III. Declare the Instances wherein it is to be exercised in the Tradesman's Calling IV. Make some Application of it I. Concerning the Nature of Truth I willingly let pass many Notions and Distinctions of the School-men And shall only take notice 1. That there is a Truth of Things whereby they are agreeable to that Idea according to which they were fram'd 2. A Truth of Apprechensions whereby we think know or believe of things according to their true Nature 3. A Truth of Expressions whereby we speak of things according to what we think know or believe Now when our Apprehensions of things are not right that 's Error or Mistake which is a Fault and Sin in us if it be about things which we ought to know or pretend to know As for Example when you conceive that such a Commodity which by your Calling you should have Knowledg in is good when indeed it is not But then when our Expressions agree not with our Apprehensions That 's a Lie and is a far greater fault because it 's voluntary So that every Mistake is not a Lie every concealing the Truth is not a Lie every doubtful Speech is not a Lie every Parable or Fable such as That Judg. 9. is not a Lie every rehearsing of a Lie is not a Lie though a Man may so rehearse it as to make it his own But a Lie is the voluntary falsifying of the Truth and it is aggravated when it is joyned with an intent to deceive Truth is like the Sun a Lie is the eclipse of it it puts out the Eye of Truth But of this afterward At the present this is sufficient That every Man in his Calling should judge of things as they are and should when he is called to it speak of them according to such his Judgment and this is called Veracity whereby a Man speaketh the Truth in his Heart as it is Psal 15. 2. neither adds nor diminishes neither depreciates a Commodity or puts Colours upon it will neither affirm a thing or deny it when he knows the contrary and this he doth out of Conscience to God and out of Love to Truth And this is sufficient for the Description of it II. Every Mans Obligations to this result 1. From the Light of Nature by which it is evident that the Tongue and Faculty of Speech is given to Man whereby to express and signify his Mind to others so that he that is dumb in Speech is better than he that deceives with it As the design of a Clock or Watch is to be a true measure of Time and to keep its just pace with the Sun but being false in this were better to be laid aside that to deceive you better to lie in your Desk than tell you a Lie in your Pocket The design and honour of the Tongue is to speak truly so that it is reported of the very Indians that in case they be convinced of a Lie they will in revenge draw Blood of their own Tongues Hence it is that even natural Conscience doth so strongly support a Man when he speaks Truth no Frowns can daunt him and on the contrary he that falsifies the Truth if Conscience be not utterly sear'd is pinch'd within even natural Conscience stings him tho no body can accuse him and then if he be detected intolerable is that Shame that covers him 2. By the Light of Scripture Which doth constantly command Sincerity and Truth and forbid the contrary Zech. 8. 16. These are the things that ye shall do Speak ye every Man Truth to his Neighbour It describes a good Man by his Veracity Prov. 13. 5. A righteous Man hateth Lying Urgeth it with most pregnant Reasons Ephes 4. 25. Wherefore putting away lying speak every Man no Man no not the Tradesman excepted Truth with his Neighbour for we are Members one of another Where the Apostle ushers in his Exhortation with one strong Reason couch'd in the Illative Wherefore which shews that this is an Inference from the foregoing Verses q. d. You have put off the old Man with his Deeds All of you professedly all true Christians really It is ridiculous and shameful for him that is invested with new Robes to retain any one foul Rag upon him And ye have put on the new Man after the Image of Christ who is Truth and so it is fit that all his Members be in the same Livery And then he backs his Exhortation with another Reason We are Members one of another Now every Man will be true to himself will never go about willingly to deceive himself It were a monstrous thing for one Member of the Body to go about to impose upon another Now we are all of us Members of one another 1. As Men. Adam was the Root we all are the Branches 2. As Christians and so we are all one in Christ Jesus our Religion doth knit us closer together than all other Ligaments in the World 1 Cor. 12. 25 27. The Members should have the same care one for another Now ye are the Body of Christ and Members in particular So that in deceiving any of the Members you affront the Head In short unless ye be true Men ye can be no true Christians a salse Man and a true Saint is a Contradiction Thus you see that the Scripture is direct for speaking Truth it doth indeed relate divers Untruths spoken by others both good men and bad but it never justifies them The Narration of such Faults of pious Men is a strong Argument of the Sincerity of the Scripture and that it no way excuses them of its Sanctity In which case Augustine charitably concludes that God accepted in Rahab and the Midwives c. Fidem mentis and pardon'd to them fallaciam mentientis In a word we own and worship a true God we profess a true Religion we pursue a true Happiness by all which we are obliged to all manner of Truth in Heart in Lip in Life 3. This Veracity is demonstrable by the Light of sound Reason that even those that care not for the Scripture may be convinced of the necessity of it unles they will not only renounce Divinity but Humanity also For 1. There is Equity in it Every Man would be truly dealt with No Man would be content that his Wife Children or Servants should deny the Truth or feed him with Lies Which of you chuses to have any thing to do with those whom you cannot believe Now is it not very equal that you should alway speak the Truth that do desire always to hear others speak it Is it reasonable that other Folks should live by one Rule and you by another That Truth should be eligible by all others and not by you This Veracity and Justice are so conjunct that he cannot be just in his Dealings that is false in his Words For the same Law that commands us to do by others as we would be done unto equally obliges us to speak in our Commerce to
Duty 87 2. Of Safety ib. 3. Of Benefit 88 4. Of Comfort 89 4 Vse 1. Repr Of Idleness 90 2. Exhort 1. To this Diligence in your 91 Particular Callings Cautions herein 92 2. Much more in your Heavenly 93 Sect. 3. The Third Requisite in a Trade is Justice 1. The Nature of it 96 2. The Necessity of it 1. It is your Duty 1. By the Law of Nature 97 2. By the express Law of God ib. 3. By the Law of Christ 98 2. It is your Interest ib. 3. The Extent of it 1. Performing lawful Promises 99 Of paying your Work-Folks 101 2. Paying due Debts 102 Of breaking upon design 103 3. Vsing exact Weights Measures and Lights 104 4. Right working of Manufactures 105 5. Making Conscionable Bargains 106 viz. 1. Content with reasonable Gain 107 What is the best measure of a Tradesman's Gain ib. 2. No Advantage of anothers Necessity 109 3. Nor of their Unskilfulness 110 4. Deal not for stollen Goods 111 5. Vse an honest Plainness 112 6. Defraying lawful Impositions ib. Against stealing of Custom 113 and starving of Ministers 114 7. Paying due Respects to the Orders of your Society 115 8. Having an equitable Regard to Fellow-Traders 116 Particularly to Partners Against Engrossing 117 9. Having a paternal Care about Apprentices Warning against too much 118 1. Rigor 119 2. Indulgence 120 10. Making due Provision for Wife and Children 122 11. Shewing Mercy to the Poor 123 Objects of Charity specified 124 4. Use 1. Of Reflection 125 2. Of Comfort 126 3. Of Conviction 127 4. Of Exhortation 1. To proceed by this Rule 2. To Restitution 129 This your 1. Duty 2. Interest 130 Object 1. Of Inability Answ 131 2. Fear of Shame Answ 133 3. Absence or Death of Parties Answ 134 3. Take the safer Path in doubtful Cases 135 4. Prevent others from doing Wrong 136 Sect. 4. The Fourth Requisite in a Trade is Truth or Veracity Where 137 1. It s Nature is described ib. 2. Your Obligations to it demonstrated 1. From the Light of Nature 138 2. From the Light of Scripture 139 3. From the Light of sound Reason ib. There 's 1. Equity in it 141 There 's 2. Commodity in it 142 There 's 3. Ingenuity in it 142 There 's 4. Policy in it ibid Object 1. From Examples of the contrary Answ 143 2. From the smallness of the Sin of Lying Ans 144 3. From the pretended Necessity of it Answ 145 3. Instances wherein it is to be exercised 1. Not concealing what you should discover 146 2. Shunning all unjust Commendations of Commodities 147 3. Avoiding all unjust Disparagements thereof 148 4. Abhorring any Untruths in or about your Bargains 149 5. Forbearing all Equivocations 150 6. Restraining multiplicity of Words 151 4. Use 1. Of Reflection 153 2. Of Reproof 154 3. Of Exhortation to Veracity 155 Means 1. True Faith and Fear of God 156 2. A truly tender Conscience 156 3. A real Love of your Neighbour 157 Sect. 5. The Fifth Requisite in a Trade is Contentedness 158 Where 1. The Description of it 2. Reasons for it 159 1. In respect of God 1. His Command 161 2. His Providence 162 3. His Glory ibid 2. In respect of our Selves 1. Our Deserts 163 2. Our Mortality 164 3. Our Comfort ibid 3. The Practice of it 1. In chearful undergoing the Inconveniences of it 165 A list of some Inconveniences in a Trade 166 2. In a thankfull acknowledgment of the Excellencies of it 169 A Discourse of the Excellencies of a Trade 170 3. In a patient bearing the Losses c. in it 172 4. In watching against the contrary Temptations As 1. Ambition 175 As 2. Envy ibid As 3. Covetousness 177 As 4. Despondency 179 As 5. Invading other Callings 180 In what case one Man may have several Callings ibid 5. In a steady Continuance in it 181 4. The Use 1. Of Repr The Evil of Discontent 2. Of Exhort to Contentedness 183 Means 1. Faith 184 2. Humility 3. Prayer 185 Sect. 6. The Sixth Requisite in a Trade is Religiousness Where 1. The Nature of it 186 2. Inducements to it 1. Nature teaches it 187 2. Scripture teacheth it 188 3. Reason teacheth it It being 1. The truest Wisdom 189 2. The highest Equity 190 3. The soundest Comfort ibid 4. The greatest Necessity 191 Object 1. From the Difficulty Answered 192 Object 2. From the Prejudicialness Answ 193 Object 3. From the Singularity Answ 194 Object 4. From the Danger Answ 195 Object 5. From the Needlesness Answ 196 3. The Exercise of it 1. In maintaining a religious frame of Heart 197 2. In the due Exercise of Faith 199 3. In the right performance of Religious Worship 200 4. In observing a right Rule and End 203 Whether a Man may aim at Riches in his Calling 204 5. In spiritualizing your Calling ibid A Catalogue of all the Trades mentioned in Scripture 205 6. In the holy Observation of the Sabbath 206 7. In the Practice of Watchfulness 209 8. In the use of holy Ejaculations 211 9. In the exercise of all Grace 213 10. In promoting Goodness and discourag Sin 215 Some Directions for the. 1. Chusing some good Books 217 2. Vsing them 220 4. Use 1. Of Lamentation and Reproof 221 Particularly the Omission 1. Of Family-worship 223 Particularly the Omission 2. Of the Lord's Supper 225 2. Of Exhortation 226 CHAP. VI. OF the Finishing of a Calling 229 Conclus A Man cannot lawfully leave his Calling till God doth discharge him 230 He doth this 1. Immediately ibid 2. Mediately 1. By the Hand of Man 231 2. By his own special Providence 1. Disabling the Mind 232 2. Disabling the Body 233 Whether a Man may withdraw from his Calling and live upon his Estate 234 3. Disabling a Man in his Estate 235 4. Summoning him by Death 236 Here Advice to Tradesmen 1. To set their Souls in Order 237 2. To set their House in order 238 ERRATA SOme literal Mistakes have past the Press For others that are more material read as followeth Page 91. line 1. for I was read I went P. 93. l. 15. f. then r. thee P. 119. l. 31. f. own r. owe. P. 120. l. 28. f. incur'd r. inur'd P. 128. l. 8. f. Wrath r. Wealth P. 207. l. 25. f. all night r. as night THE Tradesman's Calling CHAP. I. Of the Nature and Kinds of Callings A Calling is some kind of Life to which we are called of God Now all Christians are called of God to know and believe in him to love and serve him and at length fully to enjoy him And besides this Calling and subordinate to it God doth call every Man and Woman as if he call'd them by Name to serve him in some peculiar Imployment in this World both for their own and the Common-Good And hence ariseth that Distinction of a General and of a Particular or Personal Calling they might with more clearness be stil'd our Spiritual and our Temporal Callings but
them as we would be spoken to 2. There is Commodity in it This Veracity is so commodious yea so necessary among Men that all Civil Society is dissolv'd without it For all Transactions and Commerce between Man and Man do lean upon this Fundamental Point That one Man may believe another now if Men do not constantly speak the Truth how can they be believ'd thus all human Conversation is shaken Now Reason it self must needs enter an Action against any Course that overthrows the good of Mankind and it were endless to transcribe the pithy Expressions of divers of the Heathens in the praise of Truth and Veracity and in defiance of the contrary 3. There in Ingenuity in it There is a certain bravery of Spirit and true Courage in speaking the Truth and a real cowardize in blanching and denying it It is only some worldly Hopes or sordid Fear that doth biass the Tongue from its true Office which is to be an Interpreter of the Mind Let no Man that trades in Lies pretend to Generosity Hence all noble Spirits are so sensible of the Imputation that they will presently answer the Lie given them with their Sword which tho neither true Fortitude nor Piety can ever justify yet such their Sensibleness proves how ingenuous a thing it is to speak the Truth and how base a thing to pervert it 4. There is Policy in speaking the Truth honost Policy for every Man should by all good means maintain and promote his Credit This is the only way to make a Man credible Who will believe one who he knows is accustomed to derogate from the Truth Such a Person shall not be believed when he speaks never so truly He that is punctual in his Words shall bebelieved in doubtful things when the other will be suspected in certain things Among the very Turks the word of a Mahometan spoken on the Faith of a Mussulman weighs against all Contradiction And therefore setting aside the Scripture there 's great reason for this Veracity unless ye are content to be esteem'd profligate Wretches who neither value the esteem of God or Man Such Persons will find in the issue when they have affrighted all that know them from dealing with them that Honesty is the best Policy and that the Reputation of fair dealing within is better than the fairest Sign they can hang out Three Objections are usually made against all this Object That the Examples of others doth incourage us sometimes to spare the Truth We read of many in the Scripture that have trip'd in this kind Abraham himself and Isaac Rahab David and such like And we daily see it done by thousands and surely then we may venture upon it as well as they Answ That some holy Persons have been guilty this way cannot be denied but it is observable that it was generally for Fear never for Gain So Abraham David Rahab c. Again It is God's Word and not good Men's Examples which we are to be guided and judged by You can produce the instances of their Sins but you know not the bitterness of their Repentance Again when you are mustering up Scripture-Examples omit not that Lie of Ananias and Saphira Acts 5. 8. which cost them both their Lives Tell me saith Peter whether ye sold the Land for so much and she said Yea for so much and never spake another word And then for the commonness of this Sin by others it is an Objection to be answered with Tears it is too frequent which is an Aggravation of the Fault and so far enough from excusing it We are taught other Doctrine out of the Scripture of Truth Exod. 23. 2. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil But if you will needs do as the most do you must resolve to go where most do go and where all Liars are tormented for ever Object 2. The smallness of the Sin excuses us Lying is not Swearing nor Killing or Stealing there can be no great hurt in it for we do no great hurt by it Answ 1. Let the Sin be never so little the Image and Superscription of the Devil is upon it For he is a Liar and the Father of it Joh. 8. 44. 2. If it were so small a Sin as you pretend pray how many little Rents can you be content to be made in your Garments how many little Motes will any of you rest with in your Eye how many little Wounds will you brook in your Flesh and should we be more tender of every thing than of the precious Soul Besides let me tell you 3. That a little Sin allow'd justified and pleaded for is more intolerable than a greater Sin that 's disallow'd and disown'd But lastly this Sin is not so small as you make it For as it renders a Man most unlike to God whose grand Attribute is Truth So it is rank'd among those Sins which he is said particularly to hate Prov. 6. 16. A proud Look alying Tongue and there is so much Atheisin and Hypocrisy included in a Lie that all Liars are rank'd with Murderers Sorcerers and Idolaters and lodged with them in the Lake that burneth with Fire and Brimstone for ever Rev. 21. 8. Object 3. Necessity compells us to it We can neither buy nor sell without somewhat of it neither will People believe us when we speak never so truly and so we are forc'd to lie there is no trading or at least no gaining a sufficient Livelihood without it Answ 1. There is no lawful Calling but may be followed with Truth and with a good Conscience they that plead the contrary do tacitly make the holy God to be the Author of Sin an Inference to be abhor'd as much as he abhors the thing it self Nothing can make Sin needful Peter's Lie to save his Life did not justify it he wept bitterly for it And if it were a Crime to lie to save his Life can the pretence of a Livelihood excuse you in it Cursed is that Trade that cannot be followed without Sin But your case is otherwise How many consciencious Persons are there in your very Trades that had rather die than lie If People will not believe you when you tell the Truth much less will they when you tell Lies Besure whatsoever is gotten by your lying is cursed Gain Prov. 21. 6. The getting of Treasures by a lying Tongue is a Vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek Death They that seek Death and Destruction in this course are sure to find it III. I come now in the Third Place to declare how this Veracity should be exercised by the Tradesman And that we may not strain this Duty too far you may know that he is not obliged hereby imprudently to declare always all the Truth he knows and consequently to discover either the just Price that his Commodity cost him nor any other Circumstance which would make to his Disadvantage For though you are bound never to speak a Falshood yet you are not bound
and another to Elisha and got the Prize but he got the Curse of Leprosy with it let him be a Pillar of Salt to you If you value your External Credit if you value your Internal Comfort if you value your Eternal Happiness buy the Truth and sell it not and banish away those lying Lips You dare not swear you think and that truly that swearing is an heinous Sin but lying it 's a Peccadillo a venial matter but deceive not your selves For Rev. 22. 15. without are Dogs and Sorcerers and Whoremongers and Murderers and Idolaters and whosoever loveth and maketh a Lie Behold the Company that Liars are found in and the Place whither they are cast And tho among Sins there is no best yet there is a bad and a worse and Lying is justly reckon'd among the very worst of Sins he must have a great measure of Atheism and very little Life in his Conscience that can indulge himself in this Trade yea it is worse than Swearing in some respects Therein you offend God and hurt your selves but herein you offend God hurt your own Souls and injure your Neighbour also If all this cannot stop your lying Tongues behold shortly that shall come to pass which is written Psal 63. 11. The Mouth of them that speak Lies shall be stopped 3. I exhort you in God's Name and Behalf to speak Truth every Man with his Neighbour seeing you are Members one of another Let your Words be a true Copy of your Meaning Do not row one way and look another speak one thing and think another The People whom God will save are Children that will not lie Isa 63. 8. What Man is he that desireth Life keep thy Tongue from evil and thy Lips from speaking Guile Psal 34. 12 13. Study and practise it your selves recommend it to your Children charge it upon your Apprencices If you permit them to lie to your Advantage they will not scruple to lie to your Prejudice No let Justice and Truth have both of them a place behind your Counters let them rule in the Shop let them accompany you to the Exchange so shall you find Favour and good Understanding in the sight of God and Man When Agur had but two things to ask of God this was one of them Prov. 30. 7 8. Remove far from me Vanity and Lies and then will God give you the other thing which he requested that is he will find you with Food convenient for you To this end 1. Labour for the true Faith and Fear of God So you will set the Lord always before you and then sure you dare not utter an Untruth This will make you say with holy Paul 2 Cor. 11. 31. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which is blessed for evermore knoweth that I lie not Few that will dare to speak an Untruth if they know that a stander-by is able to disprove them If you had but one dram of Faith or Fear actually stirring in your Hearts you durst not you could not speak a false thing He always sees tho he be oft unseen He is not far from every one of us How can you lift up your Faces to him in Prayer at Night when you have so affronted his Truth and Omniscience in the Day Assure your selves that the God of Truth will never bless either a Lie or a Liar Learn that Lesson Prov. 23. 17. Let not thy Heart envy or imitate so it may be rendred Sinners they 'l go their own way but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long Place thy self always before him and believe every place to be filled with God 2. Get and keep a truly tender Conscience This is God's Substitute and being in our Bosoms is at hand to smite when the Tongue trips even natural Conscience would go far in this matter The wise God hath placed Conscience and Shame in us for the bridling of Sin and of this Sin in particular Conscience that stands in awe of God and Shame that stands in fear of Man and when these Bridles are broken by the strength and custom of Sin Man grows the most profligate and abominable Creature in the World But unsanctified Consciences are very often either void of Sense or full of Rage they are either slumbring with Security or roaring with Horror A renewed Conscience is the great Preservative which having smarted for Sin is tender at the approach of it again and so dare not come nigh any of the Avenues of Sin In the Body the Hand can endure a Blow the Eye cannot endure a Mote the tenderness of the part cannot bear it Conscience is the Eye of the Soul it is Index Judex Vindex And therefore beware of baffling or of bribing your own Consciences If they may not speak they will write and write bitter things And some Care must be used tothis end you must with that holy Apostle Act. 24. 16. Exercise your selves herein to have always a Conscience void of Offence toward God and toward Men. 3. And lastly You must Love your Neighbour as your selves Delicatares est amor we are impatient of any Injury done to those whom we love It is base Self-love that begins and ends at home No he that rightly loves himself truly loves his Neighbour And every Man is our Neighbour O the Excellency of our Religion It teaches us to be sober righteous and godly here as well as how to be happy hereafter It teaches us to be wise and yet upright Nature teaches us to love our selves but Grace teaches us to love our Neighbour as our selves and what Man ever told a known Falshood to himself But whither is this lovely Grace fled and gone Of old the Christians Occultis se notis nôrunt amant mutuò penè antequam noverint as Min. Faelix observes but now it is not so Let every Man revive this noble Grace in his own Heart Let all Tradesmen walk according to this Rule you are supported by others be willing that others be supported by you you that expect plain dealing use it And if you have any true Love to God or to your Neighbour or to your own Souls putting away Lying speak every Man Truth with his Neighbour for we are Members one of another SECT 5. Of Contentedness in a Trade A Fifth Requisite to the right managing of your Trades is Contentedness This the Apostle aims at in that Exhortation 1 Cor. 7. 20. Let every Man abide in the same Calling wherein he was called For it seems that some raw Christians had a conceit that the Christian Religion dissolv'd all precedent Obligations that the believing Wife was ipso facto released from her Infidel Husband that it was unlawful and unreasonable for a Christian Servant to continue in his outward Servitude And the Servants by the Jewish and Roman Laws were in such Slavery that Flesh and Blood was glad of such an occasion for Liberty Now to rectify this Mistake says the Apostle Let
stays Hearken to the Voice of God Prov. 23. 4 5. Labour not to be rich cease from thine own Wisdom Wilt thou set thine Eyes upon that which is not For Riches certainly mark that certainly make themselves Wings they flee away as an Eagle towards Heaven What Wise-Man will fall in love with a Bird on the House-top and such are Riches Unless you find that you are ready according to your ability to any good-work and that you can find in your Heart to eat and drink and wear Apparel sutable to your Estate the World is in your hearts and you must ply the work of Mortification quickly and lift up your Affections from things below to the better things that are above 8. The Religion of the Tradesman is to be exercised in the frequent use of holy Ejaculations An Ejaculation is the darting up of the Heart unto God in a short and lively Prayer And they may be used either by way of Confession as that God be merciful to me a Sinner O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the Body of this Death Or by way of Petition as that of Neh. 13. 31. Remember me O my God for good Or by way of Deprecation as David O Lord turn the Counsel of Achitophel into Foolishness Or by way of Intercession as O that the Salvation of Israel were come out of Zion Or by way of Thanksgiving as that of Christ I thank thee Father Lord of Heaven and Earth c. Now this is the excellency and advantage of these kind of Prayers that as they will dispatch much business in Heaven so they will hinder no business upon Earth they are like a well-plac'd Parenthesis they hinder not the Sense they may be interlin'd not only in a Sermon but in the throng of your Imployments Nehemiah could list up such a Prayer while the King and Queen were all in Presence Neh. 2. 4. Especially you that are Artificers whose Imployment lies in manual Operation what excellent opportunities have you to step often to Heaven by these kind of Prayers and Praises And that you may see this is not a new Invention or piece of modern Preciseness hear what holy Augustin says De Opere Monachorum As vain Men have their Fables and filthy Songs at work quid ergo impedit Servum Dei manibus operantem in Lege Domini meditari psallere nomini Dei altissimi Cantica divina cantare etiam manibus operantes facile possunt ipsum laborem tanquam divino celeumate consolari that is God's Servants should while they are at work sing the Praises of God When the Heart is inditing a good matter the Tongue will quickly be as the Pen of a ready Writer By these you will keep in the fire of Grace between your set-times of Prayer by these you may meet with and quench a Temptation on the sudden When Satan is at his Injections and Injaculations have you recourse to your Ejaculations When you feel the Guilt of Sin to pinch you or the Sense of any Mercy to affect you or of any Danger or Difficulty to affright you this will be a present Relief till you have opportunity of more solemn Prayer And as no Ship is so laden but one may thrust in two or three small Jewels into it so no Man's Business is so throng but he may interline an holy Ejaculation And of the like nature are Soliloquies wherein we speak to our own Souls either to rouze up our dull Spirits or to revive our drooping Souls as we find holy David frequently Psal 42. 62 c. Hereby you may make Company of your selves when as in some Callings you are working alone all the day and it is a sad thing that a Man shall know how to confer with Men yea how to converse with God and yet cannot tell how to commune with his own Heart 9. This Religion or Godliness in a Tradesman is shewed In exercising of Grace in his Calling It is not enough to have all Organs of a human Body without a vital Principle and vital Acts what 's a Hand if it work not or an Eye if it see not and what signifies your Grace within if it be not actually imployed Joh. 4. 14. But the Water that I will give him shall be in him a Well of Water springing up into Everlasting Life A Well is always springing up and true Grace should be still in Activity Most Men act only according to their natural Humour all the week long and others consult only their worldly Interest but the Christian Tradesman hath not so learned Christ He must every day act the Graces of Spiritual Wisdom Zeal Self-denial Patience Charity and particularly that Truth Justice and Contentedness which hath been described to him you will have more Comfort in the review of this than of all your other Gains You will be frequently provoked by your Servants and others here ye must act both Wisdom and Patience you will see too much Sin and Dishonour done to God every day here 's Work for your Zeal you will be often presented with poor Objects there 's occasion for your Charity In short you will have occasion to buy or sell every day there 's Work for your Veracity and Equity And the acting of these Graces is so necessary that you are but dead Christians without it and so pleasing to God that every such Act both strengthens the Habit and opens the charitable Hand of God to give you more And without these you will be but the World's drudg here and that 's sad and the Devil 's hereafter and that 's worse A pious Tradesman may act Grace as much as the greatest Rabbi Famous is the Story of a Primitive Saint in Egypt Who having for many Years retired himself from the World and chiefly imployed himself in the Acts of Mortification and Devotion and being thereupon tempted to think himself among the holiest Men on Earth and long'd to know who should sit next him in Heaven was warned to inquire for a Man in Alexandria who was holier than himself and who should that be but when he had found him but a poor Cobler that work'd hard most of the day but was so circumspect in his Life so just in his Dealings so thankful with his Wife for his mean fare and then so truly devout in the Worship of God that the poor Hermite return'd crest-faln to his Cell and found that the honest Tradesman was like to sit above him in Heaven So that the Exercise of Grace should be no uncouth Business to a Christian Tradesman 10. The Tradesman's Piety must be shewed In the sincere promoting of Goodness and discouraging of Sin As it is the Honour of God that he is good and doth good so he ingraves the same image upon his Children Whatsoever doth regularly tend to the advancing of God's Honour or the Spiritual and Temporal Good of Mankind Religion inclines the honest Tradesman to further it to his utmost