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<DATE>2013-12-17</DATE>
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<NAME>Alexis Jakobson</NAME>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<PB REF="1">
<P><HI>THE MISCHIEFE And Mi&s;erie of</HI> SCANDALS <HI>Both</HI> Taken, <HI>and</HI> Giuen.</P>
<P>By <HI>IER. DYKE,</HI> Mini&s;ter of Epping <HI>in</HI> E&s;&s;ex.</P>
<Q><BIBL>1. <HI>COR.</HI> 10. 12.</BIBL> Wherefore let him that thinkes he &s;tands take heed lea&s;t he fall.</Q>
<Q><BIBL><HI>Aug. de verb. Dom. Serm.</HI> 53.</BIBL> Imo vtinam terruerim, vtinam aliquid egerim. &V;tinam qui &s;ic fu|erat, vel quae &s;ic fuerat non &s;it vlte|rius. Vtinam verba i&s;ta infuderim &amp; non effuderim.</Q>
<P>LONDON, <HI>Printed by</HI> W. S. <HI>for</HI> R. Milbourne, <HI>in</HI> Pauls <HI>Church-yard at the Grey|hound.</HI> 1631.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD><HI>TO THE RIGHT HONOVRABLE Ladie, the Ladie</HI> ELIZABETH, <HI>Counte&s;&s;e of</HI> Winchel&s;ey, his Noble <HI>PA|TRONESSE.</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>MADAM.</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>_IT is not vnknowne vn|to your Honour, what fir&s;t occa&s;ioned mee to meddle with this Sub|iect. That which fir&s;t moued me to preach it in mine owne
<PB REF="3"> Charge, hath al&s;o induced mee to make it more publique. I conceiued it might bee a worke well worth the while to vindicate, as much as in me lay, the Honour of God from that impeachment it commonly re|ceiues from Scandals, to heale the bleeding wounds they v&s;ually giue to the profe&s;sion of Godline&s;&s;e, to &s;top the mouth of iniquitie which they &s;et &s;o wide open, and to giue men notice of the great danger that both the taking, and giuing of Scan|dal may bring them into.</P>
<P>I ob&s;erue, that men doe with the Scandals of Profe&s;&s;ours, as the <HI>Le|uite</HI> did with the twelue parts of his Concubine, they <HI>&s;end them</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">dg.</HI> 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. 29.</NOTE> <HI>thorough all the quarters of I&s;rael.</HI> It were happie that &s;uch foule actions as trench to the di&s;ho|nour of God, and Religion might
<PB REF="3"> be buried in eternall &s;ilence, and ne|uer be publi&s;hed, <HI>Publi&s;h it not in</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 1.</NOTE> <HI>Gath:</HI> But &s;ince that is impo&s;sible, but that they will be <HI>publi&s;hed in Gath,</HI> What inconuenience is it that &s;omething bee <HI>publi&s;hed</HI> in, and <HI>&s;ent into the Coa&s;ts of I&s;|rael,</HI> that may &s;top the mouthes of the men of <HI>Gath,</HI> that may &s;alue the Honour of God, and Religion, and that may di&s;couer and preuent the danger of Scandalous euils.</P>
<P>I confe&s;&s;e, that when I con&s;ide|red how frequently Scandals haue fallen ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, and what a world of mi&s;chiefe hath beene done by them, I wondred, that no man, for ought I know, or can learne, had hitherto meddled with this Argument &s;o needfull, and &s;o v&s;efull, and there|fore thought it would not be lo&s;t la|bour to doe &s;omething in this kind.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P> And what I haue done, I now make bold to pre&s;ent vnto your Honour, as pre&s;uming that that &s;hall be welcome to you that pleades for the Honour of God, and his Truth. I acknowledge my &s;elfe many wayes deeply engaged to your Honour, and the many fauours I haue receiued from you, binde mee to a thankefull acknowledgement of them. May it plea&s;e you therefore to accept of this &s;mall <HI>Treati&s;e</HI> as a publike te&s;timoniall of my thanke|fulne&s;&s;e. Which if you &s;hall plea&s;e to doe, I &s;hall reckon it as a &s;uper|added fauour to all the re&s;t, and to my thankefulne&s;&s;e to your &s;elfe, &s;hall adde my daily prayers to the God of all Grace, for his ble&s;sing vpon your noble Family, both roote and branch, and that he would not onely continue to you the ble&s;sing of <HI>the</HI>
<PB REF="4"> <HI>left hand, Riches and Honour,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Prou.</HI> 3. 16.</NOTE> but giue you the ble&s;sing of the <HI>right hand</HI> al&s;o <HI>length of dayes,</HI> and with them both, the best of his ble&s;sings, <HI>All &s;pirituall ble&s;&s;ings in heauenly places in Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</HI> This &s;hall bee the daily &s;uite of</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Your Honours Seruant in the Go&s;pell of Chri&s;t Ie&s;us.</HI> Jer. Dyke.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>To the Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_THere is not any one thing that Sa|tan the profe&s;&s;ed enemie of Man|kind labours, and endeauours more, then the hindrance of the &s;aluation of man. There is but one way to Heauen, that which <HI>Peter</HI> cals the <HI>way of Truth,</HI> 2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 2. which <HI>Salomon</HI> cals <HI>the way of good men, Prou.</HI> 2. 20. which <HI>I&s;aie</HI> cals <HI>the way of Holine&s;&s;e, I&s;ai.</HI> 35. 8. which <HI>Ieremie</HI> cals <HI>the old, and the good way,</HI> and <HI>the ancient pathes, Ier.</HI> 6. 16, 18, 15. Now Sathan to
<PB REF="5"> keepe men from Heauen, doth his vtmo&s;t to make men &s;tumble at, and <HI>from the ancient pathes,</HI> that by taking offence at the waies of God, di&s;liking, and di&s;ta&s;ting them, the &s;aluation of their &s;oules might be|come impo&s;&s;ible.</P>
<P>To effect their &s;tumbling at tho&s;e wayes Sathan layes many and &s;un|drie kinds of &s;tumbling blockes in the wayes of men. But yet among&s;t tho&s;e many ones, I find there bee &s;ome more dangerous then others, and by which the Deuill preuayles much more then by the re&s;t. And tho&s;e I ob&s;erue and conceiue to be &s;pecially the&s;e three.</P>
<P N="1">1. The Reproach, Contempt, and Obloquie, that by &s;ome men is v&s;ually ca&s;t vpon Religion and the con&s;cionable profe&s;&s;ion, and Pro|fe&s;&s;ours thereof. Sathan tels men that if they will needs goe this way they &s;hall haue a deale of filth and dirt flung in the faces of them, that
<PB REF="6"> they mu&s;t looke to be &s;corned, and Reproached, as if they were the ve|ry <HI>Of-&s;courings of the earth.</HI> And this very thing &s;tarts and &s;tumbles not a few. Some will better abide a &s;take, then &s;ome others can a mocke. <HI>Zedekiah</HI> could happily haue found in his heart to haue hearkened to the Prophets coun|&s;ell, but that this lay in the way, <HI>I am afraid of the Iewes, lea&s;t they deliuer me into the Caldaeans hands, and they mocke me, Ier.</HI> 38. 19. It was death to him to be mocked. But all con&s;idered, we &s;hall &s;ee how little rea&s;on any haue for this to &s;tumble at Religion. For doe but con&s;ider who they are commonly that mock at Godline&s;&s;e. Doe but ob&s;erue their Character in the Scriptures, and you &s;hall finde them &s;uch as the&s;e. A company of Hypocrites. <HI>Hypocriticall mockers, P&s;al.</HI> 35. 16. A crue of Drunkards, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 69. 12. <HI>I am the &s;ong of Drunkards.</HI> A &s;ort
<PB REF="6"> of vitious per&s;ons, following their lu&s;ts, <HI>There &s;hall come &s;coffers wal|king after their owne lu&s;ts,</HI> 2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 3. 3. A company of <HI>Abiect per&s;ons, P&s;al.</HI> 35. 15. Like tho&s;e enemies, <HI>Acts</HI> 17. 5. <HI>Lewd fellowes of the ba&s;er &s;ort.</HI> A rout of prophane godle&s;&s;e irreligi|ous Athei&s;ts that do no more know the Power, then Turkes, and Hea|thens know the truth, of Godlines, <HI>The foole hath &s;aid in his heart there is no God, you haue made</HI> a mocke <HI>at the coun&s;ell of the poore, becau&s;e the Lord is his tru&s;t, P&s;.</HI> 14. 1, 6. It is a &s;hrewd &s;u&s;pition, that he that is a Mocker is an Athei&s;t, It well be|comes him to mocke at Religion that denies a God, and it is a &s;igne that he denies a God, that mockes at Godline&s;&s;e. And will any wi&s;e man &s;tumble at Religion for &s;uch mens Mockes and Reproaches? What can be expected better from them? It was a good an&s;were that that Oratour gaue <HI>Salu&s;t, Neque e|nim</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Orat. in Salu&s;t.</NOTE>
<PB REF="7"> <HI>qui, ita vt tu, vixit aliter, quam tu loqui pote&s;t,</HI> It cannot be but that he that liues thy life, &s;hould &s;peake thy language, and it is an an&s;were will &s;erue the turne in this ca&s;e; To looke for other language from men of &s;o ill lifes, were to expect to ga|ther grapes of thornes. Let no man for &s;uch mens mockes and reproa|ches bee &s;tumbled at Religion, or thinke euer the wor&s;e of it. A man would choo&s;e his Religion by &s;uch mens enmitie, and it is the great honour of Religion that it hath &s;uch Aduer&s;aries. <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Con&s;ulito comme<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s ve&s;tros, ill<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> re|perietis primum Neronem in hanc &s;ectam tum maximae Romae orientem Cae&s;ariano gla|dio feroci&s;&s;e. Sed tali dedicatore damnationis no|&s;trae gloriamur. Qui enim &s;cit illum, intellige|re pote&s;t non ni&s;i aliquod bonum grande &agrave; Nero|ne damnatum. Tentauerunt &amp; Domitian<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, &amp;c.&mdash;Tales nobis &s;emper In|&s;ecutores, Iniu|&s;ti, Impij, Tur|pes quos &amp; ip&s;i damnare con|&s;uestis, &agrave; quibus damnatos re&s;ti|tuere &s;oliti e&s;tis.</HI> Tertull. Apol. cap. 5.</NOTE> It was that wherein the Primitiue Chri&s;tians v&s;ed to glorie that they had <HI>Nero</HI> their fir&s;t Per&s;ecutor, and condem|ner of their per&s;ons and Religion, <HI>Ina&s;much as they that knew him could not but know that it mu&s;t needs bee &s;ome great good which</HI> Nero <HI>did condemne.</HI> It was the honour of Chri&s;tians, and their Religion that <HI>Nero</HI> and &s;uch as he was, <HI>vniu&s;t, vn|godly,</HI>
<PB REF="7"> <HI>filthy per&s;ons,</HI> whom the Heathen them&s;elues condemned were the &s;ore&s;t, and bittere&s;t ene|mies they had. No wi&s;e man would haue &s;tumbled at Chri&s;tian Religi|on, becau&s;e it had &s;uch an enemie as <HI>Nero</HI> was, A wi&s;eman would haue loued it the better. The ca&s;e is the &s;ame here, It is the honour of Godline&s;&s;e, and Religion, that it hath <HI>Hypocrites, Drunkards, viti|ous followers of their lu&s;ts, ba&s;e and lewd fellowes, godle&s;&s;e Athei&s;ts,</HI> for her &s;coffing Aduer&s;aries. It mu&s;t needs bee &s;ome great good which they hate, and &s;corne, I know &s;carce a better argument to per&s;wade men to loue and embrace it, then that &s;uch men hate and deride it.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Pouertie, the meane, and homely out&s;ide of &s;uch for the mo&s;t part, as receiue &amp; profe&s;&s;e Chri&s;t, and his Go&s;pel. What &s;hould you doe looking this way, &s;ayes Satan; <HI>Haue any of the Rulers, or of the</HI>
<PB REF="8"> <HI>Phari&s;ees beleeued on him? But this people, &amp;c. Iohn</HI> 7. 48. What a fond thing is it to follow this Chri&s;t whom none but a company of the meaner &s;ort of people fol|low? The greater, and richer &s;ort of the world they like not, nor look not this way, but onely a few of the lower ranke, and condition of men. And how-euer many are &s;tumbled at this, yet indeed little rea&s;on is there that any &s;hould in &s;uch a ca&s;e be &s;candalized. So much the le&s;&s;e rea&s;on becau&s;e our Sauiour hath &s;o fore-armed and fenced vs a|gain&s;t this Scandal, <HI>Math.</HI> 11. 5, 6. <HI>The poore receiue the Go&s;pel.</HI> Why then, might &s;ome &s;ay, wee will not receiue this Chri&s;t, and this Go&s;pell, which for the mo&s;t part onely the poorer &s;ort receiue. Therefore &s;ee what our Sauiour addes to preuent &s;uch &s;candal. <HI>And ble&s;&s;ed is hee that is not offended in me,</HI> that is <HI>in mee</HI> a Chri&s;t recei|ued
<PB REF="8"> and profe&s;&s;ed by the poorer &s;ort. How could men like well of Godlines in <HI>gay apparell,</HI> and with <HI>a gold ring,</HI> but the vile rayment makes it vile in their eyes, who con|&s;ider not that God hath cho&s;en the vile things of this world, to con|found the things that are mighty, that God hath cho&s;en <HI>the poore of this world</HI> rich in faith, heyres of the kingdom which he hath promi|&s;ed, <HI>Iam.</HI> 2. 5. When <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">Iulian<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> dixit, <HI>&amp; &s;i Phi|lo&s;oph<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rum ego Senatu~ aduo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">|uer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> tu continuo &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dularios opifi|ces, omne&abque; in nos vulgus ac|ce~das,</HI> Augu&s;ti|nus dixit. <HI>Con|tumelio&s;us es in infirma mun|di quae elegi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> deus vt confun|deret fortia,</HI> Aug. contr. Iu|lian. P<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g. li. 1,</NOTE> <HI>Iulian</HI> the Pe|lagian gibed <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> that he had not the wi&s;e &s;ages, nor the learned Senate of Philo&s;ophers, <HI>but onely a company of meane trade&s;men, handi|craftes men of the vulgar &s;ort,</HI> that tooke part with him, he &s;weetly an|&s;wers, <HI>Thou reproache&s;t the weake things of the world, which God hath cho&s;en to confound the things that are mighty.</HI> That one thing may &s;uffice to keepe men from &s;tum|bling at homely out&s;ides. Speci|ally if men had but an eye of faith
<PB REF="9"> in their heads. Carnal eyes that are dazeled with the glittering out|&s;ides of worldly glories are offen|ded at &s;uch &s;eeming ba&s;ene&s;&s;e, but faith blindes it &s;elfe again&s;t &s;uch fle&s;hly Scandals, and will not &s;ee them, when it &s;ees them, but lookes thorough them, and &s;ees glory thorough them. <HI>Ioh.</HI> 1. 14. <HI>And the word was made fle&s;h, and wee beheld his glory, as the glory of the onely begotten &s;onne of the father,</HI> though his glory were ob&s;cured with the vaile of the fle&s;h, yet this vaile hides not glory from the eye of faith, faith did looke thorough this vaile and ea&s;ily di&s;cerned him the glori|ous, and only begotten &s;onne of the father, euen in the aba&s;ement of his Incarnation. The wi&s;emen that came from the Ea&s;t, when they &s;aw <HI>Herod</HI> at <HI>Ieru&s;alem,</HI> happily in all his royall Robes, yet fall not downe not wor&s;hip him; They come to <HI>Bethlehem</HI> and finde Chri&s;t in a
<PB REF="9"> poore fa&s;hio~, happily in little better then rags, &amp; yet they fall downe &amp; wor&s;hip him. Why fall they downe before a meane poore Chri&s;t, and not before a Magnificent, &amp; glori|ous <HI>Herod?</HI> Why rather are they not &s;candalized at Chri&s;ts ba&s;e|ne&s;&s;e and pouerty? This is the ex|cellency of faith, In Chri&s;ts Infan|cy it &s;aw Antiquity, in his ba&s;e|ne&s;&s;e beauty, in his meanne&s;&s;e ma|ie&s;tie, and more glory in Chri&s;ts rags, then in <HI>Herods</HI> Robes. So &s;urely if men did liue and walke by faith, and not by &s;ight, neuer would Chri&s;t nor his Truth be &s;tumbled at for the homely and poore out|&s;ide of tho&s;e that profe&s;&s;e him. The purblind eye of fle&s;h cannot pierce through the&s;e vayles and cloudes, And what wonder is it to &s;ee a blinde man &s;tumble?</P>
<P N="3">3. But yet the &s;ore&s;t and greate&s;t &s;tumbling blocke of all, is the &s;can|dalous &s;innes and falles of &s;uch as
<PB REF="10"> profe&s;&s;e religion: certaine it is that the&s;e of all others are the mo&s;t pe|rillous &s;tumbling blockes by which Satan cau&s;es multitudes of men to &s;tumble at religion, and workes them to the di&s;like of the wayes of &s;aluation. Afflictions and Per&s;e|cutions for the Go&s;pells &s;ake are dangerous &s;tumbling blockes, and by rea&s;on of them many are &s;o of|fended at religion, as that they turne their backes vpon it, <HI>Math.</HI> 13. 21. <HI>When tribulation, or per&s;ecu|tion ari&s;es becau&s;e of the word by and by, he is &s;candalized.</HI> So that Per&s;ecutions cau&s;e Scandal. But yet the Scandals that come by the euill lifes of profe&s;&s;ours are in &s;ome &s;en&s;e farre more dangerous and hurtfull then tho&s;e Scandals that come from Per&s;ecutions. Though the &s;candal of per&s;ecution &s;tumble &amp; beate off many, yet haue very many beene gayned to a loue, and liking of Religion, by the Pati|ence,
<PB REF="10"> Courage, &amp; Con&s;tancy of the Saints of God in Per&s;ecution. But neuer were, nor wilbe any gayned thereunto by the &s;candalous falles of profe&s;&s;ours. Per&s;ecutions keepe men off by feare, but Scandalous &s;innes by Hardening mens hearts. There is far more hope, and po&s;&s;i|bility of gayning a man that is kept off by feare, then of &s;uch as are kept off by a &s;etled, re&s;olued Hardnes of Heart. In &s;candals of the Cro&s;&s;e men may haue &s;ome &s;ecret likings of the Truth, may haue &s;ecret pur|po&s;es in better times to owne it, but in &s;candals of euill example, men grow to an open, and profe&s;&s;ed di&s;like thereof. In &s;candals of the cro&s;&s;e, there is not alwayes a di&s;like of Religion it &s;elfe, but onely of the hard termes, with which it mu&s;t bee receiued, but from &s;candals of euill life growes a di&s;like of Religion it &s;elfe. Notwith&s;tanding the &s;candal of the cro&s;&s;e men may haue an Ho|norable,
<PB REF="11"> and a good conceit of Re|ligion, but &s;candals of euill life breede, and nouri&s;h a ba&s;e and a vile e&s;teeme thereof in the hearts of men. So that per&s;ecutions doe not doe that mi&s;chiefe that &s;canda|lous falles doe. <HI>Malicious per&s;ecu|tours</HI> in &s;ome &s;en&s;e doe not that hurt that <HI>&s;candalous profe&s;&s;ours doe.</HI></P>
<P>Now &s;candalous euents being &s;o mi&s;chieous and pernitious, and yet withall &s;o common, &amp; &s;o frequent, why may it not be a worke of cha|rity to counterworke Satan, and to remoue out of the way the&s;e dangerous &s;tumbling blockes, at which &s;o many fall to their vtter ruine, and de&s;truction.</P>
<P>As Satan <HI>Balaam-</HI>like <HI>ea&s;ts</HI> &s;tum|bling blocks in, &s;o &s;hould it be our care to <HI>take</HI> vp the&s;e &s;tumbling blockes out of mens wayes. It is not enough for vs that wee <HI>put not a &s;tumbling blocke,</HI> or an occa&s;ion to fall in another mans way, as the
<PB REF="11"> Apo&s;tle adui&s;es <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. 12. But when others haue done it, our en|deauour &s;hould be, to take &s;uch a &s;tumbling blocke out of the way. It is Gods owne commandement we &s;hould &s;o doe, <HI>I&s;ay</HI> 57. 14. <HI>Take vp the &s;tumbling blocke out of the way of my people.</HI> It were happy if wee could preuent &s;candals, but &s;ince that cannot bee <HI>(for it mu&s;t needs be that offences come)</HI> the next happi|ne&s;&s;e is to preuent their mi&s;chiefe, that though they doe come, yet they may come with as little hurt as may be. <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>E&s;to quod a|lius mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">erit &s;candalum, pro|fecto compe&s;cere vos pote&s;tis. Nolle compe&s;|cere &s;i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e culpa erit? Aut velle compe&s;cere &s;ine gloria erit?&mdash;Si ergo vos &s;canda|lum cum po&s;&s;itis non tollitis pla|ne non impletis mini&s;terium ve|&s;trum.</HI> Bernard. Epi&s;t. 200. ad vulger. Epi&s;co. Audegav.</NOTE> The which thing who &s;o will not, nor cares not to doe, &s;hall not bee without blame, and who &s;o endeauours to doe &s;hall not be without his reward. The which worke who &s;o doth not when oc|ca&s;ion &s;erues, fulfils not his mi|ni&s;try, and the which worke who &s;o doth, he doth an excellent and a worthy worke, euen the worke of Angels. <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Annon deni&abque; mini&s;terium e&s;t Angelorum tol|lere &s;candala de regno Dei. Si dixeriti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> quid ad nos, &amp;c.</HI> Ber|nard. ibid.</NOTE> <HI>Is it not the worke of An|gels,</HI>
<PB REF="12"> &s;ayes <HI>Bernard, to take &s;can|dals out of the Kingdome of God?</HI> Yea we find it to be &s;o, <HI>Mat.</HI> 13. 41. <HI>The &s;onne of man &s;hall &s;end forth his Angels and they &s;hall gather out of his Kingdome all &s;candals.</HI> It is therefore not onely a <HI>Charitable,</HI> but an <HI>Angelicall</HI> worke to gather out &s;candals, and take vp the &s;tum|bling blockes that Satan ca&s;ts in mens way to heauen.</P>
<P>The &s;ame &s;pirit &s;hould be in all Gods mini&s;ters which was in <HI>Paul,</HI> 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 29. <HI>Who is offended, or Scandalized, and I burne not?</HI> In ca&s;es of &s;candal hee was all on fire, not only in regard of his griefe for, but in regard of his zeale again&s;t them. Hee burned with an holy zeale, to remoue the &s;candal and to preuent the mi&s;chiefe it might doe. Hee burned with an holy fire of zeale to keepe others from burning in the fire of Hell, wherewith &s;can|dals did endanger them.</P>
<PB REF="12">
<P> Vpon the&s;e grounds haue I bin moued, &amp; encouraged to the pub|li&s;hing of this following treati&s;e, to try if by any meanes, either prea|ching, or printing, I might preuent the mi&s;chiefe of &s;candals. Were it that the fame of them did &s;pred no farther then the places where they happen, this labour might haue beene &s;pared, but <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Sicut quod de alto cadit gran|dem &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">num facit vt ita audiant omnes, &s;ic &amp; qui de alto gradu ca|dit ruina illius vbicun&abque; audi|tur,</HI> Chry&s;o&s;t. in Matth.</NOTE> as that which falles from an high place (it is <HI>Chry&s;o&s;tomes</HI> compari&s;on) makes a great noi&s;e, &s;o that all heare it; &s;o men that fall from an high degree of profe&s;&s;ion, their falles are not without &s;uch a noi&s;e as is heard farre, and neere. It was needefull therefore to proportion the reme|dy to the di&s;ea&s;e, that the play&s;ter &s;hould be as broad as the &s;ore, and the medicine goe as far as the poy|&s;on. <HI>When I &s;aw,</HI> &s;aies <HI>Paul, that they walked not vprightly, accor|ding to the truth of the Go&s;pell, I &s;aid vnto</HI> Peter <HI>before them all. Gal.</HI> 2.
<PB REF="13">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="13">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB REF="14"> 14. But why <HI>before them all?</HI> Why had hee no more regard to the Ho+nour of <HI>Peter?</HI> Why was it not &s;po+ken to <HI>Peter</HI> priuately, and by him+&s;elfe alone? Why &s;peakes hee tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> which might bee to the di&s;cred it o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Peter before them all? Hierome</HI> giue<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> a good an&s;wer, <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Dixi Cephae-Publicum &s;candalum non potuit priuate <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">rari,</HI> Hieron. in Gal. 2.</NOTE> <HI>A publique &s;canda<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> could not bee healed priuately.</HI> It i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> very fit that publique euills, &s;houl<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> haue publique remedies. If the&s;e endeauours of mine, &s;uch as they bee, &s;hall thorough Gods ble&s;&s;ing haue &s;uch effect as to preuent any &s;candals for the time to come, t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;aue any from the danger of &s;uch a are already come, or to bring any t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> repentance by whom offences haue come, I &s;hall haue cau&s;e to thinke my time and paines happily be&s;towed.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="14">
<HEAD>The &s;euerall Chapters of this Treati&s;e.</HEAD>
<LIST>
<ITEM><LABEL>CHAP. I.</LABEL>
_THe Coherence, and re&s;olu|tion of the Text. <HI>pag.</HI> 1.</ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>CHAP. II.</LABEL> The nece&s;sitie of Scandalous euents in Gods Church. <HI>pag.</HI> 7.</ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>CHAP. III.</LABEL> An Apologie for Religion, and the Profe&s;&s;ours thereof, again&s;t the Scandal of Scandals. <HI>pag.</HI> 26.</ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>CHAP. IIII.</LABEL> That Scandals are woful, and fatall to the Scandalized World. <HI>p.</HI> 60.</ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>CHAP. V.</LABEL> How Scandals come to be &s;o mortal|ly mi&s;chieuous. <HI>pag.</HI> 77.</ITEM>
<PB REF="15">
<ITEM><LABEL> CHAP. VI.</LABEL> What little rea&s;on men haue to tri|umphat, and what great rea&s;on to be cautelous in the euent of Scan|dals. <HI>pag.</HI> 109.</ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>CHAP. VII.</LABEL> The &s;harpe and &s;euere Iu&s;tice of God vpon &s;uch as giue Scandal. <HI>p.</HI> 136.</ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>CHAP. VIII.</LABEL> Why God is &s;o &s;mart, and &s;o &s;euere in his Iu&s;tice again&s;t tho&s;e by whom Scandals come. <HI>pag.</HI> 170.</ITEM>
<ITEM><LABEL>CHAP. IX.</LABEL> The great care we &s;hould haue of gi|uing &s;candal, and &s;orrow for them giuen, and the great cau&s;e of humi|liation they haue by whom offen|ces come. <HI>pag.</HI> 206.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="15">
<HEAD>The Mi&s;chiefe and <HI>Mi&s;erie of</HI> SCANDALS Both <HI>Taken and Giuen.</HI></HEAD>
<EPIGRAPH>
<BIBL>MATH. 18. 7.</BIBL>
<Q>Wo vnto the world becau&s;e of offen|ces: for it mu&s;t needs bee that of|fences come: but woe to that man by whom the offence commeth.</Q>
</EPIGRAPH>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The Coherence and Re&s;olution of the Text.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_THe drift of our Saui|our in his former Di&s;|cour&s;e was to exhort to the receiuing of lit|tle ones. Ver&s;e 5. <HI>And who &s;o &s;hall</HI>
<PB N="2" REF="16"> <HI>receiue one &s;uch little childe in my name, receiueth mee.</HI> A &s;trong mo|tiue to receiue &s;uch. The Apo&s;tles argument to ho&s;pitalitie, <HI>Heb.</HI> 13. 2 is &s;trong. <HI>Be not forgetfull to enter|taine &s;trangers, for thereby &s;ome haue entertained Angels vnawares.</HI> But heere the argument carries more &s;trength, Be willing and rea|die to doe all Chri&s;tian Offices of loue, and &s;hew tender re&s;pect to little ones, and &s;o receiue them, and you &s;hall receiue not Angels, but Chri&s;t him&s;elfe. How willingly would men receiue Chri&s;t? Re|ceiue the&s;e, and you receiue him. And if little ones mu&s;t be thus ten|derly receiued and regarded, how warie &s;hould men bee of doing any thing that may offend them? Ther|fore our Sauiour doth not onely adui&s;e to receiue &s;uch, but al&s;o to take heed of doing any thing that may proue vnto young belieuers, matter of offence &amp; &s;candal. And
<PB N="3" REF="16"> &s;o he takes occa&s;ion to enter vpon a large di&s;cour&s;e concerning &s;can|dal. This Ver&s;e is part of that di&s;|cour&s;e, and in it there be two prin|cipall points.</P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The <HI>nece&s;sitie</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>of &s;candals.</ITEM>
</LIST></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The <HI>mi&s;chiefe</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. The <HI>nece&s;sitie</HI> of &s;candals, <HI>for it mu&s;t needs be that offences come.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. The <HI>Mi&s;chiefe</HI> and the <HI>mi&s;erie</HI> that comes by them. And that is a twofold <HI>woe.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P N="1">1. A <HI>woe</HI> to &s;uch as are &s;candali|zed, that doe &s;tumble and are of|fended; <HI>Woe to the World becau&s;e of offences.</HI> Offences &s;hall come, and mu&s;t come, but to the &s;orrow, and &s;mart of &s;ome men &s;hal they come; They &s;hall come to make way for the greater <HI>woe</HI> to &s;ome per&s;ons. Such euents &s;hall be, but yet they will proue euents of <HI>woe</HI> to men of the world.</P>
<P N="2">2. A <HI>woe</HI> to &s;uch as do cau&s;e and giue the offence. <HI>But woe to the</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="17"> <HI>man by whom the offence commeth.</HI> As if he had &s;aid. It is nece&s;&s;arie that offences come, and infallibly they will fall out, but yet this ne|ce&s;&s;itie of the euent &s;hall no whit at all excu&s;e, or protect the offen|der, but as a <HI>woe</HI> to them that take the offence, &s;o a <HI>woe</HI> to them that giue the offence, <HI>Woe to him by whom the offence commeth.</HI></P>
<P>To make way for what followes it is fit to con&s;ider what is heere meant by <HI>Scandal</HI> or <HI>Offence.</HI> That we call a &s;candal, which is or may be in it &s;elfe an occa&s;ion of fal|ling vnto another. Any thing whereby wee &s;o offend another, as that hee is hindred from Good, drawne into, or confirmed in euill, is a &s;candal. Now a &s;candal may be. 1. Fir&s;t, in doctrine, and this is &s;candal giuen in here&s;ies, fal&s;e doctrines. Secondly, by the abu&s;e or the vn&s;ea&s;onable v&s;e of Chri&s;ti|an libertie, of which kinde of &s;can|dals
<PB N="5" REF="17"> the Apo&s;tle &s;peakes, <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 8. 10. Thirdly, Scandal may be giuen by mens lifes, when their lifes and actions are &s;uch as cro&s;&s;e, and thwart the Religion profe&s;&s;ed by vs, and di&s;honours the Name of God, which we haue taken vp. As when a man profe&s;&s;es the Name &amp; Faith of Chri&s;t, and profe&s;&s;es it zealou&s;ly, and yet fals into vnclean|ne&s;&s;e, drunkenne&s;&s;e, into gro&s;&s;e and notorious acts of fraude and coo|zenage, the&s;e bee &s;candals and of|fences becau&s;e they be occa&s;ions to make others fall, they hinder &s;ome from comming towards goodne&s;&s;e and Religion, and they harden and confirme &s;ome in their &s;infull and euill cour&s;es. Thus <HI>Dauids</HI> murther and adultery, <HI>Noahs</HI> drunkenne&s;&s;e, the ince&s;tuous <HI>Corinthians</HI> marri|age were &s;candalous actions. Now though this text reach to offences of all kinds, yet I will onely med|dle with offences of this la&s;t kinde,
<PB N="6" REF="18"> &s;uch as bee the gro&s;&s;e and foule cour&s;es and practices of any &s;uch as haue taken vpon them the pro|fe&s;&s;ion of the Go&s;pell, and the Name of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>To come then to the fir&s;t point. The <HI>Nece&s;sitie</HI> of &s;candals. <HI>It mu&s;t needs bee that offences come.</HI> The<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e mu&s;t and there &s;hall a&s;&s;uredly fall out &s;candalous and offen&s;iue acti|ons in the Church of God, euen among&s;t tho&s;e that profe&s;&s;e Religi|on and godline&s;&s;e. For that our Sauiour &s;peakes of the &s;innes of tho&s;e that are in the Church, it is plaine by that Ver&s;e 15, 16, 17. <HI>If thy brother &s;hall tre&s;pa&s;&s;e, &amp;c.</HI> therefore he &s;peakes of the offences of brethren. If hee &s;hall neglect to heare them <HI>tell it to the Church.</HI> Now if not of the Church, why &s;hould he be complained of to the Church. What hath the Church to do to iudge tho&s;e, and exerci&s;e di&s;|cipline vpon tho&s;e that are with|out.
<PB N="7" REF="18"> And againe &s;candals proper|ly &s;o called can be no where but in the Church, and among&s;t &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e the Truth of God.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. II.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The Nece&s;sitie of &s;candalous euents in Gods Church.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_THe point we haue then fir&s;t to handle is this. <HI>That there is a nece&s;sitie of &s;can|dalous euents in the Church of God. That &s;candalous euents, and offen|ces &s;hall a&s;&s;uredly and infallibly fall out among&s;t tho&s;e that profe&s;&s;e the Name of Chri&s;t.</HI> It mu&s;t bee, and it mu&s;t needs bee that offences come. So, <HI>Luke</HI> 17. 1. <HI>It is impo&s;sible but that offences &s;hould come.</HI> And as the Apo&s;tle &s;peakes of here&s;ies, and
<PB N="8" REF="19"> of offences giuen in that kinde, 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 19. <HI>There mu&s;t be here&s;ies,</HI> &s;o is it true of the&s;e kinds of offen|ces which are giuen by &s;infull and foule actions, that there mu&s;t bee &s;candals.</P>
<P>This Nece&s;&s;itie ari&s;es from a threefold ground:</P>
<P N="1">1. From the decree and councell of God, and his &s;ecret, but mo&s;t Iu&s;t Iudgement: for God that brought light out of darkne&s;&s;e, can bring good out of euill, and can worke out his glory euen from tho&s;e things which in their euents &s;eeme to make exceedingly to the impeaching and ob&s;curing there|of. God can gather grapes of the&s;e thi&s;tles, and figs of the&s;e thornes, and therefore his plea&s;ure it is, and &s;o will he haue it that &s;uch thornes, and thi&s;tles &s;hould grow, and come vp in his garden. His wayes are not as our wayes, nor his thoughts as
<PB N="9" REF="19"> our thoughts. Hee can make that which for the pre&s;ent, and in our eye and apprehen&s;ion is for the great di&s;honour and di&s;grace of his Name and Truth, to turn at the la&s;t to the greater honour, and glo|rie of both. Hee by his permi&s;&s;iue decree orders all &s;uch &s;candalous euents to worke together to bring him in a great, and a rich returne of glory. Therefore, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 3. 20. God is &s;aid to lay a &s;tumbling blocke before a man, <HI>And I lay a &s;tumbling blocke before him.</HI> God hath decreed that there &s;hall bee &s;candals. Not a Sparrow falls on the ground without our Father, <HI>Math.</HI> 10. 29. And therefore not a Profe&s;&s;our of his Name falls into &s;candal without him. And there|fore God hauing decreed that &s;candals &s;hall be, there is a nece&s;&s;i|tie of the euent, It is impo&s;&s;ible but that there &s;hould be offences. But
<PB N="10" REF="20"> yet this decree doth in no wi&s;e make God the authour of the&s;e e|uils, becau&s;e his decree hath no ne|ce&s;&s;itating influence into the wils of men. It is a nece&s;&s;itie of infalli|bilitie, and certaintie of the euent, but not a con&s;training, forcing ne|ce&s;&s;itie to make them to doe that which &s;hall giue &s;candal. Scandals &s;hall nece&s;&s;arily, that is infallibly come to pa&s;&s;e, but yet &s;uch as giue &s;candal, &s;hall not bee forced and nece&s;&s;arily con&s;trained by the de|cree of God to doe that they doe. They &s;hall worke freely and volun|tarily in that which they doe, or el&s;e it were iniu&s;tice in God to bring a woe vpon him by whom an offence comes, if hee by a Superiour power from Heauen were forced and con&s;trained to fall into &s;candal. What Gods holy ends are in that his De|cree, wee &s;hall &s;ee after in the
<PB N="11" REF="20"> opening of the next point.</P>
<P N="2">2. From the malice of Sathan. The malice of the Deuill again&s;t Gods Truth, and Mans Saluation is exceeding great, and out of his malice again&s;t both, he endeuours nothing more then to make men &s;inne. He goes about like a roaring Lion, &s;eeking whome hee may de|uoure. But yet though all bee fi&s;h that comes to his net, yet his &s;pe|ciall malice is again&s;t tho&s;e of Gods Church, and tho&s;e therein that mo&s;t zealou&s;ly profe&s;&s;e his Name and Truth. He knowes that if he can but draw &s;uch into his nets and &s;nares, and make them fall into fowle and &s;candalous actions, this will in a great mea&s;ure di&s;honour God and his Go&s;pell, di&s;grace Re|ligion and Godline&s;&s;e, and &s;tartle &s;uch as are but looking towardes God, and wonderfully harden &s;uch in their &s;infull wayes that are not &s;o forward in the zealous profe&s;&s;i|on
<PB N="12" REF="21"> of the Go&s;pell, and therefore of all others hee hath &s;uch in his eye, and v&s;es all his power and policie toe n&s;nare and &s;upplant &s;uch more then a thou&s;and others. He had ra|ther catch one fi&s;h then a thou&s;and frogs, rather fell one Cedar then a whole wood of &s;hrubs. Satan &s;ees that the &s;ins and &s;candalous offen|ces of &s;uch will bee exceeding ad|uantageous to the aduancement of his kingdome, and will conduce to the &s;trengthening of his partie more then the falls of any other. Therefore hee &s;ets vpon them with all his might and malice aboue o|thers. Thou art, &s;ay they of <HI>Dauid, worth ten thou&s;and of vs,</HI> And if the enemy had &s;urprized <HI>Dauid,</HI> it had beene more aduantage to him then to haue &s;urprized ten thou&s;and o|ther <HI>I&s;raelites.</HI> So Sathan reckons one zealous Profe&s;&s;our of Religion if he can but entrap him worth ten thou&s;and others for his turne. Such
<PB N="13" REF="21"> a mans fal would more blemi&s;h the Go&s;pell, and make men more &s;tumble at Godline&s;&s;e then if ten thou&s;and others &s;hould do the like. Therefore liues hee by the King of <HI>Syria</HI> his principle, <HI>Fight neither again&s;t &s;mall nor great, &s;aue onely again&s;t the King of I&s;rael,</HI> for let the King of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> fall, and &s;mall and great fall with him. His policie therefore is to aime and leuell e&s;pe|cially at &s;uch in who&s;e fals hee may ruine many, and by who&s;e ruines he may ray&s;e his owne kingdome. Other mens &s;innes worke nothing &s;o much for his aduantage. <NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Numquid tam reprehen&s;i|bilis ebrietas</HI> A|lamann<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>quam ebrietas Chri&s;ti+ani? aut tam damnabilis ra|pacitas</HI> Albani <HI>quam rapacitas Chri&s;tiani? &s;i fallat</HI> Hunnus, <HI>vel Gepida, quid mirum e&s;t? &s;i pe|ieret</HI> Francus <HI>quid noni face|ret?</HI> Salu. de prou. lib. 4.</NOTE> Who wonders or &s;taggers at it to &s;ee prophane and irreligious godle&s;&s;e per&s;ons to bee vitious adulterers, to be bruti&s;h drunkards, to be arti|ficiall deceiuers and defrauders. It is no new thing, they doe but their kinde. The wonder were, if they &s;hould bee, or doe otherwi&s;e. But when a man that profe&s;&s;es Godli|ne&s;&s;e
<PB N="14" REF="22"> and Religion &s;hall fall into any of the&s;e fowle cour&s;es, how in|finitely are thou&s;ands &s;taggered and &s;candalized at it? How fowly is Religion and Godline&s;&s;e blurred? How many are there who re&s;olute|ly determine neuer to meddle with &s;uch Religion? And &s;o the Deuill hath his end, hath what hee would haue.</P>
<P>Con&s;ider to this end that exam|ple, 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. 1. <HI>There is fornication among&s;t you, and &s;uch fornication as is not once named among&s;t the Gentiles.</HI> Ob&s;erue the horrible ma|lice of Satan again&s;t the Church of God, and &s;uch as are within it, bee they &s;ound, or hypocriticall pro|fe&s;&s;ours of the Go&s;pell. He labours to bring of them into fowler, and more notorious offen&s;iue euils, then the very heathens them&s;elues are guiltie of according to that, <HI>Ie|remy</HI> 18. 13. <HI>Aske now among&s;t the heathen who hath heard &s;uch things.</HI>
<PB N="15" REF="22"> <HI>The Virgin of I&s;rael hath done an horrible thing.</HI> At that time Chri|&s;tians were called out from amo~g&s;t the heathen, with whom they liued mingled together. Now the Deuill did what in him lay to keepe tho&s;e heathen from receiuing the Go|&s;pell, and Chri&s;tian Religion, that by no meanes they might hearken to it. Now to bring this about what was Satans proiect? He layes about him to en&s;nare &s;ome one of the Chri&s;tian <HI>Corinthians,</HI> and to bring him into fowler fornication then was among&s;t the heathen. This the Deuill effects, and what thinke wee followed vpon it? Now haue the heathen occa&s;ion to crie downe Chri&s;tian Religion, and to &s;ay, Be|hold the&s;e be your Chri&s;tians that talke &s;o much of holine&s;&s;e, where did they euer &s;ee any of vs whom they terme heathens to commit &s;o fowle an act of Ince&s;t as to marrie his fathers wife. What are our A|dulteries,
<PB N="16" REF="23"> and fornications they &s;o much iudge vs for to &s;uch fowle vncleanne&s;&s;e as this? This is your Chri&s;tian Religion, and the&s;e bee your Saints for&s;ooth, now God ble&s;&s;e vs from &s;uch a Religion, ne|uer will wee be of &s;uch a Religion. How much better is it to be hone&s;t heathens, nay, Adulterous forni|cating Pagans then Ince&s;tuous Chri&s;tians? And thus que&s;tionles was many a Pagan mouth opened, and many an heathen heart &s;tum|bled, yea, many an one that before might be in &s;ome doubt of the euil condition of pagani&s;me was by this &s;candal kept off from looking to|wards Chri&s;tian Religion. They li|ked not this Go&s;pell, and new do|ctrine of the&s;e Chri&s;tians. Such mens &s;candals therefore being of &s;o great aduantage for Satans pur|po&s;es, and hee being &s;o &s;edulous and indu&s;trious to &s;eeke and take all aduantages for his owne turne,
<PB N="17" REF="23"> hence it is that it cannot bee but that offences come.</P>
<P>How wel did Satan fore&s;ee what he &s;hould gaine by <HI>Dauids</HI> Scan|dal? Could hee but get <HI>Dauid</HI> in, and bring him to commit Adulte|rie with <HI>Bath&s;heba,</HI> it would &s;trike a greater &s;troke on his &s;ide, and do him more &s;eruice then if a thou|&s;and &s;uch as <HI>Doeg, Shimei,</HI> or <HI>A|chitophel</HI> &s;hould doe the like. How many men would thereby be &s;tum|bled at <HI>Dauids</HI> zealous profe&s;&s;ion? How many hearts bee thereby har|dened in their euill wayes? How many mens wayes be blockt vp for going to Heauen? How therefore in this ca&s;e would, and did the De|uill put on to get <HI>Dauid</HI> downe, and to cau&s;e him to fall &s;o fowly? The practi&s;es of the <HI>Carpocra&s;ians,</HI> and the <HI>Gno&s;tickes</HI> were &s;tupendi|ou&s;ly, and prodigiou&s;ly filthy and impure. Neuer the like horrid Im|purities practi&s;ed or once heard of
<PB N="18" REF="24"> among&s;t the mo&s;t godle&s;&s;e heathen that euer were on the face of the earth.</P>
<P>The Apo&s;tle &s;peakes of the hea|then, that it was a &s;hame to &s;peake of tho&s;e things which they did in &s;ecret, but &s;urely the mo&s;t degene|rate heathen that had put off na|ture, could not but think it a &s;hame to &s;peake of tho&s;e things in &s;ecret which they did openly and famili|arly, who tooke vpon them the name and profe&s;&s;ion of Chri&s;tians.</P>
<P><NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Quod homi|num genus ad Eccle&s;iae Dei probrum, &amp; &s;candalum ador|na&s;&s;e &amp; &s;ubmi|&s;i&s;&s;e Satanas vi|detur: quippe qui Chri&s;tiano|rum &s;ibi nomen indiderint, vt propter illos of|fen&s;ae Gentes &agrave; &s;anctae Dei Eccle&s;iae vtilitate abhorreant, nunciatamque veritatem ob immania illorum facinora, &amp; incred<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bilem nequitiam repu|dient, vt inquam frequentibus illorum &s;celeribus animaduer&s;is, eos quo&abque; qui &egrave; &s;anct&acirc; Dei Eccle&s;i&acirc; &s;unt, tales e&s;&s;e &s;ibi per&s;uadeant, at&abque; ita &agrave; veri&s;&s;i|ma Dei doctrina aures auertant, aut cer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e paucorum improbitate con|&s;pect&acirc; in vniuer&s;os eadem maledicta conijciant. At&abque; ea demum cau&s;a e&s;t cur pleri&abque; Gentilium vbicun&abque; i&s;tius &s;ectae homines deprehenderint, nul|lam nobi&s;cum velint neque dati&punc; acceptique, neque con&s;ilij, neque audi|endi diuini verbi &s;ocietatem coniungere, ac neaures quidem praebere &s;u|&s;tineant, v&s;que adeo ne&s;arijs illorum flagitijs consternati ac deterriti &s;unt.</HI> Ephiphan lib. 1. Haere&s;. 27.</P>
<P><HI>Ad detrectationem diuini nominis &amp; Eccle&s;iae &agrave; Satana praemi&s;&s;i &s;unt, vti quae &s;unt illorum audientes homines, &amp; putantes omnes nos tales e&s;&s;e quertant aures &s;uas &agrave; pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">co<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> veritatis.</HI> Iraen. lib. 1. cap. 24.</P></NOTE> Now what was the ayme of Sa|tans malice in bringing tho&s;e <HI>Car|pocra&s;ians</HI>
<PB N="19" REF="24"> and <HI>Gno&s;tickes</HI> tearming them&s;elues Chri&s;tians vnto &s;uch more then heatheni&s;h Impurities? Surely none other but this, that vpon the &s;ight of their loath&s;ome cour&s;es the heathen might abhorre the Church of God, and might be &s;o &s;candalized thereby that they might vtterly reiect the truth of God preached vnto them. By their &s;candalous filthine&s;&s;e they tooke occa&s;ion to rayle on Chri&s;tian Re|ligion, and &s;o to iudge all Chri&s;ti|ans of the &s;ame &s;tampe that they would not onely none of their Re|ligion, but no manner of dealing with them, no not in ciuill com|merce. So &s;trongly by their &s;can|dalous lifes did Satan hedge and fence vp their way from comming into the Church, and vnto Chri&s;t. With the&s;e thornes did the Deuill hedge vp their way from entring into the Church.</P>
<P N="3">3. From the corruption, fal&s;e|ne&s;&s;e,
<PB N="20" REF="25"> hypocri&s;ie and deceitfulne&s;&s;e of mens hearts. There bee in the Church of God, and in the number of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e the Name of God, two &s;orts of per&s;ons.</P>
<P N="1">1. Such as profe&s;&s;e his Name hypocritically, &s;uch as make Reli|gion but a maske and a cloake to hide and couer their rotten in&s;ides, and take vpon them the profe&s;&s;ion of Religion for ba&s;e and by-ends, onely to aduance their credit, and their profit, as the <HI>Shechemites</HI> would bee circumci&s;ed for &s;heepe, oxen, and &s;ub&s;tance. Some put on a <NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quanam &s;unt i&s;tae pelles onium ni&s;i nomini<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Cbri&s;tiani ex|trin&s;ecus &s;uper|ficies?</HI> Tertull. de prae&s;cript. aduer&s;. Haeret. <HI>Quae &s;unt ve&s;ti|menta ouilia? &s;pecies videlicet &s;imulatae religio|nis, elce~mo&s;yna &s;imulata, oratio &s;imulata, ieiu|nium &s;imulatum &amp;c.</HI> Chry&s;. o|per. imperf. in Math. hom. 19.</NOTE> <HI>&s;heeps clothing, but inwardly are rauening wolues.</HI> Now where Reli|gion is thus per&s;onated, and men doe but act a part, corruption re|&s;trained will breake out at la&s;t. Yea, and God in his Iu&s;tice will vnca&s;e, and di&s;couer &s;uch by giuing them vp to fowle and notorious gro&s;&s;e euils. <HI>Iudas</HI> vnder hope of &s;ome temporall preferments both pro|fe&s;&s;ed,
<PB N="21" REF="25"> and preached Chri&s;t, for|&s;akes all, and followes him, and was as forward as the be&s;t of them. But becau&s;e all this was in hypocri&s;ie, therefore his corruption held in for a time vnder this violent re|&s;traint at the la&s;t breakes fowly out, and becau&s;e hee fowly takes Gods Name in vaine, he is by diuine Iu|&s;tice left to him&s;elfe, and falls into that fearefull &s;candal of betraying Chri&s;t. Ob&s;erue that <HI>Matth.</HI> 7. 27. The hou&s;e built vpon the &s;and fell, and the <HI>fall of it was great:</HI> When Hypocrites fall, they fall not the ordinary fals of other men, <HI>Great was the fall of it,</HI> They fall into great and hainous &s;candals. As <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;peakes of tho&s;e, <HI>Numb.</HI> 16. 29. <HI>If the&s;e men die the common death of all men,</HI> as euery man dies, &amp;c. So the&s;e men fall not the com|mon fals of all men, not as euery man fals, but when they fall their fall is great, with great and noto|rious
<PB N="22" REF="26"> &s;candall. Other men may fall on the ground, but they fall into the kennell, the puddle, into the very mire; <HI>The Sow that is wa&s;hed to her wallowing in the myre.</HI> 2. <HI>Pe|ter</HI> 2. 22. She lies not downe in the du&s;t, nor in the dirt, but in the <HI>myre,</HI> and not onely lies downe, or fals downe into the myre, but <HI>wal|lowes</HI> in the myre, and &s;o becomes all ouer fowle and filthy. It is &s;o with Hypocrites, they &s;o fall, as if a man fel into and wallowed in the myre, &s;o fowle and &s;candalous are their fals. Now, then, ina&s;much as it cannot be auoyded, and it is im|po&s;&s;ible, but that there will and &s;hall be Hypocrites in the Church of God, and <HI>Satan will be &s;tanding among&s;t the children of God, Iob</HI> 1. and in as much as it cannot be but that rotten hypocri&s;ie will breake out, and in regard of Gods Iu&s;tice mu&s;t &s;ometimes bee di&s;couered in this life, therefore there mu&s;t needs
<PB N="23" REF="26"> be &s;candals, and therefore it is im|po&s;&s;ible but that offences &s;hould come.</P>
<P N="2">2. Such as profe&s;&s;e &s;incerely, and in Truth. Now euen in the&s;e there are yet great remaynders of cor|ruption, the very be&s;t beare a bodie of &s;in and death about them. And becau&s;e they are not &s;o watchfull as they &s;hould, to looke &s;o narrow|ly to their owne hearts as they ought, therefore comes it to pa&s;&s;e al&s;o that offences mu&s;t needs come. The heart of man is deceitfull a|boue all things, <HI>Ier.</HI> 17. therefore &s;hould Chri&s;tians bee watchfull o|uer it aboue all things. But becau&s;e they tru&s;t their fal&s;e and loo&s;e hearts to much, and grow remi&s;&s;e in their watch, thence comes it fre|quently to pa&s;&s;e that offences mu&s;t needs come. When they keepe not their own Vineyard, their mothers children are angrie with them, <HI>Cant.</HI> 1. 6. that is their naturall cor|ruptions <NOTE PLACE="marg">Sic Iunius.</NOTE>
<PB N="24" REF="27"> which they brought from their mothers wombe with them, when they watch not, and looke not to them&s;elues doe rebell, and ouer-power them, and &s;o often|times carrie them into offen&s;iue cour&s;es. <HI>Dauid</HI> was a man after Gods owne heart, and yet <HI>Dauid</HI> fell into a fowle &s;candal. It is not alwayes &s;afe to iudge a man to bee an Hypocrite, becau&s;e hee giues &s;candal. Gods deare&s;t &s;eruants are not alwaies freed and &s;ecured from falling into &s;candalous &s;ins. Well, but what made <HI>Dauid</HI> fall? All the while <HI>Dauid</HI> was in his exile, and affliction all that while <HI>Dauid</HI> was free enough. Afflictions kept him awake. But afterwards when <HI>Dauid</HI> came to be King, and liued in a full e&s;tate at his ea&s;e, then began he to be more remi&s;&s;e, and therfore after his afternoones nap when hee was walking vpon the roofe, the Deuill &s;ets a &s;nare, and his owne remi&s;&s;e heart &s;oone catches at the
<PB N="25" REF="27"> baite, and he is pre&s;ently en&s;nared. We find, <HI>Math.</HI> 13. 27, 28. tares in the field among&s;t the wheate. <HI>Sir, did&s;t thou not &s;ow good wheate in thy field? Whence then hath it tares? He &s;aid vnto them, An enemie hath done this!</HI> The&s;e tares are <HI>Scandals, Ver&s;e</HI> 40, 41. <HI>They &s;hall gather out of his kingdome all &s;candals.</HI> Wee &s;ee whence the&s;e &s;candals come, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 28. <HI>An enemie hath done this.</HI> Satan hath a great hand in &s;owing the&s;e tares. But ob&s;erue when this enemie &s;owes the&s;e tares, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 25. <HI>But whil&s;t men</HI> &s;lept <HI>the enemy came, and &s;owed tares.</HI> The time of mens &s;ecuritie is the Deuils &s;eedes time, their <HI>&s;leeping time</HI> is his <HI>&s;owing time.</HI> So that becau&s;e men &s;leepe, euen good men oftentimes fall a|&s;leepe, and are not &s;o watchfull as would become them, hence comes it to pa&s;&s;e, that tares mu&s;t needs be &s;owne, and that offences mu&s;t needs come. Thus we &s;ee the grounds of
<PB N="26" REF="28"> the nece&s;&s;itie of &s;candalous euents in Gods Church.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. III.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>An Apologie for Religion, and the profe&s;&s;ours thereof again&s;t the &s;candal of &s;can|dals.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_GIue me leaue now, for v&s;e of all that hath beene &s;aid, to doe that which all the chil|dren of wi&s;dome are bound to doe. <HI>Wi&s;edome,</HI> that is Religion, <HI>is</HI> and ought to be <HI>iu&s;tified of her children. Luke</HI> 7. 35. Giue me leaue to iu&s;tifie her, by whom I hope to bee &s;aued. <HI>Open thy mouth for the dumbe, open thy mouth and plead their cau&s;e, Pro.</HI> 31. 8, 9. much more then open thy mouth, and plead the cau&s;e of condemned Religion. Neuer doe
<PB N="27" REF="28"> &s;candalous euents come to pa&s;&s;e, but wi&s;dome and her children doe &s;uffer, and Religion and religious ones are in&s;tantly condemned and cried downe. But let this that hath beene &s;poken &s;erue to teach vs not to be offended at offences, not to bee &s;candalized at &s;candals. It is true indeed, that God &s;hould neuer bee offended but it &s;hould deeply offend vs. It &s;hould be a trouble to vs when our brother is offended, 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 11. 29. <HI>Who is offended and I burne not?</HI> How much more then when God is offended, and that by gro&s;&s;e &s;candals! But my meaning is this, that wee &s;hould not &s;o take offence at the &s;candals of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e Religion, and godline&s;&s;e, whether they doe it &s;incerely or hypocritically, as to bee offended either at the Religion or the per|&s;ons of all others profe&s;&s;ing the Truth and power of godlines. Two things here may &s;tay vs in this ca&s;e.</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="28" REF="29"> 1. Fir&s;t, becau&s;e our Sauiour hath <NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vnde te ad|moneo ne gra|nius perturberis his &s;candalis quae ideo ventu|ra praedicta &s;unt, vt quando venirent remi|ni&s;ceremur e&s;&s;e praedicta, &amp; non ei<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> valde com|moueremur. Nam haec ip&s;e Dominus ita praedixit, vae mundo &agrave; &s;can|dalis, &amp;c.</HI> Au|gu&s;t. Epi&s;t. 209.</NOTE> foretold vs that they &s;hould come, wee are told of it before hand, and therfore nothing in &s;uch euents falling out but what was be|fore told, why &s;hould any &s;tart o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;tumble at them when they come to pa&s;&s;e. Why &s;hould not this pre|uent &s;candal in this ca&s;e as well as in the ca&s;e of the Cro&s;&s;e. Thus Chri&s;t preuents the &s;candal of the Cro&s;&s;e and afflictions that &s;hould befall his Di&s;ciples, <HI>Iohn</HI> 16. 1, 2. <HI>The&s;e things haue I &s;poken vnto you,</HI> that ye &s;hould <HI>not be offended, They &s;hal put you out of their Synagogues &amp;c.</HI> And thus al&s;o the Apo&s;tle, 1. <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> 3. 3, 4. <HI>That no man &s;hould bee moued by the&s;e afflictions, for verily when wee were with you, wee told you before that we &s;hould &s;uffer tribulation.</HI> So here our Sauiour hauing <NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg"><HI>Non te i&s;ta conturbent fili dilecti&s;&s;ime, hae|re&s;es enim &amp; &s;candala futura praedicta &s;unt, vt inter inimicos erudiamur, ac &s;ic fides &amp; dile|ctio no&s;tra po&s;&s;it e&s;&s;e probatior.</HI> Aug Epi&s;t. 50. <HI>Atqui plures, ait</HI> Trypho, <HI>qui &s;e Ie&s;um profiteri dicunt, &amp; Chri|&s;tiani nominan|tur audio &s;imu|lachris mactata manducare ***. Cui re&s;pondens eo quo&abque;, inqua~, quod eiu&s;modi extent viri qui &s;e profitentur Chri&s;tianos, &amp; Ie&s;um crucifi|xum &amp; Domi|num, &amp; Chri|&s;tum laudant, &s;ed non illius doctrinas do|cent, nos qui pu|rae &amp; verae Je&s;u Chri&s;ti di&s;ciplinae &s;ectatores &s;umus in &s;pe ab ip&s;o an|nunciat&acirc; fide con&s;tantiores reddimur. Nam quae praedixit futura</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">. <HI>Dixit enim, &amp;c.</HI> Iu&s;t. Mart. Dial. cum Try|phone Iudaeo.</NOTE> told vs before that &s;can|dals &s;hould come, why &s;hould wee bee offended thereat, as if &s;ome
<PB N="29" REF="29"> &s;trange thing that had neuer beene thought of had falne out. No man &s;hould be moued with &s;candals &s;o as to &s;tumble at the euent of them, becau&s;e Chri&s;t when hee was with vs told vs before that they &s;hould come, and therefore told vs before, becau&s;e we &s;hould not be &s;tumbled and offended. Yea, the&s;e things being foretold that they &s;hould fall out among&s;t tho&s;e of the Church, and of the true Religion, we &s;hould <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ereupon bee &s;o farre from being &s;tumbled, that we &s;hould rather be &s;o much the more &s;tabli&s;hed and confirmed in the truth of our Reli|gion and Profe&s;&s;ion, becau&s;e wee <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">e tho&s;e things &s;o truely fulfilled which the High Prie&s;t of our pro|fe&s;&s;ion hath foretold.</P>
<P N="2">2. Secondly, becau&s;e we &s;ee that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ere is a Nece&s;&s;itie of them. Since <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ere mu&s;t bee offences, and &s;ince <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ere mu&s;t bee &s;candals, therefore <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ould wee not for &s;candals bee &s;o
<PB N="30" REF="30">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="30" REF="31"> &s;tumbled as to conclude that Reli|gion to be fal&s;e, and that profe&s;&s;io<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> to bee naught where &s;ome Profe&s;|&s;ors thereof giue &s;candal. For t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;peak properly and truly there ca<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> bee no &s;candal giuen but by tho&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> that are Profe&s;&s;ors of true Religio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> and godline&s;&s;e. A Turke, a Maho+metan, a Iew, a Papi&s;t cannot i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> proper and &s;trict phra&s;e of &s;pee<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> giue a &s;candal, for there is &s;cand<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> giuen where occa&s;ion of &s;tumblin<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> at the Truth and Power of godli+ne&s;&s;e is giuen. So that &s;candal i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> onely properly giuen by the Pro+fe&s;&s;ors of Truth, who&s;e &s;innes a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;uch as make the truth of God, an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the &s;auing profe&s;&s;ion thereof to b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &s;tumbled at. And therefore the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> onely are &s;candals to bee found where Religion and Godline&s;&s;e ar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> profe&s;t. And therefore when &s;uch &s;candal is giuen, wee mu&s;t not take offence at Religion becau&s;e we &s;e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> there is a nece&s;&s;itie of &s;candalo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">
<PB N="31" REF="31"> euents in the Church of God, and among&s;t &s;uch as doe profe&s;&s;e true Religion.</P>
<P>Indeed when &s;candals do fal out this is the conclu&s;ion the Deuill would haue men infer vpon them, and it is the thing hee aymes at in bringing men into &s;candals, to haue men thereupon iudge &s;uch Religion naught, and all of the &s;ame outward profe&s;&s;ion to bee a|like. <NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ecce quales &s;unt qui Chri|&s;tum colunt, fal|&s;um plane illud e&s;t quod aiunt &s;e bona di&s;cere, &s;e &s;anctae legis prae|cepta retinere. Si enim bone di&s;cerent boni e&s;&s;ent, talis pro|fecto &s;ecta e&s;t quales &amp; &s;ecta|tores, hoc &s;unt ab&s;que dubio quod docentur.</HI> Mime&s;is Paga|norum apud Salu. de Prou. lib. 4.</NOTE> Doe yee not &s;ee what they are? Are not of the very choice&s;t and chiefe&s;t of them &s;candalous? As they are &s;o are they <HI>All,</HI> As they are, &s;o is their Religion they pro|fe&s;&s;e; Surely this Religion and the profe&s;&s;ion of it are not of God. But this is the Deuils Logicke, and rea&s;oning taught in the Schoole of Hell.</P>
<P>Here bee two things inferred.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Therefore their Religion is naught, and not to be tru&s;ted.</P>
<P>Secondly, Thus they are all.
<PB N="32" REF="32"> That men may not thus &s;tumble at &s;candals, con&s;ider the weakne&s;&s;e of &s;uch inferences.</P>
<P N="1">1. They that profe&s;&s;e Religion, fall into &s;candals, therefore their Religion and Profe&s;&s;ion is naught, &amp;c. If this bee a good rea&s;on the Religion that is from Heauen, and which is taught by God him&s;elfe, mu&s;t bee damned for a fal&s;e Religi|on, for here wee &s;ee that among&s;t the Profe&s;&s;ors of true Religion, in the very Church of God there mu&s;t bee &s;candals. So that if men &s;hall goe this way to worke, they will make but mad worke of it. Let vs but a little con&s;ider this kind of rea&s;oning what validitie it hath, or could haue in &s;uch mens ca&s;es who&s;e religion and profe&s;&s;ion were without que&s;tion on all hands of God?</P>
<P>Fowle and fearefull was the &s;candal of <HI>Dauid,</HI> And what was the i&s;&s;ue? Pre&s;ently the enemies
<PB N="33" REF="32"> of God and godline&s;&s;e beganne to lift vp their heads, and to fall fowle vpon <HI>Dauids</HI> Religion. 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 12. <HI>The enemies of God bla&s;phemed the Name of God.</HI> And that happily on this, or the like manner. Oh this is hee that was &s;o grand a Zelot, that the <HI>zeale of Gods hou&s;e did eat him vp, P&s;al,</HI> 69. 9. This is the man for&s;ooth, that danced before the Arke out of his tran&s;cendent zeale, 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 6. 14. This is he that prayed thrice a day, <HI>Morning, Euening, and at Noone, P&s;al.</HI> 55. 17. This is he that was &s;o &s;trict, and &s;o preci&s;e in the gouernment of his Family, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 101. This your great preci&s;e Zelot, hath defiled the Wife, and murthered the Husband. Now you &s;ee what his Religion is, Now you &s;ee what comes of this Profe&s;&s;ion of &s;o much Holine&s;&s;e, and Godli|ne&s;&s;e. Such as he is, &s;uch is his Re|ligion, naught both. Now was this thinke wee faire rea&s;oning? Was
<PB N="34" REF="33"> <HI>Dauids</HI> Religion fal&s;e becau&s;e his &s;candal was fowle? Who dares iu|&s;tifie <HI>Dauids</HI> fact, &amp; yet who dares condemne his Religion and Pro|fe&s;&s;ion?</P>
<P>The fact of the Ince&s;tuous <HI>Corin|thian</HI> was exceeding fowle, he mar|ries his fathers wife, vncleanne&s;&s;e vnparalleld among&s;t the Heathen. And how wide now thinke we were the Heathen <HI>Corinthians</HI> mouthes opened? Certainly at that time they did as tho&s;e, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 59. 7. <HI>Behold they belch out with their mouth,</HI> and as tho&s;e, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 73. 9. <HI>They &s;et their mouth again&s;t the Heauens, and their tongue walkes through the earth</HI> So that Heauen and Earth &s;eemed now to ring of them; <NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vbi e&s;i lex ca|tholica quam credunt? vbi &s;unt pieta<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> &amp; ca&s;titatis prae|cepta qua di&s;|cunt? Euange|lia legunt &amp; impudici &s;unt, Apo&s;tolos audiu~t &amp; inebriantur, Chri&s;tum &s;cquu~|tur &amp; rapiunt, vitam improba~ agunt, &amp; proba~ legem habere &s;e dicunt.</HI> Mime&s;is Paganorum a|pud Salu. de Prou. lib. 4.</NOTE> Now &s;ee, &s;ay they, what the God and the Re|ligion of the&s;e pure Chri&s;tians is, The&s;e be the fruits of this Chri&s;ti|an Religion? Is not your Religion a goodly religion? A cleere ca&s;e that their religion is naught. Thus the
<PB N="35" REF="33"> Heathens, and right like Heathens did they rea&s;on, and pitie it is to heare &s;uch Heathen Logicke in Chri&s;tians mouthes. Was the Re|ligion of Chri&s;t preached and pro|fe&s;&s;ed at <HI>Corinth</HI> naught, and fal&s;e, becau&s;e that <HI>Corinthian</HI> being a Chri&s;tian proued &s;o fowle? God forbid. Here that hath a truth in this &s;en&s;e which <HI>Tertullian</HI> &s;pake in ca&s;e of Here&s;ies, <NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quid ergo &s;i Epi&s;copus, &s;i Doctor, &s;i etiam Martyr lap&s;us <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> regula fuerit? ideo haere&s;es vi|debuntur veri|tatem ob<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">inere? ex per&s;onis pre|bamus fidem, an ex fide pe &s;onas?</HI> Tertul. de prae|&s;cript. aduer&s;. Haeret.</NOTE> <HI>Doe we trie faith by mens per&s;ons, or mens per&s;ons by their faith?</HI> Euen in this ca&s;e may we not iudge of faith by mens per|&s;ons, as if becau&s;e &s;ome per&s;ons profe&s;&s;ing Religion proue &s;canda|lous, therfore their religion &s;hould bee proued fal&s;e. The Religion of the Chri&s;tian <HI>Corinthians</HI> was of God, though that mans ince&s;tuous practice were from Satan. We find a ca&s;e, <HI>Mal.</HI> 2. 8. <HI>But yee are depar|ted out of the way, yee haue cau&s;ed many to &s;tumble at the law.</HI> It is &s;poken to the Prie&s;ts, they &s;hould
<PB N="36" REF="34"> haue beene examples of holine&s;&s;e, and patternes of pietie to the peo|ple, but they liued wickedly and &s;candalou&s;ly, &s;o that many of the people &s;tumbled at the Law of God. They began to call the Law, and their Religion into que&s;tion, and like enough were ready to &s;ay, Surely this Law is not of God, nor this Religion which the Prie&s;ts preach and profe&s;&s;e, is not from Heauen. For if this Law and Reli|gion were from God, why liue the&s;e Prie&s;ts &s;o lewdly, and ba&s;ely. Thus the &s;tumbled people rea&s;o|ned. But was their rea&s;on good a|gain&s;t the Law, and Religion, be|cau&s;e the Prie&s;ts were &s;candalous? Was the Law to bee cryed downe, becau&s;e they liued not according to that Law they preacht and pro|fe&s;t? Was the Law naught, becau&s;e the Prie&s;ts were &s;o? <HI>Wherefore,</HI> &s;ayes the Apo&s;tle, <HI>the Law is holy, and the Commandement is holy, and iu&s;t,</HI>
<PB N="37" REF="34"> <HI>and good, Rom.</HI> 7. 12. Though they were <HI>vnholy,</HI> yet the Law was <HI>holy,</HI> though they were <HI>vniu&s;t,</HI> yet the Law was <HI>Iu&s;t,</HI> though they were <HI>naught,</HI> yet the Commandement was <HI>good.</HI> So that it was the peo|ples great &s;inne to <HI>&s;tumble at the Law,</HI> though the Prie&s;ts <HI>departed out of the way.</HI> It is not therefore a &s;afe proce&s;&s;e to condemne, and cry downe Religion from the &s;candals and offences of the Profe&s;&s;ours thereof. Is the Prote&s;tant Religion fal&s;e, becau&s;e, as the Papi&s;ts rea&s;on, &s;o many Prote&s;tants are &s;candalous Drunkards, Adulterers, &amp;c. yea, let this rea&s;on &s;tand good, &amp; &s;hew mee that Religion in the whole World that can bee true; by this rea&s;on there is no true Religion at all on earth. For giue me any Reli|gion on the face of the earth, Tur|ki&s;h, Iewi&s;h, Heatheni&s;h, Popi&s;h or Prote&s;tant, among the Profe&s;|&s;ours whereof there may not &s;can|dalous
<PB N="38" REF="35"> per&s;ons be found. If then I will be of no religion till I find one who&s;e Profe&s;&s;ours are wholy free from &s;candalous and notorious offences, I mu&s;t liue and die an ir|religious Athei&s;t, and renounce all religion.</P>
<P>I confe&s;&s;e, there is a ca&s;e where|in a religion may bee cried downe from the wicked, and loo&s;e lifes of the Profe&s;&s;ours thereof, and that is when the principles and doctrines of it are &s;uch as open a gap, and giue libertie to loo&s;e and di&s;hone&s;t practices. When men doe not one|ly breake the Commandements of God, but according to the princi|ples of their religion <HI>teach men to doe &s;o, Math.</HI> 5. 19. As for example, when the Phari&s;ies Di&s;ciples did &s;weare, did &s;eeke reuenge, did hate their enemies, did neglect their pa|rents in their nece&s;&s;ities, here a man might haue &s;aid to them, <HI>This is your Religion,</HI> becau&s;e the princi|ples
<PB N="39" REF="35"> of Phari&s;ai&s;me taught men &s;o. When I &s;ee a Papi&s;t prophane the Sabbath in hawking, hunting, bow|ling, carding, dicing, dancing, and going to playes, here I may fall vp|on his religion, becau&s;e the do|ctrine of their religion is, <HI>that pro|uided a man heare a Ma&s;&s;e on the Sabbath be may &s;pend the re&s;t of the day in tho&s;e things.</HI> When I &s;ee a Papi&s;t giue him&s;elfe to all lewdnes, and vitious vncleanne&s;&s;e, I may lay the blame vpon his religion, be|cau&s;e the principles thereof &s;et o|pen a gap thereto. For what need I care for drunkenne&s;&s;e while&s;t it is made but a <HI>Veniall &s;in,</HI> and a Venial &s;inne is &s;uch, as our <HI>Rhemi&s;ts</HI> &s;ay, is <HI>pardonable of it own nature,</HI> &s;o &s;light <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rhem. in Rom.</HI> 1 32.</NOTE> as a man need not make confe&s;&s;ion of it, &s;uch as makes no breach of friend&s;hip betweene God, and vs, &s;o &s;mall a triffle as may bee pardo|ned by a knocke on the brea&s;t, by the Bi&s;hops Ble&s;&s;ing, by the &s;prink|ling
<PB N="40" REF="36"> of holy Water, &amp; &s;aying a <HI>Pa|ter No&s;ter,</HI> as they teach. Now I &s;ay if drunkenne&s;&s;e be but a veniall &s;in, and veniall &s;ins bee &s;uch nothings, why by the principles of his reli|gion &s;hould a Papi&s;t feare to bee drunke. <NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg"><HI>Profligata Chri&s;tipietas &amp; extincta quan|do quilibet pro modo pretij quod in merces illas expendit peccandi impu|nitatem &s;ibi pol|licetur. Hinc &s;tupra incestus, adulteria, per|iuria, homici|dia, &amp;c. origi|nem traxerunt. Quodenim ma|lorum amplius iam horrebunt mortales quan|do &s;ibi peccandi licentiam &amp; impunitatem nedum in hac vit&acirc;, &s;ed &amp; po&s;t obitum aere licet immodico com|parari po&s;&s;e per|&s;ua&s;um habent.</HI> Cent Grau. Germ. art. 3.</NOTE> So what need hee care what &s;innes he runnes into, &s;o long as their Prie&s;ts haue a iudiciarie power of Ab&s;olution, and the Church hath a trea&s;urie of Indul|gences, and for &s;mall &s;ummes great Pennances and great &s;innes may be remitted. There is no religion wherein a man can &s;inne &s;o good cheape. Now therefore if wee &s;ee tho&s;e of that religion take libertie to loo&s;e and &s;infull cour&s;es, it is no iniu&s;tice to lay the blame, and con|demnation vpon their religion, who&s;e Principles and Doctrines are &s;uch as giue men libertie e|nough.</P>
<P>So if I &s;hould &s;ee a man of the <HI>Pelagian</HI> faith and profe&s;&s;ion to
<PB N="41" REF="36"> liue licentiou&s;ly, in the neglect of the meanes of grace, and to denie him&s;elfe no carnal libertie, I would here condemne his religion from his life, becau&s;e the Grounds and Principles of his faith are &s;uch as giue men libertie to liue as they li&s;t. For if &s;o be there be a power of Free will in me, that I may repent and belieue if I will, and when I will, what need I then care what cour&s;es I take, what &s;innes I runne into, &s;o long as I can be &s;aued when I li&s;t, I will trie &s;uch and &s;uch &s;ins, and when I haue taken my fill, at my plea&s;ure I will repent and be|lieue. So that in &s;uch a ca&s;e it is not ami&s;&s;e to crie downe a Religion from the &s;candalous cour&s;es of the Profe&s;&s;ours thereof, and in &s;uch a ca&s;e a man may innocently &s;ay, <HI>This is your Religion.</HI> But on the contrarie, when a Religion is <HI>pure Religion,</HI> Iam. 1. 27. <HI>A Truth which is according to godline&s;&s;e, Tit.</HI> 1. 1.
<PB N="42" REF="37"> and the <HI>doctrine thereof according to Godline&s;&s;e,</HI> 1. <HI>Tim.</HI> 6. 3. When a Religion teaches Godline&s;&s;e, Ho|line&s;&s;e, Puritie, Fidelitie, Iu&s;t and vpright dealing, and bindes the Con&s;cience to the&s;e things vpon the paine of death eternall, if any Profe&s;&s;our of &s;uch a religion fall into &s;candalous &s;innes, here to crie downe a Religion that is Holy, Iu&s;t and Good, becau&s;e a Profe&s;&s;our thereof does wickedly, vilely and vniu&s;tly, this is the greate&s;t Iniu|&s;tice, and the mo&s;t vnequall, and iniurious dealing in the world. It is true that among&s;t the Profe&s;&s;ors of true Religion &s;candals mu&s;t bee, but mu&s;t they needes bee from the grounds and doctrines of that Re|ligion? Mu&s;t &s;candals needs be, be|cau&s;e that Religion <HI>teaches men to doe &s;o?</HI> Nay, doth not that Religi|on teach the contrarie, vpon dan|ger of Hell binde to the contrarie? And why then is the Religion con|demned,
<PB N="43" REF="37"> and cryed downe? What fowle Iniu&s;tice is this, that an inno|cent Religion &s;hould &s;uffer for a nocent Profe&s;&s;our? If the Religion they profe&s;&s;e doe <NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quae &s;i vera &s;unt, nulli vel &s;exui vel aetati parcite, ad pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|nas rapite, cum vxoribus &amp; li|beris funditus extirpate.</HI> A|thenag. legat. pro Chri&s;tian.</NOTE> principle and teach them to bee Drunkards, A|dulterers, to be Coozeners, Chea|ters, Defrauders; throw dirt in the face of that Religion, yea, &s;tones at the head of that religion, and &s;pare it not. Not reproaches, &s;coffes, &s;quibs, taunts, but euen the &s;take, and the fire is too ea&s;ie a puni&s;h|ment for &s;uch a religion.</P>
<P>But if religion and its Princi|ples teach nothing but Holine&s;&s;e, and righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e, nothing but Sanctitie and Hone&s;tie, why mu&s;t a good and holy Mother be &s;mitten and wounded, and haue her face &s;pitted on, for the mi&s;carriage of a degenerating, &amp; vngracious child? If the Daughter play the Whore, and the lewd Filth, will it &s;tand with any iu&s;tice, or equitie that the
<PB N="44" REF="38"> Mother a graue, &s;ober, cha&s;te Ma|trone that hath in&s;tituted her bet|ter &s;hould be carted, and haue filth and dirt throwne at her? And yet this is the equitie and iu&s;tice of the worlds dealings. Becau&s;e &s;ome|times &s;ome of wi&s;domes children that &s;hould haue beene &s;o wi&s;e by their godly and holy lifes to haue honoured, and iu&s;tified their Mo|ther, becau&s;e I &s;ay they doe &s;ome|times play the fooles, the &s;canda|lous and notorious fooles, there|fore they cannot bee content to &s;courge and cart the&s;e vngratious children, and to ca&s;t abhominable filth vpon them, as they de&s;erue, but they mu&s;t needs fall foule vpon the poore and good Mother, and the keene&s;t and &s;harpe&s;t of their teene mu&s;t bee wreackt vpon her, &amp; &s;he mu&s;t be la&s;ht with the Scor|pions of mens malignant tongues, euen to the very bones.</P>
<P>What is this but the ancient
<PB N="45" REF="38"> Iewi&s;h <NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg"><HI>Non vt prin|cipes ve&s;tri vi|uimus, &amp;c. Quod &s;i quos etiam inter nos tales e&s;&s;e &s;ciatis, non continuo ea de cau&s;a Scrip|turas &amp; Chri-t+&s;tum maledictis pro&s;cindite.</HI> Iu|&s;tin. Mart. Di|al. cum Tryph. Iudaeo.</NOTE> practice again&s;t Chri&s;tian religion? Who if at any time any of the Chri&s;tians fell into any &s;can|dalous euill, fell a rayling vpon Chri&s;t, and the &s;acred Scriptures? And will we call this Iu&s;tice? Why rather as in other ca&s;es learne wee not to pitie and lament the ca&s;e of a good Mother in the mi&s;carriage of a lewd vngracious childe? It &s;hould bee the wi&s;dome of men to &s;et the &s;addle vpon the right hor&s;e, let euery man haue the blame and &s;hame of his owne euill actions, but take wee heed that wee doe not flie in Gods face by falling fowle vpon religion for mens &s;candalous mi&s;carriages. It is not the religions but the mans fault, if one profe&s;&s;ing religion mi&s;carrie, had he held him to the rule of his religion, that had kept him from that euill.</P>
<P>That which was of ancient plea|ded with the Heathen on the be|halfe of Chri&s;tians had a great
<PB N="46" REF="39"> deale of rea&s;on in it. They de&s;ired but the &s;ame equitie and modera|tion towards them which was v&s;ed towards their Philo&s;ophers. <NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Si conuicti fuerimus puni a|mur non prop|ter nomen &s;ed propter crimen. Hoc modo illos etiam qui philo|&s;ophiam profi|tentur iudicari cernimus. Nemo eorum ante cau|&s;am iudicio cog|nitam propter &s;cientiam vel artem &s;uam bo|nus malu&s;ue iu|dici e&s;&s;e vide|tur, &s;ed po&s;t|quam improbi|tas alicuius de|detecta fuerit paen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s luit, nec vllu mex eo in philo&s;ophiam redundat cri|men.</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>Ille enim malus qui non legitim&egrave; philo&s;ophatur, profe&s;&s;u autem crimine vacat. Hoc ex aequo &amp; nobis fieri cupimus.</HI> Athenag. legat. pro Chri&s;tian.</P>
<P><HI>Quemadmodum nihil ad philo&s;ophiam crimen Sophi&s;tarum, Epic<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|reorum, Peripateticorum, aut quorumcun&abque; fal&s;a dogmata profitentium: ita in verum Chri&s;tiani&s;mum non cadit crimen deprauantium Euange|lia.</HI> Origen contra Cel&s;um, lib. 2.</P>
<P><HI>Si aliquis cui notum &s;it Ie&s;u praeceptum docentis temperantiam, &amp; di|centis, Quicun&abque; in&s;pexerit mulierem ad concupi&s;centiam, &amp;c. iam commi&s;it adulterium in corde &s;uo, videret paucos aliquot pro Chri&s;tiani habitos libidino&s;c viuere merito eis praeuaricatione~ impinget, &s;ed iniqui&s;&s;i|m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> faceret, &s;i doctrinae Ie&s;u imputaret eorum flagitia.</HI> Orig. con. Cel&s;. l. 3.</P></NOTE> If any profe&s;&s;ing philo&s;ophie did commit any euill worthy puni&s;h|ment, after conuiction and detecti|on hee was puni&s;hed according to the de&s;ert of his fact, yet Philo&s;o|phie receiued no impeachment thereby, and that was not pre&s;ent|ly cried out vpon, when a Profe&s;&s;or of Philo&s;ophie mi&s;carried. Becau&s;e they thus equally and wi&s;ely con&s;i|dered, <HI>That the wickedne&s;&s;e was in</HI>
<PB N="47" REF="39"> <HI>him that was not a Philo&s;opher ac|cording to his rule, but the</HI> profe&s;&s;ion <HI>it &s;elfe was blamele&s;&s;e,</HI> That it was the mans fault, and not his profe&s;|&s;ions, that though the man were naught, yet his profe&s;&s;ion was good. This equitie did the Chri|&s;tians de&s;ire the Heathen would &s;hew to them. And this equitie I would Chri&s;tians would &s;hew to tho&s;e of their owne religion, that the Heathen &s;hewed to Philo&s;o|phers&punc; Doth a man profe&s;&s;ing reli|gion fall into any &s;candal? Learne to di&s;tingui&s;h betweene the <HI>Man</HI> and his <HI>Profe&s;sion,</HI> and let not the burthen bee laid vpon religion and his profe&s;&s;ion, which is to bee laid vpon his owne backe. Learne thus to iudge? that though the <HI>Man</HI> be deeply to bee <HI>blamed,</HI> yet his <HI>Reli|gion</HI> and <HI>Profe&s;sion</HI> is blamele&s;&s;e. We may iu&s;tly in &s;uch ca&s;es blame the man, but wee &s;hall deale verie vniu&s;tly to blame religion, becau&s;e
<PB N="48" REF="40"> we know that nothing blames and condemnes &s;uch cour&s;es more then that religion which they profe&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>We haue a prophe&s;ie of the con|ditio~ of the la&s;t times. 2. <HI>Tim.</HI> 3, 1-5 In which place the Apo&s;tle &s;peakes not of Pagans, Iewes, Turkes, but of Chri&s;tians, and &s;uch Chri&s;tians, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 5. <HI>That &s;hould haue an out|ward forme and profe&s;sion of godli|ne&s;&s;e.</HI> Now will any conclude that the profe&s;&s;ion of godlines is naught becau&s;e &s;ome that profe&s;&s;e a forme of godline&s;&s;e are <HI>couetous, boa&s;ters, proud, vnholy, &amp;c.</HI> And &s;hall I be vngodly becau&s;e &s;ome that haue a forme of godline&s;&s;e bee &s;o vile? or &s;hall I di&s;ta&s;te and condemne god|line&s;&s;e, and all profe&s;&s;ion of it, be|cau&s;e many profe&s;&s;ing godline&s;&s;e proue &s;uch and &s;uch? God forbid. Yea, the Apo&s;tle &s;ufficiently pre|uents the &s;candal when hee &s;ayes, <HI>Hauing a forme of Godline&s;&s;e, but denying the power thereof,</HI> as if hee
<PB N="49" REF="40"> &s;hould &s;ay, Let no man for the&s;e things &s;tumble at religion and the profe&s;&s;ion of Godlines, for godli|ne&s;&s;e and profe&s;&s;ion is not in the fault, but the fault is becau&s;e there is but a forme without power. It is not to be denied, but a man that hath the power of Godline&s;&s;e may fall into a &s;candal, and by violence of &s;ome &s;trong tentation bee ru&s;ht into &s;ome fowle action, but yet in that particular ca&s;e, and at that time may want the power of God|line&s;&s;e. What is to bee done then? Surely writing is not to bee con|demned becau&s;e &s;ome Writers blot, and blurre; nor Godline&s;&s;e to bee condemned for &s;ome mens &s;candals, but formalitie and want of power. Wee may not re&s;olue therefore that it is be&s;t not to med|dle with godline&s;&s;e, but neuer to meddle with the profe&s;&s;ion of it, but ioyned with the power. Since therefore there mu&s;t be &s;candals a|mong&s;t &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e Godline&s;&s;e
<PB N="50" REF="41"> learn we to be wi&s;er then for &s;ca~dals to cry down &amp; condemne religion.</P>
<P N="2">2. Come we now to the &s;econd inference. Diuers zealous Profe&s;|&s;ours fall into &s;candals, therefore they bee all &s;uch, all alike naught, and vn&s;ound, onely they are not di&s;couered as &s;ome are.</P>
<P>This is no new thing, this was the old practice of the <NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Ad quid enim aliud &s;edent i&s;ti, &amp; quid aliud captant, ni&s;i vt qui&s;q<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">is Epi&s;co|pus, vel cleri|cus, &amp;c. ceci|derit omnes ta|les e&s;&s;e credant, iactent, conten|dant, &s;ed non omnes po&s;&s;e ma|nifestari.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Cum de aliqui|bus qui &s;anctum nomen profit en|tur, aliquid cri|minis vel fal&s;i &s;onuerit, vel veri patuerit, in&s;tant, &s;ata|gunt, ambiunt vt de omnibus boc credatur.</HI> Aug. Epi&s;t. 137</P></NOTE> ancient e|nemies of the Church, and Gods people long agoe. It is that which <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> in his time complaines to haue beene their gui&s;e, <HI>That if any that made profe&s;sion of the holy Name of God did fall into any &s;inne, if either &s;ome true thing were di&s;co|uered, or &s;ome fal&s;e thing were repor|ted, oh, how they laid about them, and laboured tooth and naile to per|&s;wade men, and make them belieue that they were All &s;uch, though they were not all di&s;couered.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;ame &s;pirit liues in too many &s;till, and nothing more v&s;uall then &s;uch language, and &s;uch cen&s;ures
<PB N="51" REF="41"> in the like ca&s;es. Now yee may &s;ee what the&s;e men are, Neuer a bar|rell better herring, all naught, all alike. An Inference mi&s;erably vn|charitable, which mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily make the Church of Chri&s;t a verie den of Hypocrites. For here wee &s;ee that in the very Church of Chri&s;t there mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily bee &s;candals a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d &s;candalous per&s;ons,</P>
<P>And if where &s;ome bee &s;uch all be &s;uch, tell mee what the Church of Chri&s;t &s;hall bee but a collection and confluence of rotten and di&s;|&s;embling Hypocrites. What is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">his but to doe that which <HI>Dauid</HI> in an other ca&s;e was afraide to doe? <HI>P&s;alme</HI> 73. 15. <HI>If I &s;ay, I will &s;peake thus: behold I &s;hould of|fend again&s;t the generation of thy children.</HI> In &s;peaking thus, let men con&s;ider how they can wa&s;h their hands from that guilt. Farre is &s;uch dealing from that &s;weete and gra|cious dealing of the Lords, <HI>I&s;.</HI> 65. 8.
<PB N="52" REF="42"> that ca&s;ts not away the whole clu|&s;ter, for &s;ome corrupt and euill grapes, farre are men from that Spirit, who becau&s;e now and then &s;ome one grape proues rotten, and offen&s;iue, doe thereupon reiect the whole clu&s;ter, and cry out vpon the re&s;t of the grapes of the bunch, as if they were like <HI>Ieremies</HI> naughty figs. Ier. 24. 2. <HI>Which could not be ea|ten they were &s;o bad.</HI></P>
<P>To &s;top the mouth of Iniquity, in &s;uch a ca&s;e, let but the&s;e things be &s;eriou&s;ly and &s;adly con&s;idered.</P>
<P N="1">1. That there mu&s;t bee &s;uch among&s;t tho&s;e that powerfully and &s;auingly profe&s;&s;e the Name of Chri&s;t. And therefore we &s;hall ne|uer finde the mo&s;t holy and happy <NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quantum li|bet enim vigilet di&s;ciplina do|mus meae homo &s;um et inter ho|mines viuo, nec mihiarrogare audeo vt domus mea melior &s;it quam arca Noe vbi tamen in|ter octo homines reprobus vnus inuentus e&s;t, aut melior &s;it quam domus Abrahae. aut melior &s;it quam domus</HI> I&s;aac <HI>aut melior &s;it quam cohabi|tatio ip&s;ius Do|mini Chri&s;ti, in qua vndecim boni perfidum et furem Iudam colerauerint, aut melior &s;it po&s;trem&ograve; quam caelum vnde An|geli ceciderunt</HI> Aug. Epi&s;t 137.</NOTE> &s;ocieties to haue bin &s;o happy as to bee free from &s;uch. In <HI>Noahs</HI> Arke where but eight per&s;ons, yet one reprobate <HI>Cham,</HI> In <HI>Abrahams</HI> family, a bond-woman, and her &s;on to bee ca&s;t out; in <HI>I&s;aacs</HI> family a
<PB N="53" REF="42"> profane <HI>E&s;au;</HI> in <HI>Iacobs</HI> family an In|ce&s;tuous <HI>Reuben;</HI> among&s;t <HI>Dauids</HI> children an Ince&s;tuous <HI>Amnon;</HI> a re|bellious <HI>Ab&s;olom,</HI> in the &s;acred col|ledge of Chri&s;tes Apo&s;tles a <HI>Iudas</HI> a <HI>Theife.</HI> Ioh. 12. 6. <HI>a Traytor.</HI> Luk. 6. 16. <HI>a Diuell.</HI> Ioh. 6. 70. Euen in heauen Gods owne hou&s;e, and ha|bitation, were found &s;uch Angels in whom God found not &s;tedfa&s;t|ne&s;&s;e; &s;uch Angels as <HI>kept not their fir&s;t e&s;tate, but left their owne habi|tation,</HI> and became Deuills. Now then looke back vpon &s;ome of the&s;e In&s;tances, and &s;ee if this kinde of rea&s;oning bee &s;afe. In <HI>Noahs</HI> Arke there was a gracele&s;&s;e <HI>Cham,</HI> there|fore all in the Arke were &s;uch as hee. Among&s;t the twelue Patriar|ches <HI>Reuben</HI> was vncleane, and In|ce&s;tuous, therefore all your pillers of your Ancient Church were &s;uch al&s;o. Among the twelue Apo&s;tles of Chri&s;t the great profe&s;&s;ours, and preachers of his Name, <HI>Iudas</HI>
<PB N="52" REF="43">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="53" REF="43">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="54" REF="44"> was a <HI>thiefe,</HI> a <HI>traytour,</HI> a <HI>deuill,</HI> therefore the whole company, is a colledge of <HI>thieues, traytours</HI> and <HI>deuills;</HI> Among&s;t the Angels in heauen, there were legions of De|uills, therefore all of the &s;ame &s;tampe, all alike: would not all men &s;pit in that mans face that &s;hould thus rea&s;on? and yet how familiar is &s;uch rea&s;oning in too many mens mouths. It is a &s;ure thing that as <NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg"><HI>Simpliciter autem fateor Charitati ve|&s;trae&mdash;quomodo difficile &s;um ex|pertu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> meliores quam qui in mona&s;terijs pro|fecerunt: ita non &s;um exper|tus p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">iores quam qui in mona&s;terijs ce|ciderunt.</HI> Aug. Epi&s;t. 137.</NOTE> there cannot bee found better men in the world, then among&s;t tho&s;e in the Church, pro|fe&s;&s;ing Chri&s;ts Name, and Truth, &s;o neither can there be found &s;ome times wor&s;e then tho&s;e that in the Church fall into heynous &s;candals. The which &s;ince it mu&s;t &s;o be, why &s;hould the filth of &s;ome particular per&s;ons mi&s;carriages bee flung in the faces of all. What is this but for the <NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg"><HI>Nolite ergo propter amur|cam qua oculi ve&s;tri offen dun|tur, torculariae dete&s;tari vnde apothecae domi|nica fructu olei lumino&s;io<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">is implentur</HI> Aug. Epi&s;t. 137.</NOTE> lees, and the dregges to loath the pre&s;&s;es from whence Gods &s;tore-hou&s;es are filled with oyle?</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="55" REF="44"> 2. That though there be &s;uch, and that too many, yet farre many more there be of the &s;ame profe&s;|&s;ion that are not &s;uch, what though Chri&s;t haue one di&s;ciple that be|comes a thiefe, a traytor, a deuill, that brings &s;candal vpon the Prea|ching, and profe&s;&s;ion, of his Ma|&s;ters Name, yet hath he not ele|uen others holy and right godly men, that liue according to their profe&s;&s;ion, and doe their profe&s;&s;ion honour and credit? What though one Chri&s;tian Corinthian fall into the &s;inne of Ince&s;t, yet why &s;hould the heathen Corinthians ca&s;t the di&s;grace of that his &s;inne, vpon all the Chri&s;tian Corinthians? Are they &s;o blind that they cannot &s;ee, that there be many <HI>Corinthians. Act</HI> 18. 8. and that <HI>God hath much people in that City.</HI> Act. 18. 10. Who are holy, gracious, mortified, and renowned for the power of God|lines, that doe euery way make
<PB N="56" REF="45"> good the religion they profe&s;&s;e? what though, now and then we &s;ee a &s;tarre falling from Heauen, yet &s;ee we not millions of tho&s;e glori|ous lights of Heauen, keepe their &s;tation and their lu&s;tre? And why haue not men an eye as well to looke at &s;uch, at the many &s;uch who&s;e lifes &s;uite with their holy pro|fe&s;&s;ion, as they haue an eye to looke at &s;uch, at a few &s;uch as giue &s;candal? why can they not &s;ee that <NOTE N="r" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quapropter et &s;i co~tri&s;tamur de aliquibus pur|gamentis con&s;o|lamur tamen de pluribus or|namentis</HI> Aug. Epi&s;t. 137.</NOTE> there are that &s;hine as lights in the midde&s;t of a froward, and a crooked generation, and &s;o &s;hine that they bee ornaments of the Church, as well as they can &s;ee &s;uch, as are the di&s;gracers and di&s;|honourers of religion? Surely be|cau&s;e they are a froward and a crooked generation, and out of that peruer&s;ne&s;&s;e of Spirit for one, and by one will iniuriou&s;ly iudge and condemne all.</P>
<P N="3">3. If all &s;uch, how is it that &s;uch
<PB N="57" REF="45"> more then all doe condemne &s;uch &s;candalous offenders. Who &s;o &s;harpe, and &s;o &s;euere again&s;t them, for their &s;candals as &s;uch as pro|fe&s;&s;e the &s;ame truth with them. O|thers triumph ouer them, &s;corne and deride them, but who &s;o &s;adly, and &s;o &s;harpely reproues, cen&s;ures, and condemnes them, as doe they of the &s;ame profe&s;&s;ion? Who &s;o di&s;countenances, and di&s;cardes them once lap&s;ed till their publi|que &s;atisfactions, and their vn|que&s;tioned repentance, and humi|liations doe in &s;ome mea&s;ure wa&s;h off the blurre of their &s;candals. <HI>Sufficient to &s;uch a man is this pu|ni&s;hment which was inflicted of ma|ny</HI> 2. Cor. 2. 6. And &s;ufficient was the infliction of that puni&s;hment, by tho&s;e many to acquit them from being all &s;uch. If they had all coun|tenanced him, held fellow&s;hip and communion with him, pleaded his cau&s;e, and iu&s;tified his practi&s;e, then
<PB N="58" REF="46"> had there beene &s;ome colour to haue &s;aid they had beene all &s;uch. But now that the Corinthian Chri&s;tians, deale &s;o &s;euerely with him, for his offence, it is cleare that they are not all &s;uch, for if all &s;uch as hee, then &s;hould he haue found more fauour at their hands then &s;o. And this was <HI>Augu&s;tines</HI> an&s;wer vnto, and defence again&s;t the <HI>Ma|nichees.</HI> It was their fa&s;hion it &s;eemes to di&s;grace the Church, and ca&s;t reproach vpon it, and to be|&s;meare it with the mire of the fowle actions of &s;candalous profe&s;&s;ors of Chri&s;tian religion. <NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="marg"><HI>Nolite mihi colligere profe&s;|&s;ores nominis Chri&s;tian, n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">c profe&s;sionis &s;uae vim aut &s;cientes aut exhibentes. Noui multos e&s;&s;e qui luxurio&s;i&s;&s;i|m&egrave; &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pe<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> mo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|tuo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> bibent. No|ui multos qui renu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> iauerint verbis huic &s;aculo. Nunc vos illud admoneo vt aliquan|do eccle&s;iae catholicae maledicere definatis vituperando mores hominum quos &amp; ip&s;a condemnat, &amp; quos quotidie tanquam malos filios corigere &s;tudet.</HI> Augu&s;t. de moribus eccl. Cathol. cap. 34.</NOTE> He confe&s;&s;es that indeed there were many, that gaue &s;candal by there lu&s;tfull and luxurious lifes, by their drunken|nes, vile wordlines and earthlines, but yet giues them to vnder&s;tand that they were iniurious, <HI>to re|proach</HI>
<PB N="59" REF="46"> <HI>the Church with the condem|ning of the manners of tho&s;e men whom the Church her &s;elfe did con|demne, and whom as euill children &s;hee daily endeauoured to reforme.</HI> If indeede others of the Church profe&s;&s;ing the &s;ame Religion had winked at them, had &s;lighted their offences, or had in any kind &s;ee|med to haue countenanced their per&s;ons, or approoued their cour|&s;es, then might the <HI>Manichees</HI> haue had &s;ome colour to haue for their &s;akes condemned all profe&s;&s;ours, that they were all alike. But pro|fe&s;&s;ours and the Church condem|ning and crying downe their cour|&s;es it was but malignantly and per|uer&s;ly done of the <HI>Maniches</HI> to twit and reproach the Church with &s;uch mens manners.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="60" REF="47">
<HEAD>CHAP. IIII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>That Scandals are wofull and fatall euents to the &s;candalized world.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_HItherto wee haue &s;eene the <HI>Nece&s;sitie,</HI> come we now to con&s;ider the <HI>Mi&s;chiefe</HI> of &s;candals. That mi&s;chiefe is two|fold. The fir&s;t is a <HI>woe</HI> to &s;uch as are &s;candalized that do &s;tumble &amp; are offended. <HI>Woe to the world be|cau&s;e of offences.</HI> For the meaning of the words. <HI>To the world,</HI> that is to worldly and carnall men. Be|cau&s;e of offences, or from offences. <GAP DESC="foreign">, not <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>from</HI> offences, not <HI>for</HI> offences, not as if &s;candals were the <HI>cau&s;e</HI> for which the <HI>woe</HI> comes, as if God brought a woe vpon men <HI>for</HI> their &s;candals, but that &s;candals are the <HI>meanes</HI> and the In&s;truments <HI>by</HI> which, and <HI>from</HI> which God brings
<PB N="61" REF="47"> wo vpon &s;ome mens heads. So that the&s;e words are not to bee vnder|&s;tood as threatning of woe to &s;uch as giue offence by falling into &s;can|dalous &s;innes, who are threatned in the former ver&s;e, and in the end of this, but it is a threatning of wo to men of this world, wicked and vngodly men taking offence at the &s;candalous actions of &s;uch as pro|fe&s;&s;e Religion, that the&s;e &s;candals &s;hould prooue to &s;uch matters of woe and &s;orrow, and from, and by them &s;hould much mi&s;chiefe come to worldly men. Which wordes &s;o opened, afford vs this point.</P>
<Q>That the &s;candalous and offen&s;iue Actions of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e the Go&s;pell and Name of Chri&s;t are fatall, di&s;mall, banefull and wofull euents to wicked and worldly men.</Q>
<P>God that hath a prouidence in
<PB N="62" REF="48"> all euents, hath an all-wi&s;e and o|uer-ruling prouidence in euents of &s;candal, and he in that prouidence of his orders and appoints them &s;o to come, that they make way for &s;ome great woe to worldly men. Euery &s;candal is a <HI>&s;tumbling blocke,</HI> and when a &s;candall is giuen, there is a <HI>&s;tumbling blocke</HI> laid, and &s;uch a &s;tumbling blocke, at which &s;ome men &s;hall not onely breake their &s;hinnes, but their neckes. But who layes this <HI>&s;tumbling blocke?</HI> This &s;tumbling blocke God layes, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 3. 20. <HI>I laying a &s;tumbling blocke be|fore him he &s;hall die.</HI> When God in his Iu&s;tice meanes to make &s;ure worke with &s;ome men that they &s;hall die, he fir&s;t in his prouidence di&s;po&s;es of a <HI>&s;tumbling blocke</HI> to be laid in their way, at which they may &s;tumble &s;o as they may fall, and bee ruined, &s;o as they may die. Among&s;t many other &s;tumbling blockes that God di&s;po&s;es to bee
<PB N="63" REF="48"> laid in mens wayes, this is a verie frequent, and ordinarie one, the &s;candalous actions of &s;ome Profe&s;|&s;ours of Religion. And when &s;uch &s;tumbling blockes are laid, <HI>woe to the world,</HI> they are fatal, and mor|tal, <HI>I laying a &s;tumbling blocke that he may die.</HI></P>
<P>The word <GAP DESC="foreign">, a &s;candal, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>&s;ignificat pro|pri&egrave; t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">gillum in instrumentis qu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">bus capiun|tur lupi, aut vul<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">es, aut mu|res</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>apud</HI> Helych. M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lancth. ad Rom. 14.</NOTE> the Grammarians &s;ay it &s;ignifies the crooked piece in a trap to which the baite is tied, at which a Mou&s;e, Rat, Wolfe, or any other vermin biting, the trap fals downe, en&s;nares, and catches the bea&s;t. So that in &s;candalous euents God &s;ets vp a <HI>trap,</HI> a <HI>gin,</HI> a <HI>&s;nare,</HI> by which hee purpo&s;es to catch and en&s;nare &s;uch vermin as men in a reprobate condition bee. That looke as when a man &s;ets vp and baites a trap hee may &s;ay, Now woe to Rats and Mice, woe to the Foxes, Wolues, and the baggage vermin, &s;o when &s;candals fall out, <HI>woe to the world,</HI>
<PB N="62" REF="49">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="63" REF="49">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="64" REF="50"> Gods trap is &s;et vp to en&s;nare &s;uch withall as are <HI>made to bee taken,</HI> 2. <HI>Peter</HI> 2. 12. And looke as a man when he &s;ets vp a trap, hee intends it purpo&s;ely for the woe of ver|min, &s;o when God in his proui|dence di&s;po&s;es of the euents of &s;candals, hee therein intends the woe, the en&s;naring, the catching, killing, and de&s;troying of &s;uch who had beene happie, if they had beene made the vile&s;t vermin in the world.</P>
<P>That which <HI>Salomon</HI> &s;peakes of a wicked mans owne &s;inne, is al&s;o true of the &s;candalous &s;inne of ano|ther, <HI>Prou.</HI> 29. 6. <HI>In the tran&s;gre&s;sion of an euill man there is a &s;nare,</HI> though he take a great deale of de|light, and plea&s;ure in it, yet it will proue a thrackling &s;nare; &s;o in the tran&s;gre&s;&s;ion, the &s;candalous tran&s;|gre&s;&s;io~ of a good man, or a &s;eeming good man, there is <HI>a &s;nare.</HI> Though euill men take a great deale of Content, and make them&s;elues
<PB N="65" REF="50"> much mirth, and pa&s;time at the fals, and &s;candals of &s;uch as pro|fe&s;&s;e religion, yet in that &s;canda|lous <HI>tran&s;gre&s;sion there is a &s;nare</HI> for them, a deadly, and a mortal &s;nare; <HI>woe to the world becau&s;e of offences.</HI></P>
<P>As it is in the ca&s;e of <HI>Pa&s;siue,</HI> &s;o is it in the ca&s;e of <HI>actiue</HI> &s;ca~dals. Now in ca&s;e of <HI>pa&s;siue</HI> &s;candals it is true, <HI>wo vnto the world fro~ offences.</HI> Such offences worke to worldly mens great &s;mart, &amp; &s;orrow. The Apo&s;tle &s;peakes of Chri&s;t, 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 8. that he was <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>a rocke of &s;candal, or offence.</HI> And <HI>I&s;.</HI> 8. 14, 15. the Pro|phet foretold that he &s;hould be for <HI>a gin, and for a &s;nare to the inhabi|tants of Ieru&s;alem.</HI> So that it may be truly &s;aid of &s;uch, <HI>wo</HI> vnto them that Chri&s;t the <HI>rocke of &s;candal</HI> euer came into the world. <HI>For Iudge|ment</HI> and for woe, <HI>am I come into the world, Iohn</HI> 9.</P>
<P>Thus al&s;o is it true in ca&s;e of <HI>Ac|tiue</HI> &s;candals for <HI>Iudgement do they</HI>
<PB N="66" REF="51"> <HI>come into the world,</HI> and for Iudge|ment <HI>vnto</HI> the world. <HI>Woe be to the world</HI> for the &s;candalous &s;innes of Profe&s;&s;ours of Religion, for they be &s;et vp to be <HI>&s;tumbling &s;tones and rockes of offence,</HI> again&s;t which men of the world &s;hall da&s;h them&s;elues, they be &s;et for <HI>ginnes</HI> and for <HI>&s;nares</HI> in which they &s;hall bee taken. In the ca&s;e of <HI>pa&s;siue</HI> &s;candals, where offence is onely taken, there the trap is baited with the <HI>bread of life.</HI> In the ca&s;e of <HI>Actiue</HI> &s;candal, where offence is giuen, there the trap is baited with <HI>baine,</HI> and <HI>poy&s;on,</HI> with <HI>deadly poy&s;on,</HI> death is in the trap. Now if <HI>woe</HI> to the world when the trap is baited with the <HI>bread of life,</HI> how much more <HI>woe</HI> to the world, when it is baited with ranke, and <HI>deadly poy&s;on?</HI></P>
<P>Scandals and offences are di&s;mal and fatal to wicked men, becau&s;e God in his intention and admini|&s;tration di&s;po&s;es and orders them
<PB N="67" REF="51"> as the meanes that &s;hall make way for the &s;urer and &s;orer puni&s;hment of them for their vnprofitablene&s;&s;e vnder, and their contempt of the Go&s;pell, the meanes of grace and the holy examples of &s;uch as are truly godly. Therefore are they fa|tall and wofull euents becau&s;e they are &s;ent as executioners of diuine vengeance vpon the di&s;obedient rebels again&s;t the Go&s;pel. God gi|ues men his word &amp; the Mini&s;terie of it to conuert, and &s;aue them, the holy examples of his children to guide, and lead them. Now neither one thing nor another will re|claime men of the world, nothing will do them good, &s;till will they goe on in their vnbeliefe and hard|ne&s;&s;e of heart, notwith&s;tanding the light of the Word, and the light of holy examples, notwith&s;tanding the &s;hining light of both, they will loue, and liue in darkne&s;&s;e &s;till. So then God &s;eeing this that nothing
<PB N="68" REF="52"> will better them, but to Hell they will goe, and damned they will be, let his Mini&s;ters, and his people do what they can, he thereupon enters into a re&s;olution to make &s;ure worke with them, and to take &s;uch a cour&s;e as &s;hall infallibly, and ir|reuocably make way for their eter|nall ruine, and to this end in his prouidence di&s;po&s;es of the&s;e &s;can|dalous euents, as &s;tumbling &s;tones, and &s;tumbling blockes; at which they may &s;o &s;tumble as they may fall, and be &s;urely ruined. As if the Lord &s;hould &s;peak on this manner. I haue giuen you my Word and Go&s;pell, it hath beene preacht a|mong&s;t you plentifully, and power|fully, all the meanes notwith&s;tan|ding, you haue not beene one whit the better, but rather wor&s;e, yee are more &s;tubborne, more rebellious, more malicious, and to Hell yee will, doe my Mini&s;ters what they can.</P>
<PB N="69" REF="52">
<P> Well then &s;ince there is no re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">,medie &s;ince yee will goe, I will take an order to &s;et you going &s;urely. Behold, in my prouidence I will di&s;po&s;e of &s;candalous euents to fall out that &s;hall lie as &s;tumbling blocks in your way; at which, &s;tum|ble yee, and fall yee, and be yee re|medile&s;ly ruined. I gaue you my word that you might haue ri&s;en, but you would not be rai&s;ed by it, I wil therfore lay a &s;tumbling block in your way, at which you &s;hall be &s;ure to fall. I gaue you my word that you might haue liued, but now I will <HI>lay a &s;tumbling blocke that you may die, Ezek.</HI> 3. 20. You would not bee drawne to Heauen by the holy examples and lifes of my Saints, therefore &s;hall yee bee head-longed another way by the &s;candalous euents that &s;hall by my prouidence fall out. I &s;ent my Mi|ni&s;ters, whom I made fi&s;hers of men, with their nets and baites to
<PB N="70" REF="53"> catch you, but by no meanes would yee bee caught in their nets, nor bite at their baites, nor bee catcht with their hookes, therefore now will I di&s;po&s;e of &s;candalous euents, which I will &s;et as traps, and &s;nares and ginnes for you: greedily and eagerly &s;hall you come to them, &amp; &s;halbe en&s;nared and held fa&s;t for e|uer getting out againe. And thus doe &s;candals come as me&s;&s;engers of wrath and death.</P>
<P>Gods dealing with wicked men in euents of &s;candals, is cleane con|trarie to his dealing with good men. Such as loue the truth of God, and &s;ubiect vnto it, though &s;candals come &s;hall not bee en&s;na|red by them, God will &s;ecure and &s;aue them from being en&s;nared, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 119. 165. <HI>Great peace haue they which loue thy law, and nothing &s;hall offend them,</HI> or, <HI>they &s;hall haue no &s;tumbling blocke.</HI> Such as loue Gods truth haue great peace, great
<PB N="71" REF="53"> &s;ecuritie when &s;candals fall out, they &s;hall haue no &s;tu~bling blocks, God him&s;elfe will keepe them, that they &s;hal not da&s;h their feet again&s;t the&s;e &s;tones, they &s;hall haue no &s;tumbling blockes to hurt them. But now on the contrarie great danger and mi&s;chiefe &s;hall they haue that loue not the Law, they &s;hall haue &s;tumbling blockes, and therefore becau&s;e they loue not Gods law &s;hal they haue them, that God may bee auenged vpon them for the neglect and contempt of his truth. And becau&s;e they loue not Gods Law, therefore &s;hall &s;candals come, that &s;halbee fatal &s;tumbling blocks for them. That looke as <HI>Sa|lomon</HI> &s;peakes of the Harlot, <HI>Eccl.</HI> 7. 26. <HI>I finde more bitter then death the woman who&s;e heart is &s;nares and nets, and her hands as bands, who &s;o is good before God &s;hall e&s;cape from her, but the &s;inner &s;halbee taken by her;</HI> So may it be &s;aid of &s;candals.
<PB N="72" REF="54"> <HI>More bitter then death,</HI> (woe vnto the world becau&s;e of &s;candals) are &s;candalous euents, <HI>for they are as &s;nares and nets, who &s;o is good before God,</HI> an holy and a godly man &s;hal e&s;cape, and bee deliuered from be|ing en&s;nared by them, <HI>but the &s;in|ner,</HI> the neglecter and contemner of Gods grace <HI>&s;halbee taken,</HI> and bee ruined by them, and therefore woe vnto the &s;inners of the world, becau&s;e of &s;candals. It is in this ca&s;e betweene men of the world and &s;candals, as it was in <HI>Ahabs</HI> ca&s;e betweene him and his fal&s;e prophets, 1. <HI>King.</HI> 22. 20, 21, 22. God had a purpo&s;e out of diuine Iu&s;tice and vengeance that <HI>Ahab</HI> &s;hould <HI>fall,</HI> and bee ruined. Now God enters into coun&s;ell what cour&s;e &s;hall bee taken to bring it a|bout that hee may fall and peri&s;h, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 20. <HI>Who &s;hall per&s;wade</HI> Ahab <HI>that hee may goe vp</HI> and fall <HI>at Ra|moth Gilead.</HI> There comes forth a
<PB N="73" REF="54"> &s;pirit, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 21. and &s;ayes, <HI>I will per&s;wade him.</HI> The Lord askes, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 22. <HI>How</HI> or <HI>wherewith?</HI> Hee an&s;wers, <HI>I will goe forth and bee a lying &s;pirit in the mouth of all his prophets,</HI> And the Lord &s;aid, <HI>Thou &s;halt per&s;wade him and preuaile al|&s;o, Goe forth, and doe &s;o.</HI> The ca&s;e is the very &s;ame here. God be&s;towes his Word, and the Mini&s;terie of it vpon a people, it workes them not to Faith &amp; Repentance. Hereupon is the Lord prouoked to anger, and vpon that hee enters into a con&s;ult of reuenge. Here be a company of men that haue had the meanes of grace, but they will not bee con|uerted, and rai&s;ed vp, I am there|fore re&s;olued they &s;hall fall into Hell for euer. But who will now take &s;ome cour&s;e that they may fal. Then &s;teps forth Satan, I will take a cour&s;e to make them fall fatally. And the Lord &s;ayes what cour&s;e wilt thou take? Satan an&s;wers. I
<PB N="74" REF="55"> will goe forth and draw &s;ome no|ted Profe&s;&s;our of Religion into &s;ome gro&s;&s;e and &s;candalous &s;inne. And that &s;candal of his wil be &s;uch a &s;tumbling blocke at which they will &s;o &s;tumble, that I will warrant them fall farre enough, and deepe enough for euer recouering out of the pit. And the Lord an&s;weres, Thou &s;halt effect it and preuaile, Goe forth and doe &s;o. Goe Satan, preuaile with &s;uch, and &s;uch a Pro|fe&s;&s;our of Religion to bring him into &s;ome fowle &s;candal. And let that &s;candal bee a fatal &s;tumbling blocke to make &s;uch fall, and a&s;&s;u|redly peri&s;h, that would not bee wrought vpon by the word.</P>
<P>So that looke what the fal&s;e pro|phets were to <HI>Ahab,</HI> that are &s;can|dals to the world, meanes of their fatall fals and ruines, woe to <HI>Ahab</HI> becau&s;e of the fal&s;e prophets, and woe to the world becau&s;e of &s;can|dals that make way for their mi&s;|chiefe,
<PB N="75" REF="55"> as the fal&s;e prophets did for <HI>Ahabs.</HI> So that by all this wee &s;ee that Gods di&s;po&s;all of &s;candals, is an Act of diuine vengeance, and Iu&s;tice plaguing mens vnprofita|blene&s;&s;e vnder the meanes of grace, that by this means their righteous damnation might be &s;ealed vp, and made &s;ure.</P>
<P>And therefore this is a point well worth our ob&s;eruation. That where God &s;ends mo&s;t preaching, and the greate&s;t meanes of grace, there commonly fall out the grea|te&s;t and foule&s;t &s;candals, and where litle or no meanes little or no &s;can|dal.</P>
<P>Now what may the rea&s;on of this be? Not that the preaching of the Go&s;pel makes men wor&s;e, as men of euil &s;pirits are readie to &s;lander and calumniate it in ca&s;e of &s;uch euents, but among&s;t many other rea&s;ons that might be giuen of it, this is one &s;peciall one. Where
<PB N="76" REF="56"> God giues greate&s;t means of grace, and &s;aluation, there mens &s;inne in their vnprofitablene&s;&s;e, impeniten|cie, and vnbeliefe is the greater. The greater mens &s;innes are, the greater is Gods wrath, and there|fore out of the greatne&s;&s;e of his wrath again&s;t mens great vnpro|fitablene&s;&s;e, God di&s;po&s;es it, that where the greate&s;t meanes of grace are neglected and contem|ned, there &s;hall bee the greate&s;t &s;candals, that &s;o hee may greatly plague great vnprofitablene&s;&s;e and contempt. God will haue &s;uch as be vnprofitable vnder great means, to haue great fals, that they of all others may fall mo&s;t lethally, and mo&s;t dangerou&s;ly, and fatally. Now a little &s;tumbling &s;tone cau&s;es but a little &amp; an ea&s;ie fal, but the greater the &s;tumbling block is, the greater, and more wofull mu&s;t the fal needs bee. And therefore where greate&s;t meanes not profited by, are, there
<PB N="77" REF="56"> are greate&s;t &s;candals to bring the greater woe, and vengeance vpon &s;o great vnprofitablene&s;&s;e; there|fore there the greate&s;t &s;tumbling blockes to fall by, where the grea|te&s;t meanes to ri&s;e by, that &s;uch may not &s;imply fall, but &s;o fall that they may be da&s;ht to peeces.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. V.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>How Scandals come to be &s;o woefull and Mi&s;chieuous.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_NOw how Scandals make way for mens fals and ru|ines, and &s;o for their woe will appeare in the&s;e following particulars.</P>
<P N="1">1. In that they make way for their &s;tumbling at Religion and godline&s;&s;e, the powerfull and &s;a|uing profe&s;&s;ion thereof. When men &s;tumble at Religion and are &s;o offended at Godline&s;&s;e as to di&s;like
<PB N="78" REF="57"> and reiect it, and that with a per|emptorie re&s;olution of &s;pirit ne|uer to receiue and embrace it, it mu&s;t needs bee confe&s;&s;ed that &s;uch per&s;ons are in a woefull and mi&s;e|rable ca&s;e. Wee find &s;ome that <HI>&s;tumbled at Chri&s;t,</HI> 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 8. Some that <HI>&s;tumbled at the word,</HI> 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 8 Some that <HI>&s;tumble at the law, Mal.</HI> 2. 8. Some that <HI>&s;tumble in their wayes from the ancient pathes, Iere.</HI> 18. 15. Now to &s;tumble at Chri&s;t, at the word, at the Law, at the an|tient wayes, at Religion, this is a <HI>woefull</HI> thing. There is but one true Religion in which a man can be &s;aued, now therefore <HI>woe</HI> to him that &s;tumbles at true Religion, for there is no way but infallible dam|nation for &s;uch a man. There is no way of &s;aluation but by Chri&s;t, <HI>There is no other name vnder heauen to be &s;aued by, Act.</HI> 4. 12. Therefore <HI>woe</HI> to that man that &s;tumbles at Chri&s;t, for that man puts him&s;elfe
<PB N="79" REF="57"> out of po&s;&s;ibilitie of &s;aluation. The word, is the <HI>word of grace, Act.</HI> 20. 32. <HI>the word of life, Ioh.</HI> 6. 68. <HI>the word of the kingdome, Mat.</HI> 13. 19. therfore <HI>woe</HI> to that man that &s;tum|bles at the word, for he puts him|&s;elf out of po&s;&s;ibilitie of grace, eter|nal life, and the kingdome of God. <HI>The Law of the Lord is perfect, con|uerting or re&s;toring the &s;oule, P&s;al.</HI> 19. 7. therefore <HI>woe</HI> to him that &s;tumbles at the Law, for hee is out of po&s;&s;ibilitie of being conuerted, and re&s;tored. <HI>The old and the An|tient wayes are the good wayes wherein a man &s;hall finde re&s;t to his &s;oule. Ier.</HI> 6. 16. Therefore <HI>woe</HI> to that man that &s;tumbles at and from the antient wayes, becau&s;e what po&s;&s;ibility hath hee of finding re&s;t to his &s;oule?</P>
<P>Now by <HI>&s;candals</HI> and offences <HI>&s;tumbling blockes</HI> are laide to make men <HI>&s;tumble</HI> at the&s;e, and &s;o to bring <HI>woe</HI> vpon their &s;oules. When
<PB N="80" REF="58"> profe&s;&s;ours of religion, of Chri&s;t, of the word, of the law, of the An|tient wayes fall into fowle &s;candals, thereupon men of the world take occa&s;ion to &s;tumble at that Religi|on, at that Chri&s;t, at that word, at that law, at tho&s;e Antient wayes which they profe&s;&s;e, and grow to a re&s;olution neuer to make or med|dle with the&s;e, and &s;o make way for their owne woe by refu&s;ing, and re|&s;oluing again&s;t the wayes of &s;alua|tion: for looke what the force of holy example and good life is to &s;top mens mouthes, and gaine their hearts to a loue and liking of the truth and religion, of that force on the contrary, is euill and &s;can|dalous life to keepe men of Godly and holy life, <HI>good conuer&s;ation makes euill &s;peakers a&s;hamed.</HI> 1. Pet. 3. 16. <HI>Well doing puts to &s;ilence the ignorance of fooli&s;h men,</HI> 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 15. that they cannot &s;peake euill of Godlines and Religion. Religious
<PB N="81" REF="58"> <HI>conuer&s;ation winnes</HI> and gaines tho&s;e that are <HI>without</HI> and brings them to a loue of religion, 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 3. 1. So contrarily, &s;candalous car|riages embolden the faces, and o|pen the mouthes of enemies, &s;tum|bles, and offends them, and workes in them &s;uch a di&s;allowance of reli|gion and di&s;like of the profe&s;&s;ion of Godlines, that they vtterly re|&s;olue again&s;t it.</P>
<P>And that &s;candals, doe make men thus &s;tumble at Religion, the word, &amp;c. how plaine doth daylie experience make it? let &s;uch an one as profe&s;&s;es Chri&s;t, his word, his truth fall into any &s;candal, and what followes? Oh! Say men, this is their religion, this is their pro|fe&s;&s;ion, doe ye not &s;ee what per&s;ons they are that are of this &s;ame holy religion, and profe&s;&s;ion? Are there any wor&s;e then the&s;e, more di&s;ho|ne&s;t, and deceitfull? If this be their religion, God ble&s;&s;e mee from their
<PB N="82" REF="59"> religion, I am re&s;olued neuer to be of &s;uch a religio~, I now plainely &s;ee that it is nothing but errant hypo|cri&s;ie, lying, coozening, &amp; di&s;&s;emb|ling. And thus through diuine ven|geance puni&s;hing the~ for their vn|profitablenes vnder the word, they &s;o &s;tumble at the&s;e &s;candals, as to fal into an hatred, and di&s;like of &s;auing religion, and &s;auing powerfull profe&s;&s;ion of it. Into which who &s;o falles, how woefully falles he?</P>
<P>That &s;candals doe bring this woe vpon the world, and proue ruining &s;tumbling blockes thus to make them fall, is further cleere by that, <HI>Mal.</HI> 2. 8. <HI>Yee are departed out of the way.</HI> It is a charge vpon the Prie&s;ts. The <NOTE N="u" PLACE="marg"><HI>Mi&s;era eorum conuer&s;atio ple|bis tuae mi&s;era|bilis &s;ubuer&s;io e&s;t.</HI> Bernard in conuer&s;. Pauli &s;er. 1.</NOTE> Prie&s;ts that preached; &amp; pro|fe&s;&s;ed the law, they departed out of the way, they committed gro&s;&s;e and fowle &s;candals what was the i&s;&s;ue of it? A great deale of mi&s;|chiefe followed vpon it, namely, a <HI>woe,</HI> an heauie woe, vnto the peo|ple
<PB N="83" REF="59"> from their &s;candals. But what was that <HI>woe? Yee haue cau&s;ed many</HI> to &s;tumble <HI>at the Law,</HI> that, is to &s;tumble at true religion, and the wayes of God. When the people &s;aw the Prie&s;ts that pro|fe&s;&s;ed and preacht the Law, and who &s;o great Zelots for the Law as they, when they &s;aw the&s;e Prie&s;ts to liue &s;o loo&s;ely, and &s;o &s;candalou&s;ly they began to &s;tart at it, and to que&s;tion happily whether this Law, this religion they preached, and profe&s;&s;ed were of God or no. And if this were their law, and their religion, for their parts they were re&s;olued neuer to haue to doe with &s;uch a Law, with &s;uch a religion. Thus their &s;candals did &s;tumble the~ And thus did their &s;candals bring an heauie woe vpon the people, for what a woefull condition was this, thus to &s;tumble at the Law, at the true religion of God? what was this, but to &s;eale vp, and make &s;ure
<PB N="84" REF="60"> their owne damnation? for if they would none of the Law, they could none of Heauen, if &s;hut out of Hea|uen, what remayned but Hell? The Lord had, it is likely, a long while called vpon the people by his Prophets, they would not hearken nor repent, nor imbrace the truth of God. The Lord therefore in his Iu&s;tice re&s;olues to be reuenged vp|on them, by bringing a woe vpon them. And what woe would God bring vpon them! This woe of &s;tumbling at religion that &s;o hee might make &s;ure worke with them, that &s;ince they would not be &s;aued, when hee offred them &s;aluation, therfore now they &s;hould ueuer be &s;aued. But now what cour&s;e will God take to effect this, and bring this woe vpon them. Hee will in his wi&s;e prouidence lay the &s;tumbling blocke of the Prie&s;ts &s;candals in their way, at which they &s;hall &s;o &s;tumble as to di&s;like the Law, and
<PB N="85" REF="60"> to fall into an vtter di&s;ta&s;t of religi|on, by which they &s;hould make &s;ure worke again&s;t their owne &s;al|uation. And &s;o woe was vnto the people from the Prie&s;ts &s;candals.</P>
<P N="2">2. Scandals make way for woe in that they make way to occa&s;ion, men of the world to fall into the fowle and woefull &s;inne of bla&s;phe|ming Gods holy Name. It is a <HI>woefull</HI> thing to fall into that &s;inne, e&s;pecially &s;o to fall into it, as to make that the ioy of our hearts which tends to the reproach and di&s;honour of his Name. The Name of God is <HI>a glorious and a fearefull Name. Deut.</HI> 28. 50. and therefore how <HI>woefull and fearefull</HI> a thing for a man to bla&s;pheme that Name. What doth he better then cut him|&s;elfe off, from all communion with God that bla&s;phemes his Name, that flies in his face, and triumphes in his reproach. It is &s;aid of the malicious Iewes. <HI>Act.</HI> 13. 45. that
<PB N="86" REF="61"> they &s;pake again&s;t <HI>Pauls</HI> doctrine <HI>contradicting, and bla&s;pheming.</HI> And marke what followes, <HI>ver&s;.</HI> 46. <HI>Seeing yee put the word of God from you, and iudge your &s;elues vnworthy of euerla&s;ting life, loe we turne to the Gentiles.</HI> See then when they bla&s;|phemed what they did, They <HI>put away the word from them,</HI> they iud|ged them&s;elues <HI>vnworthy of life,</HI> they cau&s;ed God to <HI>turne away</HI> the meanes of &s;aluation from them. Such a ca&s;e is a woefull ca&s;e, and to this ca&s;e will contradicting &amp; bla&s;|pheming of God, and his truth, and Religion bring men. And there|fore in this regard are &s;candals wo|full euents becau&s;e they occa&s;ion men to bla&s;pheme and &s;peake euill of God and his truth. When <HI>Da|uid</HI> fell in to that foule Scandal, what followed vpon it? See 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 12. 14. <HI>By this deede thou ha&s;t giuen great occa&s;ion to the enemies of God to bla&s;pheme.</HI> Tho&s;e among&s;t
<PB N="87" REF="61"> the people that were haters of true godline&s;&s;e, and enemies to the powerfull profe&s;&s;ion thereof and &s;o enemies of God when <HI>Dauid</HI> fell into this &s;inne, they fell into a <HI>woe|full</HI> ca&s;e, they pre&s;ently fall a bla&s;|pheming of Religion, and &s;peak|ing euill of godline&s;&s;e, and he that bla&s;phemes godline&s;&s;e bla&s;phemes God, and &s;o by this meanes cau&s;es God in wrath peremptorily to turne from them. So <HI>Rom.</HI> 2. 23. 24. <HI>thorough you the name of God is bla&s;phemed a mong&s;t the Gentiles.</HI> So that the &s;candalous &s;innes of the Iewes were &s;tumbling blockes to the Gentiles that made them fall into that fowle &s;in of bla&s;pheming, that mu&s;t needes make them vn|worthy of eternall life.</P>
<P N="3">3. Scandals make way for woe, in that they make way for the hardning of the hearts, and &s;tiffe|ning of the neckes of &s;innefull men in their euill wayes. It is a very
<PB N="88" REF="62"> dangerous thing, for a man to bee in a &s;innefull way, but for a man to haue his hand &s;trengthened in his Iniquity, to bee hardened in any &s;inne, this is a woefull condition. It is the greate&s;t <HI>woe,</HI> and <HI>cur&s;e</HI> that can be to haue ones hart hardened. <HI>Lam.</HI> 3. 64. 65. <HI>Render vnto them a recompence O Lord according to the worke of their hands, Giue them</HI> ob|&s;tinacie <HI>of heart, thy</HI> cur&s;e <HI>vnto them. Salomon</HI> &s;peakes of the <HI>plagues in the heart.</HI> 1. <HI>King.</HI> 8. 38. The plague in the body, is a woe|full di&s;ea&s;e, and what then is the plague in the heart. God threatens <HI>Pharaoh</HI> with this plague, <HI>Exod.</HI> 9. 14. <HI>I will at this time &s;end all my</HI> plagues <HI>vpon thine heart,</HI> and &s;ee how God did it. <HI>Exod.</HI> 10. 1. <HI>Goe into</HI> Pharaoh <HI>for I haue</HI> hardened <HI>his heart.</HI> Therefore the <HI>Hardnes,</HI> or <HI>Hardening</HI> of the heart is the <HI>plague</HI> of the heart. God &s;ent ten plagues vpon <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> but this
<PB N="89" REF="62"> plague of his heart, in the harde|ning of it, was ten times greater then all the plagues of Aegypt. It is that which v&s;ually God premi&s;es, and fore-&s;endes when hee meanes to prepare men to temporall de|&s;truction. When God meanes re|&s;olutely, to &s;peede a particular per|&s;on, or a whole nation, and to bring ineuitable de&s;truction vpon them, God fir&s;t makes way for it, by the hardening of mens hearts. <HI>Exo.</HI> 14. 17. When God would get him|&s;elfe honour in the de&s;truction of <HI>Pharaoh</HI> and the <HI>Aegyptians. I will &s;aith hee,</HI> harden their hearts, <HI>and they &s;hall follow them, and I will get me honour vpon Pharaoh.</HI> So <HI>Io&s;h.</HI> 11. 19. 20. Not a City that made peace, with the children of <HI>I&s;rael, &s;aue the Hiuites the Inhabitants of Gibeon, They tooke all in battell.</HI> But why did not other Cities, doe as the <HI>Gibeonites,</HI> why did not they &s;ubmit, and &s;eeke their peace? Be|cau&s;e
<PB N="90" REF="63"> God had a purpo&s;e, they &s;hould bee de&s;troyed, and to make the &s;urer way for it, gaue them vp to an hardened heart, <HI>for it was of the Lord, to harden their hearts, that they &s;hould come out again&s;t I&s;rael in battell, that he might de&s;troy them vtterly, and that they might haue no fauour but that hee might de&s;troy them.</HI> So that when God meanes that a man &s;hall haue <HI>no fauour,</HI> but be <HI>vtterly de&s;troyed</HI> then God fir&s;t giues men vp to <HI>hardne&s;&s;e</HI> of heart. Nay, it is that which is a <HI>woefull</HI> preparatiue to eternall wrath, it is that which lockes men, and &s;huts them fa&s;t vp, and keepes them &s;ure for eternal vengeance. When God is &s;o angrie, as that hee is peremp|torily re&s;olued that a man &s;hal not be &s;aued, but bee damned without all peraduenture, then God giues him vp to the hardne&s;&s;e of heart, vnder which hee &s;hall be &s;urely re|&s;erued vnto the day of wrath.</P>
<PB N="91" REF="63">
<P> When a Prince is re&s;olued to put a man to death, he commands him fir&s;t to bee &s;urely impri&s;oned, to bee laid fa&s;t in fetters and irons. When <HI>Herod</HI> meant to execute <HI>Peter,</HI> &s;ee what &s;ure worke is made, <HI>He is deliuered to foure quaternions of Souldiers to bee kept,</HI> hee lies be|tweene <HI>two Souldiers, bound with two chaines, and the keepers before the doores keeping the pri&s;on, Act.</HI> 12 4, 6. So that in rea&s;on there was an impo&s;&s;ibilitie of his e&s;cape from death.</P>
<P>So when God will make &s;ure worke with a man, and is peremp|torie for his execution, the Lord deliuers him vp to hardne&s;&s;e of heart, and this hardne&s;&s;e of heart wil be as <HI>quaternions of Souldiers,</HI> as <HI>Chaines,</HI> and <HI>Keepers,</HI> Lockes, Barres, Bolts, and Fetters, to re|&s;erue a man &s;ure for damnation. A man hath had the meanes of grace offered him, he hath &s;lighted them,
<PB N="92" REF="64"> and he wil goe on, and hee wil doe this and that, &s;ay all the Preachers what they wil, and can to the con|trarie. When God &s;ees this, hee thus re&s;olues. Here is a man that I would haue &s;aued, I offered him the outward meanes of grace, but he hath &s;tubbornly &amp; rebelliou&s;ly &s;tood out again&s;t the meanes, I am re&s;olued hee &s;hal neuer be &s;aued. I but perhaps the man liues &s;til vn|der the meanes of grace, and &s;o long there is a po&s;&s;ibilitie of his conuer&s;ion, and if he be conuerted he mu&s;t needs be &s;aued. Therefore God to keepe him from &s;aluation will take a cour&s;e &s;ure enough to keepe him from conuer&s;ion. Now what cour&s;e is that? God wil haue &s;uch a mans heart hardened. And if once the heart be hardened there is no po&s;&s;ibilitie of Conuer&s;ion, &amp; if no Conuer&s;ion, no Saluation. This proce&s;&s;e of Diuine Iu&s;tice &amp; vengeance we haue. <HI>I&s;.</HI> 6. 10. <HI>Make</HI>
<PB N="93" REF="64"> <HI>the heart of this people fat, and make their eares heauie, and &s;hut their eies le&s;t they &s;ee with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and vnder|&s;tand with their heart, and conuert and be healed.</HI> We &s;ee in the end of the Ver&s;e, that Gods full and finall re&s;olution is that they &s;hall <HI>not bee healed,</HI> that is, they &s;hall not be &s;a|ued, as appeares, <HI>Mark.</HI> 4. 12. But how will God keepe them from be|ing &s;aued, they hauing, and hearing the Word? They &s;hall <HI>not bee con|uerted.</HI> But how will he keepe them from Conuer&s;ion? They <HI>&s;hall not vnder&s;tand with their heart,</HI> though they heare. But how will hee keepe them from vnder&s;tanding with their heart? <HI>Goe make</HI> the heart <HI>of this people fat,</HI> that is, Goe harden their hearts. When the heart is hardened they cannot vnder&s;tand with the heart, when they cannot vnder&s;tand with the heart, they cannot bee conuerted, when they
<PB N="94" REF="65"> cannot be conuerted, whe~ they can|not be &s;aued. And &s;o the hardening of the heart is nothing el&s;e but the locking, and the &s;hutting, and &s;ea|ling of a man vp, to keepe him &s;ure and fa&s;t for Hell. So that for a man to bee giuen vp to hardne&s;&s;e of heart is a &s;igne, and a <HI>wofull</HI> &s;igne that a man is &s;uch an one, as on who&s;e &s;oule God is re&s;olued to &s;hew no mercie, and that a man is in the wofull &s;tate of reprobation. Therefore &s;ee how the Apo&s;tle &s;peakes, <HI>Rom.</HI> 9. 18. <HI>Therefore hee hath mercie on whom hee will haue mercie, and whom he will he hardens.</HI> See how <HI>hardening,</HI> and <HI>&s;hewing mercie</HI> &s;tand in oppo&s;ition. <HI>Whom he will he hardens,</HI> that is, he repro|bates, and &s;hewes no mercie to. But why &s;ayes he not, to whom hee will &s;hew no mercie, hee &s;hewes none, but in &s;teed of that, <HI>whom he will hee hardens?</HI> Becau&s;e God makes way for the execution of his
<PB N="95" REF="65"> coun&s;ell of Reprobation by Har|dening mens hearts. By al this then it is cleere, that it is a <HI>wofull</HI> thing to bee giuen vp to the hardne&s;&s;e of heart, <HI>woe</HI> to that man that hath his heart hardened.</P>
<P>Now then Scandals are <HI>wofull</HI> euents vnto men of the world, be|cau&s;e they be &s;uch &s;nares and &s;tum|bling blocks, as make and occa&s;ion them to fall into this <HI>wofull</HI> condi|tion of hardening their hearts. Therefore <HI>woe to the world becau&s;e of &s;candals,</HI> becau&s;e by &s;candals their hearts &s;halbe hardened, they &s;hall haue the wofull plague of the heart, they &s;hall come vnder a wo|full cur&s;e, be brought into a prepa|ratiue condition for temporall and eternall ruine. For when men &s;ee &s;uch as make profe&s;&s;ion of godli|ne&s;&s;e to fall into &s;candals, and hai|nous euils, it occa&s;ions them excee|dingly to harden their hearts, and to ble&s;&s;e them&s;elues in their euill,
<PB N="96" REF="66"> &amp; vngodly wayes, as if their wayes were better then the wayes of god|line&s;&s;e, and their per&s;ons in a bet|ter e&s;tate and condition then theirs that make &s;uch adoe with their profe&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P>Wee may conceiue the truth of this in the &s;candal of the Ince&s;tu|ous Corinthian, 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. There were multitudes of Heathen Co|rinthians that had not yet receiued Chri&s;t, nor his Go&s;pel. The Chri|&s;tian Corinthians had que&s;tionle&s;&s;e beene dealing with the Heathen Corinthians, to bring them to re|pentance for the &s;ins of their Gen|tili&s;me. What tho&s;e &s;innes were wee may &s;ee, 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 6. 10. <HI>Neither fornicators, nor Idolaters, nor Adul|terers, nor effeminate, &amp;c. nor Thieues, nor Couetous, nor Drun|kards, &amp;c. And</HI> &s;uch <HI>were &s;ome of you.</HI> Namely, when they liued in their Heathen condition. Now out of the&s;e &s;innes would not the
<PB N="97" REF="66"> Heathen re&s;idue be brought. Now when all meanes, and endeauours for their reclaiming were in vaine, God in his Iu&s;tice would euen giue them vp to that wofull condi|tion of being hardened in tho&s;e their &s;innes.</P>
<P>To this end in his prouidence a &s;candalous euent is di&s;po&s;ed to come to pa&s;&s;e in the &s;inne of the in|ce&s;tuous Corinthian, which could not but turne to the great harde|ning of the Heathens heart in their &s;innes, Then began they to &s;ay and thinke in their hearts, They told vs our e&s;tates, and our wayes were dangerous and damnable, but to bee &s;ure, our wayes are as good as theirs. Wee are better yet then the&s;e profe&s;&s;ours of Chri&s;t, we are hone&s;ter at the harde&s;t, then are they, The fornication and filthi|ne&s;&s;e that is <HI>acted</HI> and committed among&s;t them is not once <HI>named</HI> a|mong&s;t vs.</P>
<PB N="98" REF="67">
<P> Wee will therefore euen keepe vs in the&s;e wayes, and goe on in the&s;e cour&s;es &s;till. For if &s;uch as the&s;e profe&s;&s;e them&s;elues to be, if your holy and &s;trict Chri&s;tians may doe &s;uch vile things as the&s;e, then I trow it is not &s;uch an hainous thing for vs that make no &s;uch pro|fe&s;&s;ion to bee Drunkards, Adulte|rers, Swearers, &amp;c. And thus by occa&s;ion of this &s;candal did they confirme, hearten, and harden them&s;elues in their iniquities. Sup|po&s;e any of the Chri&s;tians had after the falling out of this &s;candal, but offered to haue reproued an Hea|then Corinthian for Fornication, Drunkenne&s;&s;e, &amp;c. what an&s;were was he like to haue had but &s;uch an one as this. Oh Sir, it is no mar|uell, you &s;hould find fault with me, though now and then I may bee drunke, or commit fornication yet I am not &s;uch a bea&s;t, as &s;uch an one your fellow Chri&s;tian, that
<PB N="99" REF="67"> made &s;uch adoe with his holine&s;&s;e, that hath now married his fathers Wife, I would you &s;hould know it, I am as hone&s;t as he, and as good a liuer as hee for his heart. And &s;o &s;hooke they off all admonition and reproofe, &amp; hardened their hearts again&s;t all remedies by occa&s;ion of that &s;candal. And &s;o was there a <HI>woe</HI> to many an Heathen Corin|thian, from the &s;candal of that In|ce&s;tuous Chri&s;tian, becau&s;e they &s;tumbled at it &amp; were en&s;nared by it, &s;o as to harden the~&s;elues in their &s;inful cour&s;es, &amp; &s;o by that hardnes were &s;ealed vp to a&s;&s;ured wrath.</P>
<P>There is nothing hardens men in their Iniquitie more, then to Iu|&s;tifie them in their &s;infull wayes. There is a Iu&s;tification of a &s;inner <HI>from</HI> his vngodline&s;&s;e, and there is a Iu&s;tification of a &s;inner <HI>in</HI> his vn|godline&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is a ble&s;&s;ed thing, and makes a man happie, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 32. 1, 2.</P>
<PB N="100" REF="68">
<P> The &s;econd is woeful, di&s;mal, and dangerous. Iu&s;tification of a &s;inner <HI>from</HI> his &s;ins is called <HI>a Iu&s;tification of life, Rom.</HI> 5. 18. But Iu&s;tification of a &s;inner <HI>in</HI> his &s;innes is a <HI>Iu|&s;tification of death,</HI> that &s;eales vp a man to damnation. Iu&s;tification of a &s;inner <HI>from</HI> &s;inne is an <HI>Act of Gods grace,</HI> and mercie, and &s;o he iu&s;tifies the vngodly, <HI>(Rom.</HI> 4 5. <HI>on him that iu&s;tifies the vngodly)</HI> by acquitting, di&s;charging, and ab|&s;oluing him from the guilt of his vngodline&s;&s;e. Iu&s;tification of a &s;in|ner in his &s;inne <HI>is an act of Gods wofull vengeance</HI> puni&s;hing men for former vngodline&s;&s;e, and making way for the infallible a&s;certaining of his damnation. And for Iu&s;tifi|cation of a &s;inner in his &s;innes is way made by &s;candalous euents. And that &s;candalous euents doe iu&s;tifie vngodly men in their &s;ins, and &s;o harden them therein, may appeare by that, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16. 51. <HI>Nei|ther hath Samaria committed halfe</HI>
<PB N="101" REF="68"> <HI>thy &s;innes, but thou ha&s;t multiplied thine abominations more then they, and ha&s;t iu&s;tified thy &s;i&s;ters in all their abominations which thou ha&s;t done. Samaria</HI> was one of <HI>Iudahs</HI> &s;i&s;ters; The <HI>Samaritans</HI> were an idola|trous wicked people, <HI>Iudah</HI> &s;hee profe&s;&s;ed her &s;elfe the people of God. Now <HI>Iudah</HI> that profe&s;&s;ed her &s;elf Gods people, fel into foule, and &s;candalous abominations. <HI>Sa|maria</HI> committed not halfe her &s;innes. Vpon this, <HI>Samaria</HI> begins to Saint her &s;elfe, and to iu&s;tifie her &s;elfe, being iu&s;tified by <HI>Iudah.</HI> Which may be vnder&s;tood not on|ly of the <HI>euent,</HI> that <HI>Samaria</HI> was le&s;&s;e vniu&s;t, and vnrighteous in compari&s;on of <HI>Iudah,</HI> but al&s;o of the <HI>effect</HI> or <HI>con&s;equent</HI> of that e|uent, becau&s;e <HI>Samaria</HI> in compa|ring her &s;elfe with <HI>Iudah,</HI> finding her&s;elfe more iu&s;t, that is le&s;&s;e vn|iu&s;t, did thereby po&s;itiuely iu&s;tifie her &s;elfe, as if &s;hee were in a good
<PB N="102" REF="69"> ca&s;e, and a good way, becau&s;e <HI>Iu|dah's</HI> abominations were &s;o many and &s;o great, and becau&s;e <HI>Iudah</HI> is blacker then &s;he, therefore &s;he be|ginnes to imagine her &s;elfe Lilly white. I, &s;ayes <HI>Samaria,</HI> it is no maruell that <HI>Iudah</HI> is &s;o godly, &s;o religious, &s;o holy a people, and that I am &s;o idolatrous, and &s;o &s;in|full, I am &s;ure I am not halfe &s;o bad as &s;he. For all their godline&s;&s;e, and Religion they talk of, for any thing I &s;ee, my life, cour&s;es, dealings are as good, and hone&s;t, nay, more iu|&s;tifiable then theirs. And if <HI>Iudah</HI> that profe&s;&s;es &s;uch &s;ingular holi|ne&s;&s;e, doe thus and thus I hope my wayes being better then hers, my condition is better. I am therefore re&s;olued to ride on in the old road &s;till, I will not change lifes and wayes with <HI>Iudah</HI> for all her godli|ne&s;&s;e and Religion. Thus que&s;tion|le&s;&s;e, did <HI>Iudahs</HI> abominations oc|ca&s;ion <HI>Samaria</HI> to iu&s;tifie her &s;elfe,
<PB N="103" REF="69"> and by &s;uch iu&s;tifying of her &s;elfe, &s;he hardened and &s;trengthened her &s;elfe in her &s;innes, and &s;o were <HI>Iu|dahs</HI> &s;candals and abominations <HI>woefull</HI> euents to <HI>Samaria,</HI> becau&s;e thereby her heart was hardened to her de&s;truction.</P>
<P>It is with &s;candals as it was with tho&s;e fal&s;e Prophets, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 13. 22. <HI>Yee &s;trengthened the hands of the wicked that hee &s;hould not returne from his wicked way.</HI> Men cannot bee &s;aued if they bee not turned from their euill wayes, men cannot be turned from their euill wayes, if their hands bee &s;trengthened in them, and their hearts hardened. Now here was the mi&s;chiefe and the woe that came by tho&s;e fal&s;e Prophets, they &s;trengthened mens hands, and hardened their hearts in their euill wayes that they could not be &s;aued. Such is the mi&s;chiefe and the woe of &s;candals, men can|not bee &s;aued, vnle&s;&s;e they returne
<PB N="104" REF="70"> from their wicked way, they cannot returne from their wicked way &s;o long as their hands bee &s;trengthe|ned, <HI>and woe to the world becau&s;e of &s;candals,</HI> for they &s;trengthen the hands of the wicked, and &s;o make way for their fatall ruine.</P>
<P>Scandals are that to the World, that tho&s;e things were to the <HI>Iewes, Rom.</HI> 11. 9. <HI>Let their table bee made a &s;nare, a trap, and a &s;tumbling blocke, and a recompence vnto them.</HI> When no meanes of grace will &s;of|ten hard hearts and bring them to Repentance, God in his Iu&s;tice di&s;|po&s;es of &s;candals, and they are made &s;nares, traps, and &s;tumbling blockes, and a recompence vnto them that God may recompence them for their vnprofitablenes; and by tho&s;e &s;candals, occa&s;ion them to harden their hearts to their ruine, that would not bee &s;oftened vnto life.</P>
<P>It is otherwi&s;e to the World
<PB N="105" REF="70"> from the &s;candals and fals of Pro|fe&s;&s;ors, then it was to the <HI>Gentiles</HI> from the fall of the <HI>Iewes</HI> from Chri&s;t. The fall of the <HI>Iewes</HI> was for the happine&s;&s;e of the <HI>Gentiles. Rom.</HI> 11. 11, 12. <HI>Haue they &s;tumbled that they &s;hould fall?</HI> that is, fall quite and cleane off, <HI>God forbid, But through their fall, &s;aluation is come vnto the Gentiles, The fall of them is the riches of the world.</HI> But now in &s;candalous fals of Profe&s;|&s;ors into foule &s;innes it is contra|rie, <HI>Thorough their fals damnation comes to many,</HI> and they are the mi&s;chiefe, mi&s;erie and vndoing of many. And that on this manner. God many times vouch&s;afes the meanes of grace and repentance to a people, in tho&s;e meanes &s;triues a long time with them, but &s;triues in vaine. Therefore he re&s;olues thus, My &s;pirit &s;hal &s;triue no longer with them, but &s;ince they will not, they &s;hall not be &s;aued, I will take a &s;ure
<PB N="106" REF="71"> cour&s;e for their damnation. I am re|&s;olued they &s;hall not be &s;aued, and becau&s;e they &s;hallbe &s;ure neuer to bee &s;aued, I will make &s;ure they &s;hall neuer be conuerted, And that they may bee made &s;ure for euer being conuerted, I will take a cour&s;e that they &s;hall not vnder|&s;tand the word they heare with their hearts, and that they may not vnder&s;tand the word they heare, I will take a cour&s;e for the hardening of their hearts, &amp; for the thorough hardening of their hearts &s;ome profe&s;&s;our of religion &s;hall fall in|to &s;candal, and thereby &s;hall their hearts bee hardened &s;euen fold more then euer, they &s;hall iu&s;tifie them&s;elues in their &s;innes, and &s;o by an hard heart &s;hall put them|&s;elues out of all po&s;&s;ibilitie of Con|uer&s;ion, and &s;o out of all po&s;&s;i|bilitie of &s;aluation. How often would I haue had you ri&s;en, and yee would not ri&s;e? therefore now
<PB N="107" REF="71"> &s;hall you fall into hell, <HI>for he that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ardens his heart &s;hall fall into <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i&s;chiefe, Prou.</HI> 28. 14.</P>
<P>That therefore yee may fall into a mi&s;chiefe, and with a mi&s;chiefe; yee &s;halbe hardened, and that you may fall into greater hardnes of heart, &s;ome man &s;hall fall into &s;candal; his fall into &s;candal &s;hall make way for a <HI>woe</HI> to fall vpon your heads. His &s;candal &s;hall harden you, that hardnes &s;hall make you fall into mi&s;chiefe. And thus woe to the world becau&s;e of offences, becau&s;e they come to &s;tiffen, and harden their &s;pirits, and as me&s;&s;engers of wrath to bind them &s;ure, hand and foote, that they may be prepared, to bee throwne out into vtter darkene&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Thus <HI>woe to the world, becau&s;e of offences,</HI> becau&s;e the world is oc|ca&s;ioned by them, to reiect the &s;a|uing profe&s;&s;ion of Religion, to fall fowle on Gods holy Name, to
<PB N="108" REF="72"> iu&s;tifie them&s;elues in their &s;inne|full wayes, and &s;o by the&s;e things to make hell &s;ure their owne. So that the fall of a profe&s;&s;our of reli|gion, is as the fall of an oake vpon vnderwood, and &s;maller trees, that be neere it: woe to them, when the oake falls, becau&s;e it mi&s;chiefes, bru&s;hes and breakes them in pie|ces by its fall. It is iu&s;t in this ca&s;e, as it was in the ouerthrow of that Army. <HI>Ier.</HI> 46. 12. <HI>The mighty man hath &s;tumbled again&s;t the mighty, and they are both fallen together,</HI> fir&s;t one fel, he being fallen; another &s;tumbles at him, and &s;o they both lay on the ground together. Thus falles it out in &s;candals. Fir&s;t one falles into &s;ome great &s;inne, others come and &s;tumble at him being fallen, and &s;o both fall, and the fir&s;t mans fall is the la&s;t mans ruine. And therefore <HI>woe to the world becau&s;e of &s;candals.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="109" REF="72">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>What little rea&s;on men haue to tri|umph at, and what great rea&s;on to bee cautelous in the euent of &s;candals.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_ALl this well weighed, and duely con&s;idered will giue vs to vnder&s;tand two things: the little rea&s;on of ioy, and the great rea&s;on of feare and cau|tion in ca&s;e of &s;uch &s;candalous e|uents.</P>
<P N="1">1. It lets vs &s;ee what little rea&s;on men of the world haue to triumph, in&s;ult, and <NOTE N="x" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Iu&s;t Mart. Epi&s;t. ad Zen. &amp; Seren.</NOTE> reioyce as they v&s;e to doe, in the falles and &s;candals of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e religion. <HI>When my foote&punc; &s;lippeth they magnifie them|&s;elues again&s;t me. P&s;al.</HI> 38. 16. If &s;uch an one doe but tread awry, or his foote but <HI>&s;lip,</HI> their enemies let not their <HI>&s;lips</HI> &s;lip, but take occa&s;ion
<PB N="110" REF="73"> from &s;mall &s;lips to make great try|umphs, And if they be &s;o ready to magnifie them&s;elues again&s;t them, when they but <HI>&s;lip,</HI> how much more when they <HI>fall,</HI> and fall into the puddle, into the mire? How doe they magnifie them&s;elues again&s;t them then? The reproach and di&s;|grace of their &s;innefull falls yeeldes aduer&s;aries &s;uch content that they proiect and lay on purpo&s;e for it. <HI>Neh.</HI> 6. 13. <HI>Therefore was hee hired that I &s;hould be afraid, and do &s;o &amp; &s;in, and that they might haue matter for an euill report, that they might reproch me.</HI> And therefore proiecting for theie falles, and laying plots be|fore hand for them if it may, be no wonder that they &s;o reioyce and triumph if at any time they fall in|to &s;uch &s;innes, whereby they may haue matter for an euil report tha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> they may reproach them. So true is that which <NOTE N="y" PLACE="marg"><HI>Papi&s;tae cae|lumniandi &s;tu|dio <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">otam no&s;tra~ conuer&s;ationem ab&s;eruant Si quid ergo huma|ni patimur, &s;icut profecto in|firmi &s;umus, &amp; patimur no|&s;tra incommoda, ibi demum tan|quam famelici porci immer|gunt &s;e in &s;ter|cora no&s;tra, &amp; ex ijs delicias faciunt, dum in|firmitatem no|&s;tram exemplo maledicti Ham aperiunt &amp; traducunt, vere enim e&s;uriunt &amp; &s;itiunt &s;candala no&s;tra,</HI> Luth. in Gen 9.</NOTE> <HI>Luther</HI> &s;peakes that they <HI>hunger and thir&s;t, after the<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"></HI>
<PB N="111" REF="73"> <HI>&s;candals of the Godly, and if at any time, through humane frailety they doe fall into an euill, like hungry hogs they nuzzle in their excrements, and fea&s;t vpon them as vpon dainties,</HI> There being nothing that &s;o glads their hearts, that &s;o opens their mouthes with &s;o much in&s;olency and triumph. And as <HI>Luther</HI> com|pares them in this regard to <HI>hogs,</HI> &s;o <NOTE N="z" PLACE="marg"><HI>Hos ergo de no&s;tris do<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oribus &s;uauitatem &s;uae malae linguae captantes; facile e&s;t vt ill<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> cani|bus co~paremus, &s;i forte <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n male intelligendi &s;unt, qui linge|bant vulnere pauperis illius qui ante ianuam diuitis iacebat &amp;c.</HI> Aug. Epi&s;t. 137.</NOTE> <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> to <HI>dogs,</HI> namely to the rich gluttons dogs that lay licking, and &s;ucking <HI>Lazarus</HI> his &s;ores and woundes. It plea&s;ed not tho&s;e dogs &s;o much to be licking <HI>Laza|rus</HI> &s;ores as it plea&s;es &s;ome men to haue their tongues in the &s;canda|lous wounds and &s;ores of &s;uch, as profe&s;&s;e godlines. As it is the &s;orrow, and griefe of good hearts, and that which makes them droop and mourne to &s;ee Chri&s;t, his Go&s;|pell, and truth reproached, and di&s;|graced by &s;candals; &s;o contrarily, it is meate &amp; drinke to wicked ones,
<PB N="112" REF="74"> and the very ioy of their hearts, when &s;uch euents fall out. <NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Proinde cha|ri&s;&s;imi in i&s;to &s;candalo quo de Bonifacio pr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;|bytero no<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nulli perturbantur, non vobis dico vt non doleatis. Qui enim i&s;ta non dolent, non e&s;t in eis chari|tas Chri&s;ti, qui autem de talibus gaudent, abundat in eis malignitas dia|boli.</HI> Aug Epi&s;t. 137.</NOTE> As &s;uch as are filled with the loue of Chri&s;t, do grieue and mourne, &s;o they that are filled with the malignity of the Diuell, doe reioyce in the euent of &s;candals. Any thing that makes to the di&s;grace of Gods Church, his cau&s;e, and religion, that &s;ets and puts them into exta&s;ies of re|ioycing. 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 1. 20. <HI>Tell it not in Gath, publi&s;h it not in the &s;treets of A&s;hkelon, le&s;t the daughters of the Phili&s;tims reioyce, lea&s;t the daugh|ters of the vncircumci&s;ed triumph.</HI> Why? what was it, that &s;hould make them <HI>triumph</HI> and <HI>reioyce?</HI> That <HI>ver&s;e</HI> 19. <HI>How are thy mighty</HI> fallen? <HI>Saul</HI> and <HI>Ionathan</HI> were fallen, not by <HI>&s;candal,</HI> but by the <HI>&s;word,</HI> but that fall &s;uch as it was, made to the di&s;grace of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> to the reproach of the God of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> and hence their Ioy, and Triumph. Marke by the way, who they are
<PB N="113" REF="74"> that reioyce in &s;uch ca&s;es, <HI>vncir|cumci&s;ed Phili&s;tines,</HI> the <HI>&s;onnes and daughters of vncircumci&s;ed Phili|&s;tims.</HI> And well becomes it &s;uch, and none but &s;uch to reioyce. And &s;uch doe and will reioyce. Now truely all before con&s;idered, we &s;ee what little cau&s;e they haue to be &s;o ouer-ioyed, there is a great deale of Ioy, and merriment more then there is cau&s;e. All con&s;idered, wee may truely &s;ay vnto them, as <HI>Iam.</HI> 4. 9. <HI>Let your laughter be turned in|to mourning, and your ioy into hea|uine&s;&s;e. Woe vnto the world becau&s;e of &s;candals.</HI> When &s;candals come into the world, a woe comes vnto the world, me&s;&s;engers of vengeance to doe executions of Iu&s;tice are &s;ent by God. And will the world be &s;o blind and witle&s;&s;e, to <HI>reioyce</HI> and <HI>triumph</HI> in that which comes to bee their bane and ruine, their &s;orrow and their &s;mart? Hath the &s;illy bea&s;t any cau&s;e to leape and
<PB N="114" REF="75"> friske when hee &s;ees the trap &s;et vp and bayted that will en&s;nare and murder him?</P>
<P>It is probably thought that when <HI>Noah</HI> fell &s;o foule and &s;hamefully in his drunkennes that <HI>Canaan</HI> Chams &s;onne fir&s;t <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Hebreus etiam id tradebat, &amp; ratione confir|mabat, primum Chanaan veren|da aui &s;ui vidi&s;|&s;e, &s;uo&abque; &s;olum patri narra&s;&s;e tanquam de&s;ene ridentem.</HI> Theodoret. Quae&s;t. in Gen&s;. 57.</NOTE> &s;aw his grandfather in that ca&s;e, and &s;o went and told his father <HI>Cham</HI> of it: for el&s;e why &s;hould <HI>Noah</HI> cur&s;e <HI>Cham</HI> in his &s;onne <HI>Canaan</HI> rather then in any o|ther of his &s;onnes. Hee had other &s;onnes be&s;ides, <HI>Gene.</HI> 10. 6. <HI>And the &s;onnes of Cham, Cu&s;h and Mizraim, and Phut and Canaan.</HI> Why ther|fore <HI>cur&s;ed bee Canaan</HI> rather then <HI>Cu&s;h, Mizraim, or Phut?</HI> Like e|nough that <HI>Canaan</HI> as the Iewes probably coniecture fir&s;t e&s;pied <HI>Noah</HI> in that ca&s;e, and he being an vngracious young&s;ter, one without all Religion, and po&s;&s;ibly an hater of all goodne&s;&s;e, one that had like enough beene often &s;agely admo|ni&s;hed, and &s;harply reprooued by
<PB N="115" REF="75"> <HI>Noah.</HI> And little content did the holyne&s;&s;e, au&s;teritie and religious carriage of <HI>Noah</HI> giue either to <HI>Canaan</HI> or to <HI>Cham.</HI> Now there|fore <HI>Canaan</HI> when hee &s;ees him in his drunkennes, and in that &s;hame|full pickle in his nakedne&s;&s;e, he tels it to his father, and his father after to <HI>Sem</HI> and <HI>Iaphet,</HI> and that with Ioy and gladne&s;&s;e, with mocking and deri&s;ion: for otherwi&s;e for <HI>Ca|naan</HI> to haue &s;eene it occa&s;ionally and to haue told it his father, or for his father to haue &s;eene it occa&s;io|nally and haue told it his brethren, had beene no matter of offence, but que&s;tionle&s;&s;e they both told it with much ioy, and reioycing. Like e|nough <HI>Canaan</HI> when he fir&s;t e&s;pied it, came running to his father, with much ioy in his face, Oh father I can tell you excellent Newes, the braue&s;t Newes that can be, Newes that will doe you good at the very heart, doe but goe along with mee,
<PB N="116" REF="76"> and I will &s;hew you &s;uch a &s;ight as you neuer &s;aw. Look where that old Dotard lies drunke, and in what a ba&s;e and &s;hamefull fa&s;hion? This is he that alwayes telling me of my &s;wearing, cen&s;uring mee for my want of religion, this is hee that was &s;o holy, &s;o full of his religion, and godlines, &s;ee there how like a bea&s;t he lies. And &s;urely if <HI>Canaan</HI> did tell <HI>Cham</HI> of it, <HI>Chams</HI> fact was exceeding vnnaturally villanous. The text &s;ayes. <HI>Gen.</HI> 9. 22. <HI>And</HI> Cham <HI>the father of</HI> Canaan <HI>&s;aw the nakednes of his father,</HI> not occa&s;ion|ally and at vnawares, &s;o might <HI>Shem,</HI> or <HI>Iaphet</HI> haue done. But if <HI>Canaan</HI> did fir&s;t tell <HI>Cham</HI> of it, as very probably hee did, then <HI>Cham</HI> like an vngratious varlet as he was, could not be content to heare of it, but to reioyce, and glad his heart the more, he mu&s;t goe &s;ee the &s;ight, hee mu&s;t goe feed his eyes with it, and that he might be &s;ure
<PB N="117" REF="76"> of it, and ob&s;eruing all the &s;euerall circum&s;tances hee might haue the more to make vp his mouth. And then after this in &s;corne, and deri|&s;ion and with in&s;ulting in&s;olency goes &amp; reports it to <HI>Shem</HI> and <HI>Ia|phet.</HI> So that what betweene an vngratious &s;onne, and a gracele&s;&s;e grand-child there was &s;ure no &s;mall Iubilation, and exultation in <HI>Noahs</HI> &s;candal, and drunkennes. But now as merry and iocund as <HI>Cham</HI> and <HI>Chanaan</HI> were, let vs &s;ee a little what cau&s;e they had for it, and con&s;ider if there were not that in it, that was enough to marre their merriment, and to haue tur|ned their mirth into mourning. Alas all con&s;idered, full little cau&s;e had they to be thus vpon their mer|rie pinnes. It <HI>could not</HI> be but the &s;candal of <HI>Noahs</HI> drunkennes <HI>mu&s;t come,</HI> but <HI>woe</HI> to <HI>Cham</HI> &amp; <HI>Canaan</HI> becau&s;e of that &s;candal. God had a purpo&s;e to bring a <HI>woe,</HI> and a <HI>cur&s;e</HI>
<PB N="118" REF="77"> vpon <HI>Cham</HI> and <HI>Canaan</HI> and vpon the <HI>Canaanites</HI> his po&s;terity, that they &s;hould be rooted out, and cut off by the &s;word of <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> But how now &s;hould way bee made to bring this cur&s;e vpon the heads of them? <HI>Noah</HI> &s;hal fal into a &s;candal, there|by &s;hall they be occa&s;ioned by rea|&s;on of their naughty &s;pirits to doe as they did, and then no &s;ooner &s;hal <HI>Noah</HI> awake from his wine but hee &s;hall awake with a &s;olemne cur&s;e in his mouth, which &s;hould be as the oracle of God, <HI>Cur&s;ed bee</HI> Ca|naan, <HI>a &s;eruant of &s;eruants &s;hall he bee vnto his brethren.</HI> And now I pray what cau&s;e haue <NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg"><HI>Sed O mi&s;er, Ham quam b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> es qui nunc demum inueni&s;ti quod quaere<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> venenum &s;cili<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">et in &s;al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">berrima ro&s;a,</HI> Luther in Gen. 9.</NOTE> <HI>Cham,</HI> and <HI>Canaan</HI> &s;o to reioyce at their fa|thers fall? <HI>Woe be</HI> to them becau&s;e of <HI>this offence,</HI> becau&s;e in this of|fence of his there is a trap, and a &s;nare &s;et to catch them, and a way preparing to bring a &s;orrowfull cur&s;e vpon the~ both. And haue they then thinke we any great cau&s;e of
<PB N="119" REF="77"> merrime~t? wil any man that is in his wits reioyce at that euent, who&s;e errand purpo&s;ely is to bring Gods cur&s;e vpon him. So little cau&s;e had <HI>Cham,</HI> and <HI>Canaan</HI> to reioyce at <HI>Noahs</HI> fall. And euery whit, as lit|tle cau&s;e hath the world to reioyce when &s;candals come, for then <HI>woe</HI> comes, God is &s;etting his ginnes, and &s;nares, &amp; traps to catch &s;ome, hee &s;ends forth his me&s;&s;engers of wrath, to doe &s;euere Iu&s;tice vpon per&s;ons that haue beene vnprofita|ble vnder the Go&s;pell.</P>
<P>Suppo&s;e God &s;hould &s;end the &s;word among&s;t men, would men reioyce and bee glad at it? See <HI>Ezek.</HI> 21. 9, 10. <HI>A &s;word, A &s;word is &s;harpened, and al&s;o fourbi&s;hed, It is &s;harpened to make a &s;ore &s;laughter, it is fourbi&s;ht that it may glitter, &s;hould we then make mirth?</HI> I trow not. And why not make mirth in &s;uch a ca&s;e? Becau&s;e the &s;word brought <HI>woe</HI> and <HI>mi&s;chiefe</HI> with it,
<PB N="120" REF="78"> becau&s;e it came to be di&s;mall, and fatal, becau&s;e it was a me&s;&s;enger of wrath and vengeance. And why then make men mirth at &s;candals when they come? May we not true|ly &s;ay of this laughter, <HI>Thou art mad,</HI> and of this mirth, <HI>what doth it? Eccl.</HI> 2. 2. Come not <HI>&s;candals</HI> with a <HI>woe</HI> as well as the <HI>&s;word?</HI> And is hee not as mad that reioy|ceth at the comming of <HI>&s;candals,</HI> as hee is that reioyces at the com|ming of a <HI>&s;word?</HI> Say, a <HI>&s;candal</HI> a <HI>&s;candal,</HI> it is fowle and heynous, it is come with <HI>woe,</HI> to make a &s;ore &s;pirituall &s;laughter, <HI>&s;hould wee then make mirth,</HI> and reioyce at it? God forbid. <HI>Woe vnto the world becau&s;e of &s;candals,</HI> and &s;hall we laugh, and &s;port with Gods <HI>woes?</HI> This makes &s;candals doubly <HI>woefull.</HI></P>
<P>That &s;ame is good coun&s;el which <HI>Salomon</HI> giues <HI>Prou.</HI> 24. 17, 18. <HI>Re|ioyce not when thine enemy falles, and let not thine heart bee glad when</HI>
<PB N="121" REF="78"> <HI>he &s;tumbles.</HI> If a man haue an ene|my that hates him, if any cro&s;&s;e or calamity befalls him a man may not reioyce at it, nor bee glad of it not onely when he <HI>falles,</HI> and God vtterly ruines him, but if he doe but <HI>&s;tumble,</HI> and God lay but &s;ome &s;maller cro&s;&s;e vpon him. Now marke the rea&s;on, <HI>lea&s;t the Lord &s;ee it, and it di&s;plea&s;e him, and he turne away his wrath from him,</HI> and &s;o turne it vpon thee. So that the &s;umme of the rea&s;on is, lea&s;t God &s;hould bee angry, and his wrath &s;hould be again&s;t thee. Marke then; If I may not reioyce at a mans <HI>out|ward &s;tumbling and fall,</HI> then how much le&s;&s;e may I reioyce in a <HI>mans &s;pirituall &s;tumbling and falling,</HI> how much more will that di&s;plea&s;e and anger God? If I may not reioyce at his outward fall lea&s;t God <HI>&s;hould</HI> be angrie, then much le&s;&s;e when in another mans &s;pirituall &s;tumbling and fall God <HI>is</HI> angrie with mee,
<PB N="122" REF="79"> and out of his anger again&s;t mee di&s;po&s;es his fall. Little cau&s;e haue I to reioyce at anothers &s;tumbling and falling, when God in wrath di&s;po&s;es of another mans &s;tumb|ling to make mee &s;tumble, and of another mans fall to make me fall. What cau&s;e haue I to reioyce at his &s;tumbling and falling, who ther|fore &s;tumbles and fals that I may &s;tumble and fall at him. And this is the very ca&s;e here. Such as doe giue &s;candals <HI>doe &s;tumble</HI> that o|thers <HI>may &s;tumble</HI> at them, <HI>doe</HI> fall that others <HI>may</HI> fall at them, <HI>Ierem.</HI> 46. 12. <HI>The mightie man hath &s;tum|bled again&s;t the mightie: and they are both fallen together.</HI> It is &s;po|ken of the Egyptians ruined in war. It may bee that one Captaine that hated his fellow might &s;ee him fall by the &s;word of the enemie. Now though he were his enemie that he &s;ee fal, had he any cau&s;e to reioyce? Not any at all. Why &s;o? Becau&s;e
<PB N="123" REF="79"> God prouidence di&s;po&s;ed that the fall of the fir&s;t &s;hould make way for the fall and ruine of the next. He that fell fir&s;t &s;hould lie in his fel|lowes way as a &s;tumbling blocke at which hee &s;hould &s;tumble and fall al&s;o. Thus we &s;aw before that the fals of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e Religion, are but as &s;tumbling blockes in o|ther mens wayes to precipitate them into ruine. And iudge then what cau&s;e they haue to reioyce thereat. If a man &s;hould &s;ee a &s;tum|bling &s;tone, or a &s;tumbling blocke laid on purpo&s;e at a pits brinke to topple him headlong ouer into the pit, would that man reioyce that that blocke were laid there? I think not. This is the ca&s;e here. Scan|dals are <HI>&s;tumbling blockes</HI> laide at hell pits mouth to precipitate, and head-long worldly wicked men downe into hel. So that to reioyce at &s;candals is to reioyce at the mat|ter, and in&s;trument of their owne
<PB N="124" REF="80"> &s;orrow to reioyce at that which will &s;urely &s;end them to Hell. Hee that reioyces in &s;uch a ca&s;e, Much good may his ioy doe him, I enuie no man &s;uch ioy.</P>
<P>There fell out a &s;candal in the Church of <HI>Corinth,</HI> 1. <HI>Corinth.</HI> 5. Now whereas vpon the euent of it they &s;hould haue beene mour|ning and heauie, they were in an|other veine, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 2, 6. They were <HI>glorying,</HI> and <HI>reioycing.</HI> They did not reioyce <HI>in,</HI> or <HI>at</HI> the &s;candal, that &s;uch a man that made &s;uch a profe&s;&s;ion was fallen, but they re|ioyced in their owne gifts, in the gifts of their Preachers. What Church had &s;uch Preachers, what people had &s;uch gifts? And reioyce they might in the&s;e things, but now it was vn&s;ea&s;onable, they &s;hould now rather haue beene mourning, becau&s;e of this &s;candal. Therefore the Apo&s;tle &s;harply takes them vp, <HI>Ver&s;e.</HI> 2, 6. <HI>And ye are puffed vp, and</HI>
<PB N="125" REF="80"> <HI>haue not rather mourned, your glo|rying, or reioycing is not good.</HI> If then the Apo&s;tle reprooues them thus for reioycing when there was a &s;candal, though they reioiced not at the &s;candal, how much more vehemently, and &s;harply would he haue reprooued them if they had reioyced at, and for the &s;candal? How much more in this ca&s;e would he haue &s;aid, <HI>your reioycing is not good. Woe</HI> to the world be|cau&s;e of &s;candals, and yet many make the&s;e matters of <HI>woe</HI> laugh|ing matters, but <HI>woe</HI> vnto them that in &s;uch a ca&s;e laugh, for they &s;hall weepe, and after-time, and af|ter-wit will teach them, that neuer had they greater cau&s;e of weeping, then euen then when they were vp|on their merry pinnes, becau&s;e that at which they made them&s;elues &s;o merrie, came with a woe vnto them.</P>
<P N="2">2. Secondly, this lets vs &s;ee
<PB N="126" REF="81"> what great cau&s;e of feare, warines, and caution there is in ca&s;e of &s;candalous euents. Since they be &s;uch dangerous euents, let men haue a &s;peciall care they be not en|&s;nared, and entrapped by them. When &s;candals fall out, wee &s;ee there is a trap, and a &s;nare &s;et, there is a &s;tumbling block laid, therefore it &s;hould bee a mans wi&s;dome, and watchfulnes that he be not caught in the trap, that he be not en&s;nared in the gin, that he &s;tumble and fall not at the block. We &s;ee that God hath put that wi&s;dome, warine&s;&s;e, and &s;hine&s;&s;e into &s;ome creatures, that if a trap, or a &s;nare bee &s;et for them, they are very &s;hie, &amp; iealous of comming neere it, or medling with the baite, and out of a feare of being taken, they will decline and &s;hunne the &s;nare, though tempted and allured thereto by &s;uch baites as otherwi&s;e they haue a full good mind vnto. Such, much more
<PB N="127" REF="81"> &s;hould bee the &s;hine&s;&s;e, and wary iealou&s;ie of men in the ca&s;e of &s;can|dalous euents. Doe wee &s;ee at a|ny time &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e religion to fall into any fowle euils, then thinke thus with thy &s;elfe. I had thought that when &s;uch euents had come to pa&s;&s;e, the danger of them had beene onely a per&s;onall danger to the partie Delinquent, that it had beene onely for the di&s;couerie, and for the di&s;grace of him, I ne|uer dreamt of any further matter, and therefore I thought I might haue made a may-game of them, and haue reioyced and triumphed in their fals. But now I &s;ee there is a further matter in them then I was aware of, I &s;ee that they come to pa&s;&s;e by Diuine Prouidence, to bring a <HI>woe</HI> vpon other mens heads. I &s;ee they come, that &s;ome may bee occa&s;ioned to &s;tumble at Religion, at the Law, at the Word, and from the ancient pathes, that
<PB N="128" REF="82"> hereupon they &s;hould re&s;oluedly reiect &amp; renounce &s;auing Religion, and the &s;auing powerful profe&s;&s;ion thereof to their owne a&s;&s;ured ruine for euer. I &s;ee now that they bee di&s;po&s;ed by a Diuine Prouidence, that &s;ome men being occa&s;ioned to bla&s;pheme Gods Name, &amp; Truth, may feele the weight of Gods re|uenging hand. I now &s;ee there is a Diuine finger in them, and that they come to occa&s;ion &s;ome men to harden their hearts &s;o, as they may fall into mi&s;chiefe; and be put out of po&s;&s;ibilitie, and the reach of mercie. The&s;e bee great dangers and heauie <HI>woes,</HI> for I &s;ee now they be but &s;tumbling blockes, at which &s;ome men &s;hall breake their neckes into Hell. I confe&s;&s;e, I did ne|uer conceiue them to bee halfe &s;o dangerous euents, I neuer appre|hended them &s;uch dangerous traps and &s;nares, as now vpon the ope|ning of this point I &s;ee they are.
<PB N="129" REF="82"> Belieue it, I &s;ee it is good wi&s;dome in &s;uch euents to looke about mee, and to take heed how I come with|in the reach of the&s;e &s;nares.</P>
<P>Since Diuine Prouidence &s;ets them to make way for Diuine ven|geance, though &s;uch a man profe&s;|&s;ing Religion, haue committed a foule &s;candal, <NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><HI>Iuxta &s;emi|t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> &s;candalum po&s;uer<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> mihi; no~ in &s;emitis &s;ed iuxta &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">mita<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">. Semitae tuae praecepta Dei &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nt. Illi &s;can|dala iuxta &s;emi|tas po&s;uerunt: tu noli recedere &agrave; &s;emitis &amp; non irrues in&s;can|dala: permi&s;it Deus ponere &s;candal<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> iuxta &s;emitas vt tu non recedas &agrave; &s;emitis. Iuxta &s;emitas &s;canda|la po&s;uerunt mihi &amp; quid re&s;tat? Quid re|medium inter tanta mala, in i&s;tis tentationibus, in i&s;tis periculis? Dixi Domino, Deus meus es tu.</HI> Aug. P&s;al. 139. <HI>Ergo cum audis vae mundo &agrave; &s;candulis, no|li terreri, dilige legem Dei, non tibi erit &s;candalum&mdash;teneamus inde|clinabilem confe&s;&s;ionem, diligamus legem Dei, vt euadamus quod dictum e&s;t, vae mundo &agrave; &s;candalis.</HI> Aug.</NOTE> yet I will by Gods grace take heed for all that of &s;tumbling at Godlines, or thin|king ere the wor&s;e of the profe&s;&s;ion of Religion; Nay, I will be &s;o farre from flying off, that I will cleaue the clo&s;er and the fa&s;ter to God, and the wayes of Truth. I will hold my profe&s;&s;ion &s;o much the fa&s;ter, and loue that Word &s;o much the more, that &s;o I may auoid this hea|uie <HI>woe.</HI> Doe in this ca&s;e when &s;candals fall out, and &s;o &s;nares bee
<PB N="130" REF="83"> &s;et as <HI>Dauid</HI> did when wicked men hid a Snare for him, and laid Nets to catch him, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 140. 5. <HI>The proud haue hid a &s;nare for mee, and cordes, they haue &s;pread a net by the way &s;ide, they haue &s;et grinnes for me.</HI> And what doth <HI>Dauid</HI> now doe in this ca&s;e? See <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 6. <HI>I &s;aid vnto the Lord, Thou art my God.</HI> So when Scandals fall out, Snares and Nets, and Grinnes are laid: What &s;hall we doe then? Shall we di&s;ta&s;te and di&s;like Godline&s;&s;e and Religion? No, by no meanes, that is the way to bee en&s;nared and caught; But then &s;pecially &s;ay vn|to the Lord, <HI>Thou art my God,</HI> I will cleaue clo&s;e to thee and to thy Truth, the&s;e euents &s;hall not cau&s;e mee to di&s;like of Godline&s;&s;e, and Religion, Say of wi&s;dom, notwith|&s;tanding &s;uch euents, that &s;he is &amp; &s;hall be thy &s;i&s;ter.</P>
<P>Though <NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><HI>Illa (&s;cilicet Iobi vxor) &s;can|dalum erat, &s;ed illi non erat.</HI> Aug. in P&s;al. 141.</NOTE> the&s;e per&s;ons be &s;can|dals, yet &s;hall they be none to me,
<PB N="131" REF="83">
<NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg"><HI>Non egredia<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &agrave; Chri&s;to, non incidam in mu&s;|cipulam.</HI> Ibid.</NOTE> I will not for all this goe from Chri&s;t, Godline&s;&s;e, and Religion for then am I caught in the trap. I will take heed for all this of bla&s;|pheming God and his Truth, I will for all this take heed of iu&s;tifying my &s;elfe in any euil wayes, and how I harden my &s;elfe in my &s;innes, for if I doe thus, then am I in the trap, then I &s;tumble at the &s;tumbling blocke, then hath the <HI>woe</HI> of the &s;candal light vpon and taken hold of me, God giue mee grace, and warine&s;&s;e to looke to one.</P>
<P>Becau&s;e &s;candalous euents are dangerous euents, this &s;hould bee therefore our wi&s;dome, warine&s;&s;e, and caution when they happen. Surely, the more dangerous they are, the more cautelous &s;hould we be, and in their euents be &s;o far from being &s;taggered, as to &s;ticke clo&s;er to religion, and to per&s;euere the more re&s;olutely. <NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg"><HI>Scandala non defutura praedi|xit quibus fi|dem no&s;tram exerceri &amp; pro|bari oporteret. Ait enim quo|niam abundauit iniquitas, refri|ge&s;cet charitas multorum, &s;ed continu &s;ubij|cit, Qui autem per&s;euerauit v&s;&abque; in finem &s;aluus erit.</HI> Au|gu&s;t. Epi&s;t. 136.</NOTE> <HI>Becau&s;e Ini|quitie &s;hall abound, the loue of many</HI>
<PB N="132" REF="84"> <HI>&s;hall waxe cold, Math.</HI> 24. 12. It &s;o commonly fals out that when ini|quities, &s;candalous iniquities of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e the truth fall out, that many that (it may be) had &s;ome good affection to, and liking of goodnes are &s;tarted, and &s;tumbled at Religion, and their loue growes cold. But how &s;hould it bee with vs in &s;uch ca&s;es? <HI>But he that endures to the end &s;halbe &s;aued, Ver&s;e</HI> 13. As much as to &s;ay, that euen great and foule &s;candalous iniquities a|bounding, mens loue and liking to Religion &s;hould not be abated, but they &s;hould for all that cleaue clo&s;e to it, and hold out and endure to the end, and not bee &s;tarted, and &s;tumbled by &s;candals.</P>
<P>Are &s;candalous euents then <HI>wo|full</HI> euents? And when &s;candals come, doth <HI>woe</HI> come? Then bee &s;o wi&s;e, though thou coulde&s;t not pre|uent the <HI>&s;candal,</HI> yet to preuent the <HI>woe,</HI> that the <HI>woe</HI> it brings with
<PB N="133" REF="84"> it, may none of it light vpon thine head. In euery &s;candal there is a <HI>guilt,</HI> and a <HI>woe,</HI> a <HI>&s;inne,</HI> and a <HI>cur&s;e.</HI> The <HI>guilt</HI> and the &s;inne is the per|&s;ons that offends, but the <HI>woe,</HI> and the cur&s;e fals vpon others. Now when &s;candals doe come, &s;o looke to thy &s;elfe, that thou maye&s;t haue as little &s;hare in the cur&s;e and the <HI>woe,</HI> as thou ha&s;t in the <HI>guilt</HI> and the &s;inne. Adders, Snakes, Serpents how &s;hie are men in medling with them, and all becau&s;e they are vene|mous, and haue a &s;ting? Euery &s;candal caries a &s;ting with it, a <HI>woe</HI> with it, and when they come they come to &s;ting &s;ome men mortally to the very death.</P>
<P>Scandals to many proue as tho&s;e fierie Serpents to the <HI>I&s;raelites, Numb.</HI> 21. 6. <HI>And the Lord &s;ent fie|rie Serpents among&s;t the people, and they bit the people, and much people of I&s;rael died.</HI> Therefore concernes it men to carrie them&s;elues as wa|rily
<PB N="134" REF="85"> when they meet with &s;candals, as if they met with Serpents, and bee as much afraid of a <HI>Scandals wo,</HI> as of <HI>a Serpents &s;ting.</HI> Among&s;t the extraordinarie &s;ignes that &s;hould follow them that belieue, this is one, that they &s;hall <HI>take vp Serpents, and they &s;hall not hurt them, Marke</HI> 16. 18. Now, &s;uch &s;hould our wi&s;dome, and warines be, that when the&s;e <HI>fierie Serpents</HI> come, we might &s;o take them vp as they might not <HI>hurt vs,</HI> that wee might &s;ee the <HI>Serpent,</HI> but not feele the <HI>&s;ting.</HI></P>
<P>Scandals are like <HI>Ezekiels</HI> roll. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 2. 10. <HI>There was written ther|in lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Ezekiel</HI> he was commanded <HI>to eat the roule.</HI> Had it beene a mat|ter left to his owne choice, like e|nough he would &s;carce haue med|led with it. See how it fared with him when he had eaten it, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 3. 14. <HI>I went in bitterne&s;&s;e, in the heat</HI>
<PB N="135" REF="85"> <HI>of my &s;pirit.</HI> All Scandals when they come are <HI>roules of woe,</HI> it is great wi&s;edome for a man to take heed how he eate &s;uch roules, lea&s;t a man get away with bitterne&s;&s;e in the end. <HI>A wi&s;e man &s;ees a plague, and hides him&s;elfe, but fooles goe on and are puni&s;hed, Prou.</HI> 22. When the plague comes how warie are men, how cautelous, and carefull to looke to them&s;elues? And what makes them &s;o, but onely becau&s;e it is a <HI>wofull,</HI> and a fatal di&s;ea&s;e. By the &s;ame rea&s;on &s;hould men be no le&s;&s;e cautelous, and wi&s;ely warie in the euent of Scandals, becau&s;e when they come a <HI>woe</HI> comes with them, and therefore &s;hould people be as feareful of the <HI>wo</HI> that comes with a <HI>Scandal,</HI> as they would bee of the <HI>infection</HI> that is in the <HI>plague.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="136" REF="86">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The &s;harpe and &s;euere Iu&s;tice of God vpon &s;uch as giue Scandal.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_ANd thus haue we &s;eene the fir&s;t <HI>Mi&s;chiefe</HI> and <HI>Woe</HI> that comes by Scandals, namely, that which comes to the &s;candalized World: now followes the &s;econd <HI>mi&s;chiefe</HI> and <HI>woe,</HI> that which is to the parties <HI>&s;ca~dalizing,</HI> and to &s;uch as <HI>giue</HI> the offence, <HI>But woe to the man by whom the offence commeth,</HI> that is, A nece&s;&s;itie there is of &s;candalous euents, but that nece&s;&s;itie &s;halbe no excu&s;e, or pro|tection to the offender, but as there is <HI>a woe</HI> for the <HI>taker,</HI> &s;o there is a <HI>woe</HI> for the <HI>giuer</HI> of the offence, <HI>woe be to him by whom the offence com|meth.</HI></P>
<P>In which words take notice of.</P>
<Q><PB N="137" REF="86"> The &s;euere and &s;mart Iu&s;tice of God vpon all Scandalizers of the Go&s;pell and Religion.</Q>
<P>God will a&s;&s;uredly be meet with &s;uch per&s;ons as breake out, and fall into foule notorious &s;candalous Actions, and will meete with them &s;harply, and &s;euerely. Woe vnto him by whom the offence com|meth. God threatens <HI>Eli</HI> very &s;harply, <HI>I haue told him that I will iudge his hou&s;e for euer,</HI> 1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 3. 18. But why would God deale &s;o &s;euerely? <HI>Becau&s;e</HI> (&s;ay &s;ome Tran&s;|lations) <HI>his &s;onnes runne into a &s;can|dal, and he re&s;trained them not,</HI> or <HI>frowned not vpon them.</HI> If God would puni&s;h <HI>Eli</HI> for not puni&s;h|ing Scandals, how much more will he puni&s;h them that giue &s;candals. The practices of <HI>Elies</HI> &s;onnes were mon&s;trous &s;candalous, 1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 22. and what did they by &s;o doing? <HI>Becau&s;e his &s;onnes bringing a</HI> cur&s;e
<PB N="138" REF="87"> <HI>vpon them&s;elues,</HI> So <HI>Iunius.</HI> So that by tho&s;e Scandals they brought a <HI>cur&s;e</HI> vpon them&s;elues, A <HI>woe</HI> came vpon them by their Scandal.</P>
<P>The woe that pur&s;ues &s;uch is threefold. Fir&s;t, <HI>Temporall.</HI> Second|ly, <HI>Spirituall.</HI> Thirdly, <HI>An eternall woe.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. God will pur&s;ue &s;uch with <HI>temporall woes.</HI> And they are the&s;e three.</P>
<P N="1">1. With a <HI>woe</HI> vpon them in their <HI>Name.</HI> A good Name is ex|ceeding pretious. For the worth and value of it preferred before <HI>Siluer, Gold, and great riches, Prou.</HI> 22. 1. For the &s;weetnes, com|fort, and contentment of it before <HI>&s;weet oyntment, Eccle&s;.</HI> 7. 2. So that for a man to loo&s;e his good Name, is as great a lo&s;&s;e as to loo&s;e a great e&s;tate of great riches. It would be iudged a <HI>woefull</HI> condition for a man that had a great e&s;tate, and a|bundance of wealth, if Gods hand
<PB N="139" REF="87"> &s;hould follow him, and con&s;ume him, and bring him to nothing. It is no le&s;&s;e a wo to be bereft of ones good Name, and to haue the &s;mell of that ointment taken away. Now in this thing is there a woe to him by whom an offence and a &s;candal commeth. Not onely the &s;weetnes of this ointment is taken away, but that &s;weetne&s;&s;e is turned into a loath&s;ome and a noy&s;ome &s;auour, <HI>Eccle&s;.</HI> 10. 1. <HI>Dead flyes cau&s;e the ointment of the Apothecarie to &s;end forth a &s;tinking &s;auour, &s;o doth a little folly him that is in reputation, for wi&s;dome and honour.</HI> Let a man haue the honourable name of a wi&s;eman, yea, of a godly, religi|ous, zealous man, which giue the greate&s;t honour in the world to a man, yet, if he bee guiltie but of a <HI>little folly,</HI> that little folly impea|ches his Name, as much as a <HI>dead flie</HI> wil doe a boxe of ointment. Let ointment be euer &s;o &s;weet &amp; good,
<PB N="140" REF="88"> yet if but a <HI>dead flie,</HI> or two be in it, they doe not onely take away the <HI>&s;weetne&s;&s;e of the ointment,</HI> but cau&s;e it to &s;tinke, and to haue a vile &s;auour, &s;o that a man will not one|ly not &s;mell to it, but &s;tops his no&s;e at it.</P>
<P>Now if a <HI>dead flie</HI> will doe &s;o much in a boxe of ointment, what will a <HI>dead dogge,</HI> or &s;ome &s;uch fil|thy carrion doe? If a <HI>little folly</HI> will &s;taine a mans reputation what will a <HI>great</HI> deale doe? Specially when it is <HI>folly</HI> in a high nature, not <HI>folly</HI> &s;lipt into at vnawares, but artificiall, and deliberate <HI>folly, fol|ly</HI> lyen in and practiced a long while, how much more will that &s;taine, &amp; make a mans name &s;tinke? That &s;ame &s;peech of <HI>Thamars</HI> (but that Lu&s;t hath no eares) had a great deale of weight in it, when <HI>Amnon</HI> was bent vpon the commi&s;&s;ion of a foule &s;candalous fact, 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 13. 13. <HI>And as for thee thou &s;halt be as one of</HI>
<PB N="141" REF="88"> <HI>the Fooles in I&s;rael.</HI> Indeed that had beene enough to haue &s;tayed him, if his Lu&s;t would haue giuen him the libertie of deliberation. It was as if &s;he had &s;aid. If thou doe&s;t this thing, <HI>woe</HI> bee vnto thee. But what <HI>woe?</HI> Now thou art a man of &s;ome credite and e&s;teeme, but if thou do this &s;candalous Act, God wil bla&s;t thy name and credit, <HI>Thou &s;halt be as one of the Fooles of I&s;rael.</HI> This is the iu&s;t hand of God vpon &s;uch, that they &s;halbe &s;mitten with the lo&s;&s;e of their credit and Name, and bee counted of the number of the Fooles in <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> It is a vile di&s;|grace to be a Foole any where, but to be a <HI>Foole in I&s;rael,</HI> to be of vile, and ba&s;e report, and repute in the Church of God, this is an heauie puni&s;hment. <HI>Amnon</HI> was afterward &s;tabd by <HI>Ab&s;oloms</HI> Seruants, had <HI>Amnon</HI> had but any &s;en&s;e left after that &s;inne of his, the Sword of <HI>Ab|&s;oloms</HI> Seruants could not bee &s;o
<PB N="142" REF="89"> cutting, and &s;o piercing, as was this, There goes <HI>Amnon</HI> that ba&s;e man, that vile per&s;on, There goes one of <HI>the Fooles in I&s;rael.</HI> When <HI>Amnon</HI> could not &s;tirre, nor bee &s;eene in the &s;treets, could not bee occa&s;ionally mentioned in ordina|rie talke, but one or other would bee throwing the myre of his ba&s;e action in his face, and the mention of him had beene as the &s;tirring of an vn&s;auourie excrement, What He? Ah vile man, ah wretched fel|low; Why, the&s;e things were farre more keene and cutting, then the very Swords that murthered him.</P>
<P>Wee may &s;ee the truth of this, <HI>Mal.</HI> 2. 8, 9. The Prie&s;ts were &s;can|dalous, and by their &s;candalous cour&s;es had cau&s;ed many to <HI>&s;tumble at the Law.</HI> Well <HI>woe</HI> bee to them, God would meet with them for it. What <HI>woe</HI> doth God bring vpon them? <HI>Therefore haue I al&s;o made you contemptible, and ba&s;e before all</HI>
<PB N="143" REF="89"> <HI>the people.</HI> God brought a <HI>woe</HI> vpon them in their credit and e|&s;teeme, that they were vile in the e&s;teeme of all, one and another, good and bad. And herein the Lord &s;erues men but iu&s;tly, and payes them with their owne coine. By &s;candals Gods Name is defiled, Gods Name di&s;graced, &amp; bla&s;phe|med, therefore for their Scandals God &s;mites them in their Names, that in the <HI>woe</HI> lighting vpon their Names, they may &s;ee what it was to di&s;honour, &amp; pollute the Name of God; God will pollute their Names that pollute his, and will cau&s;e that pearle of theirs to bee trod in the dirt, and mire. Yea, God &s;o takes to heart the di&s;ho|nour of his Name by &s;candals, that though there may bee true Repen|tance, yet &s;till &s;ome &s;taine may lie vpon the Name. <HI>Dauid</HI> made his peace with God, and truly repen|ted, &s;o as the Prophet tels him his
<PB N="144" REF="90"> &s;inne was forgiuen him, and yet 1, <HI>King.</HI> 15. 5. after <HI>Dauid</HI> is dead and gone, that fact of his is mentio|ned as &s;ome blurre. <HI>Dauid did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, &s;aue onely in the matter of</HI> V|riah <HI>the Hittite. Dauid</HI> did other things that were &s;infull, the Num|bring of the people, the giuing of <HI>Mephibo&s;heths</HI> Lands to <HI>Ziba,</HI> why then &s;ayes the text, <HI>&s;aue in the mat|ter of Vriah?</HI> Becau&s;e though the other were <HI>&s;innes,</HI> yet they were not <HI>&s;candalous &s;innes.</HI> The other was a &s;candalous &s;inne, and a &s;candalous &s;in is of that heynous nature, that though the guilt be taken away, yet after the wound hath done blee|ding and is clo&s;ed vp, and healed, there will remaine &s;ome skarre in the Name, and credit. So that of foule &s;candalous offenders it may be &s;aid as of the Adulterer, <HI>Prou.</HI> 6. 33. <HI>A wound, and di&s;honour &s;hall he get, and his reproach &s;hall not be wi|ped</HI>
<PB N="145" REF="90"> <HI>away.</HI> So long as hee liues his reproach will liue with him, yea and out-liue him too, his reproach will la&s;t as long as his memoriall. And as <HI>Ieroboam</HI> is &s;eldome named in Scripture without di&s;honour, <HI>Ieroboam that made I&s;rael to &s;inne,</HI> &s;o &s;uch feldome be mentioned, but with the remembrance of thir &s;can|dal, oh that was he that made &s;uch a profe&s;&s;ion of Religion, and yet playde that heynous pranke. Wee haue a ca&s;e, <HI>Deut.</HI> 25. 9, 10. that when a man refu&s;ed to doe a bro|thers office, his brothers wife mu&s;t <HI>loo&s;e his &s;hooe from off his foot, and &s;pit in his face, And his name &s;hall be called in I&s;rael the hou&s;e of him that hath his &s;hooe loo&s;ed.</HI> Now all this was great di&s;grace, and matter of great reproach, But what was this to the reproach that comes by a &s;candal? How much more re|proach is it to haue all men readie to &s;pit in ones face, to haue it &s;aid,
<PB N="146" REF="91"> <HI>the hou&s;e of him</HI> that had his con&s;ci|ence <HI>loo&s;ed,</HI> the man who de&s;erued to haue <HI>his face &s;pit in,</HI> becau&s;e he occa&s;ioned &s;o many to &s;pit on, and &s;pit at religion and the Go&s;pell.</P>
<P N="2">2. A <HI>&s;econd temporall woe</HI> which God will bring vpon them, and followes vpon the former is <HI>eiecti|on</HI> and <HI>ca&s;ting</HI> of them out of the <HI>&s;ociety</HI> &amp; <HI>communion</HI> of Gods peo|ple. That which <HI>Dauid</HI> complaines of as iniu&s;tice in his friends, &s;hal|be their righteous portion. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 31 11, 12. <HI>I was a reproach among&s;t all mine enemies, but &s;pecially among&s;t my neighbours, and a feare to mine acquaintance, they that did &s;ee mee without fled from me, I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind, I am like a broken ve&s;&s;el.</HI> Not only &s;hal their <HI>enemies</HI> de&s;pi&s;e, and &s;corne them, but their <HI>neighbours,</HI> not ordinarie neighbours, but their <HI>familiar ac|quaintance</HI> &s;hall di&s;card them, yea they &s;hall be afraid and a&s;hamed of
<PB N="147" REF="91"> them, and &s;hall &s;hunne all &s;ocietie, and conuer&s;e with them, as iudge|ing it a matter of di&s;credit to bee &s;eene in their co~panie. They &s;halbe as <HI>dead men</HI> out of minde, nay wor&s;e, for dead men may bee mentioned with honour and regard, but they &s;halbe as dead men in regard of <HI>&s;ociety,</HI> their &s;ociety no more de|&s;ired then the &s;ociety of a dead man, which euery man abhorres. They are like a <HI>broken ve&s;&s;ell.</HI> A ve&s;&s;ell while&s;t it is whole is v&s;efull, and de&s;ireable, and while&s;t whole, v&s;e is continually made of it, it is called for, enquired for, and is at euery turne in reque&s;t. But now let &s;uch a ve&s;&s;ell bee broken, it is thrown by, throwne out of doores, ca&s;t on the dunghill, none once meddles with it, nor lookes after it. So while&s;t &s;uch per&s;ons are whole ve&s;&s;els, they are ve&s;&s;els of v&s;e, and honour they haue the ho|nour of communion and &s;ociety,
<PB N="148" REF="92"> but if once &s;uch ve&s;&s;els get a knock, fall into &s;candal, &amp; take &s;uch fowle falles as that they <HI>breake</HI> their cre|dits &amp; their co~&s;cie~ces, &amp; &s;o become <HI>broken ve&s;&s;els,</HI> they are then ca&s;t out of the hearts, out of the &s;ocie|ty, out of the fellow&s;hip of Gods people. See how the&s;e goe together <HI>Ierem.</HI> 22. 28. <HI>Is he a ve&s;&s;ell wherein is no plea&s;ure? wherefore are they ca&s;t out, hee and his &s;eed.</HI> So that when a man becomes a ve&s;&s;ell wherein there is no plea&s;ure, then hee is <HI>ca&s;t out.</HI> So was <HI>Coniah.</HI> And &s;uch is the ca&s;e of &s;candalous per&s;ons, they become <HI>ve&s;&s;els</HI> wher|in is <HI>no plea&s;ure,</HI> and &s;o are <HI>ca&s;t out.</HI> That &s;ame is threatned as an heauy <HI>woe</HI> to <HI>I&s;rael. Ho&s;.</HI> 8. 8. <HI>Now &s;hall they bee among&s;t the Gentiles as a ve&s;&s;ell wherein is no plea&s;ure.</HI> When they were in their owne country, they were de&s;ireable ve&s;&s;els, they were as ve&s;&s;els of &s;iluer and gold, as ve&s;&s;els of plate that are for &s;eruice,
<PB N="149" REF="92"> &s;et vpon the table, had in great account, and pretious e&s;teeme. But, now they &s;hold be carried among&s;t the Gentiles, and there &s;hould bee as <HI>ve&s;&s;els wherein is no plea&s;ure,</HI> that is, as ba&s;e abiect ve&s;&s;els, put to the mo&s;t &s;ordid &s;eruices, &s;uch as God would make <HI>Moab</HI> to be. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 60. <HI>Moab my wa&s;hpot, olla lotionis meae:</HI> Now this was an heauy woe de|nounced again&s;t <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> that hee &s;hould be among&s;t the Gentiles as a ve&s;&s;ell wherein there is no plea|&s;ure. If to be &s;uch a ve&s;&s;ell among&s;t the Gentiles be a <HI>woe,</HI> and an heauy thing, what then is it to bee &s;uch a ve&s;&s;ell among&s;t the <HI>I&s;rael</HI> of God, and among&s;t his people, to be a re|iectitious refu&s;e ve&s;&s;ell, that a man hath no plea&s;ure to meddle with-al? <HI>Salt is good,</HI> that is, whil&s;t it is &s;auo|ry, but if the <HI>&s;alt haue lo&s;t its &s;auour, then it is ca&s;t out,</HI> no longer &s;et vp|on the table, no nor &s;uffered in the hou&s;e but it is ca&s;t vnto the <HI>dung|hill.</HI>
<PB N="150" REF="93"> A &s;candalous per&s;on is <HI>&s;alt,</HI> that hath lo&s;t his <HI>&s;auour,</HI> vn&s;auory &s;alt, not only wanting good but ha|uing a &s;tinking &s;auour, &amp; therefore fit for the &s;tinking dunghill, vntill his extraordinary, &amp; deepe humilia|tion haue brought him to recouer his &s;auour againe. Such is the ca&s;e of &s;candalous ones. It is Gods Iu&s;tice, and it is Gods commaunde it &s;hould be &s;o. If a man walke di&s;|orderly he is thus to be dealt with|all. 2. <HI>The&s;.</HI> 3. 6. <HI>Wee commande you in the name of the Lord Ie&s;us Chri&s;t, that yee withdraw your &s;elfes from e|uery brother that walkes di&s;orderly,</HI> and that di&s;orderly walking, what it is, we &s;ee in the words following. It was liuing <HI>idlely.</HI> Now if men mu&s;t withdraw them&s;elues out of the company of <HI>Idle di&s;orderly</HI> per|&s;ons, how much more then &s;hould they withdraw them&s;elues from &s;uch as bee &s;candalous? What is <HI>di&s;order</HI> to <HI>&s;candal?</HI> Therefore
<PB N="151" REF="93"> marke how punctual the Apo&s;tle is, <HI>Rom.</HI> 16. 17. Now I <HI>be&s;eech you bre|thren marke</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>tho&s;e that cau&s;e</HI> or <HI>commit &s;candals,</HI> or of|fences. And to what purpo&s;e &s;hould they marke them? That they might decline and &s;hunne their company, <HI>Marke them, and Auoid them.</HI> And therefore wee &s;ee the Apo&s;tles &s;euerity, in the excerci&s;e of di&s;cipline in the ca&s;e of the In|ce&s;tuous <HI>Corinthian;</HI> In the name of God he doth exco~municate &amp; ca&s;t him out not onely from &s;ocietie in holy things, but makes a rule vpon it; that if any that profe&s;&s;e religion liue in any &s;candalous cour&s;e, that they &s;hould not afford him ciuill familiar conuer&s;e. 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. 11. <HI>If any man that is called a brother be a fornicatour, or couetous, or an Idola|ter, or a rayler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner with &s;uch an one no not to eate.</HI> It is not to be denyed but vp|on good &amp; &s;ound euidences of true
<PB N="152" REF="94"> repentance a broken ve&s;&s;ell may be mended, vn&s;auoury &s;alt may re|gaine his &s;auour, and &s;o there may be an healing of their errour, and a receiuing of &s;uch into publique and priuate communion againe, for I pre&s;&s;e not <NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg"><HI>Marcianus &s;e Nouatiano coniunxit tenens haereticae prae|&s;umptionis du|ri&s;&s;imam pra|uitatem: vt &s;er|uis Dei poeniten|tibus, &amp; dolent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">|bus, &amp; ad eccle|&s;iam lachrymis, &amp; gemitu, &amp; dolere pul&s;anti|bus diuinae pie|tatis, &amp; lenita|tis paternae &s;o|latia, &amp; &s;ub&s;idi|a claudantur, nec ad fouenda vulnera admit|tantur vulnera|ti, &s;ed &s;ine &s;pepa|cis, &amp; co~muni|cationis relicti ad lu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">orum ra|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">inam &amp; prae|dam <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">iaboli proijciantur.</HI> Cypr. Epi&s;t. 67,</NOTE> <HI>Nouitian</HI> rigidi|ty, but yet till &s;uch repentance doe appeare, all &s;candalous per&s;ons though not touched with Church cen&s;ures are to &s;tand excommuni|cate out of the hearts, and familiar fellow&s;hip of al Gods people. What difference betweene a <HI>leprous</HI> and a <HI>&s;candalous</HI> per&s;on, and the leper during his lepro&s;ie, till hee were clen&s;ed was to be &s;hut vp, and kept apart. <HI>If thy right hand &s;candalize thee</HI> cut it of, and ca&s;t it <HI>from thee, Math.</HI> 18. 8. This hath a truth in this ca&s;e. If a man that hath bin deere &amp; pretious fall into &s;candal, yet &s;pare him not but let him bee <HI>cut</HI> of, and <HI>ca&s;t out</HI> of &s;ociety till he be brought to &s;uch truth of repe~ta~ce as becomes
<PB N="153" REF="94">
<NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg"><HI>Adeo non pudet aut piget admi&s;|&s;orum, et tamen audent venire in eccle&s;iam &s;anctorum, audent mi&s;|&s;ceri gregi Dominico. Tales inter|dum tolerat eccle&s;ia ne prouocati magis etiam perturbent populum Dei. Sed quid prode&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, non eijci caetu piorum, &s;i merueri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> eijci? Nam eijci remedium e&s;t, &amp; gra|dus ad recuperandum &s;anitatem: eiectionem merui&s;&s;e &s;umma malo|rum e&s;t. Ac fru&s;tra mi&s;cetur catui &s;anctorum &amp;c.</HI> Cyp. de dupl. Martyr.</NOTE> And how-euer men fallen into &s;ome fowle &s;candal may e&s;cape the publique cen&s;ure of eiection, and ex|communication, and by intru&s;ion haue fel|low&s;hip in holy du|ties of wor&s;hip yet litle comfort &s;hall &s;uch mens con&s;ciences haue, &s;o long as publique &s;atisfaction is not giuen to the Church of God, for what &s;hall it profit a man, not to be ca&s;t out of the congregation of the faithfull, &s;o long as he de&s;erues to bee ca&s;t out: for for a man to bee ca&s;t out, is a remedy and a degree towards the recouery of &s;pirituall health. But to de&s;erue ca&s;ting out (as all &s;candalous per&s;ons doe that will not, and doe not &s;ub|iect to Gods ordinance of publi|que &s;atisfaction and confe&s;&s;ion) is the height of all euill.</P>
<PB N="154" REF="95">
<P> Such was the ancient <NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Nam cum in minoribus de|lictis poenitentia agatur iu&s;to tempore, &amp; exo|mologe&s;is fiat in|&s;pect&acirc; vita eius qui poeni|tentiam agit, nec ad commu|nicationem quis venire po&s;&s;it, ni&s;i prius illi ab ex|pi&s;copo, &amp; clero manus fuerit impo&s;ita, quanto magis in his graui&s;&s;imis, &amp; extremis delictis ante omnia &amp; moderat&egrave; &s;ecun|dum di&s;ciplina~ Domini ob&s;er|uari oportet. Nemo ab hinc importuno tempore acerba po<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">a decerpat, nemo nauem &s;uam qua&s;&s;ata~ &amp; perforata~ fluctibus, priu&s;qua~ diligenter refecerit in al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u~ denuo co~mittat, Nemo tunicam &s;ci&s;&s;am accipere &amp; induere properet, ni&s;i eam &amp; ab arti|fice perito &s;artam viderit, &amp; a fullore curatam receperit</HI> Cypr. Epi&s;t. 12.</P>
<P><HI>Legimus literas&mdash;quod Victori Presbytero antequam poenitentiam plenam egi&s;&s;et, temere Therapius collega no&s;ter immaturo tempore &amp; prae|propera fe&s;tinatione pacem dederit. Quae res nos &s;atis mouit, rece&s;&s;um e&s;&s;e a decreti no&s;tri auctoritate vt aen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e legitimum, &amp; plenum tempus &s;atisfactionis, &amp; &s;ine petitu &amp; con&s;cientia plebis&mdash;pax ei concederetur</HI> Cypr. Epi&s;t. 59</P></NOTE> &s;euerity of di&s;cipline, that &s;uch as had giuen &s;candal were neither &s;uddenly nor ea&s;ily readmitted into Communi|on, but there was fir&s;t publique confe&s;&s;ion, and a time it &s;eemes of the tryall of their repentance be|fore they had a fre&s;h admittance into Church-fellow&s;hip. Greene apples too &s;oone gathered, they thought, might &s;et ones teeth on edge, and it was dangerous to &s;et a &s;hip to &s;ea that had bin crackt, &amp; flawed, before it were thorough|ly repayred againe.</P>
<P>Yea and it was &s;trange to &s;ee the <NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg"><HI>O &s;i po&s;&s;es frater chari&s;&s;ime i&s;tic intere&s;&s;e cum praui i&s;ti &amp; peruer&s;ide &s;chi&s;mate reuertantur, videres quis mihi labor &s;it per|&s;uadcre patientia~ fratribus no&s;tris vt animi delore &s;opito recipiendis ma|lis curandi&s;&abque; con&s;entiant&mdash;vix plebi pre&s;uadeo, im&ograve; extorqueo, vt tales patiantur admitti.</HI> Cypr. Epi&s;t. 55.</NOTE> ancient zeale of the people again&s;t
<PB N="155" REF="95"> &s;uch with how much adoe they &s;uf|fred &s;uch as had giuen &s;candal, and had not yet giuen &s;ufficient eui|dence of their repentance, to bee readmitted and receiued into the Church againe.</P>
<P>Nay further wee &s;hall finde that in <NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg"><HI>Inter chri&s;ti|anae religionis profe&s;&s;ores ordi|nati &s;unt ali|quot qui inqui|runt in vias et mores acceden|tium, vt non conce&s;&s;a &s;acien|tes candidatos religionis arce|ant &aacute; &s;uis c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n|uentibus &amp;c: peccantes, prae|cipu&egrave; libidine contaminatos e &s;u&acirc; republic&acirc; reijciunt no&s;tri&mdash;rur&s;um vero re pi&s;centes haud &s;ecus qua~ rediuiuos reci|piunt tandem, ca tamen condi|tione vt quonia~ lap&s;i &s;unt, exclu|dantur in po&s;te|rum ab omnibus dignitatibus &amp; magi&s;tratibus eccle&s;iasticis.</HI> Origen. cont. Cel&s;. lib. 3.</NOTE> <HI>Origens</HI> time their were &s;ome appointed to looke into the wayes and manners of the people pro|fe&s;&s;ing chri&s;tian religion, that if they carried them&s;elues offen&s;iuely, they might be kept out from the publi|que meetings. And further if any were found &s;inning &s;candalou&s;ly, e&s;pecially if defiled with lu&s;t, and vncleannes they ca&s;t them out of the Church. And when vpon their repentance they were receiued a|gaine yet was it with this conditi|on, that becau&s;e they had fallen in|to &s;candal, they &s;hould be excluded for euer after from all eccle&s;ia&s;ticall dignity and gouernement. And we &s;ee that in <NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg"><HI>See</HI> Cyprian Epi&s;t. 64. 68.</NOTE> <HI>Cyprians</HI> time, al&s;o
<PB N="156" REF="96"> it went for good di&s;cipline, that a Bi&s;hop that had fallen into Idolatry, &amp; defiled him&s;elfe with that &s;ca~da|lous &s;inne though hee might com|municate as Lay per&s;ons, yet might he haue no more to doe with Epi|&s;copal or Mini&s;terial function. And this Di&s;cipline of theirs wants not foundation in Scripture; It &s;eemes to be the &s;ame thing that God him|&s;elfe con&s;tituted, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 44. 12, 13. <HI>Becau&s;e they mini&s;tred vnto them before their Idols, they &s;hall beare their iniquitie, and they &s;hall not come neere vnto mee to doe the office of a Prie&s;t vnto me, nor to come neere to any of mine holy things in the mo&s;t holy place, but they &s;hall beare their &s;hame, and their abominations which they haue committed.</HI> Vpon their Repentance they were receiued a|gaine to &s;ome other places, <HI>Ver.</HI> 10, 11. but they mu&s;t meddle no more after that &s;candal of Idolatrie with the Prie&s;t-hood. And this Di&s;ci|pline
<PB N="157" REF="96"> did <HI>Io&s;iah</HI> put in practi&s;e, 2. <HI>King.</HI> 23. 9. Some priuiledges vp|on their Repentance were granted vnto the Prie&s;ts of the high places, that had defiled them&s;elues with I|dolatrie, but the office of Prie&s;t|hood they were quite excluded from it. And this was the ancient Di&s;cipline again&s;t the giuers of of|fence, and indeed &s;uch zeale, and &s;uch &s;eueritie it did concerne, and euer will concerne the Church of God to &s;hew to &s;candalous delin|quents. Facilitie, and an ouer ea&s;ie readine&s;&s;e to comply with &s;uch, breedes a fre&s;h &s;candal to the world, and giues them iu&s;t cau&s;e to <NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg"><HI>Et quoniam audio, chari&s;&s;imi fratres impu|den<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ia vos quorundam pre|mi, &amp; verecun|diam ve&s;tram vim pati oro vos quibus po&s;&s;um precibus vt eua~|gelij memores&mdash;vos quo&abque; &s;olli|cite &amp; caut&egrave; pe|tentiu~ de&s;ideria ponderetis, vt|pote amici domi|ni &amp; cum illo po&s;t modum iu|dicaturi, in&s;pici|atis &amp; actum &amp; opera &amp; merita &s;ingulerum, ip&s;o|rum quoque de|lictorum genera &amp; qualitates cogitetis, ne &s;i quid abrupte &amp; indign&egrave; vel a vobis promi&s;&s;um vel a nobis fac|tum fuerit, apud Gentiles quo&abque; ip&s;os eclce&s;ia no|&s;tra crube&s;cere incipiat.</HI> Cypr. Epi&s;t. 11</NOTE> reproach the Church, and opens the mouth of iniquitie to &s;ay, you bee all &s;uch; Whereas di&s;commo|ning, and di&s;carding &s;uch from our familiar and priuate &s;ocietie, and when neede and power is, from communion in holy things, gaines the Church a great deale of honour
<PB N="158" REF="97"> and &s;tops the mouth of iniquitie from calumniating Gods people to bee fauourers, and countenan|cers of &s;uch per&s;ons. Such will bee pre&s;&s;ing in, to gaine their credit, and to recouer their re&s;pect, but when &s;uch &s;uddenly and ea&s;ily get into credit it is no whit for the honour and credit of the Church.</P>
<P>God will bring <HI>woes</HI> vpon them in their outward <HI>&s;tate,</HI> their <HI>peace,</HI> their <HI>po&s;teritie. Elies</HI> &s;onnes runne into foule Scandals, 1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 22. It was &s;candalous for priuate per|&s;ons, much more for Prie&s;ts to bee vncleane, and adulterous. It was &s;candalous to haue done &s;o vnclean an act in any place, but to doe it in a &s;acred place with women com|ming thither vpon deuotion, this was egregiou&s;ly &s;candalous. God therefore takes them to doe, and does execution vpon them, and cuts them both off in one day by the Sword of the <HI>Phili&s;tims,</HI> God
<PB N="159" REF="97"> brought the <HI>wo</HI> of the Sword vpon them. Nay, when they ranne into Scandal becau&s;e <HI>Eli</HI> did not re|&s;traine them, &s;ee what God threa|tens vpon his Po&s;teritie, 1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 36. that hee would plague them with &s;uch ba&s;e beggerie and mi&s;e|rie that they <HI>&s;hould beg their bread.</HI> If God thus puni&s;h him for not re|&s;training, how much more would he haue puni&s;hed him for the com|mitting of a Scandal? If it goe thus hard with <HI>Eli</HI> that re&s;traines not, how hard will it goe with <HI>Hophni</HI> and <HI>Phinehas</HI> that commit the &s;candal?</P>
<P>Wee cannot haue a more preg|nant and full example in this kinde, then <HI>Dauid</HI> him&s;elfe. Hee after his &s;candal committed was truly peni|tent, the guilt of his &s;inne pardo|ned, a &s;olemne ab&s;olution and di&s;|charge giuen him by the Prophet. And yet for all this wee &s;hall &s;ee how terribly this <HI>woe</HI> pur&s;ued him
<PB N="160" REF="98"> in temporall cro&s;&s;es in this kinde. Fir&s;t, God &s;mites his childe with death, then followes his daughter <HI>Thamars</HI> defilement by her brother <HI>Amnon,</HI> then <HI>Amnons</HI> murder, then the trea&s;on of <HI>Ab&s;alom,</HI> in which the hand of God was exceeding &s;mart, God turnes him out of hou&s;e and home. Who&s;e heart would not earne, and bleede to &s;ee his dolefull departure from Ieru&s;a|lem, 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 15. 30. <HI>And Dauid went vp by the a&s;cent of mount Oli|uet, and wept as he went vp, and had his head couered, and hee went bare|foote, and al the people that was with him couered euery man his head and they went vp weeping, as they went vp.</HI> Who could haue beheld &s;o &s;ad and &s;o woefull a &s;pectacle with drie eyes? But this was not all, his life is endangered, his Concubines de|filed in open viewe on the hou&s;e top. And what thinke wee was the ground of all this? For the childs
<PB N="161" REF="98"> death we &s;ee, 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 12. 13, 14. <HI>The Lord hath put away thy &s;inne, thou &s;halt not die, howbeit becau&s;e by this thy deede thou ha&s;t giuen great occa&s;ion to the enemies of the Lord to bla&s;pheme, the child al&s;o that is borne vnto thee &s;hall &s;urely die.</HI> It is verie much that fa&s;ting and praying can doe, it can ca&s;t out deuils, <HI>This kind goes not out but by fa&s;ting and praying, Mark.</HI> 9. 29. And yet fa&s;t|ing and praying could not keepe off this <HI>woe</HI> that <HI>Dauids</HI> &s;candal brings vpon him in the childes death, <HI>woe</HI> vnto <HI>Dauid by whom</HI> that <HI>offence came,</HI> therefore &s;hall his childe die. And for all the re&s;t of al tho&s;e woeful &s;orrowes 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 12. 9. 10. 11. 12. we &s;ee the cau&s;e of them all, the&s;e woes were vpon <HI>Dauid</HI> for his &s;candal. And if Gods woe in the&s;e temporall, &amp; outward calamities will thus pur&s;ue and fol|low a repe~ting, &amp; an humbled &s;can|dalous offender, how much more
<PB N="162" REF="99"> will that hand of God pur&s;ue that man, vpon who&s;e &s;candal followes no Repentance and Humiliation. If <HI>Dauid</HI> the man after Gods owne heart mu&s;t not e&s;cape, what then &s;hall others looke for? If a beloued <HI>Dauid</HI> &s;hall haue his teeth on edge with his owne &s;owre grapes of his &s;candalous cour&s;es, who then &s;hall thinke to goe &s;cotfree that is guil|ty of &s;candalous tran&s;gre&s;&s;ions? what a &s;ure &amp; irre&s;i&s;tible <HI>wo</HI> is that which Repentance it &s;elfe cannot keepe off from a mans children, his life, per&s;on and goods? And thus <HI>temporall woe</HI> is to him <HI>by whom offences come.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. God will pur&s;ue, and pinch &s;uch as giue offence with <HI>&s;pirituall woe.</HI> God will fill &s;uch mens hearts, &s;pecially if they belong to him, with much &s;pirituall woe, and bitter|ne&s;&s;e of &s;oule. He will awaken con|&s;cience to &s;mite, pinch and gripe them at the heart; He will &s;o loade,
<PB N="163" REF="99"> and burden their con&s;ciences that in the angui&s;h and bitternes of their &s;pirits they &s;halbe forced to cry out, <HI>woe</HI> is mee vile wretch that I was borne, that euer I brea|thed thus to di&s;honour God. It is true that there is an happine&s;&s;e in this woe, and it is &s;ingular mercy that men are not &s;eared, and hardened in their &s;inne, but yet for all that there is a great deale of &s;mart, &amp; &s;orrow, and a great deale of woeful bitternes in the worke of Repentance after a &s;candalous fall, And before &s;uch &s;hall recouer their peace with God, he will giue them many a <HI>woefull</HI> gripe of Con&s;ci|ence, and many a bitter potion to drinke. Wee haue an example of it in the Ince&s;tuous <HI>Corinthian.</HI> He indeede recouered his peace, and his pardon, but yet how woefull was his ca&s;e before it was done. 2. <HI>Cor.</HI> 2. 7. <HI>Lea&s;t &s;uch an one &s;hould bee &s;wallowed vp of ouer much &s;orrow.</HI>
<PB N="164" REF="100"> See then in what a woefull plight he was euen in a &s;ea and gulfe of &s;orrow, ready to bee ab&s;orpt, and &s;wallowed vp therein. The Lord therefore plu~ged him into the deeps of bitter &s;orrow of &s;pirit, and plun|ged him &s;o deep as that he was ready to de&s;paire, and to bee wholly ca&s;t away. Thus God would make his &s;oule &s;mart, and his heart ake for this &s;candal of his, would make him feele the truth of Chri&s;ts &s;aying, <HI>woe vnto him by whom the offence comes.</HI> It was <HI>Dauids</HI> ca&s;e before him. When hee had fallen into &s;candal, in the matter of <HI>Bath&s;heba,</HI> and <HI>Vriah,</HI> before hee comes to a redintegration of his former con|dition, God brings him vpon the racke. <HI>P&s;.</HI> 51. 12. <HI>Re&s;tore vnto me the ioy of thy &s;aluation,</HI> therefore that was taken away &amp; gone, that &s;weet &s;un&s;hine was ouerclouded, yea that &s;unne was dreadfully eclip&s;ed, and how fearefull &s;uch eclip&s;es be, they
<PB N="165" REF="100"> knowe that &s;ee them. It is no le&s;&s;e <HI>woe</HI> for the pre&s;ent to loo&s;e the Ioy of ones &s;aluation, then to loo&s;e &s;al|uation it &s;elfe. But that was not all. See <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 8. <HI>make mee to heare ioy, and gladne&s;&s;e that the</HI> bones <HI>which thou ha&s;t</HI> broken may reioyce. God therefore not onely tooke away his ioy, but God brake the <HI>bones</HI> of him. What an exqui&s;ite torture is the puni&s;hment of the wheele, whe~ a Malefactour hath his bones bro|ken one to day, another to morrow? Such is the <HI>woe</HI> that God wil bring vpon &s;candalous ones, &s;pecially if they belong to him, Hee wil bring them to the wheele, he wil cracke and <HI>breake</HI> their <HI>bones,</HI> he will haue them to the racke, and fill their con|&s;ciences with &s;o much angui&s;h, that they &s;hall vndergoe as much woe as if all the bones in their bodies were broken in pieces, <HI>That the bones which thou ha&s;t broken.</HI> Yea their bones &s;halbe &s;o broken, that
<PB N="166" REF="101"> they will not quickly, nor &s;uddenly bee healed againe. <HI>Nathan</HI> in the Name of God did that which one would haue thought might haue &s;et <HI>Dauids</HI> bones and giuen them ea&s;e, <HI>Thy &s;inne is forgiuen thee,</HI> and yet we &s;ee after this he cries out of his bones, It lay in his bones &s;till.</P>
<P>When men after Scandals are ouer-quickly whole againe, cranke, and iolly, it is to bee feared, their bones were neuer broken to the purpo&s;e. Well thus we &s;ee what a <HI>woe</HI> there is for giuers of offence, <HI>woe</HI> bee to the man who&s;e bones God wil breake, and therefore <HI>woe to him by whom the offence com|meth.</HI> If he belong to God, God will breake his bones, if he belong not to God, but were an Hypocrite God, will then happily harden his heart that he may breake his necke.</P>
<P N="3">3. God will bring eternall <HI>woe</HI> vpon them. That is, if the per&s;on falling into &s;candal did before his &s;candal but act a part &amp; per&s;onate
<PB N="167" REF="101"> religion, and were no better then an Hypocrite, then though po&s;&s;ibly he may e&s;cape &s;ome of the former woes, yet God will pay him with with ad|uantage, make vp all forbearance with doubling, and trebling the principall. The greater his fall was here, the deeper &s;hall his fall be in|to Hell. <NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg"><HI>Vniu&s;cuiu&s;&abque; ca&s;us tanto ma|ior<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s e&s;t crimi|nis, quanto prius quam caderet maioris erat virtutis.</HI> Barn. de interior. Dom. cap. 50.</NOTE> The higher the place is from which a man fals, the deeper a man plunges into the pit of myre into which hee fals. A man that makes profe&s;&s;ion of Religion, is &s;et higher then another man is, and if hee profe&s;&s;e in hypocri&s;ie, and fall into &s;candal, hee by rea&s;on of the height from whence hee fals, fals deeper into wrath &amp; hel, then ano|ther doth. At this happily our Sa|uiour aymes, <HI>Matth.</HI> 18. 6. <HI>It were better for him that a mil&s;tone were hanged about his necke, and that hee were drowned in the depth of the &s;ea.</HI></P>
<P>A man &s;o v&s;ed were but in an ill ca&s;e, and yet it is a better ca&s;e then
<PB N="168" REF="102"> the ca&s;e of &s;ome &s;candalous per|&s;on. A man ca&s;t into the Sea in any place of it is but in an ill ca&s;e, for &s;uppo&s;e hee bee not drowned, yet will hee be &s;hrewdly dou&s;ed, and cannot but be in danger. But ca&s;t a man into the depth of the Sea, into the huge Deepes which can|not bee bottom'd, and there is but little hope of &s;uch a mans life. But yet &s;uch a man may &s;cape. <HI>Ionas</HI> was ca&s;t <HI>into the deepe, in the midde&s;t of the &s;eas, the depth clo&s;ed him round about, Ion.</HI> 2. 3, 5. and yet hee e&s;ca|ped. A man by prouidence may meete with a planke or a piece of a ma&s;t in &s;uch va&s;t depths and po&s;&s;i|bly may e&s;cape. But take a man &amp; ca&s;t him not onely into the Sea, but into the depth of the Sea, and not onely into the depth, but ca&s;t him in with an heauie &s;tone, &s;pecially a mil&s;tone, &s;pecially with &s;uch an heauie mil&s;tone as cannot bee turned about with a mans hand, but mu&s;t bee turned a|bout
<PB N="169" REF="102"> with the &s;trength of a bea&s;t (and &s;uch a mil&s;tone &s;ome thinke is here intended <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>mola a&s;i|naria,</HI> &s;uch a mil&s;tone as is turned about by the helpe of an A&s;&s;e) and let him be ca&s;t into the depth of the Sea with it (as <HI>Hierome</HI> &s;ayes &s;ome Malefactors in tho&s;e Countries v|&s;ed to be &s;erued) and what po&s;&s;ibi|litie is there to e&s;cape drowning.</P>
<P>Now this is the ca&s;e of &s;canda|lous Hypocrites. If &s;candalous per&s;ons bee Hypocrites then will their iudgement, and woe be great, and ineuitable. Their &s;candal is a great heauie <HI>mil&s;tone</HI> about their necke, with this <HI>mil&s;tone</HI> God ca&s;ts them not into the &s;hallow, but into the <HI>depth,</HI> the gulfe of Hell. And this <HI>mil&s;tone</HI> &s;inkes them, and this <HI>mil&s;tone</HI> holds them downe for e|uer ri&s;ing againe. <HI>Mil&s;tones</HI> do not make &s;urer worke for the drow|ning, then Scandals doe for the damning of per&s;onating gro&s;&s;e Hypocrites.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="170" REF="103">
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Why God is &s;o &s;mart, and &s;o &s;euere in his Iu&s;tice again&s;t tho&s;e by whom Scandals come.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_WE haue &s;eene how &s;harpe, and &s;euere the Iu&s;tice of God is in puni&s;hing &s;uch by whom offences come. Con&s;ider we a little, as wee haue &s;eene <HI>the</HI> &s;e|ueritie of his Iu&s;tice, &s;o the Iu&s;tice of his &s;eueritie, and why God doth deale thus roundly with offenders in that kind. I conceiue there bee foure &s;peciall rea&s;ons of Gods &s;o dealing.</P>
<P N="1">1. Becau&s;e by Scandals Gods holy and glorious Name is pollu|ted, and bla&s;phemed, and &s;o God in a high mea&s;ure wronged. God is a iealous God, and he will <HI>not hold him guiltle&s;&s;e that takes his Name in vaine,</HI> that is, hee will &s;urely meete with, and bee reuenged vpon &s;uch as doe it. It is a greater matter to
<PB N="171" REF="103"> pollute, and profane Gods Name then it is to take his name in vaine. If therefore God will deale &s;o &s;e|uerely with them that doe but take his Name in vaine, how much more will hee make them &s;mart that doe pollute his Name, and cau&s;e it to be bla&s;phemed by the malignant e|nemies of his truth. The defiling of Gods Name is an heynous thing, wee &s;ee how &s;harpe God was with <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and <HI>Aaron,</HI> they mu&s;t both die, and not come into the Land of <HI>Canaan.</HI> But what was the rea&s;on? See <HI>Deut.</HI> 32. 51. <HI>Becau&s;e yee tre&s;|pa&s;&s;ed again&s;t mee among&s;t the chil|dren of I&s;rael.</HI> But what was that tre&s;pa&s;&s;e? <HI>Becau&s;e yee</HI> &s;anctified <HI>me not in the midde&s;t of the children of I&s;rael.</HI> And mu&s;t they die, and not enter <HI>Canaan</HI> becau&s;e they <HI>&s;anctified</HI> not, what if they had <HI>pol|luted</HI> his Name? If it be &s;o heynous not to <HI>&s;anctifie,</HI> what is it to <HI>pol|lute,</HI> and defile Gods Name? And
<PB N="172" REF="104"> this &s;inne is <NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg"><HI>Numquid dici de Hunis pote&s;t. Ecce qua|les &s;unt qui Chri&s;tiam di|cuntur? Num|quid de Saxoni|bus aut Francis. Ecce quae faci|unt, qui&s;e a&s;&s;e|runt Chri&s;ti e&s;&s;e cultores? Num|quid propter Maurorum ef|feros mores lex &s;acro-&s;ancta culpatur? Nunquid Scy|tharum aut Ge|pidarum inhu|mani&s;&s;imi ritus in maled<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ctum, at&abque; bla&s;phemia~ nomen Domini Saluatoris in|ducunt?&mdash;Hoc autem, vt dixi, malum peculia|liter tantum Chri&s;ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters">rum e&s;t, quia per eos tantummodo bla&s;phematur Deus, qui bona dicunt, &amp; mala faciunt.</HI> Salu. de Prou Dei lib. 4.</NOTE> proper and peculiar to the Profe&s;&s;ours of the Name of God, and Chri&s;t to defile his Name.</P>
<P>Other men &s;inne in tho&s;e euils which they commit, but yet this &s;inne they are not guiltie of. They onely commit the &s;inne of polluting Gods Name, that doe profe&s;&s;e his Name. This is proper|ly a Church-&s;inne, and befals not &s;uch as are without. When men take the Name of God, and the profe&s;&s;ion of Religion vpon them, and yet liue lewdly and loo&s;ely, or fall into any &s;candalous practices they doe, thereby defile the Name of God, and pollute it. Wee finde the people charged with this &s;inne, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36. 20. <HI>That they prophaned</HI> or <HI>polluted Gods holy Name a|mong&s;t the Heathen whither they went.</HI> Now how could they pol|lute Gods Name? That they did by that which followes in the &s;ame
<PB N="173" REF="104"> Ver&s;e. <HI>They prophaned my Name a|mong&s;t the Heathen when they &s;aid of them, The&s;e are the people of the Lord, and are gone out of his Land.</HI> The <HI>Iewes</HI> where euer they came profe&s;&s;ed them&s;elues the people of God, that they had the God of Heauen for their God, and that they had his Law, and Oracles, and that they were an holy people, neer vnto him, hereupon the Heathen looked for &s;ome &s;ingular thing from them, &s;ingular holine&s;&s;e in their lifes, &s;ingular fidelitie in their dealings, &amp;c. But when they ob|&s;erued their lifes, many of them to be loo&s;e and &s;candalous, they be|ganne pre&s;ently to open their mouthes again&s;t God, and again&s;t his Truth, oh <HI>the&s;e bee the people of the Lord,</HI> the&s;e be your holy people, that wor&s;hip &s;uch an holy God, that haue &s;uch an holy Law. No maruell their God, their Law, their Religion is &s;o holy, for ought wee
<PB N="172" REF="105">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="173" REF="105">
<GAP DESC="duplicate" EXTENT="1 page">
<PB N="164" REF="106"> &s;ee by the&s;e mens lifes, there is no more in their God, and Religion then in ours. Thus &s;pake the Hea|then when they &s;aw the wicked lifes and practices of &s;ome of the people of the <HI>Iewes.</HI> And indeed it is an Heatheni&s;h tricke in &s;uch ca&s;es to fall foule vpon God and Religion, It is heatheni&s;h language to &s;ay, <HI>The&s;e bee the people of the Lord,</HI> and this is their religion and their zeale.</P>
<P>And thus by their euill lifes oc|ca&s;ioning the heathen to bla&s;pheme God, and to throw the filth of their ba&s;e actions vpon Him and his Name, they thereby polluted his Name.</P>
<P>Thus was Gods Name polluted by the <HI>Spaniards</HI> among the <HI>Indi|ans?</HI> When they fir&s;t came among&s;t the We&s;t <HI>Indians,</HI> the people en|quired of them whence they came, and what they were, They tolde them that they were come downe
<PB N="165" REF="106"> from Heauen, and that they were the &s;onnes of the God of Heauen. Whereupon the poore Saluages ob&s;eruing their couetou&s;ne&s;&s;e, crueltie, and vncleanne&s;&s;e, an&s;we|red, <HI>that he could not be a good God that had &s;uch euill &s;onnes,</HI> and &s;o was Gods Name polluted by their polluted lifes. <NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg"><HI>Sicut enim nomen Dei glo|rificatur vita piorum homi|num in quibus ip&s;e per &s;piritum &s;uum operatur quicquid faci|unt boni: ita &egrave; diuer&s;o polluitur &amp; infamatur malefactis eo|rum qui&s;e Dei cultores profi|tentur.</HI> Cypr. de dupl. Mart. <HI>Postrem&ograve; &s;ancta &agrave; Chri&s;tianis fie|rent, &s;i Chri&s;tus &s;ancta docui&s;&s;et. Ae&s;timari ita&abque; de cultoribus &s;uis pote&s;t ille qui colitur. Quomodo enim bonus magi&s;ter e&s;t, cuius tam malos videmus e&s;&s;e di&s;cipulos? Ex ip&s;o enim Chri&s;tiani &s;unt, ip&s;um audiunt, ip&s;um legunt. Promptum e&s;t om|nibus Christi intelligere doctrinam. Vide Christianos, quid agant, &amp; e|uidenter pote&s;t de ip&s;o Chri&s;to &s;ciri, quid doceat.</HI> Mime&s;is Pagan. Salu de Prouiden. lib. 4.</NOTE> For looke as an holy &amp; hone&s;t conuer&s;ation &s;ancti|fies, &amp; glorifies the Name of God, 1. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 12. <HI>I be&s;eech you ab&s;taine from fle&s;hly lu&s;ts, Hauing your con|uer&s;ation hone&s;t among&s;t the Gen|tiles, that when they &s;peake again&s;t you as euill doers, they may by your good workes which they &s;hall behold</HI> glorifie <HI>God in the day of vi&s;itati|on;</HI> So contrarily, Gods Name is vnhallowed, and polluted by the euill and &s;candalous lifes of &s;uch
<PB N="176" REF="107"> as profe&s;&s;e his Name. When Gods Name is bla&s;phemed it is polluted, Gods Name is bla&s;phemed when the Truth is bla&s;phemed. The truth comes to be bla&s;phemed by rea&s;on of the euill lifes of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e the Truth, 2. <HI>Pet.</HI> 2. 2. <HI>And many &s;hall follow their pernicious wayes by rea&s;on of whom the way of truth &s;hall bee bla&s;phemed,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> Now God will not put it vp at mens hands that occa&s;ion others to pollute his Name. God is verie tender of the glorie of his Name. He hath pre&s;cribed, <HI>Hallowed bee thy Name,</HI> to be the leading petiti|on in our Prayers, and if therefore the glory of his Name bee any way impeached by mens &s;candalous a|ctions, he will repaire and make his glorie whole by his Iu&s;tice vpon their per&s;ons who haue by &s;candal wronged it. When men doe pol|lute Gods Name, God who is al|wayes readie to vindicate his owne
<PB N="177" REF="107"> glorie, will &s;anctifie his owne Name, and re&s;cue it from the pol|lutions, and prophanations where|with &s;candalous per&s;ons haue de|filed it.</P>
<P>That pa&s;&s;age is worthy our ob|&s;eruation, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 36. 20, 23. <HI>When they entred vnto the Heathen whi|ther they went, they prophaned mine holy Name: And I will</HI> &s;anctifie <HI>my great Name which was prophaned among&s;t the Heathen, which they haue profaned in the midde&s;t of them, and the Heathen &s;hall know that I am the Lord, &s;aith the Lord God, when I &s;hall bee</HI> &s;anctified <HI>in you before their eyes.</HI> See then that God will &s;anctifie his Name when men pollute it, and hee will one way or other take order to wa&s;h off that pollution, wherewith men haue de|filed it. God would be &s;anctified in them before the eyes of the Hea|then.</P>
<P>Now Gods Name is &s;ometimes
<PB N="178" REF="108"> &s;anctified in his workes of Mercie, as <HI>Ezek.</HI> 20. 41.&mdash;and &s;ometimes in the workes of Iu&s;tice. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 38. 22, 23. Now though in that forenamed place it is &s;poken of &s;anctifying his polluted Name by his workes of Mercie in the eyes of enemies, yet it is al&s;o true that God wil &s;anctifie his polluted Name in the eyes of Aduer&s;aries by his workes of Iu|&s;tice, That is, hee will doe &s;uch ex|emplarie Iu&s;tice, and &s;uch &s;mart <HI>woe</HI> vpon &s;uch as by their &s;candals polluted his Name, that he will re|couer him&s;elfe as much glorie in their puni&s;hment as they lo&s;t him by their &s;inne, and &s;o remarkeably will he doe it in enemies eyes, that they who before opened their mouthes to di&s;honour his Truth, &s;hall now open their mouthes to acknowledge his glorious Iu&s;tice, and by that Iu&s;tice bee drawne at lea&s;t to a &s;ecret acknowledgement, that this Religion and this profe&s;|&s;ion
<PB N="179" REF="108"> is the truth, the Scandalizers whereof God doth &s;o &s;euerely pu|ni&s;h.</P>
<P>This wee &s;hall &s;ee in <HI>Dauid,</HI> 2. <HI>Sam.</HI> 12. 14. There was no reme|die, though <HI>Dauid</HI> fa&s;t and pray, and &s;eeke the childs life, yea though <HI>Dauid</HI> haue repented, and <HI>Nathan</HI> haue pronounced the pardon of his &s;inne, yet no remedie but the childe mu&s;t die. <NOTE N="r" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quam gra|uis aut<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m &amp; piaculi &s;ingula|ris malum &s;it nomen diuinita|tis in bla&s;phe|miam Gentium|dare etiam</HI> Da|uid <HI>beati&s;&s;imi exemplo edocemur qui&mdash;cum aeternam pro offen&s;ionibus &s;uis poenam per vnam confe&s;&s;ionem meruerit euadere: huius tamen criminis veniam non per poenitentiam patrocinantem potuit impetrare. Nam cum ei proprios errores confitenti</HI> Nathan <HI>Propheta dixi&s;&s;et, tran&s;tulit Deus peccatum tuum, non morieris, &s;ubdidit &s;tatim veruntamen quia bla&s;phe|mare fecisti inimicos Dei propter verbum hoc fili<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> qui natu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> e&s;t morie|tur, &amp; quid po&s;t hac? Depo&s;ito &s;cilicet diademate, proiectis gemmis&mdash;fletu madidus, cinere &s;ordidatus vitam paruuli &s;ui tot lamentationum &s;uffragijs peteret, &amp; pij&s;&s;imum Deum tanta precum ambitione pul&s;aret, &s;ic rogans &amp; ob&s;ecrans obtinere non potuit, ex quo intelligi pote&s;t quod nullom penitus maioris piaculi crimen e&s;t quam bla&s;phemandi cau&s;am Gentibus dare.</HI> Salu. lib. 4. de Prouid.</NOTE> What was the rea&s;on? Becau&s;e by his &s;candal <HI>hee had giuen</HI> great <HI>occa&s;ion to the eue|mies of God to bla&s;pheme.</HI> His &s;candal was <HI>great.</HI> Any &s;candal
<PB N="180" REF="109"> giues occa&s;ion of bla&s;pheming, but <HI>great</HI> &s;candals giue <HI>great</HI> occa&s;ion of bla&s;pheming, therefore as he by his <HI>great Scandal</HI> hath polluted Gods Name, &s;o God by his <HI>great Iu&s;tice</HI> would &s;anctifie his name in the eyes of tho&s;e enemies that had bla&s;phemed.</P>
<P>We find a Law <HI>Deut.</HI> 22. 19. that a man in that ca&s;e &s;pecified in the text, &s;hould be &s;harpely amearced, and a good round fine &s;et vpon his head, and the rea&s;on is giuen <HI>becau&s;e he hath brought vp an euill Name vpon a virgin of I&s;rael.</HI> Now in ca&s;es of &s;candal there is an euill Name brought vp not vpon <HI>a vir|gin of I&s;rael,</HI> but vpon the <HI>God of I&s;rael,</HI> vpon his Go&s;pell, and truth. If then God would haue a man &s;o &s;euerely puni&s;ht, that &s;hould bring vp an euill name vpon a Virgin of <HI>I&s;rael,</HI> how much more will God him&s;elfe &s;et &s;mart fines vpon their heads as bring, as doe occa&s;ion the
<PB N="181" REF="109"> bringing vp of an euill name vpon the Religion, &amp; the God of <HI>I&s;rael.</HI> Among&s;t men, how euer other of|fences &s;cape, yet how great is the &s;eueritie of the Law in puni&s;hing <HI>Scandalum Magnatum.</HI> Now in &s;candalous offences of Profe&s;&s;ors, there is a right <HI>Scandalum Mag|natum,</HI> in regard of the wrong, and iniurie that Gods great Name &s;uf|fers.</P>
<P>No maruell, that God is &s;o &s;e|uere in puni&s;hing &s;candals. For where God &s;uffers greate&s;t wrong, there Iu&s;tice requires that men vn|der goe &s;euere&s;t puni&s;hments. Now no &s;innes doe God greater wrong then &s;candals. Other &s;innes, and o|ther mens &s;ins are breaches of his Law, and pollutions of mens Con|&s;ciences, but yet are not pollutions of Gods Name. But &s;candals, and the notorious offences of Profe&s;|&s;ours are not onely breaches of Gods Law, and <HI>pollutions</HI> of the
<PB N="182" REF="110"> offenders <HI>Con&s;ciences,</HI> but are <HI>pol|lutions</HI> of Gods <HI>Name.</HI> What wonder then, that &s;uch &s;eueritie followes &s;candals? It is but Iu&s;tice that where the guilt is ^&s; <HI>double</HI> in <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Ba&s;il. de Bapt. lib. 1. q. 10.</NOTE> the offence, there &s;hould be a dou|ble, and a proportionable mea&s;ure of puni&s;hment.</P>
<P>Now in euery &s;candal there is a double guilt.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, the guilt of breaking of Gods Law, and polluting a mans owne Con&s;cience. And &s;econdly, the <HI>guilt</HI> of prophaning, and polluting Gods Name. And this latter is the farre greater, and more prouoking guilt. God will wor&s;e brooke the pollution of his Name, then the breach of his Law. And therefore it is a &s;ure truth that hee that commits a greater &s;inne which yet is &s;ecret, &s;halbee le&s;&s;e puni&s;ht then hee which commits a &s;mal|ler &s;inne, which breaking out prooues &s;candalous. We haue an
<PB N="183" REF="110"> in&s;tance, <HI>Numb.</HI> 11. 21. compared with <HI>Deut.</HI> 32. 51. Wee haue in the&s;e two places two offences of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> his committing. Let a man weigh them together, and que|&s;tionle&s;&s;e in their owne nature compared, that offence <HI>Numb.</HI> 11. 21, 22. was the greater, there is in it not onely vnbeliefe as in the other, but a kinde of murmuring conte&s;t with <HI>God,</HI> as it were to his face. The latter hath reference to that Hi&s;torie, <HI>Numb.</HI> 20. 10. where wee finde <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> to conte&s;t with &s;ome impatience, and vnbeliefe with the <HI>people.</HI> Is it not a greater &s;inne to murmure and conte&s;t in vnbeliefe and impatience with <HI>God,</HI> then to grow into pa&s;&s;ion with a <HI>rebellious people?</HI> Is it not a greater matter to haue ones &s;pirit &s;tirred at God, then with &s;infull men? Con&s;ider both pa&s;&s;ages to|gether, and any one will iudge the fir&s;t mi&s;carriage in it owne nature
<PB N="184" REF="111"> the greate&s;t. And yet all that <HI>God</HI> &s;ayes to the fir&s;t is this, <HI>Is the Lords hand now waxed &s;hort? Thou &s;halt &s;ee now whether my Word &s;hall come to pa&s;&s;e vnto thee or not.</HI> What could haue beene &s;aid le&s;&s;e? But now come to the other which in it &s;elfe &s;eemes nothing &s;o great, and &s;ee what followes vpon it. <HI>Becau&s;e yee beleeued me not to &s;anctifie me in the eyes of the children of I&s;rael, therefore ye &s;hall not bring this Con|gregation into the Land, Numb.</HI> 20. 12. <HI>But &s;hall die becau&s;e ye tre&s;pa&s;|&s;ed, and &s;anctified mee not in the midde&s;t of the children of I&s;rael.</HI> Now then here may be a que&s;tion, why the le&s;&s;er &s;inne hath the &s;har|per reproofe and the greater pu|ni&s;hment.</P>
<P>Is it equall dealing to winke at <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. I&s;id. pe|lu&s;. lib. 5. Epi&s;t. 261.</NOTE> and pa&s;&s;e by a greater, and to be &s;o &s;euere in the le&s;&s;er? Yes mo&s;t e|qual, for though the fomer &s;inne in it owne nature were greater, yet
<PB N="185" REF="111"> that was happily ^t priuate between God and <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> and &s;o no &s;candal in it, but the latter was publike be|fore all the people, and &s;o a &s;can|dal in it, God not &s;anctified, his Name di&s;honoured, and for the &s;candal &s;ake the puni&s;hment &s;o &s;mart in this rather then in the o|ther.</P>
<P>A &s;mall &s;inne &s;candalous hath a greater puni&s;hment then a great &s;inne clo&s;e, and &s;ecret, becau&s;e there is in the &s;candal a pollution of Gods Name, an Impeach of his honour, be&s;ides the guilt of the breach of his Law. So then there|fore is God &s;o &s;euere in puni&s;hing &s;candals, becau&s;e God is more wronged by them then by <HI>&s;imple</HI> &s;inne, becau&s;e they pollute his &s;a|cred Name.</P>
<P N="2">2. God is thus &s;euere in the pu|ni&s;hing of &s;candals, becau&s;e &s;oule-bloud is not cheape with God.
<PB N="186" REF="112"> They that &s;pill the bloud of &s;oules &s;hall pay full dearely for it, God will require it at their hands. Now in the commi&s;&s;ion of &s;candalous &s;innes there is a great deale of &s;pi|rituall <NOTE N="u" PLACE="marg"><HI>Si quis &s;im|plici mente &amp; de&s;iderio veniat ad Eccle&s;iam vt proficiat, vt me|lior fiat: i&s;te &s;i videat nos qui multo iam tem|pore in fide fleti|mus, vel non re|cte agentes, vel cum offendiculo loquentes effici|mur nos illi lap|&s;us ad peccatum. Cum autem pee|cauerit trucida|tus e&s;t, &amp; &s;an|gxis animae eius profluit, omnis ab eo virtus vi|talis ab&s;cedit&mdash;Scandalizati animae &s;anguis effunditur cum ceciderit in pec|catum. &amp; prop|terea dixit, quia requiretur &s;an|guis eius &agrave; fra|tre, frater tuus e&s;t qui fudit &s;anguinem tuum.</HI> Origen. in P&s;al. 36. hom. 3.</NOTE> bloud&s;hed, and murther. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;peaking of Scandals of an inferiour nature, &s;uch as are gi|uen to weake brethren in the v&s;e of Chri&s;tian libertie, in the v&s;e of things in their nature indifferent makes them bloudie and murthe|rous, <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. 15. <HI>De&s;troy not him with thy meat for whom Chri&s;t died,</HI> 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 8. 12. <HI>Thorough thy know|ledge &s;hall thy weake brother pe|ri&s;h.</HI></P>
<P>If Scandals in &s;uch ca&s;es bee &s;o dangerous in their i&s;&s;ue, &amp; of &s;uch mortal con&s;equence, then what are Scandals in a higher nature in the offen&s;iue, and euill lifes of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e Religion? How much more are they of deadly con&s;equence,
<PB N="187" REF="112"> and how much more is bloud &s;pilt by them? If a man may haue his hand in the bloud of &s;oules by giuing &s;candal in the doing of things in their owne nature law|full, then how much more by gi|uing &s;candal in the doing of &s;uch things as in their owne nature are &s;infull and vnlawfull? There is a Law <HI>Exod.</HI> 21. 33, 34. that if <HI>a man open a pit, and couer it not, and an Oxe or an A&s;&s;efal therein, the owner of the pit &s;hall make it good.</HI> Now in euery Scandal giuen there is a <HI>pit</HI> digged, and <HI>opened,</HI> euery one that giues a Scandal opens, and digges a pit, into which many a &s;oule fals headlong. If he that opened the pit mu&s;t make good the <HI>Oxe</HI> or <HI>A&s;&s;e,</HI> that fell thereinto, that is, mu&s;t pay the full price and worth of it to the owner, what mu&s;t hee doe that opens a <HI>pit</HI> into which a <HI>&s;oule</HI> fals? Surely God will require it at his hands, and it mu&s;t bee made good.
<PB N="188" REF="113"> <HI>Doth God,</HI> &s;aith the Apo&s;tle, <HI>take care for Oxen?</HI> So here, will God require Oxen at their hands tho|rough who&s;e default they fall into pits? then how much more doth he take care, and wil he require &s;oules of men at their hands, that by Scandals haue opened pits into which they are fallen, and ruined? There is another Law in the &s;ame place worth our noting to this purpo&s;e, <HI>Exod.</HI> 21. 22, 23. <HI>If men &s;triue &amp; hurt a woman with child &s;o that her fruit depart from her, &amp; yet no mi&s;chiefe follow, hee &s;hall be &s;ure|ly puni&s;hed,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>And if any mi&s;chiefe follow thou &s;halt giue life for life,</HI> or <HI>&s;oul for &s;oul,</HI> as the words originally are; If no mi&s;chiefe follow either to the woma~ or the child, yet a puni&s;h|ment was due in &s;uch a ca&s;e, but if mi&s;chiefe followed, then <HI>life for life, &s;oule for &s;oule,</HI> Now in the ca&s;e of &s;candals it is a &s;ure thing that <HI>Mi&s;|chiefe</HI> doth follow, wee &s;aw before
<PB N="189" REF="113"> what a deale of <HI>Woe,</HI> and <HI>Mi&s;chiefe</HI> they bring with them. Hee that giues a Scandal is as a man that &s;mites or &s;purnes a woman with childe. He that doth &s;o, a hundred to one but hee cau&s;es mi&s;chiefe to follow.</P>
<P>It may bee there was a man that began to haue &s;ome good in him, &s;ome hope that Chri&s;t began to be formed in him. Now a man giues &s;ome heynous Scandal, and there|vpon <HI>mi&s;chiefe followes,</HI> all tho&s;e hopes are da&s;ht, this man flies quite off, and ca&s;ts off all thoughts of medling any more with godline&s;&s;e, here is one <HI>with child</HI> &s;purned, and a <HI>mi&s;chiefe followes,</HI> therefore <HI>life for life, &s;oule for &s;oule</HI> will be requi|red. <NOTE N="x" PLACE="marg"><HI>&V;ae illi qui &s;candalizauerit vnum ex pu&s;il|lis i&s;tis. Vae preg|nantem calcan|ti.</HI> Ambro&s;. in P&s;al. 118.</NOTE> Woe be to him that &s;purnes a woman with childe, and cau&s;es mi&s;chiefe to follow, and therefore <HI>Woe to him by whom an offence comes,</HI> becau&s;e by him mi&s;chiefe comes, mi&s;chiefe comes to many a
<PB N="190" REF="114"> &s;oule, the mi&s;chiefe of reiecting re|ligion, or the mi&s;chiefe of an har|dened heart. And therefore is God thus &s;euere in his Iu&s;tice vpon &s;uch becau&s;e they do bloudie mi&s;chiefe, and therefore they mu&s;t giue <NOTE N="z" PLACE="marg"><HI>Qui &s;can|dali con&s;cius est animam dabit pro anima eius quem &s;candali|zanit,</HI> Origen.</NOTE> <HI>&s;oule for &s;oule.</HI></P>
<P>It may bee that many a man was like to be brought on to Religion, might haue &s;ome <NOTE N="a" PLACE="marg"><HI>Factus &s;um opprobrium &amp; vicinis meis ni|mium] vicinis meis nimium op|probrium factus &s;um, id e&s;t, qui mihi (Eccle&s;iae) iam appropin|quabant vt cre|derent: hoc e&s;t, vicini mei ni|mium deterriti &s;unt mala vita malorum &amp; fal|&s;orum Chri&s;tia|norum. Quam multo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> &egrave;nim pu|tatis, fratres mei, velle e&s;&s;e Chri&s;tianos, &s;ed offendi malis moribus Chri&s;tianorum. Ip&s;i &s;unt vicini qui iam appro|pinquabant, &amp; nimium opprobrium illis vi&s;i &s;umus.</HI> Augu&s;tinus in P&s;al. 30.</NOTE> thoughts of im|bracing, and receiuing the truth, but now &s;ome Profe&s;&s;or of Religi|on falling foule, he fals off and will none, all the&s;e thoughts are dampt, and &s;o laid a&s;ide. There be &s;o many &s;oules lo&s;t, and kept out of Heauen by that Scandal, Here is the bloud of &s;oules &s;pilt. How many might haue come to haue been godly and religious Chri&s;tians, if it had not beene for the Scandal of &s;ome one man profe&s;&s;ing godline&s;&s;e, and re|ligion.
<PB N="191" REF="114"> Such a deale of mi&s;chiefe followes by &s;uch a &s;candal. And for this cau&s;e, was that <HI>woe,</HI> vpon the Prie&s;ts that they were ba&s;e and con|temptible, becau&s;e they had cau&s;ed many to &s;tumble at the law, and to fly off from religion which was not without the mi&s;chieuing of their foules for euer.</P>
<P>It may bee many a mans mouth was &s;hut, and though hee &s;aid no good, yet hee could &s;ay no euill of the way of truth, now that a man falles into &s;candal, his mouth is o|pened again&s;t God, &amp; again&s;t Reli|gion, and he bla&s;phemes ful mouth. Now is this mans &s;oule by his bla&s;phemy mi&s;erably endau~gered, here is &s;oule blood &s;pilt. What a deale of mi&s;chiefe is done to his &s;oule, but who is guilty of that mi&s;chiefe, but hee that gaue that &s;candal? and therefore the <NOTE N="b" PLACE="marg"><HI>Qui enins &s;ine bla&s;phemiae aliorum gra|uiter errauerit &s;ibi tantum ad|fert damnatio|nem: Qui au|te~ alios bla&s;phe|mare fecerit multos &s;ecum praecipitat in mortem, &amp; ne|ce&s;&s;e erit vt &s;it protantisr eus quantos &s;ecum traxerit in rea|tum,</HI> Salu. lib. 4. de Prouid.</NOTE> blood of that bla&s;pheming &s;oule &s;halbe required at thine hands that gaue
<PB N="192" REF="115"> the &s;candal which ru&s;ht him into that mi&s;chiefe.</P>
<P>It may bee many a man began to mi&s;like his euill wayes, many mens hearts began to mi&s;giue them, but now a &s;candal is fallen out, their hands are &s;trengthened, their hearts are hardened, and &s;o they &s;ealed vp to hell. Here is &s;oule bloud &s;pilt againe. Here be many &s;tumbled and fallen into the pit of hell, I, but who laid this &s;tumbling &s;tone, that hath topled them ouer? Here bee a companie of &s;oules vndone, and ca&s;t away, I but who hath vndone, and ca&s;t them away? Here is mi&s;|chiefe done, but who hath done it? Euen he that hath co~mitted &s;uch a &s;candal; he it is that hath done this mi&s;chiefe, he hath (as much as in him lies) damned and de&s;troyed the&s;e &s;oules. And is it nothing to damne &s;oules? Is it any wonder that God &s;hould bee &s;o &s;euere, when their &s;inne is &s;o bloudy, when
<PB N="191" REF="115"> they haue de&s;troyed who knowes how many &s;oules? God will puni&s;h &s;uch as do not endeauour to <NOTE N="c" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Chry&s; ad Rom. Hom. 25.</NOTE> &s;aue other mens &s;oules what in them lyes, what then de&s;erue they at his hands, that ca&s;taway mens &s;oules as &s;candalous &s;inners doe. And what wonder that heauy Iu&s;tice followes heauy &s;innes.</P>
<P><HI>Thou &s;halt not put a &s;tumbling blocke before the blind. Leuit.</HI> 19. 14. But what if a man doe it? Then &s;hall a <HI>woe,</HI> and a <HI>cur&s;e</HI> fall vpon him, <HI>Deut.</HI> 27. 18. <HI>Cur&s;ed be hee that makes the blind to wander out of his way.</HI> Now when men doe giue &s;candal they doe lay <HI>&s;tumbling blockes</HI> in the way of many <HI>blind</HI> ones, they cau&s;e them to <HI>wander out of the way,</HI> and to &s;tumble &s;o that they fall into eternall ruine. And therefore is God &s;o &s;harpe with them. We &s;hall &s;ee an heauy woe denounced again&s;t tho&s;e fal&s;e prophete&s;&s;es. <HI>Ezek.</HI> 13. 18. <HI>Thus</HI>
<PB N="192" REF="116"> <HI>&s;aith the Lord God, Woe to the wo|ment that &s;ow pillowes to al armeholes, &amp;c.</HI> But why doth God threat|nen <HI>a woe</HI> again&s;t them? See the rea&s;on, <HI>Ver&s;e.</HI> 22. <HI>Becau&s;e with lies, yee haue made the hearts of the righ|teous &s;ad, and &s;trengthened the hands of the wicked that hee &s;hould not returne from his wicked way.</HI> Now &s;uch as giue &s;candal doe both the&s;e things, they doe <HI>grieue &amp; &s;ad</HI> the hearts of the righteous, and <HI>&s;trengthen the hands of the wicked that they returne not from their wic|ked wayes.</HI> And therefore vpon the &s;ame ground that the woe was threatned again&s;t the fal&s;e prophe|ti&s;&s;es, is it due to the giuers of &s;can|dals. They are guilty of the &s;ame euill, and therefore vnder the &s;ame <HI>woe.</HI> If the fal&s;e propheti&s;&s;es de|&s;erue a woe becau&s;e by &s;trengthe|ning the hands, and hardening the hearts of wicked men, they were guilty of the bloud of their &s;oules,
<PB N="193" REF="116"> then becau&s;e &s;candalous ones, are guilty of the &s;elfe &s;ame euill, they righteou&s;ly come vnder the &s;ame woe.</P>
<P>It is a dangerous thing to haue an hand in other mens <NOTE N="d" PLACE="marg"><HI>Igitur &amp; tu quo&abque; &s;i reliquis perditionis cau|&s;a fueris, grauio|ra patieris, quam qui per te &s;ubuer &s;i &s;unt. Ne&abque; enim pec|care tantum in &s;e perditionis habet, quantum quod reliqui ad peccandum in|ducuntur,</HI> Chry&s;o&s;t. ad Rom. Hom. 25.</NOTE> &s;innes, and &s;o in other mens damnations. A mans owne per&s;onall guilt, will be heauy enough, he &s;hal not neede to loade him&s;elfe with other mens guilt. Now this is the ca&s;e of &s;can|dalous per&s;ons, they &s;tand an&s;were|able for others mens &s;innes, as the cau&s;ers of them, and many times the cau&s;ers may &s;mart as much, if not more then the committers of them.</P>
<P N="3">3. God is &s;o &s;euere in the puni&s;h|ment of &s;candals, becau&s;e by them is brought a blurre, a di&s;grace, and a Reproach vpon a whole Church. As God is tender of this owne, &s;o is hee al&s;o tender of the honour of his Church. It is not &s;afe to bring di&s;grace but vpon one
<PB N="194" REF="117"> good man, nay, we &s;aw before that he mu&s;t &s;mart for it, that brought vp an euill report, but vpon one vir|gin of <HI>I&s;rael, Deut.</HI> 22. Is God &s;o tender of the honour, and credit of <HI>one virgin of I&s;rael,</HI> what is hee then of the honor <HI>of all I&s;rael.</HI> If not &s;afe to bring vp an euill report vp|on one member of the Church, then much le&s;&s;e to bring vp an euill re|port vpon a whole Church. Wee finde <HI>Numb.</HI> 14. 37. &s;ome there that brought vp an euil report vpon the land, and what was the &s;equel? <HI>They dyed of the plague before the Lord.</HI> If God were &s;o &s;euere in his Iu&s;tice to &s;mite them with pre&s;ent death that brought vp an euil report vpon the Land of <HI>Canaan,</HI> what &s;euerity may they expect that bring vp an euill report vpon his Church. What compari&s;on betweene <HI>Canaan</HI> and Gods Church? Now this al &s;canda|lous offenders doe. If the reproach of their actions, and the Infamy of
<PB N="195" REF="117"> their practi&s;es, were but only per|&s;onall, the matter were not &s;o great, they haue but their iu&s;t de&s;erts, but the reproach of their &s;candals redoundes to the di&s;grace of the whole <NOTE N="e" PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">. Iu&s;tin. Apol. 2. a pro Chri&s;tianis.</NOTE> Church of God and the ex|crementitious filth of their actions is throwne in the face of the whole Church. <HI>Dauid</HI> hath a praier. <HI>P&s;.</HI> 69 5. 6. <HI>O God thou knowe&s;t my fooli&s;h|ne&s;&s;e, and my &s;innes are not hid from thee, let not them that waite on thee O Lord God of ho&s;tes, be a&s;hamed for my &s;ake O God of I&s;rael.</HI> As if hee had &s;aid. Thou knowe&s;t O Lord, what heynous things mine enemies lay vnto my charge, thou that know|e&s;t all my fooli&s;hnes and &s;ins, know|e&s;t that they lay them fal&s;ely vpon mee, But what euer &s;innes they charge vpon me, yet Lord keepe me and pre&s;erue mee, that I may not fall into any &s;uch &s;candalous &s;inne, that may bring &s;hame, &amp; reproach vpon thy people, Let me not &s;o &s;in,
<PB N="196" REF="118"> that for my &s;ake thy people &s;hould haue any &s;hame. Marke then that when any that profe&s;&s;e the Name of God fall into any gro&s;&s;e euill, it turnes to the &s;hame not onely of him that falls, but it brings &s;hame vpon all that waite vpon God, and &s;eeke him. All Gods people &s;uffer, and &s;hare in the reproach of one mi&s;carrying. We haue an example of it. 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5. 1. <HI>It is reported com|monly that there is fornication a|mong&s;t you.</HI> <NOTE N="f" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pungit ac fe|rit et quoad eius fieri pote&s;t com|mune profert probru~ criminis. Non dixit enim curille, aut i&s;te&punc; e&s;t fornicatus, &s;ed auditur inter vos fornicatio, ne vt qui e&s;&s;ent nulli reprehen&s;io|ni affines, pigri e&s;&s;et ac &s;ocordes, &s;ed vtpote co~mu|ni percu&s;&s;o, &amp; in crimen vocat&acirc; eccle&s;ia ita e&s;&s;ent animi dubij &amp; anxij. Nemo enim dicet in|quit quod ille aut i&s;te forni|catus e&s;t, &s;ed quod in eccle&s;ia</HI> Corinthiorum <HI>admi&s;&s;um e&s;t illud peccatum.</HI> Chry&s;o&s;t. in locum.</NOTE> He doth not &s;ay, men do report that &s;uch a man hath co~|mitted fornication, but the report goes that <HI>fornication is committed among&s;t you.</HI> If it had beene repor|ted that &s;uch a man had committed fornication, that had beene but a per&s;onall reproach, and di&s;grace to that one particular man. But; <HI>It is reported that fornication is com|mitted among&s;t you,</HI> &s;o went the re|port. There is fornication among&s;t the Chri&s;tians, and in the Church
<PB N="197" REF="118"> of <HI>Corinth,</HI> And &s;o the reproach was generall to the whole Church of <HI>Corinth,</HI> and common to them all, So that by his Ince&s;tuous fact hee brought a reproach vpon the whole body of beleeuers. And the heathen que&s;tionle&s;&s;e &s;o reported it as to blurre them all, as if they were al a like. So the whole Church of <HI>Corinth</HI> &s;uffered by that one mans &s;candal. And this is the or|dinary practi&s;e of enemies to di&s;|grace all with one mans folly. Thus was it the Diuels pollicie and ma|lice to rai&s;e vp tho&s;e Impure <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>His igitur di|abolus v&s;us e&s;t&mdash;vt gentibus qui erant &agrave; fide alieni an&s;am praeberent &s;acro|&s;ancto Dei ver|bo petulan|ter impie&abque; ob|trectandi: eo plan&egrave; con&s;ilio vt fama de flagiti|o&s;a eorum vitae ratione pa&s;&s;im di&s;&s;ipat&acirc; tur|pem ignominiae notam vniuer&s;ae Chri&s;tianorum multitudini in|ureret,</HI> Eu&s;eb. Hi&s;t. Eccl. lib. 4. cap. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Gno&s;tickes,</HI> that the heathen might haue occa&s;ion of &s;peaking again&s;t the Go&s;pell, and that the report of their flagitious cour&s;es being e|uery where &s;pred, he might brande the <HI>whole multitude of Chri&s;tians,</HI> with the marke of their Ignominy. There is the &s;ame &s;pirit reignes in al enemies that was in <HI>Haman, Mor|decay</HI> had offe~ded him, but it wold
<PB N="198" REF="119"> not &s;erue his turne nor, &s;atisfie his malice to lay hands on <HI>Mordecay</HI> alone, <HI>for they had &s;hewed him the peo|ple of Mordecay, wherefore Haman &s;ought to de&s;troy</HI> all the Iewes, <HI>euen the people of Mordecay. E&s;th.</HI> 3. 6. <HI>Mordecay</HI> had done him no wrong nor committed any offence, but when <HI>Hamans</HI> choller was vp, the quarrell is not at <HI>Mordecay</HI> alone, but at <HI>his people.</HI> So is it in ca&s;es of iu&s;t offence, whe~ &s;candals are giuen, the &s;hame and blame is not laid vp|on the offender alone, but vpon his people, not vpon that profe&s;&s;our a|lone but vpon all profe&s;&s;ours, not vpon that member of the Church, but vpon the whole Church. It is a true thing which <NOTE N="g" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quid tam time<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dum quam cum vidi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> homo multos male vi|uentes, &amp; de quibus bene spe|rabatur in mul|tis malefactis inuentos? Ti|met ne tales &s;int omnes quos pu|tabat bonos, &amp; veniunt in &s;u&s;|picionem malam prope omnes bo|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">i. Qualis vir? Quomodo ceci|dit? Quomodo in<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">us e&s;t in ill&acirc; tu<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pitudine, in illo &s;celere, in i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">o facto malo? Puta&s;n&egrave; tales &s;unt omnes?&mdash;Quanta mala dicunt in malos Chri&s;tianos quae maledicta perueniunt ad omnes Chri&s;tianos? Nunquid enim dicit qui maledicit aut qui repre|hendit Chri&s;tiano<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, Ecce quid faciunt, non boni Chri&s;tiani? Sed ecce quid faciunt Chri&s;tiani. Non &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">pa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> non di&s;cernit.</HI> Augu&s;t. in P&s;al. 30.</NOTE> <HI>Augu&s;tine</HI> ob|&s;erues, that when &s;ome one man fals into &s;ome gro&s;&s;e euill, that gaue &s;ome hope, and made &s;ome
<PB N="199" REF="119"> &s;hew of goodne&s;&s;e, that &s;uch as are without, are ready to iudge others like them, and that an euill &s;u&s;pi|cion lies vpon all good men. <HI>Oh what a man?</HI> &s;ay they. <HI>How foulely is he fallen? how is hee found in &s;uch a filthine&s;&s;e, in &s;uch a wicked|ne&s;&s;e, in &s;uch a vile fact? doe yee not thinke that they are all &s;uch? how great and foule euill things,</HI> &s;aith he, <HI>do they &s;peak again&s;t euill Chri&s;tians, which euill &s;ayings reach vnto all Chri&s;tians? for, doth he thus &s;peake, that &s;peakes euill of, or falls foule vpon Chri&s;tians, Behold what they doe that are not good Chri&s;tians? No, but, Behold what the Chri&s;tians doe&punc; he puts no difference at all.</HI> And &s;o the &s;candals of one Chri&s;tian, tends and trenches to the di&s;grace of all Chri&s;tians, euen to the di&s;|honour of the <NOTE N="h" PLACE="marg"><HI>Sed quo&s;dam audio inficere numerum ve|&s;tru<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, &amp; laude~ praecipai nomi|nis pra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a con|uer&s;atione de|&s;truere&mdash;Cum quanto enim no|minis ve&s;iri pu|dore delinquitur qua~do alius ali|quis te<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ule<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tus &amp; l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ci<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ien<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> de|moratur, &amp;c.</HI> Cypr. Epi&s;t. 7.</NOTE> Chri&s;tian name, the fall of one &s;candalous pro|fe&s;&s;our to the reproach of all.</P>
<P N="4">4. La&s;tly, God is &s;o &s;euere in pu|ni&s;hing
<PB N="200" REF="120"> &s;uch as giue &s;candal, be|cau&s;e their &s;innes therein are grea|ter then other mens. Though other <NOTE N="i" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ex ip&s;o vti&abque; deteriores &s;umus &s;i meliores non &s;umus, qui meli|ores e&s;&s;e debe|mus. Crimino|&s;ior enim culpa e&s;t vbi hone&s;tior &s;tatus: &s;i hono|ratior e&s;t per&s;o|na peccantis, peccati quo&abque; maior inuidia, furtum quidem in homine e&s;t malum facinus, Sed damnabilius ab&s;&abque; dubio &s;i Senator furatur aliquando. Cunctis fornica|tio interdicitur, &s;ed, grauius multo e&s;t &s;i de clero aliquis quam &s;i de populo fornicatur. Ita &amp; nos qui Chri&s;tiani e&s;&s;e dicimur, &s;i &s;imile aliquid barbarorum impurita|tibus facimus grauius: erramus atrocius enim &s;ub &s;anccti, nomnis profe&s;&s;ione peccamus. Vbi &s;ublimior e&s;t praerogatiua, maior e&s;t culpa, Ip&s;o enim, er|rores no&s;tros, religio quam profitemur, accu&s;at. Crimino&s;ior eius e&s;t im|pudicitia qui promi&s;erit ca&s;titatem, foedius inebriatur, &s;obrietatem fronte praetendens. Nihil e&s;t Philo&s;opho turpius vitia ob&s;caena &s;ectanti, quia praeter eam deformitatem quam vitia in &s;e habent, &s;apientiae nomine plus notatur, &amp; nos igitur in omni humano genere philo&s;ophiam Chri&s;ti|anam profe&s;&s;i &s;umus, ac per hoc deteriores nos cunctis gentibus credi at&abque; haberi nece&s;&s;e e&s;t, quia &s;ub tam magno profe&s;&s;ionis nomine viuimus, &amp; po&s;iti in religione peccamus.</HI> Salu. de Prouid, lib. 4.</NOTE> men commit the &s;elfe &s;ame &s;innes they doe, yet are they not &s;o great in other men, as they are in &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e religion. Their &s;innes are greater then other mens, becau&s;e theirs, becau&s;e the &s;innes of &s;uch as honoured with an <HI>high</HI> and <HI>holy calling</HI> to bee the people of God, to be a people neere vnto him. And the greater a mans honour is, the more it aggrauates his guilt in ca&s;e of offe~ce. Theft is foule in any man, but mo&s;t foule in a Magi&s;trate. It is a fouler offence for a Mini&s;ter then another man to commit fornica|tion.
<PB N="201" REF="120"> The dignity of the per&s;on ads to the foulnes of the guilt. So here, &s;uch whom God hath called with this high calling to be his peculiar people, haue a dignity, &amp; excellency aboue other men, &amp; the dignity of their per&s;ons addes to the indignity of their facts. <HI>Speake vnto the chil|dren of I&s;rael and &s;ay vnto the~, when any man hath a running i&s;&s;ue out of his fle&s;h, becau&s;e of his i&s;&s;ue he is vn|cleane, Leu.</HI> 15. 2. 4. But why, <HI>&s;peake vnto the children of I&s;rael?</HI> Becau&s;e they only were vncleane, and made others vncleane by running i&s;&s;ues. Heathens as &s;ome ob&s;erue out of the Iewi&s;h Rabbins, did not make vncleane by an i&s;&s;ue, or childbirth &amp;c: but I&s;raelites did. An i&s;&s;ue was an i&s;&s;ue in an heathen, as well as in an I&s;raelite, but in an I&s;raelite one|ly an vncleane and a defiling i&s;&s;ue. Sinnes are &s;innes in other men as well as in profe&s;&s;ours of Religion, but in profe&s;&s;ours they bee <HI>hori|rible</HI>
<PB N="202" REF="121"> &s;innes, <HI>Ier.</HI> 18. 13. <HI>Aske now among the Heathen, who hath heard &s;uch things? The Virgin of I&s;rael hath done a very</HI> horrible <HI>thing.</HI> The &s;innes of Gods people are <HI>horrible</HI> &s;innes, becau&s;e <NOTE N="k" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Quanto enim honoribus alios antecellunt, tanto quo&abque; ip|&s;orum pecca|tum, etiam&s;i a|lioqui idem &s;it, grauius effici|tur,</HI> <GAP DESC="foreign"> I&s;id. pe|lu&s;. lib. 4 Epi&s;t. 15.</P>
<P><HI>Quo grandius nomen, eo gran|dius &s;candalum</HI> Ber. Epi&s;t 200.</P></NOTE> their per&s;ons are <HI>honourable</HI> per&s;ons, <HI>I&s;ai.</HI> 43. 4. As God &s;peakes of the Prophets of <HI>Samaria</HI> and <HI>Ieru&s;alem, Ier.</HI> 23. 13, 14. So it may be &s;aid of the people of both. <HI>I haue &s;eene folly in the Prophets of Samaria, I haue &s;eene al&s;o in the Prophets of Ieru&s;alem an</HI> horrible <HI>thing:</HI> and yet in effect the &s;innes of both were the &s;ame, but the &s;ame &s;innes diuer&s;ly circum|&s;tanced may differ much, and &s;o by rea&s;on of the per&s;ons one being Prophets of <HI>Baal,</HI> the other pro|fe&s;&s;ing them&s;elues the Prophets of the true God, that which was but <HI>folly</HI> in the Prophets of <HI>Samaria,</HI> was an <HI>horrible thing</HI> in the Pro|phets of <HI>Ieru&s;alem.</HI> So is the ca&s;e among&s;t the people, that
<PB N="203" REF="121"> which is but <HI>folly</HI> in &s;uch as are ig|norant, irreligious, and liue with|out God in the World, is an <HI>horri|ble thing</HI> in a man that makes pro|fe&s;&s;ion of Religion. And therefore hence, it is iu&s;t with God to bee &s;o &s;euere in the puni&s;hment of &s;uch, and <HI>God will be &s;anctified in them that come nigh vnto him, and before all the people will hee bee glorified, Leuit.</HI> 10. 3. If he be not <HI>&s;anctified</HI> by their &s;ingular and &s;peciall obe|dience towards him, he will bee <HI>&s;anctified</HI> by his iu&s;tice vpon them, and will be <HI>glorified before all the people,</HI> that is, publiquely and o|penly, he will do &s;uch &s;euere exem|plary iu&s;tice vpon them, that al &s;hal take notice of it. It &s;uits with that, <HI>Amos</HI> 3. 2. <HI>You onely haue I knowne of all the Families of the earth, there|fore I will puni&s;h you for all your iniquities.</HI> How &s;mart was Gods iu&s;tice vpon <HI>Ieru&s;alem? Dan.</HI> 9. 12. <HI>For vnder the whole Heauen hath</HI>
<PB N="204" REF="122"> <HI>not beene done, as hath beene done. vpon Ieru&s;alem.</HI> Why &s;o? for vnder the whole Heauen had not beene done, as had been done <HI>in</HI> and <HI>by Ie|ru&s;alem. Ieru&s;alem</HI> was the <HI>holy Ci|tie, Math.</HI> 4. 5. <HI>The Citie of the great King, Math.</HI> 5. 35. <HI>The Citie of God, P&s;al.</HI> 87. 3. Such &s;he profe&s;&s;ed her|&s;elfe, &s;o that &s;he &s;inning, her &s;innes were out of mea&s;ure &s;infull, and therefore God mo&s;t righteous, though mo&s;t &s;euere again&s;t her.</P>
<P>It is in this ca&s;e of the <HI>peoples &s;ufferings,</HI> as it was in the <HI>Prie&s;ts Offerings.</HI> Wee &s;hall &s;ee that in &s;ome ca&s;es the people &s;inning, they might bring for their Offering a <HI>Kid of the Goates, Leuit.</HI> 4. 23, 28. But &s;till for the &s;innes of the Prie&s;ts there mu&s;t bee offered <HI>a Bullocke, Leuit.</HI> 4. 3. <HI>Leuit.</HI> 16. 6. <HI>Exod.</HI> 29. 10. What might the rea&s;on of this be? The Prie&s;ts per&s;on being more ex|cellent, and nigh vnto God, their &s;ins were greater then other mens,
<PB N="205" REF="122"> &s;o much greater as <HI>a Bullocke</HI> is greater then <HI>a Kid,</HI> and therefore wheras <HI>a Kid</HI> would &s;erue another man, the Prie&s;t mu&s;t bring <HI>a Bul|locke.</HI> So here in ca&s;e of <HI>&s;uffering</HI> iu&s;tice. All that profe&s;&s;e them&s;elues Gods people doe profe&s;&s;e them|&s;elues <HI>Prie&s;ts</HI> vnto God, and there|fore their &s;innes are as much aboue other mens, as is <HI>a Bullocke</HI> aboue <HI>a Kid,</HI> and therefore when other mens puni&s;hment which they &s;uf|fer &s;hall be but the <HI>weight</HI> of <HI>a Kid,</HI> that puni&s;hment which they &s;uffer &s;hall bee the <HI>weight</HI> of <HI>a Bullocke. Woe,</HI> euen a weightie, and an hea|uie <HI>Woe to him by whom the offence commeth.</HI></P>
<P>Profe&s;&s;ion of Religion giues no man a licence or di&s;pen&s;ation, as if becau&s;e men will owne and coun|tenance Religion, God were be|holding to them, and they may take libertie to doe what they plea&s;e, but profe&s;&s;ion of Religion
<PB N="206" REF="123"> is the &s;tronge&s;t <NOTE N="l" PLACE="marg"><HI>Religio autem e&s;t &s;cientia Dei, ac per hoc om|n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> religio&s;us hoc ip&s;o quod religionem &s;e|quitur Dei &s;e volun<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">tem no&s;&s;e testatur. Profe&s;&s;io ita&abque; religionis non aufert debitum, &s;ed auget. quia a&s;&s;umptio reli|gio&s;i nominis &s;pon&s;io e&s;t deuo|tionis, ac per hoc plus qui&s;piam debet opere quanto plus, promi&s;erit profe&s;sione.</HI> Salui|an. contra Auarit. lib. 1.</NOTE> obligation, &amp; the deepe&s;t ingagement vnto godlines &amp; holine&s;&s;e that can be. That bond and obligation being broken, God will a&s;&s;uredly both &s;ue the bond, and take the forfeiture to the vt|mo&s;t.</P>
<P>And thus wee &s;ee the rea&s;ons of Gods &s;o &s;harpe &s;eueritie in puni&s;h|ing Scandals, and &s;candalous of|fendours.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The great care we &s;hould haue of gi|uing &s;candal, and &s;orrow for them giuen, and the cau&s;e of humiliation they haue by whom offences come.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>_THe iu&s;tice of God being thus &s;mart and &s;euere vp|on &s;uch as giue offence,
<PB N="207" REF="123"> con&s;ider wee for the clo&s;e of all, what v&s;e may bee made of it. It &s;erues therefore to teach three things:</P>
<P N="1">1. Gods iu&s;tice being &s;o &s;euere again&s;t the giuers of &s;candal, how warie and how carefull &s;hould it make vs, and with what feare and trembling &s;hould we walke, lea&s;t at any time an offence &s;hould come by vs. Let this <HI>Wo</HI> pronounced again&s;t all &s;candal-giuers be as the <HI>flaming Sword of the Cherubims</HI> to &s;care vs, and make vs afraid how euer we do any thing, or come neere the doing of any thing that may proue offen|&s;iue and &s;candalous. Since the <HI>Woe</HI> is &s;o heauie and &s;o &s;mart, let it make vs li&s;ten to that coun&s;ell, <HI>Rom.</HI> 14. 13. <HI>That no man put a &s;tum|bling blocke, or an occa&s;ion to fall in his brothers way.</HI> If Chri&s;t haue de|nounced a <HI>Woe,</HI> and a <HI>Cur&s;e</HI> to him that layes a &s;tumbling blocke in a|nothers way, then as wee feare that
<PB N="208" REF="124"> <HI>Woe,</HI> and that <HI>Cur&s;e</HI> to light on our heads: &s;o take heed of laying a <HI>&s;tumbling blocke</HI> for another mans feet.</P>
<P>Let vs learne to liue by that rule, 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 10. 32. <HI>Giue none offence, nei|ther to the Iewes nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God.</HI> Haue a care &s;o to carrie our &s;elues, that neither the Church of God may be grieued, nor the enemies of the Church bee either hindred from good, or hardened in euill to their ruine and de&s;truction.</P>
<P>Wee &s;ee, <HI>Reuel.</HI> 2. 14. That <HI>Ba|laam taught</HI> Balak <HI>to ca&s;t a &s;tumbling blocke before the children of I&s;rael.</HI> He did not him&s;elfe ca&s;t the &s;tum|bling blocke, but hee <HI>taught Balak</HI> to doe it. And yet God met with <HI>Balaam,</HI> and <HI>taught</HI> him by his iu|&s;tice vpon him, what it was to <HI>teach</HI> others to <HI>ca&s;t &s;tumbling blockes</HI> in his peoples wayes, <HI>Numb.</HI> 31. 8. <HI>Balaam</HI> was &s;laine by <HI>the Sword of</HI>
<PB N="209" REF="124"> <HI>I&s;rael</HI> among&s;t the <HI>Midianites.</HI> He had taught <HI>Balak</HI> to make them <HI>&s;tumble</HI> and <HI>fall,</HI> therefore God in his iu&s;tice makes him <HI>fall</HI> by the Sword.</P>
<P>Now, what if hee had <HI>put</HI> &s;tum|bling blockes him&s;elfe, how much more would Gods iu&s;tice haue pur|&s;ued and ouer-taken him? Now &s;candalous per&s;ons doe them&s;elues put &s;tumbling blockes before men, and therefore, we know what <HI>Pauls</HI> re&s;olution is, 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 8. 13. <HI>Where|fore if meate &s;candalize my brother,</HI> and lay a &s;tumbling blocke in his way, <HI>I will eate no fle&s;h whiles the World &s;tands, lea&s;t I &s;candalize my brother.</HI> What is eating of fle&s;h to the workes of the fle&s;h, to the &s;innes of vncleanne&s;&s;e, fraud, and noto|rious deceit? And if <HI>Paul</HI> rather then hee would giue offence would not eate fle&s;h, which was <NOTE N="m" PLACE="marg"><HI>Caeteru<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> cum remade<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> formidabilem e&s;&s;e demon&s;tra|tum &s;it in ij<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> quae in pote&s;tat<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> nostra po&s;ita &s;unt fratrem &s;candalizare, quid de ijs di|cendum erit qui rebus vetitis fa|ciendis loquen|di&s;ue &s;candali|zant.</HI> Ba&s;il. <HI>Sivero in licitis tale e&s;t iudiciu~, quid diceadum e&s;t de vetitis.</HI> Ibid.</NOTE> lawfull to doe in its owne nature, how much more would hee haue re&s;ol|ued
<PB N="210" REF="125"> neuer to haue giuen offence by foule and notorious practices? Surely he implies this much more, I will neuer commit vncleanne&s;&s;e, I will neuer bee a fraudulent di&s;ho|ne&s;t dealer while&s;t the world &s;tands lea&s;t I giue an offence, and lay a &s;tumbling blocke in anothers way. Why would <HI>Paul</HI> forbeare fle&s;h for euer, in ca&s;e of Scandal? Cer|tainly he had an eie to this <HI>Wo,</HI> and and therefore cho&s;e rather to eate no fle&s;h then to eate it &s;o &s;awced. It might proue no better then the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> Quailes, <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 78. 27, 29, 30, 31. <HI>Hee rained</HI> fle&s;h <HI>al&s;o vpon them as du&s;t&punc; &s;o they did</HI> eat <HI>and were filled, But while their meate was yet in their mouthes,</HI> the wrath <HI>of God came vpon them, and &s;lew the fatte&s;t of them.</HI></P>
<P>A man had beene as good haue fa&s;ted as haue had their dainties with that &s;awce. So <HI>Paul</HI> knew that meate eaten with <HI>Scandal,</HI> would
<PB N="211" REF="125"> haue beene &s;awced with a <HI>Woe,</HI> and therefore, wi&s;ely re&s;olued rather neuer to eate fle&s;h then to eat it on &s;uch termes. Vpon the &s;ame ground &s;ince &s;uch a <HI>Woe</HI> followes vpon gi|uing offence, dread we to doe any thing that may bee &s;candalous, and re&s;olue neuer to doe it while&s;t the World &s;tands.</P>
<P>Our Sauiour Chri&s;t was not bound to pay Tribute, or Cu|&s;tome, but yet he is willing to part with his right vpon this ground, <HI>Math.</HI> 17. 27. <HI>Notwith&s;tanding lea&s;t we &s;hould &s;candalize them, &amp;c.</HI> To preuent Scandal hee parts with his right, and rather workes a mira|cle, then hee would giue them of|fence.</P>
<P>How much more then, there be|ing &s;o heauie a <HI>Woe,</HI> &s;hould wee be carefull to auoid that which is &s;in|full and vnlawfull, lea&s;t wee &s;hould &s;candalize men, and lay ruining &s;tumbling blockes in their wayes.
<PB N="212" REF="126"> <HI>Woe to him by whom the offence comes.</HI></P>
<P>Now then as wee would feare to meete with this woe, &s;o take heed of giuing any offence. As we would feare to haue a <HI>Woe</HI> come <HI>vpon</HI> vs, &s;o let vs feare to haue an <HI>offence</HI> come <HI>by</HI> vs. This is the very v&s;e our Sauiour makes of it, <HI>Luke</HI> 17. 1, 2, 3 <HI>Woe to him thorough whom offen|ces come, Ver&s;e</HI> 1. But, why &s;o? Becau&s;e of that which followes, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 2. And thereupon inferres that, <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 3. <HI>Take heed to your &s;elues.</HI> As if he had &s;aid, &s;ince there is &s;uch a <HI>Woe</HI> followes vpon giuing offence, therefore let mee adui&s;e you in any ca&s;e to <HI>take</HI> wondrous <HI>heed</HI> to your &s;elues, that you giue no offence, nor fall into any Scan|dal.</P>
<P>It &s;hould be the care and endea|uour of all Gods people to do their be&s;t to remoue all &s;tumbling blocks and &s;tones out of the way, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 57.
<PB N="213" REF="126"> 14. <HI>Ca&s;t yee vp, ca&s;t yee vp, prepare the way, take vp the &s;tumbling block out of the way of my people, I&s;a.</HI> 62. 10. <HI>Prepare you the way of the peo|ple, ca&s;t vp, ca&s;t vp, the high way, ga|ther out the &s;tones.</HI> Therefore if they mu&s;t <HI>gather</HI> out the &s;tones, they mu&s;t take heed of <HI>laying</HI> &s;tones in the way, if they mu&s;t <HI>take</HI> &s;tumbling blockes out of the way of the peo|ple, then mu&s;t they not <HI>lay</HI> &s;tum|bling blockes in their way. <HI>Woe</HI> vnto him that doth not his be&s;t to take vp a &s;tumbling blocke out of the way, therefore much more a <HI>Woe</HI> to him that &s;hall ca&s;t a &s;tum|bling blocke in the way.</P>
<P><HI>Que&s;t.</HI> What may a man then doe, and what cour&s;e may one take to keepe and pre&s;erue ones &s;elfe from falling into Scandals.</P>
<P><HI>An&s;w.</HI> To &s;aue our &s;elues from falling into Scandals, doe the&s;e things.</P>
<P N="1">1. Walke with <HI>Selfe-iealou&s;ie,</HI>
<PB N="214" REF="127"> and <HI>Selfe-&s;u&s;pition.</HI> In a con&s;cience of our owne frailtie be we euer iea|lous and &s;u&s;pitious of our &s;elues. That which our Sauiour &s;peakes of &s;ecuring our &s;elues in ca&s;e of tentation, is to bee done, to &s;ecure our &s;elues from the dan|ger of Scandals. <HI>Watch and pray lea&s;t yee enter into tentation, Math.</HI> 26. So watch and pray lea&s;t yee fall into Scandals. Now nothing will keepe our eyes open in watching, nor our mouthes open in praying, more then a feare and an holy iea|lou&s;ie, and &s;u&s;pition of our &s;elues by rea&s;on of our frailtie, lea&s;t we be ouer-taken and en&s;nared.</P>
<P>The profe&s;&s;ion of religon <NOTE N="n" PLACE="marg"><HI>Non qui&s;|quam wiretur, dilecti&s;&s;imi fra|tres, etiam de confe&s;&s;oribus quo&s;dam ad i&s;ta procedere, inde quo&abque; aliquos <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">am nefanda, quam grauia peccare. Ne&abque; enim confe&s;&s;io immunem facit ab infidijs dia|boli, aut contra tentationes&mdash;adhuc in &s;eculo po&s;itum perpe|tu&acirc; &s;ecuritate defendit. Caeterum nun|quam in confe&s;&s;oribus fraudes, &amp; &s;tupra, &amp; adulteria, post modum videremus, quae nunc in quibu&s;dam videntes ingemi&s;cimus &amp; dolemus.</HI> Cypr. de vnit. Eccle&s;.</NOTE> &s;ecu|res no man from &s;candals, neither is it any protection from that dan|ger. Men are deceiued that &s;o imagine. Nay, no men in more dan|ger of fowle offences then &s;uch, &amp;
<PB N="215" REF="127"> they in mo&s;t danger that are men mo&s;t eminent, and of greate&s;t note for profe&s;&s;ion. Wee &s;aw before what &s;peciall rea&s;on Satan hath for it to &s;eeke the en&s;naring of &s;uch. Profane, and irreligious per&s;ons are not &s;o be&s;et, nor haunted &s;o with importunity of Satans malice as tho&s;e are &amp; &s;halbe, that take vpon them the profe&s;&s;ion of Godlines. Profane and Godle&s;&s;e per&s;ons are his owne &s;ure enough already, and as hee <NOTE N="o" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quida~ pa&s;toris fungens munere in pago Durwei&s;s circa E&s;weiler puellam nomine Helenam diabolt ob&s;idione pre&s;|&s;am liberare velle elato &s;u|percilio promit|tebat at&abque; &s;e operam ludere videns indigna|bundus tandem in haec verba erupit, quae non intellecturum doemonem for|ta&s;&s;e &s;perabat. Si vllam habes, pote&s;tatem tran&s;migrandi in Chri&s;tianu~ &s;an|guine~ tra~&s;migra ex illa in me. Cui incu~ctanter lati|n&egrave;, &amp; quidem iuridic&egrave; re&s;pen+dit Diabolus, Quem pleno iure in pa&s;trem<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> die po&s;&s;idebo, quid opus e&s;t illum tentare.</HI> Wier de prae&s;t. Daemon lib. 5. cap. 24.</NOTE> an&s;wered that exorci&s;t ta|king vpon him to di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e a maid of the Deuill, and adiuring him to come out of her into him&s;elfe; <HI>What &s;hall I neede to tempt, and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e him of whom I &s;hall haue full po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;ion at the la&s;tday,</HI> So what cares he to tempt tho&s;e that hee hath alrea|dy po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of, and are taken and led captiue at his plea&s;ure. And be|&s;ides nothing the aduantage and gaines comes in by &s;uch mens &s;ins as doe by the fowle, and notorius
<PB N="216" REF="128"> falles of &s;uch as profe&s;&s;e religion. Therefore the Deuill &s;eeking a new po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion, and withall the ray&s;ing of his Kingdome by their fals, it is apparant that they are in greater daunger of Satans malice then the other. It therefore concernes them out of the Con&s;cience of this ma|lice, of his, and their owne frailty, to bee very iealous and &s;u&s;pitious of them&s;elues, and out of that feare and Iealou&s;ie to watch and pray.</P>
<P>Our hearts are fal&s;e and fickle, exceeding ready to clo&s;e with Sa|tan, therfore keep &s;o much the more &s;trickt watch ouer them. Wee are exceeding weake and frayle, looke vp to God, and begge his helpe. <HI>It is God that keepes the feete of his Saints, and the wicked &s;halbe &s;ilent in darkenes.</HI> 1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 9. Except the Lord <HI>keepe the City the watchman watches in vaine,</HI> and except the Lord <HI>keepe the feete of his Saints,</HI> all their watching is in vaine. Alas if
<PB N="217" REF="128"> wee tru&s;t to our owne keeping how &s;oone wil our feete be ready to &s;lip, how fowle &s;hall wee fall, and into what &s;candals &s;hall not we runne? And then how farre would wicked ones bee from being <HI>&s;ilent in dark|ne&s;&s;e?</HI> Indeed when God keepes his Saints feete, he <HI>&s;ilences,</HI> &amp; &s;tops wicked mens mouthes, becau&s;e then they haue nothing to &s;ay a|gain&s;t Godline&s;&s;e. But if God keepe not the <HI>Saints feete,</HI> how &s;oone and how wide are wicked mouths opened to clamour and bla&s;|pheme? Therefore out of an holy feare and iealou&s;ie of our owne weakene&s;&s;e, let vs dayly petition God by prayer that he would keepe vs that our feete may not &s;tumble, that hee him&s;elfe would take the charge of vs that wee da&s;h not our foote again&s;t a &s;tone. There is a promi&s;e <HI>Ier.</HI> 31. 9. <HI>I will leade them, I will cau&s;e them to walke in a &s;treight way wherein they &s;hall not &s;tumble.</HI>
<PB N="218" REF="129"> Now when men out of a feare and iealou&s;ie of their owne infirmity and frailty, doe dayly looke vp to God, and beg guidance, and &s;afe co~duct from him, he wil <HI>leade</HI> them and make them walke in a <HI>&s;treight way wherein they &s;hall not &s;tumble.</HI> This was <HI>Dauids</HI> practi&s;e. <HI>P&s;al.</HI> 5. 8. <HI>Leade mee O Lord in thy righte|ou&s;ne&s;&s;e becau&s;e of mine enemies,</HI> or mine <HI>ob&s;eruers,</HI> as Iunius renders it, <HI>make thy way &s;treight before my face.</HI> He &s;aw that he had many eyes vpon him that <HI>ob&s;erued,</HI> and watcht him narrowly, he knowes his owne readines to turne a&s;ide into by and crooked wayes, his &s;uite therefore to God is, that he would leade him. While&s;t God hath a man by the hand how &s;afe is a man from fal|ling? And God that <HI>keepes the feete of his Saints.</HI> 1. <HI>Sam.</HI> 2. 9. hath <HI>his Saints in his hand. Deut.</HI> 33. 3. <HI>All his Saints are in thine hand.</HI> It is good daylie by prayer to put our
<PB N="219" REF="129"> &s;elues into Gods hand. It is iu&s;t with God to checke &s;elfe-confi|dence &amp; to let &s;uch men &s;lip &amp; fall too, that by their falles they may know their frailty. <NOTE N="p" PLACE="marg"><HI>Laudo</HI> Pe|trum <HI>&s;ed prius erube&s;co pro</HI> Petro. <HI>Quam prompta anima, &s;ed ne&s;ciens &s;e metiri.</HI> Aug de diuer&s;. &s;er. 39.</NOTE> <HI>Peters</HI> ca&s;e is well knowne, <HI>Though all, yet not I,</HI> he was of a forward &s;pirit, but knew not how to mea&s;ure him&s;elfe, if he had had more feare &amp; iealou&s;ie hee would haue beene more watchfull, and haue &s;ought more to God, and would haue &s;aid rather, If all men &s;hould yet Lord by thy grace keepe me that I may not deny thee. Hee had beene more &s;ecure if hee had beene le&s;&s;e &s;ecure. But now that he &s;tands wholly vpon his owne legs, how &s;oone, &amp; how mi&s;erably falles he? The child that cares not to be led but will goe of him&s;elfe, gets many a knocke, and many a &s;hrewde fall, but the child that is fearefull, and out of his feare will be in the mo|thers or nur&s;es hand, and will cry to be led, that childe &s;capes many a broken face.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="220" REF="130"> 2. Mortifie your deere&s;t lu&s;ts. A fo&s;tered and a cheri&s;ht lu&s;t doth exceedingly endaunger a man, puts him into great danger of fal|ling into &s;candal. Let a lu&s;t be loued, and cheri&s;hed and it wil &s;o befoole, and bewitch a man that hee will maintayne, and &s;ockle it though it be with the hazard of the credit of Religion, and the Go&s;pell, it will grow &s;o &s;trong at the la&s;t that it will headlong him into &s;ome &s;can|dal or other. Therefore deale &s;e|uerely with the&s;e lu&s;ts, that will bring thee happily to doe that which will cau&s;e God to deale &s;e|uerely with thee, be &s;ure to make &s;ure worke with them by mortifica|tion, that is a good way to pre&s;erue thee from &s;candal. This is the very cour&s;e our Sauiour here pre|&s;cribes. Hauing in this &s;euenth ver&s;e &s;hewed the woe that falles vpon the giuers of &s;candals, &s;ee what he inferres, <HI>Ver&s;e.</HI> 8. 9. <HI>Where|fore</HI>
<PB N="221" REF="130"> <HI>if thine hand, or thy foote offend thee cut them off, and ca&s;t them from thee, &amp;c. And if thine eye offend thee plucke it out, and ca&s;t it from thee. &amp;c.</HI> Marke then what it is that makes men offend. Namely mens lu&s;ts, <HI>their right hands, eyes, feete.</HI> The&s;e bee the &s;candal-bree|ders. If a man would bee free from giuing of offence he mu&s;t <HI>out,</HI> &amp; <HI>off</HI> with that which <HI>cau&s;es</HI> him to of|fende. Now lu&s;ts when they are made much of, when they be made deere, <HI>hands,</HI> and <HI>eyes,</HI> and <HI>right eyes,</HI> a&s;&s;uredly they will <HI>cau&s;e men to offend.</HI> Therefore the way to &s;aue our &s;elues that they cau&s;e not vs to offend, is to offend them, the way is by mortification to <HI>cut off,</HI> and <HI>ca&s;t away,</HI> &s;uch hands, feete, and eyes as will cau&s;e vs to offend. Were but this done how happily might many fowle &s;candals be pre|uented? <HI>If Dauid</HI> had pre&s;ently <HI>plucke out</HI> his wanton eye, and ca&s;t
<PB N="222" REF="131"> it away; how ea&s;ily had hee beene &s;ecured from that great offence he gaue?</P>
<P>It may be many a man out of the great pride of his heart, and his a|bundant &s;elfe-loue makes his cre|dit and e&s;teeme among&s;t men to be his <HI>right hand, his right eye,</HI> his very Idoll. Now this is a lu&s;t that will cau&s;e a man to offend. A man in this pride and &s;elfe-loue to main|taine and vphold his good opinion and e&s;teeme, runnes into this and that &s;ecret euill practi&s;e, and rather then his e&s;teeme, and credit &s;hould &s;inke in the world, v&s;es a number of &s;hifts, and di&s;hone&s;t cour&s;es, and a companie of deceitful guiles to vp|hould his e&s;teeme, and runnes &s;o far in at la&s;t, that he comes not off, with fowle &s;candal. Now mortifi|cation and &s;elfe denial had preuen|ted it. If &s;uch a man had pluckt out this eie, cut off this hand and foote, hee had not halted, nor &s;tumbled
<PB N="223" REF="131"> nor fallen into &s;candal. The not cutting of this foote cau&s;ed the &s;tumble, the fall. One chop had &s;a|ued and preuented all, for if he had but denied him&s;elfe, and thus thought with him&s;elfe, If it bee Gods will that I &s;hall bee low, and meane in the world, if hee will haue mee come downe and be in an infe|riour e&s;tate, his will bee done, I will humbly &s;ubmit to his plea&s;ure, and I will not to vphold my credit in the world for a time, hazard and wound the credit of the Go&s;pell, and religion, I will tread my credit vnder foote, rather then bring any di&s;credit vpon the Go&s;pell; If thus by &s;elfe-deniall a man could haue &s;ubmitted to Gods wi&s;edome and admini&s;tration, &amp; could haue mortified his &s;elfe-loue, &s;o as to haue laid his credit and re&s;pect in the world at Gods foote, how hap|pily might a fowle &s;candal haue beene preuented? Euery vnmorti|fied
<PB N="224" REF="132"> lu&s;t is a &s;candal that will cau&s;e a man to offend, &s;o many lu&s;ts &s;o many tares. Therefore burne, and fire tho&s;e tares, <HI>gather out</HI> and <HI>ca&s;t out</HI> tho&s;e &s;candals that will breed &s;candals and cau&s;e offences. <HI>Math.</HI> 13. 40. 41.</P>
<P N="3">3. Labour for &s;incerity, and fruit|fulnes in the wayes of God. I dare not &s;ay that all that fall into &s;can|dal are Hypocrites, &amp; barren. But yet &s;ure it is, that God many times puni&s;hes the&s;e two things with &s;candalous fals. When men are not &s;o &s;incere and &s;o fruitfull as they &s;hould bee, God leaues them to them&s;elues, that by &s;uch &s;canda|lous fals they may be humbled, for not walking &s;o &s;incerely and &s;o fruitfully as they &s;hould haue done, and as their profe&s;&s;ion required at their hands. Therefore the more &s;incere, and fruitfull wee are, the more are we out of danger of &s;can|dals. See <HI>Phil.</HI> 1. 10, 11. <HI>That yee</HI>
<PB N="225" REF="132"> <HI>may bee &s;incere and without offence till the day of Chri&s;t, Being filled with the fruites of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e.</HI> So then the way to be <HI>without offence</HI> is to <HI>be &s;incere,</HI> and to be <HI>filled</HI> with the <HI>fruites</HI> of righteou&s;ne&s;&s;e. So long as we adorne the Doctrine of God our Sauiour in all things, wee &s;hall keepe our &s;elfes from giuing offence. Now &s;incerity, fidelitie, and fruitfulnes doe <HI>adorne the Doctrine of God, Tit.</HI> 2. 9, 10.</P>
<P N="4">4. Thinke alwayes vpon tho&s;e two texts. Fir&s;t that, <HI>Neh.</HI> 4. 9. <HI>It is not good that yee doe, ought yee not to walke in the feare of our God, be|cau&s;e of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?</HI> Are wee by Satan tempted to any &s;infull cour&s;e that &s;pecially may prooue &s;candalous, thinke wee thus with our &s;elues. It is not good that wee are about to doe, the thing is naught and &s;infull. If we doe thus how will enemies of godline&s;&s;e and Religion tryumph,
<PB N="226" REF="133"> how will they reproach and &s;corne Religion and therefore to preuent their reproach, and to preuent the opening of their mouthes, how ought wee to walke in the feare of God. I will rather die then giue them iu&s;t occa&s;ion to reproach. If they will needes bee reproaching, let them doe it at their <NOTE N="q" PLACE="marg"><HI>Abundet ho&s;|pitalit as ve&s;tra, abundent bona opera ve&s;tra Quod iubet Chri&s;tus faciant, Chri&s;tiani, &amp; tantum &s;uo ma|lo bla&s;phement pagani.</HI> Aug. Hom. 10. in append &s;erm.</NOTE> owne pe|rill, they &s;hall haue no cau&s;e from mee to open their mouthes in re|proachfull wi&s;e. And this is the very argument the Apo&s;tle v&s;es to per&s;wade women to a godly, di&s;|creete, cha&s;t, and obedient carri|age, <HI>That the word of God bee not bla&s;phemed, Tit.</HI> 2. 4, 5. Secondly, con&s;ider that text, <HI>Neh.</HI> 6. 11. <HI>Should &s;uch a man as I flee? And who is there that being as I am, would goe into the Temple to &s;aue his life? I will not goe in.</HI> It were an happie thing in the&s;e ca&s;es if men would know them&s;elues, what they are, and would &s;tand vpon it with Sa|tan.
<PB N="227" REF="133"> <HI>Should &s;uch a man as I</HI> doe thus? <HI>Nehemiah</HI> we &s;ee would not goe into the temple to &s;aue his life, when he con&s;idered what hee was, <HI>Such a man as I? Being as I am?</HI> It is no pride in the&s;e ca&s;es to &s;tand vpon what we are, but much &s;afety were in it. <HI>Should &s;uch a man as I?</HI> Why what a man is hee that profe&s;&s;es religion? He is one that hath the Name of God called vp|on him, <HI>If my people on whom my name is called,</HI> 2. <HI>Chron.</HI> 7. 14. Hee is one that is called with an <HI>high calling. Phil.</HI> 3. 14. Hee is one that is <HI>called to Holine&s;&s;e.</HI> 1. <HI>The&s;.</HI> 4. 7. Hee is one that is <HI>pretious</HI> and <HI>honora|ble I&s;a.</HI> 43. 4. Hee is one of the <HI>Saints of the mo&s;t high, Dan.</HI> 7. 18. 22 Hee is one of the <HI>Sonnes of God.</HI> 1. <HI>Ioh.</HI> 3. 1. And now &s;hall &s;uch a man as he run into fowle and ba&s;e actions? Who, being as hee is, vvould not rather loo&s;e his life, then di&s;honour &s;uch a profe&s;&s;ion,
<PB N="228" REF="134"> then di&s;grace &s;uch and &s;o many dignities? Why did <HI>Ieremy</HI> &s;o vvillingly &s;ubiect to Gods vvord? <HI>For thy name is called vpon mee O Lord God of ho&s;tes. Ier.</HI> 15. 16. And &s;hould <HI>&s;uch a man as he</HI> not giue all obedience to God? Why was <HI>Ezra a&s;hamed</HI> to require of the King a band of Souldiers, and hor&s;emen to helpe again&s;t the enemy? Be|cau&s;e it vvould not &s;tand with that profe&s;&s;ion hee had made before the King, <HI>Becau&s;e we had &s;poken vnto the King</HI> &s;aying, <HI>The hand of our God is for good vpon all them that &s;eeke him, but his power &amp; his wrath again&s;t all them that for&s;ake him.</HI> 1. <HI>Ezra.</HI> 8. 22. Hee had made this profe&s;&s;ion before the King, and <HI>&s;hould &s;uch a man as hee,</HI> that had made &s;uch a profe&s;&s;ion doe a thing &s;o contrary thereunto? What a fowle <HI>&s;hame</HI> had that beene? No wonder, hauing made &s;uch a pro|fe&s;&s;ion, that he was <HI>a&s;hamed</HI> to doe
<PB N="229" REF="134"> it. If men would but &s;eriou&s;ly con|&s;ider what kind of per&s;ons they are, and what kind of profe&s;&s;ion they make, oh how vvould they for <HI>&s;hame</HI> not meddle with ba&s;e acti|ons. What was the rea&s;on that <HI>Mordecay,</HI> vvould not bow to <HI>Haman? They &s;pake to him daily, and hee hearkened not vnto them.</HI> And what was his rea&s;on. Rea&s;on good enough, <HI>He told them that he was a Iew.</HI> It would not &s;tand with the religion hee profe&s;t to bow to <HI>Haman</HI> as they bowed to him. <HI>He was a Iew,</HI> one of the peo|ple of God, that profe&s;&s;ed the vvor|&s;hip of the true God alone, and <HI>&s;hould &s;uch an one as he</HI> bow downe to <HI>Haman,</HI> not onely a mortall man but an accur&s;ed <HI>Amalekite?</HI> Who vvould being as he vvas, if it had beene to haue &s;aued his life, haue vvronged not &s;o much his na|tion as his religion, and profe&s;&s;ion as to haue bovved to him What
<PB N="230" REF="135"> made <HI>Abraham</HI> that hee vvould not take any thing that was the King of <HI>Sodoms from a threed euen vnto a &s;hooe latchet,</HI> but becau&s;e the King of <HI>Sodom &s;hould</HI> not &s;ay, <HI>I haue made</HI> Abraham <HI>rich. Gen.</HI> 54. 23. Like enough <HI>Abraham</HI> had vp|on all occa&s;ions, and in all places profe&s;&s;ed that God who&s;e name he profe&s;&s;ed had made him &s;o rich, therefore vvould hee doe nothing that might be any preiudice to that his profe&s;&s;ion, hee had a care &s;o to carry him&s;elfe that the enemies of God &s;hould not haue any thing to <HI>&s;ay that</HI> might di&s;grace his profe&s;|&s;ion. Thus if a man vvould con&s;i|der the highne&s;&s;e of his calling, the honour of his profe&s;&s;ion, and vvould in all tentations vnto fovvle and &s;hamefull actions but thinke, &s;hould &s;uch a man as I doe this? or who being as I am, would doe this? how might hee be pre&s;erued from many a foule &s;candal? <HI>Mordecay</HI>
<PB N="231" REF="135"> told them he was a <HI>Iew,</HI> doe thou in all tentations to foule actions, tell Sathan thou art a Chri&s;tian, and &s;hould &s;uch a man as thou doe &s;o?</P>
<P N="5">5. Looke vpon other mens fals, <NOTE PLACE="marg">r <HI>Propone nihil e&s;&s;e quod tibi accidere. non po&s;&s;it. Vita foueam in quam vides a|lium coram te incidi&s;&s;e. Alio|rum perditio tua fit cautio.</HI> Bern. de Inter. Dom. cap. 45.</NOTE> and tremble, and take warning by them. Say not in the pride and car|nall boa&s;ting of thy &s;pirit, rather then I would haue done as he hath done, I would haue died a thou|&s;and deaths; To condemne &s;uch as fall &s;candalou&s;ly, is not a thing to be condemned, who &s;hall dare to iu&s;tifie &s;uch? But a comparatiue condemning of other mens euils, &s;o to condemne them as to com|mend and bragge of our &s;elues, what in &s;uch ca&s;es wee would haue done, and haue beene, &s;o to con|demne others, as thereby to rai&s;e our owne pray&s;es, what good ones wee are, and would haue beene to them, &s;o to make others blacke, as to make our &s;elfes &s;hew the whiter,
<PB N="232" REF="136"> this is very dangerous. This &s;a|uours of much pride, and in &s;uch ca&s;es it may be <NOTE N="&s;" PLACE="marg"><HI>Tamen &s;i ali|cui tanta e&s;t fi|ducia de immo|bilitate propriae infirmitatis &s;al|tem &s;ollicitus re|formidet ne ip&s;e &s;it &s;candalum vi&s;ibus alienis, &s;ed terreatur voce Domini comminantis, vae huic mundo &agrave; &s;candalis,</HI> Cypr. de &s;in|gul. Cleric.</NOTE> iu&s;t with God, &s;o to giue vs vp to the power of our owne corruptions, that wee may fall into the &s;elfe-&s;ame euill &s;o con|demned.</P>
<P>That Prouerbe of <HI>Salomons</HI> would be thought vpon in all &s;uch euents, <HI>Prou.</HI> 27. 19. <HI>As in water face an&s;wers to face, &s;o the heart of man to man.</HI> Let a man looke into the water, hee &s;ees in it a face in all points an&s;wering to his owne, the &s;ame &s;pots, Warts, Moulds, and blemi&s;hes that hee &s;ees in the face in the water, they are all in his own, there is face an&s;wering to face. <HI>So doth the heart of a man an&s;were to a man.</HI></P>
<P>The &s;ame euils, corruptions, lu&s;ts, and &s;ins that thou &s;ee&s;t in another mans heart, breaking out in his life the very &s;elfe-&s;ame are in thine owne heart, his heart to thine is
<PB N="233" REF="136"> but <HI>a face an&s;wering thy face,</HI> his heart is but as the face in the water to thy face, therein maye&s;t thou &s;ee what is in thine heart. And there|fore his heart being the very pi|cture of thine owne, looke not vp|on his fals, but with feare &amp; trem|bling, con&s;idering lea&s;t thou al&s;o thy &s;elfe maye&s;t bee tempted, and fall as fowle as hee. His heart natu|rally is as good as thine, and thine naturally as bad as his, and there|fore no better cour&s;e in the view of his fall, then to feare and trem|ble, lea&s;t thine heart may &s;erue thee as &s;lipperie a tricke as his heart hath done. Such humble feare and trembling wil awaken to an an&s;we|rable caution, and &s;o may prooue a good pre&s;eruatiue again&s;t the danger of Scandals.</P>
<P N="2">2. A &s;econd thing, this point of Gods &s;eueritie may teach, is to &s;tir vs vp to mourne and grieue when Scandals fall out. There be diuers
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<PB N="234" REF="138"> grounds of mourning in &s;uch ca|&s;es.</P>
<P>As fir&s;t in regard of the <HI>woe</HI> that is to the world from offences, and the great mi&s;chiefe that will bee done by them, That &s;o many will &s;tart at and flie from Religion, that &s;o many will bla&s;pheme the Name of God, that &s;o many will bee har|dened to their owne ruine, here is cau&s;e enough of mourning to all good hearts. There is a compa&s;&s;ion and there be bowels to bee &s;howne to mankinde, euen to reprobate ones, and a &s;orrow &s;hould there be for the lo&s;&s;e of their bloud. And &s;econdly, a &s;orrow &s;hould there be for Gods di&s;honour, the Chur|ches reproach. But thirdly, there is yet another ground of &s;orrow ari&s;ing from this point, a &s;orrow there &s;hould bee in &s;uch euents in regard of the <HI>woe</HI> that wil fall vpon &s;uch by whom the offence comes. If their ca&s;e bee &s;uch that &s;o many
<PB N="235" REF="138"> woes will pur&s;ue them, then how &s;hould mens bowels earne with compa&s;&s;ion towards them, and out of Chri&s;tian pitie commi&s;erate their condition?</P>
<P>The cour&s;e of the World is to reioyce, and in&s;ult ouer &s;uch. That is not lawfull in &s;inle&s;&s;e ca|&s;es, <HI>Prou.</HI> 24. 17. <HI>Reioyce not when thine enemy fals,</HI> namely, into &s;ome outward affliction, <HI>neither let thine heart bee glad when hee &s;tumbles;</HI> Therefore much more vnlawfull in ca&s;es of &s;in, and &s;candal. This high|ly di&s;plea&s;es God. Others it may be reioyce not, are not glad, but in the meane time they mourne not, neither are they in &s;orrow for Gods di&s;honour, or the offenders danger. Surely, as there is ioy in Heauen when one &s;inner repents, and ri&s;es, &s;o &s;hould there be &s;orrow on earth, when one man profe&s;&s;ing Chri&s;t, &s;innes, and fals fowle. This was the <HI>Corinthians</HI> fault, 1. <HI>Cor.</HI> 5.
<PB N="236" REF="139"> 2. <HI>And you are puffed vp and haue not rather mourned.</HI> They &s;hould therefore in that ca&s;e haue mour|ned, and &s;orrowed as for Gods di&s;|honour, &s;o for the danger into which that man by his &s;candal had brought him&s;elfe. And this being done might be a great helpe to &s;tir vp a man falne into a &s;candalous &s;in to mourne for him&s;elfe. For when hee &s;hall &s;ee others lay his ca&s;e to heart, and to be &s;o &s;en&s;ible of his ill condition, how may it &s;tirre vp him&s;elfe to take his condition to heart much more. It is &s;aid that <HI>Samuel</HI> mourned for <HI>Saul,</HI> now when <HI>Saul</HI> &s;hould heare that <HI>Sa|muel</HI> mourned for him, if there had been any grace in his heart it could not but haue made him mourne for him&s;elfe. It mu&s;t needs haue thus wrought vpon him. Doth <HI>Samuel</HI> mourne for mee, and lies my ca&s;e heauie at his heart? Alas then what cau&s;e haue I to mourne for my
<PB N="237" REF="139"> &s;elfe. It is I that haue &s;inned, and it is I that mu&s;t &s;mart. What is it to <HI>Samuel,</HI> that I mu&s;t vndergoe &s;uch woe, if therefore hee, how much more &s;hould I mourne. Thus o|thers &s;orow might prouoke &s;uch to mourne.</P>
<P N="3">3. La&s;tly, this &s;eueritie of Gods Iu&s;tice con&s;idered, it &s;erues for the terrour, and the humbling of &s;uch by whom offences come.</P>
<P>Here is that which may breake the hearts of them, and make them melt into godly &s;orrow. <HI>Woe vnto him by whom an of|fence comes.</HI> Is an offence come by thee, and art thou falne into a &s;can|dal? behold here a woe out of Chri&s;ts mouth pur&s;uing thee, and readie to arre&s;t thee. Behold a woe po&s;ting after thee to bla&s;t thee in thy Name, to brand thee with In|famie and Reproach. A woe fol|lowing thee to ca&s;t thee out of the hearts, and &s;ocietie of Gods peo|ple,
<PB N="238" REF="140"> A woe following thee to &s;mite thee with pouertie and &s;ickne&s;&s;e, A woe to &s;mite thy Family, thy Children. And &s;hall not &s;uch a wo terrifie, and mightily humble thine heart? How &s;hould the dread of &s;uch a woe hanging ouer thine head lay thee in the du&s;t? If a man had no care of his owne &s;oule, or no care of his credit, or no care of &s;ocietie with the faithfull, yet if a man had but any bowels of nature towards his poore children, here is that which may make his bowels earne and roule within him. Alas what haue I done? I haue brought a woe vpon my &s;elfe, and children. Ah, &s;ayes <HI>Dauid, The&s;e &s;heepe what haue they done?</HI> So maye&s;t thou, Alas, the&s;e poore babes, and inno|cent Lambes what haue they done? An heauie woe may ouertake and &s;mite them for my folly. Woe is me, the cau&s;e that my &s;oule hath to bee humbled, Oh the cau&s;e that I
<PB N="239" REF="140"> haue to put my mouth in the duft? Here is that which &s;hould make a man hang downe his head <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span"> &s;orrow to thinke of that <HI>woe,</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> is pur&s;uing him at the heeles. If a man had a Bayliffe o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> a Sergeant alwayes watching&punc; and dogging of him at the heeles, that he could not &s;tirre out of his doores, but hee would be ready to haue him by the backe, in what a deale of feare would a man bee in &s;uch a ca&s;e? What a deale of care would hee take to make his peace, and com|pound with his Creditours? Now when a man is fallen into a Scan|dal pre&s;ently, a <HI>woe</HI> is &s;ent out to pur&s;ue and attach &s;uch a &s;inner, oh then the feare, the depth of hu|miliation and &s;orrow, that the dread of this woe &s;hould worke in &s;uch a man? It &s;hould make him doe as in that ca&s;e, <HI>Prou.</HI> 6. 3, 4. <HI>Goe humble thy &s;elfe, Giue not &s;leepe to thine eyes, nor &s;lumber to thine eye|lids,</HI>
<PB N="240" REF="141"> <HI>till thou ha&s;t made thy peace with God.</HI> <NOTE N="t" PLACE="marg"><HI>Grandi plagae alta &amp; p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="4 letters">xa opus e&s;t medici+na. Grande &s;ce|lus grandem ha|bet nece&s;&s;ariam &s;atisfactionem.</HI> Ambro&s;&punc; ad Virg. lap&s;.</NOTE> Goe and doe as <HI>Lam.</HI> 3. 28, 29, 30. <HI>Hee &s;its alone and keepes &s;ilence, hee puts his mouth in the du&s;t if &s;o bee there may bee hope, He giues his cheek to him that &s;mites him, hee is filled full with reproach.</HI> Sit alone and keepe &s;ilence, and neuer wonder, nor murmure that thou art left alone, but <HI>Leuit.</HI> 26. 41. <HI>accept of thy puni&s;hment.</HI> And certainly, where a man is truely humbled he will doe &s;o. <HI>Sit alone?</HI> I cannot find fault with it, I de&s;erue it, accept it. Oh <HI>put thy mouth in the du&s;t,</HI> thou that ha&s;t laid thine honor in the du&s;t, thou that ha&s;t laid the honour of religion in the du&s;t. <HI>Giue thy cheekes to him that &s;mites.</HI> Art thou reproached, and filled there|with? take it as the due de&s;ert of thy wayes, and &s;ay with <HI>Ecebolius</HI> ly|ing, and howling at the Church doore, <NOTE N="u" PLACE="marg"><HI>Calcate me &s;alem in&s;ipi|dum.</HI> Socrat. lib. 3. cap. 11.</NOTE> <HI>Trample vpon me that am vn&s;auourie &s;alt.</HI> If at any time thou
<PB N="241" REF="141"> beginne to haue but a chearefull thought in thine heart, a chearefull looke in thy face, a chearefull word in thy mouth, da&s;h all chearefull thoughts, lookes, wordes, and be|hauiours, da&s;h them all with the thoughts of this <HI>woe.</HI> Thinke &s;till where euer thou art, what euer thou art doing, that thou heare&s;t the &s;ound of this text, and the &s;ound of this <HI>Woe,</HI> ringing in thine eares, <HI>Woe to him by whom the of|fence comes.</HI> What, I laugh? I bee merrie and iocund? I bee chearie and iolly, that haue &s;uch a <HI>Woe</HI> hanging ouer mine head? Oh my &s;oule! droope, and hang downe thine head, and be in bitterne&s;&s;e of &s;pirit, and <NOTE N="y" PLACE="marg"><HI>Inhaere poeni|tentiae v&s;&abque; ad finem vitae.</HI> Am|bro&s;. ad virg. lap&s;.</NOTE> neuer haue one light|&s;ome looke, till the light of Gods countenance &s;hine vpon thee. Who knowes if God &s;hould &s;ee a man thus droope vnder the Con|&s;cience of his &s;inne, thus laid low vnder the feare of this <HI>Woe,</HI> but
<PB N="242" REF="142"> God of his mercie might in &s;ome mea&s;ure mitigate this <HI>Woe,</HI> at lea&s;t might &s;hew mercie to the &s;oule in its peace and par|don.</P>
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