6o Mather, rg. Amb. lib. z in Lue. Luke 6. 7obe firlt in fortKring is thegreatcit honour. Thetrue child ofGod thinks it no hard pre- cept to loue ha enemies. s ,e9r. t s. The hart and tonguemuff goe together. Vpon the Fryday to follow him : but to him that fhould loofehis honour,or his reputation, hee neuermade the like promife. For,to obey and ferue him, is all the honour that man ought toRandvpon Flocefl,omnis,erc.Godsferuice thegreatcilfeueraignety.S. Ambro fe faith, That Godwould beborne ofamarried Virgine,out ofacare that hehad to the Virginescredit ; yet therfore is itnot meet, thata man fhouldpro- cure his owne honour bydoing diíhonour to another. Cummaledixerint,obis homines,&dixerintemne malum aduerfionvet mentientespropter me, When menpall carpyou, andffieakeall eteillagainfl you. TheWorldwill fay, Thou art abate fel- low if thou putvpa wrong,and doe not reuenge it to the full : But theWorld lies ; for a man cannot doe himfelfe a greater honour, than topardonan iniurie. The Worldwill fay, Thouhaft noworth in thee, and that thou dooft degene- rate from thynoble Aneeftors. Buttherein the world likewife lies; forthere is nothing more noble, than to forgiueand forget awrong. Others wil fay,I forgiuc my enemiewith all my heart,but I will neuerfpeake to him. I anfwer, This is a metaphificall cafe, that thou wilt giue him thyheart, and denie him thy tongue. Me-thinkes that Fountainethat is fairewithin,fhould not be foulewithout : Shall Godgiue thee aheart towithwell,and wilt not thou finda tongue to fpeakewel :'And words too,without aheart arenot worth God- a-mercie : Sifalutaueritiefatres veflros tantúm;ifyeefhat encly f luteyour brethren, it is neitheranygreat thing,noryet thankes-worthie ; but to faythouwilt giue him thy heart, andnot fomuch as a word, thou dooft giue himneither the one nor the other. Others fay, Let himcome and fpeake tome firft ; for as Iam themore wron- ged,fo I take myfelfe to be the betterman ; and therefore Iwil notoffer myfelfe vnto him, but let him come to me, if bee will, elfeI will neuerbee friends with him. Ianfwer, Thatby thyyeelding firltunto him,thou wilt winne by the el- der hand,andget thy felfethe more credit. 4.4braham(thou knoweft) gaue Lot kaue tochufe firft, andbeinghis Kinfemanand his inferiourboth in yearesand otherwife, did notreckonof his right,not his reputation , that heemight not make a rent& breach ofloueand amitie betweene them, Ws yu.efa f tjnrgium in- terme6, te,Let therebenoflrifebetwixt thee and me,&c. Others fay, Mee-thinkes it is a hard cafe, that God fhould wifhmec to loue and doe well vnto himthat louesnot me,andwould reioyce in any it that lhould happen vnto me. I anfwer,That Iamnotbound todelire ofGod,that hewould fulfill thedeliresof my enemie : forif he dire& themtomy hurr,and tomy ru- ine, I amnot bound to askeof God any ill tomy felfe. Whena Bell is drawne vp tothe top ofTome Tower, or a Stone to fomehighSteeple, it is thenaturall and common courfeof thofethat fee it carried vp, to delire no mifchance may befall it: But ifany fhould be fo malicioufly foolith, astofay in his hearr, O that I mightnowfee it fall : the Stonemight verse well replie, Letnotthy delires profper.The like may hefay, who goes mountingvp tofomeheigthofgood- nefte,to his enuious enemie, Let not thy ill williesthriue againft me. Laft of all, Tohim that shall thinke that this istoohard a Precept; I anfwer, That there is this differencebetweene thofethatare the Saints of God,& thofe that arenot ; that thefe ftriueto get Heauenat too cheapea rate,andRand ahuc- king,tofee iftheycanget thitherwitha little toff:But thofe that areGodschil- dren feeke all occafions fortobuy itat anyprice,beitneuer fo high,nay, though itfhould coft them their life. fuotidiammoriorpropterve /iramgloriam,ldiedaily for yourglorie, faithSaint Paul. Whereupon Saintchrifoflome glues this note, That theApoftlewas euen forie, that hehadnomorebutone tolay down for
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