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'H "ANQQEN EOéT’A.

 

OR, THE

PROPERTIES

Heavenly VVideIn.

INA

SE RMON

PREACHED

the County of S ALOP.

A

3 By Dr. MA TTHE IV ”1} 0 WLE R, Ref-for 0F”‘V”i"”’”"‘*"

 

szdomk juﬁzfed of all her Cbi/dren.

LONDON J
Printed for Ben}. Tooke, at the Sign of the S lnp 111 St. Penis
. Church- Yard. M. DC. LXXXII.

 

 

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T 73‘ not ".nnknoron to fonte of Good Rani, Eliot» Int/c5
“ tbizr plainiSernzon bat/3 been baited b} fame of tbeEphé:
’ ﬁan breedg and what Petﬂ’cutz'om it bat/J ﬁtﬂeredﬁorn

tbe Tongue: of ill-minded men, wbo yet were not jb downb-

I 1}: given, a: to.be preﬁnt in the Houje of’God toitb tbat great

Aﬂémbly beﬁrre ,wbotn‘it woe delivered : Onl} the} beard
of itat ﬁcond‘ band, ‘wz'tb Addition; and Enlargementx,
nfn‘a’l witbfiteb kind of men, wben once tbe] have mounted
the Chair of the Seornﬁtl, Civil”)! ﬂa'all oblige tbe Antbor
to forbear; tbe repeating tbat nnjavour language beﬂorved on
_ _6rtl20dax Clergyﬂcﬂ lair

Pen jbonld'be'tbongbt a: foul m the Mntb tbat utter’d it.
It it objeéled, tbat be tberein medal/ed wit/J Matter: of State,
and therefore ju/tly met with t/Jatfnmttj Reproof. Let the
Sermon‘be read ‘ patientlj, and without Prejudice or Partia-
lit}, and let/Jim be ﬂirgﬂaewed wherein he hath moved
irregularly. and out of t’ 'e Spbere‘ of bi: Proper Calling,
and be will be wbat tbe 023601371! ampz'a obligetls bin: to, viz.
Gentle,_ and eel/ll] entreateof to Retraif bi: Erronr. But if
tbofé'tbat reproach bine on‘tbz‘; account) would no more ”1662--
dle witbtﬁentg'tbatﬂre grzfen' to change, than be dotb witb
Matter: of 8th‘te55'we ﬂould’qni‘ck‘l} enjoy afar more peace-
A -- , able

_ ._ .-.. Lﬂﬁ.‘ mid.“

To the Loyal and Peaceableomi'nded Reader.
noble Worldc It i: range, that he who hath made Divini-
ty the proper Obj of hit Study, for more than forty Team“,
[hoiildﬂi ﬁccldenly ﬂart up a Politician, without ever being

ﬂ) much a: Initiated intothat Myfteyion: School; and that;
theft: Gentlemen, who never were acquainted? with hinz,jhonlol:
know moreofhiin than he doth of hingigelﬁ- Sure he it, he-
never fate at the-Feet of any Machiavel‘or Achitophel, nor-
ever wiﬂ dos pretending to no nzore Policy than what the-
Sacrad Scr' tire: teach hint, Religion: andlxiyal Hone/7y;

and/b mac oft/1e Serpentine ”(i/Hone a: will con/5ft with
that, fb far a: he can attain to it .5 And this‘ he think; will

he ﬁnd the heft Policy in the Conclnlion, the weft ﬂ’mrelyv
ﬁnnded, and, neg} frongly fortiﬁed, againjt the Batterier.
l 8:

of Adam-ﬂy, an Aﬂanltx‘ of Malicio/Io. him. But, it
may be, the fharpneﬁ of hi: Reprooﬁ expoﬁd, hint touthejé
Cenﬁre: .° Indeed, Fierceneﬁ, is jnjtly condemnedjn all,
Men, much more in a Divine, But, it were well, if Men,

. before they condemn when, would. ﬁx? féarch their. own

Regiﬂer, andfee if they (of all other fen) be not, mo ﬁt

. to be ranged with thoﬁ civiygepz, ﬁerce and implacable. en,

whonz, St. Paul prophecyeth of; 2 Tim. 3. 3. That they.
{hould come in the laft days, and nuke them illous
Times. But, doth not thy? agree like Harp an Harrow.
with the ﬁrmer Objeetion, that he i; a, Dealer in Politic/(r,
and yet [harp and biting in hit Reprooﬁ? Snrely, a World;
ly Politician would con/alt his own In tercji, and S aﬁty, and
not expoﬁ hintjElf to danger, by ﬂopping Fury in hi: Gal-
lop, but,wonlcl ﬂatter and daub with nntentpered Mrtar,
and magniﬁ'e nzen for their Religion, when they jnﬂly ole:
ﬁrm the fmarteﬂ Scourge: of the Satvrijt, for their bafe‘

Hypocri/ieg So that I can fee no Worldly W ijclonz in a bold.
Reproof, gr thi: is“ a following too near the Heel: 0 an ill-'
' call, that neay kick backward, and rike out.

natnr’d‘ .
your Teeth. But, if] niaﬂ be cenﬂmd upon that account, it
- . it.

ww ﬁgww 4 A

w w — u— 4“—

To jthelby'al and ’Peucealjle-minded Reader.

it h} tho/e that under/land notl'the great Obligation that lie;
upon our Calling herein, and the great danger we run our
felvex into by our ATegleét. ' And, whether it it ﬁtter to
pleag’e God in the Difeh'arge of our Duty,- or gratifiw’e _"the
Humour: of Men (neither‘wifer nor het'ter natur’d than their
-Nezghbour:) by our linﬁd Silence, . I ‘ leave it to the 31mg-
tnent of the rational and religion? Chriﬂian. Iﬂppoj’e, thefe
Men are Stranger: to‘ Church-Coh'eélx, otherwi e, they might
have renzenzhred that which it appointed fbr b t. John Ba‘pv
tiff: Day, wherein we are taught by our“ Church, to pray -
That we may conﬂa‘ntly {peak the Truth, boldly rebuke
Vice, and patiently {uﬂer for the s‘Trqth’s‘ Sake. And
indeed, 'ins tam iniquae tam patiens Urbis,‘ tam ferreus
ut teneat {e P He that well conﬁdent dedigtﬁt-Yitt . hir
Mind thie‘ Charae‘ZEr of'He-avenl} Wifdom, and then heholdx'
the Face of the Chrzz'ﬂian World, in a true and impartial
Glaﬁ, he will quick find jnch a through-paced Contradi-
‘étion hetween what zfdorn teacheth, and ntojt Men ,praflifé,
that he cannot but conclude, that We of Engltmd, at well .
a: the Cretians of old, are to he rebuked aimmipms, {harply
or cuttingly, that we may be found in the Faith. Tit. I. I 3.
And that if it wax Titus hi: Duty to-do it then, it i: no
leﬂ our: to doit now. And there it no Perfon more oleﬁn--
cable in the Eye: of God and Good Men, than a ﬂattering
and cowardly dauhing Ming/fer, that ﬁath: Men up in
theirFollieJ, and ﬂ) play: t e Rnnagate ﬁ-orn hi: Oﬁee,
goe: down to Tharfhifh when he iijnt to Ninive.

But, whatever wax the Ceca/ion of the Oﬂ‘ence taken again/Z
thi: Dzﬁomje, it i: the Author’: Comfort, that it received
@ﬂtohation front tho/é that heard it,without Prejudice ~5 and
qﬁwa’allj ﬁotn the Reverend judge: ( that then rode our Cir-
cuit) Sir William Raymund and Sir Chriﬁopher Loving,
with whole De lira, had he then comp/yeti, this Triﬂe had
long ago payed not only the Preﬁ, but the Gauntlet all?) hf

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J’S;IZ':E{ Pvlz(:) INJ

Before the Reverend Judges of the Alﬁze
at $4101); on Sunday, the 24th. day of
jWb.t681. ‘

‘—
~ ~

JAM 3 I7-

But tbe Wifdom that 1‘: ﬂow above, 2': ﬁrﬂ pure, then peaee- '
able, gentle and eq/ie to be intreated, ﬁll! of Mercy and
good F Mite, witbout Partialitj and witbout Ibpeerzﬁe.‘ ‘

’ " l:"H E Apoﬂle intending to treat of Spiritual and Hea-
venly Wifdom, that he might the better ac uaint

_ us with the Nature of it, and enable us to iftin—

guilh it from that Earthly, Senfual, and Devililh Wifdom,
which is too much taught and praétis’d amongft men, pro-
pounds this Qleﬂion, at very." 1 3. Who is emﬁ man, mud
endued witb 'Kyzowledge 473mg you? Let him fbew, out of a
. good Convérﬂztiou, bit Work: wit/J Meekﬂe/fr of W z‘fdow. As
if he had faid, Beﬁdes the Seé’t of Gnoﬂz’ckr, crept lately
into the Church, who are great Pretenders to Wifdomg
There are, no doubt, fome of‘yOu that pals for Wife Men,
in your own, and the Worlds Account. NOW. it concerns
B . you

 

 

 

' ' . C 9 D

you to make. good the Opinion the World hath of you,
and. you of your felves, .,by_,being fruitﬁal in Works ofPi-
ety, Juftice and Charity, with all Meeknefs and Humility

which are the pmper and geﬁuine Effects of true Chriﬁian
Wifdom. But, ﬁlth he, If you haVe C3101}. mxeju, bitter
Envyings and Strife, if it fuﬂér any of thofe evilﬁSpirits of
Envy, Hatred, Malice, Uncharitablenefs, Wrath, Strife,
Sedition, 6v. to take poITeﬂion of you, glory not in the
opinion of your Wifdom, neither lye againft the Truth,
ﬁnce you are yet Strangers to any Wifdom, but that which
deferves not the Name, even the Wifdom of the World,
the Flelh, and the Devil. For, faith he, may? 16. Where E712,
ﬂying and Strife is, tbere 73' aixgtmguaias notbizzg [mt Tumult
and Dzﬁrder, Couﬁf/ion, and ever} Evil W ark: Which,
that he might the better convince them of, he here pro-

ceeds to give them a liVely Charaéter Ofthaﬁt'r'ue {piritual

' Wifdom, which cometh down from the Father of Lights:

3'! 5 éywﬁw avcpr'at, (9'6. But the Wifdom, éﬂ‘.

In which wordgwe have obférvable, I . the Dignity oFWif-
domsOriginal slhe is ewes”, ﬂow above. 2‘. The Properties
by which {he may be known and dillin uifhed from that
ammo avoid, Wifdom falﬂy fo call 5 {he is ﬁrﬂ pure,
‘ tben peaceable, 6%. In both which, the Apoftle prefents
Wifdom to us as a beautiful Virgin; and that he may. the
more endear our Affeélions to her, he deﬁribes her to us,
F irft, by the Eminency of her Extraétion, {he is of no lefs
than Divine Parentage and Defcent. Secondly, By the

and Lovelinefs of her Perfon, ﬁrﬁ pure, then peace-

abﬁ: géntle, 69%. And who can behold fuch a Beauty, and
net be ravifhed with it? And {urely, the Reafon why f0
few do fall in Love with her, is, becaule they do not right-
ly know her. They look upon her through the falfe Spe-
Ctacles of the World, the Flefh and the Devil, which re—. '
prefent her to them as a Creature in whom is no Form or
Comelinefs, for which {he {hould be delired. The Apol‘tle ‘
there—

 

- Mifchief, to defraud and over-reach a hat H ._ ,
to entangle. and. involve a Church or Kingdom in a Laby- _

\ . . < 3 >

merefbre doth here draw her Pié’ture to the Life, in all
the feveral Lineaments thereof, and fets it before us, that
we, having our Eye's anointed With the Eye-ﬁlve of Gods
Holy Spirit, may become enamoured of her Beauty.

- I begin to {peak brieﬂy. (as I muft to each Particular) of
the Dignity of Wifdoms Original. She is o’o'owéw, ﬁom above.
The Apoﬁle in the ﬁrﬂt Chap. of this .Epiﬁle, ever], 17.
aflures us, that «DEW. <5me orifocfﬁvi, ‘ m2)! M93139: ’réAaov, det
every good Gift, imd everypelfeéi‘ gift, whethera temporal or
a fpiritual, a Giﬁ: of Nature orof Grace, 2': ﬂow above; and
though all Gifisare not of the fame ﬁze, yet they all come
down from the lame Father of Lights: and Wifdomi is One
Of the brightelt of thofe Lights whereof God is the F ather.-
’Tis one of. the Attributes wherewith God is digniﬁed in
Sacred Scripture, that he is the 0721} IV 1'an God. Row. 16. 27.

both becaufe he is perfeé’dy and inﬁnitely wife in himfelf‘s

and alfo, the Author and Fountain of all Wifdom ( truly

. {0 called) that is in the Creature. There is indeed a great

deal of falfe and ﬁnful Wifdom, whereof, God, who is

Light, and in whom is no - Darknefs at all, cannot be the

Author, whereby men are wife to do Evil to'. .. naive
0116i} Nefgir

rinth of Troubles. and Mife‘ries. Now, this ﬁ‘nful Wifdom

is either Earthly and Worldly, conﬁﬁing inpolitick Fetches ,
to get the good things of this Life, Riches and Honours

5.

into our Poifdiion. and that porfa-é-iveﬁia it W
not whether, rem, rem, .quiq‘ue mode rem : h ro-
feﬂors of this Wifdom, St. Paoircalls, Gui Grifﬁns (papa/goats;
P551191). 3. I9. Moder: of BMW} thing; If , you anatomist?
them, you {hall ﬁnd the, World clofe at their Heam,’ as
Queen Mary faid Calico Was at hers, after it was it)“. Oi‘
fecoﬂdly. It is“ a Senfual Wifdom, conﬁfting in the fubtle
Methods of Luft, and cunning Contrivances of voluptuoujs

’ B 2 an.

‘

hour, . -

 

- .i. i .c-uun

, (4) ,
and fenfual Men, for-the accomplilhing oftheir carnal and
brutifh Deﬁress this is call’d by St. Paul, weéuom 1:55 mpnﬁs,
Row. 13. alt. 4 making Provi/ion for the Flef/a, to fulﬁll tbe
Luﬂ: tbereoﬁ Or thirdly, It is J‘oqumms amp/a, aDevilifh
VVifdorn, whereof, the World at this Day is very full,
which conﬁf‘ts not’ only in the knOwledge and praéfice‘ of .
thofe unlawful Arts of Witchcraft, Sorcery, Necromancy,
(9'13. which the Devil molt commonly teacheth his Votaries,
but alfo, in the imagining, contriving, and putting in Bit- -
ecution, mifchievous Plots and Deﬁgns againl’t the Peace .
and Safety oﬁvKings and Kingdoms, Churches, and Civil
Societies of which pernicious Wifdom, none but the
Prince of Darknefs, the ﬁrft Traytor and Confpirator

'nft Heaven, can be the Author. The Apoﬁle expreﬂy
a ms, ‘that none of thefe three kinds of Wifdom are
from above, waif I 5. _

But there is a fourth kind of Wifdom, which fetcheth it’s
Pedigree from Heaven; and this is fourfoldls I. Intellea'u-
al, conﬁiﬁng in the A&ivity of the Rational Powers of the

' Mind,in the knowledge of Ianguagcsgmd of the Liberal Arts

andScimCﬁSﬂld generally, in- the improving of our natural

 

. -Endowments, by Education,Art,lnduf’try,and Experience:
~ In this kind ofWifdom, St. Step/Jen afﬁrms Mofe: to have

beenﬁmous, A5. 7. 22. And St. Paul Was well ftudied in
the Wifdom- of the Grecian, as appears by his frequent
(hmtatiom of their Poets in his Writi . a. Moral Wif-
dorn, eonﬁfting in a fober, difcreet, an unblameable Car-

ﬂag: and Behaviour of our {elves towards thOfe with whom
”have to do. The Apollle Paul feenn to point at this,in
‘ Epi. 3. 15. See that ye Mk circumﬂ’eﬂbi, not as F 001:, but

a: Wife; and more plainl , Coloﬂ: 4.. 5. Walk in Wifdom to-
ward: them. tbat are wit out (the unconverted Gentiles)
redeeming the Time, 3. Civil Wifdom, conﬁfting in awile
Management of our Civil Affairs both publick and private, ‘
inuﬁnglawful means of avoiding. fuch Dangersas threaten

to

ml," ‘

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Y’t“ “

 

. A C 5')
to. afTault us, and efca ing- the Snares laid for us by a ma-
licious Adverfarys 0 this Wifdom our Saviour fpeaks,

when he bids his Difeiples, Matt. IO. 16, 17. To beware of

Men, and to he wife a: Serpents. 4. Spiritual Wifdom,
eonﬁfting in the right Knowled e of the only true God
and Jefus Chrift whom he hath ent, and in the w’orfhip-
ping and ferving of him after a right manner.

- ' Now, though it. ,be true of thethree former kinds of

Wifdom, that they are o’e’uwf‘vsv, from above 5 (en's )3 0'8 d\ac-
xpx’va; who made thee to dzfer .3 or what haﬂ that; that than

3:13 wot received .3 I Cor. 4. 7.) Yet it is much more true
t

his Spiritual Wifdom, whereof St. fame: here treat—

‘eth: And this alfo is two-fold“: Firft, Speculative, Where-

by the Mind is fayingly inlightned to difcern the things

of God, and the great Myftery of Man’s Salvation .byje-

fus Chriﬁ. Secondly,‘ Praé’cical, whereby a man is ina-
bled to pr0pound a right End to himfelf in all his Aél’ings,
making God the Centre of all his Deﬁres and Delights;
and (in order to the happy Fruition of him) the Du-
ties of Religion his main Buﬁnefs and Concern 5 'giving

all diligence in the ufe of means fer before him, to, make \
his Calling ‘and Eleé’cion fure, and to work out his Salyag,
tion with fear and trembling. This Praétical‘ Wiﬁlom .,

teacheth us {0 to love God, as to keep his Commmandl
mentsa f0 to fear him, as to depart from Evils {o to re—
pent for Sin, as to loath and forﬂake it 5 fo to" believe the
Gofpel, as to obey it, in its molt difficult Preeepts 5 [o
to call upon God, as to lift up pure hands unto him, and
wreftle with him, 'as jacoh with the Angel of theJCovc-
mm, for a Blefling. This Praé’tical Wi dom-isabfolﬂte-
1y neceITary, without which, though we {peak with the
Tongue of men and Angels, and underﬁand all .Myl‘teries,
and all Knowledge, we are but as founding BrafS, or a
tinkling Cymbal. Of this Wildom David f’peaks, PﬁzlJ
171 I. 10'. The fear. of the Lord is the beg-inning of Wifdomj‘

 

.ml .

('6 )'

A good under anding have all the} that do lJir Command.
nzentr. And ob 28. 28. Behold the fear of the Lord,t/:ati.r
W ifdonz, an to depart ﬁoln evil ir Under/ﬁnding. And
this Wifdom is from aboVe, and owes its defcent fromtlm
Father of Lights, after a peculiar manner. F irlt, becaufé
it is no where taught but in the Holy Scriptures, which
are of Divine Infpiration, 2 Tina. 3. 16. The Schools of
Heathen Philofophers have taught us. many excellent Do-
cuments of Civil and Moral Wifdom 5 but to aim with a

fingle Eye, and ﬁncere heart, at God’s Glory in all our
aétings, as our Supreme and ultimate End 5 and to walk

a in the paths of Faith and Obedience, Repentance, Mor-

tiﬁcation, Self-denial, and taking up the Crofs, which on-
ly lead.us to the happy. enjoyment of that End, thefe are
Leﬂbm only taught in the Schools of the Prephets and Apof
ﬁles 5 and St. Paul expreﬂy allures us, that the Holy Scri-
ptures are able to make us perﬁéf and wife nnto Salvation.

Secondly, It is from above, becaufe it is the ﬁngular Gift

of God’s Sanﬁig'izrjg Spirit, and therefore its called Spiri-
tual l’Vifdorn an nderﬁanding, Col. 1. 9.’ ngia per Spiri-
tnnt Ckrlﬂi generatnr, non ingenio noﬂro comparatzir, faith
the Learned Bifhop Davenant on the place, becaufe it is
no: acquired by our Wit and Indultry, but wrought in
us b God’s Holy Spirit. A man can receive nothing, ﬁlth
St. ﬁll/m Baptiﬁ, nnleﬁ it be given bin: ﬁ'o/n above, Johan 7.
And- Catbedran: in Cwlo babet qni corda dooet , He that
xteacheth mcns Hearts this wifdofn, hath his Chair in Hea-
ven. A7022? tlJen, ﬂnoe the Nlerclaandize of tlsia W {ﬁlo/n
air better than tbe Merchandize of Silver, and the Gain
itbe than ﬁne Gold; fince ﬂye i: more precious“ than
Rubin, and aﬂ the tbing: we can ole/ire are not to be
compared to bar, Prov. 3. I4. ﬁnce this is the Wifdom

that caufes a mans {ice to thine, and makes him more ex- '

cellent than his Neighbour; In a word, ﬁnce {he is a Tree
ofLifc to all that lay hold upon her, and every one is

happy

‘ , ( 7 D ' ‘
happy that retaineth hers happy in Life, in Death, and
after Death, to all Eternity 5 Letius take the countiel of
this Apoftle, 74172. I. 5. If any man lack Wifdom, let [rim
mkit ofGQd, 12750 givetl) to 411772872 liberally, and upbmz‘det/J

' _ not, and it [/1411 be given him. And let him aceompany his
Prayers With a diligent ftudy and fearch of holy Scriptures,
by means whereof David profefleth himfelf to have been
Wifer than his Enemies , his Teachers or the Ancients,
Pﬁl. 119. 98, 99, 100. And lafily, If any man want this
Wifdom, let him (as St. Paul advifeth him) become a
Fool, that be, may be wife, I Cor. 3. .18. Lay aﬁde all log-
ty and high-ﬂown Conceits of Himfelf, all proud reafon-

, ings, and perverfe difputings of Flelh and Bloods let

> ‘ him caft away every Imagination, and every high thing

- that exalts it {elf within him againli the Truth, being rea-
dy to ' believe whatfoever Chriit .propounds, and obey
whatfoever he commands, though never fo contrary to

_ his worldly Interefts, or his corrupt and ﬂefhly Principles.

And now, if any of you think you have already at;
tained this Heavenly Wifdom, take heed you do not fa-
criﬁce to your own Nets, or look, like Swans, upon your
own Bofom, as if it grew there 5 but acknowled e, With
all thankfulnefs, your gracious. BeneiaCtor, and et him
that glories, glory in the Lord, who teacheth us the way
of his Statutes, andmdker m to underﬁarzd Wzﬁlomﬁcret—
1}, PszI. 51. 6. -

Now, as the Rivers that come from the Sea, return thi-
ther back again 5 fo this Wifdom coming to us ﬁ‘om God,
will at lali bring us up to the enjoyment of him,.by,
working in us thofe Graces of Purity, Peaceablenefs, Gen-
tlenels, Mercy, and Goodnels, which do fo lively refcmble
him; and by making us like him, will bring us to the
enjoyment of his Beatiﬁcal Viﬁon, I job. 3. 2. And this
leads me, in the {ccond place, to {peak of the Charaé’teriv l
ﬁical Pr0perties of this” Heavenly Wifdom, by which it

may

 

 

 

 

rer
f

<8) .
may be diftinguiih’d from that" which is Earthly, Senfu; ,.
a1, and Devililh. Of each of which lbmething, though
of all brieﬂy. ' ‘ ‘ .

Firﬁ then, {he is pure 5 indeed. coming down from
above, {he mull needs be f0 : for, as is the Caufe, fuch is
the Effect ,it produceth, Now God, (the Fountain of
all true Wifdom in the Creature )he is Ligbt, and in him
2": no darkuqﬁ at all, I job. I. 5. and therefore it .is im-
.poﬁible that any darknefs of Sin or Error {hould pro-
ceed from him. . - .

The Adverb U (3751/, ﬁiﬂ pure, doth nOt obfcurely inti-
mate to us, That urity and Holinefs is the-richeft Jewel
in Wifdoms Cabinet, the chiefel‘t and molt excellent Lei;
fon that {he ‘can' teach us, and that all the other Properties
here fet down, would n0t have. added a Cubit to 'her
Praife, if Purity had not been their Guide and Leader. The
Greek word aiyyﬁ, tranﬂated pure, ﬁgniﬁeth‘ alfo chafte : ‘

light! indeed, Chriftianity (the true VVifdom from above)
is, ofall other, the molt chafte Religion, far beyond that ’
' a of the jam or Mabumetan, re uiring every man to polléﬁ
’hi’steﬂ'el in Sanétiﬁcation an Honour, not in the Lufts
wof Concupifcence, as the Gentiles which know nor~God=
For, ﬁith the Apoﬁfe, God bat/J not called 114 to Unclear}:-
mﬁ, but unto Holineﬁ. I Tlatﬂlzl. 4. 7. And thofe 'Seéts of
pretended Chriftians (the Glzoﬂickr and Mcolaitam' of old,
and the F amilz'fir, and Others oflate) that have taught and
praﬁiIEd unlawful Mixtures and lhameﬁal‘ Lults, they are
oftlmir Father the UncleanS irit,and their Wifdomis Sen-'
fual and Diabolical. IndeedJ" antwme .r is frequently brand-
ed in the Scriptures with the name 0 Lewdnefs and Folly;
particularly, judge: 20. 6. Such Folly as had like to have
coft the Extirpation of the Tribe of Benjamin, and met
with a fudden Stab fiom the hand of Phineas, upon the
Pcrfons onz'r/zri and Corbi. But, I lhall not conﬁne “the
/ VVord

C 9 )
- VVord to Challity alone, but taking it in a larger Senle,
obferve,

Firft, There is a Purity of Doé’trine and of Praétice,
and the Wifdom from above is pure both thefe ways. Firfl,
She holds fall the form of Sound Words, (as the Apollle
chargeth Timothy) and earnefily contendeth for the Faith
which was once delivered to the Saints. jade 2;. 3. She
hates all chOpping and changing in Religion and Worlhip,
and accounts it the greateﬁ Folly" imaginable, to run after
every newofangled Guide,(like Children after Butter—Eyes)
and to be like a Ship without Lading or Ballaft, whiflied
about with every Wind of Doctrine. Secondly, This
Wifdom keeps us not only pure from Error and ’Herefie,
but alfo, from Iniquity. It hath been ever the malicious
Policy of the Devil, to divide and feparate (What he can)
between a pure Faith and an holy Lifes to make thofe who
are found in Judgment, to be impure and vicious in Con-
‘verfations and thofe whofe ConVerfation is unblarneable,
to be unfound in Judgment: But, neither ofthefe are Wifo ,_
doms Children, who accounts both thefe to be equally ‘
bad, the Erroneous Mind, and the Vicious Life 5 and
therefore {he {indies to hold fall the Myftery of Faithjn
a pure Confcience, I Tim. 3. 9. We may with Truth'aﬁd '
Confidence afﬁrm, that we enjoy the pureﬁ and bell Re- ' '
llglon in the Chriftian World. But alas! How great and
general is the Decay of Chriftian Piety amongfl us, and
how few, very few, make it their Buﬁnefs to adorn their
Religion with an holy Life. ,.

Secondly, There is a Puri of the inward, and of the
outward Man, and this W' dom takes efpecial Care of
borhs according to St. Paul’ s Exhortation, 2 C orimtb. 7. I.
Let u cleanjé our felve: from allPollutiom bot/a of tbe Flejb
andSpirz'tg and that of St. game: 4. 8. Cledﬁﬁ your Hands,
you S irmers, and puriﬁe your Hearts, ye double-minded.
F irlt, This Wifdom keeps th:3 Heart with all diligence,

will

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C 10 ) ’
will not fuﬁer it to give any welcome Entertainment un-
to Sin. Though Corruptions -befet us, and intice 'us dai-
ly, yet Wifdom fo keeps the Heart, as that it will not
clefe with themg and if it be overcome with the Preva-
Ienc and Im rtunit of T ~' tation, it can trul fa”
WithySt. Paul, PIC; is ch Evil 3:]: I hate. This ‘Wiyfdorii
alfo puriﬁes the Life, and caufeth us to obey ﬂow the
Heart, the ﬁrm of Dogrz'ne wherezmto we are deli-
vered.‘ Row. 6. I 7. To dedicate our {elves inti rely to
the Service of God, and to walk before him in Holinefs
and Righteoufnefs all the days Of our Life. Many, With

the old hypocritical Pharifees, Make clean the outﬂde of the

'Cup and Platter, whilﬂ within. they are fall of Exthrtz'on and
Exeeﬁ‘: But Wifdom teacheth us to czean‘ﬁ we the infide

' "-offh‘e'Cu‘p ahd'Piatter, that the out—ﬁde may he 'elean hlﬁ).
~Ma't. 23. 26. And it is one part of pure and undcﬁled Reli-

‘ gion, to keep ourﬁhve: m: Medfrom the World. Jam. I. 27..

" rity ofContrition, washing the"!

so'llhgégiya There is a , .
' ‘u ‘ '. Jthe‘i‘mrsiif ' 1‘ 'Sdn‘owfor'Sins ‘ "and a
Purity o’i‘ ochvaﬁmgxﬁnhrrgthe Soul Wm forfei-
king of Sin for the 'I‘iihe to come, and-the Wifdom that
is from above, joyns both thefe together: it opens our

‘ Eyes, to behold the Vilenefs of Sin, theOppoﬁtion it car-

ri'es ‘init "to the pure Nature of’God, and to his holy and
righteous Laws; and fo n.0t only caufeth' us tomoumfor

our pal’t Tranfgreﬁions,’ibu‘t’ alfb, to Ely-Gem Sinfa's ‘ﬁ'om
- the Plague, or from the Face-of a Serpent that would

defhfoy us. 1 And this Purity'that aﬁﬁthjfmmifound Re-

 
      

‘ gis‘the-ouh' 1:le mérta‘mom it"felﬂ
ﬂick é _‘ ﬂ) ﬁnwekI‘QTﬁys M604. Yea,
"this Mom, t ‘ erh’éﬁ‘gnét (mlyto abfiain' from Sin,

Blit‘fiomall Occalio‘ﬂéﬂmt‘m lead ussto it, as knowing
wen, how expedient his‘ﬁihitnthat WOUI‘d ~n0t'fall-‘in-
19' a Pit, not tO‘COYné'hear‘ﬂié Briﬁkiofitiy ‘ ‘

,. There are yet two Prqpérﬂeé‘by'Which thiSJ'WiiBOm
'ﬁ‘O'm above difcovers it’s Purity. Firﬂ’,

“3“:le nan-d ‘

. C I I ) ~

Firft, It will riot mix it (elf with Worldly Ends and
Deﬁgns. It, is nor turn’d about with the Gales of Cove-
toufneﬁ, Ambiti0n, Popularity, or Vain-glory. .She fcorns
to turn her Sails to receive fuch Winds as thefe: She looks
not aﬁluint at a Kingdom, as jelm did, whilfl he pretend-
ed Zeal for the Lord ofHoﬁs: But, it aims with a ﬁngle
Eye, at the Glory of God, the Welfare of Religion, the
Profperity of the Church, the Peace and Happinefs of the '
Kingdom, and the Good of all Chrillian and Civil Socieo

~ ties ; and although in times Of Danger {he takes in Civil

Wifdom for her Aﬂiflant, and teacheth us thereby our
Saviour’s Leﬂbn, To beware ofMen, and be wifem Serpentr;
not fuﬂering us ralhly to call our felves into Danger, 0r
expofe- our felves to the Tyranny of an Enemy, that Would
fain ride over our Heads;~ yet, {he will not allow us any
unlawﬁll Arts of Safety, not any lying Subterﬁlges, or
Prevarications about .the Truth; which is, indeed, a plain
betraying of our Religion when ‘we are called to defend
it, a forfaking of our Colours, and ﬂying over to the Ene-
my. He that will thus fave 'his Life in this World, is in
danger of loﬁng it hereafter to all Eternity. Mat. 16.05.
When the Chriftians in the Primitive Times had learned
that Trick of giving Money for Certiﬁcates from the Hea-
then PriePcs, that they had facriﬁced to their Idols, when
indeed they had not done it, they hereby brought Diﬂio-
nour upon their Religion, and were iuﬁly caft out of the
Communion of the Church, and not rel‘tored again, till
they. had tefliﬁed the 'Sin'cerity of their Repentance by a

' fevere courfe of Penance and Mortiﬁcation. True Chri-

ﬁian Wifdom, as it forbids us to court or provoke a Dan-

, gar, (fbr this is to lead our {elves into Temptation) {o it

orbids us to decline it, when we are called to encoun-
ter It. - - ' .
Secondly, this pure W ifdom'Will not dare to do Evil,
that Good may cdme thereof: She will not {uﬂer a Manto
. C 2 come

 

 

 

.. . . any”... “W—

C I 2 )

come near this Rock, left he wrack ﬁrfi his ConfCience,
and after his Soul" upon it: No pretence of doing Evil,
In ordine ad Demiz é“ Eecleﬁ‘am, for the Glory of God,
or the advancin or fecuring the True Religion, or any
other good Endg, can miniﬁer the leaPc Umbrage of an Ex-
cute to them that {hall prefume to do Evil in, order to-
thofe good Ends: neither may we {Eek to'avoid the great—
eft Evil of Punifhment, by committing the leafi Evil of .
Sin. The Martyrs would not caft a Grain of Incenfe into'

the Fire, though it were to fave their Lives; and . At/m-
mfﬁw refolved rather, Mutare S edem quam 8111464712, to
part with his Bilhoprick, (the fecond, at that Time, in the
Chriftian World) than ive way to the changing a Sylla-
ble of the Nicene Creeci compofed againﬁ the Arriam.
In a Word, no Intention of any good End, can warrant
the choice of any {inﬁll means to accomplifh it. God will
have no breaking of one Commandment to fecure anorherg
no Treafon or Rebellion to prevent Idolatry or Superfti-
tion 5 no throwing away Religion, as the ﬁmple Travel~
ler doth his Purfe, for fear of loﬁng it by the hand of
the High-way man. He that dares truft God and his Re-
ligion, (which is God’s alfo as well as ours) he will not

. be fo jaded with the Fear of Popery, as to, aék any thing

contrary to the Principles of his own far founder Proﬁli-
on: and therefore, if we pretend to. pure Wifdom, let us
have no, depofing and murthcring Kings and Sovereign
Princes 5 no changing of a Monarchy into a Common-
wealths no doing any aét of Injuﬁice to ﬁve the Stake of
Reli 'on, which is the higheﬂ: Aﬂront --we can offer 'to
the rovidence of the Almighty, as if he were not able-to
fuccour us in our (greateft Streights, and work out Delive-
rance for us, unle s we piece up his Providence by unwar—
rantable Means. Will ye talk wicked!) for God .3 7012. 13.7.
And may not I- add, Will ye aét wickedly for him? Let
mans. Zeal for Religion be as. great as is pretendeds Let
us:

 

I

:1; vsw.gﬂg,,. . W“?—

 

. C I 3 3
us charitably believe, there lurks no Snake in the ffnbodi
Grafs, no Cloak of Godlinefs to cover mens Malicioufnefs,

' ,. but that their Intentions are really the fame they appearto

be; yet fure I am, if they cannot fecure Religion by good
means, they ought nm to attempt it by bad 5 for, if they
wiﬂ do Evil that Good may come thereof, the Apolile alfures
me, their Damnation 73‘ juﬂ. Row. 3. 8.

You have feen wherein the Purity of this Heavenly
Wifdom doth conﬁft. And oh! that we would all betake

' our {elves to the ferious Study and Praétice thereof. In“-

deed, the prophane Sons of elial, and thofe that ﬁt in.

. the Seat of the Scornﬁil, may account this pure and unde-

filed Religion to be no better than Folly and nice Scrupu-
loﬁty: But, the Time will come, when it will be an un-
deniable Truth, that the pious, honefl, and unblameable
Life is the beft Wifdoms and that the Wicked Ac/Jitopkel,
whofe Counfel is now taken for an Oracle, will be found
at laft, to be a Coulin-German to a Fool, as his Name ﬁg-
niﬁes, and he be forced to cry out with Cicero, when he
was tbrfakcn by Auguﬂw, and expofcd to- the Fury of Marl;
Ant/Jon}, his implacable Enemy, 0 me Miﬁarum .’ 0 me
mquzow S apientem ! For, this is the glorious Triumph of
pure'Wifdom, That {he gets her felf to be juliiﬁed, not...
only by her own Children, butalfo, by her very Enemies-5
and not only good Men {peak well of her, but» wicked Men
alfo, are forced, from the Convicﬁion of their own Con-
fciences, fometimes to praife her in the Gates: Yea, this
is that heaven-1y Wifdomwhieh not only brings us to the
Sight and Fruition of God, Mat. 5. 8. but alfo, it ﬁts and
prepares the SOul for Heaven, without which, Heaven
would be no Paradife or place of Pleafure to us. Could
a Wicked man be in Heaven 'with all his impure Luftsabout
him, he would no more endure the Brightnefs of that glo-
rious Place, or the Bleﬂed Communion ofSaints and Angels
there, than Bats and Owls can endure thC bright {hining
Light of the Sun. But

a?

(14)
Biff fecondly‘, As the Wifdom which is from above is

"ﬁrft pure, f0 it is alfo peaceahle. Arid n0 marvel {he is {0’

fmce {he is always attended upon with Charity, which is
the Bond of Peace. jerufalem which is above, the place
whence this Wifdom defcends, ’ﬁgniﬁes a Vgﬁon of Peace5
and God the Father of Lights, from whom ﬁre is fear, is
frequently filled the God of .Peaceg and Chriﬁ, the Wifdom
of the Father, is called the Prince 0f Peace, Ifa. 9. 6. and
was honoured at .his Birth with the {butting upof 7am:
his Temple, the Roman: Emblem of an univerfal Peace
throughout their Empire, and with an Antheme of Peace,
rung by a (Zgire of Angels, Glory to God WI high, am! on
Earth Peace. Luc. 2. 14.. and went out of the World with
a Legacy of Peace. job. 14. 27. Peace I leav/e with yea, M}
Peace I give unto you. And the Holy Ghofi, the Donor of .
all true Wifdom, he is the Spirit of Love and Peace, and
ﬁll: our Heart: with joy and Peace in helieviﬁg. And the
Book wherein this Wifdom is taught, is ﬁiled the Goﬁel of

Peace, not only revealing to us the glad Tydings; of our

Peace and Reconciliation with God, purchafed for us by
the Death of his Son, but alfo {iriétly enjoyning us, if it he
poﬂihle, as much at in #4 lies, to live peaceahl} with all men.
Rom. la. 8. No marvel then, ifWifdonB Motto be one
of Chrifts Beatitudes, Beati paciﬁ’cig or that of David,
Pﬁzl. no. 6. I am for Peace, for Peace in the Church, that
there be no Rent in Chrifis feamlefs' Coat, no Schifms
amongft thofe that have all one Lord, one Faith, one Bap—
tiﬁn 5 no Crumblings of the Church into Factions and
Seas, whereby {he is become borh ridiculous to her‘Ene- ’
mics, and unable to defend her fclf: Again, {he is for
Peace in Kingdoms, States, and Civil Societies, that all that
are in Authority may prefer a fafe- and well-grounded
Peace before a thoufand Vi&ories and Triumphs, and that
all thatare under the Yoak of Government, may ﬂhw't
themﬁlve: to ever} Ordiaaace of Man, for the Lord: fake, a

' that

 

 

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\ that they may all ﬁar God and the King, and not meddle ‘

with them that are given to Change. Prov. 24.. 2 I. Some, as
the Learned Bifhop Andrew obferves, interpret the Word
Dim Shenit‘n, Seditious Perfons, that with S helm blow _
the Trumpet of Rebellion, and Fay, .We have no part in
David: Others render the Word, Detraétors, meddle not
with thofe that have Teeth in their Tongues to gnaw the
Name and Honour of their Rulers, that take Pleafur-e in

, defpiﬁng Dominion, andfpeaking'Evil of Digniries. Thus

is Wifdom for Peace in Church and State, that all men
may {tudy to be quiet, and may' do their oWn Buﬁnefs,
and may in that, Station wherein the}! are called, therein «(hide
with God. I Cor. 7. 24. Nor doth {he only emplOy her
Tongue torpraifePeace, or pray for it, but {he 'uf‘eth 'her
befl Endeamurs to procure it Where it is wanting, and to
continue it where ’tis begung And to that-end, {he [trift-
ly‘binds all her Scholars mm to do the leaft Wrong or ‘In- ,
jury unto any, but to praé’cice that golden Rule which
ourSaviour commends, as the Sum of the Law and the
Prophets, W hat/oever you would that Men jhonlddo to you,
do ye even ft to them. Matt. 7. 12. Yea, {he is (0 reat a
Lover of Peace, that fhe is a Peacemaker among thofe p

that are at Variance, Prepping in between ”them, as Maﬁ:

"did between, the, two contendin ‘Hehrezw, and fay mg,
Sim, Te are Brethren, Whjtheye mg vn’eto another .3
Now then, ﬁnce it is the infeparable Propertygof true
Wifdorn, to'be‘Peaceable, How far are theyfromWifdom
that are'turbulent and faétious? That inﬁeadof‘l‘tud—ying
1'6 he j," ie't, (as the Apoﬁle enjoyns us) Rudy/to be ungui—
fraying» make ‘it their Buﬁnefstodifturb our ‘Waters, be-
‘Cauf’e‘their‘beft ﬁfhing is in them, when they run muddy
andltro'ubled ?' A in, Howﬁn‘ are they 'from'Puritya 110t-

,Withﬁahc’iin'gaht eir Prettnces to it, that are met Peace-

":ihle, fince ‘the Wifddm from above is bath-P There are a
fort of Men, -that' would needs be accounted religious;
' , and

C 16 >

and yet do {‘0 behave themfelves, as if their Religion con~
lifted in nothing but a faélious Oppoﬁtion to Authority, '
and Difturbance of the publick Peace. But, as the Em-
perour F rederiek fent this Meﬂage to the Pope, together
with the Coat-armour of one of his Bilhops, taken in at‘lu-
a1 Rebellion againﬁ him: Vide an bereft} tnm’ca ﬁ‘lz'z' mi .3
-Is this your Sons Coat.> Is this a becoming Garb for him,
who, by his Profeﬁion, ought to be a Meﬂenger of Peace?
80 I may fay to thofe that pretend to Piety and Purity,
and yet are reﬁlefs and unpeaceable, Is this the Badg and -
Livery of a Chriﬁian? Both our holy and immaculate Re-
ligion abett or countenance fuch faétious, and unpeaceable
Doin 5? Far be it from our Thoughts! For, this were to
.transérm the Prince of Peace into a Mlocb, a Delighter
in Humane Sacriﬁces. Are n0t Peace and Holinefs joyn’d
together by St. Paul, Helm 12. 14. as well as here by St.
jame: .3 And if we will be Chriftians indeed, and enjoy -
the BlelTed Viﬁon of God," we mull joyn them both in
our Pmélice, and follow them both. I heartily wifh all
Men were as godly as fome pretend to be 5 for, then I am
fure, they would be more peaceable, and not dare to put
.afunder what God hath joyned together. OurBlefTed Sa~
viour, whofe Example ought to be our Copy, was Harm-
lefs as well as Holy. Heb. 7. 26. And,I would have all men
who pretend to Pict , to fearch the Records of Sacred
Scripture, to ﬁnd (i they can) any Perfon regiftred for a
Saint, that was of a turbulent and unpeaceable Spirits and
if they {hall pitch upon Elias his Spirit for their Warrant,
let them remember the Check which Chril‘t gave his Dill
.ciples for doing f0, Te know not what manner of Spirit ye
are 0 . Chriftians are to live in a cooler Element than that
of F ire. You are to partake of my meek and pcaceable Spi-
rit, that defcended upon me at my Baptifi‘n, in the Shape
of a Dove, an Emblem of Peace, and not in the Sha of
an Eagle, that carries (as the Poets fabled) jupz‘ter’s -

derbolt

 

”C ‘17)

'derbolt in her Beak. Therefore, ‘unl'els we will be called
Chriftians’ in Coiztuozélz‘am C briﬂi, as 8412112172 faith, to
the Reproach and Difhonour of Chrilt our Mailer, let
us Rudy and praé’tife this -Wifdom which is pure and.
peace/1121.9. ' ~

‘ The next property of Wi-{dom is, {he is mam, gent/e,
(0 our Tranﬂators render it, but the Word admits ofa
various Confiruétion. 1. She is Courteous, fo the Word
is render’d, A5. 24.. 4. @9égatgitt3 aixgo'od a? iﬂéovv UUV’TO/{st
75 oil ﬁaxégo' I Zoe/cool) tkee oftb} Courteﬂe or Clo/72cm},
hear u: a few Wordr. And indeed, heavenly Wifdom
cannot but be an Enemy to all Rudenels, Roughnefs,
and Uncivility : It calls upon us to be courteous, I Pct,

3. 8. And, this Apoﬁle allures us, That if any man fema-

to be religi0115,'.dﬁd bridle: not bi»: Tongue, ' float 7724713 Re-
ligion is vain. ' '

. 2.“She is equitable, fo (is the Word 918x445. gene-
rally ufed amOng prophane Authors, Homer, Ari/lode,
Plutorc/J, (he. And indeed, Wifdom cannot but be a
Friend to Equity, ﬁnce Chrift, the Wifdom of the Pa-
ther, hath commended to our confla-nt Praftice, this

Rule Equity, as the Sum of the Law and the Pro- .. ~

phets, or the whole Duty of Man, in reference to the
Second Table, W boyoever ye would tbat men, 8m. :1 Rule
{0 excellent, that the Emperour Alexander Swarm (tho’
an Heathen) his (aid to have reverenced Chril‘t and Chri;
ﬂianity for it, and caufed it to be engraven on the Doors

of his Palace, and on all publick Places of the City of.

Rome, @5051 tibi ﬁerz' 22072 227's, alteri 72o feceria: How
much below that Heathen {hallwe Chriliians be, if WC
praétife not what he fo highly commended!
3. She is moderate5 f0 is the Word ufed, Pbilz'p. 4. 5.
mi Gwen’s tic/49:3}, Let your Moderation be known to all
Zl’len. And indeed, heavenly Wifdom teacheth us to
keepaDecorum in all thingkefpecially in Religion d
an

VC 18 ) .

and to that .~ purpof‘e,‘ though it. allows and encourageth
our Zeal for its yet ﬁrft, It fuﬁers it not to- ﬂy at the ‘
Throat of any thing, till it be fully affured’, that it is an
Evil, and fuch an one as is not to be borne, left we fall
into the ralh Error of the Iﬁaeliter, that would punifh
the Reubem’ter for erecting an Idolatrous Altar, when at
hit it proved to be but an harmlefs Altar of Witnefs...
30/79. 22. 21. Secondly, It uides our Zeal With Difcre-
tion, and fuffers it not witgh jelm to driveon ﬁlriouﬂy,
but where there is jul‘t Caufe; nor to handle her Razor
ralhly or inadvifedly, left Whilft it aims at the Deﬁru-
&ion of Vice or Error, the Life of Truth and Religion:
be cndanger’d by its and leal‘t by her Eagernefs againft.
the Tares, the Wheat in God’s Field be pluck’d up with.
them. Thirdly, It obligeth all men to act Within the.
Sphere of their proper Callingsg and allows _ not every
one to turn Church or State-Menders, or take the. Sword-
into their hands, to punilh or reform, but. thofe only
who are thereunto lawﬁtll-y called. 7The ‘ Church-1 of
England hath on. this account, mere jufl'. tank-of glory.-
ing, than many Reformed Churches in Cbriﬂendow; viz.
That her Reformation was every way regular, being-
’ n and carried on by Publick Authority, and. con-
ﬁrmed by Laws and Royal Sanétions 5 and had nOthin ,
of Tumult or Diforder in it, as all Reformtions emu,
neceﬂarily have, more or lefs in them, that have-not up-
on- them the Stamp and Imprellion of Royal or Sovereign
Authority. ‘ -

But Laﬁly, It is a gentle Wildom, as our Tranllators
render it, and that in» three Refpeﬁs. Flrf’c, As It {lands-
in Oppoﬁtion to ﬁriﬁ and rigorous juﬂice: a It teacheth.
the Zudgc not to be juﬂrovermuch’, as Solomn. adviﬁth,
Bcc f 7. I6. but to fuﬁjer Mercyto Rep in, and. mode--
rate the Severity of fame Penal Laws, efpeciial-ly where
there is jul‘t caufc of their! Mitigation,9iri*rcfa=encei’ :10

' t e-

. . ’C I 9 )
the Partiesoﬂirnding 5‘ or where the Law was made at
ﬁrft, rather in terrorem, to keep unruly Spirits id Or-
der, than for a conﬁant ﬁanding Rule of Obedience.
Secondly, It is gentle, as it {lands in Oppofition to ralh
Anger 5 for, though that furpiizing Pallion may pafs
fometimes through the Heart of a Wife Man, yet it rqﬂr
only in the Boﬂwz of Fools. Ecclef.‘ 7. 9. A Wife Man in-
tends to ufe Anger only as his proper Phyﬁck, though
{emetimes he may mifiake the Quantity or Frequency of
his Dofesbut the 'Fool ufeth it as his cOnliant Diet:
Wifdom~ therefore teacheth us to be angry, and nor to
ﬂu, or at lcal‘t, it keeps us ﬁ'Om giving way to the De~
vil, and making him our Bed-fellow, by fuffering the
Sun to go down upon our Wrath. Thirdiy, It’s‘gan-
tle, as it (lands in Oppoﬁtion to Revenge. It will not
fuffer a Man to be overcome of Evil,but it teacheth us to
conquer by Suffering, to overcome Evil with Good,
. and f0 to heap Goals of Fire upon an Enemies Head.
And though this be an hard Leflon, yet this Wifdom
from above will eﬂeé’cually teach it to thofe that givetup
themfelves to be ruled and guided by her, by fetting be~
. fore them not only the Commands of the Gofpel. to. this
purpofe, (and What do we foolour (elves, by profeﬂing'a
Religion which .we will not obey?) but all?) the Copy
of Chrilis Example, who was meek: and lowly in Heart,
and expreﬂy told his Difciples, that he Came not into
the World to call down Fire from Heaven to deliroy
mens Lives, much. 106 to fetch: it up from Hell, but to
lavethem. Luke 9 554313 - ' '
. The next Branch of Witﬁoms Character is, {he is
Euweaaﬁs; which Word, I find among Interpreters ren-
dered fometimes in the Aé’tive, but more, frequently in
the Pafﬁve Senfe. Lorim renders it aé‘tively, gently
enneaﬁilg’.or‘perli1adiug: And indeed, the pmper way
oPWifdoms teaching is by the mild way of Perﬁtaﬁon,
' D a

and

 

 

ii.
ll‘

<20)
and not the rigorous way of Compulﬁon: Non oi,
ﬁd ﬁavitate , (ﬁ- ( gag/i ) blanditz'ir utitur. Indeed ,
{he is an, Enemy to willful Obﬁinacy , and can-
not endure (after having ufed all rational and gentle
means of Conviction in vain) to fee her Laws and Law-
makers trampled upon with the Foot of fcomful Pride
and Contradiction : But, though {he lay a juft re-
ﬁraiiit upon the‘outward Man, and fometimes (as her laﬂ:
Reﬁage) inﬁiCts her Cenfures upon the ﬁubborn Schifma-
tick, and hath Recourfe to. Secular Authority for her
Aﬂiﬁanceherein, without which, no Order or Govern-
ment can be maintained 5- yet {he is far from impoﬁng a
new Creed Upon the Confciences of Men, as the late
Council' of Trent did 5 or requiring any thing to be be- '
lieved' or praé’tifed, as neceilary' to Salvation, but what
Gods Word either particularly, .or by general Confe-
quence propoundeth or enjoyneth 5 and ufeth no other
Arguments but thofe of Reafon and Perfuaﬁon, to! caufe.
us to embrace her Tenents. Romy}: Policy, is- all fbr
Force and Violence, and would have her Reli -' on eve~
ry where to ride triumphant upon the Top 0 a Lance.
She teacheth all-her Scholars to conclude all their Syl-
logiﬁns in'Ferio 5 if the Heretick will n0t turn and re-
cant, to the Stake with him, and let him be conﬁned-
with Fire and Faggot 5 bei herein, like the Tyrant
Nab}? of Lacedemou, who, w en he could not. perfuadc.
his Citizens to. part with their Money, fennhem to his
Wife Apega, which was a. terrible Engine, framed on
purpofe, by him, to fqueeze and force them to it. But,
how contrary is this to the Pattern of our Bleﬂed Je-
ﬁas ! who, in the days of his Flelhly Abode with us,-
made it his Buﬁnefs to draw men to the Profeﬂion of his
Truth, with the Cords of Love, and eaﬁe Bonds of
Reafon and Perfwaﬁon, but not to propagate Religion
by the Sword, or to beat out mens Brains with a Pole-
Axe,

.6'
3.; ,a-r-r
/

.. . ,-— ..r- 9.-. .dti—Lig

~ C 21 )
Axe for refuﬁng it. The Doé’crine dc Heretico Comm:
reﬂdo was unknown to the Primitive Chriflians, who
inflead of compelling men to believe the' Gofpel, did
not once draw the Sword fo much as in defence of it,
for three hundred Years: and yet it. profper’d then more:
by fuﬁering, than’aﬁerward by ﬁghting for it.

But fecondly, We will take the Word Euwaﬁﬁs, as In—
terpreters enerally render it, in the Pafiive Senfe: She
is eaﬁe to intreated. F acilé bani: rationibm perﬁm-
derifeﬂm’t, f’aith Eﬂiw; She fufrers her felf to be eaﬁly- -
perfuaded by good Arguments and Reafons: {he ﬁands
in a direét Oppoﬁtion to thofe whom the Apoﬁle Peter
calls «32252369645, 2 Pet. 2. IO. Self-willed and inﬂexible
Perfons, of whom the World is. at this day very full;
Men that are refolved to pleafe themfelves in every
thing, to abound in their own Senfe, and fing their own
Song, though their Nore be tOthhCrS, as harm as that of
the Screech-Owl. - '

But the W zfdow from above-is tractable and yielding,
efpecially in thefe two Cafes : ‘

F irfl, If any thing-that is Pious, Juli, or Cha ' ble, be
propounded to her, {he readily clofes with it, nd con-‘-
tributes her belt aﬂiflance to it : She hath not her Ears
in her Feet, to. run away from the poor diﬁreﬂed Sup-
plicant, ( as it was raid of Dionlliw' jlmior' ) ' but {he
hath them in her Head, alwayes Open to hear the Cryes
of the Poor and Needya Efpecially, {he is careﬁll‘ftill
to referve one Bar to the Accufed Party, and ‘never to
conclude any thing againft him, till {he ‘hath‘hea-rd’him
{peak for himfelf:

Secondly, If any better Information'be prefented to
her, touching any Matter, thani {he had before, {he is
eaﬁly wrought upon to entertain it. If any Centrover-J

he be clear’d. up to, her Judgment, wherein the was be.‘

fore:

 

 

i ii, I ('22)

 

l.

‘ﬁar’e-miflaken, {he prefently layes down her Weapons Of

Difputation, and is ready to lay, Errare poﬂitm, Hereti-
ew eﬁ nob-5. Though I have been in an E-rrour, I: will
n0t be an Heretick: Nor doth {he think it 'any Difpa-
ragement to her fell; to ﬁrike Sail, and fubrnit to con-
vincing Reafon, when it’s laid before her 5 but is Wil~
ling to undeceive her deluded ProfelthS; thou h with
the hazard of her own Reputation, and is rea y With
good 'St. Axgnﬂin, to write Retraétations; and is now as

- much pleafed in conﬁﬁing her Error, as fhe was before

in maintaining it. But, alas 1 Men are generally too
proud to be thus ingenious, and too wife to think them-
ﬁlves inan Errour 5 They love to fix that Infallibility
in their own Breafts, which they have juftly denied to
the Chair of St. Peter. Too many are of the old Va-
lentim'am Refolution, Q1106! volumw juﬁum fiméfuque
riﬂe debet 5 Thatwhich we will have, {hall be true and
good, whoever gainfayes it. And rather than they will
yid’dfto any thing you can alledge, they are reﬁblved

not to read what is written agrénl’e their Errour, nor
come 11 thofe Places where they may meet with Re-

proof; feel the edge of Conviction 5 and, when un-
willingly they meet with it, they cry out, Hafl thou
me, 0 wine Erie/a] éand wifh it lay in their pow-

er to confute the plain-dealing Micah/2, as the jew: did
St. Stephen, with Stony Arguments. Nay, rather than
ﬁlffer themfelves to be perfuaded, they are refolved to
maintain Contradictions : And thofe very men that late-
ly inveighed againfl: Toleration, as the ready way to
bri in Popery, {hall afterward turn Advocates to
plea for this But, or Babel ( which you pleafe) as the
belt means to keep it out : And if the Satyr could not
cndure the man thathreathed Hot and Cold om of‘the
ﬁmeMouth, how {hall Wifdam do it? So that the Con.
verﬁon

 

(23) .

verﬁOn of Fame men from the 'Errour of their Wayeg.
may be expected with as much h0pe of Succefsa as
the Countrey—man in Horace expeé’red when the Ri-
ver would run dry: At ille labitur @ labetur in 0172718

[mirth/in” mum. at
I dare not inlarge upon the following Characters of
Wifdom. She is merciful, full of compallion to all that
.' are in mifei'y, and ready both-to give and forgive. oFor
fhe well knoWs, that by giving to the Neceﬂitie’s of
Others, we make God our Debtor, to repay us with
Intereft 5-. and by forgiving our Brother. his hu'mfte‘d
pence, we may procure the ten thoufand Talents which
we owe to God, to be {truck off our Tally, and char-
ged upon the perfect and fatisfaé’tory Accountiof our _
dearPLedeemer. She fets before us that rexaé’t Copy to
Write after, Be ye merciful, a, your Heavenly Father is
mercz'ﬁrl, Luke 6. 36. and 'threatneth yudgwent without
Mercy to them that [hem ”one, James 2. 13. She knows,
that the bell Ufe we can put our Riches to, is to make
them. our Friends, Luke 16. 9. and to trafﬁck with them
for a far better Merchandize than. that of Silver and
Gold: to fow Temporal and tranﬁtory things, and reap
the Harvcl-l of a bleﬂed Eternity : She is therefore full
ofMepcy 5 doth not conﬁne it only. to _ the Heart, (1'.
the Bowels of Compafﬁon, ‘ but {he opens her Eyes to be—
hold the Necefﬁties of the Aﬁliéted, and her Ears to
hear their Complaints, and makes her Tongue the Pen
of a ready Writer, to {peak comfortably to them, yea,
and. i to plead their Caufe for them. And laﬁly, {he
ﬁreteheth out her hand to lift them up, and opens it in
Bounty to relieve and Succour them. according; to her
Ability. And this Mercy {he extends to all 5 the lG'VCS
not to be conﬁned, or {hut up with IDiRinétioris, or-Li-
initatiOnss And though the Apoﬁle direét her ttl') in—
, . urge

 

 

 

WW”

(24)
large her Bounty to the Houlhold of Faith, yet {he is
willing to take every one that hath the Chriftian Sig-
nature upon him, as one of that Houfholds and ’not
(as is the manner of fome ﬁraight-lae’d Sehiﬁnatieks)
to eonﬁe it to fueh a Seét or Party. But if he be aMan,
much more, if a Chriftian, and miferable, {he makes
:hafte to relieve him 5 She is {0 full of Mercy, that {he
'lova it as God requires, M’z‘mb 6. 8. She is glad of any
.oceaﬁon or Opportunity to {hew it. I: there 477]]61' left
of the Han/é of Saul, to whom I may [bew- kirzdﬁe/r, ﬁr
joﬂathan”:ﬁzke .2 2 Sam. 9. I. So faith Wifdom, Is there
no Lazar to feed and eloath, no Widdow. to vilit, no
-Wounds to bind up, no weak Brother to be reftor’ed,
none that ﬁt. in the Darkneﬁ of Err-our, to be conver-
ted and brou ht to the Light 2 Thefe are the gyms,
and this the inlet? of merciful Wifdom. Again, the is
full ofMerey, in forgiving Offences, knowing that it
is the glory of a man to pals them by, and that w £12.; :31
makes way for his future Happinefs ‘: For, quﬂéd are Hie

.Ma'cifid, far the} [ball obtain Mercy, Mat. 5. 7. Yet this
' Heavenly Wifdom exereifeth forgivenefs towards Oﬂen-

ders,alwayes with refpeé’t to Purity, as well knowing how
to at a difference between the ftubborn and penitent
O enders, and though {he {pare the one, fhe will not
the Other : She knows that Lenity to the Prefumptuous
Rebel is Cruelty to the truly Loyal Subjeéi: : And there-
fore, if {he be armed with a juft Authority, fhe draws
out the Sword to unilh the notorious and incorri-
gible Offender, but gill is eompaflionate to thofe that
offend out of Ignorance and Weaknefs, and {o ufeth
the Sword for their Correétion, but not for their Deltrué
(from. -
Next, This Wifdom is ﬁll of Good F ruin, Fruits of
Holinefs and Righteoufnels, Charity and Benignitys {he
is

(25) -
is never idle, but ﬁill putting us upon doing what good
we can in our Generation, and working theWorks of him
that fent us, whilft it is called to day, and fo making an
end ofonr Salvation with Fear and Trembling. Phil. 2.1 2.
Sheis {till preﬂing u .n our Confciences' fuch Precepts
as thefe, Bring forth 133121: meet for Repentance, Mat. 3. 8.
and be ﬁlled with the Fruits of Righteoufneﬁ, to 'the Pruiﬁa
and Glorj of God. Phil. 1. II. and, whi/ﬂ ye have 0])-
portunit} do Good unto all, and he not wear} of well do-
ing, for in due Seafon we [hall reap, if we faint not. She
knows, that by Fruitfhlnefs we adorn our Holy Pro-
feﬂion, and bring Glory to God. john I 5. 8. Hereinia‘nt]
Father gloriﬁed, ifjou bring forth much Fruit: And with-
all, that nothing is more beneﬁcial to a Chril‘tian in the
' Concluﬁon 5 for, Ifwe have our Fruit unto Holineﬁ, our
End fhall he Everlaﬂing Liﬁ’. Rom. 6. 22.

Again, the Wifdom‘ that is from abo've, is ’Achoc’xems,
which I ﬁnd varioufly rendred.’ She is without Waver-
in and Inconftancy, fo the Learned Hammond. And
{0 the Syriack and Arabick Verﬁons, abfque heﬂtatione.
Indeed {he is alwayes ﬁedﬁtl‘t and immoveable in the
Profeﬂion of theTruth, and in the Defence of that Ho-
ly Faith which was once delivered to the Saints : She
knows 'there cannot be a greater Demonltration ofa
Man's Folly, than to be a Weather-cock in Religion,
inconﬁant, and changeable as the Moon : whereas you
may as foon {top the courfe of the Sun, as divert a tax.
ly wife nﬁn from his juft and pious pu'rpofes.

Vatahlw, Pifcator, Illiriew, and others, render the
word, ahfque dijudicatione, Without judging : that is,
She is neither a curious Inquirer into Other mens Faults,
nor a captions Cenfurer of them: A proud malicious
Fool, (of which fort of Cattel the World is very lilll) is
flil! prying into the Aﬁionsgf others, and {hootm his

0 t

 

 

. < 95 )
Bolt at them,- being willin to pals the worfi Conﬁru-
étion of them they are ea le of : Being herein like to
the Raven, that is pleafgd with norhing- bur Carrion,
or like the Vultur, that can ﬁneil none but rank and
foul Scents : But a truly Wife man is 10th to pas Judg-
ment, much lefs that of Condemnation, upon any man
but himfelf. He ﬁnds fo much for him to do at home,
that he hath no leifure to look .abroads And when.-
he fees any thing amifs in theAétions of men, he
refolves to judge of them the heft he can 5 and though:
upon, a Sober view he cannot but diﬂike the Sin, yet he
ﬁill hopes the heft of the Offender, and dares nOt pafs,
any Sentence, much lefs a ﬁnal one, upon his Perfbn 5
But he hath the Rebuke of the Apoftle frequently in
his Thoughts,.Rom. 14.. to. WI); do’ﬂ tbonjudge thy Bro-
tber .3 we jlmll allﬂand before the judgment-feat of Chi/25.,
How apt men are to take this Prerogative of judg-
ing. out of Chrift’s hands, doth too evidently appear,

by the rare Titles which the bitter zeal of fame do ﬁt-

ﬂen-upon thofe that are. not of their Perfuaﬁon,‘ Time-
{Ervers , Neuters, Luke-warm Leadiceam, Popifhly--
affeéted, Tories, Papifts in Mafquerade, évc. And no-
marvel, if to many odious Nick-Names cafi upon men-
without the lmﬂ ground and foundation of truth, do.
meet with fome anfwerable Returns: for it is-an ea:
ﬁe matter with the ﬁ'oward to learn frowardnefs. [1
know not what thefe mens Faith may do foathem; it
may be a miraculous Faith, and f0 able to remove
Mountains for them :, But fure I- am, their Charity will‘
do ,very little toward the timing of’themo (there’s too
much of the Gall of Bittemefs in it and as ﬁne I am,
that they are as far from. Heavenly ifdom as Light
570m Darknefs : For true Wifdom and Religion ever
go hand in band together 3 and where Religion is, there

ls.

 

C27)

is Charity, the Life and Soul. of its and Where Cha-
rity is, it ﬁtﬂi’rx long, and i: kind, enviet/J not, mm:-
tet/J not it jélf, is not puﬁed up, dot/J not believe it félf
unﬂaewly, ﬁcket/a not her own, is ”at eafily provoked, think-
eth no Evil, rejoycel'b not in Iniquigl, ”but rejoycetb in tbe
Truth. 1 Cor. 13. 4., 5, 6. And where it is not, though
we 1fpeak with the Tongue ofMeq and Angels, we are

not in .

But gthirdly, Others render the Word fine Dzi/Eept-atio-
”e, without difputing, or, as it is inthéMargin of forne
Bibles, without wrangling; and ’tis true indeed, that
Divine Wifdom, though fhe’will admit of calm Debates
about doubtful Points, yet {he is an Enemy to all
brawling Difputes, efpecially about fuch Matters as are
flight and trivial, being fully aﬂured, that jangling
Controverﬁes tend not to Edification; but, for the
molt part , end in Contention and Conﬁaﬁon. And
indeed, it is fad to fee how the Life and Power” of Re-
ligion. is eaten out by frivolous Difputcs and vain
Janglingss and how, by an unhappy kind of Magick,
the Zeal of Chrif’tian Praétice is transformed into an Itch
of Unchriftian Difputes, fo that (as one well lays) the
Queliions about our Creed are become as numerous as
theLetters of it. So long as the Church retained the
Simplicity of the Chriﬁian Faith and Doé’crine, and con-
formed thereto by a conﬁant courfe of Obedience, fo
long {he made good the Title which Chrift gives her,
of being hit? Love, bi: Dove, bi: undeﬁned ‘071‘8, Cant. 6.
But, when the Serpent had got into this Paradife, and
inﬁifed his nice and fubtle Difiiné’tions into Mens
Heads, and his Venome of Malice into their Hearts,
then arofe perverfe Difputings of Men of corrupt Minds;
by means whereof, Contentions and Strifes arofe, to the
Deftmﬁcion of the Churches Unity, Truth, and Pm

. E Q .

 

, ........£——« -
m - r-- w—M'
o

_ . ....‘~..-~ - \_

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, (28)
And ﬁ-om hence have arif'en fuch a numerous Progeny
of Seéts and Schifms, as would puzzle an able Arithme-
tician to reckon them u :' And (0 this Dijfmtaaoli Pra-
rigo is become Eccleﬁa §cabier, this Itch of Difputation
(as Sir H. Wotton well (aid) is become the Scab and
Plague of the Church: And Satan may now leave off
his toillbme work compaﬂing the Earth to and fro,
ﬁnce wrangling M i will do his Buﬁnefs for him, and
give him Leifure to fit ﬂill, and pleafe himfelf in being a
Speéiator of our Divinity-Prizes, and Gladiatory Com-
bats about Religion 5 by which, we have almoft driven
her out of the World, whilﬁ every ﬁde pretends to
plead her Caufe, Well, Brethren, if we would be in-
fpired with Wifdom ﬁom above, let us' labour to have
our Hearts eftablilhed with Grace, and not our Heads ‘
ﬁlled with Norions, which may enable us to difpute
and wrangle, let us ferioully conﬁder the mifchievous
Confequenca hereoﬁ How much precious time is tri-
aod‘ away in ﬂcevelefs (barrels, dc Lana Capriua, about
Habits, Geftures, Days, and other Ceremonials, which

 

' might have been, much better em loyed' in working out

our Salvation, and making our. C ing and: Elegion ﬁre;
He that thus idely buﬁeth himfelf, will ﬁnd at laﬁ, he
bath, with Szﬁpbw, rolled the Stone, efpoufed a Labour
that may make him weary, but never afford any folid
Comfort or Satisfaétion to his Soul : Let him alfo conﬁ-
der, how great an Obflruétion this wrangling Humour
dorh put to Chrifiian Praikice, and, how the conﬁned
Noife of Pro and Con, Ob and Sol, quite drowns the
Voice behind us, which faith to us, Tbi: 7': the way,
walk in it. Did We but wifely conﬁder, that the Intes
tell of our Souls, the avoiding of: Eternal Mifery, and
acquiring of endlefs Blils for them, is not (0 eaﬁe a
matter as to be. purchaf‘ed with a few, yawning Wilhcﬁf'g

 

C 29‘)
laft, but requires our whole Lives, and the Intention of
our whole Powers, to fecure them 5' we {hould not full
fer any thing to interpole it (elf, ,or interrupt us in {o
great and nece'ﬁary a Work. Now, if we buﬁe our
{elves with Difputes and Janglings about Religion, our
Attendance upon Chriftian Practice muft thereby be in-
terrupted 5 and {o whilft we quarrel with one another,
we give our great Lord and Mailer juf-t ground of quar-
relling with us all, for negleéting the Great Buﬁnels for
which he fent us into the World, the glorifying of God
in our Generations, and the working out of our own
Salvation. .n '
But lallly, this Wiﬁlom is witbout Partially, {0. our
Englifb Tranflation renders it. She knows, that to 123‘
fpeéi: Perfons, or as the Hebrew ﬁgniﬁes, to know Faces,
regarding not {0- much the Matter, as the Man, and
. hearing him (peak, and not his Caufe, this hath long
fince been condemned by the Wife man, Prod. '24. 23.
She knoweth alfo, that God i: no Refpeéfcr of Perﬁmr,

Colof 3. ult. and therefore, fhe dares not be one, far-r-

ther than Civility and common Prudence allows of:
and Religion obligeth us to, of honot‘lg and revea-

rencing all men according to their Natural Qualiﬁcations "

and Endowments, or accordingto the Perfonal Excellent
C168 and Dignities conferr’d upon them: But, it cont
demns that Refpcé’c of Perfons, that ﬂows from Prejudice,-
or Intercl‘t, or mifplaced Aﬂeétions when we aggravate
fome' M‘ens Frailties, and excufe Other Mens Crimes 5
when we extol] fome mens Vertues,and cry down others,
though equally deferving-r, when; Men, being engaged
by Interel‘t or Faétion, can bring in an Ignoramw to a
Bill of Indiétment put up again a Friend, though the
Evidence be never (0 clear againft him; but can readily
ﬁnd theBill. againfi an Enemy, though never-{o weakly

prov.

 

 

 

W’ﬂ
(30)
“proved 5 or when of two Men involved in the fame
Guilt, one meets with a milder Sentence than the
others this is a ﬁnﬁil Partiality, which the Wiﬂom
from above cannot but abhor. And it were well if men
pretending to Wifdom would at length be alhamed of.
it, and not expofe themfelves and Follies herein, fo pub-
lickly to the World, in {pying out Beams in the Eyes
of an Enemy, but not (0 much as a Moat in their own.
Alas! How much (inﬁll Partiality is daily to be feen in
molt Mens Dealings! How partial are we in our Obedi—
ence to Superiour Powers! If their Command be agree-
able to our Humor, we can be content to pleafe our
felves as well as them, in obeying thern°9 but, let them
the never fo juft, if they run crofs to our Fancy or Inte-
rel’t, then we plead Liberty as our Chril’tian Birth-
:right, and the danger of wronging our Confciences, as'
an Excufe for our Difobedience. In the Dil’tribution of
Rewards, how little Re ard is had to any man’s
'Virtne‘ or Merit! How 0 en bath the Rich Dunce
been pmferred (thou h Balaam’: Afs can ' {peak more
‘Setlfé than he) Whil the Learned Man, that Wants
Confidence a Money, goes away without it! In the
Dillributions ofjuftice, How often are Jurors {waved
more by Love' or Hatred to the Perfon, than by'thc
Conl'cience of their Oath, or true Inﬁght into the Caufe!
So that Verdié’ts are too often rather the Language of
Afl'eélion or Prejudice, or worldly Fnteref’c, than of
Equity and Confcience. With what Zeal and Heat of
Paﬂion is the Rich Man’s Caufe pleaded, but the Poor
Man’s, coldly and faintly, though oftentimes the jufler 5
as if the Advocate had 3'59 91‘ 3&6th given him to be
_, .be ﬁlent ! I would be loath- to think that there
{hould be among Chriftians , that Partiality in the
PUinck Adminiﬂrations of jullice , Whlch the Poet

COKE-

._; $ —-—-—-\«»._.A.~..h~. A

 

’ v ' ‘ " ' * r-.. _..,_,-... , , "-v >2‘v v——‘

C 3 I 5‘
complains of in his Time, Dart veﬁiam Cervix, vexat
cenﬂrm Colnmlmr. But , in the Private Cenfures
which Men pafs on one anOther, this Partiality is eve-
ry Where viﬁble. How ready are we to confirue
every thing faid or done, by fome Men, in the worft
Sank, whilft others {hall be defended and juftiﬁed,
at leafi excuféd, for faying or doing the ﬁrm things!
How partial are Men in the choice of their Religi-
on! Moft Men have a Kindner, not for that which is
trueft, but that which is mofi in Fafhion, or moft like-
ly to profper in the World, or is molt agreeable to
the Interefts they haire efpoufed. A Plebeian Religion
heft fuits with Men of Commonwealth Principles;
and a Popifhbeft with thofe that would live licenti-
ouﬂy, ’ and purehafe' their Pardons for Moneys and
thofe alfo that court Riches and Greatnefs more than
Virtue. No marvel then, if the Religion of the Church

of England, lying under fo many Difcouragemcnts and‘
Dangers, as now it dOth, hath f0 few cordial Follow— .

. ers. The Poet {aid it, and Ifcar ’tis too true, ’ Hi!
virtutem awpleéfitur ipfa'm premia (Z fol/m? Let Virtue
her {elf want the Dowry of Reward and Encourage-
ment, and {he will meet with few Suitors. Again, how

partial are we in the choice of our Teachersl‘ Hath"

be but the Tone, and the Twang, and the. WOrds of

the Qorum, this Cant {ways more with many itchin -

Ears, than all the Words of Truth and Soberne s,

which the Tongue of Men and Angels can utter. I’.

might eaﬁl-y {hew you how this {inﬁll Partialit'y runs
through every Vein, through the whole Scheme of Hu-

mane Affairs, which is a plain Evidence againft molt
men, that they are Strangers to this Heavenly Wifdom.

which is without , Partiality.

Yes,-

 

 

"7 V—_- — vw-iv — . -

 

— ~«- " W'TZ; -
.- “Sm.-

' and in the New

(32) ,

Yes, and Without Hypocriﬁe alfo. She fcorns to fail
with every Wind, or Protew-like, transform her felfin- ‘
.to fuch Shapes and Forms as Time and Occafion 'may
feem to require: It is impoﬂible {he {hould ever in
this fenfe become a Time-fewer, or Pleafer of men.
An Hypocrite can owemigew , ( as it was {aid of the P}-
tbizm Oracle) Tune his Note in Religion {0, as may '
beﬂ pleafe the prevailing Party 5 He can be Proteﬁant
to day, and , Papift to morrow, and Seé’tary a third,
according as the Wind of Worldly Advancement turns
about: Nay, his Confcience ﬁts fo loofe to all Religi-
ous Concerns, that he can readily exchange a Bible
for the Alcoraiz, if he may but gain by it: But the
Wifdom that is from above, like a true Eagle, fcorns
to ftooP at fo bafe a Quarry 5 She hates to change her
Station, {as the Senators did upon Sejonw his down-
tall) for Fear or Worldly Advantage, but in all E-
ﬂates and Conditions that may befall her, her Motto

, is that of (been Elizabeth of Famous Memory, Sem-

per eadem, alwayes the fame. A ain , True Wifdom
{Corns to be a Stage-Player, as t e Word Hypocrite,
in its Native Language doth pr0perly ﬁgniﬁe : One that
reprefents the Perfon and 3&5 the part of fome great
King, or Lord, when he is a man of poor Extraél'i-
on, and mean Rank and @ality. True Wifdofn fcorns
to feem or appear other than what {he really is. There
are indeed ( prob dolor ! ) many parts of Religion dai-
l y aéted among men, as upon a Stage, whereby they
ihew themfelves true Difciplts of that Arch-hypocrite
the Devil, who, in the Old Tef’tament, got on a Man-
tle, and aéted the art of a Pmphet, I Sam. 28. 14..
”(Feﬁament, comes forth transformed

into an Angel of Li ht, 2 Corinth, I I. 14.. Indeed tom:
Manda exerts! Hi rioximz , the World is become a
‘ ' Stage,

 

 

 

,pear a moﬁ unfu .

WWW "V “* '~ -—~.n
y.'

,----—?:; .ﬂ

 

b

(33)

’ Stage, whereon mo’ﬁ men ‘do Perfonatc what they are ‘

not: .There’s fcarceda true Face to be found in it, no-
thing but Paints and VVizor-Masks : A72 [ﬁ'aclitc indeed,-
in whom is, no guile, would be a wonder to, ﬁnd, and
fucha ﬁght sas'may well deferve an Ecce, But let men
pleafe themfelvcs With their Treachery and Falfe-heart;

. ednefs to God, and men, fmooth’d and lleek5d over

Witha Theatrical Godlinefs, wherewith this Age aboun—
deth, yet a truly Wife man will pray with juror/2, O my
Soul, come not into tbeirﬂzcretr, mine limom' be not Ignited
to their Aﬂmblier! Gemf 49.- 6., This Wifdom that de-
fcends from, above will teach us ever to account Sins
cerity the belt olicy, and Hypocriﬁe ' the greateﬁFol-
1y : Since, th ugh the Hypocrite may for: a time puta
Cheatupon the dimrﬁghted, World, yet he, cannOt de-
ceivethe Great Searcher of Hearts, nor caft a mift be-
fore his All—piercing Eye 5 And, which is worth of all,
whilfthe cheats others, he putteth the greateft Cheat up-
onhimfelfs for What is the H0pe of a Hypocrite, lwhen
God takes away his Soul, 3‘05 27. 8. and loads him with

thofedreadful Woes denounced againf’t him by our bleﬂed '

-

 

Saviour, ‘Mattb. 23. i that in the end he mutt needs a?! .

Godl'ine.-fs,;..byw whic e, gained to himfclf an Heaven of
Applaufe here, {hall meet with. a‘ real Hell ‘of‘ Torment,
even in the loweft part ofthatlnfernal Prifon. ’ ' ,

I have run o'ver, as brieﬂy as I could, this Character.
of Heavenly Wifdom : I have no time to f' pend in be-
wailing the great Want of hercompany' am’ongft the Sons
of men, or in telling you that which hath been laid long

ago, Stultorum plemz ﬁmt omnia 5 but a truly Wife man

is rarely tobe found : Or that there are many Pretenders
. to this Wifdom,menthat talk, much ofit,and boaft of it, as

the Gag/ticks did of Qld, and Eonﬁne it to themfelvegas if
it

ble F 001, when his counterfeit .

 

 

I .
I

 

C 34 >

it fhould" onel'y live and dye with them; and yet when
I compare their Aé’tions with this Charaé’cer of Wifdom,
that {he is pure and peaceable, (ﬁal may boldly lay (with
fome alteration of Limcre’s words )~ Amt [use non (ﬂ S 4-
cra Scriptum, aut bi no” ﬁmt Sapienter. Either this isnOt
Sacred Scripture, or thefe are not the Wife men they take
themfelves to be. But I muﬁ wave this Difcourfe.

And now, Right Honourable, and Reverend Judges
of this Circuit, It is, and {hall be my hearty Prayer, that
this W'ifdom may alwayes Rand at your Right hand,
to prompt you to all Aéts of Piety and Peace, of im-
partial Juflice to incorrigible Offenders, Pgd yet of Gen‘
tleneﬁ and Mercy to tho'fe that are ca le of it; and
in a word, to all ﬂich thin s as may enable you to dili
charge with all Faithfulneé the great Truli repofed in
you, and in the end make you wile unto Salvation.

‘ '“If the Gentlemen of the long Robe Will be careful to

make this Wifdom their Counfellor, I am. {are none of

them will dare to put a fair (3108 upon a foul Tear, or
gild over a rotten Poft, by callin Evil Good, and Good
Evil, by juftifying the Wicked or Reward, and taking
awa the Righteoufnefs of the Ri . ous from him.

this Pure and Impartial Wi om be the Guide of
our Grand Inquelts, and other Juries, I am fure they will

‘ nor for Fear or Favour, eonnive at groCs Offences, or

bring in falfe or unjufi Verdié’ts. . '
Ifthis Wifdom, which is without Partiahty and Hypo-
criﬁe, be but fer as a Watch to the door of thofe mens
Lips, who are to give in» Evidence in any Callie, Civil
or Criminal, they will not dare to {peak any thing but

{Ewhat is truth 5 [and be to far ﬁ'gm uttering any thing
a ag‘mﬁ their knowledge, that they Wlll telhﬁe nothing

but what is exaétly agreeable to it. - ,
Finally,

Lg‘ ‘

 

 

, (as) '
Finally, Would all Plaintiffs in any Court of Judi-
cature, confult with this Heavenly Wifdom, which is
peaceable, gemfle, eaﬂe to be entreated, and ﬁll] of Mercyg *
they would not go to Law for every Triﬂe, but be wil-
ling to withdraw their Aé’tions upon reafonable Offers,
and hearken to fair and moderate terms of Accommoda-

' tion, whereby both Judge and Jury may be faved a great

deal of Trouble.

To conclude, May this Ointment of Heavenly Wif-
dom be at laft poured out upon the whole Nation, and
run down from the Headto the Beard,’ and from thence
to the Skirts, from the greatef’c to the leaft amongﬁ us,
that To Purity may be reﬁored to its former Splendor,
bafe Partiality, and bafer Hypocriﬁe, may be bani-{bed
out of our Hearts 5 Juf’cice and Mercy maintained,and Peace
and Truth eﬁablﬁh’d amongft us and our. Pofterities for

.ever.' Which Almighty God in his Goodnefs grant unto.

us for Jefus Chrift his fake : To whom with the Father
and the Holy Ghofl, be afcribed all Honour and Glory,
now and forever. Amen.

FINIS.

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