Works, Dedication 3 – Chapter 1
TO THE Right Honourable and Learned Knight Sir ROBERT NANTON One of the Principal Secretaries unto His Excellent Majeſty, and of his Majeſties Honourable Privy Counſel, All the Bleſſings of this Life, and a better.
SIR,
THat which Solomon teacheth in that one Aphoriſm often repeated, wanted not apparent weight and moments of Reaſon: ſaying, Prov. 11.10. & 29.2.that In the proſperity of the Righteous, the City rejoyceth: For God being in Covenant with them, for their ſakes doth good to ſuch as are joyned in the ſame Society with them: for one Joſeph all P…tiphars houſe was bleſſed; and for one Paul, all that were in the ſhip with him are ſaved: yea, good and vertuous men by their preſence, as Lot in Sodome; by their Prayers, as Moſes in the breach; and by their prudent Counſel, as that poor wiſe man, Eccl. 9.15withstand the judgements of God, and ſave the City: for had there been found one good man, all Jeruſalem had been ſpared for his ſake. Again, vertuous men advanced, will confer all their honour and grace to the publick good: they live not to themſelves and theirs, but take in the Church and Common-wealth, as fellow-Commoners of all their goodneſs Mordecaies authority wrought publike deliverance to the whole Church; foreign.and Joſephs advancement ſuſtained the whole Land, by opening the Garners in time of Famine. The honour of one good man ſhall bee the grace of all good men; his power the strength of many; his greatneſs the raiſing of many: as when one Mordecai is raiſed, light, and joy, Eſter 8.16.and gladneſs, and Honour, came to all the Jews. Further, good men honoured by God, will honour God again, and withstand his diſhonour: they will (to their power) provide that Gods worſhip bee erected, that his Sabbaths be ſanctified, that true religion bee maintained, that falſhood and errors bee ſuppreſſed, that publ…ke p…ace bee not diſturbed, that common juſtice bee not perverted, est Gods favour bee diſcontinued, Sine pli… cen…uplex murus rebus ſervandis parum eſt.and his judgements let in. Whence they are to bee eſteemed the ſtrongeſt Towers, the thickeſt Walls, the moſt impregnable Forts, the ſureſt Muniments, and the ſtouteſt Horſemen and Chariots of their Countrey: yea, the Wiſe man in one word ſaith much more, Prov. 10.25 Juſtu… fundamentum mundi.that the Righteous is a ſure foundation, upholding the whole World.
But why write I this, or to your Honour? ſurely as one who ever reverenced your worthy parts. I could not but crave l…ave to expreſs my ſelf one of the City, rejoycing, and praiſing God in your honours proſperity, and advancement: and the rather, becauſe my ſelf was an eye-witneſſe how God led you through ſome of your younger years; which were ſo ſtudiouſly and commendably paſſed, as this your later time fitly anſwereth that expectation which was then conceived of you.
You were then dear to our common Mother, that famous Vniverſity of Cambridge, which for your Eloquence and grace of ſpeech and perſwaſion, appointed you her Orator: for your wiſdome and gravity in government, choſe you her Proctor: for your ſoundneſſe in all kinde of fruitful and commendable literature, tendred you all her honours and degrees: and for your ſober, ſtudious, and vertuous converſation, worth ly held now her great Ornament. And now, as riper for greater imployments, the ſame God (whoſe priviledge it is to diſpenſe promotions, for bee pulleth down one, and ſetteth up another) hath moved his Majesty, not only to ſet your ſeat among the honourable, but to admit you (as it were) into his breaſt, and betruſt you with the ſecrets of this great state and Kingdome: an Office not more Ancient than Honourable, befitting only men of rarest wiſdome, fidelity, and fitneſſe to ſtand before ſo great, ſo wiſe a King. This was a moſt honourable Office among the moſt ancient Kings of Iſrael: for King David had his two Principal Secretaries, Serajah, and Jonathan, whom the Text commendeth for a man of Counſel and underſtanding: 2 Sam. 8.17 1 Chro. 27.32and King Solomon his Son had two other, Elihoreph and Ahiah, who were in chief place neer the King. 1 King 4.3We read alſo of Shebna, principal Secretary to King Hezekiah, 2 King. 18.18of whom Junius ſaith, hee was ſecundus a rege. Now your place being a ſervice of ſuch Honour under his Majeſty, cannot bee without an anſwerable weight and charge. Your Honour eaſily conceiveth, that the Lord chargeth you with a chief care of honouring him, who hath honoured you: that you ſtand charged to his Majesty with great truſt and fidelity: that the Church expecteth, that by your authority, you ſhould promote her cauſes, and stand in the maintenance of pure Religion: that the Common-wealth claimeth her part in you, for the preſervation of peace within her walls, and proſperity within her Palaces: that the Vniverſity looketh you ſhould advance her juſt cauſes, promote Learning, and incourage her Students, by helping them into the rooms of the ignorant and unlearned Ministers: in a word, Prov. 11.11.that the whole City hopeth to be exalted by the proſperity of the righteous.
And now if your Honours thankful heart ſhall call upon you, and ſay, Quid retribuam Domino? Tota vita Chriſtiani ſanctum deſiderium eſt. Aug. in Joh. tract. 4.you will eaſily fall into frequent thoughts and deſires, of diſcharging all this expectation. This ſhall be happily done, if you ſhall chuſe about you the wiſeſt Counſellors, for the happy and prudent carriage of your great affairs, imitating herein that peerleſs pattern of wiſdome, Solomon himſelf; who notwithſtanding his extraordinary meaſure of wiſdome, choſe unto himſelf, ſelectiſſimum ſenatum, a bench of moſt wiſe and grave Counſellors, whoſe Counſel Rhehoboam after deſpiſ…d. The beſt Counſellor is that great Counſellor, who is daily to bee conſulted by fervent prayer. The next is the word of God, Iſa. 9which as it giveth no leſs certain direction in difficult caſes, than the Oracle did unto Iſrael, or than did the pillar of the cloud and of fire, by day and night for their motion or station, while they paſſed through the wilderneſs: ſo the daily conſulting with Gods ſtatutes, by reading and meditation (as with ſo many learned Counſellors) made holy David wiſer than the Aged, than the Learned, than the Princes, than his Adverſaries, Pſa. 119 98, 99, 100. Joſh 1.…And if Joſhuah would proſper and have good ſucceſſe in his high enterprizes, he must keep him to the book of the Law, and not depart from it.
foreign. Prov. 10.32The fear of God is wiſdome, and the next wiſdome to that, is to converſe and conſult with ſuch as do fear God, whoſe lips ſpeak juſt and good things: whereby a man ſhall become both wiſer and better. This is the high way to attain and retain grace and reputation with God and good men; for this is an inheritance not gotten with greatneſs, but with goodneſs: the former cannot force or compel affections, the latter ſweetly draws and allures them; the former may procure flattery and applauſe, the latter only yeeldeth true honour and ſound comfort.
Might I adde but one grain to your godly care, by this little direction, with which I offer my moſt inward affections, I have my expectation. I know well your Honours ſufficiency, even in this kinde, above many of my profeſſion, to furniſh your ſelf with Divine directions, if your leiſure or weighty affairs would permit you to ſet them down: yet I aſſure my ſelf, your Honour will not refuſe the help of ſuch, as are at more leiſure to gather them, and humbly offer them unto your hand. I was alſo more preſumptuous to offer theſe lines unto your view, becauſe I conceived that the rules of Chriſtian prudence and circumſpection, could not bee more fitly directed, nor bee better welcome, than to ſo prudent and circumſpect a perſonage. In which aſſurance I reſt, commending your Honours further happineſs and proſperity to him, who is an exceeding great reward, abundantly able to fill your heart with grace, to crown your daies with bleſsing, and finiſh them with comfort, life and immortality. foreign.
Your Honours, to be commanded, THO. TAYLOR.
Circumſpect Walking.
EPHES. 5.15.
Take heed therefore that ye walk Circumſpectly, not as fools, but as wiſe.
CHAP. I. The ground of the enſuing Treatiſe.
THe Apoſtle in the former words, had under a compariſon of Light and Darkneſs, excited the Epheſians to holy converſation, and to hate ſuch obſcene and filthy courſes, as were found with the Workers of darkneſs. Now he ſpeaks in plain terms that which before be infolded in compariſons: Seeing ye are light, and in the light, wherein all things are manifeſt, ſee ye walk circumſpectly, &c. In which words are.
Firſt, A duty propounded, Circumſpect walking, which in the firſt word foreign, is ſtraightly charged upon every Chriſtian.
Secondly, The expounding of that duty, not as fools, but as wiſe.
And the words run, as if the holy Apoſtle had in other terms ſaid thus; You that are beleevers, ſons of the light, ought, as by your light, to check and controle, yea and diſcover other mens ſins and corruptions; ſo alſo to be as unblameable, yea, and lightſome in your ſelves, as poſſibly may be, and therefore take heed of your own walking, and ſee it be circumſpect. Briefly thus.
Every Chriſtian man muſt walk warily and circumſpectly, or, Strict and accurate walking, not warranted onelyonly, but neceſſarily inforced in the ſcriptures.the courſe of Chriſtianity muſt be a circumſpect walking. For ſo the word foreign ſignifies, an accurate, and a ſtrickt walking, or an exquiſite courſe. So it is uſed, Luke 1.3. It ſeemed good to me, when I had accurately ſearched all things: And Mat. 2.8. Herod charged the wiſe men thus, foreign, ſearch exquiſitively and moſt diligently for the Babe: And Act. 22. v. 3. Paul profeſſeth he was brought up, foreign, according to the exact manner of the Law.