The Practice of Piety, Treatise · Part 8
Meditations, directing a Christian, how he may walk all the day with God like Enoch.
HAving thus begun, keep all the day after as diligent a watch as thou canst, over all thy thoughts, words, and actions, which thou maiest easily do, by craving the assistance of God's holy Spirit, Rom. 8. 26.and observing these few rules.
First, for thy thoughts.
1. BEaEph. 4. 27. careful to suppress every sin in the first motion DashbPsal. 1…7. 9. Babylon's children, (whilst they are young) against the stones Tread (Betimes)cIsa 50. 5. the Cockatrice's egg, lest it break out into a Serpent. Let sin be to thy heart a stranger, not a home-dweller. Take heed of falling oft into the same sin, lest the custom of sinning †Qui couscientiae curam abjiciunt nec homines reverentur nec Deum.take away the conscience of sin, and then shalt thou was so impudently wicked, that thou wilt neither fear God nor reverence Man.
2. Suffer not thy mind to feed it self upon any imagination.*Zach. 8. 17. which is either impossible for thee to do,Prov. 6. 14. or unprofitable, if it be done: but rather think of the world's vanity, to contemn it; of death, to expect it: of judgment, to avoid it; of Hell, to escape it, and of Heaven, to desire it.
3. Desire not to fulfil thy mind in all things; but learn to deny thy self those desires (tho' never so pleasing to thy nature) which being attained, will draw either scandal on thy Religion, or hatred to thy Person. Consider in every thing the end before thou attempt the Action.
4. Labour daily more and more to see thine own miseri, through unbelief, self-love, and wilful Breaches of God's Law: and the necessity of God's mercy through the merits of Christ's Passion, to be such; that if thou wert demanded, What is the vilest creature upon earth? Thy Conscience may answer, Mine own self by reason of my great sins: and that if on the other side thou wert asked, What thou esteemest to be the m…st precious thing in the world? thy heart might answer, One drop of Christ's blood, to wash away my sins. And as thou tenderest the salvation of thy soul, live not in any wilful filthiness. For true faith and the purpose of sinning, can never stand together.
5. Approve thy self to be a true servant of Christ, not only in thy general Calling, as in the frequent use of the Word and Sacraments; but also in thy particular, in making conscience to eschew every known sin, and to obey God in every one of his Commandments; like Josias *2 Kin. 23. 25. Luke 1. 6.who turned to God with all his heart, according to all the law of Moses: and Zachary and Elizabeth, who walked in all the Commandments of God without reproof But if at any time through frailty, thou slippest into any sin, lie not in it, but speedily rise out of it by unfeigned repentance; praying for pardo…, till thy conscience be pacified, thy hatred of sin encreased, and thy purpose of amendment confirmed.
6. Beware of affecting Popularity by adulation: the end never proves good; and though attained by due deserts, yet manage it wisely, lest it prove more dangerous than contempt. For States desire but to keep down, whom they contemn for their unworthiness, but to cut off, whom they envy for their greatness: He therefore is truly prudent who (considering the premises) neither affecteth nor neglecteth popularity. But in any wise take heed of harbouring a†Socrates in forum egressus, quam multis ego, inquit. non egeo! Non est ergo pauper. qui caret, sed qui eget. discontented mind; for it may work thee more woe than thou art aware of. It is a special mercy, in the multitude of so many blessings, as thou dost enjoy, to have some crosses. God gives thee many blessings, lest through want (being his child) thou shouldst despair: and he sends thee some crosses, lest by too much prosperity (playing the fool) thou shouldst presume. Many who have mounted to great dignities, would have contented themselves withaDimidium plus toto. Hesiod. meaner, had they known their bFeriunt summos fulmina montes. Horat. Tangunt magnos tristia fota deos. Ovid.great dangers: affect therefore competency, rather than eminency. And in all thy will, have ever an eye to God's will, lest thy self-action turn to thine own destruction. Happy the Man, who in this short life is cforeign.least known of the World, so that he doth truly know God, and himself! whatsoever cross therefore thou hast to discontent thee, remember, that it is less than thy sins have deserved. Count therefore Christ▪ thy chiefest joy, Qui notus nimis omnibus▪ ignotus moritur sibi. Sen.and sin thy greatest grief: esteem no want, to the want of Grace; nor any loss, to the loss of God's favour: and then the discontentment for outward means shall the less perplex thine inward mind. And as oft as Satan shall offer any motion of discontentment to thy mind, remember Saint Paul's admonition,1 Tim. 6. 7, 8, 9. We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain, Insaniae damnandi sunt, qui tam multa tam anxiè congerunt, qu…m …it tan paucis opus vives.that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. Pray therefore with wisedProv. 30. 8, 9 Agur: O Lord, give me neither poverty nor riches: feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be too full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or, lest I be poor, and steal, and take the Name of my God in vain.
7. Bestow no more thought upon worldly things than thou needs must, for the discharge of thy place, and thea1 Tim 6. 8, 9. maintenance of thy estate: but still let thy care be greater Gen. 28. 20.for*Col. 3. 1, 2. Phil. 3. 20. heavenly, than earthly things: and be more grieved for abJos. 7. 9. dishonour done to God, than for an injury offered to thy self: but if any private injury be offered unto thee,Psal. 139. 21, &c. bear it as a Christian, with patience. Never was an innocent man wronged, but if he patiently bare his cross, he†Nobile vincendi genus est patientia: vincit. Qui patitur: si vis vincere, disce pati. Optima injuriae ultio est oblivio, efficit enim ut animam levet, nec magis laedat▪ quam si facta non esset. overcame in the end. But thy good name in the mean while is wounded: bear that also with patience. For he that at the last day will give thy body a resurrection; will as sure in his good time, grant a resurrection to thy good name. If impatiently thou fretrest and vexest at thy wrongs, the hurt which thou dost thy self, is more than that which thine enemy can do unto thee. Neither canst thou more rejoyce him, than to hear that it thorowly vexeth thee. But if thou canst shew, patience on earth, God will shew himself just from heaven. Pray for him; for, if thou be a good man thy self, thou canst not but rejoyce, if thou shouldest see thy worst enemy to become a good man too. But if he still continueth in his malice, and encreaseth in his mischief, give thou thy self unto Prayer, committing thy self, and commending thy cause unto the righteous Judge of heaven and earth, saying with Jeremy; J…r. 11. 20.O Lord of host that judgest righteously, and triest the reins and the heart: vengeance is thine, and unto thee have I opened my cause. In the mean while wait (with David) on the Lord: be of good-courage, and he shall comfort thine heart.
8. The more others commend thee for an excellent act,Ne … quod scis ostentes, sed rebus te ostende scite. be thou the more humble in thine own thoughts. Affect not the vain praises of men: the blessed Virgin was troubled when she was truly praised of an Angel. They shall be praised of Angels in heaven, who have eschew'd the praises of Men on Earth. Neither need'st thou praise thy self; deal but uprightly,*Psal. 49. 18. others will do that for thee. Be not thou curious to know other mens doings, but rather be careful that no man know any ill dealings by thee.
9. Esteem no sin little, for the curse of God is due to the least; and the least would have damned thee, had not the Son of God died for thee. Bewail therefore the misery of thine own state: and as occasion is minist…edcEzek. 9. 4. Psal. 69 9, 10. Mark. 3. 5. …orn for the iniquity of the time. Pray to God to amend it, and be not thou one of them that make it worse.
10. Lastly, Think often of thedHeu fugiu…t fraeno non remorante dies. shortness of thy life, and certainty of death: and wish rather a good life than a long. For,Psal. 90. 9, 10 15. as one day of Man's life is to be preferred before the longest age of a Stag, Non quàm diu sed quàm bene.or Raven? so one day spend religiously, is to be higher valued, that a man's*Fuit, non vixit. Sen. Non refert quanta sit vitae diuturnitas, sed qualis sit administratio. Vives. whole life that is consumed in prophaneness.
Cast over therefore once every day, the number of thy days, by substracting those that are past (as being vanished like yester-nights dream) contracting them that are to come, (since the one half must be slept out, the rest made uncomfortable, by the troubles of the World, Tota vita dies unus ut mirum sit homines non exsatiari iisdem toties redeuntibus.thine own sickness, and the death of friends:) counting †Non potest praesentem diem rectè vivere is, qui se non eam quasi ultimam victurum esse cogitat.only the present day thine; which spend, as if thou wert to spend no more.
Secondly, For thy Words,
1. REmember, that thou must answer for everyaMat. 12. 36. idle word: that inbProv. 10. 19. multiloquy, the wisest man shall over-shoot himself. Avoid therefore all tedious and idle talk, whereof seldom ariseth comfort, many timescDixisse saepe poenituit, tacuisse verò nunquam. repentance; especially beware of rash answers, when the tongue out-runs the mind. The word was thine whilst thou kept'st it in: it isdNescit vox missa reverti Quam periculosum illud, Lingua quò vadis? anothers as soon as it is out. O the shame, when a man's own tongue shall be produced a witness, to the confusion of his own face!
Let then thy words be few, but advised: forethink whether that which thou art to speak, beeNescit poenitenda loqui, qui proferenda priùs suo tradidit examini Cassiod. lib. 10. Epist. 4. fit to be spoken: affirm no more than what thou knowest to be true; and be ratherfJam. 1 19. Consultius est tacere quam ineptè loqui. silent, than speak to an ill, or to no purpose.
2. Let thy heart and tongue ever go together in honesty and truth; hated1 Pet. 2. 1. Psal. 3. 2. Si mendacem te nôrint, nemo tibi credet etiamsi affirmes verissima. Arist dissembling and lying in another, detest it in thy self, or God will detest thee for it: for he hateth a lyer, and his father the Devil alike. And if once thou be discovered to make no conscience of lying, no Man will believe thee when thou speakest a truth: but if thou lovest truth, more credit will be given to thy word, than to a lyers oath. Great is the possession which Satan hath in those, who are so accustomed to lying, that they will lye though they get nothing by it themselves, nor are not compelled unto it by others. Let not thine anger remain, when thou seest the cause removed: and ever distinguish 'twixt him that offendeth offOdi tanquàm amaturus. Prov. 6. 30. Acts 3. 17. 1 Tim. 1. 13. infirmity (or against his will) and him who offendethgPsal. 59. 3, 5. Psal. 101. 7. maliciously, and of set purpose: let the one have pity, the other justice.
3. Keep thy speech as clean from all obscenity, as thou would'st thy meat from poyson: and let thy talk behEph. 4. 29. Psal. 1. 2. Prov. 31. 26. Pii est alios reddere pios. gracious, that he that hears thee, may grow better by thee: and be ever more earnest when thou iPsal. 139. 21.speakest of Religion, than when thou talkest of worldly matters.
If thou perceivest that thou hast erred, persevere not in thine errour: Psal. 69. 9.rejoyce to find the truth, and*Si verum audias silentio protinus reverere, illique tanquam divinae rei assurgito. magnifie it. Study therefore three things especially; to understand well, to say well, and to do well.
And when thou meetest with God's children, be sure to make some holy advantage by them: learn of them, all the good that thou canst; and communicate with them, all the good things that thou knowest. The more good thou teachest others, the more will God stillkMark 4. 24, 25. minister unto thee. For, as the gifts of Men, by much using, do perish and decrease: So the gifts of God, by much using, do the more grow and increase; like thel2 Kin. 4. 2. widow's pitcher of Oil, which the more it poured to fill other vessels, the more it was still replenished in it self.
4. Beware that you believe not all that is told you, and that you tell notmEccl. 3. 7. Luke 2. 19. Arcanum tibi creditum fideliùs custodi, quam depositam p…euniam. all that you hear: for if you do, you shall not long enjoy true friends, nor ever want great troubles. Therefore in accusations, be first assured of the truth, then censure. And as thou tenderest the reputation of an honest heart; never let malice in hatred, make thee to reveal that which love in friendship bound thee a long time to conceal. But for fear of such after-claps, observe two things.
First, though thou hast many acquaintance; yet make not any thy familiar friend, but he that truly *Vera amicitia tantummodo est inter bonos. Mali nec inter se amici sunt, nec cum bonis.fears God: Such a one, thou never needest to fear. For though you should in some particulars fall out, yet Christian love, the main ground of your friendship, will never fall away; and the fear of God will never suffer him to do thee any villany. Secondly, do nothing in the sight of a†Civilem amicum sic habeas, ut putes posse inimicum fieri. civil friend, for which thou canst not be safe, unless it be concealed, nor any thing, for which (if just cause be offered) thou need'st fear him, if he proves thine unjust enemy. If thou hast done any thing amiss, ask God forgiveness, and persuade thy self rather than thy friend, to*Quod taceri vis, prior ipse taceas. keep thine own counsel. For be assured, that what friendship soever is grounded upon any other cause than true Religion; if ever that cause fail, the friendship falleth off: and the rather, because that as God breeds among men, Truth, Peace and Amity, that we should live to do one another good; so the Devil daily soweth falshood, *Bellum non est hominum sed (quod verbum sonat) belluarum & cum vitiis non hominibus gerendum.discord and enmity, Eph. 5. 4.to cause (if he can) the dearest friends to devour one another.Psal. 15. 3.
5. Make not a†Irridere pium nefas: impium, immane: hominem, inhumanum. jest of another man's infirmity: remember thine own. Abhor the frothy wit of a filthy nature, whose brains having once conceived an odd scoff, his mind travails (as a woman with child) till he be delivered of it. Yea, he had rather lose his best friend, than his worst jest But if thou be disposed to be*Nemo videtur sibi tam vilis, ut irrideri merearur. merry, have a special care to three things:
1. That thy mirth be not against Religion;
2. That it be not against Charity;
3. That it be not against Chastity, and then be as merry as thou canst, only in the Lord.
6. Rejoyce not at the fall of thine enemy, for thou knowest not what shall be the manner of,Phil. 4. 4. Prov. 23. 17. thine own end. But be more †Valentinianus Imp. … liquis afficlendus esset▪ aiebat … malli… ad vita… … animi est alionis malis …, & non misereri communem naturam.glad to see the worst man's amendment, than his punishment. Hate no Man, for fear lest Christ loves him, who will not take it well, that thou shouldest hate whom he loveth, Christ aRom. 5. 8, 10.loved thee, when thou wast his Enemy: by the merits therefore of his blood,Eph. 2. 4. he requireth thee, for his sake, to love thine Enemy. Deny him (being a Christian) if thou darest. He asketh but forgiveness for forgiveness. The forgiveness of 100 pence, for the forgiveness of ten thousand talents; of 60 hundred thousand Crowns,Mat. 18. 24, 28. for ten Crowns; petty forgiveness of Man, for the infinite forgiveness of Almighty GOD. Though thou think'st thine Enemy unworthy to be forgiven; yet Christ is worthy to be obeyed.
7. When the glory of God, or good of thy Neighbour doth require it; speak the truth,Psal. 1. 19. and fear not the face of Man. The frown of a Prince may sometimes be the favour of God.*Nec mendacii utilitas est diuturna nec veritatis damnum diu nocet. Neither shall flattery still hold in credit, nor truth alway continue in disgrace.
8. Ever think him a true friend, who tells thee secretly and plainly of thy faults. He that sees thee offend, and tells thee not of thy fault, either flatters thee for favour, or dares not displease thee for fear. Miserable is his case, who when he needs, hath none to admonish him. Reprehension, be it just, be it unjust; come it from the mouth of a friend, or of a foe, it never doth a wise Man harm.Reprehensio semper vel meliores vel cautiores nos teddit. For if it be true; thou hast a warning to amend; if it be false, thou hast a Caveat what to avoid. So every way it makes a wise man better or warier. But*Si reprehendi fers aegrè reprehendenda ne feceris. if thou canst not endure to be reprehended, do then nothing worthy of reprehension.
9. Speak not of God, but withaDeut. 28. 58. fear and reverence, and as in his sight and hearing. For seeing we are not worthy to use his holy Name in our Mouths: †Qui facilè in seriis jurat in jocis jurabit: qui in jocis & in mendacio. Vivesmuch less ought we to abuse it vainly in our Talk, But ordinarily to use it in vain, rash, or false Oaths, is an undoubted sign of a soul that never truly feared God. Pray therefore with David, when thou art to speak in any matter that may move passion:bPsal. 141. 3, Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keep the door of my lips.
10. Lastly, inc1 Pet. 5. 12. praising be discreet: in dRom. 12. 10.*Affabilitas & comitas sunt nullius impendii, amicitias tamen magnas conglutinant exhibita, dissolvunt praetermissa. 1 Thes. 5. 26, 41.saluting, courteous; ine2 Thes. 3. 5. Rev. 19. 17. admonishing, friendly; in forgiving, merciful; infPsal. 15. 4. promising, faithful; and bountiful ingDeut. 15. 13. 14. recompensing good service: making not the rewards of virtue the gifts of favour.
Thirdly, for thy Actions.
1. DO no evil, tho' thou mightest: for God will not suffer thehPs. 119. 101. least sin (without bitter repentance) to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor any thing in thy calling, till thou hast first takeni1 Sam. 30. 8. council of God's Word, of the lawfulness thereof, and prayed for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with chearfulness of heart, committing the success unto him; in whose power it is, to bless with his grace, whatsoever business is intended to his glory.
2. When thou art tempted to do an evil work,1 Cor. 7. 5. Imminet semper occasioni suaediabolus. Greg. remember that Satan is where his business is. Let not the child of God be the instrument of so base a slave: hate the Work if thou abhorrest the Author. Ask thy Conscience these two questions: Would I have another to do this unto me? Mat. 7, 12.What shall I answer Christ in the day of my aLuke 16. 2. 2 Cor. 6. 2. 2 Cor. 5. 10.accounts, if contrary to my knowledge and conscience, I shall do this wickedness, and sin against him? and remember with Joseph, bGen. 39. 9, 11, &c.that though no man seeth, yet God seeth all. Fly therefore (with Joseph) from all sins, as well those that are secret in the sight of God, as those that are manifest in the the eyes of Men. For God as he is just, without speedy repentance, will bring thy secret sins, as he did David's to the open light, 2 Sam. 12. 12.before all Israel, and before the Sun. Be therefore as much afraid of secret sins,Luke 8. 17. and 12. 2. as of open shame. And so avoid all in general, as that thou dost not allow to the self any one particular, or darling sin,Prov. 5. 8, which the corruption of thy Nature could best agree withall: For the crafty devil can hold a man's soul as fast by one, as by many sins: and faster by that one which doth please thee, than by all those which begin to be abominable unto thee. And as thou de…est to avoid a sin; so be careful to shun the*Omnis peccandi … vi…enda est; … at peri…m per … in illo Eccl. 3, the occasion.
3. In effecting good actions which are within the compass of thy calling, distrust not God's Providence, tho' thou see the means either wanting or weak. Judg. 7. 7.And if means do offer themselves, be sure that they be lawful: and having gotten lawful means, take heed that thou rely not more upon them than upon God himself. Labour in a lawful calling, is God's ordinary means, by which he blesseth his children with outwards things. Pray therefore for God's blessing upon his own means. In earthly business, bear an heavenly mind: do thou thy best endeavour, and commit the whole success to the fore-ordaining wisdom of Almighty God. Never think to thrive by those means which God hath accursed. That will not in the end prove gain, which is gotten with the loss of thy Soul. Mat. 16. 26.In all therefore both actions and means, endeavour with Paul, to have alway a clear conscience towards God, Hic murus ahaeneus est… nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa. Horat. Act. 24. 16.and towards men.
Look to your selves, what conscience ye have:
For conscience shall damn, and conscience shall save.
4. Love all good things for God's sake: but God for his own sake. Whilst thou holdest God thy friend, thou needest not aPsal. 118, 6, 7. Rom. 8. 31. Prov. 16. 7.fear who is thine enemy: for either God will make thine enemy to become thybGen. 32. 3, &c. friend, or willcGen. 31, 7. bridle him that he cannot hurt thee. No man isdNumb. 14. 42, 43. &c. overthrown by his enemy, unless that first his sin have prevailed over him, and God hath left him to himself; he that would therefore be safe from the fear of his enemies,Psal. 27. 11, 12, 13. and live still in the favour of his God; let him redeem the folly of the time past with serious repentance, look to the time present with religious diligence, and take heed to the time to come with careful providence.
5. Give every man the honour due to his place; but honour a man more for his goodness, than for his greatness. And of whomsoever thou hast received a benefit, unto him (as God shall enable thee) remember to be thankful. Acknowledge it lovingly unto Men, and pray for him heartily unto God: and count every blessing received from God as a pledge of his eternal love, and a spur to a godly life.
6. Be not proud for any external worldly goods, nor for any internal spiritual gifts. Not for external goods, because, that as they came lately, so they will shortly be gone again; their loss therefore is the less to be grieved at. Not for any internal gifts: for as God gave them, so will he likewise take them away, if (forgetting the giver) thou shalt abuse his gifts, to puff up thine heart with a pride of thine own worth; and contemn others, for whose good Almighty God bestowed those gifts upon thee. Hast thou any one vertus that moves thee to be self-conceited? thou hast twenty vices that may better vilisie thee in thine own eyes.
Be the*Tu rectè vives, si curas esse quod audis. Hor. p. ad Quint. same in the sight of God, who beholds thy heart, that thou seemest to be in the eyes of Men, that see thy face. Content not thy self with*Nil juv…t bonum nomen, reclamante conscientiâ. an outward good n…mè, when thy Conscience shall inwardly tell thee it is undeserved, and therefore none of thine. A deserved good name for any thing, but for godliness, lasts little, and is less worth. In all the holy Scriptures, I never read of an Hypocrite's repentance: and no wonder; for whereas after sin conversion is left as a means, to cure all other sinners, what means remain to recover him who hath converted conversion it self into sin? Wo therefore unto the Soul that is not, and yet still seemeth religious.
7. Mark the fearful ends of notorious evil Men, to abhor their wicked actions; mark the life of the godly, that thou maist imitate it; and his blessed†Num. 23. 10. end, that it may comfort thee. Obey thy betters, observe the wise, accompany the honest, Psal. 37. 35, 36, 37.and love the religious. And seeing the corrupt nature of man is prone to hypocrisie, beware that thou use not the exercise of Religion, as matters of course and custom, without care and conscience, to grow more holy and devout thereby. Observe therefore how by the continual use of God's means, thou feelest thy special corruptions weakened, and thy sanctification more and more encreased: and*Isa. 58. 5, 6, Mat. 23. 27, 28. make no more shew of holiness outwardly to the world, than thou hast in the sight of God inwardly in thine heart.Psal. 51. 56.
8. Endeavour to rule those who live under thine authority, rather by love than by fear, for to rule by†Ama & impera. Blando vis latet impetio. Aug. love is easie and safe, but tyranny is ever accompanied with care andbQui terret, plus ille timet: sors illa Tyranno convenit. Claud. de instit. prin. terror. Oppression will force the oppressed to take any advantage, to shake off the Yoke that they are not able to bear: neither will God's Justice suffer the sway that is grounded on Tyranny long to continue. Remember that tho' byc1 Pet. 2. 13. humane ordinance they serve thee, yet by a more peculiar right they aredLev. 25. 55. God's servants. Yea, now being Christians, ePhilem. 16.not as thy servants, but above servants, *1 Cor. 9. 5.brethren beloved in the Lord. Rule therefore over fSi Pericles, quoties chlamydem indueret, apud se dicere consuevit, Attende, Pericles, quòd gestaturus es imperium in liberos Athenienses. Plut. in Apophth. Quanto magis tu, quoties authortatem …xercitaturus …s apud …eipsum, dicere deberes, Memento, homo, quòd imperium geris in liberatos Christianos.Christians, (being a Christian) in love and mercy, like Christ thy Master.
9. Remember, that of all actions none makes a Magistrate more like God, (whose Vice-gerent he is) than doing Justice justly. For the due execution whereof:
First, have ever an open ear to the just complaints of unjust dealings.
Secondly, so lend one ear to the Accuser, as that thou keep the other for the accused: forgQui statuit aliquid parte inaudit… alter…, aequum licet statuer…, haud aequ…s fuerit… Sen. in Med. he that decreeth for either part, before both be heard, the decree may be just, but himself is unjust.
Thirdly, in hearing both parts, incline not to the right-hand of affection, or to the left of hatred: as to believe arguments of perswasion for a friend, before arguments concluding for a foe.
Fourthly, deny not Justice, which is Regia mensura, to the meanest Subject: but let the Cause of the poor and needy come in equal balance with the rich and mighty. If thou perceivest on the one side in a cause, the*Judicious Sir Francis Bacon's Essay of Jndicature. high hills of cunning advantage, powerful combination, and violent prosecution; and on the other side, the low valleys of poverty, simplicity, and desolation: prepare thy way (as God doth) to judgment, by†Luk. 3. 4, 5. raising Valleys, Isaiah 40. 3.and taking down Hills, equally inequality: that so thou maist lay the Foundation of thy sentence upon an even ground. In matters of right and wrong 'twixt party and party, let thy Conscience be careful, rather *2 Chr. 19. 10.Jus dicere, to pronounce the Law that is made, secundùm allegata & probata; than Jus dare, to make a Law of thine own, upon the authority of sic volo, si jubeo, fearing that fearful Malediction,Deu. 27. 17. Cursed be he that removeth his Neighbour's Land-Mark. Hab. 5. 1.In Trials of Life and Death, let Judges, like Elohim, in justice remember mercy; and so cast the severe Eye of Justice upon the Fact, as that they look with the pitiful eye of Mercy upon the Malefactor, wresting the favour of Law, to the favour of Life, where Grace promiseth amendment: but if Justice requireth, that†Melius ut pereat unus, quàm ut pereat unitas. one rather than unity, must perish, and that a rotten member must be*Ense recidendum, ne pars sincera trahatur. cut off, to save the whole body from putrefying; fiat Justitia. But whilst thou art pronouncing the sentence of judgment on another, remember that thine own judgment hangs over thy head. In all causes therefore judge aright; for thou shalt be sure to find a righteous Judge, before whom thou must shortly appear to be judged thy self: at what time thou maist leave to thy friend this for thine Epitaph: Nuper eram Judex, jam judicis ante tribunal Subsistens, paveo: judicor ipse modo.
Many (I know not upon what grounds) seem to be much aggrieved with the Laws of the Land, but wiser men may answer them with the Apostle, Nos scimus bonam esse legem, modo Judex eâ legitimè utatur; We know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully. 1 Tim. 1. 8.And he shall be unto me a righteous Judge, whose heart neither corruption of bribes, fear of foes, nor favour of friends can withdraw from the conscionable practice of these precepts. And to that rare and venerable Judge, I say with Jehoshaphat: Be of courage, 2 Chr. 19. 11.and do justice, and the Lord will be with the good.
10. Lastly, Make not an occupation of any recreation. The longest use of pleasure is but short: but the pains of pleasure abused, are eternal. *Prov. 21. 17.Use therefore lawful recreation,Phil. 4. 8. so far forth, as it makes thee the fitter in body and mind, to do more chearfully the service of God and the duties of thy calling. †Vita brevis opus que multum operarii pigri, & urget Pater-familias. Rabb. Apophtheg.Thy work is great, thy time is but short. And he who will bRev. 22. 12.recompence every man according to his works, standeth at the door. Think how much work is behind, how slow thou hast wrought in the time which is past; and what a reckoning thou should'st make, if thy master should call thee this day to thine accounts.Jam. 5. 9. Be therefore careful henceforth to make the most advantage of thy short time that remains, as a man would of an old lease, that were near expiring: and when thou disposest to recreate thy self, remember how small a time is allotted for thy life; and that therefore much of that is not to be consumed in idleness, sports, plays, and toyish vanities, seeing the whole is but a short while, though it be all spent in doing the best good that thou canst: for Man was not created for sports, plays and recreation; but zealously to serve God in Religion, and conscionably to serve his neighbour in his vocation, and by both to ascertain himself of eternal salvation. Esteem therefore the loss of*Nihil est aliud tempus, quàm vita, quam unusquisque tantum se amare profitetur; quum rei nullius magis fit prodigus qu…m temporis. time, one of the greatest losses.Eph. 5. 16. Redeem it carefully, to spend it wisely: that when that time cometh thataLuke 16▪ 2. thou mayest be no longer a Steward on earth, thy master may welcome thee with anbMat. 25. 21. Euge bone serve, and give thee a better in heaven;Psal. 90. where thou shalt joyfully enjoy thy Master's joy for evermore.