things by which God drew other men to fall in loue of him Doe but therefore present unto your selfe these powerfull Attractions Motiues or Inducements of Loue whereby others were drawn to the loue of God and hardly then it can be but that your selfe also will of them be drawn to the loue of God Now the speciall Motiues or Inducements which we finde in holy Scriptures I reckon to be these Fiâ—st The Apparitions secondly Thâ— heavenly Glorie which hath been shown to the Church thirdly The mighty power in Signes and wonders done fourthly the evidence of vertue and goodnesse in God towards others fiâ—tly the rich aud glorious worship of the ancient Church Lastly The benefits which you your selfe beleeving in God receiue in this life and by promise are to receiue in the life to come Euery of these is a very powerfull Motiue or Inducement of the loue of man towards God therefore these things ought you to set before your soule in Meditation that of them you with others may be drawn to fall in loue of God These things for that it were too much to write of them here at large I thinke fit to write of in severall Treatises by themselues hoping that Gods people will be desirous of these Treatises also for their further instruction what to doe therein In the meane time I will heere indeavour to moue you unto this Loue by some of these things aboue mentioned briefly here touched at in this Treatise And indeed most men come short of that loue which they ought to beare to God by reason of the neglect they haue to set before themselues in Meditation some of those speciall things wherby God draweth the loue of man unto himself Eueryman saith who should not loue God yea they will be bold to say who is there among Christians that loues not God But as I haue said before concerning Feare so I say here concerning Loue Many say that we must loue God when yet their own heart never felt the Affection it selfe of loue unto God Let theÌ„ but consider what the Affection of Loue is unto anything which they feele theÌ„selues to loue whether it be wife or child riches orreputatioÌ„ honor Princes favours imployments of Power CoÌ„mands Glory or the like then let them consider with themselues whether the like Affection bee in them towards God yea or no. But that men may attain to haue like affection towards God also it is needful that they make use of such soul-objects as Gâ—d hath provided for the winning of the soules loue unto himself Among the which I wish you to make afrequent and special use of the Apparitions heavenly Glories shown of God to his Church For as the soule of Man being delighted with faire objects yeilds readily to fal also in loue of such so the presenting it with the apparitions of God with the beauteous heavenly shining Glories shown of God to the Church is the ready way to win it to fall also in loue of God Accustome your selfe therfore to reade or heare read unto you now one theÌ„ another of the Apparitions made of God whether visibly to the eye or onely in vision for both are true Apparitions though divers in kind and then use your selfe to say thus or to like effect This was or seemes to me to be as if here I should see before me this or this as the story reportes unto you that others saw Which having for the help of your Discerning done then use your self to say further also thus or to like effect My heart what a sight was this What a kinde of Glory was this Is not this wonderfull Thus God shewed himselfe to others And now my soule here is a glimpse of the Glory of God consider now therfore this being once truely seen whom should not this moue unto loue of him who iâ— so marvellous in his Apparition so glorious Certainly the heavenly Glories shown by God to his Church upon earth are not idle but operatiue objâ—cts and therefore there lacketh but mens presenting their soules with them For did each Man by himselfe thus present or set before his foule the mervâ—llous Apparations shining Glories which God hath showne to his Church then this of the Power in theÌ„ which they receiue froÌ„ the wise coÌ„position of God would overcome the foule both to confesse that this was mervailous glorious indeed also to loue God who so gloriously made show of himself Do went see in coÌ„mon experience how MeÌ„ soon rejoyce to be favoured of them who most partake of this worlds glory And if there be any hope given of a gracious acceptance how easily then inclines the heart to loue all such Whilst therefore God hath been pleased to manifest his gracious acceptance of their loue to him who beleeue there lacketh but our setting before our soules and hearts in private meditation the faire glories and shining which God for the honour of himselfe and comfort of the Church hath caused to appeare Be not therefore disswaded by any as if your selfe informing and selfe-questioning about the Apparitions of God and about the faire and shining Glories which the Church of God hath in former times seene and to this day beleeveth were to little purpose to winne the loue of your heart to the Lord but rather be frequent in the exercise hereof Spare not to speake thus unto your own selfe in Meditation that so you may find the precious fruit which certainely your so doing will produce I know that the benefits which we receiue by the exceeding vertue and goodnesse of God toward us in Christ are also verie powerfull Inducements unto Loue but let us not therefore neglect the other depriving our selues of the precious fruit which certainly will come of them also Nay suffer me to tell yoâ—â— further that true Loue is never for the Good onely which we receiue but rather for the true Desert of that in its selfe to be Beloved which requires our loue therefore also that mans loue is truest soundest who loveth God even for the evidence made of himselfe unto others by which hee hath declared himselfe to be worthy to be beloved And certainly there were never more worthy causes of Loue given to man then the Lord God of Israel his Sonne and Spirit haue given Never such Apparitions seene but in the Churh never such true and shining Glories never such workes of Power never such vertue and Goodnesse never so rich and glorious a worship never such Gifts given as in the Church Let there be faith that those reported in â—â—ripture were indeed done Let there be a considering alâ—â— of the speciallest of them advisedly Let the Church of God still to this day continuing be considered in its rich Gifts and then let comparison be made betwixt the Lord our God and the gods of any other Nations whatsoever and whensoever But if upon comparison there be a manifest evidence of excellency in the Lord then
for me and for my houshold that this Lan were kept by every of my Neighbours were it not Good for them also if I and my houshold obserue this Law towards every of them Thus if you use to question and discourse with your selfe some time of one an other time of another of the commandements of God then will not onely the Righteousnesse of the commandement appeare unto you but also your heart will inclyne within you to loue the commandement even for loue it beareth to its own particular Good which would arise by every mans observing that Commandement But if once your heart be possessed of loue to the commandement then will loue not onely make the observation of the commandement easie but also it will breed even a delight in you to keep that commandement in your Actions and Conversation with men Learne therefore to loue the Righteousnesse which is in a commandement and then assure your selfe that you will be the readier of inclination both to loue and also to obserue the commandement its selfe At any hand therefore be not negligent of your Passion or Affection but rather carefully endeavour that you fall in loue of the Commandement For unlesse one Passion or Affection be moved there will not any other be moved for the easing of the observation I meane unlesse your loue unto the commandement be won there will be no delight in the observing of the commandement and where there is not delight in the observation there no willingnesse is to keep the commandement Surely it is the Affection of loue that moues the Passion also of Deligh◠in the observing that loved and this moving of the Passion and Affections makes the observation of a Commandement easie Wherefore as you open unto your selfe by discourse in meditation the Righteousnesse and the Good which would come to every man were this of this commandement observed by every man be then also carefull of your hearts affection observing whether it yeeld in you to loue and delight in such a Righteousnesse or such a Good for if the Good doe upon evidence thereof unto your selfe prevaile over your heart to moue it to like or loue such Good then for loue of the Good the Commandement also will thenceforth be beloved and delighted in But every Commandement tending to shew us our duty either to God or to our Neighbours we must not rest in considering the Righteousnesse and Good of those Commandements onely which concerne our duty towards Man but we must consider the Righteousnesse and Good of those Commandements also which shew us our duty towards God Now to make our selues discerne the Righteousnesse of these commandements which shew us our duty towards God it will be needfull that we consider him even God that giues the Commandement endeavouring for his excellency and for the invaluable Good he doth us to confesse unto him freely saying Lord tho◠art worthy that I doe this or this in thy worship and service For doe we not see in daily experience that the greatnesse of a Commander and the Good we receiue by him make us even to loue his very service Therefore we shall be the proaner to acknowledge and loue the Righteousnesse of those Commandements which shew us our duty towards God if we use our selues sometimes to lay to heart the excellency of God and the Good which we receiue of his hand This doe therefore but doe it not with that superficiall generality of Confession which commonly men use they confessing Gods Greatnesse and Excellency and that all Good is of him but without evaer laying to heart any one particular of either for they never consider the excellency or greatnesse of God in any one particular thing neither doe they in particular consider any one Good confessing it to be Good and then beleeving withall in their heart that it is of God indeed and not of Nature or of Man onely But now if you doe sometime by one another time by another of Gods commandements as I haue aboue directed you then will the Righteousnesse and Goodnesse of Gods Commandements so appeare unto your Spirit and Heart as that even for loue unto such Righteousnesse and such Good your heart and spirit will yeeld in you to loue the Commandement it selfe also And a Commandement loved is with delight of heart also observed therefore get to loue any commandement and then be assured that the observation of that Commandement will be not onely easie but even a Delight also unto you I could willingly here for a furtherance both of your Apprehension of the Righteousnes and Good of Gods commandements and also of your dislike or hatred of those false Goods which wicked men doe flatter themselues of haue written particularly of each of the Lords commandements shewing both the Righteousnesse and Good therof and also the unrighteousnesse and Hurt of the seeming Good which the transgressors of those Commandements sooth themselues up in But the Commandements being many as branching themselues not onely into all our outward actions but also unto the inward Actions of the minde and this also both towards God and towards Man I found that I could not conveniently in this place write in that manner of them for if I should it would too too inconveniently increase this present Treatise Therfore I think fit to leaue you here to the directions in briefe which before I haue given you knowing that if you doe as I haue taught you then you will doe this even of your selues and your own soules discourse doth commonly cause things to sinke deeper into your heart then another mans telling or unfolding them unto you But now to conclude this chapter get to know and haue in minde not the ten commandements onely but also the other commandements which branch themselues out of those ten and then rest not in the knowing them onely but exercise your selfe to think now upon one or two another time upon other opening then also unto your selfe by your own discourse therupon with your selfe both the Righteousnesse of the Commandement and also the invaluable Good which would come to Mankinde if every man towards other did according to that Commandement 8. CHAP. THe seventh Motive or Inducement to the keeping willingly and with delight Gods Commandements is Their profiting them that obserue them For besides the profite of those blessings which Gods Promises Deut. 11. 8. Deut. 11. 2◠Deut. 26. 16. Deut. 28. 1. comfort us of there are other profites which the commandements themselues bring with thē to the observers of them As David saith Ps. 119. 24. Thy Testimonies are my Counsellers And Ps. 119. 22. Except thy Law had been my delight I should haue perished in myne affliction I wil never forget thy Precepts for by them thou hast quickned me Again Ps. 119. 104. By thy Precepts I haue gotten understanding And Ps. 119. 100. I understood more then the Ancients because I kept thy Precepts Againe Ps. 119. 129. The entrance into thy Word sheweth
duty also is and how farre short herein you come of that Affection which you ought to haue towards the commandements of God Secondly some speciall motiues or inducements which may serue to moue or induce us to obey Gods commandements Lastly some speciall means wherby we may attaine to keepe them as the saints before haue kept them For the first we Psal. 119. 14. reade thus I haue had as greate delight in the way of thy testimonies as in all riches Again Psal. 119. 24. also thy testimonies are my delight and my counsellers Againe Psal. 119. 47. and my delight shall be in thy commandements which I haue loued Again Psal. 119. 54. Thy statutes haue been my song in the house of my pilgrimage Againe vers 72. The lawe of thy mouth is better unto mee then thousands of golde and silver Againe vers 111. Thy testimonies haue I taken as an heritage for ever for they are the ioy of my heart Againe vers 127. therefore loue I thy commandements aboue gold yea aboue fine gold Lastly v. 162. I reioyce at thy worde as one that findeth a great spoyle Thus you see how this mans Passions or affections were stirred up in him now see in the next place what came also thereof Psal. 119. 23. hee saith thus Princes also did sit and speak against mee but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes Againe verse 31. I haue cleaved to thy testimonies ô Lord Againe verse 46 I will speake also of thy testimonies before Kings and will not bee ashamed againe verse 51. the proude haue had mee exceedingly in derision yet haue I not declined from thy lawe Again verse 60. I made hast and delaied not to keepe thy commandements againe verse 79. let such as feare thee turne vnto mee and they that knowe thy testimonies againe verse 112. I haue applied mine heart to fullfill thy statutes alway even unto the ende Againe verse 115. Away from mee ye wicked for I will keepe the commandements of my God Lastly verse 136. minâ— eies gush out with rivers of waters because they keepe not thy lawe When wee read these things suffering also our selves to pawse also a liâ—le upon each of them considering it advisedly it may then well seeme unto us even incredible that so excellently a disposed minde towards the commandements of God should ever at all be found truly in a man I for my parte should be very much deceived if each man comparing himselfe with this declaration will not then from the greatnes of the difference acknowledg in himselfe a seeming incredibility hereof For so many are the other things and specially things of this world which steale unto them our delight loue ioy and songe as that most rarely if at all wee shall finde a man whose delight loue ioy yea and song shall bee of the commandements of the Lord. And indeed it will bee found in common experience that it is farr easier to liue in a good yea a greate measure conformable in our actions to that commanded then to haue a delight also in the commandements to loue them reioyce of them and to make them our songe for such passions or affections of our soule are not usually nor indeed easily moued in us by such things Neither need I any greater proofe by which to make this evident unto men then if they but enter into an examination of themselues each man taking some time when betweene God and his owne soule he aske of his owne selfe saying Wherein truly do I delight what is my hearts loue fixt upon wherof doe I commonly ioy let but each man take a time wherin to aske euen himselfe this question and then let it thereby be tried if his heart answer him that hee euer at all had delight in Gods commandements if ever he bare loue to them or ever had any ioy in or of them The heart will not nor indeede cann dissemble to a mans selfe therefore let but men aske themselues what they doe and it will readily appeare unto them what they doe but if any mans owne heart can answer him that it hath delighted loued and reioyced in the commandements of God happie man be hee yea hee is surely a man that excelleth among men for euen among the most religious who commonly in these things excell others there is commonly of all things in religion least delight founde in the commandements least loue towards them least ioy of them For the coÌ„mandements discovering guiltines and thereby making men ordinarily sigh and mourne are also ordinarily heard with greife when they are pressed neere to the consciences of men therefore also of all things in Religion the commandements commonly are least delighted in loved ioyed in Therefore I say a rare and well neere singular thing it is for any man to say truly of the commandements of God that his delight is in them he loues them they are his hearts ioy and even his songe is of them One man may truly say that hee delighteth indeed in the increase of his riches an other may truly say that his loue is fixt upon honour promotion and the favour of some Prince a third may as truly say that his hearte exceedingly joyeth in his prosperity and in the affluence of desirable things which it draws unto it a fourth may truly say that his Loues are the occasion and subiect of his songs but where is the man whose delight is also in Gods commandements whose loue is towards them they are his hearts joy yea and his songe Surely the passions and affections may be moderately spent upoÌ„ every of these things aboue mentioned but that those should so ingross unto them all our passions and affections as that there is no delight no loue no joy left for Gods commandements this is cleane contrary to that disposition of minde which wee see in this holy man But indeede because our passions and affections are never moued in vs beeing drawen unto the commandements of God therefore it is that we come farr short of doing by the commandements as this man did He though Princes sate and spake against him yet hee meditated in the statutes of the Lord hee claue unto the testimonies of God hee would speake of them even before kings hee would not be ashamed to speake of them before any hee declined not froÌ„ the Law of God no though he was had in great dirision by the proud hee made hast and delayed not to keepe the Commandements of the Lord he would receiue them who make conscience of the Lords CoÌ„mandements he applied himselfe alway ever to the end to fulfill the Commandements of the Lord he cried unto the wicked away from me for I will keepe the commandements of my God yea his eies gushed out with teares because men kept not the law of the Lord. Here we see rare and pretious effects of the passions and affections of a man overcome and drawen of the Commandements of God Consider each of these things advisedly and
bonds because so long as your passions affections are not moved in you the kingdome of heaven is not in you with power to your salvation An other fallacy there is when some would move mens feare by their own zeale or earnestness in preaching of damnation damnatioÌ„ so putting more trust to prevaile more by their owne manner of preaching then all the power of God in his great works can prevaile But the faithfullest course is to open well unto people the fearefulness of any judgments already inflicted upon some and the fearfulness of that last judgement of eternall damnation trusting that by an apt opening unto the people the particulars of those judgements the judgements of the Lord will then worke the feare of God in their hearts And surely it is more honour to God when his owne work prevaile over men to beget a feare of him in their hearts then when mens feare is begotten in them by the earnestness or zeale onely of a preacher A third fallacy there is when some put trust in preaching the Lawe as if the word Lawe Lawe onely sounded out in their earnest manner should make men feare to breake the Lawe whereas it were better aptly to open unto them the manner of Gods Apparition when he gave the Lawe that as then so for ever upon the apt description the fearfull manner of Gods giving the Lawe may beget a feare of God in mens hearts and consequently a feare to breake his Lawe so given to men And truely it is a very great darkness yea also damnable which wil be found in men at the last day by their not being possessed with the Acts and Iudgements of God for them and through them fearing God but resting onely with a seeming feare brought on them by hearing some over-zealous preacher Zeale is good yea it must be when the people are dull and slowe of hearing and therefore I would not haue men thinke that I reprove all zealous preachers but I would haue men rather to know that I would not haue any to make a false ayme or end of their zeale They must not thinke to beare Men more downe with their zeale then all the power of God in his workes declared can doe for this is to the great dishonour of the Lord. To conclude Let no man hurt his owne soule by saying what should I fear God for any thing done by him to others heretofore for to feare God for the judgments inflicted upon others is the ready way to remove Gods judgments from your selfe And surely he that thus honoureth God by fearing him for that done by him to others shall never feele judgements but gentle corrections rather Therefore at any hand take heede of so evill a disposition as when you heare what God hath inflicted upon others you say What is that to me I am well enough I will goe on in my pleasure though it be sinfull Nay rather learne by this manner practise which I haue taught you to be able truely to say with the Prophet David Thy Iudgements have I laid before me My flesh trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of thy Iudgements For surely the Iudgements laid before us will beget feare in us and feare in us will incline us to the keeping of the Commandements Yea as I haue said before our heart will even delight in the escaping such Iudgements by the keeping of Gods Commandements Therefore apply your selfe hereunto as you tender your owne profit Yea when you heare the Commâ—ndements receive them then as if you heard them out of the fietry flame Deut 3. 11. for so they were at first given and youâ— eye must by faith ascend to the first giving those thing which now you often reade or heare 5. Chap. A Fourth Motive or inducement which I would remeÌ„ber unto you is The love of God To this end Deut. 11. 1 we read tâ—us Thou shalt love the Lord thy God anâ— shalt keepe that which he commanded to be kept that is his Ordinances and his Lawes and Commandements alway And ouâ— Lord saith Iohn 14 vers 15. and 23 If ye love me keepe my Commandements If any man love me he will keepe my worde he that loueth me not keepeth not my worde Love is the most assured bond of any other binding men faster to a keeping of Commandements then any other thing whatsoever can doe Love knowes no rewardes for disobedience but abideth faithfull unto that which is beloved therefore the Apostle Paul 1. Cor. 13 7 saith Love doth never fall away If any man therefore would be a constant observer of Gods Commandements let him then indeavour to attayne to Love God But how should a man Love God whom he never sawe I answer this may be though it is indeede difficult because this cannot be done without faith and every man attayneth not unto faith And indeed to love God Christ whom we haue not seene is reckoned for a speciall part of that wherein the Saincts excell others as the Apostle Peter 1. Pet. 1. 8. saith whom ye haue not seene and yet Love him in whom now though ye see him not yet doe ye beleeve and reioyce with ioy unspeakeable and glorious And yet though wee see not God nor Christ with our bodily eye yet we must haue a sight both of God and of Christ or els we can not love eyther of them but this sight in deede is the sight of the soule through faith Wee cannot possibly loue any thing whereof wee haue no knowledge neyther doe men now knowe God but thorowe faith therfore as our knowledge of God is now thorowe faith so also is our Loue of God through Faith Would you therefore attaine to Love God you must then first beleeve the report of these things whereby the Lord hath reveiled himselfe to his Church If you beleeve those things then is the eye of your soule opened and thenceforth you haue a soule-fight of God and of Christ because thorowe faith of the report you now haue knowledge of those Apparitions or Reveilings of God and of Christ which they haue made of themselves to the Church Wherefore present your selfe with those Declarations set them before your selfe in Meditation and then unlesse your heart be in you wholy unbeleeving you cannot but haue thenceforth a knowledge of God Accustome your selfe therfore to heare the Ministers of Gods Word accustome your selfe to beleeue them also in that they say out of the word of God accustome your selfe to heare the word of God in Scripture read unto you or if your selfe can reade then accustome your selfe to reade the Scriptures Accustome your selfe ever likewise to beleeue what you reade in the Scriptures If thus you do then by this means you shall present your selfe with these things in the Scriptures by which God and Christ haue made themselues both known and beloved of Men. And verily the next way to attaine to a loue of God is the presenting our soule and heart with these
righteousnesse of Gods commandements manifesteth both the Iustice of God and also his Loue unto his creatures his Iustice because as he is in himselfe upright or righteous towards all so he would haue Men also doe right one to another his Loue in that he tendereth the good of his people giving such lawes as which being of every one observed every man shall haue good by it And indeed as common experience shews us that that Nation where Right is most preserved aboundeth most with Goodnesse so Gods giving a Law by which Right might be preserved proues that he loues the Good not the Ruin of man True it is indeed that some men use to set a false Good before their eyes their Desire also being drawen wholly after it and not after the Good of Righteousness which God would haue But such men manifest themselues to be no fit Iudges of Good in that if their particular Good should spread over all their could be nothing more hurtfull to the society of man nothing that sooner would produce the dishonor yea and the Ruine of Man Wherfore as in the best Common-wealthes the very sense of Good which Men receiue by Lawes makes them not onely loue the Lawes but also to stick together with their Princes for the maintenance of theÌ„ so the very best means to make you fal in loue of Gods Lawes and to stick together for the maintenance of them is your opening to your selfe by discourse in Meditation the Good which Mans society would receiue by the observation of them And indeed in that God giving Lawes giues such as which the farther they spread in observation the better it is for Man and Mans society this declares him most truely to tender that which is the true Good of man I speak of those Lawes which are generall not of those which were but peculiar to the Nation of the Israelites for there were Lawes which served but peculiarly for that Conquest made of Canaan by that people even as every prevailing power or conquest hath power to make right or wrong of possession as best serveth for the Good of that Dominion in particular For in that God confirmed the Powers of this world in the hands of the Heathen Princes declaring them to be his Ordinance Rom. 13. 1. this shewes that he alloweth of the peculiar lawes for possession made under each Dominion for the better maintenance of the same We must therefore put difference betwixt the Generall Lawes of God which must universally spread with the spreading of the Kingdome of heaven and those which either were temporary or peculiar to some people and their peculiar conquest But now for the generall Law of God seeing we ought to imbrace and loue it therefore I would advise you to discover to your selfe the righteousnesse of the same that so you loving the righteousnesse may then loue the Commandement even for the Righteousnesse sake To this end then use your selfe some times to meditate now upon one then upon another of Gods commandements considering then with your selfe both what a Good every man should haue if every one kept that commandement and also what insufferable Hurt every mans doing the contrary would produce unto every man The Prophet David said unto God Psal. 119. 18. Open mine eyes that I may see the wonders of thy Law And vers 119. he saith further Thy testimonies are wonderfull therefore doth my soule keepe them Now what thinke you made this Man say this Surely his penetrating and desire to penetrate more into the Mysterie of the Righteousnesse and Good of that which God commandeth and the unrighteousnesse and hurt of the contrary True it is that Gods Lawes had in his time another wonderfull Mysterie in that his appointed Divine Service figured out things most wonderfull to them that could discover them But I thinke not that for this onely he accounts the law of God wonderfull seeing those Lawes also are wonderfull for the composition of Righteousnesse in them which yet prefigured not any thing but onely taught right and wrong And indeed it is a Speculation fit for a Prince and a Magistrate to penetrate into the mysterie of the Composition of a generall Law discovering the justice contained therein and the good of every man by observing it and the hurt of every mans transgressing it Yea a Prince that loveth the Good of his people hath not onely great delight in the speculation and discovery of the Righteousness and good of his Lawes but also hath in admiration and this also with delight the wonderfulnesse of the wisedom by which the Composition was made Euen so if every man in particular would but enter into the consideration of the Good which would come to every man if every man kept the generall commandements given us of God then would each man both discern with delight and joy of heart the Righteousnes of Gods Commandements and also account the wise composition of them wonderfull in God There are none of us all no not of the most wicked but loveth his own particular Good yea and will complain of hurt as wrong why then should we not teach our hearts to loue such a Law as which the generall observation of would produce the Good of every one in particular Surely those whose supposed Good standeth not with this are worthy to be punished as those whose supposed Good is the hurt of others Therefore also if at any time we haue procured our own supposed Good by some unrighteousnesse then let us learn to grow in hatred of that unrighteousnesse and false Good by considering advisedly what a Hurt it would be to our selues if other Men that we haue to deale with should for their Good deale with us as unrighteously as we for some supposed Good to our selues haue dealt with others Verily there could be no greater punishment of the wicked then if every man that they deale with were as wicked as they Wherfore also that is not a good which is evill come by because not onely the punishment of God and man awaites it upon discovery but also if other Men doe the like to us we shall then with â—orrow feele and acknowledge that it is not Good to haue one mans Good anothers Hurt Therfore I say learne from the Good which would befall your selfe in particular by every Neighbours observing a Commandement given to fall in Loue of such a Commandement as whose Righteousnesse is not one but every mans Good Which that you may the better doe allow to your selfe some time of serious and private meditation wherin thinking of some or other of the Commandements of God you may also say thus or to the like effect with your selfe How Good were this to be observed by every Man If this were kept by â—â—ry man what a blessed life should we liue ever â—pon earth from how many feares should I be freed from how many dangers yea wrongs and hurts which now assaile me should I be freed were it not better