heaven that never saw that glorious light which we see yet that is no ground for us to shut our eyes in the time of this light nay it 's our shame and exceeding aggravation of our sinne so to doe as we may see Acts 17.30 Besides I am perswaded all things are not yet revealed that shall be in due time there is a prophesie to be fulfilled Esa 30.26 The light of the Moone shall be as the light of the Sunne c. the doctrine of grace under the Gospell is a fountaine unmeasurable Ezec. 47.5 It behooves us then to walke as children of the light searching the Scriptures like those men of Berea Acts 17.11 This is a truth undeniable commanded by God and very profitable and in this as in all things else the better the more opposed by the Divell as we finde in all times not onely amongst Papists but also amongst those that will condemne it as an evill in them I have often heard some presse this duty of searching the Scriptures and blame the Papists for hiding the light yet I have heard those men bitterly speak against such as have been forward in the practice thereof The Bereans were commended for searching the Scriptures whether those things Paul taught were true although hee was an Apostle and the Penman of the Scriptures but if you make the least enquirie or doubt of what is received and professed by these men you shall finde the change of their countenance towards you and scarce ever have their good report after or of any other if they can help it and why doe they this Sure upon the same ground with the Papists they know if men looke into the truth they must then see their error Also other mens knowledge bewrayes their ignorance of which they are or have cause to be ashamed and sometimes shewes their wickednesse that know many things to be evill and yet will for by-respects practise them take heed of such you shall know them by their favourits they will hold such in great esteeme that desire to know no more in Religion then may serve to advance their credit and can say of all they heare it is excellent doctrine though they know no reason for it but because such men spake it let not such nor any other draw us from this duty neither keepe us in ignorance in these times of great light we should therefore strive to make good use of our time whilest God holdeth forth this light unto us whilest it 's called to day improve to our best advantage all the helpes God hath afforded for increase of knowledge amongst which the followship of the Saints is not the least it is a sad thing to see how cold and fruitlesse the company of Gods people is the Divell knowes well that Christian society is a great helpe to godlinesse and therefore doth labour by all wayes to hinder it and hath so prevailed that for Gods Saints to meet in that Church way as they should is almost out of use amongst many and we are ashamed to use our Christian fellowship but suit our selves with the times and grow strange to each other in so much that if a familiar friend passe by us without due observation as wee thinke our want of charity is such that wee presently conclude it was purposely done and so in the pride of our hearts withdraw our selves from his not onely familiarity but almost acquaintance wee know what is formerly said Love thinketh not evil let us then shew our love in this to have good thoughts towards our brethren and doe as wee would be done unto would wee have Gods children upon every surmise withdraw themselves from us let us then be more mindfull of this dutie and labour to stirre up one another to the performance of it and to win their affections by our humility and loving carriage towards them we know not how long God will continue these opportunities we see how hee hath dealt with others they are deprived of those things which we enjoy in abundance if God should deale so with us as we know how justly hee may Oh how grievous will be the remembrance of our negligence wee may wish and desire againe to see those times but to no purpose Let us then call to mind what wee have received and how wee have requited the Lord for all his benefits how little our love hath beene to our good God whose love to us is infinite FINIS
CERTAINE OBSERVATIONS Concerning the Duty OF LOVE AND OF THE CONTRARY EVILL Vncharitablenesse VVritten by Thomas Devenish 1 Cor. 13.1 Though I speake with the tongue of men and Angels and have not Charity I am become as a sounding Brasse or as a tinckling Cymball LONDON Printed by R. Oulton and G. Dexter for William Larnar 1641. TO THE HONOURABLE Denzil Hollis Esquire Brother to the Right Honourable the Earle of CLARE all Grace here and Glory hereafter RIght Noble Sir this Pamphlet is for the most part such notes as I had taken some five or six yeers sithence for mine owne private use but now have made it for the use of my friends also And howsoever for want of such a dresse as Learning might have set it forth in it hath lost that grace which otherwayes it might have had yet by reason of the matter I assure my selfe it will be of some account with so many as preferre substance before shadowes which hath made me adventure the publishing of it though no better furnished then you see and the sure knowledge of your noble disposition and former experience of your favour hath imboldened me to present this little Booke unto your Honour being well assured that by your Patronage it will finde the more favourable entertainment especially amongst some which otherwise perhaps would have scornfully rejected it and it may be will tax me of resumption that for the credit of a trifle shall crave the assistance of so eminent a person but my duty and true affection to your Honour and hope of your pardon hath made mee wilfully repell all reasons that might disswade me Accept therefore I beseech your Honour this small gift as King Artaxerxes did the water which a poore man brought in his hands and gave him who received it with a smiling and cheerefull countenance measuring the gift not according to the value but according to his good will that gave it and thought it no lesse an act of Kingly greatnesse to take small presents in good part then to give greater neither is any eminence disgraced by so doing I think it needlesse to trouble your Honour with many words of entreaty and therefore conclude wishing your Honour all happinesse here and hereafter Your Honours to be commanded THO. DEVENISH To the READER FRiendly Reader I know that great wisdome is requisit to write well and there is need of greater deliberation then in speaking because a rash word may be presently corrected but that which is set down in writing cannot be so easily amended yet this is chiefly to be observed by Schollers and great men who ought to consider well what they utter and to use words of another phrase than that of the vulgar sort but for such as my selfe may take more libertie not wronging so much our reputation so we speake the truth which hath imboldened me to publish this Booke for as it is lawfull and fit to aske such things as wee stand in need of so also to profit others what wee can by speaking or writing though wee want that sweete grave and eloquent speech which is not to be neglected by such as have it and for any to refuse a truth when it may be profitable because it comes in homely words were grosse folly I am sure men will not do so in the things of this life for I have often knowne wise men of this world and learned discourse long with a poore Countrey-man and have beene very readie to hearken to his advice when it may be profitable and you shall hardly finde any so madde as to refuse directions from the meanest Shepheard or Begger he meets withall in a way he knowes not But you will say it 's a shame for any man to be so ignorant as not to know the way to his owne home and that in the cleare light at noone day but such is the wilfull ignorance of the most that they know not or if they know they forget and walke not in this heavenly path of Charitie yea men of high esteeme for their great wisedome are not ashamed to declare their ignorance of this Royall Law of Love which ought to be the rule of all mens actions Witnesse that great man who at his triall made this excuse That he fell upon those evills with which hee was charged for want of Buoy to guide him if he had but looked on the law of Nature hee might have found Buoy enough for a Heathen could have told him by the light of that Law that it is injustice to take that which belongs to another man from him by force much more would the Law of God have been a perfect rule to have kept him from those uncharitable wayes and he could not misse directions there almost in every leafe which implyes not onely the necessitie and excellencie of this dutie but also our want of it and the great need we have still to be put in minde and this is also manifested by our Saviours speech to Simon Peter Ioh. 21.15 For as if this could never be sure enough rooted in the heart he asketh him three times together whether hee loved him sure Christ did not aske so often to informe himselfe of Peters love but to teach him and us all the necessitie of this dutie which is the summe of all for without it we can doe nothing well and with it and a right judgement we can doe nothing ill The best affected looke more to the truth then to the person or manner of delivery which leaves mee not altogether hopelesse but that this may doe some good and so I commit it to the charitable acceptance of all that reade it desiring to gaine so much intrust hereby in the affection of Gods children that I may have a part in their prayers which I hope they will not deny me and in that hope I rest Yours in the Lord THO. DEVENISH JOHN 13. VERS 34. A new Commandement I give you that yee love one another as I have loved you c. GAL. 6. VERS 2. Beare yee one anothers burthens c. BEfore wee learne our Duty it is good to set before our eyes the haynousnesse of our sinne and the best way for a man to come to the true sense and knowledge of the nature of sinne is first to consider the glorious Nature of God against whom we sinne his infinite essence and power his excellent wisedome his wonderfull goodnesse his free love his exact Justice his unspeakable Mercy and his infallible Truth with all the rest of his Attributes And in the second place consider what God hath done for us he created us of the dust of the earth and that in his owne Image Gen. 1.27 That is in the likenesse and exquisite resemblance of divine Essence or Deity Hence we may see the blasphemie of Papists in making an Image of God which cannot possibly have the least resemblance of Divine Nature Also in the first and second Chapter of Gen. wee may see at
question whether Ionathan were a better sonne or friend in that he did Next wee should give our friends the best counsell we can Luke 12.4 And I say unto you my friends be not afraid of them that kill the body c. The next duty wee should beare a part with them in any affliction Psal 35.14 I behaved my selfe as to my friend or as to my brother I humbled my selfe mourning as one that bewaileth his mother Change of estate should not change friendship Prov. 17.17 A friend loveth at all times and a brother is borne for adversity So also in the first of Ruth 16.17 And Ruth answered intreat mee not to leave thee nor to depart from thee c. There are divers things wherein this love is abused as when the ground of it is our owne advantage and wee look upon them whilest the sunne of prosperity shines Next when our agreement in evill is the cause of our friendship also when we honour our friends in stead of giving them good counsell as Ionadab to his brother to abuse his sister 2 Sam. 13.5 and thus one drunkard gives counsell to another we shall see a notable example of such counsell in Zeresh Hamans wife and his friends Hest 5.14 where they gave advice that a gallowes of fifty cubits high should be set up to hang Mordecai it was notable counsell and so it proved at last Such also offend against this law that leave their friends in the time of their greatest necessity thus wee may see how Iobs friends left him Iob. 6.20 Yea many times they betray their friends as Iudas did his Master of this we have plenty of examples Let us then consisider how this duty of love is neglected yea almost out of use amongst us now in 2 Sam. 15.31 it was told David for strange tidings that Achitophel was one of the conspirators I thinke we cannot now account it strange to see one that hath beene a familiar friend as this Counseller was to David found amongst the conspirators but it were more to be admired to finde him any where but there especially when the sunne of our prosperity is setting as Davids was then thought to be we shall be sure to finde greene leaves after the strongest Winter frost and stormes as to finde a friend stand fast in the time of adversity but they will doe as Davids friends mentioned Psal 38.11 My lovers and my friends stand aside from my plague and my kinsmen stand afarre off This is not onely found amongst those fained friends as the world is full of but even amongst such from whom wee should expect better as we see in Iobs friends they were such as would be thought good men as may appeare by all their discourse and yet see how cruelly they deale with their poore friend in his affliction farre worse then Davids friends spoken of formerly they were strange and stood a farre off but these came neere to helpe to grieve and vexe Iob in his greatest extremity as if that were all they had now to doe for their poore friend to strive who should grieve him most It is a sad thing to finde this love wanting in our friends from whence we expect better and this made the Prophet David to utter that bitter complaint against his hollow hearted Counseller It was my familiar friend c. Psal 41.9 But what may the Lord say Looke backe David how was Vriah that poore friend of thine dealt with his life taken from him in the highst proofe of his friendship Thus wee complaine of the want of love in others but doe not thinke of our want of love to them but are of the same minde with Simon the Pharisie whose formality made him believe his condition to be better then it was as Christ shewes him and all us by setting before our eyes that penitentiall patterne Luke 7.44 Then he turned to the woman and said unto Simon seest thou this woman I entered into thy house and thou gavest me no water to my feet but shee hath washed my feet with teares and wiped them with the hayre of her head thou gavest me no kisse but shee since the time I came in hath not ceased to kisse my feet c. and then concludes Vers 47. That where little is forgiven they will love little who can reade this Scripture with dry eyes to see how short we come of this woman which the Pharisee thought so vile that it made him to call in question whether Christ were a Prophet because he admitted her to come so neere him shee came behind not presuming to behold that holy Saviour and at his feet accounting it happinesse enough to enjoy the meanest place about Christ and then see how she exprest her love she washt his feet with teares wiping them with the hayres of her head kissing and anoynting them her love forc'd all this from her but the sense of her sinne stopt her mouth we heare no word she spake our practice is contrary we speake much and with boldnesse but we have no other expressions but our words where is our love to the Saints where is our washing weeping and anoynting sure the want of these shew that wee are ignorant of that great love of our sweet Saviour to us and by the little love we have witneâ— to God and the world that we thinke little is forgiven us and as little do we consider what is given us How hath God blest this Kingdome of England made it fruitfull suffered none to prevaile against us but delivered us in a most unheard-of way and left us to praise his name and made other nations examples for us of his displeasure when hee might in Justice have made us examples for them but this is nothing to what he hath done hee hath given us his glorious Gospell our Saviour testifieth of John that there was not a greater borne of woman Math. 11.11 and yet he that is least in the Kingdome of Heaven is greater then he this is our condition in this Kingdome of grace Moses desired to see God and could not God hath manifested himselfe unto us in his Sonne Christ who is the image of the invisible God Col 1.15 so Heb. 1.3 What more can be said in him he hath given us all things How should these meditations raise our thoughts from the things here below and settle all our love upon Christ and all his Saints for hee takes that as done to himselfe take h ed how wee deny him any thing that hath given us all things that are fit for us hee hath redeemed our soules from hell set him have soule body wife children strength credit riches honour and all for Christ tells us hee that will not part with all for him is not worthy of him reade that heart-melting fifth of Cantic it 's a most sweet place of Scripture wherein is most lively set forth the most glorious perfect beauty of Christ how worthy hee is of our love above all things