be ever rowling We are willed therefore to come to the Throne of Grace with boldnes not to cast away that confidence which hath great recompence of reward but to trust perfectly in that grace which is brought unto us by the Revelation of IESVS CHRIST Qui dubius est infidelis erit saith an eminent Father Doubt quickly turnes into distrust For they which receive not the love of the Truth that they may bee saved the Lord shall send them strong delusions 2 Thess 2. that they shall beleeve lies It an honest and vertuous man saith Saint Cyprian should promise thee any thing thou wouldest give credit unto him And when God doth promise thee immortality wilt thou be so faithlesse as to distrust him this is not to know God at all but as holy Bernard speakes Hoc est in Ecclesia constitutum in domo fidei fidem non habere This is to bee placed in the Church that is in the house of Faith Rev. 2.25 without Faith It was Christs admonition to the Church of Thyatira That which ye have already hold fast till I come Let us apply it to our selves and not suffer the hope consolation which we have in the mercies of God to be taken from us The confidence of of a true Christian is an Anchor which being cast into the lanched bosome of our blessed Saviour may peradventure slipp a little but it will soon take hold againe It is a Sun Tert. de Aanima c. 41. cap. 53. which for a time may bee overcast but on a suddaine the cloud shall bee dispersed and it shall appeare with greater lustre It is a Fire which for a while may lie concealed under the Ashes but at length it breaketh forth into a brighter flame Like the Arke it may be taken by the Philistins but maugre all their malice it shall with joy and triumph bee returned back to Israel The sweet perswasions which the godly have of everlasting happinesse may bee often shaken but can never be shattered they may be bowed by the violence of the Tempest but shall never bee broken They shall come againe to their former vigour And howsoever they end their lives whether by the hand of Tyranny or by the teeth of wilde Beasts they goe away with a sentence of peace in their lipps as Noah Dove when it reverted with an Olive Branch to the Arke Christ is my life and death is my advantage Knowing that is being thorowly assured that they shall receive from the Lord a Reward of Inheritance That servants therefore may bee the better induced freely and fully to tender their obedience to those that are their Masters according to the flesh notwithstanding any cruell usage or unjust neglect the
when wee shall fall into his 2. That earthly Lords how great soever they may be in power are no way priviledged or permitted to make litter for their ambitious feet of those that are under their authoritie For even they themselves are under God And as the Trigaedian speakes Omne sub regno majore regnum est No power so great but it is subject to a greater All must be countable to God 3. That those men of all others are the most miserable that count it their happinesse to tyrannize over others as Sylla did for they shall receive the wrong they doe 4. And lastly Eye-servers and Men-pleasers such as by a deceitfull shewe of industrie gaine the good opinion of their Masters are here taught that they lie still exposed to the wrath of God For hee who is their heavenly Lord discernes their fraud and their hypocrisie Quaecunque facio ante te facio saith S. Augustine illud quicquid est quod facio melius tu vides quam ego qui facio Whatsoever O Lord I doe I doe it before thee and it is more apparent to thy eyes than to mine that doe it It behoves every one therefore to have a care that what hee doth be well done And thus much of the Commination The Anticipation followeth And there is no respect of persons Masters might object and say Who shall call us into judgement for the ill usage of a slave The very Law affirmes that no injurie can bee done to them But say we should be questioned about them we will evade either by favour out of the hands of Iustice or by force or if not so a Bribe shal charme the uprightnes of the Iudge The Apostle meets with these conceits and shewes that it is otherwise with divine judgement than with humane Earthly Tribunals are like spiders webbs the harmelesse Flie sticks fast while the hurtfull Hornet breaketh through But this great judge of heaven and earth will not be terrified by any power of the wicked nor yet made flexible by favor Hee accepteth not Iob 34.19 as Elihu speakes the persons of Princes neither regardeth hee the rich more than the poore for they bee all the workes of his hands And sutable to this is that of S. Ambrose Iustus Index est dominus causas discernit In Eph. 6. non personas The Lord is a righteous Iudge and regardeth not the Person but the Plee Hee heares the complaints of the prisoners and hath a listening eare to the cries of those that are appointed unto death nor shall the wrong they suffer scape the fury of his vengeance I reade in profane Story of one Autronius Maximus Macrob. l. 1. Saturn who having first of all most inhumanely whipped one of his slaves did afterwards fasten him to a Gibbet and on a solemne Festivall before the beginning of their shewes did cause him in that miserable plight to bee carried up and downe the place as if hee had intended him like an Antick to a Maske the Comicall praeludium to their ensuing sports A cruelty so barbarous and void of all humanity that Iupiter offended with the spectacle appeared in the night to one Annio willing him to let the Senate understand that hee did much abhorre it and without some speedy expiation of the crime would visit them and their state with extraordinary judgement which hee neglecting the one and onely Son he had was taken from him by sodaine death afterwards being warned hereof againe for the like carelesnesse himselfe was strucken with a weaknesse throughout his whole body so that in the end by the advise of his friends he was carried in a Litter to the Senate-house where he had no sooner related what had beene discovered unto him but his health was presently restored and hee went on foote out of the Court backe to his owne home out of which he came not but by the helpe of other It is attributed to Iupiter but was the Act of the true God whose eyes and ears are alwayes open to the afflicted the remembrance of it may serve as a Bridle to curbe the arrogance of masters and to keepe them from all insolent oppression Againe servants might likewise object and say What though we obey not our earthly Masters heartily And what though wee deceive them sometimes as occasion shall bee offered will GOD take vengeance for it upon us poore silly soules Great is the burthen of our sorrowes and many be the miseries which wee endure by reason of their imperious haughtinesse God will not therefore surely adde unto our griefe by any exercise of his severity but will rather make us taste of his mercy The Apostle therefore to cut off this vaine hope likewise even in them shewes that God is just and will not be moved out of pity to favour the poore nor out of envy to detract from the rich Hee hath expresly prohibited this respect of Persons in others and cannot therefore practise it himselfe In Exod. 23.3 Thou shalt not esteeme saith he the poore man in his cause And in Levit. 19.15 Ye shall not doe uniustly in iudgement Thou shalt not favour the person of the poore nor honour the person of the mighty but thou shalt iudge thy neighbor iustly So that with him there is no respect of Persons From hence then wee may learne 1. That not onely the wrongs and iniuries which are done to Kings and men of high preheminence but likewise those which are offered to subiects I to the basest slaves have God for their revenger It behoves therfore the king the subiect the master and the slave to demean themselves â—prightly one toward the other considering that both are equally lyable to Gods divine examination 2. Magistrates such as are Gods Vicegerents upon earth have here a patterne for their imitation teaching them all respect of persons being laid aside to give unto every one his due Astrea whom the Poets feigned to be the Goddesse of Iustice being forced by the iniquity of men to forsake the earth did fly immediately to heaven and there tooke up her seat inter Leonem Libram betwixt those two of the twelve Signes which are called the LYON and the Ballance where shee sits as the EgyptiaÌ„s painted her with her head hidden amongst the Starres to shew that Magistrates in the administration of Iustice should like the Areopagites have their eyes canopied up froÌ„ all such obiects as might sway their iudgment beyond the rule and line of equity a Iudge and an Altar said Architas are both one Men flie to both in case of danger and necessitie That hee may be therefore both he must know it is his duty to protect the Pesant as wel as the Peere the slave as well as the superiour And thus I here breake off the thred of this discourse in which if any chance to taxe mee for the length I must unburden my selfe upon the Apostles method which gave mee the occasion It was my
resolution at the first fully to ponde and examine every word of his that from them I might derive the greater weight unto mine owne In handling therefore of the two first combinations I followed his concisenesse and here where hee tooke a larger field I was forced to doe the like But why may some demand was hee so briefe in those and did so much enlarge himselfe in this I answer the reason may bee threefold 1. Because the property of Pagan servants was to cozen and defraud their Masters and in their absence like so many traitors as Cato termed them feloniously to curse and speake evill both of their persons and proceedings Witnesse that speech of one in the Comedie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He thought him selfe overjoy'd whâ—n hee could get but any opportunity to raile in secret upon his Master and howsoever they to whom he theÌ„ spake were converted to Christianitie it was but newly yet and any little discontentment offered them by their Masters might have made them with the dâ—g retuâ—ne to their vomit for the prevention whereof hee seekes by strong enforcements to tie them to their dutie A second reason may bee to expresse the riches of Gods mercy who despiseth not the very slave that is despised of all but seeks to make even him a lively stone for the building up of his most glorious Hierusalem and because husbands are willing to enforme their Wives parents carefull to teach their Children whereas Masters utterly neglâ—ct their Servants God to supply the defect doth here afford them a large Volume of instructions The third reason is for the comfort of servants who by this pressing of their duty may well resolve themselves of Gods affection The lover never thinkes his minde sufficiently vented and is therefore still courting the Object of his love And so it is here with God hee doth dilate himselfe in drawing them to shew that he doth much desire them A fourth and last reason may bee the intimation of his owne humanity The Physitian when hee meets with a needy Patient tels him in briefe that Kitchin physick must bee his onely remedy And so the Lawyer when hee lights upon a Thred-bare Client to shake him off the sooner makes him beleeve his cause will not bee worth the triall S. Paul teacheth them charity venting his counsell and advise more freely more fully in the behalfe of those whose inheritance in this world was nothing but the extremitie of misery than hee had done for theÌ„ that were of better qualitie as if the saving of one of those had beene a thing more meritorious than the other And thus having apologized for my tediousnesse in this point I leave the servant and come to the Master The Ground of the second Booke of the third TOME Masters give unto your servants that which is iust and equall knowing that yee also have a Master in Heaven TOM III. LIB II. THis VERSE which is made the first of the fourth Chapter I cannot liken better than to a Tree that by the violence of some earth-quake is removed out of one mans ground into an others For it should bee the period of the former and so not onely the matter of it which is oeconomicall and the fame with that in the eight Verses immediately going before but that likewise of the Verse following which is of a differing straine doth plainly shew it Chrysostome therefore Aquinas Hugo Illyricus Musculus Zanchius c. dispose of it no otherwise and we subscribing to their opinion will assume it as a part and parcell of the precedent thus then it divideth it self into two branches In the former hee shewes how Masters are to carry themselves towards their servants Yee Masters saith he do unto your servants that which is iust and equal In the latter he alleageth a Motive to induce them thereunto Knowing that yee also have a Master in heaven As touching the first In that he doth apply himselfe now to masters wee are taught that every true dispenser of Gods Word should not onely bend his endeavours to the fashioning of servants those of Inferiour ranke but should also instruct exhort and edifie Masters and Magistrates together with all those that have submitted their neckes to the yoke of Christ Againe howsoever it bee usuall with Superiours and that not without just cause to complaine of the faults of their inferiours themselves yet are seldome free from taint and from corruption The Apostle therfore would have neither Masters nor servants to upbraid each other with their imperfectioÌ„s but every one to ameÌ„d his own 2. Concerning the persons in whose behalfe this duty is here prescribed servants They may observe to their endlesse comfort the great sollicitude and care which God hath of their well-fare Hee respecteth both their soules and bodies For touching their soules No Monâ—rch hath a greater interest in the Kingdome of heaven than they if in Singlenesse of Heart they discharge those duties which hee in his diviner wisedome thought good to impose upon them As faire a recompence attends the one as the other and therefore the Apostle delivereth it with a kinde of Emphasis Servants bee obedient to your masters knowing that yee also shall receive Againe as if he were enamoured of the one hee seemes to Court their affections with the profer of his choisest Treasure and so to draw them to his Will whereas the other if yee reade and marke the Scriptures are usually driven thereunto by his most grievouâ— plagues and deadliest punishments Esay must tell the King that Tophet is prepared for him of old and it is deepe and large that the burning of it is fire and much wood and the breath of the Lord like a River of brimstone doth kindle it Eliiah must threaten Ahab that the Dogges shall eate him of his Stock that dyeth in the City and him that dyeth in the fields shall the Foules of the aire devoure He cals to the one in storme and tempest but in a soft still voice to the other Boanerges the Sonnes of Thunder are sent to shake the Cedar but Barionah the sonne of Consolation must hearten up the Shrub The state and condition of a servant in the Apostles time was enough to bruise the very heart God therefore seekes not to breake it but to binde it up Servants saith he be obedient to your masters knowing that yee also shall receive Againe to comfort servaÌ„ts in their distresse a little farther as hee shewes himself there tender over their soules so doth he here over their Bodies And because it is an easie thing for any man to abuse the power and authority which he hath over another and that there is not a more pernicious Creature than a tyrannicall and cruell master he limits even their proceedings with his precepts charging them to use those that are under their government with Iustice and Equity Yee masters doe that which is To come then to the duty it selfe it consisteth of two particulars
aequè vivunt aequè moriuntur Both consist of the same Elements and are enlivened by the same principle Their comming into the World and their going out is alike in both This considered Saint Paul in his Epistle to Philemon commands him to receive Onesimus being converted to the Faith No more as a servant but above a servant even as a brother beloved And in this we may finde matter of comfort for Inferiours and againe matter of Humiliation and Moderation for Superiours For the Servant is Christs free-man 1 Cor. 7. and the Master is Christs servant Let then the brother of low degree rejoyce in this That hee is exalted in Christ Iam. 1. to be equall with the greatest Prince that ever sway'd a Scepter in the World yea to bee farre above him if hee bee out of Christ Againe according to Saint Iames advise in the same place Let the Brother of high degree rejoyce in his Humility even in this That in Christ hee maketh equall with himselfe the meanest Let him not glory in any outward preheminency hee hath over them but let his reioycing bee that such a poore and silly Beggar is his Fellow And sure this can be no disgrace or shame to any For if God acknowledge them to be his sonnes what disparagement can it bee to us if wee acknowledge them for our Brethren Nay it is a credite as Saint Iames shewes a matter to be boasted in for if they be our Brethren then is God our Father Let no man therefore of what ranke or calling soever hee bee feare to admit the poorest Christian for his Brother though hee were his owne bondslave but let him do unto him That which is iust and equall Let not the pride of his heart so puffe him up in regard of his outward condition in the world as to make him forget his Inferiour and so to carry himselfe towards him as if he were not his Brother of the same Crhistian profession and of the same precious faith with himselfe And that he may the better doe this let him champe a little upon the various changes and alterations whereunto all humane affaires are lyable Cuivis accidere potest quod cuipiam potest saith the Mimik Whatsoever wee see happen to any man may happen unto us Ioseph was free borne and yet became a slave And who can promise to himselfe an exemption from the like fortune Res Deus nostras celeri citatas Sen. Herc. sur Turbine versat saith the Tragoedian Wee are driven with a Whirle-winde out of one state into another and no security is to be looked for in the best Quem saepe transit casus aliquando invenit The Pit her may goe often to the water and yet at length come broken home Hee knowes not at what yeares Hecuba began to serve nor when it was that Croesus the mother of Darius Diogenes I and Plato himselfe were made to subiect their necks to the yoke of Bondage that waxeth insolent upon his owne libertie But here I would have no man to mistake me as if Superiours might not lawfully maintaine the Superioritie and Authority which they have over their Inferiours My meaning onely is That no inequalitie in their civill Calling should make them forget the equality in the Christian We must so temper our carriage that as our equalitie in Christ may not make us forget our inequalitie in the world so on the other side our inequalitie in the world should not make us forget our Equalitie in Christ Masters must doe unto their servants that which is iust and equall The second operation of this Equalitie is so to deale with our servants in all occurrences as when Reason shall require it to give way unto them Esa 40. God is absolute in his Empire and yet hee saith not like a Tyrant Sic volo sic iubeo Nor as the sonnes of Eli By faire meanes or by foule 1 Sam. 2.17 I will have as much as my heart desireth But Quod expedit facere faciam Hee will doe that onely which is meet to bee done And so must Masters to their Servants It is an equalitie which holy Iob professeth to have exhibited alwayes unto his and should hee not have done it hee should have beene obnoxious to the wrath of GOD If I did contemne saith hee the iudgement of my servant or of my maid when they did contend with mee what shall I doe when God standeth up and when hee shall visit mee what shall I answere The third is out of a due consideration of humane frailty mercifully and gently to entreate our Servants and with all benignity and love to cherish them when eyther age sicknesse or any other calamity shall have enfeebled their strength and made them altogether unable for imployments And for this very cause it seemes to me that a Master was called by the ancient Romans Pater-familias Macrob. Saturn lib. 1. The Father of the family because with a fatherly tendernesse hee was to looke to all those of the houshold as being committed to his trust and custodie The Centurion shewed himselfe to bee truly such a one First In that he tooke the paines to come himselfe unto Christ for the recovery of his diseased Servant Secondly In that he counted him as a child Lord said he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 my Child lyeth sicke at home of a palsie Mat. 8.6 and is greevously tormented The fourth is with a gracious Eye to weigh the merits of a faythfull Servant and to give him out of course and above his composition some kinde remuneration For when a Servant in his love and fidelity toward his Master shall have shewne himselfe more than a Servant equality requireth that the Master in his liberality and bounty towards him should shew himselfe more than a Master Servus sensatus sittibi dilectus quasi anima saith the Wise man Love an understanding Servant as thou wouldst thine own Soule defraud him not of liberty neyther leave him a poore man In this hee should not so much regard what law and humane custome may require as what Charity and Christian meeknesse doth injoyne For if he performe not those he shall be counted uniust even before the Tribunall of men but if he doe not these he shall be arraigned and condemned of wickednesse and cruelty before the Iudgment-seate of God There must be an equall and analogicall proceeding amongst all sorts of men and whatsoever superiours doe at any time exact from those that are under them they must be very carefull to returne unto them the like Eph. 6.9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very same Si non specie tamen analogia if not in kind yet in proportion For this is that which is here commanded Masters doe that which is iust and equall unto your servants And thus much of the Precept The motive alleaged by the Apostle for the observation of this precept is the point that followeth Knowing that yee also have a Master
Now this is twofold For first they must know that themselves also have a Mastâ—r Secondly It is no ordinary master but a Master in Heaven As touching the first The onely thing which moveth many to be injurious to their Servants is a high conceit of their owne absolute power They thinke themselves Lords Paramont and altogether free from the checke of any hence is it that often times they break forth into bitter outrages and when a thing is not instantly done according to their minde as if there wâ—re no difference betwixt their Servant and their Dog they care not with what fury they assault him The Apostle therefore to bridle this intemperancy which is nothing but a fruite of our arrogant insulting flesh would have them know and remember that themselves are also Servants under the command of one and the same Lord and so consequently fellow-servants with their servants Now 't is altogether dissonant from reason that a servant though he be of higher ranke and more honourable place should deale unjustly and tyrannically with his fellowes For it is an Axiome with God in the government of his houshold what measure wee mete to others the same shall be meted unto us againe We may see it exemplified in the Gospell He that had ten thousand Talents remitted him Mat. 18.32 and yet was mercilesse in exacting an hundred pence O thou evill servant said the Lord unto him I forgave thee all thy debt because thou prayedst me And oughtest not thou also to have had pity upon thy fellow-servant even as I had pity on thee So the Lord was wroth and delivered him to the Tormentors till hee should pay all that was due unto him It behoveth therefore godly and religious Masters so to thinke of their servants as to know them for more than servants And againe so to conceit of themselves as to know that they are lesse than Masters even fellow-labourers with their Servants in the worke of the Lord. Worldly Greatnesse doth usually forget her owne subordination to a higher power and is by reason of this so puffed up with insolency that in her carriage towards others she heeds nor Iustice nor equality we have it instanced in Pharaoh Moses and Aaron came unto him with a message from the Lord saving Thus saith the Lord God of Israel Let my people go that they may celebrate a feast unto me in the wildernesse And Pharaoh replyed Who is the Lord that I should heare his voice and let Israel goe I know not the Lord neyther will I let Israel goe But what event had this his supercilious pride Did it not bring a miserable ruine and desâ—â—ation upon his whole Kingdome Masters then doe that which is Iust and equall to your Servants knowing that ye also have a Master who can and will exact from you a strict account of your whole carriage and proceedings even towards them For as it followes in the second place He is a Heavenly Master That is one who is Iust omnipotent omniscient and to shut up all in a word God himselfe And this is a speciall consideration whereby to restraine the cruelty of Masters towards their Servants For what is the reason that Masters behave themselves so insolently towards their Servants but because they see them altogether destitute of any power or faculty to withstand their violence and are withall perswaded that there â—s no Iudge that will enlarge himselfe so farre in their behalfe as to take upon him the reparation of their wrongs The Apostle therefore to abolish this conceit will have Masters to know that is assuredly to hold and beleeve that they also have a master and such a one as is not mortall but celestiall and will not suffer them to goe unpunished if in any sort they abuse that authority which by delegation they have received from him over their Servants Being subject to such a master they ought with all holy respect to observe in every thing this Iustice and equality which is here prescribed For first this heavenly master is omniscient and there is no wicked or unjust act can be so closely committed as to lie concealed from his knowledge His eyes are ten thousand times brighter than the Sun and there is nothing in Heaven in Earth or in the deepe which he doth not see yea though it were hid I say not within the Reines and Hearts of our Bodies but in the Reines and Heart of the lowest destruction Omnia coram illo nuda saith the Apostle All things are naked before him T is more than shamelesse impudency therfore in the fight of such a master to entreate our fellowes cruelly and proterviously For even the worst kind of servants will be sure to afford 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that same eye-service which was spoken of before And he of whom we read in the Gospell never went about to molest or afflict the rest of the houshold till hiâ— Master was gone a great journey and farre enough removed from his sight but this heavenly Master hath his eye evermore upon us and therefore wee can at no time safely domineere in an imperious manner and beyond all Iustice and Equalitie over those that are under our government and iurisdiction 2. This heavenly Master is iust and holy and all iniquity whatsoever is exceeding hatefull unto him Earthly masters may peradventure now and then eyther applaud the improbitie of their servants or at least connive at it because themselves are faultie and defective in the like kinde But there is no hope that he who dares vioâ—ate iustice and equity should please his heavenly Master For both the wicked and their wickednesse are hatefull to the Lord. 3. And lastly This Master which wee have in heaven is Omnipotent and able therefore to revenge himselfe on those whom he abhorreth nor can any man rescue or deliver himselfe out of his hands The Children of Israel and the sons of Anak David and Goliah were unequally matched yet was it man to man where if either partie be the weaker it may be redressed in time either by themselvs or their abettors or if never the bodie alone indures the smart the soule is not a whit endangered but this Master is the most mighty Lord whose face is burning and whose eyes are full of indignation hee liveth not upon the earth that can abide his wrathâ—â— For loe â—he foundations of the Mountaines shake and the Hils doe melt away like waxe because of his anger It extends not onely to the killing of the Bodie but to the casting both of soule and body into Hell Behold hee breaketh downe and it cannot bee built he shutteth up a man and he cannot be loosened Woe woe be unto us cryed the uncircumcised Philistims though they were a mighty Army and stood in battell array who shall deliver us out of the hands of these mightie Gods Erring in the number but not in the power of the glorious Deitie Who is able to stand before him cryed the