Cafes about Lolling l$neinies and Motiws thereto. may !hew him kindnefs, without putting a Sword into his hand. Prudence will determine of the way of benefits, upon confideration of circurnflanccs. Q:!efi. 6. May I not defend my [elf again]! an enemy, and hurt him in my own defence l And may I !Z:!•ft• 6. ,nQI wi{h bim as much hurt, ar I may do him? An[w. When you can fave your fclf, by fair words, or flight, or fame tolerable lofs, without refill– ing him to his hurr, you thoutd rather chooft: it, and Rejijt not evil, Matth. 5· 39• When you can. not do fo, you mull defend your (elf, with as little hurt to your enemy as you can. And if you cannot favc your felf from a ldfer hurt, without doing him a greater; you muO: rather fuffer it. Object. But if I hurt him i1J my oR'n defence, it i-f hit own fault. An[w. So ir may, and yet be yours too: you arc: bound to Charity to your enemyi and not to Jujlice only. Object. But if I mn away from him, or refif! him nof, it wiU be my dijhonour: And I may defond my honour as well as my lift. Anf"'· Such objections and rcafonings (which the Jefuites u[c againft Jefus,) were fitter for the mouth of an Atheifi~ than of a Chrifiian. It is Pride which fetteth fo much by the eficem of men) yea, of bad and foohth men, as to plead Homur for uncharitablcnefs: And the voice of Pride is the voice of the: D.;vil, contrary to him who made himfelf of no reputation, Phil. 2· 7,8. and fubmitted to be arrayed in a garb of mockery, and led out wirhfcoru like a fool, and bowed to, and buffetted and fpit upon, and crucified; who calleth to usto learn of him to be meek and lowly and to deny our fdves, and take up the Crofs ( which is jhameful Juffering) if we will be his di!Ciplcs, Mattb. 11. 28, 29. Luke 14· 30, 3~, 33· To every Chrifiian it is the greatefl: honour to be like Jefus Chrilt, and to excdl in Charity. It is a greater dilhonour to wanl Love. to an enemy, than to fly from him, or not refi!\ him. He that teacheth otherwife, and maketh fin honourable, and the imitation and obedience of Chrifi to be more difbonourable, doth preach up Pride, and preach down Charity, and doth preach for the Devil again(! Jefus Chrifi: and therefore 010uld neither <11l himfdf a Jefuite nor a Chrifiian. Yea more, if the pcrfon that would hurt or kill you be one that is of more worth arid ufefulnef.S as to the publick good, you 010uld rather fulfer by him, or be llain by him, than you fl10uld eqitally hurt him, or kill him in your own defence. As if the King of another Ktngdom that hath no au– thority ove.;.you (for of your own there is no qucftion) 010uld alfault you? Or any one whofe death would be a greater lofs than yours. For the publick good is better than your own. And it will not alwayes hold, that you may wijh another as much hurt as you may do him: For in defending your felf, you m•y fometime blamelelly do more hurt than you were willing to do. And you n:ufi never wifh your enemies hurt as fuch,hut only as a necdl'.uy means ofgoqd)as of prcfctvation of hi,mfelf, or you, or others. ~efi. 7· MHft Kings and States Love their enemies? HJw then ca1z fYar be lawful? !J<!!eft. 7• An[rv. Kings and States are bound to it as much as private men; And therefore mufi: obferve the forefaid Laws ofLove as well as others. Therefore they muH raife no War unneceffarily, nor for any caufe, be it never fo jufi in it felf, .when the benefits of the War are not like to be a greater good, than the War will bring hurt both to friends and foes fet together. A lawful offc:nfive War is almoft like a ttue General Council: On certain fuppofitions fuch a thingmo.y b:; But wfc:hcr ever the world {aw fuch a thing, or whether ever fuch fappofitions will come to cxi~iencc, is the quefiion. Tit. 2. Motil!es to Low and do good to Bnemier. Motive 1 • GOd loveth his enemies, and doth them good : and he is our be(l exemplar : Mot. 1• Matth. 5• 45, 46. BHI I {ay unto you, Love your enemies; bleji them that cur[e you; de good to 1bem zhat b:Jte you, dndp~ay [o; them rvhicb defPirefully ufe. you and ferfecule you, . that ye may be the children of your Father wbtch u mHea.vm: For be ma~etb hu Sun to rife ttn the ev1l and 01t good, and fondetb rai1t on the juft and on the un;uJf. . . . Mot. 2. JtfusChrifi was incarnate to fetus a pattern, cfpectally of thts vertue : He fought the Mot. 2 • falvation of his enemies: he went up and down doing good among them. He dyed for his cne~ mies ; He prayeth for them even in his [ulferings on the Crofs : He wept over them when he forefaw their ruine. when he was reviled, he reviled not again. This is the pattern whkh we mull imitate. .Mtt. 3· God loved even us our felvu w?en we were _his enemies_: Or elfc wh1t had become of Mot. 3• us? And Chrifi: dyed even for us, as cn~mtes, to re~onc1lc us by hts death to God, Rom. 5· 9, 10. Therefore we are fpecially obliged to thiS duty. Mot. 4 . To be Gods Enemies is to be wicked and unlovcly; .fo that in fuch God could fee nothing Mot. 4• amiable, but our Nature and rhofe poor remamders of VIrtue m tt; and our capactf_Y of bemg made better by his grace; and yet he then lo~ed us ; Bu.t to be _an enemy to yol' or me, IS nm to be _ungodly or wicked as fuch; It is an enm1ty but agunlt a vllc unworthy Worm, and therefore ts a limller fault. •
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