The true ~Jles of an Upright Life. ~n ;Mediator. And he muft. have the fixed principle of a Nature renewed by .thc Spirit of Jobn;-~,6. Chrifl. Rom. 8. 8, 9• 4 . He that will w2lk uprightly, mull have a ctrtain,juft, inf.JL'ible Rule : and mufi hold eo that, and :. Tim. ; . IS'• uy all by it: And this is only the Word of God. The teachings of Men mull be valued as helps If'{["· re underHand this Word; and the judgcmmrs of our Teachers, and thofe that are wifer than our ~r~J~.":r;. U· (elves muli: be of great authority with us in fubordination to the Scripture. Bur n~irhcr the James 4 u. Leam;d, nor the Godl_y, nor the Great, mull. be our Rule in co-ordinalion with the Word of Heb.8.Jo,r6. (i d •. Neh. 9· J3,14, 0 5 : He that will walk uprightly, mufl have both a folid and a lnt.e underftanding, ro know rhings ~";;;:~'~ 3 truly as they are, and to fee a~ partic1~f::ztt ~~ich m~lt ~e taken noti~c of, in all th~ cafes w~icH he > ' • mull determine, and all the albons whtch Ius mtegnry 1sconcerned m. I• There JS no walkmg up- Prov•. r. r. rightly in the dark. Zeal will c.aufc you to go ap~ce ;. but not at. all to go Rig~t, if Judgernen~ ~ 10.1~. guide it nor. Erroneous 'ZCal Wll.l n~ake y~u do ev1l .wtt_h. do~ble v1olenc:, and. ~vah blafphemous : ;~~~7· · fathering your fins on God,.and wtth 1mpemtence and jufhficatJon of your !m. Tots made Paul mad pf 1 J. 1 u. 10 , j.n pcrfecuting the Church. P,rov. 15. 2 J. FoUy U joy to him tb::z! it deftitute of wi[dom; bwt a ma1t of Ephc-f. 1. 18. underjlanding walk,.etb ttpright/y• No man can do that well wh1ch he underjlande1h 11ot wcU. There- ACts :.6. tS, fore you mufi: fiudy and tak~ unwcuied pains for knowledge: Wifd.om never grew up with idle- ~1: ~: 9• nefi, though the conceit of wtfdom cloth n? where more prefper. Thts age hath .told us wwhat de- ,. Tim. 2 , 1 , ' fperate precipices men will be carryed b~ 1gnorant zeal. 2· A~d the ~nderf\and10g mu~ be large, I Cor. t•h'~; or it cannot be folid: When rnauy part1culars are concerned m an ad:1on, the over-lookmg of fame ~o. one may fpoi) the work. Na~row minded men are turn.cd as the wcathcr-c~ck,. with the wind ~f ~~~~ ~:: ~~: the rimes, or of every temptatiOn_; and.they feldome av01d one fin, but by fJ.llmg mto another. It IS El'hef. 5 . 11 • Pmdmce that mufi manage an uprrght hfe: And Prudence (eeth all that mufi be feen, and putteth I Tim. r. 7· every circumf\ance into the batlance: 'for want of which, rouch mifchief may be done, while you Prov.8. f. feem to be doing the greatefi good. 'fh~ prudtnt man lookfth well to hit ~oing, Prov. 14• 15 See there· ~~~t~ :: ~~: fort I hat ye wal'- circumjpt/Jiy ( at a hans breadth) not as fools, h«t as wi[t. R•"·l· 11 • • I MH.Ij·l?,ll 1f:1. 51• IJ. Hof. 14. 9· Prov. 11. H, x8. & 18. If. & z:. )· & 8. u. Epbcf. 5· 15. Pfa!m 101. l. ii. But becaufe you will o~eCl:, that, alas, few even of the upright, hav~ wits fo llrong as to be fit Pf>!. 11 9• 9 a. for this, I add, that he that will walk upr,ghtly, mull: m the great rffmtzal puts of Rel1g10n have Prov.1 6,7, 8. this forefaid knowledge of }}is own, and in the reft at leafi he mufi have the.condutl ofthe wjfi. And ~ 12 · 1 5, 18 • lherefere, 1. He oiufi be wife .in' the great matters of his falvation, thougb he beweak in other things. & ~'r'.1~1 .~~~;. 2· And he mull labour to be truly acquainted, who are indeed wife men, that arc meet to be his 31. c.: :a. 17. guides: And he-mull have recourfe to fuchi"n CafesofConfcicnce, asafick man to hisPhyficion. It & 2~.11. is a _grea.t mercy to .be fo far wife, as to know a wife man from a fool, and a Counfellor from a ~;~~~ ! 1 • ~·,~~: deceJVCr. Manh. 14, 4f• Pf:il.n.Jo. Eccief. 1. 13. Ifi.j;. 6. M:1nb.1:. .r;t. lu~e 1.l7· & 2T.IS. Ath 6.;. 2 PC't. )·15· Mal 1. 64;7• l Theff.~. u, 1J. Hc:b. I)• 1>'1• Tit.1.9,1). &1..t,8. :tTim. .r;.J• . 7· He that wi\\ walk uprightly mull he the mafier of his paflions ; nOt fiupid, but c:Um and fober. Though fome pallinn is m:edfu\ to excite the underfianding to its duty, yet that which is Prov. '4· 19. inordinate doth powerfully deceive the mind. Men arc: very apt to be confident of what theypaf!io- Col. ;.s. nately apprehend. And paffionatc juGgemems arc frequendy millaken, and ever 10 be fufpected.; It . being cxcec:ding difficult tQ entcHatn any paffion which iliall not in fame meafure pervert our rea· fon: which is one great rcafon why the mofi confidem are ordinarily the moll trronwus and blind. Be fur~ therefore when ever you arc.injured, or paffion any way engaged, to [\.t a double guard upon your Judgements. 8. He that will walk uprightly, muft not only difference between fimple Good and Evil, but between a greater Good and a lefs: For mofi fin in the world confillcth in preferring a Ldfcr Good before M:mh. 9· 7J. a Greater. He mulllli\l keep the ba\lance in his hand, and compare good with goo4 : Otherwife & "· 7he will make himfclf a Religion of fin, and preferr Sacrifice before mercy; and will hinder rhc ~21• 410 / ' Gofpcl and mens falvation for a ceremony, and violate the bonds of love and fai1hfulnefs for ; s5a~. 1 1 ;.. 1 ,. every Qpinion which he calleth Truth: and will tythe Mint and Cummin, while he negleCteth the great things of the Law. When a Jcffer good is preferred before a greater, it is a fin, and the common way of finning. lt is not then a duty when it is inconfifient with a greater good. 2 Cor. 10, s. 9· He rnufi ever have a conjuoC\ ref}xd: to the Cqtnmand and the End ; The good of fame ;adions & '3· ro. is but little difcernable any where, but in the Comffi\ nd; and others are evidently good becaufe of the ~om. '5· :. good they tend to. We mufi neither do evil and break a Law, that good m1y come by it; Nor yet 1 C~;,1,~. 2 6. pretend obedience to do mifchicf, as if God had made his L1ws for Ddhud:ion ofthe Church or mens :. Cor. u. '9· fouls, and not for Edific;ation. Rom. J.S. IO· He mufi keep in Union with the Univer[al Church, and preferr its interefi before the interefi: of Eph ... u.,&c. any party whatfoever, and do nothing that tendeth to its hurt. J.C0r. u. 11. He rnufi love his neighbour as himfelf, an~ do as.he would. be done by, and love his enemies, and Mattb. ~2 39· forgive wrohgs: and hear their defamations as his own. : ~: ~;: 4 "' 12. Hemuft be Impartial ; and not l0fe his Judgemem and Cbarity in the opinion or interdl of a · Par1y or Sc/J: Nor thinka\l right that is Held or D•ne by thof< that he belllikctb ; non\\ wrong J•m.J.tf, :~· · 'rhat 17 ' •
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=