Sunday a Sabbath, Title page – Dedication
SUNDAY A SABBATH. OR, A Preparative Diſcourſe for diſcuſsion of Sabbatary doubts.
By JOHN LEY, Paſtor of Great Budworth in Cheſhire.
There remaineth therefore a Reſt to the people of God. Hebr. 4.4.
Nos octava die (quae & ipſa prima est) perfecti Sabbati feſtivitate laetamur. Hilar. Prolog. in Pſalm. pag. 335.
LONDON, Printed by R. Young, for George Lathum, at the ſigne of the Biſhops Head in Pauls Church-yard. 1641.
TO The moſt reverend Father in God, JAMES, by the grace of God, Archbiſhop of Armagh, and Primate of all Ireland.
Moſt reverend Father in God and (beſides the ceremony of your ſtile) really my very gracious Lord,
IT is become a formality of the times, to enter bookes into the world under great names, and to make them ſeeme greater then they be, by ſtudied ſtraines of exceſſive commendation, whereby many times they raiſe the Readers fancy much higher then his faith; and while they advance their Patrons praiſe farre above all beliefe, they depreſſe their owne reputations below a charitable hope: and ſo make many, inſtead of reading on when they have begun (as it were with one foot on the threſhold) firſt to ſtop, and then to ſtep backe, leſt their entertainment in the ſecond courſe ſhould be anſwerable to the firſt; their deceitfull flouriſhes in the dedication, promiſing little ſincerity in the enſuing diſcourſe.
I have no cauſe to feare it will be my ill hap, to take ſuch handſale of any judicious and pious peruſer of theſe papers, while I doe but tell (not you, my Lord, for it is already upon evident record, whereof your owne great reading gives you intelligence at the firſt hand, but others) how you are valued by ſuch as are beſt able to judge, and ſeeme to have leaſt of the Bias of advantagious intereſts, or partiall affections, to wry their cenſures from the ſtreight line of truth, to the crooked brace of a favourable falſhood; which I would have them know, not ſo much for your honour, as for their owne good, that in the fulneſſe of ſuch an example, as your Grace's, others (eſpecially of our Tribe, and moſt of all thoſe of your own orbe) may find both the diſcovery of their own defects, and inducements to diligence, in following ſo faire a patterne for their further proficiency.
Of many, who have writt…n what your modeſty will not acknowledge, I will take up with the teſtimonie of three onelyonly: The firſt ſhall bee learned Maſter Selden, a man of that profeſſion, which (by ſome) is held too emulous of the credit of the Clergy, and who hath taken much paines againſt their profit in his hiſtory of Tythes: he notwithſtanding hath the moſt reverend Archbiſhop of Armagh in that eſteeme, that he holds him aReverendiſſimus Antiſtes Jacobus Uſſerius, Archiepiſ…opus Armachanus, vir ſummâ pietate, judicio ſingulari, uſque ad miraculum doctus. Selden. Marmora Aru… deliana in editionis anſa. p. 8. ſine, & p. 9. princip.A Prelate of exceeding great piety, of ſingular judgement, and of ſo much learning, as is no leſſe then miraculous.
The ſecond ſhall bee bEa certè pietatis tuae & eruditionis apud nos eſt exiſtimatio, ut Uſſerii nomen pietatis nobis & virtutis nomen ſit, quibus fama conſtans frequenter ingerit, tot ingentes dotes quibus te Deus inſtruxit. Frederic. Spanhem. epiſt. Dedicator. praefix. 3. par…i dubiorum Evangelico…um, excuſ. Genev. an. 1639.Fredericus Spanhemius, Paſtor of the Church, and Profeſſor of Divinity in the Univerſity of Geneva, a man, who by his bookes of Evangelicall doubts, hath given undoubted evidence of his Abilities, both for the Pulpit of the one, and the Chaire of the other; and hee from Geneva writes thus: Your piety and learning is of that accompt among us, that the name of Uſher to us is a name of piety and ″So ſaid Greg. Nazianz of Athanaſ. A foreign. Greg. Naz. orat. 21. tom. 1. p. 373.vertue, conſtant and continuall fame ringing in our eares the many and great gifts wherewith the Lord hath endowed you. And becauſe piety is the Principall, and (therefore Maſter Selden did well to aſſigne it the firſt place in his Elogium) he remembers it againe: cSumma cum laude, voce, ac calamo, plus tamen exemplo doces, &c. Seld.You teach (ſaith he) to your great praiſe, by your tongue, and by your pen, but much more by your practice among them who daily look upon your life, and obſerve the uprightneſſe and integrity of your manners: And dVident in te non anxiam, non affectatam pietatem, ſed gravem, & ſeriam, & quae in illum ſolum fertur, cui ſoli debetur; vident raram humilitatem per quam à faſtigio tuo deſcendis, nec quicquam infra tuam dignitatem exiſtimas, quod ad promovendum regnum De… facit. Ibid.Your ſerious and unaffected piety, which is directed only towards God, to whom alone of duty it belongeth; and (withall this) they ſee (that which makes theſe graces the more ſhining, and more ſure) your rare humility, whereby you deſcend from your height of dignity and deſert, and condeſcend to men of low eſtate, Rom. 12.16. thinking nothing too meane for the eminence of your place, which may any way conduce to advance the Kingdome of God: Whence hee takes occaſion ePublicè profiteor, quanta Genevae noſtrae nominis tui ſit claritudo, quantus apud noſtrates honor. Ibid.publickly to profeſſe how glorious a name you have, how great honour in the City of Geneva.
The third witneſſe (and, that I may not turne your candor into another colour, the laſt I will produce, who gives ample atteſtation to your great worth) is the late Author of an Epiſtle, publiſhed principally againſt Biſhop Halls tenet of Epiſcopacy by divine right, (under the borrowed name of Iraeneus Philadelphus) who in the firſt page of his ſupplement of things omitted (having left you out, where hee names other Biſhops with reſpect) makes you amends with this honourable mention: fSegrego etiam à choro Epiſcoporum Romanenſium Jacobum Uſſerium Archiepiſcopum Armachanum, rarum non ſolum magnae Brittaniae, & Hiberniae, ſed univerſi Chriſtiani Orbis ornamentum, in quem quicquid ſuperiori ſaeculo clara lumina, Cranmerus, Latimerus, Hooperus, Juellus, habuerunt pietatis, zeli, ſuavitatis moram, ſanctitatis vitae & doctrinae, atque reconditae eruditionis, videtur quaſi ſoedere facto concurriſſe▪ Omiſſ. fol. 1. poſt pag. 76. epiſt. Iraenei Philadelph.I except (ſaith hee) from the company of Romanizing Biſhops, James Uſher, Archbiſhop of Armagh, a grace or ornament not onelyonly of great Brittain and Ireland, but of the whole Chriſtian world, in whom all the piety and ſanctity of life, all the zeale and ſweetneſſe of diſpoſition, and the learning, the hidden learning (hidden from the knowledge of other learned men) of thoſe famous lights of the former age, Cranmer, Latimer, Hooper, Jewell, are met as it were by a covenanted conſent.
It is not poſſible (my Lord) that ſuch eminency of grace and applauſe ſhould not be dogg'd at the heeles with envie; and dogged envie barkes out many times with reproachfull calumny: and Gods wiſdome ſuffers mans wickedneſſe ſo to worke, for the welfare of thoſe he loves beſt, leſt they ſhould love themſelves too well, and take a dangerous delight in too good a conceit of their owne good parts, and others great prayſes (which might robb them of their fundamentall grace, humility; for either of theſe, but eſpecially both together, like the abundance of Revelations, 2 Cor. 12.7. may incline many to ſelfe-exaltation;) for the buffeting of Satans meſſenger (the tongue of a ſlanderer, for there is a ſmiting with the tongue, Jer. 18.18. and if any tongue bee Satans, it is that which malignantly traduceth the moſt worthy) is either a meanes to prevent ſuch puffing up, or a remedy againſt it; God by his all-wiſe goodneſſe, tempering and turning a rank poyſon into a ſoveraigne medicine, and ſo wel (I doubt not) it will be with you, (my Lord) if others be ſo ill minded towards you: and, in ſuch a caſe, an Apology put in may prevaile, and proſper ſo farre, as not only to heal the wound which that cruell weapon, the tongue (for it is a ſharp ſword, Pſa. 57.4.) hath made, but to ſmooth the ſcarre in the skin, when the fleſh is made whole.
If then there be any in whom ſin ſo aboundeth (becauſe grace aboundeth in you and towards you) as to ſuſpect your ſincerity, and to ſpeake as ill as they thinke, (and it is like, with men who run to extremes on either hand, you may ſuffer on both ſides; on the one as a Biſhop, on the other, as too gracious with ſuch as miſlike, or admit not of Epiſcopall Governement) I conceive (beſide the clearing teſtimony of your owne conſcience, and Gods atteſtation to the integrity thereof) you may, for the one ſort, who ſet miſconceits upon you for the callings ſake, with comfort call to minde, that ſuch as are addicted to a diſcipline which denyeth that diſparity wherein you are placed, have given that teſtimony of you which I have here obſerved; and more (ſurely) of that ſort would doe you right in the like kinde, if they knew as well as I (and I hope they ſhall know it ere long) how humble you have beene (not humbled as ſome are by the Parliament) and in humility, how hearty and forward to take downe your ſelfe, and to project a forme of Eccleſiaſticall Government, wherein you might be but as one of us in a ſociable participation of Ordination and Juriſdiction with the reſt of your brethren, the incumbent Paſtors and Preachers of particular Churches.
And for the other ſort, who thinke you have but too kindely complyed with the Diſciplinarians of Geneva, and other parts, elſe they would not have honoured you ſo much as they have done, the wiſer and better ſort will take it for a token of your wiſdome and goodneſſe; and to take off the offence of ſome (who, in an over high conceit of Epiſcopall preheminence, diſdaine all reformed Churches but thoſe that have it) I can tell them, that Archbiſhop Whitgift entertained a Miniſter of the French Church, one Maſter Buſe, to preach a weekly Latine Lecture in his owne Chappell, and to other forraigne Miniſters was very bountifull, as to Druſius, Rhenicherus, Fregevill, whom hee entertained in his owne houſe; and not onelyonly gave liberally to thoſe whoſe merit was farre above their meanes, (when they came within his reach) but ſent his bounty abroad to like objects in forraine parts, as to Maſter Beza, hee ſent ſundry times much money out of his owne purſe, beſides the generall collections and contributions to Geneva, which hee alſo greatly furthered, as gSr. G. Paul in the life of Archb. Whitgift p. 63, 64.Sir George Paul hath written in the relation of his life.
And it had beene more for the honour of the Engliſh Prelacie, and much better for the publick peace both of the Church and State, if there had beene more courteous correſpondence betwixt Epiſcopall and Presbyteriall Divines, notwithſtanding the differences betwixt them in opinion or preheminence.
But there are a ſort of men, who, whether out of unſoundneſſe in religion, or pride or perverſeneſſe of diſpoſition, or ſome politick intention, I cannot tell, but out of ſome motive (ſurely) which is not good, take ſmall cauſe to raiſe great clamours againſt thoſe whom they ſhould rather reſcue from reproach, if others did defame them: Such an one was hee who ſate ſo heavie upon the skirts of the Geneva Bible publickly in the Pulpit, charging the marginall annotations with Judaiſme and Arrianiſme, againſt whom I wrote an Apologie about twenty eight yeers agoe, which a double occaſion now calleth to remembrance, the one precedent, the other preſent.
The former is, That it was the time of my firſt happy acquaintance with your Grace, when upon your peruſall of ſome part of it, you left a letter for mee (at your departure from Oxford) approving what I had done, and encouraging mee to hold on in clearing their innocency, who were moſt untruly traduced in a ſolemne aſſembly of the whole Univerſity; ſo long ſince is it, that I have had cauſe to obſerve your ſincere affection to all the faithfull Labourers in the Lords vine-yard, whether of Geneva or any other Church of the reformed religion.
The other occaſion is preſent, and it is the deſire of divers, who wiſh well to the edification of ordinary Readers of the Bible; and therefore deſire that the Geneva notes, after a ſerious review and needfull correction, may be reſtored to their attendance upon the ſacred Text, from which they have been all this while diſcarded, as if they had been guilty of thoſe heynous accuſations which were objected againſt them, and whereof my book, I doubt not, (by the ſentence of a hThe worthy Knight & Baronet, Sr. Edw. Dering, who hath the Chair in the Cōmittee of Books.competent Judge, in whoſe hands it now is) will fully and cleerely acquit them, which hath led me a little out of my way, but it is but a ſhort digreſſion, as a ſtep from the margine to the text, whereto the tax of theſe marginall annotations did induce me, and whence I may readily goe on to note another Accuſer of the brethren of the ſame kind, who upon the difference of one word in the Edition of Ignatius at Geneva, falls foule firſt upon the Printers, in theſe words, iSed à Genevenſibus Typographis praeter fraudes, fucos, & praeſtigia, non eſt quod quicquam expectemus. Ric. Montacutius Eccleſ. Ciceſtr. Miniſter. Apparat. ad origin. Eccleſiaſticas. p. 19.Of theſe Geneva Printers we muſt expect nothing but frauds and fallacies, and impostures. And then upon Videlius, (a learned and religious Miniſter of that Citie, who ſet forth that Father) in ſuch intemperate termes as theſe, kNeque audax & importunus Ignatii cenſor quicquam attulit ad paginas ſuas implendas praeter inſcitiam, & incu…iam, & impudentiam ſingularem, dum ad ſuum Genevatiſmum antiquitatem detorquet invitiſſimam; non autem quod oportuit, Calviniſmum amuſſitat ad antiquitatem. Ibid. p. 19, 20.That bold and importunate Cenſor of Ignatius hath brought nothing to fill up his pages, but ignorance, and careleſneſſe, and egregious impoſture, whereby hee writhes Antiquity back to his Genevatiſme, and doth not, as he ought, regulate Calviniſme by Antiquity. In whoſe defence I need ſay nothing, they of Geneva are enow, and old enough to anſwer for themſelves; and I doubt not, but will doe it in due time.
I am ſorry that I have occaſion to obſerve the like laſhing out in him, of whom, by his bookes of devotion and moderation, I was made to expect rather no reproofes of ſuch men, then any ſuch reproaches as I read againſt Maſter Parker, who having ſaid, lNon volentes, ſed neſcientes; non per apoſtaſiam aut contemptum, ſed per infirmitatem & ignorantiam lapſi ſunt, qui in diſciplina aberrârunt. Park. de Polit. Eccleſ. lib. 2. c. 8.The Fathers, which erred in this matter of Diſcipline, did not offend out of will, but out of want of knowledge; not through apoſtacy or contempt, but through infirmity and ignorance, receiveth his refutation in theſe words of high diſdaine, viz. mBiſh. Hall of Epiſcopacy. part. 1. p. 60.But can I now forbeare to aske, Who can endure to heare the braying of this proud Schiſmaticke?
If I ſay any thing to ſuccour the credit of Maſter Parker againſt this contempt (to which my charity enclines mee) I ſhall with ſome men perhaps endanger mine owne, who will be ready to ſuggeſt (as the Jews againſt the blind man in the Goſpel, John 9.28.) that I am one of his diſciples; and if they doe, I will ingenuouſly acknowledge, that, having read his booke againſt ſymbolizing with Antichriſt in Ceremonies, and being required by a great and learned Prelate to give my judgement of it many yeares ago, I anſwered then (and I am of the ſame opinion ſtill) hee hath carried the cauſe againſt you, my Lord, but not againſt me: What meane you by that, ſaid the Biſhop? I meane, ſaid I, that he hath written enough againſt your urging of the Ceremonies, but not againſt my yeelding to them, if I may not enjoy my Miniſtry without them: Thus much for my ſelfe, now for Maſter P.
I ſhould have thought that his great learning (well knowne by his printed workes, though againſt the Croſſe, and croſſe to the Croſier) might have ſecured him from ſuch a brutiſh ſcorne, eſpecially from that which degrades him to the loweſt forme, not only of men, but of beaſts; and that as it is hard to prove, ſo none ſhould be haſty to impute either pride or ſchiſm, where conſcience is pretended, reaſons abundantly alledged, and ſecular comforts deſerted, as in his caſe it was; his words did not (mee thinkes) ſo much as tempt, much leſſe authorize any one to returne upon him with ſuch contumelious termes: for did hee ſay any thing againſt the Fathers, that he muſt for that be held unworthy to be called a ſonne? yea, ſo worthleſſe, as to bee excommunicated from men, and ſorted to beaſts? hee ſaid, they erred; and why might hee not? for, were they not men? they erred in Diſcipline, they might for all that in matter of doctrine be very learned and Orthodox Doctors: They erred (ſaid hee) not out of will, or through apoſtacy or contempt, but through want of knowledge in that particular, and of infirmity: they might then (notwithſtanding all this) bee very good and holy men (as indeed they were;) and muſt Maſter P. for ſaying but this, bee ſo farre undervalued and vilified, as to bee made but as the embleme of groſſeſt ſtupidity? For right againſt this inhumane wrong, I appeale from the Pontificall Tribunall of the Judge, decreeing the divine Right of Epiſcopacy, to the cloſet of the devout Doctor, where if hee meditate ſeriouſly upon this paſſionate reproach, hee will vow (I hope) to doe ſo no more; and becauſe hee hath not been wont in this ſort to breake out of the way of Chriſtian moderation, the plea of Balaams Aſſe may ſerve him for ſome excuſe, Was I ever wont to doe ſo unto thee? Numb. 22.30. Wherein, that none may accompt mee like Cham, to bee a mocker of ſo reverend a Father (Reverend and Father both, without borrowing any reputation from his Rochet) I profeſſe, though his word braying brought that ſtory to mind, I would not have noted it with any reference to him (whom both in this booke, and elſewhere, I have mentioned with affectionate and venerable reſpect) but that the Aſſe did not bray, but ſpeak; and ſpeak not the words of a man, but of an Angel.
And O that all our Prelates, who plead their preheminence from the title Angels, Revel. 2.3. had been really Angelicall! that wee might have ſeene by their workes, their heart-ſtrings were tuned to the ſong of the bleſſed Angels, Glory to God in the higheſt, on earth peace, good will towards men; that wee might have diſcern'd their deſires by their endeavours (as your Graces) to be ſeriouſly ſet upon the happy union of thoſe ſacred Siſters, Truth and Peace, Zach. 8.19. Peace and Holineſſe, Hebr. 12.14. to which your zeal hath burned with ſuch a bright blaze, and ardent and conſtant heat (and yet hath it beene guided with ſo much prudent circumſpection) that I cannot but hope God will make you an effectuall inſtrument of a moſt bleſſed accord both of Churches and Kingdomes; and I heartily wiſh that you had, and pray that you may have many Iraeneos Philadelphos (like him whom as ſuch an one I have heard you many times mention with much commendation) who may give moſt hopefull aſſiſtance of happy ſucceſſe to ſuch a worthy deſigne.
God forbid, that either we of England, or our brethren of Scotland ſhould be ſo ſtupid, as not to apprehend, that the ſafety of both Nations is bound up in our union one with another, and our ruine like to be let looſe in our rent and diſtraction; or ſo ſtubborne, in aſſerting our owne intereſts, or working of our owne wills, as to fall out for them: and by our mutuall hoſtility, ſo to weaken each part, that the common enemie may come in upon us, and overcome us both; rather then ſo, we ſhould yeeld to any thing but ſinne, part with any thing but with a good conſcience.
In that which I have hitherto ſaid (my good Lord) I have ſhewed but ſome part of that good report, which (by ſuch as are leaſt lyable to ſuſpitions of partiality) is publiſhed of you; and becauſe oppoſites doe illuſtrate the evidence of truth, I have noted ſome examples of another ſtraine, whereby it may appeare, that the great ſchiſme and diſtraction among us, hath been made and maintained, not by a kind and reſpective correſpondence betwixt perſons or Churches of a different Diſcipline (as ſome not onelyonly untruly, but abſurdly ſuggeſt) but by proud and ſupercilious diſdaine, raſh and peremptory cenſures, rigorous uſages of ſuch as have had the advantage of the upper ground, to trample on thoſe that were placed below them; which hath been a principall cauſe of the great hatred and contempt of the Prelacie; ſo that it is not now taken by many as an honour to the man, but the man an honour and ſuccour to it; who takes the calling of a Biſhop, as Saint nEpiſcopatus nomen eſt operis, non honoris. Auguſt. de Civit. Dei. lib. 9. cap. 19.Auguſtine ſaid of it, rather for a matter of duty then of dignity, which binds him oQuantum quis praecelſi culminis obtinet locum, tanto neceſſe eſt praecedat caeteros gratiâ meritorum. Concil. Toletan. 11. cap. 2. tom. 4. pag. 820. Edit. Pariſiis. 1636.to ſo much more diligence as hee hath the higher preheminence; and that duty pIbid. Item Concil. Conſtantinop. 6. can. 19. tom. 5. Concil. pag. 328. Concil. Trident. Seſſ. 24. Can. 4. tom. 9. pag. 414.chiefly to conſiſt in preaching of the Word, making more account of the Canons which concerne the ſubſtance, then the ceremonies of their calling, as all men ſee your Grace doth, preaching every week in the Pariſh of your abode, according to the Canon of the qEpiſcopus, ſi infirmitate non fuerit impeditus, Eccleſiae cui proximè fuerit, die Dominico deeſſe non debet. Concil. Aurel. can. 33. tom. 1. p. 723.firſt Aurelian Councell, and abiding there, though with diſadvantage and inconvenience to your ſelſe, where you may doe moſt good, making the choice of the Prophet Jeremy, I will get mee to the great men, and ſpeake unto them, for they, ſaith hee, have knowne the way of the Lord, Jer. 5.5. If they had not known it, he might have come to teach it them; and if our great men know it already, you will make them know it much better; ſmoothing the difficulties, and clearing the doubts of faith, in ſuch ſort, that their minds may bee ſettled in aſſurance of that which before they had but in fancie, or held but in opinion; and this in a plaine and eaſie way, yet full of power and authority; ſo that I may ſay of your Grace, as the people ſaid of our Saviour (reſerving a juſt meaſure of preheminence to him that ſpake as never man ſpake, Jo. 7.46) you teach as one having authority, and not as the Scribes, Luke 7.29. not as they who write all they ſay, and can ſay nothing but what they have written; who preach coldly, as Eraſmus noteth, becauſe they are word-bound to a peece of paper; and not as the Scribes, becauſe they ſaid and did not, Matth. 23.3. but your life is a patterne, as well as your doctrine, and a rule of religious converſation; and therefore I doubt not but God ſhall have much honour among the honourable by your miniſtery unto them, and intercourſe with them at Court, and elſewhere; for if Plato his preſence and example wrought ſo much change in the Court of Dionyſius a Tyrant, that upon his comming thither there followed a wonderfull modeſtie and temperance in Feaſts and banquets, and other reformations, ſo that as rPlutarch in the life of Dion. p. 972.Plutarch noteth, the Court was cleane changed, how much rather may we expect that the Court of ſo good a King (as, bleſſed bee God, wee have) ſhould bee much bettered by your Graces addreſſes to his Majeſtie, and your preaching and practice ſo much obſerved, ſo highly eſteemed by the beſt of all ſorts? Which was one cauſe that induced mee to dedicate this preparative diſcourſe of the Sabbath to your Grace; for, that being the chiefe of dayes for honour to God, and holineſſe in men, it was meet the defence of it ſhould bee countenanced with a name, which is eminent in both.
Beſides, (which gives your Grace more intereſt both in mee, and what now I preſent to publick obſervation) the better to furniſh and further mee in the proſecution of this cauſe, you have beene pleaſed to communicate unto mee divers MS. Treatiſes of the Sabbath, ſuch I could not hope for from any other treaſurie of learning then yours, which aboundeth with exquiſite variety, not to be found either in Bookſellers ſhops, or common Libraries; and to promiſe mee under your hand, any help of that kind. Wherein I am like enough (my Lord) to take you at your word, and ſure enough that you will keepe it, when upon juſt occaſion I ſhall preſent my deſires to your Grace to that purpoſe.
It may be ſome will think I ſhould have diſpatched the difference about the title of our Chriſtian Holiday in a ſhorter diſcuſſion; and to them I ſhall oppoſe others (who have read it, and are wiſe enough to cenſure it) that ſay there is nothing idle or impertinent in it, nothing vainely or tautologically repeated; and the more ſit to bee ſomewhat large, becauſe ſo many adverſaries (which are not to bee ſleighted) have ſo long oppoſed it, and one of them with ſo much acceptation among ſome yong Students in the Univerſity, Dr. Pocklingt. his Book.as that for their delight they have read his booke at their common ſires, which the high Court of Parliament judged to the fire to bee burned; and by mine intentive handling of that which is of ſmaller moment, (though the leaſt things in Religion, as the filings of Gold, be very precious) I was willing to engage my ſelfe to a proportionable care and diligence in thoſe more important parts of my Sabbatary Treatiſes, which hereafter (by Gods aſſiſtance) I ſhall ſet forth.
It is time I ſhould draw towards an end, leſt I make my porch too large for the pyle of building that belongeth to it: and yet I beleeve no Reader will think me too long, but your Grace; nor you, but that you will thinke I grace you too much; and indeed, (my Lord) if I did not know you had ſo much humilitie, (with all that excellencie of knowledge and goodneſſe, which is obvious to all unblemiſhed eyes) that no prayſes are like to puffe you up; and were not confident, that you know mee too well, to take mee for a flatterer, I would not allow my ſelfe to make ſuch a dedication unto you: But while I apprehend you as you are in your ſelfe, and (as I conceive) towards mee; I cannot thinke I have offended in exceſſe, but I ſhould bee very faulty in defect, if I ſhould not adde to all that I have ſaid, an Advertiſement to your Grace, touching the generall both obſervation and expectation which, now eſpecially is ſet upon you (which, I am ſure, will never be fruſtrate by your default).
Your great abilities, and your acceptation with the greateſt, make many of the beſt and ſome of the wiſeſt confident that you can, and your anſwerable zeale and ſincerity makes them of ſtrong hope, that you will take all the faire opportunities that God puts into your hands, to helpe forward the caſting of all ſcandals out of the Church, and the ſetting up of all good meanes to keepe them out for future time: Gods Providence (which doth nothing in vaine) may well bee thought (after ſo long abſence, and ſo great diſtance of your ordinary reſidence) to have brought you hither at this time for ſo great, ſo good a purpoſe: So that, though there be ſome ſSunt qui quod ſentiunt, etiamſi optimum ſit, (invidiae metu) non audent dicere. Cicero l. 1. de Offic. p. 362.who think better then (for feare of envie) they dare ſpeake, and ſo doe a great deale worſe then (perhaps) they think: for (as tVeritatem reticere quoddam ſacrilegium eſt. Sedul. in epiſt. ad Rom. c. 11. ſol. 8.Sedulius ſaith) to conceale the truth (when there is juſt cauſe, and a fit ſeaſon to ſet it forth) is a kind of ſacriledge, It is both beleeved and looked for, that your Grace, as you can upon occaſion ſhew your ſelfe a Paul in eminence of knowledge, and a Barnabas in ſweetneſſe of ſpirituall conſolation; ſo with Paul and Barnabas, you will waxe bold in the cauſe of God and his truth, though (as it was their lot) you ſhould meet with contradiction, even unto blaſphemy, Act. 13 ver. 45, 46. and indeed, the ſincereſt and wiſeſt working may ſometimes not onelyonly faile of due acceptance and ſucceſſe, but bee as wilfully withſtood on the one ſide, as it is zealouſly purſued on the other: Yet your Grace may take the more heart to give free ſcope to your conſcience herein, becauſe you are ſo generally gracious, that as Hierome ſaid to uTuae dilectionis fama diſpergitur, ut non tam laudandus ſit qui te amat, quàm ſcelus putetur facere qui non amat. Hier. ad Florentium, priore epiſt. tom. 1. p. 53.Florentius, To love you, is not ſo much to be reputed a praiſe, as not to love you a crime: I ſhould be guilty of no leſſe, if I ſhould not in mine heartieſt prayers to Almighty God commend your good health, and long life, for his glory and his Churches comfort, and ſincerely profeſſe all humble obſervance to you, as the duty of
Your Graces moſt cordially devoted client and ſervant, JOHN LEY. From my lodging in Pauls Church-yard, March 19. 1640.