• q8 Cafes ofConjcience. 3.Booke. 1 to takcDauid, Bur when the Spirit came vp– on him, thenhee put off his militatie habire, and went in another artire, after the manner and faibion of aPropher,and fo prophecicd. And therefore,whercai he is[aid togoenak!d; rhe meaning "• that heetlripthimfelfeofhis armour, whrch both hrmfelte and his meiTcn– gers vfed,in purfuiogafter Dauid. · Now touching the Couering of the bodie wirh apparell, rh& things arc to bee remem· bred. Firi,that it mu(\ be couered in decent andfecmly fort.Thus /1fphwrapped Chr1fls body that was dcad,in acleanclinnmcloath,t~ githrr r<iththe ff!icu,Matth. i7. S9· SecondLy, the wholebodymuO becouercd,fome on· ly parto exccpte~, which (for necdlity fake) arcleft open and bare,as the hands and face : B bccaufe chere is an ignominious lhame, not onely in fomeparts,but oucr the whole body. And here comes to bee reprooucd, the afl<– ded nakednelfe vfed of fund ne per[ons,who are wont tohaue theirgarments' made offuch afafhio, as that their necke & brcafls may be leftfor agreat partvocoucred. A pradife full of vanity, and clcane contrarie to this Rule, grounded in corrupted nature. For if the whole body bee ouerfpread with fhame, by fin, why lhould any man by fuch pradi(e,(as much as in him lies) vncouer h1s lhame to the viewoftheworld/The ende ofattireis,to hide the fhamefull nakednclfe of the body fromthefighrofmen: But fuch pet[ons as thefe-at~e, doe hereby exprelfe the vanity and C lightneooftheir mindcs,by lca'uingfomepall ofrhcre bodies open and vncou('rec!.Wherein,what do they elfe,but cuendifplay ar.d ma– mfefl: vnto men and Angels,their own 01ame andignominie/ Nay,whatdoetheyel(e, but glory in that,.which is (by theiuO Judgement ufGod)reprochfull vnto them I Let all tho(e thatfeare God, and arc humbled in the con– Gderation of their finnes, which are the matter of the fhameof mankindc, beeothcrwi[o atfcded, , . . A third endcof apparell is,theh""'uringof the body. To this purpofeS.Paul[aith,I,Cor. t :.z;.Jpon tho[emembm ofthe bod},'whichwee· think.! moft vnboneft,pHt weon thegrcaurhonour, &c. v. 14. Godhath temptred·the body togitber, D t~nd gium the more hvt1o11r to tbt~t partwhich lac. kfd.And in 1.Thef4.4.!1 u the wiOofGod,&c,' that ""'1 on.oj;oufoould k!Jew how topof[<j[e hu vef!eUin hol;neffe andhonoHr, Thefe wordsare (poken of challity, but theyaregenerally.to be vnderfloodofany othervenue belonging to the body. Now the rCQ[onof this endeiS plainc, The body of cuery beleeuer, is the Templc ofthe holy Ghofl, and amember of ChriO, inthckindeand place, as well as the foule. Therefore it ought to bee both huldy and honourably vfcd. For the honouring of the bodie with out– ward ornamcnrs,wccmufl rememberthisdi· Uindion. Someornamentsareinward, and (~mearc borrowed. lnward,are rhe graces & gifts ofGod;thc[e are our own•. Borrowed arc goldt,filucr,pearles,and pretious Ooncs~ and the[eare outward. And ofthe two,more fpeciall care ought to bee had of the inward, thenof the outward and borrowed, For thefe areindeedefaireand honourable, ln the'o.pi– nion and ellimarion ofmen;"but the other are farre more honourable, in the fight of God, And rherfore S. Peterexhorteth women,tha! thctrapparel/ he not out-ward~ M with hroidered haire,&gold{(t ~t6out,~r infumptuoH4gArmtnlf, b~t thAt the hidden~of»ofthe hrllrt 6e vncorr~~pt, ""h 4 muk_: ••d q•wfPirit, which u beforeGod athing pr<110m, t.Pet.3·3•4· . Nowthatweemay vfeourapparell to the Endes bcforerehcarfed,wee arc yet further to <>bfcruefome Cpeciall Ru!es,whrch may ferue for our d11edton Ill the rinbt adorningofthe body: 0 Firll,euery one mull be content with theio owne naturall fauour, and complexion, 1bat God bath giucn them ;and accountof it as a pretiCUii thing,bc it better,or be it wor((': For, theoutward forme &fauour that r;nan hatb is the workc of God himfelfe, fitted and pro~ portioned vnto him,in his conception,by his fpeciall prouidence. Beemg rhen the Lords owneworke,and his will,thus to frame it, ra~ tber thenotherwife;grc~r reafonthereis,that man fl10uld refl contented with thefame. Herecomes to bee iuO!yreprooued, the flraunge pratlife and bchautour of fome in thefe daies, who bceing not contented with that forme and fafhion which God bath [or– red vnto them, doe deuife artificiall formes andfauours, tofct vponthcir bociies and fa– ces, bypaintingand colouring; thereby ma– king themfclues feeme·that, which indcede they ar<no~. This praCiife ismofiab'omina– blem the very light of nature,&much woro by the ligb ofGods word; wherein wee haue bot one onely example thereof, and that is of wicked Iefabel,z.King.9.3 o.who isnoted by rhis markeofa notorious harlot,thAt{bep.Un. redhtrface, ,for what is this,but to finde fault with Gods owne workmanfitip! ·and to Ceeke tocorretl the fame,by acounterfeitworkeof our own deuifing;whichcannotbut be highly difplealingvnro him/ Acunning Painter,when bee bath once6nifhcd his wcrke,ifany man fhall go about to correet the l<ome,heis greatly otfeded. Much more then may Go~, ;he moll wifeand abfo– luteFormer, and Creatour of hts worke, bee highly offended wirh all rhofe, that cannot contentthcru[dues with the fauour and fea– tu.C they haue recciued from him, but will necdes be calling his workeinto queflion,and refining it according eo their ownc humours and fancies. Tertu/ban in his bookc de habitu muli<THm,cals liteh per[ons,andthat olefcrued– ly,the diudt hand·maidn. · Bur mayfome fay, tftherebeany deformi– tie in the bodie, maywee nor labour to couer ir~ Anfwtr. Yes:bunvell"aynotfctanynew forme I i
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