Works of Joseph Hall, Sermon 4 – Dedication 19
A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE HIS MAIESTIE, AT his Court at THEBALDS, on Sunday the 15. of SEPTEMBER 1622.
IOHN 7.24.
Iudge not according to the appearance, but iudge righteous iudgement.
AS in the ciuill bodie, ſo in the naturall; the head as it is the higheſt, ſo the chiefe part: according to the place is the dignitie: Of the head, the higheſt Region is chiefeſt, ſeruing only for the vſe of intellectuall powers; whereas the lower part of it is only imployed for bodily nutrition: Now, as the reaſonable part of the Soule is Vertex animae, being contradiſtinguiſhed to the ſenſitiue; So, if yee diſtinguiſh the reaſonable into Iudgement and Deliberation, Naturale Iudicatorium dicetur eſſe vertex, ſaith Aquinas; Iudgement is the top of our Soule, and therefore cals for the top of our care: If the higheſt Wheele goe right, the inferiour hardly erre. Heare then the golden rule of the Author, of the Iudge of our iudgement, Iudge not according to the appearance, but iudge righteous iudgement. The negatiue part is firſt, Iudge not; then, Iudge: Where the minde is free and cleere, it is good to begin with the poſitiue documents of right, which is the rule to it ſelfe and the wrong; but where the heart is foreſtalled with miſ-opinion, ablatiue directions are firſt needfull to vnteach error, ere wee can learne truth. Iudge not therefore according to the appearance: foreign is (as the Vulgar rightly) ſecundùm faciem, according to the face, becauſe the face onelyonly appeares, the reſt is hid: EueryEvery thing, not man only, hath both a face and an heart; a face which is peruious to eueryevery eye, an heart to which none eye can pierce but the wiſe. This face, as of man, ſo of things, is a falſe rule of iudgement; Frons, oculi, &c. The forehead, eyes, countenance tell many a lye. Iudge not therefore according to appearance: it is no meaſuring by a crooked line: There is nothing more vncertaine than appearance; ſome things appeare that are not, and ſome things are that appeare not; and that (beſides naturall occurrences) in morally both good and euill: Some things appeare good that are not, and therefore miſ-lead the heart both to an vniuſt proſecution, and to a falſe applauſe; ſome things appeare euill that are not, and therefore miſ-lead vsus to an iniurious cenſure, and vndeſerued abomination: Againe, ſome things are good that appeare not, and therefore loſe both our allowance and purſuit; ſome things are euill that appeare not, and therefore inſinuate themſelues into our acquaintance and louelove, to our coſt: Many a Snake lies hid vnderunder the Strawberry leaues, and ſtings vsus ere we be aware. Vitia virtutes mentiuntur, ſaith Gregory, Vice too oft makes a maske of the skin of Vertue, and lookes louely: Vertue as often comes forth (like a Martyr in the Inquiſition) with a San-benit vponupon her backe, and a cap painted with Deuils vponupon her head, to make her vgly to the beholders; Iudge not therefore according to the appearance.
The appearance or face, is of things, as of men: We ſee it at once with one caſt of the eye, yet there are angles, and hils and dales, which vponupon more earneſt view the eye ſees cauſe to dwell in: ſo it is with this appearance or face of things, which how-euer it ſeemes wholly to appeare to vsus at the firſt glance, yet vponupon further ſearch will deſcry much matter of our inquiry: For eueryevery thing from the skin incluſiuely to the heart, is the face; eueryevery thing beſides true being, is appearance. All the falſe foreign that vſe to beguile the iudgement of man, hide themſelues vnderunder this appearance: Theſe reduce themſelues to three heads; Preſumptions, falſe Formes, Euents: Preſumptions muſt be diſtinguiſhed; for whereas there are three degrees of them, firſt (levia Probabilia) light Probabilities, then faire Probabilities, and thirdly ſtrong Probabilities, which are called, Indicia iuris, the two firſt are allowed by very Inquiſitors, but as ſufficient to cauſe ſuſpicion, to take information, to attache the ſuſpected, not enough whereon to ground the Libell, or the torture, much leſſe a finall Iudgement: Thus Elie ſees Annaes lips goe, therefore ſhe is drunke: The Phariſes ſee Chriſt ſit with ſinners, he is a friend to their ſins.
Falſe formes are preſented either to the eye or to the eare. In the former, beſides ſupernaturall deluſions, there is a deceit of the ſight, whether through the indiſpoſition of the Organ, or the diſtance of the Obiect, or the miſ-diſpoſition of the medium: So as, if we ſhould iudge according to appearance, the Sunne ſhould double it ſelfe by the firſt, through the croſſeneſſe of the eye, it ſhould diminiſh it ſelfe by the ſecond, and ſeeme as big as a large Siue, or no large Cart wheele at the moſt; It ſhould dance in the riſing, and moue irregularly by the third. To the eare are miſ-reports, and falſe ſuggeſtions, whether concerning the perſon or the cauſe. In the former, the calumniating tongue of the Detractor is the Iugler that makes any mans honeſtie or worth appeare ſuch as his malice liſteth: In the latter, the ſmooth tongue of the ſubtile Rhetorician is the Impoſtor, which makes cauſes appeare to the vnſetled iudgement, ſuch as his wit or fauour pleaſeth: Euents, which are oft-times as much againſt the intention, and aboue the remedie of the Agent, as beſides the nature of the Act: There is ſometimes a good euent of euill, as Iaſons aduerſary cured him in ſtabbing him; the Iſraelites thriue by oppreſſion, the Field of the Church yeelds moſt when it is manured with bloud: There is ſometimes an ill euent of good; Ahimelec giues Dauid the Shew-bread, and the Sword, hee and his family dies for it: Sapientis eſt praeſtare culpam; It is enough for a wiſe man to weild the Act, the iſſue he cannot; Wiſdome makes demonſtratiue Syllogiſmes, à priori, from the cauſes; folly Paralogiſmes, à poſteriori, from the ſucceſſe. Careat ſucceſsibus opto quiſquie ab euentu, &c. was of old the word of the Heathen Poet. If therefore either vponupon ſleight probabilities, or falſe formes, or ſubſequent euents wee paſſe our verdict, wee doe what is here forbidden, Iudge according to appearance.
Had the charge beene onelyonly Iudge not, and gone no further, it had beene very vſefull, and no other than our Sauiour gaue in the Mount: wee are all on our way; EueryEvery man makes himſelfe a Iuſtice Itinerant, and paſſeth ſentence of all that comes before him, yea (beyond all commiſſion) of all aboue him; and that many times, not without groſſe miſ-conſtruction, as in the caſe of our late directions: Our very Iudges are at our barre; Secrets of Court, of Counſell, of State eſcape vsus not, yea not thoſe of the moſt reſerued Cabinet of Heauen: Quis te conſtituit Iudicem? Who made thee a Iudge? as the Iſraelite (vniuſtly) to Moſes: Theſe are ſawcy vſurpers of forbidden Chaires; and therefore it is iuſt with God, that (according to the Pſalmiſt) ſuch Iudges ſhould be caſt downe in ſtony places, yea, as it is in the Originall (foreign) that they ſhould be left in the hands of the rocke (allidantur Petrae) that they ſhould be daſht againſt the rocks, that will be ſailing without Card or compaſſe in the vaſt Ocean of Gods Counſels, or his Anointeds.
But now here our Sauiour ſeales our Commiſſion, ſets vsus vponupon the Bench; allowes vsus the act, but takes order for the manner; we may iudge, we may not iudge according to the appearance; wee may bee Iudges (whether foreign, or foreign) the one to condemne, the other to abſolue; wee may not bee (foreign) Iudges of euill thoughts; and we ſhall be euill-thoughted Iudges, if we ſhall iudge according to the appearance. Not only Fortune and LoueLove, but euen Iuſtice alſo is wont to be painted blindfold; to import that it may not regard faces. God ſayes to eueryevery Iudge as he did to Samuel, concerning Eliab, Looke not on his countenance, nor the height of his ſtature. Is an outragious rape committed? Is bloud ſhed? Looke not whether it be a Courtiers or a Peſants, whether by a Courtier or a Peſant; either of them cries equally loud to heauen: Iuſtice cannot be too Lyncean to the being of things, nor too blinde to the appearance.
The beſt things appeare not, the worſt appeare moſt; God, the Angels, ſoules both glorified and encaged in our boſomes, grace, ſupernaturall truths, theſe are moſtwhat the obiects of our faith, and faith is the euidence of things not ſeeene; Like as in bodily obiects, the more pure and ſimple ought is (as aire and ethereall fire) the more it flyeth the ſight; the more groſſe and compacted (as water and earth) the more it fils the eye, Iudge not therefore according to appearance.
It is an vſefull and excellent rule for the auoiding of errour in our iudgement of all matters whether Naturall, Ciuill, or Diuine.
Naturall; what is the appearance of a perſon, but the colour, ſhape, ſtature? The colour is oft-times bought or borrowed, the ſhape forced by Art, the ſtature raiſed (to contradict Chriſt) a cubit high; Iudge not therfore according to appearance. What are the colluſions of Iuglers and Mountebanks, the weepings and motions of Images, the noyſes of miraculous cures and diſpoſſeſſions, but appearances? Fit aliquando in Eccleſiâ maxima deceptio populi in miraculis fictis à ſacerdotibus; There is much cozenage of the poore people by cogged miracles, ſaith Cardinall Lyranus; theſe holy frauds could not gull men, if they did not iudge according to appearance. Should appearance bee the rule, our harueſt had beene rich; there was not more ſhew of plenty in our fields, than now of ſcarcity in our ſtreets. This dearth (to ſay truth) is not in the graine, but in the heart; If the hearts of men were not more blaſted with couetouſneſſe and cruell ſelfe-louelove, than their graine with diſtemper of aire, this needed not; The Barnes and Granaries are full, the Markets empty; Authority knowes how to remedy this euill, how to preuent a dearth in abundance, that men may not affamiſh whom God hath fed; and that when God hath giuen vsus the ſtaffe of bread; it may not bee either hid, or broken, ſhortly, that our ſtore may not be iudged by the appearance.
Ciuill; Wiſemen and ſtateſmen eſpecially may not alwaies looke the ſame way they would goe; like skilfull Sea-men, they ſometimes lauere, and (as the wind may ſtand) fetch compaſſes of lawfull policies to their wiſhed point. That of Tiberius was fearefull; of whom Xiphiline, foreign. That he ſayled euer againſt the wind of his words: But ſometimes a good Conſtantius, or Anaſtaſius, will wiſely pretend what hee intends not: As our Sauiour made as if hee went further, when hee meant to turne into Emaus: The hearts of Kings are as deepe waters; wee may not thinke to draine them in the hollow of our hand: Secret things to them of whom God hath ſaid, Dixi Dij eſtis; things reuealed to vsus and our children. Euen we meane ones would be loth to hauehave alwayes our hearts read in our faces; Iudge not therefore according to the appearance.
Diuine; In theſe our ſpeech muſt dwell; If we ſhould iudge according to the appearance, we ſhould thinke baſely of the Sauiour of the world; Who that had ſeene him ſprawling and wringing in the Cratch, flitting to Aegypt, chopping of chips at Nazareth, famiſhing in the Deſert, tranſported by Satan, attended by Fiſhermen, perſecuted by his Kinred, betraied by one Seruant, abiured by another, forſaken of all, apprehended, arraigned, condemned, buffeted, ſpat vponupon, ſcourged to bloud, ſceptred with the reede, crowned with thornes, nailed to the Croſſe, hanging naked betwixt two Theeues, ſcorned of the beholders, ſealed vp in a borrowed graue, could ſay other, than, Hee hath no forme nor beauty, when wee ſhall ſee him there is nothing that wee ſhould deſire him? Who that ſhould hauehave ſeene his skinne all dewed with pearles of bloudy ſweat, his backe bleeding, his face blubbered and beſmeared, his forehead harrowed, his hands and feet pierced, his ſide guſhing out, his head bowed downe in death, and ſhould withall hauehave heard his dying lips ſay, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken mee? would not hauehave ſaid, Hee is deſpiſed and reiected of men, yea (in appearance) of God himſelfe. Yet euen this while to the cutting of the ſinewes of thoſe ſtiffe-necked Iewes, the Angels owned him for their Lord, the Sages adored him, the Starre deſigned him, the Prophets foreſhewed him, the Deuils confeſt him, his Miracles euinced him, the earth ſhooke, the Rocks rent, the Dead lookt out, the Sunne lookt in, aſtoniſhed at the ſufferings of the God of nature; Euen whiles he was deſpiſed of men, he commanded the Deuils to their chaines: whiles baſe men ſhot out their tongues at him, Principalities and Powers bowed their knees to him; whiles he hanged deſpicably vponupon the tree of ſhame, the powers of hell were dragged captiue after the triumphant chariot of his Croſſe; the appearance was not ſo contemptible, as the truth of his eſtate glorious. Iudge not therefore according to the appearance.
Should appearance bee the rule, how ſcornfully would the carnall eye ouer-looke the poore ordinances of God? What would it finde here but fooliſhneſſe of preaching, homelineſſe of Sacraments, an inky Letter, a Prieſts lips, a ſauorleſſe meſſage, a morſell of Bread, a mouth full of Wine, an handfull of Water, a ſlander-beaten Croſſe, a crucified Sauiour, a militant Church, a deſpiſed profeſſion. When yet this fooliſhneſſe of preaching is the power of God to ſaluation; theſe mute Letters the liuely Oracles of God; theſe vile Lips the Cabinets of heauen to preſerue knowledge; this vnplauſible Meſſage, Magnalia Dei; this Water, the Water of Life in the midſt of the Paradiſe of God: (foreign) this Bread the Manna of Angels, thi Wine heauenly Nectar, this Church the Kings Daughter, all glorious within, this dying Sacrifice the Lord of life, this Croſſe the Banner of Victory, this Profeſſion Heauen vponupon earth. Iudge not therefore according to appearance.
Should appearance be the rule, woe were Gods children, happy were his enemies. Who that had ſeene Cain ſtanding maſterly ouer the bleeding carkaſſe of Abel, Ioſeph in his bonds, his Miſtreſſe in her dreſſe, Moſes in the Flags, Pharaoh in the Palace, Dauid ſculking in the Wilderneſſe, Saul commanding in the Court, Elias fainting vnderunder his Iuniper tree, Iezebel painting in her cloſet, Michaiah in the priſon, Zidkijah in the preſence, Ieremy in the dungeon, Zedekiah in the throne, Daniel trembling among the Lions, the Median Princes feaſting in their Bowers, Iohns head bleeding in the Platter, Herods ſmiling at the Reuels, Chriſt at the Barre, Pilate on the Bench, the Diſciples ſcourged, the Scribes and Elders inſulting, would not hauehave ſaid; O happy Caine, Potiphars wife, Pharaoh, Saul, Iezebel, Zidkijah, Zedekiah, Median Princes, Pilate, Herod, Elders; miſerable Abel, Ioſeph, Moſes, Dauid, Eliah, Michaiah, Ieremy, Daniel, Iohn, Chriſt, the Diſciples: Yet wee know Caines victory was as wofull, as Abels martyrdome glorious; Ioſephs irons were more precious, than the golden tires of his Miſtreſſe; Moſes Reedes were more ſure than Pharaohs Cedars; Dauids Ca…e in the Deſart more ſafe than the Towers of Saul; Eliahs Rauen a more comfortable purueyor than all the Officers of Iezebel: Michaiahs priſon was the gard-chamber of Angels, when Ahabs preſence was the counſell-chamber of euill ſpirits; Ieremies Dungeon had more true light of comfort than the ſhining ſtate of Zedekiah; Daniel was better garded with the Lions, than Darius and the Median Princes with their Ianiſaries; Iohns head was more rich with the Crowne of his martyrdome, than Herods with the Diadem of his Tetrarchate; Chriſt at the Barre gaue life and being to Pilate on the Bench, gaue motion to thoſe hands that ſtrucke him, to that tongue that condemned him, and in the meane while, gaue ſentence on his Iudge; The Diſciples were better pleaſed with their ſtripes and wales than the Iewiſh Elders with their proud Phylacteries. After this, who that had ſeene the primitiue Chriſtians, ſome broyled on Gridirons, others boyled in Lead, ſome roaſted, others frozen to death, ſome fleaed, others torne with horſes, ſome craſhed in peeces by the teeth of Lions, others caſt downe from the rocks to the ſtakes, ſome ſmiling on the wheele, others in the flame, al werying their tormentors and ſhaming their Tyrants with their patience, would not hauehave ſaid; Of all things I would not be a Chriſtian? Yet, euen this while were theſe poore torturing-ſtocks higher (as Marcus Arethuſius bragged) than their perſecutors; dying Victors, yea Victors of death; neuer ſo glorious as when they began not to be; in gaſping crowned, in yeelding the ghoſt more than Conquerours; Iudge not therefore according to appearance.
When thou lookeſt about, and ſeeſt on the one hand, a poore conſcionable Chriſtian drouping vnderunder the remorſe for his ſinne, auſterely checking his wanton appetite and curbing his rebellious deſires, wearing out his daies in a rough penitentiall ſeuerity, cooling his infrequent pleaſures with ſighs, and ſawcing them with teares; on the other hand ruffling Gallants made all of pleaſure and Iouiall delights, bathing themſelues in a ſea of all ſenſuall ſatieties, denying their pampered nature nothing vnderunder heauen, not wine in bowles, not ſtrange fleſh, and beaſtly dalliance, not vnnaturall titillations, not violent filthineſſe; that feaſt without feare, and drinke without meaſure, and ſweare without feeling, and liue without God; their bodies are vigorous, their coffers full, their ſtate proſperous, their hearts cheerefull: O how thou bleſſeſt ſuch men: Lo theſe (thou ſaiſt) theſe are the dearlings of heauen and earth; Sic ô ficiuvat vinere: Whiles thoſe other ſullen mopiſh creatures are the (foreign) off-ſcouring and recrements of the world; Thou foole, giuegive me thy hand, let mee lead thee with Dauid into the ſanctuary of God: Now what ſeeſt thou? The end, the end of theſe men is not peace. Surely ô God thou haſt ſet them in ſlippery places, and caſteſt them downe into deſolation: how ſuddenly are they periſhed, and horribly conſumed! Woe is mee, they doe but dance a Galliard ouer the mouth of hell, that ſeemes now couered ouer with the greene ſods of pleaſure; The higher they leape, the more deſperate is their lighting: Oh wofull, wofull condition of thoſe godleſſe men, yea thoſe Epicurean Pockets, whoſe belly is their God, whoſe heauen is their pleaſure, whoſe curſed iollity is but a feeding vp to an eternall ſlaughter: the day is comming, wherein eueryevery minute of their ſinfull vnſatisfying ioyes ſhall be anſwered with a thouſand thouſand millions of yeeres frying in that vnquenchable fire; And when thoſe damned Ghoſts ſhall forth of their inceſſant flames ſee the glorious remuneration of the penitent and penſiue ſoules which they hauehave deſpiſed, they ſhall then gnaſh and yell out that late recantation; Wee fooles thought their life madneſſe, and their end without honour; now they are counted among the children of God, and the portion is among the Saints, our amongſt Deuils: Iudge not therefore according to appearance.
Should we iudge according to appearance, all would be Gold that gliſtereth, all droſſe that gliſtereth not: Hypocrites hauehave neuer ſhewed more faire, than ſome Saints foule. Saul weepes, Ahab walkes ſoftly: Tobias and Sanballat will bee building Gods walles; Herod heares Iohn gladly; Balaam propheſies Chriſt, Iudas preaches him, Satan confeſſes him; When euen an Abraham diſſembles, a Dauid clokes adultery with murder, a Salomon giues (at leaſt) a toleration to idolatry; a Peter forſweares his Maſter; brieffly, the prime diſciple is a Satan; Satan an Angell of light. For you: How gladly are we deceiued in thinking you all ſuch as you ſeeme; None but the Court of Heauen hath a fairer face. Prayers, Sermons, Sacraments, geniculation, ſilence, attention, reuerence, applauſe, knees, eyes, eares, mouthes full of God; Oh that ye were thus alwaies! Oh that this were your worſt ſide! But if wee follow you from the Church, and finde curſing and bitterneſſe vnderunder your tongues; licentious diſorder in your liues, bribery and oppreſſion in your hands; If God looke into the windowes of your hearts, and finde there be (intus vapina) we cannot iudge you by the appearance; or, if we could, What comfort were it to you to hauehave deceiued our charity with the appearance of Saints, when the righteous Iudge ſhall giuegive you your portion with Hypocrites; What euer wee doe, he will be ſure not to iudge according to the appearance.
If appearance ſhould bee the rule, falſe religion ſhould be true, true falſe. Quaedam falſa probabiliora quibuſdam veris, is the old word; Some falſhoods are more likely than ſome truths: Natiue beauty ſcornes Art: Truth is as a matron; Error a curtizan: The matron cares onelyonly to concile louelove by a graue and gracefull modeſty, the curtizan with philtres and farding. Wee hauehave no hierarchy mounted aboue Kings, no pompous oſtentation of magnificence, no gariſh proceſſions, no gaudy altars, no fine images clad with Taffates in ſummer, with veluets in winter, no flouriſhes of vniuerſality, no rumors of miracles, no ſumptuous canonizations, wee hauehave nothing but (foreign) the ſincerity of Scriptures, ſimplicity of Sacraments, decency of rare ceremonies, Chriſt crucified. We are gone if yee goe by appearance: Gone? alas, who can but bluſh and weepe, and bleed to ſee that Chriſtian ſoules ſhould (after ſuch beames of knowledge) ſuffer themſelues to bee thus palpably cozened with the gilded ſlips of error, that after ſo many yeeres pious gouernment of ſuch an incomparable ſucceſſion of religious Princes, authority ſhould hauehave cauſe to complaine of our defection?
Deare Chriſtians (I muſt be ſharpe) are we children or fooles, that wee ſhould bee better pleaſed with the glittering tinſel of a painted baby from a Pedlers ſhop, than with the ſecretly-rich and inualuable Iewell of diuine Truth? HaueHave we thus learned Chriſt? Is this the fruit of ſo cleere a Goſpell? of ſo bleſſed ſcepters? For Gods ſake bee wiſe and honeſt, and yee cannot be Apoſtates.
Shortly, for it were eaſie to bee endleſſe: If appearance might bee the rule, good ſhould bee euill, euill good; there is no vertue that cannot bee counterfetted, no vice that cannot bee blanched; wee ſhould hauehave no ſuch friend as our enemy, a flatterer; no ſuch enemie as our friend that reproues vsus. It were a wonder if yee great ones ſhould not hauehave ſome ſuch burs hanging vponupon your ſleeues; As ſoone ſhall corne grow without chaffe, as greatneſſe ſhall bee free from adulation: Theſe ſeruile ſpirits ſhall ſooth vp all your purpoſes, and magnifie all your actions, and applaud your words, and adore your perſons: Sin what yee will, they will not checke you; Proiect what you will, they will not thwart you; ſay what ye will, they will not faile to ſecond you; bee what yee will, they will not faile to admire you; Oh how theſe men are all for you, all yours, all you; They louelove you as the Rauens doe your eyes. How deare was Siſera to Iael, when ſhe ſmoothed him vp, and gaue him milke in a lordly diſh; Samſon to Dalilah, when ſhe lulled him in her lap; Chriſt to Iudas, when he kiſſed him; See how he loued him, would ſome foole hauehave ſaid, that had iudged by appearance.
In the meane time an honeſt plaine dealing friend is like thoſe ſauces which a man praiſes with teares in his eyes: like a cheſnut, which pricks the fingers, but pleaſes our taſte; or like ſome wholſome medicinall potion, than diſtaſtes and purges vsus (perhaps makes vsus ſicke) that it may heale vsus. Oh let the righteous ſmite mee, for that is a benefit, let him reproue mee, and it ſhall bee a precious oyle that ſhall not breake my head; Breake it? no, it ſhall heale it, when it is mortally wounded by my owne ſinne, by others aſſentation: Oh how happy were it, if we could louelove them that louelove our ſoules, and hate them that louelove our ſinnes. They are theſe rough hands that muſt bring vsus ſauory diſhes, and carry away a bleſſing; truth is for them now, thankes ſhall be for them hereafter, but in the meane time they may not be iudged by the appearance.
Laſtly, if we ſhall iudge friendſhip by complement, ſalubrity by ſweetneſſe, ſeruice by the eye, fidelity by oathes, valour by brags, a Saint by his face, a deuill by his feet, we ſhall be ſure to be deceiued: Iudge not therefore according to appearance.
But (that yee miſtake not) though we may not iudge onelyonly by the appearance, yet appearance may not bee neglected in our iudgement. Some things according to the Philoſopher (foreign) ſeeme and are, are as they ſeeme: Semblances are not alwaies ſeuered from truth; Our ſenſes are ſafe guides to our vnderſtandings. Wee iuſtly laugh at that Scepticke in Laertius, who becauſe his ſeruant robbed his Cup-bord, doubted whether hee left his victuals there: What doe wee with eyes if wee may not beleeue their intelligence? That world is paſt, wherein the gloſſe Clericus amplectens foeminam praeſumitur benedicendi cauſà feciſſe; The wanton imbracements of another mans wife muſt paſſe with a Clarke for a ghoſtly benediction; Men are now more wiſe, leſſe charitable: Words and probable ſhewes are appearances, actions are not; and yet euen our words alſo ſhall iudge vsus; If they bee filthy, if blaſphemous, if but idle, wee ſhall account for them, wee ſhall bee iudged by them: Ex ore tuo; A foule tongue ſhewes euer a rotten heart; By their fruits yee ſhall know them, is our Sauiours rule; I may ſafely ſay, No body deſires to borrow colours of euill: if you doe ill, thinke not that we will make dainty to thinke you ſo; When the God of louelove can ſay by the Diſciple of louelove, Qui facit peccatum ex diabolo eſt; Hee that committeth ſinne is of the deuill: Euen the righteous Iudge of the world iudgeth (ſecundum opera) according to our works; we cannot erre whiles wee tread in his ſteps. If wee doe euill, ſinne lies at the doore; but it is on the ſtreet ſide; EueryEvery Paſſenger ſees it, cenſures it; How much more he that ſees in ſecret? Tribulation and anguiſh vponupon eueryevery ſoule that doth euill: EueryEvery ſoule; here is no exemption by greatneſſe, no buying off with bribes, no bleering of the eyes with pretences, no ſhrouding our ſelues in the night of ſecrecy; but, if it be a ſoule that doth euill, Tribulation and anguiſh is for it; Contrarily, If we doe well, ſhall we not be accepted? If we be charitable in our almes, iuſt in our awards, faithfull in our performances, ſober in our carriages, deuout in our religious ſeruices, conſcionable in our actions; Glory, and honour, and peace to eueryevery man that worke…h good; we ſhall hauehave peace with our ſelues, honour with men, glory with God and his Angels: Yea that peace of God which paſſeth all vnderſtanding; ſuch honour as hauehave al his Saints, the incomprehenſible glory of the God of peace, the God of Saints and Angels, to the participation whereof, that good God that hath ordained vsus, as mercifully bring vsus for the ſake of his deare Sonne Ieſus Chriſt the iuſt: To whom with thee O Father, and thy good Spirit, one infinite God, our God, be giuen all praiſe, honour and glory now and for euer. Amen.
THE GREAT IMPOSTOR, LAID OPEN IN A SERMON AT GRAYES INNE, Febr. 2. 1623.
By IOS. HALL.
SIC ELEVABITVR FILIVS HOMINIS
Io 3.
ANCHORA FIDEI:
LONDON, ❧ Printed for NATHANIEL BVTTER. 1624.
TO THE MOST NOBLE, AND WORTHILY HONOVRED SOCIETIE OF GRAYES INNE: AT WHOSE BARRE THIS JMPOSTOR WAS openly arraigned: J. H. HVMBLY DEDICATES THIS PVBLIKE LIFE OF HIS WEAKE AND VNWORTHIE LABOVR.