is sometimes occasioned by not being proud and then is it more deformed than if it appeared in his own proper colours As Saint Hierome noted long since Multo deformior est superbia quae sub quibusdā humilitatis signis latet And as it occasionally springs out of the life and flower of vertue so doth it out of the ashes of dead vices the carcases of mortified sinnes as wormes doe of rotten timber Cum bene pugnaris cum cuncta subacta putaris Quae magis infestat vincenda superbia restat It is like the shirt the first thing wee put on when we come into the world and the last we put off when we go out of the world It runnes through all estates it infects the Artificer the Soldier the Lawyer the Citizen the Schollar the Courtier the Counseller and hath Vniversalem quandam influentiā in omnia vitia saith the School-man an universall kinde of influence into all vices in as much as it is an aversion from God which is the first essentiall part of all vice It infected the Angels in heaven unto whom that of the Babylonian King is applyed by the Antients I will ascend into heaven and exalt my throne aboue the starres of God I will ascent above the height of the clowds Esay 14 14. It infected our first parents in Paradise Primi hominis peccatum primum superbia fuit qua quoddam spirituale bonum supra mensuram suae conditionis appetivit The first sinne of the first man was pride by which hee longed for a certaine spirituall good above the reach and capacity of his condition It is the conclusion of Aquinas and seems to answer rightly to the Serpents suggestion God doth know that when ye shall eate thereof yee shall bee as Gods knowing good and evill Lastly Pride by Divines is ranged among the seaven captaine or capitall sinnes so called because from them the rest stream as from their wel-heads Nay by Gregorie it is made the Queene and Mistris of the capitall vices themselves Ipsa vitiorum Regina superbia saith hee cum devictum plenè cor ceperit mox illud septem principalibus vitijs quasi quibusdam suis ducibus devastandum tradit ex quibus vitiorum multitudines oriuntur Pride the Queen of vices having once taken full possession of the heart delivers it over to the seaven principall sinnes as it were to her chiefe Leaders by them to bee laide waste and from hence all the following troopes of enormities ensue And so I come from the Vice to the Censure Him that hath an high looke and proud heart I will not suffer or as some Translations have it more literally therein agreeing with the Originall Ipsum non potero I cannot suffer Now the reasons which chiefly moved him not to suffer this vice touched him partly as hee was a reasonable man endued with intellectuall and morall vertues partly as hee was a member of the Church and the childe of God inspired with the spirit of God partly as hee was an housholder the father of children the master of servants the head and governour of a family and lastly in part as hee was a King the Soveraigne of a populous and mighty nation First then as a reasonable man hee knew there was nothing in man which could in reason make him proud Vnde superbit homo cuius cōceptio turpis Nasci poena labor vita necesse mori Whence should a man grow proud whose conception is shamefull his birth painefull his life toylsome his death necessary The dayes of his pilgrimage heere on earth are few and evill and yet even in those few subject he is to infinite infirmities in his body partly by casualties from without and partly by diseases from within to infinite error ignorance in his mind to infinite perversnes distraction in his wil he comes whining into the world departs groaning out of it he shooteth forth as a flower and is cut downe he vanisheth as a shadow continueth not his flesh is but as grasse the winde bloweth over it and it is withered and the place therof shall know it no more his breath goeth forth and hee returneth to his earth and then all his thoughts perish Secondly as a member of the Church and childe of God hee had reason to oppose pride As a member of the Church in as much as schisms and heresies sects separations which rent and molest the Church spring for the most part out of a vain affectation of singularity as a member of the Church hee knew that man in his best estate was moulded out of the dust of the earth that after the fall his soule was spotted with the leprosie of sinne to which by the daily adding of infinite actual transgressions if God should enter into judgement with him hee were not able to answer one for a thousand Againe as Gods deare childe hee had great reason to oppose against those who are of all the greatest Rebells against God The Prodigall is an enemy directly to himselfe indirectly to God the Covetous an enemie directly to men indirectly to God but the Proud is a direct enemie to God himselfe For whereas other sins arise some out of infirmitie some out of ignorance some out of a desire of profit or pleasure or honour or ease or revenge the proud man hath no cause to be proud but Pride it selfe which saith like Pharaoh I will not Obey Superbia saith Aquinas habet aversionem ◠Deo ex hoc ipso quod non vult Deo eius regulae subijci Pride hath an aversion from God even for this very cause because it will not be subject to God and his law and thereupon hee quotes that of Boëtius Omnia alia vitia fugiunt à Deo sola superbia se Deo opponit all other vices flie from God pride alone stands out and makes head against him And as pride resists God in a speciall manner so God in a speciall manner resists it as both Saint Peter tels us in his first Epistle the fift Chapter and fift verse and Saint Iames in his fourth chap. and sixt vers Which he manifesteth to the worlde in punishing this vice in a speciall manner by letting a man fall into other sinnes for the correcting or curing of Pride Hee lets a man fall into in continency into drunkennesse into murther into theft that so hee may learne to blush at his pride The Philosophers of the Gentiles whē they knew God and yet in the pride of their heart would not glorifie him as God God gave them up to vile affections for their punishment but for the cure of his blessed Apostle lest he should be puffed up with abundance of revelations hee sent him the messenger of Satan to buffet him which was either a sinne or doubtlesse a strong solicitation to sinne When the Israelites were to possesse the Land of Canaan the inhabitants were not utterly driven out lest the wilde beasts should devour them and God
wilt thou com unto me I will walk within my house with a perfect heart 3 I will set no wicked thing before my eyes I hate the work of them that turne aside it shall not cleave to me 4 A froward heart shall depart from me I will not knowe a wicked person 5 Whoso pâ—ivily slandereth his neighbour him will I cut off him that hath an high look a proud hart wil I not suffer 6 Mine eyes shall bee upon the faithfull of the Land that they may dwell with mee he that walketh in a perfect way he shall serve mee 7 He that worketh deceit shall not dwel within my house he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight 8 I will early destroy all the wicked of the Land that I may cut off al wicked doers from the City of the Lord. Buchanani Paraphrasis PSALMVS CI. TE salus rerum cano qui precanti Lenis irarum es facilisque flecti Impiorum idem tetricus rebelles Frangere fastus Huc meae vires vigilant labores Huc ferent omnes opis in tuae speâ—â— Semper ut castis domus institutis Culta nitescat Si salutarem mihi tu serenus Porrigis dextram tibi corde puro Serviam fraudum scelerÃsque pura Serviet aula Nec mihi exemplum statuam sequendum Litibus siquis miseros iniquis Vexet aut causam tenuis clientis Prodidit hosti Sponte qui pravis studiis inhaeret Sit procul saevi sceleris minister Candidos nunquam mihi censeatur Inter amicos Quisquis incautum lacerat sodalem Clam venenato iaculatus ictu Persequar plectam penitúsque ab ima Stirpe revellam Nec meae mensae dapibus fruetur Mentis elatae tumor arrogánsque Vultus cunctos veluti minores Lumine spernens Veritas â—â—mplex quibus est amori Hos amo amplector video libenter His mihi â—eros sociis senectus Impleat annos Integer vitae mihi sit minister Tecta non intret mea fraudulentus Nemo mecum intra mea commoretur Limina mendax Impios longè mora nulla terrae Finibus pellam procul omne monstruâ—â— Civitas sancta ut Domini releget Flagitioruâ—â— The Analysis of the Psalme The principall Contents of the severall ensuing Sermons THe first treates chiefly of the preheminence of the booke of the Psalmes of the Nature Conditions of a Vow of the antiquity excellency of musick of the diuerse kindes of Church-musick of the abuse good use of Songs singing of Mercy and Iustice requisite in a Prince Of the person to whom both Songs and Vowes are to bee devoted and to whose glory both Mercy and Iustice are to be administred The second of the necessity of a Magistrates beginning Reformation from his owne person of Wisedome required in him both Civill and Spirituall of his patience in waiting for the performance of Gods promises of his imploring the assistance of Gods Spirit of his Meditation of Mortality The third of Idlenesse of progresse in good duties of moderation of the alâ—owance of our owne hearts in all our actions of the perfection of the heart unfoulding it selfe in Integrity and Sinceriâ—y of the tryall of a mans sufficiency for publique imployment by the menaging of his housholde affaires of being the same abroad and at home The fourth of presumptuous sinnes of the sense of the word Belial of the vnlawfulnesse of Images for religious vse of sundry temptations and intisements by the sense of Seeing The fift of the good vse of naturall affections in the soule so they bee rightly moderated and applyed of a twofolde hatred of malice and zeale of the hatred of mens euill vvorkes not of their persons of the hatred of Apostates and Apostasie The sixt of the frowardnesse of the heart in rebellion repining against God in harshnesse and bitternesse towards men of shunning euill company for feare of Suspicion Infection Malediction The seauenth of the vertues and vices of the tongue of slaunder in generall of priuy slander of priâ—y slander of a mans pretended friend or fellow servant of the putting backe and punishing thereof The eightth of the affinitie between slander and pride of discouering the secret affections of the heart by outward actions and gestures in special the pride of the heart by proud lookes of the proud heart it selfe and wherein it consists of our Prophâ—ts not suffering it as a reasonable man as a member of the Church as the Father of a family as the Soveraigne of a kingdom of his owne freenesse from it notwithstanding his great and manifolde gifts and the reasons thereof The ninth of domination and service of fidelity in servants in actions vvhen a servant doth that vvhich tends not so much to the satisfying of his Masters sensuall appetite as his reall good when he preferres his Masters gaine his ease his liberty his safety before his own secondly in speeches by concealing his Masters secrets and imperfections by giving him if occasion serve and hee be called to it wholesom and free counsaile of godlinesse required in a servant as well in regard of his Master as himself where by occasion of the proper signification of the word to serve vsed in the Text is added a discourse of the disorder of States by the corruption of Iudges vnder-Officers even when there are good Kings and lastly it concludeth with the choise and reward of good servants The tenth of deceitfulnesse in generall of deceitfulnesse of servants in speciall how pernicious it is both to themselves and their Masters of lying in which are handled the nature and severall kindes of Lies the greatnesse of the offence how â—lightly soever wee esteem of it together with the punishment alwayes due vnto it and many times inflicted on it The eleventh of diligence dispatch and constancy in punishing malefactors at his very entrance to the Crowne yet not without advisement and discretion of three cases which by some are held vnlawfull in which it is lawfull to destroy in defence of a mans owne person in a iust and lawfull warre and by the sword of the publique Magistrate The twelfth of three vnlawfull kindes of destroying by some held lawfull namely selfe-homicide in Duell for reason of State without due order of law or course of iustice of the right obiect and vnpartiality of his iustice and lastly of his vowing to purge the Citie of the Lord whereby is meant Ierusalem first for example to the whole Realme it being the Metropolis and head Citie of the Kingdome as also and principally by reason of the service of God and exercise of religion which by divine ordinance was in a speciall manner tied vnto it I have the rather noted the distinction of these Sermons because the third and sixt are not sufficiently distanced from their next precedents ALia sunt quae Prophetae tradunt alia quae Historia Lex quoque alia Proverbiorum etiam alia
and justifie himselfe that as it is a divine property To cover sin where is hope of amendment with the mantle of charity so To fain a fault where it is not or to amplifie and extend it beyond truth where it is is a divelish condition yet that which makes it worse is the dooing of it in secret Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour This is the Adiunct that goâ—th before it the Vsher that makes way for it which notwithstanding is so inwardly essentiall unto the nature of it that som put it in the very definition as a master-peece making open false accusation whether in judgement or otherwise to bee Calumnie or Sycophancy but secret Obloquie or Detraction the ground of the former being commonly anger or revenge hope of reward or favour but of the later Emulation or Envy which is nothing else but an overgrown and inveterate anger And in regard of this quality of seeking corners it may well bee ranged among the workes of darknes and the slanderer himselfe among those creatures which delight in darknes With the Mole hee alwaies workes under ground and with the Owle he shuns the light in which regard in our Language is it cald back-biting in as much as the Author of it loves not to stand to it or to be brought in question for the avouching of it but like a coward not daring to look a man in the face nor to give him time to draw in his defence hee assaults him behinde at unawares and thrusts him through like a dog he bites a man by the shinnes before hee bark and hurts before his malice bee espied as some kindes of lightning melt the blade in the scabberd it remaining sound and entire These secret whisperings as the Apostle cals them Rom. 1. 29 and sets them downe as one of the marks of a reprobate minde like the winde which creeps-in by the chinks and crevises in a wall or the cracks in a window prove coÌ„monly more dangerous than a storm that meets a man in the face upon the Champain And the saying is Avento percolato inimico reconciliato libera nos Domine from such kind of whisperers good Lord deliver us which are so neer of kinne to backbiters that in the place before alleaged out of the Romans they are set immediately before them and in the 2. Cor. 12. 20 immediately after them Yet Calvin therein following Thomas puts this distinction betweene them that the Backbiter intends the impeachment of a mans good name but the whisperer breach of friendship Obloquutor intendit infamiam susurrâ— discordiam which is the worse of the two in as much as friendship as farre exceeds reputation as reputation doth riches reputation beeing referred to friendship as riches is to reputation There be six things saith Salomon Pro. 6. 16. which the Lord hates yea seven are an abomination vnto him among which the last and worst is He that soweth discord I will shut up this point with the exhortation of the Apostle Rom. 16. 17 Now I beseech you brethren marke them which cause divisions specially by these kindes of slanderous whisperings contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them The second thing which in my text aggravates this offence is the person offended a mans neighbour Hee that privily slandereth his Neighbour In the largest sense Proximus tuus est qui tecum natus est ex Adams Eva saith Augustine Hee is thy neighbour who is borne of the same race with thee of Adam and Eve Thus is it taken in the ninth and tenth CoÌ„mandements Thou shalt not bear false witnesse against thy neighbour Thou shalt not coet thy neighbours house And by our Saviour in the tenth of Saint Lukes Gospel And I deny not but it may thus be understood and be as generally extended heer in my text Yet because our Prophet heer chiefly intended the ordering of his houshold I thinke this word is heer to be contracted to such as dwell together under the same roofe and converse together in the same family which is favoured by Montanus his Translation Obloquentem socio suo him that slaundereth his fellow It is a bad bird they say that defiles his owne neast and surely it is a signe of little grace when a man slaunders those that should bee nearest and dearest unto him when Cham uncovers his fathers shame when Siba by presents and false suggestions obtaines his Masters inheritance 2. Sam. 16 when the Mistris of the house by slander wrongfull accusation shall cause her servant her faithfull servant Ioseph to be cast into prison It was the blow of Bruâ—us that struck deepest into Caesar t is the slander of a pretended friend that gives the most dangerous wound Such are excellently described by Bernard in his 24. Sermon upon the Cantitles Detractores autem quodam simulatae verecundiae fuco c. The Slanderers under the colour of feined modestie labour to shadowe that malice which they cannot keepe in you shall see them send forth deep sighes and with a kinde of gravitie and slaiedness with a sadde look and whining voyce to poure forth their slander which passeth by so much the more plausibly as it is thought by those that heare it to proceed not from any â—nvious but a condoling affection I am very sorry saith hee for him because I love him and have often admonished him thereof but could never reclaime him the thing was knowne unto me before but it should never have been published by mee yet now that it is blowen abroad by others I cannot denie the truth indeede it is so Hitherto Bernard And who would thinke that a contemplative Abbot living within the cloisters of a Monastery shold be so perfect in the tricks of the Court And so I come from the vice to the Censure from the slanderers cutting wounding of others to the cutting of him off Him that privily slandereth his neigbour him will I destroy or cut off He promiseth of other offences he would not suffer them they should not dwell within his house or tarry in his sight but of this like a rotten incurable meÌ„ber when no other remedie will serve the turne off they must Hee would not himselfe raise slanders upon innocents that hee might enter upon their possessions and then cut them off as Iezabel dealt with Naboth but hee would rather right the innocent by cutting off the slanderer Now a double kinde of cutting off there is either from favour or friendship or service that 's for private persons or from the participation of religious exercises with the Church and that 's for the Magistrate Ecclesiastical or from liberty by banishment or lastly if the case so require from life it selfe by inflicting of death and that 's for the Civill Magistrate and this case in the Leviticall Law was onely when the slander reached to the life of him upon whoÌ„ it was raysed Deut. 19. 19. He that testifies falsely against his brother yee shall doe
Counseller friend to whom he no sooner disclosed his unnaturall affection to his sister Tamar but Ionadab presently findes out and shewes him a trick how hee might compass his desire and satisfie his unlawfull lust 2. Sam. 13. Whereas had hee beene a faithfull Counseller indeed hee would have laboured by all meanes to have reclaimed him from his mischievous purpose have stopt such a villanie as afterwards brought shame to Tamar griefe to David death to Amnon Somewhat better was Ioab who though hee wickedly gave way to Davids cruelty in making away Vriah according to the tenor of the letter sent unto him 2. Sam. 11 Yet afterwards he did him the office of a faithfull Counseller when David retyred himselfe unseasonably upon the death of Absolon I sweare by the Lord saith hee except thou come out there will not tarry one man with thee this night 2. Sam. 19. 7. And again in the 24. of the same book when the King in the pride of his heart would needs have his people to bee numbred The Lord thy God saith Ioab increase thy people an hundred folde more than they bee and that the eyes of my Lord the King may see it but why doth my Lord the King desire this thing Which howbeit at that time David hearkened not unto yet Iâ—ab therein did his part and I make no doubt but the King himself afterward when hee felt the hand of God heavie upon him wished he had followed that advice The counsell of a grave and wise man who speakes not out of passion or private respects but out of a zeale of the publique good of the person of him to whom hee gives it should bee entertained and reverenced as the Oracle of God And though it bee true that bookes written in former ages which are justly called dead Counsellers be for the most part more faithfull in regarde that they speake without blushing or feare to the present times Yet as true it is that Counsellers which are or should bee living bookes if they bee faithfull are undoubtedly the more usefull in regard they best know the disease and should seek out the remedy of the times wherin they live It is not alwaies easie gentle physicke which is the best neither is it alwaies crossing couÌ„sell which is the worst desperate is that mans case and past all cure whose eare judgeth all to be harsh that is wholesome and nothing profitable but what is pleasing Our Prophet was of another minde when hee spake out of deliberation Psal. 141 Let the righteous smite mee for that is a benefit and let him reprove mee and it shall bee a precious oyle that shall not breake my head And so was Salomon Prov. 27. 6. Faithfull are the wounds of a friend but the kisses of an enemy are deceitfull And it commonly proves true that hee who reproves not out of vaine affectation of singularity but with discretion and out of an honest heart shall commonly finde more favor certainly more comfort at the last than hee who flattereth with his lips But Counsell is best sought for at their hands who either have no part at all in the cause whereof they instruct or else are so far engaged that themselves are to beare the greatest adventure in the success of their owne counsels Vpon that counsell which Rehoboams Counsellers gave him are set the two marks whereby bad counsell is for ever best discerned that it was greene for the persons and violent for the matter Principis est virtus maxima Nosse suos It is a great part of princely vertue to observe the humours of his subjects in generall but chiefly of his Counsellers the greatest trust between man man being the trust of giving counsell For in other confidences men commit the parts of their life their lands their goods their childe their credit some particular affaire but to such as they make their Counsellers they commit the Whole by how much the more they are obliged to all faith and integrity Neither need the wisest Princes think it any diminution to their greatnes or derogation to their sufficiency to rely upon Counsell since the ancient times doo set forth in figure both the incorporation and inseparable conjunction of Counsel with Kings in that they say Iupiter did marry Metis which signifieth Counsell so as soveraignty or authority is married to Counsell The second condition which our Prophet proposeth to bee found in such as he meant to entertain in his service is Walking in a perfect way or walking perfect in the way it comes both to one and the meaning of it is The taking of a godly and religious course as hath already been shewed in opening the sense of the former part of the second verse I will doo wisely in the perfect way so heer Hee that walketh in a perfect way hee shall serve mee These two then must go together Faithfulness and Godlinesse Piety and Fidelity civill Honesty Religion neither indeed can they bee as they should either thrifty for themselves or trusty to their masters who bee not first religious towards God It was the memorable speech of Constantius father to the great Constantine to such as forsook their religion that they might please and serve him Godliness then is requisite in the servant first in regard of himself and then in regard of his Master in regard of himself because by that means he is sure of a reward either from his master or from God or from both The generall promise they have 1. Tim. 4. 8 Godliness is profitable unto all things having the promise of the life present and of that that is to come But a more speciall one they have directed to themselves in particular in Ephes. 6. 8 Knowe ye that is ye servants for unto them hee begins to addresse his speech in the fift verse Knowe yee that whatsoever good thing any man doth the same hee shall receive of the Lord whether hee bee bond or free And yet more expresly in Colos. 3. 23. 24 Whatsoever yee doo doo it heartily as to the Lord and not to men knowing that of the Lord yee shall receive the reward of the inheritance for yee serve the Lord Christ. And many times it falles out that those who beeing faithfull and godly receive the least reward at their masters hands receive the greater from God and that even in this world by his gracious blessing This Iacob found hee was so religious towards God that though his Master were an Idolater he still kept himselfe free from it and yet so faithfull was hee to his Master that for the space of twenty yeers hee was in his service consumed with heat in the day and frost in the night and if any of the flocks were either stolne or torne by beasts hee made it good himself he set it not on his Masters accouÌ„t Yet for all this could not his Master afford him a good look much less a good word hee changed his wages
couples together hauty eyes and a lying tongue they being the two first of those seaven which the Lord hates and his soule abhors nay our Prophet himself joyns them in one verse Psa. 40. 5 Blessed is the man that hath set his hope in the Lord and turned not to the proud and such as goe about with lies insinuating it may bee that the slanderer who goeth about with lies as a pedler with his pack is as the broker and the proud man as the marchant or chapman to whom he vents his wares for as the slanderer is as ready to receive lies as to coine them so is the proud man as ready to receive slaÌ„ders as to raise them The way then to purge the tongue from Slander is to keep the heart from Pride and the best means to free a family from the one is to rid it of the other Therefore our Prophet having promised in the former part of this verse to cut off him that privily slandereth his neighbour heer hee voweth not to suffer him that hath an high look and proud heart or as some Translations have it a proud looke and a high heart Elatumoculis latum pectore saieth Musculus vastum corde or turgidâ— corde saith Arias Montanus tumentem anime saith Iunius The phrases are somwhat different but they all aime at the same mark and are all sufficiently warrantable by the Originall Wee are then in the first place to consider of the vice heer censured It is Pride both outward in the look and inward in the heart Secondly of the censure opposed unto it It is not suffering so insufferable a vice it is Him that hath an high look and proud heart will I not suffer Had our Prophet said I will not suffer a proud heart the question might have been How wee should come to knowe it hee therefore to â—ase us of that doubt takes the right way to discover it by an high look God having so both ordained and ordered it that our secret thoughts and hidden affections should be manifested to the world by outward acts What man knoweth the things of man save the spirit of man which is in him saith the Apostle 1. Cor. 2. 11. But there hee speaks of a direct and immediate of a primary and infallible knowledge which is proper to God and God alone in as much as hee it is and hee alone that searcheth the heart and trieth the reins Ier. 17. 10. No man no divell no Angell no created substance can possibly attaine to that except it be by divine dispensation by revelation supernaturall The ordinary knowledge then which we have of the heart is gathered by discourse of reason by observation of marks effects as the physician ghesseth of the disease by the Symptomes We judge of the weather by the face of the sky of the motions of the wheels of a clocke or a watch by the pointing of the Index wee judge of the motion of the Sunne by the progress of the shadow in the diall wee judge of the motion of the heart by the beating of the pulse wee judge of the fountaine by the streame which issues from it and lastly wee judge of the depth of the foundation by the height of the building which is raised upon it and as justly may wee gather the pride of the heart from an high look Iudge not lest yee bee iudged saith our Saviour Mat. 7. 1. And his Apostle Iudge nothing before the time untill the Lord come who will lighten things that are hid in darknes and make the counsels of the heart manifest 1. Cor. 4. 5. But they both speak of an uncharitable unadvised peremptory and finall judgement not so much touching the present disposition of men what they are as their future state what they shall bee This then notwithstanding as wee lawfully may and usually doo judge of the passions of the minde of feare of hope of griefe of joy of hatred of love of anger of jealousie by outward signes so may wee as lawfully judge of the vertues or vices of the soul by outward effects as it were of the goodnes of the tree by the fruits or of the value of coin by the stamp set upon it And more safe it is to judge of vices than of vertues in as much as few are so desperately wicked but they desire at least to appear good Vertue may be counterfeit and that so cunningly as the imitation shall seem to exceed the copy the counterfeit the truth but yet I think was never man so madde as to counterfeit a vice wee labour rather by all means to conceal it yet we cannot do it so cunningly but that it shews it self at times as it were in a glasse either in our speech or in our apparell or in our gait or in our countenance or in our actions or in all And doubtlesse the wise observation of these is beyond all the rules that either judiciary Astrology by casting nativities or Physiognomy by inspection of faces or Chyromancy by behoulding the lines of the hand can afford Of these then it may bee truely said Qui bene conijciet vates hic optimus esto But amongst all vices there is none onely drunkenness excepted that discovers it self sooner than pride For the speech wee read of a bragging boasting mouth a mouth of pride Iude ve 16 for the gait wee read of a foot of pride Psal. 36. 11 for apparell of a crown of pride Esay 28. 1 of a chaine of pride Psal. 73. 6. So that pride in the heart can no more hide it self than fire that lies in the bosome or oyle that is wrung in the fist Many that know not the man yet point at him as hee walkes the streets and say There goes a proud fellow which men usually pronounce of no vice beside but the drunkeard because these two chiefely bewray themselves and therfore doth the prophet Habbacuc join them both together 2. verse 5. When a man shall see a cloak imbrodered over with woods and parks and Lordships and lined within with obligations and bands and statutes may wee not justly say that such a man is so farre from cloaking his pride that hee proclaims it in his cloak It was said of old that soft raiment was the weare in Kings Courts whereas now a-daies it is so bedaubed with gold and silver so loaden with pearle and pretious stone as it is hard to judge whether it more burden their bodies or lighten their purses The Poet could say of the women of his time Matrona incedit census induta nepotum And another Pars minima est ipsa puella sui But what would they say or rather what would they not say if they lived in these our daies and saw that we see when for apparell a man can see little or no difference betwixt the Lord and the Tenant the Master the Servant the Prince and the Subject But what a marvellous thing yea what a madnes is it To see
Promise was made him that his sonne Salomon should succeed him and that his seed should bee established in the throne Were not these strong motives to puffe up flesh and blood to make himselfe conceited and proud of his owne worth Yet heare what himselfe professeth of his humility the ground-worke of all his other vertues and abilities Psalme 131 I am not high minded I have no proud lookes I doo not exercise my selfe in great matters which are too high for mee but I refraine my soule and keepe it lowe like as a childe that is weaned from his mother yea my soule is euen as a weaned childe But what was it that kept him so lowe notwithstanding his greatnesse and so many rare excellencies and perfections wherewith he was endowed The first no doubt was the grace of God for as he gives his grace to the humble so it is his grace which makes them humble The second was those Crosses and aâ—â—lictions both outward inward wherewith GodÌ„ fro time to time had exercised him From my youth upward thy terrors have I suffered with a troubled minde The third was the consideration both of his naturall corruption I was borne in iniquity and in sinne hath my mother conctived mee as also of his actuall transgressions They are moe than the haires of my head and mine heart hath failed mee The fourth was the acknowledgement of his owne frailty Hee knoweth whereof we are made hee remembreth that we are but dust The fift was the contemplation of Gods greatnesse the greatest among the sonnes of men being lesse in comparison of him than the silliest worme that crawles on the face of the earth in comparison of them The sixt was the often exercising of himselfe with fasting with prayer with divine meditations and holy soliloquies with sackcloth and ashes with making his teares his drinke and minling his bread with weeping The seaventh was his studying day and night in Gods lawe according to the commandement given to the king Deut. 17. 20 that his heart might not bee lifted vp above his brethren and esteeming it above the hony and the hony comb above gold an silver yea much fined gold and precious stone The eightth and last was a full assurance free confession that God was privie to all his thoughts that hee would reward him according to his works that hee was both the Author Maintainer and Finisher of whatsoever good either in his bodie or in his soule or in his estate according to that memorable speech of Saint Paul l. Cor. 4. 7. What hast thou which thou didst not receiue and if thou didst receive it why doost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it Let our conclusion then still be in regard of all the good we either haue or doe Non nobis Domine non nobis sed nomini tâ—o da gloriam Not unto us O Lord not vnto us but unto thy Name give the praise Verse 6. Mine eyes shall bee upon the faithfull of the Land that they may dwell with mee hee that walketh in a perfect vvay hee shall serve me OVr Prophet having in the verse going before made knowne in part what they were whom he would not receive into his family and seruice Hee comes in this verse to tell us of what condition they should be whom hee purposeth to admit Mine eyes shall â—e to the faithfull of the Land c. It is not good that man should bee alone sayes God himselfe Gen. 2. 18. And Woe be to him that is alone saith the wise Salomon Eccles. 4. 10. And Solus vel Deus vel Daemon saith Aristotle He that desires to be alone is either of a more base or divine metall than men commonly are made of Vpon this foundation of mans sociable nature Kingdomes and CoÌ„mon-wealths are built consisting of cities and townes and parishes and they againe of housholds and families and they againe of husband and wife parents and children Masters and Servants of which last relation I am chiefly to speake at this time Though the name and nature of a Servant were first brought into the world by the ungratiousnesse of Cham Gen. 9. 25 Yet is the impression of superiority and subjection so universally stampt upon the face of Nature that it reacheth up to heaven there being a greater light to rule the day and a lesser light borrowed from and subordinate to the greater to rule the night If wee ascend higher to the Angels there are among them principality domination nay more than so it pearceth downe to hell where wee reade of Beelzebub a Prince of Divels And experience hath farther observed that even among unreasonable creatures this forme is kept The birds being by a naturall instinct subject to the Eagle the beasts to the Lion and the Bees marvailously obeying and reverencing their Master But this truth shines yet more clearely in man him himselfe a little map or module as it were of the great world his members being subject to the head his body to the soule his appetite to reason And this principle is so deeply ingraven upon the conscience of all that the very barbarous nations who retaine any sparke of civility willingly subscribe vnto it Whether then wee looke upward to heaven or downeward to hell or outward to the creatures or inward to our selves we shall every where finde characters imprinted of superiority and subjection command and obedience domination and service To take it then as granted to bee a thing not lawfull onely but commendable nor commendable onely but as the case now stands in a manner necessary I will proceed to the unfolding of the words themselves And first of the former part of the verse Mine eyes shall be to the faithfull of the Land that they may dwell with mee Faithfulnesse in holy Scripture is taken in diverse senses Sometimes for steadfastnes and assurance of beleefe Put forth thine hand and put it into my side and bee not faithless but faithfull Iohn 20. 27 Somtimes for truth of speech Fidelis est hic sermo This is a true faithfull saying 1. Tim. 4. 9 Sometimes for the profession of Christian religion If any faithfull man or faithfull woman have widowes let them minister unto them 1. Tim. 5. 16 Sometimes for certainty constancy in performing what a man promiseth Let us keep the profession of our hope without wavering for hee is faithfull that hath promised Heb. 10. 23 Sometimes for perseverance in the truth Bee thou faithfull unto the death and I will give thee the crown of life Rev. 2. 10. And lastly sometimes for a carefull and conscionable discharge of ones duty in that place whereto he is called thus Christ is said to have been a mercifull and faithfull high Priest in things concerning God Heb. 2. 17. And Paul testifies of Tychicus that he was a faithful minister in the Lord Ephes. 6. 21. And in this sense I take this word specially to bee understood heer in my Text Mine eyes shall
be to the faithfull of the land that they may dwell with me As the Art of navigation is most proper to a Mariner courage to a Souldier arithmetick to a Merchant utterance to an Oratour so is fidelity to a Servant Wee commend a ship not so much for the fine shrowds and tackling or for the gilding or painting of it as for the sayling and a horse not so much for the rich bosses the trappings caparisons as for the running and a sword not so much for the handle or pummell hatcht or inameld or for a velvet scabberd imbroidered with pearl or set with pretious stone as for the temper of the blade and cutting so we commend a servant not so much for his strength his nimblenesse his comelinesse his parentage his bravery in clothes or invention of fashions his court-like behaviour or gracefull speech his pleasant wit or merry disposition his subtle and crafty feâ—ches his knowledge of foraine States languages as for his fidelity Any of the rest nay all the rest without it serving only to make a servant more disposed more able too as well for the plotting as the acting of villany wheras fidelity having joyned with it but some few of the rest in a mediocrity makes him serviceable in a good degree This is the commendation of Moses Heb. 3. 5. Moses verely was faithfull in all his house as a servant And it is required in Stewards that a man bee found faithfull 1. Corinthians 4. 2. And our Saviour demandes the question Who then is a faithfull servant and wiâ—e whom his Master hath made Ruler over his house They all thereby implying in my understanding that faithfulnesse is one of the Cardinall properties if not the principall required in a good servant Servus fidelis protectio fortis munitum palatium vivus thesaurus saide Nazianzen A faithfull servant is a strong protection a fenced palace a living treasure And therefore the great Alexander being enquired where his treasure was pointed with his finger to his domesticke servants Now faithfulness presupposeth knowledge and diligence and shewes it selfe either in deeds or vvords in actions or in speeches In actions first when a servant doth that which teÌ„ds not so much to the satisfying of his Masters vain humour and sensuall appetite which is sometimes wanton and lascivious and sometimes againe malicious and bloody as the advancement and furtherance of his true and reall good And thus doe I take Saint Paul to bee understood 1. Cor. 7. 23. Yee are bought vvith a price bee not the servants of men And againe in the second of Titus the 9. and 10. verses Let Servants be subiect to their Masters and please them in all things not answering again neither pickers but that they shew all good faithfulnes all good faithfulnes adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things In both which places as it seems he would put a difference betwixt Christian servants and the bondslaves of the Heathen their Masters having over them ius vâ—tae necis absolute power of life and death and they being instrumenta animata living Engines not so much respecting the justness and equitie of that which was commanded as the wil and pleasure of the Commander such as Tigillinus and Petronius were to Nerâ— But in these Cases better obey God than man The Masters turne is to bee served vsquead aras as far as honesty and pietie will give leave and no further Againe fidelity shewes it selfe in deeds when the servant preferres his Masters good before his owne his Masters gaine his ease his liberty his safety before his owne but as Salomon askes the question Pro. 20. 6 Many men will boast everyone of his goodness but who can finde a faithfull man So may wee justly demand Where shall a man finde such a faithfull servant Surely he is a pretious jewell and therfore hard to bee found yet such a servant was our Prophet to his Master Saul who sought him as a flea or as one would hunt a Partridge in the mountaines yet when Abishai would have nayled him whiles he slept with his speare to the earth David would not suffer him hee spared his Masters life though it were to the indangering of his owne when hee might have secured his owne by taking away his and therefore by Gods blessing himselfe afterwards found the like affected to him Thou shalt not goe foorth for thou art now worth ten thousand of us 2. Sam. 18. And againe Thou shalt goe no more out vvith us to battell lest thou quench the light of Israel 21. of the same booke Fidelity in words shewes it self partly in concealing of secrets and imperfections and by laying the finger upon a mans mouth and sealing up his lips in such a case whereof Salomon speakes Prov. 11. 13. Hee that goeth about as a tale-bearer discovereth a secret but hee that is of a faithfull heart concealeth a matter And for this speciall quality it was that Augustus so highly esteemed and rewarded Mecanas it being the property of a foole to be full of leakes Plenus rimâ—ruÌ„ hac atque illac diffluens No sooner is any secret poured into his eare but it drops out at his tongue he is in paine till hee be delivered of it as a woman that is great with childe or a stomach that is full of winde Yet two things have often drawne secrets even out of the bosome of those who have beene otherwise held wise men the inticements of women and the strength of wine Whereas on the other side it is found by experience that a sober and chaste heart is the surest Casket to coÌ„mit the jewell of a Secrecy unto Besides fidelity shewes 〈◊〉 selfe in words if occasion serve and a man bee called unto it in giving such counsell as hee conceives to be not most acceptable and passable but most profitable and wholesome Such hearty counsell as Salomon speakes of Prov. 27. 9. As oyntment and perfume reioyce the heart so doth the sweetnes of a mans friend by hearty counsell and in the multitude of such Counsellers there is health 24. 6. And therefore one speciall thing which the Primitive Christians ever mentioned when they prayed for the Emperor as Tertullian in his Apologâ— tels us was this that God would send him Senatum sidelem faithfull Counsellers And it seems our Prophet alluded heerunto in as much as where our English reads it To dwell with me Arias Montanus rendering word for word translates it Ad sedendum mecum and Tremelius a Iew borne Vt consideant mecum That they may sit with me as it were at Counsel-table and Iunius hath this note upon it Bonos consiliarios mihi adhibebo I will procure me faithfull Counsellers Now as counsell is the life of action and authority so is discreet liberty the life of counsell which being once remooved for mine owne part I finde no difference betwixt a friend and a flatterer a parasite and a Counseller such as Ionadab Amnons
tenne times sought to eat him up to raven all hee could get from him This was the reward he had from his Master for his faithfull service But now God so blessed him for his sincerity in religion that the very Presents he sent his brother Esau were able to make a rich maÌ„ Gen. 32. And of himself hee professeth in the same chapter verse 10 With my staff came I over this Iordan and now have I gotten two bands In regard of men it fared worse with Ioseph though God prospered his Masters house for his sake neither would he hearken to the impudent and importunate suâ—e of his mistresse yet his recompense was disgrace and imprisonment they put his feet in the stockes and the iron entred into his soule But God in stead of the stocks set him in the seat of Iustice and in stead of his fetters put a chaine of gold about his neck I will conclude this point with the exhortation of St. Peter Servants bee subiect to your Masters with all feare not onely to the good and courteous but also to the froward for this is thank-worthy if a man for conscience towards GOD endure grief suffering wrongfully 1. Pet. 2. 18. Secondly as godliness is requisite in a servant in regard of himself so is it in regard of his Master First because if hee feare his Master and not God all that hee doth will bee but eye-service hee will certainely intend his Masters good no further than hee sees it may sort with his owne whereas if God the fear of him bee before his eyes hee is the same man when his Master is absent as if hee were present hee desires and endeavours his best advantage as much though he were a thousand mile off as if hee stood by and lookt on If Gehezi had thought that his Master had been so far indued with a propheticall spirit that hee could have tould him what hee did in so great a distance from him hee would never have taken such paines to run after the Syrian Captaine for a bribe to the disgrace of his Master and the undooing of himself And if Iudas had beleeved our Saviour to have been God and consequently that hee had knowne the thoughts of his heart undoubtedly hee would never have hatched against him such a foule treason within his breast It was nothing that made Achitophel to side as a Rebel with Absolon and to plot against his Master David and Ziba against Mephibosheth but worldly respects and want of true religion Besides as ungodliness in the servant cannot but put the Master in continuall fear both of his estate and person so it serves to infect as wel the children of the house as his fellow-fellow-servants wheras on the other side the godliness of one beeing countenanced and incouraged therein serves to shame the lewder sort and to draw-on the well-disposed Thus Daniel beeing admitted into the King of Babylons Court was an instrument for the reforming and converting even of the King Nebuchadnezar himselfe And Ioseph was admitted into the King of Egypts Court that hee might inform his Princes and teach his Senatours wisedom Psal. 125. 22. In the second of Kings and the fift wee read of a poore silly maid but a Iewesse by Nation the onely people of God at that time who being taken captive by the Aramites and serving Naamans wife tolde her Mistris of the Prophet Elisha in Samaria and by that meanes gave occasion to her Lord of going thither and cleansing himselfe from the leprosie both of his bodie and his soule Lastly a godly and religious servant will ever be praying unto God to send a blessing on that worke which he is set about as Abrahams servant did Gen. 24 and so God prospered his journey and the business he was intrusted with accordingly All which considered great reason had our Prophet to say and to double it to promise and to vow it He that walketh in a perfect way he shal serve mee He he Now because the word heer used to Serve in the Originall signifies a free and liberall kind of service it may well bee thought that our Prophet intended not only the admitting of faithfull and godly servants into his family but the advancing of such to the highest offices the placing of them in the chiefest roome of government under him And surely this consideration and promise was no less nay more necessarie then the former in regarde that the good which froÌ„ hence might arise is more publique They that bee of high calling if they bee good and desire their goodness may spread abroad and reach unto others for this purpose may not unâ—ily bee likened to great Cisterns or ponds full of cleare and wholesome water that might bee beneficial to many if there were sound and sweet pipes to convay it whereas on the other side it yeeldeth no benefit at all if the pipes bee stopt nay proves hurtfull if they bee poysoned and corrupted Whereof it commeth to passe that even when there be good Princes yet things doe still continue out of frame as wee see in the dayes of Iosiah a most excellent and carefull King who feared God betimes twice in his dayes reformed religion his remembrance is as the perfume made by the Art of the Apothecarie and as musick at a banquet of wine there was no King before him either after him that like Iosiah turned to God with all his heart as hee did yet were there in his dayes even in the time of his raigne horrible abominations atheisme and contempt of God pride in apparell oppression and cruelty yea much damnable Idolatry notwithstanding the good King by his laws had taken as good order against these as possibly he could The cause of all was that such as were under him in the Common-wealth and in the Church did not that which hee willed and belonged to their place According to that complaint of Zophonie That the Princes were as roaring Lions the Iudges as Wolves in the Evening which leave not the bones till the morrow the Prophets were light and wicked persons and the Priests such as polluted the Sanctuary and had wrested the lawe of God to serve their owne turne And so what marvaile though in a rare Kings daies iniquity overflowed and abounded Esay in like manner prophecied under good Kings Vzziah and Iotham and Hezekiah yet he justly and sorely complaines how farre all things were even then out of order their silver vvas become drosse and their wine mixt with water Cap. 1. 22 and hee addes the reason hereof in the verse following because their Princes that is their chiefe Officers under the the King vvere rebellious and companions of theeves They loved gifts and followed after rewards they iudged not the fatherless neither did the widowes cause come before them The people themselves do so sensibly see and feele this that they reioyce vvhen the righteous bee in authority Prov. 29. 2 whereas cleane contrariwise they sigh and mourne when
the wicked are set up and beare rule as it followes in the same place Thus when Mordecai came out from the King in royall apparell of blew white and with a great Crowne of golde and with a garment of fine linnen purple the whole citie of Susan rejoiced and was glad Ester 8. 15. The counsell therfore of Iethro Exo. 18. 21. was very good and not without just cause approoved of Moses when hee gave advice that not onely his higher Officers Rulers over thousands and hundreds but the inferiours too over fifties and tennes should bee men of courage fearing God dealing truely and hating covâ—tâ—usnesse Their fearing of God was a meanes for them in good causes to put on courage and their hating of couetousness to deale truely which in case they did not the CoÌ„mon-wealth should not onely suffer but Moses should be sure to hear of it For though to private men it bee sufficient if them-selves doe no wrong yet a Prince must provide that none doe it about him or under him the neglect hereof being the chief imputation that was layde to Galbaes charge and tumbled him out of the Empire as being unworthy of government Omnium consensu dignus imperio nisi imperasset Hitherto of the Conditions which our Prophet râ—quires in those whom hee proposed to admit and entertaine as Servants about him as Counsellers to him as Officers under him Now for himselfe he purposes his eyes should bee upon them and that as I take it first for Choyce and secondly for Vse There is an eye of Search and an eye of Favour the one is for the seeking and finding them out that they may serve the other for the countenancing of their persons and rewarding of their service First then for the eye of search and choyce He would not take them up at haphazard nor upon the bare report and commendation of others hee would not presently entertaine them who most importunately sued or made the greatest friends or largest offers these being for the most part sure signes of little desert and lesse conscience in the parties themselves in discharging the duties of those places they sue for Hee that buyeth is thereby shrewdly provoked nay is after a sort openly dispensed withall to sell againe If hee have to doo with the treasure hee will rob and spoyle if with justice he will take bribes if with Church affaires with matter of warre or Civill government it may be hee will goe farther Such will make small account to sell a State or to deliver up a Kingdome Now the King our Prophet speaketh of will for avoyding these mischiefes rather become a suter himselfe to sufficient and able men for the accepting and undergoing of such charges as he knew them fit for neither would hee advance any to the highest roomes of dignity but such as himselfe by experience had found to bee conscionable and faithfull in lower places and if he could not finde such neare him hee would seeke them farther off his eyes should runne through the Land from the one end to the other for the finding of them out Oculi mei ad â—ideles terrae Mine eyes shall bee to the faithfull of the Land Now as his eyes were to them for choyce and entertainement so were they upon them for encouragement reward Lord saith hee who shall dwell in thy tabernacle or who shall rest upon thy holy hill Among other properties this is one Hee that maketh much of them that feare the Lord Psal. 15. 4. And therefore in the very next Psalme vers 3 hee protests that all his delight was upon the Saints that are on the earth and upon such as excell in vertue And againe in the 119. 36 I am a companion of all them that feare thee and keep thy precepts And in speciall of servants of Kings and Princes sayes Salomon in the 14. of Proverbs at the last verse The pleasure of a King is in a wise servant but his wrath shall be toward him that is lewd Neither is it sufficient to make much of them by lookes and countenance and to feed with good words and faire promises but to speake and doe really for them as occasion shall serve they deserve Let thy soule loue a good seruant and defraud him not of his liberty neither leave him a poore man Ecclus. 7. 21. And the reason is given in the 33. of the same booke vers 29. If thou have a faithfull servant intreate him as thy brother for thou hast need of him as of thy selfe Such a Master it seemes Naaman was to his servants which made them call him father Father if the Prophet had commanded thee a great thing wouldest thou not have done it Such was that Centurion in the Gospell who when his servant was sick intreated our Savior to come to him and heale him calling him by the same name which signifies a sonne thereby shewing that good seruants should be as sonnes to their Masters in dutifull obedience and good Masters againe as kinde fathers in loving affection to their servants as remembring that themselues have a father in heaven to whom they must one day render an account of all their actions and with him there is no respect of persons Verse 7. Hee that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight OVr Prophet in the fift verse had promised to banish Slander and Pride heer hee promiseth to take the like order with Deceit and Lying two vices contrary to those two vertues which before hee had vowed to entertain Deceit beeing opposite to Faithfulness and Lying to Godliness These two vices are so common and generall and yet withall so close and subtile that he could not promise utterly to abolish and extinguish them but to deale with them as Physicians doo with pestilent diseases to expell them from the vitall parts upon discovery they should not lodge in the Court nor remaine in the Presence Hee could not alwaies prevent their entrance and abode there for a while deceitfull men beeing as cunning to cover as to work their deceit yet would hee as narrowly as he could seek them out and when he had found them cast them out too Indeed the saying is Turpius eijcitur quà m non admittitur It is more shamefull to cast out a servant than not to admit him But it is as true Tutius eijcitur like a raw morsell that sitteth ill in the stomach he is more safely cast out than retained or if hee be a Retainer non habitabit hee shall not bee in ordinary or if hee bee hee shall not bee of such as ly under my roof or if hee doo non habitabit in interiori domus meae saith Arias Montanus hee shall have no place in my privy-chamber or bed-chamber And for the Lier hee may chance to come into my sight but non prosperabitur saith Musculus hee shall not build his neast there non firmabitur saith Arias Montanus
those words of S. Paul by some referred For as much as I was crafty I took you by guile 2. Cor. 12. 16. Nay though it tend to the outward hinderance and hurt of some I cannot alwaies utterly condemn it It was by a cunning sleight that the Israelites robbed the Egyptians that Ehud slew Eglon and Iehu Baals priests yet they being warranted by Gods counsell and excited by his Spirit what therin they did was in right justifiable Nay more than so in a just and honorable warre where it is lawfull to kill it is not unlawfull by stratagems to deceive Dolus an virtus quis in hoste requirit It was the speech indeed of a Heathen yet approoved by St. Hierome in his Exposition upon Ezek. 17 but with this caution that it be practised without the violating of an oath the breach of promis or the making of a lie Wâ—ich notwithstanding the world too well knoweth and with griefe feeleth it to bee both the doctrine and the practice of the Church of Rome that Faith plighted to Hereticks is not to bee held Which position while she houlds I see not how those whom she accounts Heretiques can either with safety and security or without just fear and manifest danger any way rely upon the contracts made with her or her adherents Their morall or civill honesty may chance ty them to the performance of such oaths but I am sure their religion the strongest bond of conscience doth not Nay if it bee for the good of their Church it dispenseth with the breach and which is more coÌ„mands them to break it It is written by an Italian no stranger to the Court of Rome that the Proverb is Mercatorum est non regum stare iuramentis It is for Merchaunts not Kings to stand to their oathes but from such Merchants of mens soules Libera nos Domine Good Lord deliver us Now the inconveniences and mischiefes which accompany this deceitfulness specially in a servant are these First himself seldome or never thrives by it hee enjoyes not the benefit of that which hee gets by falshod according to that of Salomon Proverb 12. 27. The deceitfull man rosteth not that which he tooke in hunâ—ing and of our Prophet Psal. 58. 9. Or ever their pots bee made hot with thornes so shall indignation vex them as a thing that is raw It shall fare with them as with hunters who many times when they take a prey yet themselves taste not of it or as with meat which the thornes being consumed under the pot is left unsodden and so all their plottes and enterprises become as the untimely fruit of a woman which never sees the sunne And if they come not to publike shame amongst men which for the most part they doe the vizard of their hypocrisie being pluckt off yet God in his due time will not forget them According to that of the Apostle 1. Thes. 4. 6 Let no man oppresse or defraud his brother for God is the avenger of all such things If a man be so mighty to oppresse that the Magistrate wil not lay holde on him or so cunning to defraude that the lawe cannot take holde of him then where man and his lawe cease there God and his lawe begin though they dazle the eyes of men yet the eye of God they cannot and the lesse they feele at the hands of men the heavier shall they feele the hand of God either in their states or in their bodies or in their soules or in their posterity or in all Such a one may flourish for a while like a greene Bay tree but I went by and loe hee was gone I sought him but his place could no vvhere bee found Keepe innocencie then and take heed to the thing that is right for that shall bring a man peace at the last Psal. 37. It is the surest and fairest and likeliest way to bring him to riches and honour in as much as all men desire to deale with him whom they repute honest though themselves bee not such but the undoubted way it is to bring him Peace peace with himselfe and peace with his God without which his riches and honour will doe him little good Nay they will in the ende prove his bane and confusion Another mischiefe that arises from the deceitfulness of a Servant is to his Master specially if hee be a great personage and of eminent note either by bringing-in unjust accounts or by betraying him to his enemies who somtimes preferre a servant that they may thereby worke villany and get intelligence of secrets and so it may come to passe that under a velvet or silke or scarlet cloake a Iesuite or Priest may be entertained or lastly in deceiving others by using his Masters name though without his knowledge or consent yet hee cannot but by that means breed in mens minds an ill conceit in their tongues an il report of his Master It very much then imports great men Princes not onely to observe narrowly such servants as they suspect but for examples sake to punish them severely being detected Such were some of them about the good Emperour Aurelian who by Monopolies and impositions by projects and perquisites enenriched themselves to the impoverishing of the estate and the dishonoring of their Master Nay of him they made a Monopoly too who being let to know no more then what they pleased to informe him was of them by that meanes even bought and sold. But Alexander Severus tooke another course with them who understanding that Vercovius had greatly abused his favour taking much money of diverse to preferre their sutes and dooing nothing for them hee caused him to bee hanged up in a chimney as some write or as others to bee tied in publique to a stake and there to bee stifled with smoake an Herauld proclaiming to the people Fumum vendidit fumo pereat Smoak he solde and with smoak let him perish And if it be observed the greatest Marchants of smoak have ever been found to be the greatest slaterers of their Masters Having mens persons in admiration because of advantage Iude 16. I have dwelt somewhat the longer upon this point because the Court is generally held the Shop the Forge nay the Schoole and Theater of this vice not without good cause then doth our Prophet vow it shall not dwell with him As in the first place hee excludeth working of deceit So doth he in the second telling of lies Hee that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight Servum nolle mentiri nova religio est Saith one of the antient Comikes And another Is cliens frugi habetur qui neque leges neque aequum bonum unquam colit But this is heathenish divinity or as it may well bee thought they rather spake what men commonly did then what they should doe Once our Prophet I am sure was of another minde though he were an old servant though never so usefull and profitable to him though never so neare