omnipotent power Whereas if he had said the invincible lawes of necessity did suffer Pompey not to lay these forewarnings to heart he had spoken like a Christian. For there can be no other invincible law of necessity besides the irresistible will of the one omnipotent God and that is a law absolutely invincible and most irresistible and yet a law which admits a liberty of choice in the parties subject to it or a law for the most part disiunctive It was the irresistible will of God that Pompey should have sufficient or as this Authour speakes abundant warning to correct his errour or to abate his high spirit or pride of heart and yet it was one and the same irresistible will of one and the same God that these forewarnings how prodigious soever should not necessitate his will or enforce relentance upon his present resolution No matter of fact or signes of the time can bee more infallible prognostickes of calamities foresignified by them then these signes of the time which it pleased our Saviour to interpret No prophecie or prediction though uttered by an Angell from heaven can induce a greater necessity or argue a more inevitable futurition of things so foretold then the expresse prediction or prophecie of the Sonne of God himselfe Though here or elsewhere he often foretold the destruction of Galilee and Ierasalem yet was not the destruction of either of them from the date of this prophefie absolutely necessary or inevitable but necessary only upon supposition or conditionally necessary unlesse yee repent yee shall all likewise perish Yea but this proposition might bee true if they did repent they should not perish But this doth not argue their repentance to have beene possible For Hypothetica propositio as they say nihil Ponit in esse this proposition would be true though in a beggers mouth If I had tenne thousand pound I should bee a rich man yet the truth of this proposition puts no money in his purse But he that would apply this Logicke rule unto our Saviours speech in my text doth either jeere our Saviour or make him to bee a jeerer of the sons of affliction which later of two evils is the worse for wheresoever the contract or covenant is serious or where the bond or grant is reall and legall the condition must be facible The Prince or Iudge that would grant or promise a malefactor suppose a man-slayer his life upon condition or provise that hee should restore the party whom he had slaine to life againe would be thought rather to mocke him than shew mercy to him and to do himselfe and his authority more wrong than the other good Solomon did not mocke Shimei when hee gave him life upon this condition that hee should keepe himselfe within the confines of Ierusalem This condition though not performed by Shimei was facible and the breach of it did bring death upon Shimei Every condition or promise if it bee serious praesupponit aliquid in esse presupposeth some estate in being As when our Saviour saith except yee repent yee shall all likewise perish This exception or condition presupposeth an estate in sinne yet an estate mutable It presupposeth these men were truly lyable to destruction threatned but it presupposeth withall that the doore of life and salvation though now but narrow was not utterly shut against them that as yet it was called to day with them yea that after this time there was a season wherein this sonne of God did call them to repentance when he beheld the city and wept over it Oh that thou hadst knowne this thy day c. After they had cast him off from being King over them and exempted themselves from his wonted speciall protection yet hee ceaseth not to pray for them Father forgive them for they know not what they do But here some who thinke it part of their office to send off Gods intended mercies from such as they have marked for reprobates will tell you that our Saviour did then pray not for the Iewes but for the Roman Souldiers yet Roman Souldiers they were not but Iewes of the worst condition which stoned the blessed Martyr Steven to death and yet he prayed Lord lay not this sinne unto their charge And it will be no sinne in us to thinke that the dying disciple did learne this extraordinary charity from his dying 〈◊〉 Now if either master or disciple had knowne the destruction which hanged over this peoples head to have beene at that time altogether inevitable neither of them would or might have prayed for them or against the plague which in the issue fell upon them for it was never lawfull for the Prophets nor is it for any man living this day to pray for any people or person in case they infallibly know that they are utterly cast off by God or left in a state impennible As for the destruction here threatned against Galilee and Ierusalem though at this time truly evitable yet it became Iesse evitable every day than other for almost forcy yeares by their continuall perseverance 〈◊〉 speciall sinnes and their progression in sinne without relentance was occasioned by the neglect of the signes of the time or the forewarnings which God had given them for their good No publique plagues or calamities whether fore-signified by such signes as these in my text or punctually foretold by Gods Prophets or by his Sonne the Prince of Prophets become inevitable unlesse it bee by contempt or neglect of forewarnings given or by deeming all events to be inevitable because they are foresignified or foretold by God himselfe or by his embassadours It is true sometimes that the very inevitability of ensueing calamities is either expressely foretold or foresignified but such presignifications or predictions can bee no forewarnings but rather peremptory denunciations of some irreversible sentence or doome after warnings given be they more or fewer To scorne or neglect forewarnings given is a Symptome of hardnesse of heart and contempt of Gods word To thinke all calamities are inevitable which are foretold or foresignified or of which God himselfe hath given forewarnings is a branch of false Doctrine or an heresie sometimes adludged by the lawmakers of this land so capitall that they did exempt the maintainers of it which were then the sect of the Anabaptists from all benefit of the Kings royall pardon as is apparent from the generall pardon of the thirty 2 yeare of King Henry the eight but by what cōstitutions of the visible Church of England which then was the errour of such men as thought nothing could fall out otherwise then it doth was condēned for an heresie or by what parliamentary law it was adjudged to be a capitall heresie uncapable of pardon or whether such Ecclesiasticall constitutions or municipall lawes as were then in force have beene since by like authority repeald or antiquated by disuse or discontinuance of practise are points without the limits of my profession and besides my intention either to
grievous punishment than wee or others are but before this day it is not Christian-like it is not safe to say or thinke that this man is a more grievous sinner than wee our selves are for than this man deserves to be more grievously plagued than wee our selves or others whom wee thinke well of so long as either they or wee have one houres space left for repentance To judge of the measure of any mans sinnes by the manner of his punishments here on earth or to determine of his future estate by his present death or disaster is to usurpe or trench upon Christ Iesus his royall prerogative which to prejudice by word or sentence interlocutory which to preoccupate by any peremptory or censorious thought is more than a praemunire a branch of high treason or rebellion against him Besides this exception which cleerely infringes the former allegations for judging of the cause by the effect or measuring mens sinnes by the manner of their visible punishments many positive reasons there be which might perswade us that our most good and gracious God without impeachment unto his unchangeable mercy and justice may and often doth in this life shew extraordinary mercy to extraordinary sinners and recompence ordinary sinners men not so sinfull as the best of us account our selves to be with extraordinary punishments in this life Both parts of this allegation may bee proved by instance and by rule by examples of Scripture and by reason grounded on Scripture First because such as have beene extraordinary sinners have obtained extraordinary mercy There was not an honest matron or unmarried woman in in the land of Iudea or Galilee but would have taken it for a defamation to have beene compared to Mary Magdalen Shee was a notorious sinner in that notorious sinne of wantonnesse and uncleanenesse and yet obtained greater mercy than any woman of her time besides the blessed Virgin Mary for shee was endowed with an extraordinary measure of that excellent gift of love and charity Our Saviour gives her this testimony that shee loved much And the reason why shee loved much was because many sinnes and those of the worst kind of sinnes were forgiven her Here was mercy two wayes extraordinary First in that shee had many such sinnes foregiven her Secondly in that shee loved much For this extraordinary measure of love through the same goodnesse of God by which it was given her was to have an extraordinary reward Againe what disciple or Apostle of our Saviour was there which might not have upbraided Peter with extraordinary ingratitude which is the height of sinne for denying his Lord and master three severall times expressely and in a manner judicially And yet for all this Gods mercy and gratious favour towards him was extraordinary even in respect of other disciples and Apostles the disciple whom Iesus loved only excepted Paul for a long time was a blaspheamer of the evangelicall truth a more furious persecutor of such as followed the waies of life then the Prince of his tribe King Saul had beene of righteous David And yet this man from a notorious sinner from a persecuting Saul was changed into a zealous Paul became a valiant champion for the faith more zealous in maintaining it than hee had beene furious in persecuting such as professed it And this suddaine and extraordinary change was wrought by the extraordinary mercy of God But doe not these and the like instances or examples of Gods extraordinary mercy favour and bounty towards extraordinary and notorious sinners no way prejudice or impeach the unchangeable mercy of God or his impartiall dealing with men No for the extraordinary mercy which hee shewed did not extend to them only but to all extraordinary sinners in the like kind unto the worlds end His extraordinary mercy and favour unto Mary Magdalen was as a pledge of his mercy and favour to all like sinners of her sexe so they would by true repentance accept and embrace his mercy and favour manifested unto her If any which heare or read of his mercy exhibited to her doe finally perish their perdition is from themselues If any truely repent their salvation and repentance by which they become immediatly capable of salvation is from the Lord. Gods extraordinary mercy unro Peter who had in a manner made shipwrack of his faith was as secunda tabula post naufragium as a planck or mast cast out after shipwrack not only for his succour but for the succour of all the Iewish nation which had denied the Lord that bought them As many of this nation as after Peters conversion were converted and saved their conversion and salvation was meerely from the Lord as many of them as perished did therefore perish because they did not repent as Peter did and they did therefore not repent because they did not lay Gods mercies towards him and to their country-men converted by him to their hearts That extraordinary mercy againe which God exhibited unto Paul yeelds the assurance of faith a sure anchor of hope to all persecutors of the Church whether Heathens Turkes or Infidels that there is plenteous redemption with God in Christ mercy plenteous to worke repentance in them and by repentance compleat redemption of body and soule As many of Turkes or other infidels as doe not repent and by their not repentance perish their perdition or not repentance is from themselues Not the saluation only but the repentance of such as doe repent is meerely from God and this God our Lord who is rich in mercy towards all did worke repentance in Mary Magdalene in Saint Peter and Saint Paul by meanes and motiues extraordinary that all such sinners as they were might belieue and knowe that no sinners are excluded from possibility of repentance in this life but that the mercy which he shewed to them by meanes extraordinary is daily exhibited by meanes ordinary that is by the administration of the word and sacraments vnto all that doe not wilfully exclude themselues The second point proposed was that God doth award extraordinary visible punishments vnto ordinary sinners without impeachment to his vnchangeable justice or to that ingraffed notion which all Christians haue of his unpartiall dealing with the sonnes of men It was an extraordinary visitation wherewith he visited the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and their territories 1. Sam. 6. 19. for he smote of the people fiftie thousand threescore and tenne men because they had looked into the Arke of the Lord. It was likewise an extraordinary punishment upon Vzzah who being but a Leuite did touch the Arke of the Lord. 2. Sam. 6. 6. For he was smitten with suddaine death from which kinde of punishment all of us doe pray or ought to pray that the Lord would deliuer us But may wee therefore conclude that these men of Bethshemesh were sinners above all the men of Iudah or that Vzzah was a more grievous sinner than any Levite of his age on whom the Lord did not shew like punishments God
in restoring the service and worship of the true God Albeit hee had found the Temple so strangely prophaned in the first moneth of the yeare of his raigne as might seeme to require many moneths labour for it's preparation cleansing yet in the second moneth by his zealous care the feast of unleavened bread with the Passeover and other parts of Gods service were celebrated with such publike ioy and solemnity as the like had not beene seene in Ierusalem from the dayes of Solomon the sonne of David who consecrated the Temple as we read 2. Chron. 30. v. 26. In all this reformation the Heads and Rulers the Priests and Levites with other parties principally taxed by the Prophet Micah had gone along with their good King and no doubt had entred the same Covenant with the Lord their God which he resolved to do 2. Chron. 29. v. 10. and having thus returned unto the God of their Fathers they presumed that he was now turned to them and would be their Guardian and Protector against their enemies Albeit they had seene their Brethren the ten Tribes of Israel about this time lead into captivity by the Affyrian yet this sad accident through the deceitfulnesse of hypocrisy would in all likely hood adde more to their presumption than to their feare They were at all times prone to iudge others rashly and therefore at this time would in all likelyhood suspect that this Iudgement had befalne Israel because they had this plausible pretence or motive that Israel for the most part would not ioyne with Hezekiah in this reformation of religion or restauration of Gods service but scoffed at his messengers when they were solemnely invited thereunto But this reformation alas was on Iudah's part the King excepted but a lame or defective reformation For whilst they pulled downe idols in the high places suffering the idols of covetousnesse oppression and cruelty to bee enshrined in their hearts whilst they cleanse the Temple from materiall filth or prophanation and in the meane time harboured prophanesse and uncleanesse in their owne breasts they did not turne to the Lord with their whole hearts as the Lord in the Law required and Solomon in the consecration of the Temple did on their part capitulate and covenant However an halfe reformation was better then none Lesse evill it was to have no Idols or Images in the high places no prophanesse in the Temple then to have Idols both in their breasts and in the woods then to have the Temple of God and their hearts alike prophaned This is true yet whilst they rest perswaded that the Lord will graciously accept of their lame sacrifice that is of this superficiall or halfe reformation or that he was tied by promise to performe the mercies which he promised to David and Solomon upon true repentance unto them as they were now affected Laudē cum crimine pensant this confidence or presumption was worse then the abuses which they had reformed To rely or leane upon the Lord in the consciousnesse of those out-crying sinnes was perfect hypocrisie And that is if not worse farre altogether as bad as downe-right open Idolatry And the Prophet Micah would give posterity to understand that these delinquents presumption upon Gods favour before they repented of their grosse sins or delinquences did provoke Gods fierce wrath against them more then the sins themselves did They presumed God would be extraordinarily favourable unto them for Ierusalem and Sion's sake at least for the Temples sake seeing the Lord had chosen that place to put his name there But the righteous Lord by his Prophet declares himselfe to be so farre from this partiality or respect of persons that Ierusalem for their sakes should become an heape that Sion for their sakes should bee plowed as a field that the Temple in which they trusted should for their sakes be made like the high places of the forrest The summe or resultancy of all that hath beene said is this That as in every Nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousnesse is accepted of him So in whatsoever place or Nation bribery and oppression in the laiety mercenary temporizing in the clergy and hypocrisie in most sorts abound Gods fearefull iudgements still doe gather as they encrease and without repentant prayers and supplications are suddainly powred out like a thunder-showre But this thesis or Maior proposition will have the faithfull assent of all good Christians All the difficulty will bee in framing a Minor or assumption which shall runne parallell with this Maior That is to perswade the Magistracy the Gentry and Clergy of any state or kingdome that they are respectively as faulty as deeply guilty of these sinnes as men of their ranke and place were in the state of Iudah in Hezekiah's daies All that I have to say in this point for the present is to beseech Almighty God that every man amongst us whom it concerns and it more or lesse concernes all may enter into his owne heart and may unpartially examine and iudge himselfe that this land and people be never so iudged of the Lord as Micah had threatned Ierusalem and Iudah should be in the daies of good Hezekiah THE SECOND SERMON VPON IER 26. 19. AN hard taske it would bee to perswade the Magistracy the Gentry and Cleargy of any state or kingdome throughout Christendome that they are as deepely guilty of these sinnes as men of their place and ranke in Iudah were against whom Micah denounced that terrible judgement Against all that we can alleage to this purpose there is one generall exception alike common to all our hearers whom it concernes They must believe that the state of Iudah was deepely tainted with bribery corruption and oppression because the Prophet Micah hath said it But moderne preachers are no Prophets nor is all which they say to bee accounted any part either of Gods law or Gospell The exception indeed is thus farre pertinent that the same spirit of God which taught the Prophets to foresee evills to come or judgements approaching did likewise notifie unto them many matters of fact present or past which did provoke Gods judgements But of the like matters of their fact with their qualities such as are no Prophets can have no just notice can have no better knowledge of them then by here-say Now faith commeth not by here-say nor may the messenger of God so farre believe all that he heares though from many mouthes as to make it matter for the pulpit Yet one of these two we must believe we may be certaine of either that the Magistrates Nobles and Cleargy of this Realm are as faulty as men of their ranke and place in Iudah were in Micahs time or that the people of this kingdome are more malitious and slanderous at least more quarelous then the people of Iudah were If Vox populi were alwaies Vox Dei we might proceede with warrant of Gods word to make the same conclusion that Micah did to thunder
consilio alius magistro alius patrocinio nullus Deo miramur si nobis coelestis manus non praestet cui quicquid praestiterit derogamus If God at any time give prosperous successe to our proceedings beyond our hope and merit on ascribes this to fortune another to good hope or chance none to God We may conclude this point with the Psalmists testimony Except the Lord build the house they labour in vaine that build it Except the Lord keepe the City the watchman waketh but in vaine Psal. 127. 1. We shall no way pervert his words if we thus invert or extend their sence Except the Lord be purposed to ruinate the house they labour in vaine that seeke to ruinate it except the Lord delivers up the city into their hands they that beseige it beseige it in vaine and if all endeavours without his ratification of them be vaine then it is he that doth all in all it is he not the aire elements or hoste of heaven that bringeth scarcity famine or pestilence upon the land it is he not the enemy which wounds or weakens any state or kingdome But if all calamity be inflicted by his hand who can take off what he hath laid on who can heale where the great Physitian himselfe hath wounded But the question is not what man can doe when any calamity befals him but rather what he which can doe all things will have man to doe for himselfe Now it is not his will that we should in this case sit downe and doe nothing The ascribing of all the successe of our labours unto him doth teach us only to abandon all reliance upon our owne endeavours or consultations not the consultations or endeavours themselves It should be the first and last of all our endeavours carefully to consecrate all our consultations and enterprises unto him who alone is able to give a blessing unto them It is most true all our strength is but weaknesse in respect of him yet true with this exception unlesse we rely upon his strength It is true mans wisdome is but folly and yet true againe that our wisdome becomes more then mans wisdome by relying upon his wisdome with the strength of our hearts and affections Now for the strengthening of our reliance upon his wisdome strength and providence and for consecrating our endeavours aright two things are required 1. the right information of our understanding in point of Doctrine 2. sincerity of practise answerable to the right information of our understanding The first and generall part of Doctrine is the second point proposed that noe calamity or wound in state though inflicted by the immediate hand of God is altogether incurable if the remedy be sought in time This point of Doctrine is grounded upon another speciall principle of faith to wit that our gracious God in his severest punishments is a most just judge he doth not immediately delight in the exercises of punitive justice as he doth in the exercises of justice mercies and loving kindnesses He bestowes his blessings of prosperity freely and for his owne names sake not for our sakes or deservings He never plagueth any nation meerly for his owne names sake or of his owne accord but as provoked by their ill deservings Deus non priui est ultor quam homo peccator God never proceeds to revenge before man hath done him manifest wrong Poena semper sequitur culpam Punishment never hath precedency of offences but alwayes followes them and for the most part in great distance This truth or principle of faith is expressly supposed by the wise King in this Chap. v. 24. and if thy people Israel be put to the worse before their enemy because they have sinned against thee This inferres that they should not be punished with so much as losse of victory or defeate unlesse they had first sinned against their God and againe v. 26. when the heaven is shut up and there is no raine because they have sinned against thee This teacheth us the truth of that which an ancient father hath nos mutamus naturam rerum we exchange the nature of the creature and divert the sweet influence of heaven from our selves by changing from better to worse and by our turning from God Quid ergo de poenarum acerbitate quaerimur unusquisque nostrum ipse se punit They are the expostulation of Salvian with the Christians of his time which had beene often overcome and long prest by barbarous and hereticall nations But why doe we complaine that our punishment is bitter and grievous seeing every one of us doth punish himselfe But here happly some will make that objection against the former point which Salvian makes against himselfe by way of prevention if all punishment or calamity be from God how are we said to punish our selues His answere is very satisfactory Vtrumque verum est a deo quippe punimur sed ipsi facimus ut puniamur Lib. 8. Num. 264. Both are true we are punished by God but t is our owne doing that we are punished The manner and order by which mankind fall into extreamity of punishment whether temporall or everlasting that he collects out of that saying of the Prophet Esay Chap. 50. v. 11. This good father albeit he lived in the miserable times wherein the visible feature of Christs Church and of Christendome was much defaced by the wounds and scars which had beene given by barbarous hands yet was herein happy that he might freely avouch the unspeakable mercies of God and extend his unfeigned love to all even to those which perished in their sinnes without censure of heresie or persecution by men of his owne profession It was no scruple to his tender conscience to averre nor was the often averring it any imputation unto him for many generations that God did punish us invitus against his will but he was willing to heale the wounds which he had made that men did constraine him to continue or increase his plagues when he was otherwise ready to take off his punishing hand But some in latter yeares question and would to God they did but question whether punitive iustice be as direct an effect of Gods primary will or as primarily intended by him in respect of some men as the exercise of bounty and mercy toward others But if this Doctrine were positively determined the calamities which befall most states and kingdomes would be more incurable and all endeavours of reformation lesse available then is behoofefull for them to beleeve they are Howbeit some passages of sacred writ therebe which either naturally run or have beene drawne this way as if punitive iustice were the marke or ayme of meanes offered by God for so that place and the Apostle Rom. 1. 20. The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are cleerly seene to the intent that they should be without excuse But this expression of the originall is worthily corrected by the latter English God did
out present judgement against the Court against the chiefe cities of his kingdome and against the Church established in this kingdome 2 But whether are more faulty Magistrates and Superiours in giving just occasion to bee thus thought of or inferiours in taking occasion where none is given or greater then is justly given this I leave to the searcher of all hearts who hath reserved the judgements of times and seasons and of mens demerits in them unto himselfe alone by peculiar right of prerogative The most usefull point that I can pitch upon will be to discover the errours or fallacies by which we usually deceive our selves even whilst we endeavour to examine or judge our selves 3 Now as into cities strongly fortified well stored with men and victualls the enemy oft times findes entrance either by the negligence of the watch or at some secret places for the time ill manned So into Churches or common weales well grounded in points of faith and Orthodoxall doctrine and abounding with all spirituall foode destruction and ruine such judgement as Micah here threatned finde easie passage by a twofold negligence or incogitancy rather then grosse errour The first incogitancy common to most is that we hold it sufficient to repent us of our owne sinnes or of the sinnes of our owne times The second that even such as are willing to take an accurate view aswell of their fore-fathers or predecessors sinnes as as of their owne sinnes or of the sinnes of the time and place where they live do often use a false or imperfect scale For preventing the first incogitance we are to consider that albeit God do never punish the children for their fathers sinnes yet he usually visits the sinnes of the father upon the children at least with temporall plagues or punishments aswell publique as private And this visitation is sometimes drawne upon posterity not so much by a pronenes to imitate their fore-elders in those actuall sinnes by which they did first provoke Gods wrath as by a promptnesse to maintaine the Arts of their fore-elders without addition unto them especially if they have beene warranted by any kind of legality For children not to confesse the sinnes of their forefathers not to repent of them not to make satisfaction for them so farre as they have beene iniurious to men is by the rule of divine Iustice sufficient to charge the inheritance which descends unto posterity with the punishments due to their actuall transgressions from whom it descends Not to visit the sinnes immediately upon the first transgressions or transgressors but to give them and their successors a larger time for repentance is a branch of Gods long suffring and mercy But to visit the sins not duely repented of by the first and second upon the third and fourth generation is a branch of Iustice declared and avouched by God himselfe in the second commandement But this point will meet us againe in the reformation attempted by the good Iosias The second incogitance is more pertinent to this place and in it selfe more dangerous And it is this Many which carefully endeavour to frame their lives and actions by the propheticall rule are not so carefull and provident to measure theire transgressions by the propheticall scale or by the ballance of the Sanctuary but according to the rate of moderne corrupt language Thus when we heare the Prophets compare the oppressors or corrupt Magistrates of their times to ravenous wolves to brambles or thorny hedges most men instantly conceive that the parties whom Gods Prophets which were no slanderers did thus deepely censure had taken away their neighbours lives or goods by strong hand by some notorious disturbance of publique peace by such palpable facts as with us are said to be contrary to the crowne and dignity of the Prince And by this grosse calculation many Potentates and Magistrates many that take upon them to be reformers of others runne further upon the score of Gods wrath then the Iewish Rulers in Mica's time did before they bethinke themselves of any danger Many againe of tender consciences in respect of divers duties whereof others make no scruple when they heare or reade the woes denounced against hypocrites will with the Poet detest such lying lips even as the gates of Hell which speake well and meane ill which have God in theire mouths and the Divell in their hearts But he that measures this sinne of Hypocrisie by this Heathenish scale may come to make up the full measure of it before he hath charged it upon his accompts or bethinke himselfe to be in such arrerrages for this sinne as deserves to be called for 4 By the same oversight many people which firmely believe the propheticall rules to be most infallibly true make up the measure of their iniquity before they have made up their intended accounts or suspect themselves to be in any such arrerrages as may deserve the Prophets censure or to be called upon by threatning Gods Iudgements The error it selfe is much what the same as if a factor which stands charged with a thousand pounds sterling according to the old hanse or esterling pay should make up his private reckonings according to the rate of pounds or coyne this day currant throughout this kingdome he which thus accompts for any great summe must needs fall into the error of the Church of the Laodiceans Rev. 3. to thinke himselfe rich or well before hand when hee is poore and wretched and lyable to a debt unsatisfiable by himselfe unsupportable by his friends yet our accompts unto God we make up for the most part afthis manner 5. To make these different calculations agree or to reforme or rectify our corrupt language by the rule of the Sanctuary that which wee usually call warrines in dealing or wit to use the benefit of the Law or the advantage of times in making bargaines This in the propheticall language is hunting our brother with a net and whereas the Prophet saith of the Iudges and Magistrates of his times that even the best of them was but a bramble and the most upright amongst them as a thorny hedge This is the very Scantlings of the fayrest course of legall proceedings which poore men in time shall finde The least protection which the customary course of law affords unto them is but like the shelter which silly sheepe in a storme find under a hedge of thorne or bush of brambles However the law may protect them from the violence which other intend against them yet shall they be sure to leave their fleece for this protection It is a thing much to be wish'd that either the courts of temporall law were not so open or the doores of the Sanctuary might be closer shut than they are specially against such as are upon petty occasions farre more ready to spend a hundred pounds in legall vexation of his neighbour or Christian brother than to give an hundred pence for Christ's sake or his Church be the cause never so