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DIVERS PRACTICAL

CASES OF CONSCIENCE,

SATISFACTORILY RESOLVED.

CHAP. I.

THE SINGULAR DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.

First case of Conscience.

On Matt. v. 47. What do you more than others ?

QUESTION I.

WHEREIN should Christians be singu lar in their obedience? or what may they, and must they do more than others?

Answer. Take the answer in these sixteen rules, containing the character and compass of a Christian.

Rule I. Heartily to love them that slight you, and to wish and seek the good of those that hate you, and seek to hurt you. This is the very thing urged in the text: If you salute your brethren only, and love them that love you, do not even the publicans the same ?— Matt. v. 46, 47. To love them that do respect and value us, this every one can do: but to love them truly that think meanly of us, and have prejudices and hard thoughts against us, and to speak well of them that speak evil of us, (as the sweet spirited Calvin, Let Lu. ther call me dog or devil, I will say of hin

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nevertheless, he is a precious servant of Jesus Christ,) this is to do more than others.Thus the martyr Cranmer, of whom it was a proverb, Do the Bishop of Canterbury a displeasure, and you shall ever have him your friend; thus that holy man, in his much to be admired panting words, "I had never any greater pleasure in all my life than to forget and forgive injuries, and to shew kindness to them that sought evil to me." Study who have offended you, and disobliged you, and slighted you, and keep up good thoughts of them, (if the case will bear it) and speak nothing but good of them, aud think what kindness you may shew them: pray for them, wish well to them, so shall ye be the children of your father which is in heaven, Matt. v. 44, 45.

Rule II. To swim against the stream of the multitude. The dead fish will swim with, but the living against the stream. Many will turn Jews when their interest will carry it in the world. When religion is in fashion every one will be in it. But to bear head against the current of the times, and to be for strict godliness in all your ways, when the stream runs quite against it, to bear it down, and to resolve, as David did, to be yet more vile; this is to be, and to do more than others.-The Samaritans will need be Jews when Alexander favors and helps them; but when Antiochus bloodily rages against them, (as in the time of the Maccabees) then they will be none of the kin, but pretend themselves to be of another stock, (which, by the way, was the

reason of the deadly hatred afterwards bctween the Jews and them.) But to be singular in your good choice and resolutions, with Joshua, though all should vote against you with one consent; and with Noah, to be perfect in our generation, when never so adulterous, and to walk with God when all flesh have corrupted their way, and tread a contrary course; this is to do more than others. Thus the three children, or rather the three champions, who would not fear the flouts of the multitude, nor the frowns of the great ones, nor the charge of singularity, when all the princes, governors, captains, counsellors, sheriffs, and all the people, nations, and languages, fell down and worshipped, they stood by themselves, and would not sinfully comply, Dan. iii. 3, 7, 18.

Rule III. To take most care of that which is most out of sight. A Christian's eye is most on the things least seen: 1. Upon his heart. Herein he doth exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, whose great care was to keep all fair and clean that came to view, but looked no farther. Make great conscience of your carriage in secret, and let your main guard be upon your hearts, and this will be more than others reach to. This was Paul's care, to keep his conscience, his inside, clean and undefiled, Acts xxiv. 16, and Job's care, that though all the world did reproach him, he might not put a reproach in the mouth of his conscience, Job xxvii. 6, and David's care, that his heart might be clean. 2. Upon his hope. Others look to the things seen,

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things in hand; but the true believer eyes his hopes, walks by faith, not by sight, and lives. a quite different life from any other in the world besides; as living upon the hopes of heaven doth differ from living on the pleasures, profits and honors of the world.

Rule IV. To be merciful to other's failings, and very severe to our own. The noble Ro

man, Cato, could more easily forgive any than himself. To aggravate our own evils, and to have an excuse ready for our brother's, and to censure ourselves freely, and to come with the mantle behind us to cover our brother, this is to do more than others. The hyp ocrite is a censurer abroad; he is like the eye, that can see any thing but itself; he can discern a mote in his brother's eye, but not a beam in his own. But the servant of God rebukes others with meekness, but falls out easily and bitterly with himself.

Rule V. To suffer rather than to sin. This was Moses' choice; but the hypocrite is quite contrary he chooseth iniquity rather than affliction. To go far with Christ as our ways lie together, is to do no more than an unsound professor may reach to the trial is when Christ's interest and ours do cross, and we must either baulk our duty, or our safety and advantage. The famous martyr under Julian would not give an half-penny toward the building of the idol's temple, though he was offered his life by the emperor on those terms: the godly high-priest Eleazer, when the nobles persuaded him to eat other meat under colour of swine's flesh, and they would per

suade the king Antiochus that he had eaten swine's flesh, would die rather than stain his profession with the appearance of evil. When a man shall lie in outward misery, and have a door of deliverance opened, if he would but sin, and yet he will not accept of it, as those worthies in Paul's martyrology, Heb. xi. 35, &c. this is to do more than others.

Rule VI. To rejoice for losses in Christ, and glory in the cross; when others are discouraged at the news of hardship, as that forward and seemingly resolved disciple; or shall be offended as soon as the sun of persecution is up when we shall take pleasure in infirmities, in tribulations, and rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ: this is to do more than oth. ers. When the servants of God shall not only patiently and triumphantly undergo the crosses that crack the brains, and break the hearts of others, and shall shake off the viper without receiving any hurt: when Paul and Silas shall sing in the stocks, and the resolved martyr shall embrace the faggots, and kiss the stake: when the valiant Philpot shall say of his prison, "In the judgment of the world we are in hell, but I find in it the sweet consolation of heaven;" and the holy Bradford, "My prison is sweeter to me than any par lour, than any pleasure I have had in all my life" this is indeed to exceed others.

-Rule VII. To be good when we shall be evil spoken of for our labour. A Pharisee will do those duties that will gain applause with man: but to take up with despised du

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