that thou mayst be glad to bâ—e cured of this Vice by the contrariety of the Spirit see wherein the contrariety consists The surfet of wine makes darknesse in thy Vnderstanding and the Spirit light It makes brutish sensuality strong and heauy vpon the Will and affections and the Spirit exalts and purifies the Will by a cleane and celestiall grace Now if I leaue it to thy choyce whether thou wilt come out of Darknesse into Light from a seruile sensuality a true equality with Beasts into the glorious liberty of holy cleane and heauenly Minds I know thou wilt tell mee that there is no doubt in this choyce but that Light is farre better then Darknesse and a heauenly Mind is farre better then a sensuall Then doe but beleeue what thou sayest and doe what thou beleeuest and thou art cured Preferre in thy workes as well as thy words the light of the Deity shining on thy Soule before the darknesse of excesse sent vp from the grosse vapors of Moysture Bee thou farre more glad to haue thoughts of Purity thoughts of Felicity thoughts of Eternity then the beastly imaginations of filthy Lusts inflamed in thy Soule by the Lake of Brimstone that lies in thy Bowels Let neither the colour nor the tast of Wine be thought a fit counterpoyse to those excellencies of the Spirit but when Wine would tempt thee by them call him Mocker and tell him that pleasure is but a pretence but darknesse sensuality and eternall death is the drift of it Tell it thou hast a Light in thee more precious then the light of the Sunne the Father of Wine yea more excellent then any Creature and thou wilt not change this excellent light into darknesse for so small a price as a sight and a tast Say thou hast a quickening and purifying flame of heauenly Fire sent downe into thy heart and thou wilt not quench it for the World by the inundation of a brutifying Moysture And hauing chased away this tempting Ammonite that will not make peace with thee but by pulling out thy best eye retire into the Light and Vertue of the Spirit inflame it blowe it kindle it by Meditation by Prayer by Reading and the increase of this Light and Vertue wiâ— increase in thee loâ—hing of the Darknesse and Beastlinesse of excesse The Light of the Spirit and the graces therof will bee so highly precious in thy sight that thou wilt wonder that any man should goe downe from that Heauen of the Soule into the darke and miry Dungeons of a stupiâ—ied sightlesse filthy sensuall and sencelesse Mind Thou wilt admire that a man should wilfully put out so glorious a Lampe as the Light of the Spirit and that a man should quench that fire by which in some measure he is partaker of the Diuine Nature and all this to get into him the nature habite and condition of a Swine an Ape a Goat or a Lyon Wherefore take heed to the new Creature of God created in knowledge and holinesse which is farre more glorious then all the old Creatures Let that by all meanes bee preferred in its dignitie and supremacie let all Creatures serue it for so the Creator allowes but let it selfe bee brought in bondage to nothing Let it be kept bright and pure for the seruice and pleasure of the Creator who therefore beautified Man with a likenesse to his owne Heart that his heart might take pleasure in that likenesse And if the chiefe pleasure which God takes on Earth be this Beauty of Man then man himselfe should take his chiefest pleasure in prâ—â—eruing and adorning this Beauty Otherwise hee is an vngratefull Wretch not caâ—ing to gratifie the Creator with the pleasure of his owne Gifts and hee is an ignorant Foole for not taking a chiefe pleasure in that wherein the highest Wisdome is especially delighted But whosoeuer is the truly begotten sonne of that supreme Wisedome cannot but loue and cherish the Wisdome and Graces of the inner Man wherein stands the beautifull Image and likenesse of the most glorious Father And whosoeuer loueth and cherisheth it cannot but hate and abhominate that Excesse that casts blacknesse and filth on so bright rauishing and celestiall a Beauty Neyther doth here the Spirit of God bid vs to our losse but which is the second Remedie euen in those things wherein Wine is desirable the Spirit offers vs aduantage If the Wine bee pleasant to the eye the sights of the Spirit are farre more excellent for they are such as eye hath not seene The Spirit of God reueales sights vnvtterable and our soules anoynted with that eye-salue Looke into heauen and see him that is inuisible Glorious and delectable are the Contemplations of the Saints euen such that they grow rapt by the sights which they behold and are loth to come downe from that high Tabor of Vision into the low and base valley of outward and grosse conuersation The light of the body is the eye but the eye of Man is the Soule The Spirituall sight is mans most excellent Sight and Spirituall obiects are his most excellent obiects When we see outward things wee see but that which beasts may see with vs but when we see Spirituall things we see that which none but Men and Angels can see wherefore be thou filled with the Spirit wherby thou mayst see the true and kindly obiects of Men and Angels and dwell not in thy outward eies wherin Beasts may excell thee By thy inward sight thou shalt in some measure behold God thy chiefe Felicity the loue of God in Christ Iesus giuen for our Ransome the admirable Graces and Vertues of a holy and sanctifying Spirit In summe thou shalt see such diuine Sights that thou wilt not giue thy Contemplations for a Kingdome For at what price will a heauenly Soule sell his Meditations a Gregor in ps pâ—niâ— 4. Sion is by interpretation a Watch-towre and Sion is a type of the Church The Church of God stands on a Watch-towre and it sees more then seuen men on a Watch-towre and as her height is exalted on the towre of contemplation so her foundation is setled beneath on the Rocke of stability So as shee sees farre by her height shee is also stable by her foundation which amounts to this That Sion is a Watch-towre that cannot be remooued from her Contemplation Now if this heauenly Sight bee the most excellent Sight of Man dwell no longer in thy outward eies to behold eyther the colour spright or motion of Wine or of any earthly obiect But in the stedfast Watch-towre of diuine Contemplation behold sights worthy of a Creature indued with a heauenly Soule Scorne to dwell in an equality with Beasts when thou mayst come into a parity with Angels and if thou wilt needs looke on Wine Looke on the new Wine of the kingdome of Heauen which Christ now drinkes aboue and for which hee hath left the old hauing professed that hee will drinke no more of it But of this
to be the footstoole of the spirit But if thou abide constant in the spirit thereby art possessor of thy owne soule and a commander of things transitorie thy sowing to the spirit shall make thee to reape of the spirit and thy Haruest shall bee life euerlasting Thou shalt also stop the mouthes of them that speake euill of Dignities and for the abuse would take away the vse Thou shalt bee called a builder of Sion and a repayrer of the breaches of Ierusalem But on the otherside They that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reape corruption They that build vp a Babell shal be stricken with confusion They that partake with the Harlot in her sinnes shall partake with her in her plagues and * Reuâ— 18 7 8. one of her chiefe sinnes is Pride and her plagues are Mourning Famine Death and Fire Their soules shall be banished from the Tree of Life which is the extremity of hunger They shall be sent into weeping and gnashing of teeth which is the most bitter mourning and to the second Death where the Worme dyeth not and the fire neuer shall be quenched CHAP. XIII A double fault in teaching one that fretteth the whole flesh the other nourisheth the proud flesh one thinkes to saue men by angring despising them the other will not saue them rather then offend them OVr Sauiour CHRIST sayth Wâ— to you when all men speake well of you and Saint Paul sayth I seeke to please all that by all meanes I may winne some In these two Sayings there is a shew of Contrariety between the Master and the Seruant Christ accounts them accursed with whom all are pleased and yet Paul striues to please all though those with whom all are pleased bee accursed And according to the misinterpretation of these two places haue risen two Errours the one of them that thinke their Ministery neuer well set on worke or sufficiently confirmed vntill it hath stirred vp the whole World against them The other of them that thinke it the chiefe discretion of their Ministery not to speake any thing which by a reproofe of euident sins may hazard the loue of any of their hearers But Verity being euer the Companion of Vnity and Christ and Paul speaking both infallible Verity they are certainly at Vnity Now this Verity like a right Line will plainly shew the crookednes of both these Errours and this Vnity will condemne their contentiousnesse that fal out about the defence of Errours Christ speakes not to this end that the Ministers should labour for hatred or striue that men should speake ill of them but he sayth That the ill speeches of men are ordinary consequents of a faithfull Minister yea a faithfull man Hee doth not tell the Ministers that they should follow hatred but he tels the Ministers that hatred will follow them Hee doth not set the Minister by the eares with the World but hee saith the World will take the Minister by the eares Hee is of Saint Pauls minde that he would haue the Minister in all indifferent things to please all but yet he denounceth that though such courses be taken of pleasing yet the very exercise of the Ministery will mostly get displeasure And heereof no better example then Paul himselfe with whom though striuing to please all yet the most of all were much displeased So that both these Sayings may bee harmoniously contracted into one sentence Striue to please all that you profit some yet striuing to please all be ye sure that some will bee displeased For the Seed of the Serpent will hate Seed of the Woman and the World that only loues her own will hate them that are not of the World But that we wander not on eyther hand into these diuers Errors let vs find out the right paths of truth euen the true Lawes of pleasing and displeasing In pleasing let this bee the first Law That Ministers are to propose a good end in their pleasing they must not please men to their damnation nor please them to Gods dishonour nor for their owne vaine glory but they must please them to saue them and to bring them to serue and glorifie their Creator Secondly they must please them in things lawfull euen in things good or at least indifferent They may not please them in euill that good may come thereof neyther may they sooth them in their sinnes which is to edifie the Kindome of Satan but if there bee at anytime a conniuencie at no hand may there be a combination nor incouragement it must bee for the more profit euen to watch a better oportunity And still be it prouided that no perfect peace by any meanes be made with sinne Aboue all let a Minister striue to please in holinesse of life for the beautie thereof hath often stolne away the hearts of the gain-sayers and gained their affections euen against their wils Yea let his Gesture haue an amiable comelinesse befitting one that is a Man of God And such is a graue Humility euen without Pride or Basenes not carnally but spiritually both confident and humble Thirdly let them please them in the wisdome and discretion of their Dispensation Let them giue the great Ones their Honours and Respects let Festus be called Noble and let King Agrippa haue his commendations of beleeuing the Prophets for this is not to giue Titles or to call good euill but to speake truth and to giue honour to whom honour belongeth A wicked Man may be outwardly honorable and thou mayst not rob him without because hee is alreadie robbed within Thou mayst cast him downe by spirituall iudgement but not degrade him of his temporall dignity thy weapons are spirituall not carnall and thy Masters Kingdome is not of this World If thou doe otherwise rayle on the Pope as much as thou wilt thou art surely a limbe of him for he robs men wholy of temporall honour for spirituall offences and thou robbest them in part Eccl. 12.12 But thou shalt prooue thy selfe an ill Fisher for soules if thou wilt not bayte thy doctrine or behauiour with that sweetnesse or ceremony by which the fish will byte the better and be the sooner caught In summe know the estate of thy Flocke in particular to bee to euery one a seuerall Man in thy priuate conuersation and still one man in the publike Be that to euery Man by which thou mayest winne him most For thou must bee all for gaine a true Worldling but of another World Thirdly in indifferent things as lawfull and decent recreations allow them yea sometimes therein ioyne with them God that filleth vs with food and gladnesse allowes these blessings especially to his blessed ones the rest haue it by stealth Let vs not make the gate of Heauen narrower then God hath made it neyther let vs make Religion a ghastly thing by vnnecessary opposing of Nature for the businesse of Religion is not to crosse Nature created but Nature corrupted euen our Corruption not our
liue one by another and that for one man to fret out all others and to liue by himselfe is in humane That Charity in one sight regards the benefit of another with her owne That in Vsury vsually the benefit goes most if not all of one side yea sometimes the benefit of the one riseth out of the losse of the other Now where these things are there such lending is the cause of fretting and vndoing So it remaynes they must eyther grant what they first denyed that men may fret and vndoe one another or else they must condemne their lending which is so fretfull and iniurious In briefe let vs first worke vpon mens Iudgements by informing them and not presently at the first sight flye on their wills and affections to racke and force them Againe where there are great and little faults to bee amended let vs not bee more busie for the little then the great nor equally importune an amendment of all together For verily I beleeue good occasions of Reformation haue beene lost because too many faults haue beene brought together to amendment yea little and doubtfull faults and such as might be healed with a good construction haue beene brought in equally vpon the File with those of greater moment And what doth this course doe but magnifie the tediousnesse of the worke and increase the difficulty of it What doth it but bring this answere to vse That changes are dangerous and euills well setled are better then much vnsetling by much amending What doth it but bring a doubt that nothing will satisfie since faults seeme more to be sought then found But I wish that alwaies there might bee an aduised and temperate demand in matters of Reformation and though it bee vnaduisedly demanded yet there may be giuen a iust and solide answere and such as might regard to please God by mayntayning the purity of his Spouse the Church rather then to satisfie or vnsatisfie the indiscretions of men Let Gods cause euer be maintayned whether proposed or opposed by our owne enemies A third fault of indiscreet Zeale is That it is censorious and passeth easily into condemnation both of things persons Not to speake of indifferent things too often censured I say some men and some matters are condemned eyther not heard or not vnderstood and yet the Heathen Romanes vsed not to condemne any before hearing and much more wee that are Christians ought to know those things whereof wee affirme There are heights of Dispensation which meane vnderstandings reach not vnto and yet for such sometimes they despise dominion and speake euill of Dignities Christ is censured for being among the sicke yet a Physician for the waste of a precious Oyntment yet going to buriall So the blame which belongs to their owne incapacity they cast on that which deserueth commendation and that which is in it selfe good is by them called euill only because they are not wise enough to see the goodnesse of it Againe there are many good actions of good men that by censorious Zeale are taxed as euill and yet are only knowne in some out-side of probability but the inside wherein the life of the action lyes is not knowne The Iewes were in a rage with Peter for going to the Gentiles yet when the cause was knowne his fault was found to bee a Vertue The Reubenites Gadites and halfe Tribe of Manasseth were indicted of Apostasie for building an Altar but that which was thought to bee Apostasie was indeed a memoriall and meanes of cleaning to the true God Wherefore let vs not be hastie to iudge according to apparances but let vs take time to iudge righteous Iudgements For if thou iudge another rashly and falsly GOD shall iudge both him and thee truly He shall iudge ouer the matter againe and shall acquite him whome thou condemnest and shall comdemne thee for condemning him So thy iudgement of another shall returne vpon thy selfe And surely in this point Let euery good Conscience comfort it selfe in it selfe and passe little to be iudged by another in that which another knowes not for thou standest to the Iudgement Seat of the Highest Wisdome and Mercie and not to the Barre of humane Ignorance or Malice Fourthly indiscreet zeale is often in the flesh when it thinkes it is in the Spirit yet will not beleeue it and so will not be cured First I noted that by following heate to farre it outgoeth the Spirit and runs out into the flesh And now I obserue that it being gotten into the flesh it still beleeues it selfe to be spirituall and so in steed of retyring it fortifies it selfe there Hence it comes that many fleshly contentions are mayntayned by Scriptures yea Sermons and Scriptures are fitted to passions not passions to Scriptures So flesh and bloud fights carnally with spirituall Weapons yea which is fearefull turnes spirituall Weapons into carnall Malice sometime rayleth in Scripture Phrases and beateth his Enemies with Diuinity and thinkes it may speake what it will so it bee in the words of Scripture if it haue a seeming opposition of vice it cares not how angry it bee though indeed Pamphlets of that kind be no other then Libels and Sermons then Philippickes Yet this abuse of Diuinitie shall bee maintayned by Diuinitie and so she is miserably forced to iustifie and continue her owne wrongs But let Baal plead for himselfe let not God be forced to speake for Baal nor the Spirit for the flesh Adde not sinne vnto sinne It is a sinne great enough to come out of the Spirit into the flesh and to turne the busines of God into a Quarrell with men doe not adde this other sinne of abusing the spirituall Word vnto the mayntenance of thy fleshly contentions so by the Spirit to fight the battayles of his Enemy the flesh But to draw to a Conclusion Let all true Christians striue that their Workes bee the true Issues of Zeale maâ—ryed with Discretion for such Workes are the acceptable Salt and sauoury Sacrifices of Wise-men and not the loth some Sacrifices of Pooles Let them know that the fire of the Spirit the Mother of all true Zeale hath light in it aswell as heate and the heate should follow the light and not goe before it otherwise if the heate goe before the light or without it it may set on fire where it should but warme and so may breed a Confusion whereas the businesse of it is edification Let vs by ioyning the wisdome of Serpents with the innocencie of Doues become those excellent and perfect Stewards whom the Lord commends both for being wise and faithfull whose faithfulnesse giues meate to the Seruants and whose Wisedome doth it in season euen in fitnesse of manner measure and order And farre bee it from any sound Christian to put a Diuorce betweene that incomparable payre whose Marriage was in Heauen Zeale and Discretion or to thinke that one alone of them can bee a sufficient Parent of good Workes Much lesse let any man if hee find these separated by wretched Diuision seeke to bring them together in a more wretched Contention The parting of so louely a couple is lamentable but a malicious meeting of them is far more dolful For by their own good nature they incline to loue and vnity and therefore cursed is that Malice that changeth into Enmity the most excellent Vnity Hee that sets Vertues by the eares is as he that sets Brethren by the eares yea as one that makes Quarrels betweene Men and their Wiues Surely if the Peace-makers be blessed being the Children of the most High then such Quarrel-makers bee accursed and are the Children of the Lowest euen the most infernall spirit To conclude Let vs as the new borne sonnes of the Spirit lay aside all Maliciousnesse and lust of Contention which are the vices of the old man and expresse the true Vertues of a godly Nature receiued with the new man euen Charity Peace and Vnity Let not the difference of Education or Complexion or the vnkindly opposition of Zeale Discretion bee powerfull to a separation where the Vnity of one and the same Spirit hath made a coniunction But let the Spirit bee more followed leading vs to loue then the flesh prouoking to hatred And surely if wee bee not in loue wee are not in the Spirit for whosoeuer is in the Spirit is in loue yea hee is in loue with loue And as loue is commended by the Author of it which is the Spirit so it is also praysed by the excellent fruit of it called Edification for by loue the members of Christ cherish each other and by that cherishing increase in their growth Besides as Sion inwardly prospereth by loue so by the loue of Sion Babylon decayeth For the more Loue and Vnity in Sion the more strength the more strength in Sion the more terror yea the more ruin of BabyloÌ„ WheÌ„ the Banners are brought into the Vnion of an Army then they are terrible Cant. 6. And when Israel ioynes together in the Vnity of a Shoute then are the wals of Iericho most neere to their Downfall CYPRIAN de Vnitate Ecclesiae Pacificos esse oportet Dei filios corde mites sermone simplices affectione concordes fideliter sibi vnanimitatis nexibus coherentes Et post Erant perseuerantes omnes vnanimes in oratione ideo efficacibus precibus orabant ideo impetrare cum fiducia poterant quodcumque de Domini misericordia postularunt FINIS