This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. Searching, reading, printing, or downloading EEBO-TCP texts is reserved for the authorized users of these project partner institutions. Permission must be granted for subsequent distribution, in print or electronically, of this text, in whole or in part. Please contact project staff at eebotcp-info@umich.edu for further information or permissions.
9 Debate thy cause with thy neighbour, & reueale not the secret of an other man.
Men are naturally so hot of blood, and so cholerick and furious▪ that if it seeme them that their neighbour hath done thē any offēce, although it bee light and secrete, incontinently they rage in pub∣like, and sounde, as it were a Trumpet, to giue to vnderstand
to others that those haue offended them greatly, and seeke not but to defame their neighbour, sowing wordes of reproch here & there against him. And because this dealing is contrarie to humanitie, which wee ought to haue in great estimation: For this cause Solo∣mon willing to moderate our choler, admonisheth vs, that if wee haue to do with our neighbor about controuersie, we shal talk ther∣of with him, & seeke to make an end of it, the secretliest that we cā, without calling witnesse to vs, and that we discouer not the imper∣fection, & falt of our neighbor, til we haue first talked of it betwene vs and him, & sought to remedie it secretly. Solomon (I say) admo∣nisheth vs this same, saying, Debate thy cause, &c. Wherto agreeth the saying of our Lorde: But if thy brother haue offended thee, goe and rebuke him secretly betweene thee and him. Take yee heede. If thy brother haue offended thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, pardō him, &c: & this agreeth with the law, Thou shalt not hate thy bro∣ther in thine heart, Correct thy neighbour, & suffer not sinne vpon him. We could not so guide ourselues, if wee were not gentle, grati∣ous, and merciful. And therfore to obey Solomon, or rather Iesus Christ wel, it behooueth vs to mortifie, dispoile, and cloath: as saint Paul admonisheth vs in diuers places. Mortifie therefore your mem∣bers which are earthly, &c.
Mat. 18. 15 Luk. 17. 3. 4.
Leuit. 19. 17
Col. 3. 5