THE WORKS OF THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER FN GOD, JOSEPH HALL, D.D SUCCESSIVELY BISHOP OF EXETER AND NORWICH : NOW FIRST COLLECTED. WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE AND SUFFERINGS, WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. ARRANGED AND REVISED, WITH A GLOSSARY, INDEX, AND OCCASIONAL NOTES, BY JOSIAH PRATT, B.D. F.A.S. IBCTURER OF THE UNITED PARISHES OF ST. MARY WOOLNOTH AND ST. MARY WOOLCHURCH HAW, AND r.ADY Camden's Wednesday evening lecturer at the church of ST, LAWRENCE JEWRY, rONDON. IN TEN VOLUMES. VOL. VIIL^PRACTJCAL WORKS. LONDON: PRINTED BY C. WHITTINGHAII, Cosieeli Street; FOR WILLIAMS AND SMITH, STATIONEHS' COURT ; J. BURDITT; DYFIELD and SON; T. CONDEK ; J. HATCHARD ; MATHEWS AND LEICH ; J. NUNN ; F. C . AND J. RIVINGTON ; L. B. SEELEY ; VERNOK, HOOD, AND SHAUPE ; J. WALKER J AND J. WHITE. 1808. CONTENTS OF VOL. VIIL PRACTICAL WORKS CONCLUDED, r. THE REMEDY OF DISCONTENTMENT: or, a treatise of CONTENTATION IN WHATSOEVER CONDITION : FIT FOR THESE SAD AND TROUBLED TIMES. To the Christian Reader 3 Tiie Method of this Treatise 4 Introduction. The Excellency of Contentation ; and how it is to be had. — The Contrariety of Estates, wherein Contentation is to be exercised , 5 Part First. Contentation, in A^iVOTTTiYO HOW TO WANT. 6 CHAP. I. WHAT IT IS to kno%v how to want, and to be abased. Sect. 1. How MANV DO NOT KNOW HOW TO WANT ib. 2. Who THEY ARE, THAT KNOW HOW TO WANT S CHAP. II. HOW TO BE ATTAINED ib. Sect. 1. Considerations for Contentment : which respect, (1.) The Diversities of Life ; as [1.] Of the Valuation of Earthly Things; viz. (a.) The Transitoriness of Life, Honour, Beauty, Strength, and Pleasure... 9 (b.) Unsatisfying Condition of them 11 (c.) Danger of over-esteeming them 12 [2.] Of Divine Providence over-ruling all Events 13 [3.] Of the Worse Condition of Others 14 [4.] Of the Inconveniences of great Estates ; viz. (a.) Expose to Envy 15 (b.) Macerate with Cares ib (c.) Danger of Distemper, both bodily and spiritual J6 (d.) Torment in Parting 17 (e.) Account to be rendered ib. [5.] Of the Benefits of Poverty ; viz. (a.) Freedom from Cares ib. (b.) Freedom from Fears of Keeping.... 18 (c.) Freedom from Fears of Losing ib. [6.] Of how little will suffice Nature ib. [7.] Of the Miseries of Discontentment 19 [8.] Of the Vicissitudes of Favours and Crosses 21 [9.] Examples of Contentation, both within and without the Church of God 22 jy CONTENTS. Page (2.) Death itself: wherein are to be considered... 24 [].] Eemedies against the Terrors of Death ; viz. (a.) Necessity and Benefit of Death ib. (b.) Conscience of a welWed Life ib. (c.) Final Peace with God ib. (d.) Efficacy of Christ's Death applied... 25 (e.) Comfortable Expectation of certain • Resurrection, and immediate Vi- sion of God 26 [2.] Miseries and Inconveniences of the con- tinued Conjunction of Soul and Body ; viz. (a.) Defilement of Sin Original ib. (b.) Proneness to Sin ib. (c.) Difficulty of doing well 27 (d.) Dulness of Understanding ib. (e.) Perpetual Conflicts ib. (f.) Solicitude of Cares ib. (g.) Multiplicity of Passions ib. (h.) Eetardation of Glory ib. ,Sect. 2. Holy djspositions for Contentment ib. (1.) HiumUty.... 28 (2.) Self-Resignation 29 (3.) True Inward Riches.. i 30 Sect. 3. Holy kesolutions for Contentment. (I.) That our Present Estate is best for us 32 (2.) To abate of our Desires 33 (3.) To digest svialler Inconveniences 35 (4.) To be frequent and fercent in Prayer 36 Part Second. Contentation, in KNOWING HOW TO ABOUND. The Difficulty of Knowing how to abound : and the 111 Consequences of Not Knowing it 37 II. THE PEACE-MAKER: laying forth the Right Way of Peace IN Matters of Religion. Address to the Clergy of the Diocese of Norwich 43 Chap. I. INTRODUCTORY. Sect. 1. The Difference of Truths: and the Impor- tance OF those, which concern Matter of Religion 46 2. What Differences of Judgment make a Dif- ferent Religion 47 3. Of the Fundamental Points of Religion 48 4. The Injurious Uncharitableness of the Ro- mish Church, in excluding Christian Churches, and condemning their Professors. 50 5. The undue Alienation of the Lutheran Churches from the other Reformed 53 6. The Differences, BETWIXT the OTHER Reformed Churches, and our own 56 . The Differences within our own Churches, at HOME 57 CONTENTS. Chap. U. Of the Ways of Peace which concern PRIVATE PER- *^' SONS. Sect. 1. The First Private Way of Peace: To LABOUR AGAINST THE INWAUD GROUNDS OF CONTENTION ; \\z 59 (1.) Pride 00 (2.) Sqlf-Lave 61 (3.) Enzy ib, (4.) Covetoitsness 63 2. The Second Private Way of Peace : The composing ourselves to a fit disposi- tion FOR PEACE : and, therein, (1.) A Meek and Hiiynble Temper 64 ('2.) Obedience to our Spiritual Guides... 65 (3.) Charitable Affection to our Brethren 67 (4.) A Yicldab/eness upon Sight of Clearer Truths... 70 3. The Third Private Way of Peace : The avoiding unnecessary questions 71 4. The Fourth Private Way of Peace : To labour and pray for further illumina- tion in all requisite truths 73 5. The Fifth Private Way of Peace : To comply with our brethren so far as we safely may 76 6. The Sixth Private Way of Peace : To let fall our own interest for the PUBLIC 78 Chap. Ill, Of the Ways of Peace which concern the PUBLIC 81 Sect. 1. The First Public Way of Peace: To SUPPRESS THE BEGINNINGS OF SPIRITUAL QUARRELS , , {{, Which shall be done, if (1.) I'he Broachers of New Opinions he by gentle means reclaimed %•> (2.) The Means of spreading Infection be timely cut off: which are, [1.] The Society of the Infected 83 [2.] The Press 85 (3.) The Disturbers of Peace be timely suppressed.... 86 Such are those who [1.] Sow Strife, and broach New Opinions,... 87 [2.] Abet Quarrels, and pertinaciously main- tain dangerous Errors 88 2. The Second Public Way of Peace : Order for sure grounds to be laid by ca- techizing.' go 3. The Third Public Way of Peace: Means appointed for strong conviction of error .,.., , ,,. 92 Vi CONTENTS, page Sect. 4. Tlie Fourth Public Way of Peace : Imposition of silence in some cases, both UPON pulpits and presses.. 95 Chap. IV. A MOTIVE to peace, from the Miseries of Discord 98 ill. THE BALM OF GILEAD: or, Comforts for the Distressed; BOTH MORAL AND DIVINE. Dedication to all the Distressed Members of Jesus Christ, wheresoever 105 Chap. I, Comforts fob the sick bed. The Preface. — Aggravation of the Misery of Sickness ... 106 Sect. 1. The Freedom of the Soul 107 2. The Author of Sickness ; and the Benefit of it ... ib. 3. The Vicissitudes of Health 109 4. Sickness better than sinful Health ib. 5. The gieate"- Sufferings of holier men; and the Resolutions of Heathens..... 110 6. Our Sufferings far below our Deservings 112 7. The Benefit of the Exercise of our Patience ... ib. 8. The Necessity of expecting Sickness 113 9. God's most tender Eegard to us in Sickness ..... ib. 10. The CO p. for table End of our Sufferings 114 11. The favour of a peaceable Passage out of the World 115 Chap. II. Comforts for the sick soul. Sect 1. The Happiness of a deep Sorrow for Sin 116 2. The well-grounded Declaration of Pardon ib. 3. Aggravation of the grievous Condition of the Patient; and Remedies from Mercies ap- plied 117 4. Complaint of Unrepentance and Unbelief, satisfied 118 5. Cor.pla int of Misgrounded Sorrow, satisfied ... ib. 6. Complaint of the Insufficient Measure of Sorrow for Sin, answered 119 7. Complaint of the Want of Faith, satisfied 120 8. Complaint of the Weakness of Faith, satisfied... 122 9. Complaint of Inconstancy and Desertion, an- swered ib. 10. Complaint of Unregeneration and Deadness in Sin, answered 124 11. Complaint of the Insensibleness of the Time and Means of Conversion, answered 126 12. Complaint of Irresolution and Uncertainty, in matter of our Election, answered 127 Chap. III. Comforts against Temptations. Sect. 1. Christ himself assaulted. — Our Trial is for our good 131 2. The powerful Assi'^tance of God's Spirit ; and the Example of St. Paul 132 3. The Restraint of our Spiritual Enemies; and their overmatching by the Power of God ... 133 CONTENTS. Vii Pago Sect. 4. The Advantage that is made to us by our Temitations and Foils 134 5. Complaint of Relapses into Sin, with the Re- medy thereof 135 Chap. IV. Comforts against weakness of grace. Sect. 1. The Common Condition of all Saints 137 i2. The Improvement of Weak Graces ; and God's Free Distribution ..... ib. 3. God's Acceptation of Truth, not Quantity 138 4. The Variety of God's Gifts, and the Ages and Statures of Grace 139 5. The Safety of our Leisurely Progress in Grace ... ib. 6. Our good Desires and Endeavour^ 140 7. The Happiness of an humble Poverty in Spirit ... ib. 8. An Incitement to more Caution, and faster Adlierence to God l4l •Chap. V. Comforts against infamy and disgrace. Sect. 1. Like Sufferings of the Holiest; yea, of Christ iiimself ib, 2. Our Recourse to God 142 3. The Cleanness of our Conscience 143 4. The Improvement of our Reason ib. 5-. The Cause of our Suffering ib. 6. Our envied A irtue 144 7. Others' slighting of just Reproaches ib. 8. The Narrow Bounds of Infamy J45 9. The Short Life of Slander , ib. Chap. VI. Comforts against Public Calamities. Sect. 1. The Inevitable Necessity of Changes ; and God's over-ruling them 146 2. The Sense and Sympathy of Common Evils ... ib. 3. The sure Protection of the Almight\ 147 4. The Justice of God's Procotdings 148 5. The Remedy, our particular Repentance ib. 6. The Unspeakable Misery of a Civil \\'ar 149 7. The Woeful Miseries of Pestilence allayed by consideration of the hand that smites us ... 150 Chap. VII. Comforts AGAINST Loss of Friends. Sect. 1 . The True Value of a Friend and the Fault of over-prizing him 152 2. The True ground of an L'ndefeasible enjoying of our Friends 153 3. The Rarity and Trial of True Friends ib. 4. Is but a Parting; not a Loss 154 5. The Loss of a Virtuous Wife Mitigated ib. 6. The Mitigation of the Loss of a dear and hope- ful Son ib. Chap. VIII. Comforts against Poverty, and Loss of our Estate. Sect. 1. The Fickle Nature of these Earthly Goods 155 2. They are not Ours; but Lent us 156 Viii CONTENTS. Page S€ct. 3. The right Valuation of Riches is in the Mind ... 157 4. It may be good fbr us to be held Short ib. 5. The Danger of Abundance 158 6. The Cares that attend Wealth ib. 7. The Imperiousness of Ill-used Wealth ib. 8. The Causes and Means of Impoverishing us ... 159 9. The Examples of those who have affected Poverty ib. Chap. IX. Comforts against Imprisonment. Sect. 1. The Nature and Power of true Liberty 160 2. The sad Objects of a Free Beholder's Eye 161 3. The Invisible Company, that cannot be kept from us ib. 4. The Inward Disposition of the Prisoner 162 5. The Willing Choice of Retiredness in some Persons ib. 6. The Causes of Imprisonment 163 7. The Goodness of Retiredness ; and the Part- nership of the Soul's Imprisonment 164 Chap. X. Comforts against Banishment. Sect. 1. The Universality of a Wise Man's Country ib. 2. The Benefit of Self-Conversation 165 3. Examples of those holy ones, that have aban- doned Society , ib. 4. The Advantage that hath been made of Re- moving 166 5. The Right that we have in any Country, and in God ib. 6. The Practice of Voluntary Travel 167 7. All are Pilgrims ib. Chap. XI. Comforts against the Loss of ovr Senses of Sight and Hearing. Sect. 1. The two inward Lights, of Reason and Faith ... 168 2. The Supply of better Eyes ib. 3. The better Object of our inward Sight 169 4. The ill Offices done by the Eyes ib. 5. Freedom from Temptations by the Eyes, and from many Sorrows 170 6. The Cheerfulness of some Blind Men 171 7. The Supply that God gives in other Faculties ... ib. 8. The Benefits of the Eyes, which once we had ... 172 9. The Supply of one Sense by another 173 10. The better Condition of the inward Ear 174 11. The Grief that arises from hearing Evil ib. Chap. XII. Comforts against Barrenness. Sect. 1. The Blessing of Fruitfulness seasoned with Sorrows ib. 2. The Pains of Child-bearing 175 3. The Misery of ill-disposed and undutiful Chil- dren 176 4. The Cares of Parents for their Children ib. 5. The great Grief in the Loss of Children 178 CONTENTS. ix Fag* Chap. XIII. Comforts against want of Sleep. Sect. 1 . The Misery of the want of Rest ; with the best Remedy 178 2. The Favour of Freedom from Pain 179 3. The Favour of Health without Sleep 180 4. Sleep but a Symptom of Mortality 181 5. No use of Sleep whither we are going ib. Chap. XIV. Comforts against the inconveniences of Old Age. Sect. 1. The Ulimitation of Age; and the Miseries that, attend it ib. 2. Old Age a Blessing 183 3. The Advantages of Old Age (1.) Fearlessness: (2.) Freedom from Passions: (3.) Experimen- tal Knowledge: (4.) Near approach to our End 184 Chap. XV. Comforts against the Fears and Pains of Death. Sect. 1. The Fear of Death Natural 187 2. Remedy of Fear, Acquaintance with Death .... 188 ■ 3. The Misapprehension of Death 189 4. The common Condition of Men ib. 5. Death not feared by some igo 6. Our Death-day better than our Birth-day 191 7. The Sting of Death pulled out ib. 8. Death but a Parting, to meet again ib. .9. Death but a Sleep 192 10. Death sweetened to us by Christ 193 11. The Painfulness of Christ's Death ib. 12. The Vanity and Miseries of Life 194 13. Examples of courageous Resolutions in others ... 195 14. The happy Advantages of Death 196 Chap. XVI. Comforts against the Terrors of Judgment. Sect. 1. Aggravations of the Fearfulness of the Last Judg- ment 197 2. The Condition of the Elect 198 3. Awe more fit for thoughts of Last Judgment than Fear 199 4. In that great and terrible Day our Advocate is our Judge ib. 5. Frequent Meditation and due Preparation, the Remedies of our Fear 201 Chap. XVII. Comforts against the Fears of our spiritual Enemies. Sect 1. The great Power of Evil Spirits, and their Re- straint ib. 2. The Fearof tlie Number of Evil Spirits, and the Remedy of it 202 3. The Malice of the Evil Spirits, and our Fears thereof Remedied 203 4. The great Subtlety of Evil Spirits, and the Re- medy of the Fear of it 204 Chap. XVIII. The Universal Recipe for all Maladies. X CONTENTS. Page IV. A Treatise of CHRIST MYSTICAL: or, the Blessed Union of Christ and his members. Chap. I. INTRODUCTORY. Sect. 1. How TO BE HAPPY IN THE APPREHENDING OF Christ 214 2. The Honour and Happiness of being united to Christ 215 Chap. II. The KIND and MANNER of this Union with Christ... 216 Chap. III. The RESEMBLANCES of this Union. Sect. I. By the head and BODY 217 2. By the husband and wife 218 3. By the NOURISHMENT and the BODY 220 4. By the BRANCH and the STOCK 221 5. By the FOUNDATION and the BUILDING 222 Chap. IV. The CERTAINTY and INDISSOLUBLENESS of this Union ib. Chap. V. The PRIVILEGES and BENEFITS of this Union 224 Sect. 1. The first of these Benefits — Life 225 Wherein (1.) A complaint of our Insensibleness of this mercy ; and an excitation to a cheerful Recogtiition of it '. 227 (2.) An incitement to Joy and Thankfulness for Christ, our Life 228 (3.) Tlie Duties ue ozve to God for his mercy to us, in this Life which ice have from Christ ib. (4.) The Improvement of this Life ; in that Christ is made, [1.] Our Wisdom 230 [2.] Our Righteousness 231 [3.] Our Sanclification 234 [4.] Our Redemption ib. Sect. 2. The External Privileges of this Union, a right to THE BLESSINQS OF EARTH AND HEAVEN 236 Chap. VI. The MEANS, by which this Union is wrought 237 Chap. VII. The Union of Christ's members with THEMSELVES ... 238 Sect. 1. The union of Christ's members in heaven 239 2. The union of Christ's members upon earth.... 240 (1.) In matter of Judgment ib. (2.) In matter of Affection 242 (3.) A complaint of Divisions; and, notwith- standing them, an assertion of Unity 244 (4.-) The necessary Fffects and Fruits of this tmion of Christian Hearts 245 3. The union of the saints on earth with those IN HEAVEN 247 Chap. VIII. A RECAPITULATION and SUM of the whole treatise , 248 CONTENTS. XI Page V. THE CHRISTIAN: laid forth in his wholf. disposition and CARRIAGE. An Exhortatory Preface to the Christian Reader 253 Sect. 1. His Disposition...; 255 2. His ExpenCe of the Day 257 3. His Recreations 258 4. His Meal? 259 5. His Night's Rest 260 6. His Carriage 26l 7. His Resolution in Matter of Religion 263 8. His Discourse........ ib. y. His Devotion 264 10. His Sufferings 265 11. His Conflicts ib. 12. His Death 266 VI. SATAN'S FIERY DARTS QUENCHED : or, TEMPTATIONS REPELLED. In three decades. For the help, comfort, AND PRESERVATION OF WEAK CHRISTIANS, IN THESE DANGEROUS TIMES OF ERROR AND SEDUCTION. I Address to the Christian Reader... 271 Urst Decade. Temptations of Impiety 272 Second Decade. Temptations of Discouragement 299 Third Decade. Temptations of Allurement 322 VII. PAX TERRIS. Suasore et Nuntio Josepho Hallo, Ecclesi;e NoRvicENsis Servo 349 VIII. Resolutions and decisions of diver>? practical CASES OF CONSCIENCE, IN continual use amongst men. In four decades. Address to the Reader , 373 First Decade. Cases of Profit and Traffic. Case 1 , Whether is it lawful for me, to raise any profit by the loan of money ? 374 9.. Whether I may not sell my wares as dear as I can, and get what I may of every buyer ? 377 3. Whether is the seller bound to make known to the buyer the faults of that which he is about to sell ? 379 4. Whether may I sell my commodities the dearer, for giving days of payment ? 381 5. Whether, and how far, monopolies are, or may be lawful 382 6. Whether, and how far, doth a fraudulent bargain bind me to performance? 385 7. How far, and when, am 1 bound to make restitution of another man's goods remaining hi my hand? 387 8. Whetiier, an'l how far, doth a promise, cxtortetl by fcir, ihougli seconded by an oath, bind my con- science to performance? 389 Xii CONTENTS. Page Case 9. Whether those monies or goods, which I have found, may be safely taken and kept by me to my own use.. 391 10. Whether I may lawfully buy those goods, which I shall strongly suspect or know to be stolen or plundered ; or, if I have ignorantly bought such goods, whether I may lawfully, after knowledge of their owner, keep them as mine , < 393 Second Decade. Cases of Life and Liberty. Case 1 . ^yhethe^, and in what cases, it may be lawful for a man to takeaway the life of another..., 395 2. Whether may I lawfully make use of a duel, for the de- ciding of my right, or the vindication of mine Jio- nour?.. 398 3. Whether may it be lawful, in case of extremity, to pro- cure the abortion of the child, for the preservation of the mother? 400 4. Whether a man, adjudged to perpetual imprisonment or death, may, in conscience, endeavour and practise an escape 403 5. Whether, and how far, a man may be urged to an oath.. 405 6. Whether a judge may, upon allegations, proofs, and evidences of others, condemn a man to death, whom he himself certainly knows to be innocent 408 7. Whether, and in what cases, am I bound to be an accu- ser of another? 411 8. Whether a prisoner, indicted of a felonious act which * he hath committed, and interrogated by the judge concerning the same, may stand upon the denial, and plead, "Not guilty." , 413 9. Whether, and how far, a man may take up arms, in the public quarrel of a war 41S 10. Whether, and how far, a man msy act towards his own death 417 Third Decade. Cases of Piety and Religion . Case 1. Whether, upon the appearance of Evil Spirits, we may hold discourse with them ; and how we may demean ourselves concerning them 421 2. How far a secret pact with Evil Spirits doth extend ; and what actions and events must be refeiTcd there- unto... »... 425 3 Whether, reserving my conscience to myself, I may be present at an idolatrous devotion ; or, whether, in the lawful service of God, I may communicate with wicked persons 427 4. Whether vows be not out of season, now, under the Gospel : of what things they may be made : how far they oblige us: and, whether, and how far, they may berapableof a release 430 5. Whom may we justly hold a heretic ? and what is to be done in case of heresy? 432 6. Whether the laws of men do bind the conscience ; and how far we are tied to their obedience , 435 CONTENTS. Xiii Page Case 7. Whether tithes be a lawful maintenance for Ministers under the Gospel ; and whether men be bound to pay them accordingly 438 8. Whether it be lawful for Christians, where they find a countiy possessed by savage Pagans and Infidels, to drive out the native inhabitants ; and to seize and en- joy their lands, upon any pretence ; and, upon what grounds, it may be lawful so to do 441 9. Whether I need, in case of some foul sin, committed by me, to have recourse to God's Minister for absolution ; and what effect I may expect therefrom 44G 10. Whether it be lawful, for a man that is not a professed divine, that is, as we for distinction are wont to call him, for a laic person to take upon him to interpret the Scripture , 450 Fourth Decade. Cases Matrimonial. Case 1. Whether the marriage of a son or daughter, without or against the parent's consent, may be accounted lawful 457 2. Whether marriage, lawfully made, may admit of any cause of divorce, save only for the violation of the marriage-bed, by fornicatioq or adultery 460 3. Whether, after a lawful divorce for adultery, the inno- cent party may marry again 464 4. Whether the authority of the father may reach so far, as to command or compel the child, to dispose of himself in marriage where he shall appoint 468 5. Whether the marriage of cousins-german, that is, of brother's or sister's children, be lawful 470 6. Whether is it necessar}' or requisite there should be a witnessed contract, or espousals of the parties to be married, before the solemnization of the marriage?... 474 7. Whether there ought to be a prohibition and forbear- ance of marriages and marriage duties, for some times appointed 477 i». Whether it be necessary, that marriages should be cele- brated by a Minister ; and whether they may be va- lid and lawful without him 479 9. Whether there be any necessity or use of thrice pub- lishing the contract of marriage in the congregation, before the celebration of it ; and whether it be fit, that any dispensation should be granted for the for- bearance of it 480 10. Whether marriages, once made, may be annulled and utterly voided ; and, in what cases this may be done.. 482 Additionals to the Fourth Decade; Case 1. Whether a marriage, consummate betwixt the uncle and niece, be so utterly unlawful, as to merit a sen- tence of present separation 485 2. Whether it be lawful, for a man to marry his wife's brother's widow 491 XIV CONTENTS. Page Case 3. Whether an incestuous marriage, contracted in simpli- city of heart, betwixt two persons ignorant of such a defilement ; and so far consummate, as that children are born in that wedlock ; ought to be made known and prosecuted to a dissolution. ,, ". 493 An Advertisement to the Reader...., 497 IX. The holy ORDFI? : or, fraternity of the mourners in sign. Humbly and earnestly tendered to all God's faithful ones.. 499 X. SONGS IN THE NIGHT: or. Cheerfulness under affliction... 509 THE REMEDY OF DISCONTENTMENT: OR, A TREATISE OF CONTENTATION IN WHATSOEVER CONDITION: FIT FOR THESE SAD AND TROUBLED TIMES. BY JOSEPH, BISHOP OF NORWICH. I HAVE perused this Treatise, entitled " The Bemedy of Discon- tentment ; " and, judging it to be very pious, profitable, and necessary for these Sad and Distracted Tiynes, I License it to be printed and published ; and should much comynendit to the Christian Reader, if the very name of the Author were not in itself sufficient , without any further testimony. JOHN DOJVNAMF. TO THE CHRISTIAN READER, GRACE AND PEACE. rV HAT can be more seasfmable, tha7i,ii'hen all f he world is sick of Disconfentfncyif, to give Counsels and Recipes of Conteniation ? Perhaps the patient will think it a time ill chosen for phi/sic, in the midst of a jit : but, in this case, we must do as we mai). 1 confess, I would rather have staid till the paroxysm were happily over ; that so, the humours being somewhat settled, I might hope for the more kindly operation of this wholesome medicine. But, partly, my age and weakness, despairing to outlive the public distemper ; and, partly, 'iny judgment, crossing the vulgar opinion for the season of some kind of Recipes ; have now put me upon this safe and useful prescription. God is my witness, that I wrote this in the depth of mine own ajjiie- fions ; the particulars whereof, it were unseasonable to trouble the world withal : as one, that meant to make myself my own patient, by enjoining myself that course of remedies, that I prescribe to others ; and as one, who, by the powerful working of God's Spirit within me, labour to fnd my heart framed to those holy dispositions, which I wish and recommend to every Christian soul. If there be no remedy, but the worst of outward trvublcs viust afflict us ; it shall be happy yet, if we may find inward peace in our bosoms : which shall be, if we can reconcile ourselves to our offended God ; and calm our spirits to a meek undergoing of those sufferingSy which the Divine Providence hath thought fit to measure forth unto us. This is the main drift of this ensuing labour. Now the same God, who hath, in these blusteri/ig times, put into my heart these quiet thoughts of Holy Conteniation, bless them in even/ hand, that shall receive them ; and vmke them efeclual to the good of every soul, that shall now and hereafter eyitertain them ! that so their gracious proficiency may, in the day of the appearance of our Lord Jesus, add to the joy of my account ; who ayn the xivworthiest of the servants of God and his Church, J. N. THE METHOD* OF THIS TREATISE, o hi WHAT IT IS, to know how to want and to be abased. a ■^ o c c a o U I. Consi- derations which re- spect (l.)TheI>/- versilies of life; as .lie - 'gj Incon- venienc [4.] Of V( Estates, o\ great .^ n. HOW TO BE ATTAIN- ED: wherein-^ there will be ■use of certain 2. Dispositions. 3, RfSOLL'TIONS. IIOIV TO ABOUND. ^(a.) The Transito- rri 1 r\c .u XT 1 i' rinessofLife, &c, [l.J Of the Valu- ,, n tt .- i • • .- T- 1 I ! (b.) Unsatistyinff aiioii ot Earthly^ ^^^ ,.. .-l,^ T,.- •' \ Condition ol them. Ihinzs. I / \ T^ I- ° I (c.) Dangerof ovei- L esteeming them. [2.] Of Divine Providence over-ruling all Events, [3.] Of the Worse Condition of others. /•(a.)Expose to Envy, (b.) Macerate with Cares, (c.) Danger of Dis- temper, both bo- dily and spiritual, (d.) Torment in parting. (e.) Account |o be rendered. r(a.) Freedom from I Cares. [5.] Of the Benefits ! (b.) Freedom from of Poverty. ', Fears of Keeping. I'; (c.) Freedom from L Fears of losing. [6.] Of how little will suffice Nature. [7.] Of the Miseries of Discontentment. [8.] Of the Vicissitudes of Favours and Crosses. [9.] Examples of Contentation, both with- out and within the Church of God. -(a.) Necessity and Benefit of Death. (b.) Conscience of a well-led Life, (c.) Final Peace, with God. (d.) Efficacy of Christ's Death applied, (e.) Comfortable Expectation of certain Resurrec- tion and immedi- ^ ateVisionofGod. f (a.) Defilement of Sin Original, (b.) Proneness to Sin. (c.) Difficulty of do- ing well, (d.) Dulness of Un- ■{ derstanding. (e.) Perpetual Con- flicts. (f.) Solicitude of Cares, (g.) Multiplicity of Passions, (h.) Retardation of L Glory. (!)• Humility. (■2.) Self-Resii^natinn. (3.) True ImvurdRickei. (1.) That our F resent Condition is best for us. ('i.) To abate of our Desires. I (3.) To diqest smaller Inconveniencies. (4.) To be Frequent arid Fervent in Prayer. {1.)Dcalh\l- self: where- in are to be considered [1.] Remedies against the Ter-.^ rorsof Death. [2.] Miseries and Inconveniencies of the continued Conjunction of Soul and Body roil *J}r'l l!,"^'^■^'h i'L^ffJ'^'' »"'"**''*• differently from that printed in the former editions, to render it more mi'inuabli. to the Treatise itoclf. ' EDif OR. THE REMEDY OF DISCONTENTMENT. INTRODUCTION. The Excellency of Contestation ; and hcj) it is to be had. — The Con- trariety of Estates, •wherein Content ation is to be exercised. If there be any happiness to be found upon earth, it is in that, which we call Contentation. This is a flower, that grows not in eveiy garden. The great Doctor of the Gentiles tells us, that he had it. / hare learned, saith he, i)i what estate soever I am, there- •with to be content : I know haw to be abased, and I know how to abound*. Lo, he could not have taken out this lesson, if he had not learnt it : and he could not have learnt it of any other, than his Master in Heaven, What face soever philosophy may set upon it, all morality cannot reach it ; neither could his learned Gamaliel, at whose feet he sat, have put this skill into him: no, he learnt it since he was a Christian, and now professeth it. So as it appears, there is a Divine Art of Contentation to be attained in the Scnool of Christ : which whosoever hath learnt, hath taken a deo-ree in heaven ; and now knows, how to be happy, both in want and abun- dance. The nature of man is extremely querulous. -We know not what we would have ; and, when we have it, we know not how to like it. We would be happy : yet we would not die. We would live long: yet we would not be old. We would be kept in order: yet we would not be chastized with affliction. We are loth to work : yet are weary of doing nothing. We have no list to stir : yet find lono sitting painful f. We have no mind to leave our bed : yet find it a kind of sickness to lie long. We would marry ; but would not be troubled with household cares : when once we are married, we wish we had kept single. If, therefore, grace have so mastered nature in us, as to render us content with whatever condition, we have at- tained to no small measure of perfection. Which way soever the wind blows, the skilful mariner knows how to turn his sails to meet it. The contrariety of estates to which we lie open here, gives us * Phil. iv. 11. £/xa6ov: Verse 12. /x!/Liy«ju«». t Si sedtias, requies est magna taborii ; si multum sedeas, labor est. Tert. Carm. t> PRACTICAL WORKS. diflerent occasions for the exercise of Conten^ation. I cannot blame their choice, who desire a middle estate, betwixt want and abun- dance ; and to be free from those inconveniences, which attend both extremes. Wise Solomon wias of this diet : Give yne neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food of my meet allozi-ance ; Prov. XXX. S. Lo, he, that had all, desired rather to have but enough. And, if any estate can afford contentment in this life, surely this is it, in the judgment and experience of the wisest heathen *. But, forasmuch as this equal poise is hardly attainable by any man, and is more proper for our wishes and speculation than for our hopes, true wisdom must teach us so to compose ourselves, that we may be fit to entertain the discontentments and dangers of those excesses and defects, which we cannot but meet with in the course of our mortal Jife : and, surely, we shall find, that both extremes are ene- n)ies to this good temper of the soul: prosperity may discompose us, as well as an adverse condition : the sunshine may be as trou- blesome to the traveller, as the wind or rain. Neither know I whe- ther is more hai-d to manage, of the two ; a dejected estate, or a prosperous ; whether we may be more inconmiodated with a resty liorse, or with a tired one. PART THE FIRST. CONTExNTATION, IN KNOWING HOW TO WANT. Let US begin with that, which nature is wont to think most diffi- cult : that, contrary to the practice of learners, we may try to take out the hardest lesson first. Let us therefore learn, in the first place, JlOJf^ TO WANT. CHAP. L • WHAT IT IS TO KNOW HOW TO WANT, AND TO BE ABASED. SECT. I. How mamj do not know haie to want. Could we teach men how not to want, we should have disciples enow. Every maii seeks to have, and hates to lack. Could we give an an- tidote against poverty, it would be too precious.' And why can we not teach men even this lesson too ? The Lord is vnj shepheid, saith David; therefore can I lack nothing; Ps. xxiii. 1: and most sweetly, elseuhere; Oh, fear the Lord, ye that be his saints; for they, that fear him, lack nothing. The lions do lack and suffer hun- * Senec. de Tranquil. OF CONTENT ATION\ ^"t gcr; hut they, ■u/iic/t seek the Lord, shall tcant jw vianner of thin^ that is ffood ; Ps. xxxiv. 9, 10. Let God be true, and every man a liar. Certainly, if we were not wanting to God, in our iear ofhim, in our t'aitlitVil reliance uj^on iiini, in our conscionable seeking of him, he, whose the earth is and the fulness of it, would irot suffer our careful endeavours to go weeping away. But, if it so fall out, that his most wise Providence finds it better for us to he held short in our uoridly estate ; as it may be the great Physician sees it most for cur iiea'ith to be kept fasting: it is no less worth our learning, to know liow to want. For, there is many a one, that wants; but know s not how to want, and therefore his need makes him both of- fensive and miserabk'. There are those, that are poor and proud ; one of the Wise Man's three abominations ; Ecclus. xxv. 2 : foolish Laodiceaus, that bear themselves for rich, increased w ith goods, and lacking nothing ; when they are no other than wretched, and miserable, and j)oor, and blind, and naked; Rev. iii. 17.' Tliese men know not how to want: their heart is too big for their purse : and, surely, ])ride, though every where odious ; vet doth no where so ill, as in rag's. There are those, that are poor and envious ; looking with an evil eye upon the better fare of others : as, surely, this vice dwells more commonly in cottages, than in palaces. How displeasedly doth the beggar look npon the laroer alms of his neig^hbour : urud'^rjna- to another whatever falls beside himself; and misliking his own dole, because the next hath more! whose eye, with the discon- tented labourers, is evil, because his master's is good; Matt. xx. 15. neither do these men know how to want There are those, that want distrustfully ; measuring the merciful provision of the Almighty, by the line of their own sense: as the Samaritan peer, when, in the extremity of a present famine, he heard the Prophet foretel a sudden ijlenty- ; Behold, if the Lord uould make ztindoxcs in heaven, might this thing be ? 2 Kmgs vii. 2. There are those, that want impatiently; repining at God's deal- ing with them, and making their own impotent anger guilty of a further addition to tlieir misery : as the distressed kmg of Israel, in a desperate sense of that grievous dearth ; Behold, this evil is of the Lo)d ; Zi'hat should I zcait on the Lord any longer ? 2 Kings vi. ".ii. and those wretched ones, who, when the fourth angel liad poured out his phial upon the sun, being scorched with the extremity of the heat, blasjjhemed the God of Heaven; Rev. xvi. 9, 11. In this kind, was that sinful techiness of Jonah. When I see a ])oor worm, that hath put itself out of the cool cell of the eaith, wherein it was lodged ; and now, being beaten upon by the sun-beams, lies wrio-- gling upon the bare path, turning itself every way in vain, and not finding so much as the shade of a leaf to cover it ; I cannot but think. ' of that fretting proj)het, when, wanting the protection of his gourd, he found himself scalded uitli that strong reflection ; looking up wrathf illy towards that sun, from w.iom he smarted, could j>ay to the God that made it, L d'j 'uell to be angry, evtJi to the death ; Jo- nah iv. 9. 8 PRACTICAL WORKS. Lastly, there are those, that are poor and dishonest, even out of the very suggestion of their want. It was the danger hereof, that made Agiir, the son of Jakeh, pray against penury ; Lest I be poor, and steal ; and, by forswearing it, take the 7jame of God in vain ; Prov. XXX. 9. SECT. 2. Who they are^ that know hoxv to want. These, and perhaps others, do and must want ; but, in the mean time, they do that, which they know not how to do: There is a. skill in wanting, which they have not. ^H08E OXLY KNOW HOW TO WANT, that have learnt to frame their mind to their estate ; like to a skilful musician, that can let down his strings a peg lower, when the tune requires it ; or ]ike to some cunning spagirick, that can intend or remit the heat of his furnace, according to occasion : those, who, when they must be abased, can stoop submissly ; like to a gentle reed, which, when the wind blows stiff, yields every way : those, that in an hum- ble obeisance, can lay themselves low at the foot of the Almighty, and put their mouth in the dust ; that can patiently put their necks under the yoke of the Highest, and can say, with the Prophet, Truly, this is my sorww, and I must bear it ; Jer. x. 19: those, that can smile upon their afflictions ; rejoicing in tribulation ; sing- ing in the jail, with Paul and Silas, at midnight : lastly, those, that can improve misery to an advantage ; being the richer for their want ; bettered, with evils ; sti*engthened, with infirmities ; and can truly say to the Almighty, / know that of x^ery faithfulness thou hast affiicted me : never could they have come out so pure metal, if they had not passed under the hand of the refiner ; never had they proved so toward children, if they had not been beholden to the rod. These are they, that know how to want, and to be abased ; and have effectually learned to be content with the meanest condition. CHAP. n. HOW TO BE ATTAINED. To which happy temper THAT WE MAY ATTAIN, there will be use of, I. Certain Considerations: 2. Certain disposi- tions : and 3. Certain resolutions. These three shall be as the Grounds and Rules of this our Divine Art of Contentation. or CONTENTATION. SECT. 1. Consideratimsfor Coyitentment : •which respect^ (l.) TAe DIVERSITIES OF LIFE; OS [l.] Ofih(^ Valuation of Earthly Things; viz. (a.) The Transitoriness of Life, Honour, Beauiy, Strength, and Pleasure ; (b.) Unsatisfying Condition of them ; (c.) Davger of o-er-esfeeming them : — [. .J (f Divine Pnvidence over-ruling all Erents : — [3.] Of the Worse Condition of Others : [4.] Of the Inconveniences oj Great Eshi'^'s ; viz. (a.) Expose to Envy; (b.) Macerate ivith Cares; (c.) Danger of Distemper, both bodily and spiritual ; (d.) Torment in Parting ; [e.) Account to be render ed : — [5.] Of the Benef's of Poverty ; viz. (a.) Eree- dom from Cares; (b.) Ereedom from Eears of Keeping ; (c.) Ereedo^n froyn Fears of Losing : — [6.] Of hoxo little will sujlice Nature : — [7. ] Of the Miseries of Discontentment : — [ 8. ] Of the Vicissitudes of Favmirs and Crosses .- — [:>.] Examples of Contenta- tion, both within and without the Church of God. (2.) Death itself: wherein are to be considered, [l.] Femedies against the Tenors of Death ; viz. (a.) Necessity and Benefit of Death; (b.) Conscit^^ce of a well-led Life ; (c.) Final Pejce with God; (d.) Efficacy of Christ's Death applied; (e.) Comfortable E.Tpectation of ceriam Resurrect ion, and immediate Vision of God: — [2.] Miseries and Inconveniences of the continued Conjunction of Soul and Body; viz. (a.) Defilement of Sin Original; (b.) Proneyiess to Sin ; (c.) Difficulty of doing well ; (d.) Dulness of Understanding ; (e.) Po ptual Conflicts ; if .) Solicitude of Cares ; (g.) Multiplicity of Passions ; (h.) Retardation of Glory. These considerations respect, either the Diversities of Life ; or, Death itself. (1.) Those which respect the Diversities of Life, are such as follow : — [l.] The First Consideration shall be, of the Just Valuatihi of all these Earthly Things: wh'ch, doubtless, is such, as that the wise Christian cannot but set a lo v price upon them ; in respect, first, of their Transitoriness ; secondly, of their Insufficiency of Satisfac- tion ; thirdly, the Danger of their Fruition. (a.) At the best, they are but Glassy Stuff; which, the finer it is, is so much more brittle : yea, what other, tiian those i^ay bubbles, which children are wont to raise from the mixed soap and spittle of their walnut-shell ; which seem to represent pleasing colours, but, in their flying up, instantly vanish ? There is no re- medy : either they mu^t leave us, or we must leave them. W ell may we say that of the Psalm st, wlrch C'ampian was re- ported to have often m Jjis mouth; My soul is continually in my hands : and who knows, whether it will not exj)ire, in our next breathing ? How many have shut their eyes in a healthful sleep, 10 PRACTICAL WORKS. who have naked in another world ! we give too large scope to our account, while we reckon seven years for a Life: a 'Shorter time will serve ; while we fmd the rex olution of less than half those years, to have dispatched tive Caesars and hve Popes *. Nay, who can assure himself of the next moment ? It is our great weakness, if we do not look upon every day as our last. Why should we think ourselves in a hetter condition, than the Chosen V^essel, who deeply jirotested to die daily? 1 Cor. w. 31. W hat a poor com- plaint was that of the great conqueror of the Jews, Titus Vespa- sian ; wlio, putting his head out of his sick hller, querulously ac- cused heaven, that he must die, and had not deserved it ! when he nntives, before the cha- riot of their conqueror. Man, being in honour, abideth not, saith the Psalmist, Ps. xlix. 12. He jjerisheth : but his greatness, as more frail than he, is oftentimes dead and buried before him ; and leaves him the surviving executor of his own shame. It was easy for the captive prince, to observe in the chariot-wheel of his victor, that, * Galba, Otho, Vittllius, jE\. Pcrt'max, l)i(liu!<. — Anno D. 1275, 1276. Gre- go'. X. Innocent V. Hadrian V. Joiin XX. vlI XXL Iskolaui lil. OF CONTENTATION. \ \ when one spoke rose up, another went down ; and both these in so quick a motion, that it was scarce distinguished by the eye. Well, therefore, may we say of honour, as Ludovicus Vives said of Scho- lastical Divinity ; Cuifumus est profundamenlo *. It is built upon smoke : how can it be kept from vanishing ? As for Beauty, what is it, but a dash of nature's tincture laid up- on the skin, wliich is soon waslied otf with a little sickness ? what, but a fair blossom, that drops odso soon as the Iruit oilers to suc- ceed it r what, but a flower, which, with one hot sun-gleam, wel- tereth and falls ? He, that had the choice of a thousand faces, could say, Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vanity ; Prov. xxxi. 30. Lastly, for Strength and Vigour of Body, if it could be maintain- ed till our old age, alas, how soon is that upon us, ere we be aware! How doth it then shrivel our flesh, and loosen our sinews, and crip- ple our joints ! Milo, when he looked upon his late brawny arms, and saw them now grown lank and writhled, lets fall tears; and be- wrays more weakness of mind, than he had before bodily stren"-th. But how often doth sickness prevent the debilitations of age ; pull- ing the strongest man upon his knees; and making him confess, t\\-jityouiky as well as childhood, is vanity ! Eccl. xi. 10. As for Pleasure, it dies in the birth ; and is not therefore worthy to come into this Bill of Mortality. Do we then, upon sad consideration, see and feel the manifest Transitoriness of Life, Riches, Honour, Beauty, Strength, Plea- sure, and whatever else can be dear and precious to us in this world; and can we dote upon them so, as to be too much dejected with our parting from them ? Our Saviour bids us consider the lilies of the field ; Matt. vi. 28 : and he, that made both, tells us, that So- lomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Surely, full well are they worth our considering. But, if those beauties could be as permanent, as they are glorious, how would they carry away our hearts with them! now, their fading condition justly abates of their value. Would we not smile at the weakness of that man, that should weep and howl, for the falling of this tulip, or that rose; abandoning all comfort for the loss of that, which he knows nmst flourish but his month ? It is for children, to cry for the falling of their house of cards ; or the miscarriage of that painted gewoaw, which the next shower would have defaced : wise Christians know how to apprize good things according to their continuance ; and can therefore set their hearts only upon the invisible comforts of a better hfe, as knowing that the things, which are not seen, are eter- 7ial. (b.) But, were these earthly things exempted from that fickle- ness, which the God of Nature hath condemned them unto ; were they, the very memory whereof perisheth with their satiety, as last- ing, a>. they are brittle : yet, what comfort could they yield for the soul to rest in ? Alas, their ElHcacy is too Short, to reach unto a True Contentation ! Yea, if the best of them were perpetuated un- * Ludo. Vires in 3 de Civit, censurl notatus Vallosillo, !2 PRACTICAL U'OHKS. to lis, upon the faii-e?t conditions that this earth can allow, how in- tolerably tedious would it prove in the fruition ! 833-, that God were pleased to protract my life to the length of the age of the first founders of mankind ; and should, in this state of bodv, add hun- dreds of years to the da^s of mj' pdgrimage: woe is me, Jiow weary should I be of myself, and of the world ! I, that now complain of the load of seventy-one years, how shoidd I be tired out, ere I could arrive at the age of Parr ! but, before I could ciimi) up to the third century of Johannes de Temporibus, how often should I call for death ; not to take up, but to lake off mj^ burden, and, with it, myself! But, if any or all these earthly blessings could be freed from tliose grievances, wherewith they are commonly tempered ; yet, how little satisfaction could the soul find in them ! What are these outward things, but very luggage, which may load our backs, but cannot lighten our hearts ? Great and wise Solomon, that had the full command of them all, cries out Vanity of vanilies : and a greater monarch than he, shuts up the scene with, " I have been all things, and am never the better." All tbese are of too narrow an extent, to fill the capacious soul of man ; the desires whereof are enlarged with enjoying : so as, the more it hath, the less it is satisfied. iN ei- ther, indeed, can it be otherwise : the eye and the ear are but the purveyors for the heart ; if, therefore, tlie eye be not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing, (Eccl. i. S.) how shall the heart say, it is enough ? Now, who would suffer himself to be too much disquieted with the loss of that, which may vex him, but cannot content him ? We do justly smile at the folly of that vain lord, of whom Petrarch speaks ; who, when a horse, which he dearly loved, was sick, laid that steed of his on a silken bed, with a wrought pillow under his head ; and caused himself, then afflicted with the gout, to be car- ried on his senants' shoulders to visit that dear patient ; and, u])on his decease, mourned solemnly for him, as if it had been liis son. "We have laughed at the fashion of the girls of Holland, who, hav- ing made to themselves gay and large babies, and laid them in a curious cradle, feign them to sicken and die, and celebrate their fu- neral with much passion. So fond are we, if, having framed to ourselves imaginary contentments here in the world, we give way to immoderate grief in their miscarriage. (c.) Neither are these earthly comforts more defective, in yield- ing full satisfaction to the soul, than Dangerous, in their Over-Dear Fruition : for too much delight in them, robs us of more solid con- tentments. The world is a cheating gamester ; suffering us to win at the first, that at last he may go away with all. Our veiy table may be made our snare ; and those things, which should have been for our wealth, may be unto us an occasion of falling ; Ps. Ixix. 22. Leo, the fourth emperor of Constantinople, delighted extremely in precious stones : with these he embellishes his crown, which, be- ing woni close to his temples, strikes such a cold into his head, that causeth his bane. Yea, how many, with the too much love of OF CONTENTATION. I 3 these outward things, have lost, not their hves only, but their souls! No man can be at once the favourite of God and the world; as that Father said truly : or, as our Saviour, in fuller terms, Xo man can sene tuo masters, God and Mammon. Shortly, the world may be a dangerous enemy : a sure friend, it cannot be. If, therefore, we shall, like wise men, value things at their due prices, since ue are convinced in ourselves, that all these earthly comforts are so Transitory in their Nature, so Unsatisfying in their Use, and so Dangerous in their Enjoying, how little reason have we, to be too much alfected with foregoing them ! Our blood is dear to us, as that, wherein our life is ; yet, if we find that it is ei- ther infected or distempered, we do willingly part with it, in liope of better health : how much more, with those things, which are farther from us, and less concerning us ! [2.] The Second Consideration is, ohhat J ll--wise Providence which orderelh all cxtns, both in heaven and earth; allotting to every creature his due proportion ; so over-ruling all things to the best, that we could not want, if he knew it better for us to abound. This station he hadi set us in, this measure he hath shared out to us, whose will is the rule of good : what we have therefore, cannot but be best for us. The world is a large chess-board : every man hath his place as- signed him : one is a King ; another, a Knight ; another, a Pawn; and each hath his several motion : without this variety, there could be no game played. A skilful player will not stir one of these chips, but with intention of an advantage : neither should any of his men either stand or move, if, in any other part of that chequer, it mi^ht be in more hope to win. There is no estate in this world, which can be universally good for all. One man's meat may be another man's medicine, and a third man's [joison. A Turk finds health and temper in that o})ium, which would put one of us into our last sleep. Should the p!ouo-h_ man be set to the gentleman's fare, this chicken, that partridge or pheasant, would, as over-slight food, be too soon turned over ; and leave his empty stomach, to quarrel for stronger provision : beef is for his diet; and, if any sauce needs besides his hunger, garlic. Every man hath, as a body, so a mind of his own : what one loves is abliorred of another. The great Housekeeper of the World knows how to fit every pa- late with that, which either is or should be agreeable to it, for sa- lubrity, if not for pleasure. Lay before a child, a knife and a rod, and bid him take his choice, his hand will be straiglit upon that edo-e- tool, especially if it be a little gilded and glittering ; but the parent knows the rod to be more safe for him, and more beneficial. We are ill-carvers for ourselves : he, that made us, knows what is fit for us ; either for time, or measure ; witliout his Providence, not a hair can fall from our heads. We would have bodily health : I cannot blame us : what is the world to us, without it ? he, whose we are, knows sickness to be for the health of the soul : whether should we, in true judgiueni. 14 PRACTICAL WORKS. desire ? We ui>h to live : who can blame us r life is sweet : but, if our Maker have ordained, that nothing but death can render us glo- rions, what n)adness is it to stick at the condition \ Oh, our gross infidelity, if we do not believe that great Arbiter of the World, ivfinitel^- wise to know what is best for us, infinitely nu-rciful to v, ill what be knows best, inruiitely Dowerful to do what he will ! And, if we be thus persuaded, how can we, but, in matter of good, say w;th Blessed Mary, Behold thy servant : be if unto me acioiding to thy ri'ord ? aiKi, in matter of evil, with good Eli, It m the Lord, let him do "jthai he will ? [3.] In the i'hird place, it will be requisite for us, to cast our eves upon the JVor-e Condition '^ Others, perhaps better deserving tfian ourselves: for, if we shall whme and complain of that weight, which others do run away cheerfully vvithai, the fa'dt will appear to be, not in the heavmess of the load, but in the weakness of the bearer. If I be discontented with a mean dwelling, anotiier man lives merrily in a thatched cottage: if I dislike jny plain fare, the four captive children feed fair and fat with pulse and Vvater; Dan. i. 12, 13 : if I be plundered of my rich suits, I see a more cheerful heart under a russei coat, than great princes have under purple robes: if I do gently languish upon my sick bed, I see others patient urrder the torments of the cholic, or stone, or strangury : if I be clapped uj) within four walls, I hear Petronius profess, he would rather be in prison with Cato, than at liberty with Ca-sar ; I hear Paul and Sias sing like nightingales in their cages: am I sad, because I am childless ? I hear many a parent wish himself ^o : am I banished from mv home ? I meet with many, of whom the world was not worthij, wanderini^ about in sheep-skins, in goat-skiyis^ in deserts, and in mountaihs, aful in dens and eaves of earth ; Heb. xi. 3b: wiiat :-im I, that I should speed better, than the miserablest of these patients ? what had they done, that they should fare worse than I .^ If I have little, oti ers have less: if I feel pain, some otliers torture : if their sufferings be just, my forbearances are mercifid ; my provisions, to theirs, liberal. It is no ill counsel therefore, and not a little conducing to a con- tented want, that great persons should sometimes step aside into the homely cottages of tlie poor; and see their mean stuff, coarse fare, hard lod;j;ings, worthless utensils, miserable shifts; and to compare it with their own delicate and nauseating superfluities. Our great and learned king Alfred was the better, all his life after, for his hiilden reiiredness in a ] oor neat-herd's cabbin ; where he was sheltered, and sometimes also chidden, bv that homely dame. Neither was it an ill wish of that wise man, That all great princes might first have some little taste, what it is to want ; that so their own experience might render them more sensible of the complauits of others. Man, though he be absolute in himself, and stand uyjon his own bottom ; yet is he not a little wrought upon by examples, and comparibons with others . for, in them, he sees what he is, or may OF CONTENT ATION. 1 '> be ; since no e\ents are so confined to some speciul subjects, as that they may not be incident to otlier men. Merits are a poor plea, for any man's exemption ; while our sin- ful infirmities lav us all open to the rod of divine jusiice: and, if these dis[)ensations be merel\ out of favour, why do I rather grutige at a lesser misery, than bless God for my freedom from ii greater judgment ? Those, therefore, that suffer more than I, have cause of more humbling; and I, that suifer less than they, have cause of more thankfulness. Even mitigations of punishment are new mercies: so as others' torments i\o no other, tlian heighten mv obligations. Let me not, 'therefore, repine, to be favourably miserable. [4.] The Fourth Consideration shall be, of the InconienitnccHj •which do qfteyitinu'S attend a Fulness of Estate : such, and so manv, as may well make us sit down content with a little. (a.) Whereof, let the first be Envy; a mischief, not to be avoided of tlie great. This shadow foUows that body, inseparably. All the curs m the street are ready to fall upon tliat dog, that goes away with the bone; and every man hath a cudgel to fiing at a well-loaded tree : whereas a mean condition is no eye-sore to any beholder. Low shrubs are not wont to be struck with lisrhtnins:; but tall oaks and cedars feel their flames. While David kept his father's sheep at home, he might sing sweetly to his harp m the fields, without any disturbance; but, when he once comes to the court, and finds applause and greatness creep upon him, now. emulation, despight, and malice, dog him close at the heels, where- soever he goes: let him leave the court, and flee into the wilder- ness ;^there, these blood-hounds follow him, in hot suit: let him run into the land of the Philistines ; there, they find him out, and chase him to Ziklag: and if, at the last, he liath climbed up to hi^ just throne, and there hopes to breathe him after his tedious par- suit; even there, he meets with more unquietness, than in his de- sert ; and, notwithstanding all his rovalty, at last cries out, Lord, remember Dasid, and all his troubles ; Ps. cxxxii. 1. How many have we known, whom their wealth hath betrayed, and made inno- cent malefactors! who might have slept securely, ujjon a hard bolster; and, in a poor estate, out-lived both their judges and accusers ! Besides, on even ground, a fall may be liarmless ; but lie, that falls from on high, cannot escape bruising. He, therefore that can ttiiuk the benefits of eminence can countervail the dangers which haunt greatness, let him atiect to overtop others : for me, let me rather be safely low, than high with peril. (b.) y\fter others' envy, the next attendant upon greatness is our own Cares. How do these disquiet the beds, and "sauce tfie tables, of the wealthy ! breaking their sleeps ; galling their sides ; embittering their pleasures; siiortening their days. How bitterly do we find the holiest men complaining of those distractions, which have attended then earthly promotions ! Nazianzeri* cries out of * G. N»2. Carm. de Calam. luii. 16 PRACTICAL WORKS. them, as no other, than the bane of the soul: and that other Gregory, whom we are wont to call the last of the best Bishops of Rvnue an I the first of the baJ. passionatey bewails this ciog of his hi"h preferment : " I confess," saich he, " that while I am out- wardly advanced, I am inwardly fallen lower. This burthensome honour depresses me; and innumerable cares disquiet me, on all sides: ni'. mi id, grown almost stupid with those temporal cares which are ever barkmg in mine ears, is forced upon earthly things*." Thus ue. I'here are indeed cares, which, as they may be used, mav help us on towards heaven : such as Melancthon owns to his Camerarius : " My cares," saith he, " send me to my prayers, and my prayers dispel my cares f :" but those anxieties, which commonlv wait upon greatness, distract the mind, and im- pair the body. It is an observation of the Jewish Doctors, that Joseph, the Patriarch, was of a shorter life, than the rest of his brethren ; and they render this reason of it, for that his cares were as much greater, as his place was higher. It was not an unfit comparison of him J, who resembled a co'onet upon the temples, to a pail upon the head : we have seen those, who have carried full and heavy vessels on the top of tlieir heads ; but then, they have walked evenly and erect under that load : we never saw any, that could dance under such a weight: if either they bend or move vehemently, all their carnage is spilled. Earthly greatness is a nice thing ; and requires so much chariness in the managing, as the contentment of it cannot requite. He is worthy of honey, that desires to lick it off from thorns. For my part, I am of the mind of him, who professed, not to care for those favours, that compelled him to lie waking. (c.) In the next place, I see greatness not more pale and worn with cares, than swollen up and sickly with Excess. Too much oil poured in, puts out the lamp. Superfiuity is guilty of a world of diseases, which the spare diet of poverty is free from. How have we seen great men's eyes sur- feited at that full table, whereof their palate could not taste; and they have risen, discontentedly glutted with the sight of that, which their stomach was incapalile to receive: and when, not giv- ing so much law to nature, as to put over their gluttonous meal, their wanton appetite charging them with a new variety of curious morsels and lavish cups, they find themselves overtaken with fe- verous distempers; the physician nmst succeed the cook, and a second sickness must cure the first. /■ But, alas, these bodily indispositions are nothing to those spiritual evils, which are incident into secular greatness. It is a true word of St. Ambrose^, seconded by conmion experience, that a high pitch of honour is seldom held up without sin: and St. Jerome tells us II, it was a common proverb in his tmie, That a rich man either is wicked, or a wicked man's heir : not, but that rich Abraham * Greg. 1. vii. Epist. 12. 7. f In vita Meianct. X Shichar haih so grossly bewiiched us : such as mav well verify tliat, which Lucius long since wrote* to tlie Bishops of P'rance and Spain, Tiiat one hour's mischief makes us forget the pleasure of the greatest excess. I marvel not at our English Jew, of whom our story s eaks, that would rather jjart witU his teeth, than his bags : ho^v many have we known, that have poured out their life together with their gold ; as men, that would not out-live their earthen god ! Yea, woe is me ! how many souls have been lost, in the sin of getting, and in the quarrel of losing this thick clay, as the Prophet terms it 1 (e.) But, lastly, that, which is yet the sorest of all the inconve- niencesyis the^adness of the Reckoning, which must come in, after tliese plentiful entertainments : for there is none of all our care:* here, but must be billed up : and great accompts must have long audits. How hard a thing it is, in this case, to have an Omnia ague ! in the failing whereof, how is the conscience adected ! I know not whether more tormented, or tormenting the miserable soul : so as the great owner is but, as witty Bromiard compares him, like a weary jade ; which, all the day long, hath been labour- ing under the load of a great treasure, and, at night, lies down with a galled back. By that time, therefore, we have summed up all, and find here Envy, Cares, Sicknesses both of body and soul, Torment in Parting with, and more Torment in Reckoning for these earthly great- nesses ; we shall be convinced of sufficient reason, to be well apaid with their want. [ J.] Let the Fifth Consideration be, the Benefit of Poverty .• such, and so great, as are enough to make us in love with having nothing. (a.) For, first, what an advantage is it, to be free from those gnawing cares, which, like Tityus's vulture, feed upon the heart of the -great! Here is a man, that sleeps, Lcniopian-like, with his doors open : no dangers threaten him: no fears break iiis rest: he starts not out of his bed, at midnight, and cries, "Thieves!" he feels no rack of ambitious thoughts: he frets not, at the disappoint- ment of his false hopes: he cracks not his brain, with hazardous plots: he misdoubts no undermining of emu ous rivals; no traps of hollow friendshijj ; but lives securely in his homely cottage, quietly enjoying such provision, as nature and honest inda-try furnish him withal: for his drink, the neighbour-spring save=; him the charge of his excise; and, when his better earnings iiave fraught * Ep. Lulu ad JEpisc. GalL et Iliur strength; and \^ins the Father of IMercies, both to pity and retrbution: whereas, murmuring Israelites can never be free from judgments; audit is a dreadful word, that God speaketh of that chosen nation, Mnw heritage is unio mc as a lion in the forest : it, suW^ ycllelh against vie; therefore have I ha' ed it; Jer. xii. 8. A child, that struggles under the rod, justly doubles his stripes ; and an imruly malefactor draws on, besides death, tortures. [8.] Furthermore, it is a main help towards Contentation, to consider xhe Grat ions Vicissitudes of God'' s Dealing -unih iis : how he intermixes favours with his crosses; tempering our much honey, with some little gall. The best of us are but shrewd children; yet, he chides us not ahcays, saith the Psalmist; Ps. ciii. 9. He smiles often, for one frown ; and «hy should we not take one with an- other ? It was the answer, wherewith that a(i mi ruble Pattern of Patience stopped the querulous, mouth of liis tempting wife ; What ! shall -we receive good at the hand of God, aful shall -wc not re- ceive nil? Job ii, 10. It was a memorable example, which came lately to my know- ledge, of a worthy Christian, who had lived to his middle age in much health and prosperity ; and was now, for Jiis two last years, miserably afflicted with the strangury : who, in the midst of his torments, could say, " O my Lord God, how gracious hast thou been unto me! thou hast given me eigiit and forty years of health, and now but two years ofpain. Thou m'ghtest have caused me to lie in this torture, all the days of my life; and now, thou hast carried me comfortably through the rest, and hast mercifully taken up with this last parcel of my torment. Blessed be thy name for thy mercy, in forbearing me; and for thy just. ce, in afflicting me." To be thankful for present blessings, is but ordinary ; but, to be so thankful for mercies past, that the memory of them should be able to put over the sense of present miseries, is a high improve- ment of grace. The very heathens, by the light of riat\n-e and linir own ex- perience, could observe this interchange of God's proceedings ; and made some kind of use of them, accordingly. Camiliu;-, after he had, upon ten years' siege, taken the rich city Veios, jorayed that some mishap might bofal himself and Ptome, to temper so great a happiness * ; when one would have thought the price would not countervail the labour, and the loss of time and blood : and Alexander the Great, when report was made to him of many notable victories atchieved by his armies, could say, '• O .lup.ter, mix some misfortune with these happv news." I.o, these men could tell, that it is neitncr fit nor safe, for great blessings to walk alone; but, that they must be attended with their pages, afflictions t why should not we Christians expect them with patience and thanks .<' ♦ Liviui. ti PRACTICAL WORKS. They say, thunder and lightning hurts not, if it be mixed with rain. I ; iiiose liot countries, which lie under the scalding zone, when the first showers fall after a long drought, it is held dangerous to walk suddenly abroad ; for that the earth, so moistened, sends up unwholesome steams : but, in those parts, where the rain and sunshine are usually interchanged, it is most pleasant to take the air of the earth, newly refreshed with kindly showers. Neither is it otherwise, in the course of our lives. This medley of good and evil conduces, not a little, to the health of our souls : one of them must seive to Lemper the other; and bodi of them to keep the heart in order. Were our afflictions long, and our comforts rare and short, we had yet reason to be thankful : the least is more than God owes tis : but now, when \i heaviness endure for a niglil, joy coweih in the luonwig, and dwells with us, so that some tits of sorrow are re- compensed with many months of jo} ; how should our hearts over- flow with thankfulness, and easily digest small grievances, out of the comfortable sense of larger blessings ! But, if we shall cast uj) our eyes to heaven, and there behold the glorious remuneration of our suiferings, how shall we contemn the woist, that earth can do unto us ! There, there is glory enough, to niaKe us a thousand times n)ore than amends, for all that we are capable to endure. Yea, if this earth were hell, and men devils, thev could not mliict upon us those torments, which might hold aii^ equality m iiii the glory which shall be revealed; and, even of the worst of t'lera, we must say, with the blessed Apostle ; Our light affiictio/ . which is but for a moment, norkeih for us a jar more exceeding, eiernal weigh/' of glory ; 2 Cor. iv. 17. When the blessed proto-martyr Stephen had stedfastly fixed his eyes on hea- ven ; and, that curtaiii being drawn, had seen the heavens opened, ana iherein tne giory of God, and Jesus standing on the right- hand of God; Acts vii. 56. do we think he cared ought, for the sjiarkhng eyes, and gnashed teeth, and killing stones of the en- raged multitude ? O poor impotent Jews, how far was that divine soul above the reach of your malice ! how did he triumph over your cruelty ! how did he, by his happy evolation, make all those stones precious 1 [9.] Lastly, it cannot but be a powerful motive unto Contenta- tion, that we lay belore us the notable Examples of Men, whether worse or better than ourselves, that have been eminent in the prac- tice of this virtue : men, that, out of the mere strength of mo- rality, have run away with losses and poverty, as a light burden ; that, out of their free choice, have fallen upon those conditions, whicli we are ready to fear and shrink from. What a shame is it for Christians, to be outstripped herein by very Pagans ? If we look upon the ancient philosophers, their low valuation of these outward things, and their willing abdication of those com- forts wherewith others were too much aifccted, made them admired of the multitude. Here do 1 see a cynic lioused in his tub, scorn- OF CONTKNTATION. 2S ing all wealth and state ; and making still cvien, with his victuals and the day * : who, when he was invited to supper to one of Alex- ander's great lords, could say, *' I would rather iick salt at Athens, than feast with Cratenis."' Here I meet wuh liim, wlioni their oracle styled ttie wisest of me.i, walking bare-loot in a patched, thread-bare cloak ; contemning honours, and ail earihiy things : and, when that garment would hang no longer on his back, I can hear him say, *' I would have bought a cloak, if I had hud money:'* *' Aiter which word," saith Seneca, *' whosoever offered lo give, came too late :" ApoUodorus, amongst the rest, senas him a r.ch mantle, towards his end ; and is refused : with what patience, doth this man bear the loud scoldings of his Xaatippe; maivingno otner of them, tnan the creakino- of a cart-wheel ' with v.jiat brave re- solution, doth he repel the proders of A.crieiais; te.-ing him how cheap the market afforded meal at Athens, ana the i>untains water! Here I meet with a Zeno, formerly rich in his traihc for purple, now impoverished by an ill sea-voyage ; and can hear him say, *' I sailed best, when I shijuv recked." Here I see an Anstlppus, drown- ing his gold in the sea, that it might not drosvn iiini. Here 1 can hear a Democritus, or Cleanthes, when he was asked how a man should be rich, answer, " If he be poor in desires." What should I s|3eak of those Indian Sophists, that took tlieir name from tlicir nakedness ; whom we hear to say t, " The sky is oar house, and the earth our bed : we care not for srold : we contemn death ?" One of them can teil Onesicritus, " As the mot^'cr is to the child, so is the earth to n^e: the mother gives milk to her infant ; so doth the earth yield ail necessanes to uje." And, when gold was oMered to him, by that great conqueror, ** Pei^iiade," said he, " if thf)U canst, these birds, to take thy silver and gold, that they may sing the sweeter ; and, if thou canst not do that, wouidst thou have me worse than them ?" Adding, moreover, in a strong discourse, "natu- ral hunger, when we have taken food, cease^h ; and. if the mind of man did also naturally desire gold, so soon as iie hath received that which he wished, the dejire and appetit.e of it n ould presently cease : but, so far is it from this satiety, that the more it hath, tlie more it doth, without any intermission, long for more; because this desire proceeds not from any mot.on Ar nature ; but only cut of the wantonness of mail's own will, to wiiich no bounds can be set." Blush, O Christian Soul, whosoever thou arc ihat reailest these lines, to hear such words falung from ieathenlips; when thou seest those, tiat profess godliness, dote upo i tnese worthless metals, and transported witii ttie affection and cares ot vhese earthly provisions. If, from these patterns of men that should be below ourselves, we look up to the more noble precedents of Pror-iiets and Apo- stles, lo, there, we find Elijah, fed by ravens ; E.^iha, boardmg with his poor Sareptan hostess; a hundred prophets, fed bv fiity in a cave, with bread and water; 1 Kings xvui. 13. the sons of * .>?joiSjo5. t ^»f^r Opera Ambtosii, De Morihui Brachmannorum. i-i- rilACTICAL WORKS. the prophets, for the enlarging of their over-strait lodgings, hard at work : they are their own carpenters, but their tools are borrow- ed ; 2 Kii.gs vi. 2 — 5. There, we shall find a few barley loaves and little fishes, the household provision of our Saviour's train. Yea, there, we find the mosc gloiious Apostle, the great Doctor of the Geniiies, employing his hands to feed his belly y busily stitching of skhis for iiis tent-work. Yea, what do we look at any or all of these, when we see the Son of God, tiie God of all the World, in tiie form of a servant? Not a cratch to cradle him in, not a grave to bury him in, was his Own : and he, that cquld commaml heaven and eardi, can say, T/ie foxes ha-ve holes, and the birch have nests ; but the Son nj Man hath not li-here to lay his head ; Matt. viii. 20. W ho now can comp;aiij of want, wiien he hears his Lord and Sa- viour, but thus })rovided for ? He could have brougm down with hmi a cele:itial house, and have pitched it here below, too glorious ior earthen eyes to have iooked upon : he could have commanded all the precious things, that lie shrouded in the bowels of the earth, to lia\e made up a majei^rical palace for h.im, to the dazzhng of the eyes ot all beholders : he couid have taken up the stateliest court, that any earthly monarch possessed, for his peculiar habitation ; But his stra-tness was spiritual and ueavenly : and he, that owned all, would have nothing ; that he might sanctity want unto us ; and that he might teach us, by his blessed example, to sit down con- tented wjtn any thing, with nothing. By that time, therefore, we hfive laid all these things together, and have seriously considered of tlie Mean Valuation of all these Earth]_y Things, for their 1 ransitoriness, Unsatisfaction, Danger; of the over-rLi'ii;g- Provicicnce oi the Almighty, who most wisely, justly, mercifuljydispoieth of UL>, and all events that belal us; of the worse Condition of many thousand Others ; of the great In- conveniences that attend Great and Full Estates ; of the secret Be- nefits of Povcri3- ; of the Smallness of that Pittance that may Suffice Nature; of liie Miseries that wait upon Discontentment; of the merciful Vicissitudes of Favours, wherewith God plcaseth to interchange our Suderings; and, lastly, the great Exam})les of those, as we'l without as within the bosom of the Church, that have gone before iis, and led us the way to Conteiitation : our judgment cannot chuse, but be sufiiciently convincetl, that there is abundant reason to win our hearts, to a quiet and conicmted entertainment of want, and all other outward jifl^ictions. (2.) But all these intervenient miseries are slight, in comparison of the last and utmost of eviis, Dcaih. Mai;y a one grapples cheer- fully with these trivial afflictions, who yet looks paie and trembles •at the King of Fear. His very name hath terror in it; but his looks more. The courageous cliampion of Christ, the blessed Apo.-tle, and, wiih him, every faithful soul, makes his challenge universal, to whatsoever estaie he is in : to the estate of Dcatii^ therefore, no less than the afflictive incidents of life. When, there-p fore, this ghastly giant shall sulk forth, and bid defiance to the O? C0NTF.NTAT[0N'. 25 whole host of Israel ; and when tlie timorous unbelievers shall run 3\va^ at the sight ot" him, and endeavour to Imle their heads from his presence ; tlie good soul, amied, not with the unmeet and cumbersome harness ot tiesh and biood, but witli the sure though invisible, armour of God, dares come forth to meet him ; and, in the name of the Lord of Hosis, both bids him battle, and foils h;m in the combat ; and now, liaving laid him on the ground, can trium]:)hii'oly say, O Dcath^ where is thy sting? Grate, where is thxj xictory ^ [l.] Five smooth pebbles there are, which if we carry in our scrip, we shall be able to Quell, not only the Power of Death, but the Terror too. (a.) Whereof the first is, a sure apprehension of both the un- avoidable Necessity and certain Beneiit of Deatb : a Necessity, grounded upon the just and eternal decree of heaven. Jl is ap. pointed to all men, once to die; Heb. ix. 27 : and w lat a madness were it, for a man to think of an exemption from the common condition of mankind ! Mortality is, as it were, essential to our nature: neither could we have had our souls, but u|)on the terms of a re-delivery, when they shall be called for. If the holiest saints or the greatest monarchs sped otherwise, we might have some colour of repining: now, gneve if thou vvilt, that thou art a mai^. ; grieve not, that, being man, tliou must d:e. Neither is the Benefit inferior to the necessity. Lo here the remedy of ail our cares, the physic for all our maladies, the rescue from all our fears and dan- gers; earnestly sued for by the painful, dearly welcome to the distressed: yea, lo here the cherub, that keeps the gate of paradise: there is no entrance, but under his hand : in van) cio we hope to pass to the giory of heaven, any other way, than througu the gates of death. (b.) The second is, the Conscience of a Well-led Life. Guilti- ness will mui^e any man cowardly, unable to look c'a'ger in the face; much more, death ; whereas, the mnocent is bo d as a lion. "What a difference therefore there is, betwixt a martyr and a male- factorl This latter knows he hath dope ill; and, the'-efore, if he can take his death but putientlv, it is wcli: the former knows he hath done well; and, therefore, takes his death not patiently only, but cheerfully. (c.) But, l>ecause no mortal man can have so innocently led his life, but that he shad ha\ e passed many oifences against his most holy and righteous God ; tiere must be, thirdly, a Pinal Peace hnuiy made betwixt God and the Soul. 1 wo powerful agents must me- diate in it; a lively faith and a serious repentance: for tliose smi can never appear against us, that are washed off with our tears; and, being justified byjaith, we have peace wit/i Ciod, through our Lord Jesus Christ ; iTom. v. I. Now, if we have made the judge our f iend, what can the sergeant do ? (d.) Tie fourth is, the Power and EflTicacy of Christ's Death, applied to the soul. Wherefore died he, but that we might hve? <»6 t'RACTIC.4L WOKltS. Wherefore wr>nld he, uho is tlie Lord of Life, die, but to sanctify, season, and sweeten death to us r Who would go any other way, tiiin his ScUionr went before him ? Who can fear that enemy, whom his Redeemer hath conquered for him ? Who can run away fiom that serjient, whose stu^g is pulled out' O Death, my Saviour hatti been thy death; and, therefore, thou canst not be mine. (e.) The fifth is, the comfortable Expectation and Assurance of a certain Resuneccion and an immediate G;ory. I do but lay me doAuto my vest: I shall sleep quietly, and rise gloriously. My soul, in the mean time, no sooner leaves my body, than it enjoys God. It did latei}', through my bodily eyes^ see my sad friends, that bid me farewell with their teai*s: now, it hath the bliss-making vision of God. I am no sootier launched forth, than I am at the haven, wliere I would be. Here is that, which were able to make amends for a thousand deaths: a glory, infinite, eternal, incom- prehensible. T'his spiritual ammunition shall sufhcientb/ furnish the soul, for her encounter with her last enemy "• so as, she shall not only en- dure, but long for this combat; and say, wftb the Chosen Vessel, / desire to depart, and to he •wiih Christ , Phil. i. 23. [2.] Now, for that long conversation causeth enti^ene^s : and the parting of old friends and jjavtuers (such the soul and body are) cannot but be grievous, although there were no actual pain in tlie dissolution : it will be requisite for ns, seriously to consider the State of this Conjunction ; and to enquire, what good offices the one of them doih to the other, in their continued union, for which they should be so loth to part. And here we shall find, tnot those two, however united to make tip one ];erson ; yet, as it falls out in cross matches, they are in continual domestic jars one with the other, and entertain a secret familiar kind ot hostility betwixt themselves: For the flesh histefh against the Spirit, and the Spirit against th^jiesh ; and these are von- irarij the one to the other; Gal. v. 17. One says well, that if the body should im})lead the soul, it might bring many foul impeach- ments agan)st it; and sue it, for many great injuries done to that earthly part : and the soul, again, hath no fewer quarrels against the body : betwixt them both, there are many brawls, no agree- ment. Our Schools have reckoned up, therefore. Eight main Incom- modities, which the soul hath cause to complain of, in her conjunc- tion with the body. (a.) Whereof the first is, the Defilement of Original Sin, where- witli the soul is not tainted, as it proceeds, alone, from the pure hands of its Creator ; but, as it makes up a part of a son of Adam, who brought this guilt upon human nature : so as now, this com- position, which we call man, is corrupt. Who can bring a dean thing out of that, Trhich is unclean ? saith Job. (b.) The second is, a Proneness to Sin, which, but by the meet- OF CONTFNTATION. 27 ino; of these partners had never heen. The soul, if single, would have been innocent: tJius niatclied, what evil is it not apt to en- tetlaiti ! An ill consort is enough to poison the best disposition. (c.) The Dirticulty or Doing Well, is the third: for, liow averse are we, h\ this conjunction, from any thing that is good ! 'J'his clog hinders us fi-oni xvalking rouudlv in the ways of God. 'Flu-good^ that I nould d<\ J do vol ; saith the Clioson Vessel ; Rom. vii. 19. (d.) The fourth is, the Duhiess of our Understanding, and the diuHiess of our mental eyes, especially in the things pertaining unto God; which now we are forced to bt'tiold thro'ign the vail of Hesh. If, dierefore, we niisknow. the fault is in the mean, through which we do imperfectly discover them. (e.) The fifth is, a perpetual Impugnation and Self-conflict; either part labouring to oppose and vaiiquish the other. 1 his field is fought in every man's bosom, without any possibility of peace or truce, till the last moment of dissolution. (f.) The sixth is, the racking Solicitude of Cares, which con- tinually distract the soul; not suffering it lo rest at ease, while it carries this flesh about it. (g.) The seventh is, the IMultiplicitv of Passions which daily bluster within us, and raise up continual tempest m our lives ; dis- quieting our peace, and threatening our ruin. (h.) The eighth is, the Retardation of our Glory: for, ficsh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God : we must lay down our load, if we would enter into heaven. The seed cannot fructuy, unless it die. I cannot blame nature, if it could wish not to be vnclo'hed, but to be clothed upon ; 2 Cor. v. 4 : but so hath the Eternal Wisdom ordered, thar \ve shoidd first la_) down, ere w^e can take up; and be divested of earth, ere we can partake of heaven. Now then, since so many and great discommodities do so un- avoidably accompany this match of soul and body, and all of them cease instantly in the act of their dissolution, what reiison have we, to be too deeply alTected with their parting ? Yea, how should we rather rejoice, that the hour is come, wherein we shall be quit both of the guilt and temptations of sin ; wherein the clog shall be taken away from our heels, and the vail from our eyes ; wherein no intestine wars shall threaten us, no cares shall disquiet us, no passions shall torment us ; and, lastly, wherein we may take the free possession of that glory, whicli w^e have hitherto looked at ^nly afar olf, from the top of our Pisgah ! SECT. 2. Jlolij Dispositions for Contentment. (1.) Humilitij :—[2.) Self -Resignation :~{'Z.) True I nxcard Riches. Hitherto we have dwelt in those powerful considei-ations, which jnay work lis to a quiet conteiitineut with whatsoever adverse 2$ PRACTICAL WORKS. estate, whether of life or deat!i : after which, \Ve address ourselves to those niot't DiSPO-^iTioNS, wliicli .■>huil render us fullv capal^le of this blessed Conteniation; and shah make ail these Consiaerations etfcctual lo that happy, pur]x)se. (1.) Whereof the tirst is true Hitmilily ; under-vahiing ourselves, and setting a 'iigli rate upon every mercy that we receive: for, if a man have attauied unto tiiis, t'lat he tuinkrj every thing too good for him, and himself less than the least blessing, and worthy of the heaviest Judgment; he cannot bnt sit down thankful for small favours, and meekly content with mean aflliclions. As, contrarily, the proud man stands ujx)n points with liis ISIaker; makes God his (lei)ior ; looks disdainfully at small blessings, as if he said, *' What, no more?" and looks angrily at the least crosses, as if he said, " Why thus much?" The Father of the Faithful hath practically taught us this lesson of humility ; who comes to God with dust and ashes m his mouth ; X5en. xviii. 27. And the Jewish Doctors tell * us truly, that, in every disciple of Abraham, there must be three things; a good eye, a uieek spirit, and an hiuuble soul. His grandchild Jacob, the father of every true Israelite, had well taken it out ; while he can say to his God, / am not -morlluj of the least of oil the mercies^ and of all the truth, zchich thou hast sheu'cd itnto thy senmit ; Gen. xxxii. U. And, indeed, in whomsoever it be, the best measure of grace is humility: for, the more grace still, the greater humility ; and, no humility, no grace. Solomon observed of old, and St. James took it from him, that God resistdh the proud, and givcth grace to the humble ; Prov. iii. 34. Jaiues iv. 6 : so as he, that is not hmnble, is not so much as capable of grace ; and he, tiiat is truly humble, is a fit subject for all graces, and, amongst the rest, for the grace of Contentation. Give me a man therefore, that is vile in his own eyes ; that is sensible of his own wretchedness; that knows what it is to sin, and what belongs to that sin whereof he is guilty : this man shall think it a mercy, that he is any where out of Ik'I! ; shall account all the evils thac he is free from, so many new fawmrs; :shall reckon easy corrections amongst his blessings ; and shall esteem any blessing inhniteK' obliging. Whereas, contrarily, tlit* proud beggar is readv to throw God's alms at his head ; and swells at every lash, that he receives from the divme hand. Not without great cause, therefore, doth the Royal Preacher oppose the patient in spirif, to the proud in spirit ; Eccl. vii. S : for the proud man can no more be patient, than the patient can be discontent with whatsoever hand of his God. Every toy puts the proud man beside his patience: if but a fly be found in Pharaoh's cup, he is straight in rage, as the Jewish tradition lays the quarrel ; and sends his butler into durance : and if the emperor * Pirkc Avoth. or CONTENTATIOX. 2^ do but mistake the stinup of our countryman Pope Adrian, he sliall dance attendance for his crown : if a Mardochee do but fail of a courtesy to Ilaman, all Jews must bleed to death : and how luiquict are our vain dames, if this curl be not set ri^lit, or that pin misplaced ! But the meek spirit is incurious ; and so thoroughly subacted, that he tal.es his load from God, as the camel from his master, upon his knees: aiul, for men, if tliey compel liim to go one mile, he goes twain ; if tijcy smite him on the right cheek, he turns the other; if they sue away his coat, he parts with his cloak also ; Matth. v, 39, 40, l-l. Heraclius, the emperor, when he was about to pass through the golden gate, and to ride in royal state; through the streets of Jeru- salem, being put in mind by Zacharias, the Bishop there, of the Imuible and dejected fashion, wherein his Saviour walked through tliose streets towards his Passion, strips oif his rich robes, lays aside his crown, and, with bare head "and bare feet, submissively paces the same way, that his Kedcemer had carried his Cross to- wards his Golgotha. Every true Ciiristian is ready to tread in the deep steps of his Saviour; as well knowing, that if he shoidd de- scend to the gates of death, of the grave, of hell, he caimot be so humbled, as tlie Son of Gucl was for iiim. And, indeed, this, and this alone, is the true wav to glory. He, that is Truth itself, hath told us, thiU: he, who humbles himself, shall be ci ailed : and wise Solomon, Before honour is humili/j/ ; Prov. XV. 33. The fidler treads u|K)n that cloth, which he means to whiten; and he, that would see the stars by day, must not ciimh up into some high moLuitain, but must descend to the lower cells of the earth. Shortly, whosoever would raise up a firm building of Contentation, must be sure to lay the foundation in Huuiility. (2.) Secondly, to make up a true contentment with the most adverse estate, there is re. quired a faithful Scf-JiesigJialion into tlie hands of that God, whose we are ; wh ), as he hath more right n\ us than ourselves, so he best knows what to do with us. How graciously hath his mercv invited us to our own ease ! Be cartful, saith ho, foi- nothing ; hul, in ezeiy thing, by prcnjer and supplication, "aith thun/isgizing, let your reijutsts be made known unto God ; Phil. iv. 6. We are naturally apt, in our necessities, to have recourse to greater powers than our own: even where we have no engagement of their hel() : how much more should we cast onr- selves upon the Almighty, when he not only allows, but solicits our reliance upon him '. It was a question, that might have befitted the mouth of the be^t Ciiriitiari, which fell from Socrates: " Since God him>;elf a careful for thee, why art thou solicitous for thyself?" If evils Avere let loose upon us, so as it were possible for us to suHer any tiiing that God were not aware of, we might have just cause to sink under adversities ; but now, tijat we know every dram of our ufDiction is weighed out to ns, by that all-\\i>e and ail-merciful Providence ; Oh, our infidelity, if we do make scrujjlc of lakj.ng in the most bitter dwse! 3(y PRACTICAL WORKS. Here then is the right use of that main duty of Christianity, to live by faith. Brule creatures live by sense; mere men, by reason; Christians, by faiih. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for ; the evidence of things not seen ; Heb. xi. 1. In our extremities, we hope for God"s gracious dehverance : faith gives a subsistence to that deliverance, before it be. The mercies, that God hath re- sened for us, do not yet shew themselves : faith is the evidence of them, tiiough yet unseen. It was the motto of the learned and godly Divine, Mr. Perkins, Fidci vita vera vita; " The true life, is the life of faith ;" a word, which that worthv servant of God did both write and live. Neither indeed is any other life truly vital, but this : for, hereby, we enjoy God, in all whatsoever occurrences. Are we abridged of means ? we feed upon the cordial promises of our God. Do we sigh and groan under varieties of grievous persecutions .'' out of the worst of them we can pick out comforts; while we can hear our Saviour sa^-. Blessed are t/iej/, -^liich are pcrsceufed for righteous^ vess' sake ; for t heirs is the kingdom of heaven ; Matth. v. 10. Are we deserted and abandoned of friends ? we see him by us, who hath said, / av7/ 7iever leave thee, 7wr forsake thee ; IJeb. xiii. 5. Do we droop under spiritual desertions ? we hear the God of Truth say, For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but zci'th great mercy 'dull J gather thee: in a little wrath, I hid v\\j fact from thee ; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord, thy Redeemer ; Is. liv. 7, 8. Are we driven from liome ? If we take the wings of the morning, and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea ; even there also shall thy hand lead us, and thy right-hand shall hold us ; Ps. cxxxix. 8, 9, 10. Are we dungeoned up from the si<^ht of the sun: Peradventure the darkness shall cover us; but then shall our night be turned into day; yea, the darkness is no darkness xiith thee ; vv. 11, 12. Are we cast down upon the bed of sickness ? He, that is our God, is the God of Salvation ; and, unto God the Lord belong the issues from death , Ps. Ixviii. 20. It cannot be spoken, how injurions those men are to themselves, that will be managing their own cares ; and plotting the prevention of their fears; and projecting their own, both indemnity and ad- vantages : for, as they lay an unnecessary load upon their own shoulders, so they draw upon themselves the miseries of an un- remediable disappointment. Alas, how can their weakness make good those events, which they vainly promise to themselves; or avert those judgments, they would escape; or u[)hold them in those evils, they must undergo ? Whereas, if we put all this upon a gracious God, he contrives it with ease; looking for nothing from us, but our trust and thankfulness. (3.) In the third place, it will be most requisite to fin-nish the soi\\ w'ldi True Inward Jiiches : I mean not or more moral virtues, which } et are truly precious when they are I'onnd in a good heart ; but of a wealth as much above them, as gold is above dross'; yca» as the thing, which is most precious, i^ above ;iotIiirig. or CONTENT ATIO*?. ' St And this shall be clone, if we bring Christ home to the soul ; if we can possess oui-selves of him, who is God alUsurticient. For, such infinite contentment thei-e is, in the Son of God made ours, that whosoever hath tasted of the sweetness of tliis comfort, is in- diiVereiit to all earthly things; and so, insensible of those extreme ditlerenees of eve^L<^ wherewith others are perplexed. I low can he be de'iected with the want of anything, who is jxjsscssed of him, tliiU possesseth all things ? How can he be over-afVeoted with tri\ ial profits or pleasures, who is taken up with the God ol all Comfort ? Is Christ mine, therefore? how can I fnil of all contentment? How can he complain to warit light, that dwells in the midst of tlie sun ? How can he complain of thirst, out of whose belly flow j^ivcrs of Ihing waters ^ John vii. 38. What can I wish, that my Christ IS not to me ? Would I have meat and drink ? My ftcsh is meat i'ndtrd ; and mij blood is drink indeed ; John vi. 55. ^^''6uld I have clothing? But, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, saith the Apostle; llom.xiii. 14. Would I have medicine? He is tJie Tree of Lift, tiic leaves wlteretif are for Oit healing of the nations; Rev. xxii. 2. Would I have safety and protection? He tndy is my sfrc7igtk and my salvation : he is my defence, so as l shall not fall In God is mi/ health and -my glory, the rock of my might ; and in God is my trust ; Ps. Ixii. 6, 1. Would I have direction ? / am the nay, and lite truth ; John xiv. 6. Would I Itave life ? Christ is to ?iie to lilt' ; Phil. i. 21. layn the resurrcetion and the life ; John xi. 25. Would I have all spiritual good things ? We are in Christ Jesus, ztho of Crod is made unto us -wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifr- cation, and redemption ; 1 Cor. i. 30. Oh, the haj)py condition of the man that is in Christ, and hath Chriit in him ! Shall I account him ricli, that hath store of oxen, and sheep, and horses, and camels ; that hath heaps of metals, and some spots of ground ? and shall I not account him infinitely more rich, ih;u: owns arnd enjoys him, whoiC the earth is, and the fulness of it; whose heaven is, and the glory of it ? Shall I justly account that man great, whom the king will honour and place near to him- self? and sirdU I not esteem that man more honourable, whom the King of Heaven is pleased to admit unto such partnership of glory, as to profess. To him, that o-jcrcometh, zcill L grant to sit xvith me in my throne ; even as I also overcame, and am set dozfii with my Father m his throne ; Rev. iii. 21. It is a true word of St, Augustin, that every soul is either Christ's Spouse, or the Devil's Harlot. Now, if we be matclied to Christ, tlie Lord ofGlor)'; what a blessed un-on is here! What can he withhold from us, that hath given us himself? I could envy U>e devotion of tljat man, though otherwise misplaced, whom St. Ber- nard heard to spend the night in no other words, than, Deus.meus et omnia ; " My God, and all things." Certainly, lie, who hath that God, hath more than all things: he, that wants him, whatever else he seems to possess, hath less than nothing. 32 I'RACTICAL WORKS. SECT. 3. Holy Resolutions for Contentment. (1.) That our present estate is best for Uf : — (2.) To abate of our Desires: — (3.) To digest smaller Inconveniences : — (4.) To he frequent and fenent in prayer. After these serious Considerations and meet Dispositions, shall, in the last place, follow certain linn resolu riONS, for the full actuating our Contentment, (1.) And, first, we must resolve, out of the unfailable grounds of Divine Providence formerly s])oken of, IViat the present estate zc'herein Xi'e are, is certainly the best for us ; and, therefore, we must herein absolutely captivate our understanduig and will, to that of the highest. How unmeet judges are flesh and blood, of the best fitness of a condition for us ! As some palates, which are none of the whole- somest, like nothing but sweetmeats ; so our nature would be fed up, with the only delicacies of pleasures and prosperity : according to the false principle of Aristippus, that he only is happ}-, which is delis^hted. But the all- wise God knows anotljer diet, more fit for our health; and, therefore, graciously tempers our dishes, with the tart sauces of affliction. The mother of the two sons of Zebe- dee and her ambitious children, are all for the chief peerage in the temporal kingdom of Christ ; but he calls them to a bitter cup and a bloody baptism, rather: and this was a far greater honour, than, that they sued for. There is no earthly estate absolutely good for all persons ; like as no gale can serve for all passengers. In Afric, they say, the. north wind brings clouds, and the south wind clears up. That plant, which was starved in one soil, in another prospers : yea, that, which in some climate is poison, proves wholesome in another. Some one man, if he had another's blessings, would run wild ; and if he had some other man's crosses, would be desperate. The infinite wisdom of the great Governor of the World allots every one his due proportion. The fitches are not thrashed "with a thrashing instrufnent, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the filches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod, sailh Isaiah ; ch. xxviii. 27. And, no otherwise, in matter of prosperit}'^ : Joseph's coat may be party-coloured ; and Beniamin's mess may be five times so mucli as any of his brethren ; Gen, xliii. 34. It is marvel if they, who did so much envy Joseph for liis dream of superiority, did not also envy Benjamin for so large a service, and so rich gifts at his part- ing : this, it seems, ga\ e occasion for the good Patriarch's fear, when he charged them. See that you fall not out by the way ; Gen. xlv. 24. But, there had been no reason for so impotent an envy : OF CO>rrENTATION. 33 while the gift is free, and each speeds ahove his desert, who can have cause to repine ? It is enough, that Josejih knew a just reason of so unequal a distrihution, though it were hidden from themselves. The elder brother may grudge the fat calf and the prime robe to the returned unthrift ; but ilie father knows reason to make that difference. God is infinitely just and infinitely merciful, in dispensing both his favours and punishment. In both kinds, every man hath tiiat, which is fittest for him ; i)ecause it is that, which God's will haih designed to him ; and ihat will is the most absolute rule of justice. Now, if we can so frame our will to his, as to think so too, how can we be other than contented ? Do we suffer ? There is more in- tended to us, than our smart. It was a good speech of Seneca, though a heathen, (what pity it is that he was so I) " I give thanks to my infirmity, which forces me not to be able to do that, which I ought not will to do." If we lose without, so as we gain within ; if, in the perishing of the outward man, the inward man be renewed (2 Cor. iv. 16.), we have no cause to complain, nnich to rejoice. Do I live in a mean estate ? If it were better, I should be worse ; more proud, more careless : and what a woeful improve- ment were this ! What a strange creature would man be, if he were what he would wish himself! Surely, he would be wickedly ]5lea- sant, carelessly profane, vainly proud, proudly oppressive, disso- lutely wanton, impetuously self-willed ; and, shortlv, his own idol, and his own idolater. His Maker knows how to frame him better : it is our ignorance and unthankfulness, if we submit not to his good pleasure. To conclude, we pray every day, Th}j 'dcill be done : what hypo- crites are we, if we prav one thing, and act another I if we murmur at what we wish ! All is well betw een heaven and us, if we can think ourselves happy to be what God will have us. (2.) Secondly, we must resolve To abate of our desires : for it is tlie illimitedness of our ambitious and covetous thoughts, that is guilty of our unquietness. Every man would be and have, more than he is ; and is, there- fore, sick of what he is not. It was a true word of Democricus, " If we desire not much, we s^hall think a little much :" and it is suitable to one of the rules of St. Augustin ; "It is better to need less, tha«i to have more." Paul, " theVichest poor man," as Ambrose * well^ could say, yJs hcniug all things, yet possessing nothing. It is not for a Christian, to be of the dragon's temper, which, they say, is so ever thirsty, that no water will quench his drought ; and, therefore, never bath his mouth shut : nor, with the daugh- ters of the horse-leach, to cry always, G'Vf, giie , Prov. xxx. 15. He must confine his desires; and that, to no over-hirgc compass: and must say to them, as God doth to the sea, Hitherto shall thcu * Ambroj. de Viiiorum et Viriutura ConfliLtu. 8. P 34. PRACTICAL WORK?. conic, and no further ; and here shall thxj proud n'axes be stayed; Job xxxviii. 11. i , , . , \\ hat a cumber it is, for a man to have too much ! to be m the case of Surena, the Parthian lord, that coukl never remove liis fa- niily with less than a thousand camels ! What is this, but, tortoise- like to be clogged with a weighty shell, which we cannot drag*after us, but with pain ? Or, like the ostrich, to be so held down with a heavy body, that we can have no use of our wings ? Whereas, the nimble lark rises and mounts, with ease ; and sings cheerfully, in her flight. How many have we known, that have found too much flesh a burden I and, when they have found their blood too rank, have ])een flad to pay for the letting it out ! It was the word of tliat old and fiuiious Lord Keeper Bacon, the eminent head of a noble and witt}^ family, Mcdiocria firma. There is neither safety, nor true pleasure, in excess. It was a wise and just answer of Zeno, the philosopher; who, reproving the superfluity of a feast, and hearing by way of defence that the maker of it was a great rich man and might well spare it, said ; " If thy cook shall oversalt thy broth, and when he is chid for it, shall say, ' I have store enough of salt lying by me,' wonkiest thou take this for a fair answer ?" My son, eat thou honey, saith Solomon ; because it is good ; Pror. xxiv. 13. but, to be sure, for the preventing of all immoderation, he adds soon after ; Hast thou found honey y eat so much as is suffi- cient for thee, lest thou be filled Ihereidth ; "Prov. xxv. 16. If our ap- petite carry us too far, we may easily surfek. This, which is the emblem of pleasure, must be tasted, as Dionysius the Sophist said of old, on the tip of the finger ; not to be supped up in the hollow of the hand. It is with our desires, as it is with weak stomachs ; the quantity offends, even w here the food is not unwholesome : and, if heed be not taken, one bit draws on another, till nature be over-kid. Both pleasures and profits, if way be given to them, have too nuich power to debauch the mind, and to work it to a kind of insatiableness. There is a thirst, that is caused with drunkenness ; and the wanton appetite, like as they said of Messalina, may be wearied, but can- not be satisfied. It is good therefore, to give austere repulses to the first overtures of inordinate desires ; and to give strong denials to the first unruly motions of our l.earts : for, St. Chrysostom, well ; " Pleasure is like a dog, which, being coyed and stroked, follows us at the heels ; but if rated and beaten oiF, is driven away from us with ease." It is for the Christian heart, to be taken up with other desires ; such as, wherein there can be no danger of immoderaieness: these are the holy longings after grace and goodness. This only cove- tousness, this ambition, is pleasing to God, and infinitely benefi- cial to' the soul. Blesnd are they, which hunger and thirst after righteousness ; foi^ they shall be filled ; Matt. v. 6. Spiritual blesst OF CONTENTATIOK. 35' ingra are the true riclie> ; whereof we can never have enough. St. Ambrose * saiel tru!), " Xo man is indeed weahhy, that cannot carry away what he hath with him. What is left behind, is not ours ; but other men's. Contemn thou while thou art alive, that, which thou canst not erjjoy, when thou art dead." As for this earthly trash and the vain delights of the flesh, which we have so fondly doted on, we cannot carry them indeed away with us : but the sting of the guilty mis-enjoying of them, will be sure to stick by us ; and, to om- sorrow, attend us both, in death and judgment. In sum therefore, if we w-ould be truly contented, and happy, our hearts can never be enough enlar- ged, in our desires of spiritual and heavenly things ; never too much contracted, in our desires of earthly, ( 3. ) Our third resolution must be,to inure ourselves To digest smaller discontentmcnis ; and, by the exercise thereof, to enable ourselves for greater: as those, that drink medicinal waters, begin first with smaller quantities ; and by degrees arise, at last, to the high- est of then- prescribed measure : or, as the wise Lacedemonians, l)y early scourgings of their boys, inured them, in their riper years, to more painful suti'erings. A strong Mile takes up hi^ calf at first ; and, by continual practice, is now able to carry it, when it is grown a bull. Such is our self-love, that we affect ever to be served of the best; and that we are apt to take gi'eat exceptions at small failings. We would walk always in smooth and even paths, and would have no hindrances in our passage : but, there is no remedy ; we must meet with rubs, and perhaps cross shins, and take falls too in our wav. Every one is willing and desirous to enjoy, as they say the city of Rhodes doth, a perpetual sunshine : but we cannot, if we be wise, but know, that we must meet with change of weather ; with rainy ' days, and sometimes storms and tempests. It must be our wis- dom, to make provision accordmgly ; and, some whiles, to abide a wetting ; that, if need he, we may endure a drenching also. It was the policy of Jacob, when he was to meet with liis brothet Esau, whom lie feared an enemy, but found a friend ; to send the droves first ; then, his handmaids, and their children ; then, Leah, with her children ; and, at last, came Joseph and Rachael ; Gen. xxxii. 14, &c. and xxxiii. 5, 6, &c. as one, that would adventure the less dear, in the first place ; and, if it must be, to prepare him- self for his dearest loss. St. Paul's companions in his perilous sea- voyage, first, lighten the ship of less necessaries: then, they casts out the tackhng ; then, the wheat ; and, in the last place, them- selves ; Acts xxvii. 18, 19. It is the use, that wise Socrates made of the sharp tongues of his cross and unquiet wives, to prepare his patience for public sufferings. Surelv, he, that cannot endure a frown, will hardly take a blow ; and he, that doubles under a light cross, will sink, under a heavier : and, contrarily, that good martyr * Anibros, £pist. 27. 36 PRACTICAL WORKS. prepares his whole body for the faggot, with burning his hand in the candle. I remember Seneca, in one of his Epistles, rejoices much, to tell with what patient temper he took it, that, coming unexpect- cdlv to his country-house, he found all things so discomposed, that no provision was ready for hint ; finding more contentment in his own quiet apprehension of these wants, than trouble in that unrea- diness : and thus should we be affected, upon all occasions. Those, that promised me help, have disappointed me : that friend, on whont I relied, hath failed my trust : the sum, that I expected, comes not in at the day : my servant slackens the business enjoined him : the beast, that 1 esteemed highly, is lost : the vessel, in which I shipped some commodities, is wrecked : my diet and attendance must be abated; I must be dislodged of my former habitation: How do I put over these occurrences ? If I can make light work of these lesser crosses, I am in a good posture to entertain greater. To this purpose, it will be not a little expedient, to thwart our appetite, in those things, wherein we placed much delight ; and to torture our curiosity, in the delay of those contentments, which we too e.Tgerly atVected. It was a noble and exemplary government of tliese passions, which we find in King David; who, being extremely tliirsty, and longing for a speedy relreshnient, could say. Oh, that arte would give me drink of the 'water of the well of Bethlehem ! but, when he saw that water purchased with the hazard of the lives of three of his Worthies, when it was brought to him he would not drink it, but poured it out unto the Lord; 2 Sam. xxiii. 15, 16, 17. Have I a mind to some one curious dish, above the rest ? I will put my knife to my throat ; and not humour my palate, so far, as to taste of it. Do I receive a letter of news from afar country, over-night ? it shall keep my pillow warm till the morning. Do my importunate recreations call me away ? they shall, against the hair, be forcibly adjourned till a further leisure. Out of this ground it was, that the ancient votaries observed such austerity and rigour, in their diet, clothes, lodging; as those, that knew how requisite it is, that nature should be held short of her de- mands, and continually exercised with denials, lost she grow too wanton and impetuous in her desires. That, which was of old given a> a rule to Monastic persons, is fit to be extended to all Christians: Tiiey may not have a will of their own ; but must frame them- selves to such a condition and carrriage, as seems best to their Su- perior. If, therefore, it please my God, to send me some little comfort, I shall take that as an earnest of more : and, if he exercise me with lesser crosses, I shall take them as preparatives to greater : and en- deavour to be iliankful for the one, and patient in the other; and contented with God's hand, in both. (4.) Our last resolution must be. To be frequent and fervent in o'lr piaijets to the Fatlier of all lifercies, that he will be pleased to k our hearts, by the power of liis Spirit, to this constant state of OF CONTENTATION. 3^ Contentation; without which, we can neither consider the tilings that belong to our inward j^eace, nor disjjose ourselves towards it, nor resolve ought for the eHbcting it ; without which, all our Con- siderations, all our Dispositions, all our Resolutions, are vain and fruitless. Jnstl) , therefore, doth the blessed Ajjostle, after his charge of avoiding all carefulness for these earthly things, enforce the necessity of oiu" Pravers and Sujjplications, and making our re- quests known unto God ; PhiL iv. 6. who both knows our need, and puts these equests into our mouths. W hen we have all done, they are the requests of our hearts, that must free them from cares, and frame them to a perfect contentment- There may be a kind of dull and stupid neglect, which, possess- ing the soul, may make it insensible of evil events, in some natu- ral dispositions ; !iut a true temper of a quiet and peaceable estate of the soul, upon good grou.ids, can never be attained, witiiout the inoperation oi cliat Holy Spirit, from whom every good gift, and every perfect giving proceedeth ; James i. 17. It is here contrary to these earthly occasions : with men, he, that is ever craving, is never contented ; but, with God, he cannot want contentment, that prays always. If we be not uiiacquainted with ourselves, we are so conscious of our own w{;akness, that we know every putf of temptation is able to blow us over : they arc only our prayers, that must stay us from being carried awav, with the violent assaults of discontentment ; under which, a jjraying soul can no more miscarry, than an inde- vout soul can enjoy safety. PART THE SECOND. CONTENTATION, IN KNOWING HOW TO ABOUND. The Dlfficultij of Knomng hozv to abound : and the III Consequences of Not Knowing it. Let this be enough for the remedy of those distempers which arise from an Adverse condition. As for PROSPERITY^ every man thinks himself wise and able enough, to know how to govern it, and himself in it. A happy estate, we imagine, will easily manage itself, without too much care. Give me but sea-room, saith the confident mariner ; and let me alone, whatever tempest arise. 38 PRACTICAL WORKS. Surely, the great Doctor of the Gentiles had never made this holy boast of his divine skill, / know how to abound^ if it had been so easv a luattor, as the world conceives it. Mere ignorance, and want of se.f-experience, is gnilty of this error. Many a one abound.-, in weahh and honour, who abounds no less in miseries and vexation. Many a one is carried away with an un- rnlv grcat'iess, to the destruction of body, soul, estate. The world abounds evevy where, with men, that do abound; and yet, do not know how to abound : and those, especially, in three ranks; the proud, the Covetous, the Prodigal : the Proud is thereby trans- ported to forget God ; the Covetous, his neighbour ; the Prodi- gal, himself. Both wealth and honour are of a Swelling nature ; raising a man lip, not only above others, but above himself; equalling him to the powers immortal ; yea, exalting him above all that is called God. Oh, that vile du^t and ashes should be raised to that height of in- solence, as to hold contestation with its Maker ! Who is the Lord ? saith the king of Egypt ; Exod. v. 2. / shcdl be like to the Highest : JcDii; and there is ^mie: besides me; saith the king of Babylon; Isa. siv. 14. xlvii. 8. The voice of God, and not of man, goes down \vith Herod ; Acts xii. 22. And how will that Spirit trample upon nieii, that dare vie with the Almighty ! Hence are ail the heavy oppressions, bloody tyrannies, imperious domineerings, scornful in- sultations, merciless outrages, that are so rife amongst men, even from hence, tb.at they know not how to abound. The Covetous man abounds with bags, and no less with sorrows; verifying the experience of wise Solomon : Thei'e is a sore evil, Xi'hich I have seen under the sun, riches kept for the owners thereof, to their hurt; Eccl. v. 13. What he hath got with unjustice, he keeps with care, leaves with grief, and reckons for with torment. I can- not better compare these nnoney-mongers, than to bees : they are busy gatherers; but it is for chemseives: their masters can have no part of their honey, till it be taken from them ; and they have a sting ready for every one, that approaches their hive ; and their lot, at ihe last, is burning. What maceration is there here, with fears and jealousies ! W'hat cruel extortion and oppression exercised upon others ! and all, from no other ground, than this, that they know not how to abound ! The Prodigal feasts and sports, like an Ather^an ; spends, hke an emperor; and is ready to say, as Heliogabalus did of old, " Those catcs are best, that cost dearest * ;" caring more for an empty reputation of a short gallantry, than for the comfortable subsisteiiCe of himself, his family, his posterity : like Cleopes, the vain Egyptian king, which was fain to prostitute his daughter for the finiiihing of his pyramid. This man lavisheth out, not his own means alone, but his poor neighbour's ; running upon the score * A^lius Lamprid. OP COXTENTATION. Zi with all trades, that concern back or belly ; undoing- more with his debts, than he can pleasure with h's entertainments : none of all T\hich should be done, if he knew how to abound. ^ Great skill, therefore, is required to the governing of a plentiful and prosperous estate ; so as it may be safe and comfortable to the owner, and beneficial unto others. Everj- corporal may know how to order some few files; but, to marshal many troops m a regi- ment, many regiments in a whole body of an army, requires the skill of an experienced general. But the rules and limits of Chris- tian Moderation, in the use of our honours, pleasures, profits, I have at large laid forth in a fomier Discourse. Thither I must crave leave to send the benevolent reader ; beseeching God to bless unto him these and all other labours, to the happy furtherance of his grace and salvation. Amen. THE PEACE-MAKER LAYING FORTH THE RIGHT WAY OF PEACE, IN :\IATTERS OF RELIGION. BY JOSEPH, BISHOP OF NORWICH. J. HAVE perused this Discourse, entitled " The Peace Maker :''^ andy observing it to be, i?i respect of the subject matter, pious, pro-, jituble, and very seasonable in these Distracted and Disteynpered Times ; and, in the manner of handling it, sober, learned, and ivu partially judicious ; I allow it to be printed and published. JOHN DOIVNAME, 43 TO MJ^ REVETiEND BRETIinEN OF THE DIOCESE OF NORWICH. WORTHY brethren; YjE cannot but have taken notice of the silence , that hath lately possessed my tongue, which was 'Wont to be xocal enough. JJesides' some external reasons, it is viy care and zeal of peace, that stops my mouth for the time , and bids me refrain, evenfro7)i good words. In the mean while, the same dear respect to peace employs my hand ; and bids it supply the place of my tongue, as that, which shall <:peak louder, and to more eyes, than my tongue could to ears : both of them are heartily devoted to peace, and strive whether shall more eX" press it. It was e\er the desire of my soul, even from my first entrance vpon the public service of the Church, according to my known Signa- ture, with Xoah^s Dove, to have brought an Olive-branch to the tossed Ark; and God knows how sincerely I have endeavoured it: hut, if my wings have been too short, ami the wind too high for me, to carry it home, I must content myself with the conscience of my faithful devotions. Some little hint whereof, notwithstanding, I have thought fit to give to the world, in this present Discourse^ lest I should seem to be, like itself, all pretence ; and that J might, by this Essay of mine, open the way to some more able under- takers. Now, therefore, let me recommend this subject to your seriousest thoughts ; and beseecn you all, in the bowels of our common Saviour, to Join with tne, in the zealous prosecution of what I here treat of. Peace. It is an useful rule of our Romish Casuists, that he, who will have benefit of their large Indulgences, must porrigere n)anus adju- trices. Surely, it holds much better, in the present case. IVhoever Will hope to reap the comfort of this incomparable blessing of Peace, tnust put forth his helping hand, towards the procuring of it. Ohy let not our Studies, nor Prayers, nor Tears, nor Counsels, nor Solicitations, nor Engagements, nor Endeaiours be wanti)7g to it : no; nor, if need were, our Blood. What the piice of it is, since the fruition of it did not teach us, we have too well learnt in the want. Alas, my Brethren ^ we cannot help one another sufficiently to con- 44 dole the miseries under which a'f, yea this whole Church, yea this •whole bleeding Monarchy, yea the whole Christian IVorld, at this time gioaneth, by reason of that woeful and deadly debate, that ragcth tvcvy xchere. All the whole earth is on fire : the flame reacheth vp 10 heaven, and calls for more thence. Woe is me I our very pu- nishment is our sin. Jf hat should we do, but pour out floods of tears y towards the qunu-hing of it ; and say, with the lamenting Prophet, Oh, tiiat my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep, day and night, for the slain of the daughter of my people! Jer. ix. 1. Buf, as Chrysostom said long ago in the like case to Jnnocentius, It is not wailing will serve the turn, if we do not bestir ourselves, what we may, for redress. IVhen we see our house on fire, do we stand still and cry ? do we 7iot ring bells, and call neighoours, and bring ladders, and fetch buckets, und pour on water, and pull down reeds and rafters, and whatever may feed that flame? And why should we not do so, in this common conflagration? Oh, let every man of us put his hand to the work ; and labour to withdraw that hel- lish fuel, which nourisheth and encreaseth this fearful combustion : and, if each man can but pull away one stick, it shall be his comfort and joy in that great day. But far, far be it from us, that any of us should mis-employ himself as an Incendiary. It is felony, by our municipal laws *, for a man to burn but the frame of a building intended for a house : how heinously flagitious shall the God of Heaven account it, to set on fire his complete spiri- tual house the Cr.urch, whereof every believer is a living stvne \! Doubtless, how slight account soever the world makes of these spiri- tual distempers, it shall be easier in the Day of ludgment for thieves, and whoremongers, and adulterers, than for the breakers of public peace. A\'ver was there any so fearful vengeance iiflicted upon any mahf actors, as upon Korah and his combination. Surely, if we consider the sin in itself, other offences had been far more heinous ; but, in that it was a presumptuous mutiny, tending to the affront of alloxved authority , to the violation of peace, and to the destruction of Community, the earth could not stand under it: hell only is ft to re- ceive it. I speak not this to intimate the least suspicion, much Itss accusa- tion, of any of you, my Dear Brethren ; but, by way of a tender precauticn and loving cohortation, to excite you and myself to the im- provement of all the powers of our souls, for the recovery and perpe- tuation of the Church's Peace : a duty, which both our Blessed Sa- viour, arid his holy Apostles, hath so vehemently urged, as f there were no life of Christianity without it; Matt. x. 13. Mark ix. 50. Luke X. 6. Jolin xiv. 27. Rom. iii. 17. xiv. 19. 1 Cor. vii. 17. *37 Hen. Vin. 6. t Iricxpiabilis et grai:is culpa discord ite, nee passions purgatur. Cypr, de Simplicit. Prae'atorum. Possidere non potest iudumentum Chrisii,qni icindit ct dtvidit Ecclcsiam C/irisli, Ibid. Cypr. 45 2 Cor. xiii. 11. Gal. v. 22. Eph. iv. 3. 1 Thcs. v. 13. 2 Tim. ii. 22, Heb. xii. 14. James iii. IS. 1 Pet. iii. 11. uls xve honour the God of Love and Peace ^ xcliom we serve; as xve love the Prince of Peace ^ in whom we believe ; as we tender the suc- cess of the Gospel of Peace y which we preach ; as we wish and hope for the comfort of the peace of God in our own bosoms : let us seek peace, where it is missing ; let us follow offer it, when it flies from US; let US never leave the chase, bij importuning God and men, till •we overtake if, till we re-enjoy it, and all the blessings that accom- pany it : which shall be ever the prayer and endeavour of Your faithful and loving . Fellow-Labourer, JOSEPH NORWICH. 45 TlIE PEACE-MAKER. CHAP I. INTKODUCTORY. SECT. 1. The Difference of Truths : and the Imparlance of those, which con- cern Mailer qf Religion. Jl HERE Is as much difference in the vahie of truths, as tlicre is of coins: whereof one piece is but a farthing, anotlier no less than a pound ; yet both current, and in their kind useful. Theological truths are so much more precious than all others, bj how much divine knowledge is more excellent than all human arts and sciences whatsoever. Amongst divine trutb.^, those are most Important, which are re- o'jisito to the regulating of religion, both in the theory and prac- tice thereof. And, even amongst these, there is just place for Ca- llus's distinction, betwixt Truths of Christian Doctrine, and Truths of Catholic laitli : there being, in the former, great latitude and variety ; in the latter, more narrowness and restraint. As there is no truth therefore, which may be a meet subject of cur contempt or opposition : so there are some truths, which may be too nmch striven for; others, never enough. Of which last kind are those, which do mainly concern the grounds of our Chris- tian Religion : for, if the soul be the better part, if not the whole, of man ; and religion be that, which is of highest concernment to the everlasting good of tlie soiil ; it nuist needs follow, that the soul can never be better taken up, than with the care of that religion, which only can render it eternally happy. If therefore the Christian Cicero, I>actantius, went too fiir in making religion the form of man, instead of the reasonable soul wherewith he is animated ; certainly, we cannot err, in making the investigation and finding out the true religion, the highest improve- ment, of Nvhich the reasonable soul cun be capable. THE PEACE-MAKr.R. 41 There Ls no man tlien, except perhaps some lawless atheist, which tloth not busy himself in this necessary search ; and find his heart unquiet, till he have attained such a resolution, in the choice and assurance of his religion, wherein lie may find ivst to his soul : hkc as the dove could tind no stay for the sole of her feet ujion the waves ; but llutters up and down, till she may settle in the ark ; Gen. viii. 9. Neither is it more natural to us, to seek for and to pitch upon that religion, which we apprehend true ; than it is to desire, that that, which we have conceived to be tjie only truth, should be com- municated to others ; and either to pity or deeply censure tliosc, who come not home to us in the same belief. Hence, are those many and miserable distractions, v.hich we find all the world over. Hence, are churches, congregations, families, persons torn asunder, one from another : so as, the whole earth h strewed over, with the woeful monuments of our disccrptions ; here lies a leg ; there, an arm : liere, a hand ; there, a foot : here, a head ; there, a heart : yea, in a more accurate subdivision, here, lies a finger disjoined from the hand, a toe from the foot ; yea, more, a joint severed from either. How happy were it, if that powerful Spirit, that breathed upon the dry scattered bones in Eze- kiel's vision, might once blow lipon these dismembered limbs, that they might yet come together and live 1 Ezek. xxxvii. 7. In the mean time, it is tlie duty of every son of peace, to endea- vour, what in him lies, to reduce all the members of God's Church u))on earth to a blessed unity, both in judgment and affections, This is the holy labour, which 1 have here undertaken. The God of Peace put life into it ; and make it as eHectual, a^ it is heartily meant, to the good of every Christian soul ! SECT. 2. What Difcrences of Judgment make a Different Religion. It is not to be expected, but that, as every man hath a soul of his own, so he should have several conceits and opinions ; as concern- ing whatsoever subject, so especially in matter of religion; where- in, sense and reason have less stroke, than in all secular objects : neither is it possible, that all men's minds should be confined to the same passages or issues of ratiocination. That active spirit, where- with we are informed, will take scope to itself, of moving andalij-lit- ing, where it likes. But it is not the varieties or differences of petty and unimportant opinions, how many soever, that can make several religion:-. These may trouble the spring; but cannot divert the channel. They must be quarrels of a higher nature, that can pretend reason to make an universal breach in God's Church, and to warrant the denomination of a dificrent religion. Like as it is in the family: there may be 6om« small household jars upon trivial occasions, betwixt the dearest 4S PRACTICAL WORKS. yol:e-fellows : yet these break not the domestic peace ; much less, can be the ground of a divorce. To speak plainly and fully. The Church, and the religion which constitui.es it, is God's building : the building of God must needs be perfect : a perfect building must have a foundation, walls, roof: a foundation, to uphold the walls; and walls, to uphold the roof; and a roof, laid upon those walls. None of these can be wanting, in a complete fabric : for, what is a foundation without walls ? or, to what purpose were a roof set upon a mere groundsel ? When all these are fully made up, the frame is entire : and now, fit for fur- niture and ornament. , But, if some curious purchaser shall come afterwards, and say, ^' This roof is too high ; lay it somewhat flatter :" or, " These spars or studs stand too tbin ; put in more :" or, " This window is not uniform; set it somewhat lower :" will any wise man say, when all this is accordingly done, it is not the same house it was ? Small al- terations, whether in matter or form, cannot reach so far, as to for- feit the name of an old edifice, or to impose the title of a new : but, if the roof be taken away, the walls demolished, the founda- tion digged up, and the same materials emploj'ed upon another structure, as near as is possible to the former model, every be- holder will justly call this house new. The similitude applies itself. Little differences of opinion in im- material points, are not of power to make another religion : but, if there be any, who, having pulled down the frame of orthodox be- lief, will be laying, instead thereof, a foundation of false princi- ples, and raise upon them the walls of heretical doctrine ; this man is of a religion, not more different, than abominable. my soid, come not thou into the secret of any such men : unto their assemblj/, vii?ie honour be not thou united ; Gen. xlix. 6. SECT. 3. Of the Fundmnental Points of Religion. But, because this matter is of so high concernment, that it imports no less than our souls are worth ; let us yet look more deeply into, and enquire punctually, What it is, that makes one or a several Church. And we shall find That to be one Church, wherein is an agree- ment in all the essentials of religion. And those, the great Doctor of the Gentiles hath determined to be. One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism : that is, a subjection to one Lord, prescribed in the De- calogue ; a belief of the same Articles, set down in the Creed ; a joint use and celebration of the Holy Sacraments, the initiatory •whereof is Baptism : so as, where there is an acknowledgment of the same Living Lord, the God of Heaven, whom we profess to depend upon for all things, to serve and obey according to his com* THE PEACE-MAKER. 49 luaiulinents, to invoke in our pi-ayers for the supply of all our ne- cessities ; where iliere is a profession of the same faith in all the main jjoiiits of Christian doctrine, summed up in tliat Symbol of the holy Apostles ; where there is a communion in the same Blessed ^Sacraments, instituted by our Lord Jesus; there is one and the same Ciiurch of Christ, lio\ve\ er far disterminate in places, however se- gregated and infinitely severalized in persons, however differing in rites and circumstances of worship, however squaring in by -opi- nion. This is a truth, which is, with much consent and serious vehe- mence, inculcated by ail our orthodox Divines ; amongst whom, none hath so fully cleared the point, as the late honour of our Schools, the learned Bishop Davenant, in that last golden Tractate* which he wrote, now breatliing towards the gates of his heaven, his pious and pithy Exliortation of the f^angelical Churches to a hap- f)y Peace : wherein the Fundamentals of our Faith are so evidently aid open, that it is not hard to judge by that unfailing rule, whom we may and must admit to the communion of Cln-ist's Church, and whom we ought to exclude from that holy society. Doubtless^ there is the same consideration of a Christian, and of a Church : for, what is a Church, but an assembly of many true believing Christians r and, what is a Ciiristian, but an abridgment of the Church; or a Church contracted into one bosom ? The num- ber makes no difference in the essence. Now, what is a Christian, but a living stone, laid upon the foun- dation of God's spiritual building ? And this foundation is either personal or doctrinal. The personal is Chri.-t, the Son of the Ever- Livaig God : so the great and wise master-builder tells us; Other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ ; ] Cor. iii. 11. The doctrinal is the whole truth of God revealed in the Holy Scriptures ; The foundation of the prophets and apostles ; Eph. ii. 20: every line of whose divine writings is, in respect of the authority of the Reveaier, a several stone in tiiis precious founda- tion ; though, in respect of use, those only truths, thence selected, w ithout whose express and explicit knowledge no man can be saved, are justly styled Fundamental. The sum whereof, is the Rule of Belief, the Rule of Life, and the Rule of Devotion : the Rule of Belief t gathered up into the known Articles of our Creed; the Rule of Life comprehended in the Ten Conunandments; the Rule of Devotion, in the prescription of Prayer and Sacraments. What person soever then, after his due matriculaLion into God's Church, professeth to be built ujion Christ the true corner-stone, to receive and embrace the whole Truth of God delivered in the sacred monu- ments of the Prophets and Apostles, to believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith, to yield himself to the guidance of that Royal * Jo. Davenant, Ad Pacem Ecclesiae Adhortatio. t Symbolum »sl omnium credmdorwn ad salidcm spectantium compendiosa col/iiciio. Gcrs. Iract. 1. tic Artie, fidei. 8. 1- .^0 PRACTICAL WORKS. I aw, to call upon the only true God in and through Christ, to comnumicate in the same Holy Sacraments instituted by tlie Lord of Lite, cannot but be acknowledged a true Christian, and worthy of our free and entire communion. And if more do so, to the making up of a whole assembly, or- derly congregated under lawful pastors, what can debar them o£ the title and privilege of a true Christian Church ? SECT. 4. The Injurious Uncharitahleness of the Ilomish Church, i?i excluding' Christian Churches, and coyidcmning their Professors. It isj therefore, a high degree of injurious imcharitableness and presumption in whomsoever, to shut those out from the Chnrcli of Christ, who can truly plead all these just claims, for their undoubted interest in that Holy Society. Amongst whom, we can confidently say, all the water of Tiber cannot wash the Church of Rome from the heinous cruilt of this dou- ble crime ; whose unjust and imperious censure hath cruelly ca- shiered all the Churches upon earth, save those of her own coiTe- spondence, from the challenge and benefit of Catholic Commu- nion. In which numl)cr, first steps forth the creek church ; and doth. Vehemently, at the bar of heaven, implead her Latin corrival of extreme insolence and injustice*, in excluding her from the line of this sacred communication ; being yet no whit less large, noble, ancient, orthodox than herself. And, indeed, the plaint will be found most just : for, if we exa- mine the original and proceedings of this quarrel, we shall find the ground of it ambition, the pretence heresy. The lieresy charged u})on that Church is concerning the Proces- sion of the Holy Ghost, which procession they hold to be from the Fatlier, but acknowledge not from the Son. The subject is of a high nature. Every notion, that concerns the Infinite Deity, is worthy to be important. So as the sound of the words justly seems heinous to a Christian ear: but if the opinion be taken whole, and with the favour of their limits and explication t, much of the odious- * Nitus, Oral, de Caiisis Dissentionum Ecclesia?, inputat omnes divisiones orc- his Cliristiani Ecclcsice Romance ; qitvd pncsumpscrit absque G7\LCis de rebus fi- dei dcjinire, ita u( omnes contra sentientcs ATtathetnali subjecerit. f Damas. Spiritum Sanctum esse per Filiuni sed 7wn a Filio. lib. de Orthod. Fide, c. xi. — YLv^xaXq; TTal^jap. Kov^a.vr. 'OixoXoyia Tll^iu:;. ni'EC^»''Ay»cv £;i Tif ITaTfov ^l "TtS 'jtpcrtfx^uivoi, Tlx\f\ xal'Tj^ o/xoao-iov. — iV(7« ex Fit to, sed Spiritum Filii esse diciinus, et Patris per Filium. Damas. I. i. Fid. Orth. — Sane scien- dum est, quod licet in prcesend articulo a nobis Grccci verba discordeut, tamer, sensu 71071 dilfcrant. .Mag. Sent. 1. i. c. 1 1. — An vero quia Spiritus est Ftlii quo- que Spiritus, ideo Spiritus h Filio quoqne procedai ; statuunt illi, qui pluni per- cipiunt, quid sit in di'vir.is procedcre : ego, cum an/iquis patribus, Jfa/eor, me quid sint istat processiones in divinis- ignorare. Mure. Ant. de Dom. de Kep, iiccles. J. vii. c. li.». THE PHACE-MAKEK. b I hes5 will be abated ; and it will be t'ouiui rather enon£ous than he- retical, and more full of scandal than of danger. Did they deny the Holy Ghost to be the Third Person hi the Glorious Trinity, of that he is IVue God, of the same substance with tlie Father and the Son, they were worthy of our utmost deliance : but now, while granting all these, they stick upon the only terms of the immed-ate principle of his divine procession, the tiuairel is rather Scholastical than Cliristian ; and hath in it more sni)tlety than use. Yea, that it may appear this controversy hath in it more verbality than mat- ter, tliey do willingly grant and proiess, that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son, no less than of the Father, thoiigh not j^roceed- ing from the Son : a metaphysical nicety, not worthy to mar the peace of (.jod's Church, or to make a defendant heretical : so as those three Plenary Councils, as Cardinal Bellarrnin styles tnem, viz. that of Lateran, that of f .vons, that of Florence, by which the Greek Church is upon this point condenmed of heresy, and shut out from the claim of Catholicism, have justly run themselves upon the just censure of foul uncharitableness. As for those other points of difference about Purgatory and Pri- macy, heretofore agitated betwixt them, that Eastern Cimrch is so far from just blame, that it clearly hath the advantage. Shortly, in all the main points of Christian lleiigion, if the Greek. Church profess that doctrine, which their late learned and religious Patriarch hath in her name pul)lished to the world, she mav well merit the claim of a sisterhood to the most pure Church under he;u ven : neither was Gvceca fides, m another .sense of old, more infa- mous, than the Faith of the Greek Church is now wortiiilv honour- ed through the Christian world. And, for us in this island, as irt our first conversion to Christianity we held correspondence vtiih the Greek Churcli, and continued it so till about seven hundred vears after Christ's Nativity, to the great regret of the lloman ; so still the entu'eness of their agreement with us in this worthy Confession of their Faith, chailengeth from us the dearest of all Christian re- spects to them. In the liext })lace, the protesta^t or evangelical churches of our European world, do justly cry out of the high injustice of Rome, in excludinir them from the Communion of the truly Catholic Church of Christ. What a presumptuous violence is this ! v\ hat a proud uncharitableness ! How often, and how sadly, have we ap- pealed to the God of Heaven, to judge between us ! What is, what can there be required, to the entire being of a Christian Church, which is not to be found eminently conspicuous in these of ours ? Here is One Lord, that sways us by the sceptre of his Law and Gospel ; One Faiih, which was once delivered to the Saints, without diminution, without adulteration; One Baptism, the common laver of our regeneration ; 0;^e Spiritual Ban ]i:et of Heavenly Manna, whereby our souls are fed to eternal life; One Rule of our Christian Devotion : shortly, uere is a sweet conmui- nion of the members with their Head, Clifiit ; ;uid of the uiembci-p with themselves. 52 PRACTICAL WORKS. Let them say then, what is wanting to us, even in their worst preiuclice ; save that we are not tlieirs. And tlie tault of tliat is their own. They have botli gone from themselves and abandoned lis: had they continued still what they once were, they had been ours, we had been theirs, both had been Christ's. If they have de- parted from Christ and themselves, we can bewail them ; we dare not go along with them. Thus long have we ditfered ; yet could they never name any one article of all the anciently approved Creeds, vNiich we have denied ; any one fundamental error, which we have maintained : neither shall ever be able to do it. Before God, and angels, and men, the wrong lies at their door, who have laid more and other foundations, than God ever intended for the raising up of his Church. Envy itself cannot accuse us of any positive error, that can ^o much as strike at the true foundation, nmch less raze it. We are only charged with negatives; in that we cannot admit those novel im})ositions, which they wtndd injuriously obtrude upon God's Church, as matters of faith ; in that we cannot allow every deter- mination of the now-Koman Church to be oracular and fundamen- tal : a resolution, which we dare not forsake; lest our God should forsake us, as he hath them. So then, let them prove that their Twelve Tridentine Articles, which they would force * upon the Church of God, are part of the truth dchvered once to the Saints, or that there may be now any new faith, or that it is in the power of the Church of Rome to de- termine that her decisions shall pass for matter of faith ; and we shall then crv her up as only Catholic, and confess ourselves justly branded with the note of Heretical pravity. In the mean time, woe be to them, by whom the otience of this division cometh ! We call heaven and earth to the witness, of our innocence, and their injustice. But, while they are so busy in censuring and ejecting others, we do well to call their eyes back to themselves; whom our Divines have sufficiently convinced of errors, though not directly, yet re- ductively fundamental: which might easily be displayed here, if that discourse were proper for the subject we have in hand, I re- luember learned Tilenus, in our frequent and familiar confereiices, wa.s wont to instance in four grounds of our di.scession from the Romanists: their Tyranny, under which were comprised their challengeil Primacy and Imi)eccabiHty ; their Idohury; their Heretical Opinions; theii- Flagitious Practices and Doctrines tend- ing to the establishing thereof, as the lawfulness of the murdering of princes, the toleration of stews, the allowance of children's deserting of parents on jjretence of religion, the maintenance of their ecjuivocations, and the like: fron> all. from any of which, it will he a hard task for their skiifullest advocate to make good their vindication. * Quis/crai is/os, f]ui latUutn sihi stiniuiit, ut, ubi libitwn fucrit, pro gcr- viand ^cripluni suoi aauunl pannos ? i^r^sm. i^Jufai. ia Uilaru Opera. THE PEACr.-MAKER. 53 But we are not now upon a theme of accusation; rather cle:.ir)nj; to eniplov ourselves upon tiie furtherance of our own peace ; so far only ujedilhnp^ with the Roman rart}-, as they are injurious to our interest in the C'athohc Church of Chnsi. SECT. c>. The undue Alienation of the Lutheran Churches from t lie other Re~ formed. But how happv were It, if tliis nncharitableness were only confined to the Seven Hills; and were the peculiar stain of tlie Roniaii ChurcK! It is too lamentable to see how it hath enlarged itself, even to some of those sister Churches, who, together with us, have withdrawn themselves out of Babylon. Amongst whom, some of the rigid followers of the way of Laither, have not stuck to pray ; *' From liaving- any brotherhood with Calvinists, Good Lord, tie- liver us*." How sad a thing is it, to see such deadly discord amongst brethren ! ^V"oc is me, what evil sj)irit is this, that hath gone between the professors of the same religion, and wrought ho desperate an alienation of hearts, in so snmll a ditt'erence of opinions ? With what heat have those Sacramentarian wars been followed, in several successions', hrstf, between Luther and Carolostadius ; then, betwixt Luther and the Divines of Zurich; after that, betwixt Westphalus and Calvin ; yet ag-ain, betwixt Heshusius and Cle- bitius ; then farther, betwixt Brentius and Bullinger; and now, ever since, by the abettors of Uhiquitv, to this present day: when as, if both sides would have calmly scanned and fairly inierpreied each others' judgment, it would liave apjieared, that there was no just ground for so mortal a hostility. Sometimes, when passion and prejudice were laid aside, they came so near to each other in their expressions, that any by-stander would have verily thought the quarrel had been at an end. Besides that famous Conference at Marpurg, Anno 1,529; very memorable was that convention of worthy Divines at Wittenberg, Anno lo'.^GX'- wherein, when Ca[)ito, Bucer, and Musculus, ^\ilh the mo>t eminent Divines of Higher Germany, in a meeting witli Luther, Melancthon, Jonas, Pomeranus, Cruciger, and the other Doctors and Preachers of Wittenberg, had conferred their judg- ments in a loving and quiet way; Luther and the rest of his part -were so well satislied with the professed explication of the other side, that, after some little withdrawing, he and his as^sociates re- turned with this answer: "If ye believe and teach, that, in the Holy Supper, the true body and the true blood of our Lord is exhibited, given, and taken, and not mere bread and wine only ; and that this * PfoIiTus. A fraterydlate Calvinian!., libera nos, Domiric. Fascicul. I. i. q. 7. t Jo. .IfslcruiScaphusus, de BtUi liucharit Divine, be it spoke without envy, that the Church of Scotland hath alVorded in this last age t : yiil/us csf duhitandi Iccus, t(c. " There is no doubt at all," saith he, *' but that 'I nnotiiy was chosen by the College of the Presbyters to be the President of them ; and that, not without some authorTty over the rest : but vet, such as have the due bounds and limits. And that this was a leadliK* case, and common to other Churches, was never denied by any author." Words may not break square, where the things arc agreed. If the name of a Bishop displease, let them call this man a Moderator, a President, a Superintendent, an Overseer; only, for the fixedness or change of this person, let the ancient and uni- versal practice of God's Church be thought worthy to oversway. And if, in this one point, wherein the distance is so narrow, we could condescend to each other; all other circumstances and ap- pendances of varying practices or opinions might, without any dif- ficult}', be accorded. But, if there must be a difference of judg- ment in these rhatters of outward policy, why should not our hearts be .still one X ? Why should such a diversity be of power, to endanger the dissolving of the bond of brotherhood ? May we have tlie grace, but to follow the truth in love, we shall, in these several tracks, overtake lier happily in tiie end ; and find her em- bracing of peace, and crowning us with blessedness. SECT. n. The Differences within our (rwn Churches^ al home. As union is necessary to the making up of peace, so also, in some cases, is Dissipation. Wliile we are so charitable, as not to exclude * Jiistiluli divhii esf, lit in omtii caln Prieshyterorxim uniis sif, qui ordine priteai ct pra-sii reitquis. Bez.de Grad. Minist. l-'vang. Uaiic Jormam com- vienddnint I'alres, obstr-vavit antiquissima Ecc/esia ; imh, qiind est tutius rri capu'y itisiituissc videfur ipse Chriiliis per ^poifo/ot. 'Ihcolog. Gallus dc D.s- cipl. Ecdesiae, An. 16-2. cap. de Episcop, f J. Camer. iNJyroiln'cin 1 Tim. iv. 14. — Ita Calvin. Haiebunt singultt civitates Prcshyieroruni cottfgitim, qui paslores traat et doclorcs, i(c. JUi c.t suo Jiuviero in singulis civHalibiis mum tligehanty cni specialiter dabunt tittiliiin £pisc(ipi,rie ex ii qualiLilc, iit/uri s.ilel, dissidia nascerenlur. Calv. Instit. 1. iv. r. 4. — Non populum aggredilur Jnaimes, sed priticipem Cleri, ulique Episcopiwi. Warlorai in Apoc. ii. — Foly- car:>us .Smi/rn€nsis Ef>iscopus, ab tpm Joanne ordinatus, supra 70 annos pra- fnit illi Ecclesiie. I ht^ol. Ga). ubi supra. — Hanc gubernatiouem ah ^postoiorum ic.'a/e constiluluni e^ise osleudit perpctuu Episcopirum saccessio, quorum strient deduxit Eustb.m 4. summis totiusorbss Eiclesiis. id. ib. X Adhrcrebo i«- his cisi nolitti ; adhu-i'cbv, cisi 7io/irri ipse, Bfirn. ad iV.;;rnonMr. Ep. '^h'J. 58 PRACTICAL WORKS. any Church which holclcth the foundation from the TDCnefit of Christian Communion, we are yet far from giving way to every combination * of Christians, to mn aside ; and to raise uj) a new Cliurch of thoir own ; and to challenge all the privileges incident to a !ti.vful ( iuirch of Christ, as equally dwe to their segregation : this weie to b'. ild up Babel, instead of Jerusalem. Faciunt faros et vcsptc t ; as that Father said well : Even wasj^s meet together, in sou.e holes of the earth, or hollow trees ; and make combs, as well as the frofitabie beesr but no man ever bestowed upon ihem the cost of a hive. If men be anowed a latitude of opinions, in some unnecessary verities, it may not be endured, that, in matter of religion, every man should think what he lists, and utter what he thinks, and de- fend wnat he utters, and jiublish what he defends, and gather dis- ci})les to what he publishcth %. This liberty, or licentiousness ra- tlier, would be the bane of any Church. There cannot be a more pregnant instance, than that of New England, yet fresh, not in our memory, but in our eye ; where the late Jezebel |1, which called herself a Prophetess, had well-near corrujJted and overthrown that Thyatira, by lier private, but perni- cious conceits ; broached, first, amongst her gossips ; then, didused to wiser heads ; and, at last, under an opinion of sanctity, enter- tained and abetted by some of the elders and teachers of that Cliurch, which promised to itself, and professed more strictness of discipline, than that which it left. And what success the dangerous fancies of one Eaton, the father of Antinomianism in this Diocese, hath had, I would rather bewail, than express. The truth is, that if uay nuiv be given to this wild freedom, it cannot be, but mon- sters of opinion must needs pester the world ; a real emblem where- of, it pletised God to shew, in that remote colony of our retired brethren §. It was a conceit of old, reported, I perceive, by many histo- rians ^, that the Huns, a people wherewith, amongst the rest, the civiler jiarts of the world were nnich mfected, were a breed of nien, begotten by certain famiiiar ** devils that haunted those de- serts, of certain witches which they called Alyrumnas : the truth whereof, as they sa}', was evidenced in the ghastly and ugly visages of those savnge persons. Surely, such a generation we nmst ex- pect of misshapen opinions, begot betwixt evil spirits and mad phantasies, if every fanatical brain may be suflered to vent and propagate its own whimsies and pi'odigious imaginations. And, I wo\dd to God, our sad experience did not already alVord us too la- mentable examples in this kind. I profess, some paradoxes, that * Ecclcsitf itnmen coiiseimus caiicnrditeqiie est. Chrys. in Epis. ad Gaiat. c. i. \ Faciunt favns ft vcspif, Jachtnt Eccksias et Marciotiita.-. 1 crtul. advcrs. Marcion. 1. iv. r. 5. + Libcrtas iViphfiiindi, challcni^fd by Simon Episropius, &c. II Mrs. liutchisoii. See tht* Discovery ot the Anabaptists and Antino- mians of New England. § Ubi supra: Discovery of Anabaptists, &c. ^ For. dc Gall. Impcrio ex Jcrnande.— i'aulus Aquilcg. Hist. 1. xii. *'*' A Fawiis PhycuriiSf &;c. THE PEACE-MAKER. 59 have looked forth into tlie public light, have been so horrible, that 1 dare not so much as to repeat them : and wiiat shafts one archer hath shot, is known and censured ; though I fear they will yet stick last in many souls. The issue is, that, as we must labour to unite all those, which should be conjoined : so we must take care, if ever we would en- joy peace, to dissipate those, which will not, or should not, or can- not l)e united *. Tiiose, therefore, who do pertinaciously and \mreclainial)lv main- tain doctrines destructive to the foundation of Christian Relifrion, must necessarilv be avoided and supi)ressed. It is the charge of the Disciple of Love, If any man bring not, i. e. oppose Mv'v doc- trine, rcccnc him not into ymtr house, neither bid him God-speed ; 2 John 10: and, more plainl}'^ of the Doctor of the (ientiles, A ■man, that is a heretic, after the first a)id secojid admonition, reji'ct ,- Tit. iii. 10. Those, that fly out from a true established Church, and run ways of tlieir own, raising and fomenting sects and schisms amongst God's people, let them receive their doom ; not from me, but from the blessed Apostle : Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them, "u^hich cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine, which ye have learned^ and avoid them : for they, that are such, se>ve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and, bij good words and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple ; llom. xvi. 17, 18. CHAP. 11. or THE WAYS OF PEACE WHICH CONCERN PRIVATE PERSONS. Now, then, for the better prevention or remedy of these mischiefs, which attend spiritual discord, let us address ourselves to the chalk- ing out of those Ways of Peace, which the God of Peace hath called us to walk in ; and which shall undoubtedly lead us to our desired end. And those ways are either private or public : Private, such &^ every Christian must frame himself to tread in ; Public, such as are fit for every Church and State. SECT. 1. The First Private Way of Peace : To labour as^ainst the inward grounds ofContcntion; viz. ( 1 . ) Pride : — (2. ) Sclf-J^ove : — ( 3. ) Envy^ and Malice : — (4.) Covetousncss. First, then, for each PRIVATE PERSON; the most ready way to peace, is, to labour wrruiN himsklf against the inward * Hujusniodi homiiium pravitati, non tarn disputationnm studio, qtuim author ritulum privilegio eat resiitendum, Vrtispt-r contra Collaiorem. CO PRACTICAL WORKS. CAUSES AND GROUNDS OF CONTENTION ; which are conimonly Pride, Self-Love, Envy, Covetousiiess. (I,) Only by Pvidc cometh contention, saith the vyisest of men ; Prov. nIII. 10: whose observation is seconded h}- all experience; for, what is it, that kindles this hre every where, but height of in- solence, and over-weening ? " I am better than thou," raises the furious and bloody contes- tations for precedency : " I am holier than thou," causes a con- temptuous separation from conrjiany, better, perhaps, than our- selves : " I am wiser than thou," is guilty of all the irregular opi- nions, that the world is disquieted withal. These three quarrels of emulation, for worth, holiness, wisdom, arc they, that puttlic whole earth into combustion *. [1 ] In that tribe, which should be sacred, who knows not, what broils have been raised, for but a Priority of Place ? \V liat scuffling, and shouldering, and bloodsheds have been, in the records of his- tory, betwixt the trains of Canterbury and York, whether's Cross should take the wall ! And what high terms have been between the Sees of Rome f and Constantinople, to the great trouble of Em- perors and Councils, he must needs be a stranger to the Church- storv, that knoweth not. Yea, what is it, that hath made such ha- vock in the Church of Christ, for these many hundred years, but the Man of 81n, his advancing himself above all that is called God ? so as he, that was hrst an humble subject, ready to lick the dust of the feet of princes, now would be lording it over the great mo- narchs of the earth % ; who must think it no small honour, to be admitted to hold his towel, to serve in his dish, to bear his canopy, to hold liis stirrup, to lead his horse, to kiss his foot. He, that was once, s{ns;uiis minora a ser\"ant of servants, is now major nnhersu : so much greater than a General Council, that, to make but the com- parison, is heretical. Lastly, he, that was once dragged to eveiyr bar, now makes but one tribunal with || God. How hast thoa climbed up into heaven, O Lucifer ! How hast thou said in thy heart, / re/// exiiU v.uj throne ab>r^e the stars of God : I xi-i/l sit also upon the mount of the congregation / Isa. xiv. 14. [2.] In the second place, what divisions are wont to be made by an over-conceit of Sanctity, needs no other instance, than that of the proud Pharisees ; who thereupon ke[)t their distance from the Sons of the Earth, as tlicir scorn styled them; and could say, as they had learned of their arrogant predecessors §, Stand hi/ thyself: ♦ Dum gloriarnusurnant, turbaiit paccm. Bernard. Ep. 12G. f Auliquoi Ro7mt ihroiio quod urbs ilia impcraret, jure Paires privilcgia tribuere; el, en consideriitione vioti, 130 ttmautissiTiii Ds: Episcopi nova: Ronue throrio ^tijuulia privitegia trihucre, &'c. Concil. Cha]ccd. Acts 13. Can. 27. + Vidt- Librum Sacr. Ccr, || }{odie tciier^ Concil. Generate esse supra Papam ; died liwre- ticnni. Paul. Grysald. Aquil. de Confus. — Nee a Papa ad D cum potest appelLir}\ cum sit idem Tribtifial. Vival. Caf. Bullae 2. nu. b. — Papa Ronup est ahsolnth siipra Gcrier. Concil. iia ut nullum in tcrris supra se judicium agnoscat. Bcllar, De Rom. Font. I. ii. c. 2t). Azor. Instit. mor. p. i. c. 14. Valent. .Anal. L viii. c. 7. § Mixtr/Aov y«f nyivlon lo inl; a\ci^a,i. Epiph. dc bamarit. THE PEACF.-MAKF.k. 01 come not near to me ; for I am holier than thou ; Isa. Ixv. 5. Aticl, under the times of the Gospel, what need we any other witness, than the cells and cloisters of retired votaries, whose very secession proclaims their contemi)t of sinful seculars ; and doth as jj^ood as say, This people, which knaweth not the Larc\ is accursed? And, what other can he the language of those picked coinhinations of {Saints out of Churches, Churches out of Parishes, Members out of Congregations, and Seekers out of Select Members, which we hear of in our woeful subtlivisions ? [3.] But that, which is guilty of the most general debate, is the over-valuation of Wisdom : out of the opinion whereof, every man is ready to idolize his own imagination ; and to fall foul on anv, whosoever will not fall down and worship it. Hence are those in- finite paradoxes, not in philosophy only, but, which can never i)e enough lamented, in matter of religion ; daily hatched, and stifflv maintained, to the unspeakable disturbance of our Christian peace. ^V''hosoever, therefore, desires to have liis bosom a meet harbour for peace, mu^t be sure to quit it of this blustering inmate of pride ; which, wherever it lurks, "will be raising storms and tempests of contention. {'2.) The pew-fellow to pride is Self-Love, and no less enemy to peace. This makes a man to sacrifice to himself, with Sejanus ; and to aiimire and over-prize ought of his own ; and weds him to his own particular interest, with the neglect, or, if need be, the alfront of all others. This moves every man to make that challenge, which the bless- ed Apostle most justly professed, ^nd 1 think also, that I haie the Spirit of God ; 1 Cor. vii. 40. And, if a Micaiah will be pretending a diiferent light, this stirs up a Zedekiah to bulfet him ; and to aslc, Which icay "went the Spirit of the Lord from vie to speak unto thee '^ 1 Kings xxii. 24. This is it, that turns every man's goose into a swan, and causes the Hermit to set more value upon his cat, than Gregory upon the world *. This is it, that requires fair glosses to be set upon our own ac- tions t, and renders us impatient of all contradiction : and, where it finds the least opposition ; like a violent torrent which is danuned up with slight turfs, it bears down all before it, and impetuously gusheth forth, and fills the channels, and overspreads the plains: so as, where this prevails, there can l>e no room for Peace. (3.) If yet there can be a more direct and professed enemy of peace, it is that of Envy and Malice. These disalVections to the j)ersons, have ever raised a hostilitv to the best causes. " My puisne, my rival, n)y enemy is advanced : I he still neglected ; am f so tame as to suffer it ?" " My unequal neighbour goes away with the re})utatioa : no man looks at my * Broraiard. .Samma Prardic. Tcrb. Diviiia?. f Jura Roiru PontfficurH tnrit revcrenfer glosiartda. Jg. Major. Disp. an C'oncil. sit supra I'ap.ira. 62 PRACTICAT. WORKS. abler parts and better merits : while he is all, shall I abide to be nobody ?" " '*^hall Jacob go away with the birthright and bless- intT r" saith Esau ; Gen. xxvii. 41 : " Shall Kldad and Medad prophesV ?'' saith Joshua; Num. xi. 28. " Shall Moses and Aaron overtop us ?" saith Korah, and his company ; Num. xvi. 3. " Shall David be sung up for victories r" saith Saul ; 1 Sam. xviii. 8. «' Shall Nehciuiah build the walls of Jerusalem ?" saith Sanballat ; Nell. ii. 19. Hereupon, straight follow secret underminings, open oppositions, deadly contestations. Envy in the bosom, is like a subterraneous fire shut up in the bo.vels of the earth, which, after some astonish- ing concussation, breaks furiously out, witli noise and horror ; and if acitv, a mounlain he in the way, blows it np, or swallows it down into that dreadful guiph v. hich it maketh. And Ulio is able to stand before envij ? saith wise Solomon ? Prov. xxvii. 4. No mortal tongue or })en is able to express the woeful stirs, that have hence been raised in the Christian Church, even from the first plantat on of it. No sooner is the woman delivered of her male- child, than this red dragon stands before her to devour it; Rev. xii. 4. Yea, even in those saddest times, ere the Ciiurch could have space to breathe herself from her public miseries, under that hot persecution, begun by Decius and continued by Gallus and Volu- sianus and Hostilianus Perpenna "*, when as the Christians could not meet in ttieir wonted caves and vaults for thelv holy devotions ; yet, even then, an emulous Novatus could be scuffling with Cor- nelius, the Bishop of Rome, for his Chair ; and that so fiercely, as that he forced the Communicants, upon the receipt of the Sacra- ment, to swear that they would not return from hiui to that lawful com|jetitor. What shoidd I speak of the slanders and machinations, raised and pursued against holy Athanasius, not by single persons only, but bv Synods; by a Council, that would pretend to f Oecumeni- cal ; enough to stuff a volume ? From whence did these and all the other tumults, schisms, and heresies of Novatianus, Ursinus X^ Arius II, Sabatius ^, Aerius^i, and ihe rest of those Spiritual In- cendiaries talfc their rise, but from the evil eve, which tliey cast upon the promotions of their conivals, and the failingof their own ? The odious aspersion whereof, Binius, from the false intelligence of some of our own, calumniously throws upon our Wicklitfe ; whom he slanders, for his missing tiie Bishoprick of Worcester, to have fallen upon that successful contradiction, * Cornel. Epist. ad Lupitinum, Episcopiim Vienncnscm. ■\ Pseudo-Synodus Sardicrnsis Epist. Syuodali ad Donatum, Episcopum Carthag. — Mcdiolannense Cone. Univers. cp. 300. ct arr.plius Epis. Cornel. Epist. ad Eabium 16J. + Ur- sinus invidit Daviaso. Socr. I. iv. c. 'J4. || Alexandro Epis. invidit Arius. Theodor. 1. i. c. '2. § Sabatius ob negatum Episcapatum separat se. Socr. ). vi. ( . 4. IT Aui^ust. de Hxresiini?. Acriani ab Aerio Presbytero wgri Je- reute quod non ordinurelur Episcopum. — Tlwobutas qnidam, qui repulsus rion meruit Episcopatum, cepit iurbare omnia, tuscb. 1. iv. c. 22. THE PEACE-.%L\KKR. 63 Not to meddle witli the desperate sc liisms of the Roman Ami- popes, some whereof liave huted little less than an age, in an utter ambiguity of the right succession, and ha\e bt^en drenched witli streams of blood, and all out of an envious competition of iisurf)ed honour j hut to look rather home to ourselves ; how hajjpy were it, if our present quarrels were as far from envy, as they are from charity, and that malice had not a finger in these spiritual con- tentions * ! Even the best cause may he ill managed ; and the best manage- ment may be ill-grounded. Some preuck Christ even of any and strife, saith the Chosen Vessel ; Phil. i. 15. What act can be bet- ter, than to preach Christ ? what motive can be worse, than strife and env\- ? so as, the best and worst actions may meet upon the same ground. As ever we desire to avoid the worst of evils, or to enjoy the comfort of our best actions, let it be our care, to rid our souls of this hellish fury of Envy and iVhiiiciousness. (4.) Tiiat, which is the root of all evil, i. e. Coicfousncss, may well challenge a share in the evil of dissension. Some, saith St. Paul, having coveted after money, have erred from the faith ; 1 Tim. vi. 10 : and have not only miscarried in their own persons, but have turned hucksters of the word of God, to the cor- rupting thereof, to their own advantage f : yea, and of men's souls also ; Through covctousness do theij, unth feigned -words, make mer- chandize of yon, saith St. Peter; 2 Pet. ii. 3. Thus did the Pha- risees of old ; who, under colour of long prayers, devoured widows' houses; Luke xvi. 14: being not more branded with hypocrisy, than covetousness ; with whom gain was godliness; 1 'I im. vi. 5. And from tliis evil disposition of the heart, a world of quarrel.s is raised in the Church of God. He, that wc?ll knew the jjedigree of these mischiefs, hath told us, that the doting about questions and .strifes of words, n'hcreof eomcth tnvy, strife, railings, evil sui )nisin7c; rx/f 7-Qyir, 2 Cor. ii. IG. 6* PUACTICAL WOKKS. SECT. 2. The Second Private way of Peace : The Composing ourselves to a Fit Disposition for Peace: and, therein, (1.) A Meek and Humble Temper: — {2.) Obedience to cur Spiritual Guides : — (3.) Chari. fable Affection to our Brethren : — (4.) A I'icldablentss upon Sight of Clearer Trutiis. Our second work must be, to compose ourselves to a tempeii FIT for the harbour OF SO BLESSED A GUEST. (1.) Which shall be done, if, lirst, we have our hearts framed bv the power of the Holy Spirit of God, to a meek and humble disposition ; not thinking ourselves wiser than all our ancestors, or the whole Church of God besides ourselves. It was a modest resolution of E'lihu ; / said, Days should speak^ and multitude of years should teach zi'isdovi* ; Job xxxii. 7. And much like unto it was the question of a grave and learnedf Bishop, some ii\e hundred years ago ; Nunquid Pat)ibus, S^c. " Are we more learned and wiser than the Fathers ? Do we proudly pre- sume to define, that, which their deep prudence thought ht to pass over?" Not, that the Spirit of God is confined to times or persons, who is most free to breathe where he listeth : or, that a dwarf, sitting upon the shoulders of a giant, cannot see further than he ; doubt- less, he may: and, perhaps, some truths may have risen late, and be long in dressing, ere they come abroad mto the world; and, when they do come forth, ma}' shew themselves unto babes, while they are hid Irom the wise and piudent ; Matth. xi. 23. But, iiccd nmst be taken, that we do not rashly determine of ob- scure and doubtful verities, upon pretence of our private light j and that, not without sure grounds, we run alone, and leave all ordiodox antiquity lagging behind us. How easily may we err, fviiere we see no track before us ! Nothing is more evident, than that there have been further dis- coveries made of the visible and material heavens, in these latter ao-es, than ever were known to our predecessors ; who could never have believed, tliat there were such lunets about some of the planets, as our late jjerspectives have descried : but, in the sjjiritual licaven, in vain shall we expect any further insight, than the al- ready revealed will of the Father hatli vouchsafed to open to us. No new way thither, no new mysteries there, can be hoped for. I'lnii new :|; Gospel, which some blasphemous friars would have foisted upon the Church in her thickest darkness, is justly exploded with ai)i)ifiination and scorn : this Gospel, Avliich we have, is Ever- lasting^. It may be, some collateral truths may break forth, * Ego certe ab antiquilate nnn recede, nisi coaclus. Zanch. In Colos. ii. -j- I'oilio Pruniensum lilpiscopus. An. 1150. — Ncc enim sapientiires siivius (]uum Pa/res noslri. Bern, ad Hu^on. ilc Sancto Vict. Ep. 77. J N'i'Jc Ch^ucti'slloiriani ofihe Ko-c, " <5 EvaJigelium U'lernunt. THE PEACF.-MAKER. 65 upon manifest events ; for prophecies before they be fulhlled, are ridclles ; when they are fuhilled, turn histories: but new doctiiiial truths important and saving, are vainly expected, and fondly pre- tended. It is not more needful than weighty counsel, Avhich the y^jiostie gives to Ins Romans ; and, in them, to us ; that we should not supcr-sapere* : yea, perhaps it is more than a counsel, a charge of his : For I suj/, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is onwng i/ou. not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think : but to think sobcrlj/, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith : as veil knowing, what woeful effects would necessarily follow upon this height of spirit. For, hereupon ensues a scorn, to be either controlled or directed; a disdain of common and received opinionsf; a resolution to walk nearer and fairer ways of our ownj ; a defiance to all contradic- tion; an atiectation of higher streams of sanctity; a challenge of new and super-celestial illuminations : diseases, which I would to God our times were clear of; at least, not more infested with, than those of our forefathers : although, what age ever was there, wherein some spirits would not be soaring too high ? even from the wild and abstruse mysteries§ of the Valentinians, Basilidians, Carpocratians ; and, afterwards, the Manichees, to this present day. The learned Chancellor of Paris l] tells us of a woman, one Maria de Valentianas, that had, lately before his relation, written a book with incredible subtlety, concerning the prerogative and eminence of Divine Love; to which, whatever soul hath attained, is, accord- ing to her, let loose from all the Law of God's Commandments. Such speculations as these, and others of so high a nature as I fear to mention, are no novelties to tliese days of light and liberty; arising merely from the want of a meek and modest humility of soul, resting in plain, simple, received truths. ShortK', peace can never dwell, but under the roof of a meek and humble heart. (2.) In the second place, we shall be fitly composed for the en- tertainment of peace, if we have learnt to stoop to a subtnissive obedience unto our spiritual guides. It is the full and absolute charge of the blessed Apostle, worthy to be imprinted in our heart ; Obey them, that have the rule oxer you, and submit yourselves ; for they watch for ymir souls, as they that must give account : Heb. xiii. 17. Not to press the vehement exhortations of the renowned Martyr Ignatius, who, in every of his Kpistles, so strongly enfoices this duty, as if all the life of religi(jn lay upon it; I carmot omit that famous obsenation of the holy Martyr St. Cyprian^f : " Neither," * Rom. xii. 3. Sir) CTf{*;cyj7)». f /?cf sordida est Irit'i ac vi.igari via liven, i)C. Sen. Ep. IIJ. J Nihiljuvat obvium. Ibid. § Irjen.l. i. II Jo.Gcrs.de Distinriione Verarum ^'ilionum a Fahis. S Cyp. Cornelio df Fortunato tt Ftiiiissimo. ^^ I «5S ?RACTICAL WORKS. saith he, " do heresies or schisms arise from any other ground than this," quod Sacerdoti Dei non obtemperalur, " that obedience is not yielded to the Priest of God." I wish these times had not too much reason to under-write a pro- balum est to this truth ; wherein it is himentable to see. how we are fallen into another extreme from our forefathers. They had L-;arned, and practised accordingly, to take their faith upon trust from their teachers, and to pin their souls upon their pastors' sleeA'es ; to put themselves blindfolded into the hands of their leaders, to carry them whither they knew best; and, but to ques- tion any point which their ghostly fathers delivered to them as the doctrine of the Church, was piacular: we, on the contrary, are ready to guide and judge our teachers, to slight and control their directions, to contemn and trample upon their persons. Away with this proud usurpation* ! What distinction is there betwixt clergy and people ? Ye take too much vpon you, Moses and Aaron y seeing all (he congregalion arc holy, every one of them ; Num. xvi. 3. Woe is me, what an ill use do we make of that greater light which hath shined forth unto us, if it have made us more opinionative, more apt to err, more obstinate in error! 'I'he Romanists are all for blind obedience : the Romanists therefore go away with peace, without truth: ours, under pretence of striving for some truths, abandon peace ! . How nmch happier were it for the Church of God, and for us, if we had learned to attribute so much to our learned and godly pastors, as to rest in their studied interpreta' ions of God's will re- vealed in the Holy Scri])tures, so far, as not easily, and without sure and apparent grounds, to depart from their grave judgments ! It was the great praise of those noble Bereans, that, upon the preaching of Paul and Silas, they scaixhed the Scriptures daily, -whether those things were so, as they had delivered them ; Actsxvii. 1 1. They examined the quotations of the Apostles : they did not take upon them to judge of the sense of their doctrine ; whereto they so submitted, as that they received the word with all readiness of mind. Not that I would have Christians to captivate their understanding to any man's private opinion ; and swear into the words of any Master in Israel: that were a servility, meet for the adorers of that Roman Vice-God, who must believe that all the truth of God is locked up in the cabinet of his own breast ; and that all the de- cisions of that Gracular Chair are inerrablef, though delivered without study or care. Our holy profession allows us another manner of freedom. Wherefore hath God given us our inward senses, and the powers of reason, if we may not make use of them, in the main chance of our souls .? Doubtless, we may improve our faculties; but as scholars, not as masters; to know, not to cavil. Jf thy teacher walk not in his own bv-ways, but leads thee along in the beaten ])ath of the Church of God, wherein thou art, evi- * «j The Compassionate Samaritan." f Greg, de Valent. T!IF. PEACE-MAKER. €1 doncing his directions by the word of trutli; follow him uithout fear: it is s;it"e tor thee, thus to err*. Is it for thee now, upon the sutrgestion of some ignorant stranger, to stand still at the next tinning ; and to tell thy guide he goes the wrong way ; and, for- saking him, to coast the country over hetiges and ditches for a nearer cut, till thou have lost, v.ith the way, thyself? There arc some men, that arc too much addicted to the judg- ment of their surierioi-s. Gersonf tells us, that the Cardinal of Amiens had wont to say of his brother Ebrudunensis, in a familiar sarcasm, as jesting at his too much dependance u[)on the Canon- Law, tiiar, if he lay bcniired in some dirty slough, he would not come forth, except there were a Canon shewed him for his rising up : and I fear these days aiford too many, who, having once doted upon some admired teacher, how orthodox soever, cry up all his dictates for Gospel. I cannot say, whether of these extremes be more dangerous : I am sure, both tend to confusion. For the avoiding whereof, how happy were it, if our hearers would not think themselves too wise; and would content them- selves to be rather disciples, than judges; and would be pleased to entertain reverent thoughts of those, that are set over them, not more for the gravity and wisdom of their i)ersons, than for the authority of their places. Even Timothy's youth may not be con- temned ; and, upon this ground it was, that, amongst the Jews, though a man were never so learned, yet if his beard were not grown to some fulness, he was not allowed to minister in the synagogue J. And, hereupon it was, that holier Antiquity, even from the days of great and gracious Constantine, thought it very conducible to the good success of the Gospel, to put respects of honour upon the sacred messengers of God : and even our Canutus could enact. Pari cum Thano jure fruatur Presbyter §. As, on the contrary, it is too true an observatioii of Damasus||, where the name of Church governors is grown contemptible, the whole state of the Church must needs be perturbed. In sum, therefore, if ever we desire to recover and maintain ecclesiastical peace, God's messengers mast be greater in our eyes, and we lesser in our o\vn. {?>.) Thirdly, to make up a fit composure towards peace, it shall be requisite, that we be charitably affected to our brethren: putting the best construction upon their practices or opinions ; and allow- ing them such latitude of judgment in the lower rank of truths, as is no way prejudicial to the public peace. It is a fair and equal rule of St. Augustin : " One thing may seem right and true to me; another man may judge otherwise: but neither do I prescribe what I say to another, neither iloth that * ,Vo« rfcuso co^usiovem, qiiam mihi vbedientia: zclus iniexit. Bern. En. 280. ad Eijen. t i°- Ocrson. Collar, pro Licentiandis. % Ca^c-ll. Spirileg-. in ri'iin. iii. 1. § Leg. Canuti apuJ llenr. Spclman. tl Daaui. Lpiii. iic Cuorcpitcopu. 68 PRACTICAL WORKS. Other prescribe to me*." Charity, saith the Apostle, thinks not . evil ; 1 Cor. xhi. 5. If a word or action be capable of a good sense, it is our fault, if we suit it not with the best: and, if our favour should be mistaken ; yet, as that Father said well, " It is better to give an account for mercy, than for crueltyf." Had some men seen that austere Simeon, in the story |, going into a courtezan's house, and shutting the door after him, and making some stav in that polluted room, he would perhaps have mis- doubted his unchastity : whereas, that holy man put himself under that unhallowed roof, for the happy conversion of that nifamous sinner ; hazarding his reputation, to win a soul. There is nothing, which may not be taken with either hand : it is a spn-itual unmannerliness, to take it with the left. It was a foul fault in Smion the Pharisee, and that which might have been well worthy to lose the thank of his entertainment, that, when he saw the woman which was a sinner, prostrate at the feet of Christ, and making an ewer of her eyes and a 'towel of her hair, to wash and wipe them, he could straight say, This man, if he were a prophet y it'ould haie hio-wn "uho and -what manner of woman it is that iouchelh him ; Luke vii. 39 : whereas, he should rather have said, " What a merciful Saviour is this, that gives so gracious an admission to so sinful a penitent!" That decision of Casuists§ is full of charity, how just soever ; That, " although the mother lived in the stews, the child is presumed to be the husband's, not an adulterer's :" neither is our useful judgment much short of this favour, That, if the husband be within the four seas, the child shall be held not illegitimate. The like candid interpretations must we give in matter of opinions; making the best of doubtful terms; and receiving the harshest expressions, not without some grains of salt || : the want whereof may prove extremely injurious, both to the authors and to ourselves ; for there is no human writing, which needs not the favour of such fair ingenuity ; without which, the Fathers them- selves would scarce sound orthodox. Thus Erasmus dares say, that Augustin himself, even after all his Retractations, hath left many things in his works simply heretical<(f ; and can say of Luther, his great antagonist, that he hears some things are cried down in his writings, which, if they were soberly argued among learned and sincere men, would be found to avail much towards that spiritual and evangelical vigour, from which the world had too * Aug. in Ps. xvi. Potest mihi aliquid videri, ulleri aliud; sed ?iequc ego /^u:id dixero prtescribo alteri, nee illemilii. \ iWelius est prvpfer iniseri- cordiam raliomm reddere, quam propter crudelitatem. Opus imperfect, in Matth. + Evagrius. 1. iv. c. 3ji \ Q_nandoquejus Jingit aliud e.sse quam sil, Jirigit mtJlierem stipulatam dotejri, Tiutum qui non est. Jo. de Geminiano, 1. viii. t. 19. EtiuDiii muter vivere! in prostibuto, prcEsumilur fdius viarili et non adutteri. Mart. Vivald. explan. Bullae. 1| Cyrillus et Joh. jiittiochenus anathemaiizarunt se, haresim sibi rjuluo objicientes ; postea coniperli idem setitire. Act.Concil. Ephcsini. — Idem de Cyrillo tt Theodoreto. U Eras. Ep. lib. xxii. Joanni Episcopo. Cum AugUitinus, pout editas Retrac- iatiufics, reliquerit jimpUciicr hctrctica; si quis cu nunc vc lit lueri. THE PEACE-MAKER. €9 much degenerated * : and, elsewhere, in an Epistle of his to Jo- docus Justus, he professes that those things, which Luther urges, if thev he moderately handled, come more near to the power of the (josjK'lf. W'itiiout this candour, what monsters of opinion doth prejudice raise out of the most iuirmless writings ! No man ever could he a more fit instance, than that honour of Rotterdam, traduced beyond example by the malicious cowls of his age : amongst whom, John Standish, a Minorite, impudently calumniates him to the King and Queen of England, as one, that denied the Resurrection X j others, that he had blasphemed all Christ's miracles, as done by magic : since which time, our modern Pontiiicians, and Be!larinin§ amongst the rest, can brand him as a friend to Arianism ; and a patron of that Anaba[)ristical fancy of the unlawfulness of war; which yet himself, as pntscious of so unjust an imputation, prevents and con- futes in an Epistle to Paulus Voltziusjl. Shortly, himself pro- fesses, that the very sentences of our Saviour Christ, and his Apostle St. Paul, are, under his name, damned by his adversaries; wlien thev are reported in his Paraphrtise, under another person^. I would to God, this age were not palpablv guiltv of too much uncharitableness, this way. When we look upon errors, we are apt, as those that see through a mist, to think them greater than they are : every fault is a crime ; every misopinion, a heresy. Neither can it be otherwise, while we are ready to impute to the contrary-minded, not only those things, which they profess to hold ; but those, which we conceive to be consequent to their opinions, how vehemently soever disclaimed and detied bv the authors. Eor the instances whereof, besides those of our daily experience, I refer my reader to the Treatise of Christian Mode- ration, where they are, to our sorrow, specified**. This is no otiier, than to enlarge the breach, and widen the wounds of God's Church ; whicii we ought, by all good means, to bind and make uptt- Why should not I rather, when I meet with a hard and crabbed expression in a worthy Divine, (as Piscator, Beza, Para-US ) sav, as Cruciger said of Luther|:{:, that " he means better, than sometii^es, in his heat, he speaketh ?" and say of the works * In Lulheri scriptis, iCc. Eras. Catbcrto Tonstallo, Episc. Londinens. f (~luie Luflierus urgef, si moderate tractentur, med sententid propiiis acce- dunt ad vigorem Evangelicum. Ep. 1. ii. ad Jodocum Justum. % Eras. ep. 1. XV. Tiiom. Moro. § Bellar. Praef. lib. de Christ. 1| Si quis a bellis, (jHj: jam ^ccittwi aliquot ob res niltili plm quam Ethnice gerimns, dsterreaty nolatur i Sycophantis qiuisi srnliant cum its, qui neganl ulluni helium gerendum Christianis. lib. Ep. xxiii. P. Volt. <[ Quid htc conimemoremChristi Pau- lique xerilentias, meo nomine damnatas, citm in Paraphrasi sub aliena persor:\ referuutur ? Ep. I. xxii. "'^ Chris'inn Moderation. Book ii. Kule 7. ft Nee ostentemus industriam, ant ^.lyortil*, in augertdis discnrdiis ut muUi Jaciunt. Piiil. Melanch. ad Amicum Queiidam : an. 13^. Dissimulandus in corpore pulchro naTu^i unus. M lidon. in Joannis xx. XX Eum commodiiis seutire, qudm i/ilerduvi loquitur, diim ejfervrscit. Boxhorns. ex Auto^^rapho Cru< i;it'ri. Sic ct Piiil. Mtlnmlt. S:iehtn?iation, that light is eome into the world, and men loved darkness more than light ; John iii. 19. It is possible for a man to know the truth, and yet to withhold it in unrighteousness ; Rom. i. 18. Illumination is not alwa3-s followed with obedience. There are those, saith the Apostle, which, not- withstanding the light of knowledge, are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness ; Rom. ii. 8. So as our prayers and endeavours nuist not be more bent against blind eyes, tiiau against froward hearts ; Prov. xi. 20. xii. 8 : for there doth na- turally reign in us a certain envious perverseness of spirit, which many times sets us oil from the acknowledgment of those truths wluneof we are inwardly convinced. I have sometimes read in Maldonate's Commentaries, when he falls upon a probable and fair sense of a ditlicult text, that he subjoins, " I could like that explication well, if it were not Calvin's:" like to that prejudicate Italian, who, being at deadly feud with a great rival of honour, THE PliACK-MAKftK. 75 pave his vote, after a nap taken in the Senate, in no other terms than these; " lam against that which N. spake;" and heing told that opposite of his had not yet spoken, " Then," saitli he, " against wiuit he will speak'*^." This disjiosition makes men such as the Psalmist complains of, llaUrs of peace; Ps, c\.\. Ci : of wiiom the Holy Ghost passelh a heavy doom, Destruclion and miscri/ is in their xcaijs ; the xvaij of peace have theij not knoDcn ; Kom. iii. 1 6, 17. As, therefore, it concerns every man to labour and pray against all unpcaceable atVections in himself ; so also to strive, both these ways, against the connuon distempers of others. I'lven those, that cannot aid God's Church with their counsels, with their purses; yet, with their pravers they may; yea, they must: Oh, pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper that love thee : Peace be xcithin thy nails, and pleiiteousncss xvilhin thy palaces. For my brethren and companiotis'' sake, I xi'ill now say, Peace be xcnthin thee: because of the house rf the Lord our God, I ic'ill seek thy good ; Ps. cxxii. 6 — 9. Next to our prayers, there is no better way to attain further il- lumination and settlement in all holy truths, than to walk con- scionably after that light we have received. It is a golden rule of our Blessed Saviour, If ajiy man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be if God ; John vii. 17. Hence it is, that the Jews say, " Abraham had no other master than his own reins:" his humble obedience drew on further entireness with God: for, to him, that hath, shall be given, saith our Saviour: the improve- ment of one talent is graciously rewarded with more. In vain shall we complain of slackening our work for the want of a greater light, when we sit idle, and do nothing at all by a less. It was a smart answer, which a witty and learned Ministerf of the Reformed Church of Paris gave to a lady of suspected chastitv, and now revolted ; when she pretended the hardness of the Scrip- ture : " Why," said he, " Madam, what can be more plain than, Thou shalt not conmiit adultery ?" Had she not been failing in the practice of what she could not but know, she had found no cause to complain of the dilriculty of that which she could not Know : but it seems she, as too nmny more of us, was of the Athenian strain ; of whom Tully says the proverb went, That " they knevr what was right, but would not do it J." Did we not come short of our humble dependance upon God, and our care to be ajjproved of him in known duties, our a])i)re- hensions could not miss of those things which concern our ]:>eace. Very memorable is that instance of the learned Chancellor of Paris; which, in imitation of St. Paul, he gives, I suppose, of him- self in a tiurd person: " I knew a man," saith lie, "that, after much tem|)tation concerning one of the Articles of liclief, was suddenly brought into so great light of truth and certainty, that there were left no remainders of doubt, no vacillation, but nmrli * Bait. Cait. dc Aulico. t M. Darant. I: jiihou-.'nxTf -cud qu<9 r$cla swU, %ed faare nullc. Cit. dc Sen. "l^ PRACTICAL WORKS. clearness and serenity; by the command of him that over-rides the waves, &c.: who, by the sole humiliation and captivating his un- derstanding to the obedience of faith and the omnipotence of God, obtained such grace, as that he no more doubted of that point of belief, than of his own l)eing: and, when he sought the reason of so great assurance and peace in believing, he did meet with no other, but that so he found it; and that he could not convey it into another man*." Thus he. Surely our God is still and ever the same. \\ ere not we wanting to ourselves, he would not fail to lead us into all truth; and, the truth being but one, we should happily meet in the same truth: so as now, truth and peace should kiss each other, and we should be blessed in both. SECT. 5. The Fij'lh Private -way of Peace : To comply with our brethren so far as -we safely may. Fifthly, it shall mainly conduce to peace, that we comply with OUR BRETHitF.N SO FAR .AS WE s.\FELY MAY; that we walk along lovingly with them, so far as our way goes together; and then, since we must needs, part friends. That great Council of Milan, however faultyf, yet begins well in their Synodical Letters to Kusebiusl: " Your dear love is not ignorant, how ])recious the bond of charity and peace is to be esteemed." Even those, that break the peace, cannot but praise* it : how much moi'e should they bid for it, that are true friends to it ; and to that amicableness, that attends it ! We cannot keep too nmch aloof from those without, except it be to fetch them in. How happy were it, if herein we could learn wit of enemies! What a cautious Decree was that, which Clement the Vlllth, made for his Italians, That none of them might dare to dwell in any place under heretics, save where there is an allowed Church with a Roman-Catholic Priest : aiid that no man should be sent forth for traffic to any heretical country, under the age of twenty-five years§ ! And no less strict and wary was ihat of Gregory the XVth. That no heretic might, under what pretence soever, hire a house, or make his abode in Italy and the isles adjacent II . Neither was it without great cause, that the Synod of Laodicea, about the year 364 decreed. That no Christian should celebrate festivals with Pagans, Heretics, .Iews«[. And tiie CoiuK-il of liaveima no less wisely ordered, That no Jew might come forth of his doors, without a rotmdel of yellow cloth u])on * Jo. Gerson. De Distinctionc Vfrarum Visionum a Falsis. Noi'i hominein, qui post multuni teritationis, bic. f Concil. Mediolan.uni-cers.reprobdtuvi. \ Lit. Synod. Lluscbio Fratri. Non igriorat cliarissiina nobis dilectio tiia, 6,'c. ^ I'rovinc.ClL'm. VIII. an. 155)0". jl Greg. XV. anno 1622. In locis lialiit et adjacenlium I/isidarum, tVc. \ iJe Gavani. \. iJosrcsis. 51 byaod. Laod. juxra Caranz. Can. 37 ct 3y. — Uospin. de Origine Fest. Christ. THE PEACE-MAKER. 77 his upper garment ; thut he iniglit be tli^tinfrnishod, for avoidance*. I love the zeal ot" those Atlicnians, that would not wash in tlicsauje bath with the persecutors of Socratesf. But this wise averseness from the known enemies of peace, may and must he accompanied with a fricndlv correspondence wiih cliti'ermg brethren. 'I'he same Spirit, that delivered uji Hvmeneus and Alexander imto Satan, that t/iei/ might learn not to blaspheme; 1 Tim. i. 20: gives charge; Hhn, that is weak in the faith, receive you ; Rom. xiv. l. He, that every where preached tJic al)roiou invcnlU \ 'Ihc. bcot his Bvlgick PisiDirc. THE PEACE-MAKER. 81 BOUNnS TO OUR CURIOSITY: if WE SHALL PRAY AND LABOUR FOR FURTHER ILLUMLNATION IN ALL RE(,UlsnE TRUTHS ; aiul bhiill, there- fore, walk coDscionahly after the light which we have received : if WE SHALL COMPLY, SO FAR AS WE LAWFULLY MAY, WITH OUR CHRISTiAX HUETHREN: if, hlStly, WR SHALL BE CONTENT TO LET FALL OUR OWN INTEREST, OFT OF A TENDER RESPECT TO THE PUBLIC, We shall tread coiiifortahly in the PRI\'ATE way of peace ; and shall, in our particular stations, have conlrihuted our due en- deavours to the tranquillity and iiappiness of the Ciiurch of Christ. CHAP. III. OF THE WAYS OF PEACE, WHICH CONCERN THE PUBLIC. It remains that we now address ourselves to the laying forth of the PUBLIC ways of peace, such as concern Audiority to walk in. SECT. 1. The First Public -jcay of Peace : To suppress the beifinninss of Spi- ritual Quarrels. JV/iich shall be done, if (1.) The broachcrs of new opinions be hij gentle means reclaiiucd : — if (2.) The means of spreading Infection be titnelj/ cu' ojf: xihich are [l.] The Society of the Infected ; [2.] The Press: — //" (3.) Disturbers of Peace ; either [l.] By sozi'ing strife, and broaching new Opinions; or [2.] Bi/ abetting Quarrels, and pertinuciously maintaining dan- gerous Errors, be timely suppressed. The ffrst whereof shall be, a careYnl endeavour to suppress the BEGINNINGS oi" SPIRITUAL QUARRELS : a practice, which we may well take out from the authors of our municipal laws; who have taken so strict order against menacing words, which jnight draw on a fray, and routs and riots which may tend towards insur- rection. Seldom do great mischiefs seize upon us wholly at once ; but proceed, by certain degrees, to their full height : and, as it is in corruption of manners, so also in depravation of judgment, no man is worst at the tirst. It is a true word, which Gei>;on cites out of the Decree*, That schism disposes towards heresy: for he, that flies oil from the Church, must pretend errors, lest he should seem to have made a causeless separation ; and, where there is a discord, there will be strifet- As that Father said of sin, we may tndy say of errors, the beginnings of them arc biishful ; neither dare they, at their first rise, shew wliat they mean to be. * Jo. Gcrson dc Schisniat. ■[ Discofc^ia, uhi (tniiuus est dissetitiendi ; its, ubi, Tteccssilaie urgc/itc, rent noatraw rcpcUmns. MosLhou. dt Judiciis. !i. G t^2 PRACTICAL WORKS. It shall be therefore the best wisdom ot" Authority, to clicck the first motions of contention ; and to kill this cockatrice in the egg. Remedies, seasonably applied, are seldom inetlectual. (1.) And this shall be done, first, {/", xvhen any heterodox or ir^ regular dodrine shall be let fall, it be taken at the first rebound; and the author and avoxcer fairly dealt tcithal, and strongly convinced of his error ; that so he may, by all gentle and loiing persuasions^ he reclaimed, before the leaven of his viisopinion have spread any further, to the souring of others. It shall be needless, to urge how requisite it is, that all brotherly kindness should, in such case, be used. Our proceedings in the cure of the painful timioiu's of the body, direct us what to do in the spiritual ; we lay suppling and mollifying jilaisters to these angry swellings, ere we make use of the lancet. I find it a praise given to one Comitulus, a Bishop of Perusia, that he did paterne et via- terne loqui cum Clero ; " treat with his Clergy with the gravity of a father and the affection of a mother*." So should erring souls be dealt with, liigour and roughness may not have place here : much less, cruelty and violence. Our story tells us of one Ithacius, a Spanish Bishop, that, out of his zeal, had obtained of the King, that the Priscillianists, a dan- gerous and perfidious sect, should be punished with death. A holier Bishop than he, whom the following Ages graced with the name of a Saint, INIartinf, took part \Vith him in that zealous pro- ject : whom yet the rest of tiie Clergy and Churcli cried down for intolerably bloody. Upon their clamours, and the monitlou of an angel, as the story says, Martin bethinks himself of the over- sight ; recants his error ; and professes, that ever since he had given way to that cruel sentence, he had sensibly found in him- self a decay of that power of grace which he had formerly Telt. What kind of courtesy shall we hold it in our Romish Cai^istsiJ:, that they advise their Confraternity of the Blood of Christ,- whom the Italians call their Confortatori ; whose office is to attend their Heretics, our Martyrs, with ta[)ers and images to their stakes; not to give way, by any means, that at their holy candles any torches should be lighted for the kindling of that fire, wherewith the Here- tics should be burned. Their bloodthirstv cruelty adjudgeiii us to that flame, which their merciful taper uhall not kindle. Tl>ey, that arc prodigal of their faggots, stick to lend a light; and think themselves well discharged of our blood, which their wax would not be accessary unto. Certainly, these butcheries will never be owned in heaven. Fire and sword are no fit means to settle or recover truih§. JVhat will ye ? saith the blessed Apostle : shall I come nnto you with a rod, or in love a/id in the spirit q/' meekness? I Cor. iv. 21. * Barth. Gavatit. Pra.\i Synod. Dioccsnnne. Annotat. Sect. C. f Vide Notas in Concil. iVcvtrens. | Los Conf ratres dc la Sangre de Christo. Mania Vivald.Cas. Hue. § iieli^ione/n impcrart non poisumm, quia hgvh) 60* gilur id credal invitus. THE PEACE-MAKER. 83 He speaks not of a sword : he, wliose weapons were not carnal, had nothing to do with that: he speaks ot love unil meekness; and, at tlie worst, of a rod^. And, as he does, so he charges : Brethren, if any man be ova'' taken in a fault, wlicther of jndgnient or maimers, j/f, -chick are spiritual, restore .such an one, in the spirit if meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also shouldst he tonpted ; Gal. vi. I. A man of understanding, saith the wisest king, is of a cool spirit ; Prov. xvii. 27. margin : not tiery and furious. Christ is the Lamb of God ; Satan is ii Lion ; John i. 2'J. Rev. v. 6. 1 Pet. v. 8. the meekness of this Lamh is that, which we nmst imitate ; not the ferity of that Lion. " Be not a hon in thine own house," saith the \\'ise Man ; Ecclus. iv. 30 : nor yet in the iionse of God ; as knowing, that the greatest antiiority in God's Church is given for edification, and not for destruction ; 2 Cor. x. 8. and that the de- stroying of the body is not the way to save the soul. It was the praise of Proclus, Bishop of Constantino})le, that he dealt mildl\- w ith all men ; and, so nmch the sooner, drew men to Christ, Willi the cords of love. True belief may be wrought by persuasion ; by compulsion, never f. Let strong arguments therefore be fetters, wherewith the erring soul shall be bound : let the two edged sword of the Word and Spirit strike deep into the heart, and divide betwixt the man and his error; so, besides the Church's peace, I know not whether the agent or the patient be more happy. Brethren, saith St. James, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he, -xhich convertcth t/ie sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins ; James v. 1 9, 20. (2.) In the second place, for the seasonable prevention of those mischiefs and disturbances which follow upon erroneous doctrines, it shall be requisite, to take timehj order for cutting off the means and occasions of further spreading the iff ection thereof X : which are generally these two, either Personal Society, or Comnmnication of Writintrs. [1.] In a bodily contagion, we hold it not safe to sufler the sick Persons to converse with the whole ; but remove them to a pest- house, remote from the vicinity of others : a practice, which was also commanded by God hiniself to iiis ancient people the Jews, in case of then" leprosy, which was equally, though not so deadly, in- fectious. Why should we not be so wise, for the preservation of souls, from the plague of pernicious doctrines § ? It is a true word, that of the Wise Man, " He, that touciieth pitclj, shall jje detiled therewith ;" Kcclus. xiii. I : no less truly se- conded by Tertullian : " Wlio doubts not," saith lie, " but that faith is continually blurred and defaced by the conversation of in- * Pautus cum fuse ct libro pi'igilur. — Mucro furor Pauli liber est coriversiu SaiUi. Durand. Kauon. 1 i. c. 3. f bJo< r. J. vii. c. 40. X Si scrput vcfic/iurn, et non sequalur itltco ant iduluin, A't". Birn. tp. liS. Q_ui cumlupiicsl cum tuj>is utidat. Guson. <<4 PRACTICAL WORK^. iidels*?" Neither is it much other, that St. Paul fetches out of the heathen poui JMenaiider f, and thereby makes canonicah Most seasonable and needful therefore was that charge of Moses, in the case of Korah's desperate mutiny, Get you out from about the ta- bernacle (if Korah, Dathan, and ylbiravi. Depart, J pray you, from the tents of these xacked men, and toueh nothing of theirs ; lest ye be consumed in all their sins ;/^mn. xvi. 24, 26. And tlie Chosen Vessel, to the same purj^ose, unto the Christians under the Gospel, revives the like charge from Isaiah ; Come out from among them ; and be ye separate ; and toueh not the unclean thiitg ,- a)ul I icill re- ceive you ; 2 Cor. vi. 17. Isa. hi. W %■ Out of the foreknowledge of this danger it was, that God gave order for the riddance of the seven nations out of the Land of Promise : They shall not dicell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; Exod. xxiii. 33. And when, afterwards, it appeared tiiat some of those forbidden people were still harboured amongst his Jews, the charge is renewed by Joshua, Come vot among these tuitions, that remain amongst you ; neither make ■mention oj the name of' their gods ; Josh, xxiii. 7. In imitation whereof, it hath been the wisdom of Christian law- givers, not to allow the residence of heretical jiersons within their territories. Amongst the rest, that general, and, as it was called, Trabal law was famous, which forbids all heretics, Arians, INIace- donians, and others, to convene or abide upon any part of Roman ground §. And the godly Church-governors of former Ages, have herein not so much followed as led the way to this just zeal of Christian Emperors. 'J'he contestations of Athanasius and Am- brose, in this kind, are better known, than that they need any par- ticular relations 1|. In all which, they approved themselves sucli as they are called, good sliepherds, by a seasonable separation of the diseased and scabby sheep from the rest of their tlock, that they might escape a common infection. L'pon this ground it is, that both our laws and constitutions liave ever straitly inhibited the private convenings of many persons dis- a'lected to'the rehgion established ^ : who, by this means, take the •opportunity of diilusing their mis-opinions, to the woeful distrac- tion of the Church ; and to whet the edge of each other against the received truth : the inconveniencies whereof upon a lil)erty, not given but taken, we have sutHciently felt, and t:an never suf- liciently be^vall. * Quis tion duf)Uai obtiicrari guotidie /idem contmcrcio iii/idcli ? Tert. ad Uxorcm. t 1 Cor. xv. 33. (pM^aa-i., ■"^c. X I'lrma lulela saint is csi scire qiwm Jugias ; pcriculosa res est /urresis, &'c. Chrys. Horn. 19. in IVJatth. § !\'usquani in Rcmuno solo couvenicndl inorandique habeant facidtatcm. Ex JustiniaiKj l^amc'.dc Divusis Hilii;;. non acliiiiucndis. c. 18. II Cuvt scliisviaticis ncc seculuris pants debet esse covimunis, vitdto mifiits spi' ritualis. Cypr. 1. i. ICp. o". ^ Nntta cum matis coti'vivia vet oolloquia niisceanlnr ; itjnusqtie ab its tarn separati, quavi sunt illi ub Eulcsiu Dei pro/ngi. Cypr. 1. i. \ THE PEACF.-.MAKF.R. H > Certainly, there is no less venom ill error, tlian in vice; neither are moral evils more (Uini;erons and mortal, than the intellec;tual. What good nia|Tistrate can endure, that, according to the Prophet's conu)hiini. Men should (tsse)iiMc tlwmst'krs by froops in llic. harlots* houses ? Jer. v. 7. Amongst the Ahasb^ins, uitiiouoh ihcir courte- Kans have ])ublic stipends iVom the common stock; yet they an* not allowed to come into their cities '' : so as those, wliich coimive at their sin, yet ciulure not their iVccjnence. How can it he less sinfid or unsafe, lor those, who are deliled wiili iheir own works, unti go a whoripg after ilieir own inventions, to he siulered to pack together the spiritual corrii])tions of themselves and man}- thou- sands ? [2.] But there is nothing, that hath so nuich power to j)oison the world, as the Press; wliich is able, in one day's warning, to scatter a heresy over the whole face of the earth. In the times of our forefathers, when every page and hne was to pa^is the leisure and )7ains of a single pen, hooks were gcason ; and, if oPi'ensive, could not so easily light into nrany hands to work a speedy mis- chief. Error, that could but creep then, doth now lly ; and, in a moment, cuts the air of several regions. As we are, therefore, highly beholden to that witty citizen of Mentz t for iiis invention of this nimble Art of Im|)ression, where- l)y knowledge jr.nh not been a little propagated to the world ; so we have reeison to rue the inconveniencies, that have followed upon the ahuse of this so beneficial a practice. For, as all men are ajit to write their own fancies; so they have, by this means, had oppor- tunity to divulge their conceits to all eyes and cars : whence it halh come to pass, that those monstrous opinions, which had been lit only to be condemned to jjcrpetual daWvuess, have at once both visited and infected the public light, to the infinite scandal of the Church and shame of the Go.^pel|. Never age or nation hath had more cause to cry out of this mischief, than this of ouis. I hold my hands from the particulars, that 1 may not seem to accuse in a Treatise of Peac;e. Our cunning adversaries may teach us wit, in this behalf. What devices have they had, to prevent and avoid the danger of those books, which they either dislike or suspect ! \\ hat courses they have taken, for the j)rohibiting of those authors, which they cen- sure ai heretical ; and for the expurging of those of their own, whom they dare not deface; I refer my reader to the painful and useful observations of D. James, who hath laboured above others in this necessary subject. But I may not omit tho>i> cautions, which their wise jealousy hath prescribed, in this kind, over and besides his notification. It is, therefore, decreed by them §, That * Por)-'s Introducr. to Leo Afric. t Joan. bail. Moguntinus civis, tVc. 7ion plumali caiinti veqite tired ; scd arte ijuadum perpukhra, Petri inaiiu, pueri tiici, SfC. Subscrii)tiim liljro 'I'ullii Cia-ro- nis dr Officiis, in bi!;lioih. Col. ICinanuclis, it aiilii. + 3uis tion liorrcat profaiius iiovitates ft vcrboriivi el xr/tKiiuin ? Bern. Ep. 1 JO. 5 ?ius IV, in Id. Kcgal. 10. Gavant. \ . Ubrorum Kditio. 86 riUCTICAL WORKS. the appvohalion of any book to be |niblished, shall be s^iven by the Bishop of the Diocese ; and that an authentical copy of that book ivhich is to be printed, subscribed by the hand of the author, be left in the hand of the licenser: that a book, formerly published, shall not be re-printed, without a new licence : that no book shall be printed, under the feigned name of any author : ^ that the purged book of any censured author, if it be re-printed, shall bear in the front the title of the author, and the note of his censure : that, in the beginning of that book, mention shall be expressly made, botli of the proiiibition of the old copy, and the emendation of the new : f that those, which have prohibited books, shall not be discharged by burning them ; but must necessarily bring them to their superiors. Yea, so wary they are, in preventing all possi- bilities of peril, that even the works of their own greatest cham- pion. Cardinal Bellarmin, are not allowed a promiscuous sale and perusal, because they do but relate, though with confutation, the opinions and arguments of the heretics;^. Yea, more than so, all translations of tlie Council of Trent, into French and other lan- guages, are peremj^orily forbidden § : and all Glosses, Comirien- taries, Annotations, and Scholias, upon the Decrees of that Coun- cil, besides from those that are deputed by the Pope, are inhibited, tinder tlie pain of suspension, to an}- I*relate, whosoever shall pre- sume to publish them Ij. Yea, lastly, that which one uould think should exceed all the belief of a Christian, the very Bibles, set forth in vulgar tongues, are so forbidden to be either read or kept in men's houses, that neither the Bishops, nor Inquisitors, nor the Superiors of the Regulars can give any licence to whatsoever per- son to that purpose^! '• neither may so much as the Abridgments of the historical parts of that Sacred Book be allowed **. If they be thus cautions to ibrbid the best of books, for their own advantage ; what a shame shall it be for us, to be so slack and supine, as not to restrain the worst writings, to the infinite disad- vantage of the Gospel ! How ha[)j)y then would it be for God's Church, if, by the special and joint care of Christian Princes and States, there might be a general interdiction of this lawless licentiousness of the Press ; and that, under the highei;t penalties, it might be confined to none but necessary, safe, and orthodox discourse ! which till it be ef- fectually done, it is not jiossible but that schisms and her(;sies must, at pleasure, dilate themselves ; to the corrupting of mistuble minds, and to the destruction of the common peace. (3.) Thii'dly, for the timely suppressing of spiritual quaiTels, it * Clem. Vni. ib. Cavani. t IjHibos. est of men lie ever the ojjcnest to the wickedest calumnies. How doth the man after God's own heart cry out of the virulency of his slanderers ! how passionately doth he pray, Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and from a deceiful tongue. What shall he given to thee, or what shall be done to thee^ tfwu false tongue ? Sharp arrows of the mighty, Zi'ith coals of juni- per ; Ps. cxx. 2, 3, 4. Holy Cyprian hath dung cast in his face by the name of Coprianus. Athanasius is no better than Sathanasius : would you think that man, so worthy of innnortality as his name justly imports, should pass for a sacrilegious jierson, a ])rofane wretcii, a bloody ]iersecutor, a blasphemer of God ? >et these are liis titles, from his malicious opposites : whose resolution is, " As for Athanasius and Marcellus, who have iujpiously blas])hemed against God, and have lived as wicked miscreants, and are there- upon <::i,st out of the Church and condemned, we cannot rectMve them to the honour of Episco[)acy §." So as we may justly, in their behalf, take up that comi)laint of Optatus ||, Episcopos gladia lingufc jusuldstis ; fundentes sanguinem, non cor])oris, sed tumoris ; that is, " Ve have slain your Bishops with the swortl of your * Clui.ubi nihil ctl litium, tiles seritnt. Plaiir. f Plut. Cust. of L^cc- daernon. X J^^t'i autein ad scenain ipsam prodiinns, et cum impudicissimts ridcmur. Grt-g. Na/.. Orai. 1. § Nos Atliathidian ct Marccllum, qui in Doiiiinum ivipih bla.sf>Iic}uantes scde- ruti vixerunt , cxpij%ilos oli,n el davvuilos non poisumus in Epi'.copulus Iwrwrert ru-ifcrc. 80 Kpisc. in Fscudo-Syaod Sardiccnsi. || Opui. .MilfVit. 1. iii. 88 rnACTicAL works. tongue ; spillint^ the blood, not of their body, but of thcii' honour and rej)uiation."- To this head must be referred those bitter and in- famous libels*, which are mutually cast abroad everyday; even by some, who lay claim to a more strict Christianity : deeply woimding, not more each other's fame, than the public peace. These evils cry loud to Authority for redress; without which, what hope of peace ? ['.?.] In the second rank of disturbers of peace, are those, who do nourish., foment, and abet the quarrels once raised ; and perti- naciously maintain those dant^^^rous errors, which tliey hud set on foot : for, indeed, it is not fabieness of judgment that makes a here- tic, but perverseness of will f ; neither is heresy any other, than an error in faith with ol)stinacy %■ i *'cy are much mistaken, that slight the mistakings of the understanding, as no sins : rather, as that faculty hath n)ore of the man, than the other inferior ; so the aberrations of that must be more heinous. But, if the will did not concur to their further aggravation, in adhering to a falsity once re- ceived, they might seem rather to pass, with God and good men, for infirmities ; but the least falsehood, justified, proves odious to both : how much moi*e in so precious a sul)ject, as religion ! The zeal of some old Casuists carried them too far, in resolving heresy to be such a crime, as the seal of coniession itself mi<;ht not privilege for concealment §. One of their later jj said well. That he wished that man might be turned salamander, to live per- ])etua!ly in the fire, that should reveal what was spoken to his ear, out of remorse of conscience. B[|t, certainly, it cannot be denied, that heresy, thus described, is a grievous sin ; against that God, who is truth and goodness it- self; and against that Clnnch, which he hath graciouslv espoused to himself: but how far, and whi^'li way, to be proceeded against, is a matter of deep and serious consideration. For the determination whereof, I should think it necessary to distinguish of heresy, wiiether mere or mixed. Mere heresy I call tiiat, which is divested of other circumstances ; a sole error in matter of faith stillly resolved on, "without any other concurrent malignity : niixed, that, which is intermingled with other mis- chievous ingredients, as blasphemy, inlec^tious divulgation, seditious disturbance, malicious complottings, violent pursuit, treacherous machinations, and the like. The former, as it is a spiritual sin; so it is to l)e proceeded against,' in a spiritual way. Brotherly admonishing must lead the way : stiong conviction must folicnv % : and, m the failing of both these, Church-censures must be sought to as the last refuge. Bo- * Tractatus ffiXiynaifiovi;. Hicron. t A'cfi eriini errur de S. Scripturis, sed el pertinax erroris defensio facil htcre- ticwii. Dcf. I'ir. ytapli. 1 Error in fide, cum pertijiacid. § //areas est crimen, quod nee confcssio eclat. \\ M. Vivald. _ H Ut uhi inlerficii'fidi sunt errores, interjkiantur homines, Sfc. Muse. Loc. Com. cap. dc Ua;rft. THE PF.ACE-MAKEPv. 89 dily violences may have no place here ; since faith is to he per- siiailcd, not i'orced. Never any Cin'isLians, till the Ivonian Cimrch, in these latter times, olVered to shed hlood for mere errors of ojn- nion *. It is not for nothing, that the Holy CThost scLs her forth decked in purple and scarlet ; llev. xvii. 4. as foreseeing her deep- tlied in tlit; blood of Innocents. Every of her trivial (.leterniina- tions must be matter of faith f ; and every resolute opposition to matter of faith must be heresy ; and every heresy must he expiated with b'ood. Ob, the ignorance or stupiility of tJie ancient Fathei*s of the Clunch, winch covikl never hit on this sure renieuy of error, and vindication of trnth % '■ never had learned tlie true sense of H^ercticiim (Ic-vita, which is now revealed to wiser posterity ! In the mean time, since but the days of Thomas Arundel, then y\rcli- bisliop of Canterbury, who kindled tiic lirst lire ot tiiis kmd within this kingdom §, what stacks have been spent every wiiere, as the fuel of martyrdom ! It is proper for a cruel religion, to live upon blood ||. For us, we will save wlioni we can ; but, whom we cannot, we will not kill: remembering what God said of old conc(M-uin'y the days of the Gospel ; l/uy .shall no( hurl nor dc.stroi/ in all my holy mountain ; for the earth shall be full of the kno:dedge of the Lord ; Isa. xi. 9. The latter of them hath no reason to be exempted from bodily punislmients ; no, not from the utmost of all pains, death itself %, : as that, w hich, besides its own intrinsical mischief, draws in with it seven devils, worse than itself. If it be hcereticalis hlasphemia^ as the Casuists term it, it proclaims war against heaven ; and is instly revenged. l)y the sword of God's vicegerents upon earth. If it be attended with schism, perturbances, seditions, malicious practices, it tends to the setting of wiiole kingdoms on fire; and, therefore, may be well worthy of a faggot. No man should smart for eriin'i-; Ijut, for seducing of souls, for embroiling of states, for con- temptuous violation of laws, for affronts of lawful authority, who can pity him, that suffers** } Ccrtainlv, there cannot be a greater mercy to Chinch or Coumionwealth, than, by a seasonable correc- tion of offenders, to prevent their ruin ff. It must be the regard to * Thuan. Proccm ia Hist. — Sir Sim. Dewcs's Primitive Practice, Sett. 5. i" Si ilivina lex persuadefc iioii pu:,iit, humana aulhoritas ad icrilatem rcvo- care ncquit. Aug. ad Cresion. + Non de more Orthodoxit- Ecdfsue, (ju.-e homines perscqui non solel, SCc. S(j- crat. ]. vii. c. J. § \ idc- ib. Sir Sim. i^cwcs. II Temerh sed tradere let ho, Non est Christ igenuvt ^J urvi icd regii Averni. Naogcorgus. Minas Cclsus Scnfcns. sect. 2. In Hs^ret. cocrccndis quatcnus progrcdi liccat. •J Heretici corrigenJi, tie pereaiil ; coercendi, tic perimant. Bern, dc Con- sid. I. iii. c. I. ** PerlinaciUr errantes, et alios sccuin incrrorem abduccrc iiujitc crroribii\ rclinerc cotitendeiitcs, blasphcnti, el perturbalorcs, into evcrsorcs Ecclesianiiii, jure Ciidi possiitil. liutling. Dec. 2. scr. viii. Min. Cels. sect. 2. tt Puriter crudciis utcrqiie, qui parcit ciuictis et nuUi. Jos. Iscan. df Ikllo Trojano. 1. u VO PRACTICAL WORKS. the welfare ami peace of the public, that must regulate all ])roceecl- ings this way. I vemomhcr what Erasmus said concerning Luther : *' Surely," said he, " I would rather the man should he corrected^ than destroyed : hut, if they will needs luake an end of him, whe- ther thev would rather have him roast or boiled, I gainsay it not. It is a light loss, that is of one single man; but yet care nujst be had of the public tranquillity *." Thus he, as supposing his anta- gonist erroneoiis enough ; yet not to be dealt with in extremity of rigour, out of the regard of the public safety f. And, indeed, this consideration is it, that must eitiier hold our hands, or move them. Yjven in spiritual matters, as well as civil, that rule is eter- iial, Sal IIS populi suprema lexX- Thus then, to recollect our Discourse; If authority shall timely labour, by fair means, to reclaim the broaehers of new and singular opinions : if it shall be careful to cut off the occasions of further spreading the infection, arising therefroyn ; whether the society of the infected, or the dixulgation of their writings : if, lastly, it shall be prudently impartial in punishing ztiljid disturbers of the peace ; whether those, that sow strifes where none are, by venting new and oifensive paradoxes, by raising unjust slandei"s upon the inno- cent ; or those, that foment and abet the strife once raised ; espe- cially those, that pertinaciously stand upon the maintenance of gross errors : it shall have taken a ready course, for chf.cking the TlkST MOTIONS AND SUPPRESSING THE BEGINNINGS OF QUARRELS. SECT. 2. The Second Public means of Peace : Order for sure grounds to be laid by Catechizing. In the second place, it shall nuich conduce to the keeping of pub- lic peace, and the prevention of the dangers of the breach thereof by exorbitant doctrines, U" order be taken v.y atithority, that SURE GROUNDS OF RELKilON RE LAID IN THE HEARTS OF GOD's PEOPLE. It was the observation of tiiat wise and learned King James, of blessed memory, whose judgment and knowledge in matter of Divinity surj)assed all the Princes in the Christian world, that his- tory hat!) reconnncnded to us ; that the reason, why so many of ours were perverted to Popish superstition, was, for that the jieople were not well grounded, by due catechizing in the principles of Christian HeligKMi : and, truly, this I learned in my attendance, amongst many other lessons, from that incomparable Prince, that there is no employment in the world, wherein God's Ministers can so profitably bestow themselves, as in this of plain and familiar ca- * Ccric correct mnhominem tj:allcm quain extinct nm He. Eras. Alex. Stcrcta- rio Comiiis Nassovici. t rtrgd ovem, buculo lupum. Bern. Scntem. X 1 he people's safety is the highest law. TIIK PF.ACE-MAKF.H. 91 techizing. Wlmt is a huildiiiLj, v ithout a foundation ? If this i:;rouiuU\vork thcMefore be not surelv laid, all linir divine ,ord\ Dav throiigh the wholeyear; because on tiiat day Christ ascended into heaven, and on that day instituted the blessed Sacrament of his body and blood ? How can he, that hath well learned the Fifth Connnandment tli- * Jo. Gerson. tic Prxccpt. Dt'cal. c. j. f Q_ue ista obsliiuilio est, qud:ve pntsumptio, humaiiatn traditioncm diviuu: dispoiitioni aiitepoticrc ! Cyp. ad I'ompcium coiitr. I'^pist. Stephani. X Kodriguw. Cas. (Jonsc. § liospiaian. dc Foils Clirist. ex Aiuonioct Pctro dc Natalibus. l«i niACTICAL WORKS, gest thai iKird morsel of Home *, that the Pope hatli power to ab- solve subjects from their lawful allegiance to tlieir Sovereign ; that he halh poucr to depose Kings at pleasure ; that he can arm a sub- ject with power to murder his King ; that children may dispose of themselves into lleligious Orders, without or against the will of their parents ?> ■ How can lie, that knows what belongs to the Sixth Command- ment, but abhor to think of the streams of lilood, that have been shed upon pretence of religion; to recal the slaughters of JNlerin- dol and Ci.l^riers, the massacres of France, the pov»der-p!ot of Eng- land, the late Irish cruelties, and the subornations of the bloody as- sassinates of kings and ])rinces ? How can he", who hath been taught the exacl rule of chastity in the Seventh Comniandment, but hate to hear of the public tole- ration of stews; and oi' fornication, in some cases, less faulty than honest matrimony ? ^i'he like niav be said of the rest of tlie Precepts of the Royal Law ot the Almighty, which is the most perfect rule of our obe- dience. , ; And as for matter of Belief, were the foundation surely laid of the doctrines of faith, contained in the Apostolic, Nicene, Athana- sian Creeds ; and of the doctrine of the Sacraments, briefly com- jH'izcd in our publicly allowed Catecliism ; I sec no reason but to think our people so sufliciently defeuced against the danger of er- ror, that no heretical machinations could be able to batter or un- dermine them. And, surely, if ever tliere were or can be time, wherein tlie ne-' cessity of this duty of catechizing were fit to be enforced, it is this, upon which we are fallen : when the souls of Christian people are so liard laid at, not on)y by Popery, Anabaptism, Antinomianism, Pelagianism ; but by the confounding and hcHidi heresies of So- cinianism, Antitrinitarianisu), Ne-arianism ; ])rodigious mischiefs ; tending, not only to the disturbance of our peace, but to the utter destruction of Christianity : when we may truly sav to every soul, upon the letting loose of Satan, as Simeon said to his pillars before the earth(juake, " Stand fast ; for ye shall be shaken." Shortlj'-, if this duty be neglected, we may preach our lungs out, if we will ; but with little effect. When we have spent all our wind upon the ears of our })eople, their hearts v/ill be still apt to be carried away with tvny u'lnd of doctruie ; Eph. iv. 14. SECT. 3. The Third Public way of Peace : Means appointed for strong comic- lion of Error. Nothing can so nnich break the Church's peace, as Error. This is indeefl, that hellish monster, which the herculean ))ower of Autho- rity, both spiritual and civil, unist serve botli to conflict and subdue. * Papa polesi depovcrc Rcgcm, si est cjremiiiatux, i. si fvuHum sequaiur init. lieres. llcpcitorium Panorniiiaiu, a Do, de Montalvo V. Paixi. THE PEAf F.-MAKI-U. 93 But this infernal brood yields nnK;h variety. 'I'here are errors so <(ross and foul, that, in a consciousness of their own deiorniity, they have hid their heads ; and witlKhaw t> themselves from that light, wjjich is as hateful to them ;vs they are to it. Tiie foolish Jews "'■, wlicn they saw Mahomet arising iusueli power, they were straight ready to cry lam up for their Messiaii ; but, when they saw him eat of a camel (Lev. 11. 4:), they were as blank, as when they saw the lumped issue of their late .lewish virgir* turned to a daughter. So blockish was that error of the Anihropo- mornhites f of old : though I know not whether, in some sort, re- iurbished by Conradius Vorstius. Such was that of the Patripas- siani, whom Alamundarus, the King of the Agareus, though hut a new convert to Ciuistianity, made ashamed of themselves ;|.: that witty prince made himself very sad and pensive : heing by some of those heretics asked the reason of that his heaviness, he told theiu that he heard, that Michael, the Archangel, was dead ; aiid, whoa they cheered him uj), assuring him that an angel being a spirit could not die, he chokingly replies, " How then are \oi so foolish, to think that the Father and God of Spirits, the Deity itself, could be caj)able of death r" Such was that of the Charinzarii, who, in the other extreme, held one whole person of Christ su'.fering, while the other person looked on ; and celebrated the memory of their Sergius's dog, Arzibur, with an yearly fast§. Such was the exploded heresy of that matlman, who held all heresies truth. But there are errors, and those are most dangerous, so cunningly contrived by the subtlety of Satan, so countenanced with shew of reason and antiquity, and so over-laid with colour of Scripture- authority, that a wise man might easily mistake them for truths. It must U', therefore, the care of sovereign ])ower, in order to the public peace, to make provision, in the third place, that 'I'lii-.UE MAY BE MEANS OF A STRONG A^D lUUElRAGADLE CONVICTION Ol" ER- ROR. \Vliich sl;all be done, if there be a designation and encom-aije- ment of able men, wholly set apart for |)olemical studies. For this part of Divinity requires more than a piece of a man : and it is not to be exj)ected, however our age have yielded some happy in this kind, that those, who wholly addict themselves, acconling to the exigence of that calling, to tlie study and practice of Popular Di- vinity, should attain to the perfection of Controversory. The com- bination of some such select heads might be inlinitely serviceable to God's Church. It is great pit}-, therefore, that the late Ciielsian project was suf- "fered to fall to the ground ; whereof had not that judicious King, of Blessed memory, seen that very great use might have been nuulc, he hail not condescended to so gracious privileges, as his Majesty was pleaseil to eiu'ich it v. ithal. Tliat wise und learited * Kutrop. Ilivt. I. xviii. t Accused bv KpipUanius of simpieness and rus'icity. J Forca'cluj. § Pratcol. lilcnch. Il*rc». 1. iii. 13. 94 PRACTICAL WORKS, Prince well obsened, how great an advantage our adversaries have of us, in thiy kind ; wlio come upon us with conjoined forces, while we stand upon single resistances *: and, therefore, without a mar- vellous providence of the Almighty, might have verilied the old word, Ditm sin gull pugnant, univcrsi vincuntur. Blessed he God, the world hath had ample proofs of the false- hood of that calumny of Erasmus, which he casts upon our profes- sion, in his Epistle to Bilihaidus: l^bicunque regnat Luthcrus i *' Wheresoever Luther reigns," saith he, " there straight follows the destruction of all learning: for there is nothing that they seek for, but a Living and a Wife f." Could he have lived to these days, very shame would have cramn\ed those words down his throat; and would have forced him to confess, that eminence of learning and zeal of reformed relioion can well live and tlourish tooether : he should have seen and lieard such learned advocates plead for the Protestant profession, that his ingenuity could not choose but yield them the advantage of the Bar. But, if these heads and hands have been so powerful, alone ; what would they have done, united together ? Certainly, none of these upstart prod'gious heresies could stand before them ; nor breathe so long under their hands, as to work a disturbance to the Church's peace. But, if we may not be so happy, as to see such a sure course es- tablished for the preservation of truth and peace, it will be requi- site yet, that order be taken, that none may be allowed to enter into the lists, to maintain the combat with heretical seducers, but those, which are approved for able champions : for, certainly, there cannot be a greater advantage to the prevalence of error, than a weak oppngnation. I remember St. Auguscin |)rofessc'*, this was it that heartened him, and made him to triumph in his former INIani- cheism, that he met with feeble opponents ; and such, as his nim- ble wit was easily able to overturn. Wiien, therefore, any bold challenger shall step forth, and cast down his gauntlet in defiance of truth, it is fit he be encountered with an assailant, that hath brawn in his arms, and niarrow in his bones ; not with some weak and wearish combatant, whose heart may be as good, as his hand ii feeble ; that shall thereu):ion betray the better cause with an impo- tent n)anagipg. It is true, that the power of God manifests itself, many times, in our weakness ; and doth great matters, by the smallest means : but it is not for us to put God upon miracles. As in all other occasions, so in this, we nmst be careful to make use of the best helps, and then look up to heaven for a blessing. May this be done, the victory over error shall be the settlement of peace. * Concordia simul juricla •vittci iion potest. Cypr. Cornelio Fratri. f Ubicuncjue regnat Luiherus, ibi liieraium tal interitus : duo tanllim qiut- riiut, Censum et U.wrvni, liras. Bilib. f THE PEACE-MAKER- 95 SECT. 4. The Fourth Public xt'ay of Peace : Ifnpositinn of silence in soyne cases, both upon Pulpils and Prtssea. But the most available and surest of all the public ways of peace, LS, IN SOMR CASES AN IMI'OSITION OF SILKNCE UPON UOTil Tli£ PAR- TIES CONTENDING. For the making good Avhereof, it must be laid down for an un- failing ground. 1. That all truths are net fit to be at al! times urged. There can be no time, wherein it can be warrantable to deny a truth ; but there may fall times, wherein some truth need not be pressed. Our Blessed Saviour, who was tha true li^ht that enlightcneth every ont that cometh into the xvorld, could have irradiated his disciples at once, with the perfect knowledge of all things: but, as it was his will only to measure them out their meet stint of spiritual under- standmg ; so he thought fit to impart it to them by degrees; plainly professing, I hare many things yet to say unto j/ou, but ye canriot pear them nou' ; John xvi. 12 : and there is the same reason, of not revealing truths, and not enforcing them. The great Apostle of the Gentiles hath tauGrht us the necessary distinction of doctrines; that some are meat, and some are milk : and himself was care fid to observe it. rJnd /, brethren, saith he, could not speak to yoUy as unto spiritual, but as to carnal men, even as unto babes in Christ : I hate fed you •:!:ith milk, and not with meat ; for hitherto yc •were not able to bear it, neither yet nirw are ye able; 1 Cor. iii. I, 2. His pi-actice is our instmction. \\ hat should a sucking child tlo witli a knife and a trencher ? Doubtless then, all truths are not for all times, for all persons. 2. It mu.^t be yielded, That the occasion of the infinite (juestionjs and controversies in reliiiion, is the scarce iinite subdiMsions of pohits of Divinity, into those numberless atoms of disqui>.iiion, whereinto curious heads have minced it. Truth, when it ib in a lump, is carried away with ease ; but, when it is cut in a thousand pieces, it is not easily set together : some parcels may, perhaps, be missing ; others, disordered. It was the observation of learned Erasmus long ago, now second- ed with too much experience, that this niulLiijlication of School- points is it, that hath rendered Divinity so })erj)lexeil, and the Church so unquiet. Now then, the remedy must tread iji the same steps with the dis- ease. As, therefore, it might make much to the uaiver.->ul peace of God's Church, that positive Divinity should be generally reduced to that primitive simplicity, wherein it was piesenteil to the Chris- tians of the first and purest times ; so, it might greatly conduce to the peace of particular Churches, that, where litigious (juestions arise with fair probabiliticii on both parts, and sides are taken, and 96 PRACTICAL WORKS. the rent not to be sewed up by any satisfactory deci:jion, then, and there, ilie mouth of altercation should be stopped with a straitly- enjoiiicd silence : let that truth sleep quietly, on whether side so- ever it lies. Or, if the dilYcrence of opinion be so general that it cannot be kept in, that an Adiajihorous act, as of old, be decreed for a mutual nidemnity ; that neither part might censure or con- demn other for iheir diversity of judgment. Both these practices for peace we uiiglit learn of our wise adversaries, that gnide the helm of the Roman Church. Much stir there was in their Schools, now in this present age, about the eihcacy of preventing grace, depending or not depend- ing on man's free-will. Their doctors took parts : the quarrel grew hot : the business \vas devolved to the detennination of Pope Clement VIll : for five years together, the case was every day disputed : the issue was, that oracle of the Chair decreed, That it should be free for both parts to hold to their own tenet, with- out censuring either side of error or temerity. So, for the time, the quarrel ceased *. But when, soon after, the Doctors of either School, striving too eagerl}- for the maintenance of their own opi- nion, Ijiake forth into distemper, it was out of due regard to peace straitly commanded, that no Doctor on eitlier })art should publish any writing whatsoever, in which the agreement of (efficacious grace and free-will should be so much as argued f. " So," saith my author, "• that decertation was shut up," co)iii'rue7ilissh)w silcn- tiG, " in a most meet silence ;|;." Although, wlnit agitations there have been since of this question, and what endeavours of their acute Francisus de Arriba § to salve up the matter by new distinctions, it is not now seasonable for us to relate. But far more coil there hath been, both in Schools and Church, within some late centuries of years, concerning the sinless concep- tion pf the Blessed Virgin: about which, what vehement diniica- tions there have been between the Franciscans and Dominicans, the world too well knows. Aquinas and his followers, more inge- nuous authors, are for the one })art : \\ the Council of Basil and the greater number of Schoolmen, for the other ; defending, in an im- pious flattery of that Hoiy and Blessed Mother of our L-ord, that, by the singular grace of the Almighty, she was so kept, that she was never actuaiiy under original ssn, but was always free from all , fault both original and actual. The Dominicans, finding thcm- * Placuit sauctiss. perinittere ouniibus miius vel alleriiis sckolic as^ertum te- nere ct licjcnderc ; juisiuiique es(,/iedei>iceps aid islam aid illani ser.tadiam er- rurix vel tenia iiaf is cerisiiid notaret, Sfc. Sicijue tunc coidcniiosa: istm disputa- tiones ce^sirceriini. -j- Prcccpluin est intuifupacis SCc. fie alicujus doctoris opus pra'h mandaret, S)'c. X Sicque decertatin ilia delertninata est corgiue/dissinio silentio. § Franc, ^li' Arrib.i Ket^ina Christianis. a Confcssionibus ad B. 1*. D. Grego- rium XV. Pontif. Max. \\ Gioriosani rirg. Dei geniiricem Afariatii, prwiCTiienle el operante divini mam I. is grndd siiignluri, nnnquam aclualiter siihjuciiiisc originali peccsio ; sed iinnninem semper Juissc ab omni originali el acluali cidpci, tffc. Concil. Ba- sil stss. '■}6. THE PEACE-MAKER. 97 selves galled with tliis unjust detennination, fly upon that Council; and plainly say, it hatched a cockatrice *. The matter came so high as to blood : for some of the Dominicans fried at a stake, for the bold opposition to this misconceived privilege of the Holy and Immaculate Virgin f. Pope Sixtus the IVth, perceiving what dan- ger and mischief might follow upon this division, decrees, though not without secret favour to the Franciscans of whose Order he was, that the question should be left free to either part ; as that, which was not decided by the Church and See A])ostolic |: and the Coun- cil of Trent professes to second tlie observation of that coustitutioa of Sixtus, under the penalties therein contained § : so as now Greg, de Valeritia concludes, that neither opinion is found to be matter of faith ; and that whoever takes either side ought not to be taken for a heretic, or held to offend mortally in the temerity of his Ojjinion. Besides, some experience our own times have yielded us at home, of the singular benefit of this course. It is not long, since our Church began to be sick of the Belgic disease : I mean the dis- temper arising from the difference about the Five controverted Ar- ticles of the Netherlands, The pulpits and presses laboured of it, in mucli extremity: it pleased wise and judicious sovereignty, upon knowledge of the woeful efl'ects which had followed those unhappy controversies abroad, to give charge, that those questions should not be further stirred in, whether in sermons or writings ; and the Articles of the Church of England should be the just limits of all our public discourse in this kind. And what a calm followed upon this prudent Declaration, our fresh memory can abundantly testifv. Were the like order taken in otiier questions of less importance at the present time, men's hearts would be at more ease, and the Church less disquieted. To draw up all, therefore, to a head : if, by the power of Au- thority, THE BEGINNINGS OF QUARRELS MAY BE SUPPRESSED; if SURE GROUNDS OF INSTRUCTION MAY BE LAID IN THE HEARTS OF GOD's PEO- PLE ; if POWERFUL CONVICTIONS MAY BE USED TO THE REFRACTORY, and none but able opponents suffered to be employed in the vindi- cation of truth; if, in meet cases, silence may be imposed upon PULPITS AND PRESSES ; we shall have reason to hope for a hap[)) success of these PUBLIC means of peace. * Pfperisse ba':iliscum. .Anton, citante Jo. Major, f Chamier de Peccaio Orig. 'lorn. iii. I. 5. I'x Nicol. B:iscIio. X Sixt. IV. in extrava?. Grave nimis de l\c!i j ct ventr. Siinct. ^ Decret. Irid. St'ss, 5. H 98 PRACTICAL WORKS. CHAP. IV. A MOTIVE TO PfeACE, IROM THE MISERIES OF DISCORD. Now, that all boih private and pviblic agents may be stirred \\p to do their utmost endeavours, to the making and preservation of peace, it shall be requisite for us, to bend our eyes seriously upon the MISERIES OF SPIRITUAL DISCORD: which, hideed, are so great and many, as no mortal pen is able to ex])ress. Some image whereof we see, and lament to see, in the Civil. Woe is me, what a sad spectacle it is, to see towns and cities flaming ; to see the channels running with blood, the fields strewed ■with carcases of men and horses mingled in blood ; to see the hel- lish fury of a military storm, those clambering up to assail, these tumbling down in assailing; to see the deadly granadoes fly with Are in their mouths ; and to see and hear the horror of their alight- ing ; to hear the infernal thunder of mines blowing uri, tlie roaring of cannons, the rattling of drums, the hoarse noise of trumpets; to hear the shrieks of women antl ciuldren, the groans of the dying, the killing noise of the murderers ; shortly, to see and hear the astonishing confusion of every soul engaged either way, in that violent destruction ! Truly, as the story* says of Gensericus and his Vandals in Africk, that they made more waste by fire of the houses of prayer, than of towns and cities; so may I say, in general, of all the instruments of spiritual violence, that they do more scaith to the Church of God, than the bodily agents in an outward and visible war can do, to the Commonwealth. This mischief is less sensible ; but more pernicious. What is the body to the soul r What is this material fire (a mere accension of air) "to that of hell ? What is the temporal death to an eternal ? It is a woeful case, which Optatus speaks of in that schism of the Donatists : Iiiter licet vestrum hearino- of our Lord Jesus. To whom, with the Father, and the Holv Gho.-^t, one Infmite and Incom)>rehensiblc God, be all praise, iionour, and glory, now and for ever. Amen. * Parcit cognatis maculis similisfera: quando Lt-oni furiior eripuit viiam leo ? Juven. Sat. xvi. \ Brcm. ^'. Discordia. \ Dalton p. 214. % Gng. Naz. Orat, 21. THE I BALM OF GILEAD OR, COMFORTS FOR THE DISTRESSED; BOTH MORAL AND DIVINE. BY JOSEPH, BISHOP OF NORWICH. TO ALL THE DISTRESSED MEMBERS OF JESUS CHRIST, WHERESvOEVEIl : M'lIOSE SOULS ARE WOUNDED WITH THE PRESENT SENSE OF THEIR SINS, OR OF THEIR AFFLlCTiONS, OR W ITH THE FEARS OF DEATH AND JUDGMENT: J HE Au'Jior humhli/ recommends this Sovereign Balm, xchich God Juith been pleased to put into his hands for their benejit ; ear- nestlij exhorting thevi to appltj it carefullij to their several sores, to~ gether-Jinth their faithful praijers to God for a bltssing upon the use thereof: not doubting, but, through God's mercy, thejj shall fnd thereby a sensible ease and co.nfort to their souls, which shall be helped on by thefervtnt devotions of the luvd'orthicst seirant of God and /us Chu)xh, J. H. B. ^\ 106 THE BALM OF GILEAD : OR, THE COMFORTER CHAP. I. co:\iFORTS roR Tin-: sick bed. The Preface — Aggravation of (he Misery of Sickness. VV HAT should we do in this vale of tears, but bemoan each others* miseries ? Every mini hath his load : and well is he, whose burden is so eas}-, that he may help his neiohbours. Hear nie, my son. My age hath waded through a world of sorrows. The Angel, that hath hifherto redeemed mij soul from all evil, (Gen. xlviii. 16.) and liath led me within few j>aces of the shore, offers to lend me his hand to guide thee in this dangerous ford, wherein every error is death. Let us follow him, with an humble confidence ; arid be safe, in the view and pity of the woeful miscarriages of others. Tliou art now cast uj)on the bed of sickness ; roaring out all the day long, for the extremity of thy pain, Ps. xxxii. 3 : measuring the slow hours, not hv minutes, hut In* groans. Thy soul is 'U'can/ of thy Ife, (.Job x. 1.) tiuonghlhe miolcrahle anguish of thy spirit; Job vii. 11 : — Of all earthlv afflictions, this is the sorest. Job him- self, after the sudden and astonishing news of the loss of his goods and children, could yet bear up, and biess the God that gives and takes ; Job i. 2 1 : but, when his body was tormented, and was made one boil ; now, his jiatience is retched so far, as to curse (not his God, but) his nativity ; Job iii. 3. The great king, questioning with his cup-l)earer Neheniiah, can say, /r/?j/ is thij countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick ? Neh. ii. 2 : as implying, that the sick man, of all other, hath just cause to be dejected. Worldly crosses are aloof off from us ; sickness is in our bosom: those touch ours only; these, ourselves: here the whole man suffers: what could the body feel, without the soul that animates it ? How can thesoid, which makes the body sensible, choose but be most atl'ected with that pain, whereof it gives sense to the body ? Both partners have enough to do to encounter so fierce an enemy. The sharper as- sault retjuires the more powerful resistance. Kecollect thy sell", my son ; and call up all the powers of thy soul, to grapple with so violent an encmv. THE BALM OF GILEAD : OR, THE COMFORTER. 107 SECT. 1. The freedom of the soul. TiiY boJy is, 1)}' a sore disease, confi^iinl to tliy bed : — I should be sorrv to say, thou thyself wert so. Tliy soul, which is thyself, is, 1 hoi>e, elsewhere. That, however it is content to take a share in thy sulferings, soars above to the heaven of lieavcns; and is pro- strate before t'le Throne of Grace, suiuLC for mercy and foroive- ness ; beholding the face of thy Glorious Mediator interceding for thee. Woe were to us, if our souls were cofHned up in our bosoms, so as ihey could not stir abroad, nor go any furdier than they are car- ried ; like some snail or tortoise, that cannot move out of the shell. Blessed be God, he hath given us active spirits, that can bestir themselves, while our bodies lie still ; that can be so quick and nim- ble in their motions, as that they can pass from earth to heaven, ere our bodies can turn to the other side. And, how mucii shall we be wanting to ourselves, if we do not make use of this spiritual agility ; sending up these spirits of ours from this dull clay of our bodies to those regions of blessedness, that they may thence fetch co.nfort to alleviate the sorrows of their hea- vy partners ! Thus do thou, my son, employ the better part; no pains of the worse can ma':e thee miserable. That spiritual part of thine shall, ere long, be in bliss, while this earthen piece shall lie rotting in the grave. Wliy shouldst thou not, even now before thy separation, improve all the powers of it to thy present advantage ? Let that still behold the face of thy God in glory, while thy bodily eyes look upon thoL^e friends at thy bed-side, Nvhich may pity thee, but can- wot help thee. SFXT. 2. The Aiitlior of sickness ; and (he benefit of it. Tiiou art pained with sickness : — Consider seriously, whence it is, that thou tuus smartest. Afjliciion comelh not out of the dust; Job V. 6. Couldst thou but hear the voice of thy disease, as well as thou feelest the stroke of it, it saith loud enough, ylin I come up hither without the Lord to tonnent thee ? The Lord hath said to me. Go up against this man, and afflict him ; 2 Kings xviii. 25. Couldst thou see the hand that smites tiiee, thou couldst not but kiss it. Why, man, it is thy good God, the Father of all Mercies, that lays these stripes upon thee. He that made thee, he that bought thee at so dear a rate as his own blood, it is he, that chastiseth thee : and canst thou tliink he will whip thee, but for thy good ? i08 PRACTICAL WORKS. Tliou art a father of children, and art acquainted with thine own bowels : didst thou ever take the n^d into thy hand, out of a plea- sure that thou tookest in smiting that flesh, which is derived from thine own loins ? was it any ease to thee, to make thy child smart and hleed ? Didst thou not suffer more, than thou inflictcdst ? Cou'idst thou not ratlier have been content to have redeemed those his stripes, witli thine own r Yet, thou sawest good reason to lay on; and not to spare, for his loud crying and many tears ; Prov. xix. 18. and canst say thou hadst not lo\ed hini, if thou hadst not been so kindly severe. And, if we, that arc evil, know liow to give loving and benelicial correction unto our children ; ho/.- much more .shall our Father, which is in heaven, know how to beat us to our advantage! so as we may sing under the rod, with the blessed Psalmist, J knozc', O Lord, that thij judgmenls arc right ; and that, of xery faithfulness, thou hast ajjiiclcdmc ; Ps. cxix. 75. IMight the child be niade arbiter of his own chastisement, do we think he would auard hmisclf so much as one lash ? yet, the wiser parent knows he shall wrong him, if he do not intlict more ; as hav- ing learned of wise Solomon, Tliou shalt beat him willi the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell; Prov. xxiii. 14. " Love hath his strokes," saith Ambrose, "■which are so much thesaecter, by how nmcli they are the harder set on." Dost thou not remember the message, that the two sisters sent to our Saviour ; Lord, behold, he whoin thou lovesf, is sic/c ? John xi. 3. Were it so, that pain, or sickness, or any other the execu- tioners of Divine Justice should be let loose upon thee to tyrannize over thee at pleasure, on purpose to render thee perfectly nnsera- ble, there were just reason for thy utter disheartening : now, they are stinted, and go under commission ; neither can they be allowed to have any other limits, than thy own advantage. Tell me whether thou wouldst rather be good, or be healthful : I know thou wouldst be both ; and thinkest thou mayest well be so. Who is so httle in his own favour, as to imagine he can be the worse for faring well ? But he, that made thee, looks farther into thee, than thine own eyes can do : he sees thy vigour is turning wanton ; and, that if thy body be not sick, thy soul will : if lie, therefore, find it fit to take down thy worse part a httle for the preventing of a mortal danger to the better, what cause hast thou to complain, yea rather not to be thankful ? W lion thou liast felt thy body in a distemper of fulness, thou hast gone to sea on purpose to make thy- self sick; yet thou knewest that turning of thy head and stomach would be more jiainful to thee than thy former indisposition: why should nor thy all- wise Creator take libcrry to cure thee, with an afllictious remedv ? THE D.M.M OF GILF.AO.: OR, TUF. COMFOflTFR. 109» SECT. 3. The vicissitudes of health. Tiior art now sick : — ^\'crt thou not before, a long time, healtbrul \ I'anst thou not be content to take thy turns? Job ii. 10. If thou hadsi not more cia^"s of health than Jiours of sickness, how canst thou think thoii hadst cause to repine ? Had the Divine Wisdom thought ht to mitigate thy many clays' pain with the ease of one hour, it had been well worthy of thy thanks; but, now that it hath l)eforehand requited thy few painful hours with years of perfect health, how unthankfully dost thou grudge at the condition ! It was a foul mistake, if thou didst not from all earthlv thin";s expect a vicisNitude : they cannot have their being, without :i change. As well may day be without a succession of night, and life without death, as a mortal body without fits of distemper. And how much better are these momentary changes, than that last change of a misery unchangeable I It was a woeful word, that Father Abraham said to the daumed glutton, Son, remember, that ikon ill thij life-time reccivcdst thy good things, and Lazarus evil things ; but nozc he is comforted, and thou arl tormented ; Luke xvi. 25. O happy stripes, wherewith we are chasteued of the Lord, that zi'e may not be condemned -with the zcvrld ! 1 Cor. xi. 32. O wel- come fever.-^, that may quit my soul from everlasting burnings 1 SECT. 4. Sickness better than sinful healih. Thou complainest of sickness : — I have known those, that hav« bestowed tears uj)on their too-much liealth ; sadly beuioaning the fear and danger of God's disfavour, for that they ailed nothiug : and our Brouiiard "•'^ tells us of a devout man ia his time, that be- wailed his continued welfare as no small affliction; whom, soon af- ter, God fitted with pain enough. The poor man joyed in the change ; and held his sickness a mercy : neither, indeed, was it oihei wi;,e intended, by him, that sent it. Why are we too much dejected with that, which others complain to want ? NV'hy should we find that so tedious to us, which otiiers have wished ? There have been medicinal agues, which the wise physician hath cast his patient into, for the cuie of a worse distemper. A secure and lawless health, however nature takes it, is the most dangerous indisposition of the soul : if that may be healed by some few bodily pangs, the advantage is unspeakable. Look upon ^iome vigorous gallant, that, in the heii^ht of bis spi* * Broin, Sum. V. InfiriTntas. no PRACTICAL WORKS. rit and the heat of his blood, eagerly pursues his carnal delights ; as thinking of no heaven, but the free delectation of his sense : and compare thy present estate with his. Here thou liest, groaning, and sighing, and panting, and shifting thy weary sides, conijDlain- ing of the heavy pace of thy tedious hours ; while he is frolicking with his jocund companions, carousing his large healths, sporting himself with his wanton mistress, and bathing himself in all sensual pleasures : and tell me, whether of the two thou tliinkcst in the hap- pier condition. Surely, if thou be not shrunk into nothing but mere sense, if thou hast not cast off all thoughts of another world, thou shalt pity the misery of that godless jollity ; and gratulate to thy- self the advantage - sufferings far below our deservivgs. Thou art pained with sickness: — Look not at what thou feelest, but at what thou hast deserved to feel. JVhif doih the living vmn complain ? Man suffereth for his sin ; Lam. iii. 39. Alas, the wages of every sin is tleath; a double death ; of body, of soul ; temporal, eternal. Any thing below this, is mercy. There is not the least of thy many thousand transgressions, but hath merited the infinite ivrath of a just God; and, thereby, more torments, than thou art capable to undergo. What ! dost thou complain of ease ? Where thou owedst a thousand talents, thou art bidden to take thy bill, and sit down and write fifty ; Luke xvi. 6 : wilt thou not magnify the clemency of so favourable a creditor ? Surely, were every twig, wherewith thou smartest, a scorpion ; and every breath, that thou sendest forth, a flame ; this were yet less than thy due. Oh, the infinite goodness of bur indulgent Father, that takes up vi'ith so gentle a correction ! I'ell me, thou nice and delicate patient, if thou canst not bear these stri[)es, how wilt thou be able to endure those, that are in- finitely sorer ? Alas, what are these to that hell, which abides for the impatient i* There, are exquisite pains, without mitigation ; eternal pains, without intermission ; which thou canst neither sulfer nor avoid. Fear them, wliile thou grudgest at these. Lay thy- self low, under the hand of thy good God; and be tiiankful for a tolerable misery. How graciously hath the wisdom of our God thought fit to tem- per our allllctious ; so contriving them, that, if they be sharp, they are not long ; and if they be long, they are not over sharp ; that our strength might not be over-laid by our trials, either way ! Be content, man : either thy languishment shall be easy, or thy pain soon over. Extreme and everlasting are terms reserved for God's enemies, in the other world. That is truly long, which hath no end : that is truly painful, which is not capable of any relax- ation. What a short moment is ir, that thou must suffer ? short, yea nothing, in respect of that eternity, which thou canst either hope for or fear. Smart a while patiently, that thou mayst not hm infinitely miserable. SECT. 7. The benefit of the exercise of our patience. Thou complainest of j^ain: — What use were there of thy patience, if thou ailest nothing ? God never gives virtues, without an in- THE BALM OV GILF.AD : OR, THE COMrORTER. 1 I 3 tent of their exercise. To what purpose were our Christian valour, if we had no enemy to encounter ? Tiius lone; thou hast lain quiet in a secure garrison, where thou iuist heard no trumpet but thine own ; and hast turned thy drums into a dicing-table ; lavishing out thy dav^s in varieties of idle re- creations : now, God draws thee forth into the field, and shews thee an enemy : where is thy Cliristian fortitude, if thou shrink back ; and, cowardly wheeling about, ciiiisest rather to make use of thy heels, than of thy hands ? Doth tiiis beseem thee, wi;o professest to fight under his colours, who is the great Conqueror of Death and Hell ? Is this the way to that happy victory, which shall cany away a crown of glory ? iVIy son, if thou faint in the day of thine adversity, thy strength is but small. Stir up thy holy courage : Be strong in the Lend, and in the ponder of his might ; Eph. vi. 10. Buckle close with that fierce enemy, wherewith thy God would have thee assaulted : looking up to him, who hath said, and cannot fail to perform it ; He fa it hf id to the death, and I zci/l give thee a crown of life. SECT. 8. The necessity of expecting sickness. Thou art surprised with sickness: — Whose fault is this, but thine own ? Who bade thee not to look for so sure a guest ? The very frame of thy body should have put thee into other thoughts. Dost thou see this living fabric made up, as a clock consisting of so many wheels and gimmers ? and co.ddst thou imagine, that some of them should 'not be ever out of order ? Couldst thou think, that a cottatre, not too strontMv built, and standing so bleak in the very month of the winds, could, for any long time, hold tight and unreaved ? Yea, dost thou not rather wonder, that it hath out-stood so many blustering blasts, thus long, utterly nnruined ? or that the wires of that engine should so long- have held pace with time ? It was scarce a patient question, which Job asked, Is mij strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh as brass; Job vi. 12. No, alas. Job, thy best metal is but clay ; and thine, as all flesh, is grass: the clay mouldereth, and the grass withereth : what do we make account of anv tiling but misery and fickleness, in this woeful region of change f If we will needs over-reckon our condition, we dt) but help to aggravate our own wretchedness. SECT. 9. Gid'smost tender regard to us in sickness. Tiiou art retired to thy sick bed : — Be of good comfort : God was never so near thee, never so tenderly indulgent to thee, as npw. 8. I li-i" PRACTICAL WORKS. The ichole, saith our Saviour, need not the phijsiciiin ; but the sick. Lc, tlie physiciau, as being made for the time of necessity, Cometh not hut where there is need : where need is, he will not fail to come; Ecclus. xxxviii. 1. Our need is motive enough to hixn, wlio himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses ; ftlatt. viii. 17. Our health estranoes him from us. \\ hile thou art his })atient, he cannot be kept oif from thee. The Loid, saith the Psalmist, zc'i/I s.renofhen thee upon the bed of languishini^. Thou -s'iit make all his bed in his sickiwss ; Ps. xli. 3. Lo, the Heavenly Comforter doth not onlv visit, but attend thee ; and, if thou find thy pallet uneasy, he shall turn and soften it for thy repose. Canst tliou not read God's gnicious indulgence, in thine own disposition ? Thou art a parent of children: perhajjs, thou findest cause to alfect one more than another, though all be dear enough ; but, if any one of them be cast down with a feverous distemper, now thou art more carefully busv about him than all tiie rest : how tiiou pitiest hun ! how thou piiest him with otTers and recipes! with what silent anxiety dost thou watch by his couch ! listening for every of his breathings ; jealous of every whispering, that mioht break otY his slumber: answerins: every of his , 24. Behold, this is thy case, my son : the life of ihy soul is in danger of the Destroyer, tlnough his powerful tcmjnations. I am, how- soever unworthy, a Messenger sent to thee from heaven ; and, in ^• ■* Lev. i. ". Ilebr. Duct, in k(.ura» THE BALM OF GILEAU: OR, THE COMFORTFR. Ill the name of that great God that sent me, I do jiere, ii|ioii the sioht of thy serious rcj;eiitaiicc, hcfore angels and men, dirlare tliy soul to stand riglit in the court of hoa\ en: the in\ahiahle ran- som of thy dear Saviour is laid down and accepted for thee : thou art dehvered Irom going down into the jiit of honor and per- dition. ^ SKCT. 3. Aggravation of the grierous condition of the patient : and remedies from vie)cij applied. " O HAPPY message," thou sayest, " were it as sure as it is com- fortal)le ! But, alas, my heart hnds many and deep grounds of fear and chffidence, which will not easily he removed. Tnat smites me, while you oHbr to acquit me; and tells me, I am in a worse con- dition than a looker-on can imagine. My sins are, !je3ond mea- sure, heinous: such, as my thoi;ghts tremble at: such, as I tiare not utter to tlie God that knows them, and against whoni only they are committed. There is iiorror, in their very remcmhrance : what will there then be, in their retribution r" They are bitter thing-s, that thou urgest against thyself, my son : no atlversary could })lead woree. But I admit thy vileness. Be thou as bad, as Satan can make thee : it is not either his mahce, or thy wickedness, that can shut thee out from mercy. Be thou as foul, as si:i can make thee : yet there is a fountain opened to the house of Daiid, a bloody fountain in the side of thy Savnour, for sin, and J or uncleanne^s; Zech. xiii. 1. Be thou as leprous, as that Syrian wa-^ of old, if thou canst but wash seven times in the waters of this Jordan, thou canst not but be clean : thy flesh shall come again to thee, like to tiie llesh of a little child ; 2 Kings v. 14. thou shalt be, at once, sound and innocent. Be thou stung nnto death, with the fiery serpents of this wilderness : yet if thou canst but cast thine eyes to thai brazen serpent which is erected there, thou canst not fail of cure. Wherefore came the Son of God into the world, but to save sinners? add, if thou wilt, "nhereof I am chief: thou canst say no worse by thyself, than a better man did before thee ; wIk?, in tiie right of a sinner, ciaimeth the beneht of a Saviour; 1 Tim. i. 15. Were it not for our sin, what use were there of a Redeemer .>* Were not our sin heinous, how should it have required such an ex- piation as the blood of the Eternal Son of God } Take comfort to thyself, my son : the greatness of thy sin serves but to magnify tiie mercy ot the lorniver. 'i\) remit the debt of some few farthings, it were small thank; but, to strike oft the .scores of thousands of talents, it is the height of bounty. Thus doth thy God to thee : he iiath sutl'ercd thee to run on in his books to so deep a sum, that, when thy conscious heart luuh proclanued 118 I'JtACTlCAL WORKS. thee bankrupt, he may inlinitely oblige thee and glorify his own niercv, in crossmg the reckoning and accjuitting thy soul. All sums are equally dischargeable to the munificence of our -great Creditor in heaven: as it is the act of his justice, to call for the least ; so of his mercy, to forgive the greatest. Had \vc to do \vith a finite power, we had reason to sink under the burden of our sins : now there is neither more nor less to that, which is infi- nite : only let thy care be, to lay hold on that infinite mercy which lies open to thee : and, as thou art an object fit for mercy, in that thou art in thyself sinful and miserable enough ; so, find thyself, as thou art, a subject meet to receive this mercy, as a penitent be- liever. Open and enlarge thy bosom, to take in this free grace ; and close with thy Blessed Saviour ; and, in him, possess thyself of remission, peace, salvation. SECT. 4. Complaint of imrepentancc and unbelief satisfied. " Sweet words," thou sayest, " to those, that are capable of them. But what is all this to me, that am neither penitent nor be- liever ? Alas, that, which is honey to others, is no better than gall and wormwood to ine, who have not the grace to repent and be- lieve as I ought." Why wilt thou, riiv son, be so unwise and unjust, as to take part Avitli Satan against thine own soul ? Why wilt thou be so unthank- fully injurious to the Father of Mercies, as to deny those graces which his Good Spirit hath so freely bestowed upon thee ? If thou wert not penitent for thy sins, wherefore are these tears ? ^^ hat mean these sighs and sobs, and passionate expressions of sorrow, which I hear from thee ? It is no worldly loss, tliat thus afflicts thee : it is no bodily distemper, that thus disquiets thee: doubtless, thou art soul-sick, my son : thy spirit is deeply wounded within thee; and what can thus affect thy soul, but sin? and \\ hat cau this affection of thy soul be for sin, but true penitence } SECT. 5. Complaint of a vn'sgroitnded soirow, satisfied. " Al.AS," thou sayest, " I am indeed sorrowfid for my sin ; but not upon the right grounds. I grieve for the misery, that my sin hath brought upon me ; not for the evil of my sin : for the ]Hinish- nient ; not the offence : for my own danger ; not for the disj)lea- sure of my good God." Beware, my son, lest au undue humility cause thee to belie the TIIK BALM OF GILF.AD : OR, TIIF. CO.MrORTF.n. I IP graces of God's Spirit. Thou ait no uicet jucl'^e of iliyself, while tlioii art under temptations. Had not thy sorrow a relation to thy God, wliy wouldest thou thus si"^ii towards heaven ? why wonKl th}- heart eha'lciioe thee for unkindness in otVending ? vvhy dost thou crv out of the Ibuhiess, not only of t!ie peril of tliy sin ? what is it, that makes the act of sin to be sinful, but the oifence of the Divine Majesty ? How canst thou then be sorry that thou hast sinned, and not be sorry thattiiou hast olVended ? Tell me, what is it, that thy conscience primarily siigf^^ests to thee, in this deep impression of thy sorrou' r Is it, thou shalt be punished ? Or is it not rather, thou luist sinned ? And, were it put to thy choice, whether thou wouldst rather enjoy the favour of God with the extremest smart, or be in his disj)!easure with ease ; whether wouldst thou pitch upon ? Or, if liberty were tendered unto tliee, that thou inightest freely sin without the danger of pu- nishment ; whether dotii not th}- heart rise at the condition, as readv to flee in the iace of the oiFerer ? Besides fear and horror, dost thou not find an inward kind of in- dignation at thy miscarriage ; and such a hatred of thy sin, that were it to be done again, if it were possible to be hid from (jod and men, and if there were not a hell to avenge it, thou wouldst abhor to commit it ? All these are strong convictions of the right grounds of thy re- pentance ; and of the wrong, which thou dost to thine own soul, in the unjust scruples, which thou raisest against it. SECT. 6. Complaint of the inmfficimt measure of sorrow for sin, ansrt'ered. " If the grounds," thou sayest, " of my repentance be right ; yet the measure is insufficient. I am sorrowful for my sins ; but not enough. An effectual grief for sin should be serious, deep, hearty, intensive : mine is sligiit and superlicial. I sigh ; but my sighs come not from tlie bottom of an humble heart : I can sometimes weep ; but I cannot pour out myself into tears : I mourn ; but I do not dwell upon my sorrow." My son, thou hast to do with a God, which, in all the disposi- tions of our soul, regards truth, and not (juantity. If he find thy remorse sound, he stands not ujjon measure. lie doih not mete out our repentance by inches, or bv hours; but, where he linds sincerity of |)eniteuce, he is graciously indulgent. Look upon Uavid, and acknowledgt; his sin formidal)ly heinous ; no less than adultery seconded with inebriation and murder : yet, no sooner did he, in a true compunction of heart, cry Pcccavi, I have sinned anainst the Lord ; than he hears, from the same mouth that accused him, The Lord also haitt put awaij thy sin : thou shalt not die ; 2 Sam. xii. 13. You f\o not hear of any tearing of hai:. 120 PRACTICAL WORKS. or I'ending of garments, or kuockiugs of breast, or lying in sack- cloih and ashes •, but only a penitent confession availing for the ex- piation of so grievous crnnes. Thou art deceived, if thou thinkest God delights in the niiscry and afilictedness of his creature. So far only is the grief in his dear ones pleasing unto him, as it may make for the health of their souls, in the due sensibleness of their sin, in their meet capa- city of mercy. I do not, with some Casuists, flatter thee with an opinion of the sufficiency of anj^ slight attrition, and empty wishes that thou hadst not sinned. Doubtless, a true contrition of spirit and compunction of heart are necessarily required to a saving repentance ; and these, wert thou but an indifferent censurer of thine own ways, thou couldst not chuse but find within thyself: why else is thy coun- tenance so dejected ; thy chocks })ale, and watered so oft with thy tears ; thy sleeps broken ; thy meals stomachless ? wherefore are thy so sad benioanings, and vehement deprecations ? But, after ail th;s, be thou such as thou accusest thj-self, defec- tive in the measure of thy repentance ; dost thou rest contented in this condition ? dost thou not complain of it, as thy greatest mi- sery ? art thou not heartily sorry, that thou canst be no more sorry for thy sin ? Comfort thyself, my son : even this, this alone is an acceptable degree of repentance. Our God, whose will is his deed, accounts ours so. What is repentance, but a change of ini'id from evil to good? And, how sensible is this change! that thou, wiio formerly delightedst in thy sm, now abhorrost it, and thyself for it ; and art yet ambitious of more grief, for being trans- ported into it ! Let not the enemy of thy soul, who desires nothing more than to make thee perfectly miserable, win so much of thee, as to render tliee unsatisfied with the measure of that penitence, which is ac- cepted of thy God : rather, turn thine eyes from thy sins ; and look up to heaven ; and fasten them there, upon thine all-suf- ficient Mediator, at the right-hand of Majesty ; and see his face smiling u})on thine humbled soul, and perfectly reconciling thee to his Eternal Father; as being fully assured, that, being justified by Jailiiy ive have peace xvilh God, through our Lord Jesus Christ : Ihj whom also we have access by faith info this grace xvherein zee stand, and rejoice in the hope cj" the glory of God ; Rom v. J , 2. SECT. 7. Complaint of the want of faith, satisfied. " Yea, there, there," thou sayest, " is the very core of all my com- plaint. I want tliat faith, that should give me an interest in my Saviour; and afford true comfort to my soul, and boldness and ac^ ccssxvith CO nfule nee to thii Throne of Grace; Eph. iii. 12. lean THE BALM OF GU.KAD : OR, THE COMI OUTER. 121 sorrow ; but 1 cannot bolieve. My grief is not so great, as my in- Iklolity. I sec others full of joy and peace in bclievine ; Horn. \v. 3 : but my earthen heart caruiot raise itself up to a comfortable appre- hension of my Saviour : so as, methink-;, I dwell in a kind of dis- consolHte darknes-i, and a sad lumpishness of unbelief; waiitin"- that lightsome assurance, wliicii others j)rofess to find in them-, selves/' Take liced, my son, lest, whiU^ thou art too querulous, thou prove unthankful ; and lest, uhilNt thine humbleness disparages thy- self, thou make God a loser. INIany a man may have a rieii mine lying deep in his ground, which he knows not of. There are shells, that are inwardly furidshed with pearls of great price, and are not sensible of their worth. This is thy condition : thou hast that grace, which thou complainest to v,ant. It is no measuring of thyself by sense, especially in the time of temptation. Thou couldst not so feelingly bemoan the want of faith, if thou hadst it not. Deny it, if thou canst : — thou a^senlest to the truth of all the gracious promises of God : tliou acknowledgest he could not be himself, if he were not a true God; yea, truth itself: thou canst not doubt, but that he hath made sweet promises of free grace and mercy to all penitent sinners ; thou canst not but grant, that tliou art sinful enough to need mercy, and sorrov/ful enough to desire and receive mercy : canst thou but love thyself so well, as that, when thou seest a pardon reached forth to thee to save thy soul from death, thou shouldst do any other than stretch forth thy hand to take it ? Lo, this hand stretched forth is thy Faith, which so takes spiritual hold of thy Saviour, that it calls not thy sense to witness. As for that Assurance thou speakest of, they are happy, that can truly feel and maintain it ; and it must be our holy ambition, what we may, to as-pire unto it : but that is such a height of jieifection, as every traveller in this wretched pilgrimage cannot, while he is in this perplexed and heavy way, liope to attam unto. It 13 an unsafe and perilous path, which those men have walked in, who have been wont to define all faith by assurance. Should I lead thee that way, it might cost thee a fall. So sure a certainty of our constant and reflected ajiprehension of eternal life, is both hard to get, and not easy to hold unmoveably ; considering the many and strong temptations, thatuc are subject unto, in this vale of misery anil death. Should faith be reduced unto this trial, it would be yet more rare than our Saviour hath foretold it : for, as many a one boasts of such an assurance, who is yet failing of a true faith, hugging a vain jiresmnption instead of it ; so man} a one also hath true faith, in the Lord .Jesus, who yet complains to want this as- surance. C'anst thou, in a sense of tiiine own miser}-, close with thy Sa- viour ^ canst thou throw thyself into the arms of his mercv ? canst thou trust him v.ith thy soul ; and repose thysi'lf n[)on him for for- giveness and salv;:tion ? canst thou lay ih}solf brfore him, as a uu- serablc object of his grace and mercy ? and, when it is jjeld lorih 122 PRACTICAL WORKS. to thee, canst thou lay some, though weak, hold upon it r Labour, what tiiou mayest, for furtiier degrees of strength daily : set not up thy vest in this pitch of grace : but cheer up thyself, my son ; even thus uuich faith shall save thy soul. Thou believcst ; and he iiaih said it, that is Truth itself; i/e?, that bditvcth on the SoUy hath everlasting life ,- John iii. 36. SECT. S. Complaint of tlia zccakness cf faith ^ satisfied. <• T KNOW," thou saycst, " that Jesus Christ came into the icorld to save sinners : and tliat Zi'hnsoever believeth in him shall not perish, hit have eternal life ; JoIju iii. 15 : neither can I den^-, l)ut that, in a sense of my own sinful condition, 1 do cast ui3'self, in some mea- sui^e, upon my Saviour, and lay some hold upon his all-sufficient redemption : but, alas, my apprehensions of him are so feeble, as that they can afford no sound comfort to ni}- soul." Courage, my son : were it that thou lookedst to be justified and saved by the power of tlie very act of thy faith, thou hadst reason to be disheartened with the conscience of the \veakne.ss thereof; but, now that the virtue and efficacy of this happy work is in the object apprehended by thee, which is the infinite merits and mercy of thy God and Saviour, which cannot be abated by thine infirmi- ties ; thou hast cause to take heart to thyself, and cheerfully to ex- pect his salvation. Understand thy case aright. Here is a double hand, that helps us up towards heaven : our hand of faith lays hold upon our Sa- viour ; our Saviour's hand of mercy and plenteous redemption lays hold on us : our hold of him is feeble and easily loosed ; his hold of us is strong and irresistible. Comfort thyself, therefore, in this, with the blessed A{)ostle : when thou art weak, then thou art strong; when weak in thyself, strong in thy liedeemer. Shouldst thou boast of thy strength, and say. Tush, I shall never be moved ; I should suspect the truth and safety of thy condition : now thou bewailest thy weakness, I cannot but encourage and congratulate the happy estate of thy soul. If work were stood upon, a strength of hand were necessary ; but, now that only taking and receivmg of a precious gift is required, why may not a weak hand do that as well as a strong ? as well, though not as forcibly. Be not, there- fore, dejected with the want of thine own power; but comfort thy- self in the rich mercies of thy Blessed Redeemer. SrCCT. 9. , Complaint of incon^tanej/ and dese)tio)i, ansrcered. Kow thou savest, " Sometimes, 1 confess, I find my heart at ease, in a comfortable reliance on my Saviour ; anil, being well resolved THE CALM OF GILEAD : OR, THK (OMrORTER. 1'. S of the safety of my estate, promise good «1;jvs to myself; and after the banishment of my former fears, dare bid defiance to temp- tations : but, alas, how soon is tliis fair weather over ! liow sud- denly is this clear sky over-clouded, and spread over with a sad darkness, and I return to my former lieartlessness '." Didst thou conceive, my son, that grace would put tliee into a constant and perpetual invariable condition of soul, while thou art in this earthly warfare r Didst tlion ever hear or read of any of God's prime Saints upon earth, that were unchangeable in tiieir lioly dispositions, while they continued in this region of mu- tability r Look upon the man after God's own heart. Thou shalt find him, sometimes, so courageous, as if the spirits of alibis W onhics were met in hi> one bosom : how resoiutely doih he blow oil' all dangers, trample on all enemies, triumph over all cross events ! another while, thou shalt find him so dejected, as if he were not the man. One while. The Lord is V[y shepherd ; I shall lack nothing ; Ps. xxiii. 1 : aiodier while, f^hu art thou then so sad, mj/ soul ; and zi-hi/ art thou so disquieted within vie ? xlii. 14. One while, / xvill )wt be af I aid for ten thousands of the people, that have set themselves against me round about ; iii. («. another while, Hide me under the shadow of thy liu'ngs, from the -wicicd, that oppress me , from my deadly enemies, xvho compass me about , xvii. 8, 9. One while, Tiiif loving- kindness is before mine eyes, and I haveicalked in thy truth; xwi. 3 : another while, Zo;y/, Xi'here are thy loving-kindnesses? Iwxix. 49. Yea, dost thou not hear him, with one breath, ))rofessing his confi- dence, and lamenting his desertion ? Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong : Thou, didst hide thy face, and I was troubled : Ps. xxx, 7. Look upon the Chosen Vessel, the great Aj)05tlc of the Gentiles. One while, thou shalt see him erecting trophies in himself, of vic- tory to his God ; Ln all these things, we are more than conquerors^ through him that loi'ed us ; Roin. viii. 3": auDther while, thou shalt find him bewailing his own sinful condition ; O wretched man that L am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death Y Ronj. vii. 24. One while, thou shalt lind him caught up into the third heaven; and there, in the paradise of God : another while, thou shalt lind him hulTeied by the messenger of Satan ; and sadly complaining to God, of the violence of that assault. Hear the Spouse of Christ, whether the Church in common or the faithful soul, betnoaning herself ; L opened to my Beloved; but 7ny Beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake. / sought him ; but L could not fnd him : J call<;d him ; but he gave ine no answer ; Cant. v. ♦>. Thus It will be with thee, my son, while thou art in this frail flesh. The temper of thy soul will be, like lier partner, subject to vicis-ii tides. Shoiildst thou continue always in the same state, I should more than suspect thee. TliLs is the dillercnce beiwi.xt na- ture and grace : that nature IS still uniform, ai:d like itself; grace varies, according to the [)leasuie of the giver : ihe Spirit breathes 124 PRACTICAL WORKS. when and uhere it listeth; John iii. 8. When therefore the gra- cious s))iraiions of the Holy Ghost are within thee, be thankfiii to the inhnite munificence of that Blessed Sjiiiit ; and still pray, jirise, O north, ajid comi\ f/wii south 'jh'ikI, blow vpon iny gardniy that the spices t/wirnf viaij /low out ; Cant. iv. 16. But, when thou shalt find tiiy soul becalmed, and not a leaf stirring in this garden of thine, be not too much dejected with an ungrounded ojjinion of being destitute of thy God. Neither do thou repine at the seasons or measures of his bounty : that most Free and Inhnitelv-Bene- ficent Agent will not he tied to our terms ; but will give wliat, and how, and when he pleaseth. Only do thou humbly wait upon iiis goodness, and be conjidnif, that he^ -who hath begun his good work in ihtc, "xnll pel form it until the day of Jesus Christ ; Phil. i. 6. SECT. 10. Complaint of unregencration and deadness in sin, safi.fed. " It is true," thou sayest, " if God had begun his good work in me, he would, at the last, for his own glory's sake, make it u{) : but, for me, I am a man dcp.d in sins and tresiiasses ; neither ever bad I any true liie of grace in me : some shew, indeed, I have made of a Christian profession ; but I have onlv beguiled the eyes of the work! with a mere pretence, and have not found in myself the truth and solidity of those heavenly virtues whereof 1 have made a formal ostentation." It were pity, my son, thou shouldst be so bad as thou makest thyself. I have no condbrt in store for hypocrisy : no disj)osition can be m(ji-e odious to the God of Truth ; insonmch as, when he would express his utmost vengeance against sinners, he hath no more fearful terms to set it forth, than J za'll appoint him his portion •with the hypocrites; Matt. xxiv. 31. Were it thus with thee, it Avere more than high time for thee to resolve th^-self into dust and ashes ; and to |)ut thyself into the hands of thine Almighty Crea- tor, to be moulded anew by his powerful Spirit ; and never to give thyself peace, till thou fmdest thyself renewed in the spirit of thy mind; Eph. iv. 23. But, in the mean while, take heed lest thou be foinid guilty of mis-judging thy own soul, and mis-prising the work of God's Spirjt in thee. God hath been better to thee, than thou wilt be? known of: thou hast true life of grace in thee; and, for the time, per- ceivest it not. It is no heed to take of the doom thou passest u| on thyself, in the hour of temptation. When thy heart was fit>e, thou wert in another mind ; and shalt. upon better advice, return to thy former thoughts. It is with thee, as it \\ as \\ ith Eutychus, that fell down from the third loft, and was taken up. for deacl; yet, ibr all that, his life was in him. We liaAC known those, who have lain long in trances, without any perception of life: yea, some, as that subtle Johannes Duns Scotus, have been put in.to their graves, for THE B.VI.M OFGILKAD: OR, THE ( OMFORTER. \'25 tully tleiul ; wlicn as yet their soul huth been in tliom, tliongh un- able to exert those t'iu:uiLies which might evince her hickleu ])re- seiice. Siicli thou in;i\ est be, at the worst : yea, wert thou but in charity witli Uiyselt", tliou wouklst be I'ound in a much lietter con- thtiDu. There is the same reason of the natural life and the sj)iritual. Life, where it is, is discerned by Breathhig, Sense, Motion. \\ here there is the lireath of hfe, there must be a life that sends it furili. If, then, the soul breathes forth holv desires, doubtless there is a life wlience they proceed. Now deny, if thou canst, that thou hast these sph'itual breathings of holy desires witJiin thee. Dost thou not liiany a time sigh, for thine own insensateness ? is not thy heart troubled with the thoughts of thy want of grace ? dost thou not truly desire, that God would rr;/t'rj' a right spirit ZiUf/iin thee ? Take comfort to thyself: this is the work of tiie in- ward principle of God\s S[)ir!t within thee. As well may a man breathe without life, :is tliou couldst be thus allected without grace. Sense is a quick dcscrier of life : pinch or wound a dead man, ho feels nothing ; but the living perceiveth the easiest touch. When thou hast heard the fearful judgments of God denounccvl against sinners, and laid home to the conscience, hast thou not found liiy heart pierced with then) ? hast thou not sln'unk inward ; and se- cretly thought, " How shall 1 decline this dreadful daumation r" When thou hast heard the sweet mercies of God laid forth to {leni- tent sinners, hath not thy heart silently said, " Oh, that I had mv share in them !" \V hen thou hast heard the name of Christ blas- phemed, hast thou not felt a secret horror in thy bosom r All these argue a true spiritual life within thee. Motion is the most perfect discoverer of life. He, that can stir his limbs, is siMciy not dead. The feet of the soul are the aH'ec- tions. Hast thou not found in thyself a hate and detestation of that sin, whereinto tliou hast beeit miscarried ? hast thou not found in thyself a true grief of heart, for thy wrctclied indisposition to all good things ? luist thou not found a secret love to and com))la- f-eiicy in tliose, whom thou base thought truly godly and conscion- able ? \Vithout a true life of grace, these things coidd never have been. Aie not thine eyes and hands many times lifted up, in an imploration of mercy ? Canst thou deny, that liiou hast a trut% though but weak, appetite to the means, and further degrees of grace? W hat can this be, but that hunger and thir si after righ- teousness, to which our Saviour hath pronounced blessedness? Discomfort not thyself too much, my son, with the present dis- appearance of grace, during the hour of thy temptation. It is no otherwise with thee, than with a tree xw winter season, whose sap is run down to the root ; wherein there is no more shew c>f the life of vegetation by any buds or blossoms that it might put forth, than if it wi-re stark dead : yet, when the sun returns, and sends for'h les comfortable beams in the spring, it burgens out afresh; and bewrays that vital juice, which lay long hidden in the earih. No oiherwise. Ii26 PRACTICAL WORKS. than with the hearth of some good housewife, which is, towards night, swept up ; and liideth the fire, under the heap of lier ashes : a stranger would think it wore quite out : here is no ai)pearance of light, or heat, or smoke ; but, in that time she hath stirred it up a httle, the l)rigiit glceds shew tiicmselves, and are soon raised to a flame. Stay but till the spring, when the Sun of Righteous- ness shall call uj) thy moisture into thy branches ; stay but till the morning, when the hre of grace vAhicli was raked up in the ashes sluiil be drawn forth and (juickened ; and thou shalt iind cause to say of thy heart, as Jacob said of liis hard lotlging, Surtly, i he Lord is in this place^ and J knew it not \ Gen. xxviii. 16. Only do thou, not neglecting the means, wait patiently u])on God's leisure : stay tjuietly ui)on the bank of this Eethesda, till the angel descend and luove the water. SECT. II. Complaint of the insensibleness of the lime and means of convcrsioii ansxicicd. " T COULD gladly," thou sayest, "attend with patience upon God, in this great anJ happy work of the excitation of grace, were I but sure I bad it : could I be but persuaded of the truth of mv con- version. But it is niv great misery, that here I am at a sad and un- comfortable loss. For I have been taught, that every true convert can design the time, the place, the means, the manner of his con- version : and can shew, how near he was brought to the gates of death, how close to the very verge of hell, when God, l)y a mighty and out-stretched arm, snatched him away, in his own sensible aj)- preiiension, from the pit; and suddenly rescued him from that damnation ; and put him into a new state of spiritual life, and un- defeasible salvation. All which I cannot do : not finding in myself any such sudden and vehement concussion and heart-breaking ; any such forcible and irresistible operation of Ciod's S])irit within me: not being able to design tlie sermon, that converted me; or those particular approaches, that my soul made towards a hardly- recovered des]ieration." My son, it is not safe for any man, to take upon him to set limits to the ways of the Almighty ; or to prescribe certain rules to the ])roceediugs of that Iniinite Wisdom. Tliat most Free and All- wise Agent will not be tied to walk always in one jiath; but varies liis courses, according to the pleasine of his own will. One man, he calls suddenly ; another, by leisure : one, by a kind of holy violence, as he did St. Paul ; another, by sweet solici- tations, as Phili|j, Kathanael, AndrevN-, Peter, Matthew, and the rest of the Apostles : one man, he draws to heaven with gracious invitations ; another, he drives thither by a strong hand. We have known those, w ho, having mispent their younger times in notoriously lewd and debauclied courses, hving as without God, THE BAf.M OF GILFAD : UR, THF. ( HMFOnTFR. 127 yea, against him, have l)een sncldeiilv lioart-strickon uilli some powerful denunciation of judgment, which hath so wrought upon them, that it liath hronght tliem wiiliin sight of hell ; who, after long and deep humiliation, lia\c been raised up, through God's mercy, to a comfortal)lc sense of tiie divine favoin* ; and have pro- ceed(Hl to a very iiigh degree of regeneration, and hved and died Saints. Cut this is not every man's ease. Those, who, having from their iidancy been hronght up in the nurture and fear vf (he Lord, Kph. vi. 4. and from their youth have been trained np under a godly and conscionable ministry ; where tliey have been continually plied with the elfectual means of grace ; Prerepl upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little ; Isa. xxviii. 10. and have, by an insensible conveyance, re- ceived the gracious inoperations of the Spirit of God, (though not without many inward strifes with temptations and sad fits of hn- uiiliation for tiieir particular failings) framing them to a holy obe- dience : these cannot expect to find so sensible alterations in them- selves. As well may the child know when he was naturally born, as these may know the instant of their spiritual regeneration ; and as well may they see the grass to grow, as they can pe-ceive their insensible increase of irrace. It is enough, that the child, attainiuir to the use of reason, now knows that he was born ; and tliat when we see the grass higher than we left it, we know that it is grown. Let it then suffice thee, my son to know that the thing is done, though thou canst not deline the time and manner of doing it. Be not curious in matter of |)articular perceptions, while thou mayest be assured of the reality and truth of the grace wrought in thee. Thou scest the skilful chirurgeon, when he will make a fontinell in the bodv o^ his patient, he can d ) it either by a suddei\ incision or by a leisurely corrosive : both sort to one end, and etjuaUv tend towards health. Trust God with thyself; and let him alone, with his own work : what is it to thee, which way he thinks best to bring about thy salvation ? SKCT. 12. Complaint of irresolution and uncertain/j/, in nuitter of our electio)t, ain'wercd. *' All were safe," thou sayest, " if only I could be ascertained of mine election lo life: 1 could be jjatient, so I might be sunv. but, wretched nu^n that I am, here, here I stick 1 I see others walk con- fidently and comfortably, as if they were in heaven already : M-hereas, I drooji under a continual diltidence ; raising unto mysidf dady ne.v arguments of my distrust : could my heart be settled jn this assurance, nothing coiUd ever make me other than happy." It is true, my son, that, as all other mercies How from tins of our 128 PRACTICAL WORKS. election ; so, the securing of this one involves all other favours, that concern the well being of our souls. It is no less true, that our election may be assured : else the "Holy Ghost had never laid so deep a charge ui)on us, to do our ut- most endeavour to ascertain it : and we shall be much wanting to ourselves, if, hearing so excellent a blessing may be attained by our dihgence, we shall slacken our hand ; and not stretch it forth to the height, to reach that crown, whicli is held out to us. But, withal, it is true, that if there were not dilHcnlty more than ordinary in this work, the A])ostle had not so earnestly calleil for the utmost of our endeavour to efTect it *. Shortly, the truth is, in all Christianity there is no path, wherein there is more need of treading warily, than in this : on each side, is danger, and death. Security lies on the one hand ; presumption, on the other : the miscarriage, either way, is deadly. Look about thee, and see the miserable examples of both kinds. Some walk carelessly, as if there were no heaven; or, if there were such a place, yet as if it nothing concerned them : their hearts are taken up with earth ; neither care nor wish to be other, than this world can i\iake tliern : Tlic God of this lawld hailt blinded thiir minds tliat believe vot ; 2 Cor. iv. 4. Some others walk j)roud!y ; being vainly puft up with their own migrounded imaginations ; as if they were already invested with their glory ; as if, being rapt up with the Chosen Vessel into the tliird heaven, they had there seen their names recorded in the Book of Life : whereas, this is nothing but an illusion of that Lying Spirit, who knows the way to keep them for ever out of heaven, is to make them believe they are there. It must be thy main care, to walk even, in a just equidistance from both these extremes ; and so to compose thyself, that thou may est be resolute without presumption, and careful without difh-i dence. And first, I advise thee to abandon those false teachers, whose trade is to improve their wits for the discomfort of souls, in broach- ing the sad doctrines of uncertainty and distrust. Be sure, our Sa- viour had never bidden his disciples to rejoice that their names are 'written in hecnen ; (Luke x. 20.) if there had not been a particular enrolment of them ; or if that record had been alterable ; or if the same disciples could never have attained to the notice of such in- scription. >*eitlier is this a mercy peculiar to his domestic followers alone ; but universal to all, that shall believe through their word. Even thou and I are spoken to, in them. So sure as we have names, we may know them registered in those eternal records above. Not that we should take aa Acesius's ladder, and climb np into heaven, and turn over the book of God's secret counsels, and read ourselves designed to glory : but, that, as we by experience .see * 2Pct. i. 10. l7ra3:^cr«Tf. THE BALM OF GILEAD : OR, TUF, COMFORTFR. 129 .tliiit we can by reflections see and read ihose letters, Avliicli ilircrtly we cannot; so we n)ay tlo here, in tliis lushest of s|)iritii;d oljii-cis. The same Apostle, that f^ivc us our chari^e, gives us, \\ithal, our direction : Jt'/icrcforr, saith he, hnlhren, aive all i/ili^'eiicc to nude yimr calling and election sure : Siu ruv yiahMv e;iyuv, as diveis copies read it ; b^ good xcorks. Fo)\if \jc do these things^ ye shall nevn- fall : toy so an enf ranee shall he ministered to you abundunthi, i)ilo the everlasting kingdo)n of our Lord a/ul Saviour, Jesus Christ ; 2 Pet. i. 10, il. Lo, tii"st, our call ins: ; then, our election. Not that we should begin with heaven, and tlience descend to the eaitii : it is enough i'or tlie angels on that celestial ladder ol" Jacob, to l)oth descend and ascend : but tliat we siiould from earth ascend to heaven ; tVoui oiiv calling, {o ouv election ; as knowing, that God shews what Ite hath done tor usxibove, by that which he huili wrought in us here below. Our C(////«i^, therefore, first: not outward and formal; but in- ward and elfectnal. The Spirit of God hath a voice, and our soul hat!i an ear. That voice of the Spirit speaks ituvardiv and eliec- tnally to the ear of the soul, calling us ont of the state of corrupt iiature, into the state of grace; out of darkness, into his marvel- lous light. By tiiy calling, therefore, mayest thou juilge of thine Election. God never works in vain : neither doth he ever cast away his savuig graces ; whatever become of tlu' common. But, tehont he did pre- destinate, them also he called ; and whotn he called, iheni he justified ; and -whom he justified, them also he glorified ; Rom. viii. 30. " This, doui)tless," thou sayest, " is sure in itself; but how is it as.sured to me r" Resp. That, which the Apostle adds, as it is read in some coi)ies, Bij good works, if therein we also com]»rehend the acts of believing and repenting, is a notable evidence of oin* elec- tion. But, not to urge that clause, which, though read in the \'ul- gate, is found wanting in our editions ; the clear words of the text evince no less: lor, if ye do these things, ye shall nevr fall. Here is our negative certainty. And, for our positive ; So an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Lo, if we shall never lall, if we sha'.l ur)dou))tedly enter into the kingdom of Christ, what possible scruple can be made of the blessed accomplishment of our election r What then are these things, which must be done by us ? Cast your eyes uj)ou that preciqus chain of graces, which vou shall liud stringeii up m the foregoing words. If you add to ijour faith, vir- tue ; and to virtue, kno-xledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; aad to tonperanee, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness., brotherly kindness ; ami to brotherbj kindness, eharitu , 'J. Ht't. \. 5, G, 7. If you would know what G(hI hath uriiu-n concerning you in heaven, look into your own bosom : see what i^races he 3. K 1 30 PRACTICAL WORKS. hath there wrought in )-oii. Truth of grace, saith the divine Apo* stJe, will make gootl the certainty of your election. Not to instance in the rest of that heavenly combination, do but single out the tirst and the last, faith and charily. For Faith, how clear is that of our Saviour, lit, that hclicvcth in him that sent vie, hath eveiiasting life, and shall not come into con- demnation ; but hath passed f>om death to life! John v. 21. Lo, what access can danger have into heaven ? All the peril is in the way : now the believer is aheady passed into life. Tliis is the grace, by which Christ d-vells in our hearts ; Eph. iii. 17. and where- bv we liave communion with Christ, and an assured testimony of and from him : for, He, that belie-ieth in the Son of God, hath the liiliiessin himself; 1 Jolm v. 10. And what witness is that ? This is the record, that God hath given us ctonal life ,• and this life is in his Son. He, that hath the Son, hath life; vv. 11, 12, O liappy and sure connection ! Eternal life, first : this life eternal is in and by Christ Jesus : this Jesus is ours by faith : this faith wit- nesseth to our souls our assurance of life eternal. Charily is the last : which com])rehends our love both to God and man : for, from the reflection of God's love to us, there ariseth a love from us to God again. 1 he beloved disciple can say, We hxe him, because he lot ed ns first ; l John iv. 19. and from both these resulteth our love to our brethren. Behold, so full an evidence, that the Apostle tells us, expressly, that u'c kno^i'ire are passed from death to life, because tiH' lore the brethren; 1 John iii. 14. For the love of the Father is inseparable from the love of the Son : He, that loveth him that begets, lores him that is begotten of him ; 1 John v. 1 . "Now then, my son, deal unpartially with thine own heart. Ask of it seriously, as in the presence of the Searcher of all Hearts, Avhether thou dost not find in thyself these unfailing evidences of thine election. Art thou not effectually, though not perfectly, called out of the world and corrupt nature ? Dost thou not in- wardly abhor thy former sinful ways ? Dost thou not think of what tliou wert with detestation ? Dost thou not heartily desire and en- deavour to be in all things approved to God, and conformed to tliy Saviour? Dost thou not gladly cast thyself upon the Lord Jesus, and depend upon his free all-surticiency for pardon and salvation ? Dost thou not love that Infinite Goodness, who hath been so rich in mercies to thee ? Dost thou not love and bless those gleams of goodness, which he hath cast upon his Saints on earth ? In plain terms, dost thou not love a good man, because he is good ? Com- fort thyself in the Eord, my son : let no fainting cjualms of i'ear and distrust possess thy soul : Faithful is he, that hath called thee, who will -Azo presenr thy -whole spirit, and soul, and body blameless unto th(; coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ; 1 Thess. v. 24, 23. THE BALM OF GILKAD : OR, THE COMIOnTrR. 131 CHAP. III. COMFORTS ACiAlNST TEMPTATIONS. SECT. 1. Christ himself assaulted. — Our trial is for our good. Thou art haunted with Temjitations : that, wliich the enemy see^ he cannot tlo by force or iVaud, lie seeks to effect hy impor- tunity : — Can this seem strange to thee, when tiiou seest the Son of God in the wiklerness, forty days and forty nights, under the hand of the Tempter ? He, that durst iluis set upon the Captain of our SaU xafio)i, (Heb. ii. 10.) God hlesscd for ever, how ^h-A\ he spare frail Hesh and blood ? Why should that Saviour of thine, thinkest thou, sutler himself to be tempted, if not to bear thee out in all thy temptations ? The keys of the bottomless pit are in his hands : he could have shut up that Presumptuous Spirit under chains of dark- ness, so as he could have come no nearer to him than hell ; but he would let him loose, and permit him to do iiis worst, purposely, that we might not think much to be tempted, and that he mi"-ht foil that great enemy for us. Canst thou think, that he, who now sits at the right-hand of ma- jesty, commanding all the powers of heaven, earth, hell, could not easily keep off that Malignant Spirit from assailing thee ? Canst thou think him less merciful, than mighty ? Would he die to save thee ? and will he turn that ban-dog of hell loose upon thee to worry thee ? Dost thou not pray daily to thy Father in Heaven, that he would not lead thee into temptation ? If thou knowest thou hast to do with a God that heareth prayers, O thou of little faith, why fearest thou ? Lo, he, that was led by his own Divine Spirit into the wil- derness to be temptctl of that Evil S[)irit, bids thee pray to the Father, that he would not lead thee into temptation ; as implying, that thou couldst not go into temptation, unless lie lead thee ; and, while he that is thy Father leads thee, how canst thou mi*- cairy ? Let no i/iayi, when he is tempted^ say., I am tonpted of God : for God cayinot be tempted with evil ; jieither temptetk he any man ; James i. 13. God tempteth thee not, my son : yet know, that, being his, thou couldst not be tempted without him ; both permit- ting and ordering that temptation, to his own glory, and ihv good. That grace, which thy God hath given thee, he will iiave iliuse.\er- cised, thus manifested. So we have known some indulgent father, who, being assured of the skill and valour (jf his ilear son, put^ 133 PRACTICAL WORKS. Ij'mi upon tilLinp;s, nnd harriers, and pul>lic duels; and looks on ^\ ith contentnieni, as well knowing, that lie will come olV with ho- nour. How had we known the admiiable continency of good Jo- seph, if he had not been strongly solicited by a wanton mistress ? How had we known David's valour, if the Philistines luul not had a giantly challenger to encounter him r How had we known the in- vincible piety of the three children, if there had not been a furnace to try them f or, of Daniel, if there had been no lions to accom- pany him ? Be confident th}- glory shall be according to the ])ro- portion of thy trial : neither coiddst thou ever be so happy, if thou hadst not been beholding to temptations. SECT. 2. The poii'crfid assistance of God's Spirit; and the example of S(. Paul " How often," thou savest " have I beaten off these wicked suo-_ gestions: yet still, they turn upon me again, as if denials invited them; as if they meant to tire me, with their continual solicitations; as if I must yield and be over-laid, though not with their force, yet with their frequence ?" Know, my son, that thou hast to do with spiritual "wickednesses j Eph. vi. 12 : whose nature is therefore as unweariable, as their ma- lice unsatisfiable. Thou hast a spirit of thine own ; and, besides, God hath fjiven thee of his : so he looks thou shouldst, throucfh the power of his gracious assistance, match the miportunity of that Evil Spi)"it, witli an indefatigable resistance : Be strongs therefore^ in the Lord, and in the power of his might ; and put on the whole ar- viour of God, that thou nun/cst he able to xvithstand in the evil dai/, and hating done all to stand ; Ej)h. vi. 10, 11, 13. Lo(>k upon a stronger champion than thyself, the blessed Apo- stle : thou shalt find him in thine own condition : see the messen- ger of Satan sent to buffet him ; 2 Cor. xii. 7 : and he did it to pur- pose : how soundly was that Chosen Vessel buiVeted on both sides, and how often ! Thrice, he besought the Lord that it might depart from him ; but, even yet, it would not be : the temptation holds ; onl}- a <'omfort shall countervail it; My grace is sulficient for thee ; for my strength is made perfect in iveaiiness ; v. P. It is not so much to be considered, how hard thou art laid at, as how strongly thou art upheld. How many, with the blessed martyr Theodorus, have, upon racks and gibbets, found their consolations stronger than their pains ! While, therefore, tlie goodness of thy God sustains and suj)plics tliee w ith abundance of s[)iritual vigour and refreshment answerable to the worst of thine assaults, wiiut cause hast thou to complain of suifering ? The advice is' high and h(;roical, which the Apostle James gives ■to his com]>atriots : il/y brethren, count it ail joij^ zvhen ye fall iniu Tlir. UAI.M (.)r (ill.KAD : or, THK ( OMI-ORTFR. 13 i divers tcniplat ions ; James i. 2. Let tli(jse tcmptiitioiis be lailicr trials by aillictions, tlian suggestions of sin : yet, even those, over- come, yield no small cause of triumph ; for, by them, is oiu" faiili no less trieil, and the trying of our faith worketh patience, antl tlie j)erfect work of j)atience is a blessed entireness of grace. '1 he number of enemies adds to the praise of the \ ictory, to overcome single temptations, is conunendable ; !)ut, to sulxlue troops of temj)- tations, is glorious. SECT. 3. The restraint of our spiritual enemies ; and their oxermatching b\j the po~xer of God. " Alas," thou sayest, " I am overlaid, not with multitudes only, but with power. In all challenges of duels, there is wont to be re- s[)ect had to the equality, botli of the com!)atanls and weapons : but, woe is me, how am 1 overmatched ! For me, 1 am a weak uretch : and zi'e nwestle not against flesh and blood, but against prin- cipalities and poieers ; against the rulers of the dar/ine.<;s of this xcorld ; against spiritiuil wickedness in heavenly places ; E})h, vi. 12. Behold the yhnorite, ichose height is like the height of tJic cedars, aiul their strength as the strength of oaks ; Amos ii. 9. What are v. e, but poor pismires, in the valley, to these men of measures ? Jl'ho can stand before, these sons of Anak P" I did not advise thee, my son, to be strong in thyself: alas, we are all made up of weakness! one of tliose powers of darkness were able to subdue a whole world of men : but, to be strong in the Lord, whose lowest angel is able to vanqui>h a whole hell of devils ; and, in the po-jcer of his might, who commandeth the most furious of those infernal s[)irits to their chains. Woe were to us, if we were left to our own hands : there were no way with us, but foiling and death. But, our help is in the name of the Lord, yho hath made heaven and earth ; Ps. cxxiv. 8. The L.ord is our strength and our shield ; xwiii. 7. lie is our^ock and our salvation: he is our defence ; so as we shall not be moved ; Ixii. 2, 6. It is he, that hath girded us xcith strength unto battle ; and that subdue ih those. that rise up against us ; xviii. 39. Take courage, therefore, to thyself, man : tliere camiot be so much dilVcrence betwixt thee and those hellish powers, as there is betwixt them and the Almighty : their force is finite ; and lin)ited by his onnnpotence. How fain dost thon think .Taniies an-l Jambii^. the great magicians of K/g^pt, by the conjoined powers of lieli, would have matle but a louse, in an alVront to INlosesI yet they could not. How earnestly was that legion of devib fain to beg but for leave tn ; 1 John iii. 9. He may be transpoiteil whither he meant not;^ blithe makes not a trade of doing iU: his heart is against that, which his hand is drawn unto : and if, in this inward strife, he be overpowered, be lies not down in a wilhuu- yieldance, but strnnoles up again; and, m a resumed courage and indignation, tramples on that, which formerly supj)lanted hini. Didst thou give thyself over to a resolved cpurse of sinning, and, betwixt whiles, shouldst knock thy breast with a formal God for" he me, I should have no coinlort in store for thee; but send thee rather to the whipping- stock of the Almighty for due correc- tion, if possibly those seasonable stripes mjiy prevent thine ever- lasting torments : but now, since zchat thou hafesf, that thou dost ; and than dost that, which thou -jcouldest not ; and it is no more thou that dost it, but sin that dxt'clls in thee; Horn. vii. 15, 16, 17: cry out as much as thou wilt on the sinfulness of thv sin ; v. 13: be- wail thy weakness, with a better man than thyself; Oh, xf retched, man that I am, ivho shall deliver me from the body of this death ! V. 24 : but know, that thou hast found mercy with thy God: thy repeated sin njay grieve, but cannot hurt thy soul. Had we to do with a finite compassion, it might be abated by spending itself upon a frequent remission ; like as some great river may be 'drawn dry by many small outlets : but, now that we deal with a God whose mercy is as himself, intinite, it is not the great- ness or the mmiber of our offences that can make a diderence in his free remissions. That God, who hath charged our weak charit}', not to be overcome with eiil, but to overcome evil with good ; Kom. ^ii. 21 : .justly scorneth, that we should think his inlinite and in- comprehensible goodness can be checked with our evil. It WcLs not without a singular providence, that Peter came to our Saviour with that, question in his mouth, Zc»r/, how often shall 7)n/ brother sin against me, and /forgive him ? till seven tirnes ? Abut, xviii. 21: that it might fetch from that Blessed Son of God that gracious answer, for our perpetual direction and comfort ; / sat/ not unto thee, until seven times, hut wttil scroitij times sevoi ; I^hitt. xviii. 22. Lord, if thou wouldst have us sinful men thus indulgent to one another, in the case of our mutual otTeuces ; what limits can be set to thy mercies, in our sins against thee ? Be we peni- leiU, ihou canst not but be gracious. THE BALM OF GlI.EAD: OR, TUF. ca^rFORTER. W CHAP. IV. COMFORTS AGAINST WEAKNESS OF GRACE. SECT. 1. The common condition of all Sainfs. Tiiou conijjlaiiiest of the weakness ot grace: some little stirrings thou feclcst of (iocl's S|)irit within thee; but so feeble, that tiiou canst not nnd any b.ohd comfori in theui: tiiou seest otiiers, thou say est, whose breasts are full of milk, and their bones moislencd zvith inarnnv ; Job xxi. 24. while thou languishest under a spiritual leanness and imbecility '. thou wantest that vigorous heat of holy alfections, and tiiat alacrity in the j)erroiinance of holy duties wiiich thou observest in other Cini.stians: — I Jove this complaint of thine, my son; and tell tliee, that, with- out this, thou couidst not be in the w ay of being happy. Thiiikest tliou, that those, whom thou esieemest more eminent in grace, make not the same moan that thou dosi ? Certainly they never had any grace, if they did not complain to have too little. Every man best feels his own wants; and is ready to pass secret censures upon himself, for that, w herein he is applauded by others. Even the man after God's own heart can say, But I am poor and sorro-uful , Ps. Ixix, 29. He was a great king, when he said so: it was not meatmess in outward estate, that troubled him ; but a spi- ritual neediness : for he had before, in the same heavenly ditty jjrofessed, O (rod, thou knowest mi/ foolishness, and mu guiltiness is not hid from thee ; v. 5. It was an old observation of wise Solomon; There is, that maketh himself rich, and hath nothing : there is, that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches; Prov. xiii. 7. In this latter rank, are many gracious souls; and thine, I liojic, for one; who certainly had never been so wealthy in grace, if they had been conceited of greater store. Even in this sense, many a Saint may say with St. Paul, When I am weak, tlicn I am strong : since the very complaint oi weakness argues strength ; and, on the contrary, an opinion of burticient grace is an evident conviction of mere emptiness. Si:CT. 2. The impro\,emnd of weak graces ; and God's free distribution. But, suppose thyself so poor as thou pretendest; it is not so much, what we have, as how we imjirove it. How many ha\e we known, that have grown rich out of a little : whereiis, others, out of a great 138 TRACTICAL WORKS. Stock, have ran into debt and beggary ! Had that servant in the Gospel, who received but one talent, employed it to the gain of a second, he had been proportionably as well rewarded, iis he that with five fiaine>hoso hath lost is no better than civilly dead. SECT. 1. J.ike sufferings of the holiest ; yea, of Christ himself. TiIOU sufVerest under a j)nblic infamy : — I do not ask how ju >t!y. He was a wisi* man, that said, it was fit for every gootl man even to fear a false reproach. A good name is no less wounded, fur die time, with liiat, than with ajust crimination. 142 PRACTICxVL WORKiJ. This is a sore evil, my son; and such as, against which there is ro preservative, and lor which there is hardly any remedy. Inno- cence itseh' is no antidote against evil tongues. Neither greatness nor sanctity can secure any ma'; from unjust calumny. Might tluit be any ease to thy heart, I could tell thee of the greatest of Kings, and holiest of Saints, that have grievously com- plained of this mischief; and yet were not able to help themselves : thou hast the company of the best, that ever the earth bore, if that may be any mitigation of thy misery. Yea, what do I speak of sinful men, whose greatest purity might be blurred with some imperfections ? Look u])on the Lord of Life, the Eternal Son of the Ever-Living God, God clothed ii> flesh, and see whether any other were his lot, while he sojourned in this region of mortality. Dost thou not hear him, for his gracious social)leness, branded as a man gluttonous, a tcincbi/iber, a friend of publicans and sijincrs? Matt. xi. 19. Dost thou not hear him, for his powerful and merciful cure of demoniacs, blazoned for a fellow, that casts out devils through Beelzebub, the Prince of the Devils? Matt. xii. 24. Dost thou not hear him slandered to death, for treason against Caesar, and blasphemy against God ? John xix, 12. Matt. xxvi. 65. Dost thou not hear the multitude say, He is viad, and hath a devil? John x. 20. Dost thou not hear him, after this death, charged with imposture? Matt, xxvii. 63. And can there be any woi-se names than glutton, drunkard, conjurer, traitor, blasphemer, madman, demoniac, impostor ? Who now can lienceforth think mucli to be slandered with meaner crimes, when he hears the most holy Son of God, in whose mouth was no guile, and in whom the prince of this world could find nothing, (John xiv. 30.) laden with so heinous calumnia- tions .'' SECT. 2. Our recourse to God. Thou art smitten with a foul tongue : — I marvel not, if it go deep into thy soul. That man gave a high praise to his sword, that said it was sharper than slander : aiul if a razor be yet sharper, ijuch did David find the Edomite's tongue; Ps. hi. 2. And, if these weapons reach not yet far enough, he found both spears and arrows in the mouths of his iraducers ; Ps. Ivii. 4. Lo, thou art but in the same case v, iiii the man after CJod's owr» heart. What shouldst thou do, but, for David's complaint, make use of David's remedy .? / will cry •unto God most high ; unto Gody that performeth all things for me : He shall send from heaven, and save 7ne /ro77i the reproach of him, that would sivallow tne up : God shall send forth his mercy and his truth ; Ps. Ivii. 2, 3. Do by thy slander, as Hezekiah did by the railinj^ lines of Kabshakeh, spread them before the Lord : and leave thy quarrel TUK BALM OF GILEAD : OR, THE CO.MFORTF.R. 143 ill the just hands of that ^eat Arbiter of Heaven and F.iirth, ulm will be sure, in his good time, to revenge thy wrong, and to clear thine innocence, and will ni^nttf thee good for these causeless curses ; 2 Sam. xvi. 12. SECT. 3. The clearness of our conscience. *' In the mean while," thou sayest, " 1 stand l)lemishod with an odious aspersion : my name passes through many a foul mouth." Tiiou hearest, my son, what some oilicrs say : but what dost thou hear from the bird in thy bosom' If thy conscience acquit thee, and pronounce thee guiltless, obdure thy forehead against ull the spite of malice. What is ill fame, but a little corru[)ted un- savoury breath ? Do but turn away thine ear, that thou receive Jt not ; and what art thou the worse ? <^h, thy weakness, if thou tjulfer thyself to be blown over, by the mere air of some putrefied lungs ; which, if thou do but a little decline by shifting thy foot, will soon vanish. SECT. 4. The improrcment of our reason. Thou art under ill tongues : — This is an evil proper only unto man. Other creatures arc no less subject to disease, to death, to outward violence than he : but none else can be obnoxious to a detraction ; since no other is ca})able of speech, whereout a slander can be formed. They have their several sounds and notes of ex[)ression, whereby they can signify their dislike and an^er : but only mau can clothe his angry thoughts with words of onence ; so as that faculty, which was given ium for an advantage, is depraved to a further mischief. But the same liberal hand of his Creator hath also endued him with a property of reason, which, as it ought to for them, ihan for om- own. Old indulgent Eli lovcul his sous too well ; and was therefore, no doubt, very sensible of their death; 3 et that part of the news THE BALM OF CILFAD; OK, Till-. COMrORTKR. 117 passed over with some, not mortal, passion: But, when he lieanl of the ark of God taken, Jiow his neck and his heart were hrokiMi together; 1 Sam. iv. 17, 18: and his rehj^ioiis danghter-in-law, though she were dehvered upon this report of a son, yet slie died in travail of that lieavy news; and eoidd hvc only to say, Ichahod, The. ij^lory is dcpavtcd from Tsracly for the ark- of God is laker ; vv. 21,22: disreuardino- her new son, when she heard of the io^s of her people and of her God. How many Pagans have we read of, that have died resolutely for their country ; cheerfully sacriiicing themselves to the |hi1)1ic ! lion- many, that" would die 'with their country, hating to think of over-living the common ruin ! how many, that have professed a scorn to be beholden for their lives to their })eople's murderer! We shall as soon e\'tin<;uisli both orace and nature, as (luit this comj)assionate sense of the coumiou caUunities. SECT. 3. The sure protection of the Almighlij. Thou grievest for the public distempers : — IVIourn not, as one without faith. Be sure, He, that keepeth Israel, will neither slum- ber ?wr sleep. Wherefore was the holy tabernacle overspread with a strong tent of skins (Exod. xxvi. 7.) but to figure out unto us God's Church sheltered under a sure protection ? He, that waij so curious of the custody of his material temple, by night as well as by day, that a sleeping Levite might not escape beating, and burning of garments; how careful do we think he will ever be, of his spiritual and living house ! How unmeet judges are we, of liis holy proceedings! We are ready to measure his love still by an outward ])rosperity, than which nothing can be more uncertain. The Almighty goes by other rules : such as are most consonant to his inhnite justice iuu[ mercy. I am abashed to hear a Pagan*^, though no vulgar one, say, •' Whatsoever is b:ought to pass, a wise man thinks ought to be so done; neither goes ub(;ut to rebuke nature, but fnids it best to sulfer what he cannot alter." And shall we Christians re[)ine at those seemingly harsh events, which we see fall out in GoiPs Church, while we are ignorant of his designs; and be ready to bless a thriving profaneness ? Look abroad, uj;on the ancient lot of God's inheritance, and their corrivals in glory : thou shalt see the family of Esau flourish- ing and renowned; yielding, besiiics Dukes, eight Kin_i;,s of his line ; while poor Lmel was toiling and sweating in the Egyptian fur- naces : yet we know the word to staiul inviolal)le, 'J he elder shall sene the younger ; and, Jacob have J Ivjcd, Ksau luue I hated. \V'Iiat if ilnit great and -.Ni.se C'od, who works ofttimes by con- traries and brings liuht out of tiaikness, have nurr)osed to fetcW ■* Siiiess to iiis Cluirch out of this siul affliction ? INIotals arc uevci' so briglit, as when tlicy arc scovired ; ])crlunies and spices never so redolent, as when they have ielt the (ire and the pestle. \V lit tliou not give the pliysician leave to make use of his niithridate, because there arc^ vipers in the composition ? How uiiuortliy art thon ot" health, it" thou wilt not trust the hdelity and skill of the artist, in mixing so wholesome a cordial ! SI-:CT. L The justice of GocVs proceedings. TubVi art troubled with the public miseries : — Take heed that thy grief be clear of all ini;)iety, W'ouldst thou not have God to be- just, that is, tiimselfr W'ouldst thou not allow it an act of his jus- tice, to punish sins ? Canst tb.ou deny that our sins have reached \\\) to heaven, and called for judgment ? Whjj is the living man sor- roxcful? man suff't-reih for his sins ; Lam. iii. ?>9. I read of a devout man, that was instant with God in his prayers, for a nation not far olT; and was answered, " .Sutler the proud to be humbled." Whether we will suffer it or no, the just God will humble the proud, and punish the sinful. The wonderful patience, anli well to the piililic; and make tliiiu' own peace wirh thy God, for thy particular offences. Renew thy covenant witli Goil, of a more holy and strict ohedience; and then pour out t'lv pravei-s and tears, for a nniver- sid mercy : so shah thou not onlv ])iill awav one hranil from this consuming fire, hut help eilectually to qucncii the t.onimon coiiHa- gration. SECT. 6. T/ic itnspcakablt miseries of a eiiil zcqi'. Thy heart bleeds to see the woeful vastation of civil discord ; and the deadly furv of home-hred enemies: — Certainly, there is nothing under heaven more ghastly and dread- ful, tiian the face of an intestine war; nothing, that doth so nearly resemble hell. Woe is me ! here is altoirether kiHintj, and dvinu, and torturing, and burning, and shrieks, and cries,- and ejulations, and fearful sounds, and furious violences, and whatsoever may either cause or increiise horror. The j)resent calamity ofjpresses one ; another, fear: one is (luifering in (ieath ; another trembles to expect \t: one begs for life ; another will sell it dearer : here, one Avould rescue one life, and loseth two; there, another would hide himself, where he finds a merciless death : here lies one bleeding, and groaning, and gasping, parting with his soul in extreniitv of anguish; there, another of stronger spirits kills and dies, at once: here, one wrings her hands, and learb her hair, and seeks for some instrument of a self-inHieted death, rather than vie'd her chaste body to the lust of a bloody ravisher; there, another clings insepara- blv to a dear husbtmd, and will rather take pan of the murderer's swortl, tlian let go her last eml)races : here, one, tortured for the discovery of hid treasure; there, another, dying upon the rack, out of jealousy. Oh, that one man, one Christian should he so bloodily cruel to another! Oh, that he, who bears the nnage of ihe merciful God, should thus turn fiend to his own flesh and blood ! Tiiese are terri- ble things, my son, and worthy of our bitterest lamentations and just feais. I love the speculation of Seneca's resolutelv-wise man*, that could look upon the glittering sword of an executioner, v\ith erect- ed antl undazzled eyes; that makes it no matter or dihere.nce, whe- ther his .soul pass out at his mouth or at his tl:roat : but I should more arlmiie the |)ractice. Whde we carry this clay about us, r.a- t'lre cannot but, in ilie holiest men, shrink in at rh( sight and sense of these tyraimous and tragical acts of death. Yet even these are the due ie\enges of tlie Almighty's punitive instice ; so provoked by our sins, as that it may not iuac up with an * Sen. lip. To. 150 PRACTICAL WORKS. easier judgment. Dost thou not see it oidinaiy with our physicians, when they find the bod}' liigldy distempered, and the blood foul and enthuncd, to order the openmg of a vein ; and tlie drawino- out of so niunv ounces, as may leave the rest meet for coiTcction ? Why art thou over-troubled, to see tlic Great Physician of the \V orld take this course with sinful mankind ? Certainly, liad not this great body, by mis-dieting and wilful disorder, contracted these s{)iritual diseas,es under which we languish ; had it not impured the blood, that runs in these commou veins, with riot and surleits ; we had never been so miserable, iis to see these torrents of Christian blood running down our channels. Now yet, as it is, could we bewail and ahaudon our former \\ickedness, we might live .n hope, that, at last, this deadly issue might stop and dry up ; and that there might be yet left a possibility of a blessed recovery. SECT. 7. 77ie Xi'orful miseries of Pes'ilcnce, allayed by eonsideration of the hand that smiles ics. Thou art confounded with grief, to see the pestilence raging in our streets; in so frequent a mortality, as breeds a question con- cerning the number of the living and the dead : that, which is wont to abate other miseries, heightens this ; the company of par- ticipants : — It was certainly a very hard and sad option, that God gave to King David, after his sin of numbering the peoj)le : Choose theCy whether seven 7jears\famine shall come unto thee in thy land, or three vw)iths\fligh'. bfore thine enemies, or three days' pestilence ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 13. Vv'e may believe the good King, when we hear him say^ / am in a great strait. Doubtless, so he was : but his wise resolu- tions have soon brought him out ; Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great ; and let me not fall into the hand of man. He, that was to send these evils, knew their value ; and the dif- ference of their malignity : yet he opposes three days' pestilence, to seven years' famine, and three months' vancjuishment : so much odds he knew there was, betwixt the dull activity of man and the cjuick dispatch of an angel. It was a favour, that the ar;gel of death, who in one night de- stroyed a hujidred fourscore and five thousand Assyrians (2 Kings xix. 3.").), should, in three days, cut olf but seventy thousanil Is- raelites : .t was a great mercy it was no worse. We read ol one, city shall I call it, or region, of Cairo, wherein eighteen hunilred thousand were swept away in one year's pestilence ; enow, one woukl think, to have ]jco[)led the whole earth : and, in our own Chronicles, of so general a mortality, tiiai the living were hardly sufficient to bury the dead. These arc dreadful demonstrations of Clod's heavy displeasure; TIIR BALM OF (JILRAD: OR, 1 HE rOMFOIlTER. 1">1 Imt vet there is this alleviation of our mibery, that \\c siifler more imiuediatelv iroin a liol\ , just, uiereitii! CitxI. 'I'lie Kiui^ly Pro- phet had never niaile that (.lislinctioii in his woeful cIidk e, it" he Jku! not known a notahle clilFerencc, hetwixt the sworJ ol'au angel aiul an enemy ; heiwixl God's more diitri and inunediate iiitlic- tion, and that wliieli is derived to us throuiih tlu^ malice of men. It wiui but a poor consolation, that is gi\en hy a victorious enemy to dying Lausus, in the Poet; "C'onilort tliyseilin thy di-ath with tliis, tliat thou tallest hv the hand of ixreat /Fneas :" hut, surely, \\e have just rea^;on to raise comfort to our souls, when the j)ains oi a pesti- lential death compass us about, from the thought and intuition of that holy and gracious luiiid, under uhich we sidTer; so lis we c;ni say, with good Kli, 7/ is ihe Lord. It is not amiss, that wc call those marks of deadly infection " God"s Tokens:" such, sure, they 2re ; and ought, therefore, to call up our eyes ruid lie;nts t(Mhtvt Almiiihtv ijower that sends them, with the faithful resolution oi iioiv Job. Thoush thou kill vie, yd nil/ I hia^t in '/ice. It is none of the least miseries of contoijions sickiiess, that it bars us from the comfortable society and attendance ot' friends ; or, if otherwise, repays their love and kind -v isitation with death. Be not dismaved, mv son, with this sad solitude: thou hast comi-;«nv with thee, whom none iniection can endanger or eNchide : there is arr invisible ir end, that will be sure to stick by thee so much more closely, by how much thou art more avoitietl !)v ne;gh!)Ours ; pnd will make all thy bed in thy sickness; and snpjdv tliee with tiiose cordials, which thou shouldcst in vain exjject froiii earthly visi- tants. Indeed, justly do we style this, " The Sickness ;" emine:!tlv grievous, both for the deadimess antt)p (ju the sudden; and to leave, tis at once, ere we could think of it, both safe and healthful. This was Ihe Lord'.3. THE BALM OF GILEAH : OR, THE COMFOUTER. U'i SKC"J\ 2. The true groinul of an undcfcasible aij(>yi)ig of our friends. TllOU art pjrieved for the loss of a dear tVieiul : — Take lieecl, lost thy love hud too imich olthe man, and loo little ot" God. All ))le.ss- iiii^s, as they come ;rud«j;e his just dial- lenge of liis own ? w ilt ihou not allow him to call iox a cons\unm;'.- tion of that lianpv match ? Didst thou so over-love her outside, that thou wouldst not have her soul glorious? If thou lovedst h.er not as a man, but as a C'liristian, envy her not to that bi'tter Hus- band above, who gives her no less ilovvry than immortality. SECT. <^. The mil ig.it ion rfthe loss of a dear and hopeful son. Tliv son is dead : — What marvel is it, that a mortal father hath br- got a mortal son r Marve! rather, tiiat thyself iiath livetl to have or to lose a son. We lie o\iC\\ to so many deaths, that our very sul)- sistance is almost miraculous. Thou bast lost a piece of lliy r.cih : for, what are our children, THE BALM OF GILF.AD : OR, THE COMFORTFR. 155 bat as colonies clediited from our own flesli r yea, rather oursclve* made up in oilier motlels. This loss cannot hut go near tiitc. But, tell me, wiiat was the di.sj)ositiou of the son thou mournc^t for? If he were graceless and debauched, as thy shame so thy sorrow should die with him : set the hopes tliou mightest have had of hig reclaimiii;^ against the fears of his coniinuiiig and increasing wick- edness, and thou couldst have made no other present accouiit hut of dishonour and discomfort. If it be sati, thut lie is taken auuy in his wildness ; it had been more heavy, that he wouiti have added to the hea|) of his sin, and therein to his torments. If he were gracious, he liad a better Fat!»er than thyself, whose interest was more in him than thine: and if that Ileaverdv Kaiher have tiiought good to prefer him to a crown of immortal glorv, why shonldst thou be afilicted with his advancement r \V"l)y shouldst thou not rather rejoice, that thy loins have helped to furni>h iiea- ven w ith a Saint ? Were it put to thy choice, tliat thv son m e better riches, which shall make tfiv soul hapj)y ; and thou shalt not l)e too much troubled, with the W-m, of this trivial ani capable of loss, as it is unsatisfving in t!ie tune of an unperfec and unsure fruition; so, in losing, it turns e\d. I)itlst thou not know that riches haw z,tn^sy Prov. xxiii. j : autl )io6 PKACTICAL WORK?. what use is tlierc of win^^s, it" not to fly ? If anollier man's violence shall clip those \vinricking his hngers. He * was famous amongst the Jewish Doctors, whose rule it was, " He, that multiplies riches, nuiltiplies cares:" and our Blessed Saviour hath coupled these two together. The cares of the worlds and the deceitfidness of riches ; Mark iv. 1 !>. We have heard of one, who was glad to be rid of his lately- found ba^, that he might sleep and sing again. He was noted and envied at Rome for his wealth, wliich could eKperimcntally say, "The poor man laughs more often aiul more heartily tiian the richf:" and tells us, that "outward felicity is an uiu^uiet thing, ne- ver ceasing to vex itself if.'"' Thy sides are now rid of these thorns : why dost thou grumble •at thine own ease ? SECT. 7. r The imperiousness of ill-used -wealth. Thou lately possessedst great riches : — Yea, mayest thou not ra- ther say, thou wcrt possessed of them ? That wise Roman truly observed, that "many a one hath wealth, * RaL. GamaUcl f Sei). Ep. SO. ; Epist. 36. THE UALM or GILEAD : OR, THF. COMFORTKR. 1 j? ^A5 we are wont to say, a man hatli taken an ague ; when, incleeil, the a"ue hath taken him, and hohls him in a painful manner *." The truth is, many a man's weuhh is liis master, and keeps him under hard conditions; not allowinir iiiui sutiicient diet, not com- petent rest, not any recreation. It tiiou wert thus a drudge to thine estate, thou art now thine own man : enjoy thy hberty ; and, tosetlier with thv patience, be iliankt'ul. SECT. 8. The causes and means of impoverishing us. Thou art very poor : — Who made thee so ? If thme own neghgence, laziness, improvidence, unthriftiness, rash engagements; tiiou hadst reason to bear that burthen, whicii thou iiast pulled upon thine own shoulders : and, if thou be forced to make many hard faces under the load ; yet, since thy own will hath brought upon thee this necessity, even the necessity should move thy will to trudge away, as lightly and as t\ist as thou may est,, with that pressing weigiit. if the mere oppresN.on and injury of others, thou shalt the more comfortably run away with this cross, because thine own hand hatk not been guilt}- of imposing it. How easy is it for thee here, to see God's hand chastising thee by another man's sin ! and more to- be grieved at the sin of that other's wrong, than at thine own smart ! How sad a thing it is, for any good soul to see brethen a prey to each other ! that neighbours should be like the reed and the brake set near together, whereof the one starves the other ! tiiat we should have daily occasion to renew that woeful comparison of our Bro- miard f, betwixt the friends and enemies of Christ ; That Jews do not suHer beirsjars ; that Chrisiiaub make beotrars I ^ In the meuLi time, if God think fit to send jjoverty to thv door ujion the nie.ssage of men, bid it vve'conie, for the sake of him, that sent it ; and entertain it, not grudgingly, for its own sake ; as that, which, if it be ^veli used, will repay thee with many bless- ings : the l)icssi;)gs of (juiet rest, safe security, humble patience, contented huiuilicy, contemptuous valuation of these earthly things; uli which had balived thy house, in a prosperous condition. SECT. i). The e^ramples of ! hose • ■"■ ^uive afficted pcvertif. Thou art slri]>ped f>f thy firuier t LJuvL-niences for dift, for lo.i'ina-. for atlcndance: — How njduy hu\r juujtOiely alVected to do that out '^ Kp. 109. t UiOMJ. V. HIeemoiyna, 160 PRACTICAL WORKS. of choice, wliich is bei'ailen thee upon need: some, out of the grounds of philosophy ; others, of rcHgiou ! Attains, the ]:>hiiosopher, mioht have lain soft ; yet he calls for and praises the beil and |)illo\v, that will iiot yield to his body * : and Nero's great and rich master brags of his usual dining u ithout a table f- What should I tell then of the Pharisees' uneasy conches and pe- nal garments r of the mats of the elect INIanichees ? of the austere usages of the ancient Kremitical Christians ? their rigorous absti- nences, their alTamishing meals, theirnightly watchings, their cold ground-lyings, their sharp disciplines ? Thou ait in ease and delicacy, in comparison of these luen, wlm voluntarily imposed upon themseUes these hardnesses, which thou wouldst be loth to undergo from others^ cruelty. It was a strange word of Epicurus, the philosoplier, not savour- ing of more contentment than presum})tion : " Give us but water, give us but barley -mea!, and we shall \ie with Jupiter himself for happiness X :" and if this Ethnic, who was in an ill name for ailec- tation of])!easure, could rest so wcMI pleased with a poor mess of water-gruel; what a shame were it lor us Christians, not to lie \\c[\ apaid with a much larger, tluM.gh but homely, provision ! CHAP. IX. COMFORTS AGAIXST IMPUISONM!' N ; . SEC1\ 1. The nature and power of true liherty. Thou art restrained of thy liberty :— 1 cannot blame thee to be sen- sible of the affliction. Liberty is wont to hold competition fordear- ness, with life itself: yea, how many have lost then* life, to pur- chase their libcr'^y ! But, take; heed, lest thou be either mistaT<(!n, oi- guilty of thine own complaint : for, certainly, tliou f;anst not be bereaved of thy liberty, except thou wilt. Liberty is a privilege of the will : will is a sovereign power, that is not subject to either restraint or coiKstraint, Hast thou, therel'ore, a freedom within ; a f.iU scope to thine own thouohts } It is not the cooping uj) of these outward parts, that can make thee a Prisoner. Thou art not worthy of tlie name of a man, if thou thinkest this body to be thyself: and that is only it, which human power can reach unto. » Sen. Epist. 108. I ICpisi. 83. + Epic, in Ep. Sen. 1 10. TUf. DAI.M or CILX/.D: or, IHF, comforter. IGi Bo>iiles, art iliou a Chn^tiiin ? then iliou hast learned to submit tin- vviJI to God's : God's will is declared in his actions; for, sure,; wtiat lie doth, tJiat he wills to do. If his uill be then to have thee restrained, why should it not be thine ? And, if it be thy will to keep in, what ilost thou complain of reatianit ^ SECT. 2. The sad ohjecls of a free bdioldcr^s e\)e. Thou art restrained : — Is it such a matter, that thou art not suflVr- ed to come abroad ? How i!l iiast diou spent thy time, if thoa hast not laid up matter, both of employment and contentment, in thin/;j, own bosom ! , ' ^ And what such goodly pleasure were it for thee, to look over the tvorld, and to behold those o])jects xvliich thine eye shall there meetf withal : here, men fighting ; there, women and children wailing : here, plunders ; there, riots : here, fields of blood ; there, towns- and cities tianiing : here, some scuffling for j^itrimonies ; there,"^ others wrangling for religion : here, some famishing for want ; there, othei-s abusing their fulness : here, sciiisms and heresies ; there, ra- pines and sacrileges ! What comfortable spectacles these are, to at- tract or please our eyes ! Thy closeness frees thee from these sights; the very thought whereof is enough to make a man miserable: ahd, instead of them, presents thee only with the face of thy keeper, which custom, and necessity, hatii acquitted from thy first horror. SPXT. 3. The invisible company^ that cannot be kept from tis. Thou art shut up close within four walls, and all company is se- cluded from thee : — Content thyself, my son : God and his an^eis cannot be kejit out: thou hast better company in thy solitude, than thy liberty afforded thee. The jollity of thy freedom robbed thee of the conversation of these spiritual companions, which only can render thee happy : they, which before were strangers to thee, are now thy guests; yea, thy inmates, if the fault be not thine, to dwell with thee in that forced retiredness. U'hal ii'the light be shut out from tliee ? Tiiis cannot hinder thee from seeing the Invisible: The darkness hidtth not from tktt; saiih the Psalmist ; but the night shineth as the day : the darkness and the light are both alike to thee ; Ps. cx.wix. 12. ' Yea, I doubt not to say, God hath never been so clearly seen, as in the darkest dungeon^ ; for the outward light of prosperity dis- tracts our vJsive beams, wliich are strongly contracted in a deep ob- S. M 16'2 PRACTICAL WORKS. scurity. Tie must descend low, and be eouipassed with darkness, that would see the glorious lights of heaven by day : tliey ever shine; but are not seen, save in the night. May thine eyes be blessed with this invisible sight, thou shalt not envy those that glitter in court, and that look daily upon the faces of kings and princes ; yea, though they could see all that the Tempter rc[)resented to the view of our Saviour upon the highest mountain ; all the kingdoms of the worlds and the glory of than. SECT. 4. The inxcard disposition of the prisoner. Thou art forced to keep close : — But with what disposition, both of mind and body ? Ifthouhadst an unquiet and burdened soul, it were not the open and free air, that could refresh thee ; and if thou have a clear and light heart, it is not a strict (-loseness, that can dis- may thee : tin- thoughts can keep thee company, and cheer up thy solitariness. If thou hadst an unsound and painful body ; as, if thou wert laid up of the gout, or some rupture, or luxation of sonu^ limb; thou wouldst not complain to keep in : thy pain would make thee insensible of the trouble of thy confinement: But, if God have fa^ voured thee with health of body, how easily mayest thou digest a harmless limitation of thy person ! A wise man, as Laurentius the Presbyter observed well, doth much while lie rests: his motions are not so beneficial, as his sitting still. So mayest thou bestow the hours of thy close retiredness, that thou mayest have cause to bless God for so ha])py an o[)por- tunity. How memorable an instance hath our asre vielded us, of an emi- iient person *, to whose encagement we are beholden,^ besides many pliilosophical experiments, for tliat noble History of the World, which is now in our hands ! The Court had his youihlul and freer times ; the l^jwer, his later age : the Tower relbnned the Court in Jiim; and produced those worthy monuments of art and industry, which we should liave in vain expected from his freedom and jol- lity. It is observed, that sinning wood, when it is ke])t within doors, loseth its light. It is otherwise with this aiul many other active wits, which iiad never shined so much, if not for tlieir cjoseness. SECT. 5. The willing choice ofietircdness in some perso)is. Thou art close shut up ; — I have seen anchorites, that have sued for this as a favotir, which thou esteemest a punishment ; and, hat- *' Sir Walter llalci^h. THE BALM OF CILF.AD : OR, THE CO.MrOin'FI!. I ":i ing obtained it, have; placed merit in that wherein tliou aj)i)rcliendcsL misery. Yea, our History tells us of one, who, when tiie church, wliereto his cell was amicxed, was on iire, wouki not come out to live; l)ut would die, and lie buried under tiie ashes of that roof, where liis \<)\v had lixed him. Suj){)OS(; tjiou dost that out of the re- solution ofthiue own will, which thou dost out of another's nece»- sitating, and thou shalt sit down contented uiili thy lot. SECT. 6. IVie causes of imprisonvient. Tliou art itr.prisoned : — ^^'ise men are wont, in all actions and events, to enquire still into the causes. Wherefore dost thou sufler? Is it for thy fault ? Make thou thy gaol God's CJorrection-Ilouse for veforminti; of thy misdeeds. Remember, and imitate Manasseh, the evil son of a good father; who, upon true humiliation, by his just imjirisonment, found a happy expiation of his horrible idola- tries, murders, witchcrafts ; whose bonds brought him home to God and himself. Is it for debt ? Think not to pay those who have entrusted thee, with a lingering durance, if there be power in thy hand for a dis- charge : there is fraud, and injustice, in this closeness : fear thou a w(jrse prison, if thou wilt needs wilfully live and die in a just in- debtment, when thou mayest be at once free and honest : stretch thine ability to the utmost, to satisfy others v/ith thine own impo- verishing. But, if the hand of God hath humbled and disabled thee, labour what thou canst to make thy peace with thy creditors : if thev will needs be cruel, look up with patience to the hand of that God, who thinks fit to atHict thee with their unre'asonablcness ; and make the same good use? of thy sufferings, which thou vvouldst do from the inmiediate hand of thy Creator. If it be for a good cause, rejoice in this tribulation ; and be ho- lily proud and glad, with the blessed Apostles, that thou art counted li'orihi/ lo suffer shame and bonds for the imme of Cue Lord Jesus ; Acts V. 41 : for every just cause is his: neitiier is he less a martyr, that sufVers for his conscience in any of God's conunandments, than he who suffers for matter of faith and religion. Remember that cordial word of thy Saviour, BLessed are Iheij, that are persecutedfor righteousness'' sake ; for theirs is the kingdom of Iwaten. In such a prison, tliou slialt be sure to fmd good com[)any. There, thou shalt find Joseph, Micaiah, Jeremiah, John Baptist, Peter, Paul and Silas, and (what should I think of the poll ?) all the ho!y Martyrs and Confessors oi" Jesus Christ, from the lirst j)Iautation of the ( jospel to this i)resent day. Repent thee, if thou canst, to be thus matched ; and choose rather to violate a good conscience an J be free, than to keep it under a muinentary restraint. }6 1 PRACTICAL WORKS. SECT. 7. The goodness of retivedness v ami the partner ship of the soul's imp)i- sonment. Thou art a prisoner : — ^lake the host of thy condition : close air is warmer tliau open : and liow ordinarily do we hear hirds sing sweeter notes in their cages, than they could do in the wood ! It shall be thine own fault, if thou he not bettered b}* ihy reiiredness. Thou art a prisoner : — so is thy soul in thy body : there, not re- strained only, but fettered ; yet complains not of the straitness of these clay walls or the weight of these bonds, but patiently waits for a happy gaol -delivery. So do thoti attend, wiih all long-sntler- ing, the good hour of the pleasure of thy God. Thy period is set, not without a regard to thy good ; yea, to thy best. He, in whose hand are all times, shall find and hath determined a fit time, to free both thy body from these outward prison-walls, and thy soul from this prison of thy body ; and to restore both body and soul /ro?« the bondage of corruption, to the glorious liberty of the sons of God ; Horn, viii. 21. CHAP. X. COMFORTS AGAINST BANISHMENT. SECT. 1. The universality of a wise man^s country. Thou art banished from thy country : — Beware lest, in thy com- plaining, thou censure thyself. A wise man's country is every where. What such relation hath the place, wherein thou wert born, to thy present being ? What, more than the time, whci^ein thou wert born ? What reason hast thou to be more addicted to the re- gion, wherein thou fellest, than to the day of the week, or hour of the day, in which thou salutedst the light ? \V^hat are times and places of our birth, but unconcerning circumstances ? Wherever thou farest well, thou mayest either find or make thy country. " But," thou sayest, " there is a certain secret property in our native soil, that draws our aifection to it ; and tics our hearts to it, not without a pleasing kind of delight, whereof no reason can be yielded : so as we affect the place, not because it is better than others, but it is because it is our own *. Ulysses doth no less value the rocky soil of his hard and barren Ithaca, than Agamenmon doth the noble walls of his rich and pleasant Mycenai." " * Sen. Ep, 6Q. THE BALM or GJLKAn: OH, THE COMrORTER. Ifi5 I grant this relation hath so powerful an inrtueiice upon onr liearts naturallv, as is pretended ; vet such a one, as is easily checked with a small nnkindness. How manv have we known, who, npon an actual affront, not of the greatest, have diverted their respects from their native C(Mnitrv ; and, out of a strong alienation ot mind, have turned their love into hostility ! We shall not need to seek tar for histories : onr times and memories will furnish us too well. Do we not see those, who have sucked the breasts of our Common Mother, u])on a little dislike to have spit in her face ? Can we not name our late home-bred compatriots, who, npon the disrelish ol some displeasing laws, have Hown off from their country', and suborn- ed treasons, and incited foreign princes to our invasion ? So as thou seest this natural afVcciion is not so ardent in many, but that it may be quenched with a mean discontentment. If, therefore, there were no other ground of thine affliction, thy sorrow is not so deep- rooted, but that it may be easily pulled up. SECT. 2. The benefit of self -conversation. '•' It is not the air or earth," that thou standest upon : " it is the company," thou sayest, " from which it is a kind of death to part. I shall leave ail acquaintance and conversation, and be cast npon strange faces, and languages that 1 understand not : my best enter- tainment will be solitude ; my ordinary, inhospitality." What (lost thou affright thyself, my son, with these bu^s of need- less terror ' He is not worthy of the name of a Philosopher, much less of a Christian Divine, that hat not attained to be al)solute in himself; and, which way soever he is cast, to stand upon his own bottom ; and that, if there were no odier men left in the world, could not tell how to enjov himself. It is that within us, whereby we must live and be happy : some additions of complacency may come from without : sociahle natures, such is man's, seek and fiml pleasure in conversation ; but if that be denied, sanctilied sjjirits know how to converse comfortably with their God and themselves. SECT. 3. Examples of those holy ones, that have abandoned society. How many holy ones of old have purposely withdrawn themselves from the company of men, that they might be blessed with an in- visible society ; that have exchanged cities for deserts, houses for caves, the sight of men for beasts; that their spirituid eyes might be fixed npon those hetter objects, which the frccjuence of the world held from them ! Necessity doth but put thee into that estate, which their piety affected. 1(^<> PRACTICAL WORKS, " Oil ! but to be driven to forsake parents, kinsfolk, friends, how sad a case must it needs be 1 VV'hut is this, other than a perfect dis- traction ? ^V'hat are we, but pieces of our ]iarents ? And what are friends, but parts of us ? What is aU the world to us, without these comforts ?" When thou hast said all, my son, what is befallen thee, other than it pleased God to enjoin the Father of the Faithful : Get thee out of f/nj coiin/ry, and from thy kindred, and from thij father s house ^ into a land that I will sheiv thee ? Gen. xii. i. Lo, the same God, by the command of authority, calls thee to this secession. If thou wilt shew tliyself worthy to be the son of such a Father, do that, in an luuuble obedience to God, which thou art urged to do, by the com])ulsion of men. But what so grievous a thing is this ? Dost thou think to find God where thou goest ? Dost thou make full account of his company both all along the way, and in the end of thy journey ? Hath not He said, who cannot fail, I will not leave thee nor forsake thee ? Cer- tainl}-, lie is not worthy to lay any claim to a God, that cannot find parents, kindred, friends in him alone. Besides, he, that of very stones could raise \\\i children unto Abra- ham, how easily can he of inhospital men raise up friends to the sons of Abraliam ! Only labour thou to inherit that faith, wherein he walked ; that alone shall free-denizen thee, in the best of fo,- reign states ; and shall entertain thee, in the wildest deserts. SECT. 4. The advantage, that Jiath been made of removing. TriOU art cast upon a foreign nation : — Be of good cheer : we know that flowers, ren^.oved, grow greater ; and some plants, which were hut unthriving and unwholesome in their own soil, have grown botli safe and flonri'^hino" in other climates. Had Joseph been ever so great, if he had not been transplanted into Fgypt r Had Daniel and nis thi-ee companions of the captivity ever attained to that honour, in their native land ? How many have we known, that have found ti'.at health in a change of air, which they could not meet with at home ! In Africk, the south wind clears up ; and the north is rainy. Look thou up still to that hand, which hath translated thee : await liis good pleasure : be thou no stranger to thy God : it matters not who are strangers unto thee. SECT. 5. The rigid that wc have in any count rij, and in God. TllOU art a banished man : — How canst thou be so, when thon ireadcst upon thy lather's ground ? The earth is the Lord''s, and the THE BALM OF GILF.AD: OR, HIE COMIORTKR. liil fulness of it. In his riglit, wherever thou art, thou mayest chal- lenge a sjiiritual interest : .III things, saith iJie Apostle, arc yours; and ijou arc C/iris/'s ; and (Christ is God's; 1 Cor. iii. 21,22,23. No man can challentre thci.' Tor a stranger, that is not thy Father's child. Thine exile separates thee from thy friends : — Tiiis were no smiill afHiction, if it might not he ahundantiv remedied. That was a true word ot Lauroiiiius, that " where two faithful friends are met, God makes u[) a iliird." But it is no less true, that where one faithful spirit is, there God makes up a second. One God can oiore thai> sn]ij)ly a thousand friends. SECT. G. 7^/ic practice of xoluntary travel. Thy banishment bereaves thee of the comfort of thy wonted com- panions : — Would not a volimtary travel do as much.'' Dost thou not see thousands, that do willingly, for many years, change their country for foreign regions ; taking long farewells of their dear friends and couu'aeles : some, out of curiosity ; some, out of a thii'st after knowledge; some, out of a covetous desire of gain ? What dirt'erence is there, betwixt thee and them ; but that their exile is voluntary, thy travel constrained ? And who are then these, whom thou art so sorry to forego r Dost thou not remember what Crates, the Philosopher, said to a young man, that was beset with parasitical friends ? " Young man," said he, " I pity thy solitude." Perha])s, thou mayest be more alone in such society, tlian in the wilderness; such conversation is better lost, than contiiuted. If thou canst but get to be well acquainted with tliyself, thou shalt be sorry that thou wert no sooner solitary. SECT. 7. ylll are pilgrims. Tnou art out of tliv country : — Who is not so ? We are all /'//- ^r/m5 together with thee; 1 Pet. ii. 11. Heb. xi. 13. While xce are at home in the body., we are absent from the Lord ; 2 Cor. v. 6. Mi- serable are we, if our true home be not above. That is the better country which we seek, nrn a heavenly ; Heb. xi. 16 : and thither thou mavest equally direct thy course, in whatsoever region. This centre of earth is equidistant from the glorious circumt'erence of heaven : if we may once meet there, hhat need we maLesudi dif- ference in the way. 16? PRACTICAr, WORKS. CHAP. xr. COMFORTS AGAINST THF; LOSS OF OUR SENSES OF SIGHT AND HEAIJING. SECT. 1. The two imcard lishis, of Reason and Faith. Tiiou hast lost thine eyes : a loss, which all the world is uncapable to repair. Thou art hei'ehy contlemncd to a perpetual darkness : for, The light of the hodxj is the eye ; and if the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness ! JMatt. vi. 22, 23 : — Couldst thou have foreseen this evil, thou hadst anticipated this loss, by weei:)ing out those eyes for grief, which thou must fores^o. There are but two ways, by which an}' outward comfort can have access to thy soul ; the eye, and the ear : one of them is now fore- closed for ever. Yet know, my son, thou hast two other inward eyes, that can abundantlv supply the want of these of thy bodv ; the eye of Rea- son, and the eye of Faith : the one, as a I\Ian ; the other, as a Christian. Answerable vvhereunto, there is a double light apprehended by them ; rational, and divine : Solomon tells thee of the one ; The spirit of vmn is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly ; Prov. xx. 27 : the Beloved Disciple tells thee of the other ; God is light : and we wcdk in the light, as he is in the light ; 1 John i. 5, 7. Now these two lights are no less above that outward and visible light whereof thou art bereaved, than that light is above darkness. If, therefore, by the eye of Reason thou shalt attain to the clear sight of intelligible things, and by the eye of Faith to the sight of things supernatural and divine, the improvement of these bettei' eyes shall make a large amends for the lack of thy bodily sight. SECT. 2. The supply of better ei/es. TiiY sight is lost : — Let me tell thee what Anthony, the Hermit, whom Rufhnus doubts not to style Blessed *, said to learned, though blind, Didymus of Alexandria : " Let it not trouble thee, O Didy- mus, that thou art bereft of carnal eyes; for thou lackest only those eves, which mice, and flies, and lizards have : but rejoice, that ihou hast those eyes, which the aiTgels have ; whereby thev see •* Ruffinus Hist. 1. ii. c.7. THE BALM OF Gl lead; OR, THE COMrOKTER. J69 God ; and by wliich thou art enlightened with a great measure of knowledge." INIake this good of thyself; and thou shalt not be too much discomforted with the absence of thy bodily eyes. SECT. 3. The better object nf our vixnrd sight. Thln'E eyes are lost: — The chief comfort of thy life is gone with them : Tfw lig;h/ is szi'cef, saith Solomon ; (uul a pleasant thing it isy for the eues to behold the sun ; Eccl. xi. 7. Hath not God done this purposely, that he might set thee otY from all earthly objects, that thou mightest so much the more inteniively fix thy >elf noon him ; and seek after those spiritucd comforts, which are to be found in a better light? Behold, the sun is the most glorions thing, that the bodily eves can possibly see : thy spiritual eyes may see him, that made that goodly and glorious creature, and therefore must needs be infinitely more glorious tlian what he made. If thou canst now see him the more, how hast thou but gained by thy loss ! SECT. 4. The ill offices done by the eyes. Thou art become blind: — Certainly, it is a sore affliction. The men of Jabesh-Gilead oHered to comply with the tyrant of the Am- monites, so far as to serve him ; but, when he recpiired the loss of their right eyes, as a condition of their peace, they will rather ha- zard their lives in an unequal war; 1 Sam. xi. 1 — 3. as if servitude and death were a less misciiief, than one eve's loss. How nuich more of both ! for, tiiough one e^e be hut testis sin- gularis ; )et the evidence of that is as true as that of both; yea, in some cases more : for, when we would take a perfect aim, we shut one eye, as rather a hindrance to an accurate information. Vet, for ordinary use, so do we esteem each of these lights, that there is no wise man but would rather lose a limb than an eye. Although I could tell thee of a certain nran, not less religious than wittv, who, when his friends bewailed the loss of one of hi> eyes, asked them, whether tiiey wept for the eye which he had lost, or the eye which remained. " VV'eei) I'^i^liei'," ^
the tree was pleasant to the eyes ,- and, llun'eupon, took of the fruit ; Gen. iii. 6. So it hath been, ever since, with all the fruit of her womb, both in the old and latter world ; The sons of God saxi' the daughters of men that they xt'ere fair, and they took them -wives of all 'uh/eh they eho>e ; Gen. vi. 2. Insomuch as uot fdthy lusts on- ly, but even adulteries take up their lodgings in the eye : there the blessed Apostle finds them : J lazing eyes, saith he, full of adultery^ and that cannot cease from sin ; 2 Pet. ii. 14. While therefore tliy hea)'t Talked after thine eyes, as Job speaks. Job xxxi. 1. it could do no other ; but carry liiee down to the cJunn- hers of death ; Prov. vii. 27. Thou art now delivered from that dan- jrer of so deadly a mis[jv.idance. Hath not the loss ol thine eyes, withal, freed thee of a world of sorrows? The old word is, " V\'hat the eye views not, the heart tnes not." Hadst thou but seen what others are forced to behold, those fcaiful conflagrations, those piles of murdered carcases, those streams of C'hristiau b!of)d, those savage violences, those merciless rapines, those sacrilegious outrages, thy iieart coidd not choose but bleed within thee : now, thou artaifected with theni only aloof olf; as receiving them by the periect intelligence of thine ear, from the unfeeling relation of others. THE BALM or GII.EAD: OR, THE t'OMFOUTF.U^ Hi SECT. G. The chee)fulncss of some blind men. Thine eyes are lost; — What need tb}- heart to go with them? I have known a blind man more cheertul tliau I could l)e with both mine eves. Old Isaac was dark-sightcd when he gave the blessing, contrary to his own intentions, to his son Jacob: yet it seems lie lived fortv years after ; and could be pleased then, to have good cheer made him witli wine and venison ; Gen. xxvii. 25. Our life doih not lie in our eyes: The spirit of man is that, which upholds his infinnilies ; Prov. xviii. 14. Labour to raise that to a cheerful disposition ; even in thy bodily darkness, there shall be hghtandjoy to thy soul; Esth. viii. 16. SECT. 7. The supply "which God gives in otJier faculties. Hath God taken away thine eyes ? — But hath he not given thee an abundant supply in otiier faculties ? Are not thine inward senr.es the more quick ? thy memoiy stronger ; thy phantasy more active; thy understanding more apprehensive r The wonders, that we iiave heard and read of blind men's memo- ries, were not easy to believe, if it were not obvious to conceive, that the removal of all distractions gives them an opportunity both of a careful re])osition of all desired objects, and of a sure fixedness of them where tljcy are laid. Hence, have we seen it come to ]>ass, that some Ijlind men have attained to those perfections, which their eyes could never have feotfed then; in. It is very memoral)le, that our Ecclesiastical Storv reports * of Didvmus of Alexandria ; who, beiiig i>lind from his infancy, throuo-h Jiis i^rayers and tliligent endeavours reached unto such a high pitch of knowledge in logic, geometr3-, arithmetic, astronomy, as was admired by the learned Masters of those Arts ; and, for his rare in- sight into Divinity, was, by great Athanasias, approved to be the Doctor of the Cbairin that famous Ciiurch. What need we doubt of this truth, wlien our own times have so clearly seconded it ? jjaving yielded divers worthy Divines, God'.s Seers, bereaved of bodilv eyes. Amongst the rest, there was one f in' my time, ver\- eminent in the University of Cambridge, whom I had occasion to dispute with for his Detrrees, of crreat skill both inTonmios and Arts, and of sin- gular acuteness ol judgment. It is somewhat strange, that Suidas | • Ruffin. liccl. Elist. I. ii. c. 7. f Mr. I'ishcr, in Trinity Colli-gc in Cam- bridge. X Suidas ex Aristophanc. 112 PRACTICAL WORKS. reports of Nonclides ; that, being fi])lind man, he could steal more ciinniiiirly than any tiiat had use of eyes. Sure, I may say boldly of our Fisher, that he was more dexterous in picking the locks of _tlifficiilt authors, and fetching forth the treasures of their hidden senses, than those, that had t!ie sharpest eyes about him : insomuch as it \v;us noted those were singular proficients, which employed themselves in reading to him. If they read boohs to him, he read lectures the while to them ; and still taught more than he learned. As for the other outward senses, they are commonly more exqui- site in the blind. We read of some, who have been of so accu- rate a touch, that, by their very feeling, they could distinguish be- twixt black and white. And, for the ear, as our Philosophers * ob- serve, that sounds are sweeter to the blind than to the sighted ; so also, that they are more curiously judged of by them: the virtue of both those senses being now contracted into otie. But the most perfect recompence of these bodily eyes is, in the exaltation of our spiritual ; so much more enlightened towards the beatifical vision of God, as they apj)rehend more darkness in all earthly objects. Certainly, thou shalt not miss these material eyes, if thou mayeiit find thy soul thus haj)piiy enlightened. SECT. 8. The benefits of the eyes, which once xee had. Thine eves are lost : — It is a blessing, that once thou hadst them. Hadst thou been 'norn blind, what a stranger hadst thou, in all like- lihood, been to God and the world 1 Hadst thou not once seen the face of this heaven, and this eardi, and this sea, what expressions could have made thee sufficiently apprehensive of the wonderful ■works of thy Creator ? wluu tliscourse could have made thee to un- derstanil whatligiit is ? what the sun, the fountain of it; what the heavens, the glorious region of it ; and what the moon and stars, illuminated by it } How couldst thou have had thy thoughts raised so high, as to give glory to that great God, whose infinite power hath wrougiit all these marvellous things? No doubt, God hath his own ways of mercy, even for those that are born dark ; not requiring what he hath not given ; graciously supplying, by his Spirit, in the vessel of his election, what is want- ing in the outward man : so as even those, that could never see the /ace of the world, shall see the face of the God that made it. But, in an ordinary course of proceeding, those, which have been blind from their birth, muj.t needs want those helps of knowing and glo- rifving (jod in his mighty works, which lie open to the seeing. These once filled thine eyes; and stay with thee still, aftt.'r thine ■^ T he Lord Verulatn. — Fr. Bacon, in his Natural History, Tfir BALM OF GILEAD : OR, THE COMFORTEH. 113. eves have forsaken thee. What shouklst thou do, \>ut walk on, in the stren<>th ot" those fixed thoughts ; anil be uKvays adoruii^ the Majesty of that God, whom tliat si«^ht hath represented unto thee so glorious ; and, in an liumhle subinission to his good pleasure^ strive against all the discomforts of thy suiferin«^s ? Our Story teii.> us *" of a valiant soUlier, answerable to the name he bore, Polyzelus ; who, after his eyes were struck out in the bat- tle, covering his face with his target, fought still ; layiiTg about hiiu as vehenientlv, as if he had seen whom to smite. So do thou.niy son, with no less courage ; let not the loss of thine eyes hinder thee from a cheerful resistance of those spiritual enemies, which la- bour to draw thee into an impatient murmuring against tlie hand of thv God: wait humbly upon that God who hath better eyes in store for thee, than those that thou hast lost. SECT. 9. The supplj/ of one sense by amther. Thou hast lost thy hearing : — It is not easy to determine whether joss is the greater; of the eye, or of the ear : both are grievous. Now ail the world is to thee as dumb, since thou art deaf to if. How small a matter hath made thee a mere cypher amongst men ! These two are the senses of instruction : there is no other way for intelligence to be conveyed to the soul, whether in secular or in spiritual aiVairs : the eye is the window, the ear is the door, bv which all knowledge en.tprs : in matters of observation, by the eve ; in matter of faith, by the ear ; Rom. x. 17. Had it pleased God to shut up both these senses from thy birth, thy estate had been utterly disconsolate ; neither had there been any possible access for comlort to thy soul : and if he had so done to thee in thy riper age, there had been no way for thee but to live on thy former store : But, now that he hath vouchsafed to leave thee one passage open, it behoves thee to supply the one sense by the other ; and to let in those helps by the w indow, which are de- nied entrance at the door. And, since that Infinite Goodness hath been pleased to lend thee thine ear so long, as till thou hast laid the sure grounds of faith in thy heart; now thou niayest work upon them in this silent op- portunity with heavenly meditations; and raise them up to no jess height, than thou mightest have done, by the help of the quickest ear. It is well for thee, that, in the fulness of thv senses, thou wert carefid to improve thy bosom, as u magazine of heavenly thoughts; providing, witli the wise Patriarch, for the seven years of dearth: otherwise, now that the passages are thus blocked up, thou couldst not but have bfcu lu danger of allanmhing. 'Ihou hast now abuTi- ♦ Su'das. V. Ilippias. .174 rRACTICAL WORKS. dant leisure to recal and ruminate upon those holv rounsels, whidi thy better times laid up in ihy heart ; and, to thy hiij)py advaiHage, findest the ditVerence, betwixt a wise providence and a careless neglect. SECT. 10. The better condition of the inxi'ard ear. Thine outwaid hearing is gone : — But thou hast an inward and better ear, whereby thou heatest the secret motions of God's Spi- rit, wiiich shall never be lost. How many thousands, whom ihou enviest, are in a worse condi- tion ! They have an outward antl bodily ear, whereby they hear the voice of men ; but they want that spiritual ear, which perceives the least whisperings of the Holy Ghost. Ears they have, but not hearing eai*s ; for fashion, more than use. \\ ise Solomon makes and observes the distinction : The hearing ear, and the seeing eije^ the Lord hath made even both of thxm ; Prov. xx. 1 2. And a greater than Solomon can say of his formal auditors, Hearing they hear not i Matt. xiii. 13. If thou have an ear for God, though deaf to men ; how much happier art thou than those millions of men, that have an ear for men, and are deaf to God ! SECT. 11. The grief that arises from hearing evil. Thou hast lost thy hearing : — And therewith no small deal of sor- row. How would it grieve thy soul to hear tho-e woeful ejacula- tions, those pitiful comj)laints, those hideous blasj)heniies, those mad paradoxes, those hellish heresies, wherewith thine ear would have neen wouniled, if it had not been barred against their entrance ! It is thy just grief, that thou missest of the hearing of many good ^vords : it is thy happiness, that thou art iVeed from the hearing of many e\ il. It is an even lay, l)etwixt the bencHt of hearing gut to distribute ? and what are we, bul tJie farmers of those, we leave behind us } And, if we do freclv lay out our sul)stance beforehand for ilicir good, so much of our rent is hajijiily cleared. It is easy to observe, that none are so gripple and hard fisted, as the chilciless : wiiercas those, who, for tiie maintenance of large families, are inured to frequent disbursements, iind such ex])eriencc of Divine Providence in the failliful managing of their aiiairs, a.s that they lay out with more chetMfulness than they receive. Wherein their care must be abated, when God takes it off from them to himself; and, if they be not wanting to themselves, their faith gives them ease, in casting their burden upon him, who hath both more power and more right to it, sii)ce our children are more his ihan our own! lie, that feedeth the youug ravens, (Psahu cxlvii, 9.) can lie fail the best of his creatures r \\'orthv Master Greeuham tells us of a Gentlewoman, who, coming into the cottage of a]joor neighbom*, and seeing it furnislu ed with store of children, could say, " Here are the mouths, but where is the meat.?" but, not long after, she was paid in her owii. coin: for the poor woman, coming to her aiter the burial of her last and now only child, inverted the cjuestion upon her, " Here is the meat, but where are the mouths r" Surely, the great Housekeeper (if the World, whose charge wo arc, will never leave anv of Ids menials without the bread of suf- liciency : and who are so lit to be his purveyors, as the parents for their own brood } Nature hath taught the very birds, to pick out the best of the grains for their young ? Nature sends that moisture out of the root, which gives liie to the branches and blossoms. Sometimes, it meets with a kind reiakation ; some stork-like dis- position repays the l(»ving oHices done by the parents, in a dutiful retribution to their age or necessity. But, how often have we seen the contrary ! Here, an un-aiisfia- ble importunity of drawing from the jjarent that maintenance, whieli is but necessary for his own subsi.stence : so, we have seen a young bat, hanging on the teat of her dam for milk, t'\tii when she is dying: so, we have seen some insatiable landjs, lorcing the udder of their dams, when they have been as big as the ewe tluiC veaned ihem. I'heie, an undutiful and tiunutural ne^ilect ; N\hc- nS PRACTICAL WORKS. ther in not Oivning tlic meanness of those, that begot them ; or in not snpporting- the weakness of their decayed estate, b}- due main- tenance. Ingratitude is odious in any man ; but in a child, mon- strous. SECT. 5. The great grief in the loss of children. It is thy grief, that thou never hadst a child : — Believe lilm, that hath tried it, there is not so much comfort in the having of chil- dren, as there is sorrow in parting with them : especially, when they are come to their proo'f ; when their parts and disposition have raised om* hopes of them, and doubled our a'Teciion towards them. And as, according to the French Proverb, " He, that hath not, cannot lose ;" so, contrarily, he, that hath, nmst lose. Our meet- ing is not more certain, than our parting : either we must leave them, and so their grief for us must double ours ; or they must leave us, and so our grief for them must be no less than our love Avas of them. If, then, thon wilt be truly wise, set thy heart upon that only Absolute Good, which is not ca[)able of losing. Divided aiiections must needs abate of their force. Now, since there are no objects of darkness which might distract thy love, be sure to place it wholly upon that Infinite Goodness, wlxich shall entertain it with mercy, and reward it with l)lessedness. If Elkanah therefore could say to his barren wife Hannah, Whj iveepest fhoii ? and why is thy heart heavy ? ani not I better to thee than ten sons? 1 Sam. i. 8: how much more comfortably mayest thou hear the Father of Mercies say to thy soul, " Why is tliy heart heavy ? am not I better to thee than ten thousand sons r"' CHAP. XIII. COMFORTS AGAINST WANT OF SLLEP. SECT. 1. 7'he misery of the want of rest ; with the best remedy. Thou art afflicted with want of sleep : — A complaint incident to distempered bodies and thoughtfid minds. Oh, how wearisome a thing it is, to spend the long night, in tossing up ajid down in a rest- less bed, in the chase of sleep ; whicli, the more eagerly it is fol- lowed, ilies io much the further from us ! Couldst thou obtain of THE BALM OF (JILEAD : OR, THE tOMFORTER. I'i'J tlnsclf to forbear tlie desire of it, perhaps it would come alone : now that thou suest for it, like to some froward piece, it is coy and overly ; and punishes ihee with thy loiii;iug. l.o, lie, that couici cnniniainl a hundred and seven and twenty provinces, vet could not conniiaud rcit : 0)i that niglil /us sleep ilcpurtcil Jnnn /ii»i ; I'.stii. \i. I : neither could be either forced or entreated to his bed. And the s, tied up; how can they chuse, but run themselves out of breath, and weary and !?j:)end themselves to nothing r If the body be not refreshe;!, with a mo- derate interchange of repose ; how can it but languish, in all the parts of it ? antl, as commonly the soul follows the temper of the body, how can that but find a sensible discomposure and debilita- tion, in all her factilties and operations r Do we not see the savagest creatures tamed with want of rest ? Do we not find tliis rack alone to liave l^een torture enough, to fetch from poor souls a confessional discovery of those acts they never did ? Do we not find reveries and frenzies the ordinary attendants of sleepless- ness r Herein, therefore, thy tongue hath just cause to cotnplaiii of thine eyes. For Remedy, instead of closing th}' lids to wait for sleep ; lift up thy stitf eyes to him, thdX gheth his beloved rest ; Ps. cxxvii. 2. \V''hatever be the means, he it is, that holdelh thine eyes waking ; Ps. Ixxvii. 4. He, that made thine eyes, keeps off sleep from thv body, for the good of thy soul : let not thine eyes wake, without thy heart. The Spouse of Christ can say, / sleep, but my heart Zi'aketh ; Cant. v. 2 : how much more should she say, " Mine eyes wake, and my heart waketh also I" When thou canst not see sleep with thine ejes, labour to see Him, that is invisible: one glimjise of that sight is more worth, than all the sleep that thine eyes can be capable of. Give thyself up into his hands, to be disposed of at his will. What is this sweet acquiescence, l)ut the rest of the soul ^ which if thou canst find in thyself, thou shalt (juietly digest the want of thy bodily sleep. SECT. 2. jyie favour of freedom from pain. Tfiou wantest sleep : — Take heed thou do not airtrravate thine afHic- tion. It is only an evil (jt loss ; no evil of si.-nse : a mere lack of wliat thou wishe'^t ; not a pain ht be put into thy con:lition! migiitthey but liave case, how gladiv would ihey forbear rest! Be not, therefore, so nuieh troubled, that it is no l>etier with thee ; but raiher be thankful, that it is no worse. SECT. :3. The favour of health without sleep. Thou laekest sleep : — A thing, that ue desire not so much for its ov\ n sake, as in a way to health. What if God be pleased so to dispose of thee, as to give thee health without it ? So he hath done to some. It is a small maiter, tliat Goulart * reports out of Gasper ^v ollius, of a woman in Padua, that con- tinued fifteen days and nights without sleep. That is very memo- rable, which Seneca tells us of great Mectcnas ; that, in three years, he slept not ne hora' momenlo ; *' so much as the space of an hour:" wJy.ch, however, Lip.^ius thinks good to mitigate with a favourable construction, as conceiving an impossibility of an abso- lute sleeplessness ; yet if we shall compare it with other instances of the same kind, we shall fmd p.o reason to scruple the utmost ri- gour of that relation. That a frantic man, of whom Fernelius writes f, should continue a year and two months without any sleep at all, is no wonder, in comparison of that, which learned Heurnius tells us Xi iip^^'^ good assurance given him, whci\ he was a student in Padua; that Nizoiisis, the famous Ciceronian, lived ten whole years without sleep. And, even in our time and climate, I have been informed by credible testimony, that Monsieur L'/Vugles, a French Physician at London, lived no fewer years altogether sleep- less. But that exceeds all example, \\hicb INlonsieur Gouiart re- ports § out of an author of good reputation, of a certain Gentle- woman, who, for thirty-live years, renuxined without any sleep, and found no inconvenience or distemper thereby ; as was witnessed b}- jjcr husband and servants. Lo, the hand of God i> not shortened. He, who, in our time, miraculously protracted the life of the Maid of Meures so many years without meat, hath sustained, the lives of these fore-named jiersons thus long without sleep, that it might appear. Man liics not h/ meat or sleep onli/j but bi/ every -iord that proceeddh out of the iiwutJi of God ; Matt. iv. 4." Deut. viii. 3. If he slu^dd please to ])!ess thee with a sleepless health, the favour is far greater, than if he allowed thee to snort out thy time, in a dull unprofitable rest. * flistoires .Memorablts : c. A'ciilt's. f Patholog. 1. v. u . 2. J Lih, dc mcrbis capi'is: c. HI § Goulart : ibidim. THK R.\LM OF GiLF.AD : OR, THE COMI-ORTER. ISl SKCT. 4. Sleep but a sijmplom of mortality. 'I'HOjr wantest sleep : — Behold, he, that k\epcth Israel, ilc^h neither slumber nor sleep ; and those blessed sj)iriis, iliat do conliiiually see the face ot" God, never sleep. Sleep is hut a symptom ot" frail moitality, whereof the less we do or can ]iartake, we come so much the lu^arer lo those spiritual natures, whose perfection makes them uncapable of sleep. Hereupon it was, that those retired Christians in the primitive times, which atiocted to come nearest to an angelical life, wiifidly repelled sleeji ; neither would ever admit it, till it necessarily forced itself upon them *. Lo, then, thou suH'erest no more, out of the distemper of hu- mours or unnatural obstructions, than better men have .\illinoly chawn upon themselves, out of holv resolutions. It is but our con- struction, that makes those things tedious to us, \\hich have been well taken bv others. SECT. 5. No use of deep xchither xi'e are going. Tiiou wantest sleep : — Have patience, my son, for a while. Thou art going, where there shall be no need, no use of sleep : and, in the mean time, thv better part would not, cannot rest. Though the gates be shut, that it cannot shew itself abroad, it is ever and ever Will be active. As for tliis earthly piece, it shall ere long sleep its fill, where no noise can wake it, till the xoiee of the areham^el and the t)u)npet of God shall call it up, in the morning of the Re- surrection ; 1 Thess. iv. IG. CHAP. XIV COMFORTS AGAINST THE INCONVENIENCES OF OLD AGE. SECT. 1. The ill imitation of age ; and the miseries that attend it. Old age is that, which we all desire to aspire unto ; and when we have attained, are as ready to complain ot, as our greatest nnsery : * Sozomcn. 1. vi. c. 39, \ 182 PRACTICAL WORKS. verifying;, in part, that old observation, That wedlock and age are things, which we desire and repent of. Is tliis our ingratitude, or inconstancy, that we are weary of what we wished ? Perhaps, this accusation may not he universal. There is mnch diflcrence in constitutions, and much latitude in old age. Infancy and youth have their limits : age admits of no certain determi- nation. At sevcnt}' years, David was old, and stricken in years ; and they coxeied him icith clothes, but he p:at no heat ; I Kings i. 1 : whereas Caleb can profess, Ncm, lo, J a)n fourscore and five, years old : as yet I am as strong this day, as I icas in the day thut Aloses sent inc to spy out the land : as my strength xirts then, even so is my strength nou\ for war, both to go out and come in ; Josh. xiv. 10, 11. And, lieyond him, Moses tw/.s a hundred and twenty years old, when his eye was not dim, noi- his natural strength abated ; Deut. xxxiv. 7. Methuselah was but okl, when he was nine hundred sixty five ; Gen. v. 27. But as for the generality of mankind, the same Moses, who lived to see a hundred and twenty years, hath set man's ordinary period at half his own term : ^The days of our years are threescore years and ten ; and, if by reasoa of strength, they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow ; Ps. xc. 10. Lo, fourscore years alone are load enough for the strength, much more for the weak- ness, of age : but, when labour and sorrow are added to the weight, liow tan we but double iu)der the buriheu ? He was both old and wise, that said *, out of experience, that our last days are the dregs of our life: the clearer part is gone, and all draw n out ; the lees sink down to the bottom. ^\ ho can express the miserable inconveniences, that attend old age ? where- in our cares must needs be multiplied, according to the manifolil occasions of our aliairs ; for the world is a net, wherein the more we stir, the more we are entangled. And, for our boddy grievances, what viuieties do we here meet withal ! V\ hat aches of the bones ! Avhat ])elking of the joints '. what convulsions of sinews ! what tor- ments of the bowels, stone, cholic, strangury ! what distillations of rheum ! what hollow coughs ! what weaknesses of retention, expulsion, digestion ! what decay of senses ! as age is no other than the couuuon sever, into which all diseasi-s of our life are wont to enjpty themselves. VV ell, therelbre, might Sarah say, Jfter I amwa.itd old, shall I have pleasure? Gcti. xviii. 12. And good Barzillai justly excuses himself, for not accepting the gracious in- \ itation of Da\ id : / am this day fourscore years old, and can I dis- cern between good and evil? Can thy servant taste what J eat, or what I drink ? Can I hear any nwre the voice of singing-men and singing-women ? JVherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king? 2 Sam. xix. ;3.5, Lo, these are tiiey, which the Preacher calls the evil days, and * m ■ Sen. Ep. 5S. THE DALM oi- cilf.ad: ok, the comforter. is? the ycarx ivhcrcin a man shall saij, J have no phuisure ; wherein the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars arc dai^cncd, and the clouds return after the rain : xchcn the keepers of the house shall tronlde ; and the stron-s men shall Iukc thonsclics ; and tin- grinders cease, be- cause they are f CIV ; and those, that look out of the icindoxi's, be dark- ened ; Eccl. xii. 1, 2, 3. Sliorily, uliat is our old age, hut the win- ter of our WCc ? How can we then expect any otlier, than gloomy weather, chilling frosts, storms and tempests ? SECT. 2. Old age a blessing. But, ^vhile we do thus (querulously aggravate the inconuuodities of age, we must beware lest we derogate i'rom the bounty of our Ma- ker, and disjiarage those blessings which he accounts precious : amongst which, old age is none of the meanest. Had he not put that value upon it, would he have honoured it with his own style, calling himself, 77/^ ^Indent of DaijsY Dan. vii. 9, 1", 22. \Vould he else have set out this niercy as a reward of obedience to himself; / xcill fulfd the number of thy days? Exod. xxiii. 26. and of obedience to our parents, To live long in the land? Exod. xx. 12. \V'ould he have promised it as a marvel- lous favour to restored Jerusalem, now becoiue a City of Truth, tiiat there shall yet old men and old nonien diccll in the streets of Je- lusaleni, and every man xcith his s'aJJ' in his hand for very age? Zech. viii. 4. W ould he else have denounced it as a iudomeut to over-indulgent Eli, There shall not bean old man in thy house for ever ? 1 Sam. ii. 32. Ear be it from us, to despise that, vviiich God doth honour: and to turn his blessinu: into a curse. Yea, the san)c Ciod, who knows best the price of his own favours, as he UKikes uo small estimation of a<>e himself; so he hath thoutiht fit to call for a high respect to be given to it, out of a holy awe to Iiimself: Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord; Eev. xix. 32. Hence it is, liiat he hath pleased to put together the an- cient and the honourable; Isa. ix. \i>: and hath told us, that a hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in a wuij of righteous- ness ; Prov. xvi. 31. XX. 29 : and, lastly, makes it an argument of th(r deplored estate of Jerusalem, that ihey favoured /:ot the ciders ; Lam. iv. IG. As, therefore, we too sensibly feel what to com[)lain of; so we well kno.v what |)rivileui*s we may chalU'n"e as due to our atie : even such, as naiure itself hath taught those heathens, which have been in tin; next degree to savage. If jjride and skill have made the Athenians uncivil, yet a young Lacedemonian w ill rise up, and yield his place irj the tlieatrc to neglected age. ISl- PUACTICAL WORKS. SECT. The adran/iXges of old-age : ( 1 .) Frai'Iessnrs.'i : — (2.) Freedom frovi Passions .- — (3.) Experimenlul Knotfledge : — (4.) Xear Approach to our end. It is iKit a little injurions, so to fasten our eyes upon the discom- modities of any condition, as not to take in the A(lvanta ; and one of them, setting his dagger to his. heart, swore that he would presently kill him, if he tlid not instantly delivcn" to them that money, which tliey knew he had lately received ; the old man looks boldly in the face of that stout villain, and, with an nndamited courage, returns him this answer in his Peakish dialect: '' Nay, even put fro thee, son : I have livetl Ion;-- enoutrh ; ])ut I tell thee, unless thou mend thy manners, thou wilt ne\er live to see half my days : put fro thee, if thou wilt." \\ hat young man would have been so easily induced to part with his life; and have been so ready to givf entertainment to an nnex- pectcd death .? Sm'ely, the hope, arid love, of life conunonly softens the spirits of vigorous youth ; and dissuades it from those '<'nter))rises, which are attended with manifest peril: whereas ex- treme a£>e teachedi us to contenm {iann-;uro, '< I have giaillv witlKiiauM mysell' lV(>ii» the scixlc* of that i.iiperioiis inis- , iress." What an iinrrasonahlc va^^alnfrp our youthful In^ts svib;ect us un'o, we need no other inst;'.nce than in the strongest anil wisest luan. How was the strongest man, Samson, eireniinated by his impo- tent jKission ; a!id weakened in his intellectuals md far, astvijhilly to betray his own life to a mercenary iiarlot; and to endin'C to lie;ir her say, Ttll )ncxchcracith llwu miiijcs! be bound to do thtc hurl I. Judges xvi. (). How easilv might iie have answered thee, O De- lilali, " Even with tiiese cords of brutish sensuality, wherewith thou hast alreadv bound me to the loss of \\w libertv, mine eves, my life I" How was the wisest man, Solomon, besotted with his strange wives, so as to be drawn away to the worship of strange Gods ! And how may the Hr-trees howl, wliL-n the cedars I'all I Who can hope to be i'i.ee from being transported with irregular aHcciions, when we see such ureat iirccedents of fra'kv before our eves ? From the danger of these miserable miscarriages our age haj>- pily secures us; putting us i'.ito that quiet harbour, whence wc may see yonng men peiiiouslv tossed with those tempests of un- ruly passions, from which our cooler age hatli freed us. (3.) Add hereunto the benetit of Kxperimental Knowledge, u'hercvvith age is wont to enrich us ; every dram whereof is worth many pounds of the best vouthly contentments: in comparison thereof, the speculative knowledge is weak ami imjierfect. ""J'ijis may come good-chea]i ; perliaps, cost us nothing : thai, com- monly, we pa V dear for ; and, tljcrefore, is justly esteemed ihc more precious. If experience be the mistress of fools, I am sure ii. is the motlier of wisilom. Neither can it be, excejit we be too much wanting to ourselves, but the loner observation of such variety of actions and events a* meet with us in the whole course o\ our life, nnist needs leave with us sncii sure rules of judgment, as mny be unfailuig directions tor ourselves and others. In vain shall this be e-qn-cted from our younger years ; whic'i the wise Philosopher excuides from being meet auditors, much less judges of true morality. In regard where- of, well might the old iuan say, " Ye, young men, tliink us old men fools; but we, oKl men, know you young men to be lools." Certainly, what value soever ignorance may put upon it, this fruit of age is such, as that tiie earth hath nothing equally precious. It was a profane word, and lit for the nujuth of a heathen i>»)et, That |)rndence is above destinv : but, surely, a Christian mav mo. destly and justlv say. That, next to Divine Providence, hinnaM jirudence may challenge the supreme place in the administration of these carthlv all'air.>; and that age may claim the greatest interest ill that prudence, "i oimg Llihu could sii\ , M ull itudc of jjuii s sliouid 186 PRACTICVL WORKS. teach ic'isdom , Job xxxii. 7 : and the Wise Man, " Oh, how come- ly a thing- is judo merit, ibr grey hairs ; and, for ancient men, to know counsel I Oh, how comely is the wisdom of old men ; and un- dersianthng- and counsel lo men of honour!" Ecclus. xxv. 4, .5. In regard uiiercof, the Grecians had wont to say, Tliat young- men are for action ; old men, for advice : and, among the Komans, we know, that the Senators take their name from age. That, therefore, which is the weakness of old men's eyes. That, their visual spirits not uniting till some distance, they better dis- i-ern things further oif, is the praise and strength of tiieir mental eyes: they see either judgments or advantages afar olf, and ac- cordingly frame their determinations. It is observed, that old lutes sound better than new : and it was Rehoboam's folly and vmdoing, tiiat he would rather follow the counsel of his green heads that stood before him, than of those grave senators that had stood be- fore his wiser father; 1 Kings xii. 6, &c. Not that mere age is, of itself, thus rich in wisdom and know- ledge ; but age, well cultured, well improved. There are old men, that do but live ; or rather have a being, upon earth : so have stocks and stones, as well as they : who can have no proof of their many years, but tlieir grey hairs anil inlirmities. There are those, who, like t(^ Hermogenes, are old men, while they are boj-s ; and children, when the}- are old men. 'I'hese, the elder they grow, are so much more stupid. Time is an ill measure of age ; which should rather be meted by proficiencv, by rijieness of judgment, l)y the uioiiuments of our conmiendable and useful labours. If we liave thus Ix^stowed ourselves, our autumn will shew what our spring was ; and the colour of our hair will yield us more cause to fear our pride, than our dejection. We accuse our age of many weaknesses and indispositions: but these imputations must not be luiivcrsal : many of these are the faults of the person, not of the age. He said well, " As old wine doth not turn sour with age, no more doth every nature." Old oil is noted to be clearer and hotter, in a medicinal use, than new. 'i'here are those, wlio are pettish and crabbed, in youth : there are, contrariiy, those, wiio are mild, gentle, and sociable, in their de- cayed years. There are those, who are crazy in their prime ; and there are those, who, in their wane, are vigorous. There are tiiose, who, ere the fulness of their age, have lost their memory ; as Hermogenes, Cornivus, Antonius Caracalla, Georgius Tiape- y.tmtius, and Nizolius : there are those, whose intellectuals have so happily held out, that they have been best at the last. Plato, in his last year, wiiich was fourscore and one, died, as it were, with liis pen in his hand : Isocrates wrote his best piece, at ninety-four years : and it is said of Demosthenes, that when death summoned Jfiim, at a hundred years and somewhat more, he bemoaned him- self, that he must now die, when he began to get some knowledge. And, as for spiritual grac(^s and im;>rovements, Suc/i, as be planted in the house of the Lord, shall Jlourish in the courts of our God : They THE RALM or GII.EAD: OR, THE COMFOllTRK. 1 .S7 iilso shall hrin;x forth ynort fruit in their as[e, and shall he fat andurll- li/ting ; Ps, xcii. 13, 14. (4.) But the chief benefit of our age is, our Near Approach to our Jouruey's Kiul : for the end of all inotiou is rest ; wiiicli when we have once attaiiietl, there leniains uothinii; but fruition. Now our a<>e brings us, afier a wearv race, within sonic breath- ings of our goal: lor, if young men may tlic, old men must: a condition, which a mere carnal heart bewails and abhors ; complain- ing of nature, as niggardly in her dispensations of the shortest time to her noblobt creature; and envying the oaks, which many gene- rations of men must leave standing and growing. No marvel: for the worldlinix thinks himself here at home; and looks upon death as a banishment : he iiatli j>laceil his heaven here below; and can see nothing in his remove, but either a.inihilaiion or torment. But, for us Christians, who knoxc, that "while ice are present in the body, -jce arc absent frcrii the Lord ; 2 Cor. v. 6: and do justly ac- count ourselves foreigners, our life a pilgrimage, heaven our home; how can we but rejoice, that, after a tedious and painful travel, we do now draw near to the threshold of our Fatlier's house ; wherein we know there are many mansions, and ail glorious ? I could blush to hear a heathen* sav, " if God would oiler me the choice of re- newing my age, and returning to my iirst chiltihood, 1 should heartily refuse it : for I should be loth, after I have passed so much of my race, to be called back from the goal to the bars of my first setting out:'' and to Lear a Christian whining and puling, attire thought of his dissolution. Where is our faith of a heaven, if, hav- ing been so long sea-beaten, we be loth to think of putting into the safe and blesscd harbour ofimmortaiitv r CHAP. XV. COMFORTS AGAINST THE FEARS AND PAINS OF DEA'IH. SECT. 1. The/tar of death natural. TllOU fearcst death : — Thou wert not a man, if thou did^t not so : the holie.-.t, the widest, the strongest, that ever were, have done no less. He is the King of lear; and, theiciore, may and must com- mand it. Tiiou mayest hear the man after God's own heart say. The sorrou-s of death compassed vic ; Vs. cxvi. 3 : and, again, A/iy soul is full o/ troubles : vuj lite draurth nij;k to the grave: I a) a f:ountediiitk the in that go do-u'u to the pit, as a man that hath no '> Cicero dc Stncct. 188 PRACTICAL WORKS. atrfni^th; fret among the dead ; Ps. Ixxxviii. 3, 4, 5. Thou may est hear jj:;reat and good Hc/ekiah, upon the message of his death, chatteritis: like a craue or a swallow, aud mouniino- as a dove ; Is. xxxviii. 14. Thou fearest, as a man : I cannot olpp,ie thee : but thou must over- come thy fear, as a Christian; whxii thou slialt do, it, from the ter- rible aspect of the messenger, thou shalt cast thine eyes upon tlie gracious aud amiable face of the God that sends him. Holy David shews the way : The snares of dealh prevented me : In my distress I called upon the Lord, and eried iinio tnjj God : he heard mij -voice out of his temple, and wy cry came before him ei^en unto his ears ; Ps. xviii. 5, 6. Lo, he, that is our God, is the God of sakation ; and unto God, the Lord, belong the issues of death ; Ps. Ixviii. 20. I\Iake him thy friend, aud deaiii shall be no other than advantage ; Phil. i. L'l. It is true, as the Wise Man saith, that " God made not death ;" hut that, " through the envy of the Devil, death came into the world;" Wis. i. 13. ii. 24 : but it is as true, that though God made him not, yet he is pleased to employ him as his messenger ; to summon some souls to judgment, to invite others to glory : and, for these latter, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints; Ps. cxvi. 15: and what reason hast thou to abominate that* which God accounts precious ? SECT. 2. Remedy of fear, acquaintance 'a'ith death. TUOV art afraid of death : — Acquaint thyself with him more ; and thou shalt fear him less. Even bears and lions, which at the first sight aiirighted us, upon frequent viewing lose their terror. Inure thine eyes to the sight of death ; and that face shall begin not to displease thee. Tiiou must shortly dwell with him for a long time: for the days of darkness are many ; Eccl. xi. S. Do thou, in the mean time, entertain him : let him be sure to be thy daily guest. Thus the blessed Apostle, / protest, bi/ our rejoicing -which I have in Christ Jesus, I die daily ; 1 Cor. xv. 31. Bid him to thy hoard : lodge him in thy bed : talk with him in thy closet : walk with him in thy garden, as .Joseph of Arimathca did ; and by no nutans suf- fer him to be a stranger to thy thoughts. This familiarity shall hring thee to a delight in the company of him, whom thou didst at fir- 1 abhor : so as thou shalt, with the Chosen Vessel, say, I haie a desire to depart, and to be ~u)ith Christ, zchich is best of all ; Phil. \ 23. THE BALM OF GILF.AD: OH, THE COMrOP.TEU* 189 SFXT. 3. The misapprehension of death. TliOL' art grievously afraid of cU-atli: — Is it not upon a mistaki?);^ ? Our fears are apt to imagine and to aggravati' evils. Kvcu Christ himself, ualUiug ujjon the waters, was by the di.scijjles treail>led at, as some dreadful apparition. Perliaps, my sOn, thou lookest at death as some utter abolition or extinction of tliv being; and nature must needs shrink back at the tlioujiht of not beint see the Land of Promise, and then die ; whereas, we first die, and then see the Promised Land. SLOT. 1. The common condition of t/ien. Tnor art troul)l<'d with the fear of death : — What reason h ist ihou lo be aHhcted with that, which is the cunanon condition of man- kind r Uememljer, my son, the words of Joshua, the victorious leader of God's people : Behold, this d^'J/, saith lie, Jain going the way of all the earth ; Josh, xxiii. I J . If all the earth go tins wav. couldst thou be ^o fond a:, to think 190 PRACTICAL WORKS. there should be a by-path loft for thee, wherein thou nviyest tread alone ? Were it so, that monarchs and princes, that patriarchs, pro- phets, apostles were allowed an easier passage out of the world, thou miohtest ])erhaps hnd some pretence of reason, to rej)ine at a I)ainful dissolution : but now, since all go one way ; and, as the wise Philosopher * says, those, which are unequal in their birth, are in their deaths equal ; there can be no ground for a discontent- ed niuruiur. Grudge, if thou wilt, that thou art a man : grudge not, that, being a man, thou must die; Ps. Ixxxbc. 48. Ps. xc. 3, 5, 7. It is true that those, whom the last day shall fuid alive, shall not die ; but thev shall be clian, O thou believing soul, to thy Blessed Saviour, uho hath plucked out this sting of deatlj ; and happily triumphed over it, both for hin«- self and thee; O death, -uhere is thy sting? grave, where is tluf victory ? SECT. 8. Death but a parting, to meet again. Thy soul and body, old companions, are loth to part: — Why, man, it is but the forbearing their wonted society, for a while : thev do but take leave of each other, till they meet again in the day of Resurrection; and, in the mean time, they are both sale, and the better part happy. It is commendable in the Jews, otherwise the worst of men, that they call their grave CD'TT DS "The house of the living;" and, wh«n tijey return from the burial of their neighbours, thev pluck 192 PRACTICAL WORSS. up the grass, and cast it into tlie air, with tliose words of the Psalm- ist, They shall Jiouriih and put forth, as the giass upon the earth; Ps. Ixxii. IG. Did we not bcHevc a Resurrection of the one part and a re-unit- ing of the other, we hud reason to be utterly daunted with the thought of a dissolution: now we have no cause to be dismayed with a little intermission. Is it a hcatlien man or a Christian, (such I wish he had been), whom I hear say, " The death, which we so fear and flee fron*, doth but respite bfe for a while, doth not take it away : the day will come, which shall vestrn-e us to the light again *." Settle thy sout, my son, in tiiis a^r^urance ; and tliou canst not be discomforted, witb a necessary iiarting. SECT. 9. Death but a sleep. Tiiou art afraid of death ; — W hen thou art weary of thy Jay's la- bovtr, art thou afraid of rest ? Hear what thy Saviour, wlio is the Lord ol Life, esteems of death; Our frioul Lazarus skcpcth; John xi. li : and of Jairus's daughter; The maid is not dead ; hut siecpeih ; INIatt. ix. L'4. Luke viii. 52. Neither useth the Spirit of God any other language, concerning his ser\-ants imder the Old Testament : Now shall J sleep in the diist^ saith holy Job ; ch. vii. 21 : and of David, JVhen thy days be ful- filled, and thou shalt sleep with fhi/ fathers ; 2 Sam. vii. 12. Nor yet under the New : For this cause, many arc zoeak andsic/dj/ among i/ou, and many sleep, saith the Apostle ; 1 Cor. xi. 30. Lo, the philosor^iers'of old were wont to call sleej) tlie Brother of Death; but God says, death is no other than sleep itsell": asleep, both sure and sweet. When thou liest down at night to thy re- pose, thou canst not be so certain to awake again in the morning ; as, when thou layest thyself down in death, thou art sure to awake in the morning of the Kesurrection. Out of this bodily sleep, thou niayest be alhightedly startled with some noises of sudden horror ; with some fearful dreams ; with tumults, or alarms of war ; but here, thou shalt rest quietly in the ])lace of. silence (Ps. xciv. 17.), free from all inward and outward disturbances; while, in the mean time, thy soul shall see none but visions of joy and l)lessedness. But, oh the su eet and heavenly expression of our last rest, and the issue of our hajjpy resuscitation, which our gracious Apostle }iath laid forth, for the consolation of his mournful Thessalonians ! Tor, if "d'e believe, saith he, that Jesus died and rose again ; even so them also, xehich sleep in Jesus, xeill God bri}ig nnth him. Lo, our belief is antidpte enough against the worst of death. And why are * Sen. Ep. ZG. THE BAI.M OI GILEAD: OR, THE COMrORTRR. 1^5 wc troubled with death, w hen we believe that Jesus dietl ? and what a triumph is this over doaih, tliat tlie same Jesus, who died, rose again ! and what a comfort it is, tliat the sauu; Jesus, who arOi?e, shall botli come again, and bring all his with him in gloiy ! and, lastly, wliat a strong cordial is tins to ail good hearts, thai all tho.-e, which die well, do slee|) in Jesus ! "^Ihou thoiightest, perhaps, ot" sleeping in the bed of the grave ; and tliere, indeed, is rest : but he tells thee of sleeping in the bosom ot" Jesus; and there is immoria- litv, and blessedness. () Blesseil Jcsu, in f/nj presence is tliejttlncss of joy, and at thy rii^lil-liand arc pleasures Jur crervwre. Who would desire to walk in the world, when hj may sleep with Jesus ? SECT. 10. Death sTd'cetcned to us by Christ. Thou fearest death : — It is much on what terms, and in what forni, death presents himself to thee : if as an enemy, (as that is some- where his style, the last enemy, death,) thy unpreparation shall make him dreadful ; thy readiness and fortitude shall take off his terror: if as a messenger of God to fetch thee to happiness, what reason hast thou to be afraid of thine own bliss r It is one thing, what death is in himself, a privation of life ; as such, nature cannot choose but abhor him : another thing, what he is by Christ made unto us, an introduction to life, a harbinger to glory. Why would the Lord of Life have yielded unto death ; and, by yieldiiig, vanquished him : but that he might alter and sweeten death to us ; and, of a fierce tyrant, make him a friend and benefactor ? And, if we look upon him thus changed, thus reconciled, how can we choose, but bid him welcome ? SECT.- II. The painfidness of Christ'' s death. Thou art afraid of the pangs of death : — There are those, tliat iiave died without any great sense of pain : some we have known to have yielded up their souls, without so much as a groan : and liow knowest tbou, my son, what measure God hath allotted to thee ? Our death is a sea-voyage, (so tlie Apostle, / desire to lai/nck foj'th* :) wherein some find a rough and tempestuous passaoe ; others, calm and smooth : such thine may prove ; so as fhy disso- lution may be more easy, than a lit of thy sickness. But, if thy God have determined otherwise, Loo{- unto Jesus, t/u author and finisher of our faith, Ileb. xii. 2. tlie Son of Cjod, the * Phil. i. 2:]. 'Av»^{;<7«u 8. o 1 94 PRACTICAL WORKS. Lord of Gloiy. See witli what agonies he.counicted, what tor- ments he endured in his death, for thee. Look ujjon liis bloody- sweat, his bleeding temples, his furrowed back, his nailed hands and feet, his racked joints, his pierced side. Hear his strong cries. Consider the shame, the pain, the curse of the cross, which lie un- derwent for thy sake. Say, whether thy suRerings can he com- parable to his. He is a cowardly and unworthy soldier, that follows his general sighing. Lo, tliese are the steps, wherein thy God and Saviour hath trod before thee. Walk on courageously in tiiis deep and bloody way : after a few paces thou shalt overtake him in glory : for, If we suffer with him, we shall also reign together with him ; 2 Tim. ii. 12. SECT. 12. The vanilij and miseries of life. Tiiou shrinkest at the thought of death : — Is it not, for that thou hast over-valued life ; and made thy home on earth ? Delicate per- sons, that have pampered themselves at home, are loth to stir abroad ; especially upon hard and uncouth voyages. Perhaps, it is so with thee. Wherein I cannot but much pity thy mistaking ; in placing thy contentment there, where a greater and wiser man could find no- thing but vanity and vexation. Ala.s, what can be our exile, if this be our home ? What vvoefid entertainment is this, to be enamour- ed on ! What canst thou meet with here, but distempered humours, hard usages, violent passages, bodily sicknesses, sad complaints, hopes disappointed, frequent miscarriages, wicked plots, cruel me- naces, deadly executions, momentary pleasures sauced with lasting sorrows ; lastly, shadows of joy, and real miseries ? Are these the things, that so bewitch thee, that, when death calls at thy door, ■thou art ready to say to it, as the Devil said to our Saviour, Art thou come to torment me before the time ? Matt. viii. 2L\ Are these those winning contentments, that cause thee to say of the world, as Peter said of Mount Tabor, Master ^ it is good for us to be here? Matt. xvii. 4. If thou have any faith in thee, (and what dost thou profess to be a Christian without it.?) look up to the things of the other world, whither thou art going : and see whether that true life, pure joy, perfect felicity, and the eternity of all these, may not be wor- thy to draw up thy heart to a longing desire of the fruition of ^hem ; and a contemptuous disvalution of all the earth can pro- mise, in comparison of this infinite blessedness. It was one of the defects, which our late noble and learned phi- losopher, the Lord Verulam *, found in our physicians, that they cril Bacon, his " Advancement of Learning." THE BALM OF GILEAD : 0;R, THE COMFORTI.R. 195 through fhc gates of death. Such helps I must leave to tlie care o! the skilful Sages of Nature: the use whereof 1 suppose must be with uuich eautiou, lest, while they endeavour to sweeten death, they shorten life. But, let me prescrilje and conmiend to thee, my son, the true sjiiritual means of thy hap[)V Euthanasia; which can be no otlier, than this faithful disposition of the labouring soul, that ean truly say, I knozv uitoxi I have btheicil , 2 Tim. i. 12 : / have foicsht a good Jiiilit : I have finished my course: J have kept the faith : Henceforth there is laid up for vie a crown uf righteous- 7iess, xchich the Lord, the Itighteous Judge, shall give me at that dtij/ ; ch. iv. 7, S. SECT. 13. Examples of courageous resolutions in otJiers. Thou startest back at the mention of death : — How canst thou but blusli to read of that heathen martyr, Socrates, who, when the message of death was brought to him, could ap[)laud the news as most joyful^ ? or, of a Cardinal of Rome, (who vet expected a tormenting Purgatory,) that received the intimation of his ap- proaching death, with Buona mwui, buona nuova, chc buona nuova e questa \ ? Is not this their confidence thy shame ; who, believing that ichen our earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, xce have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ; 2 Cor. V. 1 : yet shrinkest at the motion of taking the possession of it ? Canst thou, with dying Mithridates, when he took his un- willing farewell of the world, cry out, " Oh, Light !" when thou art gomg to a light more glorious than this thou leavest, than % the sun is more than a weak rush-candle .-' It is our infidelity, my son, it is our mere infidelity, that makes us unwilling to die. Did we think, according to the cursed oj)ini(ni of some fanatic persons, that the soul sleeps as well as the body, from the moment of the dissolution, till the dav of Resurrection ; or, did we doubt lest we should wander to imknown places, wliere we cannot be certain of the entertainment ; or, did we fear a scorching trial, upon the emigration, in flames little inferior, for the time, to those of hell ; tliere were some cause for us to tremble at the approach of death : but, now that we can boldly say, with the Wi.se Man, " The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them : In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die ; and their departure is taken for misery, And their going from us to be utter destruction : but they are in peace;" Wisd. iii. 1, 2, 3: O thou of little faith, why fearest thou ? Why dost thou not chide thyself, as that dying Saint did of * Plato. Phidone. t 1". C(jfrm. dc Morte Bc'llarmini, p. 28. X The Third Folio reads iliis siniuiicc, (without any meaning) " than the sun is more weak, than a rush-candle:" I have restored the passage a> it stands in ihe ori- ginal edition, 12mo. 1646, Epitor. 19G PRACTICAL WORKS. old, "Go forth, my soul, go boldly forth : what art thou afraid of?" Lo, the angels of God are ready to receive thee, and to carry thee u\) to thy glory : neither shalt thou sooner have left this wretched body, than thou shalt be possessed of thy God : after a nionientary darkiicss cast upon nature, thou shalt enjoy the beati- fical vision of the glorious God : be not afraid to be ha])py ; but say, out of faith, tliat which Jonah said in anger; It is better for vie to die, than to live ; Jonah iv. 3. SECT. 14. The happy adirmlages of death. " I AM afraid to die :" — This is the voice of nature : but wilt tliou hear what grace saitb ? To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If, therefore, mere nature reign in thee, tliou canst not but be af- frighted with death : but, if true grace be prevalent in thy souK that guest shall not be unwelcome. Was ever any man afraid of prolit and advantage ? such is death to the faithful. Whosoever he be, that finds Christ to be liis life, shall be sure to find death his gain ; for that he is thereby brought to a more full and near communion with Christ : whereas, before, he enjoyed his Saviour only by the dim apprehension of his faith ; now, he doth clearly and immediately enjoy that glorious presence, which only makes blessedness. This is it, which causeth death to change his copy ; and renders him, who is of himself formidable, pleasing and beneficial. / de- sire to depart, and to be with Christ, Phil. i. 23. saith the man, who was rapt up to the third heaven. Had it been only departing, sure- ly he had had no such great edge to it ; but, to depart, and be xvith Christ is that, which ravisheth his soul. When the heathen Socrates was to die for his religion, he com- forted himself with this. That he should go to the place, where he should see Orplueus, Homer, Musiieus, and the other Worthies of the former Ages. Poor man ! could he have come to iiave known God manifested in the flesh, and reeeived up inio glory, 1 'i'im. iii. 16. and therein that glorified flesh sitting at the right-hand of Majesty; could he have attained to know the blessed order of the Cheru- bim, and Seraphim, Angels, Archangels, Principalities, and Powers, and the rest of the most glorious Hierarchy of Heaven ; could he have been acquainted with that Celestial Choir of the spi- rits of just men made perfect ; Heb. xii. 23. could he have reach- ed to know the God and Father of Spirits, the Infinitely and In- comprehensibly Glorious Deity, whose jircsence transfuses ever- lasting blessedness into all those citizens of glory ; and could lie have known that he should have an undoubted interest, instantly upoix his dissolution, in that infinite bliss : how much more gladly tHE BALM OF GU.EAD : OR, THK COMFORTER. li>7 woukl he have taken oiF his hemlock ; ami how much more merrily would he have ])assed into that happier world '. All tins we know ; and are no less jwsured of it, than of our pie- sent beinp : with uiiat comfort, therefore, should we think of chanoing our present condition, wiih a blessed unmortality ! How sweet a song was tiiat of old Simeon ; Lord^ nax Itltest thou, thy sorant dispart in peace, according to thy word ,- for mine eyes have seen thy Sidvation ! Luke ii. 29, .'>0. Lo, that which he saw by the e^'e of his sense, tiiou seest by the eye of liiy faith ; even the Lord^s Christ; v. 26: he saw liim in weakness ; thou seest him in glof)' : why shouldst tliou not depart, not in peace only, but in joy and comtoit r How did the holy proto-martyr Stephen triumph over all the rage of his enemies, and the violent fury of death, when he had once seen the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right-hand of God ! Acts vii. 5i6. Lo, God olVers the same blcj^sed prospect to the e^e of thy soul. Faith is the key, that can open the heaven of heavens. Fix thy eyes upon tiiat glorious and saving object, thou canst not but lay down thy body in peace ; and send up thy soul into the hands of him that bought it, with the sweet and cheerful recommendation of. Lord, Jesus receive my spirit. CHAP. XVI. 'O-MFOIITS AGAINST THE TERRORS OF JUDGMENT. SECT. 1 . Aggravations of the fearfulness of the Last Jiulgmenf. Thou apprehendest it aright. Death is terrible ; but Judgment more : both these succeed upon the same decree ; // is appointed unto vuin once to die, but after this the Judgment ; Heb. i\. 27. Neither is it more terrible, than less thought on. Death, be- cause he strikes on all hands, and lays before us so many sad ex- amples of mortality, cannot but sometimes take up our hearts ; but the Last Judgment, having no visible j)roofs to force itself upon cur thoughts, too seldom alVrights us. Yet who can conceive the terror of that day? before wliicii, The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into bI"od , Acts ii. 20 : that day, -ccJiich shall burn as an oven, -johen all the proud, and all that do viekedhj shall be as the stubble ; Mai. iv. 1 : that day, in tihich the heavens shall pass auay zcilh a great noise, and the elements shall mill a. ith Jerjcnt heat , the earth also, and the works that are therein sludl be burnt up ; 2 Pet. ill. 10 : that day, wherein the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his tnighfy angels, in /laming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and tluit obey not 198 PRACTICAL WORKS. the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; 2 Thess. i. 7, 8 : that day, •wherein the Lord will come rvifhfire, avd with his chariots like a whirl- wind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flmnes of fir : For hij fire, and hij his sword, will the Lord plead xnth all flesh ; Isa. Ixvi. 1 5, IG : that day, wherein the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him ; and shall sit upon the throiic of his glory, and all nations shall be gat liered before hivi ; Matthew XXV. 31, 32: that (\a.\, wherein all the kindreds of the earth shall •wail because of him ; Rev. i. 7 : jshortl}-, that great and terrible day of the Lord, (Joel. ii. 31.) wherein, if the powers of heaven shall be shaken, how can the heart of man remain unmoved ? wherein, if the world be dissolved, who can bear up ? Alas, we are ready to tremble at hut a thunder-crack, in a poor cloud ; and at a small flash of lightning, that glances through our eyes : v hat shall we do, when the whole frame of the heavens shall break in pieces, aTid when all shall be on a flame about our ears i^ Oh, rfho may abide in the day of his coming '^ and who shall stand when he appeareth ? Mai. iii. 2. SECT. 2. The conditiofi of the dect. Yet be of good cheer, ray son: amidst all thii horror, there is comfort. Whether thou be one of those, whom it shall please God to re- serve alive upon earth to the sight of this dreadful day, He only knows, in whose iiands our times are. This we are sure of, that we are upon the last hours of the last days. Justly do we spit in the feces of St. Peter's Scoffers, that say. Where is the promise of his coming? 2 Pet. iii. 4: well knowing, that the Lord is not slack, as some account slackness, v. 9. but that he, that shall come, will come, and not tarry ; Heb. x. 37. Well mayest thou live to see the Son of Man come in the clodds of heaven, and to be an actor in this last scene of the world. If so, let not thy heart be dismayed with the expectation of these fearful things. Thy change shall be sudden and quick : one moment shall juit off thy mortality, and clothe thee with that incorraption, which shall not he capable of fear and pain. The majestv of tiiis appearance shall add to thy joy and glory. Thou shalt then see the Lord himself descend from hearoi with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God ; 1 Thess. iv. 16. Thou shalt see thyself, and those other which are alive and remain, to be caught vp in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air ; and so shalt thou be ever with the. Lord ; V. 17. Upon this assurance, how justly may the Apostle subjoin, Wherefore coytfort one another with these woj'ds / v. IS. Certainly, if ever there were comfort to be had in any words, not of men or angels only, but of the F-ver-Living God, the God of Truth; these are they, that can and will afford it to our trembhng souls. THE BALM OF GILEAD: OR, THE COMFORTER. 199 But, if thou be one of the number of those, whom God liath determmed to call off, beforehand ; and, by n faithful death, to ])revent the i^reat day of his appearance : here is nothino for thee, hut nv.iitcr of II JO 1/ UHS pea k(i hie and full of glori/ : for, those, that sleep in Jesus, shall God bring xcith him ; 1 Tliess. iv. 14. They shall be part of that glorious train, which shall attend the majesty of the great Judge of the World ; 1 Cor. \ i. 2 : yea, they shall be co-assessors to the Lord of Heaven and Furih in this awful judic;v ture, as sitting upon the bench when guilty men and angels shall be at the bar; v. 3. To him, that orcercometh, saith the Lord Christ, -xill I grant to sit xvith me in my throne , even as I also over- came, and am set dozvn xcdth my Father in his throne; Ilev. iii. 21. What place then is here for any terror ; since, the more state ^^^*^^ heavenly magiiiticence, the more joy and glory r SECT. S. Axve more fit for thoughts of judgment, than fear. Thou art afraid to think of judgment : — I would rather thou shouldst be awful, than timorous. When St. Paul discoursed of the judgment to come, it is no mar- vel diat Felix trembled ; Acts xxiv. 25 : but the same Apostle, when be had pressed to his Corinthians the certainty and generality of our appearance before the Judgment-Seat of Christ, t/iat everj/ one mat/ receive the things done in his body, whether good or evil ; addeth, Knouing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, ue persuaile men ; but ice arc made manifest to God, isc. 2 Cor. v. 11. Lo, the holiest man may not be exempted from the dread, but from the slavish fear of the Great Judge. We know his Infinite Justice : we are conscious to ourselves of our manifold failings : how can we lay these two together, and not fear ; But this fear works not in us a malignant kind of rtipining at tlie severe tribunal of the Almighty ; as, commonly, whom we fear we hate ; but ra- ther a careful endeavour so to approve ourselves, that we may bo acquitted by him, and appear blameless in his presence. ,. How justly may we tremble, when we look upon our own actions, our own deserts ! but how confidenih may we appear at thai bar, when we are beforehand assured of a discharge ! Being justified by faijh, ti-'C have peace with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord ; Rom. V. 1. When we think of an universal conlia^ration of the world, how can we but fear r But when we think of a happy rc- :>titution of all things (Acts iii. 21.) in this day, how can we but re- joice in tremblino- ? SF.CT. 4. In that great and terrible day, our yidzocate is our Judge. Thou quakest at the expectation of the Last Judgment ; — JSurely, the very majesty of that Great ^Vssize must needs be formidable. 200 PRACTICAL WORKS. And, if the very delivery of the Law on Mount Sinai were with so dreadful a pomp of thunder and lightning, of fire, smoke, earth- quakes, that the Israelites were half dead with fear in receiving it ; with what terrible magnificence, shall God come to require an ac- count of that Law, at the hands of the whole sinfid generation of mankind ! Represent unto thy thoughts, that, which was sliewed of old to the Prophet Daniel, in vision. Imagine that thou sawest the An-- cient of Bays silling upon a l/iroue like the fiery ficnnc ; a fiery stream issuing and coining forth from before him'; ihousmul thou- sands ministering unto him, and ten thousand tiines ten thousand standing before him ; the judgment set, and the boo/cs opened; Dan, vii. 9, 10. Or, as John, the Daniel of the New Testament, saw a great n-hite throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fed aicay ; and the dead, both small and great, stand- ing before God; and the books opened; and the dead judged out of those things, which were written in those books, according to their works; Rev. XX. 1 1, 12. Let the eyes of thy mind see, beforehand, that, wiiich these bodily eyes shall once see; and tell me how thou feelest thy- self affected with a sight of such a Judge, such aii a})pcarance, such a process : and, if thou findest thvself in a trembling con- dition, cheer up thyself with this, That "thy Judge is thine Advo- rate ; That, upon that throne, there sits not greater Majesty than Mercy. It is thy Saviour, that shall sentence thee. How safe art thou then, under such hands ! Canst thou fear, that he will doom thee to deatii, who died to give thee life ? Canst thou fear, he will condemn thee for those sins, which he hath given his blood to expiate ? Canst thou fear the rigour of that justice, which he hath so fully satisfied ? Canst thou misdoubt the miscarriage of that soul, which he hath so dcarlv bouoht ? No, my son, all this divine state and magnificence makes for thee. Let those guilty and impenitent souls, who have heaped ■mtto themselves xcrath against the day of xcralh, Worn. \\. 5 : quake at the glorious Majesty of the Son of God ; for whom nothing re- mains, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and fery indignation, which shall dixour the adversaries ; Heb. x. 26, 27. But, for thee, who art not only reconciled unto God by the mediation of the Son of his Love, but art also incorporated into Christ, and made a true hml) of his mystical body ; thou art bidden, together with all the iaithfnl, to hok iip, and lift up thy head ; for noxo the day of thy re- demption is come ^ Luke xxi. 28. Eph. iv. '60. And, indeed, how canst thou do otlier, since, by viitnc of this Wessed union \Aith tiiy Saviour, this glory is thine ^ every member hath an interest in the honour of the Head. Rejoice, therefore, in tlfe '3ay' of the Lord Jesus; Pliil. ii. n, 18: and, when all the tribes of the earth shall wail, (Rev. i. 7.) tlo thou, i^ing and rejoice; and call to the jieavens and the earth to bear thee company: Let the heavens irjoice, and let the earth be glad'} let the sea make a noise, and all that is therein. Let tkt field be joyful, and all that is in it ; then shall all the trees of the THE BALM OF GILEAD : OR, THE COMFOKTtlJ. 201 wood rejoice btfore the Lord ; for he coyneih, for he cometh to judge the earth ; and ztu'th rii^hfeousness to judge the world, and the people with his truth ; Ps; xcvi. 1 l, IJ, i:i. Sl'XT. 5. Frequent meditation and due preparation, the remedies of our Jcar. Tuou art ai}ri(rHted with the thought of that frreat dav : — Think ot it ottener, an.l tliou shall less fear it. It will come, hoth surely and suddenly : let tFiy frequent thoughts prevent it. It will come, as a thief in the night ; without warning, without m^se : let thy careful vigilance always expect it ; and thy soul shall he sure not to be surprised, not to he confounded. Thine auilit is hoih sure and uncertain: sure, that it will be; uncertain, when it will be. If thou wilt approve thyself a good steward, have thine account al- ways ready : set thy reckoning still even, betwixt God and thy soul : Blessed is the smant, xe'hom his Master shall find so doing ; Matt. xxiv. 46. Look upon these heavens and this earth, as dis- !«;olving ; and think, with Jerome, that thou hearest the last trump, and the voice of the archangel shrilling in thine ears, as once thou shalt, y/r/vr, ye dead, and anjie to judgment. Shortly, let it be thy main ca'-e, to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, ami the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he mighf redeem us from all iniquity ; Titus ii. 12, 1.3', 14: Ji'ho shall ehange our vile body, that it may be fashioned like to his glorious*hodti ; according 1o the working, wherebxj he is able to subdue all things to himself ; Phil. iii. 'J 1. CHAP. XVII. COMFO[tTS AC/AINST TIIF. FEARS OF OUR .SI'IlUTUAL ENEMIES. SECT. 1. The great power of evil spirits, and their restraint. TllOU art aftVighted at the thought of thy spiritual enemies: — No )iiarvel : neither earth nor hell jiaih anything es in tiie air ; as that, which, from the wilderness, heat upon tiie four corners of the house of Job's eldest son, and overlhrow it; Job i. !<• : lo, Joh uas i/ie greatest manin the east ; Job. i. ;5 : his heir did not dwell ni a cottage: that strong fal)ric could not stand against tiiis hurricane of Satan: Wh;it ieariul appariticjus he makes in the upper regions : what great wonders he doih, causing lire to come down from hea- ven on the earth, in the sight of men ; Rev. xiii. 13 : Lastly, what grievous tyranny he exerciseih tipon all the ehildien of disobe- dience i'' I'^ph. v. G. Couldst thou look for any less, my son, from those, whom the lj>pirit of God himself aiylcs, pritieipa/i/ ics and poxiers, and rulers of the darkness of this -dorld, and spiritual "■ji'ickednesses in high places, tiud the prince of the poxerr of the air? Kph. vi. 12. ii. 2. Surely, it were no mastery to he a Christian^ if we had not powerful op- posites. But dost thou not, withal, consider, that all this power is by con- cession ; and the exercise of it but with })crmission, with limita- tion ? \\ hat jiower can there be in any creature, which is not de- rived from the Almighty ? This measiu'e the InHnite Creator was pleased to comnmnicate to them, as angels; which they retain and exercise still, as devils : their danmation hath stripped them of their glory ; but we know not of how much of their strength. And, seest thou not how their power is hounded ? Those, that could, in appearance, turn their rods into serpents, could not keep all their serpents from being devoured of that one serpent of Moses: those, that could bring frogs uj)on Egy|>t, cannot bring a baser creature, lice : those, that were suffered to ])ring frogs, shall not have power to take them away; Kxod. vii. 12. viii. 18, 19; 8 — 1 1. Restrained powers must know their limits ; and we, know- ing them, must set limits to our fears. A lion chained up can do less harm, than a cur let loose. What is it to thee, how power- ful the evil spirits are, while they are, by an over-ruling power, tiett up to their stake that they cannot hurt thee ? SECT. 2. The fear of the mnnber of evil spirits, and tlie ronedij of it. TiiY fears are increased with their number : they are as many, as powerful. One demoniac v, as j)Ossessed with a legion : how niany legions then shall we think there are, to tempt those millions of THE BALM OF GILEAD: OR, Tilt COMFORTER. '203 men, which live upon die face of tlie earth, whereof no one is free frt»ni their continual solicitations to evil ! That holy man, whom our counterfeit hermits would pretend to imitate in the vision ot his retiredness, saw the air full of them, and of their snares for mankind ; and, were our eyes as clear as his, we might perhaps meet with the same; prospect : — But be not dismayed, my son. Could.st thou borrow the eyes of the servant of a holier master, thou shouldst see, that there are more n-ilh us, than thtx) that arc a^^ainst us ; 2 Kings vi. 16. Thou shouldst see the blessed angels cf God, pitching their tents about thee ; as the more powerful, vigilant, constant guardians of thy soul : lo, these are those valiant ones, which stand about thy bed : They all hold szt'ords, beine expert in war : every one hath his sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the night ; Cant. iii. 7, 8. Fear not, therefore ; but make the Lord, even the Most High, thy habitation. Then, there shall no evil befal thee : neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwcUing. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy zrays. 7 hey shall bear thee up in. their hands ; lest thou dash thy foot against a stone ; Ps. xci. 9 — 12 : yea, and, besides this safe indemnity, Thou shalt trea^ upon the lion and adder : the young lion and the dragon, shalt thou trample wider feet ; v. 13. In secular enmity, true valour may be oppressed, will not easily be daunted with multitude. / will not be a/raid of ten thousand, saitl) David ; Ps. iii. 6. They came about me like bees ; but, in the name of the Lord, will / dcstioy them ; Ps. cxviii. 12. It was a brave resolution in that general, who, when one of his soldiers could tell him, that the cloud of Persian arrows shot at them darkened the sun : " Be of good cheer," said he, " we shall fight in the shade." Answerable whercunto was that heroical determination of Luther, who, after his engagements, against all threats and dissuasions, would go into the city of \Vorms, though there were as many devils in it as tiles upon their houses. And why should not we imitate this confidence r What if there were as many devils in the air, as there are spires of ^rass on the earth ? God is our refuge and strength ; a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed ; though the viountains be carried into the midst of the sea ; Ps. xlvi. 1, 2. Behold, God is our salvation : we will trust, and not be afraid ; for the L^ord Jehuvah is our strength, and our song : he also is become our salvation ; Is. xii. 2. Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered ; let them also, that hate him, fee before him : T^ike as the smoke vanisheth, so shalt thou drive them away; Ps. Ixviii. 1, 2. SECT. 3. Tile malice of the evil spirits, and our fears thereof remedied. But, oh, the malice of those infernal spirits, implacable and deadly ; whose trade is temptation and accusation ; whose delight is tor- -04 PRACTICAL AVOllKS. ment ; whose music is shrieks antl liowHugs, and groans, and gnash- ing ; and whose main drift is no Iqss, than the eternal death and damnaiion of miserable mankind ! — Why should wt', my son, expect other from liim, who is pro- fessedly the manslayer from the beginning; thfit carries nothing but destruction both in his name and nature ; that goes about conti- nually, like a Toa>'ifi£[ lion, seekiuif ulioni he mail dtxmir <=* Surely, this malignity is restless: neither wiii take up with any thing on this side hell : — But, comfort thyself in this, that, in spite of all the malice of hell, thou art safe. Dost thou not know, that there stands by thee the victorious /./()» of the Tribe of Judah, whom ti^at Infernal Ha- vener dare not look in the face ? Dost thou not remember, that, when the sentence was pronounced of eternal enmity, between the Seed of the \\ Oman and the seed of the serpent, it was with this doom, // shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel ? Gen. iii, 15. Lo, a bruise of a man's heel is far from tlie heart; but a bruise of the serpent's head is mortal : there his sting, there his life lies. Neither did the Seed of the Woman, Cnrist Jesus, this for himself, who was infinitelv above all the |)ovver and malice of the Devil; but for us, the impotent and sinful seed of man. 7'Ae (yod of Peace shall bruise Satan under your feet, saith the l)lessed Apostle; Horn, xvi. 20 •. under your feet ; not under his own, only ; of whom God the Fiither had long before said, Sit thou onwy right-hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool; Ps. ex. 1. Yea, what do i speak of the future ? vVlready is this great work done : already is this great work atchieved : for the Lord of Life, having spoiled principalitiis and pon'ers, hath made a shew of them openly, trimnphing over them on \ns Cross ; Col. ii. 1.5. Lo, all the powers of hell were dragged after ihis Glorious Conijueror, when he w-as advanced upon that triumjjhant chariot, r: Look,;ftherefore, my son, upon these hellish forces as. already vanquished ; and know, that in all things tfe tf)'e more than eon- querors, through him, that loved us; Rom. viii. 37. Only do thou, by the power of thy faith, apply unto th3-self this great work, that thv Victorious Saviour hath done, for the salvation of all the world of believers. SECT. 4. The great subtlety ofexdl spirits, and the remedy of th^ fear of it. Power, without malice, were harmless ; and malice, withouk ]iower, were impotent: but, when both are combined together, they are dreadful. But, whereas malice hath tw^o ways to execute jnischief, either force or fraud ; the malice of Satan prevails more bv this latter: so as the subtlety of, these malignant s})irits is more pernicious, than their power. In regard of his power, he is a Lion ; in regard of his subtlety, he is a Serpent ; Gen. iii. 1 : yea, that Old Serpent (Rev. xii. i). .xx. 2.) whose craft must needs be more THE BALM OF Gir.KAD! OR, THE COMTORTEK. 20:; closely increased, by the age and experience of so many thousand years : — So much tiie more cairful ought we to he, my son, I.est Satan should get an adxanUige of us ; 2 Cor. ii. 11. This is that, he seeks; and, if our spintual wisdom and circumspection he not the more, will be sure to Hud. It is a great word, and too high for us, which the Apostle speaks; Foi'wc are vot ignorayit of Satan'' s devices ; 2 Cor, ii. 11. Alas, he hath a thousand stratagems, that our weak siuipliciiv is never able to reach unto. 'I'he wisest of us knows not the decoitfuhiess of his own heart; much less, can he dive into the plots of hell, that arc against us. ^Vc hear and are forewarned of the "wilcs of the J)r,;iti Ej)h. vi. II: but what his special machinations are, how can we know ; much less, jireveut ? Even the children of this zivi'ld, saitli our Saviour, are, in their generation ^ n'iser than ihe children of lii^ht ; Luke xvi. S : how much move crafty is their Fadier, from whom their cunning is derived ! Be as mean as thou wilt, my son, in thine own eyes: say, with Agur the son of Jakeh, Surely, I ayn more brutish thait any man, and have not the understanding of a man : I fieither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy ; Prov. xxx. 2, 3. But, whatever thou art in thyself, know what thou art, ormayest be, in thy God. Consider what the man after God's own heart sticks not to profess: Thou, through thy commandments, hast nuide me wiser than mine monies ; for thou, art tvcr with me ; Ps. cxix. 98. Lo, the Spirit of fl'isdoni (l)eut. xxxiv. 9. Eph. i. 17.) is ours: and he, who is the Eternal Wisdom of the Eathcr, hmade unto us wis- dom, as well as righteousness ; I Cor. i. 30: and he, who overrules hell, hath said. The gates of liell shall not prevail against his Church. What are tiie gates of hell, but the deep plots and consultations of those infernal powers ? The serpent is the known emblem of subtlety. The serpents of the Egyptian sorcerers were all devoured by Moses's serpent : wherefore? but fo shew us, that all the crafty counsels and machi- nations of hellish projectors are easily destroyed, by the power and wisdom of the Almighty ? When all was done, it was the rod of God, that swallowed them all ; and was yet stilJ itself, Avhni tliey were vanquished : so as that, whereby Satan thought to have won most honour to himself, ended in his shame and loss. What an infinite advantage did the powers of darkness think to have made, in drawiufr our first parents, by their subtle su^oestions, juto sni; and, thereby, uito perdition: as nnagining, " Either man- kind shall not be, or shall be ours !" ''I'he incomprehensible wisdom and mercy of our God disappointed their hopes ; and took occasion, by man's fall, to raise hinj uf) to a greater glory ; and so ordered it, that the Serpent's nil)bling at the heel cost him the breaking of his head. What trophies did that Wicked S[)irit think to erect upon the ruins of rnist'rable Job! and how was he l)ank'd by the patience of thilt Saint! and how was that Saint doubled, both in his estate and ^jonour, bv his concjuering jidtience I 20(> PRACTICAL WORKS. How confidently did the subtlety of hell say, concerning the Son of God exhibited in the flesh; This is iJw ileir ; come, let us kill him, and the inhei^ilance shall he ours! Matt. xxi. 38. Mark xii. 7. Luke XX. 14, How sure work did they think they had made, when they saw him, through their subtle procurement, nailed to the Cross, and dying upon that tree of shame and curse ; when thev saw him laid dead under a sealed and guarded gravestone 1 And now, behold, even now begins their confusion, and his triumph : now doth the Lord of Life begin to trample upon death anil liell ; and to perfect his own glory, and man's redemption, by his most glorious Resurrection. And, as it was with the Head, so it is with the members. When Satan hath done his worst, they are holier uj)on their sins, and hap- pier by their miscarriages. God finds out a way to improve their evils to advantage; and teaches them, of these vipers, to make so- vereign treacles, and safe and powerful trochisees. Short!}', the temptations of Satan sent out from his power, ma- lice, subtlety, are no other than fiery darts ; for their suddenness, impetuosity, penetration. If we can but hold out the shield of faith before us, they shall not be quenched only, but retorted into the face of him that sends them; Eph. vi. 16; and we shall, with the Chosen Vessel, find and profess, that, in all things^ u^ are more than co}'guerois, through hivi, that loved us ; Rom. viii. 37: and, in a bold defiance of all the powers of darkness, shall say, I am per- suaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, Tior powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor ami other creature^ shall be able to separate us from the love cf God, xvhich is in Christ Jesus, our Lord ; vv. 38, 39: To whom be all honour, glory, praise, power, and dominion, now and for evennore. CHAP. XVHL THE UNIVERSAL RECIPE FOR ALL MALADIES. These are, my son, special compositions of wholesome Recipes, for the several maladies of thv soul : wherein it shall be my happiness, to have suggested unto thee such thoughts, as may any whit avail to the alleviation of thy sorrows. But, there is an Universal Remedy, which a skilfuller Physician hath ordained for all thy grievances; and I, from his hand, earnestly recommend to thee: Is any among you ajfiicted? let him pray ; James v. 13. I.o here the great and so\ere\gnPanphar>nacum of the distressed soul ; which is able to give ease to all the fore-mentioned complaints. Art thou cast down upon thy sick-bed ? Call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray ; James v. 14. This was Hezekiah's re- cipe, when he was sick unto death : lie turned his face to the wally and prayed ; 2 Kings xx. 1, 2. This was David's recipe: Have wercy on me, Q Lord; for I am weak : O Lord, heal me ; for my THE BALM OF GILEAD : OR, THE CO.MFORTFR. 207 bones are vexed ; Ps. vi. 2. Take, therefore, the cnnnscl cif the Wise Man: " My son, in thy sickness l)e not neghgent ; hnt piav unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole ;" Ecclus. xxxviii. y. Art thou soul-sick ? Pray. So did holy David : The .sorrozcs of hell compassed me about; and the snares of dealh pre-centcdtnc. In my distress, I called upon the Lo>d, and cried unto my God , Ps. xviii. o, 6. cxvi. 3, 4. Art thou infested with importunate temptations ? Pray. So did St. Paul, when the messenger of Satan was sent to bnlfet him: Thrice^ J besought the Lord that it might depart from me ,• 2 Cor. xii. 8. So did David: Wliilc I suffer thy terrors, I am dis'racled. Thy fierce xvra'h goeth oier me ; Ps. Jxxxviii. I •>, 16: But unto thvc have I cried, O Lord ; and, in the morning, shall my praytr pre- lent thte ; v. 13. .Vrt thoii disheartened witli the weakness of grace? Pray. So did David: I am feeble and sore bra/ten: / have roared, by reason of the disquiet ness of my IwarC : Lord, all my desire is before thee ; Ps. \x\\;ii. 8. 'j. Art thou afflicted with tho slanders of evil tongues? Piay. So did David : llie mouth of ike nicked and the nwulh of' the deceiful arc opened against me : they have spoken against me with a lying tongue t Ps. cix. 2. Hold not thy peace, O (jod of my praise ; v. 1. Art thou grieved or a'.lVighted with the public calamities of war, famine, pestilence ? Pray. So good .lehosaphat presseth God vvidi his gracious promise, mad^ to Solomon; 2 Chron. vii. 13, 14, 15. Jf 'uhen evil comet h upon us ; as the Su}ord, judgment, or pestilencey or famine ; we stand before this house, and in thy presence, and cru xin'o thee in our affliction ; then thou wilt hear and help ; 1 Chroii. XX. P. and shuts up his zealous supplication with, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee ; v, 12. Art thou afflicted with the loss of friends ? Pray, and have recourse to thy God, as F^zekiel, when Peletiah, the son of Benaiah, died: Then fell I down upon my face, and cried n'ith a loud voice, and said,, Ah, Lord God ! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israeli Fzek. xi. 13. Art thou distressed witii poverty ? Pray. So did David : / am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I became also a reproach to them ; 'when they, that looked upon me, shaked their heads. Help me, O Lo)d my God : Oh, save me, according to thy viercy ; Ps. cix. 22,25,26. Art thou imprisoned ? Pray. So did Jonah, when he was shut up wMthin the living walls of the whale : I cried, by reason of my af- Jtiction, unto the Lord ; Jonah ii. 2. So did Asaph : L.et the sighins of th'" prisoner come b,fore thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou them, that are appoiyitcd to die ; Ps. Ixxix. 1 1. Art thou driven from thy country ' Pray. This is the remedy prescribed by Solomon, in his su[)plication to God: If thy people be carried away into a land far of, or near : Yet, if they bethink themselves in the land whilher thty are carried, and turn, and pra^ to thee in the land of their captivity : Jf they return to thte with aK 208 PRACTICAL WORKS. their hearts, and prai/ toward (he land which thou^avest to their fore- fathers, Nf. Then, licar thou from heaven their prayer, and their supplication ; 2 Cliron. vi. 36 — 39. Art thou bereaved of thy bodily senses ? Make thy adih-ess to him, that said, JVho hath made ')mni's mouth ? or who inaketh tint dumb, and the deuf, or the seeing, or the blind y have not I, the Lord? Exod. iv. 11. Cry aloud to him, with BartiiDeus, Lord, that I may receive my sight ; Matt. x. 47, 3 1 . And, if thou be hopeless of thine outward sight, yet pray, with the Psalmist, O Lord, open ilwu onine eyes, that L may see the wondrous things of ihij Law ; Ps. cxix. 18. Art thou afflicted with sterility ? Pray. So did Isaac ; Gen. xxv. 21. So did Hannah: she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore; and received a gracious answer; 1 Sam. j. 10. ii. 21. Art thou troubled and weakened with want of rest ? Pray. So did Asaph : / coin plained, and my spirit was overxehdmed. Thou boldest mine eyes waking : L am so troubled, that L cannot speak ,■ Ps. Ixxvii. 3, 4. L cried to God with my voice ; unto God with my voice, and he gave ear unto mt ; v. 1. Dost thou droop under the grievances of old age ? Pray. So did David: Oh, cast me not off in the time of old age : forsake vie not, when my strength faileth ; Ps. Ixxi. 9. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth : Now also, when L am old and grey-headed^ God, forscike me not ; vv. 17, 18, Art thou troubled and dismayed with the fears of death ? Pray. So did David: ]\ly soul is full if troubles ; and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. L am counted with them, that go down into the pit : I am as a man, that hath -no strength. Free among the dead: thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkn':ss, i)i the deeps ; Ps. Ixxxviii. 3 — 6. But unto thee have L cried, O Lord ; ami, in the morning, shall my prayer prevent thee ; v. 13. Dost thou tremble at the thought of judgment ? So did the man after God's own heart: My flesh trembleth for fear of thee ; and I am afraid of thy judgments ; Ps. cxix. 120. Look uj), with Jeremiah, and say to thy Saviour, Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life: Lord, judge thou my cause ; Lam. iii. 58, b9. Lastly, art thou afraid of th.e power, malice, subtlety of thy spi- ritual enemies ? Piay. So did David: Deliver vie from mine ene- mies, my God : defend me from them, that rise up agaiiisi me ; Ps. lix. 1. Oh, hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; Ps. Ixiv. 2. Consider mine enemies ; for they are many, and they hate me with cruel haired. Oh, keep my soul, ami deliver me; Ps. xxv. 19, 20. So did St. Paul pray, that he might be freed from the messenger of Satan, whose buffets he felt; and was answered vith. My grace is sujHcient for thee ; 2 Cor. xii. 9. So he sues for all God's Saints : May the God of Peace tread down Satan umler your feet shortly ; Rom. xvi. 20. Shortly, whatever evil it be that presscth thy soul, have speedy , THE BALM OF GII.EAD: OR, TIIF. COMFORTER. 209 recourse to the Tliroue of Grace : pour out iliy heart into the cars o{ the Falhfv of all MoxicSy ami God of all Coni/orf ; and he sure, if not of redress, yet of case : We have his wcn-d for it, that cannot fail us: Call upon me in the day of (rouble, and I null deliver thee ; and thou shalt glorifu me ; Ps. I. 1 .5, Fashionahle suppliants may talk to God ; hut, he confident, he, that can trulv pray, can never he truly miserahle. Of oursehes, ue he open U) all evils: our rescue is from ahove : and what inter- course have we with heaven, but by our Prayers ? Our Prayers are they, tl)at can deliver us from dangers, avert judgments, prevent mischiefs, procure blessings; that can obtain pardon for our sins, furnish us with strength against temj;)tations, mitigate the extremity of our sutU'erings, sustain our infirmities, raise up our deiectedness, increase our graces, abate our corruptions, sanctify all good tilings to us, sweeten the bitterness of our afflictions, open the windows of heaven, shut up the bars of death, vanquish the power of hell. Pray ; and be both safe and happy. TREATISE OF CHRIST MYSTICAL: OR. THE BLESSED UNION ©F CHRIST AND HIS MEMBERS. ^y JOSEPH, BISHOP OF NORWICH. 213 TO THE ONLY HONOUR AND GLOIiY OF HIS BLESSED SAVIOUR AND REDEEMER : AND TO THE COMFORT AND BENEFIT OF ALL THOSE MEMBERS OI HIS MYSTICAL BODY, WHICH ARE STILL LABOURING AND WARFARING UPON EARTH ; JOSEPH HALL, THEIR UNWORTIIIEST SERVANT, HUMBLY DEDICATES THIS FRUIT OF HIS OLD AGE. 14 CHRIST MYSTICAL. CHAP. I. INTRODUCTORY. SECT. I. How to he happij in the apprehending of Christ. There is not so much need of learning as of grace, to apprehend those things, nhich concern our everhisting peace. Neither is it our brain, that must be set on work iiere ; bul our heart : for true hapjiiness dot'- not consist in a mere speculation, l>ut a fruition of good. However, therefore, there is excellent use of scholarship in ail the aaced employments of Divinity ; yet in the main act, which imports salvation, skill must give place to alTection. Happy is the soul, that is possessed of Christ, how poor soever in all in- ferior endow, iic its. Ye are wide, O ye great wits, while you spend yourselves in cu- rious questions, and learned extravagancies. Ye shall find one touch of Christ move worth to your souls, than all your deep and laboursorne disquisitions : one drum of faith more precious than a pound Ok knowledge. In vain siiall ye seek for this in your books, if you miss it in your bosoms. If you know all things, and cannot triily say, I k?iowa'hom I have believed., {2 Tim. i. 12.) you have but knowledge enough to know yourselves truly miserable. Wouldst thou, therefore, niy son, find true and solid comfort in the hour of temptation, in the agony of death ? make sure work for thy soul, in the days of thy peace. Find Christ thine ; and, in the despite of hell, tliou art both safe and blessed. Look not so much to an Absolute Deity, infinitely and incompre- hensibly glorious : alas, that Majesty, because perfectly and essen- tially good, is, out of Christ, no other than an enemy to thee. Thy sin irath offended his justice, which is himself: what hast thou to do with that dreadful power, which thou hast provoked ? Look to that merciful and all-suificient Mediator betwixt God and 7nan, who is both God and Man, Jesus Christ the righteous ; 1 Tim. ii. 5. 1 John ii. 1. It is his charge, and our dut}', Ye believe in God, believe also in mc ; John xiv. 1. CHRIST MYSTICAL. 2 1 6 Vet look not merely to the Lord Jesus, as considered in the nn- fion of his own eternal being, as the Son of God, co-equal an«l co-essential to God the Father : hut look upon hnn, as ho stands 'u\ reterence to the sons of men. And. herein also, look not to hiuj so much, as a Lauiriver and a Judoe; there is terror in such ap- prehension : but look upon Inni, as a gracious iSaviour and Advo- cate*. And, lastly, look not u|Min him, as in the generality of his mercy, the common Saviour of Mankind : what ccmdort were it to thee,'that all the world except t'lyseif were saved - but look upon him, as the dear Redeemer of thy soul ; as thine Advocate, at the; right-hand of Majesty ; as one, with whom thou art, through his wonderful Uiercy, inseparably united. Thus look upon him, hrndy and fixedly ; so as he may never be out of thine eyes : and, whatever secular objects interpose themselves betwixt thee and him, look through them, as some slight mists ; and terminate thv sight still in this blessed prospect. Let neither earth nor heaven liide them from thee, in whatsoever condition. SECT. 2. The honour and happiness of being united to Christ. And, while thou art thus taken up, see if thou canst, without won- der and a kind of ecstatical amazement, behold the inlinite good- ness of thv God, that hath exalt<*d thy wretchedness to no less than a blessed and indivisible union with the Lord of Glory : so as thou, who, in the sense of thy miserable mortality, mayest say to cor- ruption, thou art mi/ father ; and to the -worm, thou art my mother and imj sister ; Job xvii. 14. can.>t now, through the privilege of thy faith, hear the Son of God sav unto thee. Thou art bone of my bone, and flesh of mi) flesh ; Gen. ii. 23. Eph. v. 30. Surely, as we are too much subject to pride ourselves, in thesff earthly glories ; so we are too apt, through ignorance or pusillani- mity, to undervalue ouivelves in respect of our spiritual condition : we are far more noble and excellent than we account ourselves. It is our faith, that must raise our thoughts to u due estimation of our greatness ; and must shew us how liighly we are descended, how royally we are allied, how gloriously estated. That only is it, that must advance us to heaven, and bring heaven down to us : through the want of the exercise whereof it conies to pass, that, to the great prejudice of our souls, we are ready to think of Christ Jesus as a stranger to us ; as one, aloof o'T in another world, ap- prehended only by fits in a kind of inetfectual speculation, without any lively feeling of our own interest in him ; whereas, we ought, by the powerful operation of this grace in our heart.s, to find so heavenly an appropriation of Christ to our souls, as that every be- liever may truly say, " I am one with Christ : Christ is one witli me." Luthtr. in GaL :216 PRACTICAL WORKS. Had we not good warrant for so high a challenge, it could be no less than a bliLsphemous arrogance, to lay claim to the royal blood of heaven : biu, since it hath pleased the God of Heaven so far to dignity our unwortiiintss, as, in ih^multitude of his mercies, to ad- mit and allow us to he partakers q/the divine nature, (2 Pet. i. 4.) it were no other than an unihankfnl stupidity, not to lay hold on so glorious a privilege, and to go for less than God hath made us. CHAP. H. THE KIND AND MANNER OF THIS UNION WITH CHRIST. Know now, my son, that thou art upon the ground of all consola- tion to thy soul ; which consists in this btaiifical union with thv God and Saviour. Think noi, therefore, to pass over this important mysterv, with some transient and perfunctory glances : but let tliy heart dwell upon it ; as that, which nnist stick by thee in all extremities, and cheer thee up when thou art forsaken of all worldly comforts. Do not then conceive of this union, as some imaginary thing, that hath no other being but in the brain ; whose faculties have power to apprehend and bring home to itself far remote sub- stances; possessing itself, hi a sort, of whatsoever it conceives. Do not think it an union merely virtual, by the participaiion of those spiritual gifts and graces which God worketh in the soul, as the comfortable eifecLs of our liapp}' conjunction with Christ. Do not thnik it an accidental union, in respect of some circumstances and qualities, wherein we communicate with him, who is God and Man : nor yet a metaphorical union, by way of figurative re- semblance. But know, that this is a true, real, essential, substantial union, whereby the person of the believer is indissolubly united to the <;lorious person of the Son of God. Know, that this union is not inore mystical than certain ; that in natural unions there may be more evidence, there cannot be more truth. Neither is there so firm and close an union betwixt the soul and body, as there is be- twixt Christ and the believing soul ; foraspiuch as that may be se- vered by death, but this never. Away yet with all gross carnality of conceit. This union is true, and really existent ; but yet spiritual. And, if some of the an- cients have termed it natural and bodily, it hath been in respect to the subject united ; our Humanit)- to the two blessed natures of the Son of God, met in one most glorious person : not in respect of the manner of the uniting. Neither is it the less real, because spiritual. Spiritual agents neither have nor put forth any whit less virtue, because sense cannot discern their manner of working. Even tlie loadstone, though atj CHIUST MYSTICAL. 2 11 earthen sub>tance, yet, when it is out of sight, ^vllOthel• uiuler the table or behiml a solid partition, stirreth the needle as etrcctnally as it" it were witliin view : shall not he contradict his senses, that will say, '* It cannot work, because I see it not ?" O Saviour, thou art more luiue, than uiy body is mine. My sense feels that present'; but so, that I must lose it : my faith sees and feels thee so present with me, that I shall never be parted irom thee. CHAP. III. THE RESEMBLANCES OF THIS UNION. srxT. 1. The resemblance of this union, by the Head and Bodij. Thkre is no resemblance, whereby the Spirit of God more delights to set forth the heavenly union betwixt Christ and tlie believer, tiian that of the head and Tiir. body. The head "ives sense and motion to all tiie member,-; of the body : and tiie body is one, not only by the continuity of ail the parts held together with the same natural ligaments, and covered NMth one and the same skni ; but much more by the animation of the same soul quickening that whole frame. In the acting whereot, it is not the large extent of the stature, and distance of the limbs from each other, that can make an}' dif- icrence. The body of a ciiild, that is but a span long, cannot be said to be more uniied, t!ian the vast body of a giantlv son of Anak, whose height is as the cedars; and, if we could suppoi;e such a body as high as heaven itself, that one soul, which dwells in it and is diffused through all the parts of it, would make it but one entire body. Right so it is with Christ and his Church. That one Spirit of his, which dwells in and enlivens every believer, unites all those far- distant members, both to each other and to their head ; and makes them up into one true mvstical body : so as now, every true ]>e- liever may, without presumption, but with all holy reverence: and huujble tharikfulnesN, say to his Cjod a^d Saviour, '• Beiiold, Lord, I am, how unworthy soever, one of the limbs of thy body ; and therelore have a right to all that thou hast, to all that thou dt^est '. thine eyes see for me : thine ears hear for \\\v : ihv hand acts for me : th}' life, thy grace, thy happiness is mine." Oh, the wonder of the two blessed miions ! In the personal union, it pleased God to assume anil unite our bmnati nature to the Deity : in the spiritual and mystual, it [/leases Cjiod to mmi- CIS FRACTICAL W0RK5. the person ot" eveiy believer to the person of the Son of God, Our souls are too narrow to bless God enougli for these incompre- hensible mercies ; mercies, wherein he hath preferred us, be it spoken wiih all godly lowliness, to the hiessed angels of heaven . For^ lerilij, he took vot upon him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham ; Heb. ii. 16. Neither hath he made those glorious spirits members of his mystical body ; but his Saints, whom lie luth, as it were, so incorporated, tliat they are become bis body and he theirs, according to that of the divine Apostle^ Fo7^, as the body is one and Juith mam) members, and all the members cf that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ ; 1 Cor. iii. 12. SECT. 2. This union set forth, by the resemblance of the Husband and Wife. Next hereunto, there is no resemblance of this mystery, either more frequent or more full of lively expression, than that of THE CONJUGAL UNION BETWIXT THE HUSBAND AND WIFE. Christ is, as the Head, so the Husband of the Church : the Church and every believing soul is the Spouse of this Heavenly Bridegroom ; whom he marrieth mito himse!fyb/' ever, in righteous- ness, and in Judgment^ and in loving-kindness, and in mercies ,- Isa. Ixii. h. Hos. ii. li». And this match, thus made up, fulfils that decretive word of the Almiglity, They iii^ain shall bi- one flesh ; Eph. v. 31. Gen. ii. 21. Oh, iiap})y conjunction of the Second Adam, with her, which was taken out of his most precious side I Ob, heavenly and com- ])iete marriage 1 wherein God, the Father, brings and gives the Bride ; Gen. ii. 22. All, thut the Fatlier giveth vie, shall come to vie, saitli Christ ; John vi. 37 ; wherein God, the Son, receives tiie Bride, as mutually partaking of the same nature ; and can say. This is now bone of my bone, and fltsh of my flesh; John i. 14. Gen. ii. 23 v wherein God, the Holy Ghost, knits our wills in a full and glad consent, to the full consummation of this blessed wed- lock. And those, whom God hatb thus joined together, let no man (no devil can) put asunder. What is there then, which an affectionate husband can withhold from a dear wife ? He, that hath given himself to her, w^hat can he deny to impart ? He, that hath made himself one with her, how can he be divided from his other self ? Some wild fancies there are, that have framed the links of marriage of so brittle stuff, as that they may be snapt in sunder upon every slight occasion ; but he, that ordained it in paradise for an earthly representation of this heavenly imion betwixt Christ and his Church, hath made that and his own indissoluble. Here is no contract in the future, which, upon some Intcnenient CHRIST MYSTIC.\I.. '2 1 9 accidents, may be reniitted ; but, / am vij/ wtll-bfloi-aVs, end ini/ u'dl-beLoird is mine ; Cam. vi. 3. ii. 16: and, therelorc, each is io pthcr's, that neither of tlicm is their own. Oh, the comfortable mystery of our unilincr to the Son of God I The 'I'ife hatli not the po-xer of her own I'odi/, but the husband ; 1 Cor. vii. 4. \^'e are at thy disiJO->ing, O Saviour : we are not our ow!i, Neitlier art thou so absohttely thine, ;us tliat we may not, through thine infinite mercy, claim an interi'st in thee. Thou hast given us such a righi \u thyself, as liiat we are bold to lay challenge to ali ihat is thine ; to thy love, to thy merits, to thy blessings, to thy glory. It was wo;it of old, to be the plea of the Roman wives to their iuisbanils, " \\ here thou art Caius, I am Caia :" and now, in our pre.>ent marriages, we have not stuck to say, '' Willi all mv ■worklly goods I thee endow." And, if it be thus in our imperfect conjunctions here upon earth, how much more in that exquisite Oneness, which is betwixt thee, O Blessed Saviour, and thy dearest Spouse th^' Church ! M hat is it then, that can hinder us from a sweet and heavenly fruition of thee .'' Is it the loathsome condition of our nature ? thou sawest this 4)efore; and yet couKht sny, when zee n^ere j/et in our blood. Live ; Ei:ek, xvi. 6. Had we not been so vile, tliy mercy had not been 30 glorious. Tliv free grace did all for us : Thou washedst us with wafer, and anoinfedst us with oil, and clothedst us with broidcred worl:, and girdedsf us about with fine linen, and coiercdst us wi'h sil/^-, and deckedst us with ornaments ; and didst put bracelets upon our hands, and a chain on our neck, and jewels an our foreheads, and ear-, rings on our ears, a beautiful crown on our heads ; Ezek. xvi. 9 — 12. What we had not, thou gavest ; what thou didst not find, thou madest ; that we might be a iu)t-utuneet match for the Lord of Life. Is it want of beauty ? Behold, I am black, but comely ; Cant. i. 5. Whatever our hue be in our own or otiiers' eyes, it is enough, that we are lovely in thine. Beiiold, thou art fair, my bclo-jtd : behold, thou art fair, yea pleasant ; Cant. i. 16. 7'hou art beautiful, O wi/ love, as Tirzak ; cornel ij, as Jerusalem ; vi. 4. Ilfftv fair and hens) pleasant art thou, O tove,for delights ! vii. 6, But, O Saviour, if ihou take contentment in this poor uiuierfect beauty of thy Spou.sc the Church, how infinite pleasure should tliy Spouse take in that absolute perfection that is in thee, who ait all loveliness and glory ! and, if she have ravished thy heart with one of her eyes ; Cant. V. 16. iv. 0: how much more reason hath her heart to be wholly ravished with both thine, which are so full of grace and aniia- bleness ! and, in this mutual fruition, what can there be, other thatj perfect bles.^edness ? -20 PRACTICAL V ORRS. SECT. 3. The rescvibhmce oj ihis union, by the Nourishment and the Bodjj., The Spirit of Gtxl, uoll knowing how much it imports us both to know and feel tliis blessed union, whereof himself is the only worker, labours to set it forth to us by the representations of many of our familiar concei'nments, which we daily find in our meat^ and drinks, in our houses, in our gardens and orchards. That, which is nearest to us, is our nourishment. What can be more evideiu, than that the bread, the meat, the drink, that we re- ceive, is incorporated into us, and becomes part of the substance whereof we consist ? So as, after perfect digestion, there can be no distinction, betwixt what we are and what we took. While that !>read was in the bin, and that meat in the shambles, and that drink in the vessel, it had no relation to us, nor we to it : yea, while all these were on the table, yea, in our mouths, yea, newly let down into our stomachs, the}' are not fully ours ; for, upon some nauseating dishkc of nature, they may yet go the same way they came. But if the concoction be once tully liaished, now they are so turned into our blood and fiesh, that they can be no roore dis- tinguished from our former substance, than that could be divided from itself: now, they are dispersed into the veins, and concorpo- rated to the flesh ; and no part of our tlesh and blood is more ours, than that, which was lately the blood of the grapes, and the flesh of this fowl or that beast. O Saviour, thon, who art Tiuth itself, hast said, I am the living bread, that came dozen from heaven ; John vi. 51 : My Jiesh is meat indeed^ and my blood is drink indeed; v. 55: and, thereupon, ha.st most justly inferred, He, that eateth my fteot the Israelitish manna ; alas, that fell from no higher llian the region of clouds, and they that eat it died with it in their mouths; but thou art the Living Bread, that came down from the heaven of heavens, of whom whosoever eats, lives for ever. Thy flesh is meat; not for our stomachs, but for our souls: our faith receives and digests thee; and makes thoc (Mirs, and us thine. Our material food, in these corruptible bodies, rui|is into corrup- tion : thy spiritual food nourisheth purely, and strengthens us to a blessed immortal it v. As for this material food, manv a one Iouq-s for it, that cannot get it : many n one hath it, t!iat cannot eat it: niany eat it, that cannot digest it : many digest it into noxious and corrupt humours: all, that receive it, do ])iit maintain a perishing life, if not a lan- guishing death. But this flesh of thine, as it was never withheld jVom any true appetite, so it never yields but wholesome and com- CHRIST MYSTICAL. C2l fortable sustenance to the soul ; never hath any other issue, than an everlasting hfe antl happiness. O Saviour, whensoever I sit at mine own table, let me think oi" tliine : wliensoevcr I feed on the l>read and meat tiiat is set heibre nie, ajid feel myself nourished by tijat re])ast, let me niind that better sustenance, which my soul receives from thee ; and find thee more one with me, tlian that bodily food. SECT. 4. This inihvi restinbled, bi/ the Branch and ihc Stock. Look but into thy garden, or orchard ; ai»d see the vine, or any other fruit-l)earing tree, how it grows and fruciitie'^. The BRA.n"CIi!:s are leaden with increase : w hence is this, but that they are one with the STOCK ; and t!ie stock one with the root ? W^ere either f)l' these severed, the plant were barren and dead. The branch hath not sap enough to maintain iifc in itself, unless it receive it from the body of the tree ; nor that, unless it derived it from the rooi; nor that, unless it were cherished by tbe earth. Lo ; I am the vifK, saith our Saviour, ye are the branches: 7/r, that abidetk in vie and I in him^ the same bringeth forth much fruit: If a tna'i abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is wilhcr- ed ; John xv. 5, 6. Were the brpnch and the body of the tree of different substances, and only closed together in some artificial contiguity, no fruit could be expected from it : it is only the abiding in the tree as a living limb of that plant, which yields it the benefit and issue of vegetation. No otherwise is it betwixt Christ and his Church: the bough and the tree are not more of one piece, than we are of one substance with our Saiiour; and, branching out from him, and receiving the sap of heavenly virtue from his precious root, we cannot but be acceptably fruitful. But, if the analogy seem not to be so full : for that the branch is- sues naturally from the tree, and the fruit from the branch, whereas we by nature have no part in the Son of God: take that clearer re- semblance, which tlie Apostle fetches from the stock and the graff, or scion. The branches of the wild olive (Horn, xi.) are cut olV, and are gralled with choice scions of the good olive. Those in)ps gron ; and are now, by this incision, no less embodied in that stock, than if they Lad sprouted out by a natural propagation; neither can be any more separated from it, than die strongest bough that na- ture puts forth. In the mean time, that scion alters tiie nature of that stock ; a;id, while the root gives fatness to the stock, and tlic stock yields juice to the scion, the scion gives goodness to the [)lant, and a specification to the fruit : so as, while the imp is uow tlie same thing with the stock, the tree is different from what it was. So it is, betwixt Clirist and the believing soul. Old Adum is our f222 I'RACTICAL WORKS. wild Stock: what could that have yielded, but either none, or sour fruit ? We are imped with the new mau, Christ, that is now incor- porated into us. We are become one with him. Our nature is not- more ours, than he is ours by grace. Now we bear his fruit, and not our own : our old stock is fc^rgotten : all things are become new. Our natural hfe we receive from Adam ; our spiritual life and growth from Christ : from whom, after the improvement of this blessed incision, we can be no more severed, than he can be sever- ed from himself; SECT. 5. 77ie reseynblance of this union, by the Foundation and the Building. Look but upon thy house (that, from vegetative creatures, thoii mayest turn thine eyes to tluwe things which have no life) : if tliat be uniform, the rouNDATSON is not of a different matter from the "WALLS: botli those are but one piece: the supersiruciare is so raised upon the foundation, as if all were but one stone. Behold, Christ is the chief corneV-sione, elect and precious ; 1 Pet. li. 6: neither can there be anj/ other foundaiion laid, than thatn'hich is laid on him; 1 Cor. iii. 11. \^'e are Irocljj stones, built up to a spiritual house, on that sure and firm foundation ; 1 Pet. ii. 5. Some loose stones perhaps, that lie unmortered upon the battle- ments, may be easily sliaken down ; but who ever saw a squared marble, laid by line and level in a strong wall upon a well-grounded base, fiy out of his place by whatsoever violence ; since, both the strength of the foundation below, and the weight of the fabric above, have settled it in a ])osture utterly unnjoveable ? Such is our spi- ritual condition. O Saviour, thou art our foundation : we are laid upon thee; and are, therein, one with thee. We can no more be disjoined from thy foundation, than the stones of thy foundation can be disunited from themselves. So then, to sum up all ; as the head and members are but one bo- dy, as the husband and wife are but one iiesh, as our Deat and dri?ilc become part of ourselves, as the tree and branches are l)ut one piaiit, as the foundation and walls are but one fabric ; so Christ and the believing soul aie indivisibly one with each otlier. CHAP IV. THE CKRTAINTY AND INDISSOLUBLENKSS OF THIS UNION. Where are those then, that go about to divide Christ from himself; Christ real, from Christ mystical? jielding Christ one with him- self, but not one with his Church; making the true Believer uo less separable from his Saviour, than from the entireness of his own obe* CHRIST MYSTICAL. 22j tiience; ctreanwng of the uiicooifortable and sell-contradiclmg pa- radoxes of the total and liiiul apostasy ol Sahils. Certainly, these men have never tlioroughly digested liie medi- tation of tills "o!es5.ed union, vvliereof we treat: Can they hold tlie believing soul a linil of that body, whereof Christ is the Head, and yet imagine a possibility of dissolution r Can they afFeign to the Son of (iod a body, that is iuifierfect •• Can iheT think that body perfect, lliat hath lost his liinbi? Even hi this my- stical body, the Ix'st joints may be subject to sirains; yea, perhaps, to some painful and perilous luxation : but, as it was iu the iiatuiaJ body of Christ, when it « as in death most exposed to the crueltv of all enemies, that, upon an over-ruling j^roviclence, not a bone of it could be ljreople had not enforced it upon Moses, in a prevention of fur- ther mischief: what place can this find with a God, in wlrom tberf" is an infinite tenderness of love and mercy ? No time can be any check to liLs gracious choice : the inconstant minds of us men may alter upon slight dislikes: our God is ever himself; Jesus Christy the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever ; Heb. xiii. 8: i£ith\i\xxk there is vo variableness, ncn^ s/iadcu) of turning; James u 17. Divorces were ever grounded ujjon hatred; Mai. ii. 16: No 7}ian^ saith the Apostle, ete)- yet hated his oxan flesh ; Eph. v. 29: mucb less shall God do so, who is love itself; 1 John \v. 16. His love, and our union, is, like himself, everlasting : Having loved his oxcti^ saitli the Disciple of Love, xchich nere in the world, he Ivved them to the end ; John xiii, 1. He, that hates putting awav (Mai. ii. 16.) ■can never act it: so as, in this relation, we are indissoluble. Can they have received that Jhead u'hich came dounjrovi heaven^ 224 PRACTIC^VL WORKS. ^\u\ flesh wliich w meat indeed, and that blood \\\\\c\\ is drink indeed ; can their souls have digested it by a lively faith, and converted themselves into it, and it into themselves; and can they now think it can be severed troni tlieir own substance ? Can tiiey find themselves truly ingralTed in the Tree of Life, and grown into one body with that heavenly plant, and as a living branch of that tree bearing pleasant and wholesome fruit acceptable to (Tod (Rev. xxii. 2.) and beneficial to men; and can they look upon themselves, as some withered bough, fit only for the fire ? Can they lay rhemselves living stones, surely laid upon the Foun- dation, Jesus Christ, to the making uj) of a heavenly temple for the eternal inliabitation of God; and can they thuik they can be shaken out with every storm of temptation ? Have these men ever taken into their serious thoughts that divine prayer and meditation, which our Blessed lledeemer, now at the point of his death, left for a hajjpy farewell to his Church, in every Avcrd Vi liereof there is a heaven of comfort ? Neither pray I for ihese alone ; but for them also, which shall believe in me through their ti'ord : That they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee ; that they aha may he one with 21s : And the glory, tluit thou gavest me, I have given them ; that tiiey may be one, even as zi'e are one ; J in them, and thou in me ; John xvii. 20, 21, 22. O heavenly-con- ;,olation ! O indefeasible assurance! what room can ihere be now here, for our ditlidence r Can the Son of God pray, and not be iicard ? For himself, he needs not pray ; as bemg eternally one with the Father, God blessed for ever: he prays for his; and his prayer is. That they may be one with the Father and him, even as ihey are one. They cannot, tijc^'efore, but be partakers of this blessed union : and, being partakers of it, they cannot be disse- vered. And, to make sure work, that glory, which the Father gave to the Son of his Love, they are already, through his gracious partici- pation, prepossessed of: here they have begun to enter upon that heaven, from which none of the powers of hell ccm possibly eject them. Oh, the unspeakably happy condition of believers ! Oh, that all the Saints of God, in a comfortable sense of their inchoate blessedness, could sing for joy ; and here, beforehuid, beg,in to take up tho^e Hallelujahs, which they shall, ere long, continue, and never end, in the Choir of the Highest Heaven ! CHAP. V. THE PRIVILEGES AND BENEFITS OF THIS UNION. Having now taken a view of this blessed union, in the Nature and Resemblances of it; it will be time to bend thine eyes upon those most advantageous Consequents and i).gh PrMleges, which do ne- cessarily follow upon and attend this heavenly conjunclion. CHRIST MYSTICAL. 22^ SECT. I. The first of these benefits — Life : wherein^ (1.) A comphiint of our Jnsensibleness of this ynercy ; and an excitation to a chccjful Re- cognition of it ; — (2.) An incitement to Joy and Thankfulness for Christ, our Life ; — (3.) 77/e from hiai, with whom he is spiritually one, the Lord Jesus. And the objects of all these vary accordingly. His natural eyes behold bodily and material things : his spiritual eyes see things in- visible. His outward ears hear the sound of the voice : his inward ears hear the voice of God's Spirit s})eaking to his soul. His bodily feet move in his own secular ways : his spiritual walk with God in all the ways of his commandments. His natural aft'ections are set tipon those things which are agreeable thereimto ; he loves beauty, fears pain and loss, rejoices in outward prosperity, hates an enemy: his renewed affections are otherwise and more happily bestowed ; now he loves goodness for its own sake, hates nothing but sin, fears only the displeasure of a good God, rejoices in God's favour which is better than life. His former thoughts were altogether taken up with vanity, and earthed in the world : now, he seeks (he things above, where Christ sitteih at the right-hand of God ; Col. iii. 1. Finally, he is such, as that a beholder sees nothing but man in him: but God and his soul find Christ in him ; both in his rene\\<;d person and actions; in all the degrees, both of his life and growth, of his sufferings and glory : Mj/ little children, saith St. Paul, of ic'hom I t)inail in birth again, until Clirist be fanned in ijoii i Gal. iv. ly. Lo here Christ both conceived and born in the faithful heart. Formation follows concei)tion, and travail implies a birth. Now the believer is a nexc-born babe in Christ ; 1 Cor. iii. 1. 1 Pet. ii. 2. and so, mutuallv, Christ in him. From thence he grows u]) to .sir(.'nglh of 7/';/ count them but dung, that I ynay win Christ ; Phil. iii. 1, 8: and, as one that did not esteem his own life dear to him (Acts xx. 24.) in respect of that better, Ahvaijs, saith he, bear- ing about in the bodij the dying of the Lord Jesus ; that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body ; 2 Cor. iv. 10. How cheerfully have the noble and conqueritjg armies of holy Martyrs given away these momentary li\es, that tiiey might hold fast their Jcaiis, the life of their souls ! And who can be otherwise ailecied, that knows and feels the infinite happiness, that oilers itself to be enjoyed by him in the Lord Jesus ? Lastly, if Christ be thy life, then thou art so devoted to him, that thou livest, as in him and bv him, so to lum also ; aiming only at his service and glory ; and framing thyself wholly to his will and di- rections. I'hou canst not so mucli as eat or drink but with respect to him ; 1 Cor. x. 'U. Oh, the gracious resolution of him, that was rapt into the third heaven, worthy to be the jiattern of all faiih- lul hearts : According to my earnest expectation and tny hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed ; but that^ with all boldness, as alivaysj so now also, Christ shall be magnified in my body, xvhelher it be by life or by death : For, to me ta live is Christ, and to die is gain ; Phil. i. 20, J I. (Jur tiatural lile is not worthy to hi* its own scopt» : we do not live, merely that we may hve : our spiritual life, Christ, is the ui.iu:>st and most {jcifcet end of all our living \ without the in- 230 PRACTICAL WORKS. tuition whereof, we would not live ; or, if we should, our natural lite were no other than a spiritual death. O Saviour, let me not live longer, than I shall be enlivened by thee, or than thou shalt be glorified by me. And what rule should I follow in all the carriage of my life, but thine ? thy precepts, thine examjjles ; that so 1 may live thee, as well as preach thee ; and, in both, may find thee, as thou hast tnilv laid forth thyself, The Jl'oi/, the Truths and the Lift ; John xiv. C: the JVay^ wherein I shall walk; the Truth, which 1 shall believe and profess ; and the Life, which I shall enjoy. In all my moral actions therefore, teach me to square myself by thee : whatever I am about to do, or speak, or effect, let me think, *' If my Saviour were no a upon eartli, would he do this, that I am now putting my hand imto ? would bespeak these words, that I am now uttering ? would he be thus disposed, as I now feel mvself? Let me not yitld myself to any thought, word, or action, which my Saviour would be ashamed to own. Let him be pleased so to ma- nage his own life in me, that all the interest he hath given me in myself may be wholly surrendered to him ; that I may be as it were dead in myself, while he lives and moves in nic. (4.) By virtue of this blessed union, as Christ is become our life; so, (that, wh ch is the highest impvovonent, not only of the rational, but the supernatural and spiritual life) is he thereby also •tnade unto us of God, Wisdom, Bightcousness, Sanctifcation, and Re- dcwpdon ; 1 Cor. i. 30: not that he only works these great things m and for us; this were too cold a construction of the divine bounty ; but that he really becomes all these to us, who are true partakers of him. [1.] Even of the wisest men, that ever nature could boast of, is verified that character, which the divine Ajjostle gave of them, long ago : Their foolish heart was darkened ; professing themselves to be ' ti'ise, they becavie fools ; Rom. i. 21, 22 : and still the best of us, if ve be but oursehes, may take up that complaint of Asaph; SofooL ish ivas /, a)Hl ignorant : I xi'as as a beast before thee; Ps. Ixxiii. 22 : andofAgur, the son of Jakeh ; Surely, I am more brutish than vmn, and hare not the understanding of a man : L neither learned Ti'isdom, nor have the knowledge of the Holy ; Prov. xxx. 2, 3. And if any man will be challenging more to himself, he nuist, at last, take up, with Solomon; I said I will be wise, but it was Jar from vie ; Keel. vii. 23. But, how defect ve soever we are in ourselves, there is wisdom cnouo:!! in our Head, Christ, to. supply all oin* wants. He, that is the Wisdom ot the Father, is, by the Father, made om* Wisdom : In him, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, saith the Apostle; Col. ii. 3: so hid, that they are both revealed and com- minhcated to his own : For God, w/io commaruhd the ligbt to shine out of darkness, hath shintd in our hearts, to give the light of the Ifnowledge of the glory of (rod, in the face of Jesus Christ; 2 Cor. iv. 6. In and by him, hath it pleased the Father to impart himself CHRIST >n'STICAr.. 231 unto lis : Tie is the I'mai^e of the iNvisihlf God; Col. i. 15: even, the brightness of his gtori/, and the express itnage of' his person ; Heb. i. 3. It was a just check, that he gave to Ptiih]! in the Gospel : Jlaxe I been so long time -with yon, and yet hast thou not knoxrn 7ne, Philip/ He, that hath seen )ne, hath seen the Father , John xiv. 9. And this point of wisdom is so hi«j;h and excellent, that all Innnaa skill, ant! r.ll the so much admired depths of philosophv, are hut mere ignorance and foolisliness, in comparison of it. Alas, what can these profound wits reach unto, but the very outside of these visible and transitory things ? As for the inward forms of the meanest creatures, tliev are so altogether hid from them, as if they had no being: and as for spiritual and divine ihnigs, the most knowino- na- turalists are either stone-blind, that they cannot see them, or grope after them, in an Fgyptian darkness: For the natural man pereeiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; neither can he know them, beeausc theij are spiritually discerned ; 1 Cor. ii. 14. How mucii less can they know the God of Spirits, who, besides his invisibility, is inH- nite and incomprehensible ! Only He, who is made our wisdom, enlighteneth our e\ es with tliis divine knowledge : No man kno-jceth the Father, but the Soil ,• attd he, to -uhomsoezer the Son will reveal him ; iShitt. xi. 21. Neither is Christ made our wisdom only in respect of heavenly wisdom imparted to ns ; but in respect of his perfect wisdom im- puted unto us. Alas, our ignorances and sinful misj)risionsare many and great: where should we appear, if our faith did not fetch suc- cour from our all-wise and all-suihcient Mediator ? O Saviour, we are wise in thee our Head, how weak soever we are of ourselves. Thine infinite wisdom, and goodness, both covers ai\d makes up all our defects. The wife cannot be jjoor, while the husband is rich : thou ha-st vouchsafed to give us a right to thy store : we have no rea-son to be disheartened with our own spiritual wants, while thou art made our wisdom. [2.] It is not uK^re wisdom, that can make us acceptable to God. If the serpents were not, in their kind, wiser than we, we should not have been advised to be wise as serpents. That God, who is essential justice, as well as wisdom, requires all his to be not more wi>e, than exquisitely r.ghteous. Such, in themselves, they cannot be: For in many things xce sin all. Such, therefore, they are and must be in Christ, their Head; who is made unto us of God, together with wisdom, i{ighteousness. C> incomprehen.^ible mercv ! J[e hath made him, to he sin for us, who knew no si)i, that we might be made the righteousness oj God in him ; 2 Cor. v. 2 1 . What a marvellous and happy exchange is here! W^e are nothing but sin : Christ is perfect righteousness. He is made our sin, that we might i)e made his righteousness. He, that knew no sin, is made sin for us ; tliat we, who are all sin, might be made God's riirhteous- iiess in him. In ourselves, we are not only sinfid; but sin : in him, we are not righteous only ; but rij^hteousness itself. Of our>clves, 232 PIbVCTICAL WORKS. we are not righteous : we are maJc so. In ourselves, we are not righteous; but in him : we made not ourselves so; but the same God, in his iufmite mercy, who made iiim sin for us, hath made us his righteousness. No otherwise are we made his righteousness, than he is made our sin : our sin is made his, by God's imputation; so is his righteousness made ours. How fully doth the Second Adam answer and transcend the First! By the offtnce ofi\\Q Y'wstyjudgmcnt came upon all men to condenma- iion : by the n'i^'h.'eoiisness oj the Second, the free gift came iipov all men unto justification of life ; Kom. v. IS. A^^ by one man'' s disobe- dience, many were made sinners; so, by the obedience cf one, shall mamj be made righteous; v. 19: righteous, not in themselves; so deain passed upon all, for that all nave sinned; v. 12: but in him, that made them so, by whom wc have received the atonement ; v. 11. How free then, and how perfect, is our justification ! What quar- rel may the pure and holy God have against righteousness ? against his own righteousness ? and such arc we made in and by him. What can now stand, between us and iilessedness r Not our sins : for, this is the praise of iiis mercy, that he Justifies the ungodly ; Kom. i v. 5. Yea, were we not sinfid, iiow were we capable of his justification ? sinful, as in the term, from whence this act of his mercy moveth; not as in the term, wherein it resteih. His grace finds us sinful: it doth not leave us so. Far be it from the Righteous Judge of the \\ orld to absolve a wicked soul, conti- nuing such : I/e, that just ifieth the Xincked^ and he, that condemneth the just, even they both are an abomination to the Lord ; Prov. xvii. 15. No; but he kills sin in us, while he remits it; and, at once, cleanseth and accepts our persons, llepentance and remission do not lag, one after another: both of them meet, at once, in the penitent soul : at once, doth the hand of our faith lay hold, on Christ, and the hand of Christ lay hold on the sotd to justification; so as the sins that are done awav can be no bar to our hii)ij)ines3. Antl what but sins can pretend to ahinderance? All our other w eaknesses are no eye-sore to God ; no rub in our way to lieaven. What matters it th.en, how unworthy we are of ourselves? It is Christ's obedience, that is our righteousness: and that ol>edience cannot but be exquisitely perfect ; cannot but be, both justly ac- ce])ted as his, and mercifully accepted as lor us. There is a great deal of ditference, betwixt being righteous, and being made righteousness. Every regenerate soul hath an inherent justice or riohteousness in itself: lie, that is righteous, let him be righleous still, saiih the Angel, Rev. xxii. 11. But, at the l)est, chis righteousness of ours is, like ourselves, full of imperfection : If thou, Lord, shouldesi mark ini(]uities, I^ord, who shall stand? Ps. cxxx. 3. Behold, we a) e be/ore thee in our trespasses ; 1 or xve cannot stand bejore tJiee, because of this ; Ezra ix. 15. How should a man be just with God ? if he will contend with him, he cannot an- ^ccr him one of a thousand ; Job ix. 2, 3. So then, he, that doth righteousness, is righteous ; l John iii. 7: btrt, by pardon and indul- gence ; because the righteousness he doth is weak aiid imperfect. CHRIST MYSnrAf,. C33 He, that is made rigliteousiicss, is perfectly rigliteouj by a gracious accepiution, by a Iree imputation of absolute obedience. Woe were us, if \ve were put over to our own accompHsbinonts! for. Cursed is e-rry one, that cjnlimus not in all t/iinQs, xvliich are ui'itlen in the book of tht La::\ to do than; Ga!. iii. 10. Deut. xxvii. 2b: and, Jfxi'e soi/ that xve hcnt^ no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us : I .John i. s. Lo, if there be truth in us, we must confess we have sin in us ; and, if we have sin, we violate the Law ; and, if we violate the Law, we he open to a curse. But, liere is our comfort, that our Surety hath paid our debt. It IS true, we lav forfeited to death. Justice had said, The soul, that sinne/h, if shall die ; Ezek. xviii. 4. Mercy inter(>oseth and satis- fies. The .Son of God, whose evcr\- drop of blood was worth a world, pays this death for us : and now, l\ ho sJiall lat/ any thins to the charge of God's elect ? // is God that justificfh : who is he, that condeinneth ? It is Christ, that died ; yea, rather that is risen aeain ; who is even at the right-hand of God ; who also makefh intercession for us ; Udiu. viii. 3J, 31. Our sin, our death, is laid upon him, and undertaken by him : He was wounded for our transgressions : he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastiseynents of our peace were vpnn him ; and, with his stripes, we are hcahd ; Is. liii. 5. His death, his obedience, is made over to us. So then, the sin that we have committed, and the death that we have deserved, is not oure ; but tlie death which he liath endured, anil tiie obedience that he hath performed, is so ours as he is ours-; who is, thereupon, made of God our rijxhteousness. Where now are those enemies of grace, that scoff at imputation; making it a ridiculous paradox, that a man should become just by another man's righteousness r ilow da e they stand out against the word of truth, which tells us exl)res^lv, that Christ is made our righteousness ? \\ hat strangers are they, to that grace they op- pugn ! How little do they coiisitler, that Christ is ours ! his riirhteous- ness therefore, by which we are justified, is in him our own. He that hath borne tiie iniquity of us all (Is. liii. 6.), hath taught us to call our sins our debts ; Alait. \i. 12: those debts can be i)ut once |>aid : if the bounty of our Redeemer hath staked down the simis required; and cancelled the bonds ; and this payment is, throufrh mercy, fully accepted as from our own hands; what danger, what scruj)le can remain ? W hat do wc* then, weak souls, tremble to think of appearinfj be- fore the dreadful tribunal of the Almighty ? We know hiqi, indeed, lobe infinitely and inflexibly just : we know his most jjure eves cannot abide to behold sin : we know we have nothing else, bur sm, for him to behold in us. Certaiidy, were we to ajipear before him in the mere shape of our own sinful selves, we had reason to .shake and shiver at the apprehension of that terrible a[>peanmce : but, now that our faith assures us we shall no otherwise be |)resented to that awful Judge, than as clothed with the robes of Christ's righteousn<;s.s ; how conlident should we be, thus decked with the j^armcnts of our elder brother, to carry away a blessing ! While, 234 PRACTICAL WORK^?. tjicrefore, we are delected with tlie conscience of oin* own vilencss, we have reason to lilt up our heads in the confidence of that per- fect righteousness, which Christ is made unto us, and we are made in him. [3.j At the bar of men, many a one is pronounced just, who remains inwardly foul and guilty : for tl)e best of men can but jud^e of thinirs, as they apj)ear ; not as they are. But the Righteous Ar- biter of the World declares none Just, whom he makes not holy. 'I'he same mercy therefore, that makes Cinist our rigiitcousness, makes him also our JSanctiiication. Of ourselves, wretched men, wiiat are we other, at our best, than unholy creatures ; full of pol- lution and spiritual uncleanness ? It is his most Holy Spirit, that must cleiUist' us troyn oil (he jWhincss of our flesh and spirit ; 2 Cor. vii. 1 : and work us daily, to further degrees of sanctilication ; Ile^ that is holi/, lei him be hoi ij s/ ill ; Rev. xxii. 11. Neither can there beany thmg more abhorring from his infinite justice and holiness, than to justify those souls, which lie still in the loathsome ordure of their corru])t!ons. Certainly, they never truly learnt Christ, who would draw over Christ's righteousness, as a case of their close wickednesses ; that sever holiness from justice, and give no place to sanctilication in the evidence of their justil;, irg. Never man was justified without faith : and, wheresoever faith is, there it purijieth and cleanseth ; Acts XV. 9. But, besides that the Spirit of Christ works tlms powerfully, tliough gradually, withm us, Ihitt he may sauetifij ami eleause us with the n'ushin^s^ of ■wafer, by the word ; his lioliness is mercifully imputed to us, that he may present us to himself a ghrious Chureh ; not having spot J or icrinkle, or a>iy sueh thing ; but that ~d'e sliould be holy, and without blemiih ,■ I* ph. v. 26, 27 : so as that inchoate holiness, which, bv hia gracious inoperation, grows up daily in us towards a full per- fection, is abundantly supplied by his absolute holir.ess, made no less by imputation ours, than it is personally his. When, therefore, w-e look into our bosoms, we find just cause to be ashamed of our imi)urity ; and to loath those dregs of corrup- tion, that yet remain in oiu- sinful nature : but, when we cast up our eyes to heaven, and behold the infinite holiness of that Christ to whom we are united, which by faith is made ours; we have rea- son to bear up against all the discouragements that may arise from the conscience of our own vileness, and to look God in the face with an aw ful boldness, as tliose whom he is pleaded to present holy, and unblameable, and nnreprcxable in his slight ; Col. i. 22. as knoNv iiig, that he that sancfi/iethj and tiuxj that are saiic/ijied, are all of one ; Heb. li. II. [4.] Redem})iion was the great errand, for which tlie Son of God came down into the world; and the work which he did, while iie was in tlie world ; and that, which, in way of aj)plication oi it, he shall be ever accomj)lishtng, till he shall deliver up his iNIedia- tory Kingdom into the haiuls of his l-'ather. In this he begins, in ihis Jic finishes, the great business of oui' salvation : for tlio.e, who, r CHRIST MYSTICAL. 235 in this life, are enlightened by his wisdom, justified hy his merits, tiiinctified by his grace, are yet conilicling w ith munifoiil leinpla- tions, and struggling witli varieiies of nu.series and dangers ; till, ii|)on their liappv ileath and glorious resurruetion, tlii-y shall be fully freed, by their ever-blessed and victorious Uedeemer. lie, therefore, who, by virtue of that lu-avenlv uinon, is made unto us of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctifieation; is also, upon the same ground, made unto us our full Ki'denijition. Redemption imjilies a captivity. We are naturally jinder the woeful bondage of the L,aw, of Sm, of Miseries, of Death. The Law is a cruel exactor: for it requires of us what we cannot now do, and whips us for not doing it : For the Law Xiorkelli xorath; Kom. iv. 15 : and, as niam/ as arc of the •uorkscfthe Law, arc under thi curse ; Gal. iii. 10. Sin is a woi-se tyrant than he ; and takes advantage to exercise his cruelty, by the law : For, when ue wci'e in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were bj/ the Laiw, did work in our viembers to bring forth fruit unto death ; Horn, vii, 3. Upon sin necessarily follows I\liiery, the forerunner of death ; and Death, the upshot of all miseries : By cue man, sin entered into the world ; end death, by sin : and so death passed upon all men, for that all ha-^c iinned ; Hoin. v. 12. From all these, is Christ our Redemption. From the Law : for, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us ; Gal. iii. 13. From Sin: for, we are dead- to sin, but alixc unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord ; Rom. vi. 1 1 : Sin shall not have dominion otrr 'i/ou ; for yt are not under the Laiw, but umler Grace; v. 11. From Death ; and, therein, from all Mi eries : O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the Lmw : but, thanks be tn God, which giveth us victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ ; 1 Cor. iv. 55, 5'", 57. Now, then, let the Law do his worst: we are not under the LarCj but imdcr Grace ; Rom. vi. I 1-. The case therefore is altered, be- twixt the Law and us. It is not now a cruel task-master; to beat us to, and for our work: it is our school-master ; to direct, and to whip us unto Ciirist. It is not a se\ere judge; to condemn us: it is a fr.endlv guide; to set us the way towards heaven. Let Sin join his forces together with the law : t!u*y caimot prevail to our hurt : For, what the Lmw could not do, in that it was weak through tlie flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of s'nful flesh, condemned sin in the Jlesh, that the right'-ousness of the Law v\is,ht be fulflled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spi- rit ; Rom. \ iii. 3, 4. Let Death join his forces with them both: we are yet safe: For the law of the Spirit of Life halh freed us from the law of sin and of death : Rom. viii. 2. W'liat can we therefore fear, what can we sulVer, while Christ is made our lU'demption ? Finally, as thus Christ is made m)to us \N'isdom, l{'ghteousness, Sanctificuton, and Reilemptioti ; so, whatsoever else he either is, 236 PRACTICAL WORKS. or hath, or doth, by virtue of this blessed union, becomes om-s. He is our Iiic/ies ; Eph. i. 7: our Si re>i£^lh ; Ps. xxvii. 1. xxviii. 7: our Cr Ion/ ; Kph. j. IS: our Salvul ion ; 1 Thcs. v. 9. Is. xii. 2: our Alh t'ol. iii. 1 1. lie is all to us ; and all is ours in him. SECT. 2. The Exlenial Privileges of this Union, a Right to the Blessings of Earth and I leaven. From these primary and intrinsical privileges therefore, flow all those secondary and external, wherewith we are blessed : and, there- in, A RIGHT TO ALL TJ IE BLESSINGS OF GOD, BOTH OF THE RIGHT- HAND AND OF THE LF.IT ; AND INTEREST IN ALL THE GOOD THINGS, BOTH OF EAU'lH AND HEAVEN. Hereupon it is, that the glorious angels of heaven become our guardians ; keeping us in all our ways ; and working secretly for our good, upon all occasions: tiiat u!l God's creatures are at our ser- vice : tliat we have a true spiritual title to them ; All things arc yours, saith the Apostle ; and yc are ClirisCs, and Ch) isl is God's ,- 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23. But, take heed, my son, of iviislaying thy claim to what, and in vhat manner, thou ouglitest not. There is a civil right, that must regulate our propriety to these earthly things : our sj)iritual right neither gives us possession of them, nor takes away the right and propriety of others. Every man hath and must have what, by the just laws of purchase, gift, or mheritance, is derived to him: other- wise, tliere would follow an infmite confusion in the world : we could neither enjoy nor give our own ; and only will and might must be the arbiters of all men's estates ; which how unequal it would be, both reason and expcnience can suiliciently evince. This right is not for the diveption or usurpation of that, which civil titles have legally jnit over to others : there were no theft, no robbery, no oppression in the world, if any man's goods might be every man's : But I'ur the warrantable and comfortable enjoy uig of those earthly commodities in icgard of God their original owner, Mhich are, by human conveyances, justly become ours. The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness (f it : in his right whatever parcels do lawfully descend unto us, we may justly possess, as we have thcru legally made over to us, from the secondary and immediate owners. There is a generation of men, who have vainly iancied the found- ing of temporal dominion in grace; and have, upon this mistaking, puted the true heirs as intruders, and sco!fed tlie just and godly \n the possession of w!ckehment of the happy union of Christ and the believing sonl ; more fit for thankful won- der and ravishment of spirit, than for any finite appreliension ! CHAP. VI. THE MEANS, BY WHICH THIS UNION IS WROUGHT. *Now, tliat we may look a little further into the Means by which this union is wrought, know, my son, that, as there are two per- sJons, betwixt wli(jm this union is made, Christ and the believer; so each of them concurs to the liappv elfecting of it: Christ, by hi« Spirit dillused tbrongh the luans of all the regenerate, giving life and activity to them ; the believer, laying holil by faitli upon liirust, so working in him: and these do so rc-act u}iO!) each other, iliui. 238 rn \rTicAL works. from their mutual oponition, results this gracious union \\ hereof we treat. Here is a spirilual marriage betwixt Christ and the soul. The liking of one pari doih not make up the match ; hut the consent of both. 'i\) this purpose, Chribt gives his Spirit; the soul phglits her fait!i : what intere.-.t have we in Christ, but by his Spirit ? what in- terest hath Christ in us, but by our faith ? On the one jxirt : He halli gkai us his Iloh/ Spin'/, saith the Apostle ; I Thess. iv. 8 : and, in a way of correlation, JVc have re- ceived, vol the spirit of the xcorhl, but the Spirit nhich is of God ; I Cor. ii. 12. And this Spirit we have so received, as that //t i, by his Apostle: As the body is one, and hath many tnt'tnbers i and all tht mnnbiTs of t hut one b.nh/, being inani/, are one Itody : so is Christ ; 1 Cor. xii. 12. From this eiuire coii'|uiK'tioii ot" the membei"s with each other, arises tliat happy tommimioii ot" Samti, which we profess both to believe and to partake of. This mvstical body of Ciirict i>> a large one; c.xtendinp: itself botli to he;nt'n and earth, 'i'licre is a real umon betwixt all those far-spread Mmbs ; betwt en the Saints in heaven, beLwcen the Saints on earth, between the Saints in lieaven and earth. SECT. 1. The union of Christ's Members in Heaven. Wf. have reason to begin at iikaven. Thence is the original (»f our union and blessedness. There wiis never place for discord in that region of glory, since the rebellious angels were cast out thence. The spirits of just men inadc perfect, (Heb. xii. 23.) must needs agree in a perfect unity. Neither can it be otherwise : for there is but one will in lieaven; one scope of the desires of blessed souls, which is the glory of their God : all the whole choir sing one song; and in that one har- monious tune of Hallelujah. We, })oor p-ircel-sainted souls here on earth, profess to bend our eyes directly upon tl;e same holy end, the honour of our Maker and Redeemer; but, alas, at oiir best we are drawn t6 look ascjuint at our own aims of profit or })!easure : we profess to sing loud praises unto Go;l ; but it is with many harsh and jarring notes. Above, there is a perfect accord- ance, in an unanimous glorifying of him, that sits upon thcthroi^.e for ever. Oh, how ye love the Lord, all ye his saints ; Ps. xxxi. 23. Oh, how joyful ye are in glory; Ps. cxiix. 5. The heavens shall praise thy uonders, O Lord ; thy faithfulness al-o in the congrega- tion of tne Saints ; Ps. ixxxix. 5. Oh, what a blessed commonwealth is that above ! The cifu of (he Living (rod, the heaxenly Jerusalem ; (ever at unify with itself} Ps. cxxii. .3.) and, therein, an innumerable company o) angels, and the general assembly and (Jhurch of the firstborn, which are written in heaven ; the spirits of just men made perfect, and, whom tl;ev all aflore, God the Judge of all, and Jesus the Media'or of the J^rjD Testament ; Heb. xii. 22, 23, 24. All these as one, as holy. Those trcenly thousand chariots of heaven (Ps. Ixviii. 17.) mo\e all one way. \\'hen those four beasts full of eycsj round about the throne^ give glory, and honour, and that-ks to him that sits upon the throne^ saying, iloly. Holy, Iluly, fjord (iod Almighty, which zvas, and is, and is to conu , th* n the four and twenty tlders fall down before hi/n^ and cast their crowns before the throne; Rev. i\. C, — lo. No one weati his crown, wljile llie rest cast down theirs . all accord in one 240 PRACTICAL WORKS. act of oi\ing £;lory to the Highest, Atter tlie scahng of the tribes, A ij^na/ multitmlc, shich vo man could vuwber, of all natmiSy and kindri'ds, and people, and /oii^ucs, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb ; clothed -with zi'hife robes, and palms in their hands ; and cried icith a loud xoice. Salvation to our God, lihieh sitlelh upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood about the throne, and about the tlders, and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces ; and xcorshipped (rod, Saying, Atnen : Blessing, and glory and xc'isdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto God for eve)- and ever ; Rev. vii. 9 — 12. Lo, those sj)irits, which here below were habited with several bodies, dilVerent in shapes, statures, ages, complexions, are now above as one sjiiiit, rather distinguished than thvided ; all united in one perpet\jal adoration and fruition of the God of Spirits; and luuiually happy in God, in themselves, in each other. SECT. 2. The union of Christ's Members upon Earth: — (l.) Jn matter of' judgment: — (2.) In matter of affection : — (3.) A complaint of Divisions ; and, notxiulh standing them, an assertion of unity : — - (k) The -necessary (jj'ects .and fruits of this union of Christian hearts. Our copy is set us, above: we labour to take it out, here on earth. \\'hat do we, but daily pray, that the blessed union of souls, which is eminent in that einpyreai heaven, may be exempliiied by us in this region of mortality ? For, having through Christ an aJccss by one Spirit unto God the Leather, being jw more strangers and fo- reigners, but fellozv-cili:.ens with the saints, and of the household of . God; Eph. ii. 18, 19: we cease not to pray, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven ; Matt. vi. \u. Yea, O Saviour, thou, who canst not but be heard, hast prayed to ihy Father for tiie accom- plisliment of this union ; Ifiat they may be one, even as we are one : I in them, and thou in me, that they may be perfect in one ; John xvii. 22. 23. \\ hat, then, is this union of the membei-s of Christ here on earth, but a spiritual Oneness, arising IVoni a happy consj)iration of their thoughts and affections? For, whereas there are two main principles of all human actions and dispositions, the brain and the heart, the conjunclure of tiiesc two caimot but produce a perfect imion : from tlie one, our thoughts take their rise ; our allections, from the other ; in both, the soul puts itself forth upon all matter of accord or diil'erepce, (1.) 'i'he union of Thoughts, is, when we mind the same things, when we agree in the same truths. Tliis is the charge, w hich tlie Apostle of the Gentiles lays upon his Corinthians ; and, in tlieir persons, upon all Christians: Now I beseech you^ brethren, byth^ Navie of our Lord Jesus Christ, that yc all speak the same thing, and CHRIST MYSTICAL. ^1 that there be yio divisions atnong you ; but that ye be perfectly joined together, in the same mind and in (he same judgment ; I Cor. I. 10. And this is no other, than thiit one faith y (Ejjh. iv. 5.) nhirh makes up tlie one Clnirch ol' C'iirisL upon earth. One, boih in re- 5j»ect of Times and Places. Of Times : so as the Fatliei*s of tlie first world, tlie Patriarchs of the next, and all God's people in their ages, that looked, toge- ther with them, for tke redemption of Israel, (Luke ii. '33.) are united with us Christians of the last days, in the same belief; and make up one entire body of Christ's Catholic Church. Of Places : so as all those, that truly profess the Name of Christ, thoujih scattered into the farthest remote rejrions of the earth, even those, that walk with their feet opposite to ours, yet meet with us in the same centre of Christian faith, and make up one liouseliolJ of God. Not that we can hope it possible, that all Christians should agree m all truths. \S hile we are here, our minds cannot but be more unlike to each other, than our faces : yea, it is a rare thing, for si man to hold constant to his own apprehensions. Lord God ! what a world do we meet with of those, who mis- cal themselves several Religions ; indeed, several prolessions of one and t!ie same Christianity ! Melchites, Georgians, Maronites, Jacobites, Armenians, Abyssiiu^s, Cophti, Nestorians, Russians, ■Mi.-n- grellians ; and the rest, that till up the large Map of Christiano- graphy ; all which, as while they hold the head Christ, they cannot be denied the privilege of his members ; so, being such, thev are or should be indissolublv joined together in the unity of spirit, and maintenance of the faith xchick ivas once delivered unto the Saints ; Jude '5. It is not the variety of by-opinions, that can ex- clude them from having their part in that one Catholic Church, and their just claim to the Communion of Saints. While they hold the solid and precious foundation, it is not the hay or stubble ( 1 Cor. iii. 12.), which they lay upon it, that can set them oil" frcjin God or his Church. But, in the mean time, it must be granted, that they have much to answer for to the God of Peace and Unity, who are so much addicted to their own conceits, and so indulgent to their own interest, as to raise and maintain new doctrines, and to set up new sects in the Church of Christ, varying from the common and received truths ; labouring to draw disciples after them, to the great distraction of souls, and scandal of Christianity, \\ith which sort of disturbers I must needs say this age, into which we are fillen, hath been and is, above all that have gone before us, most miserably jjcstered : what good soul can be other than coiilbunded, to hear of and see more than a hundred and fourscore new, and some of them dangerous and blasphemous, opinions, broached and defended in one, once famou^ ;ind unanimous. Church of Christ ? ^\ ho can say other, upon the view of these wild thoughts, than Gcrson said long since, that the world, now grown old, is full of A. R 242 I'llACTICAL WORKS. doting fancies ; if not rather, that the world, now near his end, raves and talks nothing; hut fancies and freniiies ? How arbitrary soever these self-willed fanatics may think it, to take to themselves this libeity of thinking what tiiey list, and venting what they think, the blessed Apostle hath long since branded them with a heavy sentence : N'm' I besetch you, brethren, viark ihevi n'/u'ch cause di- visions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them : for they, that are such, serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their o-jiii belli/ ; and, by i^ood u'ords and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple ; Horn. xvi. H, 18. But, notwithstanding all this hideous variety of vain and hetero- doxal conceptions, he, who is the Truth of God, and the Bride- groom of his Spouse the Church, hath said, j\/y dove, my unde- Jiled is one ; Cant, vi, 9 : one, ui the main, essential, fundamental verities necessary to .salvation ; though dilFering in divers mis-raised corollaries, inconsequent inferences, unnecessary additions, feigned traditions, unwarrantable practices. The body is one, though the garments difl'er : yea, rather, i'or most of these, the garment is one, but differs in the dressing; handsomely and comely set out by one, disguised by another. Neither is it, nor ever shall be, in the power of all the tiends of hell, the professed make-baits of the voild, to make God's Church other than one: which were indeed utterly to extinguish antl reduce it to nothing; for the unity and entity of the Church can no more be divided, than itself. It were no less than blasf)hemy, to fasten upon the chaste and most holy Husband of the Church anv otiier, than one Spouse. In the in- stitution of marriage, did he not 7nake one ? yet had he the residue qf the Spirit : and wherefore one ? that he viight seek a godly seed ; Mai. ii. 15. I'hat, which he ordained for us, shall not the holy God much more observe in his own heavenly match with his Church ? Here is then ofie Lord, one Faith, one Baptism : one Bap- tism, by which we enter into the Church ; one l^aith, which we profess in the Church ; and one Lord, whom we serve, and who is the Head and Husband of the Church. (2.) How much, thereibre, tlotli it concern \\i^, that we, who are united in one connnon belief, should be nmch more united in Af- fection I that where there is one u'ay, there should be much more one heart .' Jer. xxxii. 39. This is so ju.-,tly supposed, that the Projihet questions. Can inv walk together, except they be agreed f Amos iii. 3. If we walk together in our judgments, we cannot but accord in our wills. This was the praise of the primitive (Christians, and the pattern of their successors : 7 he multitude of them that believed, were of one heart and qf one soul ; Acts iv. '62. Yea, this is the livery, svhich our Lord and Saviour made choice of, whereby his menial servants should be known and distinguished : By this, shall all men know that ye be my disciples, if ye have love to one another ; John xiii. 35. In vain snail any man [)rctend to a discipleship, if he do not make it good by his love to all the family of Christ. CHRIST MYSTICAL. 243 The whole Chinch is the s])iritual temple of God. Eveiy be- liever is a hving stone, laid in those sacred walls: what is our Chris- tian love, bni the mortar or cement, whereby these stones are fast joined togcUicr, to make np this hcuvenly building ? without wiiich, tli.it precious fabric could not lioid iong together; but would be sul)ject to disjointino;, by those violent tempests of opposition, wherewith it is connnonly beaten upon. There is no place tor any louse stone in 'God^ edifice : the whole Church is one entire boily : all the limbs must be held together by the ligaments of Christiaa Jove ; if any one will be severed, and afl'cct to subsist of itself, it hath lost his place in the body. Ihns the A[)Ostle ; that we, being sincere in love, may grow up in'o him in all filings, iiJiich is ilw Heady cien C/irisf : Fro')n\clwm llic xihole body, ii!ly joined togelher, and compacted by llial which eteiij j' inl supplitlh, according to the ej'ec- tual -uorking in the measwe of every part, makcth increase if the body, unto the edifying of itself in love ; Ej)h. iv. I 5, lo. i3ut, in case there hapi)en to be dillerences in opinion, concern- ing points not essential, not necessary to salvation ; this diversity- may not breed an alienation of aH'ection. That charity, which can cover a multitude of sins, may much more cover many small dis- sensions of judgment. S\'e cannot hope to be all, and at all times, equally enlightened. At how many and great weaknesses ot ju.lg- ment,'did it please our merciful Saviour to connive, in his do- mestic disciples ! they, that had so long sat at tlie sacred feet of liim that spake as never man spake, were yet to seek of those Scrip- tures, which had so clearly foretold his resurrection ; John xx. 9 : and, after that, were at a tault for the manner of his kingdom ; Acts i. 6 : yet he, that breaks not the bruised reed,- nor quenches the smoking llax, falls not harshly upon them for so foul an error and ignorance ; but entertains them with ail loving respect, not as followers only, but as friends ; John xv. 13. And his great Ajiostie, after he had spent himself in his unweariable ervdeavours ujiou God's Church, and had sown the seeds of wholesome and saving tloctrine every where, what rank and noisome weeds of erroneous opinions rose up under his hand in tJie Chinches of Corinih, Ga- latia, Ej)hesus, Colosse, Philippi, and Thessalonica ! these he la- bours to root out, with nmch zeal, with no bitterness : so oj^pos^ng the erroi-s, as not alienating liisaHection from the Churches. These, these must be our precedents ; pursuing that charge of the prime Apostle; Finally, be yc all of one mind, having compassion one of another ; laze as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous; 1 Pet. iii, 8: and that passionate and adjunng obstetation of the Apostle of the Gentiles; If there be auy consolation in Christ, if any comfort of In'c, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies ; fulfil ye ynyjoy, that ye be liknninded, having the same love, being oj one accord, of oncmind i Phil. ii. I, 2. This is it, that gives beauty, >trength, glory to the Church ot God, upon earth ; and bring% it nearest to the resemblance ol that triumphant part above, where there is all [lerfection of love and concord. In imitation whereof, liie P^ainnst, sweetly; Beliold, 244 PRACTICAL WORKS. how good and jihlo of their passions ; anil he treely conmiunicativo of all thy i^races anil all seniceahle otftces, hy cxaniple, aihuonition, exhortation, conso- lation, |)rayer, henehcence, for the good of that sacred coui- mnnitv. And, when thou raisest up tliine eves to heaven, think of that glorious society of hiessed Saints who are gone hefore thee; and are now there trinniphing and reigning, in eternal and incompre- hensihle glory. Bless God lor them, and wish thyself with thein. Tread in tiieir holv steps; and he an)!)itions of tliat crown of glory and immortality, whicli thou seest shining on their heads. THE CHRISTIAN J, AID FORTH IN HIS WHOLE DISPOSITION AND CARRIAGE. BY JOSEPH, BISHOP OF NORWICH. 253 AN EXHOUTATORY PREFACE TO THE ClIlilSTIAX BEADEB, 'JCT (f int'allible ruh's and long experience, have 1 gathered up this true Character of a Christian : a labour, some 'u'ill think, which nu[ehf haze been nr/l spared. Even/ man professes, both to know and act this part. Who is there, (hat -would not be angrij, if but a question should be made, either of his skill or interest i Sureltj, since the first name given at yJntioch, all the believing -world hath been ambitious of the honour of it : ho-x happy -were it, if all, that are "willing to wear the liverj/, were as jradj/ to do the senice I But, it falls out here, as in the case of all things that are at onci honourable and dijfictdt, every one affects the title, fe-w labour for the truth of the atchievement. Having, therefore, leisure enough to look about me, and finding the world too prone to this worst kind of hypocrisy, I have made this true draught ; not more for direction, than for trial. Let no man view these lines as a stranger ; but, -when he looks in this glass let hijn ask his heart, whether this be his own face : yea, j-athcr when he sees this face, let him examine his heart, whether both if them agree with their pattern : and -where he finds his failings, [as who shall not ?) let him strive to amend them ; afid never give over while he is any way less fair than his copy. In the jnean time, I 'would it were less easy, by these rules, to judge even of others, besides oursehes ; or, that it were uncharitable to say, there are many Professors, fe-w Christians. If words and forms might carry it, Christ would ha-oe clients enough : but if ho. itness of disposition ami uprightness of carriage must be the proof %i'oe IS me / In the midst of the land, among the people, there is as the shaking of an ohve-tree ; and us the gleaning grapes, ^vllc're iho vintage is done ; Isa. xxiv. 13. /'"<• -where is the man, that hath obtained the mastery Qf his cor- rupt afectloTlS ««^ ^^ i><: ^l'^ lord of his unruly appetite? that hath his heart in heaven, '*'"^'"'5 ^"-^ living carcase is stirring here upon earth ? that can see the Jn:1''^'^^y ^^^f secretly enjoy that Saviour, to whom he i^ spiritually united / that LV.''' •''^'^(^"^^^ Z''-^" '-^'Hl and reason to hisbelufy that fears nothing, but God ; loves /7u//'."'^« ^"^ .'^■^^^- ness ; hates nothing, but sin ,- rejoiccth tn none, but trite blessin^'i * -whose faith triumphs aver the world; whose hope is anchored in heaven; -whose chanty kno-ws no less bounds than God and men ■ whose humility represents him as vile to himself, as he is honourable m the reputation oj God '' -who is wise hea-ven-ward, however he pa.^ses -with the world i \iho darts be no other than just, whether ht 254 lii'n or iose ; xcho is frugally liberal^ discreetly courageous, holily temperate ? who is ever a thrifty manager of his hours, so dividing the day hi-t-jcixt his God and his vocation, that neither shail find fault xeith a Just neglect, or an unjust partiality ? zchose recreations are harmless, honest, zcarrantable ; such as may refresh nature, not debauch it ? whose diet is regulated by health, not by pleasure ; as one, whose table shall be Jio altar to his belly, nor snare to his soul? tiho, in his seasonable repose, lies down, and awakes with God; caring only to relieve his spirits, not to cherish sloth ? whose car- riage is mee/c, gentle, compliant, beneficial in whatsoever station ; in viagistraiy, impartially just ; in the ministry, conscionably faith- ful ; in the lule of his Jami/y, wisely provident, and religiously ex- emplary ? shcrtly, who is a discreet and loving yuliefcllvw, a tender and pious parent, a duteous and awful son, an humble and obsequious servant, an obedient and loyal subject Y whose heart is constantly settled in the main truths oj Christian Religion, so as he cannot be revwvcd ? in litigious points, neither too credulous, nor too peremp- tory? whose discourse is such, as may be meet for the expressions of a t07igue, that belo?igs to a sound, godly, and charitable heart f whose breast continually burns with the heavenly h^'^ of a holy de- *cotion ? whose puirful sufferings are oveiroyne with patience, and 4:heerful resolutions ? whose conflicts are attended with undaunted courage, and crowned with a happy victory ? lastly, whose death is not so full of fear and anguish, as of strong consolations in that Sa- viour, who hath overcome and sweetened it ; nor of so much dread- fulness in itself, as of joy in the present expectation of that blessed issue of a glorious immortality, nhich instantly succeeds it Y Such is the Christian, zchoin we do here characterize, and com- w end to the world both tor trial and imitation. Neitber know I •uhich of these )nany qualifications can be missing in that soul, who lays a just clait/i to Christ, his Hedeemer. Take your hearts to task therefore., my dear brethren, into whoSe hands soever these lines shall come ; and, as you desire to have peace at the last, ransack them thoroughly : not contenting yourselves with a perfunctory and fashionable oversight, which will one day leave 'you irremediably miserable ; but so search, as those, that resolve 7ioi to give over, till you fnd these gracious dispositions in your bosoms, which I have here described to you. So shall we be, and make each other happy, in the success of our holy labours : which the GyS of JkCiven bless in both our hands, to his own glory, av^ f,nr jnutual comfort in the day of the appearing of our ^^,.j y^.^.^^ Christ. Amen. THK CHRISTIAN SECT. I. HIS DISPOSITION. The Christian is a man, and more ; an earthly saint ; an anj^el clothed in fle->h ; the only lawful image of his Maker and lle- deemer ; the abstract of God's Cliurch on earth ; a model of heaven, made up in clay ; the living temple of the Holy Ghost. For his disposition, it hath in it as much of heaven, as his earth may make room for. He were not a man, if he were quite free from corrupt afTec- tions ; but these he mastei-s, and keeps in with a strait hand : and if, at any time, they grow testy and headstrong, he breaks them with a severe discipline ; and will rather punish himself, than not tame them. He checks his appetite with discreet, but strong de- nials ; and forbears to pamper nature, lest it grow wanton and im- petuous. He walks on earth, but converses in heaven ; liaving his eyes fi.xed on the Invisible, and enjoying a sweet communion with his God and Saviour. While all the rest of the world sits in darkness, he lives in a perpetual light : the heaven of heavens is open to none but him : thither his eye pierceth; and beholds those beams oJ in- accessible glory, which shine in no face but his. The deep mysteries of godliness, which to the great clerks of the world are as a book clasped and sealed up, lie open before him fair and legible ; and. while those book-men know whom they have heard of, he knows w}jom he hath believed. He will n(.>t suffer his Saviour to be ever out of his eye ; and if, through some worldly interceptions, he lose the sight of that blessed object for a time, he zealously retrieves him ; not without a hungry check of his own miscarriage : and is now so much the more fixed by his former slackening; so as he will henceforth sooner jart with liis soul, than his Redeemer. The terms of entireness, wherein he stands with the Lord of Life, are such, as he can feel; but cannot exjucss, though he sho>'*'' borrow the lanKua<;e of angels : it is enough, that thev ' ., • o D o & » * ^vvo are one Spirit. His reason is .^llingly captivated to his ^;,,^ j^j^ ^.j,l ^^ y-, reason ; and his allections to both. He fe^ noihino , that he .sees :, ^.n comparison of that, vrhir'n K« sees not : and di^i-lcasure is -.iiore dreadful to hitD, than srr^rt 2>G PRACTICAL WORKS. Good is the adeciuatc object of his love ; which he duly pro- portions, according to the degrees of its eminence : atTecting the chief good, not witliout a certain ravishment of spirit ; the lesser, with a wise and holy moderation. \V iiether he do more hate sin, or the evil spirit that suggests it, is a question. Earthly contents are too mean gronnds, whereon to raise his jov : these, as he balks not when they meet him in ids way, so he d<)th not too eagerly pursue: he may taste of them; but so, as he would rather fast, than surfeit. He is not insensible of those losses, which casualty or enmity may indict : but that, which lies most heavily upon liis heart, is his bin. This makes his sleep short and troublesome; iiis meals sto- machless ; his recreations listless ; his every thing, tedious ; till he find his soul acquitted 1)y his great Surety in heaven ; which done, he feels more peace and pleasure in his calm, then he found horror ui the tempest. His heart is the storehouse of most precious graces. Tiiat Faith, whereby liis soul is established, triumphs over the world, whether it allure or threaten ; and bids defiance to all the powers of dark- ness, not fearing to be foiled by any opposition. His Hope, cannot be discouraged with the greatest didiculties ; but bears up against natural impossibilities, and knows how to reconcile contradictions. His Charity is both extensive and fervent ; barring out no one, that bears the face of a man ; but pouring out itself upon the household of faith : that studies good constructions of men and actions ; and kee[)s itself free, both from suspicion and censure. Grace doth more exalt him, than his humility depresses him. Were it not for that Christ who dwells in him, he could think him- self the meanest of all creatures : now;, he knows he may not dis- parage the Deity of him, by whom he is so gloriously inhabited ; in w hose only right, he can be as great in his own thoughts, as he is despicable in the eyes of the world. He is wise to Godward, however it be with him for the world: tind, well knowing he cannot serve two masters, he cleaves to t!ie better ; making choice of that good part, which cannot be taken from him : not so much regarding to get tliat, which he cannot keep ; as to possess himself of that good, which he cannot lose. He is just in all his dealings with men ; hating to thrive by in- jiuy and oppression : and will rather leave behind something of nis own, than filch from another's beaj). He is not closefisted, where there is just occasion of liis distri- '-Mtion ; willingly parting with those metals, which he regards only Y^' ■ not carinti for either their colour or sub.->tance : earlh is to lor use , I • If • 1 u •. .1 , • .i,„. Man itseii, in what hue soever it appearetli. Iiim no otlier ... ■ • , ii i- i' vu r and can neither tear ooen and many adversaries ; anu, w..^' "- !"; sXely .-^toop, as he did before valiantly resist. TIIF. CHRISTIAN. 257 He is liolily tnuperate in lijc use of all Gotl's hiessinixs ; as knowing, by u lioin tiioy are given, and to what end : neither dares cither to iiiis-hiy tlieni, or to niis-sjiend them iavisldy ; as duly \veighing upon what terms he receives them, and fore-expecting an account. Such a hand iloth he carry upon his pleasures and delights, that they run not away with him : he knows how to slacken the reins, without a debauched kind of dis5.oluteness ; and how to straiten them, without a sullen rigour. SECT. II. HIS EXPENCE OF THE D.W. He lives as a man, that hath borrowed his time, and challenges not to be owner of it ; caring to spend the day in a gracions and well governed thrift. His first morning's task, after he hath lifted up his heart to that God who gives his beloved sleep, shall be to put himself in a due posture, wherein to entertain himself and the whole day : which shall be done, if he shall effectually work his thoughts to a right apprehension of his God, of himself, of all that may concern him. The true posture of a Christian then, is this. He sees still hea- ven open to him ; and beholds and admires the light inaccessible : he sees the ail-glorious God ever before him ; the angels of God about him ; the evil spirits aloof otf, enviously groaning and re- pining at him ; the world under his feet, willing to rebel, but forced to be subject ; the good creatures ready to tender their service to him : and is accordingly ati'ected to all these. He sees heaven open, with joy and desire of fruition : he sees God, with an adoring awfulness ; he sees the angels, with a thankful acknowledgment, and care not to oifend them ; he sees the e\ il sjjirits, with hatred and watchful indignation : he sees the world, with a holy huj>e- riousness ; conunanding it for use, and scorning to stoop to it for observance: lastly, he >ecs the good creatures, with gratulation, and care to improve them to ~ the advantage of him that lent them. Having tljus gathered up his thoughts and found where he is, he may now be fit for his constant devotion ; which he falls upon, not Avitliout a trembling veneration of that Inlinile and Iiiconi])rehen- sible Majesty, before whom lie is prostrate : now he chmbs up into tJiat heaven, which he before did but behold ; and solemnly poure out his soul, in hearty thanksgivings and humble supplication^, into the bosom of the Almighty : wherein his awe is so tempered with liis faith, that, while he labours under the sense of his own vileness, he is raised up in the conhdence of an inlinite mercy. Now he renews his feeling interest in the Lord Jesus Christ, his blessed Ue- deemer ; and labours to get, m every breath, new pledges of his 8. .s CjS tractical works. gracious eiitireness: so seaj^oning his heart with these eaily thoughts of piety, as that they stick by hun all the Hay after. Having thus begun with his God and begged his blessing, he now finds time to address himself to the works of his calli- i;. To live wiihoiit any vocation, to live m an unwarrantable voca- tion, not to labour in the vocation wherein he lives, are things which his soul hateth. These businesses of his calling therefore, he follows with a willing antl contented industry : not as forced to it by the necessity of human laws, or as urged by the law of ne- cessity out of the sense or fear of want, nor yet, contrarily, out of an eager desire of enriching himself in his estate ; but in a con- scionable obedience to that God, who hath made man to labour as the sparks to fly upward, ivnd bath laid it upon him both as a punish- ment and charge, /?i the sweat of thy bious shalt thou eat th\^ bread. In an humble alacrity he walks on in the way, wherein his God hath set him : yet not the while so intent upon his bunds, as nut to tend his heart ; which he lifts up in frequent ejaculations to that God, to whom he desires to be approved in all his endeavours ; as- cribing all the thanks, both of his ability and success, to that omni- potent hand. If he meet with an}- rubs of difhculiy in his way, he knows who sent them, and who can remove them ; not neglecting any prudential means of remedy, he is not to seek for a higher redress. If he have occasion of trading with others, his will may not be the rule of his gain ; but his conscience : neither dares he strive for what he can get; but what he ought. Equity is here the Clerk of the Market ; and the measure, which he would have others mete out to himself, is the standard whereby he desires to be tried in his mensurations to all other. He hates to hoist prices, upon occasion of his neighbour's need ; and to take the advantage of fori'eits, by the clock. He is not such a slave to his trade, as not to spare an hour to his soul : neither dares he be so lavish, as utterly to neglect his charge, upon whatever pretence of pleasure or devotion. Shortly, he takes his w^ork at the hand of God, and leaves it with him ; humbly offering up his services to his great Master in Hea- ven ; and, after all his labour, sits comlbrtably down in the con- science of having faithfully done his task, though not without the intervention of many infirmities. SECT. III. HIS RECRFATION.S. His recreations (for even these himian frailty will sometimes call for) are such, as may be meet relaxations to a mind over-bent, and a body tired with honest and holy employments ; safe, ino'i'ensive, and for time and measure fitly proportioned to the occabioa : like THF. CHRISTIAN. - 2 59 unto soft music, betwixt two lony; and stirring Acts: like unfo some quick and savoury sauce, to a listless ami cloycil sloniacli : like un- to a sweet nap, after an overwatcliing. He is tar from those delights, that may elTeniinate or corrupt the mind ; abhorring to sit by those pleasures, from which he sliall not rise better. He bates to turn pastime into trade ; not abiding to spend more . time in whetting, than till his edge l)e ^.barp. In the height of his delectations, he knows to enjoy God ; from whom as he fetches his allowance, so be craves and expects a gracious acceptation, even when he lets himself most loose. And if, at any time, he have gone beyond his measure, he chides himself for the excess ; and is so much the more careful, ever after, to keep w itbin compass. He can only make a kind of use of those contentments, wherein light minds are transported : and can manage his disports without passion ; and leave, a loser, w ithout regret. A smile, to him, is as much as a loud laughter, to the world- ling : neither doth he entertain mirth as his ordinary attendant ; but as his retainer, to wait upon his serious occasions : and, linally, so rejoiceth, as if he rejoiced not. SECT. IV. HIS MK.^LS. His meals are such, as nature requires, and grace moderates; not pinching himself with a penurious niggartUiness, nor pampering him- self with a wanton excess. His j)late is the least part of his care : so as his fare may be wholesome, he stands not upon delicacy. He dares not put his hand to the dish, till he have looked up to the Owner; and hates to put one morsel into liis mouth, unblessed; and knows it his duty to give thanks for what he hath paid for : as well considering, that neither the meat that he eats, nor the hand and mouth tiiat receives it, nor the maw that digests it, nor the me- tal tiiat buys it, is of his own making. And now, having fed his belly, not his eye, he rises from his board satisfied, notglutted; and so bestirs himself upon his calling, as a man not more unwieldy by his repast but more cheerful, and as one that would be loth his gut should be any hinderance to hi« brain or to his hand. If be shall have occasion to entertain himself and his friends more liberally, he dares not lose himself and his feast. He can be soberly merry, and widely free: only in this he is willing not to be bis own man, in thai he gives himsell for the time to his guests. His caterer is friendly thrift ; and temperance keeps the board's end, and caiTCs to every one the best measure of enough. As for his ow n diet when he is invited to a tempting variety, he puts his knife to his throat: neither dures he feed witliout fear; as knowing who overlooks hiin. 1260 PRACTICAL WORKS. Obscenity, detraction, scnnility are barred from his table : nei- ther do any ^vords sound there, that are less savoury than the dishes. Lastly, he so feeds, as if he sought for health in those viands, and not pleasure; as if lie did eat, to live: and rises, not more rCr plenished with food, than with thankfulness. SECT. V. HIS night's rest. In a due season he betakes himself to his rest. He presumes not to alter the ordinance of day and night ; nor dares confound, where tlistinction is made by his Maker. It is not with him as with the brute creatures, that have nothing to look after, but tiiemere obedience of nature. He doth not, there- fore, lay himself down, as the swine in the sty, or a dog in the ken- nel, without any further preface to his desired sleep ; but improves those faculties, which he is now closing up, to a meet preparation for a holv repose. For \vhich purpose, he, first, casts back his eye to the now-ex- pired day, and seriously considers how he hath spent it ; and wilj be sure to make his reckonings even with his God, before he part. Then, he lifts up his eyes and his heart to that God, who hath made the night for man to rest in, and recommends himself earnestly to his blessed protection ; and then closeth his eyes in peace, not with- out a serious meditation of his last rest: his bed represents to him Ins grave; his linen, his winding-sheet; his sleep, death; the night, the many days of darkness : and, shortly, he so composeth his soul, as if he looked not to wake till the morning of the Resurrection. After which, if he sleep, he is thankfully cheerful ; if he sleep not, his reins chasten and instruct him in the night season ; and, if sleep be out of his eyes, yet God and his angels are not : whenso- ever he awakes, in those hands he finds himself; and therefore rests sweetly, even when he sleeps not. His very dreams, however vain or troublesome, are not to him altogether unprofitable, for they serve to bewray, not only his bodily temper, but his sj^iritual weak- nesses, which his waking resolutions shall endeavour to correct. He so ap])lies himself to his pillow, as a man that meant not to be drowned in sleep, but refreshed: not limiting his rest, by the insatiable lust of a sluggish and drowzy stupiduess ; but by the exi- gence of his health, and habilitation to his calling: and rises from it, not too late, with more a])petite to his work, than to a second slum- ber ; cheerfully devoting the strength renewed by his late rest, to ■ '"" honour and sen ice of the Giver. THF, cnrdSTIAV. 201 SECT. VI. JIIS CARRIAGF. Ills CARRIAGE is not Strange, insolent, surly, and overly contemp- tuous; hut familiarly meek, humble, courteous: as knowinjT wtiat nioukl he is made ot"; and not knowing any worse man, than hiniself. He hath a hand ready upon evcrv occasion to he lielptui to his neii;!il)0ur ; as if he thought himself made to do good. lie hates to sell his breath to his friend, where his advice may be useful : nei- tJier is more ambitious of any thin^ under heaven, than ofdoino good offices. It is his happiness, if lie can reconcile quarrels, and make peace between dissenting friends. When he is chosen an Umpire, he will be sure to cut even be- twivt both parties ; and commonly dibplcascth both, that he may wrong neither. If he be called forth to Magistracy, he puts off all private inte- rests ; and commands friendship to give place to justice. Now he knows no cousins, no enemies; neither cousins for favour, nor ene- mies for revenge : but looks right forward to the cause, without squinting aside to the persons. No (lattery can keep him from brow- beating of vice: no fear can work him to discourage virtue. H'here severity is requisite, he hales to enjoy another's punishment ; and ■where mercy may be more prevalent, he hates to use severity. Power doth not render him imperious and oppressive ; but rather humbles him, in the awful expectation of his account. If he be called to the honour of God's Embassy to his peo]»le, he dares not but be faithful in deliverins that sacred messaue. He catuiot now, either fear faces, or respect persons. It is equally odious to him, to hide and smother any of God's counsel, and to foist in any of his own ; to suppress truth, and to adulterate it. He speaks not himself, but Christ ; and labours, not to tickle the ear, but to save souls. So doth he go before his flock, as one, that means to feed them no less by his example, than by his doctrine ; and would condemn himself, if he did not live the Gospel^ as well a,^ j)reach it. He is neither too austere in his retiredncss, nor too ^ood-cheap in his sociableness : but carries so even a hand, that his discreet aifableness may be free from contempt ; and that lie inay win his people, with a loving conversation. If any of his charge be miscarried into an error of opinion, he labours to reckdm him, by the spirit of meekness; so as the mis-guided may read nothing but love, in his zealous conviction. If any be drawn into a vicious fcour^e of life, he fetches him back with a gentle, yet powerful hand ; W a ijoly importunity, working the oH'cnder to a sense of his own clanger, and to a saving penitence. Is !ie the Master of a Family ? he dares not be a lion in his own house; cruelly tyrannizing over his meanest drudge: but, so mo- derately exercises his power, as knowing himself to be his appreu- 2o2 TKACTICAL U 1/nis.s. tice's fellow-servant. He is the mouth of his niciny to God, in his daily devotions ; olfering up for them the calves of iiis hps, in his mornings aiul evening sacritice : and the mouth of God unto them, in his wiiolesome instructions, and all holy admonitions. He goes before them, in good examples of piety and holy conversation ; and so governs, as one, that hatli more than mere bodies committed to his ci):uge. Is he the Husbanil of a wife ? he carres his yoke even : not lay- ing too much weight u})on the weaker neck. His helper argues him the principal ; and he so knows it, that he makes a wise use of his just inequality : so remembering himself to be the superior, as that he can be no other than one llosji. He maintains, therefore, his moderate authority, with a conjugal love : so holding up the right of his sex, that, in the mean time, he doth not violently clash with the brittler vessel. As his choice was not made by weight, or by the voice, or by the hue of the hide; but for pure atfection ground- ed upon virtue : so the same regards hokl him close to a constant continuance of his chaste love ; which can never yield, either to change or intermission. Is he a Father of children } he looks upon them as more God's, than his own ; and governs them accordingly. He knows it is only their worse part, which they have received from his loins ; their di- viner half is from the Father of Lights, and is now become the main part of his charge. As God gave them to him, and to the world by him : so his chief care is, that they may be begotten again to God; that they may put off that corrupt nature which they took from him, and be made partakers of that divine nature which is given them in their regeneration. For this cause, he trains them U)) in all virtuous and religious education : he sets them in their way, corrects their exorbitances, restrains their wild desires, and labours to frame them to all holy dispositions ; and so bestows his fatherly care upoo and for them, as one, that would rather they should be good than rich, and would wish them rather dead than debauched. He neglects not all honest means of their provision, but the highest point he aims at, is to leave God their patrimony. In the choice of their calling or match, he propounds, but forces not ; as knowing they have also wills of their own, which it is fitter for him to bow, then to break. Is he a Son ? he is such as may be fit to proceed from such loins. Is he a Servant? he cannot but be officious ; for he must please two masters, though one under, not against the other : when his visible master sees him not, he knows he cannot be out of the eye of the Invisible ; and therefore dares not be either negligent, or un- faithful. Tiie work, that he midertakes, he goes through, not out of fear, but out of conscience ; and wouUl do his business no other- wise than well, though he served a blind master. He is no blab of the defects at home ; and, where he cannot defend, is ready to ex- cuse. He yields patiently to a just reproof; and answers with ail humble silence ; and is more careful not to deserve, than to avoid ^iripc^i. THE CHRISTIAN. 2»:3 Is he a Subject ? He is awfully uHectcd to .sovereignty ; as know- ing by whom the powers are onlaincil. He dares not curse thu king; no, not in his thought ; nor revile tlie rnler of his people, though justly faulty : much less dare he slander tin* footsteps of God's anointed. He submits, not only for wrath, but also for con- science sake, to every ordinance of God ; yea, to every ordinatice of man, for the Lord's sake : not during to disobey, in regard of the oaMiofGod, If he have reached forth his hand to cut ofl'but the ^kiri of the royal robe, liis heart smites him. He is a true pay- master; and willingly renders tribute to whom tribiue, custom to whom custom, honour to whom honour is due; and justly divides liis duties, betwixt God and Casar. Finally, in whatever relation he stands, he is diligent, faithful, conscionable ; ob-ervant of his rule; and careful to be approved such, both to God and men. SECT. VII. HIS RESOLUTION IN M.VTTER OF RELIGION. He hath fully informed himself of all the necessary points of reli- gion ; and is so firmly grounded in those fundamental and savino- truths, that he cannot be carried about with every wind of doctrine. As for collateral and unmaterial verities, he neither despiseth, nor yet doth too eagerly pursue them. He lists not to take f)pinioiis upon trust: neither dares absolutely follow any guide ; but those, wiio he knows could not err. He is ever suspicious of new faces of theological truths ; and can- not tiiiiik it safe, to walk in untrotlden paths. IMaiters of specidation are not unwelcome to him; but his chief care is to reduce his knowledge to practice: and, therefore, he holds nothing his own, but what his heart hath appropriated, and his life acted. He dares not be too much wedded to his own conceit ; and hath so much humility, as to think the whole Church of Christ upon earth wiser than himself. However he he a great lover of constancy, yet, upon better rea- son, he can change his mind, in some litigious and unimportin;; truths ; and can be silent, where he must dissent. SECT. VIII. HIS DISCOURSE. His DISCOURSE is grave, discreet, pertinent ; free from vanity, free from oil'ence. In secular occasions, nothing falls from liim but seasonable and 2"o4 PRACTICAL WORkS. well-advised truths ; in spiritual, his speech is such, as both argues grace and works it. No toul and unsavoury hreath proceeds out of iiis lips ; which he abides not lobe tainted with any rotten communication, with any slanderous detraction. If, in a friendly merriment, he let his tongue loose to a harmless urbanity, that is the fmthest lie dares go^ scorn- ing to come within the verge of abase scurrility. He is not apt to spend Inmself in censures; but, as for rcvilings and cursed speakings against God or men, those his soul abhorreth. He knows to resene his thoughts, by locking them up in his bo- som, nnder a safe silence : and, when lie must speak, dares not be too free of his tongue ; as well knowing, tliat, i)i {he mullitude of wordsy there tjcanteth not sin. His speeches are no other than seasonable ; and well fitted, both to the person and occasion. .liggs at a funeral, lamentations at a feast, holy counsel to scorners, discouragements to the dejected, and applauses to the profane, are hateful to him. He meddles not with other men's matters, much less with aflfairs of state: but keeps himself wisely within his own compass; not thinking his breath well spent, where he tloth not either teach or learn. SECT. IX. HIS DEVOTION. Hf, Is so perjietually resident in heaven, that he is, often in everj day, before the Throne of Grace ; and he never comes there, with- out supplication in his hand : wherein also he loves to be importu- nate ; and he speeds accordingly ; for he never departs empty ; while other cold suitors, that come thither but in some good fits of DhVOTiON, obtain nothing but denials. He dares not press to God's footstool in his own name ; he is con- scious enough of his own unwortliiness : but he comes in the gra- cious and powerful Name of his llighteous Mediator, in whom he knows he cannot but be accepted ; and, in an humble boldness, for his only sake craves mercy. No man is either more awful or more confident. When he hath put up Kis peliiion to the King- of Heaven, he pre- sumes not to stint the time or manner of (iod's rondcscent ; but pa- tiently and faithfully wails lor the good hour, and leaves himself upon that Intiniie \Visdoni and Goodness. Me doth not ail'ect length so much, as fervor: neither so much minds his tongue, as his heart. His prayers are suited according to the degrees of the benefits sued for. He, therefore, begs grace absolutely, and temporal bless- incjs with limitation ; ami is accordingly allected in the grant. Neitlier is he more earnest in craving mercies, than he is zea- lously desirous to be retributory to God when he hath received them; TMF. r.HRI.STlAN. 2..^ not more heartily suin^- to be rich in t:jrace, ihaii to improve his graces to the honour iiiul advantage ol' the Bestow cr. With an awl'nl and broken lieart, dorh he make his addrej^ses to that Inhnite Majesty ; from whose presence he retm-ns with comlon. and joy. His soul is constantly fixed there, wliitherho pours it out. Dis- traction and distrust are shut out from his closet : and he is so taken up with his devotion, as one that makes it his work to pray. And, when he hath oiVered up his sacrifices unto God, his lUith hsteiw, and looks in at the door of heaven to know how thev are taken. SECT. X. HIS SUFFERLNGS. KvERY man shews fair in prosperity ; but the main trial of the Chris- tian is in sUFFERiNii : any man may steer in a good gale and clear sea ; but the mariner's skill will be seen in a tenipest. Herein the Christian goes beyond the Pagan's, not practice onh , but admiration. Jl'e rejoice in tribulation, saith the Chosen Vessel. Lo here a point. transcending all the afiectation of Fleathenism. Per- haps, some resolute spirit, whether out of a natural fortitude, or out of an ambition of fame or earthly glor}-, niay set a face upon at patient enduring of loss or pain ; but never any of those heroic Gen- tiles durst pretend to a joy in suffering. Hither can Christian cou- rage reach : knowing, that Tribulation icorketh patience, and pa- tience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketli not ashamed. Is he bereaved of his ^oods and worldly estate ? he comfoits him- self in the conscience ot a better treasure, that can never be lost. Is he afflicted with sickness r his comfort is, that tlie inward man is so much more renewed daily, as the outward perisheth. Is he slan- derctl and unjustK" disgraced ? his comfort is, that tliere is a bless- ing which will more than make him amends. Is he banished r he knows he is on his way homeward. Is he imprisoned ? his soirit caimot be locked in : God and his Angels cannot be locked out. Is he tlying ? to him to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Is he dead > he rests from his labours, and is crowned with glory. Siiortly, he is perfect gold, that comes more pure out of the lire, than it went in ; neither had ever been so great a Saint in heaven, if he had nor passed through the llamcs of his trial here upon caiih. SECT. xr. IlLS COMLICTS. He knows himself never out of dangc^r; and, therefore, s.uids ever ii))on his guard. Neither of hit hands is empty : the one hn]<\< o- • 266 PRACTICAL WORKS. the skidd of faith ; the other manageth the ra'o;-^ of ihc Spirit : both of llieni arc eniijh)yed in his perpetual conflict. He cannot be weary of resisting ; but resolves to tlie fighting. He haih a ward for every blow : and, as his eye is (juick to dis- cern temptations; so is his hand, and foot, nimble to avoid them« He cannot be discouraged witli either the number or power of his enemies : knowing that his strength is out of himself, in him in whom he can do all things ; and that there can be no match to the Ahnighty. He is careful, not to give advantage to his vigilant adversary ; and, therefore, warily avoids the occasions of sin: and if, at any time, he be overtaken with the suddenness or subtlety of tempta-«. tion, he speedily recovers himself by a serious repentance ; and tights so much the harder, because of his foil. He hates to take quarter of the spiritual powers : nothing less than death can put an end to his quarrel, nor nothing below victory. SECT. XIT. HIS DEATH. He is not so careful to keep his soul within his teeth, as to send it forth well addressed for happiness: as knowing, therefore, the last brunt to be most violent, he rouzeth up his holy fortitude to en- counter that king of fear, his last enemy, dkatm. And now, after a painful sickness and a resolute expectation of the fiercest assault, it falls out with him as in the meeting of the two Jiostile brothers, Jacob and P'sau : instead of grappling, he finds a courteous salutation ; for stabs, kisses ; for height of enmity, offices of love. Life could never befriend him, so much as death oifers to do: that tenders him (perhaps a rough, but) a sure hand, to lead liim to glory ; and receives a welcome accordingly. Neither is there any cause to marvel at the chano-e. The Lord of Life haih wrought it ; he, having by dying subdued death, hath reconciled it to his own ; and hath, as it were, beaten it into these fair terms with all the members of his mystical body : so as, while wnto the enemies of God death is still no other than a terrible exe- cutioner of divine vengeance, he is to all that are in Christ a plau- sible and sure convoy unto blessedness. The Christian therefore, now laid upon his last bed, when this grim messenger comes to fetch him to heaven, looks not so nuich at his dreadful visage, as at his happy errand : and is willing not to remember what death is in itself, but what it is to us in Christ ; by whom it is made so useful and beneficial, that we could not be hapjjy without it. Here, then, comes in the last act and employment of faith; for after this brunt passed, there is no more use of faith, but of vision ; that heartens the soul in u lively apprehewsion of that Blessed Ss^ THE CHRISTIAN. 2C1 Tioiir, uho both led him the way of suiVerinjr, and is makinj]f way lor liiin to everlusiuig glory : that shews him Jesus, iht Autlwr and Finisher of our Faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, en- duted the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right-hand 9f the throne of (xod : tljat chugs close unto him: and hiys iiiire- mova!>le liold upon his person, his merits, his blcssechiess. Upon the wings of this Kaith, is the soul ready to mount up toward that heaven, which is open to receive it ; and, in that act of evolation, puts itself into the hands of tliose blessed angels, who are ready to carry it up to tiie throne of glory. SIC, O SIC JUVAT VIVBRE, SIC PF.RiaK ! satAn's fiery darts QUENCHED: OR, TEMPTATIONS REPELLED. IN THREE DECxVDES. fOR THE HELP, COMFORT, AND PRESERVATION OF WEAK CHRISTL\NS, IN THESE DANGEROUS TIMES OF ERROR AND SEDUCTION. BY JOSEPH, BISHOP OF NORWICH. 271 TO THE CIlRISTIAy READER, GRACE ANT> PEACE. Some frj) months are past, since a xcorlJn/ and eminent Divine from (he 'west'^, once part of my charge ^ ear nest lij moved me lo un- dertake this task of Temptations ; seconding his Letters with the lines of a dear intercessor from those parts. Upon the first viczv, I slighted the motion : returning onlij this ans-u'cr. That I remembered this xvork was alreadjj so cotnpUtelij performed by the reverend and learned Mr. Downame, in hU " Christian IVarfare,'"' as that xchoso should meddle with this sub- ject, sho'tld but seem to slcan after his sickle. Rut, when I had sadly considered the matter , my second thoughts told me, that there is no one point of Divinity, wherein many pens have not profitably laboured in several forms of discourse ; and that the course, which I was solicited unto, was in a (/uifr different way of tractation, namely, to furnish my fellow-chrislians zvilk short and punctual answers to the particular suggestions of our great enemy ; and that our deplored Age had rifely yielded public temp, tationsof impiety, which durst not look forth into the world in those happy days. I was^ thereupon, soon convinced in my self, how useful and beneficial such a 'Tractate might be to weak souls ; and embraced the motion, as sent from God, whose good hand I found sensibly with me in the pursuance of it. /, therefore, cheerfully addressed myself to the work : wherein what I hare assayed or done, I humbly leave to the judgment of 1 others ; with only this, that if in this Treatise my decrepit hand can have let fall any thing that viay be to the service of God^s Church, to the raising up of drooping hearts, to the cotivincing of blasphemous errors, to the preventing of the dangerous insinuations of wickedness, I desire to be thankful to my good God, whose grace hath been pleased to improve those few sands that remain in my glass to so happy an advantage. That God, the Father of all Mercies ^ fetch fro)n these poor labours of his weak servant much glory to his own Name, and much benefit to the souls of his people. And may the same (rod be pleased to stir up the hearts of all hii faithful ones, that shall, through his goodness, receive any help by these well-meant endeavours, to interchange their prayers with and tor me, the unworlhiest of his .Ministers, that I may Jinish the ^mall remainder of my course with joy. Amen. From my Cottagp at Ilieham, near Norwich: Feb. 12, 1G4G. * Mr. Hannibal Gammon, of C!c>rn'.yaII. 272 TEMPTATIONS REPELLED. THE FIRST DECADE. TEMPTATIONS OF IMPIETY 1st. temptation : " Foolish sinner, thou leanest upon a broken reed while thoii rcposest all thy trust in a Crucified Saviour ;" Repelled. Blasphf.mous Spirit ! It is not the ignominy of the Cross, that can blemish the honour of my Saviour, 'iliou feclost, to thy endless pain and ref>;iet, that he, who would die upon the tree of shame, iiath triumphed victoriously over death and all the powers of hell. The greater his abasement was, the greater is the glory of his mercy. He, that is the Eternal God, would pvit on man, that he might work man's redemption, and satisty God for man. Who, but a man, could suffer r and who, but a God, could conquer by sufferings ? It is man, that had sinned : it is God, that was offencl- ed : who, but he, that was God and man, could reconcile God unto man ? He zi'as crucified through zc'da/cness, yet lie lixeth, and tri- umj)heth, in tJie power of his, omni[)otent, (rodfiead ; 2 Cor. xiii. 4. Neither was it so much weakness to yield unto death, as it was power to vanquish it. Yea, in this very dying, there was strength : for here was no violence that could force him into his grave : who should offer it ? / and the Father are one, saith that Word of Truth; and in Unity there can be no constraint: and, if the pei*sons be divers ; lie thought ii no rohhery to be equal with God, the Father ; Phil. ii. (j. and there is no authority over equals. And, lor men or devils, wiiat could they do to the Lord of Life ? I lay dozen my life, saith tlie Almighty Redeemer, tluU I might talce it again. No man takcth it from me, but I lay it dozm of myself. I have power to lay it dozen, and I have pozver to take it again ; John x. 17, 18. O infiniteness, both of power and mercy, met in the centre of a will- ing death ! Impudent Tempter, dost thou not remember tliine own language? The time was, indeed, when thou couldst say. If thou be flu; Son of God ; Matt, iv. ?., (i : but, when thou foundcst thyself quelled by divine power, and sawest tiiose miraculous works fall hoin iiim Tvhich were only proper to an Infinite Godhead ; now thou wert SATAN'S riEUY PARTS QUENCHED: — DECADE I. 273 forced to confess, / /.nou^ :r/io thou art, exeu tlw Iloh/ One of (Jod ; Mark i. '24 : and, agiiiu, Jfsits, the Sou of the J/o.v/ llii'h Gcil ; Mark v. 1 : and, vet again, JThat have rcr to do with thee, Jcsiis, tha Son of God ? (/;■/ thou come to torment us before the time ? Matt. \ iii. 'J9. I.o then, even in the lime of liis human weakness, thou couldst, with horror enongh, acknowledge him the Son of tiie Most High God : and darest tliou, now that he sits crowned wiih celes- tial glory, disparage his P>er-Blessed Deity ? Thy malice hath misetl up, as in the former, so in these latter day?, certain cursed imps of heretical pravity ; who, under the name of Christians, have wickedly rc-erucified the Lord that bcni!:ht thnn ; "ot sparing to call into question the Eternal Deity oi' him, whoia rhey dare call Saviour : whom if thou hadst not steeled with a Itellish impudence, certainly, they coukl not profess to admit the Word written, and yet, the while, deny the Personal \\'(jrd. How riear testimony doth the one of them give to the other! When thou presumedst to set upon the Son of Ciod hy thy personal temptations, he sto])t thv mouth with a scriptian est : liow much more shall these Pseudo-Christian agents of thine he thus con- vinced ! Surely, there is no truth, wherein those oracles of God have hcen more clear and punctual. Are we not there rociuired to helieve in hiiu as God, upon the promise of eternal life ; John iii. 16 : under the pain of everlasting condemnation? v. IS. Are we not commanded to baptize in his name, as God r Matt, xxviii. 19. Acts ii. 3S. Is not the Holy- Ghost given as a seal to that baptism .' Acts x. 47, 48. Are we not charged to give divine honour to him ? Ps. xxii. 27. Is not this required and reported to be done not onlv by the kings of the eaith ; Psalm Ixxii. 11, 15: but by the saints and angels in heaven ? Rev. V. 11, 12. and iv. 9, 10, 11. Is he not there declared to be equal •with God ? Phil. ii. 6. Is he not there asserted to be one with the Father .? John x. 30. 1 John v. 7. Doth he not there challenge a joint right with the Father in all thitigs, both in heaven and earth ? John xvi. 15. xvii. 10. Are not the great works of divine power attributed to him ? Hath not he createil the earth, and man upon it ? Have not his hands stretched out the heavens } Hath not he conuuanded all their host ? Isa. xlv. 12. Ps. xxxiii. 6. and cii. 25. Are not all the attributes of God, his ? Is he not eternal .? Is it not he, of whom the Psalmist, Thy throne, O God, is for ever atul ever : the sceptre of thy kin.!doin is a right sceptre i Ps. xlv. t!. I.s not he the Father of Eternity ? I>h. ix. G : the First and Last * Kev. i. 17 : Have not his goings fort li been from everlasting f Mic. V. 2. Had not he glory with tfie Father, before the world zias V John xvii. 5. Is not he the frord, which was in tlie beginning ; tlie Jl'ord, that was with (rod; and the Word, that was GodY Joim i. 1. Is he not infmite and incomprehensible ? Is it not he that fil/cth all fhini*s 'ph. iv. 10 : that was ni heaven, while he was on eurdi ? John iii. ij. Is he not Almighty '^ liev. i. 8. even the Mighti; 8. r' 274 I'KACTICAL WORKS. God, \^l'.o upholds all //(i)igs bj/ the icord of his pourr ? I.-;a. ix. G. Yea, is he not expressly styled iJic Lord, Jehovah ; the I ord of Hosts; God blessed for ever; the true God, a)id eternal life; the great God and Saviour ; the Lord of Glory ? Isa. xl. 3. xlv.''2 1, 2l', 13. vi. 3. Rom. ix. .">. 1 .lohn v. 20. Tit.'ii. 13. 1 Cor. ii. S. Hath he not abiuulantly convinced the w orld of his Godiicad, hy tlio.se miraculous works which he diti, botli in his own person vvliile he was here on earth, and by the hands of liis followers ? works so transceniling the ])ossibility of nature, that they could not be wrought by any less than tiic God of Nature : as, eicciing- of de- vils, bv connnand ; raising- the dead, after de<^rees of putrefaction; e^ivino- eyes to the born blind ; conquering death, in his own re- suscitation ; ascendi;ig gloriously i>ito heaven; charuiing- die winds and waters ; healing diseases, by the \cry shadow of his transient chsciples ? Yea, tell me, by what power was it, that thine oracles, whereby all the world was held in superstition, were silenced r what power, whereby the Gospel, so opposite to flesh and bloocl, hutli concjuer- ed the world ; and, in s]iite of all the violence of tyrants and op- pugnation of rebellious nature, luitli prevailed ? I'pon all these grounds, how can I do less, than cry out, with the late-believing disciple, Mji F.ord^ and my (jod ? John xx. 28. r»lalignant Spirit, thou dost but set a face of checking me by my Saviour's Cross. Thou knowest and feelest, that it was the chariot of his triumph, \vhcreupon being exalted, he dragged all the powers of hell captive after him ; making a show of them ojienly, to their confusion, and his gloiy ; Col. ii. 13. Thou knowest, that, had it not been for that Cross, those infernal regions of thine had beei» jieopled with whole mankind ; a great part whereof is now deliver- ed out of thy hands, by that victorious redemption. Never had heaven been so stored, never had hell been so foiled, if it had not been for that Cross. And canst thou think to daunt me with the mention of that Cross, which, by the eternal decree of God, was determined to be the means of the deliverance of all the souls of the elect ? Dost thou not hear the Prophet say, of old, lie xcaseut off from the land of the living : for the transgression of my people zc-as he stricken. And he made his grave with the :cicked, and ivith the rich in his death. lie hath poured out his soul unto deal li, ami he -was numbered xcith the lransg}-esso7\<;; and he bare the sin oj' man ij';' Isa. liii. 8, 9, 12. l)id.>.t thou not hear my Saviour himself, after his glorious resurrection, checking Cleopas and his fellovv-tra\eller, for their ignorance of this prodetern) i nation r O fools, and shnv of lieart to believe all that the prophets have spoken : ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? l.uke xxiv. 25, 26. Yea, lastly, when had my Saviour more glory, than in this very act of his Ignominious sulVering and crucifixion ? It is true, there hangs the Son of Man, despicably \\\)o\\ the tree of shame: he is mocked, spit upon, bulleted, scourgcil, nailed, reviled, dead ; Luke xxiji. ;i5, 36. now hiive meii and devils done their worst : but, this SATAN'S FIERY DARTS QUFNCHF.D: — DEC ADK I. 275 wlillr, is the Son of God ackiioulcclfrecl ;\ik1 nia?i;nitie(l in his al- miijhtv power, hoili by curih and lieaveM. The sun, lor three hoiir>, liides his head in darkness; as hating to behold this toit ol'- I'ered to liis Cnrator: the earth quakes to bear the weight of this suiVeiini^ : the rocks rend in j^iecos : the dead rise from their grares to see, and wonder at, and attend tlieir hue dying, and now rir^en Saviour : the vail ot the Temple tears troni the toj) to the bottou), for the blasphenious indignity offered to the God of the Temple *. and the (xMiturion, upon sight of all this, is forced to say, Ti ulj/, i/iis icas (lie Son of dcd , Matt, xxvii. 50 — 5i, And now, after all these irrefragable attestations, his Easter makes abundant amends for liis passion. There could not be so nuicli weakness in dying, as there was power in rising from dc^ath. His resurrection proves him the Lord of Life and Death : cmd shews that he died, not out of necessity, but will ; since he, that could shake olYthe grave, could with more ease have avoided death. Oh, then, the happy and glorions conquest of my Blessed Saviour, de- clared to be the Son of God icith ponder, accordhig to the Spirit of HO' li/iess, by the resurrection from the dead ! lloni. i. 4. Go now, \V'icked Spirit, and twit me w ith the Cross of my Sa- viour. That, which thou objectedst to me as ray shame, is my only glory : God forbid that I should £[lorj/, saic in the Cross of w?// Lord Jesus Christ ; -joherehij the xaorld is crucified unto me, and I unto the vorlil i Gal. vi. 14. IId. TEMPTATION : ** Still thou hasty npon all occasions^ recourse to the Scriptures, as some Dixine Oracles ; and thinkest thou, viayest safely build thy soul upon exery text of that xoritten ivord, as inspired from hea- ven : 'whereas, indeed, this is nothing but a human device to keep men in axic ; and 7iever came nearer heaven, than the brains of those politicians that invented it ;" Repelled. Wicked Spirit ! when thou presumedst personally to tempt my Saviour, and hadst that cursed mouth stopped by him with an // t.j irrifien, thou daredst not then to raise such a blas])hemous sugges- Jion against this word of truth. Success in wickedness hath made .thee more impudent ; and now, thou art bold to strike despiLcfully at the very root of religion. But know, that, after all thy mali- cious detractions, this word shall stand, when heaven and earth sliall vanish; and is that, wherel)y both thou and all thy complices 8h:iil be judgeil at that great day. It is not more sure that there is a God, than that this God ouglit to be served and worshipped by the creature. Neither is it more sure tliat God is, than that Iw. is most wise, most jusl, most holy. This most wise, just, and holy God, then, retpiiring and expecting to be .served and worshipj)ed by his creature, nuist of necessity have imparted his will to his creature; how and in what manner 2"6 rRACTICAL WORKS. he would be sciTed ; and what he would liave man to heheve, con- ccrniug himself and his proceedings : else, man should be lelt to utter uncertainties ; and there should be a failing of those ends^ w])ich the Infinite Wisdom and Justice hath proposed to itself. There must be therefore some word of God, wherein he hath revealed himself to man : and that this is and nuist be acknowledired to be that only word, it is clear and evident ; for that theie neither \vas, nor is, nor can be any other word, that could or durst stand in competition or rivality with this word of the Internal God : and, if anv other have presumed to oifer a contestation, it liath soon va- nished into contempt and shan\e. Moreover, this is ihe only word, Avhich God owns for his ; tmder no less style than Tims saith the Lo)d : which the Son of God hath so acknowledged for the ge- nuine word of his Eternal Father, as that out of it, as such, he hath pleased to refell both thy suggestions, and tlie malicious arguments of his Jewish opposites. It drives wholly at the glory of God ; not sparing to dis[;ai*age those very persons, whose jicns are employed in it, in blazoning their own infirmities in what they have oHendcd : which could not have been, if those pens had not been guiiled by a higher hand. It discovers and oppugns the corruptions of nature, which to mere men are either hid; or, if revealed, are dierished and upheld. It hiys forth the misery and danger of our estate under sin, and the remedies and means of our deli\erance, which no other word haiU ever pretended to undertake. Besides that there is such a majesty in the style wherein it is written, as is unimitable by any human author whatsecvcM*, the n)iU- tcr of it is wholly di\ine ; aiuiing aliogeiher at purity of worship and integrity of life : not admitting of any the least mixture, either of idolatry ar.d superstition, or of any plausible enormities of life; but unpartially laying forth God's judgments against these, and wljatever other wickednesses. This word reveals those things, which never could be known to the world, bj- any human skill or industry ; as the creation of the world ; and the order and decrees of it ; and the course of God's administration of it from the beginning, thousands of years before any records of history were extant : as it was only tlie Spirit of the Most High God in Daniel, that could fetch back and give an account of a vision fore-passed : all the soothsayers and magi- cians confess this a work of no less than divine omniscience. And, as for things future, the predictions of this word of things to be done after many hundreds, yea some thousands of years, the events having then no preexisteuce in their causes, being accord- ingly accomplisheil, show it to proceed from an absolute, unfailing, and therefore infuiite prescience. And, whereas there are two parts rf this word, the Law and the Gospel : tjie Law is more exact than hiunan brains can reach unto; meeting with those abernitions, which the most wise and curious lawgivers could not give order ibr ; extending itself to those very thousrhts, which nature knows not to accuse or restrain : the Gos;i«l SATAN'S FIERY DARTS QUENCHED: — DECAT^E I. 2"7 is made good, as by the signs and wonders wrought in all the pri- miiveagcs; so by tiie poweilul operation that it hath upon the soul, siicii, as the word of the most, pindcnt man on earth, or ol the greatest angel in iien\ en should in vain hope lo parallel. And, \^iieieas the penmen of both tliese were Prophets and Apostles : the Prophers are suflicientJy attested by the Apostles, to be men lioly, and inspired by the Holy Gll0^t; 2 Pet. i. 21 : the Apostks are abnnd.mtly attested by the Holy Ghost pomed out upon them in their Pentecost ; and, besides variety of tongues, enabling them to do such miraculous works, as astoni-iied and conviticcd their very enemies. To these may be addeil the perfect harmony of the l.avv and the Gospel ; the Law being a prciigured Gospel, and the Gtispel a Law consummate : both of them lively setting forth Christ, the Redeemer of the \\'orld, both future and exhibited. Neither is it lightly to be esteemed, that this word hath been b}' holy men in all ages received as of sacred and divine authority : men, whose lives and tleaths have ap]:)roved them eminent Saints of God ; who have not only professed, but sealed with their blood, this truth, which they had learned from him, that was rapt into the third heaven, that all scripture is giicn by ins-piratiun of Gcil ; 2 TiiTi. iii. \Ck a truth which cannot but be attested by their own hearts, which have sensibly found the power of this word, con- vincing them of sin ; w orking ellectually in them a lively faith and unfeitrned conversion, which no human means could ever have et- fected. Lastly, it is a strong evidence to my soul, that this is no other than the word of a God, that I find it so eagerly opposed by thee, antl all thy ma'ignant instruments in all ages. Philosophers, both tiatuial and moral and poliiic, have left large volumes behind them, in their several jirofessions ; all uliicii are suffered to live in peace, and to enjoy their opinions with freedom and leave: but, so soot\ as ever this sacred book of God looks forth into the world, hell is in an uproar, and raises all the i'oice.i of malice and ivil and violence at it. Wherefore would it be thus, if there were not some more divine thing in these holy leaves, than in all the monuments of learned humarjity ? But the protection is yet more convictive than the o])})osition : that, notwithstanding all the machinations of the powers of darkness, this word is preserved entire ; that the simphcity of it prevails against all worldly policy; that the power of it subdues all nations, and triumphs over all the wickedness of men and devils; it is proof enough to me that the God of Heaven ia botli the author, and owner, and giver of it. Shortly, then, let my soul be built upon this rocky foundation of the Prophets and Apostles: let thy storms rise, and thy llood.i come, and thy winds l)low, and beat upon it; it shall mock at thy furv, and shall sand linn aon:-., distinguished in their subsistences, not divided in their substance; that, in one person of Christ the Mediator, there are two natures, divine and hinnan, not converted into each other, not co:. founded each with other; that the Creator of all things should become a creature ; that a creature should be the mother of him, that is her God : liowever they be points, whicjj carnal rea- son cannot put over ; yet they are such, as reason illuminate and regenerate can botii easily antl most comfortaiWy digest, (irait is the vijjstcry of godliness i God viunifested in the jUsh ; I Tim, SATAN'S nP.RY HARTS QUF.NTHF.D: — DF.CADF I. 279 iii. lt>. W'uat mystery were there in godliness, if the deepest se- cri'ts of religion did lie open to the common ap[)rehension of natin-e ? iMv Savlonr, who is Truth itself, hath told nic, that 7W man know- fih the Fillier ; bat the Sen ; and Ac, to whom the Sou kUI reirul hh/i ; .M:irt. xi. 27 : and, with the same breath, gives thanks to his Hea\en!y Father, that h^ .'lath hid these thinirs j'rom the wise and ■prudtiU, wlio were uioit iila-iy, if reason miijht he the meet judge of spnitual matters, to attain the perfect knowledge of them ; and hatii mealed thon to babes ; v. 23. It is tlierefore God's ixjvclation, not the ratiocination of nian, that innst give us light into these divine mysteries. Were it a mat- ter of human disquisition, why did not tiiose sages of nature, the learned philosophers of former times, reach unto it ? But now a more learned man than tliey, the great Doctor of the Gentiles, tells us, t!iat the Gospel and preaching of Jesus Christ yields forth ihe revelation of the vitjs'eries, u'hieh were kept secret since the world began; but are now manifested by the Scriptures of the Prophets; and, acco)-ding to the eoniin'.indnwnt of the e-jcrlasiing God, made known to all nations for ihe obedience of faith ; Horn. xvi. 25, 2*,. Lo, he saith not to the obedience of reahon ; but of faith : and that fuith doth more transcend reason, than reason doth sense. Thou urgOnt ine, therefore, to be a man: I i)rofess myself to be a Christian man. It is reason, that makes me a man : it is faith, that makes me a Christian. The wise and bountiful God hath vouchsafeil to hold forth fonr several lights to men ; all which move in four several orl)s, one •above another; the light of scn.-e, the light of reason, the light of faith, the light of t;cstatical or divine vision. And all of these are taken up with their own proper objects : sense is busied about these outward and material things : reason is confined to things intelli- gible : faith is employtd in matters spiritual and snpernai:ural : di- vine* vision, in objects celestial, and iniinitely glorious. None of these can exceed their bounds; and extend to a sphere above their own. What can the brut« creature, which is led by mere sense, do or apprehend in matters of understanding and dis- course } What can mere man, who is led by reason, discern in spi- ritual and sujiernatural tilings ? What can the Christian, who is led by faith, which is the evidence of things not seen, attain unto in the clear vision of (iod and heavenly glory ? That God, who is a God of Order, hatli determined due limits to all our powers and faculties: thon, that art a S|)irit of Confu- .s.on, goest about to disturb and diso. !er all those just ranks; la- bouring to jmnble together those distinct orbs of reason and faith, anil, by the ligiit of reason, to extinguish the light of faith ; and wouidst have us so to put on the man, ;is that we should put otV the Christian ; but I have learned in this c:ise to defy thee ; ground- ing myself uj)on that word, which is mighty, through God, to the pulling down of strong holds'; casting down inia'Sfjuations, and r.oy h'gh tliin ii self against the knowledge oj God, and 280 PRACTICAL WORKS. bringing into aiptixity ez'eiy l/wug/U lo the obcdituce of Christ ; 'i Cor. X. 4, 5. 1 will, therefore, follow my sense so far as that will lend me; an4 rot su'icr myself to bjC beaten off from so sure a guide. Where my sense leaves me, 1 will betake myself to the direction of rea- son ; and, in all natural and moral things, shall be willingly led by the guidance thereof. But, when it conies to supernatural and di- vine truths ; when 1 have the word of a God for my assurance, f;u'e«cll reason, awd welcome faith: as, when I shall have dis- patched this weary pilgrimage, and from a traveller shall come to be a coniprehcnsor, faicwell faiih, and welcome vision. In t'iO mean time, I shall labour, what I may, to understand all revealed truths ; and, where I cannot aj;prehend, I shall adore : humbly submitting to that word of the great and holy God, J/t/ thoughts are not your thoughts, neither arc 7/our •u'tnj.s nuj rmi/s, sairh the Lord : lor, us the heavens are higher than the eurtli, so are my waj/s higher than 1/our waj/s, and mi/ thoughts than ijour thoughts; Is. iv. 8, 9. IVtii. temptation : '' In hoxi) vain and causeless azve art thou held of dangers threat^ ■ ened to ihjj soul, and horrors of punishment after this life ! •where- as these are nothing but politic hugs, to a fright siinple and ere- didous men. Sin freely, Man; and fear nothing. Take full scope to thy pleasures. After this life, there is nothing : the soul dies together "ifith the body, us in brute creatures : there is no fur- ther reckoning to be made :"" Re[^d\ed. Deceitful Spirit ! How thou goest about to persuade me to that, which thyself would be most loth should be true r For, if the soul of man expired with the body, what subject shoiddst thou have of that tvranny and torment, which thou so much alTectcst ? How willingly dost thou secai to fight against thyself, that thou mightest overcome me 1 But this dart of thine is too blunt to pierce even a rational breast. Why dost thou not go about to persuade me, that I am rot a man, but a. brute c.eature ? Such I should be, if my soul were no other than theirs : for, as for bodily shape, there are of ihcin not nmch unlike me. Wiry dost thou not persuade me, that those brute creatures are men? if their souls u ere as ours, what were the difference ? Canst thou hope I can so abdicate myself, as to put myself hiio the rank of beasts ? Can^t thou think so to pre- vail with thy suggestions, as to make reason itself tinn irra- tional ? Mow palpably dost thou confound thyself, in this xoy act of teinptaiiun ! for, if I had not a soul beyond the contlition of brute creatures, how am I capable of sinning ? Why doit thou persuade SATAN'S FIFRY DARTS QUENCHED: — DECADR I. «8l fjG to tliat, wiicreot my nature, it' hul brutish, can liave no caj)a- citv r Dost thou hil)oiir to prevail with thy teinjHations upon beasts? Post thou importune their yieklance to siniul motions ? It" they jjad such a soul as mine, wliy should they not sin, as well as I ? why shoukl ihev not be equally guilty ? Contrarily, are those brute things capable of doing those works, which may be pleasing unto God ; the periormance whereof thou so much enviest unto me ? Can thev desire and endeavour to be holy ? are tliey capable oi making conscience of their ways ? Know then, O thou Wicked Spirit, that I knoiv myself animated widi another and more noble spirit, than these other material crea- tures ; and that I am suliiciently conscious of my own powers : that I have an inniate in my bysom, of a divine original ; which, though it takes part with the body while it is included in this case of clay ; yet can and will, when it is freed frcmi this earth, subsist alone, and be eternally happy in the })resent and perpetual vision of the God that made and redeemed it ; and, in the mean time, exerciseth such faculties, as well shew whence it is derived, and far transcend the possibility of all bodily temj)orament. Can it not compare one thing with anoLher ? Can it not deduce one sequel from another ? Can it not atiaiu to the knowiedge of the secrets of nature, of the perfection of arts ? Can it not reach to the scanning of human plots, and the apprehension of divine mysteries ? Yea, can it not judge oT spirits ? How should it tlo all this, if it were ;iot a spirit r - How evidently then t thee, living and dying strong assertors of the soul'i immortality ; how fully might thine accui-sed mouth be stopped, by the most sure words of divine truth ! Yea, wert thou ilisposed to play at some smaller game ; and, by thy danmable clients to plead, not so much for the uiter extinction as for the donniiioa of llie sotd, those Orach* of God have enough 2S2 f*RACTICAI, WORKS. to cliaitn thee and them ; and can, with one blow, cut the throat of boili those blasphemies. That penitent thief, whose soul tliou madest full account of, when he was led to his execution, uliich yet my dying Saviour snatciied out of thy hands, could hear comfortably from those blessed lips, 77u's day tli u shall be •with me in paradise ; Luke xxiii. 43. iShall we think this nuiiefactor in any other, in any better condition, than the rest of God's Saints? Doth not the Chosen Vessel tell us, that, upon the dissolution oi our earthly house of this tabernacle^ Xi'e have a building of God, vot made iinth hands, eternal in the heavens ? 2 Cor. V. 1. Presently, therefore, afcer our flitting hence, we have a being, and that glorious : who can think of a being m heaven, with- out a full sense of joy ? Doth not our Saviour tell us, that the soul of poor Lazarus was inmiediately carried b}' angels into Abraham's bosom .'' Luke xvi. 22. The damned glutton knew so well that he was not laid there to sleep, that he sues to have him sent on the njessage of his refrigeration. Did not the Beloved Dirciple, when he was in Patmos, upon the opening of the fifth seal, see under the altar the souls of them that zcere slain for thexeord of God, aiul for the iestimony ichich they held ? Did he not hear tliem cry, JIow long. Lord, holy aiul true? Rev. vi. 9, 10. What! shall we think they cried in their sleep ? J)id he not see and hear the hundrcd-forty- four thonsa! d Saints before the throne, liarping and singing a ne\v song to the praise of their Ck)d .<' Ptcv. xiv. 1, 3. Canst thou per- suade us they made this heavenly music in their sleep ? Doth he not tell us most plainly, from the mouth of one of the lieavenly el- dci"s, that those, which stood before the throne and the Lamb, cloth- ed with while robes and palms in their hands, \^ere they that ea)ne out (f great tribulation, and have n'ashed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb: Therefore are they be- fore the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his tem- ple ; and he, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell among them : They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat : For the Lamb, which is in the viidst of the throne, shall feed thevi, and shall lead them unto living fountains, and God shall wipe away all tears from their ej/es ? Rev. vii. I'l- — n. This service both day and night, and this leailing forth, can suppose noiiiing less than a perpetual waking. Neither is this the happy condition of holy !\Iartyrs and Confessors only, but is common to all the Saints of God in whatever profession : Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord ; Rev. xiv. 13. How should the dead be blessed, if they did not live to know thenisclves blessed ? what blessedness can be incident into those, that either are not at all, or are senseless.? 1 hey rest; but sleep not: they rest from their la- bour-;, not from the im[)rovenient of their glorilied faculties: their works follow them ; ye:'., and overtake them inheaven: to what pur- pose shouUi their works follow them, if they lived not to enjoy the comfort ol" their works ? Tills is the estate of all good souls, in dcsjiije of all tlnne infernal powers. And what becomes of the wicked ones, thou too well Satan's fikry darts quenched: — decade i. 2S3 knowcst. Dissemble thou, how thou wilt, those tornieuts ; and hide the sigiit of th;it pit othonor from the eyes of tliy sinful fol- lowers: ho, that /w/// t/ic kei/s of /le/l andnf (Icdlh, (ilev. i. IS.) hath given us iiitiuKuion enough: Fair not tiian, 'wkii'li kill the budy^ but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear hitn, wlw is able to destrou both hodif and soul in IwU ; Mutt. x. 28. Neither is he mor^ able out of his o;unipotence, than willing out ofhis ju-;tice, to o:;e- cute this riy-hteous venijeance on the impenitent :ukI un))e!ievers : 1 ribulation and anguish upon aeiy svui of man, that doelhevil; Horn. ii. i'. In vain, tlieveft^re, dost liion seek to delude me wiih these pre- tences of intiemnitv and anniliilaiion ; since it cannot but staiid with the mercy and justice of the Almighty, to dispose of every soul ac- cording to what they have been, and what they have done : Jo thevi, -xho, b}i patient continuance in urli-doinff, seek for g lor ij, and honour, and inimoriality; eternal life: but, unto them, that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness ,- indignation and wrath; Uom. ii. "i, 8. .Shortly, after all thv de-. vilish su£r.j(^tion«, on the one part, "The souls of the rii,diteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch liit in ;" W isd. ii. 1 : on the otlu'r. In fianiing Jire shall vengeance be taken on theni^ that kn'i'j) not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; zt^ ho shall be punished, n'ith everlasting destruction, J rom the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power ; 2 The*. i. 8, D. Vth. TEMl^ATION: " Put the case that the soul offer the departure from the body may live; but art thou so foolishly credulous, as to believe that thy body^ after it is mouldered into dust and resolved into all its elements, having passed through all the degrees of putrefaction and annihi- lation, shall at last return to itself again, and recover the former shape and substance ? Dost thou not apprehend the impossibility of this so absurd assertion y " Repelled. No, Tempter, it is true and holy faith, which thou reproachest for fond credulity. Had I to do with no greater power than thine, or than any angel's in heaven, that is, merely fmite; I might well be censured for too light belief, in giving my a-sent to so difficult a truth : but, now that I have to ilo witn Omnipotence, it is no les< than blasi)hemy in thee to talk of inijjossibility. Do not thy very Mahometim vassals tell thee, that the same power, which made man, can as well restore him? and canst thou be other than apjjosed with the:j)erienced, that they cease to wonder at it. \i, from these vege- tables, we siiouid cast our e} es uj)on some sensitive creatures, do Are not see snails, and flies, and some birds, lie as senseless and lifeless all the winter time; and yet, when the spring comes, they recover their wonted vivacity ? Besides tliese resemblances, have we not many clear instances and exan)ples of our resunection ? Diil not the touch of Elisha's bones raise up the partner of his grave ? 2 Kings xiii. 21. \\ as not Lazarus called up out of his scj^idchre, after four days' possession, and many noisome degrees of rottenness ? John xi. 39, 44. Were not the graves opened of many bodies of tlie Saints which slept ? 3)id not they arise and come out of their graves, alter my Saviour's Resurrection, and go into the holy city, and a])pear unto many ? Matt, xxvii. 52, 53. Ccsides examples, have we not an all-sufficient pledge of our cer- tain r;sint>a<::ain, in the victorious Itesurrection of the Lord of Life? Is not he our Mead ? are not we his members •* Is not he the hrst- fniits of thciirthat slept ? 1 Cor. xv. 20. Did he not conquer death Satan's fifuy darts quincred:^— pecad!'. r. 'J^vt for us r 1 Cor. xv. 57. Can ihc HoaU be alive ani«l glorious, while tlje linihs do utterly perish in alinal corruplioii ? (\'itaiiiK' then, Jf KV believe that Jesus died and rose asuiu^ even so tlicm uLso, zckicA sleep ill Jesusy ■uu'Il God brins: u'iih liiin ; 1 Thess. i\'. 14. Antl, it" there were no more, that one argunjeiit, wlierewiiliniv Saviour of old confounded thy Sadducees, hves srill to contojuiJ dice: God is the C'od of Abrahaw^ and the God of Isaac^ and the God of Jacob ; but God is not the God of the diadj but of the Urine ; Ishin.wn.'M. Tiie soul alone is not AhraliaMi: whole Abraham lives not, if the body were not to be joined to that souL Neither is it only certain, that the resurrection will be; but also necessarv, that it umst be : neither can the contrary consist witli tlie infinite Wisdom, Goodness, Justice, Mercy of the Almi(r|itv. For, fn>t, h.ow can it stand with the inlinite Goodness of the AJJ- wise God, thit the creature, which he esteems dearest and love* best, should be the nuv>t nuserable of all other ? Man is, doubtless^ the be.->t piece of his cartlily workmanship: holy men are the best of meii : were there no resurrection, surely no creuuire under hea- ven were so miserable as the holiest man. The barest of brute crea- tures find a kind of contentment in their being; and, were it not for the tyranny of man, would live and die at ease: and othe's of tiien), in what joility and pleasure do they wear out their time '. As for wicked men, who let tlie reins loose to their licentious apoctitei how do they place their heaven here below; and glory in this^ that they are yet somewhere happy ! But for the mortihed Christiiu% were it not for tliC comfort and amends of a resurrection, who Ciiti express the misery of his condition r He beats down his body, in the willing exercises of sharj) austerity ; and, as he would use some sturdy slave, keeps it under; holding short the ap])etite, oftentimei, even from lawful desires: so as his whole life is little otlier, than a perpetual penance. And, as for his measure from others, liow open doth he lie to the indignities, oi)pressions, persecutions of men! how is he tranij)lcd upon by scornful malignity ' how is lie reputed the ol}-.scoiniiig of the world ! how is he made a gazljv.r- stock of reprtrach to the world, to angels, and to men ! Did \hci-o not, therefore, abide for them the recoiupence of a better estate in another worlil, the earth could allbrd no match to them in perfect wretchedness ; 1 Cor. xv. 19: which how far it abhorreth from lh;'.t gf)odne.ss, which made all the world for his elect, ;uul so loves them tiiat he gaves his own Son for their redemption, let any enemy, bc- fcides thine accursed self, judge. How can it stand with the infinite Jn^tice of God, who disnen-^eih due rewards to good and evil, to retribute them b\- halves r Tite sai^es of sin is d^ath: the sift of God is eternal lift: : both these are given to the man ; not to the .soul. The body is coj)artner in the sin: it mu>.t, therefore, share in t!ie torment : it must, therefore, .be raised, that it may be punished. Kternityof joy or pain is award- ed to th(t just, or to the sinner : how can iIh> hodv !.i- (hpuIvIc of either, if it should finally perish in the dust ? How can it iiaiid witli the infinite Mercy of God, w ho hath gvcu ;S6 PRACTICAL WORKS* liis Son entirely for the ransom of the whole man, nnd by him sal- vation to every believer, tiiut he sliould shrink m his gracious ])er- formances ; making- good only one part of his eternal word to the spiritual half, leaving the bodily pait utterly forlorn to an absolute conu])tion ? Know liien, O thou Wicked One, that, when all the rabble of thine Athenian scoriers, and atheous Sadducees, and carnal Kpicn- reans, sliall have mis-spent ail their spleen, my faith shall triumph over all their sensual reason ; and shall alVord me sound comfortj against ail the terrors of death, from the firm assvn-ance of my resur- rection ; and shall confidently take up those precious words, which the Mirror of Patience wished to be written in a book, and graven witli an iron pen in the rock for ever, 1 know that my Rcdeemtr Iktth, and that lie shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : and though^ after my skin ^ worms destroy this body ; yet, in my fleshy shall I see God; Job xix. 23 — 26: and my soul shall set up her rest, in that triumphant conclusion of the blessed Apostle ; IViis corruptible must pat on ineorriiption, and this niortal nmst put on iminortality : So, when this corruptible shall have put on imorrup- tion, and this mortal shall haie put on innnortality, then shall be bi^ought to pass the saying that is written^ Death is swallowed up in victory. death, where is thy sting"? O grave, where is tinj vic- tory f The sting of death is sin : the strength of sin is the Law : but thanks be to God, n'hiih givcth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ; 1 Cor. xv. 53 — 57. VlTH. TExMPTA TION : " Jf the soul must Hie, and the body shall rise ; yet what ncedest thou to affright thyself with the terrors of an universal judgnient? Cre- dulous soul! when shall these things be ? Thou talkest of an awful Judge: but 'where is the pro)nise of his coning? These s-ix teen hu}idred years hath he been looked j'or : and yet he is not come i and when will heT'' Repelled. Thy damned scoffers were betimes foreseen to move this question, even by that blessed Apostle, whose eyes saw his Saviour asceiuling up to his glory ; 2 Pet. iii. 3 : and who then iieard the angel sa}', Ve men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing ttp i)ito heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from yvu into heaven, shall so come, in like manner, as ye have scoi hini go into heaven ; Acts i. 1 1. What dost thou, and they, but n)ake good that sacred trulh, whicli was delivered before so many hundred genemtions ? Dissemble how thou Avilt, that there shall be a General Assize of the World, thou knowest ; and tremblest to know. What other couldst thou mean, when thou a.skedst my Savioiu' that question of horror, yirt thou come to torment us before the time ? Matt. viii. 29. That time thon knowest to be the day, in which God will judge the world in righteousness, by that man, wliom he hath ordained ; whtrC' SATAN S FIFRY PARTS QUENCHKH: — UF.CADF. I. 281 af lit hatli pkrn as!>ura)ictf to all ynnu in that he hjfh mixed him jroHi the dead ; Acts xvii. 31 . H«)w clear attct.tiition liavc the inspired rrophets ot God given ol old lo this iruili ! 'I'lio lln(•ic!^t^^t rnjjjliei tliat evcrvvius, Knoch, tlie >tnoiitli iVoni Adam, iii the time of liie old worlil, loreiels of this liieudful day ; JuhuUly the Lord comet h, •with ten thousand of his Saints, to execute judsinent upon ull ; and lo convince all that at'C tin^odly among them, of all their ungodly deeds, xchieh they hats ungoa/i/ committed ; and of all their hard speeches, -which ungodij/ sill i:rr:s have spoken Oiiainst him ; Jiule 14, 1,5. frotti the old world is this verity deduced to tlie iie\r; and, throi;gh the succession of those holy Seers, derived lo tlie blessed Apostles; and, fiom thorn, to the present ocneration, Vca, the Sacreil Moiiih of Him, who shall come down, and sit as Judge in this awful tribunal, hatJi fully laid forih not tlie truth onK , but tlie manner of this Universal Judicature : The Son of Man shall come in liis glo)ij, and all t/ie holj/ ancels -with him: then shall he sit upon the throne of his glonj : And before hitn shall he gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them ojiefrom another^ as a shep^ herd divideth his sheep; Matt. xxv. 31, 32. And if this most sure word of the Prophets, Apostles, yea and of the Eternal Son of God, be not enough conviction to th(!e ; yet, to my soul, they are an abundant contirmation of this main point of my Christian I'aidi, That from heaven he "shall come to judu,c both the quick ami the dead." Indeeil, thus it nuist be. How many condemned innocents have, in the bitterness of their souls, appealed from that unrighteous bar of men, to the Supreme Judge, that shall come ! Those appeaU are entered in heaven, and sued out : how can it stand with diving justice, that tliev should not have a da\- of Jieariii"- ? As for mean oppressors, there arc good laws to meet with them ; and there are higher than the highest, to give life of execution to those laws: but, if the greatest among men olFend, if there were not a higher than they, what right would at last be done ? those, that hjHe the most power and will to do the greatest mischief, would escape the iairest. And, though there be a Privy Sessions in hea- ven upon every guilty soul, immediately upon the dissolution; vet the same justice, wlndi will not admit public ofienccs to i)e passed over with a private satisfaction, thinks lit Lo exhibit a public decla- ration of his righteous vengeance upon notorious sinners, before men and angels ; so iis those veiT bodies, wiiidi have been engaocii in their wickedness, shall be, in the view of tiie whole world, sent, do" II to take part of their torment: ami, ind(;ed, wherefore should those* bodies be raised, if not with the intent of a further dispo;,iiio!i, either to joy or pain? Conirarily, how can it consist with the praise of that infinite ju>tice, that those poor saints of his, which have been vilified and condemned at every bar; jiei-secuted, alllieted, turment- rd ; IJel). xi. ",1. and have passed through all manner of jiainful and i'^nominious deaths ; should not, at the last, be gloriou^lv righted, »ii the face of their cruel enemies ? Purely, .vu'th the Apostle, // is '2SS rRACTICAL WORKS. n righteous thinff xrifh God, to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you : And to jjou, who are troubled, rest rcith us, rchen the I^rd Jesus shall be revealed from heaveti with his mighty angels; 2 Tlicss. i. 6, 7. W'liat is it, () tlion Wicked Spirit, whereto thou art reserved in chains' of' darkness ? is it not the judgment of the great d.ijff Jude 6. What is it, whereto the manifestation of all hidden truths, and the aeconipiishment of all God's gracious promises, are referred ? is it not the great day of ^he Lord ;■ Shall the All-wise and Righteous Arbiter of the Worid decree and jeverse ? Hath he not, fioni eter- nity, determined and set this day, W herein rfe 7nust all appear be- fore the Judgment-seat ofCiirist, that everij one mai/ receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, 'uhether it be good or evil? 2 Cor. v. 10. That there is, therefore, j;nch a day of the Lord, In the ivhick the heavens shall pass azvaij :vith a great noiusness of (jod in him ,- Gal. lii. 13. 2 Cor. v. 21. Ir is thy irit, that, which is thine own guise, thou art ever apt to impute unto the Holy One of Israel. It is, indeed, thv man- ner, to d:-aw on thy clients with golden promises of life, wealth, ho- nour ; and to say, as once to my .Saviour, All these will I give thee ; when thou neither meanest, nor canst give any thing, but misery and tormi;n^. As for my God, wliom thou wickedly slanderest, his just title is, Holy and True ; Rev. vi. 10: his promises are J men, as himself; 2 Cor. i. 20. Kev. iii. 1 1-. 'i'hy Balaam could let fall so much truth, tliat (Jod is not a man, that he should lie; nor the son of j/iun, that he sh'uld repent. Iluth he said, and shall he )iot do it V or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Num. xxiii. 19, Cast thine eyes back upon his dealings with his Israel ; a people unthankful enougli: and deny, if thou canst, iiow punctual ho was in all his proceedings with tlieni. Hear old Jo.diuii, r.ow to.\ards his parting, profess, Behold, this djy I am going the way of all Jlesk i and ye know, in your hearts and in all your souls, tait not one thing hath failed of all the good things, which the Lord i/nur God spake concerning you : all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof ; Josh, xxiii, 14. Hear tne s^ime truth attested, many ages after, by the wisest King : Bles.yd be the Lordy .saith he, thut hath given rest unto his people Lsrael, accordin.^ to all that he prumised : there liaih not Jailed one word of all his g^cd promise, -which he promised by the hand oj' Moses his servant ; J Kings viii. ')C). And, lej>L thou slrjuidsL cavil, that perhaps God takes greater li- 294 PRACTICAL WORKS. bcrty to himself in matter of his promises under the Gospel, than he formerly liid under tiie Law; let me challenge tl)v niahce to in- stance in any one absohite promise, which God hath niade since the beginning of the world unto this day, which he hath failed to perform. It is not, I grant, uneasy to name divers conditionate engage- ments, both of favours and judgments, wherein God hath been pleased to vary from his former mtimations : and such alteration doth full well consist with the infniiie wisdom, mercy, and justice of the Aimiglity ; for, where the condition rc(juired is not jjcrformed by man, how just is it with God, either to withhold a favour, or to intlict ajudgnaent! or, where he sees that an outward blessing promised (such a disposition of the soul as it may meet withal) may turn to our prejudice, and to our spiritual loss, how is it other than mcicy to withdraw it ; and, instead thereof, to gratify us with a greau r blessing undesired ? In all which, even our own reason isahle to justify the Almighty: for can we think God sliould be so obliged to us, as to force favours upon us when we will needs render ourselves uncapable of them ; or so tied up to the punctuality of a promise, as that he may not exchanaph. to make fjiiestion of the veracity and unfailahleness of the sure mercies and promises of the God of 'I'rulh. Weil was it for thee, that thy God, not taking advantage of thy weakness, puts forth his gracious hand, and stays thee with the seasonable consiilerauon of the years of the right-hand of the Most High ; with the remembrance of the •dorks of the Lord, and of his zconder.i of old; vv. 10. 11. Tiiese were enough to teach thee the omnipo- tent power, the never-failing mere}-, of thy Maker and Redeemer. In no other plight, through the impeluous^e^s of this tempta- tion, was the man after God's own heart ; \\\n\e he cried out, / ':i'as greatly afflicted : J said, in yny haste, all men arc liars; Ps. cxvi. 10, II. The men, that he mis-doubted, were surely no other, than God's prophets, which had foretold him his future prosperity, and j)eaceai)!c settlement in the throne : these, upon the cross occm- rences he nut with, is he ready to censure as liars ; and, throuoh their sides, what doth he but strike at him, that sent them ? But the word was not spoke in more haste, than ^t was retracted: I be- lieved ; therefore I spake i v. 10: and the sense of mercy doth so overtake the sense of his suiferings, that now he takes n)ore care what to retribute to God for his bounty, than he did before how to receive it; and pitches himself upon that firm ground of all com- fort, () Lord, truly I am thy scnant ; I am thy sorant, and the son of thy handmaid : thou hast loosed 7ni/ bonds : v. IG. Here shall I stay my soul, against all thy suggestions of distrust, O thou mali- cious Enemy of ?>Iankind ; building myself upon that steady rock of Israel, whose word is, I am Jehovah: I change not. 1 hou tellest me of deliverances promised, yet ending in utter miscarriages; of yjrovisions vanisheil into want : why dost thou not tell me, that even good men die? 'I'hese promises of eariiily favours to the godly declare to us the ordinary cour.^e, that (jod pleaseth to hold in the dispensation of his blosings ; uhich he so ordereth, as that generally they are tiie Jot of his faithful ones, for the encouragement and reward (.("their services: and, contrarily, his judgments hefal his enemies, in part of payment. Hut yet, the great G(ul, who is a most free agent, holds tit to leave hin)self at such liberty, as tliat, sometimes, for his own most holy purposes, he may change the scene : which yet 296 PRACTICAL •\\011KS. he never doth, but to the advantage of his own ; so as the oppres- sions and wrongs, which are done to them, turn favours. The Hermit in the Stor^- could thank the thief that robbed him of his provision, for that he helped him so mncli the sooner to his journey's end ; and, indeed, if, being stripped of our earthly goods, we be stored with spuitual riches ; if, while the outward man pe- rishech, the inward man be renewed in us ; if, for a little bootless honour here, we be advanced to an immortal glory ; if we have ex- changed a short and miserable life, for a life eternally l>lessed ; li- naliy, if we lose earth, and win heaven ; what cause have we to be other than thankful ? Whereto we have reason to add, that, in all these gracious pro- mises of temporal mercies, there is ever to be understood the ex- ception of expedient castigation, and the meet portage of the Cross; which were it not to be supplied, God's children should want one of tlie greatest proofs of his fatherly love towards them: which they can read even written in their own blood ; and can bless God, in killing them for a present blessedness. So as, after all thy malice, God's promises are hoi}-, his per- formances certain, his judgments just, his servants happy. Xth. temptation : " Thou art more nice than needs: Your preachers arc too strait- laced in their opinions, and make the xvay to heaven narrou'er than God ner meant it. Tush, man, thou maijcst be saved in any religion. Is it likely that God itill he so cruel, as to cast axiuiij all the world of men in the several varieties of their professions, and save only one poor handful of Reformed Christians'^ Azcay witk these scruples: a general bcliif, and a good meaning, zi- ill serve to b}-ing thee to heaven, without these busy disquisitions of {he Ar- ticles of Faith ;" Repelled . It is not for good, that thou makest such liberal tenders to my soul. Thou well knowest, how ready man's nature is, to lay hold on any just liberty, that may be allowed him ; and how repiningly it stoops to a restraint. But this, which thou craftily suggestest to me, Wicked Spirit, is not liberty ; it is licentiousness, ihou tellest me the \vay to hea- vep is as wide as the world ; but the Spirit of Truth hath taught me, that strait is the ga'e, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life ; and fexi) there be that find it ; Matt. vii. lo. I kno'.v there is but one truth, and one life, and one way to that life ; and I know who it was that said, / am the IVay, the Truth, and the Life, lie, who is one of these, is all. My Saviour, who is Life, the end of that way, is likewise the Wny, that leads unto that end: neither is there any way to heaven, but he: all, that is besides him, is by-paths and error. And, if any teacher shall Satan's fieuv darts quench .'d; — dfcadf. i. Q'it cnlarjjc or straiten this wav to (.'lirist, let liiin he accursed. Arul, ir' a;iv tiMchcr bhall presmne to chalk out any other way iliau Christ, let liiiu he aceur>ed. Tell not uje, therefore, of the miiltitiules of men, and varieties of religions, that there are in the world. If the«-e weieas niany worlds ;is men, and every of tiiose men in those worlds were severed in religion ; yet, I tell thee, there is hut one heaven, and hut one gate to that lieaven, and hut one way lo that ga.e ; and that ojie gate, and way, is Christ ; without whom, therefore, tiiere can be iio entrance. It is thy blasphemy, to charge cruelty upon God, if he do not (that, whereof thou wouldst most complain, as the greatest loser) set heaven open on all sidc^ to whatsoever comers. Even that God and Saviour, which possesseth and disposeth it, hath told us of a strait gate, and a narrow way, and few passengers. In \ain do^t thou move 'me to alVect to he more charitable than my Redeemer. He best knows what he hath to do with that mankind, for whom he hath paiil so dear a price. Vet, to stop thy wicked mouth ; that way, which, in compari^ son of the broad world, is narrow, in itself hath a comforta!)le lati- tude. Christ extendeth himself largely to a world of believers. This way lies open to all: no nation, no person under heaven, is excluded from walking in it: yea, all are invited, by the voice of the Gospel, to tread in it ; and whosoever walks in it, with a right foot, is accepted to salvation. How far it may please my Saviour to communicate himself to men, in an implicit way of belief ; and what place tho>e general and involved apj)rehensions of the Redeemer may lind for mercy, at the hands of God ; he only knows, that shall judge : this I am sure of, that, without this Saiiour, there can be no salvation : That, in every nation, he, thai feareth Gnd and 'u:or/cc(h riiihteoiis)iesr or di->tinction hath put upon them, if they hold the foundatiou firm, howboever disgracefully built upon with zcoody hajy stubbU ; we hold them SDS l>t[A(r'nrAL WORKS. Christ's, ^ve hold thcni ouvs ; I Cor. iii. 12. Hence it is, that the New Jerusalem is, for her beauty aiul iinit'ormity, set forth w ith tvvefve precious crates; Rev. xxi. 12 : though, for use and substance, one : for that, from all coasts ot heaven, there is free access to the- Church of Christ ; and, in him, to life and g'ory. He, who is the IVuth and the Life, haih said. This is eternal life, to know thee^ and him -jchnm thou hast sent; John xvii. 3. Tl)is know- ledge, which is our way to life, is not alike attained of all : some ha\e greater light and deeper insight into it, than others. That mercy, which accepts of the least degree of the true apprehension of Christ, haih not promised to dispense with the wilful neglect of those, who might know him more clearly, more exactly. Let those ^art-Iv^ss souls, therefore, which stand indifTerent betwixt life and death, upon thy persuasion, content themselves with gootl mean- ings and generalities of belief: but, for me, I shall labour to fur- nish myself with all requisite truths; and, above all, shall aspire towards the excellency of the knoxdedge of viy Lord Jesus Christ ; that I Diay know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings i Phil. iii. 8, 10. 2y9 TEMPTATIONS REPELLED. THE SECOND DECADE. TEMPTATIONS OF DISCOURAGEMENT, 1st. TEMPTATION" : ** J]''erd it for somefe-j: sins of ignorance or infrmiti/, thou mightesf hope to find place for merci/ : but thy sins are, as, for multitude^ inniuncrabk ; so, for quali/j/, heinous, presumptuous, unpardon- able: xcith xi'hatficc canst thou look up to heaven^ and expect re- viission from a Just God?" llepcllcd. Even with the face of an huinhle penitent, justly con founded iti himself, in the sense of his own vileness ; hut awfully conlident, in a promisCLl mercy. Malicious Tempter, how like thou art to thyself! \\1ien thou %vouldst draw me on to my sins ; then, how small, slight, harmless, plausible they were ! now tliou hast fetched me in, to the guilt of those foul ollences, they are no less than deadly and irremissible. May I hut keep within the verge of mercy, thou canst not more aggravate mv wickedness against me, than I do against myself: thou canst not be more ready to accuse, than I to judge and con- demn myself. Oh me, the wrctchcdest of all creatures ! How do 1 hate myself for mine abominable sins, done with so high a hand, against such a Majesty, after such light of knowledge, such en- forcenients of warning, such endearments of mercy, such relucta- tions of spirit, such checks of conscience ! what less than hell have I deserved from that Infmite Justice ? Thou canst not write more bitter things against me, than 1 can plead against my own soul. But, when thou ha»t cast up all thy venom, and when 1 have passed the heaviest sentence against myself, I, who am in myself utterly lost and forfeited to eternal death, in despite of the gates of licU shall live ; and am safe, in my Alnughty and i.ver-Blessed Sa- viour, who hath conquered death and hell lor me. Set thou me against myself; I shall set my Saviour against thee. Urge thou my debts ; 1 show his full acquittance. Sue thcju my Ijonds ; I shall exhibit them cancelled, and nailed to his Cross. ]*rcss thou my honible crimes; 1 plead a panlon scaled in heaven. 'J'hou tcUest aie of the multitude and iieinousnekii of my khik : I icU SOO PHACTICAr, WOPiKS. thee of an infinite mercy : and what arc numbers and magnitudes to the Infinite ? To an iilimited power, what dilVerence is there be- twixt a mountain and an ant-heap, betwixt one and a niilhon ? were my sins a thousand times more and worse than tiiey are, there is worth al)undantly enoug-h in every drop of that precious blood wh'ch was shed for my redemption, to expiate them. Know, O Tempter, that I liave to do witii a mercy which can dye my scarlet sins, white as snow; and make my crimson, as wool ; Is. i. IS : whose grace it so boundless, that if thou thyself hadst, upon thy fall, been capable of repentance, thou hadst not everlast- ingly perished : The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to onger, and of grca! mcrcij : The Lord is good to all, and his tender y.,rcies are over all his works ; Ps. cxlv. 8, 9. And, if there he a sin of man unpardonable, it is not for the insufficiency of grace to forgive it ; but for the incapacity of the subject, that should receive remission. Thou feelest, to thy pain and loss, wherefore it was, that the Eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ, came into the world; even to save sinners/ 1 Tim. i. 15: and, if my own heart shall conspire with thee to accuse me as the chief of those sinners, my repentance gives me so much the more claim and interest in his blessed redcm(jtion. Let me be the nxost lailen wilii the chains of my captivity, so I may have the greatest share in that all-sufficient ransom. And if thou, who art tlie true fiery ser|-)ent in this miserable ivilderness, hast by sin stung my soul to death ; let me, as I do, with penitent and faithful eyes, but look up to that Brazen Ser})ent, which is lift up far above all heavens, thy poison cannot kill, can- not hurt me. It is the word of eternal truth, which catmot fail us, Lf we con- fess our sins, he is faithful a)uljust to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ; 1 John i. 9. Lo here, not mercy only, but iustice on my side. The Spirit of God saith not only, if we confess our sins, he is viercful to forgive oiu' sins ; as he elsewhere sjX'aks, by the pen of Solomon; Prov xxviii. 13: but more ; he is faithful dudjust to forgive our sins. Our weakness, and ignorance, is wont to iiy from the justice of our God, unto his mercy : what can we fear, when his very justice yields remission? That justice relates to his gracious promise of pardon to the penitent: while I do truly repent therefore, his very justice necessarily infers mercy, and that mercy forgiveness. Think not, therefore, O thou MaU- cious Spirit, to allright me with the mention of Divine Justice. Woe were me, if Go 1 were not as just, as merciiid; yea if he were not therefore merciful, because he is just: merciful, in giving me re- pentance; just, in vouchsafing me the promised mercy and for- giveness, upon the repentance which he hath given me. After all thy heinous exaggerations of my guilt, it is not the qua- \i\\ of the sin, but the disposition of the sinner, that damns the soul. If we compare the ofiensive acts of a David and a Saul, it is not easy to judge whether were more foul. Thou, which stirredst them up both to those odious sins, madcst account of an equal ad- s.atan's fiery parts QUfcNcnF.D:— ulcai>e 11. ;oi ▼nntajie noiinst 1)Oth : but thine aim fnWvd thee : the h!ini:)i(; ami true peniU-nce ot" ihe one "savi'd liim out ot tMy haniis; tncohdurt'd- noss and tiiise-hcariedi^c^s ct the oUu^r «xnve him up, as a r)tev i .> thv inaHcc. It is enou'^h for nie. iluil tiioui^h 1 had not the grace to avou! my sin>5, yet 1 have the grace to hale and I rwail tlifai. 'lliat C><>o 1 S'lirit, which thought not good to restrain me from siiuiuig, haiji been graciously pleased to humble me for sinning. Yea, such is the intinite goodness of my Cioa to vny poor sou!, that those sins, which thou lia"^! (h"a".vn me into, wiih an intent ol my utmost prejudice and daiimaiion, are hapj^ily turned, throuuli his grace, nnto my greatest advantage: for, hail it not been lor tiiese mv sinful miscarriages, had I ever attainetl to so clear a siglit of mv own frailty and wretchedness ? so deep a contrition of soul ? so real eNper.ence of temptation r so heariy a detestation of sin ? such tenderness of heart ? such awe of oHending ? so fervent zom: and therefore thou canst not, out (jf knowledge, pass any censure of my inward dispo-iiiions; only wi.t Ke aure to sngge.t the worst ; which the falser it ii, the better duth 50* PRACTICAL WORKS. it become the Favlier of Lies. But tlmt Good Spirit, which liath wiouglit true repentance in luy lieart, witnesseth, together with my heart, the truth of my repentance. Canst thou hope to persuade lue, that I do behe or mis-know my own orief ? Do not I feel this heart of mine bleed with a true in- ward remorse for my sins ? Have I not poured out many lie.irty sighs and tears for mine oifences ? Do I not ever look back u))ou them, with a vehement loathing and detestation ? Have I not, with niurh anguish of soul, confessed them before the face of that God, whoui I have provoked ? Think not now to choke me with a Cain, or Saul, or Judas, which did more, and repented not ; and to fasten upon me a xi'0)l(lhj soV" ro'jv, that icorkeik death: no; Wicked One, after all thy deprava- tions, this grief of mine looks with a far other face tiian theirs ; and is no other, than a godly sorroro, ^corking repentance to saivation, not to be repented of ; 2 Cor. vii. 10. Theirs was oivt of the horror of punishment; mine, out of the sense of displeasure : theirs, for the doom and execution of a severe Judge; mine, for the frowns of an otiended Father: theirs, attended v/iih a woeful despair; mine, with a weeping confidence : theirs, a preface to Hell; mine, an in- troduction to Salvation. And, since thou wilt needs disparage, and mis-call this godly dis- position of mine, lo, I ci-alienge this envy of thine to cail it to the test ; and to examine it thoroughly, whether it agree not with those unfailing rules of the symptoms and eiiects of the sorrow, which is according to God ; 2 Cor. vii. 1 1 : — >Iath not here been a true care~ fid) less ; as to be freed and accjuirted from the present guilt of my sin, so to keep my soul unspotted for the future ; both to work my peace with my God, and to continue it ? Hath noL my heart earnestly laboured to c/c^?/' itself before God ; not with shufiiing ex- cuses and flattering mitigations, but by humble and sincere con- fessions of my own vileness ? Hath not m}' breast swelletl up, with an angry indignation, at my sinful miscarriages ? have I not seriously rated myself, for giving way to thy wicked teni])tations ? Have I not trembled, not only attlie a])prchension of mv own danger by sin, but at the very suggestion of the like oilence ? have 1 not been kept in awe with the jealous fears of my miserable frailties, lest I should be again ensnared in thy mischievous gins ? Have I not felt in myself n fervent desire above ail things lo stand right in the reco- vered favour of my God ; and to be strengthened in the inner man with a further increase of grace, for the preventing of future sins, and giving more glory to my God and Saviour ? liath not my heart within me binned with so nmch more zeal to the honour and ser- vice of that Majesty, which 1 have otTended, as I have more disho- noured him i)y 'my offence } hath it not been inttamed with just dis- pleasure at myself, and all the instruments and means of my mis- leading ? lasilv, have I wot fallen foul upon vu/sclfi'or so easy a se- duction ? have I not chastized myself wiih sharp rc[)roofs r have I not held my appetite short; and, upon these very groinuls, punisli- td it with a denial of lawful contentments } have I nut ibereupou. SAT.\N'S FIFRY DART8 QUENCHl-D: — DECADE II. 305 tasked invselfwiih thi- lianltT duties ot" ohodionce ? and do I not now rcbolvc, and carehdly endcavoiir, lo walk coiiscioiiably in all ilie ways of God ? Malign, therefore, how thou wilt, my re|>ent3)jce stands firm aiiainst all thv detractions; and is not raore impugned by thee on earth, than it is accepted in lieaven. I] Id. TEMPTATION: ** Thou hasi small reason to bear thyself vpon thy repentance : it it too slii^ht ; seconded wit It too many relapses ; too late to yield any true comfort to thy soul:'" — Repelled. Nor thns can I be discoura<^ed by thee, Malicious Spirit. The nicitry of my God hath not set any stint lo ihea'iovveJ mea- sure of repentance. Where hath he ever said, '' Tims far bhali thv penitence come; else it shall not be accepted r" i: is truth, that he calls for, not measure. That happy thief, whom my dying Saviour rescued out of ihy hands, gave no other proof of his repentance, but, fl'e are justly here, and receive the due reward (four deeds ; Luke xxiii. 41 : yet was admitted to attend his Redeemer, from his Cross to ids Paradise. Neither do we hear anv words from peni- tent David after his foul crimes, but / have sinned. Not that any true penitent can be afraid of too much compunction of heart, and is ready to dry up his tears too soon ; rather j)leasing himself with the continuance and pain of his own smart: but that our Indulgent Father, who takes no pleasure in our miserv, is apt to wipe away the tears from our eyes; contenting himself only with the sincere - ness, not the extremity of our contrition. Thv malice is altogcthtT for extremes ; either a wild security, or an uiier desperation : that Holy and Merciful Spirit, who is a professed lover of minkiud, is ever for the mean ; so hating our carelessness, that he will not sm"- fer us to want the exercises of a due humiliation ; so abhorrinc^ dt- spair, that he abides not to have us driven to the brink of that feiir- fiil precij)ice. As for my repentance therefore, it is enough lor Die, that It is sound and serious for the substance; yet, witha.!, thanks be to that Good Spirit that wrought it, it is graciouslv a|.- proval)le even for tlie measure : I iiave heartily mourned for mv sins, though I pined not away with sorrow : 1 have broken my sh ;. j for them, though I have not watered my couch witli my tears ; ami, next to thyself, I have hated them most: I have beaten my bna^i, though J have not. rent my heart : and what would I not have do * or given, that I had not sinned ' '1 ell not me, that some wor.' crosses have gone nearer to my heart than my sins, and that I have spent more tears ujion the 1-. bonglit with so doav a ])rioe, to niurnmr, and recoil upon divine piovidcncc for a petty atlliction r Besities, this is the load, which my Blessed Saviour hatli, with liis own liand, hiid uj)()m uiy shoukh'is : If any man nill amtc after nnc, let liiin (kmj himself, and take up his cross daily, and follo^i) Die ; T>ukc ix. 23. INlatt. xvi. 24. Mark viii. J k Lo, e\crv cross is not Christ's : each man hath a cross of his own ; and tliis cross he may not think to tread upon, hut he must take up ; and not once per- haj)s in iiis htc, hut daily ; and, with that wcigiit on his neck, he must lollow the l.ord of Life, not to his 'I'ahor onlv, hut to his Gol- gotha: and, thus following him on earih, he sliall surely overtake him in heaven ; for, if wti suflr xcith him, ri'C shall also reign 'jfith him ; 2 Tim. ii. 12. It is still thy ])olic.y, O thou Envious Spirit, to fill mine eyes with the cross ; and to represent nothing to my thoughts, but the horror and pain of suiTering; that so thou mayest drive me to a languish- ing deicciedness of spirit, and despair of mercy : hut my God halh raised and duvited mine eyes to a heiter prospect, (juite beyond thine; which is a crown of glory. I see that ready to be set upon my head, after my strife and victory, wliich were more than enough to n)ake amends for a hell upon earth. In vain shouhl I hope to ohtain it, u iihout a conllict: how should I overcome, if 1 strive not ? These strngglings are the way to a conquest. After all these assaults, the foil shall he thine, and mine shall be the glory and tri- umph. 'I'iie God of Truth hath said it, lie faithful to the death, and I will give thee a eiir^ii oj' life ; Rev. ii. 10. Thine advantage lies in the way ; mini", in the end. The way of affliction is rugged, deep, siiil, dangerous; the end is fair and green, and strew(;d with flowers. No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, hut grievous; nevertheless, afterxvards, it pjuldeth the peaceable fruit of rigliteousness, unto them, Xjihieh arc exercised thereby ; Hcb. xii. 11. What if I he in \ya\\\ i)ere, for a while ? The sufjerings of this pre^ sent time are not xeorthij to be cowpaied -^ith the glory xchich shall be repealed in us ; Kom. viii. 18. It is thy maliciousness, that would make the affliction of my body the bane of my soul; but, if the fault he not mine, that, which tluui intendest for a poison, shall ])rove a cordial : Let patience have her perfect leork ; James i. l: and I am happy in my suU'erings : For our light aJ/lictio)i, xchich is but for a viomeiit, reorketh for us a far more exceeding, and eternal weight of glory ; 2 iUiV. iv. 17. Lo, it doth not only admit of glory, hut works it for us: so as we arc; infinitely more heholden to our pain, than to our ease; and have reason, not only to he well apaid, hut to rejoice in tribulations ; knoicing, tJiat tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope ; and hope vwketh iwt ashamed; Kom. v. ■> — ."). Tell nie,^iftliou canst, wliich of those Saints, that are now shining bright in their heaven, hath got thither unalllicied r How many ol" those blessed ones have endured more, than my God will allow thee to indict upon my weakness! some more, and some less sorrows j all some, yea many : so true is that Satan's riERY darts quf.nchf.d: — dixade ii. 307 wonl of the Chosen Vessel, that tlirongk iniich tribulation uc must enh-r info the kin'^dom of Goil ; Acts xiv. 2 J. Bv this then I see, that I am in the ri«i;ht way to that hlessetlness I am travelling towards. Diil I line! nnself in the smooth, plea- sant, and t'owery path of carnal ease and coiuentnient : I should have jnst reason to think myself quite out of that iKii)py roail : now, I know I auj gointi; directly towards my home, the abiding city which is above. So far, therefore, are my sulferings from arguilig me miserable, that 1 could not be happy if I suH'ered not. Vth. TEMPTATION: ^'Foolish man, hoxv vainly dost thou flatter thyself, in calling that a chastisement, zi'hich God intends for a Judgment ; in mistaking that for a rod of fatherly eorreclion, which God lays on as a scourge of Just anger and punishment :'''' Repelled. It is thy maliciousness, O thou Wicked Spirit, ever to misinter- pret God's actions, antl to slander the footsteps of the Almighty. But, notwithstanding all thy mischievous suggestions, I can read mercy and favour in ujy affliction : neither shall it be in the power of thy temptation, to ])ut me out of this just construction of my suf- lerinf;s. For, what ! is it the measure of my smart, that should argue God's displeasure ? How many of God's darlings on earth have en- dured more ! What say est thou to the man, with whom the Almighty did once challenge and foil thee, the great Pattern of Patience ? was not his calamity as much beyond mine, as my graces are short of his.? Dost thou not hear the mati after God's own lieart say, Zorr/, remember Daiid, a}id all his troubles? Ps. cxxxii. I. Dost thou not liear the Cliosen Vessel, who was rapt up into the third heaven, complain, IVe arc troubled on every side, yet not distressed; per- plexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed? 2 Cor. iv. 8, 9. Of the Jeivsjiie times received I forty stripes, save one: Thrice, was / beaten "with rods: once^ was I stoned: thrice, I suffered shipwreck : a night and a day, I fiave been in the deep. In Journeying often ; in perils of waters ; in perils of robbers ; in perils, by my own countrymen ; in perils, by the fteathen; bCc. Jn weariness and paint ulness ; in watchings, often; in hunger and thirst ; in fastings, ojten ; in cold and naked- 7iess? 2 Cor. xi. 24 — 27. Yea, which was worse than all these, dost tbou tjot hear him sii)-. There zoas given to me a thorn in the flesh, tlie messenger of Satan, to buffet me? 2 Cor. xii. 1. Dost thou not too well know, for thou wen the main actor in those woeful trage- dies, what cruel torments the blessed martyrs of God, in all J^ges, have undergone for their holy profession ? None upon earth ovei found God's hand so heavy upon them : none upon ciaih were so dear to heaven. The !*liarpiieis, therefore, of niy pangs can be no proof of the 306 PRACTICAL WORKS. displeasure of my God. Yea, contrarily, this visitation of nunc, whatever iliou siiggestest, is in much love and mercy. Had my God let me loose to my own ways, and sulTered me to run on care- le:.sly in a coLlr^e of sinning" without check or control, this had heen a manifest argument of a high and heinous displeasure : God is frrievously angry, when he punishes sinners with prosperity ; tor tliis shews them reserved to a fearfid danniation : hut whom he re- c'^ims from evil hv a severe correction, those he loves : there can- not he a greater favour, than those sa\ing stripes: Jl'/icu rcc arc judi^ed. ice arc chastened of the Lord, that wc should not be condemned zi-ilh the zvorld ; 1 Cor. xi. 32. Besides, the manner of the infliction speaks nothing but mercy : for, what a gentle hand doth my God lay upon me ! as if he said, *' I must correct thee, but I will not hurt thee." What gracious re- spites are here ! what favourable inter-spirations ! as if God bade me to recollect myself; and invited me to meet him, by a season- aljle humiliation. This is not the fashion of anger and enmity, which, aiming only at destruction, endeavours to surprise the ad- ver.sarv ; and to hurry him to a sudden execution. Neither is it a mere aflliction, that can evince either love or ha- tred : all is in the attendants, and entertuinment of afilictions. Where God means favour, he gives, together with the cross, an humble heart, a meek spirit, a patient submission to his good plea- siue, a willingness to kiss the rod and the hand that wields it, a faithful dependance upon that arm from which we smart, and, lastly,, a hai)py use and improvement of the suiYering to the bettering of the soul. Whoso finds these dispositions in Inmself may well take np t'lat resolution of tiie .Sweet Singer of Israel, It is good for mCf that I hciie heen ojjlietcd. I know, O Lord, that fhtj judgments are right ; and thai thou, in very Jaithfulness, hast aj/iicted vw ; Ps. c.\ix. 71, 15. Contrarily, where God smites m anger, those strokes are followed and accompanied w ith woeful symptoms of a spiritual mahuly : either a sttijjid senselessness and obduredness of heart; or an impatient nmnnuring- at the stripes, saucy and presuujptuous expostulations, fretting and repining at the smart, a perverse alienation of allection, and a rebellious swelling against God, an utter dejection of spirit, and, lastl}-, a heartless despair of mercv. Those, with whom thou liast j)re\ ailed so far as to tlraw them into this deadly condition of soul, have just cause to think themselves smitten in di.spleasure : but, as for me, blessed be the Name of n)y Got!, my stripes are medicinal and healing: Let the righteous God thus smite me ; it shall he a kindness : and let him reprove me. , it shall be an excellent oil, that shall not break my head i l*.s. cxli. 5. SATAN'S FIFRY DARTS QUENCUED: — PrCADh IT. 3r 5 Vlni. TFMPTATION: I'd'ay "u'ilh these sitpft'stitioiir fears und medlt.^s scriiphs^ Xihrre- •u'itli ihoujoiid/i/ Iroubkst tinjicif': as if God, that sils ahoie in the circle of heaven y regarded then' poor businesses, that pass here belozc upon earth ,- or eared uhat this man do/h, or that )nan suf- fercth. Dost thou }tot see, that Jione prosper so much in the -world, as those, that are most noted for wickedness? and dost thou see any so miserable upon earth, as the holiest? Could it be thus, if there •were a Providence, that overlooks and overrules these earthly af^ fairsV Repelled. The Lord rebuke thcc, S;uan ; o\qw tliat p^reat Lord of Heaven and Earth, whom thou so wickedly blaspheniest. \\'oiddbt thoif persuaile me, that he, who is infinite in power, is not also infinite in providence ? He, whose infinite power made all creatures, both in heaven above and in earth beneath, shall not his infinite providence govern and dispo-;e of all that he hath made ? Lo. how justly the Spirit of \\ isdoni calls thee and liiy clients, fools and brutish things : llieij say. The I.ord shall not see, neither shall the God (f Jacob regard. Understand, ye brutish amomi the people; and, yejools, "when xcill ye be -wise? lie, that plantcth the ear, shall he net hear? he, thatjormed the eye, shall not he see ? lle^ that teacheth vum knotdedge, shall not he know ? Ps. xciv. 7 — 10. It was no limited power, that could make this eye to see, this ear to hear, this heart to understand; and, if that eye, which lie hath given us, can see all things th:it are wltiiin our prosjiect; and that ear, tliat he liath planted, can hear all sounds that are within our compass; and that heart, that he hath gi\en us, can know all nuit.f tens within the reach of our com]»rehensioii ; jiow much more shall the sight, and hearing, and ku(»u ledge of that Infniite Sjiirit, which can admit of no bounds, extend to all the actions and events of all the creatures, that lie oj)en before him that made them ! It is in him, that zee live, ami move, and have our being ; Acts xvii. 2S: and can we be so sottish, as to think wo can steal a life from him, which he knows not of ; or a motion, that he discerneth not ' That \\'ord of his, by whom all creatures were made, hath told mo, ih'dt )>ot one spurrozr, t-wo rchereof are sold for a forth iinr, can fall to the ground zei/honf my Heavenly Father; yea, that the very hairs of our heads, though a poor, tieglecteil excrement, ureall num- b/^'/fd ; Matt. x. 29, .30: and can tliere be anv thing more sliuht than they r How great care must we needs ihmk is taken of the head, since not a hair can tall ninvgardei! ! The Lord viaketh poor, and muketh rich: he bringelh dnrcn, and Itfteth up. I/c raise th up the poor out of the dust, and liftcth up the bfi^irarfrom tht: dunghill, to set them among prince's, and to retake them inherit the throne of glorif ; for the pillars of the earlk are tlie Lord's, and he hath ict the -world upon them ; 1 Sam. ii. 7, y. 3 1 PRACTICAL WORKS, Even Rabshakeh himself ^:^ake truer than lie was aware of: Am I JW'X come up li'itJiout the L>,d against this place ? 2 Kings xviii. 25. No, certainly, thou insolent blasphemer : thou couldst not move thy tongue, nor wag thy finger against God's inheritance, without the providence of thai God, who returned answer to thy proud mas- ter, the King of Assyria; / knosi thy abode, and thiy going on/, and thii coming in, and thy rage against me. T/iy rage, and ihij tumult^ is come up into my cars: therefore, I uill put a hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips; and I "iinll turn thee back by the -joay by xchich thou earnest; 2 Kings xix. 27, 28. So true is that word of Elihu, J lis eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth allhis goings. There is no durkncss nor shadoxv of death, •where the "workers of ini- cuity may hide, themselves ; Job xxxiv. 21, 22: seconded by the holy Psahnist ; The Lord looketh fron heaven : he beholdefh all the sons ofrnen. From the place of his habitation, he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth ; Ps. xxxiii, 13, 14. Neither is this Divine Providence confined only to man, the prime piece of this visible creation ; but, it extends itself to all tiie work- manship of the Afmighty : Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches : So is the great and wide sea ; wherein are things creeping innumer- able, both small and great beasts. These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. Thou givest it them; they gather: thou openest thy hand; they are filed with good ; Ps. civ. 21-, 25, 27, 28. 'The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God; v. 21. The ravens neither sow nor reap, nor have any storehouse or barn, yet Godfeedeth them. The lilies toil not, nor spin, yet the great God clothes them with viore than Solomon\sper : — Let me never prosper, if I envy them. Do not I sec their d:iy conjing ? Do not I know that thev are merelv fed np to the slaughter ? VV hereto re do the crannned fowls and fatted oxen fare better jhan their fellows } Is it out of favour ; or is it, that they arc designed to the dresser? Amnon is feasted with his brethren: those, tliat sene him, see death in his face. Bel- shazzar triumphs in mirth, caronscth tVeely in the sacred vessels : the hand writes upon the wall, 77 dear ones npon earth. The blood of the Martyrs doth and shall prove the seed of the Church ; uljcreof every grain yields thirty, sixty, a hmulred fold: neither had ;hc Church of God been so numerous, if there had heen levs malice in thy prosecution; Acts vii. :•_'. And, aa for those several Chrib, 312 PiaCTlCAL WORKS. lians, tliat have undergone the worst of thy fury, they arc so far from finding cause of complaint, that they rejoice and triumph in the hapj)y issue of their intended miseries : they can say to ihee, as Joseph said of old to his once envious brethren, Thou thoupjilest exil against us, but (iod meant it unto good ; Gen. h 20: they had not now sat so gloriously crowned in the highest heaven, if thou hadst not persecuted ihem unto blood. None are so afflicted, thou sayest, as the godly: — ^Tnie : their Saviour hath told them, beforehand, what to trust to: In tlif. ■world i/e shall hare tribulation; John xvi. 33. Have they any reason to look for bettor measure, than their Blessed Redeemer ? If the ■world hale you, saith he, j/e kno-w that it hated 7>ie, before it hated you. Jj ye xcere of the Xforld, the jivrld Would love his own; but because ye are not of the xvorld, but J have chosen you out of the xvorld, there- fore the -world hateth you; Matt, xxiv. 9. Luke xxi, 12, 13. John XV. 18, 1!>. 2 Tim. iii. 12. Now, welcome, welcome that hate, that is raised from our Dear Saviour's love and election. Woe were MS, if we were not thus hated ! Let the \Aorkl hate and hurt us thus still, so we may be the favourites of heaven. None fare so ill on earlh. as the godly, both living anl lead : The dead b.dies of God's servants have they given to be uteat to the fowls of the heaven ; the Jiesh of his Saints, unto the beasts if the feld: Their blood have they shed like nater ; end there w.is none to bury thevi. They are become a reproach to their neighbours; a scorn ana derision to them, that are round about them ; P.s. Iwix. 2, 3, 4 : — Oh, the poor imijotent malice of wicked spirits and men ! What matter^, it, if o'.r carn he did -predrs^ fina'f, then: also lit CiiUcd ; and ziho}n /w ca'Icd, them he also Justified; and xchoyn he jusdjieth, them aho he ijlorifielh ; Horn. viii. 30. It IS true, that, outuavdiy, many arc called; but few chosen ! but no'ip are Inwavdlv called, which arc not also clioscn. In vvhicii niniiber, i. i!iy poor soul; whereto God hath shewed mercy, in sin^rlini^ it out of this wicked world, into the liberty of the sons of (iod. For, do not I fitul myself sensi!)!y changed from what I \va5 ? Am 1 not evidentU fr'-*eii from the hondatre "f tlio>e natural coirupfons, under which thou heldst me miserably cap- lived r Do I riot hate the courses of my former disobedience ? Do I not give willing ear to the voice of the Gospel? Do I not desire and endeavour to conform myself wholly to the will of my God and Saviour ? Do 1 not luaixdy grieve for my spiritual failings ? Do not I earnestly prav for grace to resist all thy temptations i* Do not \ cordially atiect the means of grace and salvation ? Do I not labour, in ail things, to kocp a good conscience before God and men ? Are not these ihe infallible proofs of my calling, and the sure and cer- tain fruits of mine election ? Canst iliou hope to persuade me, that God will bestow these favours, where he loves not ? that he will re- pent him of such mercies? tliat he will lose the thanks and honour of so gracious jiroceedings ? Suggest what thou wilt, I aui mo.e than confidnit, that he, zcho hath beixmi this good work in me, uill 'perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ; Phil. i. fi. Do not I i;ear the Chosen Vessel tell his Thessalonians, that he knows tliem to be elected of God ? And upon what grounds dolh he raise this as- surance ? For, ^,aith he, our (rospcl ejiue not to you in word only ; hut also in poxt'er. and in the Holy Ghost ; I 'I Less. i. 5. Tliat, which can assure us of another man's election, may nvuch more se- cure us of our own ; the ciiiertainment. and success of the C'ospel in our souls. Lo, that blessed word hath wrought m u:e a jGi.sibie abatement of my corrujjt affections; and hath j)roduceil an :.ppa- rent renovation of my mind ; and hath quickenetl me to a new i.o of grace and obedience : this can be no work of nature : this can " e no other, than the work of that Spirit, lehereby I am sealed ' c day of redet/iption ; Kph. iv. 30. I\Iy heart feels the power (u ■ e Gospel ; my life expresses it ; maugre all th}- malice; therefoic, I am elected. When the gates of hell have done their worst, none o: . Od's children can miscarry ; Kor if' ehildren, then ihiyare hi its; I'eirs of God, and Joint-heirs with Christ ; Horn. viii. i'J : Now, a^ inany as are led bij the Spirit of God, they arc the sons of God ; \. 14 ; an J this is the direction, that 1 follow. There are but three guides, that lean be led by ; my own will, thy suggestions, the motions of God's S[jirit. For my own will, \ were no Christian, if 1 had not learned lo deny it, wnert it stands opp(jsite to the will of my God. \s for thy saggi-' ous, I ljai« and defy them. They are only, therefore, the mojo:ii) of that Good Spirit, which I desire Lo follow : and if; at any lime, my owa 316 rR.urncAL works. Inulty have betrayed nie to some aberrations, my repentance {lath overtaken my ollencc ; and, in sincerity of heart, 1 can say with a hohcr man, / haxc gone astray like a sheep : seek thy setrant ; for I do not forgtt thy commandnunts ; Ps. cxix. 176. All thy malice, tiierefore, caimot rob me of tlie comfort of mine adojition. It is no marvel if thon, who art all enmity, canst not abide to hear of love; but (xot/, who w /orensiblv preveiUed ; but recovers the light, ere the suggestion cau be fully completed ; and, at last, so far prevails, that the elder shall serve the voungcr : This A' i/tc victorij^ that (Kxrcomcs the -.corld, aen our Jaiiii ; 1 John v. 4. \Vhereas pre- sumption is ever quiet and secure ; not fearing any peril ; not com- bating with anv doubt ; pleiising itself in its own ease and safety ; and, in the contidence of a perpetual pros})erity, cau s\xy, I sJudl tmer be tnoxed ; Ps. xxx. 6. True faith, wheresoever it is, jiurifieth the heart ; Acts xv. 9: ani will not sutler an}- known sin to harbour there ; and is ever attend- ed with care, awfulness, love, obedience. Whereas presumption impures the soul ; and works it to boldness, obduration, false joy, security, senselessness^ True taiih grows daily ; like the grain of nmstard-seed in the Gospel, which, from small beginnings, arises to a tall and large- spreading plant. Presmni)tion hath enough, and sits down con- tented with its own measure ; applauding the happiness of its own condition. True faith, like gold, comes out pure from the fire of tempta- tion ; and, like to sound friendship, is most helpful in the greatest need. Presumption, upon the easiest trial, vanisheth into smoke and dross ; aud is never so sure to fail us, as in the evil day. So, then, this firm affiance of mine, being grounded uj)on tho most sure promises of the God of Truth, upon frequent use aTid improvement of all holy means, after many bickerings with thy motions of unbelief; being attended with holy and purifying dis- positions of the soul ; and gathering still more strength, and grow- ing up daily towarils a longed-for perfection ; and which, now, thy experience convinces thee, to be most ])resent and comfortable in tlie hour of temptation, is true faith : not, as thou falsely suggest- est, a false presumption. It is true, my unworthiness is c^'oat ; but I have to do with an Infinite Mercv : so as my w retched unworthiness doth but heiy[hten the glory of his most merciful pardon and acceptation. Sliortl} , then, where there is a divine promise of free grace and mercy, a true apprehension and ecnbracing of that promise, a war- rant and acceptance of that a])prehension, a willing reliance upon tiiat waiTant, a sure knowledge and sense of that reliance, there can be no place for presimijjtion. This is the case betwi.xt God antl my soul. His word of promise and warrant, that cannot deceive me, is, //t*, that believetn on the Son, hath vxcrlasting life; John iii. ^6 : and. //<•, that bflirje:^ in him that sent me, hath i-erlt.n'ting life, and shall not wmc into t not but find that he hafhuf- ievljj forsaken thee; and, ■u'ithdrau'ing hi)nklf from thee, hath given thee up into mi/ hands ; to xchich thy sins hate Just /j/ for- feited thee :" Repelled. Be not discouraged, O thou weak soul, with tliis nrahcious sugges- tion of the enemy. Thou art not the first, nor the holiest, that hath been thus assailed. So hard was the nran after God's own heart driven with this tenijitation, that he cries out, in the bitterness of his soul. Will the Lord cast me off for ever ? and will he be favourable no more ? Hath God forgo! ten to be gracious? llath he in anger shut up his tend"r oneirics / Is his mercy clean gone for ever? Dolli his promise fail for e-jcrmore ? Ps. Ixxvii. 7 — 9. Thv case was liis, for the sense of the desertion : why should not his case be thine, for the remedy ? ]\hirk how happily ami how soon he recovers himself: And I said, This is viy itijirmily : but I licill remember the years of the right-hand of the j\Iost High : I ivilt remember the "ti^orlis of the Lord : surely, L will remember thy u'on- ders of old : L will meditate of all thy works ; vv. 10 — 12. Lo, how wisely \m(\ faithfully David r^'treats back to the sure hold of God's formerly experimented mercies ; and there finds a sensible relief. He, that, when he was to encounter with tlie proud giant, could, beforehand, arm himself with the proof of God's for- mer deliverances and vic-tories ; 7hy servant slew both the lion and .the bear, and this uncircumeised Philistine shall be as one of them ; 1 Sam. xvii. 36 : now animates liimself, after the temptation, against the spiritual Gohatli, with the like remembrance of God's ancient mercies and endearments to his soul ; as well knowing, that, what- ever we are, God cannot but be himself: God is not as a man, that he shoud lie ; neither the son of man, that he should repent ; Num. xxiii. 1 1) : Having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end ,- John xiii. 1. Hast thou, therefore, formerly found the sure testimonies of God's favour to thee, in the real pledges of his holy graces ? live thou still, while thou art thus besieged with temj)tations, upon the old store. Know, that thou hast to do with a God, that can no more change, than not be: Satan cannot be more constant to his malice, than tiiy God is to liis everlasting mercies. He may, for a time, be plea.-ied to withdraw himself from thee ; but it is, that he may make thee so much more luappy in his re-appearance. It is Satan's riF.p' darts queniHED :— dlcadi: ii. :j i Q his own word, For a small moment lta\c I forsaken t/uc ; but itilh threat mt-n-its wllJ I iiut/ier tlwc. Jn a little ii' rath, 1 hid my J'aie fron t hie tor a moment ; but, s'tth eierlasfi/ig /iinclmss, it ill / huic >!ierei/ on thee, Siiith the Lord, thy liedeemcr ; Is. \\\. 1, 8. In tlie ca-NC wl'.oicin ilion now art, tliou canst be no niout jntim', citlitr of God's respects to lliee, or tlmie own condition. Can iln* ap^nisli palate ])a>s any trne judgment upon the taste of litjuors ? Can the chiUl entertain any apprehension of his parent's favour, while lie is under the lash r Can any man look that the fire should give either tlanie or heat, uinlc it lies covered with iu>lies ? Can anv man expect fruit or leaves from the tree, in the midst of win- ter ? Tiiou art now in a fit of temptation : tljou art now smartiiiir under the rod of correction : thy faith lies raked up under tiu; colli ashes of a seeniing de-.erLion : tlie vegelaiive life of l!iy soul is, in this hard season of thy trial, drawn inward, and run down to the root : thine estate is, nevertheless, safe for this, though more uncomfortable. Wait thou upon Ood's leisure, with all humble submission ; the event shall be ha])[)y : w hen the tiistemper is once over, thou slralt return to thy true relish of God's mercy : wlieii fhy Heavenly Father shall smile upon thee, and take thee up in Jjis ■ Tms, thou wilt see love in his hue stripes : when those dead a>hes >iiall l)e renio\ed, and the g'eeds of grace stirred up again in thee, thou shalt yield botii light and warmth : when the Sun of Uighie- ousness shall aj)proach to thee, and with his comfortable beams draw up the f>ap into the branches, thou shalt blossom and flourish. In the mean time, fear nothing : only lielieve, and thou shalt .';ee the -salvation of the Lord, Thy soul is in surer hands than thine own ; yea, tlian of the greatest angel in heaven : far out of the reach of all the powers of hell ; for. Our life is hid with Christ in (rod ; Col. iii. 3 : hid ; not lost, not laid open to all eves, but hid : hid, where Satan cannot touch it, camiot lind it ; even with Christ, in the heaven of heavens. Fear not, therefore, O thou feeble soul, any utter dereliction of thy God, Thou art bought with a })rice : God paid too dear for thee, and is too dcej)ly engaged to thee, to lose thee willinrrly ; and, for any force to be oitored to the Ahnighty, what can men or devils do ? And, if that malignant spirit shall challenge any forfeiture, plead thou thy full redemption. It is true, the i-ternal and inviol:ii)lc law hath saitl, Cursed is r.ery one, that eontimieth not in all thins^s that are written in the book of the Law, to do them; Gal, iii. lO: and, The soul, that sinneth, shall die; Ezek, xviii, 4, 20, Death, atid curse, is therefore due to ihee : but thou lia>t paid l)oth u{ these, in thy Blessed Kedecnior ; Christ hath redtemed us from the eurse oj the Imw, beinti inude a curse for us; Gal. iii. 13. Il'her^ in abounded, graee did mueh nwre abound ; that, as sin hath reisnid unto death, txcn so tniaht i(raee reien, through rii^hteousnesy, unta eternal I ije, by Jesus Christ, our Lord ; Uom. v. 20, 'Jl. It is ail one, to pay thy debt in thine own j;erson, and by thv surety. Thy (/racious Surety hath staked It do »vn fur thoe, to the utmo>it far- f 320 TRACTICAL WORKS. thing. Be confidenl, therefore, of thy safe condition : thou art no less ^ure, than thine adversary is malicious. Xth. TEMPTATION: ^'^ Had God ever given thee any sure fcstijuonies of his love, thou viighiest, •perhaps, pretend to some reason of eoynfort and confi- dence : hut, the truth is, God never loved thee : he may have cast upon thee some common favours, such as he throxc's away upon reprobates ; but, for the tokens of any special love that he bears to thee, thou never didst, 7iever shall receive any from him:'''' Kcpcllcd. This is language well hefitting the professed make-bait betwixt CJod and man : l)iit know, () thou False Tempter, that I have re- ceived sure and infallible testimonies of that special love, which is projier to his elect. First, then, (as I have to do with a bountiful God, who where he loves, there he enriches ; so) I have received most precious gifrs from his hands : such, as do not import a common and orch- iiary benehcence, which he scatters promiscuously amongst the sons of men ; but such, as carry in them a dearuess and singularity of divine favour : even the greatest gifts, that either he can give, or man receive. For, hrst, he hath given me his Spirit ; the Spirit of uldoption, •whereby I can call hint Father ; for the assurance whereof. The Spirit itself bearcth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God ; I John iv. 13. Kom. viii. \5, 16. Deny, if thou canst, the invaluableness of tiiis heavenly gift : and, if thy malice caimot detract from the worth, but from the propriety ; yielding it to be great, but denving it to be mine; know, O thou Envious Spirit, that here is the witness of two spirits combined against thine : were the testimonies single, surely I had reason to believe m}' owrt spirit, rather than thine, which is a spirit of error ; but, now that the Spirit of God conjoins his inerrable testimony together with mv spirit, against thy single suggestion, how just cause have I to be confiuent of my possession of that glorious and blessed gift 1 Ivieither is that Good Spirit dead or dumb, but vocal anU operative: it fjives me a tongue to call God, Father: it teacheth me to pray : it helpeth mine infirmities, and iriaketh intercession for me, xcith groanins:s which cannot be uttered; Rom. viii. 26: it worketh ef- fectuallv in me a sensible conversion : even when I was dead in sins and trespasses, God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love where- with he loved me, hath, by this Spirit ot his, quickened me together with Christ ; and ha.'h raised me up together with him ; Eph. ii. 1, 4, 5, 6. By the blessed ellects, therefore, of his regenerating Spi- rit happily begun in my soul, I find how rich a treasuri; the Father* of Mercies hath conveyed into my bosom. Besides, my life shews Satan's fiery darts quenxhed : — decade ii. 321 what is in my heart : it was a gracious word, that God snake to liis people of old, and holds for over ; I will put my Spirii -within you, and cause you to lialk in my statutes : I will also save you /rotn all your unclean nesses ; Kzek. xxxvi. 27, 29. The Spirit of God can never be severed from obedience. If the heart be taken up wiili the Holy Spirit, the feet must walk in God's statutes; 1 Juhii V. 3 : and both heart and life must be freed from all wilful unclean- nesses. I feel that God hath wrouijht all tiiis in me : from him it is, that I do sincerely desire and endeavour to make straight steps in all the ways of God ; and to avoid and abhor all tJiose foul cor- ruptions of my sinful nature. Flesh and blood hath not. Mould not, could not work this in me : T/ie Spirit, therefore, of him, -who raised up Jesus from the dead, dwells in me; Rom. viii. 11. And, if this be not a pledge of his dearest love, heaven cannot yield one. Moreover, he hath bestowed ui)on me another gift, more worth than all the w orld ; his Own Son ; the Son of iiis Love ; the Son of his Nature, by eternal generation : whom he liath not only given for me, in a generality with the rest of mankind ; but hath, by a special donation, conveyed unto me, and, as it were, put into my bosom, in that lie hath enabled nie, by a lively faith, to bring him home unto my soul; and Iiath tjius, by a particular applica- tion, made him mine, so as my soul is not more uiine than he is my soul's. And, having given me his son, he hath, with him, given me all things. If there can be greater tokens of love than these, let me want them. Besides his gifts, his carriage doth abundantly argue his love. Were there a strangeness between God and my soul, 1 might well fear there were no other than overly respects from him towards me : but now, when I find he doth so freely and familiarly converse with his servant, and so graciously impart himself to me, renew- ing the daily testimonies of his holy presence in the frequent mo- tions of his Good Spirit, answered by the returns of an humble and thankful obedience ; here is not love only, but entireness. What other is that poor measure of love, which our wretched meanness can return unto our God, but a weak reflection of that ferment love, which he bears unto us ? It is the word of Divine Wisdom, I lone them, that love me ; Prov. vhi. 17: and the Dis- ciple of Love can tell us the due order of love ; We Une him, be- cause he first loned us ; 1 John iv. 19. The love of God, therefore, which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto uSf Rom. v. 5. is an all-sufficient conviction of God's tender love unto us. My heart tells me dien, that I love God truly, though weakly : God tells me, that he embraceih me with an everlasting lore, w liich thy maUce may snarl at, but can never abate. 322 TEMPTATIONS REPELLED. THE THIRD DECADE. TEMPTATIONS OF ALLUREMENT. 1st. TEMPTATION: " Thou Jiast hitherto, thus long, given entertaitiment to thy sin, and no inconveniencj/ hath ensued, no evil hath befallen thee : thij affairs have prospered better than thy scrupulous 7ieighbour''s : whj/ shouldst thou shake off a companion, that hath been both harmless and pleasant ? Go on, man : sin fearlesshj : thou shalt speed no worse, than thou hast done : Go on, and thrive in thine old course ; while some precisely conscientious beg and staix^e in their mnocence .'" Repelled. It is right so, as wise Solomon observed of old : Because sentence against an evil n'ork is not executed speedily ; therefore, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in them to do evil ; Eccl. viii. 1 1. Wicked Spirit ! what a deadly fallacy is this, which thou puttest upon miserable souls ! Because they have aged in their sins, there- fore they must die in them : because they have lived in sin, there- fore they must age in it : because they have prospered in their sin,, therefore they must live in it : whereas, all these should be strong arguments to the contrary. There cannot be a greater proof of God's disfavour, than for a man to prosper in wickedness : neither can there be a more forcible inducement to a man to forsake his sin, than thi.s, that he hath entertained it. What dost thou other in this, than persuade the poor sinner to despise the riches of the goodness, and forbearance, and longsiffering of God, which should lead liim to repentance ; and, after his hard- ness and impenitent heart, to tteasure up unto himself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God ? Rom. ii. 4, 5. Wiiat a horrible abuse is this of divine mercy ! 'J'liat, which is intended to lead us to repentance, is now urged by thee to draw us from repentance. Should the justice of God have cut off the sinner in tiie flagrance of his wicked fact, there had been no room for his penitence ; and, now God gives him a fair Satan's fiery darts quenciifd: — decade hi. 323 respite for his repentance, thou turnest this into a provocation of sinning Let the case, for tlie present, be mine. If sin have so far be- witched nie, as to win me to dally with it, must I tiicrefore be weiiiled to it ? or, if I be once wedded to it through the impor- tunity of temptation, shall I be tied to a perpetual cohaSitation with that fiend ; and not free mvself by a jusi divorce ? Because I have once yielded to be evil, must 1 therefore be worse ? Because I have happily, by the mercy of my God, escaped heil in sinnini^, shall I wilfully run myself headlong into the pit, by continuing m sin ? No, Wicked One : I know how to make better use of God's favour, and my own miscarriages. I cannot reckon it amongst my comforts, that I jjiospered in evil. Let obdured heaits bless them- selves in such advantages ; but I adore that goodness, that forbore me in my iniquity : neither dare provoke it any more. Think not to draw me on by the lucky success of my sin, which thou hast wanted no endeavour to promote. Better had it been for me, if I had fared worse in the course of my sinning : but, had I been yet outwardly more liapjiy, do I not know that God vouchsafes his showers and his sunsiiine to the fields of those, whose ])er»ons he destines to the fire.'' Can I be ignorant of that, which ho\ Job observed in his time, that the tabernacles of the wicked prosper ; and they, that provoke God, are secure : into whose hands God bringeth abundantly? Job xii. 6 : that they spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave ? ch. xxi. 1 3 : and, as the Psalmist seconds him. There are no bands in their death, but their strength is Jiryn : They are not i)i trouble, like other men : therefore pride compasscth them about as a chain ? Ps. Lxxiii, 4, 5. And let these jolly men brave it out, in the glorious pomp of their unjust great- ness : the same eyes, that noted their exahation, have also observed their downfal : They are exalted for a little while, saith Job; but they are gone, and brought low : they are taken out of the way, as all others ; and cut o§', as the tops of the ears of corn ; Job xxiv. 24 : and in his answer to Zophar, Where are the d'welling-placcs of the wicked ? Have ye not asked them that go by the way ? and do ye not know their tokeyis ? That the wicked is resei'ved to the day of de- struction : they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath ; ch. xxi. 28, 29, 30. The eyes of the wicked, even those scornful and con- temptuous eyes which they have cast upon God's poor despised ones, shall fail ; and they shall not escape ; and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost ; ch. xi. 20. How false an inference then is this, whereby thou goest about to delude my soul ; "Thou hast hitherto prospered in thy wicked- ness : therefore thou shalt prosper in it, still and ever: to-morrow shall be as yesterday, and more abundant !" As if the just God had not set a period to iniquity. As if he had not said to the most inso- lent sinner, as to the raging sea. Here shall thou stay thy proud waxes. How many rich Kpicures have, with C'rassus, supped in Apollo ; and broken their fa^st with Beelzebub, the prince of devils ! How many have lain down to sleep out their surfeit, and have waked in 324 PK ACTICAL WOKKS. hell ! Were my times in thy hand, thou wouldest not suffer me long to enjoy my sin, and forbear the seizure of my soul ; but, now they are in the hands of a righteous God, who is jealous of his own glory, he will be sure not to over-pass those hours, which he hath set for thy torment, or my account. Shortly, therefore, I will withdraw my foot from every evil way, and walk holily with my God ; however I speed in the world. Let me, with the conscientious men, beg or starve, in mv innocence ; rather than thrive, in my wickedness, and get hell to boot. IId. TEMPTATION: ^' Sin still : thou shall repent soon enough, iphen thou canst sin no 7)tore : thine old age and death-bed are Jit seasons for those sad thoughts. It 'vill go hard, if thou maijest not, at the last, have a mouthful of breath left thee, to cnj God mercy : and that is no sooner asked, than had. Thou hast to do with a God of Mercies ; with whom no time is too late, no measure too slight to be ac- cepted :'" Repelled. Of all the blessed attributes of God, whereby he is willing to make himself known unto men, there is none by which he more delights to be set forth, than that of mercy : when, therefore, he would proclaim his style to Moses, this is the title which he most hisists upon : The Lord, the Lord God ; merciful and gracious ; longsuf- fcring, and abundant in goodness and truth ; Keeping mercy for thousands ; forgiving iniijiuly, and transgression, and sin ; Exodus xxxiv. 6, 7. y\nd all his holy heralds, the Prophets, have still been careful to blazon him thus to the world; Num. xiv. 18. Ps. ciii. 8. cxiv. S, 9. Exod. XX-. 6. Ps. Ixxxvi. 16. Neh. ix. 30, 31. Lam. iii. 31. Jonah iv. 2. Micah vii. 18. Ps. Ixxii. 13. Neither is there any of those divine attributes, that is so much abused by men, as this, which is most beneficial to mankind. For the wisdom of God, every man ]}rofesses to adore it : for the power of God, every man magnifies it : for the justice of God, every man trembles at it : but, for the mercy and longsufferance of God, how apt are men and devils to wrong it, by a sinful misappli- cation ! Wicked Tempter, how ready art thou to mis-improve God's pa- tience to the encouragement of my sin ; and to pcr-uade me there- fore to olTend him, because he is good ; and to continue in sin, be- cause grace abounds ! TJiou biddest me siii still : God forbids me, upon pain of death, to sin at all /whether should I listen to ? God calls me to a speedy repentance : thou persuadest me to defer it : whether counsel should 1 hold more safe? Surely, there cannot be but danger, in the delay of it : in the speed, there can be notliing but a comfortable liope of acceptation. It Is not pos- Satan's fiery darts quenched : — decade hi. 325 sible for me to rei^ent too soon : too late, I may. To repent for niv sin, when 1 can sin no more, what would it be other, than to be sorry that 1 can no more sin ? and svhat thank is it to me, that I wonld, and am disabled to offend ? Tliou tellest me, that mine age and death-bed are meet seasons for my repentance : as if time and gi-ace were in my power to command. How know I, whether 1 shall live till age ? yea, till to- morrow ? yea, till the next hour ? Do not I sec how fickle mv life is ? and shall I, with the Foolish Virgins, delay the buying of my oil, till the doors be shut r But, let me live : have 1 repentance in a string, that I may pull it to me when I list ? is it not the great gift of that Good Sjiirit, which brcatheth uhcu and where it pleaseth ? it is now oiVered to me in this time of grace : if I now refuse it, perhaps I ma\- i.eek it, with tears, in vain. 1 know the gates of nell stand always wide open, to receive all comers : not so the gates of heaven : they* are shut upon the impenitent ; and never opened, but in the se:isons of mercy. The porclies of Bethesda were full of cripples, expecting cur<* . those waters were not always sanative: if, when the Angel descends and moves the water, we take not our first turn, we may wait too long. But, of all other, that season, whereon thou pitchest, my death-bed, is most unseasonable for this work, most serviceable for thy purpose. How nianv thousand souls hast thou deluded with this plausible, but deadly suggestion ! for then, alas, how is the whole man taken up, with the seii>e of pain ; Avith grappling with the disease ; with answering the condoling of friends; with di-;posing the remainder of our estate; with repelling, then most imporiunate, temptations; with encountering the h sin more in his dearest children, than in any otlier. Upon tills impious supposition of God's not seeing sin in his chosen, woulde.st thou raise that hellisli suggestion, That a man mu.st see no sin in himself, no repentance for sin ; than which, what wider gap can be opened to a licentious stupidity ? For, that a man should commit sin, as Lot did his incest, nor knowing that he doth the fact, what is it, but to bereave liini of his senses .■* To Satan's riF.iiv darts auF.NCHKD : — dkcadl: hi. !i'2y commit that fact wliich he may not know to be sin, what is it, but to bereave him of reason ? Not to be sorry tor the sin he hath com- mitted, what is it, but to bereave liim ot grace ? How contrary is tliis to the niiia and practice t)t" all God's Saints ! Holy Job could say, lic-jii many tvv mine i>tit/i"'/ir's and sins ! mukc iiw to kno.v tnij transgression and my sin ; Job xiii. 23 : and, at liist, >vhen Ciod had wrought accordingly upon his heart, I abhor mystify and repent in dust and ashes ; Job xlii. 6. Penitent David could sny, / ainno:t'- ledgc viy transgression, and vxy sin xs acr bifore vie ; Ps. li. i : and, elsewhere, / Wiii declare mine iniquitij, and be sorry for my sin ; Ps. xxxviii. !«: anu Solomon's suppliant, that would hope lor audience in ijoaven, must knoxc the plague oj his :ition ? To lend a he to a fritfnd ? — W h\- dost thou not persuade nic to lend him my soul ? yea, to give it unto thee for him <* It is a sure word of the Wise Man, " The month, that heili, slaycnh the soul;" W isd. i. 11. How veliemcnl a char^re hath the (jod of Trnth laitl upon me, to avoid this sin, which thon, the Kaihor of Lies, wouldest draw me unto ! Lev. xix. 1 1. \\ hat mar\el is it, if each speak for iiis own ? He, wiio is Truth itself, and loxefh truth in the inward parts ; John xiv. 6. Ps. li. 6. justly calls for it in the tongue : Laying aside lying, saiih the Spirit of God, .7;^^ evenj man truth with his neighbour ; Col. iii. 9. Eph. iv. 25. Thou, who art a King spiru, wouldest he willing to advance thine own hrood, imder the fair ])retence of friendshijj. But what r shall I, to gra- tifv a friend, make C^od mine enemy ? shall I, to rescue a fnend from danger, bring destruction upon myself? Thou shalt destroy them, thiit speak leasings^ saith the Ps^ahnist ; Ps. v. 6. Without^ sliall be ererij one, that loseth or makcth lies; Kev. xxii. 15. If, therefore, my true attestation may avail my friend, my tongue is his : but, if he must be supported by falsehood, my tongue is nei- ther his, nor mine ; hut is his, that made it. To swallow an oavh for fear r — No, Tempter. I can let down no such morsels: an oath is too sacred, and too awful a thing, for me to put over, out of any outward respects against my conscience. If I swear, the oath is not mine : it is God's ; and the revenge will he his, who>e the offence is ; Exod. xvii. 1 1. Ezek. xvi, 59. It Ls a charge to be trembled at; I'e shall yiot sxi'ear by my Name falsely : neither shalt thou profane the Xav^e of thy God : I am the Lord; Lev. xix. 12. And, if the word of charge be so dreadful, what terror shall we find in the word of judgment ! Lo, God swears too ; and, because there is no greater to swear by, he swears bv himself: .Is [ live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant which he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his orvn head ; Ezek. xvii. 19. It was one of the words, that were de- livered in fire, and smoak, and thunder and lightning, in Sinai ; The Lyird will not hold him guiltless, that takelfi his name in vain ; Exod. XX. 7. I dare not, tlierefore, fi-ar any thing so much, as the dist)leasure of the Almighty ; and (to die for) will neither take an unlawfid oath, nor violate a just one. As for that sociable excess, whereto thou temptest me, however the commonness of the vice may have seemed to abate of the re- putation of heinousness, in the opinion of others; yet, to me, it representeth it so nmch more hateful : as an universal contagion is more grievous, than a local. I cannot purchase the name of good- fellow.>hip, with the loss of my reason, or with the price of a curse. Daily experience makes good that word of Solomon, tiiat Wine is a mocker ; Prov. xx. 1 : robbing a man of himself, and leaving a bea-st in his room. And what uoes do 1 hear denounced against those, tliat rise up early in the morning, that ihey may JoUow strong 334 PRACTICAL WORKS. drink ; thai continue ii'.l nisht, till the nine inflame tJiem ! Isa. v. n . ir uny man thini; lie niav pride himself in a stroiif^ brain and a vi- gorous body ; Woe to t/iem, that are mighty to drink wine ; and men cf strength^ to mingle strong drinks; v. 22. Let the jovialists of the worUl drink yine in bowls, (Amos vi. 6.) and feast theniselveg without fear : let me never join myself with that fellowship, where God is banished from the company. Wouldest thou persuade me to falsify my word for an advantage ? what advaniage can be so great, as the conscience of truth and fi- delity r 'J'hat man is for God's tabernacle, that snearet/i to his oivji hurt, and ehangelh not ; Ps. xv. 4. Let me rather lose by honesty, than gain by falsehood and perfidiousness. Thou biddest me serve the time : — So I will do, while the time serves not thee : but, if thou shalt have so corrupted the time, that the whole world is set in 'wickedness, (1 John v. 19.) I will serve my God in opposing it. Gladly will I serve the time, in all good offices, that may tend to rectify it ; but, to serve it in a way of flattery, I nate and scorn. I shall willingly frame myself to all companies : not for a part- •jiership in their vice ; but for their reclamation from evil, or encou- ragement in good. The Chosen Vessel hath, by his example, taught me this charitable and holy pliableness : Though I be free from all men, yet have I made viijsclf a sorant unto all ,- that I might gain the more. To the Jews, I became as a Jew ; that I might sain the Jexes : to them, that are^mder the IjOW, as under the Law ; ihat I might gain them, that are tmder the Law : To thetn, that are without Law, as without Law, being not without Law to God, but luu der the Law to Christ ; that I might gain them, that arc without Lmw. To the weak, I became weak ; that I tnight gain the weak : J am made all things to all vien ; that L might, by all means, save some ; I Cor. ix. 19 — 22. My only scope shall be spiritual gain : for this will I, like some good merchant, traffic with all nations, with all persons. But, for carnal respects, to put myself, like the first mat- ter, into all fonns ; to be demure with the strictly-severe, to be de- bauched with the drunkard, with the atheist profane, with the bigot superstitious ; what were this^ but to give away my soid to every one, save to the God that owns it ; and, while I would be all, to be nothing; and to profess an affront to hun, that hath charged me, Be not conformed to this world? Rom. xii. 2. Shortly, let me be despicable, and stane, and perish in my inno- cent integrity, rather than be warm and safe, and honoured upon 80 evil conditions. Satan's fiery darts quenched : — dkc ade hi. 335 VlTH. TEMPTATION: " // is but /or a n'/ii/c, that thou hast to live ; and, when thou art gone, all the •xorUi is gone Xinth thee : Improve thy life to tlic best eontentwent : Take thjj pleasure, zc'hile thou maj/est ;" IJo- pcJIcd, Even tliis \v;i,s the very note of tliino olil Epicurean elicits : I.ci us eat and drink, for (o-i/iorrou- ti-'c shall die ; 1 Cor. xv. 32. I ;ic- knowledge the same dart, and the same hand that fiintrs it : a durt, dipped in tliat deadly poison, that causcth the man to die laughing;; a dart, that pierceih as deeply hito the sensual lieart, as it is easily retoited bv the reoencrate. These wild inferences of sensuality are for those, that know no heaven, no hell : but, to me, that know tins world to be nothin'r but a thoroughfare to eternity either way, they abhor, not from grace only, but from reason itself In the intuition of this immor- tality, what wise man would not ratlier say, " My life is short : therefore, it must be holy ? I shall not live long : let me live well. So let me live for a while, that I may live for ever r" These liave been still the thoughts of gracious hearts, Moses, the man of God, after he hath computetl the short periods of our age, and confined it to foui-score yeai-s, (so soon is it cut off, and lie fly auaj/) infers, with the same breath, ,Sy teach us to number our (lays, that 'ux vuiy apply our hearts to zi'isdcni ; Ps. xc. 10, 12: as implying, that this holy arithmetic should be an introduction to Divinity ; tiiat the search of heavenly wisdom should be the true use of our shoit life. And the Sweet Singer of Israel, after he hath said. Behold, thou hast made imj days as a span lomr : vtine age is nothing to thee , finds cause to look up from earth to heaven: And ncrs.', ^Lord, zi'hat wait J for ? surely my hope is nen in thee; Ps. xxxix. 5, 7. He, that de>ired to know the measure of his life, finds it but a span ; and recom|)enses the shortness of his conti- nuance, with hopes everlasting. As the tender mercy of our God pities our frailty, remembering that we are but flesh, a wind that passeth away, and comet h not again ; Ps. Ixxviii. 3y : so our h-ailtv supports itself with the meditation of his blessed eternity ; Mu days, >aith the Psalmist, are like a shadow, that deelinelh, and I am •withered like grass : But tfiou, Lord, shall endure for every and thy remembrance to all generations ; Ps. cii. 11, 12. As, therefore, every man walkcdi in a vain shadow, in respect of his transitoriness ; .so the good man, m respect of tiis holv conver- sation, can say, / will walk before the Lord, in the land of the liviniT ; Ps. cxvi. y ; and knows hiu)self made for better ends, than vain pleasure : / shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord; Ps. cxviii. 17. It is for them, who have thtir portion in this life who have made ihea belly their God, and the world their heaven 336 PRACTICAL WORKS. Ps. xvii. 14. to place their felicity in these carnal delights : Goers secret ones en")oy tiicir higher contentments : Thy loving-kindness is better than lij\\ saith the Prophet ; Ps. Ixiii. 3. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than (tiiey luul) in the time that their corn and their s'inc encreased ; Ps. iv. 7. ISIiseral^le worldlings, who xoalk in the vanitij of their minds ; Beim: alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance I liat is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts : Who, being past feeling, have given fhe)n^aihs, which thou invitest me utito; both u.s private, and as new. It is enough, that they are my own : for, canst tlxou think to briog me to heheve mvseh' wiser than the whole Church of CJod ' Who am I, that I siiouhl over-know, not the j)rcsent world of men only, but the eminent Saints a!id learned Doctors of all former ages.' Why should I not rather suspect my own judgment, than oppose theirs ^ When t'le C'hurch, in that heavenly marriage-song, enquires of the Great .Shephcrtl of our Souls ; Tell me, thou •whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flocks to rest at noon ; for why should I be as one, that tunieth aside by the forks of thxj companions ? Cant. i. 1 : she receives answer ; If thou know Tiot, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds tents ; V. 8. Lo, the tracks of the tlock and the tents of the shep- herds are my direction to find my Saviour : if I turn aside, I miss him, and lose myself It is more than enough, that those ways are new ; for truth is eternal ; and that is, therefore, most true that conies nearest to eteniity : as, contrarily, novelty is a brand of falsehood and error: ThiLs saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see ; and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall fnd rest for your souls; Jer. vi. 16. Far be it from me then, that I should be guilty of tiiat contempt, whereof the Prophet, with the same breath, a4;cuseth his Jews: But they said, l\'e will net wu/k thtrein. It is a fearfid word, that I hear from the mouth of the same Prophet; Because my people haze forgotten me, and haie caused them to stuynble in their ways from the ancient paths, in a way not cast up, I will scatter them, as with an east.wiyid, before the tne~ viy : I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the dciy of their calamity; Jer. xviii. 1.5, 17. Woe is me, for these heavy times ! whereiri it is not the least part of our sin, nor the least cause of our nuseries, that we ha\»'. stumbled from the ancient paths, into the untrodden ways of .schism and error; and find not the face, but the bark of our God tunie 1 s. 333 PRACTICAI. WORK?. to US, ill this lUiv of our calamity. O Gcul, thon art just : we can- not conij)liiiii, that have made ourselves miserable. It is tr«io, wheio our torefatlicrs have manifestly started aside like a broketi bow, and havinjT coirtipfed t/icir u'aySy Gen. vi. 12. June burnt i'nccKsc to vaviiy, Jev. xviii. 15. \vc must be so far from nif.kinc; tlieir precedent a warrant for our imitation, as that we hear Cod iuv to us. Be yc not like unto your fathers ; 2 Chron. xxx. 7 : Walk not in the statuies of your fonfatherSy neither cbsene their juu?u»e lotto the perfect day ; Prov. iv. 18. As ibr any new liglit, that should now break forth and shine upon our ways ; Job xxii. 28 : certainly, it is but darkness ; Luke xi. 35 : such a light, as Bildad prophesied of, long ago; The light of tlie wicked shall he put out, and the spark of his fre shall not shine : The light shall be darkness in his tabernacle ; and his candle shall be put out with him ; Job xviii, 5, 6 : so as the seduced fol- lowers of these new lights may have just cause to take up that com- plaint of the Prophet, Jl'e wait for h'aht, but behold obscurity ; for brightness, but we walk in darkness : IVe grope for the wall, like the blind: Zi'e stumble, at noon day, as in the ma lit ; Is. lix. 9, 10, Shortly, then, that light, wliich the Father of Lights hath held forth in his will reve?!ed in his word, as it hath been interpreted by ills holy Church in all ages, shall be my guide, till 1 shall see as I am seen : as for any other lights, tliey are hut as those wander- ing fires, that appear in dani]) marches, which lead the traveller into a ditch. Satan's fiery darts quenxued : — decade hi. 339 Vlllni. TEMPTATION : {f Prefend relii^ivji, and do any thins: : w hat face is so foul, as that mask xcill not cltanlj/ iortr f Sean holxj, and be what thou wilt ." Repelled. Yf.a, there tlioii wonkiest have me. This is that deadly dart, wherewith thou lui>t slain millions ot" souls. Hence it is, that the MaliouH'tan Saints may commit puljlic filthiness, with thanks: hence, that corrupt Christians bury such abominable crimes in their cowls : hence, that false professors shroud so nmch villuiny under the shelter of piety : hence, that the world abounds with so many sheep without, wolves within ; Matt. vii. 15 ; fair tombs, full of in- ward rottenness; Matt, xxiii. 27; filthy dunghills, covered over with snow ; rich hearse-clothes, hiding ill-scented carcasses ; broken potsherds, covered with silver drossy Frov. xxvi. 23: iience, that the adversaries of Judah offer to Zerubbabel their aid in building the Teniple ; Ezra iv. 2 ; the harlot hath her peace-offerings ; Prov. vii. It; Absalom hath his vow to pay; 2 Sam. xv.l, 8; Herod will worship the infant; >hitt. ii. 8 ; Judas hath a kiss for his Master ; Matt. xxvi. 49 ; Simon Magus will be a convert ; Acts viii. 13 ; Ananias and Sapphira will part with all ; Acts v. 1,2; the Angel of the Church of Sardis will pretend to live ; Rev. iii. I j the beast hath horns like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon ; Rev. xiii. 11; in a word, the wickedest of menu ill counterfeit Saints, and false saints are very Devils. For, so nmch more eminent as the virtue is wliich thev would seem to put on, so nmch the more odious is the simulation both lo God and man : now the most eminent of all virtues is holiness, whereby we both come nearest uuto God, and most resemble him ; 1 Pet. i. 16. Lev. xi. 44. xix. 2. Of all creatures, therefore, out of hell, there is none so loath- some to God as the hypocrites : and that, upon a double pro\oca- tion ; both for doing ot evil, and for doing evil under a colour of good. The face, that the wicked man sets upon his sin, is worse than the sin itself: Bring no inore vain oblations, saith the Lord: incense is an abomination to me : the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of asseinblies, I cannot away with : it is iniquitj/, even the so- lemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts viy soid hateth : they arc a trouble to me; 1 am weary to bear them, Isa. i. 13, 14. How fain vvouldcst thou, therefore, draw me into a double con. demnation, both for being evil and seeming good; both which are an abomination to the Lord ! Do I not iiear him say, Forasmuek as this people draw near me with thdr mouth, and with their lips do honour me: Tlurefore, behold, I will proceed to do a manellous work amongst this people, e\ en a marvellous work and a wonder ; for the 340 I'UACTICAL WORKS. ii'isdom of (he wise shall perish ? Isa. xxix. 13, 14. Do I not Iieav liim sp.y/by his Proj diet Jeremiah, Thcij will deceive ivery one his neighbour ; and wil! wt speak the truth. Their tongue is an arrow shot out : it speuketk deceit : one speaketh peaceablj/ to his neighbour^ •with his viouth ; but, in hearty he layeth his wait. Shall I not visit thevi for these things, saith the Lord ? shall not my soul be avenged of such a nation as this i Jer. ix. 5, 8, 9. Indeed, this is the way to beguile the eyes of men like our- selves : for who would mistrust a mortihed face ? an eye and hand lifted up to heaven ? a tongue, that speaks holy things ? But, when we have to do with a Searcher of Hearts, what madness is it to think there can be any wisdom, or understanding, or counsel against the Lord '. Woe be to them, therefore, that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord : and their works are in the dark ; and theij say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Isa. xxix. 15. Woe he to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me ; that cover with a covering, but not of viy Spirit : that they viay add sin to sin ; ch. xxx. 1. Shall I then cleanse the outside of the cup, while I am within full of extortion and excess? INIatt. xxiii. 25. Shall \ fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness ? Isa. Iviii. \. Shall I, under pretence of long prayers, devour widows' houses f Matt, xxiii. 14. Shall I put on thy form, and transfgure myself into an angel of light ? 2 Cor. xi. 14. Shall not the all-seeing eye of the Righteous God find me out, in my damnable simulation ? Hath notl)e said, and will make it good. Though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap ; yet thine iniquity is marked before me ? Jer. ii. 22. Hath not my Saviour, who shall be our Judge, said, Therefore thou shalt receive the greater damnation f Matt, xxiii. 14. Can there be any heavier doom, that can fiiU from tliat awful mouth, than, " Receive thy portion with hypo- crites?" Let those, therefore, that are ambitious of a higher room in hell, mtimfd'xu a form of godliness, and deny the power of it ; 2 Tim. jii. 5 : fiice wickedness, with piety : stalk under religion, for the aims of policy : juggle with God and the world : case a devil with a saint; and row towards hell, while thej look heaven-ward. F or me, Jll the while my breath is in me, and the spirit which God gives me is in my Jiostrils, I shall walk in mine uprightness ; Job xxvii. 3. Jll false ways, and false semblances, shall my soul utterly abhor ; Ps. xxvi. 1 I. that so, at the parting, my rejoicing may be the testimony of my conscience, that, in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, I have had ujy com^rHition in the world; 2 Cor. i. 12. SATAN'S FIERY DARTS QUfeNCHEn : — DFCADE III. 341 IXtii. temptation : *' IVhj sJwuhht thou lose any thin<: (if' tliy height ? Thou art not viudc of conunon vwiild : neither art thou as others. Ij thou kno-u'cst thijsilf, thou art more holi/j more wisCy better gifted, more enlightened than thy neighbours. Juslhj, therefore, viuj/eit thou oierloo/i the vulgar of Christians, -cith pity, contempt, cen- sure ; and bear thyself as too good for ordinary conversation, go apart, and avoid the contagion of common breath ." Repelled. If pride were diy ruin, Wicked Spirit, liow fain wouidcst thon make it mine also ! I'his was thy first killing suirgestion to our first pa- rents in paradise, soon after thine own fall, as> if it jiad Inen lately before thy own case, Ye shall be as gods, knozi^ing gohd and rcil ; Gen. iii. 5. That, which thou fomidest so deadly to thvself, thou art envionsly willing to fcoti' upon man; that if, through tiiy temptation, pride may eompiiss him about as a chain, (Ps. Ixxiii. fi.) he may bear thee company in those everlaai'tiig caaMis, whereiu thou art rcseiied under darkness y to the judginoU of the Great Day ; .Tude G. Thou well knowest, that the ready way to make me odious unto God, is, to make me proud of myself. Pride and arrogancy, and the evil 'way, doth he hate ; Prov. viii. 13. The day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, saith the Pro- phet; Isa. ii. 12. He hath scattered the proud in the imaginations of their hearts, saith the Blessed Virgin ; Luke i. 51. God re- sisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble, saith the Apo- stle ; James iv. 6. 1 Pet. v. j. The Lord wdl destroy th: house of the proud, saith Solomon; Prov. xv. 25 : and his ftuher David, be- fore him, Thine eyes arc upon the haughty, that thou vutye.d bring them do-wn ; 2 Sam. xxii. 28 : down, indeed; even to the bnaom of tliat pit of perdition. Make me but proud therefore, and I am thine: iiure I am, God will not own me; and, if I could be in hea- ven with this sin, would cast me down lieadlong into hell; Isaiah xiv. 12. Thou biddest me not to lose any thing of my height : — Alas, poor wretched dwarf that I am ! nhat height have I } If I have !)ut grace enough, to know and l)ewail my own misery and nothintr- ness, it is the great mercy of my God. H'ho viaLeth me to differ from another ? and xchat hare I, that I have not received Y and if I have received it, why should I glory in it as my own ? 1 Cor. iv. 7. \V hatsoever thou persuadest me, let me rather lose of my height, ihan alh i Prov. xxx. 2, 3. All the holiness that I have attained imto, is, to see and lament my defects of holiness ; and all my wis- dom, is, lo descry and complain of my own ignorance and fool- ishness. Am I better gifted than another r — Thou art an ill judge of either, who enviest the gifts of both. But, if I be so, they are gifts still : and such gifts, as the donor hath not absolutely given away f/om himself to n)e ; but hath given, or lent them rather, to me, for an improvement to his own use : which I have no more reason to be proud of, than the honest factor of his master's stock; received by him, not for possession, but for traffic. Am 1 more enlightened than others ? — The more do I discern my own darkness ; and the more do I find ciaise to be humbled under the sense of it. But, if the greater light, which thou saycst is in trie, were not of a human imagination, but of divine irradiation, t\hai more reason should I have to be j)roud of ir, than that, in this more temperate clime, I have more sunshine than those of Lapland and Finland, and the rest of those more northern nations ? iio much the more reason have I to be thankful : none, to be proud. \\ li} should 1, therefore, overlook the meanest of my fellow- Christians : who may, perhajis, have more interest in God than my- self ? for it is not our knowlcd'>e that so nmch endears us to God, as our affections. Perhaps, he, thai knows less, may love more ; and, if he had been blessed with my means, would have known more. Neither is it the distribution of the talents, that argues fa- vour ; but the grace to employ them to the benefit of the Giver : if he, that received the one talent, had gained another, he had re- cei\ed more thanks, than he, that, uj;on the receipt of five talents, had gained one. The Spirit breathes where it lisleth : and there jnay lie secret graces in the bosom of those, who pass for conmion Christians, that may fmd greater acceptation in heaven, than those, whose prolesbion niakes a I'airer ostentation of iioliness. I can pity, therefore, those, that are ignorant, and apparently SATAN S FIF.RY DARTS QUENTHKP : — DF.CADF. III. S43 •;ri\cel("'s.s : hut, tor tlio-:t', tli:it profess both to kno»vuri;l love C!hrist. uhile tlu'ir hves iUi)y not the power ot" godlmesN, I cl:tre not spena upon them either my conte'iipt or eeii'^nre ; h'st, while I jiid^^o «ron<;tnlly, 1 he justly judgeil : nincli less dare I separate myself from their communion, as contagious. Thou knowest how little it were to lliir)e advantage, that I shoukl l)e |)ersuaileil to depart from the tents oi the notoriously wicked; and to have no J'tllowship ztith the unfruitful -work's of darkness : Numh. xvi, 'JO, *21. 2 Ct)r. vi. 17. Kpli. v. 11.: as too well under- standing, \\\\\X. evil convcrsatiofi corrupts ixood tnanners ; \ Cor. xv. 33. a!ul that a partiei[)ation in sin draws on a pariniTship in jutlg- uient ; Num. xvi. 2G. Neither know I, whether thou shouldest gain more hy my join- ing with evil society, or my sej);irating from good : infection fol- lows upon the one ; distraction, upon tlie other. TJiose, tlien, which cast off their communion witii Christ and his Church, whetlier in doctrine or practice, T snal! uoid, as the plague, soon and far : but those, who truly profess a res! con')unc- tion with rhat Head and this body, into their secret let my' soul come, and unto then* assembly let mine honour be united. Rut if, where I find weakness of grace anrt involuntary failings of obedi- ence, I s!ia!l say, Stand by (hijity ,- -which are justhj pleadable at the bur both of Crod and the con- science, and are sujficient to rebate the edge of divine severity ;'* liepeiled. Wkked Tempter ! I know tliere is nothing upon earth, that so much either troubles thee, or impairs thy kingdouj of d.Hikness, as the zeal of con^cionable preachers; those, wlu^ lift up il.eii' vo'ce like a trumpet, and ^ In w God\ people their trausgn ^s>o>i, mfl ''"' house of Jacob their sin ; Is. Iviii. 1. Tliis is it, ih' i lions of souls from the hand of hell, and gives ih'.^ j Oiimy loiis S'1-4 PRACTICAL WORKS. in thy spiritual assaults. This godly and aithful zeal represents men's sins to them iib tiiey are ; and, by sins, the danger of their damnation ; which thy malicious subtlety would fain blanch over, and palliate to tlieir destruction. But, when thou hast all done, -it is not in their power to make sin worse than it is, or in thine to make it better. As for those favourable temperaments which thou mentionest, they are mere pandarisms of wickedness ; fair visors of deformity. For, to cast a glance upon each of them : — Age is not a more common pleii, than unjust. The young man pre- tends it for his wanton and inordinate lust ; the old, for his grip- pleness, techiness, loquacity : all wrongfully, and not without foul abuse. Youth is taug'at by thee to call for a swing ; and to make ^ igonr and heat of biood a privilege for a wild licentiousness ; for which it can have no claim, but from a charter sealed in hell : I am sure that Goil, who gives this marrow to his bones, ami brawn to his arms, and strength to his sinews, and vivacity to his spirits, looks for another imjjrovement : liemtmbcv thy Craitor in the days o/" /Ay j/o?/M, saith Solomon ; Eccl. xii. I: and his father, before jiim, n herexcithal shall a young man cleanse his way ? by taking heed thereto, according to thy zcord ; Ps. cxix. 9: lo, the young man's ways are foul with lusts and distempered j^assions, and they must be cleansed ; and the way to cleanse them is attendance (not of his own vain pleasures, but) of the holy ordinances of his Maimer : thou wouldest have him run loose, like the wild ass in the desert: God tells him, It is good for a man, to bear the yoke in his youth; Lam. iii. 17: even the yoke of the divine precepts, the stooping wiiereunto is the best and truest of all freedoms : so as he may be able to say, with the best courtier * of the wickedest king, /, thy servant, fear the Lord from my youth : the aberrations from whicn holy laws of God are so far from finding an excuse from the prime of our years, £ls that holy Job cries out of them, in the bit- terness of his soul, Thou, hast mad^ me to possess the iniquities of viy youth ; Job xiii. 2G : and, as Da\ id vehemently deprecates God's anger fortliem. Remember not. Lord, the sins of my youth ; Ps. XXV. 1. so, Zophar, the Naamathite, notes it for an especial brand of God\sjudgment upon the wicked man, that his bones are full of the sins if his youth ; Job xx. 1 1 : and God declares it as 'an especial mercy to liis peo])le. Thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth ; Isa. liv. 4 : the more headstrong, therefore, my youth is, the more strait shall 1 curb it, and hold it in ; and, the more vigorous it is, so nnich the fitter it is to be consecrated to that God, who is most v.orthy to be served with the best of liis own. As for Old Age, it hatJi, I grant, its humours and infirmities ; but rather for our humiliaticm, than for our excuse: it is not more common than absuvd and unreasonable, that, when we are necessarily leaving the ^^ orld, we should be most fond in holding it ; when we are ceasing * Obadiah in 1 Kinesxviii, 12. Satan's fierv ixarts quenthfd : — decade iir. 3t5 to have any use of riches, tluni to endeavour most eagerly to geL theui ; when we should be laying up treasure u\ heaven, to be treasuriui; up wrath lor our>elves, and bags for wt- know not whoDi ; to be unwilling to' s|)end what we cannot keep, and to lie mad on getting what we have not the wit or gracp to spend : if, then, thou canst pei'suado any man to be so gnu-eless, as to make Jiis vicious disjX)siiion an a))ology for wickedness, let him plead die faults of his age for the excuse of his avarice: as for mo- rosity of nature and gaiTulity of tongue, they are not the imper- fect!ons of the age, but of the persons: there are meek spirits, under grey hairs ajid wrHikled skijis : tlicre are old men, who, as that wise heatlien said of old, can keep silence, even at a feast : he hath ill spent his age, thai hath not attained to so good a hand over himself, as, in some meet measure, to moderate both his speech anil passion. If some Complexions both incline us more, and citive indule^ence to some sins more than other, (the sanguine to lust, the ciioleric to rage, is.c.) ^^herefore serves grace, but to correct them r If we must be overruled by nature, what do we professing Christianity ? Neither humours nor stare can necessitate us to evil. \^'hilst thou, therefore, pretendest my natural constitution, I tell thee of my spiritual regeneration ; the power whereof, if it have not mortified my evd and corru[)t affections, I am not, what I profess to be, a Christian. The strongest plea for the mitigation of sin, is. Custom ; the power whereof is wont to be esteemed so great, as that it hath seemed to alter the quality of t!ie fact ; and, of sin, to make no sin. Hence the holy Patriarchs admitted many consorts into their marriage-bed, without the conscience of offending ; which, if it had not been for the mediation of custom, had been justly esteem- ed no better than criminous. But, however where is no contrary injunction, custom may so far usurp, as to take upon it to be no less than a law itself; yet, where there is a just regulation of law, the plea of custom is so quite out of countenance, as that it is strongly retorted against itself: neither is there an)- more powerful reason for the abolition of an ill use, than that it is a custom ; so much the more need, therefore, to be opj)osed and reformed. Hence was that vehement charge of God to his Israel, ylf/er the dnings of thb land nf Esypt, u-htrcin ye dwell, shall ije twt do ,- and^ after the doimfs of 'he land of Canaan, xchither I bring you, shall i/e Tiot do : neither shall ye -ualk after their ordinances ; Lev. xviii. li. iV shidl keep mi'e ordinance, that ye commit not any (f these abomi- nable customs, uhich irere ccmmitfed before ijou ; and that ye dctde 7wt yourr.ihrs theretn : J am the Lord your (rod ; v. ?.o. ft is too true, that the bonds of custom are so strong and close, that they are not easily loosed ; insomuch as custom puts on the face of ano- ther nature : Can the F.thiopinn change his skin, or the leopard his spots y then may ye also do goody that are accustomed to do tril , J»i-. xiii. 23. How stiffly lUd Uic men of Judah, after all the dreadful 3 K> rRACTICAL WORKS. threatening.^ of the Prophet, hold to their idolatrous customs, whirli they li'cul lenrnt in l''.G;v|)t ! '^ V xci/I hum incense to the queen of Ilea- ven, and pour out (Irink-qlfetings to her, as zte. have done ; ice, and our fathers, our kinss^ and our princes, in the cities of Judah, arid in the streets of Jerusalem ; Jer. xhv. \1. It is with ill customs, as with diseases; whicii, it' they grow inveterate, are so nuich the liarder lo l)e cin'ed : hut, shall I therefore hug my malady, hecause I have long had it ? because it will not part av, ay with ease ? Shall T hid a thief welcome, hecause lie had wont to rob me ? Shortly, tijen, so far is an ill custom from extenuating mv sin, as that it ag- gravates it: neither sjiall I olTond the le^, because I oft'end with more ; but rather double it, both, as in niy act, and, as in my imi- tatio!i; in following others amiss, and in helping to make up an ill precedent for others following of me. As i'or the Profit that niay accrue bv sin>.ing, let those carnal hearts value it, that have niarle the world their God : to me, the greatest gain, this way, is loss. Might I have that house-full of iiold and silver, that Balaam talked of; Num. xxiv. 13 : ox all those kingdoms of the earth, and i lie glory of them, which thou shewedst to my Saviour; whac are all these to the price of a sin, when they meet with a man tliat haih learnt from the mouth of Christ, JVhat prrjit shall it he to a man, if he shall gain the Xi'hole xcorld, and lose his o::n soul Y Matt. xvi. 26. Mark viii. 36. Importunity is uont to be a prevalent suitor. How many have been dragged to hell by the force of others' solicitations, who, never else, meant to have trod in those paths of death ! W'liat mar- vel is it, if that which moved the unjust judge to do right, against the bent of his will, be aide to draw the weak sinner awry r But if, in these earthly angariations, one mile, according to our Sa- \iour's counsel, may bring on another; Matt. v. 41 : yet, in spiri- tual evil ways, no compulsion can ]irevail u})on a re.soived spirit. It is not the change of stations, nor the building of twice seven altars, nor the sacriticing of seven bullocks and seven rams, that can w in a true prophet of God to curse Israel ; Num. xxiii. 4, 29. The Christian heart is fixed upon sure grounds of his own, never to be removed. li", thereiore, his father sue to him : if his mother weej), and wring, and kneel, and beseech him, by the wond) that bore him and the breasts that gave him suck ; if his crying children cling about his knees, and crave his yieldance to some advan- tageous evil, or his declining some bitter suiferiugs ior the cause of Christ ; he can shake them off, with a holy neglect, and say, JVhat do you weeping and breaking my heart i for I cmi ready, not to he hound onli/, hut also to die for the Name of the Lord Jesus ; Acts \xi. 13. None of these things moxc me, neither count I my life dtur unto myself, so that I may fniish my course with joy ; Acts XX. 24. And, if any sotd be so weak as to be led rather by the earnest motions of others than by his own scuttled dtnermiuation, he shall iinil no oiher ease before the tnlnnud of heaven, than our first parents did in shlting the guilt of their sin, the man to the Satan's fif.ry darts quf.ncurd : — decade hi. 3 n woman, the woman to the serpent. In the mean wliile, that word shall ever stand witli me inviohvble, Mj/ son, if sinners entice thcc^ consent thon not ; Prov. i. 10. Lastly, what can be the Necessity, which may either inchice to sin, or excuse for sinning ? What ran the worlcf do, to make mc say I must ilo evd ? Loss, restraint, e.vile, pain, death arc tlie worst, that either niahce can do, or patience suder. These may {)ut inc liaril to tlie ijuestion : but, when all is don!.\, tfiey nuisi eave me free, either to act or eiitlure. I need not, therefore, sin ; since there is a remedy against sin, — suHering. It is true, that -..o are in tiie hands of p most gracious and indul- gent God, who considers wliat we are made of, pities our inlirmi- ties ; and knows to put a di'ference, betwut wilful rebellion and weak revolt, ilis mercy can distinguish of ort'enders ; but his jus- tice hath ..aid. Without shall he the fearful. Fujally, then, howsoever these circum.->tantial temjjerameats aiay receive pardon, after the fact, for the penitent, at the mercy-seat of heaven ; yet none of them can be pleadable at the bar of divine justice : and, if any sinner shall hearten lunself to oflend out of the hopes and confi- dence of tjjese favourable mitigations, the comfort tiiat I can give hira, is, that he njay howl in hell with thee for his prcisumption. PAX TERRIS: SUASORE ET NUNTIO JOSEPIIO HALLO, ECCLESI.E NORVICENSIS SERVO. :5Ji UEVLltEXDO IX CinUSTO PAllU AC DO. DOMISO luoma: mortoko, ECCLESIt DfN'EI.Mr.NSIS PASTORI VJCil. \NTISS1M0 : \nus, ccce palani exurgentia, alia qucedam Lcrnui monstri capita, prioribus ilUs diritate sua longe inagis horrcnda : Neariano- rum, Socinianorum, ylnonueoj'urn, ihereses redivivas : scd el innu- inerarum fere scctannn cujusque generis, Schismata longe atrocis- sinia : ^qucc utraque Ecclesite Dei, nihil prof ectb minus qudm ipsam pernicion niinitantur. Quid nunc nostra viagis interest, si idlam posteris Eccle.fiam re- hnquere desideranius, quani curd quinitdvis liuy/^lvetMlu. SiaCJiioovJci ** hoc est, si mihi liccat intei-pretari,(t vilibus prcciosa, ii malis pcssima ii Iciibus quihu.^hun opinionum erroiibus seclas, d secfis h^reses, ac- curate discriminare ; hcereses, verb, qu^ ipsa ftdci fundamenta pe- niliis cofivellunt, ad inferos, unde scilicet hte furia^ prodierunt, plene comictas relegarc ; errorcs, autem, reliquos blundd aliquu, si fieri potot, suasione ad veritatis sonitain reducere ; juratvs quosque ac itnplacabiles fidei hostes arcerc prorsiis, et spiritu oris debellare ; Ic- viiis dissidentes pi/e cujusdam misericordite visceribus cxciperc, inque sinum admittere ; curare, denique, quantum possumus, ut hiuntia 'julneruui Jraternorum ora tandem coalescant. lllud nempc est, quod ego istic uioiior, neque pigebit rugosd hue pi a que senio tremuld wanu, hoc quicquid est symboli pad publico contulisse. Jngor cquidcm aniini, et prevvatoremque omnium: Patrem, F'ilium, Sj)irituin Sanctum ; essentia uiuim, dis- tinctum personis : unum Mediatorem inter Deum et homiucm, Je- sum Christum ; o/xckV/ov Dei Fihnm ; in plenitu(Une temporis homi- iiem pro nobis factum, ut hominem suo peccato morti obuoxium redimeret ; iuque hac humana natura passum, crucifixum, mor- tuum, ac, sua divina virtute, resuscitatum, ascendissc in coelos, jbique sedcre ad dextram INIajestatis, perpetuum pro nobis Inter- cessorem ; reversurum inde, suo tempore, vivorum mortuorumqnc' cfudicem: Deinde, vero, agnoverit comnumem (juendam lidchum coptum ; partim in ccchs triumi)hantem, partim mihtantem in terris ; cui soli competit indivisa sanctorum communio, et certa rcmissio peccatorum : Deinde, rcsurreotura olim, h;rc qua; deponimus, aiii- mis socianda, corporsi mortaha ; malorum quidom ad aternos, cum Diabolo ejusque angeiis, cruciatus ; bonorum, vero, ad beatit vita gloriosam inmiortahtatem : Sed et qui Scripturam Sacram ut ipsis- sinnmi Dei verbum verc ^soTvevqov ita veuerabundus exceperit, ut omnibus in sacro illo Canone coutentis humihter ac pic assentiri paratiis fuerit: Baptismum, ut sahitare initiationis sacranientum ex institutione Christi suscipiendum ; Cccnamque Dominican), ut ca-- lestc viaticum anima, sumnta cum cura ajjparatuquc, ut Cliristi hospitem decet, adeundam censucrit: Denique, Deum in C'hristo, in cujus merita totus recumbit, sancte invocet, vitanujuc suam ad I.c" is Divina normam transigere serio profiteatur; pietuLem erga ■ * Pi'fesl ntifn aliquid lideri, a/hri aliud : sad neque cgn, quod dixux, pru - scril ) altcri ; tiec illmnihi. Aujj. in Ps. xvi. PAX TI-RRLS, 3 57 Dc'uin jiixta ejus prascripttiin, erga homines jiistitiam ac charitateni seduloexercitaturus : Quisfjuis, iuqnam, ista arete tenuerit, cjuic- quiil sit <.le relit|iiis, liic niihi ("liiisiiaiius orit : huuc e«^(), quoilctm- (|ue ij)si 111 ereili!)ilimii simmi' sive dosit sive superlliiat, C'liri.siiaiio ainore usque [)rosequar. Nimiruin, quenicunque Deus filiuni ap- pellaie diriiatur, liunc ego, sub quacuii(]ue eceli plaga vitaui clux- erit, quodeunqne uon tenuerit, tVatreni .salutare non verebor. SECT. y. Nec aliter, profecto, affici debet alius uspiani Christianoruni, quern lion connnittat oportet, iit pro minimis o|iinionuin, sit verbo venia, dissentiuiKulis pacem publitam iVaternamque ciiarilatem diriini illi- eo sinat. Dari, (|uidem, debet opera, ut discrepantes fidelimn seii- tcniioj, commoda aliqua ratione, reeaneilientur ; intendendicjue ani- nior;im nervi, ut, excogitatis quibusdam satis aptis distinetionibus, opiniones advcisa' tandem coale.scant : sed, cum spes nulla suppetai, aut posse hoc unquam fieri, aut (quie pertinax hominum (PiKtculia) sine magno pacis dispendio vel tentari quidem, (juanto satins toret, lit, vinculo pacis coiisiricti oniues, quotcjuot in eruU'in fide unanimi- ter conspiramus, liberum cuique relinquaiiuis, abscjiie contesiata lite de quibusdam nou necessarice veritatis minutiis aliter atque ali- ter opinan ' SECT. 10. IsTL'i) nos edoruit, suo exemplo, unicus c coelo Magister, Dominus noster Jesus Christus ; qui, cum, in niundum veniens, non paucas inter Judxos sectas acerrimc secum dimicantes comperisset, milli omnium sese immiscuit, nec cujus meminit quidem; id umim .soli- citus, ut ad ptiMiitentiam, tidem, justitiam, cliaritatem, integram- que Legis Diviiuc observationem genus humanum vocaret excita- retcjue. (iuot, veio, quantosque in suis domesticis errores ac de- t'ertus, niisericordi silentio, pra^terierit, pleniorem (inandam Spi- ritiis non ita mnlto post descensuii revelalionem patientcr usque prastolatus, nemo est qui nesciat. Sed ct magnus ille /\postolorum coryphccus, Doctor Gentium Paiilus, quanta cum gravitate, quanta xxo^et^ct TVfu/xalv^ ( I Cor. ii. 4.) redarguit malos I sunciitatem vero, lidem, charitatem suadet prcmii- que : .suinmam veritatis Chiisiiana- lideliier tradit: errores, huic contraries, evincit debellatque : atque in his ita totus est, ut, pa- rum de aliis soUcitus, in hoc; demum acquiescendum censeat ; ^ui- cunque perfccti suniHs hue sentiamus ; ct si quid aliter sapitisy e( hoc lohis Deus rcidahit ; Phil. iii. I 5 : et alibi ; .SV quis vcUi (^iKo'jsih^ esse, nos ialcm comutiudim-in non habcmus, ncquc Ecclcsiir Dri ; \ Cor. xi. l(i: deni(|ue, "^limotheo suocjuam vehementer illud urget, O Tiynotht'f, scna dtpositum, deiitans profuHus ivcut/i noi>i(akj, ct >'ppo5itioni:sjalcopi, anathe- matizarunt se mutuo, lia^esin sibi invicem invidioso impingentes, postea idem plane sentire intelliguntur. Theodoretus ingerit se huic liti, publice f'avet Antioclieno : sat animosc rejicitur : tandem, re penitius intellecta, magna cum synodi acclamatione, ut Ejjisco- jjus plane orthodoxus adiuittitur |. Misere a se divisas de trium hypostasewn proprietate ac usu Ecclesias utrasque, Orientales et Occidentales, magnus Athanasius, candidus utnusque sententiie interpres, ita facile reconciliavit, ut, jam errore plane grammatico clarifis dilucidaio, utraf[ue in eadem fide unauimcs coiisse depre- henderentur. Quicquid obvenerit, fides Integra sit opportet : sed ut d»? })arum necessariis, nuperquc adjeclis doctrina^ Theologicie apicibus litem moveamus, nescio an ('hristianic charitati, an vero prudentiic magis eontravenire videatur. * Naz. Orat. 21. f Ev ct ui in oiAOturt'^. + Synod. Ephcs. 360 PRACTICAL WORKS, SECT. 13. ^Pessime, igitur, consulucrunt Kcclesiae paei, illi, Dominico gregi satis imperiose y.cfix-^v^isvovlsg, superciliosi orbis magistri, qui suas quascunque deteiininationes, velut rem litlei, Christiaiiis omnibus, bub necessitate salutis, recipiendas obtrudere non veientur ; et pro- positiones quaslibet suas, ut cum Gersone loquar, ba^reticare non aubitant. Sat erat saltern ipsi sancto Athanasio, Symbolo quondam suo (qnanquam boc ab illo fortassis, non tarn per modum Symboli quam per inodum doctrinie cujnsdam declaratoria:', ut Aquinati vi- sum est, editum fuerit) coloplioneni ilium apposuisse : " Haec est I ides Catliolioa, abscjue qua salvari nemo potest." nimio quam au- darter factum est nuper a Pio quarto, Kpiscopo Romano, hunc epilogum snis duodecim novis articulis adjecisse, Ilicet non ideo claves caelorum huic, ut prie se fert, Petri hturedi in manus data? sunt, ut snnpliciLjsimuc fidei in Symbolo Apostolico contentae plene assentientes, inde ausu temerario excluderet. Viderit ipse an non, iniquo hoc judicio, cceli januam suae ipsius anima; audax homo prtc- cluserit ; ejusdemque praesumptionis suo exemplo reos eadem a;terr nae damnationis pcena infeliciter involverit *. SECT. 14. Sed neque hoc adeo novum est : priscis etiam seculis, nimis severos sese irs^oh^iug censores quidem pra^buerunt, qui dissona^ cuique opinioni haresews notam statim inurere parilm veriti sunt. Ita f Eustatiani, Parermenuta-, Prociiani, Quartodecimani, \'igilantiani, Animiv Traducta- Assertores, Tralaiionis TO Interpretum Deserto- res ; sed et (jui Antipodas, mundi alterius architecti, statuere ausi ; et (jui metallorum transmutationem arte ulla posse fieri tenuerunt; huic olim caluinnia^, non nemiue iinpingente, siiccubuerunt. Atque ita catalogum auxit nostro avo Prateolus |, ut modo non pauciores quam quingcntos et viginti nigro hoc Theta stigmatiza- tos comperiamus : inter quos Musculani, Melancthonici, Luthero- siandriani, Buceriani, Oecolainpadiani, Martyriani, I'arellistic, Be- zanita, et quot fere capita Evangelic) jam restituto nomen dederunt, inter ha;reticoi'um agmina satis invidiose recensentur. Deus Bone ! * Jfi omnibus aliis, pra-terquam in nialcriis qua: sunt purb dejiffc, Ecclesia Jnllit, etjalhtur, servu/ii charitate. Jo. Gcrson. tie Schismatc. Solius Ecclesia; Ponlificis est res fuh teucndas dejinirc : fa'lcri autcm et Jalkre et J'alli po^sunt, .Sanchez, in Decal. I. ii. c. 7. nu. 15. Gcrson dc IVopos. ab Epis. ilreroiicanti. Aquiii. '. L'. q. I. art. J. Omnia, quw ub Ecclesia dejiniuntur crcdcnda, jundanien- titlia su'it. Tenet Fisherus Jes, Helat. :s. Colloq. p. 6. Cajetan. ad menteni Tho- rn j* 22. q. 2. dicit, Sivipliccs, si scducli errant jhsquc pcrlinucia in subtililatibus fide!, non incurrcrc huretieurum culpam : suhtHituiex auleni fidei intelli^it in- JiU/ic ilia quit nvn sunt e.xpressa in Si/mbnio, et cjuiniodi in quihiis est scltisma }iostraliunt. Franc, a Sia Clara ploblem. 13. de Ignorantii Invincibili. f i'liilastrius. Auijust. + Prateol. Elench. Uasrct. PAX TF.KRIS. 361 \ri»i tandem Christ laiiii chiuiuis, ubi candor, uln JzuUciu^ At veto luTi uliler non potuil fjiiin, pro accrescente credendoruni ant impo- sitione aut abnegatione, atroces ista; disscntieiitiuin ceiisunc con- se(|uerc'utur. Quod si quis ita vere insanierit, ut dogmata (juadam sua, sive d'jloKsi,:{, si\e ex manitesia et irrelVagabili consL'([ueniia, notis tidei articulis plane adversa contumaciter tueri velit, liunc, post de- bitmn procedendi morem, velut Ecclesitu pestem vitandiim judi- cabimus. C'aute. ergo, istic incedcndum crit homini Chrisliano : et media semper via tenenda, inter vagam quandam, et nullis piae modera- tionis metis constrictam i)roi)hi'tandi iicentiam ; et illos Tiimis an- gnstos Thcologicarum detinitionnm fines, intra quos severiorcs qui- daiu arbitri mentis Christians disquisitioucm prorsvts concludi de- bere statuerunt. SI-XT. 15. QUANDOQUIDEM, veio, tnta qnaxlam latitudo hominum opinion- H)us necessario conccdenda sit, maximopere opus erit cliaritate Christiana, in aliorum judiciis j)ensitandis dijudicandisque *. Qua-, ergo, duriuscuir so'iant, dubiiimve pr;c se sensum ferunt, in paradoxis aliorum sententiis, quantum fieri potest, conunoda aliqua interpretatione emoUienda sunt ; et in partem meliorem, pro candore Christiano, construenda. Sed, et in rel>us controversis, indulgendum quantum licet alte- rius opinioni, et quam possunms proxime ad sei.tentiam adversarii accedendum : id quod, exemplo suo, pr;civit tidelium pater Abra- hamus ; (|ui de pascnorum delcctn litiganti ne|)oii de jure suo ho- mo mansueius comiter riMuisit, paci inter utriusque past(jres magis consultum volens quam utiiitati [)r()i)riir. Merito laudatur eximins Tlieologus Petrus Martyr t, qui, in ilhi infa'lice de re sacramentaria coniroversia, sic lixjui maluit, ut parti etiam adversa^ placuisse videretnr : sed et Bucerus];, Capiio, Slu*:- culus, aliifjue Superioris Germania; Theologi, in Colloquio \V itien- bergensi, de hac nimis agitata lite, ita mentis suaj sententiam ex- presserunt, ut cum Lutliero, Melanctiione, (^ucigero plane intel- ligerentur convenisse. Id (juod si ah utrius(jue partis asseclis et Ilyperaspislis ex eo pariter pnrstitum fuisset, liellum dlud sacra- mentarium non tanto cum furore us(|ue sa;viisset. Candor istc si defuerit, immane quantum iites accrescere, et scn- tentiiis disiorqueri necessum est ! .Sensit hoc etiam ille ipse Dei Filius, Domiims noster Jesus Christus, in cujus ore frau-. nulla un- (juam inventa est ; qui, quod de corporis sui templo impiorum ma- nibus diruendo, suis vero restaurando, verissime dixisset, aliorsum * AUqniTido variolas oyinionuni abs>iuc perlinaciu slat cum wtiiatc. Cusan. Concord. Caihol. I, i. c. 3. t Or4i.dc Vita Pciri Martyris. X Buccr. Scripi. Anglit. 362 PRACTICAL WOKKS. proi-sus tradiictiim, sibiqne in os, periurormn (oiium Unguis ("alsi- ioqtiis, ingestuin paiioiiicr aiicliit. Male etiamnnm viilgo audit Imperator Coiislantius, ac si Ai iano- runi causx uimium iavissef. at, vi^ru, si Sozomeno * et Tlieo- icveriano Episcopo honorem tanto Pra^suli debitum. Ira nimis commotus Severianus, bomincm acrius (juam i)ar crat increpat : inter reliqua ; " Si Serapion," inquit, " nioriatur Chrislianus, Christus certe nunquam homo foetus est." Tomerc hoc ab Epis- copo dictum illico defert Serapion Chrysostomo ; et, subdole sup- primens ])rioreni clausula) partem, accusal Severianum quasi sini- pliciter dixisset, " Christus certc non est homo foetus." Adducun- tur testes. Chrysostomus Episcopum, velut blasphemiit' reum, e civitate exigit; et vix tandem vel Eudoxix Imperatricis, vel lilii sui Theodosii prccibus, censuram revocavit. Hinc, pari modo, foctum est, magiuun Athanasium ct Marccllum blaspliemiiE et impietatis publico insimulatos I'uisse. Hinc, ut omittam cetera, calumniante ipso Rellarmino, Erasmus Arianorum patronus .audit : Lutherus Sanctic Trinitatis et CjOLO»(r/d- IvtQ^ Filii hostis publicus : IVIelanctlion, sed et Scheckius, Tritheis- tarum foutor: Calvinus, Samosateniorum ; Bullingerus, Arianismi; Beza, denique, Nesiorianismi advocatus. Quis, vero, immunis esse poterit a turpi hcrreseos vel teterrimae macula, si liberum tuerit adversario, irnmli sui scripta pertrahere quaqua velit : in eadenKjue causa simul accusatorem, testem, judi- cem agere, pro suo solius arbitratu ? Non decet iniquissima hxc alienee sententi-jc distortio hominem Christianum ; non, pacis lilium : quinimo cum grano salis excij)ienda sunt verba quorum- cunque, si paci, veritali, t haritatique studerc cunT nobis iuerit. SECT. IC. Parum igitur crcdenda sunt a^quo judici, qu;r adversarii sibi in- vicem nimio contentionis fcrvore, imputare solent ; sive niorum, sive opinionum crimina. Bone Jesu 1 (juic coiivitiorum plausira istic occurrunt lectori Christiano ! Nolo puram banc chartam tarn atrocium calumniaruni enumeratione cons{)urcare : neque, vero, * Sorom. I. ill. r. 17. f Thcod. I. iii. c. 3. J Socr. 1. vi. c. 10. TAX TERRIS. 363 hax est ad pacem, quam tantopeie qunsrimus, via. Piidet me, pro- tecto pudet, tam odiosx ^Xx:70v,iJ.txi, quam, ridente Mauro, indig- nissiine luit Uesa utrinque innocentia : neque scio charitas-ne in hac parte plus patiatur, an justitia. Sapiainus jam sero fratres ; jKHjue committamus, ut, perfratrum latera,ipsum quern profkemur Cluistum vuliiercmus. SECT. 17. DlSTiNGUENDL'M, vcio, iiecessariu erit, ut recte monuit Augustinus*, inter hareticos, et hicresiarchas ; inter cos qui sequuutur Absalo- ncm simplici cordc, et xuloyMWA^irsg populi Christiani seductores f : cum illis agendum mitius, utpote misericordia saltern aliqua dio-nis; hi, vero, ut pacis communis perturbatores, pro discipline Eccle- siaitica: rigore, tractandi sevcrius. Recte dim TertuUianus % '■ " Religionis non est cogere reli- gionem, quae sponte suscipi debet, non vi :" suadenda nempe, non cogenda, fides ; necjue animorum morbi, corporeis medicinis curari unquam possunt. Parinn a:'(iaum est igitur, ut meris erroribus in- tellectus civiles psene irrogentur : spiritualibus heic remediis opus est ; qua? malis hujuscc generis, tempestive et omni cum lenitate, adhiberi debent. Ilia Procli Episcopi Constantinopolitani laus erat §, comiter cum errantibus egisse ; pluresque funibus amoris traxisse ad Christum, quam reliqui omnes fecissent nimia censurarum severitate. Et, sane, quod Hippocrates de corporis morbis, idem ego de niaxime exitialibus mentis erroribus pronunciandum ceubco : " Ad tcrrum et ignem, non nisi ad ultima desperata; conditionis remedia, sero esse recurrendnm." Cum meris igitur, quamlibet gravibus, opiuionum aiMufivjixaci non aliter quam saiio consilio, solidis argumentis, piisprccibusa<'^endum erit. Quod si sontica quirdam ha^resis, cum blasphemia, aut cum seditione, aut gravi rcipublica perturbatione conjuncta tuerit; jam locum habct nlud Bernardi; " FKereiici corrigendi, ne pereant ; coercendi, ne perimant :" cui addendum insuper, si publics rei salus inde periclitetur, perimendi, ne perdant ||. Enimvero, quod Theodosius et Valentinianus dim Cyrillo Alex- andrino Episcopo 5i : Reipublica Christiana; constitutio ea, quie in Deum est pietate prrecipuc nititur ; multaquo inter banc et illam cognatio ac familiaritas intercedere solet : nam ex sese invicem pendent, et utraque prosperis alterius successibus incrementa sumit. * Aug. dc Utilitate Crtd. ad Honorat. Inter harcticos, et faventts htereticis Ibid. t Quidam sunt scienles haretici, quidam lucrctici non scieutes. Occh.im. Dial, p. 1. 1. iv. X Ttrtul. ad Scapulum. § Socr. I. vii. c. »0. || Tiiiien- tiiim est ne plures putrcscant, dnm piUribus parcitur. «I Concil. Tom I Bin. p. 726. 564 PRACTICAL "WORK?. SECT. IS. Interim, quod olim Thurii, vel, ut aliis placet, Lycii, statuisse di- cuntur, de novarum leguni rogatoribus, ut funem altera niauu secuiu ferrent, legem fereiidani altera; idem ego valde velim novorum in religione dogmatuni authoribus decerni : hoc pra-sertim suculo, in quo nimia luce Ccrcutinuis, et novarum opinionum multitudine pa:iie ad insaniam laboramus. Kxcolamus potiiJs, quantum pos- sumus, communem certanique quam Deus nobis indulsit Evange- licic doctriuLV veritatem, quic nobis ad vitte irternie consecutionem abunde sufiiciat ; inque eii jilacidc conquiescamus. Quie vero de- mentia est, ubi nota et probe trila ad ciL-lum via clare ob oculos patescat, alio excurrere ; et qua-rere nescio quai diverticula, et •luilis calcatam vestigiis viam tentare ! ac clamare tandem, '• Quis me ignis fatuus ad banc foveam intutasve paludes miserum erroneni deduxitr" SECT. 19. CoN'SFXTARiA, quaj ex cujusqne scntentia adversarii acuminc erui solent, parinn a-quum fuerit cuiquain anthori pvo suis impin- gere * : lubrica enim est consecutionnm tides; et pUrraque t'or- lassis errare possumns, non tarn Theologiir, quam Logices vilio, aut Philosophiic naturalis inscitia. Exemplo sit tritum illud Scho- lar. Kisibiiis ut sit, homini omnimodo proprium concedi solet : jam, si quis Christum non fuisse risil)ilem tenuerit, qua-ritur httre- ticus-ne habendus fuerit : affirmant aliqui ; " Destruit siquidem," inqniunt, " himianam Cbristi naturam ; hominem negat, quem ne- gat risibilem :" negant alii, id(jue verius ; quandocjuidem bic homo humanam Cliristi naturam arete tenere rotunde proliieiur, risibili- tatem vero, velut qualitatem ab hamana forma nccessario Y)roriuen- tem negat : phdosophicus nempe hie error erit, hieresis non est. Sunt, quidem, consequential qua;dam ita liquido necessaria', ut, primo statim intuitu, non nunus certo constent, ciuam ipsa, e quibus immediate deducuntur, principia. Quales sunt, qua: a certis in- trmsecisque causis, ad sua propria et indubitata eifecta, sed et re- ci|)rocL', irrefragal)iliter ilcrivantur: ut, *' Deus est: ergo omni- potens, omniscius." Sunt et alia", qu», ut ut noljis non minus necessariae videantur vi certissinia? ration is illata; se(juela', alteri tamen non adeo indubia; stmt, quill ut jusla alicjua disiinctione satis commode eiudi possint : ita, vero, ut qui couM-cutionem neget, suis tamen principiis innno- lus adhDerescai. Q,uales ilia; Gualterii Jesuita- : " Negat Theo- * Nustnivi fst, noil quid per se ex qiinvis sequatur dogniate ; scd quid in illo- rum conscicntiii spccturt;, qui Icnent lUtid dogma. Bucer. Pcsaniius in 'J hum. I . q. 2. disp. I. Canus et ralcnlia aiunf hnnc esse h.creitcmii, nun directe ct iri' mediate, sed indirect act reductiie. SJanchcz. 1. ii. c, 7. nu. J J. PAX TF.RRIS. 3(i5 tloriis Beza posse fieri, ut plinibus sinuil in locis Clirlsti corpus vcn"'' ac substantialiter pra-stns sit : ergo nogat lieza Dei oinnipotcii liam :" " AdscriWunt Protestantes Deo plus aiiiiuid cjiiaiii meram perinissioneni inali : Deum ergo pcccati authoreni faciunt." Sales ; sive procunnukv sive conservanda paci Ecclesiasticse ; jjietati tamen, justitia*, chariiati, undequaqne consentaneas : neqne par est, interim, ita pr;r')udicare aliis, ut quod huic satis commo- dum ac salubre comperimus, id alieri necessarioprescribamns: jure suo fruaniur Ecclesiic qua:(jue, duinmodo condesceriiia et suoruni ianimis salutaria injunxerint f. * Sapientis est TTiutare coTisilium. Vivald dc Depositionc. Quid TiC(fuccon(r,i fdem Hfc bonus mores injungitur iudijferei'.lcr est habendum, el ftro cornvi inter i^iios livitur socictate ulenduin. Autr. Ep- af' J.ir-,uar, IIS. In his rebus, dc qiiiOu^ nihil cerfi statttit Scriptur.i Divina, mos pvpuli Dei, vcl instiluta Majnrum pro tcgc Icnendu Mini. Auf. fcp'.st. Sfi. » t Gra: iter peccant, qui propter indi^crentes ccrenionias turbaui Euiesia^, daniTianl alios priiicipes et maf^i\tratii-i'. hiiccine pietas, quam jactamusT hut - cine charitas, qitum debeinusjralribus et tcclesiis ? Zandi. I. dc HtJinipiioiit- p. 7C3. 366 P RACTIC AL A^ ORKS. SECT. 22. .r^QUUM quidem est, ut Deum, in Scriptnris suis loquentem, rerurn suarum judicem statiianius omnes : ubi, vero, tlifticilioia occurrcrint Scripturir loca, absit ut privatiis quisque singularia spiritiis sui in- terpretamenta sequenda sibi proponore aiisit : qiiin potius coinimi- nem Doctoruin Ecclcsiic sensum suo semper piicferendum modestc judicet. SECT. 2 De rebus quibusque nicdiis, sivc agendis sive iudic;andis, stet nobis dare operam, ut, ubi capita paruni consoutirc possunt, corda inte- rim unanimiter conspirent ; neque se sinant abs se mutuo dissilire, insolubili Christiani amoris alTectu usque coliaesura : idquc demum a nobis impetramus, nos fratruni sivc opiniones sivc actiones adia- phoras miti quadam tolerantia et ccquanimitate semper excepturos, et in partem tutissimam interpretaturos. Damnentur ad imum usque barathrum ilia nominum opprobria, Lutheranorum, Calvinianorum, Arniinianoruni, Puritanoruu), Pre- laticorum, Presbyterianorum, Independentium ; quic fidei ejusdem professoribus vulgo objectari solent. Christiani et audiamus, et vere simus ; non magis fidei unitate, quam charitatis vinculo con- junctissimi. Amcnius, adjuvcmus, protegamus nos mutno. Deum tienique communem, nostrnm Patrem, Redemptorem, Paraclctum, in quo nos unum sumus, et non seculares basce distractiuncularum querelas prae oculis habentes, ilUid unum ambiamus ainulemurque, (juis nostrCmi fide firmior, charitate ferventior, piis officiis bonisque operibus cinnulatior, Deo denique proximior evaserit. . SECT. 2 k Hjec sunt, Fratres Christiani, quae vos modo volui. Obnixe insuper per Christi viscera efflagitans, ut aninios vestros ad sanctam pacem studiosc componcre velitis, omncs(]uc de rebus non ncccssariis dis- ceptationcs prorsus inuiiles, sed et baud parum noxias rejiciatis. Preciunme opera; fuerit pacem vobis operose collaudare, quam, summi instar benelicii, tcrris apprccati sunt angcli ; quam, ditissimi patrimonii loco, legavit nobis c(clum repetiturus, Ca-li Doiuinus, Servator noster Jesus Christus ? Nimis, profecto, irritus foret omnis iste labor. Christianos alloquor, alloqnor pios Ecclesirc filios : conunnnis Matris incoUumitaiem, Evangclii surccssun), ac j^hcrammque ani- marum salutem in hoc cardine verti facile persentiscitis. Discor- dl^ uiriusque, tarn civilis quam ecclesiasticse, malis fere omncs ita PAX TF.RRis. r;,"7 ingcniuinuis, ut vix ulhis siis|j!i lis lacryniisve locus doinccps videa- tur stipcrosso. llicet tempus lunic: est, ut, jiun scio, paci litcmus Kvanj^clic-ir ; ut j^ladios in lij^oues, luistiisquc in lUlct's, Cluisuani oinnes tandeiu couveitamus '^'. SECT. 25. Audio inconsultos quosdam, ubi ulla pacts nicntio inciderit, \'cri- tatem illico inclainitare ac Justiiiani : pneque his ilocci iaceiv, quani tantopcre desideramus, fidelium uiutatcMn ac concordiam ; quasi, veru, cordatus nuispiaui liac a so inviceui divclli ac disjungi uiujuani patiaiur. Pax certC- non est, quit vcritatc destituitur ; sed ini(}ua quirdam in errore conspiratio : pax: non est, quic vacat jus- titia ; sed pusillaiiiniis quxdam, et desidiosa populi degeneris, cc cuivis tyrannidi succembentis senitus. Scilitct aut se mutiio exosculantur pa\- et Veritas, Veritas et jus- ritia; aut ipsae, qu.c videntur, non sunt. Veritateni quovis pretio redimere jubet regum sapientissinius, nee quo vendere; sed huic, interea, valore proximam voluit esse paceni, qui Pacis Deus aj>- pellari aniat. Nulla, certe, veritatis Christianre particula est, quam quis bonus sciens prudensque, quavis mercede, (juovis metu prodere velit ; et, titnida quadani abiiet;atioue, prorsus abdicare t. Sunt tauien, m-. lerea, quidam veritatis pariuu necessarii aj)ic:es, qui public;i.' pacis stutlio tantisperdum celari et possunt et vero del^ent ; et in univer- salibus, non tani dolosus versatur, quam pacificus. Nenipe, ununi hoc est, quod vos iterum atque itcruui nionitos vclini : De i*idci Christiana; anima lis est ? pr:-t' hiic -^vyj^y vj/tiTv s rtixi'cc'j i'%0;7.fv, cuui Heroe illo Kvaugelico : banc nos fcntuer usque pr()j)ugueuuis, cOv oc^i\ cxrj xa-Kih. Voveamiisque, juxta niagnaniniuni iilud niatruni olini Laconicarum niandatuni |, vf r«v •<' era rag. De vestis interea limbriis non nimis atrociier decertenuis. Libertate nostra Christiana modestc utanuir et prudenter: neque ita nos geramus, ut, dum ergastulum quoddam nimis forte angus- tum retugimus, per canqjos late patentes, perque loca invia ac de- serta, ona_^roruni more, vagi discurramus ; veniumquc aiiheli hauri- amus, nulli^ aut leguui iVttnis aut jjietatis sepinu-ntis contineri su5- tinentes. Sed, si vere sapimus, ccKviAvj(7o, quam CormiJiiac»5 Dion. t Oportcbat quidem nihil non fcrre, ne Efdesiam Dei ^^.trulcifi. Dionvv'u> adNovaium. Euitb. I. vi. c. IG. ; t>uid. V. Lycurg;js. 368 PRACTICAL WORKS. siiis impcrtiit Gentium Apostolus. Fidelia est Dcus, per quern to- cati estis in communioncm Filii ipsiiis, Domini nostril Jcsu Christi. Obsecro, aulcm, vos, fralres, per nomcn J)oinini ?ws/ri, Jesu C/irisli, ut idem loguamini oynnes ; et non sint inter xos dissidia, sed sitis coag- mcntati eddemmente et eddemsejitentid ; 1 Cor i. 10, 11. SECT. 26. Quod si qui sint, qui sententias suas inipias ccnicosa animositatc, lit cum Gersone loquar, non sine publico:' pacis dispendio, tueri ve- lint; non alia profecto erga iios quam Paulina utar charitate : Uti- nam abscindan/tn\ qui ros eonturbant : ahscintlantur, inquam. non tarn ore gladii, quam gladio oris. Haud, equitlcni, invcnio, iil)i quern hareticum Apostolus sa;culari potestati tradiderit : tradidit, quidem, Satanoc ; non tamen ut damnaretur illico, sed ut disceret lion blasphemare. Habet cnsem suum magistratus : habent et suuvn non Petri modo successores, sed et Apostolornm : stringendus erit ubi opus uttrque ; ita vero, ut alter alteri subsidio esse possit ; ho- minum animabus, uterque. Ne vulpeculir, quidem, ipsa% vitibus Domini infcsta:, ferendiu sunt. Sed, si quis ex Arii vel Socini ne- more conturbator aper vincani Cinisti penitus vastave aggressus i'uerit, nunc, Odor a carwni vis Jletia rnra, plaga, lotoquc vetiabula fcno, in auxiliiun vocaiida sunt: sylvsc cingenda;: et quidvis tentandum, denique, nt fera l)ellua capiatur ; atque ita secum agi sentiat, ut u. tarn manifesto suftossionis peviculo Ecclesia Dei dciuceps liberetur. Vere ille olim, " Aliif sunt leges Papiniani, aVv.v Cliristi ;" utra- riimquc tamen scopus unus idemque est, ut bene sit populo Dei, cujus salus suprema lex. In Libano liujus niundi, licet passim exaudiantur operarioruni clamores, fabrorum secures, serravum stridores, et lupicidarum tu- diiantium mallei ; at in montc sanclo, in Templo Domini ;tdili- cando, vult Dcus, ut ne lignei quidem malleoli sonus aurem ver- bcret. At, at, Bone Dens, ubi sunms ? quis islic strepitus^' cju;x3 fen-a- mentorum eoHisio ? quis liic liorrldus eadentnuu saxorum tragor ? destruitur nimirum, destruitur plane, boc modo, 'I'emplum Dei; (ita enim Psaltes olim, eliam nunc sculpturas ejus simul lecte et tu- ditibus tundunt ; Ps. Ixxiv. 6.) sic, vero, ut cxtrueretur uspiam do- mus Dei, i'aiulo nnnquam anditum est. C) nos in ilia servatos tempera, de quibus Servator noster olim PAX TERRIS. 3G9 pixunionuit : Futunim est, ut audiafis bcUiiy ct rumores bdloriDn : insurgi'n( iSens in {^entnUy et regnum in regmim ! O verc df^x^^ "^^'J u^i'juv ! seel et pttne etiain exitum ; Matt. xxiv. 6, 7, 8. Illud, eniin, uiiiini, in tarn cdniinuni boiiorum omniiim cordolio, afllictissimis piorimi aiumib solaiio esse potest, imlicia luec esse a]>|)ro|)iiicjuantis, quasi(|ue pric t'oribus astantis, liberatoris nostri Domini, Jesu Christi. llle nempe Beneclictiis in secula Dei Filius, qui in primo buo adventu Belli Jerrai as portas, postcsque ref regit ; Ennius. neqiie in ori>em nisi Au^i^usti sreptro pacaii>ssiniuni tlescendere vo- liiic. Secnnili ailveiufis Mii tempiis in illntl u vuin conjecit, in quo turbaiissima liitura sunt omnia; ut, cum extrema ct deploiatissima iiiquietudine fessus laboiiirit orbis, Principem Pacis, Veritatis et Justitia* Vindicein, Patientiie Kemuneratorem, Consolatorem Kc- clesiac, et avidiils expeclet et cxcipiat alacriils. f.tiam van/, Domine Jcsit; verii ciio. Amen. B B 370 PSALMUS 133. Tixndtm cxptnamry hactenus pant obmU Discordiarum Jiuctibus^ Frat^rna qiud pax valeat^ et co)icordmnt Utiita virtus civium. Nil ch&riiaU mulud salubrius^ Nil uspiam est amcenius : l^ecstmvioremexhalat auram balsami Aroniatiunqm: priiicipuni Perfecti odoris unctio^ qiue verticem Aaro)iis effusa in sacrum Sanctam rerendi Atitistitis barbam imbuil, Et inde lapsiL dajluit AiLratiB in imas usque veslis Jiynbrias : Nee, deniquCj affiuetiiiam Tantani minatur imbcr illc roscidus, Quifertites inebriat Hemionis agros ; ant pcrusta solibus jRigat Sioms jugera : 2Uic benigna rerum abundat copia ; lllic pia tranqiLillUas Vita ; propitii qiLam benignita:i Dei In saculum usque piotrahet. JCx metapbrasi Manuscr. Collegae mei p, ra. -Jo2unu Duna-i Barstapulensftk RESOLUTIONS AND DECISIONS or DIVERS PRACTICAL CASES OP CONSCIENCE, IN CONTINUAL USE AMONGST MEN. IN FOUR DECADES. BY JOSEPH, BISHOP OF NORWICH 1 HAVE pehLfcd these Four Decades of Practical Cases of Con- science with much satisfaction and delif^ht : andfnd them to be, in re- spect of their subject matter', so profitable, necessary, and daily use- ful ; and so piously, karncdljj, and judiciously discussed and resohed ; that they seem unto me best, thoui^h they come last, like the wine in the vutrriagefeast made sacred by Christ^ s divine presence and mira- cle : and, therefore, do well desei\'e, amongst many other the divine dishes and delicacies wherewith this right reverend, pious, and learned author, hath plenteously furnished a feast for the spiritual nourish- vient and con for table refreshing of God^s guests, both the approbation and commendation of all, and myself amongst the rest, though unwor- thy to pass my censure on such a subject : JOHN DOWNAiME. 373 TO THE READER. 0F all Diiinity, that part is most Kscful, rchich determines Cases of Consiicnee : tind, of all Cases of Connicnce^ the Practical are vwst necessary , as action is of more concernment, than speculation : and, of all Practical Cases, those, rchich are of most common use, are of so much greater necessity and benefit to be resolved, as the et~ rors thereof are more univei'sal, ami therefore more prejudicial to the society of mankind. These 1 have selected out of many ; and, having turned over divers Casuists, have pitched upon these Decisions, -which I hold most con- formable to enlightened reason and religion. Sometimes, I follow them; and, sometimes, I leave them., for a better s.mde. In the handling of allzehich, xc'ould I have affected that course, zihich Seneca blames in his Jllnitius, to say all that might be spoken, J could easily have been more voluminous, though perhaps not more satisfactory. If these lines meet with different jadgmenis, I cannot blame either myself or them. It is the opinion of some Schoolmen, rchich seems to bt made good by that instance in the Prophet Daniel'^, that even the good angels themselves may holily vary in the xcay, though they perfectly mnt in the end. ft is far from my thoughts, to obtrude these my Resolutions, as peremptory and magisteruil, upon )ny Hea- ders : I only tender them submissively; as probable advices to the simpler sort of Christians, and as matter of grave censure to the learned. May that Iifmite Goodness, to u'hose only glory I humbly desire to devote myself and all my poor endeavours, make them as benefi- cial, as they are well meant to the good of his Church, by the unwor^ thiest of his servants, J. II. B. x: Iligham, near Norwich : March 2*J, IGjO. • Dgn. xr ]3, 20, Jl. xii»j. 374 RESOLUTIONS. THE FIRST DECADE. CASES OF PROFIT AND TRAFFIC. CASE I. Whether is it lawful for me^ to raise any 'profit by the loan of money * ? 1 ou may not expect a positive answer, either way. Many cir- cumstances are considerable, ere any thing can be determined. First, who is it, tiiat borrows ? A })Oor neighbour, that is con- strained out of need ? or a merchant, that takes up money for a freer trade ? or a rich man, that lays it out upon superfluous occa- sions ? If a poor man borrow out of necessity, 3'ou may not expect any profit for the loan ; Deut. xv. 7, 8, 9 : to the poorest of all, we must give, and not lend : to the next rank of ])oor, we must lend freely. But, if a man will borrow that money, which you could improve, for the enriching of himself ; or, out of a wanton expence, will be laving out that, which might be otherwise useful to you, for his mere pleasure ; the case is dilTerent : for God hath not com- manded you to love any man more than yourself; and there can be no reason, why you should vail your own just advantage to another man's excess. Secondly, upon what terms do you lend ? whether, upon an ab- solute compact for a set increment, whatever become of the prin- cipal ; or, upon a friendly trust to a voluntary satisfaction, accord- ing to the good improvement of the sum lent ? The former is not safe ; and, where there hath been an honest endeavour of a just be- nefit disappointed, either by unavoidable casualty or force, may not be rigorously urged, without manifest oppression : the latter can be no other than lawful : and, with those, that are truly faith- ful and conscionable, the bond of gratitude is no less strong, than that of law and justice. Thirdly, if upon absolute compact •, is it upon a certainty', or an ♦ See Note, at p. 33. of the preceding Volume Editor. CA5ES OF COXSCIFNCE. — DECADE I. OF PKOTTT AND TRAJTIC- 375 adventure ? for, where you are willmg to hazard iJie pnuciTe undeniable grounds : — That the value of moneys or other comniodrlies is arl>itrar)', ac- con^rng to the sovereign authoritj- and use of so end kingdoms and countries : That wliatsoever commodity is saleable, is capable of a profit in the loan of it ; as a hoise, or an ox, being that it may be sold, may l>e let out for profit. Money itself is not only the price of all commodrties in all civil nations, but it is also, in some cases, a tralHcable coniiiiodity : the pn'ce whereof rises and falls, in several countries, ujxjn occa- sion ; and yieldeth either profit or loss, in the exchange. There can be no doubt, therefore, but that money, thus consi dered, and as it v ere turned meichandise, maj be bought and sold, and improved to a just profit. But the main doubt is, whether money, merely considered as the price of all other commodities, may be let forth for profit, and be cajiable of a warrantable increase. For the resolvi.ng whereof, be it determined, 1. That all usury, which is an absolute contiact for the mere loan of money, is unlawful, both by law natural and positive, both di- vine and human. Nature teacheth us, ihat metals are not a thing capable of a so- perfoetation : that no man ought to set a price on that, which is not his own tin : that the use of the stock once received, is not the lender's, but the borrower's; for tl:e power and right of disposing the principal is, by contract, transferred, for the time, to ihe hands of him that receives it ; so as he, that takes the mterest by virtue of such transaction, doth but, in a mannerly and legal fashion, rob the borrower. flow frequent the Scripture * is, in the prohibition of this prac- tice, no Christian can be ignorant. And, as for Human Laws, raised even from die mere light of nature aninrgst heati:en nations, how odious and severely interdicted iisurary contracts have been in all times, it appears sufficiently, by the recortls which we Lave of the Decrees of Egjpt t> of Athens, of Kome : and not only by the restraint of the Twelve Tables, and of Claudjus and Yespasia:» ; but by the absolute forbiddance of many popular statutes, condemning this usage. Tiberius himself, though otherwise wicked enougli, yet would rather furnish the Banks with his own stock, to be freely let out for three years to the citizens, upon only secunty of the sum doubled in the forfeiture, than he would endure this griping and ♦ F.iod. xxii. 25. Lev. xxv. 36, 37. Deut. xxiii. 19, 20. Nch. t. 7. Pj, x\. 5. Prov. xxviii. 8. Ezck. xviii. 8. t Vid, Alcxand. ab Alcxand, Gen. dienun I. 1. c. 7. 376 PRACTICAL WOEKS. oppressive transaction. And how wise Cato drove all usurers out of Sicily, and Lncuilus freed all Asia from this pressure of Interest, historv hath sufficiently recorded. As for Laws Ecclesiastical, let ii be enough that a Council* hatli defined, that to say usury is not a sin, is no better than heresy : and, in succeeding times, how liable the usurer hath ever been to the highest censures of the Church, and how excluded from the favour of Christian burial, is more manifest than to need any proof. 2. However it is unlawful to covenant for a certain profit for the mere loan of money ; yet there may be and are circumstances ap- pending to the loan, which may admit of some benetit to be law- fully made by the lender for the use of his money : and especially these two ; tlie lojjs that he sustains, and the gain that he misses, by the waiit of the sum lent. For, what reason can there be, that, to pleasure another man, I should hurt myself? that I should enrich another, by my own loss ? If, then, I shall incur a real loss or forfeiture, by the delayed payment of the sum lent; I may justly look for a satisfaction from the borrower: yea, if there be a true danger of loss to me inimi- nent, when the transaction is made, nothing hinders but that I may by compact make sure such a sum, as may be sufficient for my in- demnity. And, if I see an opportunity of an apparent profit, that I could make fairly by disbur.ung of lutch a sum bona fide ; and another, that hath a more gainiul bargain in chase, sliuU sue to me to borrow my money out of my hand for his own greater advantage ; there can be no reason, why, in such a case, I should have more respect to his profit, than my own ; and why should 1 not, even u]ion ]}act, se- rine unto myself such a moderate sum, as may be somewhat an- swerable to the gain which I do willingly forego, for his greater pro- fit ? since it is a true ground, which Lessius, with other Casuists, maintains against Sotus and Durand, that even our hopes of an evident commodity are valuable ; and that, no less than the fears of our loss. Shortly, for the guidance of our either caution or hberty, in mat- ter of borrowing and lending, the only cynosure is our Charity- : for in all human and civil acts of commerce, it is a sure rule, That V hatsoever is not a violation of charity cannot be unlawful ; and, \vhatsoever is not agreeable to charity can be no other than sinful. And, as charity must be yonr rule, so yourself must be the rule of your charity : look what you could wish to be done to you by others, do but the same to others, you cannot be guilty of the breach of charity. The maxims of traffic are almo.st infinite : only charity, but ever inseparable from justice, must make the application of them. That will teach you, that every increase by loan of money is not usurary ; and that tliose, which are absolutely such, are dam- nable : that will teach you to distinguish, betwixt the one improve- ment of loan and th'e other; and will tell you, that if you can find otit * Concil, Vicnncns. CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE I. OF PROFIT ANT) TRAFFIC. 377 a way, whetlier by loan or sale, to advance your stock, tli;it may be iroe tVoin all oi)|)rcssi()ti aiul extortion, aiul bonertcial as wfll to otiiers as to yourselt', yuii need not fear to walk in it with all lioiiosi security. But, in the mean time, take good heed that your heart beguile you not iu iui>aji[)lieations : tt)r we are naiuially too api, out of our self-love, to Hatter outselvcs with lair glozes of bad in- tentions ; and rather to diaw the rule to us, than ourselves to tljo rule. But, while I give you this short solution, 1 niu^L |)rofess to la- ment the eotumon ignorance or inibtaking of loo many tlhristiaris, whosLb()th make tin- mn',,!, .md regulate it. The due price is that, which cuts equally and iiiflitVerently, be- twixt the buyer and seller : so as the seller tnay receive a moderate gain, and the buyer a just penny wovUi- 37$ TRArrrcAL works. In those coiintrifs, wherein thcit? is 3 pric^ set by public jrrth a law- less oppression. But, where that camiot be had, it is fit that jus- tice and charity should so far overrule men's actions, that evcr\ man may not he carried, in matter of contract, by the sway of his own unreasonable will ; and be free to carve for hiniself, as he lists, of the buyer's purse. Every man iiath a bird in his bosom, that sings to him another note. A good conscience, therefore, will tell you, that if, taking ad- vantage of the ignorance or unskilfulness of the buyer, you have matle a nrey of him, by drawinj; from him double tue worth of the commociity sold, you are bound to make restitution to him accord- ingly ; and in a proportion so, in all the considerable sums, which you shall have, by your false protestations and oaths and plausihle intimations, wrought out from an abused buyer; above that due price, which would make you a just and rightly moderated gainer: for, assure yourself, all, that you willingly do this way, is hut a better-coloured picking of purses ; atul what you thus got is but stolen goods, varnished over with the pretence of a calling ; and will prove, at the last, no other than gravel in your throat. CASE III. Whether is (he seller bound to male known to the buyer the faults of that which he is about to sell ? It is a question, that was long since disputed, betwixt the Heatiien Sages, Antipater and Diogenes, as C!icero* informs us: with whom Cato so decides it, as that his judgment may justly shame and con- demn the practice of too many ("luistians. For a full answer, due consideration must be had of divers cir- cumstances. First, what the nature and cjualitv of the fault is; whether it be slight and uiiiniporting ; or, whether su('h, as may \itiale the thing sold, and render it either imuseful or dangerous to the buyer : or, again, whether the fault be aj)parent; or secret. Bf)th these do jnstlv ^arv the case. Slight and harmless laulus may be concealed without injustice : main and importing must be signified. If ajjparent defects l>e not discerned by the buyer, he may thank himself: secret faults knoun only to the seller, such as may be pre- judicial to the buyer, ought not to be concealed; or, if they be * Tul. de Ofllc. I. iii. 380 PRACTICAL WORKS, eoncealcd so, as that the huycr pays for it as sound and perfect, bind the seller in conscience, either to void tlie hurrice accordingly : other- wise he shall be guilty, besides falsehood and oppression, of perfi- dionsness. But, if the buyer will peremptorily rely upon his own judgment; and, as [)re>uming to make a gain oi" that bargain, which the seller, out of conscience of the imperi'ection, sets, as he ought, so nmch lower as the defect may be more disadvantageous to the buyer, will go through with the contract, and stand to all hazards; I see no rea- son, why the seller may not receive the ))rice stipulated: but, withal, it the match may (-any danger in it to the buyer; as, if the horse sold be subject to a perilous starting or stum])ling, the house sold have a secret crack that may threaten ruin, or the land sold be liable to a litigious claim which may be timely a^oided ; the seller is bound in onscieiice, at least alter the bargain, to intimate unto the buyer these faulty (lualities, that he may accordingly provide for the prevention of the mischief that may ensue. But if the seller shall use art to cover tiie delects of his commo- dity, that so he may tleceive the buyer in his judgment of the thing bargained for ; or shall mix faulty wares with sound, that they may pass undiscovered; he is more iaulty than his wares, and makes an ill V)argain for his soul. In tliis, shortly, and in all other cases that concern trade, these universal rules must take jilace. . That it is not lawful for a Christian chajjuian to thrive by fraud: That he may sell uj)on no other terms, than he could wish to buy : That his profit must be regulated by his conscience ; not his con- science by his prolit : That he is bound, either to prevent the buyer's wrong; or, if heedlessly done, to .satisfy it: That he ought rather to alTect to be honest, than rich : And, lastly, That, as he is a member of a comnumity both civd and Christian, he ought to be lender of auother man's iiidenuiit}-, \\o less than of his owiu CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE I. OF PHOriT AND TI:.\l 1 U;. 381 CASK I\'. W/iethcr 1/uij/ I sell my commodities ihc dcatrr, for giviiifi da^s of pat/)ticni y There is no great diflerence, betwixt this case, and that of loan, whicli is f'ornierlv answered: save that there, money is let; here, comnimhties, money-worth: here, is a sale ; ther(\ a lending : in the one, a trai\sfeiTing ot" tlu? riglit and command tor tlic time; iti tlie other, perpetually. But the substance, both ot the matter and (jnestion, is the same : for, in both, there seems to be a valuation of time ; which, whether in case of mutation or sale, may justly be inspected for unlawful. For answer : — There are three stages of prices acknowledged by all Casuists: the highest, which they are wont to call rigorous ; the mean ; and the lowest. If these keep witiiin due bmmds, though the highest be hard, vet it is not unjust ; and if the lowest be favourable, yet it is not always necessary. If then you sliall proportion but a just price to the time and worth of your bargain ; so as the present shall ])ass for the easiest {jrice, some short time for the mean, and «he longer delav lor the lighest ; I see not wherein, all things considered, you do olFend. And, certainly, to debar the contract of a moderate gain for the delav of payment upon months prefixed, were to destroy all trade of merchandise. For not many buyers are furnished with ready money, to buy their wares at the port: nor could the sellers m:demi) wt)rth, than tiiose, that run upon trust. And there may l)e just reason ibr this liiderence : lor the present money re- ceived enables the seller to a further improvement of his stock, which Ii<*s, tor the time, dead in the hands that take da\ for their payuiera. So, then, it i*« not mere time, that is hcTC set to sale, which were odious in any Chri:>tian to bargain for : but there are two incidents into this practice, which may render ib not unwarrantable. The one, is the hazard ot the sum agreeil upon, which iin> luu-u comes short in the payiiK ni ; v\hilc iho.'^e .^ul)orilin:ile chajjincn, into whose hand the gross srujj is bcultercd, turn bankrupts, and 382 PRACTICAL WORJCS, iorfeit their trust : so as no small loss is, this vay, commonlv sustained by tlie confident seller: in which regard, we are wont to say justly, that " One bird in the hand is worth two in the wood." The other, is the cessation of that gain, which the merchant might, in th.e mean time, have made of tlie sum differed ; which niigi"!t, in likelihood, iiave been greater than the proportion of the raised price can amount unto. '{"o wliich may be added, the foreseen probability of the raising of the market in the interval of payment ; the profit whereof is pre- cluded, by tliis means, to the seller: whose full engagement takes him off, perhajis, from a resolution to have reserved those commo- dities in his own hands, in expectation of an opportunity of a more profitable utterance, had not the forwardness of the buyer impor- tuiuxl a {prevention. Upon these considerations, if they be serious and unfeigned ; I see not why you may not, in a due and moderate proportion, dif- ference your prices according to the delays of payment, without any oppiession to the buyer. Howbeit, if any man pleaseth to be so free, as to take no notice of time, but to make future days in his account present, I shall commend his charity, though I dare not press his example as necessary. The case is equally just, on the behalf of the seller; who, if he be either driven by some emergent necessity, or drawn by the op- portunity of a more gainful bargain to call for his money before his day, may justly be recjuired by the late buyer, to abate of the re- turnable sum, in regard of the prevention of the time covenanted; by reason of the inconvenience or loss whereunto he is put upon the sudden revocation of that money, which is not by agreement pay- able till the ex})iration of the time prefixed. But what quantity is to be allowed on the one part, or defalked on the other, is only to be moderated by Christian Charity ; and that universal rule, of do- ing what we would be willing to suft'er. CASE V. Whether, dnd how far, monopolies are, or tiiay be lawful. The most famous Monopoly, that we find in history, is that of Kgypt ; C7en. xli. 5fi, 57 : wherein the provident patriarch Joseph, out of the foresight of a following dearth, bought up the seven vears' grain for Pharaoh, and laid it up in public store-nouses; and, hi the general scarcity, sold it out to the inhabitants and strangers, with no small advantage : which was so far from unlawful, as that he thereby merited the name of the Saviour of Egypt *. And if any worthy patriot, out of a like providence, shall, neforehand, ga- ther up the commodities of his country into a public magazine, for * So the Vulgate renders Zapualh Paitneah, " Salvator Mundi," (Jen. xli. 45. C-V5LS OF CONSCIENCE. — DLCADE L OF PROFIT AND TBAFFIC. JAJ the common J^netit and rclk'f of the people, ujniu ihe pi.ick oi mi ensuing neci?S!iity ; he is so fur out of ihe reach of ceubum, as tbut he vvflT deserves a siatui', with die inscription oi' '' Public Bene- faciv>rJ"' So as it is not the mero act of inonc>j>oli/,inv a |>ecu]iilr gain to -juuie spei^iai per- sons. If the first, k must be considered, upon what reason that privi- ler a comnion irood, tlie uudertaker slwuld Ih^ rewarded with a patent for a secun'd jirofit to himself. As put die case some well-minded printer, as one of tiie Stephens, is willing to be at an excessive charge in tlie fair publication of a learned and useful work, for the benetit of tht! present and ibllowiiig ages: it is most just, that he -hould, from the liand^- of princes or states, receive a pr;vj!eg-e for iJie sole impression ; that he may recover, v.ith advantage, the deep expeaee lie hath been at: odierwise, some interloper may, per- liaps, underhan/J fall uj)on the uork at a lower rate, and undo the II rst editor; whose industry, care, and cost shall thu> be recom- pensed witli the ruin of himself and his posterity : as were too easy to instance. W a man hav€, by notable dexterity of wit and art, *ind much labour and -charge, after many experiments, attained to i\:\e skill oi^ making some rare engine of excellent use for the service of his prince and <:ountry ; as some singular water-work, or some beneficial instrument for the freeing of navigable rivers froin their sandy obstructions ; it is all the reason in the vvorld, that, by the jiibt bounty of princes, he >liould be so far remunerated, as tliat lie alone may receive a jiatent of enjoying a due profit of his own in- vention. But, how far it may be lawful for a prince, not only to gratify a welUde.M.'rving siibject, witli the fee of liisown device, but with a profit arising from iJie sole side of marketable commodities tlirough his kingdom ; or, whether, and how far, in Lhe want of moneys, for ilie net^ssary service of his state, he mav, for the pul>- lic use, raise, set, or sell monopolies of that kind; is diversely agi- tated by C';isuist>. ; and must receive answer, accord in,.; to the ab- soluteness or liujiiation of ilwse governments, under wi)i<:h they arc practised : but with tliis, that, where this is done, tluTC may be great care had of a just price to be set upon the commodities so re- t-trainirdj that they be V'-^^ ''-'ft to the lawless vviiJ of a }>! .vi'cged eo- 384 PItACriCAL WOHK^-. grosser ; nor hcit^hteiied to an inKliie rate, l)y reason of a particular iiidulgfnce. This may lie enough, for Autlioritative MonopoHes. The comuioii sort ofoOensive practices this way are Private, and single ; or conventional, and plotted by couibination. The former, as wiien some covetous extortioner, out of the strength of his piu'se, buys up the \vho!o lading of the ship, that lie may have the sole power of ih'e wares to soil theni at pU'asure, which there is no fear l)Ut he win do with rigour enough: the true judgment of which action, and tht; degrees of the malignity of it, must be fetched, as from the mind, so/rom the managemeut of the buyer; as being so much more siuful, as it partakes more of o[)pression. The latter, when some brethren in evil consj)ire to prevent the harvest, to buy- u|j or hoartl up the grain; with a purpose to starve thi; market, and to hatch up a dearth : a damnable practice, in both kinds ; and that, which haih, of old, been branded with a curse: neither less full of injustice, than luicharitableness ; and that, which cries aloud for a just puuishment and satisfactory restitution. I caimot, therefore, but ujarvel at the ojiiuion of learned Lessius, which he fathers also upon Molina, that too favourably minces the heinousness of this sin; bearing us in liand, that it is indeed an offence against charity and common j)rolit, l)ut not against particular justice: llis reason; — ''To buy that corn," saith he, " could not be against justice, for he bought it at the current price ; nor yet to sell it could be against justice, because he was not tied, out of justice, at that time to brino- it forth to sale:" when he might easily have considered, that it is not the mere act of buying, or of not selling, that, in itself, is ac- cused for unjust; but, to buy, or not to.sell, with an intention and issue of oppressing others, and undue enrichuig themselves by a dearth : for what can be more unjust, than for ainan to endeavour to raise himself, by the alTamishing of others ? Neither can it serve his turn to say, by way of excuse, that the multitude of buyers may l)e the cause of a deariii, and yet without sin : since they do rather occasion, than cause a scarcity ; and are so far from intend ingf a (leartii in making their market, that they dejirecate it, as their great affliction. And if, by his own confession, those, who, either by force or fraud, hinder the importation of corn, that a dearth may continue, are guilty of injustice, aiul are bound to make restitution, both to the counnon wealth in giving cauio to raise the price, as aU .so to the merchant whom they have hindered of his nteet gain; how can those be liable to a less sin or punishment, that either buy up or wilfully keep in their grain, with a purpose to begin and hold on a dearth r ant! vvJiat less can it be, than force or iVaud, that, bv their crafty and cruel prevention, the poor are necessitated to want that sustenance, whereby their life shoidd he maintained ? \> ise Solomon shall shut up this scene lor me. JIc, that 'uilli- holds corn, the ptop/c shall cuisc him ; but blessings shall be iipo/i the headoj hinij that sclldh it. Prov. xi. 20'. CA5E5 OF CONSCIEN'CE. — DECADE I. OF PROFIT AM) TRAFFIC. S85 CASE VI. JJ'helhei; and how Jar, doth a f,audulent bargain bind me to per- formance / IIow far, ill matter of law, you must advise with other counsel; but, for matter of conscience, tai\e this : — Is the fraud actively yours, done by you to another ' or else passively put by another upon you r If the former, you are bound to repent and satisfy ; either by rescinding the match, or b^- making amends for the injury. If the latter, wherein did the fraud lie ? If in the main substance of the thing sold, the bargain is, both by the very law of nature, and in conscience, void ; yea, indeed, not at all : as if a man have sold you copper lace, for gold ; or alchy- niy-plate, for silver. The reason is well given by Casuists *: There is no bargain, without a consent; and here is no consent at all, while both parties pitch not upon the same subject: the buyer pro- }>ounds to himself gold and silver; the seller obtrudes copper and alchymy : the one, therefore, not buying what the other pretended to sell, here is no bargain made, but a mere act of cozenage, justly liable to punishment by all laws of God and man. But, if the fraud were only ir) some circumstances, as in some faulty condition of the thing sold not before discerned, or in the over-prizing of the commodity bought; the old rule is Caieat emp- tor. You must, for ought I know, hold you to your bargain. Bat, if that faulty condition be of so high a nature, that it mars the com- modity, and makes it useless to the bu^er, the seller, being con- scious of the fault, is injurious in the transaction ; and is bound, in conscience, to make satisfaction : and, if Le have willingly over- reached you in the price, in a considerable proportion is guilty of opjiression. It is very memorable, in this kind, that Cicero f relates to us, of a fraudulent bargain, betwixt Canius, a Roman knight and orator, and one Pythius, a banker of Syracuse. Canius, comiug upon oc- casion of pleading to the city of Syracuse, took a great liking to the ])lace ; and, settling there,, gave out that he had a great desire to buy some one of those pleasant gardens, wherewith, it seems, that city abounded ; that he mi^ht there recreate himself, when he l)!eased, with his friends. Pytnius, a crafty merchant, hearing of it, sends word to Canius, that he had a fair garden, which he had no niit)d to sell ; but, if he pleased to make use of it for his solace, he might command it as his own ; and, wiihal, courteously invites Canius to sup with him there, the day following. In the mean time, being a man by reason of his trade of exchange very gracious in the city, he calls the fishermen together, and desires them, that the n<. \t evening they would iish in the stream before his garden, ' Ixfiitit !. ii. r, 17. cub, 5. f Cicer. ks the neigh- bour whether it were holidav with the fishermen, that he saw none of them there. " No," said the good man, " none that I know : but none of tlie trade use to fish here ; and I much marvelled at the strange confluence of tlieir boats here, yt^sterday." 'I'he lloman Orator was down in tiie mouth ; finding himself thus cheated by the iuone3--changer : but, for ought I see, liad his amends in his liands. lie meant and desired to buy tlie place, though without any such accommodation; but over-bouglit it, upon the false pretence of an appendant commodity. The injury was the seller's : the loss must be the buyer's. But, if such be the case, that yon are merely drawn in by the fraud, and would not have bought the ct)nmiodity at all, if you had not been induced by the deceit, and llilsc oaths, and warr;uus of the .'teller; you iiave just reason, either, if you may, to fall off from the bargain; or, if the matter be valuable, to require a just satis- faction from the seller; who is bound in conscience, either by an- luiUing the bargain, or abatement of price, to make good your in- demnity. In these matters of contract, there Ls great reason to distinguish, betwixt a willing deceit and an involuntary wrong. If a man sliall fraudently sell a iiorse, which he knows secretly and incurably dis- eased, to another for sound ; and tiiat other, believing the seller's deep .protestation, shall, upon the same price, bond fide, put iiini oIF to me ; I feel myself injured : but whither shall I go for an amends ? I cannot challenge the immediate sellex; for he deceived me not : 1 cannot challenge the deceiver ; lor he dealt not with me. In human laws, I am left remediless; but, in the4aw of conscience, the first seller, who ought to have borne his own burthen of an in- evitable loss, is bound to transfer, by the haiuls th.at sold me that injurious bargain, a due saiislaction. Neither is it oilier in the fraudulent conveyances of houses or land. Ilcjwever the matter may be intricaled, by passing through many, ])erhaj)s unknowing hands; yet the sin, and obligation to satisfaction, will nece.-'^arily lie at the first door: whence it just re- stitution do not follow, the seller may jiurchase Hell to boot. Think nut now, on this discourse, that the only fraud is in sell- CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE I. OF PROriT AND TRAFFIC. 3S7 in^. Tliere may l)e no less, though not so f'retjucnt fraud, in buy- ing also : uhetlier. in unjust |>e coin ; or, by in)n>tice of (Quantities, as in buying by \veiu;lits or nieasurcs, above allow- ance; or, by wrong valuation of the substance and (juality of the conunodity, nii>kno\vn by the seller. As for instance, a siinjile mair, as 1 luixe known it ilone in the western parts, lind:5 a parcel of ambergris cast upon the sands : lie, perceiving it to be some unctions matter, puts it to the base use of his sYioes, or his cart- wheel : a merchiint, that smells the worth of the siufT, buys it of him for a small sum ; giving him a shilling or two for that, which himself knows to be worth twenty pounds: the bargain is fraudu- lent, and requires a proportionable compensation to the ignorant seller, into whose hands Providence hath cast so rich a booty. Shortly, in all these intercourses of trade, that old and just rule, which iiad wont to sway the tratiic of Heathens, must much more take place amongst Christians ; Cut/i bonis hoic agitr : " That ho- nest tncn must be honestly ilealt with :" and, therefore, that all fraud nmst be banished out of their markets; or, if it dares to in- trude, soundly punished, and mulcted with a due satisfaction. CASE VII. Hon' far, and n/wn, am I bound to make reMitution of another man's ^oods remaining in 7)ij/ hand Restitution is a duty, no less necessary, than rarely practised amongst Christians. The arch-publican, Zaccheus, knew that with this he must begin his conversion : and that known rule of St. Aus- tin is in every man's mouth ; *' No remission without restitution*." For this act is no small piece of commutative justice, which re(|iiire.s that every man should have his own : nicest just, therefore, it is, that what you have taken or detained from the true owner should be restored ; neither can it be sufficient, that you have conceived a dry and bootless sorrow for your wrongful detention, unless you also make amends to him by a real compensation. But you are disabled to make restitution, by reason of want : your will is good ; but the necessity, into which you are fallen, makes you uncaj)able of performarjce : — See, fust, that it be a true, and not feigned necessity. Many a one, like to lewd cripples that pre- tend false sores, coimterfeit a need that is not; and shelter them- selves in a willing jail, there living merrily upon their defrauded creditor, whom liiey might honestly satisfy by a well improved li- berty : this ca-se is damnably unjust. But, if it be a true necessity of God's making, it nmst excuse you for the lime; till the same hand, that did cast you down, shall be pleased to raise you up again : then, you are bound to satisfy ; and, in the mean lime, lay the case truly before your creditor, who, if he be not merciless, ♦ Au£. Epw. 54. aJ M.n.cJon. 388 PRACTICAL WORKS. whero ho sees a real tlesirc and endeavour of satisfaction, \vill imi- tate his God in accepting the will for the deed, and wait patiently for the recovery of your estate. You ask now, to whom you should tender restitution : — To whom, but the owner ? " But he," yon say, *' is dead." Tiiat will not excuse you : he lives still in his heirs. It is memorable, thougli in a small matter, which Heneca reports of a Pythagorean 'l^hilosophcr at Athens ; who, having run upon the score for his shoes at a shop there, hearing that the shoemaker was dead, at first was glad to think the debt was now paid ; but, straight recollecting himself, he says within himself, '*■ Vet, iiowsoever, the shoemaker lives still to thee, though dead to others;" and, thereupon, puts his money into the shoj), as supposing that both of them would find an owner. It is a rare case, that a man dies, and leaves no body in whom his right survives. But, if there be neither heir, nor exe- cutor, nor administrator, nor assign, The poo)\ saith our Saviour, yc shall have alwaj/s with you : make thou.them his heir : turn your debt into alms. Object. "But, alas!" yoa say, "I am poor myself : what need I 'then look forth for any other ? Why may not 1 employ my resti- tution to the relief of my own necessity r" — Sol. It is dangerous, and cannot be just, for a man to be his own carver altogether, in a bushiess of this nature. You must look upon this money, as no more yours than a stranger's : and, howsoever it be most true, that every man is nearest to himself, and hath reason to wish to be a sharer, where the need is equal ; yet it is fit this should be done, with the knowledge and approbation of others. V'our jwstor, and those other that are by authority interested in these public cares, are fit to be acquainted with the case. If it be in a matter meet to be notified, as a business of debt or pecuniary en- l^agcment, let their wisdom proportion the distribution : but, if it be in the case of some secret crime, as of theft or cozenage, which you would keep as close as your own heart, the restitution must be charged upon yovu" conscience ; to be made «ith so unich more impartiality, as you desire it more to be concealed : herein have a care of your soul, whatever becomes of your estate. As for the time of restitution, it is easily determined, that it can- not well be too soon, for the discharge of your conscience: it may be too late, for the occasions of him to whom it is due. Although it may i'all out, that it may jirovcmore fit to di-fer, for the good of botli : wherein charity and justice must be called in as arbitrators. The owner calls for his money, in a riotous humour; to mis-spend it upon his luilawfid j)!easure : if your delay may prevent the mis- chief, the forbearance is an act of mercy. The owner calls for a sword dej)osited with you, which you have cause to suspect he means to make use of for some ill purpose : your forbearing to re- store it is so both charitable and just, that your act of delivery of it may make you accessary to a nuirder. \V her«.;to I may atUl, that, in the choice of the time, you may lawfully have some respect to yourself: for, if the present restitution should be to your utter un- CASES OF CONSCIENCE.— DECADE I. OF PROFFT AND TUAFFIC. 389 doincf, which may he avoided hy some reasoiuihic dehi}', you have no reason to shun another's inconvenience by your own inevitabU? ruin : iu such case, let the creditor be accjuainted with the neces- siiv, his olVence dcj)recated ; and nitlier jint yourself upon the mercy of a chanctMV, than I)e s?uiky of your own overthrow. But, when tiie power is in vour hand, and the coast ever}'^ way clear, let not anotiier man's goods or ijioney stick to your hngers ; and think not that your head can long lie easily, upon another man's pillow. '• Yea, but," you say, *' tlie money or goods miscarried, either by robbery or false trust, ere vou could employ them to any profit at all :" — This will not excuse you : after they came into your power, you are responsible for them. What compassion this may work in the good nauire of the owner for the favour of an abate- ment, must be left to his own breast: your tie to restitution is not the less; for, it is supposed, had thef" remained in the owner's hands they had been safe. If it were not your fault, yet it was your cross, that they misfcarried ; and who should bear your cross, but yourself ? Shortly, then, after all pretences of excuse ; the charge of wise Solomon must be obeyed : JVi'thhold not good frrm the oivners there- of, -u'/iCH it IS in i/ie poicer of thu hand to do it ; Prov. lii. 27. CASE VIIL Whether, and how far, doth a promise, extorted hy fear, though se- conded by an oath, bind v\y conscience to perjai'mance ? \ MERE promise, is an honest man's strong obligation ; but, if it be withal backed with an oath, the bond is sacred and inviolable. But, let me ask you what promise it is, that you thus made and bound. If it be of a thing unlawful to be done, your promise, and oath, \^ so far from binding you to performance, t!iat it binds you only to repentance that ever you made it. In this case, your perforni- ance woukl double and heighten your sin : it was ill, to ])rom!se; but it would be worse, to perform. Herod is, by oath, engaged, for an indefinite favour to Salome: she pitches upon jlohn Baptist's head : he was sorry for such a choice ; yet, for his oath's sake, he tliinks he must make it good : surely, llerod was ill-principied, that he could think a rash oath must bmd hun to murder an innocent : he might have truly said, this was more tnan he could do : for that we can do, which we can lawfully (\o. But, if it be a lawful thing that you have thus promised a . > sworn, th n from a man b) lear is void, or at least rcvokablc at pleiisure ; 390 rUACTICAL WORKS, and so also the oath annexed, which lollows the nature of the act whereto it appends : chieriy upon this ground, that both these are done without consent, mere involuntary acts; since nothing can be so contrary to consent as force and fear. But I dare not go along with them : for that I apprehend there is not an absolute involuntariness in this engagement, but a mixed one ; such as the Philosopher * determines in the Mariner, that cast his goods overboard to save his life : in itself, he hath no will to do it; but, here and now, upon this danger imminent, he hath a half- will to perform it. Secondly, I build upon their own ground. There is the same reason, they say, of force and of fraud : Now, that a promise and oath drawn from us by fraud binds strongly, we need no other instance than tlmt of Joshua, made to the Gibeonites. There could not be a greater fraud, than lay hid in the old shoes, thread-bare garments, rent bottles, and mouldy provisions of those borderers ; who, under the pretence of a re- mote nation, put themselves under the interest and protection of Israel; Josh. ix. 12, 13. &c. The guile soon proved apparent: yet durst not Joshua, though he found himself cheated into this cove- nant, fall olf from the league made with them ; which when, after many ages, Saul out of politic ends went about to have broken, we see how fearfully it was avenged with a grievous plague of fa- mine upon Israel, even in David's days ; 2 Sam. xxi. 1. who was no way accessary to the oppression : neither could be otherwise expiated, than by the bleeding of Saul's bloody house. When once we have interested God in the business, it is dan- gerous not to be punctual in the perfomiance. If, therefore, a bold thief, taking you at an advantage, have set his dagger to your breast ; and, with big oaths, threatened to stab you, unless you pro- mise and swear to give him a hundred pounds, to be left on such a day in such a place for him ; I see not how, if you be able, you can dispense with the performance : the only help is, (which is well suggested hy Lessiiis f, that nothing hinders why you may not, wnen you h,.'',\'e rlone, call for it back agaai, as unjustly extort- ed : and, truly, we are beholden to the Jesuit, for so much of a real equivocation : why should you not thus right yourself, since you have orly tied vomself to a mere payment of the sum ? upon staking it down for him, you are free. But, if he have forced you to promise and swear not to make him known, you are bound to be silent in this act, concerning yourself; but, withal, if you find that your silence may be prejudicial to the public good ; for that you perceive the licentiousness of the offender proceeds, and is like so to do. to the like niischief unto others ; you ought, though not to accuse him for the fact done unto yon, yet to give warning to some in authority to hav< a vigilant eye upon so lewd a person, for the prevention of any finther villainy. But, if it be in a business, whose peril rests only in yourself, the ■* Arist. Eth. J. ii, c. 1'. f Lcssius dc Jure, &c. 1. ij. c. 42. (lub.5 r CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE \. OF PROriT AND TliAFriC. 301 matter being lawful to be clone, your promise uiul oaili, thoiifrii torcctl Ironi you, must hold you close to perlornuuice, notwiiii- ^tanding the inconvcniencies that attetul. U, theretore, you are (lisnussed upon \ oin* parh those small affronts olVered to eminent persons, prove oftentmies to bo quarrels no less than mor- tal. But, even in these assaults, exce})t the violence be so too im- petuous that it will admit of neither parley nor pause, there ouj^ht to be, so much as may consist with our necessary safety, a tender regard and endeavour to avoid the s])iirmi^ of blood ; but, if nei- ther persuasion, nor the shifting (what we may) our station, can abate an}- thing of the rage of the assailer, death must: yea, if not my brother only, but my father, or my son, should, in this forcible manner, s(?t upon me ; howsoever I should hazard the award of some blows, and with tears beg a forbearance, yet, if there would be no remedy, nature must pardon me : no man can be so near me as mvself. I cannot, therefore, subscribe to the counsel of Leonardus Les- sius *, abetting some ancient Casuists, and j)retended to be coun- tenanced by some Fathers, that it were meet for Clerical and Re- ligious persons, i-ather to suffer death, than to kill a murderer : since no reason can be shewed, why their life should not l)e as dear to them as others ; or why the}' should be exempted from the coni- mon law of nature ; or why their sacred hands should be more stained with the foul .blood of a wicked man-slaver, justly shed, than any others'. I am sure, Phineas thought not so ; nor Samuel, after him ; and, which is most of all, that the honour and privileges of the Sons of Levi were both procured and feoffed on them, upon an enjoined bloodshed. Only here is the favour and mercy of that learned Casuist, that Clerks and Votaries are not ahvays bound rather to die, than kill: *' For," saith he t, " if such a religious person should bethink him- self, that he is in a deadly sin; and should, thereupon, fear that he should be damned, if he were killed in that woeful and desperate estate ; he were then bound, by all means to defend liimself, and to prefer the safety of his own soul, before the life of another." As if nothing but the fear of danmation, could warrant a man for his own safeguard : as if nothing but the danger of hell, could autho- rize a holy person to be his own guardian : as if the best of lives were so cheap and worthless, that they might be given away for nothing : whereas, contrarily, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of all his saints ; Ps. cx\ i. 1 5. But in such a case, According to the opinion of this great Casu- ist J, charity to ourselves doth not more arm and enforce our hand, than charity to our neighbour holds it, and binds it up : we may not kill, lest the manslaycr, dving in the attempt of this murder, should everlastingly perish. Surely, I caimot but admire this unreasonable mercy in a Father of the Societ}'. \V'here was this consideration, when so many thousands of innoCent persons were doomed to be * Lxfs. rie Jur. &:c. 1. ii. c. 9. cliibif. 8. Ex Antonio et Sylvestr. &:c. t Ibid, paragr.ult. % Le<'S. ibid. CASES OF CON'SCIFNCE. — DECADE II. OF LIFE AND LIliF.RTY. 397 blown np in a state of impenitence ; whose nincpentcd heresy must needs have sent them up instantly to their hell ? Bv this reason, a malefactor, if lie he olidured in his sin, and pro- fesseth to be remorseless, may not feel the stroke of justice. Shortly, then, if a man will needs be wicked to my dcstniction, the evil is his own : let him bear his own guilt; let me look to iny ow n indemnity. The case is yet more diflicult, where the attempt is not upon my person, but my goods. If a man will be ollerinjjf to rob my house, or to take mv purse, what may I do in this case ? Surely, neither charity nor justice can dissuade me from resisting: the laws of God and man wili allow me to defend mv o.vn: and if, in this resistance, the thief or burglayer miscarry, his blood will be upon his own head : although, in the mean time, charity forbids that this slaugh- ter should be fiiNt in mv intention ; which is primarily bent upon my own safety, and the vindication of my own just property. The blood, that follows, is but the unwilling attendant of my defence : of the shedding whereof, God is so tender, that he ordained it only to be inoirensively done in a nightly robbery ; Exod. xxii. 2, 'i. wjjere the purpose of the thief is likely to be more murderous, and the act more uncapable of restitution. What, tlien, if the thief, after his robl)er}' done, ce;ising any further danger of violence, shall betake himself to his heels, and run away with my money ? — In such a case, if the sum be so con- siderable, as that it much imports my estate, however our municipal laws may censure it, with which, of old, even a killing, sc dcfcnden- do, was no less than felony of death * : my conscience should not strike me, if I pursue him with all might ; and, in hot chase, so strike him, as that, by this means, I disable him from a further escape, for the recovery of my own : and if, hereupon, his death :^hall follo.v, however I should pass with men, God and my own h.eart would acquit me. Neither doubt I to say the like may be done, upon a forcible at- tempt of the violation of the cliastity of either sex : a case long i'.ljadged by the doom of nature itself, in Marius, the General of the Roman Army, as Cicero tells us t, clearly acquitting a voung man for killing a Colonel, that would have forced him in this kind. But I may not assent to Dominicus Bannez, Petrus Navarrus, and Cajetan J, though grave authors ; who hold, that, if a man go about, upon false and deadly criminations, to sulxjrn witnesses against me, to accuse me to a corrupted judge, with a purpose to take away my life, in a colour of justice, if I have no other way to avoid the malice, I may lawfully kill him. It were a woeful and dangerous case, if every man might be allowed to carve him- self of justice. Mere accusations are no corivictions. How know I, what God jnay work for me, on the Bench or at the Bar .'' \\hat evidence he may raise, to clear ine ? what confusion or contradiction, * Dalfon. p. 244. f Orat. pro Mil. J Rinn. q. 64. a. 7. »]uh. ?. Nav. K i:. r. 1 Lc5«. I. il. dc Jurt-, /tc. c. V. s, that should not be at hand, shortly thus :— The sword, in a private hand, was never ordained to be a decider of any controversies ; save this one, whether of the two is the bet- ter fencer: nor yet that always; since The race is not to the s-d'ift, nor the battle to the strong ; as Solomon hath obsciTed; Eccl. ix. 11. It can be no better, therefore, than a mere tempting of God, as Rodriguez justly censures it f, to put ourselves or our cause upon so unwarranted a trial. I find but two practices of it in tlie records of Scripture. The one, that famous challenge of Goliath, which that proud Philistine had not made, if he had not presumed of his giantly strength and stature, so utterly unmatchable by all Israel (I Sam. xvii. 24.), that the whole host was ready to give back upon his ap- pearance. He knew the advantage so paljjable, that none would dare to undertake the quarrel : and had still gone on to iriumf)li over that trembling army, had not God's inexpected chamjiion, by divine instinct, taken up the monster, and vanquished him; leav- ing all but his head to bedung that earth, which had lately shaken at his terror. 1'lie other was in that mortal quarrel betwixt Joab and Abner, on the behalf of their two masters, David and Ishbosheth ; 2 Sam. ii. 14 : wherein Abner invites his rival in honour to a tragical play, as he terms it, a monomachy of twelve single ccjmbatants, on either part ; which was so acted, that no man went victor away from that bloody theatre. Only it is observable, that, in both these conflicts, still the chal- iengers had the worst. In imitati(Mi of which latter, I caimot allow that, which I find frequently done in the managing of public hostility ; that some confident cavalier, otit of mere bravery of spirit craves leave to put himself forth before both armies; and, as in way of preface to an ensuing bailie, bids defiance to any antagonist : an act of more va- * See Epistlci. Decade iv. Ep. 2. Editor. \ Hodrij^. Sum. tas. 'I ym, I. c.ip. 7j. CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE II. OF LIFE AND LIBERTY. 399 lour tlian jucl«Tment ; whereof the iiiulertakin;^ is void of warrant, and thf is-iue (lightlv) of success: while it pleasetli God, comuuiiK, to J^uIli^h presuuipiion with a foil; and the onuuous uiiscarriage of one, nroves a sad discour;i<;enient to many. And, if sinjrle fortitude be not triable this way, much less justice, in causes litie, that the life of the mother might thus be preserved, whereas otherwise both siie and all the possibilities of further con- ceptions are utterly lost ; I must answer you with that sure and uni- versal rule of the Ajiostle, That we may not do evil, that good may come thereon ; Rom. iii. 8. The second consideration is, of the nature of the Receipt, and the intention of the prescribes There are prescripts, that may, in and of themselves, tend to- wartls cure, and may have ordinarily such an eifect ; but yet, be- ing used and applied for the mother's remedy, may prove the loss of the conception, being yet inanimate. These, if they be given ^\ ith no other intention than the preservation of the mother's life, may be capable of excuse: for that the inconvenience, or mischief rather, which followed upon the receipts, was accidental ; and utter- ly against the mind and hopes of him, that advised them. But, if the conception be once formed and animated, the question will be so much more difficult, as the proceedings of nature are more forward. \V'liereupon it is, that the .Septuagint in their trans- lation, as Lessius well observes §, have rendered that Mosaical law concerning abortions, in these terms : Jf a man strike a xcoman that is with child, and she make an abortion ; if the child zi'erej'onned, he shall giie hi^ life for the life of {he child : if it zvere not foryned, he shall be punished u'i/h a pecuniari/ mulct to her husband 1| ; Uxodus xxi. 22. applying that to the issue, which the Vulgate Latin under- stands of the mother ; and making the supposition to be of a forma- tion and life, whicli the Latin, more agreeably to the Original, makes to be death; and our English, with Castalion ^, expresses by mis- chief: but whether the mischief be meant of the death of the mother, or of the late living issue, the Scripture hath not declared. Corne- lius a Lapide**, taking it expressly of the mother's death, yet draws the judgrflent out, in an equal length, to the death of the clulil, once * Tertul. in .Apol. c.O. f Lejj. 1. ii. c. 9. du. 10. 1 Nc sc pnllnersl. viavit ifisj inori. Ex Politiano Gerard. Voss. dc Orig. tt Pro^rcs. Idol. 1. ui. c. IS. ^ Ubi jupra. || Tlie Sepiua<4ini seem to have taken pot* death, tor (Vi'-w, .i aiminutivc of u?'ia. X Man. Alphons. Vis aldt cxplic. Ball. Cru<;. 401 PRACTICAL WORlvS. is kept in prison for any ollcnce, wliereupon may follow death or loss of limb, whether the crime be public or private, may lawfully flee from his imprisonment, and may, for that purpose, use those helps, of filing ov mining, wliich conduce to this purpose *." Their ground is, that universal rule and instinct of self-preserva- tion, which is natm'al to every creature ; much more eminent in man, who i^ furnished with better faculties than the rest, for the working of his own indomnit}-. Whereto is added that mahi con- sideration of Aquinas ; That no man is bound to kill himself, but only doomed to suR'er death : not, therefore, bound to do that, upon which death will inevitably follow ; which is to wait in ])rison for the stroke, if he may avoid it : it is enough, that he patiently submits to what the law forces upon liim, though he do not co-ope- rate to his own destruction : his sentence abridges him of power, not of will to depart. Whereupon they have gone so far, as to hold it, in point of con- science, not unlawful for tiie friends of the imprisoned, to convey unto him files, and cords, orother instrimients useful for their escape. But, herein, some better-advised doctors have justly dissented from tliem ; as those, whose judgment hath not been more favour- able to malefactors, than dangerous and prejudicial to the common- wealth : for, how safe soever this might seem in lighter trespasses, yet if this might be allowed, as in conscience lawful to be done, to the rescue of murderers, traitors, or such other flagitious vil- lains, what hi finite mischief might it})roduce ! and what were this other, than to invite men to be accessary to those crimes, which the law in a due way intends to punish ? Certainly, by how much a more laudable act of justice it is, to free the society of men from such wicked miscreants, by so much more sinful and odious an of- fice it were, to use these sinister means for their exemption from the due course of justice. But, howsoever for another man to yield such unlawful aid, is no better than a foul alTront of public justice, and enwraps the agent in a partnership of crime ; yet the law of nature puts this liberty upon the restrained party himself, both to wish and endeavour his own deliverance : although not so, but that if the prisoner have en- gaged himself by solemn promise and oath to his keeper, not to depart out of his custody, honesty must prevail above nature; and he ought rather to die, than violate that bond, which is stronger than his irons. Very Heathens have, by their examj)le, taught us this lesson, to regard our fidelity more than our life. Thus it should Ije, and is, with those that are truly Christian and ingenuous, under whatever capacity : but, in the case of graceless and felonious per- sons, gaolers havt* reason to look to their bolts and locks ; know ing, according to the old rule of wise Thales, that he, who hath not ktuck at one villainy, will easily swallow another: perjury will easi- ly down with him, that hath mad(; no bones of murder. But, where the case is entire, no man can blame a captive, if he * Siii retineltir in carcerc propter aliquod delictum.) SfC. Kodrig. Sum. cap. 40. C.\SES OF CONSCIRXCE. — DF.CADF. II. OF LIFE ANT) MllF.RTV. 405 would be free ; ami, if he may untie the knot of a cord wherewith he was boiuul, why may ho ii.)t iinrivet or g^nxU^ an iron wherewith he is fettered ? forsomuch as lie is not hound to yield or continue a consent to his own durance. This charge lies upon the keeper; not the prisoner. A man, that is condemned to perish by famine; yet, if he can come bv sustenance, may receive and eat it. That Athenian ma- lefactor, in Valerius Maximus*, sentenced to die by hunger, was never found fault with, that he maintained himself in his dungeon bv the breasts of his good natured daughter. And, if a man be condemned to be devoured by a lion, there can be no reason why he should not, what he may, resist th;;t furious beast, and save his ow n life. But, when I see our Romish Casuists so zealously tender in the case of Religious persons, as that they will not allow tiiem, upon a just imprisonment, to stir out of those gratt^s, whereto ihey are confined, by the doom of their Prelates; and, when I see the brave resolutions of holy Martyrs, that, even when the doors were set open, would not flee from a threatened death ; I cannot but con- clude, that, whatsoever nature suggests to a man, to work for his own life or liberty, when it is forfeited to justice, yet, that it is meet and commendable in a true penitent, when he finds the doom of death or j)erpetual durance justly passed upon him, humbly to submit to the sentence ; and not entertain the motions and means of a pro- jected evasion, but meekly to stoop unto lawful authority, and to wait upon the issue, whether of justice or mercy; and, at the worst, to sa}-, with the poet, Merui, nee depncor. CASE V. JVhe/ht')-, and hozvfar, a man may be urged to an oath. An oath, as it is a sacred thing, so it must be no otherwise than holily used ; wbether on the part of the giver or taker : and, there- fore, may neither be rashly uttered, nor unduly tendered upon slight or unwarrantable occasions. We have not to do here with a promissory oath, the obligation whereof is for another inf|uisition : it is the assertory oath, that is MOW under our hand; which the Great God, by whom we swear, hath ordained to be an end of controversies : At the mouth of two or three witnesseSj shall the mutter be 'established ; Deut. xix. 15. and xvii. 6. As for secular titles of " mine" or " thine,"' the proprietv of p^oods or lands ; next after written evidences, testimonies upon oath must needs be held most fitly decisive : the only scruples are wont to be made in causes criminal, * \'al. Mux. 1. V. Oom. Sot. dc Jure, Arc. I. v. q. j. 406 PRACTICAL WORKS. Wherein, surely, we may first lay this undoubtetl ground, that no man is to be proceeded against without an accuser, and that ac- cusation must be made good by lawful wicuesses. A judge may Tiot cast any man, upon the plea of his own eye-sight: should this liberty be granted, innocence m'ght suffer, and malice triumph. Neither may any man be condemned upon hearsay ; which how commonly fa'se it is, daily experience sufficiently evinceth. On the oiher side, men arc apt enough to connive at each other's wickedness : and every man is loth to be an informer ; whether out of the envy of the omce, or out of the conscience of his own ob- iioxiousness. And yet, thirdly, it is requisite, that care should be taken and all due means used by authority, that the world may not be over- run with wickedness ; but that vice may be found out, repressed, punished. There cannot, fourthly, be devised a fairer and more probable course for the effecting hereof, than by the discovery, upon oaths, of the Otlicers and Jurors, in Assizes and Sessions; and of Churchwar- dens and .Sidemen, in V^isitations. The ground of all presentments to or by these men, must be eitliC'- tiieir own knowledge, or public fame, or an avowed in- formation. Any of these gives a lawfid hint to the judge, whether eccles.astical or civil, to take full trial of the cause and persons. Knowledge is always certain ; but fame is often a liar ; and there- fore, every idle rumour must not be straigtit taken upon trust; the in- convenience and injury whereof I have oiten seen, when some ma- licious pcroon, desiring to do a despite to an innocent neighbour, raises a causclfcij slander against him, and whispers it to some dis- affected gossips : this flies to the ear of an apparitor : he straight runs to th« office, and suggests a Puidic Fame : the honest man is called into the court : his reputation is blurred, in being but sum- moned ; and, after all his trouble and disgrace, halh his amends in his owrr hands. The rule of some Casuists, That ten tongues make a Fame, is groundless and insufficient : neither is the number so much to be regarded, as the quality of the persons : if a whole pack of de- bauched companions shall conspire to stain the good name of an in- nocent, as we have too often known, it were a shameful injustice to allow them the authors of a Fame. The more judicious doctors have defined a Public Fame, by the voice of the greater part of that community, wherein it is spread ; whether town, parish, city : and, therein, of those that are dis- creet, honest, well behaved. We are wont to say, *' Where there is much smoke, there is likely some fire.'" An universal report from such mouths, therf fore, may well give occasion to a further inquiry. If any man's zeal against vice will make it a matter of instance, the case is clear, and the proceeding unquestionable : but, if it be matter of mccr office, the carriage of the process may be liable to doubt. CASES OF CONSCIF.NCK. — DECADE II. OF LIFE AND LIBERTY. 407 Herein it is meet such coin-c he taken, a.s that neither a notorions evil mav be sniothere(i, nor vet innoeence injured. 'Vo wl'ich pnr- ]iose, the most confiilent reporter may he called upon, l)«nause lame haih too many tongnes to speak at once, to lay fortii the grounds of that his whispered crimination; an«l, if tne circum- stances appear pregnant, and the susj)icions strong, I see not why the ecclesiiisiical judge, for with him only in this ca^e I pror(.ss to meddle, may not convent the pei*son accused ; lay before him the crime, which is secretly charged upon iiim ; and, either upon his ingenuous confession enjoin him such satisfaction to the scandalized congregation as may be most fit, or upon his denial urge huu to clear himself by lawful witnesses of the crime ohjectt'd : or, why- he may not, if he see further cause, appoint a discreet and able prosecutor to follow the business in a legal way ; u})on whom the accused, if he be found guiltless, may right himself. But, all this while, I find no just place for an oath to be admi- nistered to a man for his own accusation ; which, certainly, is alto- gether both illegal and unreasonable. If a man will voluntarily of- fer to clear himself by an oath, out of the assuredness of his own innocence, he may be allowed to be heard ; but th;s may neither be pressed to be done, nor yet conclusive when it is done : for, botii ever}' man is aj)t to be partial in his own case ; and he, that durst act a foul sin, will dare to face it. It was ever, therefore, lawfid, even when Ecclesiastical Inquisitions were at the highest, for a man to refuse answer to such questions upon oath, or otherwise, which tended to his own impeachment ; as unjustly and unwarrantably proposed : and it was but a young determination of Aquinas *, when he was only a Bachelor, in the General Chapter at Paris, contradicted by all the ancient Graduates there, that, when the crime is notorious and the author unknown, the secret offender is bound, upon his Ordinary's charge and command, to reveal himself. Even the Spanish Casuists, the ^reat favourers and abettors of the Inquisition, teach, that the judge may not, of himself, begin an inquiry : but must be led by something, which may open a way to his search ; and, as it were, force him to his proceeding, ex cd by higher * Dom. i Sot. fl« Jure, &c. I. v, q. I. 410 PRACTICAL WORKS. powers to pass the sentence on his own Bencli,lhat he ought to lay clown his commission, and to abdicate tliat power he hath, rather than to suifer it toaed to a wiUing injustice. And, truly, were the case niiiie, after all fair and lawful endea- vours to justify the innocent and to avoid the sentence, I should most willingly yield to this last resolution : yea, rather myself to undergo the sentence of death, than to pronounce it on the iinown guiltless ; hating the poor pusillanimity of Dominicus a Soto*, that passes a nimis credilu regidum, upon so just a determination ; and is so weakly tender of the jr. l^es i iilemnity, that he will by no means hear of his wilful desertmg oi his office, on so capital an occasion. In the main cause of life and death, I cannot but allow and com- mend the judgment of Leonardius Lessius : but, when the question is of matters civil, or less criminal f, I cannot but wonder at his flying off. In these, wherein the business is but pecuniary, or ba- nishment, or loss of an office, he holds it lawful for the judge, (after he hath used all means to discover the falseness of the proofs, and to hinder the proceedings, if thus he prevails not) to pass sen- tence upon those allegations and probations, which himself knows to be unjust. The reasons pretended are as poor as the opinion. " For," saith he, " the commonwealth hath authority to dispose of the estates of the subjects, and to translate them from one man to another ; as may be found most availing to the public good : and here there appears just cause so to do, lest the form of public judgments should be perverted, not without great scandal to the people ; nei- ther is there any way possible to help this particular man's incon- venience and loss : therefore, the coinmonwealth may ordain, that in such a case, the judge should follovv the public form of judica- ture, though hereby it faileth out, that a guiltless man is undone in his fortunes, and yet his cause known to l)e good by him that con- demns it." Thus he %. But what a loose point is this ! Why hath not a man as true propriety in his estate, as his life r or what authority haih the com- monwealth, causelessly to take away a man's substance or inheri- tance, being that he is the rightful owner, more than a piece of himself ? When his patrimony is settled upon him, and his in a due course of law and imdonbted right of possession, what just power can claim any such interest in it, as, without any ground of olfence, to dispossess him ? Or, what necessity is there, that the form of public judgments should be perverted, unless an honest defendant must be undone by false sentence ? Or, rather, is not the form of public judgment perverted, when innocence sufi'ers for the maintenance of a formality ? Or, how is the Judge other than * Elenim qudd homo, qui officio suo vivit, dehcat tantam jacfvram facere, durum creditu tst. Doni. Sot. ubi supra. t ^'' caiisis civilihits et mirnVf crivii:ialibu-i. X l-^ss. tic Jure, 5i:c. 1. ii, dc Judicc duL). 10. (^iiia rcsp. /la- hcat aut :oritatem di.^poneuili, &'c. CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE II. OF LIFE AND LIBERTY. 4.1 1 a partner in the injur}', if, for want of his sea-sonable iiitcqoosition, a good cause is lost, and a false plea prevails ? That, therefore, which, in the second place, he alledgeth, that the subject can have no reason to complain of the judge, forasmuch as it is out of his power to remedy the case, and to pass other sen- tence than is chalked forth by the rule of law, might as well be al- ledged against him in the plea of lite and death ; wherein he will by no means allow the judge this liberty of an undue condemna- tion ; neither is there any just pretence, why an honest and well- minded judge should be so sparing, in a case of hfe ; and so too prodigal, in matter of livelihood. As for his third reason, that the mis-judgment, in case of a pe- cuniary damage or banishment, may be afterwards capable of bein<»- reversed, and upon a new traverse the cause may be fetched about at further leisure ; whereas death once inflicted is past all power of revocation ; it may well infer, that, therefore, there should be so much more deliberation and care had, in passing sentence upon capital matters, than civil, by how much life is more precious and irrevocable, than our worldly substance : but it can never infer, that injustice should be tolerable in the one, not in the other. Justice had wont to be painted blindfold, with a pair of scales in her hand : wherefore else, but to imply, that he, who would judge anght, must not look upon the issue or event ; but must weigh impartially the true state of the cause, in all the grounds and circumstances thereof, and sentence accordingly ? To say then, that a judge may pass a doom formally legal, but materially unjust, because tlie case, upon a new suit, may be righted, were no other than to say, I may lawfully wound a man, because I know how to heal him as^in. Shortly, therefore, whether it be in causes crmiinai or civil, whe- ther concerning life or estate, let those, who sit in the seat of judi- cature, as they will answer it before the Great Judge of the World, resolve, what event soever follow, to judge righteous judgment ; not justifying the wicked ; not condemning the innocent : both which are equally abominable in the sight of the Almighty. CASE VII. IVIicther, and in what cases, ain I bound to be an accuser of another ? To be an accuser of others, is a matter of much envy and detesta- tion, insomuch as it is the style (jf the Devil himself, to be accusa- tor fratrum^ an accuser of the brethren. Yet not of his own brethren in evil. It was never heard, that one evil spirit accused another : but of our brethren , Rev. xii. 10. It was a voice from heaven, which called him so. Saints on eartli are the brethren of the glorious spirits in luiavon. It is the wick- ednt^ss of that Malicious Spirit, to accuse Sauils. But, though the act be grown into hatred, in respect boiii of the 413 TKACTICAL WORKS. agent and of the object ; yet, certainly, there are case?;, wherein it will become the Saints to take upon tbem the person and office of accusers. Accusation, tlierefore, is either voluntary, or urged upon you by the charge of a superior. Voluntary is either such as you are moved unto by the conscience of some hcuious and notorious crime connnitted, or to be com- mitted by another, to the great dishonour of God, or danger of the common peace, whereto you arc privy : or, such as whereunto you are tied, by some former engagement of vow or oath. In the former kind, a worthy Divine, in our time, travelling on the way, sees a lewd man committing abominable filthiness with a beast. The sin was so foul and hateful, that his heart would not sutler him to conceal it : he, therefore, hasteus'to the next justice, accuses the offender of that so unnatural villainy : the party is committed, indicted, and, upon so reverend, though single, testi- mony, found guilty. Or, if, in the case of a crime intended, you have secret but sure intelligence, that a bloody villain hath plotted a treason against the sacred person of your sovereign, or a murder of your honest neighbour, which he resolves to execute ; should you keep this fire in your bosom, it might justly burn you. Whether it be, therefore, for the discovery of some horrible crime done, or for the prevention of some great mischief to be done, you must either be an accuser, or an accessary. The obligation to accuse is yet stronger, where your former vow or oath hath fore-engaged you to a just discovery. You have sworn to maintain and defend his IMaje^ty's royal person, state, dignity ; and to make known those, that wilfully impugn it : if now, you shall keep the secret counsels of such wicked design- ments, as you shall know to be against any of these, how can you escape to be involved in a treason, lined with perjury ? These are accusations, Vvhich your conscience will fetch from you, unasked. But if, being called before lawful authority', 3'ou shall be required, upon oath, to testify your knowledge, even con- cerning offenders of an inferior nature ; you may not detract 3 our witness, tliough it amount to no less than an accusation. Yet there are cases, wherein a testimony, thus required, tending to an accusation, may be refused : as in case of duty, and nearness of natural or civil relation ; it were unreasonably unjust for a man to be pressed wiih interrogaiions, or required to give accusatory testimonies, in the case of parents, or children, or the jiartncr of his bed : or, if a man, out of remorse of conscience, shall disclose a secret sin to you formerly done, in a desire to receive counsel and comfort from j-ou, you ought rather to endure your soul to be fetched out of 3our body, than that secret to be drawn out of your lips : or, if the question be illegal ; as those, that tend directly to your own prejudice; or those, which are moved concerning hidden olfences, noi before notified by public iiune, or any lawful ground of enquiry, which therefore the judge hath no power to ask : in CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE 11. OF LIFE AND LICERTV. 413 these ciwes, if no more, the refusal of an accusation, thougli re- <]iured, is no other than jusiiliahle. But, where neither the conscience of the horridness of a crime done, nor prevention of a crime intended, nor duty of obedience to a lawful authority, nor the bond of an iuviohible pre-eni;ae to house, with tales of private detraction, may well challenge the next room in our detestation. This, to<>e- ther with the t)ther, is that, which God so strictly forbids in his Law ; Lev. xix. 16, Thou shalt not go up and doxi'n as a talc-bcarcr amongst thy people ; m it her shalt thou stand against the blood of ttnj neighbour : I am the Lord : a practice, w hich wise Solomon, thougli a great king, and, as one WDuld think, out of the reach of tongues, cries down with much feeling bitterness; Prov. xviii. 8. The li'ords of the tale-bearer are as uounds, and thej/ go do'wn into the innermost parts of the belly : no less than five several times in his divine Proverbs *, inveighing sharply, as if himself had been stung in this kind, against these close, backbiting calumniations. Shortly, then, accuse, wlien you are forced, either by the foul- ness of the fact, or the necessity of your duty : otherwise, resene your tongue for better otHces. CASE VIII. Whether a prisoner, indicted of afelonious act "ultich he hath commit- ted, and interrogated by the jtulge concerning the same, may stand upun the denial, and plead, '• Not guiltj/.''' The Casuibts vary ; and, out of respect to their own l.iw ., are much perplexed in their resoluiions : making the great scruple to be in tin; juridical interrogations, which, if the jud;^e liave not pro- ceeded in the due form of law retjuired in such ca«>(?s, may warrant the olFendcr's denial: and, secondlv, makin<' dillcicncf of ilir * Prov. xi. 13. XX. 19. xxvi. ^n, ?C, 414 PRACTICAL M'ORKS, quality of the olTence, and danger of the punishment: which, if no less than capital, may, say they *, give just ground to the accused |Kiriy, either to conceal the truth, or to answer with such amphi- bolies and e(juivocat!ons as may serve to his own preservation ; in Avhich course, natural equity will bear him out, which allows every man to stand u[)on his own defence. And the case, I perceive, is aggravated in foreign parts : as, by the rack, so, by an oath administered to the person accused, whicli they call Juramentum caliimnuc f, which Lessius justly calls a spi- ritual torture, by the virtue whereof, he is solemnly urged, not to deny what he knows or believes to be true, concerning the business questioned : a practice, which I cannot blame Lessius |, if he pro- fess to wish, that the Pope and all secular princes would join toge- ther to abrogate, as being an evident occasion of much perjury. To lay down and determine the case, as it stands with us, in our ordinary proceedings of justice, it must be premised: 1. To deny a known truth, and to aver a wilful lie, cannot be other than a sin. 2. Tiiere is a vast difference, betwixt concealing a truth and de- nying it. 3. It may be sometimes lawful to conceal some truths, though never lawful to deny or contradict them. 4. No man can be bound directly to accuse himself. 5. It is consonant to natural equity, that a man, for the saving of his life, should use the help of all evasions that are not sinful. 6. It cannot be sinful, to put himself upon a legal trial, in a case importing his life. 7. There is no place for a legal trial, where there is an absolute confession of guiltiness. These positions being pre-required, I say, that is lawful for the prisoner, though convinced in his conscience of the fact, yet to plead, " Not guilty," to the indictment at the bar : forasmuch as he doth therem, according to the sense, both of the judge and jury, only hide and keep back that truth; the findit)g out and evic- tion, whereof, lies upon their further search and proof: so as he doth, in ])leading " Not guilty," in effect as good as say, " What- ever I iind in myself, I have no reason to confess my guiltiness : I stand upon my lawful defence, and cast myself upon my just trial ; yielding myself only so far guilty, as your evidence ancl proofs can make me. Let justice pass upon me : I have no reason to draw on my own condemnation." The plea, thus construed, is lawful and just ; wherein, not the shuffling equivocations of the oftender, but the ui)right verdict of a legal jmy must carry the cause : to whieli purpose, that, which sounds as a denial, in the accused, is nothing else, but a professed referring himself to a juridical trial of that fact, which he is not bound to confess. * Rodriguez. Tract. Ordinis Judkialis. cap. 10. f Sotus 1. v. q. G. dc Jus- titia Ucj. Art. 1. X LciS. de jur. 1. ii. ca. \\i. dub. 3. C.VSES or CONSCIF.NTE.— DECADE II. OF IIFF. AXO LIBEHTY. 415 But, when the hand of God hath once found out ihe man in his sin, and he hiids hiuiseU" legally convinced of his crime, it greatly believes liim, as .Itxshnu chari^cil Achan after the lot had disco- vered his sin, to give glory to God, in a free and full confession of his uickedness ; ami to he more open and ingenuous in hisacknow- iedgnient, than he was close and resencd in his plea: wherein^ as he shall discharge his conscience to that great and holy God, whom he hath ollended ; so he shall thus tender some kind of poor satis- faction to that society of men, whom he hath scandalized by his crime. In which regard, I cannot hut marvel at the stranoe determina- tion of learned Azpilcueta *, the oracle of Confessaries ; who teaches, that the prisoner, who, being rightly intenogated by the judge, stood stilllv in denial of the fact, and is upon his con- denu)ation carried to his execution, is not bound at his death to confess the crime to the world, if he have before secretly whispered it in the ear of his ghostly father, and by him received absolution : a sentence, that allows the smothering of truths, and the strangling of just satisfaction to those who are concerned, as patients, in the otfence ; and, lastly, highly injurious to public justice, whose righ- teous sentence is, by this means, left questionable, and obnoxious to unjust censure. How much more refpiisite were it, that a public confession should, in this case, save the labour of a private I where- by, certainly, the soul of the ortender w ould be more sensibly un- loaded; justice better vindicated ; more glory would accrue to God, and to men more satisfaction. But, however it be lawful for the accused to stand upon these points of legality in the proceedings against him : yet, for ni}- own part, should I be so far given oyer as to have my hand in blood, and thereupon be anaigned at the bar of public justice, I should, out of just remorse, be the first man, that should rise up against myself: and, which in other men's cases were utterly unlawful, be my own accuser, witness, and judge : and this disposition I should rather commend in those, whose conscience hath inwardly con- victed them for heinously criminous; that, since they had not the grace to resist so flagitious a wickedness, they may ycl endeavour to expiate it, before men, with an ingenuous confession ; :is before God, u ith a deep and serious repentance. CASE IX. Whether, and how fur, a man vuiij take up ar)ns, in Iht public ijuarnl oj a uHir. ^VAR is no other, than a necessary evil : necessaiy, in relation to peace ; only, as that, without which so great a blessing cannot he had. As the wise woman said to Joalj ; 2 Sam. xx. Ifj. they should I'irst treat with the men of Abel, ere they ^nite : and, u[)on xhf. * Mart, .\zpil. Navar. Ejirhirid. -ap. 23. num. 3S. 416 PRACTICAL VrORKS. charge of the Lord of Hosts, (Dent. xx. 10.) conditions must first be tendered*, even to heathen enemies, before any acts of hosti- htv siiall he cNCicised. Where this, which is the worst of all remedies, proves needful, if you ask how for it is lawful to engage ; I must ask you, ere I can re- turn answer, hrst, of the jiislice of tiie quarrel : for, surely, where the war is known to be unjust, the willing abettors of it cannot wash their hantls from blood. To make a war just, as our Casuists rightlv, there must be a lawful authority, to raise it; a just ground whereon to raise it ; dut^ forms and conditions, in the raising, ma- 7ialindfold oliedience to authority ; going whiiher he is led, and doing what he is bidden. But, if the case be such, as that his heari isfiilly convinced of the injustice of the enterprize, and that he cieurly hnds that he is charged to smite innocence and to fight agauist (-^od : I cannot blame him if, with Saul's footmen when they were commanded to fall upon the priests of the Lord, he with- hold his hand ; and, craving j)ardon, shew less readiness to act than to sulier. In the second place, I must ask you with what intentions you ad- dress yourself to the field. If it be out of the conscience of main- taining a just cause, if out of a loyal obedience to lawful autho- rity, I .shall bid you go on, and prosper : but, if cither malice to the panics ojjposed and therein desire of revenge, or a base co- veto usp.ess of ]xiy, or hope and desire of plunder have put you into arms, repent and withdraw: for, what can be more sordid or cnu'l, than to be hired, for days' wages, to shed innocent blood? or vvjjut can be more horriblv u\iieal out of the world, without his leave, that placed us there ! But, much more, if Christians, they know themselves, hesides, dearly ])aid for; and, therefore, not in their own disposing ; but in his, that bought them. Secondly, most desperately injurious to ourselves ; as inciuTing thereby a certain damnation, for ought apj)ears to lookers on, for ever, of those souls, wiiich have wilfully broken God's more easy and tem])orary prison, to put themselves upon the direful prison of Satan to all eternity. Nature itself, thoui^h nol enliohtcned with the knowled enacted, that the hand, which should be guilty of such an act, should be cut oil, and kcju unbnried : and it was wisely ordained hy that Grecian Common vvealth, when their virgins, out of a peevish discontentment, were grown into a self-killing humour, that the bodies of such otVenders should bedraoo-ed naked througrh the streets of the city ; the shame whereof stopped the course oJ that mad resolution. It is not the heaviest of crosses, or the sharpest bodilv anguish, that can warrant so foul an act. Well was it turned otV by Antis- thenes, of old ; when, in the extremity of his pain, he cried out, " Oh, who will free me from this torment V and Diogenes reached him a poniard, wherewith to dispatch himself. " Nay," said he, " I said, from my torment ; not from my life:" as well knowing it neither safe nor easy, to part u ith ourselves uj)on such terms. Far, far Vje it from us, to put into this rank and hie those wor- thy IVhntyrs, which, in tiie fervour of their holy zeal, have put themselves forward to martyrdom ; and have courageously pre- vented the lust and fury of tyrants, to keeji their chastity and taith inviolable. I look upon these, as more ht objects of wonder, than either of censure or imitation. For these, whom we may well match with Sampson and Fleazar, what God's S])irit wrought in them, he knows that gave it. Rules are they, by which we live ; not examples. 2. However we may not, by any means, directly act to the cut- ting olV the thread of life ; yet I cannot but yield, with learned Lessms *, that there may fall out cases, wherein a man may, upon just cause, door forbear something, whereupon dealh may indi- rectly ensue. Indirectly, I say ; not with an intention of such issue ; for it is not an universal charge of God, that no man should, upon any occasion, expose his liie to a probable danger: if so, there would be no war, no trafhc : but only, th:it he should nut * Less, dc Jurcl. ii. c. 9. dub. «. CASES OF CONSCIF.NCK. — DECADE II. OF LIFE AND LIBERTY. 419 causelessly liazaid himself; nor with a resolution of wilful mis- carnage To those itistanees he j^ives, of a soldier, that must keep his sta- tioi), though it co>>i him his life: of a prisoner, that mav foroear to Hee out ot prison, though the tloors he open : of a man condemned to die l)y hunger, in whose |)owcr it is to refuse a sustenance olfer- ed : of a man, that latches the weapon in iiis own l^ody, to save hi^ prince: or, of a friend, who, when hut one loaf i-> loft t(j preserve tlie life of two, relrains from his pait and dies tirst ; or, that suffers another to take that plank in a shipwreck, which himself might havfc prepossessed, as trusting to t!ie oars of his arms ; or, that puts him- self mto an infected house, out of mere charity to tend the bick, though he know the contagion deiully : or, in a sea-fight, hlowsup the (leek with gunpowder, not without his own danger : or, when the house is on lire, casts himself out at the window with an extreme hazard : to these, I say, may he added many more ; as the culling off a limb, to stoj) the course of a gangrene ; to make an adventure of a dangerous incision in the body, to draw forth the stone in the bladder ; the taking of a large dose of opiate pills, to ease a mortal extremity ; or, lastly, when a man is already seized on by death, the receiving of some such powerful medicine as may facilitate his ])assage, the defect of which care and art the emincnilv learned Lord Verulam * justly complains of in physicians. In these and the like cases, a man may lawfully do those things, which mav tend, in the event, to his own death, though without an intention of pro- curing it. And unto this head must be referred those infinite examples of deatlly sutVerings for good causes, willingly embraced for conscience sake. The seven brethren in the Maccabees, alluded to by St. Paul to Ijis Hebrews, Heb. xi. 35. will and must rather endure the but- chering (jf their own flesh, than the eating of swine's flesh, in a willing allront of their Law. Daniel will rather die, than not pray. Shadrach, Aleshach, and Abednego will rather fall down bound into the fiery furnace seven-fold heated, than fall dow n before the golden image. And every right disposed Christian will rather welcome death, than yield to a willing act of idolatry, rebellion, witchcraft. If, here- upon, death follow by the iuHiciion of others, they are sinful agents, he is an innocent sutlerer. As for that srruple among our Casuists, Whether a man, coji- demned to die by poison, may lake the deadly drauglit that is brought him ; it is such, as wise Socrates never made of old, when the Athenians tendered him his hemlock : and, indeed, it may a-> well be disputed. Whether a man, condemned to die by tlu* axe, may (juietly lay ilown his head upon the block ; and not, but upon force, yield to that fatal stroke. A juster scrujjle is, Whether a man, condemned to a certain and painful death, which he cannot jjossibly eschew, may make choice * 'Eu9a>«5-»a. Lord Vtrulam's »' Advancement of Learning." 420 PKACTICAL WORKS. rather of a more easy passage out of the workl. \Vherein I marvel at the indulgence of some doctors, that Mould either excuse or mince the matter: for, ahhongh I cannot blame that natural dispo- sition in any creature, to shrink from pain ; and to aifect, what it may, tjie shifting from extremity of misery : yet, for a Christian so to do it, as to draw a greater mischief to himself and an apparent danger to his soul, it cannot justly bear any other than a hard con- struction. For, thus to carve himself of justice, is manifestly to violate lawful authority ; and, while he would avoid a short pain, to incur the shame and sin of a self-executioner. But if in that way, wherein the doom of death is passed, a man can give himself ease or speed of dissolution ; as when a martyr, being adjudged to the fire, uses the help of a bag of gunpowder to ,expetiite his passage; it cannot be, any way, judged imlawful. The sentence is obeyed : the execution is accordingly done ; and, if the patient have found a shorter way to that end which is appointed him, what olTence can this be either to the law or to the judge ^ 421 RESOLUTIONS THE THIRD DKCADF. CASES OF PIETY AND RELIGIOX. CASE I. Whether^ upon the appearance of Evil Spirits, xi'e may hold discourse ■with them ; and how we may demean ouvsclxes concerning them. 1 HAT there are Flvil Spirits is no less certain, than that there are men. None but a Sadducee or an Atheist can make question of it. Tliat Kvil Spirits have given certain proofs of their presence with men, both in visible apparitions, and in the possessions of j:>laccs and bodies, is no less manifest, than that we have souls whereby they are discerned. Their appearances are not wont to be without grievous inconve- niences ; whether in respect of their dreatlfulness, or their dan- gerous insinuations. It is the great mercy of the God of Spirits, that he hath bound np the Kvil Angels in the chains of darkness ; restraining tlieni from those frecjuent and horrii)le ajjjjearances, which tliey would other- wise make, to the terror and consternation of his weak creatures. Whensoever it pleaseth the Almighty, for his own holv purposes, so far to loosen or lengthen the chains of Wicked Sjiirits, as to suf- fer them to exhibit themselves in some assumed shapes unto men, it cannot but niainlv import us, to know what our deportment should be concerning them. Douhtless, to hold any fair terms of com- merce or peace, much more of amity arid familiarity, with them, were no better than to profess ourselves e.ieniies to God : for sucli an irreconcileable liosiility tiiere is, betwi.\t tiie Holy God and these IVIalignant S[)irits, that there can be no place for a neutrality in our relation to them ; so as he is an absolute enemy to the one, that bids not open defiance to the other. As, therefore, we are wont, by our silence, to signify our heart- burning against any person ; in that we abide not to speak unto those, whom we liate : so nnist we carrv ourselves towanls Kvil Spi- rits. And, if they begin with us, as that Dc\il did in the Serpent 422 TRACTICAL WORKS. with Eve, liow unsafe and deadly it may be to hold chat with them, appears in lluit iirst eNani])le of their onset; the issue whereof brought misery and mortahty upon all mankind: yet then, were our hrst parents in their innocency, and all earthly perfection ; vye, now so tainted with sin, that Satan hath a kind of party in us, even before his aiiual temptations. As, therefore, we are wont to say. That the fort that yields to parlev is half won; so may it ]irove with us, if we shall give way to hold discourse with Wicked Spirits, who are far too crafty for usj to deal w ithal : having so evident an advantage of us ; both in na- ture, we being fiish and blood, they spiritual nnckednesses ; and, in duration and experience, we being but of yesterday, they coeta- neous u ith the world and time itself. If you tell me, that our Saviour himself interchanged some speeches with the spirits whom he ejected, it is easily answered, that this act of his was never intended for our imitation: since his omnipotence was no way obnoxious to their malice ; our weak- ness is. I cannot, therefore, but marvel at the boldness of those men, who, professing no saiall degree of holiness, have dared to hold fa- miliar talk with Evil Spirits, and could be content to make use of them for intelligence : as the famous Jesuit in our time, Pere Cot- ton : who, having provided fifty questions to be pro})ounded to a demoniac, some concerning matters of leaniing, some other mat- ters of state concerning the then French King and the King of Eng- land ; and having them written down under his own hand to that purpose ; being questioned concerning it, answered, that he had licence from Rome to tender those demands : as I received it, upon a certain relation, from the learned Dr. Tilenus, with many preg- nant and undeniable circumstances, which I need not here express. Although this need not seem strange to me, when I find that Na- varre determines plainly, that " When Evil Spirits are present, not by our invocation, as in possessed bodies, it is lawful to move questions to tlu-m, so it be without our prayers to them or pact with them, for the profit of others : yea, tims to confer with them, eveti out of vanity or curiosity, is but venial at the most *." Thus he : with \\hom Lessius goes so far, as to say, Licitum est peierc verba a Viabolo, ut noccre desinat^ i^c. " It is lawful to move the Devil in words, to cease from hurting, so it be not done by way of depre- catior), or in a friendly compliance, but by way of indignation f:" a distinction, which 1 confess past the capacity of my apprehension ; who have not the wit to conceive, how a man can move without implying a kind of ;uit, and how any suit can consist with an indig- nation. It savours yet of a more heroical spirit, which the Church of Rome professeth to teach and practise, the ejection of Evil Spirits by an imperious way of command ; having committed to her exorcists a. * Navarr. Er.chir. cap. 1 1, n. 28. •] Less. I. ii, dc Magia.cap. 44. dub. €. CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE III. OF PIETY AND RELIGION. .42^ jiower of adjuration, to uliich the worst of Devils must be subject: a power, niore easily arrogateil, than really exercised. IiiaeeJ, this overruling authority was eminently conspicuous; not only in the selected twelve, and the sevent\ discij)les of (Mirisi who re- tumed from their cmbjissy with joy (Luke x. 17.) that the devils were subject to them through his name, but even in their holy successors of the Primitive Church, while the miraculous gifts of the Holv (ihost were sensibly poured out upon men: but, if they will be still challenoing the same j)ower, why do they not a-. well lay claim to the speaking of strange tongues ? to the superna- tural cure of all diseases ? to the treading on ser|)ents and scorpions } to the drinking of poisons without an antidote ? I\huk xvi. 17, 18; and, if they nuist needs acknowledge tliese faculties above their reach, why do they presinne to divide the Spirit from itself? arro- gating to themselves the power of the greatest works, while they are professedly defective in the least. Wherein, surely, as they are the true successors of the sons of Sceva, who would be adjuring of devils by the name of Jesus, whom St. Paid preached : so they can look for no other entertainment, than they found from those demoniacs ; which was to be baffled, and beaten, and wounded ; Acts xix. 13 — 16. Especially, if we consider the foul superstition and gross magic, which they m:ike use of in their conjurations ; by their own vaihly- devised exorcisms, feotiing a supernatural virtue upon drugs and herbs, for the dispelling and stavmg-olFall Evil Spirits. Because the books are noc perhaps obvious, take but a taste in one or two. In the " Treasure of Exorcisms *," there is this following Bene- diction of Rue, to be put into a hallowed pajier, and to be earned about you and smelted at for the repelling of the invasion of de- vils t : " I conjure thee, O thou creature of Rue, by the Holy Lord, the Father, the Almighty and Eternal God, which bringetli foith grass in the moimtains, and herbs for tlie use of man ; and which, by the Apostle of thy Son our Lord .lesus Christ, has; taught, that the weak should eat herbs : I conjure thee, that thou he blessed and sanctified to retain this invisible power and virtue, that, whosoever shall carry thee about liim, or shall smell to thee, may be free from all the undeamiess of diabolical infatuation ; and tiiat all devils and witchcrafts may speedily fall from him, as herbs or grass of the earth : through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, which shall come to judge the (]uick and the dead, and the world by fire." The like is prescribed to be done to the seeds of Hypericon, or St. John's Wort. Add to this the hoiTible fumigation to this purpose, as it follows : * " Thesaurus Exorcismorum, atquc Conjurationum Tcrribilium, Sec." Trad. " Dispersio Da;inoiium,'' Iratris V'akrii I'olydori Paiavini, Ord. Minorum Con- vcniu.ilium. t 1 it. Apprica'iilc. 3. " Ruia: in charti bcncdict.i super "le portandie et o!fa* cicnd.^e, ad omncm invasioncm diabolicam rcpcllt-ndani." 424 PKACTICAL WORKS. « I conjure thee, O thou creature of galbanum, sulphur, assafce- tida, aristolochiuui, hypcricon, and rue, by the Living God, by the True God, ^c. by Jesus Christ, &c. that thou be for our de- fence ; and that thou be made a jjerpetual fumigation, exorcised, blessed, and consecrated to the safety of us, and of all faithful Ciuistians; and that thou be a perpetual punishment to all INIalig- naiit S|'irits, and a most vehement and infinite fire unto them, more than the fire and brimstone of hell is to the Infernal Spirits there, &ic '''." But wliat do I trouble you with these dreadful incantations, vs^here- of the allowed books of conjuiation are full ? To these I may add their application of Holy Water, wherein they place not a little confidence, which, saith Lessius f, receives the force from the prayers of the Church, by the means whereof it comes to pass, that it is assisted with divine power; which, as it were, rests upon it, and joins with ir, to the averting of all the in- festations of the Uevil. But, fain would I learn, where the Church hath any warrant from God to make any such suit; where any overture of promise, to have it granted. What is their prayer, without faith ? and what is their faiih, without a word ? But I leave these men, together with their crosses and ceremo- nies and holy relics wherein they put great trust in these cases, to their better informed thoughts. God open their eyes, that they may sec their errors ! For us, what our demeanour should be, in case of the appearance ov molestation of Evil Spirits, \Kfe cannot desire a better pattern than St. Paul: his example is our all-sufficient instruction; who, ^^hen the messenger of Satan was sent to bullet him, fell presently to his prayers ; and instantly besought God thrice, that it might de- j)art from him; 2 Cor. xii. 7, 8, Lo, he, that could conunand Evil S|/nits out of the bodily possession of others, when it comes to his own turn to be bulfeted by them, betakes himself to his prayers to that God, whose grace was sufficient for him ; v. 9. To them, must we still have our recourse. If we thus resist the Devil, he shall lice from us ; .James iv. 7. . In the primitive times, those, tliat could command, needed not to sue; and, therefore, fasting and praver was a higher, as a more lal)orious, work, to this purpose, in the disciples, than their impe- rative course of ejection : but, for us, we, that have no power to bid, must pray ; pray, not to those ill guests that they would de- part, not to the Blessed Virgin or our Angel-keeper that they would guard us from them, but to the Great God of Heaven, who commands them to their chains. This is a sure and everlasting re- medy : this is the only certain way to their i'oil, and our dehver- -ance and victoiy. * Applicnbilc. IT). 'J it. " IVofumigatio horribifis, cjusquc vulgata benedictio." i Less, ubi supra : Dubit '>. CASES CH^ CONSCIENCE. — DECADE III. OF PIETY AND RELIGION. 425 CASE H. } low far a scrrrf pact "with Evil Spirit. f doth extend ; and w/iai ac- tions and (icnts mast bt rcfrrrvd thereunto. It is a q»iesiu)n of exceeding great use and necessity: for, certainlv, jiiuuv tlioiisuutls of honest and welUmiiidetl Cliristians are, in tliis kind, drawn into the snares of Satan, unwarily and unwittingly. For tiic determining of it, these two grounds must be laid. First, that there is a donble compact with Satan : one, direct and ojien, wlierein magicians and witches, ujx)n woeful c-onditions and jurelul ceremonies, enter into a mutual covenant witji Kvil Spirits: the other, secret and indirect, wherein nothing is seen, or heard, or known to he agreed upon ; only i)y a close im|)lication, that is suggested and yielded to be done, wliich is invisibly seconded by diabolical operation. The second ground is, tliat whatsoever hath not a cause in na- ture, according to God's ordinary way, must be wrought either by good or evil spirits : that it cannot be supposed, that good angels should be at the conunand of ignorant or vicious persons of either sex, to concur with them in superstitious acts, done by means alto- gether in themselves ineifectual and unwarrantable ; and, therefore, that the Devil hatii an unseen hand in tliesc ellects, which he mar- vellously brings about, for the winning of credit with the world, and for the obliging and engaging of his own clients. Of this kind, there is, too lamentably, much variety in common experience. Take a handful, if you please, out of a full sack. Let the first be, that authentic charai of tl;e Goipel of St. John, allowed in the parts of the Ilomish Correspondence; wherein the first verses of that Divine Gospel are singled out, printed in a small roundel, and sold to the creJ.ulous ig.iorants, with this fond war- rant, That wjiosoever carries it about him shall be fr(>e from the dangers of the day's mibhaps: I'lte book and the key, tlie sieve and the sheers ; for the disco- very of I he thief: The notching of a stick with the number of the warts, which we u i^uld have removed : the rubbing of them with raw llesli, to be bu- ried m a dunghill, that they may rot away insensibly therewith ; or washing the part in moonshine, for thut purpose: Words and characters, of no i.ignificaLion, or ordinary form ; for ihe curing of dis(.>as(rs in man or bcU'^t : uurc t!iaii too many where- <«f, we find in Cornelius Agrippa anil Pai*acelsus : Forms of words and (Igurcs, fi)r the staunching of blood ; for the pulling out of thorns ; lor easing pain ; for remedying the biting of a mad dog : .\nuilets, ma I'KACTICAL WOUK^>. The u^e of a lioleJ flint hanp^etl up on the rack, oi hed\ head ; for the prevention olthe nit^ht-mare, in man or beast: The judLi^insr hv the letters of the names of men or «omen, of their fortunes, as they call then) ; according to the serious foppe- ries of Arranduni : The seventh son's laying on of hands ; for the healing of dis- eases : The putting of a verse out of the P--a]ms into the vessel ; to keep llie wine from souring : The repeating ot a verse out of Virgil j to preserve a man from drunkenness, all that diry following : Images, astronomically framed under certain constellations; to prcscrxc from several uicoiiNcniences : as, under the sign of the Lion, the figure of a lion made in gold, against melanchijlic fan- cies, dropsy, plague, fevers : which Lessius might well marvel how Cajetan could otter to defend ; when all the world knows, how lit- tle proportion and correspondence there is, betwixt those imaginary signs in heaven, and these real creatures on earth : Judiciary Astrologv, as it is commonly practised ; whether for the casting of nativities, prediction of vohmtary or civil events, or the discovery of tilings stolen or lost. For, as the Natural Astro- Jogv, when it keeps itself witl/in its due bounds, is lawful and com- mendable, althourrh not without much unccrtaintv of issue : so that other Calculatory or Figure-casting Astrology is presumptuous and imwarrantable ; cried ever down by Councils and Fathers, as un- lawful ; as that, which lies in the midwa}', betwixt magic and iui- posture, and partakes not a littie of both : The anointing of the weapon, for the healing of the wound, though many miles distant: wherein how confident soever some in-- telligent men have been, doubtless there can be nothing of nature; since in all natural a«iencies, there must necessarily be a contac- lion, either real or virtual : here, in such an interval, none can be. Neither can the efficacy be ascribed to the salve ; since some others have undeitakcn and done the cure, by a more homely and familiar ointment. It is the ill l)estovved faith of the agent, that draws on the success, from the hand of an invisible physician : Calming of tempests, and driving away devils, by ringing of bells, hallowed for that purpose: Keuicdy of witcheries, by healing of irons, or applying of crosses. I could cloy you with instances of this kind, wherewith Satan be- cruile> the simple, ujion these two mis-grounded jirinci})les : — 1. That, in all experience, they have tbund such eliects follow- iufT, iijion the use and |)raclice of such means : which, indeed, can- not be denied. Charms and ^ pells commonly are no less unfailing in tlieir working, than the best natural remedies. Doubtless, the Devil i:-. a mo-t skilful ariist ; and can do feats, beyond all mortal powers : but God bless us from eniploymg him. Js it nol because there is vol a (rod in Israel^ that \\c. go to tngiiire of Baal-zebub, the God of Kkyon ? 2 Kings i. 3. 'J. That there may be hidden causes in nature, for the producing CASES OF COXSCIENCF. — DECADE 111. OF PIETY AND RELIGION. 427 of such etVects, which they know not ; neither can give any reason of their 'operations : whereof, yet, we Jo commonly make use, without any scruple. And why mav not these be ranged under the same head ; which they have use.l with no other hut good meaning, without the least intention of reference to any Malignant Powers ? In answer whereto, 1 n)ust tell them, that their best plea is igno- rance ; which may abate the sin, but not excuse it. 'I'here are, in- deed, deep secrets in nature, whose bottom we cannot dive into : as those wonders of the loadstone ; a piece, outwardly contempti- ble, yet of such force as approacheth near to a miracle : and many other strange s.ympathies and antii)athies in several creatures; in which rank may be set the bleeding of the dead at the ])resence of the murderer ; and some acts done for the discovery of witch- craft, both in this and our neighbour kingdom. But, withal, though there be secrets in nature, which we know not how she works ; yet we know there are works, which are well known, that she cannot do : how far her power can extend, is not hard to determine ; and those effects, which are beyond this, as in the forementioned par- ticulai*s, we know whither to ascribe. Let it be, therefore, the care aud wisdom of Christians, to look upon what grounds they go. \\ hile they have God and Nature for tlieir warrant, they may walk safely : but, where these leave them, the way leads down to the chambers of death. • CASE III, Whether^ resenhig my conscience to myself, I may be present at an idohtrous dcvolicn ; or, Xi'hether, in the laicfid senicc of God, I muy cononunicate li'i'l/i ziickcd persons. TiiF, question is double: both of them of great importance. 1. 'riie former, I nmst answer negatively : — Your presence is un- lawful upon adouliic ground ; of sin, and of scandal : of sin, if you jiartake in the idolatry ; of scandal, if you do but seem to partake. The Scandal is tlireefold : you confirm the olTenders in their sin: you draw others, by your exaui] le, into sin : yon grieve the spi- rits of those wiser Christians, that are the sad witnesses of j'our offence. The great Apostle of the Gentiles hath fully determined the ques- tion, in a more favoural)lc case; 1 Cor. viii. 1 — 10. The Heathen sacrifices were wont to be accompanied, in inntaiion of the Jewish prescribed by God himself, with feasts: the owners of the feast ci- villy invite the neighbours, though Christians, to the banquets : the tables are spread in their temjiles : the Christian guest-, out of a neighbourly soc:iety, go, sit, eat witii them : St. Paul cries down ^the practice, as utterly unlawful. Vet tiiis was but in matter of meat; which sure was God's, tliough sacrificed to an idol: how 428 PRACTICAL AVORKS. nmvh more miisL it hold, in riles and devices, merely cither human or (k-vilish ! I need not tell yoii of the Christian Soldiers, in the .primitive pcrseeiition : who, when they Ibiind lliemselves, hy an ignorant mistaking, drawn, nnder a pretence of loyalty, into so nuirli cere- monv as nn'^^hi carry some scnililance ot an idolatrous llmrilicaUon, ran about the city in a holy remorse, and proclaimed themselves to bo Ciirisfans : nor how little it excused Marcellinus, Bishop of Rome, from a heavy censure, that he could say, he did hut, for company, cast a few grains of incense into the tire. The charge of the Ap(jstle is full and peremptory, that we should abstain from even/ appearance of ail ; 1 Thess. v. 22. II is a poor plea that yon mention, of the example of Naaman. Alas, an ignorant Pagan ! whose body if it were washed from his leprosy, yet his soul mwst needs be still Ibul. Yet, even this man will thenceforth oifer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifice unto any other God, but unto the Lord : nor upon any ground, but the Lord's peculiar ; and will, therefore, lade two mules with Israel- itish earth ; and is now a professed convert. " Yea, but he will still bow in the temple of Kinmion :" but how will he bow ? civilly only, not religiously : in the house of Rimnion, not to the idol ; not in relation to the false deity, bnt t(^ the king his master. You shall not take him going alone under that idolatrous roof; but, ac- cording to his office, in attendance of his sovereign : nor bowing there, but to support the arm that leaned upon bin). And if, upon his rctinn home fr(jni his journey, he made that solemn protesta- tion to his Syrians, which he before made to the Prophet : " Take notice, O all ye courtiers and men of Damascus, that Naaman is now become a proselyte of Israel ; that he will serve and adore none bnt the true God ; and, if you see him at any time kneeling in the temple of your idol Himmon, know that it is not done in any de- votion to that false God, but in tiie performance of his duty and service to his royal master;" I see not but the Prophet might well bid liim Go in peace. However, that ordinary and ibrmal valedic- tion to a Syrian, can be no warrant for a Clnusiian's willing dissi- mulation; 2 Kings V. 17, 18, 19. It is lit for every honest man, to seem as he is. What do you howling amongst wolves, if you be not one r Or, what do you amongst the cranes, if you be a stork ? It was the ciiarge of Jehu, when he pretendexl that great sacrifice to Baal, Search and look , that thiii'^ b(^ ''('>'(^ 'xiik Tijou none of the servants of the Lord., bnt the xmr- shippers of Baalonhj ; 2 Kings x. 23: surely, had any of ('od's clients secretly shrouded himself amongst those idolaters, his bloofl bad been upon his own head. Briefiy, then, if yon have a mind lo keep ycursell in a safe condition ibr your soid, let me lay n|)OM you the charge, which Moses enibrced upon the congregation of Israel in the case ot l\orah\ insurrec-tion : Depart., J praij tjou, from the tents ot these, "wicked me-n, and touch vo'hivg of theirs, lest ye be coiisUtncd in all their sins ; Num. xvj. 26. CASES OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE III. OF ^IE FY AND RrLKUON. 1-2.9 2. The latter, I must answer afHrmatively : — IT tlu* ordinances be holy, why should you not take your part of them ? It is an unjust uiceness, to abridj^e yourself of a Ulobsino;, for an- other nnin's unworihiness. Doubtless, there otipht to be a separa- tion of tlie precious from the vile ; the negieet w i.ereot is the !j,reat sin of those, whom in duty it concerns lO perfomi it: but, where this is not accordingly done, shall I suder for another's ofl'ence ? My own sins mav justly keep lue otV frcni (foil's table: if another man's may do so too, I appropiiaie t' e i^uilt of his sin, to my own wrong. Surely it argues but small appetite to tli-'se heavenly viands, if you can be put otf with a pretence ot otliers' faults. Judge of the spiritual repast by this earthly. Were vou tiionnighly hungry, woidd you refrain from vourmcat because one of the guests hatli a pair of foul hands ? That may be a just eye-sore to you, but no reason why you siiould forbear wiiole- some dishes : carve you for yourself, and look to your own trencher: ])e feed.s for hini>elf ; not for you. Sin is the uinleaimess of the soul, that cleaves closer to it, than any outward nastiness can to the skin : to feed thus foul, then, is doubtless unwholesome to him- self; it can be no hurt to you. But you are ready to strain the comparison liigher, to vour own advantage : " Say, that one of the guests hath a plague-sore running upon him : shall I then think it safe to sit at the table with him ? now sin is of a pestilent nature ; spreading its infection to others, besides its own subject : therefore, it is meet we keep aloof froni the dan- ger of his contagion." True, there are sins of a contagious nature," apt to diffuse their venom to otliers ; as there are other some, whose evil is intrinsical to the owner: but these infect, by way of evil counsels, or examples, or familiar conversation; not by wav of a mere extemporary jnesence of the person: by spteading of tlieir corruption to those, that are taken with thein ; not bv scattering abroad any guilt to those, that abhor them. Well did our Saviour know how deadly an infection had seizetl on the soul of .hulas: vet he dri\es him not from his board, lest his sin should taint the disci- ples. The Spirit, that writes to the Seven Asian Churches, saw, and professed to see, the horrible infection spread amongst the Thyatirians by the doctrine and wicked pnxctices of their Jeze- bel: yet, all that he enjoins the godlv party, is, to hold their own; Uev. ii. 20, 21, 22, 25. Ilaie no Jvllcncsliip, saith the Apostle, zcilh the uufruiffid works of darkness ; Kph. v. 1 1 : lo, he would not have us partake \\\ evil : he doth not forbid us to partake with an evil man in good works. However, therefore, we are to wish and endeavour, in our places, that all the congregation may be holy ; and it is aeomfoitable thing, to join with those, that are truly conscionable and carefully obser- vant of their ways, in the immediate serMces otOur (.od: vet, where there is neglect iu the overseers, and boldness )ti the intrir-' ders, and, thereupon, God's sacred table is pesteretl with some un- worthy guc-t ; it is not for you, upon this ground, to deprive vour- HO PRACTICAL \\ ORKSi self of the benefit of God's blessed ordinances :• notwithstanding- all this unplcasing encumbrance, you are welcome, and may be happy. CASE I\^ Whether ro'ws be not out of season, noxv, under the Gospel: of zthal thins's they may he made : ho-s: far i and houfarj iliexj max) he capable of \ things thei/ marj he made : hos' far they oblige lis : and, ■whether, "of release. It is a wrongful imputation, that is cast upon us by the Roman Doc- tors, that we abandon all vows under the Gospel. Tiiey well see, that we allow and profess that common vow, as Lessius terms it, in baptism ; which yet both Bellarmin, and he, with other of their consorts, deny to be properly such. It is true, that, as infants make it by their proxies, there may seem some im- propriety of the engagement as to their persons ; but, if the jjarty Christened be of mature age, the express vow is made absolutely by and for himself. Besides this, we allo\v of the renovation of all those holy vows, relating to the fust, which may bind us to a more strict obedience to our God. Yet more : though we do not now allow the vows of things in their nature indifTorent, to be ])arts of God's worship ; as they were formerly under the Law : yet we do willingly approve of them, as good helps and fartherancos to us ; for the avoiding of such sins as we are obnoxious unto, and for the better fonvarding of our holy obedience. Thus, the charge is of eternal use : rozv unto God, and per- form it i Ps. Lw'vi. 1 1. Not that we are bound to vow : that act is free and voluntary : but that, when we have vowed, we are straitly bound to performance. It is with us for our vows, as it was with Ananias and Sapphira lor their substance : While it rt)nained, saith St. Peter, zi'as it not thine own ? Acts V. 4. He needed not to sell it : he needed not to give it : but, if he will give, he may not reserve : if he profets to ijive all, it is death to save some : he lies to the Holy Ghost, that defalks from that, which he engaged himself to bestow. It mainly concerns us, therefore, to look carefully, in the first place, to what we vow ; and to our intentions in vowing : and to see that our vow be not rash and unadvised ; of things, either trivial, or unlawful, or impossible, or out of our power to peiiorm : for every vow is a promise made to God ; and to promise unto that Great and Holy God, that, which either we cannot or ought not to do, what is it other, than to mock and abuse that Sacred Majesty, which ziill not hold him guil/liss, that tukelhhis Name in zain ? It is the charge, to this purpose, of wise Solomon : Be Jiot rash with thy month ; and let not thif heart be hasty to niter any thing before God: for God is in heaicn, and thou upon earth ; therrfore. let thy "words be frw ; lASF.S OF CONSCIENCF. — DPrADli III. OF PIETY AND UET.IMON. 431 KlcI. V. J. Your VOW, theix'foic, must be either of things morally u,oo(l, tor ihe (luickeuinjx you in that duty, whiili you are bound to do ; or of things inilill'oix;nt 'y.\ tlieuisoUes, tho rffraiuing or tlo- ing whoreor mav icmuI, cither to the resiruint iVoni sin, or the fur- ilierance ot* your holy ohedicnce : as a man, tiiat fmds his brains weak, and his im-liuation too strong to pleasing lifiuor, binds him- seitby a vow, to drink no wine, save only at God's luble ; or a man, that fiiul hunselt' ;v,it to be miscarried by his appetite, eoniines him- self bv liis vow to one dish, or to one meal for the day ; or a man, that tinds ilim^elf given to the pleasure of gaming, totlie lossofiii:* time, and the weakening of his estate, ciirbs himself by his vow ne- \er to |)hiv for money ; or a man. that finds his prayers weak and ills lie>h rebellious, vows to taujc iii.s unruly desires, and to stir up his duller devotions by fiuiting. And, as the matter of \our vow must be carefully regarded, so also vour intentions in vowing : for, if vou vow to do good to an dl end, vour thank is lost, and danger of judgment incurred. As, if you vow to give ahus for \ain-glory or ostentation; or, if God .siiall prosper your usurious or monopolizing project, you will buikl a hospital ; vour viav is l:ke to be so accepted, as the story tells us * the prayers were of that bold courtezan, wlio, coming to the shrine of St. 'ri)omas of Canterbury, as that traitor was styled, devoutly begged, tJjat, through the intercession of that .saint, she might be graced with so wiimnig a beauty, that might allure her paramours 10 a gainful courting of so ]ileasing a mistress ; when, suddenly, as my author tells me, she was stricken blind : and, certainly, so it nnght well be ; for, if a supposed saint were invoked, it was God that wa'^ highly provoked by the sinful j)etition of a shameless har- hjt ; and it vvas most iust for him to reveniie it : and so we mav u ell expect it shall be, with whosoever shall dare to make use of liis Sa- cred Name, to their own wicked or unwarrantable piu'poses. Since, therefore, our vows imist be, for their matter, as Casuists well determine, l)c mtliovf honn , and, for mtentions, holv and di- rected only to good; it plainly ap[)ears, that niany idle purposes, [jromises, resolutions, are wont to pass with men for vows, which have no just claim to that holy title. One savs, he vows never to be friends witii sucli a one, that hath highly abused him ; another, that he will never come under the roof ot" such an unkind neigh- bour: one, that he will drink so many healths to his honoured friend; another, that he will not give the wall or the way to any passenger: one, that he will never wear suit but of such a colour ; anot'ier, that he wdl never cut his hair till such an event. Tiicse, and such like, may be foolish, unjust, ridiculous .self-engagements; but vows, they are urn : neither, therefore, do bind the conscience, other- wise, than as Saujpson's cirds and withes, which he mav break as ;i thread of low ; Judires xvi. y, 12. But, as for true vow^,, certainly they are so binding, that you shall bin heinously, in not periorming them. It is no better ttiau ■** Bam. Sum. I'ljcdl'-. 432 TRACTICAL WORKS. dishoticsty, to fail iii wliut we have promised to men; but, to dis- appoint (iod in onr vows, is no less than saciilege. 'I'hat of Solo- mon's is ueighly : /fV/e;/ ihou vowest a voza vnto Gody drfer rwt to fay it ; Jo) he haili vo pleasure i)i fools : paij that, ivhich ihou hard zoictd. Better it is^ that ihou shouldst vat to^:', than that iJwii shouldst vozo and not pay it. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy fiesk to sin ; neither say bejore the angel, that it zc'as an error : "therefore should God be angry at thy voxf, and destroy the xvork of thy hands ? Eccl. V. 4, 5, ti. If, tliereforc, a lawiul and just vow have passed your lij)s, you may not be false to God and yom'self, in not keei)ing it. But, if it shall so fall out, that there proves to be some main in- convenience or ini|)ossii)iliiv, in the fulhllint; of this vour solemn promise unto God ; wiiether through the extreme prejudice of your health and life, or the overswaying dithculty of the times; what is to be done ? Surely, as under the Law it was left in the power of the parent to override the vow of the child ; Num. xxx. 3, 4, 5 : so I doubt not, but, under the Gospel, it is left in the power of your spiritual fathers to order or dispense with the performance of those vows, which you would, but cannot well fulfd. Neither was it spoken in \Tiin, nor in matter of sins only, which our Saviour, in way of authorization, said to his apostles and their successors. What- soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and zvhatsoex'er i/e shall loose 071 earth shall be loosed in heaven; Matt, xviii. 18. In this case, therefore, I should advise vou to make yonr address to your spiritual pastor, and freely lay open your condition before him; and humbly to submit yourself to his fatherly directions in that course, which shall be found best and safest for yovu" soul. Think it not safe, in a business of so high nature, to rely upon your osvn judgment ; and to carve out your own satisfaction : but regard carefully what God hath said of old. The priest's lips should teep knowledge ; and they should seek the Law at his mouth : for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts i Mai. ii. T. CASE V. Whom vtaj/ we justly hold a heretic ? and what is to be done in the case of heresy ? There is no one point, wherein the Church of God hath sufl'ered more, than in the misunderstanding of this question. How many thousand innocents have, in these latter ages of the C-hmch, pe- rished in this unhapj)y quarrel ! yea, how many famous Churciie* have been most imjustly thunderstruck, with ilireful censures of excommunication, down to the pit of hell, iij)on pretence of this crime, which have been less guilty than their anathemati/ers ! And, even amongst ourselves, how apt we arc to brand one another with this hateful mark, where there is no true merit of such a reproach !• It much injports us, therefore, to know who may be deserxedly thus stigmatized by us. I ha\e, elsewhere, somewhat largely in- CASES OF CONSCIENCE.— DECADE III. OF PIETY .\ND RELIGION. 433 sisteJ on tliis ihcine: whither I niij^ht spare soi •; lines to refer you. But, in short, thus : To lei paiis the original sense and clivers ac- ceptions of the word, a Heresy is none other than an o!)stinate er- ror uj;aii)6t the foundation. All truths are precious ; btit some, w itlial, necessary. All errors are faulty ; but some damnable : the heinousness of the error is aecording to the woith of the trLI^h im- pugned. Tliere are theological verities, fit for us t(; know and be- lieve : there are Articles of Clirislian Faidi, needful to be known and believed. There are ti-uihs of meet and decent superstructure, without which the fabric may staml : there are truths of the founda- tion, so esaciuial, as that without them it cannot stand. It is a maim to the house, if but a tile be pulled olV from the roof- but, if the foundation i)e razed, the budding is overthrown : this h the endea- vour and act of Heresy. But now, ihe next question will be, what doctrinc^s they are which must be accounted to be of the ioundalion. Our countryman, Fisher the Jesuit, and his associates, will tell you roundly. That all those things, which are dehnecl'by the Church to be believed, are fundamental * : a large ground-work of faith ! Doubtless, the Church hatli defined all things contained ii^ the .Scripture, to be believed : and theirs, which they call Catholic, hath defined all those traditional points, which tliey have added to tlie Creed, upon the same necessity of salvation to ije believed. Now if all these be the foundation, which is the i)uilding ? \\'hat an imperfect fabric do they make cf Christian Religion : all foun- dation ; no walls ; no roof. Surely, it cannot, without too much absurdity', be denied, that there is great difi'erence of truths; some, more important than i»thers : wiiich could not be, if all were alike fundamental. If there were not some special truths, the belief whereof makes and distiiiguisheth a Christian, the authors of the Creed Apostolic, be- sides the other Symbols received anciently by the Church, were much deceived in their aim. He, therefore, that believes the Holy Scriptures (which must be a principle presupposed) to be inspired by God : and, as an ab- stract of the chief particulars thereof, professeih, to believe and embrace the Articles of the Christian Faith; io regulate his life by the Law of God's Commandments, and hi;s devotion by tiie rule o\ Christ prescribed; and, lastly, to acknowledge and receive the Sa- craments cxjiressly instituted by Christ: duublles.i, this man is bv jjrofession a Christian, and cannot be denied to holil the foun- dation. And, whosoever shall wilfully imjnign any of these, comes wiihm the verge of Hereby : wiii'ully, 1 sa^ ; for mere error makes not ;l Heretic. If, out of simplicity or gross ignorance, a man .sliall take upon liim to maintain a contradiction to a pouit of faith, bein^ reuJy I * IMitf. of th« Third Confer, p. H. F > 4"54. FRAtTICAL WORKS. to velenl upon l)eLter liglir, lie may not be thus branded : eviction and continnai-y must im|)rove liis error, to be lioreticul. The Church of Rome, therefore, haih been too cruelly liberal of her censvires, this way ; having bestowed tliis livery nj^on many ihousand Christians, whom Ood hath owned lor his Saints ; and upon some Churches, more orthodox than herself: presuming- upon a power, which was never granted her from heaven, to state new Arti'.-les of Faith ; and to excommunicate and bar all, that shall dare to gainsay licr oracles. A\'hereas, the great Doctor of the Gentiles hath told us from the Spirit of God, that there is but one Lord, one Faith, one Bap- iis)n ; Eph. iv. 5. And what faith is that ? St, Jude tells us, t/ic ^'ailh that was once delivered to /he saints? Jude 3: so that, as well may thev make more reiterations of Baptism, and multiplicities of I.ords, as more Faiths than one. Some explications there may be of that one faith, made by the Church, upon occasion of new- sprung errors : but such, as must have their grounds from fore- written truths ; and such, as may not extend to the condemnation of them, whom God hatli left free. New Articles of Faith, they may not be ; nor bind farther, than God hath reached them. Heretics then they are, and only they, that pertinaciously raze the foundation of the Christian Faith. What now must be done with them ? Surely, first, if they cannot be reclaimed, they must be avoided. It is the charge of the Beloved I)i.scipl(> to the Fleet Ladv, Jf any tnan come unto yon, and bring not (that is, by an ordinary Hebraism, opposes) this doctrine, recei-e him not into your houses, neither bid him (iod speed; 2 John 10. But the Apostle of the Gentiles goes yet higher: for, writing to Titus, the great Superintendent of Crete, his cliarge is, A man, that is a heretic, after the first and se- cond admonition reject ; Titus iii. 10. Now, when ne comj)are the chaige w ith the person, we cannot but fuid that this rejection is not a mere negative act, of refraining company ; but a positive act of censure: so as he, who had ])o^^er to admonish, had also power to reject, in an authoritative or judi- catory way. He says then, J^reita, I'ejec', or Avoid; not, as F^rasnnis too truly but bitterly scolls the Komish ])ractice, l)c vita tolle. This, of killing the Heretic, as it was out of the power of a spiritual su- pervisor; so was it no less far from the thoughts of him, that de- sired to come /// the spirit of vieckness. Faggots wore never or- dained by the Apostle, for arguments to confute Heretics. This bloody logic anil divinity was of a much later brood ; and is for a Dominic, not a Paul, to own : for, certainly. Faith is cf the same nature with Love : it camiot be compelled : persuasions may move it ; not force. These intellectual sins must look for remedies of their own kind. But if either they be, as it is often, accompanied with damnable blasphemies against God, whether in hi.s essence or attributes, or CASKS OF CONSCIENCE. — DECADE III. OF PIETY AND RELIGION. 435 the Three incomprelicfisiblc Persons in the All-glorious Deitv, or the hlesscd Metliaior betwixt God and Man Jesus Clirist in either of his natures; or, else, shall he attended vith the jmhlic distur- bances anil dangerous distempers of the kingdom or state, wherein they are broached ; the Apo.^tle's wish is but seasonable, in both a spiritual and a bodily sense : Would to God thost "were cut off", that troublf i/ou ; Gal. v. 1 2. In tiie mean time, for what concerns yourself, if you know any such, as you love God and your souls, keep aloof IVoni tiiem, as from the pestilence. Plpiphanius* well compares Heresy to the biting of a mad dog : which, as it is deadly, if not speedily reme- died ; so, it is, withal, dangoronsly infectious: not the tooth onlv, but the very foam of iha'. envenomed beast carries death in it : you cannot be safe, if you avoid it not. CASE VI. WhclJicv the laws of vicn do lu'>:d the conscience ; andho'jo far we are tied to their obedience. BoTti the extremes of opinion, concerning this point, must needs bring much mischief upon Chiircji and Kingdom. Those, that absoiuiely hold s\i(li a power in human laws, make themselves slaves to men : those, that deny any binding power in tliem, run loose into ail licentiousness. Know, then, that there is a vast di'l'eretice betwixt these two : to bind the conscience, in any act; and to bind a man in conscience, to do or omit an act. Hiuiian laws cannot do the first of them : the latter they may and must do. To l)ind the consc.ence, is, to make it guilty of a sin, in doin«j- an act forbidden, or omitting an act enioiiieil, as in itself such ; or making that act in itself an acceptable service to God; which is commanded by men. Thus, human laws cannot bind the con- science : it is God only ; I John iii. 21. who, as he is greater than the conscience, so hath power to bind or loose it. It is he, that is the oiilv Lawgiver to the conscience; Is. xxxiii. 22. James iv. 12. Prince^ and Churches may make laws for the outward man ; but they can no more bind the heart, than they can make it. In vain Ls that power, which is not enabled with coercion : now what coer- cion can any liunian j)ower claim of the heart, which it can never attain to know ? The spirit of man, thcrelore, is suoject oiil) to the Kailier f)f Sj)iriis; who only sees and searches the secrets of it, and can both convince and punish it. Be.iid(!s, well did penitent David know what he said, when he cried out, yl^ainit thee oiih/ have I sinned ; Ps. li. 4. He knew that sin is a iraiisgresbion of the Law, and that none but God's Law can make a sin. Men uiay ^ Epiphan. (Ixrcs. I. i. 43G PRACTICAL WORKS. be concerned and injured in our actions : but it is God, who hath forbidden tliesc wrongs to men, that is sinned against, in our acts of iu"jusLi».'C und uncharital'ieness ; and vvho only can intiict the spiritual ^\\hich is the highest) revenge upon otTenders. The charge of ihc great Doctor of tl'.e Gentiles to his Galatians, was St.uul fust in lhcUbe.rii/,'d'htTcrviih Christ hath mack us free ; mid be not entan^h'd again in the yoke of bondage ; Gal. v. 1. What yoke of l)ondage was this, but the law of ceremonies ? What h- beri\ wfis this, but a freedom from the bondage of that law ? And, cirtauiiv, if tliose ordinances, which had God for their Author, have soiitcie power to bind the conscience, as that the yoke of the:) bondage must be sliaken olT, as inconsistent with Christian liberty ; how much less is it to be endured, that we should be the seivaiits of men, in being tied up to sin by their presumptuon* imposiiions ! Tlie laws of men, therefore, do not, ought not, cannot bind your conscience, as of themselves; but, if they be just, they bind you in conscience to obedience. They are the words of the Apostle to his Romans : Wherefore, you must needs be subject ; not only for 'u.rath, but also for conscience sake ; Rom. xiii. 5, Hovvever, then, tiicir particular constitutions in themselves put no special obliga- tion upon ns, under pain of sin and danniation ; yet, in a general relation to that God who hath commanded ns to obey authority, their neglect or contempt involves us in a guilt of sin. All power is of God : that, which the supreme authority tiieiefore enjoins you, God enjoins you by it : the charge is mediately his, though pa.ssing through the hands of men. How little is this regarded, in these loose times, by those lawless persons, whose practices acknowledge no sovereignty but titular, no obedience but arbitrary ; to whom the strongest laws are as weapons to the Leviathan, who esteems iron as stra-u', and brass as rotten 's-ood ! Jol) xli. 27. Surely, had they not first cast off their obedience to him, that is higher than the highest, they could not, without trembling, hear that weighty charge of the great God of Heaven : Let every soul be suhject to tlie higher powers : for there is no jwuer but of God ; and thepo:c'ers i/iat be, are ordained of God: Rom. xiii. 1 : Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake ; 1 Peter li. 13: and, therefore, should be convinced in themselves, of that awe and duty, which tht-y owe to sovereignty ; and know and rc- iiolve to obey God in mcU; and men for God. Vou see, tlicn, how requisite it is, that you walk in a middle way, betwi.xt that excessive power, wliich flattering Casuists have been wont to uive to Popes, Emperors, Kings, and Princes in their se- veral jurisdictions ; anil a hiwless neglect of lawful authority. For the orthodox, wise, and just moderation whereof, these last ages are much indebted to the learned and judicious Chancellor of Paris, John Gcrson, 'who first so checked* that overflowing error * Tract, ile Vit. Spec. Icct. 4. cif. Dom. a Scto ut infra. CASES OPCONSriENrt:. — decade lU. OP PIETY AND RF.LKJIOy. 437 of the power of human usurpation, which canied the worhl before it, as gave a just hint to succeeihnj!^ tiines, to th*aw that stream into ihe right channel : insomuch as IJoniinicns a Soto complains * greatly of him, as, in this, little diHering from the Luthcn'n IIo- rcsy : but, in the 'u'lij/ which thcij caU htTcsjj, "u'e z^orsliip the God of our talkers ; Acts xxiv. 14: rendering t/«/o Gf.var the thi}i^s thai arc desur's, and unto God those fhins^s that are God's : yieldrpg our bodies to C\i sar ; reser\ing our souls for God : tendering to just Jaws, our active obedience ; to unjust, passive. But, in the mean time, far be it from us, to draw this knot of our obligation harder and closer, than authority itself i:)tends it. \V'hatevcr poj^es may do for their Decrees, certainly good princes never meant to lay i>uch weight upon all their laws, as to make every breacli of them, even in relation to the authority given them by God, to be sinful. Their laws are commonl}' shut up, with a sanction of the penally imposed uj)on the violation. There is an obedicntia bursaiis ; as, I iemen)bcr, GtMson calls it : " an obedience," if not of tlie person, yet " of tiie purse ;" which princes are content to take up withal. We have a world of sins, God knows, upon us, in our hourly trans- gressions of the rcyal laws of our Miikcr : but, woe were ur, if we should have so main- sins more, as we break statutes. In penal laws, where scandal o' contempt find no place, human authority is ivont to rest satisfied with the mulct paid, when the duty is not per- formed. Not tliat we inay wilfully incur the breach of a good law. be- cause our hands are upon '^•i.r purse-strings, ready to stake the tor- feiture. This were utterly lo frustrate the end of good laws; which do therefore impose a mulct, thai they may not be broken : and were highly injurious to sovereign auliJoriLy ; as if il sjought for our money, not our obedience ; and cared more for gain, than good order ; than which there cannot be a more base imputation cast uj)on government. As, then, we are wont to say, in relation of our actioi^s to the laws of God ; that some things are forbidden because they are sin- ful, and some things are sinful because they are forbidden : so it holds also in the laws of men ; some things are forbiddci^ because they are justly ollensiNc, and some other things arc only therefore oftensive because they are forbidden : in the former of these, we must yield our careful obedience, out of respect even to the dtny itself; in the latter, out of respect to the will of the lawgiver; yet so, as that if our own important occasions shall enforce us to transgress a penal law without any alVront of authority or scandal to others, our submission to tiie penalty frees us from a sinful dis- obedience. • Gersonii poiilio faium distal ab hirresi Luthtran^i, Doroinic. a Soic l<^ Jure, &:c. I. i. tju. 6. 438 PRACTICAL WORKS. CASE VII. Whether tithes he. a hmfiil maintenance for Ministers, under the GoS' pel ; and -di'hether men be bciutd to pay them accordingly. As the question of " mine" and " thine" liaih ever embroiled the world; so this particular concerning tithes hath raised no little dust in the Clunch of God : while some plead them in the precise, quota parte, due and necessary to be paid, both b^- the Law of God, and nature itself; others decry them as a Judaical Law; partly ceremonial, partly judicial ; and, therefore, either now unlawful, or at least neither obligatory nor convenient. W hat is fit to be deteimined in a business so over agitated, I shall shut up in these ten proijositions. 1. The maintenance of the Legal ministry- allowed ajid appointed by God, was exceeding large and liberal. Besides all the tithes of corn, wine, oil, herbs, lierds, flocks, they had forty-eight cities set forth for tliem; with the fields round about them, to the extent of two thousand cubits every way. They had the firstfruits of wine, oil, wool, ike. in a large ])roportion : he was held to be a man of an evil eye, that gave less than the sixtieth part. They had the firstborn of cattle, sheep, beeves, goats ; and the price of the rest, m^on redemption : even the firstborn of men must ransom them- selves, at five shekels a man. They had the oblations and vows of things dedicated to God. They had the ample loaves, or cakes* rather, of sliew-bread, and no small share in mcat-oi-ferings, sin- offerings, trespass-offerings, heave-offerings, shake-offerings : of f>acrifices eucharistjcal, they had the breast and shoulder ; of other, the shoulder and the two cheeks : yea, the very br.fnt-offerings afforded tliem a hide. Besides all these, all the males were to ap- pear before the Lo d, thrice a year : none were exempted, as their Doctors tell us, but servants, deaf, dumb, idiots, blind, lame, de- filed, uncircnmcised, old, sick, tender and weak, not able to travel ; and no orie of these, which came up, might appear empty-handed. What do I olTer to particularize ? Tliere were lio less than twenty- four gifts allotted to the priests, expressly in the Law: the severals ■whereof whoso desires to see, may find in the learned and profita- ble Annotations of jNlr. Ainswordi, out of INIaimonides t- 2. \V e can have no reason to imagine, that the same God, who ■was so bountiful in his provisions for the Legal ministry, should hear U>s ri>pect to the Evangelical ; which is far more worthy and, excellent, than t'"e odier. Justly, therefore, doth St. Paul argue, from the manuenance of the one, a meet proportion for the fit sustentation of the other ; 1 Cor. ix. 13. 3. It is not fit for God's ministers to be too intent ou matter of * Ten hand-bitadihs long, five broad, seven fingers high. \ IL Ainsworih iu Ltv. xxiv. y. tx MaimoaiUe. (UST'.S OF CONSCIEXCF. — DECADE ill. Ol- PIETV AND RELIGION. 43^ profit : their main care must be the spiritual proticiency of the souls i)f their people : the secular thougijts of outward provisions must come in only on the hy. But, l.owsoever they may not he 'Mitan*:ied in worldly ail'airs, yet they ought in duty to cast so nmcli eye u})on these earthly things, a.s may free ihcni from nec^lect. It is to Timothy that St. Paul writes, that // ufiy vian priK'iJc not for !:U own, and tspccialli/ for those of his oxi'n house, he hath denied ihe Jaith, and is noise than an infidel ; 1 Tiuj. v. S, 4. L nder the Law, the tenth j)ari was precisely allotted, hy the Owner of All Things, for the maintenance of the sacred tribe: and, if the \\ ise and Holy God had not found tiiat a mfcet proportion for those that served at his altar, he hail cither pitched upon some other or left it arbitrary. Yea, even before the Law, Abraham, and in his loins Levi himself, paid tithes to Melchisedec, the priest of the Most High God ; Gen. xiv. 20. Heb. vii. 4. And, w hether it were by his examji!e or by some natural instinct, we find the very heaihen nations, after some great viclur^' atchievcd, were wont to devote siill the tithe of their spoils to their Deities : so Camillus, when he had after a long siege taken the rich city Vejos, (a place of such importance, that, upon the taking of it, he wished some great cross nnght befal Konie, for the tem()ering of so high a feli- <'ity) he presently otfereth the tithe to his Gods*: yea, it was their custom who were most devout, to consecrate the tithe of all their increase to those Gods they were most addicted unto ; inso- mucii as the Konians noted it in their Lucallus, that he therefore grew up to so vast an estate, because he still devoted the tithe of liis fruits to Hercules : and f Pliny tells us, that, when they gather- ed their frankincense, none of it might be uttered till the priest had the tithe of it set forth for hini. 6. Tiiere can be no good reason given, why we may not observe the very same rate of proportion, in laying out the maintenance of the ministry under the Gospel : and, if these rules and examples be not binding, since religion con>isteth not now in numbers at all ; yet there is no cause why Christian kingdoms or commonwealths may not settle their choice u^ion the same nimiber and (juantity, with both Jews and Gentiles. C. The national lawb of this kingdom have .-^i.. w^it the same pro- portion of tenths, for this purpose : if, therefore, there were lio other obligation from the Law of God or of the ('hmch, nor any jirecedents from the practice of the rest of t!ie world ; yet, in o!)e- dience to our municipal laws, we are bound to lav forth the tenth part of our mcrease, to the mainienance of God's service; and that tenth is as truly due to the minister, as the nine parts to the owner. 7. Since the tenth i aji i-, m i.i m. niion of the law both civil and ecclesiastical, dedicated to the service of (iod ; and, in the mere intuition thereof, is allotted to God's ministers ; there can be * "O^p* 9ii itKiirrti, See. Clem. Al. Sirom. J. ■f Plin. 1. xii. Ijuiij^ui dc num. Myiur. mini. !'■*. 440 >KACriCAL WORKS. no reason, why it can be clairiT^d or warrantahly received by lay pei"sor)s, lor l' t-ir pi'oper use cim.1 bebcof : so as this practice ot" im- propriation, whicli \v;.i first scl on foot by unjust and sacrilegious Bulls fi'oui Rome, is justly o::ensive both to God and !_jood men ; as nn^;-deri\ inn; tlic well-meant devorions of charitable and pious souls into a wrong- cluuniel. Nothing is more plain, than tliat tithes were given to the Church ; and, in it, to God : how, therefore, that, which is bequeathed to God, may be alienated to secular liands, U't the possessors look. H, Let men be tied to make good the Apostle's c!)arge, since the Legal rate displeases ; and it shall well satisfy those, that wait upon God's senices under the Gospel. The charge of the Apostle of the Gentiles, is, Let /lim, that /.? taught in the 'word, cruniii ' !o him, that teacheth, in all good things ; Gal. vi. 6 : wheveio , v . 1, Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; v. 7. The charge is scriop.s and binding : and the required communication is universal ; an;'. that with a grave item of God's strict observation of performance. We may not think to jnit it olf with Ambrose's mis-pointed read- jngj of relerring the alt good things to the teaching ; a conceit, sen- sibly weak and misconstructive : nothing is more evident, than that it hath relation to the communicating ; w nerein, for ought I see, God intends a larger bount}' to the Evangelical mmistry than to the Legal: where all is to be communicated, what is excepted? All : not exclusive of the owner ; but imparted by the owner. Let this be really done, there will be no reason to stand upon the tenths. 9. But, that this may be accordingly done, there is no law, that requires a mere arbitrariness in the communicators. The duty of the teacher is punctually set down ; and so well known, that the meanest of the people can check him with his neglect: and why should we think the recij)rocal duty or the hearer fit to be lel't loose aj)d voluntary ? yet such an apprehension hath taken up the hearts of too many Christians, as if the contributions to their mi- nisters were a matter of mere alms ; which as they need not to give, so they are apt, upon easy displeasures, to upbraid. But these rnen must be put in mindx)f the just word of our Saviour, The la- bourer is "xorthy of his usages. The ministry signifies a senicc ; a public service at God's altar : whoieio the wages is no less due, than the meat is to the mouth ol him that pays for it. No man may more freely speak of tithes than myself, vvlio receive none, nor ever shall do. Know, liien, ye jnoud ignorants, that call your ministers your alms-men, and yourst- Ives their benefactors, that the same right you have to ih.- whole, they have to a j)art : God, and the same laws that have feoHed you in your estates, have allotted them their due shines in them ; which, without wrong, ye cannot detract. It is not your charity, but your justice, which they press for their own. Ncidjer think to check them, with the scornful title of your ser- vants: servants they are, indeed, to God's Church ; not to you: and, if they do stoop to particular sei>ices for the good of your souls, this IS no morp disparagement to them, than it is to the CASES OF CONSCIF.XCF.. — DECADE 111. OF PIF.TV AND nri.fOION. 441 blessed angels of Cod, to heviinisienng spiri/s, sent J'orlh iv nu/ii- s(er for t'leni^uho sliull be heirs cf sahatum ; Heb. i. 14. Shnriiy, it is the Apostie-srhaic:e, ratitied in iieaven, that they,\vliicli lalujwr in tl>e word and doctrine, should be reuinnerated with doublf ho- nour : that is, not fomial, of words and coniphnients ; but real, of maintenance : w hich he lays w eight upon his Timothy to enjoin ; 1 Tim. V. 17. 10. Andsiuclv, how necessary- it is that we shonjd be at some cercalntv in this case, and not left to the mere arbitrary will of the givers, it too well R{)]jears in common experience : which tells us how ordinary it is, where mmisters dejjend upon voluntary benevo- lences, if the} do but upon some just reproof gall the conscience of a gnilty hearer, or preach some truth which disrelishes ths pa- late of a })renossessed auditor, how he straight flies out; and not only withholds his own pay, but also withdraws the contributions of others : so as the fiee-tongued teacher must either live by air, or be forced to change his pasture. It were easy to instance, but cha- rity bids me forbear. Hereupon it is. that these sporiulary preachers are fain to sooth up their many masters ; and are so gag- ged with the fear of a starving displeasure, that they dare not be tree in the reprehension of the daring sins of their uncertain bene- factors; as being charmed to sj)ca)c either -placenlia, or nothing. And if there were no .such danger in a faithful and just freedom, yet how easy is it to aj)prehend, that if, even when the laws enforce men to pay thv'w dues to their ministers, they yet continue so backward in their discharge of them ; how much less hope can there be, tliat, being left to tijeir free choice, they would prove either liberal or just m their voluntary contributions } Howsoever, therefore, in tliat innocent infancy of the Church, wherein zealous Christians, out of a liberal ingenuity were ready to lay down all their substance at the Apostles' feet; and, in the primitive times immediately subsequent, the willing forwardness of devout people took away all need of raising set maintenanct^s for God's ministers : vet now, in these dej)raved and hard-hearted times of the Church, it is more than rese, as the Israelites had for their wars against Anialek and those nei«di- bouring Heathens, all were sure : hut you know who saiil, JJ'/ait ha\t' I to do to Jud^f tlian that arc •^illioul ^ I (.'or. v. I 'J : and, if lie jnav not be a judge, who may be an executioner ? Refusal of Clui.>tianity can be no sutHcient irround, of eitlier in^ ration or expulsion: since violence is not the appointed wav fur plantation ol the faith; which uuist he persuaded ami not i:oui|k Ikd. That sentence, therefore, of Pope Gregory •■■, Justum xanfluin~ que esse beliian, 5kV. (" '1 iiat is a just and lioly war, which is by Christians made against Infidels, that they, heing brouglit un- der sidijeciion, the Gospel of C'iirist might be preached unto them; lest that if they should not be subjected, they nuyht be a hindrance to preaching, and to the conversion of those that woidd lieheve;") is surely either not out of the chair, or beside the cushion; and belter beseems a successor of lloniulu=>, than of Peter. I may not omit to acquaint you, how hotly tliis main question was disputed by Spanish and kalian Divines, upon the very lirst enirance of this litigious usurjiation : at which time Pope i\l€?-'^i'-ii- der the >ixcii, aiuio 14^- J, ga\e his large Decretory Bull to Jber- dinand King and Isabella Q,ueen of Castile and Arragon, for Iiis expedition tgamst the barbarous Indians of the then newly disco- vered world. Genesius ;^epulveda, a learned Spaniard, writ then, in defence and encouragci'iient of this holy inviision, a Dialoo^ue, which he cal.ed Democrates Secundus, which was published at Rome, by the procurement of Antonius Augnstinus, auilitor oi the palace ; \\hich no sooner came abroad, than it was eagerly set on, by the Divines both of Italy and Spain. Amongst these latter, the IJoctors of Salamanca and the Complutenses, and above them An- tonius Ramirns Bishop of Si'govia, fall foul njjon that olVensivc discourse; which deiiesius would fain have vindicated by an Apo- logy, set forth to that pur|)Ose : but, how insufHcienlly, it wcr.- easy to shew, if it were as needlul. But, to make the matter rs and Dixtors by himcUed; and, above all, by that loud Bud ol' AKxander t; wiierein yet, for ought 1 see, the charge which is laid on tho.,e princes is only to reduce the peo- * Gri\^. t.ip. /Vr v-.nci n.i'1.111. fimj). .V/ //cw. iM. q. i. Jm/iin sanctumqti* esse bcllnin, quod InfiiUlibu^ a Ciiriitianis iiijcrtnr, ut eix inij.cn'o mbdilis pi\t- dicari possil Christi E''aiigcliiiiu ; ttc .w inip:rin subrhti niin tint, prtttiicatioii, iti oniverstoni eorum qui creditUtint imperiivietitfl esse possint. t Doret. ti intinatc, rtud lentiering terms oi jiardon and peace to the relenting and con- trite soul : or rather, as the Apostle styles him, 2 t'or. v. •20. God's Atubassador, olVcring and suing foy the reconciliation of men to Goil ; and, if that be relused, menacing just vengeance to sinners. Special, in particular a|">plication of this knowledge and power to the soul of that sinner, which makes his address uiuo him. \\ herein must be en(|uired, both what ISecessity there is of this recourse, and what Aid and Comfort it may bring to the soul. Two cases there are, wherein ceriainly there is a Necessity of ap- plying ourselves to the juilgment of our spiritual guides. The first is, in our doubt of the nature and quality of the fact; whether it be a sin, or no sin : for, both many sins are so gildod over with fair pretences and colourable circinustances, that they arc not to be descried but by judicious eyes; and some actions, which are of themselves indilTerent, may, by a scrupulous conscience, be mistaken for heinous oflcnces. Whither shall we go in these doubts, but to our counsel, learned in the laws of God ; of whom God him- self hath said, bv his Prophet, The priesCs lips s/iculd keep kiwit- ledge ; and they should seek the Laze at his mouth : J'or he is the mes- sender of the Lord of J Tost s ; IVlal. ii. 7. The second is, in the irresohible condition of our souls, after a known sin committed : wherein the burdened conscience, not be- ing able to give ease umo itself, seeks for aid to the sacred hand of God's penitentia'r}- here on earth; and there may lind it. This i^ that, which i'.iihu, as upon experience, suugesteth unto Job, on his dunghill : The soul of the reworsed drawetli near to the ^raxe, and his life to the dest>oyers. But, if there be a messenger, of God, xrith him, an interpreter, one of a thousand, to shezr xmlo man his 1/prightness, and the soundness of his rej)entap.ce, 7 hen is (Goil) gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going douii into the pit; L haxejpund a ransom, h>^c. lie shall pray unto (rod; and lie trill he J'avourahle u)ito him ; and ht shall see his face "with joy ; Jo') xxxiii. 2i — 2.'. \\\ case of some dangerous sickness of the boilv, we trust not our own skill, nor some ignorant (juack-salvers ; but seek to a leanuvl and experienced physician, for the prescription of some sun- reme- dies : whereas, it it be but for a sore finger or a tooih-;uh, wr rare only to make use of our own reci;ipts. And so, in ci\ d (|uar- rels, if it be only soiui- sli;^hi brabblr, we think to comport- it a'one ; but, if it be some main (juesticui importing our freehoKl, v\e ;n«" glad lo wait on the stairs of some judicious) lawyer, and to fee him 44S PRACTICAL WORK>;. for advice. Tlow miidi more is it thus, in the perilous condition of our souls. ! wliich, as it is a part far luore precious than its earthly tabernacle ; so the diseases, whereto it is subject, are infinitely more dangerous and deadly. Is your heart, therefore, embroiled within 3'ou, with the guilt of ?onie heinous sin ? labour, what 30U may, to malic your peace with heaven : humble yourself unto the dust, before the Majesty, whom you have olfended: beat your guilty breast; water your cheeks with your tears; and cry mightily to the Father of Mercies, for a gracious remission : but if, after all these penitent endeavoin-s, vou find your soul still uiKjuiet, and not sufficientl}' apprehensive of a free and full forgiveness, betake yourself to God's faithful agent, for peace: run to your ghostly physician: lay your bo- som open before him: flatter not your own condition: let nei- ther fear nor shame stay his hand, from probing and searcfiing the wound to the bottom : and, that being done, m;ike careful use of such spiritual applications, as shall be by hiai administered to you. This, this is the way, to a perfect recovery, and fulness. of comfort. But, you easily grant that there may be ver}^ wholesome use of the ghostly counsel of your minister, in the case of a troubled soul: but you doubt of the validity and power of nis absolution : concern- ing which, it was a just question of the Scnbes in the Gospel, JVho can forgive sins, but Godonli/ ? Our Saviour therefore, to prove that he had this power, argues it from his Divine Omnipotence : Ke only hath authority to forgive sins, that can say to the decre])id pa- ralitic. Arise, take up thy bed^ and walk : none but a God can, by his command, effect this ; he is, therefore, the true God, that may absolutely sa}', Thij sins be forgiven thte ; Mark ii. (i — 12. Indeed, how can it be otherwise ? Against God only, is our sin committed ; against man, only in the relation that man liath to God : he only can know the depth of the malignity of sin, who only knows the sold wherein it is forged : he only, who is Lord of the Soul, the God of Spirits, can punish the soul for sinning : he only, that is infinite, can doom the sinful soul to infinite torments: he only, therefore, it must be, that can release the guilty soul from sin and punishment. If, therefore, man or angel shall cludlenge to himself this absolute power to forgive sin, let him be accursed. "^'ct, withal, it must be yielded, that the Blessed Son of God spake not those words of his last commission in vain : IVhosesoever ii)is ye remit, they are remiflcd unto them ; awl whosesoever sinsije retain, they are retained ; John x.\. 23 : neither were they sfioken to the then present apostles only ; but, in them, to all their faith- iid successors to tlie end of the world. Tt cannot, therefore, but be grained, that there is some kind of power left in the haftd of Christ's ministers, both to remit and re- tain sin. NeitJier is this power given only to the governois of the Church, in respect of the censures to be inflicted or relaxed by them; but CASES OF CONSCIF.NCF. — DECADE HI. OF PIETY AND RELIGION. 449 to all God's faithful ministers, in rolation to tlic sins of men: a jjovver, not sovereign and al)Nolnte, but limited and ministerial ; for either <]uietin^ the coiiNC-ience of the |jeniient, or tiirtlier atri^ravat- inj; the conscience of sin and terror of judgment to tiie obstinate anvl rebellious. Neither is this only by wav of a bare verbal declaration ; which mij^ht proceed from any other lips : but in the way of an operative and elfectual application ; by virtue of Uiat delegate or conimis- sionary authority, which is by Christ entrusted with tliem. For, certaiidv, our Saviour meant, in these words, to confer somewhat upon his ministers, more than the rest of the world should be capa- ble to receive or [)erform. The absolution, therefore, of an authorized person must needs be of greater force and etHcacy, than of any private man, how learned or holv soever ; since it is grounded upon the institution and commib.->ion of the Son of God, from which all power and vir- tue is derived to all his ordinances : and, we may well say, that, whatsoever is in this case done by God's minister, (the Key not erring) is ratified in heaven. It cannot, therefore, but be a great comfort and cordial assurance to the penitent soul, to hear the messenger of God, after a careful inquisition into his spiritual estate and true sight of his repentance, in the Name of the Lord Jesus pronouncing to him the full remission of all his sins. And, if either the blessing or curse of a father go deeper with us, than of an}' other whosoever ; although but pro- ceeding from his own private affection, without any warrant from above; how forcibly shall we esteem the (not so much ajjjirecatory, as declaratory) benedictions, of our spiritual tathers, scut to us out of heaven ! Although, therefore, you may, perhaps, through God's good- ness, attain to such a measure of knowledge and resolution, ;is to be able to give youi-self satisfaction concerning the state of your soul; yet, it cannot be amiss, out of an al)undant caution to take God's minister along with you, and, making him of your spiritual counsel, to unbosom yourself to liim freely, for his fatherly advice and concurrence: the neglect whereof, through a kind of cither strangeness or nn.v-conceit, is certainly not a little disadvantageous to the souls of many good Christians. The Romish Laity makes eitlu:r oracles or idols of their ghostly fathers: if we make cyphers of ours, I know not whether we be more iii'iurious to them or our- selves. We go not about to rack 3 our consciences to a ibrccd and exquisite confession, under the pain of a no-remission ; but we per- suade yon, for your own good, to be more intimate with, antl less reserved t'loiu, those whom God hath set over you, for your direi- tion, comlort, salvation. G G 450 PRACTICAL \\'ORKS. CASE X. Whether it be laxvful, for a man that is not a professed divine, that is, as -we for distinction are iC'0)it to call him, for a laic person to take upon him to interpret the Scripture. Many distinct considerations had need to make way to the answer. First, it is one thing, tor a man to interpret Scripture; another tliinT, to take upon him the function of preaching tlie Gospel, \\|jich was perhaps in your intention. This is far more hirge than the other. Every man, that preacheth, interpreteih the Scripture: but, every one, that interprets Scripture, doth not preach. To interpret Scri[)ture, is only to give the sense of a text: hut, to preach, is to divide the word aright; to apply it to the conscience of the hearer, and, in an authoritative uay, to reprove sin, and de- nounce judgment against sinnei's : to hiy forth the sweet j^romises of the Gospel to the faithful and penitent : for the perfoniung wiiere- of, there must be a couuuission to God's minister, from Inm, that sends him : upon which the Apostle hath pronounced a Tig Uuv6g Who is siij/icientfor these things ? Secondly, it nuist be considered, in what nature, and within what compass, the interpretation is: for, doubtless, the just degrees of callinos must be herein duly observed; whether in a public way, as pastors of congregations; or in a private way, as masters of fami- lies : whether in the scliools, in a mere granmiatical way ; or in the church, in a prcdicatory. Thirdly, it umst be considered, as what the calling, so what the gifts are of tlie interpreter : for, surely, mere interpretation doth not depend u})ont!jc {profession, but upon the faculty of the under- taker; whether he be learned or ignorant; whether skilful in lan- guages and arts (whicli certainly umst be required in whosoever woidd put forth his hand to so holy and great a work), or whether inexpert in both. Where these gifts of interpretation and eminent endowments of learning are found, there can be no reason of re- stramiiig them frtjin an ex^ercise so beneficially edilicatory to the Church of God : without which, the truth of Christian Religion had HHuted much, both of her vigour and lustre, in all generations. Hmv famously is it known, that Origen, before his entering into lioly Ordc's, even at eighteen years of his age, entered into that great work of his catet;hisings ! Apollos, the Alexandrian, :i'as an eloquent num. and mifihtij in Scriptures, and taught diligen/lij the jhings of tilt- Lotd i yet knew nothing but the baptism of John, till Aijiiiia and Pri;>cllla took hiiu to task, and more perfeclli/ expounded to hi)n thexcaij of Civd ; Acts xviii. 24, 2.j. And, what happy u>e ii pleased God to make of laic liands, for both tlie defence and propagation of the Gosj)c'l, we need no oilier witness than St. Je- j'onie; who huih nu'inori/cd amongst the primitive Christians, Ari.stides, Agripj^a, llegtiii, Musanus, Modestinus, Loth CASES OF CONSCIKNCE. — DECADE III. OF PIETY AND RELHMON. 451 the Apollonii, Honulius, Miixiiiins, and many otliers, wlioni (jod raised ii[) amongst the learned iaity of those times, to a|)oU)gi/.e for Christianity. And, in iht; l.isL foregoing uge, how scaree re- moved out of our .sight, are Laiuentius Valla, hoth iht* Karls of Miranduhi, Capnio, i-agius, Krasnms, laher, and the iCst of those tr.nious wav-makei"s to the succee(hng restitution of the evimgehcal truth ! And, what a treasure in this kind had the Church ot' God lost, if it .^houUl have missed the learned Annotations upon tlie Scripture, derived to us from the hands of INIercerus, Joseph Sca- liger, Drusius, hoth Causabons, Tilenus, Grolius, Heinsius, Sel- den, and sucli other expert [jhilologists, ne^ er initiated inio Sacred Orders > Fourthly, due and serious consideration must be had of the inter- pretation Itself; that it be genuine and orthodox : ior there can be nothinus l)o:ii trgetlier, as spoken ot Jiulas. " lie," saitii In*, " was the iii^Jit, tiiat went out: as Christ is t'le day, that y;ives knowledge to \vi, disciples^ that were day too; so Judas, tno night, gives knowiedgt to the Jews, that wrre night, of a t ra i to r'ju> wickedness ^.^c *." What work Bi>rnartl t, who shewed in this ih:.i lie saw not all things, makes of l) feneut in his devotiiu, he had j«- Suid. % iy^tJiz/Atno* X»;ov, licv, xv. 6. CASES OF CONSCIEXC E. — DECADE III. OF PIETY AXD REI.Ff.IOX. 45 5 straiirht say, " Some, belike, I am allowed to lie ? " whereas, the words are j)eiem|)ioi-y, even in Fist ius\ reading, aecording to ours; " Use not to make any manner of lies." Yea that very correction of the V'nlgate interpretation, which Brngensis alhnvs and maj^nilles, I Cor. \v. .'51. with what satt-ty can it pass the judicious ; while he reads, Oinncs quidcm icsio'^cmiis, sed unnomties inimiitabiinu)' ; Jl'e shall nil rise (/(Tain, bul we shall vol all be changed ? For, how can tho>e rise again, that never died ? how are those capable of a resurrection, uiiicii are onlv chan«ed ? Whereas, the just sense runs*, according to our Version, IVe shall not all sleep f but av shall all be changed : for those, that are found alive at our Saviour's second coming, shall not sleep in death; yet, both they and the formerly dead nuist undergo a change. I could utterly weary you with instances. How nuist he, that reads the Apocryphal Kcclesiasticus, needs say, that this man, how obscure soever in his authority, saw more and clearer than all the acknowledged prophets of the Old Testament ! for he haih foretold us expre.Nsly the ver\' name of our Lord Jesus, which none oltheni ever, beforehand, published : for he, speaking of the ileep sea, is read in the Vulgate to say, Planfaiit illam Dominus Jesus, " The Lord Jesus planted it;" Kcclus. xliii. 23. I sl.ame to think what sport a Jew will make of such a gross mistaking: whereinI;ic«f,Jesus, is mis- read for Nv^<78^, islands, so as liu' right sense is only this, " God, by his counsel, appeaseth the deep, and planteth islands therein.'* But I forbear; only, if you lia\e too much leisure, you may be pleased to cast your eye upon the margin f. In these and many more, for I meant to give you but an essay, the mistakes are in)|>oriant, and such as make no small change in the text : which I ha\ e therefore })roduced, that I might let you see how eiisy it is for a man, that takes all things upon trust, to be * i pro ot». t Nfh. vi. 2. Pcrcn.'iavnfi/o'diis in vitiiUs, iti campo uno : iox invicuUs, in campo, Otio. — Armi iioilri si cut araiiea vieditahwilur ; i^s. xc. y : for, as a taU that is told. — Concupisceittiu spadonis devirginabit juvenciilani; Elcclus. xx. 4. — super, for suhter ; ijin. WW. 9,. — vulncra, tor iilccra; Kx. ix. 9. — distinclutn, for bis titictnin ; \Lx. xxxix. 28, — sancfiiurii, fur sunctjatrii ; Ijcv. vi. Jij. — ion- sit, for imis ; Lev. xxii. J4. — nc