Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A69012
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A treatise of the Beatitudes. Or Christs happy men. By James Buck Bachelor of Divinitie, and vicar of Stradbrooke in Suffolke
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Buck, James.
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1637
(1637)
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STC 3998; ESTC S117005
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201,269
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350
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which is a principall ayme of the 10th Commandement Not to affect that which is anothers but to be contented with things present and in them not to seeke great things for pompe but indifferent for continuall use and so howsoever the goods of fortune ebbe or flow to confide in God and referre themselves and their wayes unto him The Meeke commit themselves to God for their livelyhood and willingly obey that sweet command 1. Pet. 5.7 cast your care upon God which is one of the most comfortable precepts in all the Scripture and we might bee happy if we would exonerate our selves of distracting cares and labour in hope before him that sets the heart at liberty but not the hand enjoynes work forbids care Even reason condemnes their irregular anxiety that disquiet themselves in surmizes of future casualties and uncertainties projecting and fore-running their owne evils Labor and providence helpe care and diffidence what doe they advantage Cast we them therefore into his bosome that orders lots that our care be no corrivall to the divine goodnesse so he will liberally provide for us and ours his Church and people and cause all things to co-operate to our good when wee cannot conceive the manner Now St. Ephrem d De fide tom 1. p. 80. is very right if wee trust not God for things of the body and this life wee are manifested to want faith for matters of the soule and the other life By these meane and momentarie things the Christian is tryed whether he trust God and if he be not solicitous for the present matters it is cleere that he keepes hid within him sound and entire Faith By our reposing our selves then on Gods promise for temporall things and the body wee may discerne whether we in truth relie on him for those of the soule It is an easier taske for Faith to beleeve the promises wherein God ingages his care over us for this life whereunto common experience and light of reason conduce then to give credence to the truth of the Resurrection of the Body the Incarnation of God the Trinity of Persons in the Vnity of the Godhead and other Articles of Christian beliefe that transcend all demonstration and compasse of reason Therefore many that think themselves strong in the Faith of those high mysteries may understand the deceit of their owne hearts by distrusting God for small things if we be unbeleeving in little matters elude not our selves we are not faithfull in great Luke 16.10 And persecution for Christian Faith would discover our Infidelity as want doth our unbeliefe for Temporals d De oratione c. 123. Commit then unto God the things which be requisite for the bodie and so it shall be manifest that thou committest unto him things that are necessarie for the soule as St. Nile writes And that if the carriage of the Meeke as in externals they wholly depend on God well pleased with what he carves unto them come we to the inheritance which by such meeknesse they obtaine upon earth and that is the gift which God bestowes on him who is good in his sight To eate drinke and make his soule enjoy good in his labour Eccl. 2.24.26 Which by the frequent repetition thereof seemes a chiefe argument of that booke an instruction to hope for nothing but vexation when we will be projectors and cut for our selves to thinke good of all Gods courses and use his good as it comes without diffiding for to morrow Which certainly is the fruit of the Holy Ghost for a man to apply himselfe and be content with things present for the flesh is never satisfied but whiles it preferres that it hath not neglects what it hath and so deptives it selfe of both And rationall men have herein placed humane and worldly beatitude to minde nothing but that which is f Cardan de varietate rerum l. â— c. 40. p. 383. present and of that onely the little which sober use requires from day to day And our Lord holds our desires to the present teaching us to say in Prayer Luke 11.3 Give us this day our dayly bread And promises to prolong the dayes of obedients in the Land which hee gives theam Exod. 20 intending them much fruition in life and living S. Chrys in Gen. ser 54. in that they lose not their time but enjoye themselves and the creature and all their desires confined to the present and Gods pleasure When the immoderate that are of vast spirits and attempts Psal 54.23 live not halfe their dayes cannot bee executors of their owne wills nor compasse one halfe of their essayes but be snatcht away before the time come in which they set themselves to be happy Luk. 12.20.21 with him whom the Gospell surnames a foole for that hee made not present use of his wealth but put off and reserved the commoditie thereof to yeares that were not his The Meeke inherit the great gaine of godlinesse contentment which is the very good of riches but growes not of riches nor any things externall but as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 imports out of a mans owne sufficiency when the godly will make perfect resignation of it selfe unto God and rests in his dispose as most firting and by his grace rules the inferiour powers accordingly g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Autarkie or selfe-sufficiencie is that whereby men command themselves and their affections and so bring content into every condition Phil. 4.11 12 I have learnt in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content I am instructed both to bee full and to be hungry both to abound and suffer need Faculty to content our selves is a grand mystery 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which they that are initiated in Christianity learne by practising selfe-denyall and conformity to God It is Christian art of all other worth the studying and to be preferred before all liberall Sciences Professions and dignities of men h B. Gregor in Ezech hom 19. Nunquidnam fratres are est aliqua humiliari Ars amniâ—o mira disciplinae scientia quae toto nobis est cordis anni su disceada skill indifferently to have and want what the world admires that neither high things may puffe up nor low cast downe Matth. 4.4 Man lives not by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God and God commands a blessing on that which the Meeke take in good part whereby the benefits vouchsafed them are sanctified and make good their severall ends in them So that a little of that the Righteous man hath is better then the riches of many wicked Psal 37.16 This is some portion of that hundred fold Mar. 10.30 which now in this time and in this earth the Meeke receive in respect of true use and satisfaction of which they reape more from their estate such as it is then the same an hundred times multiplyed could afford without Gods grace in a contentfull minde There is not any so
pursuance whereof wee shall goe through these particulars 1 The Happinesse it selfe blessed are ye when men revile and persecute you 2 The joy required in that Happinesse rejoyce and bee exceeding glad 3 The cause urging that joy for great is your reward in Heaven 4 The Argument concluding that cause for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you First for the happinesse in suffering for CHRIST Reproches Persecutions all injuries in word or deed are blessed to the Sufferers CHRIST heere shewes himselfe as is noted by St. CHRYSOSTOME a Lib. 1. Against the dispâ—nisers of Monasticall life Opus imperfect readie to reward not onely for death imprisonment stripes but for simple disgrace and injurious speeches As in action we shall not lose the reward of a cuppe of cold water so in passion we shall not lose the recompence of a light word or gesture of disdaine Hee which touches you touches the apple of mine eye Zach 2.8 Where sayes SALVIAN b De gubern Dei l. 8. Ad exprimendam teneritudinem pietatis suae tenerrimam partem corporis humani nominavit ut apertissimè intelligeremus Deumtam parva suorum contumelia laedi quam parvi verberis tactu humani visus acies laderetur to expresse the tendernesse of his gracious affection to us he named the most tender part of mans bodie that wee might most plainly understand that with how little a touch of a small stroke the sight of mans eye would bee offended with so little a contempt of his Servants is GOD injured And say all manner of evill of you asperse you with all the evill names and words that are in use and coyne new termes to diffame you all evill is not found in any man but may be forged against him by a spitefull tongue as DAVID sayth of DOEG thy tongue deviseth mischiefe Psal 52.2 Neately St. HILARIE c Quam natura ad eloquendas rationabiles cogitationes consulti cordis praparabat ipsa potius irrationabiles cogitat iniquitates that which Nature ordained to utter the reasonable devices of an advised heart that tongue fore-runnes the heart and it selfe deviseth unreasonable imputations Broches contumelies that the heart knowes not and many times cannot beleeve so the tongue is the deviser and all the Author It is worth the observing that our Master having spoken of revilings after one word of persecutions which are the paines and penalties inflicted on Christians in their bodies and states returnes againe to more reproches and saying all manner evils that hee might insinuate a methode of the divell in his instruments first to traduce good men and causes and then to proceed against them as evill and then to publish more and more obloquie and scandalous fames of them And the same order of our Lords speech imports that shame persecutes more then paine the tongue abstracts more from CHRIST then the hand nothing goes more to the quicke in the ingenuous then infamie Hereupon Infidels Hereticks Schismaticks carnall Gospellers have alwayes with this weapon most oppugned and prejudiced the Church Neyther were there ever any more outragious in this kinde then our Sectaries and false Brethren as their libellous Pamphlets witnesse to the all world Hence the Prince of Apostles in a passage of fierie tryall interposes the speciall of reproch 1. Pet. 4.12.14 And St. Paul Heb. 10.34.11.36 records the triall of cruell mockings amongst the most vexatious of sufferings and our Saviour extends the blessednesse foâ— Persecution to all words of disgrace to upâ—old generous and noble spirits in bearing vile and ignominious speeches Yet it is heere declared that ill words bring no blisse with them unlesse they bee spoken falsely for justice the grace of other things is the discredit of d The Christians that are mispoken say it would never greeve them if they had deserved it may be put to Schoole unto Socrates who was unjustly condemned to drinke poyson and as he was setting the cuppe to his lips his wife Zantippe cried out innocentem cum perimi quid ergo inquit innocenti mihi mori sarius esse duxisti Val Max. l. 7. c. 2. passions 1. Pet. 2.20 Let patience therefore have its perfect worke Iam. 1.4 which is to suffer undeservedly with a quiet minde And to the perfection of this Beatitude it is required that we bee mispoken not alone falsely but also for CHRISTS sake As. S. ISIDORE PELUSIOTE teaches e Lib. 4. Epist 9. lib 5 Epist 138. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if wee bee falsely ill spoken of though not for CHRIST mee shall receive the reward of patience but we shall not partake of that high blesfulnesse which we should partake of if both did concurre The Scripture uses in one meaning for CHSISTS sake for his name for his words inlarging the glory to all sufferings that befall men because they belong to CHRIST beleeve and observe his sayings 1. Pet. 4.14 If you bee reproched in Christs name signifies that it s not properly the Christians that bee reproached but Christ in them in whose person and name and for whose cause and truth they are rejected Luk. 10.16 And therefore he so speakes PAUL why dost that persecute me Psal 69 10. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The reproches of them that reproch thee are falne upon me the reproch is cast directly on CHRIST reflectâ—d on us as his name is called upon us were it not for our reference and obedience to him the wicked world would neither say nor doe ill by us CHAP. 3. Elegantly St. Paulinus f Epist 1. ad Aprum O beata injuria cum Christo displicere it is a blessed despite to displease with CHRIST we fare no worse then CHRIST and his name and the Gospell of grace nay the Gospell of glory which suffer with us and in us and therefore sanctifie and consecrate our sufferings to us g S. Hierom. It is a blessing to be cursed for CHRIST when CHRIST is in the cause reproch is desirable for the reproch of Christ is more honourable then the renowne of men and convertible with the glory of Angels as St. Basil writes h In Ps 55. in sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 art thou dishonoured for the name of Christ Happy art thou for this thy shame shall be turned into an Angels glory Wherefore to bee reproched and persecuted not in the name of a morall honest man and a Philosopher but in the name of a Christian and true Beleever is the highest advancement and doth consummate the blisse of Passion CHAP. III. Touching the joy requisite in suffering THat for the happinesse in suffering now to the joy required in that happinesse Rejoyce and bee exceeding glad Rejoyce bee not onely patient as in that which hurts not but joyfull and thankfull as for a beneficiall favour Bee exceeding glad as of an extraordinarie furtherâ—nce and preferment in CHRIST Count it all joy when yee fall into many temptations Iam. 1.2 For there is