mortal sâ—n The Cure p. 404 Part 7. Directions against sinful Dâ—eams p. 407 CHAP. IX Directions for the Government of the Tongue p. 408 Tit. 1. The General Directions The moment of it The Duties of the Tongue Thirty Tongue sins The Cure p. 408 c. Tit. 2. Directions against prophane swearing and using Gods name unreverently and in Vain p. 414 What is an Oath What is a lawful Oath How far the Swearers Intent is necessary to the being of an Oath How far swearing by Creatures is a sin Q. Is it Lawful to lâ—y the hand on the Book and kiss it in taking an Oath p. 416. Q. Is it lawful to give another such an Oath or worse When Gods name is taken in vain The greatness of the sin The Cure Tit. 3. Directions against Lying and dissembling p 421. What Truth is How far we are bound to speak truth Q. Whether to every one that asketh us Q. 2. Or to every one that I answer to Q. 3. Are we bound ever to speak the whole Truth Q. 4. Is all Lâ—gical fâ—lshood a sin that is to speak disagreeably to the Matter Q 5. Or to speak contrary to our minds Q 6. Is it a sin when we speak not a known untruth nor with a â—â—â—â—â—se to deceive Q 7. Or is this a Lye Q. 8. Must our words be ever true in the proper literal sense Q 9. Must I speak in the common sense or in the Hearers sense Q. 10. Is it lawful to deceive another by true words Q. 11. Doth Lying câ—nsâ—â—â—â— in Deceiving or in speaking falsly as to the Matter â—r in speaking contrary to our minds What a Lye is How sin is Voluntary The Intrinsecal Evil of Lying The Cure ad p. 428 Q. 1. Is often Lying a certain sign of a graceless state Where the question is again fully resolved because it is of great importance What sin is Mortal and what is Mortified Q. 2. Is it not contrary to the light of nature to suffer e. g. a Parent a King my self my Countrey rather to be destroyed than to save them by a harmless lye The case of the Midwives in Aegypt and of Rahab opened Q. 3. Is deceit by Action lawful which seemeth a Practical Lye And how shall we interpret Christs making as if he would have gone further Luk. 24. 28. and Dâ—vid's feigning himself mad and common stratagems in War and doing things purposely to deceive another Q. 4. Is it lawful to tempt a Child or Servant to Lye meerly to try them Q. 5. Is all equivocation unlawful Q. 6. Is all mental reservation unlawful Q 7. May Children Servants or Subjects in danger use words which tend to hide their faults Q. 8. May I speak that which I think is true but am nâ—t sure Q 9. May I believe or speak that of another by way of news discourse character which I hear reported by Godly credible persons or by many ad p. 430 Tit. 4. Directions against Idle talk and baâ—ling What is not Idle talk and what is The sorts of it The greatness of the sin in general and the special aggravations The Cure Who must most carefully watch against this sin p. 431 Tit. 5. Directions against filthy ribbald seurril us talk p. 437 Tit. 6. Directions against prophane deriding sâ—â—rning or opposing Godliness p. 438. What the sin is The greatness of it and â—â—â—â—tish impudence and terrible consequents The Cure CHAP. X. Directions for the Government of the Body Part 1. Direction about our Labour and Callings p. 447 Tit. 1. Directions for the right choice of our Labours or Callings Q 1. Is Labour necessary to all Q. 2. What Labour is necessary Q. 3. Will Religion excuse us from Labour Q. 4. Will Riches excuse us Q. 5. Why Labour is necessary The good of it Q. May a man have a Calling consisting of various uncertain works Q. 2. May one have divers Trades or Callings at once Directions p. 447 Tit. 2. Directions against Sloth and Idleness What it is and what not The aggravations of it The Signs of Sloth The Greatness of the sin Who should be most careful to avoid it p. 451 Tit. 3. Directions against Sloth and Laziness in things spiritual and for Zeal and Diligence The kinds of false Zeal The mischiefs of false Zeal The Signs of holy Zeal The excellency of Zeal and Diligence Motives to excite us to it Other helps p. 456 Part 2. Directions against sin in Sports and Recreations p. 460. What Lawful Recreation is Eighteen necessary qualifications of it or eighteen sorts of sinful recreation Q. Must all wicked men forbear recreations Q. What to judge of Stage-playes Gaming Cards Dice c. The evil of them opened Twelve convincing Questions to them that use or plead for such pastimes Seven more Considerations for vain and sportful Youths Further Directions in the use of Recreations Part 3. Directions about Apparel and against the sin therein committed Q. 1. May pride of Gravity and Holiness be seen in apparel Q. 2. How else it appeareth Q. 3. May not a deformity be bid by Apparel or painting Q. 4. May we follow the fashions Further Directions ad p. 465 c. TOME II. Christian Oeconomicks CHAP. I. DIrections about Marriage for Choice and Contract p 475 Whether Marriage be indifferent Who are called to marry Who may not marry Q. What if Parents command it to one that it will be a hurt to Q. What if I have a corporal necessity when yet marriage is like to be a great incommodity to my soul Of Parents prohibition Q. What if Parents forbid marriage to one that cannot live chastly without it or when affections are unconquerable Q. What if the child have promised marriage and the Parents be against it Of the sense of Numb 30. How far such promise must be kept Q. What if the Parties be actually married without Parents consent Q. May the aged marry that are frigid impotent sterile The incommodities of a married life to be considered by them that need restraint Especially to Ministers p. 482. Further Directions How to cure lustful Love Several Cases about marrying with an ungodly person Q. 1. What Rule to follow about prohibited degrees of Consanguinity Whether the Law of Moses or of Nature or the Laws of the Land or Church c. p. 486 Q. 2. What to do if the Law of the Land forbid more degrees than Moses Law p. 487 Q. 3. Of the Marriage of Cousin Germanes before band Q. 4. What such should do after they are married Q 5. What must they after do that are married in the degrees not forbidden by name Lev. 18. and yet of the same nearness and reason Q. 6. If they marry in a degree forbidden Lev. 18. may not necessity make it lawful to continue it as it made lawful the marriage of Adams Sons and Daughters Q. 7. Whether a Vow of Chastity or Celibate may be broken and in what cases p. 488 CHAP. II. Directions for the choice of 1.
therefore you must go further A Souldier taken by the enemy may tell the truth when he is asked in things that will do no harm to his King and Country but he must conceal the rest which would advantage the enemy against them § 8. Quest. 4. Is it alwayes a sin to speak a Logical falshood that is to speak disagreeably to the thing which I speak of Answ. Not alwayes For you may sometimes believe an untruth without sin Quest. 4. For you are to believe things according to their evidence and appearance Therefore if the deceit be unavoidably caused by a false appearance or evidence without any fault of yours it is not then your fault to be mistaken But then your expressions must signifie no more certainty than you have nor no more confidence than the evidence will warrant When you say such a thing is so the meaning must be but I am perswaded it is so For if you say I am certain it is so when you are not certain you offend § 9. Quest. 5. Is it alwayes a sin to speak falsly or disagreeably to the matter when I know it to be Quest. 5. false that is Is it alwayes a sin to speak contrary to my judgement or mind Answ. Yes for God hath forbidden it and that upon great and weighty Reasons as you shall hear anon § 10. Quest. 6. Is it a sin when I speak not a known untruth nor contrary to my opinion nor with Quest. 6. a purpose to deceive Answ. Yes it is oft a sin when there is none of this For if it be your Duty to know what you say and to deliberate before you speak and your duty to be acquainted with the truth or falshood which you are ignorant of and your duty to take heed that you deceive not another negligently and yet you neglect all these duties and by a culpable ignorance and negligence deceive both your selves and others then this is a sin as well as if you knowingly deceived them § 11. Quest. 7. But though it be a sin it remaineth doubtful whether it be a lye Answ. This is Quest. 7. but liss de nomine a Controversie about the Name and not the Thing As long as we are agreed that is a sin against God and to be avoided whether you call it a Lye or by another name is no great matter But I think it is to be called a Lye Though I know that most definers follow Cicero and say that a Lye is A falshood spoken with a purpose to deceive yet I think that where the Will is culpably neglective of not deceiving an untruth so negligently uttered deserveth the name of a Lye § 12. Quest. 8. Must my words to free them from falshood be alwayes true in the proper literal Quest. 8. sense Answ. No Augustin's determination in this case is clear truth Quod figurate dicitur non est mendacium i. e. eo nomine To speak Ironically Metonymically Metaphorically c. is not therefore to lye For the truth of words lying in that aptitude to express the thing and mind which is suited to the intellect of the hearers they are True words that thus express them whether properly or figuratively But if the words be used figuratively contrary to the hearers and the common sense of them with a purpose to deceive then they are a lye not withstanding you pretend a Figure to verifie them § 13. Quest. 9. Must my words be used by me in the common sense or in the hearers sense Answ. No Quest. 9. doubt but so far as you intend to inform the hearer you are to speak to him in his own sense If he have a peculiar sense of some word differing from the common sense and this be known to you you must speak in his peculiar sense But if it be in a case that you are bound to conceal from him the question is much harder Some think it an untruth and sinful to speak to him in words which you know he will use to his own deceit Others think that you are not bound to fit your selves to his infirmity and speak in his dialect contrary to common sense And that it is not your fault that he misunderstandeth you though you foresee it where it will not profit him to understand you nor your selves are obliged to make him understand you but the contrary The next will open this § 14. Quest. 10. Is it lawful by speech to deceive another yea and to intend it Supposing it be by Quest. 10. truth Answ. It is not a sin in all cases to contribute towards another mans error or mistake For Acts 23. 6 7 8 9. Licitum est aliquando salva veritate illa verba proferre ex quibus probabiliter novimus auditores aliquid conclusuâ—os falsi Hoc enâ—m non est mentiri vel falsum testaâ—i sed tantum occasionem alteri praebere errandi non ad peccatum committendum sed potius vitandum Ames Cas. Conse l. 5. c. 53. See Luke 24. 28. John 7. 8 10. 1. There are many cases in which it is no sin in him to mistake nor any hurt to him Therefore to contribute to that which is neither sin or hurt is of it self no sin yea there are some cases in which an error though not as such may be a duty As to think charitably and well of an hypocrite as long as he seemeth to be sincere Here if by charitable reports I contribute to his mistake it seemeth to be but my duty For as he is bound to believe so I am bound to report the best while it is probable 2. There are many cases in which a mans ignorance or mistake may be his very great benefit His life or estate may lye upon it and I may know that if he understood such or such a thing he would make use of it to his ruine 3. There are many cases in which a mans innocent error is necessary to the safety of others or of the Commonwealth 4. It is lawful in such cases to deceive such men by Actions as an Enemy by Military Stratagems or a Traytor by signs which he will mistake And words of truth which we fore-know he will mistake not by our fault but by his own do seem to be less questionable than actions which have a proper tendency to deceive 5. God himself hath written and spoken those words which he fore-knew that wicked men would mistake and deceive themselves by and he hath done those works and giveth those mercies which he knoweth they will turn to a snare against themselves And his Dominion or Prerogative cannot here be pleaded to excuse it if it were unholy And in this sense as to Permitting and Occasioning it is said Ezek. 14. 9. And if the Prophet be deceived I the Lord have deceived that Prophet Yet must we not think with Plato that it is lawful to lye to an enemy to deceive him For 1. All deceit that is against
Charity or Justice is sinful 2. And all deceit that is performed by a lye As Augustine saith There are some lyes which are spoken for anothers safety or commodity not in malice but in benignity as the Midwives to Pharaoh These lyes are not commended in themselves but in the deceit or charity of them They that thus lye will deserve that is be in the way to be at last delivered from all lying There is also a lying in jeast which deceiveth not because he that it is spoken to knoweth it to be spoken in jeast And these two sorts are not faultless but the fault is not great A perfect man must not lye to save his life But it is lawful to silence the truth though not speak falsly In Psal. And in Enchirid he saith Mihi non absurdum c. It seemeth not absurd to me that every lye is a sin But it is a great matter or difference with what mind and in what matters a man lyeth Some think a Physicion may lye to entice his Patient to take a Medicine to save his life He may lawfully deceive him by hiding a Medicine and by true speeches and dark which he thinketh will be misunderstood but not by falshood § 15. Quest. 11. Wherein lyeth the proper vice of lying Is it in deceiving or in speaking falsly Quest. 11. or in speaking contrary to the thoughts Answ. It is the Aggravation of a lye that it be an injurious deceit But the malignity of the sin doth not consist in the meer deceit of another mans intellect For as is said it may be a great benefit to many men to be be deceived A Patients life may be saved by it when his Physicion findeth it necessary to his taking a Medicine which without deceit he will not take And so children and weak-headed people must be used Now such a charitable deceit as such can be no sin Therefore the common nature of a lye consisteth not only in the purpose of deceiving ☜ but in the speaking falsly contrary to the mind Else it would follow either that all deceit is sin or that all lying or false speaking is lawful where the deceit of another is charitable or lawful which are neither of them to be granted Yet is it not every untruth that is a lye Some Schoolmen distinguish between mentiri as being contra mentem ire and mendacium dicere as if to tell a lye were not alwayes to lye because not contrary to the mind But then by mendacium they mean no more than falsum § 16. I conclude then that A Lye is the voluntary asserting of a falshood And the more it What a Lye is tendeth to the injury of another the more it is aggravated but it is one thing to be injurious and another thing to be a lye When I name a falshood I mean that which is apt to deceive the hearer So that it is necessary to the Being of a lye that it be deceitful though the purpose of deceiving be found only in the more explicite sort of lyes For falsum dicitur à fallendo It were not false if it were not deceitful or apt to deceive For an unapt or figurative expression which hath a right sense as used by the speaker and hearer is no falshood In one Language a double negative affirmeth and in another a double negative is a more vehement kind of denyal and yet neither is to be called by the others an untruth By asserting I mean any expression that maketh the falshood our own as distinct from a historical narration For it is not lying to repeat a lye as only telling what another said By Voluntary How sin is Voluntary Tolle voluntatem nec erit discrimen in actu I mean not only that which is done knowingly upon actual will and deliberate choice or consent but also that which is done ex culpa voluntatis by the fault of the will and is to be imputed to the will For it is of great necessity to observe this about every sin that whereas we truly say that all sin is Voluntary and no further sin than Voluntary yet by Voluntary here is not meant only that which is actually willed but all that the will is guilty of For it is true that Austin saith Ream linguam non facit nisi rea mens The tongue is not made guilty but by a guilty mind But then it must be known that the Mind or Will is guilty of forbidden Omissions as well as Actions And so it is a lye or Voluntary untruth when the mind and will do not restrain the tongue from it when they ought As 1. When a man erreth or is ignorant through willful sloth or negligence and so speaketh falsly when he thinks it true this is a culpable falshood and so a lye because he might have avoided it and did not And this is the case of most false Teachers and Hereticks So also if a man will through passion custome or carelesness let his tongue run before his wits and speak falsly for want of considering or heeding what he faith this is a culpable untruth and a lye and it is Voluntary because the will should have prevented it and did not though yet there was no purpose to deceive § 17. You see then that there are two degrees of Lying 1. The grossest is the speaking of a known falshood with a pâ—rpose to deceive 2. The other is the speaking falsly through culpable ignorance errour or inconsiderateness § 18. Direct 1. Be well informed of the evil of the sin of Lying For the common cause of it Direct 1. is that men think that there is no great harm in it unless some one be greatly wronged by it But it is not forbidden by God only because it wrongeth others but it hath all this evil in i◠§ 19. 1. Lying is the perverting of mans noble faculties and turning them clean contrary to their natural use God gave man a tongue to express his mind and reveal the Truth and Lying doth monstrously Verba propterea instituta sunt non ut pâ—r ea se invâ—câ—m bominâ—s fallanâ— sed ut eis quisque in alterius noâ—itiam â—â—gitationes suas pâ—oferat Verbis ergo uti ad fallaciam non ad quod sunt instituta peccatum est Aâ—g Eâ—chi id turn it to the hindering of the mind and truth yea to the venting of the contrary to both And as it is the evil of Drunkenness to be a voluntary madness or corruption of so noble a faculty as Reason so it is the fault of Lying to be the corrupting perverting and deforming both of the mind and tongue and by confusion a destroying of Gods work and creature as to its proper use § 20. 2. Lying is the enemy and destrâ—yer of Truth And Truth is a thing Divine of unspeakable excellency and use It is Gods instrument by which he maketh man wise and good and happy Therefore if he should not make strict
most pernicious confusion into the affairs of mankind Iâ— Truth be excluded men cannot buy and sell and trade and live together It would It was one of the Roman Lawâ— â—aâ— 12. Qui â—aâ—sâ—m tâ—stâ—monium dâ—â—â—â—se convictus erit e saâ—o Taâ—pâ—iâ— dejiciatur be sufficient to destroy their rational converse if they had no tongues But much more to have false tongues Silence openeth not the mind at all Lying openeth it not when it pretendeth to open it and falsly representeth it to be what it is not And therefore though you say that your Lyes do no such hurt yet seeing this is the nature and tendency of Lying as such it is just and merciful in the Righteous God to banish all Lying by the strictest Laws As the whole nature of Serpents is so far at enmity with the nature of man that we hate and kill them though they never did hurt us because it is in their nature to hurt us so God hath justly and mercifully condemned all lying because it 's nature tendeth to the desolation and confusion of the World and if any indulgence were given to it all iniquity and injustice would presently like an inundation overwhelm us all § 25. 7. Lying tendeth directly to perjury it self It is the same God that forbiddeth them both And when once the heart is hardened in the one it is but a step further to the other Cicero could observe that He that is used to lye will easily be perjured A sâ—ared Conscience that tollerateth one will easily be brought to bear the other § 26. 8. There is a partiality in the Lyar that condemneth himself and the sin in another which in himself he justifieth For there is no man that would have another lye to him As Austin saith Hic autem homâ—nes fallunâ— falluntur Misericres suâ—t cum mentiendo fallunt quam cum mentientibus credendo falluntur Uâ—que adeo tamen rationalis natura refugit falsitatem quantum potest devitat errorem ut falli nolint etiam quicunque amant fallere August Enchyrid c. 17. I have known many that would deceive but never any that would be deceived If it be good why should not all others lye to thee If it be bad why wilt thou lye to others Is not thy tongue under the same Law as theirs Dost thou like it in thy Children and in thy Servants If not it should seem much worse to thee in thy self as thou art most concerned in thy own actions § 27. 9. Iudge what lying is by thy own desire and expectation to be believed Wouldst thou not have men believe thee whether thou speak truth or not I know thou wouldst For the Lyar loseth his end if he be known to lye and be not believed And is it a reasonable desire or expectation in thee to have men to believe a Lye If thou wouldst be believed speak that which is to be believed § 28. 10. Lying maketh thee to be always incredible and so to be useless or dangerous to others For he that will lye doth leave men uncertain whether ever he speak truth unless there be better Evidence of it than his credibility As Aristotle saith A Lyar gets this by Lying that no body will believe him when he speaks the truth How shall I know that he speaketh true to day who lyed yesterday unless open Repentance recover his credibility Truth will defend it self and credit him that owneth it at last But falshood is indefensible and will shame its Patrons Saith Petrarch excellently Petrarâ—h l 1. de vit solit As Truth is immortal so a fiction and lye endureth not long Dissembled matters are quickly opened as the hair that is combed and set with great diligence is ruffled with a little blast of wind and the paint that is laid on the face with a deal of labour is washed off with a little sweat the craftyest lye cannot stand before the truth but is transparent to him that neerly looketh into it every thing that is covered is soon uncovered shadows pass away and the native colour of things remaineth It is a great labour to keep hidden long No man can long live under water he must needs come forth and shew the face which he concealed At the farthest God in the day of judgement will lay open all § 29. Direct 2. If you would avoid lying take heed of guilt Unclean bodies need a cover Direct 2. and are most ashamed to be seen Faultiness causeth Lying and Lying increaseth the fault When Sâ—epe delinquentibus promptissimum est mentiri Ciâ—â—r men have done that which they are afraid or ashamed to make known they think there is a necessity of using their art to keep it secret But wit and craft is no good substitute for honesty such patches make the rent much worse But because the corrupted heart of man will be thus working and flying to deceitful shifts prevent the cause and occasion of your lying Commit not the fault that needs a lye Avoiding it is much better than hiding it if you were sure to keep it never so close As indeed you are not for commonly truth will come to light It is the best way in the World to avoid lying to be innocent and do nothing which doth fear the light Truth and honesty do not blush nor desire to be hid Children and Servants are much addicted to this crime when their folly or wantonness or appetites or slothfulness or carelesness hath made them faulty they presently study a lye to hide it with which is to go to the Devil to intreat him to defend or cover his own works But wise and obedient and careful and diligent and conscionable Children and Servants have need of no such miserable shifts § 30. Direct 3. Fear God more than man if you would not be Lyars The excessive fear of man Direct 3. is a common cause of Lying This maketh Children so apt to lye to escape the rod and most persons Iâ—â—e veâ—â—tatâ—â— Defeâ—â—or esse debeâ— quâ— cum râ—cteâ—â—â—â—ntâ— loquâ— non metuâ—t nec erubeâ—â—â—â—t Ambâ— â—yarâ— are â—aliant against God cowardâ— against men Montaâ—â—a â—sâ— that are obnoxious to much hurt from others are in danger of Lying to avoid their displeasure But why fear you not God more whose displeasure is unspeakably more terrible Your Parents or Master will be angry and threaten to correct you But God threatneth to damn you and his wrath is a consuming fire No mans displeasure can reach your souls and extend to eternity will you run into Hell to escape punishment on Earth Remember whenever you are tempted to escape any danger by a lye that you run into a thousand fold greater danger and that no hurt that you escape by it can possibly be half so great as the hurt it bringeth It 's as foolish a course as to cure the tooth-ach by cutting off the head § 31. Direct 4. Get down your Pride and overmuch regard
for money displease God and Conscience by this or any other sin § 34. Direct 7. Learn to trust God if you would not be lyars For lying is the practice of him Direct 7. that thinks he must provide and shift for himself Even Abraham's and Isaac's equivocation saying Ier. 7. 4 8. their Wives were their Sisters and Davids feigning himself mad proceeded from some distrust in God They would not have thought it necessary so to shift for their lives if they had fully trusted God with their lives Gehezi's Covetousness and lying did both proceed from a want of confidence in God If a man were confident of Gods Protection and that he had better stand to Gods choice in all things than his own what use could he think he hath for lying or for any sinful shift § 35. Direct 8. Be not too credulous of bad reports if you would not be lyars Malice is so mad Direct 8. and so unconscionable a sin and the tongues of men are commonly so careless of what they say that if you easily believe evil you do but easily believe the Devil and thereby make your selves his servants in divulging malicious lyes You think because they are spoken by many and spoken confidently you may lawfully believe or report what you hear But this is but to think that the Commonness of Lyars and their malice and impudence will warrant you to follow them even because they are so bad Will you bâ—rk and bite because that Dogs do so If a man be stung with Temere affirmare de altero est periculosum propter occultas homâ—num voluntates multiplicesque naturas Ci. er Prov. 17 4. Hos. 7 3. Nah. 3. 1. an Adder you should help to cure him and not desire your selves to sting him selfish and interessed and malicious and partial factious persons are so commonly lyars and impudent in their lyes that it behoveth you if you would not be lyars your selves to take heed of reporting any thing they say These Spiders will weave a Web of the Air or out of their own bowels § 36. Direct 9. Be not rash in speaking things before you have tryed them Consider what you say Direct 9. and know before you speak Is it not a shame when you have spoken falsly to come off with saying I thought it had been true But why will you speak upon thought and not stay till you better understood the case If the matter required such haste in speaking you should have said no more than I think it is so Prove all things and then hold that which is good and assert that which is true Saith Cicero de Nat. Deor. l. 1. Nihil est temeritate turpius nec quiâ—quam tam indiguum sapientis gravitate aut Insignis est temeritas cum aut falsa aut incognita â—es approbatur Nec quicquam est turpius quam cognitioni assertionem approbationemque praecurrere Cicer. Acad. l. â— constantiâ quam aut falsum sentire aut quod non satis explorate perceptum sit cognitum sine ulla dubitatione defendere Nothing is more unseemly than temerity nor any thing so unworthy the gravity or constancy of a wise man than either to hold a falshood or confidently to defend that which is not received and known upon sufficient tryal § 37. Direct 10. Foresee that which is like to intrap you in a lye that you may prevent it Let not Direct 10. the occasion and temptation surprize you unprepared Foresight will make the temptation easie to be overcome which unforeseen will be too strong for you § 38. Direct 11. Get a tender Conscience and walk as in the sight and hearing of God and as one Direct 11. that is passing to his judgement A feared Conscience dare venture upon lyes or any thing but the Act. 5. 4. â—sa 59. 13. Ezek. 13. 9. 19. fear of God is the souls preservative What makes men lye but thinking they have to do with none but men For they think by a lye to deceive a man and hide the truth But if they remembred that they have most to do with God and that he is always present who cannot be deceived and that his judgment will bring all secret things to light and detect all their lyes before all the world they would not hire a torn and dirty Cloak at so dear a rate for so short a time No wonder if men are lyars that fear not God and believe not the day of judgement § 39. Direct 12. To save others from lying as well as your selves be sure to watch against it in Direct 12. your Children and wisely help them to see the evil of it For Children are very prone to it and unwise correction frightneth them into lyes to save themselves as indulgence and connivence doth encourage them to it Make them oft read such Texts as these Lev. 19. 11. Ye shall not steal nor deal falsly nor lye one to another Psal. 15. 2. He that speaketh the truth from his heart c. Isa. 63. 8. He Prov. 17 7. Hos 4. 8. said surely they are my people Children that will not lye so he was their Saviour Ioh. 8. 44. The Devil is a lyar and the father of it Rev. 21. 27. 22. 15. There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth or maketh a lye For without are dogs and whoever loveth and maketh a lye Psal. 63. 11. The mouth of him that speaketh lyes shall be stopped Psal. 101. 11. He that speaketh lyes shall not tarry in my sight Prov. 19. 5 9. A false witness shall not be unpunished and he that speaketh lyes shall not escape shall perish 9. Prov. 29. 12. If a Ruler hearken to lyes all his servants are wicked So Psal. 31. 18. 52. 3. Psal. 119. 163. I hate and abhor lying but thy Law do I love Prov. 13. 5. A righteous man hateth lying Ephes. 4. 25. Wherefore putting away lying speak every man truth with his neighbour for we are members one of another q. d. A man would not lye to deceive his own members no more should we to deceive one another In a word where the Love of God and man prevaileth there truth prevaileth but where self-love partiality and carnal self-interest prevail there lying is a houshold servant and thought a necessary means to these ends But because Lying is so common and so great a sin and many cases occur about it daily though I think what is said offereth matter enough to answer them I shall mention some more of them distinctly to help their satisfaction who cannot accommodate general answers to all their particular cases Quest. 1. Is frequent known lying a certain sign of a graceless state that is a mortal sin proving the Quest. 1. sinner to be in a state of damnation Answ. The difficulty of this case doth no more concern Lying than any other sin of equal malignity Therefore I must refer you to
your selves but rather give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance it mine I will repay saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head Be not overcome of evil that is the evil that is done against you but overcome evil with good Rom. 12. 19 20 21. He that becometh a Revenger for himself doth by his actions as it were say to God Thou art unjust and dost not do me justice and therefore I will do it for my self And shall such an impatient blaspheming Atheist go unpunished § 15. Consid. 9. Consider how much fitter God is than you to execute revenge and justice on your Consid. 9. enemies He hath the highest authority and you have none He is impartial and most just and you are unrighteous and perverted by selfishness and partiality He is Eternal and Omniscient and seeth to the end and what will be the consequent and therefore knoweth the fittest season and degree But you are short sighted creatures that see no further than the present day and know not what will be to morrow and therefore may be ignorant of an hundred things which would stop you and change your counsel if you had foreseen them He is most Wise and Good and knoweth what is fit for every person and how to do good with as little hurt as may be in the doing of it But you are ignorant of your selves and blinded by interest and passion and are so bad your selves that you are inclined to do hurt to others At least for ought you know you may miscarry in your passion and come off with guilt and a wounded conscience but you may be sure that God will not miscarry but will do all in perfect Wisdom and Righteousness and Truth § 16. Consid. 10. Do you not understand that your passion malice and revenge 1. Do hurt your Consid. 10. selves much more than they can hurt another and 2. Much more than any other can hurt you Would you be revenged on another And will you therefore hurt your selves The stone of reproach which you cast at him doth fly back into your face and wound your selves Do you not feel that the fire of â—assion and malice are like a scorching Feavor which overthrow your health and quietness and fill you full of restlesness and pain And will you do this against your selves because another hath abused you Did not he that offended you do enough against you If you would have more why are you offended with him If you would not have more why do you inflict it on your selves If you love disquietness why do you complain of him that doth disquiet you If you do not why do you disquiet your selves and that much more than he can do He that wrongeth you toucheth but your estates or bodies or names It may be it is but by a blast of wind the words of his mouth And will you therefore wound your selves at the very heart God hath lockt up your Heart from others None can touch that but your selves Their words their wrongs cannot reach your Hearts unless you open them the door yea unless it be your own doing Will you take the Dagger which pierced but your skin and pierce your own hearts with it because another so much wronged you If you do blame no one for it so much as your selves Blame them for touching your estates or names but blame your selves for all that is at your hearts And if you might desire anothers hurt it is folly to hurt your selves much more and to do a greater mischief to your selves that so you may do a less to him If you rail at him or slander or defame him you touch but his reputation If you trouble him at Law you touch but his estate If you beat him it reacheth but to his flesh But the passion and guilt is a fire in your own hearts and the wrath of God which you procure doth fall upon your souls for ever I have heard but of a few that have said openly I am contented to be damned so I may but be avenged But many thousands speak it by their deeds And O how just is their damnation who will run into Hell that they may hurt another Even as I have heard of some passionate Wives and Children who have hanged themselves or cut their throats to be revenged on their Husbands or Children by grieving them § 17. Consid. 11. Remember that malice and hurtfulness are the special sins and Image of the Devil Consid. 11. All sin is from him as the Tempter but some sins are so eminently his own that they may be called the Nature and Image of the Devil and those are principally Rebellion against God Malignity or enmity to good Pride or self-exaltation Lying and Calumny and Malice Hurtfulness and Murder These are above the sins of meer sensuality or carnality and most properly denominate men in whom they prevail the Serpents seed I speak but as Christ himself hath spoken Iohn 8. 44. to those that were esteemed the wisest and most ceremoniously religious of those times Ye are of your father the Devil and the lusts of your father ye will do He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him When he speaketh a Lye he speaketh of his own for he is a lyar and the father of it And what pity is it that a man that should bear the Image of God should be transformed as it were into an incarnate Devil and by being like to Satan and bearing his Image § 18. Consid. 12. The person that you are angry with is either a child of God or of the Devil and Consid. 12. one that must live either in Heaven or Hell If he be a child of God will not his Fathers interest and image reconcile you to him Will you hate and hurt a member of Christ If you have any hope of being saved your selves are you not ashamed to think of meeting him in Heaven whom you hated and persecuted here on earth If there were any shame and grief in Heaven it would overwhelm you there with shame and grief to meet those in the Union of those blessed joyes whom you hated and abused Believe unfeignedly that you must dwell with them for ever in the dearest intimacy of Eternal Love and you cannot possibly rage against them nor play the Devils against those with whom you must live in Unity before God But if they be wicked men and such as must be damned as malice will make you easily believe are they not miserable enough already in being the slaves of sin and Satan And will they not be miserable time enough and long enough in Hell Do you thirst to have them tormented before the time O cruel men O devillish malice Would you wish them more punishment than Hell fire Can you not patiently endure to
to hear an Atheist proving that there is no God You may believe the Scripture to be the Word of God and Christ to be the Saviour and the soul to be immortal long before you will be fit to manage or study Controversies hereupon For nothing is so false or bad which a wanton or wicked Wit may not put a plausible gloss upon And your raw unfurnished understandings will scarce be able to see through the pretence or escape the cheat When you cannot answer the Arguments of Seducers you will find them leave a doubting in your minds For you know not how plain the answer of them is to wiser men And though you must prove all things you must do it in due order and as you are able and stay till your furnished minds are capable of the tryal If you will need read before you know your Letters or pretend to judge of Greek and Hebrew Authors before you can read English you will but become ridiculous in your undertaking § 2. II. When you do come to smaller Controverted points let them have but their due proportion of your time and zeal And that will not be one hour in many dayes with the generality of private Christians By that time you have well learned the more necessary truths and practised daily the more necessary duties you will find that there will be but little time to spare for lesser Controversies Opinionists that spend most of their Time in studying and talking of such points do steal that time from greater matters and therefore from God and from themselves Better work is undone the while And they that here lay out their chiefest zeal divert their zeal from things more necessary and turn their natural heat into a Feavor § 3. III. The Essential necessary Truths of your Religion must imprint the Image of God upon your hearts and must dwell there continually and you must live upon them as your bread and drink and daily necessary food All other points must be studied in subserviency to those All lesser duties must be used as the exercise of the Love of God or man and of a humble heavenly mind The Articles of your Creed and points of Catechism are fountains ever running affording you matter for the continual exercise of Grace It is both plentiful and solid nourishment to the soul which these great substantial points afford To know God the Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier the Laws and Covenant of God and his Judgement and Rewards and Punishments with the parts and method of the Lords Prayer which must be the daily exercise of our desires and Love this is the Wisdom of a Christian and in these must he be continually exercised You 'l say perhaps that the Apostle saith Heb. 6. 1. Leaving the Principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on to perfection not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works c. Answ. 1. By leaving he meaneth not passing over the practice of them as men that have done with them and are past them But his leaving at that time to discourse of them or his supposing them taught already Though he lay not the foundation again yet he doth not pluck it up 2. By Principles he meaneth the first points to be taught and learnt and practised And indeed Regeneration and Baptism is not to be done again But the Essentials of Religion which I am speaking of contain much more especially to live in the love of God which Paul calls the more excellent way 1 Cor. 12. 13. 3. Going on to perfection is not by ceasing to believe and Love God but by a more distinct knowledge of the mysteries of salvation to perfect our Faith and Love and Obedience The points that Opinionists call Higher and think to be the principal matter of their growth and advancement in understanding are usually but some smaller less necessary truths if not some uncertain doubtful questions Mark well 1 Tim. 1. 4. 6. 4. 2 Tim. 2. 23. Tit. 3. 9. compared with Iohn 17. 3. Rom. 13. 8 9 10. 1 Cor. 13. 1 Iohn 3. 1 Cor. 1. 23. 15. 1 2 3. 2. 2. Gal. 6. 14. Iames 2. 3. 1. Direct 5. BE very thankful for the great mercy of your Conversion but yet overvalue not your Direct 5. first degrees of knowledge or holiness but remember that you are yet but in your infancy and must expect your growth and ripeness as the consequent of Time and Diligence § 1. You have great reason to be more glad and thankful for the least measure of true Grace than if you had been made the Rulers of the Earth it being of a far more excellent nature and entitling you to more than all the Kingdoms of the world See my Sermon called Right Rejoycing on those words of Christ Rejoyce not that the Spirits are subject to you but rather rejoyce because your names are written in Heaven Luke 10. 20. Christ will warrant you to Rejoyce though enemies envy you and repine both at your victory and triumph If there be joy in Heaven in the presence of the Angels at your Conversion there is great reason you should be glad your selves If the Prodigals Father will needs have the best Robe and Ring brought forth and the fat Calf killed and the Musick to attend the Feast that they may eat and be merry Luke 15. 23. there is great reason that the Prodigal Son himself should not have the smallest share of joy though his Brother repine § 2. But yet take heed lest you think the measure of your first endowments to be greater than it Fear is a cautelous preserving grace I aâ—rt saith of Cleanthes Cum aliquando probro illi daretur quod esset timidus At ideo inquit parum pecco is Grace imitateth Nature in beginning usually with small Degrees and growing up to maturity by leisurely proceeding We are not new born in a state of manhood as Adam was created Though those Texts that liken the Kingdom of God to a grain of Mustard-seed and to a little leaven Matth. 13. 31 33. be principally meant of the small beginnings and great encrease of the Church or Kingdom of Christ in the world yet it is true also of his Grace or Kingdom in the soul. Our first Stature is but to be New born babes desiring the sincere milk of the word that we may grow by it 1 Pet. 2. 2. Note here that the new birth bringeth forth but babes but growth is by degrees by feeding on the Word The Word is received by the heart as seed into the ground Matth. 13. And seed useth not to bring forth the blade and fruit to ripeness in a day § 3. Yet I deny not but that some men as Paul may have more Grace at their first Conversion than many others have at their full growth For God is free in the giving of his Own and may give more or less as pleaseth himself But yet in Paul himself
all the Essentials of Christianity or else they were not Christians And I must love all that are Christians with that special Love that 's due to the members of Christ though I must superadd such esteem for those that are a little wiser or better than others as they deserve § 7. The fourth pretence for Schism is the Holiness of the party that men adhere to But this must make but a gradual difference in our esteem and love to some Christians above others If really they are most Holy I must Love them most and labour to be as Holy as they But I must not therefore unjustly deny communion or due respect to other Christians that are less holy nor cleave to them as a Sect or divided party whom I esteem most holy For the holiest are most charitable and most against the divisions among Christians and tenderest of their Unity and Peace § 8. The summ of this Direction is 1. Highly value Christian Love and Unity 2. Love those most that are most Holy and be most familiar with them for your own edification and if you have your choice hold local personal communion with the soundest purest and best qualified Church 3. But entertain not hastily any odd opinion of a divided party or if you do hold it as an opinion lay not greater weight on it than there is cause 4. Own the best as best but none as a divided Sect and espouse not their dividing interest 5. Confine not your special Love to a party especially for agreeing in some opinions with you but extend it to all the members of Christ. 6. Deny not local communion when there is occasion for it to any Church that hath the substance of true Worship and forceth you not to sin 7. Love them as true Christians and Churches even when they thus drive you from their communion § 9. It is a most dangerous thing to a young Convert to be ensnared in a Sect It will before you are aware possess you with a feavorish sinful Zeal for the Opinions and interests of that Sect It will make you bold in bitter invectives and censures against those that differ from them It will corrupt your Church-communion and fill your very prayers with partiality and humane passions It will secretly bring malice under the name of Zeal into your minds and words In a word it is a secret but deadly enemy to Christian Love and Peace Let them that are wiser and more Orthodox and Godly than others shew it as the Holy Ghost directeth them James 3. 13 14 15 16 17 18. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you Let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom But if ye have bitter envying or zeal and strife in your hearts glory not and lie not against the truth This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual divelish For where envying and strife is there is confusion or tumult and every evil work But the wisdom that is from above is first Pure then Peaceable gentle easie to be intreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality or wrangling and without hypocrisie And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace Direct 9. TAke heed lest any persecution or wrong from others provoke you to any unwarrantable passions and practices and deprive you of the Charity meekness and innocency of a Christian or make you go beyond your bounds in censuring reviling or resisting your Rulers who are the Officers of God § 1. Persecution and wrongs are called Temptations in Scripture because they try you whether When the Arrian Bishops had made Hâ—nnerychuâ— believe thaâ— the Orthodox turned the appointed disputation into popular clamour and were against the King he forbad them to meet or to baptize or ordain and turned all the samâ— Laws against them which had been made against the Arrians Victor Uâ—ic p. 447 448. you will hold your integrity As many fall in such tryals through the fear of men and the love of the world and their prosperity so when you seem most confirmed against any sinful complyance there is a snare laid for you on the other side to draw you into passions and practices that are unwarrantable Those that are tainted with Pride Uncharitableness and Schism will itch to be persecuting those that comply not with them in their way And yet while they do it they will most cry out against Pride Uncharitableness and Schism themselves This is and hath been and will be too ordinary in the world You may think that Schism should be far from them that seem to do all for Order and Unity But never look to see this generally cured when you have said and done the best you can you must therefore resolve not only to fly from Church division your selves but also to undergo the persecutions or wrongs of Proud or Zealous Church-dividers It is great weakness in you to think such usage strange Do you not know that Enmity is put from the beginning between the womans and the Serpents seed And do you think the name or dead profession of Christianity doth extinguish the 〈◊〉 in the â—erpents seed Do you think to find more kindness from proud ungodly Christians 〈…〉 sine agnitione â—â—â—â—â— Dei atque hinc sine omni bonâ— siâ—e ulla affectione pia c. Et quod etiam qui ex illis 〈…〉 tâ—mpoâ—e possit esse fieri quod Cain fratri suâ— modo non desit occasio Nâ—ander 〈…〉 quâ— habet â—â— Regno Cainico pag. 38 39. than Abâ—â— might have expected from his Brother Cain Do you not know that the Pharisees by then zeal for their 〈◊〉 and Traditions and Ceremonies and the expectation of worldly dignity and rule from the Messiah were more zealous enemies of Christ than the Heathens were And that the caâ—nal members of the Church are oft the greatest persecutors of the spiritual members As then â—e that was born after the flesh did persecute him that was born after the Spirit even so it is 〈…〉 and will be Gal. 4. 29. It is enough for you that you shall have the inheritance when the Sâ—â—s of the Boâ—dwoman shall be cast out It is your taking the ordinary case of the godly for a strange thing that makes you so disturbed and passionate when you suffer And Reason is down when passion is up It is by overwhelming Reason with passion and discontent that oppressiâ—n maketh some wise men 〈◊〉 Ecclâ—s 7. 7. For passion is a short imperfect madness You will think in your pâ—ssion that yoâ— d 〈…〉 welâ— wâ—en you do ill and you will not perceive the force of reason when it is never so plain 〈…〉 against you Remember therefore that the great motive that causeth the Devil to persecute yâ—u 〈…〉 to â—â—rt your bodies but to tempt your souls to impatiency and sin And if it may but be 〈…〉 you as of Job 1. 22. In all this Job
grace which he hath given us 2. And by shewing us the truth of the Promise made to all believers 3. And by helping us from those Promises to conclude with boldness that we are the children of God 4. And by helping us to rejoyce therein § 12. II. I have been the longer though too short in acquainting you with the Office of the Holy Ghost supposing your Belief that he is the third person in the Trinity because it is an Article of grand importance neglected by many that profess it and because there are so many and dangerous errors in the world about it Your great care now must be 1. To find this Spirit in you as the Principle of your operations and 2. To obey it and follow its motions as it leadeth you up to communion with God Of the first I have spoken in the first Chapter For the second observe these few Directions § 13. Direct 1. Be sure you mistake not the Spirit of God and its motions nor receive instead of Direct 1. them the motions of Satan or of your passions pride or fleshly wisdom It is easie to think you are obeying the Spirit when you are obeying Satan and your own corruptions against the Spirit By these fruits the Spirit of God is known 1. The Spirit of God is for Heavenly Wisdom and neither for Foolishness or treacherous craftiness Psal. 19. 7. 94. 8. Jer. 4. 22. 1 Cor. 2. 4 5 6 7. 2. The Spirit of God is a Spirit of Love delighting to do good its doctrine and motions are for Love and tend to Good abhorring both selfishness and hurtfulness to others Gal. 5. 21 22. 3. He is a Spirit of Concord and is ever for the Unity of all believers abhorring both Divisions among the Saints and carnal complyances and â—onfederacies with the wicked 1 Cor. 12. Ephes. 4. 3 4 5 6 13. 1 Cor. 1. 10. Nâ—mo magnus sine aâ—iquo afflaâ—â— Dâ—vâ—â—o â—nquam suit â—â—â—â— 2. â—â— Nâ—â— Dâ—o 3. 3. Rom. 16 17 18. 4. He is a Spirit of humility and self-denyal making us and our knowledge and gifts and worth to be very little in our own eyes Abhorring pride ambition self-exalting boasting as also the actual debasing of our selves by earthliness or other sin Matth. 18. 3. Eph. 4. 2. 5. He is a Spirit of meekness and patience and â—orbearance Abhorring stupidity and inordinate passion boisterousness tumult envy contention reviling and revenge Math. 11. 28 29. Ephes. 4. 2. Iames 3. 1 Pet. 2. 20 21 23. Gal. 5. 20. Rom. 12. 18 19 20. Eph. 4. 31. Col. 3. 8. 6. He is a Spirit of zeal for God resolving men against known sin and for known truth and duty Abhorring a furious destroying zeal and also an indifferency in the cause of God and a yielding complyance with that which is against it Gal. 4. 18. Numb 25. 11 13. Titus 2. 14. Iames 3. 15. 17. Luke 9. 55. Rev. 3. 16. 7. He is a Spirit of Mortification crucifying the flesh and still conâ—ending against it and causeing men to live above all the Glory and Riches and Pleasures of the world Abhorring both carnal licentiousness and sensuality and also the destroying and disabling of the Body under preâ—ence of true mortification Rom. 8. 1. 13. Gal. 5. 17. Rom. 13. 13 14. 1 Cor. 9. 27. 2 Pâ—t 2. 19. Col. 2. 18 21 23. 8. The Spirit of Christ contradicteth not the doctrine of Christ in the holy Scripture but moveth us to an exact conformity thereto Isa. 8. 20. This is the sure Rule to try pretences and motions of every Spirit by For we are sure that the Spirit of Christ is the Author of that word and we are sure he is not contrary to himself 9. The motions of the Spirit do all tend to our Good and are neither Ludicrous impertinent or hurtful finally They are all for the perfecting of sanctification obedience and for our salvation Therefore unprofitable trifles or despair and hurtful distractions and disturbances of mind which drive from God unfit for duty and hinder salvation are not the motions of the Spirit of God 2 Tim. 1. 7. Rom. 8. 15. Isa. 11. 2. Gal. 5. 22. Zech. 12. 10. 1 Pet. 4. 14. 2 Cor. 3. 6. 10. Lastly The Spirit of God subjecteth all to God and raiseth the heart to him and maketh us spiritual and divine and is ever for Gods glory 1 Iohn 4 5 6. 1 Cor. 6. 11. 17 20. Ephes. 2. 18 22. Phil. 3. 3 19 20. 1 Pet. 1. 2. 4 6. Examine the Texts here cited and you will find that by all these fruits the Spirit of God is known from all seducing Spirits and from the fancies or passions of self-conceited men § 14. Direct 2. Quench not the Spirit either by wilful sin or by your neglecting of its offered help Direct â— It is as the spring to all your spiritual motions as the Wind to your Sails You can do nothing without it Therefore reverence and regard its help and pray for it and obey it and neglect it not When you are sure it is the Spirit of God indeed that is knocking at the door behave not your selves as if you heard not 1. Obey him speedily Delay is a present unthankful refusal and a kind of a denyal 2. Obey him throughly A half obedience is disobedience Put him not off with Ananias and Saphira's gift the half of that which he requireth of you 3. Obey him constantly not sometime hearkning to him and more frequently neglecting him but attending him in a learning obediential course of life § 15. Direct 3. Neglect not those means which the Spirit hath appointed you to use for the receiving Direct 3. of us help and which be useth in his holy operations If you will meet with him attend him in his own way and expect him not in by-wayes where he useth not to go Pray and meâ—itaâ—e and hear and read and do your best and expect his blessing Though your plowing and sâ—winâ— will not give you a plentiful harvest without the Sun and Rain and the blessing of God yet these will not do â—t neither unless you plow and sow God hath not appointed a course of means in Nature or Morality in vain nor will he use to meet you in any other way § 16. Direct 4. Do most when the Spirit helpeth you most Neglect not the extraordinary measures Direct 4. of his assistance If he extraordinarily help you in prayer or meditation improve that help and break not â—st so soon as at other times without necessity Not that you should omit duty till you seel his help For he useth to come in with help in the performance and not in the neglect of duty But tire not out your self with affected length when you want the life § 17. Direct 5. Be not unthankful for the assistance he hath given you Deny not his grace Direct 5. Ascribe it not to nature Remember it to encourage your future expectations
of honour than of obscurity and contempt of mens praises and applause than of their disprâ—â—ses slanders and repâ—â—â—â—h of preâ—erment and greatness than of a low and mean condition of a delicious than of lâ—ss tempting meats and drinks of curious costly than of mean and cheap and plain attire Let those that have hired out their reason to the service of their fleshly lusts and have delivered the Crown and Sâ—epter to their appetites think otherwise No wonder if they that have sold the birthright of their intellects to their senses for a meâ—s of Pottage for a Whore or a high place or a domineering power over others or a belly full of pleasant Meats or Liquors do deride all this and think it but a melancholy conceit more suitable to an Eremiâ—e or Anchorite than to men of society and business in the world As Heaven is the portion of serious believers and mortified Saints alone so it shall be proper to them alone to understand the doctrine and example of their Saviour and practically to know what it is to deny themselves and forsake all they have and take up their Cross and follow Christ and by the Spirit to mortifiâ— the deeds of the body Luke 14. 26 27 28 29 33. Rom. 8. 5 6 7 13. Col. 3. 1 2 3 4. Such know that millions part with God for Pleasures but none for Griefs and that Hell will be stored with those that preferred Wealth and Honour and Sports and gluttony drink and filthy lusts before the Holiness and happiness of believers but none will be damn ed for preferring poverty and disgrace and abstinence hunger and thirst and chastity before them It must be something that seemeth good that must entice men fâ—om the chiefest Good Apparent Evil is no fit bait for the Devils hook Men will not displease God to be themselves displeased nor choose present sorrows instead of everlasting joyes but for the pleasures of sin for a season many will despise the endless pleasures § 23. Direct 10. Meet every motion to disobedience with an Army of holy Graces with wisdom and Direct 10. fear and hatred and resolution with Love to God with Zeal and courage and quench every spark that falls upon your hearts befâ—re it break out into a flame When sin is little and in its infancy it is weak and easily resisted It hath not then turned away the mind from God nor quenched grace and disablâ—d it to do its office But when it s grown strong then grace grows weak and we want its help and want the sense of the presence and Attributes and truths of God to rebuke it O stay not till your hearts are gone out of hearing and stragled from God beyond the observance of his Calls The Habit of Obedience will be dangerously abated if you resist not quickly the acts of sin § 24. Direct 11. Labour for the clearest understanding of the Will of God that doubtfulness about Direct 11. your duty do not make you flag in your obedience and doubtfulness about sin do not weaken your detestation and resistance and draw you to venture on it When a man is sure what is his Duty it is a great help against all temptations that would take him off And when he is sure that a thing is sinful it makes it the easier to resist And therefore it is the Dâ—vils Method to delude the understanding and make men believe that duty is no duty and sin is no sin and then no wonder if duty be neglected and sin committed And therefore he raiseth up one false Prâ—phet or other to say to Ahab Go and prosper or to say There is no hurt in this To dispute for sin and to dispute against Duty And it is almost incredible how much the Devil hath got when he hath once but made it a matter of Controversie Then every hypocrite hath a cloke for his sin and a dose of Opium for his Conscience when he can but say It is a Controversie some are of one mind and some of another you are of that Opinion and I am of this Especially if there be wise and learned on both sides and yet more if there be Religious men on both sides And more yet if he have an equal number on his side And most of all if he have the major Vote as error and sin have commonly in the world If Ahab have but four hundred lying flattering Prophets to one Micaiah he will think he may hate him reproach him and persecute him without any sâ—â—â—â—ple of Conscience If it be made a Controversie whether Bread be Bread and Wine be Wine when we see and taste it some will think they may venture to subscribe or swear that they hold the Negative if their credit or livings or lives lie upon it much more if they can say It is the judgement of the Church If it be once made a Controversie whether perjury be a sin or whether a Vow materially lawful bind or whether it be lawful to equivocate or lye with a mental reservation for the truth or to do the greatest evil or speak the falsest thing with a true and good intent and meaning almost all the hypocrites in the Countrey will be for the sinful part if their fleshly interest require it And will think themselves wronged if they are accounted hypocrites lyâ—rs or perjured as long as it is but a Point of Controversie among learned men If it be once made a Controversie whether an Excommunicate King become a private man and it be lawful to kill him and whether the Pope may absolve the subjects of Temporal Lords from their Allegiance notwithstanding all their Oaths and if such Learned men as Zuarez Bellarmine Perron c. are for it to say nothing of Santarellus Mariana c. you shall have a Clement a Ravilliack a Faux yea too great choice of instruments that will be satisfied to strike the blow If many hold it may or must be dâ—ne some will be found too ready to do it especially if an approved General Council Lateran sub Innâ—c 3. Can. 3. be for such Papal absolution We have seen at home how many will be emboldned to pull down Government to sit in Judgement on their King and condemn him and to destroy their Brethren if they can but say that such and such men think it lawful If it were but a Controversie once whether drunkenness whoredom swearing stealing or any villany be a sin or not it would be committed more commonly and with much less regret of conscience Yea good men will be ready to think that modesty requireth them to be less censorious of those that commit it because in controverted cases they must suspect their own understandings and allow something to the judgement of dissenters And so all the Rules of Love and Peace and Moderation which are requisite in Controversies that are about small and difficult points the Devil will make use of and apply them all to the patronage of
diseases of the Understanding may be How the understanding can be the subject oâ— sin called sin Because the Understanding is not a Free but a Necessitated faculty And there can be no sin where there is no Liberty But to clear this it must be considered 1. That it is not this or that faculty that is the full and proper subject of sin but the Man the fulness of sin being made up of the vice of both faculties understanding and will conjunct It s properer to say The man sinned than the Intellect or Will sinned speaking exclusively as to the other 2. Liberum arbitrium Free choice is belonging to the Man and not to his Will only though principally to the Will 3. Though the Will only be Free in it self originally yet the Intellect is Free by participation so far as it is commanded by the Will or dependeth on it for the Exercise of its acts 4. Accordingly though the Understanding primitively and of it self be not the subject of morality of moral Virtues or of moral Vices which are immediately and primarily in the Will yet participatively its Virtues and Vices are moralized and become graces or sins laudable and rewardable or vituperable and punishable as they are imperate by the will or depend upon it Consider then the Acts and Habits and disposition of the Understanding And you will find 1. That some acts and the privation of them are Necessary Naturally Originally and unalterably and these are not virtues or sinful at all as having no morality As to know unwillingly as the Devils do and to Believe when it cannot be resisted though they would this is no moral Vertue at all but a natural perfection only So 1. To be ignorant of that which is no object of knowledge or which is naturally beyond our knowledge as of the Essence of God is no sin at all 2. Nor to be ignorant of that which was never revealed when no fault of ours hindred the revelation is no sin 3. Nor to be without the present actual knowledge or consideration of one point at that moment when our thoughts are lawfully diverted as in greater business or suspended as in sleep 4. But to be ignorant wilfully is a sin participatively in the intellect and originally in the will 5. And to be ignorant for want of Revelation when our selves are the hinderers of that revelation or the meritorious cause that we want it is our sin Because though that ignorance be immediately necessary and hypâ—thâ—tically yet originally and remotely it is Free and Voluntary So as to the Habits and Dispositions of the intellect It is no sin to want those which mans Understanding in its entire and primitive Nature was without As not to be able to know without an object or to know an unrevealed or too distant object or actually to know all things know able at onâ—â— But there are defects or ill dispositions that are sinfully contracted and though these are now immediately natural and necessary yet being originally and remotely voluntary or free they are participatively sinful Such is the natural mans disability or undisposedness to know the things of the Spirit when the Word revealeth them This lyeth not in the want of a Natural faculty to know them but 1. Radically in the will 2. And thence in contrary false apprehensions which the Intellect is prepossessed with which resisting the truth may be called its blindness or impotency to know them And 3. In a strangeness of the mind to those spiritual things which it is utterly unacquainted with Note here 1. That the will may be guilty of the understandings ignorance two wayes either by Pâ—sitive averseness prohibiting or diverting it from beholding the evidence of truth Or by a Privation and forbearance of that command or excitation which is necessary to the exercise of the acts of the understanding This last is the commonest way of the sin in the understanding and that may be truly called Voluntary which is from the wills neglect of its office or suspension of its act though there be no actual Volition or Nolition 2. That the will may do more in causing a disease in the understanding than it can do in curâ—â—â—â— it I can put out a mans eyes but I cannot restore them 3. That yet for all that God hath so ordered it in his gracious dispensation of the â—â—aâ—â— of the Redeemer that certain means are appointed by him for man to use in order to the obtaining of his grace for his own recovery And so though grace cure not the understanding of its primitive natural weakness yet it cureth it of its contracted weakness which was voluntary in its Original but necessary being contracted And as the will had a hand in the causing of it so must it have in the Voluntary use of the foresaid means in the Cure of it So much to shew you how the Understanding is guilty of sin § 4. Though no actual knowledge be so immediate as to be without the Mediation of the sense 〈…〉 and ma 〈…〉 the 〈◊〉 and fantasie yet supposing these Knowledge is distinguished into Immediate and Mediate The Immediate is when the Being Quality c. of a thing or the Truth of a proposition is known immediately in it self by its proper evidence Mediate knowledge is when the Being of a thing or the truth of a proposition is known by the means of some other intervenient thing or proposition whose evidence affordeth us a light to discern it The understanding is much more satisfied when it can see Things and Truths immediately in their proper evidence But when it cannot it is glad of any means to help it The further we go in the series of Means knowing one thing by another and that by another and so on the more unsatisfied the understanding is as apprehending a possibility of mistake and a difficulty in escaping mistake in the use of so many media's When the evidence of one thing in its proper nature sheweth us another this is to know by meer discourse or argument When the Medium of our knowing one thing is the Credibility of another mans report that knoweth it this is though a discourse or argument too yet in special called Belief which is strong or weak certain or uncertain as the evidence of the reporters Credibility is certain or uncertain and our apprehension of it strong or weak In both cases the understandings fault is either an utter privation of the act or disposition to it or else a privation of the rectitude of the act When it should know by the proper evidence of the Thing the privation of its act is called Ignorance or Nescience and the privation of its rectitude is called Error which differ as not-seeing and seeing-falsly When it should know by Testimony the privation of its act is simple unbelief or not-believing and the privation of its rectitude is either Disbelief when they think the reporter erreth or Mis-belief when it
Clem. Alexand. 2. Poedag 12. understood with a caeteris paribus For its possible some cases of exception may be found Pauls is a high instance that could have wished himself accursed from Christ for the sake of the Jews as judging Gods honour more concerned in all them than in him alone § 15. Direct 12. Prefer a durable good that will extend to posterity before a short and transitory good As to build an Alms-house is a greater work than to give an Alms and to erect a School than to teach a Scholar so to promote the settlement of the Gospel and a faithful Ministry is the greatest of all as tending to the good of many even to their everlasting good This is the preheminence of Good Books before a transient speech that they may be a more durable help and benefit Look before you with a judicious foresight and as you must not do that present Good to a particular person which bringeth greater hurt to many so you must not do that present good to one or many which is like to produce a greater and more lasting hurt Such blind reformers have used the Church as ignorant Physitions use their patients who give them a little present ease and cast them into greater misery and seem to cure them with a dose of opium or the Jesuits powder when they are bringing them into a worse disease than that which they pretend to cure O when shall the poor Church have wiser and foreseeing helpers § 16. Direct 13. Let all that you do for the Churches good be sure to tend to HOLINES and PEACE Direct 13. and do nothing under the name of a good work which hath an enmity to either of these For these are to the Church as Life and Health are to the body and the increase of its wellfare is nothing else but the increase of these What ever they pretend believe none that say they seek the good and wellfare of the Church if they seek not the promoting of Holiness and Peace If they hinder the powerful preaching of the Gospel and the means that tendeth to the saving of souls and the serious spiritual worshiping of God and the unity and peace of all the faithful and if they either divide the faithful into sects and parties or worry all that differ from them and humor them not in their conceits take all these for such benefactors to the Church as the wolf is to the flock and as the plague is to the City or the feavor to the body or the fire in the thatch is to the house The wisdom from above is first PURE then PEACEABLE gentle c. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts glory not and lie not against the truth this wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual devilish For where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work â—am 3. 14 15 16 17 18. § 17. Direct 14. If you will do the good which God accepteth do that which he requireth and put Direct 14. not the name of good works upon your sins nor upon unnecessary things of your own invention nor think not that any Good must be accomplished by forbidden means None know what pleaseth God so well as himself Our waies may be right in our own eyes and carnal wisdom may think it hath devised the fittest means to honour God when he may abominate it and say who required this at your hand And if we will do good by sinning we must do it in despite of God who is engaged against our sins and us Rom. 3. 8. God needeth not our lie to his glory If Papists think to find at the last day their foppish ceremonies and superstition and will-worship their touch not taste not handle not to be reckoned to them as Good works or if Jesuites or Enthusiasts think to find their Perjurie Treasons Rebellions or conspiracies numbred with good works or the persecuting of the Preachers and faithful professors of Godliness to be good works how lamentably will they find their expectations disappointed § 18. Direct 15. Keep in the way of your Place and calling and take not other mens works upon Direct 15. you without a call under any pretense of doing good Magistrates must do good in the place and work of Magistrates and Ministers in the place and work of Ministers and private men in their private place and work and not one man step into anothers place and take his work out of his hand and say I can do it better For if you should do it better the disorder will do more harm than you did good by bettering his work One Iudge must not step into anothers Court and Seat and say I will pass more righteous judgement You must not go into another mans School and say I can teach your Scholars better nor into anothers charge or Pulpit and say I can preach better The servant may not rule the Master because he can do it best no more than you may take another mans Wife or House or Lands or Goods because you can use them better than he Do the Good that you are called to § 19. Direct 16. Where God hath prescribed you some particular Good work or way of service you Direct 16. must prefer that before another which is greater in its self This is explicatory or limiting of Dir. 8. The reason is because God knoweth best what is pleasing to him and Obedience is better than Sacrafice You must not neglect the necessary maintenance of Wife and Children under pretense of doing a work of piety or greater good because God hath prescribed you this order of your duty that you begin at home though not to stop there Another Minister may have a greater or more needy flock but yet you must first do good in your own and not step without a call into his charge If God have called you to serve him in a low and mean imployment he will better accept you in that work than if you undertook the work of another mans place to do him greater service § 20. Direct 17. Lose not your resolutions or opportunities of doing good by unnecessary delayes Direct 17. Prov. 3. 27 28. With-hold not good from them to whom it is due when it is in the power of thine hand to do it Say not to thy neighbour Goe and come again and to morrow I will give when thou hast it by thee Prov. 27. 1. Boast not thy self of to morrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth It 's two to one but delay will take away thine opportunity and raise such unexpected diversions or difficulties as will frustrate thine intent and destroy the work Take thy Time if thou wilt do thy service It is beautiful in its season Direct 18. § 21. Direct 18. Yet present necessity may make a lesser work to be thy duty when the greater may better bear delay As to save a mans
you have the wisdom which is from above if you be first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and hypocrisie James 3. 17. But if you have hitter envying and strife in your hearts glory not and lye not against the truth as if this were the wisdom from above which glorifieth God For this wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual and devilish v. 14 15. A mâ—â—k and quiet Spirit is of great price in the sight of God 1 Pet. 3 4. An Ornament commended to women by the Scripture which is amiable in the eyes of all § 39. Direct 8. It honoureth God and your profession when you abound in love and in good works Direct 8. Loving the godly with a special love but all men with so much love as makes you earnestly desirous of their wâ—lâ—aâ—e and to love your enemies and put up wrongs and to study to do good to all and hurt to none To be abundant in love is to be like to God who is LOVE it self 1 Iohn 4. 7 11. and shâ—wâ—th that God dwelleth in us v. 12. All men may know that we are Christs Disciples if we love one another Iohn 13. 35. This is the new and the great commandment The fulfilling of the Law Rom. 13. 10. John 15. 12 17 13. 34. You will be known to be the children of your heavenly Father if you love your enemies and bless them that curse yâ—u and pray for them that hate and persecute you and dâ—spightfully use you Matth. 5. 44. Do all the good that possibly you can if you would be like him that doth good to the evil and whose mercies are over all his works Shew the world that you are his workmanship created to good works in Christ Iesus which he hath ordained for you to walk in Eph. 2. 10. Herein is your Father glorified that ye bring forth much fruit John 15. 8. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven Matth. 5. 16. Honour God with thy substance and with the first fruits of all thy increase Prov. 3. 9. And thâ—se that honour him he will honour 1 Sam. 2. 30. When barren worldly hypocrites that honour God only with their lips and flattering words shall be used as those that really dishonour him § 40. Direct 9. The Unity Concord and Peace of Christians doth glorifie God and their profession Direct 9. when their divisions contentions and malicious persecutiâ—ns of one another doth heinously dishonour him Men reverence that faith and practice which they see us unanimously accord in And the same men will despise both it and us when they see us together by the ears about it and hear us in a Babel of confusion one saying This is the way and another That is it one saying Lo here is the true Church and Worship and another saying Lo it is there Not that one man or a few must make a Shoo meet for his own foot and then say All that will not dishonour God by discord must wear this Shâ—â— Think as I think and say as I say or else you are Schismaticks But we must all agree in believing and obeying God and walking by the same rule so far as we have attained Phil. 3. 15 16. The strong must bear the infirmities of the weak and not please themselves but every one of us please his neighbour for good to edification and be like minded one towards another according to Christ Iesus that we may with one mind and one mouth glorifie God Receiving one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God Rom. 15. 1 2 5 6 7. § 41. Direct 10. Iustice commutative and distributive private and publick in bargainings and in Direct 10. Government and Iudgement doth honour God and our profession in the eyes of all when we do no wrong but do to all men as we would they should do to us Matth. 7. 12. That no man go beyond or defraud his brother in any matter for the Lord is the avenger of all such 1 Thess. 4 6. That a mans word be his Master and that we lye not one to another nor equivocate or deal subtilly and deceitfully but in plainness and singleness of heart and in simplicity and godly sincerity have our conversation in the world Perjured persons and Covenant-breakers that dissolve the bonds of humane society and take the name of God in vain shall find by his vengeance that he holdeth them not guiltless § 42. Direct 11. It much glorifieth God to worship him rationally and purely in Spirit and in truth Direct 11. according to the glory of his wisdom and goodness and it dishonoureth him to be worshipped ignorantly and carnally with spells and mimical irrational actions as if he were less wise than serious grave underderstanding men The worshippers of God have great cause to take heed how they behave themselves Lest they meet with the reward of Nadab and Abihu and God tell them by his judgements that he will be sanctified in all them that come nigh him and before all the people he will be glorified Lev. 10. 1 2 3. The second Commandment is enforced by the Iealousie of God about his Worship Ignorant rude unseemly words or unhansome gestures which tend to raise contempt in the auditors or levity of speech which makes men laugh is abominable in a Preacher of the Gospel And so is it to pray irrationally incoherently confusedly with vain repetitions and tautologies as if men thought to be heard for their babling over so many words while there is not so much as an appearance of a well composed serious rational and reverent address of a fervent soul to God To worship God as the Papists do with Images Agnus Dei's Crucifixes Crossings Spittle Oyl Candles Holy Water kissing the Pax dropping Beads praying to the Virgin Mary and to other Saints repeating over the Name of Iesus nine times in a breath and saying such and such sentences so oft praying to God in an unknown Tongue and saying to him they know not what adoring the consecrated Bread as no Bread but the very flesh of Christ himself choosing the tutelar Saint whose name they will invocate fasting by feasting upon Fish instead of Flesh saying so many Masses a day and offering Sacrifice for the quick and the dead praying for souls in Purgatory purchasing Indulgences for their deliverance out of Purgatory from the Pope carrying the pretended bones or other Relicts of their Saints the Popes canonizing now and then one for a Saint pretending Miracles to delude the people going on Pilgrimages to Images Shrines or Relicks offering before the Images with a multitude more of such parcâ—lls of Devotion do most heinously dishonour God and as the Apostle truly saith do make unbelievers say They are mad 1 Cor. 14. 23. and that they are children in understanding and not men v.
Laws for the preservation of so excellent a thing as Truth he should not secure the happiness of the world As to the securing of mens lives it is not enough to make a Law that you shall not kill men without just cause though that be all that the Law intendeth to attain for then every man being left to judge would think there were just cause whenever his passion or interest told him so But the Law is You shall not kill at all without the judgement of the Magistrate So if the Law against Lying did intend no more than the securing men from the injuries of errour and deceit yet would it not have been a sufficient means to have said only You shall not injure men by Lying for then men would have judged of the injury by their own interests and passions But much more is it needful to have a stricter Law when Truth it self is the thing that God intendeth to secure as well as the interest of men In the eyes of Christians and Heathens and all mankind that have not unmand themselves there appeareth a singular beauty and excellency in Truth Aristotle could say that the Nature of man is made for Truth Cicero could say that Qâ—â—d verum simplex sincerumque est id naturae bominis accommodatissimum est Verity and Virtue were ever taken as the inseparable perfections of man Pythagoras could say that to Love Truth and do Good were the two things that made man likest to God and therefore were his two most excellent gifts Plato could say that Truth was the best rhetorick and the sweetest oration Epictetus could say that Truth is a thing immortal eternal of all things most precious better than friendship as being less obnoxious to blind affections Iamblichus could say that as Light naturally and constantly accompanyeth the Sun so Truth accompanyeth God and all that follow him Epaminondas is praised for that he would not Lye no not in jeast Pomponius Atâ—icus was so great a hater of a lye that all his friends were desirous to Trust him with their â—â—â—â—y lye iâ— evil and to be avoided saâ—â—h Aristot. Eâ—hâ—c l 4 See Psal. 5. â— Prov. 6 17 19. 12. 22. 19. 5 9. 21 18 Rev. 21. 27. 22 15. Joh. 8. 44. Col. 3. 9. business and use him as their Counsellor He knoweth not what use mans understanding or his tongue were made for that knoweth not the excellency of Truth Let a Pilate only ask as a stranger what is Truth Joh. 18. 38. as Pharaoh asked who is the Lord For this end Christ himself came into the world to bear witness to the Truth and every one that is of the Truth will hear him Joh. 18. 37. He is the Truth Joh. 14. 6. and full of Grace and Truth Joh. 1. 14. Grace and Truth came by him Joh. 1. 17. His spirit is given to guide his servants into the Truth Joh. 16. 13. and to sanctifie them by the truth Joh. 17. 19. that knowing the truth it might make them free Joh. 8. 32. The fruit of the spirit is in all truth Ephes. 5. 9. His Ministers can do nothing against the truth but for the truth 2 Cor. 13. 8. Truth is the girdle that must gird our loins Ephes 6. 14. The Church is the pillar and ground of Truth 1 Tim. 3. 15. The faithful are they that believe and know the Truth 1 Tim. 4. 3. Speaking the truth in Love is the way of the Churches growth and edification Ephes. 4. 15. Repentance is given men to the acknowledging of the Truth that they may escape out of the power of the Devil 2 Tim. 2. 25 26. The dullards are they that are never able to come to the knowledge of the truth 2 Tim. 3. 7. They are men of perverse minds that resist the Truth 2 Tim. 3. 8. They that receive not the Truth in the Love of it cannot be saved 2 Thes. 2. 10. All they are damned that believe not the Truth 2 Thes. 2. 12 13. You see what Truth is in the judgement of God and all the sober world Therefore a Lye that is contrary to Truth as darkness to Light must be equally odious as truth is amiable No wonder therefore if it be absolutely forbidden of God § 21. 3. You may the easilyer perceive this by considering that other faults of the tongue as idle talk swâ—aring and such like are forbidden not only because they are a hurt to others but for the intrinsical evil in the thing it self Great reason therefore that it should be so in this § 22. 4. Lying is a vice which maketh us most unlike to God For he is called the God of truth Psal. 31. 5. Deut. 32. 4. All his ways are mercy and truth Psal. 25. 10. His judgement is according to truth Rom. 2. 2. It is impossible for God to lye Heb. 6. 18. Tit. 1. 2. His word is the word Numb 23. 19. 1 Sam. 15. 29. 1 Joh. 5. 10. of truth Psal. 119. 43. Col. 1. 5. 2 Tim. 2. 15. Jam. 1. 15. 2 Cor. 6. 7. And who shall dwell in his Tabernacle but thâ—se that speak the truth in their hearts Psal. 15. 2. The disconformity of the soul to God then being its greatest dâ—formity in things wherein it is made to be conform to him it may hence appear that Lying is an odious sin And this may the easilyer appear if you consider what a case the world were in if God could lye and were not of undoubted truth we should then be sure of nothing and therefore could have no sure information by his word no sure direction and guidance by his precepts and no sure consâ—lation in any of his promises Therefore that which maketh us so unlike to the true and holy God must needs be odious § 23. 5. Lying is the Image or work of the Devil and Lyars are his Children in a special sort For Christ telleth us that he abode not in the truth for there is no truth in him when he speaketh a lye he speaketh of his own for he is a lyar and the father of it Joh. 8. 44. The Proud the Malicious and 1 King 22. 22 23. I will be a lying spirit in the moâ—â—hâ— of all his Prophets 2 Chron 18. 21 22. the Lyars are in a special sort the Children of the Devil for these three are in Scripture in a special manner made the Devils sins Therefore sure there is an intrinsical evil and odiousness in a lye It was Satan that filled the hearts of Ananias and Saphira to Lye to the Holy Ghost Act. 5. 3. To change the Truth of God into a lye and to make God a lyar are therefore the most odious sins Rom. 1. 25. 1 Joh. 5. 10. because it is a feigning him to be like the Devil And should we make our selves like him then by the same vice If you love not the Devils sin and image love not a lye § 24. 6. Lying destroyeth humane converse and bringeth
of the thoughts of men if you would not be lyars Pride makes men so desirous of reputation and so impatient of the hard opinion of others that all the honest endeavours of the Proud are too little to procure the reputation they desire and Direct 4. therefore Lying must make up the rest Shame is so intolerable a suffering to them that they make lyes the familiar cover of their nakedness He that hath not Riches hath Pride and would be thought some body and therefore will set out his estate by a lye He that hath not eminency of Parentage and Birth if he have Pride will make himself a Gentleman by a lye He that is a contemptible person at home if he be Proud will make himself honourable among strangers by a lye He that wanteth Learning Degrees or any thing that he would be proud of will endeavour by a lye to supply his wants Even as wanton Women by the actual lye of Painting would make themselves Beautiful through a proud desire to be esteemed Especially he that committeth a shameful crime if he be Proud will rather venture on a lye than on the shame But if your Pride be cured your temptation to lying will be as nothing You will be so indifferent in matters of honour or reputation as not to venture your souls on Gods displeasure for it Not that any should be impudent Avoid both the extreams which Pâ—tâ—ach mâ—ntiâ—neth Nam ut multi qui se bonos â—ic aâ—â—quâ— qui se malos fingeâ—enâ— sunt reperti quod vel humani favoris pâ—stilentem auram vel invisam bonorum temporalium sarcinam declinâ—rent Quod de Ambrosio lectum est Quam similis amiciuae aduâ—atio non imitatur tanâ—um â—â—â—â—am sed vincit eo ipso gratiosos facit quo laed t. Sâ—â—ec or utterly regardless of their reputation But none should over-value it nor prefer it before their souls nor seek it by unlawful means Avoid shame by well-dâ—ing and spare not Only see that you have a higher end Seneca saith There are more that abstain from sin through shame than through virtue or a good will It 's well when virtue is so much in credit and vice in discredit that those that have not the virtue would fain have the name and those that will not leave the vice would scâ—pe the shame And it 's well that there are humane motives to restrain them that care not for Divine ones But as humane motives cause no saving virtues so devillish and wicked means are far from preventing any pernicious hurt being the certain means to procure it § 32. Direct 5. Avoid Ambition and humane unnecessary dependance if you would avoid lying Direct 5. For the ambitious give up themselves to men and therefore flattering must be their trade And how much of lying is necessary to the composition of flattery I need not tell you Truth is seldom taken for the fittest instrument of flattery It 's contrarily the common road to hatred Libere sine adulatione veritatem praedicantes gesta pravae vitae arguentes gratiam non habent apud homines saith Ambros. They that Preach Truth freely and without flattery and reprove the deeds of a wicked Hieâ—oâ— iâ— Gal 4. life find not favour with men Veritatem semper inimicitiae persequuntur Hatred is the shadow of Truth as envy is of Happiness When Aristippus was asked why Dionysius spake so much against him he answered for the same reason that all other men do Intimating that it was no wonder if the Tyrant was impatient of Truth and plain dealing when it is so with almost all mankind They are so culpable that all but flatterers seem to handle them too hard and hurt their sores Cujus aures clausae veritati sunt ut ab aâ—â—â—â—o verum auâ—ire nequeat hujuâ— salus despeâ—anda est Ci â—â— â—hâ—t li 1. Nâ—mo parasitum caâ—um amaâ— Materia quoque fâ—ngendi tempore conseâ—esâ—â—t Athâ—â—â—â—â—s Malum hominem â—landiloquâ—ntâ—m agâ—â—sce tuum laqueum esse Habâ—t suum venenum blanda Oraâ—â—o Sâ—â—ec And herein lyeth much of the misery of Great men that few or none deal truly with them but they are flattered into perdition Saith Seneca Divites cum omnia habent unum illis deest scilicet qui verum dicat si enim in clientelam foelicis hominis potentumque perveneris aut veritas aut amicitia perdenda est One thing Rich men want when they have all things that is a man to speak the truth For if thou become the dependant or client of prosperous or great men thou must cast away or lose either the Truth or their friendship Hierome thought that therefore Christ had not a house to put his head in because he would flatter no body and therefore no body would entertain him in the City And the worst of all is that where flattery reigneth it is taken for a duty and the neglect of it for a vice As Hieron ad Cel. saith Quodque gravissimum est quia humilitatis aâ— benevolentiae loco ducitur ita fit utqui adulari nescit aut invidus aut superbus reputetur i. e. And which is most grievous because it goes for humility and kindness it comes to pass that he that cannot flatter is taken to be envious or proud But the time will come that the flatterer will be hated even by him that his fallacious praises pleased Deceit and lyes do please the flattered person but a while even till he find the bitterness of the effects and the fruit have told him that it was but a sugered kind of enmity And therefore he will not be long pleased with the flatterer himself Flattery ever appeareth at last to be but perniciosa dulcedo as Austin calls it Saith the same Austin in Psal. 59. There are two sorts of persecutors the opposer or dispraiser and the flatterer but the tongue of the flatterer hurteth more than the hand of the persecuter And think not that any mans Prov. 12. 19. greatness or favour will excuse thee or save thee harmless in thy lyes for God that avengeth them is greater than the greatest Saith Austin li. de mendac Quisquis autem esse aliquod genus mendacii quod peccatum non sit putaverit decipiet semetipsum turpiter cum honestum se deceptorem arbitretur aliorum i. e. whoever thinks that there is any kind of lye that is no sin he deceiveth himself fouly whilest he thinks himself an honest deciever of others Be not the servants of men if you would be true 1 Cor. 7. 23. § 33. Direct 5. Love not Covetousness if you would not be lyars A lye will seem to a Covetous Direct 6. man an easie means to procure his gain to get a good bargain or put off a crackt commodity for Read Prov. 21. 6. more than it is worth Rupêre foedus impius luâ—ri furor ira praeceps Sen. Hip. He that loveth money better than God and Conscience will
the Enemies of Religion that forbad Christs Ministers to preach his Gospel and forbad Gods servants to meet in Church-assemblies for his Worship the support of Religion and the comfort and edification of believers would then lye almost all upon the right performance of family-duties There Masters might teach the same truth to their housholds which Ministers are forbid to preach in the Assemblies There you might pray together as fervently and spiritually as you can There you may keep up as holy converse and communion and as strict a discipline as you please There you may celebrate the praises of your blessed Creator Redeemer and Sanctifier and observe the Lords Day in as exact and spiritual a manner as you are able You may there provoke one another to Love and to good works and rebuke every sin and mind each other to prepare for death and live together as passengers to eternal life Thus holy families may keep up Religion and keep up the life and comfort of believers and supply the want of publick preaching in those Countreys where persecutors prohibit and restrain it or where unable or unfaithful Pastors do neglect it § 8. Motive 8. The duties of your families are such as you may perform with greatest peace and least exception Motive 8. or opposition from others When you go further and would be instructing others they will think you go beyond your Call and many will be suspicious that you take too much upon you And if you do but gently admonish a rowt of such as the Sodomites perhaps they will say This one fellow came in to sojourn and he will needs be a Iudge Gen. 19. 9. But your own house is your Castle Your family is your charge You may teach them as oft and as diligently as you will If the ungodly rabble scorn you for it yet no sober person will condemn you nor trouble you for it if you teach them no evil All men must confess that Nature and Scripture oblige you â—o it as your unquestionable work And therefore you may do it among sober people with approbation and quietness § 9. Motive 9. Well governed Families are honourable and exemplary unto others Even the worldly and Motive 9. ungodly use to bear a certain reverence to them For Holiness and Order have some witness that commendeth them in the consciences of many that never practised them A worldly ungodly disordered family is a Den of Snakes a place of hissing railing folly and confusion It is like a Wilderness overgrown with Bryars and Weeds But a holy family is a Garden of God It is beautified with his Graces and ordered by his Government and fruitful by the showres of his heavenly blessing And as the very sluggard that will not be at the cost and pains to make a Garden of his thorny Wilderness may yet confess that a Garden is more beautiful and fruitful and delightful and if wishing would do it his Wilderness should be such Even so the ungodly that will not be at the cost and pains to order their souls and families in holiness may yet see a beauty in those that are so ordered and wish for the happiness of such if they could have it without the labour and cost of self-denyal And no doubt the beauty of such holy and well governed families hath convinced many and drawn them to a great approbation of Religion and occasioned them at last to imitate them § 10. Motive 10. Lastly Consider That holy well governed families are blest with the special presence Motive 10. and favour of God They are his Churches where he is worshipped His houses where he dwelleth He is engaged both by Love and Promise to bless protect and prosper them Psal. 1. 3. 128. It is safe to sail in that Ship which is bound for Heaven and where Christ is the Pilot. But when you reject his Government you refuse his company and contemn his favour and forfeit his blessing by despising his presence his interest and his commands § 11. So that it is an evident truth that most of the mischiefs that now infest or seize upon mankind throughout the earth consist in or are caused by the disorders and ill-governedness of families These are the Schools and Shops of Satan from whence proceed the beastly ignorance lust and sensuality the devilish pride malignity and cruelty against the holy wayes of God which have so unman'd the progeny of Adam These are the Nests in which the Serpent doth hatch the Eggs of Covetousness Envy Strife Revenge of Tyranny Disobedience Wars and Bloodshed and all the Leprosie of sin that hath so odiously contaminated humane nature and all the miseries by which they make the world calamitous Do you wonder that there can be persons and Nations so blind and barbarous as we read of the Turks Tartarians Indians and most of the inhabitants of the earth A wicked education is the cause of all which finding nature depraved doth sublimate and increase the venome which should by education have been cured And from the wickedness of families doth National wickedness arise Do you wonder that so much ignorance and voluntary deceit and obstinacy in errors contrary to all mens common senses can be found among professed Christians as Great and small High and low through all the Papal Kingdom do discover Though the Pride and Covetousness and Wickedness of a worldly carnal Clergie is a very great cause yet the sinful negligence of Parents and Masters in their families is as great if not much greater than that Do you wonder that even in the Reformed Churches there can be so many unreformed sinners of beastly lives that hate the serious practice of the Religion which themselves profess It is ill education in ungodly families that is the cause of all this O therefore how great and necessary a work is it to cast Salt into these corrupted fountains Cleanse and cure these vitiated Families and you may cure almost all the calamities of the earth To tell what the Emperours and Princes of the earth might do if they were wise and good to the remedy of this common misery is the idle talk of those negligent persons who condemn themselves in condemning others Even those Rulers and Princes that are the Pillars and Patrons of Heathenisme Mahometanisme Popery and Ungodliness in the world did themselves receive that venome from their Parents in their birth and education which inclineth them to all this mischief Family-reformation is the easiest and the most likely way to a common Reformation At least to send many souls to Heaven and train up multitudes for God if it reach not to National reformation CHAP. VI. More special Motives for a holy and careful Education of Children BEcause the chief part of Family-Care and Government consisteth in the right Education of Children I shall adjoyn here some more special Motives to quicken considerate Parents to this duty And though most that I have to say for it be already said
5. 9 10. Rev. 4. 11 8. Rev. 15. 3. Heb. 12. 9. Matth. 6. 13. thâ—u not said Behold I come quickly Even so Come Lord and let the great Marriage day of the Lamb make haste when thy Spouse shall be presented spotless unblamable and glorious and the glory of God in the New Jerusalem shall be Revealed to all his holy ones to delight and glorifie them for ever In the mean time Remember Lord thy promise Because I live therefore shall ye live also And let the dead that dye in thee be blessed And thou that art made a quickning Spirit and art the Lord and Prince of life and hast said that not a hair of our heads shall perish Gather our departing souls unto thy self into the Heavenly Jerusalem and Mount Zion the City of the living God and to the Myriads of holy Angels and to the general Assembly and Church of the first born and to the perfected Spirits of the just where thou wilt make us Kings and Priests to God whom we shall See and Love and Praise for ever For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things and for his pleasure they are and were created And O thou the blessed God of Love the Father of Spirits and King of Saints receive this unworthy Member of thy Son into the heavenly Chore which sing thy Praise who rest not saying night and day Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty who Is and Was and Is to Come For Thine is the Kingdom the Power and the Glory for ever and ever Amen The End of the Second TOME A Christian Directory The Third Part. Christian Ecclesiasticks OR DIRECTIONS TO PASTORS PEOPLE About Sacred Doctrine Worship and Discipline and their mutual Duties With the Solution of a multitude of Church-Controversies and Cases of Conscience By RICHARD BAXTER 1 Cor. 12. 25 27 28. That there should be no Schism in the body but the Members should have the same care one for another Now ye are the Body of Christ and Members in particular And God hath set some in the Church first Apostles c. Eph. 4. 3 4 12 c. Endeavouring to keep the Unity of the SPIRIT in the bond of Peace There is one Body one Spirit one Hope one Lord one Faith one Baptism Not One Ministerial Head one God * And he gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ Till we all come into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ That we henceforth be no more Children tossed to and fro and carryed about with every wind of doctrine by the cogging or sleight of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lye in wait to deceive But keeping the Truth in Love may grow up into him in all things which is the head even Christ From whom the whole body compacted and cemented together by every joynt of supply according to its power in proportion of each part worketh increase of the body to the edifying of it self in Love 1 Tim. 3. 15. That thou maist know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the House of God which is the Church of the living God as A pillar and basis of the truth 1 Thess. 5. 12 13. We beseech you brethren to know them which labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for their work sake and be at peace among your selves LONDON Printed by Robert White for Nevill Simmons at the Sign of the Princes-Arms in St. Pauls Church-yard 1673. Reader THat this part and the next are Imperfect and so much only is written as I might and not as I would I need not excuse to thee if thou know me and where and when I live But some of that which is wanting if thou desire thou maist find 1. In my Universal Concord 2. In my Christian Concord 3. In our Agreement for Catechising and my Reformed Pastor 4. In the Reformed Lyturgie offered to the Commissioned Bishops at the Savoy Farewel A Christian Directory TOM III. Christian Ecclesiasticks CHAP. I. Of the Worship of God in general § 1. THAT God is to be Worshipped solemnly by man is confessed by Qui totos dies precabantur immolabant ut sui liberi sibi superstites essent Superstitiosi sunt appellati quod nomen paâ—uit postea latius Qui autem omnia quae ad cultum Deorum pertinerent diligenter pertractarent tanquam relegerent sunt dicti Religiosi ex relegendo ut elegantes ex eligendo à diligendo diligentes ex intelligendo intelligentes Superstitiosi Religiosi alterum vitii nomen alterum laudis Cicer. nat Deor. lib. 2. pag. 73 74. all that acknowledge that there is a God But about the Matter and Manner of his Worship there are no small dissensions and contentions in the world I am not now attempting a reconciliation of these contenders The sickness of mens minds and wills doth make that impossible to any but God which else were not only possible but easie the terms of reconciliation being in themselves so plain and obvious as they are But it is Directions to those that are willing to worship God aright which I am now to give § 2. Direct 1. Understand what it is to worship God aright lest you offer him Vanity and sin for Direct 1. Worship The worshipping of God is the direct acknowledging of his Being and Perfections to his honour Indirectly or consequentially he is acknowledged in every obediential act by those that truly obey and serve him And this is indirectly and participatively to worship him And therefore all things are Holy to the Holy because they are Holy in the use of all and Holiness to the Lord is as it were written upon all that they possess or do as they are Holy But this is not the worship which we are here to speak of but that which is Primarily and Directly done to glorifie him by the acknowledgement of his excellencies Thus God is worshipped either inwardly by the soul alone or also outwardly by the body expressing the worship of the soul. For that which is done by the Body alone without the concurrence of the Heart is not true worship but an Hypocritical Image or shew of it equivocally called Worship The inward worship of the Heart alone I have spoken If they that serve their God with meer word and ceremony and mimâ—ca actions were so served themselves they might be â—ilâ—â—ced with Aristâ—ppâ—â— his defence of his gallantry and sumptuâ—uâ— fare Si vituâ—â—randum ait hoc essâ—t in celebritatibus deorum profectò non fieret Laert. iâ— Aristip. So Plato allowed drunkenness only in the Feasts oâ— Baâ—châ—s of in the former Tome The outward or expressive worship
If it be not then it is a sin to swear or promise to it and here there is no case of error But if it be really lawful and the vowing of it lawful then the obligations that lye upon this man are these and in this order 1. To have a humble suspicion of his own understanding 2. To search and learn and use all means to discern it to be what it is 3. In the use of these means to acknowledge the truth 4. And then to promise and obey accordingly Now this being his duty and the order of his duty you cannot say that he is not obliged to any one part of it though he be obliged to do it all in this order and therefore not to do the last first without the former For though you question an hundred times What shall he do as long as he cannot see the truth the Law of God is still the same and his error doth not disoblige him Nemini debetur commodum ex sua culpa So many of these acts as he omitteth so much he sinneth It is his sin if he obey not the Magistrate and it is his sin that he mis-judgeth of the thing and his sin that he doth not follow the use of the means till he be informed So that his erring conscience entangleth him in a necessity of sinning but disobligeth him not at all from his obedience 2. But yet this is certain that in such a case he that will swear because man biddeth him when he taketh it to be false is a perjured prophane despiser of God but he that forbeareth to swear for fear of sinning against God is guilty only of a pardonable involuntary weakness § 26. Direct 14. Take heed lest the secret prevalency of carnal ends or interest and of fleshly wisdom Direct 14. do byas your judgement and make you stretch your consciences to take those vows or promises which otherwise you would judge unlawful and refuse Never good cometh by following the reasonings and interest of the flesh even in smaller matters much less in cases of such great importance Men think it fitteth them at the present and doth the business which they feel most urgent but it payeth them home with troubles and perplexities at the last It is but like a draught of cold water in a Feavor You have some present charr to do or some straight to pass through in which you think that such an Oath or Promise or Profession would much accommodate you and therefore you venture on it perhaps to your perdition It is a foolish course to cure the parts yea the more ignoble parts with the neglect and detriment of the whole It is but like those that cure the Itch by anointing themselves with Quicksilver which doth the charr for them and sendeth them after to their graves or casteth them into some far worse Disease Remember how deceitful a thing the heart is and how subtilly such poyson of carnal ends will insinuate it self O how many thousands hath this undone that before they are aware have their Wills first charmed and inclined to the forbidden thing and fain would have it to be lawful and then have brought themselves to believe it lawful and so to commit the sin and next to defend it and next to become the champions of Satan to fight his battels and vilifie and abuse them that bâ— holy wisdom and tenderness have kept themselves from the deceit Tit. 2. Directions against Perjury and Perfidiousness and for keeping Vows and Oaths § 1. Direct 1. BE sure that you have just apprehensions of the Greatness of the sin of Perjury Direct 1. Were it seen to men in its proper shape it would more affright See Tom. 1. Ch. 9. Tit. 2. 3. them from it than a sight of the Devil himself would do I shall shew it you in part in these particulars § 2. 1. It containeth a Lye and hath all the malignity in it which I before shewed to be in The heinousness of Perjury Lying with much more 2. Perjury is a denyal or contempt of God He that appealeth to his Iudgement by an Oath and doth this in falshood doth shew that either he believeth not that there is See Causaâ—â—ons Exercâ—â— 202. * Cotta iâ— Cic. de Nat. Deor. l. 1. to prove that some hold there is no God saith Quid de sacâ—â—kgis de impiis de perjuris dicâ—mus si Carbo c. â—u aslet esse Deos tam perjurus aut impius non fuâ—sset pag. 25 26. a God or that he believeth not that he is the righteous Governour of the world who will justly determine all the causes that belong to his Tribunal The Perjured person doth as it were bid defiance to God and setteth him at nought as one that is not able to be avenged on him 3. Perjury is a calling for the vengeance of God against your selves You invite God to plague you as if you bid him do his worst you appeal to him for judgement in your guilt and you shall find that he will not hold you guiltless Imprecations against your selves are implyed in your Oaths He that sweareth doth say in effect Let God judge and punish me as a perjured wretch if I speak not the truth And it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God Heb. 10. 31. For Vengeance is his and he will recompence v. 30. And when he judgeth the wicked he is a consuming fire Heb. 12. 29. 4. Perjury and perfidiousness is a sin that leaveth the conscience no ease of an extenuation or excuse but it is so heinous a villany that it is the seed of self-tormenting desperation Some sins conscience can make shift a while to hide by saying It is a Controversie and Many wise men are of another mind But perjury is a sin which Heathens and Infidels bear as free a testimony against in their way as Christians do Some sins are shifted off by saying They are little ones But †Onâ— of Canutus Laws 26. was that Perjured person with Sorcerers Idolaters Strumpets breakers of Wedlock be banished the Realm cited by Bilson of Subject p. 202. How few would be left in some lands if this were done Christians and Heathens are agreed that Perjury is a sin almost as great as the Devil can teach his servants to commit Saith Plutarch * Plut. in Lysaâ—d Cicer. de Leg. l. 3. Cuâ—t l. 7. Arist. Rhâ—t c. 17. He that deceiveth his enemy by an Oath doth confess thereby that he feareth his enemy and despiseth God Saith Cicero The penalty of Perjury is destruction from God and shame from man Saith Q. Curtius Perfidiousness is a crime which no merits can mitigate Read Cicero de Offic. l. 3. Saith Aristotle He that will extenuate an Oath must say that those villanous wretches that think God seeth not do think also to go away with their perjury unpunished In a word the Heathens commonly take the revenge of Perjury
by the examples of your blameless humble holy lives O how abundantly would this course promote the success of the publick preaching of the Gospel If you would cause those men to see the glory and power of the Gospel in your holy and heavenly lives who cannot see it in it self Then many that would not be won by the Word might be won without it to seek after it at least by your conversations Thus all must preach and be helpers of the Ministers of Christ. § 35. Direct 10. Forsake not your faithful Pastors to follow deceivers but adhere to them who spend and are spent for you Defend their innocency against false accusers and refuse them not such maintenance as is needful to their entire giving up themselves to that holy work to which they are devoted Read and study well Ephes. 4. 13 14 15. Acts 20. 30. It is for your sakes that your faithful 2 Tim. 2. 10. 2 Cor. 4. 15. 1 Thess. 3. 9. 1 Thess. 1. 5. Matth. 26. 56. 2 Tim. 4. 16. Gal. 6. 6 10. 1 Cor. 9. Col. 1. 24. Pastors are singled out in the world to bear the slanders and contradictions of the wicked and to lead the way in the fiery tryal If they would forsake you and that sacred truth and duty that is needful to your salvation and sell you up into the hands of cruell and deceitful men it were as easie for them to have the applause of men and the prosperity of the world as others It is perfidious ingratitude to forsake them in every tryal that must lose their lives and all the world rather then forsake you or betray your souls Or to grudge them food and rayment that lay by the gainful employments of the world that they may attend continually on the service of your souls CHAP. VII Directions for the discovery of the Truth among Contenders and the escape of Heresie and Deceit § 1. THough Truth be naturally the Object of mans Understanding to which it hath a certain Niâ—ebatur Socrates summo ingenii acumine non tam illos ex sententia reâ—ellere quam ipse quid verum esset invenâ—re inclination and though it be a delightful thing to know the truth yet that which is saving meeteth with so much opposition in the flesh and in the world that while it is applauded in the general it is resisted and rejected in particulars And yet while the Use of holy truth is hated and obstinately cast away the name and the barren profession of it is made the matter of the glorying of hypocrites and the occasion of reproaching dissenters as Hereticks and the world is filled with bloody persecutions and inhumane implacable enmities and divisions by a wonderful zeal for the Name of Truth even by those men that will rather venture on damnation than they will obey the Truth which they so contend for Multitudes of men have Laert. iâ— Socrat. tormented or murdered others as Hereticks who themselves must be tormented in Hell for not being Christians It concerneth us therefore to deal very wisely and cautelously in this business § 2. Direct 1. Take heed lest there be any carnal interest or lust which maketh you unwilling to Direct 1. receive the truth or inclineth you to error that it may serve that interest or lust It is no small number of men that are strangers or enemies to the truth not because they cannot attain the knowledge of it but because they would not have it to be truth And men of great learning and natural parts are frequently thus deceived and led into error by a naughty carnal byassed heart Either because that error is the vulgar opinion and necessary to maintain their popular reputation and avoid reproach or because it is the way of men in power and necessary to their preferment and greatness in the world or because the Truth is contrary to their fleshly lusts and pleasures or contrary to their honour and worldly interest and would hazard their reputations or their lives How loth Heb 12. 14. 2 Cor. 5. 17. Rom. 8. 9 13. is a sensual ungodly man to believe that without Holiness none shall see God and that he that is in Christ is a new creature and that if any man have not the Spirit of Christ the same is none of his and that if they live after the flesh they shall dye How loth is the ambitious Minister to believe that the way of Christs service lyeth not in worldly pomp or ease or pleasures but in taking up the Cross and following Christ in self-denyal and in being as the servant of all in the unwearied performance of careful oversight and compassionate exhortations unto all the flock Let a controversie be raised about any of these points and the mind of lazy ambitious men doth presently fall in with that part which gratifieth their fleshly lusts and excuseth them from that toilsome way of duty which they already hate The secret lusts and vices of a false hypocritical heart are the commonest and the powerfullest arguments for error And such men are glad that Great men or Learned men will give so much ease to their consciences and shelter to their reputations as to countenance or make a Controversie at least of that which their lusts desire to be true Above all therefore see that you come not to enquire after Truth with an unsanctified heart and unmortified lusts which are a byass to your minds and make you warp from the truth which you enquire after For if the carnal mind neither is nor can be subject to the Law of God you may easily perceive that it will be loth to believe it when in so doing they believe their own condemnation An honest sanctified heart is fittest to entertain the truth § 3. Direct 2. Seek after the truth for the love of truth and love it especially for its special use as Direct 2. it formeth the heart and life to the Image and Will of God and not for the fanciful delight of knowing Socrates de Ethâ—ce in Offiâ—inis in publico quotidie Philosophans ea potius inquirenda hortabatur quae mores instruerent quorum usus nobis domi esset necessarius Laert. in Socrat. much less for carnal worldly ends No means are used at all as means where the End is not first determined of And to do the same thing materially to another end is not indeed to do the same For thereby it s made another thing Your Physicion will come to you if you you seek to him as a Physicion but not if you send to him to mend your Shoos So if you seek knowledge for the true ends of knowledge to fill your hearts with the Love of God and guide your lives in holiness and righteousness God is engaged to help you in the search But if you seek it only for to please your pride or fansie no wonder if you miss of it and it is no great matter
whether you find it or not for any good its like to do you Every Truth of God is appointed to be his Instrument to do some holy work upon your heart Let the Love of Holiness be it that maketh you search after Truth and then you may expect that God should be your teacher § 4. Direct 3. Seek after Truth without too great or too small regard to the judgement of others neither contemn them nor be captivated to them Use the help of the wise but give not up your Direct 3. Reason absolutely to any Engage not your selves in a Party so as to espouse their errors or Non tam autoritatis in disputando quam rationis momenta quaerenda sunt Cic. Nat. Deo p. 6. Obest plerumque iis qui discere volunt autoritas eorum qui se docere profitentur Desinunt enim suum judicium adhibere Id habent ratum quod ab eo quem probant judicatum vident Cic. de Nat. Deo p. 7. implicitely to believe whatever they say For this breedeth in you a secret desire to please your party and interesseth you in their dividing interest and maketh you betray the Truth to be accounted Orthodox by those you value § 5. Direct 4. Take heed of Pride which will make you dote upon your own conceits and cause Direct 4. you to slight the weightiest reasons that are brought by others for your conviction And if once you have espoused an error it will engage all your wit and zeal and diligence to maintain it It will make you uncharitable and furious against all that cross you in your way and so make you either Persecutors if you stand on the higher ground or Sect-leaders or Church-dividers and turbulent and censorious if you are on the lower ground There is very great reason in Pauls advice for the choice of a Bishop 1 Tim. 3. 6. Not a Novice lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil It is no more wonder to see a Proud man erroneous and in the confidence of his own understanding to rage against all that tell him he is mistaken than to hear a drunken man boasting of his wit to the increase of his shame § 6. Direct 5. Take heed of slothfulness and impatience in searching after Truth and think not Direct 5. to find it in difficult cases without both hard and patient studies and ripeness of understanding to enable you therein And suspect all opinions which are the off-spring of idleness and ease what ever Divine illumination they may pretend except as you take them from others upon trust in a slothful way who attained them by diligent studies For God that hath called men to labour doth use to give his blessing to the laborious And he that hath said by his Spirit 1 Tim. 4. 15. Meditate upon these things give thy self wholly to them that thy profiting may appear to all doth accordingly cause those men to profit who seek it in this laborious way of his appointment And he that hath said The desire of the slothful killeth him doth not use to bless the slothful with his teachings He that Prov. 24. 30. Prov. 21. 25. Matth. 25. 26. will say to him in judgement Thou wicked and slothful servant will not encourage the slothfulness which he condemneth My Son if thou wilt receive my words and hide my commandments with thee so that thou incline thine ear to wisdom and apply thine heart to understanding Yea if thou cryest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding If thou seekest her as Silver and searchest for her as for hid treasures Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God For the Lord giveth Wisdom Prov. 2. 1 2 3 4 5 6. Mark here to whom God giveth wisdom All the godly are taught of God But mark here how it is that he teacheth them Not while they scorn at Studies and Universities and look that their knowledge should cost them nothing or that the Spirit should be instead of serious studies or that their understandings should discern what 's true or false at the first appearance But while they think no pains or patience too great to learn the truth in the School of Christ. § 7. Direct 6. Keep out Passion from your Disputes and in the management of all your controversies Direct 6. in Religion For though Passion be useful both antecedently to the the Resolution of the Will and consequently Quae duae virtutes in Disputatore primae sunt eas ambas in Hubero deprehendi Patientiam adversarium prolixe sua explicantem audiendi lenitatem etiam aspere dicta perserendi inq Scultetus post disâ— Cuâ—â—ic p. 33. to the effectual execution of its Resolutions yet it is commonly a very great seducer of the understanding and strangely blindeth and perverteth judgement so that a Passionate man is seldome so far from the truth as when he is most confident he is defending it When Passion hath done boyling and the heart is cooled and leaveth the judgement to do its work without any clamour and disturbance its strange to see how things will appear to you to be quite of another tendency and reason than in your Passion you esteemed them § 8. Direct 7. Keep up a sense of the evil and danger of both extreams and be not so wholly intent Direct 7. upon the avoiding of one extream as to be fearless of the other The narrow minds of unexperienced men are hardly brought to look on both sides them and to be duly sensible of the danger of both extreams But while they are taken up only with the hating and opposing one sort of errors they forget those on the other side And usually the sin or error which we observe not is more dangerous to us than that which we do observe if the wind of temptation sit that way Direct 8. § 9. Direct 8. When you detect any antient error or corruption enquire into its original and see whether Reformation consist not rather in a restitution of the primitive state than in an extirpation of the whole Even in Popery it self there are many errors and ill customs which are but the corruption of some weighty truth and the degenerating of some duty of Gods appointment And to reduce all in such cases to the primitive verity is the way of wise and true reformation and not to throw away that which is Gods because it is fallen into the dirt of humane depravation But in cases where all is bad there all must be rejected § 10. Direct 9. Pretend not Truth and Orthodoxness against Christian Love and Peace and so follow Direct 9. Rom. 12. 13. 1 Cor. 13. Truth as that you lose not Love and Peace by it As much as in you lyeth live peaceably with all men Charity is the End of Truth And it is a mad use of Means to use them against the End
how contrary soever among themselves but they all pretended Gods authority and entitled him to their sin and called it his service and censured others as ungodly or less godly that would not do as bad as they St. Iames is put to confute them that thought this wisdom was from above and so did glory in their sin and lye against the truth when their wisdom was from beneath and no better than earthly sensual and deviliish For the wisdom from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be entreated full of mercy c. James 3. 17. § 78. 12. Church divisions are unlike to our Heavenly state and in some regard worse than the Kingdom of the Devil for he would not destroy it by dividing it against it selâ— Matth. 12. 26. O what a blessed harmony of united holy souls will there be in the Heavenly Ierusalem where we hope to dwell for ever There will be no discords envyings Sideings or contendings one being of this party and another of that but in the Unity of perfect Love that world of Spirits with joyful Eph. 4. 13 14 16. praise will magnifie their Creator And is a snarling envy or jarring discord the likely way to such an end Is the Church of Christ a Babâ—l of confusion Should they be divided party against party here that must be one in perfect Love for ever Shall they here be condemning each other as none of the children of the Most High who there must live in sweetest concord If there be shame in Heaven you will be ashamed to meet those in the delights of Glory and see them entertained by the Lord of Love whom you reviled and cast out of the Church or your communion causelesly on earth § 79. Remember now that Schism and making parties and divisions in the Church is not so small a sin as many take it for It is the accounting it a duty and a part of Holiness which is the greatest cause that it prospereth in the world And it will never be reformed till men have right apprehensions of the evil of it Why is it that sober people are so far and free from the sins of swearing drunkenness fornication and lasciviousness but because these sins are under so odious a character as helpeth them easily to perceive the evil of them And till Church-divisions be rightly apprehended as whoredom and swearing and drunkenness are they will never be well cured Imprint therefore on your minds the true Character of them which I have here laid down and look abroad upon the effects and then you will fear this confounding sin as much as a consuming Plague § 80. The two great causes that keep Divisions from being hated as they ought are 1. A charitable Two Hinderances of our true apprehensions of Schisme respect to the good that is in Church-dividers carrying us to overlook the evil of the sin judging of it by the Persons that commit it and thinking that nothing should seem odious that is theirs because many of them are in other respects of blameless pious conversations And indeed every Christian must so prudently reprehend the mistakes and faults of pious men as not to asperse the piety which is conjunct and therefore not to make their persons odious but to give the person all his just commendations for his piety while we oppose and aggravate his sin Because Christ himself so distinguisheth between the good and the evil and the person and the sin and loveth his own for their good while he hateth their evil and so must we And because it is the grand design of Satan by the faults of the godly to make their Persons hated first and their Piety next and so to banish Religion from the world And every friend of Christ must shew himself an enemy to this design of Satan But yet the sin must be disowned and opposed while the person is Loved according to his worth Christ will give no thanks for such Love to his children as cherisheth their Church-destroying sins There is no greater enemy to sin than Christ though there be no greater friend to souls Godliness was never intended to be a fortress for iniquity or a battery for the Devil to mount his Cannons on against the Church nor for a blind to cover the Powder-mines of Hell Satan never opposeth Truth and Godliness and Unity so dangerously as when he can make Religious men his instruments Remember therefore that all men are vanity and Gods interest and honour must not be sacrificed to theirs nor the most Holy be abused in reverence to the holiest of sinful men § 81. The other great hinderance of our due apprehension of the sinfulness of divisions is our too deep sense of our sufferings by superiours and our looking so much at the evil of persecutions as not to look at the danger of the contrary extream Thus under the Papacy the people of Germany at Luthers Reformation were so deeply sensible of the Papal cruelties that they thought by how many wayes soever men fled from such bloody persecutors they were very excusable And while men were all taken up in decrying the Roman Idolatry corruptions and cruelties they never feared the danger of their own divisions till they smarted by them And this was once the case of many good people here in England who so much hated the wickedness of the Prophane and the Haters of Godliness that they had no apprehensions of the evil of Divisions among themselves And because many prophanâ— ones were wont to call sober godly people Schismaticks and Factious therefore the very names begâ—n with many to grow into credit as if they had been of good signification and there had been really no such sin as schism and factiâ—n to be feared Till God permitted this sin to break in upon us with such fury as had almost turned us into a Babel and a desolation And I am perswaded God did purposely permit it to teach his people more sensibly to know the evil of that sin by the efâ—â—cts which they would not know by other means And to let them see when they had reviled and ruined each other that there is that in themselves which they should be more afraid of than of any enemy without § 82. Direct 5. Own nâ—t any cause which is an enemy to Love And pretend neither Truth nor Holiness Direct 5. nor Unity nor Order nor any thing against it The Spirit of Love is that one Vital Spirit which 〈…〉 9 〈…〉 4. 〈…〉 2. 〈…〉 19. â—â— 1 〈…〉 1 â—â—â—â— 5 〈…〉 2 â—â—â—â— 1. 7. Heb. 10. 24. 〈…〉 5. 6 13. doth animate all the Saints The increase â—f Love is the powerful Balâ—â—me that healeth all the Churches wounds Though loveless lifeless Physicions think that all these wounds must be healed by the Sword And indeed the Weapon-salve is now become the proper cure It is the Sword that must be medicated that the wounds made by it may be healed The decayes of
see a poor sinner have a little prosperity and ease who must lye in everlasting flames But the truth is malitious men are ordinarily Atheists and never think of another world and therefore desire to be the avengers of themselves because they believe not that there is any God to do it or any future Judgement and execution to be expected § 19. Consid. 13. And remember how near both he and you are to death and judgement when God Consid 13. will judge righteously betwixt you both There are few so cruelly malitious but if they both lay dying they would abate their malice and be easily reconciled as remembring that their dust and bones will lye in quietness together and malice is a miserable case to appear in before the Lord Why then do you cherish your vice by putting away the day of death from your remembrance Do you not know that you are dying Is a few more dayes so great a matter with you that you will therefore do that because you have a few more dayes to live which else you durst not do or think of O hearken to the dreadful trumpet of God which is summoning you all to come away and methinks this should sound a retreat to the malitious from persecuting those with whom they are going to be judged God will shortly make the third if you will needs be quarrelling Unless it be mastâ—â—â—â— Dogs or fighting Cocks there are scarce any creatures but will give over fighting if man or beast do come upon them that would destroy or hurt them both § 20. Consid. 14. Wrathful and hurtful creatures are commonly hated and pursued by all and loveing Consid. 14. gentle harmless profitable creatures are commonly beloved And will you make your selves like wild Beasts or Vermine that all men naturally hate and seek to destroy If a Wolf or a Fox or an Adder do but appear every man is ready to seek the death of him as a hurtful creature and an enemy to mankind But harmless creatures no one medleth with unless for their own benefit and use So if you will be malicious hurtful Serpents that hiss and sting and trouble others you will be the common hatred of the world and it will be thought a meritorious work to mischief you Whereas if you will be loving kind and profitable it will be taken to be mens interest to love you and desire your good § 21. Consid. 15. Observe how you unfit your selves for all holy duties and communion with God Consid. 15. while you cherish wrath and malice in your hearts Do you find your selves fit for Meditation Conference or Prayer while you are in wrath I know you cannot It both undisposeth you to the duty and the guilt affrighteth you and telleth you that you are unfit to come near to God As a Feavor taketh away a mans appetite to his meat and his disposition to labour so doth wrath and malice destroy both your disposition to holy duties and your pleasure in them And conscience will tell you that it is so terrible to draw near God in such a case that you will be readier were it possible to hide your selves as Adam and Eve or fly as Cain as not enduring the presence of God And therefore the Common-Prayer Book above all other sins enableth the Pastor to keep away the malicious from the Sacrament of Communion and conscience maketh many that have little conscience in any thing else that they dare not come to that Saâ—rament while wrath and malice are in their breasts And Christ himself saith Matth. 5. 23 24 25. If thou bring thy gift unto the Altar and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee Leave there thy gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the Iudge and the Iudge deliver thee to the Officer and thou be cast into prison c. § 22. Consid. 16. And your sin is aggravated in that you hinder the good of those that you are Consid. 16. offended with and also provoke them to add sin to sin and to be as furious and uncharitable as your selves If your neighbour be not faulty why are you so displeased with him If he be Why will you make him worse Will you bring him to amendment by hatred or cruelty Do you think one vice will cure another Or is any man like to hearken to the counsel of an enemy Or to love the words of one that hateth him Is malice and fierceness an attractive thing Or rather is it not the way to drive men further from their duty and into sin by driving them from you who pretend to reform them by such unlikely contrary means as these And as you do your worst to harden them in their faults and to make them hate what ever you would perswade them to so at present you seek to kindle in their breasts the same fire of malice or passion which is kindled in your selves As Love is the most effectual way to cause Love so passion is the most effectual cause of passion and malice is the most effectual cause of malice and hurting another is the powerfullest means to provoke him to hurt you again if he be able And weak things are oft times able to do hurt when injuries boyle up their passions to the height or make them desperate If your sinful provocations fill him also with rage and make him curse or swear or rail or plot revenge or do you a mischief you are guilty of this sin and have a hand in the damnation of his soul as much as in you lyeth § 23. Consid. 17. Consider how much fitter means there are at hand to right your self and attain Consid. 17. any ends that are good than by passion malice or revenge If your end be nothing but to do mischief and make another miserable you are to the world as mad Dogs and Wolves and Serpents to the Countrey and they that know you will be as glad when the world is rid of you as when an Adder or a Toad is killed But if your end be only to right your selves and to reclaim your enemy or reform your brother fury and revenge is not the way God hath appointed Governours to do justice in Common-wealths and Families and to those you may repair and not take upon you to revenge your selves And God himself is the most righteous Governour of all the world and to him you may confidently referr the case when Magistrates and Rulers fail you and his judgement will be soon enough and severe enough And if you would rather have your neighbour reclaimed than destroyed it is Love and gentleness that are the way with peaceable convictions and such reasonings as shew that you desire his Good Overcome him with kindness if you would melt him into
Body of Christ not of the body of the Pope Let Christian and Catholick be all your titles as to your Religion Mark those that cause divisions and offences and avoid them Rom. 16. 17. § 31. Direct 11. To this end Overvalue not any private or singular opinions of your own or Direct 11. others For if once spiritual pride and ignorance of your own weakness hath made you espouse some particular opinion as peculiarly your own you will dote on the brats of your own brains and will think your conceits to be far more illuminating and necessary than indeed they are as if mens sincerity lay in the embracing of them and their salvation on the receiving of them And then you will make a party for your opinion and will think all that are against it deserve to be cast out as enemies to reformation or to the truth of God or to the Church And perhaps twenty years after experience may bring you to your wits and make you see either the falshood or the smalness of all those points which you made so great a matter of and then what comfort will you have in your persecutions § 32. Direct 12. Obey not the solicitations of selfish passionate disputers Bishops and Divines falling Direct 12. out among themselves and then drawing Princes to own their quarrels when they find their arguments will not serve hath been the distraction division and ruine of the Christian world And he that falleth in with one of the parties to bear out that by the ruines of the other is lost himself in their contentions Would Rulers let wrangling Bishops and Disputers alone and never lend them their Swords to end their differences unless the substance of Religion be endangered they would be weary of quarrelling and would chide themselves friends and no such tragical consequents would follow as do when the Sword interposeth to suppress the discountenanced party and to end their Syllogisms and wranglings in blood § 33. Direct 13. Take heed lest an uncharitable hurting spirit do prevail under the name of holy Direct 13. Zeal As it did with Iames and Iohn when they would have fire from Heaven to have revenged the contempt of their Ministry To whom Christ saith Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of Luke 9. 55. The difference between a Christian zeal and an envious contentious censorious hurtful zeal is excellently described by the Apostle Iames Chap. 3. throughout Where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work The wisdom from above is first pure then peaceable gentle easie to be intreated full of mercy and good works without partiality and hypocrisie § 34. Direct 14. The Catholick Church and Particular Churches and our Communion with each Direct 14. must be distinguished and a man must not be cast out of our Catholick Communion because by some tolerable difference he is uncapabable of Communion with some particular Church If a man be impenitent in any Heresie or sin which is contrary to the common nature of Christianity or Godliness and so unfit for Catholick Communion he is to be cast out of Christian Communion But if some particular Church do impose any unnecessary doctrine or practice and he dare not approve it or joyn in it be it right or wrong yea or if he withdraw himself from one Church through the badness of the Minister or through any falling out between them and joyn to another that hath a Minister more suitable to his case these are not crimes to be punished with ejection from Catholick Communion He that is not fit for Communion with some one particular Church may be fit for Communion with many others that give him no such occasion of difference or distaste Without Catholick principles persecution will not be avoided § 35. Direct 15. Let Church Union and Communion be laid upon none but Catholick terms which Direct 15. are possible and fit for all to be agreed in Common Reason will tell any impartial man that there See my Treatise of A True Catholick and Cath. Church can be no more effectual engine to divide the Churches and raise contentions and persecutions than to make Laws for Church-communion requiring such conditions as it is certain the members cannot consent to If any man knew that my opinion is against the doctrine of Transubstantiation or of the Dominicans Predetermination and he would make a Law that no man shall have Communion with that Church who subscribeth not to these he unavoidably excludeth me Unless I be such a Beast as to Believe nothing soundly and therefore to say any thing If ever the Churches agree and Christians be reconciled it must be by leaving out all dividing impositions and requiring nothing as necessary to Communion which all may not rationally be expected to consent in Now these Catholick principles of Communion must be such as these 1. Such points of faith only as constitute Christianity and which every upright Christian holdeth and therefore only such as are contained in our Baptismal Covenant or Profession which maketh us Christians And not those other which only some stronger Christians believe or understand Because the weak are not to be cast out of the family of Christ. 2. Such points as the Primitive Churches did agree in and not innovations which they never Sâ—e Viâ—cent Lâ—â—iaens practised or agreed in For they are our pattern and were better than we and no more can be necessary to our Concord and Communion than was to theirs 3. Such points as all the Church hath sometime or other at least agreed in For what reason can we have to think that the Churches should now agree in that which they never hitherto agreed in 4. Such points as all the true Christians in the world are now agreed in For otherwise we shall exclude some true Christians from our Christian Communion 5. No points of Worship much less of Modes and Circumstances which are not necessary and more necessary to the Churches good than is the Communion of all those persons who by dissenting are like to be separated or cast out and whose omission would not do more hurt than this separation and division is like to do 6. Especially no such things must be made necessary to communion as the most conscientious are ordinarily fearful of and averse to and may be forborn without any great detriment to godliness § 36. Object But it will be said that Catholick Communion indeed requireth no more than you say Object But particular Churches may require more of their members For that may be necessary or fit for a member of this particular Church which is not to at all Answ. Catholick Communion is that which all Christians and Churches have with one another and the terms of it are such as all Christians may agree in Catholick Communion is principally existent and exercised in particular Churches as there is no existent Christianity or faith which existeth not in
Because it will be scandalous when the fault is known by him that buyeth it § 6. Quest. 6. What if the fault was concealed from me when I bought it or if I was deceived Quest. 6. or over-reacht by him that sold it me and gave more than the worth may I not repair my loss by doing as I was done by Answ. No no more than you may cut anothers purse because yours was cut You must do as you would be done by and not as you are done by What you may do with the same man that deceived you is a harder question But doubtless you may not wrong an honest man because you were wronged by a knave § 7. Object But it is taken for granted in the Market that every man will get as much as he can have and that Caveat emptor is the only security and therefore every man trusteth to his own wit and not to the sellers honesty and so resolveth to run the hazard Answ. It is not so among Christians nor Infidels who profess either truth or common honesty If you come among a company of Cut-purses where the match is made Look thou to thy purse and I will look to mine and he that can get most let him take it then indeed you have no reason to trust another But there are no Tradesmen or Buyers who will profess that they look not to be trusted or will say I will lye and deceive you if I can Among Thieves and Pirats such total distrust may be allowed But among sober persons in Civil Societies and Converse we must in reason and charity expect some truth and honesty and not presume them to be all lyars and deceivers that we may seem to have allowance to be such ourselves Indeed we trust them not absolutely as Saints but with a mixture of distrust as fallible and faulty men And so as to trust our own circumspection above their words when we know not the persons to be very just But we have no cause to make a Market a place of meer deceit where every one saith Trust not me and I will not trust thee but let us all take one another for cheaters and lyars and get what we can Such censures favour not of Charity or of Just intentions § 8. Quest. 7. What if I foresee a plenty and cheapness in a time of dearth which the buyer foreseeth Quest. 7. not as if I know that there are Ships coming in with store of that commodity which will make it cheap am I bound to tell the buyer of it and hinder my own gain Answ. There may be some instances in trading with enemies or with Rich men that regard not such matters or with men that are supposed to know it as well as you in which you are not bound to tell them But in your ordinary equal trading when you have reason to think that the buyer knoweth it not and would not give so dear if he knew it you are bound to tell him Because you must love your neighbour as your self and do as you would be done by and not take advantage of his ignorance § 9. Quest. 8. If I foresee a dearth may I not keep my commodity till then Quest. 8. Answ. Yes unless it be to the hurt of the Common-wealth as if your keeping it in be the cause of the dearth and your bringing it forth would help to prevent it § 10. Quest. 9. May one use many words in buying and selling Quest. 9. Answ. You must use no more than are true and just and useful but there are more words needful with some persons who are talkative and unsatisfied than with others § 11. Quest. 10. May I buy as cheap as I can get it or give less than the thing is worth Quest. 10. Answ. If it be worth more to you than the Market price through your necessity you are not bound to give above the market price If it be worth less to you than the market price you are not bound to give more than it is worth to you as suited to your use But you must not desire nor seek to get anothers goods or labour for less than it is worth in both these respects in common estimate and to you § 12. Quest. 11. May I take advantage of anothers Necessity to buy for less than the worth or sell Quest. 1â— for more As e. g. a poor man must needs have money suddenly for his goods though he sell them but for half the worth and I have no need of them Am I bound to give him the worth when I have no need and when it is a great kindness to him to give him any thing in that straight So also when I have no desire to sell my Horse and anothers necessity maketh him willing to give more than he is worth may I not take it Answ. To the first case You must distinguish between an act of Iustice and of Charity and between your need of the thing and the worth of it to you Though you have no need of the poor mans goods yet if you buy them both Justice and Charity require that you give him as much as they are worth to you though not so much as they are worth in the market yea and that you buy them of him in his necessity For if you give him but what they are worth to you you are no loser by it And you should do another good when it is not to your own hurt or loss By what they are worth to you I mean so much as that you â—e no loser As if it be meat or drink though you have no present need perhaps you will shortly have need and if you buy not that you must buy as much of somewhat else In strict Iustice you may be a saver but not a gainer by buying of the poor in their necessity 2. But if you buy a durable commodity for less than it is worth you should take it but as a pledge and allow the seller liberty to redeem it if he can that he may get more after of another 3. And to the poor in such necessity Charity must be exercised as well as Iustice. Therefore if you are able to lend them money to save them the loss of underselling you should do it I account that man only able who hath money which no greater service of God requireth And if you are not able your self you should endeavour to get some others to relieve him if you can without a greater inconvenience And for the second case it is answered before You may not take more than it is worth ever the more for anothers necessity nor in any other case than you might have done it in if there had been no such necessity of his § 13. Quest. 12. May I not make advantage of anothers ignorance or error in bargaining Quest. 12. Answ. Not to get more than your commodity is worth nor to get his goods for less than the
2 Sam. 7. 13 Deut. 14 23. Psal. 14â— 1 2. Isa. â—6 8 13. Psal. 86. 9 12. 135. 13. Cant. 1. 3. John 12. 28. of his holy Name and what terrible threatnings he hath denounced against the prophaneners of it and what judgements he hath executed on them Lev. 19. 12. Ye shall not swear by my Name falsly neither shalt thou prophane the Name of thy God I am the Lord. So Lev. 18. 21. And of the Priests it is said Lev. 21. 6. They shall be holy unto their God and not prophane the Name of their God So Lev. 22. 2. v. 31 32. Therefore shall ye keep my commandments and do them I am the Lord Neither shall ye prophane my holy Name but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel I am the Lord which hallow you Deut. 28. 58 59. If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this Law that are written in this Book that thou maist fear this glorious and fearful Name THE LORD THY GOD then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful and the plagues of thy seed Great plagues and of long continuance and sore sicknesses and of long continuance Worshipping God and trusting in him is called A walking in his Name and calling upon his Name See Mic. 4. 5. Psal. 99. 6. The place of his publick Worship is called The place where he putteth or recordeth his Name Exod. 20. 24. Deut. 12. 5 11 21. Isa. 29. 23. They shall sanctifie my Name and sanctifie the holy One of Jacob and shall fear the God of Israel Isa. 48. 11. For how should my Name be polluted and I will not give my glory to another God telleth Moses and Moses telleth Aaron when his two Sons were slain I will be sanctified in them that come nigh unto me and before all the people I will be glorified Lev. 10. 3. So Lev. 24. 10 14. A man that in striving with another blasphemed and cursed was stoned to death And in the third Commandment it is terrible enough that God saith The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain § 19. 10. Dost thou not use to say the Lords Prayer and therein Hallowed be thy Name Matth. Luke 11. 2. 6. 9. And wilt thou prophane that Name which thou prayest may be Hallowed Is it Hallowing it to swear by it and use it unreverently and vainly in thy common talk Or will God endure such Hypocrisie as this or regard such Hypocritical prayers § 20. 11. Thy customary swearing is an uncharitable accusation of the hearers as if they were so incredulous that they would not believe a man without an Oath and so prophane that they delight in the prophanation of the Name of God which is the grief of every honest hearer § 21. 12. Thou accusest thy self as a person suspected of lying and not to be believed For among honest men a word is credible without an Oath Therefore if thou were but taken for an honest man thy bare word would be believed And by swearing thou tellest all that hear thee that thou supposest thy self to be taken for a person whose word is not to be believed And what need hast thou to tell this so openly to others if it be so § 22. 13. And by swearing thou declarest the suspicion to be true and that indeed thou art not to be believed so far art thou from making thy sayings more credible by it For he that hath so little conscience and fear of God as to swear prophanely can hardly be thought a person that makes any conscience of a lye For it is the same God that is offended by the one as by the other A swearer warranteth you to suspect him for a lyar § 23. 14. Both swearing and taking Gods Name in vain are the greater sins because you have no stronger a Temptation to them Commonly they bring no honour but shame They bring no sensual pleasure to the senses as gluttony and drunkenness and uncleanness do And usually they are committed without any profit to entice men to them You get not the worth of a penny by your sin so that it is hard to find what draweth you to it or why you do it unless it be to shew God that you fear him not and unless you intend to bid defiance to him and do that which you think will offend him in meer despight So that one would think a very little grace might serve to cure such a fruitless sin And therefore it is a sign of gracelesness § 24. 15. How terribly dost thou draw Gods vengeance upon thy self Cursing thy self is a begging for vengeance Prophane swearing is a prophane contemptuous appeal to the judgement of God And darest thou even in thy sins appeal to the Iudgement of God Dost thou fear it no more To this judgement then thou shalt go But thou wilt quickly have enough of it and find what it was for stubble to appeal to the consuming fire Heb. 12. 29. § 25. Direct 3. Remember Gods presence and keep his fear upon thy heart and remember his judgement Direct 3. to which thou art hastening and keep a tender conscience and a watch upon thy tongue and then thou wilt easily escape such a sin as this Darest thou abuse Gods Name before his face § 26. Direct 4. Write over thy doors or bed where thou maist oft read it the third Commandment or Direct 4. some of these terrible passages of holy Scripture Matth. 5. 34 35 36 37. I say unto you swear not at all neither by Heaven Nor by the Earth Nor by thy Head But let your communication be yea yea nay nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil Jam. 5. 12. Above all things my brethren swear not neither by the Heavens neither by the earth nor any other Oath but let your yea be yea and your nay nay lest ye fall into condemnation or hypocrisie as Dr. Hammond thinks it should be read Zech. 5. 3. Every one that sweareth shall be cut off Jer. 23. 10. Because of swearing the Land mourneth Hos. 4. 2. Think well on such Texts as these § 27. Direct 5. Love God and honour him as God and thou canst not thus despise and abuse his Direct 5. Name Thou wilt reverence and honour the name of that person that thou lovest and reverencest and honourest It is atheism and want of Love to God that makes thee so prophane his Name § 28. Direct 6. Punish thy self after every such Crime with such a voluntary mulct or penalty as Direct 6. may help to quicken thy observation and remembrance If none execute the Law upon thee which is twelve pence an Oath lay more on thy self and give it to the poor Though you are not bound to do justice on your selves you may medicinally help to cure your selves by that which hath a rational aptitude thereto Tit. 3. Special Directions against Lying and Dissembling § 1. THat you may know what Lying
is we must first know what Truth is and what is the What Truth is Use of Speech Truth is considerable 1. As it is in the things known and spoken of 2. As it is in the conception or knowledge of the mind 3. As it is in the expressions of the tongue 1. Truth Vid. Aquin. de Veritat in the things known is nothing but their Reality that indeed they are that which their names import or the mind apprehendeth them to be This is that which is called both Physical and Metaphysical Truth 2. Truth in the conception or knowledge of the mind is nothing else but the agreement or conformity of the knowledge to the thing known To conceive of it truly is to conceive of it as it is Mistake or error is contrary to this Truth 3. Truth as it is in the expressions is indeed a twofold relation 1. The primary relation is of our words or writings to the matter expressed And so Truth of speech is nothing but the agreeableness of our words to the things expressed when we speak of them as they are 2. The secondary relation of our words is to the mind of the Speaker For the natural use of the tongue is to express the mind as well as the matter And thus Truth of Speech is nothing but the agreeableness of our words to our thoughts or judgements Truth as it is the agreement of Thoughts or words to the matter may be called Logical Truth And this is but the common Matter of Moral or Ethical Truth which may be â—ound partly in a Clock or Watch or Weather-cock or a Seamans Chart. The agreement of our words to our minds is the more proper or special matter of Moral Truth The form of it as a Moral Virtue is its agreement to the Law of the God of Truth And as the Terminus entereth the definition of relations so our words have respect to the Mind of the hearer or reader as their proper Terminus their use being to acquaint him 1. With the matter expressed 2. With our minds concerning it Therefore it is necessary to the Logical Truth of speech that it have an aptitude rightly to inform the hearer and to the Ethical Truth that it be intended by the speaker really to inform him and not to deceive him Supposing that it is another that we speak to § 2. You see then that to a Moral Truth all these things are necessary 1. That it be an agreement of the words with the matter expressed as far as we are obliged to know the matter 2. That it be an agreement of the words with the speakers mind or judgement 3. That the expressions have an aptitude to inform the hearer of both the former truths 4. That we really intend them to inform him of the truth so far as we speak it 5. That it be agreeable to the Law of God which is the Rule of duty and discoverer of sin § 3. In some speeches the Truth of our words as agreeing to the Matter and to the Mind is all one viz. when our own conception or judgement of a thing is all that we assert As when we say I think or I believe or I judge that such a thing is so Here it is no whit necessary to the Truth of my words that the Thing be so as I think it to be For I affirm it not to be so but that indeed I think as I say I think But that our words and minds agree is alwayes and inseparably necessary to all Moral Truth § 4. We are not bound to make known all that is true for then no man must keep a secret How far we are bound to speak the truth much less to every man that asketh us Therefore we are not bound to endeavour the Cure of every mans ignorance or error in every matter For we are not bound to talk at all to every man And if I be not bound to make known the truth at all or my mind at all I am not bound to make known all the truth or all that is in my mind No not to all those to whom I am bound to make known part of both If I find a man in an ignorance or error which I am not bound to cure nay possibly it were my sin to cure it as to open the secrets of the Kings Counsels or Armies to his Enemies c. I may and must so fit my speech to that man even about those matters as not to make him know what he should not know either of the matter or of my mind I may either be silent or speak darkly or speak words which he understandeth not through his own imperfection or which I know his weakness will misunderstand But I must speak no falshood to him Also there is a great difference between speaking so as not to cure the ignorance or error of the hearer which I found him in and so speaking as to lead him into some new error I may do the former in many cases in which I may not do the latter And there is great difference between speaking such words as in the common use of men are apt to inform the hearers of the truth though I may know that through some weakness of their own they will misunderstand them and be deceived by them and the speaking of words which in common use of men have another signification than that which I use them to By the former way the hearer sometime is the deceiver of himself and not the speaker when the speaker is not bound to reveal any more to him But by the later way the speaker is the deceiver Also there is great difference to be made between my speaking to one to whom it is my duty to reveal the truth and my speaking to a man to whom I am not bound to reveal it yea from whom my duty to God and my King or Country bind me to conceal it By these grounds and distinctions you may know what a Lye is and may resolve the ordinary doubts that are used to be raised about our speaking truth or falshood As § 5. Quest. 1. Am I bound to speak the Truth to every one that asketh me Answ. You are not Quest. 1. bound to speak at all in every case to every one that asketh you And he that is silent speaketh not the truth § 6. Quest. 2. Am I bound to speak the Truth to every one that I answer to Answ. Your Answer Quest. 2. may sometimes be such as signifieth but a denying to answer or to reveal what is demanded of you § 7. Quest. 3. Am I bound to speak all the Truth when ever I speak part of it Answ. No It is Quest. 3. Gods Word that must tell you when and how much you must reveal to others And if you go as 〈…〉 â—6 63. Maâ— 1â— 61. 15. 5 Luke 23. 9. Jâ—â—n 19 9. â—â—r 8 26 27. far as God alloweth you it followeth not that