ordinary enjoyn'd even as to their not stirring from their Habitations Now concerning each of these Rests I shall not stick to affirm that according as before-stated they are not onely not obligatory to us Christians but superstitious That they are not obligatory will appear if we consider that the Sabbath it self is not For the Sabbath as was before-shewn being peculiar to the Jews to whom it was given as a Sign of the Covenant between God and them that Rest which gave it its Name and a great part of its Nature must be look'd upon as in like manner peculiar to them and consequently not obligatory to us But neither is it less evident that such a Rest would be superstitious if either impos'd or observ'd as Religious because placing Religion in that which however it might have some place in the Jewish yet is no part of the Christian because exhibiting that better Rest of which the other was a Type If therefore there be any Obligation upon us from the Rest here commanded it must be either to the Observation of that Spiritual Rest of which it was a Type or to such a Bodily one as is requisite to the Solemn Performance of God's Worship each of which I come now to consider Of the former of these Rests there is not the least doubt to be made that is to say of a Spiritual one or Rest from Sin For it being evident on the one hand that the Law of Moses was written for our Direction and Obedience as well that which is * See the Discourse concerning the Positive Laws of God c. Ceremonial as that which was Moral and Substantial and it being no less evident on the other that that of it which was Ceremonial was not written to oblige us to the Ceremony it self it follows because it was written for our Direction and Obedience that it was intended to oblige us to those Spiritual Duties of which the other were Types and Shadows Now forasmuch as the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews was a Type of some Christian Duty forasmuch as there is no Duty in Christianity which can better answer it than a Rest from Sin it follows that though we look not upon our selves as concern'd in the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews yet we look upon our selves as concern'd in that Rest of which it was a Type and accordingly cease from our Sinful Works as they did on the Sabbath from the Works of their several Employments Again Though the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews oblige us rather to the Thing signified by it than to the Rest it self though in the Circumstances in which it was enjoyn'd it was apparently Legal and consequently one of those Bondages from which Christ came to set us free yet so far forth as that is requisite to the performance of God's Worship there is no doubt it doth oblige us even as to the thing it self Because as was before shewn * See Part 1. of the Explic. of this Commandment a part of the Moral Law and subordinate to the main End of this But from hence as was there observ'd it will follow that we are to rest from our Employments both in and some time before the Time of God's Solemn Worship the Mind of Man being neither able to intend them both at once nor yet the Service of God alone with that freedom which it ought where the Cares of this World press too near upon it Which though it amount not to the strictnesses of the Jewish Sabbath yet will oblige us to such a Rest as will leave little leisure for other earthly Thoughts than what the Necessity of our Affairs or the Conveniences of Life will take up But as farther than this I neither shall nor dare press upon you the Rest enjoyn'd the Jews so even they who are more severe will not know how to free themselves if they should be press'd with their own Actions For who of them thinks himself a Sinner for gathering a few Sticks on the Christian Sabbath or going about to kindle a Fire on it The * Exod. 35.3 latter whereof was yet expresly forbidden the Jews as the ‖ Num. 15.36 former punish'd with death 2. Having thus shewn what kind of Rest was impos'd upon the Jews and withal how far we our selves are concern'd to observe it inquire we in the next place To whom and in what manner it appertain'd or rather into the latter onely the Commandment being express not onely for the resting of all sorts of Persons but also of the very Beasts themselves And first of all if the Question be concerning those who were sui juris or permitted so to be as to the Rest here enjoyn'd so there is no doubt that Rest appertain'd to them not onely as a Privilege but a Duty the Rest here spoken of being the Matter of a Command and consequently intended to oblige all those who were in a capacity to yield obedience to it On the other side if the Question be concerning Cattel which by the Tenor of the Commandment were to have a share in it so there is no doubt the rest here spoken of appertain'd to them onely by way of Privilege For being uncapable either of understanding or giving obedience to Laws they must be suppos'd to have been free from this and consequently what is said concerning their Rest to have appertain'd to them onely by way of Privilege Setting aside therefore both the one and the other as whose Case admits not of the least difficulty we will consider first of all the Case of Parents and Masters 2. Of Children and Servants And 3. and lastly because there is something particular in his of the Stranger that was within their gates For the first of these again there is no great difficulty in explicating their particular Concerns because the Commandment is clear not onely that they should rest themselves but oblige those who were under their Power to do so For those being more in their Parents and Masters Power than in their own the Command is in reason to be suppos'd to have appertain'd chiefly to them in whose Power their Labour or Resting was From Parents and Masters pass we to Children and Servants and inquire into their particular Concerns Where first of all there is no doubt for the Reason before alledg'd that it was no less their Duty than Privilege to rest from their Labours where they might be permitted so to do The onely doubt is whether it were incumbent upon them so to do though their cruel Masters should have us'd Threats or Chastisements to constrain them to their ordinary Labours For the resolution whereof I shall desire you first to consider that of Deut. 5.15 For it being manifest from thence that the great Design of the Rest enjoyn'd was that Servants should have ease from their Labours it is hard to suppose God would oblige them so to rest when a far greater Evil than their Labour impended on them For by this means God should
Services and Homages by which they hold their respective Emoluments The Duty of the Lord to afford them again that Protection Assistance and Redress which the Laws of the Land the Custom of the Place or the Nature of their Dominion doth require Of the Honour of Masters and what the Grounds thereof are In order whereunto inquiry is first made concerning such of their Servants as become so by Constraint and particularly by Conquest by Sentence or by Purchase Where the Servants become such either by Conquest or a Condemnatory Sentence those to whom they do belong have for the Ground of their Honour their giving them that Life which it was in their power to have taken away Where Servants become such by Purchase there is the Title of those whether Conquerors or Princes to whom they did originally belong and that Valuable Consideration which the Purchaser paid for it If the Servant become such by his own free Consent as it is in Days-men Menial Servants and Apprentices there is not onely his own free Consent to entitle his Master to Honour from him but those Wages and Nourishment which the two former receive and that Skill or Craft which the latter is instructed in An Address to the Declaration of what Honours are due from Servants to their Masters and in what measure and proportion Where entrance is made with the Consideration of such Servants as become so by constraint and all sort of Honour shewn to be due from them which they are in a capacity to pay This evidenc'd both from Scripture and the Life which they receive from their Masters A Digression concerning the Abolition of Servitude in the Christian World where is shewn That it was neither founded upon any just Reason nor is much for the Commodity of it Of the Honours that are due from such as become Servants by Consent which are shewn to be in a great measure determinable by their own Compacts Certain Rules laid down for the more certain investigation of them such as are That they shew respect to their several Masters in Gesture and Language That they yield Obedience to their Commands and particularly in all such things as are expresly covenanted or are by Law or Custom impos'd upon them yea even when the matter of the Command is harsh provided it be not eminently such An Account of the Qualifications wherewith this Obedience of theirs is to be attended which are Singleness of Heart and a Chearful Mind Submission to the Censures of the Master another part of the Servants Duty even where they are rather frowardly than justly inflicted provided they be not often repeated nor prove intolerable An Appeal to the Magistrate in that case allowable but no violent Resistance in that or any other Of the Duty of Masters to their Servants and particularly to such as are Servants by Constraint or Slaves Where is shewn first That they ought to furnish them with Food and Rayment in such a proportion as may suffice the Necessities of Nature Secondly That they impose such Tasks upon them as are not above their Strength to undergo Thirdly Not to punish them above the demerit of their Crime or above what their Strength will bear And in sine That neither their Commands nor Punishments be extended any farther than the Laws of the Place give leave or Equity and Christian Charity permit It is however necessary for such Servants to submit to whatever is impos'd provided it be not above the proportion of their Strength partly upon the account of St. Paul's commanding Subjection to the Froward and partly upon the Account of that Life which is indulg'd them Of the Duty of Masters to Servants by Consent which to be sure comprehends 1. All things that are owing from them to Slaves 2. What they expresly covenant to afford them whether that be Wages or Instruction 3. To treat them agreeably to the Nature of that Service into which they are admitted 4. The exacting of due Labour from them and where they fail Chastisement 5. The restraining them from Vicious Courses and both prompting and obliging them to the Practice of Religious Duties Where both the Ground and Vsefulness of the Master 's so doing is declar'd WHAT Honour is due from us to those that have any thing of Dignity to commend them hath been already declar'd together with the Grounds upon which it stands It remains onely that we entreat of the Honour of such as are also in Authority and may command our Obedience as well as Respect I do not mean by vertue of any Publick Employment for what Honour is due to such hath been before sufficiently declar'd but by vertue of some Private Dominion such as is that of a Lord of a Mannor over his Tenants or of a Master of a Family over his Servants Of the former of these much need not be said whether as to the Necessity or the Kinds of Honour that are to be paid For holding their Lands from them upon condition of certain Rents Services and Homages to which they do moreover by Promise and Oath oblige themselves at their several Admissions to them the Benefit they enjoy by them and their own Compact shews the necessity of honouring them as the latter because particularly expressing them the Kinds of Honour they are to pay In consideration whereof as no Man of Conscience can pretend to withhold them were it onely for the Oath of God by which the Payment thereof is bound upon them so those who challenge this Honour from them are in reason to afford them that Protection Assistance and Redress which the Laws of the Land the Custom of the Place or the Nature of their Dominion doth require From this first Dominion pass we to that which is more general I mean that of the Master over his Servants Where first of all 1. I shall shew the Duty of Servants honouring their Masters 2. The Grounds upon which the Honour of them is built 3. What Kinds and Measure and Quality of Honour is due unto them 4. And lastly What is due from them again to their Servants 1. I begin with the first of these even the Duty of Servants honouring their Masters concerning which the Scriptures of the New Testament speak much and often as to that part of Honour which consists in Obedience and Submission But because when I descend to shew the Kinds of Honour they are to give them there will be a necessity of producing those Texts anew I shall content my self at present with that general Proof which St. Paul gives us in his First to Timothy and with that which this Commandment if well considered will be found to do For though the Letter of it specifie onely the Honour of Parents yet it sufficiently implies the Honour of other Superiours and particularly that Honour which is due from Servants to their Masters there being certainly a far greater Preeminence of a Master over his Servant than there is of a Father over his Child
of such kind of Servitude and because when I come to entreat of the Duties of Masters to their Servants I shall have occasion to say somewhat of the Measure of those Servants Subjection and Obedience therefore supersedeing any farther consideration of it for the present I will go on to shew what Kind or Measure or Quality of Honour is due to their Masters who are Servants not by Constraint but by Consent and Compact For the resolution whereof though much need not be said because what Kinds or Measure of Honour is due from them is in a great measure determinable by those Compacts by which they become their Servants yet because those Compacts do sometimes run in more general Terms and because Servants are generally backward enough in the apprehending of their Duty I think it not amiss to be a little more particular in describing the several Portions of it In order whereunto the first thing I shall offer is the shewing Respect to them in Gesture and Language because as that is the primary Notion of that Honour which Servants are oblig'd to think their several Masters worthy of so without that much would be taken off from the readiness of that Submission and Obedience which are the principal and undoubted parts of their Duties Men being not over-forward to submit themselves to those whom they have not an honourable Esteem of nor to entertain such an Esteem long where they are suffered either to bear themselves as their Masters Fellows or talk to them as to their Equals From Respect in Gesture and Language pass we to Obedience concerning which Duty the Scriptures speak much and often Witness to omit others Ephes 6.5 and Col. 3.22 In the former whereof St. Paul commands Servants to be obedient unto them that are their Masters according to the flesh In the latter to obey them in all things and that too with such Qualifications as are there subjoyn'd The onely thing of difficulty is what ought to be the Measure of their Obedience and with what Qualifications to be attended And here not to tell you concerning the former that it ought to be in things lawful and possible because to other than such there can be no Obligation that suppos'd I shall affirm 1. That their Obedience ought to extend to all those things that are expresly covenanted between their Master and them there being nothing more reasonable or necessary than to pay their Masters that Service which they expresly promise to afford them But from hence it will follow that there can be no pretence for withholding their Obedience in the Matters of that Employment or Trade for which they are more particularly hir'd because however other things may be set down in more general Terms these are always expresly covenanted by them There is the same necessity secondly of yielding Obedience in all those things which though not particularly express'd in the Agreement yet are by Law or Custom impos'd upon them partly because of that Obedience we all owe unto the Law and partly because their Masters stipulating with them in the general to be obedient to their Commands it is in reason to be understood of all such Commands as either the Law or Custom privilege them to impose It being but reasonable to suppose that to be understood which is not onely too long to express but is by the generality of the World presum'd as due But from hence it will follow not onely that Servants are to obey their Masters in such things as relate to that Employment for which they are more particularly covenanted with but also that if they be requir'd they are to tend upon them and do other such like Offices about them after the same manner that we find those Servants in the Gospel after they were come out of the Field obliged by their Master to make ready first for him and gird themselves and serve him before they sate down themselves Luke 17.8 Which is the rather to be taken notice of because ordinary Servants now adays look upon their Employment rather as an Office than a Service and consequently do but in part give obedience to their Masters Commands Thirdly As Servants are to yield obedience in such things as are expresly covenanted for and in such as are by Law or Custom impos'd upon them so they are to do the like even where the Matter of the Command is harsh provided it be not eminently such the Precept of St. Peter being That Servants should be subject not onely to the good and gentle but also to the froward 1 Pet. 2.18 Which said nothing remains to account for but the Qualifications of that Obedience which both Nature and Scripture exacts of them which is either first the doing it with singleness of Heart or secondly with a ready and a chearful Mind The former whereof excludes all Eye-service and such as studies rather to avoid the Masters displeasure than to do him true and faithful Service the latter all obeying with murmuring and repining Both which Vices as they are plainly enough condemn'd by St. Paul Col. 3.22 23. and the contrary Qualifications enjoyn'd so the latter as the same St. Paul * Vers 23 24. Eph. 6.6 7. observes have this farther Reason to bind them upon Servants that that Obedience which is requir'd of them is impos'd upon them by God and Christ as well as by their Earthly Masters Which latter however Servants may think to put off with a deceitful or repining Service yet they cannot hope so to satisfie God who both sees them when their Masters do not and requires nothing more than a willing and a chearful Mind Lastly As Servants are to be obedient to their Masters so also to submit unto their censures yea such as are rather frowardly than justly inflicted the command of St. Peter being that Servants should be so subject to the froward as the Reason he subjoins shews even because as he there goes on That and that only is thank-worthy with God if a man for Conscience toward God endure grief suffering wrongfully 1 Pet. 2.18 19 This only would be added that though Servants are by the command of God to submit even to unjust Censures yet it ought to be understood provided they be not often repeated nor prove intolerable when they are For in that case though the Servant may not violently resist yet there is no doubt he may endeavour to avoid them by making his appeal to the Magistrate to whom the redressing even of Servants unjust sufferings doth appertain Whence it is that by the Rescript * Vid. Justinian Institut l. 1. tit 8. s 2. of Marcus Antoninus even Slaves had the priviledge of flying to the Temple or the Statues of the Prince and the Presidents of the Provinces were commanded to take cognisance of their Complaints and deliver them from their Masters cruelties But as where the Chastisement is neither intolerable nor often repeated it cannot be thought reasonable when St. Peter
commands Submission to the Froward for Servants to oppose themselves so if they should be allow'd to do so it would introduce a greater confusion in Families than either the Peace of them or of the State would be consistent with 4. What Honour is due from Servants to their Masters hath been at large declar'd and thereby so far as this particular is concern'd the main intendment of the Commandment discharg'd But because I have often said that the Commandment which is now before us was intended also to comprehend the duty of Superiours toward Inferiours as well as of Inferiours toward them I think it not amiss to speak somewhat of the duty of Masters toward their Servants and the rather because oftentimes they stand as much in need of an admonition as the other In order whereunto following the division before laid down I will consider the duties of Masters toward their Slaves and and then of their duties toward such as though their Servants yet are so in a more ingenuous way Now though the Authority of Masters over Slaves be undoubtedly much greater than that over other Servants though anciently as Justinian * Institut tells us they had the power of Life and Death and were not accountable for it though they put them to death unjustly yet as the Roman Laws * Lib. 1. tit 8. sect 2 3. set bounds to that exorbitant Power of theirs and our own hath yet more retrench'd it so if we consult the Laws of Nature and Christianity we shall find there is more owing from them unto their Slaves than is ordinarily thought fit to be paid Of this Nature is first Furnishing them with Food and Rayment in such a proportion as may suffice the necessities of Nature this being absolutely necessary to enable them to the performance of that Service and Labour which they exact Of the same nature is secondly The imposing such Tasks upon them as is not above their strength to perform this being no more than common humanity requires of which Slaves are equally partakers with our selves But such also is it thirdly Not to punish them above the demerit of their Crime nor above what their Strength will bear Justice requiring that the Punishment do not exceed the Proportion of the Offence and common humanity that it pass not the bounds of their Natural Abilities In fine for so St. Paul plainly intimates where he commands Masters to give unto their Servants that which is just and equal their Commands and Punishments ought to extend no farther than the Laws of the place give leave or Equity and Christian Charity permit which to be sure will not only exclude all Cruelty and Injustice toward them but impose a necessity upon the Master of shewing such Compassion to them as their Weakness or Necessities may at any time require In the mean time though I no way doubt but Masters are to give unto their Slaves that which is just and equal and consequently to abstain from all Cruelty either in their Commands or Censures yet I think it necessary for them to submit both to the one and the other where the burthen which is impos'd is not above the proportion of their strength partly because St. Peter commands subjection to the froward and difficult and partly because that they have so much as their life is owing either to the mercy of their present Masters or of those from whom they were purchas'd From the duties of Masters to their Slaves pass we to the duties of the same to their Servants such I mean as are so in a more ingenuous way Where first of all I shall make no difficulty to affirm as I suppose neither will any man so grant that all those things are undoubtedly owing to Servants which are from a Master to his Slave the condition of Servants being much better than that of Slaves and therefore to be sure not to require less of their Masters than the other As little difficulty can be made that all that is owing to them from their Masters which at the entrance upon their service they do expresly covenant to afford them a Promise even where there is no other Obligation making the party promising a Debter and how much more then where there is a valuable consideration to engage him But from hence it will follow first Where there is any such thing covenanted that they are to give them the promised reward or wages and that too at or near the time wherein they become due to them he paying less than he ought who pays not at or near the the time because depriving the party to whom he owes it of that use and advantage which he might and which because it is his own it is fit he should receive by it It will follow secondly where that is a part of the Contract that Masters carefully and faithfully teach their Servants that Trade for the Learning whereof they become Servants to them which is the rather to be observ'd because it is oftentimes through sloathfulness omitted or basely and invidiously conceal'd at least as to the cheifest Mysteries thereof as if a Contract could be satisfied by paying one half the thing contracted for and it may be too the less considerable one I observe thirdly That in such Servants as are by Contract to receive their whole maintenance from their Masters a regard is to be had not only of what necessity but what the condition of that Service into which they are assum'd requires For by how much the more Ingenuous the Service is so much the more free in reason ought to be the entertainment of those that are in it especially when as it mostly happens paying accordingly to their Masters for it Whence it is that no Man of reason doubts but that the Apprentice of a Merchant or other such more liberal Profession should be treated in a better fashion than one of a man of a more inferiour one or an ordinary Serving Man to the same I observe fourthly That as care is to be taken on the one hand that they afflict not their Servants with immoderate Labours or Punishments so also on the other hand that they suffer them not to be Idle nor be sparing of just Chastisements when they deserve them the omission of that not only proving the bane of their Servants but being a falsification of that Trust which is reposed in them by their Servants Parents and an injury to the Commonwealth which by their slothfulness or cowardise is like to have so much the worse Subjects Fifthly and Lastly more than which I shall not need to say unless it be to exhort them to the practise of what they are thus bound to It is incumbent upon all Masters of Families to restrain their Servants from all Vitious Courses and both prompt and oblige them to the practise of Religious Duties not indeed by any direct obligation upon them from their Authority which reacheth rather to Temporal than Spiritual matters
followeth that the stealing of Mens either Children or Servants is to be look'd upon as one of those Thefts which are by God forbidden in this Commandment All which I say not onely to obviate the evil Trade of those Men who by Toys and other Artifices train Mens Children and Servants into Ships and when they have done so sell them for Slaves in Foreign Parts but their Practice also who by fair Words and Promises tempt Men from their Masters to become in the same Condition to themselves For what other is this than to rob a Man of his Servant and it may be too if that Servant be an useful one of one of the best parts of his possessions Add hereunto because differing from the former only in circumstance the Servants withdrawing from his Master whilst he is with him that labour and service to which his own Contract and the Masters Wages bind him he who doth so becoming a kind of Thief of himself because robbing his Master of that advantage which he might and ought to have by him 4. Lastly which I shall only name because I have prevented my self in them and shewn them both to be Thefts and such as are forbidden in this Commandment there may be a Theft of a thing which is not in our Neighbours possession as well as of that which is as again of the use of a thing as well as of the thing it self Upon the account of the former whereof he is a Thief who detains any thing in his hands which was either committed to him to keep or is otherwise due to his Neighbour from him as upon the account of the latter he who makes the goods of his Neighbour unserviceable to him or deprives him of the use of them whether it be by detaining them some time in his hands or hindring him from making use of them All which having before at large exemplified I shall content my self with subjoining this one general Remarque which will serve as a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to judge of these and all other Thefts by to wit That all that is to be looked upon as such which doth any way impair the property of our Neighbour where it is truly such and not abridged by some of those limitations which were before reckoned up by us The properties of men as to those particulars wherein they are limited being rather equivocally than properly such and consequently the entrenchments on them not within the compass of this Commandment III. Now though that general Note might serve us for an answer to that third question which we before proposed to discourse of that is to say What actions are to be looked upon as exempted from the prohibition now before us yet I think it not amiss to instance in two or three of that nature because there may seem to be some difficulty in exempting them from the imputation of Thievery I begin with that which is the most obvious to all because recorded in the Scripture that I mean which the Israelites are found to have done even by the command of God himself For what other can we make of the Children of Israel's borrowing of the Egyptians those Jewels which they did not only not restore for ought as we can learn but are by that act of theirs said to have spoiled or robbed the Egyptians Exod. 12.36 But neither will this action of theirs be found to be a Theft if we understand thereby as we ought to do an usurpation upon anothers property where it is free from any limitation or alienation Because though those Jewels which they borrowed were the property of the Egyptians both before and at the time of the Israelites borrowing them yet were they by the Command of God to whom all mens properties are subject passed over to the Israelites and consequently their detaining of them though in semblance a Theft for which cause it is called a spoiling by Moses yet really and formally none Next to this act of the Israelites consider we another of the Lacedemonians approved and encouraged by their Laws it being recorded of them by * A. Gell. ubi supra cum notis Ant. Thysii J. C. Gellius out of Authors neither few nor inconsiderable that their young men were allowed to steal certain things and particularly the Fruit of their Orchards and the Messes of their Feasts Not as the aforesaid Author admonisheth to encourage them to the desire of filthy lucre but to make them crafty and watchful and thereby the more apt to serve them in their Wars which was upon the matter that Common-wealths whole profession Now though for my own part I cannot approve of such practices as by which unwary Youths may be tempted to stealths of a more criminal nature yet I am of opinion with the learned Selden * De jure Natur Gent. l. 6. c. 2. that where such practices are countenanced by Law the perpetrators of them cannot in reason be charged with Theft properly so called or usurping upon the properties of their Neighbors for the properties of particular men being limitable by the publick Laws and more particularly by such to which each Proprietor consents if the publick Laws make it lawful to withdraw certain things from the owners those things are so far common to those that can withdraw them and consequently their withdrawing of them not so much an usurpation upon the property of the owners as a just and lawful acquisition And it seems to me not altogether unlike the gleaning of Corn in a field the property whereof as of the Fruit that ariseth of it though invested in a particular person yet is not so entirely his but that the loose Corns which fall from the Reaper become the property of him that shall first seize upon them But because however such kind of Thefts might be countenanced by the Laws of the Lacedemonians yet they are not that I know of received in any Christian Nation nor it may be at present in any unconverted one therefore quitting the prosecution of that I shall enquire into the nature of that Stealth which extreme necessity prompts men to In order whereunto I will put the case of a man travelling in a foreign Land and there reduced to extremity of hunger for the providing against which though he hath not failed to use earnest entreaties nor yet to make a tender of his labour and service yet he hath not for all that been able to procure himself so much repast as might satisfie the necessities of Nature This supposed I demand whether the taking away of so much as may serve for the purposes before specified be to be looked upon as a Theft and consequently unlawful Now though it be not to be doubted but such an act looks very like one because differing nothing in the matter from that which is really such yet that it is not formally such is evident from what was heretofore said concerning Gods giving the Earth to Adam and Noah and
us to take heed of it Luke 12.15 and his Apostle to content our selves with food and rayment 1 Tim. 6.8 So that in this particular it is evident Christ had no design to thwart the dictates of Nature or Moses the precepts of the Law or the wholsome advices of the Prophets The only thing remaining to be enquir'd into is whether he came to destroy the precepts of justice and charity the two last branches of the Moral Law Concerning the latter hereof I shall say nothing at present both because I may have occasion to resume it when I come to intreat of our Saviours fulfilling the Law and because the Evangelists and Apostles as well as the Law and the Prophets are full fraught with Precepts concerning it That which I shall bestow the remainder of my discourse upon is the Precepts of justice even that justice which commands us to give Caesar and all other our Superiours their due Which I shall the rather do because this hath been too often accounted a part of that bondage from which our Saviour came to set us free I begin with Fathers because their authority as it was the first so the foundation even of Regal power Concerning whom if the Law be express that we should give them honour and obedience the Gospel of our Saviour is no less Witness his faulting the Scribes and Pharisees for evacuating that Royal Law by a foolish tradition of their own Mat. 15.4 His Apostle S. Paul's pressing the Ephesians with the letter of it Eph. 6.2 His calling upon children in the verse before to be obedient to their parents his commanding the children of the Colossians to be obedient to them in all things Col. 3.20 His instructing the children of widows to requite their parents 1 Tim. 5.4 His reckoning disobedience to parents amongst the foulest crimes of the Gentiles Rom. 1.30 Than which what more could be said to shew our Saviour's detestation of that crime and his concurrence with the Law and the Prophets in the contrary vertue From the Authority of a Father proceed we to that of a Master and compare the doctrine of the Gospel with the Law of Nature and that of Moses And here indeed is a manifest difference but which is to the advantage of the Gospel for whereas the Law of Moses doth rather suppose obedience to Masters than go about to enjoin it the Gospel is full of precepts to this purpose Servants be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh so S. Paul Eph. 6.5 Servants obey in all things your masters according to the flesh so the same Apostle Col. 3.22 Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour 1 Tim. 6.1 And exhort servants saith the same person to Titus to be obedient unto their own masters and to please them well in all things Tit. 2.9 To the froward as well as the gentle to the believing master and the infidel with all chearfulness with all simplicity out of a regard to Christ whose will it was they should obey to his Gospel which would be otherwise blasphem'd Lastly if the Law and the Prophets call'd upon the Jews to honour the Fathers of their Countrey as well as the Fathers of Families to fear the Lord and the King to speak no evil of the Ruler of the people to curse him no not in their heart the holy Jesus on the other hand reminds his of giving unto Caesar that which is Caesar's Mat. 22.21 His Apostle S. Peter of fearing God and honouring the King 1 Pet. 2.17 Submitting themselves to every ordinance of man or as the Greek reads it to every humane creature whether supreme or subordinate and not making use of that liberty which Christ hath purchased for a cloak of disobedience Thus in every particular doth our blessed Saviour rather confirm than destroy those Moral Precepts which are deliver'd by Moses and the Prophets And therefore let men pretend what they will upon the account of their faith and Baptism He is no Christian who is not a devout adorer of the Divine Majesty chast and temperate in his converse a dutiful child an obedient servant and a faithful subject to his Prince DISC. IV. That Christ came not to destroy but to fulfil and add to the Law of Moses General proofs hereof from the Sermon upon the Mount where moreover is shewn that the opposition there made by Christ is between his Law and that of Moses The Law of Moses considered as the Common Law of their Nation and in what respects Christ added to it A discourse concerning the same Law as intended for a rule of life where is shewn wherein Christ either did not or did add unto it That the additions Christ made to the Law in that latter notion of it do not entrench upon the esteem either of it or of its Author The allegation of the imperfection of Moses's Law both answered and disproved LET the Libertine and the Antinomian be from henceforth for ever silent they whose Life or Doctrine or both proclaim the ever blessed Jesus to have abrogated the Law and Prophets for beside that instead of justifying that wisdom whose children they pretend to be they shew themselves as forward as any in condemning her giving countenance to that calumny which was sometime fastend on our Saviour by the Jews behold a man gluttonous and a wine-bibber a friend of Publicans and sinners they do directly oppose his own vehement asseveration and doctrine as well as the Law of Moses unless to destroy and not to destroy be one and the same thing or to abrogate the Law and the Prophets and to fulfil But so Hercules in the Fable added to the Serpent Hydra's monstrous heads by going about to take them off each wound he gave it becoming strangely prolifical and two heads starting up where there was one lopt off For setting aside the Ceremonial that shadow of good things to come and which therefore was to vanish at the appearance of the Son of Righteousness all the Law and the Prophets beside have rather received an increase than any diminution by his Doctrine Can any one pretend that he hath abrogated the Law concerning adultery who hath substituted two in its room which are no less dreadful than the former The one forbidding all outward uncleanness the other the adultery of the heart If the Law concerning murther be alledged as destroyed by him he hath forbidden calumnies as well as that the wounds of a malicious Tongue as well as the piercing of a Spear II. Having shewn in the foregoing discourse that our Saviour came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but on the contrary to confirm and establish them it remains that we shew it to have been his design to fulfil or add to them according as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the place so often referr'd to is generally understood by the Antient Fathers the Law in their opinion being
Avenger of those that do evil yet it is of such onely as continue in it and as he delights not in their death so he invites them to live and makes a tender both of his own Grace and the Merits of his Son to instate them in it From the extreme in defect pass we to the extreme in excess which is an over-familiarity with our Maker For as Love among Men doth either find the Parties equal or make them such according to that known Saying of Minutius Foelix Amicitia pares semper aut accipit aut facit so unwary Men not considering the distance that is between them and God have copied out this mode of Love in themselves and made it pass into an indecent familiarity being thereto farther tempted by God's giving his Children the name of Friends and by his speaking with Abraham as a Man speaketh with his friend But as it followeth not from God's speaking to us as Friends that therefore we are to use the same Modes of Speech so we shall find those to whom God hath shewn the greatest condescention to have proceeded always with the greatest reverence and respect for thus that Friend and Favourite of God Abraham still observ'd his distance towards him and address'd himself to God as his Superiour and Maker in the 23d Verse of the 18th Chapter of Genesis where he seems most to expostulate with him stiling him the Judge of all the earth and himself vers 27. but dust and ashes in comparison of him and in the 30th Verse of the same Chapter beseeching God not to be angry with him though he spake and in Verse 31. confessing it a kind of presumption that he had taken upon him to speak unto God in the 32d again begging of him not to be angry and he would speak but once more for the sinful Sodomites Which demeanour of his shews evidently that our Friendship must be mix'd with Reverence and we look upon God as our Superiour as well as our Friend In like manner though it be said of Moses That God spake to him face to face as a man speaketh to his friend yet even then we find Moses demeaning himself as a Subject and speaking to him in the Language of one for what else means his so often inserting If I have found grace in thy sight as you may see in the sequel of that Chapter It is true indeed for I am willing to obviate any thing that can with any shew of reason be objected it is true I say there is some difference between their case and ours I mean in respect of God as well as us that God who spake to Abraham and Moses in his own likeness or at least in that of an Angel having since assum'd our Nature to become more equal to us and dispensing all his Graces through it But as he who assum'd our Nature doth not therefore cease to be God and consequently neither our Lord and Master so by becoming Man he became our Lord after a more peculiar manner and thereby gain'd a new Title to our Obedience which as there is therefore just cause for us to own so our Saviour himself inculcates it as the onely means to attain his Friendship telling us Joh. 15.14 That we are his friends if we do whatsoever he commands us This onely would be added for the preservation of this Friendship on our part That we look upon the Commands God lays upon us as the Commands of a Friend as well as of our Lord and Master of one who loveth us as well as of one that hath Authority to command us So shall we at the same time preserve both our Friendship and Obedience be Confidents and yet Servants of the Almighty For it is not our yielding Obedience to God which makes our Works servile but our looking upon him as a Tyrant or at least as one who is not our Friend as well as our Lord. For as the Text before-quoted insinuateth that we cannot be Friends without having respect to our Superiours Commands so if we have respect to them for the kindness of the Party that enjoyns them we do rather the part of Friends than of such as are either Servants or Vassals But neither is this all which our Friendship with God privilegeth yea though an over-familiarity be discarded For it also licenceth us to come with assurance before the Throne of Grace and both lay open our wants before him and beg a proportionable supply God himself having not onely permitted but call'd upon us to do it and that too with earnestness and importunity giving us farther to understand that this violence is grateful to him and that the more importunate we are provided it be mix'd with Reverence the more ready he will be to receive us In fine such as is the behaviour of a Favourite toward his Prince such ought to be the behaviour of a Friend of God toward the Monarch of the World so tempering our Respect and Confidence as neither to forget our distance on the one hand nor on the other that Interest which he hath given us in his Love But if our Love be so qualified the more intense it is the more acceptable and the more likely to advance us to a more intimate Communion with himself Being now to put a period to my Discourse concerning the Passions of the Soul and that Acknowledgment which is due from each of them to him whom we are to own for our God it remains onely that I admonish you That to own him for your God in them is not onely to have your Affections suited to his several Attributes but also to the infiniteness thereof this being in truth to own him for a God and pay him that Acknowledgment which is due unto him as such But from hence it will follow 1. That we are to fear and love him with all our might that we are to separate all coldness from the one all security and presumption from the other For beside that the Almighty requires so to be lov'd even where that Love as was before observ'd is set to denote the whole Adoration of the Soul it is no more than his own immense Nature as well as our Obligations to him call for the greatest Loveliness and Majesty such as those of God's undoubtedly are requiring the greatest Fear and Love It is no less evident 2. That we are to fear and love him above all things how much soever in themselves the just Objects of them both because God whom we are required to own in them transcends all other Beings in Majesty and Goodness or whatsoever else is the proper Object of our several Affections Whence it is that our Blessed Saviour speaking of the Passion of Fear doth not onely forbid the exerting of it toward those that can kill the Body but in a manner confine it to him who after he hath kill'd hath power to cast into Hell 3. Lastly Forasmuch as God doth not onely transcend all other
Creatures to witness to the sincerity of his Intentions which he himself is perswaded of not to have the least sense of any thing Nay would not the so doing give Men cause to suspect that he himself was as stupid as they It is true indeed we read in Genesis of Jacob and Laban's rearing a Pillar and heap of Stones for a Witness of the League between them Gen. 31.48 Nay we read further which is of more consideration of Laban's addressing himself to them after this manner This heap be witness and this pillar be witness that I will not pass over this heap to thee and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar to me for harm vers 52. of that Chapter But as the meaning thereof can be no other than that they should serve for a Memorial of the League then made which is quite different from the business of an Oath so that Laban had no other intention may appear from his own Words immediately before it For if saith he vers 50. thou shalt afflict my daughters or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters no man is with us see God is witness betwixt me and thee Which Words do not onely shew him to refer the Matter to the Testimony of God but so as to exclude all other Witnesses because professing to refer it unto God for that there was no other to attest it I conclude therefore That where there is mention of a Creature in an Oath the design thereof is not in the least to call that Creature to witness but God to whom it doth belong Which as it is no way like the swearing by the Saints departed who are presum'd by the Papists to have knowledge of what we swear so shews the swearing by Heaven or the like according as was before understood to have nothing at all of unlawfulness in it because not so much the Term of our Oaths or That we swear by as the Adjuncts of it and onely inserted in it to represent the more strongly to our minds the Majesty of that God by whom we swear or our own extreme danger in case we falsifie in them And accordingly as in the Old Testament we find Jacob * Gen. 31.53 swearing by the fear of his Fahter Isaac and Elisha †2 Kings 2.2 by the life of his master so ‖ Apol. cap 32. Sed juramus sicut non per Genios Caesarum ita per salutem eorum quae est auguslior omnibus Geniis Tertullian tells us of the Christians of his time and such too as would rather die than swear by the Genius of the Emperour because apprehended by them to be an Heathenish Deity that they would not refuse to swear by the safety of their Lord which was more August than all Genii The result of the Premises is this That as it is not lawful to make a Creature the Term of our Oath because so giving Divine Honour to them so it is not unlawful to make mention of them in our Oath when they are represented as Adjuncts of the Deity or devoted unto God as Pledges of the Truth of what we affirm III. The Order of my Discourse now leads me to inquire Whether the Magistrate may not exact an Oath of his Subjects A Question to be wondred at if it had not been also made a Question Whether there ought to be any Magistrates or those Magistrates ought to be obey'd For 1. First Whereas other Acts of Adoration by how much the more voluntary they are the more acceptable they are to the Divine Majesty an Oath on the contrary requires something of a necessity to make it onely lawful and how much more then to make it acceptable to the Divine Majesty And accordingly as it is a Proverb * Andrew's Determin Theolog de jure-jurando 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Greeks That Oaths and War are evil when spontaneous and onely good when they are extorted from us so that Proverb of theirs stands confirm'd as to an Oath by the Veneration we ought to have for it and the end for which it is given For Scripture and Reason requiring that Oaths should not be lightly us'd and the end thereof being for the satisfaction of those to whom it is given it follows that they become good onely when they are extorted from us by the hardness of those Mens belief whose satisfaction is intended in them If therefore an Oath become so much the more legitimate by being extorted if it may be extorted from us by the incredulity of the Party to whom we give it how much more when there is just cause for it by the Command of the Magistrate to whom God hath commanded every Soul to submit it self 2. My second Argument for the lawfulness of the Magistrates exacting an Oath shall be taken from the Practice of Holy Men toward those who were subject to their Commands and that too where there was less Authority to constrain For thus Abraham made his Servant swear that he would not take a wife unto his son of the daughters of the Canaanites but of his own Kindred and Country Gen. 24.3 4. and Jacob made his Son Joseph swear that he would carry his body out of Egypt and bury him in the Burying-place of his Fathers Gen. 47.29 and so on In fine thus Jacob made Esau swear to part with his birthright Gen. 25.33 Now if as Bishop Andrews * Determinat Theolog. supra citat well argues it were lawful for the Master to put his Servant to an Oath as it was to Abraham if to a Father toward his Son as in the case of Jacob and Joseph if to a Brother over a Brother as to the same Jacob over Esau how much more shall it be lawful for him to require an Oath of his Subjects whose Empire is more excellent than all other Empires To all which if we add 3. In the third place the necessity there is of his so doing in order to the Security of himself and the Commonwealth so no doubt can remain of the Power of the Magistrate to exact and consequently of the Subjects Duty to comply with his Commands For is it any thing less than necessary to the Security of the Magistrate to require an Oath of Allegiance to himself when Men through the pride and perverseness of their Nature are so hardly brought to afford it Especially when in his Honour and Security the Security of the Common-wealth is bound up neither can that be safe unless his Person and Authority be preserv'd inviolate The same is to be said of that other sort of Oaths which the Magistrate tenders to decide Controversies between Man and Man For being it is for the Interest yea Being of the Commonwealth that Controversies be determin'd being as I have before shewn those are not to be determin'd without an Oath it remains That either the Magistrate is not furnish'd with full Power to determine Controversies between Man
not onely not have consulted their Benefit but brought upon them a far greater Evil than their own Pains The Case will be yet more clear if we remember that the principal End of Rest was the attending to the Worship of God For it being not to be thought that they would suffer their Servants to intend the Worship of God who would be so wicked as to constrain them to their ordinary Labours the main Reason of the Commandment must have been taken away as to them and consequently the Command also All therefore that remains to be considered is the Concernment of the Stranger who was not of the same Religion with the Jew Where in like manner it must be said That the Precept of Rest appertained rather to the Jew that had Authority over him than unto him For the Sabbath as was before said being a Sign of that Covenant which God made between the Jews and himself it is in reason to be constru'd to have laid an Obligation upon such onely to whom the Covenant appertain'd All the Obligation that a Stranger could be suppos'd to lie under must have risen not from the Law of Moses with which he had nothing to do but from the Law of Nations which prescribes that they who live in any Place should be obedient to the Orders of it By which means the Stranger 's Obligation became rather Civil than Religious and consequently ty'd him not to the Observation of it upon a Religious account but onely upon a Civil one The same mutatis mutandis is to be said of the Concernment of Christians unless it be as to the Rest of Cattel For though it be a matter of Morality to allow them Rest yet neither Morality nor Christianity ties us to allow it them on that day wherein we are to rest our selves This onely would be added That as the doing it at that time is generally necessary because we cannot well deny them Rest but we must abridge our selves so it is no unhandsom Expression of our Thanks to God for the Benefits we our selves enjoy to make our Fellow-creatures at the same time to taste of ours But as setting aside this particular Case little need to be added to shew in what sort the Rest here spoken of appertains to us and ours so I will not trouble my self or you with making any Application of it Onely because what I have said concerning Servants may be liable to misconstruction I will resume that Matter anew and apply it to our own Case And first of all when I say That Servants are not oblig'd under Sin to rest from their Labours if they who are their Masters shall constrain them to it by Threats or Stripes my meaning is provided they use all due Means to free themselves from them which in a Christian State are not ordinarily wanting to them that look after them For so long as the State forbids such Labours it is in the power of Servants to complain to those that are in Authority and thereby procure both a freedom from their Labours and a Liberty to attend the Worship of God Where therefore such a Redress is to be had there no doubt it ought to be endeavour'd after otherwise the Servant becomes accessary to his own Profanation as well as the Master that compells him But when as it may sometimes happen even in Christian States the Servant is in no capacity of delivering himself from so great an Evil or when which is God knows the Case but of too many a Man falls into the Hands of Turks who it may be will exact a greater Service from him on that Day than on any other in such a Case there is no doubt he need not expose himself to danger by refusing that Service which is impos'd upon him It being not to be thought God will punish him for those Labours which are rather his Unhappiness than Choice and by the refusal whereof he should not onely not have the more freedom for Religious Actions but the less It may suffice such a one to lift up his Heart to God which no violence of Men or Devils can restrain him from For as that is all he is able to do so it is the best part of that Worship for which the Jewish Sabbath of old and the Christian now is commanded to be set apart I will conclude this Particular with that known Affirmation * Mark 2.27 of our Saviour That the Sabbath was made for Man and not Man for the Sabbath For if it was made for Man to be sure it was not meant to ruine him and bring upon him a greater Evil than all his Toil or Travel 2. Of the Rest here enjoyn'd I have spoken hitherto and shewn both what it is and to whom and in what manner it appertains It follows that we inquire whether either that or the Day admitted of any Recreation For as nothing hinders but at the same time Men might cease from Labour and yet not cease from Recreation so he that shall consult either the Jewish Writers or their present Practice will find them not to have understood it to have extended to the prohibition of it Vid. Seld. de Jure Nat. Gent. li. 3. c. 9. Whence it is that Lyra a converted Jew speaking of their permitting a Sabbath-days Journey alledgeth for the Reason of it That such a Walk was more a Recreation than a Labour for which cause it was not against the Rest enjoyn'd And indeed however some Mens Prejudices have made it otherwise thought neither is Recreation provided it be moderate any way unsuitable to their Feasts or ours For as it is but reasonable that the Body should share with the Soul in its Joys as well as be afflicted in its Griefs so Recreation rightly dispos'd may make the Mind so much the more apt to intend the Offices of Religion In fine take away all Recreation and you make the Sabbath to afford little Refreshment to Servants and other such Labouring People for whose Benefit we find it to have been in a great measure design'd a continu'd Intention of Mind especially to those who know not the pleasure of Contemplation being no less wearisom to the Flesh than the Labour of the Body The onely thing that can in reason be offer'd against the allowance of Recreations is that of Isa chap. 58.13 where we find the doing and finding of ones own pleasure joyn'd with the doing of a mans own ways as equally unlawful on the Sabbath But beside that the Word we render pleasure doth also signifie * Vid. Eccl. 3.1 ubi quod in Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 LXX reddunt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chald. Omni negotto sensu etiam id postulaâ—te purpose which if admitted here would convert it to another sense beside secondly that no other may be meant than the forbidding of Pleasures in excess and when they are us'd rather to thrust out the Worship of God than to fit Men the
that is to say of thinking honourably of and expressing it in our words and gestures as moreover no question hath or can be made of that part of Honour which hath the name of Piety because Children must generally be supposed both to be of years and of a distinct Family before they can be in a capacity to relieve their Parents so as little question would be made of Obedience if men did but consider that the principal ground of it doth always abide for it being alike true at all times that the one is thy Father that begot thee and the other thy Mother that conceiv'd thee it must be alike true because that is the ground of thy Obedience that thou art always to give obedience to their commands If therefore Children be at any time free from the tie of Honour it must be as to the manner or measure which accordingly I come now to consider Thus for instance Though Reverence be always due from us to our Parents and accordingly hath by good Children been always paid to them yet there is no necessity it should be express'd after the same manner by one of full age as by one who is still under Pupillage because the same gestures become not one of full age that are suitable enough to the tenderness of the other Whence it is that though Children in their minority are always bare before their Parents yet those of Riper age have by a general custom which must be judge of matters of this nature been indulg'd a greater liberty as to that particular even by the consent of Parents themselves In like manner that I may instance in the measure Though Children dwelling in their Parents houses and under their power be to yield Obedience to all their commands and particularly those that concern the Family whereof they are Members whence it is that we find the Father in the Parable Mat. 21.28 commanding his Sons to go and work in his Vineyard yet there is not the same tie upon those that are sent out of it that have a Wife and Family of their own to provide for that are delivered over to the tuition of other persons or in fine have any publick charge upon them Not upon those that are sent out of the Family because as sent out with their leave so of necessity to intend their own proper Affairs Not upon those Children that have a Wife and Family of their own to provide for because beside the foremention'd reason by the command of God himself to forsake Father and Mother and cleave unto their Wives Gen. 2.24 The same is to be said much more of Daughters when Married because not only equally oblig'd to cleave to their Husbands but also subjected to their commands Whence it is that when Pharaoh's Daughter was brought to be a Wife to Solomon we find her exhorted to forget her own people and her Fathers house and to look upon and worship Solomon as her Lord Psal 45.10 11. But neither thirdly is there the same tie upon Children that are subjected to the Tuition of others as to those that are under their Fathers roof and power as will appear if we consider them as made Servants to another or pass'd over into another Family by Adoption for being by the Parents consent subjected to other Masters or Fathers they are now no more theirs who gave them Being but those Masters or adopted Fathers to whom they are so transferr'd This only would be added That as the Children spoken of in the former Instances are only free from their Fathers commands by means of those new Relations they have contracted so they are consequently no farther free from yielding Obedience to their Fathers commands than the necessity of serving those Relations doth exact And therefore if a Son or Daughter that is sent abroad to intend their own Affairs or one that is entred into Marriage or made a Servant or a Son and Daughter by Adoption if I say any of these have opportunity and power to serve their natural Parents there is no doubt they ought to do so no less than those who continue under their Roof For the exception of their obedience being only in regard to those new Relations they have contracted according to that known Rule of the Lawyers Exceptio firmat regulam in non exceptis it must strengthen the tie of Obedience where those Relations do no way hinder The only Children to be accounted for are such as have a publick charge upon them whether in the Church or in the State For though Children are not to enter into these without the consent of their Parents if under their Fathers Tuition or at least not without the call of their and their Fathers Superiours yet being entred they are in reason to prefer the discharge of their Place before any Commands of their Father the Private Good being in reason to yield to the Publick the Commands of Parents to those of Kings and Princes Onely as if the Child can without the neglect or debasement of his Charge fulfil his Fathers Commands there is no doubt he is oblig'd so to do so there is so much of Authority in the Name of a Father that no Dignity whatsoever will make a good Son forget it where it is not contrary to a more important Concern 5. The Duty of Honour being thus explain'd and shewn in what manner and measure it is incumbent upon Children it may not be amiss to subjoyn somewhat concerning Fear and Love which I have said to be also a part of their Duty Onely because they are rather Accessaries than Principal parts of Childrens Duties I will be so much the shorter in describing the Obligation they have upon them That we are to fear our Father and Mother the Scripture hath told us Lev. 19.3 and not without cause if we consider either that it is a part of Honour or that there is in Parents a just Object of it For as Fear is a confession of the Power of those whom we have such an apprehension of so there is Power enough in Parents to excite that Passion in us and make us as well to dread as esteem them Of this nature is first the Power of Chastisement whether as to the Body or Possessions of the Son For as I shall afterwards shew that Parents have Authority to inflict either so Experience makes it evident that they want not Power especially as to the latter Chastisement it being ordinarily in the power of Parents to withhold their Possessions from such as are disobedient to them But of all the things we are to fear in a Parent there is certainly nothing more requiring it than the Power they have with God to procure a greater Punishment of our Disobedience than they themselves are able to inflict For though as the Scripture speaks the Curse causeless shall not come yet both Reason and Experience warrant us to believe that the Curses of Parents shall not be without effect where they
is indeed an excellent Portion or if that will not suffice or be not suitable to their Condition that they lay up for them that which Solomon tells us answers all things Otherwise they will leave them unprovided for as to that state which stands most in need of it Neither will it avail to say there is no reason the Fathers care should reach beyond his own life when we have before said that the Child's obedience generally ought not For as I have before shewn that the Honour of a Parent ought to abide after his death and Obedience to his Commands also so far as that is concerned in it so it is but requisite that answerably to that a Fathers care should extend beyond his own time and not only provide for his Children during his own life but as much as in him lies afterwards especially when the necessities of his Child which is the ground of making provision for them is then likely to be greater than before The only thing to be enquired into in this affair is after what proportion a Father is to provide for them For the resolution whereof though I might have referr'd you to what was said before concerning making provision for them in the Parents life time because giving us to understand that both the one and the other ought to be according to the condition of the Father yet I thought it not amiss to bring it anew before you if it were only to add this necessary limitation to a Fathers care to wit that he ought not so to see to the providing for his Children as to forget to minister of his substance to the more publick concernments of Church or State or the pressing and instant necessities of those charitable Objects he hath before him For as both the one and the other ought rather to be regarded than the leaving to our Children a pompous and glorious Estate so he that forgets not to do good and to communicate provides much better for his Children than he who will not suffer any the least part of his Estate to pass away from them Money lent to God as all that is so employ'd is * Pro. 19.17 being as Master Herbert hath well observ'd ‖ Country Parson chap. 10. plac'd surer for the Childs advantage than if it were given to the Chamber of London which was in his time the best security in the world 2. The second duty of Parents follows even the institution of their Children in Life and Manners which is a provision for their better part their Souls concerning which therefore I will shew first the Authority by which it stands the Duties it contains and the Inconveniences that attend the omission of it And first if we enquire by what Authority the Institution of Children stands we shall find it to be by the same whereby all other moral Duties do that is to say by the Law of Nature and Revelation both the one and the other binding it upon the Consciences of Parents and that too more stronger than the former That the Law of Nature doth the Argument before alledg'd for Parents making provision for their Subsistence is to me an abundant Evidence For the design of God in our Birth being the happiness of those to whom he gives a Being he must consequently be supposed to have enjoyn'd the adding of those things which may serve for the procuring of it Which being in an especial manner to be understood of a holy Institution because our Eternal happiness doth depend upon it will make the addition of that even by Natures Law more incumbent upon Parents than the providing for their Temporal one The same is no less evident from the positive Laws of God as well those of the Old Testament as the New in the former whereof * Deut. 6.7.11.19 we find Parents commanded to teach Gods Commandments diligently unto their Children and to talk to them of them when they sit in their House and when they walk by the way when they lie down and when they rise up in the latter ‖ Eph 6.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quod significat institutionem per poenas vid. Grot. in loc which is tantamount though expressed in fewer words that they should bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. From the Authority by which this Duty stands pass we to the particulars it contains which may be reduced to these Three Heads Instruction Command and Example the first to shew them how they ought to Live and Act the two latter to induce them to the practice of it For as it is impossible for Children to live well till they know what it is to do so or know it without a precedent Institution they neither bringing with them into the world a knowledge of their Duty nor being able through the tenderness of their Understandings to find it without the help of others so the pravity of their Natures makes it but necessary that they should be Oblig'd as well as Instructed and Encourag'd as well as Oblig'd The former whereof as it is best done by the Parents commands which till the minds of Children come to be debauch'd have a mighty influence upon them so the latter by the Parents shewing themselves a Pattern of those things which they bind upon them by their Instruction and Commands nothing prevailing more with Children than Example doth nor any Example more than that of a Father Which therefore as it is but necessary that Parents should superadd to compleat the Institution of their Children so woful experience shews that the want of that alone makes all other ways of Institution fruitless it being rare to find a Child who is not more debauch'd by his Fathers ill Example than regulated by his wholesome Instruction and Commands Having thus shewn as well what the Institution of Children implies as by what Authority it stands it remains only to give it so much the more weight that I represent some of those inconveniencies which attend the omission of it For to say nothing at all that that Father is like to be ill serv'd himself who hath not taught his Children to revere his and their common parent God nor yet that the omission of a Holy Institution may expose them to the taking such Courses as will bring little comfort either to their Children or themselves I shall desire such Parents to consider how they will be able at that great day to look those Children in the face whom they have begotten only to Eternal Torments For as if they have the bowels of a Father it cannot but be an infinite affliction to them to see those who are a part of themselves plung'd in Eternal Torments so if they have any the least shame it will be an equal confusion to them to consider that they became so by their means even by theirs who ought in reason to have done their utmost to make them happy and enstate them in Gods Kingdom as well
Four things that procure dignity to Men as that is set to denote a preeminence without Authority 1. Their Parts and Endowments 2. Their Birth 3. Their Fortunes 4. And Lastly The Titles and Characters that are bestow'd upon them by Princes and Societies 1. The the first of these ought to have our Honour and consequently the Persons that are endu'd with them needs no other proof than that they are the Gifts of God For being so they are in reason to be respected by all those who think God a due object of it The only thing worthy our enquiry is in what order they are to be honour'd and what kind of Honours we are to afford them the former whereof will best be judg'd of by the Honour they bring to God or the use they are of unto the World For thus because Piety doth most immediately tend to the honour of God as being nothing else than an immediate regard both of him and of his Laws the Parties in whom it is are caeteris paribus to be honour'd before those that are Masters of any other Endowments In like manner because Divinity ministers more directly to that end than any other kind of Learning or qualification in the World Reason would that those who are eminent in it should be preferr'd before the Learned of other Professions Lastly because Learning contributes more to Religion than Courage or Strength and is generally more useful to the World hence it comes to pass that by the consent of Nations Arms yield to the Gown and the Lawrel of the Conqueror to the Eloquence of the Tongue All therefore that remains to enquire is what kind of Honours we are to afford them which in general is the giving them that Respect and Encouragement which their several Endowments and Usefulness in the World doth require in particular the attending to their particular Excellencies and demeaning our selves answerably thereunto Which we shall do if we imitate the Vertues of the Pious follow the directions of the Learned in their several Faculties and as much as in us lies promote the welfare of those who hazard their Lives for the safeguard of the Publick 2. From Mens Parts and Endowments pass we to the nobility of their Birth which we shall find to be another ground of Honour this being but a just tribute to the merits of their Ancestors and a necessary means to promote Virtue and Piety in the World For who would willingly Travel for the Publick good if the reward thereof should reach no farther than himself or think himself well apaid if the Children of less deserving Persons should enjoy the same Priviledges with his especially when it often happens that they who deserve so well of the World are either by the suddenness of their death or the constancy of their Travels debarr'd the enjoyment of them in their own persons 3. To the Nobility of Mens Birth subjoin we the amplitude of their Fortunes as which next to that is a just ground of Honour Not that it is simply Noble to be Rich but that it bespeaks on the one hand the Virtues of them or of their Ancestors and on the other hand the Favour of the Divine Providence For though Men do sometimes acquire Wealth by evil means and such as therefore make their Wealth rather a Reproach than a Mark of Honour yet ordinarily it is by Industry and Wisdom by the Eminency of their Learning and the Greatness of their Valour things which are so Honourable that they may very well cast a Lustre upon those very Fortunes that are acquir'd by them And though Grace and Virtue be undoubtedly a greater Mark of God's Favour than any outward Acquisitions whatsoever yet inasmuch as even these happen not to Men without the Divine Providence they cannot but be look'd upon as Testimonies of his Favour where they are honestly acquir'd and those that have them upon that score to be reverenc'd and esteem'd Lastly 4. As Mens Parts or Birth or Fortunes do call for that Honour which is here requir'd so the same Honour is due to those Dignities that are conferr'd upon Men by the Favour of the Prince or under him by the indulgence of those Societies or Corporations which are by the Prince priviledg'd to bestow them Such as are for the former the Dignities of Dukes Marquesses and the like as for the latter the Degrees that are bestow'd in Universities For as these are generally the Rewards of their Vertue upon whom they are bestow'd so they are in all the Marks of the Favour of those whom God hath commanded us to honour In consideration whereof as it cannot but be thought reasonable to honour them because otherwise through their Sides wounding the Honour of the Prince so all fear is remov'd of paying Respect to their Worthlesness whom Princes do sometime promote He who pays a Man respect for the Dignity which the Prince bestows upon him doing it not so much to him as to the Prince by whom it is conferr'd In the mean time though that may be some satisfaction to the Honourer and where Men are wise take off from those Prejudices which the Vices of Noble Persons give yet as it can afford little satisfaction to the Honoured who thus sees himself made onely an Instrument of anothers Honour so we are not to expect that he should signifie so much with those who have not the like faculty of discerning For inasmuch as Excellency is the proper ground of Honour it will not be easie to procure them any perfect Honour who have not some Personal Excellency to deserve it What remains then but that they who are thus dignified shew themselves worthy of their several Titles and be no less glorious in their Actions than in the Characters that they bear That the Learned and the Valiant employ their Learning and Valour for the Publick Weal and the Man of high Birth do Things worthy of those Ancestors from whom he sprang That the Man who is truly Pious continue and add to it and not make it a pretext for a future slothfulness or to be able so much the more securely to deceive In fine That he who is rich in this World shew himself rich in good Works and be as vertuous in the dispensation of his Wealth as he or his Ancestors have been happy in acquiring it So doing they shall not onely have Honour among Men but be respected by the Almighty and when all their Earthly Honour shall be laid in the dust be advanc'd to a Crown and such a one whose Lustre no Time or Malice shall be able to impair PART X. Of the Honour of those who are Superiour to us in any Private Authority or Dominion whether it be that of a Lord of a Mannor over his Tenants or of a Master over his Servants The Ground of the Honour of the former that Emolument the Tenants receive by him and their own Oath and Compact as the Honours they are to pay those Rents
But so that I may strengthen this Inference with the Doctrine of Christianity St. Paul doth expresly enjoyn willing as many Servants as are under the yoke to count their Masters worthy of all Honour 1 Tim. 6.1 2. The necessity of Servants honouring their Masters being thus evinc'd both from St. Paul and the general Reason of the Commandment my proposed Method obligeth me to inquire into the Grounds of it which are different according to the different sorts of Servants For either they are such as become so 1. By their own free consent or 2. Such as become Servants by constraint The latter of these are again of three sorts according to the different means whereby a Man may come to have Dominion For either he may acquire it 1. By the means of Conquest or 2. By Sentence or 3. And lastly By Purchase from those who have either the one or the other Title to their Service If the Question be concerning the first that is to say of such as become Servants by Conquest so the Ground of Honouring their Masters is the giving them their Life when it was in their power to have taken it away For being by the Law of Nations priviledg'd to take away the Life of those which should be taken by them in the Wars it seemed but reasonable and indeed is no other that if the Conquerour give them their Life they should for so great a Benefit dedicate that Life unto his Service Whence it is as * Institut lib. 1. tit 3. sect 3. Justinian observes that Servants among the Romans had the Name of Mancipia and Servi the former importing their being taken by the Hand of the Enemy the latter the saving of them by those that took them when it was in their Power to have destroy'd them In like manner if the Magistrate when for any Offence he might take away the Malefactor's Life condemns him to a perpetual Slavery that Indulgence of his is a sufficient Ground to oblige the Malefactor to submit his Neck unto the Yoke The Tie is much the same though with the addition of a farther one upon such Servants as become so by Purchase For the Conqueror and the Magistrate transferring their Title unto another and moreover taking a Valuable Consideration for it Reason and Equity would that he who is so passed over should look upon himself as obliged to serve the Purchaser because succeeding into their Rights and moreover paying a Valuable Consideration for that Honour and Service which he exacts From such Servants as are made so by constraint pass we to those which are made so with their own free consent such as are Days-men Menial Servants and Apprentices Concerning whom it will be no hard matter to shew that there is a just Ground of giving Honour to their Masters nor yet what those Grounds are The two former having for the Ground of their Honour those Wages and Nourishment which they receive the latter moreover that Skill or Craft which their Masters profess all of them the Astipulation of their own Consent and Compact by which that Honour and Service is bound so much the faster on them For what can be more reasonable than the paying them Honour and Service who give them a Valuable Consideration for it especially when they do moreover oblige themselves thereto and covenant for the paying of it It being a known and undoubted Maxim That there can be no Injury there where that which is exacted is with the free Consent of him that is to pay it 3. Having thus shewn the Grounds of that Honour which Servants owe unto their Masters and thereby evinc'd the Reasonableness as well as Necessity thereof nothing remains on the part of Servants but to inquire what kinds of Honour they are to pay and in what measure and proportion For the resolution whereof we must recall the forementioned Distinction of Servants by Constraint and such as are made so by their own Consent and Compact If the Question be concerning the former that is to say of such as become Servants by right of Conquest by the Condemnation of them for some notorious Wickedness or by Purchase so little doubt can be made but all Honour is due from them to their several Masters which they are in a capacity to pay For beside that St. Paul in the place before-quoted commands such Servants to think their Masters worthy of all Honour it is no more than is due from them for the Benefit they enjoy from those to whom they are subjected I speak not onely as to their constant Sustenance but the granting them that Life which it was in their power to have taken away And though since Christianity took place in the World such kind of Servitude or Slavery hath been more rare especially in such Persons as are of the same Profession with their Masters yet I think so general an Abolition of it was neither founded upon any just Reason nor hath prov'd much for the Conveniency of the World Not the former because as Busbequius * Busbeq Tut cic Epist 3. well observes neither can all Men bear a Liberty that is attended with Poverty neither are all Men so fitted by Nature as to know how to govern themselves without the Conduct and Command of others being herein not unlike to certain Beasts whose Fierceness would be always to be dreaded unless they were restrain'd by Bonds Which suppos'd what can be more reasonable where a just Cause precedes than the introducing of such a Servitude as we speak of as by means of which the Master may live by the Servants Labour and the Servant on the other side not onely be maintain'd by it but be restrain'd from those Exorbitances to which either his Ignorance or the Pravity of his Nature may incline him But neither hath so general an Abolition of Servitude been much for the Conveniency of the World For as the same Busbequius * Busbeq ubi supra observes if it had still continu'd neither would the Wars nor the Gallows take off so many Men which might otherwise be of great use unto the World that Profit which might arise from the Use or Sale of them being likely to make the Conqueror less cruel and the Magistrate less severe in his Executions To say nothing at all that through the fear of that some Men might be more effectually restrain'd from those Exorbitances which the World labours under a constant Slavery being undoubtedly more terrible to the idle Gallant than either a Gibbet or an Ax. Add hereunto and more I shall not need to add that St. Paul himself doth not onely no where disallow this Servitude but commands those that are under it to think their Masters worthy of all Honour such Servants as are under the yoke being no other than Bondslaves as you may see if you compare that Phrase with Lev. 26.13 and Isa 9.4 But because at least in this corner of the World there is but little
be made perfect by the Flesh For though the Apostle doth not make use of the same word that our Saviour or at least the Evangelist did yet he useth one ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesych Lex 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sen potius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is tantamount if yet it be not more piquant than the other Add hereunto which are alike or more contumelious our Saviours calling the Scribes and Pharisees by the name of Hypocrites and a generation of Vipers as St. Peter by the name of Satan his Apostle St. Paul's stiling Elymas a child of the Devil and an enemy of all righteousness all which with the like expressions shew plainly enough that neither did the Master himself mean to adjudge all calling Rakah or Fool to the danger of the Councel and Hell fire nor those that were his Scholars understood him so Forasmuch therefore as all reproachful speaking cannot be looked upon as forbidden as having been sometime used both by our Saviour himself and his Apostles proceed we to enquire what is to be look'd upon as such the second thing proposed to be discoursed of 2. For the resolution whereof we shall need to go no farther than the words immediately preceeding the prohibition of it For forbidding not simply and absolutely that Anger from which reproachful Speeches flow * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arâ—sâ—â— apud Grot. Aâ—not in Mat. 5.22 but such only as was either rash or causeless or immoderate he must consequently be supposed to forbid no other reproachful speaking than which had such an Anger for its Parent Which by the way will not only shew what reproachful speaking we are to understand when we find our Saviour condemning it to the danger of the Council and of Hell-fire and St. Paul ‖ 1 Cor. 5.11 6.9 excluding those that are guilty of it from the Society of Christians and Heaven but with how little reason also the Examples of our Saviour and his Apostles are sometime alledg'd in patronage of our own excesses in this particular For beside that our Saviour and his Apostles were publick Persons and to whom therefore it appertain'd as well to chastise Offenders with reproaches as to execute other severities upon them those reproaches of theirs were far from being the issue of that Anger which we have shewn to be forbidden by our Saviour Not of a rash and precipitate one because many of them let fall by them in their writings but all of them when they were employ'd about Sacred matters wherein it is hard to conceive but that they had their wits about them Not of a causeless anger because having some notorious crime for their ground * See Mat. 23. throughout or some opinion ‖ See the fore-alledged places out of St. James and the Epistle to the Galathians which was destructive of that Religion which our Saviour came to commend Lastly not of an immoderate Anger because at the same time giving no contemptible testimonies of the love they bear to the reproached parties Witness our Saviours admonishing the Pharisees in that very Chapter where he calls them Fools and Blind and Hypocrites and a Generation of Vipers to cast off their hypocrisie to * Mat. 23.26 compar'd with Luke 11.41 c. cleanse the inside as well as the outside of the Platter Witness St. John Baptist's calling upon the same Pharisees and with the very same breath he gives them the title of Generation of Vipers to bring forth fruits meet for Repentance Mat. 3.7 8. Lastly witness St. James and St. Paul's instructing those Fools they wrote to to deposite those their distempers and become wise unto God and unto Salvation Which shews that their anger and consequently reproachful speaking was not without a mixture of kindness or rather that it had that in part for the fountain of it And indeed as Origen * Philocal c. 27. sometime spake concerning God that those whom he is not angry with when they sin he is therefore not angry with them because he is extremely such 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So may we of our Saviour and his Apostles If they had not applyed those Goads of Racha and Fool to the dull and drowsie sinner they had shew'd themselves much more displeased with them because suffering them so to continue unmolested in those Errors and Impieties which would have infallibly exposed them to the danger of the Council and of Hell fire The result of the premises is this that as there is not the least appearance of the lawfulness of those Reproaches even to publick Persons which are the issues of a rash or causeless or immoderate Anger so there is far less appearance of their being lawful to private Persons who are generally to leave the chastising of Offenders to the other 3. What reproachful Speeches are forbidden you have seen already even those which proceed from a rash or causeless or immoderate Anger enquire we therefore in the next place how those which are so become violations of this Commandment Where not again to tell you that they incline the Person against whom they are directed to take up murtherous purposes against the Reviler because though that may be enough to reduce it to the Commandment yet it makes rather the reviled than Revilers the direct violatours of it as neither to insist upon our Saviours making the prohibition of Rakah and Fool an Appendix to it because that rather proves it to be a violation than shews how it doth become so I shall consider 1. The nature of that good name which reproachful Speeches blast For though a Good Name be not the life of the possessour of it yet is it so necessary to the well Being of it that he who endeavours to take it away may be look'd upon as a Murderer for so doing because robbing a man of that which is the life of life it self and without which whosoever is is dead to all happiness and to the world Again 2. Though the Sword of the reproachful person I mean his reviling tongue be not ordinarily of force enough to cut that knot which God and Nature hath knit between the Soul and Body yet as instances might be produc'd where it hath actually done it and where men have died of no other wounds than what a malicious Tongue gave them so where it hath not that effect upon the reproached Party it is rather for want of ability than will so to wreck their fury upon the Enemy It being not so much because they are otherwise resolv'd but because they either cannot or dare not shew their fury in effects that they revenge themselves of their Enemies with their tongues Whence it is that no persons have been observ'd to be of more intemperate tongues than those of the Female Sex or weak and pusillanimous men The sequel of which discourse will be that though the reviler be not always a Murtherer in fact yet he is in heart which is enough to