of two sorts 1. The first is the Epicurean despair And it was the Israelites fault He smote said they the stony rock that the waters gushed out and the streams overflowed can he give bread also can he provide flesh for his people S. Gregory giveth us a note Because the Israelites ex luxuria were not fed with Quails as their lust came upon them presently desperaverunt they despired of Gods omnipotency or of his care in protecting them and providing for them And when a man conceiveth that either the thing promised will be alwayes futurum to come or if it hath no taste at all with him or that it is a thing not much to be esteemed he giveth himself to sensuality as S. Augustine said Quia non possum habere quae spero because I cannot have what I hope for at my own will I will have those things which are contra spem that is those things which I can have in this life which being present cannot be the object of hope according to the Epicures rule Ede bibe lude post mortem nulla voluptas eat drink play for there is no pleasure after death to be hoped for 2. 〈◊〉 second is more to be pitied but no lesse dangerous then the other which is despair in Gods mercy The Apostle was afraid lest the incestuous person should have been swallowed with this This errour ariseth upon an imagination that there may proceed such evil from the Creature as God cannot master whereas it is most certain that Gods mercies exceed all sin And this was Cains case and 〈◊〉 My iniquity is greater then can be forgiven S. Ambrose writing upon that place saith Mentiris Cain Cain thou lyest for if it were possible or lawful to think that any one attribute of 〈◊〉 had larger dimensions then another it must needs be mercy that would be most transcendent because it is an attribute which reacheth unto the heavens whereas his righteousnesse standeth like the strong mountains and his judgements like the great deep Therefore the School-men disputing the case of Judas whether his betraying of Christ or despair of Gods mercy was the greater sin they resolve that his despair was the greater because it rejected the medicine of Gods mercy and Christs merits by which the other sin might have been cured and so it was simply incureable Despair not therefore nor let the Devil perswade thee that 〈◊〉 is poor in mercy and onely can forgive small sins for his mercy is over all his works The means to attain and preserve hope are these First to consider the end of our hope which extends it self beyond this life The Wise man saith when a wicked man dieth his expectation shall perish and the hope of unjust men perisheth but the just hath hope in 〈◊〉 The consideration of our end raiseth our hope higher then this life And in another place he tells us that surely there will be an end and our hope shall not be cut off it ends not with our life and therefore S. Peter quoting a place in the Psalms saith Our heart shall be glad and our flesh shall rest in hope So that death doth not put an end to our hope 2. To consider the examples of others That the Patriarchs and Fathers lost not the fruit of their hope Our Fathers saith the Psalmist hoped in thee they trusted in thee and thou didst deliver them They called upon thee and were holpen they put their trust in thee and were not confounded And by these examples we should be quickened in our hope For it is the Devils policy to lay despair as an engine to entrap us perswading us that there were never such sinners as we are and therefore never were any in the like case with us But if we look back into the Scriptures we shall finde him to be but a seducer in this 3. A third is our own experience of Gods strengthening us against former temptations and of our own former deliverances from sin and danger which may make us say with David The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lyon and out of the paw of the bear he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine this is drawn from our experience then which nothing vseth to be more prevalent with us 4. But the chiefe means is that which is formerly alledged the consideration of the promise of God and withall that the promise is sure because he is faithfull that hath promised And whatsoever is written concerning these promises aforetime were written for our instruction that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope And this hath been the especial ayme of the holy Ghost to strengthen our hope in mentioning it so often in Scripture And it is onely God whose 〈◊〉 is factum est whose word and work go together therefore his promise is so sure that he speaks of things to come in the preter tense as if they were already done de futuris in preterito Therefore Nathan said to King David transtulit non transfert God hath taken away or put away thy sinne not God will put it away So Saint Paul that he hath already raised us and made us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus because though it be not yet 〈◊〉 yet is it as certain in respect of the promise as if it were already come Now seeing God is good and faithfull we may safely hope in him There is one thing remarkable and true in the blasphemous speech of 〈◊〉 Thou trustest in Egypt upon the staff of a bruised reed on which if a man leane it will go into his hand so fareth it with men that trust in other things besides God The wise man saith confidence in an 〈◊〉 man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth and a foot out of ioynt in either of which there is little help a waking dream as the heathen said Our hope therefore is called 〈◊〉 viva a lively hope for the worldlings hope is mortua dead hath no life in it or at least spes mortalis a mortal hope if we trust to it it will fail us and either wound us or make us ashamed as they in Job Job 6. 20. whereas true hope never makes ashamed Rom. 5. 3 And then we may boldly say with the Prophet why art thou so vexed O my soul and why art thou so disquieted within me O put thy trust in God for he is the health of my countenance and my God There are certain signes whereby we may know whether our hope be right for there is fleeting hope when a man thinks he hopes but doth not as a man may think he beleeves but doth not 1. The first is the signe which appeared in Ezechias in his sicknes saith he I beseech thee O Lord remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart
is not accomplished they are said to groan and desire to be delivered Now the onely remedy for this is the consideration expressed by S. Augustine Sustine illum sustinuit te si sustinuit te dum mutares vitam malam sustine tu illum dum coronat vitam bonam bear with him that hath born with thee if he have forborne thee whilst thou alterest thy ill life forbear him whiles he crowns a good life This hath great reason for it which shall be afterwards shewed when we come to treat of patience S. Basil compareth the Gospel to a net and fear to the lead which makes it sink and keeps it fast and hope to the cork which keeps it alwayes above without the lead of fear it would be carried hither and thither and without the cork of hope it would sink down under water and the Apostle shewes a joy in hope and therefore wills us to hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering and he gives a sufficient reason for he is faithful that hath promised And so all these are necessarily to be observed in this command of hope Another thing commanded is hope for earthly things For as our Saviour saith of faith he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much God exerciseth our faith in heavenly things by a faith in earthly things so it may be said of hope If a man can hope for heavenly things can he not hope for earthly And he that will not hope in God for the lesse will not hope for the more Our Saviour argueth from the greater to the lesse God having given us a soul providing food to preserve life how much more will he provide food and raiment for our bodies and if he cause his sun to shine and the rain to fall upon the wicked and ungodly will he not provide for his servants Qui pascit contemnents non pascet colentes He that feeds them that despise him will he not feed them that love him And our Saviour prosecuteth his argument that if God provide for the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field shall he not do it much more for man for whose use all things are made and preserved Therefore must we cast our selves upon God and not trust to the proud and such as go about with lies The care for temporal things is lawful so it be restrained within its limits that is within the lawful means and wayes which God alloweth For terrena bene curantur nil male agendo contra illa so bene contemnuntur nil male agendo propter illa we are careful enough for the things of this life if we do not waste them and carelesse enough of them if we use no ill means to get them We come now to that which is forbidden The object of hope is bonum and not every bonum neither but that good which we see not as the Apostle speaks it must be futurum Spes quae videtur non est spes as it is in faith and besides that it is futurum it must also be possibile and arduum possible to be had yet not with ease but with some difficulty to make us the better to esteem of it for if we could obtain it presently we need not hope for it And out of these two arise two extreams of hope which are here forbidden 1. Presumption 2. Despair Whereas eternal life is propounded as a thing possible arduum tamen not to be attained without difficulty there ariseth in our minde an affection called Presumption whereby we apprehend it as possible and easy and so neglect to labour for it as a thing of difficulty and thus presumption hopeth without hope But to avoid this we must know that the Lords delight is in them that fear him and hope in his mercy This hope must be mixed with fear in regard of the hardness of attaining ne forte reprobi fiamus as S. Paul though he had been taken up into the third heaven yet feared afterward lest he should become a cast away So then as there ought to be hope in regard of the possibility so in respect of the difficulty we must not presume we are not to presume of our selves or of others 1. Not of our selves For we are to know that of our selves we can do nothing unlesse there be Gratia praeveniens subsequens preventing and following grace which is divinum auxilium the divine aid if these be wanting our hope is meer presumption and folly Sine me nihil potest is facere without me ye can do nothing is sufficient to correct this humour and S. Bernard saith of the first Quaerere Deum non potest anima nisi praeveniatur ut quaerat The soul cannot seek God without this preventing grace And for the last the Psalmist saith Thy loving kindenesse and mercy shall follow me all the dayes of my life So that whatsoever we do all must be attributed to Gods grace Gratiae divinae ascribitur omne quod prospere a nobis geritur saith S. Gregory whatsoever is well done of us is all and wholly ascribed to Gods grace 2. We are not to presume upon the help of others our hope and trust must not be put in man Put not your trust in Princes saith the Psalmist nor in any childe of man and why Because there is no help in them Not in Abraham or Israel for they know not nor in Saints or Angels for they are not clean in his sight And therefore S. Augustine saith Solus siduciam praestat homini apud Deum Deus homo it is onely God the man that gives man confidence with God for he is onely Clypeus sperantium in eum a buckler to all them that trust in him God hath his ax in his hand ready to strike us no creature is able to ward off the blow it is onely this Deus homo Christ Jesus God and man that is able to bear it off from us 3. As a man may not presume of himself nor others so neither may he presume upon God further then his word gives warrant The word of God begetteth faith and faith hope so that there can be no hope without faith nor faith without a promise in the word whereupon to build David went no further Remember the word unto thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope And therefore it were a point of high presumption for a man to continue in sin in hope of Gods mercies without repentance and amendment of life whereas there is no promise of God that unrepentant sinners should finde mercy The other extream is Desperation which is opposite and flat contrary to Presumption and hope too for whereas true hope conceiveth a thing possible though it be hard and presumption takes it to be possible but not hard Despair thinketh it to be so hard that it is impossible Despair is
To have been mindfull of God in prosperity is a good ground for hope in adversity 2. The second is Saint Johns Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself keeps a pure conscience doth not as they which presume make their conscience a receptacle of corruption upon hope For as the fathers say Conscientia bona custos spei if it be kept clean our hope is true and right 3. The third is Davids Hope in the Lord and be doing good it must be active and doing good The heathen call labour the husband of hope There is hope the harlot and hope the married woman now hope the wife may be known from the harlot by this that she is alwayes with her husband accompanied with labour Sacrificate sacrificium justitiae et sperate in Domino offer to God the sacrifice of righteousnesse and put your trust in the Lord. There must be travaile and strife to do good in a true hope 4. The last is Saint Pauls who makes good hope to hold 〈◊〉 in tribulation It is that which tries whether it will hold the touch or not In silentio et 〈◊〉 erit sortitudo vestra in quietnes and confidence shall be your strength saith the prophet Esa. 31. 15. If we faint in adversity it cannot be true The heathen call hope the blossom or bud of tribulation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if the bud be nipt nofruit can be expected it will be but 〈◊〉 bastard hope but if it blossome in tribulation it will bring forth fruit in due season The last of our rules is that we should not onely have this hope in our selves but provoke it in others also It was Davids desire many shall see it and fear and trust in the Lord. That all the people may trust in him That the house of Israel The house 〈◊〉 That al that fear the Lord might trust in him To the furtherance whereof he promiseth to teach the wicked and tells the fooles that they deal madly in setting up their horn that is in trusting to themselves And thus much for hope CHAP. II. The sixth duty is prayer The end of prayer Gods glory The necessity of it The power of prayer The parts of prayer 1. Deprecation 2. Petition why God denies somethings we ask 3. Intercession 4. Thanksgiving which consists of 1. 〈◊〉 2 Complacency 3. promulgation 4 Provocation of others The excellency of praising God The properties of true prayer The helps to prayer Signes of faithfull prayer Of causing others to pray Now concerning prayer VNto every affection there is an operation suteable and so every grace hath its proper 〈◊〉 and operations besides which one grace usually depends so upon another that one may be called the fruit and effect of another Thus the fruit of faith is hope and the fruit of hope is prayer Speioperatio oratio hope works by prayer And so the property of hope is to 〈◊〉 us up to prayer and the property of prayer is to be interpres spei that is to expresse the desires of our hope In which respect as the Articles of our faith are summa credendorum the summe of things to be beleeved and the Law summa agendorum the sum of things to be done so the Lords prayer is summa sperandorum the summe of things to be hoped For the soul of man by considering and beleeving the judgements of God being brought down dejected and humbled to the dust and as it were struck dead hath some life put into it again by conceiving hope in his mercy for which we must repair to God by prayer and nothing better beseemeth a suitor for it then prayer and supplication Saint Augustine saith Precibus non 〈◊〉 ad Deum The way to God is by prayer not paces Therefore that hope may be partaker of its object mercy we are to know that mercy is onely to be expected and obtained from God by prayer And therefore Saint Augustine saith ut descendat miseratio ascendat oratio let prayer ascend that mercy may descend and so there shall be a blessed entercourse between his mercy and our prayer while we speak of prayer lest we mistake we are to conceive that prayer consists not onely in that which we outwardly make in the congregation which the Prophet calls vitulum 〈◊〉 the calves or sacrifice of our lips but inwardly also in lifting up the heart as the Apostle speaks Orabo 〈◊〉 orabo mente I will pray with the spirit I will pray with the understanding which is when the spirit ascends to God which howsoever it be not heard by men how vehement it is yet we know it is powerfull with God We see the experience of it in Moses The Lord saith to him why criest thou to me though there be no mention of any word he 〈◊〉 and this is principally and truely prayer for without it the prayer of the lips prevaileth not Our Saviour seemeth to taxe the Scribes with resting in outward 〈◊〉 when he quoteth a speech out of the prophet This people draweth neer unto me with their mouth and honoureth me with their lips but their heart is far from me And he tells his disciples in the sermon upon the mount that it is not the ingemination of Lord Lord that will gain the kingdom of heaven And therefore Saint Augustine saith Hoe negotium plus gemitibus constat quam sermonibus This work 〈◊〉 more in groans then words the spirit makes intercession for us with groanings unvtterable 1. Now the main end and scope of prayer is Gods honour and glory It pleaseth God by the prophet to account this as an especial honour done to him that even as the eyes of servants look to the hands of their masters and the eyes of an handmaid unto hand of her mistresse so our eyes wait on the Lord untill he have mercy upon us or as Saint Augustine Magna est gloria Dei ut nos simus mendici ejus It is Gods great honour that we are his beggars though it be of persons without the Church as in Cornelius whose prayer was accepted Act. 10. 2. or of persons within the Church yet out of Gods favour by their sinnes who call to God de prosundis out of the depth of misery Psal. 130. 1. though the person be an heathen yet his prayer inregard of the act it self is in some degree acceptable to God And this he accounts as an addition to his glory when we ackowledge that what we have we have not â—rom ourselves but from him Besides he takes it as a further honour to him as an homage we render him when we thank and glorifie him either for benefits or deliverances and to encourage us to this duty he addes a promise Call upon me saith he in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee but upon what condition and thou shalt glorifie me But this we may see set down most excellently by the Prophet where
another some come into the Church at prayer some not till the sermon begin But as the Apostle enjoyns tarry one for another that is all praise God together Inward unanimity and outward uniformity being a delight to God It was Davids joy I was glad when they said to me Let us go into the house of the Lord and soon after he addeth Jerusalem is as a City that is compact together or as some translation at unity in it self And this spiritual union is without question a great strengthening to the Church for when either one comes after another or if in time of Gods service some sing not nor pray with the other this must needs make a breach in the fabrick of it In Discordia saith Augustine nemo benedicit Dominum God is never truely or well served where there is discord or separation The Prophets earnest desire is O magnifie the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together And therefore it is that the holy Ghost mentioneth so often this unanimity to be in the infancy of the Church as being one of the chief causes of the growth and enlarging of it The Spirit came upon them when they were all together with one accord in one place as if the whole Church were one person and had but one tongue and one lip And in prayer it is said They lift up their voice with one accord And they heard so too The people with one accord gave heed to the things which Philip spake So in the point of uniformity we see that he was punished that was not like the rest of the guests that had not a wedding garment And as the separation and division of tongues was a curse that the earth was no more unius labii of one speech or language so it is a great part of the blessednesse of the heavenly Jerusalem that the Elders sing with one voice unto the Lord. The Fathers beat much upon this and Saint Chrysostome extolleth it highly and saith that it falleth upon God like a showre of hailstones and Saint Augustine saith of singing of prayses that it sounds in Gods eares tanquam resonantia maris as the voice of many waters which he seemeth to take from that place in the Revelation 2. The second is fear 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in all fear saith S. Peter with fear and trembling saith S. Paul for if the service of men according to the rule of S. Paul and Saint Peter must be so much more the service of God But in our exteriour service of God there is commonly so little fear or rather such want of fear that commonly we sleep in it like the Apostles who could not hold open their eyes being in horto in the garden with their Master they could not watch one hour and therefore that judgement befell them that they all forsook Christ and fled And there is little fear in sleep When Jacob was afraid of his brother Esau he slept not all that night The Example of the Christians in the Primitive Church is left upon record for our observation That they heard S. Paul preaching till midnight Upon which place Chrysostome saith Ad hoc commemoravit eos qui media nocte vigilabant ut pudeat eos qui media die dormiunt the Evangelist recordeth those that watch till midnight to this end that they may be ashamed that sleep at mid-day Now because the actions of a natural man are eating drinking and sleeping the same reason which 〈◊〉 the using of the two former in the Church must needs be of force to condemn sleeping too Have ye not houses to eat and drink in saith the Apostle thereby condemning those that used to eat and drink in the Church So if he could have supposed that the Corinthians would have slept there he would have asked the same question concerning sleeping And as he reasons from the place so we may reason from the time out of another place of the same Apostle Vigilate nam qui dormiunt nocte dormiunt watch for they that sleep sleep in the night But with us we may say They that sleep sleep in the day And so whereas the place of sleeping should be our houses and the time of sleeping the night we because we will be crosse in the day-time sleep at Church Natural reason tells us that Actio vestita indebitis circumstantiis illicita est every action cloathed with undue circumstances is unlawful The Prophet as his manner is after he had denounced a curse upon a carelesse people falleth to blessing the Church of God in which he saith Non dormiet quisquam neque dormitabit none shall 〈◊〉 nor sleep among them And our Saviour gives this caveat Beware that the Lord when he cometh find you not sleeping which though it have a spiritual understanding yet there follows a temporal punishment In prima poena est estimatio peccati we may consider of the sin by the first punishment and so we may weigh every 〈◊〉 in prima poena God usually punisheth sin in its own kinde We see it from the beginning Cains murder God threatneth with blood Sodoms heat of lust punished with fire c. Eutychus sleep in this case with a dead sleep This carelesnesse in Gods service is the onely way to bring us first to 〈◊〉 and then to Apostacy and no religion at all We finde it punished in the Church she slept and awoke but found not her beloved And this judgement followed the Apostles themselves because they could not watch one hour they all forsook our Saviour and Peter forsware him But howsoever it stands in respect of Gods punishments or mercies yet the former reasons condemn it and we may adde that the heart truely and rightly affected in Gods service is ardens cor as the Disciples were that talked with our Saviour going to Emaus their heart 〈◊〉 and a Father saith that it is impossible to have cor ardens sub oculo gravi a burning heart and a heavy eye are not compatible 3. There must be with these Cordis praesentia our heart must be present and watchful too for though we watch outwardly yet there may be such extravagant and wandering thoughts in the heart that we may be said to be praesentes absentes absent though present And where the heart is absent the other members will discover it The note of Cor fatui a fools heart is to be in domo laetitiae it turneth that way where the sport lyeth whereas cor prudens the heart of him that hath understanding quaerit scientiam seeketh to get knowledge The inner parts of a fool are like a broken vessel he will hold no knowledge so long as he liveth it runneth out as fast as it is poured in but the wise inquire at the mouth of the wise in the Congregation and ponder his words in their heart And these are testified by
terrible punishment to such The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the people that forget God Take heed saith Moses that you forget not the Lord. Deut. 4. 9. A man would think it were impossible that any should forget him but Saint Jerome tells us how a man may forget him if we behave our selves so in our speech that nothing comes from us that savoureth of God then we may be truly said to forget him A man is said to forget Gods name when he breaketh the first Commandment as it is in Jeremy Their fathers have forgoten my name for Baal and so for the rest And therefore they that truly take up this banner meditate day and night how they may do that which shall be to their masters glory They speak as king David did of his glorious honour and majesty Solomon saith that a just mans mouth doth 〈◊〉 sapientiam speak of wisdom he speaks something which may redound to the glory of Gods name and therefore he calls the tongue of the wise man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ipsam salutem a vein of life and health it self out of which comes glory to God and health to himself but we may now say Rarum est nomen 〈◊〉 the reverend mention of Gods name is 〈◊〉 in some mens mouths they seldome speak of him unlesse it be to dishonour him by prophane swearing and cursing Or else they do like Solomons fools ebullire 〈◊〉 belch out folly or babble and some out vanity The p actise of king David was to shew forth Gods righteousnes and make mention of it and of it onely And in the Prophet Esays song ye shall finde We will make mention onely of thy Name God would execute his Judgements upon Pharoah that he might get him a name or that his name might be declared or spoken of through all the world This mention this honorifica mentio is of three sorts 1. In speaking often of it of which hath been formerly spoken 2. In speaking well of his Name 3. In speaking reverently of it 1. We must speak often of it his name must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 often and much to be talked of this is the end of all his great wonders to have his name famous and spoken of in the world as is already shewed 2. His name must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 blessed or well spoken of The speaking well or blessing of Gods name we have a pattern from the 〈◊〉 and Saints of God It was their Epiphonema or close after mercies and judgements They shall say alway saith the Psalmist The Lord be praised as himself saith elsewhere Blessed be his glorious name for ever 〈◊〉 for the deliverance of Moses and the Israelites from 〈◊〉 Blessed be the Lord who hath delivered you c. And of King David Blessed be the Lord that hath not given us over for a prey So for Gods favour as the women to Naomi Blessed be the Lord which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman So was Davids thankfulnesse Blessed be the Lord because he hath heard the voice of my supplications and blessed be the Lord from everlasting And Nehemiah and the people Blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise As also for his preservation from sinning as David being prevented by Abigail from shedding Nabals blood Blessed be the Lord God of Israel And lastly for Gods chastisements and crosses as Job The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. This speaking well of God and converting his blessings and judgements into an honourable mention of his name is commanded Contrary to this it is when a man receiving some mercy thinks it not great enough and therefore grudges and is unthankful or being under some affliction or judgement thinks it too great and so murmurs and complains and converts all to the dispraise of God 3. His name must be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 reverend and venerable We must speak reverently of Gods name not make it common as if we did account of it no better then a stone in the street and of his service as that of a common person Ye shall not prophane my holy name saith God that is not use it commonly for to the sanctifying of his name is opposite the prophaning of it or making it common Thus when men speak of Gods nature of his decrees and judgements and of the great mysteries of Religion without fear and rerevence as if they were discoursing of ordinary matters they do not reverence his name much lesse when it is abused and prophaned as Witches do in sorcery and evil arts or as blasphemers that use it irreverently or by way of execration when men ascribe to God what is contrary to his nature as to make him unjust cruel the author of sin c. Besides these there is another way of applying Gods name to our actions and that both to our own and other mens 1. To our own for this we have a precept Whatsoever ye do saith the Apostle in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord and how is that by calling upon his name for a blessing when we say with the Psalmist our help standeth in the name of the Lord. 2. To others thus God commanded the Levites to put his name upon the people and blesse them How that is the Psalmist sheweth by wishing them good luck in the name of the Lord. The contrary to this is to curse when with the same tongue as S. James saith we blesse God the Father and curse men This is a terrible abuse to use the name of God as a curse to our selves or others which is given for a blessing onely as when men wish that God would confound them and so as S. Augustine saith faciunt Deum carnificem suum they make God their own executioner whereas God hath given his name for a strong tower of defence Thus much for sanctifying his name in our words now for our actions We must make his name glorious in our actions which is 1. when our actions are such that men seeing our good works may glorify our father which is in heaven Therefore the Apostles precept is Let every one that calleth upon the name of the Lord depart from iniquity Gods name is polluted and prophaned by the wickednesse of them that professe it The wickednesse of the childe pollutes the father The Law saith If the daughter of a Priest commit fornication she polluteth her father Now God is our Father when we take his name upon us and if we do not glorifie him in our actions nor depart from iniquity we do what we can to make him polluted Therefore God threatens those that take his law into their mouths and yet hate to be reformed that he will set their sins in order
was in trouble And of the Israelites in their distresse And this kinde of vow we see is allowable for God delivered David out of all his trouble and it is said in the text concerning the Israelites that the Lord heard the voice of Israel allowed of their vow Of the other a vow of thankfullnes we have in the Marriners who after the storm was over offered sacrifices and vowed vows so that in a storm and in a calm both in prosperity and adversity vows may be made the one is a kind of prayer obtaining help the other a part of thankfullnes for help obtained 6. As before we shewed the vow must be performed so it must be performed presently without delay The vouendum must be with a reddendum solvendum for as we vow so we must be careful to perform with God what we vow Saint Bernard saith Juste exigitur ad solvendum qui non cogitur ad vovendum Vovete saith the Prophet David but what then is that all to vow with hope to be relieved onely no 〈◊〉 too be as willing to perform what thou hast vowed Pay thy vows saith he in another place it is a due debt and by as strong a tie and bond as thou canst enter into Hoc exigitur hoc 〈◊〉 saith Saint Augustine It is and will be exacted for it is due debt And pay it at the day When thou hast vowed a vow unto the Lord defer not to pay it saith the Preacher The flesh of the peace offering must be eaten the same day that it is offered nothing must be left till the morrow and in the Nazarites vow if any were defiled during the time of his separation the priest must offer a sinne offering and a peace offering and he must hallow his head the same day It is better thou shouldest not vow then that thou shouldest vow and not pay it The reason he gives is for God delighteth not in the sacrifice of fooles pay therefore that thou hast vowed You see still it is a payment not a gift and it is such a folly not to pay as a mounts to a grosse abuse of Gods name and a scoffing at his most blessed and sacred majesty Saint Augustine shall end this point Sunt quaedam quae etiam non voventes debemus qnaedam etiam quae nisi voverimus non debemus sed postquam ea Domino promisimus 〈◊〉 reddere constringimur I will onely adde one thing we must not come short in our payment God wil take no composition in this kinde we must not so much as vary in our payment not alter nor change a good for a bad we must rather adde then detract if we mean to have our bond our vow cancelled So much for vows CHAP. V. Of glorifying Gods name from the heart The means of glorifying it The signes Of causing others to glorifie it The second part of this precept the Commination Reasons why such a threatening is here denounced Gods punishing the breach of this Commandment by visible judgements God is jealous of his name VVE come now from the things commanded and forbidden in this precept and the Homogeneall duties which are included in the first and second rule of expounding the Law 〈◊〉 the other rules which here also take place For the third rule that the Law is spiritually to be understood so this Law of hallowing Gods name must be expounded we must do all from the heart Though the name be the object of speech yet all our vsing of Gods name by swearing vowing praising or speaking of it must come from the heart otherwise we are all in the number of those that draw neer to God with their lips but their hearts are far off by this means perverting the order in Gods worship where the heart must come first and the lips attend it Saint Augustine in his confessions saith Flete mecum fratres flete pro me weep with me brethren and weep for me Now what was it for which he desires them to weep in the same place he declares that in singing Psalms in the Church Animus magis erat ad cantum quam adid quod 〈◊〉 his minde was more upon the tune then upon the matter which he confesleth to be a great sinne For holy exercises performed to God with the mouth and without the heart when there is nothing but a noise are but as the crackling of thorns under a pot which make a noise but heat little neverthelesse he approved not this infirmity in himself for as he saith further it a saepe facio non sentiens sed postquam feci sentio I do so often and perceive it not but after I have done it I perceive and feel it And it were to be wished that we could have the like feeling and sence of our failings in this kinde this would be a good step to amendment According to the fourth rule the means are to be considered of glorifying the name of God whether by praying God swearing by him or vowing to him The means or motives to make us glorify his name are 1. To consider how God hath magnified our names by registring them in the book of life and not onely this to make our names glorious in the life to come but even in this world we are called by his name and he by ours we are his and he is ours He is not a shamed to be called Deus noster our God to take our name upon him that we should not be ashamed of his name thus he exalts and honours our name therefore we should exalt and honour his 2. A second means is to keep a catalogue of the famous acts of God both of judgments and mercies whereby we may be stirred up to glorifie his name Those that were done before our times we either doubt of them or think they belong not to us or that God had glory and praise enough in those dayes and that they are of little use to us Therefore the counsel of devout men hath been that is the men of God of old Nathan Gad and other children of the Prophets every one had their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verba dierum their Chronicles or Annals or Diaries from the beginning of their times wherein for their own remembrance they kept catalogues of the visible judgements of God upon his enemies and of his mercies towards his children that so they might the morereverence him so should we keep memorials of the remarkable passages of his providence to our selves and others of his judgments and mercies thereby to stir us up to glorifie his name the better and that by comparing one with another one shall not be an impediment to another neither those that were before us shall seem incredible when we see the like done in our dayes nor those in our dayes seem strange because the like was done before 3. A third is to use thatart and dexterity which was in Christ and his servants
here in the last place comes the penalty or commination for breach of this Comma ndment In the first place it is worth the observing that God useth the Idiome or stile of a court of Assise in this commination and well may he do it for he ever keeps an assise and delinquents of all sorts are arraigned continually and amongst them those that take his name in vain and that before him the judge their consciences and the devil accusing them at the bar of his justice where the evidence will be so cleare against them as he cannot but pronounce them guilty As in the second commandment God addes a threatening to the children as well as to the parents to the third and fourth generation to meet with that argument which some men might have for falling down before an Idol when it is commanded by authority they will rather change their religion then run a hazzard of undoing themselves and their children and bringing them to beggery God meets with them and tells them neither they nor their children shall save any thing that way but fare the worse for I will visit saith he this sinne upon the third and fourth generation so here inthis commandment he annexes a penalty to meet with the sinne because some men may think they may get some great gain or profit somtimes by swearing falsly therefore God sets a great penalty upon this sinne to let them know they shall gain nothing by the bargain Here is a Frustra quod non erit frustra a taking of Gods name in vain which will not prove in vain for he will come in judgement against them when men think to save themselves from some danger by taking Gods name in vain they shall finde that that shall be their destruction which they thought would preserve them 2. Again vbi lapsus est in proclivi where one is apt to fall as here because the tongue as Saint Augustine saith 〈◊〉 est in vdo is placed in a glib or slippery place therefore God sets a lock upon our lips to keep the door of our mouth which lock is this threatening Thou shalt not be held guiltlesse If we take his name in vain that is If we take upon us the name of Christians and have onely a bare profession we frustrate Gods name for every one that calls upon the name of Christ must depart from iniquity otherwise it may be said to us as the Psalmist speaks I said unto the fools deal not so madly and to the ungodly set not up your horns on high If you take upon you any other name if you defend not his word or defend any thing opposite to it if in disputations you maintain false doctrine if in your speech you bury the name of God not making mention of it or if you talk of it foolishly and vainly without fear and reverence if in your talk you forget God or speak evil of his name by murmuring at his judgements on your selves or envying his mercies upon others if when you should blesse his name you take it and apply it to witchcraft and sorceries or to prophane jesting and scoffing if when you should blesse others you make use of it to curse them by it if in swearing you take it in vain if you vow to him and perform not if by any of these wayes you pollute his name Consider what follows God will not hold you guiltlesse 3. And it is he or none that must punish this sin God will not hold you guiltlesse for the world will hold you guiltlesse little or no punishment is inflicted by men for taking Gods name If any impair another mans name he may have better remedie for it then if the name of God be blasphemed therefore because Gods name is not so much regarded by mans Law God himself providing for it you shall not go scot-free if you abuse my name The Lord will take the matter into his own hands because men regard it so little Not to be held guiltlesse is the threatning But who is he there that shall not fall into intollerable and endlesse trouble if God hold him not guiltlesse for every man is guilty before God but wheras for sins of infirmity and ignorance though a man be guilty and contract a guilt upon him yet God holds him not guilty but pardons it upon a general repentance for this sin of taking Gods name in vain he will not remit the guilt but he will hold him guilty for other sins the guilt is more easily taken away hic est totus fructus ut auferatur peccatum this is all the fruit the taking away of sin as the Prophet speaks else we were of all men most miserable but by this sinne there is a special guilt contracted which is not easily taken off God will not hold him guiltlesse he will punish him both in this life and in the life to come for Gods threatnings extend to both and there is no precept given by God for breach whereof so many threatnings are denounced and so many fearful judgements executed in all ages The Blasphemer was to be stoned by Gods appointment under the Law And in another place a curse was laid upon the perjured woman which would make her thigh to rot and her belly to swell In the Prophet there is a flying book against false swearers and their houses to consume the posts timber stones and all Neither hath God punished onely private persons but whole nations for this sin He sent a famine in Israel for breaking the oath with the Gibeonites Saul for not calling on the name of God but consulting with witches was suffered to kill himself having first seen his people overcome and his children 〈◊〉 Sennacherib for blaspheming the name of the living God after his army was overcome was slain by his own sons God sent destruction and captivity upon a whole land for this sin Ahab Jezabel Baals Prophets blasphemers under pretence of Religion slain by Jehu When Zedekiah brake his oath by rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar though a Tyrant an Usurper a Heathen yet God threatens him Shall he escape shall he prosper that doth these things shall he break the Covenant and be delivered Ananias for lying to the Holy Ghost and prophaning the name of God came to an untimely end Whole Volumes have been written of the manifest judgements of God upon particular persons and whole nations for this sin Thou shalt destroy them that speak lies much more those that swear falsly And indeed a mans own mouth that lyeth slayeth his soul and that is the worst punishment the punishment eternal The temporal hath a time to end but the punishment of the life to come shall be eternal And the reason that God is so severe an Avenger of the breach of this Commandment is the jealousie of his name For if a private man be careful to preserve his good name and reputation God is
his writeing as he did of his verbal exposition Therefore hath God ordeyned expositions such as the book Jasher which as some think was a commentary upon the law written for this end to explicate the hard Texts of Scriptures and 〈◊〉 them 2. Another Means to sanctification is the word preached of which the Apostle speaks to the Romans how shall they hear without a preacher and this is one of the ordinary means of faith and so of sanctification The Apostle in that placeq uoteth out of two of the Prophets this text How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things And our Saviour Christ in his prayer before his passion for his Apostles who were to be such preachers saith sanctifie them with thy truth and thy word is truth and by his own practise in preaching he sanctified this means of preaching And the Apostle tells us that the wisdom of God hath appointed by the foolishnesse of preaching to save them that beleeve this way of saving men the wisdom of God hath pitcht upon which is not to be altered but to continue to th end of the world For though reading of the word be a necessary means to sanctification yet are not all men capable to understand what they read The 〈◊〉 Custome therefore of the Church was and so continued in the Apostles times that after the reading the of Law and the Prophets some that were learned in Gods Law and sent by him to that purpose stood up and expounded to the people some text of that which was read We may see this plainly in the book of Nehemiah that after Ezra and others had read in the book of the Law to the people in the congregation they gave the sence and caused them to understand the reading And the Apostle S. James puts the Jews in minde that Moses was preached in the Synagogues on the Sabbath day This practise continued as I said even in the Apostles time For we see in the place before mentioned that the Rulers of the Synagogue at Antioch entreated the Apostles to bestow 〈◊〉 words of exhortation upon them after the reading of the Law and the Prophets The Eunuch no doubt but was a man of as great capacity as many who now adayes take upon them the exposition and preaching both of Law and Gospel yet had not he met with S. Philip he would have been to seek in that place of the Prophet which the Apostle found him reading 3. A third duty is the pondering of that which we have heard read or preached This we read that Mary did who pondered all the 〈◊〉 of Christ in her heart And so did David when he said Oh how I love thy Law it is my 〈◊〉 continually Besides the meditation of the Word that we shall hear read or preached the 92 Psalm which was a Psalm peculiarly made for the Sabbath and was usually sung on that day the two first verses whereof if credit may be given to the Jews traditions came from Adam who used to sing them in Paradise giveth us three further points to consider 1. The first is in the fourth verse which indeed is that which God here expressely urgeth in this Commandment the Consideration of the works of his hands the raising to our selves a Contemplative use of the Creatures that as all the week before we have had a naturall use of them so on this day we should make a spiritual Thou Lord hast made me glad through thy works and I will rejoyce in giving praise for the operation of thy hands 2. A second is in the seventh verse a meditation of the judgements of God when the ungodly are green as the grasse and when all the workers of wickednesse do flourish then shall they be destroyed for ever And this meditation is most necessary to keep men within the bounds of obedience for upon the Consideration of the severe judgements which God inflicts upon Malefactors men are held in as with a bridle from swerving from his Commandments 3. The third is at the tenth and twelfth verses a Meditation of Gods benefits and Mercies or of his mercies towards them that love him as well as his visitations upon their enemies both which may be included in the Hebrew word taking judgements for the genus of them both Such as be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the Courts of the house of our God c. These whether they extend to our own persons or concerne our fathers house or the place wherein we live or the Church round about us every one of these affoord us an object of Meditation And as we see the other Creatures of God as the wilde asses sparrows cranes lilies pismires c. yield matter of Meditation thereby to stir us up to praise the Creator Upon which we may frame an argument a minore ad majus from the lesse to the greater If God have made them thus how much more are we bound to be thankful to him for whom he hath done infinitely more So the Apostle setteth forth Gods judgements to provoke us to repentance and his mercy to move and stir us up to thankfulnesse And thus when we are wearied with prayer and that reading and preaching of the word is ended meditation still remaineth wherein to exercise our selves and in this dutie we may continue the rest of the day and be furnished with matter sufficient to work upon 4. The fourth duty of this day is not to be contented onely with meditating upon these things in our Closets privately but there must be conference also between our selves and others about what we have heard And this is done two manner of waye s. 1. The first is with them that have taught us if we doubt of any thing we are to confer with the Priest The prophet tells us that the Priests lips should keep knowledge and we are to seek the Law at his mouth we read that it was our Saviours practise For it was a custom of old that after the solemnity on the eighth day the last of the feast that the Teachers sate down at the Table and the Auditors standing about them propounded 〈◊〉 and questions that they might be resolved in them And so no doubt was Christ at twelves years old not as an Opposer but in the state of a Learner though he discovered a great guift that way above his years And if points of doctrine fail then others concerning practise are to be resolved such as the souldiers and Publicans put to John and the people to the Apostles Now because there are now adayes no doubts no putting of questions it is a signe that fear of God is utterly extinguisht in mens hearts and if there be any doubts at all they are not propounded with that heart which they did it that said
were some then as there are now that having given Almes on the Sunday would recover it the other dayes of the week either by oppressing and dealing hardly with the poor or by undermining those they dealt with Therefore the last caution must be out of the Prophet The Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment the holy Ghost shall be sanctified in justice that is a mans mercy must not make him unrighteous So that the conclusion of this point is if a man doe dare rem suam Deo se peccato aut daemoni give his substance to God and himself to sin or the devil and thereby give quod minus est Creatori quod majus inimico the lesse to his Creatour and the greater to his Enemy he is far from keeping the sabbath aright in the point of performing the works of Mercy Now concerning the spiritual part of the works of mercy which is to be done to the Spirit of him that needs it S. Augustine saith Est quaedam charitas quae de sacculo non erogatur there is a charity which is not taken out of the bag or purse such mercies are called Spirituales Elemozynae or misericordiae spiritual Almes which are so much more excellent then the other as they do mederi miseriae principalioris partis take order for the relief of the more principal part of man the soul. And there are seven of this kinde 1. The first concernes the good which is to be performed to draw him to it and it consists of three branches 1. The instruction of the young and others that are ignorant the Prophet describes the reward of such They that turne many to righteousnes shall shine as the stars for ever 2. The second branch is the giving of good and christian advice to him that is in doubt hearty counsel by a friend is by Solomon compared to oyntment and perfume that reioyce the heart 3. The last is the exhorting him that is slack in some good duty so did the prophet David And this was one of the instructions Saint Paul gave to Timothy to charge rich men to do good and be rich in good works c. 2. Another is Comforting them that are in distresse Saint Paul calleth this comforting them which are in trouble and supporting the weak and flere cum flentibus weeping with them that weep 3. A third is that work of spiritual mercy which our Saviour made a part of Church discipline reproving of our brother privately for his fault and the Apostle biddeth us to warne them that are unruly A 〈◊〉 is the pardoning of those that offend us according to our Saviours Rule we must first be reconciled to our brother before we offer our gift at the AlAltar and if he will not be reconciled then pray for him It was aswell Christs practise as his counsel Father forgive them So did the Proto-martyr Stephen Gregory saith Qui dat et non dimittit he that giveth and forgiveth not doth a work that is not acceptable to God sed si dimittet 〈◊〉 non det but he that forgiveth though he give not shall be forgiven of God as oft as he forgiveth others si tu ponas limitem Deus tibi ponet limitem If thou settest bounds to thy forgiving God will do the like to thee but if thou for givest without limit nor puttest bounds to thy brothers offence by pardo ning it God will put no limit to his pardonnig of thy sinne 5. Another is in Rom. 15. 1. we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak Alter alterius onera portate beare ye one anothers burden Gal. 6. 2. 1 Thess. 5. 14. 6. The sixth is taken out of Saint James Praying for one another even for our enemies it was Christs counsel Matthew 5. 44. and his practise Luk. 23. 34. And this is reputed for a work of mercy Augustine saith Causaberis 〈◊〉 te non possedocere you may perhaps cavil and say thou canst not teach some are as forward to advise you as you them and that you have not the gift of comforting or if you rebuke them for their faults they will despise you But for this and the two last works of mercy there can be no excuse nunquid dices non possum dimittere 〈◊〉 to forgive one that hath offended thee to bear with him to pray for him these things may be alwayes done ut malitia ignoscatur nulla excellentia nulla sapientia nullis divitiis opus est To pardon wrong done to us and so to beare with the weak and to pray for any there is neither excellency nor wisdom nor riches requisite or necessary 7. The last is the reconciling of them that be at variance or the making peace between man and man By this act as our Saviour tells us we shew our selves to be the children of God and as he further saith there will a blessing follow peace makers But here falleth in an obiection what if they will not be reconciled Augustine answereth it If thou hast done thy good will pacificus es thou art a peace maker And these are the seven fruits of mercy spiritual Besides these whatsoever is a work according to the Law of God is also acceptable but especially these CHAP. VIII The second rule of homogenea Fasting reduced hither Commanded under the Gospel 1. Publick fasts for averting of evil of punishment which is either malum grastans or impendens or of sinne for procureing of good 2. Private fasts and the 〈◊〉 of them The parts of a fast 1. External abstinence from meat sleep costly apparrel pleasure servile work almes then to be given Secondly internal humiliation for sinne promise of reformation The third rule our fast and observation of the Lords day must be spiritual Thus far we have proceeded according to the first rule of extension that where any thing is commanded the contrary is forbidden and e contra Come we now as in the former to the rule of Homogenea that is where any thing is Commanded there all things are commanded that are of the same kinde which is the second rule And we finde in the law that the day of humiliation or fasting is called a sabbath and so may be reduced hither as homogeneal Saint Augustine said well that if the state of Innocency had continued then had there 〈◊〉 one day only to have bin observed by Christians and that to have been spent onely in the duty of prayse and thanksgiving But since the fall of Adam there are such defects and wants in our souls that God is not onely to be glorified sacrificio Eucharistiae by the sacrifice of Praise but also sacrificio spiritus contribulati 〈◊〉 by the sacrifice of a troubled and humbled spirit his reason is 〈◊〉 bonum perfecte ut volumns non possumus because we cannot performe