Select Observations Collected out of Several Authors, Century 8

Select Observations Collected out of Several Authors · Century 8

p. 127THE Eighth Century.

1. WHen a Jew built a Houſe in the Land of Canaan, he was to dedicate it; for God challenged that Land as his own, above all Lands; and by Dedication of the Houſe they acknowledged God's Property, for they built it upon his Land.

2. A juſt Judge is like the Tongue of a Ballance, that inclines equally to either ſide. And therefore the Court p. 128of Areopagus was kept dark, that the Judges might not ſee the Perſons, but hear the Cauſe.

3. In the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, that great Perſecutor of the Jews, many of the Jews, for fear of his Perſecutions, did, Attrahere praeputeum, Draw out the Fore-skin, that they might not be known by their Circumciſion to be Jews. A Practice that is hardly juſtified; Art thou circumciſed? be not uncircumciſed, 1 Cor. 7.18.

4. The word Sin is ſometimes taken in Scripture for the Guilt of Sin, Gen. 4.7. Sin lyes at the door. Sometimes for the Occaſion of Sin, Deut. 19.10. I burnt your ſin in the fire. And ſometimes for a Sacrifice for Sin, Hoſ. 2.4. They eat the ſins of the people.

5. When Solomon built the Temple, he made a new Altar, new Table, new Candleſtick, &c. but not a new Ark; which was the great ſtanding Type of Chriſt, who is yesterday, to day, and the ſame for ever.

6. The Law ſuppoſeth Man to be ſtill in the rectitude of his Nature, and therefore requires of Man to Love, Honour, ſerve and Obey his Creator, but gives no Direction about making Peace with God by Faith, Repentance, Confeſſion of Sin, &c. This is only done in the Goſpel.

7. Chriſt came to be a Reſtorer of Man; and he began it in this World, in reſtoring the Bodies of many that were ſick to health; and ſome that were dead, to life; and the Souls of many Sinners, to a ſtate of grace and holineſs, and he will perfect this reſtoring work at his next coming; The time of the reſtitution of all things.

8. Chriſt wrought his Miracles in an inſtant by his Word; as when he ſaid, Receive thy ſight; be thou clean; Lazarus, come forth, &c. Becauſe he wrought as a Creator; and the Rule Divines have about Creation, is, Creatio fit in Inſtanti; Creation is performed in an Inſtant.

9. The Temple of Eſculapius, who was the God of Health to the Heathen, was built in the moſt wholſom Air, that ſick Perſons brought thither, might be ſooner healed; and what was done by the advantage of the p. 129Air, might be reckoned as done by the power of that Idol.

10. Eve reaſoned with the Devil, and was overcome; Chriſt reaſon'd with him, and overcame. But we are to reſiſt, and not reaſon, being frail and ſinful; whenas Chriſt was perfect in ſtrength and holineſs.

11. He that touched the dead Body of a Man under the Law, was unclean ſeven Days; but of a Beaſt, only until the Evening; which ſhew'd the great Impurity of Man's Nature.

12. The yea…s of Man's Life are called few, Heb. Years of number, Job. 16.22. As a few men are called Men of number, Pſal. 105.12. and is an uſual Hebraiſm.

13. An Apoſtate is like Scarlet, which in Hebrew is called foreign, in the Greek, foreign, becauſe twice died; he returning to that ſin again which he had forſaken.

14. The Moon in Conjunction with a good Planet, ſends forth a good influence; but otherwiſe when in Conjunction with a bad one, ſay Aſtronomers. So ſome Men will do good or evil, according to the Company they are joyned to.

15. The Lacedemonians being a warlike People, pictured their Gods in Armour. And to countenance their wickedneſs, the Heathen would repreſent their Gods like themſelves. And God reproves this among ſome of the Jews themſelves, Pſal. 50.21. Thou thoughteſt I was altogether ſuch an one as thy ſelf. Inſtead of endeavouring to be like to God, which is the true Perfection of Man, they would feign God to be like themſelves.

16. Men appointed or ſentenced to death, are called in the Hebrew, foreign, Filii Mutationis, Children of Change, Prov. 31.8. which may be applied to all Mankind, for we all ſoon change and paſs away.

17. In an evil Action ſometimes the Paſſion prevents the Will, and ſtirs it up; but when the Will doth ſtir up the Paſſion, this doth aggravate Sin.

p. 13018. As the Sun goes forward, the Shadow goes backward. A fit Emblem of ſuch as grow worſe by the approach of more Goſpel-light.

19. I have read of certain poyſonous Herbs in Africa that the Bees draw a luſcious Honey from, but it will cauſe a frenzy in them that eat it. So ſinful Pleaſures may delight the Senſe, but intoxicate the Mind. Impia ſub dulci melle venena latent.

20. When Alexander the Great was asked to whom he would leave his great Dominions? He anſwered, foreign, To the moſt worthy. But his Succeſſors weae determined by God, as we read, Dan. 8.22.

21. It is a brave ſaying of the Heathen Emperor Marcus Antoninus; Do not ſay when any evil befalls thee, O me infelicem cui hoc adverſi acciderit! but, O me felicem qui hunc caſum ſine dolore perfero: Do not ſay, O unhappy Man that I am, that this Evil hath befaln me! but, O happy Man, that I can bear it without ſorrow of mind. Words eaſily ſaid, and like a Stoick; yet Chriſtians may learn by it their duty of Patience in Adverſity: For (ſaith he) by all this Adverſity, what is there taken away from a vertuous Nature? Am I leſs Juſt, Temperate, Prudent, Sober, &c. by all that I ſuffer?

22. And it coming in my way, I ſhall add one thing more of theſe Stoick Philoſophers: They were ſuch ſtrict Aſſerters of Fate, and that all things ſell out by Neceſſity, that they took away from the Firſt Cauſe, even God himſelf, the liberty of altering the Natural Courſe of Things: as one of them ſpeaks to this purpoſe:

And Jove himſelf cannot controul

What doth from linked Cauſes roul.

23. But the Epicureans attributed all to Fortune; and no wonder that they which held the World was made by Chance, by a caſual Concourſe of Attoms, ſhould alſo think that all things fell out by Chance. But in both theſe p. 131Opinions Providence is ſhut out; and no wonder then that both theſe Sects encountred St. Paul at Athens, Act. 17.18. Certain Philoſophers of the Epicureans and Stoicks encountred him.

24. Life is Motion: In him we live, and move, Acts 17. And all Motion is from ſome firſt Mover, and tends to ſome period. (Dr. Charlton.) And the Womb and the Grave are the two terms of this Motion.

25. To all rational Acts there are three things neceſſary, foreign, (Ariſtot.) Conſultation, Will, and Operation.

26. Primi motus animi ab objectis ſunt involuntarii. (Sen. de Ira.) The firſt motions ſtirred up in the Soul by external Objects, are involuntary. And therefore not ſinful, ſay ſome Schoolmen.

27. God's Praeſcience hath no influence upon Mens Actions; as in Chriſt's ſore-knowing Judas his betraying him, and Peter's denying him. As the Science of things paſt hath no Cauſality upon them; ſo neither the Praeſcience of things to come. And though the Will act freely, yet God knows which way it will incline; as in Adam's Will, when it was in perfect liberty (having a certain knowledg of Contingent actions,) but this Knowledge had no influence upon his Will.

28. The Jews, before they came out of Egypt, began their Year in the Month Tiſri, becauſe they judged the World was made in that Month. Afterwards they began it in Niſan, in memory of their Redemption out of Egypt that Month. So the Seventh Day was appointed at firſt for a Sabbath, in remembrance of the Creation; and afterwards changed to the Firſt Day, in remembrance of our Redemption by Chriſt. This Parallel is an Argument, a probabili only.

29. Enter not into the field of the fatherleſs; for their Redeemer, Heb. Goel, is mighty, ſaith Solomon, Prov. 23.10. The Goel under the Law was to redeem Land, and avenge Wrongs. And God will be this Goel to the Fatherleſs.

p. 13230. The Jews had a Cuſtom in their Marriages, that the Bridegroom took a Cake and broke it, and put part of it into the Hand of the Bride, to ſignifie their future eating and living together; which they called Confarreatio, or, a Bride-Cake. So Chriſt, in his Inſtitution of the Lord's Supper, brake Bread, and gave it to his Diſciples, as a Token of his marrying them to himſelf, and his living and ſupping with them, and they with him. And the Mother of the Bridegroom, they ſay, was wont to put a Crown made of Roſes, Myrrh and Ivy upon his Head. To which there is an alluſion, Cant. 3.11. Go forth, ye Daughters of Jeruſalem, and behold King Solomon's Crown wherewith his Mother crowned him in the day of his Eſpouſals, &c. Woems.

31. Scrutator majeſtatis Dei opprimetur à gloriâ, ſay Divines; A Searcher into the Majeſty of God, will be overwhelmed with Glory. Moſes deſired to ſee his glory: God told him he could not ſee it, and live. But the Jewiſh Rabbins ſay, That God granted his requeſt when he was upon Mount Piſgah, ſhewed him his Glory, whereby he died; and God kiſſed his Soul out of his Body, as they ſpeak.

32. There is a Precious-Stone, called foreign, that is not conſumed in the Fire. And there is a Flower, called foreign, that will not wither. To both which the Apoſtle alludes, 1 Pet. 1.4. when he ſpeaketh of the Inheritance in Heaven, he ſaith it is foreign, It laſteth for ever.

33. Aaron and Myriam murmured againſt Moſes for marrying an Ethiopian Woman, Numb. 12.1. But Chriſt marries his Church to himſelf on Earth, though it is black, Cant. 1.4. Yea, and poor alſo, without Dowry, as well as Beauty. We bring nothing to him, but receive all from him.

34. It's propheſied of Chriſt, Pſal. 72.19. His name ſhall continue for ever: Heb. foreign, Filiabitur nomen ejus; His Name ſhall be continued, as a Father's Name is in his Children; In his Seed, and his Seeds Seed, Iſa. 59.21. p. 133And if that he who was the Firſt-born under the Law died without Seed, who was a Type of Chriſt, his next Brother was to marry his Wife, to raiſe up Seed to him, to make good the Type of Chriſt's not wanting a Seed to keep up his Name.

35. The Jews had Pits belonging to their Priſons, where was Mire, and no Water. To which the Prophet Zachary alludes, chap. 9.11. As for thee alſo by the Blood of the Covenant I have ſent forth thy Priſoners out of the Pit where is no water. And the Prophet Jeremy was put into ſuch a Pit, where there was no Water, but Mire; and after he was drawn out of it, he prayed Zedekiah he might not be ſent again to the Houſe of Jonathan (where this Priſon and Pit was) leſt he die there, Jer. 37.20. & 38.6. But there is a worſe Priſon and Pit, where there is eternal Death, and not a drop of Water to cool the Tongue: From which we ſhould all pray, Good Lord deliver us.

36. Among the many Puniſhments the Jews inflicted on Malefactors, they never uſed Baniſhment into a ſtrange Countrey, leſt there they ſhould forſake the True God, and True Religion. And when they puniſh'd by Scourging, they had three Judges ſtood by to order it, according to the ſtrength of the Perſon to bear it, more or fewer ſtrokes at one time. So doth God order and direct his Peoples Sufferings.

37. Creſcentibus delictis exaſperantur paenae; The encreaſe of Sin exaſperates Puniſhment.

38. Herod being a bad Man, and fearing his death would not be lamented, appointed his Guard, as ſoon as he was dead, to ſlay ſome of his chief Councellors that were moſt beloved of the People, to cauſe a Lamentation at his death. Men that do not live deſired, yet would die lamented. Joſephus.

39. The Romans would put the Chriſtians into the Skins of wild Beaſts, to make the Lions devour them. So have evil Men in every Age put diſguiſes upon good Men, by Reproaches and Slanders, that they might the more eaſily be deſtroyed.

p. 13440. The Heathen-Philoſophers, not knowing the Scriptures, knew not whence ſprang the Corruption they diſcerned in Mens Nature; ſome ſaid from a malus Genius,; others, from a bad Temperament and Conſtitution of Matter; others, from the bad Examples that one Man gave to another. And it is not eaſie to Chriſtians themſelves to demonſtrate how Original Sin is propagated into Mens Souls, that are not by Generation, but Infuſion. And the Schoolmen were divided about it: Some ſaid it was only Poena, not Culpa; A Puniſhment, but no Fault: Others, That it was neither one nor the other: Others, That it might be puniſht with Foena Damni, The Puniſhment of Loſs in Infants that die; but not with Poena Senſus, The Puniſhment of Senſe. So that the Council of Trent did fairly leave it to every Man's Judgment to think what he pleaſed about it,

41. The Serpent doth wear off its old Skin, by ſtraining it ſelf through narrow Holes and Caverns, and ſtrait Paſſages. (Cauſinus.) So ſhould Men put off the old Man, by paſſing through the ſtrait Gate of righteouſneſs, and true godlineſs.

42. In Hircania there are certain Trees, whoſe Branches are full of Honey in the Morning, which vaniſheth at the riſing of the Sun. (Quint. Curtius, lib. 6.) And ſo did Manna, when the Sun waxed hot, it melted, Exod. 16.21. It is wiſdom to embrace the Seaſon.

43. Naturaliſts write of thoſe Inſects which we call Beetles; Vivunt in ſtercore, moriuntur in roſis; They live in Dung, and die in Roſes. A fit Emblem of ſuch Men whoſe life and delight is in ſilth and wickedneſs, and are offended at True Piety.

44. A certain Serpent, called Dipſas, hath ſuch Poyſon in it, that ſtirs up a thirſt that cannot be quenched. And the more Men drink, the more they thirſt. (Aelian, lib. 6, de Animal.) A ſit Emblem of Covetouſneſs.

45. Cyril, in his 4th. Book upon St. John, cap. 50. tells us, that the ſharp Knives wherewith the Jews were Circumciſed by Joſhua, when they came into Canaan, were p. 135buried with him in his Grave. Which he thinks might ſignifie the abolſhing of the Jewiſh Circumciſion in Chriſt's Death, of whom Joſhua was a Type.

46. It's thought by ſome, That as God doubled Job's Subſtance, ſo his Age, after his great Afflictions; for he lived after them an hundred and forty yers, Job. 42.16. If ſo, then he was 70 years old when they came upon him, and 70 doubled, makes 140.

47. It's to be obſerved, That when we meet with any letters in the Hebrew Bible in an unuſal form, it hath ſome ſignification: as in the firſt word of Leviticus, foreign, the letter (foreign) is writ leſſer than uſually, to ſignifie that the Levitical Law was to ceaſe. And Lam. 2.9. he ſaid of Jeruſalem, Her Gates are ſunk into the Earth; where the word foreign, that ſignifies ſunk, is writ with the firſt letter ſinking below the reſt. So in Numb. 10.35. When the Ark ſet forward, the Hebrew word, foreign, hath the letter (foreign) ſet backward, to ſignifie God's returning into the Camp of Iſrael. So in many other places.

48. We read in Numb. 1.16. that Corah, Dathan and Abiram murmured againſt Moſes and Aaron. Corah affected the Prieſthood, being of the Tribe of Levi; and Dathan and Abiram the Civil Government, deſcended from Reuben the firſt born, to whom belonged the chief rule in the Family.

49. We read in Hezekiah's Prayer, Iſa. 38.12. how he complains to God, I have cut off like a Weaver my life; and then adds, he will cut me off with pining ſickneſs; which we may better read from the Hebrew, he will cut me off from the Thrum. Alluding to a Weaver, who when he hath weaved his Web, cuts it off from the Thrum. Man's Life is like a Web, which, in quick motions to and fro like the Weavers Shuttle, is paſſing away apace, till the Web is finiſht, and then cut off by death.

50. We read in the 17th. of Judges, of one Micah, whoſe name in the firſt Verſe is called Micaiahu; which hath ſomething of the Name of Jehovah in it; but he p. 136making an Image, and committing Idolatry, he is afterwards called only Micah.

51. Gideon is called Jerubbaal, for his pleading againſt Baal, Judg. 6.32. which is a name of Honour. But making an Ephod, which was an occaſion of Idolatry to Iſrael, he is called Jerubboſheth, a Name of Diſhonour, 2 Sam. 11.21.

52. Abimelech ſlew his Brethren, threeſcore and ten Perſons, upon one ſtone, Judg. 9.5. and was himſelf afterwards ſlain by a ſtone, ver. 53. A juſt Retaliation. Lightfoot's Harmony.

53. It is reported by thoſe that have ſailed in the Sea called the Helleſpont, That they that keep to the middle, ſail with the greateſt ſafety; wherein that old Saying, and extenſive Rule is made good, Medio tutiſſimus ibis, The middle is moſt ſafe. Monſieur Grelot.

54. When Xerxes was ſailing through the Helleſpont to Greece, the Waves of the Sea roſe high, and hindred his paſſage. Whereupon he proudly and fooliſhly commanded the Waves to be whipt; as if he could command and chaſten them at his pleaſure. But he found it otherwiſe; for his Ship was broken, and he was fain to go into a Fiſher-Boat to ſave his Life.

55. Whem Moab was in diſtreſs, it's ſaid, they went up to Baiith and Dibon, the high places, to weep, Iſa. 15.2. becauſe there were the Temples of Baal, called Bamoth Baal, Joſh. 13.17. And they went thither to weep, and make Supplication to Baal. Ought not we much more do this to the True God in Times of Diſtreſs? And ſhall they weep to Baal, and we not mourn to Jehovah?

56. It's ſaid in David's Song of Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, 2 Sam. 1.18. That he bad them teach the Children of Judah the uſe of the Bow. He bad teach them, foreign, Keſheth, which though it ſignifies a Bow, yet here is to be taken for the name of a Song; as the Heathen had ſeveral Names for their Songs, as Fiſtula, Scutum, Ovum, &c. And ſo had the Jews, as we read ſeveral p. 137Names of David's Pſalms in Scripture, as Alamoth, Altaſchith, Mahalath, Shoſhannim, &c. And this Song, called Keſbeth, was ſome Song of Lamentation, which is now not known to us; but Joſephus ſaith, many Jews did learn it in his time.

57. Though God be undivided, and an Indiviſible Being; yet through the narrowneſs of Mens minds they are apt to divide him, as his Greatneſs from his Goodneſs, his Juſtice from his Mercy, &c. which oftentimes hath a very bad influence upon the Hearts and Lives of Men.

58. All the Good we enjoy, was firſt God's before it was ours; and when we devote it again to him in his ſervice, it becomes God's again, as in a new Right; and yet he rewards us as if it was originally our own.

59. In Sin may be conſidered the Obliquity of the Act, and the Guilt of it that defiles the Conſcience. And the Prophet Zechary, chap. 13.1. ſpeaks of a Fountain opened for ſin and uncleanneſs. Where, by Sin, Heb. foreign, is meant, the obliquity of it; and by Uncleanneſs, Heb. foreign, is meant, the guilt of it: And this Fountain waſheth away both. So that it ſignifies both the Blood and Spirit of Chriſt: In the one, we have the waſhing of Juſtification; in the other, of Sanctification.

60. Blaſphemy is, either attributing the incommunicable Perfections of God to our Selves, or the Creatures; or aſcribing the Imperfections of the Creatures unto God.

61. The 45th. Pſalm referrs to Solomon in the Type, and to Chriſt in the Antitype: Where the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks to Solomon, to ride on in his Majeſty, with Truth, Meekneſs, and Righteouſneſs; which are as the four Horſes that did draw his Chariot. And in theſe four doth Chriſt ride forth, in ſetting up his Kingdom in the World.

p. 13862. When Mutius Scaevola, that ſtout Roman, kill'd another, by a miſtake, inſtead of Porcenna the King; and then ſaid, He was ſorry he miſt the King, it was not Murther; for he intended to ſlay Porcenna that fought againſt the Romans: And as Error Perſonae did not make Jacob's Marriage with Leah void, nor Iſaac's Bleſſing to Jacob, nor Joſhua's Covenant with the Gibeonites; ſo neither did it make Scaevola liable, or juſtly eclipſe the Honour of his bold Adventure for his Countrey, in ſlaying another inſtead of the King. So that Acts are not only to be denominated from the Objects, but the Intention of the Mind.

63. When the Grecians had taken Troy, and were returning home triumphantly in Ships; one Nauplius, in a revenge, ſtole out in the Night, and ſet a Beacon on fire upon a Rock in the Sea; which the Grecians ſailing to, thinking it to be an Harbour, ſplit their Ships upon the Rock. So oftentimes by miſtakes Men run into Dangers; and then, when they think all Danger is over.

64. It is ſaid of Jerom, that he ſet a Death's-Head before him. And I have read of ſome Anchorites, That they would every day ſcrape up ſome of their Grave with their Nails, to mind them of their Mortality. Such voluntary Signs may be more allowed to ſtir up the Mind to Meditation, than the Heart to Worſhip.

65. Death conſidered as an Enemy of Nature, ſo all Men hate it; as the Wages of Sin, ſo evil Men fear it; as a Paſſage to Life, and ſo good Men have deſir'd it.

66. He that firſt maketh Experiments, ought to have Allowance given him. foreign, ſaith the Greek Proverb. So that they make not raſh Experiments to do miſchief.

67. After the Captivity under the Second Temple, the Holy Oyl failed; and therefore the High Prieſt was not call'd by the Jews, Unctus Jehovae, but Vir p. 139multarum Veſtium; Not the anointed of the Lord, but the man with many garments; having five Garments more than the other Prieſts.

68. The Prieſts under the Law did ſtand at the Altar, but Chriſt our High Prieſt is ſat down in Heaven, being entred into his Reſt, and finiſht his Work on Earth.

69. The firſt Adam was the Father only of a Natural Life; but Chriſt is the Father of Eternity, of Everlaſting Life. He is called, Iſa. 9.6. The Everlaſting Father: Heb. foreign, or, The Father of Eternity.

70. The Law, ſaith the Apoſtle, was not made for a righteous Man, 1 Tim. 1.9. In the Greek, foreign, It lyes not on him as a Curſe, as upon the Wicked.

71. It is a known ſtory, yet it may be not to every Reader, That Julian the Apoſtate having got a great Army, one Lebanius an Heathen, and one of Julian's old Schoolmaſters, asked a Chriſtian Schoolmaſter at Antioch, What the Son of the Carpenter, meaning Chriſt, would do now? He anſwered, He would make a Sandipila, or a Bier, to carry Julian upon to his Grave. And ſo the dead Corps of Julian was brought ſhortly after to Antioch.

72. Celſus, that great Enemy to Chriſtianity, upbraided the Chriſtians, That they ſet up ſuch a Man as Chriſt to be their Captain and Saviour, who lived a miſerable Life, and died a curſed Death. Had they not, ſaith he, better have ſet up Jonah, who brought Niniveh to Repentance? or Daniel, that was miraculouſly delivered out of the Lions Den? &c. or ſome of the Worthies among the Heathen, as Hercules, Epictetus, or Anaxarchus? &c. Whom Origen doth ſmartly chaſtiſe, and ſtrenuouſly confute, in his Book againſt him.

p. 14073. Lot, and his Company, when they went out of Sodom, were forbidden to look back: Quia non eſt animo redeundum ad veterem vitam, ſaith Auſtin, lib. 16. de Civ. Dei, c. 30. Becauſe we muſt not think of going back to our old ſinful Life.

74. Papias, who lived near the Apoſtles time, and an holy Man, was the firſt we read of who aſſerted the Millennial Point, of Chriſt's Reigning on Earth a Thouſand Years. Whom Cerinthus followed, aſſerting theſe thouſand Years to be enjoyed in ſinful Pleaſures and Proſperity. Which turned off Auſti… and many others from their Opinion.

75. I have read of the People call'd Sicyonians, that they would have no Epitaph written upon the Tombs of their Kings, but only their Names, that they might have no Honour but what did reſult from their Merits.

76. There was a grievous Perſecution of the Church in Cyprian's time, under Aemilianus Preſident of Egypt; which he mentions in one of his Epiſtles, ſaying of it, Non adveniſſent fratribus haec mala ſi in unum fraternitas fuiſſet adunata; The Brethren of the Church had not ſuffered theſe Evils, had they been more united among themſelves. A good Argument for Unity.

77. It's reported of Marius, a great Tyrant, who was brought up a Smith, and made Swords, That one day he was made Emperor, the next day Reigned, and the third day was Slain by a common Souldier with a Sword of his own making. So Man's Deſtruction is of himſelf.

78. Among other Fallacies in Logick, one is ſtyled, Fallacia non cauſae procausâ; Such is that when Men accuſe the Goſpel as the cauſe of Diviſions, and Religion as the Cauſe of Melancholy; and Piety, with the free practice and profeſſion of it, to be the cauſe of publick Calamities, p. 141as the Heathen imputed them to the Chriſtians of old; and ſo when Men will charge their ſins upon God; as Homer brings in the Gods thus ſaying of Men: foreign: Men accuſe the Gods, and ſay all their Evils are from us.

79. The Motion of the Heavens is Circular. So ought the Souls of Men return to that God from whom they firſt did ſpring; to make him their Centre who is their Principle. As it is with God, though he goes out of himſelf by External Operations, T…men undique in ſe redit, (ſaith Auſtin,) making all his Works to centre in his own glory.

80. Si anima ſit currus, cave ne caro ſit equus, (as one ſpeaks pithily;) If the Soul be the Chariot, let not the Fleſh be the Horſe that draws it.

81. When Rome was belieged by the Gauls, we read, the Roman Matrous cut off their Hair to make the Men Bow-ſtrings: Which is more honourable than for Women to part with their Hair to make effeminate Perukes.

82. The Sin of Drunkenneſs, wherewith this Age aboundeth, is, as one ſaith of it, A ſin againſt all the Commandments; for it unſits a Man for every Duty, both to God and Men. And ſo Adultery, ſaith the ſame Author, is a Sin againſt God the Father, conſidered as the Lawgiver, trangreſſing his Law of Marriage, he making two, and no more, one fleſh. And againſt God the Son, taking the Members of Chriſt, and making them the Members of an Harlot And againſt the Holy Ghoſt, in defiling his Temple.

83. God cannot but hate Sin, becauſe it hath deſtroyed his Image, both in the fallen Angels and Men. As when the People of Antioch broke down the Image of Priſcilla, the Wife of Theodoſius, becauſe he exacted of them a new Tribute, he ſent an Army againſt them to revenge it. And will not then the deſtroying God's Image in Man much more provoke God to wrath?

p. 14284. When we read in the Evangeliſt, That after Chriſt was Crucified, and gave up the Ghoſt; upon the piercing of his Side with a Spear, there came out Water and Blood; we muſt not underſtand it, that they came forth together, but one after the other diſtinctly: for the Apoſtle, Joh. 1.5, 8. makes the Water and Blood two diſtinct Witneſſes; and they ſignifie two diſtinct things, the Expiation of Sin, and the Sanctification of our Natures. And therein we may obſerve a double Miracle: One is, That his Blood ſhould run out ſo freely after he was dead, which we know is not ſo with other Men: And the other, That the Blood and Water ſhould come forth diſtinctly, and not mingle with one another. Martinius.

85. As the Mind of a wiſe Man will not be ſatisfied without ſolid Reaſon; ſo neither will his Heart be ſatiſfied with out a ſubſtantial Good.

86. As there was ſuch a deſpiſing of the Law of Moſes, for which there was no mercy to be had, nor attonement made, Heb. 10.26. ſo there may be ſuch a contempt of the Goſpel which may make a Sinner's caſe deſperate: as in the caſe of Capernaum, Corazin, Bethſaida, &c. But this is known to God, rather than to Man; yet we have notice of it, Heb. 6.6. & 10.26.

87. Though our Saviour Chriſt was Sanctified from the Womb, and his Humane Nature was from the firſt united to the Divine; yet when he entred on his publick Miniſtry, he had the Gifts of the Holy Ghoſt beſtowed upon him, which he had not before; which are meant by the Holy Ghoſt coming down upon him at his Baptiſm; and whereupon he is ſaid, Luke 4.1. to be full of the Holy Ghost.

88. Theſe Gifts of the Holy Ghoſt were ſometime in a Conjunction with Sanctifying Grace, as in the holy Prophets, Apoſtles, and our Saviour: And ſometimes not, as in Balaam and Judas, and many others who will plead them at the laſt day, as our Saviour ſpeaks, Mat. 7.22. And as they had Gifts without Grace, ſo there may be p. 143Grace without theſe Gifts; as the Jewiſh Rabbins ſay the Jewiſh Church was without them all the time under the Second Temple, which was about Four hundred Years. In which time it was thought the Apocryphal Books were written, and therefore not written by Divine Inſpiration, which was then ceas'd.

89. If Conſcience be not our Ruler, it will be our Tormentor; for whatever Faculty of the Soul, or Member of the Body offends, the guilt of the Offence runs into the Conſcience, and ſettleth there; as all the Filth of the City runs into the Common-ſhore, as of Jeruſalem into the Brook Kidron.

90. When Chriſt aſcended on high, ſaith the Apoſtle, Eph. 4.8. He gave Gifts to Men. The Pſalmiſt ſaith, Pſal. 68.18. Thou haſt received Gifts for men; ſome read it, from Men, to entreat his Favour, and teſtifie their Submiſſion, as Captives will do to the Conqueror. The Septuagint read it, foreign, Gifts in Man, in his Humane Nature. Which various reading ariſeth from the various uſe of the Prepoſition Be; for the Hebrew in the Pſalm is, foreign.

91. Regnum auſpicandum à clementiâ, is a Rule in State-Policy; The Foundation of a Government is to be layd in Clemency. So did David, in his ſhewing favour to Shimei, who had curſed him. But Rehoboam beginning his Kingdom otherwiſe, ſtumbled at the Threſhold, and entangled his Reign. And the riſing Government of our preſent Proteſtant King and Queen ſeems to be directed by this Rule.

92. The Apoſtle calls his Miniſtry a Warfare, for the Perils that attended it, and Oppoſition of Enemies to it, 2 Cor. 10.4. And ſo ſpeaks to Timothy, That thou mayest war a good warfare, 1 Tim. 1.18. And ſo ſaid Luther, Quid aliud est praedicare quam mundi furorem incurrere; To Preach the Goſpel, is to encounter the Worlds Fury. Let young Miniſters conſider it, and prepare for it; and let the People p. 144conſider the Apoſtle's Queſtion, Who goeth a warfare at his own charge? 1 Cor. 9.7.

93. Some receive the Truth as an Inmate, not as a Ruler or Judge: Who made thee a Judge and Ruler over us? ſaid the Sodomites to Lot, Act. 7.27. And though they receive the Truth as lucentem, yet not as redarguentem: They love the light of Truth, but cannot bear its ſcorching heat.

94. The Pythagoreans ſtyled the Mind of Man, foreign, The Holder of the Reins: As that ſupreme faculty which is to bridle and reſtrain inordinate Paſſions, and to guide Man, and the whole courſe of his walking and converſation.

95. In ſome Coaſts of Arabia, the odorifierous Spices do ſo perfume the Air, that Swine cannot live there. So Men of a ſwiniſh temper, who love to wallow in the mire of ſin and wickedneſs, delight not to live where ſerious Piety and true Godlineſs are profeſs'd and practis'd; which are the beſt Perfume of any place.

96. Though Jus and Vis are words that are made of the ſame letters, yet we often ſee that the one doth exclude the other, and Juſtice and Right are ſhut out by Force and Power, and Might overcoming Right.

97. Many Men, inſtead of preparing to leave the World, are ſtill employing themſelves about ſettling in the World; and ſo are, as Seneca ſpeaks, ſemper victuri, always about to live, rather than indeed living.

98. The Life of a Chriſtian, in this World, is a Life of Faith; not of Viſion or Fruition. But Faith, though in a lower degree, ſupplies the room of Fruition, as it is the foreign, or the Subſiſtence of things hoped for; and of Viſion, as it is the foreign, or Evidence of things not ſeen, Heb. 11.1.

99. Tertullian comforts the Chriſtians that had ſuffered Loſſes in their Eſtate for the ſake of Religion, ſaying, p. 145Negotiatio eſt aliquid amittere ut majora Lucretis, or Lucremini: (ad Martyres.) It is good Trading, to loſe ſomething, for the gain of greater things.

100. Every Man ought to conſider his ways, in a threefold reſpect. 1. With reſpect to his Ultimate End. 2. With reſpect to the Rule of God's Law. 3. With reſpect to his Final Account, and the Judgment to come.

But I ſhall add no more of theſe Intellectual Flowers (though I have many more ready gathered,) leſt they be too many to be Bound up together in a ſmall Book of a Shilling price. And I think the Buyer of it hath enough already for his Money

FINIS.

Books Printed for John Dunton, at the Black Raven in the Poultrey.

☞ THere is newly publiſh'd, Early Religion, or a Diſcourſe of the Duty and Intereſt of Youth: With ſome Advices to Parents and Aged People to promote it in their ſeveral Capacities. The Second Edition, much enlarged. By Timothy Rogers, M. A. Price bound 1 s.

*⁎* The Life and Death of the Reverend Mr. John Eli…, who was the Firſt Preacher of the Goſpel to the Indians in America, with an account of the wonderful ſucceſs which the Goſpel has had amongſt the Heathen in that part of the World, and of the many ſtrange Cuſtoms of the Pagan Indians in New-England: written by Cotton Mather: the ſecond Edition carefully corrected. Both Printed for John Dunton at the Raven in the Poultrey. Price bound 1 s.

End of the text · Matthew Barker, Select Observations Collected out of Several Authors (1691)