LXXX sermons preached at the parish-church of St. Mary Magdalene Milk-street, London whereof nine of them not till now published / by the late eminent and learned divine Anthony Farindon ... ; in two volumes, with a large table to both.

PART II.

MICAH VI. 8.

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

WE have shewed you that Piety is termed good in it self in opposition to Sacrifice and the Ceremonies of the Law, which were but ex instituto, for some reasons instituted and ordained, but in themselves were nei∣ther good nor evil. We might now take a view of this Good as it standeth in opposition to the things of this world, which either our Luxury or Pride or Co∣vetousness have raised in their esteem, and above their worth, and called good, as the Heathens consecrated their Affecti∣ons, their Diseases, their very Vices, and placed them in the number of their Gods. For Good is that which all desire, which all bowe and stoop to; but yet it hath as several shapes as there be opinions and constitutions of men. And all the mistake is in our choice, that we set up something to look upon which is not worth a glance of our eye; that we call evil good, and that good which is neither evil nor good, but may make us so, good, if we use it well, and evil, if we abuse it;* 1.1 (Non est bonum quo uti malè possis; That cannot be truly and in it self good which we may use to an evil end, saith Seneca) that we propose to our selves objects which are attended with danger, and very often with horrour, and give to them this glorious title; paint out to our selves some deformed strump••••, and call her a Goddess, and kiss the lips of that which will bite like a cockatrice. Good we desire, and when our desires have run to that which we set up for good, we meet with nothing but evil, which sheweth not it self till it be felt. We hoyse up our sails, and make towards it, and are swallowed up in that Sea, as Augustine calleth it, of the good things of this world, which we thought might carry us to the end of our hope. We take it for bread, and in our mouth it is gravel. We take it for pleasure, and when we tast it it is gall. We hunt after Riches as good, and they begger us; climb to Honour, and that breaketh our neck. And though we swallow down these good things as the Ox doth water, yet we are never full. S. Hilary in his Comments on the first Psalm, having ob∣served that some there were who drew down all their interpretations of that Book respectively to spiritual things and God himself, because they thought it some disparagement to that Book that terrene and secular mat∣ter

should so often interline it self, yet passeth on them no heavier cen∣sure then this, Haec eorum opinio argui non potest, &c. We need not be so severe as to condemn this opinion of theirs, because it proceedeth from a mind piously and religiously affected, and it is a thing which deserveth rather commendation then blame, by a favourable endeavour to strive to apply all things to him by whom all things were made. For these things are not good, but only go under this deputative and borrowed title. The world hath cryed them up, but the Scripture hath no such name for them. It is good to praise the Lord, nay, it is good to be afflicted; this we read: but where do we read, It is good to be rich, it is good to be honourable, it is good to go in purple, and fare deliciously every day? We find many curses and woes sent after them, but we never find them graced with the title of good.* 1.2 Thou hast recei∣ved thy good things, saith Abraham to Dives: Good things, but thine, such as thy lusts esteemed so; thy good things, and such good things as have helpt to hurry thee to this place of torment. Good they are not; for they are so far from making a man good, that they make him not rich. Look upon Dives at his feast, and Lazarus at his gates, and which was the rich man? If I should say, Lazarus, it were no paradox; for Dives had nothing of a rich man but his name.

Good then they are not in themselves, nor can they be, but by being subservient to this Good in the Text. And therefore we must make ano∣ther defalcation of these Temporal goods, as we did of those Sacrifices which were but temporary. Down must Sacrifice, and down must Mam∣mom: Down must his temple and his groves, and no picture, no repre∣sentation must be left of them in our minds. But let us look upon Sacri∣fice and Formality as shadows, and upon the things of this world as less then shadows, and then upon the ruines of Hypocrisie and Covetous∣ness and Ambition, to build up a temple to true Piety and Religion, and that which is called Good here in the Text, which God by his Prophet hath laid open before our eyes: For he hath shewed thee, O man, not Sa∣crifice, not the glory of the world (that is the Devils shew) but he hath shewed thee what is good.* 1.3

And now having drawn the veil, we may enter the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Holy of holies, and behold Piety and that which is Good, that Good which is so in it self,* 1.4 real and eternal, quod nec invitus accipis, nec invi∣tus amittis, which thou neither receivest nor losest but when thou wilt, as thou mayest thy possessions, thy honours, nay thy body and life it self, which all may be taken from thee against thy will; that Good which is a defluxion and emanation from God himself, derived and flowing from t••at Wisdome which dwelt with him from all eternity; that Good which will make us good here, and raise us up to be eternal with him in the highest heavens, that Good which will give us an heavenly understanding, a divine will, angelical affections, and in a manner incorporate us with God himself.

And if you please to look upon it in its perfection of beauty, you may consider it, 1. as fitted and proportioned to our very nature, 2. as fitted to all sorts and conditions of men, 3. as lovely and amiable in the eyes of all, 4. as filling and satisfying us, 5. as giving a relish and sweet tast to the worst of evils which may befall us, whilest with love and admirati∣on we look upon it, and making those things of the world which are not good in themselves, useful and good and advantageous to us. This is the object which is here set up; and it is a fair one; and Man is called to be the spectatour; He hath shewed thee, O man. And if he look upon it with a stedfast and single eye, with affection and love, it will make him

dignum Deo spectaculum, an object fit for the Angels and God himself to look upon: For 1. it is fitted to him; 2. it is opened and made manifest, placed before his eye, He hath shewed thee it; 3. Last of all, it is required of him; for what else doth he require? It is proper for him; It is displayed and laid open before him; It is a Law to bind him: He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require?

And first, we cannot doubt but God built up Man for this end alone, for this Good; to communicate his Goodness to him to make him partaker of a Divine nature, to make him a kind of God upon the earth, to imprint his image upon him, by which according to his measure and capacity he might express and represent God; 1. By the Knowledge not only of na∣tural and transitory things, but also of those which pertain to everlasting life, as it is Col. 3.10. being renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him: 2. By the rectitude and sanctity of his Will,* 1.5 putting on that new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness: and 3. By the free and ready Obedience of the outward parts and inward faculties to the beck and command of God; which being Divine, a breath∣ing from God himself, cannot but look forward, and look upward upon its original, and so teach us to be just, as God is righteous in all his wayes, to be merciful, as he is merciful, and to walk humbly before him, who hath thus built us up out of the dust, but to eternity. I say, God hath im∣printed this image on Man: And what communion can God have with evil?* 1.6 What relation hath an immortal Essence to that which passeth away, changeth every day, and at last is not? Take Man for the miracle of the world, as Trismegistus calleth him, that other, that lesser world, the tye and bond of all the other parts, which were made for his sake, and what conversation should he have but in heaven? what should he look upon but that which is good? Or take him as made after Gods image, as having that property which no other creature hath, to understand, to will, to reason, and determin, by which he was made capable of good, and made to be partaker of it; and we cannot think he had an Understanding given him only to forge deceit and contrive plots,* 1.7 to find out a twilight and an opportunity to do mischief, to invent new delights, to make an art of pleasure, and draw out a method and law of wickedness; that that which was given him as his counseller in relation to this good, should be his pur∣veiour in the works of the flesh, and no better then a pander to his lust. We cannot think that he had a Will given him to embrace shadows and appa∣ritions, which play with our Phansie, and deceive us; to wait upon the Flesh, which fighteth against the Spirit and this Image within us. We cannot think he had Reason given to distinguish him from the other crea∣tures, to make him worse then they. This cannot be the thought of a Man whilest he remaineth so, a Man,* 1.8 who is formed and fitted and fashi∣oned only for that which is good. This consideration made Quintilian himself, a heathen, to pronounce, That it was as natural for Man to be good as for Birds to fly, or Fishes to swim, because Man was made for the one, as the Birds and Fishes were for the other.

Secondly, there is no proportion at all between any corporeal or sen∣sual thing and the soul of man, which is a spirit and immortal, and so re∣sembleth that God which breathed it into us. For, as Lactantius said; God is not hungry, that you need set him meat, nor thirsty, that you should pour out drink unto him, nor in the dark, that you need light up candles. And what is Beauty, what is the Wedge of gold, to the Soul? The one is from the earth, earthly; the other is from the Lord of heaven. The World is the Lords, and the World is the Souls, and all that therein is.* 1.9 And to behold the Creature, and in the World, as in a book, to study and find

out the Creatour; to contemplate his Majesty, his Goodness, his Wis∣dome; and to discover that happiness which is prepared for it; to behold the heavens, the works of Gods hand, and purchase a place there; to con∣verse with Seraphim and Cherubim; this is the proper act of the Soul for which it was made, this, this alone was proportioned to it. And herein con∣sisteth the excellency and very essence of Religion, and the Good which is here shewed us, in exalting the Soul, in drawing it back from mixing with the Creature, in bringing it into subjection under God the first and only Good, in uniting it to its proper object, in making that which was the breath of God breathe nothing but God; The Soul being as the mat∣ter, and this Good here, that is Piety and Religion, the form; the Soul be∣ing 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 (for so Plato calleth Matter) the receptacle of this Good, as the Matter is of the Form, and never right and of a perfect being till it re∣ceive it; this Good being as the seed and the Soul the ground, the matrix and the womb. And there is a kind of sympathy between this Good, this immortal seed, and the heart and mind of Man, as there is between Seed and the womb of the Earth. For the Soul no sooner seeth it unclouded, unvailed, not disguised and made terrible by the intervention of things not truly good, but upon a full manifestation she is taken, as the Bridegroom in the Canticles, with its eye and beauty. Heaven is a fair sight, even in their eyes who tend to destruction; so that there is a kind of nearness and alliance between this Good and those notions and principles which God imprinted in us at the first. And therefore even Nature it self had a glimpse, a weak and imperfect sight, of this Good, and saw a further mark to aim at then this world in this span of time could set up.* 1.10 Hence Tully calleth Man a mortal God,* 1.11 and Seneca telleth us, that by that which is best in Man we go before other creatures, but follow to joyn with that which is truly good, by which we may be carried along to the fountain of Good, even God himself.

For again, as this Good here, that is, Piety and Religion, beareth a sym∣pathy and correspondence with the mind of Man, so hath the Soul of Man 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a formative quality, a power to shape and fashion it, and by the sweet influence and kindly aspect of Gods quickening grace to bring forth something of the same nature, some heavenly creature, the New man,* 1.12 which is made up in holiness and righteousness, in Justice and Mer∣cy and Humility, which are the Good in the Text; The beauty of which may beget and raise up that violence in us which may break open the gates of heaven, beget a congregation of Saints, of just and honest men, a numerous posterity to Abraham of hospital and merciful men; and an army of Martyrs, which shall in all humility lay down their lives for his sake that gave them, and forsake all to joyn and adhere to this Good.

And now in the second place, as it is fitted and proportioned to the Soul of man, so is it to every soul of man, to all sorts and conditions of men. It is fitted to the Jew and to the Gentile, to the bond and to the free, to the rich and to the poor, to the scribe and to the ideote, to the young and to the aged. No man so much a Jew, no man such a bored slave, no man such a Lazar, none so dull and slow of understanding, no such Bar∣zillai, but he may receive it. Freedom and Slavery, Circumcision and Uncircumcision, Riches and Poverty, Quickness and Slowness of under∣standing, in respect of this Good, of Piety and Religion, are all alike. Re∣ligion is no peculiar, but the most common and the most communicative thing that is.* 1.13 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, &c. The Law, the Prophets, the Oracles, Grace, Faith, Hope and Charity, these, saith Nazi∣anzene, are common to all, as common as the Sun; are the goods and posses∣sions, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, not of the mightiest or the wisest, but of

those who are willing to receive them. Nor were there any thing more unjust then our Faith and Religion (saith he) if it were entailed only on some few; if God, whose Property and Nature it is to do good, should dispense that Good most sparingly which doth most please him; if he should shut it up, as he doth Gold and other Mettals, in the bowels of the earth, and seal a patent but to some few to find and dig it out; if it should be left, as the things of this world are, in the uncertain and unequal hand of Chance; or if, looking alike on all, it should with∣draw and hide it self from the most, and be unatchievable and not to be attained to by some, when it is bound up as it were in the bosome of o∣thers. No; the most excellent things are most common, and offered and presented to all. Nothing is so common as this Good; and when o∣ther things fly from us, and, as we follow after them, remove themselves farther off, and mock our endeavours, this is alwayes near us, shineth upon us, inviteth and solliciteth us to take it for our guide, that it may lead us in a certain and unerring course through the false shews and deceitfulness of this world, through blackness and darkness, to the end for which we were made. This Good is every mans good that will: As Aquinas is said to have replyed to his sister, when she askt him how she might be saved, Si velis, If you are willing, you may. Every covetous person is not rich; Every ambitious man hath not the highest place; Every student is not a great clerk. But Piety openeth the gate to every man that knocketh; and he that will, entreth in and taketh possession of her.* 1.14 Fastidiosior est scientia quàm virtus. Paucorum est ut literati sint; omnium, ut boni. That which is best is most accessible. And when other things, Knowledge and Wealth and Honour, are coy and keep a distance, and when we have them, are desultorious, and ready in the midst of all our joy and pride to leave us, and leave us nothing but a heavy heart and dropping eye to look after them; this Good is ever before us, and never removeth it self till we chase it away; is ever with us, if we will, and if we will, as the fa∣ther in the Gospel telleth the elder son, we may be ever with it,* 1.15 and all that it hath is ours. In a word, it is most kind and most beneficial when most profess it. It is not lapt up in the ephod, as belonging to the Priest alone: for it was not shewed to him alone, nor was it required of him a∣lone. Every branch and part of it concerneth you who are to be taught as much as them that are set over you in the Lord to teach you. The People are bound to be as holy as the Priest, and they are both to pass the same narrow way. Nor are the gates of heaven so made that they will fly open to the People, but must be beat upon with violence by the Priest; that he must bow and stoop, and lye down in the dust, and mor∣tifie himself, and then be scarcely saved, as S. Peter speaketh,* 1.16 but they may walk on in the lust of their hearts, and do what they please, and then enter Heaven with all their sins, with Hell it self about them. This is a dangerous errour, and we have reason to fear it hath sent many the o∣ther way, even to the place of torment, where it will bring no ease at all to them to see those whom they foolishly thought this Good did only concern beaten with more stripes then they. All are men, and this Good is shewn to all, and required of all;* 1.17 and tribulation and anguish will be upon every soul that regardeth it not, upon the Priest first, and also upon the People.

Thirdly, as it is fitted to all men, so is it lovely and amiable in the eyes of all. And this is the glory and triumph of Goodness and Piety, that it striketh a reverence in those who neglect it, findeth a place in his breast whose hand is ready to suppress it, is magnified by those who revile it, & tunc vincit cùm laeditur, tunc intelligitur cùm arguitur, then con∣quereth

when it cannot prevail, is then understood when it is opposed, and then gaineth honour when it cannot win assent. Oh what a victory and triumph had Christs Innocency over the heart and tongue of Pilate even then when he gave sentence of death against him!* 1.18 Be it as you re∣quire; this his Ambition and Fears forced from him: but, I find no fault in this man; this was the victory of Christs Innocency, which made his Judge his Advocate, who at once pleadeth for him and condemneth him. How glorious were the blessed Martyrs in their thoughts who dragged them to execution? How do the wicked Saint them in their heart whom they gnash at with their teeth? How do their Passions rage against them when their Reason acquitteth them? How do good men beat down and dismay their enemies in their very fall? and how do their enemies secret∣ly wish that, being such, they would not be such, but cast in their lots with them,* 1.19 and be as wicked as they? The remembrance of Josiah, saith the Wiseman, is like a perfume, as sweet as honey in all mens mouthes. For as the one taketh the Sense, so doth the other surprise the Reason, and is as proper and natural to the Understanding as Honey and Musick are to the Sense. And this is taken from the common stock of Nature, and we ne∣ver lose it but with our selves, nor can we lay it by till we are unmanned, and like Nebuchadnezzar, driven into the field and turned into beasts. For who was ever so intemperate as to condemn Temperance for a vice? Who was ever such a traitour as to write a panegyrick on Rebellion? Who was ever such a devil as not to wish himself a Saint? We deny not but that continuance in sin, advantage and prosperity in sin, the pleasures of sin, the long-suffering of God, which may be lookt upon as an applause from heaven, the cringes and idolatry of Parasites, the profit of sin, the honour of sin, may swell and puff up a man of Belial, and build him up into a most unholy faith, That thus, thus it should be; That there is no virtue but a thriving vice, no holiness but powerful and glorious hypo∣crisie; That Vice bowed to is virtue, and Virtue whipt and disgraced is vice: But then many a sad interval he hath, many a twinge and gnawing at his heart, that he dare not look upon his Sin but in this dress and state; and maugre all these, many a bitter remembrance, which disquieteth and buffeteth him, that in this height and glory he shaketh and wavereth and is unstedfast in this his faith, that he cannot give a full and constant assent to that which he is so willing to believe, cannot be perswaded of what he is perswaded, nor believe what he doth believe, but is sick and well, is re∣solved and trembleth, condemneth and absolveth himself every day, and cannot live in peace in that sin in which nevertheless he may be resolved to dye. To conclude this; Even they who weary themselves in the wayes of wickedness know there is no rest but in this Good; and those fools who count Piety as madness, when they make a truce with their Passions, and consult with Reason, are so wise as to see and admire and acknowledge the beauty of this Good.

Fourthly, as this Good in the Text is lovely and amiable, so is it filling and satisfying, so fitted to the Soul that it filleth it when nothing else can. For that which filleth a thing must be proportioned to it. The Heart of man is a little member; It will not, saith S. Bernard, give a Kite its break∣fast; and yet it is too large a receptacle, of too great a compass, for the whole world to fill. In hoc toto nihil singulis satis est; There is nothing in the whole Universe which is taken for enough by any one particular man, nothing in which the appetite of a single man can rest. Only this Good here in the Text can fit it, because it is fitted to it. Honour is but air, and is lost in the grasping; Riches are but earth, and sink from us in the digging; Pleasures are but shadows, and slip through our embraces;

but this Good is a solid, permanent, lasting thing, changeth the Soul into it self, filleth it in every part, and bringeth delight where it filleth. I have seen an end of all perfection, but thy law is exceeding large,* 1.20 saith Da∣vid; So large as to fill the soul as with marrow and fatness.* 1.21 We are told by those who have written of the Indians, that there are certain birds there which seem to call passengers to them, making a kind of articulate noise, Lo, here it is; and when passengers deceived with this note draw near to that place from whence the sound came, the birds fly away, and at some distance renew their note; and still, as the passengers approach, fly away, and then take up the same note, till they have quite led them out of their way. Penes historicos fides esto; Let the truth of this be what it will: What these birds are said to do, that which we so much dote on and follow after, the things of the world, which are the Good that is most sought after, do truly act: Some song they sing, some pleasure they pre∣sent, to draw us near unto them. For that which is pleasant and fair to the sense hath not only a voice, but is eloquent to perswade, and it seem∣eth to bespeak us, Lo, here it is; Here is Happiness; and when we send out our Desires to overtake it, they miss and come short and are frustrate. Our Covetousness followeth it, but it flyeth away. Still we pursue it, and that still withdraweth, and so we lose our way, wander and erre, open to the rage of every beast, of every temptation, that assaulteth us, and at last fall into the pit of destruction. And here is the difference between that which is truly good and that which but coloureth for it, and appear∣eth so; In the one our Appetite pleaseth us, but experience is distastful; it is honey in the desire, but gall in the taste: In the other, in that which is truly good, our Appetite many times is dull and queazy, but when we have tasted and chewed upon it, it is sweeter then the honey or the honey∣comb: It may be gall in the appetite, but in the taste it is manna. If you put them into the scales to weigh them, there is no comparison: You may as well measure Time with Eternity, or weigh one sand of the shore with the whole Ocean. For he that feedeth on Lyes must needs be empty, when it is truth alone that filleth us.

Last of all, as this Good filleth and satisfieth us, so it giveth a sweet re∣lish and tast even to Misery it self, and those evils which we so fear as if there were none but those. It maketh those things which are not good in themselves useful and advantageous to us; and as S. Basil observeth,* 1.22 it is not changed or lost in the multitude and throng of those evils which compass us about on every side, but changeth and turneth them, and maketh them helpers of our joy, maketh Loss gain, enricheth Poverty, ennobleth Disgrace, shineth upon Afflictions that we may rejoyce in them, crowneth Persecution with blessedness, and is that alone which maketh Saints and canonizeth Martyrs. It is the delight of Man, the delight of Angels, the delight and glory of God himself. In respect of Religion it is not material whether we be rich or poor, naked or clothed, at the mill or on the throne. Censum non requirit; nudo homine contenta est: Religion and Piety require nothing but a Man: For it were strange we should think this Good was shewed, this Religion ordained, to put us to charges. Indeed he that imbraceth it, and keepeth this treasure in his heart, can never be poor, nor weak, nor naked, nor dishonourable. For in what weakness is not he strong? In what solitude hath not he troops to guard him? Or when is he poor who possesseth all things? When is he alone who hath Piety for his companion and the Angels for his Mini∣sters? When is he dishonourable who is clothed with this robe of righte∣ousness? He that hath nothing in this world, if he hath not this art of en∣joying Nothing, Perdidit inselix totum nil, hath utterly lost the benefit

of that Nothing. This may seem a Paradox, and so doth every thing to the Flesh, and to the Sensitive part which doth confine and regulate it, which indeed is to honour and spiritualize it; but Reason and Reli∣gion discover more gross absurdities and soloecismes in the motions and applications of the Sense, which wasteth it self in its inclinations and longings, and is lost in its paradise, in that flattering object to which it was carried with such violence: And so we are made poor in the midst of our heaps, base and dishonourable in our Zeneth, when we are at the highest; we are sick, and tremble, as Belshazzar did, at a feast, and are quickly weary of those delights we longed for; we have least when we have most, and have nothing when we have all; when with this Good here in the Text (when in appearance we have nothing) we have more then this world can give, and are then richest when we are thrown out of it, and are then at the end of our hopes when to the eye of flesh we are lost for ever.

Again, as this Good sweetneth our Misery, so it improveth our Wealth, maketh that useful to us which might otherwise ruine us, maketh that as a chain and ornament about our necks which the Devil useth to make his snare. Parisiensis calleth it honestissimum furem, the honestest thief in the world, which by taking from us maketh us richer. In a word, it maketh the unrighteous Mammon a friend.* 1.23 Non enim auri vitium est ava∣ritia; Covetousness is not the fault of Gold, nor Gluttony of Meats, nor Drunkenness of Wine, but of men; nec dificitur ad mala, sed malè, saith Augustine. We fail not in things evil in their own nature, but our great defect is, that even against the order of Nature we abuse those things to evil which are naturally good. All the riches in the world can∣not raise a cloud,* 1.24 saith Basil; but yet we see the widows two mites did pur∣chase heaven. All the dainties, all the glory which we see, cannot bring us back again into Paradise,* 1.25 and yet a cup of cold water shall find its reward. And this is the end why they are given, to wit, to be subser∣vient to this Good, to be the matter whereon it may shew its art and skill, and extract Manna out of meat, and the Water of life out of drink, and Eternity out of that which passeth away as a shadow, and returneth no more. For sensible things, saith Basil, are as types and representations of spiritual, and point out to them, as the Sacrifices under the Law did to Christ, and shall have their consummatum est, and be abolisht, as they were: and therefore we may so far make use of them (and it is the best use we can put them to) as to make us in love with this true Good which will lead us unto bliss, and so think of them as if there no gold at Ophir, no pearl but Sanctity, no riches but Godliness, no purchase but Eternity. And this is the Good in the Text, 1. fitted and proportioned to the nature of our soul, 2. fitted to all sorts and conditions of men, 3. lovely and a∣miable in the eyes of all, 4. filling and satisfying all, and 5. giving a sweet relish to the worst of evils, which we use most to fear; and making that which is not good in it self, good and profitable and advantageous to us. View it well and consider it, and you cannot but say it is worth the shewing, worth the sight, and worth the purchase, though we lay down all that we are worth for it.

And now to proceed, that you may fall in love with it and embrace it, it is 1. laid open and naked and manifested unto you, 2. publisht by open proclamation, as a Law, which hath 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a forcing and ne∣cessitating power; that if the cords of Love will not draw you, the bonds and force of a Law may confine you to it. 1. God sheweth it; He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good: 2. He requireth it, he willeth and com∣mandeth it; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but, &c.

First, that which is truly good is open and manifest unto all. God ex∣poseth and layeth it open, putteth it to sale,* 1.26 and biddeth us come and buy. It is a treasure, and he hath unlockt it; it is a pearl, and he hath opened the casket. It is his light, and he hideth it not under a bushel. It is a rule by which we are to walk; and being it concerneth our conduct in our way, it is easie and obvious and open to the weakest understand∣ing. Suâ fronte proponitur, saith Tertullian; It is presented to us with∣out any mask or veil. For indeed it is the property of a Rule to be so, perspicuous. Otherwise it is not a Rule, but an Oracle, or rather a Snare to catch us. For how shall we be able to embrace it if we cannot see it? How shall we be able to do our duty if we know not what it is? If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to battle?* 1.27 saith S. Paul. If this Good be clouded with darkness and perplexities, who shall gird up his loyns to make his approches and addresses to it? It is true indeed, to draw near, to lay hold and joyn with it, having no better retinue commonly then Contempt and Reproch, then Misery and Affliction, then Persecution and Death, being compassed about with these terrours, is a matter of difficulty, in regard of our Weakness and Frailty, which loveth not to look upon Beauty in such a dress, and of that domestick war which is within us, and that fight and contention which is between the Flesh and the Spirit: And in this respect it is a narrow way, and we must use a kind of violence upon our selves to work through it to our end: But yet it is shewn and manifested, and the knowledge of the way is not shut up and barricadoed except to those who are not willing to find it, but run a contrary way by some false light, which they had rather look upon and follow then that which leadeth them upon the pricks, upon labour and sorrow and difficulty. Whatsoever concerneth a Man is easie to be seen; for it is as open as the Day. In other passages and dispensations of himself, in other effects of his power and wisdome, God is a God afar off, but in this which concerneth us he is near at hand,* 1.28 he is with us, about us, and within us. In other things, which will no whit advantage us to see, he maketh darkness his pavilion round about him,* 1.29 but in this he displayeth his beams. His way is in the whirlwind,* 1.30 and his footsteps are not known. Why he lifteth up one on high, and layeth a∣nother in the dust; Why he now shineth upon my tabernacle, and anon beateth upon it with his tempest; Why he placeth a man of Belial in the throne, and setteth the poor innocent man to grind at the mill; Why he passeth by a brothel-house, and with his thunder beateth down his own temple; Why he keepeth not a constant course in his works, but to day passeth by us in a still voice, and to morrow in an earthquake, as it is far removed out of our ken and sight, so to know it would not promote or forward us in our motion to happiness. We are the wiser that we do not know these things: For there is no greater folly in the world then for a mortal finite creature to discover such a mad ambition as to desire to know as much and be as wise as his Creatour. This was my infirmity,* 1.31 saith David; I was even sick when I did think of it: and he checketh himself for it. Behold, the world is my stage; and here I must move by that light which God hath offered me, and not be put out of my part to a full shame by a bold and unseasonable contemplation of his proceedings, not run out of my own wayes by gazing too boldly on his. My business is to embrace this Good,* 1.32 and that will be my Angel to keep me in all my wayes, that I dash not my foot against a stone, against perplext and cross events, which are those stones we so hardly digest. I cannot know why God lifteth up one and pulleth down another; but if I cleave to this,* 1.33 this will lift up my head, even when I am down. It is not fit I should know

why the wicked prosper;* 1.34 but by this light I see a Serpent in their Paradise, which will deceive and sting them to death. Why they prosper I cannot find out; but he that seemeth to hide himself cometh so near me as to tell me that their prosperity shall slay them,* 1.35 that their greatest happiness is their greatest curse, and, if there be a hell on earth, it is better then their heaven. It is not convenient for me to know things to come; quem mihi,* 1.36 quem tibi Finem Dii dederint, what will be my end, and what will be theirs; to know the number of their dayes, how long they shall rage, and I suffer. These are like the secrets of great Princes, and they may undo us; and therefore they are lockt up from us in the prescience and bosome of God, and he keepeth the key himself, and will not shew them. But cast thy burden upon him,* 1.37 do thy duty, exercise thy self in that which he hath shewn, and then thou mayest lye down and rest upon this, that their damnation sleepeth not,* 1.38 that their rage shall not hurt thee, and that thy patience shall crown thee. In a word; If it be evil, and thou fore∣seest it, it may cast thee down too low; and if it be good, it may lift thee up too high, and thy exaltation may be more dangerous then thy fall:* 1.39 but eschew evil, and follow that which is good, and this will be a certain prophesie and presage of a good end, be it what it will, whether it come to meet thee in the midst of rayes or of a tempest. These things God will not shew thee, because thy eye is too weak to receive them.

Nor, in the next place, will he answer thy Curiosity, and determin every question which thou art too ready to put up, nor redeem thee from those doubts and perplexities which not Knowledge but Ignorance hath led thee into, and so left thee in that maze and labyrinth out of which thou canst not get. For it favoureth more of Ignorance then of Know∣ledge to venture in our search without light, to conclude without pre∣misses, and to affect the knowledge of that which we must needs know was yet never discovered, and therefore can never be known. That Good which is good for us God bringeth out of the treasurie of his Wise∣dome,* 1.40 and layeth it before us, and biddeth us come and see how gracious he is. But that which is curiosae disquisitionis, as Tertullian speaketh, of a more subtle nature, he keepeth from our eyes. For Religion may stand fast as mount Sion, though it have not those deeper speculations to sup∣port it, which many times supplant and undermine it, and rob it of that precious time and those earnest endeavours which were due and conse∣crated to it alone. What a fruitless dispute might that seem to be be∣tween S. Hierome and S. Augustine concerning the Original of the Soul? when after long debate, and some heat, and frequent intercourse of let∣ters, S. Augustine himself confesseth in his Retractations, De origine ani∣mae nec tunc sciebam, nec adhuc scio, Concerning the Soul's original I knew nothing then, and know as little now. What a needless controversie a∣rose between the Eastern and the Western Bishops concerning the time of the keeping of the Feast of Easter? when whensoever they kept it, they gave some occasion to standers by of fear that they kept it both with the leaven of malice and uncharitableness. And what a weakness is it to put that to the question which before inquiry made we may easily know we shall never find? Many such questions have been in agitation, many such inquiries made; and some others of another nature, which do not deserve the name of questions, because they cannot be resolved, or are resolved with so little profit; as concerning the state of the Dead, which they could not or would not discover who were raised from it; of the nature of Hell-fire, when it should be the study of our whole life to be those New creatures who shall never know it; of the condition of Infants

that dye in the womb; of Gods Decrees, and the order of them; of his Omnipotency, Omniscience, Omnipresence, which we as boldly speak of as we do of the Virtues in Aristotles Morals, as if we did see him as he seeth us, and did know him as we are known.* 1.41 Many more Questions there are; and to these, many Cases of conscience, which do rather per∣plex and rack the Conscience then guide and settle it; and too many which, as the Apostle speaketh of Fornication and Ʋncleanness,* 1.42 are not fit to be named amongst us. Poteramus has horas non perdere; The time which hath been spent in the discussion of these might (to speak no more) have been bestowed with more advantage to the Church and the common cause; for I do not see how they come within the compass of this Good, or have added one hair to its perfection. For what need this loss of oyl and labour, this stir and noise? Why should this Curiosity spread so as to be as universal as the Church it self, when all that God will shew, or that concerneth us to see, is drawn up within the narrow compass of this one word, that which is Good? Would you view it in its particulars? I need not send you to those many Creeds framed at sundry times and in divers manners:* 1.43 For Erasmus will tell us that Religion was never more sincere and uncorrupt then when they used but one Creed, and that a short one. S. Paul calleth it the proportion of faith, Rom. 12 6. that proportion which we must not come short of nor exceed; the form of sound words, 2 Tim. 1.13. which hath no corrupt doctrine mixed with it; and the truth which is after godliness, Tit. 1.1. which is therefore shewn that we may be just and merciful and humble. Who knoweth not what it is to believe in Christ?* 1.44 to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts? What Oppressour knoweth not what Justice is? and who more ready to demand it? What Tyrant is not ready to beg Mercy at his need? Who is so puffed up as to be quite ignorant what Humility is? Who understandeth not our Saviours Ser∣mon on the mount, where this Good in the Text is spread and dilated in∣to its several parts? And to know these is to know all that should be known. And did we practise what is easie to know, we should not thus trouble our selves and others to know what to practise. The antients use to say, The way to knowledge is easie to them who are desirous to be good; nor was this light ever hid from those who did delight to walk by it. The Law is light, saith Solomon: and to say it is not visible when it is held forth,* 1.45 is to deny it to be a light: For God therefore sheweth it that it may be seen; He hath shewed thee, O man, &c. God hath shewn us, 1. all those things which concern us, 2. all that we can apprehend, all those truths of which we are capable. And these two are alwaies in conjunction, and have a mutual aspect one on the other. What concerneth us, that we can apprehend; and what we can apprehend, that concerneth us. The mind is large enough for that which will better it, and that which will better it is obvious to the Mind. As S. Paul speaketh, Whatsoever things are true,* 1.46 whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any vertue, any praise, these are within the compass of this Good here in the Text, and are set up and pointed to by the finger of God for all that are men to look upon.

But now it may be asked, If the object be so fair and visible, how cometh it to pass it is hid from so many eyes, that there be so few that see it, or see it so as to fall in love with it and embrace it? For, as the Prophet asketh, Who hath believed our report? so may we,* 1.47 Who hath delighted in this sight? I must therefore call your thoughts to look upon the Specta∣tour as well as the Object, the Man as well as the Good. If it be good, it was shewn to the Man; and if he be a Man, he can see it: He hath shewed

thee, O man, what is good. This word Man runneth through every vein of the Text: He was built up to be a spectatour of this great sight. The Man it is to whom the Law is given; and if he be a man, he cannot but behold it: for when he seeth it not, he doth exuere hominem, put off the Man quite, devest himself of Reason, and become like to the beasts that perish. Many hindrances there may be to keep this object from our eyes, that we do not rightly judge of this Good, in which the Man is lost and swallowed up in victory. Isidore of Pelusium hath given us three; 1 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Narrowness of the understanding and judgment, 2. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Sloth and neglect in the pursuit of it, 3. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Improbity of mens manners, and a wicked and prophane conversation.

First, Narrowness and defect in the understanding is an evil incident but to a few. For how can the Understanding be too narrow to receive that Good which was fitted and proportioned to it? If it will receive E∣vil, it will receive Good. For there can be no reason given why it should be as the needles eye to Piety and Holiness, and a wide open door of capacity enough to let in a legion of Devils. No; this befalleth none but those who know it not indeed, and yet shall never be questioned for their ignorance,* 1.48 as natural fools and madmen, which bring that disease with them into the world which they can neither avoid nor cure, and of which the cause cannot be found out, saith the Oratour. And these men come not under the common account, nor are to be set down in the roll and catalogue of Men.* 1.49 Furiosus pro absente, saith the Law; Wheresoe∣ver they are, they are as absent; and whatsoever they do, they do as if they did it not: They are not what they are, and they do not what they do. And why they are so, and what shall be their end, is casus reserva∣tus, is lockt up and reserved in the bosome of God alone: And he that shall ask how it cometh to pass that they are thus and thus may well claim kindred of them both. To these this Good is not shewn, who are as far removed from being Men as they are from the use of Reason. How should he see a star in the firmament,* 1.50 saith S. Augustine, who cannot see so far as to my finger, which pointeth up to it? And how should they see this Good who are destitute of Reason, which is the only eye with which we can behold it?

The Second hindrance is Sloth and Neglect, that we do not search it out, not fix our eyes upon it, but walk on towards our journeys end, sport our selves in the way, and only salute it in the by, and then (as travellers do many objects and occurrences they meet with) behold it, pass by and for∣get it,* 1.51 or as S. James speaketh, look on it as on a glass, not as Women, with curiosity and diligence, but as Men, perfunctorily and slightly, and never once think more of what we have seen. We first slight, and at last loath it. For a negative contempt is the immediate way and next step to a positive.* 1.52 Venit ignavia, & ea mihi tempestas fuit, saith he in the Co∣medy; Sloth cometh upon us, bindeth our faculties, and that is the tem∣pest which spoileth us of our crop, of that fruit which we might have ga∣thered from this tree of life. For though this Good be most fully and perspicuously set forth in Scripture, shewn in all its beams and glory, yet this giveth no encouragement to neglect those means which God hath reached forth unto us to guide and direct us in our search. There is light enough, and it is plain, is no argument that we should shut our eyes. For as we do not, with the Church of Rome, pretend extreme difficulty, and with this pretense quite strike the Scripture out of the hands of the Lai∣ty, and busie their zeal with other matters, bind them, as a horse is bound to the mill, and lead them on in the motion of a blind obedience; so do we require the greatest diligence, both in reading Scripture, and also

in asking counsel of the gray hairs and multitude of years, of the learned, of those whom God hath placed over them in the Church. And if the great Physician Hippocrates thought it necessary in his art for those who had taken any cure in hand 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, to ask advice of all,* 1.53 even of Ideots, and those who knew but little in that art, much rather ought we 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, ask counsel of God by prayer, and be ready to be instructed by any who is a Man. For though the lesson be plain, yet we see it so falleth out that Negligence doth not pass a line, when Industry and Medi∣tation have run over the whole book; that Diligence hath a full sight of this Good, when Sloth and Neglect have but heard of its name. S. Hierome speaketh of some in his time, qui solam rusticitatem pro sanctitate habebant, who accounted Rusticity and Ignorance the only true Holiness, and cal∣led themselves the scholars and disciples of the Disciples of Christ, who we are told were simple and unlearned fishermen; Idcirco sancti, quòd nihil scirent; as if Ignorance were the best argument to demonstrate their pie∣ty, and they were therefore holy because they knew not what it was to be so. I will not say, Such we have in these our dayes; no, they are not such as profess ignorance, but who are as ignorant as they could be who did profess it. Like the Lillies of the field, they labour not, they study not,* 1.54 and yet Solomon with all his wisdome was not so wise as one of these. Some crums fall from their Masters table, some passage they catch and lay hold on from some Prophet which they call theirs, and this so filleth them that they must vent, that it runneth over, and defileth and corrupteth that which they will not understand. For bring them to a trial, and you shall find them as well skilled in Scripture as he was in Virgil, who having stu∣died it long at last asked whether Aeneas was a man or a woman. Faith is their dayly bread, their common language; Religion they speak of as oft almost as they do speak; Piety dwelleth with them; Purity is their proper passion, or essence rather: but then this Good in the Text, Ju∣stice and Mercy and Honesty in conversation, if we may judge of the tree by his fruits, is not, as the Psalmist speaketh, in all their thoughts;* 1.55 for it is scarce in any of their wayes; and we have that reason which we would not have to fear that they do but talk of it. Now to cast a careless look upon this Good is not to see it; to talk of it, is not to understand it; to name it, is not to embrace it: For all these may be in a man who hath the price in his hand, but hath no heart to buy it.* 1.56 As the Philosopher said of those who were punisht after death in their carcasses, Relicto cadavere, abiit reus, The body was left behind, but the guilty person, the parricide, was departed and gone: So here is a lump of flesh, but the Man is gone, nay dead and buried, covered over with outward formalities, with words and phansie. This is not the Man in the Text, and then no mar∣vel if he cannot see this great sight.

The third impediment is Improbity of manners, a mind immerst and drowned in all the filth and pollution of the world, evil-affected, Acts 14.2. Corrupt, 2 Tim. 3.8. For wickedness is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,* 1.57 saith the Phi∣losopher, doth corrupt the very principles of nature, and make that Candle, as Solomon calleth it, which God hath lighted up in our hearts, burn but dimly. As we read that when the earth was without form and void, dark∣ness was upon the face of the deep,* 1.58 so when the Perturbations of our mind interpose themselves, as the Earth, there is straight a darkness over the Soul. An Evil eye cannot behold that which is Good;* 1.59 An eye full of adul∣teries cannot discover the beauty of Chastity;* 1.60 A lustful eye cannot see Ju∣stice; A Lofty eye can neither look upon Mercy, nor Humility.* 1.61 The Love of Honour maketh the judgement follow it to that pitch and height which it hath set and markt out. The Love of money will gloss that

Blessing which our Saviour hath annext to Poverty of spirit.* 1.62 My Facti∣ous humour will strike at the very life and heart of Religion in the name of Religion and God himself, and destroy Christianity for the love of Christ.* 1.63 Resist not the power, in one age tis glossed, bound in with limi∣tations and exceptions, or rather let loose to run along with men of tur∣bulent spirits against it self; In another, when the wind is turned, it is a plain Text, and needeth no interpreter. Bid the angry Gallant bow to his enemy,* 1.64 he will count you a fool. Bid the Covetous sell all that he hath, he will think you none of the wisest, and pity or scorn you. Bid the Wanton forsake that strumpet which he calleth his Mistress, and he will send you a challenge, and for attempting to help him out of that deep ditch will send you to your grave.* 1.65 We may talk what we please of Marcion and Manes, of Hereticks, and of the Devil, as interpolatours and corrupters of Scripture; but it is the wickedness of mens hearts that hath cut and mangled it, and made it what we please, made it joyn and comply with that which it forbiddeth and severely threatneth. Now to conclude this, In the midst of so many passions and perturbations, in the throng of so many vices and ill humours, in this Chaos and confusion, where is the Man? There is a body left behind, inutile pondus, an un∣weildy and unprofitable outside of a Man, the garment, the picture, or rather the shadow of a Man; and we may say of him as Jacob did when he saw Josephs coat,* 1.66 It is my sons coat, but evil beasts have devoured him; Here is the shape, the garment, the outside of a Man, but the Man without doubt is rent in pieces, distracted and torn asunder by the Perturbations of his mind, corrupted and annihilated and unmanned by his Vices, and there is nothing left but his coat, his body, his carcass, and the name of a Man. This is not the Man, and then no marvel if he do not see this great sight. In his day, whilest he was a Man, his Reason not clouded, his Un∣derstanding not darkned, in this his day it was shewn to him, and it was fair and radiant; but now all is night about him, and it is hid from his eyes. For if it be hid,* 1.67 it is hid to them that perish, to them that will perish. He hath shewed thee, O man: The Good inviteth the Man, and the Man can∣not but look upon that which is Good. Draw then thy soul out of pri∣son; take the Man out of his grave, draw him out of these clouds of Sloth, of Passion, of Prejudice, and this Good here, Piety and Religion, will be as the Sun when it shineth in its strength.

For conclusion then, Let us cleave fast to this Good, and uphold it in its native and proper purity against all external rites and empty formali∣ties, and in the next place against all the pomp of the world, against that which we call good when it maketh us evil. I am almost ashamed to name this, or make the comparison: For what is Wealth to Righteous∣ness? What is Policy to Religion? What is Earth to Heaven? But I know not how men have been so vain as to attempt to draw them toge∣ther, and to shut up the world in this Good, or rather this Good in the world; to call down God from heaven, not only to partake of our flesh, but of our infirmities and sins, and to draw down that which is truly good, and make it an assistant and auxilary to that which is truly evil. For how do mens countenances, nay how doth their Religion alter, as they see or hear how the world doth go? Now they are of this faction, and then of that, anon of a third; Now Protestants, anon Brownists, anon Pa∣pists, anon— but I cannot number the many Religions and the No-reli∣gions. But wheresoever they fasten, they see it, and say it is Good. It was observed of the Romanes, that before the corruption and decay of manners they would not entertain a servant or officer but of a perfect and goodly shape, but afterwards, when luxury and riot had prevailed and

were in credit with them, they diligently sought out, and counted it a kind of elegancy and state to take into their retinue, dwarfs and monsters and men of prodigious appearance, ludibria naturae, those errours and mockeries of nature: So hath it also fallen out with Religion; At the first rise and dawning of it men did lay hold on that Faith alone which was once delivered to the Saints, and went about doing good;* 1.68 * 1.69 but when this light had passed more degrees, men began to play the wantons in it, and to seek out divers inventions; and this Good, the Doctrine of faith,* 1.70 was made to give way to those sick and loathsome humours which did pollute and defile it; and instead of following that which was shewn men set up something of their own to follow and countenance them in whatsoever they should undertake, and then did look upon it alone, and please and delight themselves in it, although it was as different from the true pattern which was first shewn as a monster is from a man of perfect shape: As Quin∣tilian speaketh of some professours of his art, Illa quaecunque deflexa tanquam exquisitiora mirabantur, that was cryed up with admiration which had no∣thing in it marvellous or to be wondred at but its deformity. We have a proverb, that It is ill going in procession where the Devil saith Mass; but most certain it is, there be too many who never move nor walk but where he is the leader. If the Prince of the ayre, if the God of this world go before, we fol∣low, nay we fly after. If any child or slave of his hold out his sceptre, we bow and kiss it. The World, the World is the mint where most mens Religi∣on is coyned; and if you well mark the stamp and superscription, you may see the Prince of the ayr on one side, and the World on the other; the Devil on one side like an Angel of light, and the World on the other with its pomp and glories. And then when we have brought our de∣sires home to their ends, when we have raised our state and name, how good, how religious are we? When the purse is full, the conscience is quiet. When we are laden with earthly blessings, we take them as a fair pledge of eternal. We say to our selves as Micah did,* 1.71 Now I know that the Lord will do me good, because I have a Priest, said he; Because we have great possessions, say we, as great Idolaters as Micah. For what are our shekels of silver but as his graven and molten image? And thus we walk on securely all the dayes of our life, not as the children of this world, but as the children of light, and out of our great abundance sometimes we drop a penny. We wast away, and sicken, and make our will and seal it, and doubt not but the Spirit will do his office, and seal our redemp∣tion. At last the rich man dyeth, and is buried, and some hireling will tell you, The Angels have carried his soul into heaven: A strange conceit,* 1.72 and, if true, of force to pluck Lazarus out of Abrahams bosome, and to bring back Dives through the gulf, and place him in his room. But if this be not true, may it never be true. Onely let us not deceive our selves but search and try our hearts, and root out all such vain and groundless and pernicious imaginations, which may be raised up in time of prosperi∣ty, and multiply like flyes in the Sun. Let us not seek our peace in those false fictitious, spurious, deceitful Goods, but in the true and full and fil∣ling Good, the Good here in the Text. And because God hath fitted and proportioned it to us, let us fit and apply our selves unto it. And since he hath built us up after his own Image, let us adorn and beautifie it with Justice and Mercy and Humility, and not blur and deface it with the craft of a Fox, the lust of a Goat, and the rage of a Lion: For what should the mark of the Beast do upon the Image of God? Again, being fitted to us, and to all sorts and conditions of men, Let young men and maids,* 1.73 old men and children, Scribes and Ideots, noble and ignoble, Priest and people, cleave and adhear to it, and so praise and magnifie the name of the

Lord: Sic laudant Angeli, for so the Angels and Arch-angels praise him. And thirdly, being lovely and amiable, let us make it our choice, and espouse our wills to it, love and embrace it; not kiss and wound it, approve and condemn it, worship it in our hearts and persecute it in our brethren. And since it is a filling and satisfying good, here let us let down our pitchers,* 1.74 and draw waters out of this well of salvatien, even those waters which will sweeten our miseries, and give a pleasant tast to Bitter∣ness it self.

To conclude; Behold, here is the object, that which is Good, fair and beautiful to the eye.* 1.75 Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see if you can find a MAN, and he is the spectatour, and cannot but see it. But what went you out into the wilderness to see?* 1.76 saith our Saviour. Why the eye is never satisfied,* 1.77 and all would go out to see. Some would see soft Raiment;* 1.78 and that you may see on every back. Some gaze upon Beauty; and that is a burning-glass to set the Soul on fire. Others love to see the redness of the Wine;* 1.79 Look not on it, saith Solomon; It is a moc∣ker. Some would behold a shew of Pomp and Glory; and we see, though Justice can never fail, but hath the best even when she is worsted, yet Injustice hath had more triumphs then she. When Julius Caesar tri∣umphed over his countrey, and when Pompey rid in with the spoils of Asia, the ceremony and the pomp and the glory was the same. But the eye with which we behold these spectacles is not fit for this object. We have another eye, a spiritual eye, we call it the eye of our Reason, and we call it the eye of our Faith. This many times is but as an eye of glass, for shew, but no use at all, and serveth to hide a deformity, but not to see with. But if it be a quick and living eye, then here is a fit object for it, worth the looking on, in which we may see all other things in a fairer dress, in a celestial form, in the beauty of Holiness, being made useful and subservient to it, like that Speculum Trinitatis, that feigned Glass, in which they tell us he that looketh seeth all things. If wee see not this object, then are we blind;* 1.80 or if not 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, yet 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, purblind, not seeing a∣far off those things which are laid up in heaven for those who look upon this Good, and love it: and then I am unwilling to say what we are, but certainly we are but infidels. And indeed there is something of Infidelity in all our aversions and turning away from this Good. For what is the rea∣son that covetous men make Riches an idol, and sacrifice to their own net, but want of faith and their distrust in God? For when God doth not an∣swer their desires,* 1.81 they run with Saul to the Devil at Endor, or with the Israelites in a pet chuse to themselves bubulum caput, as Tertullian expres∣seth it, a Calves head to be their leader. I say there is a degree of Infi∣delity in all these aversions from this Good. All that can be said is but what many say within themselves after they have consulted with flesh and blood, that this Good is not shewn so clearly nor made so plain as it is said to be; which is indeed to remove thei•• own prop and pillar, to demollish their own Idol, and to drive Faith quite out of the world. Believe they do in God, yet will not trust him: And they are perswaded of the truth of things not seen, yet will leave the pursuit of them to follow vanity, be∣cause they are not seen. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, and wilt thou not believe him?* 1.82 Faith is the substance of things not seen; and though they be not seen, yet they are evident, the Means evident, and the End as evident as the Means, in our sad and sober thoughts, when we talk like speculative men, as evident as what is open to the eye. But such an evidence we have which a Covetous man would soon lay hold on for a title to a fair inheritance, and the Ambitious for an assignment of some great place. For if such a record had been transmitted to po∣sterity,

if the Scripture which conveyeth this Good had entailed some rich Manour or Lordship upon them, it should have then found an easie belief, and been Gospel, a sure word of prophecy, unquestionable, un∣doubtable, like the decrees of the Medes and Persians, which must stand fast for ever and cannot be altered. For too many there be who had rather have their names in a good leaf then in the book of life. And this is the reason why we are so ignorant of that which is Good indeed, and so great Clerks in that which is called good but by the worst; why we are so dull and indocil in apprehending that wisdome which is from a∣bove, and so wise and witty to our own damnation; why we do but darkly see this Good which is so plainly shewn unto us.

What shall we say then? Nay, what saith the Scripture?* 1.83 Awake thou that sleepest in Sloth and Idleness, thou that sleepest in a tempest, in the midst of thy unruly and turbulent Passions, arise from the grave and se∣pulchre wherein thy Sloth hath intombed thee; arise from the dead, from that nasty charnel-house of rotten bones, where so many vitious Habits have shut thee up: Break up thy monument,* 1.84 cast aside every weight and every sin that presseth down, and rise up, and be but a Man, improve thy Reason to thy best advantage, and this Good shall shine up∣on thee with all its beams and brightness, and Christ shall give thee light, if not to see things to come to satisfie thy Curiosity, yet to see things to come which shall fill thy soul as with marrow and fatness;* 1.85 if not to know the uncertain yet certain wayes of Gods providence, yet to know the certain and infallible way to bliss; if not to know things too high for thee, yet to know that which shall exalt thee to heavenly places in Christ Jesus. He hath shewn thee, O man, what is good: Dost thou see it? dost thou believe it? Thou shalt see greater things then these. Thou shalt see what thou dost believe, and enjoy what thou dost but hope for. Thou shalt see God, who hath shewed thee this Good that thou mightest see him. Thou shalt then have a more exact knowledge of his Wayes and Providence, a fuller tast of his Love and Goodness, a clearer sight of his Beauty and Majesty, and with all his Angels and all his Saints behold his Glory for evermore.

Thus much of this Good, as it is an Object to be lookt on. We shall in the next place consider it as a Law; QƲID REQƲIRIT? What doth the Lord require.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Epist. 20.
• * 1.2

  Luke 16.25.
• * 1.3

  Matth. 4.8.
• * 1.4

  Augustin. Serm. 12. in Matth.
• * 1.5

  Ephes. 4.24.
• * 1.6

  1 Cor. 7.31.
• * 1.7

  Job 24.15.
• * 1.8

  Illud mirum, malos esse tam multos; nam ut aqua piscibus, circumfusus nobis spiritus volucribus con∣v••nit: Ita certè facilius esse o∣portebat secun∣dum naturam, quàm contra eam vivere, Quint. l. 12. Instit. orat. c. 11. 1 Cor. 15 45.
• * 1.9

  Psal. 24.1.
• * 1.10

  2. de Finib.
• * 1.11

  Senec. ep. 76. In homine quid optimum? Ra∣tio; hac antece∣dit animalia, deos sequitur.
• * 1.12

  Eph. 4.24.
• * 1.13

  Orat. 26. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, &c. Ib.
• * 1.14

  Petrach. l. 7. Re. Fam ep, 17.
• * 1.15

  Luk. 15.31.
• * 1.16

  1 Pet. 4.18.
• * 1.17

  Rom. 2.9.
• * 1.18

  Luke 23.24. v. 4, 14.
• * 1.19

  Ecclus. 49.1.
• * 1.20

  Psal. 119.96.
• * 1.21

  Nieremb De art. vol.
• * 1.22

  De Gratiar. actione, T. 1. p. 357.
• * 1.23

  Luke 16.9.
• * 1.24

  Mark 12.42.
• * 1.25

  Matth. 10.42.
• * 1.26

  Isa. 55.1. Matth. 13.44, 45. Matth. 5.15. Gal 6.16.
• * 1.27

  1 Cor. 14 8,
• * 1.28

  Jer. 23.23.
• * 1.29

  Psal. 18.11.
• * 1.30

  Nah. 1.3. Psal. 77.19.
• * 1.31

  Psal. 77.10.
• * 1.32

  Psal. 91.11, 12.
• * 1.33

  Psal. 75.7.
• * 1.34

  Jer. 12.1.
• * 1.35

  Prov. 1.32.
• * 1.36

  Horat. l. i. od. 11.
• * 1.37

  Psal. 55.22.
• * 1.38

  2 Pet. 2.3.
• * 1.39

  Psal. 34.14. 1 Pet. 3.11.
• * 1.40

  Psal. 34.8.
• * 1.41

  1 Cor. 13.12.
• * 1.42

  Eph. 5.3.
• * 1.43

  Quò plus est dogmatum, hòc uberior est hae∣resium mate∣ria. Nunquam fuit sincerior castiorque Christiana fi∣des. quàm cùm il••o uno, ecque brevissimo, Symbolo con∣tentus est orbis, Erasm. Guliel. Varamo Ar∣chiep. Cant. Praefat. ad ep. Hieron.
• * 1.44

  Tit. 2 12.
• * 1.45

  Prov. 6.23.
• * 1.46

  Phil. 4.8.
• * 1.47

  Isa. 53.1.
• * 1.48

  Non est demen∣tia, quae est in hominis pote∣state, Quint. declam. 348.
• * 1.49

  Pet. Faber. adel. 124.
• * 1.50

  Lib. 1. De doct. Christ.
• * 1.51

  James 1.23.
• * 1.52

  Plaut. Mostell.
• * 1.53

  Hippocrat. in praecept. Naz. ep. 120.
• * 1.54

  Matth. 6.28, 29.
• * 1.55

  Psal. 10.4.
• * 1.56

  Prov. 17.16.
• * 1.57

  Arist. Eth. b. 5. Maguis sceleri∣bus jura natu∣rae intereunt, Sen. Cont. Prov. 20.27.
• * 1.58

  Matth. 6.23.
• * 1.59

  2 Pet. 2.14.
• * 1.60

  1 Joh. 2.16.
• * 1.61

  Ps. 131.1.
• * 1.62

  Matth. 5 3.
• * 1.63

  Rom. 13.
• * 1.64

  Luk. 18.22.
• * 1.65

  Prov. 23.27.
• * 1.66

  G••n. 37.33.
• * 1.67

  2 Cor. 4.3.
• * 1.68

  Jude 3.
• * 1.69

  Acts 10.38.
• * 1.70

  Eccl. 7.29.
• * 1.71

  Judg. 17.13.
• * 1.72

  Luke 16.
• * 1.73

  Psal. 148.12, 13.
• * 1.74

  Isa. 12.3.
• * 1.75

  Jer. 5.1.
• * 1.76

  Matth. 11.7-9
• * 1.77

  Pro. 27.20.
• * 1.78

  Eccl. 1.8. & 4.8.
• * 1.79

  Prov. 23.31. & 20.1.
• * 1.80

  2 Pet. 1.9.
• * 1.81

  1 Sam. 28. Adv. Judaeos c. 1. Praeesset eis bu∣bulum caput, &c.
• * 1.82

  Heb. 11.1.
• * 1.83

  Eph. 5.14.
• * 1.84

  Hebr. 12.1.
• * 1.85

  Psal. 63.5.