.2> jt> >•> ■'jt j >^>j» i? .- 2>zs> ^ 3^ V3 >u» >-> 25>lJ*s> .>> x> 3 >J»^ y>^» j> 2 pa>^' 3> :>i> BCfe>."i» 3>:j>'> > > £> : PO-> >? 5>I>2> »"5 )> ^t»^ a>^»> •-> :>!> i 3»>-» J | LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. | | UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. J > \X>_»> > 3Z>_» - £3* > >j> v. — *^* _>.,j>_*j> » 2 l *>--» J '-^> >>»L>_> 2> rjt^>\y: lS>JJ £*>Z> o >^?>»J»~ 2>_> -> » » » :Sr>j» " » ■> • >J>> »>_> 0»Z2e>.' 2 J>> > JO )j>> >j> j^j ^ > > ^*3> >;> j^JJ »j>> -> ^>~> >> ~~s> : o 230 ■_>> > /?•» ££>• ^5 2>J> » >^> >>§i > » > i>>> ■".i>>l> ; :Z>:> »> >v ^>> .J) > > > > j>s» _>^v > > .» ~> ^ > * -> - . , > > > > > J 3G» *> ->> >J> > > > » » > . > >) > > • > » > >> > * . > - > > .. > > .> ' :> » » , > > > I >> . • *. ' - - - , > > > > ► > > , >> * > > > » »_-»► >••>> BOANERGES and BARNABAS JUDGMENT and MERCY; WINE AND OIL, WOUNDED AND AFFLICTED SOULS. In Z,\na parrs* J BY FRANCIS QUARLES. COCK S EDITION. p i: a r f \ PRINTED BY AND FOR W. COCK. AND SOLD BY IIH .\r;FNT< J HRul r.llouT THE KINGDOM. 1016 PREFACE. The great and general decay of religion in this nation, as it justly gives occasion of wonder, so it is of concernment great enough to excuse the trouble of enquiriug into the true causes of so great a de- i tension of piety. And besides our own experience, it is easily observed, out of all the history of the Church, that a long peace, and a continual suc- ion of prosperous times, leads on to the corrup- tion of the faith, the decay of holiness and charity. The Church of Christ hath seldom been a gainer by :i temporal peace; as she grew in riches and power she -till went less in piety and holiness. Religion, ;i- il puis not on such beauties as allure the eye ol fhe world, bo it needs not the warmth of Halcyon days Id breed in: like some precious gums, it distils i plenty after storms and violent thunder. .And faith and holiness have never more flourished, th Hi when the professors of it have been well e\er cised by the persecutions of the adversaries. And however the common enemy of OUr salvation doth then act the Lion, worrying the little iloek of Christ, uring and breaking in pieces, and stamping ih> K ]< 1 residue iv it h his feet; Dan. vii. 7. Yet all this mis- chief is more than abundantly recompensed by those great advantages the Church of God receives by the triumphant sufferings and exemplary patience of the saints. Insomuch that the mischief he doth in calm and prosperous times is more to he feared, because not so easily discerned and prevented, when by his serpentine subtilty he insinuates into the people of God the leaven of spiritual pride, schism, contempt or neglect of his word, with all the evils that wan- tonness or security bring in their retinue : so that as the blessings of peace use to make up our thanks- givings, we have now reason to mention them in our penitential threnes and the songs of our sorrow. This cause hath had an universal influence, and corrupted even some of those whose sacred office obliged them to maintain the purity and sincerity of religion, either with their doctrine or their blood. Whence the second cause has its rise; the great remissness both of civil and of sacred discipline. This made men either transgress the laws with im- punity, or be censured with partiality. For the ecclesiastic power (with grief I mention it, not as an argument of reproach) was not so strongly bent against profaneness as duty and necessity did re- quire. To which I may add that whose parentage is of the same cause, the lives of many churchmen bore a greater conformity to the sins they were to reprove, than the virtues and precepts they taught. The world had so high a place in some of their V. hearts, that themselves soon found little interest in the hearts of the world. And when the dispen- sers of religion fall into contempt, it must be a strong arm, and more than that of flesh, that can bear Dp religion itself, and keep that from falling too. As government in the church was intended a remedy against schism, so the corruption of govern- ment let in schisms and factions in a full channel. And that is a third cause of the decay of piety, The schisms, which have so shaken the fa- brick of this church, that nothing but a hand re- vealed from Heaven can restore it again to its former strength and soundness. An abused zeal hath had his evil influence upon the doctrines of almost all parties ; that they have respectively thought the best way to find a truth, was to stand themselves at the greatest distance they could from their opponents. There were few parts either of faith or obedience winch were not by some dissenting parties reported superstition or sinful, on no better ground than this, that the thing could not be good in itself, because it came from an adversary: a ground as vain, as if the Spaniard should refuse the gold with whieh his Indian fleet conns home laden, DS6 it comes from the Antipodes of his imperial By this means faith and good works, prayer and preaching, repentance and evangelical holi- prayer in forms and extempore, have been al- ternately cried up to one another's prejudice or lost And tin- effect liath been as ill as the principle \v;e. B if VI. full of error and mistake. And from these disputes*, the conclusion hath been made by many, that reli- gion might be well enough preserved and God suffi- ciently served without any of these ; that what any faction disputed against was not at all necessary ; that the instances of all duty were so clearly in scripture determined, that no argument could be strong enough to make a tender conscience doubt of the necessity. If these speculations had been confi- ned to the schools, the mischief had spread no fur- ther than the noise of their wranglings: but since they have been the exercise and trouble of the weakest understandings and the most illiterate men, they that held their religion by the weakest tenure have first quitted the possession, So the public as- semblies have been made to serve the ends of fac- tion, or wholly forsaken, and the hours of prayer have called them too seldom into their closets; and the church hath been abandoned by many, because they could not there hear the sweet whispers of peace and comfort for the rude noises of strife and debate. For the fourth cause; mistaken zeal hath caused many preachers to intermeddle too busily in their solemn discourses to the people, with controversies, not only theological but political too, with more re- spect to the interest of their party than that of reli- gion and the kingdom of Jesus. Thus contention grew, and faction thrived, and charity first left our pulpits and then our hearts: and while men were VII. i up with the consideration of mysteries, they cted plaiu necessary duties, and fell into the sink of all sin and impiety; like the Milesian philo- sopher, that with so much attention lift up his eyes to behold the stars, and consider their aspects, that neglecting the care of the way he walked in, he fell into the lake, where he ended his life and specula- te And this evil prevailed the more, because. In the fifth place, there hath been a want of siifli- mainten ancein many places of (lie land for the support of faithful and able ministers. Such, from their pulpits, might have rebuked this foolish spirit was gone forth, and knew how, by their doctrine and more edifying example, to preach obedience and practical religion, instead of sublime notions and 38 mysteries, and empty controversies; and would esteem it more honour, and find more com- fort, in subduing one lust, than to have fathomed all 'he depths of such knowledge. r.v all which it appears, that the disease is dange- i DOttgfa to need a remedy ; and that the reader hath many things beside his private concernments to make the maiter of Ins prayers, The way to ex* t -mpt bimeetf from the epidemical guilt of these e\ils, is, to contend against them bj prayer and practice; and that the right use of frit book mav be of some j so muet the growth of the t*iJ| 1 b**e thus much reason to warrant ni\ belief, be, SUSC il hath already been moiv th;ni oncost* w ell rntei lamed abroiol CeneevutDg which 1 will not weary the K K > vm. reader, (who hath already, I suspect, too often looked forward to see how far it is to the end of this address) to discourse to him of the author, or this work. His own pen has set him forth more, than now to need either panegyrick or testimonials. And the usefulness of the work I had rather the reader should understand by his own experience than mine. If he be devout, the title and design will invite his eye and please it too: if not, I have no temptation to add any more evidences and ag- gravation to his crime of scoffing religion and reli- gious books. If it be thought necessary that something may be said to compose the reader's mind concerning forms of prayer, because extemporary effusions are the only acceptable sacrifice, what use can there be of this essay? I shall only say this, that the truly pious reader may make use of this in his meditations, or other devotion, or as a pattern or directory to both. This, moreover, is manifest, the word of God is wholly silent in determining whether we should use forms of prayer or extempore ; and in other in- stances such silence is taken for an argument of in- differency. But however, the gift of prayer con- sists not in a volubility of tongue, and ready com- mand of words, (that hath supernatural, and this only natural, causes) but in the true affection and sincerity of the heart : for many graceless persons and mere hypocrites have been observed to excel in readiness of affectionate expression, and a great IX. command of scripture-phrase. But let the pious Christian seriously reflect upon his sins with a true and a growing sorrow, and work his heart into a deep affection of his wants, and a due apprehension of that majesty to whom he makes his address, (to which end he may receive great assistance from this book ;) and he who makes such preparation will want neither the gift nor reward of prayer, whether his prayers be set and composed, or extem- pore. And if I may but feel the best effects of the prayers of this book offered up to heaven with a spirit truly broken and humble, (if the Christian reader please to believe I deserve so much charity from him) I shall not be without reward, nor he use this book without benefit. A SHORT NARRATIVE OF THE autijor'g ilifc. CONCERNING those we love, we are curious to know all we cau. And if the stone be of price, we are not contented the least fragment should perish. Know then, that the Author of this Book was a gentleman of an ancient family. His father was James Quarks, of Rumford, Esq. clerk of the Green-cloth, and purveyor of the navy to Queen Elizabeth, younger brother to Sir Robert Quarles After his education at school in the country, and at Christ's College, in Cambridge, and last at Lin- coln's Inn, he was for some time cup-bearer to the Queen of Bohemia, and then secretary to the reve- rend and learned the late Lord Primate of Ireland; last of all Chronologer to the city London, in which office he died. And the world had known that by a more eminent testimony, if death had not kept him from fiuishing what he had designed and begun. He was the husband of one wife, and by her the father of eighteen children. As in his life he had been most religious, so was he in his death ; in both a great example of devotion. He died September 8, 1644, being two and fifty years old, and lieth buried in the parish-church of St. Foster, London. JUDGMENT AND MERCY FOR AFFLICTED SOULS. PART 1. The sensual man's solace. COME, let us be merry and rejoice our souls in frolic and in fresh delights : let us screw onr pam- pered hearts a pitch beyond the reach of dull- browed sorrow : let us pass the slow-paced time in melancholy-charming mirth, and take the advan- "1 'our youthful days: let us banish care to the (hid Mti i»j phlegmatic old age: let a deep sigh be high treason, and let a solemn look be adjudged a crime too great for pardon. My serious studies shall be to draw mirth into a body, to analyse laughter, and to paraphrase upon the various texts of all delight My re c reations shall be, to still pleasure mto t qd i n teOS C n co, to reduce beauty to litr first principles) and to extract a perfect in* nocemc fVuiii tin,* milk-white doves of Venus. Why should 1 Bpecd my precious minutes in the >ullenand dejected shades of sadness? Or ravel out my short- BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The sensual Man's Solace. lived clays in solemn and heart-breaking care? Hours have eagles wings, and when their hasty flight shall put a period to our numbered days, the world is gone with us, and all our forgotten joys are left to be enjoyed by the succeeding generations, and we are snatched, we know not how, we know not whither, and wrapt in the dark bosom of eternal night. Come then, my soul, be wise, make use of the time present: that which is gone is past recal- ling, lost, and not to be redeemed. Eat thy bread with a merry heart, and gulp down care in frolic cups of liberal wine. Beguile the tedious nights with dalliance, and steep thy stupid sense in unctions and delightful sports: 'tis all the portion that this transitory world can give thee. Let music, voices, masques, midnight revels, and all that malancholy wisdom censures vain, be thy delights ; and let the care-abjuring soul cheer up and sweeten the short days of thy consuming youtl;. Follow the ways of thy own heart, and take the freedom of thy sweet de- sires. Leave no delight untried, and spare no cost to heighten up thy lusts. Take pleasure in thy choice of pleasures, and please thy curious eyes with all varieties, to satisfy thy soul in all things which thy heart desires. But, my soul, when those evil days shall come wherein thy wasting pleasures shall present their items to thy bed-rid view, when all dis- eases and the evils of age shall muster up their BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. Hi* ProoA. forces in thy crazy bones, where be thy comforts then? HIS SENTENCE. Consider, O my soul, and know that the day will come, and after that another, wherein for all these things eccles. xi. 9. "God will bring thee to judgment." His proofs, prov. xiv. 13. "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness." eccles. ii. 1, 2. 11 1 said in my heart, go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, and therefore enjoy pleasure: and be- hold this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad ; and of mirth, what doth it? " JAMES, v. 5, 11 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton ; ye have nourished your hearts as in the day of slaughter." eccles. vii. 4. "The heart of the wise mau is in the house of mourn- ing : but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth/' No. II. 8 8 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy, ISID. IN SYNONYMIS. "Pleasure is an inclination to the unlawful objects of a corrupted mind, allured with a momentany sweetness." HUGO. " Sensuality is an immoderate indulgence of the ,flesh, a sweet poison, a strong plague, a dangerous potion, which effeminates the body, and enervates the soul." CASS. lib. 4. EP. "They are mostsensible of the burthen of affliction that are most taken with the pleasures of the flesh." His soliloquy. What hast thou now to say, O my soul, why this judgment, seconded with divine proofs, backed with the harmony of holy men, should not proceed against thee? Dally no longer with thy own salvation, nor flatter thy own corruption. Re- member, the wages of flesh are sin, and the wages of sin death. God hath threatened it, whose judg- ments are terrible ; God hath witnessed it, whose words are truth. Consider then, my soul, and let not momentary pleasures flatter thee into eternity of torments. How many that have trod thy steps are now roaring in the flames of Hell? and yet thou tri- flest away the time of thy repentance. O my poor BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. deluded soul, presume no longer; repent to-day, test to-morrow come too late. Or couldst thou tra- vel out thy days beyond Methusalem, tell me, alas! what will eternity be the shorter for the deduction of a thousand years? Be wisely provident therefore, O my soul, and bid vanity, the common sorceress of the world, farewell. Life and death are yet be- fore thee; chnse life, and the God of life will seal thy choice. Prostrate thy self before him who de- lights not in the death of a sinner, and present thy petitions to him who can deny thee nothing in the name of a Saviour. His prayer. <> God, in the beauty of whose holiness is the true if those thatlove thee, the full happiness of those that fear thee, and the only rest of those that prize fo respect of#bich the transitory pleasures of the WOrld are less than nothing, in comparison of which greatest wisdom of the world is lolly, and the I of the earth but dross and dung; how dares my boldness thus presume to press into thy glorious What can my prayers expect but thy JOSI wrath and heavy indignation ? () uli;it return can the tainted breath of my polluted lips desert^, but to be bound hand and loot, and casl into the flames of Heir? But, Lord, the merit* of my Savi- BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. our are greater than the offence nf a sinner, and the sweetness of thy mercy exceeds the sharpness of my misery. The honor of thy judgments hath seiz- ed upon me, and I languish through the sense of thy displeasure. I have forsaken thee the rest of my distressed soul, and set my affections upon the va- nity of the deceitful world; I have taken pleasure in my foolishness, and have vaunted myself in mine iniquity; I have nattered my soul with the honey of delights, whereby I am made sensible of the sting of my affliction : wherefore 1 loath and utterly abhor myself, and from the bottom of my heart repent in dust and ashes. Behold, O Lord, lam impure and vile, and have wallowed in the puddle of mine own corruptions. The sword of thy displeasure is drawn out, against me, and what shall I plead, O thou pre- server of mankind? Make me a new creature, O my God, and destroy the old man within me. Re- move my affections from the love of transitory things, that I may run the way of thy commandments. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, and make thy testimonies my whole delight. Give me strength to discern the emptiness of the creature, and inebri- ate my heart with the fulness of thy joys. Be thou my portion, O God, at whose right hand stand plea- sures for evermore. Be thou t my refuge and my shield, and suffer me not to sink under the corrup- tions of my heart. Let notthe house of mirth be- BO\NERGES AND BARNABAS. The v.iin-:>lorioii- V! guile me, but give me a seu>e of the evil to come, pt the free-will offerings of my inouili, and grant my petitions for the honour of thy name. Then will I magnify thy mercies, O God, and praise thy name for ever and ever. S. lil.HMI'!'. "Delicate and tender members in come not a head stuck with thorns." ANONYM. "The pleasure of sin vanishes, the guilt remains, and the punishmeut is eternal." The vain-glorious man's vaunt. What tellest thou me of conscience or a pious They are good trades for a leaden spirit, that can stand benl to every frown, and wants the brains to make a higher fortune, or courage to atcbieve that bononr which might glorify their names, and write their memories in the cnrouicles of fame. *Tis true, liumilitv is a needful gift in those thai have no quality to exercise their pride; and patience is a necessary to keep the world in peace, and him that hath H in a whole skin, and often proves a virtue born of a mere necessity. Ami civil honesty is a fair pre- tencefor him that hath no wit to act the knave, and makes a man capable of a little higher style than fool. And blushing modesty is a pretty innocent BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The vain-giorious Man's Vaunt. quality, and serves to vindicate an easy nature from the imputation of all ill-breeding. These are infe- rior graces, that have not got a good opinion in the dull wisdom of the world, and appear like water among the elements, to moderate the body politic, and keep it from combustion ; nor do they come into the work of honour. Virtue consists in action, and the reward of action is glory. Glory is the great soul of the little world, and is the crown of all sub- lime attempts, and the point whereto the crooked ways of policy are all concentric. Honour consists not with a pious life. Let those that are ambitious of a religious reputation abjure all honourable titles, and let their dough-baked spirits take a pride in suf- ferance (the auvil of all injuries) and be thankfully baffled into a quiet pilgrimage. Rapes, murders, treasons, dispossessions, riots, are venial things to men of honour, and oft co-incident in high pursuits. Had my dull conscience stood upon such nice points, that little honour I have won had glorified some other arm, and left me begging morsels at his princely gates. Come, come, my soul, Id factum juvat, quod fieri non licet. Fear not to do, what crowns thee being done. Ride on with thy honour, and create a name to live with fair eternity. Enjoy thy purchased glory as the merit of thy renowned actions, and let thy memory entail it to succeeding generations. Make thy own game: and if thy con- BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. science check thee, correct thy saucy conscience, till she stand as mute as metamorphosed Niobe. Fear not the frowns of princes, or the imperious hand of various fortune: Thou art too bright for the one to obscure, and too great for the other to cry down. His VERDICT, But hark, my soul, I hear a voice that thunder- in mine ear. nos. iv. 7. "I will change their glory into shame." His proofs, psai.m lxix. 20. that is born in honour and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish." PROVKRUS XXV. '27. 11 It n not irood to eat too much honey: so for men earch their own glory is not glory." IERBM1AH i\. '23. 1 Tims saith the Lord, Let not the wise mansion m his wisdom, neither let the mighty men gfory in Ins might, nor l<-t the rich man -lory in his riches : but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he under- standeth and kuoweth me, that I am the Lord." GAL. V. 'l('). 44 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, &c. " 10 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy. S. AUGUST. "The vain glory of the world is a deceitful sweet- ness, an unfruitful labour, a perpetual fear, a dan- gerous bravery, begun without providence, and finished not without repentance." CHRYSOST. "If thou desire to be magnified and accounted ho- nourable, despise honour, so shalt thou be honour- ed even of all." s GREG. "He that makes transitory honour the reward of a good work, sets eternal glory at a low rate." His soliloquy. Vain glory is a froth, which blown off discovers a great want of measure. Canst thou, O my soul, be guilty of such an emptiness, and not be challenged ? Canst thou appear in the searching eye of Heaven, and not expect to be cast away? De- ceive not thyself, O my soul, nor flatter . thyself with thine own greatness. Search thyself to the bottom, and thou shalt find enough to hum- ble thee. Dost thou glory in the favour of a prince? The frowns of a priuce determine it. Dost thou glory in thy strength? A poor ague betrays it. Dost thou glory in thy wealth? The hand of a thief extinguishes it. Behold, my soul, how like a. BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 11 His Pmvtr. bubble thon appearest, and with a sigh break into sorrow. The gate of Heaven is strait; canst thou hope to enter without breaking? The bubble thai would pass the flood-gates must first dissolve. My soul, melt then in tears, and empty thyself of all thy vanity, and tliou shalt fiiul divine repletion; orate in thy devotion, and thou shalt recruit thy greatness to eternal glory. ANONYM. " Remember, O man, from whence thou Wert taken, and that thou art brother to the dunghill. 1 * His prayer. And can I chuse, O God, but tremble at thy judgments? Or can my stony heart not stand amazed at thy throatuings? It is thy voice, (J God, and thou hast spoken it: It is th\ voice, O God, and I have heard it. Hadst thou so dealt by me as thou didst by Babel's proud King, and driven me from the sons of men, thou hadst but done accordiim to thy righteousness, and rewarded me according to ray deserving*, What couldst thou see in roc U Sfl worthy of thy vengeance, than in him tin ! example of thy justice? or, Lord, wherein am 1 mON incapable of thy indignation? There if no- thing in me to move thy mercy but my misery. Thy T T 12 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. ■ ■ ■' -• " • ■ : ■ ■■,-■■■ ===== His Prayer. goodness is thyself, and hath no ground but what proceedeth from itself: yet have I sinned against that goodness, and have thereby heaped up wrath against the day of wrath; insomuch that, had not thy grace abounded with my sin, I had long since been confounded in my sin, and swallowed up in the gulf of thy displeasure. But, Lord, thou tak est no delight to punish, and with thee is no respect of persons : Thou takest no pleasure in the confusion of thy creature, but rejoicest rather in tbe conver- sion cf a sinner. Convert me therefore, O God, I shall be then converted : Make me sensible of my own corruptions, that I may see the vileness of my own condition. Pull down the pride of my ambi- tious heart; humble me, thou O God, and I shall be humbled ; wean me from tbe thirst of tran- sitory honour, and let my whole delight be to glory in thee. Touch thou my conscience with the fear of thy name, that in all my actions I may fear to oflfend thee. Endue me, Lord, with the spirit of meek- ness, and teach me to overcome evil with a patient heart: moderate and curb the exorbitances of my passion, and give me a temperate use of all thy crea- tures. Replenish my heart with the graces of thy spiiit, that in all my ways I may be acceptable in thy sight. In all conditions give me a contented mind, and upon all occasions grant me a grateful heart; that honouring thee here in the church indi- BOANEHGES AND BAfcNABAS. 13 The Oppressor's Plea. tant before men, 1 may be glorified hereafter in the church triumphant before thee and Angels; where, filled with true glory according to the measure of grace thou shall be pleased to give me here, I may with Angels and Arch-angels praise thy name for ever and ever hereafter. s. CHRYSOST. "They who have despised all the temptations of riches, and have defiled themselves with no worldly imagination, and have nobly resisted the strong im- pulses of concupiscence, oftentimes being overcome with vain glory, have lost all." The oppressor s plea. I seek but what is my own by law ; It was his own free act and deed : The execution lies for goods or body, and goods or body I will have, or else my money. What if his beggerly children pine, or his d wife perish? They perish at their own charge, not mine; and what is that to me? I must be paid, or he lie by it until 1 have my utmost far- tliiuir, or his bones. The law is just and good, and being ruled by that, how can my fair proceedings be unjust? What is thirty in the hundred to a man of 3 Are we born to thrum caps or pick straws? and sell our livelihood for a few tears, and a whin- tt2 14 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. " ' ■"■" '»' ■ ■ The Oppressor's Plea. i ... ^ ing face? I thank God they move tne not so much as a howling dog at midnight. I'll give no day if heaven itself would be security : I must have present money, or his bones. The commodity was good enough, as wares went then ; and had he had but a thriving wit, with the necessary help of a good merchantable conscience, he might have gained, perchance, as much as now he lost: but howsoever, gain, or not gain, I must have my money. Two tedious terms my dearest gold hath lain in his un- profitable hands. The cost of suits hath made me bleed above a score of royals, besides my interest, travel, half-pints, and bribes; all which does but in- crease my beggarly defendant's damages, and sets him deeper on my score : but rights right, and I will have my money or his bones. Fifteen shillings in the pound composition! I'll hang first. Come, tell not me of a good conscience : a good conscience is no parcel of my trade; it hath made more bank- rupts than all the loose wives in the universal city. My conscience is no fool : It tells me that my own's my own, and that a well crammed bag is no deceitful friend, but will stick close to me when all my friends forsake me. If to gain a good estate out of nothing, and to regain a desperate debt, which is as good as nothing, be the fruits and sign of a good conscience, God help the good. Come, tell not me of griping and oppression. The world is hard, and he that BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 16 His Proofs. hopes to thrive, must gripe as hard. AVhat I give I give, and what I lend 1 lend. If the way to heaven be to turn beggar upon earth, let them take it that like it. I know not what you call oppression; the law is my direction ; but of the two it is more profit- able to oppress than to be oppressed. If debtors would be honest, and discharge, our hands were bound; but when their failings offend my bags, they touch the apple of my eye, and I must right them. But ha ! what voice is this that whispers in mine ear? His punishment. "The Lord will spoil the soul of the oppressors." Prov. xxii. 23. His proofs. prov. xxii. 22. 23. "Rob not the poor because he his poor, neither Oppress the afflicted in the gates: for the Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of them that have spoiled him.*' r.zr.K. xxii. 2. r >, 31. "The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrong- fully: therefore,! have poured out my indignation IB BOANERGS AND BARNABAS. His Soliloqny. upon them, I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath/' zech. vii. 9, &c. "Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassion every man to his brother, and oppress not the widow nor the fatherless, nor the stranger, nor the poor, and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his brother. But they refused to hearken; therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of Hosts." BERN. p. 1691. •* We ought so to care for ourselves, as not to neg- lect the due regard of our neighbour." bern. Ibid. " He that is not merciful to another shall not find mercy from God : but if thou wilt be merciful and compassionate, thou shall be a benefactor to thy own soul." His soliloquy. Is it wisdom in thee, O my soul, to covet a hap- piness, or rather to account it so, that is sought for with a judgment, obtained with a curse, and punish- ed with damnation ; and to neglect that good which BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 17 His Prayer. ■ is assured with a promise, purchased with a bles- sing, and rewarded with a crown of glory? Canst thou hold it a full estate, a good pennyworth, which is bought with the dear price of thy God's displea- sure? Tell uie, What continuance can that inheritance promise that is raised upon the ruins of thy brother? Or what mercy canst thou expect from heaven, that hast denied all mercy to thy neighbour? O my hard- hearted soul, consider, and relent: build not an house whose posts are subject to be rotted with a curse : consider what the God of truth hath threat- ened against thy cruelty: relent and turn compassion- ate, that thou mayest be capable of his compassion. If the desire of gold have hardeued thy heart, let the tears of true repentance mollify it: soften it with Aaron's ointment, until it become like wax, to tike tin- impression of that seal which must confirm thj pardon. prov. v. 15. " Drink waters out of thine own cistern." Mis prayer. But will my God be now entreated? Is not my cry- ing sin too loud for pardon? Am I not sunk too deep into the jaws of hell, for thy strong arm to rescue? Hath not the hardness of my heart made me inca- 18 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. pable of thy compassion? O if my tears might wash away my sins, my head should turn a living spring. Lord, I have heard thee speak, and am afraid ; the word is past, and thy judgments have found me out. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and the jaws of hell have overwhelmed me. I have oppressed the poor, and added affliction to the af- flicted, and the voice of their misery is come before thee. They besought me with tears, and in the anguish of their souls, but I have stopt mine ears against the cry of their complaint. But, Lord, thou walkest not the ways of man, and rememberest mercy in the midst of thy wrath ; for thou art good and gracious, and ready to forgive, aud plenteous in compassion to all that shall call upon thee. For- give me, O God, my sins that are past, and deliver me from the guilt of my oppression. Take from me, O God, this heart of stone, and create in me a heart of flesh. Assuage the vehemency of my desires to the things below, and satisfy my soul with the suf- ficiency of thy grace. Inflame my affections, that 1 may love thee with a filial love ; aud incline me to rely upon thy fatherly providence. Let me account godliness my greatest gain, and subdue in me my lusts after filthy lucre. Preserve me, O Lord, from the vanity of self-love, and plant in my affections the true love of my neighbours. Endue my heart with the bowels of compassion, and then reward me ac- BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 19 The Drunkard's Jubilee. cording to thy righteousness. Direct me, O God, iu the ways of my life, and let a good conscience be my continual comfort. Give me a willing heart to make restitution of what I have wrongfully gotten by oppression. Grant me a lawful use of all thy crea- tures, and a thankful heart for all thy benefits. Be merciful to all those that groan under the burthen of their own wants, and give them patience to expect thy deliverance. Give me a heart that may ac- knowledge thy favors, and (ill my tongue with praise and thanksgiving: that living here a new life, I may become a new creature; and being ingrafted in tlj,pe by the power of thy grace, I may bring forth fruit to thy honour and glory. ^ S. rilRYSOST. "God is not honoured in the e.vpence of that money which is bedewed with theiears of the op- SOL. " lie that oppresseth the poor apbraideth his y/ic drunkard's jubilee. \Yh \t compliment will the Beverer world allow to the vacant hour? ofrrolic-hearted youth? How shall Ihe'ir free, their jovial spirits entertain Iheir time, their friends? What oil fball be infused ml lamp of dear society, if they deny the prh I l. L 20 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The Drunkard's Jubilee. civil rejoicing cup ? It is the life, the radical humour of united souls: whose love-digestive heat even ripens and ferments the green materials of a plighted faith ; without the help whereof new married friendship falls into divorce, and joined acquaintance soon re- solves into the first elements of strangeness. What mean these strict reformers thus to spend their hour-glasses, and bawl against our harmless cups? to call our meetings riots, and brand our civil mirth with stiles of loose intemperance? when they can sit at a sister's feast, devour and gormandize beyond excess, aud wipe the guilt from off their marrowed mouths, and clothe their surfeits in the long fustian robes of a tedious grace. Is it not much better in a fair friendly round (since youth must have a swing) to steep our soul-afflicting sorrows in a chirping cup, than hazard ouj; estates upon the abuse of providence in a foolish cast at dice? or at a cock-pit leave our doubtful fortunes to the mercy of unmerciful conten- tion ? or spend our wanton days in sacrificing costly presents to a fleshly idol ? Was not wine given to exhilarate the drooping hearts, and raise the drowsy spirits of dejected souls? Is not the liberal cup of the sucking bottle of the sons of Phoebus, to solace and refresh their palates in the gights of sad inven- tion? Let dry-brained zealots spend their idle breaths; my cups shall be my cordials, to restore my care befeebled heart to the true temper of a BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 21 His Proofs, well-complexioned mirth. My solid brains are po- tent, and can bear enough, without the least offence to my distempered senses, or interruption of my boon companions. My tongue can, in t^e very ze- nith of my cups, deliver the expressions of my com- posed thoughts with better sense than these my grave reformers can their best advised prayers. My con- stitution is pot-proof, and strong enough to make a fierce encounter with the most stupendious vessel that ever sailed upon the tides of Bacchus. My reason shrinks not; my passion burns not. O but, my soul, I hear a threatening voice that interrupts my language. ESAY V. 22. " Woe be to them that are mighty to drink win. His proofs. l'KUV. XX. 1. "Wink is a mocker; strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.*' E8AY v. II. " Woe i>e to them that rise up early in the morning to follow strong drink; that continue till night, until wine inflame them. ' PfcOV. xxiii. -Ju. *' Be not amongst wine bibbers." i D 2 22 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy. 1 COR. V. 11. "Now I have written unto you, not to keep com- pany ; if any that is called a brother be a drunkard, with such a one no not to tat." AUG. IN LIB. POEN. " Whilst the drunkard swallows wine, wine swal- lows him; God disregards hiro, angels despise him, men deride him, virtue declines him, the devil de- stroys him." AUG. AD SAC. VIRG. "Drunkenness is the mother of all evil, the mat- ter of all mischief, the well-spring of all vices, the trouble of the senses, the tempest of the tongue, the shipwreck of chastity, the consumption of time, a voluntary madness, the corruption of manners, the -distemper of the body, and the destruction of the soul." His soliloquy. My soul, it is the voice of God, digested into a judgment. There is no kicking against pricks, or arguing against a divine truth. Pleadest thou cus- tom? Custom in sin multiplies it. Pleadest thou society? Society in the offence aggravates the pu- nishment. Pleadest thou help to invention? Woe BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 23 His Prayer. ^ ■■• ■ - - be to that barrenness that wants such showers. Pleadest thou strength to bear much wine ? Woe to those that are mighty to drink strong drink. My $oul, thou hast sinned against iliy Creator, in abu- sing that creature he made to serve thee ; Thou hast sinned against the creature, in turning it to the tor's dishonour ; thou hasl .sinned against thy- self, in making thy comfort thy confusion. How many want that blessing thou hast turned into a : How many thirst whilst thou surfeitest? What satisfaction wilt thou give to the Creator, to the creature, to thyself, against all whom thou hast e(I ? To thyself, by a sober life; to the creature, by a right use; to thy Creator, by a true repentance ; the way to all which is prayer and thanksgiving. Jlis prayer. How truly then, O <.od, this heavy woe belongs to this my boasted v -in ? How many judgments are MlRipri i led in this woe, and all for me, even me. Kj God, the miserable subject of thy eternal wrath ; even me, O Lord, the- mark whereat the shalU of ihv u>> pleasure level? Lord, I was a sinner in ii. \ I . ption, and in sin hath my mother brought me forth : 1 «ras do loooer horn, but 1 B slave to sin; and all my life is nothing but the 24 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. ^ His Prayer. practice and trade of high rebellion. I have turned thy blessings into thy dishonour, and all thy graces into wantonness. Yet hast thou been my God, even from the very womb, and didst sustain me when I hung upon my mother's breast. Thou hast washed me, O Lord, from my pollution ; but like a swine I have returned to my mire. Thou hast glanced in- to my breast the blessed motions of thy holy Spirit, but I have quenched them with the spring-tides of my in-born corruption. I have vomited up myfilthi- ness before thee, and like a dog have I returned to my vomit. Be merciful, O God, unto me. Have mercy on me, O thou Son of David. I cannot, O Lord, expect the children's bread ; yet suffer me to lick the crumbs that fall beneath their table. I that have so oft abused the greatest of thy blessings, am not worthy of the mfhnest of thy favors. Look, look upon me, according to the goodness of thy mercy, and not according lo the greatness of my offences. Give me, O God, a sober heart, and a lawful mode- ration in the enjoyment of thy creatures. Reclaim my appetite from unseasonable delights, lest I turn thy blessings into a curse. In all my dejection be thou my comfort, and let my rejoicing be only in thee. Prepose to mine eyes the evilness of my days, and make me careful to redeem my time. Wean me from the pleasure of vain society, and let my com- panions be such as fear thee. Forgive all such as. BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 26 The Swearer's Apology. have been partners in my sin, and turn their hearts to the obedience of thy laws. Open their ears to the reproofs of the wise, and make Aem powerful in re- formation. Allay that lust which my intemperance hath inflamed, and cleanse my affections with the grace of thy good spirit. Make me thankful for the > strength of my body, that I may for the time to come return it to the advantage of thy glory, s. AUGUST. " It is most shameful, that lust should subdue him whom the strength of man cannot: that he should be overcome with wine, that scorns to stoop to another's sword." ^ ecclus. xxxi. 23. 11 Shew not thy valiantness in wine, for wine hath destroyed many. 1 ' 77/c swearer'* apology. Wiil Boanerges never tease? And will these plague-denouncers never have to thunder judgments in my trembling ear? Nothing but plagues? Nothing but judgments? Nothing but damnation? What ■ate I done to make my case desperate? And what bate tiny not done to make my soul despair? Have I set up false Gods like the Egyptians? Or have I bowed ImI'uiv them like the Israelites? Have 1 vio- lated the sabbath like the libertines/? Or, like f ' 41 4 26 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The Swearer's Apology. cursed Cham, have I discovered my father's naked- ness ? Have I embrued my hands in blood like Barabbas ? Or, Jj^e Absalom defiled my father's bed ? Have I like Jacob, supplanted my elder brother ? Or, like Ahab, intruded into Naboth's ♦vineyard ? Havel borne false witness like the wanton elders ? Or like David coveted Uriah's wife ? Have I not given tithes of all I have ? Or, hatb my purse been hide-bound to my hungry brother? Hath not my life been blameless before men ? and my de- meanour unreprovable before the world ? Have I not hated vice with a perfect hatred ? and counte- nanced virtue with a due respect ? What mean these strict observers of my life, to ransack every action,, to carp at every word, and with their sharp censo- rious tongues to sentence every frailty with damna- tion ? Is there no allowance to humanity ? No grains to flesh and blood? Are we all angels? Has mor- tality no privilege to supersede it from the utmost "punishment of a little necessary frailty ? Come, come, my soul, let not these judgment-thunders fright thee: let not these qualms of their exuberant zeal disturb thee. Thou hast not cursed like Shimei, nor railed like Rabshakeh, nor lied like Ananias, nor slandered like thy accusers. They that censure thy Gnats swallowed their own Camels. What if the luxuriant style of thy discourse do chance to strike upon an obvious oath ? art thou strai|fet hur- BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 27 His Arraignment. — His pi ried into the bosom of a plague ? What if the custom o/ a harmless oath should captivate thy heedless tongue? can nothing under sudden judgment seize upon thee ? What if another's diffidence should force thy earnest lips into a hasty oath, in confirma- tion of a suffering truth ? must thou be straightways branded with damnation ? Was Joseph marked for everlasting death, for swearing by the life of Egypt's king ? Was Peter, when he so denied his Master, straight damned for swearing, and forswearing ? O flatter not thyself, my soul, nor turn thou advocate to so high a sin : make not the slips of saints a pre- cedent for thee to fall. His arraignment. If the rebukes of flesh may not prevail, hear then the threatening of the Spirit, which saith, "The plague shall not depart from the house of the swearer." His proofs. EXOD. XX. 7. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will not hold him guilt- less that taketh his name in vain." ZECH. V. 3. u And every one that sweareth shall be cut off." 26 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy. MATT. V. 34, &C. " Swear not at all : neither by heaven, for it is'God's throne ; nor by earth, for it is his footstool ; but let your communications be yea, yea, nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." jer. xxiii. 10. " Because of swearing the land mourneth." AUGUST. IN SER. " The murderer killeth the body of his brother; but the swearer murders his own soul." AUGUST. IN PSAL. lxXXviH. " It is well that God hath forbidden man to swear, lest by custom of swearing, (inasmuch as we are apt to mistake) we commit perjury: there is none but God can safely swear, because there is no other but maybe deceived." AUGUST. DE MENDACIO. " I say unto you, Swear not at all : lest by swearing ye come to a facility of swearing, from a facility to a custom, and from a custom ye fall into perjury." His soliloquy, O What a judgment is here! How terrible! How full of execution ! The plague! the extract of BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 29 His Prayer. all diseases ! none so mortal. Done so comfortless ! it makes our house a prison, our friends strangers. No comfort but in the expectations of the mouth's end. But this judgment excludes that comfort too ; the plague shall never depart from the house of th What never? Death will give it a pe- I No, but it shall he entailed upon his house, y, O detestable! O destructive sin! that cross upon the doors of generations, and lays v. hole families upon the dust. A sin whereto neither profit incites, nor pleasure allures, nor neces- sitv compels, nor inclination of nature persuades ; a voluntary, begun with a malignant [imitation, and continued with an habitual presumption. Con- sider, O my soul, every oath hath been a nail to wound that Saviour whose blood (O mercy above expression !) must save thee: be sensible of thy ac- Umus and his sufferings : 'abhor thyself in dust and . and magnify his mercy that hath turned this judgment from thee. Go, wash those wounds which thou hast made with tears, and humble thyself with prater and true* repentance. His prayer. Eternal and omnipotent God, before whose glo- oame angelfl and archangels bow and hide their \ \ -1 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. faces, to which the blessed spirits and saints of thy triumphant church sing forth perpetual hallelujahs; I, a poor sprig of disobedient Adam, do here make bold to take that holy name into my sin-polluted lips. I haveheinously sinned, O God, against thee, and against it ; I have disparaged it in my thoughts, dis- honoured it in my words, profaned it in my actions ; and I know thou art a jealous God, and a consuming fire, as faithful in thy promises, so fearful in thy judg- ments. I therefore fly from the dreadful name of Jehovah, which I have abused, to that gracious name of Jesus, wherein thou art well pleased : In that most sacred name, O God, I fall^ before thee, and for his beloved sake, O Lord, I come unto thee. Cleanse thou my heart, O God, and then my tongue shall praise thee: wash thou my soul, O Lord, and then my lips shall bless thee. Work in my heart a fear of thy displeasure, and give mean awful reverence of thy name. Set thou a watch before my lips, that I offend not with my tongue. Let no respects en- tice me to be an instrument of thy dishonour, and let thy attributes be precious in my eyes : teach me the way of thy precepts, O Lord, and make me sen- sible of all my offences. Let not my sinful custom in sinning against thy name take from my guilty soul the sense of my sin. Give me respect unto all thy commandments; but especially preserve me from the danger of this my bosom sin. Mollify my heart at BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 31 His Praver. the rebukes of thy servants, and strike into my in- ward parts a fear of thy judgments. Let all my communication be ordered as in thy presence, and let the words of my mouth be governed by thy Spi- rit. Avert those judgments from me which thy word hath threatened, and my sin hath deserved, and strengthen my resolution for the time to come. Work in me a true godly sorrow, that it may bring- forth in me a newness of life. Sanctify my thoughts with tbecontinual meditation of thy commandments, and mortify those passions which provoke me to of- fend thee. Let not the examples of others induce ine to this sin, nor let the frailties of my flesh seek fig leaves to cover it. Seal in my heart the full as- surance of thy reconciliation, and look upon me in the bowels of compassion ; that crowning my weak desires H'ith thy all-sufficient power, I may escape this judgment which thy justice hath threatened here, and obtain that happiness thy mercy hath pro- mised hereafter. s. ( n KH sost. "There is none that uscth to swear often, hut will sometimes chance to for>\\rar : as he that gives the rcms to his tongue too much, often speaks that which he blushes for in silence." 32 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The Procrastinator's Remora's. The procrastinators remora's. Tell me no more of fasting, prayer, and death : they fill my thoughts with dumps of melancholy. These are no subjects for a youthful ear ; no con- templation for an active soul. Let them whom sul- len age hath weaned from airy pleasures, whom way- ward fortune hath condemned to sighs and groans, whom sad diseases have beslaved to drugs and diets ; let them consume the remnant of their wretched days in dull devotion, Let them afflict their aching souls with the -untunable discourses of mortality ; let them contemplate on evil days, and read sharp lectures of their own experience. For me, my bones are full of unctuous marrow, and my blood of sprightly youth. My fair and free estate secures from the fears of fortune's frown. My strength of constitution hath the power to grapple with sorrow, ^ickness, nay the very pangs of death, and overcome. 'Tis true, God must be sought: what impious tongue dare be so basely bold to contradict so known a truth? And by repentance too: what strange im- piety dare deny it ? or what presumptuous lips dare disavow it ? But there is a time for all things, yet none prefixt for this, no day designed ; but, at what time soever. If my unseasonable heart should seek him now, the work would be too serious for so green a seeker. My thoughts are yet unsettled, my fancy yet too too gamesome, and my judgment yet un- sound, iny will unsanctified. To seek him with an BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 33 His Repulse. unprepared heart is the high way not to find him ; or to find him with unsettled resolution is the next way to lose him; and indeed it wants but little of profane- ness, to be unseasonably religious. What is once to be done, is long to be deliberated. Let the boil- in u pleasures of the rebellious flesh evaporate a little, and let me drain my boggy soul from those corrup- ted in-bred humours of collupsed nature: and when the tender blossom of my youthful vanity shall begin to fade, my settled understanding will begin to knot, my solid judgment will begin to ripen, my rightly- guided will will be resolved, both what to seek, and when to find, and how to prize: till then my tender youth, in her pursuit, will be disturbed with every blast of honour, diverted with every flash of pleasure, misled by counsel, turned back with fear, puzzled with doubt, interrupted by passion, withdrawn with prosperity, and discouraged with adversity. His repulse. Take heed, my soul : when thou hast lost thy self in thy journey, how wilt thou find thy God at thy jOUmeyS end ? whom thou hast lost by +00 long .. thou wilt hardly find with too late a diligence. Take time while time shall serve: that day may come w herein, Hos. v. *). "Thou shalt seek the Lord, but shalt not find him." 34 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Proofs. His proofs. ESAY lv. 6. " Seek the Lord while he may be found ; call up- on him while he is near." heb. xii. 17. " He found no place for repentance, though he sought it with tears carefully," luke xii. 20. "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." REVEL, ii. 21. " I gave her a space to repent, but she repented not : behold therefore I will cast her. &c." GREG. LIB. MOR. " Seek God whilst thou canst not see him ; for when thou seest him, thou canst not find him : seek him by hope, and thou shalt find him by faith. In the day of grace he is invisible, but near ; in the day of judgment he is visible, but far off." BERN. ser. 24. " If we would not seek God in vain, let us seek him in truth, often and constantly: let us not seek another thing instead of him, nor any other thing with him, nor for any other thing leave him." BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy.— His Prayer. Jlis soliloquy. O my soul, tlmu hast sought wealth, and hast either not found it, or cares with it: thou hast sought for pleasure, and hast found it, but no comfort in it: thou soughtest honour, and hast found it, and perchance fallen with it: thou soughtest friendship, and has tumid it false; society, and hast fouud it vain. And yel thy God, the fountain of all wealth, pleasure, honour, friendship and society, thou hast slighted as a toy not worth the finding. Be wise, Dul, and blu.sh at thy own folly. Set thy de- sires on the right object. Seek wisdom, and thou shalt find knowledge, and wealth, and honour, and length of dajs. Seek heaven, and earth shall seek tli« j <-; and d» f» *r not thy inquest, lest thou lose thy opportunity. To day thou mayest find him whom t<> morrow thou mayest seek with tears, and miss. N . sterda} is too late, to-morrow is uncertain, today ily thine. But, my soul, I fear me too long delay hath made this da) too late. Tear not, my soul: he that has given thee bis grace to day will t thj neglect of yesterday i seek him, therefore, bj true repentance, and thou shalt find him in thy praj I lis prayer. <> God, that like thy precious word are hid to but who are lost, and yet are found by all that N • 12. I \ 36 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. seek thee with an upright heart, cast down thy gra- cious eye upon a lost sheep of Israel, strayed through the vanity of his unbridled youth, and wandered in the wilderness of his own invention. Lord, I have too much delighted in mine own ways, and have put the evil day too far from me. I have wallowed in the pleasures of this deceitful world, which perish in the using, and have neglected thee my God, at whose right hand are pleasures for evermore. I have drawn on iniquity as with cart-ropes, and have committed evil with greediness. I have quenched the motions of thy good spirit, and have delayed to seek thee by true and unfeigned repentance. In- stead of seeking thee whom I have lost, 1 have with- drawn myself from thy presence when thou hast sought for me. It were but justice therefore in thee to stop thine ears at my petitions, or turn my prayers as sin into my bosom. But, Lord, thou art a gra- cious God, and full of pity and unwearied compas- sion, and thy loving-kindness is from generation to generation. Lord, in uot seeking thee I have utterly lost myself, and if thou find me not, I am lost for ever; and if thou find ine, thou canst not but find me in my sins, and then thou findest me to my own destruc- tion. How miserable, O Lord is my condition ! How necessary is my confusion that have neglected to seek thee, and therefore am afraid to be found of thee ! But, Lord, if thou look upon the all-sufficient BOANERGES AND BARNABVS. The Hypocrite's Prevarication. merits of thy son, thy justice will he no loser in shewing mercy upon a sinner. In his name, there- fore, I present myself before thee; in his merits 1 make my humble approach unto thee: in his name I offer up my feeble prayers; for his merits grant me my petitions. Call not to mind the rebellions of ray flesh, and remember not, O God, the vanities of my youth. Inflame my heart with the love of thy presence, and relish my meditations with the plea- sure of thy sweetness. Let not the consideration of thy justice overwhelm me in despair, nor the medi- tation of thy mercy persuade me to presume. Sanc- tify my will by the wisdom of thy spirit, that I may the chiefest good. Quicken my desires with a fervent zeal, that I may seek my Creator in the days of my youth. Teach me to seek thee ac- cording to thy will, and then be found according to thy promise ; that living in me here by thy grace, I may hereafter reign with thee in glory. GREO. " God that hath promised pardon to the penitent, hath not promised the respite of to-morrow to the impenitent sinuer." TJu hypocrite's prevarication. Tin. in. is no such stull" i<> make a cloak on as reli- gion; nothing 10 fashionable, nothing so profitable : it is a livery wherein a wise man may serve two \ \ -1 38 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The Hypocrite's Prevarication. wasters, God and the world, and make a gainful ser- vice by either. I serve both, and in both myself, in prevaricating with both. Before man, none serves his God with more severe devotion, for which among the best of men I work my own ends and serve my- self. In private I serve the world, not with so strict devotion, but with more delight, where fulfilling of her servant's lusts I work my end and serve myself. The house of prayer who more frequents than I ? — Jn all Christian duties who more forward than 1 ? — 1 fast with those that fast, that I may eat with those that eat: I mourn with those that mourn. No hand more open to the cause than mine, and in their families none prays longer and with louder zeal. Thus when the opinion of a holy life hath cried the goodness of my conscience up, my trade can lack no custom, my wares can want no price, my words can need no credit, my actions can lack no praise. If I be co- vetous, it is interpreted providence; if miserable, it is counted temperance; if melancholy, it is construed godly sorrow; if merry, it is voted spiritual joy; if I be rich, tis thought the blessing of a godly life; if poor, supposed the fruit of conscionable dealing; if 1 be well spoken of, it is the merit of holy conversa- tion ; if ill, it is the malice of malignants. Thus I sail with every wind, and have my end in all con- ditions. This cloak in summer keeps me cool, in winter warm, and hides my na&ty bag of all my se- BOANERGES AND 1JAUNABAS. His Woe — His 1'routs. cret lusts. Under this cloak I walk in public fairly with applause, and in private sin securely without offence, and officiate wisely without discovery. I compass sea and land to make a proselyte; and no sooner made, but he makes me. At a fast I cry Ge- neva, and at a feast I cry Rome. If I be poor, I counterfeit abundance to save my credit; if rich, 1 dissemble poverty to sa\c charges. I most frequent scliisrnatical lectures* which I find most profitable, from whence learning to divulge and maintain new doctrines, they maintain me in suppers thrice a week, the help of a lie sometimes, as a religious stra- ti to uphold the gospel; and I colour oppres- sion with God's judgments executed upon the wicked. Charity I hold an extraordinary duty, therefore not ordinarily to be performed. What I openly reprove abroad, for my own profit, that retlv act at home, for my own pleasure. His (roc. But stay, I see a hand writing in my heart damps my goal: it is characterized in these sad words. mattii. wiii. 13. W oe be to you, hypocrit< s Hit proofs. joh xx, 5. ' The triumphing of the wicked i 8 short, foe joj of a hypocrite U but tor a moment/ 1 40 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Proofs. job xv. 34. " The congregation of the hypocrites shall be desolate." prov. xi. 9. " An hypocrite with his month deslroyeth his neighbour; but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. " lure xii. 1. " Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." job xxxv i. 13. 14. " The hypocrites in heart heap up wrath : They die in their youth, and their life is amongst the un- clean." SALV1AN DE GUBERN. DEI. 1. 4. " The hypocrites love not those things they pro- fess, and what they pretend in words they disclaim in practice: their sin is the more damnable because ushered in with pretence of piety, having the greater guilt because it obtains a godly repute." HIERON EP. " Endeavour rather to be, than to be thought holy ; for what profits it to thee to be thought to be what thou art not ? and that man doubles his guilt BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 41 His Soliloquy. who is not so holy as the world thinks him, and counterfeits that holiness which he hath not.' His soliloquy. How like a lining sepulchre did I appear; with- out, beautified with gold and rich invention ; within, nothing but a loathed corruption ? So long as this epulchre was closed, it passed for a curious monument of the builder's art; but being opened by these spiritual keys, it is nothing but a receptacle of offensive putrefaction. In what a nasty dungeon ha^t thou, my soul, so long remained unstifled ? — How wert thou wedded to thy own corruptions, that couldest endure thy unsavory nlthiness ? The world hated me, because I seemed good; God hated me, because I only seemed good. I had no friend but myself, and this friend was my bosom enemy. < ) my soul, is there water enough in Jordan to cleanse thee? Hath <;i!ead balm enough to heal thy superannuated 1 have sinned: I am convinced, I am convicted. God's mercy is above dimensions, when sinners have not sinned beyond repentance. Art thou, my soul, truly penitent for ill) sin! Thou hast free interest in Ins mercy. — Fall then, my soul, before bis mercy-seat, and be wajl cfowIi thy penitence with his pare 1 42 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. His prayer, O God, before the brightness of whose all-dis- cerning eye the secrets of my heart appear, before whose clear omniscience the very entrails of my soul lie open, who art a God of righteousness and truth, and lovest uprightness in the inward parts ; how can I chuse but fear to thrust into thy glorious presence, or move my sinful lips to call upon that name which I so often have dishonoured, and made a cloak to hide the baseness of my close transgres- sions? Lord, when I look into the progress of my filthy life, my guilty conscience calls me to so strict account, and reflects me to so large an inven- tory of my presumptuous sins, that I commit a greater sin in thinking them more infinite than thy mercy. But, Lord, thy mercies have no date, nor is thy goodness circumscribed. The gates of thy compassion are always open to a broken heart, and promise entertainment to a contrite spirit. The bur- then of my sins is grievous, and the remembrance of my hypocrisy is intolerable. I have sinned against thy Majesty, with a high hand, but I repent me from the bottom of an humble heart ; as thou hast therefore given me sorrow for my sins, so crown that gift in the freeness of remission. Be fully reconciled to me through the all-sufficient merits of thy Son my Saviour, and seal in my afflicted heart the full as- surance of thv crracious favour. Be thou exalted, BOANERGES AND CA 43 O God above the heavens, and let me pri with a single b< !, and purify the closet of my polluted soul. Fix thou i: . O thou searcher of all secrets, and k wholly to thee. Remove from me all bye and ts, that I may serve . ith an ii ; rit. Take not the word of truth out of ii!\ mouth, nor Jul lips. Give nit: an inward reverence of thy Ma- that J might openly confess thee in the truth of m\ Be thou the only object and end of all my actions, and let thy honour be my great rd. Let not the hopes of filthy lucre, or the men, incline me tp thee; neither let the pfcoasun of the world, nor the fears of any loss entice i:ic from thee. Keep me from those judgments my rved, and strengthen my resolu- tion to abhor mj former life. Qive me strength, O thee with a perfect heart in thi >i lit'. . that I may be del ivered from the old .md tin Lh. Then shall 1 praise tin <• with my entire affections, and glorify th\ name for ever and ever, ANONYM. man, can- uot 1 1 1 them that can z z 44 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The ignorant Man's faultering. only observe, but fears not the eye of God, who will certainly punish." The ignorant mans faultering. You tell me, and you tell me, that T must be a good man, and serve God, and do his wil! ; and so I do, for aught I know. I am sure I am as good as God has made me, &nd I can make myself no better, so I cannot. And as for serving God, 1 am sure I go to Church as well as the best in the parish, though I be not so fine. And I make no question, if I had better clothes, but I should do God as much credit as another man, though I say it. And as for doing God's will, I beshrew me, I leave that to them that are book-learned, and can do it more wisely. I believe the vicar of our parish can do it, and has done it too, as well as any within five miles of his head : and what need I trouble myself to do what is so well done already? I hope he being so good a church-man, and so great a scholar, and can speak Latin too, would not leave that to so simple a man as I. It is enough for me to know that God is a good man ; and that the ten commandments are the best prayers in all the book, unless it be the creed ; and that I must love my neighbour as well as he loves me : and for all other quilicomes, they shall ne- ver trouble my brains, by the grace of God. Let me go on Sundays and serve God, obey the king (God bless BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 45 His Avowal. do no man any wrong, say the Lord's prayer every raorniug and evening-, follow ray work, give a noble to the poor at my death, and then say, Lord have mercy upon me, and go away like a lamb, I make no question but I shall deserve heaven as well I as he that wears a gayer coat. But yet I am not so ignorant neither, nor have not gone so often to Church, but I know Christ died for me too, as well as for any other man, I would be sorry else; and that next to our vicar, I shail go to heaven when I am dead as soon as another: nay more, I know there be two sacraments, bread and wine, and but two, (though the papists say there be six or seven) and that I verily believe 1 shall be saved by those sacra- ments; and that I love God above all, or else it were pity of life; and that when I am dead and rotten (as our vicar told me) 1 shall rise again and be the same man at I was. But for that he must excuse me, till I hu\«- better satisfaction; for all his learning, he cannot make me such a fool, unless lie shew me a belter reason for it than yet he has done. Hi* avowal. But one thing he told me, now 1 think on it, troubles me woundily, namely, that Cod is my master, all which I confess; and that I must do his will, (whether I know how to h- consist in intellectuals. The only brave thing is a religions life.'' JUST. MART. RESP. AD ORTIIOD. " To sin against knowledge is so much the greater e than an ignorant trespass, by how much the crime which is capable of no excuse is more heinous than the fault which admits a tolerable plea." His soliloquy. How well it had been for thee, O my soul, if I had book-learned ! Alas ! I cannot read, and what r I cannot understand; I cannot profit as J Rhould, and therefore cannot be as good as I would, hich I am right sorry. That I cannot serve i II as in. hath been often a to me; and that I have been so ignorant in good things, bath I at heart-breaking to ne i want of knowledge to read, 'iir Father and the ( Ireed : But the comfort is, God knows nix heart. But 1 trust in (iod our Fa- ther, neing made by Christ himself, will be enough for me thai know not how to make a better. 1 endea- vour to do all our vicar bids me; and when I n 48 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. ceive the communion I truly forgive all the world for a fortnight after, or such a matter: but then some old injury makes me forget myself; but I cannot help it, and my life should lie on it. O my ingrate soul, what shall I do to be saved? All that I can say is, Lord have mercy upon me; and all that I can do is, but to do my good will ; and that I will do with all my heart, and say my prayers too as well as God will give me leave, by the grace of Goo!. His prayer. O God the Father of Heaven, have mercy upon me miserable sinner. I am, as I must needs confess, a sinful man, as my forefathers were before me. I have heard many sermons, and have had many good lessons from the mouths of painful ministers; but through the dulness of my understanding, and for want of learning, I have not profited so much as else I should have done : spare me therefore, O God, spare me whom thou hast redeemed with thy preci- ous blood, and be not angry for ever. I must con- fess, the painfulness of my calling, and the heaviness of my own nature, hath taken from me the delight of hearing thy word ; and the ignorance of learning, which I was never brought up to, hath kept me from reading it; insomuch that instead of growing better, I fear I have grown worse and worse, and have been so far from doing thy will, that I do not BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 43 The ignorant Man's t'aultmng. understand what thy will is very well. But thou. merciful God, that didst reveal thyself to poor shepherds and poor fishermen, that had no more learning than I, have mercy upon me for Jesus Christ ike. Thou that hast promised to instruct the simple, and to lead the ignorant into thy way, be good and merciful tome, I beseech thee. Thou that drav. . i dj out of the dust, and the poor out of the dunghill, give me the knowledge of thy will, and teach me how to serve thee. Rouse up the drowsiness of my heart; open mine eyes that I may seethe truth, and mine ears that I may understand thy word ; and strengthen my memory that I may lay it up in my heart, and shew it in my life and vo- cation, to thy glory and my comfort, and the comfort of my friends. Lord, write thy will in my heart, that i I know it, I may do it willingly. O teach me. what thy pleasure is, that I may do my best to per- form it. Give me faith to lay hold on Jesus Christ, died lor me ; that after I am dead 1 may rite again and live with him. dive me a good In art, that 1 may deal honestly with all men, and doai 1 would be done to. 1 tHing, and prosper the labour of my hands, thai I ma) hajfe enough to ad clothe- me, and to ui\.- to the pO< I all that is aim Soliloquy. nor ruler, prepareth her meat in summer, and ga- thereth her food in harvest." SILLS IN I'ARN.iNKS, " Idtenest ia the womb or fountain of all wicked* , for it Consumes and wastes the riches and vir- toet which we have already, and disenables us to ir«t tho>e we have not. IBID. " Woe l>e to the idle soul, for he shall hunger after that which his riot consumed." His soliloquy. How presumptuously hast thou, my soul, trans- express commandment of thy God ! Now \wv<\ thou dashed thyself against bis judgments! H»>u bath thy undeserving hand usurped the diet, and wearest on thy back the wages of the painful sdttl ! Art thou not condemned to rags, to famine, by bin whose law commanded thee to labour? And yet thou pamperesl up thy sides with stolen food, and yel lliou deckest thy wanton body with unearned or- naments ; while they that spend their daily Strength in their commanded callings (whose labour gives them interest in them) want bread to feed, and rag- to clothe them. Thou art no young raven, my soul, 3 a 2 o4 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. do lily. Where ability to labour is, there providence meets action, and crowns it. He that forbids to cark for to-morrow, denies bread to the idleness of to-day. Consider, O my soul, thy own delinquency, and let employment make thee capable of thy God's protection. The bird that sits is a fair mark for the fowler, while they that use the wing escape the dan- ger. Follow thy calling, and heaven will follow thee with his blessing. What thou hast formerly omitted, present repentance may redeem; and what judgments God hath threatened, early petitions may avert. His prayer. Most great and most glorious God, who for the sin of our first parents hast condemned our frail bodies to the punishment of labour, and hast com- manded every one a calling and a trade of life, that hatest idleness as the root of evil, and threatenest poverty to the slothful hand ; I thy poor suppliant, convicted by thy judgments, and conscious of my own transgression, fly from myself to thee, and hum- bly appeal from the high tribunal of thy justice, and seek for refuge in the sanctuary of thy mercy. — Lord, I have led a life displeasing to thee, and have been a scandal to my profession ; have slighted those blessings which thy goodness hath promised to a conscionahle callins;, and have swallowed down the BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. bread of idleness. I have impaired the talent thou t me, and have lost the opportunity of doing much good. I have filled my heart with idle ima- ginations, and have laid myself open to the lusts of the flesh. I have abused thy favours in the mis-ex- pending of my precious time, and have taken no de- light in thy sabbaths. I have doted too much on the pleasures of this world, and like a drone have fed upon the honey of bees. If thou, O God, shouliiest be extreme to search my ways with too severe an eye, thou couldest not chuse but whet thy indignation, and pour the vials of thy wrath upon me. Look therefore not upon my sins, O Lord ; but through the merits of my Saviour, who hath made a full satisfaction for all my sins. What through ray weakness I have failed to do, the fili- al his sufferings hath most exactly done. In hiui, God, in whom thou art well pleased, and for Ins sake, be gracious to my sin. Alter my heart and make it willing to please thee, that in my life I may adorn my profession. Gl?e me a care and a ience in my calling, and grant thy blessing to th. lawful labours of ray hand. Let the fidelity of my vocation improve my talent, that I may enter into m\ i joy. Rouse up the dulness and deadness of my heart, and quench those Main lust within me. Assist me, O God, in the redemp- tion of my tune, and deliver mv soul from the evil- ft BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The proud Man's Ostentation. ness-of my days. Let thy providence accompany my moderate endeavours, and let all my employ- ments depend upon thy providence; that when the labours of this sinful world shall cease, I may feel and enjoy' the benefit of a good conscience, and ob- tain the rest of the new Jerusalem in the eternity of glory. ANONYM. " He that is idle, is ready for Satan to set on work." r Vhe proud mans ostentation. I will make him feel the weight of my displeasure, and teach him to repent his saucy boldness. How dares his baseness once presume to breathe so near my person, much more to take my name into his dunghill mouth ? Methinks the lustre of my spark- ling eye might have had the power to astonish him into good manners, and sent him back to cast his mind into a fair petition, humbly presented with his trembling hand. But thus to press into my pre- sence, to press so near my face, and then to speak, and speak to me, as if I were his equal, is more than sufferable. The way to be contemned is to digest contempt; but he that would be honoured by the vulgar sort must wisely keep a distance. A coun- tenance that's reserved breeds fear and observation: but affability and too easy an access makes fools too BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. hi The proud Man's Ostentation. bold, and reputation cheap. What price I set upon ray own deserts, instructs opinion how to prize me. — That which base ignorance miscalls thy pride, is but a conscious knowledge of my merits. Dejected souls, cravened with their own distrusts, are. the world's foot-halls, to be kicked and spurned; but hra\c and true heroic spirits, that know the strength of their own worth, shall baffle baseness and pre- sumption into a reverential silence, and spite of envy flourish in an honourable repose. Come then, my soul advance thy noble, and sublimer thoughts, and prize thyself according to those parts, which all ina\ wonder at, lew imitate, but none can equal. — Let !i<-t the insolent affronts of vassals interrupt thy . nor seem one scruple less than what thou art. He thou thyself, respect thyself, receive thou >ur from thyself; rejoice thyself in thyself, and prize thyself for thyself. Like Caesar, admit no equal ; and like Poiopey acknowledge no superior. vetous of thine own honour, and hold another's gJory as thy injury. Renounce humility as an -\ in reputation, and weakness as the worse t' a true-bred noble spirit. Disparagi worth in all hut in thyself, and make another's infaui) a foil to magnify thy plory. Let such as have no reason to, be proud, be humbjed of neces- sity ; ami lei them that have no part* to. value, be lies- I 58 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Desolation — His Proofs. having skill enough to play thy hopeful game, vie boldly, conquer, and triumph. His desolation. But stay, my soul, the trump is yet unturned : boast not too soon, nor call it a fair day till night: the turning of a hand may make such alterations in thy flattering fortunes, that all thy glorious expecta- tions may chance to end in loss and unsuspected ruin. That God which thrust that Babylonian Prince from his imperial throne, to graze with beasts, hath said, prov. 16. 25. " The Lord will destroy the house of the proud." His proofs. prov. xi. 2. "When pride cometh then cometh shame; but with the lowly is wisdom." jer. xiii. 15. *' Hear ye, and give ear, and be not proud ; for the I^rd hath spoken." isaiah ii. 12. " The day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low/' prov. xvi. 5. " Every one that is proud in heart is abomination to the Lord." BOANEIU-ES AND BARSA&VS. 59 iloquy. JAMES IV. 6. " God rejecteth the proud, and givetli grace to tin; humble. ISIDOR, HISPAL. " Pride mad.- Satan Tail from the bigl '' n. fore they that pride themselves in their virtues, imitate the devil; and fall more dangerously, he- cause they aspire and climb to the highest pitch, from whence is the greatest fall. GREG. MOR. " Pride grows stronger in the riot, whilst it - itself with presumptuous advances, yet the higher it climbs the lower it falls; far he that ens himself by his own pride is always de- stroyed by the judgment of God." His soliloquy. II. ,w wert thou muffled, my soul! How wer< thine eyes Minded with the corruption of thine nun heart! When 1 beheld myself by m\ I seemed a glorious thing ; my sun |uiew no nd all my imperfections were gilded over with vaju glory ; but now the day -spring from above bath ipon my heart, and the diviner light hath drivi ■ those foggy mists, 1 find mysell :\ b 60 BOANERGES AMD BARNABAS. His Prayer. another thing; my diamonds are all turned peb- bles, and my glory is turned to shame. O my deceived soul, how great a darkness was thy light! The thing that seemed so glorious and sparkled in the night, by day appears but rotten wood ; and that bright glow-worm, that in dark- ness out-shined the chrysolite, is by this new-found light no better than a crawling worm. How insepa- rable, O my soul, is pride and folly ! which like H\ pocrates' twins still live and die together. It blinds the eye, befools the judgment, knows no su- periors, hates equals, disdains inferiors; is the wise man's scorn, and the fool's idol. Renounce it, O my soul, lesMhy God renounce thee. He that hath threatened to resist the proud, hath promised to give grace to the humble: and what true repentance speaks, free mercy hears and crowns. His prayer. O God the fountain of all true glory, and the giver of all free grace, whose name is only honour- able and whose works are only glorious, that she west thy ways to the meek, and takest compassion upon an humble spirit, that hatest the presence of a lofty eye, and destroyest the proud in the imaginations of their hearts ; vouchsafe, O Lord, thy gracious ear, and hear the sighing of a contrite heart. I know, O God the quality of my sin can look for nothing but the extremity of thy wrath; I know the crookedness BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 61 His Prayer. of my condition can expect nothing but the furnace of thy indignation. I know the insolence of my corrupted nature can hope for nothing but the exe- cution of thy judgments. Yet, Lord, I know withal thou ;tr; a gracious God* of evil repenting thee, and slo* to wrath. I know thv nature and property is ompassion, apt to conceive, hut readier to forgive. I know thou takest do pleasure in the de- struction of a sinner, l»ut rather that he should re- peal and live: In confidence and full assurance whereof 1 am here prostrate on my bended knees, and with an bumble heart. Nor do I press into thv holy presence, trusting in my own merits, lest thou shouldest deal with me as I have dealt by others; Imt being encouraged by thy gracious invitation, and v laden with the burthen of my sins, I come to <> God, who art the refuge of a wounded soul, and the sanctuary of a broken spirit. Forgivr, O God, forgive DM what is past recalling, and make me circomspeel for the time to come. Open mine eyes that 1 uiav see how vain a thing I am, and how poll O ted from 1 1 1 v very birth. Give me an insight of my own corruptions, that I may truly know and lo.iih myself. Take from me all vain-glory and self- rod make me careless of the world's applause. Bodue me with an humble heart, and take this rity spirit from me. Grre mo a true discovery mI'imv own merits, th.it I maj trujj fear and tremble 9 I 9 62 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The covetous Man's care. f at thy judgments. Let not the world's contempt de- ject me, nor the disrespects of man dismay me. — Take from me, O God, a scornful eye, and curb my tongue that speaks presumptuous things. Plant in my heart a brotherly love, and cherish in me a cha- ritable affection. Possess my soul with patience, O God, and establish my heart in the fear of thy name ; that being humbled before thee in the meekness of my spirit, I maybe exalted by thee through the free- ness of thy grace, and crowned with thee in the kingdom of glory. ANONYM. li Pride is its own punishment, for nothing makes men more contemptible in the eyes of others. * The covetous man's care. Believe me, the times are hard and dangerous; charity is grown cold, and friends uncomfortable; an empty purse is full of sorrow, and hollow bags make a heavy heart. Poverty is a civil pestilence, which frights away both friends and kindred, and leaves us to a — Lord have mercy upon us. It is a sickness very catching and infectious, and more commonly abhorred than cured. The best antidote against it is Angelica and Providence, and the best cordial is Auruin potabiie. Gold taken fasting is an approvel sovereign. Debts are ill humours, and !m;m at last to dangerous obstructions. Lending is BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. «a '.ous Man's care. a mere consumption of the radical humoifr, which if consumed, brings a patient to nothing. Let others trust to courtiers' promises, to friends' per- formances, to princes' favours; give me a toy called gold, give me a thing called money. O blessed Mammon, how extreme Iv sweet is thy all-command iag presence to my thriving; soul! In banishment thou art my dear companion : \\i captivity thou art m\ precious ransom : [o trouble and vexation thou art my dainty real : In sickness thou art my health : In grief my only joy: In all extremity my only trust. Virtue must always veil to thee; say, grace itself not relished with thy sweetness would even displease the right men. Come then, m\ ionl, advise, contrive, project; go, compass sea and land ; leave no exploit untried, no path untroo, no lime unspent; afford thine eyes no sleep, thy bead no rest; neglect th\ nuenous belly, unclothe thy hack; deceive, betray, sweat and forswear to ( -ompass BOCA a friend. If thou be base in birth it will make thee honourable ; if weak in power, il will make thee formidable. Are thy friends few? it will make them numerous, is th\ < ause bad ? it will gain thee advocates. True, wisdom is an Ileal help, iii case il bend this w;i\ ; and learn- I ornament, if not too chargeable; \»t by your leave, they are bnl estates for term of life: but everl Id, il well-advantaged, will not 7 64 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Curse— His Proofs. only bless thy days, but thy surviving children from generation to generation. Come, come, let others fill their brains with dear-bought wit, turn their pence into expenseful charity, and store their bo- soms with unprofitable piety ; let them lose all to save their imaginary consciences, and beggar them- selves at home to be thought honest abroad : fill thou thy bags and barns, and lay up for in any years, dud take thy rest. His Curse. But, O my soul, what follows wounds my heart and strikes me on my knees. luke xii. 20. " Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee." His proofs. MATTH. vi. 24. " Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." job xx. 15. " He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again : God shall cast them out of his belly." prov. xv. 27. " He that is greedy of gain troubles his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live." BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 65 His Soliloquy. 2 peter, ii. 3. Through covetousness they shall with feigned words make merchandize of you, whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and whose damna- tion slnmbereth not.'" MLUS IN PARNiCNES. •' Woe to the covetous for his riches forsake him, and hell fire takes him." S. AUGUST. " O thou covetous man, why dost thou treasure up such hidden mischief? Why dost thou dote on the image of the king stamped ou coin, and hates! the image of God that shines in men !" IDEM. V The ri( Ins which thou treasurcst up are lost; I lion charitably bestowest are truly thine." His soliUxjiiif. What thtnkest thou dow, my soul? If the judg- ment of hol\ nun may not inform thee, lit tlu-judg- DMdtfl tf thy angry God enforce thee. WejgD thy own carnal infections with tin- sacred oracles of beaten, and light and darkness are not more con- trary. What thou apprOf est, th> God condemns: what thou desires! ih> God forbids. Now, m\ BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. soul, if Mammon be God, follow him ; if God be God, adhere to him : Thou canst not serve God and Mammon. If thy conscience feel the hook, nibble no longer. Many sins leave thee in the way, this follows thee to thy life's end ; the root of evil, the canker of all goodness. It blinds justice, poisons charity, strangles conscience, beslaves the affections, betrays friendship, breaks all relations. It is a root of the devil's own planting; pluck it up. Think not that a pleasure which God hath threatened ; nor that a blessing which heaven hath cursed. Devour not that which thou or thy heir must vomit up. Be no longer possessed with such a devil, but cast him out; and if he be too strong, weaken him by fasting, and exercise him by prayer. His prayer. O God, that art the fulness of all riches and ma- gazine of all treasure, in the enjoyment of whose fa- vour the smallest morsel is a rich inheritance, and the coursest pulse is a large portion; without whose blessing the greatest plenty enriches not, and the highest diet nourishes not; how have I (an earth- worm, and no man) fixed my whole heart upon this transitory world, and neglected thee the only desir- able good ! I blush, O Lord, to confess the base- ness of my life, and am utterly ashamed of mine own foolishness. I have placed my affections upon BO\NEIM.I> AND BARNABAS. o'7 HN Prayer. the nasty rubbish of this world, and have slighted the inestimable pearl of my salvation. I have wal- lowed in the mire of my inordinate desires, and re- fused to be washed in the streams of thy compassion. I have put my confidence in the faithfulness of my servant, and have doubted the providence of thee gracious Father. I have served unrighteous Mammon with greediness, and have preferred dross and dung before the pearly gates of New Jerusalem Thou hast promised to be all in all to those that tear thee, and not to fail the soul that trusts in thee ; but I refused tit v gracious oiler, and put my confi- dence in the vanity of the creature. But, gracious to whom repentance never comes unseason- able, that findest an ear when sinners find a tongue, il the contrition of a bleeding heart, and with- draw not th\ mercy from a pensive soul. Give me in n thoughts. <> God, and with thy holy spirit new mould m\ desires. Inform my will, and sanctify mv affections, that the) may relish thy sweetness with a lull delight. < 'rente in me, < > God, a spiritual , that I may take pleasure in things that arc above. Give me a contented thankfulness for what I have, that 1 may neither in poverty forsake thee, nor in pleat) forget thee. Arm me with continual thai I ma\ cheerfully put my trust in thy (Moderate m\ care for momentary tluims, that I may use the world as if I used it not No. 13. BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The Self-Lover's Self-Friend. Let not the loss of an earthly good too much deject me, lest I should sin with my lips and charge thee foolishly. Give me a charitable hand, O God, and fill my heart with brotherly compassion, that I may cheerfully exchange the corruptible treasure of this world into the incorruptible riches of the world to come; and proving a faithful steward in thy spi- ritual household, I may give up my account with joy, and be made partaker of thy eternal joy in the kingdom of thy glory. s. CHRYSOST. " The vessel of our desires grows greater under our endeavours to fill it. " We brought nothing into the world, and we shall carry nothing out with us." Tlie self-lover's self-fraud. God hath required ray heart, and he shall have it; God hath commanded truth in the inward parts, and he shall be obeyed. My soul shall praise the Lord and all that is within me, and I will serve him in the strength of my desires. And in common cases the tongue's profession of his name is no less than necessary : But when it lies upon a life, upon the saving of a livelihood, upon the flat undoing of a reputation, the case is altered. — My life is dear, my fair possessions precious, and my reputation is the the very apple of my eye. To save so great a stake BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The Self-Lover's Self-Friend. methinks equivocation is but venial, if a sin. If the true loyalty of my heart stands sound to my religion and my God, my well-informed conscience tells me that in such extremities my frighted tongue may lake the privilege of a salvo, or a mental reservation, if not in the expression of a fair compliance. What ! shall the real breach of a holy Sabbath, dedicated to ( "»d's highest glory, be tolerated for the welfare of an ox ? May that breach be set upon the score of mercy, and commended above sacrifice, for the safe-guard of an ass ? And may ] not dispense with a bare lip-denial of my urged religion for the neces- sary preservation of the threatened life of a man ? far the saving of the whole livelihood and subsistence of a Christian ? What ! shall I perish for want of food, and die a martyr to that foolish conscience which forbids me to rub the ears of a little standing corn ? Jacob could purchase his sick father's bles- uitli i downright lie, and may I not dissemble for a life ? The young man's great possessions tMght his thnoruos tongue to shrink from and decline his heart's profession, and w ho could blame him? Come, if thou I: . < I \ u r ive thy boute, OQflft thou in conscience be denied a hiding-room for thy protection? The Syrian Captain (he whose heart was fixed on his -fimwesolfed -uu\ true devotion rewired the borne of Uiiuinon for h try attendance, and \et went in peace. Peter (Upon the rock of whose a c 2 70 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Retribution — His Proofs. confession, the church was grounded) to save his li- berty, with a false, nay a perjured tongue ; nay more, at such a time when as the Lord of life (in whose behalf he drew his sword) was questioned for his in- nocent life, denied his master: and shall I be so great an u n thrift of my blood, my life, to lose it for a mere lip-denial of that religion which now is settled, and needs no blood to seal it? His retribution. But stay, my conscience checks me, there is a judgment thunders: Hark. matth. x. 33. " He that denies me before men, him will I deny before my father which is in heaven." His proofs. 2 tim. iii. 1. 2. " Know that in the latter days, perilous times shall come: For men shall be lovers of their own selves." ISAIAH xlv. 23. " I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear." BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy. ROM. X. 10. 11 With the heart man believeth unto righteous- ness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. ' like i\. 'It). 11 Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the son of man be ashamed when he shall come in glory." AUGUST. *' The love of God and the world are two different things. If the love of this world dwell in thee, the love of God forsakes thee ; renounce that, and re- ceive this: It is fit the more noble love should the best place and acceptance." THEOP. " It is not enough only to believe with the heart, for God will iia\<' us ( iooCbm v>itl> our mouth : everyone that confesses that Christ is God, shall find Christ professing to the Father, that man is a faithful servant; but those that deny Christ shall .<• that fearful doom, (Nescio v<» 1 know you DOt H$S soliloquy. My soul, in such a tine as this, when the civil 72 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. sword is warm with slaughter, and the wasting king- dom welters in her blood, wouldest thou not give thy life to ransom her from ruin ? Is not the God of heaven and earth worth many kingdoms ? Is thy welfare more considerable than his glory? Darest thou deny him for thy own ends, that denied thee nothing for thy good ? Is a poor clod of earth we call inheritance prizeable with his greatness, or a puff of breath we call life valuable with his honour, in comparison of whom the very angels are impure? Blush, O my soul, at thy own guilt. He that ac- counteth his blood, his life not worth the keeping, to ransom thee a wretch, lost by thy own rebellion, de- serves he not the abatement of a lust, to keep him from a new crucifying ? My soul, if religion bind thee not, if judgments terrify thee not, if natural af- fection incline thee not, yet let common reason per- suade thee to love him above a trifle, that loved thee above his life. And thou that hast so often denied him, deny thyself for ever, and he will own thee; re- pent and he will pardon thee; pray to him, and he will hear thee. ANON. •' He that loves himself most, hath of all men the happiness to have the fewest rivals." His prayer. O God, whose glory is the end of my creation, BOANERGES WD RARNADAS. 73 Hit Prayer. and whose free mercy is the cause of my redemption ; that ga vest thy Son, thy only Son, to die for me, who else had perished in the common deluge of thy wrath; II I render for so great a mercy ? What i tarn for so infinite a love? — st that I can do is nothing; the best that J «aii pres< ill i «rorse thau nothing, sin. Lord if I yield my body for a sacrifice, I offer nothing but a lump of tilth and loathsome putrefaction; or if I gin my soul in contribution, I yield thee nothing. but thy image quite defaced and polluted with my : or if I spend the strength of the whole man, and with both heart and tongue confess and magnify thy name, how can the praises of my sinful lips, that breathe from such a sink, be pleasing to thee? J Jut Lord, since thou art pleased in thy well-pleasing Son to accept Mm poverty of my weak endeavours, send down thy holy spirit into my heart, cleanse it from the tilth of my corruptions, and make it fit to MJi Lord, open thou my mouth, and my -hall shew forth tin praise i'nt a new song into my month, and 1 will praise thee and confess tbee all day long. I will not hide thy goodness in my month, but will be sin-win:; forth thy truth and thy salvation. Let thy praises be my honour, and let thy goodness be the subject of my undaunted Lei neither reputation, wealth, nor life, be ioua to me in comparison with thee. Let not, 74 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The worldly Man's Verdour. the world's derision daunt me, nor examples of in- fnmity deject me. Give me courage and wisdom to ^tand for thy honour; O make me worthy, able, and willing to suffer for thy name. Lord, teach me to deny myself, and to resist the motions of iny own corruptions. Create in me, O God, a single heart, that I may love the Lord Jesus in sincerity. Re- member not, O Lord, the sins of my fear, and par- don the hypocrisy of my self-love. Wash me from the stains and guilt of this my heinous offence, and deliver me from this fearful judgment thou hast threatened in thy word. Convince all the arguments of my unsanc titied wit, whereby I have become an advocate to my sin. Grant that my life may adorn my profession, and make my tongue an instrument of thy glory. Assist me, O God, that I may praise thy goodness, and declare thy wonders among the children of men. Strengthen my faith, that I may trust thee ; and let my works so shine, that men may praise thee : that my heart believing unto righteousness, and my tongue confessing to salvation, I may be acknowledged by thee here, and glorified by thee in the kingdom of glory. SA. V. He that pleaseth himself, pleaseth a fool," 'The worldly mans Verdour. LOR ought I sec, the case is even the same with BlUNF.RfJE* AND BARNABAS. 76 The worldly M;iu'» Vcrdoiir. him that prays, and him that does not pray; with him that swears, ami him that fears an oath. I see do difference; if any, those that they call the wicked have the advantage; their flocks are even as fair, their flocks as numerous as theirs that wear the ground with their religions knees, and fast their bo- dies to a skeleton: nay, in the use of blessings (which only makes them so) they far exceed. They term me reprobate, and style me unregenerate. It is true, I eat my labours with a jolly heart, drink frolic cups, sweeten my pains with time-beguiling sports, make the best advantage of my own, pray when I think on it, swear when they urge me, hear sermons at my leisure, follow the lust of my own and take the pleasure of my own ways: and yet, < iod be thanked, my barns are furnished, my sheep stand sound, my cattle strong for labour, my pashm-, rich and nourishing, my body healthful, and my bags are full ; whilst they that are so pure, and make such conscience of their ways, that run to sermons, fig to lectures, pray thrice a day by the hour, hold faith and troth profane, and drinking healths a sin, do often find lean harvests easy flocks, and empty purses. Let them be godly, that can live on air and faith, and eaten up by zeal, can whine themsel selves into an hospital, or blesi their lips with charitable scraps. It' godliness have this re- Ward, to have short meats tor long prayers, weak s 7G BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. — His Withering. estates for strong faiths, and good consciences upon such bad conditions, let them boast of their penny- worths, and let me be wicked still, and take my chance as falls. Let me have judgment to discover a profitable farm, and wit to take it at an easy rent, and gold to stock it in a liberal manner, and skill to manage it to my best advantage, and luck to find a good increase, and providence to husband wisely what 1 gain : I seek no further, and I wish no more; husbandry and religion are two several occupations, and look two several ways, and he is the only wise man can reconcile them. His withering. But stay, my soul, I fear thy reckoning fails thee. If thou hast judgment to discover, wit to bargain, gold to employ, skill to manage, providence to dis- pose ; canst thou command the clouds to drop ? Or if a wet season meet thy harvest, and with open sluices overwhelm thy hopes, canst thou Jet down the flood-gates, and stop the watery flux ? Canst thou command the sun to shine ? Canst thou forbid the mildews, or control the breath of the malignant east? Is not this God's sole prerogative? And hath not that God said, psalm xcii. 7. " When the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed for ever." BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 7 > Hi* Proof-. His proofs. job xxi. 7. '• Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power ? 8. "Their seed is established in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. • ; Their houses are safe from fear, neither is tlif wrath of God upon them. 10. " Their bull gendereth, and faileth not ; their cow calvetli, and casteth not her calf. J 1. " They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. 12. " They take the timbrel and the harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. 13. " They spend their days in wealth, and in a moni' go down to the grave." \lf.. IN PARTEM '• Woe be to him that pursues empty and fading pleasures : b< cause in a short time he fats and pam If as a calf to the slaughter." BERNARD. 1 There is no misery more true and real than fals«- ind counterfeit pleasure ' 3 o 2 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy. HIERON. " It is not only difficult, but impossible, to have heaven here and hereafter; to live in sensual lusts, and to attain spiritual bliss ; to pass from one para- dise to another; to be a mirror of felicity in both worlds; to shine with glorious rays both in this globe of earth, and the orb of heaven." . His soliloquy. How sw r eet a feast is, till the reckoning come A fair day, ends often in a cold night, and the roa that is pleasant ends in hell. If worldly pleasures had the promise of continuance, prosperity were some comfort ; but in this necessary vicissitude of good and evil, the prolonging of adversity sharpens it. It is no common thing, my soul, to enjoy t^vo heavens : Dives found it in the present, Lazarusain the future. Hath thy increase met with no damage? thy reputation with no scandal ? thy pleasure with no cross ! thy prosperity with no adversity ? Hre- sume not : God's checks are symptoms of his mer- cy ; but his sileflce is the harbinger of a judgm Be circumspect and provident, my soul. Hast t a fair summer? provide for a hard winter: Ithe world's river ebbs alone ; it flows not : he that { oes merrily with the stream, must hale up. Flaftter thyself, therefore, no longer in thy prosperous sin O my deluded soul, but be truly sensible of thy own BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 79 His Prayer. i presumption. Look seriously into thy approaching danger, and humble thyself with true contrition. If thou procure sour herbs, God will provide his pass- over. Bis prayer. How weak is man, O God, when thou forsakest him' how foolish are his counsels, when he plots without thee! how wild his progress when he wan- ders from thee ! How miserable till he return unto nee! How his wits fail! How his wisdom faul- ters ! How his wealth melts ! How his providence is befooled ! and how his soul beslaved ! Thou strikest off the ehariot-w heels of his inventions, and hi is perplexed : thou confoundest the babel of his •Aginations, and he is troubled. Thou crossest ha designs, that he may fear thee; and thou stop- pat him in his ways, that he may know thee. How merciful art thou, OGod, and in thy very judgments, O Lord, how gracious ! Thou mightest have struck me into the lowest pit as easily as on these bended knles, and yet been justified in my confusion; but thou hast threatened like a gentle father, as loath to punish thy ungracious child. Thou knowest the crooked thoughts of m;iu are vain, still turning point to their contriver's ruin. Thou sawesi me wandering in the maze of death, whilst I with vio- lence pursued my own destruction, Uut thou hast 80 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. r warned me by thy sacred word, and took me off that I might live to praise thee. Thou art my confi- dence, O God ; thou art the rock, and the rock of my salvation. Thy word shall be my guide, for all thy paths are mercy and truth. Lord, when I look upon my former worldliness, I utterly abhor my con- versation : strengthen me with thy assistance, that I may lead a new life ; make me more and more sen- sible of my own condition, and perfect thou the good work thou hast begun in me. In all my designs be thou my counsellor, that I may prosper in my un- dertakings. In all my actions be thou my guide, that I may keep the path of thy commandments. Let all my own devices come to nought, lest I presume upon the arm of flesh: let not my wealth increase without thy blessing,, lest I be fatted up against the day of slaughter. Have thou a hand in all my just employments, then prosper thou the work of thy hands ; O prosper thou thy handy-work, and make it mine, who have no interest in it till thou own me as thy child. Then shall my soul rejoice in thy fa- vours, and magnify thy name for all thy mercies: then shall my lips proclaim thy loving-kindness, and sing thy praises for ever and ever. eclles. xi. 9. " Walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes : But know thou that for all these things God will bring thee to judgment." BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 81 The Lascivious Man's Heaven. The lascivious man's heaven. CAN flesh and blood be so unnatural to forget tlie laws of nature? canblowiug youth immure within the icy walls of \ .stal chastity? Can lusty • lift and mollitious rest bring forth no ether fruits but faint rigid thoughts, and phlegmatic - Should we be stocks and stones, and (having active souls) turn altogether passives? Must we turn Ancorites, and spend our days in 3 and hermitages, and smother up our precious hours in cloistered folly, and recluse devotion? Can checks, can ruby lips, can snowy breasts and -parkin:- eyes, present their beauties and perfec- tions to the Bprightly view of young mortality? And must \\r stand like statues w ithout sense or motion? Can Btfid religion impose such cruel tasks even impossible commands upon the togjng thoughts Of her Ufthapp) vofaries, as to withstand and con- tradict the instinct and very principals of nature? Can fair-pretending piet) be so barbarous to con- demn us to the flames of our affections, and make as martyrs to our own desires? Is it not enough to conquer the reb< llions actions of imperious flesh, but rouHl we manacle her bands, darken her eyes, nay, worse, restrain the freedom of her 1 ve» thou.:,, ' Can full perfection be expected here? Or can our work b< p rfectin this vale of imper- 82 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Hdl. fection ! This were a life for angels, but a task too hard for frail, for transitory man. Come, come, we are but men, but flesh and blood, and our born frail- firs cannot grapple with such potent tyranny. What nature and necessity requires us to do, is venial, be- ing done. Come, strive no more against so strong a stream, but take thy fill of beauty ; solace thy wanton heart with amorous contemplations ; clothe all thy words with courtly rhetoric, and soften thy lips with dialects of love; surfeit thyself with plea- sure, and melt thy passion into warm delights ; walk into natures universal bower, and pick what flower does most surprise thineeye; drink of all waters, but be tied to none; spare neither cost nor pains to com- pass thy desires. Enjoy varieties : emparadise thy soul in fresh delights. The change of pleasure makes thy pleasure double. Ravish thy senses viilh perpetual choice, and glut thy soul with all the delicates of love. Bis Hell But hold ! there is a voice that whispers in my troubled ear; a voice that blanks my thoughts, and stops the course of my resolves ; a voice that chills the bosom of my soul, and fills me with amazement: mark. GAL. V. 21. " They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 83 » — His Prayrr. His proofs. EXOD. XX. 14. " Thou shalt not commit adultery/' MATTH. V. 28. " V» > a woman to Inst after her, halh committed a* ultery with her already in his rom. xiii. 13. " Let us walk honestly as in the day: not in rioting or drunkenness, nor in chambering, nor in wantonness." 1 PETER ii. 1 I. " Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against til." Ml \b. 1 Woe be to the fornicator and adulterer, for his garment is defiled and spotted, and the heavenly Bridegroom casts him out from his chaste pop* lials. A world of presumptuous and heinous o^fiencet do arise and spring from the ulthy fountain of adul- Ju-t, whereb) the gate df heaven ja shut, and poor men excluded from 6od. 84 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy. S. GREG. MOR. " Hence the flesh lives in sensual delights for a moment, but the immortal soul perisheth for ever." His soliloquy. Lust is a brand of original fire, raked up in the embers of flesh and blood, uncovered by a natural inclination, blown by corrupt communication, quenched with fasting and humiliation. It is raked up in the best, uncovered in the most and blown in thee, O my lustful soul. O turn thine ear from the pleadings of nature, and make a covenant with thine eyes. Let not the language of Delilah inchant thee, lest the hands of the Philistines surprise thee. Review thy past pleasures, with the charge and pains thou hadst to compass them, and shew me, where is thy penny-worth ? Foresee what punish- ments are prepared to meet thee, and tell me what is thy purchase ? Thou hast bartered away thy God for a lust; sold thy eternity for a trifle. If this bargain may be recalled by tears, dissolve thee, O my soiil, into a spring of waters; if to be reversed with price, reduce thy whole estate into a sack- cloth and an ash-tub. Thou whose liver hath scorched in the flames of lust, humble thy heart in ilie ashes of repentance; and as, with Esau, thou hast sold thy birth- right for broth, so with Jacob wrestle by prayer till thou get a blessing. BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 85 His Pravcr. ANONYM. " Consider well, how empty thy pleasure will be when il is past, and thou cuttestofV the chief strength of the temptation" His prayer. O Cod. before whose face the angels are impure, befoi clear omniscience all actions appear, to whom the very secrets of the hearts are open; I here acknowledge, to thy glory and m> shame, the filthi- and vile impurity of my nature. Lord, I was filthy in my very conception, and in filthiuess my mother's womb inclosed me, brought forth in iilthi- ness, and filthy is my very iunocency, filthy in die mis of my flesh, and filthy in the apprehensions of my sotd; my words ail clothed with filthiness, and in all my actions filthy and unclean; in my in clination filthy, and in the who!: of my life nothing but a continued filthiness. Wash me, O God, apd make me clean ; cleanse me from the fiTthi of my corruption. Purge me, O Lord, with »p, and create a clean heart within me. ( 'or- ut motions of my flesh, and quench the fiery darts of Satan. Let not tin- Jaw of my ruptecl members rule me; O let concupiscence have no dominion over me. Give me courage to fight -l my lusts, and give my weal>n< nme: make sharp my sword against this bodi jf SIB, but most against my Delilah, my bosoill sill 3 I BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. Deliver me from the tyranny of temptation, or give me power to subdue it. Confine the liberty of my wanton appetite, and give me temperance in a sober diet. Grant me a heart to strive with thee in prayer, and hopeful patience to attend thy leisure. Keep me from the habit of an idle life, and close mine ears against corrupt communication. Set thou a watch before my lips, that all my words may savour ut' so- briety. Preserve me from the vanity and pride < f life, that I may walk blameless in my conversation. Protect me from the fellowship of the unclean, and from all such as are of evil report. Let thy grace, O God, be sufficient for me, to protect my soul from the bufferings of Satan. Make me industrious and diligent in my calling, lest the enemy get advantage over me. In all my temptations let me have recourse to thee. Be thou my refuge when 1 call upon thee. Forgive, O God, the sins of my youth, Q pardon the multitudes of my secret sins. Encrease my hatred to my former life, and strengthen my resolution for the time future. Hear me, O God, and let the words of my mouth be always acceptable to thee, O God, my strength and my Redeemer. s. hiekom. " Pleasure leaves behind it a greater thirst, than that which it pretends to quench ; and though it be taken in a full draught, vet does not satisfy." BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 87 A bath-breaker's Profanation. prov. vi. 27. " Can a man take fire into his bosom, and bis clothes not be burnt ?" Tin Sabbat li-brealf r s profanation. The glittering Prince that sits upon his regal and imperial throne, and the, ignoble peasant that i within his sordid house of thatch, are both alike to God. An ivory temple and a church of claj .ire prized alike by him. The flesh of bulls, and the perfumes of myrrh and cassia smoke his altars with an equal pleasure: and does he make such difference of days? Is he that was so weary of the new-moons, so taken with the sun, to tie his sabbath to that only day? the tenth in tyihes is :m\ one in ten, and wh) the seventh day not any one in seven : We sanctify the day, the day not us. But ai Are we still bound to keep a legal sabbath in the strictness of the letter ? Have toe Gentiles no privilege by the virtue of Messiah's coming? or has the evangelical sabbath no im- munities'- The service done, the day is dischai my liberty restored ; and if 1 meet my profits or my pleasures then, 1 will pve them entertainment, if business call me to account, I dare afford a careful or if my sports |ni ite me, I will entertain them with a eheerful heart. I will • '.tins with as touch devotion as my n< 1 will maki 88 BOANFRGES AND BARNABAS. His Extirpation. as low obeisance and as just responds as any: but as soon as even-song is ended, my church-devotion and my psalter shall sanctify my pew till the next sabbath call. Were it no more for an old custom's sake than for the good I find in sabbaths, that cere- mony might as well be spared. It is a day of rest : and what is a rest? A relaxation from the toil of labour. And what is labour but a painful exercise of the frail body ? But where the exercise admits no toil, there relaxation makes no rest. What la- bour is it for the worldly man to compass sea and land to accomplish his desires ? What labour is it for the impatient lover to measure Hellespont with his widened arms to hasten his delight? What la- bour for the youth to number music with their sprightly paces ? Where leisure is reconciled to la- bour, labour is butan active rest. Why should the sabbath then, a day of rest, divorce from those de- lights that make thy rest ? Afflict their souls that please ; my rest shall be what most conduces to my heart's delight. Two hours will vent more prayers than I shall need, the rest remains for pleasure. His extirpation. Conscience, why startest thou ? A judgment strikes me from the mouth of heaven, and saith, BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Proofs. EXOD. xwi. 14. " Whosoever doth any work on my sabbath, his soul shall be cut off." His proofs. EXOD. XX. S } 9, &c. " Remember to keep holy the sabbath-day ; six days shall thou labour and do all that thou hast to do : but the seventh day," &c. exod. xxxi. 13, 14. " Ye shall keep my sabbath, for it is holy unto you. " Verily my sabbaths thou shalt keep, for this is a sign betwixt me and you, throughout your gene- rations. v luke xxiii. 56. nl they returned and prepared spices and oint- nients, and rested on the sabbath-day according to immandment." GREOOR. " We ought upon the Lord's da\ t.» rest from bo- dily labour, and wholly to addict ourselves to pray- ers ; that whatsoever hath been done: amiss the week before, may upon the da\ of our Lord's itsuiroe expiated and purged I »> fervent prayers. " 00 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy. CYR. ALEX. " Sin is the store-house of death and misery, it kindles flames for its dearest friends. Therefore whosoever, when he should rest from sin, busieth himself in the dead and fruitless works of wicked- ness, and renouncing all piety, lusts after such things as will bring him into eternal destruction and everlasting flames, justly deserves to die and perish with the damned ; because when he might have enjoyed a pious rest, he laboured to run headlong to his own destruction/' His soliloquy. My soul, how hast thou profaned that day thy God hath sanctified ! How hast thou encroached on that which heaven hath set apart ! If thy impatience cannot act a sabbath twelve hours, what happiness canst thou expect in a perpetual sabbath ? Is six days too little for thyself, and two hours too much for thy God ? O my soul, how dost thou prize tem- porals beyond eternals ? Is it equal that God who gave thee a body, and six days to provide for it, should demand one day of thee, and be denied it ? How liberal a receiver art thou, and how miserable a requiter ! But know, my soul, his sabbaths are the apple of his eye. lie that hath power to vindi- cate the breach of it, hath threatened judgments to the breaker thereof. The God cf mercy, that hath BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 90 The Liar's Fallacies. at his infirmities. Make me careful in the examina- tion of my own ways, and most severe against my own offences. Pull out the beam out of my own eye, that I may see clearly, and reprove wisely. Take from me, O Lord, all grudging, envy and malice, that my seasonable reproofs may win my brother. Preserve my heart from all censorious thought, and keep my tongue from striking at his name. Grant that I make right use of his infirmities, and read good lessons in his failings; that loving him in thee, and thee in him, according thy command, we may both be united in thee as members of thee, that thou mayst receive honour from our communion here, and we eternal glory from thee hereafter in the world to come. TH. DE. KEMPIS. " There are two lessons which God every day his elect: One, to see their own faults; the other, the goodness of God. The liar's Jul fan, NAY, if religion be so strict a law, to bind my tongue to the necessity of a truth on all occasions, at all times, and in all places, the gate is too strait forme to enter; or if the general rules of down- right truth will admit no few exceptions, fan well all honest mirth, farewell all trading, farewell the whole converse betwixt man and man. If always No. 14. 3 f 100 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The Liar's Fallacies. to speak punctual truth be the true symptom of a blessed soul, Tom tell-truth has a happy time, and fools and children are the only men. If truth sit regent, in what faithful breast shall secrets find re- pose ? What kingdom can be safe? What com- mon wealth can be secure ? What, war can be suc- cessful ? What stratagem can prosper ? If bloody times should force religion to shroud itself beneath my roof, upon demand, shall my false truth betray it ? Or shall my brother s life, or shall my own be seized upon through the cruel truth of my down- right confession ? or rather not be secured by a fair officious lie? Shall the righteous favourite of Egypt's Tyrant, by virtue of a loud lie, sweeten out his joy, heighten up his soft affection with the An- tiperistasis of tears ? and may ] not prevaricate with a sullen truth to save a brother's life from a bloody-thirsty hand? Shall Jacob and his too in- dulgent mother conspire in a lie to purchase a paternal blessing in the false name and habit of a supplanted brother? and shall I question to pre- serve the granted blessing of a life or livelihood with a harmless lie ? Come, come, my soul, let not thy timorous conscience check at such poor things as these. So long as thy officious tongue aims at a just end, a lie is no offence; so long as thy perjuri- ous lips confirm not thy untruth with an audacious brow, thou needest not fear. The weight of the cause relieves the burthen of the crime. Is thy cen- BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 101 His Flam tregood? No matter how crooked the lines of the circumference be; Policy allows it. If thy jour- ney's end be heaven, it matters not how full of hell thy journey be ; Divinity allows it. Will thou condemn the Egyptian Midwifes for saving the in- fant Israelites by so merciful a lit-? When martial execution is to be dune, wilt thou fear to kill ? When hunger drives thee to 'he gates of death, wilt thou be afraid to steal ? When civil wars divide a king- dom, will .Mercuries decline a lie ? No, circum- stances excuse, as well as make the lie. Had Cae- sar, Scipio, or Alexander been regulated by such strict divinity, their name had been as silent as their dost. A lie is but a fair put of}', the sanctuary of a i, the riddle of a lover, the stratagem of a Sol- dier, tin.- policy of a Statesman, and a salve for many desperate Bor» s. Uisfhinics. Hut hark, my soul, there is something round*; mine ear, and calls my language to a recantation. The Lord hath spoken it. M Liars shall have their part in the lake which burn eth with lire and brimstone." Rev. vxi. b\ I Us proofs. "Thou Blialt not raise a false report, Ex. xx." 4 r 2 102 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Flames. — His Proofs. LEVIT. xix. 1J. " Ye shall not deal falsely, neither lie one to another." prov. xii. 22. " Lying lips are abomination to the Lord : but they that deal truly are his delight." trov. xix. 5. "■ He that speaketh lies shall not escape." EPHES. iv. 25. " Put away lying, and every one speak truth with his neighbour : for we are members one of another." revel, xxi. 27. " There shall in no wise enter into the new Jeru- salem any thing that worketh abomination or that maketh a lie." s. AUGUST. " Whosoever thiuks there is anykind of lie that is not a sin, shamefully deceives himself, mistaking a lying or cozening knave for a square or honest man.'' GREGOR. " Eschew and avoid all falshood : though sometime certain kinds of untruth are less sinful, as to tell a lie to save a man's life; yet because the scripture saith, The liar slayeth his own soul, and God will destroy them that tell a lie, therefore religious and feoaest men should always avoid even the best sort BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 103 His Soliloquy. of lies; neither ought another mans life to be se- cured by eur falshood or lying, lest we destroy our own soul in labouring to secure another man's life." His soliloquy. What a child, O my soul, hath thy false bosom harboured ! And what reward can thy indulgence expect from such a father ? What blessing canst thou hope from heaven, that pleadest for the son of the devil, and crucifiest the Son of God? God is the Father of truth. To secure thy estate thou deniest the truth by framing of a lie: to save thy brother's life thou opposest the truth in jnstifiying a lie. Now tell me, O my soul, art thou worthy the name of a Christian, that deniest and opposest the nature of Christ? Art thou worthy of Christ, that preferrest thy estate or thy brother s life before him ? O my un- righteous soul, canst thou hold thy brother worthy of death for giving thee the lie, and thyself guiltless that makest a lie? But in some cases truth destroys thy life; a lie preserves it. My soul, was God thy Creator? then make not the Devil thy preserver. Wilt thou despair to trust him with thy life that gave it, and make him thy protector that seeks to destroy it ? Reform thee and repent thee, O my soul ; hold not thy life on such conditions, but trust thee to the hands that made thee. 104 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. S. HIEROM. " Let not thy tongue know how to lie or swear; and let there be in thee so great a love of truth, that thou account whatever thou sayest as sealed with an oath." His prayer. O God, that art the God of truth, whose word is truth, that hatest lying lips, and abominatest the deceitful tongue, that banishest thy presence all such as love or make a lie, and lovest truth, and requirest uprightness in the inward parts; I, the most wretch- of the sons of men, and most unworthy to be called thy son, make bold to cast my sinful eyes to heaven. Lord, I have sinned against heaven and against truth, and have turned thy grace into a lie. I have renounced the ways of righteousness, and have harboured much iniquity within me , which hath turned thy wrath against me. I have trans- gressed against the checks of my own conscience, and have vaunted of my transgression : which way soever I turn mine eyes, I see no object but shame and confusion. Lord, when I look upon myself, I find nothing there but fuel for thy wrath, and matter for thine indignation and my condemnation. And when I cast mine eyes to heaven, I there behold an angry God, and a severe revenger. But, Lord, at thy right hand I see a Saviour and a sweet Re- deemer. 1 see thy wounded Son clothed in my BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 105 His Pravt r. flesh, and bearing mine infirmities, and interceding for my numerous transgressions ; for which my soul doth magnify thee, God, and mv spirit rejorceth in him my Saviour. Lord, when thou lookest upon the vast -cure of my offences, turn thine eyes upon tin; infinite merits of his satisfaction. O when thy justice calls to mind my sins, let not thy mercy for- get his sufferings. Wash me, O wash me in his blood, and thou shalt see me clothed in his righteous- Let him that is all in all to me, be all in all forme; make him to me sanctification, justification and redemption. Inspire my heart with the spirit of thy truth, and preserve me from the deceitfulness of double tongues. Give me an inward conh'dence to rely upon thy fatherly providence, that neither fear may deter me, nor any advantage may turn me from tin- wa\s of thy truth. Let not the specious goodness of the end encourage me to the unlawful* Of the means, bat let thy word be the warrant to all my actions, (.nule my footsteps that I may walk uprightly, ami quicken my conscience that it may reprove my failings. Cause me to feel the bur- then of this my habitual sin, that coming to thee by atrue and serious repentance, my sins may obtain a full and a -radons forgiveness. ( Jive me a heart to make a covenant wits my lips: that both my heart and tongue being sanctified by thy Spirit, may be both united in truth by thy mercy, and magnify thy name for e\ ( r and for ever. 10G BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The revengeful Man s Rage. STR. "He that is afraid to tell the truth, denieth him- self to be a man.'' The revengeful maris rage. O what a julip to my scorching soul is the delici- ous blood of my offender! And how it cools the burning fever of my boiling veins ! It is the quint- essence of pleasures, the height of satisfaction, and the very marrow of all delight, to bathe and paddle in the blood of such whose bold affronts have turned my wounded patience into fury. How full of sweet- ness was his death, who dying, was revenged upon three thousand enemies? How sweetly did the younger brother's blood allay the soul-consuming flames of the elder, who took more pleasure in his last breath, than heaven did in his first sacrifice? Yet had not heaven condemned his action, nature had found an advocate for his passion. What sturdy spirit bath the power to rule his suffering thoughts, or curb the head-strong fury of his irascible affect- ions ? Or who but fools (that cannot taste an injury) can moderate their high-bred spirits, and stop their passion in her full career? Let heavy Cynicks, they whose leaden souls are taught by stupid reason to stand bent at every wrong, that can digest an injury more easily than a compliment, that can protest against the laws of nature, and cry all natural affect- ion down, let them be and-irons from the injurious BOANERGES AND BvRNABAS. 107 -». » — * — H - Retaliation. world to work a heat upon ; let them tind shoulders to receive the painful stripes of peevish mortals, and to bear the wrongs of daring- insolence; let them be drawn Hke calves prepared for slaughter, and bow their servile necks to sharp destruction; let them submit their slavish bosoms to be trod and trampled under foot at every one's pleasure: my eagle-spirit flies a higher pitch, and like ambitious Phaeton climbs into the liery chariot, and drawn with fury, scorn, revenge, and honour, rambles through all the spheres, and brings with it confusion and combustion: my reeking sword shall vindicate my reputation, and rectify the injuries of my honourable name, and quench itself la the plenteous streams of blood. Come, tell not me of charity, conscience, or trans- ion. Mv charity reflects upon myself, begins at home, and guided by the justice of my passion, i^ hound t<> labour for an honourable satisfaction. My consciuM < is blood-proof, and I can broa< h a life with my illustrious weapon irrlfa as little re- luctance as kill a ilea that sucks my blood without OQtiMlisttorJ ; and I can drink a health iu blood up- on my t*tided knee to n -nutation. J lis reliUuilion. But hark, my soul, I beat a languishing, a dying voice cry up to heaven for vengeance. It cries 'J ii 108 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Proofs. aloud, and thunders in my startling ear. I tremble, and my shivering bones are filled with horror. It cries against me : and hear what Heaven replies, " All that take up the sword shall perish by the sword," Mat. xxvi. 52. His proofs. lev. xix. 18. " Thou shalt not avenge, or bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord." deut. xxxii. 35. " To me belongeth vengeance and recompence." ezek. xxv. 12, 13. " Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah, by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them : " Therefore thus saith the Lord God, I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it." matt. v. 39. " Resist not evil ; but whosoever shall smite thee on. the right cheek, turn to him the other also. BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 100 His Soliloquy. TERTUL. *' What is the difference between one that doth an injury, and another that outrageously sutlers it, except that the one is first, and the other second in the offence ? but both are guilty of mutual injury 10 the sight of God, who forbids every sin, and con- demns the offender." IDEM. " How can we honour God, if we revenge our- selves GLOSS. 11 Every man is a murlheier, and shall be pun- ished as Cain was, if he do (as Cain did) either assault his brother with violence, or pursue him with hatred." His soliloquy i Revenge is an act of the irascible affections, deli- berated with malice, and executed without mercy. J low often, Omy soul, hast thou cursed thyself in the perfectest of Prayers? how often hast thou turned the spiritual body of thy Saviour into thy damnation - can the Sun rise t<> thy comfort, that hath so often set io thy wrath? So long as thy wrath is kindled against thy brother, bo long is the wrath of God bnrniug against thee. wouldst thou offer a pleasing sacrifice to heaven ? < in first 9 u 2 110 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Prayer. and be reconciled to thy brother. But who shall right thy honour then ? Is thy honour wronged ? Forgive, and it is vindicated. But this kind of heart-swelling can brook no poultice but revenge. Take heed, my soul, the remedy is worse than the disease. If thy intricate distemper transcend thy power, make choice of a physician that can purge that humour that foments thy malady. Rely upon him; submit thy 'will to his directions: he hath a tender heart, a skilful hand, a watchful eye, that makes thy welfare the price of all his pains, expect- ing no reward, no fee, but praises and thanksgiving. S. BERNARD. Ci Be humble in asking of pardon, and easy in giving it, and thou wilt be at peace with all the world." His prayer. O God thou art the God of peace, and the lover of unity and concord, that dost command all those that seek forgiveness, to forgive; that hatest the froward heart, but shewest mercy to the meek in spirit; with what a face can I appear before thy mercy-seat ? or with what countenance can I lift up these hands thus slained with my brother's blood ? How can my lips, that daily breed revenge against my brother, presume to own thee as my father, or expect from thee thy blessing as thy child ? If thou BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. Ill Hii Prayer. forgive my trespasses* O God, as I forgive my tres- rs, in what a miserable estate am 1, that in my very prayers condemn myself, and do not only limit thy compassion by my uncharitableness, but draw thy judgments on my head for my rebellion ? That heart, dud, whirl) thou requirest as a holy p ro— lit, is become a spring of malice. These hands which I advance, are ready instruments oi base re- My thoughts, that should be sanctified, are lull of blood, and how to compass evil against my brother is my continual meditation. The course of all my life is wilful disobedience, and my whole plea- sure, Lord, is to displease tine. My conscience hilh accused me, and the voice of blood hath cried against me: but, Lord, the blood of Jesus cries louder than the blood of Abel, and thy mercy is far more infinite than my sin. The blood that was shed liv Hie cries for vengeance, but the blood that was shed ft)r in* gaes for mercy. Lord, hear the lan- gVSge of this blond, and b\ the merits of this \oicebe reconciled unto me. That lime which cannot be re- <;'ll'd, () give me powet to redeem, and in the i Hum ;i settled resolution to reform. Suppress the violence of my headlong passion, and establish a meek spirit within me. Let the BIgbttf my own vilciiess take from me the lenae of all disgrace, and let the croWfl of ID) reputation be thy honour. Pos- mv heart w ith a desire of unity and concord, ami 112 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. The secure Man's Triumph. give me patience to endure what my impenitency hath deserved. Breathe into my soul the spirit of love, and direct my affections to their right object : turn all my anger against that sin that hath provoked thee, and give me holy revenge, that I may exercise it against myself. Grant that I may love thee for thyself, myself in thee, and ray neighbour as myself. Assist me, O God, that I may subdue all evil in my- self, and suffer patiently all evil as a punishment from thee. Give me a merciful heart, O God ; make it slow to wrath and ready to forgive. Pre- serve me from the act of evil, that I may be delivered from thefear of evil; that living herein charity with men, I may receive that sentence of, Come ye bles- sed, in the kingdom of Glory. The secure man's triumph. So now, my soul, thy happiness is entailed, and thy illustrious name shall live in thy succeeding ge- nerations. Thy dwelling is established in the fat of all the land ; thou hast what mortal heart can wish, and wantest nothing but immortality. The best of all the land is thine, and thou art planted in the best of lands. A land whose constitutions make the best of government, which governnent is strengthened with the best of laws, which laws are executed by the best of princes; whose prince, whose laws, whose government, whose land makes us the hap- BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 113 ure IImI'i Triumph. piestofall subjects, makes us the happiest of all people. A land of strength, of plenty, and a land of peace; where every soul may sit beneath iiis vine, 1111- frightedatthe horrid language of the hoarse trumpet uustartled at the warklike summons of the roaring cannon. A land whose beauty hath surprized the ambitious hearts of foreign princes, and taught them by their martial oratory to make their vain attempts. A land whose Strength reads vanity in the deceived hopes of conquerors, and crowns their enterprizes with a shameful overthrow. A land whose native plenty makes her the world's exchange, supplying others, able to Bubsist without supply from foreign kingdoms; in itself happy, and abroad honourable. A land that hath no vanity, but what the sweetest Of all blessings, peace and plenty; that hath no misery bnt whal is propagated from that blindness which cannot sec her own felicity. A laud that flowi with milk and honey, and in brief wants nothing to deserve the title oft paradise- The curb of Spain, the pride of ( iermany, the aid of Bi aorge of Prance, the empress of the world, and queen of nation-. She is begirt with walls, wJlOSe builder was the hand of heaven, whereon there daily ride- a navy-royal, n hose unconquerable power pro- claim^ her prince iu\ ineible, and \\ !iispt rs sad des- pair into the fainting lii arts of foreign majesty, -s-lre 114 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His overthrow. — His proofs. is compact within herself in unity, not apt to civil discords, or intestine broils: the envy of all nations, the ambition of all princes, the terror of all enemies, the security of all neighbouring states. Let timorous pulpits threaten ruin, let prophesying church-men dote, till I believe. How often and how loug have these loud sons of thunder false-prophesied her deso- lation ? and yet she stands the glory of the world. Can pride demolish the towers that defend her? Can drunkenness dry up the sea that walls her? Can flames of lust dissolve the ordinances that pro- tect her? His overthrow. Be well advised, my soul, there is a voice from heaven roars louder than ordinances, which saith, " Thus saith the Lord, The whole land shall be de- solate," Jer. iv. 27. His proofs. isai. xiv. 7, &c. " The whole earth is at rest and at quiet, tbe.y break forth into singing. " Yea the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon sing," &c. " Yet shalt thou be brought down to Hell, to the nides of the pit" BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 116 His ProoN. JER. V. 19. " They have belied the Lord, and said, II is not he, neither shall evil come upon us, neither shall we see sword or famine." 1 cor. x. 12. Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall. 1 ' liki. xvii. '11. They did eat and drink, anil they married wives and were given in marriage, until the flood came and '< Btroyed them all.*' s. AUOl^T. " Whilst Lot was exercised in suffering reproacli and \ioluicr, he continued holy and pure, cncii in tin filth 0/ Sodom : hut in tlie mount, beiua; in peace and safety, he was surprized by sensual security, and drilled himself with his own daughters." «.i;r.(i. .mai;. " Our prosperous and happy state is ofteq the oc- casion of more auserable ruin: a Ion- peace haih made many men both careless and cowardly; ami that is the moel fatal blow when an unexpected ene- m\ BUrpriselh US in a deep bleep of peace and 2 i 116 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. His Soliloquy. His soliloquy. Security is an improvident carelessness, casting out all fear of approaching danger. It is like a great calm at sea, that foreruns a storm. How is this verified, O my sad soul, in this our bleeding nation ! Wert thou not till now for many years even muzzled in the bosom of habitual peace ? Didst thou foresee this danger ? Or couldst thou have contrived a way to be thus miserable? Didst thou not laugh invasion to scorn ? or didst thou not less fear a civil war ? Was not the title of the crown unquestionable? And was not our mixed government unapt to fall in- to diseases? Did we want good laws? or did our laws want execution ? Did not our prophets give lawful warning ? Or were we moved at the sound of judgments ? How hast thou lived, O my uncareful soul, to see these prophecies fulfilled, and to behold the vials of thy angry God poured forth ? Since mer- cies, O my soul, could not allure thee, yet let these judgments now at length enforce thee to a true re-> pentance. Quench the fire-brand which thou hast kindled ; turn thy mirth to right mourning, and thy feasts of joy to humiliation. CASSIAN. "There is no better expedient of security, than to commit all our interest to God, who knows how to give good things to them that ask him." BOANERGES AND BARNABAS. 117 Hi« Pravtr. Ilia prayer. O God, by whom kings reign aud kingdoms flou- rish, that settest up where none can batter down, and pullest down where none can countermand; I, a most humble suiter at the the throne of grace, ac- knowledge myself unworthy of the least of all thy mercies, nay, worthy of the greatest of all thy judg- ments. I have sinned against thee, the author of my being; I have sinned against my conscience, which thou hast made my accuser; I have sinned against the peace of this kingdom, whereof thou hast made me a member: if all should do, O God, as I have done, Sodom would appear as righteous, and Go- morrah would be a precedent to thy wrath upon this sinful nation. But, Lord, thy mercy is inscru- table, or else my misery were unspeakable: for that mercy sake be gracious to me in the free pardoning of all my offences. Blot them out of thy remem- brance for his sake, in whom thou art well pleased. Make my head a fountain of tears to quench that brand my RDI have kindled towards the destruction of this flourishing kingdom. Bless this kingdom, (> God; establish it in piety, honour, peace aud plenty. Forgive all the crying sins, and remove all thy judgment! far from her. Bless, bless her Go- vt Tinir, thy servant, our dread sovereign. Kndue DM Mill with all religious, civil, and princely virtues. Preserve his royal person in health, safety and pros- '2 I 2 118 BOANERGES AND BARNABAS." His Prayer. perity ; prolong his days in honour, peace, or victory, and crown his death with everlasting glory. Bless him in his royal consort; unite their hearts in love and true religion. Bless him in his princely issue; season their youth with the fear of thy name. Di- rect thy church in doctrine and in discipline; and let her enemies be converted, or confounded. Purge her of all superstition and heresy; and root out from her whatsoever thy hand hath not planted. Bless the nobility of this land; endue their hearts with truth, loyalty, and true policy, Bless the tribe of Lew with piety, learning, and humility. Bless the magistrates of this kingdom ; give them religious and upright hearts, hating coveteousness. Bless the gentry with sincerity, charity, and good conscience. Bless the commonalty with loyal hearts, painful hands, and plentiful increase. Bless the two great seminaries of this kingdom ; make them fruitful nur- series both to the church and common-wealth. Bless air thy saints every where, especially those that stood in the gap betwixt this kingdom and thy judg- ments ; that being all members of that body whereof thou, Christ, art head, we may all join in humiliation for our sins, and be made partakers of thy glory iu the kiugdom of glory hereafter. Rs AND BXPA'ABAS. 119 : elicity. The j>n sumptuous mau's/tiiciti/. Tell haul inr babes of bugbears, to fright them into quietness 1 ; or terrify youth with old wires' fables, »<> keep tfa ir wild aflections in awe: such toys may work upon their timorous apprehensions, when whole- some precepts fail, and find no audience in their youthful ears. Tell not me of hell, devils, or dam- ned souls, to enforce me from those pleasures which lhe\ nick-name sin. What tell ye meof law? my soul is sensible of evangelical precepts without the in < dless and uncorrected thunder of the killing let- ter, or the terrible pcriphrase of some roaring Boa- nerges, the tedionsness < I whose language still de- termines, in damnation; wherein I apprehend («od f.r inoie merciful than his ministers. 'Tis true, I bate sot led my life according to the pharisaical xpiare of their opinions, neither ha\e I found judg- ments according t<» tin ir prophecies ; whereby I must conclude that God is wonderfully merciful, or they wonderfully mistaken. How often ha\e they thundered torment against m\ voluptuous life? and \