Commentary on Malachi, Title page – Dedication
A Brief, and Plain COMMENTARY, WITH NOTES: Not more uſeful, than ſeaſonable, upon the whole Prophecie of MALACHY.
Delivered, Sermon-wiſe, Divers years ſince, at Pitmister, in Summerſet.
By William Sclater, Doctor in Divinity, then Miniſter of that Pariſh,
Now, Publiſhed by his Son William Sclater, Batchelar in Divinity, late Fellow of Kings Colledg in Cambridg, now miniſter of Collompton in Devon.
Publiſhed according to Order.
LONDON. Printed by J. L. for Chriſtopher Meredith at the ſign of the Crane in Pauls Church-yard 1650.
TO THE RIGHT VVORSHIPFVL, Mr. HENRY WALROND of Bradfield, in the County of Devon, Eſquire, Grace, and Glory.
Sir,
ITs a maxime with the Schoolmen, (in whoſe volumes, amidſt much ſuperſtitious oar, ſome gold of precious and refined wit, is, by a*School-men being more witty to raiſe queſtions, then judicious to aſſoyl them, are warily to be read, at leaſt by Novices. Dr. Sclater, p. 73. on 2 Theſſ. c. 1. v. 11. & p. 202. 203. ib. c. 2. v. 15. wary ſearcher, to be found) That charity is the form of every Theological vertue: Not, that it gives them al their ſeveral natures, or diſtinct individuations; but for that it forms them al unto acceptability before God, in whoſe repute evena1 Cor. 13.1. Angelical excellencies, without love, are but as a tinkling cymbal, or an empty found: It is, indeed, that royal grace, wherein, above other, God himſelf doth, in a ſort, reciprocate with his Saints; If we fear God, he fears not us; if we obey God, he obeyes not us, &c. But if we love God, he ſweetly cloſeth with us in theb1 Joh. 4.19. ſame kinde, and returns it with advantage into our boſomes. A clearcJoh. 13.35. proofe of this affection was expected from none more,eforeign I fidor. Peluſiota, l. 1. Ep. 356. then from Apoſtles; wherefore our Saviour, to make experiment, puts Saint Peter, adGal. 2.9. A pillar. chief amongſt them, to an interogatory, in the ſame terms thrice repeated, Joh. 21.15, 16, 17. Simon, fRedditur trinae Negationi trina confeſſio, ne minus amori lingua ſerviat, quam timori. S. Auguſt. tract. 127. in Jobannem.Son of Jonas, Loveſt thou me? Who likewiſe thrice appealing to Chriſts Omniſciency, for the truth of his inward love towards him, is required to ſhew it forth, by feeding of his lambs, and ſheep; by that confeſſion, or engagment, as it is were ſalving the wound of his three-fold denial of him; and cauſing his tongue (as Auguſtine obſerves) to ſerve him no leſs to declare his love, then it had done in diſcloſing his fear: To wave the mention of what heterogeneous gloſſes the ſoothing Paraſites of the grandg3 Epiſt. Joh. 9. Diotrephes of Rome, (that Antichriſtianh2 Theſſ. 2.3. man of ſin) impoſe upon this text, making what was meant only as as theiDu Moulin. Art. 23. Defence of K. Ja. againſt Caeefteu. ſtrengthening of Peters infirmity,lDico, quòd nullu… Apoſtolorum, fact…s eſt à Chriſto Epiſcopus; Petrus depalude, de poteſtat. Apoſt. Art. 2. (for ſo many fallings, ſo manykBeza, Annot. on Matth. 16. v. 19. reſtorings, ſaith Beza) to to be a raiſing of him, with excluſion of all others, unto dignity; that, on this occaſion, by the great cheat of a pretended perſonal (not by any intended trulymJud. v. 3. foreign primitivenRom. 1.8. doctrinal) ſucceſſion, they might, with an uſurped triple crown, enthronize their viſible head, and Monarch of the univerſal Church; and enſtate him in a Primacy of Juriſdiction, and ſupream Domination over all other Paſtors, and ſouls whatſoever, or whereſoever; (whereby it appears, he is likeo1 Pet. 5.3. conferr 2 Cor. 1.24. Peter in nothing more, then in the denyal of his maſter,) whereas, as St.pHoc erant uti que & caeteri Apoſtoli, quod fuit Petrus, pari conſortio praediti, & honoris, & poteſtatis —exordium ab unitate proficiſcitur. S. Cyprian, de unitate Eccleſiae, ſect. 3. confer Whitaker contra Duraeum, l. 9. ſ. 7. Juel againſt Harding, part. 2. c. 3. Divis. 3. Mr. Edw. Reynolds, on Pſa. 110. p. 88. Dieteric in Feſto St. Pauli: with all the ful Chorus of reformed, Proteſtant Divines. Cyprian truly, (exceptingqMatth. 10.2. ſometimes, but notrGal. 2.9. 2 Cor. 11.28. alwaies, a priority of order in his nomination before them) the very ſame what St. Peter was, in point both of honour,ſMatth. 28.19. commiſſion, andtMatth. 18.18. Ioh. 20.21. S…t primus ante omnes, non primarius, King James, In Apology to all Chriſtian Monarchs, p. 306. 307. &c. power, were all the other Apoſtles.
To wave, I ſay, all this, (as being now enditing an Epiſtle, not writing a treatiſe,) allowing to Peter, and the Apoſtles, as to the firſt Repreſentatives, their extraordinary Circumſtantials, and unimitableuThe Perſonal Priviledges of the Apoſtles Calling, ſee in Mr. Perkins, on Jude v. 17. and in Bilſon Praef. p. 11. & c. 5. & 10. of the Perpetual govern. of the Church. Davenant. on Coloſſ. c. 1. v. 1. & p. 130, 131, 137, 152, 170. ib. Dr. Fe…ld, l. 1. c. 5. l. 3. c. 4. Of the Church; and Dr. Sclater on Pſal. 116. p. 48, 104, 142. priviledges, fixed to their perſons only: all other * faithfulxJer. 3.15. Paſtors, lawfullyySee Perkins on Iſa. 6.5, 6. Signes of a miniſters lawful calling, ſee in him, on Galat. c. 1. v. 1, & 11. and on Matth. 7. v. 16. it: Pet. Martyr. loc com. claſſ. 4. c. 1. Bullinger, adverſ. Anabapt. l. 3. c. 4. Non ſunt audiendi, niſi vocati, Gerſon. part. 3. de vitâ Spirit. Comad. Dieteric. In Feſto St. Andreae. Dr. Sclater, on Pſal. 116. p. 142, 143. called, andzJer. 23.31. Joh. 17.18. Rom. 10.15. Heb. 5.4. ſent, for the ordinary ſubſtantials of theiraRom. 11.13. 1 Tim. 3.1. office, inbMatth. 28.19, 20. Mar. 16.15, 16. Rom. 10.14. Joh. 17.20. Preaching and Baptizing, &c. are enjoyned the like manifeſtation of the ſame love, to thed1 Pet. 5.4. chief Shepherd, ande1 Pet. 2.25. Biſhop of ſouls, by thefAct. 20.28. inſpection, andg1 Pet. 5.2. feeding of his flock, the Church.w1 Cor. 4.2. Matth. 25.21.cJoh. 14.15.
This well knew the Author of this enſuing Commentary, (my dear, and reverend father) who ſeeing the way thus lead before him, ſtrove to walk after in the very path, though he reach'd not, happly, the ſame large ſteps; and hath given ample expreſſions, after hishEph. 4.7. 2 Cor. 10.13. meaſure, of his love, (the chiefi2 Cor. 5.14. motive of his miniſterial undertakings) to Chriſt, by his triple feeding both of his lambs, and ſheep; to wit. 1. By word. 2. By life. 3. By writing. For ſo did this great Apoſtle, with the reſt: To thoſe Churches which they planted, Preaching, Tàm vivâ (quod aiunt) voce, quàm per Epiſtolas, poſteà, askTertullian de Praeſcript. advers. Haeret. c. 21. Tertullian ſpeaketh; as well by their Epiſtles, abſent, as by their lively voyces, preſent: They delivered precepts both of doctrine, and manners, foreign, as Chryſostome ſaith, both without writing, and with it; the which is alſo inſinuated by St. Paul, 2 Theſſ. 2.15. where he exhorts his Theſſalonians to ſtand faſt, and hold the traditions (to wit of doctrine) which they had been taught, by word, or their Epiſtle. And, indeed, in its degree, a man may foreign, asmClemens Alexandr. l. 1. Strom. See Eccleſ. 12.10. Clemens Aexandrinus phraſeth it; Preach, as, by his tongue; ſo, by his pen. David compared his tongue to thenPſal. 45.1. pen of a ready writer, that what he ſpake might, aso1 Tim. 4.1. foreign. a written letter,*litera ſcripta manet. laſt; and as the Spirit is ſaid to (ſpeak) expreſly; ſo is the Scripture, that is the [written] word, topforeign Jam. 4.5. (ſay): A writer is a ſilent, as a ſpeaker is a vocal Orator. Either ſanctified, winneth glory to the Lord, and much advantage to the Church of Chriſt, faxit.lRom. 6.17. So Dr. Fulk expounds it, againſt the Rhemiſts, num. 17. on 2 Theſſ. 2.*Chryſoſt. Hom. 4. in 1 Theſſ. 2.
Now, it may be thought not well beſeeming me, or, at all, my Herauldry to blazon the coat of my fathers graces, the creſt whereof is glory: Perhaps, it might be [lawful] for me, (who knew him both in word, in life, in writings, better, then another did, or could;) but, as the Doctor of the Gentiles, ſaid of his own rapture, and viſions; q2 Cor. 12.1., foreign, It is not [expedient] doubtleſs, for me to glory; though, after Solomons expreſſion, ſuch a Father may be myrProv. 17.6. glory: Let his own works praiſe him in the Gates: he was a fair Copy for me to write after; and, as its written of righteous Abel, He being dead, yet tHeb. 11.4.ſpeaketh; and what ſaith he? Surely, me-thinks, as the ghoſtly Father of Timothy, to him, 2 Tim. 3.10, 14. Thou haſt fully known my doctrin, manner of life, &c. Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and haſt been aſſured of, knowing of whom thou haſt learned them; now, my own deſires, and endeavours are, that, as I reſemble him (they ſay) in*Sic oculos, ſic ille manus, ſic ora ferebat. Virgil. Aen. 3. de Aſtyanact Hectoris f…lio. viſage, as a ſon by natural birth; ſo, I may do likewiſe, in religious imitation; adding only (as in all dutiful acknowledgments) of him what Nazianzene wrote, as an Epitaph, on his Baſil.
foreign.
His doctrine was thunder, and his life lightening; the one to ſtartle ſinners rock't aſleep in ſecurity; the other, touMatth. 5.16. ſhine before good eyes, and to dazle others, who ſhun'd illumination. He was in his native diſpoſition, as Moſes, abounding in manſuetude, and*Num. 12.3. meekneſs; yet, in the cauſe of Chriſt,xAct. 7.22. mighty in words, and deeds: SoſProv. 31.31. *Joh. 8.39. See this book. c. 2. v. 8. p. 78, 79, 80, 81. and, him alſo, on Pſa. 116. p. 174, 175.that my hope is, theyProv. 10. memory of him, as of a juſt man, both is, and ſhall be bleſſed.
And I am the rather induc'd to think ſo, for that in the peruſal of divers Modern writers, I finde him quoted often, as an approved Textuary, and of a ſound judgment, in thoſe Scriptures, and Sermons, which he undertook to treat of; ſome whereof were ſet forth and reviſed by himſelf, in his own life time; ſome publiſhed by me, ſince his deceaſe.
As concerning this book, which I thought meet to ſtyle, [A brief commentary, with notes, on the Prophet Malachy,] the materials of it were meditated, and Preached, ſome years before his death; (of whom, what concerneth mine own private eſtate, I ſay no more, but as Philip ſayd of Hipparchus being gone, Sibi maturè, mihi citô, he dyed in a good time for himſelf, but for me, too-ſoon:) but, as the Hebrewes are wont to expreſs that in thezIn prophetis praeteritum pro futuro poni crebrò ſolet. Joh. Druſius. Lect. in Obad. v. 7. praeter-tenſe, which was to be accompliſhed in the future, thereby denoting the certainty of what they foretell; ſo what was uttered by him, as in Expoſition of this Prophecie, for divers yeares paſt, was as an apt mould for theſe very times: He was no Prophet, or Prophets ſon, much leſs a favourer of bold*Contra Enthuſiaſtas lege Bulling. l. 2. c. 1. adv. Anabapt. & Dieteric. In feriâ 3a. Penecoſt. Enthuſiaſmes, or a pretender to extraodinarya2 Cor. 12.1. revelations, under a conſtitution of*See Dr. Sclater, on Pſal. 116. v. 13. p. 127, 128. ordinary meansbZanch. de Divinatione. per Inſomn. p. 163. by God. Yet certainly, as Ariſtotle (the Patriarch of Philoſophers) writes of ſome, that they have foreign, as it were foreſpeaking, and (after Zanchy's expreſſion) praeſagient,*See 1 Tim. 4.13. conjecturing natures, peculiari vi cConrad. Dietericus Dominicâ poſt Circumcis. Domini: num. 4.foreign) futuros eventus praeſagientes, as Conradus Dietericus hath it; ſo ſurely, (finding withal, in experience, thedPſal. 25.14. Prov. 3.32. ſecret of the Lord to be with him) God gave him aeProv. 22.3. foreſeeing eye, and by a prudent, yea Political obſervation of Gods exemplary dealings with other Nations, and Churches (ſinning, or reforming,) ſeemed to diſcover, how the pulſe of this land began to beat, and by foregoing ſymptomes gueſſed at the approaching diſeaſe, that was growing upon this Church, and State; and which, ſince, in great meaſure, hath broken out.
For the ſtyle, it might, in all likelihood, have been better poliſhed, if he had ſurviv'd to have drawen his laſt, and ſmootheſt hand over it; yet, to any who have pleaſed to be converſant in his other writings, it ſhall be found alike, that is, as himſelf was, ſomewhat after the ſtature of Zacheus, fLuk. 19.3.ſhort, curt, and ſtrict, though withal full, and clear: And indeed ſententiouſneſs, not loquacity, in ſerious Theology, is to be preferred.— foreign
foreign.
His skill was ſomewhat choyce in ſearching, and ſpringing the mine of an intricate, obſcure ſcripture, ſparing no devotion, or Logick, til he had found out the right veine, where the treaſure lay hid. And, in this reſpect, he hath been heard to ſay, that he would [warily] adventure to ſtart the hare with any man; which done, a common ingenuity may finde ſcope enough to purſue a text.gHomer II. foreign.
For the method, it's for the Chapters themſelves, at large, Analytical; for the Practical obſervations thence deduced, ſynthetical; diſpoſed for the beſt advantage, both of the memories, and hearts of thoſe plain people that heard him.
The ſcope is, to diſcover Gods judgments in the cauſes; and withal, to hold forth means of prevention, or removal, in their due application.
Having, on theſe, and the like conſiderations, pondered in my ſecret thoughts the uſefullneſs of this work, I was fully purpoſed to prepare it for the preſs, and to let it ſee the light. Yet, becauſe (amidſt ſo great Atheiſm abroad, that now, as Jacob did Eſau, hath taken the generalhIſa. 6.10. infatuation by theiGen. 25.26. heel; inſomuch, that thek2 Tim. 3.5. power of godlineſs being long ſince loſt, now, the very outward form is hardly to be found;) Foggy, and (wo is me!) too much uncontrolled errourslMundus ſeneſcens patitur phantaſias; Gerſon. in this dotage of the world; ariſing like thoſemRev. 9.3. Locuſts out of the bottomleſs pit, have damp'd the ancient zeal, and, as thenJon. 4.7. worm in Jonah's gourd, eaten out the very ſap, and vigor of allmoſt all right holineſs:
For this cauſe, a patron muſt of neceſſity be ſought to perfect this helpleſs poſthume from the injuries of anoAct. 2.40. & Philip. 2.15. untoward generation. And, to ſhelter a [pious] diſcourſe, I quickly knew where to finde one, a very neer neighbour; even your ſelf, (moſt worthy Sir:) A gentleman, 'twixt whom, and the Authour, there did ever paſs, conſtanly, ſo dear and affectionate a reciprocation of moſt cordial, and religious reſpects. I cannot but well hope from ſo much candor, and gravitie, for a courteous entertainment of a ſuitor that comes thus [in his name] to Bradfield. And the rather, for that I have been informed of your Noble acknowledgments, that Doctor Sclater's miniſtry was, under God, one of the [firſt] means of your calling, at leaſt, of your firmer eſtabliſhment, in your firſt, right wayes of truth, and godlineſs; inſomuch, that I begin to think, on a ſudden, you might perſonally be an Auditor of ſome of theſe very Sermons, the ſum whereof I now crave the favour to preſent you with: nor do I queſtion, but that your inward experience of the comforts of*The work of the Lord was precious in thoſe dayes, as 1 Sam. 3.1. See p. 79. of this book. thoſe dayes, occaſioneth, even yet, (whereof I rejoyce) ſo daily mention, and ſo honourable a commemoration of his name, at your refections, deambulations, conferences.
How willingly (had I any tolerable skill in the muſick of Oratory) could I now ſtrike the ſweet ſtrings, and ſound the pleaſant Notes of your due prayſes; the garlands whereof about your Temples, like the trees of Alcinous, are ever green, and not ſuffered to flag or wither through any defect of the radical moyſture of Divine graces. But herein, me-thinks, I am as in a ſtraite betwixt two; affraid, on the one ſide, of the Scilla of mine own inſufficiencies; your perfections, as if in the very Tropick of Cancer, are advanced to ſo great an height, that if I ſhould ſpeak of them in a magnificent ſtyle, they would*De quo non poſſum ità magnifice loqui, id virtus quia ſuperettua; Terent. ſurmount the reach of my expreſſions: this were an alloy for an abler pen: on the other ſide, of the Charybdis, ofqLaudator quaſi, adulator. foreign. flattery, eſpecially when as your piety is i cloathed with ſo great*Vir juſtus quantò perfectior efficitur, tantò in oculis ſuis minuitur. Peraldus, tom. 2. c. 5. De virtut. & vitiis. humility; that as thoſe who live under the Equinoctial, even at noon-day, have no ſhadowes at all; ſo, in the very Meridian of your Sanctity, you decline your [own,] that God may have [his] glory: quàm magnum est nolle laudari, & eſſe laudabilem? Sene-
Yet, ſith the ſelf-depreſſing*2 Chro. 12.11. Apoſtle would ca. have his Converts to minde, foreign, due praiſe, Phil. 4.8. and asſGranatenſ. tom. 3. conc. de Temp. p. 460. vol. 8. Granado obſerves, in praiſing of good men, we, in them, honour the God of ſuch men, when we ſhew forth the vertues, or praiſes of him who hath called them: and though an humble man be ſhye of giving eulogies ofu2 Cor. 10.18. himſelf; yet, as St. Clement, foreign Eph. 3.8.in his Epiſtle to the Corinthians (a genuine piece of antiquity lately come to our hands) hath it, foreign, let him permit another to give teſtimony of him; this kinde of laudation being (ſaith a reverendxDavenant. expoſit. in Coloſſ. c. 2. v. 5. p. 170. confer p. 84. of this book. Biſhop) but an artificial, or effectual perſwaſion to perſevere in things allready praiſe-worthy; thereby, withal, to teſtifie good affection, and to hold out the lamp of their vertuous lives unto others: In this caſe, (as Auſtin ſpeaks in the matter of commending the dead) nec laudantem adulatio movet, nec laudatum tentat elatio, neither adulation may juſtly be imputed to the praiſer, nor Elation to the praiſed.p Ecclus. 43.7.r1 Pet. 5.5.t 1 Pet. 2.9.*S. Clemens, Epiſt. ad Corinth. p. 50. edit. Oxon. 1633.
And, on this Apology, I muſt acqaint the world, that my Rhetorick would here fail me, before matter, the*Inopem me copia fecit. copiouſneſs whereof hath brought upon me a penury of language, to embelliſh it: However, ſith my ſelf have ſeldom departed from you, without ſome improvement of Holineſs by you, I cannot forbear to break my box of prayſes, as of ſo much ſpikenard, to perfume the Age with the mention of your Vertues; and that, if not in proportion to your*Quod ſi digna tuâ minim eſt mea pagina laude, At voluiſſe ſat eſt— Lucan. in panegyr. ad Calpurn. Piſonem. merit, yet in ſome meaſure to mine own deſires.
Loe! from a living root of worthineſs, there have ſprang forth from you, by an happy vegeration, various branches of very eximious qualifications, being made conſpicuous, and to be ſeen.
1. In Artificial inventions.
2. In Civil moralities.
3. Oeconomical decorum's.
4. In Political adminiſtrations. And (as the crown and glory of all theſe.)
5. In religious devotion.
For the firſt, ſo ſingular in the univerſality of them, as if the Univerſal had been but one ſingular: as to another Bezaleel, a ſpirit is given you toyExod. 31.3.4. deviſe cunning works, in all manner of workmanſhip; and as ſome Chriſtian Archimedes, no engine, or inſtrument, for contrivance, or motion, exceeds your skill: even the moſt extravagant Element, the water, is taught, to make melody, yea repaſt, and delight for moſt of the ſenſes: Yet all this, as being far beneath your duplicate page duplicate page better thoughts, is made the buſineſs but of your ſpare, ſucciſive houres; and regarded only as your recreations.
For the ſecond, the whole train of Moral Vertues, as thoſe Virgins did on the Kings daughter, deck't in their faireſt ornaments, attend you; ſuch are Temperance, Sobriety, Juſtice, affability, &c.
For the third, as God hath given youaPſal. 127, 128. fruitful vines, ſo your children ſtand, like Olive plants, about your table; your quiver is become full of thoſe arrows, which the Lords is pleaſed to account his own heritage, and his reward: all theſe, with your houſhold, as if by a kinde of ſacred foreign Abraham's religiouſneſs had, indeed, transmigrated into your breaſt, you commandbGen. 18.19. to keep the way of the Lord; and they all again, by beholding yourcColoſſ. 2.5. orderly, and conſtant enſample, are, as it were, piouſly charmed into a zealousdJoh. 8.39. As Ulyſſes of his family, to quip Ajax, neque in his quiſquam damnatus, & exul. imitation, like thoſe twelve tribes, Act. 26.7. Inſtantly ſerving God, day and night: And, which is very remarkable, (as being indeed the very Diamond ſet in the ring of Gods favours on you) in ſo fair a Pomegranate, no one grain is found tainted: No one, among ſo numerous an offſpring, debauched. He, I am ſure, who ſurvives as your firſt-borneMr. William Walrond. ſon, and is, as Jacob ſaid of Reuben, yourfGen. 49.2. ſtrength, the honour of his houſe, and the hopes of his Country, a gentleman of elegant learning, refined parts, and of eminent ſanctity, well leades the way to all the reſt; ſo that I may hither apply what that Heroick Poet ſang of theſe golden branchesz Pſal. 45.14. pluck'd off; if the one failed, another ſprang up forthwith in the ſame place. —*Virgil. Aen. 6. Uno avulſo, non deficit alter.
Aureus, & ſimili frondeſcit virga metallo.
For the fourth; you have been known, for many yeers paſt, to reſemble, in your practice,gExod. 18.21. Jethro's magiſtrate, which hath made you long a ſtay to theſe parts; and as Horod washMar. 6.20. afraid of John Baptiſt, for his holineſs, ſo hath lewdneſs been, of your juſtice; as, on the other ſide, religion found both countenance, and encouragement from you: but, that which my ſelf (and as I believe, with me, many others) have with ſome ſpecialty, noticed, is; that, as you haveiEccleſ. 9.2. feared an oath your ſelf, ſo to perſons whom you have diſcovered tender, ignorant, or raſh, you have forborn to load them with a publique oath: which cautelouſneſs if ſome had equally obſerved, many conſciences had, probably, been leſs guilty of the breach of thekExod. 20.7. third Commandment; and the land notlJer. 23.10. mourned ſo long becauſe of unlawful, and (alas! how often?) contradictory ſwearing.
The laſt, which as King Lemuel's daughtermProv. 31.29. excelleth all the former, is your religious devotion: he that runs may read this, in your awful, yet ſerene*Cujus vultum nec fuſcavit maeror, nec levigavit riſus, Bern. de S. Martino. countenance, the clear index of a mortified ſoul; God hath poured upon you a choyce ſpirit ofnZech. 12.10. ſupplications; you are, in the ſcriptures, anoAct. 18.24. Apollos; to thep2 Tim. 3.17.2 Pet. 1.21. men of God, faithful miniſters, a q Gaius; of ſuch gueſts your hoſpitality is ſeldom unfurniſhed: A bemoaner, no fomenter of the great diviſions of the times, for which, (ah me!) as of old, for thoſe of Reuben, there are ſo great thoughts and impreſſions of heart: an honourer, promoter, and a ſtrict obſerver of Gods publique ordinances;ſPſal. 122.1. glad of occaſions to frequent thetHeb. 10.25. Aſſemblies; and not only ſo, [for an example] to beuMatth. 5.16. ſeen; but your*Matth. 6.6. cloſſet is a Temple for Divinity. And now alſo, as Iſaac had his*Gen. 24.63. field, ſo have you your garden of delight, a retreate for holy meditations; that ſo, as Enoch, in devout ſoliloquy's, you mightxGen. 5.24. walk, and converſe with God; having youryPhil. 3.20. converſation in Heaven, even whileſt you are onzMatth. 6.10. earth; as ſome Chriſtian Scipio, nunquàm minùs ſolus, quàm cum ſolus, being never leſs alone, then when you are alone: And, as the richeſt Carbuncles ſhine beſt in varied, or duskiſh lights; ſo doth your ſanctimony, in an age ſo over-caſt with black, and pitchy clouds of all variety of moſt fowl enormities; as it more commended Noah to be righteous before God, even in that veryaGen. 7.1. generation, when ſin as a deluge, had over-flown the whole world, and [all] fleſh had corrupted his way upon the earth, Gen. 6.12. But, this is ſo well known to all, that I may ſeem to do a wrong, in making them onlie as my own private notices.
To conclude; (for I fear my ſelf to have exceeded the meaſure of an Epiſtle:) thus adorned with Gods graces, it ſhall be your comfort, yea your glory, to abound more and more; and though, (as you once told me your ſelf) you are not for thecPhil. 3.9. righteouſneſs of works; yet perſiſt ſtill (I beſeech you) in the works of righteouſneſs: Put on theſe; they ſhall be, not only as white rayment tor Judg. 5.15. b 1 Theſſ. 4.1. 1 Cor. 15.58.d 1 Pet. 2.12. Jam. 3.13.eRev 3.18.cloath you; but alſo foreign, as the [arfRom. 13.12. mour] of light, even armour of proofe, to defend, and guard you againſt the [hurt] of whatſoever evil may aſſault you; albeit they are not, as Bernard truly, Cauſa Regnandi, the cauſe of reigning; notwithſtanding you ſhall finde them to be, via regni, thekJam. 2.18. evidences of your Faith, thelEph. 1.4. Tit. 2.14. 2 Pet. 1.10. fruites of your Election, and themEph. 2.10. way ordained of God to walk directly in, to the Kingdom of Heaven: To the full fruition of which kingdom, that you may full of dayes, and in a good old age, accompanyed with a lively faith, and a clear conſcience, be advanced; (deſiring withal the favour of your Hereditary reſpects,) is, and ſhall be thenCol. 4.12. fervent prayer of, Sir,g Eſtius, ad Rom. 13.12.h 1 Pet. 3.13.… Iſa. 26.12.
Your ſervant in the Lord Chriſt, to be commanded. William Sclater. From my ſtudy in Collompton, Sept. 1. 1648.