that thou mayst be glad to bâ—e cured of this Vice by the contrariety of the Spirit see wherein the contrariety consists The surfet of wine makes darknesse in thy Vnderstanding and the Spirit light It makes brutish sensuality strong and heauy vpon the Will and affections and the Spirit exalts and purifies the Will by a cleane and celestiall grace Now if I leaue it to thy choyce whether thou wilt come out of Darknesse into Light from a seruile sensuality a true equality with Beasts into the glorious liberty of holy cleane and heauenly Minds I know thou wilt tell mee that there is no doubt in this choyce but that Light is farre better then Darknesse and a heauenly Mind is farre better then a sensuall Then doe but beleeue what thou sayest and doe what thou beleeuest and thou art cured Preferre in thy workes as well as thy words the light of the Deity shining on thy Soule before the darknesse of excesse sent vp from the grosse vapors of Moysture Bee thou farre more glad to haue thoughts of Purity thoughts of Felicity thoughts of Eternity then the beastly imaginations of filthy Lusts inflamed in thy Soule by the Lake of Brimstone that lies in thy Bowels Let neither the colour nor the tast of Wine be thought a fit counterpoyse to those excellencies of the Spirit but when Wine would tempt thee by them call him Mocker and tell him that pleasure is but a pretence but darknesse sensuality and eternall death is the drift of it Tell it thou hast a Light in thee more precious then the light of the Sunne the Father of Wine yea more excellent then any Creature and thou wilt not change this excellent light into darknesse for so small a price as a sight and a tast Say thou hast a quickening and purifying flame of heauenly Fire sent downe into thy heart and thou wilt not quench it for the World by the inundation of a brutifying Moysture And hauing chased away this tempting Ammonite that will not make peace with thee but by pulling out thy best eye retire into the Light and Vertue of the Spirit inflame it blowe it kindle it by Meditation by Prayer by Reading and the increase of this Light and Vertue wiâ— increase in thee loâ—hing of the Darknesse and Beastlinesse of excesse The Light of the Spirit and the graces therof will bee so highly precious in thy sight that thou wilt wonder that any man should goe downe from that Heauen of the Soule into the darke and miry Dungeons of a stupiâ—ied sightlesse filthy sensuall and sencelesse Mind Thou wilt admire that a man should wilfully put out so glorious a Lampe as the Light of the Spirit and that a man should quench that fire by which in some measure he is partaker of the Diuine Nature and all this to get into him the nature habite and condition of a Swine an Ape a Goat or a Lyon Wherefore take heed to the new Creature of God created in knowledge and holinesse which is farre more glorious then all the old Creatures Let that by all meanes bee preferred in its dignitie and supremacie let all Creatures serue it for so the Creator allowes but let it selfe bee brought in bondage to nothing Let it be kept bright and pure for the seruice and pleasure of the Creator who therefore beautified Man with a likenesse to his owne Heart that his heart might take pleasure in that likenesse And if the chiefe pleasure which God takes on Earth be this Beauty of Man then man himselfe should take his chiefest pleasure in prâ—â—eruing and adorning this Beauty Otherwise hee is an vngratefull Wretch not caâ—ing to gratifie the Creator with the pleasure of his owne Gifts and hee is an ignorant Foole for not taking a chiefe pleasure in that wherein the highest Wisdome is especially delighted But whosoeuer is the truly begotten sonne of that supreme Wisedome cannot but loue and cherish the Wisdome and Graces of the inner Man wherein stands the beautifull Image and likenesse of the most glorious Father And whosoeuer loueth and cherisheth it cannot but hate and abhominate that Excesse that casts blacknesse and filth on so bright rauishing and celestiall a Beauty Neyther doth here the Spirit of God bid vs to our losse but which is the second Remedie euen in those things wherein Wine is desirable the Spirit offers vs aduantage If the Wine bee pleasant to the eye the sights of the Spirit are farre more excellent for they are such as eye hath not seene The Spirit of God reueales sights vnvtterable and our soules anoynted with that eye-salue Looke into heauen and see him that is inuisible Glorious and delectable are the Contemplations of the Saints euen such that they grow rapt by the sights which they behold and are loth to come downe from that high Tabor of Vision into the low and base valley of outward and grosse conuersation The light of the body is the eye but the eye of Man is the Soule The Spirituall sight is mans most excellent Sight and Spirituall obiects are his most excellent obiects When we see outward things wee see but that which beasts may see with vs but when we see Spirituall things we see that which none but Men and Angels can see wherefore be thou filled with the Spirit wherby thou mayst see the true and kindly obiects of Men and Angels and dwell not in thy outward eies wherin Beasts may excell thee By thy inward sight thou shalt in some measure behold God thy chiefe Felicity the loue of God in Christ Iesus giuen for our Ransome the admirable Graces and Vertues of a holy and sanctifying Spirit In summe thou shalt see such diuine Sights that thou wilt not giue thy Contemplations for a Kingdome For at what price will a heauenly Soule sell his Meditations a Gregor in ps pâ—niâ— 4. Sion is by interpretation a Watch-towre and Sion is a type of the Church The Church of God stands on a Watch-towre and it sees more then seuen men on a Watch-towre and as her height is exalted on the towre of contemplation so her foundation is setled beneath on the Rocke of stability So as shee sees farre by her height shee is also stable by her foundation which amounts to this That Sion is a Watch-towre that cannot be remooued from her Contemplation Now if this heauenly Sight bee the most excellent Sight of Man dwell no longer in thy outward eies to behold eyther the colour spright or motion of Wine or of any earthly obiect But in the stedfast Watch-towre of diuine Contemplation behold sights worthy of a Creature indued with a heauenly Soule Scorne to dwell in an equality with Beasts when thou mayst come into a parity with Angels and if thou wilt needs looke on Wine Looke on the new Wine of the kingdome of Heauen which Christ now drinkes aboue and for which hee hath left the old hauing professed that hee will drinke no more of it But of this
THE DISEASES OF THE TIME Attended by their Remedies By FRANCIS ROVS LONDON Printed by William Stansby for Iohn Parker and are to be sold at his shop in Pauls Church-yard at the signe of the three Pigeons 1622. TO THE RIGHT Worthy and my truely honorable Friend Sir Beniamin Rudyerd Knight SIR I Doubt not but diuers doe direct the Dedications of their Heauenly Labours according to earthly respects But incongruous and vntunable Dedications haue euer been harsh to my Iudgement and it hath grieued mee much when I haue seen a heauenly pâ—arle offred to the hand but trodden on by the foot of an earthy and sensuall Patron To auoyd this Incongruity I thought it best â—o dedicate a Worke that concernes the prosperity of the Church of Christ Iesus to a louer of the same Iesus of the same Church and the same Prosperity For such a one beares the face and presence of Iehosaphat which being seene incourageth a Prophet to speake and not seene dotâ— make him speechleâ—se And surely I doe but testifie the Truth when I say that by ancient and inward knowledge I haue beene assured of your loue vnâ—o Sion and your wâ—l-wishâ—â—g to the prosperity of Ierusalem And euen from this Root of Heauenly Loue doe I beleeue that our particular Friendship hath suckâ— most part of its nourishment which I thinke the rather because it hath beene hitherto durable whereas worldly Friendships do vsually alter with worldly Changes Wherefore as to a louer of Gods House I present vnto you these parcels of Purple and blue Silk which I haue consecrated toward the reparation of the Tabernacle And I desire that when you receiue these words from mee I may receiue Prayers from you that God will daily adde to the Beauty of his Church and that hee will prosper these and the like Workes that indeuour to increase it Neyther shall your Prayers be altogether vnrequited for I will offer vp my hearty desâ—res for your inward and outward Aduancement and that as you grow outwardly in the World you may grow inwardly in Christ Iesus For growth in Christ is the growth of a holy happinesse that shall flourish for euer But growth out of Christ is the growth of Fuell euen of an euer-burning but a neuer-dying Miserie Yours in the best that is in Christian affection Francis Rous. A Light in the Porch for him that enters I Confesse the World is very tedious in the Multiplicity of his corruptions and it would make a worke of the like tediousnesse if all the particulars of the one should become the contents of the other But I haue by diuers winnowings abated the Heap desiring to set some shape if not on the Matter for Vice cannot bee made handsome yet on the manner of handling it Ordinary Vices which haue ordinary if iust Cures I mostly omit leaue the World to practise on themselues that which they know already Other euils there are which for their insolent growth scorne to bee slaine by a Pen but like the Princes of Midian they call for Gideon himselfe euen the power of the Magistrate to fall on them These being generally referred to their proper cure yet if some bee touched for I haue heard of a Gyant slayne by a Sling and a stone they are incountred with the kindly Weapons of this Warfare euen Spirituall and not Carnall Another sort of Euils like the Plague by comming abroad infect farther become Documents of Vice and not Reproofes And I wish there were not another sort of Diseases like the same Sicknesse which taking the Ayre in a Worke of reproofe may strike backe to the heart of the same Worke and make it to dye like Ieremies Roll if it meete with that kind of humour which vseth to cast away all if any one thing differ from it In such a Case Addition may bring forth Substraction and a little more in the writing may cause a great deale lesse in the reading Lastly there are other Vices which heretofore in some Meditations I haue discouered for which the labour of Repetition may be saued But what sayth the Man of Exception Are not these the Times of Light and Purity and therefore how can there be many faults where there is so much Light Surely I willingly and thankfully acknowledge the purity of our Doctrine and am assured that in many it hath brought forth the purity of Heart and Life But I say euen because the Light is so cleere therefore doth sinne the more appeare and appearing is the more to be blamed For the more light the more Direction and the more Direction the more shame and sharper reproofe belongs to the strayer Againe the more light the more manifestation and the more manifestation the more sinnes appeare yea sinnes appeare the more sinfull So in some sense Light may be said to increase sinnes but that is not in their number but in the knowledge of the numberer Therefore must our Light discouer those to be 〈◊〉 which ancient Ignorance accounted to be none and the Manhood of a Christian mâ—â— tâ—e vp to that height of Vertuâ— which his child-hood could not reach vnto yea perchance did think it vnpossible or vncomely Againe where the Deuill hath lost much there hee labours much for the recouery of his losses and the Husbandmen not being stil awake prosperitie often inticing to seâ—urity the Enemy finds times to sow his tares so that the good dayes of Iosiah had matter of reproofe for the Prophet Zephaniah and the flourishing Church of Thyatira was taxed for a mixture of the Seruants of Iezabel Lastly it is an obseruation of secular Policie That all States with time gather rust and therfore by often reuiews they are to bee reduced to the first grounds of Vertue and Iustice which setled their Foundations This is no lesse true in the Church and if any doubt of it let the Church of Ephesus resolue him There was no long time betweene the planting of that Church and the receiuing of the Reuelation Of their first Estate Saint Paul a Master-workman in that Plantation testifieth that their Faith in Christ and Loue to the Saints made him incessantly to giue thankes to God for them And of their second Estate at the time of the Reuelation Christ restifieth that this Church was fallen from her first Loue and her first Workes Therefore the Church and euery member of the Church out of the experience of humane frailty by contiunall turnes should suspect and examine themselues to see what the Flesh hath gotten vpon the Spirit and so with Ephesus remembring from whence they are fallen returne and amend and doe the first Workes Thus it appeares that there is matter of reproofe euen in the purest Churches and if where there is matter there reproofe should bee denyed this were to encourage Diseases and to forbid Physicke Surely there is at this day a libertie yea a necessitie of reproouing and it dyed not wholly when Iohn Baptist dyed but the House of God
of Adam to bee voluntarily certain As for Necessity there is not a Necessitas actina and therefore if there bee any it must be Necessitas ociosa and surely it seemes idle to talke of an idle Necessitie For as causa sine qua non is called stolida causa so I see not why Necessitas per quam non may not bee called stolida Necessitas Seuenthly God is free to make Adam free euen to leaue him in an aequilibrious estate with a possibilitie to bee ouerâ—eighed by temptation is hee listed Hee might by his free-will haue taken the Tree of Life and Stability as well as the Tree of Death and Apostasie and so he was thereby as neere to Happinesse as to Miserie But that God should stablish him as he doth the Elect he was not bound for he that binds God must giue first vnto God now the Creature cannot giue first vnto the Creator for he must be before he can giue and euen that being which is mans first hee must first receiue from his Creator So is hee first a Debter in his very being and a man by one Debt cannot make title to another Eightly though God is said to harden yet hee doth it not by influence of corruption or supply of vice but God herein is most absolutely cleere for hee doth it by not-doing And if God doe not in sinne how can hee be accused of doing sinne if God will that Pharaoh shal be hardned let him but keep in his breath euen his blessed Spirit by which hearts of stone are made hearts of flesh and then fleâ—h will of it selfe and by the helpe of Satan turn into stone God is not the cause of sin no more then the Sunne is the cause of Ice The Sunne is properly a destroyer and dissoluer of Ice and God is a dissoluer of the sinfull workes of the Deuill But when the Sun withdrawes his beames by his nightly and winterly departures the cold hardens the waters which the Sunne forsakes So where God hideth his face and contracts his spirit there temptation hardens He doth not put the hardnes into the heart but hee leaues the heart and hath nothing to doe with it and then where God doth nothing to soften there will quickly enough be done by sinne and Satan to harden Therefore when we are hardened Let vs rather complaine that God doth nothing then that he doth something in vs. Ninthly though the Children of Adam be necessarily sinfull yet they may be iustly punished because necessary sinning came from voluntary sinning For this necessitie of sinning came not from God but from their owne Father but this free-will brought vpon them this necessity And surely if they had beene in his place they would likewise haue done the same for Adams Children would haue beene no better then their Father the print no better then the stampe When God gaue a power of leauing a righteous seede hee may call into Iudgement the seed which he finds vnrighteous and he may be angry with sinne wheresoeuer he findes it because he gaue a power that there shold bee no sinne at all Wee doe the same and allow the same and yet question what we doe and allow In a Snake and Toade we make no question whither they could chuse but bee venomous but without any question we kill them only for being venomous neyther may we excuse it because we made not their venome for neyther did God make the venome of sinne And surely sinne is like poison in the sight of God and wee may rather wonder how his mercy can indure it in so many then how his Iustice should punish it in any A Traytors children are impouerished by Lawes for the offence of his parents and when wee see an oppressor murderer or extortioner we exspect it as a necessary piece of Diuine Iustice That his third heire inioy not his estate This is the summe God is pure and righteous Man is sinfull without Gods partaking a Righteous God may punish sinfull men whose sin he hath nothing to doe with but he findes it contrary and offensiue to him Lastly in these and the like depthes of God let no man wade aboue his stature Euery Man should vnderstand according to sobriety that is according to the measure which he contayneth Let not the Homer teare it selfe in pieces by stretching it selfe to be an Ephah but let euery member for the members are different aspire to his proper fulnesse and though they reach not to such Mysteries they may conuerse in poynts of more absolute necessity to saluation and larger edification as our graffing into Christ Iesus by Faith and our growth in him by Loue the stablishing of our hearts in the hope suggested by the earnest and testimonie of the sanctifying Spirit These things are maine generall and absolutely necessary imployments and concernments in our way to Heauen and in them especially must wee spend our meditations And for the rest no doubt to their vnderstanders they are full of edification yet all men cannot ceceiue them Therefore let euery man receiue that which is meet for his measure according to that which hee hath not according to that which he hath not nor cannot haue Miserable it is to see as I haue seene it a man possessed by pieces of this secret rather then possessing them and so vttering his distractions rather then resolutions that one might pitty his amazement sooner then conceiue his meaning But I haue shewed you a more excellent way CHAP. VIII Of the small health and great vnhealthinesse of the Romish Church wherein most conspicuous is a Wenne growen to the likenesse of a Head WHosoeuer doth consideratly behold the mayne body of the Romish Church may finde therein three sorts of Religion The first may bee called Religio Curialis the Religion of the Court which is indeed nothing else but Pollicy paraphrasing Diuinity and an vnkindly froward Alchymie by which grosse things are drawne out of pure things the flesh is limbecked out of the Spirit and worldly pompe and supremacie is extracted out of a doctrine that preacheth sufferings patience and humility An inconsequent conclusion and farre vasutable to the premisses and like though contrary to the ancient Centones wherein out of the Heathen workes of Virgill is gathered the Christian story of our Sauiours incarnation and passion But these contrarily though in the same way out of the Christian and Spirituall Doctrine of the Gospell draw a Heathen Secular and Carnall Empire euen a perfect story of a Man of sinne and of one that sitteth as God in the Temple of God The Pope hath gotten a Monopoly of of heauen and earth and none may trade in eyther without some tribute to his supremacie Thus is the Scripture brought to speake the Language of Babell by a most cruell racke it is forced to deny it selfe Christ is set on worke to set vp Antichrist And whereas it is openly sayd Vos autem non sic by distinctions metaphors and
be ouer cleanly But let the best striue to please the best and I know there are wits of that excellency that can giue sufficient delight by cleane and cleare conceits euen such as flowe from pure wit and borrow no bastardly generation of the filth and mudde of the basenesse shame and corruption of Man And I know there are also neat and noble Auditors that relish wit best by it selfe when it is not farded nor tainted with the mixture of slime and drosse And I doe not see but the chaste wife of one whose friendship while he liued might haue brought me into suspicion of partialitie but now he is gone against my will doth leaue mee at liberty to commend him hath beene as faire and amiable as the Venus of many deckt vp with the colours and payntings of lustfull and incendiary wit A second Fault in representatiue speaking is the vsing of holy words to prophane ends or in a prophane manner Oathes are sacred prayers are holy and the name of God glorious yet they must serue the recreation of Man and man must be delighted though God be blasphemed A fearfull thing it is for Man to delight himselfe in that wherein God is dishonoured If there were no other thing but the abuse of Gods name of sentences of Scripture and such holy things this were enough to make Playes of this nature and such are most abhominable to euery good Christian. For I tell thee this That if thou art a Christian thou art like vnto Lot and thy righteous Soule will be vexed with the dishonour of thy God Now if thou art vexed therewith how canst thou goe to bee vexed Canst thou take delight in vexation and wilt thou giue money for it And if thou beest not vexed then art thou no good Christian. Againe if thou be a Christian God is thy best friend and wilt thou go where thou thinkest thy best friend shall bee abused and thou must hold thy peace Take heed for Gods sake that thou take not delight there wher thou shouldest bee vexed and take heed for thy owne sake that if thou must needs be vexed that thou goe not to seeke vexation I might here adde for a third Fault â—he scandalous deprauations and detractions which diminish the honour of some to adde to the pleasure of others yea beyond this the doctrines rather then reproofes of vices the prodigall expence of time the stuffe of which life it selfe consists but I wish the former faults were first amended and the amendment of those would best giue encouragement to a farther cure Sure I am as the case now stands that generally these Theaters are the Churches of Satan and doe by the meanes fore-mentioned edifie vnto damnation While the Preacher workes for Heauen the Player playes for his working is playing for Hell and many Soules receiue there those lessons of Darkenesse which leade them stedily vnto eternall darknesse And if exhortations may not preuaile I wish Authoritie would and that at least the same course may bee taken for the Scene that is for the Presse that nothing might be acted but that which first had beene examined that so if this Representation shall be thought fit to remayne yet at least the foule spots and corruptions of it may be cleared that so it may bee restored to all possible beauty and become if not profitable yet infinitely lesse hurtfull CHAP. XV. Of the Pharises Disease the Loue of vppermost seats THE Emphasis lies in the word Loue for to loue prelation out of a tumour of the Flesh is a sinne but to receiue it humbly being iustly giuen may be a worke of the Spirit Our Sauiour consutes not superiority and inferiority he is not the Author of confusion but of order but that which he condemnes is the lifting vp of the heart in pride and the proud hearts lifting vp of the body in place If therefore thou seest the Disease learne also the Remedies and if thou art not yet prouided I will helpe thee a few In the First place That thou mayst cure thy selfe by contraries by true iudgement and humility grow first into patience and after into liking with the lower place Let thy iudgement tell thee that there is no oddes in the place but in the minde for the same place doth please or displease as the minde likes or dislikes it I haue knowen a man take a pleasure if not a pride in sitting lowest if thou doe the same thou shalt find the place will do nothing to thee to discontent thee Secondly Know that the true height of a man is eminence in vertue and an especiall vertue is humility and humility is very much expressed in a good digestion of inferiority So if thou art high in vertue sitting lowest thou sittest highest yea by sitting low thou dost sit high for humility doth exalt thee Surely the true excellence of man is vertue guided by knowledge and indeed otherwise it is no vertue for wherein a man is more excellent then other creatures therein is one man more excellent then another man By how much a man riseth aboue the creatures toward the Creator by so much is his excellence increased and so farre euery man excelleth another as he goes beyond another in the Image of God Therefore striue thou for that which makes thee inwardly higher though thou be outwardly lower for if in this thou excellest thy Neighbour thou art higher then he in worth though lower in place So a pearle is richer then gold though in a pendent the gold sit aboue the pearle And we say often that a valiant short man is a taller man then a long coward so that he is aboue him in worth though below him in stature And no lesse is it thought that a consequent Lady is preferred before an antecedent Vsher. Thirdly Know that this present order is but an orderly confusion inforced by necessity sorting with the confused misery of the fal of Man It was not the appointment of Gods first Creation that Princes should goe on foot and Fooles ride on horsebacke but by Adams fall rich folly takes place of poore wisdome The heart of Man is deceitfull and inward excellence cannot truly be iudged therefore outward stuffe for the present is vsually the dull touchstone of eminence and where there can be no better the worst must serue But here meets me a case that is vanity it selfe and vexation of spirit Two men there are of equall meanes the one liues like a Man and a Christian and equalls his meanes by his exspences in hospitality seruices of his Countrie reliefe of the poore The other hee is neyther Man nor Christian doth nothing for God nor his CouÌ„trie but by sacriledge oppression and extortion robbes God and the Countrie yet by this no goodnesse yea by his wickednesse he trebleth his goods and farre surmounteth the other Now let any man tell me which of these should bee taken for the better Man whether the worse man or the better Surely
Wine more hereafter Secondly If thy tast delight thee how much is that exceeded by the delights of the Spirit The Church confesseth that the kisses of Christ Iesus who kisseth his Church by the Spirit are pleasanter then Wine Quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua sayth Dauid Hee is fayne to aske how sweet because he cannot tell nor expresse the sweetnesse of it What is sweeter then hony sayth Samson and yet Dauid sayth The Word of God being tasted by the Spirit is sweeter then hony How many Saints haue left their meat and drinke for the Wine of the Spirit How many haue beaten downe their bodies by abstinence that they might the more fully tast the Sweetnesse of God Wherefore if thou wilt indeed tast sweetnesse get thee a Spirituall tast receiue the Wine of heauen giuen by Christ Iesus the Wisdome of God For he it is that Pro. 8. calleth the sonnes of men promising to fill them with delights vers 31. And surely those must needs be the chiefe delights which issue from the taste of the Deity which is the vppermost Sweetnesse Wherfore desire thou rather to taste God in himselfe then in his Creatures for that is the highest pleasure of tasting which flowes from the taste of the sweetnesse of the Highest Thirdly If thou desire Wine for the cheerfulnesse and ioy which it breedeth know that the Spirit of God is the Fountaine of Consolation and then chuse thou whether thou wilt drink of the streame or of the fountaine The Spirit of God hath in it the ioy and comfort of Wine Yea Wine hath his ioy and comfort from the Spirit for the Spirit of God as once by miracle so still by course of Nature turnes water into Wine But there is another euen a new Wine in the kingdome of God and this is the best wine A new Wine it is to vs but not in it selfe new to vs because wee were first filled with the old Wine of our fall and secondly with this Wine of excesse and after wee come to drink this wine of regeneration and glorification So it is new to vs but it is old in it selfe as flowing eternally from an eternally from an eternall Deity This is the true Wine which recoyceth the heart not of the body onely but of the soule also to which the outward Wine connot reach This is the Wine of blessed Spirits the drinking whereof is the cause of those vnvtterable ioyes which dwel in the dwellers with God In this the Spirit giues not some grosse and bodily relish thereby to become comfortable to the bodily part of Man but in this the Spirit communicates the sap tast and relish of its owne primitiue sweetnesse vigour and cheerfulnesse so that wee doe not so much tast comfort as the Comforter himselfe In the drinking of this Wine shew thy manhood Drinke deep and true healths for with this drinking is ioyned true and eternall health The more thou drinkest of this the wiser the holyer the more sober thou art for in the same Spirit wherein is cheerfulnesse is also Wisdome and Vertue The tast of this Wine is a bequeath of dying Christ Iesus to his beloued Spouse the Church whom he comforteth and supporteth with the flagons thereof in his absence before the Day of his great Marriage where it shall bee giuen in fulnesse And the comforts of it are sufficient to strēgthen vs against all sorts of griefe yea they make vs cheerfully to scorne and despise the pleasures of sinne they make vs to looke on death with disdayne as vpon a Snake whose fling and teeth are pulled out Death where is thy sting Graue where is thy victory They make vs to long for heauen and stirre vp the stomacke of the soule by these measured tastes of God to tast him perfectly in a most blessed full and eternall fruition But perchance thou wilt tell mee that thou tastest no such sweetnesse in God thou hast heard him spoken of in Churches and Pulpits and thou sayest thy prayers as others doe and yet thou perceiuest no such matter as I talke of Surely I must confesse This Wine is not for euery mouth neyther is euery mouth for this Wine The holy Wine must be put into holy Vessels for it is farre holyer then the shew-bread for the receiuing whereof Abimelech would that the young mens Vessels should be cleane The corrupt and lustfull Flesh as it tasteth not this Wine no more doth this Wine indure to be tasted by it this fruit of the tree of Life cannot be receiued but where the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and euill is spit out and denyed The louers of Egyptian Onions are no true tasters of celestiall Manna therfore striue to cast out the old Man corrupt with deceiuable Lusts which makes thy taste grosse and earthly and then thou shalt taste the sweetnesse of God and his consolations And hauing tasted it thou shalt despise the tast of thy former gluttonies and drinkings and thou shalt say with Dauid Thou hast put more ioy into my heart then formerly there was when the Oyle and Wine were plentifull This is a priuiledge of Saints bee thou a Saint and inioy the priuiledge Thirdly for drunkennesse had need to be haled out with a three-fold cord behold a benefit of this Spirituall wine which the other wanteth yea behold the same thing commendable in the one damnable in the other and that is excesse Thou must drinke too much of the outward wine but canst not drinke too much of the inward and therfore if thou loue safety better then danger loue the wine of the Spirit rather then the fruit of the Vine If thou knowest a Physitian that heales all that he meddles with and another that hath killed as many as he hath vndertaken doest thou not shew thy folly to preferre the killer before the sauer Surely the spirit saues all that it vndertakes and wine hath slaine many soules and bodies by excesse O loue life and seeke not death by the errours of this life Drinke the Spirit without feare but drink wine still in feare thou mayst not feare in the drinking of the spirit except thou wilt feare increase of comfort of light of holinesse Thou canst not drinke freely of wine without feare except thou do not feare the losse of light the losse of reason of goodnesse of thy whole selfe The spirit by how much it groweth in thee the wiser the better the more larger thou art But by how much more thou drinkest the wine of excesse the foolisher the wickeder the lesser thou art Therefore when thou takest the Cup of Saluation open thy mouth wide that it may bee largely filled but when thou takest thy cup of wine know it is a cup of danger and let in danger as sparely as thou mayst It is the saying of a Wiseman Hee that loueth danger shall perish in it and surely hee that loueth wine loueth danger and therefore hee that lowine is likely
to perish by it While thou fitst at thy wine the wine seemes to thee to be still the same because it is still of the same colour and the same taste and taken out of the same Vessell but I tell thee that the wine at the fourth or fifth draught is not the same that it was at the first or second The wine at the first or second draught perchance was comfortable or physicall but at the fourth or fifth it is furious and vnholsome It refresheth thy spirits at first but it destroyes them at last and so the same wine which was at first thy comfort is at last thy poison Therfore hold thy hand from wine when it beginnes to bee poyson know the time when it changeth and take heed thou keepe thy selfe on this side of the Change On this side thou art Master both of it thy selfe and thou mayst rule both thy selfe and it beyond the wine will be thy Master and thou shalt doe what it pleaseth Then shall thy mouth speake lewd things and by speaking or not speaking it shall proclayme thy shame Wherefore if thou loue thy liberty if thou loue the possession of thy selfe stop thy appetite betweene the wine that refresheth and the wine that destroyeth And that thou mayst bee the more strong in this power of Abstinence with a purified soule thirst after the wine of the Spirit with which they that thirst shall be filled and with which they that are filled doe scorne both the thirst and fulnesse especially the excesse of earthly wine Thus haue I made a Whip of a twice threefold Cord out of this exhortation of S. Paul there withall to whip these deuourers of drink not out of the Temple but into the Temple from the Chappels of Satan I wish they would in this point bee Papists and whip themselues also if not withall yet with some of these cords that so by such wholsome wounds their euill might be purged I confesse I haue left out one word of this verse which word seemes to be the occasion of the whole Verse and it is the word drunken I might say for an Answer that I wish it were wholly left out in deeds as it is heere in words but if that will not serue for an Answere Let it be this The matter of the word is the subiect of this Discourse and the word excesse reacheth close vnto it But for the word it selfe as I haue for the most part auoyded the lothsome naming of it So I desire that the lothsomenesse of the name may make the owners leaue it and intreat them to this end to preach sometimes to themselues and their Sermon shall bee only an houres repetition of this word Drunken I doubt not but the beastly sound of it in the eare the muddie cadence of it on the tongue will bee so fulsome so odious to them that in the vglinesse of the word beholding the lothsomenesse of the deed they will hate and anoyde the deed whereof the word is so abominable CHAP. XVII Certaine false Appetites that distaste the Food of life though drest in it owne kind if not drest to their owne minde THere are at this day many seuerall tastes that affect seuerall manners of deliuering the Word of God Some affect roughnesse some verball Rhetoricke some a short and sandy Eloquence The first pretends for himselfe that the profit of the Word consisteth in supernaturall power not in humane elocution and that the intising words of mans Wisdome rob that diuine power of the glory of conuersion But the man of the man of this opinion must know first that he findes no precept of rusticitie harshnesse or roughnesse of speech in the Scripture Secondly on the contrary hee shall find in the Preacher Prophets and Apostles yea in Christ himself pleasant words delightfull comparisons perswasiue exhortations often very eloquent and moouing expressions Thirdly God speaking by man vnto man though the power of God be the very effectuall cause of conuersion only baptiseth with fire yet the outward powerful expression ioyning and conspiring with the inward conuerting power may giue a degree thought not a being and may blow the fire which the Spirit kindles The Spirit in the speaker or writer according to his degree commonly stirreth inflameth and exalteth the Spirit in the hearer and that so much the more strongly by how much more swift forcible penetratiō ithath through the outward man into the inward Now a cleere sound and masculine expression openeth wide the doore of the vtter man so that the spirituall meaning contayned in the words passeth in fully strongly and swiftly And so the actiue vehemence thereof doth as it were struck hard on the soule and leaues a print thereon The Word is the Looking-glasse bearing the Image of the Spirit that speaketh and therin is the Spirit speaking discerned by the Spirit hearing The more this spirit is discerned the more beauty and so the more loue and so the more power Now the cleerer the Glasse is the more discerning therefore the spirit made more excellent in an euident word is more louely and more powerfull Surely if we could see spirituall thoughts in their Primitiue beauty without the grosse mediation of words their excellence would rauish vs their glory would command and master vs. But now thoughts shining to vs thorow the Lanthorne of words the cleerer the Lanthorne is the more bright and cheerfull is the Light and the thicker it is the lesse doth it direct and the lesse doth it comfort Fourthly besides the benefit of euidence handsome expression helpes the memorie and God speaking to man by man no doubt well knowes their mould to whome hee speakes and is willing that all fauour especially by the Ministerie of man Rom. 6.19 should be done vnto man and that words should be fitted to the best aduantage of Nature A Parable of Christ a tuned and proportioned Psalme of Dauid a Prouerbe of Salomon yea one of the Fathers harmonious Sentences sometime take more hold of the memory then a rough and ragged exhortation Yet I speake not this that I may vse Pauls words to shame them that haue not to condemne Moses Exod. 4.10 for want of vtterance but to exhort others from condemning and that they doe not condemne but desire the more excellent gifts for God gaue Moses Aaron euen to diuine knowledge an eloquent vtterance God hath giuen diuers gifts vnto men all to edification now all together shall edifie most if the higher imploy their Talents not condemning but incouraging the lower if the lower exercise their gifts rather imitating thē enuying the higher But in imitation let euery Man hold this Rule That he imitate no further then his strength will make it good Otherwise while he seekes to be another and leaues to be himselfe being short of the other he loseth both himselfe and the other euen what he would be and what he might be The second is a hunter of meere
and mighty Language Hee doth what we should do euen make sweetnesse to wayte vpon strength not make strength to melt it selfe away into sweetnesse Let the Bees come vnto Samsons Lion but let not the Lion spend his strength in running after Bees Now the vse which hence I would gather is a double Medicine for a twofold Disease The one is for the Readers or hearers disease For many of these are sick of iudgement and will not reade or heare any but those that are short and sweet euen such as conuey Religion into them by Pils and not by Potions They are like chicken that cannot eate bread except it be in crummes But let such get vnto them the true appetite of a true Christian and then spirituall matter deliuered spiritually that is with euidence force will be very good if not the best food to their soules And I would wish them to condemne their owne stomackes and to seeke to amend them when they condemne or neglect a sound and Apostlicall deliuery of the Word For certainly that Soule is not very spirituall in her appetite that rellisheth not spirituall Doctrine deliuered in it owne that is in a spirituall manner For true in this it is also That Like loues his Like and on the otherside where there is no loue there is no likenesse but that which loues not is vnlike to that which is not loued So the appetite that loues not a spirituall kind of teaching is to be suspected that it selfe is not spirituall and that want of likenesse is the true cause of the want of loue And if it be so then let men looke into themselues for the fault and not out of themselues and after let them looke themthemselues to the Physician of our soules Christ Iesus praying him to touch their hearts as hee did the heart of Lydea with his opening Spirit and then no doubt shall they bee attentiue hearers of the man that speakes spirituall things in spirituall words The other is for the Writers or Speakers disease and this very often is affectation Euery man must be of the fashion and so if this Language of pieces be the fashion that must bee affected But the affectation heereof is vicious both because it affects a vice in speaking and likewise because it marres the naturall ability in which the Affectator would haue better excelled and whereby hee would haue beene more perswasiue So haue I seene a good Trotter make a bad Ambler and fall into a Racke which is neyther of them both Wherefore to draw all to a summe Let edification be the end of speaking and hearing writing and reading that it may bee so spirituall things must be fitted with a spirituall Language The excellence and moouing of diuine Musick is then chiefest when the Tune speaketh like the Ditty So if the light and power of the Spirit vtter themselues in words of light and power it speakes most mouingly to our soules Wherefore let spirituall words haue in them spirituall euidence and spirituall feruor for so doe they best speake to the Vnderstanding Will and Affections And let the whole matter haue a sufficient allowance of words for so doth it best speake to the memory Yet this wee may know that with a large and full expression a sententious definitious and comprehensiue Position is often a very good Companion The largenesse giues a full appearance of the matter to the vnderstanding and workes a full impression of it into the memory then the breuity becomming the modell and pith of the largenes makes it more portable and ready for vse And we may see a string which by the sudden turne of a Key hath broken by a leisurable winding hath risen beyond the degree where it brake Lastly if with the Preacher to the words of Truth and an vpright writing there arise pleasant words let euery man make vse of his Talent to the profit of the lender Instruction pointed with delight pierceth the more sharply and sticks the more stedfastly And these bee the very Nayles of Salomon the fastning of which he commends in the Teachers But let euery man serue God in his owne place and not breake his ranke to doe some strange Exployt For as there is not an expectation of doing God seruice where God hath not giuen ability so neyther is there an acceptation of that seruice which is done without an abilitie giuen of God 1. Pet. 4.11 For such a Worke is not the fruit of the power but of impotence and it cannot please him because it is done without him For as euery good thing comes from God so that which comes not from God is not good and that which is not good can neuer please God CHAP. XVIII That the Vse of the Keyes is an excellent Remedie for the Diseases of the Church if it selfe be not diseased and that it is not to bee taken for a priuiledge to bee free from Remedies and not from Diseases WHen I reade a Cyprian Epis. 10.11.55 de â—aâ—â—s the practice of Penitence in the Times of the first Loue it reioyceth mee greatly to see the beauty of the Church which could not chuse but shine in a notable fairenesse when the spots were so duely and carefully taken away the faces of the spotted being throughly washed by the teares of repentance Open Sinners were not admitted into the Communion of Saints neither was the bread of the Children giuen vnto dogges neyther by an equall bounty to the godly and the wicked was there an equall incouragement to godlinesse and iniquity But a separation was made betweene the sicke and the whole and this separation had no other intent but edification euen an edification of the Spirit by the destruction of the Flesh. So could men finde no fault with the dispensers of this power hauing nothing to complaine of but that their liues thereby were sought to bee amended and their soules to bee saued I confesse the cause was weighty for which the gates of Heauen were to be locked great in matter or great in manner great in the thing done or great in the wilfulnesse of the doer And this not without reason for the doome is heauy and fit for the backe of a strong mighty Euill It was a short damnation a temporall Hell a measured deliuery vnto Satan man being shut out of Heauen vpon Earth euen the company of Saints and shut out of Heauen in Heauen euen the ioyes and comforts of the Spirit of Consolation Neither could it but bee an excellent Remedie because it was so fitted to the Disease A degree of Presumption is incountred with a degree of Despaire the Scorpion is made a medicine against the Scorpion and Satan is set on worke to take him downe by Terror vnto Saluation whom before he animated and puffed vp to destruction Hee that sayd at first Sinne boldly for yee shall not die at all now he changeth his voyce and sayth Thy sinne is greater then can be forgiuen thee But
his matter only striues to take away his sinne this Inferiour hath in nothing disgraced the Superiour for in the manner he hath giuen him respect and in the matter hee offers him Amendment So vpon the whole hee hath not disgraced but graced him in respectiue words and in profitable matter And surely a man so reproued may if he please be more honorable after reproofe then hee was before if by the reproofe he become better then he was before Naaman was an honourable man but a Leper and at first hee tooke exceptions to the Prophet because he came not out to him but sent him health in a manner that distasted him But if Naaman had continued in his anger he had continued a Leper whereas by hearkning vnto the Prophets direction hee returned honourable as hee was before and healthy which hee was not before Surely euery man though neuer so honourable hath a spirituall Leprosie and if a Prophet aduise him to wash and be clean by refusing it hee may continue an honourable Leper but by obeying it hee may haue spirituall health added to his temporall honour Wherefore let euery man doe that for the health of his soule which this mighty man did for the health of his body let him wash according to the words of the Prophet Christs businesse is to wash vs in this world that he may present vs spotlesse to his Father in another world As hee washeth vs chiefly by his owne Bloud Spirit so he washeth vs ministerially by his Word by his Sacraments by his Keyes for by these the Bloud and Spirit which wash vs are more neerly applyed and more fully communicated Therefore loue and embrace the outward meanes of thy inward puritie and take willingly not one but all the helpes that may beautifie thee Some thinke it too much to bee hearers of the Word of Christ and cry out that preaching indeed a foolishnesse to such but a foolishnesse that saues others hath turned the world vpside downe Act. 17.6 Another can indure preaching because hee can indure to sit at his ease while the preacher takes paines in vttering that for which before hee tooke paines in gathering but the Sacrament he will take but once in the yeere and not once except his Charitie fall out right with the time of the yeere A third will indure both Word and Sacrament and with Herod will doe some things gladly but if hee bee threatned with a binding in Heauen for vnlawfull Lust Iohn Baptists head must dance from his shoulders But ô thou man whosoeuer thou art that desirest to see the face of God giue leaue vnto God to sit thee for his presence by all his meanes of washing and clensing For there is nothing purer then our God of purest eyes and there is nothing fouler then a man of naturall corruption therefore thinke no washing too much to bring the most defiled thing on earth to the purest Essence in Heauen Beleeue that Christ knew the glory of God sufficiently for he came from it immediatly to vs and that he knew sufficiently the filthinesse of Man for hee came to wash it with his bloud and therefore let no man thinke that hee hath prescribed any thing too much to bring vs from so great a filthinesse to so infinite a Glory Wherefore let no man limite the Highest and tell him the Word and Sacraments might haue serued for his clensing but yeeld to his Wisedome which hath thought chastisement sometimes as necessary as food Therefore bee thou like Dauid and be not better then he who was both a Saint and a King and then shalt thou say with Dauid That Gods rod and his staffe doe comfort thee as well as that hee maketh thee to lye downe in greene pastures and leadeth thee by the still waters So to summe vp all Let the dispensers of Christs ordinances and his spirituall Stewards giue to all his seruants due meat in due season Let them take the Towell and the Basin wherewith once Christ washed and wiped his Disciples feet and at this day wash the feet euen the spots of his blessed spouse Hee hath told you that he did it to giue you an example if yee follow not his example you goe about to make his giuing of it in vaine Wash them with the Word for Christ hath testified Now are yee cleane by the Word Wash them with the Sacraments for the bloud of Christ and the Spirit of Christ the chiefe meanes of our Spirituall clensing are thereby communicated to vs. Wash them with the rod of censure and chastisement which purgeth out the euill by the blunesse of the wound and by the destruction of the Flesh saueth the Spirit in the Day of the Lord. 1. Cor. 5.5 And let the Flocke of Christ striue for the vtmost cleannesse and not for priuiledges of vncleannesse for as they are purified they shall bee glorified the more white wee are here in Grace the more bright wee shall bee in Glory And let euery man though outwardly great seeke to make himselfe as much within as hee is without and to that end let him incourage his spirituall father freely to tell him the sinnes that binde in Heauen that hee may bee freed from them whiles hee is here on Earth And let euery great one that meanes to bee saued account it an especiall benefit if he meet with a messenger of God Iob 33.23 which may by wholsome admonition take from him those sinnes which may loose or lessen his saluation For it is a certaine Trueth that as the more purity the more glory so the more spots the lesse glory and the greater damnation Now vnto him that hath loued vs Reuel 1. and washed vs from our sinnes in his own bloud and hath made vs Kings Priests vnto God his Father To him be glory and dominion for euer and euer CHAP. XIX The Discouery of some mayne Causes of Warres and Wounds in the Church and the meanes of their Cure THat the Church and Rebecca are alike and that the Wombe of both is lamentably peruerted into a place of wrestling griefe though vnwilling canâ—ot but confesse it because Contention is so violent that it will not suffer it to bee hidden Therefore a question as fitly ariseth from the Church as from Rebecca if it be so why am I thus Though she desired to be fruitfull yet shee loued not to bee a breeder of quarels and therefore preferred a quiet sterility before a coÌ„tentious fruitfulnesse And to this question of both there is fitted an Answer for the satisfaction of both There are two Nations in thy Wombe and two kind of people come from thy bowels one visible Church one woÌ„be and the same bowels yet two sorts of people and not two only in distinction but two in contrariety of disposition The difference of their inclinations makes a diuision in their affections and this diuision is inflamed into opposition and contention The man of flesh is Esau a strong Hunter of carnall
to bee found of an vpright euen a spirituall conuersation and their followers should wee bee that so follow the followers of Christ. Neyther must that backward reasoning be heard among Christians to argue from their own apprehensions or vertues therby to proue what is Truth and Goodnesse which is to reason from themselues to Christ but they must reason from Christ to themselues they must say This Christ did therefore I must doe so and not this I do therefore Christ did so For that were to make thy selfe Christ and Christ a Christian. Yet this many doe and from their owne inclinations fashion the shapes of paternes to themselues not themselues to them And as we must conforme our selues to the deeds of the Spirit so we must to the words of the Spirit and to doe both wee our selues must be spirituall euen the freemen of God Vpon which is grounded the third Rule which is this That euery Saint and sonne of God by the ayde of the Spirit inwardly freeing him and outwardly teaching him must striue to haue an vniuersall libertie of soule free and inclinable to the approouing of all Truthes and to the loue and practice of all goodnesse I say this is a great and glorious liberty of the sonnes of God and of them alone that their soules being liâ—ted vp from the hinges of the flesh and new fastned to the spirit thereby they haue a freedome to mooue whensoeuer the Spirit moues and to loue whatsoeuer the Spirit loues All Truthes are gladly receiued all Goodnesse is highly esteemed bee it in a Complection different yea contrary For this Freeman of God must haue the liberty both of his Iudgement and Will hee will be bound Prentise to no Sect partiality or piece of Truth or Goodnesse but will bee as large as Truth and Goodnesse it selfe And if you will know his Sect the truth is he is only of the Sect of Truth and Goodnesse And that is no Sect. For these he approues wheresoeuer he finds them in what Complexion Religion or Nation soeuer and it seemes Saint Peter himselfe was of this Sect yea God himselfe fauoureth it for Saint Peter saith that of a Truth he perceiued That God in all Nations accepted those that feare him and worke Righteousnesse Therefore henceforth Let no man tye himselfe to a part by some corporeall likenesse or preiudice of birth or education and so separate himself from the whole but let euery true Christian bee a true Catholike euen an vniuersall thing entertayning Truth and Goodnesse in all persons and Complexions yea entertayning all persons and Companies if there bee Truth and Goodnesse in them For let the great and little Sectaries Romanists and Separatists know That the name of Catholicke is most properly his whose iudgement is free to the receite of all Truths but especially and actually of the Fundamentals of Saluation and whose will is free to the imbracing of all persons indued with sanctified Goodnesse issuing from the knowledge of Truth The true Saint is a louer of all sanctifying Truth and a louer of all that are sanctified by the Truth This Saint Iohn testifies when he boldly assumes That the elect Lady was loued in the Truth of all them that loue the Truth Therefore let men boast of singularity and separation that is fearfull to mee which is to them preeminence For they that cut off Saints from them cuts themselues off from the Communion of Saints Yea let not a difference in small Truthes make separation It may bee that Complexion hath only made this difference and hath made him or thee I know not which too straite or too large but take heed that thou doe not for a difference in Complexion separate thy selfe from thy owne Brother The great and certaine Truth and mayne Goodnesse that are in him are more strong to bind thee to an vnion then the difference in small Truths and Duties be to make a Diuision Yea that great Goodnes that is in him except with the Pharisies thou thinke better of thy selfe then others may make thee to suspect thy selfe rather then him And suspect thy selfe and spare not if thou dost not finde in thy selfe this vniuersall liberty of soule which approues all solid truth and sanctified Goodnesse in any person yea loues the persons of that Truth and Goodnesse Let not the flesh part what the Spirit hath ioyned together let not the difference of bodies put a-sunder what the vnity of Grace hath conioyned neyther doe thou know men hereafter according to thy owne flesh but according to Gods Spirit But if thou wilt try whether thou doest make a true spirituall discord see whether thou dost equally make it with men of thy owne Complexion Constitution if they be voyd of Truth and Goodnesse and whether thou dost loue and entertayne any Truth and Goodnesse though he be neuer so much outwardly different that professeth it But if thou sticke at eyther of these thou art not yet a Freeman of the Spirit but a slaue of thy flesh thy loue and hatred are thy owne and not Gods And surely so it appeares in many of this kind for a spirituall hatred dwels in a spirituall heart and a spirituall heart is a charitable heart and a charitable heart euen where it hates there it wisheth that it might haue cause to loue Accordingly these spirituall and charitable haters of Vice rather then Person seeke the amendment of those that they hate they striue as much as is lawfull and possible to liue in peace with all men they attend if at any time they may recouer them from the snare of the Deuill But the Complexionary Zelots think more of Confusion then Conuersion they seeke out Reasons to maintayne a Rent and Difference and to account men of Infirmitie Enemies rather then Brethren and except a man will presently bee saued they will presently damme him But wisdome is iustified of her Children this is the wisdome of the Spirit euen to vnlade our selues of the flesh to free our selues from all the preiudice burden and bondage of it and to dwell in that pure peaceable and vniuersall spirit which entertayneth gladly all Truth and loueth willingly all Goodnesse yea where they are not it wisheth they may bee and expecteth vntill they be But before I leaue this subiect I must both magnifie and pitty the Man truly spirituall He ought to be magnified because hee that is mighty hath magnified him and hath set him in a high degree The Knife of the Spirit hath ript off the flesh from his soule and the flesh doth no more command him but he is a spirituall Freeman His soule is free from darknesse by a maruelous euen a Celestiall Light and his will is free from the bands and chaines of the flesh by a seuering cutting and absoluing Spirit Hee is taller then the sonnes of men and as much higher then they as the Spirit is higher then the flesh and by that step of aduantage hee lookes into Heauen which
of the iudged hee sayth Hee shall bee holden vp for God is able to make him stand The different decency of haire is iustly recommended by Paul to different sexes yet if any man will be contentious herein he will not ioyne battaile with him but tells him that neyther hee nor the Churches of God haue any such Custome as Contention I wish wee could truely say so too and that the fight begun about Easter euen Loue lost for a holiday were not now renewed in the like kinde though on other occasions But I desire the saints of God seriously to consider this That if the Church of God haue no such custome as Contention how can they that haue such a custome as Contention be the Church of God Let the Zealous consider that the kindly heat of the fire of the Spirit is Loue and not Contention but if this heat grow contentious it ceaseth to bee Spirituall Wine is no longer wine but vineger when it hath lost his comfortable and sprightly heat and hath fret it selfe into sowrenesse and tartnesse And surely the heat Zeale which is degenerated from edifying and comfortable charity into opposition biting and iudging is no longer the heat of the Spirit but a rage of the Flesh. A Second marke of indiscreet Zeale is that it is vnseasonable and full of confusion It will haue perfection to be the fruit of a moment and it will not stay for seasons and occasions The Pharises would haue the old bottles presently filled with new wine and the Children of the wedding to fast while the Bridegroome was with them If they would haue stayd vntill the bottles had beene renewed or the Bridegroome had beene departed their Zeale had beene approoueable whereas now it was vnseasonable In many cases wee are aduised to beare euill men patiently and not to breake out into a fury if at such times as wee would they cannot breake the snares of the Deuill but our patience is to expect if at any time God will that they may escape Many there are that are impatient of euill men and driue them away by terrour and despight if they be not presently conuerted yet it directly breakes this precept and shewes that they would bee masters and authours of mens saluation and not waiters vpon God that only giues the increase When they haue spoken it must be done whereas it shall not be done vntill God speake What if God will haue him called at the twelfth houre wilt thou damne him if hee be not conuerted at the ninth houre waite thou on Gods leasure for God will not waite on thy pleasure he may saue him at last if thou driue him not from hearing by thy fiercenesse and if thou doe so thou edifiest to Hell and art not Gods but Satans Minister Againe others are vnseasonable in not being as wise Fishers for Soules as men are for Fishes They seeke not with Paul to catch them by craft neither striue so farre to please as pleasing may bee an aduancement of profiting Yea there is a delight taken sometimes in falling right ouerthwart an errour or infirmity so a boysterous wind makes the man hold his cloke the faster which a warme sunblast would haue gently perswaded from his backe It is not amisse to ground the perswasions of things not beleeued on things beleeued of duties vnpractised on duties practised and reproofes of faults on commendations of vertues Paul telling King Agrippa hee beleeued the Prophets had wonne him almost to bee a Christian and when he meanes to chide the Corinthians as in some points Carnall and not Spirituall he beginnes his Epistle with the title of Saints and thankes to God that they were rich in vtterance and knowledge And since we haue fallen into mention of Pauls behauiour to Agrippa by that and other such examples may wee learne the comelinesse of discreet admonition and the ragged harshnesse of indiscretion Agrippa before Paul spake with him was much lesse then a Christian for hee was but almost a Christian when hee had done with him Yet Paul doth not call him Vnbeleeuer but takes hold on that beliefe which he gaue to the Iewish Religion by that to bring him to the Christian. Dauid shed the bloud of Vrtas but Nathan did not call him Murderer but first gayned his own iudgment from him and set it against himselfe He tooke Dauid by craft and Nathan did not at first condemne him before hee had set Dauid against Dauid and made him to pronounce sentence vpon himselfe Saint Ambrose admonisheth Theodosius of his cruell execution of the Thessalonians but ue doth it with such reuerence to his person with such expression of Loue and meere seeking of his Saluation That a most valiant Emperour could not but receiue patiently the Spirituall bonds wherewith hee tyed him below that hee might take a course to free himselfe aboue No doubt but the like occasions may still befall and Princes may neede Admonition and why should they not haue them if they neede them for else were they more miserable then common men and Salomons woe were especially vpon them because when they fall there were none to helpe them vp But it being granted that they may fall and that falling they are to be raysed by Admonition Let the matter of the Admonition be fitted to the Fault be it Murder Adulterie vnhallowing of Gods name c. but let the manner bee framed to the best aduantage of preuayling which generally is with a regard to the dignity of the person and the remaynder of his Vertues Let it appeare that that which speakes is Loue and that for which it speakes is Saluation and how can any heart if it haue goodnesse in any proportion to greatnesse shut it selfe against Loue bringing with it Saluation I doubt not but there are certaine fiery Spirits that like no example but that of the Prophet See how this Murderers sonne hath sent to take away my head but they know not that one kind of Spirit fits not all persons times and occasions but they ought to know That is the best Spirit which fits best with these particulars and is most likely to effect that good which it intends The others doe but driue away the birds with noyse which they pretend to take with nets This Art of Admonition is most excellently described by Gregorie the Great in his Morals vpon Iob lib. 12. cap. 3. and vpon Ezekiel libr. 1. homil 11. And now let vs goe downe from the top of mankind to the bottome and there see how ordinary men may bee discreetly disswaded from ordinary sinnes For example If you would get Vsury from a man I thinke it not best to flye suddenly into his face with the cudgell of Damnation for that may make him stand vpon his guard and fall to the defence of his sinne but deale with him vpon confessed grounds and on those build that which is not confessed Tell him at first that which hee cannot denie that men must all
liue one by another and that for one man to fret out all others and to liue by himselfe is in humane That Charity in one sight regards the benefit of another with her owne That in Vsury vsually the benefit goes most if not all of one side yea sometimes the benefit of the one riseth out of the losse of the other Now where these things are there such lending is the cause of fretting and vndoing So it remaynes they must eyther grant what they first denyed that men may fret and vndoe one another or else they must condemne their lending which is so fretfull and iniurious In briefe let vs first worke vpon mens Iudgements by informing them and not presently at the first sight flye on their wills and affections to racke and force them Againe where there are great and little faults to bee amended let vs not bee more busie for the little then the great nor equally importune an amendment of all together For verily I beleeue good occasions of Reformation haue beene lost because too many faults haue beene brought together to amendment yea little and doubtfull faults and such as might be healed with a good construction haue beene brought in equally vpon the File with those of greater moment And what doth this course doe but magnifie the tediousnesse of the worke and increase the difficulty of it What doth it but bring this answere to vse That changes are dangerous and euills well setled are better then much vnsetling by much amending What doth it but bring a doubt that nothing will satisfie since faults seeme more to be sought then found But I wish that alwaies there might bee an aduised and temperate demand in matters of Reformation and though it bee vnaduisedly demanded yet there may be giuen a iust and solide answere and such as might regard to please God by mayntayning the purity of his Spouse the Church rather then to satisfie or vnsatisfie the indiscretions of men Let Gods cause euer be maintayned whether proposed or opposed by our owne enemies A third fault of indiscreet Zeale is That it is censorious and passeth easily into condemnation both of things persons Not to speake of indifferent things too often censured I say some men and some matters are condemned eyther not heard or not vnderstood and yet the Heathen Romanes vsed not to condemne any before hearing and much more wee that are Christians ought to know those things whereof wee affirme There are heights of Dispensation which meane vnderstandings reach not vnto and yet for such sometimes they despise dominion and speake euill of Dignities Christ is censured for being among the sicke yet a Physician for the waste of a precious Oyntment yet going to buriall So the blame which belongs to their owne incapacity they cast on that which deserueth commendation and that which is in it selfe good is by them called euill only because they are not wise enough to see the goodnesse of it Againe there are many good actions of good men that by censorious Zeale are taxed as euill and yet are only knowne in some out-side of probability but the inside wherein the life of the action lyes is not knowne The Iewes were in a rage with Peter for going to the Gentiles yet when the cause was knowne his fault was found to bee a Vertue The Reubenites Gadites and halfe Tribe of Manasseth were indicted of Apostasie for building an Altar but that which was thought to bee Apostasie was indeed a memoriall and meanes of cleaning to the true God Wherefore let vs not be hastie to iudge according to apparances but let vs take time to iudge righteous Iudgements For if thou iudge another rashly and falsly GOD shall iudge both him and thee truly He shall iudge ouer the matter againe and shall acquite him whome thou condemnest and shall comdemne thee for condemning him So thy iudgement of another shall returne vpon thy selfe And surely in this point Let euery good Conscience comfort it selfe in it selfe and passe little to be iudged by another in that which another knowes not for thou standest to the Iudgement Seat of the Highest Wisdome and Mercie and not to the Barre of humane Ignorance or Malice Fourthly indiscreet zeale is often in the flesh when it thinkes it is in the Spirit yet will not beleeue it and so will not be cured First I noted that by following heate to farre it outgoeth the Spirit and runs out into the flesh And now I obserue that it being gotten into the flesh it still beleeues it selfe to be spirituall and so in steed of retyring it fortifies it selfe there Hence it comes that many fleshly contentions are mayntayned by Scriptures yea Sermons and Scriptures are fitted to passions not passions to Scriptures So flesh and bloud fights carnally with spirituall Weapons yea which is fearefull turnes spirituall Weapons into carnall Malice sometime rayleth in Scripture Phrases and beateth his Enemies with Diuinity and thinkes it may speake what it will so it bee in the words of Scripture if it haue a seeming opposition of vice it cares not how angry it bee though indeed Pamphlets of that kind be no other then Libels and Sermons then Philippickes Yet this abuse of Diuinitie shall bee maintayned by Diuinitie and so she is miserably forced to iustifie and continue her owne wrongs But let Baal plead for himselfe let not God be forced to speake for Baal nor the Spirit for the flesh Adde not sinne vnto sinne It is a sinne great enough to come out of the Spirit into the flesh and to turne the busines of God into a Quarrell with men doe not adde this other sinne of abusing the spirituall Word vnto the mayntenance of thy fleshly contentions so by the Spirit to fight the battayles of his Enemy the flesh But to draw to a Conclusion Let all true Christians striue that their Workes bee the true Issues of Zeale maâ—ryed with Discretion for such Workes are the acceptable Salt and sauoury Sacrifices of Wise-men and not the loth some Sacrifices of Pooles Let them know that the fire of the Spirit the Mother of all true Zeale hath light in it aswell as heate and the heate should follow the light and not goe before it otherwise if the heate goe before the light or without it it may set on fire where it should but warme and so may breed a Confusion whereas the businesse of it is edification Let vs by ioyning the wisdome of Serpents with the innocencie of Doues become those excellent and perfect Stewards whom the Lord commends both for being wise and faithfull whose faithfulnesse giues meate to the Seruants and whose Wisedome doth it in season euen in fitnesse of manner measure and order And farre bee it from any sound Christian to put a Diuorce betweene that incomparable payre whose Marriage was in Heauen Zeale and Discretion or to thinke that one alone of them can bee a sufficient Parent of good Workes Much lesse let any man if hee find these separated by wretched Diuision seeke to bring them together in a more wretched Contention The parting of so louely a couple is lamentable but a malicious meeting of them is far more dolful For by their own good nature they incline to loue and vnity and therefore cursed is that Malice that changeth into Enmity the most excellent Vnity Hee that sets Vertues by the eares is as he that sets Brethren by the eares yea as one that makes Quarrels betweene Men and their Wiues Surely if the Peace-makers be blessed being the Children of the most High then such Quarrel-makers bee accursed and are the Children of the Lowest euen the most infernall spirit To conclude Let vs as the new borne sonnes of the Spirit lay aside all Maliciousnesse and lust of Contention which are the vices of the old man and expresse the true Vertues of a godly Nature receiued with the new man euen Charity Peace and Vnity Let not the difference of Education or Complexion or the vnkindly opposition of Zeale Discretion bee powerfull to a separation where the Vnity of one and the same Spirit hath made a coniunction But let the Spirit bee more followed leading vs to loue then the flesh prouoking to hatred And surely if wee bee not in loue wee are not in the Spirit for whosoeuer is in the Spirit is in loue yea hee is in loue with loue And as loue is commended by the Author of it which is the Spirit so it is also praysed by the excellent fruit of it called Edification for by loue the members of Christ cherish each other and by that cherishing increase in their growth Besides as Sion inwardly prospereth by loue so by the loue of Sion Babylon decayeth For the more Loue and Vnity in Sion the more strength the more strength in Sion the more terror yea the more ruin of BabyloÌ„ WheÌ„ the Banners are brought into the Vnion of an Army then they are terrible Cant. 6. And when Israel ioynes together in the Vnity of a Shoute then are the wals of Iericho most neere to their Downfall CYPRIAN de Vnitate Ecclesiae Pacificos esse oportet Dei filios corde mites sermone simplices affectione concordes fideliter sibi vnanimitatis nexibus coherentes Et post Erant perseuerantes omnes vnanimes in oratione ideo efficacibus precibus orabant ideo impetrare cum fiducia poterant quodcumque de Domini misericordia postularunt FINIS