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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77148	Good counsell for evil times. Or, A plain sermon preached at Pauls in London, April 16. 1648. / By Edw: Bowles M.A. of Katherin-Hall Cambridge. Printed by the desire and order of the Lord Maior and aldermen of that famous city.	Bowles, Edward, 1613-1662.	1648 (1648)	Wing B3872; Thomason E435_35; ESTC R204201	25,559	35

find unthankfulnesse among them Ingratitudo est ventus urens exiccans it is a dry and parching winde from the wildernesse that blasts and wastes all our mercies It 's true the dayes are evill but yet they are not so bad but they afford matter of praise if we did not want hearts more then mercies These times are like those mentioned Zach. 14. 6. neither clear nor dark night nor day If we would have it light in the evening set not unwholsome and unthankfull vapours ascend from us Our times are checker'd with white and black let not us by unthankfulnesse blot our the white and make them worse There are mercies in our Parliament in our Armies in our Liberties in our degree of Reformation if ill humors were not fallen into our eyes so as not to see them when the miseries which these mercies yet in some measure prevent we shall find and confesse them so Blessed be God we are not in so ill a condition as Israel in the first dayes of Asa when they were without the true God without a teaching Priest and without Law We have the knowledge of the true God dispersed among us more then ever more preaching Ministers more good Laws then formerly though it is true that E●ror hath crowded in at the same doore of Liberty where Truth entred yet let us not d●own all our deliverances in discontents the degrees of mercie that are vouchsafed us let them not be swallowed up with murmuring and impatience let us not so requite the Lord like a foolish people and unwise lest he withdraw his hand from our protection and leave us to eat the frut of our own wayes which is a forfeiture of favour by our follies If our prayers could be carried on with these wheels there might be good hope they should be as the sword of Saul and the bowe of Jonathan which returned not empty And thus have I detained you with these plain though not impertinent truths and lest I should shut up without any thing of the main Proposition in the text give me leave at least to explain it and let your wisdom and goodnesse apply it The Truth is this That it becomes and behoves a Christian to walk circumspectly and redeem the time in evill dayes It would here be enquired what it is to walk circumspectly the word in the originall is {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which Etymologists say may be derived from {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} to go to the utmost or height to be accurate or exact and I think it may contain three things 1. To walk to the utmost of the rule to the very corners and extents of the word of God without making any willing dispensations in sin to commit or duty to omit This David speaks of himself Psal. 119. 108. I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right and I hate every false way And herein was Jehu defective 2 King 10. 31. he was exact in destroying Ahab and Baal but he departed not from the sin of Jeroboam therefore it 's said he took no heed he was not circumspect to walk in the way of the Lord Not to walk exactly in this gives the Lord occasion to complain as of the Church of Sardis I have not found thy works {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} perfect or filled up before God there are gaps or spaces in thy obedience 2. It is to walk {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the utmost in respect of strength that is in doing that which is commanded to lay out the ut most of those parts gifts graces that God hath given us A Minister walks exactly in his Ministery when he obeys the precepts of Paul to Timothy 1 Ep. 4. 13. in meditating on divine things and giving himself wholly to them A Christian then walks exactly when he doth not onely pray read but do it diligently watchfully A man cannot live at the height of his estate nor walk at the top of his naturall strength it will waste him soon because those things have defectible principles but it is otherwise in spirituall things which we derive from an abounding and abiding life hid with Christ in God a Christian may run and not be weary because in the Lord he hath righteousnesse and strength Let us therefore do our best and we shall do better Be not slothfull in businesse but fervent in spirit serving the Lord Rom. 12. 11. 3. To walk circumspectly or accurately seems to imply something more and that is walking wisely the two things already mentioned make up honest walking as when we walk to the utmost of the rule for the matter and the utmost of our spirituall strength for the manner of our obedience but wise walking is aliquid amplius that is there are divers circumstances attending actions as time place company person and such like which have a strong influence into actions sometimes to alter the very nature of them Now he that would walk circumspectly or accurately must look so to the circumstances of his actions as to set them off with the best advantage as may be and therefore that which is here called walking circumspectly is called Walking wisely toward them that are without Col. 4. 5. It is the part of wisdom to reduce knowledge to profitable and seasonable action And happie is he that can walk thus circumspectly for howsoever the vain world brands exact walkers with the title of precise fools yet the holy Ghost passes a contrary censure and declares circumspect walking wise walking and indeed the loose walker will be found the greatest fool a fool at his latter end Jer. 17. 11. Know therefore that it becomes us all to walk circumspectly it is our credit and the credit of the Gospel that we do so Then shall we not be ashamed when we have respect to all the Commandments when we do the great things of the Law and leave not the lesser undone Matth. 23. 23 24. And also it behoves us it 's for our profit as well as our credit it tends exceedingly to our peace which is most worth looking after in times of trouble it will be a great support in the evill day to say with Paul 2 Cor. 1. 12. This is my rejoycing the testimony of my conscience that in all simplicity and godly sincerity n●t according to fleshly wisdom but the grace of God I have had my conversation As young lustie men laugh at others who have payd dear for their intemperance when they see them cautious in their diet and hit them in the teeth with the Proverb Qui vivit medicè vivit miserè but when gouts and rheumes come upon them they blame their own folly So will it be with carnall and carelesse Christians who laugh at them that are scrupulous and make conscience of things which they so easily swallow they will find them bitternesse in the end Let us therefore walk circumspectly A word also of the last redeeming the time or opportunity {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which imports three things likewise 1 A price for it must be bought 2. A losse for it must not be barely bought but redeemed 3. An use for what we buy or redeem it is to be supposed we buy it for some use The practick hereof is this That whereas every man is guilty of losse of time and hath morgaged a great part of this precious treasure to sin Satan and the world let him be carefull to redeem it to buy it out of their hands though with the losse of ease pleasure profit plenty or any other thing and having so redeemed it to employ and improve it to the honour of God with whom we are so infinitely behind in point of service and the working out our own salvation with fear and trembling Let not therefore men talk idlely of driving away Time which the Apostle speaks of redeeming when did you ever meet with any man so wretchedly unthifty as to say What shall I do with my land with my money it burns in my purse Yet such and worse is the madnesse and folly of those unthrifts who talk of driving away time which is more precious then gold and silver which passes so swiftly slily and irrecoverably especially in such dangerous and tickle times as these are when our times liberties and opportunities hang continually in doubt before us Whatsoever vain men say now of passing away time if God awake their hearts it will be one of their greatest troubles that they have so spent it and one of their most earnest though vain wishes to recall it Know therefore that as Solomon saith to every purpose there is a time so to every time there is a purpose there are no ferie in idle dayes or houres in the Calendar of heaven but God hath appointed every day and houre to be filled up with something that is either work or tends to it Labour therefore so to improve time as you confidently look over unto eternity and not fear when the Angel shall stand on the earth and lift up his hand to heaven and swear by him that liveth for ever that time shall be no more Lord teach us so to number our dayes as to apply our hearts to wisdome and to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure that so an abundant entrance may be administred unto us into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour FINIS Moderata durant 2 Cor. 11. 28. Matth. 12. 33. 1 Cor. 3. 10 11 Prop. 1. I●● 17. 17. 18. Gen. 47 9. 1 Chron 12. 32. Matth 24. 1 Tim. 1 19. Psal. 82. Levit. 26. Micah 2. 3. Psal. 55. 14. Iam. 3. 16. The way to better evill times Negatively ● Pet. 3. 10. 1 Sam. 24. 1 Neh. 13. 22. Ier. 2. 2. Mal. 3 17. Psal 65. 7. Matth. 15 13. Eph. 1. 13. Prov. 23 23. Zech 8. 16. 19. Isa. 39. 8. 2 Chron 11. 17. Matth. 25 45. Ier. 11. 12. Heb. 5. 9. Prov. 11. 18. Psal. 112. 4. Psal. 112. 7. Psal. 32. 9. Ier. 13. 13 14. 2 Sam 24 24. Iam. 1. Heb. 3. 17. 18. Psal. 78. 32. 33. Ier. 3 25. Ier. 13. 16. Prov. 15. 1. Phil. 4 6. 2 Chron 15. 3 Prop. 2. Psal. 119. 6. Rev. 10. 6. 2 Pet. 1. 10. 11

means The Lord be with you all So prayeth York May 15. 1648. Your welfares faithfull Servant EDW BOVVLES The Sermon EPHES. 5. 15 16. See then that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise Redeeming the time because the dayes are evill THe Apostle Paul a most eminent pattern to all Christians especially Ministers as he professes that the care of all the Churches lay upon him so he peculiarly makes it good to the Church at Ephesus to whom this Epistle was directed For besides that pains he took among them and hazard that he run for them of which we read Act. 19. foreseeing the dangers that were toward them he gives them a fair and faithfull warning by the Elders Act. 20. 17. c. and not content with that when he was now prisoner at Rome he writes unto them this excellent Epistle not drawn from him by speciall necessities and emergencies of error as most of his other Epistles particularly to the Corinthians and Galatians but flowing from those naturall affections that he had to the Name of Christ and the good of the Ephesians containing a most full and usefull summary of the Gospel which is digested into two main parts First a blessed discovery of the Doctrine of free grace and salvation by Jesus Christ handled principally in the first Chapter additionally in the 2d and 3d. Secondly an earnest and pressing exhortation to walk as becomes that grace which is revealed in Christ Jesus with particular directions thereunto which is the scope and substance of the latter part of the Epistle And herein hath he left an imitable pattern to all those who would approve themselves able Ministers of the New Testament who must be equally carefull to preach salvation by Christ and sanctification through him To preach grace without duty tends to Libertinisme to presse duty without discovering the mystery of the Gospel which is justification and salvation the righteousnesse of another scil. Jesus Christ our suretie in the Covenant of grace leads to formality and the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees which is short of the kingdom of heaven We must declare the whole counsell of God which is to live in Christ by faith and to Christ by obedience and it is wisdom to unite them in the same discourse as much as may be in regard that men are so subject to disjoyne them And we may learn from this blessed Apostle as our matter so our method which is to lay the foundation of all holy obedience in the doctrines of faith and justification which tend to make the tree good by transplanting it from the degenerate into the true Vine and that must be done before the fruit can be indeed good the moulding of men by the force of outward rules and precepts into a kinde of Gospel conversation is not acceptable or lasting unlesse the heart be inwardly changed and renewed by spirituall ingrafture to which Evangelicall dispensations are most serviceable alwayes supposed the necessity of convictions of sin and misery The doctrines of free grace without superstructures of holinesse are but a foundation without a building which is ridiculous the accumulations of duty and service without the foundation of faith and regeneration are a building without a foundation which is but ruinous The Lord make us wise builders to lay the right foundation and build proportionably thereupon Non prosunt singula juncta juvant Thus much I thought fit to premise that I might not break in upon my Text which fals to be in the latter part of the Epistle among the exhortations and directions unto holinesse In which because the brevity of an Epistle would not suffer an exact enumeration of particulars the Apostle layes down some generall and comprehensive rules and gives many precepts in few words as in the text Walk circumspectly and redeem the time are not single but comprehensive instructions which the Apostle urges from a double argument The first precept concerning circumspect or exact walking is enforced from the consideration of the condition of the persons as we find by retyring to ver. 8. Ye were sometimes darknesse but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of the light Time was when you were not onely in the da●k but abstractly darknesse and then your stumblings and uneven goings though they were not to be warranted yet they were not to be woundred at but now you are in the light and the light is in you therefore make use of your eyes and walk circumspectly The second concerning redemption of time is perswaded by consideration of the conditions of the times the dayes are evill opportunities of doing or receiving good are rare and transvolant therefore watch them and improve them The explication of the words shall be interlined in handling the Propositions to which I now proceed And the first I shall mention is rather a supposition then a proposition which yet will take up most of the time and it 's this There are some dayes fitly termed evill dayes There need be no doubt made of this expression or the sufficient ground of it when it is used by the Apostle Paul the great Master of Language or rather by the holy Ghost the wisdom of God speaking by him The method I propound to my self in improving this position is this 1. To shew in what respect times are or are called evill 2. To make an inquisition whether these present times are not so 3. To adventure upon some essayes and overtures at least of bettering these evill times To the first and that by way of remotion 1. Times are not naturally evill nothing create or concreate as time is said to be is so God looked upon time for distinguishing and measuring whereof he appointed the Sun and Moon Gen. 1. 14. and saw it good 2. It is not morally evill nothing is capable of morall or sinfull evill but the rationall creature indued with understanding and will and subjected to some morall rule God hath made those creatures obnoxious to this greatest evill whom he made capable of the greatest good as men and Angels 3. It is not Astrologically evil as some men who would be wise beyond sobriety vainly pretend influences of heavenly bodies upon the earth and the fruits of it must be granted but that is rather good and ill weather to which if our Almanack men would keep themselves they would have enough to do then good or evill times but that such and such positions and conjunctions in Planets should infer what the dispositions actions events of rationall and free men should be is easily said and hardly proved by Scripture or reason I mean in words at length and not in figures What a quick and crosse revolution of the heavens was there when Jacob and Esau were born that men so neer in birth should be so distant and different in manners and events What secret or unknown box is there wherein those strong impressions at nativity are conserved

done so nothing can be done to the happinesse of this Church and Nation and the bettering of these evill daies but by the hand of God which he is pleased to lift up on every occasion though many will not see it and therefore if we would ingage the Lord who worketh all our works for us we must take the course that deales most immediately and effectually with him which is prayer and how happie news were it to heare that the spirit of prayer and supplication which in so eminent a manner rested upon this City 7 yeers since were powred out afresh upon it the hand of the Lord is not shortned let not our hearts be streightned his eare is not heavie let not us be silent If we would have him stretch out his hand for us let us stretch out our hands toward him Do not think the Lord will forsake his wonted method of which we read Ezek. 36. 37. and Jerem. 29. 11. 12. and let this great duty be performed aright and to that purpose it is a useful caution that men look to the matter of their prayers that they be according to the will of God and not the imaginations of our own hearts many crosse Petitions are put up to heaven because men make their opinions and wishes the rule of their prayers instead of the holy and unchangeable will of God it were sometimes good that men were more generall in their prayers and not limit the holy one of Israel as they do its possible to be too particular in prayer as well as too generall in preaching And also remember that as prayer is a Chariot in which the soul mounts up to heaven so it must be a fiery Chariot a fervent prayer it is not a lazy God send Peace or a cold God save his Church that will availe God will not be served with that which costs us nought it must be the fervent effectuall prayer of the righteous that must availe and if we would have our prayers speed we must look they be well spirited to that end let me intimate to you 4 wheeles of this fiery Chariot 1. A spirit of faith it is the strict injunction of the Apostle that we aske in faith nothing wavering which we are very subject unto especially in these distracted times The Sea by reason of its unquietnesse is hardly ever still but working but much more in a storme so is it with us we carry an evill heart of unbeleife within us alwayes unsteady but especially in evill times when the winds raise waves Unbeleif unsettles as the spirits of men so their estates also Isa 7. 9. It was unbeleif that kept Israel out of the Land of Promise and made them wander in a wildernesse fourty yeers and as our punishment is like theirs we spend our dayes in vanity that is in a fruitlesse tossing to and fro and our yeers in trouble so our sin is like theirs also we beleeve not for all the wondrous works of God As God gives promises to ground faith so he adds providences to build it up we have had many of these and yet are very lowe take heed of distrusts despondencies they disadvantage us both in heaven and earth 2. A spirit of humility and this is no way inconsistent with the other a heart may be raised in faith and yet abased in humiliation these two graces mutually cherish one another The Lord expects at our hands that our own sins and his chastisements upon us should lay us low that we should say with the Church I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him He hearkens what we say in these evill dayes and it s to be doubted few speake aright or say what have I done Cognitio reflexiva est facilè deflexiva We are ready enough to say what hath the Parliament done What hath the Army done But who saith what have I done Oh beloved let us lye down in our shame be covered with confusion Let us give glory to the Lord our God before he cause darknesse and our feet stumble upon the dark mountaines those that do it shall find that expression Job 22. 29. made good unto them when men are cast down they shall say there is lifting up for he shall sav● the humble person Descendendo coelum ascenditur 3. A spirit of love is necessary as in generall with regard to the times so particularly with respect to prayer for the Apostles bids that pure bands without wrath as well as doubting be lifts up to God 1 Tim. 2. 8. envy and uncharitablenesse strife and division force the spirits of men and render their services unsavory unto God it is not quarrelling and questioning will do the thing we would have The wrath of man worketh not the righteousnesse of God Jam. 1. 20. Wisdom and mecknesse go together Jam. 3. 13. They that are wise must be meek and gentle to those that are otherwise and give soft answers to hard questions that wrath may be prevented and pacified To further this so wanting and so necessary disposition consider 1. That envying strife hatred variance and such like are fruits of the flesh as well as adultery fornication and uncleannesse Gal. 5. 19 20. And you that would think it an horrible disgrace to your se●ves and dishonour to God to be found guilty of the latter take heed of the former which is part of that filthinesse of spirit we are bid to cleanse our selves from as well as filthinesse of the flesh 2 Cor. 7. 1. 2. That most of the things contended about will hardly be found worth the contention and that many quarrels are upon mistakes rather then reall differences and consider how earnestly the Apostle obtests the Corinthians to love and unity 1 Cor. 1. 10. and so the Philippians 2. 1. places which we read not or mind not 3. That God hath now given a fair intimation of union and love among all those who love his truth and Gospel and the Nation they li●e in by suffering a common Enemy again to appear among us and against us and if we will not take notice of it at the first he will undoubtedly bring us to union in affection by communion in ●ffl●ction for whatsoever designes men have this is likely to be one of the designes of heaven upon his own people by fair means or foule to bring them to some better compliance and correspondence and to eat out that spirit of bitternesse and malice humors so unbecoming the Gospel and the body of J●sus Christ 4. To these three must be added a spirit of thankfulnesse which is very great advantage to prayer and to the times as the Apostle intimates in his direction to the Philippians Be carefull for nothing but in every thing by prayer and sit plication with thanksgiving let your requ●sts be made known unto God If we consult the catalogue of sins that renders the last dayes perillous we shall