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<DATE>8-27-08</DATE>
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<NAME>John Latta</NAME>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="Parliamentary order">
<PB REF="1">
<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE>Die Mercurij, 25. Martij, 1646.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>ORdered by the Commons a&s;&s;embled in
Parliament, That M. <HI>Holles</HI> and S^t <HI>Peter
Wentworth,</HI> do from this Hou&s;e give thanks
to M. <HI>Bolton</HI> and M. <HI>Cheynell,</HI> for the great pains
they took in the Sermons they preached this day
at the intreaty of this Hou&s;e, at S^t <HI>Margarets West|minster,</HI>
(it being the day of Publique Humilia|tion)
and to de&s;ire them to Print their Sermons;
And it is Ordered that none &s;hall pre&s;ume to
Print their Sermons, without licen&s;e under their
hands writing.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>H. El&s;yng. Cler. Parl. D. Com.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="author to printer">
<OPENER><DATELINE><DATE>March 28. 1646.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P><HI>I Appoint</HI> Andrew Kemb <HI>to Print my Sermon.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Samuel Bolton.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A PLOT
FOR THE GOOD OF
POSTERITY.
COMMUNICATED
IN A
SERMON
TO THE HONORABLE
HOUSE Of COMMONS
For the &s;anctifying of the Monthly <HI>Fa&s;t.</HI>
March 25. 1646.</P>
<P>By FRANCIS CHEYNELL.</P>
<Q><L>Po&s;teris &s;ero, aeternitati pingo.</L>
<L>Parentes &s;unt liberorum praeceptores.</L></Q>
<Q><L><GAP DESC="foreign">.</L> <BIBL>Xenophon. Cyropaed. l 8.</BIBL></Q>
<Q><L>Magi&s;tratus pius totius Regni pater e&s;t.</L></Q>
<Q><P>The wi&s;e in heart will receive Commandments, but a prating fool
&s;hall fall.</P>
<BIBL>Prov. 10. 8.</BIBL></Q>
<Q><P>Let not thine heart envy &s;inners, but be thou in the fear of the Lord
all the day long.</P>
<BIBL>Prov. 23. 17.</BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON:</HI>
Printed for <HI>Samuel Gellibrand,</HI> and are to be &s;old at his &s;hop
at the Bra&s;en Serpent in <HI>Pauls</HI> Church-yard. 1646.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO
THE HONOURABLE
HOUSE of COMMONS
A&s;&s;embled in
PARLIAMENT.</HEAD>
<P>_WHen I received Your Order, I was not in
ca&s;e to obey it, being &s;car&s;e able to write
or read; <HI>We &s;hould learn by every fit of &s;ick|ne&s;&s;e
the greatne&s;&s;e of Gods Maje&s;ty and our
frailtie.</HI> We live in &s;ickly times, and You are
collecting many whol&s;ome and Medicinable in|gredients,
onely take heed that you do not mi|&s;take
one Herbe for another, it is ea&s;ily done, and
while&s;t You are but making E&s;&s;ayes it may be ea&s;ily
rectified: Be plea&s;ed to con&s;ider that the <HI>Antidote</HI>
mu&s;t be made according to the <HI>Di&s;pen&s;atory</HI> the pre|&s;cription
of the great Phy&s;ician of Souls in his &s;aving
Go&s;pel, that the ble&s;&s;ing of Chri&s;t may be upon it,
and it may prove a &s;overaign Antidote for the pre|venting
as well as removing of Church-offences. <HI>Je|&s;us
Chri&s;t hath not entru&s;ted any State to make new In&s;ti|tutions,
or create new offices in his Church.</HI> There are
&s;everal forms of Civill government in &s;everall Chri|&s;tian
States, but there &s;hould be the &s;ame Church-offices,
and for &s;ub&s;tance the &s;ame Church-govern|ment
in every Chri&s;tian State, though that govern|ment
cannot be &s;o peaceably exerci&s;ed in &s;ome places
as in other; There is &s;o much equity and prudence
<PB REF="3">
in Evangelical rules and In&s;titutions, that they ought
to be ob&s;erved in all Chri&s;tian States and Common-weals
thoroughout the world: <HI>Tho&s;e orders which
Chri&s;t hath &s;ent us by his Apo&s;tles mu&s;t be obeyed,</HI> there
can be no <HI>exception</HI> again&s;t them, there mu&s;t be no
<HI>Prohibition</HI> of them;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 16. v. 17, 18.</NOTE> This is a Rule of Chri&s;t, that
<HI>they who walk inordinately, and cau&s;e divi&s;ions contrary
to the doctrine of the Go&s;pel,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;. 3. 14, 15.</NOTE> <HI>mu&s;t not be admitted into &s;o|ciety
with the Saints.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 5. 11.</NOTE> I need not in&s;i&s;t upon other
rules.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Tim. 3. 4, 5.</NOTE> Our Saviour did injoyn his Apo&s;tles to teach
Chri&s;tians <HI>to ob&s;erve all things he commanded, Matth.</HI>
28. 20. Now St. <HI>Paul</HI> did not onely teach <HI>Timot<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">y
to ordain Elders in every City, Tit.</HI> 1. 5. but <HI>Paul</HI> and
<HI>Barnabas</HI> ordained Elders <HI>in every Church. Act.</HI> 14.
23. And when St. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;poke of his <HI>departing out of
the world,</HI> and <HI>&s;eeing their faces no more</HI> to whom he
had preached, he recommended the over&s;ight or go|vernment
of the Church to Elders, a&s;&s;uring them
that <HI>the holy Gho&s;t had made them over&s;eers over the
Church.</HI> Act. 20. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">, 25, 28, 29. and therefore it is
ea&s;ie to conclude, that the Elders were, <HI>Jure Divino,</HI>
by the will and appointment of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, to &s;uc|ceed
the Apo&s;tles in the ordinary government of the
Church, and <HI>Chri&s;t promi&s;ed to be with the Apo&s;tles,
and their &s;ucce&s;&s;ours, not for two or three hundred yeers
onely, till &s;ome Magi&s;trates did turn Chri&s;tians, but
even to the end of the world:</HI> and the holy Gho&s;t &s;eals
up the promi&s;e with <HI>Amen, Matth.</HI> 28. 20. If then
there be <HI>ten thou&s;and Churches</HI> in <HI>England,</HI> there &s;hould
be <HI>ten thou&s;and Elder&s;hips;</HI> but the government by
the&s;e Elders is not Arbitrary, all the Cen&s;ures which
they pa&s;&s;e mu&s;t be in &s;ome &s;ort Evangelicall, becau&s;e
agreeable to the Word of Chri&s;t; for the Elders are
<PB REF="3">
not to govern in their <HI>own name,</HI> or in the name of the
Magi&s;trate, no nor in the name of the people, but in the
name of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, from whom they do <HI>immediately</HI>
receive their power and authority, and therefore are to
receive their orders and directions from the Go&s;pel of
Chri&s;t. The Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate ought to protect the
<HI>Elders,</HI> that they may peaceably exerci&s;e that Church-power
which is committed to them by Je&s;us Chri&s;t, for
<HI>the Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trate doth owe a &s;pirituall &s;ubjection to
all the ordinances of Je&s;us Chri&s;t. Era&s;tus</HI> him&s;elf confe&s;|&s;es,
that <HI>the Magi&s;trate in ordering of &s;acred things mu&s;t not
depart one hairs breadth from the Word of God. p. 161. &amp;
162. li. 3. Confirm. The&s;.</HI> It will be very dangerous for a
Magi&s;trate to do any thing of his own head about Church
affairs, and it will be as dangerous for Mini&s;ters to com|plement
in this weighty point; all the power that a Magi|&s;trate
hath &s;etled upon him in <HI>Rom.</HI> 13. is &s;etled on him
as he is a <HI>Mini&s;ter of God,</HI> and therefore they who teach
Magi&s;trates to de&s;pi&s;e the Authority of Mini&s;ters, be|cau&s;e
they are <HI>but Mini&s;ters of God,</HI> teach the Magi&s;trates
to de&s;pi&s;e their own authority. Officers of Chri&s;ts in&s;ti|tuting,
and powers of Gods ordaining, mu&s;t agree toge|ther,
and uphold one another, or el&s;e both will be vilified:
Mini&s;ters mu&s;t not u&s;urp a civil power, nor Magi&s;trates
lay claim to any Spiritual power properly &s;o called: if a
man go about to thru&s;t two &s;words into one &s;cabberd, let
him take heed he doth not &s;plit the &s;cabberd, and cut his
fingers. Mr. <HI>Robin&s;on</HI> and tho&s;e of his mind &s;ay, that if the
Magi&s;trate be a Church-officer, he mu&s;t be called to his
office, and may be depo&s;ed from it by the Church, and
and if the Magi&s;trate be a <HI>ruling Elder,</HI> he is inferior to
<HI>teaching Elders,</HI> and de&s;erves le&s;&s;e honour, according to
that order, 1 <HI>Tim.</HI> 5. 17. In his <HI>Iu&s;tificat. of Separat. p.</HI> 216.
<PB REF="4">
if the Magi&s;trate (&s;ay others) chalenge a Church-power,
and deny him&s;elf to be a Church-officer, then we have a
good Argument for <HI>Popular government,</HI> becau&s;e there is
a Church<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">power in &s;ome that are not Church officers;
and none can be entitled to Church-power, but by a
Church office, or by Church-member&s;hip; and if by the
latter, then &s;ay they, <HI>Every member hath as much power as
the Magi&s;trate;</HI> who knows not what the Anabapti&s;ts &s;ay
upon this point; The Church of <HI>Scotland</HI> hath declared
their judgement; and they who plead for a Congregati|onall
government have expre&s;&s;ed them&s;elves after this
manner: The Governors of the Church have not their
power from the members of the Church, but from
Chri&s;t, they <HI>are inve&s;ted with the power of Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> they
exerci&s;e his power, and do act in his name, and not in the
name of the Church, &s;aith Mr. <HI>Burroughs</HI> in his <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ren. p.</HI>
50. And for my part, I &s;hall readily grant that the&s;e Offi|cers
ought to tran&s;act all things which concern the con|&s;ciences
of the people in &s;uch a <HI>convincing way</HI> as may
be&s;t tend to <HI>Common edification</HI> and <HI>&s;atisfaction. Church
ordinances are to be di&s;pen&s;ed by the Church,</HI> that is, <HI>by the
Elders with con&s;ent of the people,</HI> &s;aith Mr. <HI>Rutherford,</HI> in
his late book <HI>p.</HI> 398. We &s;hould quickly think of &s;ome
expedients for an happy agreement, if You would be
plea&s;ed to free us from <HI>the much feared Commi&s;&s;ioners.</HI></P>
<P>Church power mu&s;t needs be acknowledged to
have the <HI>proper notion</HI> and character of Authority in
the Elders, to which the multitude ought by a <HI>com|mand</HI>
from Chri&s;t to be <HI>&s;ubject</HI> and <HI>obedient,</HI> as to an <HI>ordi|nance</HI>
to guide them in their con&s;ent, and therfore in the
&s;entence of the Elders the ultimate for mall mini&s;teriall
act of <HI>binding</HI> or <HI>loo&s;ing</HI> &s;hould con&s;i&s;t. Chri&s;t hath
placed a <HI>Rule and Authority</HI> in the&s;e officers over the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;t
<PB REF="4">
of the congregation, not <HI>directing</HI> only, but <HI>binding.</HI> (See
the Epi&s;tle to Mr. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ottons</HI> book of the Keyes) When
the&s;e officers gathered in Chri&s;ts name do pa&s;&s;e a right
judgement upon hereticall congregations, or per&s;ons
declaring them to be &s;uch as have no communion with
any of the Churches of Chri&s;t, <HI>tho&s;e hereticall per&s;ons or
Churches are put out of the kingdom of Chri&s;t, and con&s;equent|ly
put under the power of Satan:</HI> Heart divi&s;ions, <HI>p.</HI> 44.
The Rule urged by many is this, <HI>Nemini fit injuria cui
praeponitur Chri&s;tus,</HI> we prefer the Authority of Chri&s;t
above all authoritie of men, or &s;ocieties of men: <HI>King,
Parliament, &amp; people mu&s;t &s;ubject them&s;elves to Ie&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI>
None mu&s;t plead priviledge to live &s;candalou&s;ly, though
<HI>Peers</HI> of the Realm. The <HI>Tigurine</HI> Divines are account|ed
mo&s;t favourable or rather remi&s;&s;e in this point; but
<HI>Guather</HI> in his Epi&s;tle to <HI>Ionvill,</HI> &s;aith, <HI>Excommunicatio
legibus no&s;tris praecipitur qu&acirc; a tribuum Societate, &amp; publi|corum
pa&s;cuorum u&s;u fructu excluduntur qui contemptis ad|monitionibus
tam publicis quam privatis aliter vivunt quam
homines deceat Chri&s;tianos:</HI> and <HI>Bullinger</HI> in his Epi&s;tle to
Mr. <HI>Dathen</HI> &s;peaks for them all, and &s;aith, <HI>That if Noble
men among&s;t them were taken in the act of uncleanne&s;&s;e, they
were publickly degraded. Solemus maechos,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>depre|hen&s;os
honore &amp; trabe&acirc; exutos public&egrave; ded<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">corare;</HI> And
<HI>Era&s;tus</HI> &s;aith, that they who do pertinaciou&s;ly violate
Gods commands, may be put to death. <HI>Confirmat The&s;.
p.</HI> 337. You &s;ee that <HI>Era&s;tus</HI> did not encourage pertina|cious
offenders. <HI>They that de&s;ire &s;uch a mon&s;trous kind of li|berty,
as to live as they li&s;t, and be accountable to none what|&s;oever
they hold or do, are not onely unworthy of Chri&s;tian, but
Humane &s;ociety,</HI> &s;aith Mr. <HI>Burroughes,</HI> Heart-divi&s;ions, <HI>p.
166. &amp;</HI> 177. You &s;ee what a generall &s;everity is expre&s;|&s;ed
by all, that de&s;ire any true Reformation, though they
<PB REF="5">
be men of <HI>different per&s;wa&s;ions.</HI> In the judgement of the
<HI>A&s;&s;embly, None are fit to be admitted to the Sacrament, who
do u&s;ually neglect to pray in and with their families, or to in|&s;truct
them in tho&s;e principles of Religion, the ignorance of
which, is &s;ufficient cau&s;e to debar any one from the Sacrament.</HI>
Be plea&s;ed then to take the&s;e things into your mo&s;t re|tired
thoughts, and doubt not but the godly Mini&s;ters
and people of this Kingdom will &s;tick clo&s;e to you for
promoting of a thorough-reformation; onely let me in|treat
you, that when bloody Delinquents come to com|pound
3. things may be excepted. 1. That their com|po&s;ition
may not authori&s;e them to communicate at the
Lords Table with tho&s;e friends of yours, who&s;e fathers,
brothers, &amp;c they have &s;lain with wicked hands, &amp; have
not as yet given any publick te&s;timony of their repen|tance.
2. That they may not deprive any Pari&s;h of a
powerfull Mini&s;try, by denying &s;ufficient maintenance to
the Mini&s;ter, that they may rai&s;e their Fine, or a good
part of it out of the Impropriations, which come into
their hand upon their compo&s;ition. 3. That they may
not make them&s;elves whole, by oppre&s;sing and racking
tho&s;e poore Tenants of theirs, or their widows, or or|phans
who have been faithfull to You, and &s;pent their
e&s;tates, or lo&s;t their lives in your Service, Help the hone&s;t
Tenants to an ea&s;ie compo&s;ition with their Malignant
Landlords. <HI>If I did not Honour You, I would not be thus
plain with You,</HI> I leave it to your wi&s;dom to draw con|clu&s;ions
from all, for the putting of your own Order in
execution, <HI>for &s;u&s;pending all that are &s;candalous &s;inners from
the Sacrament, though the &s;ins which they be guilty of be not
yet enumerated;</HI> let all be fairly interpreted, as it is hum|bly
pre&s;ented, by him who <HI>de&s;ires Your perfection.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Francis Cheynell.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="sermon">
<PB N="1" REF="5">
<HEAD>A
SERMON
Preached to the Honourable Hou&s;e of
COMMONS, March 25. 1646.</HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>GEN. 18. 19.</BIBL>
<Q>For I know him that he will command his children, and
his hou&s;hold after him, and they &s;hall keepe the way of
Jehovah to doe Ju&s;tice and Judgement, that the Lord
may bring upon Abraham that which he hath &s;poken
of him.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<P>_BE plea&s;ed to con&s;ider the Forme and Matter
of the Text: If you looke upon the Forme,
the Rationall Particle <HI>For</HI> points backward,
and &s;hewes you that the Words containe a
Rea&s;on why God did acquaint <HI>Abraham</HI>
with his Intention concerning <HI>Sodom: A|braham</HI>
had the honor to be taken into Cove|nant
with the God of Heaven,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;aiah 41. 8.</NOTE> nay to be &s;tiled the <HI>Friend of God:</HI>
and God deales with him as a friend, he communicates certain &s;e|crets,
<HI>Arcana Imperii</HI> to him, &amp; makes him in &s;ome particulars of
<PB N="2" REF="6">
his <HI>Privy-Councell;</HI> for he imparts to him his great De&s;igne
(upon wicked <HI>Sodom</HI>) in a kinde of familiar and loving way.
What &s;aith God, &s;hall I conceale this Secret from my Friend
<HI>Abraham,</HI> ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Abraham,</HI> in who&s;e Seed all the Nations of
the Earth &s;hall be ble&s;&s;ed? I know him, and love him well, and
know that he will make a good u&s;e of it. <HI>For I know him that he
will command &amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Secondly, If you looke upon the matter of the Text: it is in
one word, <HI>Abrahams Te&s;timoniall</HI> &s;ub&s;cribed by God him&s;elfe;
a Divine Te&s;timoni<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ll indeed, which did not onely certifie
what <HI>Abraham</HI> was for the pre&s;ent, but what he &s;hould be for
the future: <HI>This is the Te&s;timoniall of a God.</HI></P>
<P>Fir&s;t, for the pre&s;ent, God beares witne&s;&s;e to the integrity of
<HI>Abraham,</HI> I know him &s;aith the Lord, <HI>I know his judgement, I
know his heart,</HI> I am well acquainted with the frame of his &s;pi|rit,
the inclination of his will, and the bent of his affections.</P>
<P>Secondly. For the future, God foretels, Fir&s;t, VVhat <HI>Abra|ham</HI>
would doe for God: he would endeavour to bring all that
were <HI>under his Command,</HI> to be <HI>at Gods Command.</HI> Secondly,
VVhat God would doe for <HI>Abraham,</HI> namely <HI>Fulfill his Promi&s;e,
Keepe his Word.</HI> From the Forme of the Words as they yeeld a
rea&s;on, VVhy God did communicate this Secret to <HI>Abraham,</HI>
I rai&s;e this Ob&s;ervation.</P>
<P>God doth communicate <HI>Rare Secrets</HI> to certaine <HI>knowne and
cho&s;en men.</HI></P>
<P>It is Gods Prerogative Royall to communicate Secrets to
whom he plea&s;es: and therefore the&s;e <HI>Knowne</HI> men are fitly
termed <HI>Cho&s;en men. I know whom I have cho&s;en&punc;</HI> &s;aith our Savi|our,
<HI>John 17. 18. God</HI> makes choi&s;e of &s;ome men for State Ser|vice,
and &s;ome for Church-Service: and God doth communi|cate
different Secrets to &s;everall men an&s;werable to tho&s;e &s;eve|rall
Services for which he hath cho&s;en them. 1. To his Servants
the Prophets he did reveale <HI>Prophe&s;ies,</HI> foretell the ruine of Mo|narchies
and States, &s;uch &s;ecrets were proper for them, <HI>Amos
3. 7.&punc;</HI> 2. Our Lord and Saviour did reveale <HI>Doctrinall Se|crets</HI>
to his Di&s;ciples, &s;uch Go&s;pell-Secrets as they were to
communicate to the Church of Chri&s;t. <HI>John</HI> 15. 15. I call you
freinds, and I deale with you as freinds, I impart Secrets to you
<PB N="3" REF="6">
not that you &s;hould keepe them clo&s;e and conceale them, but
that you might publi&s;h and declare them; I have not &s;hunned
&s;aith Saint <HI>Paul</HI> to declare unto you all the Coun&s;ell of God, <HI>Acts</HI>
20. 27: 3. God doth impart <HI>Secrets of State</HI> to men of Publique
Spirits: that <HI>blacke &s;ecret</HI> of the Powder-plot was by a wonder|full
providence di&s;covered and prevented: and we have had &s;uch
admirable experiments of Gods mercy in this kind within the&s;e
five years la&s;t pa&s;t, that our po&s;terity will &s;carce beleeve what we
have &s;eene. 4&punc; God doth impart <HI>My&s;terious Secrets</HI> to his cho&s;en
people whom he hath fore-knowne: Some Secrets are com|municated
to them&punc; <HI>to make them his friends,</HI> and other Secrets
are imparted to them after they are his friends, <HI>becau&s;e they are
his friends,</HI> his Saints, his Heires, that they may thereby know
them&s;elves to be the Elect of God, which is a Secret indeed.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, The Secrets which God doth impart to his Elect, that
they may become his friends, and fall in love with him, and ho|line&s;&s;e,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Ari&s;t.</HI> Eth. lib. 3. cap. 7. Qualis homo, talis finis: qua|lis finis, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">alis cur&s;us; qualis cur&s;us, tali<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> di&s;cur&s;us.</NOTE>
are <HI>Convincing Secrets, Humbling Secrets,</HI> and both being
&s;et home by the Spirit are <HI>Converting Secrets: for men doe di&s;|cour&s;e
and act according to that Habit of Principles, which is in|grafted
in them, and the la&s;t end intended by them.</HI></P>
<P>The Spirit doth impart <HI>Convincing Secrets</HI> to us, that he may
take us off from our &s;elfe-conceitedne&s;&s;e, and &s;elfe-dependance:
for <HI>while&s;t we are in our naturall e&s;tate, we have <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">igh thoughts of our
&s;elves, and ba&s;e thoughts of Grace and holine&s;&s;e, nay meane thoughts
of God and Chri&s;t.</HI> Now the holy Spirit doth convince us of our
errour:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Elenchus e&s;t Syllogi&s;mus cum contradi|ctione conclu&s;i|onis; hoc e&s;t Syllogi&s;mus concludens con+tr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rium ejus quod po&s;itum fuit in The&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> I &s;ay, <HI>Convince, that is, the holy Spirit doth clearely and
undeniably prove that to be mo&s;t fal&s;e, which we conceive to be mo&s;t
true.</HI> You &s;aith the Spirit (to the&s;e naturall, but cho&s;en men)
thinke your &s;elves wi&s;e, and &s;trong, rich, and righteous, highly
favoured by God, becau&s;e you are flattered by men: but the
truth is, <HI>You are fooles and weakelings, you are &s;laves and beggars&punc;
pri&s;oners, guilty, filthy, mi&s;erable, abominable, corrupted&punc; cur&s;ed, and
almo&s;t damned:</HI> The&s;e are <HI>Humbling</HI> as well as <HI>Convincing Secrets:</HI>
The body &s;weates, and the &s;oule trembles at &s;uch <HI>amazing Se|crets</HI>
as the&s;e. I am &s;ent this day not to whi&s;per, but to &s;peake
this truth aloude in your eares; All you that are yet in your na|turall
e&s;tate, let your <HI>Parts, Gifts, Titles, Places,</HI> be what they will,
this this is your condition; Give me leave to rent that vaile a|&s;under,
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page"><PB N="2" REF="7">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page"><PB N="3" REF="7">
<PB N="4" REF="8">
which is before your eyes, and over your hearts. I arre&s;t you
this day at the Suit of the great Jehovah, the glorious Commander
of heaven and earth, for a debt of ten thou&s;and thou&s;and talents,
my millions of millions, and over and above of high trea&s;on a|gain&s;t
all the three ble&s;&s;ed Per&s;ons of the holy Trinity; <HI>You cannot
deny the debt, you mu&s;t &s;tand to the arre&s;t, you can have no protection,
you are in as great danger, as if Death, were before you, the Devill,
behinde you, and both ready to &s;eize upon you.</HI> The Spirit doth con|vince
you that you are in a &s;tate of &s;inne becau&s;e you are in a
&s;tate of unbeleife, <HI>John 16. 8&punc; 9. The Spirit doth reprove,</HI> the
word &s;ignifies, <HI>Convince the whole world</HI> of unregenerate men,
<HI>Of &s;inne becau&s;e they beleeve not in Chri&s;t.</HI> The Spirit doth convince
all carnall men, that they are in the &s;tate of wrath, nay of enmi|ty:
becau&s;e their hearts ri&s;e, and &s;well again&s;t the <HI>Simplicity and
Power of godline&s;&s;e.</HI> Are the&s;e things Secrets to you, or are they
not? if they be, the God of all grace &s;et the&s;e convincing truths
home upon your Spirits; If they be not, then tell me all you
that are in a &s;tate of enmity, how dare you goe to &s;leepe in that
e&s;tate? I tell you in the Name of Jehovah, that <HI>That man who
d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">th not onely commit an act of &s;inne again&s;t knowledge, but re&s;olves
to continue in a &s;tate of &s;inne after conviction is within, &s;ome few
&s;teppes of the unpardonable &s;inne.</HI> Thou that ha&s;t meane thoughts of
God, con&s;ider thy <HI>dependance</HI> upon God, and Gods ab&s;olute
<HI>Independency, his Infinite Excellency, the Soveraignty of his Over|ruling
Providence, as well as the Supremacy of his Almighty Pow|er,
thinke of his &s;atiating All-&s;ufficiency, and Fle&s;h confounding
Maje&s;ty,</HI> that thou maye&s;t learne to aba&s;e thy &s;elfe before this
great Jehovah the God of Glory; Now let me &s;peake, and
&s;peake freely to thee, while&s;t thou ha&s;t the&s;e <HI>vigorous impre&s;&s;ions</HI>
of Gods Excellency upon thy &s;pirit, This God of Heaven, this
Lord of Glory is a <HI>Profe&s;&s;ed Enemy</HI> to all tho&s;e who re&s;olve to
continue in a State or cour&s;e of &s;inne: Do&s;t thou heare me?
the God of Heaven is thine Enemy, <HI>That God in who&s;e hand thy
life, breath, coun&s;els, wayes, comforts are, is thine Enemy:</HI> Doth
not thy &s;oule tremble at &s;uch a thought? Thy &s;innes which thou
looke&s;t on as trifles, are &s;o many <HI>injuries,</HI> nay <HI>affronts</HI> offered to
this Almighty God: thou ha&s;t <HI>abu&s;ed</HI> him to his <HI>face,</HI> and if this
offended Maje&s;ty &s;hould refu&s;e to be reconciled unto thee, thou
<PB N="5" REF="8">
wilt for certaine die and peri&s;h to all eternity; Let the&s;e hum|bling
con&s;iderations abide upon thy &s;oule, let the terrours of the
Almighty dwell upon thy &s;pirit: thou art now in a cour&s;e of
phy&s;icke, and if thou feele convul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ions in thy bowels, and tor|tures
in thy con&s;cience, be patient under the hand of God that
thou maye&s;t be cured. <HI>Be humbled, be aba&s;ed, but doe not de&s;paire,
be a&s;hamed, but be not di&s;couraged:</HI> Con&s;ider the filthine&s;e of
&s;inne, the Purity, Ju&s;tice, Maje&s;ty of God, his VVrath, Di&s;plea|&s;ure,
Zeale, Indignation again&s;t every &s;inne: and <HI>let all the&s;e con|&s;iderations
move thee to fly from &s;inne, but not from God;</HI> ble&s;&s;e
God for that Secret, for it is a Secret which hath &s;upported and
revived many a fainting &s;oule, and wounded &s;pirit.</P>
<P>Tell me, how doe the&s;e Secrets worke upon thee? art thou
willing to take a pardon upon faire and honourable termes?
woulde&s;t thou doe any thing, &s;uffer any thing, forgoe any thing,
that thou mighte&s;t be at peace with this mighty God? Do&s;t
thou de&s;ire <HI>Direction from God, Reconciliation and Communion
with him?</HI> Why then I have &s;ome <HI>Encouraging Secrets</HI> to impart
unto thee.</P>
<P>God hath di&s;covered his rich mercy, his unde&s;erved love,
and free grace by a Covenant of grace &s;ealed with the Bloud of
Je&s;us Chri&s;t; <HI>Guilt cannot looke on Maje&s;ty, and Maje&s;ty is mo&s;t
terrible in an Enemy and a Judge:</HI> but when Chri&s;t enterpo&s;es,
God is a reconciled God, and tender Father in Je&s;us Chri&s;t,
<HI>In Chri&s;t Gods nature is lovely to us, and our per&s;ons lovely to God.</HI>
God doth be&s;eech you, and Chri&s;t intreates you to be reconci|led:
<HI>God &s;hewes mercy to them that de&s;erve no mercy:</HI> There is an
<HI>Heart-breaking,</HI> and yet an <HI>Encouraging Secret, a Go&s;pell Secret:</HI>
the&s;e Secrets are u&s;ually the fir&s;t ground of faith, and hope:
Now faith and hope doe kindle in us a love to God, and love
doth mo&s;t &s;weetely breake the heart, and humble the &s;oule: <HI>My
froward &s;oule is now willing to aba&s;e it &s;elfe before &s;o good a God, a
God &s;o willing to &s;hew mercy to &s;uch a wretch as I am who de&s;erve
no mercy:</HI> I &s;ee nothing in my &s;elfe to encourage me to goe to
God, but I &s;ee enough in my &s;elfe to <HI>drive</HI> me to him, and I
&s;ee enough in God for to <HI>encourage</HI> me to runne unto him: I &s;ee
mercy enough in God, merit enough in Chri&s;t, holine&s;&s;e enough
in the Spirit of holine&s;&s;e to per&s;wade me to runne to God for
<PB N="6" REF="9">
grace as well as mercy, for faith and repentance as well as any
other graces, for pardon of &s;inne and power again&s;t it.</P>
<P>Come then be convinced of thine owne naughtine&s;&s;e in &s;piri|tuall
re&s;pects, humbly and yet chearefully ca&s;t thy &s;elfe upon
Gods free grace for pardon: depend upon Chri&s;ts obedience
alone for righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, upon his holy Spirit the Comforter
for holine&s;&s;e and comfort; and &s;ay as <HI>Bradford</HI> did, <HI>I am Hell,
but God is Heaven, I am &s;inne, but Chri&s;t is righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> Ble&s;&s;e
God for providing thee a Surety, a Saviour who is able to pay
all thy debts, and to &s;upply all thy wants. I hope by this time
thou art encouraged to tru&s;t Chri&s;t &s;tedfa&s;tly, and love him hear|tily:
and <HI>if thou findest thy heart overcome by the love of God in
Chri&s;t, then thou maye&s;t goe to Chri&s;t not out of pure neede, but pure
love:</HI> and Chri&s;t will give thee &s;uch liberall entertainement, and
hearty welcome, that thou wilt prize and love Chri&s;t for <HI>him|&s;elfe,</HI>
and for his <HI>holine&s;&s;e,</HI> and all his excellencies as well as bene|fits:
and the more thou do&s;t <HI>prize</HI> him, the fa&s;ter will thy de|voute
&s;oule by a lively <HI>faith</HI> cleave unto him: and the more
thou do&s;t cleave to him by faith, the fa&s;ter wilt thou adhere to
him by <HI>love;</HI> and the more thou do&s;t love Chri&s;t, the more wilt
<HI>thou hate &s;in, abhorre</HI> thy &s;elf for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">inne, and <HI>deny thy &s;elfe</HI> for Chri&s;t;
And the more thou art convinced of thy &s;infulne&s;&s;e, and aba&s;ed
for thy &s;inne, the more wilt thou prize Chri&s;t, and love him,
and runne to him for grace and mercy, and draw new vertue
and fre&s;h &s;upplies from him, that thou maye&s;t every way ex|pre&s;&s;e
thy love unto him&punc; And beleeve it, <HI>there will be no love
lo&s;t between thee and Chri&s;t:</HI> thou &s;halt be delighted with his pre|&s;ence,
&s;atisfied with his love, and acquainted with tho&s;e other
Secrets, which God imparts to men after they are made Saints
and freinds; <HI>Not onely the wi&s;edome of God hid in a My&s;tery of
faith and godline&s;&s;e, but the deepe things of God, the Secrets of the
Spirit of Adoption, tho&s;e Love-Secrets</HI> which Chri&s;t imparts to
us when he comes in to &s;uppe with us, even <HI>Miracles of love,
and Trea&s;ures of glory:</HI> And when Chri&s;t doth thus fea&s;t you
with his <HI>love,</HI> you will the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> demon&s;trate your <HI>Spou&s;e-like</HI> love
to Je&s;us Chri&s;t, you will be able to &s;ay that you love Chri&s;t for
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 span"> for what you have from him, or by him, but you
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 span"> in your love to him, though you lo&s;e all you
<PB N="7" REF="9">
have for him. When God doth be&s;tow the&s;e <HI>love<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">tokens,</HI> and
impart the&s;e <HI>Love-Secrets</HI> to his elect, by a <HI>Spirit of Revelation,
Regeneration, Adoption,</HI> and hath taugh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 span"> to know him, love
him, and crie Abba Father to him: the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> ownes them for
his &s;onnes and daughters, and &s;aith of them as he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> here of
<HI>Abraham,</HI> I know them, I love them, approve them, becau&s;e I
cho&s;e them from all eternity.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But you will &s;ay, the Secret imparted to <HI>Abraham,</HI> &s;eemes
to be a <HI>Secular-Secret,</HI> rather then a <HI>Religious-Secret.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Sol.</HI> I an&s;wer, this Secret was imparted at lea&s;t <HI>in Ordine ad
Spiritualia,</HI> for religious purpo&s;es, and there are many edifying
Secrets contained in it; <HI>Abraham</HI> was not to repeate it as a &s;to|ry,
but as a Sermon to his Po&s;terity, that they might behold the
Maje&s;ty of Jehovah, in this great example of Divine vengeance,
and be per&s;waded to walke in the way of Jehovah, as it is in my
text: This Secret was communicated before hand, that the
burning of <HI>Sodom</HI> might not be imputed to chance, fortune, or
a violent tempe&s;t rai&s;ed by the common cour&s;e of nature, but to
the immediate hand of God: <HI>That the &s;in-revenging Justice of
God might be magnified, and Po&s;terity deterred from the &s;innes of So|dom,
Pride, fulne&s;&s;e of bread, abundance of Idlene&s;&s;e, unnaturall lu&s;t,
and ba&s;e fornication, Ezek. 16. 49. 2 Pet.</HI> 2. 6.</P>
<P>Secondly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Addit <HI>Rabbi Sa|l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">mon</HI> jam ei do|naverat Domi|nus illam ter|ram ad cujus &s;ines <HI>Sedom</HI> &amp; <HI>Hemorrha</HI> perti|nebant, ergo vi|detur illi indi|candum&mdash;Ne res tanta &s;i inopinat&ograve; acci|deret fort&egrave; per|te<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rete<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> ami|cum Dei: <HI>P. Martyr</HI> in lo|cum.</NOTE> This Secret was imparted to <HI>Abraham</HI> by way of
Prolep&s;is, for the preventing of an Objection, which might have
&s;taggered his faith: for God had given that Land to <HI>Abraham,
Lot</HI> had made choi&s;e of <HI>Sodom,</HI> and <HI>Abrahams</HI> Portion bordered
upon <HI>Lots,</HI> and therefore <HI>Abraham</HI> would have beene excee|dingly
&s;taggered at the Overthrow of <HI>Sodom,</HI> if God had not
acquainted him with this Secret before hand: And therefore I
have &s;o freely di&s;cour&s;ed of Encouraging Secrets, that I might
remove tho&s;e blocks at which our faith is mo&s;t apt to &s;tumble.</P>
<P>Thirdly, By the imparting of this Secret, <HI>Lots</HI> policy is con|futed,
and <HI>Abrahams</HI> &s;elfe-denying faith commended: <HI>Lot</HI>
choo&s;es the richer &s;oyle, but the fouler &s;eate, becau&s;e of worldly
accommodations; but on a &s;udden the wickedne&s;&s;e of the place
calls for a devouring fire, which licks up all the wealth, and
buries all the glory of <HI>Sodom</HI> in du&s;t anda&s;hes: this Secret is not
&s;ecular, which takes off the heart from all &s;ecular accommoda|tions,
<PB N="8" REF="10">
and teaches men to choo&s;e their &s;eate or dwelling, not for
&s;ecular advantages, but for Spirituall Accommodations.</P>
<P>Fourthly, It was requi&s;ite to &s;hew you when a man is in an
<HI>approved</HI> condition, and how a man may be brought to lay hold
upon the Covenant, becau&s;e when God (&s;peaking of <HI>Abraham</HI>)
&s;aith&punc; <HI>I know him,</HI> the meaning is, I approve him as a man in Co|venant
with me: he is a &s;incere upright man, and will be true
to me in the mo&s;t declining times.</P>
<P>God takes notice of his Saints and Servants with a <HI>Knowledge
of Approbation, a &s;weete loving knowledge which implyes a deare and
tender re&s;pect:</HI> but God takes notice of every particular per&s;on,
with a <HI>Knowledge of Ob&s;ervation:</HI> for God ob&s;erves all our di&s;|po&s;itions,
habits, and inclinations, all our thoughts, plots, de|&s;ignes,
all our de&s;ires, intentions, re&s;olutions, words and acti|ons,
and will call us to an account for all in the pre&s;ence of
Saints and Angels, before the Tribunall of Chri&s;t; when Hypo|crites
and Apo&s;tates, &s;candalous and impenitent per&s;ons, who
lived and died in &s;inne, appeare at that terrible day of accounts,
Chri&s;t will prote&s;t unto them, <HI>that he never knew them:</HI> that is,
<HI>He never approved them, Math.</HI> 7. 23. Nay for the pre&s;ent, Chri&s;t
doth u&s;ually &s;et a brand upon all fal&s;e-hearted men, though they
are highly conceited of them&s;elves, and cried up by others for
prudence and piety: yet Chri&s;t &s;aith, <HI>I know &s;uch and &s;uch, but I
will never tru&s;t them, becau&s;e I know them, and I will lay them open
to my people that they may know them,</HI> for they will deceive all
that tru&s;t them: <HI>Some mens &s;innes goe afore to judgement, and &s;ome
mens follow after: for they that are otherwi&s;e, cannot be hid, 1 Tim.</HI>
5. 24, 25. When Chri&s;t wrought miracles, many beleeved in his
name, but Chri&s;t did not tru&s;t them, for <HI>he knew what was in
man, in every man: for he knew all men, John</HI> 2. 23, 24, 25. Chri&s;t
workes miracles in our dayes, and there are many that &s;eeme to
beleeve in his name: but if they be not &s;incere, Chri&s;t will lay
them open: for it is impo&s;&s;ible to deceive the Searcher of hearts,
and Judge of Secrets, our Omni&s;cient and Impartiall God.</P>
<P>La&s;tly, We may learne from hence, That what ever God
doth approve in man, hee doth worke in man: for this
knowledge is not a Notionall, but a Practicall effectuall know|ledge;
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Vi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> de<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">de&s;m&punc; A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">x l. Orat. Alvarez. A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">x. Orat.</HI> lib. 1. cap. 6. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Twi&s;&s;.</HI> di&s;&s;ert de Scientia media. <HI>Aquin. p. 1. q. 14 Act.</HI> 9. Con|tra <HI>Gent.</HI> 1. cap. 66. &amp; 69. ad 11. <HI>D. Rivetum&punc;</HI> in <HI>Gen 18. ver. 19. Aria<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters"></HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> Sci|entiam in Deo con&s;tituebant, uti videre e&s;t in Concilio Ephe|&s;ino lib. 1. tom. 1. Conciliorum. Novoque apud illos (<HI>hoc &s;t Semip<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">lagia|nos</HI>) ab&s;urdita|tis genere, &amp; non agenda prae&s;cita &s;int, &amp; prae&s;cita non a cta &s;int. <HI>Epi&s;tol. Pro&s;peri.</HI> ad <HI>Au|gu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">inum.</HI></NOTE> what&s;oever God knowes to be future, he doth will: if
<PB N="9" REF="10">
it be evill, he doth willingly permitte it, or el&s;e he would cer|tainely
hinder it; <HI>For even &s;inne which is again&s;t his will, cannot
come to pa&s;&s;e without his will;</HI> but if that which is to come to
pa&s;&s;e be good, then God doth not onely <HI>know</HI> or <HI>permit</HI> it, but
<HI>worke</HI> it al&s;o: for <HI>God is the Author of every thing that is good,</HI> and
therefore God fore&s;ees no good in the be&s;t of men, but &s;uch as
he from all eternity decrees: and in time doth (according to his
decree) worke in them. <HI>Socinus</HI> makes quick worke in this
point: for rather then he will deny the liberty of mans will, he
like an Athei&s;t denyes the foreknowledge of God.</P>
<P>I &s;hall not here launch into the deepe, and di&s;cour&s;e of <HI>Scien|tia
&s;implicis intelligentiae, &s;cientia vi&s;ionis,</HI> nor trouble you with
the confutation of that Je&s;uiticall, nay <HI>Arian Semipelagian</HI> in|vention
of <HI>Scientia Media:</HI> nor will I wrangle with <HI>Pererius</HI>
about <HI>Abrahams</HI> fore&s;eene merits, which in his conceite moved
God to make, nay to decree to make <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;o great and glo|rious.
<HI>I can with one light touch cru&s;h the&s;e Apples of Sodom, and
make them vani&s;h into &s;moake, or fall into a&s;hes.</HI></P>
<P><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Impo&s;&s;ibile e&s;t qu&ograve;d detur in Deo aliqua cog|nitio, quae nec &s;it naturalis nec libera: in Deo ponendae non &s;unt imperfecti|ones <HI>&s;emiplenae</HI> deliberationis; omnis itaque actus divinus e&s;t vel totaliter naturalis, vel to|taliter liber. In|ter rem exi&s;ten|tem in &s;e, &amp; exi&s;tentem in cau&s;a non datur medium. Ergo. Vide Navaret. Controv. 56. Scientia Dei quatenus a voluntate divin&agrave; &s;ejuncta con&s;ideratur, non facit res futuras, &s;ed tantum prae&s;cit: cau&s;a itaque cur res ex mer&egrave; po&s;&s;ibilibus evadant futurae, in Dei ip&s;ius voluntatem atque decretum unic&egrave; rejicienda e&s;t. Vide <HI>Nazarium Lede&s;|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="faint" EXTENT="1 letter">am.</HI> &amp; Dominicanos pa&s;&s;im; contingens qu&aacute; &s;ic, e&s;t indifferens ad utrumlibet, &amp; proinde indeterminatum in &s;e. Propo&s;itiones itaque de futuro contingenti non &s;unt determinat&egrave; verae vel fal&s;ae; nihil autem indeterminatum intelligitur ut futurum, quia effectus non po&s;&s;unt cert&oacute; praecogno&s;ci, ni&s;i in cau&s;a determinat&acirc; &amp; completa, quae non pote&s;t impediri; nulla au|tem talis cau&s;a datur futurorum, ni&s;i divina voluntas, quae impediri non pote&s;t per cau&s;am in|feriorem, nec per &s;eip&s;am, c&ugrave;m &s;it immutabilis. Vide <HI>Alvarez.</HI> lib. 1. cap. 9. <HI>Aux. Grat.</HI></NOTE> God knowes all things that are po&s;&s;ible, becau&s;e he knowes
his owne Power: God knowes all things future, becau&s;e he
knowes his owne Will: for nothing can pa&s;&s;e out of the ranke
of things meerely po&s;&s;ible, into the ranke and order of things
Future before &s;ome Act or Decree of Gods Will hath pa&s;&s;ed for
its Futurition. A thing mu&s;t be Future, before God can know
it to be future, and therefore the futurition of a thing is not
knowable, no not <HI>in Signo Rationis,</HI> before God hath pa&s;&s;ed a
decree for its futurition: If God &s;hould fore&s;ee any good habit
or action proceeding from mans will, before he hath decreed to
worke both in man and for him; <HI>Mans will would be the fir&s;t and
Independent cau&s;e of &s;omething which is good.</HI> We mu&s;t &s;peake
<PB N="10" REF="11">
Scripture rea&s;on, <HI>God &s;ets his love upon us, becau&s;e he loves us,
Deut.</HI> 7. 7, 8. And out of free grace and unde&s;erved love decrees
to make us holy, and &s;o fore&s;ees and approves our holine&s;&s;e.
The Knowledge then in the text being a Knowledge of Appro|bation,
&s;uppo&s;es the free grace, unde&s;erved love, Immutable and
Effectuall Decree of God, which is the fountaine of grace and
glory. In bad actions, we can hardly take enough to our &s;elves;
for the divell cannot make me &s;inne, unle&s;&s;e he aske me leave,
and gaine my con&s;ent: but in good actions I can never a&s;cribe
too much to God, who &s;aves me out of free grace, without any
contributions of helpe, or attributions of worth &s;eene or fore|&s;eene
in my fraile and &s;infull &s;elfe.</P>
<P>True it is, God doth be&s;tow his &s;aving benefits in a certaine
Order, &s;o that one of his Favours doth make way for another:
But his &s;econd favours cannot be de&s;erved by his fir&s;t, becau&s;e
his fir&s;t favours make way for his &s;econd, and both proceede
from his free grace.</P>
<P>The Decree of God is a &s;ure foundation, the Fore-knowledge
of God is a certaine Seale: <HI>The Foundation of God &s;tandeth &s;ure,
having this Seale, The Lord knoweth them that are his.</HI> There
is the Privy-Seale: the Broade-Seale is &s;tamped upon them, In
the next words, <HI>And let every one that names the Name of Chri&s;t,
depart from iniquity, 2 Tim.</HI> 2. 19. The Lord doth bring all that
are his, not onely to name the Name of Chri&s;t, to profe&s;&s;e his
Name, call upon his Name, and beleeve in his Name, but to
depart from iniquity, live holily, and per&s;evere in faith and ho|line&s;&s;e;
Faith by fetching &s;trength from Chri&s;t, doth &s;trengthen
all, patience beares all, love &s;weetens all, and per&s;everance
crownes all; thus then in a word, <HI>I know him</HI> &s;aith God, that
is, I love him, and cannot but approve him, becau&s;e I have cho|&s;en
him for mine owne, and am re&s;olved to &s;tand to my choi&s;e:
I have be&s;towed effectuall grace upon him, which hath moved
him to choo&s;e me for his God, as I have cho&s;en him for my
friend:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Quia cognovi cum <HI>inde fiet</HI> ut praecipiat <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">iliis &s;uis. D. River. in lo|cum.</NOTE> and my grace &s;hall be further effectuall to make him
&s;tand to his choi&s;e, and therefore I know both what he is, and
what he will be: he is right for the pre&s;ent, and I know he will
be upright for the future, becau&s;e I know him, thence it will
come to pa&s;&s;e that hee will command his children, faith an
<PB N="11" REF="11">
acute and learned Expo&s;itour upon the place.</P>
<P>Doct. It is our duty to endeavour to bring all that are under our
command, to be at Gods Command.</P>
<P><HI>Abraham</HI> did not leave his children and &s;ervants to their owne
<HI>Genius,</HI> their owne coun&s;els, their owne lu&s;ts: though it is
certaine, that divers of them would have thanked him for &s;uch a
liberty;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jo&s;h. 24 2, 3.</NOTE> for they had beene nur&s;ed up in &s;uper&s;tition and Idola|try,
as <HI>Abraham</HI> was,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 17. 23.</NOTE> and might have pretended that they were
not &s;atisfied in point of con&s;cience; but <HI>Abraham</HI> knew how to
di&s;tingui&s;h betweene <HI>Phanta&s;y,</HI> and <HI>Con&s;cience,</HI> betweene <HI>Li|berty
of Con&s;cience,</HI> and <HI>Liberty of Lu&s;t:</HI> and therefore would
not allow them &s;uch a Liberty as would have enticed them into
the wor&s;t kinde of Bondage.</P>
<P><HI>Abraham did command,</HI> I know (&s;aith God) that he will <HI>com|mand,</HI>
he will make his children know that he is their Father,
and his &s;ervants know that he is their Ma&s;ter. <HI>Abraham</HI> &s;hewed
his <HI>Authority, Prudence, Love, Diligence, and Faithfulne&s;&s;e,</HI> by
laying a &s;trict and &s;peciall Command upon his Hou&s;hold for the
eternall welfare of their pretious &s;oules.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, His Authority, he was a King, a Prie&s;t, a Prophet in
his owne Family, and therefore did command them to &s;ubject
their hearts, wils, con&s;ciences, to the Will and Plea&s;ure of Je|hovah,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 14. 19.</NOTE>
the mighty God, the great <HI>Creatour,</HI> the high <HI>Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;our,</HI>
and glorious <HI>Commander</HI> both of Heaven and Earth.</P>
<P>Secondly, His Prudence, he laide no unnece&s;&s;ary burthen up|on
them, his Commands were not a <HI>Cabala of his owne Inventi|on,</HI>
God did fir&s;t catechi&s;e <HI>Abraham,</HI> and then <HI>Abraham</HI> was the
Doctor of his family, and catechi&s;ed his hou&s;hold: there is no
doubt but he did <HI>advi&s;e</HI> his hou&s;hold in Prudentials; but he did
<HI>command</HI> them in Points of Faith and Wor&s;hip, to walke in the
way of Jehovah. It is the mo&s;t imprudent thing in the world
not to di&s;tingui&s;h betweene <HI>Prudentials,</HI> and <HI>Articles</HI> of Religi|on,
Articles of Faith.</P>
<P>Thirdly, His Love to the pretious &s;oules of his children,
&s;ervants, &s;laves. O happy thrice happy &s;laves, who by the Care
and In&s;truction of a godly Ma&s;ter were brought home to God,
and made the free-men of the great Jehovah.</P>
<P>Fourthly, His Diligence, It was no ea&s;ie matter to in&s;truct
<PB N="12" REF="12">
children and bond-&s;laves with line upon line, and precept upon
precept.</P>
<P>Fifthly, His Faithfulne&s;&s;e, For all his Commands were Re|gular,
<HI>Abraham</HI> kept clo&s;e to the rule, and therefore neither
&s;onne nor &s;ervant could pretend Liberty of Con&s;cience, to de|part
from that Rule, which Jehovah who gives Lawes to the
Con&s;cience had commanded them to &s;et up for a Rule in their
very Con&s;cience. No man can grant a licence, or give liberty to
depart from the Rule, for that were to grant an <HI>Irregular Li|berty,</HI>
an <HI>&V;ncon&s;cionable Liberty. Liberty is a Priviledge, Irregu|larity
a Sin, and no man hath a Priveledge to &s;inne;</HI> Ob&s;erve the
Command in the text,<NOTE PLACE="marg">The Way of Jehovah.</NOTE> it is, <HI>To keepe the way of Jehovah, to d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e
Ju&s;tice and Judgement.</HI> It is the Scripture phra&s;e to expre&s;&s;e Re|ligion
under the Notion of a way to teach men to make a con|&s;tant
progre&s;&s;e in Religion:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Kin. 11. 33. 38.</NOTE> By way is meant <HI>the way of Faith,
Wor&s;hip and Obedience,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 22. 24.</NOTE> <HI>Acts 18. 25, 26. Lnke</HI> 1. 6. Nay the way of
inward wor&s;hip as well as the parts of outward wor&s;hip,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 6. 12.</NOTE> <HI>Deut.
10. 12. Enoch and Noah walked with God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 24. 14.</NOTE> <HI>Gen. 5. 22. 24. Gen.</HI> 6. 9. It
is not meant of obedience onely,<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 15.</NOTE> but of Faith.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb. 11. 5. 7.</NOTE> I mu&s;t not be a
<HI>Selfe-mover: I mu&s;t not be my owne Rule, my owne way, or my owne
righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Colo&s;&s;. 2. 6.</NOTE> Chri&s;t is Jehovah my way, and <HI>as I have received
Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ephe&s;. 2. 10.</NOTE> <HI>&s;o I mu&s;t walke in him, and by the grace of Chri&s;t; I mu&s;t
walke in tho&s;e good workes which God hath prepared that I might
walke in,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Gen. 6.</NOTE> <HI>not in the way of the old world,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Jude ver. 11</NOTE> <HI>the way of Cain, the way
of Balam,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Pet. 2. 2. 15.</NOTE> any wicked way.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerem. 2. 18.</NOTE> Divers learned men conceive that
<HI>Abraham</HI> did catechi&s;e his hou&s;hold in the&s;e weighty points,
<HI>Concerning God, Creation, Providence: Concerning the innocency
and happine&s;&s;e of man in his first e&s;tate: Concerning the Fall, Sinne,
and mi&s;ery of man: Our lo&s;&s;e and corruption by the Fall, Our dan|ger
if we continue in that corrupt e&s;tate:</HI> I change the per&s;ons that
I may &s;peake to you and my &s;elfe. Others there are that adde
many more nece&s;&s;ary points, concerning <HI>the Law of nature, the
Immortality of the &s;oule, but the Mortality of the body, the Day of
Judgement, Eternall life, and Eternall death.</HI> And O that we
would con&s;ider that our &s;oules mu&s;t certainely have an everla|la&s;ting
Being, either in glory, or in torments, <HI>That we may in
this our day con&s;ider tho&s;e things which belong to our everla&s;ting
Peace, lea&s;t hereafter they be hid from our eyes.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="13" REF="12">
But it is out of que&s;tion that <HI>Abraham</HI> did communicate ma|ny
other pretious and &s;aving truths to his beloved family <HI>Con|cerning
the rich mercy, and free grace of God: Concerning &s;alvation
by faith in the promi&s;ed &s;eede: Concerning Prayer, Vowes, Sacrifi|ces,
the Covenant of Grace, and Circumci&s;ion, the Seale of the Co|venant.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">To doe Ju&s;tice and Judgment.</NOTE>
Moreover the Commands of <HI>Abraham</HI> were not onely
<HI>Regular,</HI> but <HI>Practicall</HI> Commands: he did not onely command
them to <HI>know</HI> the way of Jehovah, but to <HI>walke</HI> in it: nor were
they onely to <HI>talke</HI> of Judgement and Ju&s;tice, but to <HI>d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e it:</HI>
Judgement and Ju&s;tice are here taken in a &s;trict and practicall
notion: the 22. <HI>Chapter</HI> of <HI>Jeremiah,</HI> from the thirteenth to the
twentieth <HI>ver&s;e</HI> is an excellent Comment upon my text. <HI>Jehoia|kim</HI>
the &s;onne of <HI>Jo&s;iah,</HI> and King of <HI>Judah</HI> was buried with the
buriall of an A&s;&s;e, becau&s;e he did not learne of his Father to doe
Judgement and Ju&s;tice, <HI>ver.</HI> 15. and to judge the cau&s;e of the
poore and needy, <HI>ver. 16. If the greate&s;t of men remaine unjust,
they will have no ble&s;&s;ing upon them all their life, no honour at their
death.</HI></P>
<P>I &s;hall not &s;o much as examine whether tho&s;e precepts which
&s;ome &s;ay were delivered to the &s;onnes of <HI>Noah,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Vide <HI>Petrum Cunaeum</HI> de Re|pub. <HI>Hebr.</HI> lib. 1. p. 3. 4.</NOTE> were not onely
pre&s;&s;ed upon <HI>Abrahams</HI> family, but upon all tho&s;e that were
thought worthy of humane &s;ociety; by this little that hath
beene &s;aide, it is cleare and evident that <HI>Abraham did not goe a|bout
to &s;et up him&s;elfe, but to &s;et up God in his family, by a kinde of
Theocracy, the be&s;t of Goverments.</HI></P>
<P>But the Je&s;uites tell us that <HI>Abraham</HI> had no <HI>written Catechi&s;me,</HI>
to communicate to his Po&s;terity, and therefore they conceive
that they may vent their <HI>unwritten lyes</HI> upon the Credit of &s;ome
doating Pope. Our an&s;wer is briefe. <HI>The Scriptures have beene
nece&s;&s;ary,</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Deut. 17. 18 Jo&s;h. 1. 8. Rom. 15. 4. Jude ver. 3. 1 Cor. 10. 11. b. John 4 25. John 15. 15 John 16. 13. Math. 28. 19, 20. 2 Cor. 3. 6 8. 11. Revel. 22. 18, 19, 20<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>ever &s;ince it plea&s;ed God to expre&s;&s;e his minde in writing,
and will be &s;o even to the end of the world.</HI> We mu&s;t not expect
&s;uch <HI>unwritten Revelations</HI> as were vouch&s;afed to <HI>Abraham,</HI> be|cau&s;e
the <HI>whole Coun&s;ell of God,</HI> his Royall Will and Plea&s;ure doe
now &s;tand upon record as his perfect Law, full Te&s;timony,
Compleate and Supreme Te&s;tament, nothing is to be added to
it, or taken from it; To &s;ay the Scriptures are not perfect, is not
to di&s;pute, but bla&s;pheme: and if the Scriptures were not
perfect, it is for certaine that they could never be perfected by
<PB N="14" REF="13">
humane traditions, which are &s;o full of imperfection.</P>
<P>A Synod is a &s;olemne Ordinance of Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and I looke
upon that Coun&s;ell <HI>Acts</HI> 15. not onely as a <HI>Precedent,</HI> but as a
<HI>Warrant</HI> for the Examination of matters of <HI>Fact,</HI> as well as Do|ctrines
of Faith: And &s;uch a determination of both, as doth not
onely <HI>direct,</HI> but <HI>oblige</HI> &s;everall Congregations <HI>to doe their duty</HI> by
vertue of that Mini&s;teriall Authority which is &s;tamped upon
&s;uch a Synod or Coun&s;ell by an Ordinance of Je&s;us Chri&s;t; And
yet unle&s;&s;e it were in that Coun&s;ell, <HI>Acts</HI> 15. the Church did
for about three hundred yeares together convince and condemne
Heretiques by &s;cripture, before any generall Councels were ga|thered,
or the Popes throne erected. I have beene at paines to
remove a great deale of rubbi&s;h that lay in my way, but now
I &s;hall beginne to build.</P>
<P>1. Governours of families are Gods Deputies, they mu&s;t
command for God, and give an account to him: all the power
that any man can challenge in his family, as an Husband, Fa|ther,
Ma&s;ter, is a &s;ubordinate and limited power, not an Inde|pendent
or Ab&s;olute power: for <HI>we mu&s;t te&s;tifie our dependance
upon God, and Subiection to him,</HI> by commanding our wives,
children &s;ervants, in the Lord, and for the Lord.</P>
<P>2. Order is the cau&s;e of peace; where there is no order in a
family, there can be no peace; and it is impo&s;&s;ible that there
&s;hould be any happy Order without the highe&s;t Order, I meane
a Religious Order, which &s;ets God uppermo&s;t in the family,
and keepes the whole Hou&s;hold, Ma&s;ter, Mi&s;tre&s;&s;e, and all in &s;ub|jection
to the God of Order, the God of Peace; the truth is,
<HI>Religion puts a family in Order, and then keepes it &s;o:</HI> Policy may
helpe to furni&s;h an hou&s;e with worldly accommodations, for the
&s;upport of our outward man; but when men &s;eeke temporall
advantages with a neglect, if not contempt of God and godli|ne&s;&s;e,
Policy is but a kinde of &s;ubtile di&s;order and demure foo|lery;
<HI>Achitophell</HI> &s;ets his hou&s;e in order, but you know what
followed: becau&s;e he had not &s;et either his heart or hou&s;e in a
religious order, though he was e&s;teemed an Oracle of God for
wi&s;edome, he lived an ungodly life, and died a de&s;perate and
&s;hamefull death; and all Polititians may learne by his fall, that
<HI>Policy without Piety can never give a man &s;atisfaction while&s;t he
lives, nor comfort when he dyes.</HI></P>
<P><PB N="15" REF="13">
Thirdly, Families are the fir&s;t roote of humane con&s;ort and
communion; for Government was fir&s;t &s;etled in tho&s;e little Nur|&s;eries:
now if the roote be rotten, what will the branches be?
A Kingdome con&s;i&s;ts of &s;o many families united by one com|mon
Covenant for the Common good: and if the families
be poy&s;oned and corrupted, what will become of the townes
and the cities, and how will the Kingdome flouri&s;h?</P>
<P>Fourthly, How can we expect a ble&s;&s;ing upon our family,
or hope to convey Gods ble&s;&s;ing to our Po&s;terity, if we doe not
labour to &s;et up God, by &s;etting up of godline&s;&s;e in our family.
<HI>Abraham</HI> had the promi&s;e of a ble&s;&s;ed Seede, but <HI>Abraham</HI> was
to command his children and &s;ervants to walke in the way
of Jehovah, that the ble&s;&s;ing of Jehovah might be upon
them.</P>
<P><HI>Ob.</HI> But you will &s;ay, that in <HI>Abrahams</HI> time there was no &s;et|led
Mini&s;tery, and therefore Ma&s;ters of families were to cate|chi&s;e
their children and &s;ervants; but there is not the &s;ame rea|&s;on
now, &amp;c.</P>
<P><HI>Sol.</HI> I an&s;wer, that when there was a &s;etled Mini&s;tery under
the Law, there was a &s;peciall Command for men to teach not
their &s;onnes onely, but their &s;onnes &s;onnes. <HI>Deut.</HI> 4. 9. and to
<HI>whet</HI> the Precepts of God upon their children, to &s;harpen their
wits, and &s;ettle their mindes by diligent in&s;truction, <HI>Deut.</HI> 6.
from the fourth ver&s;e to the &s;eventh. <HI>Hezekiah</HI> looked upon
tho&s;e as dead and buried, who neglected this duty: <HI>The grave,</HI>
&s;aith he, <HI>cannot pray&s;e thee, nor they that goe downe into the pit hope
for thy truth; the living, the living he &s;hall pray&s;e thee, the father
to the children &s;hall make knowne thy truth, I&s;ai.</HI> 38. 19. Parents
are or may be better acquainted with the <HI>di&s;po&s;ition,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quomodo ad nos pertinet in Eccle&s;ia loqui vobis, &s;ic ad vo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> pertinet in do|mibus ve&s;tris a|gere, ut bonam rationem redda|tis de his qui vobis &s;unt &s;ub|diti. <HI>Augu&s;t.</HI> enarrat. in <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 50.</NOTE> and <HI>capacity</HI>
of their owne children, then any Mini&s;ter can be with the di&s;|po&s;ition
and capacity of all the children in the Pari&s;h; children
doe commonly learne more prophane&s;&s;e at home, then they can
learne good at Church or &s;choole: the negligence or ill exam|ple
of their parents, or &s;ome in the family, doth u&s;ually bring a
<HI>cur&s;e</HI> upon the <HI>&s;ad paines</HI> of the mo&s;t laborious Mini&s;ter; Parents
then and Mini&s;ters mu&s;t be helpers to one another in Je&s;us
Chri&s;t; godly Parents catechi&s;e their children in private, that
their mindes and hearts may be prepared for the receiving of
<PB N="16" REF="14">
tho&s;e truthes which &s;hall be taught them in the Publique Mini|&s;tery:
Parents repeate Sermons in private, Mini&s;ters pre&s;&s;e
catechi&s;ticall points home in publique, and &s;o there is a &s;weete
corre&s;pondence betweene both for the edification and &s;alvation
of all tho&s;e that are committed to their charge. There is a Pro|phe&s;ie,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Filiab<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">tur no|men eius, &s;ive propagabitur.</NOTE>
<HI>P&s;al.</HI> 72. 17. that there &s;hall be as it were a Succe&s;&s;ion
of Chri&s;ts name from generation to generation; <HI>His name &s;hall
pa&s;&s;e from Father to Sonne,</HI> as the phra&s;e imports: every Father
then mu&s;t by Chri&s;tian in&s;truction and godly example hold
forth the name of Chri&s;t to his &s;onne, that &s;o the name of
Chri&s;t may pa&s;&s;e from Father to &s;onne: This Prophe&s;ie con|cernes
the dayes of the Go&s;pell, and you know that in the New
Te&s;tament Parents are encouraged to bring their children unto
Chri&s;t, and commanded to bring them up in the Nurture
and Admonition of the Lord, <HI>Ephe&s;.</HI> 6. 4. <GAP DESC="foreign">,
in Di&s;cipline, as well as Doctrine: for the word <GAP DESC="foreign">
tells you that you mu&s;t put more under&s;tanding into them by
in&s;truction, and <GAP DESC="foreign"> may &s;ignifie Correction: every fa|ther
will challenge the Power of Correction; but he mu&s;t con|&s;ider
that he doth likewi&s;e &s;tand obliged to the duty of In&s;tructi|on;<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Phi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. Praecept. Polis.</NOTE>
Meere Naturali&s;ts will tell you that <HI>correcting without in|&s;tructing
is like &s;nuffing of the Lampe without pouring any oyle into
it.</HI> If you doe but con&s;ider, what a difference there is betweene
children who&s;e education is different, I neede adde no more;
<HI>Ab&s;olom</HI> for his beauty, and <HI>Adonijah</HI> for his comely &s;tature were
more cockered by <HI>David</HI> then <HI>Salomon,</HI> they had more liberty,
and <HI>Salomon</HI> more learning, being more hardly and religiou&s;ly
bred, but you know how <HI>Ab&s;alom</HI> and <HI>Adonijah</HI> mi&s;carried, and
<HI>Salomon</HI> was the Crowne of his Fathers joy, and the heire of
his Crowne.</P>
<P><HI>Bethel</HI> was a &s;uper&s;titious place and therefore the children
no doubt had learned of their &s;uper&s;titious parents to revile the
mo&s;t powerfull Mini&s;ters of God: (for <HI>they that affect a kinde
of blinde and api&s;h devotion, are mo&s;t apt to &s;coffe at the power of re|ligion:</HI>) The children of <HI>Bethel</HI> &s;coffed at <HI>Eli&s;ha,</HI> and are torne
in peeces, 2 <HI>King.</HI> 2. 23, 24. But tho&s;e children who had no
doubt beene tolde that Chri&s;t was the Sonne of <HI>David,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Matth. 21. 15.</NOTE> <HI>Math.</HI>
21. came into the Temple, and cried <HI>Ho&s;anna</HI> to the Sonne of
<PB N="17" REF="14">
<HI>David;</HI> Be&s;tow religious education upon your children, and
you &s;hall &s;ee, that when other mens children that are ba&s;ely
bred, &s;coffe at the zealous Mini&s;ters of God, your children
will &s;ing <HI>Halleluiahs</HI> in the highe&s;t to the Lord Je&s;us
Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>The U&s;e of this Point is to teach us all in our &s;everall places,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Application</NOTE>
callings, relations, to command for God.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Every man hath an hou&s;hold within him&s;elfe.</P>
<P>Secondly, Governours of families have an hou&s;hold.</P>
<P>Thirdly, You that are Parliament men are Members of an
Honourable Hou&s;e, and the onely way to pre&s;erve your Honour
is to walke in the way of Jehovah.</P>
<P>Fourthly, The Kingdome is your Hou&s;hold, the Common|wealth
is your Family, and by doing Ju&s;tice and Judgement
you may not onely command, but per&s;wade the Kingdome to
walke in the way of Jehovah.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Every man hath an hou&s;hold within him&s;elfe, a little
world, and therefore &s;ure a great hou&s;hold within the Circuit
of his inward and outward man. Our fir&s;t and greate&s;t com|mand
is over our owne &s;elves; and the truth is, that we are not
fit to rule others, no no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> to rule and governe our families, untill
we have learned how to rule our &s;elves; we are not fit to <HI>com|mand
till we have put our &s;pirits under an higher and better &s;pirit
then our owne: He that rules his owne &s;pirit, is a better man then
he that takes or rules a City, Prov.</HI> 16. 32. If I my &s;elfe doe not
walke in the way of Jehovah, I &s;hall never get my family into
it, or keepe them in it. <HI>Per&s;onall holine&s;&s;e doth fit us for Hou&s;hold
godline&s;&s;e: Zacheus</HI> did not endeavour to bring his family into
the way of faithfull <HI>Abraham,</HI> till he him&s;elfe became a Sonne
of <HI>Abraham, Luke</HI> 19. 9. Salvation comes to our hearts, before
we are &s;eriou&s;ly In&s;trumentall to bring it into our hou&s;es: Chri&s;t
&s;aid to <HI>Zacheus</HI> upon the day of his conver&s;ion, <HI>This day is &s;al|vation
come to this hou&s;e, for &s;o much as he al&s;o is the Sonne of Abra|ham;</HI>
if you will be members of Chri&s;t, you mu&s;t be &s;onnes of
<HI>Abraham:</HI> Doe not &s;ay that I per&s;wade you to be men of an
<HI>Old Te&s;tament &s;pirit;</HI> &s;ure <HI>the Old Te&s;tament, and the New were
written by the &s;elfe &s;ame &s;pirit,</HI> and the &s;elfe &s;ame Covenant of
<PB N="18" REF="15">
grace is propounded in both, though under very different admi|ni&s;t
ations. <HI>Abraham</HI> was <HI>a man of an Evangelicall Spirit under
the Old Te&s;tament:</HI> nothing could &s;atisfie his rai&s;ed &s;pirit, and
enlarged heart but Je&s;us Chri&s;t: God made him a gracious pro|mi&s;e,
<HI>Gen.</HI> 15. 1. but Lord God &s;aith he, what wilt thou give
me &s;ince I goe childle&s;&s;e, <HI>ver.</HI> 2. as if he had &s;aid, how &s;hall I
have thee for my God and Father, reward and Saviour, if the
promi&s;ed Seed who is to breake the head of the Serpent, all the
power and policy of the divell, doe not &s;pring from my loynes?
It is cleare and evident, that <HI>Abrahams heart was not &s;et upon any
common &s;eed, but that promi&s;ed &s;eed in which all the Nations of the
earth were to be bl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;ed.</HI> For the Apo&s;tle &s;hewes that the promi&s;e,
<HI>Gen.</HI> 13. 15. is meant of Chri&s;t, <HI>To thy Seed, which is Chri&s;t, Gal.
3. 16. Abraham</HI> was not ju&s;tified by beleeving that he &s;hould
have a numerous of &s;pring, but by beleeving in Chri&s;t, <HI>he &s;aw the
day of Chri&s;t by faith, reioyced in hope, and beleeved again&s;t hope:</HI>
and if we will be his &s;onnes, the Apo&s;tle &s;hewes what we mu&s;t
beleeve in the fourth chapter of the Epi&s;tle to the <HI>Romans,</HI> and
the three la&s;t ver&s;es. That by the way; but if you will fully
prove your &s;elves to be &s;onnes of <HI>Abraham,</HI> you mu&s;t have the
&s;ame minde and heart, the &s;ame faith that <HI>Abraham</HI> had, and
walke in the &s;ame way and &s;teps that <HI>Abraham</HI> did, as farre as
Evangelicall admini&s;trations will permit, for you mu&s;t ob&s;erve
that difference: be plea&s;ed then &s;adly to con&s;ider the&s;e few
Ob&s;ervations.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>Abraham</HI> was a man much given to Heavenly medita|tion,
a fundamentall duty of Religion, which layes the ground|worke,
and contrives the Plat-forme of Hou&s;hold-godline&s;&s;e.
<HI>Abraham</HI> had his minde fixed, and his heart warmed with medi|tation,
that he might be rai&s;ed and enlarged for the highe&s;t &s;trains
of &s;pirituall devotion, when God gave him a promi&s;e that <HI>Sarah</HI>
&s;hould have a &s;on, <HI>Abraham meditates upon the promi&s;e till his
heart was even enravi&s;hed with love and ioy:</HI> The good man is
plea&s;ed in his minde, and <HI>laughes in his heart,</HI> and breaketh forth
into Soliloquies upon this occa&s;ion, and when his heart is by
the&s;e contemplations and &s;olitary di&s;cour&s;es, put into a praying
frame, put into tune as it were, O then he prayes, <HI>Gen. 17. 17,
<PB N="19" REF="15">
18. Prayer is not the childe of wit and phanta&s;ie, it is the rapture of
an elevated &s;pirit, the heavenly dew of a broken heart:</HI> I meane a
&s;pirit elevated by a &s;pirit of faith, and a heart broken with the
&s;pirit of love. Would you be &s;ons of <HI>Abraham?</HI> learne this di|vine
Logique, this &s;acred Eloquence, <HI>Let meditation fit you for
Soliloquies, and Soliloquies for Prayer. Meditation helpes the memo|ry,
purges the con&s;cience, purifies the heart, reformes the life;</HI> It
makes all our knowledge to become practicall, becau&s;e it affects
the heart with tho&s;e truthes which we beleeve; it kindles love,
inflames zeale, and when our love burnes, and our zeale flames,
we &s;hall warme others by &s;peaking from our owne hearts to the
hearts of our family, the convincing and quickning truth of
God.</P>
<P>Secondly, <HI>Abraham was an humble and mortified man.</HI> When
he received a gracious me&s;&s;age from God in pretious promi&s;es,
he falls downe upon his face, not out <HI>of a &s;uper&s;titious phanta&s;ie,
but out of a &s;weet &s;elfe-abhorrency in adoration of Gods Maie&s;ty, and
thankefulne&s;&s;e for his mercy.</HI> You may read of this <HI>Son-like reve|rence</HI>
twice in one chapter, <HI>Gen.</HI> 17. 3. 17. O let us con&s;ider <HI>Gods
Maie&s;ty and our ba&s;ene&s;&s;e, Gods purity and our &s;infulne&s;&s;e, Gods free|grace,
and our unworthyne&s;&s;e, Gods rich bounty, and our unthankful|ne&s;&s;e,
that we may learne to aba&s;e our &s;elves, and exalt our God; A|braham</HI>
his thoughts did a&s;&s;uredly dwell upon humbling and
mortifying con&s;iderations, he laid out his money upon a <HI>buryi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">g
place,</HI> as if it had beene the mo&s;t <HI>nece&s;&s;ary purcha&s;e:</HI> and when he
was at prayer, O &s;aith he, <HI>I am but du&s;t and a&s;hes, Gen</HI> 18. 27. as
if he had &s;aid, what am I that I &s;hould approach into the pre|&s;ence
of &s;o great a Maje&s;ty, Alas, I am but du&s;t and a&s;hes, and
yet I take upon me to &s;peake to Jehovah the God of glory: Our
ble&s;&s;ed Saviour did more then once at the fea&s;t breake out into a
di&s;cour&s;e of his buriall,<NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Vide</HI> Cart|wright. Harmon. Evang.</NOTE> once at <HI>Bethany</HI> in the hou&s;e of <HI>Simon</HI>
the leper, <HI>Math.</HI> 26. 6. and another time in the city at the hou&s;e
of a Phari&s;ee, <HI>Luke 7. 36, 37. Our deare Lord would teach us to be
of &s;uch a compo&s;ed &s;pirit, that the dainties of a fea&s;t, or the fragrant
&s;mell of co&s;tly Oyntments may not tempt us to take off our thoughts
from humbling and mortifying con&s;iderations:</HI> While&s;t we are fea|&s;ting,
we may be dying, <HI>Jobs</HI> children were &s;trucke dead while&s;t
<PB N="20" REF="16">
they were fea&s;ting and drinking wine: <HI>Con&s;ider it all you that &s;it
in the Congregation of the mighty: though you &s;it there as Gods, you
mu&s;t dye like men.</HI></P>
<P>Thirdly, <HI>Abraham</HI> was a <HI>&s;elfe-denying</HI> man; at the Command of
God, he left his father, for&s;ook his country, renounced his idols,
circumci&s;ed him&s;elfe and his hou&s;hold: though it was painefull
to the fle&s;h, and &s;eemed immode&s;t, nay ridiculous to carnall men,
and co&s;t him his bloud: he turned <HI>Hagar</HI> and <HI>I&s;mael</HI> out of doors,
and was ready to &s;acrifice his deare&s;t <HI>I&s;aack,</HI> though <HI>the Command
&s;eemed contrary to nature and religion, to Gods promi&s;e and his owne
&s;alvation:</HI> You may &s;uppo&s;e him di&s;puting with him&s;elfe much
after this manner, <HI>What &s;hall I &s;acrifice my &s;onne I&s;aack, the &s;onne
of my age and love, my heart, my bowels tell me that it is unnaturall:
what will my Sarah, my &s;ervants, the Heathens &s;ay? who will ever
live within my walls, or be of my religion, when I have cut the throat
of my deare&s;t &s;onne? Lord, where is my ble&s;&s;ing, where is thy promi&s;e,
nay where is my faith? How &s;hall the promi&s;ed Seed &s;pring from my
loynes if I&s;aack die? En dignam Deo &s;pectaculum:</HI> this was a &s;ight
worthy of God to looke upon, a worke worthy for God to
performe: God gave <HI>Abraham</HI> a &s;elfe-denying &s;pirit, and that
carried him through all. We cannot be &s;onnes of <HI>Abraham,</HI>
Members or followers of Chri&s;t without &s;elfe-deniall, <HI>Marke 8.
34. I mu&s;t deny my graces, &s;ervices, &s;ufferings, my whole regenerate
&s;elfe in point of Ju&s;tification, as I mu&s;t deny my corrupt &s;elfe in point
of mortification, and mu&s;t deny even my naturall &s;elfe, my naturall
life, and the comforts of it, if I am called to &s;uffer Martyrdome, Luke</HI>
14. 26. 33. But alas, how many are there that are more willing
to deny Chri&s;t and deny the Scriptures, then to deny them&s;elves?
This is a lamentation, and &s;hall be for a lamentation: <HI>Few men
are willing to circumci&s;e their hearts, mortifie their lu&s;ts, ca&s;t out their
I&s;maels, offer up their I&s;aacks, part with their e&s;tates and lives for
Je&s;us Chri&s;t; Come let us deny our rea&s;on, and &s;ubmit to Gods
Coun&s;ell, deny our wills, and &s;ubmit to Gods Will, quiet our pa&s;&s;ions,
and &s;ubmit to Gods Providence.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, <HI>Abraham was a man of faith, the father of the faithfull,</HI>
he beleeved again&s;t &s;ence, again&s;t rea&s;on, carnall rea&s;on, nay <HI>a|gain&s;t
hope he beleeved in hope, Rom.</HI> 4. 18. Was it rea&s;onable to
<PB N="21" REF="16">
expect that a childe &s;hould &s;pring from withered loynes, from a
dead body? <HI>The Obiection was con&s;iderable, but Abraham was &s;o
wi&s;e as not to con&s;ider it: he con&s;idered not his owne body now dead,
ver. 19. The mo&s;t plau&s;ible Objections in the world, are not one whit
con&s;iderable, if framed again&s;t the plaine word of God.</HI> It is the cry|ing
&s;inne of this age, to &s;et up the wit and fancies of men in com|petition
with the Authority of God, the Word of God, and
therefore I de&s;ire to &s;peake freely, I would I had time to &s;peake
fully; men doe con&s;ider witty objections too much, and the
word of God too little: If we were not benighted at high noon,
that is, if we did not &s;hut out the light, it were impo&s;&s;ible that
&s;o many <HI>rotten opinions</HI> &s;hould &s;eeme beautifull, nay glorious in
the eyes of con&s;iderable men; you know what the Philo&s;opher
&s;aith, <HI>Rotten things &s;hine in the darke:</HI> Plau&s;ible Objections are <HI>cu|rious
Copwebs:</HI> I admire the art of them, yet I know that they
may be framed out of the <HI>bowels of a &s;pider,</HI> and they are the com|mon
habitation and <HI>Ne&s;t of &s;piders.</HI> Come, come let us learne of
<HI>Abraham,</HI> let us be fully per&s;waded, and let us not be &s;taggered,
<HI>Rom. 4. 20. He &s;taggered not at the promi&s;e of God through unbe|leefe,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 8. 4.</NOTE>
<HI>but was &s;trong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully
per&s;waded,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Act. 17. 23.</NOTE> <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Let us be fully per&s;waded, Fir&s;t, <HI>That the God of
Abraham,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 1. 23. 25.</NOTE> <HI>the God who made heaven and earth is the onely true God:</HI>
Let us not wor&s;hippe,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Tu <HI>Jupiter</HI> &s;ive coelum es, &s;ive aether, &s;ive terra 1. <HI>King</HI> 18. 21. 36.</NOTE> Fir&s;t an Idoll of our owne braine. Se|condly,
an <HI>Inviduum vagum,</HI> or an <HI>&V;nknowne Diety,</HI> as the <HI>A|thenians</HI>
did: but let us fixe our beleefe upon the true and ever|living
God, and declare him to be our God, as the <HI>P&s;almi&s;t</HI>
doth.<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 48. 14.</NOTE> For <HI>this God,</HI> &s;aith he, you &s;ee he fixes upon a certaine
Diety:<NOTE PLACE="marg">Vide Bradwar|din. de Cau&s;a Dei. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> <HI>This God is our God for ever and ever, he will be our guide
even unto death;</HI> It is a &s;hort Creede, but a very excellent one: it
&s;tands upon record, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 48. 14.</P>
<P>Rea&s;on tells us that this God is <HI>Optimus Maximus,</HI> and <HI>&s;um|mum</HI>
<NOTE PLACE="foot">Vide Simplici|um in 1. <HI>Phy&s;is. Platonem</HI> in Timaeo. <HI>Ari&s;tot. 8. Phy&s;ic.</HI> &amp; lib. 1. de coelonec non 12. <HI>Metaph.</HI> Ubi non tantum probat Deum e&s;&s;e, &s;ed quaedam attributa de Deo demon&s;trat <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>&amp;c. A|ri&s;tot. Metaphy&s;.</HI> lib. 12. cap. 9, 10. Vide demon&s;tration <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="blotted" EXTENT="2 letters"> <HI>S. Thomae</HI> de Exi&s;tentia Dei ex <HI>Ari&s;totele</HI> de&s;umptas. <HI>Paul. Ferii Schola&s;t. Orthodox. Ciccron.</HI> de Natura Deorum. Deus ille Maximus Potenti&s;&s;imusque ip&s;e vehit omnia. <HI>Senec. Epi&s;tol.</HI> 31. quod Sacris convenit, inquit <HI>Muretus,</HI> Portans omnia verbo virtutis &s;uae.</NOTE>
<PB N="22" REF="17">
<HI>bonum,</HI> the be&s;t and the greate&s;t infinite wi&s;e ju&s;t and mer|cifull.
But what &s;hall I call him? Why <HI>Jehovah</HI> that is the ti|tle
in the Text, <HI>To note that he hath Being of him&s;elfe, gives being
and well-being to all things el&s;e, and more e&s;pecially that he gives a &s;ub|&s;i&s;tence
to his promi&s;es.</HI> That &s;o our faith might prevent time,
and make tho&s;e things pre&s;ent to our mindes for the comfort
of our hearts, which in them&s;elves are future, and have no be|ing
at all; Let us fixe our faith in<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vide</HI> Salo Buxtorfi. Gla&s;|&s;ium. Mercerum.</NOTE> Jehovah our God. All other
titles fall &s;hort of his excellency. God cannot be reduced to the
Praedicament of &s;ub&s;tance, but the very &s;ub&s;tantiality of &s;ub|&s;tance
is reduced to him, who gives &s;ub&s;i&s;tence to all &s;ub&s;tan|ces:
If then you call God &s;ub&s;tance, that word is not &s;ub&s;tan|tiall
enough; If you call him End, that word hath not Being e|nough,
for he is <HI>Principium totius e&s;&s;e,</HI> not as we &s;ay, a point
is <HI>Principuum lineae,</HI> which is intrin&s;ecally contained within the
line: for he is the Efficient and Exemplar of all Being and well-being.
Therefore &s;ome that have beene &s;trict and accurate, doe
not onely &s;ay, that God is <HI>mo&s;t excellent,</HI> but that he is <HI>&s;uper-ex|cellent:</HI>
becau&s;e <HI>he doth excell even excellency it &s;elfe.</HI></P>
<P>Rea&s;on tells us that <HI>this God de&s;erves to be wor&s;hipped: that he is
wi&s;e enough to judge what wor&s;hip is due to him:</HI> and that it is
certaine he hath revealed his Judgement &s;omewhere, that he
may be &s;erved and wor&s;hipped according to his owne minde,
and will: becau&s;e otherwi&s;e <HI>our wor&s;hipping of him cannot be o|bedientiall:</HI>
And where hath God revealed this but in the Scrip|ture?
therefore we mu&s;t fixe our faith upon the Scripture, and
not onely beleeve that God hath revealed his minde <HI>&s;omewhere,</HI>
but that he hath revealed it <HI>here in the Old and New Te&s;tament.</HI>
When God de&s;ires to make us &s;en&s;ible of our frailty by eclip|&s;ing
all the glory of the world,<NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 40. 5, 6, 7. 8.</NOTE> that he might reveale his owne
glory: what doth he bid the Prophet &s;ay? <HI>Why cry</HI> &s;aith he,
<HI>All fle&s;h is gra&s;&s;e, as the goodline&s;&s;e of the flower of gra&s;&s;e which is
withering, fading, dying,</HI> but &s;aith he <HI>the Word of our God &s;hall
&s;tand for ever.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Beloved, let me freely &s;peake to you, let us builde our faith
upon that which &s;hall &s;tand for ever, upon the word of God
onely. Our faith builds for eternity, and therefore we had
neede build upon that which will &s;tand for ever.</HI> Our faith
<PB N="23" REF="17">
is not built upon the Votes of the A&s;&s;embly,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Internas per|&s;wa&s;iones &s;ine externo verbo tanquam <HI>Sa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">a|na</HI> Iudibria ca|vemus: ex &s;cripturis &s;api|mus, cum &s;crip|turis &s;entimus, propter &s;criptu|ras credimus. <HI>Whita<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">k.</HI> de Au|thorit. Scriptur. lib. 1. cap. 10. prope finer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> the Ordinances of
Parliament, the Plea&s;ure of Kings, the Fancyes of the multi|tude,
the New light of Saints that are yet carnall, or but com|paratively
perfect; nay to goe higher yet, my faith is not built
upon the definitions of Councells, or the Revelations of Angells, but
upon the Word of God, that Word that &s;tands for ever. <HI>But you
will &s;ay that place of</HI> I&s;aiah <HI>is meant onely of the Old
Te&s;tament: I will &s;hew you the &s;elfe &s;ame words in the
New Te&s;tament,</HI> 1 Pet. 1. <HI>and the three la&s;t ver&s;es,</HI> Ye are
borne againe, <HI>Of what Seed?</HI> Not of corruptible &s;eed, but of
incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for
ever. For all fle&s;h is gra&s;&s;e, and all the glory of man as the flow|er
of gra&s;&s;e: the gra&s;&s;e withereth, and the flower thereof fadeth
away, but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. But where
is it? &s;aith &s;ome poore &s;oule, <HI>for</HI> I am to &s;eeke where it is; <HI>Why
here it is, &s;aith the Apo&s;tle: in this Go&s;pell reade on, the la&s;t
words of the chapter will give thee full &s;atisfaction.</HI> And
this is the Word, which by the Go&s;pell is preached unto you; <HI>Say
not then in your hearts, who &s;hall a&s;cend into Heaven
to bring downe the minde of Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 10. 6, 7, 8.</NOTE> The Word is nigh unto
you, <HI>Oh let it be nearer to you yet: let the word of faith
which is preached out of this Go&s;pell, be a word of faith
ingrafted in thy heart: thou maye&s;t &s;afely build thy faith
upon the holy Scriptures, for they are the words of God,
and</HI> though the Kingdomes of the earth be &s;haken, yet the Words
of God will &s;tand, and &s;tand for ever. <HI>Be convinced and fully
per&s;waded that this is the truth, be not &s;taggered about it,
but be confident of it:</HI> If the Word of God faile, I will give
thee leave to cur&s;e me upon thy death-bedde, for I can with
reverence and confidence appeale to God: and &s;ay, Lord, if
in this point, I am deceived, thou thy &s;elfe ha&s;t deceived
mee.</P>
<P>Fifthly, <HI>Abraham was the Freind of God:</HI> We are all by
nature enemies to God&punc; we doe naturally conceive an A|thei&s;ticall
hatred again&s;t him, onely becau&s;e he is a God
to Truth, Ju&s;tice, and Purity, and threatens to torment
<PB N="24" REF="18">
us for tho&s;e &s;innes which we are unwilling to for&s;ake:
wicked men wi&s;h with all their hearts that God were not
&s;o pure, ju&s;t and true, as indeede he is, and mu&s;t be, un|le&s;&s;e
they would have him to be no God at all; Are you not
a&s;hamed of this Athei&s;ticall quarrell? Con&s;ider that <HI>God is
truth, can an under&s;tanding minde hate truth</HI> which is the very
dareling of the under&s;tanding? God is <HI>goodne&s;&s;e</HI> it &s;elfe,
and can thy will hate that which is <HI>good,</HI> even goodne&s;&s;e it
&s;elfe, infinite goodne&s;&s;e? <HI>God is love, and can&s;t thou be out
of love</HI> with love it &s;elfe? Doe&s;t thou not &s;ee that <HI>thy na|ture
is extreamely perverted, and become even unnaturall?</HI>
but let me tell you that our enmity, though thus <HI>unnatural|ly
naturall,</HI> and gro&s;&s;ely Athei&s;ticall, is highly aggravated
by the Love of Chri&s;t. Chri&s;t died to &s;ave me, though he
knew that I would be his deadly enemy, and offers me a
pardon &s;ealed with his precious bloud: and therefore <HI>I doe
even hate my &s;elfe for hating Chri&s;t, and am willing to be or|dered
as well as ju&s;tified by Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> Chri&s;ts minde &s;hall
be my minde, Chri&s;ts will &s;hall be my will, I de&s;ire to be
<HI>a man according to Chri&s;ts owne heart:</HI> I will be a freind to
Chri&s;t, though I &s;eeme to be an enemy to my &s;elfe, <HI>I pro|fe&s;&s;e
my &s;elfe a freind to all the freinds, and an enemy to all the
enemyes of Je&s;us Chri&s;t:</HI> Oh I feele I ble&s;&s;e God, I feele
my &s;elfe tran&s;ported even beyond my &s;elfe with <HI>raptures,</HI> and
<HI>exta&s;ies</HI> of love: I am &s;en&s;ible of Gods eternall love to me,
and I cannot be content with any le&s;&s;e then an eternity to
expre&s;&s;e my love to him: I will &s;ub&s;cribe my &s;elfe, <HI>the
eternall freind of Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Sixthly, <HI>Abraham</HI> was a <HI>Covenanter,</HI> a perfect Covenan|ter,
<HI>Walke before me, and be thou perfect or upright, and I
will make a Covenant with thee,</HI> &s;aith God to <HI>Abraham, Gen.</HI>
17. 1, 2. Walke perfectly in the perfect way of Jehovah,
as in the pre&s;ence of Jehovah: <HI>You mu&s;t walke by fayth, 2 Cor.
5. 7. and by &s;incere obedience, Ephe&s;.</HI> 2. 10. Let your heart be
perfectly engaged to God, and when that is done all is as good
as done in re&s;pect of Gods acceptance and your comfort.</P>
<P><PB N="25" REF="18">
Our Saviour concludes his &s;pirituall Expo&s;ition of the
Law with this Exhortation, <HI>Be you therefore perfect, as your Fa|ther
which is in Heaven is perfect.</HI> Matth. 5. 48. to &s;hew, that
our &s;incere obedience is called perfect, becau&s;e <HI>our obedience
in re&s;pect of our de&s;ire mu&s;t be as large as the perfection of Gods
holy will revealed in his Word;</HI> nay he mu&s;t endeavour, and
not onely de&s;ire to come up to the rule in the mo&s;t nice
points, in every Iota and Title of the &s;pirituall Law, and
glorious Go&s;pel; they who do ordinarily commit known
&s;ins, and neglect known duties, will not be e&s;teemed <HI>Hone&s;t
Covenanters;</HI> they who &s;tudy excu&s;es, or frame objections to
elude plain Commandments, (the Wi&s;e man &s;aith) are
<HI>prating fools, men of great lips, and no brains, a fool of lips, void of
heart, or brains:</HI> Prov. 10. 8. 13. Tell the&s;e men &s;uch a thing
is <HI>a breach of Covenant,</HI> &s;uch a thing is a dutie, &s;uch a thing is
a &s;in, they &s;ay they care not, it is a clear ca&s;e that they <HI>de|&s;pi&s;e
their wayes,</HI> and Gods precepts; and if they do not re|pent
of their contempt, they &s;hall die for it. <HI>He that keeps
the Commandments, keeps his own &s;oul; but he that de&s;pi&s;eth his
wayes, &s;hall die.</HI> Prov. 19. 16.</P>
<P>7. <HI>Abraham</HI> was a good Hou&s;e-keeper, he took care of
his family; and &s;o I pa&s;&s;e from Per&s;onal Holine&s;&s;e to Hou&s;e|hold-godline&s;&s;e.
We mu&s;t command our children, and
Hou&s;hold to walk in the way of Jehovah; <HI>The whole family
&s;hould be perfumed with the graces of the Governor:</HI> for though
all the pious actions which are performed by every mem|ber
of the family proceed <HI>elicitive</HI> from that habituall
godline&s;&s;e which is in that member, yet they &s;hould pro|ceed
<HI>Imperative,</HI> from the godline&s;&s;e of the Governor, <HI>He
&s;hould command;</HI> Give me leave to enquire into the &s;tate of
your families, are they Nur&s;eries of Piety? do you look up|on
your heirs as Gods heritage, and labour to make them
&s;ons of God, and heirs of Heaven? Do you de&s;ire to be &s;pi|rituall,<NOTE PLACE="marg">P&s;al. 127. 13.</NOTE>
as well as naturall Fathers to all your Children; I
am as it were born again in my childe, oh that my childe
might be born again in Chri&s;t, and Chri&s;t in him: I &s;ee too
much of my own image in him, oh that the image of
Chri&s;t might be &s;tamped upon him! the&s;e are the heavenly
<PB N="26" REF="19">
ejaculations of holy parents. We mu&s;t &s;ay of our children
as <HI>Jacob</HI> did of his, <HI>The&s;e are the children which God hath gra|ciou&s;ly
given:</HI> oh let them be graciou&s;ly educated. Have a
&s;peciall care of your &s;ons, they are the <HI>&s;upport</HI> of the fami|ly,
O teach them to <HI>&s;upport</HI> Religion al&s;o, that they may
<HI>bear up Chri&s;ts Name as well as yours.</HI> Have a tender care of your
daughters, for by them other Families are linked to yours,
therfore &s;ea&s;on them with Religion, and you may by them
propagate Religion to many Families. Would you have
your Heirs good State&s;men, teach them how <HI>to whet their
tools at the Sanctuary, to oyl their wheels with prayer, and &s;teel
their Engines with Religion,</HI> that they may &s;eek the kingdom
of God, and his righteou&s;nes in the fir&s;t and highe&s;t place,
and &s;ecular advantages in <HI>a &s;ub&s;ervient way.</HI> But when, and
how &s;oon &s;hould we begin to teach our children? why tru|ly
<HI>when they are able to learn any thing that's bad, it is high time
to teach them &s;omething that is good:</HI> when they can &s;tammer
out an oath, or li&s;p near a bla&s;phemy, it is high time to
teach them their Catechi&s;me, and in&s;truct them in Prin|ciples
of Chri&s;tianity. Teach them their Catechi&s;me in
<HI>A. B. C.</HI> The holy Spirit hath compo&s;ed &s;ome Abcedarian
P&s;alms in Achro&s;ticall ver&s;es, according to the order of the
Hebrew Alphabet, that children might learn an Alphabet
of godline&s;&s;e, and parents teach their children the fir&s;t Ele|ments
of Religion as well as Learning; the fir&s;t letters of
the ver&s;es of certain P&s;alms, the 25. 34. 37. 119. are &s;et
down according to the order of the Alphabet, and they are
all of them choice P&s;alms, full of &s;weet &s;treins and raptures
of devotion. <HI>Tim<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">thy</HI> learnt the Scriptures of a childe, <GAP DESC="foreign">,
2 <HI>Tim.</HI> 3. 15. a word of a very young &s;ignification.
<HI>Childhood and youth are ages of Fancy, and therefore certainly pa|rents
&s;hould &s;et heavenly truths in fre&s;h and lively colours, that the
phanta&s;ie of their children may be taken with the &s;en&s;ible repre&s;en|tation
of &s;pirituall things;</HI> God doth reveal heavenly truths
in certain apt &s;imilitudes, which do exceedingly plea&s;e the
phanta&s;ie, becau&s;e while&s;t our &s;oul is joyned to our body,
nothing can come into the under&s;tanding but by the &s;en|ces,
and &s;o through the phanta&s;ie; and therefore a &s;imili|tude
<PB N="27" REF="19">
doth exceedingly help the under&s;tanding. God de|&s;cends
to our weak capacity, when he clothes an heavenly
truth with an earthly repre&s;entation, <HI>Joh.</HI> 3. 12. I have told
you of <HI>earthly things,</HI> &s;aith our Saviour, that is, I have re|pre&s;ented
heavenly truths by compari&s;ons taken from
earthly things, I have brought down the bough which
was out of your reach, and put it into your hand, and help|ed
you up, &s;o that you may now climbe from Earth to Hea|ven
by the&s;e &s;imilitudes: I have u&s;ed &s;imilitudes &s;aith God,
<HI>Ho&s;.</HI> 12. 10. and therefore it is an higher aggravation of
our unbelief and di&s;obedience, if when we have &s;uch helps
we do not profit by in&s;truction; you know <HI>the Sacraments
help our faithly our &s;ences, and &s;o by our phanta&s;ie, and phanta&s;ie
will return a quick me&s;&s;age to the affections, and the affections will
&s;way the will, and con&s;equently the whole man;</HI> and therefore if
we can plea&s;e the phanta&s;ie of a childe, by repre&s;enting the
joyes of Heaven to him under the notion of a Banquet, or
a crown of Gold, and &s;o invite him to Heaven, and &s;weeten
all the exerci&s;es of Religion to him; and on the other &s;ide
terrifie him from &s;in, by repre&s;enting the torments of Hell
to him under the notion of fire and brim&s;tone, <HI>and then &s;hew</HI>
him that there's ground for the&s;e repre&s;entations in the
Word of God, you'l at once help his under&s;tanding, and
work upon his affections, and withall lay a firm ground
for his faith, <HI>that his faith</HI> laying hold on the Divine reve|lation
in the Word, and his fancie fa&s;tening on the &s;en|&s;ible
repre&s;entation of that divine truth, his under&s;tanding
may be enlightned, his faith &s;trengthned, his fancie plea|&s;ed,
his affections ordered, his will turned.</P>
<P>2. <HI>Children have very good memories,</HI> if you make u&s;e of
them betimes, and our memory doth work &s;trongly upon
our affections. 2. <HI>Corinth. 7. 15. His inward affection or bowels
are more abundant towards you while&s;t he remembreth the obedi|ence
of you all.</HI> God did empart an hi&s;tory to <HI>Abraham</HI> to
communicate to his children, children are excellent at the
remembring of &s;tories; relate the &s;tory of drowning the
World, and the burning of Sodome to your children, &s;uch
&s;tories will work upon them.</P>
<P><PB N="28" REF="20">
3. <HI>Children are full of affection,</HI> and <HI>Ari&s;totle</HI> &s;aith, that the
fir&s;t thing that you &s;hould teach children, is &s;omewhat that
concerns the ordering of their affections, what <HI>they ought
to delight in, and what they ought to grieve for,</HI> and con&s;equent|ly
<HI>what they ought to love, and what they ought to hate.</HI></P>
<P>Pray for your children as well as in&s;truct them; <HI>Si nil
curarem, nil orarem,</HI> &s;aith <HI>Melancthon;</HI> if you do not pray for
your children, you do not care for them; pray for your
children <GAP DESC="foreign">, continually, that is as &s;ome expound
it, daily, the <HI>daily</HI> &s;acrifice was called the <HI>continuall</HI> &s;acrifice;
or as others expound it, pray for them &s;ea&s;onably upon all
occa&s;ions. Do not onely pray for your children in gene|rall,
but pray as <HI>Job</HI> &s;acrificed, for every particular childe,
<HI>according to the number of them all,</HI> Job 1. 5. As you provide a
di&s;tinct portion, and a di&s;tinct &s;uit of clothes for every
childe; &s;o provide, I mean, <HI>Sue cut a &s;peciall ble&s;&s;ing by a di&s;tinct
prayer for every particular childe.</HI> You mu&s;t be jealous over
your children with a godly jealou&s;ie as <HI>Job</HI> was, <HI>If you
&s;u&s;pect that they have &s;inned, let that &s;u&s;pition bring you upon your
knees;</HI> and cau&s;e you to lift up a prayer for them with all
your &s;trength; if you do but fear that they may &s;in, labour
by good coun&s;ell to prevent their &s;in. Finally, give good
example to your children, and take care of them when
they are grown up and married from you: when <HI>Jobs</HI> chil|dren
had hou&s;es of their own to fea&s;t in, yet <HI>Job</HI> took care
of their &s;ouls, and &s;ent to them to &s;anctifie them&s;elves,
which was to prepare them&s;elves for holy &s;ervice. <HI>Job</HI> 1.
4, 5.</P>
<P>Do not forget your beloved wife, the choice&s;t part of
your &s;elf and family; &s;he will never be at your command,
unle&s;&s;e you teach her to be at Chri&s;ts command. The Phy|lo&s;opher
will tell you that &s;ouls have no &s;exes, thy wives
&s;oul is as manly, and as precious as thine own, and there|fore
take care of her precious &s;oul, in&s;truct her, pray with
her, dwell with her as a man of knowledge, that you may
walk together hand in hand to heaven, like heirs of grace,
till you come to be coheirs in glory. Command your &s;er|vants
to walk in the way of Jehovah, and in&s;truct them in
<PB N="29" REF="20">
that way: Oh do not u&s;e your &s;ervants as you u&s;e your
Bea&s;ts, you work and feed your bea&s;ts, but never in&s;truct
them; and you make as very bea&s;ts of your &s;ervants, if you
do not in&s;truct them in the way of Jehovah, for you do
onely find them work and food. Tell your family what
con&s;iderations did at fir&s;t move your heart, and work upon
your &s;pirits, that the &s;ame con&s;iderations may by Gods
ble&s;&s;ing melt, and turn their hearts; a religious Servant
may improve thy zeal, and bring a ble&s;&s;ing on thy po&s;te|ritie
and e&s;tate, when thou art dead and gone.</P>
<P>Set up Hou&s;hold-godline&s;&s;e in order, not in oppo&s;ition, to Congre|gationall
godline&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Labour to make thy wife the &s;pou&s;e of Chri&s;t; thy chil|dren,
the children of God; thy &s;ervants, the &s;ervants of the
Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, and the ble&s;&s;ing of Heaven re&s;t upon
thee, and thine.</P>
<P>I have not done,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Application to the Parlia|ment.</NOTE> for I have a farther journey to go: <HI>the
Lord give me the &s;trength and &s;pirit of Elijah, that I may not faint
by the way:</HI> I con&s;ider that I am bound to &s;peak to that Ho|nourable
Hou&s;e which called me hither, and never was
man called to &s;peak in a more <HI>Criticall Juncture of time:</HI> I
have put up many prayers, and powred forth many tears
for direction to the God of Heaven, that I may &s;peak the
words of <HI>&s;oberne&s;&s;e and truth:</HI> my heart tels me that I &s;peak
out of love and re&s;pect to you, and my con&s;cience tels me
I &s;peak in obedience to God; all the Hou&s;holds of the
Commons of <HI>England</HI> are repre&s;ented in Your Honorable
Hou&s;e; <HI>Your Hou&s;e is a Paradi&s;e, but may not the Serpent get into
Paradi&s;e? as great as you are, you are under God, every one of your
Members, and the whole Hou&s;e, mu&s;t be at Gods devotion and com|mand:</HI>
if you will walk wi&s;ely, and &s;afely, you mu&s;t walk
in the way of Jehovah, and keep in the way of Jehovah:
the Angels have charge over you as long as you walk in
that way, and Chri&s;t the head of Angels as well as Saints,
will beat down your Enemies under your feet;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ier. 23. 6.</NOTE> <HI>The way of
Chri&s;t is the way of Jehovah, for he is Jehovah our righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e;</HI>
But you will tell me, that learned and godly men cannot
agree about the Way of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P><PB N="30" REF="21">
My fir&s;t motion is, That we may not be beaten off from
tho&s;e principles in which we agree, becau&s;e there are &s;ome
things about which we differ.</P>
<P>2. That it may be diligently con&s;idered, how far we
agree; few men beleeve that there is &s;o &s;weet an agreement
in &s;o many uniting Principles between godly, prudent, and
charitable men of different per&s;wa&s;ions, for the preventing
and removing of all &s;candals, as indeed there is.</P>
<P>3. That tho&s;e many fair Expedients which are pro|pounded
for the healing of breaches, and compo&s;ing of
differences, may be &s;peedily taken into your mo&s;t &s;erious
thoughts.</P>
<P>4. Con&s;ider, that not onely the <HI>eyes of all the Churches
abroad, but the eyes of God, nay the vows of God are upon you, and
the Word of God is &s;et before you.</HI> And therefore I be&s;eech you,
as you tender the good and welfare of three Kingdoms,
and as you will an&s;wer it to the Lord Chri&s;t at the dread|full
day of Accounts, that you ob&s;erve the directions of
the word, <HI>How will you &s;atisfie your con&s;cience upon your death-bed,
how will you look Chri&s;t in the face at the day of Judgement,
if you reject the coun&s;ell of Chri&s;t.</HI> I will not que&s;tion your in|tentions,
what am I (<HI>the la&s;t of Ministers, and lea&s;t of Saints</HI>)
that I &s;hould judge a Parliament? I de&s;ire to judge my
&s;elf, and deny my &s;elf: <HI>I was not &s;ent to divine, but to preach,
and</HI> I <HI>dare not a&s;&s;ume to my &s;elf the property of God, which is to know
the hearts of men;</HI> It is enough for me to remember you that
it doth &s;pecially concern you in this great work of Refor|mation,
to approve your &s;elves to the <HI>Searcher of Hearts, and
Judge of &s;ecrets.</HI> I have no de&s;igne upon you, <HI>I affect not power,
but de&s;ire purity:</HI> I ask no power of <HI>You:</HI> I have enough al|ready
more then I know how to u&s;e, or an&s;wer for: <HI>It is the
free u&s;e of power which is de&s;ired for purities &s;ake.</HI> I &s;hall not in|treat
you to part with any of your Civill Intere&s;ts to make
us friends, I &s;ubmit my &s;elf to all that Power which be|longs
to you as Chri&s;tian Magi&s;trates; but remember that
it is <HI>a Limited power, Chri&s;t hath &s;et bounds to Your Power, as
well as ours:</HI> and you are obliged to emprove all your In|tere&s;ts,
and u&s;e all your Power for the &s;ervice of Chri&s;t, in
<PB N="31" REF="21">
promoting the great work of Reformation; I will not at
pre&s;ent &s;o much as &s;tate the great que&s;tion for debate, for
<HI>this is not a fit place or day to di&s;pute the point in controver&s;ie;</HI> and
it would be very ab&s;urd for me to take that for <HI>granted,</HI>
which you expect &s;hould be <HI>proved.</HI> I am re&s;olved to follow
my con&s;cience, and you are obliged to follow yours; but
if your Con&s;cience be not rightly informed, how many
thou&s;ands are there that will be endangered? <HI>Far better
were it that all our Armies were routed in the Field, then that the
Parliament of</HI> England <HI>&s;hould be deceived,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Quod plane contra aliis in Rebus publicis fuit quae legi|bus fundatae c&ugrave;m e&s;&s;ent legi|bus ever&s;ae &s;unt.</NOTE> I &s;ay, but deceived:
to peri&s;h by Act of Parliament, is to peri&s;h irrecoverably,
<HI>to peri&s;h by con&s;ent:</HI> And wi&s;e State&s;men have ob&s;erved, that
as &s;ome Kingdoms have been wa&s;ted by <HI>Arms;</HI> &s;o others
have been overthrown, quite overthrown by <HI>Laws.</HI> My
humble motion therefore is, <HI>That you will not make more ha&s;te
then good &s;peed in deciding the great Que&s;tion.</HI> You may yet be
coun&s;elled,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Petrus Cu|naeus, de Re|pub. Hebr. li. 1. cap. 1.</NOTE> becau&s;e the work is not yet perfected; my mo|tion
may &s;eem &s;trange to &s;ome, but I know full well, that
though <HI>a Kingdom may be quickly corrupted, yet it cannot be &s;o
&s;uddenly reformed;</HI> and if you take longer time that the Que|&s;tions
in controver&s;ie may be fully debated, your Con&s;ci|ences
rightly informed, and &s;atisfied, you'l gain time, and
light experience and comfort by &s;uch a thrifty expence of
time. That I may not countenance any <HI>politique delayes,</HI> and
may emprove the motion to the heighth, be plea&s;ed to
keep a Private Fa&s;t, and call &s;ome judicious and &s;elf-deny|ing
men to Preach before you, who will deal plainly, and
faithfully with you in the nice&s;t points. My Rea&s;ons to
back the Motion are briefly the&s;e.</P>
<P>1. Becau&s;e you were never in greater danger then now,
you are exerci&s;ed with temptations on all hands, &s;urely
this, <HI>this is the Houre of Temptation, you had need pray hard, that
you may not be led into temptation.</HI></P>
<P>2. Good men are apt to be &s;ecure, becau&s;e you are Ma|&s;ters
of the Feild, and are entring into your much de&s;ired
Canaan;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Numb. 25.</NOTE> but con&s;ider that when the people of I&s;rael were
upon the very borders of Canaan, and all their Enemies
were not able to overthrow them, they did, by clo&s;ing
<PB N="32" REF="22">
with temptations, and giving way to their corruptions,
overthrow them&s;elves.</P>
<P>3. The points in agitation are points of high concern|ment,
points that have been &s;tudied, and much perplexed
by great Scholers, and wittie men on both &s;ides; <HI>Be not too
plea&s;ant,</HI> though much of this week be &s;pent already, yet if
you be not very circum&s;pect, nay <HI>if you do not beg coun&s;ell of
the Lord, you may undo three Kingdoms this week in three dayes.</HI></P>
<P>4. <HI>When we mingled tears in Private Fa&s;ts,</HI> we had a &s;weet
experience of Gods mercy; your fidelitie and re&s;olution
even then when you were <HI>at lowe&s;t,</HI> and it will be your wi&s;|dom,
and your Honour, to walk humbly and clo&s;ely with
God when you are <HI>at highe&s;t,</HI> that God may bring upon you
all the good that he hath promi&s;ed to them that <HI>rule with
God,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Ho&s;. 11. 12.</NOTE> <HI>and are faithfull with the mo&s;t Holy, and all his Saints.</HI></P>
<P>5. <HI>There are &s;ins with you,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mini&s;tri non debent ex Ma+gi&s;tratibus po|pulo &s;p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ctacula facere.</NOTE> <HI>even with you,</HI> and &s;uch as mu&s;t
be reproved; but as things now &s;tand, it is not &s;o fit to re|prove
them in a mixed A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P>6. There are &s;ome propo&s;als to be made to you, which
are not fit to be divulged when they are fir&s;t pre&s;ented.</P>
<P>But I am not worthy to advi&s;e a Parliament, the motion
is humbly pre&s;ented; and though it be rejected with &s;miles,
<HI>I intend not to appeal from you to the people:</HI> but give me leave in
my Ma&s;ters Name to pre&s;ent the Peoples Appeal to You:
Con&s;ider the cries, and out-cries of the godly part of this
Kingdom for a Reformation, they &s;peak plain, and tell
you, that,</P>
<P>1. They have fa&s;ted, prayed, wept, for a Reformation.</P>
<P>2. They have exhau&s;ted their Trea&s;ures, many of them,</P>
<P>3. Adventured their lives, lo&s;t their limbs, their blood,
their friends, for a Reformation.</P>
<P>4. You have promi&s;ed us a Reformation.</P>
<P>5. And we have payd for a Reformation. And,</P>
<P>6. You are therefore in debt to us for a Reformation.</P>
<P>7. We are bold to chalenge &s;uch a Reformation as will
quit the co&s;t, and an&s;wer the price which we have payd,
and the pains we have be&s;towed.</P>
<P>8. We de&s;ire &s;uch a Reformation as that we may not be
<PB N="33" REF="22">
forced to make a Separation, <HI>that is the language of &s;ome that
are &s;erious and peaceable Saints;</HI> and therfore it is the more to
be con&s;idered.</P>
<P>9. <HI>By the help of a thorough-Reformation, there may be a thorough-Reconciliation
among&s;t all that are prudent, pious, and charitable:</HI>
all who mind the &s;ame things, purity and peace, and de|&s;ire
to walk by the &s;ame rule in faith and love, <HI>A thorough-Reformation
would make us all friends;</HI> for &s;ome of our Bre|thren
tell us, that they know not whether or no they can
<HI>clo&s;e with us,</HI> till they &s;ee <HI>what Reformation will be allowed us.</HI></P>
<P>There are divi&s;ions enough already, and I have many
things to propo&s;e which may unite all that are judicious
Chri&s;tians, nothing that may divide them, we all de&s;ire
<HI>that the ordinances of Chri&s;t may be purely admini&s;tred, that all
&s;candals that threaten us may be prevented, and all that di&s;quiet
or pollute us may be removed:</HI> we all de&s;ire to walk in the way
of Jehovah, as it is in my Text.</P>
<P>1. In the way of faith, our God is a jealous God, and he
is jealous in point of faith, as well as wor&s;hip; <HI>The lea&s;t Iota
of divine truth is more precious then Heaven and Earth:</HI> I ble&s;&s;e
God,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Qui re&s;i&s;tunt contumaciter, &s;ua&abque; pe&s;ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">era &amp; mortifera dogmata emen|dare nolunt, &s;ed defen&s;are per&s;i&s;tunt hae|reti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">i fiunt.</NOTE> and honour You, for expre&s;&s;ing your &s;elves &s;o freely
in this hereticall and licentious age again&s;t <HI>Subverters of the
Faith.</HI> There is as much difference between errors, as there
is between poy&s;ons: &s;ome de&s;troy by heat, &s;ome by cold,
&s;ome by corro&s;ion; but there are certain poy&s;ons, who&s;e
very &s;ub&s;tance is malignant; Phy&s;icians &s;ay their very &s;pe|cificall
Form is de&s;tructive: and You have furni&s;hed us
with an excellent Antidote again&s;t the&s;e &s;ubverting errors,
the&s;e <HI>hereticall poy&s;ons,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Augu&s;t. de Ci|vit. Dei, li. 18. ca. 51.</NOTE> who&s;e very &s;ub&s;tance is pe&s;tilentiall,
and who&s;e authors and abettors are full of contumacious
malignity.<NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Ignat. Epi&s;t. ad Trallenles.</NOTE> An Heretique cannot be as the &s;educers talk
an hone&s;t man, for <HI>Here&s;ie is a brat begotten of the fle&s;h by the
Devil; an here&s;ie is a flood ca&s;t out of the Dragons mouth, one of
the lyes and depths of Satan, a work of the fle&s;h.</HI> What is more
precious then Gods truth and our &s;ouls?<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Cor 11. 15.</NOTE> Now here&s;ie cor|rupts
the &s;oul,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 12. 16.</NOTE> and &s;ubverts the Faith.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 2. 9. 24.</NOTE> Here&s;ie is like an
Hectique feaver,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Ioh. 8. 44.</NOTE> which at fir&s;t is very ea&s;ie to be cured, but
very hard to be known;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5. 20.</NOTE> but when once it hath gotten
<PB N="34" REF="23">
&s;trength, and di&s;covered it &s;elf by undeniable &s;ymptoms,
though <HI>it may be ea&s;ily known, it is hardly cured.</HI></P>
<P>There are &s;ome Errors that have more vanity then ma|lignity
in them,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 14. 1.</NOTE> and yet they may do much mi&s;chief if
&s;pread abroad.<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 10. 32.</NOTE> 1. Some may be entangled, en&s;nared. 2.
Others offended.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gal. 5. 12.</NOTE> 3. The Church divided, and rent a&s;un|der,
if the&s;e vain Errors come to be <HI>profe&s;&s;edly</HI> taught or di|vulged:<NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Cor. 1. 10.</NOTE>
concerning the&s;e lighter errors,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 16 17.</NOTE> I &s;hall &s;ay as <HI>Hip|pocrates</HI>
&s;aith of raw humours, they mu&s;t be <HI>ripened,</HI> and
concocted before they are <HI>purged, unle&s;&s;e</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>they be
&s;tirred by their own violence:</HI> vain errors have a deluding effi|cacy
in them when they meet with vain men; and errors
are more &s;tirring and active in pragmaticall bu&s;ie men,
then in meek mode&s;t men; and therefore the advice of St.
<HI>Jude</HI> is &s;ea&s;onable in this point; <HI>Of &s;ome have compa&s;&s;ion, ma|king
a difference, and others &s;ave with fear, plucking them out of
the fire;</HI> the fire of contention, keeping them out of the fire,
the fire of Hell, and guiding their feet into the way of
peace and truth, <HI>the way of Jehovah,</HI> as it is in the Text.</P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> But you'l &s;ay, if we mu&s;t all walk in one way of
faith, then there mu&s;t be an uniformity, and <HI>though unity be
Chri&s;tian,</HI> yet (if &s;ome may be beleeved) <HI>uniformity is Anti|chri&s;tian.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 1. 13. <GAP DESC="foreign"></NOTE></P>
<P><HI>Sol.</HI> I am not at lea&s;ure to wrangle about words, I might
di&s;tingui&s;h between <HI>&V;niformiter difforme,</HI> and <HI>difformiter uni|forme:</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 2. 20. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>
but I de&s;ire to &s;peak plain Engli&s;h; when the Apo&s;tle
exhorts <HI>Timothy</HI> to <HI>hold fa&s;t the form of &s;ound words which he
had heard of him in faith and love which is in Chri&s;t Je&s;us:</HI> Was
not that a Chri&s;tian uniformity? I mean no more. I con|ceive
it is requi&s;ite for a Chri&s;tian State to hold forth the
Chri&s;tian Religion in an <HI>whol&s;ome Form of &s;ound words that
cannot be condemned;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Rom. 6. 17. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> that there may be a &s;weet Harmony
between all the Churches of Chri&s;t:<NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Tim. 1. 14. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> and if a Chri&s;tian
State &s;hall find it nece&s;&s;arie to de&s;cend to &s;ome <HI>di&s;putable
points</HI> in their Confe&s;&s;ion, that they may top the <HI>ri&s;ing errors</HI>
of the time,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Heb 5 12. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE> I &s;hall never move that learned men of a differ|ent
per&s;wa&s;ion &s;hould be <HI>forced,</HI> or by preferment <HI>tempted</HI>
to <HI>&s;ub&s;cribe</HI> o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>&s;wear</HI> to that Form again&s;t their judgement,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Hebr. 6. 1. <GAP DESC="foreign">.</NOTE>
<PB N="35" REF="23">
to which the Civill &s;anction is annexed, becau&s;e I know
full well what a great temptation it was to young and old
in the time of the Prelates reign, to &s;ub&s;cribe to &s;uch forms
as they had never throughly examined, becau&s;e they could
not be preferred unle&s;&s;e they Sub&s;cribed; Yet I humbly
move that mens mouthes may be &s;topped from <HI>bla&s;pheming
or reviling</HI> the truth of God held forth for the encrea&s;e of
Chri&s;tian Uniformity. It is clear and evident, that if a
truth may no longer be <HI>maintained</HI> then till it be <HI>que&s;tioned,</HI>
it will not be long ere &s;ome out of the <HI>pride</HI> of their wits,
or <HI>wantonne&s;&s;e</HI> of their &s;pirits,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Gloriantes &s;e e&s;&s;e Emendato|res Apo&s;tolo|rum. Iren&punc; lib. 3. cap. 1.</NOTE> will be bold to call it into
que&s;tion; the Socinians, Arminians, and &s;ome that tread
in their &s;teps, have taken upon them, like tho&s;e old Here|tiques
in the time of <HI>Irenaeus,</HI> to be <HI>Emendatores Apo&s;tolorum,
the reformers of the Apo&s;tles:</HI> but let not us be afraid to pre&s;&s;e
tho&s;e truths upon a<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">In primis hoc propono unum &amp; certum ali|quid &agrave; Chri&s;to in&s;titutum e&s;&s;e quod credere omnimodo de|beant nationes. Tertul. Prae|&s;cript. adver&s;. Haeret.</NOTE> <HI>whole Nation</HI> which are delivered by
God, though they be que&s;tioned by men; for the Go&s;pel is
to be Preached to <HI>all Nations, to every creature.</HI> Mark 16. 15.
Col. 1. 23. 28.</P>
<P>2. We mu&s;t walk in the &s;ame way of Wor&s;hip: I &s;hall
not here di&s;cour&s;e of Naturall or Civill helps which may
&s;ome way further us in the wor&s;hip of God; it is clear that
the Members of every Congregation re&s;pectively are obli|ged
to <HI>an &V;niformity in re&s;pect of time and place;</HI> they mu&s;t
agree to meet at the &s;ame time in the &s;ame place, to joyn
together in acts of Divine Wor&s;hip. The Lords day is not
a bare circum&s;tance, there is an In&s;titution for it, and a &s;pi|rituall
efficacy in it by vertue of that In&s;titution, to draw
me nearer to God, and God to me; nay to commend my
&s;ervice to God, for the tender of my re&s;pects to God in pub|lick
is more kindly taken upon that day, then upon any
other day; <HI>A Chri&s;tian State is not at liberty to wor&s;hip God &s;o|lemnly
in the publick Congregation, or neglect his wor&s;hip upon the
Lords day:</HI> we are all obliged to a <HI>Chri&s;tian &V;niformity</HI> in this
particular, humane prudence mu&s;t &s;ubmit, and con<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">orm
to the Command of the Lord of the day. Moreover, God
is a jealous God, and will not allow of <HI>Super&s;tition, Idolatry,
or profanene&s;&s;e,</HI> and therefore we are bound up to an Uni|formity
<PB N="36" REF="24">
in point of wor&s;hip. The Libellatici of old were
(as &s;ome conceive) in fee with the State, that they might
not be forced to wor&s;hip Idols, though they held too much
corre&s;pondence with Idolaters: but <HI>Abrahams</HI> &s;ervants,
though once Idolaters, had no &s;uch di&s;pen&s;ation, they
were <HI>commanded,</HI> peremptorily enjoyned by <HI>Abraham</HI> to
walk in the way of Jehovah: and I hope we &s;hall have no
Libellatici among&s;t us, men in fee with the State that they
may wor&s;hip Idols. On the other &s;ide, I do not know that
there is any humane Set-form of prayer like to be impo&s;ed
upon the Mini&s;try of this Kingdom, and yet there ought
to be a firm and uniform agreement among&s;t us about the
&s;ub&s;tantials of wor&s;hip, that we may all ob&s;erve tho&s;e ge|nerall
rules laid down in the Word; <HI>Exerci&s;e our gifts, &s;tir up
our graces, and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">eg &s;upplyes from the Spirit of grace and &s;upplica|tion
to help our infirmities.</HI> Finally, we mu&s;t in our prayers
have a &s;peciall re&s;pect <HI>to order, and edification, to the nece&s;&s;ities
of the people, the &s;tate of the times, juncture of circum&s;tances, the
work of Chri&s;t in our hands, and the work of the Spirit in our
hearts.</HI> Behold a Chri&s;tian Uniformity without the Impo|&s;ition
of any Humane Set-form of Prayer.</P>
<P>3. If you enquire after Government, you have my Rea|&s;ons
why I &s;ay &s;o little, and I have not time to &s;ay much
more; <HI>There are &s;ome &s;ub&s;tantiall parts of Church-Government
which mu&s;t be maintained,</HI> that the ordinances of Chri&s;t may
be &s;et up, and maintained in <HI>Power and purity&punc;</HI> Men that pre|tend
to great things, and know nothing, &s;eem to be much
afraid of a Cla&s;&s;icall tyranny; but you that are acquainted
with the &s;ecrets of that Honourable Committee for Ac|commodation,
know <HI>that there hath been liberty enough offered,
and fair expedients propounded in that particular.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Obj.</HI> But you'l &s;ay, that Saints are to be left wholly to
their liberty, and <HI>Liberty cannot con&s;i&s;t with &V;niformity.</HI></P>
<P>I an&s;wer. Saints are men, and mu&s;t be <HI>ruled;</HI> or el&s;e their
unregenerate part which often prevails will make them
too <HI>unruly.</HI> It is the ob&s;ervation of &s;ome reverend Divines,
that <HI>Jonah</HI> was a <HI>peevi&s;h Saint,</HI> and <HI>Samp&s;on</HI> a <HI>de&s;perate Saint,</HI>
and certainly there are many peevi&s;h and de&s;perate men
<PB N="37" REF="24">
that pa&s;&s;e for Saints in this time of Liberty, the&s;e mu&s;t be
<HI>ruled</HI> and <HI>over-ruled.</HI> There are &s;ome that &s;eem to be Saints,
becau&s;e they have a form of godline&s;&s;e; but they are no
Saints, becau&s;e they deny the power of godline&s;&s;e. What
will you &s;ay to tho&s;e men who challenge an <HI>Ab&s;olute liberty</HI>
to &s;ay and do what they li&s;t, till it plea&s;es God to work on
them by &s;pirituall means; whereas the truth is, they live
in contempt of all tho&s;e means which &s;hould work upon
them. You'l ea&s;ily grant that no pretence, nay no &s;cruple
of con&s;cience can exempt a man from any <HI>Civill duty</HI> which
he owes to the State, or the government thereof, for his
own and the publique good: why then &s;hould any pretence
or &s;cruple exempt him from attendance upon quickning
ordinances, and powerfull means of Reformation? If men
broach <HI>damnable doctrines,</HI> and pertinaciou&s;ly defend them
again&s;t common light, I mean the <HI>Common light of Nature, or
Chri&s;tianity,</HI> if their errours be <HI>de&s;tructive to Faith, Piety, Ju|&s;tice
or Charity;</HI> if a man plead con&s;cience in the point of
Community of goods; if one pretend that his con&s;cience
puts him upon the en&s;naring of other mens con&s;ciences;<NOTE PLACE="marg">Non e&s;t haec li|bertas eredendi &s;ed errandi, non con&s;cientiae &s;ed phanta&s;iae, non libertas &s;ed Li|bertini&s;mus.</NOTE> in
a word, <HI>If under pretence of liberty of Con&s;cience, he take liberty
to be uncon&s;cionable,</HI> &s;ure this is but an <HI>Athei&s;ticall Libertini&s;me,</HI>
it is not liberty of con&s;cience, but liberty of <HI>phanta&s;ie,</HI> li|berty
of <HI>errour,</HI> liberty of <HI>lu&s;t:</HI> he that hath no other title
to Saint&s;hip but a bare profe&s;&s;ion, doth by &s;uch errors and
practi&s;es <HI>un&s;aint</HI> him&s;elf, and is &s;it to be ca&s;t out of the <HI>&s;ocie|ty
of Saints, and protection of Parliament.</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Mar. 9. 42.</NOTE></P>
<P>2. Saints are Saints, and therefore though they mu&s;t be
ordered, yet they mu&s;t not be &s;candalized, <HI>Mark</HI> 9. 42. If
they <HI>judge us</HI> we mu&s;t not <HI>de&s;pi&s;e</HI> them; we mu&s;t not de&s;pi&s;e
them as <HI>&s;imple,</HI> becau&s;e they condemne us as <HI>profane;</HI> if they
be <HI>peevi&s;h,</HI> we mu&s;t not be <HI>proud.</HI></P>
<P>3. Saints mu&s;t not be <HI>per&s;ecuted;</HI> though they be <HI>peevi&s;h,</HI>
nay de&s;perate, yet they mu&s;t not be puni&s;hed <HI>beyond their de|&s;ert,
the warme blood of &s;heep is no drink for me, it is too high and
heady;</HI> nor mu&s;t I out of a <HI>&s;ullen humour deny a peevi&s;h Saint the
right hand of fellow&s;hip,</HI> unle&s;&s;e he will be over-awed by me,
and forced to <HI>confe&s;&s;e</HI> &s;omething to be true which he con|ceives
<PB N="38" REF="25">
to be <HI>fal&s;e,</HI> or <HI>practi&s;e</HI> &s;omething which he beleeves in
his con&s;cience to be a <HI>&s;in;</HI> Surely if Saints urge arguments
which may <HI>tempt</HI> wi&s;e men, or <HI>&s;way</HI> weak men, they &s;hould
be dealt with in a &s;pirituall, brotherly, and convincing
way; Church power is for edification, not for de&s;truction.
<HI>Chri&s;tians mu&s;t not be like brini&s;h lights, which &s;pit fire one at an|other
till both go out, and dye in a &s;moke and &s;tench.</HI></P>
<P>4. I am &s;o far from endeavouring to per&s;ecute Saints,
that I humbly de&s;ire that we would all <HI>&s;tudy how to make
more Saints;</HI> we quarrell very often about gathering of
Saints, and the ordering of Saints: I be&s;eech you that we
may all look upon it as our bu&s;ine&s;&s;e how to make Saints;
<HI>Oh it will be a comfortable work to gather and order Saints of our
own making.</HI></P>
<P>5. Saints mu&s;t have a <HI>Saint-like liberty:</HI> we are not obli|ged
to obey any per&s;on, or any company, or &s;ociety of per|&s;ons
in any thing which is prejudiciall to Gods glory and
our &s;alvation: and <HI>we are at liberty to do any thing which is re|ligious
or vertuous,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Iam. 2. 8. 9. 12</NOTE> becau&s;e there is no Law again&s;t any du|ties,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Libertas in am|plitudine qua|dam Indepen|denti&acirc; animi con&s;i&s;tit, animus quippe no&s;ter nulli eorum quae &s;unt infra Deum addictus e&s;t ni&s;i propter Deum, &amp;c. Gib<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">uf.</NOTE>
for which we are enabled by the fruits of the Spirit.
<HI>The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-&s;uffering, gentlene&s;&s;e,
goodne&s;&s;e, faith, meekne&s;&s;e, temperance, again&s;t &s;uch there is no law.
Galat.</HI> 5. 22, 23. No man is Lord of my faith or con&s;cience,
and if men will be di&s;plea&s;ed with me for plea&s;ing Chri&s;t,
I am at liberty to di&s;plea&s;e all the world. <HI>Gal. 1. 10. This is a
Saint-like liberty,</HI> but <HI>Saints are not at liberty to &s;in again&s;t the
Royall Law of Liberty;</HI> they mu&s;t fulfill the <HI>Royall Law accor|ding
to the Scripture,</HI> or el&s;e they will be <HI>convinced</HI> and <HI>judged</HI>
by the Law of Liberty. <HI>Saints are men of generous &s;pirits,</HI> and
take them&s;elves to be at liberty to do any thing <HI>Servato or|dine
finis,</HI> any thing that God allows them; true Saints af|fect
not, challenge not a kind of Free-will to think, beleeve,
&s;peak and act according to the <HI>garb and humour of the time.</HI>
True Saints will not &s;ay that a man may be of what Reli|gion
he plea&s;es, &s;o he be of any Religion, and &s;eem zealous
for it; There is one precious truth maintained by all Secta|ries
and <HI>mo&s;t Heretiques, That there is but one onely true Religion,</HI>
and therefore for the mo&s;t part every one<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Nullus error &s;e audet extol|lere ad congre|gandas &s;ibitur|bas imperito|rum qui nou Chri&s;tiani no|minis velamen|ta conqu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rat. Aug. Epi&s;t. 56.</NOTE> of them doth
<PB N="39" REF="25">
hold forth his way and opinion as the onely true Religi|on,
and &s;aving way; I &s;ay <HI>mo&s;t Heretiques</HI> do &s;o, but there
was of old a <HI>Catholique-Here&s;ie,</HI> &s;o I call it becau&s;e it did ap|prove
and extoll all here&s;ies.<NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">A Rhetorio baere&s;is exorta|quae omnes hae|reticos recte ambulare &amp; vera dicere af|firmat. &amp;c. Aug. de Haere&s;.</NOTE> <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> cals it the Here&s;ie
of <HI>Rhetorius,</HI> and &s;aith, that it is <HI>admirable for vanity,</HI> and I
fear that &s;ome in our dayes who take them&s;elves to be
Saints, are fallen into this Here&s;ie; I beleeve this fond con|ceit,
was fir&s;t broached among&s;t the Pagans by<NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Vide Socrat. Hi&s;tor. li 4. ca. 27.</NOTE> <HI>Themi&s;tius</HI>
the Philo&s;opher,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Iude v. 3.</NOTE> who &s;aid, <HI>That God was well plea&s;ed with
variety of opinions, becau&s;e his glory was much illu&s;trated by them.</HI>
But true Saints will not play the Sceptiques; they that
think it a kind of bondage to fix their belief upon that
truth, which Chri&s;t hath by his Apo&s;tles <HI>once for all delivered
to the Saints,</HI> and are therefore willing to hear any one ra|ther
then Chri&s;t, and his Apo&s;tles, <HI>The&s;e men are no Saints;
for he that is &s;o ready to be of any religion, is for the pre&s;ent of no re|ligion.</HI>
Faith is no je&s;ting matter, we mu&s;t not be &s;o indiffe|rent
in our judgement in points of faith: <HI>the Que&s;tion is not
of</HI><NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><HI>Tertul. de Patient.</HI> Cujus judicium in &s;uos non in compede aut pileo vertitur &s;ed in aeternita|te aut poenae aut &s;alutis.</NOTE> <HI>Liberty, but of Eternity,</HI> as <HI>Tertullian</HI> &s;peaks, and there|fore
it is fit, that <HI>all pretenders &s;hould be &s;ilenced that we may
hear</HI><NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><HI>Cyprian.</HI> S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;olus Chri|&s;tus audiendus e&s;t, non debemus attendere quid aliquis ante nos faciendum pu|taverit, &s;ed quid qui ante omnes Chri&s;tus prior fecerit. Cui &s;uccinit. Aug. Epi&s;t. 48. Audi dicit Do|minus non dicit Donatus, aut Rogatus, aut Vincentus, aut Hilarius, aut Augu&s;tinus, &s;ed dicit Dominus.</NOTE> <HI>Chri&s;t &s;peak:</HI> for all true Saints will give ear to him,
re&s;t in his determination, and <HI>cur&s;e</HI> all tho&s;e that preach
any other Go&s;pel, though they pretend to be Saints, Apo|&s;tles,
Angels; <HI>Though we</HI> (&s;aith the Apo&s;tle) <HI>or an Angel from
Heaven preach any other Go&s;pel to you then that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accur&s;ed.</HI> Gal. 1. 8.</P>
<P>For the making and ordering of Saints then, and direct|ing
of our &s;teps in the way of Jehovah, be plea&s;ed.</P>
<P>1. To &s;et up the Primitive <HI>teaching from hou&s;e to hou&s;e,</HI> or
&s;omething corre&s;pondent to it; unle&s;&s;e you lay your Ci|vill
obligation upon governors of families, Church-offi|cers
will find them too uncivill; we talk much of reform|ing
Congregations, but till there be a Reformation
wrought in our own per&s;ons, and families, it is a madne&s;&s;e
to think that our Congregations can be reformed; as long
as families are poy&s;oned with ignorance and profane&s;&s;e,
ordinances will be neglected or profaned in our Congre|gations:
but by your Order even the Governors of fami|lies
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page"><PB N="38" REF="26">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page"><PB N="39" REF="26">
<PB N="40" REF="27">
would &s;ubmit to be catechi&s;ed in tho&s;e Articles of
faith, the knowledge whereof is by Ordinance of Parlia|ment
required of all the&s;e that are to be admitted to the
Sacrament. Beleeve it, our Congregations will not be <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word">
Churches, till our families are turned into Churches; Oh
that I might live to &s;ee that happy <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> when the Church
in this Hou&s;e, and the other Hou&s;e, and &s;o along from
hou&s;e to hou&s;e, &s;hall be all united in Church-fellow&s;hip,
and a Congregation &s;hall be a <HI>Church con&s;i&s;ting of many dome|&s;ticall
Churches united in one body, under a powerfull Mini&s;try,
and Chri&s;tian di&s;cipline, for the edifying of it &s;elf in faith and love.</HI>
I &s;hall deal plainly with you, till &s;ome &s;uch cour&s;e be taken
for the Reformation of families, there are <HI>divers parts of
the Countrey, if not &s;ome whole Countreys, that are uncapable of
Di&s;cipline.</HI> There mu&s;t be &s;ome time given for the in&s;truct|ing
of men that have parts and gifts in the nature and
qualitie of that office to which they are de&s;igned; and I
humbly offer it to your con&s;ideration, whether the power
of a people in chu&s;ing Officers, be not much like the power
of a &s;on in chu&s;ing a wife? You know what a wi&s;e father
will &s;ay, if my &s;on have wit and grace to chu&s;e a wife, I
will allow him the more liberty in his choice; if he have
not, why then the le&s;&s;e skill, the le&s;&s;e liberty. I leave it to
your wi&s;dom to make application of that rule, <HI>Mutatis mu|tandis</HI>
to the point in hand.</P>
<P>The people of this Land are as <HI>un&s;table as water</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Ari&s;t. de Gen. &amp; Cor. li. 2. ca. 2.</NOTE>, water
&s;ets no bounds to it &s;elf; the people of <HI>England</HI> are as it
were boundle&s;&s;e for the pre&s;ent, and it is certain that they
will &s;et no bounds to them&s;elves: and truly if you &s;et no
bounds to them, you'l find them very <HI>fluid, they will run
away from you and them&s;elves;</HI> from Gods &s;ervice and yours,
from their principles, and your conclu&s;ions; <HI>from your &s;afety
and their own.</HI> You know how many changes the genera|litie
of this Kingdom have made in the great bu&s;ine&s;&s;e of
Religion, they turned from being Prote&s;tants in <HI>profe&s;&s;ion</HI>
to be Papi&s;ts <HI>indeed</HI> when the Articles were pre&s;&s;ed in <HI>H.</HI>
the 8. his Reign; and from being Papi&s;ts, to be &s;eeming
Prote&s;tants in <HI>Ed.</HI> the fixth time; in Queen <HI>Maries</HI> time
<PB N="41" REF="27">
they were Papi&s;ts, and in Queen <HI>Elizabeths</HI> Prote&s;tants
again: <HI>The &s;ame men changed their Religion foure times in a mat|ter
of fourteen or &s;ixteen yeers. Bellarmine</HI> layes it as <HI>a reproach
upon the Engli&s;h Nation,</HI> and truly I cannot impute this in|con&s;tancy
to any thing more, then to the neglect of cate|chi&s;ing
in publick and private: <HI>There hath been no care taken
to &s;ettle Religion in families, to acquaint young and old with the
Principles of Religion,</HI> and <HI>men will not die for a religion which
they do not under&s;tand.</HI> Great Scholers read over their Gram|mer-rules,
and Logique-rules very often, that they may
retain the grounds of Learning; good Divines read their
Catechi&s;me often, that they may retain the grounds of
Divinity: It was very well &s;aid of noble <HI>Luther, Fateor me
catechi&s;mi di&s;cipulum; I confe&s;&s;e that I am neither too wi&s;e, nor too
old to learn my Catechi&s;me.</HI> The people of this Kingdom will
never be <HI>rooted</HI> and <HI>grounded in faith and love,</HI> if the generall
neglect of family-duties may pa&s;&s;e unpuni&s;hed; the Sab|bath
will be polluted, and the Sacrament profaned, as long
as family-duties are &s;o gro&s;ly and wilfully neglected as
now they are. <HI>Is it fit that men &s;hould receive the publique Badge
of Chri&s;tianity in the Sacrament which they receive as an Honour to
them,</HI> when they will not weare the private Badge of Chri|&s;tianity,
will not own Je&s;us Chri&s;t for their Ma&s;ter, by the
performance of religious duties in their families, <HI>though
Christ would take it kindly from them, and look upon it as an Ho|nour
to him, if they would &s;et up Chri&s;t in their hearts and hou&s;es.</HI>
A&s;&s;ure your &s;elves, that if the generality of <HI>England</HI> be not
<HI>true to Chri&s;t,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">No&s;tri <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&ugrave;m <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> legibus Papae liberi &s;int, eti|am &agrave; lege Dei liberi e&s;&s;e vo|lunt, nihil ni&s;i Politica &s;equi, &s;ed &s;ic ut &s;ub illis quoque pro libito &s;in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Luther.</HI></NOTE> they'l never prove <HI>true to you:</HI> you'l loo&s;e us
much by their incon&s;tancie (&s;hall I &s;ay) as the Pope hath
lo&s;t, give me leave to &s;ay as Chri&s;t hath lo&s;t; do not de|ceive
your &s;elves, the people if they are left to their hu|mour,
are, as &s;ome others have been, more <HI>willing to &s;hake
off Chri&s;t, then ever they were to throw off the Pope;</HI> and they that
are not willing to be &s;ubject to Chri&s;ts Laws, will not, if
they be left to their liberty, &s;ubmit to yours; they embrace
the Ordinances of <HI>Parliament,</HI> and &s;eem to re&s;pect your
Orders, as long as you over-aw them, but if they &s;ee their
time, and have a fair advantage, judge what they are like
<PB N="42" REF="28">
to do; I am confident that <HI>when you are in &s;treights, they'l never
be at your command, unle&s;&s;e you, now you are in your full power, pre|vail
with them to be at Gods command.</HI> I humbly conceive
that a more equall divi&s;ion of Pari&s;hes would much con|duce
to their Reformation,<NOTE PLACE="marg">M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">. White one of our <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">ve|rend A&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rs in his Sermon before the Lords.</NOTE> but there hath been enough
pre&s;ented upon that Argument by a very learned and ju|dicious
Divine, and therefore I forbear to pre&s;&s;e that point.</P>
<P>2. To purge the Univer&s;ities, you have done worthily
in laying a good foundation for the reforming of that
Univer&s;ity which is within your power; be plea&s;ed to take
&s;ome &s;peedy cour&s;e for the reducing of the other Univer|&s;ity,
for it is the grief of our &s;ouls that while&s;t <HI>You are ca&s;t|ing
&s;alt into one Fountain, the Enemy is ca&s;ting poy&s;on into the
other;</HI> I will pray, and hope to be heard, that it may be the
Honour of this <HI>Parliament</HI> to reduce, and reform both Uni|ver&s;ities;
the <HI>Phili&s;tines</HI> did de&s;ire to put out both our Eyes,
and certainly one was bleared, and the other darkned, but
by Gods ble&s;&s;ing upon Your endeavours, <HI>we begin to &s;ee with
one Eye, and hope that we may in due time recover the other;</HI> and
then I doubt not but you will help us to all the good old
Statutes which were repealed and cancelled by &s;ome, that
<HI>new Statutes might be impo&s;ed for the countenancing of an</HI><NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Matters were referred to the Chancellor to determine</HI> pro arbitrio, &s;ive in jud<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">cio, &s;ive <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">xtrajud<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">cium.</NOTE> <HI>Arbi|trary
Government again&s;t Statute.</HI> I &s;hall not move You to re|peal
tho&s;e new Statutes, for as <HI>Cicero</HI> &s;aid when he was un|ju&s;tly
bani&s;hed, <HI>I need no Law to re&s;tore me from my bani&s;hment
to my Countrey, for I was not bani&s;hed by Law;</HI> &s;o &s;ay I, <HI>there needs
no Law to repeal tho&s;e Statutes which were never e&s;tabli&s;hed by
Law;</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg">Nihil nobis opus <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">rat Lege, de <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> nihil actu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> e&s;&s;et legi|bus. <HI>Cicerode Legib li</HI> 3.</NOTE> yet it will not be ami&s;&s;e (if you in your wi&s;dom think
it &s;it) to declare them to be <HI>null.</HI> The old Statutes did re|commend
<HI>Calvins</HI> In&s;titutions to Tutors as a fit book to be
expounded to their Scholers, but that good Statute was
omitted in the book of new Statutes, becau&s;e there are &s;o
many precious truths in <HI>Calvins</HI> In&s;titutions contrary to
the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">The Reign of Canterbury</NOTE> <HI>piety of tho&s;e times</HI> in which the new Statutes were in|vented.
<HI>Paul</HI> the 2^d condemned all tho&s;e for Hereticks (as
<HI>Platina</HI> relates) who did but name an Univer&s;ity either in
je&s;t or earne&s;t, but I hope there are none of his &s;trein in this
Honourable A&s;&s;embly.</P>
<P><PB N="43" REF="28">
3. <HI>To encourage faithfull Mini&s;ters,</HI> the Apo&s;tle doth be|&s;eech
you, 1 <HI>The&s;&s;. 5. 12, 13. We be&s;eech you, brethren, to know
them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and
admoni&s;h you: and to e&s;teem them very highly for their works &s;ake,
and be at peace among your &s;elves.</HI> God doth endear his Mini|&s;ters
to the greate&s;t of Chri&s;tians, by &s;ending glad tydings,
and love-tokens by them to all the Saints; hence tho&s;e <HI>en|dearing
relations,</HI> which the Apo&s;tle mentions in &s;everall
places: Mini&s;ters are in&s;tead of Fathers, Mothers, Nur&s;es,
<HI>A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI><NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 2. 11.</NOTE> <HI>Fathers they be&s;eech you, as</HI><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg">Gal 4 19.</NOTE> <HI>Mothers they travail with you, as</HI>
<NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg">1 The&s;. 2. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Nur&s;es they cheri&s;h you.</HI> Be plea&s;ed not onely to <HI>command,</HI>
but <HI>to encourage</HI> the Mini&s;ters to walk in the way of Jeho|vah,
for they are like to meet with manifold di&s;courage|ments
<HI>in di&s;pen&s;atione offi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ii;</HI> when they <HI>rebuke with Authority,</HI>
and rebuke men of corrupt opinions <HI>&s;harply</HI> that they may
be <HI>&s;ound in the faith,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Aug. Epi&s;t</HI> 50. Jumenta eos calce mor&s;u&abque; appetunt, &agrave; qui|bus eorum cu|randa vulnera contrect<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ntur.</NOTE> when they come to <HI>warn the unruly, and
charge the di&s;orderly, and confute the gain-&s;ayers,</HI> &s;ome will <HI>&s;hew
their teeth;</HI> and when they come to be dre&s;&s;ed, and cured,
<HI>turn their heels;</HI> for too many are like the Hor&s;e which hath
no under&s;tanding, and &s;uch as will not be in&s;tructed, mu&s;t
be bridled, curbed. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 32. 8, 9.</P>
<P>4. To provide able Schoolma&s;ters, youths mu&s;t be or|dered
by<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Quia utile e&s;t juventuti regi, impo&s;iti &s;unt illi qua&s;i <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;tratus de|m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">,</HI> &s;ub quibus conti|neretur. Senec de Be|nef<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ii 3. An Philippus Macedonum Rex Alexan|dro &s;ilio &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">o prima litera|rum elementa tradi ab Ari|&s;totele &s;ummo ejus aetatis philo&s;opho volui&s;&s;et, aut ille &s;u&s;cepi&s;&s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> hoc officium &s;i non &s;tudiorum initia &agrave; perfect &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">imo quoque tractari pert<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">ere ad &s;ummam credidi&s;&s;et Quin til. lib. 1. cap 1. Non &s;unt con<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">emnenda qua&s;i parva &s;ine quibus magna con&s;tare non po&s;&s;unt. Hieronym Epi&s;t. ad Laetam.</NOTE> <HI>dome&s;ticall</HI> and <HI>&s;chola&s;ticall</HI> Magi&s;trates, before
they come to be ruled by <HI>Civill</HI> Magi&s;trates: a Schoolma|&s;ter
is a kind of Magi&s;trate, his Office is as honourable as
it is u&s;efull; none contemne that office, but &s;uch as are un|able
to di&s;charge it, or unworthy to be tru&s;ted with it: <HI>All
learning is upheld by the grounds of learning.</HI> If the foundation
be weak, the faire&s;t fabrique will reel and fall; <HI>A School is
a kind of little kingdom, nay a private Church;</HI> for the grounds
of Religion, as well as Learning, are to be fir&s;t taught by
religious and judicious Schoolma&s;ters, let their mainte|nance
be as honourable as their office; for, beleeve it, they
help to &s;upport Church and State. If you will take the&s;e
<PB N="44" REF="29">
propo&s;als into your &s;adde&s;t thoughts, you will lay a &s;trong
foundation for the good of future generations; &s;o that if
the old &s;iurdy Malignants of our time will not &s;ubmit, and
conform to Go&s;pel-rules, there will be good hope of the
next generation, when their fathers (who are <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">otten al|ready)
will be dead and gone. And the godly men of this
Kingdom will die with comfort, when they &s;ee the King|dom
put into &s;uch a po&s;ture, and &s;uch provi&s;ion made for
the in&s;truction of their children, whom they leave behind
them: they may &s;ay to their children, as <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;aid to <HI>Jo|&s;eph,
Behold I die, but God &s;hall be with you.</HI> Gen. 48. 21. This
Kingdom may be happy hereafter, though it &s;hould refu&s;e
to be happie now; if men will be &s;tubborn in <HI>this wilderne&s;&s;e-condition,</HI>
and are re&s;olved to peri&s;h in their &s;tubbornne&s;&s;e,
yet there is &s;ome hope that though the fathers die in the
wilderne&s;&s;e, &s;ome of their children, nay the very next ge|neration
may enter into Canaan, and be quiet.</P>
<P>Finally, my Text remembers me to call upon you to <HI>do
Ju&s;tice and Judgement.</HI> You mu&s;t di&s;tribute rewards, and
inflict puni&s;hments with <HI>a &s;ingle heart, and an impartiall hand.</HI>
The <HI>Parliament</HI> is the Fountain of Ju&s;tice, righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e,
and judgement mu&s;t flow forth from thence, and run tho|rough
out the Kingdom like <HI>a mighty &s;tream,</HI> which bears
down all before it, and refre&s;hes the dry and thir&s;ty cor|ners
of the Land. You have been a&s;&s;aulted by violence, and
you could not be compelled to be unju&s;t; but now you will
be counted with flatteries, what <HI>will you be flattered into in|ju&s;tice?</HI>
There are &s;ome de&s;perate Malignants that take
the Covenant with <HI>&agrave; &s;alv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">,</HI> who keep it in their <HI>own &s;ence,</HI>
but break it in curs, in the true genuine literall &s;en&s;e.
There are &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word"> Malignants who are too wi&s;e to be &s;candalous;</HI>
they do not roar like a <HI>Lyon,</HI><NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">o 5. 12. 14. Gregor.</NOTE> but fret like a <HI>M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ath; They do
m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t mi&s;chief, who keep lea&s;t noi&s;e. Tinea damnaum facit, &amp; &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ni|tum
non facit. You will be importuned by &s;ome plau&s;ible &s;olicitors,
that the&s;e men may be &s;pared, becau&s;e they are not &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">andal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">us in their
lives.</HI> Have you not read of one, <HI>qui &s;obri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">s acc<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;it ad perden|dum
<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 word">?</HI> Mu&s;t men be &s;pared becau&s;e they do
not <HI>fiercely a&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ult</HI> Church and State, though they do <HI>&s;ubtilly
<PB N="45" REF="29">
undermine</HI> both? If &s;o, you mu&s;t de&s;pair of <HI>&s;afety,</HI> and we of a
<HI>Reformation.</HI></P>
<P>But it is not enough for you to be ju&s;t your &s;elves, you
are to provide good Ju&s;tices in all parts thoroughout the
Kingdom. <HI>You may delegate part of your power,</HI> but you can|not
delegate your <HI>prudence,</HI> nor your <HI>Bowels,</HI> witne&s;&s;e tho&s;e
&s;ad and ju&s;t complaints which are pre&s;ented again&s;t <HI>Coun|trey
Committees,</HI> and <HI>Malignant Ju&s;tices.</HI> I &s;hall not di&s;pute
that que&s;tion in the Politiques, <HI>Whether it be better to have
good Laws, or good Magi&s;trates?</HI> But I am &s;ure that <HI>good Laws
will do no good without good Magi&s;trates.</HI> A Ju&s;tice &s;hould be
<HI>Cu&s;tes utriu&s;que Ta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ulae,</HI> but &s;uch is our condition in the
Countrey, that both Tables may be broken without con|troll;
the Lords day is profaned, and in &s;ome places even
in the time of religious Exerci&s;es the <HI>Alehou&s;es</HI> are fuller
then the <HI>Churches.</HI> When &s;hall <HI>unclean per&s;ons</HI> be brought to
their de&s;erved puni&s;hment? Men commit this wickedne&s;&s;e
with a bold brazen face, and brag that if the wor&s;t come
to the wor&s;t, they are able to keep their misbegotten brats,
and <HI>&s;ave the Pari&s;h and them&s;elves harmle&s;&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>You know we have vowed a Reformation, and yet you
know what the generall part of the Kingdom are even to
this very day; nay there are &s;ome that look high and big,
and make a notable profe&s;&s;ion al&s;o, and yet if you ob&s;erve
their dealings, and look into their families, you will find
very <HI>little charity, le&s;&s;e Ju&s;tice, and no Religion;</HI> Charity is
comprehended under Ju&s;tice,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Qui ambulet prout&punc; aequ<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">m e&s;t eoram Deo Ier. 22. 15.</NOTE> and Judgement. <HI>Praecepta Do|mini
&s;unt Regulae juris &amp; aequi: There is a kind of equity in cha|rity.</HI>
But there are &s;ome that have &s;pent all their &s;tock of
charity upon the Enemies of the Church and State, you
may prove them Bankrupts by that forfeiture they have
made; but if this be charity, it is a <HI>left-handed charity,</HI> for
they di&s;tribute favours with the <HI>wrong hand</HI> to them that
are of the <HI>wrong &s;ide;</HI> Sure I am there is a great out-cry, and
a cry that reaches Heaven gone up from tho&s;e widows and
orphans, who&s;e husbands and fathers lived and died in
your Service: and <HI>&s;ome of your friends profe&s;&s;e, that they would
be glad of tho&s;e favours which are vouch&s;afed to your Enemies:</HI> I
<PB N="46" REF="30">
mean &s;uch Enemies, as have out of a forced and<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">P&s;al 66. 3. yeeld feigned obedience, Hebr a Lie, as it is in the margin of our Bibles.</NOTE> <HI>feigned
obedience</HI> compounded with you upon ea&s;ie rates, and gain|ed
extraordinary favours, and con&s;iderable advantages,
be&s;ides their Arrears; and I mean <HI>&s;uch friends <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s bave lo&s;t
or given away all they have to promote the cau&s;e of God in your
hands;</HI> and yet they complain that they cannot procure
tho&s;e Arrears which are due to them for that &s;ervice in
which they adventured (all that is left them) their lives.</P>
<P>Oh let Ju&s;tice and Religion flouri&s;h, or el&s;e your friends
will be di&s;couraged; <HI>It would g<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ieve my <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">oul, and even break,
my heart, to &s;ee your friends co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e weeping from you.</HI> Be ju&s;t, <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e ju&s;t
both to your enemies, and your friends;</HI> or el<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">e you can neve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> be
true to your own intere&s;ts. Some have complained that
crying abominations, be&s;ides tho&s;e that have been pointed
at, do pa&s;&s;e unpuni&s;hed; they &s;ay that not onely <HI>&s;imple un|cleanne&s;&s;e,</HI>
but even <HI>gro&s;&s;e adultery doth e&s;cape unpuni&s;hed;</HI> When
<HI>Abraham</HI> came among&s;t the Heathens, that had no fear of
God before their eyes, he con&s;idered that his wife was
beautifull, and they lu&s;tfull, and though he did fear that
they would defile his wife, yet he did verily beleeve that
they would &s;lay him fir&s;t,<NOTE PLACE="marg">Poeniend<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">s pec|catis tres e&s;&s;e debere cau&s;as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">ai&s;t: matume&s;t, <GAP DESC="foreign">, c&ugrave;m dignitas au<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">o|ri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters"> a&s;&abque;, ejus in quem e&s;t pecca|tum tuenda e&s;t. <GAP DESC="foreign">. c&ugrave;m Paena adhibetur emendandigra|t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="2 letters">: <GAP DESC="foreign">, c&ugrave;m poen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">|tio propt<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">r ex|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> um e&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;ria. A. Gel. Noct. Attic. l. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter"> ca. 14.</NOTE> and defile her afterwards, be|cau&s;e
<HI>Adultery was, in the opinion of tho&s;e profane Heathens, a
f<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">uler &s;in then Murther it &s;elf.</HI></P>
<P>Talk no more of Ju&s;tice and Judgement, <HI>Fiat Ju&s;titia;</HI> my
Text remembers you, that <HI>Ju&s;tice and Judgement are things
not to be talked on, but to be done:</HI> The Philo&s;ophers give three
Rea&s;ons why Ju&s;tice &s;hould be done. 1. That Authoritie
might be pre&s;erved, the authority of God and his Officers.
2. That Delinquents might be reformed. 3. That others
might be deterred by tho&s;e Examples of Ju&s;tice, which are
frequently made in a wi&s;e State, and Nation.</P>
<P>I have &s;poken my mind clearly, and &s;hould have &s;poken
more fully, and freely, had I had the advantage of &s;peak|ing
in private; If I have offended the con&s;cience of my
Governors by &s;atisfying my own, I &s;hall bear their Cen|&s;ure,
and hope by Gods grace to bear any puni&s;hment
which they &s;hall think fit to inflict, with as much comfort
<PB N="47" REF="30">
as they inflict it.<NOTE PLACE="marg">Reprehen&s;us olim Albutius Rhetor e&s;t, qu&ograve;d de omni caus&acirc; dicere cuperet, non quicquid <HI>debe|bat</HI> dici, &s;ed quicquid <HI>p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="tech" EXTENT="1 letter">|terat.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Albutius</HI> the Orator was condemned for
the profu&s;ene&s;&s;e of his Rhetorique, becau&s;e he &s;poke all
he could upon every Argument which he took in hand;
I have by his errour learnt this truth, that <HI>It is
better to &s;ay enough, then to &s;ay All.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>Errata.</HEAD>
<P>In pa. 16. l. 15, &amp; 16. read <GAP DESC="foreign">. p. 16. l. 27. r. then <HI>Solomon</HI>
was. p. 19. l. 30. r. at a fea&s;t. p. 22. l. 13. r. if you call him <HI>Ens.</HI>
p. 25. l. 6. r. nay we mu&s;t. p. 26. l. 32. r. &s;hould &s;et forth.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
