50 Meditations andVowu. Cent. Ill.man may make fo good and comfortable ufe tohimfelf.There would be no lhadow, A ifthere were no light. 50 In medling with the faulrsoffriends,Ihave obferved many wrongfulcourfes;what for feare, or felfe· love, or indifcretion. Some I have feen,like unmercifull and covetou1Chirurgians,keep thewound raw,(which they might have feafonably remedied) for their own gain.Others,that have laid healing plaifters to skin italoft, when there bath been more need ofCorrolives to eat out the dead Jlelh within.Others,that have galled &drawn, when there hath been nothing but folid Jlelh, thathath wanted only filling up. Other~,that have healed the for_e, but left an unfig~tly fcarre ofdifcredlt behiode them. He that would doe good thrsway, mutt have Frddlty,Courage, Drfcretion,Patience, Fidelity,not to bear with;Courage,to reprove them;Difcretion, to B reprove them well; Patience, to abide the leifure ofamendment; making much of good beginnings,and putting upmany repulfes,bearing with many weaknelfes; !till hopiu•,ftill folliciting;as knowmg that thofe who have been longufed to fetters,cannot bm halt a whilewhen they are taken off. 51 God hatb made all the World,& yet what a little part ofit is his~ Dividethe World into four parts:bur,one,& the lea!t conrainerh a! that is worthy the nameofChriftendome:rhe re!t overwhelmed with Turcifme,and Paganifme:aud ofthis leaftparr,the greater halfyet holding aright concerning God and their Saviour in fome common principles,overrhrow the truth intheir concfulions;and foleave the lelfer parr ofthe leaft part for God. Y <t lower: of rhofe that hold aright concerning Chri!t, how few c arethere,that doe othmvife th«n falhionably profdfe him~ And ofthofe that doe feriou{lyfarofelfe him,howfew are ~herethatin their lives deny him not,living unworthy of o glorious a calling~ Wherein I doe not pity G)d, who will have glory even of thofe that are not his:I pity miferable men,that doe rejeCl their Creator &Redee. mer,and rhemfdves in him.And I envy Saran,thathe ru!eth folarge.Since God bath fo few , I will be more thankfull that he hath voucbfafed me one of his ; andbe the more zealous ofglorifying him,becaufewe have but a few fellowes. • .. 5• As thofethat have ta!ted offome delicatedilh,findeotherplain dilhes but unpleafaut1 fo it fareth with thofe which have once tafted of h<aveoly things, they canoot but comemne the beft worldly pleafures. As therefore fome dainty gue!l knowing D there is fo pl.afam fare to come ; h¥ill r<fervemy appetite for it, aod nor futfer my .felfcloied with the courfe diet ofthe world. H I finde many places where God bath ufed the hand ofgood Angels for the punifh. ment ofthewicked; but never could yet find one, whereinhe imployed anevill AnJlell in any dim~t good to hischildren. IndireCl I find many, ifnot all, through the power of himrhar brings l~hr our ofdarknelfe,and turnes their evill to our good: In this choice God would an muft be imitated. From an evil! fpirit I dare not receive oughr,ifnever fo good;! wil receive as little as I may fro111 a wicked man.Ifhewere as perfeClly evill as theorher,l durft receive nothing; I had rather hunger, then wilfully dip my handin awicked mans dilb. E 54 We are ready to condemnothers,for that which is as eminently faulty in our felves. Ifoneblind man r•lh upon anotherin the wal,either complains ofothers blindnefs, neither ofhis own. I have heard thofc which ave had moft corrupt lungs, complain of the unfavoury breath of ~ther~.The reaf'?n.is,becaufe the mind cafteth altogether outward, and refteCleth not rnro it felf. Yer.tt ts more lhamefull to be <Ither ignorant ·of or favourable to our own imperfetiions. I will cenfureothers vices fearfully , my own confidently,becaufe I know them;and thofe I know not,I will fufped. 55 He is avery hurnbleman,thatthinksnor himfelfbetter then fume others; and he is very mean, whom fame others doe not account better then themfclves : fo that Veffdl
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