as to stretch his conscience for his commodity, in buying or selling, and concealing the faults of what he selleth, and sometimes overreaching others: especially he is ordinarily too censorious of others, and apt to be credulous of evil reports, and to be overbold and forward in speaking ill of men behind their backs, and without a call, especially against persons that differ from him in matters of religion, where he is usually most unjust and apt to go beyond his bounds.

3. The seeming Christian may have a seeming justice: but really he hath none but what must give place to his fleshly interest; and if his honour, and commodity, and safety require it, he will not stick to be unjust; and that justice which wanteth but a strong temptation to overturn it is almost as bad as none. If he will not seize on Naboth's vineyard, nor make himself odious by oppression or deceit; yet, if he can raise or enrich himself by secret cozenage, and get so fair a pretence for his injustice as shall cloak the matter from the sight of men, he seldom sticketh at it. It is an easy matter to make an Achan think that he doth no harm, or a Gehazi think that he wrongeth no man, in taking that which was offered and due. Covetousness will not confess its name, but will find some reasonings to make good all the injustice which it doth.

XLVI. 1. A Christian indeed is faithful and laborious in his particular calling, and that, not out of a covetous mind, but in obedience to God, and that he may maintain his family, and be able to do good to others; for God hath said, 'In the sweat

of thy face thou shalt eat thy bread;' and 'six days shalt thou labour;' and 'with quietness men must work and eat their own bread,' and 'if any will not work, neither should he eat.' Abraham, and Noah, and Adam, laboured in a constant course of employment. He knoweth that a sanctified calling and labour is a help, and not a hinderance to devotion, and that the body must have work as well as the soul, and that religion must not be pretended for slothful idleness, not against obedience to our Master's will.

2. The weak Christian is here more easily deceived, and made believe that religion will excuse a man from bodily labour, and, under the colour of devotion, allow him to live idly. They learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle, but tatlers also, and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.' Slothfulness is a sin much condemned in the Scriptures.

3. The seeming Christian in his labour is ruled chiefly by his flesh. If he be rich, and it incline him most to sloth, he maketh small conscience of living in idleness, under the pretence of his gentility or wealth but if the flesh incline him more to covetousness, he will be laborious enough; but it shall not be to please God by obedience, but to increase his estate, and enrich himself and his posterity, whatever better reason he pretend.

XLVII. 1. A Christian indeed is exactly conscionable in the duties of his relation to others in the family and place of his abode. If he be a husband, he is loving, and patient, and faithful to

his wife; if he be a father, he is careful of the holy education of his children; if he be a master, he is just and merciful to his servants, and careful for the saving of their souls; if he be a child, or servant, he is obedient, trusty, diligent, and careful, as well behind his parents or his master's back as before his face; he dare not lie, nor steal, nor deceive, nor neglect his duty, nor speak dishonourably of his superiors, though he were sure he could conceal it all; for he knoweth that the fifth commandment is enforced with a special promise, and that a bad child, or a bad servant, a bad husband or wife, a bad parent dr master, cannot be a good Christian.

2. But weak Christians, though sincere, are ordinarily weak in this part of their duty, and apt to yield to temptations, and carry themselves proudly, stubbornly, idly, disobediently, as eyeservants that are good in sight; or to be unmerciful to inferiors, and neglecters of their souls; and to excuse all this from the faults of those that they have to do with, and lay all upon others, as if the fault of husband, wife, parent, master, or servant, would justify them in theirs, and passion and partiality would serve for innocency.

3. And the hypocrite ordinarily sheweth his hypocrisies, by being false in his relations to man, while he pretendeth to be pious and obedient unto God. He is a bad master, and a bad servant, when his self-interest requireth it, and yet thinketh himself a good Christian for all that; for all men being faulty, it is easy to find a pretence from all

men that he doth abuse, to cover the injury of his abuse. Cain, Ham, Eli, Absalom, Judas, &c. are sad examples of this.

XLVIII. 1. A Christian indeed is the best subject, whether his prince be good or bad, though by infidel and ungodly rulers he be oft mistaken for the worst. He obeyeth not his rulers only for his own ends, but in obedience to God; and not only for fear of punishment, but for conscience sake. He looketh on them in their relations as the officers of God, and armed with his authority, and therefore obeyeth God in them. He permitteth not dishonourable thoughts of them in his heart, much less dare he speak dishonourably of them. He knoweth that every soul must be subject to the higher powers, and not resist; and that there is no power but of God: Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and he that resisteth shall receive to himself damnation.' Therefore in all things lawful he obeyeth them; and though he must not, and will not obey them against God, yet will he suffer patiently when he is wronged by them, and not only forbear resistance by arms or violence, but also all reproachful words, as knowing that the righting of himself is not so necessary to the public order and good, as the honour of his rulers is. Usurpers may probably charge him to be a traitor, and seditious and rebellious, because he dare not approve of their usurpations; and when several are contending for the government, and in a litigious title the lawyers mislead him, when the controversy is only among

them, and belongs to their profession, it is possible he may mistake as well as the lawyers, and take him to have the better title that hath the worse; but in divinity he knoweth there is no controversy, whether every soul must be subject to the highest power, so far as he can know it, and that prayers and patience are the subject's arms, and religion is so far from being a warrant to resist, that it plainly forbiddeth disobedience and resistance, and none are more obliged to submission and quietness than Christians are. The spirit of Christianity is not of this world their kingdom and their hopes are not of this world; and therefore they contend not for dignities and rule, much less by resisting or rebelling against their lawful governors. But they are resolved to obey God, and secure their everlasting portion, and bear all the injuries which they meet with in their way, especially from those whom God hath set over them. There is no doctrine that ever was received in the world so far from befriending seditions and rebellion as the doctrine of Christ; nor any people in the world so loyal as Christians, while Christianity retained its genuine simplicity, till proud, domineering, worldly men, for carnal ends, pretended themselves to be Christians, and perverted the doctrine of Christ, to make it warp to their ambitious ends. Suffering seemeth not so great a matter to a holy, mortified, heavenly mind, as to tempt him to hazard his salvation to resist it. No man is so likely to be true to kings as he that believeth that his salvation lieth on it by the ordinance of God; and princes that are wise and just