I speak concerning Christ and the Church Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his Wife even as himself and the Wife see that she reverence her Husband Now those houses Domestick Discipline and families are most acceptable to God which are reared upon the Foundations of the fear of the Lord Repentance and Brotherly love where Children and Servants are both by institution and example instructed in the duties of Virtue and true Piety and taught to discharge the several offices of their stations to fear and reverence their Fathers and Masters and to submit to the Authority of the Master of the Family as appointed and established by the Laws of God Wherefore it ought to be the care and study both of Masters of Families and of Children and Servants That all should diligently discharge their several parts the one in commanding the others in obeying and all in mutual helping and assisting of one another in promoting the good of the Family the practice of Piety and the salvation of their Souls For so are Families enjoyned by the Holy Ghost to know and practise their duties Ephes 6. Children obey your Parents in the Lord for this is right Honour thy Father and thy Mother which is the first Commandment with Promise that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth And ye Fathers provoke not your Children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Servants be obedient to them that are your Masters according to the flesh with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart as unto Christ not with eye-eye-service as Men-pleasers but as the Servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to Men knowing that whatsoever good thing any Man doth the same shall he receive of the Lord whether he be bond or free And ye Masters do the same things unto them forbearing threatning knowing that your Master also is in Heaven neither is there respect of persons with him Nor is it consistent with Christian Doctrine and Truth that Children who ought to be educated by their Parents in the fear of the Lord and in the knowledge and practice of Piety should be bred up in the Principles of corrupt and perverse Doctrine and led in the broad way that tends to destruction being from their infancy indulged and pampered in Pomp and Pride countenanced in Luxury Worldly Delights and Lustful Pleasures taught all the lewd Songs Sports and Exercises of the Age and made acquainted with the factious Principles Feuds and Animosities of their Parents which from their Cradle upward they pursue and promote seeing thereby it happens that the Children of Christians who ought to be holy and imitable examples to all the World of Religion Honesty Reverence and Piety towards God become the scandalous patterns of Dishonesty Uncleanness Irreverence and Impiety both against God and their Parents Servants and Domesticks also encouraged by the publick and private examples of wickedness both in societies abroad and families at home grow through the neglect of those who should punish and correct them proper instruments of Unfaithfulness Disobedience Robberies Thefts Oppressions and the disgrace of Families so that all those employments almost which in themselves are good and lawful run out of course and degenerate into corrupt Nuysances Now it is manifest that this perverseness and depravation of manners always happens when Christian People are not taught the pure simple true and severe Discipline of the Gospel or if they be taught it either through an inveterate habit of sinning wholly slight and neglect it or if they commend and approve it yet think it not so absolutely necessary as that they ought to prefer it before all other things that come in competition therewith and so receive the word that is sown by the Husband-man in stony or thorny ground But we ought greatly to fear and have a care that that complaint of the Lord may not seem to be uttered against us Jer. 5. A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the Land The Prophets prophesie falsely and the Priests bear rule by their means and my People love to have it so and what will ye do in the end thereof Now to conclude what sinner soever moved by the fear of the Lord shall seriously consider upon the wrath and indignation of God that he hath deserved and the severe and terrible Judgment to which he has made himself liable and shall again meditate in his own thoughts that Grace Mercy and the blessing of Heaven is ready prepared for him if he will but carefully and heartily endeavour to be cloathed with the Wedding Garment that is to follow the rule of Piety above described unless he be more than impious and given over to a reprobate sense there is no doubt but that he will turn with full purpose of heart and soul from Vice to Virtue from corruption to integrity from madness and folly to a sound mind and in a word from the slavery of the Devil to that merciful Lord who is so pleased with the serious and true Repentance of Sinners that with an Oath he has sworn he desires it and has freely promised his blessings to those who hope in his Mercy and turn to him with their heart As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live He that hath ears to hear let him hear and turn to Repentance if he desire to obtain mercy from the most High who healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds by whose grace assistance good will and pleasure we have written this practical Rule of Christian Piety for the instruction of our fellow-Christians hoping that the meditation and study thereof may be useful to them for obtaining salvation through the goodness of God to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever Amen It hath not been our purpose to set off this Christian Institution with the ornaments and flowrishes of exquisite Language and Rhetorick but rather in few and plain words to accommodate this Doctrine of Piety to the capacities of all Christians who might thereby more easily both learn and retain it it being our desire rather to deliver and teach useful and good sense than gay and painted words Now the sum of all that hath been said is shortly this That extraordinary and supernatural gifts and graces are promised to all Men who will believe and accept the same not only in this life but also more especially in that which is to come and the same purchased and conveyed to them by the virtue and efficacy of that wonderful mystery of the conception birth death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God who is ready to bestow them on every one who in the fear of the Lord obeys the holy dictates and precepts of the Law and is diligent and sincere in the practice of Brotherly-love and Charity For God requires that Men should fear obey worship and serve him and upon these conditions gave us his promises to the performance of which he obliged himself out of meer grace and bounty And this is the duty which every Christian whether high or low learned or unlearned ought to know and practise But for all other things which Men may desire to know and learn relating either to their private capacities or to the rank and quality which they bear amongst Men and wherein they may be deceived mistaken and err since all Men are not competent Judges of such things we have purposely omitted them exhorting all and every one that having diligently considered and observed the abovementioned three heads they would keep that station wherein by right and Law they are placed not declining to the right or to the left from their common duty which being faithfully performed God of his goodness will impart to all what is necessary to be known and practised by every one in the place and degree that he is called to in society Now if any thing appear unseemly and not altogether so justifiable in the actions and conduct of others it is not the part of any private Man to Judg and Censure it or to endeavour any change or alteration in the Duties and Offices of others but to leave the care of that to the lawful Ministers and Magistrates and to pray the Lord of the Vineyard that he would send fit Labourers into his Vineyard and that he would advance protect and defend his own Harvest Without doubt the Lord will have pity on his inheritance and take care of the welfare and prosperity of his people and will highly approve that no Man for the fault or errour of another withdraw himself from the unity and concord of the established Church and Government but that every Man mind not what other people do but what be ought to do and perform himself and with heart and soul set about it FINIS
two things are to be done the one is that we persevere in the pure and holy Faith of the Catholick Church and the other that we endeavour the amendment of our lives and manners according to the Rules and Precepts of our Lord and Master constantly praying against sin that endangers our souls and for eternal life which is their happiness and bliss If these things be purely religiously and holily set about they will procure us the grace and mercy of God through Jesus Christ as the Holy Ghost by the mouth of his Prophet does assure us Psal 107. Oh that Men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the Children of Men. They that go down to the Sea in Ships that do business in great waters These see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy Wind which lifteth up the waves thereof They mount up to the Heaven they go down again to the depths their soul is melted because of trouble They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken Man and are at their wits end Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble and he bringeth them out of their distresses He maketh the Storm a Calm so that the waves thereof are still Then are they glad because they be quiet so he bringeth them unto their desired haven Oh that Men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the Chilren of Men. Let them exalt him also in the Congregation of the People and praise him in the Assembly of the Elders Whose is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. THE Practical Rule OF Christian PIETY The First Part. THE scope and design of all Philosophers who have treated of the Nature and Actions of Man and have given precepts and rules for the conduct of humane life seems to have been to find out and demonstrate a supreme Perfection to which when Man had once attained he had no further desires to disturb him but rested content in an entire and peaceable enjoyment of the chief and most Humane Felicity desirable good And this they called a state of Happiness or Bliss Constant and daily experience made it manifest that The common condition of life the way of living which most part of Mankind followed being obnoxious to care and anxiety labour and pain trouble and perturbation of thoughts came far short of that perfection of humane Nature that rest and tranquillity of mind that Mankind aspired to And that the various states and conditions of Men made no difference in the case seeing Kings Princes Magistrates and common People the Rich and the Poor the Whole and the Sick all were dissatisfied and uneasie in their own condition Wherefore many have made it their business to search out and discover several means how they might attain to that chief good which might produce a solid and universal repose in the minds of all Men. But the different biass of passions and inclination so divided and distracted the thoughts of the undertakers that they were wide of the Mark and erred in the way of finding true happiness for some placed chief good in the delights and pleasures of the Body others in the affluence of Riches others again in indolence or exemption from grief and pain and some in a freedom from all Passions and Affections Every one in their several Studies and Actions pursued the end they had proposed to themselves and laid down Maxims and Rules for others to do the like whom by large promises and exhortations they invited to the same course of life However the Opinion of those who placed the chief end and happiness of Man in bodily delights pleasures and sensual lusts in the judgment of the wiser hath been totally exploded As not only in the act and enjoyments of delights and pleasure but also in the manner of attaining to them rendering the nature of Man inferiour and more unhappy than that of Beasts But the opinion of those who made the perfection of life chiefly to consist in the soundness of the mind and in virtue tho in general it was approved yet the determination of the things that did constitute and the method prescribed for arriving at that felicity were found liable to so many errors and difficulties that being measured by and compared with the standard of true happiness they were at length condemned and rejected as ineffectual For some being ignorant of the true Original of the Souls of Men and not acknowledging God for the author of them they fancied to themselves a certain perfection of Virtue which they were so far from attaining to that neither they nor their Disciples could ever reach within the view thereof Some again tho they knew God to be the Supreme and true Author of Humane Nature yet they owned him not to be the chief end and happiness of Man and tho indeed they might acknowledge that yet without the revealed will of God himself they could not rightly understand how they ought to seek and by what means come to the enjoyment of him nay and that also being known they could not without the assistance of divine Grace set about the performance of the duties required therein God was therefore in the first place to be known and applied to by Faith and that supreme Master to be consulted who might shew and declare himself and his Doctrine unto them by those secret and divine ways whereby he can and is wont to do it for without Faith it is impossible to please God But the quite contrary course was taken by those who attributed so much to the industry and sharpness of humane understanding that they thought that there was nothing to be sought from God judging it unseeming a quaint and accurate Philosopher to have recourse to the will of God as being the act rather of a slothful Soul than of a prying and inquisitive Mind that searched into the nature of things That Man might and ought of himself find out the excellent nature of Virtue carefully and industriously pursue after and labour to obtain it and having obtained it preserve and improve the same which tho they promised to themselves and endeavoured to accomplish yet seeing they were neither rooted in Faith nor had begged and desired the aid of divine Grace their search was in vain so that no where finding what they lookt for they fatally misled themselves and those that followed them And losing all hopes of attaining to the happiness they proposed they at length degenerated into the basest and most corrupt kind of life This the Holy Ghost takes notice of and thus condemns Eph. 4. This I say therefore and testifie in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind having the understanding darkned being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in
Authority reaching all men whether publick or private the Universal Church hath always owned and asserted and that they will take in good part whatsoever may be said by us which perhaps may tax the corrupt manners of our present times being perswaded that Christian Simplicity Virtue and Probity are always in force and beyond exception and reproach not only upon their own account but because of our purpose and design also who heartily love all holy and good Men tho unknown neither hate any who may have fallen from the truth or degenerated from the Virtues of the Gospel but wish that all may repent and be saved through Jesus Christ our Lord whom therefore we would have rightly admonished of their Duty As for the wiser who stand not in need of our Admonition we trust they will put a favourable construction on our care and endeavours for the common salvation of Mankind who tho we be simple and unable to contribute any thing to the information of the wise yet to those who are weaker in knowledg ought to perform what service and good offices lye in our power Now the sum of all our Admonition shall consist of plain Sentences from the Oracles both of the Old and New Testament the weight of which is such that neither humane wisdom can resist nor the craft and subtilty of our adversary evacuate the force of them and by this means we may be helpful both to those who admit of nothing in dispute but what is taken from holy Scripture and to those also who rightly think that truth wherever it be found ought to be embraced for to both these it is our design to do good not alledging all that might be said but only such things as we shall have reason to think may be profitable to all and hurtful to no body The whole Christian Discipline then may be comprehended under two general Heads which every true Disciple and follower of Christ ought to know and dutifully practise The first is to believe the Word and Promises of God the Authority whereof hath been confirmed by Signs Miracles and manifest Testimonies Now Signs and Miracles are neither at present necessary nor are they nor indeed ought to be required as being of old seen and approved reiterated likewise and confirmed and received and believed by the Universal Church of God for concerning these it is written Deut. 32. Remember the days of old consider the years of many Generations ask thy Father and he will shew thee thy Elders and they will tell thee Wherefore it is not now to be doubted what it is or how we ought to believe for that is reduced into certain Points which are called Articles and proposed by the Church to be learned under the name of the Apostles Creed briefly and plainly comprehending all the Points of our Faith which have been largely commented upon and explained in the many writings of holy and learned Men. Neither is our discourse directed to those that do not believe but to such as believe or at least profess they believe the Word and Promises of God to their own Salvation and confess that there is no necessity of Miracles nor any doubt of the Salvation sent into the World and wrought by Jesus Christ Heb. 2. Which at first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by those that heard him God also hearing them witness both with Signs and Wonders and with divers Miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his own Will The second Head and Branch of Doctrine is the knowledg and practice of Piety of which at present we are to treat Now for illustration sake we call Piety all that which every faithful Disciple and Follower of Christ and the Christian Doctrine believing the Promises ought to know hold fast and practise no Man being excepted who having the right use of his Reason can know and perform the same seeing the assistance of the divine Grace that is necessary to that knowledg and practice will not be wanting nor denied to those who as we said before diligently and seasonably beg the same but will rather be plentifully supplied by the Father of Light 1 Tim. 2. who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledg of the Truth even those who are strangers to the knowledg of the Truth and much more such as embrace the known Truth and study to hold fast and improve it Now we say that it behoveth a Disciple of Christ to know the chief Precepts and Institutions of the Doctrine of Piety which he professes for tho to know the least Points be neither the duty nor is it required of all yet those things which belong to all in general and every Disciple in particular are not to be unknown For how dare he profess and call himself a Disciple who knows not the Heads of that Discipline which he does and ought to follow And by what right can he expect to be acknowledged a Scholar by the Master who knows not the Precepts and Institutions of his Teacher And to that purpose is this which by a Disciple is written to his fellow Scholars 1 Cor. 14. If any Man think himself to be a Prophet or Spiritual let him acknowledg that the things that I write unto you are the Commandments of the Lord. But if any Man be ignorant let him be ignorant If any Man know not the Commands of God he shall not be known by our Lord and Master who will say Mat. 25. I know you not And again to every one that hath shall be given but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath In another place making a difference betwixt those who believe and know the Will of God and those who do not the Lord saith Luke 12. And that Servant which knew his Lords Will and prepared not himself neither did according to his Will shall be beaten with many stripes but he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes Wherefore leaving those who know not the Will of the Lord such as are they to whom the knowledg of the Gospel hath not as yet reached our discourse is to those who have known or at least have professed to know the Will of the Lord who ought to prepare themselves and do according to his Will to whom the Apostle saith 1 Thes 4. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus For this is the Will of God even your Sanctification to which Men ought to prepare themselves Now no Man can be so prepared if he be ignorant by what means and actions that Preparation is to be set about and accomplished for tho one may set about it with all imaginable care and study yet unless he square the same according to the rules and and directions of the Divine Will he will at length find it to be unprofitable And this God Almighty himself
only to treat of the Virtue and Grace of Repentance which is the end and complement of that other part for it is not enough to lament and bewail what is past as is commonly said to confess our sins and not commit the same again unless they who can do bring forth fruits worthy of Repentance And therefore this part which consists in the amendment of life and in the exercise and practice of Righteousness otherwise called the Virtue and Grace of Repentance is the subject whereof we shall treat at present Now the Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures makes this Repentance the Grace of Heavenly Wisdom to consist chiefly in this That Man should war against his own Lusts subdue and overcome his natural affections abstain from worldly and carnal works and with all care and industry endeavour to perform what is commanded and approved of by God For this Law was laid upon the first Parent of Mankind by that Mysterious and Divine Oracle delivered under the Name and Figure of the Earth Gen. 3. Cursed is the Earth for thy sake in Sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life Thorns also and Thistles shall it bring forth to thee and thou shalt eat the herb of the field In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread God declared to Man that that humane Earth called Adam from whence he himself had the name of Adam was for his sake that is for his transgression of the Command of God cursed and made disobedient foretelling him that in sorrow and labour he should eat of the fruits of that earth which was not through the curse become altogether so barren that it would bring forth no good fruit but that the good and profitable fruit which it did bring forth must be the effect of much labour and pain For as that Earth was of it self to bring forth nothing but Thorns and Thistles that is various difficulties springing from Lust and Pride which must be rooted out by him who desires to feed on good and generous fruit so there is need of indefatigable pains and labour even to the sweat of the brow that is to the mastering and disciplining the Will and Affections that by so doing he may obtain that heavenly bread which God hath promised fully to bestow upon those who in that manner work out their own Salvation Many Oracles of divine Scripture confirm the truth of this as Rev. 2. 3. To him that overcometh and keepeth my works to the end will I give to eat of the Tree of Life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God and a Crown of Life And I also will give him to eat of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the Stone a new Name written which no Man knoweth saving he that receiveth it And I will give him the Morning Star and he shall be cloathed in white Robes and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life but will make him a Pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the City of my God which is the new Jerusalem and my new name Rev. 21. He that overcometh shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my Son But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and Murderers and Whoremongers and Sorcerers and Idolaters and all Liars shall have their part in the Lake wich burneth with Fire and Brimstone which is the second death The gracious goodness of God to admonish us of these things and of what concerns our Salvation gives to all and every sinner this seasonable warning Rev. 3 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white raiment that thou mayest be cloathed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear be zealous therefore and repent Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with me Most graciously and freely then does the Lord invite to the joys of his Supper all who being decently cloathed and prepared as they ought pray and long for the gladness of that most excellent Feast which being liberally offered by him that invites them they shall at length fully enjoy and rejoyce with him who hath made them partakers of the greatest Promises But we have a clear Instance that he who durst come to the Wedding-Feast not cloathed with the Wedding Garment which is Repentance and the observation of the Precepts of Christ was rebuked by the angry King and had this dreadful check and sentence Mat. 22. Friend how camest thou in hither not having the Wedding Garment Then said the King to his Servants bind him hand and foot and take him away and cast him into outer darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth The Doctrine therefore of the Gospel requires not only Faith but Obedience also in him who desires to be an Heir of the promised Salvation and this Obedience begins by a true and unfeigned Repentance and shews it self in the serious exercise thereof heavy Judgments being denounced by God upon those who obey noâ— the Law of the Gospel Noâ— by the Gospel Law in this place we mean the conditions requâ—red of them who really and iâ— effect desire to be made partakerâ— of these glad tidings for otherwise without Repentance and the observation of the Precepts of God Men are so far from obtaining the divine Promises thâ—â— they must certainly expect the wrath and anger of God 2 They 1. In flaming Fire taking Vengâ—ance of them that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of oâ—â— Lord Jesus Christ who shall be pâ—nished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power whâ— he shall come to be glorified in bâ— Saints and to be admired of all them that believe Now this Wedding-Garment which every one that is called to the Marriage and desires to be admitted into that holy Feast must and ought to be cloathed with is made up of Repentance and the observation of the divine Precepts and that it is so we have the word of the King himself the Lord and Master of the Feast for it who commanded his Servants whom he sent to call the Guests Saying Mat. 22. Go ye therefore and teach all Nations Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I command you That is to say Repentance and the study and observation of the Precepts and Commands of God For so the Lord himself expounds it who when he went about performing the office of an Evangelist taught publickly Mark 1. saying The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand Repent ye and believe the Gospel
end the same shall be saved And no Man having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God He that hath ears to hear let him hear God deceiveth no Man Let every one take heed then that he deceive not himself nor suffer himself to be deceived by others This is the plain sure and safe way that hath the promise of good success Repentance I mean which every one ought carefully to set about persist in and prosecute to the end This is the way that never deceived any Man but will certainly bring those that walk therein to eternal Salvation at last For it is written Psal 69. Psal 105. Your hearts shall live that seek God Seek the Lord and his strength seek his face ever more He that seeketh his face always in what manner soever he may end this mortal life yet his Son shall live Psal 9. For thou Lord hast not forsaken them that seek thee The death of Lazarus was mean and obscure in the eyes of Men but that of the rich Man conspicuous and his Funeral pompous The rich Man died and was buried however the Soul of the former was received into Abraham's bosom when this Mans Soul was sent down into Hell Wherefore let those who either never set about the work of Repentance aright or put it off to the hour of death or often in their life-time begin it and as often again leave it off let them I say consider what ground they have to do so and what divine promise they can pretend to trust to for it is not in our power to command our time when we would and whether God will grant it to us according to our wishes is much to be doubted As 't is written Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy Statutes for their deceit is falshood No Doctor of the Christian Church for what I know ever taught us to put off and delay Repentance and amendment of life till the last day of living nor promised any happy success to those that did so nay St. Austin doubts of the condition of those delayers of serious Repentance till the hour of death and we have no reason but with St. Austin to doubt of the same Wo be to fearful hearts and faint hands and the sinner that goeth two ways Wo will be unto many to whom opportunity and the advantages of amending their lives has been offered and granted whilst they were alive and in health and whilst God waited for them and who still persisting in their wickedness their too late desire of Repentance will through their own fault be unprofitable to them Many instances of wicked Men who die without Repentance happen daily some snatcht away by sudden death others killed some cast away at Sea others slain in Battel or brought to their end by thunder lightning and many other ways who perhaps if their lives had been longer would have seriously set about the work of Repentance but it hath seemed otherwise to the Judgment and Decree of God who seeing he does all that is necessary for reclaiming of sinners is not always wont to superadd more than ought to be expected Mat. 11. Had God done the mighty works in Tyre and Sidon which he did in Chorazin and Bethsaida he knew that they would have repented in Sack-cloth and ashes And if the mighty works which were done in Capernaum had been done in Sodom it also upon the word of our Saviour would have remained until this day But seeing the Almighty had done for those places what was enough in his most righteous Judgment he was not willing to add more than was sufficient How many of those who have led a wicked and sinful life and still professed an inclination and desire to die well have either had the death they wished for or a blessed and happy end How every Man shall end his days depends not on himself but on the Counsel and Decree of God as it is written Psal 68. He that is our God is the God of Salvation and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death But God shall wound the head of his enemies and the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his Trespasses Most terrible also and yet most certain is that Sentence pronounced by divine Oracle Psal 34. Evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate But great are the Promises and hopes that the Scripture gives to those who love piety and are of a penitent and obedient heart which we should always have before our eyes The Lord redeemeth the Soul of his Servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate Let us then a little consider what these Men do who leaving off to after he had left his The Example of Abraham Country Kindred and Fathers House never returned again into Chaldea or Mesopotamia but travelled and So journed in several places according to the will and appointment of God spending his whole life even to death in the obedience of Gods commands and that he would not die nor be buried any where but there where he had received the Promises nor move a foot from those places wherein he was warned from Heaven to tarry and abide Wherefore the Holy Scripture admonishing those who are the true children of Abraham that is his spiritual Children who is called the Father of many Nations of their duty in imitation of their fathers example saith Isa 51. Hearken to me ye that follow after righteousness ye that seek the Lord look unto the rock whence ye are hewen and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged Look unto Abraham your Father and unto Sarah that bare you for I called him alone and blessed him and encreased him as being a Man who firmly believed and diligently obeyed God that called him Col. 3. So then they which be of the Faith and imitate the example of Abraham are blessed with faithful Abraham Wherefore my dear fellow Christians being furnished with all these precepts and instructions of God the Father and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Master let us in the first place take diligent heed that we sin not For that indeed is best but because all the Sons of Adam are under sin the wisest counsel and most acceptable to God that can be given in the next place is that he who hath sinned would with all his heart and mind turn to God 1 John 2. for we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world If he be sought of us with a contrite and humble heart which the Lord himself declares To this Man will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word Wherefore the Apostle St. John admonishes us saying 1 John 3. Beloved if our heart
condemn us not then have we confidence towards God And whatsoever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight St. John expressly affirms that we shall obtain what we ask of God in order to our Salvation who will give his good spirit to those that seek him if our heart condemn us not which he saith may be proved by this if we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight Our Lord and Master commands the same John 14. If ye love me keep my commandments And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive seein the Lust and Pride the Pomp and Vanity with all the other Vices of this World are an abomination to him 2 Tim. 2. But if a Man purge himself from these he shall be a Vessel unto Honour sanctified and meet for the Masters use and prepared unto every good work The sum then of all that hath been said in short is this whoever with a pure and holy heart believes the promises of God to his own salvation let him sincerely renounce the pomps and vanities of this World and the sinful Lusts and Desires of the Flesh and make good his profession of Repentance by a true and earnest forsaking of all sin and vice and a following after Righteousness and obedience to the commands of God with a zealous and constant care Of this care we shall speak hereafter having first laid down for a certain truth which we cannot inculcate too often that the holy spirit cannot dwell in a heart polluted with the sinful lusts pleasures and other corruptions of the flesh the spirit I say of sanctification by which who are acted are the Sons of God For this is the express sentence of God Almighty himself which hath been alledged already and ought often to be cited Gen. My spirit shall not always strive with Man for that he also is Flesh that is to say so long as Man is flesh and obeys the will and lusts of the flesh he shall not be partaker of my spirit And this sentence was pronounced by God at that time when the Sons of God coming in unto the Daughters of Men perverted all the rules of Piety and Virtue and turned Righteousness into Iniquity Now they who believed the Promises of God made unto Adam the common Parent of Mankind and being endowed with that Faith exercised themselves in the practice of Piety are in holy Scripture called the Sons of God for amongst them was preserved the knowledg of the Redemption and Salvation of Mankind by the holy Seed of the Woman and they being animated with the Faith and Hope of this promised Salvation shunned all worldly ambition and corruption leading a life neither magnificent nor splendid nor attended with the glory and delights which Men admire but low modest and mean living in the forry habitations of cottages tents caves and dens and were satisfied with sober poverty in imitation of their common Parents Adam and Eve whom God having cloathed them with coats made of Beasts skins commanded to live contented willing that they who by their own fault had forfeited the sovereignty of the World should live like strangers and sojourners in it This example the Sons of God followed But on the other hand the Sons of Men who either believed not the divine Promises or lived in pomp and splendor gave themselves over to delights and pleasures courted glory and worldly greatness and built to themselves stately Houses Towns and Castles being not a little incited to that course of life by the humour and counsel of Women by whose blandishments and conversation the Sons of God also being first allured and then wholly overcome they took to themselves wives of all which they chose That is to say when the Sons of God perceived the delights and pleasures the pomp and splendor that was amongst Men which might tempt humane frailty to prefer them before the rigours of an austere frugality but especially being enticed by the sight of Women among whom Vanity and Luxury both in diet and apparel was most conspicuous they forsook the hardships of an austere life continence and poverty that they might embrace riches wealth pleasures and luxury and making Marriages with the Daughters of Men they overturned Piety and perverted the antient discipline of primitive virtue and integrity Whereupon that divine Sentence was pronounced My spirit shall not always strive with Man for that he also is flesh because of the Sons of God they not only became like unto the Sons of Men but begat a race much more corrupt than themselves more licentious in their lives indulging themselves in all sorts of vice and voluptuousness and prone to all kind of injustice barbarity and cruelty Gen. 6. These are the Giants which were in the Earth in those days and also after that when the Sons of God came in unto the Daughters of Men and they bare children unto them the same became mighty Men which were of old Men of Renown And God saw that the wickedness of Man was great in the Earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually And it repented the Lord that he had made Man on the Earth So much did the licentious wickedness of the dissolute life of Men offend God that holy Oracles assure us it repented him that he had made Man on the Earth and that he resolved to destroy all Mankind these only excepted who continued in the discipline and duty of the Sons of God tho they were but very few in number as it is written But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord because he was a Just Man being not only endowed with that Faith of the Sons of God but through the exercise of true Repentance and Obedience to the commandments of God accepted also of the Lord as one who having spent so many years in building of an Ark and by frequent Sermons forewarning the Men of that age of the imminent wrath of God endeavoured to perswade them to Repentance and amendment of life for which he got the title and name of a Preacher of Righteousness Now this practice of Repentance which as we have said is necessary to all the Disciples and followers of Christ must be accompanied with an endeavour of amendment of life and of following after Righteousness and Honesty which for illustration sake we shall call by the name of Obedience and define Obedience Obedience to be an ordering and framing of all the actions of our life according to the counsel and will of God And this is performed by the knowledg and diligent practice of the commands of God For it is not enough to know the precepts and institutions of our Christian discipline or to talk of and commend them in quaint and
elegant language unless we also carefully and studiously practise and observe them This is the express Doctrine of our Lord and Master Mat. 7. Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name cast out Devils and in thy name done many wonderful works and then I will profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them I will liken him unto a wife Man which built his house upon a Rock and the Rain descended and the Floods came and the Winds blew and beat upon that House and it fell not for it was founded upon a Rock We must therefore take care that the structure of our salvation be founded upon this Rock of true Obedience lest that after we have built much and long some contrary gust beating upon it it fall to the ground Now this Obedience is performed in observing the will of our heavenly Father according to the Doctrine of our Saviour saying He that doeth the will of my Father who is in Heaven And the Father himself hath declared that his will is that we should know hold fast and carefully practise the Doctrine of his dearest Son Mat. 17. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him If then we would desire to know what we are to do for obtaining the salvation which this beloved Son hath brought into the World let us seriously consult him who was proposed and confirmed to us by the Father in presence of most reverend witnesses two of the Old and three of the New Testament as the wise and infallible interpreter of his Will and we shall hear him thus answering and teaching us John 15. If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love even as I have kept my Fathers commandments and abide in his love John 14. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest my self to him and again Joh. 15. ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you And elsewhere Mat. 11. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls For my yoke is easie and my burthen is light By which words we are plainly taught that the desired rest of our souls cannot be found but by those who do the Will of the Father Now for discovering of this Will the Father himself referred us to the hearing of his Son and the Son tells us that it is his Fathers Will that they who would find rest to their Souls should take his yoke upon them and that his yoke is neither hard nor heavy but soft and easie and that his burden that is the sum of the Doctrine of the Law and Commandments is a light burden And indeed the thing it self not only speaks it to be so but the noble instances also of many who have submitted to that yoke fully confirm it For the yoke we speak of is no more but that sincere and brotherly love which by another name is commonly called charity as our Lord and Master does frequently inculcate John 15. This is my commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you These things I command you that ye love one another And he affirms this constant and perpetual precept to be so properly and peculiarly his own that he would have it to be the badg and mark of his Disciples and followers John 13. A new Commandment I give unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you that ye also love one another By this shall all Men know that ye are my Disciples if ye love one another St. John the great Disciple and Witness of our Lord and Master again and again confirms this 1 John 3. Beloved if our heart condemn us not then have we confidence towards God and whatsoever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight And this is his commandment that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment And of how great necessity the keeping of this commandment is the same Apostle fully demonstrates unto us 1 John 2. He that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darkness hath blinded his eyes This is so true and plain a Doctrine of Christian Religion that that famous Expositor of the divine Oracles made no scruple to prefer this love before all the other virtues acts and endowments of the mind of Man 1 Cor. 13. Though I speak with the tongues of Men and of Angels and have not Charity I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling Cimbal And tho I have the gift of prophesie and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and tho I have all Faith so that I could remove Mountains and have not Charity I am nothing And tho I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not Charity it profiteth me nothing And so far is Charity commended by this Apostle that he calls it Col. 3. the bond of perfectness Now if Charity be so necessary that without it the Apostle affirms all things else to be unprofitable to salvation how far is he from salvation who not only loves not his brother but even hates and persecutes him if he who loves not banishes from himself the love of God in what condition is he and how shall he be esteemed in the eyes of God that hateth his brother No less than a Murderer and according to the sentence of the holy word of God he is guilty of that crime John 3. Whosoever hateth his brother is a Murderer in thought and affection which God chiefly takes notice of he is accounted a Murderer who loveth not his brother and ye know saith he that no Murderer hath eternal life abiding in him As elsewhere He that hateth his brother walketh in darkness Wherefore St. James admonisheth Christians lest being corrupted with this vice which under some disguise or other uses to creep and steal into mens minds they should make void the name and profession of Religion and so deceive themselves or others James 3. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts glory not and lie not against the truth Calling and boasting your selves to be Christians This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly sensual divilish For where envying and strife is there is confusion and every evil work But the wisdom that is from above is first
pure then peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisie We are also plainly and largely taught by our Lord and Master how grievous a sin the sin of hatred is and how great an impediment it lays in our way to salvation not only when it appears outwardly in evil deeds but even when but conceited inwardly in the heart Mat. 5. I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment and whosoever shall say to his brother Raca shall be in danger of the Council but whosoever shall say thou fool to wit moved with anger and with design to hurt him shall be in danger of hell fire Wherefore our Lord and Master in his divine wisdom that he might shew how expedient it is to be free from that vice and perturbation of mind plainly tells his Disciples that he who hath not first satisfied this command of Charity must not think to obtain the favour of God by any Sacrifice or other Religious performance Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee leave thy gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift In many other passages he confirms the same saying Luke 6. Be ye merciful as your Father also is merciful forgive and ye shall be forgiven give and it shall be given unto you Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy Now the charity which our Lord so much commendeth is not a cold and ordinary but a burning and fervent charity ready to do good whereby he bids us to become like unto God who makes his Sun to shine upon the good and the bad and causeth it to rain upon the just and the unjust And when our Saviour taught his Disciples to pray he enlarged more upon the Subject of Charity Mercy and Beneficence than upon any other as being of all others the chief and most convincing argument of Piety which by the Apostle also is called the bond oâ— perfection seeing all the commands and duties whatsoever of the Law are easily obeyed and performed by those who are so quickned by Charity as not so much to seek their own as the things of others according as it is written 1 Cor. 13. Charity suffereth long and is kind Charity envieth not Charity vaunteth not it self is not puffed up doth not behave it self unseemly seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh no evil rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the truth beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things Whereas 1 John He that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darkness hath blinded his eyes The summ then of all The summ of the rule common to all Men. that a Scholar of Christ ought to know hold meditate upon and practise is briefly comprehended under these three Heads to wit the Fear of the Lord Repentance and Charity Now Charity is not here considered only as it relates to God whom we ought to love above all things but also as it is to be practised towards Men. 1 John 3. Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren But whosa hath this Worlds good and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him My little children let us not love in word neither in tongue but in deed and in truth And hereby we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him 1 John 4. Let us love him because he first loved us If a Man say I love God and hateth his brother he is a liar for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen and this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his brother also Whoever therefore shall carefully observe these three heads will by experience find the mercy goodness and clemency of God towards him the excellency whereof the thought of Man is not able to conceive and far less his tongue to express For the gracious God is always ready to fulfill the promises of salvation which have been made and often confirmed to Believers as it is written Jer. 18. At what instant I shall speak concerning a Nation and concerning a Kingdom to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it if that Nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their evil I will repent of the evil that I though to do unto them Ezek. 18. And if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all my statutes and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not die All his transgressions that he hath committed they shall not be mentioned unto him in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die saith the Lord and not that he should return from his ways and live So that the Oracles of God do often confirm the Promimises of life and salvation made even to wicked Men who turn from their ways to those I say who turning from the evil of their way and following a course of true Repentance make it their care and study to obey the commands of God and to do Judgment and Justice for whoever do so shall live not by an idle lasie and unactive Faith which is also called a dead Faith but through the righteousness which they have wrought they shall indeed obtain life and salvation from God the author and fountain of life which he hath promised to all who believe in him and obey his world according to that infinite mercy of his which the Scripture celebrates in many places Psal 145. The lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy The Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works And therefore he bears with the sins of men that he may bring them to Repentance Wisdom 11. For he loveth all the things that are and abhorreth nothing that he hath made for never would he have made any thing if he had hated it And therefore it is that he freely offers and promises his mercy unto all who with a true heart and purpose of mind desire to be converted and to return to him as it is written Ezek. 33. As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live turn ye turn turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die O House of Israel For the Lord is most gracious and desirous of our
salvation who when he would have Men to turn to him with their whole heart and mind and so obtain life he patiently waits for their Repentance and this the holy Scriptures clearly testifie Isa 30. Therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you and therefore will he be exalted that he may have mercy upon you And the Apostle St. Peter saith The Lord is not slack concerning his Promise as some Men count slackness but is long-suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance Now that the Conversion and true Repentance of sinners is most acceptable and pleasing to God his own Son shews us in that saving Sermon which he made in the three Parables of the prodigal Son the lost sheep and groat whereby he exhorted all Men that they would endeavour by their conversion to please God and cause joy in the whole Court of Heaven that so they might tast of the wonderful goodness of God who is rich in mercy towards all that call upon him with a pure and single heart and upon whom if they approve themselves by Faith and the practice of true Repentance and Obedience he bestows great mercies and the spirit of sanctification with all his gifts and graces which St. Peter affirms was given to all that obey him and our Saviour promised to be given saying John 14. If ye love me keep my commandments And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive Now in the sence of St. John the world are they who live according to the lust of the eye the lust of the flesh or the pride of life that is who are slaves to lust delights pleasures or ambition for those shall not feel the power and virtue of that holy spirit abiding in them as the Lord himself pronounces Gen. 6. My spirit shall not always strive with Man for that he also is flesh With Man who is flesh and striveth not to mortifie the deeds of the Flesh as the Apostle saith if ye live after the flesh ye shall die but if ye through the spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live to wit through the spirit of God given and communicated unto you for so it is written Isa 66. Thus saith the Lord the Heaven is my Throne and the Earth is my Footstool where is the house that ye build unto me and where is the place of my rest for all those things hath mine hand made and all those things have been saith the Lord but to this Man will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my word Those divine gifts and graces whereby Men upon Earth are changed into other creatures and become almost celestial avoiding the corruption that is in the World through lust and having their conversation in heaven examples and instances of these gifts I say which were very frequent of old are now rare to be found on the Earth because we have neither that strong and lively faith in the Promises of God nor purely and sincerely obey his Precepts neither are we filled with the holy fear of the Lord but by a double and deceitful heart wicked and perverse thoughts and actions we are wanting to our selves and to the grace and goodness of God of God I say who trieth the heart and searcheth the reins and sees us wholly given over to impure thoughts the delights and pleasures of the flesh and to pride and ambition like adulterous Women dealing treacherosly against their lawful husbands which kind of hearts estranged from or divided in their chief love he neither loves nor approves of The mind must be pure and single and fervent in love that aspires to the heavenly marriage of this bridegroom and would have it confirmed and made good to it The wise Son of Sirach advises us to endeavour that as much as we can when he saith Ecclus 1. 2. Distrust not the fear of the Lord and come not unto him with a double heart Wo be to fearful hearts and faint hands and the sinner that goeth two ways And the word of God by the mouth of his holy Prophets does also in many places expresly admonish us heartily to renounce the vanities sins and pollutions of this World and make it our whole care to forsake them Jer. 4. O Jerusalem wash thine heart from wickedness that thou mayest be saved how long shall thy vain thoughts lodg within thee Whosoever come so provided to seek the Lord shall certainly find him to be loving gracious and bountiful Jer. 29. Ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart and I will be found of you saith the Lord whose blessed Son hath also said Mat. 5. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God God is to be seen by the pure in heart saith our Saviour He is to be seen dwelling in them whom he consecrates for a holy Temple to himself as it is written Isa 57. For thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones Psal 147. He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up then wounds This contrition of heart so acceptable unto God and so much commended in Scripture doth not dwell nor abide with the anxious desire of worldly things and of the pomp and glory of the age which are hateful to the Lord. Nor let any Man perswade himself that he can serve two Masters that is that he can please God and at the same time fulfil the lusts of the flesh pursue the vanities pride and ambition of the World and obey the dictates of carnal wisdom The Apostle St. James declares it to be impossible Jam. 4. Ye adulterers and Adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the World is enmity with God whosoever therefore will be a friend of the World is the enemy of God Do ye think that the Scripture saith in vain the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy And therefore we are earnestly warned by the Apostle St. John that being deluded by vain arguments or any idle and groundless hope and opinion we should not retain the love of this World but wholly reject it if we would approve our selves to God whom we ought to love for our own salvation John 2. Love not the World neither the things that are in the World If any Man love the World the love of the Father is not in him for all that is in the world the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world And the world passeth
away and the lusts thereof but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever From all which divine sentences we may conclude that they who have not carefully avoided the corruption and pollution of life and manners and have not laboured to shun those things that are to be shunned will with all their actions works and oblations be displeasing and so enemies to the pure and holy spirit of God Divine wisdom it self asserts this and therefore advises us not to lose the fruit of our good works through our own fault and negligence Prov. 15. The Sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord Eccles 34. He that sacrificeth a thing wrongfully gotten his Offering is ridiculous and the gifts of unjust Men are not accepted The most high is not pleased with the Offerings of the wicked neither is be pacified for sin by the multitude of sacrifices The Prophet expostulates the same thing with those who by their perverse actions and deeds both publick and private polluted the sacrifices which they frequented Bring no more vain oblations incense is an abomination unto me the new Moons and Sabbaths the calling of Assemblies I cannot away with it is iniquity even the solemn meeting Your new Moons and your appointed Feasts my soul hateth they are a trouble unto me I am weary to bear them And when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you yea when ye make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood Wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek Judgment relieve the oppressed judge the Fatherless plead for the Widow Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord tho your sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as Snow tho they be red like crimson they shall be as wooll If ye be willing and obedient ye shall eat the good of the Land but if ye refuse and rebell ye shall be devoured with the Sword for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it This divine expostulation is made up both of promises and threatenings to those who either doe or will not obey wherefore by the same spirit the author of this expostulation we are invited and stirred up by strong and often repeated reasons to seek to God for mercy and the accomplishment of his promises Isay 55. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous Man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon Seeing therefore it hath been made out unto us by many clear and manifest testimonies and Texts of both the Old and New Testament that these three heads to wit the fear of the Lord Repentance and brotherly Charity as the pure fountains and sources of all pious actions accompanied with Faith are most acceptable to God and through his gracious favour very instrumental not only to make us escape the wrath and indignation of God but also find grace and mercy in time of need and are so necessary to salvation that without them we cannot please God nor obtain the accomplishment of his promises concerning our immortal state and the celestial inheritance purchased to us by the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ And seeing by the Covenant of Grace all Believers are assured that through the diligent study and practice of these three points every one may attain their share of that Promise and Obligation which God himself hath graciously and freely proposed to us for our salvation I thought it my duty being moved with Christian zeal and fervent Charity to admonish and exhort all my fellow Christians not only by what we have hitherto alledged but by all the oracles sentences precepts admonitions and exhortations uttered by the holy spirit and laid up in the Treasury of sacred Record that they would carefully set about the duties of Piety and diligently prosecute the same in the constant practice of these three principal Points the Fear of the Lord Repentance and Charity For no Man putting his hand to the Plough and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God but he that endureth to the end the same shall be saved Now that these things may be religiously and rightly performed we must put off all the carnal affections and lusts that war against the Soul these I say which resist divine grace and retard and keep back the effects of that love whereby Joh. 3. God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life 2 Tim. 2. If a Man therefore purge himself from these he shall be a vessel unto honour sanctified and meet for the Masters use and prepared unto every good work And being enriched with the blessings of divine Grace he shall even in this life being to tast and see that the Lord is good to those that love and fear him That we may therefore briefly summ up all that hath been said of this rule of Christian Piety which hath been confirmed by the word of God delivered in the oracles of the Prophets and asserted in the sentences of the Apostles and all Holy Writ we affirm that these three heads of Religion are not only of principal use but even absolutely necessary to all ranks and conditions of Christians for obtaining the salvation of their souls and the inheritance and possession of the Kingdom of Heaven and that this is a rule common to all Men who would live according to the Doctrine Precepts and Instructions of our Lord. Now these Heads which we have often mentioned are the Fear of the Lord Repentance and Charity or Brotherly love which all of us who profess the Doctrine of the Christian Religion must not only know but also carefully practise through the assistance of the divine grace which as we have already shew'd will be denied to none that rightly seek it as our Lord and Master himself does plainly assure us Luke 11. I say unto you ask and it shall be given you seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you For every one that asketh receiveth and he that seeketh findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened If a Son shall ask bread of any of you that is a Father will he give him a stone or if he ask a Fish will he for a Fish give him a Serpent or if he shall ask an Egg will he offer him a Scorpion if ye then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the holy spirit to them that ask him We also testifie and from the reading The Use and Practice of this Rule and observation of the holy Scriptures do affirm and declare that the corruption depravation and malignity of life and manners which is to be found amongst
necessary as well for the salvation of the souls as for the honest and lawful concerns of the bodies of Christian People and faithfully and diligently to discharge their part of the Office and Care that they have severally taken upon them not to give themselves over to sloth and idleness to luxury delights and pleasures but by day and by night though with hunger and thirst colds and heats losses and crosses perils and dangers both of life and fortune to behave themselves as becomes good faithful and approved Ministers and Servants and as that honest Keeper of another Mans Cattel affirmed of himself in relation to the Flocks committed to his care Gen. 30. This twenty years have I been with thee thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten That which was torn of Beasts I brought not unto thee I bare the loss of it of my hand didst thou require it whether stoln by day or stoln by night Thus I was in the day the drought consumed me and the frost by night and my sleep departed from mine eyes And as that excellent shepherd did whose task was neither more easie nor less dangerous as he himself intimates 1 Sam. 17. Thy Servant kept his Fathers Sheep and there came a Lion and a Bear and took a Lamb out of the Flock and I went out after him and smote him and delivered it out of his mouth and when he arose against me I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him Since these holy Shepherds then shewed so much care and diligence so much faithfulness and assiduity for sheep goats and brute beasts that their owners might suffer no loss what care then behoveth it them to take Psal 78. who feed Jacob the People of the Lord and Israel his Inheritance that they may feed them according to the iniegrity of their heart and guide them by the skilfulness of their hands whom they know to be the Flocks not of an earthly and mortal but of an eternal and immortal Lord and Master 1 Pet. 1. Not redeem'd with corruptible things is Silver and Gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot Now they must be led out and fed not in strange Pastures but in the Meadows and Fields of the Lord as it was the care of Jesus Christ himself who enjoyned the same to the Pastors who lawfully discharge that duty not once or twice but a third time saying John 21. Simon Son of Jonas lovest thou me more than these to which when he had answered yea Lord thou knowest that I love thee he saith unto him feed my Lambs He saith unto him again Simon Son of Jonas lovest thou me and he answering yea Lord thou knowest that I love thee he saith unto him feed my Sheep And he said unto him a third time Simon Son of Jonas lovest thou me and when he had answered the third time Lord thou knowest all things thou knowest that I love thee he saith unto him feed my Sheep This care which Jesus Christ so earnestly and affectionately commended to Pastors the Ancients Religiously undertook and gloried in the performance and discharge of the same as particularly St. Paul 2 Cor. 11. In labours more abundant in stripes above measure in prisons more frequent in deaths oft of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one Thrice was I beaten with rods once was I stoned thrice I suffered Ship-wreck a night and a day I have been in the deep In Journeying often in perils of waters in perils of Robbers in perils by mine own country-men in perils by the heathen in perils in the city in perils in the wilderness in perils in the sea in perils among false brethren in weariness and painfulness in watchings often in hunger and thirst in fastings often in cold and nakedness Besides those things that are without that which cometh upon me daily the care of all the Churches Who is weak and I am not weak who is offended and I burn not The Apostle was not only satisfied that he had suffered these things for the sake of the souls committed to his charge but also as we have already observed gloried and greatly rejoyced that by undergoing such troubles and care he might approve himself unto God wherefore he subjoyned 2 Cor. 12. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in Reproaches in Necessities in Persecutions in Distresses for Christs sake Of the like mind were the other holy Ministers of the Gospel also Acts 5. who departed from the presence of the Council rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name And daily in the Temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ Such endeavours and such instances of duty and faithful obedience God always expects of his Pastors and Ministers and when they are needful requires them Now when are they not needful what time is there that affords not occasion and opportunity for a strenuous discharge of the Ministry what reason colour or pretext can be given for idleness and neglecting of the Sheep what if there be no dangers but all things in peace and quietness yet opportunities and seasons of doing those things which concern the salvation of Souls are never wanting there is always occasion for procuring and encreasing the favour and love of God and for avoiding such a complaint and reproof as this Ezek. 34. Wo be to the Shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves should not the Shepherds feed the Flocks ye eat the fat and ye cloath you with the wooll ye kill them that are fed but ye feed not the Flock The diseased have ye not strengthned neither have ye healed that which was sick neither have ye bound up that which was broken neither have ye brought again that which was driven away neither have ye sought that which was lost but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them And they were scattered because there is no Shepherd and they became meat to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered My Sheep wandred through all the Mountains and upon every high hill yea my Flock was scattered upon all the face of the Earth and none did search or seek after them Therefore ye Shepherds hear the word of the Lord as I live saith the Lord God surely because my Flock became a prey and my Flock became meat to every beast of the field because there was no Shepherd neither did my Shepherds search for my Flock but the Shepherds fed themselves and not my Flock Therefore O ye Shepherds hear the word of the Lord Thus saith the Lord God behold I am against the Shepherds and I will require my Flock at their hand c. Consonant to these complaints and dreadful threatnings of the Lord God are the rebukes given by our Saviour to the Lazy Ambitious Covetous and negligent Ministers and Pastors
of his Flock Luke 11. Wo unto you ye Lawyers for ye lade Men with burdens grievous to be born and ye your selves touch not the burden with one of your fingers Wo unto you Scribes Pharisees Hypocrites for ye are like unto whited Sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead Mens bones and of all uncleanness Those Pastors and Ministers who dread such reproofs and threatnings of the Holy Ghost will forsake other affairs which concern not but rather obstruct their function and with all diligence and pains will set about the discharge of that duty which has been committed to them from above Nor will they think it enough to entrust others with the Government of their Churches who seriously mind their profit but slightly their duty or others by whom Children are only taught to say a few Prayers by heart whilst by age they are unable to do or understand any thing else Nay rather themselves being neither tired out by labour frightned by dangers nor discouraged by difficulties will never leave off to watch over visit and take account of the Flock of God and to take care of and instruct Christians of all ages ranks and conditions in the necessary duties of true and solid Piety This indeed is a heavy charge and not to be performed without much labour and pain but it is likewise most acceptable to the Lord and Master of the Flock who laid down his life for his sheep and will never withdraw the help and assistance which he hath promised to those who study to discharge aright the office of their Ministry And loe said he I am with you to the end of the World Now it behoves every one with a Religious awe and fear to take heed and look to himself that by Ambition Avarice Bribes Interest or other arts he aspire not to that noble Ministery nor be found so doing by that Just Judg from whom the secrets of the heart and actions of Men are not hidden and who allows no Man for his own ends by his own arts and industry and without a-lawful Call and Election to canvass for or step into that holy function nor to undertake the duties of the same unless he be endowed with those virtues and qualities which are set down and expresly described by the Holy Ghost for Tit. 1. A Bishop must be blameless as the Steward of God not self-will'd not soon angry not given to wine no striker nor given to filthy lucre but a lover of hospitality a lover of good Men sober just holy temperate holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers Happy is that Flock that has a Pastor so endowed and qualified then would there be fewer diseases less slothful idleness and fewer scabs and putrifying sores to be seen amongst the Sheep so much error ignorance delusion and superstition would not be found amongst them In a word Non insueta graves tentabunt pabula foetas Nec mala vicini pecoris contagia laedent No novell food their teeming Flocks would cloy Nor no contagious neighbouring ills annoy But on the contrary at what time the sovereign Lord should come to visit the Flock which he hath committed to the care of good Shepherds he would find it pure and clean free from all impious and false doctrines without errors nurtured and bred up in sound Discipline and solid Institution healthy and plump comely and beautiful as being fed with the sound food of pure and heavenly Doctrine which will not only be most acceptable to their Lord and Master but will also procure to the Pastors a most certain and excellent reward And what and how great that may be hoped to be the chief of the Apostles St. Peter declares to his fellow-labourers in the Gospel 1 Pet. 5. The Elders which are among you I exhort who am also an Elder and a witness of the Sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed feed the Flock of God which is among you taking the oversight thereof not by constraint but wilfully not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind neither as being Lords over Gods heritage but being ensamples to the Flock and when the chief Shepherd shall appear ye shall receive a crown of gloâ—y that fadeth not away And we make no The Duty of inferiour Ministers doubt but that if the three Heads which have been already proposed be carefully observed in the lives and manners of inferiour Ministers Priests and Deacons and all that serve at the Altar it will be a most profitable and sure way to procure the grace and favour of God not only to themselves but to all those also who war under their conduct in the Church of Christ for where the fear of the Lord the study of Repentance and the fervent virtue of brotherly love and Charity dwell abundantly there neither Pride nor Ambition neither Hatred nor Injustice neither Backbiting Vanity Pomp nor Ostentation nor any of those vices which are wont to war against the foul and the honesty and integrity of life have any place but rather Honesty Industry Justice Peace Concord Mildness Mercifulness Continence Civility Gravity and all the other Virtues which accompany these and spring from those three Heads as from pure Fountains of Christian Piety will be eminent and conspicuous Superiours will Rule Govern and Correct their Inferiours with paternal love and affection Inferiours will submit unto obey and love their superiours as the Vicegerents and Vicars of Jesus Christ our Redeemer the Lord Master and Head of his Church And both will retain in their minds and practise in their lives what is enjoyned by our Saviour Luke 22. The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors But ye shall not be so but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger and he that is chief as he that doth serve Now in all that we have already said or shall hereafter say it is not our intention to observe what the practice of all and every one is but only to admonish and declare what they ought to do as we premised in the beginning of this Treatise For it hath always been our design and constant purpose not to give offence to any Man living but only to propose to all what Christ our Supreme Lord and heavenly Master requires of us and of all that would be his Disciples and Followers And therefore that we may prosecute the Offices of the several ranks and qualities of Christians ar we have proposed in the beginning how useful and advantageous the three chief Heads of our Christian Rule to wit the Fear of the Lord Repentance and Brotherly Love are to Kings Princes The Duties of Kings Princes and Magistrates and Magistrates for ordering and carrying on their affairs with Prudence Wisdom
and ye have not because ye ask not ye ask and receive not because ye ask amiss that ye may consume it upon your Lusts And whilst matters go thus amongst those who profess the Faith and pretend to Piety and Religion the Christian Commonwealth and true Piety are lessened and impaired the barbarous and wicked Empires and Kingdoms of Christs enemies encrease and are enlarged Heresies and erroneous and accursed Sects spring up and daily grow greater and greater God set before us an illustrious and noble pattern of Chastity and Continence in the persons of his own Princes saying He shall not multiply to himself many Wives that may allure his mind That was not lawful to the ancient Kings of the people of Israel and shall it therefore be lawful to Christian Princes to deflower Virgins rob Women of their Honour and Reputation and by their foul example tempt others to the desire or act of the same filthiness till they know no more the number of them they have debauched and wronged Kings and Princes who would approve themselves to God are forbidden in Scripture to lift up their hearts in Pride above their brethren It would be horrid wickedness then to use Tyranny Inhumanity Pride Ambition Haughtiness Arrogance Insolency and Cruelty towards Christian Subjects and so to treat them as if they were Heathen Slaves bought with their Money for the satisfaction of their Lusts and Pleasures their Luxury Vanity and Pride God forbids any Man to aspire to Power and Supremacy to arrogate it to himself or any way to invade it he will not have any Man to be the Lord and Master of his People except those who are appointed by his Favour and Authority or are declared to be such by the just Right of Inheritance And therefore we dare be bold to affirm that it is not Lawful for any Man that professes himself to be a Disciple of Christ and fears the Judgment of God either by Favour Interest or popular Faction or by Force Fraud or Deceit by Money Gifts or Promises to invade the Rights and Places of others or to detain them being unjustly invaded It is a barbarous and inhumane thing to do so altogether repugnant to the Christian Doctrine and only to be practised by Heathenish Tyrants and perverse Infidels who are therefore liable to the severe and grievous punishments of a terrible Judgement Now seeing it is the command of God that the Ministers and Officers of Kings and Princes should be chosen from among the best and fittest of the People who are far from Covetousness and Ambition It would be a bad custom amongst Christians to appoint those for the administration of Ecclesiastical or Civil employments who endeavour to screw themselves into Place by Bribes or Largesses Arrogance or Ostentatiom or other such arts and politick slights and it would be worst of all if unworthy and unfit Persons vitious covetous and ambitious Men should be advanced to Magistracy either by the sole favour of Princes without any consideration of merit or for a reward of other ignoble services or upon the account of Money solicitation of friends recommendation of Ladies or other worldly by-respects But if Princes and Magistrates being endowed with the three above-mentioned Heads of Christian Piety will carefully and diligently set about the performance of the duties of their several places and employments they will omit no occasion of executing Justice and Judgment with all integrity and they will give no place either in City or Country in publick or in private to the saucy disobedient licentious froward and corrupt humors of wicked and perverse Men The fruit whereof will be that delights and pleasures luxury and uncleanness pride and violence brutishness and sensuality and in a word the contempt and neglect of the Laws of God reigning and abounding no more in Christian Countrys Cities and Towns they will not be like unto those Cities which St. Paul saies were for unrighteousness delivered up to a Reprobate sense or be by God Judged worse than Sodom and Gomorrah nor be liable to that character which the Prophet put upon those who neglected Righteousness and Judgment Jer. 9. They be all Adulterous an Assembly of treacherous Men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies but they are not valiant for the Truth upon the Earth for they proceed from evil to evil and they know not me saith the Lord. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour and trust ye not in any brother for every brother will utterly supplant and every neighbour will walk with standers And they will deceive every one his neighbour and will not speak the truth they have taught their tongue to speak lies and weary themselves to commit iniquity Jer. 6. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness and from the Prophet even unto the Priest every one dealeth falsly All these things happen where the fear of the Lord true Piety and Justice are neglected by Princes and Magistrates which is the cause that Thefts Robberies Murders Adulteries whoredom Blasphemy Perjury Usury Disobedience to Parents Irreverence towards Superiours in a word the forgetting and contempt of the commandments of God and all other horrid vices and impieties are so frequent and that besides the eternal destruction to which they hurry Men headlong they make Christ and the most pure and holy Christian Religion not only to be despised and contemned but also reproached and evil spoken of by barbarous and unbelieving Nations and perfidious Jews when they see and observe Christian Countrys and Cities full of Murderers Usurers Deceivers Cheats Backbiters Robbers Thieves Bauds Whores Adulterers and other flagitious Sinners abounding in Hatred Envy Suspicions Injuries and Offences void of Peace Sincerity and Honesty and lastly practising Carnal Licentiousness and all the tricks and artifices of Fraud and Cunning. All which vices and wickednesses are banished from thence where the decency of an honest Christian Conversation and the Obedience and love of Gods Commands are encouraged by Princes and Magistrates where Injuries Villanies Revenge and Contentions are not reckoned Honourable but Disgraceful to Persons and Families where Virtue only is applauded but Cruelty and Injustice Immodesty Inhumanity Pride and Arrogance are discountenanced and hissed at Now it is impossible that in those places where Rulers and Governors do their duty and give good example to others Murderers Thieves Robbers Blasphemers Adulterers perjured Persons Panders Usurers Cheats Covetous and hurtful persons Witches Wizzards Sorcerers or any despisers and transgressors of the Laws of Heaven should harbour and abide but that all according to the direction of God should as much as may be be entirely rooted out not only lest by their crimes and wickedness they may hurt others but lest they should by their filthy Conversation corrupting the whole Body of the State and especially the tender Youth allure them into the like Crimes and render their Scholars worse than the
Masters because we are all apt to learn and imitate wicked and bad examples for as the divine Oracle saith Gen. 8. The imagination of Mans heart is evil from his Youth Nor would any reason of State allow if the fear of the Lord Repentance and Brotherly-love dwelt as they ought in the hearts of Princes that open Malefactors disturbers of the publick Peace and those that hurt and corrupt the Innocent and Simple who by the Authority of divine Law are utterly to be expelled and cast out of Christian Governments should either be suffered to live in their own Country or be received protected and defended by other Princes or secured by Pass-ports and safe conducts lest thereby they might be continued alive to the ruine and destruction either of the Princes and Magistrates from whom they have fled or of those by whom they are received If this were punctually observed we should find greater reverence paid to the Law less licentiousness and wanton and rash Factiousness amongst Christians For neither is divine Justice divided nor is any wicked impure or incorrigible person tho transported to any place of the Earth approved of or accepted of God nor ought good and godly Princes ever to admit such to any place in their favour or affairs for it is written Psal 5. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness neither shall evil dwell with thee The foolish shall not stand in thy sight thou hatest all workers of iniquity Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing the Lord will abher the bloody and deceitful Man Now that this Judgment and Counsel of God ought to be followed by those Princes who study and endeavour to approve themselves to the Lord and Prince of Princes that holy profession of the Prince according to Gods own heart plainly demonstrates Psal 101. I will walk within my house with a perfect heart I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes I hate the work of them that turn aside it shall not cleave to me A froward heart shall depart from me I will not know a wicked person Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour him will I cut off him that hath a high look and a proud heart will not I suffer Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the Land that they may dwell with me he that walketh in a perfect way he shall serve me He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight I will early destroy all the wicked of the Land that I may cut off all wicked doers from the City of the Lord. The authority of divine Justice is perpetual and unalterable which ought equally to be regarded by all Christian Princes nor must they think it is divided or to be executed by halves but they must observe it wholly and entirely squaring it by the Will and Precept of the King of Kings and Lord of all the Earth who when he had appointed Cities of Refuge or Sanctuaries amongst his People whither they who had killed any one without malice or inveterate and confirmed hatred might fly to escape revenge concerning others who with a deliberate purpose of mind committed the fact he thus Enacts Deut. 19. If any Man hate his neighbour and lie in wait for him and rise up against him and smite him mortally that he dies and fleeth into one of these Cities then the Elders of his City shall send and fetch him thence and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood that he may die thine eye shall not pity him but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel that it may go well with thee The same Justice he commands to be executed Deut. 17. 19 22 24. against Thieves Robbers Cheats Ravishers Adulterers and other open Offenders and publick violators of Justice Truth and Honesty all whom he will have taken out of the way that the evil may be put away from Israel and therefore to the several sentences he adds And so shalt thou put away the evil from among you And since the Christian Doctrine hath taught the rest of the Officers of Kingdoms and Commonwealths all Judges Lawyers Advocates Proctors Clerks and other subservient Ministers of Magistrates and Courts of Judicature the fear of the Lord Repentance and Brotherly-love it will not allow them to Practise or get Estates by Fraud Deceit Cavilling Petty-fogging malicious interpretation of the Law protracting of Suits starting of litigious Processes superfluous invention of Pleas or by false information against the Innocent or unjust defence of the Guilty For this Doctrine condemns all haughtiness of mind Luxury Pride and Ambition and all vices that are fed and cherished by riches even innocently got but much more severely condemns Men who get Estates and live splendidly of the sweat and blood of their Christian Brethren and by their Fraud Craft cunning and over-reaching and such ways as exceed the perverseness of which God sadly complaining thus threatens by the Prophet Jer. 5. Among my People are found wicked Men they lay wait as he that setteth snares they set a trap they catch Men. As a Cage is full of Birds so are their Houses full of Deceit therefore they are become great and waxen rich They are waxen fat they shine yea they over pass the deeds of the wicked they Judge not the Cause the Cause of the Fatherless yet they prosper and the right of the needy do they not Judge Shall I not visit for these things saith the Lord Shall not my soul be avenged on such a Nation as this from such crimes must all the Officers of a State flee who in prospect of Salvation endeavour to live Godly Justly and Honestly in this present wicked world and they ought to make it their whole care and business that Equity Justice and Moderation may flourish both in publick and private and that the powerful rich and crafty may not unjustly impose upon the weak poor and simple since that charge is seriously pressed upon them by God himself Isa 1. Learn to do well seek Judgment relieve the oppressed Judge the fatherless plead for the widow Now as to the Rich and such as The Duty of the Rich. endeavour to be so if they would remember their promise made in holy Baptism and confirmed by covenant with the Lord if they resolve to follow after and practise holiness according to the rules of Christian Piety they may easily and plainly learn from the Doctrine of our Lord and Master contained in the three aforementioned Heads how far otherwise they ought to behave themselves both in getting and spending of Estates than most part of Rich Men usually do For the Unjust Covetous and Insatiable Desire of Riches and the vain superfluous ambitious or selfish use of them are not consistent with the fear of the Lord the duty of Repentance and Brotherly-love of Christians which approve not those advantages that wealth abuses to pleasures and
luxury but rather condemn them The Christian Doctrine that advises those who would be saved not to trust to Riches commending Honesty Modesty Temperance Innocence Continence Mercy Bounty Liberality and the other Duties of Piety and Religion and on the contrary detesting and disswading from the opposite vices as Pride and Haughtiness Delights and Pleasures Injuries Robberies and Oppression of the Poor detaining or Cheating the Labourers Wages Usury Monopolies enhaunsing of prices and every thing else that is either disgraceful to the doer hurtful to our Christian Brethren or inconsistent with the publick good in the Judgment of God himself For he who reckons all Christians his Brethren and Children of one Common Father the Just Merciful and Bountiful God and shall know that they stand in need of his help ought to assist them partly by giving and partly by lending without any hope of profit benefit or interest and thereby magnifie God the Father who hath enabled him to shew that kindness to his Brethren which the liberal goodness of God hath promised to recompense with a sure and excellent reward For so it is written Luke 6. Do good and lend hoping for nothing again and your reward shall be great and ye shall be the children of the highest for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil Be ye therefore Merciful as your Father also is Merciful To this duty of beneficence enjoyned by Christ to his Disciples we may add that strict command of God Deut. 15. If there be among you a poor Man of one of thy brethren within any of thy Gates in thy Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee thou shalt not harden thy heart nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart saying the seventh year the year of release is at hand and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother and thou givest him nought and he cry unto the Lord against thee and it be sin unto thee Thou shalt surely give him and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him because that for that thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto For the poor shall never cease out of the Land therefore I command thee saying Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother to thy poor and to thy needy in the Land The sincere Disciples of Christ ought to set before their eyes and think on that command of God that is backed with so many reasons commended by so many promises and armed with so many threatnings against the neglecters of it and freely bestow and lend according to their abilities avoiding what in them lies that sentence pronounced by the Holy Ghost against the rich Men of this World and not in good works Jam. 5. Go to now ye rich Men weep and houl for your miseries that shall come upon you Your riches are corrupted and your Garments are Moth-eaten your Gold and Silver is Cankered and the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall eat your flesh as it were fire ye have heaped treasure together for the last days Behold the hire of the Labourers which have reaped dawn your Fields which is of you kept back by Fraud erieth and the cries of them which have reaped are entred into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth Ye have lived in pleasure on the Earth and been wanton ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter Consonant to this sentence is that dreadful commination of Christ Luke 6. Wo unto you that are rich for ye have received your consolation Wo unto you that are full for ye shall hunger wo unto you that laugh now for ye shall mourn and weep And is it not a very terrible sentence that is pronounced and with an asseveration confirmed by our Saviour against rich Men Mat. 19. Verily I say unto you that a rich Man shall hardly enter into the Kingdom of Heaven And again I say unto you it is easier for a Camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich Man to enter into the Kingdom of God The reason of this difficulty the Holy Ghost affirms to be because the desire and love of riches deceives Men and turns them often out of the streight road of Equity and Justice For he that desires to be rich hastens to be so but then what respect is there to the Law what fear or shame in him who sets his soul upon wealth nay plenty and opulency when once it is acquired debauches both Men and Women from an innocent modest and honest way of living into luxury vanity and pomp into pride and strife and into other violations of the divine commandments and contempt of Christian simplicity setting off enormous vices with great and plausible names so prone is the sinful appetite of Man to abuse even the advantages and blessings of earthly things a fault carefully to be avoided as the Apostle admonisheth 1 Tim. 6. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown Men in destruction and perdition for the love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows And therefore that good Men may be ware of that deceitfulness of riches Psal 62. The holy Ghost by the mouth of the Prophet gives this admonition If riches encrease set not your heart upon them Nor is the holy Doctrine of our Lord and Master The duty of Merchants and Tradesmen more remiss or obscure in informing all those who live and endeavour to get Estates by Traffick and Trades For such are taught by the fear of the Lord the study of Repentance and Brotherly Love to deceive no Man not to adulterate or change diminish or increase their goods and commodities nor to neglect any thing that relates to them which the nature of the goods require not to change and raise their prices nor to deal fraudulently in weights and measures for the holy Scriptures assure us that all such frauds and cheats argue a contempt of divine Justice Christian simplicity and uprightness and are extremely offensive to the supreme Judge of all Men. Prov. 11. A false ballance is abomination to the Lord but a just weight is his delight And again Prov. 20. Divers weights and divers measures both of them are alike abomination to the Lord. Nor is that custom of cheating and circumventing our brethren by false prices and oaths and a cunning wheadle of words less abominable to God as it is written Amos 8. Hear this O ye that swallow up the needy even to make the poor of the Land to fail saying when will the new Moon