VOLUME I. THE COLLECTED SERMONS Of THOMAS FULLER, D.D. Thomas fuller. s.T.D. >5.tat 5,3. 1661. THE COLLECTED SERMONS OF Thomas Fuller, d.d. 1631 — 1659. Edited by The late JOHN EGLINGTON BAILEY, F.S.A. Completed hy WILLI^^K ^^ §1^ ^^B ?^/^ ^ ^ ^^ fe^ ^s ^^ THE LIFE AND WIT OF THOMAS FULLER, D.D. BY THE LATE JOHN EGLINGTON BAILEY. \This lecture was delivered before the Manchester Phonographic Union in 1863, and is reprinted from Pitman's Popular Lecturer, January, 1864.] j N bringing before you some remarks on the life and wit of that " reverend divine and learned historian," as his anonymous biographer terms the subject of my address, I labour under the disadvantage of having to speak of a man whose writings, once famous, are now but very little read and sparingly referred to ; whose life, spent in the service of his country, is unhonoured ; and whose name is vaguely and trivially spoken of, as that of one who has no special claim on our attention. I want to show you, this evening, that Thomas Fuller was a man who has some claim on our gratitude; that he was no mean author, and belonged to no mean age ; that at one time he occupied a very conspicuous position in English literature, and (if not a conspicuous) an important post at a critical time in English history ; and that though in respect to his writings, the opinion of the world has changed, and but little attention is bestowed upon them, yet there may there be found a vast amount of shrewd common sense and old English wit, expressed in pithy and forcible language ; and from his life there may be gathered lessons pregnant of good. xvi The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. Like the quaint age in which he lived, Fuller's mind was most eccentric, and this has made him " the very strangest writer in our language. Perhaps no man ever excelled him in fulness and readi ness of wit ; " and this — added to the plain and practical sense which pervades his writings, and which is so characteristic of this nation — makes it " passing strange " that his works should be permitted to die out, and be so scarce and difficult to obtain as some of them are. But ingratitude is ever to be niet with, both in contemporaries and posterity. Fuller's works were well abused, as well during his life as since ; but he has occasionally met with a generous reception from some of his critics, whose references to him have helped, in some degree, to preserve his works. Coleridge said of him, after reading his Church History — " Next to Shakspeare, I am not certain whether Fuller, beyond all other writers, does not excite in me the sense and emotion of the marvellous ; " and " Fuller was incomparably the most sensible, the least prejudiced great man, of an age that boasted a galaxy of great men." And the genial essayist, Charles Lamb, has commended Fuller's writings, and added a few specimens of his composition ; which notice is sufficient to incite any lover of our English literature to take this quaint and witty author into closer companionship. The authentic sources from which the particulars of his life are to be gathered, are very few, and those few are very dull and dreary compositions for so lively a subject. Aided, however, by these, and the references to himself contained in his works, I have (to use one of his own modest expressions) " endeavoured " his life, my remarks being taken from more voluminous notes which I have collected for a biographical memoir. His name may be said to be both a fortunate and an unfortunate one — fortunate, as giving us the idea of substance and solidity, very appropriate to an author whose works, compared with others, are " not only fuller in useful matter and varied interest, but (as a punster of his own day would have %2S.i^ fuller in s^xtA, fuller in wit, in fact, Fuller throughout — ' Strong without rage, without o'erflow- mg,full:'" unfortunate, as when he good-humouredly but un wittingly is said to have asked one Mr. Sparrowhawk, " What is the ciifFerence between an owl and a sparrowhawk ? " received for reply, " An owl is fuller in the head, fuller in the face, and Fuller all over ! " The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. xvii His lot was cast in eventful and perilous times, when England was, on a small scale, in the same state in which America is now on a great one, — devastated and cursed by the most dreadful form of war. He was born in the year 1608, and was the elder of two sons of the Rev. Thomas Fuller, rector of St. Peter's, Aldwincle, — a place also famous in giving birth to the poet Dryden. This village is situated on the river Nene, in Northamptonshire; and, says Fuller, " if that worthy county esteem me no disgrace to it, I esteem it an honour to me." At his day it wag a most populous and fruitful county — " Sixteen several towns, with their churches, have at one time been discovered by my eyes, which are none of the best ; and God grant," he piously and quaintly adds, " that those who are sharper-sighted may never see fewer ! " , On opposite sides of Aldwincle were situated the dwelling of Mr. Brown, the founder of the sect known as the Brownists, and the demesne of Francis Tresham, one of the activities in the Gunpowder Plot. Ever on the look-out for what he calls " observables " and " remarkables," Fuller learnt from this circumstance the wisdom of being moderate ; he would ever try to hit the golden mean, avoiding the fanaticism of the Anabaptist on the one hand, and the fiery zeal of the Jesuit on the other. Fuller conformed his life to this decision. He speaks of his father as a " painful \l.e. painsful or painstaking] preacher ; " and it appears he was also a learned man. He was one who obeyed the apostolic injunction, " Live peaceably with all men," for he was careful to avoid every occasion of strife. It was under his superintendence that the education of his son was conducted — so successfully that at the age of thirteen, becoming a scholar before he was a man, young Thomas was ready for college, and to Cam bridge he was accordingly sent. He was admitted into Queen's College, of which his maternal uncle, Bishop Davenant, was pre sident. This worthy doctor took a great interest in the welfare of the boy, and it is probable that his nephew refers largely to him when he " charactered " the. " Good Bishop," in his Holy State. Dr. Davenant was an excellent instructor of youth. Thomas's intellect seems early to have manifested itself. If we may believe an anecdote which .Aubrey has left of him, he was a very precocious and strange lad. "He was a boy of pregnant wit, and when the bishop (Davenant) and his father were discoursing, he would be by and hearken, and now and then a 1 xviii The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. put in, and sometimes beyond expectation or his years. He was of a middle stature, strong set, curled hair, a very working head, insomuch that walking and meditating before dinner, he would eat up a penny loaf, not knowing that he did it." In 1629, he removed to Sidney Sussex College, and as the fruit of his studies during the past years, he received the degrees of B.A. and M.A. His success must, however, partly be attributed to the teachers who trained his mind, being very fortunate in that respect. Dr. Ward was the president of this college ; and in the place accorded to him among the Worthies of Durham, Fuller says of this divine — " He turned with the times, as a rock riseth with the tide " — a fine and expressive simile. Fuller was appointed, in 1630, to the curacy of St. Benet, Cam bridge ; and it was while here that his abilities as a preacher first shone forth, his lectures being well attended. Here he delivered his Lectures on the Book of Ruth, which, however, were not printed till many years afterwards. In his twenty-third year, he was presented by his uncle with a prebendal stall in the county of Dorset : in the same year, also, appeared his first publication. His first attempt, like that of all young authors, was poetical ; and in this poem appear many of the peculiarities which afterwards made him so famous. Its charac teristic title was David's Hainous Sinne ; Heartie Repentance ; Heavie Punishment ,• and was dedicated — (dedications were both necessary and fashionable then) — to the three sons of Lord Montague, a hospitable old English baron of worshipful estate, whose family were personal and highly-valued friends of the author. This work was never re-published, and is therefore very scarce. Mr. Fuller wrote very little poetry after this. Poetry, like music, he used to say, was excellent sauce, " but they have lived and died poor who made them their meat," Rapidly advancing in church preferment. Fuller, in 1634, collated to the rectory of Broad-Winsor, a neat and picturesque little village, near Bridport, in Dorsetshire. Here he spent some happy moments among a flock that became endeared to him, and he to them. He was an earnest pastor, and bears some resemblance to the character of "The Faithful Minister," whom he has sketched in his Holy State. Like " Holy George Herbert," his whole soul appears to have been in his work; and his " dear and loving charge" highly esteemed him. The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. xix In 1635, Fuller revisited Cambridge, and attained the degree of Bachelor of Divinity ; but on returning home, he got rid of another kind of bachelorship in his marriage. His happiness was, however, short-lived, for after giving birth to a son, his wife died ; and though this severe affliction was rendered less acute in the active discharge of his ministry, it must have preyed upon his mind, and may, ulti mately, have led him to seek change of scene and forgetfulness in the stormy times which characterized London life before the break ing out ofthe Civil War. At Broad-Winsor, in his leisure moments, he had diligently been occupying himself in planning for publication some of those books on which his fame chiefly rests, though the distractions of the times delayed their publication for several years. " In the amenity and retirement of this rural life," says his biographer, " some perfection was given to those pieces which, soon after, blest this age. From this pleasant prospect he drew that excellent piece of The Holy Land, Pisgah-sight, and other tracts relating thereto ; so that what was said bitterly of some tyrants, that they made v»'hole countries vast solitudes and deserts, may be inverted to the eulogy of this doctor, that he, in these recesses, made deserts — the solitudes of Israel — the frequented path and track of all ingenious and studious persons." One of the results of his researches appeared in 1639, being a History of the Crusades, entitled History of the Holy War. This strange and witty history at once attracted attention, and brought fame to the author. The droll way in which the history is written, and the lively figures which his rich imagination suggested, render this work extremely amusing. Every page of it sparkles with wit, and yet it is a work of considerable research, and shows that the writer had the necessary requirements of an historian. While residing at Broad-Winsor, Fuller published many sermons, with odd titles, as might be expected. His discourses are charac terized by their practical piety, earnestness, outspokenness, bene volence, and moderation. They are not witty productions, though even here his wit occasionally breaks out, as if it could not be confined. All his works are aptly termed " quaint," in the modern acceptation of the word ; but in Fuller it also had its original meaning — " scrupulously elegant or exact " — a style of composition which, with him, was not artificial (as was the case with many XX The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. authors of this quaint age), but natural. " Such was his natural bias to conceits, that I doubt not," says Lamb, " upon such occa sions, it would have been going out of his way to have expressed himself out of them." In 1640, we find Fuller in London, in the midst of the strife which ushered in the Civil War. He was appointed a member of the celebrated Convocation at which the Observances were discussed, and the passing of which was followed by such opposition on the part of the Puritans and Parliamentarians. Fuller is, perhaps, the only historian who has left a minute and impartial account of this assembly. He took no active part in it, and his opinion was, that the measures adopted were far too stringent. As soon as the position of affairs grew more serious and deter mined, Fuller began to use his influence to avoid the appeal to arms. Though by conviction he was a royalist, he was not a partisan, but had respect to the rights of the people. He used his influence, as befitting his profession, ih favour of peace, endeavouring to Calm the angry feelings which were fomented. The pulpit was then a powerful agency, and Fuller had great influence. On arriving in London, whither his fame as a preacher and author had preceded him, his discourses were attended by crowds, and he became at once " a popular preacher." He does not appear, however, to have been so weak-minded as to have been led away by popular applause : a sermon preached about this time, shows that he was alive to its dangers. Speaking of pastors whose churches are crowded by the thickest audiences, he says — " Let them not pride themselves with the bubble of popular applause, often as carelessly gotten, as undeservedly lost. Have we not seen those who have preferred the onions and flesh-pots of Egypt before heavenly manna ? — lungs before brains, and the sound ing of a voice before soundness of matter ? " He usually preached at the Inns of Court, but his pulpit acquirements procured for him the lectureship at the Savoy, and the duties of this post he faithfully discharged for two years. " He had, in his narrow chapel, two audiences, one without the pale, the other within ; the windows of that little church, and the sextonry, so crowded as if bees had swarmed to his mellifluous discourse." No wonder that amidst the chaos into which the then prevalent conflicting opinions had plunged the nation, the voice of such a preacher was welcomed — welcomed as one who might prove the messenger of peace, to avert the war The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. xxi which all good men dreaded. Fuller's sermons form a striking contrast to those of his time, which were bigoted, intolerant, and narrow-minded, their tendency being to hasten the war. " Our English pulpits for these eighteen years," says Fuller, in one of his Thoughts, " have had in them too much cardinal anger, vented by snapping and snarling spirits on both sides. But if you bite and devour one another, saith the apostle (Gal. v. 15), take heed that ye be not devoured one of another." At last the war broke out, and the king fled to Oxford with many of the nobility. On a fast-day being ordered by the parliament, Fuller preached at his chapel of the Savoy, taking as his text, " Blessed are the peacemakers." In his discourse, he exposed the unchristian character of war. The sword, he argued, was no discerner between truth and falsehood ; "it may have two edges, but hath never an eye." He advised peaceable measures, the petitioning of the king and parliament to make mutual concessions, the putting aside of the party names which had sprung up, and a general repentance. About this time (1642), Fuller published his Holy State and Profane State, which he had long had in hand. It was once very popular, but is now seldom read. The plan of the book has been adopted by many celebrated writers ; it professes to describe the characters of various persons, such as " The Good Husband," " The Good Schoolmaster," " The Good Prince," &c. The work com mences with a delineation of "The Good Wife," giving in the opening sentence one of his characteristic, droll, and ridiculous reasons for so doing : — " St. Paul to the Colossians, chap. iii. verse 18, first adviseth women to submit to their husbands, and then counselleth men to love their wives. And, sure, it was fitting that women should first have their lesson given them, because it is hardest to be learned, and therefore they need have the more time to con it. For the same reason, we begin with the character of the good wife." These delineations of character, which Fuller, an acute student of human nature, dealt with very subtilly, are each followed by examples, taken from history or the Bible, Among the characters in the Holy State are some essays on memory, on building, and other unlooked-for subjects ; but this diversion is quite in character with the author's manner. The second part of the book — The Profane State — is a short one, and contains sketches xxii The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. of the harlot, liar, and kindred subjects. The book abounds in keen observations, and shows him to have been as well read in men as books. So multiform are the forms that his sparkling wit here takes, that he is, perhaps, the only author in whose pages may be found all the definitions of the " unaccountable and inexplicable ways " of wit, which Barrow has enumerated in his explanation of the word. But it is a poor commendation ofan author to be simply witty ; and were Fuller's writings only witty, they would be almost worthless. His wit not only answers to its present meaning, but its original and better one — that of wisdom, or understanding. Fuller was not only a jester, but a shrewd writer of common- sense ; not only a punster, but a searching investigator and his torian. On the anniversary ofthe king's inauguration, March 27th, 1642, Fuller (still holding the lectureship at the Savoy) preached a sermon in Westminster Abbey, taking the unpalatable text — " Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my Lord the king is come again in peace to his own house." I need not remind you that those were the days in which the divine right of kings, church and state, &c., were seriously believed in. The character of the "Good King," in his Holy State, Fuller commences to describe with the bald statement, "The king is a mortal god; " in which light he seems to have regarded King Charles, for he concluded the same chapter with the most fulsome praise of that monarch. It need not, therefore, be sur prising, that the sermon referred to, with its courtly sentiments, and the allusions to public affairs, should have given great umbrage to the pariiamentary party, involving him in much odium, and making his position among them rather anomalous. At the taking of Bristol, all hopes of peace, which he had laboured to promote, were dis pelled ; but on the 27th of July, another fast-day, Fuller made one more useless exhortation in favour of peace. This sermon, on publication, was attacked by a Yorkshire clergyman, whom Fuller, when on the march, found time to reply to, challenging him to an answer. This, however, the clergyman did not give, alleging that he had heard of Fuller's death at Exeter. "I have no cause," said he, in his Worthies, "to be angry with fame for so good a lie. May I make this true use of that false report— to die daily. See how Providence hath willed it: the dead man is still (1661) living ; the then living man dead. And seeing that I survive to The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. xxiii go over his grave, I will tread the more gently on the mould thereof, using that civility on him which I received from him." When the Solemn League and Covenant was drawn up and subscribed to by the House of Commons and assembly of divines. Fuller was pressed to swear to it also ; but he refused to do so, except with certain reservations. Whereupon he was compelled to leave London, and joined the standard of the king, at Oxford. Here he was well received, but on preaching at the court, he made the faithful mistake of preaching to royalty, instead of before it, as is usual ; and his honest, plain-spoken nature pleased the royalists no better than the " roundheads." Here is a proof of his sterling honesty to principle : Mr, Worldly Wisdom would have acted somewhat differently. As at London, so at Oxford, he was called by hard names, and not liking the sentiments or company he here met with, he shortly afterwards left, having sought and obtained a chaplaincy in part of the king's army commanded by Sir Ralph Hopton — this step being, perhaps, precipitated by taunts of suspicion as to his fidelity to the king's cause. His property met with the same fate that attended very many in that period — it was sequestered by the parliament. Though by this act he was reduced to poverty, he bore the loss with Christian resigna tion, cheerfully acquiescing in the decrees of Providence, who had, he considered, justly afflicted the nation for its sins. He thus alludes to his losses in his Mixt Contemplations : — "I have observed that towns which have been casually burnt, have been built more beautiful than before ; mud walls afterwards made of stone ; and roofs, formerly but thatched, afterwards advanced to be tiled. The apostie tells me that I must not think strange con cerning the fiery trial which is- to happen to me. May I hkewise prove improved by it. Let my renewed soul, which grows out of the ashes of the old man, be a more firm fabric and stronger structure : so shall my affliction be my advantage." Among other things, he felt very keenly the loss of his valuable library and MSS., which. Vandal-like, had been destroyed. This want, however, was partly made good, through the noble generosity of one of his patrons, Lord Cranfield, Ead of Middlesex, who gave him his father's library. England was then scourged and wasted by the Civil War, and there are many melancholy evidences, in his writings, of its baneful xxiv The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. effect on the nation and on individuals. One or two extracts ;rom his Thoughts are here given, which will show, at the same time, his own sentiments in those hard times, and the style of the composition of his TT/flK^^/J, published during its progress. "We read (Luke xiii. 1 1) of a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. This woman may pass for the lively emblem of the English nation : from the year of our Lord 1642 (when our wars first began) unto this present one, eighteen years in my arithmetic ; all which time our land has been bowed together, beyond possibility of standing upright. ... A pitiful posture, wherein the face is made to touch the feet, and the back is set above the head ! God, in due time, set us right, and keep us right, that the head may be in its proper place ! Next the neck of the nobility, then the breast of the gentry, the loins of the merchants and citizens, the thighs of the yeomanry, the legs and feet of artificers and day labourers. As for the clergy (here by me purposely omitted), what place soever be assigned them — if low, God grant patience ; if high, give humility unto them." " This nation is scourged by a wasting war : God could no longer be just if we were prosperous. Blessed be His name, that I have sufi^ered my share in the calamities of my country. Had I poised myself so politically betwixt both parties, that I had suffered from neither — yet could I have taken no contentment in my safe escaping. For why should I, equally engaged with others in sinning, be exempted above them from the punishment .'' It is, therefore, some comfort that I draw in the same yoke with my neighbours, and with them jointly bear the burden which our sins have jointly brought upon us." While engaged in active service in the army as chaplain, preaching regularly on the Lord's-day, Fuller manifested that diligence which is ever to be met with in his life. For when now wandering up and down England, following the fortunes of the Royal army, he was busily employing his time in collecting materials for his most famous and greatest work — The Worthies of England- — a work which contains, principally, short biographies of celebrated Englishmen, but also embraces a great variety of other topics. It is said, that in searching for matter for this book, he would patientiy listen for hours to the prattle of old women, that he might gather, from their The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. xxv gossip, snatches of local history, recollections of great men, scraps of traditionary wisdom or folk-lore ; and that he would reproduce the same by the aid of his wonderful memory. Like Scott's Old Mortality, this itinerant chaplain would, on coming into a new district, at once seek out and take notes of anything of antiquarian interest; visiting old churchyards and tombstones, and poring over musty records of the past, for anything which would be useful towards the accomplishment of his task. By this and other means, he collected a vast amount of varied information, and particulars of great men, which might otherwise have been lost. The men whose names he has endeavoured to perpetuate, are ranged under the respective counties of their birth ; and he mentions also the pro ductions, manufactures, local history, proverbs, sheriffs, and modern battles, leaving each county with an appropriate farewell. It is a work which every Englishman should be proud to own. His object in compiling it is thus candidly stated by himself: — " Know then, I propound five ends to myself in this book : first, to gain some glory to God ; secondly, to preserve the memory of the dead ; thirdly, to present examples to the living ; fourthly, to entertain the reader with delight ; and lastly (which I am not ashamed publicly to profess), to procure some honest profit to myself." In the discharge of his duties as chaplain, he was at Basingrhouse during one of its sieges ; where, with all the vigour of a Crusader, or Norman bishop, he incited and animated the garrison to so vigorous a defence, that the attacked became the attackers — the leader of the Parliamentary forces being compelled to retire. When the Royal forces were driven into Cornwall, Fuller, having obtained leave of absence from Lord Hopton, took up his residence in Exeter — " one of the sweetest and neatest towns in England," says Fuller; but these adjectives do not apply now. On the queen resorting hither for refuge. Fuller was appointed tutor and chaplain, by King Charles, to her infant, Princess Henrietta, lately born here, to testify his great worth ; and the king shortly afterwards gave him a patent for his presentation to the town of Dorchester, worth ;^400 per annum. While in this city, Fuller's society was much sought after, and he remained here till its surrender in 1646 ; during which time, besides continuing his literary labours, he preached regularly to the citizens. Here he put forth his Good Thoughts in Bad Times — a patriotic and seasonable littie book, well adapted for the xxvi The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. condition in which his country was placed. Fuller was present at the siege of Exeter, of which he relates a strange episode, which must be told in his own words :— " When the city of Exeter was besieged by the Pariiamentary forces, so that only the south side thereof, towards the sea, was open unto it, incredible numbers of larks were found in that quarter, for multitude like quails in the wilderness, though (blessed be God !) unlike them both in cause and effect — as not desired with man's destruction, nor sent with God's anger — as appeared by their digestion into wholesome nourish- ment : hereof I was an eye and mouth witness. I will save my credit, in not conjecturing any number, knowing that herein, though I should stop beneath the truth, I should mount above belief. They were as fat as plentiful ; so that, being sold for twopence a. dozen and under, the poor — who could have no cheaper, as the rich no better, meat — used to make pottage of them, boiling them down therein. Several natural causes were assigned hereof. How ever, the cause of causes was Divine Providence." Fuller is next met with in London, being gladly welcomed back again at the Savoy. But the troubles he had passed through, added to the distracted state of his country, had affected his mind; and, " weak in health and dejected in spirits," he repaired to the resi dence of his constant patron, Lord Montague, at Boughton, near Northampton. Under his hospitable roof, he wrote The Cause- and Cure of a Wounded Conscience, and he was all the better for it. This book is distinguished by its deep thought, tinged all the way through by melancholy, showing the reality of his affliction. It is dedicated to the Countess of Rutland; and the "Christian Reader " is told in the preface that, as it was not suitable to wear wedding clothes at a funeral, he had, in that sad subject, declined all light and luxurious expressions. This, consequently, does not read like one of Fuller's works. The last dialogue — " Whether it be lawful to pray for, or to pray against, or to praise God for, a wounded conscience " — concludes with the] following beautiful and much-admired sentiment : — " Music is sweetest near or over rivers, where the echo thereof is best rebounded by the water. Praise for pensiveness, thanks for tears, and blessing God over the floods. of affliction, makes the most melodious music in the ears of heaven." He again went to London, and preached wherever he was- allowed ; occupying, among other pulpits, that of St. Clement's, The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. xxvii Lombard Street, and St. Bride's, Fleet Street. He also published another volume of meditations, entitled Good Thoughts in Worse Times. These little manuals were very popular, and their contents show them to be the production of an ardent patriot. They consist of short paragraphs, containing personal, scriptural, and historical incidents, &c., followed by a suitable moral or reflection — much after the manner of Quarles' Enchiridion, or ^Esop's Fables. Though many of the similes used by him are extremely fanciful, they are often beautiful, and contain solid and suggestive teachings. He justifies the ways of God towards his country, and urges his readers to trust in Omnipotence, who alone could restore the country to order. To reflecting minds, these little books of practical divinity, published during the war, must have come like oil on troubled waters. Truly, " meditations are like the minstrel the prophet called for (2 Kings iii. 15) to pacify his mind dis composed with passion ;" while " controversial writings (sounding somewhat of drums and trumpets) do but make the wound the wider." The next year, the "powers that be" prohibited Fuller from preaching " till further orders ; " " wherefore," says Fuller, " I am fain to employ my fingers in writing, to make the best signs I can ! " We nevertheless find him preaching soon afterwards at Chelsea Church, under the protection of Sir John Danvers. And on the execution of Charles I., he manifested his loyalty to that unfortunate monarch, by a very hazardous but honest act— ^the preaching and publication of a sermon, entitled The Just Man's Funeral. The attempt made to silence his voice did not cause his church preferment to cease, for the Earl of Carlisle obtained for him the perpetual curacy of Waltham Abbey ; and this was one of the means by which many eminent churchmen in those days were kept in England. Before, however, he could obtain his curacy, he had to undergo the customary ordeal before the Court of Triers, who dispossessed such as they deemed unfit for preaching — generally those who had been political offenders. There is a droll anecdote told about him, in reference to this examination. It appears he was extremely apprehensive of the result (as well he might be), and in this emergency he sought assistance of John Howe, the celebrated divine, and one of Cromwell's chaplains. Fuller said to him, " You may observe, sir, that I am somewhat a corpulent man, and I am xxviii The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. to go through a very strait passage. I beg you would be so good as to give me a shove, and help me through." Howe, whose catholicity of spirit allowed him to overlook his party in the man, gave him the necessary advice, and he got off" more frightened than hurt. Among other things, the Triers had asked him to give them some proof of his well-known powers of memory ; upon which, , Fuller promised that if they would restore a certain poor sequestered minister, he would never forget that kindness as long as he lived ! Fuller was charged with pretending to the art of memory, but he said it was a fancy or trick — no art. The secret of his extraordinary power lay in order and method. He says — " Marshal thy notions into a handsome method. One will carry twice more weight trussed and packed up in bundles, than when it lies untoward flapping about the shoulders. Things orderly fardled up and hanging under both heads are most portable." His writings have been charged with displaying a want of method ; but this is not the case, for dis cursive though some of them be, they are well arranged. There is method in his madness. His numerous digressions are always so pleasant that it is easy to put up with them, and indeed the reader would not at first think they are digressions. He may be likened to a man travelling along a road, stopping to admire or examine objects on each side of him, often leaving the path, but returning to it again ; and thus he goes merrily along, and ultimately arrives at the end of his journey. Waltham, where Fuller was now quietly residing, is a place of some literary celebrity : it was here that Fox's famous Book of Martyrs, and Bishop Hall's works, were written. Fuller here spent some peaceful years, being " wedded to the embraces of a private life, the fittest wife and meetest helper that can be provided for a student in troublesome times.'' He completed some of his books here. His Pisgah-sight of Palestine and the Confines thereof, "with the History of the Old and New Testaments acted thereon, appeared in 1650. In others' hands this might have been a geo graphy as dull as a school-book, but Fuller's rich, lively, and exuberant imagination has scattered throughout it a lavish display of every kind of wit and facetiousness, joined to much learning and instruction, rendering even details amusing. He was a diligent student of the Bible, and was well acquainted with, and fond of commenting on, the most obscure passages in it. The luife and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. xxix He next appeared as a contributor to a series of religious biographies, which came out in 1651 ; and in the following years, besides pub lishing many sermons, he wrote a work on Baptism, a Register of the proceedings in Parliament of the fourth and fifth years of the reign of Charles I., and other works. In 1654 he married the daughter of Viscount Baltinglass. One of the results of his literary toil, extending over many years, was published in 1655, in The Church History of Britain, from the birth of Jesus Christ till the year 1648 ,• endeavoured by Thomas Fuller. It contains twelve books (including the History of the University of Cambridge), and is cut up into subdivisions and sections in a most original manner. There are upwards of fifty dedications — quaint but often beautiful compositions, but far too fulsome and complimentary for these times. It was compiled from scarce sources, and is a work of some historical value, not only on this account, but also because of its honourable impartiality and freedom from party spirit, then too common with all classes of writers. Here, as in kindred works, the gravity of the subject does not deaden his cheerful humour : all the way along the reader comes across his fantastic conceits and puns, and quips, and cranks, and quirks, and odd digressions, and quaint allusions. This mode of writing on such a subject is of course objectionable, but in Fuller's History the reader never meets with anything improper or undevout. In his Holy State he has spoken very solemnly on this matter : — " Jest not with the two-edged sword of God's word. Will nothing please thee to wash thy hands in but the font ? or to drink healths in but the church chalice ? And know the whole art is learnt at the first admission, and profane jests will come without calling." On the first appearance of this work it was severely censured; Dr. Peter Heylin, an ill-tempered high-church divine, and a writer of some celebrity, being its chief opponent. He went to the trouble of writing a large book against it, which Fuller replied to as fully in his manly, witty, and learned Appeal of Injured Innocence. It is a comment on the Church History, Many of the animad versions on his work — some of them certainly uncalled for — grieved Fuller, who had been so long and "painful" in compiling it, and he very earnestly pleaded for the exercise of their charity, especially in condemning the witticisms and levities therein. " Some men," xxx The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. he said, " were of very cheerful dispositions, and God forbid that all such should be condemned for lightness. Oh ! let not any envious eye disinherit men of that which is ' their portion in this life com fortably to enjoy the blessings thereof.' " And in another place he says — " Harmless mirth is the best cordial against the consumption of the spirit : wherefore it is not unlawful, if it trespasseth not in quantity, quality, or season." Which limits, however, Fuller did not always confine himself to. In the discussion which took place. Fuller's candour and conciliatory spirit reconciled his opponent to him. Fuller now prepared for publication his yet greater work — The Worthies of England — of which I have already spoken. He did not live to print the whole of it, but it was completed by his son, in the year after his death. Nicholson, a spiteful old bishop, charged it with being huddled up in a hurry, and of consisting of nothing but old women's tales ; but posterity has passed a different verdict to this upon it. In 1658 his patron. Lord Berkeley, made him his chaplain, and presented him to the rectory of Cranford, in Middlesex; and after this time, with the course of events, his prospects became brighter. Shortly before the Restoration, he was called upon to resume his old. places as Lecturer at the Savoy, and Prebend of Salisbury; and on the king's return he was made one of his chaplains,-and by royal mandate created D.D. He again preached at the court, and the wit-loving king is said to have resolved upon his translation to a bishopric ; but it was to no earthly dignity that Fuller was destined. His living at Broad-Winsor became rightfully his own again ; but he was so pleased with the preaching of the then incumbent, that he voluntarily promised not to be the cause of his removal. He wrote a joyful poetical panegyric on his Majesty's return ; and in 1660 put forth his Mixt Contemplations in Better Times, dedicated to Lady Monck, and bearing the appropriate motto — " Let your moderation be known unto all men : the Lord is at hand." He appears to have contracted a malignant fever — known as the "new disease" — after a journey from Salisbury to London. On his arrival, he had promised to preach a marriage sermon for a friend at his chapel of the Savoy; but while at dinner on the 12th of August, he V as seized with illness, which, however, he would The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. xxxi not allow to interfere with the approaching service. " He had got up often in the pulpit sick," he said, " and always came down well again; and he hoped he should do as well now, through God's strengthening grace. During the delivery of the sermon, it was manifest to his congregation that he was seriously ill, and he had to confess as much to them ; adding — " But I am resolved, by the grace of God, to preach this sermon, though it be my last! " He managed to get through it, and it was his last : he may be said, therefore, to have died at his post. He was conveyed home, and his mind became affected, but on the following day his senses were restored, and he employed his remaining hours on earth with a Christian preparation for death. " Nothing but heaven and the perfections thereof, the consummation of grace in glory, must fill up the room of his capacious soul, now ready to take its flight from this world. On the morning of Thursday, the i6th of August, his sufferings were at an end, and he entered into rest." At his own desire. Fuller was buried in his parish church at Cranford, Lord Berkeley bearing the expense. As illustrating the respect in which he was held, about two hundred clergymen attended his funeral. A monument was erected to his memory in the chancel of the church, and it contains a conceit which Fuller himself might have written. The Latin inscription reads : — " Here lies Thomas Fuller — who, while he planned to consecrate to immortality the lives of illustrious Englishmen, by a posthumous work, himselt attained immortality." This is in reference to his Worthies which also remains as a monument to his industry and genius. In appearance, Fuller is described as being tall, portly, and handsome, possessing curly hair and a ruddy face, with a pleasant yet serious countenance, betokening an amiable mind. On his upper lip, which could not be curled into a sneer, he wore a slight moustache, after the old English fashion. His manners were simple and unstudied, and he was uniformly courteous. His cheerful conversation was always attractive, and " much sought after ; for besides the pleasantness of it, he was for information a perfect walking library." His vivacity of spirits, and sprightliness of conversation, gained for him, in every period of his life, a large circle of friends. As might be expected, he was temperate in his habits. To his home attachments he was faithful, and was careful with the education of his children. His heart was ever open to xxxii The Life and Wit of Thomas Fuller, D.D. kindly influences; and his wit and facetiousness, which have delighted so many, partakes of the same nature, being devoid of sting, bite, or claws : it is never spiteful, but ever genial and good- natured. He was as faithful to the principles of his religion, as he was loyal to his king and country, and he never hesitated to give utterance to his convictions. Of his faults, some of which have been hinted at, I cannot now speak. The remembrance of his own gentleness and charity in dealing with the faults of others, warns us to deal gently and charitably to him. The silence which surrounds his tomb, at which we have just in fancy been gazing, should hush the voice that would harshly censure him. " There is a spell, by nature thrown Around the noiseless dead, Which ought to soften censure's tone, And guard the lowly bed Of those who, whatsoe'er they were, Wait Heaven's unerring audit there ! " A Comment ON RUTH: BY r, F. B. D, -1 '-^ *^^'==' ^ Printedfor G.andiif. Everfden, and are to be fold at the Sign of the Greyhound In Pauls Church- yard. 1654. ["She ftood breaft-high amid the corn, Clafp'd by the golden light of morn, Like the fweetheart of the fun. Who many a glowing kifs had won. On her cheek an autumn flufh, Deeply ripen'd ; fuch a blufh In the midft of brown was born. Like red poppies grown with corn. Round her eyes her trefles fell. Which were blackeft none could tell. But long lafhes veil'd a light That had elfe been all too bright. And her hat, with fhady brim. Made her trelTy forehead dim ; — Thus fhe ftood amid the ftooks Praifmg God with fweeteft looks : Sure, I faid, heav'n did not mean. Where I reap thou Ihouldst but glean ; Lay thy fheaf adown and come. Share my harveft and my home." Hood's Poetical Works (Rofetti's ed.), page 307]. [Introduction. THOMAS FULLER'S attraftive Comment on Ruth may have formed the leftures referred to by his anonymous Biographer as " the Primitie of his Minifteriall Fruits, which, like Apples of Gold in piftures of Silver (fublime Divinity in the moft ravifhing Elegancies), attrafted the audience of the Univerfity" {Life, 1 66 1, page 5). /The expofition of the Book, which unfortunately only extends up to the end of the fecond chapter, was probably given in the ancient church of St. Bene't (Cambridge), to whicli Fuller had been appointed Minifter in or about 1630, being then of the age of twenty-two years. The reference to "young Minifters" at page 77 is therefore a perfonal one. The ledlures were certainly preached before the end of the year 1632 ; for mention is made of Gustavus Vasa, the heroic king of Sweden (page 25), who died in November of the year named ; and there are references to other contemporary events. The literary ftyle ofthe addreffes is in accord with the fuppofed period of their delivery ; and juftifies their aflignment to this place as the earlieft known fpecimens of Fuller's pulpit oratory. His occafiona! play on words and incongruous allufions, and the frequent inftances of alliteration and antithefis, fliow that the popular curate had been fomewhat afFefted by the fchool of preaching which Donne, Andrewes, and others, had made popular ; but thefe mannerifms have very little detrafted from the eminently praftical charafter of his dif courfes. . Upwards of twenty years later his maturer judgment detefted "many faults" in thefe Sermons on Ruth (page v.) ; and yet, it is note worthy, he refrained from revifing them. "They were firft ifl"ued in 1654, their publication being due to the faft that fome piratical printer (in league it may be with some who had heard the leftures), taking advantage of Fuller's literary popularity, had propofed to put them forth, from imper- feft notes as was believed (page v.). Earle, in his Charaaers, defcribes the " Colleftions of Studie " of " a young raw preacher " as confifting of " the notes of Sermons, which taken vp at St. Maries [Oxford], hee vtters in the Country. And if he write brachigraphy his ftocke is fo much the better. His writing is more then his reading ; for hee reads onely what hee gets without booke " {Micro-cofmographie, ed. Arber, page 22). There is perhaps one trace ofthe Ruth Sermons having paffed through the hands of a ftiort-hand writer, viz., in the word rejpeilfully (page 86, line 14), which in the original is rejfeliively. Notwithftanding Fuller's modeft depreciation of the worth of the Comment, it will be found to have many claims on the attention. The fim pliclty of the Hebrew Paftoral pervades it. The preacher's "obfervadons" are fet forth with a quaintnefs and vigour that are worthy of the author of The IV INTRODUCTION. Holy State. He fpeaks under the influence of a mind that is truly devout, and of a Chriftianity that is eminently praftical. The "plain but effeftual manner" of preaching by Ufes and DoSirines, very popular with the fermon- -writers of the period, was taken from Musculus, a German divine ; while John Udal, the Puritan divine, introduced formal Reafons, called by Fuller "the ftrength and finews of a Sermon" {Church -Hiftory, Book ix. §viii._1l3). Elfewhere the fame authority terms the latter "the pillars of the fabric of a {^rmon ;" Jimilitudes being "the windows which give the beft lights" {Holy State, § The Faithful Minifter, H 9). Fuller feems to have faftened with the inftinft of a poet upon this exquifitely beautiful ftory of the Gentile Ruth, who, " When fick for home. Stood in tears amid the alien corn." (Keats's Ode to a Nightingale.) A former induftrious editor of Fuller's works, and of this Comment among others, was reminded, as many readers of the Comment will be reminded, of the pifture of the Moabitifti maiden given by another poet, Thomas Hood, " a man of kindred genius, who, eaft in a more mirth-loving age than Fuller's, fed the public with lighter food than he did, but whofe powers were really as great in ferious as in comic profe and verfe " (William Nichols's Edition, page 178). The Book of Ruth had likewife attraftions for Fuller as an antiquary, inafmuch as it opened up to him the peculiar fields of inquiry amidft which he loved to ramble. "It is one of thofe quiet corners of hiftory," says Dean Stanley, "which are the green fpots of all time, and which appear to become greener and greener as they recede into the diftance " {Led. Hift. Jewifh Church, vol. i. page 263). Not the leaft noteworthy feature of the following Comment are the traces to be found in it of the opinions and the anticipations of the period ; — not of the days of the Commonwealth, during which the book was printed ; but of the days of Fuller's early manhood during which it was written. Refleftions, which come to us with all the charm of frefti- nefs, are made on the Jefuits of America (page 30) ; on the advent of King James I. to England (page 99) ; on the Pilgrims of New England (page 14) ; on the condition of the Palatinate (page 26) ; on the return of Prince Charles from Spain (page 99) ; on the plague of London, 1625 (page 99) ; on the Swedifh war (page 25) ; &c. Fuller's Ruth was popular in his own day. It is now, perhaps, one of the beft known of his treatifes in divinity, having been twice re printed within the laft ten years : viz. in 1865, in 410. (Nicol's Series of Puritan Commentaries), edited by Rev. Thomas Smith, M.A. ; and in 1868, in crown 8vo., in Tegg's feries of Fuller reprints, edited by William Nichols. The prefent reprint is taken from a copy of the original work, 8vo., in poffeffion of the Editor. Two other Sermons {Comfort in Calamity, and The Grand Afftze) were appended (in fome copies prefixed) to Ruth; and they will be found in Volume ii. of this colleftion in their proper chronological places. TO The Right Worfhipfull, the Lady Anne Archer, in the Countie of Warwick. ^™^^S//£ Apoftle to the Phllipplans, chap. 4. v. 1 5, giveth ' them this high commendation. None communicated with me concerning giving and receiving, but ye onely. Should I apply the fame in relation of my felfe to your Ladyfhip, I fhould be injurious to the Bountie of many my Worthy Benefaftours. How-ever, {not exclufively of others, but) eminently / muft acknowledge you a Grand Encourager of my Studies. In publique teftimonie whereof, I prefent thefe my Endeavours to your Ladifhips Patronage. Indeed they were Preached in an eminent Place, when 1 firft entred into the Minlfterie, above twentie year es fince, and there fore you will pardon tbe many Faults that may be found therein. Nor were they intended for publique view, till underftanding the Refolution of fome of my Auditors to Print tbem {to their Profit, but my Prejudice) by their imperfect Notes, I ad ventured on this feafonable prevention. The Lord make his Graces flow plentifully from the Head of your Family, your Religious Husband, to the loweft Skirts thereof, the laft and leaft of your Relations, Your Ladyfhips In all Chriftian Offices, Thomas Fuller. vi INTRODUCTION (from page iv.) Fuller's brief commentary had a fitting patronefs in Lady Archer, who gave the author much affiftance in his more ambitious works. She was one of the Ferrars of Tamworth Castle, Warwickshire, — a branch of the noble family of that name ; being a daughter of Sir John Ferrars, Knt., of Tamworth Caftle, who died in 1633. To this Knight's grand- fon, "John Fesirars, of Tamworth Caftle, Efquire" (1629— 1680), is dedicated Section iv. of Book iv. of The Church-Hiftory, where Fuller said that he knew that his patron was by extraftion inclined to a generous difpofition, " as I have found by one of your neareft Relations" (page 195). The reference here is to an aunt. Lady Anne Archer (Dugdale's Antiqq. Warwicksh., Q.d. 1656, pages 820, 580; Le Neve's Knights, ^2.ge 246). To her Fuller likewife dedicated, in the fame folio, 1655, the doling feftion of Book ix., which contains the reign of Elizabeth, " the Honour of your fex and our nation ;" explaining that though thus placed laft, her ladyfliip was " the firft and freeft in incouraging my weak en deavours " (page 221). This literary intimacy belongs to the latter part of the author's life. The lady was the wife of Sir Simon Archer of Tanworth (158 1 — 1662), the zealous Warwickshire antiquary, whofe topographical collections were of great value to Dugdale in his admirable work on that county (ed. 1656, Dedication to the Gentry, Inscription on the map, and page 581). Fuller dedicated to Sir Simon the account of the copies of the Roll of Battle Abbey, Church-History, Book ii., ad calcem loco ad fin., where he makes acknowledgment of the generofity of his anti quarian friend (page 151). On the plate of "The Knights joined with y" Monkes of Ely" Sir Simon and his lady are alfo mentioned in thefe terms: " Simoni Archer, Equiti Aurato, Antiquitatis cultori, et in dig- matographia exercitatissimo, nec non lectissimas Dnr the difobedience of the people: Herein, faith the poore man, God hath met with the opfreffion and extortion of the Rich'; Herein, faith the rich man, God 44 Comment on Ruth. {Circa hath payed home the muttering & the repining of the Poore : Now, faith the prodigall, God punifheth the covetoufneffe of Old men ; Now, faith the old man, he fcourgeth the prodigalitie of fuch as be Young. Farre otherwife Naomi, who, though the Arrowes of God did glance and rebound to the wounding of Orpah and Ruth, yet ffie thought ffie her itXie was the Mark at whom God did levell his Shafts ; The hand of the Lord is gone out againft me. Verfe 1 4 : And Orpah kiffed her mother in law, but Ruth clave unto her. These words containe two generali parts : Firft, A blazing Meteor falling downe out of the Ayre ; And Orpah, iSc. Secondly, A fixed Starre falrely ffiining in the Heaven ; But Ruth, l£c. And Orpah kiffed her mother.] Is this ffie which even now was fo promising in her words, and so paffionate in her weeping? See how foon a forward Profeffor may turne to a fearefull Apoftate : Though ffie ftandeth or falleth to her own Mafter, yet, as the Pfalmift faith, / am horribly afraid for thofe that forfake thy Law ; fo have we juft caufe to fufpedl the fearfull finall eftate of Orpah. Kiffed her mother.] That is, gave her this laft falutation of her departure. Here we fee that thofe who want grace and true fandlitie may notwithftanding have manners and good civilitie. Now had Orpah changed the corporall Kiffe ffie gave to her mother. Into a fplrituall Kiffe to her Saviour, Pfal. 2,^ 1 2, Kiffe the Sonne, left he be angry, her cafe had been as happie as now it may feeme to be hopeleffe. But leaving her, we come to our felves, and gather this Dodtrine. DoEirine : Thofe who at the firft were forward in Religion, may afterward altogether fall away, i Tim. i, 20 ; Heb. 6. 4 -6; Matth. 13. 20-1. It may therefore ferve to abate the proud carriage of fuch, who, as If It were not enough to be fure, will alfo be presumptuous of their falvation, and thereby 1631.J Ruth, Chap, i, verf. 13, 14. 45 take leave and libertie to themfelves to live more licen- tloufly. Objection : But as once one of the Children of the Prophets cryed out to Elifha, O man of God, there is Death in the Pot ; fo may the weak Chriftian complaine againft this Dodtrine : O it Is a deadly and dangerous one, containing much matter of defpaire, too bitter for the pallat of a poore Chriftian to taftc, or his ftomack to digeft ; It quencheth all the fparkes of my comfort, and hacketh afunder all the finewes of my hope; I feare left Orpab-X'^s.e I alfo ffiould fall away : what ffiall I doe, that I may be faved ? Anfwer : Let not i^ae fmoaking Flax be difmay'd, which in time may be a blazing flame ; nor the bruifed Reed be dis couraged, which may prove a Brazen Pillar in the Temple of God : That therefore thou mayeft finally perfevere, obferve thefe foure Rules, I Rule : Firft, utterly renounce all fufficiencie in thy felfe. Who but a mad man will now adayes warrant the Paper- Shields of his owne ftrength, that knowes that Adams compleat Armour of Original Integritle was ffiot thorow in Paradife. 2 Rule : Secondly, place all thy confidence on the unde- ferved mercie of God : Perfevcrance commeth neither from the Eaft, nor from the Weft, nor as yet from the South ; but God fuffereth one to fall, and holdeth up another. The Temple of Solomon had two Pillars ; one called Jachin, founding In Hebrew, The Lord will ftablifto ; the other Booz, fignified. In him is ftrength : So every Chriftian {the Temple of the Holy-Ghoft) is principally holden up by thefe two Pillars, Gods Power, and Will, to fupport him. Wherefore in every diftreffe let us crie out to God, as the Difciples did to our Saviour In the midft of a Tempeft, Helpe Mafter, or elfe we perifh. 2 Rule : Thirdly, ufe all thofe means which God hath chalked out for the encreafe of grace in thee ; as Prayer, Meditation, reverent receiving the Sacraments, accompanying with Gods Children, Reading, Hearing the Word, &c. 4 Rule : Fourthly, alwayes preferve in thy felfe an awfull feare, left thou ffiouldft fall away from God : Feare to fall, and Affurance to ftand, are two Sifters ; and though Cain faid. 46 Comment on Ruth. {Circa he was not his Brothers keeper, fure I am, that this Feare doth watch and guard her Sifter Affurance : Tant us eft gradus certitudinis, quantus follicitudinis : They that have much of this Feare, have much certaintie ; they that have little, little certaintle ; they that have none, have none at all. It is faid in Building, that thofe Chimneyes which ffiake moft, and give way to the wind, will ftand the longeft : The Morall in Divinitie is true ; thofe Chriftians that ffiiver for feare by finnes to fall away, may be obferved moft couragious to perfift in Pietie. Comfort: To thofe that diligently pradtife thefe Rules, I will adde this Comfort : Encourage thy felfe, that God will keepe thee from Apoftafie unto the end, becaufe alreadie hitherto he hath preferved thee : For Gods former favours are pawnes and pledges of his future love. Davids killing of a Lyon and a Beare, were the Earnefts of his Vidlorie over Goliah. Thus S. Paul reafoneth, 2 Cor. i. 10, Who de livered us from so great a death, ahd doth deliver ; in whom we truft that he will yet deliver us. When Rachel bare her firft fonne. Gen. 30. 24, ffie called him Joseph, and faid. The Lord fhall adde to me another fonne. So, when God hath alreadie bleffed us and fupported us for the time paft, let us fay with Rachel, Jofeph, the Lord will adde : he will not ftay, or ftint, or ftop here ; but as he hath kept me from my mothers wombe, and ever fince I was borne, fo I truft he will not forfake me when I am aged, and full of gray haires. But to returne to her which returned again to Moab : We reade in 2 Sam. 20, 12, that the people which paffed by the Corps of murthered Amafa, being moved with fuch a hideous and uncouth a spedlacle, they ftood ftill : But when we reade this Booke of Ruth, and come to Orpahs Apoftafie, there let us a while paufc and demurre, to reade in her fall a Ledlure of our owne Infirmltie. For if we ftand, it is not becaufe we have more might in our felves, but becaufe God hath more mercie on us. Let us therefore worke out our falvation with feare and trembling .- ever trembling, left we ffiould be eaft to Hell ; ever triumphing, that we ffiall come to Heaven : ever fearfull, left we ffiould fall; ever certalne, that we ffiall ftand; 1631. J Ruth, Chap. i. verf. 14. 15. 47 ever carefull, left we ffiould be damned ; ever chearfull, that we ffiall be faved. Concerning Ruths perfevcrance, we intend to treat hereafter. Verfe 15 : And Naomi faid, Behold, thy fitfter in law is. gone back unto her people, and unto her gods ; returne thou after thy After in law. In thefe words, Naomi feekes to perfwade Ruth to returne ; alledging the example of Orpah, whom ffie faith -was. gone back to her people and to her gods. Obfervation : Where firft we finde, that all the Heathen, and the Moabites amongft the reft, did not acknowledge one true God, but were the worffiippers of many gods ; for they made every Attribute of God to be a diftindl Deitie, Thus in ftead of that Attribute, the Wifdome of God, they fained Apollo the god of Wifdome ; in ftead of the Power of God, they made Mars the god of Power; in ftead of that admirable Beautie of God, they had Venus the goddeffe of Beautie, But no one Attribute was fo much abufed as Gods Providence: For the Heathen fuppofing that the whole World, and all the Creatures therein, was too great a Dloccffc to be dayly vifited by one and the fame Deitie ; they therefore affigned fundry gods to feverall creatures. Thus Gods Providence in ruling the raging of the Seas was counted Neptune ; in ftilling the roaring Winds, Molus ; in commanding the Powers of Hell, Pluto : yea, Sheepe had their Pan, and Gardens their Pomona: the Heathens then being as fruitfull in faining of gods, as the Papifts fince in making of Saints, DoSirine: Now, becaufe Naomi ufed the example oi Orpah as a Motive to worke upon Ruth to returne, we gather from thence ; Examples of others fet before our eyes, are very potent and prevalent arguments to make us follow and imitate them : Whether they be good examples ; fo the forwardneffe of the Corinthians to relieve the Jews, provoked many : or whether they be bad ; fo the diffembling of Peter at Antioch drew Barnabas and others into the fame fault. But thofe examples, of all others, arc moft forcible with us, which are 48 Comment on Ruth. {Circa fet by fuch who are neere to us by kindred, or gracious with us in friendffiip, or great over us In power, Ufe I : Let men in eminent places, as Magiftrates, Minifters, Fathers, Mafters, and the like, (feeing that others love to dance after their Pipe, to fing after their Tune, to tread after their Tradl,) endeavour to propound [to] themfelves pattcrnes of Pietie and Religion to thofe that be under them, Ufe 2 : When we fee any good example propounded unto us, let us ftrive with all poffible fpeed to imitate It. What a deale of ftirre is there in the World for Civill Prccedencle, and Priorltie ! Every one defires to march in the Fore-front, and thinkes it a ffiame to come lagging in the Rere-ward; Oh, that there were fuch an holy Ambition and heavenly Emulation in our hearts, that as Peter and lohn ran a Race, which ffiould come firft to the Grave of our Saviour ; fo men would contend, who ffiould firft attaine to true Mortification ! And when we fee a good example fet before us, let us Imitate it, though it be in one who in outward rcfpedls is farre our inferlour. Shall not the Mafter be affiamed to fee that his Man, whofe place on Earth is to come behlndc him. In Pietie towards Heaven to goe before him ? Shall not the Husband bluffi to fee his Wife, which is the weaker Vcffel In Nature, to be the ftronger Vcffel in Grace ? Shall not the elder Bro ther dye his cheekes with the Colour of Vertue, to fee his younger Brother, who was laft borne, firft re-borne by Faith and the Holy-Ghoft ? Yet let him not therefore envie his Brother, as Cain did Abel ; let him not be angry with his Brother, becaufe he is better then himfelfe ; but let him be angry with himfelfe, becaufe he is worfe then his Brother ; let him turne all his malice into imitation ; all his fretting at him. Into following of him : Say unto him as Gehazi did of Naaman, As the Lord liveth I will run after him : And though thou canft not over-run him, nor as yet over-take him, yet give not over to run with him ; follow him, though not as Azahd did Abner, hard at the hecles; yet as Peter did our Saviour, afarre off: that though the more flowly, yet as furely thou mayeft come to Heaven: and though thou wert ffiort of him whileft he lived, in the Race, yet thou ffialt be even with him when thou art dead, at the Marke. 1631.] Ruth, Chap. i. ver. 15. 49 Ufe 3 : When any bad Example is prefented unto us, let us decline and deteft it, though the men be never fo many, or fo dear unto us. Imitate Michaiah, i Kings 22. 13, 14, to whom when the meffengers, fent to fetch him, faid. Behold now the words of the Prophets declare good to the King with one mouth : let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like to one of them ; Michaiah anfwered. As the Lord liveth, whatfoever the Lord faith unto me, that will I fpeake. If they be never fo deare unto us, we muft not follow their bad pradllce. So muft the fonne pleafe him that begat him, that he doe not difpleafe him that created him ; fo muft the Wife follow him that married her, that ffie doth not offend him that made her. Wherefore as Samfon, though bound with new Cords, fnapt them afunder as Towe when It fceleth the fire ; fo rather then we ffiould be led by the lewd examples of thofe which be neere and deare unto us, let us breake in pieces all Tycs, Engagements, Re lations whatfoever. feftion : ifea but one may fay. What if I finde In the Scripture an adtion recorded, whofe doer Is knowne to have beene a godly and gracious man ; may I not, without any further doubt or fcruple, follow the fame ? Anfwer : For the better fatlsfying hereof, I will ranke the adtions of godly men, regiftred In the Scriptures, into nine feverall rankes, and will fhew how farre forth we may fafely proceed In the Imitation of them. I . We finde fome adlions fet downe which are extraordinary, the doers whereof had peculiar ftrength and dlfpenfation from God to doe them. Thus Samfon flew himfelfe and the Phili ftims In the Temple oi Dagon; Elias caufed /rd' to defcend on the two Captaines and their fifties ; Elifloa curfed the Chil dren of Bethel. Now thefe are recorded rather for our Inftrudlion then imitation : For when the fonnes of Thunder would have been the fonnes of Lightning, and have had fire from Heaven to burne the Samaritans which refufed to receive our Saviour, after the example oi Elias, Chrift checked their Ill-tempered Zeale and told them, You know not of what fpirit you are of. 2. Some examples are fet down whidh are founded In the D 5° Comment on Ruth, {Circa Ceremonial Law, as the eating of the Pqfchall Lamb, the Cir- cumcifing of their Children the eight dale : Now the date of thefe did expire at the death of Chrift ; the fubftance being come, the ffiadows are fled, and therefore they may in no wife ftiU be obferved. 3. Such examples as are founded in the Judicial Law, which was onely calculated for the elevation of the Jewiffi Commonwealth, as to put Men to death for Adulterie. Now thefe examples tie us no farther to imitate them then they agree with the Moral Law, or with thofe Statutes by which every particular Countrle Is Governed. 4. Some there be founded in no Law at all, but onely In an ancient cuftome by God tolerated and connived at, as Poly gamic in the Patriarks, Divorces in the lewes upon every flight occafion; from thefe alfo we muft in thefe dales abftaine, as which were never liked or allowed by God, though per mitted in fome Perfons and Ages, for fome fpeciall reafons. 5. Doubtful examples which may fo be termed, becaufe it is difficult to decide whether the Adlors of them therein did offend or no ; fo that ffiould a Jurie of learned Writers be empannelled to paffe their verdidt upon them, they would be puzled whether to condemn or acquit them, and at length be forced to find it an Ignoramus ; as whether David did weU to diffemble himfelfe frantick, thereby to efcape the crueltie of Achifh King of Gath. Now our moft advlfed way herein is altogether to abftain from the imitation of them, becaufe there Is a deal of difficultie and danger, and our judgements may eafilie be deceived. 6. Mixt examples, which containe In them a double adtion, the one good, the other bad, both fo clofely couched together, that it is a very hard thing to fever them : thus in the unjuft Steward, there was his wifdome to provide for himfelfe, and his wickedneffe to purloyne from his Mafter : the firft God did commend, we may imitate ; the latter he could not but loath, we may not but ffiun. In the Ifraelitifti Midwives, Exod. 1 . 1 9, there was fides mentis & fallacia mentientis : the faith of their love, and the falfeneffe of their lying : the firft God rewarded, and we may follow ; the latter he could not but diflike, and we muft deteft. Behold here Is wifdome, and 1631.] Ruth, Chap. i. verf. 15. 16. 51 let the Man that hath underftanding difcreetly divide betwixt the Droffe and the Gold, the Chaffe and the Wheat in thefe mixt examples, that fo they may pradllce the one, efchew and avoid the other. 7, Thofe which be abfolutely bad, that no charitable Com ment can be faftened upon them, as the drunkennefs of Noah, the inceft oi Lot, the lying oi Abraham, the fwearing oi lofeph, the adulterie oi David, the denial oi Peter: Now God forbid we ffiould imitate thefe ; farre be It from us with King Ahaz to take a pattern from the Idolatrous Altar of Damafcus : the Holy Spirit hath not fet thefe finnes down with an intent they ffiould be followed ; but firft to ffiew the frailtic of his deareft Saints when he leaves them to themfelves ; as alfo to comfort us when we fall Into grievous finnes, when we fee that as haynous offences of Gods fervants ftand upon record In the Scripture. 8, Adlions which are only good as they are qualified with fuch a circumftance, as Davids eating of the Shew-bread provided for the Priefts, in a cafe of abfolute ncccffitie. Thefe we may follow, but then we muft have a fpeciall eye and care that the fame qualifying circumftance be in us, for otherwife the deed will be impious and damnable, . 9. Examples abfolutely good, as the faithful neffe oi Abra ham, the peaceablcneffc .of Ifaac, the painfulneffe of lacob, the chaftitie of lofeph, the patience of Mofes, the valour of lofhuah, the fincerltie of David; thefe It is lawful and laudable with our beft endeavours to imitate : follow not the Adulterie of David, but follow the chaftitie of lofeph ; follow not the diffembling of Peter, but follow the fincerity of Nathaniel ; follow not the teftinefs of lonah, but follow the meekneffe of Mofes; follow notthe apoftafie oi Orpah, but follow the perfevc rance of Ruth, which comes in the next Text to be Treated of Verfes 16, 17: And Ruth anfwered, Intreat me not to leave tbee, nor to depart from thee ; for whither thou goeft, I will goe; and where thou dwelleft, I will dwell: thy people fhall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou dieft, will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord doefo to me, and more alfo, if ought but death part thee and me. ^2 Comment on Ruth. {Circa Here we have the refolution of Ruth portrayed In lively Colours : fo that if we confider her Sex, a Woman ; her Nation, a Moabite ; one may boldly pronounce of her what our Saviour did of the Centurion, Verily I fay unto you, I have not found fo great faith, no, not in Ifrael. Intreat me not to leave thee.] Some reade it, Be not thou againft me, as it is In the Margent of the New Tranflation, Where we fee that thofe are to be accounted our Adverfaries, and againft us, who diffwade us from our Voyage to Canaan, from going to Gods true Religion. They may be our Fathers, they cannot be our Friends ; though they promife us all outward profits and pleafures, yet in very deed they are not with us, but againft us, and fo muft be accounted of Where thou lodgeft, I will lodge.] A good Companion, faith the Latine Proverb, is fro viatico ; I may adde alfo, pro diverforio : Ruth, fo be it fhe may enjoy Naomies gracious companie, will be content with any Lodging, though happily [haply] it may be no better then lacob had. Gen. 28, 11. And yet we fee how fome have been difcouraged even from the company of our Saviour, for feare of hard lodging ; wit neffe the Scribe, to whom when our Saviour faid. The Foxes have their holes, and the Fowles of the ayre have nefts, but the Sonne of man hath not where to lay his head: This cold comfort prefently quencht his forward zeale, and he never appeared afterward ; whereas he ought to have faid to our Saviour as Ruth to Naomi, Where thou lodgeft will I lodge. Thy people fhall be my people.] Haman being offended with Mordecai, as if it had been but leane and weak revenge to fpit his fpight upon one perfon, hated all the lewes for Mordecai's fake : the mad Beare ftung with one Bee, would needs throw downe the whole Hive. But cleane contrarie, Naomi had fo gracloufly demeaned her felfe, that Ruth for her fake Is fallen In love with all the lewes. Farewell Melchom, farewell Chemofh, farewell Moab ; welcome Ifrael, welcome Canaan, welcome Bethlehem : all of a fudden ffie will turne Convert, ffie will turne Profelyte. ^^S^-J Huth, Chap, i, verf. i6. 17. 53 Obfervation : The godly carriage of one particular perfon may beget a love of that Countrey and People whereof he is, even in a ftranger and forreiner. Doe we then defire to galne credit to our Countrey, prayfe to our People, honour to our Nation, repute to our Religion ? Let us deport and behave our felves gracloufly If we live amongft ftrangers. On the other fide, the bafe and debauched manners of fome one man Is able to make his Countrey ftink in the noftrlls of thofe for- reiners amongft whom he lives : Ex uno difcite omnes ; In one faithleffe Sinon one may reade the Trecherie of all the Grecians. Thy God fhall be my God.] Jehofaphat when he joyned with Ahab, i Kings 22. 4, faid unto him. My people is as thy people, and my horfes are as thy horfes ; that Is, he would comply with him in a Politike League : but Ruth goes fur ther to an unitie In Religion, Thy God fhall be my God. Yea, but one may fay, How came Ruth to know who was the God of- Naomi ? I anfwer : As God faid of Abraham, I know that Abraham will inftruSl his children ; fo may one confidently fay of Naomi : 1 know that Naomi had catechifed and inftrudled her daughter in law, and often taught her that the God of the Ifraelltes was the onely true God, who made Heaven and Earth, and that all others were but Idols, the workes of mens hands : Yet as the Samaritans beleeved our Saviour firft upon the relation of the woman that came from the Well, but afterwards faid unto her, lohn 4. 42, Now we beleeve, not becaufe of thy faying; for we have heard him our felves and know that this is indeed the Chrift, the Saviour of the world: So happily Ruth was induced firfl to the liking of the God of Ifrael, upon the credit of Naomies words ; but afterwards her love of him proceeded from a more certalne ground, the motions of Gods holy Spirit in her heart. Where thou dieft will I die.] Here Ruth fuppofeth two things : firft, that ffie and her mother in law ffiould both die; It is appointed for all once to die: fecondly, that Naomi, as the eldeft, ffiould die firft ; for according to the ordinarie cuftome of Nature, it is moft probable and likely that thofe that are moft ftricken In yeares ffiould firft depart this Life : Yet I 54 Comment on Ruth. {Circa know not whether the Rule or the Exceptions be more generali, and therefore let both young and old prepare for death ; the firft may die foone, but the fecond cannot live long. And there will I be buried.] Where ffie fuppofeth two things more : Firft, that thofe that furvived her, would doe her the favour to burie her ; which Is a common courtefie, not to be denyed to any : It was an Epitaph written upon the Grave of a Beggar, Nudus eram vivus, mortuus ecce tegor. Secondly, ffie fuppofeth that they would burie her, according to her inftrudlions, neere to her mother Naomi. Obfervation : As it Is good to enjoy the companie of the godly while they are living, fo It Is not amiffe, if it will ftand with conveniencie, to be buried with them after death. The old Prophets bones efcapt a burning, by being buried with the other Prophets ; and the man who was tumbled into the Grave of Eliftoa, was revived by the vertue of his bones. And we reade in the A5ls and Monuments, that the body of Peter Martyr's Wife was buried in a Dunghill; but afterward being taken up in the Reigne of Queene Elizabeth, it was honourably buried in Oxford, In the Grave of one Fridefwick, a Popifh fhee-SaInt ; to this end, that If Poperie, which God forbid, ffiould over-fpread our Kingdome againe, and if the Papifts ffiould goe about to untombe Peter Martyr' s^ Wives bones, they ffiould be puzzled to diftinguiffi betwixt this womans body and the Reliques of their Saint. So, good it is fometimes to be burled with thofe who fome doe account pious; though perchance in very deed they be not fo. The Lord doe fo to me, and more alfo.] To afcertaine Naomi of the ferioufneffe of her Intentions herein, Ruth backs what formerly ffie had faid with an Oath, lined with an Obfervation : Whence we may gather, it is lawfull for us to fweare upon a juft caufe : but then thefe three Rules muft be warily obferved. Firft, that we know that the thing whereto we fweare be true, if 'the Oath be affertorie ; and if it be promifforle, that 1631. J Ruth, Chap. i. ver. ly. 55 we be fure that It Is In our Intent, and in our power, God bleffing us, to performe that which we promife. Secondly, that the occafion whereupon we ufe it, be of moment and confequence, not trifling and trivial. Thirdly, that we fweare by God alone, and not by any Creature. Sweare then neither by the Heaven, nor by the Earth, nor by Jerufalem, nor by the Temple, nor by the Gold of the Temple, nor by the Altar, nor by the Sacrifice on the Altar, but by God alone ; for he onely Is able to reward thee. If that thou affirmeft be true ; he onely is able to puniffi thee, if that thou avoucheft be falfe. Yet this doth no wayes favour the pradllce of many now adayes, who make Oathes their language. Our Saviour faid to the Jewes, Many good workes have I fhewed you from the Father ; for which of them goe you about to ftone me? So may the Lord fay to many riotous Gallants now adayes ; Many good deeds have I done to thee : I created thee of nothing ; I fent my Sonne to die for thee ; by my providence I continually protedl and pre ferve thee: for which of thefe deeds doeft thou goe about by Oathes to blafpheme me ? Now whereas Ruth does not fay, God damne me, God con found me, I would I might never ftirre ; but ffirowds the execration under generali termes, God doe fo to me, and more alfo : we learne, it is not good to particularize in any kinde of puniffiment when we fweare, but onely to expreffe the Curfe in generali termes, leaving It to the difcretion of God Almightie, to chufe that Arrow out of his Quiver which he ffiall thinke moft fit to ffioot at us. If ought but death.] See here the large extent of a Saints love. It lafts till death ; and no wonder, for it is not founded upon- Honour, Beautie, or Wealth, or any other finlfter refpedl in the partie beloved, which is fubjedl to Age, or Mutabilitie, but onely on the Grace and Pietie in him ; which foundation becaufe It alwayes lafteth, that Love which is built upon it is alfo perpetuall. Part thee and me.] Death is that which parteth one friend from another: Then the deare Father muft part with his 56 Comment on Ruth. {Circa dutifull Child, then the dutifull Child muft forgoe his deare Father ; then the kinde Husband muft leave his conftant Wife, then the conftant Wife muft lofe her kinde Husband ; then the carefull Mafter muft be fundred from his induftrious Ser vant, then the Induftrious Servant muft be fevered from his carefull Mafter. Yet this may be fome comfort to thofe whofe friends Death hath taken away, that as our Saviour faid to the Difciples, Yet a little while and you fhall not fee me, and yet a little while and you fhall fee me againe : fo yet a little while, and we ffiall not fee our friends ; and yet a little v/hlle, and we ffiall fee them againe in the Kingdome of Heaven; for, non mittuntur,fed priemittuntur, we doe not forgoe them, but they goe before us. To conclude : we fee many women fo ftrangely difguifed with phantaftick faffiions, as if they defired to verifie the nick name of the Philofopher, and to prove themfelves in very deed to be very Monfters ; yea, many of them fo affedlMan- -like Clothes and ffiorne Haire, it Is hard to difcover the Sex of a Woman through the Attire of a Man. But we fee in my Text worthy Ruth taking upon her, not the Clothes, but the Courage ; not the Haire, but the Heart ; not the Attire, but the Refolution of a Man, yea, and more then of a Man, witneffe her worthy fpeech, Intreat me not to depart, ^c. Verfe 1 8 : And when fhe faw that fhe was ftedfaftly minded to goe with her, fhe left off fpeaking unto her. Orpah and Ruth may be compared to two ftrong Forts, Naomi to one that befieged them, who made three fore Af- faults upon them : The firft, in the eighth Verfe ; which Aflault both of them refifted with equall conftancie : The fecond, in the eleventh Verfe ; to which Orpah bafely yeeldeth, and accepteth termes of Compofition : The laft, in the fif teenth Verfe ; which Ruth moft valiantly defeated, and ftood upon termes of Defiance to the mention of any returne. Now as fouldiers when they have long befieged a Citle with the loffe of Time, Money, and Men, being hopeleffe to take it, they even found a Retreat, and retire home, without accom- pliffiing their defire : fo Naomi perceiving that all her argu- 1631.] Ruth, Chap. i. verf. 17. 18. t^j ments which ffie ufed to conquer Ruth, like Water in the Smiths Forge eaft on Coales, did more intend the heat of her conftancie, gives over in my Text, And when fhe faw, &'c. Which words doe probably perfwade what formerly we affirmed, namely, that Naomi diffwaded her daughter, onely to fearch and found her fincerltie, not with any true defire ffie ffiould goe back to Moab. For even as It is plaine, that the Replyer in his Difputation aimeth not at the fuppreffing, but at the advancing of a Truth, who furceafeth and cavills no longer when he fees the neck of his argument broken with a fufficient anfwer ; fo it appeareth that Naomi, what ffie had faid formerly, fpake It onely to trie her daughter, becaufe having now had fufficient experience of her conftancie, ffie fo willingly defifted, God wreftled with Jacob, with a defire to be conquer'd ; fo Naomi no doubt oppofed Ruth, hoping and wiffiing that ffie her felfe might be foiled. And when fhe faw that fhe was ftedfaftly minded^ The Hebrew reades it, that fhe ftrengthned her felf ; that being their phrafe to expreffe an Oath. Obfervation : Where we obferve. Oaths taken upon juft occafion are excellent Ties and Bands to ftrengthen men in the performance of thofe things to which they fweare. The greater pittie it is then that a thing in it felfe fo foveraigne ffiould be fo dayly and dangeroufly abufed. Witneffe Herod, who by reafon of a raffi Oath eaft himfelfe into a worfe Prifon then that wherein he had put the Baptift, making that (which being well ufed might have confirmed in Pietie) to be a meanes to Inforce him to Murther. Ufe : Let this teach us, when we finde our felves to lagge and faulter in Chriftianitie, to call to minde that folemne Vow, Promife, and Profeffion, which our God-fathers in our Name made for us at our Baptifme, To forfake the Devill and all his workes, the vaine pompes and vanities of this wicked world, and to fight valiantly under Chrifts Standard. Let us remem ber from whence we are fallen, and doe our firft worke. We need not make a new Vow, but only renew the old, and fo fettle and eftabliffi our felves in the pradllce of Pietie, as Ruth in my Text by an Oath ftrengthned her felfe. 58 Comment on Ruth. {Circa She left off fpeaking unto her.] She faw ffie had now enough expreffed and declared her integritle, and therefore ffie would not put her to the trouble of any farther tryall. Obfervation : Hence the Dodtrine is this : After proofe and tryall made of their fidehtle, we are to truft our Brethren, without any farther fufpition. Not to trie before we truft. Is want of wifdome ; not to truft after we have tryed, is want of charitie. The Gold-fmlth muft purifie the droffe and oare from the Gold, but he muft be warie left he make wafte of good Metall, If overTCurious in too often refining. We may fearch and found the fincerltie of our Brethren, but after good experience made of their uprightneffe, we muft take heed left, by continuall fifting and proving them, we offend a weak Chriftian. Chrift tryed the woman of Syrophtenicia firft with filence, then with two ffiarpe anfwers ; at laft finding her to be found he difmifled her with granting her requeft and com mending of her faith. When he had faid to Peter the third time, Loveft thou me ? he refted fatisfied with Peters anfwer and troubled him with no more queftions. Ufe : It may confute the jealous and fufpitlous mindes of fuch who ftill thinke that their Brethren are rotten at the heart, hypocritical, diffemblers, though they have made never fo manifeft proofe of their uprightneffe. Thomas would not take his Mafters Refurredlion on the Credit of his fellow- ApofUes relation ; his faith would not follow except his owne fenfe was the Uffier to lead it the way : fo thefe men are alto gether Incredulous, and very Infidels in the point of their Brethrens fincerltie, though it be never fo furely warranted unto them on the words of thofe whom they ought to beleeve. Hence oftentimes it comes to paffe, that they fcandalize and offend many weake Chriftians, whofe Graces are true, though weake ; Faith unfalned, though feeble : Yea, it maketh weake Saints to be jealous of themfelves, to fee others fo jea lous of them. But we muft be wonderfuU carefull how we give offence to any of Gods little ones. When Efau, Gen. 23- 13, would have perfwaded Jacob to drive on fafter, Jacob excufed himfelfe, faying. That the Children were tender, and the Ewes big with young; and if they ftiould be over -driven one day, they would die. Thus if any would perfwade us to fift 1631.J Ruth, Chap. i. verf. 18. 19. 59 and winnow, and trie the integritle of our Brethren, after long experience of them, we may anfwer, This is dangerous to be done, becaufe fmoaking Flax and bruifed Reeds", tender Pro- feffors, may utterly be difcouraged and dif-heartened by our reftleffe preffing and difquieting of them. Wherefore Naomi, having now feene the Realitie of Ruths Refolutions, left off from any further molefting of her. Verfes 19 to 22: So they 'went both untill they came to Bethlehem ; and when they came to Bethlehem, all the Citie was moved at them, and they faid. Is not this Naomi ? And fhe faid. Call me not Naomi, but call me Marah ; for the Lord hath dealt bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath caufed me to returne emptie ; why call you me Naomi, fithence the Lord hath teftified againft me, and the Almightie hath affliSled me ? So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moa biteffe, her Daughter in law, with her, when fhe came out of the Countrey of Moab ; and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of Barley Harveft. The holy Spirit mentioneth not what difcourfe they ex changed by the way ; yet no doubt they were neither filent nor bufied in unprofitable talke. And all the Citie was moved, iSc] See here, Naomi was formerly a woman of good qualitie and faffiion, of good ranke and repute ; otherwife her returne in povertie had not been fo generally taken notice of. Shrubs may be grubb'd to the ground, and none miffe them, but every one markes the fell ing of a Cedar. Groveling Cottages may be evened to the Earth, and none obferve them ; but every Traveller takes notice of the fall of a Steeple. Let this comfort thofe to whom God hath given fmall Poffeffions. Should he vifit them with povertie, and take from them that little they have, yet their griefe and ffiame would be the leffe : they ffiould not have fo many fingers pointed at them, fo many eyes ftaring on them, fo many words fpoken of them ; they might lurke in obfcuritie : it muft be a Naomi, a perfon of eminency and eftate, whofe; povertie muft move a whole Citie. 6o Comment on Ruth. {Circa And they faid. Is not this Naomi ?] Remarkable it is that fo many people ffiould jump in the fame expreffion ; but as Abraham laughed, and Sarah laughed, both ufed the fame outward gefture, yet arifing from different caufes ; his laugh ter from joy, her's from diftruft : fo all thefe people might meet in the fame forme of words, yet farre diffent in their minds wherewith they fpake them. Some might fpeak out of admiration : Strange, wonderfuU I Is this fhe who once wasfo wealthie ? How quickly is a River of Riches drained drie I She that formerly was fo faire, now one can fcarce read the ruines of beauty in her face : Is not this Naomi ? Some out of ex- probation : See, fee, this is fhe that could not be content to tarry at home to take part of the Famine with the reft of her fellows, but needs, with her Husband and Sons, muft be gadding to Moab : fee what good fhe hath got by removing ; by changing her Country, fhe hath changed her Condition : Is not this Naomi ? Some might fpeak it out of Commiferation : Alas, alas. Is not this that gracious woman, that godly Saint, which formerly by her Charity relieved many in diftreffe ? How foon is a full clod turned into parched earth I one that fupplied others, into one that needeth to be fupplied by others I Is not this Naomi? And fhe faid, call me not Naomi, but call me Marah.] Naomi fignifieth Beautifull ; Marah, Bitter, Exod. 15. 23, where we fee, that the Godly In povertie are unwilling to have Names and Tities, difagreeing and di^proportloned to their prefent eftates ; which may confute the folly of many, which being in diftrefs, and living littie better then upon the alms of others, will ftill ftand upon their points, bear themfelves bravely on their birth, not lofe an inch of their place, not abate an ace of their gentrie. Far otherwife was Naomi affedled, being poor, ffie would not be over- named, or Tirie-heavie : Call me not Naomi, but call me Marah. Obfervation : Here alfo we may fee, that it was a cuftome of great Antiquitie in the Worid, that Men and Women ffiould have feverall names whereby they were called, and that for thefe three Reafons. I. That they might be differenced and diftinguiffied from others. 1631.] Ruth, Chap. i. verf. 19. 20, 61 2, That they might be ftlrred up to verifie the meanings and fignifications of their names: wherefore let every Obadiah ftrive to be a fervant of God, each Nathaniel to be a gift of God, Onefimus to be profitable, every Roger quiet and peace able, Robert famous for counfell, and William a help and defence to many ; not like Abfalon, who was not a Father of Peace, as his name doth import, but a fonne of Sedition ; and Diotrephes, not nurfed by God, as his name founds, but puffed up by the Devill, as it is 3 John 9, 3, That they might be incited to imitate the vertues of thofe worthy perfons, who formerly have been bearers and owners of their names. Let all Abrahams be falthfull, Ifaacs quiet, Jacobs painfull, Josephs chafte; every Lewis pious, Ed ward confeffor of the true faith, William conqueror over his own corruptions. Let them alfo carefully avoid thofe finnes for which the bearers of the Names ftand branded to pof teritie. Let every Jonah beware of frowardnefs, Thomas oi dlftruftfulneffe, Martha of worldllnefs, Mary of wantonneffe. If there be two of our names, one exceedingly good, the other notorloufly evill, let us decline the vices of the one, and pradtife the vertues of the other. Let every Judas not follow Judas Ifcariot, who betrayed our Saviour, but ludas the brother of lames, the writer of the generali Epiftle; each Demetrius, not follow him in the Adls who made filver ffirlnes for Diana, but Demetrius, 3 lohn 12, who had a good report of all men. Every Ignatius not imitate Ignatius Loiola the lame Father of blind obedience, but Igna.tius the worthy Martyr in the Primitive Church. And if it ffiould chance through the indifcretion of Parents and God fathers, that a bad name ffiould be Impofed on any; oh let not folly be with them, becaufe Nabal is their name ; but in fuch a cafe, let them ftrive to falfifie, difprove, and confute their names ; otherwife If they be good, they muft anfwer them. In the dayes of (^.Elizabeth, there was a Roy all Ship called the Revenge, which having maintained a long fight againft a Fleet of Spaniards, (wherein eight hundred great Shot were difcharged againft her,) was at laft faine to yeeld : but no fooner were her men gone out of her, and two hundred freffi 62 Comment on Ruth. {Circa Spaniards come into her, but ffie fuddenly funke them and her felfe ; and fo the Revenge was revenged. Shall liveleffe pieces of Wood anfwer the Names which men impofe upon them, and ffiall not reafonable foules doe the fame? But of all Names, I pray God that never juft occafion be given that we be Chriftened Iccabod, but that the glory may remaine In our Ifrael fo long as the faithful Witneffe endureth in Heaven. And fo much of thofe words. Call me not Naomi, but &c. For the Lord hath dealt bitterly with me.] Afflidtions relliffi foure and bitter even to the pallats of the beft Saints. Obfervation : Now bitter things are obferved in Phyfick to have a double operation : firft, to ftrengthen and corroborate the Liver ; and fecondly, to cleanfe and wipe away Choler, which cloggeth the ftomack : both thefe effedls afflidtions by their bitterneffe produce ; they ftrengthen the inward Vitals of a Chriftian, his Faith and Patience, and cleanfe Gods Saints from thofe fuperfluous excrements which the furfeit of Prof- peritle hath caufed in them. It may therefore ferve to com fort fuch as groane under Gods afflidling hand, Hebrews 1 2. II. The book which S. lohn eat. Rev. 10. 10, y^asfweet In his mouth, but bitter in his belly : cleane contrarie, afflidtions are bitter In the mouth, but fweet In the belly ; God by fandlifying them, extradling Honey out of Gall, and Sugar out of Wormewood. And let it teach us alfo, not to wonder if the Children of God winch and ffirug, and make foure faces, when afflidled : Wonder not at David, if he cry eth out in the anguifh of his heart ; at lob. If he complaineth in the bitterneffe of his foule ; at leremiah, if he lamenteth in the ex- tremitie of his griefe : For even then they are fwallowing of a Potion which is bitter unto fleffi and blood. / went out full, and the Lord hath caufed me to returne emptie?^ Here may we fee the uncertaintie of all outward wealth. Obfervation: How quickly may a Craffus, or Crcefus, be turned into a Codrus ; the richeft, into the pooreft of men ! Whom the Sunne-rifing feeth in wealth, him the Sunne-fetting may fee in want. Set not up then your homes fo high, 1631.J Ruth, Chap. i. verf. 20. 2i. 22, 63 neither fpeake prefumptuous words, ye wealthie men ; for God, ifit pleafeth him, can in a moment difpoffeffe you of all your Riches. And let us all not lay up Treafures here on Earth, where Ruft and Mothes doe corrupt, and Theeves breake through and fteale ; but lay up your Treafure in Heaven, where Ruft and Moth doe not corrupt, and Theeves doe not breake through and fteale. Why call you me Naomi, fithence the Lord, ^c?^ The mention of their former Wealth is grievous to the godly when they are in prefent Povertie. Obfervation : When the Children of Ifrael are Captives in Babylon, it cuts them to the heart to be twitted with the Songs of Sion. And it may teach this point of wifdome to fuch as repaire to give comfort to men in afflidlion, not to mention that tedious and ingratefuU fubjedl, what happineffe that partie formerly enjoyed. Summe not up to Job in diftreffe the number of his Camels, tell not his Sheepe, reckon not his Oxen, reade not unto him an Inventorle of thofe Goods whereof he before was poffeffed ; for this will but adde to his vexation : rather defcend to apply folid and fubftantial com fort unto him. Sithence the Lord hath teftified againft me, and the Almightie bath affliSled me ? ] Every affliction is a witneffe that God is angry with us for our finnes. Obfervation: Who then Is able to hold out Suit with God in the Court of Heaven ? For God himfelfe is both Judge and Witneffe, and alfo the executor and inflldler of puniffi ments. It Is therefore impoffible for finfull man to plead with him ; and it is our moft advlfed courfe, as foone as may be, to come to termes of compofition with him, and to rnake meanes unto him through the mediation of our Saviour, Now that all afflidtions are immediately Inflidled by God we have ffiewed formerly [pages % feq., and 18]. And they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of Barly Harveft:] The lewes had two diftindl Harvefts of Wheat and Barly, and Barly was the firft, 2 Sam. 21.9. So here 64 Comment on Ruth. {Circa 163 1.] we fee the providence of God in ordering and difpofing the Journey of Naomi, to end it in the moft convenient time. Had ffie come before Harveft, ffie would have been ftraltned for meanes to maintaine her it\iz ; if after Harveft, Ruth had loft all thofe occafions which paved the way to her future advancement. God therefore, who ordered her going, con cludes her Journey in the beginning of Harveft, And thus have we gone over this Chapter. Now as Samuel in the firft Booke, chap. 7. verf. 12, eredled an Altar, and called it Eben-ezer, for, faid he, Hitherto the Lord hath helped us : fo here may I rayfe an Altar of Gratitude unto God with the fame infcrlption, Eben-ezer, Hitherto the Lord of his good- neffe hath affifted us. CHAP. II. Verfes 1,2: And Naomi had a kinfman of her Husbands, a mighty man of wealth, of the Family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz, And Ruth the Moahiteiie faid unto Naomi, I pray thee let me go into the field, and gather ears of Corne after him in whofe fight I find favour : and fhe faid unto her, Goe, my Daughter. 'His firft Verfe prefents us with two remarkable p things, I . Poore Naomi was allied to powerful Boaz. 2, Boaz was both a powerful man and a Godly man. Of the firft. Poore people may be allied and of great kindred to thofe that are wealthy ; and thofe that be wealthy, to fuch as are poor. loseph, though Governour of Egypt, had poor lacob to his Father, and plain ffiepheards to his brethren. Efther, though Queene to Abaflouerus, hath poore Mordecai for her Uncle. Ufe 1 : Let this confute fuch as having gotten a little more thick clay then the reft of their Family, the getting of new wealth and honour makes them to lofe their old eyes, fo that they cannot fee and difcern their poor kindred afterwards. When lofeph was Governour of Egypt, It is faid that he knew his brethren, but his brethren knew not him; but now adayes It happeneth cleane contrary. If one of a Family be advanced to great honour. It is likely that his kindred will know him, but he oftentimes comes to forget them. Few there be of the noble nature of the Lord Cromwd, who fitting at Dinner 66 Comment on Ruth. {Circa with the Lords of the Council, and chancing to fee a poor man afar off which ufed to fweep the Cells and the Cloifters, called for the man, and told the Lords, This mans Father hath given me many a good meale, and he ffiall not lack fo long as I live.^ Ufe 2 : Let it teach thofe who are the top of their kind red, the beft of their Houfe, to be thankful to Gods gra cious good neffe who hath raifed them to fuch a height. He hath not dealt thus with every one, neither are all of their kindred fo well provided for outward maintenance. And alfo let them learn to be bountiful and beneficial to their kindred In diftrefs. Mordecai faid to Efther, Efth. 4, 14, Who knoweth whether thou art come to the Kingdom for fuch a time? namely, to deliver her Country-men the Jews from that imminent danger. So who knoweth whether God hath raifed thee up, who art the beft of thy kindred, to this very intent, that thou mighteft be the Treafure and the Storehoufe to fupplie the want of others which are allied unto thee ? But if one ffiould chance to be of fo wealthy a ftock, as that none of his alliance ftood in need of his charity ; let fuch a one eaft his eye upon fuch as are of kindred unto him by his fecond birth, and fo he ffiall find enough Widows, Orphans, and poor Chriftians, to receive his liberalitie. Notwithftanding, let poor people be warie and difcreet, that through their idleneffe they be not a burthen to wealthie men of their alliance. When a Huffiand-man claimed kindred in Grafted Bifhop of Lincoln, and would fain on the inftant turn a Gentleman, and to this end requefted his Lordffiip to beftow an office upon him : the Bifhop told him, that If his Plough were broken, he would mend it ; If he wanted a Plough, he would make him a new one ; telling him withall, that he ffiould by no means leave that Calling and Vocation wherein God had fet him. So ought all poor people induftrloufly to take pains for themfelves, and not to give themfelves over to eafe, relying and depending for their maintenance on their reference and relation to a rich kinfman. Come we now to the fecond Obfervation, That the fame \Fox, page 1188. 1631.] Ruth, Chap. ii. verf. 1,2. 67 man may be godly, and alfo mighty in wealth, like Boaz.. Behold your Calling ; not many wife, yet fome wife, as Salomon, and Sergius Deputle of Cyprus ; not many rich, yet fome rich, as Abraham, lob; not many noble, yet fome noble, as Theophilus. For It Is not the having of wealth, but the having confidence in wealth ; not the poffeffing It, but the relying on it, which makes rich men incapable of the King- dome of Heaven: otherwife Wealth well ufed is a great bleffing, enabling the owner to do God more glorle, the Church and Common- Wealth more good. Ufe: Let all Wealthie men ftrive to add inward grace unto their outward greatnefs. Oh 'tis excellent when loafh and leboiada meet together ; when Prince and Prieft, Power and Pietie are united in the fame perfon ; that fo Greatneffe may be feafoned and fandllfied by Grace, and Grace credited and countenanced by Greatneffe ; that fo Kings may be Nurfing- -Fathers, and ^eenes Nurfing-Mothers to Gods Church. Contrarie to which, how many be there, that thinke them felves priviledged from being good, becaufe they are great ! Confining Pietie to Hofpitals ; for their owne parts they difdaine fo bafe a Companion. Hence as Hills, the higher, the barrener; fo men commonly, the wealthier, the worfe; the more Honour, the leffe HoHneffe. And as Rivers, when content with a fmall Channel, runne fweet and cleare ; when fwelling to a Navigable Channel, by the confluence of feverall Tributarie Rivulets, gather mudde and mire, and grow fait and bracklffi, and violently beare downe all before them ; fo many men, who in meane Eftates have been Pious and Reli gious, being advanced in Honour and inlarged In Wealth, have growne both empious and prophane towards God, cruell and tyrannicall over their Brethren. And Ruth the Moabiteffe faid unto Naomi, I pray thee let me goe into the field, and gather eares of Corne, ^c] Herein two excellent Graces appeare in Ruth. Firft, Obedience ; ffie would not goe to gleane without the leave of her Mother in law. Verily I fay unto you, I have not found fo much dutie, no, not in naturall Daughters to their owne Mothers. How many of them now-adayes, in E 2 68 Comment on Ruth. {Circa matters of more moment, will betroth and contradl them felves, not onely without the knowledge and confent, but even againft the expreffe Commands of their Parents I Secondly, fee her Induftrie, that ffie would condefcend to gleane. Though I thinke not, with the lewifh Rabbins, that Ruth was the Daughter to Eglon, King of Moab ; yet no doubt ffie was defcended of good Parentage ; and now fee, faine to gleane. Whence we may gather, that thofe that formerly have had good birth, and breeding, may afterward be forced to make hard ffiifts to maintaine themfelves. Mufculus was forced to worke with a Weaver, and afterwards was faine to delve in the Ditch, about the Citie of Strafburgh; as Pantalion in his Life. Let this teach even thofe whofe veines are waffied with generous bloud, and arteries quickned with Noble fpirits, in their profperitie to furniffi, qualifie, and accommodate themfelves with fuch Gentile Arts, and liberall Myfteries, as will be neither blemiffi nor burthen to their birth ; that fo if hereafter God ffiall eaft them into povertie, thefe Arts may ftand them in fome ftead, towards their main tenance and reliefe. And Naomi faid, Goe, my Daughter.] See here how meekely and mildly ffie anfwers her. The difcourfe of Gods Children, in their ordinarie talke, ought to be kinde and courteous : So betwixt Abraham and Tfaac, Gen. 22. 7; betwixt Elkanah and Hannah, i Sam. i. 23. Indeed It is lawfull and neceffarie for Jacob to chide i?ac^f/ fpeaking unadvlfedly. Gen. 30. 2; for Job to fay to his Wife, Thou fpeakeft like a foolifh Wife. But otherwife, when no jufl occafion of anger is given, their words ought to be meeke and kinde like Naomies, Goe, my Daughter. Verfes 3 and 4 : And fhe went, and came and gleaned in the field after the Reapers; and it happened that ftoe met with the portion of the field of Boaz, who was of the family • -^nd if they were perfons in Authoritie, though they were well-nigh equall in age, they ufed the fame expreffion. Thus Jofeph to his Brother Benjamin, Gen. 43. 29, God be mercifull to thee, my Sonne. Let young people therefore reverently obferve their dutie and distance to their Seniors in Age, and Superiours in Authoritie : Yet I am afraid, men keepe not the method of Jacobs Children, the eldeft fitting downe according to his Age, and the youngeft according to his Youth ; but fulfill the Complaint of the Prophet, The young prefume againft the aged, and the bafe againft the honourable. Let aged perfons ftrive to deferve their refpedl, by demeaning themfelves gravely, and ftriving to adde gracious hearts to gray haires : otherwife, if they difcover any lightneffe, loofeneffe, wantonneffe in their carriage, young men will hereupon take occafion not onely to flight and negledl, but alfo to contemne and defpife their paternall diftance, and Father-like authoritie. Now as for young Minifters, they have not this advantage, to fpeake unto young people in the phrafe of Boaz, Heareft thou, my Daughter? but muft pradtife S. P^a/j Precept, i Tim. 5, i, 2, Rebuke not an Elder, but exhort him as a Father, and the younger men as Brethren ; the elder women as Mothers, the younger as Sifters, in all pureneffe. But abide here by my Maidens.] Observation : Hence we gather, 'tis moft decent for women to affociate and accom- 78 Comment on Ruth. {Circa panle themfelves with thofe of their owne Sexe : Miriam, Exod. 15, 20, with a feminine Quire, with Timbrels and Dances, anfwered the men ; and the Difciples wondred, John 4, 27, that Chrift talked with a woman ; ffiewing hereby, that it was not his ordinarie courfe to converfe alone with one of another Sexe : For herein the Apoftles Precept deferves to take place, namely, to avoid from all appearance of evill. Have I not commanded the fervants, that they fhould not touch thee ?] Boaz had juft caufe to feare left fome of his fervants might wrong her ; to prevent which, he gave them ftridt charge to the contrarie, Obfervation: Here we fee that fervile natures are moft prone and proclive to wrong poore ftrangers. Indeed, gener ous fpirits difdaine to make thofe the fubjedls of their crueltie, which rather ffiould be the objedls of their pittie : but it com- plyes with a fervile difpofition to tyrannize and domineere over fuch poore people as cannot refift them. Like pettie Brookes pent within a narrow Channell, on every daffi of Raine they are readie to overflow, and wax angry at the ap prehenfion ofthe fmalleft diftaft. The Locufts, Revel. 9. 10, had tails like Scorpions, and ftings in their tails ; which by fome is expounded, that of thofe people which are meant by the Scorpions, the pooreft were the proudeft; the meaneft, the moft mifchiveous ; the bafeft, the bloodieft. And furely he that readeth the ftory of our Engliffi Martyrs ffiall find, that one Alexander a Jaylor, and one drunken Warwick, an Executioner, were moft bafely and barbaroufly cruell to Gods poor Saints. Secondly, From thefe words obferve ; That it Is the part of a good Mafter not onely to doe no harm himfelfe, but alfo to take order that his Servants doe none. Gen. 12, 20, and 26. 1 1 . When Eliftoa would take nothing of Naaman, 2 Kings 5. 20, Gehazi faid ; As the Lord liveth, I will run after him and take fomething of him. Thus may bafe Servants (if not prevented with a command to the contrary) wrong their moft right and upright Mafters, by taking Gifts and Bribes pri vately. The water (though it arifeth out of a moft pure Fountain) which runneth through Mineralls of Lead, Copper, 1631.] Ruth, Chap. ii. verf. 8. 9, 79 Brimftone, or the like, hath with It a ftrange tafte and rellffi in the mouth. So Jufiice, which fhould runne downe like a ftreame, though it arifeth out of a pure Fountaine, out of the breaft of a fincere and incorrupted Judge ; yet if formerly it hath passed through the Mines oi Gold and Silver, I meane, through bad Servants, who have taken Bribes to prepoffeffe the Judge their Mafter with the prejudice of falfe informa tions, Juftice hereby may be ftrangely perverted and cor rupted. Many Mafters themfelves have been honeft and upright, yet much wrong hath been done under them by their wicked Servants, It Is faid of Queene Mary, that, for her own part. She did not fo much as bark ; but ffie had them under her, which did more than bite; fuch were Gardner, Bonner, Story, Woodroffe, Tyrrell : Now ffie ffiould have tyed up thefe Bandogs, and chained and fettered up thefe Blood hounds from doing any mifchiefe. Camden In his Elizabetha, in the yeare 1595, writeth thus of the then Lord Chancellor bi England ; Ob for des £sf corruptelas famulorum in benefidis Ecclefiafticis nundinandis, ipfe vir integer ab Ecdefiafticis baud bene audivit. He ought to have imitated the example of Boaz, not onely to have done no harme himfelfe, but alfo to have enjoyned the fame to his fervants : Have I not com manded my fervants, that they fhould not touch thee ? Thirdly, in thefe words Boaz doth intimate. That if he gave a charge to the contrarie, none of his fervants durft prefume once to moleft her, Obfervation : Where we fee, Mafters commands ought to found Lawes in the eares of their fervants, if they be lawfull. Indeed, ii Abfolon (2 Sam. 13, 28,) faith to his fervants, KiU Amnon, fear not, for have I not commanded you ? this com mand did not oblige, becaufe the thing enjoyned was alto gether ungodly. Otherwife, men muft imitate the obedience of the Centurions fervants ; who faid to the one, Goe, and be goeth ; and to another. Come, and he commeth ; and to bis fer vant. Doe this, and he doth it. Corollary: Now, if we ought to be thus dutifull to our Earthly Mafters, furely, if the Lord of Heaven enjoyneth us any thing, we ought to doe it without any doubt or delay. Were there no Hell to puniffi, no Heaven to reward, no Pro- 8o Comment on Ruth. {Circa mifes pronounced to the godly, no Threatnings denounced to the wicked ; yet this is a fufficient reafon to make us doe a thing, becaufe God hath enjoyned It; this a convincing argument to make us refralne from It, becaufe he hath forbidden it. Then fhe feU on her face and bowed.] feftion: Was not not this too much honour to give to any mortall Creature ? And doth it not come within the compaffe of the breach of the fecond Commandement, Thou fhalt not bow downe and worfhip them ? Efpecially feeing godly Mordecai refufed to bend his knee to Haman, Anfwer : Civill honour may and muft be given to all in Authoritie, according to the ufuall geftures of the Countrey : Now fuch bowing was the cuftome of the Eafterne people, Gen. 23- 3- As for Mordecai's inftance, it makes not againft this ; he being therein either immediately warranted by God, or elfe he refufed to bow to Haman as being an Amalakite, betwixt which curfed Brood and the Ifraelltes the Lord com manded an eternail enmitie. Corollary : Now, if Ruth demeaned her felfe with such reverent gefture to Boaz, how reverent ought our gefture to be when we approach into the prefence of God, Indeed, God is a Spirit, and he will be worfhipped in Spirit and Truth ; yet fo that he will have the outward decent pofture of the bodie to accompanie the inward fincerltie of the foule. And faid. Why have I found favour ?] As If ffie had faid : When I refledl my eyes upon my felfe, I cannot reade in my felfe the fmalleft worth to deferve fo great a favour from thy hands ; and therefore I muft acknowledge my felfe exceedingly beholden to you. But principally I lift up my eyes to the providence of the Lord of Heaven; mens hearts are in his hand as the Rivers of Water ; he turneth them whither he pleafeth : He it is that hath mollified thy heart, to ffiew this undeferved kindneffe unto me. Here we fee Ruths humilltie. Many now-adayes would have made a contrarie conftruction of Boaz his Charitie, and reafoned thus : Surely he feeth in me fome extraordinarie worth, whereof as yet I have not taken 1631.] Ruth, Chap. ii. verf. lo. 11. 81 notice In my felfe ; and therefore hereafter I will maintaine a better opinion of my owne deferts. But Ruth confeffeth her owne unworthlnefle : And from her example let us learne to be humbly and heartily thankfull to thofe which beftow any courtefie or kindneffe upon us. Since I am a ftranger.] She amplifies his favour from the indignitie of her owne perfon, being a ftranger. Corollary : Oh then, if Ruth Interpreted it fuch a kindneffe that Boaz tooke notice of her, being a ftranger, how great is the love of God to us, who loved us in Chrifl when we were ftrangers and aliens from the Commonwealth of Ifrael 1 As the never-failing foundation of the Earth is firmely faftned for ever fleeting, yet fetied on no other fubftance then Its owne ballafted weight ; fo Gods love was founded on neither caufe nor con dition In the Creature, but Iffued onely out of his owne free favour. So that In this respedl we may all fay unto God what Ruth doth unto Boaz In the Text; Why have we found favour in thine eyes, that thou ftoouldeft take knowledge of us, feeing we were but ftrangers ? Verfes 11 and 12 : And Boaz anfwered and faid unto her. It bath fully been fhewed me, all that thou haft done unto thy Mother in law fince the death of thine Husband; and how thou hafi left thy Father and thy Mother, and tbe Land of thy Nati- vitie, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not hereto fore. The Lord recompence thy worke, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Ifrael, under whofe wings thou art come to truft. It bath been fully fhewed me, all.] More then probable it is, that Boaz had received his intelligence Immediately irom Naomi. Obfervation: How-ever, here we may fee, the vertues of worthy perfons will never want Trumpets to found them to the world. The Jews were the Centurions Trumpet to our Savi our, Luke 7. 3. And the Widowes Dorcas her Trumpet to S. Peter, A5ls 9. 3^. Let this encourage men in their vertuous proceedings, knowing that their worthy deeds ffiall not be buried in obfcuritie, but ffiall finde tongues in their lively 82 Comment on Ruth. [Circa colours to expreffe them. Abfolon having no Children, and defirous to perpetuate his Name, eredled a Pillar in the Kings Dale ; and the fame is called Abfolon' s Pillar unto this day. But the moft compendious way for men to confecrate their Memories to Eternitie, Is to eredl a Pillar of vertuous Deeds; which ffiall ever remaine, even when the moft lafting Monu ments in the World ffiall be confumed, as not able to fatisfie the Boulimee oi all-confuming Time. And to put the worft, grant that envious men with a Cloud of Calumnies ffiould ecllpfe the beames of vertuous Memories from ffiining in the World, yet this may be their comfort, that God that fees in secret, will reward them openly. Moreover, it is the dutie of fuch who have received Courtefies from others, to ptofeffe and expreffe the fame as occafion ffiall ferve ; that fo their Bene- fadlors may publikely receive their deferved commendation. Thus furely Naomi had done by Ruth ; from whofe mouth no doubt, though not immediately, her vertues were founded in the eares of Boaz. It bath been fully fhewed me, all. Here now foUoweth a Summarle, reckoning up of the worthy Deeds of Ruth ; which, becaufe they have been fully difcourfed of in the former Chapter, it would be needleffe againe to infift upon them : Proceed we therefore to Boaz his Prayer. The Lord recompence thee.] As If he had faid : Indeed, Ruth, that courtefie which I afforded thee to gleane upon my Land without any difturbance, comes farre ffiort both of thy deferts and my defires. All that I wiffi is this. That what I am un able to requite the Lord himfelfe would recompence : May he give thee a full reward oi Graces internall, externall, eternail; here, hereafter; on Earth, in Heaven; while thou liveft, when thou dieft ; in Grace, in Glory, a full reward. Where firft we may learne, that when we are unable to re quite peoples deferts of our felves, we muft make up our want of workes with good Wiffies to God for them. Indeed, we muft not doe like thofe In the fecond of S. James, verfe i6, who onely faid to the Poore, Depart in peace, warme your felves, and fill your bellies, and yet bestowed nothing upon them: We muft not both begin and conclude with good Wiffies, and doe nothing elfe ; but we muft obferve Boaz his method : 1631.] Ruth, Chap, ii. verf. 11. 12. 83 firft, to begin to doe good to thofe that being vertuous are in diftreffe ; and then, where we fall ffiort in requiting them, to make the reft up with heartie Wiffies to God for them. Obfervation : But the maine Obfervation is this ; There is a recompence of a full reward upon the good workes of his fer.. vants. Gen. 15. i. Moreover, by them is thy fervant taught ; and in keeping them, there is great reward, Pfal. 19. 11. Verily, there is a Reward for the Righteous ; doubtleffe, there is a God that judgeth the Earth ; Godlineffe hath the promifes of this Life, and of the Life to come. Ufe I : It may ferve to confute fuch falfe Spies as rayfe wrong Reports of the Land of Canaan, of the Chriftian Pro feffion, faying with the wicked, Mai. 3, 14, 7/ is in vaine to ferve God ; and what profit is it that we have kept his Com- mandements, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hoaftes ? Slanderous Tongues I which one day ffiall be juftly fined in the Starre-Chamber of Heaven, Ob fcandala magnatum, for flandering of Gods noble fervants and their Profeffion ; for indeed, the Chriftian Life is moft comfortable, for we may both take a liberall Portion, and have a fandllfied ufe of Gods Creatures : befides, within we have peace of Confclence, and joy in the Holy-Ghoft in fome meafure ; one Dramme whereof is able to fugar the moft wormewood afflidlion. Ufe 2 : When we begin to feele our felves to lagge in Chriftianitie, let us fpurre on our affedlions with the medita tion of that /a// r^zwar^ which we ffiall in due time receive; with our Saviour, let us looke to the Joyes which are fet before us; and with Mofes, let us have an eye to the recompence of Reward : Yet fo, that though we look at this Reward, yet alfo we muft look through it, and beyond It. This meditation of the Reward is a good place for our foules to bait at, but a bad place for our foules to lodge in : we muft mount our mindes higher, namely, to aime at the glory of God ; at which all our adlions muft be diredled, though there were no Reward propounded unto them. Yet fince it is Gods goodneffe to pro pound unto us a Reward over and befides his owne Glory, this ought fo much the more to incite us to diligence in our Chriftian calling : For If Othnid, Judges i . 1 3, behaved himfelfe F 2 84 Comment on Ruth. {Circa fo valiantly againft the enemies of Ifrael, in hope to obtaine Achfah, Calebs Daughter, to Wife ; how valiantly ought we to demeane our felves againft our fplrituall enemies, knowing that we ffiall one day be married unto our Saviour in eternaU happineffe ! And this is a full Reward. ObjeSlion : But fome may fay, Thefe termes of Recompence and Reward may feeme to favour the Popifh Tenent, That our good workes merit at Gods hand, Anfwer : Reward and Recompence unto our good workes are not due unto us for any worth of our owne, but meerely from Gods free favour and gracious promife. For, to make a thing truly meritorious of a Reward, it is required, firft, that the thing meriting be our owne, and not anothers ; now our beft workes are none of ours, but Gods Spirit In us. Secondly, it is requifite that we be not bound of dutie to doe It ; now we are bound to doe all the good deeds which we doe, and ftill remaine but unprofitable fervants. Thirdly, there muft be a proportion betweene the thing meriting, and the Reward merited ; now there is no proportion betweene our ftained and imperfedl workes (for fuch are our beft) and that infinite weight of glory wherewith God will reward us. It remaines therefore, that no Reward Is given us for our owne inherent worth, but meerely for Gods free favour, who crownes his owne workes in us. Under whofe wings thou art come to truft.] A Metaphor ; it is borrowed from an Hen, which with her clocking fummons together her ftragling Chickens, and then out-ftretcheth the fanne of her wings to cover them. Familiarly it is ufed in Scripture, and amongft other places, by our Saviour, Math. 23. 37, How oft would 1 have gathered thee together, as an Hen gathereth her Chickens under ber wings, and ye would not I And juft it was with God, becaufe the fooliffi Chickens of the lewes would not come to Chrift, the Hen, calling them, to fuffer them to be devoured by the Eagle, the Imperiall Armie of the Romans. Obfervation: Gods love and eare over his Children is as great as an Hen's over her Chickens. Now the Hen's wings doe the Chickens a double good. 1631.] Ruth, Chap, ii, ver. 12, 85 Firft, they keepe them from the Kite ; fo Gods providence protedteth his fervants from that Kite, the Devill : For as the Kite ufeth to fetch many Circuits and Circles, and long hovers and flutters round about, and at length fpying her advantage pops downe on the poore Chicken for a prey ; fo the Devill, who, as it Is lob 1. 7, compaffe th the Earth to and fro, and walketh through it ; and at length fpying an opportunitie pitcheth and fetleth himfelfe upon fome poore Soule to devoure it. If the wings of Gods providence (as the Citie of Refuge) doe not refcue him from his clutches. Secondly, the Hen with her wings broodes her Chickens, and makes them thereby to thrive and grow. In Summer her wings are a Canopie, to keepe her Chickens from the heat of the fcorching Sunne ; and in Winter they are a Mantle, to defend them from the injurie of the pinching cold : So Gods providence and protedlion makes his Children to fprout, thrive, and profper under it. In Profperitie, Gods providence keep- eth them from the heat of Pride ; in Adverfitie, it preferveth them from being benummed with frozen Defpaire. Ufe : Let us all then ftrive to runne to hide our felves under the wings of the God of Heaven. Hearke how the Hen clocks in the Pf aimes. Call upon me in the time of trouble, and I will heare thee, and thou ftoalt prayfe me 1 How ffie clocks in the Canticles, Returne, O Shulamite, returne, returne, that we may behold thee I How ffie clocketh. Math. 7, 7, Aske and ye fhall have, feeke and ye ftiall finde, knock and it fhall be opened unto you 1 How fhe clocks. Math. 11. 28, Come unto me all ye that are wearie and heavie laden, and I will eafe you I Let not us now be like fullen Chickens, which fit moaping under a rotten Hedge, or proating under an old Wood-pile, when the Hen calleth them. Let not us truft to the broken Wall of our owne Strength, or think to lurke under the tottering Hedge of our owne Wealth, or winde- -ffiaken Reeds of our unconftant Friends ; but flye to God, that he may ftretch his wings over us, as the Cherubins did over the Mercie-Seat. And as alwayes in Day-time, fo efpe cially at Night, when we goe to Bed, (for Chickens, when going to Rooft, alwayes run to the Hen,) let us commend our felves with prayer to his Providence, that he would be 86 Comment on Ruth. {Circa pleafed to preferve us from the dangers ofthe Night enfuing ; trufting, with Ruth in the Text, under the wings of tbe Lord God of Ifrael. Verfes 13 and 14: Then fhe faid. Let me finde favour in tbe fight of my Lord ; for thou haft comforted me, and fpoken comfortably unto thy Maid, though I be not like to one of thy Maids. And Boaz faid unto her. At the meale time come thou hither, and eat e ofthe Bread, and dip thy morsell in the vineger. And fhe fate befide the Reapers, and he reached her parched Corne ; and fhe did eate, and was fufficed, and left thereof. Boaz had formerly called Ruth, Daughter ; now Ruth ftlleth him. Lord. When great ones carry themfelves familiarly to meaner perfons, meaner perfons muft demeane themfelves refpedlfully to great ones. Indeed, with bafe and fordid natures familiaritie breeds contempt ; but ingenuous natures will more awfully obferve their diftance towards their Superi ours, of whom they are moft courteoufly intreated. And if great Perfonages ffiould eaft up their accompts, they ffiould finde themfelves not lofers, but gainers of honour by their kinde ufage of their Inferiours. Thofe Starres feeme to us the greateft and ffiine the brighteft which are fet the loweft. Great men, which fometimes ftoop, and ftoop low, in their humble carriage to others, commonly get the greateft luftre of credit and efteeme in the hearts of thofe that be vertuous. And fpoken comfortably unto thy Maid.] In Hebrew, baft fpoken unto the heart. A comfortable fpeech is a word fpoken to the heart. Meditation : Oh that Minifters had this facultie of Boaz his fpeech ; not to tickle the eares, teach the heads, or pleafe the braines of the people, but that their Sermons might foake and fink to the root of their hearts I But though this may be endeavoured by them, it cannot be performed of them without Gods fpeciall affiftance. We may leave our words at the outward porch of mens eares, but his Spirit muft con dudl and lodge them in the Clofet of their hearts. 1631,] Ruth, Chap, ii, verf, 13. 14. 87 Though I be not like to one of thy Maids.] Meaning, becaufe ffie was a Moabiteffe, a Stranger and Afien, they Natives ofthe Common-wealth of Ifrael ; in this refpedl ffie was farre their inferlour, Obfervation: The godly ever conceive very humbly and meanly of themfelves : Mofes, Exod, 4. 10; Gedeon, Judg. 6, 15 ; Abigail, i Sam, 25, 41 ; Efay, 6, 5; Jerem, 1,6; John Baptift, Math. 3. 1 1 ; {Paul,] i Tim, i. 15. And the reafon hereof is, becaufe they are moft privie to and fenfible of their owne infirmities ; their Corruptions which cleave unto them are ever before their eyes. Thefe black feet abate their thoughts when puffed up with Pride for their painted Traine of other Graces. On the other fide, the wicked fet ever the greateft price on their owne worth ; they behold their owne fuppofed Vertues through magnifying Glaffes, and think with Haman that none deferves better to be honoured by the King but themfelves, Ufe : Let us endeavour to obtaine humilltie with Ruth , a vertue of moft worth, and yet which cofteth leaft to keepe. Yet notwithftanding, it is both lawfull and needfull for us to know our owne worth, and to take an exadl furvey of those Graces which God hath beftowed upon us, Firft, that we may know thereby the better to proportion our thanks to God, Secondly, that we may know how much good the Church and Common-wealth expedleth to be performed by us. And laftly, that If any ffiould bafely Infult and domineer over us, we may in humilltie ftand upon the lawfull juftifica tion of our felves, and our owne fufficiencie, as S. Paul did againft the falfe Apoftles at Corinth ; alwayes provided that we give God the glory, and profeffe our felves to be but un profitable fervants. And Boaz faid unto her. At tbe meale time come thou hither, and eate of the Bread.] Two things herein are commendable in Boaz, and to be imitated by Mafters of Families. Firft, That he had provided wholefome and competent foode for his owne fervants : fo ought all houfe-holders to doe. And herein let them propound God for their Prefident, for "he malntaineth the greateft Family ; all creatures are his 88 Comment on Ruth. {Circa fervqnts, and he giveth them meat in due feafon ; he openeth his hand, and fillet h with his bleffing every living thing. Secondly, As Boaz provided Meat for his fervants, fo he allowed them certalne fet convenient Times wherein they might quietiy eate their Meat. But as the people of the Jewes preffed fo faft upon our Saviour, that he had not fo much leifure as to eate Bread {Mark 3. 20,) and take neceffarie fuftenance : So, fuch is the gripple nature of many covetous Mafters, that they will fo taske and tye their fervants to their worke, as not to afford them feafonable Refplte to feede them felves. And dip thy morfell in the vineger I\ Obfervation: The Fare of Gods fervants in ancient time, though wholefome, was very homely : Here they had onely Bread and Vineger, and parched Corne. For a thoufand five hundred and fixtie yeares the World fed upon Herbes ; and the Scripture maketh mention fince of meane and fparing Fare of many godly men. It may therefore confute the Gluttonie and Epicurifme of our Age, confifting both in the fuperfluous number of Diffies, and in the unlawfull nature of them. We rifle the Ayre for dalntle Fowle, we ranfack the Sea for delicious Fiffi, we rob the Earth for delicate Fleffi, to fufpend the doubtfull Appetite betwixt varietie of Dainties. As for the nature of them, many are meere needleffe Whetftones of Hunger, which in ftead of fatls fying doe encreafe it. And as in the Spanifh Inquifition fuch Is their exquifite Crueltie, that, having brought one to the doore of Death by their Tortures, they then revive him by Cordials ; and then again re-killing him with their Torments, fetch him againe with comfortable things ; thus often re-iter ating their Crueltie : So men, having killed their Appetite with good Cheare, feeke with Diffies made for the nonce to enliven it againe, to the fuperfluous wafting of Gods good creatures, and much endammaging the health of their owne bodies. But leaving them, let us be content with that competent Foode which God hath allotted us, knowing that better is a Dinner of Herbes with peace, then a fialled Oxe withftrife; and God, ifit pleafeth him, can fo bleffe Daniels Pulfe unto us, that by meane Fare we ffiall be made more 163 1.] Ruth, Chap. ii. ver. 14. 89 ftrong and healthfull then thofe who furfet on exceffe of Dainties. And fhe did eate and was fufficed.] It is a great bleffing of God, when he gives fuch ftrength and vertue to his creatures as to fatisfie our hunger ; and the contrarie is a great puniffiment: For as, (i Kings i. i,) when they heaped abundance of Clothes on aged King David, yet his decayed body felt no warmth at all ; fo God fo curfeth the Meat to fome, that though they cram me downe never fo much Into their bellies, yet ftill their hunger encreafeth with their Meat, and they finde that Nature is not truly contented and fatisfied therewith. And left thereof:] Hence we learne, the over-plus which remaineth after we have fed ourfelves, muft neither be fcorn- fully eaft away, nor carelefly left alone, but It muft be thriftily kept : Imitating herein the example of our Saviour ; who, though he could make five Loaves fwell to fufficient foode for five thoufand men, yet gave he command, that the fragments ffiould be carefully basketted up. Verfes 15 to 17: And when floe arofe to gleane, Boaz commanded his fervants, faying. Let her gather among the fheaves, and doe not rebuke her ; Alfo let fall fome of the fheavesfor her, and let it lie, that fhe may gather it up, and rebuke her not. So fhe gleaned in the field untill Evening, and fhe threfhed that flie had gathered, and it was about an Ephah of Barley, Before I enter into thefe words, behold an Objedlion ftat>ds at the doore of them, which muft firft be removed. ObjeSlion : One may fay to Ruth, as our Saviour to the young man in the Gofpel, One thing is wanting. Here is no mention of any Grace ffie faid to God either before or after Meat. Anfwer : Charitie will not fuffer me to condemne Ruth of forgetfulneffe herein : She who formerly had been fo thank full to Boaz, the Conduit-Pipe, how can ffie be thought to 90 Comment on Ruth, {Circa be ungratefuU to God, the Fountaine of all favours ? Rather I think it is omitted ofthe holy Spirit to be written downe; who, had he regiftred each particular adtion of Gods Saints, (as it is John 21. 25,) the world would not have been able to containe the Books which fhould be written. Let none therefore take occafion to omit this dutie, becaufe here not fpecified ; rather let them be exhorted to performe it, becaufe in other places it is both commanded by Precept, and commended by Pradllce, J)fK/. 8. 10; i Cor. 10,31. Yea, in the twenty-feventh of the A£ls, the Mariners and Souldiers (people ordinarily not very Religious) though they had fafted fourteene days together, yet none of them were fo unmannerly, or rather fo profane, as to fnatch any Meat, before S. Paul had given Thanks. Let us not there fore be like Efau, who in ftead of giving a Bleffing to God for his Pottage, fold his Bleffing to his Brotiier for his Pottage : but though our hafte or hunger be never fo great, let us difpenfe with fo much time as therein to crave a Bleffing from God, wherein his creatures are fandllfied ; as no doubt Ruth did, though not recorded. And when fhe arofe to gleane.] The end of feeding, is to fall to our Calling. Let us not therefore with Ifrael, fit downe to eate and to drinke, and fo rife up againe to play ; but let us eate to live, not live to eate. 'Tis not matter, we need not make the Clay-Cottage of our Body much larger then it is, by Immoderate feafting ; it Is enough, if we maintaine it fo with competent food, that God our Landlord may not have juft caufe to fue us for want of Reparations. Boaz commanded hisfertants, faying. Let her gather among the fheaves, and doe not rebuke her,] Obfervation : It is law- full for us, according to our pleafure, to extend our favours more to one then to another. Ruth alone, not all the gleaners, was priviledged to gather among the ffieaves uncontrouled. Give leave to Jacob to bequeath a double Portion to Jofeph, his beft beloved fonne ; for Jofeph to make the Meffe of Benjamin five times greater then any other of his Brethren ; for Elkanah to leave a worthier Portion to Hannah then to 1631]. Ruth, Chap, ii. verf.i^. 15. 91 Peninnah : the reafon is, becaufe there can be no wrong done in thofe things which are free favours. I am not leffe juft to him, to whom I give leffe ; but I am more mercifull to him, to whom I give more. Yet in the dealing and diftributing of Liberalitie, let thofe of the Family of Faith be efpecially refpedled ; and of thefe, thofe chiefly which, as the Apoftle faith, are worthy of a double honour. Corollarie : Shall it not therefore be lawfull for the Lord of Heaven to beftow Wealth, Honour, Wifdome, effedtual Grace, Bleffings outward and inward, on one, and denie them to another? You therefore, whom God hath fuffered to gleane among the Sheaves, and hatk fcattered whole handfulls for you to gather ; you that abound and flow with his favours, be heartily thankfull unto him ; he hath not dealt fo with every one, neither have all fuch a large meafure of his Bleffings, And ye common gleaners, who are faine to follow farre after, and glad to take up the fcattered eares, who have a fmaller proportion of his favour, be neither angry with God, nor grieved at your felves, nor envious at your Brethren ; but be content with your condition. It is the Lord, and let him doe what is good in his eyes : ffiall not he have abfolute power to doe with his owne what he thinketh good, when Boaz can command, that Ruth, and no other, may gleane among the ffieaves without rebuke ? Had the fervants of Boaz, without expreffe warrant and command from their Mafter, fcattered handfulls for her to gleane, their adtion had not been Charitie, but flat Theft and Robberle ; for they were to improve their Mafters goods to his greateft profit. On the other fide, it had been a great fault, to with-hold and with-draw any thing from her, which their Mafter commanded them to give. Yet, as the unjuft Steward In Luke made his Mafters Debts to be leffe then they were ; fo many fervants now-adayes make their Mafters gifts to be leffe then they are, giving, leffe then he hath granted, and difpofing leffe then he hath diredled. Men commonly pay Toll for paffing through great Gates, or over common Bridges ; fo when the Liberalitie of Mafters goeth through the Gate of their fervants hands, and Bridges of their fingers, it is conftrained to pay Tribute and Cuftome to their fervants. 92 Comment on Ruth. {Circa before it commeth to thofe Poore to whom It was intended. Thus many men make the augmentation of their owne Eftates, from the diminution of their Mafters Bountie. Queftion : But fome may fay, Why did not Boaz beftow a quantitie of Corne upon Ruth, and fo fend her home unto her Mother ? Anfwer : He might have done fo, but he chofe rather to keep her ftill a working.- Where we learne, that is the beft Charitie which fo relieves peoples wants, as that they are ftill continued in their Calling. For as he who teacheth one to fwimme, though happily [haply] he will take him by the Chlnne, yet he expedleth that the learner ffiall nimbly ply the Oares of his hands and feet, and ftrive and ftruggle with all his ftrength to keepe himfelfe above water : fo thofe who are beneficiall to poore people, may juftly require of them, that they ufe both their hands to worke and feet to goe in their Calling, and themfelves take all due labour, that they may not finke in the Gulfe of Penurie. Relieve an Huffiandman, yet fo, as that he may fiill continue in his Husbandry ; a Tradef-man, yet fo, as he may ftill goe on in his Trade ; a poore Scholar, yet fo, as he may ftill proceed in his Studies. Hereby the Common-Wealth ffiall be a gainer. Drones bring no Honey to th^t Ei[\t, but the painfull hand of each privat man contributes fome profit to the publike good. Hereby the able poore, the more diligent they be, the more bountifull men will be to them ; while their bodies are freed from many difeafes, their foules from many finnes, whereof Idleneffe is the Mother. Lazlneffe make a breach in our Soule, where the DeviH doth affault us with greateft advan tage ; and when we are moft idle in our Vocations, then he is moft bufie in his Temptations. A reverend Minifter was wont to fay, that the Devill never tempted him more then on Mondayes, when (becaufe his former Weekes Taske was newly done, and that for the Weeke to come fix dayes diftant) he tooke moft libertie to refreffi himfelfe. Since therefore fo much good commeth from Induftrie, I could wiffi there were a publike Vineyard, into which all they ffiould be fent who ftand lazing in the Market-place tiU the eleventh houre of the day. Would all poore and Impotent 1631. J Ruth, Chap, ii, verf, 15, 16, 17, 93 were well placed in an Hofpitall, all poore and able well difpofed in a Work-houfe ; and the common Stocks of Townes fo layd out, as they thereby might be Imployed ! So fhe gleaned in the field untill evening:] The Night is onely that which muft end our labours : onely the Evening muft beg us a Play, to depart out of the School of our Vocation, with promife next Morning to returne again ; Man goeth out to his labour untill Evening. Let fuch then be blamed, who In their working make their Night to come before the Noone ; each day of their labour being ffiorter then that of S, Lucy [Dec. 13] ; and after a fpurt In their Calling for fome few houres, they relapfe againe to lazlneffe. And fhe threfhed what fhe had gathered:] The Materialis of the Temple were fo hewed and carved, both Stone and Wood, before that they were brought unto Hierufalem, that there was not fo much as the noyfe of an Hammer heard in the Temple. So Ruth fits all things in a readineffe before ffie goes home : What formerly ffie gleaned, now ffie threffied ; that fo no noyfe might be made at home to difturbe her aged Mother, Here we fee Gods fervants, though well defcended, difdaine not any homely, if honeft, worke for their owne living : Sarah kneaded Cakes, Rebeccab drew Water, Rachel fed Sheepe, Thamar baked Cakes. Suetonius reporteth of Auguftus defar, that he made his Daughters to learne to fpinne ; and Pantaleon relates the fame of Charles the Great. Yet now-adayes, (fuch is the pride of the Worid,) people of farre meaner qualitie fcorne fo bafe imployments. And it was about an Ephah of Barley.] An Ephah con tained ten Omers, Exod. 16, 36. An Omer of Mannab was the proportion allowed for a mans one day meat. Thus Ruth had gleaned upon the quantitie of a Buffiell ; fuch was her Industry in diligent beftirring her felfe ; Boaz his Bountie in fcattering for her to gather ; and, above all, God his Bleffing, who gave fo good fucceffe unto her, Ruth having now done gleaning did not ftay behind in the field, as many now-adayes begin their worke when others end ; if that may be termed 94 Comment on Ruth. {Circa worke, to filch and fteale ; as if the darke Night would be a Veyle to cover their deedes of Darkneffe: but home ffie hafleneth to her Mother, as followeth, Verfes i8, 19 : And fhe tooke it up, and went into the Citie, and her Mother in law faw what fhe had gathered : alfo fhe tooke forth, and gave to her that which fhe had referved, when fhe was fufficed. Then her Mother in law faid unto her. Where haft thou gleaned to day ? And where wroughteft thou ? Bleffed be he that knew thee. And fhe fhowed her Mother in law with whom she had wrought, and faid. The mans name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz. And fhe tooke it up.] See here, the ffioulders of Gods Saints are wonted to the bearing of Burthens : Little Ifaac carryed the Faggot, wherewith himfelfe was to be facrificed ; our Saviour his owne Croffe, till his faintneffe craved Simon of Cyrene to be his fucceffor. Yet let not Gods Saints be dif-heartened : if their Father hath a Bottle wherein he puts the teares which they fpend ; fure he hath a Ballance wherein he weighs the Burthens which they beare ; he keepes a Note to what weight their Burthens amount, and (no doubt) will accordingly comfort them, Thofe are to be confuted, who with the Scribes, Math. 23. 4, binde heavie burthens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on the backs of others ; but for their owne part they will not fo much as touch them with one of their fingers : Yea, fome are fo proud that they will not carry their owne Provender, things for their owne fuflenance ; had they been under Ruths Ephah of Barley, with David in Sauls Armour, they could not have gone under the weight of it, becaufe never ufed unto it. And her Mother in law faw what fhe had gathered:] Namely, Ruth ffiewed it unto her, and then Naomi faw it. Children are to prefent to their Parents view all which they get by their owne labour ; otherwife doe many Children now- -adayes : As Ananias and Saphira brought part of the Money, and depofed it at the Apoftles feet, but referved the reft for themfelves ; fo they can be content to ffiew to their Parents 1 63 1.] Ruth, Chap. ii. ver, 18. 95 fome parcell of their gaines, whileft they keepe the remnant fecretly to themfelves. Alfo fhe tooke forth, and gave to her.] Learne we from hence. Children, if able, are to cheriffi and feed their Parents, If poore and aged. Have our Parents performed the parts of Pelicans to us ? let us doe the dutie of Storkes to them : Would all Children would pay as well for the partie-coloured Coats which their Parents doe give them, as Jofeph did for his, who maintained his Father and his Brethren in the Famine In Egypt ! Thinke on thy Mothers fickneffe, when thou waft conceived ; forrow, when thou waft borne ; trouble, when thou waft nurft : She was cold whileft thou waft warme ; went whileft thou layd'ft ftill; waked whileft thou flept'ft; fafted whileft thou fed'ft: Thefe are eafier to be conceived then exprefs'd, eafier deferved then requited. Say not therefore to thy Father according to the Dodtrine of the Pharifes, Cor ban, it Is a gift, if thou profiteft by me ; but confeffe that it is a true Debt, and thy bounden dutie, if thou beeft able, to relieve them: fo did Ruth to Naomi, who was but her Mother in law. Which fhe had referved when floe was fufficed,] Obfervation : We muft not fpend all at once, but providently referve fome for afterwards ; we muft not fpeake all at once, without Jefuiticall refervation of fome things ftill in our hearts ; not fpend all at once, without thriftie refervation of fomething ftill in our hands. Indeed our Saviour faith, Care not for to morrow, for to morrow fhall care for it felfe : but that is not meant of the care of providence, which is lawfull and necef farie ; but of the care of diffidence, which Is wicked and un godly. Thofe are to be blamed, which [say], as Abifhai faid to David concerning Saul, I wiU ftrike him but once, and I wiU ftrike him no more. So many men, with one adl of Prodigal itie, give the bane and mortall wound to their Eftates : with one exceffive Feaft, one cofUy Sute of Clothes, one waftfuU Night of Gaming, they fmite their Eftates under the fifth Rib, (which alwayes is mortall In Scripture,) fo that it never reviyeth againe. But let us fpare where we may, that fo we 96 Comment on Ruth. {Circa may fpend where we ffiould : in the feven yeares of Plentie let us provide for the feven yeares of Famine ; and to make good conftrudlion of our Eftates, let us as well obferve the Future as the Prefent Tenfe. Then her Mother in law faid unto her. Where baft thou gleaned to day?] Thefe words were not uttered out of Jealoufie, as if Naomi fufpedled that Ruth had diffioneftly come by her Corne ; (for Charitie is not fufpitlous, but ever fattens the moft favourable Comments upon the adlions of thofe whom it affedls ;) but ffie did it out of a defire to know who had been fo bountifull unto her. Yet hence may we learne, that Parents after the example of Naomi may and ought to examine their Children, how and where they fpend their time : For hereby they ffiall prevent a deale of mifchiefe, whileft their Children will be more watchfull what Companie they keepe, as expedling with feare at Night to be examined. Neither can fuch Fathers be excufed, who never fay to their Children, as David to Adoniah, Why doeft thoufo ? But fuffer them to rove and range at their owne pleafure. Am I, fay they, my fonnes keeper ? He is old enough, let him looke after himfelfe. Now, as for thofe Joafhes, whofe Jehoiada's are dead, thofe young men whofe Friends and Fathers are deceafed, who now muft have Reafon for their Ruler, or rather Grace for their Guide and Governer ; Let fuch know that Indeed they have none to aske them as the Angell did Hagar, Whence commeft thou, and whither goeft thou ? None to examine them, as Eliab did David, Wherefore art thou come downe hither ? None to queftion them, as Naomi did Ruth, Where wroughteft thou to day ? But now, as S, Paul faid of the Gentiles, that having no Law, they were a Law unto themfelves: fo muft fuch young perfons endeavour, that having no Examiners, they may be Examiners to themfelves, and at Night, accordingly as they have fpent their time, either to condemne or acquit their owne adlions, Bleffed be he that knew thee.] The man ffiot an Arrow at unawares, i Kings 22, 34, yet God direded It to the Chlnke 1 63 I.J Ruth, Chap. ii. verf. 18. 19. 97 of the Armour of guiltie Ahab : But Naomi doth here dart and ejaculate out a prayer, and that at Rovers, aiming at no one particular Marke ; Bleffed be he that knew thee : Yet, no doubt, was it not in vaine ; but God made it light on the head of bountifull Boaz, who deferved it. Learne we from hence, upon the fight of a good deed, to bleffe the doer thereof, though by Name unknowne unto us : And let us take heed that we doe not recant and recall our prayers, after that we come to the knowledge of his Name ; as fome doe, who when they fee a laudable Work willingly commend the doer of it ; but after they come to know the Authors Name, (efpecially if they be prepoffeffed with a pri vate fpleene againft him,) they fall then to derogate and detrad from the Adion, quarrelling with it as done out of oftentatlon, or fome other finlfter end. And fhe fhewed her Mother in law with whom fhe had wrought:] Children, when demanded, are truly to tell their Parents where they have been ; rather let them hazard the wrath of their earthly Father, by teUing the Truth, then ad venture the difpleafure of their heavenly Father, by feigning a Lye. Yet as David, ^h^n Achifh asked him (i Sam, 27. \o) where he had been? told him, that he had been againft the South of Judah, and againft the South of the Jerahmeelites, and againft the South of the Kenites; when indeed he had been the cleane contrarie way, invading the Geffiurites, and Gezrites, and the Amalekites : So many Children flap their Parents in the mouth with a Lye, that they have been in their Studie, in their Calling, in good Companie, or in lawfull Re creations; when the truth is, they have been in fome Drinking- School, Taverne, or Ale-houfe, mif fpending of their precious time. And many ferve their Mafters as Gehezi did the Prophet ; who being demanded, anfwered, Thy fervant went no whither, when he had been taking a Bribe of Naaman, I The mans Name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.] We ought to know the Names of fuch who are our Benefac tors. Thofe are counted to be but bafely borne who cannot tell the Names of their Parents ; and furely thofe are but of a 98 Comment on Ruth. {Circa bafe nature who doe not know the Names of their Patrons and Benefadors. To blame therefore was that lame man cured by our Saviour {John 5. 13), of whom it is faid. And he that was healed knew not the Name of him tbat faid unto him. Take up thy Bed, and walke. Yet let not this difcourage the charitie of any Benefadors, becaufe thofe that receive their courtefies oftentimes doe not remember their Names; let this comfort them, though they are forgotten by the living, they are remembered in the Booke of Life. The Athenians out of Superftition ereded an Altar with this infcrlption, Unto the unknowne God : but we out of true Devotion muft ered an Altar of Gratitude to the memorie, not of our once unknown, but now forgotten Benefadors, whofe Names we have not been fo carefull to preferve, as Ruth was the Name of Boaz : And the mans Name was Boaz, Verfe 20 : And Naomi faid unto her Daughter in law, Bleffed be he of the Lord, for he ceafeth not to do good to the living and to the dead. Againe Naomi faid unto her. The man is neere unto us, and of our affinitie. Thefe words confift of three Parts, i. Naomies praying for Boaz, 2. Her praifing of Boaz. 3. Her reference and relation unto Boaz. Of the firft : Bleffed be he of the Lord.] The Lord is the Fountain from whom all blefledneffe flowes. Indeed Jacob bleffed his Sonnes, Mofes the twelve Tribes, the Priefts In the Law the people ; but thefe were but the inftruments, God the principali ; thefe the pipe, God the fountaine ; thefe the Minifters to pronounce it, God the Author who beftowed it. For he ceafeth not.] Obfervation : Naomi never before made any mention of Boaz, nor of his good deeds ; but now being informed of his bountie to Ruth, it puts her In mind of his former courtefies. Learn from hence, new favours caufe a freffi remembrance of former courtefies. Wherefore if men begin to be forgetfull of thofe favours which formerly we have beftowed upon them, let us floriffi and varniffi over our old 1631.J Ruth, Chap. ii. verf, 19. 20. 99 courtefies with freffi colours of new kindneffes, fo ffiall we recall our paft favours to their memories. Ufe : When we call to mind Gods ftaying of his killing Angell, Anno 1625, let that mercy make us to be mindfullof a former ; his fafe bringing back of our (then Prince, now) King from Spaine ; when the pledge of our enfuing happinefs was pawned In a forreine Country: Let this bleffing put us in mind of a former ; the peaceable comming in of our Gracious Soveraigne of happie Memory, when the bounds of two King doms were made the middle of a Monarchy : Stay not here, let thy thankfulneffe travell further ; call to minde the mira culous providence of God in defending this Land from Inva- fion in '88. On ftill: be thankfull for Gods goodneffe in bringing Queene Elizabeth to the Crown, when our Kingdome was like the Woman in the Gofpell, troubled with an iflue of blood (which glorious Martyrs ffied), but ftanched at her ariving at the Scepter, We might be infinite in profecution of this point ; let prefent favours of God renew the memories of old ones, as the prefent bounty of Boaz to Ruth made Naomi remember his former courtefies : For he ceafeth not to doe good to the living and the dead. ' He ceafeth not,] Our deeds of Piety ought to be continued withoiit interruption or ceafing. Some men there be whofe charitable deeds are as rare as an Ecllpfe, or a Blazing-Starre ; thefe men deferve. to .be pardoned for their pious deeds, they are fo feldome guiltie of them : With Nabal they prove them felves by exceffive-prpdigalitie at' one Feaft ; but he deferves the commendation of ¦ a good houfe- keeper, who keepes a conftant Table, who with Boaz ceafeth not to doe good. To the dead.] The meaning is, to thofe who now are dead, but once were living ; or to their Friends and Kindred. Whence we learne, Mercie done to the Kindred of the dead, is done to the dead themfelves. Art thou, then, a Widower, who defireft to do mercie to thy dead Wife; or a Widow, to thy dead Husband ; or a Child, to thy deceafed Parent ? I will tell thee how thou mayeft expreffe thy felfe courteous : Hath thy Wife, thy Husband, or thy Parent any Brother, or G 2 loo Comment on Ruth. {Circa Kinfman, or Friends furviving ? be courteous to them ; and In fo doing, thy favours ffiall redound to the dead : Though old Barzillai be uncapable of thy favours, let young Kimham tafte of thy kindneffe : Though the dead cannot, need not have thy mercie, yet may they receive thy kindneffe b)'- a Proxie, by their Friends that ftill are living. Mercie, then, to the dead makes nothing for the Popifh Purgatorie ; and yet no wonder if the Papifts fight for it. 'Tis faid of Sicily and jEgypt, that they were anciently the Barnes and Granaries of the Citie of Rome : but now-adayes Purgatorie is the Barne ofthe Romifh Court, yea, the Kitchin, Hall, Parlour, Larder, Cellar, Chamber, every Roome of Rome. David faid, 2 Sam. i. 24, Ye Daughters ofi Ifrael, weepe for Saul, which clothed you in Skarlet with pleafure, and hanged ornaments of Gold upon your apparell : But ffiould Purgatorie once be removed, weep Pope, Cardinals, Abbots, Biffiops, Fryers ; for that is gone which maintained your exceffive pride. _ When Adonijah fued for Abifhag the Shuna- mite, Solomon faid to his Mother, Afke for him the Kingdome alfo. But if once the Proteftants could wring from the Papifts their Purgatorie, nay, then would they fay, Aske the Triple Crowne, Croffe-Keyes, S. Angela, Peters Patrimonie, and All: in a word, were Purgatorie taken away, the Pope himfelfe would be in Purgatorie, as not knowing which way to main taine his expenfiveneffe. The man is neere unto us, and of our affinitie,] Naomi never before made any mention of Boaz : fome, had they had fo rich a Kinfman, all their difcourfe ffiould have been a Survey and Inventorie of their KInfmans goods ; they would have made an occafion at every turne to be talking of them. Well, though Naomi did not commonly brag of her Kinfman yet' when occafion is offered, ffie is bold to challenge her intereft in him. Obfervation :_ Poore folks may with modeftle claime their Kindred in their rich alliance : Let not therefore great Per fonages fcorne and contemne their poore Kindred. Cambden reports of the Citizens of Corke, that all of them in fome degrees are of kindred one to the other : but I thinke, that all 1631.J Ruth, Chap. ii. ver, 20. loi wealthie men will hook in the Coufin, and draw in fome alliance one to other ; but as they will challenge Kindred (where there is none) in rich folkes, fo they will denie Kindred where it Is in poore ; yet is there no juft reafon they ffiould doe fo : All mankind knit together in the fame Father in the Creation, and at the Deluge ; I know not who lay higher In Adams Loynes, or who tooke the Wall in Eves Belly. I fpeake not this to pave the way to an Anabaptifticall paritie, but onely to humble and abate the conceits of proud men, who look fo fcorrtfull and contemptuotis over their poore Kindred. Ufe: Let fuch as aire allyed to rich Kindred, be heartily thankfull to God for them ; yet fo as they under God depend principally on their owne labour, and not on their reference to their Friends ; and let them not too earneftly exped helpe from their Kindred, for feare they mifcarry. A Scholler being maintained in the Univerfitie by his Uncle, who gave a Bafi- lisk for his Armes, and expeded that he ffiould make him his Heire, wrote thefe Verfes over his Chimney : Falleris afpeSlu Bafilifcum occidere, Plini, Nam vitie noftrafpem Bafllifcus alit. Soone after it happened that his Uncle dyed, and gave him nothing at alt; whereupon the Scholler wrote thefe Verfes under the former : Certe aluit,fedfpe vand ; fpes vana venenum ; Ignofcas, Plini, verus es hiftoricus. So foone may mens expedations be fruftrated who depend on rich Kindred: Yea, I have feene the twine-thred of a Cordiall Friend hold, when the Cable-Rope of a rich Kinfman hath broken. Let thofe therefore be thankfull to God, to whom_ God hath given meanes to be maintained of themfelves, without dependance on their Kindred : better it is to be the weakeft of Subftances, to fubfift of themfelves, then to be the braveft Accidents, to be maintained by another. Verfe 21 : And KntK tbe Moabiteffe /a/i, He faid unto me I02 Comment on Ruth. {Circa alfo. Thou fhalt keep faft by my young men, untill they have ended all my Harveft. He faid unto me alfo.] Ruth perceiving that ISaomi kindly refented Boaz his favour, and that the difcourfe of his kind neffe was acceptable unto her, proceeds In her relation, DoSirine : People love to enlarge fuch difcourfes which they fee to be welcome to their audience. What maketh Tale-bearers fo many, and their Tales fo long, but that fuch perfons are fenfible that others are pleafingly affeded with their talke ? Otherwife, a frowning looke, Prov, 25, 23, will foone put fuch to filence. When Herod faw, ASls 12, 3, that the killing of James pleafed the Jewes, he proceeded farther, to take Peter alfo. DetraSlors, perceiving that killing of their Neighbours Credits is acceptable to others, are encouraged thereby to imbrew their Tongues in the mur- thering of more Reputations. Secondly, Whereas Ruth candidly confeffeth what favour ffie found from Boaz, we learne, we ought not fullenly to conceale the bountie of our BenefaSlars, but expreffe it to their honour, as occafion is offered. The Giver of Aimes may not, but the Receiver of them may, blow a Trumpet. This confuteth the ingratitude of many in our Age ; clam orous to beg, but tongue-tyed to confeffe what is beftowed upon them. What the finne againft the Holy-Ghoft is In Divinitie, that Ingratitude is in Mar alit ie ; an Offence un pardonable. Pittie it is, but that Moone fhould ever be in an Ecllpfe, that will not confeffe the beames thereof to be borrowed from the Sunne. He that hath a Hand to take, and no Tongue to thanke, deferves neither Hand nor Tongue, but to be lame and dumbe hereafter, Obferve by the way, that Ruth expreffeth what tends to the prayfe of Boaz, but conceales what Boaz faid in the prayfe oi her felfe. He had commended her, verfe 11, for a duti full Daughter in law, and for leaving an Idolatrous Land. But Ruth is fo farre from commending her felf e in a direSt Line, that ffie will not doe it by refledion, and at tht fecond hand, by reporting the commendations which others gave her. DoSirine : Let another prayfe thee, and not thine owne mouth. 1631.] Ruth, Chap, ii, verf. 21. 22. 103 How Large are the Pen-men oi the Scripture in relating their owne faults 1 How concife (If at all) In penning their owne prayfes ! It is generally conceived that the Gofpel of S. Marke was Indited by the Apoftle Peter ; and that from his mouth It was written by the hand of John Marke, whofe Name now it beareth. If fo, then we may obferve, that Peters denying of his Mafter, with all the circumftances thereof, his Curfing and Swearing, is more largely related in the Gofpel of S. Marke then in any other : But as for his Repentance, it is fet downe more ffiortly there then in other Gofpels : Mathew 26. 75, And he went out and wept bitterly ; Luke 22. 62, And Peter went out and wept bitterly ; but Marke 14, 72, it is onely faid. When he thought thereon, he wept. So ffiort are Gods fervants in giving an account of their owne Commendations, which they leave to be related by the mouthes of others. Thou fhalt keepe faft by my young men,] Objection: Here either Ruths memorie failed her, or elfe ffie wilfully committed a foule miftake. For Boaz never bad her to keepe faft by his young men, but, verfe 8, Abide here faft by my Maidens. It feemes ffie had a better minde to Male-companie, who had altered the Gender in the relating of his words. Anfwer : Condemne not the Generation of the Righteous, efpecially on doubtfull evidence. Boaz gave a Command, verfe 15, to his young men to permit her to gleane : ffie men tioneth them therefore In whom the authoritie did refide, who had a Commiffion from their Mafter to countenance and en courage her in her extraordinarie gleaning, which Priviledge his Maidens could not beftow upon her. Verfe 22 : And Naomi faid unto Ruth her Daughter in law. It is good, my Daughter, that thou goe out with his Maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. And Naomi faid unto Ruth, her Daughter in law.] DoSirine: It is the bounden dutie of Parents, to give the beft counfell they can to their Children: As Naomi here prefcribes wholfome advice unto her Daughter In law. 104 Comment on Ruth. {Circa It is good.] That is, it is better. It is ufuall both in the Old and New Teftament to put the Pofitive for the Comparative in this kinde. Luke lo. 42, Mary hath chofen that good part ; that Is, the better part. It is profitable for thee that one af thy members perifh, and not thy whole body. Math. 5. 29 ; profitable, that is, more profitable ; and as it is expounded. Math. 18.8, better. It is good far a man not to touch a woman, i Cor. 7.1; that is, it is better ; it is more convenient, and freer from trouble, in time of perfecution. // is good for thee, that thou goe aut with his Maidens ; that is, it is better, DoSirine : Maids are the fit teft companie for Maids; amongft whom, a chaft Widow, fuch as Ruth was, may well be recounted : Modeftie is the Life-guard oi Chaftitie, That they meet thee not in any other field.] Here ffie rendreth a Reafon of her Councell, becaufe Ruth thereby ffiould efcape fufpition, or appearance of evill. ObjeSlion : What hurt or harme had it been, if they had met her in another field ? She might have been met there, and yet have departed thence as pure aadifpotle/fe as ffie came thither. Answer : It is granted. Yet, being a fingle woman, flanderous Tongues and credulous Eares meeting together had fome colour to rayfe an ill Report on her Reputation. Befides, being a Moabite, ffie ought to be more cautious of her Credit ; left, as ffie was a ftranger, ffie might be taken for a ftrange woman in Solomon his fenfe. And therefore Nimia cautela non meet. In fome eares it is not enough to be honeft, but alfo to have teftes honeftatis ; many a Credit having fuffered, not for want of cleareneffe, but clearing of it felfe, furprized on fuch difadvantages. Verfe 23 : So fhe kept faft by the Maidens of Boaz, to gleane unto the end of Barley Harveft and of Wheat Harveft; and dwelt with her Mather in law. So fhe kept faft by the Maidens of Boaz.] Here was good Counfell well given, becaufe thankfully accepted and care fully pradifed. DoSirine : It is the dutie of Children to follow the advice of their Parents. 1631. j Ruth, Chap. ii. verf. 22. 23. 105 We meet with two Examples in wicked perfons, which in this refped may condemne many undutifull Children of our dayes. The one Ifmael; who, though he be charadered to be a wild man. Gen. 16. 12, His hand againft every man, and every mans hand againft him : yet it feemes his hand was never againft his Mother Hagar, whom he obeyed in matters of moft moment ; in his Marriage, Gen. 21.21, His Mother tooke him a Wife aut of the Land of jEgypt. The fecond Is Herodias; oi whom no good at all is recorded, fave this alone. That ffie would not beg a Boone of her Father Herod, untill firft ffie went in to her Mother Herodias, tok now what ffie ffiould aske. How many now-adayes make Deeds of Gift of themfelves, without the knowledge and confent of their Parents I Unto the end of Barley Harveft 7\ Commendable is the con ftancie and the continuance of Ruth in labour. Many there are who at the firft have a ravenous appetite to worke, but quickly thty furfet thereof. Ruth gleanes one day, fo as ffie may gleane another ; It is the conftant pace that goeth fartheft, and freeft from being tyred : Math. 24. 13, But he that fhall endure unto the end, the fame fhall be faved. And dwelt with her Mather in law,] It was Chrifts counfell unto his Difciples, Afo/i). 10, \\,to abide in the place wherein they did enter, and not to goe from houfe to houfe. Such the fetledneffe of Ruth ; where ffie firft faftned, there ffie fixed : She dwelt with her Mother, Naomi affords Ruth Houfe-room, Ruth gaines Naomi Food ; Naomi provides a Manfion, Ruth purveyes for Meat ; and fo mutually ferve to fupply the wants of each other. If Envie, and Covetoufneffe, and Idleneffes were not the hinderances, how might one Chriftian reciprocally be a helpe unto another ! All have fomething, none have all things ; yet all might have all things in a comfortable and competent pro portion, if ferioufly futing themfelves as Ruth and Naomi did, that what is defedive in one, might be fupplyed in the other, FINIS. [" Within that order which the third feats make Is feated Rachel, lower than the other. With Beatrice, in manner as thou feeft. Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and her who was Anceftrefs of the Singer, who for dole Of the mifdeed faid, Miferere mei, Canft thou behold from feat to feat defcending." Dante's Paradifo, Longfellow, xxxii. 7-1 3.J ^*^«"I?»^'1M s«sasr«*j:-j^?)-^s»«a SStSiJ JOSEPH'S PART Y-COLOVRED COAT, CONTAINING, A COMMENT ON Part of the ii. Chapter of the I. Epiftle of S. ^Pau/ to the Corinthians. Together v^ith feveral Sermons : namely. ' I Growth in Grace. -; 2 Haw farre Examples may be followed. 2 An ill Match well broken off. 4 Good from bad Friends. 5 A Glaffefor Gluttons. 6 How farre Grace may be Entayled. 7 A Chriftning Sermon. f, FaSlion confuted. By T. F. I O H N 6.12. Gather up the Fragments that remaine, that nothing be lofl. LONDON, Printed hylohn Dawfon, for lohn Williams, and are to be fold at his fhop, at the Signe of the Crane, in Pauls Church yard, 1640. ^3 [" But after the riianducation of the Pafchal Lamb, it was the cuftom of the Nation to fit down to a fecond Supper in which they ate herbs and unleavened bread ; the Major-domo firft dipping his morfel, and then the family ; after which the Father brake bread into pieces, and diftributed a part to every of the Guefts, and lirft drinking himfelf, gave to the reft the chalice filled with wine, according to the age and dignity of the perfon ; adding to each diftribution a form of benediffioh proper to the myftery, which was Euchariftical and commemorative of their Deliverance from Egypt. This supper Jefus being to celebrate, changed the forms of bene- diftion, turned the Ceremony into Myftery, and gave his Body and Blood in Sacrament and religious configuration ; so inftituting the venerable Sacrament, which from the time of its inftitution is called the Lord's Supper ; which Rite Jefus commanded the apoftles to perpetuate in commemoration of him their Lord untill his fecond coming. And this was the firft dele gation of a perpetual Miniftery which Jefus made to his apoftles, in which they were to be fucceeded to in all the generations of the Church." — Jeremy Taylor's Great Exemplar of S anility, &c. ; part iii. sect. xv. page jjo, ed. 170Z.] TO The Right Worihipfvl, the Lady Iane Covert, of Peper Harrow in Surry. Madam, \VSTOME hath made it not only pardonable, but ne ceffary to flatter in Dedicatory Epiftles : Epitaphs, and Dedications, are credited alike. But I will not follow the ftreame herein : Firft, becaufe I account it beneath my calling to fpeake. any thing above the truth. Secondly, becaufe of you it is needleffe : Let deformed Faces be beholding to the Painter ; Art hath nothing to doe, where Nature hath prevented it. Wherefore I will turne my prayfing of you, into prayer for you, defining God to ftrengthen and increafe all goodneffe in you, and give you perfevcrance {that golden Clafpe) which joynes Grace and Glory together. Thus defining to ftjroud my weake labours under your favour able Patronage, I reft Your Ladiffiips in all fervice, T. F. [Introduction. THIS quaintly-entitled colleftion of fermons connefts itfelf with the preacher's Dorfetftiire cure, and his Salifliury canonry, — " none of the worft Livings, and one of the beft Prebends in England," as he termed them {Appeal of Iniured Innocence, 1659, part i. page 2). The Prebendal ftall of Netherbury-in-Ecclefia, near Beaminfter, had, i8th June, 1 63 1, been beftowed upon the young divine by his uncle Davenant, Bifliop of Salilbury, who moreover had in 1622 advanced the elder Thomas Fuller to the Prebend of Highworth, Wilts., in the same Church. The fon had afterwards occafion to remind his opponent. Dr. Heylin, who had imputed to Fuller difloyalty to his Church, that his " ExtraSiion who was Prebendarius Prebendarides, and relation (as the Anim- advertor knows) to two no meane Bifhops, my Uncles " (Townson and Davenant), might clear him from any epifcopal antipathy {Appeal, part iii. page 47). Picturefque and inftruftive details of cathedral-life at Salifljury at this time have (as if to compenfate for the disfavour shown to literary inquirers at the Epifcopal registry) been given to the public in the Fourth Report of the Royal CommiJJion on Hift. MSS. This Blue-book contains the detailed replies to Archbiftiop Laud's Vifitation-Articles of 1634, from the original documents in the Houfe of Lords (pages izy fe^.). Fuller's name is not found amongft the printed anfwers (they belong to May, 1634) of the Prebendaries, perhaps because, not being a Canon-refiden- tiary, his vifits to the cathedral were infrequent. On two other occafions only does he himfelf refer to his pofition at Salilbury, viz., in Good Thoughts in Bad Times, § Mixt Contemplations, No. xxii. page 241 (ed. 1,645) '¦> and in the Worthies, § Wilts., page 145. Certain of his coufins and con- neftions, who were likewife non-refident, are, however, named in the Report, as giving joint or particular replies to fome of the twenty-nine articles of inquiry. Dr. Edward Davenant, his coufin (formerly his college-tutor, but then holding preferment in Wiltfhire, Somerfetfliire, and Berkftiire), makes four answers, and then adds : " To the reft of the articles given in charge, I, being only a prebend at large, and not refident among them who have the immediate care and government of the Church, am able to fay nothing ; " and their relative John Townson (who was then holding the ftall ofthe elder Fuller) is fimilarly reticent (page 132). The longer and more interefting replies definitely indicate at once the duties and defaults of the canons. According to a ftatute made " by the now Lord Bifliop " (Dr. Davenant), and the Dean (Dr. Mason) and chapter feven in number, the Prebendaries were to preach in their own turn in the Cathedral, on Sundays and holydays, and they were to wear the furplice and the fquare cap (according to the canon and ancient INTRODUCTION. cXl cuftoms of the Church) ; but if unable to perform their duty, fome other Prebendary or able preacher might do it upon the Dean and Chapter being acquainted beforehand ; " yet this good ordinance hath ben broken by many" (page 128). Some of the replies in the documents which admit that in the Church there was " a faftion againft the Church," Are of a recriminatory nature ; and they all reveal a remiffnefs in duty and a ftate of diflenfion that muft have harafled the prefiding bifliop, who was, fays his nephew, " happy to die before his order for a time died, April, 16^1 " {Worthies, ^ London, page 207). Like this " Good Bifliop," the " fecond Jewell of Saliftjury," Fuller kept ftriftly to the Canonical regulations of James I.'s reign ; and he could therefore appeal, as his compurgators in an unjuft accufation that was afterwards made againft him of being " carelefs of furplice, hood, and band," to " fuch as knew my conformity in the Colledge Chappel, Country Parifhes, and Cathedral of Sarum " {Appeal, part ii. page 80). It is, however, aflTerted in one of the Vifitation-replies that furplice and hood were then feen in the cathedral fcarce once a quarter (page 131). About three years after this laft preferment. Fuller was appointed by his uncle to the Reftory of Broadwindfor, near Beaminfter, Dorfetfhire. The living was then in the diocese of Briftol ; and hence arofe the eleftion of Fuller, then a Bachelor of Divinity, as a Proftor for that diocefe, in the famous Convocation of 1640. The ftate of ecclefiaftical matters in the thriving villages of the weft took their complexion from the towns. In the "Remembrancer" that accompanies the documents relating to the Vifitation of the diocefe, it is faid that " in moft parifhes in Wiltfliyre, Dorcetfliyre, and the Wefterne partes, there is ftill a puritane and an honeft man chofen churchwardens together. The puritane alwayes croflTes the other in repayres and adorning the church, as alfo in the pre- fentments of vnconformtyes, and in the iShe putts fome trick or other vpon the honeft man, to putt him to fue for his charges hee hath been at for the church. Y" fliall find it at this inftant in the parifh of Beaminfter in Dorfettfliyre, between Crabb and Ellery. The fuit now pending" (page 131). The firft of thefe litigants was the Rev. Joseph Crabb, M.A., one of Calamy's ejefted minifters (i. 176, ed. 1802), but who died Vicar of Axminfter in 1699. Crabb was, with Will. Ball and Tho. Lye (who alfo belonged to the Weft), concerned in fetting forth Eighteen Sermons preached {ay Atch.hii)[\o^ Ussher) in Oxford in 1640 (410. 1660), — thefe three editors being perhaps the note-takers mentioned in the Epiftle as "fuch who had the pens of ready writers." The Rev. Stanley GowER of Dorchefter wrote the preface to this volume.- — With reference to Ellery, the troublefome Churchwarden, there is an aifle in Beaminfter Church, built by the Ellery or Hilary family, of Meerhay, between whom and the Vicar for the time being there was a continual feud. The religious queftions which had in Fuller's time entered into difcuflion, were not a little heightened by the political fituation of the country. Of thefe troubles the only indication in the following Sermons is perhaps found in certain paflages in the laft of the feries, called FaSlion Confuted. An air of peace feems, indeed, to pervade the Church-life of the preacher, his conneftion with his benefice and cathedral being the " fimple annals " CXll INTRODUCTION. of a good parfon. That he ranked high in the opinion of his ruftic parifliioners is fliown by an anecdote related in his anonymous Life, 1661, pages 9, 10 ; and none the lefs exemplary was his intercourfe with his fellow-canons, among whom are to be found the names of fome who became as famous as himfelf. The fermons show that the author's churchmanfhip was of a found kind, being as far removed from the high Anglicanism that was afliiming authority, as from the fimple ritual of the Anabaptifts. He was emphati cally a moderate Divine. Hence his warning to kill the itch of novelty, and to keep to the old paths (page 122) ; his plea for the " decent gar- nifliing" of churches (page 113) ; his objeftion to general cenfures (page 116) ; &c. As in the former addrefles, we have here a running commentary on the paflage which deals with the difl^enfions in the Corinthian aflemblies, and with the Lord's Supper (i Cor. xi. 18-30). The nature ofthe fubjeftdraws the preacher into deeper and more debateable topics, which are reverently handled. His knowledge of the human heart is feen in his remarks on worthinefs in receiving the Sacrament (pages 151 seq.), on felf-examina- tion (pages 155 seq.). Sec. ; while his acquirements in hiftorical divinity may be gathered from the difcuflion of tradition (pages 135 seq.), transubstantiation (pages 142 seq.). Sec. Amongft many noticeable paflages is the charafter of the Founder of a herefy (pages izofeg.), which is equal in finifh to any of the portraits in The Holy and Profane State. This flcetch was perhaps the original of The Heretic in that work (ed. 1652, page 378). There are copies of JofepUs Party-colovred Coat differing from others in respect of correftions of certain errors of the prefs. The uncorrefted copies have no border round the title-page. This book has been re printed once only, viz. in 1867 (London, 8vo. Tegg), edited by William Nichols. Lady Jane Covert, the patronefs of this volume {anted., page cix.), was the eldeft daughter and co-heirefs of Sir John Shirley, of Isfield, co. SufTex, Knight, where flie was baptized, 3rd January, 1596-7. She was thrice married. Firft, to Sir Walter Covert of Slougham, Sufl"ex, Knight, 22nd Auguft, 1616. She was next united to Sir John Freake of Cerne, CO. Dorfet, Knight, about 1632-3. Her abode in this county explains her conneftion with thefe fermons ; and Fuller addrefl"es her, as was cuftomary, by her old title. The lady's third hufljand was Denzell HoLLES, firft Baron Holles (married 12th March, 1641-2), to whom flie was fecond wife, and who furvived her. Her will, dated 31st July, l6c8, was proved 13th April, 1667. In this document flie defcribes herfelf as " Dame Jane Covert, of Cerne Abbas, co. Dorfet," mention ing her jointure-houfe at Pepper Harrow. She was buried at Iwerne Courtnay, co. Dorfet, 25th April, 1666.] A Comment on I Cor. II. i8. &c. Verfe 1 8 : For firft of all when you come together in the Church, I heare there be divifions among you, and I partly beleeve it. \ HE Apoftle calleth the Corinthians to an account, and readeth his black Bill unto them. It containeth feverall Items, which you may reade in the following chapters ; but the Imprimis Is In the Text. For firft of all, i3c. When you come together in the Church, iSiff .] Obfervation : Even in the non-age and Infancy of Chriftianity, there were Churches appointed for Gods holy fervice. True, fome take Church hcxQ, pro ccetu fidelium ; yet TheaphylaSl and all Greeke Writers generally expound it, the materiall place of meeting. Two things then were chiefly aymed at in Churches: i. Receipt, that the place were capable to containe the people. 2. Privacle. Being then under perfecution they built not their Churches to be feene, but not to be feen ; and then were as plaine in their houses as in their dealing. Beauty and Magnlficenfe were of later date in Chriftian Temples, when Religion grew acquainted with peace and profperity ; and good reafon Gods houfe now ffiould bee decently garnlffied : Some, ffiunning whorlffi gaudlnelfe, leave the Church to fluttiffi naftlneffe; the Font (our lordan) having more mud than water In it; the Communion-table unfeemingly kept. 1 14 lofeph' s Party-colovred Coat : [16 Caution : Withall let us take heed left as It hath been obferved in England, that great Houfe-bullding hath beene the bane of good Houfe-keeping : So let us take heed left piety in us bee fo much the worfe, by how much our Churches are better then they were in the time of Saint Paul : What a ffiame would it be, if there ffiould be more light in the Church windows than in our underftanding, more pious fentences written in their wals than in our hearts, more uniformity in the building than In our behaviours ! I heare there be divifions among you.] feftion : How came Saint Paul by this intelligence ? Was not hee at Philippi when hee wrote this Epiftle, (as appears by the Poftfcript), which was many miles from Corinth ? How heard the Apoftle of thefe divifions at fuch a diftance ? Anfwer : Saint Paul was cunning in a kind of Chriftian and lawfull Magick, All the world was his circle ; (for fo he faith of himfelfe. The care of all Churches lyeth upon me, 2 Cor. 1 1, 28 ;) and fome falthfull friends in every Church were his familiar Spirits in this circle, to Inform him of all confider able pafl"ages. So that Saint Paul was at Corinth, when hee was not at Corinth ; abfent in perfon, prefent by his Proxies, thefe Intelligencers which kept correfpondencie with him, DoSirine : Men in authority have quick eares to heare at a great diftance. The mutterings of Malefactors are hollow- ing^s to Magiftrates, who heare diftiiidly what offenders but whifper to themfelves. Ufe : Let none therefore be encouraged to finne through a confidence to be concealed : What though Sinners be the fer vants ofthe Prince of darkenefle, and therefore hope to obtaine from their Lord and Mafter a protedtlon that no puniffiment may arreft them ? yet let them know, that though the place wherein they fin feeme to them as darke as Egypt, it is as light to men in authority as the land of Goffien : Lyons fleepe with their eyes open ; Magiftrates with their eyes both open, and feeing: when wee thinke them blind, they Behold : when deafe, with Saint Paul they Heare. Queftion: Did thefe men (whofoever they were) well in telhng Saint Paul thefe difcords of the Corinthians ? Had 40.] A Comment on i Cor, yfx.ver. i8. 115 they not better have gone backward, and covered the naked- neffe of their neighbours with the cloake of filence ? Pitty It is but that his tongue ffiould bee for ever bound to the peace, who will prate of every fault hee finds in another ; and at the beft they are but clacks and tel-tales for their paines. Anfwer : Had they told it to fome fcoffing Cham or mock ing Ifmael, who would have made mufick to himfelfe of the Corinthians difcords, then they had been faulty in relaring the faults of others : Tell it not in Gath, nor publifli it in Afkalon, left, &c, 2 Sam. i . 20 ; but it being told to S, Paul, who would not mock, but bemoan, not defame, but reform thefe offenders, it was no breach, but a deed of charity, and the doers hereof benefadtors herein to the Church of Corinth, DoSirine: It is both lawfull and laudable to difcover the faults of our deareft friends, to thofe who have power and place to reforme them. Thus lofeph brought to his father lacob the evill deeds of his brethren. Gen. 37. 2. Indeed the Devill is called the Accufer of the brethren, Revel. 12, 10; but he accufeth them often without caufe, even without charity, who fince hee hath been eaft into hell knowes no other heaven then to doe mifchiefe. But for a man to open the fins, the wounds of his neighbour, not with defire to put him to torment, but that the Chyrurgion may fearch and falve them, is an adtion moft charitable. There are divifions,] ObjeSlion: But did not Saint Paul in the second verfe of this Chapter prayfe the Corinthians ? Now I commend you brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keepe the Ordinances as I delivered them to you. Were they growne fo bad fince the beginning of this Chapter? or doth Saint Paul with Saint Auguftine write a retractation of what hee had written before ? Is this faire dealing, that hee who formerly had by his commendations given the Corinthians a generali Acquittance from all their faults, ffiould now come over them with an after-reckoning, and charge them with the fin of divifions ? Anfwer i : Some anfwer, ^ Omnia, id eft, pleraque omnia. ' Cornelius k Lapide on the Text [i.e. on verse 2, Ed. Paris, 163?, page 183]. H 2 1 1 6 lofeph" s Party-colovred Coat : [i6 So that all the ordinances are to be expounded the greateft part of them. 2. Others by Ordinances underftand onely certalne Eccle- fiafticall ^Rites and Ceremonies, touching the difcipline of the Church, which had no neceffary influence, either on doftrine or manners ; fo that the Corinthians might be obfervant of all thefe, and yet peccant both in life and beliefe. If this bee the meaning, then let us take heed that though we be whole in difcipline, wee be not halting In Dodtrine ; though found in ceremonies, not fick in manners ; there being no fuch infeparable connexion betwixt the one and the other, but that a man may obferve all orders in Church fervice, and yet be diforderly in his life and converfatlon. Lightning oft times breaks the fword, yet bruifes not the fcabard ; fo error and vltloufneffe may breake all piety and religion in us, though in the mean time the ffieath of Religion (formall decency and outward conformity) remaine in us found and entire. Calvins ^opinion is that the Apoftle commending the Corinthians, meaneth the maine and general body of the Church, though there might be many ftraglers juftly to be reproved, confeffing Laborafse quidem alios alijs vitijs : Interea tamen ab univerfo corpore retentam fuiffe formam quam com- mendaverat. That Church therefore is, and is to be counted and commended for a good Church, whofe head is whole, heart healthful, all vital parts entire, though having a lame leg, a bleared eye, a withered hand, fome bad and vltious members, belonging unto it. And I partly beleeve it.] That Is, I beleeve fome of you are guilty of this fault, though others be innocent, DoSirine : Generali cenfures condemning whole Churches are altogether uncharitable. Angle out the offenders by them felves, but take heed of killing all with a Drag-net: And grant many, yea, moft to be faulty, yet fome may be guiltleffe. Wickedneffe was not fo generali a Rule In Sodome, but that righteous Lot was an exception from It. See Obadiah (as a ' Thom. Morton in his Comment upon the i Cor. ti. " Cal[vin, on] i Cor. 11.2 [Coot, in omnes Pauli Apofloli Epiftolas, Ed. Geneva, 1600, page 192]. 4°-] A Comment on i Cor. xi, ver. i8, 117 lewell In the head of a Toad) Steward of Ahabs wicked houffiold. Yea, feeing Impiety intrudes it felfe amongft the thickeft of Gods Saints, (even drowning Cham in Noahs Arke,) juft It is that God ffiould have fome names even where the throne of Satan is eredted. Let us therfore follow the wary proceedings of lehu, 2 Kings 10, 23, who being about to kil Baals Priefts, caufed a ftridt fearch before to be made : Search and look that there be here with you none of tbe fervants of the Lord, but the fervants of Baal only. So when wee are about with cenfuring, to murder the credits of many together, let us take heed that there be not fome Orthodoxe amongft thofe whom we con demn al to be Hereticks ; fome that defire to bee peaceable in this our Ifrael, amongft thofe whom wee condemne for all fadtious Schlfmaticks, But thefe words (/ partly beleeve it) may thus alfo be expounded, as wel of the faults, as of the perfons, as if he had faid, I beleeve thefe accufations only in part, and hope they are not fo bad as they are reported, DoSirine: When Fames are brought unto us from good hands, let us not be fo incredulous as to beleeve no part of them ; nor fo uncharitable as to beleeve all ; but with Saint Paul partly beleeve It. The good man carrieth a Court of Chancery In his owne bofome, to mitigate the rigour of common reports with equall and favourable interpretations, Reafon i : Becaufe Fame often creates fomething of nothing, alwayes makes a great deale of a httle. 'Tis true of Fame what Is faid of the Devill : It has beene a Lyar from the beginning. Yea, and fometimes a Murderer. Abfalam flew one oi Davids fonnes, and Fame killed all the reft, 2 Sam. 13.30. 2. Becaufe men in reporting things often mingle their own interefts and ingagements with their Relations, and making them better, or worfe, as they themfelves ftand affected: Water refembleth both the tafte and colour of that earth through which it runneth ; fo reports relliffi of their Relators, and have a bluffi and a fmack of their parriall difpofitlons, and therfore fuch Relations are not to be beleeved in their full latitude, extent, and dimenfion. // confutes (i ) Thofe that will beleeve nothing of what they Ii8 lofeph' s Party-cofovred Coat : [i6 heare reported,, though warranted by never fo good witneffes. Though they be perfwaded, they will not be perfwaded, and will not credit any accufations though never fo juft. Yea, fometimes are fo farre from trufting the tongues of others, that they wil not truft their owne eyes : I beare them witneffe thefe men have charity, but not according to knowledge. (2) Butwhere too much charity hath flaine her thoufands, too little hath flaine her ten thoufands. More men there be who take all reports upon the credit of the Relators, and never weigh them in the fcales of their owne judgements to fee if they bee too light or no : Yea, fome are fo exceffive in this kind, their beliefe out-ftretcheth the report: what is told them to be done out of ignorance, they beleeve to be out of knowledge ; what is told them to be done out of infirmity, they beleeve to bee done out of prefumption : they need not fay with the man In the Gofpel, Lord, I beleeve, helpe my unbdeefe ; but, Lord, pardon my too much beliefe, pardon my over- credulity, in that I beleeve all, and more than all reported. To conclude, let not our bellefes be altogether of clay to receive any impreffion, nor altogether of Iron to receive none at all. But as the toes in the Image of Nebuchadnezzar s Dreame were partly iron and partly clay : So let our bellefes be compofed of charity mixt with our credulity ; that when a crime is reported wee may with Saint Paul partly beleeve It. Verfe 1 9 : Far there muft be alfo herefies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifeft among you. ?Ere Saint Paul argueth a minor e ad majus, being ^ the more easily induced to beleeve there might 2 be divifions among them, becaufe alfo there muft "^ be Herefies. DoSirine : Herefies are worfe than Schifms, falfe doSirines more dangerous than divifions. The former finnes againft Faith ; the later, againft Charity ; and though thefe two Graces be fifters and twins, yet Faith Is the eldeft and choyceft. However, as children ufe to fay, they love Father and Mother both beft : So let us hate Herefies and Schifms both worft. The rather becaufe fchifme Is a fit ftock to graft 40.] A Comment on i Cor. xi. verf. i8. 19. 119 Herefie on ; yea, of their owne accord, old Schlfmaticks ripened with age, grow young Heretikes : witneffe the Donatlfts, who (as Saint "^Auguftine faith) were but pure Schlfmaticks at firft, and turned Heretikes afterwards. feftion : What is a Herefie ? A demand very Important to be anfwered, feeing Saint Paul faith, ASls 24. 14, After the way which they call Herefie, fo worfhip J the God of my Fathers. Answer : Herefie is an errour In the fundamentals of Religion, maintayned with obftinacy. It must be in the fundamentals. In the Primitive Church many were too laviffi in beftowing the name of Heretike on thofe which diffented from the Church, in (as I may say) Veniall errours. A charitable man would have been loath to have beene of the Jury, to condemne lovinian for an Heretike on no other evidence than that hee maintayned marriage in merit to be equall with Virginity, As therefore by thofe many Kings mentioned in the old Teftament, thirty and one in the little land of Canaan, Joft). 12, 24,1s meant onely Toparchs, not great Kings, but Lords of a little Dition and Dominion ; So in the ancient Catalogues of Heretikes (efpecially of that which ^Phylafter made) we may underftand in some of them onely erroneous perfons, fwarving from the truth. The next thing neceffary in an Herefie is that it be main tained with obftinacy, which is the dead fleffi, making the greene wound of an errour fefter into the old foare of an Herefie. Thofe two hundred men of lerusalem, 2 Sam. 15. 1 1, who followed Abfalom to Hebron in their fimpliclty, and knew not any thing, cannot properly be counted Traytors or Rebels : No more can people purely erroneous, who doe not bolt and barre their eyes againft the beames of truth, but willingly would imbrace It if delivered unto them, and main taine an errour out of confclence, not knowing the truth, be accounted Heretikes, Charitable therefore was the cautiouf- neffe of Epiphanius, who would not condemne the Anthropo- morphltes for Heretickes, (who, miftaking fome places of ' Libro de Hareftbus ad quod mult Deum. ' S. Aug[ustine] loco prius citato faith of him, Harefes quidem ipfe commemorat, fed mihi appellandx harefes non ¦videntur. I20 lofeph' s Party-colovred Coat: [i6 Scripture which fpeake of Gods eyes, feet, and hands, con ceived him to bee of a bodily fubftance,) but rather imputed it to their fimpliclty than obftinacy, Rufticitati eorum tribuens. Queftion : Whether doth every Heretike maintain that which in his owne confclence he knowes to be falfe ? Answer : No : perchance fome Heretikes at firft may ftrive to defend errors, even againft the reludtancies of their own judgements, and God may afterwards juftly take from them that light which they thruft from themfelves : and as great Lyars tell lyes fo long till at laft they themfelves beleeve them to bee true : fo many Heretikes fo long maine- talne falffioods againft their judgement, till at laft, being delivered up to a Reprobate Mind, they beleeve their very errours to be truth. And wee will take juft occafion to defcrlbe thofe qualities which difpofe a man to bee a Father and Founder of an Herefie, I . He muft be abominably proud : Pride Is the key of the worke, efpecially fplrituall pride. When one is elated with conceited fantlity above others, chiefly he wil snarle with his Superiours, and quarrel with men in authority, that thofe are before him in place, which are behind him in piety, 2. To pride add difcontentment, that his preferments bare not proportion to his fuppofed deferts ; thus Arius would be an Arian, becaufe he could not bee a Biffiop, 3, Learning void of humility. The Serpent was the fubtileft of all the beafts in the field. Gen. 3. i : in this- kind a Dunce Is no diffi for the Devils tooth. But in default of learning, good naturall parts will ferve the turne, efpecially Memory (which is ^av/xaTov/3769, a Wonder-working facultie) and a fluent expreffion : fo that when hee calleth for words. Gad : Behold, a Troape commeth. If both learning and natural parts bee wanting, yet (as when the golden shields were taken away, Rehoboams brazen Shields did the deed, and made as much glittering, 2 Chron. 12, 10) boldneffe and brazen-fac't Impudence will fupply the place, efpecially if hee trades with the Vulgar, broaches dregs, and- founds a dull and fottiffi Herefie which hath no affinity with Learning, [4.J To varnish all thefe there muft bee pretended Piety and Aufterity of life, and how fowle or filthy foever 4<^-] A Comment on i Cor. xi, ver. 19. 121 the Pofterne or Back doore be, the door which opens to the ftreet muft be fwept and garnlffied. Put all thefe together. Pride, Difcontent, Learning (at leaft-wife good parts, or im- pudency), pretended fandtity ; and they fpel together Hare- ftarcham, one cut and carved out to be Ring-leader and Captaine of an herefie. To prevent thefe mifchlefes, let fuch men pray to God for Humility, (that vertue which Is moft worth, yet cofteth the leaft to keepe it,) and beware of fplrituall pride, which is the Hedlick Fever of the foule, feeding on the very moifture of the heart of Piety. Let them beware of difcontentment, which Is a diredt quarrelling with God, who is the fountaine of all preferment, though men may be the channell ; and hee who hath the leaft from Him, hath more than he deferveth : And grant preferment is denyed thee, bee not fo childiffi to eaft away a Crowne, becaufe thou canft not get a counter ; willingly throw away thy foul, and fooliffily revenge the fault of the times (as thou counteft it) upon thy felfe. Laftly, If God hath beftowed good parts upon thee, pray to him to fandllfie them to thee ; otherwife the greateft memory may foone forget it felfe, and a fluent tongue may cut his throat that hath it. So much for the Charadter of an Arch-Heretike. But thofe whofe barren wits want pregnancy to be the Mothers of Herefies, may notwithftanding ferve for dry Nurfes to feed and fofter them ; and to this purpofe the Devil will make ufe of them. A plaine Follower of an Herefie may bee thus defcribed : Firft, he muft be Ignorant, for hee that knowes nothing will beleeve any thing. Thefe bee Maidens for their Religion ; and therefore the opinion which firft woed them firft wins them, firft come firft served. Old Seducers, as it is 2 Tim. 3. 6, 7, Creepe into houfes, and leade captive filly women laden with finnes, led away with divers lufts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Secondly, defirous of Novelty : It is an old humour for men to love new things, and in this poynt even many Barbarians are Athenians Laftly, (what refulteth from the two former,) they muft have the perfons of men in much admiration. 122 lofeph' s Party-colovred Coat: [i6 doting on fome fancied mans parts and perfedtlons, and enter- taynlng anything he faith, becaufe he faid it. To prevent thefe mifchlefes, that men may not be Followers of Herefies, let the meaneft-parted labour to attaine to fome competent meafure of knowledge in matters of falvatlon, that fo hee may not truft every fpirit, but be able to try whether he bee of God, or no. Beleeve no man with Implicite faith in matters of fuch moment ; for hee who buyes a lewell in a cafe, without ever looking on it, deferves to be couzened with a Briftoll Stone, in ftead of a Diamond. Secondly, kill the itch of novelty in thy foule, pradtifing the Prophets Precept, Jer. 6. i6. Thus faith the Lord, Stand yee in the wayes, and fei, and aske for the old pathes, where is the good way, and walk therein, and yee fhall find reft for your foules. Laftly, love and admire no mans Dodtrine for his perfon, but rather love his perfon for his Dodtrine. And now to returne to the very words of the Text. There muft be alfo Herefies:] There is a double Muft, or a two-fold neceffity of things being: firft, an abfolute neceffity ; when the thing hath in it felfe the caufe of its neceffary being : Thus God alone Muft Be : (for what can bee, if being it felfe be not ? ) and muft bee good, and muft bee true. Secondly, a conditionate Muft, or a neceffity, ex hypothefi, which muft needs bee if fuch a thing be granted before. As, fuppofe the Sun be rifen, and it muft bee day. Such a conditionate ne ceffity Is this in the Text : For upon the prefuppofitlon of thefe two things which cannot be denyed : that the Devill goeth about like a roaring Lyon feeking whom he may devoure; and that the fleffi lufteth againft the fpirit, making men prone to all wickedneffe : hence It followeth ther muft be herefies. Thus he that beholdeth a family, and findeth the Mafter to be careleffe, the Miftris negligent, the fons riotous, the fervants unfaithfuU ; hee may fafely conclude that family cannot be fafe, but muft be ruined ; There muft be herefiies : paralel to that, Luke 17. \,It is impaffible but that offences fhould come. But farre bee it from us to conceive that God impofeth a fatall neceffity, or by the Irrefiftable-neffe of his Decree 40-J A Comment on i Cor. xi. ver. 19. 123 urgeth or enforceth any to bee Heretikes : their badneffe he wifely permits, but in no wife is the caufe or Author thereof. Among you.] You Corinthians, though men of excellent parts and endowments, are not priviledged from having herefies among you ; yea, happily [haply] becaufe of your excellent naturall gifts, are more difpofed thereunto. Or take It generally. Among you Chriftians, for properly herefies have their rife and orlginall out of the Church, and iffue thence, according to the i lohn 2. 19, They went aut from us, but they were not of us ; far if they had, iSc, I fee not therefore how Epiphanius can well make Piatonifts and Pythagoreans to bee Heretikes, (the latter for their opinion of Tranfanlmation,) feeing neither of thefe were ever of the Church. That they which are approved may be made manifeft among you.] That they whom God from all eternity In his fecret councell hath approved, may have their Epiphany and manifeftation unto the world ; that, thus difcovered, they may receive from men a Teftimonlall of their foundneffe and fincerity. Not that God hereby gaineth any acceffion of knowledge {fore -knowne unto God are all his workes from the beginning of the world, ASI, 15. 18), but others hereby are certified and affured of that whieh was doubtfull before : Thus often times Gold-fmiths, though they themfelves bee fufficiently fatisfied of the goodneffe of the gold, yet put it to the touch to content the Beholders. And hereby alfo thofe which are not approved are made manifeft. Many who doe evirpoam-irriaai iv aapKi, make a brave ffiew In the fleffi, and carry it In a high tryumphant way, wil prove but bafe when brought to the tryal. Whilft many unknowne men, of whom the world tooke no notice, not fufpedled for any worth, ffiall acquit themfelves valiant and appeare glorious to God and all good men: Many a bright candle formerly hid under a buffiell, of a private and obfcure life, ffiall then be fet on a Candleftick and ffiine forth to the world : And ffiall caufe, I. Glory to God, who ffiall be honoured and prayfed in 124 lofeph' s Party-colovred Coat: [i6 thefe his fervants, and, as it is Matth. 9. 8, The multitudes will marvell, and glorifie God which hath given such power unto men. 2. Honour to thefe his Champions of the truth. Never had Athanafius fo anfwered his name and beene fo truly Immortall in his memory, but for oppofing of the Arrlans. Never had Saint Auguftine been fo famous but for quelling of Manicheans, Pelagians, Donatlfts, and whom not ? for all his Heretikes lay pat for his hand to daffi them in peeces. 3. Clearing to the Truth: her old Evidences which have layd long negledled wil then be fearched and found out ; her rufty Arguments will be fcoured over and furbiffied up. Many will run to and fro, and knowledge ffial be increafed. Thofe which before ffiooting at the Truth, were over, under, or wide, wil now, with the left handed Gibeonltes, hit the mark at an haires bredth, and faile not : Many parts of true Dodtrine have bin but flenderly guarded, till once they were affaulted by Heretikes ; and many good Authors in thofe points which were never oppofed, have written but loofely, and fuffered unwary paffages to fall from their pofting pens. But when theeves are about the countrey, every one will ride with his fword and ftand on his guard : when Heretikes are abroad in the world. Writers weigh each word, ponder each phrafe, that they may give the enemies no advantage. 4. Confirmation to weak Chriftians. Many, whofe hearts and affedlions were loyall to the Truth, but likely to be overborne by the violence of the oppofite party, will hereby be ftrengthened and eftabliffied in the Right. 5. Thofe will bee reduced, who (as Agrippa faid of him felfe, ASl. 26. 28, That hee was almoft a Chriftian) are almoft Heretikes, not as yet Farmati et Radicati Haretici, but fuch as well going (or rather 111 going) that way will plucke one foot out of the fnare, and will returne to the bofome of the Church. 6. Laftly, the Hardned will bee made unexcufable, who obftinately perfift in their errours : They cannot plead they loft their way for want of Guides, but for meere wilfulneffe. And thus God Is fo good, hee would fuffer no Heretikes to 40. J A Comment on i Cor, xi, verf. 19, 20. 125 bee in the World ; were hee not alfo fo ftrong and fo wife that hee can extradl thus many goods by permitting them. Verfes 20, 21 : When you come together tberefore into one place, this is not to eate the Lords Supper. For in eating, every one taketh before other bis own Supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken. F the fenfe of the firft of thefe verfes are many and different opinions, both what Is meant by This is not to eate, and the Lords Supper. Omit ting varietie of Interpretations, we wil embrace that which we conceive the beft. This is not to eate the Lords Supper:] As If hee had faid : True it is, yee Corinthians, when yee come together to one place, you eate the Lords Supper ; (meaning the body and blood of Chrift in the Sacrament, fo expounded by ^ Saint Auguftine, and Ambrofe, with many other Latine Writers ;) and yet though you eate it, you doe not eate It. You perform the materiall part of the adlion, but leave out the life and foule thereof, -not doing it legally and folemnely according to Chrifts Inftitution. Such is your want of charity and exceffe of riot in your Love-feafts (which you eate before the Sacrament), whereby your foules are difturbed, diftempered, and quite put out of tune to eate the Supper af the Lord, as yee ought. DoSirine: A duty not done as it ought to be done, is in effecl not done at all. Efay 64. 7 : There is none that calletb upon thy name, that ftirreth up himfelfe to take hold of tbee. Not that the true Church of God, in whofe perfon it is fpoken (as Antiquity expounds it, and may bee demonftrated by unanfwerable Arguments), do any times wholly negledl, though too often negligently performe their calling on God ; not doing it with that faith and conftancy, care and fervencie, devotion and diligence, as they ought, and God requires; ' Epift. 118. ad lanuar. cap. 5. Jpfam acceptionem Euchariftia.,ccenam Domi- nicam vocat. 126 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat : [j6 they did not call on God, in the fame fenfe as Saint Paul fpeaketh. This is not to eate. Vfe : It will abate their pride who reft on Opus operatum, as bad Divinity as Latine. For a deed done Is a deed not done, where the manner of the doing confutes and confounds the matter of the deed. Yea, in the beft of Gods children ; as Gideons Army of two and thirty thoufand did ffirinke to three hundred, ludg. 7. 6 ; So it is to bee feared, that their fo many Sermons heard, prayers made, Aimes given, which they fcore up to themfelves, and reckon upon, will ffirinke in the tale when God takes account of them ; and prove Sermons not heard, prayers not made, Aimes not given, becaufe not done in forme as he requires. Yet it is fome comfort unto us, if all our adtions proceed from faith, and ayming at Gods glory ; fo that the fayllngs be rather in the branches and leafes than in the roots of our performances. As for the Vnregenerate, they fo remayning have in them l^efum principium of all true pious workes : all their divine adlions are none at all ; it being true of their whole lift, what 'one writes of the yeare of our Lord, 903, Annus fua tantum obfcuritate illuftris, famous only for this, that nothing famous was done in it, and the whole ftory thereof a very Blanke, For in eating every one taketh before other his owne Supper^] Herein the Apoftle reproveth their abufes in their Love- FEASTS, whofe Inftitution, Declination, and Corruption, we will briefly defcrlbe. Their Inftitution : Love-feafts were founded on no expreffe command in Holy Write, but only on the Cuftome of the Church, who immediatly before the receiving of the Sacra ment, as appears both by the Text and Saint ^Auguftines Comment on it, (though Saint Chryfoftome makes thefe Love-feafts to bee after the taking of the Eucharift^ ufed to have a great Feaft, to which all the poore people were in vited, on the charges of the rich. This they did partly in ' Spondanus, .^K»a/. Eccles. [Baronii] in anno 903 [Ed. Paris, 1639, part ii. page 329]. ' Loco prius citato. 40.J A Comment on i Cor. xi. verf, 20. 21. 127 imitation of our Saviour, who inftituted the Sacrament after a full Supper ; and partly In expreffion of their perfedl love and charity towards all men. Their Declination: But the number of the rich men en- creafed not proportionably with the poore: i Cor. i. 26, Behold your calling, that not many wife men after the fiefh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. The Church (in time of perfecution, efpecially) is like a Copfe, wherein the underwood growes much thicker and fafter than the Oakes. Hence came it to paffe, that there were few Hofts, many Guefts ; few Invlters, many to be invited ; and the burden growing heavie, lying on few backs, they wholly omitted the poor, who loath to come without any invitation, (the warrant to keepe a Gueft from trefpaffing on good manners,) were excluded from their Feafts. Their Corruption : Thus love to men in want, was quickly turned Into want of love. Mare Euxinum into Mare Axinum, Love-feafts into No-love-fafts, (Thus too often Charity is changed into bargaining ; Hofpitals turned into Exchanges, wherein thofe are taken in, that can give ; and thofe left out, that have nothing,) The poore people in Corinth did fee and fmell, what the rich men tafted, Tantalizing all the while, and having their penury doubled by the Antiperiftafis qi others plenty ; yea, ryot and exceffe ; for fome of them were drunken. Yet marke by the way that Saint Paul doth not plant his Arguments poynt-blanke to beat thefe Love-feafts downe to the ground, wholly to abrogate and make a nullity of them, but onely to corredt and reforme the abufes therein, that there might be leffe ryot in the Rich and more charity towards the poore. Vfe : Let not things fimply good in themfelves, be done away for their abufes ; Abraham iaid unto God, Gen. 18. 25, To ftay the Righteous with the wicked, that be farre from thee ; and farre be it from us to caffieare the good ufe of a thing with the ill abufes annexed thereunto. Hee is a bad huffiand that having a fpot in his coat will cut out the cloath, not waffi out the dirt. Wherefore in matters of a mixt nature, wherin good and bad are confufedly jumbled together, let us with 128 lofeph' s Party-colovred Coat: [16 the fire of judgement try the droffe from the gold ; and with the fanne of difcretion winnow the chaffe from the corne. For in eating every one taketh, i£c.] By Every one, under ftand not every particular perfon In the Church of Corinth (for then how could fome bee hungry ?) but every divifion : the fadlion of Paul a part, of Apollo a part, the fedl of Cephas by It felfe. His owne Supper.] Meaning that Love-feaft, or plentlfull Supper, whereof formerly, therefore called their Owne, both becaufe feverally provided for their Owne fadlion, as alfo In diftindlion of the Lords Supper which they tooke afterwards. And one is hungry:] Here Is nothing in the poore to be condemned. For that they were hungry, was no finne in them, but their puniffiment; Gods pleafure, and the rich mens fault. Obfervation : Poverty fometimes keeps men inno cent, while abufed wealth makes rich men to offend. Something is here in the poore to be commended, that they would be hungry. Our age affords fuch unmannerly Harpies: they would have fnatched the meat out of the rich mens mouthes. Some will not want a fire if there be fewell in their neighbours yard : But O let us not unlawfully remove the Land-mark of our eftates ! Let us rather trefpaffe againft modefty than honefty, goe naked, than fteale clothes ; be hungry and faft, than feaft on forbidden food. And another is drunken,] feftion : Is It credible that any of the Corinthians, being about to receive the Sacrament, would be fo farre overtaken, as to be drunken ? Anfwer: Surely not fo drunken as he, Prov, 23. 2S ' They have ftricken mee,faid hee, and I was not ficke ; they have beaten me, and J felt it not. They pronounced not Siboleth for Shiboleth ; fo that it might have beene faid to them, as It was to Saint Peter, Thy very language betrayeth thee. Sure their tongues, eyes, and feet, were loyall enough to preferve their Mafters credit. So then by Drunken here, underftand the higheft flight and pitch of mirth. And as hearbs hot In 40-] A Comment on i Cor. xi. ver. ¦zi, 129 the fourth degree are poyfon ; fo Summa hilar it as is Ima ebrietas, the higheft ftaire of mirth is the loweft ftep of drunkenneffe. DoSirine : There is a concealed Drunkenneffe, which no In former can accufe, no witneffe can teftifie, no earthly fudge can punifh ; yet is it lyable ta a cenfure in the Court af Heaven, and counted Drunkenneffe in the eyes of God. And though others cannot perceive it in us, wee may take norice of it In our felves, efpecially if wee examine our felves : i . By our unaptneffe to ferve God in our generali or particular callings. 2. By the quantity of the liquor wee have drunke. 3. By the company with whom wee drinke. For as fome who of themfelves never take notice of their owne faft going, yet are fenfible of It when they heare fome of their company, whofe legs are not fo long and fo ftrong, begin to complaine : fo though of our felves we find no alteration in our owne temper; yet if any of our Companions in drinking, who ftarted from the fame place and ran the fame pace with us, begin to be tyred, let them bee our Monitours that it is high time, daudere jam rivos, to leave off our courfe, as being already drunken neffe before God. Vfe: Let us not walke to the utmofi bounds of what we may, nor take fo much liquor as perchance we may juftifie. It was permitted to the lewes to beat a Malefadlor \?ith forty ftripes, Deut. 25. 3 ; yet they never exceeded nine and thirty, as appeares by their fcourging Saint Paul, to whom no doubt they ufed their greateft cruelty, 2 Cor. 11. 24. Let us not ftretch our Chriftian Liberty to the utmoft : he that never will drinke leffe than he may, fome times will drinke more than hee fhould, feftion : But why is here mention of Drunkenneffe onely, and not of Gluttony, feeing probably at fuch great Feafts thefe twin- vices goe together ? Anfwer: The Apoftle only inftanceth in that finne which is moft obvious and appearing to fight : Gluttony is fcarce difcernable In him that is guilty of it ; ^ia per efum neceffttati valuptas mif ce tur, quid neceffitas petat, et quid voluptas fuppetat , ignoratur, faith ^Gregory, Neceffitle in eating fo incorporates ' Moral\ia in Expof. Beati lob, cap. 39, ver. 7]. lib. 30. cap. 28 ante medium\^6z\. I 3° lofeph' s Party-colovred Coat: [i6 it felfe with delight, that they are hardly to be diftinguiffied, Befides, as thunder and lightning, though they come together, yet lightning firft arriveth to our fight : So though probably at the Corinthians Feafts, Gluttony and Drunkenneffe were both joyned together in the fame perfon, yet Drunkenneffe was fooneft and eafieft difcerned. Verfe 22 : What I have yee not houfes ta eate and drinke in? or defpife yee the Church of God, and fhame them that have not? What ftoall I fay unto you ? ftall I prayfe you in this ? I prayfe you not. * VST you needs make the houfe of God the place of your feafting.? If you be difpofed to bee merry, have yee not houfes wherein yee may doe it with more privacle and leffe offence ^ or defpife you the Church of Gad? Doe you under- value the place fet apart for Gods fervice, to convert it into an ordinary Ban- quettlng-houfe ? This is the expofition of all Greeke Writers, who expound it the Materiall Church ; and their opinion is much favoured by the Antithefis and oppofirion in the Text betwixt Church and Houfes. Hence it appeares, that thefe Love-feafts (which of late by the rich mens covetoufneffe were inclofed Into a private courtefie, which at the firft were a common Charity) were to their greater abufe kept in the Church or place of publike meeting. Only duties pious and publike are to be performed in the Church. Duties publike and not pious more befit a Guild hall or Towne-houfe; duties pious and not publike more become a Clofet : Pfalme 4. 4, Commune with your heart in your Chamber, and be ftiU ; whilft duties pubhke and pious befeeme a Church, as proper thereto. Vfe : Too [to] blame thofe that turne the Church into a Countlng-houfe, there to rate their neighbours, both to value their eftates, and too often to revile their perfons. Others make it a Market-place, there to bargalne in ; yea, fome turne It into a Kennell for their dogs, and a Mew for their Hawkes, which they bring with them. Surely if Chrift drove out thence ffieep and doves, the emblems of Innocencle, he would 40-J A Comment on I Cor, id. verf. 21. Z2. 131 not have fuffered thefe Patterns of cruelty to have abide in his Temple. But moft Latine Writers expound thefe words. Or defpife yee the Church of God? of the fplrituall Church, The rich Corinthians in not inviting the poore made Balkes of good ground, chaffe of good corne ; yea, Refufe of Gods Eledl, ObjeSlion : But not Inviting the poore, was not defpifing them. A Free-will-offering is no debt. In gratuitis nulla eft injuftitia. Seeing therefore it had beene no fin in the Corinthians wholly to have omitted their Feafts (as being not commanded by Gods Word), it could bee no offence to exclude any Guefts at their pleafure. Anfwer : This is true of civill and ordinary entertalnements : But thefe being entitled Love-feafts, and Charity pretended the maine Motive of them, poore people were the moft proper, ffiould have beene the moft principali Guefts. Befides, if not Chriftianity, yet Civility ; if not grace, good nature ; might have moved them, whilft they gorged themfelves, to have given fomething to the poore which ftood by. To let them look on hungry was a defpifing of them in an high degree, a Scandalum Magnatum, cenfurable in the Star-chamber of Heaven : Thus to wrong their Peeres in Grace here and glory hereafter. DoSirine : Hee that defpifeth the poore, defpifeth the Church of God. Whereof they are a member inferlour to none in piety ; {God hath chofen the poore af this world to be rich in faith, lames 2. 5 ;) fuperlour to all in number. Now he that pincheth the little toe paineth the whole body ; the dif- gracing any member is the defpifing the whole Church. Let us beware of affronting thofe in want, upbrayding their rags with our filkes ; fetting our meat before their eyes only to raife their appetites. He that hath the things of this World, and feeth his Brother to want, how doth the love ofGod dwell in him.'' And fhame them that have not.] Not, that have not houfes, though perchance but homely and hired ; but m e%oi/T69, thofe that have not wealth and fubftance to pay the ffiot, and goe to the coft to invite vou againe. I 2 132 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [16 What fhall I fay ? fhall I prayfe you in this ?] Dodtrine : Paftours may and muft prayfe their people wherein they doe well. Reafons : i . Hereby they ffiall peaceably poffeffe themfelves of the good-wils of their people, which may much advance the power and efficacle of their preaching. 2, Men will more willingly digeft a Reproofe for their faults, if prayfed when they doe well. 3, Vertue being commended doth increafe and multiply ; Creepers in goodneffe will goe, Goers run. Runners fly. Vfe : Thofe Minifters to bee blamed which are ever blaming, often without caufe, alwayes without meafure ; whereas it is faid of God, hee will not be alwayes chiding, Pfame 103. 9, Thefe Preachers ufe their reproofes fo commonly, till their Phyficke turnes natural], and will not worke with their people. Doe any defire to heare that which Themiftodes counted the beft Muficke ; namely, themfelves commended ? On thefe conditions, wee Minifters will indent with them : Let them find matter, wee will find words ; let them doe what is commendable, and blame us if we commend not what they doe. Such work for us would be Recreation ; fuch employ ment, a pleafure, turning our moft ftammering tongue into the pen af a ready Writer. To reprove Is preft from us as Wine from Grapes ; but prayfes would flow from our lips as water from a Fountaine. But alas ! how can we build when they afford us neither brick, nor ftraw ? how can wee prayfe what they doe when they will not doe what is to bee prayfed ? If with Ahab they will doe what is evill, then with Micaiah wee muft alwayes prophefie evil unto them. In this I prayfe you not.] Dodtrine : Minifters muft not commend their people when they doe ill. Reafons: i. Diffionourable to God. 2. Dangerous to the Minifters. That Embaffadour, who being fent to proclaime warre pronounceth peace to Rebels, {There is no peace, faith my God, to the wicked, Efay 57. 21,) deferves at his returne to bee preferred to the Gallowes. 3. Dangerous to the people, who are foothed in their finnes : Honey-dewes, though they be fweet In tafte, doe black and blaft the corne : So thofe 40.J A Comment on i Cor. xi, ver. 22. 133 who prayfe their people without caufe are cruelly kind unto them : It Is pleafant to the pallate of fleffi, but deftroyeth and damneth the foule. Vfe : It were to be wiffied that as thofe that live under the Equinodliall at Noon-day have no ffiadowes at all ; fo great men ffiould have no ffiadowes, no Parafites, no Flatterers to commend them, when they leaft deferve it. ObjeSlion : But why doth Saint Paul deale fo mildly with the Corinthians, / prayfe you not ? Me thinkes hee ffiould have made his little finger as heavie as his loynes : O yee Corinthians, I excommunicate every mothers child of you ; I damne you all to the pit of hell, and deliver you to Satan for your finne of Drunkenneffe at the receiving of the Sacrament, never to be abfolved but on your moft ferious and folemne repentance. Otherwife, confidering the corrupt humour in the Corinthians, the Apoftles purge was too gentle for them. Anfwers: i, TheaphylaSl anfwers, that Saint Paul re proves the rich men the more mildly, left otherwife they ffiould be implacably incenfed againft the poore, fretting againft them as the caufers of the Apoftles anger. 2. It was the firft time hee told the Corinthians of their fault, and therefore ufed them the more gently on hope of their amendment. This corrupt humour in the Corinthians was not as yet growne tough, bak't and clodded in them by cuftome, and therefore the eafier purged and removed. Obfervation : Minifters muft ufe mildneffe, efpecially at their firft reproving of a finne. Yea, God fo bleft the mild feveritie of Saint Paul that the Corinthians reformed all their errours ; for no fault reprehended by the Apoftle in them in this firft Epiftle is taxed againe in the fecond Epiftle ; a very ftrong prefumption that all thofe faults were amended. Now whereas wee find fuch abufes in the Church of Corinth prefently after it was newly planted : we may learne DoSirine : Corruptions will quickly creepe into the beft Church. Thus Saint Paul no fooner went back from the Galatians, but they went back from his Dodtrine, Gal. 5. 7 : Tee did run well ; who did hinder you ? And as we reade of Mezentius, a cruell Tyrant, who joyned dead corpes to 134 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat : [i6 living men, and fo killed them with lingering torments : So fome Seducers In the Church of Galatia fought to couple the lively grace of God and adllve faith with the dead Letter of the Law, and old legall Ceremonies long fince dead, burled, and rotten, in the Grave of our Saviour. Vfe : If it be done thus to the greene Tree, what fhall be done to the dry ? If Primative Churches, whilft the Apoftles which planted them were alive to pruine them, had fuch errours in them, no wonder if the Church at fixteene hundred yeares of age may have fome defaults. Mofes faid unto the Ifraelltes, Deut. 31. 27, Behold while I am alive with you this day, yee have beene rebellious againft the Lard; and how much more when J am dead? So if, while Saint Paul furvived. Churches were fo prone to decline, what can be leffe expedled in our dayes ? It was therfore well concluded in the thirty-ninth Seffion of the Councell oi'^Conftance [a.d. 1414-18] : That every ten yeare at the fartheft there ffiould bee a Generali Councell held to reforme fuch errours in the Church as probably In that time would arife. Verfe 23 : Far I have received af the Lord that which J alfo delivered unto you, that the Lord lefus, the fame night in which he was betrayed, took bread. .FTER hee had fully reproved the corruptions of their Love feafts, commeth he now to reduce the receiving of the Sacrament to the firft Inftitution of Chrift. Obfervation : It is the fafeft way to correSl all the Errata's in the Tranfcript according to the Originall Copie : Thus did Chrift in the matter of Divorce, Mat. 19. 8, But from the beginning it was not fo. Excellently Saint Cyprian : Wee muft not heed what others did who were before us, but what Chrift did who was before all. Vfe : Were this ufed betwixt us and the Papifts, to cleare the ftreame of Gods fervice by the Fountaine of its firft Inftitution, how foone would feven Sacraments ffirinke to two! How quickly would Creame, Oyle, and Spittle, fly out ¦ Fox, Marlyrol. page 594., [Ed. 164.1, i. 784; Ed. 1855, iii. +20.] 40.J A Comment on i Cor. xi. verf. 22. 23.' 135 of Baptifme, and leave nothing but faire water behind ! How foone, &c. For J have received of the Lord.] feftion : How could Saint Paul receive it of the Lord, with whom hee never con- vers't in the fleffi, being one borne out of time, as he confeffeth of himfelfe ? Anfwer : He received It, i . Mediately by Ananias, who began with him where Gamaliel ended. [2.] Befides, (left the Corinthians ffiould fay that they received It likewife at the fecond hand, as well as Saint Paul,) he had it immediately from God, Gal. i. 12: For I never received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the Revelation af lefus -Chrift. I alfo delivered unto you.] The Greeke is irapehwica iifuv. Latine, Tradidi vobis, Engliffi It as you pleafe, I traditloned it unto you. Nota (faith A Lapide on this place) hunc locum pro traditionibus quas Ortbodoxi verbo Deifcripto adjungendas do- cent. BeUarmine alfo ftarts Traditions out of the fame place. What eye-falve are their eyes anoynted with, that can fee un written Traditions here, when the Apoftle delivereth nothing but is recorded in three Evangelifts, Mathew, Marke, Luke ? However, hence we will take occafion briefly to fpeak of unwritten Traditions ; the Church of Rome maintayning that the Scriptures of themfelves are too fcant to falvatlon, except the courfe lift of unwritten Traditions be eaft in to make meafure; and this they will have of equall authority with the written Word. Marke by the way Four Obfervables concerning Traditions : I . This is the Reafon why Romanifts are fo zealous for Traditions; for finding themfelves eaft by the Scriptures, they would faigne appeale to another Judge: yea, hereon are founded thofe points which get them their gaine, as Pur gatory and the Appurtenances thereof Hath not Demetrius then reafon to ftand for Diana {ASls 19. 25,) when his goods and her Godffiip muft go together? 2, Though they lock up the Scriptures in an unknowne language and forbid the Laity to reade them, yet they fuffer 136 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [16 Traditions to bee preached and publiffied to all In generali. Such woodden Daggers will never hurt Popery to the heart ; and therefore they fuffer their children to play with thefe dull tooles, though not to handle the two-edged Sword af Gods Word. 3. Romanifts will never give us a perfedl Lift and Cata logue of their Traditions, that we may know their fet number, how many there be of them ; but ftill reckon them up with an Et Catera, leave ftill a Plus ultra to place more in if need require. And as the Athenians for feare they ffiould omit any Deity eredled an Altar to the unknowne God: So the Papifts in fumming up their Traditions will not compleat their number, but are carefull to leave Blankes and void places for a Refuge and Retreating Place, that, in cafe they be preft in Difputation and cannot prove their point by places of Scripture, they may ftill plead it is a Tradition. 4. Whereas the word Tradition is taken in feverall fenfes, and there be many kinds of them, Papifts jumble and con found them together. As Cheaters ufe to eaft their counterfeit coyne amongft good gold, hoping fo to paffe it away currant and undifcovered : So they ffiuffle falfe and true Traditions together in one heape, that the bad may goe off under the countenance and protedlion of the good. Wee will marre their Mart, by forting them into thefe feverall Rankes. I. Traditions in a generali fenfe are taken for things deli vered, though in Scripture, by Chrift and his Apoftles ; thus Saint ^Bafil cals Baptlfing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft a Tradition. 2. For fuch matters of Faith which are not found in Scripture totidem verbis, in the words and found ; but yet In the fame fenfe and fubftance, or at leaft may by falthfull confequence bee thence deduced ; as the Trinity of Perfons, two wils in Chrift, his Confubftantiality with God the Father: Thus Lindan a Papift cals Originall finne a Tradition. 3. For fuch opinions againft which nothing appeares In Scripture, and the Church in all times and ages have main tained them, condemning the Oppofers for erroneous : As that the Mother of Chrift was ever a Virgin. ' Lib. 3. contra Eunomium [page 84, Ed. Paris, 1618]. 40.J A Comment on i Cor. xi. ver. 23. 137 4. For fuch Rites and Ceremonies of the Church (no matters of Faith) which therein have beene ufed from great Antiquity ; and therefore probably might have their Original from the Apoftles : As Fafting In Lent, though the manner, time, and continuance In keeping it was very different in feverall Churches. Take Traditions In the firft and fecond acception, wee account them to have equal force and authority with the Written Word. In the third fenfe we honour and embrace them as true. In the laft Acception wee approve and pradtife them as decent and ancient ; provided alwayes they be not obtruded as things neceffary to falvation, but indifferent in their nature. But all this makes nothing for the blacke Guard of Romifh Traditions which lag ftill behind : fome of them frivolous ; as Hhis Apoftolical Tradition, That a Prieft if againft their wils they receive any money from wicked men they muft in no cafe expend it on meat, but to buy wood and coals. Some impious and blafphemous ; worffiipping of Images, prayers to Saints, the Sacrifice of the Maffe, Purgatory, &c., having nothing for them, much againft them. In Gods written Word, To draw to a conclufion. Scriptures befides many others have two moft principali privlledges above Traditions : Firft, their Infallibilitie, as being infpired by the Spirit of God, 2 Pet, I. 20: So that yee firft know this, that no prophe- cie of the Scripture is of any private Interpretation, Verfe 2 1 : For the Prophecie came not in old time by the will of man ; but holy men af God fpake as they were moved by the Holy Ghoft. As for the authors of Traditions, they might both falli and fallere, be deceived themfelves, and deceive others. They might be deceived themfelves, either by ml f-under ftanding the Traditions delivered unto them, or by mif-remembring, or by mif-relating them againe. They might deceive others, either unwillingly by thefe fore-named flips and infirmities, or elfe willingly and wittingly by venting thofe things as received from the Apoftles, which they had not received from them. And by ufurpation intltling the fancies of your [their] owne heads to bee Apoftolicall Precepts, > Clemens Rom. lib. [fe£l.] 40. cap. 10, Apoft. Conftit. [Ed. Whifton, 171J.] 138 lofeph' s Party-colovred Coat : [16 2, The Providence of God plainely appeares in his pre ferving of the Scriptures against all oppofitions. Many a time from my youth up, {may the Scriptures now say,) yea, many a time have they fought againft me from my youth, but they could not prevaile againft me. Neither Antiochus before Chrift, nor lulian the Apoftate fince him, nor the force of Tyrants, nor the fraud of Heretikes (though the world of late hath fcarce yeelded a wicked ffiarpe wit that hath not given the Scriptures a gaffi) could ever fuppreffe them. Their treading on this Cammimell made it grow the better ; and their fnuffing of this candle made it burne the brighter. Whereas, on the other fide, the Records of Traditions are loft, and thofe bookes wherein they were compiled and com pofed, Aut incuria hominum, aut injuria temporis, or by fome other finlfter accident, are wholly mifcarried, and no where appeare. Papias is reported by ''¦Eufebius in five bookes to have contained all the Apoftolicall Traditions, which they call the Word not written, by Bellarmine himfelfe confeffed that thefe are loft. Likewife Clemens Alexandrinus (as the fame * Eufebius ftorieth it) wrote in a booke thofe Traditions which hee received from the Elders, and they from the Apoftles ; which booke the Papifts themfelves at this day cannot produce. I will conclude all with Gamaliels words, ASls 5. 39, But if it be of God, yee cannot deftroy it. Had thefe bookes beene infpired by Gods Spirit, no doubt the fame Providence would have watched to preferve them which hath protedled the Scrip ture. Let us therefore, leaving uncertaine Traditions, ftick to the Scriptures alone ; truft no Dodtrine on its fingle band, which brings not Gods word for its fecurity. Let that Plate be beaten in peeces which hath not this Tower-ftampe upon it. That the Lord Jefus, the fame night wherein he was betrayed.] Obfervation : Chrift beftowed the greateft courtefie on mankind, when hee forefaw that hee fhould receive the greateft cruelty from them. O that wee were like minded with our Saviour, to move fafteft in Piety when wee draw ' Lib. 4, Hifl. cap. 8. [This chap, is about Hegefippus, and his Five Books j for Papias, fee lib. iii. cap. 39.] = Lib. 6, HiU. cap. 11. 40-J A Comment on i Cor. xi. ver, 23. 139 neereft the Center of Death ; and then chiefly to ftudy to faften favours on our Enemies ! feftion : Why did Chrift inftitute It then, and not before ? Anfwer i : Becaufe dying men bequeath not their Legacies till they make their wils, nor departing friends beftow their tokens till they take their farewell. 2. Becaufe till then the Paffeover (a Sacrament in the fame kind) did continue In full force, and the Lords Supper was not to bee lighted, til the Paffeover was firft fairly put out. feftion : Seeing Chrift appoynted It a Supper, how comes it now to be a Dinner .? Anfwer : God hath intrufted the difcretion of his Church on juft occafion to alter fome circumftances in the Sacrament, True it is, fuch circumftances as are Sacramental, not only of the Commiffion at large, but alfo of the ^vtorum nomina, whofe abfence or alteration maims and mangles the Sacrament, are unchangeable. But Common and ordniary circumftances (fuch as is the Time, Place, Kind oi Bread and Wine) the Church hath power to alter by vertue of a Warrant left to it by Chrift, Let all things be done decently, and in order. Reafons of the change : It was turned into a dinner : i . To avoid the Inconveniencies which a full ftomake furfetted and furcharged will bring, as in the Corinthians. 2, That our bodies, which are like new barrels whiles we are fafting, may firft bee feafoned with the liquor of Chrifts blood. Let us thanke God that we are not neceffitated to receive the Communion in the night, as in the Primitive Church, In time of Perfecution, when Chriftians to drink Chrifts blood did adventure the loofing of their owne. Tooke Bread:] ^estion : Why did Chrift choofe fo cheap and common a thing to exhibite his body In ? Anfwer i : Herein he gracloufly provided for the poor. Had he appoynted fome rich and coftly receit, the eftate of the poore could not procure it for themfelves, and the charity of the rich would not purchafe it for others. 2. Had he inftituted it in fome dear and precious element, happily [haply] people would have imputed the efficacle thereof to Its natural worth and working, not to Chrifts Inftitution. 1 40 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat : [16 Chrift therefore choofeth plaine bread ; a thing fo meane in it felfe, it is not within fufpition to ecllpfe God of his glory ; none can be fo mad as to attribute to plaine Bread it felfe fuch fplrituall Operation, Let us take heed how we take fnuffe at the fimpliclty of Gods Ordinance. Say not with Naaman : Is not Abanah and Pharphar, &c. Is not the Bread in the Bakers panniers and the Wine in the Vintners cellar, as good as that which is pro pounded in the Sacrament ? And farre be it from us to feeke with our owne inventions to beguard that which God wil have plaine; rather let us pray that our eyes may be anoynted with that eye-falve, to fee Majefty in the meaneffe, and the ftate in the fimpliclty of the Sacraments. Queftion : But amongft fuch variety of others, fuch cheape Elements to reprefent Chrifts body in, why was bread pre ferred above all .'' Anfwer : To ffiew our bodies can as well fubfift without Bread, as our foules without a Saviour, It is called the fiaffe ofi Bread {Life] : other meats are but as pretty wands to whifk in our hands. Without Bread no Feaft, with Bread no Famine. Verfe 24 : And when hee had given thankes, hee brake it, and fay d. Take, eate, this is my body, which is broken for you ; this doe in remembrance of mee. [ND when he had given thanks: Evxapia-Tija-a';.] So it Is Luke 22, 19. But Saint Matthew, chap. 26. 26, hath It evXoy^a-av, hee bleffed. Yet let not thefe two words fall out, for they are Brethren, of affinity in fenfe and fignification : At this day eixapoa-ri^cra^, Hee gived thankes, hath chriftned the whole fervice of the Eucharift. Doctrine : Whenfoever wee are to receive any food, wee are to give God thankes, but efpecially at Sacrament. Reafon i : It is our duty, God the Lord Paramount of the World, though hee hath made us In Chrift Free-holders of all his creatures, yet hath referved thankes as a quick Rent for himfelfe. 40.J A Comment on i Cor, xi. verf. 23. 24. 141 2. It is profitable for us, i Tim. 4. 4, 5 : For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refufed, if it be received with thankefgiving ; for it is fanSlified by the Word of God and Prayer. Yea, thankfgivlng makes every creature both chew the cud, and cleave the hoofe. The Phyfician may forbid one meat, the Divine cannot ; it may bee againft ones health, not ones confclence. True, the Jewes life was a conftant Lent, from much forbidden meat ; but Chriftians, paying thankes to God, buy a Licenfe to eate any thing. Hee brake it.] To fignifie how his body ffiould bee broken for mankind. Whilft therefore the Prieft in the Sacrament breaketh the Bread, let the peoples meditation attend his Adlion, and conceive they fee Chrifts head, backe, hands, feet, fide, broken with the thorns, whips, nalles, fpeare. And hence it appeareth, that the celebrating of Chrifts body in broken bread is more naturall to Chrifts Inftitution, and more expreffive in it felfe, than as the Church of Rome doth in a whole and entire Wafer. And faid unto them. Take.] That is, take it in their hands and put it to their mouth, not as the cuftome lately induced in the Romiffi Church, for the Prieft to put it in the mouth of every Communicant. ObjeSlion : But it Is pleaded for the Popiffi cuftome that It Is unmannerly for Lay-men to handle Chrifts body ; and therefore it is moft reverence to take it with their mouthes. Anfwer i : There is no fuch Clowne in Chriftianity as he who will bee more mannerly than God will have him : It Is moft reverence for us to doe as God commands us. Ahaz tempted God in faying he would not tempt him, when God bid him afke a figne, Efay 7. 12. Thofe do little better who more nife then wife ftraine courtefie not to take Chrifts body in their hands, when hee reaches it. 2. Take it ftridlly, and our mouthes are as unworthy as our hands to receive Chrifts body. No more fandtity in the one than in the other, being both made of the fame lump of fleffi : But feeing it is Chrifts pleafure to come under the roofe of our mouth, let him alfo paffe through the porch of 142 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat: ¦ [16 our hands. The rather becaufe it feemeth that wee entertaine Chrifts body in more ftate and with more obfervance towards it, when the more fervants attend it, the more members of our body, ufing their fervice in receiving it. 3. Laftly, the Romiffi cuftome in putting it into their mouthes loofeth the expreffion and fignificancie of the hand of faith. The taking Chrifts body in our hands mindeth us fpiritually by faith to apprehend and lay hold on his mercies and merits. T{homas] C{artwright's] needleffe cavill. And here let us take notice of the needleffe cavill of fuch as fnarle at the prac- tlfe of our Engliffi Church. Becaufe whereas Chrifl; faid in a generality, once for all to his Difciples, Take and eate ; our Church fpeaketh it to every particular perfon. Wee anfwer, this is no confiderable variation from Chrifts form ; for firft, it appeares not in the Text to the contrary but that Chrift might fpeake thefe words feverally to each Apoftle, though it be not expreffed, becaufe Hlftories truffe up things In bundles, and omitting particulars fet downe only the totall fumme. Secondly, God hath intrufted the Minifters of his Church to fpin out his univerfall Precepts and promifes into particulars. Thus Mat. 28. 19, Chrift faith. Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, ^c. Which the Prieft by thfe confent of all Churches applyeth to each Infant, / baptize thee, tfr. This is my body.] That Is, that which fignifies, fignes, and prefents my body, and facramentally is my body, and which received with faith feales to thee all the benefits of my death and paffion, not tranfubftantiated into my body, according to the Popiffi opinion, whereof briefly. The Dodlrine of Tranfubftantiation was firft occafioned by the unwary fpeeches of Damafcen and TheaphylaSl. Thefe feeing no prefent, and forefeeing no future errours about the Sacraments, were too tranfcendent and hyperbolicall in their expreffions about the reall prefence of Chrift in the Sacrament: Thus as oftentimes Lafcivia calami, the daffies and florlfties 40.J A Comment on i Cor. xi. ver. 24. 143 of a Scrivener over-adllve with his pen, have afterwards beene miftaken to bee Letters really Intended : So the witty ex travagancies and Rhetoricall phrafes of thefe Fathers were afterward interpreted to be their diftllled dodlrinall pofitions : fo dangerous it Is for any to wanton it with their wits in myfteries of Religion. But Tranfubftantiation was never made an Article of faith till the [fourth] Councell of Lateran [a.d. 1 21 5]; no penalty impofed on the Maintainers of the contrary, till the Councell of Trent [1545-63]. But let us heare fome of their Arguments. Argument 1 : The Text faith, this is my body, and there- fore it is fo plainely to bee underftood. For Scripture admits of a figurative fenfe as Its Refuge, not as its Choyce ; onely fe defendere, tofhieldandfhelter it felfe from non-fenfe and contra- didlions ; otherwife the literall fenfe is to bee embraced. And therefore the Holy Spirit Is fo here to be underftood, this is truly my body. Anfwer : From the literall underftanding of thefe words flow many abfurdities, and therefore wee are forced to fly to a figurative meaning, Philofophy brings In an Army of Im- poffibilities ; as that the fame body at the fame time fhould be in feverall places ; that accidents ffiould fubfift without a fub- stance ; &c. To wave thefe, the Antiquity of faith excepts againft it, it deftroyes the nature of a Sacrament ; the fame thing cannot bee the figne and feale of Chrifts body, and the very body in fubftance. Argument 2 : Wee are not to meafure Gods Arme by our eye, his power by our underftanding ; Wherefore, non obftante all pretended impoffibllity, God doth turne the bread into his fonnes body; for nothing is impoffible unto him. Anfwer : Were it expreffed in Scripture, that it were Gods will to turne the Bread into Chrifts fleffi, wee would workeour felves to beleeve it, and make Reafon ftrike fayle to Faith : So it is not Gods power wee queftion, but his will and pleafure. Argument 3 : But he faith, totidew, verbis, this is my body ; and dying men ufe to fpeak moft plainely ; with them figures are out of date, the flowers of Rhetorlcke fade ; efpecially they write without welt or Guard In their wils and Tefta- ments. 144 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [i6 Anfwer : A familiar Trope or Figure is as plain as no figure ; Even a child in age is man enough to underftand. Cook the Pot, Drinke off that Cup. Yea, many fpeake figures, who know not what figures meane : Befides, Chrift at his death fpake no other language then what his tongue and his Dif ciples eares were ufed to In his life time : / am the Vine, 1 am the Way, I am the Doore. Hee who is fo fottiffi as to con ceive that Chrift was a materiall Doore ffieweth himfelfe to be a Poft indeed. Which is broken far you.] The fleffiof Chrift was afterwards on the Croffe literally broken ; there w^aafolutio continui, with the nay les in his hands and feet : As for his bones, John ig.26, Nat a bone of him was broken In the literall fenfe. But vertually and eminently, in the fame meaning wherein it is faid a Broken Heart, all his bones were broken, that is, contrited and grinded with griefe and forrow. Doe this.] In Latine, hoc facile, which the Papifts expound facrifice : this according to '^Virgils verfe: — Cum faciam vitula pro frugibus ipfe venita. So much Is the Church of Rome beholding to this Poet, both for the facrifice of the Maffe out of his Eclogs, and Limbus Patrum out of the firft [sixth] booke of his ^Eneads. But feeing this adlion. Doe this. Is injoyned as wel to the people as the Prieft ; and feeing none but the Prieft could offer Proprij nominis facrificium ; it plainely appeares this cannot here be a proper facrifice. In Remembrance:] DoSirine: Wherein this Dodlrine is in timated : Men are prone to forget Gods favours unto them, except they be minded of thim. The Ifraelltes had not this great goodneffe in remembrance ; but were difobedient at the Sea, even at the Red-fea, Pfalme 106. 7. Who would have thought that the deliverance at the Red-fea would fo foon have beene drowned in a deeper Sea of Oblivion ? [' Bucolica, Ecloga, iii. 77. See alfo Iliad, i. 444] 40.] A Comment on i Cor. xi. verf. 24. 25. 145 Reafons af our Forgetfulneffe. Reafon i : The Devils ma lice, who whilft we fleep in Idleneffe, and negligence, fteal- eth into the memory, the Muniment houfe of the foul, and embezileth and purloyneth from thence the Records of moft moment and importance: 2. But not to play the Devill with the Devill, not to accufe him falfely, hee is not the principali caufe of our forget fulneffe, which floweth chiefly from the corruption of our nature ; which like a Bolter lets all the floore [flour] paffe, and keeps only the bean behind. But here wee muft not underftand the bare naked and empty Remembrance of Chrifts death, the calling to mind the Hiftory of his paffion ; (which the Devils can doe, and the worft of men ;) thus to rememiber Chrift were but to forget him : But a remembrance c«»2 effeSlu, the relying on his death with a lively faith, and applying his merits to our foules. Whereof more largely hereafter. Of mee] Incarnated, of me borne^ of me circumtifed, of me baptized, of me tempted, of me fcourged ; but efpecially of me crucified, and alfo of me afcended and now glorified. Verfe 25 : After the fame manner alfo hee tooke the Cup, when hee had fupped, faying. This Cup is the new Testament in my blood, this doe yee, as oft as yee drinke it, in remembrance of me. \ OLLOWETH now the other part of the Sacrament inftituted in the Wine. He doubleth the elements to ffiew that in Chrift is not only neceffary and fufficient, but alfo plentlfull and abundant, with Affured Redemption. Too too blame then the Church oi RomCj whofe Levites are guilty of that fault whereof Benjamin was taxed : they have ftalne away the Cup. ^ If to fteale the Chalice be the phrafe whereby men expreffe the higheft fin, what facriledge is It to fteale the Wine of the Chalice, from whom it belongeth? But It is a wonder if old Theeves be taken without an excufe ; let us heare what thefe Romanifts plead for themfelves. K 146 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat : [16 ObjeSlion i : Nature hath fo put fleffi and blood in a joynt Patent, that they goe always together. Where there is one, there are both ; and where not both, neither. It is fuper fluous therefore to give the Laity the blood the fecond time, who by concomitancie had received it before. Anfwer i : Indeed fleffi and blood like loving Playmates were together In Chrifts body, till torments forced them to part afunder : Now we are to receive Chrifts hXoodShed, not as it was at home, houfed in heavineffe ; but as payne baniffied it abroad and powred It out, Wherfore what God hath put afunder to bee taken feverally and diftindlly, let no man joyne together. ObjeSlion 2 : But there be many Inconveniences, yea, mif chlefes, attend the Layeties receiving of the Wine, as its fticking in their beards, fpilling of it, &c. Anfwer 2 : Non debemus effefapientiores legibus. God in the Omnifciency of his wifedome furveyed the latitude of all occurrencies ; yet beholding all future Inconveniences prefent, hee appoynted the Laity to drinke of the cup. Wine was then as fubjedl to fpilling ; it hath not fince gotten a more liquid or diffufive quahty, ObjeSlion 3 : But in feverall places of Scripture no mention Is made of wine, but of bread onely, as ASls 2. 42, and the 46 : Continued breaking of bread from houfe to houfe. ASls 20. 7: Met together to breake bread. Anfwer 3 : Either bread by a Synecdoche is here put for Bread and Wine, or elfe that phrafe importeth their ordinary meetings and civill feafts. But a Cart-lgad of thefe exceptions, Tekel, are weighed in the ballance, and found too light to out- poyfe Chrifts Institution. The wife Shunamite woman, 2 Kings 4. 30, was not content with the company of Elifha' s ftaffe and fervant; but, as the Lord liveth (faith ffie) and as thy foule liveth, I will not leave thee ; ffie would not leane on the ftaffe, but on the ftaffs Mafter, and would have him with her : So let us not be fo fooliffi to depart from Gods written Word in the Sacrament, concerning giving the Laity the Cup, for the company of humane Arguments on our fide ; but let us ftick clofe to our Commiffion, and then wee need not feare a Premunire, fo long as wee have the Letter of Gods Law on our fide. 40. J A Comment on i Cor. xi. ver. 25. 147 When hee had fupped:] Chrift did therefore inftitute this Sacrament after Supper, to ffiew that herein hee chiefly aymed not at the feeding of our bodies, but the refreffiing of our foules. We are not to bring our devotion in our guts, and to come to the Communion for Belly-cheare ; like thofe that followed our Saviour, John 6. 26, Becaufe they had eaten af the Loaves, and were filled. No, wee are to come with more refined thoughts, and as for matter of bodily meat, containe ourfelves as after Supper. This Cup is the New Teftament in my blood] This Cup, that is, the wine in this Cup. Wee cannot fcarce ftirre a pace in Scripture, without meeting with a figure, even in thefe Tefta- mentary Expreffions of our Saviour, Why then doe the Paplfts make fuch newes, yea, wonders at Figures, then which nothing is more common ? Is the New Teftament in my blood; that is, the wine therein contained figneth unto you the New Covenant of Grace, which is ratified and confirmed in my blood; that Is, by my death. For indeed it is the death ofthe Teftator that giveth life to the Teftament; and the will, though fealed, is not fealed in effedl till the Maker of the fame be dead. But why is it called the New Teftament, feeing it is an old one and the fame which was made to Adam, {The feed of the Woman fto all breake the Serpents head,) often reiterated and confirmed to Abraham, David, and others ? Indeed it was old in the Promife, new in the Performance; old quoad fubftantiam et materiam fcederis, new quoad modum clarioris manifieftationis. It is faid of thofe that live within a mile or two of Olympus, that they are under a conftant and continued ffiade, which the height of the Mountaine cafteth upon them : So the Jews and al the Church of God before Chrifts comming lived in conftant umbrages, and ffiadows, of Types, Figures, Ceremonies, and Reprefentations ; al which were taken away when our Saviour, the Sun of Righteoufnes, did appear. Therefore it Is faid in My Bloody as in oppofi tion to the blood of Kids, Calves, Goats, facrificed in the Temple. Other parts of the verfe are expounded in the former. K 2 148 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat : [16 Verfe 26 : For as often as yee eate af this Bread, and drinke this Cup, yee doe fhew the Lords body {death] till hee come. [NDER as often, is often included ; whence we gather. Wee muft frequently celebrate the Lords Supper. In the ' Primitive Church It was done every day ; and fit it was the Aqua Vita bottle ffiould ever be at their noftrlls, who were founding every moment ; and they needed conftant cordials, who ever and anon had the Qualmes of temptation in the time of Perfecution. This frequencie foone abated when peace came into the Church ; which makes Saint ^Ambrofe reprove the negligence of the Eafterne Churches, who received it but once a yeare : At this day our Mother-Church of England, feeing her childrens backward- neffe herein, by canon compelleth them to receive at the leaft thrice a yeare ; fuch is the neceffity to force them by Law to come to a Feaft, and to make a ftatute for hungry men to eate, and ficke folke to take Phyficke. But heare the Arguments of fome to the contrary; that it is to be but feldome received. ObjeSlion i : The Paffeover was celebrated but once a yeare, in whofe place (for Sacraments never dye without heirs) the Lords Supper fucceeds. Anfwer i : The Paffeover by God was ftinted to bee ufed no oftner ; In the Lords Supper we are left to our own liberty. Finding therefore our continuall finning, and there fore need thereof to ftrengthen us in our grace, we may, yea muft oftner ufe it, efpecially feeing all fervices of God under the Gofpel ought to bee more plentlfull and abundant than under the Law. ObjeSlion 2 : Things done often are feldome done folemnely. Manna, If rayned every day, is not dainty. The frequent doing of it will make men perfundlory and negligent therein. Anfwer 2 ; Neceffary duties are not to be left undone for the Inconveniences, which, per accidens, through humane cor- ' EiifebiiLs, lib. i, Demonft. E-van., cap. lo [Ed. Paris, 1628 p 34] " Lib 5, De Sacramentis, cap. 4 [Ed. Paris, 1690' ii. 376]. 40. J A Comment on i Cor. xi. ver. 26. 149 ruption may follow thereon: Then Sermons ffiould be as feldome as Apolloes {miles, fiemel in anno; and prayers ffiould not be prefented to God every day, left the commonneffe of the^ duty ffiould bring it Into contempt. Rather Minifters are to inftrudt their people to come with reverence ; notwithftand ing their frequent repayring thereunto. ObjeSlion 3 : But long preparation is requifite to this Adlion ; and therefore this Sacrament cannot often be received. Anfwer 3 : After the firft Grand Preparation, where by faith and repentance wee are firft eftated in Gods favour, other preparations are not fo difficult in doing, or tedious in time, as being but the reiterating of the fame againe. The good Hufwife which fcoureth her Plate once a weeke hath leffe worke than ffie that doth it but once in Twelve-moneth. Often preparing makes the worke eafie, and fits men the fooner for the Sacrament : though I am not altogether of Saint ^Ambrofe his opinion, that ^i non meretur quotidie accipere, non meretur poft annum accipere. feftion : Whether is it of abfolute neceffity that a man on his Death-bed ffiould receive the Sacrament ? Anfwer : Hee is as weake in ludgement as the dying man in body, who conceives It fo. It is not the bare Abfence, but the negledl and contempt of the Sacrament, which is dangerous. Befides, that furely is not by God made abfo lutely neceffary to falvatlon, which in fome cafes is impoffible to bee had. As in fudden death, when the ficke man is gone before the Prieft can come ; In infedlious difeafes, when the Prieft cannot bring Chrifts blood without the hazarding of his owne ; not to fpeake of the Inconveniencle of giving it to thofe who goe out of the world for pain to bring others into it. Yea, of fuch perfons who defire the Sacrament, I find three forts. Some doe it out of meere fancy, who defire It becaufe they defire it ; (like Davids longing for the water of the Well of Bethlem ; ) can give no account of their humour therein. A fecond fort, out of fuperftltlon. A third, out of a true faith, and feeling of their infirmity. Now Charity thinketh no ill ; hgpeth all things. We Minifters beleeve all * Loco prius citato. 150 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [16 to be of the later fort, and will not think much of our paines to tender our fervice unto them when fent for : But be it betwixt God and their confciences ; let them take heed how they abufe Gods Ambaffadours, and caufe us to come on fooliffi occafions to feed their owne fancies, Tau doe fljew forth the Lords body.] Doctrine: The Sacra ment folemnly celebrated doth reprefent and fet forth the death and Paffion of Chrift, This is the meaning of Saint Paul, Galat. 3. I : O foolifh Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that you fhould not obey the truth; before whofe eyes lefus Chrift hath beene evidently fet forth, crucified among you? That is, Chrift was fo powerfully and pathetically preached unto them in the word, his Death fo done to the life in the folemne, decent, and expreffive Adminlftratlon of the Sacrament, that the tragedy of Chrifts death nigh lerufalem was re-adled before them. Vfe: Say not then in thine heart, how ffiall I get to lerufalem, to fee the place of Chrifts fuffering ? See, Faith can remove Mountaines ; Mount Calvary Is brought home to thee ; and though there be yttev" X««^/^", a great Gulfe, or diftance of ground, betwixt England and Paleftine, yet if thou beeft a falthfull Receiver, behold Chrift Sacramentally cruci fied on the Communion-Table. Say not in thine heart, how ffiall I remember Chrifts Paffion ; It was Time out of mind, sixteen hundred yeares ago? Chrift here teacheth thee the art of Memory ; what fo long was paft Is now made prefent at the inftant of thy worthy receiving. Stay, Pilgrims, ftay ! (would your voyages to the Holy Land had beene as farre from fuperftltlon as hitherto from fucceffe!) go not you thither, but bring Paleftine hither, by bringing pure hearts with you when you come to receive the Sacrament, for there the Lords body is fhewed forth, as on the Croffe. TiU I come.] Obfervation : God tiU the Worlds end, when hee commeth to judgement, wiU have a Church on Earth, wherin Paftcrs ftoaU adminifter, and people receive the Sacrament, Witneffe his promife before his death, Mat, \6, 18, And the Gates of heUfhaU not prevaile againft it; and another after his Refurredlion, Mat. 28. 20, And he, lam with you alway unto 40.] A Comment on i Cor. xi.verf 26. 27. 151 the end of the world ; with you in your felves and fucceffours, perfons and pofterity. Indeed the Church may want things of Lufter, never of Effence : It may want a glorious being, never a being ; Deus non deerit in neceffarijs : The Church is like the funne, which may be clouded and eclipfed, yet ftil remaineth, Pfal. 89.37, A faithfull witneffe. Befides, Churches may fall away, but the Church cannot ; the fetting of the Gofpel in one place will bee the rifing of it in another : This is meant. Rev. 2.5 : / will remove thy Candlefticke out af his place ; not I will quench, or put out thy Candle, but I will remove it, fo that it ffial ftill remaine in one place or other. Till I come. And then Sacraments ffiall be celebrated no more, but types ffiall give place to the truth, and ffiadowes ffiall yeeld to the fubftance : Then all the weeke ffiall be one conftant Sabbath, and yet therein no Sermons preached, nor prayers made, but all our Lyturgie ffiall be praifing of God. And now what remaineth, but that we cry from our hearts with the Saints, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ? Verse 27 : Wherefore whofoever fhall eate this Bread and drinke this Cup of the Lord unworthily, fhall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, OE, thefe words prefent us with two principali parts : I, The finne, 2. The finfulneffe ofthe finne. [I.] The finne is the unworthy eating and drinking of the Bread and Wine of the Lord. feftion : Is any man fo wel ftored with grace that he can eate thefe Sacraments worthily ? Anfwer : Three-fold warthineffe. One may doe an adlion worthily in a three-fold refpedl. [i,] Firft, worthily, Dignitate cequalitatis, as the Labourer is worthy of his hire, Luke 10, 7, This exadl worthineffe may claim and challenge a reward due unto it, and the Denier or Detayner doth this worthy party wrong and injury : Now no Saint can receive with this Gods juftice-proofe worthineffe, as appeares by their humble confeffions, not out of complement. 152 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [16 but confcioufneffe of their faults: lacob. Gen. 32. 10; lohn Baptift, Mat. 3. 11. Yea, this worthineffe is waved by our Church Liturgy, at the Communion, both (as I may fay) in our Grace before meat : Wee be not worthy fo much as to gather up the crums under thy Table ; and in our Grace after meat : and though wee i^^ unworthy through our manifold fins to offer unto thee, &c, 2. The fecond is, worthily Dignitate convenientia, aptitu- dinis, or decentia ; which confifts, though not in a perfedl and exatl proportion, yet in fome fitneffe, meetneffe, and likeneffe unto that which is required ; fufh phrafes are frequent in Scripture. Mat, 3. 8 : Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of Repentance ;^ that is, fuch as bear no open repugnancy and contradidllon to the repentance you profeffe, but in fome fort meet and agreeing thereunto. So, Walke worthy af the Lard, Col. 1 , 10; worthy your calling, Ephefi. 4. i ; worthy the Gofpel, Phil. I. 27. That is, let not your life ffiame your beliefe, break not the Commandements againft the Creed ; let not your pradllce bee aa-uo-Taro? with your profeffion. And wee mufl know, that P eccata furreptitia, finnes of infirmity (not through their want of wickedneffe, but Gods ftore of mercy) may ftand and fubfift with this worthineffe of conveniencie. In this acception wee underftand in my Text to eat worthily ; that is, fo fitted and prepared as may beare fome refemblance and agreement to the folemnity of the worke wee goe about. 3, There remayneth a third kind of Worthineffe, which is Dignitas dignatianis, the worthineffe of acceptance, when God for Chrifts fake is pleafed to take our adlions in good worth. That is well fpoken which Is well taken, and that man Is worthy who by God is accepted fo to bee. Indeed if bafe and ignorant people ffiould cry one up to bee worthy, and prize pebles to bee pearles, hee is no whit the better for the over-valuing of him ; but If God pleafeth to efteeme men worthy, things are as they are accounted by him ; his valuing of them puts worth into them : / have bleffed him ; (faith Ifaac oi lacob. Gen. 27. 23 0 Tea, and hee fhall be bleffed : God hath accounted them worthy ; yea, and they ffiall be worthy, as it is Rev, 3. 4, They fhall walke with me in white ; for they are worthy. Let us when wee come to the Sacrament bring with 40.] A Comment on i Cor. xi. ver. 27. 153 us the worthineffe of fitneffe, and convenience ; and God of his goodneffe will be pleafed to reward us with the worthineffe of acceptance. Two forts of people, then, doe eate and drinke unworthily. Firft, the Vnregenerate, thofe which, as it is Heb, 6, i. Have not as yet laid the Foundation af Repentance from dead workes, and faith in Chrift, but remaine ftill in their pure, impure naturals, not ingrafted into Chrift. Without this foundation, the faire fide-wals of a good nature, and the proud roofe of all morall performances, will both totter and tumble to the ground. Secondly, the Regenerate, but guilty of fome finnes unrepented of, who eate unworthily till they have fued out a fpeciall pardon out ofthe Court of Heaven. [II. J Come wee now to the finfulneffe of the fin : fhall bee guilty of the body and blood of the Lord; that is, they are offenders in the fame forme with ludas and the lewes, guilty of ffiedding the blood and wounding the body of Chrift : For as thofe that deface the ftamp, or abufe the Scale of a King, are entltuled to be traytors ; fo the unworthy receivers of thefe elements, which perfonate and reprefent Chrifts body, are interpreted to fin againft the body of Chrift it felfe. Some Proteftants have by Gods Providence efcaped in their perfons, and yet the papifts to manifeft their fpite have burned their pidlures at a stake : Chrifts perfon is ffiot-free from any mans malice, out of the reach of your cruelty, fitting at the right hand of God in Heaven ; as for his Pidlure, it is with us in the Sacraments ; and unworthy Receivers ffiew to the ffiaddow what they would doe to the fubftance if it were in their power ; they puffi as farre as their ffiort homes will give them leave. ObjeSlion : But may one fay ; Grant unworthy Receiving bee a grievous finne, yet me thinkes too heavy an accent Is put upon It to equalize it with the murthering of Chrift. Jonathan faid, i Sam. 14. 43, J did but tafte a little honey with the end of my Rod, and lae, I muft dye ; but more juftly and grievoufly may the wicked Communicant complaine ; I did but eate a morfell of Bread and dranke a Draught of wine, and loe, I muft dye here, hereafter, temporally, and eternally ; 154 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [i6 yea, my finne Is heigthned to be even with the finne of ludas and the lewes, who wilfully embrued their hands in Chrifts blood. Anfwer: However humane corruption may bee the Advo cate to plead herein, yet wee muft count finnes to be fo great as God efteemes them to be. Hee feeth not as man feeth, nor judgeth he as man judgeth : Hee will judge that to be pride which wee count to be good carriage ; that luft, which wee count love ; that drunkenneffe, which wee [call] good fellow ship; and unworthy receiving, which we perchance efteeme a fault, but not of the firft magnitude, hee judgeth it the higheft of any pardonable finne, even guiltineffe of Chrift blood it felfe. Learne wee from hence to meafure and furvey a fin in the true heigth, length, and bredth thereof. Hearken not to the partiality of thine owne fleffi, which wil make thine offences in number lefs, in nature lighter ; liften not to the fuggeftions of Satan, which will never fuffer us to fee our finnes truely, but is alwayes in the exceffe or defedl : When wee goe on in a finfull courfe, hee beares us in hand that our finnes are fmall ; and when we are toucht in confclence he feeks to perfwade us that they are too great, Mountaines too big to bee drowned In the Ocean of Gods mercy ; but let us meafure them by the fquare of Gods Word, an infallible rule that will not deceive us. To conclude, men generally hate Pilate and ludas : if wee fee them but in Pidlures our blood rifeth at them, we could fcratch them out with our nayles ; being more angry with them then David with the rich man that tooke away the poore mans Ewe Lambe ; whereas in fome fenfe it may bee faid of many of us, Thau art the man. Yet as for thofe which hitherto have not taken notice of the haynoufneffe of this finne, and through the want of confideratlon, have beene guilty of the body of Chrift ; let mee fay to them what Saint Peter doth.. Acts 3. 17, 19, And now brethren, I wot that through Ignorance you did it : Repent therefore, and bee con verted, that your finnes may bee blotted out. And let us all pray with David, Pfalme 51. 14, Deliver us from blood- guiltineffe, O God, but efpecially from being guilty ofthe body and blood of thy Sonne, 40.] A Comment on \ Cor. xi. verf. 27. 28. 155 Verfe 28 : But let a man examine himfelfe, and fa let him eate of this Bread and drinke of this Cup. ^ET us know that fome make thefe words {Let a man examine) to be a bare permlffion and conceffion, that if they wil they may doe it. Others make it a councell or advice, that according to the rule of Prudence or difcretion they ffiould doe it, A third fort, and that the trueft, make it a mandate or command, that wee muft doe it ; and the feeming indifferency in the Engliffi tongue is neceffitated in the Greeke, AoKip,a^eTa}. Reafons of the neceffity. i. The firft is taken from the Majefty of that God to whofe prefence wee approach. Lord, what prodigious ftate did Ahaftouerofh, an earthly Prince, ftand upon, Efther 1,12! The woman that was thought fit to bee his wife, muft bee purified twelve moneths before, fix moneths with the oyle of myrrhe, and fix moneths with fweet odours : Behold, a greater than Ahafhuerofh is here ; and therefore thofe that come to his Table muft ferioufly examine and prepare themfelves before, 2. From the great profit which we receive thereby, if we come prepared. 3. From the grievoufneffe of the puniffiments, if we be unworthy Receivers : The Sacrament is not like to thofe harmleffe Recelts, (as Innocent as the Prefcribers are fimple,) which fome good old women give fick people, which, if they doe no good, do no harme; but this is a true maxim. To him ta whom the Sacrament is not Heaven, it is hell : If it brings not profit and fplrituall grace, It drawes great plagues and puniffiments on us. Examine himfelfe.] A Chriftians eyes ought to be turned inward, and chiefly refledled on himfelfe : yet how many are there whofe home is to be alwayes abroad ! It is a tale of the wandring lew, but it is too much truth of many wandring Chriftians, whofe thoughts are never refident on their own fouls, but ever fearching and examining of others : Thefe fay not with the fouldiers, Luke 3, 14, And what fhall we do? 156 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat : [16 but are queftioning alwayes, as S. Peter is oi John, lob. 21, 2 1 , And what fhal this man do ? Yet a mans examining of himfelfe excludes not his exami nation of thofe who are committed to his care and charge ; as Paftors examining such young people as according to the orders of the Church they are to catechife. As for that Father who trieth his wife and children, he ftill examineth himfelfe. Two forts of people are unfit to receive, i. Thofe that wilfully wil not examine themfelves. 2. Thofe that cannot by reafon of their want of age, or fome other impotency. Yea, children which are old enough to conceive the words of a Minifter, yet as yet not of age to partake of the Sacra ment : Thinke not that the Church maketh cyphers of you, and efteemeth you of no account ; you are heires apparent to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper ; none can hinder you from it ; yet during your minority the Church is your Guar dian, and carefully keepes that treafure for you till you come of age, provided you carefully learne your Catechifme, to be able to anfwer your Minifter. But I will turne my Precepts to you into prayers for you, and fo wifh you good fucceffe in the name of the Lard. In examining of this word Examine, learned men run in three feverall ftreames. Some profecute the Metaphor of a Gold-fmith, fearching the purity of his gold, Aonofid^eLv being a proper word to them in their myfterie : i Pet. i. J,"Iva to 8oKi/J,lOV VfJiOJV TTJ? 7rtO-T6&)9 TToXv TbjJLlTUjepOV '^pvp,oi good counfell before a Swine, wallowing in Drunkenneffe ; or becaufe ffiee thought her phyficke would worke the better with him, if ffiee gave it him fafting, 2, It m.uft be done fecretly. An open reproofe of our betters is little better than a Libell. True it is, wee Minifters may publikely (when occafion is offered us) reprove the vices of thofe who in outward refpedls are far our Superiours ; yet we muft doe it Publikely, Secretly ; pubhkely for the place, fecretiy for the manner. We are not to make in the Pulpit fuch an Hue and Cry after the Offender, that the capacity of the meaneft may take him on fufpition whom we meane. {Eight Sermons.] 2 Kings. V. 1 4. 2 1 5 No ; let us deliver our dodlrine In common, and let the guilty confcience inclofe It to It felfe, 3. They muft doe it with all reverence and humility, as the fervants of Naaman in my Text. A Wool-packe doth conquer the ftrength of an Ordnance, by yeilding unto it : fo there may be many natures which will be led, but may not be drawne, or dragged ; and thefe may be broken with faire ufage, that cannot be bowed with forcible dealing, 4. Let them pray to him, who hath the hearts of all men in his hand : like the Rivers of water, hee turneth them whether he pleafeth : that he would be pleafed to prepare, and mollifie their hearts, to whom they are to addreffe their counfell ; that he would bow their eares to heare, their heads to conceive, and their hearts to pradtife, that advife which ffiall be commended to them for their good. And fo much for the time. Come we next, in the fecond place, to the Phyfick pre fcribed. Water of lordan. Whence obferve, God appoints weake meanes, by the vertue of his Inftitution, to accomplift great matters. Take a furvey of all the parts of Gods fervice, and we ffiall find this true. Begin at the Font : there Is plaine water of lordan ; yet, by the vertue of Gods Ordinance, It waffieth away originall fin. Paffe from the Font to the Minifters Pue :¦ there is ftil plain water of lordan, the weakneffe of the Word, and the folly of Preaching; yet Gods wifdome and power, to make the Goat a Sheep, the Lyon a Lamb, the Wanton chafte, the Paffionate patient ; yea, to revive fuch as are dead in trefpaffes and fins. Looke on the Minifter : here Is ftill plaine water of lordan, earthen veffels, men loaden with infirmities, like the reft of their Brethren ; yet are they DIfpenfers of the myfteries of God. Proceed to the Communion-Table : there is ftill plaine water of lordan, a morfell of Bread and a Draught of Wine ; yet thefe worthily received figne and feale unto us the body of Chrift, and the benefits of his Paffion. Vfe : Let us take heed, that wee take not exception at the fimpliclty of Gods Ordinance. A Spanlffi Don having heard much of the fame of Calvin, travelled to Geneva to fee him ; 2i6 Jofephus Party-colovred Coat : [1640.J where finding him both plaine in perfon and poore in apparell, hee repented himfelfe of his paines ; and whom his eare did admire at diftance, his eye did contemne, when prefent. Juft fuch Valuers are carnal men of Gods Ordinances ; they gueffe the Jewell by the Cafe, and thinke nothing can be good which is not gawdy. But furely were our eyes anointed with that Eye-falve, mentioned iJ^-u^/. 3. 18, then (as Heraulds account the plalneft Coats the moft ancient, better then thofe of a later Edition, which are fo full of filling that they are empty of honour) wee ffiould fee the inward ftate In the outward fim pliclty, and Inward Majefty in the outward meanneffe of Gods Ordinance. When one of his Courtiers ffiewed the Great Turke the Sword of Scanderbeg : I fee, faid he, no fuch miracles in this fword rather then in any other, that It ffiould atchieve fuch vidlories : Yea, but, faid one that ftood by, if you had feene alfo Scanderbegs Arme, with what a mighty force hee wielded this Sword, you then would change your refolu tion. So, many fay, they can fee nothing in the water of Baptifme more then In ordinary well water ; they can fee nothing in the world in the Bread and Wine in the Com munion [more] then in that In the Bakers panniers, or Vintners Cellar; no more in a Sermon than in a civill Oration in a Guild-hall of the fame length. But if they faw the Arme of God, with what a mighty ftrength hee enforceth thefe Ordinances, and how his invifible Grace attendeth them, they would be of another mind. Gaze then no longer on Ehuds hand, for that was lame; or on his Dagger, for that was ffiort ; but looke on Gods finger in Ehuds hand, and that can worke wonders, Looke not on the Ordinance, but on the Ordainer ; [not] on the meanes, but on the Meanes-maker ; neither be offended at the meanneffe of the one, but admire the Majefty of the other. Vfe : \t confutes the Papifts, who difpleafed, as it were, at the fimpliclty of the Sacraments, as God hath inftituted them, feeke to better and amend them by their owne additions : Thus they account plaine water in Baptifme too meane ; and therefore they mingle it with Creame, Oyle, Spittle, and other Ingredients, which I as little know what they be as they know why they ufe them. Yea, all their fervice of God {Eight Sermons.] 2 Kings V. 1 4. 217 is not onely made fweet, but lufcious to the palate of fleffi ; and they plainely ffiew by their baits what fifh they angle to catch ; namely, rather to get mens fenfes then their foules, and their eyes then their judgements. Not that I am dif pleafed with neatneffe, or plead for naftlneffe in Gods fervice. Surely God would have the Church, his Spoufe, as not an Harlot, fo not a flut ; and indeed outward Decencie In the Church is an Harbinger to provide a lodging for inward devotion to follow after. But wee would not have Religion fo bedaubed with lace, that one cannot fee the cloath ; and Ceremonies which ffiould adorne, obfcure the fubftance of the Sacraments, and Gods worffiip. And let us labour to be men in Chriftianity, and not only like little children to goe to Schoole, to looke on the guilt and gaudy Babies of our Bookes, and to be allured to Gods fervice by the outward pomp and fplendor of it. But let us love religion, not for her clothes, but for her face ; and then ffiall wee affedl it. If ffiee ffiould chance (as God forbid) to bee either naked through poverty, or ragged through perfecution. In a word. If God hath appointed it, let us love the plaineneffe of his Ordinance, though therin there be neither warm water, nor ftrong water, nor fweet water, but plaine water of lordan. Come we now to the ^uoties, how often ? He dipped himfelfe feven times ; that Is, hee went in, and waffied him felfe, and came out againe ; and went in, and waffied him felfe, and came out againe ; and fo till the feventh time. Thou, therefore, whofoever thou art, who art afflidled in body or mind, or any other way, doe not grudge againft God, and grieve in thy felfe, if thy paine be not eafed in an inftant, if thy malady bee not removed In a moment : O tarry the Lords leifure ; (the Lords pleafure is the Lords leifure ;) waite and attend his time : Thinke not that thou ffialt not be cured at all, becaufe thou art not all cured at once. Naaman himfelfe was not compleatly cleanfed at the firft entrance into Jordan, but it coft him feven times waffiing. The number of feven is moft remarkeable In Holy Writ, and paffeth for the Emblem of perfedlion, or compleatneffe ; as well it may, confifting of an Vnlty in the middle, guarded 2x8 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [1640.J and attended with a Trinity on either fide. Once, I muft confeffe, I find this number of feven to be defedlive, and too little ; and yet the corredlion and fupplying thereof ftill runs on a feptinary number : Shall I forgive my Brother feven times? Tea, faid our Saviour, feventy feven times. If any afke, why God pitched on this number, and impofed [it] on Naaman ; the beft anfwer I can make ffiall be in the words of our Saviour, Matth. 11. 26 : Evenfo, Father, becaufe it pleafed thee well. Naaman was bid to waffi feven times, and hee did' waffi feven times : Hence obferve, DoSirine: We muft obferve Gods Commandements, both in matter and manner, both in fubftance and circumftance. But fome will fay, Had Naaman waffied once more or leffe, under or over feven times, would fo fmall a matter have broken any fquares ? and would God have impofed any penalty on fo fleight a forfeiture ? I anfwer. Things that are fmall in them felves fwell great, when they are either forbidden or commanded by God : Looke upon Lots Wife, looking backe with carnall eyes, and it will feeme a fmall offence : O how fleffi and blood could eafily be her Advocate, to plead for her ! What if ffie did look back ? Shee did no more, and could doe no leffe, and be a Mother : Would you have her to bee a Pillar of ftone, before ffiee was a Pillar of fait ? I meane, fo hard, fo remorfeleffe, as not to fend one farewell glance to that unfortunate Citie, wherein ffiee had fo much kindred and acquaintance ? Well, however, we muft know, the Offence was moft hainous, by the heavineffe of the puniffiment in flidled upon her. And as It is thus in fmall things forbidden, fo is it in fmall things commanded. They muft bee preclfely obferved. In thofe generali Maps of the world which are ufually made in a ffieet of paper, the leaft prick or poynt which can bee made with a pen, extends to five mile at the leaft : But I fay, the fmalleft Deviation and Declination, the leaft imaginable Defledlion, from the commanded will of God, is an infinite diftance from it, as breaking the command of an Infinite God, and deferveth infinite puniffiment. Obferve, therefore, not onely all things confiderable, but all things in Gods will : For indeed all things therein are confiderable ; not onely every {Eight Sermons'.] 2 Kings V. 1 4. 2 1 9 Syllable, but every Iota, the leaft Letter ; yea, every Prick, Comma, and Accent, hath his Emphafis, and muft bee pronounced In our pradlife. As Mofes therefore in making the Tabernacle, made it in all things alike to the Patterne hee faw in the Mount ; not a Knop, or a Bole, or an Almond, in the Candleftick, under or over ; not a Bell, or a Pomegranate In Aarons Coat, more or leffe ; but Concordat Copia cum Originall, the tranfcript agreed with the Originall in all things : fo let us preclfely follow the Inftrudlions God giveth us ; let us not willingly bee Hetrodites from his will ; either Defedliues, to doe too little, or Redundants, to doe too much ; but let us bee truely regular ; not waffiing more than feven times with the fuperftltious man ; nor leffe then feven times with the prophane man ; but with Naaman in my Text, juft feven times. When I compare our prefent occafion with this Hiftory wee have treated of, I find a great Refemblance betwixt them. Here Is a little Child to bee cured of a Leprofie : For fo may Originall Corruption fitly bee called : Firft, for the Here- ditarineffe of it ; it is a fucceffive difeafe, entayled from Father to Child, ever fince the fall of our firft Parent Adam, Secondly, from the over-fpreading nature thereof; the Infedlion defiling all the powers of our foules and parts of our bodies. Here alfo is the water of lordan to waffi it away. Since Chrift waffied lordan by being waffied in it, hee hath given it a power to cleanfe our Originall Corruption. Some Theeves have eat off their Irons and fretted off their Fetters with Mercury water ; but there is no way to worke off the Chaines of our Naturall Corruption, whereby our feet are hurt in the Stocks, the Irons have entred into our foules ; but onely by the Water in Baptifme. Onely the Maiden head and Virginity of the water, in the Poole of Bethefda, was medlclnall to cure Difeafes : hee that came firft was cured; the fecond got no profit. But in our Jordan, our Water in the Font, the vertue thereof Is not leffened in the ufing ; the Child that is laft baptized ffiaU receive as much benefit as that which is firft wafhed therein. But herein, I muft confeffe there is a difference on the 220 lofeph's Party-colovred Coat. [1640.J cure of Naaman, and this Child : he was totally and per- fedlly cleanfed from his Leprofie ; but this Child is waffi't but In part, fo farre as is Gods pleafure. The condemning power of Originall Corruption is drowned in the Font ; but though the bane be removed, the blot doth remaine ; the guilt is remitted, the blemiffi is retayned ; the fting is gone, the ftalne doth ftay ; which if not confented to, cannot damne this Infant, though it may hereafter defile it. Secondly, the finall peaceable-commanding power is waffied away in the Laver of Regeneration; though afterwards it may dwell in us, it ffiall not domineere over us ; it may remaine there as a flave, not as a Soveraigne, fure not as a lawfull one, be he ever refifted, often fubdued, though never expelled. Thefe things deferve larger Profecution ; but this is none of lafiua's day, wherein the Sunne ftandeth ftill ; and there fore I muft conclude with the time. [viii] Faftion Confvted. I Cor. I. 12. Now this I fay, that every one of you faith, I am of Paul, and I am of Apollo, and I am of Cephas, and 1 am of Chrift. ?VCH is the fubtilty of Satan, and fuch is the frailty of the fleffi, though things be ordered never fo wel, they wil quickly dechne. Luther was wont to fay, hee never knew a good order laft above fifteene yeares : This fpeedy decaying of goodneffe you may fee in the Church of Corinth, from which S. Paul was no fooner departed, but they departed from his Dodlrine. Some, more carried by fancy then ruled by reafon, or more fwayed by carnall Reafon then governed by Grace, made choyfe of fome particular Paftor, whom they extoU'd, to the great difgrace of his fellow Minifters, and greater diffionour of God himfelfe. Now Saint Paul, not willing to make thefe Minifters a publike Example, concealeth their perfons, yet difcovereth the fault ; and, making bold with his Brethren, Apollo and Cephas, applyeth to them and himfelfe what the Corinthians fpake of their fancied Preachers. Now this J fay, that every one af you faith, I am of Paul, and I am of Apollo, and J am of Cephas, and I am of Chrift. ObjeSlion: But the Apoftle herein hath made no good choyce, to mention Cephas : for hee was onely knowne to the Corinthians by his fame, not by his perfon, feeing it appeares not, either In Scripture or Ecclefiafticall Story, that ever Cephas (that is. Saint Peter) was ever at Corinth. Anfwer : This hinders not the Application of the Apoftle, granting Saint Peter was never there ; for many Minifters are moft admired at diftance, ^Major e, longinquo reverentia : Like ' Tacitus. {Annates, i. 47.] 2 22 Jofeph's Party-colovred Coat : [1640.] fome kind of ftuffe, they have the beft Gloffe a good way off, more then a Prophet in his owne Countrey. Thus the good efteeme which Forrainers have conceived of the Piety and Learning of the Geneva Minifters, hath been the beft ftake in the hedge of that State. I need not divide the words, which in themfelves are nothing elfe but divifion, and containe foure forts of people, like the foure forts of Seed, Mat. 13, The three firft bad, the laft only, {I am of Chrift,) being good and commendable, I am of Paul ; as if they had faid, There is a Preacher called Paul ; his matter is fo powerful, his Methods fo plea fing, his Dodlrine fo found, his Life fo fincere ; his Preaching I affedl, or his perfon I preferre ; I am of Paul, Tuffi, faith another, what talke you of Paul? Indeed his Epiftles are powerfull and ftrong, but his bodily prefence is weake, and his fpeech of none effeSI, There is one Apollo, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures ; hee ftands higheft in my efteeme ; I am of Apollo. Fie, faith a third, why name you Apollo, one that learnt the beft part of his Divinity from Aquila and Prif cilia, a Lay-man and a weake woman ? There is one Cephas, that caught three hundred foules at the preach ing of one Sermon ; that is the man for my money : I will fay of him, as Gehazi did of Naaman, As the Lord liveth I will run after him. I am of Cephas. Well, faith a fourth, Paul I know, and Apollo I know, and Cephas I know ; men endowed with great Grace, and eminent Inftruments of Gods glory ; I acknowledge them as the Channell, but on God alone as the Fountaine of Faith and Converfion, and doe attend on him alone in thefe his Inftruments ; I am of Chrifi, DoSirine : The Staple Dodlrine herein to be obferved is this : The faSlious affeSling one Paftor above another is very dangerous. Indeed wee may and muft give a famous part oi Reverence, and a Benjamins Portion of refpedl, to thofe who {Data par it ate in ceteris) excell in age, paines, Parts and Piety. I . In Age : for hee is a Traytor againft the Crowne of old Age, who payeth not the Allegeance of refpedl due thereunto. Such Reverence the hoary haires of Goufartius did deferve, when for more than fifty yeares hee had beene a Preacher in {Eight Sermons.] i Cor. i. 12. 223 Geneva, 2. In Paines: being fuch as have borne the heate of the day; fo that the ftreffe of the Miniftery hath layen heavieft on their ffioulders. Such an Elder is worthy af double honour. 3. In Parts : being ftars of the firft Magni tude, brightly ffiining with their rich endowments. 4. In Piety: which fetteth a luftre on all the former. But the fadlious affedling of Minifters, laviffiing by whale fale all honour on one, and fcarce Retaliating out any refpedl to the other ; rayfing high Rampires to the prayfe of the one, by digging deepe Ditches to difcredit and difgrace an other, is that which Saint Paul doth reprove in my Text, and wee muft confute at this time. Foure great mifchlefes will arife from this pradlife, Mifchief i : Firft, it will fet enmity and diffenfion betwixt the Minifters of Gods Word. I confeffe, wee that either have or intend to take on us the high calling and holy Fundllon of the Clergy, ought to endeavour by Gods Grace fo to qualifie our felves that our affedlions never miftake the true objedl nor exceed their due meafure. But alas ! fuch is our mifery (rather to bee be moaned then amended ; the perfedl removing whereof is more to be defired then hoped for) that as long as wee carry Corruption about us, wee are me.n fubjeSl to like Paffion with others. Hence Is it come to paffe, that as the Grecians, ASls 6. I, murmured againft the Hebrewes,^^c«K/'^ their Widdowes were negleSled in the daily Miniftration : So Minifters will find themfelves agrieved, that people in the partiall difpencing of their refpedl paffe them by unregarded. Perchance the matter may fly fo high as It did betwixt Mofes and Aaron, Numb, 12. 2: And they faid. Hath the Lord indeed fpoken onely by Mofes? Hath bee not fpoken alfo by us? It will anger not only Saul, a meere carnall man, but even thofe that- have degrees of Grace : Hee hath converted his thoufands, but fuch a one his ten thoufands. Thefe difcords betwixt Minifters, I could as heartily wiffi they were falfe, as I doe certainly know they are too true. Mifchief 2 ; It will fet diffention amongft people, whilft they violentiy engage their affedlions for their Paftors : The 224 lofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [1640.] woman that pleaded before Salomon, i Kings 2- 2.2, The living Child is mine, faid ffiee, but this dead Child is thine : Nay faid the other, but thy fonne is dead, and my fonne is the living. Thus will they fall out about their Paftors. The living Minifter is mine ; he that hath life, fpirit, and Adlivity in the manner and matter of his Delivery ; but the dead Minifter is thine ; flaffi in his matter, conf ufed in his Method, dreaming in his utterance ; hee commeth not to the quicke ; hee toucheth not the confcience ; at the moft with loaft. King of Ifrael, 2 Kings 13. 18, He fmite s the Aramites but thrice ; leaves off reproving a vice before people bee fully reformed. Nay, faith the other, my Minifter is the living Minifter, and thine is the dead one : Thy Paftor is like the fire, i Kings 19. 12, flaffiing in the flames of ill tempered and undifcreet zeale ; but the Lord was not in the fire : or like the Earth quake, ffiaking his Auditors with ill applyed terrors of the Law ; but the Lord was not in the Earth -quake : whileft my Minifter is like to a ftill voyce ; and the Lord was in the ftill Voyce ; ftanching the Bleeding hearted Penitent, and dropping the Oyle of the Gofpel into the wounded Confcience. Mifchief 3 : It will give juft occafion to wicked men to rejoyce at thefe diffentions, to whofe eares our difcords are the fweeteft Harmony. O then let not the Herdfmen of Abraham and Lot fall out, whilft the Canaanites and Perefites are yet in the Land. Let us not diffent, whileft many Adver faries of the truth are mingled amongft us, who will rnake fport thereat. Mifchief 4 : Laftly, it will caufe great Diffionour to God himfelfe ; his Ordinance in the me^ne time being negledled, Heare is fuch doting on the Diffi, there is no regarding the Dainties : Such looking on the Embaffadour, there is no notice taken of the King that fent him. Even Maries Com- playnt is now verified : They have taken away the Lard, and placed him I know not where. And as in times of Popery Th,omas Becket difpoffeffed our Saviour of his Church in Canterbury (inftead of Chrift's Church, being called Saint Thomas Church) : And whereas rich Oblations were made to the Shrine of that suppofed Saint, Summo Altari nil, nothing was offered to Chrift at the Communion-Table : So whileft {Eight Sermons.] i Cor. i. 12. 225 fome Sacrifice the Reverence to this admired Preacher, and others almoft adored this affedled Paftor, God in his Ordinance is negledled, and the Word, being the favour of life, is had in refpedl of perfons. To prevent thefe mifchlefes, both Paftors and people muft lend their helping hands. I begin with the Paftors ; and firft with thofe whofe Churches are crowded with the thickeft audience. Let them not pride themfelves with the bubble of popular applaufe, often as caufelefly gotten as undefervedly loft. Have wee not feene thofe that have preferred the Onions and Fleffi-pots of Egypt before heavenly Manna, Lungs before Braynes, and founding of a voyce before foundneffe of matter ? Well, let Princes count the credit of their Kingdomes to confift in the multitude of their Subjedls : Farre bee It from a Preacher to glory when his Congregation fwels to a Tym pany, by the Confumption of the Audience of his Neighbour Minifter. Yea, when Paftors perceive people tranfported with an immoderate Admiration of them, let them labour to confute them in their groundleffe humours. When Saint lohn would have worffiipped the Angel, See thou daft it not (faith hee); worfhip God. So when people, poft head-long in affedling their Paftors, they ought to wave and decline this popular honour, and to feeke to tranfmit and faften it on the God of Heaven. Chrift went into the Wilderneffe when the people would have made him a King : Let us ffiun, yea, fly fuch dangerous Honour, and teare off our heads fuch wreathes as people would tye on them, ftriving rather to throw Mifts and Clouds of Privacy on our felves then to affedl a ffiining appearance. But know, whofoever thou art, who herein art an Epicure, and loveft to glut thy felfe with peoples applaufe, thou ffialt furfet of it before thy death ; it ffiall prove at the laft pricks In thy eyes and thornes in thy fide, a great afflidlion, if not a ruine unto thee; becaufe facrilegioufly thou hafl robbed God of his Honour. Let them labour alfo to ingratiate every Paftor, who hath tolerabillty of defert, with his owne Congregation. It was p 226 lofeph's Party-colovred Coat: [1640.] the boone Saul begg'd of Samuel, Honour me before my people : And furely it is but reafon wee ffiould feeke to grace the Shepherd in the prefence of his Flock : though perchance privately wee may reprove him, difgrace him not publikely before thofe that are under him. I am come now to negledled Minifters, at whofe Churches Solituda ante oftium, and within them too ; whilft others (per chance leffe deferving) are more frequented. Let not fuch grieve in themfelves, or repine at their Brethren. When Saint John Baptifts Difciples told him that all flock't to lefus, whom hee baptized beyond lordan: I muft decreafe, (anfwered hee,) and hee muft increafe. Never fret thy felfe or vexe out thy foule If others bee preferred before thee : they have their time ; they are Cref cents in their waxing, full Seas in their flowing : Envie not at their Profperity. The Starres in their courfe did fight againft Sifera ; thy courfe of credit may chance to bee next ; thy turne of Honour may chance to come after. One told a Grecian Statift, who had excellently deferved of the Citie hee lived in : That the Citie had chofen foure and twenty Officers, and yet left him out. I am glad, (faid hee,) the Citie affords twenty foure abler than my felfe. So let Minifters triumph and rejoyce in this, that the Church yeilds fo many men better meriting then them felves, and be farre from taking exception thereat. And let us pradlife Saint Pauls Precept, by Honour and Diffionour, by good Report and Difreport : Seven yeares have I ferved God in good efteeme, and well refpedled ; by the time I have ferved God fo long in difgrace and reproach, perchance the Circulation of my credit may returne, and with patience I may regaine the efteeme I have loft. And if otherwife, let him fay with David, Lord, here I am ; doe with thy fervant as thou pleafeft. By this time, mee thinkes, I heare the people faying unto mee, as the Souldiers to lohn Baptift, But what ffiall wee doe ? Now the Counfell I commend to you. Is this. Remedy i : Firft, ever preferve a reverent efteeme of the Minifter whom God hath placed over thee. For if a Sparrow lighteth not on the ground without Gods efpeciall Providence, {Eight Sermons.] I Cor. i. 12. 227 furely no Minifter Is beftowed In any Pariffi without a more immediate and peculiar difpofing of God ; and furely their owne Paftor is beft acquainted with their difeafes, and there fore beft knoweth to apply fplrituall Phyficke thereunto. And as Gods Word hath a generali Bleffing on every place, fo more particularly Is it fandllfied and bleffed there, to thofe Pariffiioners, from the mouth of their lawfull Minifter. Let not therefore the Sermon of a ftranger, who perchance makes a Feaft of fet purpofe to entertaine new Guefts, be preferred before the paines of thy owne Minifter, who keeps a conftant houfe and a fet Table, each Lords day, feeding his owne family. Wherefore, let all the Ephefians confine themfelves to their Timothy ; Cretians to their Titus ; every Congregation to their proper Paftor. And I hope Paftors, confidering the folemne oath they tooke at their Inftitution, and the profit they receive from their people, and how Irrationall It is to take wages and doe no worke, and the heavie account they muft make at the day of ludgement, will provide Milke in their brefts for thofe who muft fuck of them. As for thofe whofe neceffary occafions doe command their abfence from their Flocks, let them be Curats of their Curats ; over-fee fuch whom they appoynt to over-fee their people. Columella ¦gives this counfell to Huffiand-men : Never keepe a horfe to doe that worke which may be done by an Affe; both becaufe Affes are of a lower price, and cheaper kept : But God forbid Minifters ffiould obferve this Rule, and fo con- fult with their profit as to provide unworthy Subftitutes, to fave charges. Remedy 2 : Let them not make odious comparifons betwixt Minifters of eminent parts : It is faid of Hezecbiah, 2 Kings 18.5, That after him, was none like him, af all the Kings of ludah, neither any that were before him. It is faid alfo of King lofiiah, 2 Kings 23. 25, And like unto him, there was no King before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his foule, and with all his might ; neither after him rofe up any like him.. The Holy Spirit prefers neither for better, but concludes both for beft; and fo amongft Minifters, when each differs from others, all may bee excellent in their kinds. As in comparing feverall handfome perfons, p 2 228 lofeph's Party-colovred Coat : [1640.J one furpaffeth for the beauty of a naturally painted face ; a fecond, for the feature of a well proportioned body ; a third, for a grace of Gefture and Comelineffe of carriage : fo that luftice It felfe may bee puzled, and forced to fufpend her Verdidt, not knowing where to adjudge the Vidlory : So may It bee betwixt feverall Paftors. Ones Excellency may confift In the unfnarling of a knowne controverfie ; an other, in plaine expounding of Scripture, to make It portable in the weakeft memory. One, the h^^ Baafiarges ; an other, the beft Barnabas, Our ludgements may bee beft informed by one ; our Affedlions moved by a fecond ; our lives reformed by a third. I am perfwaded there is no Minifter in England, for his Endowments, like Saul, Higher then his Brethren, from the fhoulders upwards ; but rather fome hundreds like the Pillars in Salomons Houfe, all of a height. But grant fome in parts farre inferlour to others : was not Abiftai a valiant and worthy Captaine, though hee attayned not to the Honour of the firft three ? And may not many bee ferviceable in the Church, though not to bee ranked in the firft forme, for their fufficiencie ? Let them entertaine this for a certaine truth, That the Efficacy of Gods Word depends not on the parts of the Minifter, but on Gods bleffing, on his Ordinance, Indeed there is a Generation of Preachers that come upon the Stage before ever they were in the Tyring-houfe, whofe back- wardneffe in the Vniverfity makes them fo forward in the Countrey ; where what they lack in Learning, they fupply in boldneffe. I could wiffi, that as. Gen, 21, 19, When Hagar s Battle of Water was fpent. Gad opened her eyes, and ftee went to the Fountaine againe ; So when thefe Novices have emptied their ftore of fet Sermons they brought with them, that their Parents would remit them backe to the Vniverfity, the Foun taine of Learning and Religion, to furniffi themfelves. with a better ftocke of fufficiencie. Such Minifters as thefe, I account as none at all ; but as for thofe that have the Mini mum ut fie, the leaft degree of tolerabillty, to enable them in fome meafure to difcharge their Office, God may bee, and often is, as effedluall in and by them as by Rabbles oi farre greater parts. {Eight Sermons,] Cor. 1. 12. 229 To conclude : let us, with one mind and one mouth, advance the Glory of God, that thereby the Gofpel may bee graced ; wicked men amazed ; fome of them converted, the reft of them confounded ; weake Chriftians confirmed, to the griefe of Devils, loy of Angels, Honour of God himfelfe. Amen. FINIS. 230 lofeph's Party-colovred Coat. [1640.] 4^ ywi Imprimatur, Thomas Wykes, May 30. 1640. A FAST ^ SERMON PREACHED I On Innocents day BY mo MAS FILLER, E.D. Minifter ofthe Savoy, .jj. 2 S A M. 2, 26, •Jt T'i'*?^ Abner called to Joab, and faid, Shall the fword de voure for ever ? knoweft thou not that it will be bitterneffe in ]^ the latter end ? How long fhall it be then, yer thou bid the peo- .} J pie returne from following their brethren ? T f LONDON, f 1^ Printed by L.N. and R.C. for John Williams * •jfr at the ligne of the Crowne in Saint Pauls * j^ Church-yard, 1642. [" The foules of thefe Children are charitably conceived by the Primitive Church all marched to heaven, as the Infantry of tbe noble Army of Martyrs" — A Pifgah-Sight of Paleftine, 1652, book ii. chap. xiv. § 19. " Deus auftor pacis et amator, quem noffe vivere, cui fervire regnare eft ; protege ab omnibus impugnationibus fupplices tuos ; ut qui in defen- fione tua confidemus, nullius hoftilitatis arma timeamus. Per Jefum Chriftum Dominum noftrum. Amen" — Gelafii Sacramentarium, Muratori's Liturgia, vol. i. page 727 ; Blunt's Annotated Boo\ of Common Prayer, 1872, page 254.] I3^^^=^«>jg^ ^g^S^vV^^ „^^^g-; g.^^^^^ ^^^^^m ^^^&S *^mi ^^M ^^» ?»fiiiiSi3^^^w^^=W ™ ^K '^m [Introduction. THE Sermons here beginning, and extending to 1650 (embracing, roughly fpeaking, the period of the Civil war), form a diftindl group. They are of the higheft importance by reafon ofthe light they throw as well on the times as on the life of the preacher. This Sermon on Peace was delivered at the Savoy Chapel, which was at that time attended by the courtiers and the nobility, whofe refidences were along or near the Strand. Fuller's prefence at the Convocation of 1640, where he had taken part in framing fome ill-advifed ecclefiaftical Canons, had introduced him to "moft of the voyced pulpits of London," his attradlive manners and earneft aims proving acceptable to his audiences. Upon his final removal to London he preached at firft at the Inns of Court ; but about fix months before the date of the Sermon of Reformation (viz. 26th July, 1643), he received the appointment of Ledlurer or Curate- to the parifh-church of St. Mary-le-Savoy at the hands of the Mafter, Dr. Balcanqual, and of the brotherhood (four in number) of the Foundation of the Savoy ; " as well as earneftly defired and intreated by that fmall parifli " {fife, 166 1, page 14). Ofthe Ledlurer's conneftion with the parifliioners fome important particulars will be found at page ccxci. et feq. pojled, which in turn give value to the very interefting letter to his "Deare Parifli" at page 331. Fuller's pulpit miniftrations were welcome to an audience made up for the main of moderate Royalifts. He was regarded with confiderable favour, and he attained to a pofition of influence in his own and the adjoining parifties. His biographer thus quaintly piftures his popularity {Life, 1661, page 15) : "He had in his narrow Chappel two Audiences, one without the pale, the other within ; the windows of that little Church and the Sextonry fo crowded as if Bees had fwarmed to his mellifluous difcourfe." In the opening paragraph of the following Sermon the conflift between the old and new authority is made manifeft. On that Wednefday, 28th December, 1642, a faft and a feaft "joftled together." In the Sermon, indeed, the preacher gives prominence to the former as moft suitable to the exigencies of the time ; but on his title-page he boldly ftands by the ecclefiaftical day. At leaft two of Fuller's Sermons were connefted with thefe parliamentary faft-days. Thefe fafts began in London towards the clofe of the year 1 641, having derived their origin from the fliocking mafla- cre ofthe Irifli Proteftants, which broke out on the 23 rd Oftober, 1641. The matter of the appointment of the faft was introduced into Parliament CCXXXIV INTRODUCTION. on the 14th December, and by ordinance dated Friday, the 17th, faft-days were fixed as follows : " Wednefday next for both Houfes of Parliament, and London; Thurfday next for the City of Wejiminfler ; and Thurfday come Month for the whole Kingdom " (Nalfon's Impartial Colleilion, vol. ii. page 754). To this national faft, and its origin. Fuller has made the following allufion : " Our general Fajl was firft appointed to bemoane the maflacre of our Brethren in Ireland" {Good Thoughts in Worfe Times, 1647; Scripture Obs., No. ix. page 72). This original intention of the faft was prefent in his mind when in his Sermon (II 1 1) he drew attention to the diftreffing condition of the fifter ifland. The Proclamation which made this fpecial faft-day into a general faft-day, ftatedly kept, is dated 8th January, 1641-2. The firft faft under this new arrangement was appointed for the 20th of that month. It is then added : — " And His Maieftie doth further by this His Proclamation ftraitly charge and command that a Generali, Publike, and Solemn Faft be kept and holden as well by abftinence from Food as by publike Prayers, Preaching, and Hearing of the Word of God and other Sacred Duties, in all Cathedrall, Collegiate, and Parifli Churches, and Chappels within this Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales (without any exception) on the laft Wednefday of the moneth of February next following the date hereof, and from thenceforth to continue on the laft Wednefday of every moneth during the Troubles in the faid Kingdom of Ireland. All which His Maieftie doth expreflly charge and command fliall be reverently and de voutly performed by all His loving fubjefts, as they tender the favour of Almighty God, and would avoid His juft indignation againft this Land, and upon pain of fuch punifliments as His Maieftie can juftly inflift upon all fuch as fliall contemn or negledl fo religious a Work" (Husbands' Quarto ColleSiions, p. 49.) The pifture of the evils of war prefented by the preacher in the earlier portion of the Sermon (^H 6 seq.) has not been overdrawn, although he was not at this time as afterwards a speftator of the aftual fighting. But already many of the fad elfefts of the internecine warfare were apparent. In the far north a Scotch divine, Robert Baillie, whofe vifit to England in 1 640- 1, as one of the Scottifli Commiflioners to London, had interefted him in its politics, was watching the courfe of events with the eagernefs of a patriotic Englifliman ; and early in 1643 he was acquainting a corre- fpondent with the pofture of affairs, the furprifing accuracy of his informa tion betokening the keennefs of his intereft in the ftrife. " That countrle," he writes, "is in a moft pitifuU condition ; no corner of it free from the evills of a cruell warre. The cafe is lyke the old miferies of the Guelphs and Gibelines. Everie fliyre, everie citie, manie families, divided in this quarrell ; much blood and univerfall fpoyle made by both where they prevaill. Befyde the maine armies, which hes made their marches to and fro from Wales to London, there hath been in the north all this winter on foot Newcaftle and Cumberland, and now King, for the King ; Fairfax, Hotham, and Chomley, for the Parliament. In the In-fhyres Derby for him, others for them. In Cornwall Hoptoun for him, and Stainfoord for them, betuixt which there hath been continuall INTRODUCTION. CCXXXV fkirmifliiiig, let be plundering and fefling. Of thefe evills great appearr ance of increafe with the Spring. We might have been happie inftru ments of accommodation, had not the willingnefs of both parties goeing about in a circle, upon their apprehenfion of their advantage, made them both, bot by turnes, untraftable, and our own unhappie divifions made us lefs confiderable mediators" [Letters b" Journals, vol. ii. page 57). In a later portion of this Sermon (IT 29) the preacher is led to contraft our Civil war with the wars that had been raging in Germany, his opinion being that if England had evinced a more practical sympathy on behalf of the Palatinate, it had not itfelf fuffered as deeply as it had. In his proverb- -like phrafes, "winter fights, woeful fights ; " "fabbath wars, forrowful wars," there is particular reference to the engagement at Edge-hill, fought on Sunday, 23rd Oftober, 1642, the evening being frofty. On that day, the firft anniverfary of the dreadful infurreftion in Ireland, Richard Baxter was preaching for his reverend friend, Mr. Samuel Clark, at Alcefter, a town in the neighbourhood of Kineton, Warwickfliire ; and during the fermon the congregation heard the cannon playing on the battle- -field [Life, ed. 1696, I. i. 43). One of the chaplains prefent called the fight, in bitternefs, " a goodly Sabbath-day's work." The accounts of the attacks on Gloucefter, Manchefter, Bradford, and elfewhere, fhew that Sunday was not an exceptional day for fuch warfare. Upon a later Sabbath, 13 th November, the King's army, after having attacked and taken Brentford, ftood all day long watching the army of the Parliament, until the refolute attitude of the latter, reinforced by the train-bands under Skippon, caufed the former to retreat and ultimately to take up quarters in Oxford. The anxiety of that day was long remembered in London. In the circumftances of the attack on Brentford an explanation is found of what Fuller alludes to (IT 25) as a "great gulf" between London and the King. " This aftion of the King in the time of a treaty," says Whitelock, " was fo ill-refented by many men that they fpoke very hardly of it ; and the Parliament voted that they would have no accommo dation " {Memorials, fo. ed. page 66 ; ed. 1853, vol. i. page 193). It remains to fhow that this Sermon illuftrates a certain phafe in the pofition of affairs, and that in common with feveral of the fucceeding difcourfes it has a diftinft hiftorie value. The events of December, 1642, and of the next two or three months, have been unaccountably overlooked by moft of the modern hiftorians. In fpite of the disfavour with which the King was regarded on account of the affair at Brentford, a party came into notice made up of thofe who did not belong to the more pronounced of the Royalifts, and whofe humane feelings were roufed at the profpeft of civil ftrife in or near a populous city. In Parliament their reprefentatives comprifed amongft others D'Ewes, Whitelock, and Maynard. To this moderate party Fuller attached himfelf (H 38). When, therefore, peace- -overtures were in a fhort time renewed from Oxford, the moderates urged that the meffage fhould be favourably entertained, and they laboured to create a feeling that would give hopes of the defired confummation. Under the influence of the views of this party, even the city of London was moved to frame a petition for the King's return {Lords' Journals,Yo\. v. CCXXXVl INTRODUCTION. page 511^); and an order was given to allow fome of the petitioners to have accefs to the King. Weftminfter was much more zealous, its loyalty being quickened in no fmall degree by the injury which its trade had received in confequence ofthe exodus ofthe Court (IT 23). In the Weft-end parifhes, accordingly, peace-petitions to the King found more favour. A petition of the inhabitants of the liberties of Weftminfter and the Duchy of Lancafter, urging the Parliament to a fpeedy accommodation with the King, is mentioned in the Journals of the Houfe of Lords feven days before the delivery of Fuller's Sermon {journals, v. 503^, ^oji ; Report F. Hiji. MSS. Commiffton, page 61). This petition is remarkable for the abfence of ariftocratic fignatures. Thofe of the clergy who were ftill in poffeffion of their city livings entered into the prevailing feeling, but none, perhaps, more heartily than the author of the Innocents-Day Sermon (see ir 25). His anonymous biographer relates that "his exhortations to peace and obedience were his conftant fubjefts in the church ; (all his Sermons were fuch Liturgies ;) while his fecular dales were fpent in vigouroufly pro moting the King's affairs, either by a fudden reconciliation or potent affiftance" (page 16). He has himfelf left it upon record that in all his Sermons at the Savoy he would by leave of his text introduce a paffage in the praife of peace (fee page 332, pojiea.) His advice to petition for peace has an intimate relation with the peace-petition to his Majefty, which was printed in the writer's Life of Thomas Fuller, isfe. (pages 267-9). That document is defcribed as emanating from the City of Westminfter, and from the contiguous parifhes of St. Clement Danes and St. Martin's-in-the-Fields. (Fuller's curacy of St. Mary-le-Savoy adjoined the parifh of St. Clement Danes.) Thefe parifhes, fays Clarendon, " always underwent the imputaticai of being well affefted to the King" {Hiflory of the Rebellion, book vi. page 333, ed. 1843). They unitedly expreffed themfelves as " oppreffed with all the calamities that can be ; " that they were grieved principally at the long abfence of the King (who had left Whitehall with his court on the 10th January, 1642) ; that they were " afllifted at the affliftions of our brethren," having " a fellow-feeling of their fufferings, who in the countries round about us groan under the heavy burden of a civil war, their houfes plundered, their goods taken away, and their lives in daily danger;" and that they lamented efpecially the decreafe of bufinefs confequent upon the abfence of the " families of fuch of the nobility and gentry as inhabited the Strand and the adjacent places." It can now be fhown that the " Doftor Fuller," whofe name, with three others, was attached to the printed copy of this petition {Life of Fuller, page 267), was the author of the following Sermon. The difcourfe, it has been feen, was preached on Wednefday, 28th December. On that day the petition was in aftive preparation, being brought before the notice of the congregation at the Savoy by the preacher, who in an apparently ironical ftrain, which elfewhere breaks out in this Sermon, afferted that the House, " that High and Honourable Court," expefted their fervice to petition for peace (1[2 3 ). The fignificance of the petition attrafted attention ; and a deputation was appointed to wait upon the Houfe ot Lords for permiffion to take it to Oxford with fuch equipage as was fitting. INTRODUCTION. CCXXXVn On the fubfequent Monday, 2nd January, 1642-3, fix gentlemen accordingly prefented themfelves to their Lordfhips. The Lords who were prefent on that day, and who feem to have entered into the fpirit of the petition, were (according to the Minute-book of the Houfe) the following : " E. Manchefter Sp., E. Rutland, E. Exon., E. Saru'., E. Holland, E. Nottingham, E. Warwick, E. Bolingbroke, E. Bedford, E. Northumb'land, E. Pembroke; Vic. Sayelsb.; L. Lovelace, L. Howard de Esc, L. Grey de Wot., L. Newenham, L. Brook." In the courfe of the proceedings of the fitting, the following entry occurs : — " Ordered That feverall of the Inhabitants of Weftin. and others r,r n r> • n- fl^sH havB a Paffe to goe to the King w"" their Peticon. Coaches Servants Horfes &c. The applicants for the Pafs were the fix following gentlemen. Sir Edward Warder was one of the Ofiicers in the Exchequer, his fon of the fame name being Clerk of the Pells. In March or early in April Sir Edward abandoned his ofiice, " to the great differvice of the Commonwealth" {Lords' Journals, vi. 41^), and betook himfelf to Oxford, whither his wife, by a pafs from the Lords, dated 1 1 th April, followed him {Ibid. V. 710). Warder lodged at Lincoln College, where alfo Fuller himfelf was flickered a few months later. The Knight died in 1645, and his lady in 1652 ; both being buried in All Saints' Church, hard by Lincoln College. — John Castle, Esq. (called erroneoufly Sir John Castle and in the printed petition Dr. Castle) ; and John Chichley, Esq., were poffibly gentlemen of pofition in one or other of the parifhes named, who had not rendered themfelves obnoxious to the King. — Lawrence Lisle, gentleman, was originally "an honeft Bookfeller." In his later years he became a farmer of the revenues, the Impoft on tobacco and tobacco-pipes brought into Ireland having been granted to him by the King; but by the obftruftion of this Impoft he loft ^^ 12,000. In the civil war he was an adherent of the King ; and his daughter faid that his large loffes were due to his loyalty. His two fons were in the King's fervice : one. Major Francis Lisle, was flain at Marfton Moor ; and the other. Sir George Lisle, who had been knighted (21ft December, 164;) for his bravery at the fecond battle of Newbury, and who had been Mafter ofthe King's houfehold, was "cruelly fentenced and ftiot to death " with Sir George Lucas, at Colchefter, 28th Auguft, 1648. Lisle referred to his father and mother juft before his execution. Both parents were however, dead when in 1660 Mary, the only furvivor of the family, petitioned for a compenfation of ^2,000 : " her two brothers were flam Lhting for the late King, and her parents died of grief for their lofs. After two years' delay the fum was paid as the King s bounty. The elder Lisle left no will (Lloyd's Worthies, 478-9, 698 ; Fuller's Worthies, « Effex ;!47 • Calendar State Papers, Dom. Ser., 1660, page 173, 1662, pp. 2cq-6o, 277 ; Hift. MSS. Com. IV. Report, pages 58, 1 10) -Dr. Richard DucKSON was Reftor of St. Clement Danes 1634-1678. He and his Curate Mr. Smith had been fummoned, 4th July, 1642, for reading aKmg s declaration. When the Doctor was queftioned by the Speaker ofthe Houfe CCXXXVai INTRODUCTION. of Commons on the 13th he "did moft infolently prevaricate with the Houfe ; ahd gave nothing but fliufiling Anfwers." For this, as well as for " laying an Afperfion on a Member of this Houfe " he was committed to the Gate-houfe, whence after eight days he was releafed on his "humble petition" {Commons' Journals, ii. 650/^, 669^, 683^/ Walker's Sufferings, pt. i. p. 56, ii. 167 ; D'Ewes's Journal, io. 6^$a; Fafti Oxon. ii. 85, IQO). Thomas Fuller, the laft on the lift, was the foul of the party, and admirably fitted both by his manners and his profeffion to be a pacificator. The pafs was promptly given. The formal entry stands thus in the original Journals (No. 25 : this is not the fame book as the Minute- -book above-mentioned) : — Edward Warden, \ Ordered that S[this letter is erased] Edward Warder, Sir John Caftle )Kt. Jo. Caftle Esq. John Chichley Esq. Laurance Lifle gent. Richard Dickfon D' in Diuinity, Tho: Fuller Batchiler in Diuinity w"" 2 Coaches w"" 4 horfes or 6 horfes for each coach and Saddles for 8 or 10 fervants fhafl have a paffe to goe to Oxford to prefent a Peticon to his Ma'>'" The foregoing entry is given in the printed copy of the Lords' Journals in the following form (vol. v. page 523^), thus : — Die Luna, viz., i'^ Januarij, 1642-3 : — ^" Ordered, That Sir Edward Warder Knight, Jo. Caftle Efquire, John Chichley Efquire, Laurance Lifle Sir Edw. Warder, Sir John Gentleman, Richard Dukefon Dodlor in Divinity, Caftle, &c. a Pafs to Oxford, to Tho. Fuller Batchelor in Divinity, with Two prefent a Petition to the King. Coaches, with Four Horfes or Six Horfes for each Coach, and Saddles for Eight or Ten Servants, fhall have a Pafs, to go to Oxford, to prefent a Petition to His Majefty." The like impofing equipage was allowed when later the fame month Whitelock and the other Parliamentary Commiffioners were defpatched to Oxford to negotiate peace : " The Commiffioners were admitted by the lords, two with each lord in their coaches, which were with fix gallant horfes in every coach, and a great number of their fervants on horfeback to attend them. In this equipage we came to Oxford " (Whitelock's Memorials, fo. ed. page 67 ; ed. 1853, vol. i. page 195). Fuller and his party ftarted on their winter's journey on Wednesday, 4th of January, and all went well until they reached Uxbridge, fifteen miles from the metropolis. At the town mentioned, a well-guarded Parlia mentary outpoft, fome officer (perhaps Sir Samuel Luke ; see Lords' Journals, v. 632), armed perhaps with fecret inftruftions from the Commons, challenged the party, and fpite of the Lords' order, detained it. The refult may be gathered from the Parliamentary minutes : — Houfe of Commons, Diejovis, viz. 5" January, 1642-3 : — " Mr. Whttt- acre is appointed to go to the Lords, to defire a Conference concerning the Stay of fome Perfons going to Oxon, by Virtue of a Pafs from the Lords " {Journals, vol. ii. page 915^). INTRODUCTION. CXXXIX On the fame day (5th) in the Houfe of Lords the following entry ftands in the original minutes :— " A meffage was brought from the H. C. by M'' Whitaker. That they have receved Informacon of 2 Coaches & 12 horfes w"" Men; which are ftayed at Uxbridge going towards Oxford, & upon their ftayeing they produced a warrant for their paffage under [Meffage from the HCabout ^^^ ^larkes hand of this houfe; And being ftaying lome Clerks ofthe Pnvy ^,,, -ri ni- -i-K Seal who had a Pafs to Oxford, fearched there IS found amongft them one D' on whom were foundTwo fcan- Dukes- & fome Clarkes of the Privy Signett, dalous Books againft the Parlia- and there 'is found about them 2 scandalous ment, and Cyphers to Lord bookes arraigneing the proceedings of Parliam', Falkland : Tiiar.v. 5296, 530fl I. , , °,t ^.°, ^ t -tr- /r u i j / •^ :5 »>:):> J ajjj letters w* Ciphers to Lo: Vise, ffalkland, & the Lo: Spencer; The houfe of Comons thinke it that they fhould be ftayed, but in regard they have, their lo^^ paffe, they thought good to ac- quainte their Lo""^ firft w* it. — -Ordered that thefe p'fons that are ftayed, fliall be fent for backe." The Houfe of Commons ^sked by their meffenger for the concurrence of their Lordfliips in this order, and the following anfwer was fent : — " That this houfe doth owne the warrant w'"* thefe p'fons have, but feing they have abufed their lib'ty, this houfe concurrs w* the H. C. in fending for them backe. After that this houfe agrees w'" the H. C. in the orders now brought up" (Original Journals, No. 25). Houfe of Commons, the fame day : — " Mr. Whittacre reports. That he had acquainted the Lords that fome Gentlemen had been examined, that Stay of Perfons were going to Oxon ; and with them was found a fcan- going to Oxford. dalous Book intituled, A Complaint to the Commons, and other Letters and Matters concerning the Signet : That they had been ftayed, had they not produced their Lordfliips Warrant : The Lords did own the Warrant ; but, in regard they had abufed it, they were willing to withdraw it, and that they might be fent for back.— Ordered, That the Serjeant fend a Man forthwith to ftay Sir Edward^ Wardour, Dr. Dukefon, and the reft, notwithftanding the Lords Order" {Journals, vo\.ii. <)isl^)- ^ „ Houfe of Commons, Die Veneris, 6° Januarii, 1642-3 :— "Resolved, That Sir Edward Wardour, Dr. Dukefon, and the reft that were going down to Oxon, ftayed and brought up by Order of this Houfe, do continue in the Serjeants Cuftody, till the Houfe take further Order" (ii. 917^?). Houfe of Commons, Die Sabbati, 7° Januarii, 1642-3 :— "Ordered, That the Examination of the Matters concerning the Prifoners that were ftayed going to Oxon, and now in the Serjeant's be re ferred to the Committee for Examinations, where Mr. Whittacre has the Chair : And they are to fit upon it this Afternoon " (ii. 9 1 83). Houfe of Commons, Die Mercurii, 11° Januarii, 1642-3 :—" Ordered, That Mr. Whittacre' s Report be re-committed, upon Information given. That fome of thefe Minifters did in the Churches publifti a Summons, and Notice for the Parifliioners to meet to fubfcribe the Petition" (ii. <)z\a). CCXI INTRODUCTION, Unfortunately, none of thefe matters relating to Fuller's imprlfonment are alluded to in D'Ewes' ! valuable MS. volumes of the proceedings of Parliament : otherwife the epifode would have received further illuftration. The filence of the induftrious note-taker is explained by the following entry made at the end of the journal for 26th December : " I went out of towne vpon tuefday Dec. 27, 1642, & returned againe into the Howfe vpon Friday, Jan. 13, \%\\" {Harl. MS. 164, fol loj^b). Parliament was more cautious in regard to other paffes to Oxford. On the loth January an application was received by the Houfe of Lords from Mrs. Ussher who wifhed to go to her husband, the Archbifhop of Armagh : and it was given with the provifo that fhe could " go quietly " {Journals, v. 542^). The Commons, on the fame day, granted an order for Lady Sydenham to go thither " with fuch numbers of Servants and Horfes as fhall be expreffed in the Warrant ; provided that they carry no Letters nor anything elfe that may be prejudicial to the State " {Journals, ii. 921^). For further fecurity the names of fervants were added in the warrants. It does not appear how the Petition which Fuller and his friends were taking to Oxford ultimately reached the King, but that it was done fecretly by one or more of the deputation immediately afterwards there cannot be a doubt. According to the printed copy of the Petition it was prefented on the 7th January (Saturday), 1642-3 ; and it was printed in London and circulated there about a year afterwards. In 1 6 59 Fuller made a diftinft reference to his conneftion with this hiftorie Petition. Peter Heylyn had taunted him with coming to Oxford when he was never fent for. Fuller replied that Heylyn had not heard of all that was done, adding : " I was once fent up thither from London, being one of the Six, who was chofen to carry a Petition of Peace to his Majefty, from the City of Weftminfter and the Liberties thereof, though in the way re manded by the Parliament" {Appeal of Injur' d Innocence, Part ii. pages 46-7 ; ed. 1 840, page 444). The Innocents-Day Sermon was not entered at Stationers' Hall ; and the date of its publication is not therefore to be obtained from that fource. There is, however, in the Britifli Mufeum a copy (E. 86. 16) to which the date "Jan. 26 " has been added with a pen. It was reprinted in oftavo in 1654 by Will. Bently for John Williams, together with the Inauguration Sermon preached on the 27th March, 1643, but the latter is erroneoufly placed firft. The Innocents-Day Sermon has no title-page, the regifter continuing from c 2 ; but the paging re-commences (1-37). A copy of the firft edition of 1642 in poffeffion of the Editor is taken as the bafis of the following text ; but correftions have been made with the help of the 8vo. copy, fome of the more noticeable differences in the orthography, &c., of the latter copy being placed in the foot-notes.] A FAST SERMON Preacht on Innocents day. Matth. 5. 9. Bleffed are the Peace -makers, 'N this day a Faft and Feaft do both juftle to- ' gether ; and the queftion is, which ftiould take place in our affedlions. I pray let Solomon, the 'wifeft of Kings and Men, be made Dodtor of the Chaire to decide this controverfie: Ecclef. 7. 2, // is better to go to the houfe of mourning ^ then ta goe to the houfe of feafting : for it is the end af all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. Let us therefore difpenfe with all mirth for this time, and apply our felves to lamentation. 2. Wee reade, E%ra 3. 11, 12, that when the foundatioii"^ of the fecond Temple was laid by Zerubbabel, the young men ^ ftiouted for joy : But many of the Priefts and Levites, and chief e of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had feen the firft houfe; when the foundation af this houfe was laid before \ their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many fiauted aloud for joy. Thus, what if young men be fo addidted to their toyes and Chriftmas fports, that they will not be weaned from them : ; O let not old men, who are or ftiould be wifer, and therefore | more fenfible of the finnes and forrowes of the State ; let not ; us who are Priefts, whofe very profeflion doth date us ancient, \ be tranfported with their follies, but mourne whileft they are I in their mirth. The French Proverb faith. They that laugh ; on Friday, fhall cry on Sunday. And it may pleafe God of | his goodnefl"e fo to bring it to pafle that if we keep a fad i Chriftmas, we may have a merry Lent. -->j ' than, throughout the Sermon. 242 Faft Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, 3. This day is called Innocents or Childermas day ; a day which fuperftltious Papifts count unluckie and unfortunate, and therefore thereupon they will begin no matter of moment, as fearing ill fuccefle fhould befall them. Indeed I could willingly have fent their follies in filence to Hell, left by being a Confuter I become a Remembrancer of their vanities,, but that this fond conceit muft be rooted out of the minds of the ignorant people. Why fliould not that day be moft happy, which in the judgement of charity (charity which though not ftarke blind with Bartimeus, with Leah is alwaies tender eyed) fent fo many Saints by Herads cruelty to Heaven, before they had committed any adtuall finne ? Well, out of facred oppo fition and pious crofling of Popifti vanities, let us this day begin, and this day give good handfell of true repentance. To the cleane all things are cleane : To the good all dayes are good. We may fay of this day as David of Goliahs fword, I Sam. 21. 9, There is none like that; give it me. No day like this day for us to begin our fandllfied forrow, and to hearken to Gods word, Bleffed are the Peace-makers. 4. In this and the two next Chapters, Chrift having a Mountain for his Pulpit and the whole Law for his text, feeks to clear it from thofe falfe glofles (corrupting the Text) which the Priefts and Pharifees had faftened upon it ; and fliewes that Gods Law was not to be narrowed and confined to the outward adl alone, but according to the will of the Law-giver (the Surveyour that beft knew the latitude thereof) is to bee extended to the very thoughts of the heart, and takes hold of mens wicked inclinations, as breaches thereof and offences againft it. We ufe to end our Sermons with a Blefling ; Chrift begins his with the Beatitudes ; and of the eight my Text is neither the laft nor the leaft: Bleffed are the Peacemakers. 5. Obferve in the words the beft worke and the beft wages : the beft worke. Peace-makers ; the beft wages. They are bleffed. I begin with the worke, which fliall imploy my paines and your attention this day. Now the goodnefl'e of peace will the better appeare if we confider the mifery of warre. It is faid. 1642.] Matthew v. 9. 243 Gen. 12. II, And it came to paffe when Abraham was come neere to enter «/o Egypt, that hee faid untoSam his wife, Behold, now 1 know that thou art a faire woman ta looke upon. Why Now/ know thou art a beautifull woman ? Did Abraham live thus long in ignorance of his wives beauty ? Did he now firft begin to know her handfomnefl'e ? Learned '^Tre- melius on the place ftarts and anfwers the objedlion : Now, that is, when Abraham came into Egypt ; as if he had faid. When I fee the tawny faces and fwarthy complexions of the fun-burnt Egyptians, thy face feemeth the fairer, and thy beauty the brighter in mine eyes. I muft confeffe, I ever prized Peace for a pearle ; but we never did or could fet the true eftimate and value upon it till this interruption and fufpenfion of it. Now we know, being taught by deare experience, that peace is a beautifull bleffing : And therefore we- will confider warre, firft, in the wickedneffe, then in the wofuineffe thereof. 6. Firft, warre makes a Nation more wicked. Surely, fwearing and Sabbath- breaking do not advance the keeping of the firft Table. And as for the fecond Table, how hard is it in thefe diftradled times to be pradlifed ! Yea, it is diffi cult to fay the Lords Prayer, the Creed, or ten Commande ments : The Lords Prayer for that Petition, And forgive us our trefpaffes, as wee forgive them that trefpaffe againft us ; the Creed for that Article, The Communion af Saints, which doth tye and ^obliege us to the performance of all Chriftian offices and charitable duties to thofe who by the fame Chrift feeke falvation, and profeffe the fame true Chriftian Catholike faith with us ; the ten Commandements for that precept. Thou fhalt not kill: and though men in fpeculatlon and fchoole diftindlions may fay that all thefe may be eafily performed in the time of war ; yet our corrupt nature, which is ftarke nought in time of peace, is likely to be far worfe in warre ; and if thefe times continue, I am afraid wee fliall neither fay the Lords Prayer, nor beleeve the Creed, nor pradlife the Commandements. And as hard it will be preparedly and profitably to receive the Sacraments, when wee fliall drinke ' [Trcmellii et Junii Teft. Veteris Bik, ed. 1607, p. 16.] ' oblige. Q.2 244 ^^ft Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, Chrifts bloud as on to day, and go about to ftied our brothers bloud as on to morrow. 7. Secondly, let us confider the wofuineffe of war, and that both in its felfe, and in its attendance. See a Map of war drawne by a holy hand, Pfal. 78. 6^,, 64 : The fire confumed their young men, and their maidens were not given to marriage; their Priefts fell by the fword, and their widowes made no lamentations. The fire confumed the young men : Wee behold with contentment ripe fruit to drop downe to the ground ; but who will not pity greene apples when they are cudgelled downe from the tree? And the maidens were not given in marriage : So that the faireft flowers of virginity were faine to wither on the ftalke whereon they did grow, for want of hands to gather them. The Priefts were ftaine with the fword. Sed quid cum Marte Prophetis ? Well then, there they were, though they were none of the beft of the Priefts, being lewd Hophnee and Phyneas, and there they were killed : for ought I know, if thefe times hold, Gods h^^ Samuels muft goe the fame way. And their widowes made no lamentation : You will fay. The more unnaturall women they. O no ; they made no lamentation either becaufe their griefe was above lamenting, fuch as onely could be managed with filence and amazement ; or elfe becaufe they were fo taken up with deploring the publike calamity, they could fpare no time for private perfons to bemoane their particular loffes. 8. But warre is not fo terrible in it felf as in its attendants. Firft, the Plague, which brings up the reare of war ; the Plague, I fay, which formerly ufed to be an extraordinary embaffador in this Citie of London, to denounce Gods anger againft it ; but is of late grown a conftant legier, and for thefe many late yeares hath never been clearly removed from us : furely fome great unrepented fin lyes on this City, that this conftant punifliment doth vifit us, which will be more terrible when it fliall be extended over the whole Realme. 9. Secondly, Famine, a waiter in Ordinary on Warre. Truly it may feeme a riddle, and yet it is moft true, that Warre makes both lefte meat and fewer mouthes : Firft, becaufe in time of war none dare attend huflaandry, wherewith, 1642.] Matthew v. 9. 245 Solomon faith. The King himfelf is maintained. Secondly, becaufe Souldiers fpoile more out of prodigality then they fpend out of neceffity. When our Saviour muldplied loaves and fiflies, there were thofe appointed who tooke up the twelve bafltets of fragments; but, alas ! no fuch care is taken in fouldiers feftivals. Hitherto indeed wee have had plenty enough, and as yet in this City ^are not fenfible of any want. But, you know, next "^Pharaohs full eares came Pharaohs blafted ears; next Pharaohs fat kine came Pharaohs lean kine; and I pray God poor people for this years ftore be not next year ftarved. 10. Thirdly, wilde beafts. See Gods foure cardinali pun- iftiments reckoned up, Ezechiel 14. 21 : For thus faith the Lord Gad, far {how] much mare when I fend my foure fore judgements upon Jerufalem : the fword, and the famine, and the noyfome beaft, and the peftilence, to cut from it man and beaft ? Some perchance wil fay that there is [no] more danger of wilde beafts in our ^Iland, which is invironed with water. Truely there need no other wilde beafts then our felves, who are Lions, Beares, Boares, Wolves, and Tygei-s one to another. And though as yet wee were never plagued with wilde beafts, yet wee know not how foone God may hiffe for them over, and for our new and ftrange fins caufe new and ftrange punifliments. Now conceive a City as bigge as your thoughts can imagine, and fancy the Sword marching in at the Kaft- gate, and the Plague comming in at the Weft-gate, and Famine entring in at the North-gate, and wilde beafts paffing in at the South-gate, and all meeting together in the Market place, and then tell me how quickly will your voluminous Citie be abridged to a poor pittance. II. But hitherto wee have only fpoken of the miferies of War in generali ; but the worft is ftill behind, for we are afflidled with Civill war. Many warres have done wofully, but this furmounteth them all. In Civill war nothing can bee expedled but a ruine and defolation. What faid Mordecai to Hefther? Hefther 4. 13 : Think not with thy felfe that thou fioalt efcape in the Kings houfe mare then all ' the Jewes. / _^ , ' weare. ' Pharaoh's {<\\.\dLitv). ^ Ifland. 246 Fafi Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, So let none in what houfe foever, in the Kings Houfe, or Houfe of Lords, or Houfe of Commons, or ftrongeft Caftles, or walled Towns, or fenced Cities, flatter themfelves with a fond conceit of their fafety ; for if Civill warres continue long, they muft expedl as well as others to bee devoured ; yea, none can promife great Perfons fo much happineffe as to bee laft undone : For, for ought any knowes, it may come to their turnes to be the firft, as being the faireft markes to invite envy and malice againft them. Meane time poore Ireland, which as the man in the vifion cryed to Saint Paul, Come over into Macedonia and helpe us, which hath fo long, fo often, fo earneftly Intreated, implored, importuned our ^afliftants, muft be loft of courfe. The Proteftants there, which have ^long fwom againft the tide till their armes are weary, muft at laft of neceffity even give themfelves over to bee drowned : That Harpe, which when it was well tuned made fo good muficke, muft now and hereafter for ever bee hung upon the willowes, a fad and forrowfull tree ; and our diftradlion will haften their finall deftrudlion. Wee reade, Deut. 28. 56, That in a great Famine the eye of the mother ftall be evill towards her fon and towards her daughter ; fliee fliall grudge every morfell of meat which goes befides her owne mouth, preferring nature before naturall affedtion. If thefe times doe continue, London will grudge London-derry her daughter; and England, Mother generally of Ireland (as a Colony deduced from it), will grieve to part with the leaft meat, money and munition to It. 12. But all thefe Mifchlefes are nothing in refpedl of the laft ; namely, the fcandal and diflionour which hereby will redound to the Proteftant religion, whereof a true Chriftian ought to be more tender and fenfible then of any worldly loffe whatfoever : Tell it not in Gath, nor publift it in Afcalon, left the daughters of the Philiftims rejoyce, left the daughters of the uncircumcifed triumph. O what mufick doth our difcord make to the Romifli adverfaries ! We reade, Genef. 13. 7, 8, And there was a ftrife between the beard-men of Abrams cattel, and the beard-men of Lots cattell, and the Cananite > affiftans. ' fo long. 1642.] Matthew v. 9. 247 and the Perizite dwelled then in the Land. And Abram faid unto Lot, Let there be no ftrife, I pray thee, between my &c. Wherein obferve that the Canaanites and Perizites being there in the Land, is mentioned as a motive with Abraham to make him make the fpeedier accommodation with Lat, left the true religion and fervice of God fliould fuff^er in the cenfure of Pagans by their difcords, being Uncle and Nephew, ingaged in a brawle by their fervants diffention. How many Canaanites and Perezites behold our bloudy dif ferences, and clap their hands to fee us wring ours, yea, infult and rejoyce to fee us flieath our fwords In one anothers bowels ! Wee ufed formerly to taflce the Papifts of cruelty to Proteftants ; but hereafter, as Abner faid to Afahel, 2' Sam. 2. 22, Haw then ftall I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? So how fliall we looke in the face, from this day forwards, of our Romlfli adverfaries ? Tell them no more of their cruelty to the Proteftants at Hedlebergh , oi th&u cruelty to Proteftants of Magdenbergh, of their cruelty to the Proteftants at Rachel ; for if thefe wars continue, wee are likely not onely to equall, but to outdoe thefe cruelties one to another; fo that difcharg- ing this accufation of bloudineffe againft them, it will rebound and recoile in our own faces. Put all thefe together ; that warre makes a Land more wicked, makes a Land more wo full, is bad in it felfe, is worfe in its traine, deftroyes Chriftian people, and difgraces Chriftian profeffion ; and then will all have juft caufe to fay as is it in my Text, Blefed are the Peace-makers. 13. If any objedl that Peace alfo hath her mifchlefes which attend thereupon; for it brings plenty, and plenty brings pride, and pride brings plagues upon It ; peace makes men pampered, and with JeJfurun to kick againft God. War indeed brings cleannefte of teeth, whileft peace brings fulneffe of bread, which is as bad and worfe, making men prefump- tuoufly to rebell againft God. The anfwer Is eafie : woes may come from peace, but they muft come from warre ; miferies arife from the very ufe of warre, which come but from the abufe of peace, being effentiall to warre, but acci dental! to peace, inherent alwaies in the one, adherent too 248 Fafl Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, often to the other : in a word, in war calamities proceed from the thing it felfe, in peace from men abufing It, 14, Objection: But peace without truth is rather poyfon then a cordiall : O let us not be like the thirfty traveller, who fo long longs for water that at laft he drinkes mud and water together, not only without diftindlion or diftafte, but even with delight I O let us not with Sampfon fo dote on the Dalilah of peace as to get her love to betray truth, wherein our ftrength lyes! Some perchance would propound peace unto us, but on fuch fervile conditions as Naafh the Ammonite offered a truce to the men of Jabefi-Gilead, 1 Sam. II. 2: On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thruft out all your right eyes, and lay it for a re proach upon all Ifrael. And fo if we will give in truth to boot, and put out our owne eyes into the bargalne ; forfeit the true faith and knowledge of God, with the purity of his fervice ; then perchance a peace may be proffered us ; but as Peter faid to Simon Magus, Adls 8. 20, Thy money perifh with thee ; fo let fuch a hellifli peace perifli with thofe that feek to promote it. 15. In the anfwering of this Objedlion, give me leave, as Peter faid, AEts 2. 29, Men and brethren, let me freely fpeake unto you of the Patriarch David; fo let me boldly and fully fpeak In anfwer to the objedlion : If leave be denied mee : I know whence my commiffion is derived ; I am an Embafla- dour for the God of Heaven ; If I fpeake what is falfe, I muft anfwer for it; If truth, it will anfwer for me. And what I have to fay, I will divide Into foure Propofitions. 16. Propofition i : Curfed be hee that feekes to divide Peace from Truth. I muft confeffe I was never bred upon Mount Ebal, neither did ever my tongue take delight in curfing. The rather becaufe we may obferve, Deut. 27. i 2, that the moft eminent Tribes from which the Princely and Prieftly men defcended, [as] Levi, ludah, Ephraim {Iffachar,] and Benjamin, took their ftation in Mount Gerafin, to fliew that Magiftrates and Minifters are principally to inure their mouths to bleffing. And yet for thofe that feek to fever peace from truth, I cannot refrain my felf, but muft fay, Curfed be they in the city, and curfed be they in the field ; curfed be they in 1642,] Matthew v. 9. 249 their bafket and in their ftore ; curfed be they in the fruit of their body, and in the fruit of their land, in the increafe of their kine, and in the ftock of their fteep ; curfed ftall they be when they come in, and curfed ftall they be when they go out. 17. Propofition 2 : Before this warre began, wee had in England truth in all effentiall to falvation. Wee had all neceffary and important truths truly "^compiled in our thirty- nine Articles. We had the word of God truly ^preacht (I could wifli it had been more frequently and generally), the Sacraments duly adminiftred ; which two put together doth conftitute a true Church. S. Paul, i Cor, 15. 18, being to prove the refurredlion of the dead, preffeth the Corinthians with this among other Arguments, Then they alfo which are fallen afteep in Chrift are perifted. Putting them a moft un charitable abfurdity, that In cafe the dead arife not againe, they muft be bound to confefs that all the Saints formerly deceafed were perlflied. And furely, fuch as deny that England before this warre began had all efl"entiall truth to falvation, muft of neceflity fplit themfelves on the fame uncharitable rocke, and paffe a fentence of condemnation on all thofe which dyed in our Church before thefe two yeares laft paft. 1 8 , Propofition 3 : Many errors in DoSirine and innovation in Difcipline did creepe faft into our Church. Arminian pofi tions, Tenents, Treafon to Gods grace, invaded the truth of the Word in many places. One Ceremony begat another, there being no bounds in will-worfliip, wherewith one may fooner be wearied then fatisfied. The Inventors of new Ceremonies endeavouring to fupply in number what their conceits wanted In folidlty ; and ^God knowes before this time where they had been If they had not been ftopt. 19. Propofition 4 : The beft and onely way to purge thefe errors out, is in a faire and peaceable way ; for the fword cannot difcerne betwixt *truth and errour ; it may have two edges, but hath never an eye. Let there on Gods bleffing be a Synode of truely grave, pious, and learned Divines ; and let them both falrely difpute and fully decide, whats true, whats falfe ; what Ceremonies are to be retained, what to be rejedled ; ' compiled , . truly, omitted by an error ofthe prefs. '^ preach'd. ' God omitted. ^ truth, error, and falihood. 250 Fafi Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, and let civill authoritie ftampe their command upon it, to be generally _ received under what penaltie their difcredon fliall think fitting. But as long as Warre lafts, no hope of any fuch agreement : this muft be a worke for Peace to performe. So then under the notion of Peace, hitherto we have and here after doe intend fuch a Peace as when it comes we hope will reftore truth unto us in all the accidentall and ornamentall parts thereof; and adde it to that truth in effentialls to fal vation, which we enjoyed before this Warre began ; and in this fence I will boldly pronounce.,- Bleffed be the Peace-makers. 20. Come we now to confider what be the hindrances of Peace. Thefe hindrances are either generali or particular. The generali hindrance is this : The many natlonall finnes of our kingdome being not repented of. I fay, of our king- dome, not of one Army alone. Thinke not that the Kings Army is like Sodome, not ten righteous men in it; (no, not if righteous Lot himfelfe be put into the number;) and the other Army like ^Syon confifting all of Saints. No ; there be drunkards on both fides, and fwearers on both fides, and whoremungers on both fides ; pious on both fides, and prophane on both fides : like Jeremies figges, thofe that are good are very good, and thofe that are bad are very bad In both parties. I never knew nor heard of an Army all of Saints, fave the holy Army af Martyrs ; and thofe, you know, were dead firft ; for the laft breath they fent forth proclaimed them to be Martyrs. But it is not the finnes of the Armies alone, but the finnes of the whole kingdome which breake off' our hopes of Peace : our Nation is generally finfull. The City complaines of the ambition and prodigality of the Courtiers ; the Courtiers complaine of the pride and covetouf neffe of the Citizens : the Laity complaine of the lazlneffe and ftate-medling ofthe Clergie; the Clergie complaine ofthe hard dealing and facriledge of the Laity : the Rich complaine of the murmuring and ingratitude of the Poor ; the Poor complaine of the oppreffion and extortion ofthe Rich. Thus every one is more ready to throw durt in anothers face then ' Zion. 1^2.] Matthew V. 9- 251 to waflie his owne cleane. And in all thefe, though malice may fet the varnifli, fure truth doth lay the ground-worke. 21. Of particular hindrances, in the firft place we may ranke the Romifli Recufants. Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? was Davids question, 2 Sam. 14. 19 ; but is not the hand, may we all fay, oijefvites in thefe diftradlions .? Many times from my youth up have they fought againft me, may England now fay ; yea, many times from my youth up have they vexed me, but have not prevailed againft me. At laft, the Popifli party perceived that the ftrength of England confifted in the unity thereof; {Sampfon is halfe conquered when it is knowne where his ftrength doth lye;) and that it was im- poflible to conquer Englifto Proteftants, but by Englift> Proteftants. Is this your fpite and malice, O you Romifh adverfaries, becaufe you could not overcome us with Spanifh Armadoes, nor bio we us up with Gunpowder Treafons, nor undoe us with Irift^ Rebellions, to fet our felves againft our felves, firft to divide us, then to deftroy us ? Well, God knowes what may come to paffe. It may be when we have drunke the top of Hhis bitter cup, the dregs may be for your fliare ; and we may all be made friends for your utter ruine and deftrudlion. 22. Next the Papifts, the Schifmatickes are the hindrances of our Peace. Thefe know their kingdome cannot be eftab- liflied but by Warre, as affured that the wifdome of the State is fuch as will blaft their defignes when matters are fettled. I have heard (when a childe) of a Lawleffe Church ; fure thefe if they might have their will, would have a Lawlefle Church and a Gofpellefle too ; and yet they as falfly as fondly conceive that the State gives approbation and con nivance to them. We read, Pfalm 50. 21, where Gods fpirit reckons up many finnes which the wicked had com mitted, that God faith, Thefe things haft thou done, and I kept filence ; thou though teft that f was altogether fuch a one as thy felfe : but I will reprove thee, and fet them in order before thine eyes. In which place of Scripture three things are confiderable. Firft, God Is faid to keep filence when he doth 252 Faft Sertnon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, not prefently and vifibly punifli offenders: Pfal. 35. 22, O Lord, keep not filence ; and fo Pfal. 83.1, Keepe not thou filence, O God. God, for reafons beft known to himfelfe, and for fome known to us, namely, to make wicked men fwel and break with a Timpany of good fucceffe for the time, does not outwardly expreffe the diflike of their bad courfes In inflidling a fuddain and fenfible punifliment upon them. Secondly, obferve the falfe Logick and bad Inference of wicked men ; who conceive that God Is altogether fuch an one as themfelves, yea, make acceffary and confederate with the.m ; becaufe filent, therefore confenting : ^i- tacet falls laudat. Thirdly, fee time wil come when, in time beft known to himfelfe, he will publikely reprove them and fliew not onely his free dif fent but full difpleafure. Thus Schifmatickes improve them felves upon the clemency and long fuffering of our State. Becaufe they are taken up with matters of higher concernment, and are not at leafure to ftoope to their punifliment, as im ployed In bufineffe of more prefent and prefling importance, Separatifts and Sedlarles conceive that they favour what they doe not punifli. But time will come when to the glory of God and their own honour, though flowly, furely they will vifit their offences, and, as the Pfalmift faith. Set their finnes in order before them, who have beene the partiall caufe of the diforder and confufion of this Kingdome. 23. Thirdly, thofe are enemies to Peace, whofe beeing meerely confifteth by Warre and Mifcention. Indeed the truly noble Engllfli fpirits defire a forraigne Foe for a marke for their Bullets ; but "many there be rather turbulent then valiant, who as Demetrius by this craft they get their gaine, defire a perpetuity of Warre for their poffeffion. We read in ''•Plutarch of one Demades who by profeffion was a maker of Coffins, and he was baniflied out of the city of Athens for wifliing that hee might have good trading ; that wife State ' diffention. ^[This anecdote, with the moral, has a place in Things New and Old; Or, a Store-houfe of Similies, 1658, folio, by John Spencer, of Sion College, Fuller's friend (page 107, IT '^'i^a). The paragraph is headed " A meer Soldier, an Enemy to Peace," and is erroneoufly faid to be taken from Fuller's Holy State. Spencer adds a reference to Plutarch's Murals, but does not give book or chapter.] 1642.] Matthew v. 9, 253 truly interpreting the language of his wifli, as defiring fome epidemicall difeafe ; his private profit being inconfiftant with the publike flourifhlng of the Common-wealth, So thofe people who are undone and cannot live but by undoing of others, certainly wifli no good to our Church and Kingdome, but muft needs be State Barrettors to keep the fore alwayes raw betwixt Prince and people. 24. Let us now come to fee the meanes wherby private perfons may and muft endeavour the obtaining of peace. The firft is prayer : Pray far the peace o/" Jerufalem : let every one in that prayer which he ufeth In his Family, or private devotions, build a roome more and Inlarge it to pray for peace in our Ifraell. 25. Secondly, let us petition for peace, not only to the God in Heaven, but to the Gods on earth. Firft, to his Majeftie; but, alas 1 there is a great gulfe between us and him fixed, fo that they which would paffe from hence to him cannot, neither can they paffe to us that would come from thence. The fins of our Realm are amounted to fuch a height that we deferve this and worfe punifliment. Next, let us petition to the High and Honourable Court of Parliament, next under God and the King the hope and help of our happineffe. Let none fay It is prefumption to petition them, as undertaking to tell them of what they are Ignorant, or to put them in remembrance of what they may forget ; for herein we apply our felfe to them In Imitation of our acceffe to God ; and furely their greatneffe cannot, and their goodneffe will not be difpleafed in our compliance and conformity to fuch an Architype. True it is that God, Matthew 6. 8, Our Father, knoweth what things we have need of before we aske him ; and yet It Is his will and pleafure to be fought too by our prayer. And fo no doubt that High and Honourable Court, though that they know full well that peace is that we ftand in need of, yet they take delight in our duty, yea, expedl our fervice herein to petition for peace, that fo our begging of peace may in effedl be a modeft and mannerly expreffion of an hearty thanks for their long and conftant endeavours herein. Wherefore what Tertullus faid flatteringly to Felix, ASis 24, 254 Fafi Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec 28, 2, 3, 4, we may fay truly and feelingly to th^m,feeing that very worthy deeds are done to this Nation by their providence, we accept alwaies, and in all places, with all thankfulnes. Not withftanding I pray you, that you af your Clemency would heare us a few words. And let us in all Humility, not diredling but befeeching them, without a tumultuous thought, moft peacable and pathetically begge of them and fue unto them to continue their care In advancing a feafonable and happy accomodation, that fo the blefling pronounced in my text may lie both upon them and theirs, Ble fed are the Peacemakers. 26. Thirdly, we muft be content foundly to pay for peace. We read, Exod. 38. 8, And he made the ^ Lever of Br affe, and the foot of it of Braffe, of the Looking- glaffes of the Women affembling, which affembled at the door af the Tabernacle of the congregation. It feemeth that the back- fides of their Look- ing-glaffes were made of braffe, which commonly with us are made of wood, and they configned them over for Gods fervice ; and good reafon too ; for formerly they had given their ear-rings for the making of a Calfe ; Juftly therefore now they did pennance for th'eir pride, as count ing It Honour enough that that wherein they looked their owne faces, fliould make the foot of Gods ^Leaver. But what fliould not people give to buy a true peace and a peace with Truth ? O how many yeeres purchafe is it worth ! Let us not thinke much, to give all our fuperflulties, but to give fome of our neceffarles, for the advancing and obtain ing of It. 27. Fourthly, let us banlfli out of our mouthes all words and phrafes of contempt and ^reproach, (I could inftance in the word, but that it is beneath the Majefty of a Pulpit,) which the malice of men hath minted and faftned on oppofite parties. O let us have no other Chriftian name then the name of Chriftians, or other furname then Chriftian Pro teftants; neither anfwering to, nor calling others by any term of difgrace 1 28, Fifthly, let us with a fpeedy, ferious and generali repentance, remove the crying finnes of our Kingdome, which ' Laver. •' reprorh. 1642.] Matthew v. 9. 255 as long as they laft wil bane all peace amongft us. I fay, fpeedy, leaft the phyfick come too late for the difeafe ; ferious, leaft the tent be too fliort for the wound ; generali, leaft the plafter be too narrow for the fore. Suppofe that the Sea fliould breake forth in this Land, as fuch a thing may come to pafl'e ; The Lord is King, faith David, let the earth rejoyce ; yea, let the multitude of the Ifies be glad thereat, Pfal. 97. i. And good reafon hath the lies to be glad, as more particularly concerned ; for if the water were not countermanded by Gods Prerogative Royall, it would fpeedily recover its naturall place above the earth. ^But fuppofe the Sea fliould break into the Land, it is not the endeavours of a private man can ftop it. What if he goes downe with a faggot on his backe, and a mattock on his fliould er, and a fpade in his hand : his defire Is more commendable then his difcretion, it being more likely the Sea would fwallow him then he ftop the mouth thereof. No ; the whole Country muft come in : children muft bring earth In their hats, women in their aprons; men with handbarrowes, wheelbarrowes, carts, carres, waines, waggons; all muft worke ^ leaft all be deftroyed. I rather inftance In this expreffion of the irruption of the Sea, becaufe I finde Gods anger fo compared In holy writ, i Chron. 14. 11: David faid, God hath broken in upon mine enemies like the breaking forth of waters. So when a generali deluge and inun dation of Gods anger feafeth [feizeth] upon a whole Kingdome, It cannot be ftopt by the private endeavours of fome few, but it muft be an univerfall work, by a generali repentance ; all muft raife bankes to bound it. Till this be done, I am afraid we fhall have no peace ; and, to fpeak plainly, I am afraid we are not yet ripe for Gods mercy. As Gideon, Judg. 7. 4, had too many men for God to give vidlory to ; fo we are too proud hitherto for God to give peace to ; many of us are Humiliati, but few of us are Humiles : Many by thefe warres brought ^loe, but few made ' loely ; fo that we are proud in our poverty ; ' [This paragraph is printed, but with fome variations, in John Spencer's Things Nenu and Old, London, 1658, fo., page 68, If ^83. It is entitled "Na tional Judgements call for National Repentance," with this marginal note : " T. Fuller, y^rm. at Westm. 164.2."] » left. ' lo, loly. 256 Fafi Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, and, as the unjuft Steward faid, to beg I am aftamed, fo we are too ftout though halfe ftarved on the bended knees of our foules, with true repentance, to crave pardon of God for our finnes ; which till It be done, we may difcourfe of peace and fuperficially defire it, but never truely care for it, or can com fortably receive It. 29. And indeed wee may take forcible motives from our owne miferies to endeavour peace by all poffible meanes ; for look upon the complexion of the warre, and doth It not look of a moft ftrange and different hue from other warres } The wars of Germany (which, give me leave to fay. If we had pittied by the proxie of a true ^Simpathy, we had never fo foon fuffered them in our owne perfon) were far lighter afilidlion then ours, [i,] In Germany people when hunted with warre took covert in their fenced CItties. But here in England we have no guard againft wars blow, but lye open to plundering and deftrudlion. [2,] Germany was a great Con tinent bearing fix hundred miles fquare ; fo that whilft one part thereof was mowed downe with warre, the other, enjoying peace, might grow up In the meane time. But little England (great onely In her miferies, fevered by the Sea from other Countries, and by divifions parted from her felfe) is a morfell which civill warre will quickly devoure. Thirdly, in Germany commonly they lay In Garrlfon In winter and fought in fum mer. We read, 2 Sam. 11. i : And it came ta paffe at the time when Kings goe forth to battell. This all Comments generally expound of the fpring time. But, alas ! If we in our woes were Antipodes to all others, our miferies begin when others end, in the winter time. Pray (faith our Saviour) that your fiight be not in the winter, nor on the Sabbath-day : winter fights woful fights, Sabboth wars forrowful warres ; and yet fuch are thefe In our Kingdome. Laftly, in Germany Papifts did fight againft Proteftants, whereas our inteftine wars are againft thofe that profeffe the fame Religion. 30. It hath been a great curfe of God upon us, to make a conftant mifunderftanding betwixt our King and his Parlia- ' Sympathy. 1642. j Matthew v. 9. 257 ment ; whileft both profeffe to levell at the fame end. I cannot comparetheir cafe better than to the example oi^ Ruben and Judah, Gen. 37. There Ruben defired and endeavoured to preferve the life of his brother Jofeph, and Judah defired and endeavoured to preferve the life of his brother Jofeph ,¦ and yet thefe two Imbracing different meanes, did not onely croffe and thwart, but even ruine and deftroy the defires of each other ; for Ruben moved and obtained that Jofeph might not be killed, verfe 22 : And 'R.xxh&n faid unto them, fted no blood, but eaft him into this Pit that is in the wilderneffe, and lay no hand upon him ; that he might rid him out of tbeir hands, to deliver him to his Father againe. Judah alfo defired the fame ; but being not privie to Rubens intents, and to avoid the cruelty of the reft of his Brethren, propounded and effedled that Jofeph might be fold to the ^Medianitift Mer chants, meerly fo to preferve his life ; and thereby he did unravel] all the web of Rubens defignes, and fruftrated his endeavours. Thus when God will have a people punifhed for their finnes, hee will not onely fuffer, but caufe miftakes without mending, and mifprlfions without redllfying, to hap pen betwixt brethren who ^meane and really intend the fame thing ; fo that they fpeake the fame matter In effedl, and yet be Barbarians one to another, as either not or not right underftanding what they fay each to other. Thus, the main taining ofthe Proteftant Religion in the purity thereof ; the vindicating of the lawfull Prerogative ofthe King ; the afcer- taining of the juft rights and privlledges of the Parliament ; the defending of the dues and properties of the Subjedl are pleaded and pretended on both fides as the ultimate ends they aime at. Well, as our Saviour faid to the blinde man, Mat. 9. 29, according to your faith be it unto you : fo, according to the fincerity and integrity of their hearts, whom God knowes means moft ferioufly, be it unto them ; we wift them good viSlory in the name of the Lord : and yet even herein a friendly peace were as much better then vidlory it felfe as the end is better then the means ; for, bleffed are the Peace-makers. ' Reuben throughout the paragraph. ^ Midianitijh. ' meane and omitted. R 258 Fafi Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, 31. ObjeSlion : But may fome fay, though we doe never fo much defire peace, we fliall not obtaine that bleffing, which is pronounced in my text, for the Peace-makers are to be bleffed. And it is to be feared, that our breaches are too wide to be cured, and Gods juftice muft have reparation upon us. 32. {Anfwer-] By Peace-makers, Peace-endeavourers are to be underftood ; not only the Effedlours of Peace, but even the Affedlours of Peace flial be bleffed. Rom. 12. 18: If it be poffible, as much as in you lyeth, live peaceably with all men. God out of his goodneffe meafures mens reward not by their fucceffe, but defires : 2 Cor. 8. 12, For if there be firft a willing minde, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. 22,- And yet I am not out of heart, but that there is hope of Peace, and that as yet our finnes are not fwei'd fo high, but that there is mercy with God for our nation. Firft, my hope is founded on the multitude of good people in this land, which aflault and batter Heaven with the importunity of their prayers. We ^read oi Ptalomeus Philadelphus, King oi Egipt, that he caufed the Bible to be tranflatcd by feventy Interpre ters ; which feventy were feverally difpofed of in feventy feverall Cels, unknown each to other ; and yet they did fo well agree in their feveral tranflations that there was no con fiderable differende betwixt them In rendering the text ; an argument that they were adled with one and the fame fpirit. Surely it comforts me when I call to minde, what fhall I fay ? feventy ? nay feven times feventy, yea, feventy hundred, yea, feventy thoufand, which are peaceable in Ifrael, which on the bended knees of their fouls daily pray to God for peace. Thefe though they know not the faces, no, not the names one of another ; nay, have neither i^^n nor fhall fee one another till they meet together In happineffe in Heaven ; yet they unite their votes and centre their fuffrages in the fame thing, that God would reftore Peace unto us, who no doubt in his due time will heare their prayers. ' [This paragraph is found, with a few flight alterations, in Spencer's Things New and Old, page 109, f 440. It is entitled "Prayers of the Godly, the unanimity of them," and is faid to be from "T. Fuller. Ser. at Savoy, 1642." Spencer has added this hiftorical reference : " Conrad. Zuingerus, ex citut. 'varia- rum."\ 1642. J Matthew v. 9. 259 34. The fecond thing that comforts mee is, when I looke on Gods proceedings hitherto In our Kingdome, his judge ments feeme to be judgements rather of expoftulation then of exterpation : we read, Exod. 4. 24, that God being angry with Mofes for not circumcifing his Sonnes, // came to paffe by the way in the Inne that the Lord met him, and fought to kill him. Sought to kill him ? ftrange : did God feeke to kill him, and not kill him ? Speake, Lord, fpeake to the Fire, and it fhall with flafhes confume him ; to the Ayre, and with peftilent vapours it fhall choake him ; to the Water, and with deluges It fhall over-whelme him ; to the Earth, and with yawning chops it fhall devoure him. Well, the meaning is this ; God fought to kill him, that is, in fome outward vifible manner whereof Mofes was apprehenfive ; God manifefted his difpleafure againft him, that fo Mofes might both have notice and leifure to divert his anger, with removing the caufe thereof. He that faith to us, Seeke and yee ftall finde, doth himfelfe feeke and not finde ; and good reafon too, for he fought with an Intent not to finde. Thus I may fay that for thefe laft foure yeeres God hath ftill fought to deftroy the Kingdome of England ; manifefting an unwilling- neffe to doe it, if in any reafonable time we would compound with him by serious repentance. Thus the loving Father fhakes the rod over his wanton childe, not with an intent to beat him, but to make him begge pardon ; and fuch hitherto hath beene Gods dealing with our Nation, that he even courts and ^ woes us to repentance, as ^ loath to punifh us, if wee would underftand the fignes of his anger, before it breake out ' upon us. 35. But if all faile, yet thofe that are Peace- makers in their defires doe enter a caveat In the Court of heaven. That if warres doe enfue, yet for their part they have laboured againft it. If a man flaine were found in the field, and It not knowne who flew him, God provided, Deut. 21. 7, 8, That the Elders of the next City fhould wafh their hands in the blood of an Heifer, and fay. Our hands have not fted this blood, neither have our eyes feen it. Be mercifull, O Lord, unto thy people ' woos. ' loth. R 2 2 6o Fafi Sermon on Innocents Day. {Dec. 28, Ifraell, whom thou haft redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Ifrael s charge; and the blood ftalbe forgiven them. So this one day will be a comfort to the confciences of godly minded men, that they may appeale to the God of heaven, how they have prayed heartily for peace, have petldoned humbly for Peace, have been contented to pay deerly for peace, and to their powers have endevoured to refralne them felves from finnes, the breakers of peace ; and therefore they truft that Chriftian Englift Proteftant blood, which fhall be fhed, which hath beene and hereafter may be fhed in thefe wofull warres, fhall never be vifited on their fcore or laid to their charge. 26. But if all faile, and If we muft be involved In a finall defolation, then let us goe to the Affurance Office oi our foules, and have peace of confcience with God in our Saviour, It was wont to be faid A mans houfe is his Caftle ; but If this Caftle of late hath proved unable to fecure any, let them make their confcience their caftle ; if beaten from all our parapets and outworkes, let us retire to this ftrength for our defence. It may feem, be it fpoken with all reverence, a blunt expref fion of the holy fpirit, Luke 12. 4, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and that have no mare that they can doe. Yea, but one may fay, they may kil me with torment and with torture, make me drop out my life by degrees ; why, the totall fome of their malice Is but to kill the body, and then they have no more that they can doe. But they may forbid my body Chriftian buriall ; herein they do not do but suffer, for the living will be more troubled then the dead, if thy corps be not committed to earth ; fo that this in effedl is juft no thing. Then let Drums beat, and Trumpets found, and Banners be displaid ; let fwords clafli, and pikes pufli, and bullets flye, and Cannons roare ; warre, doe thyworfl; Death, doe thy worft; Devill, doe thy worft ; their fouls fhal be happy that fleep in the Lord, for they reft from their labours. However, if it be poffible, and if fo great mercy be ftored up in God for us, we would rather have peace in this world ; and on the promoters thereof let the bleffing in the light and reft, Bleffed are the Peacemakers. 1642. J Matthew v. 9. 261 37. And now as I began with the mention of the Faft, fo to conclude with the fame: let us keep this day of humiliation holy to the Lord, Some perchance may make this but a mock-faft, and faft for fome private and finefter ends ; but every one that will may make it a true faft to himfelf, therin to be grieved for the mifery of Gods Saints. God complaines, Amos the ^fixt, of the gluttonie of the Ifraelltes ; wherein wee finde the compleat Charadler of an Epicure, making wantons of his five Sences : entertaining their eyes with bedfteads af Ivory, verfe 4, curious to behold for the milk-whiteneffe thereof; pleafing their feeling, they ftretch themfelves on Couches ; courting their eares, they chant to the Violl, verfe 5 ; contenting their tafte, and making that fence a Pander both to gluttony and drunkenneffe, they eate the fat of Lambes, and drinke Wine in boules, verfes 4 and 6 ; delighting their fmell, and annoynt themfelves with the chiefe oyntments ; and then concludes all with this fharpe clofe, but they are not grieved for the affliSlion af Jofeph, Wherein the Prophet alludes to the ftory of Jofeph, Genef. 37, 24, who was put into a pit without water (except fuch as flowed from his eyes) where he muft either dye for want of meat, or dye for being meat to wilde Beafts; and yet in the meane time his Brethren, though they faw the anguifh of his soul, Genef. 42. 21, (made vifible and tranfparent through the windowes of his weeping eyes, bended knees, begging tongue, folded hands,) did moft bar baroufly fit down to eate. I dare boldly fay, they faid no grace with a good heart, either before meate or after, 38. Juft fuch Is the cruelty of many of us (who profeffe Chriftianity) to our Brethren in the Countrey, becaufe as yet the City of London is as the Land of Goften, being light when all the reft is darkned with miferies : they lay not to heart the afflidtions oijofeph,-s^\nch our Countrey-men do fuffer. Where is the man that founds a retreat to his foul when he feeles it marching too faft in ^myrth, who abates a difh of his Table out of principles of Confclence, though perchance many doe out of reafons of thrift, and I am afraid all fhortly mufl doe out of neceffitle ? Well, if we be not the more penitent, it 'fixth. 'mirth. A — ¦ 262 Fafi Sermon on Innocents Day. may come to paffe that that fad dance which hath beene led all over the Kingdome will come to us to this City at laft, and God grant we pay not the ^Mufique for all the reft. 2g. Remember Vriah who kept a Campe in the Court, and would not enjoy thofe pleafures the marriage-bed reached unto him. Thinke of Mephibofteth, lame but loyall, who went not out with David in his perfon, but attended him with his affedlions, and during the Kings abfence, drefied not his feet (enough to gangrene them), as not caring for his owne feet, whileft his ^Soveraignes head was in danger. Serioufly con fider Nehemiah, who fympathized with the calamities of Jerufalem, which fadded his countenance even in the prefence of the King. Two things onely can make a Courtier fad: fickneffe (which cannot be diffembled), and his Princes dif pleafure. Nehemiah had neither of thefe ; he was in perfedl health ; and he ftood reSlus in curia, right in his ^Soveraignes efteeme, as appeares, Nehemiah 2. 2, by the Kings favourable and familiar queftioning him. Why is thy countenance fad, feeing thou art not ficke? So then, it was nothing elfe but the im preffion of the fuffering of Gods Saints, which clouded the brightneffe of his countenance with fadneffe. And God grant we having the fame caufe, we may have the fame compaffion with him. Amen. ' Mufick. ' Sovereigns. FINIS. ISERMONi I PREACHED I ^ AT •§• St HE COLLEGIA T$ •$• ^ -^ J Church of S. Peter in Weftminjler^ J 1; on the 2 7. of March, being the day * *, O F I HIS MAJESTIES ^ I INAUGURATION. | J By Thomas Fuller^ B. D. | i* . • *^ •4i- ' -^ •4!. LONDON, <;:. T Printed for ^0/^;^ Williams, at the figne ofthe Crowne ^ ^ in Saint Pauls Church-yard, 1643, •§• •0- [" The Synode taking into confideratlon the moft ineftlmable benefits which this Church enjoyeth under the peaceable and bleffed government of our dread Sovereign Lord King Charles j And finding that afwell the godly Chriftian Emperours, in the former times, as our own moft religious Princes fince the Reformation, have caufed the dayes of their Inaugurations to be publikely celebrated by all their Subjefts, with Prayers and Thanksgiving to Almighty God ; and that there is a particular form of Prayer appointed by Authority for that day and purpofe ; And yet with all confidering how negligent fome people are in the obfervance of this day, in many places of this Kingdom ; Doth therefore decree and ordain, that all manner of perfons within the Church of England, Ihall from henceforth celebrate and keep the morning of the faid day in coming diligently and reverently unto their Parifli Church or Chappell at the time of Prayer, and there continuing all the while that the prayers, preaching, or other fervice of the day endureth ; in teftimony of their humble gratitude to God for fo great a blefling, and dutifull affeftions to fo benign and merciful a Sovereign. And for the better execution of this our Ordinance, the holy Synode doth ftraitly require and charge, and by Authority hereof enableth all Archbifhops, Bifliops, Deanes, Deanes and Chapters, Archdeacons, and other Ecclefiaftical perfons, having exempt or peculiar jurisdiftion ; as alfo all Chancellors, Commiffaries, and Officials in the Church of England, that they enquire into the keeping of the fame in their Vifitations, and punifh fuch as they find to be delinquent, according as by Law they are to cenfure, and punifli thofe who wilfully abfent themfelves from Church on Holydayes. And that the faid day may be the better obferved, We do enjoyn that all Church-wardens fliall provide at the Parifli charge, two of thofe books at leaft, appointed for that day, and if there be any want of the faid book in any Parifli, they fliall prefent the fame at all Vifitations refpeftively." . § ii. of Conftitutions and Canons Ecclefiafticall Treated upon by the Arch bifhops of Canterbury and Tor\, Prefidents of the Convocations for the refpeRive Provinces ef Canterbury and Yor\, and the reft ofthe Bifhops and Clergie ofthoje Provinces ; And agreed upon with the Kings Majefties Licence in their feverall Synods begun at London and Yorl(. 1 640. In the yeer of the Reign of our Soveraign Lord Charles, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, the Sixteenth. And now Publipedfor the due obfervance of them, by His Majefties Authority under the Great Seal of England. London: Printed by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings Moft Excellent Majeftie: And by the Aftignes of John Bill. 1640. 4to.] ^^' ^^4 » ^^ ^^fi p) ^ H 8 m s 1 [Introduftion, THE following remarkable Sermon, preached on the Anniverfary of the Coronation of Charles I., definitely marks a point in the decline of the Royal intereft in the metropolis, and as fuch is of importance to the hiftorian. From it alfo may be derived an illuftration of the moral heroifm of the preacher, who was at the time one of the very few Royalift clergymen left in London. The occafion caufed many of them to declare themfelves to be "Cavalier parfons." At Cambridge, as Vice-chancellor of the Univerfity, Brounrig, bifliop of Exeter, was on the fame day preaching the Inauguration-Sermon of the King, " wherein many paffages were diftafted by the Parliament party " : he was in confequence baniflied the Univerfity and deprived of his office there (Fuller's Hiftory of the Univ. Camb. § 9, H 39). The ejeftions ofthe London clergy had, indeed, for fome time been aftively profecuted ; but a "great and general purgation" took place during two or three months preceding the date of Fuller's Sermon. The fequeftered livings were occupied without lofs of time by Parliamentary adherents, who were chiefly taken, the Church-Hiftorian avers, from the ranks of young ftudents from the Univerfities, " whofe orders got the fpeed of their degrees ; " it being deemed neceffary that all pulpits "muft be made, like the whole earth before the building of Babel, of one language and of one fpeech" (Book xi. § ix. H^ 32, 34). Under fuch circumftances the delivery of a Royalift fermon, upon a date which did not fall upon a faft day, was fomewhat anachronous. The Editor was once in doubt of the real date ofthe difcourfe ; becaufe when the 1654 edition of fome of thefe Sermons was reiffued. Fuller or his publiflier placed it before that delivered upon Innocents-day, and the anonymous biographer (page 16) gave to it the date of 1642, in which year Coronation-day, falling on a Sunday, was pretty generally obferved in the city. But internal evidence makes it clear that the difcourfe belongs to the nineteenth anni verfary of'the King's acceffion, Monday, 27th March, 1643. As to the origin of thefe fervices, fee Lathbury's //z/?flr)i of the Boo\of Common Prayer, 1858, pages iz'} feq. and 158. The annual obfervances formed a fubjeft of inquiry in the Vifitation Articles of fome of the diocefes. The obfer vance of the day, which had in fome places fallen into negleft even before the civil troubles began, had been difcuffed at the firft Convocation of the year 1640 ; and the fecond of the Canons of that affembly had en joined the better keeping of the day (see page cclxiv. antea) ; but the injunftion fared none the better on account of the illegal Canons which accompanied it. The events of the year 1642 had, however, produced in Cclxvi INTRODUCTION. London a change of feeling in regard to the cuftomary fervice. The Prayer-book was not yet abolifhed by ftatute, although, as Fuller ftates, it had been taken away out of moft places (IT 8) ; and the attacks upon it were unchecked. The King was regarded with a growing disfavour ; and already the unfavourable omens attending the firft Coronation-day of the " White King " were being recalled by the superftitions. Peace- negotiations, it is true, were ftill under difcuffion {V 27) ; but the breach between the King and his people had grown too wide to be healed. One of the Chaplains avowed that there " was as much difference between the treaty and peace as between heaven and hell ! " {Athen. Oxon. iii. 279.) In the Journals of the Parliament, fome light is thrown upon the obfer vance of this critical Coronation-day. From that fource the firft intimation of the negleft ofthe cuftomary celebration may be obtained. The matter gave rife to two divifions in the Lower Houfe, for the fecond of which, to judge from the large numbers of votes, there was a " whip." In the Lords' Houfe on Friday, 24th March, 1642-3, it was ordered, "That the King's Mafter-gunner fhall have Powder allowed him to charge the Ordnance at the Tower, to fhoot off at the Coronation-day, according to the ufual Manner" {Journals, v. 66'jb). On the felf-fame day, in the Commons' Houfe, an explicit order to the contrary was given : " That the Lieutenant of the Tower be required and enjoined not to fire the Ordnance in the Tower nor the Chambers upon Tower Hill, London, on Monday next ; in regard of the great Expence it will caufe of Powder, and the great Con courfe of People : And the Committee for the Tower is to take care that this Order be obferved." 'It is noticeable that thofe who fupported this meafure were extreme politicians of the " pious and movement party," viz.. Sir Robert Harley, Sir Neville Poole, Sir Walter Earle, Mr. Strode, &c. A motion the next day for the reconfideration of the order was moved by members of the moderate party, amongft whom were Mr. Holles, Sir Peter Wentworth, and Sir John Evelyn of Surrey ; and the order was in confequence revoked by 75 votes againft 57. It was then refolved that a proportion of powder not exceeding twenty barrels fhould be taken from the ftores in the Tower for the purpofe required {Journals, iii. i6b, i%a). It is noticeable that Good Friday, which fell five days later (31ft March), was not kept as heretofore, for both Houfes of Parliament fat ; and that the preceding Chriftmas of 1642, falling upon a Sunday, had prepared the way for neglefting the next public obfervance ofthe hallowed feftival. In that year 1643 Chriftmas-day fell upon Monday; and the day was difregarded chiefly through the influence of the Scotch Commiffioners. In the following year Chriftmas-day was ordered to be kept as a faft : — " Gone are the golden days of yore, When Chriftmas was an high day, Whofe fports we now fhall fee no more : 'Tis turned into Good Friday." By this time all were more eager to keep up the anniverfary of their entering into the Solemn League and Covenant as " England's Corona tion-day" (See Heyricke's Harmonious Confent of the Minifters . ... of Lnncajhire, 1648, 4to., page 19). INTRODUCTION, CclxvII In admirable adaptation to the fentiments of this Coronation Sermon was the Abbey in which it was preached. Although the difcourfe has not come under the notice of the pifturesque pen of the prefent diftinguifhed Dean {Memorials of Weftminfter Abbey, 3rd ed.,page 502 ; but fee page 687), it is unqueftionably one of the great Sermons connefted with a critical period in the hiftory of the venerable pile. After this occafion no other difcourfe as full of loyalty to the throne was preached until the cuftom was revived when, eighteen years afterwards. Divine Providence (to Ufe Fuller's words) affigned to England another King {Church-Hiftory, Book xi. § I, ^ 31). Upon the Anniverfary of 1644, the war was raging more keenly, and Fuller was amidft it ; the day, moreover, was the monthly Wednefday faft ; and if in the difcourfes in the Parliament's quarters on that occafion the Coronation-day was named at all, it was as a fuperftltious obfervance of the paft. On the delivery of the prefent Inauguration Sermon, to a congregation largely compofed of moderate Royalifts, the hiftorie glories of the Abbey were unbroken and-unobfcured. The foundation ftill had its Chapter. The Dean had, indeed, in the middle of the former year, abandoned his Deanery for his Archbiftiopric, where the King was then quartered. But the fub-Dean, Dr. Newell, ftill held a nominal fway ; and in his hands the feleftion of the Preachers would lie. As a confequence of the con fufion in ecclefiaftical affairs, no record of Fuller's Sermon appears to have been preferved. There is a blank in the Chapter-book from 1642 to 1660. In the Muniment-room at Weftminfter Abbey, however, are feveral documents relating to the payment of preachers during the civil war ; but Fuller's name is not met with. One fuch lift begins in February, 1643-4, and extends up to ift December, 1645. On 27th March, 1644, the following entry occurs : — "ffaftdaie \ !;°'-«"°°'^«Dr. OMITH Afternoone ) ^ „ T-. c \ fo\. 00. 00." Dr. Smith I -^ This paper fhows that minifters preached fermons as follows : Dr. Smith preached 179 fermons; Mr. Bell, 21 ; Mr. Jackson, 25; Mr. Thache, I 3 ; Mr. Goodwin, I ; Mr. Tinsley, I ; Mr. Lathum, I ; Mr. Dacie, 3 ; Dr. Tate, 2 ; Mr. Nye, 15. After the delivery of Fuller's Sermon, changes in the Abbey rapidly took place. It was in the fucceeding month that the Committee was appointed, with the well-known iconoclaft Sir Robert Harley for its chairman, for the purpofe of demolifhing any " monuments of fuperftltlon or idolatry in the Abbey Church at Weftminfter or the windows thereof" {Commons Journals, 24th April, iii. 57^ ; alfo 63^). On the 29th April Mr. White, "one of the finging men of the Abbey," and therefore, it may be affumed, one of Fuller's moft enthuflaftic hearers, was fent a prifoner to Winchefter Houfe, for " feveral contempts committed by him " againft the Houfe of Commons, "in reading of Declarations, and fixing up of Proclamations" {Ibid. iii. 64*2). It was in the fucceeding Auguft that the Houfe of Commons made an order that the fub-Dean and Prebends were to give up the ufe of their pulpit every Sunday afternoon for fuch minifters as were appointed by the Houfe {Ibid. 21ft Auguft, iii. 213^). Cclxviii INTRODUCTION. Fuller had often entered the Abbey, "an acre fown with royal feed," and thoughtfully gazed on the evidences of piety and mortality (see Worthies of England, § HartfiDrdfhire, page 20) ; and when fhut up in beleaguered ftrongholds in the Weft, would direft his thoughts to the national Sanftuary as naturally as the Ifraelite in a ftrange land turned to Zion. In one of his meditations he utters a prayer with reference to Henry VII.'s chapel : "God grant I may once again see it with the Saint who belongs, our Soveraign, there in a wel-conditioned Peace ! " {Good Thoughts in Bad Times, § Mixt Contemplations, No. vi. page 205, ed. 1645.) In H 16 of the Sermon there is a reference to the battle of Edge-hill. As to the prefence of Charles I. in that engagement. Fuller is perhaps refer ring to a fentence in the King's Declaration to his Subjefts, in which he attributed the proteftion of himfelf and children to the mercy and goodnefs of Almighty God. The following details are given by the hif torian ECHARD : — " The King Himfelf was in no fmall Danger, together with the two young Princes, who were on Horfe-Back on each fide of him. His Majefty feeing his Troops give way, mov'd to fuftain them, and the two Princes with him, when he was advif'd to leave the Field, and no longer expofe his Perfon. He thought the Advice good as far as it refpefted his Children, but look'd upon it as Unprincely to forfake them who had forfaken all to ferve him. He propofed it therefore to the Duke of Richmond x.ocon&.\s8i.x^txa. up the Hill, but that loyal Lord excus'd himfelf, begging leave not to abandon his Majefty ; who next apply'd Himfelf to the Earl of Dorfet for the fame purpofe, but was anfwer'd in his accuftom'd jocofe Manner, That all the Kings in the World Jhou'd not 7na\e him retire when he was to fight. At laft the two Princes retired by the Affiftance of one ofthe Gentlemen Penfioners,, not without eminent Danger of being taken in an Ambufh by the Way. In the mean while the King led on his Party with Sword in Hand, and his Prefence giving his Troops frefh Vigour, the Royal Standard was retaken by the valiant Captain John Smith, who for that great Aftion was made a Knight Banneret in the Field, and honour'd with bearing that Standard he had fo bravely recover'd." {Hiftory of England, vol. ii. page 352.) This difcourfe deals in part with the fubjeft of the foregoing Sermon, viz. Peace. An accommodation, as is feen by the numerous petitions pre fented early in the year, was regarded with general favour : " in truth," fays Sanderson {Hiftory of King Charles, 1658, page 609), "honeft men were weary of war." In the interval between the delivery ofthe two fermons, the bafis of a peace-negotiation had been difcuffed, and the preliminary arrangements were at length drawing to a succefsful end. On the very day, indeed, when Fuller was expatiating on what he expreffively calls " the fubftance of earthly bleffings, the fhadow of heavenly happinefs " (IT 12), a treaty was beginning. This treaty was one of the moft earneft and important that had yet been entered upon. The Commiffioners who had gone to treat with the King were Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, William Pierrepoint, Esq. (who was afterwards one of Fuller's patrons). Sir William Armyn, Sir John Holland, and Bulstrode Whitelock, Efq. 'To the Reader, sERMONS have their Doomes, partly according to the capacities, partly according to the aiFe(5lIons of the Hearers. Some faid af our Saviour, He is a good man. Others, Nay, but he deceiveth the People. The bitter Health which my Mafter began, is now come to mee (the loweft at his Table) to pledge. I am therefore enforced to print my poore paines, not to get applaufe, but to afl*ert my Innocency ; and yet indeed he gaineth that can fave in tHs Age, Reade with Judgement ; cenfure with Charitie, As for thofe who have unmercifully pre-fentenced me, my Revenge is In defiring that they may be forgiven. I count their words fpoken In paffion, and (according to a Dodtrine in this Sermon [^ ii] delivered) fuch Speeches muft be favourably Interpreted. Meane time, let me fay with Samuel, God forbid that I ftauld fin againft the Lord in ceafing to pray (fuch an omiffion of Pietie were a commiffion of Profane neffe) for the bleffed and happy agreement of the King and Parliament, and defire thee to joyne with mee, whofoever fhall reade this weake worke of Thine in Chrift Jefus, Thomas Fuller. cclxx INTRODUCTION (from page cclxviii.) They all feem to have been actuated by a real defire to bring about an honourable fettlement. On the bafis of^ the propofitions which had been exchanged the treaty itfelf began. It lafted " twenty Days, according to Agreement, from the 27th of March to the 15 th of April. And yet in all this Time, though there were many Conferences and Debates, only the firft Propofition on both Sides was fully canvaffed and difcuffed " (Echard, Hiftory of England, ii. 398). A fummary of all the proceedings, with obfcrvations upon the carriage of the Commiffioners, will be found in Whitelock (pages 68 feq.), who regrets that their labours and hazards were of no effeft : " All good Englifhmen, lovers of the peace of their country, were troubled and difappointed." Various opinions were ex preffed as to the caufe of the failure of thefe negotiations. Whitelock afcribes it to the King being fo unhappy as to have a better opinion of others' judgments than his own, though tliey were weaker than his own; "and of this we had experience to our great trouble." May more juftly afcribes it to a mutual difinclination to make conceffions : " In vaine was this Treaty : fo high the demands were judged to be on both fides that there feemed no poffibility of ever meeting. Where the fault lay I judge not ; but the Parliament after many Meffages between London and Oxford, at laft fent for their Commiffioners home again, who returned to London upon the 17 of April ; upon which the Lord Generali advanced with his Army (as aforefaid) to befiege Reading' {Hiftory of the Parliament, lib. iii. cap. ii. p. 37). EcHARD (ii. 400-1) refers to large promifes that were pri vately made to the King if he would but at prefent comply with " the unhappy circumftances ; " but he adds that if the nature of the propofitions fubmitted to the King, as degrading as any fent before, were confidered, — " their fequeftering of the Bishops Lands, their rifling of Somerfet-Houfe, which belonged to the Queen, and other Afts both of Power and Refent ment, during the very Time of this Treaty" — it could hardly be thought that any compliances on the King's side could have produced a peace. The Inauguration Sermon, which has never been reprinted fince Fuller's day, is here taken from a 410. copy in the Editor's poffeffion (pp. iv. -|- 26), the title-page of which has been copied at page 263. There was alfo another 4to. edition (pp. and title-page as before) with frefh fetting up and different fignatures. Copies of this edition may be diftinguifhed by the preacher's name on the title-page being placed between two lines. In 1654 a i2mo. edition (pp. iv. -f- 30) appeared : "London, Printed by Will. Bently for John Williams at the Crown in S. Pauls Church-yard. Anno Dom. 1654." On the title-page was the oval device of the Sun in an efcutcheon encircled by the legend " Deus ¦ eft • nobis • fol • et • scutum," which is often found on the title-pages of Williams's books. There are many variations in fpelling, &c., between this and the former copies. Some of the principal differences in this i2mo. edition are placed in the foot-notes.] A SERMON Preached at the Collegiat Church of S. Peter in Westminster, on the 27. oi March, being the day of His Majesties Inauguration, 2 Sam. 19. 30. Yea, let him take All, forasmuch as my Lord the King /j came againe in peace unto his owne Houfe. \Y Is as naturall for malicious men to backbite as for dogs to bite, or ferpents to fting. See this in Ziba, who raifed a falfe report on his Mafter Mephibofteth, and accufed him to David (when he departed from Jerufalem) of no leffe then high Treafon, as if in Davids abfence he affeded the Kingdom for himfelf Well was Ziba ftudied In the Art of flandering, to charge home, and draw his arrow to the head ; for in hainous accufations, when the wound is cured, the very fcarre will kill ; and though the Innocence of the party accufed may chance to cleare the main debt, yet the arrerages ofthe fufpition will be enough to undoe him. But I wonder not at Ziba's accufing Mephibofteth ; I wonder at Davids beleeving Ziba, at the firft information, of a fingle witnes, and him a fervant againft his mafter, without further proofe, as hearing both parties. To proceed to cenfure and fine Mephibofheth with the loffe of his lands was a piece of unjuft juftice wherein David cannot be excufed, much leffe defended. All that can be faid for him is this. That not David, but Davids diftradlions paffed this fentence, fo that, being in feare and fright and flight, it can fcarce be accounted his deliberate A<51: oncthe 272 Sermon on His Majefties {March 27, faid in his hafte All men are lyars, and now being on the fpurre in his fpeed he beleeves Mephibofteth was a Traytor. 2. But It pleafed Gods providence that In this Chapter the tide was turned, and David returned to Jerufalem, where Mephibofteth meeting him was admitted to fpeake In his owne behalfe, and makes a plaine and pithy narration of the matter. Innocence hath fo clear a complexion that flie needs no painting ; and a good caufe confifting in matter of fadt, when it Is plainly told, is fufficiently pleaded. He fliewes how that violenta detentio withheld him from attending on David, being no lack of his loyalty, but the lameneffe of his legs, which might and fliould have been helpt, had not Ziba hindred it on purpofe in refufing to faddle his Affe : And thus having wrong'd his mafter at home, he then traduced him abroad, transferring his own guile to make it become the others guiltineffe. Soon did David perceive his errour, and to make amends did order. That the lands fliould be held in Copart- nerfhip betwixt them ; Mephibofteth have one moiety, and Ziba the other : Why fpeaketh thou any mare af thy matters ? I have faid it, Thau and Ziba divide the lands. 3. This did not fatisfie Mephibofteth, not becaufe it was too little, but becaufe It was too much : Hee now needs nothing, feeing his ^Soveraign is returned in fafety : and therefore , defires that Ziba may have All, according to Davids former appointment. Yea, let him take All, This he did partly per - chance to affert the Honour of David. It fliould never be faid that David faid any thing, and it was not done ; what grants he made, Mephibofteth would make good, though with the loffe of his lands. It beares no proportion to the great neffe of Princes, nor ftands with the ftatelineffe of States, to fay and unfay, doe and undoe, order and diforder againe ; whofe firft refolutions are prefumed to bee grounded on fo good reafon, they fliall need no revocation. But chiefly he did it to fhew the Hyperbole of his happineffe and Tranfcen- dency of his joy, conceived at Davids fafe return ; joy which fweld up him In full meafure, preffed downe, ftaken together, and running over. Yet, left the leaft drop of fo precious a ' Sovereign throughout. i643-J Inauguration. 2 Sam. xix. 30. 273 liquor as this was (being the fpirits of loyalty diftill'd) fliould be fpilt on the ground, let us gather It up with our beft attention, and powre it In our hearts to pradtife it as it flowes from the Text, Yea, let him take All, ^c. 4. The words contain a large Grant, and a juft confideratlon moving thereunto. The large Grant, let him take All : wherein obferve the Granter, Mephibofteth : The Grantee, Ziba : and the thing Granted, All {i.e. houfe, and lands, and rents, and profits, and emoluments, and obventions, and hereditaments, with the appendants and the appurtenances thereunto belonging). What the warineffe of moderne men devifeth in many words, and all twifted together (few enough to hold in this litigious age, wherein a fpan of land cannot be conveyed in leffe Hhen a fpan of parchment), fee all thefe words fumm'd up in this one word All in my Text : let him take All. Secondly, Here is the confideration of the Granter, which confifteth not in any mony paid, or fervice perform'd by the Grantee ; but onely in refpedb of a generali good which God hath beftowed on David, and In him on all Ifrael : Forafmuch as my Lord the King is come in Peace to his owne Houfe. 5. In profecuting which parts I could defire that my dif courfe might have been open and champion to proceed in an even and continued ftyle ; but my Text is incumbred with fo many difficulties that my Sermon muft rife and fall into hills and dales of Objedtions and Anfwers, which Anfwers, as fo many fruitfull vallies, fhall afford us plentlfull ftore of profit able obfcrvations. 6. ObjeSlion : The firft hill which we are to climbe is an objedbion, if not within the walls, yet furely in the fuburbs of my Text. Why ? (may fome fay;) me thinks David doth Mephibofteth juftice but by ^halfes ; For when his Innocence fo plainly appeared,, the flanderer fliould have been foundly puniflied : Thou and Ziba divide the land : He fliould rather ' than throughout tbe Sermon generally. ? half. S 274 Sermon on His Majefties {March 27, have divided Ziba's head from his shoulders ; or of all the land leave him only one Tree, wherein hee fliould be juftly executed as a land-mark to ^forwarne all deceitfull fervants how they tread on fo unwarrantable wayes. What hope was there he would hereafter prove faithfull to his Prince that was falfe to his Mafter .? Yea, this was contrary to the funda- mentall lawes of Davids family : Pfal. loi. 5, Who fa privily ftandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: Whereas Ziba here was fo far from being cut off that he was both freely forgiven and fairly rewarded for the malicious differvice he had done his mafter. 7. Refponfe : I anfwer, wee muft confider that Ziba was a confiderable man in his tribe of Benjamin, and probably might make a great impreffion on the people : Befides, great was his experience, being an old Courtier of Sauls, greater the ^allyance to him, and dependance on him, having fifteen fonnes and twenty fervants (all now officioufly attending on King David at his return, as It Is in the feventeenth verfe of this chapter). Greateft of all was his will and skill to doe mifchief; and therefore no wonder if David was unwilling to offend him. Secondly, confider David was at this time in the Non-age (not to fay Infancy) of his new-recovered Kingdome. Wary Phyfitians will not give ftrong purges to little children ; and David thought It no wifdome at this time, on thefe termes, as matters ftood with him, to be fevere in his proceedings ; but rather by all indeerments to ^tye and oblige the affedtions of his people the fafter unto him. We may fee this in the matter of Shimei, which immediately concerned David him felfe : Yea, when by Abiftai he was urged and preft to punifli him. Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, becaufe he hath curfed the Lords annainted ? Yet Davids policle was fo farre above his revenge that he not onely flatly rejedted the motion, but alfo fliarply reproved the mover : What have I to doe with you, yee fonnes of Zevviah, that yee ftould this day be adverfaries unto me ? Shall there any man be put to death this day in Ifrael ? far doe I not know that I am this day King over Ifrael ? He would not have the conduits run bloud on the day of his new ' forewarne. " alliance. ' tie. 1643.] Inauguration. 2 Sam. xix. 30. 275 Coronation, nor would he have the firft page in the fecond Edition of his Soveraignty written in red letters, but rather fought (^by all abls of grace') to gaine the good will of his Subjedts. Hence wee obferve, 8. Magiftrates fometimes are faine to permit what they cannot conveniently punifli for the prefent. Thus fometimes Chlrurgions leave their ulcers unlaunch't, either becaufe they are not ripe, or becaufe perchance they have not all their neceffary Inftruments about them. And Indeed, if Statifts perceive that from the prefent removing of an inconvenience, a greater mifchief will inevetably follow, 'twere madneffe to undoe a ftate for the prefent, for feare it will be undone here after. Perchance the wifdome of our Parliament may fuffer in the cenfures of fuch who fathome myfteries of ftate by their owne fliallow capacities, for feeming to fuffer Sedtaries and Schlfmaticks to fliare and divide in Gods fervice with the Mephibofheths , the quiet and peaceable children of our Church. And indeed fuch Sedtaries take a great fliare to themfelves, having taken away all the Common Prayer out of moft places, and under pretence to abolifli fuperftltlon, have almoft banifli't decency out of Gods Church : But no doubt the Sages of our State want not will, but wait a time when with more con veniency and leffe difturbance (though flowly, furely) they will reftraine fuch turbulent fpirits with David In my Text, who was rather contented then well pleafed to paffe by Ziba for the prefent. 9. ObjeSlion : Yea, but (may fome fay) this fpeech of Mephibofheth cannot be allowed either in piety or policie : For if he fpake true, then he was a foole ; and If he fpake falfe, then he was a flatterer. If he fpake true, then he was a foole : for what wife man would at once give away all that he hath ? Charity^ may Impart her branches, but fliee muft not part with her root : The wifdome of our grand Charter hath provided. That no pffender (though for an hainous fault) fliould be fo heavily amerced, but, alwayes falvo fua fibi con- tenemento : What favour is afforded to malefadtors. Charity ' [Stubbs's SeleSl Charters, page 291.] S 2 276 Sermon on His Majefties {March 27, furely fliould give to Mt felfe, as not thereby to prejudice and impaire her owne livelihood. I commend the well bounded and well grounded bountie of Zacheus, Luke 19. 8 : Behold, Lord, halfe of my goods I give to the poore : But with Mephi bofteth to give All his goods, and that not to the poore, but to a couzening cheating fervant, was an adtion of madneffe. How would he doe hereafter to fubfift } Did he expedt here after to bee miraculoufly fed with Manna dropt into his mouth ? Or in his old age would he turne Court almef-man, and live on the bounty of others ? And grant he could fliift for himfelfe, yet what fliould Micah his fonne doe, and his future pofteritie } \i he fpake falfe, then hee was a flatterer : and faid it onely to footh David, when hee meant no fuch matter : But Court-holy-water never quenched any thirftie foule. Flatterers are the worft of tame beafts, which tickle Princes even to their utter deftrudtion. 10. Refponfe: I anfwer. He was neither foole nor flatterer, but an affedtionate Subjedt, and at the prefent in a mighty paffion of gladneffe. But firft, we muft know that it "behooved Mephibofteth to do fomething extraordinary ; and In his ex preffions to exceed the fize and ftandard of common language, were it only to unftain his credit from the fufpition of dlf- loyalty Ziba had eaft upon him. Secondly, Mephibofteth was confident and well affured that whatfoever David did for the prefent, yet hereafter, when fufficiently informed of Mephi bofheths innocence, he would make not only competent, but plendful provifion for him. But laftly and chiefly, we muft know that thefe words oi Mephibofteth vftve fpoken In a great paffion of joy ; and paffionate fpeeches muft alwayes fue In Chauncery, and plead to have the equltie of a candlde and charitable conftrudtion allowed them. Let us not therefore bee over-rigid in examining his words when we knew his meaning, that hee was affedled with an unmanageable joy at Davids fafe return : Rather hence let us learne, 1 1 . Speeches fpoken In paffion muft not be ftretcht fo farre as they may be ftraln'd, but have a favourable Interpretation ; for fuch is the very nature of paffion that it can fcarce doe its fclife in the other \to. ed. ' behoved in the other tivo editions. ^643-] Inauguration. 2 Sam. xix. 30. 277 any thing but It muft over-doe. Seeft thou then the foule of a man fliaking with feare or foaring with joy, or burning in anger, or drowning in griefe ? meet his words with a charitable acception of them, and 'defalke the extravlgancies of his expreffions : The wringing of the nofe bringeth forth bloud, faith wife Agur, Prov, 30. ^Z- And he who fliall preffe and wrack and torture fpeeches fpoken in paffion, may make a bloudy conftrudtion thereof, befides, beyond, againft the Intent of him that fpake it : But let us content our felves that we know their meaning, and not profecute (much leffe perfecute) their words too farre, as here In my Text, wee know the mind of Mephibofheth was to fliew That hee was foundly, fincerely, and from the ground of his heart glad when he faid. Yea, let him take All, forafmuch as, i^c. -^ 12. Come we now to the confideration of the Grant : Forafmuch as my Lord the King is come in peace unto his owne houfe. Behold in the words a confluence of many joyes to gether. Firft, The King : there is matter of gladneffe for all Subjedts in generali. Secondly, My Lord the King : Mephi bofheth was Davids fervant in Ordinary, or rather his extra ordinary Favorite, and this made his joy to be greater. Thirdly, Is come againe : Is come back, is returned, and there fore more welcome after long wanting : The Interpofing of the night renders the arifing of the funne more defired: Princes prefence after fome abfence more precious. Fourthly, To his owne boufe. Why ? were not all the houfes in Ifrael Davids houfes ? Are not Kings alwaies at home whilft in their King dom ? True, all the houfes in Ifrael were Davids owne, not by his private ufe, but Paramount '''Soveraignty over them ; whereas his Palace In Jerufalem was peculiarly his owne, by his particular poffeflion thereof, and proper refidence therein. Fifthly and laftly, Come in Peace: in Peace, which Is the fubftance of all earthly bleffings, and the fiiadow of heavenly happineffe. 13. ObjeSlion : Yea, but (may fome fay) Mephibofteth doth not meafure out '^Davids happineffe to the beft advantage, nor defalk. ' Sovereignty. ' Da-vid's (ter). 278 Sermon on His Majefties {March 27, doth hee give the true Emphafis to his honour ; for David returned with victory. Had hee not gotten a glorious conqueft under the condudt of Joab, In the forreft of Ephraim, over all his enemies ? Twenty thoufand flaine by the fword, more de voured with the wood, the reft routed, their Captain kill'd, and all with a loffe ^of fo little on Davids fide that none at all is mentioned : But Mephibofteth takes no notice of Davids Trophies and Triumphs, but either out of envie, or ignorance, or both, concealing his conquefts, huddles all up under the name of Peace : Forafmuch as my Lord the King is come to his owne houfe in Peace. 14. I anfwer, Mephibofteth therefore fuppreffeth vidtory, and mentioneth Peace only, becaufe vidtories are not valuable in themfelves but in order and tendencie as they conduce to the attaining of Peace. Excellently doth the Apoftle argue the diftance and dignity of men above women, from the end and intent of their creation, i Corinth. 11. 9 : Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man : fo Peace was never made for vidtory, but vidlory for Peace ; as all Meanes, even by Indentures drawne by nature, are bound Apprentices to ferve the End their Mafter. Let not there fore the maid grow fo proud as to ftrive for equipage, much leffe for priority with her Miftreffe : vidtory doth the work for Peace, and therefore Peace alone is mentioned by Mephibofteth. 1 5. Refponfe : Secondly, I anfwer. If Davids conquefts had atchieved againft the Edomites, Amonites, or Amorites, or Moabites, or Midianites, or Syrians, or Sidonians, or Egyp tians, or Philiftines, or any ^forraine foe, Mephibofteth no doubt would have made mention thereof to the purpofe : But David was thus unhappy in his very happineffe. That this vidlory was gotten over his owne Subjedls. The ribs of Jacob did grate one againft the other, and in that civill- -unclvill warre many worthy men loft their lives unworthily. Whofe lives there prodigally fpent, had they been thriftily expended in a ^forraine defigne, had been fufficient to have purchafed David another Kingdome : Say not that fuch as ' of omitted in the other i,to. ed. 'forraign. 1^43-] Inauguration. 2 Sam. xix. 30. 279 were flain were none of Davids Subjedls, but Traytors and Rebels, which did oppofe their Prince and refift their ^Sove raigne. For here we muft know that they were Davids Sub jedls. Firft, de jure, they ought to have been his Subjedls; and a joynt, though out of joynt, is a joynt ftill, though diflocated out of its proper place. Secondly, fome of them were Davids Subjedls defaSlo : Two hundred men went aut af Jerufalem to Hebron in their fimplicity, and they knew not any thing. Chap. 15. 11 ; onely their innocence was pradlifed upon by the policie of Abfalom. Thirdly and laftly, they were all prefum'd his Subjedls de futuro : when their eyes were opened and they faw their owne errours, they would either return of themfelves, or be eafily reduced to their former obedience. Wifely therefore did Mephibofteth wave the mention of vic tory, which very word would have been a fad remembrancer to call to Davids mind the loffe of his Subjedts ; and rather folds up all under the notion of Peace, as a cover (if leffe gaudy, furely more pleafing) : Forafmuch as my Lord the King is come in peace to his own houfe. 16. Pious Princes can take no delight in vidlories over their own Subjedts. For when they eaft up their Audits, they fliall find themfelves lofers in their very gaining. Nor can they properly be faid to have wonne the day, which at the beft is but a twilight, being benighted with a mixture of much forrow and fadneffe. For Kings being the Parents of their Country, muft needs grieve at the deftrudtion of their children. Who knowes the love of a Parent, but a Parent ? Maidens are Incompetent Judges of Mothers affedlions. How doth the affedtionate Father when hee beats his child firft feele the blowes ftruck through himfelfe ? I dare boldly fay, that in that unhappy Aceldama, wherein the perfon of oui" Soveraigne was prefent, A fword did pierce through his owne heart, in the fame fenfe as it is faid of the Virgin Mary, Luke 2. 35. For though (thankes be to God) divine providence did cover bis head in the day of battell, as it were mira culoufly commanding the bullets, which flew about and refpedled no perfons, not to touch his Annainted ; yet notwith ftanding his foule was fliot through with griefe to behold a ' Sovereign throughout. 28o Sermon on His Majefties {March 27, field fpread with his Subjedts corpfes, that fcarce any paflage but either through rivelets of bloud, or over bridges of bodies. And had he got as great a vidtory as David got in the forreft of Ephraim, yet furely hee would have preferred Peace farre before it. Well did Mephibofteth know Davids dyet, who to pleafe his pallate makes mention onely of Peace and fuppreffeth vidlory : Forafmuch as my Lard the King is come to his owne houfe in peace. 17. But the maine ^of Dodlrine is this : All loyall Subjedls ought to be glad when their Soveraigne is returned in peace. The fweeteft mufick of this Dodlrine is in the clofe thereof, in peace ; for nothing is more wofull than warre. ^ The Lacede monians were wont to make their fervants drunke, and then to fliew them to their children, that they then beholding their frantick fits and apifli behaviour, once feeing might ever fliun that beaftly vice. Our fins have made this Land, which formerly was our falthfull fervant, drunke with bloud :Al hope our children, feeing the miferable fruits and effe'dls~tnereof, will grow fo wife and wary by their fathers follies as for ever to take heed how they ingage themfelves in fuch a civill warre ^alne. But why doe I compare warre to drunkenneffe ? which far better may be refembled to the Devill himfelfe, feeing all thofe fymptomes that appeared in the poffeffed man, Marke 9, fliew themfelves too evidently in all places where warre comes : And wherefoever he catcheth him, he teareth him, and he fameth and gnafteth with his teeth, and pineth away. And oft-times it hath eaft him into the fire, and oft- times into the water to deftroy him. Wherefoever war feizeth on City, Caftle, Town, or Village, he teareth it, making both breaches in the houfes with batteries, and fradlions In mens hearts with divifions, till the place pine away, having all the marrow and moifture of the wealth thereof wafted and con fumed ; oft-times cafting it Into the fire, burning beaudfull buildings to aflies ; and oft-times Into the water, drowning ' main Doftrine. ' [Tliis fentence with the next is in Spencer's Store-houfe of Similes, page 67, f 279. It is entitled " Others Harms to be our Arms," and faid to be from " T. Fuller's Ser. on K. inaugural, at Weftm. 1 644 " ; and the reference is added " Juftin. Hifl:] i643-] Inauguration. 2 Sam. xix. 30. 281 fruitfull medowes with wilfull inundations. Yea, if thefe times long continue, one of thefe two mifchlefes will inevitably come to paffe : Either (which is moft probable) both fides being fo equally poy fed, will doe as the twelve Combatants in the field of ftrong men, 2 Sam. 2. 16, thruft their fwords in each other, and fo fall downe both together ; or if one party prove vidlorious, it will purchafe the conqueft at fo deare a price as the deftructlon of the Kingdom, which will be done before. And what is faid, Matth, 24. 22, of the fiege of Jerufalem, is as true of our miferable times : And except thofe dayes were fhortened, there ftould no fleft be faved : Would to God I could as truly adde the words that follow : But for the EleSls fake thofe dayes ftall be fhortened I However in my Dodlrine there remaines an eternail truth, that all loyall Subjedts ought to be glad when their Soveraign returneth In peace. I 8. Yea, may fome fay, David deferved to be welcommed indeed, and at his return to be entertained with all poffible expreffions of gladneffe ; for he brought true religion along with him, and fetied Gods Service in the puritle and precife- neffe thereof. But now adayes all crie to have Peace, to have Peace, and care not to have Truth together with it. Yea, there be many filly Mephibafteths in our dayes that fo adore Peace that to attaine it they care not what they give away to the malignant Ziba's of our Kingdome. Thefe fay. Yea, let them take All, Lawes, and Liberties, and Privlledges, and Proprieties, and Parliaments, and Religion, and the Gofpell, and godlineffe, and God himfelfe, fo bee it that the Lord our King may come to His houfe in Peace. But let us have Peace and Truth together, both or neither ; for if Peace offer to come alone, we will doe with It as Ezechiah did with the brazen Serpent, even breake it to pieces, and ftampe it to powder, as the dangerous Idoll of ignorant people. 19. I anfwer, God forbid, God forbid wee fliould have Peace, and not Truth with It ; but to fpeak plainly, I would to God men did talk leffe of Truth and love it more, have it feldomer in their mouthes, and oftner, yea, alwayes in their heads and hearts, to beleeve and ^pradlife it. Know then that the word Truth is fubjedl to much Homonymie, and Is taken in ' praftice in the' other ^to, edition. 282 Sermon on His Majefties {March 27, feverall fenfes, according to the opinions, or rather humours of thofe that ufe it. Aflie the Anabaptlft what is Truth, and hee will tell you. Truth is the maintaining that the dominion over the creatures Is founded In grace ; and that wicked men (whereby they meane all fuch whom they fliall be pleafed to account and call fo) neither ufe the creatures right, nor have any right to ufe them, but may juftly be dif poffeffed of them. It is Truth that all goods fliould bee common, that there fliould be no civill Magiftrate, that there ought to be no warres but what they make themfelves, for which they pretend infpiration ; that children ought not to be baptized till they could give a reafon of their faith, and that fuch as have been formerly, muft be rebaptized Again. Afk the Separatifts what is Truth, and they will tell you that the further/from all ceremonies (though ancient and decent) the nearer to God ; that it is againft the liberty of a Chriftian to be prefs'd to the forme of a fet prayer, who ought only to be Voluntaries, and follow the didlate of the fpirit ; that the Minifters made in our Church are Antichriftian ; with many more. Ask the Schlfmaticks of thefe times what is Truth, and they will bring in abundance of their own opinions, which I fpare at this time to recite ; the rather, becaufe when the wheele of their fancle is turned about, another fpoak may chance to be verticall ; being fo fickle in their Tenents that what they account truth now will perchance not be counted truth by them feven yeares hence. 20. To come clofe to the anfwer, I fay that fome of their pretended truths are flat falfities, and others meere fooleries : as it is eafie to prove in time and place convenient. Secondly, Grant fome of them be truths, yet are they not of that importance and concernment as to deferve to imbroyle a Kingdome in bloud to bring them in. David longed for the waters of the Well of Bethlehem, 2 Sam, 23. 17 ; but when it was brought him, hee checkt his owne vanitie, and would not drinke it, becaufe it was the bloud of men that went injeopardie of their lives. But with what heart as men, or confcience as Chriftians, can Sedtaries feek to introduce their devices with fuch violence ^unto the Church, when they know full well that 1643-] Inauguration. 2 Sam. xix. 30. 283 it will coft blood before it be fetied ? and if it ^e're be done, non erit tanti, it will not quit coft, being in themfelves flight, matters of mean confequence. Thirdly, Grant them not onely true, but important, if they be fo defirous to have them introduced, the way moft agreeable to Chriftian proceedings is to have them falrely debated, freely difputed, fully decided, firmely determined by a ftill voyce ; and not that their new Gofpell fhould be given as the Law, with thundering and lightning of ^Cannon, fire and fword. Fourthly, Bee it affirmed for a certain truth, that formerly we had in our Churches all truths neceffary to falvatlon. Of fuch as deny this, I ask Josephs queftion to his Brethren, Is your father well ? the old man, is he yet alive ? So, how fares the foules of their Sires, and the ghofts of their Grand-fathers ? are they yet alive ? do they ftill furvive in bliffe. In happineffe ? Oh no ; they are dead, dead In foule, dead In body, dead temporally, dead eternally, dead and damned, if fo be wee had not all truth neceffary to falvatlon before this time. Yea, let thefe that cry moft for the want of truth, fhew one rotten kernell in the whole Pomegranet, one falfe Article in all thirty-nine. Let them fhew where our Church is deficient In a neceffary truth. But thefe men know wherein their ftrength lyeth, and they had rather creep into houfes and leade away captive filly women laden with infirmities then to meddle with men and enter the lifts to combate with the learned Dodtors of the Church. 21. But, it is further objedled, David brought home a true Peace with him, which long lafted firm, the fhowre oi^ Abfalom' s rebellion being afterward quickly blown over. But we have caufe to fufpedl our Peace will not be a true Peace ; and an open wound is better then a palliate cure. Would you have us put off our Armour to be kill'd in our clothes ? and bee furprized with warre on a fudden, when it will be paft our policle to prevent, or power to refift it ? 22. Anfwer: There muft at laft be a mutuall confiding on both fides, fo that they muft count the honefty of others their onely hollages. This tbe fooner it be done, the eafier it is done. For who can conceive that when both fides have ' Canon. ' Ahfaloms {Ziba's in the other 4to. ed.). 284 Sermon on His Majefties {March 27, fuffered more wrongs they will fooner forgive, or when they have offered more wrongs be fooner forgiven ? For our Kings part, let us demand of his mony what Chrift ask'd of Cefars coine: Whofe image is this? Charles's. And what is the fuperfcription ? Religio Protestantium, Leges Angli/e, Libertates Parliamenti ; and hee hath caufed them to be eaft both in filver and gold, in pieces of feverall fizes and proportions ; as if thereby to fhew that he intends to make good his promife both to poore and rich, great and fmall ; and we are bound to beleeve him. Nor leffe faire are the profeffions of the Parliament on the other fide ,• and no doubt but as really they intend them. But thefe matters belong not to us to meddle with ; and as for all other politick objedlions againft Peace, they pertain not to the Pulpit to anfwer. All that wee defire to fee is the King re-married to the State ; and we doubt not but as the Bridegroome on the one fide will bee carefull to have his portion paid. His Pre rogative ; fo the Brides friends entrufted for her will be fure to fee her joynter fetied, the liberty af the SubjeSl, 23. Come wee now briefly to apply our Text to the time. And wee begin firft with the King, as this day doth diredt us ; and truly he may bee called fo emphatically, for his goodneffe. We may obferve in our Saviour, Mat. 11.7, that he fpake nothing In the praife of John Baptift whilft the Difciples of John Baptift were in his prefence, left perchance he might have incurred the fufpition of flattery, to commend the Mafter before the Servants : but the Text faith, as they departed Jefus began, &c., to fpeak largely In Johns commendation. Seeing now the fervants of our Soveraign are generally gone hence to wait on tlieir Lord, we may now boldly, without danger to make them puft up with pride, or our felves fufpedled for flattery, fpeak that in praife of their Mafter which malice it felfe cannot deny. Look above him ; to his God, how ^he Is pious ! Look beneath ; to his Subjedls, how he is pitifull ! Look about him; how hee is conftant to his wife, carefull for his children ! Look neare him ; how hee is good to his ' is he in all the inftances, in the /\.to. editions. i643-J Inauguration. 2 Sam. xix. 30. 285 fervants ! Look far from him ; how he is juft to forraigne Princes 1 We may fee in our Catalogue of Kings that we fliall fcarce find any but, befides the common infirmities attending on mankind, were branded with fome remarkable eye-fores. William, a Conqueror, but cruell. Rufus, refo lute, but facrilegious. Henry the firft, learned, but unnaturall to his Brother. Steven ftout, but an ufurper. Henry the fecond, wife, but wanton. Richard the firft, undaunted, but undutifull to his parents. Iohn, politique, but a great dif- fembler. Henry the third, of great devotion, but of fmall depth. Edward the fecond, beautifull, but debolft. Richard the fecond, well natur'd, but ill manner'd. Henry the fourth, fortunate, but having a falfe title. Henry the fifth, a vidlorious King, but formerly a riotous Prince. Henry the fixth. Saint-like, but very fimple. Edward the fourth, fortunate, but perjur'd: to proceed no further. But let malice it felf ftain our Soveraign with any notorious perfonall fault ; for to wifh him wholly without fault were in effedl to wifh him dead. Befides this, confider him as a King, and what favours hath he beftowed oh his Subjedls! and then, that his curtefies might not unravell or fret out, hath bound them with a ftrong border and a rich fringe, a Trienniall Parliament. When God brought againe the captivity of Sion, then were wee like unto them that dreame, Pfa. 1 26. i . The Jewes would not beleeve their owne happineffe, it was fo great, fo fudden. But when wee confider fo many favours conferred upon us by our King in fo few yeares : Ship-money condemned. Monopolies removed. Star-chamber it felfe cenfured, High-commlffion levelled, other Courts regulated, offenfive Canons declined, burdenfome ceremonies to tender confciences profer'd to bee abolifhed, Trienniall Parliaments fetied and the prefent indefinitely prolonged : we have caufe to fufpedl with our felves, are we awake ? Doe wee not dreame ? Do I fpeake ? Doe you heare ? Is it light ? Doe wee not deceive our felves with fond fancies? Or are not thefe Boonestoo bigge to begge ? too great to be granted ? Such as our Fathers never durft defire, nor Grand-fathers hope to receive .? O no ; it is fo ; it is fure, it is certaine we are awake; wee doe not dreame ; if any thing be afleepe it is our ingratitude. 2 86 Sermon on His Majefties {March 27, which is fo drowfie to returne deferved thankes to God and the King for thefe great favours. And fo much for the firft, the King. 24. Next to the King, comes my Lard the King; and this peculiarly concernes the Courtiers, and fuch Mephibafteths as eat bread at his Table, who under God owe their being to his bounty, and whofe ftates are not onely made, but created by Him. Thefe indeed of all other are bound moft to rejoyce at their Soveraignes returne, being obliged thereunto by a three-fold tye : Loyaltie to a Soveraigne, dutie to a Mafter, and gratitude to a Benefadtour : except (as fome fondly hold, that a letter feal'd with three feales may lawfully be opened) any conceive that a three-fold engagement may the eafieft be declined. 25. Next, we infift on His own houfe ; wherein this City is particularly pointed at. For if London be the Jerufalem oi our David, then certainly Weftminfter Is His "^Sion, where He hath His conftant habitation. Here is the principali Palace of His refidence, the proper feat of His great Councell, the ufuall receipt of His Revenues, the common Courts of Juftice, the ancient Chaire of His Enthroning, the Royall Aflies of His Anceftours, the fruitfull Nurfery of His Children. You therefore, the Inhabitants of this Citie, have moft reafon to rejoyce. .26. But alas 1 What haveldonethat I fliould not ? Or rather, what have I to do that I cannot, having invited many guefts now to a Feaft, and having no meat to fet before you } I have called Courtiers and Citizens to rejoyce, and ftill one thing is wanting, and that a maine materiall one, the founder of all the reft: the King is not returned in Peace. Thus the Sunne is flipt out of our Firmament, and the Diamond dropt out of the ring of my Text. I pretended and promifed to make an application thereof to the time ; and muft I now be like the foolifh Builder in the Gofpell, begin and cannot finifh ? Owne houfe : that is the bottom of the Text ; but this ftands empty. My Lord the King: and that is the top of the Text ; but Hee is farre off: and the words which are the fide- walls to joyne ' 7Aon. i643-J Inauguration, z Sam. xix. 30. 287 them together. He is come home in Peace, thefe, alas ! can not be eredted: In this cafe there is but one remedy to help us, and that prefcribed by our Saviour himfelfe : Job. 16. 23, Whatfoever yee afke the Father in my Name, he will give you. 27. Let us pray faithfully, pray fervently, pray conftandy, pray continually. Let Preacher and People joyne their prayers together that God would be pleafed to build up the walls and make up the ^breaches in the Application, that what cannot be told, may be foretold for a truth ; and that bur Text may be verified of Charles in Prophefie, as by David In Hiftory. Excellently Saint Auftin advifeth that men fhould not be curious to enquire how Originall fin came into them, but carefull to feek how to get It out. By the fame fimilitude (though reverfed) let us not be curious to know what made our King (who next to God I count our Originall good) to leave this City, or whether offences given or taken mov'd Him to His departure ; but let us bend our braines, and improve our beft endevours to bring him fafely and fpeedily back againe. How often herein have our pregnanf hopes mifcarried, even when they were to be delivered ! Juft as a man in a ftorme fwimming ^thorow the fea to the fliore till the oares of his faint armes begin to faile him, is now come to catch land, when an unmercifull wave beats him as far back in an inftant as he can recover In an houre : Juft fo when our hopes of a happie peace have been ready to arrive, fome envious unexpedled obftacle hath ftarted up, and hath fet our hopes ten degrees backwards, as the ftadow of the Sun-diall of Ahaz, But let us not hereat be diflieartened, but with blind Bartimeus the more we are commanded by unhappy accidents to hold our peace, let us cry the louder in our prayers. The rather, becaufe our King is already partly come, come in his offer to come, come in his tender to treat, come in his proffer of Peace. And this very day being the beginning of the Treaty, I may fay he fet his firft ftep forward : God guide his feet, and fpeed his pace ! ^O let us thriftily hufband the leaft mite of hopes that it may Increafe, and date our day from ' breach. '' through. ' Oh. 288 Sermon on His Majefties Inauguration. the firft peeping of the morning Star, before the Sun be rifen 1 In a word, defift from finning, perfift in praying, and then it may come to paffe that this our Ufe may once be antldated, and .this dayes Sermon fent as a Harbinger before-hand to provide a lodging in your hearts for your joy againft the time that my Lord our King fhall returne to his owne houfe in peace. finis w A I SERMON ^ OF I I Reformation. | i Preached at the Church of the & Savoy, laft Faft day, July 27, cD 1643. I By Thomas Fuller B.D. and Minifter there. LONDON, % Printed in the yeare of our a S Lord. 1643. g [".... Thus have I recited to you (Reverend Fathers, and right famous men) the particulars which I thought fit to be fpoke for the refori- tnation of Ecclefiaftical affairs. I truft you will take all (out of your gentlenefs) in good part. If peradventure it be thought that I have paffed my bounds in this Sermon, or have said anything out of temper, forgive it me ; and ye Ihall forgive a man fpeaking out of meer zeal, a mari heartily lamenting the decay of the Church : and confider the thing it felf, not regarding any foolifhnefs. Confider the miferable condition an4 ftate of the Church, and endeavour your felves with all your fouls and abilities to reform it." — Pp. 27-28 of A Sermon of Conforming and Reform ing : made to the Convocation at S. Pauls Church in London, By John Colet, D.D., Dean of the faid Church : upon Rom. xii. 2. ' Be ye reformedi l£c: Writ an hundred and fiftie years fence. Cambridge, 1661, 8vo.] [Introduflion. THIS important Sermon, which gave rife to a controverfy that attrafted confiderable notice, was preached on the ufual monthly Parliamentary Faft-day {antea, page ccxxxiii.), Wednefday, 26th July, '643 ; but by a fingular error, which is detefted by a reference to one of the "late reformed almanacks" of the time, and to the title-page of Saltmarlh's Examinations (page cccxv. poftea), the date on the title-pages of the two editions of the difcourfe has been put one day too far in advance (fee pages cclxxxix. and ccxcvi.). It was one of feveral sermons on the fame fubjeft ; and the preacher was at the time labouring under the imputation of being "one extremely difaffefted to the Parliament" (Herle's Ahabs Fall, 4to., 1644, Dedication to Fuller). It was preached at the Savoy Chapel in the Strand, now the only relic of "Old John of Gaunt's" Palace. For upward of a century after the time of that Duke of Lancaster, the Savoy lay in ruins ; but Henry VII. rebuilt and endowed it as a collegiate foundation for the relief of one hundred poor people ; and the hofpital-chapel was confecrated about 1 5 16. When the Proteftor Somerset demolilhed the parifh-church of St. Mary-le-Strand, the parifhioners began to worfhip at the Savoy Chapel. The old Foundation was revived by Queen Mary, but it fubfequently became "a nurfery of rogues and mafte^lefs men," — a notoriety which it kept up till its diffolution in the year 1702. As regards the Chapel, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth a new parifh was formed out of St. Clement Danes parifh and the royal Precinft, the name of the old parilh church being perpetuated in the name commonly applied to the new one, viz. St. Mary Savoy (fee page 331), or St. Mary-le-Savoy (Newcourt's Repertorium, i. 696). But the Chapel itfelf is dedicated to St. John the Baptift, accefs to it being obtained, as is often ufual in churches whofe patron Saint is the Baptizer John, by defcending fteps. The Savoy in its double capacity of hofpital-chapel and parifh-church has been the fcene of fome noteworthy events in the ecclefiaftical annals of the fixteenth and feventeenth centuries, and feveral famous preachers have been connefted with it. (See an article on "Dr. Fuller and the Savoy," in the Rev. W. J. Loftie's In and Out of London, 8vo., London, 1 875, pages I35y^f.) The Reformation-Sermon is the firft of feveral difcourfes preached by Thomas Fuller at this chapel. His appointment to the parifh has already been noted, page ccxxxiii. antea. Newcourt {Repertorium, i. 697) mentions one Ric. Barker as Curate in 1640 ; but the names of the four Lefturers in Fuller's time have been loft fight of. It feems, however, that the parifhioners (including the inhabitants of the Precinft) interfered with the T 2 CCXCU INTRODUCTION. appointments. According to the Journals of the Houfe of Commons, 30th May, 1642, certain of the parifhioners requefted through Sir Robert Harley, the foremoft of the " deforming reformers," that a " Mr. Tho. GiBBS fhall be recommended to the Savoye to be a Lefturer there ;" " and that the Doftor there {i.e. Balcanqual, who had with fome the reputation of " a vile man," Baillie, i. 286] be required to fuffer . . . the Lefturer there accordingly" (vol. ii. 595a : the blank is in the original). The petition does not feem to have been received with the favour of the Houfe ; for on the 1 5th of the next month the following entry is met with : " The humble Petition of the Tenants of the Savoye, together with the major Part of the Parifhioners of St. Mary le Strand, was this day read ; and nothing done upon it" {Journals, ii. 625 b). Influence at that time was at work on behalf of Fuller, a more exaft date to whofe aftual appoint ment can now be obtained. Under the firft of the dates fupplied by the Commons Journals there are no particulars on the matter in Sir Simonds D'Ewes's valuable manufcript journal (Harl. MS. 163, ff. 526^, 527^^); but in the fecond cafe fome details can be added to the circumftances already known. After Mr. Oliver Cromwell had moved (Wednefday, 15th June: folio 548 i) that the Juftices of the Peace in Yorkfhire who had any of the Armes of the Papifts in their cuftodie fhould not deliver them to any perfon whatfoever, but by authoritie from his Majeftie fignified unto them by both Howfes of Parliament, and after it had been ordered accordingly, — Sir John Northcote, Baronet, Member for Afhburton, fpoke in favour of the appointment of Thomas Fuller, as one of the Lefturers of the Savoy. It is prefumed that the Baronet, from his Weft-country affociations, would be acquainted with Fuller, Sir Simonds's important note on the fubjeft is as follows : — " S' John Norcot moued that the petition of the greater part of the parifhioners of the Savoy might bee read which was done accordingly and therein it appeared that fome 14 or 15 of them had before petitioned for on Mr. Gibbs to bee a Lefturer there and that now neare vpon fix fcore of the faipe parifh had petitioned for one Mr. ffuller to bee the Minifter there which place had beene formerly fupplied by the faid Mr. Gibbs under the name of a Lefturer and fo defired that the faid order touching the faid Mr. Gibbs might bee vacated but vpon S' Robert Harleys iuftifying his delivering in the former petition vpon which the faid Mr. Gibbs was allowed the howfe would at this time meddle noe further with the bufines but proceeded to matter of more publike concernment." (Harl. MS. 163, folio 549, or 162 in pencil.) Soon after the delivery of the Sermon, Fuller, "for the prefent diftrefs," went away from London. Upon the 30th September the Houfe of Commons refolved to prefer Mr. John Bond " to the Sequeftration of the Savoy, to preach there" {Journals, iii. 259^) ; i.e. moft probably to Fuller's vacated pofition. Bond was of Dorchefter, being the fon of a member for that town, and pupil of "Patriarch" White. One of his Sermons, preached on the 27th March, 1644, is dated from his ftudy at INTRODUCTION. CCXClll the Savoy, and on the title-page he was faid to be then preacher there ; fhowing that he had promptly taken up quarters that were indeed always earneftly coveted. To Bond, therefore, Fuller refers in his letter to the Parifhioners, page ¦i,'i,z poftea; "Doftor" being there ufed for teacher, in antithefis to doftrine. On the loth April, 1644, Sir Benjamin Rudyard moved for conferring the place of Mafter of the Savoy upon Mr. Patrick Young, celebrated as the tutor of Milton ; and it was decided that both Young and Bond Ihould be confidered of in relation to that place {Commons' Journals,'\\\. \i^). After confiderable delay the latter was appointed; and he was to be efteemed Mafter " as if he were chofen and elefted by the Chaplains of the faid perpetual Hofpital of the Savoy." The tenants, however, made fo many excufes from paying the new Mafter- any rents, &c., that a refolution ofthe Parliament (2nd Nov., 1 644) was paffed to eftablifh his right to all the profits " in as full and ample a manner as Doftor Balcanqual, late Mafter thereof." Bond was confirmed in the poffeffions of Balcanqual's lodgings, as alfo in his fequeftered goods, valued at ,^97 6s. od. {Commons' Journals, iii. 684-5 et feq.; Lords' Journals, vii. 59 et feq.) The fubjeft of the Sermon, the Reformation of the Church, is charafterifed by Fuller's biographer as a "frequent and thumbed fubjeft." It had gradually been affuming importance fince the complication in Scotch politics, 1638-40. Side by fide with the " Interfeits of Arms" went on a vigorous " Exchange of Pens." In reply to the arguments of the Scotch, Bifhop Hall " afferted " his Epifcopacie by Divine Right (London, 1640, 4to.). In the firft recefs of the Long Parliament, Lord Brooke "opened" The Natvre of that Epifcopacie, which is exercifed in England (London, 1641, 4to.), a difcourfe in which "with all humility are reprefented fome confiderations tending to the much defired Peace, and long expefted Reformation, of This our Mother Church." Prynne, " late (and now againe), an Utter-Barefter of Lincolnes Inn," wrote in the fame intereft The Antipathic of the Englifh Lordly Prelacy both to Regali Monarchy, and Civil Unity (London, 1641, 4to.). On the other fide " Theophilus Churchman " (Heylyn) put forth his Hiftory of Epifcopizcy (London, 1 64 1, 4to.), and Jeremy Taylor, concerned for the fate of Laud, "afferted" Epifcopacy "againft the Aerians and Acephali New and Old" (Oxford, 1642, 4to.). The advocates for reformation had for their champions the Smectymnuans, Milton, and a hoft of pamphleteers. For the chief literature of this prolific controverfy, fee Heylyn's Cyprianus Anglicus (Life of Laud), ed. 1671, book v. page 465 ; Masson's Life of John Milton, vol. ii. pages 213 /^^., 356 feq.; and feveral paffages in vol. i. of the Letters &c. of Baillie, who with his fellow-Commiffioners interefted themfelves in fome books againft "his little Grace," as he termed Laud. It is very noteworthy that one of Milton's three anony mous pamphlets in this difcuffion had already come under Fuller's cenfure in his Holy and Profane State. Profeffor Masson has thus referred to the circumftance : "There was enough in the pamphlets themfelves to caufe an inquifitivenefs refpefting their author among both friends and foes of his principles. Proof of this as refpefts foes of his principles might CCXCIV INTRODUCTION. be produced in the form of angry allufions to the pamphlets occurring in contemporary writings. One inftance of the kind may be given. There was not a better foul breathing, and certainly not a more quiet and kindly Englifh clergyman, than Thomas Fuller, Reftor of Broad Windfor, Dorfetfhire, but now much in London and known as a preacher there. He was exaftly of Milton's own age ; he had been Milton's coeval at Cambridge, and, like Milton, he was deftined to be remembered in the world of Eliglifti letters. His greater hiftorical works which were to preferve the memory of his induftry, his moderation and candour, his lucid intelligence, and his quaint and delicious wit, were yet to come ; but he had publifhed one or two things, including his Hiftory of the Holy War. As a work to follow that, he had been engaged fince 1640, partly in his Dorfetfhire Reftory, and partly in London, on the colleftion of ftiort effays and popular biographic sketches now known as his Holy and Profane State. This work was not publifhed till 1642, when it appeared as a folio volume, with cuts, from the Cambridge prefs ; but it had been in manufcript nearly a year before it was publifhed, and therefore the allufion made in one of the sketches in it to Milton's maiden-pamphlet. Of Reformation and the caufes that hitherto have hindered it, may be con fidered as the earlieft recognition of that pamphlet by any critic of note to us now. Whatever Fuller may have thought of the pamphlet as a whole, there were paffages in it that Ihocked him. More particularly he was fhocked by thofe paffages in which Milton, in his zeal againfl bifhops, had not hefitated to fpeak irreverently even of fuch Bifhops as Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley, fathers and martyrs of Englifh Proteftant- ifm though they were. So much had this grated on the good Fuller that, in his little sketch called The Life of Bifhop Ridley, he cannot forbear bringing the pamphlet and its anonymous author (tiiough Fuller may have known who he was) fiiarply to book. ' One might have expefted,' he fays, fpeaking of the martyr-bifhops of Mary's days, ' that thefe worthy men fhould have been re-eftated in their former honour ; whereas the contrary has come to paffe. For fome who have an excellent facultie in uncharitable fynecdoches, to condemne a life for an aftion, and taking advantage of fome faults in them, do much condemn them. And one lately hath traduced them with fuch language as neither befeemed his parts (whofoever he was) that fpake it, nor their piety of whom it was fpoken. If pious Latimer, whofe bluntnefs was incapable of flattery, had his fimplicity abufed with falfe informations, he is called another DoBour Shaw to divulge in his Sermon forged accufations. Cranmer and Ridley for fome failings, ftyled the common ft ales to countenance with their proftituted gravities every politic^ fetch which was then on foot, as often as the potent Statifts pleafed to employ them' [Holy State, ed. 1652, p. 279J. Here, after a further quotation or two from the impious pamphleteer, who is referred to in a note as ' Authour of the book lately printed of Caufes Hindering Reformation in England, lib. i. pag. 10,' Fuller holds up his hands in pious forrow" {The Life of John Milton, 1871, vol. ii. pages ICQ 360). In conneftion with this interefting paffage, the reader will not fail to remark Fuller's more earneft commendation of the reformers INTRODUCTION. CCXCV in H 25 of the following Sermon (page 307 poftea), and his prayer at page 350 that the very Doftrine of martyrdom be not martyred. See alfo Worthies, chap. iii. page 9. Several fchemes of Church-reformation were put forth by moderate Churchmen whofe names carried weight. Fuller himfelf had hazarded a bafis of agreement (fee Innocents-Day Sermon, U 19, page 249); but Ana- baptism (f 23, page ¦io-j poftea), Millenarianifm l*\ 33, pages 31 1-2), and the multitude of other fefts, theadherents ofwhich were eager for their ovvn reformations, was already bringing fo much difrepute on the Proteftant religion {Truth Maintained, page ¦^^^ pofiea,) that he was drawn clofer to the "old paths." The hope to which he had given expreffion, that the delufive anticipations of the feftaries were being tolerated by the Parlia ment only for a time {Innocents-Day Sermon, IT 22, page 252 ; Inauguration- Sermon, *!\ 8, page 275), is of courfe a touch of fatrre. The fchemes of ecclefiaftical reform that were advanced by all thefe parties fuggefted the ridicule of Butler {Hudibras, part i. canto i. lines 201 feq.). Fuller as effeftively as the fatirift direfted ftrokes of humour againft the " fub-de-re-reformations" of the fubfequent years, until many of them were "worn quite out of fafhion." An hiftorie value attaches to the Sermon of Reformation from the faft that the famous Affembly of Divines had, the fame month, begun its meetings with the view of refolving what fyftem of ecclefiaftical polity Ihould replace the ftately fabric recently overthrown. At the time in queftion the metropolis had been abandoned by the King (fee % 34, page 312), the nobles, feveral members of par liament, and the bulk of the clergy. Moreover, the Sequeftrations of the remaining City benefices, in cafes where the rod of fequeftration was thought neceffary to be applied, were under aftive profecution. The delivery of the fermon — perhaps the laft Royalift difcourfe preached in London in that excited year — is not therefore without an element of the heroic ; although the preacher, it is true, feems to be playing the part of a wary theologian. He had already acknowledged the neceffity of a reformation (fee antea, page 249, ^ 18), which, however, was to retain the important element hinted at in the lines of Richard Lovelace ("To Lucafta : from Prifon," an Epode : Ed, 1 649, page 5 1 ; Hazlitt's ed. page 43):- " A Reformation I would have. As for our griefes a Sov'raigne falve ; That is, a cleanfing of each wheele Of State, that yet fome ruft doth feele." Fuller's reference to the loud noife (fl 12, page 302) imported into the difcuffion is not exaggerated. The fubjeft was debated by the Commons, who, as Fuller gives us to underftand, made the fubjeft " boil over." They received frequent petitions on the fubjeft, large numbers of them being mentioned in the Journals of their proceedings. " No day paffed," fays Fuller {Church-Hiftory, xi. 185, § viii.), "wherein fome petition was not prefented. . . . In fo much that the very porters (as they faid) were able no longer to undergoe the burden of Epifcopall tyranny, and petitioned againft CCXCVI INTRODUCTION. It. ' Baillie, as well as Fuller, was amidft thefe Reformation fcenes ; and he wrote : " The Toun of London and a world of men minds to prefent a petition, which I have feen, for the abolition of Biftiops, Deanes, and all their appurteanances. . . . Hudge things are here in working. ... All here are wearie of Bifhops.'' " Yefterday [nth Dec, 1640] a world of honeft citizens, in their beft apparell, in a very modeft way, went to the Houfe of Commons, fent in two Aldermen with their petition, fubfcryved as we hear by 1 5,000 hands, for removing Epifcopacie, the Service-Book, and other fuch fcandalls, out of the Church. It was weell received. . . . Never fuch a Parliament in England : all is to be reftified ; for all is much out of right" {Letters, &c., i. 274, 280). But thefe reforming reformers foon laid afide their beft clothes and good manners. Their conduft has fallen under the cenfure of the Parliamentary hiftorian : " Another thing which feemed to trouble fome who were not bad men was that extreame Licenfe which the Common People, almoft from the very beginning of the Parliament, tooke to themfelves of reforming, without Authority, Order or Decency, rudely difturbing Church-Service whileft the Common- Prayer was reading, tearing thofe Bookes, Surplaces, and fuch things: which the Parliament, either too much bufied in variety of affaires, or (perchance too much) fearing the lofs of a confiderable Party whom they might have need of againft a reall and potent Enemy, did not (o far reftraine as was expefted or defired by thofe men" (May's Hiftory, 1647, Book i. chap. ix. pages 11 3-4). The fupinenefs of thofe in authority is efpecially con demnatory in the cafe of the barbarous conduft of the soldiery amongft the tombs of the Saxon Kings at Winchefter Cathedral, at which conduft Fuller is juftly indignant (page ¦^e,^ poftea). Fuller's bold difcourfe, which he fays was preached at a fhort notice, was at once committed to the prefs, being by the " Crown " publiftier, John Williams, entered at Stationers' Hall on the 2nd Auguft, under the hands of Downam the Licenfer. It was publifhed on the fame day (manufcript note in the British Museum copy, E. 63. 3) in 4to., with Williams's name andDowNAM's imprimatur on the title-page (pp. ii. -)- 28), the fame imprimatur being alfo repeated at the end. It was a copy of this edition that Saltmarsh criticifed (see page 3 1 5 poftea). It is noticeable that this edition, like the fecond, gave a wrong date to the Sermon. Saltmarsh's attack as well as Fuller's reply created a demand for another edition, which was perhaps intended for circulation in Oxford, where Fuller then was. This fecond edition (pp. 24, 4to.) was without printer's name and Downam's imprimatur on the title-page, but the imprimatur was given at the end. The title-page of this latter edition is that which is given at page cclxxxix. in fac-fimile, except that the blank fpace is in the original taken up with a fmall block depifting a rofe, a thiftle, a lily, and a harp, betokening loyalty ; and a floreated defign containing the fame devices forms the ornament at the head of the fermon on page 297. This lateft edition is taken as the bafis of the text ; but fome correftions are made on the authority of the firft edition, and a few of the chief differences in the reading are indicated in the foot-notesj "^^^m, ^-^^S ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^™i ^^^j^^P ^^^^OTg ^m ^^fwi^ ^R ^W ^(Wl^l* Mr^ ^s A Sermon of Reformation. ^^ Heb. IO. Vntill the time of Reformation. HOSE who live beyond the Polar circles are called Perifcii, because they have fhadows round about them. In a more myftical meaning the Jewes before Chrift may be fo called, living in conftant Umbrages of Types and Ceremonies, which were taken away when the Sunne of Righteoufneffe did arife. Their facrificing of Lambes and Rammes, and Kids and Goats, and Calves, and Kine, and Turtle-doves, with their obferving of Meates and Drinkes, and Dayes, ^were, as the Apoftle faith, Colof. 2. 17, A ftadow of things to came, but the body is of Chrift. 2. Yea, in fome fenfe I may fafely fay, that the very SanSlum and SanSlum SanSlorum was ftill but the outward Atrium, as containing therein fuch Types as related to a higher and holier truth. To inftance only in the Holy of ^Holies : herein were feven facred Utenfils, all full fraught with Heavenly Myfteries. 3, Firft, the Golden Cenfor, fignifying our prayers mingled with Chrifts merits (woefull for us if he did not give better Incenfe then we bring) which he offers up for us to his Father. Secondly, the Arke of the Covenant overlaid round about with gold; whileft Shittim wood was in the middeft thereof, to Typifie Chrifts humanity decked and adorned with his Godhead. Thirdly, the Pot of Manna, looking backwards in memoriall of the miraculous meat of the Ifraelltes in the • whereas. » Holicft. 298 A Sermon of Reformation. {July 26, Wilderneffe; and forwards to fet forth Angels food in Heaven, which is neither to eat nor to drinke, but to doe Gods will, and to fee Gods glory. Fourthly, Aarons Rod whicb budded, and befides the Hiftory contained therein, alluded to Chrifts Refurredion, tbat Branch of Jeffe cut downe and eaft out amongft the dead : which yet afterwards Satan. ' Luther. ' latter. 312 A Sermon of Reformation. {July 26, 2. 12, Speaking evill of the things they underftand not. Con- fefling my felfe not to know the reafons of their opinions, who though citing for it much Canonicall Scripture, yet their interpretations thereof may be but Apocrypha. Nor dare we receive it, not being fafe to be familiar with ftrangers at the firft fight ; and this Tenent Is ftrange, as fet commonly afoot with thefe few laft yeares. I am afraid rather on the contrary of a generali defedlion. Seeing the word is fo flighted, and the guefts begin to play with their meat, I feare left God the Mafter of the feaft will call for the Voyder : that fo when Chrift comes to judgement, he i^n^SS. finde no faith on the earth. But of things to come, little and doubtfully. If this opinion of Chrifts corporall comming very fliortly be true, I hope if we live we fliall have our fliare therein : if otherwife, Mofes hath no caufe to complaine if dying he commeth not into the Earthly Canaan, but into the Heavenly. 34. Meane time whileft we expedl the perfonall comming of Chrift, let us pray for the peaceable comming back of him, who fometimes is called Chrift in the Scripture, the Lords Annainted, O the miferable condition of our Land at this time ! God hath fliewed the whole World that England hath enough in it felfe to make it felfe happy or unhappy, as It ufeth or abufeth it. Her homebred wares enough to maintain her, and her homebred warres enough to deftroy her, though^ no forrelgne Nation contribute to her Overthrow. Well, whileft others fight for Peace, let us pray for Peace ; for Peace on good termes, yea, on Gods termes, and in Gods time, when he ftiall be pleafed to give It, and we fitted to receive it. _ Let us wifti both King and Parliament fo well as to wifli neither of them better, but both of them beft. Even a happy Accommodation. 2,c^. Only this I will adde, that his Majefty in making Ws Medals hath tooke the right courfe to propagate his promifes and moft royall intentions to pofterity, and raife it to behold the performance thereof Seeing Princes memories have beene perpetuated by their Coines, when all other Monu ments, Arches, Obelifks, Piramids, Theaters, Trophies, and Triumphs, have yeelded to Time, and been quite forgotten. Yea, 'tis probable that the names of fome fliort reigning i643-J Hebrews ix. lo. 313 ] Emperours had been quite loft, if not found in their Im- preffes on their Monies ; Coynes having this peculiar priviledge to themfelves, that after they had beene buried many yeares in the ground, when taken up againe, they have life enough to fpeake the names of thofe Princes that caufed them and their Impreffions to be ftamped, either to their eternal fliame or lafting honour. 36. To conclude: let us all provide for that perfedl Re formation in the world to come ; when Chrift ftiall prefent the Church his Spouse to God his Father, Without fpot, com ming from mans corruption, or wrincle, caufed by times con tinuance. When we fliall have a new Heaven and a new Earth, wherein ftall dwell Righteoufneffe, With judgements reformed from error, wills reformed from wilfulneffe, affedlions reformed from miftaking their objedl, or exceeding their meafure ; all powers and parts of foule and body reformed from fin to fandlity. Let us wait all the dayes of our ap pointed time '''till our change come. Until this time of Refor mation. Amen. ' Roman Emperors. ^ unt'ill. I approve this Sermon as Orthodox and ufefuU. John Downame. FINIS cccxiv Saltmarfh's Examinations. {Aug. 1643.] [The foregoing Sermon was intemperately attacked in a fmall quarto painphlet by the Rev. John Saltmarsh, M.A., of Heflerton, Yorkfhire, a village on the road between Malton and Scarborough ; an account of whom will be found in the notes appended to this volume. The pamphlet (pp. 4+12), is here reprinted in full, with the title-page in fac-fimile, from a copy belonging to the Editor. There is alfo added the Imprimatur of the Rev. Charles Herle, the Reftor of Winwick, Lancafliire, one of the Licenfers of the Prefs ; an anonymous advertifement ; and the dedica tion to the AflTembly of Divines (all occupying page cccxvi.). There feems to have been a previous edition of thefe Examinations, which may have been called in and fuppreffed by the Author on account of objeftionable epithets in the fuperfcription of the above-named dedication. No copy of this edition is known to exifl: ; but a copy of it was ufed by Fuller when writing his reply to it, called Truth Maintained. In that traft, indeed. Fuller reprinted Saltmarsh's original dedication in full, placing it in as prominent type before his own dedication to the two Univerfities. It is from this fource that we learn that the firlt form of the fuper fcription was as follows : — " To the Moft Sacred, and Reverend Aflembly For the Reformation of the Church, now convened by the Parliament. — Moft Sacred and Reverend Divines," &c. The amended fuperfcription will be found on the next page but one. Fuller's dedication, poftea, page ¦3,21 feq., ftiould be read in conneftion with Saltmarsh's. The Afl!embly perhaps itfelf made objeftions to the epithets. Fuller relates in his Church-Hiftory that the good fuccefs of the AflTembly was prayed for by the City preachers, " and books dedicated to them, under the title of the moft Sacred Affembly, which, becaufe they did not difavow, by others they were interpreted to approve." He adds in his margin, as an inftance of the books referred to, " Mr Saltmarsh his book againft Tho. Fuller " (Book xi. page 200, § iv.). There is no manufcript date to the copy in the Britifli Museum (701. g. 4/6). Fuller himfelf, when replying to the pamphlet, reprinted in seftions the whole of it (excepting the title-page). His example has been followed in this edition ofthe Sermons, the Examinations, however, being reprinted in fmall type for the fake of a diftinftion which will readily enable the reader to perufe the entire pamphlet. Its arrangement in (eleven) "examinations" is according to Saltmarsh's divifions. In Fuller's reprint, the headings there given (viz. "Examiner" and "Treatife,") refer refpeftively to Saltmarsh and Fuller. The index-letters were inferted by Fuller in Saltmarsh's text for the purpofe of referring to his own comments. The pamphlet, both in its original and reprinted form, has been very careleflly printed ; but a tolerably accurate text has been obtained from a com parifon. Occafionally where Fuller has in his pamphlet varied any im portant fpelling or altered a word, the differences are indicated in the notes ; but thefe variations may in part be due to the other edition of the Examinations which has been referred to.] EXAMINATIONS, O R, A DISCOVERY Of fome Dangerous Pofitions delivered in A SER MON REFORMATION Preached in the Church ofthe Savoy laft faft d3.j,Iu/y 26. \yflJho. Fuller B.D. and lince printed. 2 Tim. 3.5. Having a forme of godlineffe , but denying the power thereof. By lohn Saltmarfh, Mafter of Arts, and Paftor of Heflerton in Yorkfhire. Raptim Scripta. L O ND ON, Printed for Lawrence BlaililocIi,ar\A ave to bee fold at the Sugar loafe near Temple Barre, 1643. Nihil invenio in hoc libello, cui titulus (Examinations or a Difcovery of lome dangerous Pofitions delivered in a Sermon of Reformation, preached by Tho. Fuller B.D.) quin utiliter imprimatur. Charles Herle. An Advertifement returned to the Author by a Reverend Divine^ to certijie him touch' ing the Licenfers allowance of Mr. Fullers late Sermon of Reformation. Sir, To fatisfie you concerning Mr Doivnams approbation of Mr Fullers Sermon of Reformation, I' can affure you I heard him complaine that he was wronged by him, in that he having taken exception at fome paffages of that Sermon, Mr Fuller promifed to amend them according to his corredlion, but that he did not performe what he promifed. To the Reverend Divines now convened by Au thority of Parliament, for Confultation in matters of RELIGION. HAVE but the thoughts of an afternoon to fpread before you, for I examined the fame pace that I read ; that if it were poffible, a truth might overtake an errour ere it got too farre. It is not a little encouragement that I may fit like the Propheteffe under the Palmetree, under fuch a ftpade as your felves; and what weakneffe "foever may appeare in thefe my affertions, this ayring them under your Patronage will heale them : for fo they brought >r/* the fick into the ftreets that at leaft the ftpadow e/'Peter might touch fome of them. Thus have I fuddenly fet up my Candle for others to light their Torch at ; and IJiope you will pardon me, if my zeale to the truth made mee fee anothers faults fooner than my own. four Servant in Chrift Jefus, John Saltmarsh. Truth Maintained. Or POSITIONS DELIVERED in a Sermon at the Savoy: Since Traduced For D A N G E R O V S: Now Afferted For S O V N D and SAFE. By THOMAS FVLLER, B.D. late of Sidney Colledge in Cambridge. The Particulars are Thefe. I Thatthe DoSirine ofthe Impoftibility of a ChurchesperfeSi'ion , in this n)Jorld,be'ing nuel underftood, begets not iazinefte butthemore indujiry in luife reformers. 1 1 Tbat the Church of Englandcannot juftly be taxed nu'ith fuperftltious inno'vations. Ill Hoiv farre pri'vate Chriftians, Minifters, and fubordinate Magiftrates, are to con curre to the ad'vancing o/"a Publique Reformation. IIII What parts therein are only to he aSledhy the%\x^stvaz Power. V Of theprogrejfe, and praife ofpaffi-ve obedience. VI That no extraordinary Excitations, Incitations, or Infpirations are beftomiedfrom God, on men in thefe days. VII That itis utterly unlawfull to giive any }a& offence tothepapifl, or to any men luhat- foe'ver. VIII What ad-vantage the Fathers had of us, in learning andr eligion, and -what lue ha've ofthem. IX That no neiv light, or neiu effentiall truths, are, or can be renjealed 'in this age. X That the doSirine ofthe Churches imperfeSlion, may fafely be preached, and cannot honeftly be concealed. With feverall Letters,to cleare the occafion of this Book. I will beare the wrath of the Lord, becaufe I have finned againft him, untill he plead my caufe, and execute iudgment for me ; then will he bring me forth to the light, and I Ihall lee his righteoufneffe, M!i:flA.7. 9. Printed at Oxford, Anno Dom. 1643. [" How euer heauen or fortune call my lot. There Hues or dies, true to King Richards Throne, A loyall, iuft and vpright Gentleman : Neuer did Captive with freer heart Caft off his chaines of bondage, and embrace His golden vncontroul'd enfranchifement. More then my dancing foule doth celebrate This Feaft of Battell, with mine Aduerfarie. Moft mighty Liege, and my companion Peeres, Take from my mouth the wifh of happy yeares : As gentle and as iocond as to left Go I to fight : Truth hath a quiet breft." — The Life and Death of King Richard the Second, Aft I. Sc. iii. lines 85-96.] [Introduction. THE " occafion " of this comparatively unknown traft is amply "cleared" by the budget of preliminary letters (pages 321-336), — elegant epifl:les, of which the editor has faid elfewhere that their fine fatire and manly fpirit make them more deferving of recognition as fpecimens of epiftolary correfpondence. The treatife itfelf, which is really an enlargement of the Reformation-Sermon, is diftinguiflied for its vigour, its wit, and its fairnefs ; qualities which will give it no unworthy pofition in the literature of controverfy. The fpirit which the writer exhibits will be-found to underlie the maxims of the Character entitled " The Controverfial Divine, " and its exemplar Dr. Whitaker {Holy State, folio, 1652, pages 54-62). Fuller's ingenuous way of dealing" with his opponent's Examinations, viz., by printing them in full before making his own comments, was derived from the example of his learned uncle. Dr. Davenant, Bifhop of Salisbury, whofe Animadverfions (Cam bridge, 8vo., 1641) upon Samuel Hoard's Treatife, entitled God's Love to Mankind, embodied the whole of the latter work, which was printed in feftions in fmall type preceding the Bifhop's rejoinders. Fuller followed the fame courfe in regard to the more famous polemical difputation with Dr. Heylyn in 1 659 ; and the third chapter of that work {Appeal of Iniured Innocence, folio, page 3), which details perfonal and other arguments whether it was neceffary to make an. appeal in his own juft vindication, ought to be confulted by all who wilh to afcertain Fuller's difpofition in_ regard to controverfies. The two works named are the only writings of Fuller that fall under the head of polemics, his Triple Reconciler, Svo.,. 1654, which takes up fome of the vexed queftions of the time, fetting him forth rather as a pacificator than a controverfialift. Fuller's biographer has referred to fome perfonal circumftances attend ing the controverfy with Saltmarsh. " Several falfe rumours and cavils there are about his carriage and opinion touching that facrilegious thing [the Solemn League and Covenant] by perfons who were diftanced as far from the knowledge of thofe paffages as fortunately from being concerned and engaged within the reach of that fnare. 'Twas not only eafy but moft prudential for other Ecclefiaftical perfons to quit their Livings, who were out of the gripes and clutches of thofe ravenous Reformifts in order to keep their confcience inviolable ; but it was difiicult enough of it felf for the Doftor to efcape and get out of that place, when the next prefer ment would have been a Dungeon. Some velitations, tranfcient difcourfes, he made about that frequent and thumb'd fubjeft of the reformation, the rather to fufpend the bufie cenfures of the Parliament and their party ; wherein though he feemed to comply (but as far as the Rule and Example CCCXX INTRODUCTION. would allow) and indulge the misapprehenfion of thofe men, yet then his charitable difguifes could not obfcure him from the fevere animadverfions of feveral Minifters eminent in thofe Reforming Times, particularly Mr. Saltmarsh. The Conteft between them is fo known in print that it will be needleffe to trouble the Reader with it here " {Life, pages 18-19). Fuller himfelf mentions the traft in his Appeal (folio, pt. ii. page 83 ; ed. Nichols, 1840, page 501), as follows : "I appeal to fuch who knew me in the Univerfitie, to thofe that have heard my many Sermons on this Subjeft in London and elfe where, but efpecially to my Book called Truth Maintained, made againft Mr. Saltmarsh, wherein I have heartily (to place that firft), largely, and to my power ftrongly vindicated, Non licet Populo renuente Magiftratu Reformationem moliri." The date of the appearance of the traft was perhaps about the end of February, 1643-4. A copy in the Britifh Museum is dated in manu fcript, "Mar. 8." Fuller ftates (page ¦^zg poftea) that Saltmarsh's reply reached him at Oxford on loth September, 1643 ; and he offers explana tions why his own anfwer was "folate" (page 329). Of all the loffes upon which he there pathetically dwells, he was moft affefted by the lofs of his books and manufcripts, which had in 1641 been enriched by the literary bequefts of Bifhop Davenant. He feems, however, to have had accefs to the Bodleian library during the very careful preparation of the Truth Maintained ; for the particular editions of moft of the works cited in the foot-notes are found in that colleftion. The text ufed for the prefent reprint has been a copy of the original edition from the Editor's colleftion ; and the proofs have been collated with a tranfcript made feveral years ago from a copy in the poffeffion of Edward Riggall, Esq., of Bayfwater. The Editor's copy has, by fome poffeffor in the feventeenth century, been carefully altered in feveral places, as if for the prefs ; but there is no indication as to who this " correftor " was. The majority of his alterations confift of modernizations of ortho graphy, and there are a few ingenious emendations of language ; but care has been taken that none of them have paffed into this reprint. The original was very careleflly printed at (perhaps) the over-worked prefs of Leonard Lichfield, the Printer to the Univerfity of Oxford. In the Editor's copy, as well as in others, the London edition of the Sermon of Reformation is bound up after the introduftory epiftles ; — a plan that was perhaps followed on account of Fuller's requeft that, by all the obliga tions of charity, the Sermon Ihould be read before entering upon the Examination (page 336). The Truth Maintained probably created a further demand for the Sermon of Reformation.] To the Two moft Famous VNIVERSiriES of ENGLAND. DARE not give you fuch high Epithites as Mafter Saltmarfh beftoweth upon the Ajfembly, to call you the ^M O S T S A C R E D, Be contented to be Stiled the Two mofi Famous Vniverftties ; a Title which it is no Flattery to give you, but Injury to deny you. . I have the Studies of fome whole dayes to fpread before you. I am not afhamed to confeffe fo much, but fhould be afhamed to prefent your learned Confiderations with leffe. And will rather runne the hazard of other mens Cenfure, to have ftudied fo long to no purpofe, then to be guilty to my felfe of fo much difrefpedl to Tou as to offer to your Patronage what coft me but fleight ftudy ing. Indeed I examined his Examinations of my Sermon with the fame pace that I read them. But I could not confute his Errors fo fpeedily as I could difcover them, nor could I fo 1 Quid amplius praepotenti et [ac] immortall Deo tribuimus fi quod eius pro- prium eft eripimus ? Bodin, De Repub. 1. i. c. ult. [Ed. Paris, fo. 1586, lib. i. cap. X. pag. 173.] X 322 Trvth Maintained. [i6 foon make them appeare to others as they appeared to me ; and the Evidencing of his Faults did coft me fome Paines, whereof I hope I fhall never have juft Caufe to Repent. I am altogether out of hope that my Truth fhould quickly overtake his Error, which had the Advantage of me both at the Starting and in the Speed. And yet I beleeve what I want in the fwiftneffe of my Feet, I fhall have in the Firme- neffe of my footing. And when I overtake it at laft, as I am fure I fhall, feeing untruths will Tire (as being better at hand then at length), I am confident by Gods Afliftance it will get firme and quiet Poffeffion in fpight of oppofition. It is altogether Improper for mee to compare You being Two in number to the Palme Tree under which the Propheteffe Deborah fate : But the Analogic will hold well, if I fhould refemble You to the Two Olive Trees continually dropping oyle in the Prefence of God. And methinks Mafter Saltmarfh his Expreflion to the Affembly, vnder srcH a shade as yovr SELVES, making them in the Affembly but a Shadow (and then what is the Shadow of a Shadow worth under which hee defireth to fit ?) was but an undervaluing and diminutive expreffing of their worth. I honour you as You Deferve, and Counting You a Real and Lafting Subftance, fo I addreffe my Refpefts unto you : Humbly requefting you to be pleafed to Patronize and defend this my defence : the rather becaufe what doftrines therein I deliver, not long fince I fuckt from One of you, and in this refpedt I beleive both Breafts give Milke alike. And therefore as your Learning is moft Able, fo your Good neffe will bee willing to Proteft: the fame, not fo much becaufe I had them from you as becaufe you had them from the Truth. 44 -J Trvth Maintained. 323 Some perchance may blame my Choice in Choofing You for my Protedtion who in thefe troublefome times are fcarce able to defend your felves : The Univerfities being now Degraded, at leaft fufpended from the degree of their former Honour. And I wonder Men fhould now talke of an Extraordinary great Light, when the two Eyes of our Land (fo you were ever accompted) are almoft put out. However this fhort Interruption of your Happineffe will but adde the more to your Honour hereafter. And here, as it were Store of Pride for me to Counfell you, fo it were want of duty not to Comfort you. Know, the only Good Token of thefe Times is. That they are fo extreamely Bad they can never laft long. God give you a fandtified Impreffion of your Afflidtions, neither to fleight them nor fink under them ; and fo, forbearing to be longer trouble fome to your more ferious Employments, refteth The meaneft of your Sonnes or Nephewes, Thomas Fuller. X 2 To the Learned and my Worthy Good Friend, Mafter CHARLES HERLE. SIR, i HEN I read a Pamphlet of M. Saltmarfh written againft me, it fomething moved my Affedlions, but nothing removed my Judgement. But when I faw it recommended to the world with your Approbation, in this manner, " Nihil invenio in hoc Libello, cui Titulus, " Examinations, or a difcovery of fame dangerous Po- '¦'fitions, delivered in a Sermon of Reformation Prea- " ched by Tho. Fuller, B.D. quin utiliter imprimatur. Charles Herle. I muft confefle it troubled me not a little, fufpedting either my Eyes or my Underftanding, that either I mifread your Name, or had mif-written fomething in my Sermon. Wherefore fearing Partiality might blind me in mine Owne Book (knowing that Eli was not the onely Indulgent Father to his owne Off-fpring) I imparted my Sermon to fome whom you refpedt, and they refpedt you. Men of fingular Learning and Piety, to Examine it. Thefe likewife could difcover no dangerous Pofitions in it, except fuch as were dangerous for a Preacher to deliver, but fafe for People to Receive in thefe Troublefome Times. And I am Confident that their ludge ment was fuch. They would not be deceived with my Falfehoods : and their Honefty fuch. They would not de ceive me by their Flattery. [1644. J Trvth Maintained. 325 And now. Sir, (Love cannot Hate, but it may juftly be Angry,) Confider how your accufing of me to maintaine dangerous Pofitions, might, as the Times ftand, have undone me and mine, and at leaft have intituled mee to a Prifon, now adayes the Grave of men alive. Times are not as formerly, when Schollers might fafely Traverfe a Con troverfie in difputation. Honourable Tilting is left off fince men fell to down-right killing ; and in vaine fliould I difpute my Innocence againft Souldiers violence, who would interpret the Accufation of a man of your Credit to be my fufficient Convidlion. I have in this my Defence, fo well as God did Enable me, more clearly expreffed and ftrongly confirmed the Pofitions I formerly delivered, and requeft you to tell mee, which are the dangerous Points that here I mainetaine. By the Lawes of our Land, the Creditor hath his Choice, whether he will fue the Principali, or the Surety, and difcretion will advife him to fue him which is moft folveable. Your Ability is fufficiently knowne ; and feeing you have beene pleafed to be bound for Mafter Saltmarfh his Booke, in your Approving it, blame me not, Sir, if I (I will not fay fue you) but Sue to you for my Reparation. If you can Convince me of my Faults herein (and I will bring great defire, and fome capacity to Learne from you) I fhall owne my felfe your Profelyte, thanke God for you, and you for my Converfion. Yea, in a Printed fheet I will doe publique Penance to the open view of the World, to fhew men that although I had fo much Ignorance as to Erre, I have not fo much Impudence as to Perfift in an Errour, and fhall remaine. Tours in all Cbrifiian Offices, THOMAS FULLER. To the Reverend and his Worthy good Friend, Mafter IOHN DOWNAM. SIR, [EING about to read M.z.^tr Saltmarfh his examination of a Sermon of mine, which you (to the Preachers credit, and Printers fecurity) were pleafed to ap prove for Orthodox and VfefuU, mine eyes in the beginning thereof were entertained (I cannot fay welcomed) with this following note, ' An Advertifement returned to the Author by a Reverend ' Divine, to certife him touching the Licenfers allowance ' of Mafter Fullers late Sermon of Reformation. ' Sir, To fatisfie you concerning M. Downams approbation of ' Mafter Fullers Sermon of Reformation, L affure you I heard ' him complaine that he was wronged by him, in that having ' taken exception at fome paffages af that Sermon, Mafter Fuller ' promifed to amend them according ta his correction, but that ' he did not performe what he promifed.^ Conclude me not guilty If I were moved, but fenceleffe If I had not beene perplext with this accufation. Had it beene true, I want a word bad enough to expreffe the fouleneffe of my deed. Yea, juftly may my preaching be fufpedted of falfhood, if my pradlife be convidled of difhonefty. We know how the ^Corinthians from the fuppofed breach of 2 Cor. 1 , 17, 18. [ 1 644- J Trvth Maintained. 327 S. Pauls folemn promife were ready to infer the falfity, at leaft the levity of his dodlrine, till the Apoftle had redlified their miftake. This added alfo to my trouble, that I can privately enjoy my innocence with more contentment to my felfe then I can publlkly declare it with fafety to others. For the prefent therefore, all that I will returne is this. Here is an Accufation without a witneffe, or a witneffe without a name, and both without truth. Would the Inke of this reverend Divine (whofoever he was) only hold out to blot my name, and not to fubfcribe his owne ? We know what Court was complayned of as a great grievance, becaufe Men therein might not know their Accufers. If it cannot confift with our mutuall fafety to have my accufers (as ^S. Paul ha.d) face ta face, yet it will ftand with equity I fhould have them name to name : till when, I account this nameleffe note no better then a Libel both on you and me. God put an end unto thefe wofull times, before they put an end to us ; that all outward hoftility being laid afide we may have more leifure to attend, and comfort to follow, that inward Cbrifiian Warefare, which your paines have fo well defcribed. Tours in Chrifi lefus, Thomas Fuller. ' Afts 25. 16. To Mafter JOHN SALTMARSH, Minifter of Heflerton in Yorke-lhire. SIR, ' OU have almoft converted me to be of your opi nion, that fome extraordinary Light is peculiarly conferred on men in this age. Seeing what coft me many dayes to make, you in fewer houres could make void and confute. You examined (you fay) the fame pace you read, and (as is intimated) wrote as faft as you examined, and all in one afternoon. This, if it were falfe, I wonder you would fay it ; and if it were true, I wonder you could doe it. However I commend your policy herein: for befides that you have given the world notice of the Pregnancie of your parts (and it is no fault of yours, if you be rather heard than beleeved), hereby you have done me a great difadvan- tage. For if I at leifure difcover fome notable errors in your examinations, you have a prefent Plea that you wrote them fuddenly, and I fhall only be repaired for the wrong that you have done me with ^ your raptim fcripta ; whereas you had done God as much Glory, the caufe as much good, more right to your felfe, and credit to me, if you had tooke more time, and more truely. "" And now confider you only endeavour to confute fome difmembred fentences of my Sermon, of which fome are falfely, and more of them imperfedlly alleged. You know how in a continued fpeech one part receives and returnes ' [See page cccxv. and Cicero ad Atlicum, ii. 9.1.] [1644. J Trvth Maintained. 329 , \ ftrength and luftre unto another : and how eafie is it to overthrow the ftrongeft fentence, when it is cut off from the Affiftance of the Coherence before and after it ? Alas, this difiointing of things undoeth kingdomes as well as fermons ; whileft even weake matters are preferved by their owne unity and entireneffe. I have dealt more fairely with you, and fet downe your whole Examinations, thereby not expedling any praife, but preventing juft cenfure, if I had done otherwife. If you demand why my anfwer comes fo late, feeing fo long filence may be interpreted a confent, know. Sir, it was the tenth of September before either friend in love would doe me the favour, or foe in anger the difcourtefie to convey vour booke unto me. Whether this proceeded from the intercepting commerce betwixt the City and the Country, or that your Booke was loath to come out of London, as fenfible that the ftrength of your pofitions confifted In the fortifications thereof. When I had received one of your bookes, I had not your prefent parts to anfwer It. Men muft doe as they may doe : I hope, though my credit may, Gods caufe fhall not fuffer by my delay, feeing Truth doth not abate with time. Here I fpeake not of thofe many afflldllons that have befalne me, as not being fo unreafonable as to expedl any pitty from others In thefe dolefull dayes, wherin none are at leifure to bemoane the mifery of any private men whilft the generali Calamity ingroffeth all grelfe to it felfe ; and yet, I may fay, fuch lofies could not but difturbe my ftudies. When I had finlfhed my anfwer, I could not fo fpeedily provide to have it printed. And to fpeake plainely, I was advlfed by my beft friends to paffe by your pamphlet alto gether with filence and negledl, and apply my felfe onely to enlarge my Sermon, for the fatisfadlion of others. However, that you may fee I will not decline any thing, I have anfwered every operative paffage in your Examination. 33° Trvth Maintained. [1644-] Here I might take juft exception at the fentence prefixed in the title page of your booke : 1 Tim. 3. 5, Having a forme of Godlineffe, but denying the power thereof. Out of the whole quiver of the Bible, could you choofe no other Arrow to fhoot, and make me your marke ? whom if you taxe for a meere formalifl, God grant I may make a good ufe of your bad fufpition of me, endeavouring to acquit my felfe In Heaven, whom you have accufed on Earth : I muft fiand or fall to my owne Mafier, to whom I hope I fhall fland, being held up by my Saviour. Remember, remember, we muft all appeare before Gods Judgment Seat, when thofe things which have been done in fecret fhall be brought to light. Meane time goe you on as faft as you can in the high way to heaven ; but be not too free willfully to dafh your fellow travellers with foule afperfions : for if dirt may paffe for coine, debts in this nature may eafily be paid you backe againe. So refteth Thomas Fuller. To My Deare Parifh SAINT MARY SAVOY. Y deare Parifh: for fo I dare call you, as con ceiving that although my calamities have divorced me from your bed and board, the matrlmonlall knot betwixt us is not yet refcinded. No, not although you have admitted another (for feare I hope rather then affedtion) into my place, I remember how David when forced to fly from his wife yet ftill cals her, '^My wife Michall: even when at that time, flie was in the poffeffion of Phaltiel the fonne of Laifh, who had rather bedded then wedded her. This Sermon I firft made for your fake, as providing It not as a feaft to entertaine ftrangers, but a meale to feed my family. And now having againe inlarged and confirmed It, I prefent It to you, as having therein a proper intereft, being confident that nothing but good and profitable truth Is therein contain'd. Some perchance will obledl that if my Sermon were fo true, why then did I prefently leave the parifh when I had preached It ? My anfwer is legible in the Capital letters of other minifters miferle, who remaine In the City. I went away for the prefent diftreffe, thereby referving my felfe to doe you longer and better fervice If Gods providence fhall ever reftore me unto you againe. And if any tax mee as Laban taxed Jacob, ^Wherefore didft thou flee away fecretly, without taking folemne leave ? I fay with Jacob to Laban, ^Becaufe I was afraid. And that plaine dealing Patriarch, who could not be accufed for purloining a fhooe latchet of other mens goods. ' ¦>. Sam. 3. 14. I Cor. 7. 26. Gen, 31. 27. ¦• Gen. 31, 31. 332 Trvth Maintained. [1644.J confeffeth himfelfe guilty of that lawfull felony, that \\te.flole away for his owne fafety : feeing truth it felfe may fometimes feeke corners, not as fearing her caufe, but as fufpedling her judge. And now all that I have to fay to you is this : ^Take heed how you heare; imitate the wife and noble ^Bereans, what foever the Dodlor or dodlrine bee which teacheth or is taught unto you : Search the Scripture dayly whether thefe things be fo. . Hanfell this my counfell on this my booke : and here beginning, hence proceed to examine all Sermons by the fame rule of Gods word. Only this I adde alfo : Pray daily to God to fend us a good and happy Peace before we be all brought to utter confufion. You know how I in all my Sermons unto you, by leave of my Text, would have a paffage in the praife of Peace. Still I am of the fame opinion. The longer I fee this warre, the leffe I like it, and the more I loath it. Not fo much becaufe it threatens temporall ruine to our Kingdome as becaufe it will bring a generali fplrituall hardneffe of hearts. And if this warre long continues, we may be affedled for the departure of charity, as the Ephefians were at the going away of Saint Paul, ^Sorrowing moft of all, that we fhall fee the face thereof no more. Strive therefore in your prayers that that happy condition which our finnes made us unworthy to hold, our repentance may, through Gods acceptance thereof, make us worthy to regaine. Tour Loving Minifter, THOMAS FULLER. ' Luke 8. 18. 2 Afts 17. II. = Afts 20. 38. To the unpartiall Reader. E not affraid to perufe my Pofitions, though they be accufed to bee dangerous. The Saints did not feare infedlion from the company of Saint Paul, though he was indldled to be a ^Peftilent Fellow. To acquaint you with my intentions in this Book (that fo you may proportion your expedlatlon accordingly): Herein I have to my Power vindicated the truth, confulting with my confcience, not outward fafety, infomuch that I care not whom I difpleafed to pleafe the Bird in my Breaft. Yea, when the adlions of other men have by the Examiner beene laid to my charge, I have tooke the boldneffe to leave them to their Authors to defend. . For though Honeftie commands me to pay my owne debts, yet difcretion advifeth me from '^Solomons mouth to avoid Sureti-fhip, and not to Breake my felfe with being bound for the Errors of others. I cannot but expedl to procure the Ill-will of many, becaufe I have gone in a middle and moderate way betwixt all extremities. I remember a ftory too truely appliable to me. Once a Jayler demanded of a Prifoner, newly com mitted unto him, whether or no he were a Roman Catholick. No, anfwered he. What then? faid he. Are you an Anabap tlft? Neither, replied the Prifoner. What I said the other. Are you a Brownift? Nor fo, faid the man; I am a Proteftant. Then faid the Jayler, Get you into the dungeon: I will afford no favor to you, who fhall get no profit by you. Had you beene of any of the other religions, fome hope I ' Afts 24. s. ^ Pro. II. 15. 334 Trvth Maintained. [i6 had to gaine by the vifits of fuch as are of your owne pro feffion. I am Hkely to finde no better ufage in this age, who profeffe my felfe to be a plaine Proteftant, without wealt or garde, or any Addition ; equally oppofite to all Hereticks and SeSlaries. Let me mate this with another obfervation. By the ^Law of the twelve Tables, if a man were Indebted but to one creditor, he had no Power over his body ; but if he owed mony to many, and was not folvable, all his creditors together might fliare his body betwixt them, and by joynt confent pluck him In peeces. Me thinks a good Morall lurkes In this cruell Law ; namely, that men who oppofe one adverfary alone, may come off and fhlft pretty well, whilft he who pro vokes many enemies, muft expedl to bee torne afunder : and thus the poore Levite will bee rent into as many pieces as the ''¦Levites wife was. Yet I take not my felfe to bee of fo defolate and forlorne a Religion as to have no fellow profeffors with me. If I thought fo, I fhould not only fufpedl, but condemne my judgement : having ever as much loved fingleneffe of heart as I have hated fingularity of opinion. I conceive not my felfe like ^ Eliah to be left alone: having, as I am confident, In England more than feventy thoufand juft of the fame Reli gion with me. And amongft thefe there is one in price and value eminently worth tenne thoufand, even our gratlous Soveraigne, whom God in fafety and honour long preferve amongft us. And here I must wafli away an afperfion, generally, but falfely caft on men of my profeffion and temper : for all moderate men are commonly condemned for Lukewarme. As it Is true, Scepe latet vitium proximitate boni. It Is as true, Sape latet virtus proximitate maii. Bodin, De Repub. lib. i. p. 50 [ed. Paris, fo. 1586, cap. v. page 32]. ' ludg. 19. 29. " I Kings 19. 14. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 335 And as Lukewarmneffe hath often fared the better (the more mens ignorance) for pretending neighbourhood to modera tion; fo Moderation (the more her wrong) hath many times fuffered for having fome fuppofed vicinity with lukewarm neffe. However they are at a grand diftance. Moderation being an wholefome Cordiall to the foule : whilft luke warmneffe (a temper which feekes to reconcile hot and cold) is fo diftaftefull that health it felfe feemes fick of it, and Vomits it out. And we may obferve thefe differences betwixt them, Firft, the Lukewarme man (though It be hard to tell what he is, who knowes not what he is himfelfe) is fix't to no one opinion, and hath no certain creed to beleeve : Whereas the Moderate man ftlcks to his principles, taking Truth where foever he findes it, in the opinions of friend or foe ; gathering an herb though in a ditch, and throwing away a weed though in a Garden. Secondly, the Lukewarme man is both the archer and marke himfelfe ; aiming only at his owne outward fecurity. The Moderate man levels at the glory of God, the quiet of the Church, the choofing of the Truth, and contenting of his confcience. Laftly, the Lukewarme man, as hee will live in any Reli gion, fo he will dye for none. The Moderate man, what he hath warily chofen, will valiantly maintaine, at leaft wife in tends and defires to defend it, to the death. The Kingdome of Heaven (faith our ^Szvlovir') fuffereth violence. And in this fenfe, I may fay, the moft moderate men are the moft violent, and will not abate an hoofe or haires breadth in their Opin ions, whatfoever it coft them. And time will come when Moderate men fhall be honoured as Gods Doves, though now they be hooted at as Owles in the Defart. But my Letter fwels too great, I muft break off. Only ' Rev. 3. 16. ' Mat. 11. 12. 33^ Trvth Maintained. [1644. J requefting the reader by all obligations of charity, firft to read over my Sermon before he entreth on the Examination. To conclude : when I was laft in London, it was generally reported that I was dead ; nor was I difpleafed to heare it. May I learne from hence with the Apoftle, To Die daily. And becaufe to God alone tis known how foon my death may come, I defire to fet forth this book as my Will and Teftament, which if it can be of no ufe to the reader, It may be fome eafe and comfort to the writer, that the world may know in this multitude of Religions what is the Religion of Thy Servant in Chrift lefus, Thomas Fuller. ¦1 ^^M ^^^^M i ^m GvS\s\^^e.oi Reformation, as it is ^extraordinary, fo God gives extraordinary conjunftures of times and circumftances, and ex traordinary concurrencies, and extraordinary incitations. In the building of the Temple you Ihall fee in Ezra and Nehemiah, Neh. 8. i, fuch workings of God : when the ''people were gathered together as one man, they fpake to Ezra the Scribe to bring the bool(_ of the law of Mofes. Here the •= people put one [on] even Ezra to his duty. Treatife. Before I deale with the particulars of this examination, I will enlarge (not alter) what I faid In my Sermon of this point, promifing as much brevity as God fhall enable me to temper with Clearneffe, and defiring the Readers patience whilft at mine owne perill I deHver my opinion. But firft, here we premlfe [a] neceffary diftindlion. Dif tinguifh we betwixt thofe Times when the Church Hveth under ' warrantable by God : Tr'vth Maintained, page 23. Z 2 or6 Trvth Maintained. [i6 Pagan or perfecuting Princes, and when God bleffeth her with a Chriftian King, defender of the Faith. In the former cafe the Church may and muft make an hard fliift to reforme her felfe fo well as ftie can (for many things will be wanting, and more will be but meanly fupplyed) without any relating to a fupreame Power, whofe leave therein will be dangerous to defire and impoffible to obtaine. But withall, they muft pro vide themfelves to fuffer, offering no violence except it be to drowne a Tyrant In their teares, or to burne him with coales of kindneffe heaped on his head. In the latter cafe, when the fupreame Power is a nurfing Father to the Church, fuckling it, not fucking blood from it, the Church muft have recourfe to It before fhee may reforme. Reforming of a Church muft neither ftay behind for Nero his leave, nor runne before without the confent of Conftantine. Religion It felfe muft not be deckt with thofe flowers which are violently pluck'd from the Crownes of lawfull Princes. Come we now then to fhew how In a Chriftian ftate all are to contribute their joynt endeavours to promote a Reformation. In a Church and fuch a State I confider three degrees thereof. Firft, meere private men without any mixture of a publike 3. How far private Chrif- Relation. Sccoudly, pcrfons placed ina tians,Miniftersand lubordlnate middle pofture, wIth the CcUturlon IU Magiftrates, are to concur to , ,., r^ . , p „„<. the advancing of a publike publikc imploymcut ovcr fome_, yet Keforma.ion. undcr Authority themfelves. Thirdly, the abfolute fupreame Power, who depends of God alone. For the firft of thefe, meere private men, they have nothing to doe in publike reforming but to advance it by their hearty prayers to God, and to facilitate the generali Reformation by labouring to amend their owne and their Families lives according to the Word : this is all God requlreth of them and more I feare then moft of them will performe. Next, fucceed thofe perfons in a middle pofture ; and thefe are either Minifters or Magiftrates. Minifters, even the meaneft of them, have thus far their part in publike Re forming that they are to lift up their voice like a Trumpet (though not like '^Sheba his Trumpet to found fedition), both ' i Sam. 20. 1. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 357 to reprove vitioufneffe in Manners, and to confute errors in Dodlrine. And if men of power and imminent place in the Church, then as their ingagement is greater, fo their en deavours muft be ftronger to preffe and perfwade a publike Reformation to fuch whom it doth concerne. Magiftrates may have more to do in publike Reforming : having a calling from God, who therefore hath fet them In a middle place betwixt Prince and people, to doe good offices under the one, over the other, betwixt both ; and having a calling from the King, efpecially if they be his Counfellours, whofe good they are to advance by all lawfull meanes, and rather to difpleafe him with their fpeech then to difhonour him with their filence ; and having a calling from their Country, whofe fafety they muft be tender and carefull of. Firft, therefore, they are with all Induftry (both from the Minifters mouth and by their owne inquiry) to take true notice of fuch defedls and deformities in the Church or State as are really to be reformed. Secondly, they are with all fincerity to reprefent the fame to the fupreame Power. Thirdly, with all humility to requeft the amendment of fuch Enormities, Fourthly, with all gravity to improve their requeft with arguments from Gods glory, the Princes honour, the peoples profit, and the like. Laftly, with their beft judgement to propound and commend the faireft way whereby a Reformation may as fpeedily as fafely be effedled. And if they meet with difficulties in the fupreame Power de laying their requeft, they are not to be difheartned, but after their fervent prayers to God, who alone hath the hearts of Kings in his hands, they are conftantly to renue their requeft at times more feafonable, in places more proper, with ex preffions more pathetlcall, having their words as full of earneftneffe as their deeds farre from violence. As laft comes the fupreame Power, who alone is to reforme by its own Authority, though not by its owne advice alone. For becaufe it is rationally to be pre- ^ ^^at parts therein are fumed that Divines have beft fkill in onelytobeaaedbythe/a/.rearar matters of Divinity, they are to be °'^"'' confulted with ; and here comes In the neceffity and ufe of Councels, Convocations, Synods and Affemblyes. And becaufe 358 Trvth Maintained. [16 there is not onely a conftant correfpondency, but alfo an un- feperable complication betwixt the Church and State, Statef- men are therefore to be advlfed with in a Reformation fo to fettie it as may beft comply with the Common-wealth. For God In that generali warrant. Let all things be done decently and in order, puts as I may fay the Cloath and Sheeres Into the hands of the Church and Chriftian Princes to cut out and fafhion each particular decency and order fo as may fhape and fuit beft with the prefent Time and Place wherein fuch a Reformation is to be made. Thefe parts therefore are to be adled in a Reformation by the fupreame Power : Firft, he Is (either by his owne Motion, or- at the Inflance and Intreaties of others) to call and con gregate fuch Affemblyes. Secondly, to give them leave and liberty to confult and debate of matters needing to be re formed. Thirdly, to accept the refults of their confultations, and to weigh them in the ballance of his Princely difcretion. Fourthly, to confirme fo much with his Royal Affent as his judgement fliall refolve to be neceffary or convenient. Laftly, to ftamp the Charadler of Authority upon It, that Recufants to obey It may be fubjedl to civill punifhments. But now all the queftion will be. What is to be done If the endeavours of Subjedls be finally returned with deafneffe or denialil in the fupreame Power ? In this cafe a publike Re formation neither ought nor can be performed without the confent of the fupreame Power : It ought not, Firft, becaufe God will not have a Church reformed by the deforming of his Commandement. He hath faid. Honour thy Father and thy Mother, and requlreth that all Superiours fhould be refpedled In their places. Secondly, the Scripture, rich in Prefidents for our inftrudlion in all cafes of import ance, affords us not one fingle example wherein people at tempted publiquely to reforme, without or againft the con fent of the fupreame Power ; and in this particular I conceive a negative Argument followeth undeniably :: wherefore feeing the Kings in Judah (there the fupreame Power) were alwayes called upon to reforme, commended for doing fo much, or condemned for doing no more ; and the people neither com manded to remove, nor reproved for not removing publique 44-J Trvth Maintained. 359 Idolatry, without the confent of the fupreame Power ; it plainly appeareth that a publique Reformation belongeth to the fupreame Power, fo that without it it ought not to be done. As it ought not, fo it cannot be done without the confent thereof: for admit that the higheft fubordinate Power fliould long debate, and at laft conclude, the moft wliolfome Rules for Reformation ; yet, as Plato faid that amongft the many good Lawes that were made, one ftill was wanting, namely, a Law to command and oblige men to the due obferving of thofe Lawes which were made : So when the beft Refolutions are determined on by any Inferlour Power, there ftill remaines an abfolute neceffity that the fupreame Power fliould bind and enforce to the obferving thereof. For inftance : Some Offenders are poffeffed with fuch un cleane Spirits of prophaneneffe that ^none can bind them, no not with Chaines of Ecclefiaftical Cenfures ; onely outward Mulcis in purfe or perfon can hold and hamper them. Scy thian flaves muft be ordered with whips ; and a prefent prifon more affrights impudent perfons than Hel-fire to come. In the Writs, De Excommunicato capiendo and De Hceretico com- hurenda, fuch as flout at the Excommunicato and the Haretico are notwithftanding heartily afraid of the Capiendo and the Comburendo. Wherefore In fuch cafes the Church when It is moft perfedlly reformed Is faine to crave the aid of the State by civill and fecular penalties to reduce- fuch as are Rebels to Church Cenfures (fometimes inflidling death it felfe on blafphemous Heretickes); and this cannot be performed by any fubordinate Power in the State, but onely by the fupreame Power. Otherwife Offenders, if preffed by any inferlour Power, would have a free Appeale and no doubt find full redrefle from the fupreame Power, without whofe confent fuch penalties were Impofed on them. Now If it be demanded, what at laft rem.aines for any to doe in cafe the fupreame Power finally refufeth to reforme, thus they are to imploy themfelves : Firft, to comfort them felves in this, that they have ufed the meanes, though it was ' Mark 5. 3. 360 Trvth Maintained. [16 Gods pleafure to with-hold the bleffing. Secondly, they are to refledl on themfelves, and ferioufly to bemoane their own finnes which have caufed Gods juftice to punifli them in this kind. If a rhumaticke head fends downe a conftant flux, to the corroding ofthe lungs, an ill affedled ftomacke firft fent up the vapours which caufed this diftlllatlon : And pious Sub jedls conceive that if God fuffer Princes to perfift in dan gerous errours, this diftemper of the head came originally from the ftomack, from the finnes of the people, who deferved this afflidlion. Thirdly, they are to reforme their felves and Families, and If the fupreame Power be offended thereat, to prepare themfelves patiently to fuffer whatfoever it fliall Im pofe upon them, having the fame caufe, though not the fame comfort, to obey a bad Prince as a good one. By the way, a word in commendation of paffive obedience : when men who cannot be adllve without finning, are paffive 5. Ofthe progreffe and praife wlthoUt mumiuting, Firft, Chrift fct of paffive Obedience. the princlpall copIc thereof, leading Captivity captive on the Croffe; and ever fince he hath fanc- tlfied fuffering with a fecret foveraigne vertue, even to con quer and fubdue perfecution. Secondly, it hath beene continued from the Primitive Church by the Albigences to the moderate ^Proteftants, un- leffe fome of late afhamed of this their Mafters badge have pluckt their cognlfance from their coats and fet up for them felves. Thirdly, it is a Dodlrine fplrituall in It felfe. It muft needs be good, it is fo contrary to our bad natures and corrupt in clinations, who will affirme any thing rather then we will deny our felves, and our owne revengefull difpofitlons. And furely the Martyrs were no leffe commendable for their willing fubmitting to then for their conftant enduring of their per- fecutors cruelty. And it was as much (if not more) for them to conquer their owne vindicative fpirits as to undergoe the heavieft tortures inflidled on them. Fourthly, It is a dodlrine comfortable to the Pradlifers, ' Eft hac pontificiorum teffera crudelilas, aliud eft Proteftantium fymbolum demen tia. Ifii occidu'it, Hi occidunt. Laurentius Humphreys in Refpon. ad Epiftolas Campiani [lef'vitifmi Pars Secunda, &c., Svo. Lond. 1584, verso of IIITII. 4|. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 361 bitter, but wholfome. Yet it is fweetned with the inward confolation of a cleere confcience, which is Food In Famine, Freedome In Fetters, Health in Sickneffe, yea, Life in death. Fifthly, It is glorious in the eyes of the beholders, who muft needs like and love that Religion, whofe profeffors (where they cannot lawfully dearly fell) doe frankly give their lives in the defence thereof, Laftly, it is a Dodlrine fortunate in fucceffe. By preaching of paffive obedience the Dove hath out-flowne the Eagle. Chrift's Kingdome hath out-ftreatched Ccefars Monarchy. Hereby the wifdome of the Eaft was fubdued to the folly of Preaching. The Sunne of the Gofpell arofe in the Wefterne parts. The parched South was watered with the dew of the Word, The frozen North was thawed with the heat of Re hgion, But fince the Dodlrine of refifting the fupreame Power came into fafhion, the Proteftant Religion hath runne up to a high top, but fpread nothing in breadth ; few Papifts have beene reclaimed, and no Pagans have been converted, Alas I that fo good a Dodlrine fliould be now in fo great difgrace ; yet will we praife fuch fuffering, though we fuffer for praifing it. If we cannot keepe this Dodlrine aHve, we will grieve becaufe it is dying ; being confident that though now it be buried in fo deepe difhonour, God In due time will give it a glorious refurredlion. And though I muft confeffe it is farre eafier to praife paffive Obedience then to pradllce it, yet to commend a vertue is one degree to the imitation of it ; and to convince our judgements, firft, of the goodneffe of the deede, is by Gods blefling one way to worke our wils to embrace it : In a word, If this Dodlrine of paffive Obedience be cryed downe, hereafter we may have many bookes oi ASls and IManuments, but never more any Bookes of Martyrs. And now thefe things premifed, we returne to Mafter Saltmarfh his examination of my Sermon, {x) As if no calling were warrantable at firft to promote a Reformation but the fupreame Power.) I never faid or thought fo : But in what manner and by what meanes inferiours may and muft labour to promote it, I have at large declared. ( y) The inward call is a fpeciall excitation from the fpirit of 362 Trvth Maintained. [16 God, and fuch a call is warrantable to be aSlive.) I fhall have prefently a more proper place to deale with t)\e(e fpeciall exci tations when I come to anfwer your extraordinary incitations. (z) Now all thefe callings are commiffion enough to meddle.) I am not of fo froward a fpirit as to quarrell at a word. Otherwife I could tell you that ta meddle generally importeth an over-bufineffe in fome Pragmaticall perfon, tampering with that which is either unlawfuU in it felfe, or hurtfull to, at leaft improper for the party who medleth with it ; and in ^Scripture it is commonly ufed with a prohibition. Meddle not. To paffe this by, the queftion is not whether Magiftrates may meddle (as you fay) In advancing a publique Reforma tion, but how ? and how farre they may be adllve therein ? Therein I report the Reader to what I have largely ex preffed. (a) fn ordinary tranfa5lians T know the ordinary dlfpenfa tion is to be reforted ta ; but the bufineffe of Reformation, as it is extraordinary, fo God giveth extraordinary conjunctures of Times and circumftances, and extraordinary concurrences, and extraordinary incitations.) Now you foare high, give us leave to follow you as we can. Firft, I confeffe that a pub lique Reformation is an extraordinary worke in this fenfe, as not common or ufually done every day (as private amendmaent of particular perfons Is or ought to be). But it is a rare worke, which commeth to paffe but feldome, and the doing of it Is out of the road of ordinary mens imployment. But I deny a publique Reformation to be extraordinary in this acception ; as if it were to be ordered or managed by any other rules or prefidents then fuch as are ordinary and ufuall in the Bible, where many patterns of publique Reformations are prefented ; in which refpedl the ordinary dlfpenfation Is to be reforted to in the performance thereof. Whereas you fay that in publique Reformations, God giveth extraordinary con- iunSlures of Times and circumftances, and extraordinary concur rences : It Is true in this fenfe, that the great Clock-keeper of Time fo orders the coincidence of all things, that when his Deut. 2. 5 J 2 Kings 14. 10; 2 Cro, 25. 19 ¦„ Pro-. 20. 19, and 24. 21, and j6. 17, and 20. 3. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 363 houre is come wherein fuch a Reformation fhall be made, every officious circumftance will joyfully contribute his utmoft affiftance to the advancing thereof. Wherefore if men cannot make a Reformation without roving from their calling, or breaking Gods Commandement (according to which it cannot be done without the confent of the fupreame Power), hereby it plainly appeares that the hand of Divine Providence doth not as yet point at that happy minute of Reformation, there being as yet times diftradled with jarres and disjundlures, not onely in circumftances, but even in fubftantiall matters requi fite thereunto. And therefore feeing Gods good time may not be prevented, but muft be expedled, men are ftill patiently to wait and pray for that conjuncture of Times and concurrency of circumftances whereof you fpeake. But whereas you fpeake of Extraordinary fncitations, paralell to what you faid before, oi fpeciall excitations, and ¦chriftianly infpired : In thefe your expreffions you ^open a dan gerous Pit, and neither cover it againe nor raile it about with any cautions, fo that Paffengers may unawares fall into it. For every man who hath done an unwarrantable adl, which he can neither juftifie by the law of God or man, will pretend prefently that he had an extraordinary 6. Thatno extraordinary Ex- 1 ' . .' r '.. n J. -.,1 j.^ -,!., J citations, Incitations, or Infpi- Incitation for it : a fine tricke to plead „rio„3,',e beftowed from God Gods leave to breake his law. Nor can on men in thefe dayes. we difprove the impudence of fuch people, except we may ufe fome touch-ftones, thereby to try their counterfeit inci tations. My opinion herein fhall be contrived into three Propofitions. Firft, no fuch extraordinary incitations are extant now a dayes from God as ftirre men up to doe any thing contrary to his Commandements. Indeed, fome fuch we meet with in the ^Scripture, where the Law-giver difpenfing with his owne law incited Abraham to kill his fon, Sampfon. to kill Mmfelfe, and the IfralLtes ta rob the Egyptians. In fuch, cafes it was no difobedience to Gods publique command, bu't obedience to his private countermand,, if the fervant varied his pradlice according to his abfolute Mafters ' Exo. 21. J3, $4. '' Gen. 22. 2; Judg. 16. 30; Exod 12. 36. 364 Trvth Maintained. [16 peculiar diredlion. But fuch incitations come not now a dayes but from the fpirit of delufion. Secondly, no extraordinary excitations are extant now a dayes from God, feizing on men (as anciently) in Enthuftafmes, or any fuch raptures as make fenfible im preffions on them. For thefe are within the virge of Miracles, which are now ceafed ; and our age produceth things rather monftrous then miraculous. Thirdly, extraordinary Incitations are ftill beftowed by God in thefe dayes ; namely, fuch that he giveth to fome of his fervants a more then ufuall and common proportion of his grace, whereby they are enabled for and incited to his fervice with greater rigour and adlivity then ordinary Chriftians. My judgement herein fhall not be niggardly to reftraine Gods bountifull dealing ; but I verily beleeve that he who was fo exceedingly liberal In former ages is not fo clofe handed In our times, but that in this fence he beftoweth extraordinary motions, efpecially on fuch whom his Providence doth call to eminent Places, either in Church or State. But fuch motions quicken them to runne the way of Gods Commandements, not to ftart without or befide it. And as hereby they are heightned to an Heroicall degree of Piety, fo though fometimes we may fay of them In a Rhetoricall expreffion, that they goe beyond themfelves, yet they never goe beyond their calling, nor never goe beyond Gods Commandements. Now If any fhall pretend that they have an extraordinary excitation to make a publique Reformation without the confent of the fupreame Power to whom by Gods law It belongs, fuch an excitation cannot come from the holy Ghoft : For if the fpirit of the Prophets be fubjedl to the Prophets, much more is It fubjedl to the God of the Prophets, and to the law of that God, And truly. Sir, this paffage of extraordinary incitations, as it is by you rawly laid downe and fo left, con taineth in it feed enough if well (or rather ill) hufbanded to fow all the Kingdome with fedition, efpecially in an age wherein the Anabaptift In their adlions, beaten out of the field by Gods Word, doe daily flye to this their Fort of extra ordinary excitations. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 365 And you may obferve when God gave extraordinary excitations, quoad regulam (ftlrring up men to doe things con trary to the received rule of his Commandements), then fuch excitations were alwayes attended with extraordinary opera tions. Phinehas, who killed Coffy and Zimry, could ftay the plague with his prayer ; and Eliah who curfed the Captaines with their fifties, could caufe fire to come downe on them from Heaven. It appeares this his curfe was pronounced without malice, becaufe irvflidled by a miracle. It is lawfull for fuch to call for fire, who can make fire come at their call ; and would none would kindle difcord on Earth, till firft they fetcht the fparks thereof from Heaven. Neither doe we proudly tempt Gods providence, but truly trye fuch mens pretended extraordinary incitations, if when they wander from Gods Commandements in their Adlions, and plead infpirations, we require of them to prove the truth of fuch infpirations by working a miracle. Now, Sir, you being (as It feemes) an oppofite to Prelacy would make ftrange worke, to put downe one Ordinary in a DIoceffe, and fet up many extraar dinar ies In every Parifli. And for ought I know, if fome pretend extraordinary excita tions publikely to reforme againft the will of the fupreame Power, fuch as fide with the fupreame Power may with as much probability alleadge extraordinary excitations to oppofe and croffe the others Reformation, and fo betwixt them both our Church and State will be fufficiently miferable. And now. Sir, remember what you faid In the laft Paragraffe : To [he law, faith the Scripture, and to the Teftimony : to fuch Judges we may fafely appeale from all •^omx fpeciall excitations, extraordinary fncitations, and chriftian fnfpirations. fb) In the building of the Temple you fhall fee in Ezra and Nehemiah ykf/?? workings of Gad : when the people were gathered together as one man, they fpake to Ezra the Scribe, ta bring the Booke of the law 0/ Mofes.) The unanimous confent of fo many we acknowledge to be Gods worke. O that we might fee the like agreement in England, where the people are fo farre from being gathered together as one man that almoft every one man Is diftradled in his thoughts, like the times, and fcattered from himfelfe as If he were many people. Well, 366 Trvth Maintained. [16 they fpake to Ezra to bring the Booke of the law : what of all this ? () Still you drive on your defigne thorow many plaufible infinuations.) Not infinuations, but pofitions ; and thofe no more plaufible then profitable. Truth hath a precious infide, and withall a pleafing face. {q) Tou would keep private men doing, but ftill doing in their circle.) And good reafon too; for if they be out of their circle, they are very troublefome fpirits to conjure downe againe. (r) Nat like the lame at the foole of Bethefda, waiting till a fupreame Power.) If God in his Word wiU have it fo, they muft wait. Better to lye ftill in the porch, though not cured, then to rufli headlong Into the poole and be drowned. (j-) Providence will guide them in finding out-wayes of facilitation.) I proteft againft all out-wayes if they be any way different from the high-road of the King of Heaven, Reformation, however, muft come lawfully ; and if it v?ill not come eafily, let it come hardly; we will tug at it with our prayers (which are alwayes beft at a dead lift), and will ' thorow : Tr'vth Maintained, page 41. '^ out-ways : ibid., page 42. ' morral ; ib'id., page 42. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 373 fweat, but not fin, to obtain it. Nor can any better facilita tion for private men be found out then for every one of them to reform themfelves. How doth an Army of ten thoufand men almoft change their poftures from Eaft to Weft in an inftant, becaufe every one turneth one ; and fo foone would the work be done in a publike Reformation, If particular perfons would take care for their private amendment, (/) Befides fome other arcana and fecret preparations.) Good Sir, play faire and above board : The furface of the earth Is wide enough for us both ; creep not into crannies, to put me to the pains of Pioners to mine for your meaning : I know ^the fecret of the Lord is with the righteous ; but then it is fuch a fecret as being concealed from prophane perfons is revealed in the Word. This your expreffion, if deer from fault, is not free from juft fufpition ; for hereby you buz into peoples heads (and fuch tinder, I tell you, is ready to take fire) that there are fome ftrange unknown mifteries of Religion lately communicated to fome private men. Strange, that others of the fame forme with you for learning and Religion fhould know no fuch fecrets, except you have received from Heaven fome expreffe packet of intelligence. You might have done well to have told us what thefe arcana are, unlefle being of Heavens clofe Committee you be bound to fecrecy, Meane time I will be bold to tell you that if thefe fecrets differ from Gods will in his Word, they are depths of the Divell and mifteries of Iniquity. (y) We fee every thing naturally is fpirited with an in- ftinSl of ayding ; the whole water and ayre will part with their owne interefts ta ferve the univerfall, in the danger of a vacuity.) I diftinguifli betwixt naturall Agents and voluntary, rationall and Chriftian Agents. Naturall Agents goe the neereft way to their owne home, their Center, except countermanded to avoid a vacuity, which being yeelded to, neceffarily inferres a deftrudlion of the whole. In fuch a cafe heavy bodyes have from God a dlfpenfation, yea, command to afcend, light bodies to defcend, forgetting their particular propenfity, to remember the publike good, according to the words of the ' Pro. 3. 32. 374 Trvth Maintained. [i6 Pfalmift, ^He hath made a decree which they ftjall not paffe. But voluntary, rationall and Chriftian Agents are to regulate their adlions by Gods will in his Word ; the greateft and onely vacuity they are to feare is God's difpleafure, whofe glory they are to preferre before their owne temporall felf- prefervation ; and indeed mans eternail good is wrapped up in his obedience to Gods will. Wherefore except you can produce a place In Gods Word wherein private men are commanded to make publike Reformations, there is a meer vacuity of all you have alleadged. (w) The very Romans by a morrall principle would contend to be firft in the fervice of their Country.) It was well done ofthem. Their forwardneffe In ferving their Country will one day condemne our frowardneffe in differving, our rend ing our native foyle afunder with civill diffentions ; but in fuchcafes as this which we have now afoot, (whether private perfons may reform without the confent of the fupreame Power,) we are not to be guided by the pradllce of the Pagan Romans, but by the precept of the Chriftian Romans, '^Let every foule befubjeEl to the higher Powers. {x) And it remaines as a crime upon Record, that Gllead abode beyond Jordan, and that Dan remained in fhips. ) Thus it was : Sicera, a Pagan generali under Jabin a Tyrant and Ufurper, hoftilely Invaded Ifrael ; Deborah, a Propheteffe by Divine infpiration, incited Barach to refift him. In this cafe each fingle man had a double call to affift Barach. One from Nature to defend his Country, another from Gods immediate vocation. Here it was lawfull for all to be adllve, finfull for any to be idle : Jael the woman was valiant ; fhall men be womanifh and cowardly ? Now prove that private men have the like cafling in point of publike Reformation ; and if they be not adllve, we will not onely confeffe it their crime, but proclaime a curfe againft them with Meros : till this be done, this inftance befreindeth not your caufe. •Pf. 148. 6. ^Rom. 13. I. Inpublicos hoftes, omnis homo miles. Tertullianus [Ed. Rigaltii, fo. 1634, cap. i. pag. 3.] 44-J Trvth Maintained. 375 Examiner. And ^'though you would put private men upon fuch duties here as are godly and commendable, the policy is to keep them exercifed in one good duty,^ that they fhould not advance another ; and thus you would cunningly make one piece of Divinity 'betray another, and make the "friends of the Reformation do it a 'difcourtefie in ignorance. Treatife. (jy) I confeffe it Is an ancient fubtilty of Satan, to keep men exercifed in one good duty, that they fhould not advance another.) Thus he bufieth fome men all in praying to negledl preach ing ; all in preaching to negledl Catechizing ; all in prayers, preaching, catechizing, to negledl pradllfing. ^Jefabels body was all eaten up, fave onely her head, hands and feet. But indifcreet zeal fo confumes fome that they have neither hands nor feet left, either to worke or to walke in their Chriftian calling : Yea, of all their head nothing remains unto them but onely their ears, refolving all Gods fervice into hearing alone. But this accufation is not onely improperly, but falfly here layed to my charge, becaufe I forbid meer private men to meddle with publike reforming, which belongs not at all unto them : That fo cutting off the needleffe fuckers the tree may be fed the better, and that private men leaving off thofe imployments which pertaine not to them may the more effedlually advance their owne amendment ; a taske which, when it is done, the fevereft Divine wIH give them leave to play. And becaufe one dangerous Policy hath been mentioned by you, it will not be amiffe to couple it with another device of the Divell, as feafonable and neceffary in thefe times to be taken notice of. Satan puts many meere private men on to be fierce and eager upon publike reforming, thereby pur- pofely to decline and avert them from their own felfe- -amendment. For publike reforming hath fome pleafure in it, as a Magifteriall adl and work of authority, confifting ' to betray : Tr'vth Maintained, page 44. ^ freinds : ibid., page 44. ' difcurtefie ; ib'id., page 44. * » Kings 9. 35. 376 Trvth Maintained. [^^ moft in commanding and ordering of others ; whereas private amendment Is a worke all of paine ; therein a man, as he is himfelfe the judge, fo he is the malefadlor, and muft indite himfelfe, arraigne himfelfe, convidl himfelfe, condemne him felfe, and in part execute himfelfe, crucifying the old man and mortifying his owne corruptions. And we can eafier afford to put out both the eyes of other men, to force them to leave their deare darling finnes, then to pluck out our own ^right eye (In obedience to our Saviours precept), and forfake our owne finnes, which doe fo eafily befet us. Befides, men may be promoted to publike reforming by covetoufnes, to gather chips at the felHng of the old Church government ; by ambition, to fee and be feene in office ; by revenge, to wreck their fpight on the perfonall offences of fuch whom formerly they diftafted. Self-amendment Is not fo fubjedl to private ends, but goeth againft the haire, yea, againft the flefh it felfe, in making men deny themfelves in duty to God. Yea, at the laft day of judgement, when God fhall arraigne men, and fay, Thou art a drunkard, Thou art an adulterer. Thou art an oppreffor ; it will be but a poore plea for them to fay, Tea, Lord, but I have been a publike Reformer of Church and State. This plea, I fay, will then not hold water, but prove a broken cifterne. Nor will God difpence with their want of obedience, becaufe they have offered him ftore of facrifice. Such people therefore are daily to be called upon to amend themfelves and their Families ; which is a race long enough for the beft breathed private Chriftians, though they ftart in their youth, and runne till their old age. Examiner. Sermon, page 19 [H 26, page 307]. Laftly, with carefulneffe not to give any juft offence to the Papifts. [8] Examination. I ^wonder you ^fhould here expreffe an indulgence which is not allowable ; and the memory of the Parliament will be honourable for that ; they knew fo much Divinity as taught them not to value their offence, and to proclaime to them ^both in ^Ireland and England ' Mat. 5. 29. ^ would : Tr'vth Maintained, page 46. ' England and Ireland: ibiil., page 46. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 377 an irreconcileable war. This carefulneffe and tendernefiTe you plead for was the firft principle which embafed our Church fo farre as to take up their Altars and Ceremonies to avoid offence. Saint Paul was of another fpirit, who ''forbore not a Disciple and Apoftle : When I faw, fays he, that they walked not uprightly, according to the truth ofthe Gofpel. You doe much miftake the Divinity of Chrift in matter of offence, who never forbore to preach or publifh any neceffary truth ; nay, when his Difciples were fcandalized and faid, lohn 6. 60, 61, This /; an hard faying. Doth this offend you ? 'fayes he. What and if. Sec. He 'goes on and'^purfues the offence, till they left him and his Doftrine too. And for the Papifts, they are much ofthe relation and conftitution 'that the Scribes smA. Pharifees were ; not without, z^ you fay, nor within ; and yet fee if you can finde our Saviour or his Apoftles letting out themfelves into your reftriftions and moderations and cautions. Thofe truths which are ''elfentially, univerfally, alwayes, and at all times holy, ought not to be meafured by the umbrage and fcandall of the Adverfary. Indeed, in things meerly civill or indifferent, our ufe and liberty may appeare more ; but for fuch truths as our Refor mation ^brings, they will be alwayes an offence to the Adverfary. We preach Chrift, ^fayes the Apoftle, unto the Jewes a ftumbling bloc\, and to the Gree\s foolifhneffe ; and yet the "Apoftle ^preaches, and layes thefe blocks and this roc\ of offence in the way too. Treatife. {z) I wonder you fhould here expreffe an indulgence which is not Allowable.) I wonder and am forry withall to fee a Pro teftant take unjuft offence at this Doc- 7. That it is utterly un- trine, that no iuft offence is to be given J-wM to give any juft offence ' J J JJ . , , ^^ , to the Paplfts or to any men to the Papifts. Know, Sir, that befides whatfoever. thofe Paplfts In England and Ireland to whom you fay (^) the Parliament hath proclaimed an Irreconcilable war, there be alfo many of their Religion in Spaine, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, &c., all Europe over, with whom the Parlia ment hath not as yet any profeffed open hoftility, and to thefe no offence muft be given. The eye of all Chriften- dome Is upon us ; the Sea furrounds, but doth not conceale us : Prefent Papifts read the text of our adlions, and their pofterity will write comments upon them : we cannot there fore be too wary. Befides, grant that this irreconcilable war you fpeak of ' faith : Tr'vth Maintained, page 46. '' goeth : ibid., page 46. ' ofthe Scribes and Pharifees : 'ib'id., page 46. ¦" fhall bring : ibid., page 47. ' faith : ibid., page 47. ' preacheth : ib'id., page 47. 37^ Trvth Maintained. [i6 fhould bind men in a martiall way to kill all Paplfts ; yet I pray take notice that In fome cafes we may juftly kill them, whom in no cafe we may juftly offend. Ihough a male fadlor be condemned by the Judge to be executed, yet the Sheriffe is a murderer if he torment him to death, contrary to the fentence of law. Now giving unjuft fcandall to the Papifts, Is torturing of them, and tyranny to their fouls, which may externally deftroy them ; and you are the firft Divine, and I hope fhall be the laft, which ever held this to be lawfull. Whereas you fay, / much miftake the Divinity of Chrift in matter of offence, I fliould be very thankfull to you, if you be pleafed to redlifie my erroneous judgement ; to which end I will crave the Readers leave the more largely to expreffe my opinion in this point. I hold that we ought not to give juft offence to any man whatfoever : Indeed there is no danger of giving offence to the divell. He who fears to offend Satan offends God with his foolifh fear : Becaufe the divels very nature is all mif chief and malice, nothing being good in him, fave his being which he hath of God ; and he is utterly incapable of falva tion. But feeing In the very worft of men there Is fome goodneffe, or at left a capability of grace here and glory hereafter, through repentance and faith in Chrift, we may not give any man juft offence, as being againft the rules of Piety, Charity, and Chriftian Prudence. Againft the rule of Piety : becaufe God hath faid, '^Give no offence to any. Againft the rule of Charity : becaufe thereby we are cruell to them which are our Brethren by nature, and may be by grace, Againft the rule of Chriftian Prudence : becaufe we cannot give any juft offence, but alfo thereby we doe give them a juft advantage againft us. I beleeve,- Sir, were you to difpute in an Univerfity againft Popifh Oppo nents, you would fo warily ftate the queftion which you defend as that you would not willingly give any upper ground to your Adverfaries, more then what they could get for themfelves. Wherefore, as the wreftlers in the Olimpian ' I Cor. 10. 32; 2 Cor. 6. 3. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 379 games ufed to annoint themfelves with oyle, not only thereby to fupple their joynts, but alfo to make their naked bodies the more flick and flippery, that fo thofe who wreftled with them might catch no hold upon them, fo ought we, who are like to have conftant oppofition with the Papifts, to give them no more advantage then what they can earn ; and if we give them more, they will be more ready to jeere us for our folly then thank us for our bounty unto them. Yea, in this refpedl; it is more dangerous to give juft offence, and therby juft advantage (for the one cannot be done without the other), to the Papifts then to any meer Pagans : For Pagans being rude, dull and ignorant, though an advantage be given them, cannot In point of learning hufband and improve it to the utmoft. But the Papifts whom we doe know and muft acknowledge cunning fencers in the School of wit and learning, are fo well fkild as ever to keep and inforce the advantage we once beftowed on them. And though we need never feare them and all their art fo long as we have God and a good caufe on our fide, fo If we betray our caufe by giving them juft advantage, it is juft with God to deliver us over into their hands, to beat us with our owne weapons. And heare let the Reader be pleafed to take notice, as much materiall to our purpofe, that there is a grand difference betwixt the Removing of things bad in their owne nature, and betwixt the manner of removing them. If any thing be bad in it felfe, it may not be continued, it muft be removed. None can difpence with the retaining thereof, though never fo many or great Perfons take offence at the taking of it away. If Friers bee offended thereat, let them turne their girdles with all their knots in them behind them, whilft wee neede not care for their caufeleffe anger. They who were fo quick fighted that they could fee an offence where it was never given them, let them looke againe in the fame place, and their quick eyes will behold there the amends which were never tendered them. But now, as for the manner of removing of things badd in themfelves, when there is a liberty and latitude left unto us after what fafliion we will doe it, either this way or that way. 380 Trvth Maintained. [16 we muft doe It fo as to give none any juft offence. For where it is at our choice and pleafure to ufe variety of wales, our difcretion muft pitch on the beft, whereby God may receive the moft glory, the adlion the moft lufter, wee our felves the greateft comfort, and all others no juft caufe of offence. And here once againe let mee requeft the Reader to obferve that in my Sermon I never mentioned any tendernes to give the Paplfts offence in removing of thinges bad In them felves ; but this caution of not giving the Papifts juft offence was inferted in the proper place, when we came to fhew how difcretion is to appeare in the manner of a reformation. Yea, the fame thing for fubftance may be done, and juft offence either may or may not be given according to the different manner of doing It. For inftance, fuch Pidlures which are in the fuburbs of fuperftltlon, becaufe the gate of that City is alwales open, may without any giving of juft offence be fairely taken away. But to fhoot off the head of the ftatue of Chrift, either to fpite the Papifts or fport our felves, giveth juft offence. Though the Image be nothing, yet fuch ufage thereof Is fomething ; the bullet fhott at the pidlure wounds pietie : For to do ferious worke in a jearing way is inconfiftent with Chriftian gravities, and argueth not light of knowledge, but lightneffe, not to fay lewdneffe of behaviour. Another inftance. Suppofe that fome ceremonies ancient for time, ufed by the fathers, (though abufed by the Papifts,) reduced by the Proteftants, defended by our Englifh, not oppofed by forraigne Devines, be pradlifed In our Church. And withall fuppofe that fuch ceremonies as they are harmeleffe, fo to be ufeleffe, and not without the fufpition of danger, as the prefent times ftand. In this cafe it will give no juft offence to the Papifts to take them away under the Notion of things unneceffary, and unfuting with our prefent condition. But to remove them as things prophane. Idolatrous, or fuperftltious, giveth juft offence and great advantage to our Romifh adver faries, by the difgrace we put on Antiquity, Befides, hereby we betray our freinds which have don good fervice for our Religion, namely fuch Englifh Devines who with their penns have learnedly and truly afferted the lawfulneffe of fuch ceremonies, and this our retreating from them and leaving 44-J Trvth Maintained. 381 them ingaged (as has ferved Vriah ^ at the fiege of Rahab, treacheroufly) fhews much bafeneffe in us; and in fuch a cafe the difhonouring of good men is the difhonouring of God himfelfe. But if I fliould in Courtlcle yeeld fo much unto you (which I never will) that It were lawfull to give juft offence to grounded and dedicated Papifts, yet know there be fome who in their opinions and affedlions, the borderers betwixt us and the Papifts, almoft Proteftants, not far from our Religion, having one foote in it, and the other likely to follow : fuch People when they fee that we take no care and make no con fcience to give juft offence to the Papifts, will be ready to retradl their refolutions and call back their forward affedlions : fay not that fuch men are better loft then found. Is this the bowels of Chriftian compaffion, which ought to be in us .'' If we wilfully blaft fuch bloffomes, we are not worthy of any ripe frulte; and It is both cruelty and profaneffe to caft fuch doe bakt cakes to the Doggs, which by ftanding a while longer in the Oven would make good and wholefome bread. Nor herein do I write only by guefle, but too much by knowledge, fuch as I can neither well conceale nor comfortably relate. For when the Religious paines of fome reverend Devines whom I know have brought fome Paplfts to the doore of our Church, the juft offence given them by the moderne ex travagances of fome undifcreet Proteftants caufed them to fale backe againe to Popery. And now to returne to your Examination. All things contained therein are eafily to be anfwered by that which we have premifed. (^b) Saint Paule was of another Spirit, who forbore not a ^Disciple and Apoftle.) Saint Paule perceiving a dangerous error in Peter, reproved him, both prefently while the wound was greene, and publiquely, that the plalfter might be as broad as the fore. But in thus doing he gave no juft offence to Peter, but blamed Peter for giving juft offence to other Chriftians. {c) He goeth on and perfueth the offence till they left him.) ' 2 Sam. II. 15. =Gal. 2. ii. 382 Trvth Maintained. [16 This inftance of Chrifts his carlage herein nothing advan- tageth you. Give me leave to repeate what I faid before : If things be bad in themfelves they muft be removed, though they give never fo many offence, or rather though never fo many or great men take offence thereat ; fo alfo If a neceffary Truth bee to be introduced, it muft be preached and brought into the Church, though never fo many be offended thereat. And if there be but one way, and no more allowed us, how and in what manner to do it, according to that one way it muft be don, not vaUuIng the offending of any. But if verity [variety] of way be permitted unto us, God expedls that we fliould give the leaft, and if poffible no offence to any. Now to apply the truth which our Saviour heare preached and preffed was of abfolute and neceffary concernment : Namely that he was the true Manna, Meffiah, and bread from heaven. Such truths muft bee preached ; and If any burne with anger thereat, let not their fire be quenched till it goe out for want of fuell. The cafe is far otherwife in this Reformation, betwixt us and the Paplfts. We had afl effentiall truths before ; and if any ornamentall or additionall truths be now to be brought in, they muft be fo done as to give no juft offence to the Papifts. (i) Thofe truths which are effentially, univerfally, alwaies, and at all times holy, ought not to be meafured by the umbrage and fcandall of the adverfaries). If hereby you meane that neceffary truths muft not bee forborne to bee preached for feare of giving any offence, I clearely concurre with you. Onely I fay that all fuch truths are in our Church already, and not now to bee newly brought in (as you intimate) by the Reformation. {e) And yet the Apoftle preacheth, and layes thofe blockes and this rock of offence in the way too). The Apoftle preached Chrift, and intended him to be a rack of defence to all. As for thofe who perverted him to bee a rock of offence to themfelves, this fcandall was not juftly given to them, but unjuftly taken by them. If Papifts take offence at any fuch truth, it fhall affedl us no more then the cryes of Baals Tro- ' -. Kings 18. 29. 44-] Trvth Maintained. 383 phets affedled any of whom it is faid, there was none to anfwer them, nor any that regarded them. But as for the manner of removing away any errors or bringing in any Truths, we ought to bee wary and circumfpedl, for our own fakes as well as theirs, to give them no juft offence. To conclude. For mine owne part. Sir, I pittie the Perfons of all Paplfts, and heartily defire their convertion, but hate theirs, and aO other errors, with a perfect hatred. And this my enmity to all Popifli Tenents doth the more plainely appeare to be grounded on my Judgement, not on my paffion, becaufe I would have all men fo cautious as not to give them juft advantage, leaft our adlions fight for them, whilft our affedlions fight againft them. What Frier will not laugh in his Coule at this your opinion, that it is lawfull to give Papifts juft offence ? Well, you never fhall have my confent to combate as our Churches Champion againft Rome for the Proteftant caufe untill you have learnt more skill In fencing, and not to lye at fo open a guard. And if you hold it lawfull to give Paplfts juft offence, by the next returne you will hold it lawfull to give juft offence to all which are termed Popifhly affeUed, the Gangrean of which expreffion is by fome extended to taint as found and hearty Proteftants as any be in England. Examiner. Sermon, page 24 [H 31, page 310]. That it is to be defired, not hoped for, a Plato's Common-wealth, and y[oort% Vtopia. Thefe phanfies are pleafing but unfeizable. [9] Examination. He that looks abroad fhall foone have his fight termi nated; but the more he goes on, the more hee fees, and that which clofed his profpeft opens then into new difcoveries: if you fee no perfeft Reformation as you ftand, doe not therefore fay there is none ; they that ftand higher, and on a holier Mountaine, ^perhaps fee %rther. You that ftand in the Horizon ^of Prelacy cannot fee much beyond it ; corruption is deceitfull, and makes us, like Adam, fee all generations in ourfelves. Becaufe we will not be perfeftly reformed, let us not argue our Judgements into a beliefe that we cannot ; ''let us think it as poffible to be the beft as eafie to be the worft ; let us not think that Plato's Common-wealth, or a Moores Vtopia, which for ' farther: Trvth Maintained, page 53. 384 Trvth Maintained. [16 ought wee know is reall and exiftent : There is under the Gofpel a 'Royal Priefthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar People; and certainly had former Ages Mived to fee but the difcoveries of ^later times, they would have admired their owne ignorance and our happineffe. Treatife. (/) They that ftand higher and on a holyer mountaine per- happs fee further). I deny it not. But if they fee a perfedl Church on earth, they fee it in a trance or vifion. {g) Tou that fiand in the Horizon of Prelacy cannot fee much beyond it.) Miffe not the matter, to hitt my perfon. If I ftand in the Horizon of Prelacy, I ftand no more for it then it ftands with Gods glory and will In his word. Becaufe you taxe me with dimnefl'e of fight, I will ftrive by my ftudy to get the beft advantage ground I can ; I will begg of God, to animate [anoint] mine eyes with his ^ eyefalve ; I will be carefull to keepe mine eyes from being bloodfhot by animating any to cruelty In this unnaturall Warr. And know. Sir, that they who ftand in the Horizon of Preffutary or Inde pendency are fubjedl alfo to Errors and miftakes. As delight in old Cuftomes may deceive fome, fo defire of Novelty may blind the eyes of others. God helpe us all ! we are badd at the beft. (^) Becaufe we will not be perfectly reformed, let us not argue our Iudgment s into a beleife that we cannot). A diftindlion or two of perfedlion and your fallacy will perfedlly appeare. Some Saints In the Scripture phrafe are ftiled perfedl, but then it is Comparatively, as they ftand in oppofition to ^wicked men who have no goodneffe at all in them. Or elfe they are called perfedl, as fo denominated from their better part (good reafon the beft Godfather fhould name the Child), their regenerate halfe, which defires and delights In endeavoring towards perfedlion. Or, laftly, perfedlion Is taken for integrity, fincerity, and uprightneffe, oppofite to inward hippocrifie; and in fuch a perfedlion the Heart may have many defedls by the by, but no diffimulation in the maine fervice of God. Such ' latter: Tr'vth Maintained, page 53. 2 Rev. 3. 18. ' SanSlorum nonnulli perfeSli dicuntur refpeSiu mundamrum, qui negligunt res di'v'mas nec ingrediuntur unquam 'v'lam perfeSiionis. Amb. Com. in Epift. ad Phil. cap. 2. [ver. 15. Ed, Paris, 1590, vol. ii. col. 260, ad. fin.] 44 J Trvth Maintained. 385 a, perfedlion as this, men may have, yea, muft have, in this life ; and without fuch a perfedlion here, no hope of any happineffe hereafter. But as for an exadl, legall perfedlion (fuch as fome Papifts dreame of, and moft Anabaptifts doate on), a perfedlion able to ftand before Gods luflice without the fupport of his mercy, it is utterly impoffible for mortall men to attaine unto it. In which fence in my Sermon I faid that a PerfeSi re formation of a Church in this world is difficult to be prefcribed, and impoffible to be pratfifed. Yea, let me tell you. Sir, (cautions comming from good will deferve to be heard. If not heeded,) if you perfift In this opinion of exaSl perfeElion, I conceive your condition dan gerous, Elifha told King laram. Beware that thou paffe not fuch a place, for thither the Aramites are come downe. I may friendly tell you, preffe not one [on] any further in this point, for fplrituall pride lyeth hard by in waite, and the ambufh thereof will furprife you. For my owne part, as I hate my badneffe, fo I hugge the confeffion that I am badd. And Gods children finde both contentment and comfort in knowing they cannot bee perfedl. Hence they learne (what foule fo bad which hath not fometimes /o»2i? holy day thoughts?) to loath earth, to love Heaven, to runne from themfelves, to fly to their Saviour, to pittie others, to pray heartily for them, to hope comfortably of them ; in a word, this dodlrine abateth pride, increafeth charity, and confoundeth cenfuring. Yea, I folemnely profeffe that I would not herein change my dodlrine for yours, to have much to boote. Should I fay that I could be perfedl, both my head and my heart would give my tongue the lye. And one of the beft hopes I have to goe to Heaven, Is that I am fure I deferve Hell. I remember a ftrange, but true and memorable fpeech of Reverend Mr. Fox ^to this effedl, that his Graces fometimes did him harme, whilft his finne did him much good. A won derfuU thing ; yet fometimes fo it commeth to paffe, God making a cordiall for us of our owne wickednefle, thereby teaching us humility. ' 2 Kings 6. 9. ''¦ Cited by Mr. [Richard] Capel in his Booke of Temptation. IfTentat'ions : Their Nature, &c., Lond. 1633, i2mo. pt. i. pages 233-4.] B B 386 Trvth Maintained. [16 {i) There is under the Gofpel a Royall Priefthood, an holy Nation, a peculiar people:) True, Here thefe things are fin cerely begunne, and hereafter fully perfedled ; for in this life there is ftill fome bafeneffe even in the royall priefthood, im piety in the holy Nation, commonneffe in the Peculiar people. And I pray remember you are to prove that a whole Church may bee perfedlly reformed in this world. For though it were granted that fome men might be perfedl, yet it followeth not thereupon that any one Church Is exiftent on Earth, confifting intirely all of perfedl members. HIpocrites are of fo glutenous a nature they will ftick clofe in every vifible Church. They cannot be devlded who cannot be difcerned : except one could borrow Gods touchftone of hearts, fuch flilning droffe will ever paffe current in this Kingdome of Grace. {k.) Had former ages lived but to fee the difcovery of latter times.) If by former ages you meane the time of Popery, I concurre with you. If you underftand the times of the Primitive Fathers, I fufpend my fuffrage till the next para- grave. But if you extend It to the age of Chrift and his Apoftles, I flatly difcent. Nor am I fenfible of any fuch late Difcoveries In Religion, though many Recoveries, thanks be to God, there have been in refcuing the faith from Romifh fuperftltlon. (/) They would have admired their owne ignorance and our happineffe.) By our Happineffe, I fuppofe you meane what lately we had before this Warre began, and what we had npt the happineffe to keepe, and wee truft In due time God will reftore to us againe. Otherwife, as for our prefent woefull condition, I would not wifh our friends or envie our foes fuch happineffe. Examiner. Sermon, page 24 [H 32, page 311]. There are fome now adayes that tal\ of a great light manifefted in tins age more than before. Lndeed we Modernes have a mighty advantage of the Antients : whatfoever was theirs, by induftry may be ours. All contribute themfelves to us, who live in this latter age. [10] Examination. If wee had no more light than what you infinuate were feen from the Fathers, why doe we fee more and more clearly and 44-J Trvth Maintained. 387 further ? Hee that fees farre muft either have a good fight or a cleere light; and fure in this age we have both : thofe errors which our Fathers faw for dimme truths, we fee for herefies ; fo furely both our eyes and our light are better ; for the light which our Fathers have in their lamps can difcover but fo much to us as it did to them ; and we know our Mif- coveries are fuch as we are able to fee the fhadow which followed them, even that myftery which was working in their dayes, both in Prelacy and Ceremony. Who will deny but that the cloud of Antichriftianifme was thick in their times? and then the light could not be fo glorious as now, when thefe clouds grow thinner, and more attenuated by the Preaching of the Gofpel. Treatife. To cut off all occafion and pretence of caviling, wee will fhew, God willing, in what refpedl the Fathers for know ledge excelled and exceeded us, and in s. what advantage the Fa- what refpedl wee modernes goe beyond th^fshadof us in Learning and /U, , , , . , ° , ¦' Religion, and what we have of them, i hey had a threefold advantage them. above us. 1. Of fight, 2. Of light, 3. and of a nearer objedl, Firft, Of a better fight. Being men of eminent natural parts, improved with excellent learning ; and to the Eafterne fathers the Greeke tongue, the language of the New Teafta- ment, was naturall, fo .that it cofteth us much paines and fweat but to come to the place whence they ftarted. Secondly, Of a brighter light. As their conftancie In perfecution was great, fo no doubt the heate of their zeale was attended with a proportionable light and heavenly illumination, God doing much for them that fuffer much for him. Efpecially in thofe points wherein they encountred hereticks, they were more then men, and went beyond them felves, as St. Athanafius againft the Arians, St. Auguftine againft the Pelagians and Donatlfts from whom our moderne Brownifts differ no more then the fame man differs from himfelfe in new cloathes. 3. Of a nearer Objedl. They living clofer to Chrifts times could therefore better underftand the fence of the Church in the dodlrine delivered to the Apoftles. Here we muft know that Apoftles and Apoftolick men, as they wrote Gods difcovery is : Tr'vth Maintained, page 57. B B 2 388 Trvth Maintained. [16 word in their Epiftles and Gofpels for the profit of all pofterity, fo for the inftrudlion of their prefent age they alfo '^traditloned it in their Preaching by word of mouth to the people of thofe times ; not that they delivered anything vivd voce contrary or differrent from what they wrote, or that (as the Paplfts ftile for their traditions) they supplyed and enjoyned any thing as neceffary to falvation, which other wife was wanting in the Scripture ; but the felfe fame things which they wrote in the New Teftament, they alfo delivered in their Sermons, and in their Preaching delated upon them ; wherefore the prime primative age having (as I may fay) two ftrings to their bow. Scripture and Preaching, muft needes bee allowed to have had the cleareft apprehentlon of the meaning of heavenly mifteries. And as the ^ children of Ifraell ferved the Lord all the dayes of lehoffuah, and all the dayes of the Elders who outlived lehoffuah, who had feene all the great workes of the Lord which he did for Israeli ; in like manner wee may conclude that the greateft puritle and the cleareft light of the Church lafted fo long as any, within fight, hearing, or memory of Chrift or his Apoftles preaching or miracles, did furvive. Now to hold the fcales even, we in like manner have a three fold advantage over the Fathers. Firft, a degree of ex- perimentall light more then they had or could have, having feene the whole condudl, Mannaging and Progreffe of Religion fince their times, whereby (with a litle helpe of hiftory) a Devine who is under fixtie in age, may be above fixteene hundred in experience. Secondly, we have the benefitt of the Fathers bookes ; a mightle advantage if we were as carefull to ufe It to Gods Glory as we are ready to bragg of it for our owne credit. And here I muft complaine of many mens lazlneffe. Indeed a learned man ^compareth fuch as live in the latter times in refpedl of the Fathers to Dwarffes ftanding on Giants Shoulders. But then if we will have profitt by the fathers learning, we muft take paines to mount to the tops of their Shoulders. But If like Idle Dwarf es we ftill do but ftand on the ground, ^ 'Eyw ydjO 7rap£\n/3ov o-izh tov Kvpiov o Kai TrapkdwKa v[xiv, i Cor. ii. 23. ^ ludg. 2.7. ' Mos nani fumus ftantes fuper humeros Cjgantum. Holcott. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 389 our heads will not reach to their girdles : it is not enough to through the bookes of the fathers togeather on an heape, and then making their workes our footeftoole, to ftand on the outfide and Covers of them, as if it were no more but vp and RIDE, boafting how far we behold beyond them. No ; if we expedl to gett advantage by their writings, we muft open their bookes, read, underftand, compare, digeft and medi tate on them. And I am affraid many that leaft looke into the Fathers boaft moft that they looke beyond them. Thirdly. Wee have the advantage of a darknefle removed by Gods goodneffe from our eyes, which in fome matters did dimme the fight of the Fathers : Namely, the miftery of Iniquity which wrought in their times, and now is taken away in the Proteftant Church. That Bramble of Rome, (foone will It prick, which will be a thorne,) which afterwards Lorded it over the Vine, Olive, and Figtree, beganne very timely to play his parte. And the Man of fin, then but an infant (and every thing is pretty when it is yonge) was unawares dandled on the knees of many a devout Monke, and rockt in the cell of many an holy hermit, who litle fufpedled that then volun tary fequeftring themfelves to enjoy heavenly thoughts would by degrees degenerate to be in after ages the cover of Pride, luft and lazlneffe. Now feing this man of finne is dead already in the Proteftant Church, and hath a confumption attended with the Hecktick Fever in all other places, the taking away of Popifh fuperftltlon may juftly be accounted the third advantage which our age hath. By the way, we muft take heed of a fault whereof many are guilty. For fome are ready to challenge every thing in the pradlife of the Fathers which doth not pleafe them pre fently to be Popifh, and pretend they taft fuperftltlon In whatfoever themfelves diftafl. O, fay they, the Fathers lived when the myftery of iniquity did worke, and hence they infer that it is evidence enough without further try aU to condemne any cerimonies ufed by them, becaufe they were ufed by them. The way indeede'to make Short Aflifes, but Perjur'd ludges ; whereas it is not enough to fay, but to fhew, that they are fuperftltious, to anatomize, and diffedl the Popery conteined in them, demonftrating where It croffeth the word of God ; 390 Trvth Maintained. [i6 wheras on the contrary aU wife and charitable men ought to efteeme the pradllfes of the primitive Church not only to be innocent, but ufefull and honourable, till they be legally con vidled to be otherwife. If any objedl that the Fathers had another difadvantage, that befides the fpreading of Popery other Herefies did alfo fpring and fprout apace In that time to the darkening of the light of the truth, let them know that fuch oppofition only gave truth the opportunity to tryumph, and the teeth of Error filled [filed] it the brighter, Herefies In eodem fecula quo nata, damnatiB ; quos errores patrum atas tulit, eos et fuftulit, con demning them In Synods and Councells. And In this point to be an equall Umpire betwixt the ancients and us, we muft confider that we live in the Later age ; and commonly bad humors which have vifited the whole body, do fettle at laft in the leggs and loweft parts. With us Sedis and Schifmes do alfo abound ; and fome Herefies fiv^fet a broach in the Primi tive times now runne a Tilt with all their dredgs in our dayes. Thus we fee how the Fathers were both before and behind us for knowledge, and wee therein both above and beneath them in feverall refpedls. See the wifdome and goodneffe of God, how he hath fweetlv tempered things together. So good that all have fome, fo wife that none have all. And how eafie may this controvercy be accommodated, whether ours or the Fathers light were the greateft ; where if the difference be but cleerly underftood, the parties are fully reconciled. And now I conceive, having anfwered you in groffe, I need, not apply my felfe to any perticulers of your examination. Examiner. The Gofpel doth '"work and wind its beames into the world, according to the Propheticall feafons for Revelation. Many Propheticall truths were fealed up, and thofe not unfealed but fucceffively, and as our generations after mav have 2. ftarre rifing to them, which we have not, fo we may have '^beames and radiations and fhootings which our Fathers had not. The Apoftles "had not all their truths and light revealed at once : fome early, fome late, fome not till the Holy Ghoft was beftowed. Revelations are graduall, and the vaile is not taken off at once, nor in one age. Wee honour the Fathers as men in their Generations famous ; their light was glorious in its degree and quality, but they had not all the degrees attainable ; 44-] Trvth Maintained. 391 they had a light for their own times, and we for ours ; and who cannot think we are rifing into that Age p wherein Godi ft:>all poure his fpirit upon all fleft:;; and '^wherein the light ofthe Moone ft:>all be as the light ofthe Sun, and the light of the Sun as the light of feven dayes? Treatife. You hover in Generalis, and feeme to me defirous that your Reader fliould underftand more then you are willing to expreffe. My opinion breifly is this : That no new „ ,. , •O \ .¦ • r r J 1- 1 ^- rr 9. No new light or new Revelations, or new inf ufed light in effen- effentlall truths are or can be tiall points of Religion, is beftowed on "¦='"''''' '° "^'^ '^e. any now-adayes, but that the fame light hath in as plentlfull a meafure beene given to former ages, efpecially to the age wherein the Apoftles lived, and when the faith was once delivered to the Saints, and by them fett downe in the Scripture, and that then fo perfedlly and compleatly that it needed not the acceffions of any future Revelations. I confeffe that men, by fearching the Scripture (that oyle will never leave increafing as long as more veffels be fllll brought) and diligent prayer to God, may and do arrive daily at a clearer underftanding of many places of Gods word which they had not before. Thefe words. Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my Church ; and that place. This is my body, are now more truly and plainly underftood then they were two hundred yeares agoe, when the Pope's fupremacy was as falfly founded on the former as Tranfubftantiation was unjuftly Inferred from the latter. However thefe were not Revelations of new truthes, but reparations of ould. For the prime primative Church received and embraced the fame. The Saints in the time of Popery ^fung as it were a new fang, a Song not new but renewed ; not new in it felfe, but perchance to the hearers ; and fuch are many truthes which are preached in our age In the Proteftant Church, They that maintaine the contrary opinion of moderne re velations of new effentiall truths doe a three fold mifchelfe therein. Firft, they lay an afperfion of ignorance and Imper- fedlion of knowledge on the Apoftles themfelves ; and this is no leffe then Scandalum Magnatum. ' Revel. 14. 3. 392 Trvth Maintained. [16 Secondly, they much unfettle men In matters of Religion, and produce a conftant inconftancy and fceptlcall hovering in all opplnions ; and as the Athenians eredled an Altar to the unknowne God, fo men muft referve a blancke in their foules therin to write truths as yet unknown, when they fhall be re vealed. Thus men will never know when their creede is ended, and will daily waver in that truth which they have in poffef fion, whilft they waite for a clearer and firmer, as yet in reverfion. Thirdly, they fixe on the Scripture an Imputation of im- perfedlion ; and fuch as talke of new revelations of truth may well remember the paffage in the Old Revelation, ^ If any man fhall add unto thefe things, God fhall add unto him the plagues that are written in this booke. And it feemes to mee all one in effedl whether men peece the Scriptures with old Traditions or new Revelations ; and thus the Papift and Anabaptift are agreed, like men in a circle going fo farre from each other with their faces, till their backes meete together. And I profeffe I fhould fooner truft a tradition containing in It nothing croffe to the Scripture, and comming to mee recom mended from the primitive times, and countenanced with the pradlife of the Church in all ages, then a new upftart Revelation. The beft is, wee have no neede to truft either whilft we have Gods word alone fufficient to relie on. The refult of all is this : We have now a-dayes no new truths revealed, but old ones either more falrely cleared or more firmely affented to ; no new Starres of Revelation arife in any hearts. If any fuch doe burne and blaze there, they are but commetts which will fade at laft. In a word, this age is not happie with any new truths, but guiltie of many old lyes. Yea, it rendereth It fufpitlous that fome men are going about fomewhat, which they cannot juftifie by the old knowne lawes of God, becaufe they beginne to broach preparative dodlrines Introdudlorie of new revelations : Diftrufting (as it feemes) the Scripture, the old ludge, as not for their turnes, becaufe they provide for an Appeale to an other Vmplrer ; and if thofe are juftly accounted dangerous members in the ' Revel. 22. 18. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 393 Church, who would bring in Innovations in Ceremonies, then pretenders of new Revelations In Effentiall points of Dodlrine are fo much the greater offenders by how much Dodlrine is more neceffary and fundamentall in a Church then ceremonies. But I will anfwer fome paffages in your Examination par- ticularlie. (m) The Gofpel doth worke and winde its beames into the world, according to the propheticall feafons for Revelations.) Diftinguifh we heare betwixt matters of faSl, and matters of faith. Matters of fadl being foretold In the Scripture are beft underftood when they are accomplifhed : In which refpedl the longer the world lafteth, the clearer men fee and the plainer they underftand fuch predidlions. The Scales In the Revelations were fucceffively opened, the Trumpets fucceffively blowne, the Vialls fucceffively powred out, and the things imported in and by them are fucceffively performed. Wherefore time Is the beft comentator on the propheticall parts of the Bible : Dies diem docet. And to day, which Is yefterdaies fchoolemafter, will be Scholler to to-morrow ; in which refpedl the ^ Prophets words are moft true. Many fhall runne to and fro, and knowledge fhall be increafed. But now, as for matters of Faith, they were at once, and for ever, fully, and freely, delivered at the firft to the Apoftles, and fo from them to us ; and that fo perfedlly and compleatiy, they neede no new revelations quoad materiam ; though quoad modum old truths may now have a new meafure to be more clearely underftood then In the darke times of Popery. (n) We may have Beames and Radiations and Shootings which our Fathers had not.) For Beames and Radiation of knowledge I have delivered my opplnlon ; but as for Shootings, God knowes wee have many, fuch as our Fathers never had. God in his mercy ceafe fuch Shootings, or elfe in his luftice diredl the Bulletts to fuch markes as in truth have been the troublers of our Ifrael. (a) The Apoftles had not all their truths and light revealed at once : fome early, fome late, fome not till the Holy Ghoft was ' Dan. 12. 4. 394 Trvth Maintained. [i6 beftowed.) All this is moft true which you fay : The Apoftles at firft were (as we may fay) Frefhmen, newly admitted into Chrifts Company. Then they tooke their firft degree of knowledge, when fent forth to Preach the Gofpel, Mat. lo, to the lewes alone in their Mafters lifetime. They com menced in a higher knowledge after Chrift his Refurredlion, And after his Affention, affended yet higher in Spiritual IHu- mlnatlons. Laftly, after the comming of the Holy Ghoft, they proceeded Dodlors in deede ; I meane, they then had the completion and confumation of all underftanding neceffary to falvatlon. Now, Sir, Confider that after this time they wrote the New Teftament, and therein all effentialls for us to know and doe for our foules health, fo that we now doe deduce and derive our knowledge, not from the Apoftles in their infancy or minority of Judgement, but from them having attained to the Top and Verticall point of their perfedleft fkill in heavenly mifteries. (/)) And who cannot thinke wee are rifing into that age, wherein God will power his Spirit upon all flefh, fc?c.) What proportion doth this beare with what you faid not long fince, prophefying that our Marian Times did approach too faft ? When nothing was light but the Bonefiers to burne the Mar tyrs. I will not deny but this great fun may arrife ; but the reigning vices of the time are but an ill Morning Starre to harbinger the rifing thereof. We have taken the St. Shippe from thofe in heaven, but have no more hoHneffe in our felves here on earth. What betwixt the fins which brought this Warre, and the finnes this warre hath brought, they are fad_ prefages of better times. Never was Gods name more taken in vaine by oathes and imprecations. The Lords day, formerly profained with mirth, is now profained with malice ; and now as much broken with Drummes as formerly with a Taber and Pipe, Superiours never fo much flighted, fo that what '^Naball faid fullenly and (as he applyed it) falfly, we may fay fadly and truly. There be many fervants now adayes that breake away, every man from his Mafter. Killing Is now the only Trade in fafhion ; and Adultery never more common, fo that our ^ I Sam. 25. 10. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 395 Nation (In my opinion) is not likely to confound the fplrituall Whore of Babilon whilft corporall whoredom is in her every where committed, no where puniflied. Theft fo ufuall that they have ftollen away the word of Stealing, and hid it under the Name of Plundering. Lying both in word and print grown Epidemicall, fo that it Is queftionable whether Gunnes or: Printing (two inventions ofthe fame Countrey and ftanding) at the prefent doe more mifchelfe In this Kingdome, It is pafl coveting of our Neighbours houfes, when it Is come to violent keeping them. He therefore that doth ferioufly confider the Grievoufneffe and Generality of thefe finnes will rather con clude that fome Darkeneffe of Defolation then any Great light is likely to follow upon them. God, I confefle, in mercy may doe much both to pardon and profper us, and can extradl Light out of Darkeneffe; but whether he will or no, I (though confident of his power) fee little caufe to hope of his pleafure herein. And though herein I muft .confeffe, many of thefe inormitles may (though not wholly be excufed, yet) be fome thing extenuated by pleading the unavoidable neceffities which warre doth caufe, yet furely wee fhall anfwer to God for caufing this warre by our crying finnes and tranfgreffions. (^) Wherein the light of the Moone fhall be as the light of the Sunne, and the light of the Sun as the light of the feven dayes.) This, for ought 1 can finde to the contrary, was accomplifhed at Chrifts Comming, and [at] the generali giving of the Gofpel to the Gentiles with the fending of Gods Spirit miraculoufly upon them. Sure I am a Parallel place of the Prophet was then fulfilled, by the expofition of Saint ^Peter himfelfe. And it ffiall come to paffe in the laft dayes {^faith God) I will power out my fpirit upon all fleft : and your Sonnes and your Daughters fhall prophefie, and your young men fhall fee vifions, and your old men ftall dreame dreames. Thefe words having the advantage of that Date, 31n tl)e laft Dafegr, might with the more colour have beene alleadged by you and applyed to thefe times to prove fome fpeciall Revelations in our dayes, had not the Apoftle marred your Mart and prevented you by applying the prophefie to the primative times. ' loel 2. %%; Afts 2. 17. 396 Trvth Maintained. [16 Examiner. But wee fee the policy of ''commending the Fathers light to tmr Genera tion ; for could you prevaile with us to fet our Dials by that, you then might reform our Church by the Canterburian Agnomen, and fo fet us back to a falfiy-reputed Primitive Reformation. Treatife. (r) But wee fee the policie of commending the Fathers.) I proteft before Almighty God I have neither bafe nor by refpedl in praifing the Fathers. Saint Paule blamed Peter at Antioach, Hecaufe he was to be blamed. I in the like manner commend the Light of Fathers, becaufe it is to bee commended, not for any favour or flattery. A falfely -reputed primitive Reformation I abhorre from my heart, and I prefume our Church is too wife to be cofened therewith. ' If Canterbury hath misbehaved himfelfe, his friends for him defire no more, and foes to him fhould grant no leffe, then a legall triall. But infult not on any man's fufferings : Organs, I dare fay, are not fo offenfive in Churches as the making of Muficke on men in mifery. Time was when you fett as much by a Smile from Canterbury as he ftill fetts litle by a Scoffe from you. Examiner. Sermon, pages 13, 14, 15, 16 [ITU 15-25, 303-7]. The Ratification for Reformers. The decent buriall of fuch Ceremonies as are ta\enfrom the Fathers. The honourable Refervation to our firft Reformers. [11] Examination. That it may appear I look not onely at the worft of the Sermon, there are excellent truths in it ; and it is pitie they are not ^better 'fituated : I could alwayes wifti to fee a Diamond fet in Gold. Thefe are good Pofitions ; and in their Pages not without their enamill of wit ; yet there is a Policy to write faire in one leafe, though you make 'a blot in another, but I cannot let thefe paffe without fome obfervation. Treatife. (j) And it is Pitty they are not better fcituated: I could alwaies wifh to fee a Diamond fet in Gold.) I cannot blame you, efpecially if the Diamond be their owne. But what 'gnomon: Tr'vth Maintained, page 67. ' Gal. 2. 11. ' fcituated: Tr'vth Maintained, page 68. 44-J Trvth Maintained. 397 meane you by this Expreffion ? Would you have had the Truths in my Sermon to have beene fet in the Gold of rich and glittering language ? Truly I could not go to the coft thereof, efpecially on fo fhort warning wherein the Sermon was made. However a Diamond is a Diamond though fet in Home, whereby the lufter thereof may be fomewhat dimmed, but the worth thereof no whit diminlfhed. But in one refpedl I muft confeffe thefe Truthes were ill fcituated : that they ftood too neere to a captious Reader who tooke caufeleffe exception at them. ^'~ (/) Tet there is a policie to write faire in one leafe, though you make a blot in another.) Shew me, Sir, where thefe blotts bee. For as yet I am more troubled to know my fault then my defence. Examiner. Firft, for the Ratification : ''I dare fay never age afforded more eminent in this Kingdom ; their Calling lawfull, their Pietie exemplary, their know ledge radiant, their courage experienced ^thorow a legion of difficulties, their prudence in the conduft of a bufineffe, though oppofed with the Policy and Malignity of a grand and potent Enemy. Treatife. {y) For their qualification, I dare fay .) If you dare fay it, J dare not to gainfay it. Their calling no doubt is lawfull, if the fupreame power concurres with them. Of their pietie, which confifts in their hearts, God alone is ludge. I will not difpute againft their radiant Knowledge, nor fight with their experienced Courage, and It were folly in me to oppofe their Prudence. Let not the perfedlions of King Davids ^Subjedls be numbered. God make their Knowledge, their Courage, their Prudence, an hundred fold more then it Is ; and may the Eyes of my Lord the King fee the fame, to his comfort and Honour. Examiner. And for the decent buriall of '^ Ceremonies, and fuperftitions of the fathers: they fhall have a Parliament of Senators, and an Affembly of ^Divines to lay them ' through : Tr'vth Maintained, page 69. ^ 2 Sam. 24. 3. ' Devines : Tr'vth Maintained, page 69. 398 Trvth Maintained. [16 in their Grave ; and, I dare fay, a godly Congregation in the Kingdom to fing a Pfalm at their ^Funeralls : and will not this be a "very decent buriall .? And for the honourable refervation to the Reformers and their memories: our ^Divines and Reformers now have ever made 'reforts and appeals to the truths they delivered ; and in thofe times when Beza, and Calvin, and */". Martyr were fet loweft, till the Mafter of the feaft came lately and bid them fit up higher ; a Caietan and Bellarmine, and a Councell of Trent, I am fure, had ^more honour from the ''Divinitie of the other year or your times : fo farre we admire the Reformers as to love their Truths, and to pitty their errors. But I will not fay much : "errors may be more provoked than remedied with overhandling ; let us be wife in the Colours of good and evill ; though it be an honeft, yet it is a dangerous miftake 'to think 'too many our Friends, and ^too few our Enemies.Treatife. {w) As for the decent buriall af Ceremonies, and fuperftitions of the Fathers.) You are cunning to improve your felfe on my words. In my ^ Sermon, I made a double fuppofition : Firft, If there be found in the Fathers praSiice any Ceremonies fmacking of Paganlfme or Popery. Secondly, If the fame can be juftly Challenged to be continued in our Church : Now (as if two Suppofitlons made a Pofition) you flatly infer and perump- torlly conclude, fuch fe>up0Cttttlongi are in our Church. I fhould be loth to fell wares to fuch a Chapman, and to truft his honefty In meafuring of them out, who hath fuch a flight In flipping his fingers that give him an inch and hee will take an ell. You might have don better to have tould us what the perticulers of thefe fuperftitions are. (^) And will not this be a decent buriall?) The pleafant- nefie of your wItt doth pleafe me : fome mirth in thefe fadd times doth well. But you might have been pleafed to have taken notice that by the decent buriall of fuperftitious Ceremo nies (if any fuch can be proved to be in our Church) I ment the removing of them In that manner as might give no juft offence to any, as I have largely difcourfed of before. How- \ funerall : Tr'vth Maintained, page 69. ^ Devines : ibid., page 69. '^ reforte and appeale : ibid., page 70. "¦ Peter Martir : ibid., page 70. ° Devinity : ibid., page 70. ° Nimis remediis irritanlur deliSia. Tacitus, fii/ivtie' ainariiv 'S,uii,a, or otherwife, Sir, my learning will not extend to underftand this your new greeke. (d) He were no wife and faithfull Devine.) So then you conclude me a foolifh and deceitful Minifter; and I had rather you fhould caH me fo ten times then my guiltie confcience fhould tell me fo once, for concealing of a neceflarv truth. {e) Who would not preferve that fecret for holy advantages!) Firft, the queftion is, whether or no It lay in my power, if I would, to keepe this Point fecret. What your people at Hefler- tann in Torkefhire are, you beft know. In this Dodlrine I was not the teacher, but the remembrancer of my people at the Savoy, from whom had I clofely covered it with both my hands, they would have feene it through all my fingers. Befides, what hope can one have to keepe it fecret when (as you fay) fo great and glorious a light is fhining now-a-dayes .? But if I could-, I ought not to fuppreffe It. Let Popifti IO. That the Doarine of tcncnts be fhutt In a cloifter, and ficke faf:i":irdtn1°c"„ro^ °pi"i°ns keepe their Chamber : God honeftly bee concealed. UCVCr lighted thls Truth for US tO pUt It under a buftiell, it being alwales feafonable to bee divulged, and now dangerous to bee concealed. ' Ariftotle [see Politica, lib. 4, cap. 10, § vi!.] [(.ap. ix.l ^ Arift. Politica, lib. 5, cap. 8 [§ ii.] ; Reip.[ublica'\ blandimenta. Liv. lib. 2. ' ' Non -vulgare. _ Tacit. Ann. [Bk. i. § 6]. Nec proferre decet in publicum. Arnol. Clapm, [arius] lib. 6, cap. 19 [ed. Leyden, 1644, p. 333]. 44-J. Trvth Maintained. 401 Thefe holy advantages (I would not count them advantages were they not holy) arife from Preaching this point. Firft, it awakens men from their Idle dreames of their conceited perfedlion of a Church here ; and too many I feare have made this common-wealth here woefully militant, under pre tence here to make the Church happily triumphant. Secondly, to teach all Chriftians (Majeftrates and Minifters moft efpecially) as induftry, fo patience, daily to doe, and conftantly to fuffer, no whitt difheartned in their endeavours to perfedlion. Knowing though things bee badd, after their befl labours to amend them, that this proceedes from the inevitable vanity, to which the creature isfubjetl. Thirdly, to weane men from this world, making them to love and long for the time of the reftitution of allthings, when this world as a watch out of tune fhall not onely bee taken affunder and fcoured, but alfo have all the wheeles made new and then bee perfedlly reformed. Yea, Sir, let us try whether you or I proceeding on our contrary principles ftiall more effedlually perfwade a reforma tion : you will tell the world that a perfedl reformation in this life is attaineable, even to the anticipating of Heaven heare ; and this you will preffe with all your power and flowers of Retorick, and all Httle enough to performe fb un- favory an untruth. Now fee, fir, what mifcheifes will follow hereupon. I . Becaufe one falfehood requires more to fupport it, you muft call in other auxilliary falfities to defend this, and fo en gage your felfe in a multitude of errors. a. Seeing flights and fhifts can never laft long, your forgery will be detedled, 3. You are lyable to Heavens Pillar ie to bee punnifhed for holy fraud, 4. You will fcarce be trufted afterwards, though telling truth, being once convidled and ever fufpedled of falfliood. As for thofe whom you have deceived unto the utmoft of their endevours of Reformation, on your falfe perfwafion that the perfedlion thereof may bee had in this world, though their labours therein bee very forward at the firft, yet foone will they wither and weaken with the graine in the Gofpel that c c 402 Trvth Maintained. [i6 wanted Roote (no Roote and a falfe Roote are the fame in effedl); and Gods bleffing cannot be expedled on the deed tfuH proceedings. As for mee who have no cunning In fuch hunting, but pleafe my felfe with lacob to bee a plaine man, I would goe another way to worke, and tell them the worft firft: that indeede it is vaine to expedl a perfedl reformation in this world. However, let them comfort themfelves that wee ferve fuch a Mafter who accepts of the will for the deede, and knowes whereof we are made : Hee remembreth that wee are but duft. And therefore let us doe our beft, and ftrugle againft our infirmities, being confident that God in Chrift will pardon what is amiffe, and reward what is good in us. And I doubt not but fuch dodlrine by Gods bleffing will both take deeper impreffion in mens hearts, and bring forth better fruits of amendment in their lives. (/) / commend Bodin and Tacitus for their politicall falthfulneffe : they writt far, yet would not Sun the imperiall yjjiv^ia nor make them popular. ) I confeffe it to bee unfitting, yea, dangerous to impart mifteries of State to private people ; for fuch lewels are to bee lockt In a fafe and fure Cabinet, the bofoms of Polititians. Not fo in neceffary Points of Divinity ; for though every private man hath not a State to governe, hee hath a foule to fave, and therefore muft be partner In all wholfome dodlrines. Indeede in fome cafes Preachers may though not finally fuppreffe, yet feafonably conceale, or rather warily deferre the publifhing of fome points of Religion. Firft, when they are not of abfolute concernment to falvation, and the Minifter by his Chriftian difcretion plainely forefees that all the good which rationally can bee expedled to redound from Preaching fuch a Truth will not countervaile the ill which in probability will inevitably follow thereupon. Or elfe, when the Auditors are not capeable as yet of fuch difiicult Dodlrines, Chrift himfelfe did fitt his Wines to his bottles, powring in not what hee could give, but they could take, leaft otherwife hee fhould rather fpIU his liquor then fill his veffells. Neither of thefe cafes now alledged take place concerning the publifhing of the Dodlrine of the Impoftibility of the 44-J Trvth Maintained. 403 Churches perfe£iion in this world. For we may by Gods bleffing juftly expedt and promife to our felves and others much good and comfort from the preaching thereof, as we have largely proved before. Nor dare I fo much to difparage the times we live in (now it being above a hundred yeares fince Luthers reformation) as to count them to have age fo much, and Knowledge fo litle, as not yet to be capable with fafety and profit of fo plaine and true a Dodlrine. Some fhortly expedl the day of Iudgment, and fure then the world is al ready come to Age to underftand Truths, except fhee come not out of her Mynority till juft fhee be ready to die and to be diffolved. is) Would not Sunne tbe Imperiall xp^4"-°") Godly fecrets in Religion in fome refpedls may be Sunn'd. Firft, that thereby they may be tryed (all Truths have Eagles eyes) whether or no they can behold and beare the Sunne Beames, Secondly, becaufe our Saviour hath faid, ^ What I tell you in darkneffe, tbat fpeake in the light ; and what you heare in the Eare, that preach you upon the Houfe toppe. Laftly, that by proclaiming them the Godly may have an opportunity to receive them, and the wicked be rendred unexcufable for refufing them, when fuch Truths are made generally knowne, {h) Nor make them poptdar). I diftinguifh on the word Popular. If it be taken, as generally it is (ufe having confined a word, of generali acception in it felfe, to an ill fence), to Court the good will of people for any private or finefter end, it is utterly unlawfull ; for Popularity, which Is neceffary love in a Prince, is unlawfull luft in a Subjedl, who may not Court the Kings wife, for to him alone are the People married in a Politicke Relation. All honeft men therefore difclaime to make Truths Popular in this fence, to impart them to the vulgar to gaine any vaine applaufe. Yea, confider herein whether you rather be not faultie in making the Imperiall 'Xpv<^ca to bee Popular, who incite and incourage ordinary People to make a Publique Reformation. But Truths in Divinity muft be made Popular, that is, bee communicated to all people in true fincerltie for the faving of their Soules. ' Math. 10. 27. C C 2 404 Trvth Maintained. [1644- J The ^Apoftle calleth it the Common falvation, and therefore it muft be preached to aU in common : our Sermons muft as wel be ad Populum as ad Clerum. Otherwife fuch Monopolies are illegall and diftrudllve to the State of the Church, for any Minifters to engroffe any wholfome Dodlrine to themfelves, and not imparte it to their Parifh, except in the cafes afore mentioned. Examiner. [13] Apology. I have now done (I will not fay) refuting, but committing errors : I am afraid my hafte at this time hath made me mend one fault only with another. Treatife. I will not oppofe yours, but . annex my owne conclufion. If I fhould deny my owne many Imperfedlions, my pradlife would confute what my Pen hath maintained. Reader, for the matter of what I have written I require thee, in Gods name, do me luftice. For the manner, method, or words thereof, I requeft thee, as I am a Man, fhew mee favour. Thinke not the worfe of the Truths for my fake, but thinke the better of me for the Truths fake which I have defended. And conceive me not to be of a brawling and controverfiall difpofition, who do defire and will pray for an Agreement from my Soule, fo long as my fpeech fhall ferve me. Yea, If I fliould chance to be ftricken dumbe, I would with Zacharia make fignes for table bookes and write [that] the name of that -which I defire above all earthly things is Peace. God fend it. Amen. ' lude 3. FIN IS JACOBS VOW. SERMON PREACHED BEFORE HIS Majesty, AND THE Prince His HighnefTe, at S'. Maries in Oxford. The tenth of May, 1644. being the day of Publique Faft. By Thomas Fuller B.D. And publifted by fpeciall command. OXFORD, Printed by Leonard Lichfield, Printer to the Univerfity, 1644. [I am fo much a friend to all Church-men that have anything in them befeeming that facred Funftion that I have hazarded My own Intereft, chiefly upon Confcience and Conftancy to maintain their Rights ; whom, the more I looked upon as Orphans and under the facrilegious eyes of many cruel and rapacious Reformers ; fo I thought it My duty the more to appear as a Father and a Patron for them and the Church, although I am very unhandfomely requited by fome of them, who may live to repent no lelfe for My fufferings then their own ungrateful errours, and that injurious contempt and meannelfe which they have. brought upon their Calling and Perfons. — Ekay (iaaikiici], § xxiv. pp. 141-2, ed. 1649, in Reliquia Sacra Carolina, Hague, 1650, izmo.] [Introdu6lion. ^' THIS Sermon and that immediately following it, both preached in places garrifoned by the Royalifts, are the only two military Sermons of Fuller of which there is any record, and they form themfelves into a diftinft group. The traft againft John Saltmarsh was not the only publication that Fuller put forth frpm the city of Oxford. His reference in that traft to his laft will and teftament (page 336) refers to his intention to take the field. A fentiment of juftice to his Sovereign had prompted this refolve, which had further been encouraged by the martial fpirit that animated the Univerfity, — a fpirit which had turned the " filken hoods " of the collegians into military " fcarfes " and the colleges into barracks : — " 'Mongft us there's fcarce a verfe, nay line, without Charge to the Front, to th' Reere, and Face about. This metamorphofis is ftrange, but we Embrace it as we would our Liberty." Fuller had, accordingly, become Chaplain in the divifion of the Royal army employed in the West, under the worthy and religious Lord Hopton. Upon that general's defeat at Cheriton Down, 29th March, 1644, his chaplain retreated to the bravely-defended garrlfon at Bafing Houfe, and afterwards for the fecond time to Oxford. During April and May the Royalift generals at the latter place were organifing their forces for further operations ; and meanwhile Fuller was called upon to preach before Charles \., who was well acquainted with his fervices both inthe pulpit and in the field. The laft paragraph of the Sermon (page 431), where Fuller fpeaks of the intereft which the King had in the welfare of clergymen, is an indication of perfonal intercourfe. The Sermon was preached upon the May faft-day. On the day preceding its delivery. Dr. William Fuller, Dean of Ely, and divers Doftors and Clergymen, who had been long imprifoned in London, came to Oxford on exchange (Dugdale's Diary, page 67). The court was fomewhat ftiorn of its brilliance in confequence of the departure, a few weeks earlier, of the Queen and her attendants to Exeter, and of the difliblution of the " mongrel " Parliament. Amidft the godleffnefs con fequent on the prefence of large bodies of troops in the garrifon-city, the element of devotion then, as always, was diftinftly manifefted in the Royal quarters ; and to an audience confifting of the King, his family and attendants, of the collegians and townfmen, and of refugees who had CCCCviii INTRODUCTION. [May 10, paffed over the rivers Trent, Thames, and Severn, — Fuller's Sermon was addreffed. Prince Charles, then thirteen years of age, was alfo an auditor, perhaps an interefted auditor, pf this earneft difcourfe. One may conjefture whether he recalled it when, about eight years afterwards (i zth Nov., 1652'), "Dr. Clare preach'd on 28 Gen. v. 20, 21, 22, upon Jacob's Vowe, it being the firft Sonday his Majefty came to Chapell after his efcape " (Evelyn's Diary). The old Wednefday faft-days " for Ireland," to which allufion has already been made at pp. ccxxxiii.— iv., continued to be zealoufly ob ferved by the adherents of the Parliament, who intended that the King's , appeal to arms Ihould be regarded as an indication of the increafe of the difpleafure of the Almighty on the nation, — to avert which was the chief intention of the faft. The King therefore ordered (5th October, 1643) that that faft Ihould be difcontinued ; but the Royalifts (who according to Twyne's Mufterings of the Vniverfit'^ Kept the faft at leaft as late as 29th March, 1643) continued for fome time to obferve the day as a feftival. In the new Royal proclamation reference was made to the ill-ufe of the Wednefday-faft by " many feditious lefturers ; " and it was commanded that a folemn monthly faft Ihould be religioufly obferved on the fecond Friday in every month in all churches and chapels, with public prayers and preaching in all places where it may be had, to the end that a happy peace might refult (Huftjand's folio ColleSlion, 1646, pages 353-4). William Chillingworth, Fuller's fellow-Prebendary, is faid to have preached the firft fermon, 13th October, 1643 ; which after his death in the enfuing year was publifhed by royal command (Nichols's Life of Chillingworth, page 289; Rushworth, vol. ii. pt. iii. 365). In the Forms of Prayer which were drawn up (4to. 1643) in accordance with the proclamation, the faft was faid to begin " on the loth November next." Its purpofe was defcribed to be "for the averting of God's judgements upon us for the ceafing of this prefent Rebellion, and reftoring a happy Peace in this Kingdom." On thefe two fafts, which were thus each month being fimultaneoufly kept in the kingdom. Fuller penned the following meditation (No. xvii. § iii.) in his Good Thoughts in Worfe Times, 1647 (pages 137-8) : — " When the lewiftp Sabbath in the Primitive times was newly changed into the Chriftians Lords-day, many devout people twifted both together in their Obfervation, abftaining from fervile-Workes, and keeping both Saturday and Sunday wholy for holy Employments. During thefe Civill Warres Wednefday and Fryday Fafts have been appointed by different Authorities. What harme had it been if they had been both generally obferved .' But alas ! when two Meffengers being fent together on the fame Errand fall out and fight by the way, will not the worke be worfe done then if none were employed? In fuch a Paire of fafts it is to be feared that the divifions of our Affeftions rather would increafe then abate Gods Anger againft us. Two Negatives make an Affirmative. Dayes of Humiliations are appointed for men to deny themfelves and their finful lufts. But doe not our two Fafts more peremptorily affirme and avouch our mutual malice and hatred ? God forgive us ! We have 1644.] INTRODUCTION. CCCCIX caufe enough to keepe ten, but not core enough to keep one monethly day of Humiliation." Jacobs Vow, it feems, was a fuggeftive title, having relation to a devout refolution which Charles I.' — "our religious Jacob," — had publicly vowed ; and in commemoration of it he had inftituted a weekly fervice which had been religioufly obferved every Tuefday up to the date of Fuller's Sermon (page 422). The "juft occafion" of this Vow, by a ftrange overfight, has not been put on record in the pages of hiftory ; nor, indeed, can any notice of the public weekly exercife be found in the local annals of Hearne (in his Twyne's Account of tbe Mufterings of the Vniverfity of Oxford, 9th Auguft, 1642, to 15th July, 1643); in the almanack-diaries of Sir William Dugdale, who had been in attendance on the King fince the latter part of 1642 ; in k Wood ; or in other contemporary writers. Nothing has refulted from an examination of Mercurius Aulicus, and other news Iheets of the time. There are two or three occafions in the monarch's life fitted by their folemnity for the conception of fuch a vow, as, e.g., when he broke his word with refpeft to Lord Strafford, " that bafe, finful conceffion," as the King called it. One important Vow has been affociated with Charles I., but the firft recorded reference to it belongs to a period a little later than the date of Fuller's Sermon ; and if it is the fame vow as that to whifh the preacher alluded, certain links are at prefent miffing. This was the celebrated vow to reftore to the Church all the cathedral and other impropriations, as alfo the lands, &c., which had been taken away from religious houfes, &c. It was penned at Oxford on the 13th April, 1646, fhortly before the arrival of the difbanded troops from Exeter, and of the King's flight into the quarters of the Scotch, — an epoch in the monarch's hiftory that gave rife to the juft refleftion of Hume : "As the dread of ills is commonly more oppreffive than their real prefence, perhaps in no period of his life was he more juftly the fubjeft of compaffion." Gilbert Sheldon and Bifhop Duppa alone feem to have been acquainted with this vow, and its prefervation is due to the former. It was as follows : — I, A : B : , doe here promife and folemnly Vow, in the prefence and for the fervice of Almighty God, that if it ihall pleafe his Divine Ma''^ of his infinite goodnes to reftore me to my juft Kingly Rights, and to re- eftablifh mee in my Throne, I will wholly give backe to his Church all thofe impropriacons w'^'' are now held by the Crowne ; and what Lands foever I now doe or fhould enjoy which have beene taken away eyther from any Epifcopall See or any Cathedrall or Collegiate Church, from any Abby or other Religious houfe. I likewife promife for hereafter to hold them from the Church under fuch reafonable Fines and Rents as fhall be fet downe by fome confcientious Perfons, whome I promife to choofe w'' all uprightnes of Heart to direct me in this particular. And I moft humbly befeech God to accept of this my vow, and to bleffe Mee in the defignes I have now in hand, through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen. Oxford, the 13'* Aprill, 1646. Charles R. CCCCX INTRODUCTION. [-^flj' 10, This is a true Copye of the King's Vow, w'* was preferved thirteene yeares under ground by Mee Gilbert Sheldon. Aug. 21", 1660. The beft account of the circumftances attending the penning of this remarkable paper is to be found in Profeffor Burrows's Worthies of All . Souls, 1874, page 179, where the writer, after remarking that the vow had ftrangely enough been loft to hiftory, not being found, as far as he was aware, in any Hiftory of England written during the laft 150 years, fays that his attention " was drawn to it by the mention of certain 'buried papers' in a MS. letter of Bifhop Duppa's (of 1660) which he found in the [Tanner MSS. vol. xlix. fol. 17, in the] Bodleian Library. A reference to Le Neve's Lives of the Bifhops fupplied the clue. This book, written in the early part of the eighteentli century [1720], gave in full the paper which follows \i.e. the Novf] as having been juft then publifhed for the firft time in the Appendix to Echard's Hiftory of England [17 1 8]; and in the Clarendon State Papers (2176 Bodl. Lib.) the authentic copy quoted by Echard is ftill to be feen. The exiftence of the Vow was found afterwards to be mentioned in the Biographical Diftionary in the notice of Sheldon. Perhaps, if not wholly forgotten, it has been thought an unimportant faft." Profeffor Burrows further remarks upon the light which this document throws on the charafter and conduft of the King. "If one who preferred to run any rifk rather than facrifice his Church deferves the name of a martyr,- that facred name ought fcarcely to be denied him. . . . Nor will the impreffion of his juft right to the title be weakened by difcovering that he had bound himfelf in the moft folemn manner, before a competent witnefs, to perform, if he furvived, an aft of juftice to the Church, which no one elfe, it need hardly be faid, has fhown any figns of even meditating." In my Life of Fuller, pages 329-30, I have noted an earlier date for the printing of the Vow, viz. in 171 5, in Nelson's Addrefs to Perfons oj Quality and Eftate, Append. No. iv. page 24 ; and have alfo mentioned the document in conneftion with Spelman's Hiflory and Fate of Sacrilege, edit. 1853, page 231 ; the Rev. J. M. Neale's Hierologus, 1843, page 25; and fome paffages which feem to bear upon it in Juxon's Sermons in Marah's "Memoirs of that Bifhop, pages 185, 190, and in Fuller's Church-tiiftory, Book xi. fo. ed. page 236. A copy of it was, in 1836, in poffeflion of Wm. Upcott (Or/g-. Letters, MSS., i£c., privately printed, 1836, 4to. p. 9). One other work maybe cited, viz. Disraeli's Com mentaries on the Life and Reign of Charles I., 1851, vol. ii. page 438. The paffage in which this writer refers to the Vow affords — when read in connection with Profeffor Burrows's remarks — a ftriking illuftration of the curiofities of literature : — "At this moment [of the King's meditated flight from Oxford with four or five thoufand men, to perifh in the field] the feelings of Charles were wrought up to their higheft tenfion ; and it may ferve as an ex traordinary evidence of the vifionary turn of his mind, and the awful fuperftltlon of his foul, that Charles entertained fome wayward fancy 1644.] INTRODUCTION, CCCCxi that fhould he ever re-poffefs his throne, he would perform a public penance for the fin, as it feemed to him, which lay heavy on his foul — the death-warrant of his great Minifter. At this moment he wrote down a fecret vow, folemnly offered to God, of his future refolutions to reftore to the Church all the Cathedral and other Ecclefiaftical lands formerly held by the Crown, and now, as he conceived, appropriated by facrilegious hands. This fingular document, the effufion of fome melancholy and feverifh hour, when preffed for farther conceffions for the eftablilhment of the Prefbyterial Government in England, was buried under ground for fecurity, during thirteen years, by Archbifhop Sheldon." It may be added that the Vow and other " buried papers " feem to be referred to, as Profeffor Burrows juftly fuppofes (page 221, as before,) in a letter dated nth Auguft, 1660, addreffed by Bifliop Duppa to Sheldon, then Dean of His Majefty's Chapel. He penned the letter at the critical moment when Charles II. was hefitating about filling up the vacant fees, and urged his correfpondent to make thefe papers public, " which can't but have," faid he, " a powerful influence upon fo dutiful a foul as his " (the King's). The vow was accordingly made known, with Sheldon's atteftation, on the 21ft of the fame month ; and early in the following month the fees began to filled. The prominence given in this Sermon to the fubjeft of tithes (pages 426 seq.) lends colour to the opinion that the preacher had been difcuff- ing that matter with the King, whofe opinion is pointedly given (page 431). A brief but admirable hiftorical treatife on tithes is to be found in a quarto pamphlet entitled Tithes examined and proved to bee due to the Clergy by a Divine Right, written in 1 606 by George Carleton, B.D. A fhort time afterwards, in Fuller's youth, a great controverfy had arifen in ecclefiaftical circles through the publication of Selden's treatife. The Hiftorie of Tithes, that is. The praSiice of payment of them. The pofitive laws made for them. The opinions touching the right of them, 161 8, in which that eminent lawyer hiftorically proved that tithes were payable jure divino, and not otherwife. This was the book of Selden that clergyinen moft difliked {Worthies, § Suffex, page in) ; and, in confequence of it, it was faid that "never a fiercer ftorm fell on all Parfonage Barns fince the Reformation " than what it raifed up {Church-Hiftory, book x. cent. iv. page 70, ^11 39, 40). Many divines applied themfelves to anfwering this work, fuch as the Rev. Stephen Nettles, Dr. Richard Tillesley, Richard Mountagu, &c. ; but the writer of the " late Hiftorie " of tithes, to which Fuller refers (page 430), took his cue from it. In common with many writers. Fuller laments the prevalence of cuftoms that were injurious to the juft difpofing of this facred revenue. When commenting on William I.'s charter to the Englifh clergy, which feemed to give the tenth loaf of all the bread of the land into their hands, he fays that " the municipal laws, which were afterwards made, did fo chip and pare this loaf with their modus decimandi, that in many places (Vicaridges efpecially) a fmall fhiver of bread fals to the fliare of the Minister, not enough for his neceffary maintenance " (book iii. cent. xi. CCCCxii INTRODUCTION. [May 10, 1644.] page 5, IT 12). Some of thefe local modes of tithing are referred to in Mount AGu's Diatriba vpon the firft part of Selden's History, p. 106. Complaints as to the pofition of the clergy in relation to their tithes were common in Fuller's days. From the character ofthe Good Parilh- ioner in The Holy State we find it ftated that while amongft the Romans Decimum, the tenth, was ever taken for what was beft or biggeft, "i.t fals out otherwife in paying of Tithes, where the leaft and leaneft are fhifted off to make that number" (3rd ed. pages 85-6). And he fays elfewhere that in fome places the modus decimandi had " almoft tithed the Tithes " {Church-History, book ii. cent. ix. page 113, IT 14). In another effay he defcribes the not uncommon cafe at that time of a minifter of narrow means, whofe neceffity bolted him out of his own ftudy, fending him to the barn inftead of his book ; or making him ftudy his Eafter-book more than all other writers (" Of Ministers Maintenance," Holy State, page 223). The ancient right of the clergy to tithes began to be re-affailed during the fittings of the Long Parliament ; and the hiftorical references to the fubject in the Church-Hiftory are affected by thofe difcuffions. In the fecond book, which was written when the ftorm againft tithes had fpent itfelf, the writer infifts not, as in the prefent Sermon, on the arguments from the Old and New Teftament to prove them to be by divine right ; fuch arguments, he fuggeftively fays, might be adduced when all tempefts of tumultuous fpirits were allayed, and when the queftion might be de bated iv Trj ivvofjuf EKK\r](Tifalth, Ibi dormiuit, vbi nox eum comprehendit , He flept there where he was benighted, not in any towne or houfe or tent, but Sub dio, making the earth his bed, heauen his canopie, and a ftone (which hee found in that place) the pillow whereupon he repofed his head : and yet hauing a wearied bodie, and a quiet confcience (which are two good Engines to draw on fleepe), he flept as foundly vpon that hard pillow as if hee had lien vpon a bed of Downe. And in his fleepe he dreamed of a certalne Ladder reaching vp from earth to heauen, vpon which the Angels of God afcended and de fcended, and the Lord himfelfe ftood at the toppe of the Ladder ; who made vnto him a large and a moft gracious foure-fold promife, in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth verfes, i. That he would glue vnto him and his feed that land vpon which he then flept. 2, That hee would multiply his feede as the duft "of the earth, ^. That in his feed all the Nations of the earth fhould be Bleffed. And laftly. That he would be with him and keepe him whitherfoeuer hee went, and bring him againe vnto that land, and not to forfake him vntill he had performed all that he had promifed vnto him. When lacob awoke out of his fleepe, and percelued that the Lord was in that place, and he not aware of it, and that that place was no other but the boufe of God, and gate of heauen, verfe 17, he was ftricken with feare and reuerence, as euery one ought to bee that commeth within the gate of Gods houfe; and tooke the ftone that lay vnder his head, and fet it vp for a pillar, and powred oyle vpon the top of it, and called the name of that place Bethel, that is, tbe houfe of God. And entring into a ferious confideration of this gracious Promife, which farre exceeded all that hee could either alke or thinke, hee did not through vnbeliefe make any doubt of the performance thereof; but certainely belieuing that it fliould be accompliflied in due time, like a thankefull Pil- ' Homil. 54. in Gen. [Ed. Paris, fo. 1711, vol. iv. p. 527 j ed. Savile, fo. 1612, i. 423.] 1644.] Genefis xxviii. 20, 21, 22. 415 grime or a man euen ouer-ioyed with vnexpedted, but yet afl'ured hopes, he began to ftudle with himfelfe what hee fliould render vnto the Lord for all thefe benefits promifed vnto him ; and not finding any better meanes to expreffe his thankefulneffe, he vowed a Vow in my Text, faying, If God will be with me, ^c. Of which Vow there be two parts. The firft is, Petit io, a Requeft, which he defired of God. The fecond is, Pro- miffto, a Dutie, which he promifed to performe to God. The Petition In thefe words : If God will be with me, and will keepe me in this way that I goe, and will giue me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, fo that I come againe to my fathers houfe in peace. The Dutie which hee promlfeth to performe in Hew of this benefit is three-fold : i . That tbe Lord ftall be his God ; 1. That the ftone which he had fet vp for a pillar ftould be Gods house ; 3 . That of all that God ftould giue him, he would giue vnto God the Tenth. Of which points In order as they lie In the Text, And firft of the Petition or requeft, which (as you fee) is very moderate, and reafonable : for whereas God had pro mifed vnto lacob foure things, lacob doth not defire all, nor halfe, nor the thirde part of that which was promifed ; but contenteth himfelfe with the laft and leaft of all thofe foure things, and defireth nothing but only neceffarles for the prefent : not ^ailes or Manna for delight, but onely bread for neceffitle, that is, neceffarie food ; not purple and fine linnen for pompe, but onely raiment to put on, that is, neceffarie cloathes ; not the attendance of many feruants, but onely the protedtlon and bleffing of God, without which neither his food, nor raiment, nor anything els could doe him good, nor himfelfe either be well or be. But what is the reafon why Ifaac, who was exceeding rich, fent foorth his fonne lacob (who by Gods prouidence was now lately made his Heire) fo exceeding poore that he Is faine to petition for foode and raiment ; whereas Abraham his father fent foorth his very feruant vpon the like iourney richly furniftied and fumptuoufly attended? Was Abrahams fer uant better than Ifaacs fonne ? 41 6 lacobs Vow. [May lo. To omit the diuers Allegories which ^Saint Auguftine and ^Gregorie have obferued vpon this paffage, the reafons, as ^Theodoret and others haue well fumraed them vp, might be thefe. I . Vt fratris conatus melius declinaret ; that going poorely, and priuately, his brother Efau might not fo eafily miffe him, nor know which way to purfue after him. 2. That this miferie might mooue his brother to com paffion and reconciliation. 3. Vt animus effet reuertendi ; that carrying no wealth with him to maintaine or detaine him abroad, he might haue the more mind to returne vnto his father home againe. 4. And laftly, that hee might haue the better experience of Gods mercie ; as indeede he had ; for which hee re turned thankes vnto God at his returne \n the thirty-fecond chapter. Jacobs pouertie may teach vs that although worldly profperitie be the good bleffing of God wherewith he often enricheth his owne children, yet hee euer, at one time or other, chafteneth thofe whom he loueth, and traineth them vp in his fchoole of afflidtlon, and nurtureth them with his Ferula of wants and croffes. Virga tua & baculus tuus, faith the *Pfalmift, &c. They muft as well be humbled and inftrudled with his rod of corredlion as fupported with his ftaffe of comfort. Abraham and Ifaac, lob and Dauid, and lacob alfo in my Text, after his returne from Padan-Aran, were all rich, and our Lord himfelfe was Lord of all ; and yet none of them wanted either their wants or croffes. And the children of Ifrael, Gods owne people, were not onely pinched with wants in the wilderneffe, but were pricked with ^ thornes in their eyes and goades in their fides, euen in the land of Promife. Whence wee may learne that Aduerfitie is the bleffing of God vpon his children, as well as Profperitie. Res profpera donum eft confolantis, res aduerfa donum eft admonentis Dei, faith ' Aug. Ser\mones'\ de Tempore, [No.] 79 [Ed. Bafle, 1543, vol. x. col. 760-2]. ^ Greg. Mor. lib. 5, cap. 21. [22, vol. ii. 131, ed. Antw. 1615, fo.] " [Ed. Paris, 1642, vol. i. Interr, Ixxxiii.-iv. pp. 60-1]. "• Pfal. 23.4. "lof 23. 13. 1644.J Genefis xxviii. 20, 21, 22. 417 ^S. Auguftine: Profperitie is the Gift of God comforting, Aduer fitie the gift of God admonifting. Profperity may bee the more pleafant, but Aduerfitie many times Is the more profitable; which made Dauid out of his own experience Ingenioufly confefle that it was ^good for him that hee had beene afflidled. And fo it is good for vs all to be afflidled fometimes, els we fliould forget both God and our felues, and bee too much wedded to this world, and fay with Saint Peter, ^Bonum eft effe hie, and begin to build fuch Tabernacles here vpon earth as would hinder vs from our euerlafting Tabernacles of bliffe in heauen. And thus much of lacobs pouertie and want. But now being In fo great want as hee was at this time, why doth he preferre fo poore a Pedtion vnto God, who is fo rich in mercie ? And whereas God had now lately appeared vnto him here in Bethel, and promifed the whole land of Canaan to him and his, why doth hee defire fo poore a pittance as food and raiment, which would onely keepe life and foule together ? The very foules of the aire are fur nifhed with thefe. And yet lacob defires no more ; to teach vs how moderate wee fliould be in the defire of earthly things. We may and ought to be euen couetous of things fplrituall and heauen] y : fo faith the Apoftle, '^Couet after the beft gifts: but of temporall and earthly things we may not be couetous more then is neceffary for our callings and eftates ; becaufe, as our Saulour teacheth, ^A mans life doth not confift in the abundance of the things which hee poffeffeth. Therefore the Apoftles rule is, that hauing but ^Star/oo^a? koX aKeiracT^iaTa, onely food and raiment, wee muft be content therewith: for ViSius & veftitus funt diuitia Chriftianorum, faith 'Hierome : food and raiment are the riches of Chriftians : and our patterne of Prayer doth warrant vs to petition onely for our daily bread : that is, as it is excellently expounded in ®that Royall Meditation vpon the ' [Ep. ccx. ad Felicitatem etRufticum.] 'Pfal. 119. 71. ' Mat. 17. 4. ¦" I Cor. 12. 31. ' Luke 12. 15. ^ i Tim. 6. 8. ' [Epift. 1. ad Paulinum Prefbyterum, de Studio Scripturarum, vol. iv. part ii. col. 575, ed. Paris, 1706. ' Written by the kings Maieftie [James I., "for the benefit of all his Subiefts, efpecially of fuch as follow the Court." Works, ed. Mountagu, 1616, fo. pp. s8»-3]-, D D 4 1 8 Jacobs Vow. [May 10, Lords Prayer, onely for fuch temporall things as are neceffary for our Effe, or, at fartheft, for our Bene effe. And they that cannot be content with thefe, but with the Horfe-leaches daughters ftill cry, Giue, Giue ; and will needes be rich, fall into temptation and a fnare, and into many foolifli and hurtfull lufts, which drowne the foule in perdition and deftrudlion, i Tim. 6. 9. lacob hauing once feene God in Bethel, and fet his heart vpon him who is the true treafure, neither admired nor much defired (more then was neceffary) this worldly tralh. Where we may fee that howfoeuer worldlings doe not onely admire, but euen adore riches, and honours, and earthly pleafures, as their foie trinltie, yet the Children of God, knowing that earthly honors and riches are but fhadowes of heauenly, and the pleafures of finne not fo much as fhadowes of heauenly pleafures, vfe thefe things when God giueth them, but neither abufe nor admire the fame. And why fhould men admire fhadowes, painted fires which flame, but warme not? and may fitly be compared vnto Glo- -wormes, or pelces of rotten-wood, which in a darke night fhine like ftars, but when the Sunne arifeth and fheweth what they are, the one appeareth to be a poore worme, the other nothing but a rotten ftlcke : So thefe glorious outward things fhine like Starres in the eyes of the Children of dark neffe ; but the Children of light, whose eyes are purged from thofe skales of darkneffe, doe plainely fee that In regard of true content they be Vanitas vaniffima, wormes and ftickes, before which ^Solomon incomparably preferred wifedome ; and Agur in the Prouerbs of Solomon prayed expreffely againft riches (In the thirdeth chapter) afwell as pouertie. Mendicitatem & diuitias ne dederis mihi: Giue me neither pouertie nor riches, but feed me with food conuenient for me. And this is the reafon why lacob in my Text petitions neither for riches, nor honour, nor any other outward thing, but onely for bread to eat, and cloathes to put on. And yet one thing more is to be obferued In lacobs Petition out of thefe words of my Text, where he faith, If ' T Kings 3. 9 1 644- J Genefis xxviii. 20, 21, 22. 419 God will be with me, and keepe me in this way that I goe, and bring me againe to my fathers houfe in peace : wherein befides foode and raiment, you fee hee defireth the protedlion and bleffing of God in his whole iourney going out and comming in ; without which, neither his bread could nourifh, nor his cloathes keepe him warme, nor any thing elfe doe him good. For ^Man doth not Hue by bread onely, but by euery word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God, that is, the bleffing of God vpon bread : For as in Phificke a dileafed man Is prefcribed to boile certaine medicinable hearbes In running water, and then to drinke a quantity of that water, and fo is cured of his difeafe ; and yet wee know that it is not the water, but the decodllon or infufion which cureth the Patient : fo it is not the bread that nourlfheth, nor the abundance of outward things which enricheth or contenteth, but the in fufion of Gods bleffing, which is the ftaffe of bread ; without which a ^man may ftarue for hunger with bread in his mouth, and die like the children of Ifrael with the flefh of Qualles in their teeth. Whereas on the contrary, Daniel feeding vpon bare pulfe, ftrengthened by the bleffing of God, which is the ftaffe of bread and of all other nourlfhment, was ^fatter and fairer then they that were fed with the Kings diet : For it is the * bleffing of God that maketh rich ; and a little that the righteous hath is ^better then the great reuenewes of the vngodly. And wee may obferue in our owne experience many a man, who with a "dinner of greene hearbes, as Solomon fpeaketh, that is, fliort diet, courfe clothes, hard lodging, and a poore eftate, looketh fatter, llueth merrier, fleepeth fweetlier, enioyeth more hearts eafe and true content, and in trueth llueth better then others that weare a chaine of golde. And therfore wifely did lacob defire nothing but food and raiment, and Gods bleffing vpon them, which hee knew would ferue his turne. And thus much ofthe Petition, or Requeft which lacob defired of God. ' Mat. 4. 4. " Leuit. 26. 26 ; Ezek. 4. 16 ; Pfal. 78. 30, 31. 'Dan. I. IS. ¦'Pro- 'o- *^- 'Pro. 16. 8. 'Pro- »5- '7- D D 2 420 lacobs Vow. [May lo, Now I come to the duties which he promlfeth to performe to God, in the next words. Then fhall the Lord be my God, ^c, wherein lacob, who was afterward ^furnamed Ifrael, hauing recelued but euen the promife of a benefit, prefently voweth the performance of a duetle ; to teach all true Ifraelltes that Beneficium poftulat officium ; and that the thankefulneffe of the receiuer ought to anfwere vnto the benefit of the beftower, as the Eccho anfwereth to the voice : wee doe no fooner recelue the one, but we are immediately bound to returne the other. So doth Dauid, ^ Thou haft deliuered my foule from death, mine eyes from teares, and my feet from falling : There is the benefite recelued ; and then it followeth in the very 'next words, / will walke before the Lord in the land of the liuing : there is the duetle returned. So likewife in my Text, If Gad will be with me, and giue me bread to eate, and cloathes to put on : there is the benefit petitioned for, and promife. Then fhall the Lord be my God, i£c. : there Is the returne of a duetle vowed. Now wee all haue recelued the fame or the like benefits, both fplrituall and temporall, whereby we are all bound vnto the like thankefulneffe ; but where is the performance of the fame, or the like duties ? We owe as much or more vnto God for his benefits then lacob did ; but who voweth or paleth vnto him the like duties that lacob did ? What heart can thinke or what tongue can expreffe our Infinite obligations ? Firft, for fplrituall fauours : Infinitely are we bound vnto God for our Creation ; more then infinitely (if more might be) for our Redemption and our effedluall Calling vnto the participation thereof. What fhall we then render vnto the Lord for all thefe benefits done vnto vs ? Totum me debeo, faith *S. Bernard, pro me f alio : quid igitur rependam pro me redempto ? I owe every whit of my felfe (vnto God) /or my Creation : what ftall I then render vnto him for my Redemp tion ? And ^ Saint Ambrofe faith. Nihil eft quod dlgnum • Gen. 32. 28. ' Pfalm 116. 8. ' Verfe 9. ^ [Ed. Antw. 1620, col. 949 a.J ' Ambr. fuper Luc. Ser. 5. [Expos. Luc. lib. vi. Paris, 1686, torn. i. coll. 1389- 1390, fli 26.] 1644.J Genefis xxviii. 20, 21, 22. 421 referre pojfumus pro fufcepta carne Maria, quid pro cruce obita, quid pro verberibus, & fepultura reddemus ? We are not able to be fufficiently thankefull for taking our fieft of the (Virgin) Marie, what ftall wee then returne vnto him for his fuffering vpon the Croffe, for his ftripes, for his buriall ? And as for temporall benefits, we are farre before lacob. He wandred vp and downe the world like a poore Pilgrime, with his ftaffe in his hand ; he kept flieepe, and was parched with the heat of the day, and frozen with the cold of the night ; and in my Text, the bare earth was his bedde, a hard ftone his pillow ; he had nothing ; he defired nothing but onely bread to eate, and cloathes to put on, and the pro tedlion and bleffing of God vpon him In his iourney ; and yet hee, euen for thefe, vowed a Vow unto God. Wee fit vnder our owne Vines, and our owne Fig-trees, in peace and reft; ^We lie upon beds of luorie, and ftretch our felues vpon our couches ; we are clad in purple and fine linnen, and fare delicately euery day ; we eat calues out of the ftalles and lambes out of the flockes ; wee drinke wine in boules, and annoint our felues with coftly ointments, and inuent inftruments af Muficke {like Dauid) : But who is either forrie for the affliSlian of lofeph, the extreame miferies of our Brethren in neighbour- Countries, or who Is fenfible of our owne great profperitie and our incomparable happineffe, or who for all this voweth one Vow to God ? When our Saulour Christ had ^cleanfed ten Leapers, there was but one found amongft all thofe ten, and he a ftranger too, that returned to giue God thanks. I feare there Is scarfely one of an hundred amongft vs that is but euen fo thankefull vnto God for all his benefits as that ftranger was onely for his cleanfing. When this good Patriarke lacob returned rich from Padan-Aran in the thirty-fecond chapter of this booke, he neither forgate what he was then, nor what he had beene before ; and therefore in a thankefull remembrance of Gods great mercies towards him he payed one part of this Vow in that place, and worfhipped God, faying, ^O Lord, I ' Amos 6. 4, 5, 6. ' Luke i-j. \-j. ^ Gen. 32. 10. 422 lacobs Vow. [May lO, am not worthy of the leaft of all thy mercies ; for with my ftaffe 1 paffed ouer this lordan, and now I am become two bands. Many a one there be in this honourable Court who haue paffed ouer, not the rluer of lordan, but the rluer of Trent, or Thames, or Seuerne, with their ftaues in their hands, that is, poore eftates in comparifon, and haue beene deliuered from many dangers, and are now euen laden with riches and honours ; And yet I doubt there bee not manie, that for all this, haue vowed with lacob to haue the Lord for their God, or to build him an Houfe, or to pay him the Tenth of all that he hath giuen them. One Religious Vow you fee weekely payed in this place by our royall lacob, I meane our Tuefdayes Exercife ; which was deuoutly vowed vpon as iuft an occafion as euer Vow was made. And hitherto (God be thanked) it hath beene reli gioufly performed, God grant that this our lacob may long and long Hue a happie King of this happie Ifland, euen as long (If it bee his will) as the olde Patriarke lacob did, to pay this tribute and the reft of his Vowes vnto the King of Kings. And can wee that are his feruants haue a better patterne to imitate then the Religious example of fo Royall a Mafter ? Therefore I will conclude this point with that zealous ex hortation of another King, Pfal. 76. 11: Vouete l£ reddite Domino Deo veftro : Vow vnto the Lord your God, and keepe it, all yee that are round about him ; bring prefents vnto him that ought to be feared. And thus much of the generali of lacobs Vow. Now I come to the particular duties vowed ; and they are three : Firft, that the Lord fhould be his God ; that is, that hee would worfliip the true God, and no other. Secondly, that the ftone which hee had fet vp for a pillar fhould be Gods houfe ; that is, he would dedicate that place vnto the publique worfhip of God, Thirdly, for the maintenance of both thefe he would glue the Tenth of all that hee had. All which were neceffary duties, and euery one of them hath a neceffary rela tion and dependance vpon other : For if God muft be wor fhipped, then muft hee haue a place to be worfhipped In, 1644.] Genefis xxviii. 20, 21, 22. 423 which is here called an Houfe, and our Saviovr faith, ^fliall of all nations bee called the Houfe of Prayer: And if a Houfe of Prayer, then a maintenance for that Houfe, and them that fhall fay Prayers in It. Of thefe in order ; and, firft. Of the firft : Then ftall the Lord be my God. To haue the Lord for our God is the very fumme of the firft Com mandement, the meaning whereof, as all Interpreters expound it, is to loue God aboue all, to make him our treafure, and infinitely to preferre him and his Seruice before our felues and all other things in the world. A duetle whereunto euery man is bound, as well as lacob; and euery man that Is not an Atheift will confeffe, and profeffe as much. But how they performe this dutie, or either loue or preferre God aboue all, who fo farre preferre themfelues, their honours, pleafures and profits, vnto Gods Seruice, that they fpend more houres of time, and pounds of money vpon the one, then minutes or pence vpon the other, and beftowe more coft euen vpon points and fhooe-ftrings In one day then vpon the worfhlp- plng of God in a whole yeere, ludge ye. Aures omnium pulfo, confcientias fingulorum conuenio, as Saint Auguftine fpeak eth. If the Lord be their God, where is his feare ? where is his loue ? where Is his honour ? There goeth more to this then the hearing of a Sermon once or twife a weeke, efpecially as it is vsually heard, which is fcarce worth the name of a hearing ; and lacob meant more then fo in rny Text. For to haue the Lord for our God is to loue him aboue all, as I faid before, and to ferue him femper, & ad femper, with an vniuerfall obedience, both in regard of time and place; and with Dauid to haue refpedl, not vnto fome one, or two, but vnto ^all his Commandements. They which ferue God on the Sundaies, but not on the weeke-dayes ; in the Church, not in their Chambers, Clofets, Callings, and whole courfe of life; and that, not for praife, profit, pleafing of men, or cuftome, but out of a good and honeft heart and a confcience of their duties ; doe not performe this part of lacobs Vow, to haue the Lord for their God. And thus much of the firft dutie. Mark ii. 17. ° Pfal. 119. 6. 424 lacobs Vow. [May 10, The fecond followeth in the next words. And this ftone, which I haue fet vp for a pillar, ftalbe Gods Houfe. A dutie neceffarily depending vpon the former ; for If God muft be worfhipped, then muft he haue a place to be worfhipped in, here called an Houfe. Now, fome thinke that this place where lacob flept and fet vp this Pillar, was Mount Maria, and that he called it Bethel, or the Houfe of God, Prophetically by a Prolepfts, becaufe the Temple fhould afterwards bee built there : yet there may be two other reafons why lacob calleth this pillar Gods Houfe, as before he called the very place Bethel. I. Becaufe God had manifefted his prefence here in an extraordinary manner, as he did after\^ards both in the wan dring tabernacle and in the fixed Temple, where he was therefore faid to Mwell, as In an Houfe. 2. Becaufe lacob confecrated this place vnto the Seruice of God, and {chapter ^S^ '^^d verfe 14) fet vp an Altar for his worfhip in ftead of this Pillar ; and (as may probably be thought) would haue built a Houfe for Prayer, and facrificed in this place, if himfelfe and the Church had beene then fetied here, and had opportunitie and meanes to haue done it. But being a Pilgrime, and In his Iourney, he did what he could for the prefent ; he anointed a Pillar, eredled an Altar for Sacrifice, and dedicated a place for an Houfe of Prayer ; whereby we may fee what great care this holy Patriarke had of the place of Gods worfliip. His firft care was for the worfhip it felfe, which hee vowed in the former words ; his next care Is of the place of his worfhip. In thefe words. To teach vs that as our firft care fhould be of the worfhip of God, fo our fecond care fhould be of the place of his worfliip. The obiedl of our firft loue muft be God himfelfe ; the objedl of our fecond loue muft be the Houfe of God. O Lord, I haue loued the habitation of thy houfe, and the place where thine honour dwelleth (faith Dauid), Pfalme 26. 8. Thy feruants take pleafure in her ftones, and fauour the very duft thereof, Pfal. 102. 14. And Pfal. 84. 10: One day in thy Courts is better then a thoufand. I had rather be a doore- ' I Kings 8. 13. 1644.J Genefis xxviii. 20, 21, 22. 425 keeper in the houfe of my God then to dwell in the tents of wickedneffe: And he rendreth the reafon why he fo exceedingly loued the Houfe of God, in the very ^next verfe ; for there the Lord is the funne and ftield ; there hee will giue grace and glorle : and no good thing will he with-hold from them that Hue a godly life. God Is In all places by a generali prouidence ; but hee dwelleth in his houfe by a fpeciall prefence. Hee dlftlUeth the droppes of his mercie vpon euery part of the earth ; but he powreth it downe vpon that holy ground which Is dedicate to his Seruice. There he fhlneth like the funne ; there hee defendeth like a fhleld; hee filled the Temple at lerufalem with his glorle ; hee made many gracious promifes to them that praled therein, or towards it ; and ftill ^where two or three are gathered together in his Name, hee will be in the middeft amongft them; and no good thing will he with-hold from them that worfhip him In the beautie of hoHneffe, and wait for his ^louing kindneffe in the middeft of his Temple. Priuate Conuenticles are not to be compared with the pub lique Affemblies of the Church, that is both the throne of Gods glorle and his Mercle-feat. Which euer fo Inflamed the holy men of God in former ages with the zeale of his Houfe that they fpared neither coft, nor paines, nor euer affedled anything fo much as the building and beautifying thereof. I will not fuffer mine eyes to fteepe,nor my eye-lids to ftumber (faith Dauid), vntill I find out a place far the Lord, an habitation far the might ie God of lacob, Pfal. 132. 4, 5. The good Centurion in the Gofpel ^builded a Synagogue at his owne charges. Great Conftantine, that mirrour of deuotion, bare twelue bafkets of earth vpon his owne fhoulders towards the founding of a Church. And when that noble Captaine Terentius had done fuch ferulce in Armenia that the Emperor Valens bade him afke whatfoeuer hee would, for a reward of his ferulce, his onely fuite (as ^Theodoret reporteth) was vt Orthodoxis vna pr^eberetur Eccle- fia: And when the Emperour tare his petition, and bade him afke fomewhat els, hee ftill perfifted in his fuite, and called ' Verf. II. ^ Mat. i8. 20. ' Pfal. 48. 9. ¦* Luke 7. 5. * Hip. tripart. lib. 8. cap. 13. [Eccles. Hist. lib. iv. cap. xxix. Ed. Paris, 1642, fo. p. 702.] 4^6 lacobs Vow. [May 10, God to record that hee would make no other fuit but that. And how zealous our owne forefathers haue beene in this kind of deuotion, I need not fpeake : the zeale of Gods Houfe ¦ did euen eate them vp ; the goodly Monuments whereof, yet extant in all our Cities and many Countey- Parlfhes (which haue fpared vs both the labour, and charge of building Houfes vnto God), fpeake for them. But fome of thofe Houfes which they haue built, and euen the faireft of them, fince their Buttereffes and PIHars (I meane their maintenance) hath beene pluckt away, begin to droope alreadie, and in time, (if it be not preuented,) will moulder away, and drop downe : And yet who pittleth the ruines of Sion, or repaireth any one wall or window thereof? Will your felues ^ dwell in fieled houfes , and fuffer the Houfes of God to lie wafte? Shall Pater nafter build Churches, and Our father pull them downe (as the prouerbe is) ? or fuffer them to fall ? ^O let not that be told in Gath, nor publifted in the ftreetes o/Afkalon, left the Philiftines reioyce, le/l the vncircumcifed triumph. Therefore to conclude this point : Seeing wee need not with lacob In my Text vow to build, let vs all out of our zeale vnto Gods Houfe vow to beautifie, or at leaft to keepe vp thofe Houfes which are built to our hands. And thus much of the fecond duetle, which lacob vowed in thefe words. This ftone which I haue fet vp, &c. The third followeth in the laft words. And of all that thou ft alt giue me, I will giue the Tenth vnto thee. A duetle necef farily depending vpon the two former, as I faid before : For if God muft be worfhipped and haue an Houfe, then muft there of neceffitle be a maintenance : therefore lacob in the third place, for a perpetuall maintenance of the worfhip and houfe of God, and them that fliall attend therein, voweth for himfelfe and all the pofteritie as well of his Faith as Flefh, vnto the end of the world, the palment of Tithes : Of all that thou ftalt giue mee, I will furely giue the Tenth vnto thee. But what is the reafon why lacob here voweth to giue vnto God rather the Tenth then any other part of his goods? Surely howfoeuer fome other caufes may bee alleadged, yet the ' Hag. 1.4. '2 Sam. i. 20. 1644.] Genefis xxviii, 20, 21, 22. 427 true reafon is becaufe lacob knew, either by the light of Nature or by the tradition and pradlife of his Anceftors, that this quota, the very tenth, and no other part, was, is, and for euer muft be as due vnto God as either his Houfe or his worfhip : therefore he ioyneth thefe three together, being all relatlues which depend one vpon another ; Se mutuo ponunt, & auferunt, and they are all equally due vnto God : And due vnto him, not by any common right, as other things ; but by a fpeciall proprletle and right of referuation : whereby Almighty God from the very Creation of the 'world, and donation thereof vnto the vfe of men, referued vnto himfelfe, and feparated from common vfe vnto his owne Seruice, fome out of euery one of thefe fiue things, which fhould neuer after be alienated or taken away without Sacriledge, I , A forme of DIuIne worfhip, which may neuer be giuen to any other. 2. A time for this worfliip, which Is the Saboth day, neuer to be abrogated. 3. A place of worfliip, which is his Houfe, neuer to be prophaned. 4. A Prieft-hood, which may neuer bow knee vnto Baal. 5. And laftly, for the maintenance of all thefe. Tithes, which hee therefore calleth his owne Inheritance, neuer without Sacriledge to be Impropriated. ^De omni fubftantia quam Deus homini donat, decimam partem fibi referuauit : Of all the fub ftance which God hath giuen vnto man, he hath referued the Tenth part vnto himfelfe : They be the very words of Saint Ambrofe. And S, Auguftine faith, '''Deus fibi tantum decimam vendicans, nobis omnia condonauit : God challenging only to himfelfe the Tenth, hath giuen all things vnto vs. And that hee referued to himfelfe the tithes for this purpofe, euen from the beginning, as well as any of the other foure things, may appeare by this : That for any thing we know to the contrary tithes were payed euen from the beginning of the world ; for fome thinke that Caine and Abel offered the very tithe as they ' Ambr. Ser. 34, in peria tertia poft i. Dominicam, quadrages. in vit. edit. col. [Serm. xxv. De Sanfta Quadragefima ix. § 2 : App. vol. ii. Ed. Paris. 1690, col. 425.] 2 Aug. de temp. Ser. 219. [Serm. i. De reddendis decimis, vol. x. coll. 1077-8, ed. Bafle, 1543.] 4^8 lacobs Vow. [May 10, were inftrudled of their father Adam. But howfoeuer that be, certaine it is that there is no fooner mention made of any Prieft, Kara rd^iv, of an order fit to recelue them, then there is mendon of paying of tithes vnto him. For Abraham, the father of the Faithfull, no fooner met with Melchifedec, a Prieft of an Order, but for an example vnto all his pofteride, euen all the Falthfull vnto the end of the world, hee gaue him tithes of all the fpoiles. Gen. 14. And gaue It him, not as an arbltrarie gift, but as a neceffarie due vnto God ; for hee fware not to take fo much as a Shooe-latchet of the King of Sodoms; And yet hee tooke the tithe, to offer, not as his, but as Gods due. And lacob In my Text, amongft other Morrall dueties (for here Is nothing Ceremoniall), voweth the paying of tithes : and in the twenty-feventh of Leuiticus, which is the firft place where tithes are mendoned vnder the Law, God doth not then begin to referue them and to fay. All the tithes of the land ftalbe the Lords ; but clalmeth them as his due of old by ancient Inheritance, ^faying. All the tithe is the Lords; it is holy vnto the Lord ; not, it fhall be. And fo being his owne of old, he onely affigneth them vnto the Leultlcall Prieft-hood for that time. And thus you fee them due both before and vnder the Law. Now let any man fhew when and where they were abrogated by the Gofpell. Not by our Saulour Christ, who fpeaketh of them twife or thrife ; and fo had iuft occafion to haue abrogated them, if he had had any fuch intent ; yet hee abrogateth not, but rather confirmeth them : Matth. 23. 23, Hac oportuit facere: Thefe things ought you to haue done. Nor by the Apoftle ; for S. Paul is fo farre from abrogating that on the contrary he both commandeth and eftabhfheth them, and prooueth them due. He commandeth them. Gal. 6. 6 : Let him that is taught in the word communicate with him that teacheth, iv -Traaiv a^a6ol<;, in all good things. Indeed he nameth not the very Quotum, how much they were to communicate, as taking it for graunted that the Galathians themfelues knew that to be the trueth, both by the light of Nature, and by the Scriptures, and by the perpetuall pradlife ' Verfe 30. 1644. J Genefis xxviii. 20, 21, 22. 429 of the Church, and by the pradlife of the Heathen themfelues who vfed to offer their Tithes to their Idoles. And I Cor. 9, hee plainely eftabliflieth for a perpetuall ordinance the paying of Tithes ; for, faith he, "^Euen fo hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gofpel fhould Hue of the Gofpel. Euen fo, that is, as appeareth out of the ^former verfe. As they that miniftred about holy things in the Temple liued vpon thofe holy things, and they that waited vpon the Altar, liued of the Altar : Euen fo muft the Minifters of the Gofpel Hue vpon the felf fame maintenance. Now, how liued they ? Indeed the Priefts of the Law had other emolu ments, which were Ceremoniall and temporarle : but their principali, morall, certaine, and perpetuall maintenance was out of thofe ordinarie and annuall Tithes, which are Gods ftanding Inheritance ; therefore of them muft the Priefts of the Gofpell Hue : Euen fo (faith the Apoftle) hath the Lord ordained : here is no abrogation, but a ratification of this eternail ordinance. And laftly (which In mine opinion is the moft impregnable place), Heb. 7, the Apoftle ftrongly prooueth that the Tithes muft for euer remaine due vnto God : For being to prooue the excellencle of Christs Prieft-hood aboue the Prieft-hood of Aaron and Leul, hee prooueth it by the perpetultle thereof, becaufe Christ remaineth a Prieft for euer after the order of Melchifedec ; whereas the Leultlcall Prieft-hood was alreadie ended ; and to prooue the perpetuity of Chrifts Prieft-hood, he vfeth no other Medium but this perpetuall tithing, Verfe 8 : Here men that die receiue Tithes, that Is, Leui, who died both both In regard of perfon and office; but there, that is Christ in Melchifedec recelued them, of whom it is witneffed that hee liueth : therefore if Chrifts Prieft-hood be perpetuafl, then muft his tithing be perpetuall, or els the Apoftles argument is to no purpofe. And thus you fee it proued by thefe three places of Scrip ture, that thefe Tithes, which lacob vowed In my Text long before the Law, are ftill due vnto God and his Church In the time of the Gofpell lure Diuino : And this hath beene both 'Verfe 14. ^ Verfe 13. 43° lacobs Vow. [May 10, the conftant opinion of all Antiquitie and the perpetuall pradlife of the Church, whatfoeuer any late Hiftorie doth report to the contrary. Therefore it is abfurde to fay that thefe Tithes were onely Leultlcall, and that there is now nothing but a competencie due by a Morall equltie : For how can they be only Leultlcall, which were vowed by lacob in my text, and paid by Abraham, and by ''¦Leui himfelfe in the loines of Abraham, fiue hundred yeeres before the Leult lcall Law began ? And to fpeake of a Competencie now is a meere conceit : For who fhall prefume to prefcribe an vncer- talne Competencie, where God himfelfe hath fet downe a per petuall certaintie which hee neuer yet altered ? Or why fliould any man think that God, who proulded a ftanding, certaine, and liberall Maintenance for the Leuitical Prieft-hood In the time of the Law, which was leffe honourable, fhould leaue the Miniftery of the Gofpell, which exceedeth in honour, vnto an vncertaine and beggerley competencie ? efpecially fore knowing and foretelling that in thefe laft dayes Charitie fhould waxe cold, and men be louers of themfelues and their pleafures more then louers of God and his Church. And yet hee requlreth Hofpltality at our hands too, which he knew the worlds competency could not affoord. Therefore It must needs follow for a certalne conclufion, wherewith I will end, that all true lacobites, or true Ifraelltes, which Hue vnder the Gofpell, are bound to performe all lacobs Vow in the time of the Gofpell, and not onely to haue the Lord for their God, and build or at leaft maintaine his houfes, but alfo of all that he hath giuen them to glue the Tenth vnto him. And therefore as Solomon faith, // muft needs be a deftruHion for any man to deuoure thefe things that arefanSified; the vfurping, and deuouring whereof (as I verily beleeue) hath beene the deftrudlion of many Houfes amongft vs, • Nolulmus partiri cum Deo decimas, faith ^ Saint Auguftine; Modo autem totum tollitur : We would not giue our Tithes vnto Gad, and now all is taken from vs. And Malachi faith. They are curfed with a Curfe, all the whole nation of them, that robbed the Lord of Tithes and Offerings. And Dauid curfeth I Heb. 7.9. ^ Serm. de temp. 219, cap. 39 \ut antea\ 1644.] Genefis xxviii. 20, 21, 22. 431 the deuouerers of thefe holy things, with the moft bitter curfe that euer he curfed any creature : ^O my God (faith he). Doe vnto them that fay. Let vs take the Houfes of God into our pof feffion, as vnto the Midianites, as to Sifera and labin, which perifted at Endor, and became as dung for the earth. Make tbeir Nobles like Oreb, and Zeeb : yea, all their Princes as Zeba. and Zalmunna. Make them Hke a wheele, and as the flubble before the wind. As the fire burneth the wood, and as the fiame fetteth the mountaine on fire ; fo perfecute them with thy tempeft, and make them afraide with thy ftorme, i£c. God keepe all our Nobles and Princes and People from this bitter Curfe ! For the auolding whereof, and obtaining the con trarie bleffing, me thinkes many fhould not onely, with lacob in my Text, vow to giue their owne Tithes, but vow to redeeme thefe captiue-tithes out of the hands of other men who haue vfurped the fame, and to reftore them vnto the Lord againe, who is their right owner ; then which they cannot almoft offer a more acceptable Sacrifice or Seruice vnto him. And yet how thefe houfes of God are taken and ftill helde in poffeffion, and his Inheritance ftill embezelled in thefe dayes, the cryes of the poore Leuites euery where doe witneffe not onely in thofe places where all is gone, and onely a Com petency (as It was then fuppofed) of ten pounds a yeere left (which Is fcarce a Competency now for a Hog-heard), but alfo in many other places where the tithes are not quite impropriated, but yet fo gelded by pretended prefcrlptlons and vnconfclonable, nay vnreafonable cuftomes de modo deci mandi, & de non decimando, and they many times confirmed by prohibitions, that the poore Leuite hath in fome places not the tenth, in fome, not the twentieth part of the tithe. I would to God that the Body of the Honorable Parhament were as willing as the Relliglous and Royall Head thereof to take this grievance into their ferious confideratlon ; that this Parhament might have the honour to enadt fome wholefome Law for the honour of God, the advancement of his Church, the peace of their owne confciences, and the reliefe of the 'Pfal. 83, 432 lacobs Vow. [May 10, 1644,] poore Clergie in this behalfe ; that fo we might all (as we are all bound) pay lacobs Vow unto the God of lacob, and receive from him lacobs bleffing. Which God graunt for his Sonne Iesvs Christ his fake, who Is our eternail Prieft ; to whom with the Father and his Bleffed Spirit bee all Honour, Praife, and Thankef-giving for ever and ever. Amen. FINIS. FEARE OF LOSING THE OLD LIGHT. O R, A SERMON PREACHED IN EXETER. BY Thomas Fuller, B.D. LOND ON, Printed by T.H. for lohn Williams, at the figne of the Crowne in Pauls Church-yard. 1646. E ¦£ ["More difcontents I never had Since I w^as born then here ; Where I have been, and ftill am fad In this dull Devon-fhire. Yet juftly too I muft confeffe, I ne'r invented fuch Ennobled numbers for the Preffe Then where I loath'd fo much." Herrick's Hefperides, ed. 1859, page 2$.] [Introdu(9:ion. WITH his patron, Lord Hopton, Fuller feems to have remained until the Royal caufe began to decline. It was to this military em ployment that the latter was in part referring when he faid, in conneftion with the preparation of his Church-Hiftory, that during the firft five years of the aftual civil war (1642-6), he had "little lift or leafure to write, fearing to be made an Hiftory, and fhifting daily for my fafety. All that time I could not live to ftudy, who did os\s\y ftudy to live" {Appeal of Iniured Innocence, folio ed., part i. page 25). The wearinefs of an apparently unending war, and the ftronger attraftion of literary purfuits, led him "betimes" to make the City of Exeter his refuge. There in 1645 he put forth his Good Thoughts in Bad Times, — the firft book which was printed in that city. In the defcriptions of Exeter, which we find in his own writings. Fuller fpeaks from perfonal obfervation : — " A round city on a rifing hill, moft capable of fortification both for the fite and form thereof. Her walls, though of the old edition, were competently ftrong and well repaired." Again : "The houfes ftand fideways backward into their yards, and only endways with their gables towards the ftreet. The city, there fore, is greater in content than appearance, being bigger than it prefenteth itfelf to paffengers through the fame." {Church-Hift., Bk. vii. feft. i. P- 393 ; Worthies, § Exeter, p. 273.) But we get more details of the pofition, &c., of the city from another contemporary authority, Risdon, who wrote circa 1630 thus : — "It is pleafantly feated upon a hill, amongft hills, faving towards the fea, very beautiful in building, and for quantity, matchable with moft cities, which was firft encompaffed with a wall of ftone by King Athelstane, in a manner circular and beautified with battlements, and many turrets interpofed, being before inclofed only with a ditch, and fortified with ftakes, whereof an ancient charter maketh mention This city hath fix gates, the compafs of whofe wall's meafure is a mile and a half, having fuburbs extending far in each quarter ; well watered is it likewife, being full of fprings, and hath certain conduits, which be nourilhed with waters deduced from out of the fields, and conveyed by pipes of lead under the ground into the fame, having four fpecial ftreets, which all do meet in the midft of the city, called corruptly Carfox [Carfax, in a MS. copy of Risdon in the hands of the Rev. J. I. Dredge, Buckland Brewer], but perchance more properly ^atervoys, which divideth the city into four quarters, in every E E 2 CCCCXXXvi INTRODUCTION. [l6 of which there be fundry ftreets and by-lanes" {Survey, ed. 1811, 8vo., pp. 103-4). The following defcription of it is found in a foreign work of a later date, accompanied with a neat plan : " Locum occupat ad Orientalem Tfcs partem : foffis & mcenibus cinfta validiffimis : adfunt & frequentes interpofitas turres. md paffus habent ambitum. Sunt & faburbia quas in longum procurrunt. Situs omnino peramcenus in molliter acclivi & clementer edito colle. Incolarum opulentia, magnifi- centia asdificorum & convenarum commercia hie tanta, ut alibi non fint potiora; . . . Sex ornatur portis " (Hermannida's Britannia Magna, l6mo., Amftel. 1661, pp. 351-2). There are fome valuable papers on Exeter during the Great Rebellion in Cotton's Gleanings from the Municipal and Cathedral Records of Exeter, 8vo. 1877, pp. 73 feq. The gates of Exeter to which Fuller (page 442) refers were zealoufly guarded during the military occupations of the place. Dykes and drawbridges were made at each gate to prevent their being blown up. Exeter at the time when Fuller reached it was an important Royalift garrlfon. The part which it played in the civil war may be feen from the following dates and events : — 1642, Oftober. Garrifoned for the Parliament under Henry Grey, Earl of Stamford. 1643, 5 Sept. Capitulated to Prince TVIaurice after eight months' fiege ; Sir John Berkeley made Governor. "Amongft City- sieges, remember that of Exon, which for the fpace of about fifteen weeks together did faithfully conflift and ftruggle with a double difeafe: partly with a ftrong crafty peftilentiall enemieencompaffingher without, and partly with a malignant putrid fever in her own blood within ; and all this imhe loweft and moft hopelefs junfture of time that ever this Par liament did fee, or I hope fliall fee, until our perfeft deliver ance : and therefore that City, though it be now ravilhed by ftrangers, may truely be faid to have kept her wrg-zK-honour and motto {Fidelis in aternum) ftill, becaufe ftie cryed out for help, though no man came to her refcue" (John Bond's Occafus Occidentalis : or. Job in the Weft. As it was laid forth in two feveral Sermons at two Publi\e Fafts for the Five Affociated Weftern Counties, 410. London, 1645, page 63). 21 Sept. Sir John Berkeley, Knt., admitted a Freeman. 13 Nov. X'°° prefented by the City to Berkeley "as a re membrance from this Houfe," he having then to go out ofthe city (Aft-Book). Another gift of ,^100 was after wards made out of thankfulnefs and refpeft to him. 1 644, I May. Queen Henrietta Maria made the city her refuge. 1 3 June. A fiege threatened by the Earl of Essex. 16 June. Birth of a princefs, Henrietta Anne ; baptifed 2 1 July. She left the city 15 April, 1648, and went to the Queen in France (Herbert's Memoirs). 29 June. The Queen's flight from the city. 46. J INTRODUCTION. CCCCXXXvIi 1644, ^^ J^ly- K.ing Charles, in purfuit ofthe Earl of Essex, reached Exeter from Honiton ; Lord Hopton being in his fuite. The King's " coming with his army into the Weft," wel comed by the Parfon of Dean Prior {Hejperides, p. 33). " The Weftern-men were never so well in heart as with their own Bevile Greenvile, Ralph Hopton, Killigrew, Godolphin, &c. : when they chang'd thefe for other Generals and Colonels, their Purfes were fliut, their Courage fell, and their duties were flackned" (Hacket's Life of Williams, ii. 209). 27 July. The King left the city. I Sept. Surrender of Essex at Fowey. 17 Sept. The King's viftorious return to Exeter, Lord Hopton then being General of the Horfe. 23 Sept, The King left the city, after ordering the houfehold of his infant daughter. Fuller was made Chaplain to the Princefs (Anon. Life, p. 33). 1645, Jan. "As for the greateft of all thefe five [Weftern] Counties, in it one large City, and four great Towns, all accounted as maritime, were ftrongly fortified and well defended ; but that labour hath proved but a labouring in the fire, all thofe places being now loft except one poor Plymouth onely" (Bond's Sermon, ut fupra, page 62). 14 June. Battle of Nafeby. Declineof the King's caufe. "The ficknefs or the plague is now rageing in manie places to the greate danger of this Cittie" (Aft-Book). 29 Aug. Prince Charles vifited Exeter from Launcefton ; his coming celebrated by Herrick. Left on 15 th Sept. Nov. Inveftment of the city by Fairfax. 1646, 27 Jan. The city fummoned to furrender. Winter. The poor people, "pinched for provifions" during the inveftment, were fed by incredible numbers of larks found on the fouth fide of the city towards the fea {Worthies, §Exeter, page 273). 19 Feb. Lord Hopton, Commander of the Royal army under the Prince, defeated by Fairfax at Great Torrington, Devon- ftiire. Surrender of the remnant of his army at Truro, 14 March. Exeter in confequence more clofely invefted. 3 1 March. The city fummoned to furrender. " Upon the reading of a letter this day received from the Governor, intimating a fpeciall occafion of much concernment to this Cittie to conferr with fome others att his houfe to-morrow morning att eight of the clocke. And his defire to call a Chamber forthwyth and to appoint two or three of this company to attend that bufinefs. It is agreed that Mr. Maior, Sir Hugh Crocker, Mr. Walker, and Mr. Mallock, ftialbe defired to p'forme that fervice on the behalf of the Cittie, it being by the relation of Mr. Recorder [Sir Peter Ball] from the faid Governour concerning hes fummons CCCCXXXVni INTRODUCTION. [r6 this day fent for the rendering of this Cittie, the managing whereof is left to the difcretions of the faid Committee. .... Upon the further information of the faid Recorder to the faid Governor that in cafe a treatie ftialbe con cluded uppon at the faid meeting, that this houfe would name two p'fons for that purpofe on the behalf of the Cittie, they name two Mr. Walker and Mr. Knott and afk that two more may be admitted Mr. Kendall and Mr. Foard " (Aft-Book. See Cotton's Gleanings, Sec, page i lo). 1646, 3 April. Treaty begun. 9 April. Articles of furrender figned. Of thefe Articles, fays Fuller, "I had the Benefit, living and waiting there on the Kings Daughter at the Rendition thereof: Articles which both as penned and performed, were the beft in England; — thanks to their Wifdom who fo warily made, and Honefty who fo well obferved them !" {Appeal of Iniured Innocence, part i. pages 13-14). 18 April. ;^ioo was given to Mr. Daniel Potter, who brought the news of the rendition of Exeter. {Lords' Journals, viii. 278 ; VI. Report Hift. MS. Commiffton, p. 112.) it is recorded that Fuller preached conftantly to the " truly loyal Citizens" of Exeter. He entered into relations with the King and with the Councillors of the city. The former, at the fuggeftion of the pious and beautiful Anne, Lady Dalkeith (afterwards Countefs of Morton), gave him a place in the houfehold of the Princefs Henrietta Anne, and would have beftoWed upon him a benefice at Dorchefter. The Corpora tion of Exeter gave him a Lefturelhip which was worth ,^20 per annum. This Lefturelhip had been eftablilhed by Dr. Lawrence Bodley, the brother of the celebrated Oxford Librarian. By his will, 161 5, Lawrence Bodley, who was one of the Canons-refidentiary of the Cathedral, bequeathed to the Mayor, Bailiffs, and Commonalty of the city of Exeter the fum of j^400 to be invefted for the continual and yearly maintenance of a fufficient preacher within the faid city for ever, to be chofen by the faid Mayor and his Company of the Chamber, and by them to be always appointed to exercife and preach a fermon weekly on the Sabbath days for ever in fuch convenient place or places in the city as Ihould by them be procured and thought moft fit and profitable for edification ; the faid preacher to be allowed, for his fufficlency and con formity according to the law of the realm, either by the Lord Biffiop of the diocefe or by the Lord Archbilhop of Canterbury for the time being. There are feveral notices of this lefturelhip in the Aft Books of the Corporation. On the 23rd June, 1642, it was agreed and ordered by the Chamber that Dr. Bodley's lefture, which had been continued long in St. Lawrence parifh, fhould be then removed to St. Mary Arches, to be con tinued there during the pleafure of this Houfe only, and to begin there on the next Lord's day, and that Mr. Henry Painter, the prefent Lefturer, Ihould have a copy of the Aft. Mr. Painter, who had formerly been in charge of St. Petrock's pariffi, 46.J INTRODUCTION, CCCCXXxIx was alfo Lefturer of the Reftory of Hennock {ASl-Boo\ ofthe Chamber, 21 June, 1642). He and Mr, Peal, of Dorfet, members of the Affembly of Divines, are defcribed by John Bond ("late Lefturer in the City of Exon") as "a paire of workemen that were fome of the charets and horfemen of the Weft ; both of them were eminent for piety and abilities" {Occafus Occidentalis, 1645, page 69). Painter's conduft as Lefturer diflatisfied the Chamber, who, on the 19th Noveniber, 1643, refolved that as he had of late much neglefted the performance of Dr. BoDLEY'slefture, as it ought to be done, "and hath, alfo left this cittie for divers weeks paft," he fhould be "difmifte of the faid Lefturefliipp from henceforth." Mr. Painter was B.D. His death was a recent event when Bond preached the above-quoted Sermon. In it Painter is de fcribed as "the Champion and the Oracle of perfecuted Minifters and people in thofe parts; yea, the hammer of fchifmatics, and thsfalt ofthe moft Weftern City ; which did not only preferve it (in great part) from the putrefaSlion of Prophaneffe, but from the rawnefs of novelties. In a word, he was fo publike a good that for him that whole city hath caufe to weare blac\s" (page 69). On the occafion of the official difmiffal of this Lefturer, the Chamber chofe " Mr, Wm. ffuller to p'forme the faid lefture from henceforth on the sabath dayes in the Afternoone during the will & pleafure onlie of this houfe, the faid lefture to be preached on the Sabbath dayes in the Afternoone in his own p'fon ;" and he was to have all the benefit that had been or fhould be appointed for that fervice, as Mr. Paynter had. The next entry relating to this Lefture is as follows : — 2 1 March, 1 645-6 : " Whereas Mr. Will" ffuller Clark, about two years fince was elefted to preach the lefture heretofore founded by D'. Bodlies will [?], who hath now lefte this cittie. It is this daye agreed by xiij. affirma tive voices that the grante made to hym fhall ceaffe, which is intimated by S'. John Berkeley K*. our Governour to be the defire of the faid Mr. Will", ffuller. Alfoe this day Mr. Thomas ffuller Bachelour of Divinitie [feveral words are here deleted], is by full confent elefted to p'forme the faid lefture, according to the direccon of the forefaid Doftor Bodley, to have and exercife the fame att the will and pleafure of the Maior and Comon Counfell of this Cittie and noe longer." The thirteen " affirmative voices" made up the entire number of thofe who were prefent at that fitting, Mr. John Cupper, or Cooper, being then "Maior" (his term of office extending from September, 1645, to September, 1646). He with another member of the Chamber was deputed early in 1642 to take a Petition to Parliament touching the injury to their trade by the difturbances in London, and oppofitions by Bifhops, &c., in Parliament. He was Sheriff of the City in 1643. The others prefent were : Sir Hugh Crocker,Nicholas Spicer, Roger Mallack, Robert Walker, John Martin, Sheriff, Ralph German, Christopher Brodridge, Thomas Knott, Allan Pennye, John. Butler, John Parr, Thomas Pitt, John Lawes. Thefe, therefore, are " all the members of that ancient Corporation" whom Fuller addreffes in his dedication. CCCCxl INTRODUCTION. [1646,] , The extrafts from the Aft-Book relating to the Lefturelhip thus con tinue : — 17 June 1646. ". . . . Alfoe this day Mr. Thomas ffuller is dif- miffed from further performance of the Lefture founded by Dr. Bodley." It was on the ift of the fame month that Fuller, lodging with his ftationer, Williams, in London, depofited his petition for compofition with the Committee at Goldfmiths' Hall, claiming the benefit of the articles of Exeter, where, as he fays, he had been attendant on the Princefs ; and he had therefore left Exeter at leaft three weeks before the date of his fo- called " difmiffal " in the above minute. Colonel Hammond was the new Governor of the city ; and under his rule feveral adherents of the Parliament were re-introduced into the Chamber, in the place of Royalifts. On the 25th of June of the fame year "Mr. fferdinando Nicholles," who had been Reftor of St. Mary Arches from 1634, was chofen "to perform the lefture founded by Doftor Bodley, and alfoe to continue' the fame during the will and pleafure of this houfe;" and he was to have the benefit of the Reftory of Hennock, purchafed for that purpofe, to enjoy the fame as before, and not otherwife. There is an account of this Mr. Nicolls in Calamy, who has related how he rebuked fome Exeter aldermen who fell afleep in church. Nicolls wrote The Life and Death of Mr. Ignatius Jurdain, One of the Aldermen of the City of Exeter; Who departed this Life July iSth, 1640, 2nd edit. Lond. 1655, 24010. ; a memoir commended to the reader by Thomas Manton. The fermon on The Feare of Lofing the Old Light was thus^ preached at the ancient church of St. Mary Arches (or de Arcubus, fo called from its Norman piers), in the ftreet of that name, on fome Sunday afternoon fhortly before the furrender of the City, — an event, it feems, which had more than once been imminent during Fairfax's inveftiture. From Fuller's quaint apology (pages 457-8) for fo often in former difcourfes taking his leave of the citizens, it would appear as if the fermon was preached when the furrender had been determined upon. The publiflier of the fermon, John Williams, who iffued moft of Fuller's previous works, was Fuller's hoft in the year 1646. Royalift authors reforted to his fhop, " the Crown," in St. Paul's Church-yard. He publifhed Herrick's verfes and Pearson's Leftures on the Creed. Fuller, who was long dependent on the proceeds ofthe fale of his books, for fome time gave up to Williams everything that he wrote. Mr. Nichols, the accomplifhed editor of fome of Fuller's works, defcribed Williams as a man of probity : this was at a time when, in the opinion of a fhrewd Scotchman, the moft trufty of the London ftationers were very rogues (Baillie's Journals, ii. 240). The original fermon is in 410. It has never been reprinted. The prefent reprint is taken from a copy in the Editor's hands, pp. iv. + 26. A crown and rofe in a floreated ornament is on the title-page. " T. H." of the imprint is perhaps Thomas Hunt, of Exeter, for whom Good Thsilghts in Bad Times, 1645, was printed.] TO THE Right Worfhipfvl Mr. COOPER, Mayor of the City of Exeter, and to all the Members of that ancient Corparation. •HAT the fin againft the holy Ghoft is in Divinity, the fame Ingratitude is in Morality ; an offence un pardonable. It argues a bafe Difpofition in thofe who are glad to receive what others give, but loath to confeffe what they Receive. I muft acknowledge my engagement unto you to bee great : Is not Exeter a little one ? and my foul fliall live, where I fafely anchored in thefe tempeftuous times. It is a high advancement in this troublefome Age for one with a quiet confcience to be Preferred to Life and Liberty : It fared better with me ; for whilft her Infant Highneffe, {on whofe Soule and Body God crowd all bleffimgs Spirituali and Temporall, till there fljall be no roome to receive more,) though unable to feed her felfe, fed me and many more of her fervants : other accommodations were be ftowed upon me by your Hberality. In expreffion of my gratitude I prefent this Sermon unto you, hoping it ftall receive the fame ent ertainement from your eyes as it formerly found from your eares, and ftill be read with as much favour as it was once heard with attention. And then, this widowes mite of mine will be made a tallent by your cour teous acceptance thereof 442 The Epifl:le Dedicatory. [1646.J May the ftield of Divine providence, which onely is of proof e againft the fiery arrowes of his ftooting, defend you from the noyfome peftilence, and encompaffe you with a wall of Help and Deliverance : yea, may God himfelfe ftand watchman at the Gates of your City to forbid tbe entrance of any thing that may be prejudiciall unto you, and give full and free admittance to whatfoever may tend to the advancement of your happineffe here and hereafter. So refteth Your fervant in all Chriftian offices. Thomas Fuller. X ^^^M ^M ^^M w. ^u^M?"^^ ^^^^^^^^^'^X^^W'^^^^^ ^^^^^m •^ir^^^^^^lfe^JE^^ ^vll^X ^^m ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^fe Feare of Lofing the Old Light. Revel. 2. 5. And will remove thy Candleftick out of his place except thou repent. HIS Epiftle was wrote to the Angel of the Church of Ephefus ; to him eminently, not excluhvely ; to Him chiefly, not only ; to Him, yet fo to Him as a Letter of Publique concernment, direfted to the Prolocutor, with intent that He (according to his office) fliould acquaint all the Chriftian Members of the Ephe- fian Church with the contents thereof. Yea, the very word Angel imports no lefle, fignifying a meflenger, imployed by appointment and intrufled for the benefit of others. 1. Minifters ought not to monopolize the fplrituall intel ligence which they have received from God, but to com municate It to others. And the more precious the knowledge is which they have, the greater is their obligation to impart it. David faith, ^Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not fin againft thee ; and yet the fame David had faid, ^I have not hid thy righteoufneffe within my heart ; I have declared thy falthfulneffe and thy falvation. Minifters muft, and muft not hide Gods word in themfelves : muft, as faith full Stewards ; muft not, as crafty Huckfters ; muft, out of carefulneffe to obferve it ; muft not, out of covetoufnefl'e to ingroffe it. 'Pfal. 119. II. ' Pfal. 40. 10. 444 Feare of Lofing the Old Light. [i6 3. The Epiftle confifts of three principali parts. I . A commendation of the Ephefians former Piety and Patience. 1. A Reproofe of their prefent backfliding, that they had forfaken th.eir firft love. 3. A Threatning of them with future mifery, in cafe they did not quickly amend. Preachers muft vary their voices, interchangably ufing frownes, fmlles, fwords, falves, cordials, corrafives, as occa fion is off^ered. If all the Body of our Sermons be Praifing, where is reproving ? if all be Reproving, where is Com forting ? Phyfitians advife Nurfes not alwayes to give the fame receit to their Infants fick of the wormes, but rather to make ufe of feverall Medicines, left otherwife the Wormes accuftomed to the conftant taking of the fame thing, by de grees turne that Phyfick into their food, and fo are encreafed ¦ by what was intended for their deftrudtion. It is wifdome in Minifters to try all wayes to work on the hearts of their Hearers full of ill Humours, and whofe corrupt Nature, if ever ufed to one Receit, will Improve their badnefle upon it, and bee the more confirmed by what was prefcribed to confute tliem. 4. See here, no Church in this world can be free from all Faults. Even Ephefus, the beft of the Seven, had fomewhat amifl'e in it. As long as there be fpots in the Moone, it is vaine to expeift any thing Spotlefl'e under it. The earneft of Perfeftlon (which is Sincerity) may be received In this life, but tbe full Payment thereof muft be expedled in another. Such as Fancy a Poffibility of a Perfedt Church here muft not onely mold a New forme, but make a new matter, caufe frailty to be firme, folly to bee wife, flefli to be Spirit, Men to be .'\ngels, Saints being too little in this Life, as full of their Infirmities. Witnefle the Church of Ephefus : For though He that was pralfeth them for what they had bin, yet He that is reproveth them for what they were, and He that is to come threatneth them with what they fliall be. And will remove thy Candleftick out of bis Place, except thou repent. 46. J Revelation ii. 5. 44 r 5. / will fing (faith ^ David) of Mercy, and ludgement. Of thefe two, ludgement the moft folemne, Mercy the moft pleafing Mufick. Behold them both in the Text: Judg ment pronounced in the Comminadon : And I will remove thy , Candleftick out of his place : Mercy promifed in the Condition: except thou repent. Yea, the Text confifts wholly of Mercy, and Mercy, there being Mercy in the very Commination ; God not furprifing this Church with fudden Deftrudtion, but in fome manner arming it againft himfelfe by forewarning it. Satan never barks before he bites, never tels before hee tempts, becaufe lie defires and endeavours the ruine of mankinde. But God who intends their Amendment, not confufion, alwayes warnes before He wounds, that fo by tendering them the Opportunity of a feafonable Submiffion they may prevent the mifery of their finall deftrudtion. And I will remove the Cdndle ftick out of his Place, &c. By Candleftick is meant not the dull and dead Candleftick, but it quickned and enlivened with a Candle, namely the Word of God. Which amounteth to this efFedt, that God would Un-church Ephefus, and deprive it of the Benefit of the Gofpel, which enlighteneth mens Soules in their wayes to heaven. In the Commination three Dodlrines are obfervable, whereof this the firft. 6 . I DoStrine : God alone is the manager of the motions of the Candle of the Gofpel. '^Hee that caufeth it to raine upon one City, and caufeth it not to raine upon another City : one Piece was rained upon, and the Piece whereupon it rained not, withered : He it is that vouchfafed the Gofpell unto un- repenting ^Corazin and Bethfaida, and denyed it to Tyre and Sidon ; beftowed it on unthankfull Capernaum, and withheld it from Sodom, which would have made better ufe thereof. God alone it was that forbad Paul to ^preach the word in Afia; yea, when he ^affaied to goe into Bithinia, the Spirit fuffered him not, but he was diverted with a Vifion, Come over into Macedonia, and help Vs. ' Pfal. loi. I. ' Amos 4. 7. " Mat. u. zi. * Afts 16. 6. 'Afts 16. 7. 44^ Feare of Lofing the Old Light. [i6 7. Nor can any other Reafon bee rendred hereof, fave onely the ^Councell of his Will. This appeareth "plainely in the People of the Jews. '^The Lord did not fet his love upon you, nor chafe you becaufe ye were more in number then any People {for yee were the leaft of all People) ; but, Becaufe the Lord loved you, &c. Feweft of all People : being foone fummed up in Abraham and Sarah, no more then two Cyphers in point of Procreation, without a Miracle. And as their Number was inconfiderable, fo their Nature was intoUerable ; for when they wandred forty yeares in the wildernefl'e, their intricate windings in their Progreff^e feemed ftrait in comparifon of their crooked Conditions, and their wayes towards God were more indiredt then their walking on Earth. Yea, in every outward refpedt, fome of their neighbouring Nadons did furpafle them. The Egyptians excelled them in Wit, the Pha;niceans exceeded them in wealth, the Edomites in Antiquity, the Perfians in Induftry, the Arabians in Adlivity, the Syrians in Cunning, the Aflyrians in command, the Philiftims in ftrength, and the Anakims in ftature ; notwith ftanding all which, the Lord loved the Jews before and above them all : evenfo. Father, becaufe it pleafeth thee. 8. And bleffed be God that it is in his power alone to order the Motions and Stations of the Gofpel. Good fucceffe have He with his Honour. He that hath the moft might and right holdeth the Candle. It cannot be put into a better Hand. Had fome Envious or Covetous men (fuch as our Age affbrdeth too many) bin imployed in fo great a truft, abfolutely to difpofe of the Gofpel, when, where, and to whom they pleafed, O what ftrange worke would they have made ! Our Saviour faid, ^How hardly ftall they that have Riches enter into the Kingdome of God I But in this Cafe, how Hardly fliould they which want wealth be faved! their Poverty being unable to Purchafe Gods Word for themfelves, and fuch Mifers charity unlikely freely to beftow it upon them. Such Simonlacall Patrons as Sell fo deare their Prefen- tadons to Church-livings, what unconfclonable rates would they fet on the Gofpel it felfe, if it were in their Power to ' Ephes. I. 5. ^ Deut. 7. 7. ' Mark 10. 23. 4^.] Revelation ii. 5. 447 make merchandlfe thereof! But this marres their Mart, that the giving of the Gofpel to any Place or Perfons, fooner or later, the continuing it longer or fliorter, the removing it flowly Or fuddenly, are all and every one only and abfolutely placed in his power and pleafure, who fpeakes in my Text, And I will remove the Candleftick out of his place, except you repent. 9. [2 DoStrine:'] Come wee now to the fecond Dodlrine contained in the Commination, which may thus bee pro pounded : God will not finally extlnguifli, but onely remove the Candleftick of his word. The Dove will not wholly flye away, but onely build her a new Neft ; the Setting of the Gofpel in one Place will be the rifing thereof in another ; what is loft in a Kingdome, will be found in the World ; Particular Churches may, the Church cannot fall away. And it is worth our obferving that when the word hath beene fleighted and negledled by fome, immediately it hath bin em braced and honoured by others, 10. Thus the Gaderens : ^the whole multitude of their countrey bef ought Chrift to depart from them. Strange that this wind fliould blow from all parts of the Compafle, that Wanderers fliould entreat the Right Way to leave them. Sure the Patient is more fick in Minde then Body that Is Im portunate to fend away his Phyfitian. Well, their Sute Is granted : Ask and ye ftjall have : the Gofpel is a Guefl which will not flay where It perceiveth it Selfe not to be welcome. Away goeth our Saviour to the other Side, (oppofite to the Gadarens in Pofition and Difpofition,) where behold his enter- tainement : And it came to paffe that vjhen lefus was returned, the People gladly received Him, for they were all waiting for him. Thus Gods word is a Commodity of quick V-ent ; It will not lye long on the Merchants hand for want of Chapmen, but if one will not, another will have it. Another Inflance is prefented us in the Jews who difpifed the Preaching of S. Paul at ^Antioch : And when the lews were gone out of the Synagogue, the Gentiles befought that thefe words might be preached to them the next Sabboth. The Leavings, yea, the ' Luke 8. 37. 'Afts 13. 42. 44 8 Feare of Lofing the Old Light. [i6 Loathings of the Jews, were the Longings of the Gentiles ; the ones fragments, the others feaft. They requefted not the, Apoftles to make new Provifion for them, (confcience defires not what is novell, but what is needfull,) but would be pleafed with the Repetition of what He had formerly delivered; and indeed, a Sermon being newly broached tafteth the beft at the fecond draught. The Refult of all is this: Thofe ket of Gods. Minifters, who finding themfelves unworthily ufed, Ao ftake the duft off from them (according tb Chrifts ^command) in witnefl*e againft an ungratefuU Place ; I fay, thofe very felfe-fame Individuall feet fliall elfewhere bee welcomed as the ''¦Beautiful bringers of the Gofpel of Peace, and glad tidings of good things. 1 1 . And here it will bee neither improper nor unprofitable to obferve fome Paflages concerning the Motions and Poftures of the Candleftick in my Text. And firft, we may take notice that the Perfecution gave the Occafion to the fpeedy propagation of the Gofpel. Had Satan bin contented to fuflFer the Saints to dwel peaceably in Jerufalem, probably Chriftianity had not made its Progrefl!e fo faft and fo far into the world. But it was Death to Him to fee Good Men live in quiet, and therefore his malice muftered all his might to Mifperfe them after the martyrdome of Stephen, whereby hee fcattered the fire of the Gofpel inftead of quenching it. Infant Chriftianity, like infant ^Chrift, encreafed in ftature, and in favour with God and Man. Yea, it is uncertaine whether Martyrs which did dye, or Confeffors who did flye, con tributed more to the advance of Religion; the former by their padent fuff^ering confirming more, and laying the Truth the thicker ; the latter by their Painfull preaching converting more, and fpreading the Truth the broader. Thus the Devill did the Church an ill ofiice, and God made it a good turne. Wee will pay our thanks where they are due, not to his malice who intended it to our mifchiefe, but to his flxength, wifdome, and goodneffe who difpofed it for our happineffe. 12. Secondly, wee hitherto cannot finde a Countrey, from • Mat. IO. 14. ' Rom- 'O- '5- ' ^as 8. .. ' Luke 2. 5J. 46.J Revelation ii. 449 which the Gofpel did totally depart, to which it ever after wards returned. The white ^horfe in the Revelation (which generally is interpreted the word of God) went forth conquer ing, and to conquer. Went forth, ftill in a Progreflive, not Retrograde motion, like the Sun in the Firmament, which ^commeth forth as a Bridegroome out of his chamber, and rejoyceth as a Giant to run his courfe; his retreating ten Degrees on the Diall of ^Ahaz being extraordinary and miraculous. Wherefore feeing it feems not to ftand with the State of the Gofpel, to goe away animo revertendi, it will bee our wifeft courfe carefully to retaine what wee have no Prefident to recover. 13. Thirdly, Chriftendome is a Zoar, a little one. In com parifon of the Pagan part of the world. Call for a Map, as our Saviour did for a Penny, and fee how fmall a circuit thereof hath the Image and fuperfcription of Chrift upon It. Thus it is meet that all the Earth being Gods Demeanes, his Private Garden fliould bee lefle then his common grounds about it. There was a place. in the city of Jerufalem, called the Daughter of Zion, fo named, faith an ^Author, becaufe it was a parcell of buildings which branched or Ifliied out of old Zion, as a Colony thereof; and furely pretty It was to behold this Babe in the arme of her Mother, But, oh that I might but live to fee a Daughter of Chriftendome borne ! I meane a Plantation of Piety amongft the Pagans, a Copy like our Originall, (fave onely that it be not written with fuch red Inke,) in matter of dodlrines, and knowledge of Religion. 14. Fourthly, Chriftianity hath beene thefe laft hundreds of yeares little effedluall In converting of Heathen. For, be it reported to Serious Confideration whether thofe Indians, rather watered then baptifed, driven into the Church, as the ^ money changers out of the Temple, deferve to be accounted .folid Chriftians, Abate thefe, and then we fliall finde fmall Impreffion and Improvement of the Gofpel in thefe latter Ages on Paganlfme. I have not heard of many fifh (under ftand me in a myfticall meaning) caught In New-England, ' Revel. 6. 2. ^ Pfal. 19. 5. ^2 Kings 20. 11. ¦* Adricomius, 'Iheatro Terra SanSta:, page 152, numb. 26 [Ed. fo. 1628]. ' John 2.15. f F 45° Feare of Lofng the Old Light. [i6 and yet I have not beene deafe to llfl'en, nor they I beleeve dumb to tell of their Achievements in that kind. I fpeake not this (God knoweth my heart) to the difgrace of any Labourers there, being better taught then to condemne mens endeavours by the fuccefl*e ; and am fo fenfible how poorely our Miniftery prevaileth here at home, on profeff!ed Chriftians, that I have little caufe and lefl'e comfort to cenfure their Preaching for not taking efi^edl upon Pagans. Onely I fpeake this to the Intent that we all fliould enter into a ftrldl Scrutiny in our owne foules, what may be the Reafon of this unufuall barrenneflTe of our Chriftian Religion, Surely it is no in firmity in the Dodlrine it felfe, difabled with Age, like Naomi that could have ^no more Sons in her wombe : the fault is not In the Religion, but in the Profeffors of it, that of late wee have' beene more unhappy in killing of Chriftians then happy in converting of Pagans. 15. Laftly, from Jerufalem (whence the Gofpel firft ftarted) this Candleftick is obferved to have a favourable in clination to verge more and more Weftward. This putteth us In fome hopes of America, In Gods due time ; God knows what good effedls to them our fad war may produce : fome may be frighted therewith over Into thofe Parts (being more willing to endure American, then Engllfli Savages) ; or out of curiofity to fee, neceflity to live, frugality to gaine, may carry Religion over with them into this Barbarous countrey. Onely God forbid we fliould make fo bad a bargaine as wholly to exchange our Gofpel for their Gold, our Saviour for their Silver ; fetch thence lignum Vita, and deprive our felves of the Tree of life in Hew thereof May not their planting be our fubplanting, their founding in Chrift our confufion; let them have of our light, not all our light; let their candle bee kindled at ours, ours not removed to them, as God threatned the Ephefians In my Text, / will remove thy Candleftick out of bis place, except thou repent. 16 [3 P)oarine{\ The third and laft Dodlrine couched In the Commination is this: God never removes the Gofpel from a Nation, untill they or their Anceftors firftj^emove 1 Ruth 1. II. 46. J Revelation ii. 5. 451 themfelves from his fervice. Where the Gofpel is given, it is Gods Mercy, not mans Merit ; where it is denyed, it is Gods Pleafure, no Injury to man ; where It Is removed, it is Gods Juftice, and mans punifliment, who hath beene un thankfull for it, and unprofitable under it. Thus the Jews our elder brethren were difinherited for their Infidelity ; at this day wandring in all lands, yet having no Land, fine Rege, Lege, Solo, Salo, (I had almoft faid Ccelo too,) ftumbling at Him that fliould ftay them, unhappy if they knew their con dition, and more unhappy becaufe they are ignorant of It. 17. ObjeSlion: But this Is hard dealing, fo juft that It is unjuft, that children for the default of their Parents fliall be debarred from the meanes of their Salvation. Will God banifli the found of a ^ Proverb out of Ifrael, and pradlife the Senfe thereof In his owne proceedings, fetting the childrens teeth on edge, (even to their ^gnafting in Hell fire,) for the Sowre grapes which their fathers have eaten ? 18. Anfwer: The Day of Judgement wil be the day of the manifeftation of the righteoufneffe of God, whofe adlions which now are juft fliall then appeare fo, to the clearing of his wayes, and convincing of others wickedneffe. The Damned fliall want a drop of the water of a colourable excufe to coole their tongues with, difcontented with their condition, but fatisfied with the caufe thereof, fo that they may blafpheme, but not complaine. Untill then let us be content to tarry the Lords leafure, fufpending our Cenfures, and admiring what we cannot underftand. 'David faith to God, Thy way ^ is in the Sea; and the fenfe is the fame though Inverted, There is a Sea in thy way, and that a bottomleffe one, (not like the Adriatick, ASls 27. 28, wherein the Marrlners founded and found it twenty fathoms ; and when they had gone a Httle farther, they founded againe, and found it fifteen fathoms,) but in this Ocean the farther we faile the deeper we finke ; and therefore let us make what fpeed to the Shoare, except the Pilot here had more skill, or his tackling more ftrength. 19. Meane time, how carefull ought Parents to be, left by 'Ezek. 18. 3. 'Mat."8. 12. 'Pfal. 77. 19, F F 2 452 Feare of Lofng the Old Light. [i6 their wickedneffe they wilfuUy deprive their Pofterity of the Gofpel. Here, O let me plead for them who cannot fpeak for themfelves ; yea, I know not how to call my Clients, being as yet unnam'd, unborne, unbegot, I meane fuch little little Levi's which as yet lye hid In the Loynes of their Grand fathers : Oh let not their Soules be flain before their bodies be borne, by wilfull debarring them, by the prophaneneffe of this prefent Age, from the future benefit of Gods word. Let that fturdy father, careleffe of himfelfe, be conjured into Piety by that potent charme, ^Perfpem cref cent is lull. Who can reade the horrid Hiftory of fo many thoufand Childrens corpfes, drowned (as they fay) in one fifhpond in Italy by thofe Votaries, their mothers, and is not inftantly ready, if the fadl be proved, to arraigne, condemne, and execute the Memory of fuch Monftrous Murderers ? What then fhall we fay to fuch Parents as plunge the Soules of Millions in the Pit of Perdition, facrificing the Spirituali lives of their Sons and Daughters to Devils ? fo that as they walke on in their wicked wayes, the floore whereon they tread may bee faid to be paved with flaughtered Infants, and that they trample on a Charnel- Houfe of childrens Soules of their owne JcIIIIng, becaufe the candleflick of the Word was removed from them for their fathers offences. 20, See a fad fpedlacle hereof in the Church of Ephefus, to which God at this Day hath done what hee threatned in the Text. Indeed, fome hundreds of years after the writing of this Epiftle, Ephefus ftill continued the Staple of Religion and learning, where fome Generali Counfels were celebrated. TiU at laft, growing notorioufly erronious in dodlrine and vicious in manners, it Is at the prefent reduced to a miferable condition, fhrunke almoft Invifible in our Moderne Maps, fave that fome charitable Geographers, In reverence of what ftie hath beene, allow her a bare remembrance In their larger Defcriptions. The few Chriftians therein and thereabout grow contented vaffailes to the Turke, and the foundeft of them are infedled In the Point of the Progreffion of the holy ['.^neid, Bk. vi. line 364.J 46. J Revelation ii. 5. 453 Spirit, with many other grievous errours. Generally In thofe Parts God hath permitted his Arke to fall downe before Dagon ; the Alchoran hath banifhed the Bible ; the Candle of the word is put out, and in the roome thereof the Moone of Mahomet is rifen, whofe Light is worfe than darkeneffe it Selfe. All which had beene feafonably prevented, if the Ephe fians had beene but as carefull to take as God was kinde to tender the Caution in my Text. And will remove tbe Candle- dick out of his Place, except you repent. 21. Now for application, to leave Ephefus and come to England : Know then, in the firft place, our Land hath equalled Ephefus in favours received. No Hand in the world fo farre diftant from Jerufalem faw the Light of the Gofpel fo foone ; yea, it was morning here when It was midnight in Germany ; the laft was firft ; our Countrey placed in the Rere of the world marched one of the formoft in receiving the Chriftian Religion. And fince the Word was here once planted, hitherto it was never totally loft, but ftill grew amongft the barren Mountaines in Wales ; as Piety hath ever an ambition to keepe company with Poverty. Yea, here Religion hath enjoyed her felfe as purely and plentifully as in any other place ; and though often fick of feverall Superfti tions, yet thefe were not the Peculiar Difeafes of England, but the Epidemicall Infedlions of thofe Ages. 22. Secondly, England (what by her finnes, which have caufed this war, and which this war hath caufed) hath equalled Ephefus in faults committed. In one particular hath exceeded Her. For, the holy Spirit commendeth Ephefus in the next verfe for hating tbe Nicolaitans, whom he alfo hated. Thefe NIcolaitans were fo called from ^Nicolas, one of the feven Deacons, who (as Ecclefiafticall Hiftory reporteth) having a Beautifull wife, and being taxed for being caufelefly Jealous of Her, to confute his Accufers proftituted his wife to the unchafte embraces of any, thereby to wipe off the Afperfion of Jealoufie. So then, thofe who evidence their oppofition to any Error in Judgement, or demonftrate their diftance from • Aas 6. 5. 454 Feare of Lofng the Old Light. [i6 any vice in pradlife, with fuch violence and furious indifcretion that they fall into the oppofite error, or reele Into the con trary Vice, are moft truly and properly, though not Literall, fplrituall Nicolaitans. And in this Senfe, how many wee have of this Sedi In our Kingdome, not hated, but favoured and foftered, I am grieved to thinke and unable to number. 23. But now the third Parallel I dare not fpeake, and I dare not conceale. Yet, why fliould I not fpeake it ? In Spaine, great rewards are given to fuch as firft are the meffen gers of Bad newes, provided they doe not difperfe It to the Difadvantage of the publick, but Impart It onely to the State, which may mend ill accidents before they become worfe. Sure then, though I defire no favour, I deferve no frowne, if from the fimplicity of my heart, without finlfter intents, I fhew the danger likely to ceafe [feize] on us, If not providently diverted by fpeedy repentance. Plainely tis this : I feare we fliall be like Ephefus in future punifhment, and that the candleftick will be removed out of his place. 24. ObjeSlion : There Is no danger of the departure of the Light which now daily encreafeth. Preaching now a dayes is like Silver in the reigne of ^Solomon, fo plentifuU that it was nothing accounted of. The Gofpel formerly going afoote now rides on horfebackc. Wherefore concerning the removing of the Word, you fancy caufleffe feares, then fear your caufleffe fancies ; it now fhlneth brighter then ever before. 25. Anfwer: As all is not Gold that glifters, fo all is not light that fhlnes, for Glowormes and rotten wood fhine in the darke. Firebrands alfo doe more harme with their Smoake then good with their Light. And fuch are many Incendiaries, which without either authority of calling, or abUIty of learning invade the Minifteriall funftion. Whofe Sermons confift onely of two good Sentences, the firft, as containing the Text, and the laft, which muft bee allowed good In this refpedl, becaufe It puts an end to a tedious and impertinent dlfcourfe/J Notwithftanding all pretended new lights, and plenty of preaching, I perfift in my former Sufplclon, Yet am 1 not fo much affrighted with all the Prodigies reported to have ' I Kings 10. 21, 46.J Revelation ii. 5. 455 appeared in the Ayre as with the portentous Sins which I dayly behold committed on the Earth, VAnd this I fay : God commonly moves the candle before he removes it. The Ught feemes ficke and faint before it dyes. In Mines, before a dampe commeth, candles begin to burne blew, as by inftindl mourning their owne funeraU before hand. Some fuch fad fymptomes difcover themfelves In our Candle, In the preach ing of the word. If ferioufly confidered. 26. Firft, it Is an ill figne that fo many wantonly play with the Word, When children begin to try Conclufions with a Candle, fporting themfelves at in and out with it, their Parents ufe to take it from them, leaving them to doe pennance in the Darke for their wantonneffe, I am afraid God will ferve us in like manner : fo many have dallied with the Scripture, producing it for the maintenance of their upftart monftrous Opinions, Secondly, fo many Theeves in the Candle, fuch variety of Sedis and Schifmes, which waft and mifpend the light. Is another ill boding Symptome, Yet whilft others wonder that they are fo many, I wonder they be no more ; for untill a good Peace be fetied, (which God Speed,) and whilft the great Bond of Difcipline is broken, every ftick In the Fagot wUl be abfolute and fet up for it felfe, Laftly, if the wax be taken away from the candle, (as in many places it Is, and Tithes denied for the Minifters maintenance,) the light muft decay; the five foolifli ^Virgins having fo much wifdome as to know that their Lamps could not burne when they wanted oyle ; except any doe thinke Minlflers may be like the miraculous ^Bufli, which did burne and not confume, that fo they may alwayes worke, and yet never waft. Put thefe together, (and others I could inftance In,) and though Minifters, Gods Doves, delight not to be Ravens to croake Funerals ; though they, Gods fixed Stars, would not be Comets prefaging fad Events ; though thefe ^Ambaffadours, praying you to be reconciled to God, are loath to bee Heraulds to proclaime war : Yet be thefe things ferioufly confidered, and may they not amount to make us lealous over England with a godly jealoufie what for the future wdl become of us ? Mat. 15. 8. ^ Exod. 3. 2. ''2 Cor. 5. 20. 45 6 Feare of Lofng the Old Light. [i6 And this I wUl boldly adde, that an awfuU feare of lofing the Candleftick Is the beft Hope we have to keepe it. 27. But I forefee a Pofterne Doore ready to be opened, that efcaping thorow it my Auditors may decline whatfoever this Day I have delivered. Some will fay, what Jofiah was ^promifed, we prefume on : the Evill will not come in our Dayes. The Gofpel wUl laft my life in the Land ; and if we are not to care for to morrow, much leffe will wee carke for the Day after our Death. Befides, if a generali Judgement fliould come in my Time, I fhall beare but my fliare, and fhlft as well as another. 28, Well, Beloved, tis true this Inconvenience attends aU generali difcourfes, (fuch as this Dayes Sermon is,) that as filius populi hath no father, fo publique reproofes are feldome particularly applyed by any to themfelves. But, that I may catch fome fifh I muft weave my net clofer, and draw the threds thereof neerer together. Bee it granted what we hope and thou belleveft, that the light of the Gofpel will laft thy life, yet how long or little time thy life will laft, there is the Queftion, Nor will it be any violence to my Text, in a fecondary Senfe, to expound this Candle, of the Life of every man, which how long fince it hath beene kindled we know, but how foone it may bee quenched God knows. Some wares in England, are ufually fet to fale by the candle ; that chap man carrieth them, who giveth the moft before the candle Is burnt out. Such is all our condition at this time : Heaven now is to be had, Happineffe to be purchafed ; ^Buy the truth, and fell it not, lofe not a good bargaine, bid bountifully ; be not body wife, and foule foolifh ; the candle weares, the candle wafts, cafualty may, fickneffe will. Age muft extinguifli it. If once the light be out' It is too late ; there is ^no worke, nor devife, nor knowledge, nor wifdome in the grave, whither thou goeft. 29. I fhould now come to the Condition, except thou repent. But it is high time for me at this prefent to leave preaching, and more then high time for us all to begin pradllfing of this point of repentance. Let us rend our hearts and not our gar- ' 2 Chron. 34.. 28. ' Prov. 23. 23. ' Ecclef. 9. 10. 4^.] Revelation ii. 5. 457 ments, and turne unto tbe Lord our God. The melting of marble, fo that it become fufill or runable, is recounted one of thofe Myfteries which are loft in our Age, though formerly knowne to, and performed by the Ancients, But O let us labour that the Art of melting ftony Hearts (fuch as ours are by Nature and cuftome of finning) be never loft or forgotten, but kept in ufe, and put in daylie pradlife. That fo the Candleftick may remaine amongft us, not onely forty dayes, the time prefcribed for ^ Niniveh's Repentance ; or fifteen yeares, the leafe of ^Hezekiahs health reftored; or terme of our life outright, a gift granted to good ^Jofiah ; or for an hundred and twenty yeares, fo long was allotted for the *amendement of the old world ; or for foure generations fuc ceffively, which Leafe of Lives on the Throne of Ifrael was beftowed on ^Jehu; but fo long as th6 Gnolam the Eternity of this world fliall laft, as long as the ^Moone endureth in heaven. 30. Men naturally decline Death ; and the Quick at the day of Judgement defire not to bee ''uncloathed, but cloathed upon, that mortality may bee fwallowed up of Life. The fame is our requeft, that there may bee no interruption or inter mlffion of our Light ; that it may bee not put out, but tooke up ; not deftroyed, but devoured in the tranfcendent Splendor of Glory. Then it will be no thrift to burne Day ; and ^ there ftall bee no night there, and they need no candle, no ufe of preaching. Sermons fliall ceafe, and God alone fliall bee the Text, the Hallelujahs of Angels and Saints the Comment upon it. 31. And now I am to take my finaU fareweU of this famous City of Exeter. I have fuffered from fome for faying feverall times, that I thought this or this would bee my laft Sermon, when afterwards I have preached againe. Yet I hope the Guefts are not hurt, if I bring them in a courfe more then I promifed or they expedl. Such would have forborne their cenfures had they confulted with the Epiftle to the Ro mans, In the fifteenth Chapter, verfe 22y the Apoftle feemes ' Jonah 3. 4. '2 Kings 20. 6. " a Chr. 34. 28. ¦¦ Gen. 6. 3. » 2 Kings 10. 30. ' Pfal. ^^. 7. ' » Cor. 5. 4. ' Revel. 22. 45^ Feare of Lofng the Old Light. [1646.] to clofe and conclude his Difcourfe, Now the God of Peace bee with you all. Amen. And yet prefently he beglnneth afrefh and continueth his Epiftle a whole Chapter longer. Yea, in the fixteenth Chapter, verfe 20, S. Paul takes a fecond folemne vale. The grace of our Lord lefus Chrift be with you all. Amen ; and notwithftanding ftill he fpins out his matter three verfes farther, till that full and finall Period, verfe 27, To God onely wife bee glory thorow lefus Chrift for ever. Amen. Thus loath to Depart Is the tune of all loving friends : The fame I may pleade for my Selfe, fo often taking my farewell, wherein If any were deceived, none I am fure were injured. Now this is all : The Rabbins have a conceit that Manna rellfhed fo to the pallats of the Jews juft as the eater thereof did fancy or defire. Confult with your felves, and wifh your owne fplrituall and temporall conveniencles, wifh what you will, for Body, Soule, both ; You, yours, your Private, the Publique ; confine not your happineffe with too narrow mea fure of your owne making. And my conftant Prayer to God fhall be, that he would be pleafed to be to you all in General!, each one in particular, that very thing which You for your owne Good doe moft defire. Amen. FINIS. ISERMONt ¦^ OF 4- I ASSVRANCE. t 4- ¦ 4- 4- Foureteene yeares agoe Preached 4- X in Cambridge, nnce in X _^ other Places. ^ ^ Now by the importunity of Friends X _X expofed to publike view. X ^ 4- .1^ By ThomasFuller B.D. late Ledlurer -^ .4j. in Lombard Street. M. ¦^ 4 ¦^ LONDON, j" l Printed by J.D. for 7^^^ Williams at the Signe ofthe X ¦^ Crowne in P(?z//j Church-yard. 1647. 5" 4 4- [" A Soul perfwaded of this (aJTurance of Gods love) may fing merrily with the fliarpeft thorn at its breaft; fo David, Pfal. 57. 7, My heart is fixed, my heart is fixed; I will fing and give praife. What makes him fo merry in fo fad a place as the Cave, where now he was } He will tell you, V. I, where you have him nettling himfelf under the fliadow of Gods wings, and now well may he fing care and fear away. A foul thus pro vided may lie at eafe on a hard bed. Do you not think they fleep as foundly who dwell on London-'2tx\d^gQ, as they who live at White-hall or Cheap-fide, knowing the waves that roar under them cannot hurt them ? Even fo may the Saints reft quietly over the floods of death itfelf, and fear no ill." — Gurnal's Chriftian in Compleat Armour, 6th edit. fol. 1679, pp. 14, 15.] ^f^^^L 3^^^^ ^^^E=^ ^TNf^fe& §¦^=5^^ ^^^^^p ^^^^S ^^^^^^ ^K^?^^ §^^^a f^^^^^Ki \w^^^^^ ^if(f^^' ^feyZ^^^g i^^^'-JxA^^ ^S^(^w ^1 ^^^mS P^^ks®! W^wi^M IpW^^^ IpmiK ^^^ ^^m W&R >>^^te ^^^ [Introduction. A GROUP of Sermons now come into notice which Fuller preached as Lefturer in certain churches of London, and as Chaplain in private houfeholds. The Lefturelhips which were held by him,- and which extended over feveral years, divide themfelves into two diftinft periods : firft, fome temporary appointments during the tenure of which he fuffered the penalty of his conneftion with Royalifm ; fecond, more fixed appointments during which, under the toleration afforded by the Commonwealth, he alfo acquired a benefice. The firft of thefe periods covers Fuller's occupancy of pulpits at St. Clement's, Eaft Cheap, in St. Clement's Lane, near Lombard Street, and St. Dunftans in the Eaft, correfponding with that era of the civil commo tions which ends with the Sermons in the prefent volume. Thefe City Lefturelhips are not to be confounded with the Incum bencies. The latter were when vacant filled up by the Committees of Religion, and only candidates whofe qualifications Cromwell's "Tryers" had certified received admilfion. The Lefturers, on the other hand, were direftly appointed by the parifhioners at their veftry meetings. As thefe Lefturefliips gave employment of an independent nature, they were fought after by diftreffed clergymen ; and many of the " cavalier parfons " held them. The right of eleftion by parifhioners was derived from an ordinance of Parliament, 8th September, 1641, which had then been introduced to counteraft the meafures of Laud. It was ordered — " That it fhall be lawful for the Parifhioners of any Parifh, in the Kingdome of England and Dominion of Wales, to fet up a Lefture, and to maintain an Orthodox Minifter, at their own Charge, to preach every Lord's Day, where there is no Preaching ; and to preach, One Day in every week where there is no weekly Lefture." {Commons' Journals, page 283), Fuller, who was fhut out from his former pofition at the Savoy, was perhaps one of the firft of the Royalift clergy who thus at St. Clement's, under the decree of his political antagonifts, again fell with huge fatif- faftion into the exercife of his profeflion. The addrefs to the reader of this Sermon (page 467), aswell as the defcription of himfelf (" late Lefturer") in the title-page, fhows that he did not long hold the appointment. He became, however, very popular with the merchants of the parilh, feveral of whofe names appear as patrons of his Pisgah-Sight and Church-Hiftory, and whofe memory moreover is perpetuated in the dedication of Pearson's Leftures on the Creed. CCCclxii INTRODUCTION. [l6 Under the zealous countenance of religious merchants, " who hungered," fays Fuller's biographer, " after the true and fincere word, from which they had been fo long reftrained," the City Lefturelhips benefited the parifhes in which they were held. They alfo proved advantageous to the clergy, who in the year 1647 began to reappear in London, under the pro teftion of the parliamentary order for Leftures above cited. Their labours tended to relieve the fpiritual deftitution of the metropolis. In Fuller's time St. Clement's was a fmall church void of monuments. Its hiftory may be gathered from the annexed copy of an infcrlption on a brafs on the north fide of the prefent church : — " This Church is dedicated to St. Clement the third Bifhop of Rome. The Benefice was originally in the Gift of the Abbot of West minster, but in the firft year of the reign of Queen Mary, was given by her to the Bifhop of London. After the Fire of London the Church was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren, and was re-arranged in 1872 by William Butterfield, F.S.A. Among the diftinguiflied men formerly connefted with the church were Bifliop Pearson, the Author of the Expofition of the Creed ; Thomas Fuller, the Church Hiftorian ; and as Organifts, Purcell & Battishill. — W. J. Hall, M.A., Rector ; J. S. Marratt, G. Horsley, Churchwardens, 1872-3." The church books were not deftroyed in the Fire. The churchwardens' accounts prove that Fuller was preaching at the church early in the year 1647, beginning in March. In that year one ofthe firft entries is an item for money paid to their lefturer, as follows : "Paid for 4 fermons preached by Mr. Ffuller ^Toi. 06. 08." The extrafts from fermons cited in Spencer's folio fhow that Fuller was alfo preaching" there in 1648, 1649, 1650, and fubfequently; the firft-named date fhowing that the preacher's fufpenfion was not of long duration. This preacher would doubtlefs, therefore, have his due fhare of the money referred to in the following entry, occurring in the church-wardens' accounts for 1648 :— "Paid diverfe minifters for preachinge 22 Sabbath dales, beginiiige the 12 of November, 1648, and ending the 12 of April, 1649, j^022. 00. 00." ^ The Sermon of Afurance was a favourite difcourfe of the preacher, who 'had firft delivered it at St. Bene't's Church, Cambridge. It has, however, been much altered, for it is more mature both in ftyle and fentiment than his earlier fermons on Ruth, preached at the fame place. Amongft the benefaftors whom Fuller tnet with after his departure from Exeter, during a feafon of aftual poverty or diftrefs, was Sir John D'Anvers (page 465), afterwards one of the Regicides, who feems to have taken him into his houfehold at Chelfea, perhaps as an occafiotial refident or vifitor rather than as chaplain, and to have given him an annual falary. Thefe, therefore, may be the favours, tor the continuance of which Fuller begs in the dedication of this Sermon, page 466. The moft grateful of men, he has himfelf put on frequent record his fenfe of indebtednefs to his benefaftor. In former days D'Anvers, by reafon of the nobility of his birth, had been Gentleman of the Privy 47-J INTRODUCTION. CCCclxIII Chamber to Charles, when Prince of Wales ; and he had been returned for the Univerfity of Oxford in 1621, 1625, 1627-8, and in the Short Parliament of 1639-40. In the Civil War he had, though advanced in years, become a Colonel in the intereft of the Parliament. Clarendon's account of the Knight {Hift. Rebel, ed. Oxf. 1843, book ix. page 696) fhould be read with an allowance, the more fo as it has been fupplemented in the fame fpirit by George Bate, Echard the hiftorian, the author of The Hiftory of King-killers, and others. Clarendon's ftatement is that D'Anvers, being neglefted by his elder brother the Earl of Danby, had by a vain expenfe in the way of living, contrafted a vaft debt which he knew not how to pay ; and that being proud, formal, and weak, he had been feduced into the counfels of the Parliament. It was decided in a Parliamentary inquiry, which D'Anvers himfelf advanced (see his Petition to the Houfe of Commons, F7. Report Hist. MSS., pd^ge. 93), that his bro ther, to whom he was heir, and who had died in 1643-4, had by his will deprived him of certain eftates in confequence of his affeftion to the caufe he had efpoufed ; — a decifion which difpoffeffed Lady Gargrave his fifter of Noftel, co. York, and Sir Peter Osborne, of confiderable property. {Divifion of Plunder of the Self-Denying Republicans, 1646.) The affociation of Fuller with a man about whofe charafter we have only the teftimony of hoftile pens, is difficult to underftand. It appears, however, pretty certain that in the above-named authorities the Knight's real charafter has not been given. A very different view of him, at a fomewhat earlier time, is derived from fome pleafing letters from George Herbert to him in Walton's Life of that faintly poet. From thofe letters it appears that D'Anvers, who had married Herbert's mother (" for love of her wit ") was ever moft kind to his ftep-fon. In one of them, written from college, Herbert begs for money to buy divinity- -books, being then, in confequence of his expenditure in this direftion, fcarce able with much ado to make one half year's allowance fliake hands with the other {Remains, ^A..Y'\zV.&x'va.g, 8vo. 1848, pp. 11,303- 310). D'Anvers, it is noticeable, was the overfeer of Herbert's will. Donne eulogifed the Chriftian difcipline of Lady D'Anvers's houfehold. Putting afide the fubfequent king-killing propenfities of D'Anvers, there feems. to have been many elements of goodnefs about him ; and whatever his hope of gain may have been, he only received out of the ftate fpoils a commiffionerfliip of Delinquents' Eftates. Aubrey relates that he was a faithful friend in the war time to many befides himfelf. Of other Royalifts whom D'Anvers befriended befides Fuller, an inftance may be mentioned in John Thornborough, Vicar of Weft Lavington, Wilts ; as to whom Walker {Sufferings, pt. ii. page 384) fays that he was " a man of Eminent Learning, of a Sweet and obliging Temper, and belov.ed of all that knew him and converfed with him. Sir John Danvers (though a Regicide), who was of his [Thornborough's] Parifh, did, after his ex pulfion from his Vicaridge, get him the School there ; which yet by the violence of his Profecutors and the Iniquity of the Times, he could not long Hold, but was thence alfo Expelled. .... After which Sir John Danvers procured him the ReSlory of Hilperton in the fame county ; but CCCclxIv INTRODUCTION. [1647.J he (though veiy Powerful in thofe Times) was not able to ProteSl him there." The intimacy of D'Anvers and Fuller may be one out of feveral cafes that could be cited to prove that the focial intercourfe of families during the Civil War was not greatly difturbed by political or religious differences ; party-feeling being marked by an amount of cour teous civility which has been too much overlooked by the writers on that age of diffenfion. Fuller had certainly a good opinion of his benefaftor, and. he appreciated the indireft proteftion which the con neftion afforded him. Such, then, was the " worfhipful " knight who — to ufe the words of the grateful Fuller — by a yearly and ample exercife of his bounty raifed his fortunes at a time when they were, as he expreffively puts it, not only tottering but utterly proftrate. This interefting biographical faft is derived from the engraving of Solomon's Temple in our author's Pifgah-Sight (book iii. page 352) in a joint dedication to Henry D'Anvers, fon of Sir John, and to Francis St. John, eldeft fon of Sir Oliver St. John, Lord Chief Juftice of Common Pleas. The dedication, which was penned in the year 1649 or 1650, is as follows : — "Henrico D'Anvers, luveni gen- Francisco de S'. Iohanne, Juris- erofa; indolis (gratioris quod e pul- confultiffimi patris ad togati ho- chre corpore) honoratiffimi patris noris apicem euecti, primo- (qui annua ac liberall largitione, genito, qui (uti fpero) generis res meas non nutantes modo sed claritatem nouo fplendore illuf- plane jacentes erexit) haeredi : nec- trabunt, Templi contra-factu- -non peregrination comiti indiuiduo ram dedicat. T. F." A pedigree of D'Anvers's family, derived in part from the Funeral Certificate of "Old" Sir John Danvers (ob. 19 Dec. 1594), will be found at page 490. The Sermon following this is alfo infcribed to D'Anvers (fee page 495), whofe fubfequent hiftory is iketched in the Introduftion to the Sermon Life out of Death, 1655, in volume ii. of this colleftion. There was only one edition of this fermon, which perhaps appeared early in 1647-8. The Editor has a copy dated 1647, whence this reprint is taken. He purchafed it fome years ago in a volume of difcourfes containing Vines's funeral Sermon on the Earl of Essex, 1646; Cudworth's, before the Houfe of Commons at Weftminfter, 31 March, 1647 ; Greene's, before the Houfe of Commons, 24 Feb. 1646-7 ; and Rutherford's Faft Sermon before the Houfe of Lords, 25 June, 1645. There are copies of the fame fermon dated 1648, which are not fo rare as the few which remain of thofe dated 1647 ;• but thofe of both years, as the collation of them proved, are preclfely alike, except in the change of the figure. The fermon was in 410., pp. viii. + 31. The crown, which is on the title-pages of moft of Williams's publications, is an exaft copy of that on the original fermon. A fimilar crown appears on the title-pages of Herrick's Hefperides, 1648 ; and a larger form of it is found on the title-page of Fuller's Church-Hiftory, 1655, and of Pearson's Expofition ofthe Creed, 410. 1659.] TO The Honovrable, and nobly accompliflied Knight, Sir Iohn D'Anvers, all the bleffings of this, and a better Hfe. Sir, 'EE read how Zachariah being ftruck dumbe called for Table- bookes thereon to write his minde, making his hands to fupply the defedl of his mouth : It hath been the pleafure of the prefent Authority (to whofe commands I humbly fubmit) to make me mute, forbidding mee till further order the exercife of my publicke Preaching ; wherefore I am faine to imploy my fingers in writing, to make the beft ftgnes I can, thereby to exprefle, as my defire to the generali good, fo my particular gratitude to your Honour. 2. May this Treatife but finde the fame favour from your Eie as once It did from your Eare, and be as well accepted when read as formerly when heard. And let this humble Dedication be interpreted a weake acknowledgement of thofe ftrong obligations your bounty hath laid upon me. Well may you tafte the fruits of that tree, whofe root your liberality hath preferved from whithering. G G 466 The Epifle Dedicatory. [1647.] 3. Sir, thefe hard times have taught mee the Art of frugality, to improve every thing to the beft advantage : by the fame rules of thrift, this my Dedication, as returning thanks for your former favours, fo begs the continuance of the fame. And to end, as I began, with the example of Zachariah, as his dumbnefle was but temporary, fo I hope by Gods goodnefi"e, and the favour of my friends, amongft whom your Honour ftands In the higheft ranke, the miracle may be wrought, that the dumbe may fpeake again, and as well by words publikely profefle as now by his hand he fubfcribes himfelfe. Tour Servant in all Chriftian office, Thomas Fuller. To the Chriftian Reader. SHALLj be ft or t in my addreffes unto thee ; not onely becaufe I know not thy difpofition, being a ftranger unto thee ; but chiefly becaufe I am ignorant of my owne prefent Condition, remaining as yet a ftranger to my felfe. Were 1 reftored to the free ufe of my FunStlon, I would then requeft the concurrence of thy thankes with mine to a gracious God the giver, and honourable Perfons the dealers of this great favour unto me. Were I finally inter- diSied my Calling, without hope af recoverie, I would befpeake thy pitty to bemoane my eftate. But lying as yet in the Marftes betweene Hope and Feare, I am no fit fubjeSl ta be condoled for, or congratulated with. Tet it is, I truft, no piece of Popery to maintaine that the prayers of others may be beneficial and available for a perfon in my Purgatorie condition. Which moves me to crave thy Chriftian fuffrages , that I may be ridde out of my prefent tor ment on fuch tearmes as may moft tend to Gods glory, mine owne good, and the edification of others. However matters ftall fucceede, it is no fmall comfort to my Confcience thai in refpeSi of my Minifteriall FunSlion I doe not die Felo de fe ; not ftabbing my Profeffion by mine own lazlneffe, who hitherto have, and hereafter (hall improve my utmoft endeavours by any lawfull meanes to procure my reftitution. When the Priefts would have carried the Arke after David, David forbad them to goe further. If {faid hee) I fliall finde favour in the eyes of the Lord, hee will bring mee againe, and fhew mee both it and its habltadon. But if he thus fay, G G 2 468 To the Chrif ian Reader. [^^647.} I have no delight in thee : behold here am I, let him doe to mee as feemeth good unto him. Some perchance would per fwade me fo have the Pulpit carried after me, along with me to my private Lodgings, but hitherto I have refrained from fuch exercifes, as fubjeSl to offence, hoping in due time to bee brought backe to the Pulpit, and endeavouring to compofe my felfe to Davids refolution. And if I ftould bee totally forbidden my FunSlion, this is my confidence : that That great pafture of Gods Providence, whereon fo many of my Profeffion doe dayly feede, is not yet made fo bare by their biting, but that, befides them and Millions more, it may ftill comfortably maintaine. Thy Friend and fervant in Chrift Jefus, Thomas Fuller. A Sermon of Affvrance. a Peter i. id. Give rather diligence to make your calling and eleSiion fure. • ANS life may not unfitly be compared to a Candle. Curiofity may well be refembled to the Thiefe in the Candle, which makes men to fpend much pre- tious time In needleffe difputes, the conclufions whereof are both uncertaine and unprofitable. The Schoole- mens Bookes are ftuffed with fuch queftions, about the dIftances and dignities of Angels, as If men were to marfliall them In Ranke and File, how that heavenly Hofte doe march In glory one before another. When men heare Improbable matters from farre Countries related unto them, it is their ufuall Returne, It is better to beleeve them then goe thither to confute them. But let us not credit many unlikely-hoods concerning Angels, which the boldneffe of Schoolmen have obtruded upon us, but rather labour In Gods due time to goe to heaven, there with our owne happy experience to confute them. II. Well It Is faid oi Socrates, that he was the firft of the Grecians which humbled fpeculative Into morall Philofophy. How well would the paines of that Minifter be Imployed who fhould endeavour to bring downe and abate many fuperfluous contemplative Queries Into pradtlcall Divinity l It were liberty enough if the Sermons of all Preachers were bound to keepe Refidence onely on fuch fubjedts which all Chriftians are bound to beleeve and praftice for their foules health : Amongft which the Doftrine in my Text, may juftly challenge a prin cipali part. When Naomie heard but the mention of the name 47° A Sermon of Affvrance. [i6 of Boaz, the Man, faid ^ fliee, is neere unto us, and of our affinity : So no fooner doe you heare this Text read unto you. Give rather diligence ta make your calling and eleSiion fure, but every well affefted heart is ready to claime blood and challenge right therein. Queftions about Angels are neither kiffe nor kinne to my foule ; but this a precept of that confequence, of that concernment, we all ought to fliare a part and intereft in the fpeedy and reall praftice thereof. III. Some difference there is betwixt us and the Romanifts in reading the Text, who following the vulgar Latine adde per bona opera : make your calling and eleSiion fure by good workes. A claufe altogether omitted In our Engllfli Tranfla tions, becaufe in the Greeke nothing appeares anfwerable thereunto. Good reafon, therefore, that we fliould correft the tranfcript by the Originall, and purifie the ftreame to the cleareneffe of the fountaine. God grant that though on thefe juft grounds we exclude good works out of the Text, wee may admit, embrace, and praftice them in our lives and con- verfatlons. IV. My Text may not unfitly bee compared to Ehuds dagger, fliort, but fliarpe. And although now it be faine Into a lame hand, (the unworthyneffe of the Preacher In this place,) to manage it ; yet inforced with the affiftance of Gods arme it may prove able to give the deadly blow to foure Eglon finnes, tyrannizing in too many mens hearts. I . Supine negligence in matters of Salvation. 1. Bufie medling in other mens matters. 3. Prepoflerous curiofity in unfearchable myfteries. 4. Continuall wavering, or Scepticalnefs concerning our Calling and Eleftion. ( I ) Supine negligence is difpatched in that word, Give dili gence. This grace of Affurance is unattainable by eafe and idleneffe. (2) Bufie medling in other mens matters is deftroyed In the Particle Tour. Each one ought principally to intend his owne affurance. (3) Prepofterous curiofity Is ftabbed with the order of the ' Ruth 2. 20, 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 471 words. Calling and EleSiion, not EleSiion and Calling. Men muft firft begin to affure their Calling, and then afcendendo argue and inferre the affurance of their EleSiion. (4) Continuall wavering is wounded under the fifth ribbe, in the conclufion of my Text, Sure. Wee will but touch at [the] three firft, and land at the laft, as the chiefe fubjeft of our enfuing Difcourfe. V. This Grace of Affurance Is not attainable with eafe and idleneffe. Chriftianity is a laborious Profeffion. Obferve Gods fervants cleane through the Scripture refembled to men of painefull vocations : To Racers, who muft ftretch every finew to get firft to the Goale : to Wreftlers, a troublefome emploiment ; fo that I am unrefolved whether to recount It amongft Toiles, or Exercifes (at the beft it is but a tollefome Exercife) : to Souldiers, who are In conftant Service and dayly Duty, alwales on the Guard againft their Enemies. Befides, we Minifters are compared to Shepherds, a painefull and dan gerous profeffion amongft the Jewes ; to Watchmen, which continually wake for the good of others. So that befides the difficulties of our Chriftian calling, we are incumbred with others, which attend our Minifteriall funftion. Let none therefore conceit that Salvation with the Graces accompaning it (whereof this Affurance we treat of Is a Principali) is to be compaffed with facility, without conftant care and endeavour to obtaine it. How eafily was the man In the Gofpell let downe to our Saviour In the houfe, whilft foure men for him uncovering the roofe thereof let him downe with cords lying quietly on his couch 1 Some may fuppofe that with as little hardfhlp they may bee lifted up to heaven, and that whileft they lazily lye fnorting on their beds of fecurity (never mor tifying their lufts, never ftriving for grace, never ftruggling againft their corrupdons) they ftiall bee drawne up to happi neffe, or it let down to them, merely by the cords of Gods mercy and Chrifts merits. Such men without amendment will one day finde themfelves dangeroufly deceived, and that it is a laborious taflce to gaine either the fureneffe or affurance of falvation, wherein, according to the Apoftles prefcrlption, wee muft give diligence. 472 A Sermon of Affvrance. [i6 VI. To make your.) Each Chriftian Is principally to endea vour the Affurance of his owne Calling and Eleftion. Indeed it were to be wiflied that Parents, befides themfelves, were affured of the true fanftity (fo by confequence of their Calling and Eleftion) of themfelves multiplied, the children God hath given them ; of the fecond part of their felves lying in their bofome, their wives, of true grace In their friends and family. How comfortable were It, if Minifters were afcertalned of true grace and pietie In the breafts and bolbmes of the people committed to their charge ! But the beft way to paffe a rationall verdift on the fincerity of fanftity in another, is firft to finde an experlmentall Evidence thereof In ones own heart. A Phylofopher complained that It was an exceeding hard thing to find a wife man. True, faid another ; for he mufl bee a wife man that feekes him, and knowes when he hath found him; and hence arifeth the difliculty, becaufe two wife men In effeft muft meet together, the Seeker, and the Finder. It Is a hard thing in like manner to bee affured of unfalned faith and undiffembled Devotion in another mans heart. Becaufe firft, that party muft have a feeling of the operation of grace in his owne foule (otherwife blinde men are incompetent Judges of colours) before he can make his prefumptlons of hoHneffe in another from thofe facred fymptomes and fruits of piety which he findes in his owne Confcience. Let It there fore be every mans maine worke, firft to make a fcrutlny In his owne foule, to make his own Calling and EleSiion fure. VII. How contrary is this to the common praftice of moft in the world ! It Is a tale of the wandring Jew, but it Is too much truth of too many wandring Chriftians : whofe home is alwales to bee abroad : Profeffours In fplrituall Palmeftry, who will undertake to read the Ufe fine, the line of eternail life, In the hands of mens foules; though for all their skill they often miftake the hands of Efau for the hands of Jacob, approving many hypocrites for their hoHneffe, and condemn ing fincere foules for counterfeits and diffemblers. VIII. Calling and EleSiion.) Men are not to lanch into the Depths of Predeftlnadon at the firft dafli, but firft foberly to begin with their Callmg or Vocation. Surely the very Angells 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 473 which climbed up the ladder in Jacobs Mreame did firft begin at the laft and loweft Round. Firft, looke to finde thy jufti fication and fanftification ; then thy adoption and vocation ; laftly, thy eleftion and predeftination. But alaffe 1 as the Hebrews read their letters backward : fo It Is to be feared that too many prepofteroufly Invert the order of my Text, and inftead of Calling and Eleftion, read Eleftion and Calling ; firft grafping at thofe myfteries (both in their praftife and difcourfe) which are above their reach, as if their foules feared to be runne a-ground if failing In the ftiallows of Faith and good workes, they never count themfelves fafe but when adventuring in thofe fecrets wherein they can finde no bottome. IX. We are now come to the youngeft part In the Text, to which we intend a Benjamin's portion. Being to difcourfe of the certainty of calling and eleSiion, not in refpeft of Gods predeftination. It being from all Eternity fure in him (f'from the beginning of the world God knoweth all his workes), but In reference to man's apprehenfion concerning the affurance thereof. And now leaft our difcourfe, like ^Jordan In the firft moneth, fliould over-flow, wee will raife thefe Bankes to bridle It, and confider: I. That affurance of Calling and EleSiion Is feafible In this life to be attain'd. 2. What this affurance is. 3. How a Chriftian buckleth and applleth It to his foule. 4. Wee will fatisfie fome doubts and difficulties in this behalfe. 5. Wee will conclude with comfortable ufes to all forts of Chriftians. x. Of the firft. That affurance of ones Calling and EleSiion may, without any miraculous revelation, be In this life acquired, appeareth plaine In the Text ; becaufe the Apoftle in the fim plicity of the Dove-Y\k.e Spirit exhort's us to the attaining thereof. Now furely It had been no better than holy fraud (which heaven hath a Pillorie to punifli) to put men upon a labour in vaine, to feeke that which Is not to be found. 'Gen. 2S. 12. ^^ftsis. 18. " i Chro. 12. 15. 474 A Sermon of Affvrance. [16 Thinke not therefore that the affurance of Calling and EleSiion is like the Philofophers ftone, which fo many have fearched for, yet all have loft their eftates before they could find it out; but no doubt by God's bleffing It Is In this world attainable. And yet the Papifts maintaine that whileft wee live In this world and faile In our defires and affeftions to the rich Indies of Heaven and happineffe, no further Land is difcoverable beyond the Cape of good hope, and that It Is arrogancy and pre fumption (without an Immediate expreffe by revelation from Heaven) for any to conceive himfelf affured of his falvation. XI. For the fecond, this affurance of ones Calling and EleSiion Is a (feparable) fruit or effeft, not of every true, but only of fome ftrong Faiths, whereby the party is perfwaded of the certainty of his Calling and Eleftion. I fay feparable, to manifeft my diffenting from fuch worthy Divines who make this Affurance to bee the very Being, Effence, Life, Soule, and Formality of Faith It felf. Whence thefe two Opinions,' as falfe as dangerous, muft of neceffity bee inferred : Firft, that every one who hath true faith, and are eternally to bee faved, have alwales fome meafure of this Affurance. Secondly, that fuch who are devoid of this Affurance are likewife deprived of all fincere faith for the prefent. But God for bid any Preacher ftiould deliver Doftrines fo deftruftlve to Chriftian comfort on the one fide, and advantagious to fplrituall Pride on the other. Such will prove Carnificince, the racks and tortures of tender Confciences. And as the ^careleffe Mother kill'd her little childe, for flie overlaid it; fo the weight of this heavie Doftrin would preffe many poore but pious foules, many faint but feeble infant-faiths, to the pit of Defpaire, exafting and extorting from them more than God requires, that every Faith fliould have affurance with It, or elfe be uneffeftuall to falvadon. No ; the formality of Faith confifts in mans renouncing and difclaiming all fufficiencie in himfelfe, cafting, rolling, and relying his foule totally and endrely on the mercies of God and merits of Chnft, though not affured fomedmes of the certainty of his falvadon. Like a man in a tempeft caft out of the flilp, and lying on a planke ' I Kings 3. 19. 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 475 or board, placeth all his humane hopes on that planke or board, thereby to efcape drowning, though he have no cer tainty that the fame fliall bring him fafe to the fliore. XII. As for thofe reverend Divines who have written and maintained the contrary, that Affurance Is the very foule of faith, and faith dead and ufeleffe without It : far be it from me, becaufe diffenting from their opinions, to raile on their Perfons, and wound the memories of thofe which are dead with opprobrious termes. Rather let us thank God for their learned and religious writings left behinde them, knowing that the head of the knowledge of this Age ftands on the fhoulders of the former, and their very errors have advantaged us Into a clearer difcovery of the truth in this particular. In the next place : a Chriftian thus collefteth this Affurance of his Calling and EleSiion by compofing this prafticall Syllo- gifme In his foule. The Major; He that truely repenteth himfelfe af his finnes, and rely eth with a true faith on God in Chrift, is furely Called, and by confequence EleSled before all Eternity to be a veffell af honour. The Minor: But I truely repent my felfe of my finnes, and rely with a true faith on God in Chrift. The Conclufion: Therefore 1 am truly Called and EleSled,&c. The Major is the fenfe of the Scripture in feverall places, the very effeft of Gods promifes, and the generali fcope of the Gofpell : fo that if Satan fliould be fo Impudent as to deny the truth of this Propofition, he may be beaten with that weapon whereat once he challenged our Saviour, // is written. XIII. All the difficulty Is In the Minor. Happy that man, bleffed that woman, who without felf-delufion, without flat tering their owne foules, can ferioufly make this Affumption, But I, is'c. For fuch I dare be bold to make the Conclufion ; yea, it makes it felfe for them without my Affiftance. But alaffe ! many out of fearefulneffe dare not make this Minor, conceiving this Affumption to bee prefumption in them. And although they might truely doe It (being in a better 47^ A Sermon of Affvrance. [i6 condition then they conceive themfelves), yet overwhelmed with the fenfe of their finnes and Gods feverity they affume the contrary, and, poore foules, often apprehend and conclude their owne damnation In their wounded confciences : whereas others with a more dangerous miftake of common illumina tions for difcrlmlnating grace, falfely make the Minor, and caufelefly inferre their bleffed condition without juft ground for the fame. Such few as goe righdy to worke doe produce thefe three witneffes, to affert the truth of this Minor pro pofition : XIV. Firft, the teftimony of their Confcience, that Atturney Generali to the King of heaven, whofe Yea or Nay ought to bee more with us then all the Oathes in the world befide. One knoweth whom It is that he loveth and whom he loveth not, whom it Is he trufteth and whom he trufteth not ; and in like manner his Confcience telJs him whether he doth or doth not truely repent, whether feemingly or fincerely he cafteth himfelfe on God in Chrift. XV. Secondly, the witneffe of the holy Spirit in their hearts, ^which beareth witneffe with their Spirit, that they are the children of God. Now wee muft with forrow confeffe that this doftrine of the Spirit dwelling in the heart of Gods fervants is much difcountenanced of late, and the DeviH thereupon hath Improved his owne Intereft. To fpeake plainely. It Is not the fierceneffe of the Lion, nor the fraud of the Fox, but the mimicalneffe of the Ape, which in our Age hath difcredited the undoubted Truth. But what if the Apes In India finding a glow-worme miftooke It to be true fire, and heaping much combuftlble matter about it, hoped by their blowing of it thence to kindle a flame ; I fay, what if that Animal, yeXaroTrowv, that Mirth-making creature, deceived it felfe, doth it thence follow that there is no true fire at all ? And what If fome Phanaticall Anabaptifts by ufurpation have intltled their bralne-ficke fancies to be fo many Illuminations of the Iplrit, muft we prefently turne ^Sadduces In this point, and deny that there Is any fpirit at all ? God forbid. We confeffe the Apoftles In the Primitive Church were our elder ' Rom, 8. i6. = Afts 23. 8. 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 477 bretheren, and with Ifaac carried away the inheritance of the fpirit In fo great a proportl6n as to be enabled thereby to miraculous operations : Yet fo, that wee, (though the yonger bretheren,) t\\e(onr\es, oi Keturah, have rich and precious gifts of the fpirit beftowed upon us, which at fometime or other, in a higher or lower degree, fweetly move the foule of all Gods fervants, and In many of them teftifie the truth of that Minor Propofition, namely, the fincerity of their faith and repentance. XVI. The third and laft witneffe we will infift on, is that comfort and contentment the Confclence of the party takes in doing good works, and bringing forth the fruits of new obedience. That though hee knowes his beft good works are ftained with corruptions and many imperfeftlons, yet becaufe they are the end of his vocation, and the Juftifiers of his Faith ; becaufe thereby the Gofpell Is graced, wicked men amazed, fome of them converted, the reft confounded, weake Chriftians confirmed, the poore relieved. Devils re pining at them. Angels rejoycing for them, God himfelfe glorified by them ; I fay, becaufe of thefe and other reafons, he doth good deeds with humility and cheerefulneffe, and findeth a fingular joy In his foule refulting from the doing thereof This joy Is an excellent witneffe to depofe the truth of his Faith and repentance, and to confirme the Minor In the former Syllogifme. XVII. See here though good works on juft ground were excluded our Text, yet In due time and their proper places wee have entertained them In our fermon. If good workes offer to crowd Into our juftification, let us be fo bold as to fhut the doore againft them. But if wee have any to come into our fanftification, thereby alfo to averre and atteft the truth of our Faith and Repentance, let us fay to them as Laban to Jacob, Why ftand yee without ? Come in yee bleffed of the Lord. And this joy, conceived from the good workes men doe, is the more pure the more private, the more fincere the more fecretiy it is carried. I fliall ever commend the modefty of Elifabeth, who after long barrenneffe finding her felf with child did not pubHfli her happineffe to the veiw of the world, but hid her felf three moneths. If after too long 47^ A Sermon of Affvrance. [i6 fterility In goodneffe, thou perceiveft thy felf at laft by God's grace pregnant in pious workes, vent not thy good fuccefle in the Market-place ; doe not boaft and bragge thereof in difcourfe to others ; but bee contented to enjoy the foHd com fort thereof betwixt God and thy owne confcience. XVIII. Soe much for the three witneffes to confirme the truth of the Minor. All that I fliall adde Is this : let us who are or fliould bee fchollars take heed, whom our parents or friends have bred at the Fountaines of Learning and Religion till our portions are almoft flirunke into our Education ; let us take heed leaft filly fimple people who never read Ariftotle' s Organon, never knew how to mould Argument in mood and figure, make this SyUoglfme true In their hearts, by their fupernaturall Logicke ; whileft we, with all our wit and un- fanftlfied learning, make at the beft but a Solceclfme, and thereby put a dangerous fallacy upon our owne foules. XIX. ObjeSlions: But heere wee muft propound and anfwer fome objeftions, the refolution whereof may tend both to our inftruftion and comfort. The firft Is this : whether all the fervants of God now living and in the ftate of grace, are for the prefent affured of their Calling and EleSiion ; fo that If Inftantly arrefted to pay their debt to nature, they are as con fident of their fouls mounting up to heaven and happineffe as of their bodies falling downe to duft and corruption. XX. Anfwer : Wee divide the congregation of God's fer vants now furviving into rankes. Firft, ^Mnafons old difciples, fenlour profeffors of piety ; ^Hannah's, which have lived many yeares in the Tem^\e, ferving God with Fafting and Prayers night and day . Thefe by frequent afts have contrafted a habit of Piety. Grace by cuftome is made another nature unto them, efpecially towards the latter end of their Hues ; partly becaufe their foules do fteale a Glymps, Glance, or Fifgah- fight of heaven through the Clefts and Chinkes of their Age or fickneffe-broken-bodies ; and partly becaufe, as all motion is fwifteft the neereft it comes to the Center : So_ they, the neerer they draw by death to heaven, God's Spirit and all goodneffe groweth more quick and aftive in them. Of theie ¦Aas 21.16. 'Luke 2. 37- 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 479 wee fay that it is often obferved, God deales fo gracloufly with them as to crowne their endeavors with an affurance of falvation. To fuch I may add thofe whom I may call young- -old-Chriftians, whofe profeffion of Chrift, though fhort, hath beene thick ; though young In yeares, yet they have not onely done, but fuffered for Chrift. Religion hath coft them deare : they have not only been fummered, but wintered in piety, have not onely paffed profperity, but have been acquainted with adverfity therein. Great travelers in Chrif tianity, which have cut the line, and have paffed the Torrid Zone of Perfecution, and, which is more, of a wounded con- fcience. Thefe alfo God may admit into the former forme, and out of his undeferved mercy ¦ reward them with the Affurance of their falvatlon. XXI. But all ftarres which fhine In heaven are not of the firft greatneffe ; neither are all of David's worthies to bee equalled with the firft three. Other Chriftians there are (who in God's due time may mate the former both in grace and glory), Punies in piety. Novices in Religion : Of fuch I fay, not one of a hundred (whatfoever they may erroneoufly pretend to the contrary) are affured of their Calling and EleSiion. XXII. If further it be demanded whether every Saint of God belonging to Eleftion hath not at one time or other In his life, or at his death, this affurance conveyed into his foule, I muft confeffe that heerein the ftreames of learned mens judgements runne not onely in different, but contrary chan- nells. Some are of opinion that God Is fo gracious, and magnifies his mercy fo much in his proceedings towards his fervants, that the very meaneft In the Family of Faith have fome proportion of this affurance conferred upon them during their abode in this life. Other Dlvln-^ j' whit inferlour to the former in number, Learninrjd djj^ ^ "jn, and Chriftian experience, maintaine the oppofitC o^'-^-^in: that God fome times is fo pleafed to try the patience and humble the hearts of fome of his fervants that a continuall feare is a conftant covering of their eyes: they goe heavily all the day long, never daring for feare of prefumption to owne and acknowledge any grace in their hearts ; alwaies jealous of their owne con- 4°o A Sermon of Affvrance. [16 dition, and fadly fufpitlous of themfelves, leaft all their hoH neffe prove hypocrifie, and their Piety be more In profeffion then fincerltie. Thofe may be compared unto children in their Mothers belly, which have true life In them, and yet themfelves doe not know that they live. For my owne part, I conceive this controverfie can onely bee decided betwixt God and a mans own Confcience : no third Perfon can be privie to the fecret tranfaftions betwixt them. The laft of thefe two Opinions (fo farre as one may conjefture) hath moft of charity, and not the leaft of truth In it. I am perfwaded that many a pious foule, dying in the fit of a temptation, hath inftantly expefted to finke from his death-bed into hell-fire, when the fame by Gods goodneffe hath beene countermanded a contrary way, and fent to bliffe and happineffe. Yea, It Is more then probable that many fad and afflifted fpirits have beene poffeffed of glory in heaven before they durft ever owne that themfelves had any true Grace on earth. XXIII. The next queftion which comes to be refolved is, whether this affurance once poffeffed may not afterwards be forfeited. Here the controverfie is not whether once the childe of God may relapfe Into the ftate of damnation, totally and finally lofing all faving Grace In his heart, (which defperate Pofition cuts afunder the finewes of all Gofpel-comfort,) but it Is onely enquired into whether the apprehenfion or Affurance of his calling may not in fome cafes be loft. Wherein our anfwer is affirmative; and this ufually comes to paffe on thefe two fad Occafions : xxiv. Firft, when the Party commits fome Confclence- wafting finne, fuch as Tertullian tearmes '^Peccatum devora- torium falutis ; and continues in the fame fome feafon without repentance. Indeed every furreptltious finne, or finne of In firmity, and efpecially a complication of many of them together, have a good }^'j;^de to deftroy this Affurance. But it is feldome feene thS their ftrength is fo great (though they frequentiy fret and dayly nibble at the cordes of our Aflurance) as to fliare or grind them afunder, a thing ufually done by the committing of high and heinous offences. There is a whirle- ' \^De Idolatria, td. Lut. Paris., fo. 164T, pag. 104 f.] 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 481 winde in the Weft-Indies called a Herricane, which comes but feldome, and yet too often. For then Rafor-like It fhaves downe all levell and flat before it. Trees, and Townes, and Towres ; in a word, it is as wild and favage as the Natives of the Countrey. No leffe the impetuous violence and cruelty of a Confclence-waftlng-finne : fuch as Lots Inceft, Davids Adultery, Peters deniall ; when they come they make a de population of all Graces formerly planted in the foule; maiming the hand of Faith, breaking the Anchor of Hope, quenching the heate of Charity, darkning the light of knowledge, and totally taking away for a time the comfortable apprehenfion of Gods love to them, and their calling to God. This made David petition to God, Reftore to me the joy of thy falvation. Wherein three things are implied : Firft, that once he did poffeffe that joy : Reftore it. Secondly, that now hee had loft it : Reftore it. Laftly, that the lofle thereof was not fo defperate but with hope by true forrow to recover this joy : Reftore to me the joy cf thy Salvation. xxv. The fecond way to lofe this Affurance is by fuffering fome great affllftion above the ftandard and proportion of ordinary croffes ; feemingly of a fadder hue and blacker com plexion then what ufually befall other Chriftians. In fuch a cafe a forrowfull foule Is ready thus to reafon with it felfe : Once I conceived my felfe in a happy condition, thinking my felfe eftated in the favour of God, truely called and by con fequence truely elefted to grace here and glory hereafter. But now, alaffe! I perceive my felfe utterly miftaken. I built my hopes on a falfe bottome ; I am but a meere formalift, a pretender to piety, yea, a reprobate and caft-away ; otherwife God would never affllft me in this fafhion, with fuch hideous and horrible croffes, dolefull tribulations, difmall temptations, fo that the brimftone of hell-fire may plainely bee fented therein. Thus holy Job, when God difcharged whole volleys of Chaine-fhot of affliftions againft him, one drew on another, we find him fometimes venting expreffions rankly favour ing of defpaire ; and no wonder if hee began to ftagger who had drunke fo deepely of the bitter cuppes. And now conceiving our felves in fome meafure to haue fatisfied the moft important prafticall queries wherewith this doftrine of H H f^f A Sermon of Affvrance. [i6 Affurance is incumbred, we come to make fome profitable application. XXVI. The Grecians had a threefold Song : the Old men fung, We have beene; tVe middle-aged men. We are; theyoum men. We fhaU be. This Song will ferve to divide my Auditors at this time. Some fing. We have beene. There was a happy time wherein wee were afcertalned of our Calling^xid Eleaion but now, alaffe poore foules ! have loft it. Others fin? We are for the prefent in the peacible poffeffion of fuch affurance. Others fmg. We ftall bee in God's due time : when his good neffe and wifdome feeth fit, fuch an happineffe fliall bee be ftowed upon us. XXVII. Wee begin with the firft that fing. Wee have beene. O that It were in my power as well to help as to pitty you, to amend as to bemoane your condition ! It is the greateft mifery that one hath once beene happy. All your Song is a Burthen. The beft advice I can prefcribe unto you is this : Serioufly confider with your felves which way you loft this affurance of your Salvation. Was it by committing a con fcience- wafting-finne? No Divine can commend unto you better or other Phyfick than onely '^Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent and doe thy firft Workes. And al though it may pleafe God in his mercy to forgive thy dayly imperfeftlons and manifold Infirmities, on thy generali re pentance and quotidian prayer, and forgive us our trefpaffes, yet the moft comfortable courfe and fureft way to obtaine peace of confcience, after the committing of an hainous offence, is by particular humiliation for it; without which ferious forrow folide comfort is either never given or not long enjoyed. XXVIII, But if thou haft forfeited thy former affurance thorough the prefliire of fome heavy affllftion, learne and labour to reftlfie thy erronious judgement, who from the premifes haply of God's love, at the worft of his anger, hath falfely inferred a conclufion of his hatred againft thee. Con fider how God correfts thofe whom hee loves moft, to the ' Revel. 2. 5. 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 483 intent that all grace may bee encreafed and improved in them. ^Paffing by on a night in the ftreets, I met a youth having a lighted linke in his hands, who was offended thereat, becaufe it burnt fo dark and dimme; and therefore the better to improve the light thereof, he beat, bruifed, and battered it againft the wall, that the wieke therein might be fpread out, and the pitch with other combuftlble matter (which before ftlfled the light with its over-ftiffneffe) might be loofened ; which prefently caufed the linke to blaze forth into a lighter flame. God in like manner deales with thy foul : that thou mayeft fliine the brighter before men hee doth buffet and afflift thee with feverall temptations, which give thee occafions to exercife thy graces which lay hid in profperity. Such correftions will in conclufion greatiy adde to thy fplrituall light and luftre. Apply thefe and the like confolations to thy foule, and remember what David faith, Heavineffe may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Yea, but you will fay, my night of forrow is like the nights In Greene-Land, which laft full four moneths together. A long night I muft confeffe ; but day will dawne at the laft, and laft the longer for it, XXIX. Come we now to thofe that fing Wee are, who doe not boaft, (that is a bad figne,) but rejoyce that for the prefent they are poffeffed of this affurance. And is it fo indeed ? And doeft thou not deceive thy felfe, beholding thy condition through a flattering glaffe or falfe fpeftacles ? Well if thou affirmeft it, I dare not deny it. It were no manners nor charity in mee to give thy beliefe the lie ; and therefore what you fay of your felves, I give credite thereunto. Onely let me ftay a little and congratulate your happy eftate. Good fucceffe have you with your honour. God hath not dealt thus with every one, neither have all his fervants fo large a propor tion of his favour. And now I will take the boldneffe to ' [This paflage is to be found in John Spencer's Folio Storehoufe of Similies, 1658, No. 890, page 217. Wick is fpelled lueike ; "a lighter flame " is printed "a brighter flame"; and the confl:ru61:ion ofthe extraft is otherwife altered. The paflage is faid by Spencer to be " the obfervation of an excellent Preacher yet living," adding in his margin : " T. F. in A Ser. of Affurance^' He quotes from S. Greg. Mag. in Moralia lob. (on chap, xxxvi. 15, vol. ii. col. 671/", ed. fo. 1 61 5, Antwerp) : Aurem cordis tribulatio aperit quam fcepe profper'ttas claudit.'] H H 2 484 A Sermon of Affvrance. [16 commend fome counfell unto you. In the firft place, be thankefull to God for this great courtefie conferred upon thee ; and know, that all heavenly gifts, as they are got by Prayer, are kept, confirmed, and increafed by Praifes. xxx. Secondly, take heed of infulting over fuch as want this affurance : upbraid not them with their fad condition. Say not unto them, I am certaine of my Calling and EleSiion; Ergo, I am a Saint, a chofen veffell, eternally to bee faved : Thou lackeft this certainty, therefore art a reprobate, a caft away, a fire-brand of Hell, eternally to bee damned. Is this the expreffion of thy gratitude to God, proudly to trample on his fervants, and thy brethren ? It is hard to fay whether that thy inference hath more of profaneneffe or falfehood in it. If a Favourite to a great Emperour ihould fay. All that are not in as high efteeme and credit with the Emperour as my felfe, arefo many Traitours; would not this be accounted not only a valne-glorious expreffion, but Injurious both to his foveraigne and fellow-fubjefts ? How many thoufands of them would be willing, yea, defirous, to adventure their lives in a lawfull caufe, for their Emperours honour, who notwith ftanding never had the favour to bee perfonably known unto him, much lelTe to be preferred by him to places of eminent truft and command ? And may not many be prefumed on as cordially affefted to Gods glory, which from their hearts love and honour both him and his, compleatly loyall to his heavenly Majefty, who have not as yet been advanced fo high, and ingratiated fo farre with him as to receive the Affurance of their Calling and EleSiion ? XXXI. Thirdly, walke humbly before God, and know that this Affurance hath a narrow throate, and may be choaked with a fmall finne, if God leave thee to thy felfe. There be two kindes of poyfon; the one hot, the other cold. Hot poyfon makes fpeedy difpatch ; it fends men poft to their graves : Cold poyfon is not fo aftive and operative, it kills but at diftance; and if in any reafonable time it meets with a feafon able Antidote, the malignity thereof may be prevented ; yea, perchance without an Antidote, if falling upon a ftrong and fturdy conftitution, may be maftered by natures own Cordiall; not finally to deftroy, but onely to ftupifie and benumme. 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 485 Prefumption is hotpoyfon: It kills its thoufands; makes quick riddance of mens foules to damnation, Defpaire, wee confeffe, is poyfon, and hath kill'd its thoufands ; but the venome thereof is more curable, as more colde and faint in the opera tion thereof. Take heede therefore of prefumption, lefl the confidence of the Affurance of thy Calling betray thee to fplrituall Pride, that to Security, that to Deftruftion. XXXII. Here take notice that the foule of a Saint con fifts of facred riddles, and holy contradiftions : Rejoyce (faith ^David) before him with trembling : if rejoycing, how can hee tremble ? if trembling, how can hee rejoyce ? Oh, that is an unhappy foule which cannot find an expedient betwixt thefe extremities ! that cannot accommodate thefe feeming contrarieties : Rejoycing, when he lookes on a gracious God ; trembling, when he beholds a finfull felfe : Rejoycing, when looking upward on Gods promifes ; trembling, when looking downwards on his deferts. Ever triumphing that hee fhall be faved; and ever trembling left he fliould be damned: ever certaine that he ftiall ftand ; and ever carefull leaft he fhould fall, Tantus eft gradus certitudinis, (faith Saint Auguftine,) quantus eft gradus follicitudinis. He that hath much feare to offend God hath much certainty to continue in his favour : he that feares little, hath little certainty ; and he that is alto gether feareleffe, whatfoever he proudly prefumes to the con trary, hath no affurance at all to perfevere in Gods favour. Wee may obferve that fuch as have the fhaking Palfie in their heads live to be very aged men : fure I am, that fuch as have a filiall feare to incurre their heavenly Fathers dis- pleafure hold out to the laft, even to that life which hath no end. The heavens themfelves are faid to have Malum trepidationis ; and the beft and moft fplrituall fervants of God conftantly feele fuch trembling fits in their owne fouls. In a word, Affurance to perfevere is a fparkle of heavenly fire, fed with the dayly tinder of feare to offend God. XXXIII. Nor let any confidently prefume on the myfterie of predeftination, (which like the Lawes of the Medes and Per fians cannot be repealed,) thereon to finne with indempnity ; ' Pfal. X. II. 4^6 A Sermon of Affvrance. [i6 becaufe once and ever Gods fervant, and no feare finally to fall from him. For, befides other anfwers to quell their pride, let fuch ferioufly confider but this particular inftance. God granted Hezekiah a Leafe of his life for fifteen yeares longer ; and it was impoffible for him to dye till that tearme was expired ; fo that had Hezekiah fed on Toades and Vipers, on the moft noxious food for mans nature, he was notwithftanding immortall dunng the time prefixt ; becaufe Truth it felfe had promifed it. However if Hezekiah proved careleffe in his diet, though certaine of his life, he had no affurance of his health for that feafon. His Intemperance might draw ficknefle on him, fo that hee might lofe the life of his life, his liberty of walking abroad, comfort in con verfing with company, pleafure in tafting his meate and drinke, to be kept conftant prifoner on his bed, a languifhing as bad as death it felfe. Grant in like manner that Predefti nation priviledgeth thee from finall Apoftacle ; yet if careleffe to keepe Gods Commandements, thou maift forfeit all thy fplrituall comfort, the joy of thy Salvation, have a hell on earth in thy Confclence, having in thy apprehenfion all the beames of Gods favour eccHpfed, one gHmps thereof a fervant of God prizeth above millions of worlds. XXXIV. We come now to thefe that fing, We ftall be. It is (fay they) not onely vaine but wicked to feeke to better our conditions by telling a lie. Wee fhould wrong God and our owne confciences to affirme that for the prefent this Affurance is conferred upon us ; but are not in defpaire In due time from God's mercy to receive it. Some counfels I have to recommend unto them. XXXV. Firft, doe not envie and repine at their happines to whom this favour is already confirmed ; but becaufe God hath lov'd and honour'd them fo much, doe thou love and honour them the more, and doe defire and endeavour to bee added to their fociety. XXXVI. Secondly, know to thy comfort that were it not more for Gods glory, and thy good, this Affurance had long fince been beftowed upon thee. And for feverall reafons it is hitherto detained. 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 487 I. Perchance becaufe as yet thou haft not fervently fued to God for it. Thy affeftions are gold weights, not zealoufly engaged In the defire thereof. Thou feemeft indifferent and unconcern'd whether thou receiveft this Affurance or no. Now God fets fuch an eftimate and valuation on this Affurance, as a grand gift and favour of the firft magnitude, that he will have it fought, and fearched, and fued, and prayed, and preffed for, with holy conftancy and reftleffe importunity, before hee will grant it. Hannah called her fonne ^Samuel, For (faid fhee) / have affed him of the Lord. Every good thing, temporall, fplrituall, in ward, outward, every particular grace muft be a Samuel, craved and requefted of God, before the fruition thereof can be fweet to our foules or comfortable to our Con fciences. To have a favour before we have requefted It, is the ready way to lofe it, before wee know the true worth and value thereof. 2. Perchance God as yet with-holds this affurance from thee with intent to render it more acceptable when it is beftowed. Never had Ifaac beene fo welcome to Sarah, but becaufe long barrenneffe and expeftation had fet fo fharpe an edge on her affeftion. 3. It may be God in his Providence forefees, fliould this Affurance be beftowed upon thee, thou would'ft play the unthrlft and ill hufband therewith : And therefore God ftill keeps it in his own hand, untill thou beeft more wife and better able to manage and Imploy It. The ^Prodigall Sonne having received his Portion from his Father, riotoufly fpent it amongft Harlots. The fame may be fufpefted by thee ; and therefore as carefull Parents, jealous of their fonnes thriftineffe, will not deHver unto them all their Meanes at once, but rather confine them for fome yeares to a fmall Penfion and moderate Annultie, intending to open their hands and enlarge their bounty when they fee caufe ; God in like manner will not intruft thee with the groffe fumme of thy Affurance to be paid thee all at once, but retalle it out unto thee, by degrees more or lefle ; ' 1 Sam. I. 20. '¦'Luke 15. 12, 13. 4^8 A Sermon of Affvrance. [i6 now a fcruple, now a dramme thereof. And when thou ftialt give good Evidence of thy Chriftian prudence to hus band and improve it, the remnant of this Affurance fhall wholly be made over unto thee. XXXVII. Thirdly, wait and attend the time of God. 0 tarry the Lords leafure (when he will be, he can bee at leafure), who in the moft fitteft minute and moment will confirme this long expefted Affurance unto thee. Know this that all the weights and plummets of humane importunity cannot make the Clock of Gods Time ftrike a minute fooner then he hath fet It. _ No doubt the Virgin Mary fliared the greateft In tereft in our Saviour according to the flefli, to obtaine a reafonable requeft of him, and yet could not prevaile for the working of a Miracle before his '^houre was fully come. Wherefore be thou not like to Hophni and Phineas the Priefts, who contrary to Gods inftitution, when any man offered a facrifice, ufed to fend a fervant, whileft the flefh was feething, with a ^Fieft-hooke of three teeth in his hand, who thrufting it into the kettle, tooke for his Mafters part what foever the Fleft-hooke brought up; and If any advlfed him to ftay till the fat was burnt, according to the cuftome under the law, hee prefently proved impatient; would have no fodden flefh but raw, which If not Inftantly given him he would take it by force. Now fuch are the ravenous appetites and voracious ftomacks of many men, that when they pro pound any thing to their defires, they will not ftay till God hath fitted it for them ; but by hooke or by croake, by any finlfter or indireft meanes they will compaffe their ends. Such will feed on raw meat (as if the heat of their ardent defires would roft it enough for themfelves), morfels which perchance fometimes would be pleafant for the Palate to tafte, but never wholefome for the ftomacke to digeft. Thefe are not pleafed, though having what they pleafe, If not alfo when they pleafe : Be not thou of their Diet ; know fuch raw meat will occafion crudities in thy ftomacke. Quiedy attend till God hath cooked thy meat for thee : thinke not in vaine to antidate ; his time is the beft time. Know that gene- ' John 2. 4. ^ I Sam. 2. 13. 47-J 2 Peter i. lo. 489 rally the Watches of our defires goe too faft ; and therefore to fet them right, they muft be fet backe according to the Sunne-dyall of Gods pleafure. Wherefore without any mur muring or repining, doe thou willingly and cheerefully waite the happy time, when God fliall bee pleafed to beftow this Affurance upon thee, XXXVIII. To Conclude with the time. The Schoolemen have a diftinftion of a two-fold certainety of Salvation ; the one evidentia, the other adharenfia : the former is when one evidently and clearely apprehends Gods favour feal'd unto him by his Spirit. This hitherto thou lackeft ; but doft dili gently labour, dayly pray, and duely wait to receive it. The latter, of adherence or recumbencie, all true Chriftians ought ever to bee poffeffed off which hope for any happyneffe. Namely when a man cafteth himfelfe wholly upon Chrift, clinging about him with Jobs refolution. Though thou killeft mee, yet will I put my truft in thee. Till we gaine the latter, let us make much of the former, having as much fafety, though not fo much folace In it ; and which will with as much certainety, though not fo much comfort, through Gods mercy, bring our foules to heaven and happineffe. Amen. FINIS. [Pedigree of the Family of Sir John D'Anvers. Sir John Danvers, of Dauntefey, Co. Wilts. By right of his Wife, Elizabeth Nevill 3rd dau. and co-h. of Lord Latimer, he was poffeifed of Danby, Co. York. The granddaughter of his younger brother Henry became the wife ot George Herbert. (See Pedigree in Wiltft}ire : The Topographical ColleSiions of John Aubrey, F.R.b., 18O2, p. 217.; Sir Charles Danvers,beheaded 1 601, for implica tion in the rebellion oftheEarl of Essex. Sir Henry, Page to Sir P. Sidney ; Baron Danvers of Dauntefey, 1603 ; Earl of Danby, 1626; K.G.;Died unmar.Jan. 1 643-4, EEt. 71, the Barony becoming extinft. Left the greater part of his eftates to his nephewHENRY. ( I ) Magdalen = Herbert,mother of George Herbert. Md.1609. Buried at Chelfea 8 Jun.1627.Fun, Ser, by Dr. Donne. =Str 3)oSn 13anbci;i5= (of Chelfea, Mid., & Weft Lavington, Wihs.),theRegicide. Bn. abt. 1574. Dd. 16 or 20 Ap. 1655. Bd.28 April, 1655. Attainted, 1 66 1. Sermons, vol. i. pp. 461; & 495; Pifgah- Sight,m.3S^i^^- hrefsWilts,p.zz6. (2)El1ZABETH = daughter and co heir of Ambrose Daunte-SEY, of Weft La vington,Dd. Apr. 1636. (3)Grac E Hevv^et. Married 6 Janry. 1648-9. Sole ex- ecutx.of her huf- b and's vsrill. Eleanor Katherine I = Thos. Walmes-LEY, of Dunkel-halgh,Co. Lancafter. Ob. 1 640. See Dugd. Fifit Lan. 166^,^-327 = Sir Rd. GargraveHunter's South Tks. ii. 213. JoHN,bapt.Chelfea,io Aug. 1650. Charles ?i^«nt5, ^^P'- Chelfea, 5 Dec. bapt. at 1633 ; d. 19 Nov. 1 654. See Chelfea, pofted,, p. ccccxciv., and In- 14 Feb. trod, to Sermon Life out of 1632-3; Death, \o\.'\\. Bur. 12 Dec. ob. f.p. 1654. Pifgah-Sight, iii. 352. 1634. Church-Hiftory, ix. § 3, p. 101 ; Worthies, § Wilts., p. I 54 ; Aubrey's Letters, Sec. Robert (Wright) = Villiers, alleged fon of Viscount Purbeck; M.P. for Weftbury ; took the name of Danvers. Dd. 1674. : Elizabeth, bapt. at Chelfea i My. 1629; coheir of broth e r Henry. Sir Henry Lee, of= Ditchley, Oxon. He died before the birth of his 2nd dau. and the mother in child bed of her. M.I. Bur. at Spelftjury, Oxon., 31 March, 1659. ^nne, coheir and foie executrix of her brother. Buried at Spellbury, Oxon., 24 July, 1659. Church- Hift.Bookix.^ 3,101. Earls of Abingdon.] 4" A "^ •f- SERMON -^ I Contentment. I ^ By T.F. a Mlnifler of Gods Word. ^ 4^ II. Phillip, 4. / have learned in whatfoever flate I am therewith to be content. LONDON. Printed by J.D. ioxjohn Williams at the Crown in St, Pauls Church-yard, I 648. [ Viator In the mean time the blefpng of Saint Peters Mafier be with mine. Pifcator. And the like be upon my honeft Scholer. And upon all that hate contentions, and love quietnefse, and vertue, and Angling. Walton's Compleat Angler, Ed. 1653, page 246.] ^^^^ffii ^^^^ S ^^ ^s M^S^^^s^Mfm," ^^W S w ^s [Introduftion. THIS quaint yet admirable difcourfe was, it feems (page preached in the private chapel of Sir John D'Anvers at Che: where perhaps the former Sermon on Affurance ma delivered. D'Anvers Houfe, Chelfea (which was the prefent Danvers-ftreet occupying the fite), is far on the fite of Sir Thomas More's re chimneypiece in Sir John's chamber wa^ formerly been in Sir Thomas More' me." As was the cafe with refidence at Dauntefey Ho Chelfea were laid out in gate is now," fays Aubre' pyramids, there ftood ancien the had tHifelfe told night's country Its, his grounds at t manner. "Where the ter, " adorned with two noble te-houfe w* was flatt on the top. leaded, from whence is a moft^eafant profpeft of the Thames and the fields beyond : on this place the L* Chancellour More was wont to recreate himfelfe, and contemplate. It happened one time, that a Tom of Bedlam came up to him, and had a mind to have thrown him from the battlements, saying, * Leap, Tom, leap.' The Chancellour was in his gowne, and befides ancient, and not able to ftruggle with fuch a ftrong fellowe. My L* had a little dog with him : fayd he, ' Let us firft throwe the dog downe, and fee what fport that will be'; fo the dog was throwne over. ' This is very fine fport,' fayd* my L*, ' fetch him up, and try once more.' While the madman was goeing downe, my L* faftened the dore, and called for help, but ever after kept the door ftiutt." The place has affociations with other celebrated men, a group of whom centred round Lady D'Anvers and her two accompliflied fons, the Herberts. Dr. John Donne, 1625, with claffic references to the retired leifure of Cicero, fpoke of the Houfe as his Tufculum. He had been an inmate during a time of general ficknefs not long before Lady D'Anvers's death. A fecond Lord Chancellor, Sir Francis Bacon, often reforted thither. Of him Aubrey thus goflips : — " Sir John told me that when his Lo"; had wrote the Hift. of Hen. 7, he fent the manufcript copie to him to defire his opinion of it before 'twas printed. Qd. Sir John, 'Your Lordfliip knowes that I am no fcholar.' ''Tis no matter,' faid my Lord; 'I know what a fchollar can fay; I would know what you can fay,' Sir John read it, and gave his opinion ccccxciv INTRODUCTION. [1648.J what he mifliked (w'*" I am forry I have forgott) w"*" my L'^ acknowledged to be true, and mended it. 'Why,' faid he, 'a fchollar would never have told me this.' ... I remember Sir John Danvers told me, that his Lo"! much delighted in his curious garden at Chelfey, and as he was walking there one time, he fell downe in a fowne. My Lady Danvers rubbed his face, temples, &c. and gave him cordiall water : as foon as he came to himfelfe, fayd he, ' Madam, I am no gaoA footman.' " (Aubrey's Letters, 462-3, 222, 226). Elfewhere the fame authority gives us to underftand that the purfuit of this favourite " hobby " of ornamental gardening brought on or heightened the extravagance of the proprietor. His brother the Earl of Danby, in profecution of a fimilar tafte, gave Oxford its Phyfic Garden at a coft of ^^5, 000. The auditors of this Sermon confifted of D'Anvers and his houfehold. He himfelf was then a widower, having been wifelefs fince 1636. But he ¦jvas»n},edjtating matrimony with Miftrefs Grace Hawes, his houfekeeper. Tlie'Knighft'a^daughter Elizabeth was perhaps already married to Robert •^WR^iJiHT) yihiii^^ a difreputable man, who reduced his family to want. An^e* ^'i®r««Jisf da&lfhter, became Fuller's attached friend ; and as fuch we ftiau 5%^' V^ '^^¦'i'lWfi^again in thefe Sermons. Henry, the only furviving i^f'^^^M^^^^Il^ii^ (page cccclxiv.) as a patron of Fuller's Pifgah-Sigh,^'i»'rf^m[^^^JT.fl^^^^^S difpofition. He died of the fmallpox, 19th Nov.,-^-t^|^h3JraiS5ri.ngfiuft- -attained fufficient years to be queath his large eftates tb-'T&^^£^ili;ii>^;>- "- ¦ ¦ fr ~ '. The Sermon of Contentment is of 'grSB.t j^rity. No copy has been pre ferved in the Britifli Mufeum, the Bodleian, or other large colleftions; and it has efcaped the notice of Lowndes. The prefent edition is taken from a tranfcript of the copy in Emanuel College, Cambridge, which contains Bancroft's arms, with an infcrlption : Ex dono Reverendiss. in Chrifti Patris Will. Sanc. A. C. The proof has been compared with another copy, once Mr. Pickering's, now in poffeffion of E. Riggall, Efq., of Bayfwater. The volume is unpaged, the fignatures being A to C in eights, including title D 2 = pp. 52.] TO The Honourable and truly noble 8^ John D'Anvers Knight. SIR, HIS fmal Sermon may well bee termed Zoar, for is it not a little one ? Yet it bears good proportion to the ftart text on whicb it difcourfeth, little auditory for which it was compofed, and your private Chappel wherin it was delivered. As it is fmal, fo it defired to be fecret, and intended no appearance in publike. Good was the counfel which laafh gave Amaziah, i Cro. 25. 19, Abide now at home, efpecially in our dangerous dayes, when all going is cenfurable for gadding abroad without a neceffary vocation. But feeing fuch was your importunitie to have it Printed that all my excufes to the contrary whicb I could alledge with truth, and the delays which I could make with manners, might not prevaile : I have chofen rather to be accounted undifcreet then uncivil, and have yeelded to your defire. Surely, Sir, Heaven can never return a denial to your requefts whom I pre fume, {by proportion of your earneft defiring of fo fmal a matter,) to be zealous in your defires of bier concernment, that nothing 496 A Sermon of Contentment. [1648.J but a grant can give you fatisfaSiion. But the maineft motive, next your importunity, which put me on this publike adventure, was the confideration of my engagements to your noble bounty, above my poffibility of deferving it. Tbe Apoftle faith it is part of the duty of a good fervant. Tit. 1. v. 9, fi,r\ a,vTCKk'^ovTa<;, not anfwering againe, / muft confeffe my felfe your Servant, and therefore it ill befeemed me to diftike or mutter againft anything you was pleafed I fi^ould doe. Thus defiring the continuance and increafe of all fpiritual and temporal happines on your honour, 1 commend you to tbe Almighty. T. F. Sermon of Contentment. Godlines. I Tim. 6. 6. But godlineffe with contentment is great gain. *N the foregoing verfe, St. Paul fets down the worldlings prayer, creed, and commandements ; which is their daily defire, beliefe and practife, and all contained in three words: Gain is Now in my text St. Paul counter-mines their opinion, or ralfeth our antipofition to batter down their falfe conceit, moft elegantly crofling and inverting their words : But Godlines with contentment is great gain. II. Take notice of the unafFedted elegancy of the Apoftle, how clearly and naturally with a little addition, he turns the worldlings Paradox into a Chriftian truth. Though Sermons may not laugh with light expreflions, yet it is not unlawfull for them to fmile with delightfull language : Alwayes pro vided that the sweethefl"e of the fawce fpoile not the favouri- nefle of the meat. ^The Preacher fought to finde out accept able or pleasant words, that fo his found matter might be more welcome to his auditors. Ill, Well, here wee have two contrary opinions fet on foot together : Gain is godlineffe, faith the worldling, whofe Gold is his god, looking and telling thereof his faying of his prayers, Godlineffe is great gain, faith God himfelfe, by the mouth of the Apoftle. Now as ^Peter in another cafe, whether it be right to hearken unto man more then unto God, judge yee. Ecclef 12. IO. Afts 4. 19. I I 49 8 A Sermon of Contentment. [i6 IV. I . The text prefents us with a Bride. 1. A Bride-maide. 3. Her great portion. 4. The prefent payment thereof. (i) The Bride. Godlineffe. We need not enquire further into her Pedegree and extradtion. She carries her Father in her Name, and relates to God the Author thereof. (2) The Bride-maid. The Virgin her companion that follows her, or her infeparable attendant. Contentment. Godlineffe with contentment. (3) Her great Portion. Wherein obferve the rich ware. Gain ; the large meafure. Great gain. (4) The prefent payment. Not in expedtances or rever- fions; but down on thenaile, prefently depofited: is. Godlines with contentment is great gain. Wee begin with the Bride ; and in the firft place let us put it to the queftion. What godlines is. To which quere feverall anfwers will be made according to mens feverall affec tions, Alke fome Fryer obfervant what godlines is ; and he will tel you, the wearing of a ftiirt of hair, girdle of hemp, fafting fo often in the week, praying fo often in the day, with fuch like Canonical devotions. Afk the tenacious maintainer of fome new upftart opinion what godlines is ; and he will anfwer : It is the zealous defending with limb and life of fuch, and fuch ftrange tenets, which our fathers perchance never hard of before ; yea, which is worfe, fuch a perfon wil prefume fo to confine Godlines to his opinion, as to ungodly all others who in the leaft particular diffent from him. Qh, if God fhould have no more mercy on us then wee have charity one to another, what would become of us ? Indeed Chrift tearmeth his own a little flock : '^Fear not, little flock. But if fome mens rafli and cruel cenfures fhould be true, the number of the godly would be fo little, it would not be a flock. 5. It is a true but fad confideration how in all ages men ' Luke 12. 32. 48.J I Tim. vi. 6. 499 with more vehemency of fpirit have ftickled about fmall and unimportant points then about fuch matters as moft concern their falvation. So that I may fay (thefe forrowfull times having tuned all our tongues to military phrafes) fome men have lavifhed more powder and fliot in the defence of fome fleight outworks, which might well have been quitted without any loffe to Religion, then in maintaining the main platform of piety, and making good that Caftle of Gods fervice and their own falvation. Pride wil be found upon ferious enquiry the principali caufe hereof. For when men have ftudied many weeks, moneths, or years, about fome additionall point in Divinity, they contend to have the fame effentiall to falva tion, becaufe it is effentiall to their reputation, leaft otherwife their difcretion be called into queftion for taking fo much pains in vain, and fpending fo much precious time about a needlefle matter. Hereupon they labour to inhance the value of their own ftudies, and will have all thofe mynes gold, which they have difcovered ; yea all their fuperftruc- tures muft be accounted fundamentall : All their far fetcht dedudtions and confequential refults muft be reputed to be immediate and effentiall to godlines ; yea, the very life of godlines muft be placed in the zealous afferting the fame, 6. But it will be the fafeft way for us to take a defcription of godlineffe from a pen infallible, impartiall, and uncon cerned in our modern diftradtions. Even from Saint lames himfelf. ^Pure religion (or godlinefle) and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to viflte the fatherleffe andwiddows in their afifliSlion, and to keep himfelf unfpoted from tbe world. This fetteth forth the pradlicall part of Religion, and, as I may term it, the heat of godlInefi!e. To which, if the fpeculative part, the light of Godlineffe, bee added. Ho know tbe only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom he hath fent, then godlines is made compleat. And godlineffe thus defined admits of a latitude, fo that it may confift with fome errours in judgement, and infirmities in pradlife ; provided that the godly perfon perfifts in Faith, Hope and Charity, which hold out the fumme of Religion as to the neceffary part thereof. ' James i. 27. ^ John 17. 3. I I 1 500 A Sermon of Contentment. [i6 As for all particular forms of Church Government, Cere monies and outward manner of divine worfhip, moft of them admitting of alteration upon emergencies, and variation according to circumftances of time, place, and perfons, (though thefe be more or leffe ornamentall to godlineffe, as they neerer or further off relate to divine inftitution,) yet it is erronious to fixe or place the life or effence of godlineffe therein. Wee conclude this point with the words of Saint Peter : ^Of a truth I perceive that God is no refpeSler of per fons ; But in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteoufnes is accepted with him : Yea, in one and the fame nation, he that feareth him and worketh rIghteoufnefl!e of what Sedt, Side, Party, Profeffion, Opinion, Church, Con gregation foever he be, is accepted with him, as having true godlines in his heart, whicb with contentment is great gain. 7. Come we now to the Brid-maid attending her: Con tentment. Contentment is a willing fubmiffion of ours to Gods will in all conditions, I fay willing ; for, if it be patience perforce. What reward have you ? What doe you more then others ? Doe not even the Publicans and Sinners the fame ? Yea, what doe you more then Mules and Horfes, which being kept with Bit and Bridle quietly carry their ryders which they cannot caft off ? In all conditions patient in adverfity, humble in profperity, thankfull in both ; look ing neither above our eftates, with the ambitious man, to have it higher ; nor beyond it, with the covetous man, to fpread it broader; nor befides it with the envious man, repyning at the eftate of others : but diredlly on the Portion God hath given us, and fully fatisfied with the fame. Even juftifying Gods proceedings unto us, though wee receive from him what flefh and blood would count hard meafure, namely, if his Divine wifdome fhould fo appoint it, ^That with juft men we perift with our righteoufneffe, whileft wicked men prolong their lives in their wickednes. 8, Here we muft take notice of the conjundllon copulative, with : Godlines with contentment. Which furnifheth us with two profitable obfcrvations : ' Afts 10. 34., 35. '^ Ecclef. 7. 15. 48.J I Tim. vi. 6. 501 I, Wherefoever there is true godlineffe there is con tentment, 2. Wherefoever there is true contentment there is godlines. Like Saul and lonathan, Hovely and pleafant in their lives, and in tbeir deaths they are not divided. Thefe twin graces alwayes go together. True it is, that Gods children may often have their fits and qualms of difcontentment, as ^Eliah and Jonah had : But this proceeds from the Imperfedlions of grace in them : They are not difcontented as they are godly, but as they have a principle of ungodlineffe in them, the remnant of carnall corruption, 9. On the other fide no wicked man, whatfoever he pre- tendeth, can have true contentment. Remarkable it is that in the fame chapter wee finde two brethren laying claim to the grace of contentation, but on different, yea, contrary titles. Efau faid. Gen. 33. 9 : I have enough, my brother ; keep that thou haft unto thy felf. Jacob faid. Gen. 2,2- 1 1 • God bath dealt gracioufty with mee, becaufe I have enough. Now Efau's enough was indeed not enough, being onely a proud and vain-glorious brag, fcorning and difdaining at the firft (till importunity altered him) to receive a guift from his younger Brother, as If It were a difgrace and difparage- ment to his greatnes to admit of any addition or acceffion of his eftate from his inferlour. lacobs enough was a true and reall acknowledgement of Gods goodneffe to him, reft- ing fatisfied with that portion divine providence had alotted him. Such contentment alwaies gos with godlines, and is great gain. 10, Come we now to the Dowery ; and before we defcend to the particulars thereof, take notice in generali of Gods bountifull dealing with his fervants. God might command us to work and give us no wages ; and moft juftly enjoyne us to labour all day In his Vineyard, and give us no penny at night. Very good reafon. Why fhould we expedl to receive profit by him, who return no profit to him ? ^When '2 Sam. 1.23. ^ I Kings 19. 4; Jonah 4. I. 'Luke 17. lo. 502 A Sermon of Contentment . [i6 yee have done all thofe things which are commanded you, fay. Wee are unprofitable fervants ; wee have done that which was our duty to doe. ^Saul did not give but take a dowry with his daughter ; and it is obfervable that i oo of forefkins onely were required of David, but he gave 200 for her. Such was the fuper-errogation of his valour ; love and loyalty, efpe cially when joyned together, never give fcant meafure. God irt like manner might expedl that wee fhould give him a portion for the attaining of godlines : All wee can doe, all wee can. fuffer, is too litde to purchafe fo precious a grace. Yet fee the goodnes of God, who knowing he is to deale with fuch dull workmen who will take pains no longer then they are paid, whets us on with reward in his fervice. 1 1 . Here I deny not but it is lawfull to look on thofe blefllngs and benefits which God reacheth out to us for his fervice. Mofes himfelf bad refpeSi unto the recompence of reward. But two things we muft take heed of: Firft, that wee receive this reward in notion and nature of a meere gratuity, not exadlly merited by the condlgnity of our per formances, and oneLy due unto us by the vertue of Gods free promife, and not our deferts. Secondly, that as we look on the reward. To wee look through and beyond it. It being a good Inn for our defires to bait at, but a bad home for them to lodge in. Let us labour to deveft our fouls of mercenary thoughts, and learn to ferve God for himfelfe. Adlive was the affedtion of Sechem to Dinah, as appears by his requeft to Jacob and his fonnes : '''Let me flnde grace in your eyes, and what yee ftall fay unto mee, I will give. Ask me never fo much dowry and gift, and I will give according as yee ftall fay unto me: But give me the Damosel to wife. Oh, that our hearts were but wrought to this holy temper, that we fhould defire godlineffe on any terms, undergo any hardfhlp, though there were neither Hell to punifh, nor Heaven to reward. However great is Gods goodnes, who knowing whereof wee are made, and remembring that we are but duft, is pleafed to fpurre us on in the rafe of piety with a reward propounded : godlines with contentment is great gain. ' I Sam. 18. 25. ^ Gen. 34. n, 12. +8. J I Tim. vi, 6. 503 1 2. So much in generali. That there is a Dowry. Now in particular what is the dowry of godlinefl'e ? It is great gain. ObjeSlion : Great gain ? Of what ? Let Saint Paul him felf, who wrote this Epiftle, tell us, when he caft up his audit, what profit he got by the profeffion of Piety. ^In labours more aboundant, in ftripes above meafure, in prifons more frequent, in deaths often. Where is the gain all this while ? Perchance it follows. We will try another verfe : ^In jour ny ing often, in perils of waters, in perils of Robbers, in perils by mine own Country-men, in perils by the Heathen, in perils in tbe City, in perils in tbe Wildernes, in perils in the Sea, in perils amongfl falfe brethren. Where is the gain all this while ? you will fay : thefe were but the Apo ftles adventures ; his rich return (flow but fure) will come at laft. Once more we will try : ^In wearineffe and pain fulneffe, in watchings often, in hunger and thirft, in feiftings often, in cold and nakedneffe. The further we go, the leffe gain we find. Cuftai faid unto David, *May all the Enemies of my Lord the King be as the young man Abfalom is ! But if this be gain. May all the enemies of God and goodnes have plenty thereof! It will never fink into a worldlings head that godlineffe is gain, whileft the grandees of piety are found fo poore : Eliah begging food of a Widdow ; Peter without gold or filver ; our Saviour himfelf not having where to lay his head. Anfwer : It is confeft that the dodlrine in the text can in no wife be made good according to the principles of flefh and blood. Our Saviour faid unto Pilate, ^My kingdome is not of this world. So the fenfe and Interpretation of my text is not of this world ; is not carnall, but fpiritual ; not temporal, but eternal. This will plainly appear, if thefe two particulars be well weighed : I. What the world counts gain, is loffe. 2. What the world counts loffe, is gaine. What the world counts gain is loffe. For what will it profit a man if he win tbe whole world, and loofe his own foule? Moft poore is the condition of thofe who have plenty of ' 2 Cor. II. 23. 2 Ver. 26. ' Veife 27. ' 2 Sam 18. j2. = John 18. 36. 504 A Sermon of Contentment. [16 worldly wealth, and are "^not rich towards God. Country people having a peice of light gold ufe to fill the Indentures thereof with dirt, fo to make it the heavier : But wife men wil not take dirt for gold in payment. It feems in like manner that wicked men being fenfible that they want waight in the fcales of the fendluary {f'Tekel, thou art waighed in the ballance and found too light), of fet purpofe load themfelves with ^ thick clay. But all will not make them currant in Gods fight ; for '^riches availe not in the day of wrath. They are long in getting with much pains, hard in keeping with much care, quick in loofing with more forrow. Wherefore as the Apoftle menfions ^Science falfly fo called, fo this is gain falfly fo called by men. 13. Secondly, They nicke-name that loffe which is gain in very deed. Such were all thofe fandllfied afflidtions which Saint Paul fuffered. It is confeft that thornes and thiftles had never grown in the world, had Adam ftood in his integrity ; yet fome of them fince mans fall cannot well be wanted. Holy thiftle (we know) hath a Soveraign vertue, and fweet bryer hath a pleafant fcent. All tribulations are thorns to flefh and blood (the word imports as much); yet as Sandlified to Gods children in Chrift, they become of excellent ufe, increafing their grace here and glory hereafter, Lynnen new wafht though it may dry more by day time, is obferved to whiten more in a fair night : Adverfity fandllfied to a Chriftian foule doth more improve the fame in purity and piety then the conftant enjoying of a profperous condition. 14, But we need goe no further for the proof of the great profit gotten by Gods fervice then to the words of the Apoftle : '^Godlineffe hath the promife of the Hfe which now is and of that which is to come. It is reported of Alexander that having conquered the World he wept becaufe there was no more left for his valour to overcome : But leaft Gods children fhould have any caufe of difcontentment that their joy may have room enough to dilate it felf in, fee a life and a life, a world and a world, one here and another hereafter, one in poffeffion, another in reverfion alotted unto them. ' Luke 12. 21. ' Dan. 5- ^7- ' Hab- 2. 6. ' Prov. II. 4. ° I Tim. 6. 20. ° i Tim. 4. ». 48.] I Tim. vi. 6. 505 15. Come we now to the prefent payment: is. Even at this prefent inftant God bath done great things for us already, whereof we rejoyce. Excellent is the expreffion of the Apoftle : ^Or things prefent, or things to come. All are yours. Here fome carping curious Criticks may challenge St, Paul of im propriety of language ; yea, finde both falfe Grammar and Logick in his words : falfe Tenfe, to fay future things are ; falf Logick, for how can things to come be ours, which be not ? But know, St, Paul fpake '''with languages more then them all, and had no need to learn the congruity of conftruc tion from any other. It is good in law to fay. This reverfion is mine, becaufe the reverfioner is in prefent pofl!effion of the right to it, though not of the profit by it ; yea, heaven on earth is actually ours already, the poffeffion of a clear con fcience, and the fpirit of adoption figns and feals unto us the favour of God, then which, no greater gain. 16. And now as the Eunuch faid to Philip, ^See, here is water ; what doth hinder me to be baptized ? So fay I. Be hold, here is a Bride, Godlines, ready provided ; a bride maid. Contentment, ready prepared ; the great portion prefently to be paid. What hinders now but the marriage may inftantly proceed, that fo we may be wedded and bedded together ? But what anfwered Philip to the Eunuch ? ^If thou believefl with all thine heart, thou maieft be baptifed. So fay I. If thou loveft this Bride with all thy Soule, counting nothing too dear to obtain her, the marriages folemnitles may inftantly goe on. Oh that I had perfwafive eloquence effedlually to advance this match ! The beft is, what is wanting in mee, the fpokefman, is plentifully fupplyed in her, the bride. 17. But two things we muft beware of Take heed you miftake not the fhaddow for the fubftance, the pidlure for the perfon. Saint ^Paul tels us of fome who have the forme of godlineffe, but deny the power thereof. The Poet tels us of many who at firft were fulters to Penelope the Miftreffe, but at laft were married to the Maids which attended her. It > I Cor. 3. 22. ^ I Cor. 14. 18. ' Acts 8. 36. ¦> Acts 8. 37. ° 2 Tim. 3. 5. 5o6 A Sermon of Contentment. [1648,] is to be feared that many who pretend to love godlinefle it felf, fall at laft a courting and woeing of the forme, the meer outfide and garb of Religion, and content themfelves with the fame: wherein an hypocrite may equally, yea, exceed the fincereft Saint and fervant of God. Laftly, beware leaft thy coveteous heart rather love the Portion then the Perfon, have more minde to the gaine then the godlines. We finde how the next kinfman was very ready to redeem the parcel of Naomies land which was his brother Elimelecbs. But as foon as withall he heard hee muft 4ake Ruth to wife, he fell back from his promife and purpofe. Many there be which are very forward to wed the gain, but are utterly unwilling to have the godlines with it. Such a fuller was Balaam himfelfe : ^0 that I might dye tbe death of tbe righteous, and let my laft end be like his I who was carelefle to live the life of the righteous. But let us labour to have the fubftance and fincerity of Piety in our hearts, knowing that we are to deale with fuch a God who prefers a dramme of integrity before a pound of profeflion. And if wee acquit ourfelves upright in his prefence, godlinefl'e with contentment is great gain unto us. I fay godlinefl'e in generali, not reftric- tively ingrofled to fome particular party, but extended according to the dimenfion of charity to all perfons agreeing in the efl'entials to falvation : */« my fathers houfe there be many Manfions, as if God had provided feverall repofitaries of happineffe for fuch as differ in fmaller opinions ; whileft all agreeing in generali godlinefl'e may meet in one grand Heaven and place of eternail Felicity, Amen. ' Ruth 4. 6. " Num. 23. 10. ' Joh. 14. ». The JUST MANS FUNERAL. Lately delivered in a Sermon at C H E L S E Y, before feveral Perfons Of Honour and Worfhip. By THOMAS FULLER. Printed by William Bentley, for John Williams at the Crown in S. Pa«/j Church-yard, 1649. [" Publique Calamities charge every man with a rate of forrow pro portionable unto the tenure of his underftanding, put him upon a ferious enquiry of the Caufes and Confequences of them, and exaft from him a diligent provifion of meanes to ftop or divert them. Calamity like the floud is now lifted up above our Earth, and hath almoft covered the higheft Hits of our temporall felicity. Could our forrow fwell as high as that, the fenfe of our prefent and impending miferies would drowne us. If we fearch into the Caufes of them, we fhall find thofe in ourfelves {our finnes) ; their fad Confequences are by fo much the fuperabounding matter of our juft feare by how much they goe beyond our knowledge, nay, even conjefture, and all our power to prevent them : fuch is the inundation of miferies now prevailing over the three kingdoms." — Page l of Bifhop Juxon's SubjeSls Sorrow : or, Lamentations upon the Death of Britaines lofiah King Charles, moft unjuftly and cruelly put to Death by His owne People, before His Royal Palace, White-hall. London, 410. 1649.] [Introduftion. A REFLEX pifture of the hiftory of the country may be derived from a ftudy of the literary work of Fuller, about this time. His Good Thoughts in Bad Times was followed in 1647 by his Good Thoughts in Worfe Times. To this period alfo belongs his feafonable little book on Tiie Caufe and Cure of a Wounded Confcience, 1647-49, ii* which, affefted himfelf with much bitternefs of foul, he had, as he fays, " written the fweeteft comforts I could for others." Then, after an. interval, followed The Juft Mans Funeral, with relation to the death and execution of King Charles, on Tuefday, 30th January, 1648-9. It feems that the aftounding news of this tragic event reached Fuller when he was preparing his great book on the Worthies of England. His biographer defcribes his confternation : " Then indeed fuch an amaze ment ftruck the Loyal pious Doftor when he firft heard of that execrable Defign intended againft the King's perfon, and faw the villainy proceed fo uncontroulably, that he not only furceafed, but refolved to abandon ' that lucklefs work,' as he was then pleafed to call it. ' For what fhall I write,' faid he, ' of the Worthies of England, when this Horrid Aft will bring fuch an infamy upon the whole Nation as will ever cloud and darken all its former and fuppreffe its future rifing glories ? ' " {Life, p. 39). The fame authority relates that under the influence of this event Fuller forfook not only his ftudy, but himfelf alfo, difregarding his own concerns ; " untill fuch time as his prayers, tears, and fafUng, having better acquainted him with that fad dlfpenfation, he began to revive from that dead penfivenefs to which he had fo long addifted himfelf" (page 40). The refult of his refleftions upon the event was embodied in the prefent difcourfe, which is a vindication of Divine Providence in the misfortunes and deaths of the righteous. The event itfelf is only darkly alluded to, the preacher's relations to the ruling powers, to whom he was indebted for his reftoration to the " liberty of prophefying," having led him to fpeak thus warily. But the references in it cannot be miftaken. The quarto copy of the Sermon noticed page dxii. contains, after the word "Funeral" on the title-page, the words "(vid. K. Cha : i.) " = (namely. King Charles the Firft), written in a contemporary hand. A pathetic account of the King's death and burial, derived from authentic fources, was penned by Fuller as his " Xs.'li devoir to my gracious Mafter," in his Church-Hiftory, Bk. xi. feft. xi. §§ 35 feq., which, in Mr. Brewer's edition, vol. vi. p. 355, is accompanied with Sir Thomas Herbert's minute Memoirs of the laft Two Years of Charles the Firft, dx INTRODUCTION. [1649.J The call made by the Preacher for " an anniverfary of mourning " (page 528) was perhaps the firft public fuggeftion that was offered for what afterwards became a national faft. The Sermon came from the prefs on the 27th November, 1649, the Britifli Mufeum copy (E. 582. 5) being fo dated. It was perhaps one of the firft of the kind that was prin ted. Mr. Thomas Cawton, fometimes minifter of the Gofpel at St. Bartholo mew's behind the Exchange, preached a fermon before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen at Mercers' Chapel, 25 Feb., 1648-9, "not long after the inhumane beheading of His Majefty, for which he was committed Prifoner to the Gate-houfe in Weftminfter ; " but it was not publiflied until 1662 (8vo.). JuxoN, Biftiop of London, wrote an early (anonymous) fermon, afterwards dated "March 12, 1648," which was (as the very accurate Catal. of Eng. Writers, 2nd Ed., Lond. 1668, ftates) printed in « 1648." It was entitled The SubjeSls Sorrow, in which "the Divine and Royall Prerogatives, Perfonall Virtues, and Theologicall Graces of his late Majefty are briefly delivered." At the clofe of this difcourfe, the preacher, quoting the faying that the blood of the Martyrs is the feed of the Church, prayed that the Lord would in mercy reftore to His Church " the feed of his Martyr King Charles the Firft unto the Government of thefe Kingdoms, that Religion, Peace, and Liberty, may be reftored unto us" (page 32). In the twelve anniverfary fermons entitled King Charles His Funeral, by Dr. Thomas Swadlin (410., 1661), the firft, dated "Anno Dom. 1648 " {i.e. 1649), was perhaps not then preached or penned. The public annlverfaries grew out of the private obfervance of the day by pious Englifhmen. It is faid of Evelyn that he was ftruck with fuch horror at the King's decapitation that he kept the day of martyrdom as a faft. Neceffarily for a time the fafts were not openly celebrated. On the anniverfary of the event in 1660 Pepys, before rifing in the morning, fell a-finging Montrofe's verfes on the execution of the King, " and put myfelfe thereby in mind that this was the fatal day, now ten years fince. His Majefty died." Of the next faft, 1661, the fame diarift notes that it was the firft time that the day had been obferved {i.e. publicly obferved) ; and he heard an excellent fermon by Mr. Mills at St. Olave's, on " Lord, forgive us our former iniquities." On the fame occafion Evelyn men tions that the folemn faft and day of humiliation had been ordered by Parliament to expiate the guilt of the execrable murder of the late King. Dr. Nathanael Hardy, in his Loud Call to Great Mourning, preached on the anniverfary of 1662 before the Houfe of Commons, fays that fince the event itfelf he had, either -upon or near the day, ventured to become a remembrancer of that bloody faft, adding that he had " now lived to fee an Yearly Faft enjoyned upon that doleful day." Chelfea, which is connefted with Fuller's remarkable difcourfe, was at the period in queftion a refort for fome of the London Merchants and members of the Nobility. The Countefs of Derby, e.g., made it her refidence when the Houfe of Lords gave her leave to dwell there, 9th July, 1647(^7. Report Hift. MSS. Commiffton, page 186). With the Alston family, who had a houfe at Chelfea, Fuller was intimate, as alfo with Dr. Ha.mey, the pious Phyfician whofe name is connefted with its The Juft mans FUNERAL. Lately delivered in a SERMON At C H E L S E Y, before feveral Perfons of Honour and Worfhip. By Tho. Fuller. L O ND O N. Printed by J. C. for J. W. and G. £. and are to be fold at the golden Ball in Alderfgate-ftreet. 1652, dxii INTRODUCTION, [1649.J church, and with St. Clement's Eaftcheap. Here, too, as has been feen (pages cccclxii., ccccxciii.), dwelt the family of Sir John D'Anvers, who in the height ofthe proceedings againft the King was marrying his third wife. Individuals belonging to thefe and other houfeholds were the " Perfons of Honour and Worfhip" (page 507) to whom the difcourfe was addreffed. According to Bow ack, there were in 1664 not more than thirty houfes in Chelfea. The place had, however, been chofen for that fingular founda tion which Laud derifively called " Controverfy College," and which the Papifts termed " The Ale-Houfe." It had been ufed as a prifon during the Civil War. The Church, which is dedicated to S. Luke, was a red brick and ftone edifice fituated near the river. The Juft Mans Funeral was publifhed three feveral times. The prefent text has been fet up from a copy of the firft edition, which was dated 1649,410. (pp. ii. + 31), and which is the moft accurate edition, A fac-fimile of the title-page is at page 507. This exemplar-copy, once Dr. Bliss's, is now the property of G. W. Napier, Efq., who entrufted it to the Editor. Dr. Bliss has written in it "of Thorpe," /.^. purchafed from the bookfeller of that name ; alfo, " Not in the Bodleian Catalogue, 1843." It has alfo the autograph of "I. Burleigh Iames." Dr. Bliss's ufual marks are found at fignature B, before which letter he has added his initial P, with "35," i.e. perhaps 1835 > underneath is "La." The device ofthe fun and fhield (poftea, page 533) is a fac-fimile ofthe cut at page 31 of this quarto edition. In 1652 the Sermon was reprinted in oftavo, being, it feems, a joint- iffue by two " ftationers," John Williams, who owned the former edition, and George Eversden. It was appended (under pp. 193-239, flieets O, P, Q_) to the XII. Sermons on Chrift's Temptation, which were pub lifhed by Eversden alone, and which begin the fecond volume of this Colleftion. The title-page to this edition of the Sermon is fac-fimiled on the former page. The differences in readings are indicated in the foot notes ; but the minor differences, fuch as the y termination of nouns,,&c., it has not been thought neceffary to note. In Fuller's lifetime the Sermon was once more iffued by Williams, viz. in 1660, in the fecond edition of the folio 0PHNOIKOS- The Houfe of Mourning . . . in LIII. Sermons, where it forms Sermon LI., pp. 575-585. It was there printed without careful overfight from a copy of the oftavo edition of 1652 ; and it abounds in errors. Only a few ofthe variations in reading have been pointed out in the foot-notes (being marked "ed. 1660"); but thefe variations may be quite as much due to negligence as defign. In the 1672 edition of this folio volume of Sermons, The Juft Mans Funeral occupies the fame place as before-. For Fuller s fecond contribution to this excellent old folio, and for further details of the book itfelf, fee the next volume of this Colleftion of Sermons under The Righteous Mans Service to his Generation.] The Juft Mans Funeral. Eccles. 7. verf. i 5. All things have I feen in the dales of my vanity: there is a juft man that per ift eth in his righteoufnefs ; and there is a wicked man that prolangeth his life in his wickednefs. HE World is a volumne of Gods works, which all good people ought ftudioufly to perufe. Three forts of men are too blame herein. Firft, Such as obferve nothing at all ; feeing, but neither mark ing nor minding the daily accidents that happen ; with ^Gallio the fecure deputle oi Achaia, They care for none of thefe things. Secondly, Such as obferve nothing obfervable. Thefe may be faid to weed the world. If any paffage happeneth which deferveth to be forgotten, their jet memories (onely attrafting ftraws and chafF unto them) regiftereth and retaineth them : fond fafhions and foolifh fpeeches Is all that they charge on their account, and onely empty cyphers fwell the Vote-books of their difcoveries. Laftly, Such who make good obfcrva tions, but no applications. With Mary they do not ponder things in their heart, but onely brew them in their heads, and prefently breath them out of their mouth, having onely a rational underftanding thereof, (which renders them accept able in company for their difcourfe,) but never fuffering them to fink Into their fouls, or make any effedtual impreflion on their lives. Afts 18. 17. ' [note-books.] K K 514 T^ke fuf Mans Funeral. [16 1. But Solomons obfcrvations were every way compleat. He mark'd what happened : and well he might, who, ad vantaged with matchlefs wealth, might make matchlefs dif coveries, and could afford to dig out important Truths with mattocks of gold and filver. What he mark'd was remark able, and what was remarkable he not onely applied to the good of his private perfon, but endeavoured it might be pro pagated to all pofteritie in the words of my text : All things have I feen in the dayes of my vanitie: there is a juft man that perifteth in his righteoufnefs ; and there is a wicked man that prolangeth his life in his wickednefs. 3. In the handling of Solomons obfervation herein, we will infift upon thefe four parts, to fhew, ( I ) That it Is fo, (2) Why it Is fo. (3) What abufes wicked men do| ^^j^^ becaufe it is fo. (4) What ufes good men fhould ) ' Firft, that it is fo : believe Solomons eyes, who profeffed that he faw it. But here it will be demanded. How came he to behold a righteous man ? With what^care and new eye-falve had he anoynted his eyes to fee that which his father David (having a more holy, though not fo large a heart) could never difcern ? ^ En ter not into judgement with thy fervant, 0 Lord: for no fleft is righteous in thy fight. 4. It is anfwered. Though fuch an one whofe righteoufnefs is Gods-juftice-proof, never was, is, nor fhall be in this life (Chrift alone excepted, being God and man), yet in a Gofpel or qualified fenfe, he is accounted righteous, yjho, juxta pro- pofltum jufte, Vivendi, is fo intentionally ; defiring and en deavouring after righteoufnefs with all the might of his foul. Secondly, who Is fo comparatively, in reference to wicked men, appearing righteous in regard of thofe who have no goodnefs at all In their hearts. Thirdly, righteous imputatively, having the righteoufnefs of God in Chrift imputed unto him. Laflly, righteous inbeflvely, having many heavenly graces and ho y endowments, fincere, though not perfeft, or evangelically V^T^ ' Pf''!- '43- - 49-] Ecclef. vii, 15. 515 perfect pro hoc ftatu, beftowed upon, and remaining within him. Such a righteous man as this, Solomon faw perifting in his righteoufnefs. 5. But in the fecond place, it will be Inquired, How could Solomon patiently behold a righteous man perift in his righteouf nefs, and not refcue him out of the paws of oppreffion? Could he fee it, and could he fuffer it, and be onely an idle fpedator at fo fad a tragedie ? Did his hand fway the Scepter, and was his head invefted with the Crown, contentedly to look on fo forrowfull a fight ? Could he onely, as in the '^cafe of the harlots, call for a fword to kill a child, and not call for it here to defend a righteous man ? He that is not with us (faith our Saviour) is againft us. If it hold in private perfons, much more in ^publick Officers, They perfecute, who do not proteft ; deftroy, who do not defend ; flay, who do not fave the righteous man, who have power and place to do it. 6. It is anfwered. In the firft place, Solomons obfcrvations were not all confined to his own countrey and kingdom. Though ftaying at home in his perfon, his minde travelled into forraign parts, and in the neighbouring countreys of Egypt, Edam, Syria, Affyria, &c., might behold the perifting of the righteous and long fiourifhing of the wicked. Secondly, his expreffion, I have feen, relates not onely to his ocular, but experimental difcoveries : what Solomon got by the help of Hiftorie, Studie, and perufal of Chronicles. He that was skil'd in natural Philofophle from the Cedar to the Shrub, was (no doubt) well verfed in all clvd occurrences from the Prince to the Peafant, from Adam to the prefent age wherein he lived, fo much as by any extant records could be coUefted, To fet humane writers afide, the Scripture alone afforded him plentifuU prefidents herein. Open the Bible, and we fhall find (almoft in the firft lea.i)juft Abel perifting in his right eoufnefs, and wicked Cain prolonging his life in his iniquitie. To omit other inftances, Solomon, by relation from his father, might fadly remember how Ahimelech the High prieft perifted in his righteoufnefs, with all the Priefts, inhabitants of the citie of Nob, whileft Saul who condemned, and Doeg who executed ' I Kings 3. 24. " publike. K. K 2 5i6 The Juf Mans Funeral. [i6 them flourifhed long in their iniquitie. So much for the proof tbat it isfo. Come we now to the reafons why it isfo. Thefe reafons are of a double nature, fome fetcht from Nature, others from Religion. For the prefent we infift onely on the former, referving the reft till we fhall encounter the Atheifts in the ¦^fequels of our difcourfe. 7. Firft, Becaufe good men, of all others, are moft envied and maligned, having the fierceft adverfaries to oppofe them. With the moft in the world it is quarrel enough to hate a good man, becaufe he is a good man. ^S. Paul faith of himfelf, ^I prefs towards the mark. And the fame is the endeavour of every good man. Now as in a race the formoft man who is neareft the mark is envied of all thofe which come after him, who commonly ufe all foul play towards him, (juftling him on the fide, feeking to trip up his heels ; yea, fomedmes thrufting him forward on the back that fo he might fall headlong by his own weight and their violence,) fo often cometh it to pafs betwixt rivals in the race of honour and virtue. Ill-minded men perceiving themfelves quite out- -ftript by fome eminent perfon who hath got the fpeed of them, and Mifpairing fairly to overtake him, refolve foully to overturn him, by all means poffible contriving his deftruftion. 8. Hence comes thofe many millions of ^devifes and *ftrate- gems contrived for his ruin, endeavouring either to Divert him from|j^j^ righteoufnefs. or Destroy him in ) ° If the firft takes no effeft, and if his conftancie appears fuch as without hegreet he will perfift in pietie, leaving them no hope to byafs him to bafe ends, then difpairing to bow him from, they contrive to break him in his righteoufnefs. Thus whileft he hath many enemies which confpire his deftruftion, feeking with power to fupprefs, or policie to fupplant him ; the wicked man, on the other fide, hath the ' fequele. ' Saint Paul. ' Phil. 3. 14. ¦" defpairing. 5 divices. ° ftratagems. ' regret. 49-] Ecclef] vii. 15- 517 2c generalide of men (the moft being bad as himfelf) to befriend him : _ a main caufe of his prolonging himfelf fuccefsfull in his wickednefs. 9, Secondly, Righteous men perifh in iheir righteoufnefs, becaufe not fo warie and watchfull to defend themfelves In danger, being deaf to all jealoufies and fufpitlons, over- -confident of other men, meafuring all others by the integritle of their own intentions. This makes them lie at an open guard, not fencing and fortifying themfelves againft any fudden furprlfal, but prefuming that deferving no hurt none fhall be done unto them. Thus Gedaliah, ^governor of the remnant of the Jews after the captlvitie, twice received the exprefs intelligence of a confplracie to kill him, yet was fo far from giving credit that he gave a fharp reproof to the firft difcoverer thereof. Yea, when Johanan the fon of Kareah tendered his fervice to kill Iftmael, (fent, as he faid, from Baalis king of Ammon to flay Gedaliah,) Gedaliah rejoyned, '¦Thou (halt not do this thing, for thou fpeakeft falfty of Iftmael. His noble nature gave no entertainment to the report till he found it too late to prevent it. Whileft wicked men, partly out of policie, more out of guiltinefs, fleep like Hercules with their club in their hand, ftand always on their guard, are jealous of their very fhadows and appearances of danger: a great caufe of their fafety and fuccefs, prolonging them selves in their wickednefs, 10, Thirdly, They perift becaufe of a lazie principle which hath poffeffed the heads and hearts even of the beft men, (who are unexcufable herein,) namely, that God in due time will defend their innocence ; which makes them more negligent and remifs in defending themfelves. As the Prophet makes mention of ^a ftone cut out without hands, they conceive their caufe will without mans help hew its own way through the rocks of all refiftance ; as if their caufe would ftand Centlnel for them, though they flept themfelves ; as if their caufe would fix their Muskets though they did it not themfelves. Thus the Chriftians in their battels againft the Turks, having wonne the day by their valour, have loft the night ' governour. * Jer. 40. 16. ' Dan. i. 34. 5i8 The Juf Mans Funeral. [i6 by their negligence ; which principally proceeded from their confidence that God, interefted as a Second in every juft caufe, was in that quarrel concerned as a Principle, and it could not ftand in his juftice to fuffer it to mifcarrie. 1 1 . Whereas, on the other fide, wicked men ufe double diligence In promoting their defigns. If their lame caufe lack leggs of its own, they will give It wings from their carefull foliciting thereof, and will foulder up their crackt title with their owne induftrie. They watch for all tides, and wait for all times, and work by all wayes, and fail by all winds ; each golden opportunity they cunningly court, and greedily catch, and carefully keep, and thriftily ufe : in a word, they are wifer in their generation ^than the children of light. 1 2. This may be perceived by the parallel betwixt the wife and the harlot : many wives (though herein they cannot be defended) knowing their hufbands obliged in confcience to love them by Virtue of their folemn promife made before God and the congregation at their marriage, are therefore the lefs carefull to ftudle compliance to their hufbands defires. They know their hufbands, if wronging them, wrong them felves therein ; and prefuming themfelves to deferve love as due unto them for their honefty and loyalty of affeftions, are the lefs follicitous to gain that which they count their own already. Whilft the harlot confcious to her felf of her ufurpation, that ftie hath no lawful right to the 'embraces of her paramour, tunes her felf to the criticalnefs of all com- placencie to humour him in all his defires. And thus always thofe men whofe caufe have [hath] the weakeft foundation in pietie, getteth the ftrongeft buttrefs in policle to fupport it, 13, Laftly, the righteous man, by the principles of his profeffion. Is tied up, and confined onely to the ufe of fuch means for his prefervation as are confonant to Gods will, conformable to his word ; preferring rather to die many times *than to fave himfelf once by unwarrantable ways. Propound unto him a projeft for his fafede, and as Solomon promifed ^to favour Adonijah, fo long as he ^ftewed bim- ' then. " vertue. ' imbraces. ' then. ^ favour to. ^ i Kings 1. 52. 49-] Ecclef. vii. 15, 519 felf worthie, otherwife if wickednefs were found in him, he ftould surely die : so our righteous man onely accepts and embraceth fuch plots to fecure himfelf thereby as acquit themfelves honeft and honourable : fuch as appear otherwife, he prefently difpatches with deteftation, deftroying the very motion and mention thereof from entering into his heart. On the other fide, the wicked man is left at large, allowing himfelf libertie and latitude to doe any thing in his own defence, making a conftant praftice of doing evil that good may come thereof. 14. Yea, we may obferve in all ages that wicked men make bold with religion ; and thofe who count the praftice of pietie a ^burthen, find the pretending thereof an advantage, and therefore be the matter they manage never fo bad, (If poffible) they will intitle It to be Gods caufe. Much was the fubftance in the very fhadow of ^S. Peter, which made the people fo defirous thereof as he paffed by the ftreets. And the very umbrage of Religion hath a fovereign virtue In it. No better cordial for a dying caufe 'than to overfhadow It with the pretence that it is Gods caufe. For firft, this Is the way to make and keep a *great and ftrong partie : No fooner the watch-word is given out For Gods caufe, but Inftantly Gad, behold a troop cometh of many honeft, but ignorant men, who prefs to be lifted Into fo pious an employment. Thefe may be kild, but cannot be conquered : for till their judgements be otherwife informed they will triumph In being overcome, as confident the deeper their wounds got In Gods caufe gape in their bodies, the wider the gates of heaven ftand open to receive their fouls. Befides, the pretending their caufe Is Gods caufe, will, in a manner, legitimate the bafeft means In purfuance and profecution thereof; for, though It be againft Gods word to do evil that good may come thereof, yet this old error will hardly be beaten out of the heads and hearts of many men, that crooked ways are made direft by being direfted to a ftreight end ; and the luftre of a bright caufe will refleft a feeming light on very deeds of darknefs ufed in tendencie thereunto. 'burden. ' Saint ?^/^r. Mhen. ¦• good [ed. 1660.] S20 The Juf Mans Funeral. [i6 15. This hath been an ancient ftratagem of the worft men (great Politicians) to take pietie In their way to the advan cing of their defigns. Thus Rabftakeb pretended a Com miffion from God for all the wickednefs he committed, and complements blafphemie : '^Am I now come up without the Lord againft this place to deftro'y it ? The Lord faid to me. Go up againft this place to deftroy it. The Priefts of Bell were but bunglers, which could not fteal the meat of their Idol, but they muft be difcovered by the print of their foot-fteps. Men are grown more cunning thieves now adays : firft, they will put on the fhoes of him they intend to rob, and then fteal that fo their treadlngs may tell no tales to their difadvantage. They will not ftride a pace, nor goe a ftep, nor ftir a foot, but all for Gods caufe, all for the good and glorle of God. Thus Chrift himfelf was ferved from his cradle to his crofs ; Herod who fought to kill him, pretended to worfhip him ; and Judas kiffed him who betrayed him, 1 6. By thefe arts and Mevices It cometh to pafs that wicked men prolong themfelves In their wickednefs. Traiterous Zimri indeed continued 'but feven days ; that was not long : wicked Jehojachin reigned but three ^moneths in Jerufalem ; that was not long : ungodly Amon reigned two ^years in Jerusalem ; that was not long : idolatrous Ahab reigned in Samaria twentie ^and two years ; that was indifferent long : cruel Herod the King, who fought to kill Chrift, reigned In Judea wel-nigh fourtie years ; that was long indeed ; he prolonged himfelf to purpofe in his Iniquitie, 17. Seeing therefore (to recoil eft what hath been faid) the righteous hath moft foes, the wicked many friends ; the righteous free from, the wicked full of 'jeloufies ; the right eous too often over-carelefs, the wicked over-carefull In his defence ; the righteous limited onely to lawful, the wicked left loofe to any means for his owne advantage : No wonder if it often cometh to pafs that the righteous man perifteth in his righteoufnefs, and the wicked prolangeth bis life in his wickednefs. < 2 Kings 18. 25. ' divices. ' i Kings .6. 15. ^2 Kings 24. 8. = 2 Kings 21.19. '' Ki"gs '6. 29. 'jealoufies. 49-J Ecclef. vii. 15, 521 18. Come we now to the abufes which wicked men make of the righteous mans perlfhing in his righteoufnefs. And here the whole kennel of Atheifts come in with a full crie (oh that there were no more of them on earth -^than there are In hell, where torture makes them all fpeak truth!), fpending their wicked breath againft God and his attributes. Some bark at his Providence, as if he perceived not thefe things : ''How doth God know ? and is there knowledge in the moft high ? Others cavil at his juftice, that he has no mind ; others carp at his ftrength, that he has no power to reftlfie and redrefs thefe 'Innormlties, This world (fay they) is a fhip without a pilot, fteered onely with the winds and waves of cafualtie; it is a meer lotterie, wherein the beft men daily draw the blanks, and the worft run away with the prizes. And, as ^Abfolom boafted. If he were king of Ifrael, how far he would out do David In right managing of all matters : fo thefe impudent wretches conceive with themfelves the Plat-form of the world had been more perfeft might they have been admitted to the making thereof; The moon would have fhined without any fpots ; rofes grown without any prickles ; fair weather fhould ^have never done harm, becaufe rain fhould onely fall In the night, neither to hinder the pleafure of the rich, or hurt the profit ofthe poor. Merit fhould be made the onely ftandard of preferment ; no perifting of the righteous man in bis right eoufnefs, when fuccefs fhould onely be entailed on defert. In a word, fuch Atheifts prefume all things by them fhould be fo prudently difpofed, that nothing, no doubt, in the whole world fliould be out of order, fave themfelves, 19. More might be fpoken to "hlghten and ''improve the objeftion, but I am afraid to perfift further therein. It is not onely dangerous to be, but even to aft an Atheift, though with intent to confute their errour, for fear that our poifons pierce further ^than our ^antidots. But in anfwere to this objeftion, know that God, without the leaft prejudice to his juftice, may fuffer the righteous man to perift in his righteoufnefs, becaufe ' enormities. ^ heighten. ' antidotes. ' then. ¦* 2 Sam. 15. 4. ' prove. = Pfal. 73. 11. ^ never have. * then. 522 The Jufl Mans Funeral. [16 allow him righteous jufticia caufa, he is not fo jufticia perfona, the beft man ftanding guiltie of many faults and failings in his fight. God needs not fick a quarrel with any man, having at all times matter of a juft controverfie againft him. And fee ing God hath oftentimes connived at him being faultie, he may condemn him being faultlefs ; for nullum tempus occurrit Regi, the King of heaven Is not limited to any time, but at his own pleafure and leafure may take an opportunlde to punifh an offender. 20, Secondly, grant that the caufe of the righteous man was juft in the primitive conftitution thereof, yet if it branch It felf forth into numerous circumftances appendant thereunto (many whereof may be intricate and perplext) ; if it be of fo fpaclous and ponderous a nature that it requires many heads and hands as fubordinate inftruments in feveral places for the managing thereof: Laftly, if the caufe be fo prolix and tedious that many years muft be fpent in the profecution thereof; the original righteoufnefs of the caufe may be altered with the handling of it, and much injuftice annexed thereunto ; for which God may juftly caufe it finally to mifcarrie. For It Is ^Impoffible that a caufe confifting of fuch varietie of limbs retaining thereunto, fhould be carried on without many grand ^errors and miftakes committed therein ; and the righteous- nefs of the beft man will not fpread fo broad without fhrinking, ftretch fo long without tireing, applie it felf fo exaftly to each circumftance without fome fwerving therein. Efpecially when all the faults of the inferior officers employed under him are chargeable on the righteous mans account, the matter of whofe caufe may juftly perifli by Gods juft anger on the unjuft managerie thereof, 21. Yea, God, without the leaft blemifli to his Juftice, may fuffer the righteous temporally to perift in his righteoufnefs, becaufe In the midft of their fufferings his mercie fupports them with the inward comfort of a clear confcience. In the time of perfecution a woman being big with child was Im prifoned and condemned to die, which the night before her execution, was (I cannot fay brought to bed) delivered of a ' poffible. ' errours. 49-J Ecclef. vii. 15. 523 child, when her pain (wanting the help of a midwife) muft be prefumed exceeding great. The Jailor hearing her cry out in her pangs : If you cry (faid he) to day, I will make you ftreek worfe to morrow, when you are to be burnt at a ftake. The woman replied. Not fo ; to morrow my pain will be abated: for to day I fuffer as an offender for tbe puniftment juftly impofed by God on our fex for our difobedience and breach of his law ; but to morrow I ftall die for the teftimony of the truth in the defence of Gods glory and his true Religion. Thus it is ftrange to see what alacrity a good caufe infufeth into a righteous man, deriving comfort into his heart by infenfible ^conveiances, fo that he "^embraceth even death it felf with a fmiUng coun tenance, feeding his foul on the continual feaft of a clear confclence. 22. Befides this, it clears divine Juftice, and comforts the righteous man perifting temporally in his righteousnefs , that his Caufe fliall be heard over again, and rejudged in 'an other world. If one conceive himfelf wronged in the Hundred, or any inferlour Court, he may by a certiorari, or an accedas ad curiam, remove it to the Kings-Bench or Common-Pleas, as he is advlfed beft for his own advantage. If he apprehendeth himfelf Injured in thefe Courts, he may with a Writ of^Error remove it to have it argued by all the Judges in the Excbequer- -chamber. If here alfo he conceiveth himfelf to find no juftice, he may with an JnjunSlion out of the Chancery ftop their pro ceedings. But if in the Chancery he reputeth himfelf ^agreeved, he may thence appeal to the God of heaven and earth, who in another world will vindicate his right, and feverely punifh fuch as have wilfully offered wrong unto him. And fo much to affert Gods juftice in fuffering the righteous man to perift in his righteoufnefs. 23. Now on the other fide, God may without any pre judice to his juftice fuffer wicked men for a time to thrive in this world, and not fuddenly furprife them with punifhment, fo giving them ^a fpace to repent. If they would but make ufe thereof. Indeed David faith, ''Evil ftall hunt the violent man ' conveyances. ^ imbraceth. ' another. ¦* Errour. * agrieved. ° Rev. 2. 21. ' Pfal. 140. 11. 524 The Jufl Mans Funeral. [16 to overthrow him. But God is a. fair hunter : he might in the rigour of his juftice knock wicked men down as he finds them fitting in their forms : But God will give them fair law; they fliall for a time run, yea, fport themfelves before his judge ments ere they are pleafed to overtake them. 24. Know alfo, to the farther clearing of his juftice, that wicked men, notwithftanding their thriving in badnefs for a time, are partly puniflied in this world with a conftant corro- five of a guiltie confcience, which they carrie about them. The Probationer-DIfciple faid to our Saviour, ^Mafter, I will follow thee whitherfoever thou goeft : what is promifed by him IS performed by a guiltie confcience, that Squire of the bodie, alwayes officious to attend a malefaftour, Faft, and / will follow thee ; and thy empde bodie fhall not be fo full of wind as thy mind of difmal apprehenfions : feaft, and / will follow thee; and, as the 'hand on the wall, bring in the fad reckoning for thy large bill of fare : ftay at home, and / will follow thee: ride abroad, and I will follow thee; or elfe meet thee in the way with my naked fword, as the Angel did ^Balaam : wake, and / will follow thee : fleep, and I will follow thee, and affright thee with hideous fancies and terrible dreams, as I did King Richard the third, the night before his death. 25. I have read of one who undertook in few dayes to make a fat fheep lean ; and yet was to allow him a daily and large provifion of meat, foft and eafie lodging, with fecuritle from all danger, that nothing fhould hurt him. This he effefted by putting him into an iron-grate, and placing a ravenous wolf hard by in another, alwales howling, fighting, *fenting, fcratching at the poor fheep ; which, affrighted with this fad found and worfe fight, had little joy to eat, lefs to fleep ; whereby his flefh was fuddenly abated. But wicked men have the terrors of an affrighted confclence conftantly, not onely barking at them, but biting of them ; which disfweetens their moft delicious mirth with the fad confideratlon of the fins they have committed, and punifhment they muft undergo, when in another world they fhall be called to account.^ This ' Matt. 8. 19. " Dan. 5. 5. ' Num. 22. 23. ' fcenting [ed. 1660]. ' [This paflage, fiom the beginning of the paragraph, is met with, with a few variations, in Spencer's Things Nenu and Old, headed " Confcience fpoils the 49-J Ecclef. vii, 15. 525 thought alone makes their fouls lean, how fat foever their bodies may appear. And as fores and wounds commonly fmart, ake, and throb moft the nearer it is to night; fo the anguifh and torture of a guiltie confcience increafeth the nearer men apprehend themfelves to the day of their death. 26, Now not onely wicked men, but even the children of God, becaufe of the corruption of their hearts, too often make bad ufes to themfelves of the righteous mans perifting in his righteoufnefs. Thefe may be divided into three ranks : (i) Such as/r^/ <2/ ¦^ (2) Such as droop under [ Gods proceedings herein. (3) Such as argue with ) The firft are the Fretters: for if the perifting of the righteous cometh to the ferious obfervation of a high-fpirited man, one of a ftout and valiant heart, he will fcarce brook jt without fome anger and indignation, fuming and chafing thereat. Thus David, we know, was a man of valour, of a martial and warlike fpirit; and he confeffeth of himfelf, that, beholding the profperitie of the wicked, "^bis heart was grieved, and be was pricked in his reins. Nor was it meer grief poffeffed him, but a mixture of much impatience, as appears by that counfel which in like cafe in one Pfalm he gave himfelf three feveral times: '¦Fret not thy felf becaufe of evil doers; and again, /r