Pro t6,8. Mat.1 6.2~. Pfal 37· 3· Gen. 22-8. Book ii SECT. XJX 1, c 0llitdtr >that alJ good thin!;S are then beautiful, when they arcCOmpalfed by . good meJlls. Hence the godly man confults ever what is jufi, not.what i; gain~Ld , or what •my becumpaffed by honeft courfes, not what may be gained by fraud decC!t, cozenagc, or the !lite camal dealings: Better is alittle with rightcoufr.c[s,thcn grc.,; Rcvcmtci rrithoru right. 2 Confider, that there is no ncceflity, if ordinary and !awfnl means fail, tu ufe nn– lawfn! ; when men fay, I mzljf live, and Imujl nuinuin nry fumily: Know, it i<llot ab– folutely r!ccclTJry that thou 01ouldef\ livc,bm fa long as God pkafdh; nay, it is abfolutt– ly nccdhry that thou 010ulddl rather perifh, and not live, then breai< Gods Command– ments; it ~l~ou did\ for wamof means, thou may(! go 10 heavcll a< L u; ~; 111,andex· change a milcrabk life with an happy;but if to keep thee from dying,thou lofdl thy foul this is to leap out of the frying pan into the fire: Thou had(! better lb.rve, then througl; d1Clrull toufe unlawful means, and [o otfcnd God: \VhO wo,tld wilfully, upon at:y pre– tence, run hunl~lf into an hot burning oven >0 take heed ! 0 for flume never plead~ ne~d, or a nccefbty for hell. 3. Conf.idcr , that whatfocver is got with ill means, is got with Gods anger, and the fplitting (\tipwrack of a good confcience; an hard bargain! This madsSolmmz fay, '.lbcrc is Cold, .a11d a m11ltitztd, of Rubies, which happily may be g0t 111 felling or buying by a bile oath, or lye; but thelips of trut b arc aprcciat<s ]et>·cl. The mean· ing is, th::tr truth and a e,ocd con{Cit'nce arc far more prccl')U!i rhcu GoiJ or Rn· lms. Oh it is a pitiful exchange, when with the lofs of our bell Jewels, we gain no– thing but dung and drofs: lf'h•t is am'lt pro,'ited, if he gain the zvbole >vm·ld, and !Jje Li< Sozll? or· rv!J.ll fha/l amalt give in excbange fur bit S ;ttl? 0 the folly, to fave the nail of thy linger, with the lofs of thy eyes! ro get a little wcahh, and to lok thy God, thy Soul , and a good confcience, more worth thw worlds. M. Pcrkj;tS, re latesa fiery of a good man, who being ready to llarve, flole a Lamb, and being abont to eat of it with his poor children, and (as his manner was) to crave a blclling, hedud\ not do it, but kll into a great perplexity of confcience, acknowledged his fault to the owner, and promifed rd\itution, if ever God enabled him. I'11 this cafe, if ever thou rcpenttft, thus will thy confcience [mite thee, and if thou never repcntcll, rhy confcience will be as a worm gnawing on thee in hell. +· L1bour w live the life of faith; if lawful means fail, as bread in f<ll'lino yet tmyfl thou feed thy [elf with faith; Is not this the Pfalmills cure> Tr~jl i11 the Lord, and dJ good, fu }halt zhu" dwell in tbe Land, and verily tba~< ,!hall be fed; Mark that verily, it is all one with in trutb, and Jlablenefs tbouflult be fed: A promi[c well im· prnved, is inllead of meat and drink to an hungry Suul; tbe Jttjl, in rroublc[om• times, jh..!llivc by fJiJb: Did not Airab,m thus, when be told his Son lf•ac, as thty were f,Oing up the Mount, My S011, Godwill pruvidcbimfilf "Lamb foz·ab~<mt-offering? Curuc, it may be thou art low, and haft fcarce bread enough to put mto thy mouth, remember , d1at if God !peak the word to weak means, they !lull work as well as the 1\rong; an hard dry cru(l of bread, and a very little, fha~l be nou– ri!hmcnt , both competent and comfortable , never u[e fl1ilt1, it' in any ot thy want> thou ball nor lawtul means at hand,; He tb:.t bdievctb, zvill not mAs b.•Jf, faith the Prophet : Chrill ill his greatell nccclfity would not tu ru Clones in bread to fave ~;is lite, a~:d wilt thou in far lcfs ncce!IJty, uot to fave thy hfc, but to .cncreak tny wcolrh turn llones into bread, yea into blood, 1h: bl ood ot poor Samts, as poor as thy 'kit', by thy opprc!lion and extortion> rather call to mi~1cl G,,ds promik, /!."[m jl;a/ln lt five by brc$d alvne, b1<1 by cveJ'y word tb.t pr.JCc.edeth v~<t of. tbe nmztb of Cod. Ey Leve>y •wrd tlut is, by every thil 0 t!; which God a.ppoum, ar~d g1ve; power unto to b" our nuunlhment; the Lord would ,;aveus hv~ by b11h, at~d to devend on han 111 the t r;attill\raits, tor l!o i>GoJ A.ll-fu!1icieut SECT. -· ,.
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